Arsenal Barely Batter BATE Before Drawing Rennes

Arsenal did what they had to do against BATE Borisov last night and the 3-0 win was enough to put them through to the last 16 of the Europa League with relative ease. It could have been a lot better, but after losing the first leg 1-0 last week the most important thing was progressing to the next round. The draw for the last 16 was made this afternoon and Arsenal will face Rennes away from home on March 7th with the return leg at the Emirates a week later.

On the face of it it’s a fairly good draw, but Rennes will be by no means a pushover and Arsenal’s schedule is about to become very hectic. They play at home to Southampton on Sunday which is followed by another home game against Bournemouth on Wednesday before an early trip to Spurs the following Saturday and then Rennes away on Thursday followed by home games against United and Rennes on the Sunday and Thursday respectively. By my reckoning that’s six games in 19 days with four of them at home and two away from home. 

It’s a pretty tough schedule for a squad as paper thin as Arsenal’s and any more injuries would be very unwelcome at this stage. There is an international break soon afterwards and Arsenal have a free week before that as they’re out of the FA Cup, but coming through six games in 19 days won’t be easy. Of course Spurs and United face a similar fixture pile up, but they both have one game less in that time scale as they only have to play the second leg of their Champions League last 16 ties.

Drawing Rennes is definitely more desirable than the draw could have been to us, but they showed they’re no pushover by winning 3-1 away to Real Betis last night to reach the last 16. The first leg was originally meant to be played at the Emirates, but it was switched because Chelsea are at home on the same night and you can have two Europa League games in the same City on the same night. Rennes aren’t particularly happy with the decision and I suspect we might not have heard the last of it. 

Getting back to the victory last night and it wasn’t exactly a thrill a minute, but we did what we had to do. We were helped when a defender turned in a Pierre-Emireck Aubameyang cross early on and we followed it up with headers from corners by Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The fact we couldn’t really open them up in open play should not be lost on us though as we continue to struggle with our game.

Mesut Ozil was given the chance to show what he can do from the start and while he didn’t set the world alight I still thought we looked a lot more fluid with him in the team. His inclusion meant Aaron Ramsey sat the game out and I wonder if Unai Emery will switch the two of them around for Southampton on Sunday. I’d like to see Ozil get a run in the team, but I’m not sure if the manager will have been overjoyed at his unwillingness to chase back and close down on the occasions he lost possession.

I can’t say I’ve been over impressed by Stephan Lichsteiner since he joined us on a free transfer from Juventus last summer, but he made a telling contribution with an early clearance off the line last night. Maybe a goal from BATE would have made us concentrate a little harder on the task in hand, but it could have harmed our brittle confidence too and who knows where the game would have gone then. After our third goal the game petered out, but it was good to see Sokratis come back from his injury even if Laurent Koscielny went off with what looked like a slight knock.

There’s some big tests ahead for us and to be in the best place to face those tests we need maximum points against both Southampton and Bournemouth first. Neither of them are a pushover, but their away records are not good and anything other than six points from those two games will be a huge disappointment.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Spurs: Carabao Cup Preview

Arsenal’s run of 22 games unbeaten came to an end away to struggling Southampton on Sunday with their hosts winning at home for the first time in the league this season. It wasn’t exactly the greatest way to end the run, but no defeat is ever welcome. There were of course the excuses of an injury crisis in our defence and some poor refereeing, but the performance on the day wasn’t good enough and that was the main reason for the defeat for me.

With a hectic Christmas programme of Premier League games almost upon us we have the inconvenience of a Carabao Cup quarter final at home to arch rivals Spurs tonight. So far Unai Emery has played youngsters and fringe players with a scattering of his first choice players to reach the last eight of the competition, but he has a big decision to make for tonight’s game. If he goes with a strong team it could have consequences for the festive games, but nobody ever wants to lose to that lot.

We don’t know how Spurs will approach the game either, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they went with a fairly strong team for a few reasons. Firstly they will want revenge for the 4-2 defeat to us a couple of weeks ago and they also don’t play until Sunday while we play against Burnley on Saturday. The biggest reason for them could be the prospect of a trip to a cup final and the chance to actually win some silverware which is something quite alien to them.

I expect the manager to rest Laurent Koscielny and possibly Nacho Monreal too as they have only just returned from injury while he might be tempted to leave Stephan Lichsteiner on the bench even though he has recovered from the knock that forced him off on Sunday. Carl Jenkinson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are likely to play while Sokratis Papastathopoulos is available to play too after missing Sundays game through suspension. Both Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac are doubtful with knocks and I would be very surprised if he risked either of them even if they do recover in time to play. It leaves our defence threadbare at best and it will be hard to play three central defenders with the options available despite it being the preferred formation at the moment and the winning one against Spurs a few weeks ago.

With defensive options so limited we can probably expect to see a strongish team in midfield and attack with both Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey likely to play in my opinion. There are issues with both of them at the moment and their chances have been limited, but there is no denying their class and potential to turn the game in our favour. 

I expect to see both Matteo Guendouzi and Mohamed Elneny in the team too with Alexandre Lacazette more than likely leading the line. While Guendouzi and Elneny might not offer us the strength of Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka in midfield they are more than capable of giving us the foothold we need in midfield. I wouldn’t be surprised to see both Torreira and Xhaka on the bench though just in case we need them.

As for Lacazette he has been on the bench for the last few league games with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leading the line, but he has done well when he has come on. Aubameyang has missed his fair share of chances recently, but he is still the joint leading scorer in the league and I think we will continue to deploy him as our main striker. I would be very surprised if he was in the squad tonight and a few days rest before the hectic festive schedule might do him some good.

There are a few options for the last place in the team which would probably have gone to Emile Smith Rowe if he wasn’t injured. If we opt for three central defenders then Zach Medley might come into the equation while Joe Willock could play in midfield or Eddie Nketiah could play up front with or without Lacazette. I wouldn’t be surprised again if it was Willock who got the nod, but it really depends on how strong the manager decides to make the team. There is always the chance he will opt for Bukayo Saka after he impressed in the Europa League last week, but I would be surprised if we saw him from the start tonight.

It’s a hard game to preview with so many options for both managers and all I can really say is I hope those that do play tonight give it their all. Going out at this stage wouldn’t be a real blow, but it’s never nice to lose to Spurs and that could be the deciding factor in how both managers approach the game. We have bigger fish to fry in terms of the other three competitions we are in and finishing in the top four or winning the Europa League are the only ways back into the Champions League for next season so they have to take priority for me.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Brentford: Carabao Cup Preview

The 2-0 win against Everton on Sunday made it five wins in a row in all competitions for Arsenal and four of those were in the league. I’ve always thought you need to average two points per game to have any chance of making an impact in the league and we’re on that average with a good run of games coming up. We had a great home record last season, but we struggled away from home against almost every single team in the league. Two away wins from three games so far is very encouraging with the only defeat coming away to unbeaten Chelsea.

It’s the Carabao Cup for us tonight when Brentford come calling and it’s a competition we reached the final in last season. The less said about that final the better though and it will be interesting to see Unai Emery's take on the lesser of the three domestic trophies we play for. Arsene Wenger used the competition to blood young players for many seasons and gradually strengthened the team as we progressed through the rounds. He never managed to win it though with defeats to Chelsea, Birmingham and City in the final during his reign.

The new man might just be tempted to give it a shot and he certainly played a stronger team than his predecessor would have done in our first Europa League group game last week. He has a great track record in winning trophies and I have no doubt he would love to get first trophy at Arsenal as quickly as possible regardless of the perceived value of the competition. The Premier League has to be our first priority, but trips to Wembley for cup finals are usually a pleasant sideshow.

I would expect a fairly similar team to the one which played last Thursday night, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexander Lacazette was the man leading the line this time with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench. Maybe Matteo Guendouzi might start in midfield with Lucas Torreira now looking like the man to anchor the midfield of our first choice 11 and we should see Stephan Lichsteiner, Bernd Leno, Mohamed Elneny and Danny Welbeck play from the start too. With doubts over the fitness of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sokratis Papastathopoulos I would expect both of them to sit the game out which would see Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal in defence and probably Emile Smith-Rowe play in an attacking role. The manager might opt for a slightly less experienced line up and I for one wouldn’t be averse to see Eddie Nketiah and one or two others get a run out from the start or at some stage during the game.

It’s certainly a fairly strong team and which would probably be expected to progress, but you can never take these games for granted as Derby showed us against United last night. Brentford have started the season very well and from the little I have seen of them they play some good football. They will ask plenty of questions of us and the players will have to be on the ball from the start.

We have looked far from at the races in the first half of games in particular this season, but the manager is adept at finding ways to adjust our style and performance. Progression to the next round would be nice and so would making it six wins in a row in all competitions, but ultimately the Carabao Cup is of little importance until we reach a stage where we can smell the chance of a trophy. If we’re going to play a strongish team in the Europa League then it could be at the cost of progress in the Carabao Cup and that would be understandable. 

Of course I want us to win tonight, but the result is not going to make a whole lot of difference to a season which is starting to show a little promise at this stage. Hopefully we’ll win well with the youngsters and fringe players making an impression and none of the players we depend on in our strongest team picking up any knocks. We have some momentum in the Premier League and that’s what has to be of upmost importance to us right now.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v FC Vorskla: Europa League Preview

With three Premier League wins in a row behind them Arsenal make the jaunt into Europa League football again tonight when FC Vorskla come to the Emirates Stadium. I can’t profess to knowing too much about tonight’s opponents and no team can be taken too lightly in European football as City learned to their expense last night. Whatever our opponents might be like we are again one of the favourites to win the trophy and we have a manager who knows what it takes to do it.

Arsene Wenger used the group stages to blood young players and give game time to those more senior players who weren’t getting it last season. I expect Unai Emery to do exactly the same this season with the team gradually improving as we go further into the competition. He has plenty of good players on the bench at the moment and he should add them to a few youngsters who could do with a game too.

We can expect to see Bernd Leno make his debut in goal after we spent so much money on him in the summer and I'm looking forward to seeing how he copes with how the manager wants the team to play. Petr Cech is struggling with the ball at his feet at times, but it seems we bought Leno because of his ability to use his feet among other things. If it goes well for him tonight I still don't expect him to dislodge Cech for a while yet, but the day must surely be coming.

In defence injuries mean we might have to play Nacho Monreal and one of either Shokdran Mustafi or Sokratis Papastathopoulos alongside Rob Holding and Stephan Lichsteiner who will be making his full debut tonight. Lichsteiner is a very strong defender who would get in a lot of Premier League teams, but Hector Bellerin will probably keep his place due to his youth and his attacking ability. It's good to know we have a player of Lichsteiner's quality available if Bellerin is injured or has problems with his form.

In midfield we should get to see the full debut of Lucas Torreira and he's a player who must be chomping at the bit for his first start. He has been very impressive in his substitute appearances so far and he has to make a first team place his own very soon for the good of the team. As much as I like Matteo Guendouzi I think Torreria has the ability to drive the team forward from midfield and he is exactly what we need in the team at the moment.

We should also see Mohamed Elneny get his first chance to show what he can do this season while Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will probably play too as they didn't start at Newcastle last Saturday. It looks like a pretty strong midfield to me and certainly one which should be able to dominate the game. I wouldn't be surprised if Torreira doesn't last the 90 minutes with Sunday's game against Everton on the manager's mind.

That should leave Danny Welbeck to lead the line with Emile Smith-Rowe playing somewhere between the midfield and attack unless the manager decides to pick Eddie Nketiah instead. I'm a big fan of Nketiah and I think he has a very exciting future in the game, but it's very hard for a young player to break into a team with strikers like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette ahead of him. I'm a big fan of Smith-Rowe too and from what we have seen before I don't think either player would be overawed tonight.

Hopefully we can get the campaign off to a good start in front of a fairly good crowd, but the Europa League group stages are hardly the things dreams are made of. We need to get back to the main table of the Champions League as soon as possible for the good of the club and for the money it brings in which cannot be overstated. It's much easier to attract top class players to the club with the promise of Champions League football and the longer we're out of it the harder it will become to get back in. One way to do it is to win the Europa League of course and we most certainly have a manager who knows how to do just that.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

The Pressure Mounts On Arsenal Today

I suppose as things go for a new manager Unai Emery has had a free pass on his first two games considering who the opposition were. Expectations weren’t particularly high for the games at home to City and away to Chelsea and the results went the way we probably expected, but we had hoped they would be different. That free pass ends today though when we play at home to West Ham.

We’re just outside the relegation zone on goal difference with no points and five goals conceded from our first two games. The manager has seen the scale of his task in those two games and he must realise the job has to do on our defence is a massive one. While we looked good in attack in the first half against Chelsea in particular last week, our defence looked as vulnerable as ever and maybe even more so.

We play a West Ham team who have lost their first two games too and in worse fashion than us. They lost their opening game 4-0 away to Liverpool and they lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth last week after taking the lead in that game. There seems to be huge unrest already despite massive investment in the summer and they have a fair degree of injury worries too.

Over the years of the Premier League they have been a bit of a thorn in our side in home ganes in particular, but they cannot be allowed to get anything from this game. We have to show that the new manager is having an effect on the players and put away a West Ham team that look devoid of confidence.

When it comes to the team today I don’t expect to see too many changes from the one that lost at Chelsea last week. The manager seems happy to use his bench early in the game and he’s very open to changing things as the game progresses. He does have a few decisions to make though and those decisions could have a huge bearing on our performance.

In defence there are calls for Stephan Lichsteiner to be given the nod ahead of Hector Bellerin, but I would be very surprised to see Bellerin on the bench. As good as Lichsteiner is it would be a real slap in the face to Bellerin to leave him out and he’s definitely not the only defender struggling at the moment. There has been a fair deal of criticism of his efforts going forward too, but he had a large part to play in much of our good play on the right side last week.

Elsewhere in defence there aren’t too many choices unless he decides to leave Shkodran Mustafi out, but it would be a huge risk to throw someone else in at the deep end with a team that still seem incapable of defending. Nacho Monreal has to play at left back with no other options available and hopefully he can regain his form of last season. He was by far our best defender last season and he offered quite a lot going forward too.

The biggest choice of the day could be who plays in midfield with Matteo Guendouzi surely a dead cert to keep his place. It’s probably a straight choice between Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira to play alongside him and Torreira looks like the favourite to get the nod at the moment. I suppose Aaron Ramsey could play that deeper role too, but I would expect to see him deployed further forward if he does get the nod.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was signed in January to score goals for us and he certainly did so for the rest of last season. Last week he had one really good chance to score and another fairly good chance too, but he failed to put both of them away. He needs to put a few away as soon as possible, but like any striker he will miss his fair share of chances too. I still think he is the man to score those goals for us and he is going to make it hard for Alexandre Lacazette to get a lot of game time.

I would be very surprised if both Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan didn’t keep their places even if Ozil didn’t have the best game last week. He is a top class player and hopefully he will overcome the problems he’s having as soon as possible, but the best place for him to do so is in the team. Like Aubameyang last week Mkhitaryan missed a sitter, but he did make up for it by scoring one goal and making another and he must be a certainty to play.

The last choice is probably between Alex Iwobi and Ramsey and I think Iwobi might just keep his place. He scored one goal last week and he is more adept than Ramsey in a wide role which should probably see him picked despite the misgivings many fans have about him. As I said previously Ramsey could play a deeper role too, but I have s feeling he might be on the bench.

We need to get our first win and points of the season after those two defeats and that win has to come today. West Ham are there for the taking and we should be able to do just that if we go about it the right way. Anything other than a win would be a huge blow and it would put real pressure on the manager only three games into his reign. I think we will get the three points and we should see a few goals too.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Second Time Around For Arsenal At Chelsea

Arsenal’s first competitive game under Unai Emery didn’t go too well last week when they lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City. It was a result that was to be expected I suppose against a City team who broke so many records in running away with the Premier League last season and it was certainly no worse than Arsenal did against them in the three games they played last season. There were encouraging signs in that game, but it will take time for the manager to get the players used to the style of football he wants to play.

The manager has a few choices to make when it comes to picking his team after things didn’t really go as planned last week. Some of the players have come in for criticism more than others, but it can’t have been easy for Granit Xhaka in particular to step straight into the team so soon after returning from World Cup duty and to be expected to be as proficient as some of the others. He lasted less than an hour as did Aaron Ramsey who was only returning after missing the last two pre-season games through injury.

It’s fair to say the whole team struggled with the new style at times and particularly with the attempts to play the ball out from the back. There’s an awful lot of work to be done on that part of our game and it’s all happening far too slowly and predictably at the moment. Maybe the inclusion of Lucas Torreira from the start will make a difference against Chelsea and it certainly looks like the manager thinks he’s ready to start.

Assuming he plays it’s a matter of whether he replaces Xhaka or Matteo Guendouzi and I suspect it will be Guendouzi despite his performance last week. Guendouzi might have made mistakes and lost possession on a few occasions, but he never shied away from the ball and was probably the only player who we could say that about last week. Despite this I think Xhaka is probably going to get the nod having had another week to get used to the way the team has to play.

There are decisions to be made elsewhere too with the left back spot a real problem. Hopefully Nacho Monreal can recover in time to play with both Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles injured and Stephan Lichsteiner having had to fill in there last week after Maitland-Niles went off injured. Lichsteiner did better than Maitland-Niles when he came on last week, but it’s difficult for a player to play out of position and particularly against the better teams in the league.

Our central defensive partnership still needs a lot of work too, but our real problem there seems to be the personnel available. I’m far from convinced by Sokratis so far and Shkodran Mustafi slipped back into his old habits before the end of last week’s game after showing promising signs early on. With Laurent Koscielny a long term injury we are limited in our options and it could continue to be a problem position for the rest of the season. When we played Chelsea in a pre-season game in Dublin a few weeks ago Antonio Rudiger used his height to score from a corner and he almost got a second goal from another corner and we have to be aware of his threat.

Petr Cech has struggled with his part in our new way of playing and he very nearly scored an own goal as a direct result  last week. He’s not overly comfortable passing the ball out from the back and I’m not sure it’s something he will get the hang of at his age. Surely Bernd Leno was bought to play just that way and it would make sense to get him into the team as soon as possible and give us a more solid passing base at the back. To be fair to Cech he made some good saves last week and that part of his game looks better than last season. If we’re building for the future you would have to imagine the time for Leno to get his chance has to come soon.

If Lichsteiner doesn’t play at left back he could come in on the right for Hector Bellerin who wasn’t exactly at the races either. It would be unfair to apportion too much blame to Bellerin when so many others were just as bad and he didn’t get too much help from those around him at crucial times too. I would be very surprised if Bellerin didn’t start and I can’t see how leaving him out would benefit us in the long term. All of the players have to learn how to play that ball out the way the manager wants it to be done and there would be nothing to be gained in leaving Bellerin out.

Further forward I thought Alexandre Lacazette did well when he came on last week and it’s going to be hard to leave him on the bench again. The problem is who would be left out for him and I think he probably will start on the bench again. Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all struggled last week and perhaps the work they had to do closing others down meant they were a little jaded or thought a little slower when they did get the ball. For me we quite simply have to play Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as he is a goal scorer supreme and we need him to put away chances if we can manage to make some. 

Chelsea looked good in beating Huddersfield 3-0 away from home last week, but Huddersfield are not Arsenal and they’re definitely not City. They lost the Community Shield to City the previous week and they don’t look an awful lot better than us at the moment. They are better in defence though and the return of Eden Hazard is bound to cause us a few problems as he has done in the past.

We shut up shop away to Chelsea last season and came away with a scoreless draw and a similar result wouldn’t be the worst result. It’s important for the new manager to get some points on the board and a point away to Chelsea is an acceptable result for any team in the Premier League. I think we have the firepower to beat them or at least score a few goals, but it’s a matter of whether we can keep them out at our end.

If things don’t go our way he can at least tell himself we have had a very tough start to the season and the next eight games are all against teams who finished outside the top six last season. Two games in against the champions from the last two seasons is too early to make any judgements, but they will come thick and fast by the 3rd of November when we play Liverpool if we haven’t racked up plenty of points in the previous eight games. Even then it will be far too early to make a judgment in what we are led to believe is a long term project, but we all know how quickly judgements are made and how quickly managers can lose the backing of those in charge at any club or of the fans too.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Complete Their Transfers With Five Signings

With the World Cup over and football most certainly not coming home it’s time to look at Arsenal’s transfer dealings so far. Unai Emery has been quick to assess his squad and he has already brought in five players who he hopes will strengthen the team defensively. Given our defensive problems for a number of seasons now it’s an issue which had to be addressed and we can only hope he has brought in the personnel we so badly need.

Of course it’s going to take more than a few new players to change a team that conceded more goals from errors than any other Premier League team last season. We need a new mindset and determination from the players and that’s something the new manager has to get through to them from day one. We need the players to defend better as individuals and as a team too and that’s something that has to come from tactical nous and hard work on the training ground.

So far we have seen the arrivals of a goalkeeper, a right back, a central defender and two defensive midfielders. All of those arrivals are very promising, but I’m still not sure we have the actual quality needed in defence. It’s going to take an awful lot of work on the training ground to turn those players into a well marshalled unit, but it can be done.

The arrival of Bernd Leno must mean either Petr Cech or David Ospina will be on their way and there are rumours of Cech even heading back to Chelsea. Personally I think we can do better than both of them and I wasn’t impressed with either of them last season although it can’t be easy to play behind that Arsenal defence. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Leno claim the goalkeeper’s shirt for himself and maybe we might even sign another keeper if both Cech and Ospina decide to go elsewhere.

With Laurent Koscielny more than likely going to miss most of the season and Shkodran Mustafi possibly on his way out after some dreadful performances last season it’s the centre of our defence which needs the most work done on it. Neither Calum Chambers or Rob Holding are proven at the top level yet while both Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Konstantinos Mavropanos have little more than one Premier League game between them, but Sokratis is an experienced player at least.

Stephan Lichsteiner has been signed as cover for Hector Bellerin and he’s a defender with a great pedigree and he’s most definitely a winner. He’s exactly the sort of player we could do with in the squad and I’m looking forward to seeing him join up with the rest of the squad once he gets his much needed rest after his World Cup exploits with Switzerland. I can’t admit to having followed his career too closely, but I wonder if there’s any chance he might just be able to play as a central defender.

The right hand side of the defence looks strong with Lichsteiner and Bellerin to call on while the left hand side doesn’t look too weak either with both Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac vying for a place. There has been some talk of Monreal going back to play in Spain, but Emery appears unwilling to let our best defender from last season go.

The most impressive work in the transfer window so far seems to have been in the defensive role in midfield with both Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi added to the squad. Torreira looks like he’ll step straight into the team and he looks like a very good addition while Guendouzi looks like he’s one for the future, but he will get to show us what he can do on occasions this season. 

We might not have added any attacking players to the squad yet and we might not add any at all, but the work we did in January will be very hard to beat. I can’t wait to see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang playing from day one and I think he’s going to score an awful lot of goals for us. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is another player who really excites me and I think he gives us options in midfield and attack which we didn’t have before his arrival. 

The most important business for us this summer could be tying Aaron Ramsey down to a new contract and Emery seems confident he can do so. A fully fit Ramsey is a very important player for Arsenal and I hope he can be persuaded to extend his contract as soon as possible. If not I can only imagine he will have to be sold this summer and we will have to look to spend big to replace him. 

I still think we will add another attacking player and I hope it’s a wide player because we are lacking some genuine width in the squad. Reiss Nelson might get the chance on occasions to show what he can do, but he still has a lot to learn and we need someone who can give us that something we are currently missing on a regular basis. 

Pre season started off encouragingly with an 8-0 win against Boreham Wood last Saturday and it will continue over the next week or so in Singapore with games against Atletico Madrid and PSG before we play Chelsea in Dublin on the first of August. It’s a game I’m lucky enough to be going to as it’s only about 12 stops away from me on the train. I haven’t seen Arsenal play in Ireland since the early days of George Graham’s reign in the 80s and I’m really looking forward to seeing them play and I’m hoping for a very strong team with the season starting only nine days later.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Update As The World Cup Gets Real

When the World Cup started Arsenal were represented by nine of their players at the tournament and now with half of the 32 teams on their way home that figure has been cut to five players. The four players on their way home all managed to see some action with varying degrees of success, but at least they will be available to play for Arsenal sooner than the players still caught up in the tournament.

The big surprise among the players on their way home is Mesut Ozil as the reigning champions exited at the group stages for the third World Cup in a row. Germany picked Ozil from the start against South Korea and he created enough chances to win the game for them, but their 2-0 defeat saw them finish last in their group. As usual the Ozil haters were out in force blaming him for the failure of his country and just about anything else you care to think of. For me I think their demise was probably down to a little bit of over confidence and the lack of a striker to put away all the chances they (and Ozil in particular) made.

Joel Campbell will join Ozil on a beach somewhere no doubt and he managed to get his first start of the World Cup as Costa Rica managed their first point in a 2-2 draw with Switzerland. He actually had a very good game from what I saw and he had s huge part to play in both of their goals. He probably won’t be an Arsenal player next season, but his performance against Switzerland should at least mean sone interest is shown in him by other clubs.

Both Mohamed Elneny and Alex Iwobi are on their respective ways home too as their countries bowed out at the group stages. Egypt lost all three of their games with Elneny playing all of those games, but it’s probably a tournament they would prefer to forget. Nigeria lost two of their three games, but it took a very late winner from Argentina to see them off on their merry way. Iwobi didn’t see an awful lot of game time after starting their first game and failing to impress.

We still have the Swiss pair of Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichsteiner involved as their country face Sweden in the last 16 on Tuesday, but they will have to do so without Lichsteiner as he got his second yellow in that game against Costa Rica and has to serve a one game suspension. He set up their first goal in that game and Xhaka played quite well too. Lichsteiner will be hoping the team can progress to the quarter finals so he can come in again and share in some of the glory.

David Ospina gets the thrill of playing against an England team which will see Danny Welbeck on the bench once more although he did manage a few minutes off the bench in their last group game. The defeat against Belgium sees England in the supposed easier half of the draw, but they will have to get past a Colombian team who have won their last two games without conceding a goal and only lost their opening game because they had to play for 87 minutes with 10 men. I’m not saying Colombia are favourites, but England could underestimate them at their peril.

As Arsenal fans we all know Ospina’s weaknesses and England would do well to try to exploit them. They have been very good at set pieces so far and I expect the ball to be put right in on top of Ospina at every chance. I also expect to see him go down injured on at least three occasions and who knows he might actually be injured on one of those occasions.

The final Arsenal player is Nacho Monreal who looks highly unlikely to get a game at all unless someone else is injured or suspended. As I write this Spain have just gone out on penalties in their round of 16 game with Russia and yet again Nacho is on the bench watching.

It does look like we will have a few players in  the quarter finals, but maybe only because England are playing  Colombia and we are guaranteed at least one player in the last eight.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Latest Arsenal World Cup Update

The World Cup continues apace and the Arsenal players at it are continuing to make very little impact. Of the nine players who are there to represent their countries only four started in the second round of games after five of them had started in the first round.

The first Arsenal player to make a real impact was Granit Xhaka when he scored a fantastic equaliser to get Switzerland back into the game against Serbia. A late Xherdan Shaqiri goal gave them the three points and they will qualify for the knockout stages once they don’t lose to Costa Rica. They could even win the group if they can outdo Brazil’s result against Serbia, but I’m sure they’ll be happy enough once they progress. Xhaka nearly got himself in trouble with FIFA for his goal celebration, but they decided not to press charges for him, Shaqiri and Stephan Lichsteiner.

Xhaka was joined in that Swiss team by Lichsteiner for that game and the more I see him the more I like him. He looks like he has the mentality we seem to be lacking and hopefully some of that can rub off on his new team mates next season. 

David Ospina kept a clean sheet for Colombia as they bounced back from their defeat against Japan with a convincing 3-0 win against Poland. He played his part in that victory with some good saves and he even managed to go down injured three times during the game as per usual. Colombia will have to beat Senegal in their final group game to progress, but they have every chance of doing so if they play like they did against Poland.

The last Arsenal player to get a game from the start was Mohamed Elneny and he has played his third game as I write this. Unfortunately Egypt lost all three games to finish last in their group and the tournament is over for them despite having Mohamed Salah among their ranks. On the plus side from an Arsenal perspective at least Elneny will have some down time before he’s back to pre season training.

The tale of the rest of the players doesn’t play too well with Nacho Monreal and Danny Welbeck still to kick a ball for Spain and England respectively even though both of their countries have progressed to the next round. 

Mesut Ozil didn’t play for Germany as they managed to bring themselves back from the brink of elimination with a 2-1 win against Sweden and a victory over South Korea should be enough to make the last 16 for them. It doesn’t look like it was injury which kept Ozil out, but you can’t be sure and I would be very surprised if we don’t see him back in the German team before too long.

Alex Iwobi came off the bench very late on as Nigeria beat Iceland 2-1 to boost their chances of progression. They should make the last 16 if they don’t lose to underperforming Argentina, but that still won’t be an easy task. Iwobi will find it hard to get into the team if they continue to perform like they did against Iceland, but he might still have a part to play too.

Finally Joel Campbell didn’t see any action as Costa Rica went down very late on to Brazil. They’re out of the tournament and they won’t find it easy to get anything from a Switzerland team looking for a result to make the last 16. With their tournament over they might just be tempted to give Campbell a chance to play from the start in that final game.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

World Cup Update From An Arsenal Perspective

With the first round of games at the World Cup over it’s time to look at the impact of the Arsenal players in the tournament so far. We have nine players in total playing for their countries, but not all of them are guaranteed starters.

First up I suppose we have to talk about Mesut Ozil and his contribution, or lack thereof, in the defeat for Germany against Mexico. Germany didn’t play well on the day, but for me far too many pundits and Arsenal fans are far too quick to lay the blame at his door time after time. If I hear one more idiot saying “he’s nicking a living” I think my head will explode. 

For me he was far from their worst player, but those who crave attention find it easy to single him out despite evidence to the contrary. He’s not the sort of player to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and win it on his own, but it seems nothing else is good enough than just that for some. His statistics on the day were quite good and it’s difficult to hold him responsible when others fail to finish the chances he invariably creates. Germany are far from done in this tournament though and we will probably see a lot more of them and Ozil too.

Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichsteiner were both important cogs in the Swiss team that got a creditable 1-1 against tournament favourites Brazil. That point gives them a very good chance of progressing to the knockout stages, but they still have a tricky game against Serbia as well as a game against Costa Rica. I thought both of them played quite well without being spectacular and I have no doubt they both have more to offer.

Lichsteiner did well against Brazil’s star player considering he had to play behind Xherdan Shaqiri who didn’t offer him too much defensive cover. Hector Bellerin will still be our first choice right back, but I would have no worries seeing Lichsteiner coming into the team at any time. Xhaka can do better and I would expect to see him get more of the ball in their next two games and hopefully make a real impact on those games.

Alex Iwobi played from the start for Nigeria in their 2-0 defeat against Croatia and that defeat leaves them on the brink of exiting the tournament with games against Argentina and Iceland to come. Iwobi didn’t have too much of an impact on the game and he was substituted shortly after the hour mark. He’s another player who might still make an impact though and I hope he can retain his place for the next two games and maybe go some way towards proving his doubters wrong.

Joel Campbell came off the bench for the last 30 minutes for Costa Rica in their 1-0 defeat against Serbia. With Brazil and Switzerland still to play the chances of progression for them are slim and they could easily end up pointless when the group concludes. I thought Costa Rica looked a little sharper in attack when Campbell came on and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start their next game.

Mohamed Elneny has played two games for Egypt now and defeats against Uruguay and Russia mean their tournament is as good as over. He hasn’t played badly in their two games, but he didn’t exactly make a huge impression either. It looks like he’ll be on his holidays very soon and back to pre season training for Arsenal nice and early.

David Ospina played in Colombia’s 2-1 defeat against Japan and there was very little he could do to prevent their first goal which was a penalty. He didn’t cover himself in glory for Japan’s winner though and I thought it was a ball he should have come for and won. Colombia have an uphill task with games to come against Senegal and Poland, but they can still progress to the last 16. They weren’t helped by having to play for 87 minutes with 10 men after an early red card and the absence of star man James Rodriguez too.

Danny Welbeck and Nacho Monreal didn’t get to play for their respective countries in their first games and they can only hope they get a chance to show what they can do as the competition progresses. Both England and Spain will be expected to progress to the last 16 and there’s every chance both of them will be called upon at some stage.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Players At The World Cup

With the World Cup only just around the corner it’s time to take a look at the Arsenal players who we will get to see playing in it for their countries. There are nine on show overall and I’ll go through them one by one starting with the ones with the best chance of actually lifting the trophy.

The Arsenal player with the best chance of winning the World Cup is probably Mesut Ozil considering Germany are the reigning champions and second favourites to lift the trophy. They have a very strong squad and Ozil is an intrical part of their team as long as he can recover from the injury which hampered his end to the season with Arsenal. If any Arsenal player is going to take a World Cup winners medal home it’s Ozil and it would be a real surprise if Germany didn’t at least make it to the semi finals. I’d give Ozil a rating of 40/100 for his chances.

Nacho Monreal has had a very good season for Arsenal despite the club having it’s worst season defensively under Arsene Wenger. He’s not a definite starter for Spain, but he can be depended upon if he gets the call to give his all. With Spain’s hopes in turmoil after the last minute sacking of their manager they might find their chances of regaining the trophy they won in 2010 that bit more difficult. After the events of this week I think his chances of lifting the trophy have drifted out and maybe they at about 20/100.

Despite playing for England Danny Welbeck is probably the Arsenal player with the third best chance of winning the World Cup. After recovering from his latest injury he finished the season well and he will be hopeful of getting a chance to make an impact in Russia. England should get out of their group, but their record in the knock out stages in tournaments isn’t good and they will have to raise their game to have an impact on this competition. If they reach the last eight they will have done quite well and for that reason I think his chances should get a rating of about 7/100.

David Ospina might not be the first choice goalkeeper for Arsenal, but he is most certainly the first choice for Colombia with nearly 100 caps to his name. They don’t have an easy group though, but their chances of making the last 16 are still pretty good. On the other hand their chances of winning the trophy are fairly long and even longer if Ospina insists on standing behind his line. They might be rank outsiders compared to the big boys, but only 10 other teams are a shorter price which means I should give them a chance of about 3/100 of winning.

Granit Xhaka can divide opinion among Arsenal fans, but he’s certainly one of the star players in a Swiss side that tends to qualify with ease and disappoint at tournaments. They will have to finish ahead of either Brazil or Serbia to make the knockout stages and that could prove to be more than problematic for them. If they’re going to make an impression they will need Xhaka to be at his best, but the chances are they will struggle for the goals they need to progress. I think Xhaka can make an impression at the World Cup, but his hopes of lifting trophy are probably about 1/100.

Stephan Lichsteiner has only just joined Arsenal after a very successful time at Juventus and he will be key to Switzerland’s chances too. He’s a vastly experienced defender at the very highest level in the game and he will make his 100th appearance for his country in their opening game against Brazil on Sunday. Like Xhaka he will be hoping to at least make the knock out stages in what will surely be his last chance to impress on the biggest stage of all. Like Xhaka his chances have to be 1/100.

Mohamed Elneny got injured towards the end of the season, but it looks like he will recover in time to represent his country at the World Cup. They’re in a group with the hosts, but it’s a group which gives them a great chance of progressing to the knockout stages. If they do make the last 16 they might need a bit of magic from Mo Salah to have a chance against any team, but who’s to say that won’t happen. With a ranking out of 100 it’s not easy to rank Egypt’s chances, but I can’t really go any lower than 1/100.

Alex Iwobi is another player who divides Arsenal fans, but it’s difficult to deny that he is very talented. How he puts that talent to use for Arsenal seems to be the issue, but he is certainly making an impact for his country with five goals in his 19 games and some good performances too which were topped off with two goals in a 4-2 friendly win against Argentina. They have a very tough group though and it will be a huge task for them to progress to the last 16. That means I can’t give them any more than the minimum 1/100, but in reality it should probably be less.

Joel Campbell is still an Arsenal player despite being out on loan for what seems like an awfully long time. Costa Rica are in a very tough group though and only four teams have a lesser chance of winning the trophy if the bookies are to be believed. It would be a huge deal for them to make the last 16 from such a tough group, but it’s something I just can’t see happening. Again their rating should be a lot less, but I’ll give them the minimum of 1/100.

With Ireland not qualifying for the World Cup I’m not sure who to support, but I will at least enjoy watching the Arsenal players playing for their countries.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Nine Premier League Players Who Might Interest Arsenal

With the football season over, except for the small matter of the World Cup, it’s time to start thinking of what Arsenal can do to improve their squad for next season. Stephan Lichsteiner has already arrived on a free transfer from Juventus, but there’s still a bit of work to be done if we’re going to improve on last season’s very disappointing sixth place finish in the Premier League. It’s not always easy to find bargains in the Premier League, but I’ll attempt to have a look at some players who are playing in England that might cross their radar.

Marco Arnautovic had a very good season at West Ham and his contributions were probably the main reason West Ham avoided relegation. He can offer an awful lot in an attacking role and can most definitely play in a wide attacking role which is an area where Arsenal need to add some quality in my opinion. The biggest problem for Arsenal in any pursuit of Arnautovic would probably be the price with limited funds to spend this summer and I would be very surprised if they decided to pursue him.

Xherdan Shaqiri had a very good season for Stoke, but he couldn’t prevent them from being relegated and there is not a chance of him playing in the Championship next season. Like Arnautovic he can play in a wide attacking role and he has a very sweet left foot with a real eye for goal too. He’s rumoured to be on the verge of joining Liverpool, but who’s to say Arsenal couldn’t make him an offer that might just tempt him to join them.

Wilfried Zaha had a very good season at Crystal Palace and his performances were probably the main reason they will still be a Premier League team next season. He’s yet another player who can play in a wide attacking role and he has a good eye for goal too. It won’t be too easy to convince Palace to sell their best player though and his “big move” to United a few years ago didn’t exactly work out well for him.

Kenedy is another player who impressed last season, but only when he got the chance to play after going out on loan to Newcastle. Like most of the players I’ve mentioned already he has a lot to offer in a wide attacking role. If Chelsea can be convinced to part with him he might just be a player who could flourish under the new regime at Arsenal.

Nick Pope had a very impressive season in goal for Burnley, but his place in their team could be under threat with Tom Heaton sure to be back from injury for next season. With Petr Cech and David Ospina both having their difficulties in goal last season Arsenal might just be in the market for a keeper. It wouldn’t be easy to get Burnley to part with Pope, but the chances of them keeping both Pope and Heaton are surely quite slim.

Anthony Martial didn’t really get an awful lot of chances to impress at Manchester United last season and it looks like he might just be surplus to requirements for them. He still has a huge amount of potential, but he needs game time to progress and that could be an issue if he joins us too. If United could be convinced to sell him I would imagine the asking price would probably be enough to put Arsenal off, but you never know what might happen if we put an offer in.

Wilfred Ndidi caught the eye at times in the centre of the Leicester City midfield last season and it’s a position where Arsenal might well need to strengthen. He’s a player who can get stuck in and he has a very good work rate, but he did get more than his fair share of red and yellow cards last season. He only joined them last summer though and it might not be easy to convince them to part with him, but it could depend on what their new manager thinks of him when he’s appointed.

Tiemoue Bakayoko only joined Chelsea last summer, but he didn’t have the greatest season for them and it wouldn’t surprise me if they decided to cut their lossses and sell him. Before joining them he was very impressive at Monaco and given the right guidance he might just have something to offer Arsenal too. Depending on how the managerial situation goes at Chelsea they could be looking to raise some money for rebuilding and that might just open the door for Arsenal.

Alfie Mawson did reasonably well in the centre of the Swansea defence last season despite their relegation and he could be available as they look to rebuild for life in the Championship. He’s pretty similar to what we have in the centre of our defence already though, but he has got an eye for goal and a fair few games under his belt. I’d be very surprised if he crossed Arsenal’s radar, but a lot will depend on who is available and how much they have to spend too.

If I was to pick one or two of those players who could make a difference at Arsenal I suppose it might be Shaqiri or Zaha. Neither of them might be stone wall starters in our first choice team, but they would both certainly add attacking flair to the squad and give us more attacking options than we have already. I would be surprised to see Arsenal add any players from other English teams though because they tend to be severely overpriced and I think Unai Emery might have his own ideas of players he wants from across Europe.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.