PremierLeague

29th December 2015: Wenger praises Mesut’s masterclass

Posted on by TremendArse

Good evening Gooners. Leicester City host Manchester City later and although a win for the Foxes will take them above us in the Premier League table, I’m actually hoping they do manage to beat Manuel Pellegrini’s men.

Because in the long-run, it’s City who’ll emerge our biggest rivals in the title chase in my opinion. So I’d rather us keep our four point advantage over them, even if it’s at the expense of being dislodged from the top of the table temporarily by Leicester.

Anyway, a major reason we’re currently top is of course the majestic form of Mesut Ozil, who in the absence of the injured Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla, has seemingly grown even more influential than he has been all season, conjuring assists at will and playing like a Player of the Year winner in-waiting.

Unsurprisingly, Arsene Wenger was full of praise for his record-signing when he spoke at his post-game press conference yesterday, saying:

Mesut was the focal point of our team because we had a new midfield today and he gives reassurance with his technical security and ability. When we had problems in the first part of the game it went always through him and it gives you confidence and security. I have seen a few good games from Ozil but what is important is that he convinces everybody that he is not only a talented player but a player that is always willing to work for the team and work hard. He has added scoring goals to his assists and overall he is a complete player. I have not seen many of that quality but I was quite lucky in my career. For me I don’t like to compare players and he is an exceptional player. I think you have to give me credit that I defended that point of view even when you were sceptical about it. What is very important is that he comes as good as he can be and he is on his way. Is there a lot left? I don’t know, but what he is doing at the moment is fantastic.

I’ll be honest, when we signed Ozil right at the end of the transfer window in the summer of 2014, I wasn’t quite as excited and enthused as the majority of Arsenal fans seemed to be. Not because I didn’t rate him as a footballer, because my memories of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where Mesut first showed the world what he could do were still fresh.

But I had doubts over his ‘completeness’ as a player. They were the same sort of reservations I always had about Cesc Fabregas when he was lauded as being a cross between Pele, Diego Maradona and Superman during his time at Arsenal. Could he beat a man? Was he quick and athletic enough? Did he have regular goals in him? Or was he ‘just’ a passer?

Yet what his time at Arsenal has shown me at least, is that a) I hadn’t paid close enough attention to Ozil’s game while he was a Real Madrid player and b) his quality of passing and assists really in extraordinary. It borders on perfection, and in my opinion, is a level or two above even Fabregas at his best. Arsene once said something along the lines of ‘where do you find another Fabregas?’, but in Ozil, he’s found a considerable upgrade, and one who’s still improving.

Right, a brief one today but that’s it from me.

See you tomorrow.

28th December 2015: Gabriel and Ozil send Arsenal top

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. Mesut Ozil inspired a much-changed Arsenal line-up to a 2-0 win over Bournemouth at Emirates stadium this evening, to send us to the top of the Premier League for at least the next 24 hours.

Arsene Wenger made four changes to his starting selection from the Boxing Day defeat at Southampton; Gabriel, Kieran Gibbs, Calum Chambers and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Mathieu Flamini and Joel Campbell respectively.

The game had a pretty scrappy opening with both sides guilty of giving the ball away and failing to find any fluency in their passing but we took the lead after 27 minutes as Gabriel headed home from Ozil’s in-swinging corner.

The Brazilian defender was a threat from set-plays all game long and also defended faultlessly at the back bar one hairy moment where he appeared to kick a Bournemouth player rather than the ball inside our penalty area. It would have been harsh on him had a spot-kick been awarded but I’ve seen them given and we were a tad lucky to get away with that one I thought.

But there was absolutely nothing fortuitous about our second goal which arrived via the delicate, but devastatingly effective, left in-step of Ozil after 63 minutes. The German played a couple of one-two’s, the second with Olivier Giroud, whose flick left Ozil one-on-one with their keeper on the right. Instead of swinging his weaker right foot at it, our wizardry number 11 simply readjusted his body-shape to allow the ball to run across onto his favoured left peg and calmly passed the ball past their keeper.  What a goal and WHAT a player.

The visitors enjoyed plenty of possession (49%) but failed to create many clear-cut chances and in truth, it was a just the kind of comfortable win we needed after Saturday’s shock spanking at St Mary’s. We rested a few players, secured three points to send us top, Mesut Ozil inched closer to Thierry Henry’s Premier League assist record of 20 (Ozil now has 16) and Petr Cech also broke the division’s clean sheet record.

A couple of other things to note were that Theo Walcott had a day to forget I thought, Oxlade-Chamberlain played a little better than what he’s produced so far this season – the signs were there that he simply needs a run of games to build confidence – and Chambers performed adequately in defensive midfield but I’m still far from convinced he’ll be up to it against better opposition.

After the game, Arsene Wenger shared his thoughts on the match with the BBC, saying:

There was a little hesitancy at the start after our bad result on Saturday but slowly we got into the game and after that we created chances. After a disappointing result, not dropping points once again was most important for us.

And the boss also praised the outstanding Ozil, offering:

I said many times that he has added something to his game – a desire to be efficient and desire to score goals. He has become a complete sensational football player. I am very, very happy with his performances. He is one of the best in Europe certainly. In his position, he is sensational.

Sensational indeed. Personally, I felt the German was so much better than anybody else on the pitch it was embarrassing. Obviously that includes his own team-mates and it’s always a little disconcerting seeing Mesut roll his substantial eyes, puff out his cheeks and gesticulate in frustration as the Ox or Giroud or Walcott fail to live up to his lofty standards and play the right pass or mis-control the ball.

But on the other hand, he really is a rare talent and the ultimate team player so I’m sure he’ll continue laying chances on a plate for his team-mates and elevate their standards by leading by example. And on a personal level, Ozil will take some stopping from winning the player of the year awards if he keeps up this kind of form between now and the end of the campaign.

Mohamed Elneny’s signing is reportedly nearing completion and hopefully he’ll be available for our next game which is at home to Newcastle on Saturday. As if a new central midfielder signing wasn’t necessary enough, Jack Wilshere’s latest set-back makes it even more of a priority.

For now though, we can enjoy getting back to winning ways and leading the Premier League.

Back tomorrow.

27th December 2015: A bad Boxing Day at the office

Posted on by TremendArse

It’s dark, dreary and overcast in my part of London today, a bit like the mood among Gooners everywhere after we lost 4-0 at Southampton last night.

Having won so impressively against Manchester City on Monday night, the same starting line-up somehow contrived to collapse against a physical Saints side who certainly enjoyed a large slice of festive luck in securing their win, but in the end, ran out consummately comfortable victors.

The first goal was undoubtedly a brilliant long-range strike, executed with text-book technique, as their right-back Cuco Martina met a dropping ball on the half-volley with the outside of his boot and sent it arcing inside Petr Cech’s far post. It was a bit like Thierry Henry’s record-breaking (or equaling?) goal at Sparta Prague all those years ago, only further out and far more wind-assisted.

I felt the blustery conditions at St Mary’s played a pivotal part in our abject performance overall, along with a slippery pitch which seemed to have been deliberately left unmowed for Arsenal’s visit. It was more difficult than usual to weight passes and the aerial side of the game became far more unpredictable and challenging. That said, Southampton used the conditions in their favour, whilst we failed to adapt.

They shot from long-range and made the most of set-pieces whereas we didn’t take enough pot-shots in conditions that were clearly going to cause goalkeepers difficulties. When we did swing decent deliveries into the box, Olivier Giroud (very early on in the game), and then Theo Walcott, lacked accuracy and conviction when afforded uncontested headers at goal.

Their second goal arrived ten minutes after the interval and although we should have defended far better as a team, Shane Long slyly tripped Laurent Koscielny in the build-up to his his first goal of the game, which allowed him to tap home unmarked at the far post from Sadio Mane’s cross.

Southampton scored a third with about 20 minutes to go as Jose Fonte powered home a header from a corner that should actually have been a goal-kick, but also better defended by Arsenal. Then right at the death, Long grabbed his second and Southampton’s fourth to complete a miserable day for the Gunners.

I’m loathe to draw too many conclusions from the game because in my opinion, although we performed very, very poorly both individually and collectively, we were also extremely unfortunate to be victims of officiating errors which directly led to the hosts first three goals (there was an offside in the build-up to Southampton’s first).

Our squad is obviously stretched to it’s limit in central midfield and we’re also currently missing the irreplaceable brilliance of Alexis Sanchez, so there are mitigating circumstances, even if the same players have produced far better in our last few games.

Mohamed Elneny, the Basel midfielder said to be set for a move to Arsenal in early January, will have a medical in Paris on Wednesday according to reports today, so that transfer will at least give us one more option in midfield if it goes through. But with Danny Welbeck’s return date still uncertain, perhaps we also need to seriously consider another striker purchase, even if it’s a bit of a punt. Alexandre Pato at around £15m seems a no brainer, for instance.

But for tomorrow’s game against Bournemouth at Emirates stadium, we have to go with what we have, hope yesterday’s defeat was merely an anomaly and we can get back to winning ways immediately. With Leicester hosting Manchester City on Tuesday, we also have a second opportunity to go top of the table in 48 hours. If we don’t do it this time, perhaps then it might be time to start worrying, just a little, about our title credentials.

That said, despite the defeat at Southampton, we’re second in the table and have as good a chance as any of being crowned champions in May. I mean, taking into account the fact that Tottenham and Liverpool are sh*t, and the shocking state of Manchester United and Chelsea, I’d be amazed if the title is won by anybody other than Arsenal or Manchester City. It’s worth remembering then, that right now, we’re ahead of City in the standings.

See you next week.

26th December 2015: Premier League Preview – Slay Saints and we go top + Elneny deal done?

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. After league-leaders Leicester City lost 1-0 at Liverpool this afternoon, we now have the chance to go top of the table if we can win at Southampton in a couple of hours’ time.

More importantly in my opinion, a victory would also restore our four-point cushion over Manchester City, who eased to a 4-1 home win over Sunderland earlier.

In terms of how we’ll line-up at St Mary’s, it’s unlikely we’ll see any changes to the starting selection from Monday’s win over City, and if we can produce a similar performance, we should enjoy our trip to the south coast a lot more than we did our last visit around a year ago.

On that occasion, we lost the match of course and Wojciech Szczesny was infamously caught having a crafty fag in the dressing room. It’s a game Arsene Wenger discussed when he spoke to Arsenal Player earlier in the week, saying:

Every loss hurts – and that one has not gone out of my mind. It was a bad moment for us but also a turning point because we responded very well and overall, in 2015, we had a very consistent year on the result front.

And Arsene also explained how Monday’s win over City has seen the confidence of his side burgeon as they approach tonight’s Boxing Day battle with the Saints. He said:

The vibes coming out after the City game are that we are a real team who want to work together, play together and are ready to fight to achieve a result. I believe you cannot cheat the crowd. The crowd was maybe better than ever but I’ve always said that to get that, the vibes coming from your team need to be absolutely spot on. We missed passes, we missed goal chances but you could not fault the attitude of any player at any second. As a unit for 90 minutes, the desire to earn your right to win, the desire to commit completely was the most satisfying [facet] of the night. The confidence following a victory like the one against Manchester City of course increases dramatically. What you want to maintain is the urgency and remember how much a defeat hurts. You have to take the positives out of a game to believe in your strengths. That balance between confidence and urgency has to be right.

Let’s hope we get the balance right in every sense tonight and secure the win that will take us to the summit.

But moving away from the game now and onto a bit of transfer speculation with the January window opening in under a weeks’ time. John Cross in The Mirror reports Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Basel’s Egyptian central midfielder Mohamed Elneny and the deal should go through shortly after the window opens.

I must admit I’d never heard of the player before this morning but having indulged in a spot of YouTube scouting, I like what I see. A lot. Great control, pacey, mobile, aggressive, can pass, appears to have a shot-and-a-half on him from long-range and at 23 years of age, can still develop and improve. Plus if the report is accurate, he’d be relatively cheap at £5m and so we have little to lose.

The Mirror’s report has also been, er, mirrored by The Telegraph this afternoon and they suggest the fee may rise to £7m but talks are progressing well, personal terms with the player should be straightforward and Elneny will be eligible for the Champions League after Basel were eliminated in the qualifying rounds of this season’s competition by Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Right, kick-off is fast approaching so I’ll leave it there.

Back tomorrow.

COYG!

 

23rd December 2015: Wenger on 2015, likely champions and more

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back and happy Christmas Eve Eve. Arsene Wenger held his pre-Southampton press conference this morning and the big team news is that there is nothing new to report.

We’ll have the same squad as Monday night against Manchester City and barring any late injury concerns, that’ll also mean the starting line-up will be unchanged for the game at St Mary’s on Boxing Day.

As far as our absentees are concerned, Alexis Sanchez and Mikel Arteta are the closest to making a comeback according to the boss, and he also revealed Tomas Rosicky “could be back in full training” in three weeks. The likes of Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin are of course some way from being able to make a return yet.

Meanwhile, as we approach the end of 2015, Arsene discussed the last 12 months for his team, revealed where he believes the “real pressure” in the Premier League lies, and pointed out that it was far too early in the campaign to be trying to work out who the eventual champions will be. He said:

The only the thing I can say is 2015, if you look back and try to analyse it, we have been consistent. We have had quite a positive year and stabilised our defensive record and improved our record against the strong teams in the Premier League so it looks like we are on the right train going the right way. We have been top of the league in previous years and I think football is pragmatic. Nobody can predict what can happen in the next 17 games for example, and you just want to go with the same attitude and spirit. The real pressure is not to go down. All the rest is positive pressure. I believe that football is down to performance. In the media it quickly becomes a bit intellectual. Who will win the title? Nobody knows. I’ve worked for a long time in the game and nobody can tell you who will win the title. It’s down to being pragmatic, putting the effort in to win your next game and worrying about your performance. That gives you a chance over a longer distance to maybe achieve your goals. At the moment, it’s miles too early to say who will win the Premier League. We’ve played 17 games – we’re not even at halfway.

After we beat City on Monday to extend our lead over them to four points, I must admit I allowed myself to wonder if this could really be the year we end our long wait for the title. But obviously Arsene’s right – it’s still far too early in the season to start getting excited. That said, there are reasons to at least feel confident of our chances.

Chelsea being out of the race already, Manchester United having a p*ss-poor squad and an increasingly unhinged manager, City’s inconsistency, Liverpool and Tottenham being, well, Liverpool and Tottenham – things would appear to be falling in our favour as far as challengers go. On the other hand, our injury list seems ever-lengthening and we still have over half the season still to run. But whatever happens, as Arsene mentions above, we’re on the right track. Whether we can last the course only time will tell …

Finally for today, a few words from the boss on our win over City and the upcoming game against the Saints:

It was an important win for us (against City) but we already had a good confidence level. To win these sorts of game you need to believe you can do it. Overall what came out of the game was a strong team attitude and strong team effort. Everybody put hard work into the game – we got a positive result against a strong team who will fight for the championship, so it was an important night for us. I believe for us, the most important is to focus on ourselves. We have not to speculate too much on any weakness of Southampton. When you look at their team, they have the potential to be a very strong team. We have to convince ourselves that we again need another top-level performance.

Nothing to argue with there at all. So I won’t. Our mental approach to games has been very noticeable for it’s marked improvement this season and whether that’s down to the squad’s average age going up over the last few seasons, the Petr Cech effect, or whatever, it bodes well for our chances of success this season and beyond.

Til tomorrow.

22nd December 2015: Manchester City slain by aggressive Arsenal

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. What a win we ended up enjoying last night and what a performance by the boys. From the peerless Petr Cech in goal, all the way through the team to our tireless target-man Olivier Giroud at the tip of the attack. We were focused, committed, industrious, classy, clinical, but above all I thought, aggressive.

I was more nervous than usual pre-match but not just because of the quality of the opposition. Also because the game against Manchester City was our first ‘big’ test without our first-choice midfield pair of Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin, and when the teams were announced, we learned Alexis Sanchez hadn’t made the bench after all and was out of the squad completely.

Our starting line-up was as expected though, with our first-choice back five intact, Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey in the middle of midfield, Mesut Ozil flanked by Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell, with Giroud leading the line.

Also as expected, without a ‘passer’ behind Ozil, we struggled to find fluency in our build-up play in the opening 30 minutes of the match and, to me at least, it felt as though City were the likeliest to open the scoring. Particularly when Sergio Aguero sent Kevin de Bruyne racing through on goal around the half-hour mark, only for the Belgian to shoot past the post with David Silva in space square of him, begging for a pass. Per Mertesacker’s positioning undoubtedly played a part in De Bruyne’s decision to go it alone but in fairness, it was a massive let-off for Arsenal.

So having nearly conceded, we then took the lead ourselves just a minute or two later through Walcott. The move actually began with Ramsey in possession in midfield and gesticulating his frustration at a lack of options to distribute to. He eventually settled for playing the ball back to Laurent Koscielny, who looked up and in an instant found Ozil in a pocket of space with a pacey pass. The German tried to find Nacho Monreal on the overlap but Walcott intercepted the pass, teed himself up, and unleashed a ferocious, side-footed curler into the far corner beyond the reach of Joe Hart.

‘Just get to half-time without conceding’, I was thinking, as the clock ticked towards the interval, but we went one better and doubled our lead in added time before the break. City’s Eliaquim Mangala tried to find a team-mate from his centre-back position but Walcott picked up possession, fed Ozil and he effortlessly found Giroud who’d peeled away from his marker to the left. The Frenchman shot low and hard, stunning the ball through Hart’s legs and into the corner before wheeling away in celebration.

I thought the goal owed as much to the industry and determination of Campbell on the right in the build-up to Mangala’s misplaced pass, as it did to Walcott’s quick distribution, Ozil’s sublime assist, and Giroud’s intelligent movement and unerring finish. Work hard, get lucky. Or something.

City, who in my opinion had done a pretty good job of stifling our attacking play, largely due to their deployment of Fabian Delph just in front of Hector Bellerin to stop the full-back’s usual forays forward, found themselves two down having played pretty well for most of the half.

The second period was inevitably a more open affair. They replaced Delph with Raheem Sterling at half time and there were chances at either end, with Campbell firing over for us when he should have hit the target at least, and Wilfried Bony, I think, placing a header straight into Cech’s hands at the other end.

Then with around ten minutes to go, Yaya Toure pulled a goal back for the visitors with an exquisite left-footed strike into the top corner following a one-two with Bacary Sagna. That signaled a nervous end to the game for anyone Arsenal but thankfully, we held on to go four points clear of City and close the gap on leaders Leicester to just two points.

I would highlight individual performances but that would be unfair because it was a genuinely outstanding team display. The one disappointment on the night was the news that Sanchez has suffered an injury set-back, will miss the festive fixtures and be unavailable until mid-January.

On the bright side though, he’s finally getting a rest and if last night is any kind of gauge, we’re strong enough to beat any side in this league, with or without our brilliant number 17.

Til tomorrow.

21st December: Premier League Preview – Depleted Arsenal v Replenished City

Posted on by TremendArse

Temperatures may have taken a tumble around London today, but Arsenal have a chance to turn up the heat on all their title rivals when they host Manchester City in a couple of hours’ time.

The big team news ahead of the match involves arguably each team’s best attacker. City are expected to welcome back Sergio Aguero to their starting line-up, with the Argentine reportedly scheduled to play for an hour as he eases his way back from a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, our very own south American dynamo, Alexis Sanchez, is of course also returning after a hamstring complaint. The Chilean’s expected to play some part in the game as a substitute but is unlikely to be ready to start the game.

Bar their captain Vincent Kompany, City look set to name what is probably their best XI, with the likes of Joe Hart, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne all available. In stark contrast, we’ll be without several key players, with Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere, and Danny Welbeck all missing.

I’m highlighting the varying fitness fortunes of the two sides not as some kind of early excuse-making exercise, but because I think it’s worth reminding ourselves that we have a new-look engine room in Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini, which is still bedding in and we’re facing what I think is the best squad in the the league outside of London Colney. So if we win, the three points will be all the sweeter, but if we get beaten, a little perspective should be applied. Can you tell I’m nervous?

In terms of form, we’re unbeaten in our last four meetings with Manuel Pellegrini’s men, having won two and drawn two since that infamous 6-3 defeat at Etihad stadium two years ago. This fixture ended 2-2 last year, with Wilshere and Sanchez putting us 2-1 up after Aguero had given them the lead, only for us to concede a soft headed equaliser by Martin Demichelis with less than ten minutes remaining.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference last Thursday, Arsene Wenger discussed the importance of keeping our “good run” going, as well as what sort of game he expects this evening, saying:

It looks to be very tight. We have played 16 games and the top team is on 35 points, so it means that the Premier League could be decided at around 80 points. If you look at the results it looks as though the consistency will be the main priority in this league because every week you are surprised by the results. We have really established a good run so for us it’s important to continue that. It is a massive game [on Monday]. When we play at home you want to win because we are ambitious and we feel we have the chance to come out in a strong position after Christmas. It will be a very tight game because if you look at the numbers since the start of the season, offensively and defensively the numbers are very close. Manchester City has huge individual potential with David Silva and Sergio Aguero coming back and so we will need a top, top-level team performance.

And talking to Arsenal Player, Arsene built up the game as a “significant moment” in Arsenal’s season and suggested his side would be well-prepared going into the game, having had over a week to train and fine-tune tactics since our win at Aston Villa:

It is a significant moment. It is a big game that you play at home. We have beaten them last season and it’s an opportunity that you want to catch. Over this Christmas period, we play three times at home, so it’s very important that our home strength comes out over this period. The [eight-day] break was welcome because it gave us a little opportunity to have a recovery period first and then prepare precisely for the game on Monday. I would say we’ve had enough time to prepare well for the game. We had a very demanding week last week, with two away games that were tricky. Olympiacos was a long trip and Aston Villa were physical as well. We needed to rest first. The team performance has to be spot-on [against City]. Tactically, you have to be right. Overall, you have to find a good balance between defending and attacking. The collective process has absolutely got to be right. You have individual quality on both sides as well. They can make the difference and on the day they need to have their special day to make the difference for you.

As I mentioned yesterday, a draw or a defeat this evening is in no way defining for our title hopes, yet just as a win over City in January this calendar year seemed to springboard us into winning consistency over the proceeding 11 months, let’s hope a win for Arsenal this evening will be a similar watershed moment, and we kick on and finally end our long wait for the Premier League crown.

See you on Tuesday.

COYG !!!!

20th December 2015: Welbeck set-back + Wenger praises Cech ‘aura’

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. Another day, another surprising Premier League score-line as Liverpool lost 3-0 at Watford to leave themselves languishing in ninth place in the table.

With 24 points from 17 games, they’re comfortably closer to Swansea’s 15 points in the relegation zone, than they are to Leicester City on 38 at the top of the tree, with just shy of half the season played. Amazing.

Anyway, onto Arsenal matters and worryingly, Arsene Wenger has revealed, rather vaguely, that Danny Welbeck has suffered another setback on his road to recovery from a knee injury sustained in April. The last official update was that the striker would be ready to return around Christmas, but the boss now says:

Unfortunately he was injured at the end of April and we are now at the end of December and he is still not available because of a bone bruising. That deteriorated and it is a big blow to us. Especially now we cannot rotate.

Having initially been expected to return in early September, the club announced the striker needed surgery to correct the problem a few days after the summer transfer window closed at the end of August. That obviously caused fans and pundits to wonder why the club hadn’t made more of an effort to bring in a new striker over the summer, and the boss was even forced to deny lying about the expected time-frame for Welbeck’s recovery.

To be honest, this latest update doesn’t come as a complete surprise to me. Firstly, because I did think it was odd Arsene hadn’t mentioned Welbeck when discussing the return dates for other long-termers like Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky recently, but also because Football Insider reported as long ago as the end of October that Welbeck’s injury was not responding to treatment and he could even remain side-lined for the rest of the season!

Whatever your views on FI as a source, they’ve been proven accurate with their reporting of Welbeck’s injury and have been the first to reveal it from what I can see. In fact, they repeated their story from October just a few days ago, again, ahead of everybody else.

Hopefully, they’ll be proven wrong in terms of Welbeck’s season being over, but whoever FI’s source is, they seem as clueless about when he might be back as anybody else, which is a big concern as it suggests the medical staff at the club are stumped and can’t figure out how to remedy his issue.

The news must surely mean we’ll be looking for a striker as well as a new midfielder in the January window, because to risk the rest of season on the hope Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud remain fit and firing would be stupid. Time will tell but I wouldn’t mind Alexandre Pato if the Duck is definitely over his own injury concerns, which blighted the early portion of his career. Let’s wait and see …

Elsewhere, Arsene has been showering Petr Cech with praise, lauding the goalkeeper’s ‘aura and charisma’, saying:

He has brought his experience, his calmness and his leadership as well. He has been good and highly focused. I don’t want to be detrimental to David Ospina because he was exceptional last year, but Petr Cech has done it all, so he is someone who gives you an aura, a charisma that is always important in the big games for the players. I met him before I signed him and we had a long discussion about the game and the job and his position, and I was deeply impressed by his knowledge, by his professionalism, by his detailed knowledge. So since I have not been surprised, because I got the whole package in one go. You always look around you in the dressing room before a big game and you think, ‘Are we strong enough?’ And these kind of faces help you to believe it. Also in the big games, the number of shots on target shrinks. But then the one save can be the difference in the end result. There is no history of teams winning things without having a great goalkeeper. I’m now 30 years in the job and as I said the other day you learn over the years that the goalkeeper is the most underrated position in football – and maybe the most vital one for winning things. For example when Spain won the 2010 World Cup, in every game [Iker] Casillas saved a one-on-one when it was 0-0 or 1-0, or saved a decisive ball. Even in the final against Arjen Robben – and instead of being 1-0 down you are 0-0. And that at the end of the day makes the difference.

Regular readers of this blog will no doubt have  gleaned that I think Arsene’s a truly amazing manager and we’re beyond lucky to call him our own. That said, nobody’s perfect and I wish he’d have felt the same way about the importance of having a ‘great goalkeeper’ when he was subjecting us to the Manuel Almunia years …

Still, at least he’s finally cottoned onto the merits of having a top class keeper, so if he’s still in charge when Cech eventually calls it a day, I’m expecting us to go out and get the best goalie money can buy, and not try to develop unproven talent in the hope they’ll turn into great shot-stoppers over time.

Back tomorrow with a preview ahead of the big game against Manchester City.

Until then.

19th December 2015: This crazy campaign continues …

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. So we witnessed another interesting set of Premier League results today to say the least, as this crazy 2015-16 campaign continues to amaze and amuse in equal measure.

Leicester City maintained their scarcely believable form this season by winning 3-2 at Everton, to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points. Manchester United lost 2-1 at home to Norwich, and Chelsea’s players, having finally rid themselves of Jose Mourinho’s ghastly leadership, returned to winning ways by beating Sunderland 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.

First, a word on the Foxes and that word is ‘when’. When are they going to stop playing like champions-elect and more like the mid-table/bottom half side they should be? It’s getting silly now. They’re clear at the top and will now definitely be top on Christmas Day, which is often used as some kind of symbolic yardstick as to whether they’ll emerge champions come May.

I still think they’ll drop off because they’re Leicester ffs their squad isn’t good enough to compensate for any absences for the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy for instance, but the longer they continue their run, the more you’re forced to wonder whether we’re witnessing what would be one of the biggest sporting shocks of all time.

I mean, it’s Leicester! They don’t have a super-wealthy benefactor who bought a star-studded squad last summer. They have Robert Huth, who makes Per Mertesacker seem like Usain Bolt, at centre half, and with one game shy of half the season played, they’re top with a five point cushion.

Meanwhile, let’s spare a thought for Untied, who are now nine points off top spot. In fact, not a thought, a good old LOL. All that money wasted away on players like the past-it Bastian Schweinsteiger, the bang-average trio of Marouane Fellaini, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, and in terms of wages, on the scandalously over-paid, over-rated and over-fed Wayne Rooney.

Thank God Arsenal have a manager who’s not just a brilliant, trophy-winning, player-developing, talent-spotting master, but also a supreme economist. Louis van Gaal’s days appear to be numbered, I just hope Bobby Charlton’s stance remains steadfast when it comes to the possibility of hiring Mourinho and they don’t offer the Sacked One a quick return to the Premier League.

And so onto to Chelsea who raced into a two-nil lead against the Black Cats today and reportedly played like reigning champions are expected to, not the disinterested, impotent, porous shambles they’ve been so far this season. No surprise there really, given Mourinho’s long gone and they can now start trying to win games again.

But even after his departure, the ruinous after-effects of the Portuguese’s tenure were evident at the game today. Large sections of their support sang Mourinho’s name, but booed the names of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa as they were announced before kick-off. And there was even at least one placard on show in the stands labeling Fabregas, Costa and Eden Hazard as ‘rats’. In truth, the biggest rodent at the club was removed last Thursday. Time will help them see that, no doubt.

Oh, and Chelsea’s fans also serenaded their players with a chorus of ‘where were you when we were shit?’ after they raced into an early 2-0 lead. Hilarious. Although the players may well throw that question right back at their ‘supporters’, given the lack of atmosphere at Stamford Bridge so far this season, which, ironically, was something Mourinho himself complained about during his latest spell at the club. Long may the civil war continue, not that they’re a threat for the title this term anyway.

What today’s results mean for us though, is that a win over City on Monday would close the gap to Leicester to two points, stretch our lead over City to four, and leave us seven clear of fourth spot. A draw or even a defeat would be far from disastrous but what a boost three points would bring, both psychologically over our likeliest competitors for the crown in City, as well as for the rest of the festive fixtures and the season beyond.

Til tomorrow.

18th December 2015: Wenger on Leicester and Barcelona

Posted on by TremendArse

Happy Friday. We have an Arsenal-free weekend to ‘look forward’ to given we don’t play until Monday night when we entertain Manchester City, and I for one, find that pretty annoying.

To make matters worse, there’s no early kick-off tomorrow, the late one’s Newcastle v Aston Villa and the Sunday games live on TV are Watford v Liverpool and Swansea v West Ham. Exciting stuff. It’s like having three starters of freshly-projected sick, before the mouth-watering main of Arsenal v City on Monday. Still, given the feast of football on the horizon over the next festive fortnight or so, it would be churlish to complain. So I won’t.

Back to Arsene Wenger’s press conference from yesterday and the boss was asked for his opinion on Leicester City’s quite remarkable achievement of leading the Premier League with 16 games played, and said:

Not only (is Leicester’s league position good) for English football, it’s good for everybody in football all over the world to see that teams who are not on the biggest budget at the start can compete as well. There’s always a way to be successful when you’re intelligent and competent. Of course that’s very positive and they’ve shown another fantastic performance on Monday night [against Chelsea]. I always took them seriously but when we won 5-2 over there, nobody took our performance seriously. They just thought it was normal that we won at Leicester, but ever since you have been able to see that it was a great result and a great performance on the day.

There isn’t much to add about the Foxes’ form this season other than to say it was completely unexpected, but has been very refreshing for a league usually as predictable in terms of which teams finish in the top positions, as any other around Europe.

Sure, isolated results often surprise in the Premier League from week to week but by and large, the top two or three positioned teams are usually pretty easy to guess, or at least can be narrowed down to a handful of candidates, before the season starts. So to see a team who battled against relegation last year, fight for the title this, is amazing really.

And let’s not forget the opposite is also true this term. The reigning champions are so fearful of being relegated as we near the half-way mark of the season, they’ve just fired their manager. Anyway , as far as Leicester are concerned, I hope they continue their fine form because they’ll be worthy runners-up when we collect the Premier League trophy in May …

Moving on and Arsene was also asked about last Monday’s Champions League draw which of course paired us with the reigning European champions Barcelona. Here’s what he said:

We are more mature (than we were when we played the Catalans the last couple of times). We played against Barcelona with top teams, but very inexperienced and very young. Barcelona were in full power but we still managed to beat them and it was always very tight. We have never been beaten [comprehensively] and we were sometimes unlucky as well. That is in our minds. That is deep in my body as well. I do not forget that. We have a chance, an opportunity to put things right, and we’ll focus on that. We are playing against a team that have the trophy and are the best team in Europe and I think we have a good chance to go through. It is a difficult challenge but an exciting one as well.

To be fair, I’d say when they beat us 4-1 at Camp Nou in April 2010, with Lionel Messi scoring all four, it was a pretty comprehensive. But then, we did have Mikael Silvestre and Thomas Vermaelen at centre-half, Manuel Almunia in goal and Nicklas Bendtner up front, so we were kind of asking to get battered really.

I remember Arsene being asked if he thought Messi was the best player in the world in his post-match interview that night and he said simply, “by a distance”. ‘Take that, Ronaldo’, I thought at the time, agreeing completely with the boss’ sentiments. I mean, Cristiano’s a great player, but Messi, as Thierry Henry put it this week, ‘is a freak’.

Right, I’m waffling now. Time to leave it there.

Back tomorrow.