Just Arsenal News

Arsenal’s hopes of signing Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain may rest on the Spanish giants being able to sign Luis Suarez from Liverpool. Arsenal have been chasing Higuain for several weeks and have come very close to signing him with bids and enquiries and even a meeting in Paris with Arsene Wenger and the striker’s father.

Real Madrid are focusing their transfer efforts on signing Suarez because of his desire to leave Liverpool which he has spoken about for the second time on Uruguayan TV. Liverpool have claimed that he is going nowhere but Suarez is adamant he wants to leave and Madrid looks like his only destination at the moment. .......Read the full article here

It does not take a genius to work out that Christian Benteke would love to play for Arsenal Football Club. The 22-year old was talking about the Gunners after signing for Aston Villa from Genk on the last day of the transfer window last summer. His words could actually have caused some problems with the Birmingham club’s fans, but once he started playing and knocking the goals in, the Villa fans soon forgot about all that. It was clear back then, however, that he was not intending to be a Villa player for too long.

He said, “I’m not afraid of making enemies at Villa by saying I love Arsenal. .......Read the full article here

There is plenty of rumour and speculation in the English media about Arsenal and Stevan Jovetic and much of it seems to suggest that the Gunners are already in talks with the Montenegrin international and his Italian club Fiorentina. Depending on who you believe, the talks have just begun, are at an advanced stage or even completed.

Reports from Italy, however, suggest otherwise. According to the Express, both Roma and Juventus are actively chasing the 23-year old striker. Roma, who beat Fiorentina at the weekend and are challenging them for the Champions League spot, want Jovetic to replace their Argentinean striker Pablo Osvaldo, who may be off to Tottenham. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal’s next striker? Post by Rory Capel

Oliver Giroud is a good player, but he is not the world class striker Arsenal need, he misses a large amount of chances, he has one of the worst goal conversion rates for a striker in the premier league, and what really irritates me in particular is how he whines if he loses the ball or misses a shot, rather than just getting on with the game. .......Read the full article here

For the purposes of this article I will assume that Arsenal finish the season in the top four and qualify for the Champions League, because the Gunners will struggle to entice any top names to the club without that carrot to dangle. Arsene Wenger will have some decent money to spend, and the board insist that Arsenal will be able to compete with the likes of Chelsea and the Manchester clubs. A great way to show their intent would be to sign Luis Suarez. .......Read the full article here

Why I personally don’t rate Giroud by KJ

Arsenal under the Wenger era has been blessed with some of the best strikers the world will ever see. The likes of Ian Wright, Theirry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and even the traitor Robin Van Persie. As a result of this, whenever I watch Olivier Giroud on the pitch, I can’t help but feel disappointed with how far we’ve dropped in quality in that position. .......Read the full article here

We have heard that David Villa wanted to join Arsenal in January and that the Gunners tried two or three times to sign him, but Barcelona would not sanction the move. They have insisted that they need the striker for the rest of the season, which suggests that they will be open to offers in the summer.

If Arsenal are still keen on signing the 31-year old at the end of the season, however, they may have to fight it out with Athletico Madrid for his signature. Spanish newspaper AS reports today that Villa has gone to the top of the list of targets for Athletico if they have to replace the Colombian goal machine Radamel Falcao. The club have done well to hold on to Falcao so far, but not many expect them to be able to do so this summer. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger made quite a few changes to the Arsenal team that beat Brighton. With Arteta and Coquelin still out of contention, Wenger started with Wilshere and Ramsey as the deeper lying midfielders with Cazorla as playmaker. Vermaelen came back, and it was Koscielny who dropped to the bench rather than Mertesacker. The main three front men of Walcott, Giroud and Podolski all started.

A lot had been said about starting well and defending as a team before the game, and we did defend as a team. The problem was that everyone was awful. About five Arsenal players were at fault for allowing Suarez the chance to open the scoring. And Liverpool got lucky with a double deflection that gave Szczesny no chance. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal have their captain back, and Thomas Vermaelen is calling for the Gunners to be clinical, as we have in the last two games. If Arsenal can get the elusive consistency they have lacked this season, then we should have no trouble clinching a top four spot.

Walcott< Giroud and Podolski will hope to run the Liverpool defence ragged and continue the great recent form. Wenger has not risked Diaby from the start, but picked Ramsey alongside Jack Wilshere in the middle, with Santi Cazorla back in his usual role behind the three front men.

Szczesny
Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs
Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla
Walcott, Giroud, Podolski .......Read the full article here

Arsenal vs Liverpool preview, predicted match line up and score line prediction. by KJ

After two wins on the bounce, many Arsenal fans are starting to feel ever so slightly comfortable with the team again and it’s got a big test today against an in form Liverpool. It’s all nice and good winning against the likes of West Ham and Brighton but home games against Liverpool are the ones that will decide whether we get into the top 4 or not. .......Read the full article here

Jonas Olsson was angry and disappointed after Arsenal beat West Brom on Saturday, but the Baggies defender admits that the Gunners performance merited a victory. The Swedish international did not take the defeat well at the time, angrily squeezing the referee’s hand during the post match handshakes, but he seems to have calmed down since.

The 29-year old is still unhappy about the way Santi Cazorla went down to win the penalty that gave Arsenal the lead, but he is not using it as an excuse for the loss. Unlike his manager, Steve Clarke, Olsson did not mention the supposed West Brom claim for a penalty due to a handball by Mertesacker, probably because he knew that he had pulled the German defender from behind. It would make his statement about fair play very hypocritical if they had been given the spot kick. .......Read the full article here

Why Giroud will not become a world class striker by KJ

I’ve been analysing yesterday’s game (Arsenal vs Everton) and have paid special attention to Giroud. He has been very inconsistent this season and although some may feel he’s finally coming good, I have my doubts.

He came to Arsenal on the back of winning the French title with Montpellier. He’s a late bloomer and hence you’d expect his peak years to come a little later than others. However, I feel like his peak years won’t even compare to the likes of Van Persie or Falcao. .......Read the full article here