Just Arsenal News

A Case for the Arsenal defence by Dan S

When Per Mertesacker twice inexplicably played Spurs onside to score against Arsenal at the beginning of March, few thought he would end up one of our heroes in the race for 4th. Nor Laurent Koscielny, who was on the bench at White Hart Lane having spent much of the season as our third choice centre back.

That result in the North London Derby left many writing off our Champions League hopes, coming so soon after domestic cup defeats and a first leg drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich, few thought we had the spirit or character to put the run together we would now need to close the seven point gap between ourselves and Tottenham. .......Read the full article here

Koscielny comes of age by DG

After yesterday’s Newcastle v Arsenal match report here, Neil wrote:
“Player of 2013 so far is Koscienly. Once Wenger went for him instead of Vermaelen…he proved that he is considerably better than any centre back around.”
Neil – I couldn’t agree more.

One of the most pleasing things about this season has been the signs of solidarity we’ve started showing at the back. Conceding 37 league goals this season may sound like a lot, but it’s a big improvement on the last several seasons. In our last eleven league games we’ve won 9 and drawn 2, conceding only 5 goals along the way. So where did it all start going right? To me, we started finally defending as a unit on the 13th March…when Wenger dropped Vermaelen for the crucial away game against Bayern Munich. We won 2-0…in the stadium that Barcelona lost 4-0 in a month later. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal fans should be used to having our hearts in our mouths towards the end of just about every game since Christmas, but with so much at stake yesterday’s game at Newcastle was even nervier than most. Laurent Koscielny’s goal calmed us all a little, but we still had to suffer right to the end of the 90 minutes.

Wenger was obviously relieved, but was proud that his team stood up and fought the nerves as well as our opponents. The manager was asked after the game if he was “happy and relieved”. “Yes I am.” he replied. “We knew before the game that we had to win and any other result could kick us out of the potential Champions League group stage. We were right because Tottenham and Chelsea won and we had the big disadvantage to play away from home. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger was able to name an unchanged Arsenal side after Mikel Arteta passed a late fitness test on his calf. Although Olivier Giroud was available to play after his three game suspension, Wenger left him on the bench. Newcastle United were determined to try to spoil the party for Arsenal, as were Sunderland at Tottenham.

Having handled the pressure brilliantly over the last couple of months, the final day nerves seemed to affect the players more today. Newcastle were working hard and probably had the best of the first half, which stayed goalless. It was agonising to watch at times, as Arsenal just couldn’t get going in an attacking sense. The defence, especially Mertesacker, looked tentative as well. The only good thing at halftime was that there was no score at the spuds as well. .......Read the full article here

It was looking increasingly likely earlier this year that Arsenal were going to continue the unwanted recent tradition of selling the club captain in the summer. In 2011 it was Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, followed last summer by Robin van Persie to Manchester United. The rumours and speculation about the current captain, Thomas Vermaelen, have died down recently and, from his own words, it appears that he will still be at the club next season. .......Read the full article here

As the season comes to a close, I feel it may be time to give your Arsenal player ratings for the season (I don’t want to think about tomorrow’s game to be honest!) It’s been a funny old season, with some players starting poorly and improving, some just not performing and some playing very well. Others have been wildly inconsistent.

Anyway, feel free to disagree, but here are my ratings for the season. Unless someone bangs in two hat-tricks for the Gunners in the last games, I doubt they will change. .......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

A Defence To Rely On? That Doesn’t Sound Like Arsenal… by DG

In recent years, Arsenal’s defence has become somewhat of a stereotype to beat us with. Since the glory days of Adams, Dixon and co have passed, we have struggled to put together a truly dependable and cohesive back line that could be depended on week in week out. In recent years, scoring goals has simply not been an issue, but keeping the opposition out certainly has been. Gone were the days that our back line would strike fear in to the heart of opposition strikers. In were the days of Eboue, Sylvestre, Squillaci and Djourou. .......Read the full article here

It was not too long ago that a lot of Arsenal fans thought that the inclusion of Aaron Ramsey in the Gunners starting line up was a bizarre form of torture inflicted on us by Arsene Wenger for some reason. It was also a clear sign, for some, that Arsenal were not going to win the game and was further proof of the French manager’s decline into senility.

Well the calls for Wenger to leave the club have largely disappeared and Ramsey has kept working hard and getting back to his best. That consistency and improvement have led to the young Welshman being voted as the Player of the Month by Arsenal fans on the official website. .......Read the full article here

It is no secret that Arsenal are looking to bring in at least one central defender this summer. It could even be two, depending on what happens with the Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgian international will be less than impressed at having lost his regular starting place to Laurent Koscielny and may decide he wants to move on, with Barcelona one of the teams apparently interested.

If that is his attitude, rather than working hard to regain his form, which is what cost him his place in the first place, then I am sure Wenger will allow him to leave. I hope and believe, however, that the Verminator will be back, which will still leave the Gunners with a space to fill in the centre of defence. One player continually linked with a summer transfer to the Emirates is the Swansea City and Wales player Ashley Williams. .......Read the full article here

Lacktustre Arsenal get the victory – Player ratings by NS.

With Gareth Bale FC winning just before kick off, Arsenal knew a victory was essential.

My first can of beer had hardly finished fizzing on opening as Theo Walcott scored. We were relaxed. What a nice feeling a goal in 20 seconds gives you!

Sadly, the players seemed to relax too. Thankfully, due to good defensive play from Koscielny (again) and Mertesacker, we were never in any real trouble. Monreal started well, but ‘ol’ twitcher’ put Andros Townsend on the right side an Nacho struggled at times with him. .......Read the full article here

Three stars who’ve shone for Arsenal this season by FD

With all the talk of transfers and who’s likely to be joining the club this summer, it’s worth just reflecting on the players who’ve contributed the most to Arsenal’s current season. Of course, the next few matches will ultimately decide whether we can salvage some degree of success from another trophy-less campaign, but regardless of where we finish in the league, I believe there are a few players who can hold their heads high and be satisfied with how they’ve performed. .......Read the full article here