Saturday 30 April 2016

Wenger: a victim of his own success?

With Arsene Wenger facing a backlash from disappointed Arsenal fans, it's time to ask whether he is a victim of his own success or not? To answer my own question, a lot depends on your definition of success. At Arsenal under Wenger, 'success' is defined as Champions League qualification.

At this stage, I'd say that Wenger has been the architect of his own possible downfall. I write 'possible' as, after all, he's not down and out yet. As already mentioned, qualification for the Champions League equals 'success' in this era, and he may well achieve it.

However, Wenger has not done himself any favours by seemingly not working hard enough on nullifying the opposition and scouting for new talent. Of course, Wenger can't be expected to work on all those aspects of football by himself, but he does need to recruit and promote the right people around him, the way Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United, to ensure prolonged spells at the top.

Instead, Arsenal fans have 'endured' prolonged spells near the top. To a club used to winning trophies, that's not quite good enough.

Looking at the bank balance, shareholders will be pleased with Wenger's tenure. Befitting an economics graduate, the Frenchman has kept Arsenal comfortably in the black.

Nevertheless, the demand for a change of management is gathering momentum. Suddenly, the Arsene Knows Best brigade are quieter than they ever were. To give them some encouragement, there may life in the old dog or should it be 'Le Vieux Chien' yet, but many fans want his head on a platter before the season's end. To me, that's a knee-jerk reaction. Every boss, especially one who has achieved as much as Wenger, deserves to be judged at the end of the season and not before.

That's why I think today's demonstration against Norwich can only be counter-productive. Arsenal need their fans and players focused on the job in hand, which is to win three points. It makes no sense to give the team and the manager excuses before the end of the season for not achieving his goal: Champions League qualification.

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Friday 29 April 2016

Arsenal Leading the Chase in signing the Dortmund Midfielder Ace Henrikh Mkhitaryan


Recent reports emanating from the media have it that Arsenal are preparing to seal the deal of Borussia Dortmund midfield Ace Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

According to the Dailystar, Tuttomercabtoweb and the Mirror reported that the London club are leading Chelsea and Juventus in the race to sign the Armenia international.

The 27-year-old, who has just a year left on his contract with the Bundesliga club has reiterated his desire to move to London and this could be a two-horse race between Chelsea and Arsenal leaving out Juventus.

However, the tide could swing in the favour of Arsenal because the midfielder would much more interested in a club that would guarantee him an assurance of Champions League football next season and unlike Chelsea, he can get that at the emirates Stadium.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk man had rejected a move to Liverpool three years ago in favour of Dortmund who were able to offer him Champions League football. It is also reported that the FA Cup champion are ready to offer him around £23 million deal.

Tuttomercatoweb also claimed that Arsenal could decide to sell Mesut Ozil to finance the our chase of Mkhitaryan. The German international has cast doubt over his future at the club and has expressed that he is not in a hurry to put pen to papers for a new deal.



The 27-year-old, a £42.5 million club record signing from real Madrid three years, has told the club he will wait till the end of the season before discussing about his future. The former Werder Bremen has two years left on his current contract.

“There is no hurry. I have two years left on my contract. We will see how it goes at the end of the season”, he said.

Ozil has scored six goals this season and assisted another 18 in all competitions this season. He has also won the FA Cup twice.

Thursday 28 April 2016

Wenger makes Bayern Munich star top Arsenal target


Arsenal has reportedly prepared a lucrative offer to lure Bayern Munich defender Márcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza, (commonly known as Rafinha) to the Emirates Stadium this summer. The 30-year-old right-back has only a year left on his current contract at the Allianz Arena and could be allowed to exit the club this summer with the Bundesliga champion hunting for young legs to fill his potential vacant position.

According to Sport Bild, the Gunners have offered the Brazil international a three-year contract which may seem too good for him to reject.

Arsenal is currently short of players at the right-back. With the uncertainties surrounding the future of Bordeaux loanee Mathieu Debuchy and the non consistency of former Southampton player Calum Chambers, the London club is left with only Hector Bellerin for the position.

Sport Bild also reported the Bavarians are considering the possibility of signing either Arsenal's Bellerin or Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal. And it is not certain Arsene Wenger would be interested in a swap deal as the Frenchman wants more addition at the right-back.

Rafinha, who turn 31 in September has enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at Bayern Munich since joining them five years ago, winning three Bundesliga titles, three German Cup, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.  He has made 22 appearances for the German giants in all competitions
this season.

Sunday 24 April 2016

'The impact of finances in the Champions League'?

Looking at Arsenal.com, I happened to see Arsene Wenger claiming that the financial impact of making the Champions League is not what it was.

In truth, you see astronomical figures bandied about and, to my mind with the lucrative BT deal in place, it's more important than ever to qualify.

My continuing support of Wenger depends on him ensuring Arsenal quality for the Champions League, whether or not it is through the play-offs. If he cannot achieve that, even I will question whether he should remain at the helm.

I believe he set his own success criteria and therefore he cannot complain if he is ousted if the 'unthinkable' happens and Arsenal fail to finish in the top four or fail to make it because of Liverpool or Man City's European silverware.

Spurs' relative success is simply a sideshow and, annoying as it is to Arsenal fans, must be ignored as it has little bearing on the Gunners' Champions League qualification. That is the be all and end all.

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Thursday 21 April 2016

Momentum is everything

With Leicester still managing to stay top of the table, five points clear of Spurs, after a dangerous flirtation with relegation and a winning streak that kept them up, it is easy to see the importance of momentum.

Arsenal gained some momentum last season by winning the FA Cup, but ultimately it has petered out. Silverware is out of the question, although mathematically possible if Spurs and Leicester slip up 'big time' and Arsenal hit the winning formula again.

Interestingly, if Arsenal win their game in hand tonight they'd only be 5 points behind Spurs. Logic says they have nearly as much chance of catching Spurs as Tottenham have of winning the league.

However, momentum speaks volumes. Nobody is tipping Arsenal to finish above Spurs this season and one more poor result will prove the doubters right.


PS Don't forget Brendan Rogers' Liverpool ended up as a flash in the pan. Will that happen to Leicester and/or Spurs?

Sunday 10 April 2016

Arsenal to ring the changes to finish second?

After the disappointment of dropping points at West Ham, Arsene Wenger is highly likely to bring Cech and Mertesacker back into the fray against Crystal Palace next weekend.

Ospina looked a little shaky at times, despite making a couple of good saves. Cech seems certain to replace him.

Meanwhile, Gabriel had a tough time trying to marshall the Hammers hat trick hero Andy Carroll. However, I'm not sure Arsenal have any defensive personnel currently who can deal with that kind of centre forward.

If the Gunners had a Martin Keown type in their squad, perhaps they would have been able to put up a better fight defensively. 'Fight' is the operative word here, as this Arsenal team has been accused of lacking steel.

Nevertheless, to come back after going 3-2 down in a roller coaster of a game suggests that Arsenal do have the team spirit to keep going until the end of the season.

Wenger has been in this position before. He keeps cool under pressure. Will the Leicester and Tottenham bosses be able to do the same as the pressure mounts? You'd certainly expect one of them to remain calm and clinch the title.

However, second place may still be up for grabs. The only remaining fixture that looks un-winnable for Arsenal is Man City away.

Spurs, meanwhile, could drop points against Man Utd and Chelsea. Given Tottenham's vastly superior goal difference, Arsenal need Spurs to drop at least 4 points between now and the end of the season and be able to capitalise by picking up maximum returns themselves. Therefore, it's likely to go right to the wire or at least until the penultimate day of the season.

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