Wenger

20th November 2015: Premier League Preview – Back to business against the Baggies

Posted on by TremendArse

So here we go. Four months of club football without the irritating interruption of an international break and we begin by travelling to West Brom tomorrow afternoon looking to maintain our fine Premier League form.

We’ve won five of our last six in the league since succumbing to a Mike Dean-inspired Chelsea two months ago, and glancing at our upcoming fixture-list, we now have a great opportunity to rack up the points before we entertain Manchester City a few days before Christmas.

After our trip to the Hawthorns, we play Norwich (a), Sunderland (h) and Aston Villa (a), so 12 points from 12 is far from unfeasible. If we do manage to take the maximum tally available from those 4 games, hope of a first title success since 2004 might start morphing into excited expectancy.

Looking at City’s next four fixtures in the league, they begin by hosting Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool tomorrow and Southampton next weekend, before travelling to Stoke and hosting Swansea – on paper a much tougher run than ours, before our meeting with them on December 21.

We had the team news yesterday of course and Hector Bellerin’s return to fitness should see him come straight back into the side at the expense of Mathieu Debuchy. We have question marks hanging over both Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud’s involvement, due to the emotional toll of the tragic events of a week ago in Paris, but I’m expecting both to play seeing as they were involved in training today.

Elsewhere, the team picks itself, with Joel Campbell retaining his starting berth on the right, unless Kieran Gibbs’ goalscoring substitute appearance against Spurs two weeks ago has convinced Arsene Wenger he deserves a start.

I highly doubt it though, as it would mean either asking Alexis Sanchez to swap wings to the right, or playing Gibbs as a right-sided attacker. More likely is that Arsene will be encouraging Gibbs to build on his goal in the north London derby by offering a genuine attacking threat from the bench again, if needed.

As for our hosts, they are struggling to score goals so far this season and come into the match with the joint-fewest in the division. Yet in Salomon Rondon and Saido Berahino, they have two strikers of good quality so we’ll need to be mindful of their threat. When asked about the former, the boss said:

He’s a fighter. He has a physical ability to resist the challenges of the centre backs and he has a good nose in the box to be where you have to be.

One major reason I think we can be confident in our defending against Rondon and co tomorrow is the return of Bellerin. Assuming Koscielny plays, we’ll be at full strength back there, with a nicely-rested and hopefully re-energised Francis Coquelin protecting them with typically tenacious defensive midfield play.

And Nacho Monreal has been praising his compatriot Bellerin’s meteoric rise at the club, saying:

He’s a young player, only 20 years old, but he plays like a guy who is 30. He’s very mature and he plays with a lot of confidence. He trusts in himself and that’s very good for us. Since he’s started to play the level of the team is improving so we are very proud of him. When I was 20 like him, I was scared every time I had to play at the beginning, but he’s not. That’s the secret for him, that he’s so confident in himself. He knows what he has to do, he goes on to the pitch and he does it. It looks easy but it’s not easy. He’s only 20, he has a long way to go, he has to play more games but obviously everything he has done is brilliant. He just needs to keep going in the same way. I’m 100 per cent sure he will play for the Spanish national team. I don’t know when as that’s the question. At this moment there are another two right backs like Juanfran and Dani Carvajal. Hector is still playing for the under-21s but if he carries on, he will play with the senior team 100 per cent.

If there’s a better right-back in the Premier League than Bellerin at the moment, then he’s doing a fine job of going undetected. The point Nacho makes about our cockney Catalan’s maturity is, along with his searing pace obviously, the most startling thing about the 20-year-old in my opinion.

When he’s been faced with tough opponents and struggled initially, he’s had the intelligence to adapt his game mid-match, to turn the tide of the duel in his favour. It’s great to have him back and after a depressing last seven days in he context of the wider world, it feels great to have the Premier League back.

Back post-match.

COME ON ARSENAL!

 

19th November 2015: Wenger talks team news, contracts and West Brom

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. Arsene Wenger held his pre-West Brom press conference this morning, as we look forward to the return of Premier League football in a couple of days’ time.

Team news is that Hector Bellerin is fit and available again after missing both our trip to Bayern Munich and the home encounter with Tottenham before the international break.

But Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won’t won’t be risked for the Hawthorns, with the boss saying the pair should be available from Monday. And on Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck, he said:

He (Walcott) is doing well, he could be a bit ahead of schedule but still you count a few weeks more while Rosicky, Wilshere, Welbeck will be later.

Following the tragic events of late last week in Paris, Laurent Koscielny was visibly emotional on Tuesday evening as England hosted France at Wembley, and when Arsene was asked if his defender would be in the right frame of mind to play this weekend, he said:

I will talk with him. It’s a big game for us. I have not talked to him yet, but I will talk to him to see if he’s completely recovered and focused.

Arsene also remarked that he thought Laurent was a different player against England from the one he saw enjoy a fine performance against Germany on Friday. He followed up by saying that every player needs to be completely focused on the task at hand in the Premier League, so if there is any doubt at all in Laurent’s mind that he’s ready, the boss won’t select him.

Obviously only the player himself can say how he’s feeling but it’s reassuring to know we have a well-rested Per Mertesacker and Gabriel, in case that’s the partnership we need to go with.

Moving on and there have been reports over the past few days that Alexis Sanchez was nearing an agreement on an extension to his contract with the club and that Mesut Ozil would follow suit shortly. But Arsene revealed today that although he’ll sit down with the pair in the coming months, no negotiations have yet begun with either player:

We have not started to talk about that (a new contract) with Mesut. We are in the same situation (with Alexis). At the end of the year they have two-and-a-half years left on their contract so we still have some time. We are not in a hurry. Of course we want them to stay here at the club and we will start the negotiations at some stage. At the moment we have not started them.

Reassuringly however, Arsene suggested there would be no repeat of players running there contracts down to the last year like Robin van Persie or Samir Nasri, or to it’s end like Bacary Sagna, because the club was ‘in a stronger position to negotiate.’

Finally for today, the boss was asked what he made of Saturday’s opponents West Brom, and said:

I watched them against Man United and they looked a very well organised team which is absolutely – as always with Tony Pulis – fully committed. On top of that they are in a difficult situation a little bit in the Premier League and you expect what you always expect in the Premier League – a committed, physical, fast game and a game where we cannot afford to make any mistakes. I would even say that you don’t even look at the table any more because you know what you get. The difference between the teams has narrowed and today it is more about how much can you be close to your best which will decide the result, more than the team you play against.

I’ll be honest, I’ve paid next to no attention to how West Brom have performed so far this season but they have some dangerous attackers and will no doubt prove highly organised opposition.

That said, we’ve been sensational on our travels in the league so far this term so, as always, I’m confident we can secure all three points.

Back with more on Friday.

Til then.

18th November 2015: Wenger on FIFA

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening. I’m a little late to this but Arsene Wenger has been speaking about the FIFA presidential election and has tipped future World Cups to be expanded to 40 teams.

For a bit of background, the tournament was played by 16 nations between 1934 and 1978, apart from on two occasions. In 1938 only 15 took part after Austria was absorbed by Germany, and in 1950, India, Scotland and Turkey withdrew, leaving just 13 to battle it out.

The World Cup has twice been expanded since then; in 1982 to 24 countries, and again in 1998 to 32 competing nations.

Anyhow, speaking to  Arsenal Player, here’s what the boss said:

It is now or never – you would like to put it all on the table. You see the European Championship has gone from 16 to 24 teams. I bet you [because of] the way the system was organised, to be elected as new president of Fifa, the programme would be to move the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams. Why? Because Africa today has five countries in the World Cup and Europe has 13 – that cannot work for much longer. You cannot take countries away from Europe and if you want to be elected as Fifa president, you need the votes from the African countries, so you want to give more to Africa. So the next World Cups will be 40 teams.

Insightful as ever from the boss and unless you follow bidding processes and the political side of football closely, which I don’t, because it bores me more than watching Chelsea play, you’d probably have been unaware of the importance of Africa in the race to replace Sepp Blatter.

And you’d probably never have paid much attention to the fact Africa, and Asia for that matter, has been hugely under-represented at previous World Cups.

So if expansion is the only way to ensure proportionate representation of continents, then I suppose It’s inevitable and long over-due, regardless of any presidential plays.

However, a more inclusive World Cup would also possibly mean more games for already over-worked players and possibly a longer tournament schedule-wise, which would irritate clubs sides more than international football in it’s present form already does.

Inevitably, the boss has also had his say on the club v country debate:

We face a situation where it’s impossible for the players to get through a season and have rest. This kind of friction that it creates between the clubs, national teams and international competitions can create a split. One day the clubs could move away and say, ‘Enough is enough, we pay a huge amount of money for our best players so we’ll get them together ourselves and organise our own competitions’. It’s important that all of that gets on the table while we have the opportunity.

This is obviously a long-running issue which is always brought into sharp focus every time a player is injured while away on international duty.

You would imagine at some stage, surely, clubs and international football can come to some kind of arrangement  where players are afforded more time off during a calendar year. Lets see.

Back tomorrow.

16th November 2015: Wilshere on working hard to recover from fractured fibula

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome to a brand new week on TremendArse. After reports over the weekend that Jack Wilshere was on course for a comeback in time for our trip to Southampton on Boxing Day, the midfielder himself has been speaking to Arsenal Player about his spell on the side-lines.

Discussing his recovery from a fractured fibula, Jack explained how previous injuries have equipped him to overcome his latest set-back, and touched on the mental difficulties of suffering a long-term injury just as he was nearing his best. He said:

It’s going well. I’m working as hard as I can to try to come back. I know what it takes because unfortunately I’ve been injured a few times in my career and I know what it takes to come back. I’m not going to rush it. I’ll make sure my body’s right and at the moment I’m feeling good. Mentally this one has been the toughest to take because I had a big injury last year, came back, got myself fit, back in good form, played for England. Then I cut my holiday short for two weeks and came in to try to get myself right for this season. I thought, ‘This season I need to be fit for the whole season and go into the Euros with a whole season behind me’. Unfortunately on the last day of pre-season I got injured so it was probably the toughest one for me to take.

As far as luck goes, Jack’s certainly due some when it comes to his fitness and unless you’ve been through it yourself, I don’t think any of us can quite comprehend what it must feel like to get injured on the eve of a new season having worked so hard over pre-season.

At 23 years of age however, Jack still has plenty of time on his side to become the world class central midfielder many tipped him to when he first broke through, so lets hope this is his last major injury and when he eventually returns to first-team action, he can start to remind everyone of what we’ve been missing.

And Wilshere also highlighted the benefit of having a couple of team-mates keep him company in the gym, as the rest of squad head out to training every morning:

We all know it’s difficult and just being around other people helps. At the moment it’s me, Danny and Tomas because we’re the only ones with long-term injuries. Just being around other people, speaking to them and having a bit of banter with them helps as well. We’re still early in the season and the busiest part of the season is coming up. I want to be part of this team and I proved last season that I can get back and fight for a place. I know it’s not going to be easy but that’s what I want to do.

It’s been noted by many of course, but the fact we have the likes of Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky due back around the New Year should give our title challenge a timely boost in the second half of the season.

As we all saw just before this international break against Tottenham, the squad is crying out for a few more options for the manager to choose from to freshen things up and rest tired legs, having played so many games already this season with a pretty small core of the same players.

Back tomorrow.

15th November 2015: Wilshere boost + Henry and Vieira as potential successors to Wenger

Posted on by TremendArse

Sunday salutations. Some good news to begin with this evening as The Mirror’s Steve Stammers has reported Jack Wilshere is on course for a return to full fitness in time for Arsenal’s Boxing Day trip to Southampton.

Having suffered a fractured fibula in training on the eve of the new season, Wilshere’s availability for the busiest portion of the season would obviously be a big boost for Arsene Wenger and the squad, so fingers crossed his recovery continues to progress without any setbacks between now and then.

In the same piece, it’s also revealed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the most likely of our injured payers to be fit for the game at West Brom on Saturday. Hector Bellerin and Aaron Ramsey shouldn’t be far behind the Ox in making a return too, considering all three were recently reported to be likely to make their comebacks immediately after this international break.

Elsewhere, two members of our 2004 Invincibles’ squad have had their say on the possibility of Thierry Henry taking over as Arsenal manager once Arsene decides to step down. First up, it’s Robert Pires, who said:

Can I see Thierry Henry taking over from Arsene Wenger? Yes, why not? He is working on his badges. He’s involved with the U19 team at Arsenal’s academy. He’s preparing himself step by step and he wants to get his badges. Question is; would Arsenal want Henry? It depends on the board, the chairman. I can see Henry, as well as Vieira. It’s up to the club to prepare well for the post-Arsene era. That’s crucial.

Gilberto Silva agrees, but thinks the job may come too soon for Thierry, saying:

Maybe one day he could be Arsenal manager. For Thierry when Wenger leaves be quite soon. Maybe he needs more time, but one day he can do it. He’s doing the right thing working with the youngsters, he’s learning day by day. He knows Arsenal.

Frankly, I’d be flabbergasted if Henry succeeded Arsene in the hot-seat, mainly because he’s got about as much of a track record of successfully managing a top-level club as I have.

It’s also worth remembering than when it was put to the boss fairly recently that Henry might one day follow in his footsteps, he basically said his former striker had a lot to learn. So if we assume Arsene will have a big say on who is named his successor, unless Henry makes huge strides in his coaching career over the next couple of years, it’s hard to see him as our next manager.

Patrick Vieira, who has managed the Man City reserve team and now taken on his first, first-team manager role in New York, is a couple of steps ahead of Thierry in the regard, so perhaps he’s the more likely Invincible to be a contender.

Personally, I would want us to go out and get the best proven manager possible when the time comes, and if one day Henry or Vieira prove themselves as good at managing teams as they were at playing the game, then they clearly become stand-out candidates.

Another short post today, but don’t blame me, blame the international break.

Till next week.

13th November 2015: International involvement and remembering Lauren

Posted on by TremendArse

Good evening. It’s Friday the 13th today of course and we all know what that means don’t we? Absolutely nothing.

Last night saw the first Arsenal involvement in the internationals as Alexis Sanchez and David Ospina both played the full 90 minutes when their respective nations, Chile and Columbia, played out a 1-1 draw. I didn’t see the match, Sanchez didn’t score, but I’m assuming he ran non-stop all game and then did a few hundred laps of the pitch afterwards just for fun.

There were also two more Gunners in action yesterday evening as Calum Chambers played the full 90 and Chuba Akpom the first 70, for England Under 21’s as they drew 0-0 with their Bosnian counterparts. I’m told it was a fascinating watch.

So on to tonight and Olivier Giroud scored the opener for France as they beat World Cup winners Germany 2-0. He was then taken off after 69 minutes but Laurent Koscielny played the whole game, so thanks Didier Deschamps, really appreciate it.

Elsewhere, Santi Cazorla came on a substitute for Thiago Alcantara just before the 30 minute mark and scored Spain’s second with a clinically taken effort as they beat England 2-0, for whom Kieran Gibbs was an unused sub. There were a few other Arsenal players in action tonight too, so for a comprehensive round-up take a look at the the official site here.

The international break can be a great time to take a look back and Arsene Wenger has been doing just that in discussing one of the lesser-celebrated members of our Invincibles team, Lauren.

My personal anecdotes about the Cameroonian include reading the name Lauren Bisan Etame Mayer on CEEFAX when we confirmed his capture and having no idea who he was but being excited nontheless as I always am by an Arsenal signing I know nothing about. Sure, they could turn out to be Stefan Malz but equally there’s always the chance they’ll be another Patrick Vieira.

After watching him a few times though, I labelled him ‘a right-footed Edgar Davids’ and I think he scored in that win over Liverpool at Highbury when Vieira was sent off for the second, consecutive Premier League game of the season and had to be talked out of leaving England. But more importantly, and I kid you not, I tipped him to replace the aging Lee Dixon as our next right-back before Arsene eventually played him there for the first time. In fairness, I also said I could see Emmanuel Eboue as a brilliant left winger, so …

Anyway, here’s what Arsene said:

He was, for me, one of the best full backs in the world. Not only because of his quality but he was a character, a real character. He was scared of nobody and when you needed the nerves you could count on Lauren. When he arrived here I had many discussions with him as I needed to convince him that he can become a right back and an outstanding right back. For a while, because he was a strong character, he didn’t accept it. Suddenly he understood that and I think that in Lauren and Ashley Cole, we had the best two full backs in the world.

My favourite memory of Lauren, aside from him bullying Ruud van Horse-face, was his FA Cup goal at Stamford Bridge as he ran down the right, cut infield onto his weaker left foot and found the bottom corner at the near post. What a goal.

I think in Hector Bellerin, we finally have a player capable of similar attacking feats from right-back now, which I think we’ve missed sorely through the Bacary Sagna years. Yes the Bac was a great defender, but he was a little clumsy on the ball for me and didn’t add much going forward the way Lauren did and Bellerin does now.

It’s an important point too, having fullbacks who are great on the ball, because in our style of play, with our wide midfielders/attackers often drifting infield, our fullbacks see a lot of the ball and so them being comfortable in possession is a massive plus, if not a must, in my opinion.

See you on Saturday.

12th November 2015: FA want Wenger explanation, Welbz can’t wait for return, Grimaldo linked

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. Some actual news to begin with this evening after the FA today asked Arsene Wenger to explain recent comments he made in an interview with French publication L’Equipe regarding ‘doping’ in football.

The gist of his remarks, as I’m sure you’ll have read by now, were that whilst he was proud that in 30 years as a manager he’d never had his players injected to make them better, he has faced teams who were “not in that frame of mind.”

Those comments were of course made some time after it was revealed a Dinamo Zagreb player had failed a drugs test following the Croatian club’s Champions League victory over Arsenal in September this year, and the FA have now invited the boss to expand on those remarks and provide any further information he may have.

An FA Spokesman is quoted as saying today:

The FA, in conjunction with United Kingdom Anti-Doping (Ukad), operates one of the most comprehensive anti-doping testing programmes in the world. We have exceptionally few cases of positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs, which reflects the findings from drug-testing in football worldwide. All positive cases for Wada-prohibited substances are published by Ukad and the FA.

Now I have to admit, I’m far from the foremost authority on this subject, but it does make you wonder about performance-enhancing, and even recovery-speeding, drug use in the game. Some players never seem to get injured whilst others are perennially prone to spells out. Is that always down to nature, or sometimes, to a science lab? Who knows, but I’m certainly looking forward to hearing Arsene expand on the subject as the FA have asked him to.

Elsewhere, contrary to reports I discussed in yesterday’s post suggesting Danny Welbeck had suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee injury and may be ruled out for the rest of the season, the player himself has told Arsenal Player that his recovery is “slow and steady but it’s coming along”, and that he’s chomping at the bit to make a return to action. He said:

It’s slow and steady but it’s coming along. It’s difficult to see the lads when you’re still in the gym, doing double days, but once I get back out on the pitch and start running I will be much happier. It’s a difficult period for me but I’m looking forward to coming back strong. I want to get back out on the pitch, keep on improving, keep training and keep fit – that’s the main thing. I just want to get back to playing football. I’m trying to build to muscle and it’s hard, but it’s something that I’ve grasped with two hands and I’m really looking forward to my return.

He certainly sounds bullish, which is encouraging considering how long he’s been out for now, and as you may have guessed from yesterday’s post, I can’t wait to see him back playing and having an extended run as our central striker.

The worry for Welbz must be that seeing as we were obviously looking for a new striker last summer, unless he can prove his worth between now and the end of the season, he may find himself competing with Oliver Giroud, Theo Walcott and a new signing by the start of next season. It’ll certainly be interesting to watch how we line up if and when everybody is fit.

Finally for today, The Mirror have linked us with a move for Barcelona B left-back and captain Alex Grimaldo, who they say is reluctant to extend his current deal with the Catalans which expires this coming summer, but who is also being eyed up by Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.

I’ve never seen him play live but having just YouTube’d him (classy, and with a speed of thinking that is typically quick for Barcelona players), and based on how our recruitment from Barcelona has gone over the years, I say sign him up Arsene!

If he’s free and willing, why the hell not? Maybe you can mould him into a defensive midfielder, a centre-half or even tap into previously unnoticed goalkeeping potential. Plus, most importantly of all, his surname’s just two letters away from Grimandi, the Gunners’ double Double-winning legend.

Right, a bit short today but that’s me done.

See you on Friday.

10th November 2015: Wenger named Manager of the Month + Cech on winning ‘every game’

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. I wish there was more to talk about, discuss and dissect, but seeing as we’re at the start of the 14th international break of the season (seems like 14 to me), Arsenal news, as you can imagine, is like Riyad Mahrez. A bit on the thin side.

Thank God then, that Arsene Wenger was today named the Barclays Manager of the Month for October, after guiding us to four Premier League wins out of four. To be honest, I think the boss deserves an extra special prize considering the circumstances surrounding, and manner of, those wins.

We blew Manchester United away within the opening 20 minutes, beating them 3-0 at Emirates stadium whilst playing some of the best football these shores have ever seen, and then won 3-0 at Watford, who boasted a mean defensive record at Vicarage Road until we turned up, took it easy in the first half just to lull them into a false sense of security, before casually putting three past them in the second.

Next up it was Everton, just a few days after we’d played a hugely draining game against Bayern Munich and lost Aaron Ramsey to a hamstring strain in the process, and we produced a very professional performance despite tired limbs and a depleted side to secure a 2-1 success.

We then ended October by heading west to Wales and Swansea, where despite being forced to field our seventh choice option on the right-hand side of our attack in Joel Campbell, we produced yet another 3-0 win.

So it seems inappropriate that Arsene should be presented with just the bog standard MOTM trophy, Barclays could at least have pushed the boat out a bit and super-sized it or something. The funny thing about the boss collecting that accolade though, is that it was just last week I think, when he reiterated his long-held dislike of individual recognition in the game when discussing the Ballon d’Or.

Moving on and Petr Cech has been speaking to Arsenal Player about our season so far, highlighting the squad’s work ethic as being key to our fine recent form. He said:

We started very well in the Community Shield, our first competitive game after we had a very good pre-season. Then the first league game came and we lost 2-0 at home. That’s possibly the worst start we can imagine, but we recovered from it and learnt from it. Since then we’ve been picking up points and as a team we’ve settled into the way we want to play. I think everybody understands their role within the team. People try to do their best every day to make sure we are ready to compete, and so far it’s been bringing the success. It’s [down to] the work ethic of the team. You never win things without going for it, without being focused, without being right in the training ground. So far, I have to say that the team are focused on what we are doing every day and I have to say that this is the key. You prepare every day and if you are really focused in what you are doing every day, then you give yourselves chances to win games. I believe that this team has that ability to be focused and ready to achieve. We are giving ourselves the chance to win every game.

I think our mindset in Premier League games so far this season is notable for the how focused it’s been, not just on winning games, but what we need to do to in each one to take all three points.

We’ve had fast starts and games won early, we’ve been patient and secured them late, we’ve dug in and been more direct when our passing was off or we were a little jaded physically, and in our last match, we managed to get something from a game we were struggling to stay in for long periods, with a patched-up side at the end of a marathon run of fixtures.

The word I’d use to describe us this season would be ‘mature’. For the most part anyway. Cech’s obviously been a critical component in our mental development this term, as many suggested he would be when we signed him in the summer, and it augurs very well indeed in terms of our chances of silverware this season if we can just keep it up and avoid more injuries.

See you on Wednesday.

7th November 2015: Premier League Preview – We should have too much for Tottenham

Posted on by TremendArse

Greetings Gooners. After our obliteration at the hands of Bayern Munich in midweek, we have the chance to prove we haven’t been deterred from our domestic title challenge when we host Tottenham tomorrow.

We’ll be seeking to secure our sixth consecutive Premier League victory by beating Spurs, so cup woes aside, we’re in great form. Our neighbours aren’t in bad nick themselves of course, sitting five points and four places adrift of us in sixth, and unbeaten in their last ten games in the league. So we’re in for a tough game, made all the more testing by our injury troubles at the moment.

I’m expecting Laurent Koscielny to be passed fit given Arsene Wenger gave him such a high percentage chance of doing so yesterday, as well as the fact he was part of full training earlier this morning if these pictures are anything to go by. Whether he comes in to replace Per Mertesacker or Gabriel is anybody’s guess, seeing as neither of them covered themselves in glory with their performances in Germany.

Elsewhere in the team, I think we’ll be unchanged purely because of the lack of options presently available to the boss. That would mean another start for Joel Campbell – his first-ever Premier League one at Emirates stadium – and hopefully he can perform more like he did at Swansea than he managed to against Bayern.

That goes for most of the team though, and against a Spurs side who have the youngest average age in the league at present, we’ll need to match their work-rate first and foremost, which should lead to our undeniably superior quality shining through.

The fixture itself needs no hyping of course, partly because Sky have been doing that for about a month now, but mainly because the two clubs and sets of fans like each other as much as Wayne Rooney does sticking to an athlete’s diet, which ensures the matches are always atmospheric and keenly contested.

The boss has obviously overseen his fair share of them over the years and has been discussing the north London derby with Arsenal Player, saying:

It’s a special game because it’s always special between the two north London clubs. It’s a game with a big importance in the table and psychologically it has a big meaning. It is always a special game and a game where you want to come out on top. I agree about the power, energy and electricity around the game. It’s more the feeling [that stays with you]. I remember when we won the championship there, and our last game in the League Cup was a frenetic game. But the energy, the intensity, the commitment, the happiness when you’re [winning] – that’s what remains with you.

Just very quickly, if I was to name a few of stand-out derby moments they would, in no particular order, be the title-winning game at White Hart Lane in 2004 and the two sublime goals we scored that day, Kanu’s flick and finish in what I think was a 3-1 midweek win in 1999, Thierry’s run from his own half at Highbury, Ian Wright twisting one way then the other, before crossing from the right to Dennis Bergkamp on the left, who took a glorious touch inside his marker before smashing it home, and of course, Tony Adams’ volley in the same game. (Get well soon Tony!)

To be honest, I, like I’m sure you, could go on all day so I’ll leave it there. Alright one more, Emmanuel Adebayor’s flick up and volley at the Lane – WHAT a goal that was, untainted by his subsequent career path, for me anyway. There’s soooo many to choose from dammit. Maybe I’ll dedicate a post to special moments against Spurs before the next derby when I have more time.

Right, hopefully that little trip down memory lane has got you up for the game, not that I’m sure you needed it, and we can add another Gunners victory over our shadow-dwellers to our memories at full-time tomorrow.

Back post-match.

COME ON YOU ARSENAL! 

6th November 2015: Koscielny faces fitness test but Bellerin ruled out of NLD

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. As we prepare to bring a marathon run of seven games in 21 days to a close by hosting Tottenham on Sunday, Arsene Wenger has revealed the latest team news at his pre-match press conference earlier today.

According to the boss, Laurent Koscielny has an 80 percent chance of recovering from the hip injury that kept him out of our defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, and along with Mikel Arteta, faces a fitness test ahead of the game.

But Hector Bellerin has been ruled out until after the upcoming international break. Mathieu Debuchy will therefore play in what, I think, will be his first Premier League start of the season, and Arsene says his French right-back is nearing peak match-fitness:

Mathieu needed a little competition. Game after game he has basic fitness and now with another game he should be better.

Let’s hope so. I mean, if we could see the Mathieu Debuchy of early last season, the one with the mohican hair-cut, determined attitude and high levels of self-confidence, as opposed to the sluggish, distant and defensively suspect version we’ve seen this, then that would obviously help our cause no end against Spurs and their youthful, high-energy side.

And perhaps we will, finally. As the boss says, Mathieu is improving physically game by game and now nearing his best shape. I do wonder if all he actually needs is just a trip to the barbers though …

Of course every Premier League game is a ‘big’ one for us at the moment as we try to match Manchester City stride for stride at the top of the table, but being the north London derby obviously gives this fixture added significance, even more so as we look to put our midweek mauling in the Champions League behind us.

Arsene was asked about the rivalry between the two north London clubs and whether ‘the gap’ between them had narrowed but he remained modest and insisted:

They have been a threat every year since I’ve been here. In the last 20 years, they always had very strong teams and let’s not forget that some periods we were eight or nine points behind them in April, so they have had very strong teams. This year they are younger, they work very hard and they will be a tough opponent again – they are every year. I enjoy [the derby] because I believe that what you want in football is to play games that are important and where there is an excitement in the preparation, games that have meaning for everybody. Football can give special emotions to people and you want to be part of that.

As much as I respect Arsene for being typically polite and professional, I’d have loved for him to have just shrugged and said:

Spurs? Well, they’re a bit shit, they’ve always been a bit shit, and they’ll always be a bit on the shit side – the gap’s more a colossal chasm.

But I suppose we have Jack Wilshere to tell it like it is when it comes to that lot, so we shouldn’t complain. Anyway, moving away from the derby for now and the boss has been fulsome in his praise for summer signing Petr Cech.

Calling him one of the greatest ‘keepers to ever play on these shores, Arsene suggested the former Chelsea man could play on for a good four or five years yet, despite being 33 already, and said he wasn’t surprised Cech was closing in on David James’ record of 169 Premier League clean sheets, saying:

I believe that there is no coincidence. What is repeated is not coincidence, it is just class. As well, not only class but dedication and consistency of quality. Knowing him well now after a few months, I’m not surprised by this kind of achievement because he is absolutely dedicated to his job, he analyses absolutely everything and is gifted as well. He is a super talent. He is certainly one of the greatest goalkeepers we have ever seen here in this country. He plays in a position where age is less of a restriction than in any other job. Until 37 or 38 I consider that a goalkeeper can be completely able to play at this level.

To add a bit of context, Cech has managed 167 clean sheets so far from just 337 games, whereas it took James 567 to set his record.

But it’s not just in England Cech’s eyeing top spot for shut-outs, he’s currently third in the Champions League list with 45, behind only Edwin van de Sar who has 50, and Iker Casillas who’s managed 51. Again though, Cech has achieved his haul in far fewer games, having played 107 compared to Casillas’ 153.

There will be those who try to taint Cech’s achievements by pointing out he was massively aided by Chelsea being the most defensive-minded club side in history, over this past decade or so, but that would be unfair.

Yes the Blues have parked the bus most weeks since 2004, but behind that bus they’ve undoubtedly had one of the finest goalkeepers of the modern era. I’m just glad we can now call him ours and that he’ll set those records as a Gunner.

Back with a Spurs-preview on Saturday.

Have a good one.