23rd April 2016: Can we beat Sunderland to snatch back third spot?

Posted on by TremendArse

Saturday greetings. So it’s Sunderland away tomorrow afternoon and after Manchester City today handed Stoke their second 4-0 drubbing inside a week, we need all three points if we’re to take back third spot in the standings.

With the scenario that Manchester United finish third, City win the Champions League and we end the campaign in fourth place still a possibility, our seat at the top table of the European game for next season is far from secured.

Because if that’s how things  unfolded, City would take our place as holders and we’d be relegated to competing for the Europa Cup.  Arsene Wenger also highlighted another problem with finishing fourth – the pitfalls of the playoff. Speaking at his press conference yesterday, he said:

It’s difficult because you can play teams who are in the middle of a championship because they have started already in June. But for us, we don’t know where we will finish. We are not guaranteed the top four and we have to fight for that. Manchester United are behind us and they will fight for it as well. We have difficult games, they have difficult games as well. What has changed over the years is that the impact of the finances in the Champions League is not as big anymore. It was vital for us for a period. The supporter impact, the planning of next season changes completely, especially when you have a big tournament like the European Championship, which is now like a World Cup because it starts on June 10 and finishes on July 10. When you have to play qualifiers the European Championship is still going on.

With four games left we still have it in our hands to avoid both a playoff and the possibility of missing out on the Champions League altogether simply by winning our remaining games and that has to start against the Black Cats tomorrow.

In terms of how we might line-up, my hope is that Francis Coquelin and Danny Welbeck will return in place of Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud respectively for a simple reason; the former pair are better players in my opinion. As regular readers will know, I think Ramsey’s a good footballer but a poor central midfielder and Giroud’s a decent striker but Welbeck offers us more at the tip of our attack. More pace, more ability on the ball and given Giroud’s current barren run in front of goal, more chance of scoring.

That said, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we’re unchanged from Thursday night because Arsene doesn’t often alter a winning formula unless he’s forced to. We’ll see I guess.

Just a short one today because in all honesty, I can’t be asked.

Back post-match.

COYG!

22nd April 2016: Wenger on recovery time and Ozil omission

Posted on by TremendArse

Happy Friday folks. We travel to the north-east to face Sunderland on Sunday afternoon and having played on Thursday night, some might worry the team haven’t been afforded enough time to rest and recuperate.

Yet Arsene Wenger cited a UEFA study in explaining why he’s not concerned about having to play again this weekend. Speaking at his pre-match press conference earlier today, the boss said:

Between Thursday and Sunday and Wednesday and Saturday morning is exactly the same. You know we played on Wednesday night at Barcelona and then on Saturday against Everton at 12.45pm. It’s no problem. In fact, there’s a very interesting study that has come out from Uefa that shows that the points taken by the teams three days later are not less than after four or five days. It’s the opposite and that is quite interesting. The study has been made in all the five best leagues in Europe. Nobody has proven that it is a disadvantage to have only three days rest. The points on average are better than after four or five days.

Meanwhile, Arsene also provided an update on the fitness of midfielders Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, hinting that we’re unlikely to see much of the trio this season given there are only four games left to play. He said:

They (Cazorla and Oxlade-Chamberlain) are not ready yet and I haven’t decided yet, but there are not many games left. We still have games in the under-21s, I can put them in the play-off games [if they are available]. I cannot plan that (Wilshere playing against Sunderland). At the moment I do not know if I will take him on Sunday or not. Should I take him, you cannot plan that he will play a part in the game. He made a big improvement in the third [under-21s] game. In the first two he was alright, but in the third he found his burst back, the little change of pace. If I don’t take him this weekend, I will take him [in the squad] the weekend after, certainly.

Finally for this evening, Arsene also reveled his surprise at Mseut Ozil’s shock omission from the PFA Team of the Year. He said:

It’s a surprise for me. I cannot explain it, because it’s the players who vote. I don’t know why they did not pick him. Yeah [he deserves to be in the team]. When you are top of the assists, usually that’s a sign of quality that should get you a place in a top team.

Personally, I couldn’t give two hoots our peerless German pass-master wasn’t included. I mean, given the side was voted for by fellow players, it actually makes sense. His opponents this year clearly have it in for him after he proved too skillful, too elusive and too assisty when he faced them. Plus I don’t want him sharing a midfield with or providing ammunition for Tottenham players anyway, even if it’s only on paper.

Back tomorrow with a preview piece.

Laters.

21st April 2016: Sanchez brace beats Baggies

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. Two first-half strikes by Alexis Sanchez were enough to see off West Brom at Emirates stadium earlier this evening as Arsenal got back to winning ways following two consecutive draws.

The win sees us leapfrog Manchester City into third place in the table with what was our 500th Premier League win – a milestone only bettered by Manchester United who have 584. And while were talking statistics, here’s a couple more: We’ve scored in all 20 of our Premier League games against West Brom – the best 100% record in the division.

More revealing though, is the fact Arsenal scored as many goals from outside the box tonight, as we have in our 33 previous Premier League games this season (two), which obviously adds weight to the argument that we don’t try our luck from distance nearly enough and have a tendency to overplay at times.

On the other hand, I’m sure I read somewhere that there’s a very good reason for this – a high percentage of shots from range are unsuccessful. Yet I can’t help but feel that in games when we’re facing a massed defence, we really ought to get shots in whenever possible rather than switching the play constantly and over-probing.

But back to the game tonight and Arsene Wenger made three changes to his starting line-up from last weekend’s disappointing draw with Crystal Palace; Per Mertesacker replaced Gabriel in defence, Aaron Ramsey came in for Francis Coquelin in midfield and Olivier Giroud replaced Danny Welbeck up front.

I have to admit I was kind of distracted in the second half so thankfully all the meaningful action arrived in the opening period. With just 6 minutes played we took the lead when Sanchez turned his marker brilliantly and let fly low into the corner from about 25 yards. We were passing the ball with zip and purpose and although I felt Mesut Ozil was a bit sluggish in his play by his standards, he still managed to dummy the entire stadium on a couple of occasions with typically visionary passes.

We doubled our lead on 38 minutes, when Sanchez guided his free-kick through the West Brom wall, wrong-footing their keeper in the process and reminding everyone that even if we’ve fallen short in the title race again this season, we still have some top quality talent in our ranks.

As I said, I can’t tell you much about the second half other than Theo Walcott, Joel Campbell and Coquelin all made late substitute appearances as we saw out the game. Afterwards, Arsene said:

We did the job in a serious way. We played well technically and the only regret is we should have scored more goals. The early goal helped us not be be anxious about the consequence of the result. We are in a position where it depends on us to finish in the top three but we want more and we have to fight to do that and if possible do more.

At this stage of the season most fans would now happily take third but although it’s admittedly the most peripheral of outside chances, we could still maintain our proud record of finishing above Tottenham every season since Arsene’s been in charge if we can win all our remaining games. So as well as securing third, the prospect of slipping past Sp*rs into second should be just as much of an incentive, if not more, for the remainder of the campaign.

Up next then, it’s Sunderland away on Sunday and with our hosts battling for Premier League survival, it will no doubt be another testing game, particularly as we’ll have less time to recover having played tonight. The boss holds his press conference a little later than usual tomorrow I think, so I’ll be back with thoughts on that tomorrow evening.

See you then.

20th April 2016: Cazorla back in training, Ozil and Sanchez keen to stay and Mahrez rumours denied

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. Arsene Wenger held his pre-West Brom press conference this morning and amongst other things, revealed that Santi Cazorla is back in ‘normal training’.

Also discussing the latest on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere, the boss said:

Everybody is available from our last game against Crystal Palace. We have no big injuries. We will have a final test today. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the only one not practising now. He (Cazorla) has joined normal training and he looks okay, of course still a bit short on the competitiveness front. We will try to get him maybe more training, and then join us directly maybe. He (Wilshere) has absorbed well his first obstacle of getting games. That means he has finally got 90 minutes and he has had no setbacks and the positives are that in every game he was sharper. That means he has a good fitness basis. Overall, the progression should be normal. I don’t think he will be available for selection [against West Brom], but from then it is whether I select him or not.

And when asked if the game against the Baggies was important, he offered:

It is important, of course. We want to win our games, instead of focusing the table I think it is very important to focus on the process and quality of what we do. At the moment that is frustrating as there is a lot of quality in our game, but we have not exactly got the wins that we wanted. We have to focus on that. We want to finish as high as we can. It is not a consolation, it is about getting the best out of the team and focusing and giving everything in every single game. We need to show we have the mental level to compete until the end. Our job is to give absolutely the maximum until the last day of the season. You expect that from ambitious, professional football players. We have values at this club that we respect and that we have to respect until the last minute of the season.

Arsene also cleared up a few other topical uncertainties. He revealed that both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were keen to renew their contracts at the club despite reports to the contrary, he himself would definitely see out the final year of his contract next season, and speculation linking Arsenal with a summer move for Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez was wide of the mark. On the latter, he said:

No, and even if there was I would not speak about that at this stage of the season [out of] respect to Leicester.

As you might have guessed from the matter of fact tone and length of today’s blog, I’m pressed for time but also a little short of patience when it comes to words from the Arsenal camp right now.

Let’s see the players and the manager do their talking through football tomorrow evening, go on to secure at least third place in the league and then we can regroup and ideally, address our shortcomings via the transfer market.

Because as Arseblog ruefully noted recently, interest in this season has waned dramatically along with the teams chances of silverware and aside from anything else, I think people are just a bit bored. I know I am.

Back pre or post match depending on my day tomorrow.

Until then.

19th April 2016: Elneny on settling, Per on Ozil and Iwobi on Kanu

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. Arsenal Wenger holds his pre-West Brom press conference in the morning so we’ll get the all-important, crucial, title-impacting team news then.

He’ll also no doubt have to respond to reports in this morning papers that some of his players and staff are growing concerned about certain managerial descision he’s made of late, so at least we have some drama to look forward to because on the pitch we’re nothing short of depressing at the moment.

But for today, I’ll focus on three of our players who have been speaking to Arsenal Player about various things. First Up it’s Mohamed Elneny who reckons he knew it would only take him three weeks to adapt to English football. That seems a bit precise to me, but whatever, here’s what he said:

I was [able to settle] because God helped give me the strength to adapt to my situation. I know it is not easy but God gave me the strength to adapt quickly. Some said I would find it hard to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League but I thought otherwise. I even told my agent to give me three weeks to show him how well I could adapt. I know I can adapt to all kinds of people and every league I play in. The Premier League is the best and strongest league in the world because there are so many surprising results. It is difficult to compare it to the Swiss and Egyptian leagues because everyone knows that the Premier League is the best. It is amazing. Everything is wonderful, from the fans to the style of play. I enjoy playing for Arsenal so much. It’s a different kind of football, it’s faster and first class.

Splendid stuff. Elsewhere, Per Mertesacker has been waxing lyrical about compatriot Mesut Ozil, saying:

I felt that when he was fit, he would be at his best – that was my prediction. I hoped that he would stay fit so we would get the best out of him, that was just my simple idea. You could feel he would help us win games. He is [progressing], especially in the final third. We try to give him the ball to make the final decision or make the final ball because we know that is where he is at his best. When he fulfils his potential, he has 20-plus assists in him and has even got the ability of scoring 10-plus goals. When he can be difference between 30-plus points, it is vital for the team. I think he realises he can now grow here, even in a foreign country. He gets the respect now and it is going to be even tougher for him. Everyone tries to block his left foot because he is so dangerous with it. Now he needs to find different spots and positions where he can find solutions but I’m convinced he can take this challenge to be at his best and the player we need him to be.

Wonderful words. And finally, Alex Iwobi has been speaking about fellow Nigerian and ex Arsenal star Kanu. He said:

As a kid, especially playing at Arsenal, I did look up to him. He was just a classy player and I have spoken to him a few times as well. We have had conversations about Nigeria, about myself and what I need to do. [He says] to just be relaxed and he congratulated me and told me I was doing well. To hear that [praise] from such a player like him is crazy and I just have to prove him right. I don’t feel pressure, it is just a privilege to hear that.

Excellent eulogising.

And that’s where I’ll leave it. Brace yourselves for the presser. Arsene’s either going to come out swinging or take the fifth. Either way it’ll be more interesting than the remainder of our season I’d wager.

Back tomorrow.

18th April 2016: A brief Monday round-up

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome to a brand new week, in what’s been the same old season.

I would talk more about yesterday’s dismal draw with Crystal Palace at Emirates stadium but I don’t see the point in all honesty. Discussion of familiar failings has been done to death and for me at least, it’s now all about our summer activity and next season.

The fact Tottenham went to Stoke and won 4-0 this evening just adds to the sense of dismay around Arsenal and despite the futility of further wins in terms of our own title challenge, we could really do with a good performance and a win against West Brom on Thursday to wash away some of the hurt. But more on the game against the Baggies in the days to come.

Just a quick round-up for you tonight then and I’ll begin with Jack Wilshere’s goal-scoring appearance for our under 21s earlier. The England international was playing his third second-string game in a row as he strives to regain full fitness and having endured an early injury scare, he recovered to grab us a second-half equaliser as we lost 2-1 at home to West Brom.

Elsewhere the club announced that they won’t be hosting the Emirates Cup this summer due to an extended European Championships and a relaying of our playing surface. Here’s what chief executive Ivan Gazidis had to say:

We know how popular the Emirates Cup is with our fans here in the UK and around the world, so we are disappointed that we will not be hosting it this summer. The shorter pre-season window and the need to relay our pitch has resulted in this decision being taken. We look forward to hosting the tournament in 2017.

I have to say I’m a little gutted. I love the Emirates Cup and it offers a far more realistic chance for us to secure silverware than the actual season. Oh well.

Finally for this evening we have some words from Arsene Wenger on Alexis Sanchez, who apparently, is ‘much sharper’. The boss said:

He is much sharper. He is much more electric in his dribbling and much more confident. He scores goals again. He looks to me to be more comfortable in his movement, especially in his movement in behind. When he plays on the left, he likes to drift in then come back. When he plays on the right, his runs in behind are better.

Whilst I agree a switch of flanks has done Sanchez the world of good in recent weeks, I’d still prefer to see him regularly start from the left.

Right. That’s all I’ve got for you.

Until tomorrow.

 

 

17th April 2016: Poor Arsenal punished by Palace

Posted on by TremendArse

Sunday greetings. So a poor game played in front of a near-silent home support ended in a 1-1 draw as a lackluster Arsenal were pegged back from a goal ahead by a Crystal Palace side who only ventured out of their own half in the final ten minutes or so.

Arsene Wenger restored Petr Cech between the posts in the only change to our starting line-up from last week’s draw at West Ham, and having been criticized for leaving him out against the Hammers, the former Chelsea stopper was arguably at fault for Palace’s goal today, as he let Yannick Bolasie’s low, long-range effort beat him at his near post with nine minutes of normal time to play.

We had taken the lead late in the first half after Danny Welbeck’s brilliant chipped pass was headed home from close-range by Alexis Sanchez, but despite dominating possession in the opening period, we failed to fashion many clear-cut chances against a visiting team intent on doing nothing but defend.

I won’t go into individual performances because there’s little to say other than collectively, we looked like a team knew the title was realistically beyond reach and now just want this depressingly familiar season to end – much like me if I’m honest.

After the game, Arsene said:

They defended well. We put a lot of effort in but came out with a frustrating result. It is hard to accept but the competition goes on and we focus on the next one. I don’t know how it works mathematically but we are too disappointed to think about the league. We have to think about the Champions League and fight to be in the Champions League. We have another home game on Thursday and have to prepare for that.

And that’s the point – we now need to focus on securing a top four finish because having started the weekend in third, we end it a place lower, trailing Manchester City on goal difference and with our lead over Manchester United in fifth cut to just four points.

There has been much speculation in recent weeks that the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs may be moved on this summer and frankly, if the rest of the squad joined them in an unprecedented fire-sale to make way for 25 new faces, I’m not sure I’d be that bothered. It won’t happen of course because this isn’t fantasy, it’s football, but that’s the way this Arsenal team makes me feel sometimes. *Sigh*

So the countdown to Thursday night’s clash with West Brom begins. I can’t wait …

See you next week.

16th April 2016: Wenger still hopeful and determined to tighten defence

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. It seems like just the other day Mesut Ozil was crossing for Olivier Giroud to acrobatically volley us ahead at Selhurst Park, Francis Coquelin was riding his luck on a yellow card, and Alexis Sanchez was forcing a winner through sheer will by seeing his header deflect in off Damian Delaney, but that was as long ago as mid-August, in what was only our second game of the season.

Tomorrow, we welcome the south Londoners to Emirates stadium looking to secure the win that would send us back up to third in the standings after Manchester City walked to a win at Chelsea earlier today, thanks to a Sergio Aguero treble.

And whilst talk of an Arsenal title challenge is pretty futile at this stage in most observers’ opinion, Arsene Wenger isn’t giving the ghost just yet, suggesting at his press conference yesterday that West Ham can get something from their game at Leicester tomorrow, whilst his own side must go on a ‘strong run’ at home. He said:

West Ham have beaten many big teams at home and I feel we were not happy with the result [last weekend] because we conceded three goals when we were 2-0 up. On the other hand, we have shown resilience to come back to 3-3 when we were in a desperate position. For everybody it is tight, and we have to look behind us because everybody is chasing. There can still be twists and turns until the end and everyone is fighting to put teams in front of us under pressure. We need a strong run at home now and I think that is what we want to do. It is perceived that the championship is over but I don’t think that completely even if Leicester are in a strong position. I think we have to continue to fight until the last minute of the season. Crystal Palace should now be completely safe but they still might need one or two points. I think they have nearly got out of their relegation problems. They have a lot of potential offensively with individuals like Bolasie, Zaha, and Adebayor. They have a big offensive force. We need to rectify the fact we conceded goals at West Ham and come back strong defensively.

One obvious way to improve at the back would be reinstalling Petr Cech in goal and though David Ospina has performed pretty well in recent weeks, I think the boss will do just that. Per Mertersacker for Gabriel seems another good bet but otherwise I think we’ll be unchanged. And Arsene also discussed the importance of communication in defending, saying:

We try to work a lot on that. I think maybe it was a bit more obvious before because maybe in training everybody had the same culture before. People come from different countries [and] it’s sometimes a bit more difficult to communicate. I would say the communication in England was always at a higher level than in any other country. I noticed that when I came with Monaco. We made a tour here in 1988 and I looked at some training sessions and was always surprised by how loud the communication was in the English teams compared to my team. Monaco were much quieter. The communication is very important, especially at the back. Sometimes just to tell your guys around you to come closer or drop off. That can save a goal. It’s a vital part of the defensive efficiency.

So six games to go with four at home starting with Palace tomorrow. If we can somehow take 18 points we’ll definitely secure third and a place in next year’s Champions League and who knows, perhaps more. There’s no harm in hope.

Back post-match.

COYG!

15th April 2016: Wenger on team selection, Ozil and Wilshere

Posted on by TremendArse

Happy Friday folks. With Leicester hosting a very dangerous West Ham side on Sunday and Tottenham facing a tricky trip away at Stoke City on Monday night, here’s hoping this weekend turns out far more positively for Arsenal than the last.

We host Crystal Palace on Sunday of course, and Arsene Wenger held his pre-match press conference this morning as we build up to the game. Having provided an injury update on midfielders Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain yesterday, the boss today discussed the potential involvement of two defensive players against the Eagles. He said:

I haven’t decided yet (if Per Metersacker will play). We are 48 hours away from the game so I will see. I have not decided that (who will play n goal). When it is decided I will have to inform the people first. Petr Cech is our No 1 but Ospina is also a fantastic goalkeeper. His numbers are absolutely exceptional in the Premier League. I felt that Petr Cech had only had one week of training (before the West Ham match last weekend) and was only just coming back.

Translated, that to me says Petr Cech will definitely start this weekend and Per Mertesacker’s a maybe, but if I was forced to guess, I’d say both will play from the off with David Ospina and Gabriel making way obviously. We’ll see.

Aside from team selection, Arsene also touched on various other topics, and I’ll start with his thoughts on Mesut Ozil’s nomination for the PFA Player of the Year award. He said:

He has been more efficient [this season]. I think he has created more chances and has scored more goals especially. I believe in a guy like Ozil, you see 10 to 15 goals, and I hope he will get to 10 at the end of the season but that is always what you think he should get. [When it comes to] providing chances, he is miles ahead on assists and combining the goalscoring with the assists means he deserves this award.

Whilst it’s true Mesut’s way out in front in terms of assists in this season’s Premier League with 18 (Riyad Mahrez is second on 12), for combined goals and assists (Ozil has 6 goals) the German is only joint fourth overall with Romelu Lukaku (18 goals and 6 assists).

The top three most productive players are Jamie Vardy (21 and 11), Mahrez (16 and 12) and Arsenal fan Harry Kane (22 and 3). So as much as I would love Ozil to be recognized for his assist-laden individual campaign, it has to be one of the Leicester pair in honesty. I’d give it to Vardy for what it’s worth.

Finally for this evening, the boss discussed Wilshere’s imminent return to the first-team fold having missed the entire season so far through injury. Having made a second appearance for our under 21s recently, the England international is penciled in to make a third on Monday night at West Brom, with Arsene saying the midfielder still needs more competitive game-time:

I think he needs one more game at least. He will play again with the under-21s on Monday. He should be involved in that. Then I will have to see how he compares to the other competitors in the first team. Once he is through three or four games then of course you consider him.

As I mentioned the other day, considering how late we are in the season it’s unlikely we’ll see Wilshere back to his best in an Arsenal shirt before the next campaign, and if we do, it’ll probably be as an impact sub late in games – a little like the end of last season.

But if he can go to the European Championships and enjoy a successful summer in France with England, perhaps that would go a long way in building confidence and helping him overcome any psychological barriers following such a lengthy layoff.

See you on Saturday.

14th April 2016: Injury update + Per on defensive discipline

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all and welcome back. For those interested in a spot of skiving off work first thing in the morning, Arsene Wenger’s press conference will be streamed live on the official from 9am UK time tomorrow. But the boss did provide his customary Thursday update on injury news to Arsenal.com earlier today.

Thankfully, we have everybody fit from last weekend’s squad who drew at West Ham, whilst the prognoses for our injured quartet of Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky sound promising. Here’s what Arsene said:

Next week they (Oxlade-Chamberlain and Cazorla) will be back maybe, they are not back in full training yet. Jack and Tomas are playing today for the under-21s. They have had no reaction from last Friday’s game and they look alright. From last Saturday’s game against West Ham, we should have everyone available who was in the squad.

Whilst it’s obviously great to hear we’re nearing full fitness as a squad, with so little of the season left to play it’s unlikely any of those four players will have any significant role to play this season. Clearly, I hope I’m wrong, and Wilshere plays it to Cazorla who finds Rosicky to tee up the Ox for a title-clinching goal on the last day of the season, but you know…

Which means the onus to perform will firmly be on those who have helped us to impressive wins at Everton and at home to Watford, as well as that draw with the Hammers in recent weeks – which I’m quite happy with if I’m honest.

Despite the Andy Carroll-caused defensive shenanigans for ten minutes either side of half time at Upton Park, we’ve looked a fluent, dangerous side recently and I’d back them to win our remaining games, with the possible exception of Manchester City away, although they of course will hopefully be preoccupied by their European run.

Moving on now though and Per Metesacker and Laurent Koscielny have both been speaking to Arsenal Player. The former discussed the importance of defensive discipline between now and the end of the season, saying:

[We need] discipline. We lacked a bit of that desperation, even when 2-0 up at West Ham, to defend and get everyone behind the ball. To come back to that level is absolutely important in the Premier League, and if you don’t you will get punished. These details are very important to us and everyone can see it, it is obvious. We want to win every single match now, to put the teams in front of us under pressure. We have got the belief we can win every single one and that is the task from now on: to concentrate on the next one. When something is going against us in a game, we have to focus on ourselves and not get distracted by anything else. The focus and the mindset is really important. There are fast changes, even in a single game and also throughout the stretch of the season. We have to be ready and concentrate on ourselves and our games – anything can happen in football. We need to be there, when there is space and teams are dropping points. But that is not our business, we are just talking about ourselves and trying to win every single game.

Whilst Koscielny praised January signing Mohamed Elneny’s impact on the team. He said:

When he signed I could see he was a good player with the ball and how he could make good passes. He is not a player who takes the ball and goes from box to box with it, but he can help the team go higher up the pitch and keep the ball, which is very important. He doesn’t lose many balls during a game, he has scored and he has played well. He signed three months ago so his adaption to our philosophy at Arsenal and [to life] in England… I am very impressed with it.

As are we Laurent. Although Aaron Ramsey, and other central midfielders on Arsenal’s books, may just be sh*ting themselves a little bit whilst wondering how exactly they force their way back into the team. And if they’re not, they should be such has been the Egyptian’s start to life at the club. Keep it up Mo!

See you on Friday folks.