Just Arsenal News

Are we trying to buy the wrong Man U striker!? by DG

If you buy any paper today you will be inundated with rumours, reports and speculation that Arsenal are set to launch a sensational bid for Wayne Rooney. If these reports are to be believed (and when did a tabloid paper ever get a transfer rumour wrong…) then Wenger will make a bid of £25 million pounds for the 27 year old. I have no doubt that Rooney would score a hatful of goals for Arsenal – he has always scored goals for United even when playing through one of his ‘off’ seasons. However, if we’re going to make a £25m bid for one of their strikers, should we really be looking at Rooney? .......Read the full article here

Should Giroud make way for Podolski? by AH

Olivier Giroud has scored just one scrappy goal for Arsenal since the 2-0 win over Bayern Munich, and his previous Premier League goal came back in January when we drew 2-2 with Liverpool at the Emirates. Some time has since past and the Frenchman seems to be going through the same form that made him struggle at the beginning of the season. Still, 17 goals in your first season, in what is arguably the toughest league in the world, isn’t half bad and there’s no doubting his finishing ability. It just seems natural that if a striker cannot get the goals you’re relying on then he needs to be replaced until his form comes back. And with Theo Walcott also struggling with form at the moment, one player we need to turn to is the experienced Lukas Podolski. .......Read the full article here

With all the injuries and the talk of Arsene Wenger resting players, the Arsenal team that walks out on to the pitch at the Allianz Arena in Munich tonight could have an unfamiliar look to it. One player who seems certain to start, however, is Olivier Giroud, and the Frenchman has a great chance to state his case as a future Gunner against Bayern Munich.

His Arsenal career so far has been good and bad, and his goals have tended to come in bursts. He scored five goals in five games around the start of November, then five more in three games in January. It is clear that he thrives on confidence, but all it takes is a goal to spark it off. Of his 14 goals this season, eight of them have come as pairs. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal Cup Glory Ambitions by K. McD

Let us just presume that Arsenal fail to make it back into the Champions League this season. That’s not really too far beyond the realms of reality of things, with the Manchester duo, along with London rivals Spurs and Chelsea all in contention for the top top four spots in the Premier League. There was the disappointing Capital One Cup exit against Bradford, which was at least a magnanimous move by the Gunners to promote some new interest in the League Cup. There was the FA Cup fifth round exit against Blackburn, which was, frankly disappointing. Forget the hammering in the first leg of the Champions League against Bayern Munich, that becomes totally irrelevant at the moment in Arsenal’s current standing. It has been the domestic cup exits that have been the biggest indication of the fading force of Arsenal. .......Read the full article here

Santi Cazorla has hit the ground running since joining Arsenal. The way he slotted straight into the team was particularly impressive because he was signed just before the season started and was not involved in any pre-season games with the rest of the players. The Spanish international midfielder was named Man of the Match on his debut against Sunderland and has undoubtedly been the most successful of the three summer signings.

The Arsenal fans have voted him Player of the Month for a third time this season, and Cazorla has been speaking about how the Arsenal way of playing has made it possible for him to adapt to the English Premier league so well. The 28-year old also thinks that Arsenal have the group of players to do really well, as long as they can eradicate the simple errors that have cost us so dearly. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal had to fight desperately for a point against Sunderland yesterday, but it was only because the strikers couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. Simply put the Gunners could have been five or more goals up before Jenkinson got sent off leaving the team fighting to hold on to the three points.

Wenger acknowledged after the game that Arsenal need to be more clinical in the final third of the pitch. He said: “It was tight in the end. It was a game with a high level of intensity where we showed brilliance going forward, but unfortunately we couldn’t score the second goal. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal host Liverpool in the Premier league on Wednesday, and it is yet another absolutely crucial match at the Emirates. If Liverpool win they will join the Gunners on 37 points, and if Arsenal win they will put daylight between the clubs and keep up the chase on Everton and Spurs for fourth spot.

Arsenal totally outplayed Liverpool at Anfield this season and won 2-0, but Liverpool seem to have improved since then. They are coming off a shock away defeat by Oldham, though, so will not be feeling too confident. Their away form in the league is not great either, just three wins against QPR, Norwich and West Ham. We did beat Liverpool away last season as well, but also lost to them at home, and cannot let it happen again. .......Read the full article here

I am not trying to say that Arsenal would not have been better off this season if they had not sold Robin van Persie to Manchester United, although he wanted to go and may have sulked his way through the season before leaving on a free transfer. Having looked at the statistics on EPLindex.com for Arsenal’s attacking and creative players this season, the results are actually pretty impressive.

Van Persie got all the plaudits last season, but the Gunners were a one man team, with Walcott way back on eight goals. This season the goals have been spread around much more, with the three strikers already having scored 25 league goals between them. Our new Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla has also got an impressive eight league goals so far, and these four players are new to each other this season, so we can expect them to get better. .......Read the full article here

Olivier Giroud has not scored for Arsenal since November 17th, when his crisp striker’s finish put the Gunners ahead against Tottenham just before half time. The French international has missed quite a few of the intervening games, starting four of the seven games since, but he knows that he needs to get back on the scoresheet and help to fire Arsenal back up the Premier league table.

“It’s been an interesting few months but now I want to do more.” Giroud said.

“I am an Arsenal player and, rightly, expectations are high. I am trying to do what the boss asks of me, to put pressure on defenders and to improve on protecting and holding the ball. .......Read the full article here

Obviously when you are the main striker in a team, much of the responsibility for scoring goals rests on your shoulders, and Olivier Giroud is the first to admit that his Arsenal career has not got off to the fastest of starts, but he is not letting his head drop.

To be honest, I feel for Giroud. People compare him to Robin van Persie and point out that the Dutchman settled straight in to Manchester United and has been scoring for fun. Remember that van Persie has played for eight seasons in the Premier league and has joined an established, confident team. .......Read the full article here

The new Arsenal striker Olly G is not worried about his barren run in the Premiership and is keen to assure his fans that he will soon find his scoring boots. He also cited the fact that the Arsenal legend Thierry Henry also took some time to find the net when he arrived from Juventus.

Giroud said: “I need some time to get confident and to keep going. Thierry Henry scored only in his ninth game, so it is a good example.

“For strikers it is quite difficult to adapt to the Premier League, so it is always close to scoring the goals, so I continue to keep confident.” .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has been preparing for Arsenal’s visit to Anfield today, where the Gunners have a very good recent record of only losing once on their last six trips to Liverpool.

Last season’s win there towards the end of the season gave Arsenal a great boost towards their race for a top four spot at a crucial point of the season and Wenger recalls it with fondness: “When we went to Liverpool and won, it killed off their chances of a Champions League spot and gave us a big lift,” he said. .......Read the full article here