Just Arsenal News

If Arsene Wenger holds any serious hope of signing Robert Lewandowski for Arsenal, he had better get his skates on and talk to somebody at the strikers club Borussia Dortmund. The general manager of the Bundesliga team, Michael Zorc, told the Kicker that they would hold on to their star until his contract finished in 2014 if they could not get a transfer sorted out by May.

“We have clearly positioned ourselves,” said Zorc.

“We hear there is interest but until now we have not received any offers.” .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has come out in support of his Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, rejecting any suggestion that the 23-year old has become complacent since signing a lucrative new contract in July. There have been some people who think that Walcott’s failure to score since the end of January is a damning indication that he was just playing for his new deal earlier in the season, so is there any truth in it?

“I don’t believe that,” declared Wenger. “If he didn’t play well and had not signed a contract, then people would say the opposite. .......Read the full article here

The Big Team Phobia by Chunners

I have a positive feeling about us making it into the top 4 this year. And with our recently found form, coupled with tough fixtures-lists for the other clubs, things seem bright. Anyway, is it possible that this season we could actually finish in the top 4 without winning any of our big matches in the league!?

We have lost both our matches against Chelsea, our one match against Man United, and drawn one and lost one against City. That is 1 point from 15! .......Read the full article here

Whatever Arsene Wenger has said and done with the Arsenal players since losing to Tottenham a month ago, it seems to have worked. I just wish he had done it in August. However, three wins on the spin and much better performances have given Gooners the belief back and indicated that another season in the Champions League is not just a distant dream.

Aaron Ramsey has had a similar sort of experience this season. It was not too long ago that seeing his name on the team sheet made many Arsenal fans think we were beaten before a ball had been kicked. The young Welshman was struggling for form and consistency earlier in the season, but his transformation has been more steady, and is down to hard work and persistence. He believes the club’s upsurge is more to do with attitude and approach. .......Read the full article here

The Race for 4th by AH

The title of the article says it all, the fact we are having to fight for 4th place like it’s a trophy is ridiculous. It’s not an achievement no matter what you say and it’s simply not good enough. You could say that’s a negative view to things and I suppose it is, but the fact is it’s the truth and we all know it.

In the last few weeks we’ve seen some good results that have helped us in our stride for a Champions League place, for the 16th year running. The 2-0 win over Bayern Munich seems to be the turning point in our season and we have looked far more confident, leading to better performances from Arsenal, seeing 6 goals scored and 1 goal conceded in the last 2 games. .......Read the full article here

Olivier Giroud was talking about the necessity of Arsenal holding on to their best players, as well as investing in new ones. The striker also revealed that there was a possibility of him going to the German giants Bayern Munich before he agreed to come to the Emirates. Despite not being very highly regarded by many Arsenal fans, I think that Giroud has shown enough in his debut season to be able to count himself as one of those players that the Gunners must hold on to. .......Read the full article here

It would obviously have been one of Arsene Wenger’s most painful moments of the season watching Arsenal put in arguably their worst performance of the season at White Hart Lane at the start of March. Not only was it a blow in the race for the top four, but it gave everybody connected with the Spuds, and most of the media, to continue with their anti-Arsenal garbage, using one lucky win to apparently `prove` that we had lost our position of dominance. .......Read the full article here

Squad rotation is increasingly common in modern football, and it is no different at Arsenal. Having said that, the captain Thomas Vermaelen would probably not have been dropped for the last two games against Bayern Munich and Swansea City if he had been playing well. The Belgian international knows that he now faces a struggle to win back his place in the starting line up, but he has vowed to put in the work in order to do that.

“It’s just something that happens in football, especially when you play for a big club,” Vermaelen said. .......Read the full article here

There does not seem to be any lingering problems between Arsene Wenger and Wojciech Szczesny. The usual Arsenal number one has not played for the last two games against Bayer Munich and Swansea City because of a dip in form and what Wenger referred to as having problems`mentally`.

An astonishing outburst by the keeper’s father followed, in which he slated Wenger and the club, but Szczesny quickly distanced himself from those comments and professed his love for the club and his respect for Wenger. He has also responded well to being dropped, apparently. Many thought he would not take it well, but it may have been the kick he needed to keep his focus and concentration on playing well, working hard and improving his game. .......Read the full article here

Just when Arsenal fans were starting to poke their heads above the trenches and feel a bit of optimism for the rest of the season, comes the news that the talented and talismanic Jack Wilshere could be out for weeks longer than first thought.

We were told that Jack got a knock to his ankle during the North London derby with Tottenham, and he would miss the Gunners’ games against Bayern Munich and Swansea along with the two England World Cup qualifiers. This was supposed to be more of a precautionary measure than a necessary one but, according to Metro, the midfielder has been examined by a specialist from Dubai and will not return until May. .......Read the full article here

Swansea vs Arsenal preview, predicted line up and score line prediction by KJ

After the valiant fight back against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena which went agonisingly close to a great European night in our history, we bring ourselves back into the Premier league on a high in my opinion. We never really expected to overturn the deficit and 99% of the world was expecting us to get thrashed on Bayern’s soil but we dug deep defensively and it almost paid off. The players must be feeling confident after beating Bayern comprehensively on Wednesday night. .......Read the full article here

Bayern Munich 0 – 2 Arsenal; a brilliant performance just shy of the spectacular by KJ

What a brilliant performance by the Gunners. It was full of spirit, determination and fight. Two well taken goals brought Arsenal terribly close to the unthinkable but it just wasn’t to be.

We started the game off perfectly. Walcott was driving and a slip by one of their defenders opened up the opportunity for him to cross in the ball and Olivier Giroud smashed it in to put Arsenal one up in the first few minutes. It was the dream start for the Arsenal and the man I’ve criticised so much this season got the opener. 0 – 1. .......Read the full article here