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Vieira: The Pretenders and Contenders to his Throne

July 2005. The month and year that Patrick Vieira left Arsenal to join Juventus. The deal was a reported £13.75m and left many Gunners’ fans in shock. The central lynchpin of the Invincible team had been cast aside with no replacement seemingly on the way.

For many, the Frenchman’s departure is a symbol of everything that followed for Arsenal over the next 12 years. A dominant, all-round midfielder who was a genuine leader. Gone. The Arsenal midfield hasn’t been the same since. Of course, it’s not quite that simple. To suggest Vieira was never replaced is a little misleading. In the last 12 years, Arsenal have had a selection of world-class midfielders, albeit of a different ilk from the towering Frenchman.

There is no doubt that Arsene Wenger has made more than a few questionable decisions during his reign. But blaming him for not replacing Vieira with a like-for-like player somewhat misses the point. The root of Arsenal’s failings in the league and Champions League stem further than a lack of leaders.

Arsenal News

WALCOTT HEARTFELT LETTER TO ARSENAL FAN

Gunners winger passed on his condolences to some loyal Arsenal supporters following the death of their child, whom they had named after the Arsenal star, Theo.

Walcott and the club were widely praised online and in the media when it emerged that Walcott had sent a heartfelt letter to some grieving parents following the death of their son, who was named Theo in recognition of the Arsenal star.

Blog

What now for Wilshere?

Traditionally, the January transfer window is a quiet time in terms of player trading, but all that can change when a major tournament is on the horizon. We’re heading into World Cup year and those who are on the fringes of their national squads are eager to get as much game time as possible in order to increase their chances of making the plane.

One of those players is Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere. Back to fitness after a catalogue of injuries, the midfielder continues to be overlooked by Gareth Southgate as younger, untried men are used in Wilshere’s preferred slot. A move away from the Emirates is a possibility but given Arsenal’s mixed start to the season, Arsene Wenger should really be looking to bring this considerable talent back into the fold.

Aims

Wenger cool on Sanchez’ Future

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has played down speculation about the current goal drought affecting his top scorer from last season, Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean forward has only two goals to his name so far this term which were against Koln in the Europa League and against Everton in the Premier League. He scored 30 goals in all competitions last term.

The lack of goals is the latest in a string of troubles for the gifted striker recently. In the summer he failed to get his move to Manchester City. A £60m offer was there on the table on transfer deadline day but the Gunners were unable to get a suitable replacement which forced Sanchez to stay.

Arsenal News

Arsenal boss: Jack Wilshere is ‘more mature’ and ready to step in

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has claimed that midfielder Jack Wilshere is a more mature man after going through a series of injuries.

The England international is likely to make his first start of the season when the Gunners entertain Doncaster Rovers in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday night.

Wilshere has managed just a cameo in the Europa League this season with Wenger playing the waiting game with his midfielder. Prior to the Doncaster game, Wenger admitted that Wilshere has hardened them with the string of injuries sustained over the years, and he is not far off from making his Premier League comeback.

Transfer News

Anticipating Arsenal’s January Transfer Window

It seems like the dust has only just settled on the ‘will they, won’t they’ speculation regarding Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil leaving Arsenal in the summer. Yet, here were are less than two months before the January transfer window opens, and Arsenal fans are getting ready to jump back on the emotional rollercoaster ride.

It’s not just the future of Arsenal’s two best players that will be on the agenda in January; there are still questions at large regarding squad improvement. With Arsenal constantly one poor result away from a crisis, Wenger will have his work cut out for him early next year. Can he successfully navigate the January window and give Arsenal the best chance of finishing in the top four?

Arsenal News

The Season So Far

Twenty-one years. Normally when you reach such a landmark there is nothing but celebration and enthusiasm for what the future may hold. It couldn’t be more different for Arsene Wenger, 21 years now at the helm of an Arsenal ship that is seemingly listing more as each season passes.

Fans at the Emirates are again arguing over Wenger in or Wenger out. The same deja-vu plagues the club each season it seems and it also plagues every journalist, seemingly copying and pasting the previous seasons transcripts over transfer policy/ambition/Kroenke & Usmanov.

We are now a quarter of the way through the season and again the same patterns seem to be arising for the Frenchman. So how have the first two months of this campaign shaped up? What to make of the new signings at the club? Was he right to let Oxlade Chamberlain leave? And what of Sanchez and Ozil?

The truth behind the Lacazette celebration

As Arsenal continue their fight back after a shaky start, record signing, Alexandre Lacazette has revealed the secret behind his trademark ‘trumpets’ goal celebration.

The £50m man who joined the Gunners from Lyon in the summer has been a revelation so far with 4 goals from 6 starts including two against West Brom on Monday night. All his goals have been at the Emirates and after each one he runs to his new adoring faithful and appears to blow a trumpet. It’s caused a stir amongst the Arsenal diehards and left many wondering why he does and where it comes from.

Arsenal News

Alexandre Lacazette makes goalscoring promise to Arsenal supporters

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has insisted that he will look to score goals in key games where former strikers have failed to succeed.

The France international joined the Gunners from Lyon for a club-record £46m fee earlier this summer and has since opened his goal tally for the club.

Lacazette scored just 94 seconds into his league debut against Leicester City but was unfortunate to have his goal chalked off for offside in the 1-0 loss at Stoke City. The Frenchman has maintained a tally of over 20 goals in each of his last four seasons, and he is aiming to take this form forward by scoring in the crunch games, he told Sky Sports: “I’m going to score goals at key times in games where Arsenal may have struggled in previous seasons. I’m going to win us games.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has stressed that his compatriot is still adapting to the rigours of the Premier League, but he will soon get back to his old self, he said: He is still in an adaptation period to the team and to the league. He is a bit surprised by the intensity of it all in training and in the games. He will get there because he is brave and he is intelligent.”

Arsenal News

Arsene Wenger confirms Alexis Sanchez is ill amid exit talk

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has insisted that Alexis Sanchez is indeed suffering from flu which could restrict his participation in first-team training.

A recent report from The Mail suggested that the Chile international could be pushing for a move elsewhere after he posted an Instagram image with the caption of being ‘sick’.

However, the Gunners manager has clarified that his main attacker ‘has flu’ but he will nevertheless arrive at the English capital tomorrow. The 28-year-old is therein expected to resume training in a couple of days with Wenger maintaining his stance to not sell Sanchez this summer.

Wenger said: “He has flu, yes. I had him on text yesterday. He will come back as soon as possible and we were in touch with him and his doctor and he has no basic problem apart from the fact that he should come back tomorrow, but he comes back on Tuesday.”