Long live Arsene

Morning everyone.

I was planning to round off my review today, but the last two days were so news-packed, that you'll have to wait for the final part till Monday.

The news is both good and bad, so I'll start with the bad pieces.

Sagna has confirmed he will leave Arsenal when his contact expires on July 1st and I have to say, that's a blow. However slim were the chances of Bac staying, it was hard to imagine the Frenchman will never put on a red-and-white shirt again. I've become so used to his presence over the course of these seven years, that picturing our defence without him gives me the sense of irreality.

Whatever path Bac chooses after he's through with Arsenal, I wish him only the best. He's been rock-solid for us, never gave less than 101% on the pitch and his devotion and loyalty have (and never will be) questioned. He leaves us, yes. Does he leave us, because someone else offered him more? Yes. Do I have a problem with that? No.

Unlike Clichy, Nasri, Adebayor, van Persie, etc. etc., Bacary has stuck with Arsenal through the hard times. Unlike the aforementioned players, he's not leaving us at the peak of his career. And, unlike some of the players that has left Arsenal down the years, it's not instant success the Frenchman craves for. If he did, he would have stayed, having won his first major trophy with us.

Therefore, Bac only leaves to make some money to ensure his (and his children's) well-being after he hangs up his boots and I wish him all the luck. I'm happy he's leaving Arsenal on a high. I'd still prefer to see Sagna play somewhere in Europe, rather than pick a club in England, but I won't begrudge him joining City or Chelsea, if he so chooses. Farewell, Bac.

In other (more positive news) Arsene has signed a three-year contract extension.
I've already expressed my thoughts on the subject mere 10 days ago, when I first caught sight of it in the Guardian, so instead I'll focus on the interesting snippets from his interview.

On what this new contract means:

"The club has always shown faith in me and I'm very grateful for that. We have gone through fantastic periods and periods where we have to stick together and every time when that togetherness was tested I got the right response. I think I have shown some loyalty as well towards this club and hopefully we can make some more history. I am sure we can".

Well, I can mostly talk about the bad periods. Or, rather, period. I've started supporting Arsenal in 2005 and when they've won that FA Cup, I was still small too comprehend the enormity of that win. I do not even remember the reaction I had after that final. Had someone told me it would the last trophy I would see in nine years, I would probably not have believed them.

Down the years, I've become used to the feeling of falling just short of a trophy. Champions League final in 2006, Fa Cup final a year later, a loss to Birmingham in 2011, all the excruciating pain I've felt I remember almost too vividly. I could not believe my eyes when I saw these results. We were 1-0 up when I've been ushered into bed in 2006, could not get my hands on a broadcast in 2011 and, unfortunately, had sat through the entire game against Chelsea in 2007, when Walcott's strike was cancelled out by a brace from Drogba. I still hate the Ivorian for that.

And there's always been one person, that has suffered along with me. There were, of course, millions of devastated fans worldwide, but I could not see their reaction, therefore it's hard for me to relate to them. Our manager, however, is an entirely different story. I've seen Arsene endure all this suffering on the touchline, only it was much tougher going for him, than for me. I could always turn the TV off and go around the house punching the furniture, or just lie in bed for hours, staring apathically into the ceiling.

Arsene, meanwhile, could only restrict himself to this, and had to watch his side, the side he's put so much work into, being taken apart time and again, including this year's heavy away defeats. Therefore, words cannot express how happy I am that Arsene has been the one to put this trophy drought to an end. When he lifted the cup, everything he has endured suddenly was thrown into the light. The hard work, the emotional strain and the relief at finally breaking the deadlock were reflected in the look of sheer joy on his face.

However, back to the interview. On whether Arsenal is in a strong position now:

"I believe so because the fact that we have built a stadium, the fact that we have paid a big part of the debt back and the weight of the debt back now is not as strong and heavy as it was before. The fact that the Financial Fair Play rule comes in hopefully will stop [the] craziness that happened on this [transfer] market. With these two [things] together, I think we can fight on a more even level than before".

And that's another side of our manager. Not only did he stay with us through all the hard times, he's guided the Club through them. Arsene had a plan of how to make this club strong as early as 2003 (2002?) and he's persevered at reaching this goal. Arsene knew it would take time, he knew it'll be hard for us to compete for years to come, but he looked at a broader picture. He asked himself, whether he wants to be successful for a short period, or whether he wants to lay foundations for this Club to be successful for decades to come. And I think we all know how Arsene answered this one.

On whether the position the Club is currently in will help him build a new team:

"It's time for another one [to emerge]. It's the start of a new team and I believe [the FA Cup] victory was crucial in that belief. We have shown signs the whole season that we can be a great side and now it's [important] of course to have another successful season. We know we have to… have a successful June and July, that's where you strengthen the team. It's very important that we are good now in the next two months until the end of August, that we can give to the team some more quality and go into next season with the belief we got from [the FA Cup] win".

The mentality this side possesses is, frankly, outstanding. For all the setbacks we had had, the microscope the press had put our performances under, we had responded every time. The comebacks in the FA Cup are prime examples of how psychologically strong this side is.

The more interesting bit comes right after, and is further elaborated by this:

"What I can promise is that we work very hard on a market that is very, very congested with many people who have a lot of money. But we have a big advantage, players want to join us and if we find the right quality I'm sure we can strengthen the team".

Finally, transfers. And you know, I like the sound of it. Sure, it looks a bit familiar, with all the talk of how we will strengthen only in case we find the right players, but it's different nonetheless. For example, Arsene has talked of how we need to sort out the futures of Sagna and Fabianski and he we are. June hasn't kicked in yet, and we already know what will happen with these two. It's not the kind of outcome we had hoped for, but at least we know we'll have to strengthen in these positions. We have a lot of time to do this.

And of all this time, Wenger has singled out June and July to add to his squad. He understands it's important to be ready before the season starts and, as you all know, our first game will take place on August 9th against the moneybags. So let's hope for a productive transfer campaign before that.

Phew, that's it for today. Also, have a look at the rather impressive infographic from the official website, which analyses how well Arsenal faired under Arsene Wenger. Also, check out the latest part of my review, if you missed it, cause there was something wrong with the heading. And I'll return on Monday with an overall review of our season.

Until then, have a good weekend

Season review: part 4

Hello everyone.

Today is the final part of my player assessment, but first a couple of rather important things happened that I just can't ignore.

To start with, Giroud expressed his desire to extend his contract. The Frenchman's current deal expires in two years, but I don't see why we shouldn't give Olivier a new one this summer. I'll come back to this part later, though.

The second bit involves Fabianski. However sad it is, the elder Pole will leave Arsenal this July, when his contact runs out. He will move to Swansea and I do wonder what it means for Vorm, their current goalie. It's not like Fabianski is going there to sit on the bench, is it?

Anyway, that's for Monk to decide. It's his headache, his choice, so the responsibility lies with him only. On my part, I'd like to thank Fab for the work he's put in for us. He comes across as a decent and honest chap, he never threw tantrums of being only a back-up keeper and his professionalism was clearly visible this year. The Pole knew he would leave at the end of the season, yet his form never dipped and it was in large part thanks to him that we've tasted success in the Cup. Farewell to Fab in his new club, I really hope he gets the regular football he so craves for and fulfil his potential. He's got years in front of him to do so.

And now, strikers. Starting with:

Theo Walcott. Sadly, it's been another injury-ridden season for the Englishman. It took Theo some time to find his shooting boots early in the season, his first goal coming in late September/early October (against Marseille). It would be his last up until December, when Theo would make a glorious comeback, punching it two goals at the Etihad. He scored some more goals, became player of the month, then got knackered again, tearing his ACL against Spurs, just as he starred showing glimpses of promise in the central striker role. Never played after that, the Englishman is on course to miss the beginning of new season and he's definitely out for the World Cup.

Nicklas Bendtner. Everyone thought he'd leave in the summer, the Dane has agreed personal terms with some club, only for Wenger to pull the deal at the last minute. Reason? Well, Mourinho is a jerk. It explains a lot, but particularly in this case he didn't allow Arsenal to loan Ba, so we were left without any back-up. Quite why we didn't sign another striker earlier is anyone's guess, but that's another story.

It meant Bendtner stayed and at one point he didn't look all that bad. Goals against Hull and Cardiff got a lot of fans on his side, but the TGSTEL spoiled everything with his stunt in Copenhagen. He was shuffled out of the squad and will leave without playing for us one last time. I cannot say I'll get emotional about Bendtner's departure, though. Had he not been a lazy and arrogant guy that he is, we would not have so many problems getting him off the books earlier.

Yaya Sanogo. A mystery signing to many, we didn't see the Frenchman at all during the first four months. He appeared out of nowhere in January, was handed surprise starts against Liverpool and Bayern and did well, truth be told. Hasn't scored any goals, but his partnership with Giroud proved effective indeed, despite Sanogo still being very raw and Giroud being a striker with limitations.

Still, Yaya is too young to even play back-up to Olivier. I won't be surprised should we loan him out next season, especially if a quality striker like Morata or Remy comes in. However, I did like what Sanogo brings to the team and I'm beginning to understand just why Arsene had signed this guy.

Lukas Podolski. The German pulled his hamstring during his second game of the season and didn't play up until December. Slowly, but surely, he has been building momentum, something that resulted in Poldi starting all the games in May and a couple in April. Scored a lot (12 goals in 27 appearances), but, unfortunately, it's his defensive work rate, that makes Poldi a bench sub. However, no one will deny the German is a devastating weapon, even if he's used sparingly. Podolski confirmed he'll stay at Arsenal next season and it's a good thing he will.

Olivier Giroud. Ah, yes. The Frenchman has been christened one of our most controversial signings and you can sort of see why. Despite the fact, that Giroud has improved from previous season, it's still obvious, he's far from perfect. He's notched 22 goals and 12 assissts in all competitions this year yet he's got one of the lowest conversion rates in the league. The Frenchman has also become a lightning rod for all our failures in February and March.

However, people are overlooking one simple fact: Giroud is not a top-top forward. I don't mean to offend him, hell no, but we should just accept, that the Frenchman has his limitations. Oh, he didn't live up to Lineker's or Carrager's expectations in February and March? How about him not having Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere and Walcott to feed him and make runs behind his back? Or is it just an inconvenient fact that gets in the way of a crappy good story?

Personally, I don't have a problem with the Frenchman. He was pushed to the limit this season and, despite his return not being as great as we would like it to be, he's become integral to the way we play because of his other qualities. Namely, because Giroud is expert of holding up play and bringing other into it with his neat flicks and one-touch passes.

He wants a new deal? Fine with me. I was scratching my head last summer why Arsene only talks of how any striker we bring in would only complement Giroud, but not replace him, but now I get it. It's not his goalscoring qualities Wenger values so much, but rather the way Olivier glues our play together in a way Ozil, Cazorla or Rosicky can not.

It's easy to see, how a quick forward, deployed alongside Giroud can improve our finishing. Even when paired up with raw and inexperienced Sanogo, Giroud seemed much more dangerous, imagine what will happen, should we bring someone like Remy in. That's a topic for another day, however.

Phew, I'll leave at that. Back on Saturday with an overall review of our season.

Until then

Season review: part 3

Hello everyone.

Tomorrow I continue the assessment of how well individual players did this season. And we are moving on to midfielders:

Mathieu Flamini. I've seen a lot of eyebrows raised over this signing back in August, but now but it seems everyone views the Frenchman as a true DM. His ability to shore things up is amazing, as is his his attitude. You can be sure, that if some injustice happened to an Arsenal player, Mathieu will be the first to stand up. There were a lot of cynical fouls from the Frenchman (some of these I rather liked), he's missed quite a few games through suspension (still had an almighty 27 appearances in the league), but his influence was such, that at times we bemoaned his absence from the starting line-up.

Jack Wilshere. Surprisingly, featured less, than Flamini. His season was once again disrupted by injures, but the Englishman will be remembered for his wonder-strike against Norwich. Overally, though, Wilshere was inconsistent in his performances. Sometimes he was the hero (Marseille), sometimes the games have flown him by (Man City). Hope Jack won't get knackered during the World Cup and improves next season.

Mikel Arteta. Unlike Jack, our de-facto captain was the definition of consistency. Started whenever he was fit and played for 120 minutes both in the semifinal and the final itself. The highlight of the season was, of course, his converted penalty against Everton, which the Spaniard had to retake. Also, scored his spot-kick against Wigan during the shoot-out. It's unclear, whether Arteta will stay, but fingers crossed he will. His metronomic passing and overall attitude will be hard to replace.

Aaron Ramsey. Splendid. 14 out of 10. Simply great. The presence of the Welshman at the start of the campaign was what lifted us to the top. With Ozil still settling, Cazorla not at his best due to Confederations Cup and Podolski and the Ox out injured, Ramsey made the difference, scoring and scoring and scoring again. At one point, he was much better output-wise than Giroud, and the Frenchman started the season in flying colours. The Welsh Jesus also helped the defence out, something that resulted in our most brilliant run in years. Then Aaron got knackered and our title bid faded. And then he returned again and scored at least twice, both times against Hull and both were crucial goals. Despite injury keeping him out for three months, I'm positive he'll be voted Player of the Season on the official site.

Thomas Rosicky. The Czech played so great a part, that he managed to bag around 25 appearances by mid-January and was immediately offered an extension. But not the one-year-long-same-terms one. His deal will run for three more years, and his salary will also be substantially increased. This is all the result of his performances, the drive and desire he brings to the team. At times, Thomas seems as devoted to our cause, as invested in the team, that I get the feeling he'll stay with us long after his career as a footballer is over. Best moment of the season? Cup goal against Spurs. It encapsulated everything good about his style of play, the drive, the energy, the desire and, on top of all that, great technique on the ball. His celebration can only be matched with Walcott's 2-0 gesture.

Santi Cazorla. The little Spaniard had a quieter second season, something that may be down to him not having a proper pre-season. However, he stepped his game up in January and kept his foot on the gas till the very end. Scored some good goals along the way, his brace against Fulham and a brilliant I'm-not-losing-this free-kick in the final are the definite high points. Santi also slotted home the decisive penalty against Wigan. Talk about winning mentality.

Mesut Özil. Our star acquisition had a somewhat tame first season, but, then again, who didn't? It always takes time to get used to a new league, so my blood boils, when people suggest he's "nicking a living at the Emirates". The German chipped in with 7 goals and 14 assists and was invaluable in carrying out quick transitions from defence to attack, making it so much easier for us to play on the counter effectively. My only worries about him are that Mesut wasn't able to impose himself in big games, while I also didn't like the way he takes penalties. The first is manageable, he will learn, and as for the second, we have plenty of other capable takers. We should just accept that penalties isn't his thing and move on.

Kim Kallstrom/Abou Diaby. These guys haven't played a lot. Abou only appeared once (against Norwich), so it's fair play to say his contribution was non-existent, while Kallstrom featured a bit more. The Swede even started once (against West Ham, when he played a full game), but his output was minimal due to the fact, that he arrived at London Colney injured. This injury kept him out for a month and then, suddenly, Ramsey was back and we didn't need reinforcements anymore. Kim will return to Spartak, but we still should contemplate bringing in a replacement. Just to be a bit better off number-wise.

Serge Gnabry/Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Just like the previous two, didn't play much, though the reasons were different. Gnabry is still raw, despite catching the eye with at least two quality performances (Stoke and Tottenham), while the Ox was injured for almost the entire campaign. Showed glimpses of his talent in January and February, scoring against Liverpool and Crystal Palace (twice), but, just as he has convinced the manager to deploy him week in, week out, got knackered again. I sincerely hope he will be able to deliver on his promise next season. Same goes for Gnabry, by the way.

That's it for today, I'll be back on Thursday to assess how well our strikers did.

Until then

Season review: part 2

Hello.

Today I thought I'd continue with my squad assessment, but first there are a couple of things to take note of.

First, Arsene has a received something close to £100 million on transfers. It's a considerable sum and I sincerely hope we will spend this money. And not to buy one player on a deadline day. While acquiring Ozil was great and all, the manner was nervy, to say the least. I'd prefer we do our business as early as possible this summer, especially since the first game will be against Man City and the reigning champions will be completely up for the task.

Another interesting bit concerns player departures. The Club has issued a statement, which informs us of four such departures: Aneke, Boateng, Park and Bendtner. Or, as I like to call him, Presidentner.

While the first two players I hardly know of (cause they never made the step-up to the first team), Park and Bendtner are more interesting. As a footballer, the former will always remain a mystery to me, nor will I understand why we have signed this striker back in 2011. I've seen him once on the pitch (as a sub), some even say he's scored once, but the lack of information on him speaks for itself. Good luck to him, though, wherever he ends up.

Presidentner, meanwhile, finally makes his not-so-great exit. We have tried to get the Dane off the books for at least three seasons. He played for Sunderland (did well there), Juventus (rarely featured before injuring his groin) and us, this season. It seemed at one point like he could become a decent backup striker to Giroud, scoring important goals against Hull and Cardiff, then he did his Copenhagen trick and disappeared even from the bench. I still think Bendtner can have some good years in front of him, if he puts in some effort, but I'm relieved we won't have to track his progress and pay his wages. Farewell, Bendtner, wherever you go.

And now, on to our defenders. Starting with:

Kieran Gibbs. Our left-back has had one of his most (if not the most) successful seasons in red and white. Played quite a lot (41 appearance, 7 of them from the bench), was the model of consistency, was wrongly sent off against Chelsea and capped it all off with a save from the line in the final. Injury in February hindered his progress, but I was calm each time Gibbo started on the left. Unfortunately, he won't go to the World Cup (Baines was paired up with Luke Shaw), but, then again, he will be able to get a good pre-season with little to no risk of getting injured.

Nacho Monreal. Though you kinda get the feeling the Spaniard was peripheral to our plans, 20 starts and 36 appearances tell their own story. I still think the majority of these substitute appearances came when Arsene was keen to shore things up when defending a slender lead, but 20 starts remain. Unfortunately, there was a stretch when Nacho was so unreliable, that Vermaelen started on the left instead. However, the Spaniard was at times much more of a threat in the final third, so there were both ups and downs in his career this season. But he's definitely second-choice to Gibbs, mostly because his consistency and positioning leave a great deal to be desired.

Thomas Vermaelen. Our skipper had a hard season. Just thirteen starts, only seven of these in the league and this because he's not nearly as reliable as Koscielny or Mertesacker. Therefore, he was only restricted to when either of them were injured or suspended. The Belgian did well when called upon, though, but our defence just doesn't look rock solid with Thomas in it. He may well try himself elsewhere next season, and who would blame him? I do hope we'll find a proper replacement if he goes, though, to say nothing of the fact, that a centre-back has still to be on our shopping list, regardless of whether Vermaelen goes.

Laurent Koscielny. Well, 12 out of ten. Simply great. Yes, yes, there were some moments of madness involving the Frenchman (Why always him? I suspect, there is something to it), but Laurent has been consistently brilliant. I've lost count, how many different (and talented) strikers he's put in his pocket. From the Dutch Skunk to Luis Suarez, all of them suffered a similar fate. Like everyone else, was taken apart at Etihad (though he came off at 2-1 with an injury), Stamford Bridge and Anfield, but was great otherwise. Also, scored a couple of important (however scrappy) goals, including the equaliser at Wembley.

Per Mertesacker. Same as his French counterpart, but seems less assured with Vermaelen by his side. The German also scored some goals, his strike against Wigan stands out.

Carl Jenkinson. On him it's hard to make a definite judgement. Mostly came on to strengthen the right flank so we can hang on, but had nonetheless started some games. I remember bemoaning his presence in early December (I think), after we've lost Sagna and had to stick to Carl for the games against Napoli (0-2) and Everton (1-1). I thought at the time that we would have fared better with Sagna starting these games, but a week after we played the Toffees Sagna was available and we got smashed by City. Oh, and let's not forget our back-up right-back scored his first goal this season, so he's definitely got potential to make a step-up. Not next season, though.

Bacary Sagna. The model of consistency. Once again had a great season, showed his ability to play at any defensive position and got that piece of silverware for his efforts. Unfortunately, Bacary hasn't agreed new terms with us and it's unlikely he will between now and July 1st. The Frenchman seems to be leaving to play for Manchester City and I'm not going to hold it against him. Unlike Clichy, Nasri, Toure and Adebayor he's leaving at 31 and I can understand why he does it. It's about the money, the money we cannot afford to pay him and, as it's likely to be his last professional contract, I have no problem with it. The best of luck to the Frenchman, he's had seven great years with us and got that trophy at the end.

Phew, that's it for today. I'll be back Monday with a review of our midfield.

Until then

Season review: part 1

Hello everyone.

Though it seems like only yesterday that we've played the last game (cup-winning final against Hull, wasn't it?), news is already on the thin. True, the transfer mill is churning out new names every day, but I'll spare you these rumours. We'll have a full summer to speculate on potential new arrivals, for now I'll just try to put this off for as long as possible.

And this can mean one thing only: season review. I've decided to start with how well individual players did. This review will be broken in four parts, and today I'll concentrate on the first. Which is:

Goalkeepers

Our number one goalie was, of course, Wojciech Szczesny. He's made 46 appearances (2 qualifiers included) and kept 21 clean sheets, 16 of these in the league. This achievement of his was marked with a Golden Glove, thoroughly deserved, in my opinion. Sure, the younger Pole started between the sticks in our big away defeats, but, realistically speaking, he could do little to avert the crisis. Wojciech did his best even then, though.

Speaking of his performances, the Pole came across as calm and composed, commanding in the box when it mattered, coming out of the goal to sweep up (not in the way Fabianski did on Saturday) and was consistently brilliant overall. Made some important saves that ensured we got the points in a number of games. All in all, my pick for player of the year.

Our number featured less, but proved his worth when called upon. Fabianski made only one league appearance, in which he duly kept the clean sheet by stringing together a couple of late saves.

However, Fab cut a much more impressive figure in the cups, where he's made a total 10 appearances, two of these against Bayern in the Champions League.

He could do little to prevent Bayern from winning the tie, but he at least ensured we remained in it till the very end by putting in two decent performances.

I cannot say, how good Fab was in the League Cup (didn't watch West Brom game and he definitely wasn't at fault during our loss to Chelsea), but he was the definite FA Cup hero for me.

Not troubled enough against Spurs (ha) and Coventry (understandable), he emerged as the saviour in the 5th round, denying Suarez and Sturridge time and again. Mind you, it was also a psychologically challenging game, as we've been torn to pieces a week before courtesy to the same Mugmashers. Fab's early second-half stop is, perhaps, the most vital of them all, when the scores were level and suddenly Suarez found space for a shot in our box. The elder Pole ensured we then kept our lead, his save from one-on-one with Sturridge standing out.

Fabianski then was relatively comfortable in the quarter-final, as Arsenal cruised past Everton, but became MoM against Latics in the semi, by palming away two penalties.

He was then played in the final itself, and, while I've stressed a number of times it wasn't his greatest game ever, did his part and got the medal. I still hope the Pole will stay, with that win turning things around, but it's unlikely at this stage.

Oh, we also have Viviano. I would have laughed him off, and raised my eyebrows at the signing, but thing is, I know for a fact the Italian is a great goalie. The fact he didn't feature at all just shows how good those higher in the pecking order are.

When we signed him, everyone was happy, weren't they? We all bemoaned the lack of a proper third-choice shot-stopper and, though it wasn't our most problematic position, greeted the Italian with open arms.  There seems to be a buy-out clause in his contact, but something tells me, Viviano won't stay, after going through the season with no games under his belt. On a happier note, he did provide the most hilarious moment of the season for me, after someone took a photo of the hungover Italian after the Cup final. See it below.

So, that's it for today. Check back on Saturday, I'll be back with the second part.

Until then

Arsene to sign on + transfer rumours round-up

Hello everyone.

The celebrations and all other things linked to them continue among both the players and the fans and I'm completely fine with that. Moreover, as soon as I'm able to get my hands on one of those yellow ribbons, I'll pin it on my shirt immediately. I already have a glorious badge to pin it with.

Among all these festivities, the press hasn't forgotten to keep pressing Arsene on a matter of his contact and his transfer plans for the summer.

On the first one, our manager has (in the immediate aftermath of the final) confirmed he'll stay on and that the announcement will happen soon, cause he's going to the World Cup on June 10th. The Guardian reports it'll be a tree-year long deal, worth £24 million. That means Arsene will get £8 million a year, thus becoming fourth highest-paid manager in the world (unless I'm much mistaken), behind Guardiola, Mourinho and Lippi.

More importantly, however, is that Arsene will have been the manager for over 20 years when this new deal expires and that's a historical achievement. I'm glad the boss will be able to both oversee a new chapter in the history of the Club he's put so much work into, and walk away on his terms when the times comes. That is, after he's sure he's done everything humanly possible to bring Arsenal to greatness. Whatever Arsene's shortcomings are, you'll never be able to find fault with his desire and work rate. He really has done an awful lot for the good of the Club, from bringing in new philosophy to building a new stadium.

On the second subject (transfers, remember?) Arsene said, that first the futures of Fabianski and Sagna need sorting out, before any other players are brought in. This is what Fab said after the Hull game:

"Probably that was my final game for Arsenal football club and I am really proud of that final game. I'm really proud that probably my career [at the club] ends up with a trophy. We will see. In the next few weeks, I will know more. 

"It's difficult [to leave], for sure. But I think my decision is made purely on playing regularly each week. That's the main case for me. This club has been fantastic with me. I really love this club. It's just purely a sporting decision."

And, as sad as it sounds, I can understand the elder Pole. Though this final won't go down in history as the best game Fabiabski played for us (that Almunia-like charge out of the box nearly made me wet my pants), Lukasz had been brilliant for the last two seasons. He's one of the reasons we got to the final, he played a big part in winning it, but he's just not first-choice. I have seen an opinion, that we would not have found ourselves 2-0 down had Szczesny started between the sticks. Wojciech was very much in control of the situation when we played Hull in the league, and that was the result of his fearless claiming of crosses. He was commanding in his own box, elbowing away anyone who stood in his path (our defenders included) and that was why, despite all puffing and huffing from Hull we never really seemed in danger.

Fabianski was less confident when coming out, something that allowed Hull to score their second and nearly tuck away a third goal. And I've already mentioned that terrifying charge late in the game.

Elsewhere, Sagna seems to be in two minds about leaving Arsenal in the summer:

"I don't know...I've been talking with the club for a long time and we'll try to find a solution."

Sounds like there's an outside chance and, in my heart of hearts, I harbour a hope, that the piece of silverware we've just won will help us keep the Frenchman. Realistically, though, he's very likely to leave. There are reports linking him with various clubs, so it may be high time to start looking for a replacement.

Apart from these two, there are also lingering doubts over Vermaelen, Arteta and Podolski, but, as none were mentioned, I suspect they won't be leaving. Or at least that a contingency plan has already been put into motion, so the ones that will go, will be replaced right away. On other possible transfers, Arsene said:

"We have to bring in two or three players to strengthen the squad, that's for sure. Unfortunately, everywhere we go, there are many teams on the market at the moment."

Well, that's how it usually is. Top teams compete for top players and there is only so many of these, even less for sale. If we've brought Ozil in, I'm sure we can cope with such rigours of the market, so I'll go no further here.

Especially because the first sentence is more interesting. If you asked me to pick three most problematic positions (assuming we keep the likes of Sagna and Fabianski), I'd say we need a striker (of a different playstyle to Giroud), a centre-back (having just three is risky) and probably a DM to replace an ageing Arteta. Maybe we can also throw a winger in, for good measure.

In these positions, we've been heavily linked with Loic Remy (who costs around £8 million), Aurier and Richards (from £8 to £12 million) and James Milner (something in the region of £12 million). Let's say their clubs want a bit more and we are looking at roughly £40 million, while we have £100 million available. £60+ million for Fabregas and a centre-back, eh?

However, all of the players mentioned above seem like good enough options for me. They have a lot of experience playing in the Premier League (bar Aurier) and seem like decent and capable chaps. Remy, for instance, was one of the few Newcastle players, who had a good season.

You have to keep in mind, though, that: a) this is all speculation, nothing has been agreed yet and b) Arsene can have his own (and completely different view) on these guys. There's a good chance he won't want to sign them, even if we they are available. And that's fine with me. Arsene knows a lot more than I do, he understands way better, which players can really strengthen the squad and what is good value for money.

So let's see, what he does. Oh, by the way, you can read the full interview here. Give it a go, it's much more interesting, than it appears to be.

Also, check back later this week. If nothing of note happens, I'll be back in a few days for a review of our season as a whole and what part our players, erm, played in it. If something interesting does happen, check back anyway, cause I'll report it.

Until later

Arsenal 3-2 Hull: the Arsenal way

A jolly good evening to you. Though one of the best (if not the best) evenings in my life happened yesterday, the photos from today's parade keep me smiling even as I'm writing this.

Oh, did I forget to say it? WE WON THE CUP! And won it in the most Arsenal-ish way possible. The game last night was Arsenal in a nutshell: from a horrendous start to a superb goal that became the winner, we had it all. I'm still overwhelmed with emotion (I suspect, I'll be for quite some time), so I'll break my review in paragraphs.

The first 15 minutes

God, these were reminiscent of Chelsea and Liverpool defeats. Two quick-fire goals from set pieces stunned Arsenal and were it not for Gibbs match-saving clearance from a corner, the game would have ended before it even began.

While their first goal was clearly a training ground move, it still had a touch of good fortune about it. Had the effort from Huddlestone not landed at the feet of Chester, I don't think we would have found ourselves 1-0 down.

The situation only got worse in the 8th minute. Quinn sent in a cross, Bruce (Alex) out-jumped both Koscielny and Giroud, but his shot was palmed away by Fabianski. Only to then be hammered in by Davies from a rebound. Fortunately, Gibbs came to the rescue in the 14th minute to ensure we remained in the game.

Cazorla's free-kick

Slowly, but surely, Arsenal started to get the game under control. In the 17th minute, Cazorla was bundled over near the box and Lee Probert, in what would become one of the few adequate decisions in the entire game, called a foul against Hull. From a resulting free-kick Podolski tricked the Tigers' defence into thinking he would be the one to take the shot, instead Cazorla did. He fired a screamer of an effort into the top corner and the game was on.

Half-time talk

"The manager's speech at half-time was brilliant. [He told us] to keep believing in how we should do it and keep performing. 

"He told us to stay calm. We had done the most difficult thing, which was to score the first one [after going two down] so now the game was open, we had plenty of time to do it, we could not rush it."

This is what Arteta said post-match and to me this looks like the turning point in how the game unfolded. We had chances to equalise before half-time, but Ozil, Giroud and Podolski all saw their respective shots blocked. Admittedly, those were good moments, but they were far from clear-cut chances we had created in the second half.

The penalties

Yes, you got it right. The penalties. There were several of them (four, to be exact) and they all had one thing in common: all had not been given. Though Arsenal was turning the preesure dial towards the red zone the entire second half, little came off before Sanogo substituted Podolski. Except these penalties.

There was a clear (and deliberate) handball, Cazorla was first tripped and then bundled over and in-between Giroud was held back. Lee Probert either pretended he didn't notice or he's the blindest man I've ever seen. The fact that he's a professional referee (laughable, right?) prompts me to think it's the former option.

A french tandem

When Sanogo came on, the scale of the fight has changed. Hull's defenders were already dead on their feet, the appearance of a 6'5 foot tall machine of a man was what finally cost the Tigers their dreams.

After making his entrance, Sanogo took off some of the load from Giroud shoulders, enabling both of them to create chances by bumping passes off one another. Needless to say, it was the younger Frenchman, who won the corner-that-wasn't for us (poetic justice, Probert).

However, the way these two strikers interchanged got me thinking. Perhaps, Wenger wants to revert to a more traditional 4-4-2 and Sanogo may become that second spearhead. But not next season. He's still a long way from a finished article, so a striker is a must in the summer.

Extra time

We had chances to kill the game in normal time, but Gibbs and Sanogo blasted wide (the former from a killer position), while Giroud saw his two efforts saved by McGregor. The game went into extra time and again we had the upper hand.

Giroud cracked a header against the bar, Ramsey fired a bazillion efforts over and it seemed like Hull was going to see the game out. Luckily, Arsene Wenger and Aaron Ramsey had other ideas.

Our manager brought on Wilshere and Rosicky for tiring Ozil and Cazorla to add some zip and these two played their roles brilliantly, with the Englishman proving his worth in the 108th minute.

Wilshere passed the ball to Ramsey near the box, and a quick interchange involving the Welshman, Rosicky, Sanogo and Giroud saw the latter poke a backheeled pass into Ramsey's path. The first-time effort from the Welsh Jesus explained why he got that nickname.

The dying seconds

We could have made it 4-2, but it would not have been typical Arsenal. Instead, a mess-up from Mertesacker and Fabianski nearly cost us, but Aluko put his effort wide.

THE CUP

We've got it in the end. Our 9-year trophy wait is over, the players got a big boost and already there are reports suggesting Sagna will stay. Winning does funny things to people, eh?

Finally, a word for Wenger. As much as I was happy for the team, I was twice as happy for our manager. He'll get the plaudits he deserves and his relieved and happy face as he took to the pitch after the final whistle was the best reward for me. Arsene guided this team through a dark period, he stuck to the Club and the players and he deserves every bit of credit he can get. See his happy face below.

That's it, my fellow Gooners. Have yourselves a nice week. I know I will.

Cause it's Arsenal

Hull City preview: treble

Hello everyone.

So, it all comes down to this. A cup final. The first one in three years. And, just as it was back then, we're overwhelming favourites to lift the cup.

However, that's where I'd like to stop drawing comparisons with that fiasco. I remember I wasn't able to watch that game, because it wasn't broadcasted (can you believe this?), but I was quietly confident we'd win. You can imagine my surprise, anger and sorrow as a late mess-up saw Birmingham win the cup.

This is what Arsene said on that final:

Look, you can always slip or have a lack of communication. You can never guarantee that will never repeat. The only thing is that what happened to us was in the last minute of the game and that leaves you very, very little time to respond.

Little time indeed, that's why I hope there won't be any such thing tomorrow.

There's also no room for complacency. Hull may have finished sixteenth, we may have beaten Steve Bruce's side twice, and they most definitely will play without both their top strikers (I remind you, Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long are cup-tied), but they are still a Premier League team. Hull have still got to that final, therefore taking them lightly can be costly.

Arsene acknowledges that our status as favourites doesn't guarantee us anything and should not lull us into a false sense of security:

“To be favourites doesn't guarantee you anything. It just means if you turn up on the day of the game with a good performance you have more chance of winning. So let's focus on turning up with a great performance.
“I don't believe we need any warning [about Hull]. We know that a final is a final, that Hull are a Premier League team, they can pass the ball, they can create chances. It's just down to us to perform well on the day of the game.
“I honestly don’t feel there is any danger of complacency - we know the difficulty of the task. If you look at our run in the FA Cup, we’ve had a hard run."

A hard run is a mild word. It could have been made harder only if we had to play City in the semi-final, but then again, didn't we nearly go out at that stage? Wigan proved more than capable opposition by demonstrating they hadn't beaten City earlier at the Etihad for nothing. The Latics sat deep against a disjointed Arsenal side, took their chance on the counter and went within 8 minutes of going through. Only our character and grit prevented it. Then Fabianski did the rest.

Oh, by the way, Fabianski. Should he play? Way I see it, there are two possible variants. I would not be surprised at either outcome.

First one: Fabianski starts the game. It's not like there's no reason in this decision. The elder Pole is our cup goalkeeper and, more importantly, he's why were got into the finals in the first place. His match-saving performance against both Liverpool and Wigan saw us through. Moreover, a good day at a sunny Wembley may just convince the Pole to stay. Which will be wonderful, cause it'll save us the pain of finding a back-up keeper of his standing. No small feat.

Second one: Fabianski doesn't start. Instead, Szczesny, as our №1 goalie, regains his place between the sticks. Again, the benefits are clear. Wojciech has featured in roughly 45 games this season, he's been near impeccable and, more importantly, he will definitely stay at Arsenal beyond the final. Far beyond. The younger Pole will definitely itch to help his team win a final, it'll mean a lot to him, not the least because of that three-year-old mistake.

Apart from this dilemma, the squad should be pretty straightforward. Vermaelen and Oxlade-Chamberlain face a race against time to make it, everyone else is available. Sagna will play and, when asked whether the Frenchman's contract situation can affect the way he (Sagna) performs, Arsene said:

I told you many times for me a professional is to give your best until the last day of your contract. That's for me the real professional. I don't doubt his integrity, his desire to win and his commitment at all.

So, I expect our usual back four, Arteta and Ramsey as DMs, Ozil under Giroud and Cazorla and Poldi on the flanks. It's our optimal line-up and I think we should stick to it.

Speaking of Arteta, he is another player, whose future is not secure. Along with Thomas Vermaelen and Lukas Podolski, the Spaniard is soon out of contract, but, unlike these two, his contract will expire in a year. Our de-facto captain will hold talks with the club this summer and I really do hope they go well. Arteta has become an integral cog to our machine since joining from Everton three years ago and, despite his age, still has a lot to offer. He may sometimes be slow on the ball and not able to track runners, but his brilliant positioning and near-perfect passing ensure he almost never needs to. Another thing to consider, is the sheer number of players leaving. Fabianski, Sagna and Viviano will most definitely leave, while we also need at least a striker and a centre-back to challenge for the title next year. It's already four players to buy, do not let this situation get out of hand by allowing Arteta or Vermaelen (and Podolski) to leave.

Anyway, it's a topic we can discuss on a summer day, when we have nothing better to do, for now let's concentrate on the cup. And win it. End this goddamn trophy drought.

Come on you Gunners

The tale of two Poles + Arsene talks manager rotation

Hello everyone.

The grand finale is still a couple of days away, but there were some interesting pieces both in the media and coming from our manager, so I decided to talk about these.

Starting with the good news: Szczesny will receive the Golden Glove. I was under the impression that with the same number of clean sheets, the keeper with a better CS -to -games played ratio becomes the sole recipient, but it seems I was wrong. Both Cech and Szczesny will receive this accolade and I'm so much happier for the Pole.

I've already said I think the younger Pole has done remarkably well this year (he is my candidate for the player of the season) and it was hugely important for him to be noticed and rewarded for his effort. We've conceded 41 league goals, 20 of those came in just four games, which means only 21 goal in 34 matches. That's almost 0.5 goals per game and exactly half of those games were clean sheets.

These numbers are brilliant, something that was acknowledged by the FA (or whoever awards the prizes) and so Szczesny gets his much-craved reward. Good for him. 

His older counterpart, Fabianski, was meanwhile talked up by Koscielny:

"Lukasz is a very good goalkeeper. He's a big professional and he's the first in training to prepare".

Well, was there any doubt? Fab had little practise during the last year (couple of years?), but was brilliant when called upon. Something Koscielny talks about:

"He plays the FA Cup - a little like Iker Casillas at [Real] Madrid, who plays in just the cups. But he's done the job well, every time when you call on Lukasz to play he has done the job".

I gotta admit, I like Fabianski's character and professionalism. He's featured on a number of (highly) important occasions and was always brilliant. Sometimes (more often than not) Fab slotted in with little to no time for preparation (Bayern Munich this year) and was the reason we won or at least didn't lose the game by a greater margin, if we had some other second keeper.

Two occasions stand out for me this year: Liverpool and Wigan in the FA Cup. During the former he made a string of fantastic saves to repeatedly deny both Suarez and Sturridge, thus ensuring we won. As for Wigan, he was the absolute hero during the penalty shoot-out, making two crucial stops to give Arteta and Giroud some breathing space and a platform to build our success on. And I haven't even mentioned just how good the Pole was a year ago in an away match against Bayern.

It'll be sad indeed if Fab goes in the summer, but I hope we'll at least crown his stint at Arsenal with the FA Cup. It may even change the Pole's mind, who knows.

In other news, Arsene has given a usual pre-game press conference, where among other things, he discussed the current situation with Premier League managers. On Sherwood he said:

For me if it's a Tottenham manager or any other manager it's always sad news when somebody loses his job. The only thing that looks a bit worrying is that the speed of the rotation level in the Premier League gets quicker and quicker. That's not a very good sign for the Premier League.

No comment here, didn't like that clown. And on the overall situation:

I think every club has the responsibility to make the right decision. I believe that technical stability is important for the development of the game. At the moment people think a lot about that so we accept in our job as well that if directors are not happy, or owners are not happy with us, that we can lose the job. But still technical stability is important for the development of the game.

Well, that's a bit more interesting. It's the first time in my memory so many managers were fired inside one season and that just demonstrates how important instant success has become.

The owners, the board, etc. etc. do not value stability any longer. Only delivering numerous trophies can help you keep your job at this high level and even that seems to under threat nowadays.With Guardiola hinting at a move away and even Pellegrini warning his own club against trying to force a certain play style on him, the situation is unstable even at the seemingly successful clubs.

The Club top executives do not understand that it's hard to hit the ground running immediately and so seek external solutions, when a manager doesn't deliver on their (sometimes overly ambitious) standards. The problem is not so much as who the manager is, but rather how much time he has spent with the team. Every manager needs some time to adapt to a new club in order to achieve something. All of this makes me value Arsene even more. We can say whatever we like, but Arsenal is the most stable club in the league for the past 18 years. And I think it's no coincidence we've reached and maintained such a high level under the guidance of one man only.

That's it for today. Back tomorrow or Saturday for a complete preview of the cup final.

Until then

Norwich 0-2 Arsenal: 5 on the bounce and we end it in style

Hello everyone.

Arsenal have got the job done yesterday with a professional 2-0 win over the now-relegated Norwich and there were a lot of things to like about our performance. I'll come back to these a bit later and start with the usual line-up against the Canaries.

It sprang a few surprises, truth be told. While Rosicky for Cazorla was pretty obvious, Sagna as a centre-half and Fabianski in goal definitely wasn't. I also didn't assume our midfield trio would be the strongest one, but I guess momentum issues crossed the manager's mind and he decided to play as good a side as possible.

Arsene probably opted to give Mert some well-deserved rest, while Vermaelen could still have been a bit short. Why Fab started in goal? There might be several explanations.

First, the older Pole could have been given some playing time ahead of a Cup final. A game with nothing at stake to just get the feel of competitive football, before being thrust into action in one of the most important encounters we had in nine years.

Second, it could have been just to rest Szczesny. This way it was, most likely, the last game Fabianski featured in for Arsenal.

While the second explanation seems more logical to me, I would not claim to possess the ultimate knowledge. There could have been a zillion other reasons I cannot think of, moreover, Arsene himself has confirmed he doesn't know which players will start in five days at Wembley, so view this sub the way you like.

Whatever reason Arsene had in mind to back his decision, I feel genuinely sorry for Szczesny. He could (and should have) got the Golden Glove, instead it'll go to Cech. The Pole may have been promised a start against Hull, he may have been convinced that he's being rested for the good of the team as a whole, but in the end, Szczesny would not get the prize he so craved. I just hope he'll have a chance to get it. He's got years with Arsenal in front of him, the opportunity should come.

Back to the the game, and from the very first minutes it had the feel of the last league game, in which teams had nothing to fight for. Norwich pretended to care for the first ten minutes or so, then they just surrendered possession and invited the Gunners to come forward. Arsenal took no hesitation in doing so and this resulted in three quality moments inside the first half.

First, some slick quick interplay led to a brilliant backheeled pass from Giroud. This pass fell right into the path of Podolski, whose fierce shot was heroically saved by Ruddy.

The second moment of danger occurred soon after. Giroud found some space in the box to go one-on-one with the keeper, but the Frenchman's right-footed effort was splendidly tipped over the bar by Ruddy.

The third one Giroud created himself. He received a pass on the the edge of the penalty area, turned and let fly with his left, but again Ruddy was on hand to palm the effort away.

There was also a half-chance for Ramsey, who produced a shot of his own after fooling two defenders, but it was blocked by yet another defender. The teams went into the tunnel minutes later.

The game continued in the same vein after the whistle for the second half blew. And this time around, Arsenal's relentless probing was rewarded.

We broke down the middle after one of Norwich's rare forays forward, Rosicky found Giroud who was thinking a shot, but then the Frenchman spotted Ramsey in a good position at the far post and crossed the ball towards the Welshman. Aaron, still moving backwards to make himself some space, lashed out a shot on the volley that Ruddy could only stare at. The beauty of the goal was such that even home fans acknowledged it with applause.

Nine minutes later Arsenal added another. Gibbs received a pass on the left and produced a low cross for Podolski to finish. The German missed the ball entirely and it fell to Jenkinson, whose effort left Ruddy with no chance. Jenks celebrated with unparallelled joy, which is understandable, given how much he loves the club.

The game calmed down after the goals. Arsene took off Ramsey, Giroud and Rosicky to give some playing time to Wilshere, Sanogo and, most notably, Diaby. The Frenchman was greeted warmly by the Arsenal fans and I liked it.

After all, it's hard not to feel for Diaby. He hasn't wasted his career like Bendtner, for example, he is an honest, hard-working chap who just wants to play football. I hope he'll manage to do it, though I'm not completely sure he'll do so for us.

Arsenal let their guard drop a bit in the final minutes, so I must give some credit to Fabianski, whose decisive punching about ensured we got a 17th clean sheet. We have almost made it 3-0 in the dying seconds, but Sanogo's deflected shot was saved.

This is what Arsene said afterwards:

"We wanted to finish the job well and not concede. We have won 11 games away from home, I think it's the best in the Premier League and it was our 17th clean sheet - that is remarkable as well. We just wanted to finish the season well and we did it in a serious way so it's a good basis to prepare for the FA Cup final next Saturday".

And on finishing fourth, despite acquiring 79 points:

"Yes, unfortunately it's the first time in the Premier League that you finish fourth with 79 points and it was very tight. I believe that Liverpool can be frustrated tonight, we can be frustrated, Chelsea can be frustrated because only one team can win it. But at the top the number of points made by all the four teams is top quality".

Also, a word for Liverpool. After it became clear Arsenal won't lift the PL Cup over their heads this season, I wanted Liverpool to do so. It would have showed, that sometimes money cannot buy you titles and, as I have more than a couple friends who support the Reds, I could have at least joined in on their celebrations.

However, Liverpool didn't manage to win the league. And the reason is not the loss to Chelsea or a draw with Palace, but rather weak defense. To concede 50 goals inside a season is unacceptable for a team with title aspirations and even a brilliant Suarridge duo wasn't able to rectify that. So my condolences to Liverpool fans, but it's not the last couple of games that cost you the title.

That's it for today. Back later

Until then enjoy the win and steady your nerves for the upcoming final

Norwich preview: bow out nicely

Evening everyone.

Tomorrow we face a relegated Norwich in the final PL game of the season. Well, they are nearly relegated, but as the Canaries are not likely to overhaul a 17 goal difference, I'll just call them relegated.

It's hard not to feel sorry for them in a way. Norwich play not the worst kind of football, moreover, they were under an assistant manager for the last (and most important) 5-6 games. You can point to Sunderland that had pulled off a miracle against top-level opposition, but Poyet has been their manager since October and had time to work on the team.

Back to the game, however, and everyone bar Oxlade-Chamberlain (and Walcott, naturally) should be available. This can, on the hand, give the manager a selection headache and, on the other, he might just play the weakest side possible. While Arsene has said it's important to do well in a game leading up to a cup final, it's much more important to ensure all your key players get there.

Actually, I'm in two minds about rotating. In my view, to maintain the momentum you have to play roughly the same team. Also, fielding the same players provides you with a better chance of winning the contest. They know how to bump off passes of one another, where to run, how to defend at set pieces, etc.

So I'd keep the same core of players, that features week in, week out with just a couple of changes to rest our aces and give a chance for the likes of Wilshere to whip back into shape. This means our usual back five (maybe with Monreal, should Gibbs turn out to be not 100% fit), probably Flamini, Ramsey and Wilshere in midfield, Podolski and Rosicky on the flanks and Giroud up top. It's a good mix that provides us with a chance to get three points comfortably, while also keeping our goal under lock and key (let's not forget, Szczesny is on course to get the Golden Glove).

Elsewhere, Koscielny has signed an extension to his contract. Though his previous one happened to be in 2012, a new offer was made, and accepted. This shows just how important Kos has become to us and that Arsene was keen to tie down the Frenchman with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain sniffing around.

A target for much criticism upon his arrival in 2010, Koscielny has evolved in one of the best centre-backs this Club has ever seen. There have been (and still are) a couple of dodgy moments, concerning the Frenchman, like a bunch of red cards or seemingly unneccessary fouls in the penalty area, but all of this can be forgiven, and that's down to how awesome Kos has become. May his outstanding partnership with Mertesacker at the heart of our defence long continue.

Finally for today, Arsene has hit out at FFP regulations. This is linked to a punishment UEFA deemed worthy of rule-breaking Man City. Instead of kicking the money bags out of the Champions League, they just decided to fine the Citizens £50 million and cut the number of players available to them in the next CL season.

On which Arsene says:

"You would think that you accept the rules and you're in the competition or you don't accept the rules and you're not in the competition. Then, everybody would understand it."

Well, it's sophisticated to me. Kicking the best teams out of the strongest competition will make it that less interesting, so there'll have to be another way. I'd just put some restrictions on their transfer policy. If you go overboard with transfers, then you should be punished by not being allowed to do transfers. It's only logical.

That's it for today. Here's for the three points tomorrow, and we'll start looking ahead to the cup final.

Until later 

Gold for Szczesny?

Morning everyone.

Days drag by in a quiet atmosphere as we are approaching the final league game. Still, there was an interesting interview from Szczesny on Monday and I thought it worth dissecting. A nice change from all the talk about how we should pick ourselves up after losses, or about our greatness after wins.

First things first, the Pole is on course to get the Golden Glove. Up until two days ago I didn't even knew such a thing existed, but here you go. In case any of you are still in the dark (like I was), Golden Glove is a prize a goalkeeper gets for the most clean sheets (league only) in one season.

Turns out Szczesny had accomplished his 16th game without conceding on Sunday and this result allowed the Pole to match Cech's record. As the Blues keeper is out for the remaining fixture, the fate of the prize is in Szczesny's hands (quite literally).

I think it'll be very nice should he get it. There were some atrocious results down the season (it was hard to blame our goalie for any of them), but the main feature of this Arsenal side during 2013-2014 was consistently good defending. Apart from the four beatings (and I know it's a lot), there were just 2-3 occasions, when we've conceded more than once in a single game. Much of this is down to Szczesny.

It's always hard to recall important saves, but the ones from Cardiff (when we were 1-0 up) and Hull (same story) spring to mind. Szczesny was able to step it up and that was the difference in a number of games. The difference between 3 points and 1, 1 point and 0.

Back to his interview, however, and there were some interesting remarks there. Starting with:

"I think it's good to sign off with a win and sign off in front of our fans but with two games to go we had nothing to play for at home and I think we shouldn't really be in that position. We should be fighting for the title".

Absolutely right. There are reasons behind our failure to be title contenders till the end (psychological breakdown being my favourite), but when a team as good as Arsenal has nothing to fight for for two games, it just shows we've underperformed. Again.

"I never considered fourth place before the start of the season as a successful season and a good position. I play for Arsenal Football Club because I want to win the title every year".

Our greatness has faltered down the years (hope we can rectify that by clinching the FA Cup this season), but Szczesny is right again. Though no one could have predicted United's fall from grace and Liverpool's success story back in August, no Arsenal fan would have said fourth is what we should be fighting for. Finishing fourth is one thing, naming it our goal is another. Something the Pole acknowledges:

 "Obviously at some point, when you lose games and you lose the chance to fight for the title, then the new challenge is to secure the Champions League spot and that was the aim this season, but I wouldn't have taken it before the season".

He then goes to show the silver lining for all Arsenal fans, but for me it's the bit about dropped points that is more important:

 "We dropped some important points and lost games and had to finish fourth when we weren't probably the favourites to finish fourth. At least we managed to do that for our fans and hopefully we'll manage to get the FA Cup for them."

Thing is, I'm not as sure as the manager (or the players) that we've lost the title in big games. I've written back in December how it's much more important to beat lesser teams, so that when (and if) we take a beating from one of the big boys, it won't be crippling to our title bid. Just look at the table. We are five points of Liverpool and can be only seven behind potential leaders City. Had we won against Swansea, Stoke and, say, Southampton, we would be level with league leaders. How's that?

Finally, Szczesny also touched on potential transfers:

"It didn't happen for us this year but one thing we have learned is that that we are good enough to challenge next year, and hopefully add a little bit more strength as well with a couple of new players coming in".

 Another player goes on record to state we need acquisitions to uphold our title aspirations. Arsene has said only two to three players need to be added, but then he also spoke these would be "on top" of an existing consistent squad. The same squad that will most likely part ways with Sagna and Fabianski, while Viviano, Vermaelen, Arteta and Podolski could all join them. That means a maximum five (!) players have to be brought in to replace the ones that left. Plus the 2-3 for strengthening. Do you think Wenger will buy 7-8 players even if he had enough money? I somehow don't think so.

That's it for today, I'll most likely be back for a preview of our last league game.

Until then

 

Arsenal 1-0 West Brom: solid, but unspectacular

Yesterday's game wasn't all that interesting, so I'm gonna break my thoughts in paragraphs. Starting with:

Arsenal's attacking display

From the very beginning, only one team tried to play football and it was Arsenal. We knew since before the kick-off our CL place next season was a done deal (due to City beating Everton on Saturday), yet we cared more about our performance than the Magpies did about theirs. Mathematically they were not safe, but this fact didn't seem to bother the Baggies in the slightest.

Anyway, we were on the front foot and it paid off in the 16th minute. Cazorla sent in a cross from a corner, Giroud got to the ball first, despite being held back vigorously, and headed home his 16th league goal.

We could have gone 2-0 up several times, most notably when Ozil fired wide after being put through by Giroud and then when Poldi hit the bar. In the end, it didn't matter, cause West Brom just weren't interested in getting an equaliser.

Ozil, Sagna

Both were our most effective players on the day, the latter working his socks off on the right flank, the former masterminding our attacks through the middle and (occasionally) shifting to the left to create an overload. A moment I remember Ozil for was a through ball to Podolski. It was a hard pass to pull off, Mesut made it look easy. Just the man you want to be on the ball at such moments.

Truth be told, I was impressed by the amount of work Ozil did. He was highly influential for the entire game and showed what we've missed in him during February and March. There's more to come from the German, I'm sure of it.

Fabianski, Sagna (again), Vermaelen, Arteta, Kallstrom

This is a crop of players we're unlikely to see next season. All of them (bar the Pole, for obvious reasons) were given run-outs and were all warmly welcomed by the crowd.

This is what Arsene said on Sagna and Fabianski:

"I want him (Sagna) to stay and I hope that convinces him that we love him here and he will stay. We have two players here who are at the end of their contracts, Sagna and Fabianski. If it was down to me, they both stay".

Not just down to him, unfortunately, so I hope they'll be given a proper farewell at Wembley.

On Kallstrom:

"He is on loan, so he belongs to Moscow and will go back to Moscow".

Fair's fair, though I harboured a small hope that the Swede will stay. Him returning to Moscow is going to make our midfield that bit shallower. As if we didn't have problems enough in other areas of the pitch.

No word has been said on Vermaelen and Arteta, but the former got a suspicious run-out, while the latter has been mentioned too often for my liking.

With the Belgian, it's clear as day. If he leaves, that's because he doesn't get enough playing time. 

With Arteta, not so much. He's a regular starter, a de-facto captain and I can only see one reason behind the talk: his age. Arteta is not young anymore and that can be a factor. We all know the manager's reluctance to sign on 30+ players. They usually go year-by-year, even Bergkamp did.

The two musketeers

I'm talking about Giroud and Wenger himself. Arsene was quizzed about not bringing another striker, this was his response:

"No the regret is not there because we missed offensive players at an important part of the season. The solution is not always outside, the solution is as well inside your club where the disadvantage of having many injuries is you always have to play the same players. Then of course they score less goals because they are a bit jaded".

Personally, I don't have a problem with Giroud. With 22 goals and at least 8 assists he proved a vital cog in our machine and, had it not been for his contribution, we would have been so much worse off. The Frenchman has suffered from Walcott's and Ramsey's absence, but still fought to the best of his abilities. Having an alternative to him could have helped, but it is what it is.

Arsene, meanwhile, was asked about whether he will sign a new deal, to which he replied:

"Yes. I don't know [when I will sign a new deal]. I told you many times that my word is my word. i am from a period where you did not need a pen to commit".

Strangely, he also said his decision wasn't riding on FA Cup success, but rather on securing CL football:

"It is not linked [with the FA Cup final] at all. It was important to be in the Champions League, that is for sure. I have told you many times it is not linked the fact I feel I am useful".

I don't think it's right. Champions league is Champions league, we've qualified for the 18th consecutive season, but only a cup win will represent a step-up. If we don't win it, no visible improvement will have been achieved. Points tally doesn't count, unless it brings some silverware with it. So Wenger's future should depend on how we fare in the final.

That's it for today. More later

West Brom preview: over the line

Morning everyone.

It's been a rather quiet few days, but with another bout of Premier League games coming up news came flooding back.

Regarding team news, there isn't much. Everyone who played against Newcastle is available, no one is coming back. Oxlade is being rested with a groin inflammation, Wilshere has only just joined the main group. Both face a race against time to make it to the final of the FA Cup. Gibbs was described as "very, very close" to full fitness, but short for tomorrow game, while Gnabry seems forgotten altogether.

The real worry we have, however, is Sagna. Apparently, the Frenchman has injured his knee in training and is a 50/50 for Sunday. As it's very likely Sagna's last home game in an Arsenal shirt, I do hope he makes it. If not, there'll still be the game at Wembley, though it's not exactly the same thing.

Pressed on the matter of a contract for our right-back, Wenger stated it's now down to Bac to decide and that's saying a lot. Earlier there was the frustration from the fans, who thought it was the Club penny-pinching again, but at this point it's safe to assume the Frenchman just doesn't want to renew his contract. There were several (improved) offers from Arsenal, all of them were turned down, so we should accept that sometimes it's not about the money and move on. And find a suitable replacement in the summer.

Back to team selection and I don't think we are likely to see a much-changed side, even if Everton drops points today. It is our last home game and everyone wants a win, regardless of whether our table goals are accomplished or not. The cup game is two weeks away, giving the players plenty of time to recover and the manager will be able to rotate in the last league game, if he so chooses. No one will begrudge him a couple of changes in an away game, should by that time we secure the 4th spot.

But not tomorrow. Field the strongest side, get the win, entertain the crowd, do a lap of honour (with Sagna in the lead), then go relax. That's not to say we should lose to Norwich in a week, but that game is definitely less important.

From West Brom's point of view, they are four points above the relegation zone with a game in hand and have almost assured Premier league football next season. Realistically, the Magpies are safe, mathematically not and as such they may put up a fight.

Can we be robbed of points? We probably can, so no lapse of concentration should be allowed. Just treat it like another league game.

In other news, there's been a lot of talk about transfers, Arsene had said we'll be busy, but, because of the World Cup, things will probably start happening at around mid-June. Considering how much needs to be done, I'd rather we started earlier. Straighten out the paperwork in June and bring everyone in right after the World Cup. There's more than thirty days between now and the tournament, plenty of time to add to our squad.

Among everyone who's been linked with us, Fabregas was mentioned. It's hard to tell, whether there's any truth to that, but if the Spaniard is for sale, I'd love to see him return. Yes, we have plenty of quality in midfield, but as I've said before, Rosicky and Arteta aren't getting any younger, same goes for Kallstrom. Of course, the Swede may (and probably will) leave at the end of his spell, but that also won't do us any good, at least number-wise.

And then, just imagine a trio of Fabregas, Ramsey and Ozil in the middle of the park. Glorious.

Anyway, I think I'm getting carried away. There'll be time enough to discuss all the transfer rumours between mid-May and September 1st. Right now, there's still work on the pitch to do.

Starting tomorrow