Just Arsenal News

There was very little to play for in most of the games yesterday, which is why the Arsenal v Newcastle game and the Tottenham v Sunderland game were shown simultaneously on Sky sports. The papers and football websites have been building up the tension between the two north London rivals and saying just how important fourth place in the Premier League was.

Most of the season we have been told, with relish, by the media that this is the spuds’ year and that it indicates a momentum or power shift and all that sort of twaddle. When the Gunners lost at White Hart Lane, nobody in the media or any of the football pundits gave us a chance. Surely, only a miracle could save us now. .......Read the full article here

It has been a testing time for everybody concerned with Arsenal Football Club this season, but the players made sure that it finished with a bang by beating Newcastle United at St. James’ Park yesterday. You could see the elation and relief on the faces of the Gunners and the Gooners who had traveled to see the game, but we really must do better next season.

From the position that Arsenal were in at the beginning of March, it has been a remarkable achievement. Morale was at rock bottom after a Champions League humbling by Bayern Munich and we were seven points adrift of the spuds after losing at White Hart Lane. We had also just been knocked out of the FA cup by Blackburn Rovers, so Wenger and the players did brilliantly to come back from that. .......Read the full article here

Olivier Giroud is almost certain to be back in the Arsenal starting line up tomorrow and he will want to end the season on a high. At times this season he has struggled, especially in the first half, but the French international is now a key part of the team and one of the first men on the team sheet when he is available.

Arsene Wenger has had to treat him cautiously at times, leaving him out of a few games before the new year because his confidence was at a low ebb and the manager did not want the pressure to be too much. Part of the problem for Giroud was the weight of expectation and responsibility that came with replacing the departed captain Robin van Persie. .......Read the full article here

It is normal for Arsenal fans to have two things to worry about at this part of the season. Firstly, there is the annual race to get into the Champions League places for next season, which has been tighter than ever this season and looks like it will be decided on the final day. Two wins against Wigan Athletic and Newcastle United will guarantee that we finish above Tottenham, but those wins will be far from easy.

The second major worry for Gooners at this time of year is whether we will be able to hold on to our best players. The answer to that in recent years has been a resounding NO. Arsenal have seen more talent leave the club than Simon Cowell. This year, however, there has been much less reason for concern at the Emirates. .......Read the full article here

Are any Arsenal players good enough to interest another big club? by FD

All the transfer talk at the moment is about the potential players Arsenal are looking to bring in over the summer. It seems as though there’s hardly a prospect we haven’t been linked with. That’s all well and good – it’s refreshing to be considered as one of the poachers for a change, rather than having to play our usual game-keeping role. But while it would be welcome to have a close season free from worry over losing a star player, it makes me wonder whether we actually have any players good enough to interest other big clubs. .......Read the full article here

If you were drinking a cup of tea when you saw this headline, I apologise. Wipe your screen down and read on, because Arsenal’s French international striker has suggested that he has been better that the Gunners scoring legend Thierry Henry and the `beast` Didier Drogba.

Now, I am one of Giroud’s fans. I supported him earlier in the season when the Arsenal fans were getting on his back and calling him every name under the sun in the comments section, but I think the big forward may have gone a bit too far with that statement. .......Read the full article here

Should Arsenal break the bank for Lewandowski? By Twig

Lewandowski is certain to leave Borussia Dortmund this Summer, however his destination is still uncertain. It appears the club at the forefront for his signature is local Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, but as a story on Yahoo Sports goes today, Dortmund are seriously averse to losing Lewandowski to Bayern after losing Gotze to the same side.

The same story says Dortmund’s preference is for Lewandowski to move to a London club namely Chelsea. As I read the story I wondered to myself, and why not to Arsenal? Yeah, why not? Arsenal has laboured miserably without a “proper” and “good-to-go” striker for much of the season. It’s the lack of a STRIKER and not a right-back or any other position that is the reason why we are presently engaged in a dog-fight with Spurs for fourth place. .......Read the full article here

The rumours about a possible return to Arsenal for the former captain and star midfielder, Cesc Fabregas, have been rumbling for a while now, but they seem to be building up a head of steam ready to blow as soon as the season ends. The Spanish Primera Liga has it’s final day on June 1st, so we are unlikely to know anything for sure until then, but there have been a few new stories in the Spanish media. .......Read the full article here

Bayern rumoured to want Koscielny by SS

New Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has reportedly made a move for Arsenal centre back Laurent Koscielny. It is reported that the Germans have enquired into how much Arsenal want for the player. Guardiola has capped the transfer sum at £20 Million, which seems like a good offer from my personal point of view but manager Arsene Wenger has fended Bayern off and is refusing to negotiate, according to Goal.com.

Laurent Koscielny moved to Arsenal from French club Lorient in 2010 for nearly £10 Million, since his arrival he has had a mixed career in North London. He has made high profile mistakes and scored plenty of goals past his own Goalkeeper but he has also pulled off some amazing performances most notably against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League. .......Read the full article here

There has been a lot of talk this week, and at various times throughout the season, about Arsene Wenger and whether he should stay in charge of Arsenal. The talk this week was started when it was reported that he may be heading to the Qatari owned Paris Saint-Germain. The super rich leaders of the French league seem to be connected with just about every big transfer rumour, so we should not be surprised, but Wenger and officials at Arsenal have made clear that it will not happen, at least not this year. .......Read the full article here

With Arsenal facing a massive match against the newly crowned Premier League champions this weekend, Theo Walcott will be hoping to get another chance to stake his claim as a centre forward because of the suspension of the regular front man Olivier Giroud.

Walcott has revealed the Le Prof and Fergie are not quite as chalk and cheese like as some people think. The Frenchman has a reputation for calmness, especially with his players. He may storm about on the sidelines occasionally, but he never seems to take his frustration out on the team, but that is not quite true. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal still trying for Barca keeper? by AH

The Express has today reported today that Arsenal have opened talks with Barcelona and the appropriate agent over the possibility of Victor Valdes moving to North London with the Gunners this summer.

Arsenal are notably looking for a new keeper with Fabianski likely to leave at the end of the season, as well as Mannone, and so Arsenal have identified a few goalkeeping targets and 31-year-old Valdes is reportedly one of them. Valdes is now entering the final year of his contract and he has already declared an intention to leave the Spanish giants this summer, so it’s possible that Barcelona will sell him instead of losing him for free next year. .......Read the full article here