Just Arsenal News

Why Arsene is right not to splash the cash! by DW

It is now January 8th 2013 and the transfer window has officially got underway. The gates to the overpriced and usually disruptive time of the season are open. An often overworked set of players in each team, reeling from the rigors of the Christmas and new year fixtures, are subjected to the media’s speculation of grandeur and the chance for them to apparently play for the potential top four teams, causing managers to squeeze their eyes shut in prayer that their star players show some loyalty over the stupidly high wages that are presented to them at the likes of Man City and Chelski. .......Read the full article here

With new financial regulations coming into play next season, quite a few clubs in the Premier league and around Europe will have a lot of work to do to change and get ready for the new rules, but Arsenal are already in the perfect position and are a role model to other clubs, according to our chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

“Arsenal were operating like this a long time before football looked at it and decided that it would be a good path for football to move in to.

“Unsustainable spending and unsustainable environments don’t last forever.

“The revenues the game generates, particularly the Premier league’s position, is fantastic.” .......Read the full article here

Per Mertesacker has been a tower of strength at the heart of the Arsenal defence this season, displacing the very talented Arsenal fans favourite Laurent Koscielny, at least for the time being. Andy Carroll was expected to be raring to go and a real handful, which he was, but Mertesacker and Vermaelen were strong and composed under pressure and handled the big man better and better as the game wore on.

“What can you do about their goal? Sometimes that happens.

“We have not conceded alot of goals during games this year and most have been from set pieces. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger was pleased to see his Arsenal team take all three points from yesterday’s match against West Ham, but he admitted that the height of Andy Carroll certainly caused problems for the Arsenal defence, while Kevin Nolan also had two easy chances to score for the Hammers but failed with his final touch.

Wenger said: “You never can completely control Carroll for 90 minutes. You have to fight for him and be good on the second ball. The problem with West Ham is not only Carroll, but is also Nolan on the second ball in the box. We could have been punished once or twice but overall we gave it all to deal well with him. Carroll was really up for it I must say. He did fight from the first to the last minute.” .......Read the full article here

First of all, congratulations to Olivier Giroud. It seemed for most of the first half that his bad luck at Arsenal was going to continue and he was going to have another fruitless game. The big Frenchman was playing well but his shots, although on target, were hitting defenders and he was millimeters away from getting on to balls. When his goal finally came, there was no luck involved. Giroud started the move by holding the ball and feeding it to Podolski who whipped in a lovely ball. Giroud bust a gut and finished beautifully. It was a great moment for Giroud and for Gooners everywhere. .......Read the full article here

West Ham vs Arsenal preview, line-up and score prediction by KJ

The last month has been high octane with games against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. However, starting today, Arsenal will finally have a run of games against lower opposition. This starts at Upton Park against newly promoted West Ham Utd.

Although WHU have just been promoted, they’ve made big name signings in Jarvis, Diame, Carroll etc. meaning that they will definitely not be a walk in the park. The boys will have to dig deep to get a result today. .......Read the full article here

Football has changed alot in the Premier league since Arsene Wenger became the manager of Arsenal sixteen years ago, in fact the Frenchman can be seen as responsible for a large part of those changes. The old chant of 1-0 to the Arsenal and the famous Arsenal back four are things of the past. The role of defenders, especially centre halfs has changed considerably in the modern game, as they have to adapt to the new formations and styles of play.

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal mostly use a 4-3-3 formation with one central striker and a much more flexible role with players needing to be more versatile and drifting into different positions. Wenger explains that this means that defenders now need a different set of skills to the old style big and strong central defenders. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have always faced a tough match when they have come up against any team managed by Sam Allardyce, and today is not expected to be any different. One piece of good business that Big Sam did in the summer was to get the giant Andy Carroll on loan from Liverpool and both Wenger and his captain Thomas Vermaelen expect the England striker to cause problems in the air today.

Vermaelen said: “I played against Andy Carroll when he played for Liverpool,”

“He suits their way of playing at the moment. At West Ham they play some long balls and with Carroll up front, he’s a tall guy. He’s good with his head so he will be a big challenge. .......Read the full article here

Sam Allardyce has proved to be a thorn in the side of Arsenal before. Big Sam produces teams that get stuck in and try to rattle their opponents, and in the past this has gained him some success against Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. Add to that the fact that Andy Carroll could be back in the starting line up and you have the recipe for a tough game.

Thomas Vermaelen is a man who relishes a challenge and the Arsenal captain is looking forward to pitting himself against the big England front man tomorrow. Vermaelen has the confidence boost of successfully curbing the threat of Carroll when Arsenal faced Liverpool last year but he is also aware that West Ham play in a style more suited to Carroll’s game. .......Read the full article here