Just Arsenal News

After selling Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona in 2011 and Robin Van Purse-y to Manchester United last summer, it is now being reported that Arsenal are trying to sign Swansea’s Ashley Williams as a replacement for the out-going Thomas Vermaelen.

In recent weeks it has become apparent that Wenger now considers Vermaelen to be his third-choice centre-back after Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, but surely Wenger is not considering giving up on the Belgium international? .......Read the full article here

The Germany and Arsenal centre back Per Mertesacker has come in for some serious stick from the media and from Arsenal fans this season. It is fair to say, though, that the 29-year old has established himself as one of the first names on the Arsenal team sheet. After missing the match against Norwich following his red card against West Brom, Mertesacker immediately regained his place at the expense of his captain Thomas Vermaelen, proving that Arsene Wenger values him extremely highly. .......Read the full article here

Thomas Vermaelen has played just once for Arsenal since the devastating derby defeat at Tottenham, and that was only because Per Mertesacker was suspended for the Norwich game. At least the Belgian international has not fallen so far in Arsene Wenger’s estimation that Sebastien `the squid` Squillachi was preferred to him, but there is a growing belief in the football media that Vermaelen could be sold during this summer’s transfer window. .......Read the full article here

The Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen has issued a rallying call ahead of tonights make-or-break Premiership match against everton. The Toffees are just four points behind the Gunners in 6th place and are fighting for their chance in next season’s Champions League as well, whereas three points for Arsenal will give us a formidable advantage in the final games.

Vermaelen thinks that Arsenal’s battling display against Norwich shoews that we mean business. He said: “It was quite difficult,”

“We were the better team overall. I think we put them under pressure really well in the first half but we didn’t create a lot of chances. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal’s budget, who we can get and who we should get, have your say. by Rory

There has been lots of talk about who we should buy ever since this release of the 70 million budget which we are supposedly being granted for the Summer, however a lot of us seem to have forgotten that Wenger stated that this will include wages, so I have tried to have a realistic view of the money we can, but also ambitious in the players that we can sign. .......Read the full article here

Suddenly Arsenal have gone on a winning streak to make their usual last-minute gasp into the Champions League places (Oh if they had only played like this in the beginning of the season!) and it all began with that sensational 2-0 away win over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

Mikel Arteta thinks that the reason is simply that the Gunners have started talking to each other on the pitch! “We have improved since the Bayern game, but there is still further room to improve too,” Arteta said on Arsenal.com. .......Read the full article here

Per Mertesacker may have done his captain at Arsenal a huge favour on Saturday. The big German centre back suffered a rush of blood to the head against West Brom, giving away a penalty and earning himself a red card into the bargain. That meant that Vermaelen was brought on for the last 20 minutes, and he will also start the next game against Norwich City because Mertesacker will be suspended.

Vermaelen may have been wondering whether he would get another game for the Gunners this season, after Arsene Wenger dropped him and Szczesny after some poor performances. Laurent Koscielny grabbed his own chance with both hands, making it unlikely that Wenger would drop him unless he made a mistake. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger was delighted with the Arsenal victory against West Brom and abandoned his usual reserve to declare that his team would keep up their recent form and finish in the Premier League top four. There is no doubt that Wenger will also be pleased, but maybe not surprised, that Spurs have continued to wobble with a last gasp equalizer rescuing a point against Everton, although he is trying to keep the Arsenal players focused on their own results.

“Everybody looks at each others results,” admitted Wenger. “But I believe sometimes that can get the focus away from your own performance. We always tell the players that we don’t focus on anybody else, just on us and perform well. .......Read the full article here

There is no doubt that Gervinho possesses some wonderful football skills. Arsenal have seen the benefit of them in the last three Premier League games, and they have come at a really important time for the Gunners as the pressure is firmly on as we race Chelsea and Tottenham for a top four finish.

The problem for Arsene Wenger, and I do not envy him one bit, is how to get the best out of the mercurial Ivorian international. One day he can be producing dazzling displays of footwork and scaring the life out of the opposition, while the next day he looks like an alien who has just landed in the middle of a match and has never seen a football before. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal kept up the great Premier League form with a hard fought win away to West Brom, making it six wins from the last seven and ratcheting up the pressure on Chelsea and Tottenham in the race for the Champions League positions. Arsene Wenger was understandably pleased with many aspects of the performance today, but he had special praise for the performance of Rosicky and the fighting spirit shown by the whole team.

“Fantastic,” said Le Prof. “He’s an important player for us. Unfortunately he was injured for a long time but every year he gives us a little push at the end of the season. That is very important. .......Read the full article here

There was a lot of talk in the build up to Arsenal’s trip to White Hart Lane a month ago that the derby could be a turning point. A win for the Gunners would have halted Spurs’ run of form and lifted Arsenal spirits after two poor games against Blackburn and Bayern effectively ended the trophy dreams for another season. It didn’t quite work out as planned, obviously, but that game has been a turning point because Arsenal have won three in a row. .......Read the full article here

Whatever Arsene Wenger has said and done with the Arsenal players since losing to Tottenham a month ago, it seems to have worked. I just wish he had done it in August. However, three wins on the spin and much better performances have given Gooners the belief back and indicated that another season in the Champions League is not just a distant dream.

Aaron Ramsey has had a similar sort of experience this season. It was not too long ago that seeing his name on the team sheet made many Arsenal fans think we were beaten before a ball had been kicked. The young Welshman was struggling for form and consistency earlier in the season, but his transformation has been more steady, and is down to hard work and persistence. He believes the club’s upsurge is more to do with attitude and approach. .......Read the full article here