Yann M’Vila Uncertain | Walcott Fit | Pat Rice Departs.

With twitter it’s impossible to know whether to believe something or to disbelieve it. Afterall it’s where breaking news happens first these days. From “deal agreed and waiting to be announced” on the M’Vila front to “no deal in place yet, no contact, just interest”.

It’s going to be a long summer as it always is for we gooners, but wait, le boss wants to conclude all (or most) of his business before the start of the European Championships so it won’t be.

Where are my manners, top of the morning to you wherever you are. A lot of has been happening this week regarding the club, both rumors and actual events. The M’Vila deal would still happen, knowing how Wenger operates, he wants it quiet till it’s concluded and then announced officially. Fingers crossed. He’s the player we need.

Oh please spare me the “we have Coquelin and Frimpong and Song” cliche. The former two are at best upcoming players despite the obvious talent they have. Playing with world class players only helps you get better, it doesn’t stunt your growth. If he comes, it would be exciting to see who he replaces in the starting XI.

PAT RICE……
The Arsenal legend departs the club after 44 years of service as a player and as a coach. His career is one laden with success and a loyal servant to the club he is. He’s very much loved within the club and would be missed but I’m sure Steve Bould (the man replacing him) will perform just as good.

Word is Mr Bould is a no nonsense man who is outspoken and respected by all players and even Wenger. Finally we can have someone to shout at Gervinho & Ramsey from the sidelines. \(^_^)/.

THEO WALCOTT & BROM……..
Speedstar Theo is set to recover and play in the curtain closer of the season, should he pass a late fitness test. If he’s fit I say start him. We need all the ammunition from the start. Hopeful the Ox gets to start too. The game against Brom is a must win. No f*cking excuses, no relying on results of the other teams/games. 3 points and 3rd place. Thank you.

“We Did Doubt” – Kozzer
In an interview with France Football, defender Laurent Koscielny is quoted to admitting a feeling we had back then, that the players doubted their abilities and le boss’ following the horrendous start to the season, summed up by that defeat I much 8-2 mention.

“The group was not giving enough for the club and we realised that.” said Kozzer. “We got down to work and we said the things we needed to say. After that, one win, two wins, confidence returns and things follow on from that. The new players were immersed in the group and so on”. Get us one more win Kozzer, so we know it’s real!

I have Options – Vela
The Mexican forward has had quite a good season with Real Sociedad, hitting a dozen goals in for the Basque club in 31 la Liga matches. A form that prompted the ‘prince of the lobbed goals’ to declare his preference of making the move permanent a while ago.

Now however, making his stay there permanent may not happen after the player admitted Sociedad’s budget will likely hinder them from doing just that.

But… “I have more options” said Vela, cushioning the minor setback to an immediate exit from the Arsenal. Going by his form though, him getting a decent club shouldn’t be a problem.

RvP: One More Record to Break
With 30 league goals so far, captain vantastic is at least two goals from setting a new league record of 32 league goals (or more) under the 38-game format. The standing record has Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo tied at 31 goals.

It would be great to have RvP get the goals, to cap a phenomenal season. But I can sense many gooners would rather the goals came from anyone, as long as we get the win at the Hawthorns.

And we’ll be here tomorrow to give a prematch report on the game. Till then have a great day wherever you are.

Escobar

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Arsenal 3 – 0 West Brom : Player Ratings

WHO NEEDS BATMAN WHEN YOU’VE GOT ROBIN read the banner at the emirates. And they were right. One goal one assist means the in-form dutchman continues his red hot form. I might have to get a ‘Van Persie’ tattoo so everyone knows my love for him is real.

Wenger made just one change to the team that played against Marseille and that was RVP for Park. He rewarded that with the first goal, then went on to lay an assist for his vice captain The Verminator and for Arteta later in the second half to win the game. Below are the player ratings.:

PLAYER RATINGS

Szczesny- 7
Wasn’t really troubled by the West Brom frontline. Was called to action a couple of times but held his ground. Good outing.

Jenkinson 7
The young right back was highly impressive as he provided some good balls into the area going forward

Vermaelen 8
The Verminator is back Ladies and Gentlemen. Excellent outing for our assistant captain with a goal Vaan Persie would have been proud of.. Was also on hand with a delicate tackle against Tchoyi. Good game. Let’s hope he stays injury free

Koscielny – 7
The Frenchman wasnt really troubled as his combination with TV5 was amazing. I think this is the start of aa wonderful relationship. Maybe we can use Mertesacker for Champs league duty

Santos – 7
Probably his best defensive showing, not that he did anything note worthy. The brazilian claims his second clean sheet in succession

Arteta – 7
Started the game a bit slow with his side passes and two-dimensional game play. Was able to get a goal after a lovely lay-off from RvP. Really needs to step up his overall game play

Song – 8
Another good game for Song. Brilliant in coordinating the midfield & defense. Good news for Arsene as we won’t be losing him in Jaanuary

Ramsey – 7
Matured performance, without doing anything wrong, had a lot of delightful passes for Walcott in the first 45 mins. Grows with every game

Walcott – 6.5
A better game than the one against Marseille, needs to improve his jekyll and hyde finishing. I think he needs a breather.

Gervinho – 7
The Ivorian seems to be enjoying himself with every passing game, no longer staggers on the ball he’ll be missed in January but till then, let’s enjoy him.

Van Persie – 9
I’m sorry, I’ve run out of adjectives and superlatives to describe RVP, unless of course I use Yorùbá which is my native language but I’ll hold back on that. Super Super player.

SUBSTITUTES

Benayoun 5
Helped in starting the move that led to the third and final goal.

Rosicky N/A

Arshavin N/A

Another win, another clean sheet. Happy times at the Emirates again.

Faf

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Which Arsenal will show up today?

Just a quick preview into today’s game!

Here we are, 7th on the table after a really woeful start to the campaign. The entire team should still be in high spirits after last week’s demolition of Chelsea at Stamford bridge and so its only fair we do some damage to West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates.

The team is bolstered with the return of TV5 who is a major plus in defense as the team is yet to master the art of defending. Man of the moment, RVP will be looking to add to his stunning goal record this year and one can fully expect him to get the job done, Gervinho seems to be forming a telepathic bond with RvP and one can only pray they keep the fire burning. Arteta is getting more comfortable, Alex Song stays improving game after game, and Ramsey is doing his best to fill in for the injured Wilshere.

All in all, the team is looking sharp but there is always room for improvement. Someone needs to take some pressure off RVP. A friend of mine said “Van-Persie would soon be going on his yearly sabbatical (sabbatical being his “normal” injury break), I wonder what will happen then”. . Our exotic number 9 is yet to see any Premiership action but he already has a Carling Cup and Champions league start under his belt.

We can only hope he picks up the blistering form he has in the South-Korean shirt. We welcome a West-Brom side currently 13th on the table who may be looking to at least snatch a draw from the fixture. One man to watch out for will be Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie who is currently West Brom’s record highest goal scorer in a single season and also knows what is feels like to score at the Emirates. Let’s not forget that West Brom got a 3-2 win in this same fixture last season so we have to be on our toes.

The Arsenal team will wear a special one-off shirt with a poppy embroidered into the Club’s home kit for the fixture. In honour of the many servicemen and women who have given their lives for peace the special shirts will be used for fundraising purposes, with the proceeds raised being donated to The Royal British Legion.

After an amazing win at Stamford Bridge, we witnessed another Arsenal side, one that served us a boring draw against Marseille at the Emirates. I am sure I speak on behalf of all gooners when I say we want to see the Arsenal of Stamford Bridge today. The one that ripped Chelsea to shreds not the one that couldn’t get past Marseille.We can only wait to see which Arsenal turns up.

Predicted Line-Up

Szczesny-Jenkinson-Vermaelen-Koscielny-Santos-Song-Arteta-Ramsey-Gervinho-Walcott-RVP

Prediction : 3-1

With only 11 points out of their last 10 games, we cannot afford to let West Brom get any point from this match as a morale boost. It is left to Le Boss to pick out the defensive pair but I expect the usual Kos, Mertesacker combination. Do you agree? Do let me know in the comments!

From wherever you are reading this. Have an amazing weekend, and Barka de Sallah in advance to our Muslim readers.

I expect to return with a review of a big win!
Keep those Guns Blazing!

Faf

Follow us on twitter @goonermemoirs

Seventh Year

It has been quite a summer for Arsenal with the Gunners without doubt being the champions of transfer speculations all through. Can Arsène Wenger and his charges end a run of seasons without a competitive trophy at the seventh attempt?

An answer to that largely depends on the club’s mental approach going into matches and this is in two aspects. Firstly, we must kill games when leading and in the inability to do so, be able to hold onto such advantage till after the final whistle as evident from both legs of last season’s north London derby and home matches against Liverpool, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and West Bromwich-Albion as well as the infamous implosion at Newcastle where we ironically open this season’s campaign.

The other aspect of our mental approach to games is how we fare in the months of February and March, months that have proved the Achilles Heel in the leap towards a trophy in the last four seasons.

Last season’s episode proved the most painful, we suffered defeat to Birmingham City (now of the Championship) in the League Cup final on the last day of February, before enduring a mediocre run of form in March that pretty much ended all other title ambitions on other fronts.

And there’s the additional mental jabs dealt the team now no thanks to speculations surrounding the future of Samir Nasri & Fabregas who has reportedly agreed to a deal to return to his boyhood club. Which means a new era is about to start, one without the club’s best player. But no one man or player is greater than the club.

Meanwhile the latter is once more reportedly close to completing a £22m move to oil rich Manchester City, some reports even suggesting he may do so before the protracted tug for Fàbregas finally ends.

Arsenal’s hopes of ending the trophy drought will now rest on 20 year old Jack Wilshere(albeit not solely) as it was the English international who flourished – when Fàbregas was mostly half fit or out injured last season – with consistent and assured performances. While possessing admirable mental and physical strength, the rest of the team will determine just how much impact Wilshere will have this season.

With Laurent Koscielny apparently being the notable addition to the team last season, the Gunners actually did well until those dreaded months. This term, Ivorian forward Gervinho has joined and impressed so far with his quick feet and good composure.

Other than him, Wenger has (annoyingly) kept to his policy with a roll call of highly rated youngsters such as Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Ryo Miyaichi. The transfer window however is still over a fortnight from closing so some much needed experienced players may yet arrive at the Emirates.

While awaiting those, Gooners will be banking on Robin van Persie to pick up from the fiery form of the second half of last season that saw the Dutchman finally show us his potential with a high return on goals per game. Having him fit for a whole season on such form leaves the heights attainable by the team optimistically imagined.

In the event of him being out injured as he is sadly prone to, Theo Walcott gets my nod to spearhead the front ahead of the overly disappointing Marouane Chamakh and the England international has publicly stated his desire to play upfront rather than on the wings.

Last season, he posed a real threat to defences with his raw speed that was, unlike previous seasons, complemented with much technique. This sort of form gives promise of this season being perhaps a breakthrough season for the 21 year old.

Those other than the above players that could contribute to a successful league campaign, and perhaps success in any of the other competitions, are Thomas Vermaelen, Andrei Arshavin, Koscielny and goalkeepers Lukasz Fabianski and Woijcech Sczeszny just as I’m personally looking forward to how Aaron Ramsey fares with Abou Diaby’s injury presenting the Welsh midfielder a chance to impress.

Vermaelen on his part was out virtually all of last season injured and Squillaci failed woefully as partner to Koscielny. Consequently, the efficiency of our physios this season actually comes in just behind the team’s mental maturity as deciding factors on how this season will pan out.

Arsenal’s campaign begins at St. James’ Park in Saturday’s evening kick-off having survived getting postponed due to the violent scenes that besieged streets in London and Birmingham.

That match is then followed in quick sequence by games against title rivals Liverpool and Manchester United, with the Champions League qualifier against Italian side Udinese buttered between those red encounters.

In all honesty, Arsenal are strong contenders for the title and hopefully we avoid burning out at those times aforementioned!

That said, enjoy the season ahead, it’s great to finally be getting underway!

C’mon You Smokin’ Gunners!!!

WHAT A LIST OF ROYAL SCREW UPS!

Arsenal 2–3 West Brom (League)
Arsenal 0–1 Newcastle (League)
Arsenal 2–3 Spurs (League)
Newcastle 4–4 Arsenal (League)
Arsenal 1–2 Birmingham (Carling Cup)
Man United 2–0 Arsenal (F.A Cup)
Arsenal 1–1 Liverpool (League)

What do these games have in common?

Each of these games represent moments when we were sure of 3 points either before kick off or at half time. But at the end of the game, we managed to throw it all away.

We have mastered the art of using the self-destruct button so much that we cannot be sure of a win until the final whistle is actually blown.

I really can’t be arsed into writing another long report about a team whose players do not seem to care. We were unproductive yesterday; we scored from a penalty in the 7th of 8 minutes of added time. Yet we could not keep our acts together for just over one minute.

The question I keep asking is why this team messes up when the stakes are so high. Now we have moved from challenging for the title to a position where we are not sure of finishing in 2nd place. Yes, we are just 2 points above Chelsea!

If we win the League this season, I will celebrate it, but you’ll all agree with me that we do not deserve it. Man United have shown more mental strength than we have and if they clinch it at the end of the day, they earned it.

However, I’ll keep supporting the Arsenal, come rain, come shine, win or lose!

Have a good day wherever you are reading this from.
9jabred says so!

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1/10: The most important 3 points in the run-in?

I’m feeling pretty off this morning as the UEFA Champions League draws were made and names like Shakhtar, Schalke, and Spurs popped up. No disrespect to either Shaktar or Schalke but it could have easily been us in that position, had we not been complacent enough to place second in the easiest group of all; giving us the toughest possible draw.

But our moaning period is over, we are out of 3 competitions but we still have the League to play for. We win all our remaining games and the trophy follows us back to N5. But it’s not that easy as it seems. We begin a run of 10 games which includes visits to Shite Hart Lane and Stoke, and home games to Liverpool and Man United. But of this lot, the most important game is tomorrow’s trip to West Brom. The Baggies are in good form, unbeaten in their last 4 League games, their best run of results in 5 months. But they face an Arsenal side that has no lost in 11 League games, since the defeat at Old Trafford in December. We have also not lost a league game in the month of March since a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea in 2008, but our record against the newly promoted sides this term has been quite poor with our only win coming at home against Blackpool.

Tomorrow’s line up virtually picks itself. Almunia remains in goal, backed by Mad Jens on the bench. We get another feel of the Squillaci-Koscielny combo flanked by Sagna and Clichy. We will probably see a midfield trio of Denilson, Wilshere and Ramsey. It will be interesting to see how well the Welshman performs on his first Arsenal start since THAT injury. A forward triad of Nasri, RVP and Arshavin completes a depleted Arsenal side. We can bring on Rosicky, Chamakh and Nikky B from the bench if need be. But it should be noted that despite our injuries, we should still have enough quality to see off WBA.

The International break could not have come at a better time because after this fixture, a two-week hiatus follows and then our next League fixture against Blackburn Rovers. A fully fit Arsenal team will beat any team in the League any day but we are not afforded that luxury at the moment. Our injury list is ever growing, with Alex Song (knee), Diaby (groin), Szczesny (finger), Fabianski (shoulder), Djourou (shoulder), Fabregas (hamstring), Walcott (ankle) all out. While Szczesny, Djourou and Fabianksi will probably miss the rest of the season, the other injured players should be fit in two to three weeks.

Under normal circumstances, we should have most of our players back for that fixture, rested and ready to fire through the rest of the campaign. We are just 3 points behind United, they are having a lot of issues at the moment, with injuries, SAF’s ban, and we should not be dropping any points now. The return of the injured players should give us enough momentum to get 3 points in most if our remaining 9 games. Let’s just get maximum points from tomorrow’s game and we will be in pole position after the break to complete the season on a high.

We have put too much into this season to finish without any trophy, let’s get our acts together and make this a season to remember. We can start by claiming 3 points against West Brom tomorrow.

Let’s do this!

From wherever you are reading, hope for the best!
9jabred says so!