Giroud Happy with his Arsenal Stats

 

By Nick Lander

 

Olivier Giroud has come in for some stick since the start of the season. Accused of being an inadequate replacement for Robin van Persie, the Frenchman has quietly knuckled down and got on with the job of scoring goals; 14 so far this season for the Gunners, along with 11 assists.

 

When speaking to French paper L'Equipe, ahead of France's clash with Germany tonight, the 26-year-old revealed that he is content with his start to life in N5; "when I arrived at Arsenal, there were concerns [over how long it took to score], but they were quickly sorted." Since netting his first goal against Coventry City in the Capital One Cup, the 6' 3" striker has not looked back, "for the first season, [my stats] are better than Robin van Persie when he started, even if when he arrived at Arsenal he was younger."

 

Whilst hinting that he is a better player than van Persie may be stretching the stats a little, it is undeniable that Giroud has made a solid start to life in London, and looks set for a 20-odd goal season, which is nothing to be sniffed at. It is also worth noting the number of different scorers the club now has, Giroud's contributed 14 goals, Theo Walcott 18 and Lukas Podolski 12. The team finally seem to have managed to rediscover the art of sharing the goals around, something which should be a real positive as the Gunners look to put together a run of consistent performances and results to cement a top four finish.

 

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Bradford City 1-1 Arsenal

By Nick Lander

Arsenal slipped to another disappointing result on Tuesday evening, suffering a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of a club 65 places below them in the league ladder.

Turning in a lacklustre display, a strong Arsenal side, who were also strongly tipped to win the tournament, slumped to defeat in the Capital One Cup.

Arsenal dominated proceedings throughout, but never much looked like scoring - despite their 28 efforts on goal. Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla both hit the woodwork as the Gunners strove to find an equaliser after the Bantams scored an early, and avoidable, goal, Gary Thompson volleying home after the away side failed to deal with a free kick from one side of the penalty area, after Thomas Vermaelen felled Nahki Wells.

In truth, despite dominating possession and the shots tally, Wojciech Szczesney was by far the more tested of the two 'keepers, saving well on a number of occasions. The Londoners lack composure and creativity when in possession and all too often failed to make the most of promising opportunities.

Olivier Giroud was out injured and manager Arsene Wenger took the decision to start Gervinho through the middle. It did not work out. Arsenal frequently managed to work the ball into good crossing positions before being thwarted by a lack of options in the box. Marouane Chamakh's introduction on the hour was too little, too late. Equally the Moroccan should not have replaced the lively Coquelin rather the ineffective and wasteful Gervinho. In all likelihood, that would also have meant that the Gunners would still have had German striker Lukas Podolski on the pitch come the penalty shootout.

Vermaelen got a late equaliser, heading home Cazorla's cross to take the tie to extra time, but in reality it should have been over long before then.

In extra time, Arsenal continued to have the majority of the play, but were unable to score a crucial second, allowing Bradford to take the tie to penalties. Cazorla, Chamakh and Vermaelen all missed, and whilst Szczesney saved well from Stephen Darby and Ritchie Jones, it was not enough to prevent the Yorkshire side from winning 3-2 on penalties.

There were chants of "Wenger out and sack the board" as the Arsenal fans filed out, but that is far from the solution. There is only so much a manager can do, sometimes the players have to look at themselves and take responsibility for a shocking performance.

Summer 2011 proved that panic buying in the transfer window is a flawed tactic, but Arsenal will need to be a serious player in the January market, or they risk falling far behind in the race for fourth. With just one win in their last six games, I believe that around £40m of investment will be needed in January alone in order to keep the squad competitive.

Arsenal are understood to be considering adding 4 or 5 new players in the transfer window, and you will be able to keep track of everything by following me on Twitter - @nlander94 - and by liking the Facebook page.

Henderson Seals Coventry Loan

 

By Nick Lander

 

Reserve team star Conor Henderson has sealed a loan move to League 1 Coventry City, who he joins until just before Christmas.

 

Henderson made his Arsenal debut against Leyton Orient in the 5-0 demolition in the 2010/11 FA Cup 5th round replay. The midfielder had looked set for having a breakthrough season in 2011/12, but injury put paid to his chances, and he remained sidelined until virtually the end of the season, making his return to the reserves in April.

 

Undoubtedly talented, Henderson's loan spell comes as a bit of a surprise, with Arsene Wenger rumoured to have blocked an approach for him, with Arsenal's Capital One Cup campaign in mind - which, ironically, will begin at home to Coventry on Wednesday. He has been earmarked as a player who could well make it at the club, and will be hoping to prove his qualities in his first loan spell away from the club.

 

The 21-year-old has featured heavily for Arsenal's U-21 side so far this season, playing in three of the Gunners' four games, notching three times. He has also appeared for Ireland's U-21 side.

 

He tweeted that he was "very happy" to join the midlands club, and that he "can't wait to get started."

 

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Even though the season has started, you can still join the N5 Blog's fantasy football league on the Premier League website, using league code 13667-212189

 

Aneke to Join Crewe on Loan

 

By Nick Lander

 

Chuks Aneke is set to join League 1 Crewe Alexandria on loan, swapping U-21 level football for the Football League. He has previously had loan spells with Stevenage and Preston North End, scoring for the latter on his debut.

 

The 19-year-old is understood to be being brought in to cover for the injured Mathias Pogba. His wages however, have been an issue, with Crewe unable to match the percentage of his wages that Arsenal wanted. Manager Steve Davis said, "They are on a lot of money and we couldn’t quite pull it off. But I know (assistant manager) Steve Bould very well and we’re trying to negotiate it down. We are hopeful it will happen. We need cover and we are waiting to hear.

 

“Arsenal players are grounded very much like ours in terms of the way they play and they’d fit in with what we do.”

 

It does seem that the two clubs have since managed to come to an agreement, with Aneke's teammate Nico Yennaris tweeting a good luck message to the powerful midfielder. Whilst Arsenal tend to start loaning out their youngsters after the League Cup campaign has started, the competition in which Aneke made his Gunners debut last season, it seems that on this occasion the club are allowing him to move before then in order to secure first team football.

 

Davis is also understood to be after a second, unnamed midfielder, and there has been some speculation that he could be Arsenal's Craig Eastmond.

Keep up to date by liking the Facebook page and by following me on Twitter - @Goonernl

Even though the season has started, you can still join the N5 Blog's fantasy football league on the Premier League website, using league code 13667-212189

Frimpong Closes on Arsenal Return

 

By Nick Lander

 

Emmanuel Frimpong is nearing a return to action after seven months on the sidelines as a result of a cruciate knee ligament injury sustained whilst on loan to Wolves.

 

Frimpong had impressed in the Midlands, but his spell only just over a month, when he was limped off against QPR at the beginning of February. The tenacious holding midfielder has now confirmed that he is on the verge of returning to full training, tweeting, "I will be back in full training with the squad on 17th on this month. Two cruciate knee injuries couldn't end my career it's been a long 7 months."

 

The news will come as a boost for Arsenal, who are also expecting Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna to return at about the same time. Following Alex Song's summer departure, Frimpong may now get his chance in the first team, whilst it is also possible that the club will again try to find him a Premier League club to join on loan for the second half of the season, in order to give him more game time and experience, as had been the plan during his time at Wolves.

 

Arsenal's Capital One Cup clash with Coventry City on the 26th September may be when all three return to match action, although it could come slightly too soon. All fans will be anxiously awaiting their returns.

 

Keep track of the latest Arsenal news by liking the The N5 Blog on Facebook and by following me on Twitter - @Goonernl

 

There is an N5 Blog fantasy football league on the Premier League website which you can still join, using league code 13667-212189

Gunners Get Kind Cup Draws

 

By Nick Lander

 

Arsenal learnt their fate in both the Champions League and Capital One Cup (formerly Carling Cup) today, receiving fairly kind draws in both competitions.

 

Arsenal were one of the top seeds, in Pot 1 for the Champions League draw in Monaco at 1700BST were drawn into Group B, alongside Bundesliga side Shalke 04 from Pot 2, Greeks side Olympiakos (again!) and French champions Montpellier were drawn from Pot 4, handing Olivier Giroud a swift return to the club he departed for the Gunners in July.

 

Whilst not the easiest group that the Gunners could have got, it is extremely favourable when compared to the 'group of death' that Manchester City find themselves in, alongside Real Madrid, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund. All four teams reigning domestic champions.

 

The draw for the Carling Cup third round was also this evening, which has paired the Gunners with League 1 side Coventry City. Coventry advanced after beating Championship side, and midlands rivals, Birmingham 3-2 after extra-time in the second round. The tie will be played at the Emirates in the week beginning 24th September.

 

Arsenal Champions League fixtures:

     Montpellier vs. Arsenal - 18th September

     Arsenal vs. Olympiakos - 3rd October

     Arsenal vs. Shalke 04 - 24th October

     Shalke 04 vs. Arsenal - 6th November

     Arsenal vs. Montpellier - 21st November

     Olympiakos vs. Arsenal - 4th December

 

Keep up to date by liking the Facebook page and by following me on Twitter - @Goonernl.

It's not too late to join the N5 Blog's fantasy football league! You still can on the Premier League website using league code 13667-212189