Arsenal vs Man United preview

This game was meant to be the match which could've seen Arsenal overtake Man United in the league and hopefully win the title. Instead it's a must win for very different reasons. 3 points could see us go level on points with Chelsea providing the lose to Spurs but a draw or worse means Man City could get even closer to us and fourth place would be a terrible end to the season.

Form

Man United have won the last 6 games against Arsenal. However only two of them were at the Emirates and they both finished 1-3. The other three games between these clubs at the Emirates ended 2-1, 2-1 and 2-2 so the overall record is W2 D1 L2.

Arsenal at home this year haven't been the best, losing to Newcastle and West Brom to name the worst performances but United don't have an impressive away record either. In fact the Devils have won just 5 games on their travels. 

Wenger has won 15, Ferguson 20 with just nine draws in the managers 44 games against each other. 

Team News

Arsenal - Despite Vermaelen making his return for the reserves, he won't feature as it would be too big a risk considering the length of his absence. The only other players ruled out are Fabianski (shoulder) and Diaby who hasn't shrugged off a calf injury in time for Sunday.

Man United - Fletcher was another player to play in the reserve match between these clubs and he may play some part of the game. As for Berbatov he is fit to play after missing the last three games. Scholes is suspended.

Likely line-ups

Arsenal

                 Szczesny

Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy

      Song, Fabregas, Wilshere

     Walcott, Van Persie, Nasri

Wenger will probably name the same squad that lost to Bolton unless he decides to play Bendtner/Chamakh to help aerially as Robin is likely to leave the United box often and when he is in there, Vidic and Rio will head away most crosses.

Man United

                 Van Der Sar

    Rafael, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra

        Anderson, Carrick, Park

Nani, Hernandez/Berbatov, Rooney

United's starting 11 is harder to predict as Sir Alex has rotated in previous weeks. In defence it will either be Rafael or Fabio but the big question is who to play in attack. Berbatov has recently been injured but still has 21 league goals tos his name. Hernandez, on the other hand, is in top form and has been playing well with Rooney.

The last time Arsenal won 2-1 vs United

My Prediction

Draws aren't very common in games between Arsenal and Man United so I'm going for a 2-1 win to the Gunners. Arsenal will need to shoot from outside the box tomorrow as Vidic and Ferdinand will beat Van Persie to most crosses. Elsewhere if Hernandez starts then Djourou and Koscielny will have to be on top form. Nasri and Walcott will have to track back a lot as Rafael and Evra are very attacking but hopefully Arsenal will be victorious once the final whistle blows.

Chelsea are 3 points ahead of Arsenal with Tottenham and Man United as their next two games so should Arsene Wenger and his side beat the Devils, second would definitely be very realistic. On the other hand, if they fail to get 3 points then Man City, who are 5 points behind with a game in hand, would be ready to pounce into the automatic Champions League spot.

Pictures from Arsenal.com. 

Who's ready to step up?

With the title now virtually impossible all we can do as fans is hope next season will be better. By better I mean actually win something instead of falling at the last hurdle. Despite Wenger having £40 million at his disposal, I'd be surprised if it was spent. Wenger is likely to remain with his youth policy and so if a young player is going to step up and be a bigger part of the team next year who could it be?

Many of the younger players have been sent out on loan this year to gain experience and the player to have played most regularly is Pedro Botelho who has played 32 times this season for Cartagena. The left back may finally get his chance next year having been an Arsenal player since 2008. Unfortunately he has been unable to get a work permit and so the Brazilian is still awaiting his debut. Botelho has shown great pace and flair during his time in Spain and even though he's a full back, he has managed to get on the score sheet 4 times. What's more he is quite tall for a left back at 6ft 2in so can be useful in the air as well. I look forward to seeing Botelho in an Arsenal shirt and with Clichy stalling over a contract extension Wenger may look to the 21 year old.

Another left back currently on loan is Armand Traore who has started 9 games for Juventus. Also 21 Traore has played for Arsenal and adds to the current talent in that position with Gibbs also wanting more game time. 

Bartley vs Olympiakos

Also in defence is Kyle Bartley who unfortunately had to end his loan at Rangers due to injury. Just 19, the English centre back has already impressed while on loan at Sheffield United and the already mentioned Scottish team. Bob Wilson (ex-Arsenal keeper) has recently been quoted to say "There has to be a more British feel to the team." I can only agree with that and so maybe Bartley is the answer. With Arsenal currently struggling with set-pieces and Bartley being 6ft 4in, the commanding centre back could play a big part in the team next year. 

Now to Vito Mannone. The Italian was 3rd choice keeper at the start of the season so was loaned to Hull City to get the experience needed to push for no.1. Unfortunately injuries have limited him to just 8 appearances but in those games he has kept 5 clean sheets. His rise to fame came against Fulham last year when he played brilliantly and helped Arsenal to win the game. Should Almunia be sold in the summer, Mannone could be needed and what a dilemma Arsene would have, deciding who is to be the first choice keeper.

More attacking players now with Vela, Lansbury and Miyaichi all currently on loan. Vela is the most experienced and his 2 goals have been very important to West Brom's survival. As for Lansbury, it was a dream for him to score on his debut against Spurs. They will both be looking for more playing time next season but what about Miyaichi? This young Japanese impressed at trials and Wenger was able to be the manager to sign what could be Asia's best ever player. At the moment he is on loan at Feyenoord where in his first game was named man of the match and if that isn't enough to wow you then how about this. The Dutch media has recently given him the nickname "Ryodinho" after comparisons to Ronaldinho. Ryo, who's preferred position is winger, has already played 24 times for the Japanese U17's and U20's scoring 6 goals in the process. A real talent is what we have here and we could see Miyaichi in an Arsenal shirt in pre-season then hopefully also in the Carling Cup.

Frimpong vs AC Milan

My final young star to talk about is Emmanuel Frimpong. Him and Wilshere are great friends and were meant to be a midfield partnering for this year only for a knee injury to rule Frimpong out for the majority of the campaign. The defensive player who is very similar to Song has great strength and energy and I'm sure many supporters would rather see him on the field than Denilson. Correct?

That's me done without even talking about Sanchez Watt, Eastmond, Coquelin, JET plus a few more. So if Wenger isn't going to spend then this is what youth has to offer. Personally I would love to see Botelho, Bartley, Mannone and Frimpong all play 5-10 games next year as they have the potential to be excellent players. I would've liked to have put Miyaichi in that list but another loan move in January could be more beneficial. 

Thanks for reading...every page view is appreciated very much.

It's Over...but it could've been very different.

Sunderland, Tottenham, Braga, Wigan, Ipswich, Newcastle, Leyton Orient, Birmingham, Liverpool and Bolton. That's a big list and there's a connection linking all the teams. That similarity is Arsenal have conceded goals against all of these teams in the last 12 minutes. This lack of concentration has cost us 10 points in the league, a Carling Cup final, and embarrassing results against Braga, Ipswich and Leyton Orient. This is inexcusable to say the least. That list doesn't even include poor results such as West Brom home and away. 

The warning signs were they from the start. In the Emirates Cup, the Gunners drew to AC Milan because of a Pato goal in the 77th minute and then nearly slipped up vs Celtic when Murphy and Ki scored within the last 18 minutes. Yet despite this no-one really took much notice and the Premier League campaign began.

I start with Sunderland away (Sept 18th). After Fabregas had put Arsenal ahead on 13, Arsenal were heading for a 5th straight win. Rosicky had the chance to make it 2-0 from the spot only to sky his shot. The clock was counting down, the game was nearly over. However in the fourth minute of added time Darren Bent snatched a point for the Black Cats. Disappointment number 1. 

Two months later and Spurs visited the Emirates. By half time Arsenal were 2-0 up only to end up losing the game 3-2. Kaboul won the three points for Tottenham with a 85th minute winner. 

2 days later Arsene Wengers team had the opportunity to qualify for the next round of the Champions League. Braga kept Arsenal at bay for 80 minutes then broke the fans hearts when Matheus scored goals on 83 and 90 minutes.

More late goals came when Arsenal played Wigan, then Ipswich in a two week period. Squillaci scored an own goal in the 81st minute against the Latics then Priskin amazed all of Ipswich when he slotted past Szczesny at Portman Road.

My next example is a very memorable one; Newcastle away. Leading 4-0 at half time, the 3 points looked wrapped up. Diaby then got sent off and Djourou was subbed after getting injured. The collapse had begun. Arsenal had conceded twice but with just 10 minutes left, most supporters wouldn't have predicted a 4 all draw. Barton scored a penalty on 83 then Tiote scored a fabulous equaliser on 87. Two points lost.

Then there was the cup displays against Leyton Orient and Birmingham. Jonathan Tehoue's 88th minute goal sent the game into a replay and we all know what happened at Wembley.

Finally and most recently there's Liverpool and Bolton. These two games have contributed to another frustrating season. Kuyt in the 102nd minute stopped Arsenal moving closer to United and a late Tamir Cohen goal put the final nail in Arsenal's coffin. 

10 games, 10 very terrible games for Arsenal. Had the Gunners not conceded the 12 mentioned late goals, we could be in a very different situation. We could have lifted a trophy, avoided Barcelona in the Champions League and definitely be much closer to Man United. Instead it's another season without success. So surely the time is now to buy a centre back who will fight for 90 minutes and a commanding midfielder able to lead the team to happier times? Go back a few years and would previous teams had lost/drawn this amount of games because of a failure to hold on?  This problem needs addressing and hopefully Wenger will eventually give into what most want. Maybe 2012 will be Arsenal's year.

My next post will be another reason why Arsenal failed to win the league so watch out for that.

Transfer Rumours 2/2 - Who's leaving the Emirates?

Yesterday I posted who may be signing for Arsenal in the summer but today is who might be leaving.

I start with Manuel Almunia who this season has lost the right to be number 1 goalkeeper. He also has a knack of getting "injured" after poor performances such as West Brom in September. He has only made 8 Premier League appearances this year and with Fabianksi and Szczesny both determined for regular football, the Spaniard may be offloaded. However Almunia is nearly 34 and has been trusted with the captains armband on occasions so Wenger may decide that his experience could be valuable in the dressing room. Not many support our current no.1 but if you saw the Barca game, when Szczesny went off after injuring himself, Almunia kept us in the game with some brilliant saves. So there are both positives and negatives to keep the keeper but will his lack of consistency see him offloaded? Obviously Lehmann will hang his boots up for the final time at the end of the season and the only other keeper to have his future questioned is Mannone, currently on loan at Hull. He was third choice keeper last season and so was loaned out to gain experience. The question is will Wenger find a Premier League club wanting the Italian on loan or will he decide to hold on to him and let him play in the Carling Cup? This decision may rest on what happens with Almunia so a close eye should be kept on this situation.

To defenders now and this is most likely position to be strengthened and so if it is are any current players likely to get the chop? The player with the most speculation has been Clichy who is apparently wanted by both merseyside clubs and some from abroad. If the left back decides to leave then Gibbs would surely just step in and Traore would be second choice. Yet there is no reason for Clichy to leave as he has as much chance of success here than at any other club interested in him. The only other player I could see departing London is Eboue who had won the fans back until Liverpool where his decision to foul Lucas may have destroyed our title hopes. Some may argue the Brazilian dived and time was up but still with his experience he should have just ushered him out of the box.

The centre of the park may see a big clear out with Wenger having lost patience with some of the team. Up to six players have all been rumoured with moves away and I begin with Cesc Fabregas. Barcelona are very likely to try and lure our captain away but I hope along with the majority of Arsenal fans he decides to stay for at least another year. What's for sure is that Wenger will not consider letting go of Cesc for less than £40 million and so because of Barcelona's lack of money the Spaniard is probably going to stay put. What our captain has to think about is that should he move to the Spanish giants he wouldn't be guaranteed a place in the starting 11. Two other players that have been linked with moves away are Nasri and Rosicky but I cant see this happening as Samir has had a great season at Arsenal and Rosicky owes it to Wenger for keeping faith in the Czech captain after his 18 month absence with injury. The final three who may be joining a new club are Arshavin, Diaby and Denilson. None of these players are in our strongest team but are still part of the squad for certain reasons. Arshavin had a great first season and despite not playing regulary this year he still has 9 assists and 6 goals so on his day is very influential. Diaby would have more playing time if it wasn't for injuries and being way over 6ft, I'm sure the Frenchman can come in handy against the taller of teams like Stoke etc. Finally there's Denilson who has also had a disappointing season and may be most likely to leave in the summer. Arsenal have many young players in midfield such as Ramsey, Eastmond, Frimpong, Lansbury and Henderson who will all want to play for the Gunners next year so selling Denilson could help the growth of the younger players.

Lastly it's the forwards and Bendtner is the big talking point. Fans are divided over the Dane; he has scored big goals for Arsenal but then again he can be disappointing at times. My opinion on him is that if he's happy to stay then he can but he must be aware a place on the bench is the best it will get. If not then some German clubs have been interested and could pay up to £10 million which would help finance moves into the club. The only other attacker who we may see leave is Vela. Many thought his loan move to West Brom would help him but Hodgson hasn't bothered playing him so a loan move again next season to a club willing to pick him every week in their line-ups could be of great benefit to the Mexican who is yet to show his full potential.

That's all for who might pack their bags in the summer. Unfortunately the media will spark lots more rumours by June but should any player be sold I would expect someone to step in their place.

Transfer Rumours 1/2 - Who's coming to the Emirates?

With the end of the season approaching, many newspapers start to speculate the futures of lots of players and managers. The Sun dedicates 1 whole page to rumours; this means it can be hard to assess which are possible and which are just there to sell the paper. 

Arsenal will be very much affected by all this gossip as Wenger may finally give in and spend or key players could leave. Either way I will discuss some players wanting an exit from north London or those that may be arriving.

I will start with who could be arriving. Arsenal legends has been urging for a new goalkeeping and centre-half but that's not all. If Cesc leaves then the midfield will need attention and a froward to partner Van Persie may also be on Wenger's shopping list. Today The Sun broke news that Diego Milito will want to leave Inter after their poor season. This may seem realistic but the paper values the 31 year old striker at just £5mil. Should that be the price he leaves Inter for, it would be a great bargain for Arsenal. The only thing standing in the way is Tottenham who are apparently also interested but Milito wants Champions League football so Spurs would have to achieve that 4th spot first if they were to have any chance. 

In the same paper, Arsene will also try to sign Emir Spahic who he failed to lure to the Emirates last season. He currently plays for Montpelier in France and is the captain of the Bosnia national team. Like Milito, the experienced defender could be bought at a low price to bolster our questionable back line. The player has already stated his desire to play elsewhere next season and Arsenal is likely to be his first choice destination.

Away from the elder players and Mamadou Sahko is another possible target. The PSG centre back is only 21 but has already played for France and has nearly 100 appearances for the French club. We all know Wenger likes to his home country for signings and this is what gives Sahko a good chance of moving to London in the summer. 

My final mention of defenders will both be English. Jagielka and Cahill are very much fan favourites to join the Gunners and why not? Both have played for England and I'm sure they would also prefer Champions League football to add to their careers. Being English, they would have the spirit and determination that isn't shown as much in players like Koscielny or even Squillaci and they wouldn't need time to get accustomed to the football either. The only downsides to these two are that a fairly large sum would be required to get the respected clubs to part with key players. £15million may be that sum or even more but is Arsene Wenger going to spend that amount? Only time will tell.

To midfield now and although this is a very strong area in the squad, the manager may have lost patience in some players (Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin) so if there's a clear out, signings is to be expected.

A few names have popped up in the past especially Eden Hazard. The Belgian is very much so the one of the next big stars in football but for him to become known worldwide, he really needs to be at a top club. Due to this potential many clubs like Man City and Chelsea are battling for his signature which unfortunately may work against Arsenal unless of course his preference is the Gunners. Elsewhere there's Gokhan Inler who plays for Udinese. Soon to be 27, the Swiss international has many games under his belt and even captained his national side when they played Spain in the 2010 World Cup.

As for goalkeepers, it is hard to tell whether this needs to be addressed. At the moment Arsenal have Almunia, Fabianski, Szczesny, Mannone and Lehmann. Next season we could be left with just the two polish keepers and maybe Mannone. Is this enough to rely on? Half of me says yes as Fabianski and Szczesny have played well this year but then another half says to me that there isn't enough experience so someone should be brought in. Many names were circled last year such as Reina, Marchetti, Schwarzer, Given, Stekelenberg and even Buffon. All of those I would be happy to see at Arsenal because you only have to look at the effect Lehmann has had so far to see why.

Finally I will talk about Adebayor. Many fans dislike him for what he did when he scored for Man City but I personally think he still loves Arsenal and I can't see him wanting to sit on the bench for the whole of next season so a move would be in his best interest. Adebayor is a brilliant striker who would stay in the box for most of the game allowing Van Persie to drop back slightly or move wide without having a midfielder rushing into the box to replace him.

That's all for who have been rumoured a move to Arsenal without me even mentioning Mertesacker, Conor Wilckham, Baines, Tasci, Diakhate, Arteta, Chamberlain, Willian, Lukaku and many more who have all been linked with the Gunners.

The second part of this article should be done for tomorrow where I look at who might be packing their bags.

Thanks go to Clarkey101, Judy_vansoler, Gooner4Life7, Gooner2194, GoonerGeezer93, A_Arshavin_Fans and AmAl_CeSc for helping with linked players :)

It's now a three horsed race

With United dropping points after a 0-0 draw with Newcastle, Arsenal and (unbelievably) Chelsea needed to maintain the pressure on the league leaders. The Gunners travelled to White Hart Lane and Chelsea welcomed Birmingham at the Bridge.

Despite the north London derby being a great spectacle for all neutrals, the result would please neither of the clubs. A 3 all draw means Arsenal stay 6 points behind leaders United and Tottenham fail to go level on points with Man City. What made the night worse for the Arsenal players and all their fans was that Chelsea beat Birmingham 3-1. This meant that Ancelotti's team go above the Gunners on goal difference and back into the title race.

So Chelsea are very much challenging for the top spot in the league but where does that leave Arsenal? They may need some luck to bring the title to the Emirates but with 5 games left anything can still happen. Now I assess each teams chances of success.

Manchester United
The Red Devils have the best chance of winning their 19th title as they are 6 points clear however they still remain in the Champions League and have a terrible away record. On Saturday they welcome an Everton side which have 5 wins from their last 6 games and themselves are battling against Liverpool for 6th place. Just three days later they travel to Shalke and after that is the big one vs Arsenal. There will be a huge amount of hype to that game and with so much riding on the 3 points it's a must see. The second leg of the Champions League semi finals is on May 4th with Chelsea visiting Old Trafford on the Sunday. They are five huge games for United which will take it out of the players but if they pull through they will be crowned champions. On the other hand, these games could put the two London clubs right on their heels meaning Blackburn away and Blackpool on the last day would be must wins.
Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti ruled Chelsea out of the title on Tuesday, yet 24 hours later they're into second. Like United they have a tricky run-in. West Ham should be an easy win on Saturday although West Ham have had a few surprises this season, their most recent the 3-1 win against Liverpool. A week later they play Spurs and then visit Old Trafford. Tottenham will be battling for 4th but should Chelsea win they could, could go first. Their final two games are Newcastle and Everton which Chelsea failed to beat earlier in the season
Arsenal
Some people may see Arsenal's final fixtures as the easiest but with all the pressure, will they cope? Bolton away has been challenging in the past though the Wanderers will still have the 5-0 defeat to Stoke still in their minds. Next is United which is a must win for Wengers side. Should they win this they will have great belief for Stoke away, Villa at the Emirates and finally the short trip to play Fulham. The Potters may decide to rest key men for the FA cup just 7 days after Arsenal. Aston Villa would surely be safe by then so have nothing to play for and the same would be expected for Fulham.

There's no such thing as an easy end to the season, there will be many surprising fixtures still to come and nothing is certain in the Premier League. Every week will be nail biting for all three clubs but it would be worth it providing your club is victorious at the end of it.

PFA 2011 - Right or Wrong?

The PFA awards were announced last night along with the team team of the year but were they the correct decisions?

Jack Wilshere deservedly won young player of the year after a brilliant first year in the Arsenal midfield. He made his debut for England in August when coming on against Hungary and since then has got better and better. Despite not scoring many (only 1 vs Aston Villa) and getting just a handful of assists, Jack has been very influential to the Gunners with only Song having played more minutes in midfield. Wilshere has great control with the ball, excellent determination and is very versatile. One of his finest performances was the home leg of the Champions League against Barcelona where he finished with a pass completion rate of 93.5%. He has already been compared with Gascoigne and Brady and big things are expected from the young man who I have no doubt will be a future Arsenal and England legend.

Gareth Bale became the fourth Spurs player to win the PFA player of the year...but was this the right decision?

Yes Bale has been a major part of Tottenham's Champions League run with a superb performance against the reigning European champions but what about the league? The Welsh winger has scored 7 goals and has 3 assists to his name. Sounds good but compare that to Van Der Vaart who's scored 10, 7 assists Arshavin with 11 assists and 6 goals and now Bale doesn't look as impressive. Another stat now, Bale's pass completion in the Premier League and Champions League is just 73%. There are many that are better than that; Wilshere completes 87% of passes and in the Premier League alone Denilson's pass rate is over 90%.

The other nominees were Parker, Adam, Vidic, Nasri, Van Der Vaart and Tevez. Parker and Adam have both been their clubs best players but they are both in the relegation zone. Vidic is always consistent, yet only John Terry springs to mind when I think of defenders to win the award. Nasri had a brilliant start to the season but slightly faded away when Fabregas returned to the line-up and I have already mentioned Van Der Vaart. That leaves Tevez who has 19 goals this season, only beaten by Berbatovs 21. Tevez is Manchester City, without him they would have to rely on Balotelli or Dzeko who are nowhere near world class players.

So in conclusion I think Bale was definitely the wrong decision as; VDV has scored and assisted more, Adam and Parker have both been more influential, Tevez and Vidic are always consistent and club captains and Nasri shows excellent skill which tears defences apart. All would've been better winners than the Spurs winger.

Finally I will briefly comment on the team of the year which is as follows:

Van Der Sar

Sagna, Vidic, Kompany, Cole

Nani, Nasri, Wilshere, Bale

Tevez, Berbatov

That is a squad managers can only dream of. That group of players have scored a combined amount of 71 goals with 40 coming from the two strikers. I cannot argue with that squad Van Der Sar is world class, even at 40 years old, the defenders have been on top form in all games they've played, the midfielders have the class to score, beat defenders and are all still very young and then you have the two top scorers in the Premier League.

Thanks for reading. All comments are appreciated.

Keep the Faith

As Andre Marriner pointed to the spot after Fabregas was fouled, my heart couldn't beat any faster. Van Persie slotted it home and it looked as if Arsenal were set to close the gap on United to 4 points. However into the 11th minute of added time Eboue pushed Lucas to the floor; penalty Liverpool. Kuyt stepped up and despite Szczesny going the right way, it went in and the whistle went. Full time 1-1.

With that dramatic end to the game which saw Arsenal drop 2 points, many fans lost all dreams of the title. I, however disagree and think the gunners still have a good chance of winning the Barclay's Premier League. Here's why...

Man United travel to Newcastle on Tuesday with the defeat to rivals Man City still in their minds. This game is a classic in the history of the league and is sure to have a few surprises. After this it's a home game to Everton and then the 1st leg of the Champions League. 

Then it's the big one, away to Arsenal. This could well be a title decider. Ferguson will be back on the touchline but the united players may be a bit tired after playing midweek through-out April.

The fixtures don't get any easier with the home leg of the Champions League against Shalke and the visit of Chelsea 4 days later. I would be very surprised if United were to win all these games and so the last two games could be decisive.

Their penultimate game is Blackburn away who could still be needing some points to guarantee safety and then they host Blackpool on the final day. Don't count Blackpool out of this as they were 2-0 up at Bloomfield road and this game could be the difference between relegation and another year in the top flight of football.  

I honestly believe Man United will only win a maximum of three of those and so Arsenal need to keep the pressure on.

Arsene Wenger's side play Spurs on Wednesday then Bolton on Sunday, both of which are away but Arsenal have the best away record in the league so 'should' get 6 points. Then it's United, and after beating Chelsea at home, why can't we win that game.

The last three games are Stoke away, Villa at home and the Fulham away. Stoke is usually a tricky game but they will have little to play for. Then finally it's Aston Villa and Fulham who shouldn't offer too much of a challenge and Wenger would expect nothing less than two wins from his team.

This week is very important in the title race. By Monday Arsenal could be level on points with United so keep the faith and stay positive.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment, all are appreciated.