Just Arsenal News

Looking around all the hundreds of Arsenal blogs out there in the ethernet, it seems that most Gooners seem keen on Arsene Wenger going for QPR’s Loic Remy or Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke (who apparently is an Arsenal fan anyway) but in my opinion there is one much better man in front of our noses.

There are very few hitman with the size and confidence to be successful in the Premier League at just 19 years of age, but Romelu Lukaku definitely has all the attributes needed to be the next Didier Drogba and has already proved himself with 14 goals for West Brom this season, despite not being an automatic starter. Just imagine how many he will get when he matures for another couple of years? .......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

Why We Shouldn’t Ignore The Last 20 Minutes by Dan S.

We were 70 minutes in at the Hawthorns and it was all too good to be true. In a season where Arsenal have routinely buckled under pressure, at a stage of the year where we have to keep on winning (at least until Spurs or Chelsea slip up) it seemed all too straight forward. This was on a ground where only four teams had won in the league against a team who have never been lower than 9th in the table and who unlike most other teams can play with the freedom of not being under any pressure. Despite all of that, as well as having no Wilshere or Walcott, Arsenal were on course for one of their most comfortable away wins of the season. .......Read the full article here

Steve Bould has been taking charge of the press duties for Arsenal this week, apparently Arsene Wenger has not been very well. The assistant is understandably happy about the improved defensive performance in the last three games, because he was a part of the famous Gunners back four that reveled in 1-0 victories.

Bould, however, believes that the most important thing that Arsenal have been doing recently, as opposed to earlier in the season, is starting games well on the front foot and getting an early lead. That allows the team to relax a little and not press forward too much, while bring the opposition out in search of a goal and freeing up space for Arsenal to enjoy possession and create chances. .......Read the full article here

West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal preview, predicted line up and score line by KJ

Arsenal are in some good form at the moment with five wins in seven. However, looking at our fixture list, this could be one of the trickier games in our fight for the top four. Arsenal are currently the hot Even Money favourites to win which seems like an easy way to double your money, and if you take advantage of the bonuses available from FREEbets.org.uk you could even afford a bet on todays Grand National! .......Read the full article here

When Arsenal take on West Brom at the Hawthorns tomorrow, they will be facing a team with a good home record over the season. Their recent form has not been so good, however, with just three wins from the last nine. They came against Sunderland, Swansea and Norwich, so the Gunners should not be too worried.

West Brom are happy to play counter attacking football, in fact they are set up to do it. They sit deep with two banks of four and try to break with speed, so Arsenal must be patient and not commit too many players too far forward. The speedy winger James Morrison is back from injury, so Gibbs or Monreal will need to be disciplined and make sure they don’t leave too much space for the Scotland international. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger’s assistant at Arsenal, Steve Bould, has given Arsenal fans some much needed good news on the injury situation at the club. Following the devastating blow to the French midfielder Abou Diaby last week, it is a welcome change to hear of some injured players returning sooner than first thought.

The Gunners could have Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Nacho Monreal available for the game against West Brom on Saturday, whereas it was previously thought that only Walcott had a chance of making the team. The players are all training, and Monreal is a definite, but we will probably not know if the other two are fit enough to feature against West Brom or Norwich until Saturday. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger has come out in support of his Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, rejecting any suggestion that the 23-year old has become complacent since signing a lucrative new contract in July. There have been some people who think that Walcott’s failure to score since the end of January is a damning indication that he was just playing for his new deal earlier in the season, so is there any truth in it?

“I don’t believe that,” declared Wenger. “If he didn’t play well and had not signed a contract, then people would say the opposite. .......Read the full article here

The Race for 4th by AH

The title of the article says it all, the fact we are having to fight for 4th place like it’s a trophy is ridiculous. It’s not an achievement no matter what you say and it’s simply not good enough. You could say that’s a negative view to things and I suppose it is, but the fact is it’s the truth and we all know it.

In the last few weeks we’ve seen some good results that have helped us in our stride for a Champions League place, for the 16th year running. The 2-0 win over Bayern Munich seems to be the turning point in our season and we have looked far more confident, leading to better performances from Arsenal, seeing 6 goals scored and 1 goal conceded in the last 2 games. .......Read the full article here

Selection headaches for Le Prof! by Jules

Finally, after a turbulent season in which Arsenal have oscillated between extreme highs – such as the victory in Munich and the double digit goal thrillers against Reading and Newcastle – to the dire displays against the minnows at the Lane, the no show at Old Trafford and the indefensible defeats to Blackburn and Bradford, albeit the former being on penalty kicks – it is fair to say Arsenal at present are in rich vein of form (touch wood). Thus, it is with open arms all those associated with The Arsenal will welcome the latest selection headaches in a variety of positions on the field, most notably in attack. .......Read the full article here

It is doubtful whether Arsenal will have Jack Wilshere available for the game against Reading on Saturday, but if not then he should be ready for the following weekend when the Gunners travel to West Bromwich Albion. There were fears that Wilshere would miss most, if not all, of the rest of the Premier League season after injuring his ankle against Tottenham recently.

The story about a specialist from Dubai ruling him out for weeks was clearly wrong, as Jack has responded well to his rest period and is resuming full training with the Gunners, according to the Mirror. It was an ankle injury that kept Jack out of action for the whole of last season, so Arsene Wenger has been ultra cautious with him by keeping him out of the England squad, and it appears to have paid off. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal scouts and Arsene Wenger have been taking a very close look at the 16-year old striker Isaiah Brown apparently. The youngster from West Brom has also come to the attention of Chelsea, however, and the two London giants could be set for a summer scrap over his future.

The Gunners are preparing an offer of around £1 million to tempt the Baggies, apparently, but Chelsea could double that. The West Brom manager Steve Clarke spent years at Chelsea, and there are still close links, so that may give them an advantage. Arsenal, however, have a much better reputation for developing young players, and Brown may see that as the most important thing for him. .......Read the full article here