Arsenal Escape Norwich Fiasco | Bould To Be Wenger’s No 2 | New Kit Launched

Morning to you all from wherever you are, first off I’d like to apologize for not providing any post match reports or player ratings for the Norwich game for the obvious reasons. Reasons such as how inept we are as a team and how we lack ambition and how the team never ends the season well despite this being our easiest run in in years. Please don’t say we were denied penalties, we were awful, the midfield non-existent and Vermaelen, Gibbs & Szczesny were all piss poor. BUT

For whatever reason, Lady Luck smiled on us the following day as our rivals for the 3rd spot both dropped points meaning our destiny is back in our own hands and we must play the game of our lives on the final day of the season and get the 3 points. As someone said, he’ll get Ian Wright & Tony Adams to deliver team talk before the game & at half time.

We’ll come back to how our team is a very poor one and how no one else but Arsene Wenger is at fault for this. One example, United need to win a game and they throw on strikers like Welbeck/Hernandez/Berbatov, City throw on Balotelli/Dzeko, Chelsea, Drogba/Torres, even Spurs have Defoe/Saha. Who do we the Arsenal have? Chamakh & Park and even those two are never introduced. Says a lot. Arteta got injured(and we’ve picked 2 points out of 9) also, we can see how Song is poor defensively. A couple of assists don’t make you a great DM.

NEW NUMBER TWO……..
Pat Rice will step down end of season and despite the options available to the club, they decided to pick from within and Steve Bould the reserve team coach will be Wenger’s no 2.

Will he be like Pat Rice and just let Wenger do his thing or will he be exactly what we need in the backroom, someone that can challenge Wenger and point out his flaws. He was a former defender, will he help improve our defense? I hope so. But then again, Pat Rice too was a defender.

NEW HOME KIT…….
I’d like to start of by saying I don’t like this kit, they tried to do too much and involved all the colors on the badge. The blue and white hoops by the sleeve don’t work for me. Let’s hope the away kit is better. Have a look below.

And Finally……..

A lot has to happen behind the scenes at Arsenal come summer and buying two-three players will not be enough. We have way too many useless and detrimental players at the club. Ship them out and spend some f*cking money. City are about to win the league by doing that and yet they can’t beat us on a normal day, imagine if we had a better squad.

The jury has to be out on Wenger, he’s a failure and he has failed once again, don’t tell me how he’s done great because he put us in this mess and at the end of the day, he’ll pocket a fat cheque, we’ll sell our best players and replace them with kids/useless ones.

There’s a lot that needs to happen and I pray it happens first, but most importantly a win at West Brom would allow us know what direction we’re going in. Enjoy.

Arsenal Escape Norwich Fiasco | Bould To Be Wenger’s No 2 | New Kit Launched

Morning to you all from wherever you are, first off I’d like to apologize for not providing any post match reports or player ratings for the Norwich game for the obvious reasons. Reasons such as how inept we are as a team and how we lack ambition and how the team never ends the season well despite this being our easiest run in in years. Please don’t say we we denied penalties, we were awful, the midfield non existent and Vermaelen, Gibbs & Szczesny were all piss poor. BUT

For whatever reason, Lady Luck smiled on us the following day as our rivals for the 3rd spot both dropped points meaning our destiny is back in our own hands and we must play the game of our lives on the final day of the season and get the 3 points. As someone said, he’ll get Ian Wright & Tony Adams to deliver team talk before the game & at half time.

We’ll come back to how our team is a very poor one and how no one else but Arsene Wenger is at fault for this. One example, United need to win a game and they throw on strikers like Welbeck/Hernandez/Berbatov, City throw on Balotelli/Dzeko, Chelsea, Drogba/Torres, even Spurs have Defoe/Saha. Who do we the Arsenal have? Chamakh & Park and even those two are never introduced. Says a lot. Arteta got injured(and we’ve picked 2 points out of 9) also, we can see how Song is poor defensively. A couple of assists don’t make you a great DM.

NEW NUMBER TWO……..
Pat Rice will step down end of season and despite the options available to the club, they decided to pick from within and Steve Bould the reserve team coach will be Wenger’s no 2.

Will he be like Pat Rice and just let Wenger do his thing or will he be exactly what we need in the backroom, someone that can challenge Wenger and point out his flaws. He was a former defender, will he help improve our defense? I hope so. But then again, Pat Rice too was a defender.

NEW HOME KIT…….
I’d like to start of by saying I don’t like this kit, they tried to do too much and involved all the colors on the badge. The blue and white hoops by the sleeve don’t work for me. Let’s hope the away kit is better. Have a look below.

And Finally……..

A lot has to happen behind the scenes at Arsenal come summer and buying two-three players will not be enough. We have way too many useless and detrimental players at the club. Ship them out and spend some f*cking money. City are about to win the league by doing that and yet they can’t beat us on a normal day, imagine if we had a better squad.

The jury has to be out on Wenger, he’s a failure and he has failed once again, don’t tell me how he’s done great because he put us in this mess and at the end of the day, he’ll pocket a fat cheque, we’ll sell our best players and replace them with kids/useless ones.

There’s a lot that needs to happen and I pray it happens first, but most importantly a win at West Brom would allow us know what direction we’re going in. Enjoy.

Last Home Game Of The Season : The Norwich Preview. 3 Points A Must

*rolls credits* What a season. We witnessed RVP have a phoenix-esque season and maturity from squad players such as Gibbs, Szczesny. Alex Song stood out alongside midfield maestro Arteta. 2012 was also the year of the Ox, while Wilshere did not make one single appearance. Needless to say it’s been a mental season.

The curtains come closing on the Emirates for this season with this fixture. Usually we’re already guaranteed of our league position at this stage, last time we weren’t sure was 2005. Are we gonna need to pull a Sp*rs on Sp*rs and Newcastle this season like we did then? I hope not.

The midweek fixtures did not favor us at all as both Spurs & Toon won to cut the gap to one. Our fault really. Had we picked up more than one point from the Wigan & Stoke fixtures we won’t be here. But we are, so we do what we allways do because we are the Arsenal. We’ll be needing the fixtures to work in our favor this weekend though.

Norwich are guaranteed Premier League football for another season so here’s hoping they put in a lethargic shift, they won’t be no pushovers, no sir, just ask Sp*rs. These are the kind of games that can go 3 ways. We win emphatically. We get the win regardless of the scoreline. Or we get stung by them. I’m hoping for the former 2 like gooners worldwide. They have no serious injury worries.

Us on the other hand have a ton and Diaby is finally out of the season(surprise. No really we all are) and the Euros. The game comes to soon for Walcott who should make the West Brom finale. Arteta and Wilshere are longterm absentees with Mertesacker too. So expect the same team that faced Stoke with one or 2 changes. Here’s how I would line up :

Predicted Line Up : Szczesny-Sagna-Kozzer-Vermaelen-Gibbs-Song-Ramsey-Rosicky-Benayoun-AOC-RVP .

Prediction : Arsenal 3-1 Norwich

Keep Gervinho on the bench, start AOC, we need pace and precision, Ramsey has one last chance to ease the anger of the fans I hope he grabs it well. I thought he was decent at Stoke, Gervinho was poor.

Tomorrow is also important as it’s “Pat Rice Day”. Wenger’s number 2 has been with the club for over 40 years as a player and manager. Wow. That’s a lot. He’s retiring at the end of the season so let’s ramp up the noise and show some love and appreciation. The game is also Arsene’s 900th game in charge. The 3points cannot be overstated.

Before I go I’d like to offer my condolences to the family of former Nigerian striker Rashidi Yekini. He passed away yesterday night due to mental illness at the age of 49. Easily the greatest striker out of my country. He’ll be remembered for his famed post goal celebration when he put his hands through the net to rejoice. RIP.

Success to the lads today. COYG

Verminator delivers 3 points: The Player Ratings

Szczesny (6) -Had little to do all game. Beaten at his near post for the goal.

Koscielny/Vermaelen (8.5) -Amazing shift. Gave the Newcastle players no chance in the box. Vermaelen got the winner. Dramatic stuff.

Sagna (8) – Was full of running. Stood up to Gutierrez and helped in attack when he could.

Gibbs (6.5) – Could have done better with his tackling for Ben Arfa’s goal. Was impressive going forward. Decent game.

Arteta (7) – Back from injury and slotted in nicely. Gave a few balls away and he should have been a bit more adventurous with his passes.

Song (7) – Good game, kept moving the ball around. Didn’t get an assist today.

Rosicky (7.5) – Picked up from where he left off in the previous game. No goal this time though. Was at the middle of everything we did while he lasted.

Walcott (9) – 2 assists when we needed them the most. Was a menace throughout. Great game. Do this more often, Theo. My Man Of Match.

The Ox (6.5) – Quiet performance, not by any means poor though. It just didn’t happen for him today.

Van Persie (8) – Another top performance. Replied Ben Arfa’s opener in stunning fashion. Kept taunting the opposition defence and keeper all game. Seeing him shout “Come On” after the winner was a joy!

SUBSTITUTES:

Gervinho (4) – Did nothing of note. He needs to get his head right.

Ramsey (6.5) – Came in and brought a new dimension to the game. Was full of running. Could have got an assist.

There you have it gooners! Our winning run continues. Just one point behind the Spuds now with 10 games to go.

Jermain Defoe should get his cheque book ready as he’ll be doing philanthropic work all summer.

See you in the comments!

Van Persie speaks, Wenger too + Newcastle Preview.

Morning gooners. How are you feeling? Fired up, eh?

A couple of surprising results over the weekend makes tonight’s game (as Arsene would say) another cup final for us.

I could wax lyrical about how lucky we are to be in 4th place (considering how poor we’ve been) this season and about how a point tonight wouldn’t hurt us much. But to what end?

We have a chance to close in on the Tiny Tots today and we should grab it. Moreover Chelski won and we need to put some daylight between us and them. Why go for one when we can grab all 3 points.

I’ll digress a bit. World’s most powerful man, Robin Van Persie has been talking, probably not what you want to hear but he’s been speaking nonetheless. This time it’s about his faith in Arsenal’s ability to topple Spurs and finish 3rd. Said he:

“I have a strong feeling we can finish third. That would be quite some achievement, something to be proud of as a club. We want to continue that record because Arsenal needs the Champions League place…”

Encouraging words from the skipper you say? I could go further to tell you that I’m confident he’ll stay if we qualify for the UCL, but I won’t. Like you, I’ll wait for him to make that decision.

There’s the small talk of a game tonight though and Le Boss is wary of Newcastle’s play-acting. Wenger hopes the lads have learned the mistakes that crippled us in the last 2 games against them.

We’ve had three or so red cards in as many previous games against them and we should be looking to finish tonight’s game with 11 men, 12 if you include the roaring fans, and equally importantly, maximum points.

The team should not change much, Arteta returns to the starting XI, to complete the midfield with Song and Rosicky. I”ll start Gibbs if he can play. Allow Santos some time.

Give Walcott and Gervinho another shot on the wings and see if they can rip Newcastle to shreds. Replace the weak link with The Ox. Yes I wouldn’t start him.

Newcastle have no fresh injury concerns so you can expect their strongest side. But we are the Arsenal, we banished Spurs, L’pool and Milan in a week; what chance does a small side from the North East stand?

That’s it from me for now, I’ll be back with a review + player ratings of a big win I suppose. Robin needs goals too, let’s hope he gets them.

Just a quick note to every Sp*d around you: “objects in the rear view mirror are closer than they appear”.

Drop a Comment! Spread the Word! Watch the Game! Have Fun!

Wenger: We’ll try to bring players in| Post-Newcastle thoughts.

Morning gooners! The Premier League kicked off yesterday and even though we have not had the best of starts, I’m just glad that the best series the world has ever seen is back!

I saw yesterday’s game and it is quite obvious we are still a few bodies away from becoming champions.

No, I’m not saying this team cannot win a trophy, but add 2-3 top class players to that team and we’ll definitely win trophies.

Whilst yesterday’s performance was unconvincing, there were a few positives. The defence was top drawer! Koscielny and TV5 were colossal and were equal to everything a very physical Newcastle side threw at them.

I particularly loved the duel between Kos and Ameobi, one in which the French man came out on top. Also, we kept another clean sheet. And we finally have a dominant goalkeeper in Szczesny.

One bad feature in the game was the manager being subjected to chants of “spend some f**king money” by the away fans. I won’t comment on whether what they did was wrong or right.

Everyone is entitled to his views and if some people believe that booing the manager is their adopted approach, fair play to them.

After the game, Arsene Wenger insisted he is not against spending to boost the team’s Premier title. And with the club set to receive around £60m from the expected sale of Cesc and Nasri, he made his stance known. Said He,

I’m not against spending money if the players we buy improve our squad. We must find them and we’re looking very hard, believe me. We have a very big squad and if some players leave, we’ll try to bring others in.”

While Le Boss did not confirm that Nasri is close to joining Man City, he admitted that there was danger of the club being seen as a feeder club if the current trend of selling best players continues.

Yes, we’re concerned by that because when you take players at 16, 17, 18-year-olds and play them in the Premier League, you need to be brave. You do it because you think they deserve it but also because you think the club will be rewarded when they are 23, 24 and they’re in a position to deliver.”

It is good to hear the manager admit that the team needs reinforcements. However, following the events of the past week, one knows more than to believe everything Wenger says.

As usual, let us know what you think!

Cesc believes|Eto’o to Arsenal?|It’s Newcatle first

Our schedule for the 2011/2012 season was announced this morning and it is worth noting that we kick off our campaign on arguably the same ground our we began our decline last season.

St. James’ Park it is, the venue of the infamous Newcastle comeback to draw Arsenal 4-4, in a game they were 4-0 down at half time. It will be important to start our season on a good note and also exorcise the ghosts of that game.

Cesc may have expressed his love and admiration for Barcelona, but he insists he is committed to the Arsenal cause. He also believes that we have what it takes to win major honours.

Speaking at a presentation in Madrid, Cesc told reporters from Spanish newspaper, Sport
“…Arsenal is a good team and a good manager and one of the most faithful fan bases in Europe. With those i believe we can make progress and one day win an important trophy.”

So it is as though Cesc is not only happy at The Emirates, he is confident we can win things. We all share his belief and it’s up to Arsene to get the required players to push past that finish line.

Reports making round have led us to believe that Arsenal is seriously considering a move for Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o who yesterday, made it known that he’s keen to test himself in the EPL.

The lad is 30 years and this may represent his last chance to make a big move to another of Europe’s major leagues. If there is player who defines the word “proven”, I doubt there’s anyone who fits that bill better than Sammy.

Whether an approach from us will be rejected is yet to be known. There have been talks of a money + player deal involving Nasri but I’m sure most gooners will prefer a straight cash bid in the region of £18m and Nasri staying with us.

One downside to the Eto’o story however is his nationality. The Cameroonian will be off to the Nations Cup in January and will be away for probably a month.

We already have Song, Chamakh and maybe Gervinho leaving. Sammy’s departure will leave us with only RVP. That’s a great risk, considering the Dutchman’s affinity for injuries.

In other news, reports have surfaced that our offer of Denilson in part-exchange for Shakhtar’s Brazilian midfielder Douglas Costa has been rejected. The Ukranians are said to be uninterested in Denilson, and who can blame them for that? It remains to be seen how we react to this. Personally, i will take any deal that rids us of Denilson.

Also, Gael Clichy’s agent Yvan Le Mee has come out to say that his client’s future at Arsenal will be decided in the next two weeks. Clichy has refused to sign a new contract at the club and with his contract expiring next summer, the club will be willing to sell him now to prevent him from doing a “Flamini” next year.

That’s about it. we should seal moves for Samba and Gervinho this weekend. Cahill may be added to the mix if Wenger is happy enough.

Trust us to bring you details of those deals as they happen; and you can follow us on twitter @goonermemoirs for more Arsenal stuff.

Have a swell day mates!

See you in the comments