Home of Everything Arsenal
The Premier League title race looks like it could between three teams this season, as Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea all appear to be the main challengers for the English crown.
Of course, Liverpool dropping points against Aston Villa at Anfield over the weekend does not put them out of the race but you can see the Reds slipping up further along the way.
Arsenal are once more at the top of the Premier League but if they want to continue their fantastic season going on in the same fashion as it is, then new players might need to arrive in order for Wenger to rotate his key players and them breaks avoiding any kind of serious injuries.
It’s not a secret that Arsene Wenger wants to sign a forward that can play alongside Olivier Giroud and give the Frenchman resting time when needed. In the past few days rumors have been emerging claiming that Arsenal wants to make a move for Dimitar Berbatov who is not going through the best of times in Fulham.
The Bulgarian has even stated his desire on making a move away from Fulham which is something for the club as they need all the help they can get if want to steer clear away from the bottom spots of the Premier League but this also opens up the chance for Arsenal to possibly get a player that can solve some of their problems.
Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata is another option that Wenger is considering as he desires to sign him up on a loan deal and considering that Morata is having more time on the sidelines of Real Madrid than on the actual playing field, it may be a wise choice not only for Morata but for everyone involved in the transaction.
A move to the Premier League will give Morata experience in another league different than La Liga as well as joining a club where he is ensured to have more playing time than what he currently has in Real Madrid and Wenger will give Giroud a new partner who will not only be playing alongside him in the pitch but also a reference man in case Giroud is out injured.
Sir Alex Ferguson recently released his autobiography in which he has criticised several of his former players like David Beckham and Roy Keane.
The former Manchester United manager is currently in his retirement, but several former players and pundits have said that Ferguson should not have criticised players who had been integral towards getting him success at United. The controversy created by Ferguson’s autobiography has raised questions about the possibility of other big managers coming out with books of their own.
After managing Arsenal for more than 15 years, Arsene Wenger is definitely considered as one of the big managers around. He will have a lot to say on numerous aspects like his former players and title winning teams. The Frenchman, though, have said that he does not know whether he would write a book or not. Wenger has said that he will definitely not be bringing out a book at this moment, but he has not ruled out the possibility of publishing one in the future. Ferguson has spoken about in the rivalry he shared with Wenger in the book.
The Frenchman has said that he has not yet read the book and cannot comment on the words used by Ferguson to describe him. Swansea manager Michael Laudrup criticised Ferguson for opening up on the aspects that were spoken in the dressing room.
“I say no at the moment – maybe one day I will be inspired. I do not say never. I just do not feel that need at the moment. The past is history and history has to be written. We have a saying in France – it is not just about making history, it is writing history. It is good for Sir Alex to have a legacy of his career. He was a manager of Manchester United for 27 years – hardly an anonymous person,” said Wenger.
Jack Wilshere has started a huge debate at international level after saying that only English players should be allowed to represent the England national team. His comments come after Manchester United teenager Adnan Januzaj is reportedly eyed by the England FA to represent England rather than his birth country Belgium.
The 18-year-old is regarded as one of the best youngsters involved football right now. He is capable of representing five member countries including Scotland, Croatia and Albania. England are looking to get him on the national team based on the residency rules.
Arsenal are facing yet another disappointing transfer window because they have been unable to bring in any noteworthy players yet. They had been linked with the likes of Gonzalo Higuain for several weeks before the player decided to move to Napoli.
Arsenal have also been linked with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Luis Suarez, as Wenger prefers to flex his muscles for the first time in more than a decade. Even before the new arrivals, Arsenal could be set for departures according to the Frenchman.
Players like Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho have been linked with moves away from the Emirates stadium. Wenger has done little to quash the speculation by confirming that he does not expect the two players to stay at the club. Moroccan international Chamakh has been a major disappointment since arriving from a free transfer from Bordeaux a few years ago. He has featured very rarely in the last few years and the arrival of Lukas Podolski last season only limited his chances even more. Gervinho has also been on the fringes of first-team. The Ivory Coast international has been at Arsenal for the last two years, but he has failed to fulfil his potential.
Gervinho cost the club in excess of £ 10 million in 2011.
“Gervinho is on a good way to Roma and Chamakh is on a good way to Crystal Palace,” said Wenger. “If the club can target players that are going to improve the team, they are going to be very welcome because that’s what we want – to get a better team, better players and compete to win trophies. But the club is working on that, it is in their hands and I’m sure they are going to do it,” said midfielder Mikel Arteta about the lack of signings so far.
Arsenal have been showing a recent interest in big and established players in order to bring an end to the trophy drought. They are extremely close to bringing in Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain on a deal that will break the current transfer record of the club by a significant margin. Former winger Andrei Arshavin currently holds the record for being the most expensive transfer at Arsenal. He was brought to the club for £ 15 million, but it is expected that the club will be spending close to £ 22 million on Higuain.
There have also been suggestions that Arsenal will not complete their summer purchase with the signing of Higuain alone and they are expected to go after a number of other players. Pepe Reina and Ashley Williams are some of the names continuously linked with Arsenal. Chief executive Ivan Gazidis has said that there is definitely money to spend on the plates of Arsene Wenger, but he is sure that the Frenchman will not be spending money just for the sake of creating a point.
Arsenal have seen the likes of Manchester city and Tottenham go ahead of them in the table as a result of spending huge money. Even though Tottenham have not finished above Arsenal yet, there is a real danger of it happening in the near future.
“The parameters in which he has to operate is to spend what the club can afford and my job is to make that as big as possible and Arsene’s job is to think about which talent he wants to spend that on in the best way possible. If we only find one player that we like, we won’t spend twice as much on him just so we can say we spent all of the money,” said Gazidis.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that the club is in good position for a secure future. Pressure has been on the Frenchman to deliver trophies, as it has been eight seasons since the club last lifted a major trophy.
It looks highly unlikely that they will be able to challenge for a trophy in the forthcoming future due to the presence of clubs like Manchester City and Tottenham in the race. The comfortable top four finish of a few seasons ago has vanished for Arsenal, as the club are in danger of missing out on the Champions League group stages for the first time in more than a decade.
England and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has suffered a horrible amount of time on the sidelines as a result of ankle injuries in recent years. The player could be set for one more week on the sidelines according to the manager, Wenger. Wilshere has not been part of the Arsenal first team since the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal a few weeks ago. The ankle injury suffered by the player but then who is expected to keep him out for up to 3 weeks. However, Wenger has revealed that the club are taking cautious measures when it comes to recovering him.
Due to his history when it comes to inflammation of the ankles, Wenger has said that Arsenal are ready to rest him when needed. This will include the one week time that he will spend on the sidelines in order to recuperate. Wilshere’s presence is extremely important for an Arsenal team that looks devoid of ideas. They are four points behind Tottenham, who are their main challenges for the top four positions, with only eight matches remaining in the campaign.
As a result of this latest setback, Wenger has confirmed that the player will not be available for the matches against Reading and West Brom. However, he is expected to be back for the match against Norwich.
“We deferred his rehab and gave him one more week. I believe [he will return] in two weeks. That means not [West Brom], the game after. It is not better, not worse. Because it was an inflammation of the bone and we had such history with him, we are a bit more cautious than you would be with you or with me. We’ll rest him when it’s needed. He has regular scans and as soon as we have an alert we will respect it no matter what is at stake,” said Wenger.
There has been suggestions in the last few weeks that the current crop of Arsenal players do not care about the club as much as the previous generation of players, who are regarded as legends after going through an entire season unbeaten.
It was also the famous Arsenal team that consisted of players like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. It made them the Invincibles in the English football era for the first time. Even though Arsenal have had several victories in matches since then, they have been unable to lift a single trophy. The trophy drought stretches back to 2005 when they last won the FA Cup.
The 2-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea during the weekend leaves Arsenal in a precarious position whereby even Champions League football is likely to be available next season. Wenger has placed so much stress on qualifying for this European competition on a regular basis, which he regards to be of importance over the prospect of winning cups like the FA cup and the League Cup. As a result, Arsenal have been one of the consistent teams in the Premier league over the last several years. This is also led to suggestions that the current crop of players do not care about club as much as the previous generation did.
“Of course. They care as much, if not more. People have the right to criticise when the games don’t go as well as you want but I can show you games of the players you spoke about [and] I can tell you some bad starts [from them] as well, believe me. I can show you some goals where you can see where they were not completely untouchable. That happened to them as well,” said Wenger ahead of the FA Cup match with Brighton.
The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that he hopes that the New Year will be much better for the club. Arsene Wenger has seen his team go seventh seasons without lifting the trophy. Despite facing a lot of troubles in 2012, Arsenal finished the calendar year on a strong note after the 7-3 victory over Newcastle.
This was the fourth consecutive win for Arsenal in the league, which helped them move up to the fifth position just three points behind their arch rivals Tottenham. However, Arsenal do have a game in hand over their rivals.
Wenger has said that he hopes that the current run of form for the club will be continued in 2013 as well. Aside from the race for the fourth position, Arsenal also have the Champions league match against Bayern Munich to look forward as well.
This last 16 stage of the competition will see the Premier league club are pitted against the German giants, who finished as the runners up in the competition last time around. Arsenal recently managed to secure the future of their British talent like Jack Wilshere and Jenkinson. Wenger is also hoping to tie the 23-year-old winger Theo Walcott on a new contract as well.
“My hopes are that the win over Newcastle will give even more confidence, desire and ambition to our team, and that 2013 will confirm we are a great team. I like the fact Theo can play through the middle because it gives us more opportunities to do that and more possibilities to change from game to game. I will do it again,” said Arsene Wenger after the Newcastle match. Theo Walcott scored a stunning hat-trick in the match, which prompted calls for the club to offer him a new contract as soon as possible.