Vela to make a return?

Evening everyone.

After days of nothing in terms of actual news regarding Arsenal, I woke up today to discover Carlos Vela will return to Arsenal next season.

While I cannot say I was shocked by this news, having seen all and sundry linking the Mexican to the Gunners for the last week or so, I definitely was surprised.

You can see the benefits of this deal, no doubt about that. The striker is in his prime years and at the top of his game. Having found the net 16 times and assisted 12 for Real Sociedad this season, the 25-year-old may seem like a catch. He's formed a good partnership with Griezmann, and this can also be a benefit, as Griezmann is named among our potential targets. On top of all that Arsenal get to enjoy this transfer for a mere £3.5 million, thanks to a buy-back clause they've included in Vela's contract three years ago. Some clubs would have paid around £20 million to acquire the services of the Mexican (Atletico?).

But then again, I think there's a shining hole in the grand plan. Vela didn't succeed while he was with us, why should he now? For instance, would he be able to adapt to the physicality of British football again, having spent three years playing a completely different kind of football?

There's also the question of where exactly the Mexican fits in. I cannot see him deployed on the flank, for example. Whom will he push down the pecking order? If we stick to the scheme we've been using for God-knows-how-long (probably, since 2006), we'll play with a lone striker up top and two flank players. Assuming Walcott won't make it in time for the beginning of the new campaign (and he most likely won't), we still have a plethora of players there. Oxlade, Cazorla, Podolski, even Wilshere.

When fit, Cazorla is a regular starter. I think the same may apply to Oxlade. If Arsene thinks it's time for a breaktrough from the Englishman, he'll play the Ox at every opportunity, ahead of Vela. Even if it's not the case and Oxlade will be used sparingly, I don't think Wenger will prefer Vela to Podolski.

Of course, these are all half-chances for the Mexican. Yes, Cazorla is a regular, but everyone else is not.

Problem is, Vela is not at his best on the flank. His abilities are better deployed more centrally, but again he faces stiff competition. He won't be able to play under the striker, while Ozil and Cazorla are fit, but the idea of him acting as the spearhead seems equally far-fetched.

Whom will he surpass? Giroud? Unlikely. For all his shortcomings, Giroud is an established striker, integral to our style of play. The idea of Arsene dropping Giroud to play Vela as first-choice is, frankly, laughable.

The only place I see Vela fitting into our line-up is as a second striker. Wenger showed willingness to revert to a 4-4-2 at times this season and Vela may become that partner for Giroud.

But again there are questions. While Sanogo is the least of my worries (though not the least of Arsene's, I imagine), how about that world-class striker we all want? For example, Ancelotti has said Morata is available. Should we purchase the Spaniard, will it be so he can sit on the bench and watch Vela play? I think it will be the other way around. I'm not even sure Giroud will keep his place in the starting eleven, in case we succeed in bringing Morata in.

For now, Vela looks a decent option from the bench, a substitute for Bendtner (don't laugh). If he joins, he'll likely do so to make us look better number-wise, rather than provide that immediate impact playing week in, week out.

That's it for today. Sorry, it's a bit short, but not much else is happening. However, you can read on our potential targets here, if you feel like it. Try it, it's really worth your while.

Until later

Ox injured, Koscielny on transfers + Fabregas thoughts

Evening everyone. It's been some time, but the exams aren't going away for another 17 days and I ask you to forgive me, should I write less often than usual during this period.

I'll start with the thing everyone is occupied with right now: our former captain, Cesc Fabregas. There were wild rumours regarding his situation for the last couple of days, that's why I decided not to report on these.

However, it is now clear that Cesc will be leaving Barcelona and, most importantly, it's not Arsenal he's leaving for. After some speculation on the midfielder's part, everyone agreed the Spaniard will definitely leave. Then, Pique let it slip that Fabregas will leave Barca for €33 million. In this article the author doubts it's actually the case, pointing out Pique is a known practical joker, but today (or was it yesterday?) news about Arsene Wenger turning our former player down emerged and the possibility of a great homecoming went up in flames.

Do I believe it's all speculation? At this point, no. While the whole thing may seem illogical at times (For example, why exactly would Barcelona want to sell Fabregas? He's far from a flop, besides, Xavi is not getting any younger), everything else does fall in place. While I do not sympathise with the manager's decision not to re-sign Cesc, I can understand even that.

Arsene may say that we have an abundance of creative midfielders and he will be right. Ozil, Cazorla, Rosicky, Ramsey and Wilshere all fit into the type. Even the Ox can play under the striker. Yes, Rosicky is 33 and Oxlade and Wilshere are far from finished articles, but it's still a lot of players to feed Giroud. Besides, we have always given the chance for our youngsters to thrive under the guidance of more experienced ones, and the aforementioned English duo falls into this category of "yet to shine".

Interestingly enough, it was also the position where we badly needed reinforcements in March and April. With Ozil, Wilshere and Ramsey injured, while Cazorla and Oxlade were swinging in and out of shape (the latter also in and out of hospital), we've lost the ability to win games comfortably playing the kind of football that fired us to the top. Had a player of Cesc calibre been there, who knows.

Another thought the manager might have had in mind when opting to ignore the Spaniard's availability could have been money. Spending £30 million on a player we don't need so badly may have affected Arsene's decision-making greatly. After all, we still need a right-back, that can fill Bac shoes, a goalkeeper, a centre-back and that world-class striker we all want for the second year running. Also, I remeber Wenger wanted to sign Draxler? Does he fall into one of the abovementioned categories? And what a DM? Haven't I said Arteta (32) still hasn't signed his contract?

But, as logical as it all sounds, there a nagging doubt we've missed an opportunity with Cesc. Even though we are well-packed in midfield, I've shown how all of it crumbled and cost us the title. Even though £30 million is a lot, I don't think Arsene will spend over £70 this summer, thus leaving Arsenal financially unable to purchase Fabregas.

Yes, I'm biased when I say I want Cesc to pull on an Arsenal shirt after the World Cup, simply because I love the guy. The idea of him joining anyone else (especially a cash-rich English club) is almost unbearable, more so because our former captain was so close to a homecoming, because he himself would have chosen us over any club, yet Arsene refused to sign the guy. I sincerely hope our manager will strengthen the team and do this by spending over £70 million, otherwise every single fan of this Club (including me) will point the finger of blame at Arsene.

In other news, the Ox, whom I have mentioned several times already, knackered his knee during a friendly against Ecuador and it later turned out the Englishman will miss World Cup opener. It's a blow for England, but, frankly, who cares? It's selfish, I know, but Arsenal needs the Ox much more than the national team and, after spending five months on the sidelines this season, we don't want him out again. Fingers crossed the injury really isn't serious and won't affect Oxlade's preparations for the new campaign.

Finally for today, Koscielny wants signings:

"It's important to have a minimum of these four players (a goalie, a right-back, a DM, a striker) so that we'll be better able to challenge over the course of a whole season against teams like Manchester City, Chelsea or (Manchester) United".

And adds on the striker:

"Yes, we need to recruit a very, very good striker, because it's important for us, for competition for places, because Olivier needs that to become even better. Having a striker who scores more than 30 goals a season can help us win the Premier League. Compared to the squads like Manchester City, even United, Chelsea. ... You can see there's a certain difference."

It continues the trend of Arsenal players urging Wenger to spent the cash, only, compared to last time, it started much earlier. Let's hope Arsene listens. And NOT like last time.

That's it, more later in a couple of days. Stay tuned

Season review: team performance

Hello everyone. Sorry for the hold-up, but I was way over my head with the exam.

Not a lot of stuff going on, but that's a feature of every summer, when actual football is on a thin. Luckily, the World Cup is not far away, while we also won't have to wait that long for a new season to start, as our first game is on August 9th. For now, there's still a part of my review I haven't covered, so I'll get right down to it.

Starting with:

League Cup

Our run in the League Cup was short-lived. We played a bunch of kids against West Brom in the first round, the whole affair was tedious and drawn-out, but we won it on penalties in the end.

Chelsea game was another thing entirely. We played at home and Arsene fielded a much stronger side, but a horrendous mistake from Jenkinson, followed by a brilliant strike from Mata ensured Chelsea was 2-0 up shortly after the restart. The Blues then did what they do so well, namely: parked the bus and this, coupled with our overall inability to attack on the day contributed to Arsenal crashing out of the cup very early.

Despite the fact, that no one likes to see their team lose, I still maintain that having one less tournament to play in was an advantage in the long run. Teams with bigger squads may argue, but we do not (at this moment) belong to such teams.

Champions League

Well, just as skies seemed to be getting clearer with that stadium debt paid off and the signing of Mesut Ozil to back up our ambitions, we landed right into the Group of Death. For a team as strong as Arsenal (we were seeded 6th in the first basket) to be paired up with Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Marseille is something extraordinary. I cannot remember us having to face such tough rivals at such an early stage for at least ten years. There was little we could do about this however.

Arsenal started their campaign in flying colours, by acquiring three important points in France and then convincingly beating Napoli at the Emirates. I home win against Borussia in the next game would have almost ensured our qualification. But suddenly, we lost.

We can analyse the reasons behind it all we want, but bottom line is this: any top team stands a decent chance of beating any top team in a single game. Borussia capitalized on our mistakes and we were no longer masters of our destiny in the group.

However, all of that changed in the next round. Wilshere's brace ensured we got the points against a hapless Marseille, while Napoli's win meant a draw against the Italians in the last game would see us qualify from the top spot no matter what. Did we get it? No.

We've lost again, resoundingly and were actually hanging by a thread when the final whistle blew. Had we lost 3-0, Napoli would have got through instead of us.

Our loss meant second place, which, in it's turn, meant facing Barcelona, Real, Atletico, Bayern Munich or PSG. Who did we get? Probably the worst possible option. Our last-year's German buddies, Bayern Munich.

I was positive going into this tie, but it lasted for only half an hour or so of the first match (at the Emirates). We started greatly, could have scored, then Ozil missed the penalty. We were pinned back shortly after that, Szczesny was wrongly sent off after Robben's dive and the game was ruined. Still, we could have lost only 1-0 (a positive result under these circumstances), but for a needless mistake in the dying minutes, which allowed Muller to head home a second.

The second game was rather tedious. With a squad once again crippled by injures, we were forced on the back foot at the Allianz Arena. We held on for fifty minutes, conceded, equalised a minute later (with a controversial goal from Poldi) and then tried to score a second, but in vain. We just didn't have enough firepower to break down Bayern and, but for a late save from Fabianski, could have actually lost the game.

It's not the first time we've suffered from bad refereeing in Europe, but the problem isn't solely the refs. We should learn not to be that brittle and susceptible to changing circumstances and try and win matches when the odds are stacked against us. Just look at Chelsea. I don't like their style of play, their manager and most of their players, but they know how to grind out results.

Premier League

Our league season started in the worst way possible: a loss at home to the definite outsider. However, it would be our last major blip till the loss to a dismantled Manchester United, who tried and failed to find any kind of form all season. In-between (till the end of January, truth be told) we were near flawless, the definite high point being a 2-0 win over Liverpool, when Suarridge duo was at it's finest. It was a win that encapsulated everything good about this Arsenal side: outstanding defending, brilliant explosiveness on counter-attacks and clinical finishing.

Arsenal sustained their form till early February and then our downfall started, ironically, with a loss to Liverpool. We then suffered heavy defeats to Chelsea and Everton, only to regain our form for the final five games to end up just seven points off the top and leave Everton far behind.

Again, it's up to debate, why we've faired as badly as we did. The manager writes it down to injures and, while having Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere and Walcott out do not help you in any way, I tend to think the reason is more psycological than anything else. No one expected us to be where we were in February and, as soon as the squad realised there is a real chance to win the league, they've lost all their confidence. I simply refuse to believe there's such a gulf in quality between us, City, Chelsea and Liverpool, that we can lose to them in such a way. Hopefully, now that the trophy monkey is off our backs, the squad will perform a little more mature in the league next season.

FA Cup

Glorious. Gorgeous. Splendid. Though, at times, nervy, gut-wrenching and hair-pulling.

Our run was one of the hardest in my memory. Tottenham, Coventry (meh), Liverpool, Everton and Wigan+Hull to top it all off.

While we've beaten Tottenham and Coventry in a convincing fashion, everyone else pushed us to the limit. We've played Liverpool a week after that demolishing at Anfield, then a very capable Everton on a good run, and then Wigan, when we were at the threshhold of our confidence. The Latics' game was especially insides-churning, as we came within 8 minutes of going out. But in the end an exhausted Arsenal side got a win on penalties, largely thanks to Fabiansk's heroics.

And the final.  A typically Arsenal game. An atrocious start, a monumental effort to get back to level tems and then a glorious winning goal in extra time.

This win was what separated a successful season from a failure and we made it successful.

Phew, that's it. I'll be back as soon as something new and exciting happens.

Until then, take care

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