Preview Week #2 - Stoke Rugby Vs Arsenal

Second week is about to commence and we have got another lot of targets to come and few others who will not come! I think you all know I am talking about Turkish Midfielder Nuri Sahin, the boy who most of the Gooners want to come to AFC. I don’t want a player to come to us without a buying clause at the end of loan term, because this would mean we are spending 7Mil on a player who would mostly be a fringe player and we don’t even have an option to keep him after loan deal expires! This doesn’t make sense, atleast not to me. We have a packed midfield; we have Arteta, Rosicky, Ox, Cazorla, Diaby, Wilshere, Ramsey, Coquelin, Frimpong and couple of players like Eistfeld etc. and to top that I am pretty sure we would be going for a DM before the window closes. I am not saying that all these players are world class, but we still have these players wages to pay, medical bill to pay and so we can’t afford to have a player for 7Mil and keep him for a year without the assurance that if we like him then we can keep him!

I am not going to talk about stupid transfer speculations now, because of all that I said in my last post and I still stand by it! All I would say is about the club. I think Walcott will sign a new deal if he is told that he would be playing as a striker! Everyone has learned a way to ransom us in past few years, but if song incident has taught us anything, then that is Boss is willing to play hardball. And we should be ready for his exit if he doesn’t sign a new deal by Monday. I don’t think we will sign another winger until we sell Arshavin! Otherwise there is a possibility we can recall Miyachi. As far as defender goes, we need to sell the French sensation Squillaci to buy. For strikers, I don’t think we can buy any until the best striker in the world, the Sheesha smoker and the marketing campaign for east find a new club!

So moving ahead, we would be playing ‘The Rugby Team’ for the first time this season. It has to be a wonderful game :P…. I think American football costumes should be made available for all the teams visiting Britannia Stadium by FA! This will help reduce injuries to other players and teams will be more competent! I hate this team “Stoke City “not only because there is a chance of a player to get injured, but because it defies everything I love about football! They don’t play football; they play a “type” which you can’t even call as football! So target in this game should be to win and not get injured! I am not sure if Ramsey will start or play a part in this game, as his form is haywire and those ugly memories won’t let him play freely. And Boss won’t want to hamper his confidence further!

From my point of view, the team starting should be same as last weekend and this time over the weeks preparation, we should be more clinical. Amen to that!

So until next time. UTA. Folllow me on Twitter for a discussion @OnTheGunPoint

Weekly Roundup: This is what champions are made of and Chamakh’s truth finally revealed!!!

First things first, a video for all of you who missed watching our 125th Year celebrations!!! Enjoy and Happy 125th B'day!!!

Now what happened after that was for all of us too see. Agreed we were not very clinical in front of goal, agreed we were letting too much of space to Everton and agreed that we could have won the game during first half itself. But if everything is going well you can judge the character of a team! This is the same team which was ridiculed at the start of the season. We have now shown to the world that we can win big, we can win easy and also win ugly!!!

Everybody is saying the occasion took over us and overawed our play (for those morons who don’t know what occasion I am talking about should not be reading this blog at all!!!)!!! I don’t agree to it, we had lost 2 drawn 1 and won 1 of our last 4 matches, hence there was pressure on us. We were ugly no doubt about it, but haven’t we seen ”Man’s breast are united” winning the same way throughout last season and clinching the trophy as well!!! Their fans were chanting ”FUMU” throughout those matches!!! Well we can do that and too in a better way which only Gunners can… Anyways our club is not in financial debt and is far better than theirs!!!

This week the most improved player was Theo Walcott. Yes I have been very critical of him and yes I ridiculed everybody who said he is a great player, blah, blah!!! But he showed that he can defend too!!! Providing good cover to Djourou on couple of occasions and was applauded by our fans too. Now we know the value of competition. Rising star Ox had made him improve upon his game. He knew his place is under threat and that made him work extra hard. Point to be noted here is Boss’ comment on Ox from December 2nd press conference:

“Defending is not his preferred side but unfortunately at the top level today you have Messi doing it, Rooney, Ronaldo, Van Persie - so why should he not do it?”

This means that if Walcott improves his defending then Ox won’t be able to replace him easily!!! Hence we saw Walcott running from one end of the pitch to another. Not that I am complaining, I liked the way he defended, as it showed his zeal to stay in the team.

Song oh Song, oh my unsung hero! He was trending on twitter after a long long time I guess!!! I have always said that he is one player who has grabbed his opportunities with both hands and Abu Diaby’s injuries have helped him too. But any day he can walk into my world 11 (Only players who are still playing in Europe). I know I am biased and my team would atleast have 5-6 current and ex arsenal players!!! Vermaelen, Sagna, Song, Cesc, Wilshere and RVP are definitely in it. These are the players who can walk into any team and make them proud!!! 

Good News!!! We won our match and Spuds lost their match!!! Hurray!!! Now I am eagerly awaiting ManC and Chelsea’s match. I want either ManC to win or atleast get a draw out of this match. Why you ask? It’s because Chelsea’s loss is our gain. We can maintain our 4th Position if Chelsea has to lose or if they get a draw out of it, then we would be 5th but equal on points!!! Only thing which i am afraid is that ManC will go 12 points clear of us if Chelsea loses and 10 points if match is a Draw. Remember I still have hopes of Title!!!

Anyways that’s something we can look in future. Currently we have other pressing issues in hand. After Frimpong, Coquelin and Fabianski making statements about leaving in January either on loan or permanently, we have another addition in that group; Chamakh. Now he is not getting playing time because of RVP is playing like a God. Also he is not very quick like Walcott and Gervinho, and can’t play on flanks too. Hence he won’t be playing lot of games in PL. I do pity him, because when he came to Arsenal, he was like a storm. In his first match against Liverpool last year, he made that important challenge on Reina and made him concede a own goal. That helped us in getting a Draw out of that match. Notable was how Koscielny was also Red Carded in that match and we were down to 10 men in dying stages of that match. After that when RVP was out nursing his seasonal quota of injuries (Fingers crossed and it never ever happens again), he handled the responsibilities of leading the attack very well and scored 11 goals in that period. After that he was injured and RVP returned. End of story!!!

Well he has said that he won’t be looking out in January but will discuss his options in June. A possible move to Bordeaux is a high possibility. And I feel for that guy. I really do!! He is a great talent, only thing lacking in his game is his confidence.

Anyways what has to happen would happen. I don’t want any player from this current crop to leave except Arshavin and Fabianski (because of their form), Diaby and Gibbs (Because they have spend more on medical bills then they have actually played for us). This is only from first team and I am in no mood right now to get into Steve Bould’s business.

Hope you liked what I have to say, if yes then share it on your Facebook and Twitter!!! You can also follow me on Twitter for regular updates on my blogs and Arsenal.

Until next time. Hail Gunners!!!

Pre Match Review: Wigan Vs Arsenal – Lets go and get a win!!!

So after the midweek carling cup, proper cup and proper football is back with Arsenal travelling to ‘DW Stadium’. Wigan is the same team who put a nail in the coffin as far as Steve Bruce is concerned. Going to ‘Stadium of Light’ and winning when they were down and out is not a mean feat (8 games without a win, out of which 7 were defeats)!!!

Boss as always was very respectful towards opposition and I think we should not be complacent and get the job done. They don’t posses huge names of highly gifted players, but they do have some good performers. Al Habsi is hell of a keeper. He has pretty good reflexes and has good decision making skills in the box too. If he brings his A game on, we might be seeing another Fulham kind of match, where we were shooting and shooting on the goal, but there was someone to block our chances. Ben Watson, Di Santo, Diame etc are good players, and on their day can trouble us. Indecently we have never beaten WIgan under Roberto Martinez at DW!!! Hence this game becomes that much more important, as currently we need a win, and win big!!!  We do have tendency to make these smaller teams feel good by letting them come from behind more often than not. We make a meal of the game and try to have it too!!! No hiccups are welcomes this time around though.

On the team news, we have Mr. Diaby aka boon to medical science, back to where he belongs, medical centre!!! Which I think was made to order by him. Anyways, good news is there is no other casualty. Playing a completely changed team against Manchester City most certainly did help our cause. So we have RVP who has scored one more goal than whole of Wigan Team. We have Verminator, who wants to give an empathetic performance after Fulham game. We have Djourou and Koscielny, who wants to stake a claim on first team spot (and their recent performances are saying nothing less). We also have the giant, Per, who wants to prove he is not as bad at forwards are making him look!!! We have Theo, who would like to prove that comparisons with Ox are meaningless and he is still the man. We have Gervinho, who would definitely like to add goals and finishing touches to his play, and make sure he doesn’t become next Chamakh!!! We also have ever so reliable Song and Arteta pairing in middle of the park (Not the player :D). What we don’t have is Jack in place of Ramsey!!!

I have stopped writing anything about RVP, as whatever I write would diminish in comparison to his enormous form and talent.

So as far as team for the match goes: Szcz, Santos, Mert, Verm, Kos, Song, Ramsey, Arteta, Gervinho, Theo and RVP. Bench: Fabianski, DJourou, Frimpong, Arshavin, Rosicky, Benayoun and Chamakh. Prediction from my side is Wigan 0 and Arsenal 4 with RVP and Gervinho with a brace, as I want Gerv to score and get a confidence boost!!! This would definitely help us in long term!!!

Nothing has worked to get you guys on twitter as yet; hence I have devised a new strategy….. PLEASE JOIN ME, CLICK HERE!!! :D:D:D…. Hope this helps.

Till next time. COYG!!!!

Post Match Blog With Highlights!!!: Crisis? What Crisis…. And Grant Holt should try out for swimming team!!!

WE WON!!! And as I predicted 2-1… So this means I do have football acumen or what!!! RVP did it again… 31 goals in this calendar year, wow!!! Only 5^th player to do it, and remember he can very well reach 40+, as there are many matches still to go….

Arsenal put out the same team as I predicted (Pssst: All of the other bloggers got it wrong :D). I still believe that Mert has a long way to go in EPL. He does have an intimidating presence, but the way he is out muscled most of the times is not very good showing!!! He is very slow to react and that is one aspect he needs to improve upon, otherwise we would never be able to keep clean sheets. I think Mert cant thank RVP enough to save him blushes… I wont be spending time on RVP, as whatever I say will be less for his caliber!!!

Our midfield was not very fluent. Ramsey and Arteta were missing from most part of the match! Song was losing the ball way too much, which is unlikely for him after seeing his recent run of form! I thought that international break would do well for Arteta and he would come out all guns blazing, but he was looking rusty. I have never liked Ramsey and hence just waiting for Jack to return and take his place!!! Our midfield was also looking less influential because Norwich had a extra man employed there to counter out movement. Gervinho was looking very lively since start, but has to improve his finishing skills. Theo again was trying to beat Usan Bolt, but from football aspect he still has a long way to go. Only if he could improve his Vision and positioning, he would do well. Santos was again very exciting to watch, I love him!!! Kos did ok in his full back position. Verminator was commanding as ever in the box.

I am wondering, after seeing Holt’s performance UK might give him a chance to represent them at world stage as a swimmer. The way he dived and dived, even Ian Thorpe could learn from him a few tricks!!! Overall Norwich played nicely and tried to close down Arsenal. But they couldn’t finish and RVP couldn’t miss!!!

All in all a good hard fought victory. Even though we were a bit sloppy here and there, and we did have many chances to finish the game long ago, but really who cares!!! I just wanted the three points and I got it. It’s actually good that Arsenal didn’t run through Norwich, otherwise we don’t take much time to grow overconfident (which our past record will show you) and lose game!!! This victory will keep our feet down on the ground and will propel us to work hard in next coming games. I am not saying that I love these kinds of heart attack giving matches, but right now what we need is focus and concentration and belief and confidence.

People who were not able to watch the match can take a look at highlights here!!!

So now next is Dortmund at home on Wednesday, let’s buckle up for the game and confirm our spot at the top of group!!!

Do stay connected with me on Twitter and get the latest updates…

Till next time. Oh to be a Gooner!!!

Frustation on Interlull and Gyan Session

Boss/Gaffer/Arsene (Please note I would be using these words to describe him henceforth) has been very critical about the International breaks and rightly so. Sole purpose of this current break is for the teams that has not been able to qualify for Euro’12 properly will get another opportunity in form of play offs. The rest of the international teams have no business playing because either they have already qualified or have failed so badly that they don’t deserve another opportunity.


Boss Says:
“I would propose that we had the smaller teams playing against each other in qualification, with the best ones going through to the European Championships, and that the bigger teams then have the opportunity to be qualified directly.
Of course I have not studied the problems deeply, so I do not say I have the key for the solution, but there is definitely something there that is not right, and I’m sure that the format as it is now has no future. I think there will be more and more disinterest from people.”


At a glance first point seems fair enough, but how to identify who are best and worst ones? FIFA Ranking maybe? But that is also not fool proof, as a team jumps up ranks without playing a single match for months! The main issue which boss raised is of disinterest which is growing day by day. Sure we do enjoy a summer tournament (World Cup, Euro, Copa etc) but that is only because we are so deprived of football that we’ll take anything which comes our way. Our situation is like a person who has been kept on fast for a week and then has been offered a Bitter Melon dish, which we will take it and find good too!!!


Maybe it’s only me who has such kind of views, but not watching football for a weekend makes me kinda cranky!!!


On the other aspect it was heartening to see Mikel finally jelling well with the Midfield. He alone completed 96 Passes in that game, whereas WBA’s whole midfield put together had 108 successful passes registered. This clearly showed we bossed the midfield and returning to our true game, the beautiful football. But still these are early times and we have come a long way from the outrageous start of the season. We have won 9 of our last 11 games in all competitions and resurrected the team. The good work has just started and Mikel has been at heart of things.


Another piece of news I stumbled upon was on Wilshere. Asked by an interviewer if he would promise to stay at Arsenal forever, Jack said:
“I promise that, yeah. I’ve been at the club since I was nine and learned to love it. From the Vieira days, to Bergkamp, Fabregas, I’ve watched them come through and move on. There’s a crop of new players Ramsey, myself, Kieran Gibbs…hopefully we can really create something special. I love the club and I want to be part of its future.”


Those of who have been around the block would know that it is not good for footballers to issue such statements. I mean, who can forget Ca$hri saga? You can never say never, nobody has seen the future etc. But it is heartwarming to hear it! It also strikes me that with a growing crop of players from Arsenal Academy/British players won’t be quite open to change in location, lure of home etc!


On the infrastructure front, Arsenal has now built a state of art Medical centre! It has all the world class amenities and equipments. It has built with the immense scouting by our medical staff on various sports and visiting their facilities, like NBA, NFL, and NHL etc. The old gym which was state of art 10 years ago suddenly started to feel a bit cramped for 50+ first, youth and reserve team players. Trying to do one on one rehab was becoming impossible in previous centre. The new building is only for players who are suffering from injuries or are receiving treatment to prevent one (Which we need badly and I hope everyone will agree with me). I think it’s now safe to say that one player who would love it is Abou Diaby! He has had around 28 stints with our medical team since the horrendous tackle from Dan Smith, might I add a true talent went to a waste because of it.


Well thats too much gyan for today. Until next time. Hail Gunners!