Transfer Targets of the last Week

An Extra Defensive Mid: It's been a fairly quiet week on the transfer speculation front, a couple of names cropping up a lot, but not much else. One of those names being repeatedly mentioned is the tenacious West Ham's 30 year old defensive midfielder Scott Parker. The Hammers are down, and by the sounds of things there's set to be a fire sale of their best players and a mass exodus of  out of contract players. He isn't a bad player, and has shone this season at Upton Park, however, has he shone because he's played brilliantly or has he caught the eye because he's played alright in an ultimately poor West Ham side? I'm not sure, and at £7 million his price tag is a bit steep for someone who would be brought in to play second fiddle to Alex Song. I think that a move for free agent Owen Hargreaves, also 30, (as touted by the Daily Express last week) would represent better value for money. He is undeniably a fantastic defensive midfielder when he's fit, and could prove a real asset to the squad. Injury prone as he is, he'd be the perfect man to pull on an Arsenal shirt.

A New Goalie: As I mentioned in my previous post, I think that we'll be in the market for a new second/third choice goalie this summer. Having mulled the situation over, I feel that Rob Green's name should be added to Mark Schwarzer's as a possible target the former England #1 has suffered a significant fall from grace after that error at last summer's world cup; something which should mean that he's available for less, coupled with the whole relegation thing. I think last summer that I expressed my opposition to his signing, but that was when a new #1 was being considered - I also touted Szczesney at the time - and I don't think he is good enough to be Arsenal's number one, part of the back up brigade however, I think that he could be the man for the job.

One of the other regularly mentioned names has been that of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. I really don't see how he'd fit into the Arsenal line up, and at a reported £25,000,000 he'd be the world's most expensive sub. He's too similar to what we already have. I feel a poacher is what we need, there to come into the team and make an instant impact when van Persie is either injured or off form. I think that the striker to make way should be Niklas Bendtner, and with Bayern Munich reportedly waiting in the wings, I'd let them have him.

SkySports have linked us to the 21 year old Malaga striker Salomon Rondon. He's hardly the household name it seems that most Gooners are after, though with 16 goals from 29 starts, he certainly sounds like a goal threat. The relative anonymity in the UK of Rondon would make him a typical Wenger signing, although the rumoured £10 million price tag could put Arsenal off.

Kavin Gameiro, a Lorient striker who sounds set to follow in Laurent Koscielny's footsteps, and make the move from Lorient to the Premier League. The young Frenchman has some promising stats behind him, with 20 goals from 34 games this season. This is a move which has been infrequently reported since pretty much the start of the season, much like Chamakh's last year, so I can see it happening. Having turned down the offer of a new contract from Lorient he looks almost certain to leave in the summer, potentially for a knockdown price, rather than Lorient risking losing him for nothing in a year's time.

Morgan Amalfitano is another Lorient player with a soon to expire contract who has recently been linked with Arsenal, with 5 goals from 36 he's not too bad going forwards, and could be a cheap replacement as a squad player for the likes of Diaby and/or Denilson.

Eden Hazard and Serdar Tasci have again been linked, and I don't have anything to had to what others have said before. The only thing I would question is where Hazard would fit in with the likes of Nasri, Arshavin & (hopefully next season) Miyaichi already playing on the left of that front three.

Leigton Baines is still being linked with us, but he's also being touted for a move to Man City, and we don't have the financial resources to get into a bidding war with them - and also  he's not fantastic either. I'd rather play Gibbs than buy him - assuming we sell Clichy because he won't sign a new contract.

Hector Bellerin is the new name today, SkySports claiming that he's been frozen out of the Barca youth side for turning down a new contract. They have also said that it looks likely that he will be joining Jon Toral in leaving Barcelona for Arsenal in the summer, in what seems to be a busy window already for the reserve and youth squads, Charlton youngster Carl Jenkinson already said to have signed, who may or may not go into the first team squad.

Someone commented yesterday that they'd like to see the back of Eboue, but I feel that he brings a  lot to the squad, he's the joker, the morale booster, and I feel that he can occasionally add something to the team on the pitch too.

What do you think, let me know via the comments below, or through Twitter: @Goonernl (mostly Arsenal related updates).

90 minutes to go... and who should still be here next season?

The last time I posted about a game was just after we beat Chelsea. Since then we've lost to Wigan, Birmingham, Stoke, Villa, United and others. We've also had a fall off in form as alarming as Colchester United normally do (2 wins in 14 in 09/10 and not much better in 10/11). With our Champions League fate now in the hands of 2 Citys (Stoke & Man) the season has gone from extremely promising to awful.

 

Bad Luck & Bad Refereeing:

 

I feel that rather than being down to any particular failing from Arsene Wenger and his team, the poor ssecond half of the season has be down to - generally - bad luck. We've had some very poor refereeing decisions:

• Robin van Persie red card vs. Barcelona.
• 102nd minute penalty vs. Liverpool - it didn't take RVP 4 minutes to take his.
• Offside and penalty decisons vs. Sunderland.
• Penalty and foul (Chamakh's goal) decisons vs. Villa.
• Saha's goal in the 2-1 win over Everton.
• Nolan not getting sent of for getting Szczesney in a headlock at 4-1 vs. Newcastle.

And I'm sure there've been others. There have been occasions when some of the players haven't shown quite enough heart for my liking but it's the same for the fans - you only hear groans at the Emirites when something is going badly. There are also the occasions when the opposition 'keeper has had the game of his life, and nomatter what we tried nothing went in - van der Saar in the FA Cup defeat. There have been other games which we've dominated from start to finish, but for some reason the chances just wouldn't go in - such as versus Man City, by the third time the ball hit the post you just knew it wasn't Arsenal's day.

 

Wembley:

The Carling Cup defeat whilst disappointing also demonstrates how desperate we are as fans for a trophy. A couple of years ago and a trophy other than it in the future it'll be a Mickey Mouse cup which isn't worth winning. Yet this season we were fielding very strong sides in a competition which has been purely for blooding youth recently - a policy which got us to the final and earnt us a runners up medal against a very strong Chelsea side in 2008. I personally would like a return to this next season.

 

Defence:

In a season which has seen us hit with injuries to key players at key times, we could be doing worse with one game to go. We've had 4 keepers play (with 5 making matchday squads), and I believe that we have now discovered our long term number 1. We have also played large parts of the season with a makeshift back four, even Wenger admiting that Koscielny, Squillaci and Djourou have played more games than expected and I feel that Koscielny and Vermaelen will be a strong pairing next season. One player whose injury troubles I have been thankful for is Diaby. I feel that his is overated, and whilst occasionally very skilful, that he really isn't the right player for Arsenal. All to often the ball has been fed to him and a flowing counter attack has ground to a halt and the opposition have got men back behind the ball.

Midfield:

 

One player who has come on this season is of course Jack Wilshere, ever consistant, ever passionate and always with superb passing, movement and vision, Jack is another player who Mr Wenger can point to to prove that putting faith in youth works. He has had my vote for player of the season. Sadly I doubt that he will reach the heights of this season again next term, with a long summer ahead of him, it might be the second half of the season before he's fully ready to start again - our players do not get on with summer tournaments; look at how average - by last season's standards - Cesc Fabregs has been. Who, coincidentally, I think is almost certain to be here next season.

 

The Forwards:

Robin van Persie has been a revelation since his return from injury, just imagine what he could do if he was fit for the whole season! I think that Marouane Chamakh also deserves a mention, scoring an impressive number of goals in his first season in English football, before getting burn out. Since March, I think that he's been near back to his best, we've always looked more dangerous when he comes on, and he's always shown desire, which I like.

 

Moving Forward:

 

I think that the core of the squad is strong, however I feel that some changes are needed. I feel that Mannone will probably leave in the summer (maybe going to Hull), I also feel that Manuel Almunia has come to the end of the line at Arsenal. He has had his moments of brilliance, the first leg against Man United in the Champions League 2 seasons ago, the first leg against Barca last season and the bit of the second leg he played in Barca this year, but I will remember him for his gaffes rather than his top class stops. I think that we need to bring in an experienced third choice goalie for next season - such as Mark Schwarzer - and give James Shea a Championship loan spell to gain some experience. In defence, I am undecided about Seb Squillaci, but I am not convinced he is of the necessary standard, Miquel looks promising, but is another player who would benefit from a loan spell. Kyle Bartley could breakthrough next season and he too shows promise, however Rangers are reported to be sniffing about, and I can see us selling him and him turning out to be one of the one's who got away. If he doesn't renew his contract, I personally would look to sell Clichy, as I feel Gibbs is good enough to step up to the mark. New cover might be needed but potentially that could come from within in the form of Tom Cruise.

 

In midfield, I can see Diaby, Denilson and Rosicky leaving. I think that Denilson should get a season-long Premiership loan, to see if he could make it at Arsenal before either being sold or becoming a more important Gooner the following summer. I would be disappointed to see Tomas Rosicky go, but I feel that injuries have overshadowed his time at the Emirates and that he may have missed his chance. To be brutally honest I would't be sorry to see the back of Diaby. We will have Henri Lansbury returning from yet another fruitful loan spell, this time at Norwich, and I feel that next season he will break through. Maybe one new squad player is needed in the midfield, but I don't see the need for wholesale changes.

Up front, I would be unsurprised to see Niklas Bendtner leave after another disappointing season, and he is another player who I wouldn't mind seeing leave. He has bags of potential, and shows moments of promise - especially when playing for Denmark - but has never really lived up to his self-hype in N5. I would sell him to someone abroad though as he could come back to haunt us in the Premiership. Sadly, I also expect Carlos Vela to leave, he's a tricky forward who I rate, although his first team opportunities have been limited. A permanent move to West Brom may beckon. Andrei Arshavin is another player who could leave in the summer, and I would be disappointed if he did. He has never really lived up to his potential, but his occasional moments of brilliance remind everyone why we signed him. He's another player who I wouldn't sell domestically - in any case I would only sell him for very good money as he's an asset to any squad. I'm not sure who I would bring in. Ryo Miyaichi looks like he will be fantastic for us, and he may be able to win a work permit for next season, if not, another season on loan at Feyenoord is likely. One player who I wouldn't mind seeing in an Arsenal shirt is Tim Cahill. He would bring some steel and experience to our frontline, along with his aerial and wide capabilities, he really could be a success at Arsenal.

 

Who would you like to see come in or leave over the summer? Let me know on Twitter (see below) or in the comments.

 

Until next week (maybe!!)

 

In the mean time feel free to follow me on Twitter @Goonernl for mostly Arsenal related updates.

 

January's Coming!!!!!! Start the Rumour Mill!!!! The Forwards.

With January about to arrive, I though that maybe I should do a piece highlighting who I think might be an improvement to the squad. I have to admit that I feel that Bendtner and Vela will  both leave in January, and I think that there's also a minute possibility that Robin van Persie might too. Should any of them leave, here are my suggestions for possible replacements, with guesstimated values:

Name:                              Club:                     Age:   Vale (£):       09/10               10/11

                                                                                                    goals/games goals/games

Fernando Torres              Liverpool              27       14m           22/32                 5/18

Serginho van Dijk            Adelaide               27        1m            13/27                13/29

Mark Bridge                   Sydney                    24        1m              9/21                 1/18

Joaquin Boghossian         RB Salburg          3        3m            17/34                  1/9

Valter Birsa                    AJ Auxerre              24        8m             3/35                  4/17

Robert Lewandowski     Bor. Dortmund      22        5m             21/34                6/21

Mahir Saglik                   VfL Bochum           27        4m             15/27                2/16

Scott Vernon                  Aberdeen               26         4m              7/22                 8/17

Jamie Murphy                 Motherwell            21         6m             10/28                6/20

Alexander Gerdt             Helsingborgs IF    24          6m              1/13               20/25

Daniel Larsson                Malmo FF              23         5m             10/38              18/36

Ola Toivonen                  PSV Eindhoven    24         8m              13/33              11/15

Michael Krohn-Delhi      Brondby               27         4m               4/32                9/17

What do you think?

Arsenal 3 - 1 Chelsea.... oh that sounds good!!!

Half an hour to defend a 2 goal cushion made for a nervous watch.

After having let Drogba score 13 goals in 13 games against us before yesterday, it was hard not to be nervous going into the match. Couple Drogba's devastating form against Arsenal with some shaky looking home form I think that yesterday's result was worth much more than 3 points. There had been a fear of losing the big games, and, although I feel it had sizably diminished by the Man United game a couple of weeks ago, it still posed a big problem. I can't help but feel that when playing United and Chelsea, Arsenal always seem to dominate possession, but never really do anything with it. It almost looked like it was going to go that way again yesterday.

Arsenal dominated much of the first half, playing some fantastic football deep inside Chelsea's half, still lacking that killer instinct and awareness. For the whole game, Arsenal were playing the ball around, just inside the attacking third, pushing it out wide and getting into great crossing positions, but not being able to swing in that final ball because there was no one in the centre. Van Persie - who is without a doubt a fantastic player - was never there, he was drifting out wide, looking to support the attacks from there. As the main striker, the rest of the team needed him in the middle. That was where Chamakh would have been, offering that aerial presence in the opposition's box.

The breakthrough came at just the right time, in a slightly scrappy fashion. I'm sure that Carlo Ancelotti was planning on reading them the riot act at half time anyway, but the goal came at the perfect moment. Chelsea then needed to regroup at the break too. Wilshere deserves praise for his composure to slide the ball through for Song, however I think that he was lucky that it made it through that sea of blue. I feel that that summed up Chelsea's game, poor defensively (and going forward too). 

Chelsea started the second half in the same manner as they finished the first, badly, Fabregas won the ball back from Chelsea's restart within 5 seconds (ish) and this set the tone for the next ten minutes, when twice Fabregas and Walcott combined with devastating effect, putting Chelsea 3 down with 35 minutes left. This being Arsenal, they sat back and just defended the lead, paying the price when, via some woeful goalkeeping, Chelsea pulled one back through Ivanovic. It has to be said that Fabianski should have done much better, he came out flapped at Drogba's free kick and missed. He should have stayed on his line, and I feel that if he had they wouldn't have scored.

After this, little else happened, Chelsea attacked but were thwarted by an Arsenal defense with more steel to it than has been normal of late, Fabregas received his fifth booking of the season, and is now suspended for the trip to Wigan tomorrow night. Nasri also missed a golden opportunity to make it 4-1, however 3 points is 3 points, and put us up to second (albeit for a day, Man City are 3 points ahead, having played 2 games more at the time of writing). 

I agree with the players when they say that we were never out of the title race, but i feel that after this result, we're in it even more. 

Bring on Wigan.

Arsenal vs West Ham

Saturday's game was, again, frustrating. Since (& including) the West Brom game, we've been average at best in the league at home. Against WBA we were both unlucky and awful. Against Birmingham we were poor. Against West Ham, we were alright, but lacking, simultaneously. If I'm honest, I really do think we should  have come away with a 4 or 5 nil win - after all, we had 20 shots on goal (according to the BBC) compared to WHU's 6 -and I feel that it was only Rob Green's heroics in their goal which prevented it. 

I can stomach only coming away from the game with a 1-0 win; what does leave a bitter after-taste though, is that it was yet another poor refereeing display at the Emirates. I feel that Scott Parker should have been, at least, booked during the game, the referee warning him multiple times. There were also some dubious decisions. One instance, where Chamakh was called back for offside (after a Walcott shot I think), was as far as I could see from the MOTD replays, completely, 100%, totally wrong.

Returning to the football though, the free kick from Nasri, which hit the bar, was truly amazing, a fraction of an inch lower, and it would have been in. An audacious effort from a full 35 yards. Not the only occasion upon which we hit the woodwork though, Walcott being denied his third goal of the week by Green's right post, again mere centimetres away from a goal. When it came though, it really was worth the 88 minute wait. Clihy, superbly released down the left hand side, dummied the cross perfectly, beating his man with ease. Then it was the final ball... On his weaker right foot, the number 22 swept in a tempting cross, that needed only the slightest touch to break the deadlock. Nicklas Bendtner's outstretched leg almost reached it, but instead it fell onto the diving head of Alex Song. Rob Green never stood a chance; the Emirates in ecstasy, West Ham hearts broken. 

Before the goal however, they'd had another lucky set of escapes. Twice the penalty area like a pinball machine. Chance after chance spurned by Arsenal, the East Londoners lucky to come away unscathed. Then only to play out the remaining minutes. The Hammers, previously content to waste as much time as possible, found a new vigour about themselves, pushing for the equaliser, but to no avail. Not even a half-decent opportunity on goal could they muster, let alone the finish they so desired. Nervy moments nonetheless; it was one of those games in which anything could happen; even at that late, and outplayed stage. The Gunners held on, to achieve a well deserved win, the 3 points keeping them in second place.

The title race seems to be over before it even began, Chelsea 5 points clear already, the title must be theirs. Now all that remains is to determine the positions of the rest, and to fight for silverware on other fronts. Right now, I feel that second should be ours, leaving City, United and Spurs to slug it out for the last two Champions League places.

City v Arsenal & Newcastle v Arsenal round up...

City:

To be fair, it's hard to draw any real conclusions from the game as to whether we've progressed (or matured) from last season on Saturday's game. Like it or not a red card so early in the game did change it. However, much as everyone's been saying he now fantastic, I feel that Fabianski's goalkeeping was still suspect in the areas he always used to have problems in. He has always had really good reactions, pulling of some fantastic saves, as he did against City, however my problem with him is that he's not decisive enough when a ball is put into the box, it's always 'do I go, or do I stay on my line?' and in the end, he never really does either - and was lucky not to concede from it against City. 

I don't feel that it's possible not to be disappointed at Fabregas not scoring the penalty - you just can't not from 12 yards. Like every other one he's taken this season, it wasn't great, they've all gone to the goalie's left, at the middle of the post (heightwise). A good penalty is taken into one of the corners of the goal, and Fabregas just isn't doing that. In terms of the goals though, they were fantastic. It was a great bit of build up play, and 1-2 for Nasri's and Song's really was a screamer - even if it was from inside the box. As for Bendtner's it was great to see him back and scoring; and not a bad goal to boot!!!

Newcastle:

Again it's hard to judge the performance, because Newcastle really weren't up to much. Not because they're a bad team, just the side they fielded was somewhat understrength. The first goal was hilarious and merited, the second was just a teeny bit offside (Bendtner was interfering & Walcott looked like he was off) but a technically brilliant finish from Walcott nonetheless. The third from Bendtner was brilliant, the #52 of old would have put that miles over the bar, so his game has certainly progressed. From a similar position, it was even better than his one at City, with even more that he had to do. Walcott's fourth was, I think, Thierry Henry - esque. The burst of pace and quality finish, just stroking it into the net...

In summary:

It seems that the pressure is really on Wenger to win a trophy this season, and - no matter what he says - our strategy has changed, and we really are going for it. If you believe an old Sky Sports news report though, we won it (when we actually lost to Chelsea) in 2007. Wenger really is going to have a nice headache now though, with Szczesy & Fabianski impressing, who does he go with. Bendtner's only just back and already in the goals, Vela still looks quality & Walcott's back too. He really is going to have trouble finding a strongest first XI.

Arsenal vs Shakhtar

Unusually, on recent form, I came away from the Emirates happy. Our preceding two home games, I came away  from dissatisfied (to say the least) we really were poor. On Tuesday's performance though, things would appear to have picked up somewhat. Jack Wilshere's last appearance for a fortnight was superb, and capped with  a quality goal, with a fantastic build up. To be honest though, the thing that made the game was the reception Eduardo got, both when he came onto the pitch and after his goal. It's a remarkable change from one of the most hostile atmospheres I've ever seen there (aimed at the referee soon after the penalty in the Birmingham game), to one of the friendliest I've seen. I shows just how much of an Arsenal legend he was/is. 

Back to the game though, I was impressed by how much more flowing we were in attack; we really did look much better following Fabregas' return. Although I don't like to have a go at the players, I really do think that not playing Diaby made a humongous difference. Against Birmingham, every time we were looking to counter, the ball got moved to Diaby, and suddenly everything stopped. All the momentum just ceased, and we started going backwards. 

Not only did we look better than previously, there were two new Champions League records set. With 14 goals from three games, Arsenal have set a record for the most goals scored in the first three games. Not only that, Marouane Chamakh became the first ever player to score in 6 consecutive Champions League games - a record started last season at Bordeaux. Now we have the luxury of being able to qualify for the last 16 by taking 3 points from the 3 remaining games. No disrespect to them, but I feel that we should manage to beat Shakhtar next time out. After that, the Braga and Partizan games should be a good run out for the younger players; much like against Olymiacos last season.

The story of the week though, is Wayne Rooney's determination to leave United. Arsenal are being quoted odds of 25/1 to sign him, and Arsene Wenger has said that the matter is "too sensitive" to comment on. On occasion this has meant that he's interested, though I'm sceptical. Much as I'm not keen on him, I'd never turn down the chance to have a striker of his quality available - that and as a club we'd have majorly got one over on United.