tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88644882751163910302024-03-13T19:51:48.342+02:00 Arsenal Corner Views From An Arsenal FanDarren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-13864598199913112042014-09-11T09:21:00.000+02:002014-09-11T09:22:20.330+02:00Does Danny's Debut matter?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">It took Henry 9 games. It took Bergkamp 6
games. Anelka was also a slow settler. But despite these faltering starts, all
three went on to become important sources of goals for Arsenal. What was it
that made them great? It certainly wasn’t their debut performance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q2wTocbCvYw/VBFMRxyk9bI/AAAAAAAABCs/WbS3FvcwdJo/s1600/Welbeck-Arsenal-shirt-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q2wTocbCvYw/VBFMRxyk9bI/AAAAAAAABCs/WbS3FvcwdJo/s1600/Welbeck-Arsenal-shirt-4.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-ZA">By Matthew Hurlow (follow him on twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ArsenalZA" target="_blank">@ArsenalZA</a>)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">We have a new striker at Arsenal now, “dat
guy” Danny Welbeck. Of course, everyone would love for him to kick-start his
Arsenal career by banging one or two (or three or four) in against his old Manchester rival. Some fans might even be angry with anything less than a goal, feeling
that Wenger’s gamble on Danny-boy is really the last straw, pointing out that
we probably should have signed a solid defensive midfielder instead. In that
respect, it’s debut goal or bust for Welbeck.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">But in a broader, more rational view of
things, Danny’s debut performance shouldn’t matter. I’m sure a large section of
the Arsenal faithful started to think of Henry as a flop after his eighth game
without a goal, and look how wrong they turned out to be. In a game of so many
variables, a goal on debut doesn’t guarantee future success, and a poor debut
does not guarantee failure in the future. Heck, nothing is guaranteed. But –
does that logic still apply?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">I mean, if we’re honest with ourselves, a
good striker should score as often as possible. With a wealth of options to
assist Welbz, he should have no excuse. He will no longer have the “I’m being
played on the wing” excuse. When Sanchez sends a delicious cross in from the
right wing on Saturday, and Welbeck rises above Kompany, everyone will be
expecting to see his header hit the back of the net. And it will. Unless
Danny’s not all he’s cracked up to be. This is the fear of sceptical and
sanguine fans alike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">In the modern game, a goal on debut <i>is </i>often a mark of a striker set for
success. Diego Costa proved that he was not a “one-club-wonder” by scoring in
his first three league games for Chelsea. Prolific scorers with lower-table teams (both of whom have been linked to Arsenal countless times), Wilfried Bony
and Christian Benteke, scored on debut. Recently, the legendary, proven goal
scorer Samuel Eto’o scored on his Everton debut. It looks like scoring on debut
does indeed bode well for the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-ZA">Enter Demba Ba and Mario Ballotelli...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Demba Ba, a solid performer and regular goal
scorer for Hoffenheim, West Ham United and Newcastle United, scored on his
Chelsea debut. Not once, but TWICE. His first game was a 5-1 rout of
Southampton in the FA Cup. His next few games also yielded good returns. And
then, out of nowhere, the fairy dust ran out, the magic stopped flowing through
his boot, the goals dried up. Mario Ballotelli began his Man City career by
coming on as a substitute to score an important Europa League goal, making him
a fan favourite. Unfortunately, his overall form from then on was not quite as
explosive as the fireworks in his bathroom. Eventually sold to AC Milan, he
looked to have regained his panache, but his form soon turned sour there too.
Just how far his star has fallen was evident in his dismal performance for
Liverpool two weeks ago. Aha, scoring on debut is not always an indication of
future success.</div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">In my opinion, Danny Welbeck possesses a
quality lacking in both Ba and Ballotelli. Work rate. The only reason why he
put up with playing on the wing for so long at United was his intense
commitment and work ethic. He has proved his ability as a work-horse for both
United and England, sometimes playing as a false-nine for his country. And,
even so, he did get two goals for England the other night, and Switzerland are
not a bad side. So even if Welbeck’s goals don’t come at first, or they dry up
after an early burst, or he scores and then (touch wood) gets injured
immediately afterwards, his hunger and desire should see him through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">Finally, I’d like to compare Welbeck to the
man I’d most like for him to emulate: Daniel Sturridge. A few months ago, I
wrote <a href="http://arsenalcorner.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-top-arsenal-striker-targets-and-poll.html" target="_blank">an article</a> for Arsenal Corner in which I said that Daniel Sturridge is
the player I’d most like us to sign. I hadn’t even thought of Welbeck. Arsenal
signing a player from a big rival? Preposterous! But it’s happened and now I
believe that Danny Welbeck is actually a better fit. For one thing, he has many
of the same qualities as Sturridge: pace, power, skill and finishing ability.
Yes, finishing ability. He hasn’t scored as many goals as Welbeck, but if you
watch the way he has taken the ones he has scored you can’t help but be
impressed with the calmness, precision, and crispness of those shots. And
although Sturridge trumps Ba and Ballotelli in terms of work rate, Welbeck
trumps him in that department.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">At the beginning of this piece I asked what
it was that turned Henry, Bergkamp and Anelka from stuttering starters to scintillating
scorers. Now I have the answer: the ability, the pace and most importantly, the
hunger. Welbeck is hungrier than a bunch of adolescent boys (and much better
looking too).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA">Score or miss, embarrass or dazzle, Welbeck
will be a success for Arsenal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By Matthew Hurlow (<a href="https://twitter.com/ArsenalZA" target="_blank">@ArsenalZA</a>)</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-26657116750579270452014-08-20T01:29:00.000+02:002014-08-20T01:34:00.153+02:00Why Joel Campbell Should Start Up Front Against Everton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BUufa1O1q5k/U_PewK9nHbI/AAAAAAAABBY/cOy6VLGUpEM/s1600/joel-campbell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BUufa1O1q5k/U_PewK9nHbI/AAAAAAAABBY/cOy6VLGUpEM/s1600/joel-campbell.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I drove 50km tonight to watch my beloved Arsenal play against Besiktas at my brother's house. It was an underwhelming performance to say the least. We didn't control the game and we didn't have a decent spell of possession in their half. I haven't checked any Arsenal news since the match, but I'm sure the blogosphere is insisting that Giroud's performance tonight is evidence that we need another striker. He did play poorly, but I believe his form will come right and he'll perform better than last season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the game I was telling my brother that it's my belief that this is Giroud's year - that he's going to be superb up front; but my faith wavered during the 90 minutes. I believe that this is the opportunity to give Joel Campbell the chance that Wenger has been promising. Arsene Wenger was quoted last week as saying,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">" He is a member of my squad at the moment, He had a good preparation and played well against Benfica. In training he is very focused and eager to do well. I would like to keep him.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel that it would be the perfect time to give Campbell a chance because Giroud is obviously not playing well and his confidence is low. Enough about Giroud, this piece is supposed to be more about Campbell than anybody else. The primary reason I think Campbell should start against Everton is because his biggest asset is a weakness for the Evertonian centre-backs: speed. Campbell is a lot faster than Jagielka and Distin, but still offers the height and strength that Sanchez can't offer. I also think that his confidence is relatively high and a starting spot against Everton will boost that. I believe that he's hungry to do well for Arsenal, something that most of the team were lacking tonight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A slight hidden agenda on my part: I hope to see Akpom play in the League Cup matches because I believe that he could be world-class. If Campbell gets enough game-time in the league, Akpom could play in the domestic cups.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-37407825305882043382014-03-18T11:25:00.002+02:002014-08-20T01:35:04.483+02:00Arsenal Get More Points Without Ramsey<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning I was following my usual wake-up routine:</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Hear alarm</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Press snooze twice (hoping I'll feel more awake in 5 minutes)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Finally get my head off the pillow</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Check Instagram</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Drop the kids off at the pool</span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2BPelvhC2s/UygRCMJGGXI/AAAAAAAAAb8/mQjumR81iIU/s1600/Ramsey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2BPelvhC2s/UygRCMJGGXI/AAAAAAAAAb8/mQjumR81iIU/s1600/Ramsey.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this is where I got a good idea for a blog post: see how Ramsey not playing has negatively affected Arsenal's title challenge. I believe that we play better when Ramsey plays, but the stats show otherwise.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 497px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 4937; mso-width-source: userset; width: 101pt;" width="135"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 1792; mso-width-source: userset; width: 37pt;" width="49"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 4059; mso-width-source: userset; width: 83pt;" width="111"></col>
<col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 5046; mso-width-source: userset; width: 104pt;" width="138"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="height: 18.75pt; width: 101pt;" width="135"></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; width: 37pt;" width="49"></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; width: 83pt;" width="111"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Ramsey</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; width: 104pt;" width="138"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without Ramsey</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="border-top: none; height: 18.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Played</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">19</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="border-top: none; height: 18.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Won</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="border-top: none; height: 18.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drawn</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="border-top: none; height: 18.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lost</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="border-top: none; height: 18.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Points</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">39</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">23</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="border-top: none; height: 18.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Possible
points</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">57</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">30</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="25" style="height: 18.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="25" style="border-top: none; height: 18.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Points per
game</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2.05</span></td>
<td class="xl65" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2.3</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These statistics are only for the premier league (provided by <a href="http://www.whoscored.com/Home" target="_blank">whoscored.com</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find it quite strange that we have more points per game when he isn't playing compared to when he is. I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">think he is a catalyst for the team and he's been involved a lot in the goals this season</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">; and helping out on numerous occasions defensively</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I don't have a decent explanation as to why the data is the way that it is. The only small morsel I can offer is that we played tougher games when Ramsey was playing; all t</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hree of our fellow title contenders (won against Liverpool, drew against Chelsea and lost to City). We've only played against Liverpool while he's been unavailable (the 5-1 loss).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the Premier League's fantasy league game </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he is expected back on 29 March, but physioroom has no expected return date (which I think is a result of the injury lay-off time getting pushed back every time we think he'll be available again). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really hope that the Welshman gets back soon as I believe that he is a match winner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-10337176817784029152014-03-11T19:44:00.000+02:002014-03-18T16:06:11.123+02:00Hopefully Wenger Puts it All on the Line Tonight<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arsenal go into the match trailing 2-0 after a series of unfortunate events 3 weeks ago. We started well in that fateful night at the Emirates, but everything went downhill after a certain failed set-piece. I'm sure everybody has read at least a dozen articles about that game so I won't bore you with the details again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Losing 2-0 or 10-0 on aggregate means nothing to me. It might dent the player's confidence to lose by a big margin, but it's worth the risk if we have a chance of winning. I hope that Wenger sets up the team in a way that shows attacking intent. The primary thing I would like to see is only one CDM. I hope he instructs the players to press Bayern high up the field and put Guardiola's players under pressure. This might be tough task, especially because most of the team played 3 days ago; but I think it is our best option. My suggested 11:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kaDM330jIGc/Ux9LGTrpJNI/AAAAAAAAAbs/CjgkKy_2HJo/s1600/formation2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kaDM330jIGc/Ux9LGTrpJNI/AAAAAAAAAbs/CjgkKy_2HJo/s1600/formation2.png" height="320" width="286" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nothing controversial here. The team almost picks itself due to injuries. If we want to go trough to the next round we have to score 2 goals, so I think only one out of Flamini and Arteta can start. I rate Arteta quite highly, but on current form I would deploy Flamini to protect the back four and hope that the pressure further up the field will mask our defensive midfield vulnerability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully we can get a result as least as good as last season, or better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-72648102380839554022014-02-25T15:10:00.000+02:002014-08-20T01:35:41.955+02:00Annoying Things Commentators Say - Especially During Arsenal Games<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">During this weekend's game with
Sunderland the commentator waffled on about how disappointed he was in Sunderland for having a defensive game plan and that they really
would have troubled us if they had put us under pressure and been physical. I
could see his point, but he kept harping on about it the whole game. It got me
thinking, what have I heard during football games that gets on my nerves.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7RU4EAJ0HuI/UwySr3wL6SI/AAAAAAAAAbA/uTLZsVNu7TE/s1600/Wenger+annoyed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7RU4EAJ0HuI/UwySr3wL6SI/AAAAAAAAAbA/uTLZsVNu7TE/s1600/Wenger+annoyed.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ugh, please stop saying the same things!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"That wouldn't even have
been a foul 30 years ago"</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> after a yellow-card tackle.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The game has totally changed from
30 years ago. Clubs pay millions of pounds for players and they need to be
protected. I like that football is a physical game and I think that the current
enforcement of fouls is at a good standard in the Premier League.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"He's a good shot-stopper,
but he's immature... He needs to work on his kicking... He doesn't lack
confidence, he's actually too confident"</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> when
talking about Szczesny.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They continue to bring up flaws
that were relevant last season. I do believe that his kicking is still not
perfect, but he has matured a lot and doesn't make silly errors on a regular
basis anymore. He's not over-confident, and he's actually transforming into a
player that could be our number 1 for many years.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"He's gone down very easily
there"</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> when speaking about Arsenal players.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"That was clever by (<i>insert
opposition player's name here</i>)"</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> when other players
go down easily.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Maybe all fans feel commentators
are unfair to their team but it feels like all of our players are cheats, and
divers like Bale and Rooney are never called out.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">"They
really miss Patrick Viera; and they have never really replaced him, have
they?"</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> Normally when we're playing against very
physical teams or against Manu and they mention Viera and Keane's relationship.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Patrick Viera is a once in a generation player. Yaya Toure is the current
player in this generation and although we tried to sign him many times, he's
not at Arsenal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">"I don't like this zonal defensive system. Nobody can be held accountable if the opposition scores, because they're not marking man for man"</u> before the first corner of almost every game.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We've conceded far fewer goals from set-pieces this season compared two seasons ago. Last season was transitional, but now the system seems to be working well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">"They're passing nicely side to side, but they need somebody to play that final ball or somebody to be direct and go at the defenders"</u> if 60 minutes have passed and we haven't scored yet.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">It's quite difficult to score against a team with 9 defenders and a goalkeeper. I do get a bit frustrated sometimes too, but that's the way they have been told to play because it's what Wenger thinks is most effective (and I agree).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">These are a few of the things that 'pundits' say that boils my blood. I'm sure everybody has their own things that commentators say that ruffle their feathers, let me know what annoys you. (The easiest is to click comment as name/URL and just fill in your name.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Regards</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-85691835596936279102014-02-12T10:09:00.003+02:002014-02-12T10:09:41.472+02:00Learning From Liverpool<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Saturday's humiliating defeat at Anfield was an unwelcome, irritating occurrence. The question rattling around my head was "Why?". It doesn't make sense that a team that has spent 130 days on top of the Premier League and has one of the best defensive records in the league, should find themselves 4-0 down after just 20 minutes.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yfsA-Jek1pc/UvsrkL56wXI/AAAAAAAAAaw/FpcKdEMFQvU/s1600/Arsenal+upset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yfsA-Jek1pc/UvsrkL56wXI/AAAAAAAAAaw/FpcKdEMFQvU/s1600/Arsenal+upset.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;">After the match, Wenger stated, "Only our supporters were good." He was right. Holding no punches, Arteta was (and is) second rate, Özil was pathetic (by his own high standards) and Monreal has no place in the starting line-up. Gibbs is not injured and should be starting. I hate to criticise Giroud, but even the usually tireless Frenchman was idling for much of the match.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;">In short Arsenal weren't up for it, and Liverpool - spurred on by the home support - very much were.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;">Therein lies the lesson which we can take into our game versus Manchester United. The game at Anfield showed the power of home ground advantage to cancel out differences in history, and league standings. Win, lose or draw, Liverpool have always performed better against Arsenal when playing at home. Its usually been the same for Arsenal when playing United. Regardless of the result, our performances versus the Red Devils at the Emirates have been praiseworthy. When we've lost, its usually a lack of luck in the final third.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;">I have no doubt that despite being thrashed by Liverpool, Arsenal are the better footballing side. The difference on the day boiled down to commitment, focus and desire. Home support certainly played a role.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;">We're undoubtedly better than United this season, so the chances of us taking a page from Liverpool's book and thrashing United at the Emirates are high, IF we apply the same determination and belief that Liverpool did at Anfield.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;">Guest Post By Matthew Hurlow</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px;">Follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/arsenalza" target="_blank">twitter</a></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-22236923408691070972014-02-07T18:42:00.002+02:002014-02-10T13:39:18.670+02:00My Combined 5-man Midfield From Arsenal and Liverpool<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most eagerly anticipated match of the weekend is also the first game. Arsenal's strength is in their midfield and Liverpool's most dangerous weapon are their strikers. Both teams regularly adopt 5-man midfields; Liverpool to allow them to play with 2 up front and Arsenal because we have so much quality in the middle of the park. I have made a combined midfield made up of players from both sides. I will be playing two defensive midfielders and 3 attacking midfielders. Only players that are eligible to play this weekend were included.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U5W2-ksMgWU/UvUJsggNE5I/AAAAAAAAAaU/_AAApx5KoT4/s1600/Ramsey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U5W2-ksMgWU/UvUJsggNE5I/AAAAAAAAAaU/_AAApx5KoT4/s1600/Ramsey.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gerrard may not have been in the team if everybody was fit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Oxlade-Chamberlain</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first of my two defensive midfielders was the man of the match in the last game and scored two goals from a central-midfield position. I believe he would have played in a more defensive position if it was a tougher game.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Steven Gerrard</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Liverpool captain has recently changed to CDM and performed well, still scoring goals and making chances.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Mesut Ozil</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arsenal's most expensive player will occupy the central position of my three attacking mids, because that is where he is most effective and his laziness to get back doesn't affect the team too badly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Philippe Coutinho</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although more effective centrally I would play him on the right to accommodate Ozil. Although a bit short with goals and assists, his pass before the pass has been important numerous times when he's been available.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Santi Cazorla</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The diminutive Spaniard has been getting back to his best recently and his his ability with both feet is incredible. Although sometimes a bit weak, my left attacking midfielder works hard defensively and breaks up play effectively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who would you put in your midfield?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-91723681385299733982014-02-05T08:59:00.000+02:002014-02-12T10:14:13.537+02:00You Think February is Going to be Difficult? Have a Look at March!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There has
been a lot of talk in the papers recently about how crucial and difficult our
run of fixture in February is, and I totally agree. Here’s what Szczesny had to
say, “We’ve got a difficult run but we’re looking forward to it… I’m looking
forward to the big games, every player looks forward to games against big
opponents and world class players.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEHsO69sSb0/UvHggXQiWuI/AAAAAAAAAaE/gSTKruXfQ3A/s1600/Mertesacker+Szczesny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEHsO69sSb0/UvHggXQiWuI/AAAAAAAAAaE/gSTKruXfQ3A/s1600/Mertesacker+Szczesny.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The BFG
recently stated, “It is that part of the season when you might feel tired or
exhausted, but we have to keep our chins up and now the really important games
are coming up.” Important games are coming up. Here's what we have to look forward to in February:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Liverpool
Away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Manchester
United Home<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Liverpool
Home (FA Cup)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bayern
Munich Home<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunderland
Home</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although
those are difficult fixtures, we have 4 out of 5 games at home. We’re playing the
best team in the world; the 7<sup>th</sup> best team in England; the Black Cats
(14<sup>th</sup>) and the 4<sup>th</sup> best team in the Premier League,
twice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward
to March 1 and view the upcoming games:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stoke Away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Swansea
Home/FA Cup quarter final<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bayern
Munich Away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tottenham
Away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chelsea Away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Manchester
City Home<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stoke have
only lost 2 games at home this season and excluding their 5-3 loss to Liverpool
have conceded 8 goals in 11 games at home (Total = 13 in 12 games). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also play
12</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> placed Swansea or an FA Cup quarter final, the best team in the
world at their home ground, our biggest local rivals away from home, Chelsea away (10 wins and
2 draws at Stamford Bridge this season),</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and
Manchester City (no introductions or statistics necessary).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wilshere
should be back for February, and Ramsey is expected back in March; so is Diaby
by the way, but we should all expect a minor setback that keeps him out for 4
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I worry slightly about the players burning out, especially because the best players can't be rested during important matches unIess really necessary; but I think our
squad has the capability to come out the other side of these two months in a
really strong position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Come on The
Gunners!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-76591203944653176262014-01-30T10:54:00.002+02:002014-02-05T09:45:40.708+02:00What to do About Right-Back<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As most Arsenal fans know: Bac is out of contract at the end of the season. There are reports that we are trying to tie him down with a new contract; but we all know how Wenger feels about players over 30, and how all players over 30 feel about 1 year contracts. He has recently had some injury problems and in an ideal world I would like Sagna to accept an extra year on his contract. Jenkinson can be brought in more and more and I would like to see him starting league matches by the end of next season. The exciting Hector Bellerin should be experienced enough to provide cover for Jenkinson by then and eventually compete for a starting position.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uIuEcxS1mzw/UuoS5KVkbdI/AAAAAAAAAZw/qZjpfrNFs_8/s1600/Sagna+youngsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uIuEcxS1mzw/UuoS5KVkbdI/AAAAAAAAAZw/qZjpfrNFs_8/s1600/Sagna+youngsters.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sagna helping the youngsters</td></tr>
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem is if the French fullback does not sign a new contract and Wenger has to start Jenkinson or buy somebody new. I don't believe that Jenkinson is good enough just yet, so who could Arsenal realistically buy?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe that there are only a handful of players that are about as good as Sagna. Lahm and Ramos (when he plays there) are the best right-backs in the world and impossible to buy at the moment. Lukasz Piszczek, Pablo Zabaleta, Dani Alves and Branislav Ivanovic are the only players, I believe, that are as good as Sagna and all of the names mentioned would be highly unlikely to move. The most realistic option is probably Lukasz Piszczek, but if he did move it would probably be to the Dortmund A-team: Bayern Munich.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Wenger does buy a right-back in the off-season will he go for a temporary option while Jenkinson and Bellerin get better or will he buy an up-and-coming player to be at the club for years to come?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are dozens of articles on great young right-backs to buy: Astuto Uchida, Sebastien Jung, Sebastien Corchia, Ricardo van Rijn, Marcos Rocha, Nathaniel Clyne, Roberto Rosales and Sam Byram to name a few. Maybe Arsenal are going to buy one of these players, but Wenger normally trusts in youth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think it's vitally important that Wenger convinces Sagna to sign a new deal and slowly bring through the youngsters as he is famous for.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-71343030925866056062013-12-11T12:41:00.000+02:002014-01-30T10:54:44.753+02:00My Top Arsenal Striker Targets and Poll<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Matthew Hurlow (@ArsenalZA)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We need a new, top-quality striker if we really want to push on and win the Premier League. Giroud is doing a good job, but an injury or dip in form would be a problem. My preferred transfer targets in reverse order are:</span><br />
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<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Demba Ba</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">This is a player
that I used to really admire, but unfortunately, no longer. If he's not good
enough to start for Chelsea, he shouldn't be good enough to start for Arsenal.
He is a good finisher, but not the kind of exciting player that I would like to
see Arsenal sign.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Kostas Mitroglu</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Mitroglu is in the
form of his life. 12 goals in 11 games in the Greek Super League have put the
spotlight on him, and some big clubs are sniffing around. However I dont really
like the sound of this signing as his style of play is far too similar to Giroud's.
We need someone who can, ideally, partner or replace Giroud in the starting
line up and their styles must be complementary, not too similar.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Edin Dzeko</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I still like Edin
Dzeko, and I'd like to see him at Arsenal but something about the idea of this
signing doesn't appeal to me. While his style is not too similar to Giroud's he
is by no means a pacey forward. He is a good finisher, but has not shown any more
than that to make me feel like his presence at Arsenal would only be a good
thing.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Fernando Llorrente</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I do not want
Llorente at Arsenal. He was never much of an exciting player at Atletico Madrid
and his lack of goals at Juve should be a huge red light for any club who might
want to sign him.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Christian Benteke</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Benteke is a good
player, who I rate highly. He is strong on the ball, an adept finisher, and has
a good work rate. The Belguim international would be a good signing, but my
only concern is that his lack of quality, may be shown up at a bigger club like
Arsenal. Sometimes players look good because they play for lesser clubs.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>Javier Hernandez</b></u></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Signing a player
from Manchester United gives any Arsenal fan a good feeling, but perhaps not in
the case of Javier Hernandez. He is not much as a passer, and his work rate is
suspect at times. He is a far superior finisher to most of the strikers I have
reviewed in the article, but again, "if he's not good enough to start
for them, why should he start for us?"</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Stevan Jovetic</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Right. Finally a
player for which I have more good words than bad. Jovetic is a great all-round
attacker, and has a vigorous, exciting style that would be an asset to any
team. Man City haven't been playing him much during his spell there so far, but
that's more to do with the scintillating form of Agüero and Negredo than with
Jovetic's quality. Wenger may not think he is "super quality" but if
you're going to sign a squad player then you may as well sign a great squad
player.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Fernando Torres</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am reluctant to
say that Torres would be a good signing for Arsenal, but I definitely don't
cringe at the idea. What I like about this possible signing, is that while
Torres still posses the class and pace he had at Liverpool, his low goal
scoring form at Chelsea puts him in no position to demand a regular starting
place at a new club. It would be great to have a player of Torres' quality,
humbled by his bad experiences at Chelsea, and spurred on by the desire to
prove himself to a new set of fans, as back up for Giroud.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Karim Benzema</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not another
Frenchman! Seriously though, Benzema is a world-class finisher, useful in the
build-up and he's French so Wenger will probably sign him. But, will he take
Arsenal to the next level or is merely another squad player?</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Luis Suarez</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well this is a tough
one. If Suarez was only a footballing machine, magical device that scored
wondrous goals and bamboozled defences, I'd yell "Sign him up!"
Unfortunately, Suarez is a person too and not a very nice one at that. He is racist,
violent, a touch canabalistic and a cheat, a diver. Do we, the noble and mighty
Arsenal, need that kind of baggage at our club? Sorry Luis, an attitude like
yours doesn't deserve to play at a classy club like Arsenal.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Diego Costa</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A hard worker,
talented finisher and clever with his movement, Costa offers goals and tenacity
to whichever team he plays for. The only downside to this transfer, would be
his sizeable price tag. Is it worth paying £30 million for a player that has
only been playing well for one season?</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Marco Reus</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A young, hard
working, and ridiculously skilfull German, would fit into any team and I would
love to have him at Arsenal. He clearly loves football and doesn't seem to mind
playing in different positions, for the good of the team. He is apparently a
huge admirer of Tomas Rosicky. He can play with him next year if he likes!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>Robert Lewandowski</b></u></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well ahem, speaking
of world-class strikers, saying no to Robert Lewandowski would be as crazy as
Martin O'Neill turning down the chance to sign Radamel Falcao. What's that? He
did!? Well, if Bayern Munich don't snap him up the minute his contract expires,
we should not make the same mistake the Irishman made. My only miniscule concern is that Giroud may be a litte cheesed off by the arrival of an exceptional
player that would almost certainly keep him out of the starting line-up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-23bIYac5i9w/Uqdxja0EZHI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/iQU85fKuuuk/s1600/Sturridge+dance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-23bIYac5i9w/Uqdxja0EZHI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/iQU85fKuuuk/s320/Sturridge+dance.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Daniel Sturridge</u></b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my opinion,
Sturridge would be a phenomenal signing, for a few reasons: firstly he is SUPER
talented (forget for a moment his dance moves). He scores all sorts of goals -
delicious chips, diving headers, well-placed tap-ins, curlers - and he has
Brazilian like skill enclosed in a British package. Sturridge's nationality is
another reason why the signing is a good idea. Even as a South African, I think
it would be great if Arsenal could once again dominate when it comes to club
representation in the England team. Finally, signing a great player from a rival club
is a real statement of intent, and a massive "up yours" to that
rival. Yes we'd have to pay over the odds for him, but what the 'ell, eh? A
talented player like Sturridge deserves to be at a club like Arsenal.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="widget Poll" id="Poll1">
<h2 class="title">
Which striker should Arsenal buy?</h2>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Written by Matthew Hurlow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Follow him on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ArsenalZA" target="_blank">@ArsenalZA</a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-68105636570074151472013-10-22T17:24:00.000+02:002013-12-12T14:30:48.396+02:00When is the Best Time to Buy a Beer and Scoring Earlier is Good<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a common idea that the best teams always score late goals to save matches and get points (insert Fergie time joke here), and I agree that the best teams dig deep when it counts and find goals; but let's look at when Arsenal scored their goals over the past 5 seasons where we finished 4th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 4th (3rd, 4th for the 2 seasons before that too!). Statistics are from <a href="http://whoscored.com/" target="_blank">whoscored.com</a>. If you want to know when the best time to buy a beer on matchday is, scroll to the bottom.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TcWPPhroH3I/UmY_MwvUyUI/AAAAAAAAAXo/sa3S_KbIeuc/s1600/20131022100113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TcWPPhroH3I/UmY_MwvUyUI/AAAAAAAAAXo/sa3S_KbIeuc/s400/20131022100113.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a big difference in the goals scored in the last 15 minutes when compared to the rest of the time, but then we look at the last time Arsenal won the league and it's noticeable that we scored a lot more of our goals earlier in the game.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x2VdW7KwckY/UmY_M2-2JVI/AAAAAAAAAXs/_F_WwBYqvig/s1600/20131022101955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x2VdW7KwckY/UmY_M2-2JVI/AAAAAAAAAXs/_F_WwBYqvig/s400/20131022101955.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately I couldn't get the data on our other league triumphs.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now we look at Manchester United's title winners last year:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">ManU would have had 3 goals in the 76-90 minute section if it weren't for Fergie time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They actually scored more goals in the first half than in the second half throughout the season; </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">which is quite rare in football, especially in top of the table Premier League teams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Manchester City in 2011/2012 is next:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Manchester City break the trend slightly, but their amount of goals scored between 31 and 75 minutes are almost as high as 76-90.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, we'll look at is how Arsenal are doing so far this season:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Two of the goals in the 76-90 minute section were this weekend.) This is not a proved theorem and I'm sure that there are many exceptions to the rule, but Arsenal scoring goals early is a good sign! Hopefully at the end of the season I can make a nice table for the Arsenal league winners of 2013/2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I totalled all the statistics used in this article:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want the lowest statistical chance of missing a goal: the best time to get that beer and pie is before the game and rather be a little bit late than being stuck in the line after half time. And I wouldn't suggest leaving early.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-4546924424292136702013-10-17T09:03:00.000+02:002013-12-12T14:31:30.098+02:00Tough Decisions in Midfield<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our plethora of talent in the midfield is well-documented and I'm sure we all agree that this is Arsenal's strongest area. Due to injuries, the midfield has basically chosen itself, until now. According to physioroom.com: Walcott, Cazorla, Ozil and Rosicky will all be available for the match against Norwich this weekend. I'm obviously more concerned about the game against Dortmund on Tuesday and I don't expect anybody to be unnecessarily risked against the Canaries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the debate starts. Who should play in Arsenal's midfield? The <a href="http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/players" target="_blank">official website</a> has 15 players listed in the first team squad that are fighting it out for the 5 midfield positions (wingers obviously included). I don't think anybody (including the players themselves) would expect Frimpong, Zelalem, Miyaichi and Diaby to start. Gnabry will probably be on the bench when Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski return but has a chance of playing at the moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The defence and striking position is covered at the moment. Somebody that hasn't watched Giroud play this season could make the argument that Podolski or Walcott should start up front, but most Gooners agree that the Frenchman is the right man to lead the line on current form.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another factor when considering the personnel that should be chosen is deciding which midfield formation will be used. Wenger has recently been switching between two defensive midfielders and three attacking midfielders; and a defensive midfielder, two attacking midfielders and two wingers. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wenger is willing to play certain players in a variety of positions, for a good example: Ramsey has been used all over the field over the past year and Cazorla changes between attacking midfielder and winger, although I prefer him as a midfielder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the unavailability of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski I would use the 2 defensive midfield formation. For me, the defensive midfield spot is a straight toss up between Flamini and Arteta. I think that both of these players are great. Although I see Arteta as first-choice over the course of the season, I think we can afford to bring him bask slowly. Therefore I would start Flamini at the moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramsey is a definite starter and can play either as the other defensive midfielder or as the other attacking midfielder (depending on the formation chosen). Ozil gets the central attacking midfield position with Cazorla on the left and Walcott on the right. For the match against Norwich I would probably play Gnabry, Rosicky and/or Wilshere as the side attacking midfielders/wingers and bring on Cazorla and Walcott quite early in the second half if we're struggling or later on to get some game time if we're comfortable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wilshere and Rosicky don't even get a look-in for their preferred positions in my team at the moment. Hopefully Wilshere's form improves because I do believe that he has great potential. Rosicky is also a good player, but his injuries make it even more more difficult to compete against Ramsey and Ozil for the central attacking midfielder positions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Midfeild choice against Dortmund </u>(assuming they're fit)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Flamini, Ramsey,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Cazorla, Ozil, Walcott</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who do you think should start against Dortmund?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-8913417628656116802013-10-02T23:40:00.000+02:002013-10-21T08:10:28.985+02:00Poll: Who Are We Missing the Most?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is well documented that Arsenal have a full waiting room outside the doctor's office. We currently have 7 injuries - namely: Walcott, Cazorla, Sanogo, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Zelalem and Diaby. Arsenal are playing exceptionally well at the moment, so we aren't feeling the casualties too badly.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-buuqh1KIEZ4/UkyNbUSSgiI/AAAAAAAAAWs/STBsOwztNA4/s1600/Cazorla+fouled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-buuqh1KIEZ4/UkyNbUSSgiI/AAAAAAAAAWs/STBsOwztNA4/s200/Cazorla+fouled.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cazorla, Podolski and Walcott are the players that I would like to see return sooner rather than later. Their respective, expected return dates are quite murky. Assuming that we had a magic genie who could allow any injured player to no longer have their current injury, who would you choose?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both Walcott and Podolski also have good selling points, but </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it were up to me, I would choose Cazorla to be the first to return. Saliva is pouring from my mouth at the thought of Özil and Cazorla playing together and providing a plethora of goal-scoring opportunities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think? (Voting will NOT take you to another webpage)</span></div>
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Who Would You Like to Return First?</h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-69738946742485088392013-09-24T22:10:00.001+02:002013-10-02T23:47:48.538+02:00I Predict the Lineup After Wenger Shares His Thoughts<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arsenal have a challenging third-round tie against West Brom on Wednesday night away from home. If we want to have as many trophy-winning chances as possible, and if we want to see our youngsters getting more first-team opportunities; it's important that we win this match. Wenger spoke quite openly to Arsenal player. Here's what he said:</span><br />
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<i style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">"I will try to find a good balance between experience and youth. At the back you will have players you know well. Up front, you have a bit more improvisation and young players.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">You will see Gnabry again - everybody knows him already. Maybe the return of Bendtner as well, who will get a chance. That's the kind of team we will have.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">We want to win this competition as well. I try to find the right balance between giving a needed breather to some players like Wilshere and Ramsey, who have given a lot.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">[I] take the competition very seriously as well because it's an opportunity to win a trophy. We don't want to neglect that.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Having said that, we play again on Saturday and we play again on Tuesday. We had to play the qualifier of the Champions League which were two tough games."</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">That convinces me that Ramsey and Wilshere will not be starting. It's unclear whether Bendtner Bendtner will start or take a seat on the bench. Giroud is our only fully fit, and firing, striker; it's important that he gets a rest. it also seems quite obvious that Gnabry will start. Here's my predicted lineup:</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEuCVoPvzfM/UkH0wybEWrI/AAAAAAAAAWc/wmhHYOoLiis/s1600/formation+west+brom+ozil.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEuCVoPvzfM/UkH0wybEWrI/AAAAAAAAAWc/wmhHYOoLiis/s640/formation+west+brom+ozil.png" width="481" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-78076514022418368972013-09-23T17:20:00.002+02:002013-09-25T15:33:00.201+02:00Arsenal's Top Attacking 5 After 5 Games<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're 5 games into the Premier League and Arsenal are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League. Although we lost to Villa on opening day, at least we haven't had any of those frustrating draws we usually have so many of. The statistics are taken from <a href="http://whoscored.com/" target="_blank">whoscored.com</a>. This article will be focusing on the attacking statistics. Not all the players have played 5 games but I still included them, I've decided to show Arsenal's top 5 players in a variety of areas:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Appearances</u> Starting (Sub)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Szczesny 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Ramsey 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Gibbs 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Giroud 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Sagna 4(1)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Wilshere 4(1)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was quite surprised that only 4 players have started every game in the league so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>Goals</b></u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Giroud 4</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Ramsey 3</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Podolski 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Sagna 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Mertesacker 1</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Assists</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Özil 3</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Cazorla 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Giroud 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Walcott 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Ramsey 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Jenkinson 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Chamberlain 1</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Passing Accuracy</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Arteta 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Miyaichi 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Koscielny 94.5%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Flamini 91.2%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Mertesacker 91.2%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Aerial Duels Won</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Giroud 29</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Sagna 13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Mertesacker 8</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Gibbs 8</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Jenkinson 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Koscielny 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Ramsey 5</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jenkinson won 5/7 aerial duels, which was the best percentage for an Arsenal player.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Shots</u> Total (On target/Off target/Blocked)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Giroud 23 (<span style="color: #222222;">6/9/9)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Walcott 12 (7/3/2)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Ramsey 12 (5/3/4)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Cazorla 7 (3/1/3)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ö</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">zil 4 (3/0/1)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Successful Dribbles</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Ramsey 7</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Wilshere 6</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Cazorla 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ö</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">zil 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Rosicky 5</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Whoscored.com Rating</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Özil 8.53</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Giroud 8.22</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Ramsey 7.95</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Gnabry 7.5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Chamberlain 7.41</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 games is only enough to show form over a short period of time, and I was not surprised to find Ramsey in the top 5 of everything except passing accuracy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A great sign for us Gooners is that 3 of the top 4 rated players on </span><a href="http://whoscored.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">whoscored.com</a> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are all from Arsenal:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Whoscored.com's Premier League Ratings</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Özil 8.53</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Giroud 8.22</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Baines 7.96</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Ramsey 7.95</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Lovren 7.89</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully the team continues to play well and gets better as the season progresses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article should take me over 10 000 views, so thank you for reading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-37526360122261722972013-09-16T19:14:00.000+02:002013-09-25T15:33:32.185+02:00Do Arsenal Need a Better GK? Statistically Szczesny Performed Alright<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The number one goalkeeper at Arsenal has been an issue ever since 2007, when whoever made fewer mistakes between Jens 857 minutes without conceding Lehmann and Manuel "If I didn't get injured I would still be starting for Arsenal" Almunia got to play.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vK64-NjwEw/Uja9l_UVLlI/AAAAAAAAAVo/bkByHtmOyg0/s1600/Szczesny+kissing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vK64-NjwEw/Uja9l_UVLlI/AAAAAAAAAVo/bkByHtmOyg0/s320/Szczesny+kissing.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Szczesny scored nicely!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Szczesny was under a lot of criticism last season after some poor performances. His rating on Fifa 14 is one less than it was on Fifa 13 (not a good thing for any player). He has played relatively well so far during this campaign. I decided to cover last seasons statistics because there is information on 38 games, rather than the 4 of this season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My original idea was to compare Szczesny and Lloris (who some believe we should have bought a year ago), but I decided to throw in the other three as well. Each team's defence will obviously affect their respective goalkeeper's statistics, and that's why I'll be comparing only the top 5 Premier League's teams' goalkeepers as the best teams should have similar quality in the backline. The information was gathered from </span><a href="http://whoscored.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">whoscored.com</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://www.thescore.com/epl/goalie_splits/clean_sheets?view_type=standard&season_id=42&team_id=0" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">thescore.com</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Most of the statistics will be presented in a percentage or per game because some players played fewer games than others. Wojciech Szczesny, David De Gea, Joe Hart, Petr Cech and Hugo Lloris will be compared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First up is clean sheets:</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-grqZZWbqrtM/UjLtm2xIdJI/AAAAAAAAAVI/8A4-p23KHKc/s1600/20130913124656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-grqZZWbqrtM/UjLtm2xIdJI/AAAAAAAAAVI/8A4-p23KHKc/s640/20130913124656.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6.67% ahead of our closest competitors in the league. Although not beating De Gea and Cech by much, Szczesny had the second highest percentage of clean sheets last season. One might argue that the clean sheets were due to Koscielny and Mertesacker playing well in the last 10 games; but as good as we were at the end of the season, we were also very shaky in the early stages.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://whoscored.com/" target="_blank">Whoscored.com</a> awards a player rating score based on overall performance per match, here are the goalkeeper's scores in descending order for the season: Cech (6.92), De Gea (6.87), Szczesny (6.82), Lloris (6.66), Hart (6.59). Szczesny finished in the middle of the pack, but a lot closer to second than 4th.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next is penalty saves. An unfair statistic to judge keepers on because there are so few. Hart was top with 1 save from 2. Szczesny performed the second best: saving 1 from 3. No surprises that De Gea didn't have any penalties to save, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cech didn't save his one, nor</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> did Lloris</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> save either of his 2.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the most important statistics is how many shots a keeper faces compared to the number of goals he concedes. Szczesny's statistics aren't great here, but at least better than Lloris'.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JMI2LyUBxHk/UjL2WPlP3iI/AAAAAAAAAVY/ShO_E_nzG3Y/s1600/20130913012534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JMI2LyUBxHk/UjL2WPlP3iI/AAAAAAAAAVY/ShO_E_nzG3Y/s640/20130913012534.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Streaks ahead of Lloris, but not quite up to scratch with the other Champion's League competitors. For extra comparison: Mignolet's was 9.70, Reina was 8.65 and Begovic was 10.31.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think Szczesny had a relatively good 2012/2013 season and I think if he doesn't make too many mistakes this season he could be on his way to being Arsenal's number 1 for a few years to come.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you think we should try to buy another keeper in January, stick with Szczesny, play Fabianksi or Viviano or try Gunnersaurus?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-76484688955259942362013-09-10T17:50:00.000+02:002013-09-23T17:29:31.612+02:00Zelalem Gets Injured as Opportunity Raises His Hand to Knock On the Door<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cry out, "aaaaaaaaaa" at the news. Zelalem tweeted that he'll be injured for 6-8 weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Out for 6-8 weeks, will try to use that to my benefit and get stronger #Positives"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's really annoying because I was hoping to see him playing in the Red and White in the coming weeks. He won't be able to play in the Capital One Cup on 28 September against West Brom and unlikely that he'll start (assuming we beat the Bagggies) in the 4th round tie at the end of October.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nthg4b4i5rk/Ui8_bEFgc-I/AAAAAAAAAU4/YlBJ00nWjs4/s1600/Zelalem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nthg4b4i5rk/Ui8_bEFgc-I/AAAAAAAAAU4/YlBJ00nWjs4/s320/Zelalem.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, with fixtures against out of form teams like Sunderland, Norwich, Swansea and Crystal Palace amongst an intense schedule he might have been allowed a few substitute appearances.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't want to hype this guy up too much, but it looks like he has that something special. Hopefully he'll get back to full fitness as soon as possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-2789263739855995172013-09-04T17:08:00.000+02:002013-09-10T17:52:03.991+02:00How Good is Özil? CAM Assist Leaders Compared<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the very exciting, deadline-day move of the German international from Real Madrid to Arsenal; I have been living in a feeling of euphoria: only chocolate, women in bikini's and trophies are here. Back to the headline: Özil is considered to be one of the best playmaking midfielders in the world. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be comparing the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">best attacking midfielders in the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">top 5 leagues on their domestic league and </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9bra--ExQaQ/UiZPS9JZ-FI/AAAAAAAAAUk/9yC26WEKe-w/s1600/Ozil+Podolski.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9bra--ExQaQ/UiZPS9JZ-FI/AAAAAAAAAUk/9yC26WEKe-w/s320/Ozil+Podolski.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome, Özil!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Champions League performances. To qualify for the list, originally the player had to have a minimum of 17 assists in the Europa League, respective domestic league and Champions League in the 2012/2013 season, and be listed as an "attacking midfielder (central)" on <a href="http://www.whoscored.com/" target="_blank">whoscored.com.</a> Those are still the requirements but I did not include statistics from the Europa League. We are left with a pretty impressive list containing Mesut Özil, Marek Hamsik, Andres Iniesta and Juan Mata. Özil is a world-class playmaker, but let's see how he fares against his fellow elite.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ob64OjoYhcA/UiZH-6rGO9I/AAAAAAAAAT0/rXtaJ98YGj4/s1600/Ozil+goals+assists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ob64OjoYhcA/UiZH-6rGO9I/AAAAAAAAAT0/rXtaJ98YGj4/s640/Ozil+goals+assists.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although the statistics show that Juan Mata seems the best overall, just the goals and assists don't tell the full story. The data is skewed slightly by two factors. The first is that Juan Mata was Chelsea's primary free-kick and corner-kick taker last season. The others were involved in set pieces, but not to the extent of Mata.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second, and more important, is the time spent on the field. Obv<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">iously playing more minutes increases the chances of getting more goals and assists.</span> Next I will be comparing goals and assists against appearances. Unfortunately I could not find the exact amount of minutes each player played, so I will count starting appearances as 1 game and substitute appearances as 1/3 of a game.</span></div>
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<img border="0" height="470" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w9r9QQ1lMS4/UiZMF2BSKlI/AAAAAAAAAUA/180VyMPkbYc/s640/Ozil+goals+assists+per+game.jpg" width="640" /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The per game info shows Özil in a slightly better light by making the statistics more accurate. Assists and goals are the most important factors when deciding how effective CAMs are, but other factors like chances created, successful through balls, tackles made, interceptions made, dribbles completed, etc. are also noteworthy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I won't be looking at it in this article, but I think Wenger could have a difficult time choosing his best midfield and wings if everybody is fit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-67831595988750665852013-08-25T11:57:00.000+02:002013-10-08T07:52:36.912+02:00We're in a Better Position Than We Were Last Year<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last season, after two games we had only accumulated 2 points. 0-0 draws with Sunderland and Stoke meant we were sitting 12th in the league and everybody was applauding Steve Bould on being such a great defensive coach. This season some fans are unhappy, but we've got 3 points from 2 games and are sitting 9th.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R9--UY2YKHA/UhnTc0oBaUI/AAAAAAAAASw/n8A2Q3nqrMw/s1600/Giroud+Podolski.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R9--UY2YKHA/UhnTc0oBaUI/AAAAAAAAASw/n8A2Q3nqrMw/s320/Giroud+Podolski.jpg" width="217" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll will stay there unless Cardiff and Swansea win by more than 3 and 4 goals respectively. Results like that would actually be a huge bonus, and I wouldn't mind moving to 11th if manchester city and tottenham lose (small letters intentional).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our league position is not the only thing that has improved from last season at this stage. The important players in Arsenal's squad is better: we have the same players as last year; plus Monreal, Sanogo and Zelalem which I think will prove to be more effective than those players let go. Most of the players have improved, I can't think of anybody in the starting XI that has gotten worse since last season. Our squad is a bit thin, but Wenger has assured us that he'll bring in players.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Wishere, Koscielny, Sagna, Szczesny and Fabianski (3 regular starters) weren't available and we still had Andre Santos in the squad! This year it's only Arteta, Vermaelen The Ox (1 regular starter) out injured. Theo Walcott was having contract issues, and we were worried that we wouldn't score any goals without van persie (small letters intentional).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although the evidence is missing in action, Arsenal are apparently in a better financial situation than we were previously and hopefully this will metamorphosise into quality players throughout the next week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One aspect that was better last season was that we didn't have to waste energy on Champion's League qualification, but we've basically wrapped that up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I believe there are a lot more positives this year and I consider us title contenders.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-32776913678284570452013-08-23T13:35:00.000+02:002013-08-25T11:59:51.191+02:00Wenger:"I Am Confident We Will Make Signings"<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This transfer window has been the most disenchanting in recent years. The summer started with hopes of great deals and superstars coming in, and slowly degraded to hopefully we actually sign somebody. I stumbled across this interview this morning. It was published today, but I can't seem to find where originally.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>"You would be surprised how early we acted [to get players in],"</em> Wenger said. </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"In our job sometimes, you can spend a lot of time, you don`t go on holiday, work on things, and it doesn`t come off.<br /><br />This is part of the job. A question of patience, of continuing to be completely focused and sometimes nothing happens in five or six weeks. Then sometimes in 24 hours you can do two or three good deals, it`s not predictable.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />I am confident we will make signings because the desire of the players to join us is clear. Also the fact that we have some funds available, even if not as much as everyone writes. We have the funds to do something.<br /><br />The win in Fenerbahce helps. Everybody says to us, are we happy with Champions League football? Yes we are, of course but we want more. But let me tell you the first question a player asks when they sign; he asks: 'do you play Champions League football?` This is how it is decided today. It is the first requirement of top, top-level players.<br /><br />Ideally, we would rather have the squad in place at the start of the season. I am a big fan of cancelling the window at the start of the season. One, the season has started, you should be able to focus on the quality of your play and to have everybody with the same players for the whole season.<br /><br />Maybe it was bad luck [that transfers didn`t happen]. We work very hard on transfers. It didn`t come off as quickly and as well as we would have wanted. In football, you have to deal with every situation and be patient. So as long as the transfer window is open, until the last minute, anything can happen on any front.<br /><br />I am very, very happy with the squad we have, the quality of the players. Numbers wise we are a bit short to cope for all the targets a club like us have. I would be worried we are not strong enough [if we signed nobody]. We will not go into the new season with only the number of players we have."</span></i><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was starting to feel really negative about our chances of signing players, this interview has given me a sparkle of belief. I really hope Wenger doesn't mean just Flamini and Barry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-7463553287896711732013-08-22T18:59:00.000+02:002013-08-25T12:42:36.631+02:00Injuries are Getting Better<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a bit worried about our current injuries and lack of squad depth. Like every other Gooner I agree that we need to make a few signings. Our squad looked as thin as Kieran Gibbs' arm against Fenerbahce last night with quite a number of players out injured.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--nZ5bPjesz0/UhZB30GPCJI/AAAAAAAAASE/SvVfXbI0FIs/s1600/Kieran+Gibbs+thin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--nZ5bPjesz0/UhZB30GPCJI/AAAAAAAAASE/SvVfXbI0FIs/s320/Kieran+Gibbs+thin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
With these casualties available our group would look a lot better, nonetheless we still hunger for those signings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Speaking to Arsenal.com Wenger said</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xuf5WY2EuzQ/UhZDCWvr0QI/AAAAAAAAASQ/FAF2ppt5ksw/s1600/Koscielny+cut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xuf5WY2EuzQ/UhZDCWvr0QI/AAAAAAAAASQ/FAF2ppt5ksw/s200/Koscielny+cut.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Koscielny</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>He's like a boxer who had a hard fight the night before; lots of blood around his eye and a deep cut. He is suspended for Saturday anyway but let's hope he recovers for next Tuesday [against Fenerbahce]. It will be short because the cut is very deep. Hopefully it will be alright.</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Vermaelen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>He is out running. He's on the pitches again. But there's still a good few weeks to go for him to get his fitness. We have Nacho back and Thomas soon back so that's all good news for us.</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Miyaichi</span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is back in full training now. He will be involved this season in the first-team squad. Hopefully very soon because he's now getting fit.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Other</span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The news is quite positive at the moment. Of course we have some players who I will need to consider because of the accumulation of the international game and then the Premier League and Champions League matches. I will have to make a deeper analysis tomorrow, and on Saturday morning.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Nacho Monreal playing a few minutes last night brings back good quality back-up for the perennially-injured Gibbs. Monreal only played for a couple of minutes; but the fact that he's fit enough to compete is great!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When Koscielny got a muay-thai kick to the face I was worried that he might have a concussion, but thankfully he'll almost definitely be back for the Spurs game on 1 September. Vermaelen returning from a back injury is also positive although <a href="http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php" target="_blank">physioroom.com</a> only expect him to be back in full training on 22 September. Arteta will hopefully be returning on 28 September.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Miyaichi's return comes at the perfect time now that Oxlade-Chamberlain is injured. The Ox is a better player at the moment, but Miyaichi has shown promise (not that much in this pre-season, but previously). Hopefully after some minutes on the pitch his full potential will shine through.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I think we really need another striker/wing as I think that is where we're most bare. Benzema would be ideal!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-16689252616116420312013-08-12T16:50:00.000+02:002013-08-22T19:09:42.434+02:00My Brother Said He'll Get an Arsenal Tattoo if We Sign Benzema<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are reports claiming that Arsenal have put in a £39m bid for Karim Benzema. I think he's an excellent player, but I don't think he'll be moving to Arsenal. In a recent interview he said, “No, I’m not worried at all [about competition],” he told Marca. “Of course I’m staying. I’m happy at Real Madrid and I’m not going to leave.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ggxSm654knQ/Ugjsrk4w5WI/AAAAAAAAARs/g5NmEAU08qU/s1600/BenzemaArsenal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ggxSm654knQ/Ugjsrk4w5WI/AAAAAAAAARs/g5NmEAU08qU/s320/BenzemaArsenal.jpg" width="189" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Arsenal were interested in signing the Frenchman in 2011, but he wanted to prove himself in Madrid. "I don't worry even if Real Madrid agree deals with other clubs for new forwards. This will only inspire me."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Benzema is an established player for The Galacticos and has appeared 48, 52 and 50 times in the last three seasons. His biggest competition to lead the line was Higuain, who recently sealed a move to Napoli. Ancelotti might bring somebody in (could be Suarez), but no player is going to leave in fear of limited game-time when he has been first choice for the last three seasons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Real Madrid are third favourites to win the Champions League this season (5/1) and Arsenal are 10th favourites (25/1). Moving to Arsenal would lower his chances of winning silveware (which is apparently why most footballers play the beautiful game).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">His transfer fee is a little bit steep, at least £39m. But if we could get the 25-year-old for that price I think Wenger would consider it a bargain! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There are a couple of reasons in favour of Benzema moving to Arsenal. If Bale were to move to Madrid, Ancelotti could move Ronaldo to the centre of the attacking line, which would leave no room for the French Striker. Speaking of French, there are a bucket load of French players (and the manager) at Arsenal which would encourage a move. Another is his wage. If reports are to be believed he gets £90k per week. That is a huge amount of money, but compared to Ronaldo's £250k it's not that much. And with Arsenal's pile of cash we could pay him a bit more than he is currently earning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There are probably a whole host of other factors that we don't even know, and ANYTHING is possible in football. But for now I don't think he'll be gracing English shores.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My parents will be happy to know that my brother probably won't be getting that tattoo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Regards</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-63511301366807513442013-08-11T14:52:00.001+02:002013-08-12T16:56:53.099+02:00Does a Good Pre-season = Good Results?Arsenal beat money-loaded Manchester City 3-1 yesterday. I didn't watch the match, but the highlights available online made it look as if we played well. A great result just before the start of a season! We didn't have the ideal results in the Emirates Cup but we looked good in our other performances.<br />
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Some people think that pre-season results are a good indicator of how well one's club is going to perform in the corresponding season. Let's see how significant they have been for Arsenal over the last 11 years.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Win<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Draw<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lost<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Points Per Game in Pre-season</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Final </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">League Position<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2002/03<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.83<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2003/04<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.71<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2004/05<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.33<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2005/06<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2006/07<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.40<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2007/08<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.58<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2008/09<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.22<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2009/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.29<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2010/11<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.60<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011/12<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012/13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.67<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013/14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.29<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.05pt;" valign="top" width="103"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The statistics basically show that there is almost no correlation between pre-season and league results. The Invincibles had the third worst pre-season in the last 12 years. The average number of points per game in pre-season when finishing fourth (2.38) is actually slightly higher than our average number of points per game in pre-season when finishing third (2.12).<br />
<br />
As shown above we shouldn't be reading too much into pre-season results, but beating Manchester City 3-1 a week before the Premier League starts makes me feel positive about the season ahead.<br />
<br />
Regards<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-21220674253801824372013-07-30T15:46:00.003+02:002013-08-12T16:56:35.365+02:00Loyalty is a Two-way StreetArsenal fans, including myself, have been complaining about our ex-player's lack of loyalty to the club: Nasri, Hleb, Flamini, Song, Clichy, Van Persie, Adebayor, Toure and even Fabregas and (dare I say it) Henry to a certain extent. These players have left us over the last couple of seasons; it's disappointing and enraging. We feel that we would be a lot better off if only these players had stayed. We call them traitors, disrespectful, etc. when they see greener pastures and move on.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_72istUIUc/UfbItHfX9YI/AAAAAAAAARE/iLHvJTiNTAw/s1600/Bendtner+Arshavin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_72istUIUc/UfbItHfX9YI/AAAAAAAAARE/iLHvJTiNTAw/s1600/Bendtner+Arshavin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_72istUIUc/UfbItHfX9YI/AAAAAAAAARE/iLHvJTiNTAw/s320/Bendtner+Arshavin.jpg" width="320" /></a>Arsenal have been releasing our under-performing players slowly, but surely over the last couple of weeks. Denilson, Djourou, Chu-Young, Arshavin, Bendtner, Squillaci, Santos, Gervinho, Mannone and Chamakh have either left or should be moving in the next few weeks.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
And here is my point: us Gooners demand respect and loyalty from our first team players and hope that they don't leave, yet we treat the players at our club that we don't think are good enough with disrespect and disloyalty. We shout that Wenger must get rid of them and constantly ridicule them just because they are no longer in the first-team or have had a run of bad games. (Many fans were urging Wenger to get rid of Kosciely after his Birmingham City mishap and a generally disappointing season.) We call them "deadwood" (definition: Useless or burdensome persons or things). I don't think it's fair to call a professional footballer that plays for OUR club "useless".<br />
<br />
Complaining about the exorbitant wages they receive is also pointless, they are just people trying to get the best deal they can. If Wenger and whoever else is in charge of those types of things are willing to pay them a certain amount, that's not the player's fault. I also believe that a high starting salary is a way that Wenger attracts players that he is hoping will get better.<br />
<br />
None of these players were expecting to be a reserve, all of them were hoping that they could cement a first-team place for one of the best clubs in the world. Some of them sit out their contracts (eg. Almunia) and we wonder why we gave them such a long deal, but if Almunia had performed well we would have been happy that he had a long deal.<br />
<br />
I agree that they should be moved on if they are not playing (for their sake and ours), but I think we could be a bit more discreet about it.<br />
<br />
For every great signing, like Henry; there's one that is quite disappointing, like Bendtner.<br />
<br />
Regards<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8864488275116391030.post-34960637822302565282013-07-21T11:49:00.000+02:002013-07-30T20:22:45.471+02:00Choosing Our Best SquadI thought this Summer would be slightly different to years gone by, but it seems our chances of getting a few star players are dwindling. But I remain optimistic and hope Le Professeur makes a couple of good signings. In the scenario that nobody is bought and nobody important is sold I would like to propose an Arsenal squad when everybody is fit and healthy (although this is a fantasy world I won't include Diaby as he isn't fit in Fantasy World either).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_DVtz7BBxNc/Ueusj_IV1AI/AAAAAAAAAQk/qT8cgdWDJlU/s1600/Cazorla,+Wilshere,+Walcott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_DVtz7BBxNc/Ueusj_IV1AI/AAAAAAAAAQk/qT8cgdWDJlU/s320/Cazorla,+Wilshere,+Walcott.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<strong><u>Goalkeeper</u></strong><br />
Wojciech Szczesny<br />
<br />
A relatively easy decision for me. I personally believe that the goalkeepers we have been linked with are not better than him and think he will continue to improve.<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Defenders</u></strong><br />
Kieran Gibbs<br />
Per Mertesacker<br />
Laurent Koscielny<br />
Bacaray Sagna<br />
<br />
Wenger's first choice back four from last season. If Vermaelen improves I would expect him to replace Mertesacker and Jenkinson will be pushing Sagna throughout the season.<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Midfielders</u></strong><br />
Mikel Arteta<br />
Aaron Ramsey<br />
Santi Cazorla<br />
Jack Wilshere<br />
Theo Walcott<br />
<br />
I would play Arteta and Ramsey as the two defensive midfielders and Cazorla, Wilshere and Walcott as the three attacking midfielders. Podolski could play in one of the three attacking midfielders, but the ability to age ratio pushed Wilshere into the team.<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Striker</u></strong><br />
Olivier Giroud<br />
<br />
A decision that was more difficult to make a week ago before he scored 5 goals in two matches .I was struggling to decide whether Podolski or Giroud should lead the team, but Giroud's recent performances tipped the balances in his favour. I know the matches were just pre-season friendlies against weak defending but Giroud is playing with confidence.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwjaQ23jSOU/UeugwPGMfGI/AAAAAAAAAQU/49yjVBECWao/s1600/Formation.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwjaQ23jSOU/UeugwPGMfGI/AAAAAAAAAQU/49yjVBECWao/s400/Formation.png" width="301" /></a></div>
<strong><u></u></strong><br />
<strong><u>Bench</u></strong><br />
Damian Martinez<br />
Carl Jenkinson<br />
Thomas Vermaelen<br />
Lukas Podolski<br />
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain<br />
Thomas Eisfeld<br />
Yaya Sanogo<br />
<br />
I actually struggled more when choosing the bench than the starting 11. I think the bench should be predominantly used for future starting players rather than ex-starting players. Although they are good players; Rosicky, Fabianski and Monreal just didn't make the cut. There are also a bunch of youngsters who I thought of choosing as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Think my team is totally wrong? Leave a comment with who you think should be in the Arsenal squad.<br />
<br />
Regards<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="margin: 5px 0px;text-align: center;width: 120px;line-height:10px;"><a href="http://www.arsenalnews.net" style="color:#000 !important;font-size:9px !important;"><img src="http://www.arsenalnews.net/Content/images/generated/featured-on-arsenal.png?s=KN00857" width="120" height="45" alt="Arsenal News & Transfers" /></a></div></div>Darren Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06275361126156312896noreply@blogger.com10