Just Arsenal News

Arsene Wenger saw his cobbled together team of reserves and misfits give a spirited display against Olympiakos in the first half of last nights match, but you could see that the lack of match fitness took its toll on the unusual Arsenal side in the second half.

Arsenal led 1-0 at half-time but the goalscorer Thomas Rosicky was replaced at half-time and the home side started playing with a little more urgency, and were rewarded when the referee mistakenly gave them a corner, which was obviously pounced upon by Wenger as he thinks it cost the Gunners the game. “We need a good Christmas present now.” he said, referring to the Knockout draw in December. .......Read the full article here

Olympiacos 2 – 1 Arsenal report. A bad result but that’s not what this game was about. by KJ

After a few bad results, it’s refreshing to go into a game knowing that the result isn’t the most important thing. We’ve already qualified and it doesn’t really matter whether we get first or second. We were at a point going to win the group but some slack defending lost us the game at the end.

We started quite well in the first 10 minutes and kept possession in good areas. However we started to fade and Olympiacos being the home team managed to start dominating possession and really threatened us. However, Szczesny was on form and made some brilliant saves to keep us in the game. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger held a press conference yesterday before Arsenal face Olympiakos in the final match in the group stages of the Champions league. Wenger could be quite upbeat because the Gunners have already qualified for the next round, although it looks like it will only be in second place if Schalke avoid a shock result against Montpellier.

Wenger inevitably ended up talking about the previous match against Swansea in the Premier league rathner than tonights fixture, and the Frenchman was on good form. One thing he said made me do a double take, however. He must be joking, I thought, or does he really believe that. .......Read the full article here

Olympaicos vs Arsenal preview, predicted line up and score line by KJ

It’s been a very difficult time as an Arsenal fan at the moment and it’ll be refreshing going into a game where you really have nothing to lose. We have already qualified for the second spot in the Champions’ league group. Usually that would be worrying but considering that the likes of Madrid/Juventus/PSG and so on are second, the last 16 will be very balanced. .......Read the full article here

We all knew that Arsene Wenger, having blamed Saturdays defeat on fatigue, would obviously be resting a few players for the midweek game in Athens, but did we really think he would leave this many at home!

Let Arsene tell you which of the Arsenal first-teamers he has given a rest to….. “Some players needed a rest because they were a bit on the fringe of injury, and some players are injured,” explained Wenger before travelling to Greece.

“When I count the injured players I speak about Podolski and Walcott. We needed to rest Wilshere, 100 per cent, and Cazorla, Arteta and Mertesacker played many games recently. They have been rested. .......Read the full article here

What happens if Arsenal lose their next two games? by Twig

Arsenal are in a crisis. Last season was unbearable – but Arsenal have shocked fans by proving that they can even ‘better’ last season’s horror showing. Surprisingly, the rot seemed to have been kicked off by a seemingly impressive 5-2 thumping of Tottenham. However, recent matches have shown that that scoreline was probably a fluke, which is even more credible given that Spurs played much of the match with 10 men. .......Read the full article here

I am not suggesting that Arsenal forget about qualifying for the Champions league next season, although recent form and the fact that we are sitting 10th in the Premier league table night take that decision out of our hands. I am suggesting forgetting about the next round of the Champions league which does not happen until February.

On Tuesday night, Arsenal travel to Athens to play Olympiakos, while Schalke host Montpellier. There is still achance of Arsenal finishing top of the group, but we need to win while Schalke fail to beat the French champions. Olympiakos and Montpellier cannot alter their league position so will have little to play for other than pride and they both have more important things to think of in their domestic leagues. .......Read the full article here

There is a very strange interview on ESPN this morning with the Arsenal striker Gervinho, who despite playing in the 2-0 home defeat against Swansea yesterday still thinks that the Gunners can go on and win the Champions Leagure this season.

Arsenal’s last Group Game is at Olympiakos next week and they need Schalke to drop points just to finish top of the Group, but Gervinho doesn’t think finishing second will make much difference. He said: “Whether you finish first or second, there will always be some big teams in the next round. If a team has qualified for the last 16, it’s because there is a lot quality in it, so the further you go in the competition, the tougher it gets,” .......Read the full article here

There was no hiding from the fact that Arsenal were second best today and deserved to lose. Arsene Wenger stopped just short of blaming the players but accepted that the team was poor today. He was not surprised that the Arsenal fans at the Emirates booed at the end, but is confident that there is enough quality at Arsenal to turn things around.

With three more home games in the Premier league before January, the Gunners need to improve the shocking home form immediately. Winning just three out of seven matches and losing two is awful for a team like Arsenal. Wenger is happier with the away form, but we have still only won two of them. .......Read the full article here

The French champions, Montpellier, are having a tough time in the French Ligue 1, and cannot progress to the next round of the Champions league, so Arsenal will expect to beat them at the Emirates on Wednesday. Aaron Ramsey has issued a warning to his Arsenal team mates not to take the victory for granted, however, as they are still a potentially dangerous opponent and Arsenal cannot afford any slip ups.

“When we played them, we were under pressure for periods of the game, and we did well to get a result.

“They have competed against every team, and shown that they can create and be a threat, so they will be no pushover. .......Read the full article here

Everyone concerned with Arsenal will be on a high today after demolishing Tottenham in the North London derby. We certainly needed the boost, and the Gunners could have another big reason to celebrate on Wednesday night. A win against Montpellier at the Emirates stadium could ensure that Arsenal progress to the next round of the Champions League.

The group is very close, with Schalke on eight points, Arsenal on seven and Olympiakos on six. Arsenal would obviously prefer to win the group, but we may have lost that chance. If Schalke beat Olympiakos at home on Wednesday and Montpellier away on the final day, then they will top the group. However, if they do beat the Greek champions this week and we beat the French champions, then Olympiakos will not be able to catch us on the last day. That would mean that Wenger could rest some players for the last game in Athens. .......Read the full article here

The news that the Big Friendly German Per Mertesacker has recovered from his bout of flu will certainly give Arsene Wenger a problem as he prepares his Arsenal side for the trip to West Ham on Saturday evening.

Mertesacker gave a Man-Of-The-Match performance against Manchester City a few weeks ago, but having succumbed to the virus was left on the bench for the loss to Chelsea and win against Olympiakos on Tuesday, but surely he must be back in the side if he is back to full fitness.

“He was ill this morning. A virus, I believe. We’re hoping he’s fit for the weekend.”

Steve Bould on Wednesday .......Read the full article here