Why Draxler IS the answer to our striking needs.
25/01/14
There is lots of speculation at the moment regarding the potential for The Arsenal to sign Draxler. For me this is very exciting, as it is clear that this is an extremely talented player, yet another to be produced by The German football system. Whether we sign him or not this month or indeed in the subsequent Summer Transfer Window remains to be seen, however I believe this can genuinely be the final piece in the jigsaw. I will show you why!
I know what you are thinking, you're thinking that Draxler is not a striker, and of course you're correct, he's not! However I believe that there is more to it than that. There has been talk of him being converted into a striker by Le Boss, in the same way that Henry and Van Persie (I promise not to mention that name again in the rest of this article) were converted into strikers, by Arsene. However for this season at least, I do not see that happening. Instead I believe that by signing yet another midfield player, Wenger will be allowing someone who is already at the club to be available as a CF more frequently: Lukas Podolski!
Since Poldi has been at the club he has been deployed almost entirely as a left-winger (despite the fact his debut for Arsenal was at CF vs Sunderland) and, contrary to what some people in the media try and make out, he has been by in large very effective there. He has also played most of his career for Germany (over 100 caps) in that position. However I think it is fair to say he is not a naturally winger. He is not gifted with great pace, nor does he posses great skill to beat a defender one on one out wide, but he is a great goal scorer. For me he is the best "finisher" we have, closely followed by Walcott. For these reasons he is more suited to playing as a striker, rather than as a winger.
Why is this relevant to the Draxler situation, I hear you ask? Well, if Draxler is signed that will add yet another option to our already extensive quality in the midfield area. This would mean in my opinion that Podolski would struggle to get into the team on the wing. When you consider that we have the likes of: Wilshere, Ramsey, Arteta, Flamini, Cazorla, Ozil, Rosicky and Chamberlin, who are all midfield players. Add to that Draxler, and Podolski would in my opinion not get anywhere near the team as a winger. Therefore for me, Draxler enables the boss to have yet another option at CF, and allow us to rotate Giroud and Podolski around as CF, and keep them fresh for the rest of the season in our push for the league title.
However it would be fair to say that Podolski has NOT set the world alight when he HAS been deployed as a CF, in the absence of Giroud, on a number of occasions. But, he has never been given a run in the side there. For me, it is clear that Podolski can do a great job there, he just requires good service, which with our midfield that shouldn't be an issue. You have to remember that he played as a striker for us more often last season than he has this season, and this season our creativity and midfield options are much stronger. When you consider what I have already mentioned, namely the fact that he is a fantastic finisher, you feed him the ball in the right areas, I guarantee you he will score a hatful. Giroud has been fantastic for us this season, but he cant do it every game as has become clear in recent weeks. Podolski can rotate with him effectively and enable us to keep two strikers fresh.
The signing of Draxler therefore makes sense to me for a number of reasons. 1) he is a great talent, he would add more quality to our team, 2) it would enable us to keep our current striker, Giroud, fresh by enabling Podolski to rotate with him and 3) thirdly, he can genuinely help us to maintain momentum and win the league. The only issue I have with this signing is how, when it comes to next season, the likes of Walcott will fit back in. You add Theo back into the equation, when he has recovered from that hideously unfortunate injury he has suffered, and we have an embarrassment of riches. Something would then, in my opinion have to give. And someone in our midfield would have to go. Who that would be, remains to be seen. But for now, I believe this would be a great signing as we would be getting one of the hottest properties in European football. Make no mistake about it, Draxler is very very highly regarded. And it is exciting for Arsenal if we do manage to get him, now or indeed in the summer. YES Arsene Wenger said last night that it was an "illusion" that we were in talks to sign him. But, come one we all know that Arsene is the "king of poker". He NEVER gives ANYTHING away, and I love that!!!!! I expect to see us sign him.
UP THE ARSENAL!!!!!
@Mr_arsenal_blog
25 January 2014
10 November 2013
Reflections of the match at Old Trafford: perspective required!
10/11/13
This afternoon has been a bit of a frustrating one for Arsenal fans, to put it mildly. We always knew this week was going to be a very tough one, playing fixtures against Liverpool, Dortmund and Manchester United in quick succession, is never easy at the best of times. However we have finished this week with two wins out of the three, 3 goals scored and only 1 conceded, to "you know who"! I think if we were offered this scenario before we played Liverpool last Saturday, which was a game in itself which was approached with quite a lot of trepidation by Arsenal fans, I think we'd have taken it.
Looking more broadly, we have now reached the November international break, which represents a fair chunk of the season completed, and The Arsenal are top of the Premier league, two points clear of the nearest challengers, and also top of the pool, dubbed "The Group Of Death" in UEFA Champions League. This represents a fantastic turnaround in fortunes, and a significant improvement. I think if you'd have said to someone after the Aston Villa farce on the opening day, back in August, that we'd be in this position at this time of the season, after playing the teams we have in the last week especially, they'd would have thought you were insane, and probably suggested seeing a doctor or perhaps even checking into "rehab"!
Furthermore to put the teams' "achievements" so far into further perspective, this has all be done for the most part without a string of squad members what would fairly be classified as "key players". The likes of England Internationals: Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin, German 100 cap+ international: Lukas Podolski and treatment room regular: Abou Diaby, are all to return at some point to the squad.
Therefore I think the foundation has been laid for this season, and it is a very encouraging one. We have started very well, and I believe much more is to come. The team didn't play as they can today, but still caused The Champions of England (although slightly out of sorts Champions so far this season), significant problems, and forced them into quite a panic by the end. I think that was evident by the fact that fierce "whistles" could be heard loud and clear from the home fans in injury time, none more so than from "injury time specialist" himself, Sir Alex Ferguson, who was seen tapping his watch in his trademark manner up in the directors box! We made them panic. And that in itself is praise indeed. Furthermore the fact that the despicable individual that is Robin Van Persie, felt the need to celebrate as if he had invented a cure for cancer when scoring, illustrates just how seriously they are taking our challenge this season.
I guess my point here is the following. Football, as I often say, has a habit of seeming effortless and "easy" in victory and somewhat disastrous in defeat. Today's game must be put into some kind of perspective, with a clear head and open mind. We ARE in great shape, despite the fact that it is another defeat at Old Trafford. But considering everything together, there are many many reasons to be extremely cheerful, encouraged and excited about what is to come this season. Our run of 14 wins out of 15 away games has come to and end. But this record, despite the fact it has ended, illustrates further what great spirit, togetherness and quality this side has (as Jamie Redknapp, who we all know is not always particularly endearing towards The Arsenal, rightly pointed out on Sky Sports after the game). The team has come along way, and will continue to progress and make a serious challenge on all fronts.
Yes, today was disappointing. I am not getting away from that, in fact I was gutted at the result as I did wholeheartedly believe that we would get at the very least a draw out of the game. However as I said, perspective is needed. Credit to United, they won the battle, but I genuinely believe (as the old adage goes) we are winning the war! I believe we are in better shape, and considering how far we finished behind them last season, this is gives further belief that we can win things, and confirms that we have very much improved.
So, keep your chin up lads, fans keep believing, don't get disheartened. This season we can, and I believe we will, be very successful! We have a great team, a great manager, and they have showed great quality, heart and courage so far. Time now to regroup, get the players that are not fit, fit, and we will be absolutely fine!
UP THE ARSENAL!!!!!!!!
@Mr_arsenal_blog - tweet me your thoughts on the game, and indeed on the season as a whole. Remember bear in mind the "context" of the whole season, not just this game!
10/11/13
This afternoon has been a bit of a frustrating one for Arsenal fans, to put it mildly. We always knew this week was going to be a very tough one, playing fixtures against Liverpool, Dortmund and Manchester United in quick succession, is never easy at the best of times. However we have finished this week with two wins out of the three, 3 goals scored and only 1 conceded, to "you know who"! I think if we were offered this scenario before we played Liverpool last Saturday, which was a game in itself which was approached with quite a lot of trepidation by Arsenal fans, I think we'd have taken it.
Looking more broadly, we have now reached the November international break, which represents a fair chunk of the season completed, and The Arsenal are top of the Premier league, two points clear of the nearest challengers, and also top of the pool, dubbed "The Group Of Death" in UEFA Champions League. This represents a fantastic turnaround in fortunes, and a significant improvement. I think if you'd have said to someone after the Aston Villa farce on the opening day, back in August, that we'd be in this position at this time of the season, after playing the teams we have in the last week especially, they'd would have thought you were insane, and probably suggested seeing a doctor or perhaps even checking into "rehab"!
Furthermore to put the teams' "achievements" so far into further perspective, this has all be done for the most part without a string of squad members what would fairly be classified as "key players". The likes of England Internationals: Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin, German 100 cap+ international: Lukas Podolski and treatment room regular: Abou Diaby, are all to return at some point to the squad.
Therefore I think the foundation has been laid for this season, and it is a very encouraging one. We have started very well, and I believe much more is to come. The team didn't play as they can today, but still caused The Champions of England (although slightly out of sorts Champions so far this season), significant problems, and forced them into quite a panic by the end. I think that was evident by the fact that fierce "whistles" could be heard loud and clear from the home fans in injury time, none more so than from "injury time specialist" himself, Sir Alex Ferguson, who was seen tapping his watch in his trademark manner up in the directors box! We made them panic. And that in itself is praise indeed. Furthermore the fact that the despicable individual that is Robin Van Persie, felt the need to celebrate as if he had invented a cure for cancer when scoring, illustrates just how seriously they are taking our challenge this season.
I guess my point here is the following. Football, as I often say, has a habit of seeming effortless and "easy" in victory and somewhat disastrous in defeat. Today's game must be put into some kind of perspective, with a clear head and open mind. We ARE in great shape, despite the fact that it is another defeat at Old Trafford. But considering everything together, there are many many reasons to be extremely cheerful, encouraged and excited about what is to come this season. Our run of 14 wins out of 15 away games has come to and end. But this record, despite the fact it has ended, illustrates further what great spirit, togetherness and quality this side has (as Jamie Redknapp, who we all know is not always particularly endearing towards The Arsenal, rightly pointed out on Sky Sports after the game). The team has come along way, and will continue to progress and make a serious challenge on all fronts.
Yes, today was disappointing. I am not getting away from that, in fact I was gutted at the result as I did wholeheartedly believe that we would get at the very least a draw out of the game. However as I said, perspective is needed. Credit to United, they won the battle, but I genuinely believe (as the old adage goes) we are winning the war! I believe we are in better shape, and considering how far we finished behind them last season, this is gives further belief that we can win things, and confirms that we have very much improved.
So, keep your chin up lads, fans keep believing, don't get disheartened. This season we can, and I believe we will, be very successful! We have a great team, a great manager, and they have showed great quality, heart and courage so far. Time now to regroup, get the players that are not fit, fit, and we will be absolutely fine!
UP THE ARSENAL!!!!!!!!
@Mr_arsenal_blog - tweet me your thoughts on the game, and indeed on the season as a whole. Remember bear in mind the "context" of the whole season, not just this game!
4 October 2013
@Mr_arsenal_blog on Arsenal's most significant transfer business this summer.
27/09/13
Welcome back to my blog. I haven't posted anything for many months now and don't intend to post regularly again. But I do intend to write the odd article on an interesting topic to do with The Arsenal. Today I will be discussing a crucial signing that Arsene made this summer, I hope you enjoy it. Stay tuned!
What an unbelievable summer transfer window that was for Arsenal. The mix of frustration, anger and euphoria all in the same window, was something that we have never witnessed before. In the end I believe we had a very productive transfer window, especially in terms of the players that the club managed to get rid off. The aptly named: "deadwood". I do think that this side of our transfer window has been very much, under emphasised. The fact is last season, and for a number of seasons before, we have had a very big squad including many players that were never really playing, never really contributing anything to the team, and to the cause. However they were collecting enormous pay checks. Clearly this entails a number of significant problems. Firstly the wages that were being spent on these players could clearly be spent much better elsewhere to bolster our wage budget to get in the top quality players in that we have been crying out for, that naturally demand much bigger wages. Secondly and probably actually more significantly the team spirit would have been detrimentally affected. Therefore I believe that in getting these players out was a great piece of business by the club, not only because it cleared up a lot of wages to allow us to pay bigger wages elsewhere, it also would have made the squad a lot tighter and I think that has started come across very well on the pitch. There is an absolutely fantastic team spirit at the club. No one can question the togetherness of the group now that is for sure. And I think that is partly down to the fact that those players that were not pushing in the same direction, that weren't involved in the team, have now gone.
In terms of the "ins" at the club during this transfer window there has clearly been one standout, marque signing. I am of course talking about Mesut Ozil. What an unbelievable moment that was for all Arsenal fans. After the summer of frustration we had experienced, where the original optimism of big signings being made had been quashed by a lack of actual activity. Many big signings were rumoured to be close, with the likes of Higuain and Gustavo especially said to be almost "done" on a number of occasions, however time and time again the club failed to get these players through the door. But as the saying goes good things come to "people who wait". And in the end, after all the waiting, one good thing did come, and that was the epic signing of Ozil. It is an incredible signing for the club, and at £42.5 million it absolutely obliterated our previous transfer record. I believe that it is an absolute watershed moment for the club, from now on in we should be able to attract more players of this level, and with increasing commercial revenue streams we should be able to afford these sorts of players more and more often, which of course is extremely exciting!
Clearly Mesut has had an absolutely massive effect on the team since he has arrived, and has created an incredible buzz around the club. He has given the whole club a massive confidence boost. However in many ways I believe that most significant signing in terms of righting the wrongs of the last few seasons, has been in the signing (or should I say resigning) of Mathieu Flamini. For me Flamini has been an absolutely beast since he has come back, and has really aided our defensive solidity this year. He really puts himself about, and is desperate to win the ball back whenever we loose it. But the most important and crucial thing in my opinion about his reintroduction to the team in my opinion, has been his exceptional leadership. It is a while since we have seen an Arsenal player screaming at his teammates, ordering them into position, and berating them when they step out of line, or make a silly mistake. This is great to see. We have been lacking someone in the last 5 years, since he left actually, who is prepared to just sit in front of the CBs and tuck in when need be, and to clear up the ball whenever the opposition is on the attack.
Whilst Arsenal were craving that extra bit of "stardust" which of course Ozil brings, in many ways I genuinely believe that Flamini has been the most important signing in terms of our impressive early season form, and long may it continue. Flamini is exactly what we have lacked. He gives our team balance, and also brings fantastic leadership and experience. Were he not on a free, nor an ex Arsenal player, everyone would be saying what an amazing signing it was. When the signing was made I said I thought that it was an extremely "shrewd" and "intelligent" signing and I believe that he has absolutely proved that so far. He has been superb. It is no coincidence that the team has looked much more solid for most of the season when he has been playing, because he does not mind just sitting in front of the back four which naturally brings the best out of the likes of Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere e.t.c as they do not need to worry about whats going on behind as much because Flamini fills them with confidence. And I believe the Flamini factor if you will, is a contributor to Aaron Ramsey's excellent form. Flamini has allowed Aaron much more freedom to go and play, and it is so great to seem him playing with this freedom. Flamini has been in my opinion the most significant signing thus far, however of course Ozil is an absolutely amazing signing who will continue to integrate more and more into the team, and get better and better, which is of course a very exciting thought!!
All in all it was a very strange transfer window at Ashburton Grove, but I think in the end with the significant clearance of the deadwood, the shrewd signing of Flamini and the incredible arrival of one of the worlds best and most talented players, Mesut Ozil, it was a good transfer window for the club. Moving forward we do still need another CF, but with the form of Olivier Giroud at the moment we should be okay until January, as long as he stays fit. However with the number of midfielders we now have at the club I can see Lukas Podolski given more of a go in his "preferred" CF position, rather than on the wing, in rotation with Ollie Giroud, which will be very interesting to see.
Thanks for reading. Over and out!!!! UP THE ARSENAL!!
Mathieu, the beast, showing great passion......
27/09/13
Welcome back to my blog. I haven't posted anything for many months now and don't intend to post regularly again. But I do intend to write the odd article on an interesting topic to do with The Arsenal. Today I will be discussing a crucial signing that Arsene made this summer, I hope you enjoy it. Stay tuned!
What an unbelievable summer transfer window that was for Arsenal. The mix of frustration, anger and euphoria all in the same window, was something that we have never witnessed before. In the end I believe we had a very productive transfer window, especially in terms of the players that the club managed to get rid off. The aptly named: "deadwood". I do think that this side of our transfer window has been very much, under emphasised. The fact is last season, and for a number of seasons before, we have had a very big squad including many players that were never really playing, never really contributing anything to the team, and to the cause. However they were collecting enormous pay checks. Clearly this entails a number of significant problems. Firstly the wages that were being spent on these players could clearly be spent much better elsewhere to bolster our wage budget to get in the top quality players in that we have been crying out for, that naturally demand much bigger wages. Secondly and probably actually more significantly the team spirit would have been detrimentally affected. Therefore I believe that in getting these players out was a great piece of business by the club, not only because it cleared up a lot of wages to allow us to pay bigger wages elsewhere, it also would have made the squad a lot tighter and I think that has started come across very well on the pitch. There is an absolutely fantastic team spirit at the club. No one can question the togetherness of the group now that is for sure. And I think that is partly down to the fact that those players that were not pushing in the same direction, that weren't involved in the team, have now gone.
In terms of the "ins" at the club during this transfer window there has clearly been one standout, marque signing. I am of course talking about Mesut Ozil. What an unbelievable moment that was for all Arsenal fans. After the summer of frustration we had experienced, where the original optimism of big signings being made had been quashed by a lack of actual activity. Many big signings were rumoured to be close, with the likes of Higuain and Gustavo especially said to be almost "done" on a number of occasions, however time and time again the club failed to get these players through the door. But as the saying goes good things come to "people who wait". And in the end, after all the waiting, one good thing did come, and that was the epic signing of Ozil. It is an incredible signing for the club, and at £42.5 million it absolutely obliterated our previous transfer record. I believe that it is an absolute watershed moment for the club, from now on in we should be able to attract more players of this level, and with increasing commercial revenue streams we should be able to afford these sorts of players more and more often, which of course is extremely exciting!
Clearly Mesut has had an absolutely massive effect on the team since he has arrived, and has created an incredible buzz around the club. He has given the whole club a massive confidence boost. However in many ways I believe that most significant signing in terms of righting the wrongs of the last few seasons, has been in the signing (or should I say resigning) of Mathieu Flamini. For me Flamini has been an absolutely beast since he has come back, and has really aided our defensive solidity this year. He really puts himself about, and is desperate to win the ball back whenever we loose it. But the most important and crucial thing in my opinion about his reintroduction to the team in my opinion, has been his exceptional leadership. It is a while since we have seen an Arsenal player screaming at his teammates, ordering them into position, and berating them when they step out of line, or make a silly mistake. This is great to see. We have been lacking someone in the last 5 years, since he left actually, who is prepared to just sit in front of the CBs and tuck in when need be, and to clear up the ball whenever the opposition is on the attack.
Whilst Arsenal were craving that extra bit of "stardust" which of course Ozil brings, in many ways I genuinely believe that Flamini has been the most important signing in terms of our impressive early season form, and long may it continue. Flamini is exactly what we have lacked. He gives our team balance, and also brings fantastic leadership and experience. Were he not on a free, nor an ex Arsenal player, everyone would be saying what an amazing signing it was. When the signing was made I said I thought that it was an extremely "shrewd" and "intelligent" signing and I believe that he has absolutely proved that so far. He has been superb. It is no coincidence that the team has looked much more solid for most of the season when he has been playing, because he does not mind just sitting in front of the back four which naturally brings the best out of the likes of Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere e.t.c as they do not need to worry about whats going on behind as much because Flamini fills them with confidence. And I believe the Flamini factor if you will, is a contributor to Aaron Ramsey's excellent form. Flamini has allowed Aaron much more freedom to go and play, and it is so great to seem him playing with this freedom. Flamini has been in my opinion the most significant signing thus far, however of course Ozil is an absolutely amazing signing who will continue to integrate more and more into the team, and get better and better, which is of course a very exciting thought!!
All in all it was a very strange transfer window at Ashburton Grove, but I think in the end with the significant clearance of the deadwood, the shrewd signing of Flamini and the incredible arrival of one of the worlds best and most talented players, Mesut Ozil, it was a good transfer window for the club. Moving forward we do still need another CF, but with the form of Olivier Giroud at the moment we should be okay until January, as long as he stays fit. However with the number of midfielders we now have at the club I can see Lukas Podolski given more of a go in his "preferred" CF position, rather than on the wing, in rotation with Ollie Giroud, which will be very interesting to see.
Thanks for reading. Over and out!!!! UP THE ARSENAL!!
Mathieu, the beast, showing great passion......
16 May 2013
Reasons for optimism at The Arsenal.
16/5/13
Well "Gooners" and indeed "Gooneretes", welcome. As we now approach the conclusion of another instalment of a Barclays Premier League season, as the curtain is getting ready to fall, you all know what is just down the road now! No I don't mean those muppets at Spurs, I mean of course the onslaught of rumour, gossip and endless transfer chat that awaits us at the end of every season, as the Summer Transfer Window commences.
Now I know we have heard lots of talk already, throughout the season, about what is needed at Arsenal, who needs to come in, what needs to change, who needs to be removed and so on. However expect that to be turned up a notch or two (or three) upon the final whistle at St James Park on Sunday afternoon. Once again (we hope) Arsenal will have qualified for the Champions League, which means (in theory) we should be able to attract top players to the club. This we must do, but as I will say in this piece, not as much needs to be changed as what people will have you think, a few tweaks, personell wise, tactically and indeed philosophically need to be made, but not major changes are required at The Home Of Football.
Let me start with a look back, before I attempt to look forward to this Summer's "window" and beyond. Let's not beat about the proverbial bush, when this season ends Arsenal are looking at an eight successive seasons without silverware, this is of course nothing short of unacceptable for a club like ours. Naturally therefore we HAVE fallen short once again, too often we have been found wanting in big games in the league, and on too many occasions we have been found out by relatively "weak" teams too. In the cups we have been knocked out by the B's (Blackburn, Bradford and Bayern) and as it stands we are going to just scrape into the Top 4 and Continental Qualification yet again. Therefore on the face of it not a very good season at all for the boys at Ashburton Grove. BUT.....
Despite this I feel very optimistic that what has happened this season, will stand us in very good stead for next season, and indeed beyond. You may think I am mad, and to be fair, you would not be the first or indeed the last no doubt, however I firmly maintain that Arsenal will win the league within 3 years. Why? Well, think "FCD": Financially, Contractually and Development(ly). These three words are reasons as to why I believe we can push on next season and beyond.
Let me start with F, Financially. Since we have moved to the fantastic Emirates Stadium, the home of football, the club has been under obligations to pay off debt, taken out to fund the stadium in the first instance. On top of this the commercial revenues that the club collects, have been relatively weak. This is all about to change. The stadium debt is almost relinquished, the commercial revenues are being cleverly and majorly vamped up (thanks to great work from Mr Ivan Gazidis), following a 35 million pound a year deal with Fly Emirates for the shirt sponsorship and a supposedly soon to be announced deal with Puma for a similar figure a year for the kit deal (to start in 2014). Considering that Arsenal is currently the 4th richest club in the world, with significantly lower commercial revenues than those mentioned above, our club is going to be even more magnificent shape financially. This will finally allow the manager the chance to spend money on the 3/4/5 quality players that we need to GENUINELY challenge for the titles, both domestically and on the continent. People say why has Arsene Wenger not spent money before? Well, the answer to that is twofold, 1) he hasn't really been able to and b) the overall package has not been affordable for Arsenal. By this I mean he has offered big money for players such as Juan Mata (around 20 million), Eden Hazard (around 30 million) who both went to Chelsea, and also Mario Gotze who Arsene offered around 30 million also for in 2011. However in at least two of these cases the club could not compete on wage demands with Chelsea in particular. In short, we have not been able to offer the entire "package" to the lad. Now, I believe this can now change. We should now look to these next two summer transfer window's especially as real chance to push on, and set a statement as to how we want to go forward, a statement to relinquish the tag of not spending money, a lack of "ambition" and of course banish the 8 years without a trophy to the history books. Now, I am not saying we ARE going to spend, but I feel confident that there is a large chance that we will do, as the financial setting of the club is now much much much stronger than it was before.
Secondly, let me discuss the "C" in my equation: "Contractually". For the first time in a number of seasons, ALL of our big and most influential players are secured, tied down to long-term contracts. Hurrah! Unlike the last two summers we have not got players like Nasri or RVP (Purse-Strings) in contractual positions where they can effectively "force" the club's hand. Our best players are all tied to long term contracts and, touch wood, these players should not be on the move. This means that finally we can build on the squad that we have, rather than trying to re-build from mercenaries that have moved on. This is positive, no doubt. We have got an extremely capable "basis" from which to build upon. Players like Santi Cazorla, Mertesacker, Koscielney, Arteta, Podolski are all quality players who should be and, on recent evidence in most cases, are in the prime of their respective careers. These players can be successful with Arsenal, and with the chance to add players from other clubs, resulting from the financial elements mentioned above, we can really have a go at challenging the Manchester clubs.
Finally let me answer the "D" part of my statement. Development(ly). You may be wondering why when listing players of particular stature above e.g. Cazorla, Mertesacker, Arteta e.t.c. I didn't mention the likes of Wilshere, Walcott, Gibbs, Ramsey e.t.c. Well, that is because they form the key for this part of my argument. These players, along with the likes of Jenko, The OX e.t.c., should form part of Arsenal teams for years to come. This season they have all made an profound impact on the first team. Theo has surpassed 20 goals for the first time, and is the highest scoring Englishmen across all competitions, Jack has come back from a long lay-off and impressed, the likes of Gibbs have progressed majorly in my opinion, and Ramsey especially in the last month or so has really started to show what he can do, and thankfully has finally started to reward the patience and believe that I gave to him on twitter e.t.c. especially earlier in the season. These lads will form a key part in our team over the next few seasons, they are all (as made clear in the previous part) on long term contracts now, and most importantly they will ONLY get better and better, and will ONLY contribute more and more both on the pitch in terms of quality and off it in terms of leadership and so on. This is crucial and indeed very exciting.
So, my message to you is: don't believe the doom and gloomists' around, Arsenal are very much on the edge of success. I believe that WHOLEHEARTEDLY. If we can combine these three factors FCD (that I have outlined), that is sign 3/4/5 quality players with the increased financial superiority we have now, and continue to put faith in our quality young players, I fully believe we can win the league within 3 years, as I have maintained all season!! BUT, BUT, BUT, this is all meaningless if we don't win on Sunday. We HAVE to get into the Champions League, in order to attract players, no matter how much money we could or could not throw at them. SO, Arsenal players, I put it to you, CONCENTRATE on the game fully, WIN the game, and THEN we can look forward to a EXTREMELY exciting and prosperous time ahead.........
16/5/13
Well "Gooners" and indeed "Gooneretes", welcome. As we now approach the conclusion of another instalment of a Barclays Premier League season, as the curtain is getting ready to fall, you all know what is just down the road now! No I don't mean those muppets at Spurs, I mean of course the onslaught of rumour, gossip and endless transfer chat that awaits us at the end of every season, as the Summer Transfer Window commences.
Now I know we have heard lots of talk already, throughout the season, about what is needed at Arsenal, who needs to come in, what needs to change, who needs to be removed and so on. However expect that to be turned up a notch or two (or three) upon the final whistle at St James Park on Sunday afternoon. Once again (we hope) Arsenal will have qualified for the Champions League, which means (in theory) we should be able to attract top players to the club. This we must do, but as I will say in this piece, not as much needs to be changed as what people will have you think, a few tweaks, personell wise, tactically and indeed philosophically need to be made, but not major changes are required at The Home Of Football.
Let me start with a look back, before I attempt to look forward to this Summer's "window" and beyond. Let's not beat about the proverbial bush, when this season ends Arsenal are looking at an eight successive seasons without silverware, this is of course nothing short of unacceptable for a club like ours. Naturally therefore we HAVE fallen short once again, too often we have been found wanting in big games in the league, and on too many occasions we have been found out by relatively "weak" teams too. In the cups we have been knocked out by the B's (Blackburn, Bradford and Bayern) and as it stands we are going to just scrape into the Top 4 and Continental Qualification yet again. Therefore on the face of it not a very good season at all for the boys at Ashburton Grove. BUT.....
Despite this I feel very optimistic that what has happened this season, will stand us in very good stead for next season, and indeed beyond. You may think I am mad, and to be fair, you would not be the first or indeed the last no doubt, however I firmly maintain that Arsenal will win the league within 3 years. Why? Well, think "FCD": Financially, Contractually and Development(ly). These three words are reasons as to why I believe we can push on next season and beyond.
Let me start with F, Financially. Since we have moved to the fantastic Emirates Stadium, the home of football, the club has been under obligations to pay off debt, taken out to fund the stadium in the first instance. On top of this the commercial revenues that the club collects, have been relatively weak. This is all about to change. The stadium debt is almost relinquished, the commercial revenues are being cleverly and majorly vamped up (thanks to great work from Mr Ivan Gazidis), following a 35 million pound a year deal with Fly Emirates for the shirt sponsorship and a supposedly soon to be announced deal with Puma for a similar figure a year for the kit deal (to start in 2014). Considering that Arsenal is currently the 4th richest club in the world, with significantly lower commercial revenues than those mentioned above, our club is going to be even more magnificent shape financially. This will finally allow the manager the chance to spend money on the 3/4/5 quality players that we need to GENUINELY challenge for the titles, both domestically and on the continent. People say why has Arsene Wenger not spent money before? Well, the answer to that is twofold, 1) he hasn't really been able to and b) the overall package has not been affordable for Arsenal. By this I mean he has offered big money for players such as Juan Mata (around 20 million), Eden Hazard (around 30 million) who both went to Chelsea, and also Mario Gotze who Arsene offered around 30 million also for in 2011. However in at least two of these cases the club could not compete on wage demands with Chelsea in particular. In short, we have not been able to offer the entire "package" to the lad. Now, I believe this can now change. We should now look to these next two summer transfer window's especially as real chance to push on, and set a statement as to how we want to go forward, a statement to relinquish the tag of not spending money, a lack of "ambition" and of course banish the 8 years without a trophy to the history books. Now, I am not saying we ARE going to spend, but I feel confident that there is a large chance that we will do, as the financial setting of the club is now much much much stronger than it was before.
Secondly, let me discuss the "C" in my equation: "Contractually". For the first time in a number of seasons, ALL of our big and most influential players are secured, tied down to long-term contracts. Hurrah! Unlike the last two summers we have not got players like Nasri or RVP (Purse-Strings) in contractual positions where they can effectively "force" the club's hand. Our best players are all tied to long term contracts and, touch wood, these players should not be on the move. This means that finally we can build on the squad that we have, rather than trying to re-build from mercenaries that have moved on. This is positive, no doubt. We have got an extremely capable "basis" from which to build upon. Players like Santi Cazorla, Mertesacker, Koscielney, Arteta, Podolski are all quality players who should be and, on recent evidence in most cases, are in the prime of their respective careers. These players can be successful with Arsenal, and with the chance to add players from other clubs, resulting from the financial elements mentioned above, we can really have a go at challenging the Manchester clubs.
Finally let me answer the "D" part of my statement. Development(ly). You may be wondering why when listing players of particular stature above e.g. Cazorla, Mertesacker, Arteta e.t.c. I didn't mention the likes of Wilshere, Walcott, Gibbs, Ramsey e.t.c. Well, that is because they form the key for this part of my argument. These players, along with the likes of Jenko, The OX e.t.c., should form part of Arsenal teams for years to come. This season they have all made an profound impact on the first team. Theo has surpassed 20 goals for the first time, and is the highest scoring Englishmen across all competitions, Jack has come back from a long lay-off and impressed, the likes of Gibbs have progressed majorly in my opinion, and Ramsey especially in the last month or so has really started to show what he can do, and thankfully has finally started to reward the patience and believe that I gave to him on twitter e.t.c. especially earlier in the season. These lads will form a key part in our team over the next few seasons, they are all (as made clear in the previous part) on long term contracts now, and most importantly they will ONLY get better and better, and will ONLY contribute more and more both on the pitch in terms of quality and off it in terms of leadership and so on. This is crucial and indeed very exciting.
So, my message to you is: don't believe the doom and gloomists' around, Arsenal are very much on the edge of success. I believe that WHOLEHEARTEDLY. If we can combine these three factors FCD (that I have outlined), that is sign 3/4/5 quality players with the increased financial superiority we have now, and continue to put faith in our quality young players, I fully believe we can win the league within 3 years, as I have maintained all season!! BUT, BUT, BUT, this is all meaningless if we don't win on Sunday. We HAVE to get into the Champions League, in order to attract players, no matter how much money we could or could not throw at them. SO, Arsenal players, I put it to you, CONCENTRATE on the game fully, WIN the game, and THEN we can look forward to a EXTREMELY exciting and prosperous time ahead.........
UP THE ARSENAL!!!!!!
25 April 2013
The real reasons as to why Arsenal fans are so angry about Van Persie's departure, ahead of his "return" to the Home of Football this weekend.
I'm back! I am sure you are all absolutely delighted about that. No? Rude! Joking aside, I haven't posted anything since February I believe, a long time indeed. I have just been so busy with University preparing coursework, studying, and more recently revising, attending games and keeping up to date with all things Arsenal of course. I don't expect to write as frequently as I did before again, because I simply don't have the time, however I aim to write articles every now and again, about particular issues that I feel are of interest involving our beloved club.
Hope you enjoy my blog.
Best wishes and UP THE ARSENAL!!
Ollie.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout the whole of last season two things were going on simultaneously. Our captain and talismanic hero figure, Robin Van Persie, was putting in a string of world class performances week after week, getting us all of our seats, at The Home of Football and all over the world where Arsenal fans were tuning in game after game, to see what our captain and idol would pull off next! Alongisde this, constant speculation was running through all media outlets, surronding his future, the "will he won't he" debates surronding his contract discussions were in full swing, and of course all our fans were hoping and praying for the day when they could turn on their TVs, check twitter and Arsenal.com to see the news that RVP had signed a new deal! Alas, this never happened!! In truth we all know what happened, and it is not an exageration either to say, that we still in some way feel the pain and "betrayl" of what happened.
It is clear now that whilst in public Robin was saying till the end of last season, and all the way to his speech upon winning the PFA Player of the year award, that his future would be decided in the following weeks, in private he had already made up his mind, and had already been is discussions for a matter of months with the two Manchester clubs in particular. He did not renew his contract, he realeased that RIDICULOUS statement where he questioned the clubs ambition, questioned the manager, the board, and quite frankly made an absolute mug of the club, his team mates and perhaps most importantly, considering we paid his wages, the fans!
Now, I want to clear up a few myths about this. I have heard many people looking "in" as it were, from outside the "Arsenal community" saying "oh, you are just bitter because he left" e.t.c. Now for me this is not true, I personally have no problem with him leaving the club per se, because quite frankly it is a fact of life, at some stage in all walks of life, including football, people (players, staff, managers, coaches e.t.c.) all move on to pastures green, in the pursuit of a new lifestyle, a new culture new challenges e.t.c. This is life. Most peopole in normal walks of life however, move on in a respetful and dignified manner, and do not alienate their friends, colleagues and employers at their current office e.t.c. To illustrate this, I still hold the likes of Cesc and Song in high regard, because they left (especially in the case of Cesc) in a dignified manner, and still show respect towards Arsenal. And perhaps MOST importantly, they went abroad where they could not affect Arsenal in a domestic sense. However this was the not the case with Mr Van Persie.
Had he been up front with the fans throughout the season and said something along the lines of "look, I really feel that at the end of the season I need a new challenge, I think it will be good for my family and for myself if we head of for pastures new" blah blah blah, whatever, and then moved somewhere abroad. That would have been absolutely fine, everyone would be reasonably okay with that. As I said, everybody moves on in life at some point. However instead, he continously lied, continously decieved the fans and the club by expressing his love for Arsenal, and telling tales which illustrated the "Class" that he felt Arsenal posses e.t.c whilst hiding the fact that privately he had already practically sealed a move away from the club. Not only was this tapping up on the part of the Manchester clubs, which I still to this day cannot understand how they managed to get away with it, but it was just pure lies and darn right deceitfulness. This is what REALLY bugs with me.
It seems that it was not only the fans he was decieving but also the manager, and his biggest supporter over the years, Arsene Wenger. The boss set out at the beginining of the summer transfer window last year, to really strenghten and to expand the quality of the club's squad, firstly in order to challenge more at the top end of the table, but also in the hope of persuading RVP to stay with the club beyond the end of the exisiting contract he had, clearly beleiving that this was possible! However after the likes of Podolski, Giroud and the quite frankly GOD like Santi Cazorla had been bought in, Van Persie acted to completely tear Arsene's plans apart and force through a move to Arsenal's bitter rivals United (a club who for me are level with Spurs in terms of dislike and rivalry), a move that as I said was pracitcally already sealed, apart from the transfer fee with Arsenal.
In short following these decietful and disrepectful actions, towards a club that quite frankly RVP would be absolutely no where without, the club itself had absolutely no option but to sell. As John Cross said in the mirror this week, his position at the club, not alone as captain, was untenable! However he should have been sold abroad, this is something that all Arsenal fans have been discussing all season. If he had been sold to the likes of Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan e.t.c I honestly don't think the fans would have any real contempt towards him, but to lie to them throughout the season, to decieve them by pretending to love the club e.t.c. and then on top of all of that to force the club into selling to a bitter domestic rival, who he had clearly been talking to throughout all of this, really was the ULTIMATE act of betrayl. That is why, to the non-Arsenal fans that don't understand this contempt, I feel so bitter towards him. After all we (as a club) did for him, after all the support and love that us fans gave him through period of such frustrating injury troubles and so on, to behave like that and to force a move to a domestic rival, who I still believe we would be competing with had we held on to RVP, given the signings we made last summer to complement him, really was as I said the ultimate betrayl!
Therefore this weekend, when I travel to the Home of football once again for what should be a fascinating game, I will be fully expecting an extremely hostile, and angry reception for the man that drove himself from a hero to a villain in a very short space of time and because of the blatant lack of respect and because of the blatant lies that he told. Quite frankly that is what he deserves.
However I must stress that I will not be joining in any chants about his previous rape trial and so on, as I do feel that oversteps the mark! Let's boo, jeer, hiss, whistle e.t.c. whenever he gets the ball, but lets maintain that "class" that he so readily spoke about before, or was that just lies too????
UP THE ARSENAL!!!
@Mr_arsenal_blog
I'm back! I am sure you are all absolutely delighted about that. No? Rude! Joking aside, I haven't posted anything since February I believe, a long time indeed. I have just been so busy with University preparing coursework, studying, and more recently revising, attending games and keeping up to date with all things Arsenal of course. I don't expect to write as frequently as I did before again, because I simply don't have the time, however I aim to write articles every now and again, about particular issues that I feel are of interest involving our beloved club.
Hope you enjoy my blog.
Best wishes and UP THE ARSENAL!!
Ollie.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout the whole of last season two things were going on simultaneously. Our captain and talismanic hero figure, Robin Van Persie, was putting in a string of world class performances week after week, getting us all of our seats, at The Home of Football and all over the world where Arsenal fans were tuning in game after game, to see what our captain and idol would pull off next! Alongisde this, constant speculation was running through all media outlets, surronding his future, the "will he won't he" debates surronding his contract discussions were in full swing, and of course all our fans were hoping and praying for the day when they could turn on their TVs, check twitter and Arsenal.com to see the news that RVP had signed a new deal! Alas, this never happened!! In truth we all know what happened, and it is not an exageration either to say, that we still in some way feel the pain and "betrayl" of what happened.
It is clear now that whilst in public Robin was saying till the end of last season, and all the way to his speech upon winning the PFA Player of the year award, that his future would be decided in the following weeks, in private he had already made up his mind, and had already been is discussions for a matter of months with the two Manchester clubs in particular. He did not renew his contract, he realeased that RIDICULOUS statement where he questioned the clubs ambition, questioned the manager, the board, and quite frankly made an absolute mug of the club, his team mates and perhaps most importantly, considering we paid his wages, the fans!
Now, I want to clear up a few myths about this. I have heard many people looking "in" as it were, from outside the "Arsenal community" saying "oh, you are just bitter because he left" e.t.c. Now for me this is not true, I personally have no problem with him leaving the club per se, because quite frankly it is a fact of life, at some stage in all walks of life, including football, people (players, staff, managers, coaches e.t.c.) all move on to pastures green, in the pursuit of a new lifestyle, a new culture new challenges e.t.c. This is life. Most peopole in normal walks of life however, move on in a respetful and dignified manner, and do not alienate their friends, colleagues and employers at their current office e.t.c. To illustrate this, I still hold the likes of Cesc and Song in high regard, because they left (especially in the case of Cesc) in a dignified manner, and still show respect towards Arsenal. And perhaps MOST importantly, they went abroad where they could not affect Arsenal in a domestic sense. However this was the not the case with Mr Van Persie.
Had he been up front with the fans throughout the season and said something along the lines of "look, I really feel that at the end of the season I need a new challenge, I think it will be good for my family and for myself if we head of for pastures new" blah blah blah, whatever, and then moved somewhere abroad. That would have been absolutely fine, everyone would be reasonably okay with that. As I said, everybody moves on in life at some point. However instead, he continously lied, continously decieved the fans and the club by expressing his love for Arsenal, and telling tales which illustrated the "Class" that he felt Arsenal posses e.t.c whilst hiding the fact that privately he had already practically sealed a move away from the club. Not only was this tapping up on the part of the Manchester clubs, which I still to this day cannot understand how they managed to get away with it, but it was just pure lies and darn right deceitfulness. This is what REALLY bugs with me.
It seems that it was not only the fans he was decieving but also the manager, and his biggest supporter over the years, Arsene Wenger. The boss set out at the beginining of the summer transfer window last year, to really strenghten and to expand the quality of the club's squad, firstly in order to challenge more at the top end of the table, but also in the hope of persuading RVP to stay with the club beyond the end of the exisiting contract he had, clearly beleiving that this was possible! However after the likes of Podolski, Giroud and the quite frankly GOD like Santi Cazorla had been bought in, Van Persie acted to completely tear Arsene's plans apart and force through a move to Arsenal's bitter rivals United (a club who for me are level with Spurs in terms of dislike and rivalry), a move that as I said was pracitcally already sealed, apart from the transfer fee with Arsenal.
In short following these decietful and disrepectful actions, towards a club that quite frankly RVP would be absolutely no where without, the club itself had absolutely no option but to sell. As John Cross said in the mirror this week, his position at the club, not alone as captain, was untenable! However he should have been sold abroad, this is something that all Arsenal fans have been discussing all season. If he had been sold to the likes of Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan e.t.c I honestly don't think the fans would have any real contempt towards him, but to lie to them throughout the season, to decieve them by pretending to love the club e.t.c. and then on top of all of that to force the club into selling to a bitter domestic rival, who he had clearly been talking to throughout all of this, really was the ULTIMATE act of betrayl. That is why, to the non-Arsenal fans that don't understand this contempt, I feel so bitter towards him. After all we (as a club) did for him, after all the support and love that us fans gave him through period of such frustrating injury troubles and so on, to behave like that and to force a move to a domestic rival, who I still believe we would be competing with had we held on to RVP, given the signings we made last summer to complement him, really was as I said the ultimate betrayl!
Therefore this weekend, when I travel to the Home of football once again for what should be a fascinating game, I will be fully expecting an extremely hostile, and angry reception for the man that drove himself from a hero to a villain in a very short space of time and because of the blatant lack of respect and because of the blatant lies that he told. Quite frankly that is what he deserves.
However I must stress that I will not be joining in any chants about his previous rape trial and so on, as I do feel that oversteps the mark! Let's boo, jeer, hiss, whistle e.t.c. whenever he gets the ball, but lets maintain that "class" that he so readily spoke about before, or was that just lies too????
UP THE ARSENAL!!!
@Mr_arsenal_blog
4 February 2013
From "boo boys" to "sign da ting". The fast transformation of Theo Walcott.
04/02/2013
It was 26th February 2012, the day of arguably the biggest fixture in the Arsenal calendar in any given season, at the Home Of Football Vs Tottenham Hotspur, The North London derby. Around 30 minutes in to the game, Arsenal were 0-2 down, at home to their bitter local rivals, meaning the time the team were sitting 12 points behind their rivals in the hunt for "Champions League" qualification. It was in a quite frankly the "disaster scenario" for Arsenal and our fans. However one player that it seemed was taking the brunt of the stick was Mr Theo James Walcott, Arsenal's number 14. He seemed to be completely out of sorts, short of ideas and completely shot of any kind of confidence or believe. The fans were really getting on his back, frustration was well and truly "in the air", and he was feeling the full force of it! It was very sad to see.
However from 1/2 time in that game to now, I do not think that Theo has looked back. This was something that I was thinking about the other day, and was just mentioned on the Fans Forum on Arsenal Player. Since that moment he has gone from the brunt of criticism, with many fans loosing patience with him and calling for him to be sold, to people begging for him to sign da ting and rejoicing when he did. This is a quite remarkable transformation really. He has been absolutely sensational this season, is currently on 18 goals and 11 assits for the season, formulating an involvement in 29 of Arsenal's 76 goals this season. A great contribution.
He has looked every inch the quality player that he is, and has oozed confidence throughout this season which has really shone through in his play. He has also started to really use his pace more effectively and more frequently. I remember in previous seasons, sat at the game just shouting for Theo to take the defender on, because he just has such pace, but this was never really forthcoming. However, in this campaign he has looked just so much more dangerous. I believe this is partly down the fact that he has played almost as a "false winger" if you like, in the sense that he plays on the wing, however comes inside much much more frequently than he has done in the past. This has meant that he has made many more runs across the defence, meaning that he has got "in behind" the opposition, with his pace, a lot lot more than he had prior to this campaign. This has meant that he is a lot more of a threat to the opposition, therefore has scored more goals, simple hey! He really has used his pace much more frequently.
It is not just his goals that have made him a key player, and a crowd favorite, at The Arsenal. But it's also down to the fact that he has also made massive improvements in terms of his delivery, his crossing, from wide areas. In the past he was one of those very frustrating players, almost like Gervinho now, who would do great, get towards the byline and then just completely fluff the cross, or elect to pass when he should have shot, or shot when he should have passed e.t.c. This was extremely frustrating for us fans to see. This led to many so called pundits to claim that Theo did not have a "football brain". However, this season all has changed. The fact that he has 11 assists shows this. His delivery or "final product" as I like to call it, has improved beyond all recognition really. The one that really sticks out for me is the cross that he made during (ironically) the game against Spurs at home this season, where he whipped in a delicious cross with his back to goal for Mertesacker to score that fantastic header to put us level. It really was a great example of how he has really improved in this area. It really is great to see this from Theo.
So when you remember the reception that Theo was getting during the game against Spurs at home last season, to lets say, the reception he got during the Newcastle demolition at The Emirates this season. Where cries of "sign him up sign him up sign him up" were ringing round for most of the second half. So in less than a year he really has gone almost from zero in some parts of our fan-base to hero almost throughout. This was clear during the "sign da ting" process until recently. He really is a key player for us, that is for sure. And to go from the performance and frustration in the first half vs Spurs last season to where he is now, he really has shown tremendous mental strength, perseverance and belief in his own ability and quality.
Lets hope that Theo continues to develop, continues to improve for many many years to come at Arsenal. As I said on my article discussing Walcott and Bale, he still has a number of years before he reaches his "peak years" so this really is exciting!!
UP THE ARSENAL!!!
@Mr_arsenal_blog - do tweet me your thoughts!!!
THEO THEO THEO THEO!! .................
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
04/02/2013
It was 26th February 2012, the day of arguably the biggest fixture in the Arsenal calendar in any given season, at the Home Of Football Vs Tottenham Hotspur, The North London derby. Around 30 minutes in to the game, Arsenal were 0-2 down, at home to their bitter local rivals, meaning the time the team were sitting 12 points behind their rivals in the hunt for "Champions League" qualification. It was in a quite frankly the "disaster scenario" for Arsenal and our fans. However one player that it seemed was taking the brunt of the stick was Mr Theo James Walcott, Arsenal's number 14. He seemed to be completely out of sorts, short of ideas and completely shot of any kind of confidence or believe. The fans were really getting on his back, frustration was well and truly "in the air", and he was feeling the full force of it! It was very sad to see.
However from 1/2 time in that game to now, I do not think that Theo has looked back. This was something that I was thinking about the other day, and was just mentioned on the Fans Forum on Arsenal Player. Since that moment he has gone from the brunt of criticism, with many fans loosing patience with him and calling for him to be sold, to people begging for him to sign da ting and rejoicing when he did. This is a quite remarkable transformation really. He has been absolutely sensational this season, is currently on 18 goals and 11 assits for the season, formulating an involvement in 29 of Arsenal's 76 goals this season. A great contribution.
He has looked every inch the quality player that he is, and has oozed confidence throughout this season which has really shone through in his play. He has also started to really use his pace more effectively and more frequently. I remember in previous seasons, sat at the game just shouting for Theo to take the defender on, because he just has such pace, but this was never really forthcoming. However, in this campaign he has looked just so much more dangerous. I believe this is partly down the fact that he has played almost as a "false winger" if you like, in the sense that he plays on the wing, however comes inside much much more frequently than he has done in the past. This has meant that he has made many more runs across the defence, meaning that he has got "in behind" the opposition, with his pace, a lot lot more than he had prior to this campaign. This has meant that he is a lot more of a threat to the opposition, therefore has scored more goals, simple hey! He really has used his pace much more frequently.
It is not just his goals that have made him a key player, and a crowd favorite, at The Arsenal. But it's also down to the fact that he has also made massive improvements in terms of his delivery, his crossing, from wide areas. In the past he was one of those very frustrating players, almost like Gervinho now, who would do great, get towards the byline and then just completely fluff the cross, or elect to pass when he should have shot, or shot when he should have passed e.t.c. This was extremely frustrating for us fans to see. This led to many so called pundits to claim that Theo did not have a "football brain". However, this season all has changed. The fact that he has 11 assists shows this. His delivery or "final product" as I like to call it, has improved beyond all recognition really. The one that really sticks out for me is the cross that he made during (ironically) the game against Spurs at home this season, where he whipped in a delicious cross with his back to goal for Mertesacker to score that fantastic header to put us level. It really was a great example of how he has really improved in this area. It really is great to see this from Theo.
So when you remember the reception that Theo was getting during the game against Spurs at home last season, to lets say, the reception he got during the Newcastle demolition at The Emirates this season. Where cries of "sign him up sign him up sign him up" were ringing round for most of the second half. So in less than a year he really has gone almost from zero in some parts of our fan-base to hero almost throughout. This was clear during the "sign da ting" process until recently. He really is a key player for us, that is for sure. And to go from the performance and frustration in the first half vs Spurs last season to where he is now, he really has shown tremendous mental strength, perseverance and belief in his own ability and quality.
Lets hope that Theo continues to develop, continues to improve for many many years to come at Arsenal. As I said on my article discussing Walcott and Bale, he still has a number of years before he reaches his "peak years" so this really is exciting!!
UP THE ARSENAL!!!
@Mr_arsenal_blog - do tweet me your thoughts!!!
THEO THEO THEO THEO!! .................
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
3 February 2013
Why Theo Walcott is massively UNDER-rated and UNDER-valued by most people, especially the media.
3/2/13
Today when watching the Tottenham Vs West Bromwich Albion match on Sky, Jamie Redknapp said that Gareth Bale was "definitely up there with Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo". Now before any Bale fans abuse me I would like to make it clear, that I am not an Arsenal fan who will deny the strengths of a rival team or their players as on the whole, I am a football fan and acknowledge "good football" and footballers. He is a fantastic player, and the Premier League as an entity is very very lucky to have players with his ability in our league. However, the amount of praise and adulation that he gets is, in my opinion, absolutely mind boggling. Would you have him above the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Falcoa, Van Persie, Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Mata even? I would say no. Would he genuinely get into, lets say the Real Madrid team (as he has been linked there)? I would say no. Would he get in the Barcelona team, no. Would he get in the Manchester United team? Well yes! But he is so overrated by so many now, that in my opinion it over shadows other GREAT players.
One such player in my opinion is Theo Walcott. Now I am not saying that Bale is worse than Theo, nor am I saying that Theo is superior, however the difference in praise that the two players receive is in proportionate in my opinion to the level of performance of the two players. As I always say "stats don't lie". And the stats say that Gareth Bale has played 28 games this season, has scored 11 goals and contributed 6 assits for his teammates. Whereas Theo has scored 18 goals, contributed 11 assists in 29 appearances for Arsenal this season and has scored 2 hat-tricks, plus has more pace than Bale. Furthermore Theo has scored 60 goals for Arsenal and Bale has scored 47 goals for Spurs, whilst both playing, on the whole, in the same position (on the flank), and finally are a similar age. Therefore my point is, what can Theo do to receive the adulation and the praise, especially from "outside" the Arsenal circles, that his performances, especially this season, deserve?
Theo Walcott has been fantastic this season, I personally have always believed that Theo will become a 20/25 goal a season player, because he has fantastic finishing ability, coupled with great pace and fantastic intelligence. However for much of his career he has been labelled "inconsistent" and it has been claimed that he has "no football brain". However in my opinion this season and in the 2nd half of last season as well he has really really stepped us his performances, and is becoming a very very good player. His pace is phenomenal, as it always has been, but what has certainly improved specifically is his "final product". By this I mean his crossing, which was highly criticized in the past, and of course also his goal "return" which as I said before stands at 18 for the season. He has also in my opinion become better at using his pace more effectively. I have been critical of this in the past, in the sense in the past he would try and run almost through a player rather than to try and show him the outside and beat him for pace, or knock it past the defender, and run on to it. Both these things he has began to do much better over the last 2 seasons. Against Liverpool on Wednesday I thought he was excellent in this area, he frequently looked to get past the defenders, and on the whole was very successful at this indeed.
Therefore I put it to you, why is it that Bale is rated SO highly by so many, to the extent that he is labelled effectively the 3rd best player in the world, when his contribution and his stats are actually lower than Theo's? But that is not really the whole point, my point really is more specific to Theo. That is that I do not believe that Theo receives the praise for his performances and his importance for Arsenal. What frustrates me is that whilst the contract negotiations were going on with Arsenal recently the media were very very quick to say "is this another important player to leave Arsenal" and oh "they can't afford to loose him", but when it comes actually to his performances they do not seem to praise him like he should be. For me he is probably one of the first names on Arsene Wenger's team sheet, whereas at the start of the year he was on the bench. Furthermore in my opinion he is an absolute shoe in for England. But this is not portrayed through the media.
Maybe this is because Theo is not as extravagant or as flash as Bale, he does not crap the headlines for diving e.t.c. like Bale does. Therefore maybe the reason for his lack of coverage and praise in the media is because he does not cause any kind of controversy and therefore is not really "talked about" outside of "Arsenal circles". Maybe this is the case, however what is obvious to me is that he is underrated across the country. The exciting thing for us Arsenal fans is that he is still on 23, and therefore is still at least 4 years away from his "prime period", if we assume that a players prime is around the age of 27/28. Therefore there is still lots to come from him, as is the case from Bale.
However one thing is clear to me, and that is that Theo will continue to create more goals, will also create more assits, but maybe they are just different kind of players. Perhaps we have to accept that. But the point here is, given the stats which I have outlined, why is the praise and media coverage between the two players so different? It seems that there is almost public worshipping of one (Bale), and a kind of luke-warm, mild, reception for the other (Theo).
Perhaps I am being to eager to compare the two, do tell me if I am, but it just seems very very odd to me that one player (with a worse return) is being almost worshipped by many so called pundits, and one is just sort of getting on with his job, doing very well scoring more goals than the other, creating more for his team-mates, and not getting the same treatment. For me this is very strange. Would I have Gareth Bale in the Arsenal team? Well yes of course because he is a great player, would I have him instead of Walcott, no not a chance. Because Theo has contributed more to our team, and is a great player and servant for Arsenal Football Club.
Do let me know your thoughts, but for now all I have to say is that I cannot wait to see Theo continue to develop over the coming years, and am so pleased that he has signed a new contract (he has signed da ting), and will continue to grace the Emirates grass at such pace, for many years to come (we hope)!! He really is a very exciting player!!!
UP THE ARSENAL!!
Do tweet me your thoughts! @Mr_arsenal_blog
3/2/13
Today when watching the Tottenham Vs West Bromwich Albion match on Sky, Jamie Redknapp said that Gareth Bale was "definitely up there with Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo". Now before any Bale fans abuse me I would like to make it clear, that I am not an Arsenal fan who will deny the strengths of a rival team or their players as on the whole, I am a football fan and acknowledge "good football" and footballers. He is a fantastic player, and the Premier League as an entity is very very lucky to have players with his ability in our league. However, the amount of praise and adulation that he gets is, in my opinion, absolutely mind boggling. Would you have him above the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Falcoa, Van Persie, Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Mata even? I would say no. Would he genuinely get into, lets say the Real Madrid team (as he has been linked there)? I would say no. Would he get in the Barcelona team, no. Would he get in the Manchester United team? Well yes! But he is so overrated by so many now, that in my opinion it over shadows other GREAT players.
One such player in my opinion is Theo Walcott. Now I am not saying that Bale is worse than Theo, nor am I saying that Theo is superior, however the difference in praise that the two players receive is in proportionate in my opinion to the level of performance of the two players. As I always say "stats don't lie". And the stats say that Gareth Bale has played 28 games this season, has scored 11 goals and contributed 6 assits for his teammates. Whereas Theo has scored 18 goals, contributed 11 assists in 29 appearances for Arsenal this season and has scored 2 hat-tricks, plus has more pace than Bale. Furthermore Theo has scored 60 goals for Arsenal and Bale has scored 47 goals for Spurs, whilst both playing, on the whole, in the same position (on the flank), and finally are a similar age. Therefore my point is, what can Theo do to receive the adulation and the praise, especially from "outside" the Arsenal circles, that his performances, especially this season, deserve?
Theo Walcott has been fantastic this season, I personally have always believed that Theo will become a 20/25 goal a season player, because he has fantastic finishing ability, coupled with great pace and fantastic intelligence. However for much of his career he has been labelled "inconsistent" and it has been claimed that he has "no football brain". However in my opinion this season and in the 2nd half of last season as well he has really really stepped us his performances, and is becoming a very very good player. His pace is phenomenal, as it always has been, but what has certainly improved specifically is his "final product". By this I mean his crossing, which was highly criticized in the past, and of course also his goal "return" which as I said before stands at 18 for the season. He has also in my opinion become better at using his pace more effectively. I have been critical of this in the past, in the sense in the past he would try and run almost through a player rather than to try and show him the outside and beat him for pace, or knock it past the defender, and run on to it. Both these things he has began to do much better over the last 2 seasons. Against Liverpool on Wednesday I thought he was excellent in this area, he frequently looked to get past the defenders, and on the whole was very successful at this indeed.
Therefore I put it to you, why is it that Bale is rated SO highly by so many, to the extent that he is labelled effectively the 3rd best player in the world, when his contribution and his stats are actually lower than Theo's? But that is not really the whole point, my point really is more specific to Theo. That is that I do not believe that Theo receives the praise for his performances and his importance for Arsenal. What frustrates me is that whilst the contract negotiations were going on with Arsenal recently the media were very very quick to say "is this another important player to leave Arsenal" and oh "they can't afford to loose him", but when it comes actually to his performances they do not seem to praise him like he should be. For me he is probably one of the first names on Arsene Wenger's team sheet, whereas at the start of the year he was on the bench. Furthermore in my opinion he is an absolute shoe in for England. But this is not portrayed through the media.
Maybe this is because Theo is not as extravagant or as flash as Bale, he does not crap the headlines for diving e.t.c. like Bale does. Therefore maybe the reason for his lack of coverage and praise in the media is because he does not cause any kind of controversy and therefore is not really "talked about" outside of "Arsenal circles". Maybe this is the case, however what is obvious to me is that he is underrated across the country. The exciting thing for us Arsenal fans is that he is still on 23, and therefore is still at least 4 years away from his "prime period", if we assume that a players prime is around the age of 27/28. Therefore there is still lots to come from him, as is the case from Bale.
However one thing is clear to me, and that is that Theo will continue to create more goals, will also create more assits, but maybe they are just different kind of players. Perhaps we have to accept that. But the point here is, given the stats which I have outlined, why is the praise and media coverage between the two players so different? It seems that there is almost public worshipping of one (Bale), and a kind of luke-warm, mild, reception for the other (Theo).
Perhaps I am being to eager to compare the two, do tell me if I am, but it just seems very very odd to me that one player (with a worse return) is being almost worshipped by many so called pundits, and one is just sort of getting on with his job, doing very well scoring more goals than the other, creating more for his team-mates, and not getting the same treatment. For me this is very strange. Would I have Gareth Bale in the Arsenal team? Well yes of course because he is a great player, would I have him instead of Walcott, no not a chance. Because Theo has contributed more to our team, and is a great player and servant for Arsenal Football Club.
Do let me know your thoughts, but for now all I have to say is that I cannot wait to see Theo continue to develop over the coming years, and am so pleased that he has signed a new contract (he has signed da ting), and will continue to grace the Emirates grass at such pace, for many years to come (we hope)!! He really is a very exciting player!!!
UP THE ARSENAL!!
Do tweet me your thoughts! @Mr_arsenal_blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)