Just Arsenal News

What are we going to do with Nicklas Bendtner when he comes back to Arsenal? by SS

Simple, sell him. He has been on loan at Juventus this season after Arsene Wenger finally tried and failed to sell him last summer. He has not scored a single goal at Juventus this season and has failed to show the Arsenal management why he should stay at the club.

Bendtner started his career in his native Denmark with Copenhagen who are one of the biggest and best clubs in Denmark. He was purchased as a teenager for a very small amount and left to prove his worth in Arsenal’s reserves for a while. .......Read the full article here

Jack Wilshere is heading for a small operation in the summer to remove a pin from his ankle, but is still expected to play some part in today’s game against Newcastle due to the injury to Mikel Arteta.

He admits that this game is so crucial that there may be a few nerves amongst the Arsenal players, but says they just have to calm and professional to make sure of the three points, no matter what happens in the Tottenham game.

“The mood has got to be one of excitement because we know that if we win, we’re going to be playing in the Champions League or the Champions League qualifier at the beginning of next season,” Wilshere said on Arsenal.com. .......Read the full article here

Paolo Di Canio appreciation thread by NS

According to respected (and usually accurate) British news outlet, BBC, Paolo Di Canio really wants Sunderland to put in 100% against Gareth Bale FC.

He feels his team should honour our efforts against Wigan, which saved his club from the threat of relegation, with a performance against Spurs. A real case of you scratch my back…

Just look at this quote from Paolo:

“I told them we can win, draw or lose with dignity, respecting the club’s name and the fans. But if not, I will reduce their holiday,” .......Read the full article here

5 Reasons Why Arsenal Might Expect Help From Sunderland by FD

So now it’s down to the final match and all Arsenal have to do is beat Newcastle United on Sunday to secure a place in the Champions League for the 16th consecutive season. It’s not a task that should be beyond an in-form and confident Arsenal team who brushed aside the challenge of Wigan at the Emirates last night. But nerves can affect anyone, and it’s possible that the importance of the occasion could serve to stifle our game. So it would be comforting to think that the spuds might not have it all their own way when they face a Sunderland side, now no longer under threat of relegation, in a match that, at least potentially, has important implications for the Gunners. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal must beat Wigan – but a win would help our rivals by FD

It does your head in. You’ve got twenty clubs each playing 38 matches over the course of a long Premier League season, and yet we always seem to arrive at the final stages of the campaign with the remaining fixtures contriving to throw up a set of possible permutations only an evil and twisted mastermind could have devised. .......Read the full article here

I am not one of the Arsenal fans that think Bacary Sagna is all washed up and should never play for the Gunners again, but he did have a bit of a shocker against Manchester United last weekend and it ended up costing two valuable points. Alex Ferguson may have thought, or at least said, that his team deserved to win, but the truth is that Sagna’s double mistake let them off the hook and changed the outlook of the Arsenal players. .......Read the full article here

To paraphrase Blackadder, the end of the season is twisting and turning like a twisty, turny thing. Another unexpected result last night shook things up at the bottom of the Premier League table, but it could also have a significant effect on the top four places as well.

Sunderland were the form team at the bottom and seemed to be destined for safety, so Aston Villa’s 6-1 victory lasy night was pretty unexpected. It leaves Paul Lambert’s men in 16th, tied on points with Sunderland and Newcastle and, possibly crucially, just two behind Southampton. That could also add some bite to Villa’s game against Chelsea. .......Read the full article here

The Polish international and Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny has certainly not had a good year and it may be on the verge of getting a whole lot worse. The Gunners have been linked with a number of keepers, including Pepe Reina and Victor Valdes. It was thought that an older experienced keeper would be brought in to challenge Szczesny and provide cover while being a role model for the 22-year old.

If the story in today’s Independent is right, though, it could spell the end of the line at Arsenal for Szczesny. Apparently, the Gunners have decided that Simon Mignolet from Sunderland is the man they want and are preparing a summer swoop for the 25-year old. This would effectively demote Szczesny to the bench, or even worse, andoffer him little chance of playing unless Mignolet was injured. .......Read the full article here

There does not seem to be any lingering problems between Arsene Wenger and Wojciech Szczesny. The usual Arsenal number one has not played for the last two games against Bayer Munich and Swansea City because of a dip in form and what Wenger referred to as having problems`mentally`.

An astonishing outburst by the keeper’s father followed, in which he slated Wenger and the club, but Szczesny quickly distanced himself from those comments and professed his love for the club and his respect for Wenger. He has also responded well to being dropped, apparently. Many thought he would not take it well, but it may have been the kick he needed to keep his focus and concentration on playing well, working hard and improving his game. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal are looking for a new keeper, as Szczesny is still prone to too many mistakes, hopefully one with lots of experience and talent. There have been quite a few players linked with a summer move to the Emirates, such as Begovic from Stoke and Mignolet from Sunderland, but the biggest name linked with the Gunners has been Victor Valdes of Barcelona.

The Catalan club are still trying to persuade the 31-year old Spaniard to change his mind and renew his contract at the Nou Camp, but he seems determined to seek his fortune elsewhere after 11 seasons and 500 games with Barcelona. According to the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, the Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has been helping to facilitate the deal by speaking to Arsene Wenger and Valdes about the mutual benefits of the deal. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal and Manchester United are in a similar situation, in one way at least. Not in the Premier league, where the Gunners are four places and 21 points behind Ferguson’s men, and not in recent success where United have won eight major trophies since Arsenal won the FA cup in 2005. It is in the keeper situation where the similarity lies.

Both teams have 22-year old keeper’s who have undoubted ability, but have lost their way a little this season. Both Wojciech Szczesny and David De Gea have come in for a lot of criticism this season, mainly due to silly mistakes. That is why both teams seem to be linked to the same transfer targets, at least when the target is a keeper. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was obviously impressed with his team’s back to the wall performance against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light last weekend, and thinks that if the team continues with this spirit then they can overcome any difficulty.

In fact he thinks that going down to ten men may have helped them to be more resilient. “I feel that we do quite well with 10 men,” Wenger said on Arsenal.com.

“The only negative performance with 10 men was against Manchester City, because it was early in the game. I always thought if it stayed 0-0 until half-time, we’d have a chance to win the game, even against Manchester City. .......Read the full article here