Just Arsenal News

The end of the season is unusually tense at Arsenal as we are sitting two points behind Tottenham in the race for the last Champions League spot and we have to play Wigan and Newcastle. The club gets a lot of criticism these days but the club always manages to finish in a safe position, however, this season things could be different.

When I think about the squad and how well they do considering how many players we have lost in recent years I begin to think that there is a lot to do before we can compete for titles again but the first thing is that we need a defensive midfielder who can be relied upon to protect the defence at all times. .......Read the full article here

Why Arsenal need a new defensive midfielder and why Arteta has been struggling by KJ

It’s that time of the year again where we slowly but eventually start postulating on who we need to sign in the summer. Many people will say a striker is most important, others will say a centre back but for me, a defensive midfielder should be at the top of our list. .......Read the full article here

Most would agree that Arsenal need a proper defensive midfielder. Arsene Wenger allowed the sale of Alex Song to Barcelona in the summer and have not replaced him. We can argue about whether Song was disciplined enough for the role, but Arsenal have not brought anyone in to do the job. Wenger just moved Mikel Arteta further back. We also have Francis Coquelin coming through, but recent events have shown up the lack of an experienced, out and out midfield destroyer. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal lose another transfer target by AH

The January transfer window is always a disappointment for Arsenal fans. We start the month confident that we will strengthen in key areas to help us either build on our strong position, or to help us recover our season.

A week in and still no signings, we accept that it’s hard to sign top quality players in January and it’s a slow process. 2 weeks in and we begin to worry, our hopes are starting to diminish as we often begin to see players leaving without any reinforcements coming in. 3 weeks in and Arsenal fans begin to get desperate as we see our rivals strengthening around us, while we sit back and watch. Then it comes to the 4th and final week, and suddenly we find ourselves so desperate we just want the club to sign anyone, no matter on the quality of the player. .......Read the full article here

It seems as if Arsenal will not be signing Wilfried Zaha in this transfer window, leaving the path clear for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. Newspaper reports claim that United and Crystal Palace have agreed terms, but the 20-year old winger is likely to remain at Selhurst Park for the rest of the season.

Wenger has stated that Arsenal did not lose out to United in the chase for Zaha, however, as he denied that the Gunners were ever trying to buy him. Some reports have claimed that Arsenal did make an offer to Palace for the player, but were unwilling to meet the terms offered by United, thought to be around £12 million plus add-ons. .......Read the full article here

Many Arsenal fans were dismayed to hear that Arsene Wenger seems happy to allow QPR boss free reign to sign Yann M’vila from Rennes. The French international has long been linked with a move to the Emirates, and is now apparently available at a cut price £8 million. Wenger has obviously cooled his interest in the player, however, and the money is not really a factor.

One player who plays in the same position as M’Vila is even cheaper, and it seems that Arsenal are very interested. Arsenal scouts were at Old Trafford last night to watch Mohamed Diame play for West Ham, the Daily Mail reports. The Hammers have offered the Senegalese international a new contract because they are desperate to remove the release clause of £3.5 million, but Diame has declined to sign. .......Read the full article here

The Argentinean defensive midfielder has been linked with a move to Arsenal, both in this transfer window and in January, along with some other clubs. The 26-year old has played for Anderlecht since 2006 and he decided to stay at the club to help them try to progress in the champions league, but the campaign went badly and the Belgian club failed to even get into the Europa league.

It seems as if Biglia has now decided to move on, because he has not turned up for training following time off for the winter break. The Belgian club are already looking for a replacement for the talented midfielder, as they seem to have accepted that they will lose Biglia soon. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal are in danger of watching as all of the potential signings get snapped up by other Premier league clubs. I don’t understand what we are waiting for. Maybe Arsene Wenger does not want to get his pants pulled down over transfer fees, but Arsenal need some players and we don’t want to be left to pick over the players that other teams have left.

There have been reports linking the Gunners with a number of defensive midfield players to give the team a stronger backbone, and link the play between defence and attack better. With Diaby always one game away from a long lay off, too much pressure has been put on to the shoulders of Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard has done well in a role which is not his best, but we need an enforcer. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has been watching Yann M’Vila for a long time, but has never decided to bring him to Arsenal before. Reports from the French midfielder and his club, Rennes, indicate that he will probably be moving in this transfer window, so it is a case of now or never for Wenger to recruit him as a Gunner, but is he worth the risk?

There have been a number of reasons that Wenger has not made the plunge for M’Vila before, not least of those being the price tag. In the summer, before Euro 2012, M’Vila was one of the most sought after young players in Europe. Rennes were then demanding nearly £20 million for him, because they thought that he would shine for France at the tournament and his price may even have risen. As we know, that backfired spectacularly which is why he could now be signed for less than half that amount. .......Read the full article here

Maybe Arsenal need to employ the man from Del Monte when it comes to transfer dealings, because Arsene Wenger does not seem to want anyone. Demba Ba was too much like Olivier Giroud, apparently, and now he has turned down a cut price deal for the talented French midfield enforcer Yann M’Vila. Wenger is fluent in many languages, but he does not seem to know the words yes please in any of them. .......Read the full article here

There are reports that the 22-year old French international Yann M’Vila may finally be making the move to the Premier league that has long been expected. The defensive midfielder was thought to be on his way to the Emirates last summer, but stories about his discipline problems off the field, compounded by his falling out with the France manager Laurent Blanc at Euro 2012 caused Arsene Wenger to have second thoughts.

Along with those doubts, the return to fitness of Abou Diaby meant that Wenger did not see the young Rennes player as a risk worth taking. We now know that Diaby has an underlying problem that leads to his injuries. He will probably not be able to play more than one game a week, and even that might be too much for the Frenchman. .......Read the full article here

Will Wenger repeat the same mistake again? by Twig

When Wenger sold Song in the summer, many gunners thought he would move for a replacement defensive midfielder. However, he didn’t and it seemed he made a gamble that Diaby could manage to remain fit and anchor the Arsenal midfield.

Gunners heaved a sigh of relief after every game that Diaby played and for once it seemed that Diaby had finally put his injury woes behind him. Indeed, he put in a couple of man of the match appearances, until, as expected, Diaby hobbled off with an injury in the game against Chelsea. Wenger was warned, but he refused to listen! .......Read the full article here