……… Don’t worry! We survived it once and we can do it again, and this time, oh how we are in a better position!

Think back to this god awful time last year. Bye-bye Fabregas and Nasri. Now think about the situation we are in now. Bye-bye Van Persie and Song. Ask yourself, which two players would you prefer to have? Don’t just go ‘Rvp scored 30 goals, Song set them up, obviously them’, because think about the last seven years of Rvp’s and Song’s careers at Arsenal. Song booed off at Fulham, Rvp continually injured! Cesc, a real servant to the club and I am happy about his success at his boyhood club, played on against Barcelona with a broken leg as he knew we had no subs left so would be one man down. Rvp would be crying about it!

I would rather have Fabregas and Nasri in my team. One good season and a player we have nursed through his pathetic injuries shows his disloyalty. Nasri left, we were furious but he was only at us for three years, we hate him though.

Song has left us now and I don’t think any fans know why he left us, I personally can not see him getting a lot of first team action at Barcelona. We can’t be too angry at him, good luck to him. Some fans believe that he isn’t good enough for Arsenal and should leave, well your wish has come true. Apparently his attitude was a disgrace, oh well.

Cazorla played amazingly well against Sunderland, a mid table team. He should be able to play like this against top teams. Stoke may be a challenge as they are tall and tough. We didn’t get anyone like him last season, and he is a mix between Nasri and Fabregas, a quality player.

We also have Podolski, a player who has started slowly. He was started upfront on his own, a place that he can play although his preferred and possibly best position, is too play behind the striker. Why he and Giroud weren’t played together I don’t know.

Oh so Giroud missed that chance against Sunderland. His debut, first proper shot, on his right foot, not the easiest shot!

The position Arsenal are in now, is potentially a strong one. We have lost one injury prone player who has had one good season in eight years, who has now gone to a team that will not be based around his qualities like we were last year. He will just be another player at Man United. We have lost a defensive midfielder who is not the best defender and attacker, but can occasionally provide some assists. Personally I believe that Song, isn’t the biggest loss. We have signed three players, one who really have shown his quality, Cazorla. He has been tipped as the signing of the season by Wenger, and if he plays with the same quality against Stoke in which he did against Sunderland, people may start to notice him and agree.

We have been bombarded with different news regarding Sahin, it has taken more twists and turns than a horror, it isn’t ‘Who is the killer?’ but more like ‘Who will he sign for?!’. We brought him into the light with the proposed loan deal, but it wasn’t finalised because of the option to purchase him after the loan deal ended. Then news was announced that Liverpool hijacked the deal and he was going to be loaned to them, as Liverpool were more flexible on the option to buy him at the end of the season. Then we hijacked Liverpool’s deal to loan him, as Wenger phoned Sahin up directly and discussed the matter to him in Turkish, and the promise of Champions League football ultimately attracted him to join Arsenal instead of Liverpool. Sky Sports and BBC ‘understood’ that Sahin was due to have a medical today. A few hours ago sporting websites reported that Sahin’s deal with Arsenal had fallen through and he is now joining Liverpool, the same websites that reported that Sahin has passed his medical at us! Why is every single Arsenal transfer so painstakingly long? Until there is the headline on the Arsenal website reading ‘Nuri Sahin Join’s On Loan For 2012 / 2013 Season’, I am ignoring any reports on even Sky and BBC, unless they have a picture of him arriving at Arsenal (And not a fake one, there are already a few out there!).

We have already been linked with Tiote to replace Song, with the money acquired from the purchase of Song. We were linked with him a few months ago, as well as Chelsea and Manchester United. I would link to see Tiote join us, as he can be a real midfield general, something Song wasn’t. Walcott has also been linked with a move away from Arsenal, and we have already been linked with dozens of replacements. Jesus Navas most notably and recently. I did a quick little internet search on Jesus Navas on Google. On the right is an extract from Wikipedia, showing a picture of him, his age, place of birth, and a small paragraph about him. It told me that he played for English Premier League Club Arsenal FC. I immediately went onto our website, nothing. Today Navas has claimed he knows nothing regarding him being linked to Arsenal.

The major downside of being an Arsenal fan is that we can’t have a nice clean buy, for example Rodwell’s transfer to Manchester City. One story came out that Rodwell was being approached by City, a day and a bit later, conformation Rodwell had joined them subject to a medical. We were linked with Arteta before last years deadline day, but we made an approach for him on deadline day and even then we were told that we had dropped interest in him, then a few hours later made another offer. Another example is M’Villa. He has had about three medicals at Arsenal according to some website.

But this all proves something. Wenger may have learned his lesson. He has already bought three players, all arguably world class, but he has said on the Arsenal website that the amount of players coming in depends on those that are going out. Well Cazorla joined after that, and then Song left as well, as we already knew Van Persie was going. M’Villa, Navas, Tiote? Yes please to them all. We are in a much better position compared to last year. We signed Arteta and Chamberlain, the only ones that worked really, Mertesaker Park didn’t really, and we have split opinions over Gervinho. The same with Santos. I liked Santos a lot, although not Gervinho as much. But this year maybe different, if we sign two out of those three players, we would have a really good team, with a lot of potential, although they would have to have a few games to all gel together. We have never had that really, and it is something I am looking forward too. Last transfer deadline day, I was worried that we wouldn’t sign Arteta and / or lose someone as important as Vermaelen or even Song! All I can say, is that I am really excited for this deadline day, as that is when Wenger seems to attack the market, as no clubs can steal the transfer, the club selling the player has too say yes or no, and quickly, so the Sahin transfer situation couldn’t happen (Well it wouldn’t take so many twists and turns).

Under a week left too go before the end of this awful yet great, and possibly going to be an amazing, summer transfer window. What will happen before it closes I do not know, although if I was asked if I would like to know what will happen, I would say no, I love the drama of seeing all of the news headlines, and watching the sports news at ten o’clock, a few hours before the windows closes, and hearing about all of the possible transfers that have to be finalised for the window closes.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, it isn’t over until it is over, and anything could happen, lets just hope that we get the signings we have been linked too, and possibly need. Good luck Arsenal fans, it is going to be a bumpy, bumpy ride to deadline day…

Written by Miles

This post was submitted before the news broke last night that Kyle Bartley is off to Swansea so ignore him.

It would take a lengthy surf of my memory banks to find a transfer window where Arsenal have added more maturity and strength to the team, pre-season games have shown that in Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla we have added three outstanding international players to our squad.

Of course it would not be Arsenal if we did not have a snummer saga to contend with, I think that Tony Adams must have left a curse on the Captains arm band as yet another Captain has decided to do his gardening elsewhere. This time it’s van Persie who feels that the grass at the Emirates is not being fertilized enough to meet his personal “higher than mighty” standards of green” – I’m not sure if that’s green grass or green cash?

We have proven before and we will prove again that – it’s not the player that makes the team – but the team that makes the player, when will they ever learn?

Arsène obviously knows the players skill sets more intimately than us fans but that does not leave us without an opinion on the Arsenal squad – now does it? I’ve put together a chart showing both our 1st team squad and our reserves and youth players. I pulled the data from Arsenal.com so it should reflect the current reality.

Here’s your chance to be Manager for a day and determine our 1st team squad for the 2012/13 season.

Here are the squad rules.

1. The team must name 25 players before September 1st.
2. The team must contain at least 8 home grown players.
3. If the team names less than 8 home grown players then the total squad is reduced by the amount of players lesser than the eight.
4. The team can only have a maximum of 17 over 21 year old players.
5. The team can have an unlimited number of under 21 year old players.

These are the players:

Average age of first team players: 25

 Average age of reserves/youth players: 17.94

 Written by GunnerN5

When Henry was made captain, everyone agreed.  He was our best player, at the time and arguably ever. When Fabregas was made captain, almost everyone agreed. He was our best player at the time. When van Persie was made captain, people didn’t really know what to think, and personally, I still don’t know what to think. I personally believe a midfielder should be captain, due to them being the link between the attack and defense.

My favourite captain apart from Tony Adams, who was our most successful captain ever, was Vieira. He controlled the game, he then defended and attacked. And he wasn’t quiet like Fabregas and now Van Persie are. He would scream at players he thought were lacking concentration and weren’t in the game. He was a leader, even though he seems to have abandoned the team that made him for €ity, just for the pay cheque, some of my respect for him has gone I’m very very sorry to say.

The major contender for the captaincy is Vermaelen. The centre back that joined from Ajax, where he was captain, in 2009. Ever since joining Arsenal, he has caused a fresh argument for Premier League fans to have, who is the best centre back in the league? Every Arsenal fan surely says Thomas, because he is. Vidic is over rated, end off, John Terry is good, ignoring personal matters, he’s good, but getting on a bit now, Kompany, ok he lead his team to the league title, but millions of pounds were invested in that team. In my opinion, he shouldn’t even be in the argument.

Vermaelen acts like a leader. He has been sent off once, against West Ham, which wasn’t a red card! When he was injured during the 2010 / 2011, he made two appearances, the last two games of the season, a defeat to Aston Villa, and a draw against Fulham. Against Fulham, he played better than Vidic and Terry had the whole season, I remember him blocking every attacker, and clearing it off the line with ease. We struggled the whole season, as he was our only solid centre back at the time. We would have still struggled with two solid centre backs, he would have improved them who ever they are, Vidic, Terry or Pique.

I believe Vermaelen should be captian, vice captain already, so is Wenger’s prime candidate for the captaincy, and to be honest he deserves it, but would he need it, or could the whole squad benefit from someone else having the captaincy?

Mikel Arteta. Some fans had questions over his signing on deadline day in 2011. Well, what can we say almost a year later? One of Wengers best signings of the decade, up there with Fabregas and Nasri. He controlled the games for us, something Nasri didn’t, and couldn’t do probably. When he joined Arsenal, he said he wasn’t bought to replace Fabregas, but I think he has to be honest, and we couldn’t have bought anyone who would have played better for us. After ten eleven games for us, he was an integrated part of Wenger’s Arsenal set up. He is going to be a major part of the team for next seasons title challenge.

I believe Arteta, along with his developed partnership with Song that won us almost seventy percent of our games (Arteta didn’t play a few games due to injury), link the attack and defence, and can lead a team that may have three new starters and youth in, who need leadership. Arteta has been in the Premier League for seven years, as long as any other player in our squad. This means he has experience, more than Arteta. He has so much experience and quality, he was voted Sky Sports midfielder of the year in 2007, beating Ronaldo, Gerard, Fabregas, Lampard etc. We was voted Everton’s player of the year 2006 and 2007, and Everton’s Players Player of the year 2006, as well as North West player of the year 2007. I know this means nothing, but he knows seven languages as well.

I heard a story about Arteta, about when he first joined Arsenal. He noticed that when the players were relaxing and had their own time after training, how the squad would split up into separate groups, something he believes lowers the teams chemistry on the pitch, and addressed Van Persie about the problem. If anything was done about it I do not know, but this shows a sign of a leader. Worrying about the teams togetherness off the pitch, not just on the pitch.

I believe he is a very strong contender to be captain, Wenger surely must discuss it with him, he will defiantly make him at least vice captain. The simple fact is, Vermaelen leads the squad naturally, he does it now, even if he isn’t captain, but Arteta would feel he could say something to lead the team, although can’t now too much due to him only being at Arsenal for just over eleven months, and not being the captain.

There are other contenders for the captaincy, Song for example. Song has been in the team for seven years, and is also a integrated part of the Arsenal set up. He controls the game like Arteta, he provides amazing assists, and is rarely tackled on the ball. He can also play at centre back when asked, and regularly goes and defends when the other team are attacking. He then starts the attack. This is a vital part of Wenger’s set up, and he may deserve the captaincy in some peoples eyes. There are emerging rumours of Song moving to Barcelona, hopefully there is no truth in it, and if there is truth, that he would be loyal to the team that have given him everything. Something Van P€r$i€ hasn’t done.

Other candidates for the captaincy include Sagna, Koscielny, I’ve heard someone say it should be the player bought to replace the current captain, Giroud! Sagna firstly, has been at Arsenal since 2007, and has been our best defender apart from Vermaelen for a long time. Since his arrival, he immediately became our first choice right back. When he has been injured we have struggled, although that could be due to us not having a solid second choice right back, usually a centre back has to fill in, and in the game against Sunderland, as he broke his leg, Koscielny. He is a great player, one of the best right backs in the league. He doesn’t score yet although he does provide some great assists. He doesn’t seem to be very vocal on the pitch, but seems to concentrate a lot so can’t worry about speaking to other people. This is the only reason I personally wouldn’t make him captain, although he may deserve it.

Koscielny joined Arsenal in 2010 in July, only a few days after the window opened. He started poorly, getting sent off against Liverpool. His season began to have highs and lows, scoring against Bolton, but the lowest of lows was against Birmingham. We had barely got through against Ipswich, having to play Fabregas against them, embarrassing. Leading up to the game, every one said, watch Zigic, his height will cause the smaller defenders trouble. He scores. Van Persie pulls us back into it, but in the 89th minute, a mix up with Koscielny and Szczesny meant we lost the game and our trophy drought continued.

But then last season changed for the young French defender. The whole team were at fault for the poor start of the season, but when the team began to gel, Koscielny and Vermaelen’s partnership really became apparent, and Koscielny changed from a vulnerable young defender, to a strong solid player. He had to play on the left on the right for some games due to all of our full backs being injured at the same. He dealt with his well, although Mertesacker left a whole in the centre of the defence, for example Norwich.

The defence lined up ‘Koscielny Vermaelen Mertesacker Santos’. When Norwich scored it was due to Mertesackers mistake, but when Koscielny saw what was going on he moved across into the centre to help out the centre backs, while protecting the right flank. Captains actions surly? Once again, the only reason I wouldn’t make him captain is because he doesn’t seem to shout orders out in a game like Vermaelen. Team have more than one vice captain, he could be one along with who ever isn’t captain, Arteta or Vermaelen.

I would really make Arteta the captain, due to Vermaelen leading from the back anyway. He is a solid player and even though he hasn’t been at Arsenal for a year, he deserves it. He is the perfect player to have it, as he will be able to tell the players how they can improve their performances on and off the field. I hope that either Vermaelen or Arteta is captain, they both deserve it and Wenger has defiantly got to consider both of these players. Hopefully the next captain won’t leave, and lead us to a trophy. Van Persie is, and I suppose soon it will be wasn’t, a good captain anyway. A striker should never be captain, especially a very un-flexible one like Van Persie. I think Giroud will be better than him, so I personally say good riddance to him. We don’t need the money from his transfer, we should keep him sitting on the bench next year and someone can have him for free, a 30 year old, injury prone and will have no resale value and will want £200,000 a week. He will never be bigger than Arsenal.

Written by Miles