Just Arsenal News

Arsenal reject bid for Santos!

What were Arsenal thinking when they turned down the chance to offload one of their unwanted players? This has been one of the main problems facing the club for a while, the difficulty in getting rid of the so-called deadwood players. It drives Gooners up the wall when we hear that the club has a strict wage policy that stops us getting or keeping the best players, while we have players earning fortunes and never playing. .......Read the full article here

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

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

Arsenal have stuttered in their progress towards the Premiership title race and the eternal quest for the Champions League, but Arsene Wenger has made it clear that he is not going to make a priority of the Capital One Cup and will be giving a rest to his first team players to give them a breather.

The Gunners struggled to beat bottom-of-the-table QPR this weekend and tonight will face the team that is just one point ahead of them, but Wenger is adamant that tonights team will be completely different.

‘Some players need a breather because they had two international games, Champions League and Premier League games,’ Wenger said yesterday. .......Read the full article here

Should Arsenal go all out for the Capital One Cup? by KJ

I was looking at the squad for the Capital One Cup and it’s actually quite strong in comparison to the competition.

Our performance against Coventry was very strong. It was a rout to be perfectly honest. These two teams should never be on the same pitch. We were superior in every aspect. It was also a game that gave Giroud his first Arsenal goal. .......Read the full article here

After playing their first competitive football for Arsenal in 14 and 6 months respectively, Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna needed an international break like Steve Bould needs a hairdryer. The next scheduled under 21 match is not until the night of Monday 22nd October which would mean a two week break for the players.

Emmanuel Frimpong is also on the verge of being ready for the first team so Arsenal are trying to arrange another game before the 22nd. All three players will be twiddling their thumbs, desperate to get on to a football pitch. They have done plenty of gym work and training but it is match fitness and sharpness that they need. .......Read the full article here

I am sure we all got a great feeling seeing the pictures of Emmanuel Frimpong and especially Jack Wilshere back training with the squad. An already strong looking and confident Arsenal squad is starting to look awesome and they will soon be boosted further by Tomas Rosicky and Bacary Sagna.

Gooners are now asking how much training Jack needs and when we will see him play again. Arsene Wenger has spoken out and cooled suggestions that it will be very soon. The length of Wilshere’s time out will mean it takes longer for him to regain full fitness, and the boss does not want to risk him too soon. .......Read the full article here

Conor Henderson has been dubbed as one of Ireland’s most promising football stars, yet the young playmaker has spoken out about his future stating that it may not be with Arsenal after enduring a frustrating start to the campaign.

The player, who is a vital part of Noel King’s team which must beat Hungary this evening in Kecskemet broke into the Gunners first-team last year at the age of just 19 so its fair to say, the youngster has bags of talent. However, after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in a pre-season game against Cologne 14 months ago Henderson’s progress with Arsenal stalled as he was sidelined for the entire campaign. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal Announce NextGen Squad by AH

Arsenal have announced their 32 man squad, that will take place in this season’s NextGen Competition, which is the new Europe-wide competition for Under 19′s, which by rights Arsenal should do very well in considering the wealth of young talent at our disposal!

The full Arsenal 32-man squad is; Goalkeepers: Reice Charles-Cook and Josh Vickers

Defenders: Zach Fagan, Elton Monteiro, Sead Hajrovic, Leander Siemann, Martin Angha, Arinse Uade, Tom Dallison, Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill, Samir Bihmoutine, Hector Bellerin and Kyle Ebecilio

Midfielders: Nico Yennaris, Isaac Hayden, Jordan Wynter, Kris Olsson, Jon Toral, Jack Jebb, Josh Rees, Thomas Eisfeld, Serge Gnabry and Chuks Aneke .......Read the full article here

Gnabry Already Being Prepped For First Team Action

Showing signs of a real “killer”, Gnabry has just signed his first Professional contract. Although this will be a brief post, the importance of this event is something to take notice of. Arsenal.com thought it important enough to place in the limelight on their homepage.

“Pace, strength and an eye for goal saw Gnabry net six times in eight games for the Under-18s, including a sensational debut strike against Crystal Palace. And the attacking midfielder was able to replicate this fine form at reserve level, where he made six appearances and scored twice.” [arsenal.com] .......Read the full article here

The Fallacy About Arsenal Reserve/Youth Players

This will be a brief post, but I’m curious to know why some fans are so determined to present their own premonitions as certainties, in regards to when reserve/youth players are ready to be promoted to the first team. It’s an important question that I’m interested in discussing with fellow gooners.

We have all been privileged to watch some seriously talented players come up through the reserves and youth divisions of Arsenal, breaking into the first-team in recent years i.e. Song, Wilshere, Szczesny just to name a few. .......Read the full article here