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.

 

You can follow me on Twitter - @nlander94 - and like the Facebook page here.

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."

 

Keep up to date by liking the Facebook page and by following me on Twitter - @nlander94

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

 

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

 

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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