Swansea 2 Arsenal 2: Character and Mental Strength Shadowed by Frustration

Arsenal began this campaign with a chance of ending the much talked-about trophy drought as football offered the Gunners four competitions to challenge on all fronts.

20 games into the Premier League, Arsenal is nowhere near contention for Premier League honors this season, so focus was firmly shifted elsewhere with the cup competitions becoming a priority.

After two pulsating Capital One fixtures where the Gunners smashed in six past Coventry and seven past Reading, a humiliating penalty shootout loss to Bradford City in the quarterfinals caused a stir in the football world, and as expected, the fans asked for Arsene Wenger’s head on a plate.

After finishing Group B as runners-up, Arsenal has braced themselves for a crunch fixture with European juggernauts, Bayern Munich, but yesterday’s fixture against Swansea came in a competition that was labeled as Arsenal’s most realistic chance of winning silverware this season, the FA Cup.

After a blistering run of four league wins in a row, the Gunners played so poorly against Southampton, causing the manager to make some changes ahead of yesterday’s clash with Swansea. Per Mertesacker returned to make his 50th Arsenal appearance in Thomas Vermaelen’s stead, Olivier Giroud replaced the Ox with Theo Walcott drifting back to the right and sadly, Aaron Ramsey got the nod ahead of Lukas Podolski.

https://twitter.com/goonerdaily/status/287991622044643329

The Welshman was under some stick from the home crowd due to his ties with his previous club, Cardiff but Ramsey went on to put up another questionable performance. To be honest, I really feel sorry for Ramsey and with each passing game, he continues to deteriorate.

He used to be a bright star in the making, now he’s more or less a jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

The Welshman is best suited for a role in central midfield but his performances and form can’t allow him to displace the fatigued Santi Cazorla and the spirited Jack Wilshere. Instead, Wenger continues to deploy him in both flanks where he continues to struggle before an inevitable substitution.

Swansea started the game with a measure of confidence, as they were victorious against the Gunners in their last two outings. After some intricate passing play in midfield, the Welsh outfit got in behind Kieran Gibbs but the teasing cross into the box was duly intercepted by Bacary Sagna. The French defender went on to have a somewhat frustrating evening.

Ex-Gunner, Kyle Bartley, replaced skipper, Ashley Williams, in the heart of Swansea’s defense and he went on to have a good game by his standards. He almost went as far as rattling the cross bar for his new team. The defender’s distribution was pretty decent and he caused Arsenal some problems when he lofted an over-the-top ball for Danny Graham that stung Wojciech Szczesny’s palms with a shot.

Arsenal responded with a promising attack where Walcott, Giroud and Wilshere worked in tandem to create a chance for the pacy English forward but his attempted shot was blocked by Chico Flores.

Arsenal continued to penetrate through the left to create a great chance for Ramsey but he chose to dally on the ball and that good chance went begging. When a simple left-footed would have at least forced Michel Vorm to make a save, Ramsey chose to bring it to his right, allowing the Swansea defense to clear the danger.

Classic Aaron Ramsey. Always trying to over-complicate the simplest of things.

The Gunners continued to pose threats through the left and within moments, a Gibbs cutback was sent to the stands by Santi Cazorla. After an infringement from Ramsey, Jonathan de Guzman swung in a cross that was attacked by Bartley but luckily for Szczesny, the cross bar spared his blushes.

The first half was a somewhat dull and cautious affair but the Gunners played with more urgency in the second half, as they knew that with more determination, the game was theirs for the taking. Unlike the Gunners that needed to get something out of the game, Swansea had half an eye on their Capital One semifinal clash with Chelsea.

It’s took Chelsea’s debutant, Demba Ba, 65 minutes to score his first two goals for Chelsea, and it took Fernando Torres 30 games.

Arsenal drew first blood in the second half when Giroud’s sliced shot was blocked by Vorm. There was a moment of controversy when Aaron Ramsey tripped in the box and there were appeals for a penalty, but Howard Webb was having none of it.

Giroud continued to threaten the Swansea rearguard and showed great technique to blast a Gibbs’ cross straight at Vorm but he was in some discomfort in the follow up, as he received a stamp on his knee by Chico Flores.

Swansea gaffer, Brian Laudrup, sensed that the Gunners were on the ascendancy so he summoned his Spanish contingent of Pablo Hernandez and the scourge of Arsenal, Miguel Michu, to replace Wayne Routledge and de Guzman.

Within moments of his introduction, Michu gracefully received a rash clearance from Laurent Koscielny before chipping the ball over Mertesacker with consummate ease. With the attacking midfielder having it all to do with intense pressure from Sagna, he still managed to place the ball past Szczesny to make it 1-0.

Oh na na, what’s my name?

The goal served up as a wake-up call for the Gunners and it became one-way traffic as the game progressed. Ramsey showed off some good footwork to swing a cross for Giroud but the Frenchman glanced his header wide. Wilshere also executed a neat one-two with Giroud but he flashed his shot wide.

Wenger had sensed that Swansea’s Achilles Foot was their right hand side as the Gunners created chance after chance from that position with Kieran Gibbs at the thick of things, so he brought on Lukas Podolski to add his verve from the left.

Eight minutes after Podolski’s introduction, Walcott swung in a rather dismal corner that was headed back into the fray by Sagna on the far post. Koscielny showed great determination to win the ball before firing it to Podolski’s path and the rest they say was history.

Podolski showing off his great technique to equalize for the Gunners

As Arsenal fans reveled in their team’s deserved comeback, Gibbs and Giroud combined superbly to send the fans into raptures with a quick-fire second goal with a strike worthy of being a match winner.

Gibbs cushioned a pass to Giroud and made a diagonal run into the six-yard box before receiving Giroud’s peach of an assist to blast the ball past Vorm in goal.

What a way to score your first goal of the campaign!!!

After going down to a team that had defeated the Gunners for two games in a row, Arsene Wenger’s Army showed great mental strength to overcome a deficit to get a well-deserved lead. With the immense quality present in Arsenal’s current crop of players, if and only if they played with the same determination all season long, they won’t be languishing in sixth place in the league.

The Gunners were seven minutes away from a Fourth Round tie with Brighton and Hove Albion, if only they held on. Only if.

I had hoped for the boss to bring on Francis Coquelin or even Thomas Vermaelen to sure up things at the back but the team had lapses in concentration, allowing Ki Seug-Yeung to fire a shot straight at Szczesny. With three minutes of regulation time left, Swansea pushed forward for that all-important equalizer and got it when Ki teed up an unmarked Danny Graham that wasted no time in smashing the roof of the net.

Where was the marking?

That late goal epitomized what has gone wrong with the Gunners throughout the season. In a game where high concentration levels were key, the Gunners switched off in their box, allowing Graham a clear-cut chance at goal, which he took with open arms. Szczesny’s positioning was suspect as well, as he was quick to hit the deck instead of standing his ground.

When the fourth official raised his board to show that both teams had only five more minutes left, both teams went for the kill and it would have been a fairy-tale ending for the Gunners if Koscielny’s header wasn’t parried by Vorm. The defender showed great reaction to make a rebound but his shot went over the bar.

Right at the death, Swansea almost delivered a sucker punch when Dwight Tiendalli almost caught Szczesny off guard with a cross-turned-shot that hit the side netting.

The sound of Howard Webb’s whistle ensured that both sides would lock horns again next week with a place in the Fourth Round up for grabs.

In Wenger’s post-match interview, he spoke about how his team showed great character but he was very frustrated with the late equalizer. He also spoke about the Ramsey penalty incident, the congested fixture schedule and Kyle Bartley.

Arsenal is in for a very tough January with Premier League fixtures against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool around the corner. There’s also the issue of the FA Cup replay against Swansea and a potential Fourth Round with Brighton and Hove Albion, should they succeed.

This will be a very testing period for the Gunners and their destiny will be reshaped at the end of this month.

Till then,

Sayonara.

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Arsenal 0 Swansea 2: Michu Brace Piles Further Misery on the Gunners

clinical

The Emirates Stadium used to be one of the most feared football grounds in Europe, yet alone England. Before that disappointing home defeat to Schalke 04, the Gunners has amassed an amazing unbeaten record of 45 games against non-English opponents, with the superpowers like Barcelona failing to get results in North London.

Last season, Robin van Persie ruled the Emirates with an iron fist, as opposition defenses continued to crumble under his lethal goalscoring powers. Be it an Alex Song dink over the top or a simple Theo Walcott cut back, the fact remained that van Persie was always in the right place at the right time, and he always had the clinical finishing ability to put teams to the sword.

Trust me; scoring 30 goals in the Premier League is no mean feat.

Unfortunately, van Persie has become part of the past and the present isn’t faring too well at the moment, judging from the results on the pitch. Arsenal has managed one league win in their last six games and has won just three in their last nine games in their home ground, with unnecessary draws accounting for the dropped points.

Following two draws on the road, Arsenal welcomed Swansea in familiar surroundings and when the team sheet was unveiled, I must say that I was surprised to see Olivier Giroud on the bench yet again, with the Ivorian buffoon playing as a center forward in his stead.

Injuries to Laurent Koscielny and Bacary Sagna caused the boss to make some changes in defense but the midfield triumvirate remained intact. Lukas Podolski returned from his illness and I’d hoped that Walcott would continue his blistering goal scoring form as he had smashed in five goals in his last five games.

Swansea threatened right from the onset and Thomas Vermaelen had to show great awareness to intercept a Miguel Michu defense-splitting pass to Itay Shechther. Swansea fullback, Angel Rangel, broke free from the right and was allowed to fire two shots in quick succession at Wojciech Szczesny’s goal but the big Pole was up to the challenge.

Arsenal’s first meaningful attack came from the right hand side when Mikel Arteta teed up Carl Jenkinson that swung in an inch-perfect cross to the Swansea danger area. When that cross went into the box, I had pictured Giroud guiding the ball perfectly to the back of the net but reality hit me hard when I saw Gervinho trying to attack the ball.

Even though he has a forehead no different from those predators in AVP, he duly missed his header allowing Chico Flores to head the ball to safety. Had Wenger started Giroud ahead of Le Forehead, that would have been 1 – 0 in my books.

Despite being the away side, Swansea controlled the game confidently in the first half and ran the home team ragged at times. This was epitomized by a Michu flick that got Nathan Dyer on the clear. The diminutive winger covered some ground before bracing himself up to pull the trigger but Vermaelen tracked back superbly to make an absolutely vital block.

The Swans continued to probe the Arsenal backline and Michu was a constant thorn in the Gunner’s flesh. He won a free kick late on after being impeded by Arteta but Jonathan De Guzman fired the dead ball over.

Right at the dying moments of the first half, Arsenal broke away through a neat one-two between Kieran Gibbs and Podolski. The English fullback lofted a carefully-weighted cross to Gervinho’s massive forehead but the Ivorian nodded the ball way off target. Like I’d stated earlier, this would have been bread-and-butter stuff for Giroud.

The early part of the second half was marred by two penalty claims from the home side. Gervinho executed a one-two with Podolski only to run into Chico Flores, falling like a sack of potatoes but Mark Clattenberg was having none of it. Minutes later, Santi Cazorla tried to con the ref with a fictitious dive but the ref gave deaf ears to Arsenal appeals.

After soaking up much pressure form the home team, Swansea broke again through Rangel whose well-timed shot was saved by Szczesny.

Wenger brought in reinforcements in the forms of Giroud and the Ox for the appalling Gervinho and a somewhat disappointing Podolski. In my opinion, Gervinho was a pain to watch all game long and a substitution was no less than he deserved.

Another talking point of the match arrived when Ki S.Y. sent a back pass to Chico Flores that was intercepted by Giroud, causing the Spanish defender to bring the French forward down. From the FIFA rule book, that was certainly a red card offense but replays showed that Chico Flores had the slightest of touches on the ball but scything Giroud down.

Cazorla had two great chances to hand the lead to the home team but his tame attempts were aimed at the goalie. There was a moment Arsenal fans savored when Tomas Rosicky made his long awaited return to first team action, replacing Jack Wilshere.

Arsenal’s last stint at goal arrived when Vermaelen made one of his trademark forays forward attacking an Oxlade-Chamberlain cross that was headed backwards by Ki. However, the veteran goalie in Swansea’s goal kept the score line intact.

When it seemed as if a draw would have been a fair result for both sides, Michu connected well with Luke Moore, before being one on one with Szczesny. Seeing a player that has scored nine goals prior to that chance against Szczesny, I’d zeroed my mind that the ball was going in and I wasn’t surprised when Michu curled the ball superbly past the goalie to give Swansea a deserved lead.

With Arsenal going gung-ho for an equalizer to spare their blushes, Jenkinson chose the worst time to dally on the ball and was robbed by Dyer. With Per Mertesacker further up the pitch as an emergency striker, Michu dashed into the box and had all the time to pick his spot, which he did, dispatching the ball past a hapless Szczesny to make it 2 – 0 to the visitors.

I as a staunch fan couldn’t bear the shame of leaving the pub wearing my jersey, and as expected, the taunts at me came fast than Usain Bolt’s 100m world record. My Arsenal, a team that has been challenging for honors, is currently languishing in 10^th place. What a shame.

As expected, Arsene Wenger softened the defeat in his post-match interview, stating that the quality of his team’s game wasn’t there. I’ve seen Arsenal fuck up a lot in the past, but yesterday’s performance against Swansea should go down as one of the worst performances I’ve seen in a long while.

They beat us in our own passing game and would have humiliated the Gunners had Szczesny not been on good form. This 2 – 0 defeat is really flattering for the Gunners.

Every bad result brings about a wave of negativity and more in-depth reviews of the team but I really don’t understand how this team is really struggling, judging from the quality of the players in the present crop.

Szczesny is a great goalkeeper in the making and he wasn’t really protected by his rearguard, as he was forced to make a couple of saves from a right fullback, which ultimately means that Gibbs didn’t do his job well all game long. I still hold Jenkinson in high regard and his error that led to the last goal will be a learning experience for him.

In midfield, Arsenal failed to tick and I can attribute it to some tired legs out there. The Spanish duo of Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla has played way too many games and it’s high time they get a breather to recharge their batteries.

Francis Coquelin is certainly not the best holding midfielder in the team, but he has the hunger to play games as well as the energy to burn, so I’ll welcome a run-out for the young lad, as the aging Arteta needs some rest. Before Cazorla became a mainstay in the team, Arsenal had a certain Rosicky pulling the strings in the middle and I’ll welcome change right now.

However, I won’t like to see Aaron Ramsey in the first team though. Jack Wilshere can continue doing his thing.

The shame is quite unbearable but the Premier League is out of the corner for the time being. There’s a Champions League group for the taking in midweek, and these lads have to dust themselves up and give their best when they travel to Athens, while hoping for the worst for Schalke as well.

That’s yer lot.

Sayonara.

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The World of Arsenal in the Wake of the Swansea Aftermath

When the 2011/12 campaign kicked off with the stalemate against Newcastle, I had a quick view of the 20 teams in the Premier League and judging by the state of the Arsene Wenger’s squad in August, I ruled out any chance of Arsenal winning the Premier League. I was in the opinion that a good run of results in the Cup competitions will be good enough to help the club end its long-lasting trophy drought.

Last season, Arsenal stood no chance against Barcelona in the Champions League, wasn’t too impressive against Manchester United in the FA Cup and was highly unlucky in the Carling Cup final against Birmingham City. This season’s promoted teams looked really weak on paper and were highly tipped to plunge back to the bowels of the npower Championship.

Queens Park Rangers won the second tier division in English football and were followed closely by Norwich City. Swansea  City had to use the gamble of the play-off final and the Welsh outfit was very impressive on the night to oust Reading for the last available slot to English top flight football. In my imagination, I fancied Arsenal to get 18 points from both encounters against these promoted sides but the line between reality and imagination is very thick.

Arsenal was hugely disappointing in the home tie against Swansea and had to depend on an error from signing of the season contender Vorm to grab all three points. For what its worth, the Gunners’ last Premier League match before the Swansea tie was a confidence-draining 8-2 defeat in the hands of Manchester United so caution was in the air that September afternoon. Arsenal swept Norwich aside when the club was riding high in confidence and ended 2011 with a victory over QPR.

2012 has seen the Gunners lose further ground on the leading pack and as expected, questions have been raised about the manager, his stubbornness in the club’s lack of activity in the transfer window, his team selection and the performances of certain players that are within the reins at Arsenal.

The defeat against Fulham was a very bitter pill to swallow but Sunday’s defeat against Swansea didn’t go down well with everyone connected with the club. The manager cursed the team’s bad luck with yet another poor officiating decision, lambasted his team’s defensive frailties and talked about how his team was made to rue wasted chances.

Many Arsenal fans voiced their frustrations on Twitter and they all spoke in different tunes. Some rained curses at Aaron Ramsey and Andrey Arshavin, some want the boss out, some want new signings while others want to see more of the Ox; as Wenger promised a few weeks ago:

“In 2012, at the beginning of the year, he will play games. Alex is a talented boy, it is all there – he just needs that toughness in the game and because every game for us is so tight.”

“At Aston Villa last week, again, I could have brought him on and you have the hesitation to do it – but you do not want him to be a little bit over-ruled by the intensity of the game.”

“He is ready to play. Alex is just missing that experience at the top level. You have to throw him a few games.”

Arsene Wenger has always done his best to defend his team after any defeat but excuses like refereeing decisions, injuries, suspensions and bad luck in general are just a small part of the big picture. Arsenal is in dire need of defensive coaches that will revolutionalize how things are done at the back.

Think of the space Bobby Zamora had to smash in his volley to perfection or the acres of space Nathan Dyer had to pick his spot before beating Wojciech Szczesny hands down. The amount of time Mario Balotelli had to settle, beat Alex Song before pulling the trigger or the time Danny Graham had to place the ball past Szczesny.

Blackburn’s Chris Samba has handed a transfer request to leave the club but signing four Sambas across the back line will not necessarily solve Arsenal’s defensive problems; it will only add quality personnel into the defensive department. In his Borussia Dortmund days, Tomas Rosicky fired four shots with every five passes received but in Arsenal, he’ll pass the ball five more times. This clearly shows that he’s playing according to Arsenal’s attacking tactics.

Arsenal’s next match comes up against Manchester United but both teams face each other with many key players still nursing injuries. I’ll save the match preview for another post.

If this will give you any comfort, Arsenal’s Champions League knockout phase opponents AC Milan lost at home to fierce rivals Internazionale and the Arsenal loanees are doing very well with Joel Campbell’s goal against Nancy the pick of the bunch.

As Thierry Henry said in the wake of the Swansea defeat,

“No matter what, you should support the team.”

Sayonara

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Swansea 3 Arsenal 2: The Gunners play like sure-fire Europa League contenders

The relationship between Arsenal and its ever-loving and faithful fans can never be likened to a relationship between two young adults that can split up when one finds out about the partner’s infidelity. It’s more or less like a “wedding” were most of the fans stick for better or worse.

In all my years as an Arsenal fan, I’ve made countless ‘sacrifices’ to watch Arsenal games and I’ve seen the good, the bad and more recently…the ugly.

Even if I watch every Arsenal game from different locations in Nigeria, I’m pretty sure I and most of the Arsenal fans in Wembley shed the same kind of crocodile tears when Obafemi Martins scored the winner in last season’s Carling Cup final.

Arsenal started yesterday’s match with some distance to make up following results elsewhere. Mikel Arteta picked up a mild calf strain so he was replaced by Yossi Benayoun. Andrey Arshavin also got the nod ahead of Thierry Henry in the starting lineup.

Arsenal went off to a flyer when Arshavin teed up the red-hot Robin van Persie that feinted a shot at first before lashing it past Vorm in goal with just four minutes gone.

Swansea leveled the tie when Aaron Ramsey was adjudged to have fouled Nathan Dyer in the box. The penalty seemed fictitious but Scott Sinclair dispatched it past Wojciech Szczesny even if the Pole guessed the right way.

Ramsey almost atoned for his error in the right end of the pitch but Angel Rangel cleared the ball off the line. Van Persie had another chance to put Arsenal ahead but he fired a right-footed shot straight at Vorm.

Alex Song was a monster in the middle of the park. Late on, he took on a few Swans before executing a delightful chip over the defensive line but no threat surfaced from it.

Arsenal started the second half brightly as Ramsey fed Arshavin at the edge of the box but the Russian launched the ball into orbit.

Arsenal were the own plotters of their downfall when Arshavin’s lazy pass to Ramsey was intercepted in midfield then Ignasi Miquel was caught out of position as Nathan Dyer finished emphatically despite Szczesny’s attempt to narrow the angle.

Arsene Wenger summoned the experienced heads of Thierry Henry and Tomas Rosicky to save the tie but the equalizer came when Johan Djourou through ball found the peripheral Theo Walcott that chipped it past Vorm.

Arsenal’s celebrations were cut short when Swansea pegged back the Gunners immediately through a Danny Graham finish that caught Szczesny off guard. The goalie’s positioning was suspect but the ball was lost far up in midfield and it was another defensive lapse the Swans capitalized on.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Per Mertesacker (who missed a sitter) but a late rally wasn’t enough for the Gunners as Vorm made saves from Ramsey, Rosicky and Koscielny late on.

Szczesny (6.5) had an atrocious defense in front of him.

Djourou (7.5) gave an assist that sliced the Swansea defense like hot knife through butter and made a last-ditch tackle that kept the score line respectable to say the least.

Koscielny (7.0) put up a committed performance but was too far up the pitch.

Mertesacker (7.0) made some brilliant tackles but missed a sitter.

Miquel (6.0) was the weakest link in defense and was exposed countless times.

Song (7.5) battled hard in midfield and gave his all for his side.

Ramsey (5.5) put up another putrid performance and had a hand in two Swansea goals.

Benayoun (6.0) wasn’t effective in deputizing for Arteta.

Walcott (6.0) was peripheral throughout the game but he showed his composure to score a cheeky goal.

Arshavin (5.5) gave an assist for the first goal but had a frustrating night.

Van Persie (7.0) continued his brilliant goal scoring form.

Henry (6.0) unfortunately had a hand in Swansea’s match winner.

Rosicky (7.0) injected some spark into Arsenal’s attack.

Chamberlain (6.5) ran at the defense and showed why he deserves a run out in the first team.

I’ve seen Arsenal play poorly but yesterday’s performance was out of the rabbit’s hat. Swansea dominated Arsenal from start to finish and showed everyone that they wanted the game more than their illustrious opponents.

I always hand out “quote of the days” to fellow Gooners out there but today’s quote goes to me:

@goonerdaily: “I wouldn’t mind seeing Arsenal in the Europa League. Arsene Wenger and his players need to be taught a big lesson for their lack of desire.”

Arsenal played like sure-fire Europa League contenders yesterday.

It’s no less than they deserve for the kind of team Arsene Wenger has assembled despite the glaring deficiencies.

It took an 8-2 spanking in the hands of Manchester United to open the manager’s eyes in the worst possible manner and he responded by signing five players.

Let’s see what he has in store for the team following the recent failures.

But as always,

In Arsene We Trust.

Sayonara.

Posted from WordPress for BlackBerry.

Swansea aftermath, transfer speculations and Per issues a warning

Another Premier weekend went by with the clubs from Manchester setting the early season pace. Wayne Rooney has turned into football’s Midas because everything he touches turns to goals. Arsenal received a first hand demonstration of his newly-found clinical ability in front of goal.

Arsenal secured its first win the Premier League last weekend and the result put smiles back on the faces of gooners worldwide.

Arsene Wenger was delighted with the vital win against Swansea:

“It was vital for us to win this game. We started well but slowly the nerves took over and we played with the handbrake on and [were] restricted in the second half.

“It is not often you see us pass the ball back to our goalkeeper when we are on the halfway line but you could see the nerves in the second half. We just wanted to get over the line and not make a mistake. If you make a mistake, you know you then don’t win a game it is vital to win.”

“But credit to Swansea, they played really well they have some good players and are brave to get the ball at the back. It’s not easy to come here but they were brave and showed some confidence. It wasn’t easy but I’m glad for the debuts and glad for the three points.”

He also spoke of the performance of his new recruits:

“Mertesacker was calm and composed. He leads the line well and of course needs time to adapt to the pace of the game in this country but I was pleased with him.

“Benayoun brought us something when he came on. He was mobile, dynamic and overall did well.”

“Arteta played very well overall, especially in the first half. In the second half it was more difficult for him but you could see he will bring something to us technically in a team that likes to play the way we play.”

Arteta also had a thing or two to say about the game:

“It was important to get the three points and we’ve done it. It was important to forget about what happened two weeks ago [the 8-2 defeat against Manchester United] and now we have a big Champions League game on Tuesday [Borussia Dortmund] and let’s focus on that now.

Wenger has also stated that the squad is stronger than last season and he’s confident that they’ll go all the way this time.

Arsenal’s captain Robin van Persie has also stated his delight for the acquisitions made this summer:

“We have some new additions that we are very happy about, I followed the transfer deadline day quite closely from Holland, and was in touch with people over here. It was quite crazy really, I followed it like I’m sure all the fans did.”

Walcott and van Persie were among the players that openly stated about the need for new recruits during the summer so I’m sure that the deadline day arrivals brought butterflies to van Persie’s belly.

News regarding transfers are supposed to be minimal with football headlines dominating proceedings but the media Vultures are having none of that because January is closer to them than the rest of the football world.

They’re reported that Arsenal are on the alert after Vagner Love stated that he wants to leave CSKA in January.

With van Persie leading the front line with the likes of Chamakh and Park CY behind him, I don’t see the need for another striker; especially the type that will dye his braids to colour Red if he joins the club.

They’ve also revealed that Arsene Wenger wanted to sign Cahill but he backed out after getting Mertesacker:

“I don’t want to compare [Mertesacker and Cahill] and I like Cahill as a player so both are good players.

“Mertesacker is a good player, has more experience, more international experience. Cahill is a young, promising English player. Both would have done well for us, we would have accepted both.”

Mertesacker is a proven experienced international while Cahill is a talented footballer but Koscielny is equally as good as Cahill so I’m happy with the present lot of center backs at the club.

Finally, the media Vultures say that Arsenal is ready to make a bid for Esteban Granero. The Real Madrid midfielder was a star at Getafe but he has failed to shine at the Bernabeu so an exit might seem on the cards for the playmaker.

Arsenal’s next match comes up tomorrow in Germany against Borussia Dortmund. The German outfit won the Bundesliga last season and they possess a very exciting squad that has the likes of Mario Gotze, Shinji Kagawa and Lucas Barrios.

Having played against them many times in his Werder Bremen days, Arsenal’s newbie Per Mertesacker has issued a warning to Arsenal ahead of their Champions League curtain raiser tomorrow:

“Dortmund were the best team in Germany last year, they do a good job passing the ball and have great players”

“It will be difficult for us but I know we have very good players and I’m confident we can get a result.

“Dortmund are the toughest opponent in our group, so we will be very happy if we can take something from this match.”

Placing Dortmund in the same scale with Olympiakos and Olympique Marseille, it’s fair to say that they are Arsenal’s toughest opponents in Group F.

However, the Polish contingent in Dortmund have ridiculed their compatriot Wojciech Szczesny following his 8-goal haul at Old Trafford.

Lukasz Piszczek, Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski teased Szczesny for conceding eight in Old Trafford but I tend to wonder if Roman Weidenfeller would have fared better on the 28th of August against the clinical Wayne Rooney and the technically astute Ashley Young.

Arsenal’s leading scorer Theo Walcott has come out to say that he’ll be rubbish without his pace:

“I’d be rubbish [without it]! It’s about touch as well, but pace in the Premier League is massive.”

“I’m fairly quick. I’d be up there. There’s a lot of pacy players in the Premier League but I’d be right up there definitely.”

He also gave his take on Arsenal’s 8-2 loss to Manchester United:

“It [the result against Manchester United] hurt a lot.

“Seeing the players go through that, no player wants to be part of that.”

Everybody knows that Walcott will be ranked among the top 10 fastest players in the business but its good to know that he has matured as a player and this is evidenced by his performance last season (13 goals, 11 assists).

He has started this season on a good note but there’s still room for improvement because he has age on his side.

In other Arsenal related news, Stan Kroenke broke his long standing silence to speak about Arsenal’s transfer policy:

“There’s a risk of going backwards if you overreact and start throwing money around in an attempt to solve your problems. Our track record is out there for people to see. If we think there’s good value, we’ll spend.”

Be the judge of that.

To round it all up, Arsenal’s Joel Campbell shined on his Lorient debut against Sochaux and the club has hit back on Capello following his rash comments about the club’s role in Wilshere’s injury.

As Bugs Bunny would say,

“That’s all folks”

Sayonara.

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