Arsenal Football News

Wilshere In Squad To For Spain

2008-10-14T02:30:00.001-07:00

The England U17 squad for this month's European
Championship campaign has been announced, as John Peacock's team look
to take their first steps towards the finals in Germany next summer. The squad boasting 3 16 year-old Arsenal players: Jack Wilshere, Luke Freeman, and Emmanuel Frimpong.

The
Young Lions will face opposition from Armenia, Estonia and hosts Spain
in their group, with the top two teams progressing to the Elite
Qualifying Round which will be held next year.

Qualifying Round
22-27 October 2008
Campo los Cuartos, Tenerife, Spain

Player

Club

Ryan Allsop

West Bromwich Albion

José Baxter

Everton

John Bostock

Tottenham Hotspur

Luke Freeman

Arsenal

Emmanuel Frimpong

Arsenal

Ezekiel Fryers

Manchester United

Gary Gardner

Aston Villa

James Hurst

Portsmouth

Billy Knott

Chelsea

Keanu Marsh-Brown

Fulham

Eddie Oshodi

Watford

Tom Parkes

Leicester City

Jamie Reckord

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Jed Steer

Norwich City

Ryan Tunnicliffe

Manchester United

Jonjo Shelvey

Charlton Athletic

Jacob Walcott

Reading

Jack Wilshere

Arsenal

Stats Show Up Our Flaws Clearly

2008-10-06T05:33:00.001-07:00

From this table taken from Sky Sports Opta analysis shooting accuracy is clearly one of the problems that Arsenal have - but this has been known for a while. Get more shots on target and we score more goals - you can't argue with those numbers.

Team Goals Shots On Target Shot Accuracy Succ Passes
Arsenal 13 111 44 40% 3086
Aston Villa 12 60 28 47% 1636
Blackburn 8 63 27 43% 1950
Bolton 8 71 31 44% 1199
Chelsea 14 107 48 45% 3261
Everton 11 73 27 37% 1897
Fulham 5 62 20 32% 1899
Hull 10 54 28 52% 1408
Liverpool 10 94 33 35% 2797
Man City 18 74 40 54% 2457
Man Utd 8 72 33 46% 2407
Middlesbrough 7 76 35 46% 1666
Newcastle 7 53 22 42% 2208
Portsmouth 9 80 37 46% 1848
Stoke 8 45 15 33% 1046
Sunderland 7 63 28 44% 1805
Tottenham 4 74 28 38% 2479
West Brom 7 72 32 44% 2044
West Ham 14 85 35 41% 2240
Wigan 9 85 28 33% 1720




Our lack of a defensive midfielder with real tackling bite is also evident from the table below.



Tacklers Team Tackles Success rate
Behrami West Ham 36 67%
Butt Newcastle 34 59%
Petrov Aston Villa 33 67%
Malbranque Sunderland 31 81%
Muamba Bolton 30 83%

Fabregas is normally at the top of these two tables, however the little mystro who we have come to rely on has not quite hit top form yet. Also looks like that summer move for Alonso would have really been a good one - he is clearly making Liverpool tick.


Passers Team Passes Accuracy
Xabi Alonso Liverpool 525 85%
Denilson Arsenal 497 85%
Lampard Chelsea 486 84%
Parker West Ham 443 87%
Fabregas Arsenal 417 83%



ASSISTS Team Assists
Arteta Everton 4
Ashley Young Aston Villa 3
Barry Aston Villa 3
Denilson Arsenal 3
Ireland Manchester City 3
Keane Liverpool 3

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Remedy 1 Large Slice Of Humble Pie...

2008-09-30T01:40:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we witnessed what happens when overconfidence leaches over into arrogance... The Hull game was a wake-up call for players, manager and fans alike. It is all too easy to get swept up in the lyrical waxings of pundits and media after the 6-0 drubbing handed out by the B-team to Sheffield United. Players were not kept on their toes and it showed. The only remedy now is to send out a clear message by dropping some players - I would start with Gallas and follow that with Eboue and RVP, while they were not the onlyones who were poor, the represent a reasonable sample of the attack and defence which were weakest in that game. Bring in Bendtner or Vela, and Djourou (who has played well and gives us some protection from those goddam corners). I have a theory about Arsenal's Achillies heel - the corner; A) we are rubbish at taking and attacking them and B) because we suck at corners, in training our defence doesn't get a good work-out in this part of the game. A vicious cycle, bring back Tony Adams? Arsenal needs a Sol Campbel and Adebayor needs to time his jumps and attack the ball more aggressively.

In other news the golden reserves also got handed their own spoonful of wake-up medicine, loosing 4-1 to the Aston Villa team. While this should be put in context, Villa's team are far more experienced at this level than the Arsenal side, and would clearly be out to prove that they 'wouldn't be doing a Sheffield', it still hammers a similar point home about keeping these boys feet on ground level.

As Banfield later said:

"A lot of these boys think they are better than they actually are"

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Arsenal pay price for negativity....again.

2008-09-18T02:55:00.001-07:00
Ok - Arsene got what he said would be a good result (in light of historic games in Kiev). Howver, you have to say it feels like points dropped.

I had a sneaking suspicion that we would be facing a draw, or a loss, once I had a peek at the formation and team.

Firstly our game at Fulham showed the dangers of playing with such a negative midfield and our failure to effectively implement 4-5-1-/4-3-3 formation at the moment it isn't our game. RVP should never ever ever again be considered for the left wing role - the Dutchman looked frustrated all night. In that position he receives the ball but cannot do what he does best which is cut in field and unleash pile-drivers with his magical left foot. Nor should he be in the side for his defensive capabilities, he simply cannot tackle and presents little obstacle to the attacking winger or full-back. I think Vela might have been a better option for last nights game, given the absense of Nasri.

Vela and Walcott are similar players, on the left and right they could be devastating. I took the opportunity to watch Vela during his years in La-Liga. He is a busy player, not too disimilar to Nasri in his tenaciousness, his touch and finishing are excellent. In the absence of Eduardo, who I think is the partner that works best with Ade, Vela should be given a run or at least the last 30mins of games. For me if you are going to play 4-5-1-/4-3-3 it is important to have two winger-forwards who can get up to support the central striker quickly but can also get back to cover or impeed attacks going down the flanks before the midfield is overrun. All the forward need do is slow down an attack by sticking to and harrassing the man in possession.

Secondly, while song can do Flamini's job, his possessional sense is sumwhat lacking. Don't get me wrong, I think he did pretty well, actually, the best I have seen him play for Arsenal. He is certainly improving. One of the most important roles of a DM is to anticipate the correct position to be in as you are frequently covering more than one player as a break develops. Being in the right place at the right time can be the difference between helping out the defence and being a spectator.

Anyway, in a fortnight we will know if Porto are as good as they looked. I seem to remember we fairly comfortably beat them 2-0. Same again would see us on top of the group as long as Fenebache don't get beaten by a greater margin.
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Bischoff Reveals Insight Into Clichy Mystry

2008-09-10T04:37:00.000-07:00
French borne attacking midfielder, Amaury Bischoff revealed an clue as to the possible international exile of French players plying their trade aboard, such as one Gael Clichy, who has still to make his debut for the tri-color.

In an interview with the Arsenal TV, Bischoff reveals that he chose Portugal after being

“I was called up to the French Under 18’s, but when I moved to Werder the French manager called me and said ‘If you go abroad I will not select you for the team’ He only wanted players playing in France."

This is something that has cropped up a few times with a number of players, most recently pressure was put on Hatem Ben Arfa to remain in the French league. Keen to build up the status of the French league, the FFF are resorting to rather extreme measures.
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Flamini and Hleb Struck With Some Arsenal Voodoo

2008-09-01T01:35:00.000-07:00
Well the 'curse of Arsenal' is a potent thing, I don't know who they have got cooking up that particular hex (maybe Papa), but it sure works. Luckily, the cameras on Saturday missed Arsene poking needles into voodoo dolls of Flamini and Hleb...

Firstly Flamini at Milan would have been expected to make light work of newly-promoted Bologna on home soil, but slipped to a surprise 2-1 defeat. Mathiew played the whole game but again Milan look like a team caught between the generations, trying to rebuild without retiring their octogenerians. So to you Flamini, in the line immortalised by Nelson Muntz, I say - Ha Ha!

Secondly Helb making his league debut with Barcelona, as the Catalan giants suffered an embarrassing 1-0 reversal at Numancia. How I chuckled as I saw Hleb twist and turn and do exactly what he did at Arsenal - i.e. nothing, no goals, no assist passes. I don't know what Pep Guardiola was thinking, I really don't. Hleb is going to find that life in La Liga doesn't afford attacking players much tolerance when it comes to providing end product. His supposed 'pre-assist' pass will cut little muster with the fans of Barcelona.

With the end of the transfer window comming up fast and seemingly little interest in spending his pocket change, Arsene may be facing the prospect of another winter competing on four fronts with seemingly a lighter, younger squad than he had last season. With all the all our 'targets' now cup-tied in the champions league, or having signed new contracts, it seems like we will probably see one or two more come in from some unknown corner of the world. Either that or nothing at all.

Read more >> Options >>

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Cesc-less Arsenal are a real turnoff

2008-08-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

So there you have it. Pre-season over and our first competitive start sees the Arsenal squad threadbare as they were at the end of last season. Don't get me wrong, but Ramsey and Denilson did well no mega howlers - what more can you expect from a 17 & 20 year old midfield pair playing together for the first time. I noticed that Arsenal's normal spearhead is through the middle, it is central to our passing game. Against Twenty I could sense our 'senior' players were reluctant to give too much of the ball to Ramsey. Although Denilson did well to show for the ball and passed well, you feel he is still a year of so off being ready to hold down the position vacated by flamini. We need Cesc, he is the midfield captain. Without Cesc we are lost.

Are you worried about a tough campaign on 4 fronts? Ok, things may be eased as our injury list dribbles life into the bare bones of the Arsenal midfield by september-november. But will this be in time to prevent us falling behind the pack? I have to say, this "one body" we are supposedly short of should have been brought long ago. Why wait until the season starts, surely the money saved is only lost when you consider whoever this mystery signing could have had all summer to bed-in.

Given that Barry is non-starter. Veloso is overpriced and has no premiership experience. Could we raid Marseille again for the aggressive captain Loric Cana, a defensive midfielder from the no-nonsense school of crunching tackles? Or the probable target of Gokhan Inler, who has admitted to already being in talks with Arsenal. We will know in a week to 10 days or before home game against Twente...but then again remember what happened to the Nasri transfer.......

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There's Youth Motivation You Won't Find At Any Other Club!

2008-07-19T05:59:00.001-07:00

Wenger revealed:

"Of course I am in a position where I can spend the money. But every time, we have done such a great job with the young players that you are concerned 'Do we kill a young player or not by bringing another player in?'"

And people wondered why Arsenal have such a successful academy.... Yes it is the knackers yard for those youngsters who fail to make the grade, putting them down is the really the kindest option (rather than see them end up at Spurs).

Disclaimer: Ok, I'm joking. I wouldn't really insinuate Arsenal implemented such draconian youth training policies.

On another note, it appears that U17 France midfielder, Francis Coquelin has braved the entry into our academy. He arrives on a free transfer from SASP Stade Lavallois Mayeene MFC. Not much is known about the youngster but the Young Guns site peg him down as a Flamini type all action defensive midfielder.

Hopefully we can hang on to one rather than "kill" this time...

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Promotions And Signings Required To Fill Voids

2008-07-17T02:04:00.001-07:00

We will have most of our players back by tomorrow... Hleb and Gilberto depart. I was sad to see Gilberto leave, really thought his experience would have been useful next season.

If we don't sign a defensive midfielder (Didn't realise but Diaby
is injured), and RoSicknote is going to be injured for a while. The
squad is starting to look mighty thin... especially of proven
Premiership player (I wonder when the ones Wenger promised are going to
arrive)

The current status quo leaves us with these options in midfield.

Walcott---Fabregas/Nasri---Song/Denilson---Nasri/Vela/Traore

Given that two of those players have never seen the premiership. I
personally don't think there is any chance of Ramsey getting
premiership games this season, so I'm discounting him. I'm loathed to
consider Eboue on the Right. Nasri can play Right too and Traore is an
option on the Left of midfield. Now to me only Fabregas has real
premiership experience, going into a campaign with only one experienced
midfielder is going to be a big ask....

We will all be expecting a series of signings?? Maybe a condition of the Hleb release was a clear run at signing Yaya.

Current are the absentees from the Barnet game include:

Abou Diaby (injured)
Cesc Fabregas (Euro 2008, returns to training July 29th)
Kolo Toure (African Qualifiers)
Philippe Senderos (Euro 2008, returned to training yesterday)
Tomas Rosicky (injured)
Samir Nasri (Euro 2008, begins training tomorrow)
Eduardo (injured)
William Gallas (Euro 2008, returns to training tomorrow)
Robin Van Persie (Euro 2008, returns to training on Monday)
Alexandre Song (African qualifiers, set to represent Cameroon at Olympics)
Gilberto (reportedly undertaking a medical at Panathinaikos)
Johan Djourou (Euro 2008, returned to training yesterday)
Lukasz Fabianski (Euro 2008, returned to training yesterday)
Emmanuel Adebayor (African qualifiers)
Emmanuel Eboue (African qualifiers)
Vincent van den Berg (on trial at FC Zwolle, currently injured)
Fran Merida (u-19 Championships, currently injured)
Kieran Gibbs (u-19 Championships)
Kerrea Gilbert (on loan at Leicester for the season, could be in action against Olimpia tonight)
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Nasri Gets Number 8 Shirt

2008-07-11T04:28:00.000-07:00
Having kept most of North London waiting for the last two months, Samir Nasri finally arrived at Arsenal where he has been formally announced (even though the Olympic Marseille site still have him down as their number22 nor have they released any statement saying he has departed).

Nasri has been given the number 8 shirt, whose previous owner Lassana Diarra spent very little time in indeed.

Here's hoping Nasri can make more success of the #8 and bring the silverware back to north london.
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Pictures of Pedro Bothelho Training At Arsenal

2008-07-09T01:29:00.001-07:00
Brazilian wing-back Bothelho arrived in London on Sunday, and trained with the Reserves on Monday, before joining the first team for yesterday morning’s session. He will remain with the squad until they fly out for the annual training camp in Austria, when he will then re-join his team mates at Salamanca where he is to be their first choice left-back next season, following the departure of the previous incumbent Dani López.

Pedro Bothelho is the tall player on the far right hand side.

New signing Aaron Ramsey also present at the sessions, along with various other youngsters including Sanchez Watt, Denilson, Jack Wilshire, Nacer Barazite, and Mark Randall. One omission was Carlos Vela will not be present after competing for Mexico during the summer, he is set to return before the end of the month.
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Portrait of a fool: Vincenzo Morabito

2008-06-27T04:56:00.000-07:00

Emmanuel Adebayor has handed for the third time in as many months declared his intention to stay at Arsenal. Clearly one person not listening is his supposed agent, Vincenzo Morabito.

The Togo international has been the subject of fevered speculation all summer, with Milan having declared their interest in bringing him to Italy.

Arsenal have remained tight-lipped on the player's future but now Adebayor has come out to clarify his situation in North London.

Following the departure of Mathieu Flamini to Milan and Alexander Hleb's likely exit to either Internazionale or Barcelona, Adebayor's pledge of loyalty will be well received in the capital (ok London-Manu, Chavs and Tottenham fans excepted).

On Thursday, super agent Vincenzo Morabito stated that the forward was '80 per cent certain' of joining Milan but this prediction appears to be somewhat ill-founded. Lets all laugh at Vicenzo... Twat!
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Nasri farewell at OM training ground

2008-06-25T03:39:00.001-07:00

Finally, finally... he is on his way.

La Provence 12:09pm:

When Arsenal.com will announce who knows...

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Ramsey is an Arsenal player

2008-06-06T08:00:00.001-07:00

Former Wales and Everton captain Kevin Ratcliffe believes Arron Ramsey is an Arsenal "type" player...sorry if that title is a bit misleading.

Ratcliffe says Ramsey is a player who excites him:

"I would describe him as an Arsenal-type player.

"A player who receives the ball under pressure, is very, very composed,
can pick a pass and score a goal and is not afraid to make a tackle as
well. He's got potential but still a long way to go.

Kevin still believes that place for his development would be Everton, giving the 17 year old the best opportunity at first team football. Moyes has a proven track record of bringing players through from the lower leagues. His signings in recent seasons have included Tim Cahill from Millwall, Joleon Lescott from Wolves and Phil Jagielka from Sheffield United, with Lescott and Jagielka having gone on to make their full England debuts.

Ramsey is rumoured to have flown to Switzerland for talks with Arsene Wenger who has been very keen in his persuit of the youngster. Recent competition between the big clubs for another championship youngster Theo Walcott saw Arsenal win out, with the promise of the best youth development system proving too much of a draw.

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Sagna Pens Extension, Obertan, and Bye Jens

2008-06-04T02:37:00.001-07:00

Slow news day. Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna has put pen to a 2 year contract extension following an outstanding maiden campaign. With all this talk of Bosman and Webster clauses flying around Arsenal moved to tie Sagna down, taking his contract up to 2014 giving an extra 3 years of protection.

Sagna himself was delighted to have put pen-to-paper:

"I love Arsenal, they are a great club," Sagna stated.

"The manager is also very good and next season we will be fighting for all the trophies."
Model pro - we might even throw in some free red hair extensions to for next season. I feel Sagna can become a real Arsenal hero, following in the industrious footsteps of Lauren and Dixon.

Young guns has us linked with Gabriel Obertan, a tall quick tricky U-21 French winger with more than a passing resemblence to Thierry Henry. Check him out in this You Tube video.

Finally, good luck to Jens who has sealed his move to Stuttgart.
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Penny Pinching Might Cost Arsenal Pounds, But Nasri Is A Gooner

2008-06-02T08:05:00.001-07:00

I have to be honest, I don't think it is an issue with Nasri. He seems very keen to come and work with Wenger (who else has made as many star named French footballers?). The question is the Nasri's club. At 20 you have to accept a lower wage, if not, sign for a shorter contract - knowing you will be offered a new one if you are successful (e.g. as was done by Sagna). But his club have one last hope of extracting a bigger transfer fee, and that hinges on him having a great Euro 2008 tournament with France in the group of Death.

I'm not worried about him doing well in the Euros. I'm certain, if he does leave he will come to Arsenal, we are just going to take a gamble and see how he performs in the EUros. If he doesn't have a great tournament, then his club won't get anymore for him. If he does, then Arsenal will just have to pay a bit more for him....either way we get him. Much like the Christiano Ronaldo situation it is the players desire to play for a particular club that will ultimately determine where they go. Christiano Ronaldo isn't going to Madrid for more money - at his level it is more or less irrelevant. Remember, Samir Nasri has stated his desire to play for Arsenal and he does have other offers (almost certainly more lucrative) on the table.

Personally, I'm more worried about getting a PROPER center back and a defensive midfielder.

We have Fabregas prob the best creative Central Midfielder in the world. We still have Hleb until he is packed off. Our weaknesses are not a creative one.

For me, our problems are pace out Wide-Left/Right and at Centerback. Oh yeah and how to solve a problem like Eboue...answers on a postcard to Arsene for this one.
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Nasri In An Arsenal Shirt On Sunday

2008-05-31T04:04:00.001-07:00

A press showing of Samir Nasri in an Arsenal shirt is due on Sunday [according to Le-Grove], to end a long month of speculation and will-he or won't-he rumours. The pictures will be taken today and I'm sure someone will sneak in a camera phone and pre-empt Arsenal.com to the press release (as was done with Bacary Sagna and Eduardo).

In other news, Robin Van Hamstring will enter into talks over an extended contract, no doubt the reason for recent grumblings over the 'limited' wage structure at Arsenal. I mean please, it is so easy to see when a football agent has been at work. It goes something like this: "Robin, wage structures seem to be the topic of debate and you are up for contract talks, why not say something to get us an extra 20%...there's a good boy Robin". Evidently the RVP's agent hadn't seen the Deloitte report into premiership wages or he might realise how stupid he was making his client look.

And finally, great to see Eduardo back in light training after the horror-show tackle that was the begining of the end of Arsenal's season. Take note RVP and Rosicky, the man brakes his leg in 3 places and returns to the first team at the same time as you two....
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Nasri is a Hleb/Flamini/Rosicky cross-breed

2008-05-28T05:22:00.001-07:00

Like many Arsenal fans, I was I'd not see much of Samir Nasri play for Marseilles, so I took the opportunity to catch the France-Ecuador game last night. Nasri started the game very brightly and looked very tidy and creative. My first thought was that he looked more Rosicky than Zidane with perhaps a smidgen of Flamini like tenaciousness thrown in. Nasri looks very much like a third generation Arsene player if I have ever seen one. A player who can play wide and likes to come inside to pull the strings and allow the fullbacks to their wingback job when we are in possession of the ball.

Is he as good as Hleb? It is obviously very difficult to say so at this point. He has never set foot on an English premier league pitch, it will be different to what he is used to. But he is not an delicate flair player, he can mix it up as well and that will help him alot. The thing that struck me when I was watching him become to the most influential player in the first half was the fact that he is only 20! Cesc Fabregas and Sami Nasri are 20 years old. 7 years younger than Hleb. Alot of improvement can happen in 7 years, especially under a coach like Arsene Wenger and he knows that, that is why he will join Arsenal and not a big Spanish club.

I thought Ben Arfa looked more direct than Nasri but less subtle - although this is perhaps something Arsenal need more of (as highlighted by the effectiveness of Walcott's pace in the last 10 games of the season). On occasions he would try and do a little to much when the option was there to keep it simple. Ben Arfa looks more like a potential match winner than Sami Nasri - but perhaps I'm getting a little too carried away in the analysis of one match...

In othernews you will no doubt have heard about Mr Blatter still banging on about this 6+5 rule that he is fighting to get into the game (which is the rehashed 7+4 which was recently thrown out). He has a big task in getting around the EU laws but he is looking at every possible angle. Lets hope he doesn't find a crack that he can hammer into and find his way inside. Sky Sports and the BBC were doing their best to point out the all time low figures of English players in the Premier League. And obviously they highlighted us being the team who only fielded 1 Englishman in the last match of the season (Sunderland) how they wish Theo wasn't playing that game.

Update: Looks like UEFA's William Gaillard has moved to pour cold water on the 6+5.. favouring the policy of clubs sourcing of players who have been trained locally over enforced quotas of Englishmen.
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Nasri, Chantome and Couelin signed Ben Arfa On his way

2008-05-21T02:06:00.001-07:00

Arsenal are closing in on a triple French swoop with Samir Nasri,
Clement Chantome and Francis Coquelin all understood to be on the verge
of moving to north London.

The biggest of the three deals is that for Nasri, who only recently signed a new long-term contract with Marseille. The deal
for Nasri believed to be worth 15million euros (£11.9million).

Nasri is expected in the English capital on today for a medical before signing a four-year deal.

Ben Arfa's move also looks closer after Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas
confirmed he could leave and admitted he would rather he joined l'OM
than a foreign club.

"I am not opposed to a Hatem's transfer to l'OM. My idea is very
clear: with the same offers, I will prefer my player to join a French
club than a foreign club.

"French Football has to get more and more competitive teams for both Le Championnat and European Cups."

Aulas then admitted Arsenal are one of two Premier League clubs to make contact with him about Ben Arfa.

"But I have not been contacted by OM officials yet," he said.

"There is also interest from two English clubs, notably Arsenal."

While Wenger is a fan of both Nasri and Ben Arfa, the former has
always been his preference and it seems he is now close to capturing
him.

Nasri's signing will be followed by the arrivals of Chantome and Coquelin.

Chantome was one of the few PSG players to come out of last season
with any plaudits after a string of impressive displays in central
midfield.

The 22-year-old has been likened to Mathieu Flamini and Wenger is
reported to have met with the France Under-21 international in the last
week.

Coquelin - who is with third division Laval, has been on trial with
Arsenal and although he picked up an injury during training - the
17-year-old seems to have done enough to earn a deal.

It is believed Coquelin is currently in London undergoing a medical ahead of a deal.

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#1 Karim Benzema

2008-05-07T06:21:00.001-07:00

In anticipation of the summer, I'm starting a list of most wanted signings for anyone who is bored of the usual crap we get from the press.

I'll start at the top.

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Rebuilding From The Back

2008-04-20T05:42:00.001-07:00

We must get a full time contract negotiator - it is getting silly now. Since D Dein left, we've lacked someone to help Wenger in this respect. This is one of the major reasons we failed to sign the players we needed this season.

I'm sure this will be put right in the summer.

Then onto who to sign?

Well our defence needs a truely commanding centerback. We've needed this since Sol Campbell left - I've always argued that we never really replaced him. Next on the agenda is to sort out our cover at right back. Loosing Diarra who was class in both CM and RB may have cost us 50% of our season, selling him was a huge blow. I like Hoyte as a person, but I have serious doubts as to his capability to play at the top level.

Verdict: CB and RB needed.

Next the midfield. Eboue must go - He is not a winger - end of. Walcott has been the only bright note of the last ten games - he is now really starting to prove his worth. Theo must now be given his chance to play full games, because he gets so many assists, I still see him as a right-sided forward on a 4-3-3 or a winger - not a central striker. Next on the left wing, we have Carlos Vela coming in, AW has already said he will go straight into the squad. But he is still young and will probably take time to settle, at least he will cover for the injury prone Rosicky. So our midfield I think is ok, though we will need to sign Flamini having missed out on Diarra. If we loose Flam, then we should try to resign Diarra (unless Denilson is ready). I still think Flam will stay.

Verdict: maybe one additional wide player, esp if Walcott plays up top next season.

Up front. Here I think Ade with 27 goals has done enough to claim he is good enough. Remember he too is very young at 23. He has improved this season and there is no suggestions that he will not continue to do so. Adebayor's height means he is a aerial threat and his long legs and energy levels mean he can tackle well. His finishing still needs work as does his work wide as does the timing of his runs. So up front we have Ade, RVP (injury prone), Bendtner (not yet ready) and (Walcott - our only genuine pacey striker) (I don't see Eduardo featuring much next season). Ade is fast but his acceleration is very different to say a Henry or Torres - who are quick and can turn at full pelt. Walcott pace up front has recently shown what we are missing.

Verdict: 1 Striker with real pace and finishing (for me this is only one choice - Benzema).

So next season, this is what I would like to see. Flamini can provide the extra defensive cover on the right:

Sagna---Toure/Gallas--Naldo/---Clichy/Traore

Flamin----Fabregas/Hleb-----Rosicky/Vela

Walcott---Ade/RVP---Benzema

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Walcott - winger or striker?

2008-03-29T10:26:00.001-07:00

I think Walcott was also trying to send a message to Eboue and the manager? Think how many of those draws could have been turned into wins?

Just a thought...

There are question marks about his capability to defend for a whole match, if started on the right wing; but going forward there is no question he offers what Arsenal have lack pace, directness and width. His crossing is also arguably better than that offered by Hleb, Eboue or either of the full backs.

I'm glad to hear AW sounding out Ben Arfa - we need competition on the wings (esp if Walcott is seen as a future striker) - he is currently our most threatening attacker through the middle of the park.

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Can Adebayor discover the Drogba in him - instead of trying to be a pale imitation of Henry?

2008-03-29T06:57:00.001-07:00

Adebayorcould be more effective if he left the wide play and looked to his best
attributes - size, pace, and aerial ability. I seriously thought when
he scored that spate of headded goals he was finally learning where his
strengths lie.

But you have to feel sorry for the big man, theservice from out wide has been poor for two seasons (since thecole-pires-henry partnership was broken up). I can see what Ade has in
his mind - but really someone else should be running down the wide channels and Ade should be charging into the box (a tall man with, pace and a great jump is a monumental threat).

10-15m would havebrought us 1 winger, 1 defender and that would have been enough to save
our season. Why did we buy Diaby, Denilson and Diarra if we had Flamini and Fabregas (and Gilberto) but only Hleb and Rosicky wide? I think we missed out on transfers - this will come out in the next few years when wenger says I bid for so-and-so but I wouldn't pay more than a couple of million, so the opportunity passed....(sound familiar?). Personally, I think Ferguson would never have left himself in such a position. The only way Arsenal would have won the title this year would have been to get out of all other competitions in the first rounds leaving the squad to focus on the league.

It is a real shame as now - we are looking at 30-40m to get the top level players in the summer - if we are going to really push for the title... frankly, I can't see that happening. If we want Ben Arfa - we will have to pay the going rate.
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Luke Freeman Signs For Arsenal

2008-01-11T10:10:00.000-08:00
So Arsenal sign Luke Freeman from Gillingham for a fee of 250,000 Million pounds up front possibly rising to 2 million on appearances.

On the player Arsene Wenger had to say:

“Yes, we will be pushing it through,” said the manager when asked about the Freeman deal. “I want to buy English,” he added with a smile.

“I met the boy and I like him. He has personality and he looks alert. He’s a striker and to play in a first team at 15 years of age is something special.

“We were quite well on the case and we are very positive that we will find an agreement with the club without going to compensation. We will pay them a transfer.”

From the image below he certainly seems very physically developed for aged 15 - perhaps in the mold of Bojan Krkic. The premise is he will go into the U-18s side as the likes of Barazite are now knocking on the door of the reserves and Carling Cup squads.

Hype will follow any young English player at the club and perhaps in hindsight of his comments on 'Theo Walcott and the England team', perhaps to temper this Wenger intimated his uncertainty of the development from talented youth to club star:

“Will they be professional footballers at Arsenal? I don’t know. The more you go down [in ages] the greater the margin of error. Sometimes you see a player at 13 and you think ‘absolutely amazing’ then two years later he has disappeared.
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ENGLISH FOOTSAL SYMPTOMATIC OF TECHNICAL ILLNESS

2008-01-04T08:26:00.000-08:00
The dearth of good technical players in England was pointed out to me by a friend as we recently watched a footsal game. I know this topic has been done, dusted with only the Alan Shearers of this world to be convinced. But the technical level of the game in this country is in a shocking state.

I never played footsal, but heard about it around 1999 - a game developed in South America which emphasised the more technical aspects of football (played with a small flat ball, and penalties for successive fouls over the first 5). However, I was still rather shocked today to learn that England had only recently won their first international game, over the mighty Greece - after some pretty horrendous spankings.

I personally have no love for the FA in this country. Any organisation who put the likes of Mark Palios in charge, syphon off youth development money into money spinning Wembley, fail to win anything on the international scene (40 years and counting) and always are ready to shun the blame, will carry no favour with me. However if something isn't done soon - even the training academies of Arsenal (yes you read correctly) will not be able to save the national team in the next few years.
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Player	Club
Ryan Allsop	West Bromwich Albion
José Baxter	Everton
John Bostock	Tottenham Hotspur
Luke Freeman	Arsenal
Emmanuel Frimpong	Arsenal
Ezekiel Fryers	Manchester United
Gary Gardner	Aston Villa
James Hurst	Portsmouth
Billy Knott	Chelsea
Keanu Marsh-Brown	Fulham
Eddie Oshodi	Watford
Tom Parkes	Leicester City
Jamie Reckord	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Jed Steer	Norwich City
Ryan Tunnicliffe	Manchester United
Jonjo Shelvey	Charlton Athletic
Jacob Walcott	Reading
Jack Wilshere	Arsenal

Team	Goals	Shots	On Target	Shot Accuracy	Succ Passes
Arsenal	13	111	44	40%	3086
Aston Villa	12	60	28	47%	1636
Blackburn	8	63	27	43%	1950
Bolton	8	71	31	44%	1199
Chelsea	14	107	48	45%	3261
Everton	11	73	27	37%	1897
Fulham	5	62	20	32%	1899
Hull	10	54	28	52%	1408
Liverpool	10	94	33	35%	2797
Man City	18	74	40	54%	2457
Man Utd	8	72	33	46%	2407
Middlesbrough	7	76	35	46%	1666
Newcastle	7	53	22	42%	2208
Portsmouth	9	80	37	46%	1848
Stoke	8	45	15	33%	1046
Sunderland	7	63	28	44%	1805
Tottenham	4	74	28	38%	2479
West Brom	7	72	32	44%	2044
West Ham	14	85	35	41%	2240
Wigan	9	85	28	33%	1720

Tacklers	Team	Tackles	Success rate
Behrami	West Ham	36	67%
Butt	Newcastle	34	59%
Petrov	Aston Villa	33	67%
Malbranque	Sunderland	31	81%
Muamba	Bolton	30	83%

Passers	Team	Passes	Accuracy
Xabi Alonso	Liverpool	525	85%
Denilson	Arsenal	497	85%
Lampard	Chelsea	486	84%
Parker	West Ham	443	87%
Fabregas	Arsenal	417	83%

ASSISTS	Team	Assists
Arteta	Everton	4
Ashley Young	Aston Villa	3
Barry	Aston Villa	3
Denilson	Arsenal	3
Ireland	Manchester City	3
Keane	Liverpool	3