Arsenal’s exciting season ahead

June 23, 2014

So, what does that fixture list for 2014-15 look like from an Arsenal point of view?

The priority in August (as we know from previous years) is the Champions’ League play-offs, we need to navigate those safely and without fuss, so we want a pretty tame start domestically.  And with Palace at home, Everton away and Leicester away, we have more or less what we would want.  Not that I’m saying they’re easy games; the visit to Goodison will be challenging, Palace under Pulis will continue to be tough and the Foxes will be excited to be back in the top division.  But it could have been a lot worse.

Things get tougher in September, with games against Man City at home, Villa away, Spurs at home and Chelsea away (on 1 October), as well as (hopefully) the opening pair of Champions’ League group games.

The remainder of October and into November is fine, with matches against Hull (home), Sunderland (away), Burnley (home) and Swansea (away), plus some Champions’ League games and the beginning of the League Cup.  There is then an international break, after which we face Man United at our place and go to West Brom.

The run-in to Christmas is ok, with matches against Stoke (away) and Newcastle (home), but we then have our trip to Liverpool.  There is also the League Cup and the last group stage match in the Champions’ League.  Over the holiday period, we don’t have long trips, with the Boxing Day match against QPR (home) and then to West Ham, but those two matches are in the space of three days.  We then have a midweek, New Year’s Day trip to Southampton. And in January, after the traditional slot for the 3rd round of the FA Cup, we have matches against Stoke (home), Man City (away) and Villa (home), plus the League Cup semi finals and the 4th round of the FA Cup.

February will be a little more testing, with matches against Spurs (away), Leicester (home), Palace (away) and Everton (home), and the 5th round of the FA Cup and the beginning of the knock-out phase in the Champions’ League.  But March won’t be too bad (certainly a lot better than it was last season), with meetings with QPR (away), West Ham (home) and Newcastle (away), as well as the FA Cup quarter final and the continuation of the Champions’ League.

There will be a couple of tasty home matches in April, against Liverpool and Chelsea, but in between those we will face Burnley (away) and Sunderland (home), and there will be the quarter finals of the Champions’ League.

The season will run a bit later than usual, presumably on account of the World Cup.  The FA Cup Final will be at the end of May, and the Champions’ League Final (in Berlin) will be on 6 June.  Our league campaign will culminate with some very winnable matches against Hull (away), Swansea (home), and (for our last league game) West Brom at home, but our penultimate match will be away to Man United.  That could be a very big match.  If we’re still in it, there would also be the small matter of the Champions’ League semi finals

So, no death clusters this time around, but equally shorter runs of easier games than we had last season.  The run-in is pretty good for us, as is the opening.  Depending on how the Champions’ League group fixtures play out (if we get there….) and then how the knock-out phase falls into play, there will be times when we have tough combinations of domestic and European fixtures.  An obvious one will be the Spurs-CL-Chelsea combo at the end of September.  But all in all, things don’t look too bad on that front.

I reckon the draw is pretty good for us, better than last season.  Now just the small matter of the summer’s transfer business……….

Written by 26May

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1930 – The First World Cup

June 21, 2014

The inaugural FIFA World Cup was staged in Uruguay in 1930 and was played from July 13th to July 30th 1930.

1930_World_Cup Final Ball

Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Uruguay all lodged applications to host the event. Uruguay was the eventual choice as they were the reigning Olympic Champions (1928), the country was celebrating the centenary of its first constitution and their bid included the building of a new stadium as the World Cup centerpiece. The Uruguayan authorities also offered to refund the expenses of all participants. The other nations withdrew their bids, and Uruguay was chosen to host the tournament at a FIFA congress at Barcelona in 1929. All matches were then played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the majority at the centerpiece stadium – Estadio Centenario.

1930 World Cup Stadium

The first World Cup was the only one without qualification. Every country affiliated with FIFA was invited to compete, and given a deadline of 28 February 1930 to accept. Plenty of interest was shown by nations in the Americas; Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and the United States all entered. A total of seven South American teams participated, more than in any subsequent World Cup Finals. However, because of the long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean, and the length of absence required for players, very few European teams were inclined to take part. Some refused to countenance travel to South America in any circumstances, and no European entries were received before the February deadline. In an attempt to gain some European participation, the Uruguayan Football Association sent a letter of invitation to the Football Association, even though the Home Nations were not members of FIFA at the time. This was rejected by the FA Committee on 18 November 1929. Two months before the start of the tournament, no team from Europe had officially entered.

FIFA president Jules Rimet intervened, and eventually four European teams made the trip by sea: Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The Romanians, managed by Constantin Rădulescu and coached by their captain Rudolf Wetzer and Octav Luchide, entered the competition following the intervention of newly crowned King Carol II. He selected the squad personally, and negotiated with employers to ensure that the players would still have jobs upon their return. The French entered at the personal intervention of Rimet, but neither France’s star defender Manuel Anatol nor the team’s regular coach Gaston Barreau could be persuaded to make the trip. The Belgians participated at the instigation of FIFA vice-president Rodolphe Seeldrayers.

The Romanians boarded the SS Conte Verde at Genoa for the 15 day voyage, the French were picked up at Villefranche-sur-Mer on 21 June 1930 and the Belgians embarked at Barcelona. The Conte Verde carried Rimet, the trophy and the three designated European referees: the Belgians Jean Langenus and Henri Christophe, along with Thomas Balway, a Parisian who may have been English. The Brazilian team were picked up when the boat docked in Rio de Janeiro on 29 June before arriving in Uruguay on 4 July. Yugoslavia travelled via the mail steamship Florida from Marseille.

1930-FIFA-World-Cup-Captains shake hands

All matches took place in Montevideo. Three stadiums were used: Estadio Centenario, Estadio Pocitos, and Estadio Parque Central. The Estadio Centenario was built both for the tournament and as a celebration of the centenary of Uruguayan independence. Designed by Juan Scasso, it was the primary stadium for the tournament, referred to by Rimet as a “temple of football”. With a capacity of 90,000, it was the largest football stadium outside the British Isles. The stadium hosted 10 of the 18 matches, including both semi-finals and the final. However, a rushed construction schedule and delays caused by the rainy season meant the Centenario was not ready for use until five days into the tournament. Early matches were played at smaller stadiums usually used by Montevideo football clubs Nacional and Peñarol, the 20,000 capacity Parque Central and the Pocitos.

A golden trophy known as “The Goddess of Victory” was commissioned from French sculptor Abel Lafleur.

1930 worldcup trophy

Eventually thirteen teams (seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North America) entered the tournament. Few European teams chose to participate because of the difficulty of travelling to South America. The teams were divided into four groups, with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously, and were won by France and the United States, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0, respectively. Lucien Laurent of France scored the first goal in World Cup history, while American goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas posted the first official “clean sheet” in the tournament.

Action in 1930 World Cup Final

Argentina, Uruguay, United States and Yugoslavia each won their respective groups to qualify for the semi-finals. In the final, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people, and became the first nation to win the World Cup.

world-champion-1930-uruguay-with-the-famous-t-model-ball-1366282901

The 1930 FIFA World Cup is located in Uruguay

GunnerN5

 

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W-enger W-atch

June 19, 2014

Can be pronounced V-enger V-otch, I’m easy on that one.

Tell you what though, our Man in Brazil is having one or two re-thinks. Only last night he texted me this:

cesc v bsr

Ooo la la mon meilleur ami Didite. J’ai vu le match entre les Smokey Dopey Dutchies et Les Espagnols, et zoot alors, ils ont jouer le W-Formation de mon grand pere Herbie Chapman. Peut etre, on va jouer les trois a derriere le saison prochain a Arsenal. Juste pour une blague.

Mon Dieu Didite, qu’est ce, les Espagnols sont fini. Merci Dennis. Maintenant on peut jouer le mix entre le vitesse et pouvoir du style anglais avec juste un tout petit peu du tiki tiki taki. Un peu comme les mangeur des saucisse?

spain go out

Aussi, Didite, tous les equipes jouent avec un sole grand ‘un en haut., mais ils ont tous complete merde. Regarde Fred. Pas exactement “heureux jours” n’est pas.

fred

J’ai entendu qu’il y a beaucoup de chit chat en Angleterre au sujet de Mario Balotelli. Je vous ai dire  c’est mon dernier contract a Arsenal, et, comment on dit on Anglais “I’ll be buggered if I’m not going out with a banging”. Est-ce que mon anglais est correct?

Balotelli

J’aime beaucoup son style de chevaux Mohawk de Mario. C’est surement plus Le Rouge Freddie que Dingdong Frimpong, donc tout va bien.

Dites moi quelque chose Didite, vous etes les grands ballons du chien sur les ticytactics, ou est ce que je vais jouer cet Mario? J’ai vu comment SAF a prit l’autre lunatique Eric Cantona est le transforme a joue juste derriere d’un strikere, mais je vais jouer le Mesut dans la poche, donc je crois que il cera impossible de jouer Mario et Ollie au meme temps.

Ok, a bientot mon ami, je dois frapper la rue.

xxx A

ps For those of you who don’t speak high level eloquent French, Arsene is basically texting his observations, and thoughts on what he may be bringing back to The Arsenal. You seen anything relevant?

écrit par MickyDidIt89

 

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal to appoint a new captain

June 18, 2014

Arsène Wenger is reported to be ready to appoint a new club captain. With the departure of the present incumbent, Thomas Vermaelen, looking ever more certain the position needs to be filled. Thomas has apparently agreed terms with Man U, although so far no negotiations over a fee have taken place.

What should we be looking for in a captain? Well first off he must be an established and regular starter. He needs to command the respect of the players as well as the fans and he must have sufficient standing within the game to be able to communicate calmly with the on-pitch officials.

The two most influential captains that Arsenal have had in their long history have been Tony Adams and Patrick Vierra and so in my personal opinion any candidate would ideally be a centre-back or defensive mid-fielder and thus be in a position to see the whole game.

Our current vice captain, Mikel Arteta is an obvious candidate but as the appointment must be a long term one he perhaps is ruled out.

So I guess what I am saying is that it comes down to just two possibilities, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. Koscielny is a fine player and would make an equally fine captain but overall I’d go for Mertesacker for his general calmness and the stability that he has brought to the team.

I know that a good number of people will be calling for Jack Wilshire to be given the job but as yet he can’t command a regular starting position, although in time I expect him to become our captain and to hold the post for many seasons to come.

Written by Norfolk Gooner

 

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Outstanding Özil Overwhelms Overated Old Portugal

June 17, 2014

New Arsenal marmite man Mesut Özil managed last night in 60 minutes to show why he has the potential to be a superstar or Germany’s own Wayne Rooney. Even though he is their best player he seems to have to walk on water to avoid boos from his own supporters.

He was given a free role on the right where his main focus was being a playmaker and not having to worry about defending. We all know that defending is part of the game but he seemed to relish the freedom he was allowed and was able to weave his magic and cause problems. His diagonal runs were mouthwatering and constantly troubled the Portugal defence.

Obviously playing against 10 men can create more space but that’s not always the case. A more compact defence is often difficult to penetrate but with a world class striker in Thomas Müller and other creative players to link up with Germany, were ruthless.

At sixty minutes Özil was subbed and wore his usual ‘spoilt brat, I want to play on’ expression and there should be no doubting that he’s happy to play for Germany so I think Arsenal supporters should stop seeing this as a sign that he’s not happy playing for us.

As usual social media went into melt down as Arsenal supporters moaning about Mesut’s lack of finishing clashed with others who defended his skills.

Despite Özil’s almost faultless performance it’s clear that Germany are also aware of his penalty taking frailties and it was good to see that he is excused that role.

Could Arsenal’s record signing become a legend and will Arsenal supporters be patient enough to allow him to fulfill his potential?

Written by peachesgooner 

 

 

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England Prove Wenger Right

June 16, 2014

Ok maybe a strange headline in the aftermath of a disappointing result for England at the hands of Italy.

But it was the manner of that defeat that proved yet again why England struggle on the world stage and whilst the 100mph Premier League may all be about guts and courage the International and European game far more often favours the technically better sides who are prepared to keep the ball and wait for openings.

Pirlo outclassed his counterpart Gerard in every department, Gerard may well be an “all action” midfielder but too often he is found out at this level. He does not have the patience or accuracy of passing to compete at this level in the deeper midfield role.

On top of that as soon as an England midfielder got the ball he looked up to see England backsides running away from him, so was left to attempt forward passes through the eye of the needle, rather than the more reliable approach of movement in multiple directions opening defences up by pulling them this way and that before launching the attack in earnest.

So why does this prove Wenger right? Well the sun might shine on a dogs arse one day (as it did for Sturridge’s goal ) but more often than not in Champions League football pace, power and strength is not enough, you need guile, and composure, and that is what Arsene is building, and he is now doing it with English and Welsh talent that are capable of playing that way. Until England managers learn that there is more to football than energy and commitment we will continue to fall short.

He has a squad to play a midfield of Jack, Barkley, Lalana, Rooney and Sterling, surely that would be better than the one that started on Saturday night?

Written by Gooner in Exile

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

Joel Campbell, yes!

June 15, 2014

Arsenal fans have been crying for another striker for a while. We have Giroud, who is good, but a bit lonely upfront. We have Sanogo, who is developing well, but still some way off. Even Ollie has said that another striker will be good. Arsene, you must be looking for one as well.

Right in front of your eyes, Arsene. Joel Campbell.

Joel Campbell

Last year, there were visa issues. But these are sorted out now. He has had to do his time in Olympiakos. He has done this well. Proof? Well, what better stage than the World Cup? Against Uruguay as well. What a star performance! Arsene, sign him now. Make us happy.

We cannot say the signs were not there. He was on the radar. Certainly since his wonder strike against ManUre in the Champions League. And against Uruguay, what can one say.

Joel

We are proud Joel is a Gooner. We are proud of Joel the Gooner. Now is the time.

He is young. Only 21. He is mature. Yes, what more proof do we need? Another loan spell in a PL club? No, I think not. We can develop him inhouse. Joel is ready for the show.

I think now is the time. What do you think, AAers?

Written by arnie

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Who should we follow (or not?) in the World Cup?

June 14, 2014

The lazy silly transfer season is upon us. Arsenal fans have to find some other fruitful pursuit to spend their time, what with nothing but useless transfer talk filling the airtimes and twitter world.

However, this year is a bit different. In the grapevine it is heard that the medieval war ritual of Shrovetide Derbies has been transported amongst the Amazonian tribes. They have invited nations from around the world over to spend a holiday in the deep and dangerous jungles of Brazil, and engage in a competition in the ancient war game of football. What is on offer may be more war than a civilized game, and the environs may be a dangerous jungle. And they even dare to call it a World Cup! Nevertheless, there is a bit of a buzz in the air.

Do ladies and gentlemen of AA care? No, not quite. Nevertheless, there are a few issues.

First, a few of the good guys have travelled to Brazil. Well, slightly more than a few. Of the 736 players (23 players in each of 32 national teams) in the World Cup, the highest proportion (124 players, 17 percent) ply their trade in England (and Wales, whatever that may mean!). This is by far the largest origin for World Cup players, the next highest being Germany (77 players). As may be expected, Arsenal has provided quite a few of these players, 12 players to be exact, or about 10 percent. Which, at a first cut, is good news. We should and of course will be interested in following our own players.

Leagues_wherearetheplayersfrom

Second, there are both upsides and downsides to our players playing in the World Cup. On the downside, potential injuries (fingers crossed, no such bad luck this time!), fatigue and disappointment. But, on the upside, more experience and confidence, but also more appreciation potentially worldwide of the fantastic game that our good guys play. Whichever way you look at it, we have no option but to follow our players in the World Cup.

Third, some other players will hopefully be signed by Arsenal for the next year, and we would are surely want to keep track of them. Here, however, there is a major problem. Given the secrecy with which Arsene and Arsenal handle their transfer business, and rightly so, there will no doubt be desperation to find some Arsenal transfer news. Necessity, as we all know, is the mother of invention! And there will be plenty of such invention of useless transfer rumours.

Every goal-scorer will surely be linked to Arsenal, with claims as to how much better they are compared to poor Ollie. Every goalkeeper making a decent save will be projected as the replacement for Fabianski. Worse still, every right back making a decent cross will be linked to our first choice right back position. Not caring so much about whether our main requirement is for an overlapping right back or one who can defend as well! Then there are CB and DM positions, and the mind really boggles.

Nevertheless, it will be nice to be informed about who potential good players in different positions are, whether they have been linked to Arsenal or not. In fact, one of the major advantages of the World Cup is indeed that we come to know about players from many different countries, and not only the ones that populate the EPL and major leagues in Europe. Further, absolutely no harm in trying to find a good player from elsewhere in the world. How about a Japanese player for a change?

Against this backdrop, chums, let us find out what we can expect from our 12 Gooners in the World Cup and even, dare I say it, identify a few other players and teams that we may like to watch and follow. The Gooners first. 3 each in France and Germany, 2 for England, and 1 each for Belgium, Costa Rica, Spain and Switzerland.

Gunners_in_WorldCup2014

Giroud, Kos and Sagna are included in the French squad. And Arsene is going to be in attendance all through. Exciting! Sagna appears to be more of a back-up, and in any case, is bound for the Northern Oilers. So be it! He has given us a good service and has not been disrespectful. We wish him well. Koscielny appears to be a regular in the French central defence. We hope he will have a good tournament and no injuries, please. The exciting one here is Giroud. Ollie seems to be picking up at the right time, and should play an exciting role in a 4-4-2 combination with Benzema, or perhaps Remy, upfront. Very exciting, not least in combination with the other two. Why, oh why, do we not play with two upfront. Arsene, where is Arsene? Some signings please.

Giroud_Koscielny_Sagna

The 3 Gunners in the Germany team are BFG, Ozil and Poldi. Both Mertesacker and Ozil are settled members of the German team, and Podolski is a highly trusted veteran. In the run-up to the World Cup, BFG has been solid, Ozil has had mixed performances but Podolski seems to be picking up at the right time. Germany are one of the dark horses in the tournament. Who knows, maybe Germany will be the first European nation to win the World Cup in Latin America? Exciting times. Come on you Gooners!!!!

Mertesacker_Ozil_Podolski

The England team has 2 Gooners, The Ox and Wilshere. Should really have been 4, also including Theo and Gibbs. Really really gutted for both. Theo’s injury came at a bad time. I blame the swamps down in N17. Given the poor backline, my conviction is reinforced that the omission of Gibbs was a mistake. Anyway, the good news for Arsenal is that Theo and Gibbs are kept injury free and fresh. The Ox could really have been one of the young stars in Brazil. Lallana is second best, not only in football, but even in the number of letters in his name.

Unfortunately, there is an injury, and worse still it seems The Ox is being rushed back too soon. I hope all will be fine. Jack is not expected to feature that much. In any case, there is such a lot of negativity surrounding the team, and Jack’s keenness to try too hard, I hope he does not play that much. As usual England has conceded defeat even before they started, not least in Greg Dyke’s statements about the quality in the squad and complaints about having the play in the “jungle”. Eh? Whichever way you look at it, it is better England swallow their pride and return home soon. Hopefully without too much damage to the players. I am sad to say this, but I sincerely feel this way.

ox and jack

The Spanish team is exciting as well. Santi is a senior pro in the team, but given the wealth of talent in the Spanish midfield he is expected to provide cameo roles. Come on Santi! We wish Spain well.

Cazorla

Verms is selected for a Belgium team that looks tasty as well. Unfortunately, as in Arsenal, he is not first choice in the national team as well. However, he is a senior member of the squad, something like a vice-captain to Kompany. Like the FA Cup, he may yet lift a trophy as well. No, that is taking it perhaps a bit too far! Anyway, good luck to Verms. Stay fit, please.

Verms_Belgium

The really exciting one is Joel Campbell. He is a star in the Costa Rica team, and I for one will have to support him in the game against England. Still an exciting prospect, his strike against Manchester United for Olympiacos was simply superb. Come on, Joel. Make a case for Arsenal organising a work visa for you this time round.

Campbell_Costa Rica

Last but not the least, there is Djourou. Johann has spent the last season out on loan at Hamburg, and is selected for the Switzerland squad. He is not expected to get that much of play time. Nevertheless, well done and good luck!

Djourou_Switzerland

And finally, there are the on’s who are prospective signings. What of Balotelli, Mandzukic, Aurier, Draxler, Remy who are doing the rounds in the gossip columns, and even the likes of Cesc and Costa who have dropped out. Exciting prospects? Let us find out what is on offer.

So here is the full line up.

Brazil: Entire team, really, especially Forward – Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg)

Croatia: Forward – Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich)

Spain: Goalkeepers – Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Napoli); Midfielders – Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona); Forward – Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)

Netherlands: Forward – Robin van Persie (Manchester United), just to wish 1,000 ill-fortunes upon his house, and to laugh at his misadventures.

Colombia: Goalkeeper – David Ospina (Nice); Forward – Jackson Martinez (Porto)

Ivory Coast: Defenders – Serge Aurier (Toulouse); Forward – Gervinho (Roma), just because we like the guy!

Uruguay: Forward – Luis Suarez (Liverpool), just because we love to hate the chap!

Costa Rica: Forward – Joel Campbell (Olympiakos, on loan from Arsenal). Come on, Joel!

England: The whole team, but especially Midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) and Jack Wilshere (Arsenal). COYG!

Italy: Forward – Mario Balotelli (AC Milan)

All defenders and forwards in Group E, particularly in France and Switzerland, not least because Arsene will also be watching them closely.

Switzerland: Defenders – Johan Djourou (Hamburg, on loan from Arsenal), Philippe Senderos (Valencia). Come on Djourou!

France: The whole team, really, but in particular, Defenders – Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal, but Northern Oilers bound); Midfielders – Paul Pogba (Juventus), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton); Forwards – Karim

Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Loic Remy (Newastle, on loan from QPR). Come on French Gooners!!!!!

Argentina: everyone, they should be a pleasure to just watch and admire!

Germany: entire team, but especially,  Defender – Per Mertesacker (Arsenal); Midfielders – Julian Draxler (Schalke), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal); Forward – Lukas Podolski (Arsenal). COYG!!!!

Portugal: just because it is an interesting team.

United States: Goalkeeper – Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)

Belgium: should be an interesting team to watch, but especially Defender – Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal)

So, chums, what do you think? Excited enough. Bring on the World Cup! COYG!!!!!

Written by arnie

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Carlos Vela: The New Clive Allen?

June 12, 2014

According to reports yesterday the president of Real Sociedad has said that we have triggered our buy-back option for Carlos Vela.

The actual quote (after translation) was: “Arsenal have informed us that Vela would be with them next season.”

On the face of it, re-signing a striker who bagged 21 goals in the Primera Liga and who knows Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal way could be seen to be very good business.

Especially if the much quoted £3.5m buy-back fee is an accurate figure.

The return of little Carlos will no doubt make some supporters groan.

When he was with us he had a reputation as a bit of a party animal, but criticism of his on-field displays was sometimes harsh: it’s not like he ever got a regular run in the team.

Let’s put it this way, if we heard we were buying a 21-goal striker from the Spanish league (but a player of whom we had no previous knowledge) we would all be getting quite excited.

However, even if we have activated our buy-back option, I’m not sure we will ever see Vela in an Arsenal shirt again.

He could well join us “on the books” for a short while only to be moved on for a decent transfer fee or as a makeweight in another deal.

He could become the Clive Allen de nos jours.

For those who don’t remember, Clive Allen was once of the hottest young strikers in Britain back in the late 1970s. So when we signed him from QPR in 1980 – coming off a season in which he scored 32 goals in 49 appearances – we fans were well chuffed.

He was going to link up with Frank Stapleton and Alan Sunderland in what the press were already calling our “SAS attack”.

But the SAS never got out of headquarters. Within a few weeks of being bought, Allen was out through the exit door and on his way to Crystal Palace, with Kenny Sansom coming in the opposite direction. Clive never kicked a ball in anger for the Gunners.

There were rumours at the time that Palace had wanted to buy Allen direct from QPR but, for some reason, QPR did not want to sell him to the south Londoners. So in some kind of murky deal we scooped up Allen before promptly passing him to Palace. Still, it wasn’t all bad since Sansom turned out to be arguably the best left back we’ve ever had.

So what do you think?

Do you believe we have activated our Vela buy-back?

And if so, is he coming back to stay (in which case is he the shiny new striker we’re all expecting, or is he filling Bendtner’s berth as the third choice man)?

Or is he going to follow the Clive Allen path and simply whizz into the turnstile and straight back out again?

(Whatever happens, I hope his career doesn’t follow the trajectory of Allen’s when he left us. Not long after going to Palace he ended up playing in the N17 refuse dump. He ended up there again in an assistant managerial capacity much later, where his main job appeared to be eating doughnuts).

RockyLives

 

 

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The World Cup window

June 11, 2014

With the World Cup in Brazil starting tomorrow, I’m interested in finding out which players you are looking forward to seeing and why. Here’s a list of players I will be keeping a beady eye on during this summers tournament:-

Jack Wilshere (England)

It’s fair to say that Jack hasn’t quite delivered on his early promise just yet. This is mainly due to injury of course, but with Aaron Ramsey having such a breakthrough year, suddenly Wilshere’s place in the Arsenal team looks in jeopardy. If he (and my next pick) can have a good World Cup, then they both have the potential to match Rambos season and push Arsenal onto the next level.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (England)

Another Arsenal player who has had his fair share of injuries recently is Ox. He’s got talent in abundance and looks a real threat with the ball, but he’s yet to cement a place (or maybe more importantly, a position) in the Arsenal side or the national team. If he can have a strong World Cup and get himself a set position, then maybe he will be another who will push on next year.

Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast)

He’s being touted as Sagna’s replacement and it wouldn’t surprise me if we’ve already got a deal in place to sign him. He looks amazing on youtube (as does Bendtner!) but I will be interested to see how he copes on the big stage. Fast, strong, versatile and attack-minded (6 goals, 6 assists this season from RB/CB) he looks like he could bring some real energy to our right hand side. Fingers crossed he lives up to the billing.

Joel Campbell (Costa Rica)

Anyone that saw Olympiacos against United this season will have been very impressed by this young man. He’s a tricky winger/forward who has the ability to beat a man and get a shot off. With Walcott coming off a bad injury, Podolski hit and miss, and Giroud needing help, there is potential for a youngster to get some game time at Arsenal this season. Campbell could be that man. Personally, I’d like to see him get a PL loan to see how he handles the physicality week in week out. England beware!

Luis Gustavo (Brazil)

A powerful defensive midfielder with the athleticism to get around the pitch and the technical precision you would expect from a Brazilian (not the wax!). He has a very underrated left foot and as he admitted himself, he only joined Wolfsburg to make sure he would get in the WC squad, so may well be available after the tournament.

Those are just a few of my picks, but who do you think will shine this summer?

Written by FatGingerGooner FGG

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