Morning everyone.
Arsenal had an open training session yesterday and both the session and the press-conference that followed were interesting.
During the session, the absences of Ospina, Vermaelen and Gnabry were noticeable. Gnabry seems to have a neck strain, Ospina has a (thigh? hip?) injury, but I don't think Verminator's omission is because he has an actual injury. Given the manager's quotes on our captain, I think it's only the matter of days before Thomas leaves:
He later went on to say that United made a bid, but it's the manner in which Arsene speaks about Vermaelen's departure that makes his leave imminent. When he so openly speaks of a player's desire to go somewhere else and then ends up confirming we have received bids for him, then you know Vermaelen is as good as gone.
We've been immediately linked with Agger and Nastasic, but both links are weak. They are here just because the manager basically stated Vermaelen will part ways with the Club, so let's not concentrate on these names for now.
However, we can concentrate on strengthening DM's position and here we seem in a spot of bother:
Coupled with Sporting's president statement, that he received no offers for Carvalho, it seems both of our much-hyped targets were never on the list. Doesn't mean we don't have other targets there, or that we can't turn our attention to these two, but, in the light of Arsene talking up Wilshere and Chambers, I won't be surprised if we don't add in that area.
I've told before I find Wilshere unconvincing in the role of deep-lying midfielder. He once again had lapses of concentration against Monaco and he was played alongside Arteta, mind you. As for Chambers, he looked really good in central defense, clearing up even for Koscielny (!), but I fear he's too young to be handed DM's position on a regular basis. We shall see what happens, there are still three weeks to go.
All of this leads us to our next game against City. Even Arsene views it as part of pre-season preparation, so I give up. I still think it's better to start with a win and a cup, however unimportant it is, so we should field our strongest side, in my view.
It goes like this: Szczesny-Debuchy-Koscielny-Chambers-Gibbs-Arteta-Ramsey-Cazorla-Campbell-Oxlade-Sanchez. At centre-half I don't think it'll be reasonable to play Vermaelen, cause his mind will be occupied with something else, while a not-fit-enough Giroud should be dropped in favour of Sanchez, who looked much more the part. The debatable position is under the striker.
Here we have three options: Cazorla, Rosicky and Wilshere. The last two allow us to shift Cazorla wide, which may be preferable, but there is another problem. I'm not sure Rosicky will hold out the entire game, while Wilshere is more of a runner, than a passer. We can, of course, start Rosicky and then replace him with Wilshere, which is like-for-like, so I don't exclude this option.
Cazorla just seems to me a more natural back-up to Ozil, while Campbell on the flank is not much of a risk. He's had a good game against Benfica and seemed to be in a farther stage of preparation than most, despite playing in the World Cup. And we can always sub him with Wilshere, should the Costa-Rican fade in the game.
City, meanwhile, has more options to choose from, but they have only one new face, because FFP seems to be taking it's toll. All of the others are known quantities, three players (Aguero, Sabaleta, Fernandinho) are unavailable, so we'll have an easier time. It means Sagna will make his debut and, as he already said something nasty about us, while the boss confirmed Sagna has turned down a three-year contract offer, I don't think Bacary will be greeter warmly by Arsenal fans. And I can get them.
All in all, I think we have enough resources to beat City and start the season with a bang, so let's do it.
In other news, Djourou has completed his move to Hamburg and I'm not surprised. He never made the grade for us, while he had a decent season in Germany, so this decision is the best for all parties involved. All the luck to the Swiss.
Finally for today, Champions league draw will take place today and we can face Athletic Bilbao, Copengagen, Lille, Standard Liege or Besiktas. All of these don't pose a serious threat to us, though, for obvious reasons, I would prefer we land Standard or Copengagen. Which means we'll land on of the other three. If you want to have a read on them, check out this article from Gooneracrossthepond. It's insightful.
One last thing. I'm going away tomorrow and will be back on August 23rd. Whether I'll miss the game against Everton is unclear. It's also unclear how often (if at all) I'll be able to report from there, but check back here anyway. I'll go out of my way to watch the three games (City, Crystal Palace, Champions league qualifier) and provide you with at least a preview and review for each. If City's review appears on 10th or 11th, then I'm probably good. Check back on those dates.
And follow me on Twitter). @AlexBaguzin
Until later, have a good day
Arsenal had an open training session yesterday and both the session and the press-conference that followed were interesting.
During the session, the absences of Ospina, Vermaelen and Gnabry were noticeable. Gnabry seems to have a neck strain, Ospina has a (thigh? hip?) injury, but I don't think Verminator's omission is because he has an actual injury. Given the manager's quotes on our captain, I think it's only the matter of days before Thomas leaves:
"I've said since the start of pre-season that Thomas could leave us because he needs to play now. He had an outstanding attitude and behaviour but he's in a position where it's difficult to stand in his way if he finds an interesting opportunity.
"Ideally yes [I would rather sell Vermaelen abroad]. It is an option. I don’t want to tell you [which clubs are interested] but we have offers from abroad as well."
He later went on to say that United made a bid, but it's the manner in which Arsene speaks about Vermaelen's departure that makes his leave imminent. When he so openly speaks of a player's desire to go somewhere else and then ends up confirming we have received bids for him, then you know Vermaelen is as good as gone.
We've been immediately linked with Agger and Nastasic, but both links are weak. They are here just because the manager basically stated Vermaelen will part ways with the Club, so let's not concentrate on these names for now.
However, we can concentrate on strengthening DM's position and here we seem in a spot of bother:
"We were never close to signing him [Khedira] because Jack Wilshere has come back fit and in midfield we have quite a few offensive box-to-box players".
Coupled with Sporting's president statement, that he received no offers for Carvalho, it seems both of our much-hyped targets were never on the list. Doesn't mean we don't have other targets there, or that we can't turn our attention to these two, but, in the light of Arsene talking up Wilshere and Chambers, I won't be surprised if we don't add in that area.
I've told before I find Wilshere unconvincing in the role of deep-lying midfielder. He once again had lapses of concentration against Monaco and he was played alongside Arteta, mind you. As for Chambers, he looked really good in central defense, clearing up even for Koscielny (!), but I fear he's too young to be handed DM's position on a regular basis. We shall see what happens, there are still three weeks to go.
All of this leads us to our next game against City. Even Arsene views it as part of pre-season preparation, so I give up. I still think it's better to start with a win and a cup, however unimportant it is, so we should field our strongest side, in my view.
It goes like this: Szczesny-Debuchy-Koscielny-Chambers-Gibbs-Arteta-Ramsey-Cazorla-Campbell-Oxlade-Sanchez. At centre-half I don't think it'll be reasonable to play Vermaelen, cause his mind will be occupied with something else, while a not-fit-enough Giroud should be dropped in favour of Sanchez, who looked much more the part. The debatable position is under the striker.
Here we have three options: Cazorla, Rosicky and Wilshere. The last two allow us to shift Cazorla wide, which may be preferable, but there is another problem. I'm not sure Rosicky will hold out the entire game, while Wilshere is more of a runner, than a passer. We can, of course, start Rosicky and then replace him with Wilshere, which is like-for-like, so I don't exclude this option.
Cazorla just seems to me a more natural back-up to Ozil, while Campbell on the flank is not much of a risk. He's had a good game against Benfica and seemed to be in a farther stage of preparation than most, despite playing in the World Cup. And we can always sub him with Wilshere, should the Costa-Rican fade in the game.
City, meanwhile, has more options to choose from, but they have only one new face, because FFP seems to be taking it's toll. All of the others are known quantities, three players (Aguero, Sabaleta, Fernandinho) are unavailable, so we'll have an easier time. It means Sagna will make his debut and, as he already said something nasty about us, while the boss confirmed Sagna has turned down a three-year contract offer, I don't think Bacary will be greeter warmly by Arsenal fans. And I can get them.
All in all, I think we have enough resources to beat City and start the season with a bang, so let's do it.
In other news, Djourou has completed his move to Hamburg and I'm not surprised. He never made the grade for us, while he had a decent season in Germany, so this decision is the best for all parties involved. All the luck to the Swiss.
Finally for today, Champions league draw will take place today and we can face Athletic Bilbao, Copengagen, Lille, Standard Liege or Besiktas. All of these don't pose a serious threat to us, though, for obvious reasons, I would prefer we land Standard or Copengagen. Which means we'll land on of the other three. If you want to have a read on them, check out this article from Gooneracrossthepond. It's insightful.
One last thing. I'm going away tomorrow and will be back on August 23rd. Whether I'll miss the game against Everton is unclear. It's also unclear how often (if at all) I'll be able to report from there, but check back here anyway. I'll go out of my way to watch the three games (City, Crystal Palace, Champions league qualifier) and provide you with at least a preview and review for each. If City's review appears on 10th or 11th, then I'm probably good. Check back on those dates.
And follow me on Twitter). @AlexBaguzin
Until later, have a good day