Just Arsenal News

Sunderland vs Arsenal preview, match line up and predicted score line by KJ

Arsenal are back after the midweek international break (which included a MOTM performance by our very own Jack Wilshere). We go into this game after what was a hard-fought win against a defensively solid Stoke side who’s aim was to sit back and hope for the best.

This similarly will be a difficult game in my opinion. Sunderland have slowly improved their earlier form and are a difficult opponent at the Stadium of Light. They’ve recently signed Danny Graham who along with Steven Fletcher could potentially trouble Arsenal’s defence (who could possibly lack both Koscielny and Vermaelen). .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger brought in the Malaga defender Nacho Monreal in January, but he is adamant that although he searched far and wide to find more quality players they were simply not available!

“We worked very hard in January,” Wenger said. “We were everywhere. I did want to sign somebody else but we didn’t find anyone. In the African Nations Cup, the best player is Gervinho. Why should we go there when the best player is Gervinho? We already have Gervinho.

“Manchester United, who did they buy? Chelsea, who did they buy? City didn’t buy, and this for the same reason: for the top clubs it’s difficult to strengthen your team in the middle of the season”. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger refused to get into a discussion about Demba Ba’s contract situation before the game, but the Newcastle striker didn’t let the Arsenal rumours affect him and scored two great goals as the Toon restricted Arsenal to 3 goals apiece in the first hour of yesterday’s match.

That Arsenal scored an extra four in the last 20 minutes was probably not a fair end score as Newcastle got tired towards the end, and Wenger admitted that it wasn’t as easy as the scoreline suggests. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger is well aware that Arsenal seem to have a mental block when it comes to facing Stoke at the Brittannia Stadium, and have won their just once since the Potters were promoted to the Premier League, but after a disappointing opening draw to Sunderland last week the Gunners really need a win to show they are contenders this time around.

It would seem that Wenger has been buying big, strong players recently to counter the threat from “rugby” teams like Stoke, and now is the chance for him to prove he has got it right. “At Stoke it is a question of being strong enough to dictate your style,” Wenger said. .......Read the full article here

Marouane Chamakh had very little chance to play for the Arsenal first team last season, and when he did figure he still seemed to be suffering his crisis of confidence which started the year before. Just one goal from 7 starts (plus 12 subs appearances) simply emphasised his profligacy in front of goal and it seemed certain that he would be sent back to Ligue 1 next season to recover his former skills.

Now the top Arsenal scout in France, Gilles Grimandi, who was instrumental in taking Chamakh to the Emirates, thinks that Chamakh needs to decide whether he is willing to stay at Arsenal and fight for his place now that Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud have now arrived to provide further competition. .......Read the full article here

It seems that Arsene Wenger and Carlos Vela have never seen eye to eye since the Mexican international first arrived at Arsenal, and the French manager seemed to leave him out in the cold even when the Gunners were desperate for back up attackers.

Does anyone remember the time Vela left his passport at ome when Arsenal were going to play an away game in the Champions League? I don’t suppose that helped relations with his manager….

So after an abortive loan period at West Brom in the Premiership, Wenger wanted Vela to go on loan to another British club but Vela and his agent forced a move instead to Spain where he thought his style of play would be more effective and it seems he was correct! .......Read the full article here

At first glance you would think that playing Sunderland at home in the opening game of the season is a reasonable start, but then we have the usual hard game away at Stoke City in our second match.

A week later we will be away at Anfield which could be very difficult if their new manager gets them playing as a team. The next game is at home to promoted Southampton, but that is swiftly followed by Man City away and then Chelsea at home.

We all know what happened at the beginning of last season so Wenger will need to have the whole squad in good fettle very quickly this time around! .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has never been a great fan of Stoke City’s physical game and “rugby tactics”, but he knows they have grown into an established Premiership team that are very hard to beat, especially at the Britannia Stadium where they have lost just four times this season.

Wenger knows it will be a far from easy game for Arsenal, but if the Gunners are going to hang on to Third Place, then they simply have to take all three points. Wenger admitted last season that Arsenal needed a “Plan B” to cope with these sort of games, and he believes that this season Arsenal are much stronger themselves, especially in defence. “That’s what we want to show,” he said. “I believe that Stoke is always a difficult opponent for us and everybody. Every big team who goes to Stoke knows they get a game. .......Read the full article here

Sometimes Arsene Wenger gives deadly and insightful analysis of games in his post-match interviews, but sometimes he has come close to winning a trophy for Stating-The-Bloody-Obvious!

After Arsenal’s boring 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Saturday, Wenger made the astute observation that Chelsea’s defence stopped Arsenal scoring, and also that other teams (like Wigan the week before) have also frustrated Arsenal at the Emirates.

“I feel that the teams came here and defended very well,” Wenger said on Arsenal.com. “It makes the game difficult for us and that is what happened. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has returned from his hamstring injury just in time to lead out the Gunners in the crucial Premiership match against Man City at the Eastlands this weekend, but admits that it has never been easy to beat them, even before they started spending hundreds of millions in the transfer market.

He was asked if this weekends game was likely to be just as hard as playing Chelsea or Man Utd, and he replied: “Yes definitely, they are improving. They have a lot of money, they are buying good players so obviously you expect them to be at the top level.” .......Read the full article here