After seven long years, things are finally looking up for Arsenal and its beleaguered fans.
The club’s infamous trophy drought has brought frustration, stagnation and distrust to one of the world’s biggest clubs, and Arsenal looked to be on the brink of utter disaster at more than one point in its recent history.
Losing does do that to a team, and Gunners fans can make a compelling argument that they have had more than their fair share recently. When Arsenal teams of the past few years did meet with some limited success, it was the type that weary minds do not appreciate.
Everything the club did, from its transfer business to its style of play to even seemingly the competence of the manager, was seriously questioned as things turned from bad to worse and the trophy cabinet gathered more dust.
Arguably the worst moments came at the beginning of this year. Already dispirited by losing two of its best players in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Arsenal started the season in horrific fashion, taking just one point from the first available nine, getting hammered 8-2 at Old Trafford and conceding four goals to now-relegated Blackburn in a pathetic 4-3 defeat.
In the midst of possibly the worst part of the Arsene Wenger era, though, the hitherto unquestioned manager finally had the sense to answer the cries of the fans and acquire the players who would form the basis for his side’s remarkable comeback.
It is no surprise that, when Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Yossi Benayoun and Andre Santos finally got settled in their new environment, the team’s results started to improve and the Gunners began their steady march up the table to their current third-place position.
Few could have anticipated it back in the dog days of summer, when everything appeared to be conspiring against Arsenal, that Wenger was building the foundation for a title-challenging side next season.
Educated from his previous transfer failings and the wholly unnecessary stress of the final hours of last summer’s transfer window, the manager is already completing deals to get ahead of his opponents and build a strong team that can bond early in the summer and settle into an effective unit by the start of next season.
It has all started with Lukas Podolski, whom Wenger has amazingly brought in before the season’s end to relieve the undue pressure on Robin van Persie’s shoulders and rejuvenate an attack that has relied far too much on the Dutch genius.
Then, apparently emboldened by both his team’s Premiership success and his fruitful transfer tactics, the manager is reportedly on the verge of completing a deal to sign highly-rated French midfielder Yann M’Vila.
What is particularly notable is that these extremely useful and talented signings were not obscure, bargain-basement targets; the former costs a substantial sum, while the latter would actually represent a record transfer fee for the infamously frugal Arsenal.
Further encouraging the optimists out there is the outstanding base on which these signings build.
Players like Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscienly, and, to a certain extent, Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker have been absolute rocks at the back this year for Arsenal.
If Steve Bould can prevent the occasional slip-ups that plague the Gunners, Arsene Wenger will have built a very deep defense that is densely packed with quality and allows room for the inevitable injuries that seem to occur annually.
A midfield with M’Vila in it would be even deeper and more formidable. Alex Song, creative genius and defensive stalwart, will support the metronomic and essential Mikel Arteta, the resurgent and hard-working Tomas Rosicky and a returning Jack Wilshere.
Taking into account the potential presences of Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey, Emmanuel Frimpong and even Abou Diaby (I know, I know), Arsenal will have an extremely strong and deep rotation of midfielders who can play in all positions.
If it’s even possible, competition for places will be even more fierce in attack, where youth battles against experience, and versatility abounds.
Lukas Podolski can play as a striker or a left-winger, and it remains to be seen whether he will support Robin van Persie as a second striker, a winger, or even be used off the bench.
Meanwhile, Theo Walcott, Gervinho, the outstanding Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and potentially Podolski will be left to slug it out for two wing positions based primarily on form. And who knows, Wenger might bring in yet another winger this summer to replace the outgoing Yossi Benayoun.
Of course, essential components in constructing this rosy outlook of Arsenal’s future are the resigning of key players—specifically Robin van Persie.
To get the Dutchman to put pen to paper on a new deal, finishing third and therefore qualifying for the Champions League will be essential, as will signing top players as a statement of intent and, of course, shelling out the requisite cash.
Van Persie and his teammates can complete the first of these three requirements this weekend at West Brom by showing up and playing to their full potential. Meanwhile, top additions to the squad are already being added, and the club is showing that it is not afraid to splash some cash this summer.
I really don’t sweat over van Persie too much—he is not the type of modern mercenary footballer who is motivated solely by immediate silverware and more money.
If and when the captain decides to stay and the club does its necessary transfer business this summer, it will have a fantastic team that will be capable of challenging for all domestic and European honors.
For the first time in years, the Gunners should be very much involved in the title race late into the season, and I would not put too much money against the Gunners even nicking the Premier League title if they get the positive breaks that they are bound to get after so many years of misfortune.
After years and years of waiting in distress, Arsenal’s time in the spotlight might be fast-approaching.
Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1178739-arsenal-fc-why-the-2012-13-season-will-be-all-about-the-gunners
Arsene Wenger has just announced that Pat Rice will definitely be retiring from his position as Assistant Manager at Arsenal FC and Steve Bould will be taking his place.
This is perhaps the worst-kept secret of the season as Arsenal continues their tradition at being the worst protectors of the truth when it comes to almost everything.
After 48 years, in one form or another, serving the badge like many serve the Gods, Pat Rice is stepping away from his position in the dugout.
Whether it be, as stated, due to health issues, simple retirement issues or time for a fresh approach from Arsene Wenger, it will be the end of an era at the Emirates.
Perhaps he’s sick and tired of having to sit next to Arsene Wenger’s whining once the fourth official has managed to get Wenger to go back and sit on his Citroen seat.
Maybe he’s tired of doing all the hard work on the touchlines whilst Wenger buries his head into his sleeping bag.
Whatever it is, we’ll be sad to see him go, but we will be glad to usher through a new exciting period in the clubs history.
So what can Steve Bould bring to the table to freshen things up?
Steve Bould has been a loyal servant of the club himself and has been with the Gunners as player and coach for 21 years.
As coach, he has been in charge of our famous under 18 academy side and has helped them to two Premier League Academy titles (2008-09, 2009-10) and a FA Youth Cup (2008-09).
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
He has therefore worked with many of current crop of youngster in the main squad, including Keiran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere.
More famously, he was part of George Graham’s famous back four and won two First Division titles (1988-89, 1990-91), the FA and League cup in the 1992-93 season and a Cup Winners Cup medal in the 1993-94 one.
Bould even managed to prolong his Arsenal career when Arsene Wenger arrived as manger and remained an important factor to the squad as he helped us to the Premier League and FA Cup double in 1998.
Due to his time as a player, he has a reputation for organization and will be outspoken if he feels issues need addressing.
As part of the famous back four, you hope that he will be most determined to make sure this promising Arsenal defence can stop leaking goals and tighten up as a defensive unit.
He has the respect and he has the authority. These are exciting times at Arsenal.
Another great coach who will be promoted on to the first team is the current reserves boss Neil Banfield.
Neil Banfield has had to look after our successful reserves team and has also managed the academy as has Bould.
With these two now put into the mix, expect to see more tactical and physical play from the Arsenal first team.
Wenger will not have it all his own way.
Follow me on Twitter: @SamuelMensahLDN
Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1178916-arsenal-fc-what-the-appointment-of-steve-bould-will-mean-for-arsene-wenger
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Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1181115-arsenal-fc-top-5-gunners-this-season
The last day of Arsenal‘s season has come down to an away fixture at West Brom.
Arsenal need to win to secure third place. Despite this pressure Wenger seemed in an upbeat mood when asked about the weekend’s game.
It is Roy Hodgson’s last game as manager of the Baggies and Wenger expects West Brom to put up a good fight.
“I expect our opponent to play at their best and we’ll adjust our performance to that and prepare ourselves to face an opponent that are focused and motivated,” Wenger said. “We are never disappointed when we imagine that because we got that against Stoke, we got that against Norwich. So we prepare, consequently, to face a normal game.
“His teams are well organised, and usually play very well in a 4-4-2 formation and that is a system he was always faithful to. He has stabilised West Brom, they had 47 points last year and they have 47 points this year, so they are middle of the table and have been secure for a while now in the Premier League and that is a great achievement.”
When quizzed about whether Arsenal should even be in a position of a last day decider, Wenger commented on the remarkable turnaround the club has made during the season.
“Ask our opponents, who were 10 or 15 points in front of us. Three months ago, everybody would be happy to go into the final game with that. The Premier League is difficult. We came from a deep position in the league but, if you look at the way we’ve made to be where we are today, I think it’s remarkable.”
Arsenal are a club that has become accustomed to last day nail-biters, and Wenger believes this will be no different and will carry on with business as usual.
“We have known games where we have played for the championship, or to qualify for the Champions League. It is a fantastic opportunity for us that we want to take. We are used to coping with that. At the end of the day, it is playing football. If we have more of the ball than west Brom, then we have more chances to win it and that’s what we want to focus on. Be faithful to the way we want to play football.”
With Chelsea in the final of the Champions League, they have an opportunity to ruin the team who finishes fourth’s bid at making it through the Champions League qualification stages.
This is still a scenario Arsenal may have to deal with, but Wenger didn’t appear too concerned.
“The rules are the rules, you know them at the start of the season and you have to accept them. I believe we can finish third, we have the potential and the possibility to do it, so let’s do it. The consequences of if you don’t do it, you deal with that after the game. You look at it as an opportunity you want to take, and that’s what we want to do.”
Greg Probert is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first-hand.
Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1179129-arsenal-fc-arsene-wenger-on-west-brom
After seven long years, things are finally looking up for Arsenal and its beleaguered fans.
The club’s infamous trophy drought has brought frustration, stagnation and distrust to one of the world’s biggest clubs, and Arsenal looked to be on the brink of utter disaster at more than one point in its recent history.
Losing does do that to a team, and Gunners fans can make a compelling argument that they have had more than their fair share recently. When Arsenal teams of the past few years did meet with some limited success, it was the type that weary minds do not appreciate.
Everything the club did, from its transfer business to its style of play to even seemingly the competence of the manager, was seriously questioned as things turned from bad to worse and the trophy cabinet gathered more dust.
Arguably the worst moments came at the beginning of this year. Already dispirited by losing two of its best players in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Arsenal started the season in horrific fashion, taking just one point from the first available nine, getting hammered 8-2 at Old Trafford and conceding four goals to now-relegated Blackburn in a pathetic 4-3 defeat.
In the midst of possibly the worst part of the Arsene Wenger era, though, the hitherto unquestioned manager finally had the sense to answer the cries of the fans and acquire the players who would form the basis for his side’s remarkable comeback.
It is no surprise that, when Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Yossi Benayoun and Andre Santos finally got settled in their new environment, the team’s results started to improve and the Gunners began their steady march up the table to their current third-place position.
Few could have anticipated it back in the dog days of summer, when everything appeared to be conspiring against Arsenal, that Wenger was building the foundation for a title-challenging side next season.
Educated from his previous transfer failings and the wholly unnecessary stress of the final hours of last summer’s transfer window, the manager is already completing deals to get ahead of his opponents and build a strong team that can bond early in the summer and settle into an effective unit by the start of next season.
It has all started with Lukas Podolski, whom Wenger has amazingly brought in before the season’s end to relieve the undue pressure on Robin van Persie’s shoulders and rejuvenate an attack that has relied far too much on the Dutch genius.
Then, apparently emboldened by both his team’s Premiership success and his fruitful transfer tactics, the manager is reportedly on the verge of completing a deal to sign highly-rated French midfielder Yann M’Vila.
What is particularly notable is that these extremely useful and talented signings were not obscure, bargain-basement targets; the former costs a substantial sum, while the latter would actually represent a record transfer fee for the infamously frugal Arsenal.
Further encouraging the optimists out there is the outstanding base on which these signings build.
Players like Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscienly, and, to a certain extent, Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker have been absolute rocks at the back this year for Arsenal.
If Steve Bould can prevent the occasional slip-ups that plague the Gunners, Arsene Wenger will have built a very deep defense that is densely packed with quality and allows room for the inevitable injuries that seem to occur annually.
A midfield with M’Vila in it would be even deeper and more formidable. Alex Song, creative genius and defensive stalwart, will support the metronomic and essential Mikel Arteta, the resurgent and hard-working Tomas Rosicky and a returning Jack Wilshere.
Taking into account the potential presences of Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey, Emmanuel Frimpong and even Abou Diaby (I know, I know), Arsenal will have an extremely strong and deep rotation of midfielders who can play in all positions.
If it’s even possible, competition for places will be even more fierce in attack, where youth battles against experience, and versatility abounds.
Lukas Podolski can play as a striker or a left-winger, and it remains to be seen whether he will support Robin van Persie as a second striker, a winger, or even be used off the bench.
Meanwhile, Theo Walcott, Gervinho, the outstanding Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and potentially Podolski will be left to slug it out for two wing positions based primarily on form. And who knows, Wenger might bring in yet another winger this summer to replace the outgoing Yossi Benayoun.
Of course, essential components in constructing this rosy outlook of Arsenal’s future are the resigning of key players—specifically Robin van Persie.
To get the Dutchman to put pen to paper on a new deal, finishing third and therefore qualifying for the Champions League will be essential, as will signing top players as a statement of intent and, of course, shelling out the requisite cash.
Van Persie and his teammates can complete the first of these three requirements this weekend at West Brom by showing up and playing to their full potential. Meanwhile, top additions to the squad are already being added, and the club is showing that it is not afraid to splash some cash this summer.
I really don’t sweat over van Persie too much—he is not the type of modern mercenary footballer who is motivated solely by immediate silverware and more money.
If and when the captain decides to stay and the club does its necessary transfer business this summer, it will have a fantastic team that will be capable of challenging for all domestic and European honors.
For the first time in years, the Gunners should be very much involved in the title race late into the season, and I would not put too much money against the Gunners even nicking the Premier League title if they get the positive breaks that they are bound to get after so many years of misfortune.
After years and years of waiting in distress, Arsenal’s time in the spotlight might be fast-approaching.
Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1178739-arsenal-fc-why-the-2012-13-season-will-be-all-about-the-gunners
