West Ham: The Big Fuss

I always find it difficult writing about Arsenal after such a disappointment, but to be honest since I started this blog, back in March, I haven't had much to be disappointed with. We were basically out of Europe already following the Monaco incident, and although we lost at home to Swansea we had our Champions League spot all but guaranteed and title aspirations was a non-starter right from the beginning. 'A non-starter right from the beginning', that sounds like a strange sentence, doesn't it? Anyway the point I am trying to make here is that while it was a bitterly disappointing performance and result, we need to have a bit of perspective. Losing is part of football, sure, we should expect a  far better performance, but football is completely unpredictable and as we have seen countless times in the Premier League; if a team is off by just 5% you get punished. That is unless you are Chelsea of course, who although, were played off the park by Swansea, and went down to 10 men, they still manages to secure a draw. That is the difference between both clubs presently; their second goal was a complete fluke, which went in from a massive deflection, whereas Ramsey had an effort that deflected onto the cross bar in the first half; what if the goals were reversed? Arsenal went one up and Chelsea stayed level ? We don't know what would happen, the margins are so fine in football; it is one big grey area (or green, I suppose..) and not the black and white, obvious, game most people, perhaps, wish it was.

I heard a lot of people talk about the lineup and that the manager got it wrong. I don't agree with that at all. I doubt there were many people who would have made any changes to the lineup. If Walcott had started the same people complaining about Giroud would almost certainly do likewise with him. It's always easy to say these things in hindsight. One thing I would agree on, however, is how narrow Arsenal played through the whole match. It is hard to tell whether the lethargy of our performance was a symptom of our lack of width or our lack of width was due to our sluggishness, either way they were both related. This isn't a new phenomenon either, when you look at our recent home record, and the performances in each match, it is quite alarming, we have failed to score in four of our last five home league games;

•  April 26th, Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea
•  May 11th, Arsenal 0-1 Swansea
•  May 20th, Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
•  May 24th, Arsenal 4-1 West Brom
•  August 9th, Arsenal 0-2 West Ham

What all those games had in common, with the exception of the West Brom match, which was the last game of the season and they had nothing to play for, was that they all set up deep defensively and we created few chances, we played very narrow and never looked too threatening. It is concerning and you start to feel as though other teams have worked out a system for playing us; when we play either Ramsey or Cazorla out wide we find it incredibly difficult to break teams down who are intent on sitting back. Perhaps Mourinho never took his bus home with him... I really hope Wenger looks at that and tries to rectify the problem, another striker, a world class striker would of course help, but it is the style of play that needs changing first. We have to play faster and employ more width. Here is a look at a chart the BBC produced of Arsenal's average positions in the West Ham game: It is far too congested in the centre..

Another aspect of our game that concerned me is linked to the great advantage of the system we play; the inter changing between the players. What I mean by that is the fact that the constant changing between players led to a lack of cohesion and prevented any sort of direction for the team to play. What highlighted this most of all was the amount of times we saw Giroud peel out wide; the problem with that is we have no other aerial threat, but even more worrying was that we had no midfield runners at all. There was one such occasion where Giroud managed to play in a delicious looking low cross, which would have fell perfectly to Ozil had he decided to make a run into the box earlier. I like our interchanging play, but it has to be done right or it just looks like a mess. Finally on the match itself, I was also frustrated with Cazorla being pushed out wide by the manager again; he was fantastic in the middle last season, why change that? I genuinely believe he brings us up another gear in the middle.

We all know the goals were sloppy and Cech was at fault for both, but he wasn't the only one at fault, as the manager said, it was a collective failure, so I don't really see the point in discussing it any further here; it has been done to death already. What I will say is that he is a world class keeper and will save us many points throughout the season; It was just one of those days at Arsenal.

I want to make a point about the reaction of a lot of Arsenal fans. We all have the right to react whatever way we do, but there was a clear overreaction to this match which I find ridiculous to be honest. We have played one match; we are only 3 points off the league leaders with 37 games to play and 111 points to play for. We also need to factor in that players recover different from pre- season, some are ready to go from the start and some take a few games to get back to full match fitness. West Ham had also played in a few competitive matches, in regards Europa league qualification, so they were ahead of us in terms of preparation as well, it must be pointed out. If this performance happened later on in the season, however, it would be deeply troubling, but i'm not too concerned, and see us as still in with a great shout at lifting the title come May.

I also found it interesting when I looked at our opening day results, and what I found was, coincidentally or not, since we began our long pre-season tours our results on the opening day have been dramatically worse. We cannot, of course, put that down solely to these tours as there could be numerous reasons, such as lack of transfer signings, poor preparation etc.What is clear however is that we have only won our opening match once after returning from our adventures in the Far East. Here are a look at the results;

Without Pre-season tours:

2004 Everton 1-4 Arsenal

2005 Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle United

2006 Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa

2007 Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

2008 Arsenal 1-0 West Bromwich Albion

2009 Everton 1-6 Arsenal

2010 Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal 

After Pre-season tours:

2011 Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal

2012 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland

2013 Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa

2014 Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace

2015 Arsenal 0-2 West Ham

Therefore, when you also factor in the long held idea that we do not perform well under increased pressure and expectation (think Monaco!!) You could say that the result Sunday was somewhat predictable...

As always follow me on twitter @Cosmic__kid

Anyway I'll leave it there for today.
Have a good one,

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

A Little Bit Of Everything In A Glass Half Full..

This post has been a long time coming, by that I don't necessarily mean what I have to say but the fact that it has been over a month since the last post on the goalkeeping situation and the nonsense that is the home grown rule. Therefore, I feel the need to explain my lack of activity which is primarily linked to the dearth of real Arsenal news. That is, I suppose, up until the last week or so. You know, the greatest hits; Benzema rumours and Jose Mourinho stupidity but also pre-season matches and more interestingly last weekend's Emirates cup. I meant to put up something earlier in the week, but never got around to it. It has been a quiet summer, particularly after last season's spending, but the most enjoyable fact of the last couple of years is not sweating about the imminent departure of one of the teams best players. Better days indeed. Or maybe the whole not sweating thing is down to the poor weather, whatever. Alas, however, the end is nigh! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, or more to the point, the players will see such light this weekend as they will run out against F.c Chelsea 2003 in this years traditional curtain raiser, namely the Community (or Charity?) shield. I'm really looking forward to this one; real football is back.

Sure, i'm fully aware that most people will point out that the shield is not a real trophy and the game does not matter in any way shape or form. I would disagree with that analysis as I think that it serves as a perfect opportunity to lay down a real marker for the season ahead and build up more confidence, but most importantly of all, I believe that our opponents make this match more important. If we were playing Man City for example, there wouldn't be the same importance placed upon the game. We beat City last year, twice, including last season's Community shield. We beat United at Old Trafford in the cup; we need to rid ourselves of the Chelsea/ Mourinho curse. This is the perfect opportunity and as a bonus will land us a treble before the season has actually started.

Looking back over pre-season we really have built up ahead of steam, a casual 0-4 victory over the Singapore select XI was followed up by a dominant and impressively well controlled 3-0 victory over Everton, which sealed the Barclays Asia trophy. We followed that up by keeping the Emirates cup at home (I know we didn't retain the cup, as we didn't win it last year, I meant, well...you know what I meant) through blitzing Lyon for 6 without return and battling through Lord Bendtner's Wolfsburg the following day picking up another clean sheet. Pre-season is all about fitness but winning is always enjoyable and a good habit, it helps build cohesion and confidence. If we were to beat Chelsea it would multiply this 7.89 fold (sorry, my maths is still off, Jose still hasn't returned my calculator..). Anyway, enough on the shield for now, there is other news to deal with.

Szczesny has joined Roma on loan for the season, which I think is a very smart move. Considering the purchase of Cech and the fact that Ospina hasn't really done anything wrong, and seems as though he is staying to fight for his place, it only makes sense for at the young age of 25 for a goalkeeper to leave and get game time. There has been some discussion as to whether this will be the end of his Arsenal career, which has spanned 9 years as he arrived at the even younger age for a goalkeeper of 16. It's a hard one to call and perhaps why the manager chose only to loan the keeper out. I still believe that Wenger has a lot of faith in Szczesny and views him as the longer term option for the position. So I don't think we have seen the last of him in an Arsenal shirt, but again, that depends on how well he does over in the Eternal city; more than anything, I think his future is down to him. For those of you who read my last post, yes, I am aware that I was talking about the home grown rule and how it might force Ospina out the door, and now Ospina isn't leaving, but my overall point on the issue stands, regardless of the wrong names and what not.

Now onto the real nonsense stories of the week, and that is the constant noise coming from that insufferable 'only attacks in press conferences' man that gives headaches worse than listening to Bob Dylan singing live (I love his studio stuff). I'm referring to the Chelsea manager, of course. His claims of other teams buying the title and that people would be 'surprised' about Arsenal's spending is both hypocritical and ridiculous in equal measure. The simple fact is that Chelsea have spent more than Arsenal in the last 20 years, in the last 10 years and since he has returned to the Premier League. since his return Chelsea have spent £234.259 million in comparison to Arsenal's £148.2 million, according to Sky Sports. Admittedly, Chelsea have a more impressive net spend, however no one can quite account for the ridiculous amount of money P.S.G spent on David Luiz. More interesting is Arsene Wenger's spending at Arsenal, since his arrival in 1996; I took this excerpt from 7am Kickoff's brilliant analysis on the subject, so it is not my own work (I don't have my calculator, remember?..)

"Throughout Arsene’s entire history with the Arsenal, he has spent just £113m. From 1996/97-2005/06 Wenger spent “lavishly” by his standards and plonked down £58m. In that time frame, he won 3 Premier League titles and 4 FA Cups. That’s 7 major trophies at a bargain cost of £8m each".
"Wenger then went through a period of selling from 2006/07-2012/13 and generated a net profit of £43m. It’s no surprise, then, that in that time Arsenal made it to two League Cup finals and ended runner’s up both times".
"But since 2013/14 Wenger has been given a large chunk of money to spend on players and in the last three seasons has spent £98m. If you’re paying attention, you’ll note that Wenger has only spent £113m in his career, with £98m of that coming in the last three years! In the time that Wenger has spent £100m, he has won 2 major trophies: back-to-back FA Cups at a cost of about £50m each"

From the same article, they worked out the cost per trophy won for each manager at each club. This works out roughly at (in millions) £12.46 for Wenger compared to £48.25 for Mourinho on major trophies. When it comes to all trophies won by each manager it works out at £8.07 for the Arsenal man and £24.13 for his Chelsea counterpart. What's even more impressive is the fact that Ambramovich had already invested £117 million before Mourinho arrived and further bought his trophy haul. He asked to get the calculator's out, and people have done that, and have shown that he is wrong. That is a fact, his other buddy Rafa Benitez would tell him.

Finally, reflecting upon our excellent second half of last season, the addition of Cech and encouraging pre-season form we are looking in prime condition for a significant assault upon the Premier League title. We are not there yet, however. I still believe that we need to add another striker, and perhaps another defensive minded central midfielder. I cannot understand those who say that we need another centre back, however, that is nonsense in my opinion. We have Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gabriel and Chambers, we don't need another. I'm happy number wise and quality wise, and I am really looking forward to seeing how Gabriel progresses as I think he looks like a really promising signing. The main thing, however, is that for the first time in a very long time we are not in desperate need of a particular signing. Things are looking up, the glass is half full and victory over Chelsea this weekend will further show this.

Right that will do for now, Follow on Twitter @ Cosmic__Kid 
Have a good one.

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

.

Cech, Szczesny, Ospina and the problem of the Homegrown Rule..

 Here we are another Saturday and another Premier league-less Saturday. Not the best of sentences to open this post with, I know, but then again the great thing abut a blog post is the fact that you can write (type) informally. See at the moment the problem is that there really isn't much to write about. It's all transfer rumours and games of he says she says with a little bit of the Copa America thrown in to top it off. You can see already in this paragraph I have resorted to mentioning the fact that with a blog you can write informally, I mean who is interested in that?  As another blog Highbury House has pointed out even the club's official site is finding topical writing difficult with their latest poll about our best headed goals...

Anyway, there are more rumours circulating that Vidal will join the club. Most of these suggest that Juventus have already agreed to sell the player, however which club he has been sold to will not be revealed until after the Copa America. So make of that what you will.

The Petr Cech story rumbles on, like the proverbial snowball gathering more and becoming bigger the longer it goes on. The latest being that he had his medical at the club yesterday. It would seem as though this is true, I mean it has been picked up as the the general narrative from Arsenal bloggers/ newspapers etc. BBC reported it via David Ornstein on twitter who said:

"Chelsea gk Petr Cech will undergo a medical today ahead of completing his proposed    move to Arsenal. Fee & personal terms agreed"

 ESPN, another reputable source also said the same. This would also seem to tie in with the fact that Sky belive the deal would not be announced until next week as Arsenal generally don't announce transfers on the weekend, with the exception of it being deadline day. Anyway we will have to wait and see I guess..

See there you go, I just played a game of he says she says, with a transfer rumour and am now about to mention the Copa America...

David Ospina, the man supposedly making way for the arrival of Petr Cech had a great game last night for Columbia against Argentina. I didn't see the match but he made a spectacular double save from Messi and Tevez which is now been used by some to claim that Arsenal don't need Cech, which is ridiculous. It really bugs me how people can make such decisions based on one match. Most of those people are probably the same ones who were calling for a new keeper throughout last season.

The problem with this is that I actually like Ospina, well let me qualify that: I like Ospina more than Szczesny. However, as I said in the above paragraph it looks as though the Columbian will be the one making way after just a year at the club. There is supposedly a £4 million fee agreed between Arsenal and Fenerbache. I think he was solid when he came in for the second part of last season, whereas I just don't trust Szczesny at all. However, he has the advantage of the home grown rule.

First of all, I do believe that Wenger prefers Szczesny, and only dropped him as a punishment for his smoking antics at St. Mary's, so i'm not too surprised to hear that he will probably be the one to stay (unless both leave?) The manager has a lot of faith in him. I do firmly believe that the decision was helped massively by the home grown rule, though, why would you let a home grown player leave, essentially now a back up, when you can sell another non home grown backup player?

This ridiculous rule is supposedly there to help English players. Well this is one of the loop holes. Yes, Szczesny has been in England for may years and even has a not so slight English accent, however he plays for the Polish national side and I don't think him or any one else for that matter would say he is English. So why should this rule protect him over Ospina? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Football is a sport and sport has to be based on which player or team is better than the other, not on which passport you have. The world is more diverse and multi cultural than ever, so why start limiting who can play where? Really, when you think about it, at its heart isn't this rule not somewhat xenophobic? I am not saying the F.A is xenophobic or anything, far from it. I understand that they want to improve the English game, and moreover the English national team. However, the way they are doing it is just wrong.

How does a football player improve? By playing with better players. Do England currently have the best players in the world? No, far from it. Does the Premier League have the best players in the World?, no, far from it. So can anyone tell me what sense this rule makes? English players will always get the chance to play if they are good enough. At the moment a lot of them simply are not. It is far too simplistic and quite frankly symptomatic of an old attitude within both Irish and British society to blame the problems on foreigners.

Couldn't you also argue that for the F.A to implement this rule, they are saying British players are not good enough and need extra help, what sort of message does that send out? I believe that they should spend there time investing in youth football, improve coaching levels and training facilities for younger players. More English payers in the English league does not guarantee success for the national team, in fact all it does is promote mediocrity.

A Columbian player will most likely leave Arsenal football club due to an English rule that says a Polish player is more important than he is, all to make room for a Czech Republic international; if anything it just sounds like a bad joke...

Anyway time is against me, so I'll leave it there. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Also keep an eye out for the twitter and google plus follow buttons on the side!

Have a good one.

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

More Updates On Cech Transfer..

                                                                                  Arsenal Bound?

Well here we are in the thick of silly season and yet the only thing silly seems to be the impending arrival of Petr Cech from title rivals Chelsea, who just happen to be managed by Jose Mourinho. I wrote last week on the possibility of this transfer actually happening and at the time I really didn't see this as a possibility, looking at all the factors, and especially seen as we have all been fooled into thinking transfers were done before, Higuain and Remy for example. However, my opinion has changed over the course of the last week and it's looking quite likely that this may happen.

There have been a couple of 'signs' the last couple of days that have sent people on twitter eager for any sort of official announcement from Arsenal. The first being Stuart MacFarlane, Arsenal's official photographer following Cech on Instagram which was taken as a sure fire sign of the Czech international's arrival. I can obviously see how people have jumped to that conclusion but I doubt that the club's photographer has any special insight on transfer dealings. He might hear some chatter around the club, but I imagine that would be about it. He has since tried to clear up the matter via twitter:

"Funny people think I know what's going on with transfers, just a photographer. I'm an Arsenal fan like you and follow all the media rubbish".

Anyway let's just hope he is right. There was also a picture put up on Tomas Rosicky's Instagram account saying 'Welcome to #Arsenal Petr Cech', and seeing as both players are international teammates this sent everyone into a frenzy. However, it has since been confirmed that it was a fake account and the real Tomas Rosicky has not put anything up on the subject at all....yet.

Even with all this nonsense floating around I think the signs look good in general, there's no smoke without fire after all. However, for me at least, today was the biggest sign, as Sky Sports have claimed that there has been progress made towards a transfer.

Up until now the big, and generally more reliable media sites have been realtively quiet on this topic, so this is encouraging. Sky have claimed that while the fee is yet to be agreed, personal terms, in principle have been agreed between the player and the club. Here is what they said;

"Sky sources report Cech, 33, has agreed personal terms in principle on a switch to the Emirates Stadium but we understand the two clubs are still not close to agreeing a fee and negotiations will continue this week"

 "The transfer fee is unknown but it will be a cash only deal, with Chelsea's request to receive a  home-grown player as part of the proposed transfer no longer being considered"

So there we have it, it's also great to see that there will be no player exchanges as part of the deal, because I really wouldn't have wanted to lose Chamberlain, the player supposedly wanted by Chelsea. All in all it looks good, here's an article on the Metro comparing Cech to Ospina and Szczesny, the new arrival looking a definite upgrade. It would be great to see this deal go through as I don't think we have had a steady goalkeeper since mad Jens left, this signing could be the foundation of a strong title challenge.

Anyway I will leave the rest of the transfer speculation to you lot, let me know your thoughts on the situation in the comments.

Have a good one.

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

.

Who Deserves A New Contract at Arsenal?

This is an article I wrote for another site back in March that I thought might be of interest to any of you that haven't read it, especially seen as the season has ended. It's actually quite ironic that I wouldn't change my mind on any of the individual cases. Although I am less convinced on certain players. I am more skeptical about what role Arteta can play in the squad, for example, when you take all the factors into account such as age, injuries etc. but I am also expecting a new signing in midfield which may force the manager's hand. I am still undecided about Rosicky, again it's nice to have experienced players in the squad, but i'm sure he will be looking for game time. If I was the manager I would leave the decision up to him, which, when I think of it now, he probably will. It also looks almost certain that Podolski is on his way out and obviously Diaby has not been offered a new deal, which I wrote about here.

Anyway, I have decided to leave in the introductory paragraph, reminders of the Monaco disaster notwithstanding.....

                                                **************************************


After Monday's cup tie I just began thinking to myself  that we have only 10 Premier League games left. That's crazy isn't it? It only feels as though we are half way through the season.We still have a Cup semi-Final and that return leg against Monaco in the Champions League, whether our chances are slim or not. So, we are only guaranteed a minimum 12 games left this season, hopefully 13 should we progress to the Cup Final (more if a miracle happens in Monaco). That leaves the manager with some decisions to make. I would certainly hope that he already has in mind what he plans to do not only in terms of recruiting players this summer, but also in terms of which players he wants to keep at the club. Let's have a look at which players deserve a contract extension.

Here's a look at the player's with contracts running out at the end of this season;

Francis Coquelin: At the end of January the Manager was asked )not for the first time) about the contract status of some of the players and while at the time he didn't have much to say. He did say that Coquelin was '99% done'. This is great news for Arsenal fans as he really has grown into one of the key players in the squad this season. Since he came in for the injured Mathieu Flamini away to West Ham, he hasn't looked back. There were many question marks about how he would settle into the team and even many questioning whether he could handle the physicality of the Premier League, well he has certainly answered those criticisms. In the recent game against Everton he suffered a broken nose and while Arsenal were adamant that he should come off; he wanted to play on (He was eventually forced off when he received another blow to his nose late on the game). Even in the win over Man United within the first 5 minutes, Fellaini elbowed (Accident? you're having a laugh) him into the face and he got straight back up, that showed the kind of fighting spirit that would see us gain such an important victory. Verdict: Extend.

Mikel Arteta: The captain has missed most of the campaign through injury, making only sparing appearances. There have been conflicting reports on whether or not he has actually signed a contract extension. Sky Sports, say he has while his agent also says he has, yet at that time Arsene Wenger  has denied the reports (see the Coquelin report above) that he has offered him a one year extension to keep him at the club past this season. Arteta has only made 7 Premier League appearances in total this season and while many may think it's time for him to move on, I still think he has a lot to offer the club. Yes, he will turn 33 this month and yes, he is quite slow, however what Arteta offers is leadership and experience. How many times have we, as Arsenal fans said that we lack any real leadership or experience? Or even wish that Wenger kept the more experienced players around longer? Arteta also plays a fundamental role in keeping the team ticking over and retaining possession, there have been games this season where his calming influence would have helped the team, the Monaco disaster, for example. Verdict: Extend.

Abou Diaby: It's really hard not to feel sorry for Diaby and his struggles with injuries, after a ridiculous challenge from Sunderland's Dan Smith in 2006, but once again another season has come and passed him by, as he remains on the treatment table. He has to be given a lot of credit for his willingness to return from injury after so many set backs, but there comes a time where the manager will have to look at what's best for the club. According to the Daily Mail,  Diaby has suffered 42 injuries at the club, while also averaging a set back every 80 day's. Wenger has already said that he will discuss Diaby's future with him in March, have a look at this post from The Daily Canon here. I think that the manager will have to accept that it just simply isn't feasible to keep a player at the club that can hardly string 5 consecutive games together, it's a shame because he is a really gifted player and had a lot to offer the squad. Remember that performance at Liverpool anyone? Verdict: Release.

Right here's a look at the players who still have another season left on their contract's;

Tomas Rosicky: Once again this season Rosicky has been in great form and while he may not be able to complete 90 minutes three times a week any more, when he does play he gives the team bags of energy. Rosicky is the one player in the squad who, I think, is capable of coming on and really changing the tempo of the team. We have seen plenty of games where Arsenal start the game slow, and lethargically, only for Rosicky to come on and add new emphasis to the attack, he isn't afraid of making a few tackles either. While Rosicky will turn 35 next October, once again, like Arteta, while it might be obvious that he will get even less game time, I think he still has a lot to offer the squad. Here's a question, who has had more of an impact on the team this season, Rocicky or Wilshere? Rosicky has another year remaining on his contract, so it's very hard to judge , with a player of his age. Verdict: N/A

Mathieu Flamini: It has not been the greatest of seasons for Flamini in his second season of a second spell at Arsenal. He has struggled to get into the squad this season and, yep, you guessed it he is currently sidelined with injury. Flamini has been caught out numerous times this season, giving away the ball here for Chadli's goal for Spurs at the Emirates, for example. While I don't usually mind a player's age (Arteta, Rosicky), they have to perform for their age not to be an issue, and while 31 is not necessarily that old, it just seems that Flamini's game has suffered the older he has got, and he has struggled to adapt his game accordingly, like Rosicky and Arteta. Although he has another season left on his contract, I'm not sure he offers the squad enough to earn his keep; I would look to cash in this summer. Verdict: Sell.

Lucas Podolski: Podolski has been a great disappointment to me at Arsenal, as I was expecting a lot from him when his signing was announced. While his goalscoring stats are excellent, accoring to The Telegraph,  Podolski’s ratio at Arsenal is 172.11 minutes per goal. That puts him behind four of the most effective Arsenal strikers in recent times in Emmanuel Adebayor (169.24 minutes), Ian Wright (154.12 minutes), Robin van Persie (138.48 minutes) and Thierry Henry (121.78 minutes). It really is disappointing that when you analyse his overall game he does not offer a lot; if football was a game based on goal scoring instinct he would be one of the best, but it's not; it's about a whole lot more. Podolski is a very static player, he hardly makes lung bursting runs to either make a chance for himself or create space for his team mates, he is not technically gifted (beside's his shooting), and put very simply; he does not fit into this Arsenal team. Like with Flamini, I would cash in this summer after his loan move to Inter Milan. Verdict: Sell.

Theo Walcott: This is the hardest of them all to balance, and I did mention this in yesterday's post about Chamberlain's injury. Although I have a feeling the manager might well cash in on Walcott this summer, and while I would't really complain if he did, I would still be unsure, however, because unlike Podolski, he does offer the team more than his goal scoring. Walcott primarily relies on his speed to create chances for himself, but he also uses this asset to create space for the team. If you look at any Arsenal game in which Walcott plays you will notice that he never stops moving and he really would be a night mare to defend against. While I think Oxlade-Chamberlain's overall game is better than Walcott's, Theo is far better with the final ball, be it an assist or a goal. I still think Walcott has plenty to offer the team, even with his limited technical abilities, he deserves the chance to come back from his injury, at Arsenal, but the club won't be held to ransom over a new contract this time, and rightfully so. Verdict: Extend.

Right so that's pretty much it, but I'd like to know which of these players contracts you would extend or which you would not. Leave your thought's in the comments.

Also follow me on twitter here; @Cosmic__Kid ,


Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

Wilshere On Injuries And Man City Links..

Posting two days in a row has been a rare thing on the blog the last while, but so too is the realization of an alcohol free weekend to come; no alcohol and no Arsenal on a Saturday is not a great combination. I suppose there is international football, and from my side the Ireland match, but watching this national team is, well, not fun. Anyway this will just be a short post.

Jack Wilshere has been speaking to the media while out on international duty with the England squad. He has had another injury hit campaign, after suffering a clumbsy foul from Mc Nair against United back in November, he only returned to the squad against Hull at the start of May. It has been a strange season for Jack as he got injured initially while he was starting to get some form together, and even as he came back last month he looked fresh and determined to get game time, but the season was almost over. He has been as unlucky on the pitch as he has been stupid at times off the pitch. Here's what he said on the injury front;

“I was just starting to play well, I was feeling good about myself. 

“When I was injured, a few people said I should change my game, that should get it and pass it,”  

“It did go through my head, I thought: ‘Maybe they are right, maybe I should.’ But as soon as I came back and I got on the ball, I just wanted to run with it. 

“You look at the best dribblers in the world, [Lionel] Messi and [Andres] Iniesta, it seems to stick to their foot. I can work on that when I am dribbling, but I am never going to change my game. 

“You have to learn from your mistakes and the only way you are going to evolve as a person and as a footballer is by making mistakes and learning from them.”

 He has also been linked with a move to Man City, who besides their unusual fetish for signing Arsenal players, are looking to back up their home grown quota. What a stupid rule that is,  anyway here is what he had to say, via Sportinglife:

"I definitely wouldn't go somewhere just because I'm a home-grown player. I'd want to be wanted by a club, I want to be wanted by Arsenal,"

          "I've grown up at Arsenal. As long as Arsenal want me, I'm happy."

          "It's been a frustrating season. There have probably been more lows than highs,"

I really hope he is able to stay fit next season as it really is time for him to kick on now. While i'm not exactly sure if he would get back into the starting lineup, it would give us the options we need. It also creates competition in the team and there have been some who have suggested, for example, that Giroud only plays well when Welbeck is fit. Obviously no one can answer that question, but it is an interesting viewpoint nonetheless. One would hope that it is not the case and that the players are all self motivated. Competition is what we need. If Wilshere is back and fully fit, what will that do to Cazorla and Ramsey? I for one would love to find out. 

Right that will do it, just a reminder that there are 'twitter' and 'google plus' icons on the side, so click them and give me a follow!

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

Rumours..

                                                         Disclaimer: This is not an album review!

When I woke up this morning one of my first thoughts was that tomorrow is Saturday, so that means an Arsenal match. Then I remembered its the summer, so no matches. I'm still adjusting to this and by the time I do completely it will be August and off we go again. I know we have the Copa America, but it just isn't the same. Anyway we will have to make do with the scraps of rumours, or rumors for you Americans reading. Yes, I know I don't normally delve into the transfer sillies, but there are a couple of rumours that just won't go away. 

Firstly though, Chile were playing in the Copa America last night and defeated Equador 2-0. I didn't see the match so I don't know what it was like. I was watching dinosaurs eat people, which is always fun, I guess. Although this is the part where i'm supposed to say that it wasn't as good as the first one, or not since this isn't a film blog. Anyway, Our little supremeo set up one of the goals, classic Sanchez, dare I say? (I hate calling him Alexis). The other goal was a Vidal penalty, and for any of you interested here is a link to the goals. The video is a little annoying but you get what you want to see, so why complain?

As I said at the start and also aptly named the post, there are plenty of rumours that won't go away when it comes to the early silly season nonsense. The first of which relates to Petr Cech. I don't really know what to make of this to be honest. Then again I am writing a post about it so I guess I should. I would love to get him, definitely, but there is something that doesn't quite add up. The first reason is the fact that we know that Wenger doesn't like to spend big money on a goalkeeper. Let's have a look at his record when it comes to signing keepers..

Overall he has signed 13 goalkeepers, the most recent of which being our current starting keeper in David Ospina. There are plenty of recognizable names such as Jens Lehmann, brought in at the start of the unbeaten campaign, and he would go on to play in all 38 league matches that season. He also still holds the record for most consecutive Champions League clean sheets, with 10. Before he got sent off in the final. That's Mad Jens in a nutshell. Manuel Almunia, another memorable keeper, but not for the reasons we associate with Lehmann. Almunia was an absolute clown of a goalkeeper, sure he was great against Barcelona and kept us in the game somewhat in 2009/10 and even the next season in the Nou camp, but he was just as likely to throw the ball in the net the next match as he was to follow it up with another good performance. What the manager saw in him I will never know. Maybe its the fact that, i'm not sure about any of you, but I always felt sorry for him, I have no idea why, but perhaps Arsene was the same? The only 'logical' reason I can think of. Other memorable names, for one reason or another, come in the form of Richard Wright and the recently departed Lukasz Fabianski, who has gone on and had a fantastic season. There are a few that don't particularly stand out such as Rami Shaaban, Stuart Taylor and Guillaume Warmuz.

I know its too early to judge Ospina and Szczesny, but when you look back on our keeper signings the only one that we can truly say was a great goalkeeper for us was Jens Lehmann. Scary stuff indeed. Wenger spent £6 million on Richard Wright, which is an exception, besides that its mainly been two or three million. It's one of the reasons I remain skeptical on the links with Cech, who would probably cost around £10 million. Besides, he will have to get rid of one of the keepers to bring him in. I'm not sure he is willing to get rid of either at this point in time. Szczesny is still relatively young and has been at Arsenal since he was a teen, and Ospina was only just signed last summer. I don't think either kepper will want to leave either, Szczesny already said that he wants to stay, talk is cheap I know, but I don't think he is actively looking to go. He did just start in the cup final after-all, although so too did Fabianski last season.

The biggest factor in all this, once again is Jose Mourinho. Not in a million years can I see him letting Cech come to us without a fight. He has already said that, although the final decision is Ambramovich's, he will want an Arsenal player in return;

"Every club that is interested in Petr, I can find a player that I like in that team too”

I pulled that form the Irish Examiner. Basically he is going to be Mourinho about it. You don't need to curse anymore you can just insert Mourinho for them all. 'Mourinho you Mourinho Mourinho'. Alright its a bit too much, fine.

Anyway as I said I think Cech would be a big upgrade on what we have, and I would welcome the signing, but I just can't see it happening. I will gladly eat my words if it does, however.

Another rumo(u)r finding the light of day again is that of Gonzalo Higuain, the former Madrid player turned Napoli star. He has had a good season in Italy, with 28 goals in 51 appearances, including 10 assists, according to Whoscored. Again here I go with the skepticism. First of all the reason Wenger said he was put off by him in the first place is due to the fact that he was managed at Madrid by yours truly Jose Mourinho, and when Chelsea were out looking for a striker they had no interest in Higuain. Probably a picky reason form the manager, but still a reason nonetheless.

The same issue with the goalkeeping situation, is the fact that we will have to get rid of a striker or two before we sign one. Look at our squad, first of all Podolski, Campbell and Sanogo are coming back. We have number one, in Giroud and the backup in Welbeck, who was only signed last summer. We also have Walcott who started up top in the last two games, which included the cup final. He scored a goal in that and a hat trick in the match before and the manager has always maintained that he will end up as a striker. Then you can also throw in Sanchez to the mixing bowl as well. I am sure we will look to offload Podolski and perhaps Campbell again. Sanogo will probably go out on loan also. But I still don't see room for a striker, unless Walcott leaves. Perhaps that's what it all hinges on.

The final reason, when you look at the stats, can you really say that Higuain is better than Giroud? I don't think so, in fact they only serve to highlight that Giroud has had a really good season. He has scored 19 in 29 appearances, (according to whoscored) which is far better than Higuain's 28 in 51 appearances. That gives the Argentine a 0.54 goals per game average compared to Giroud's 0.65. Higuain does have the edge in terms of assists with his 10 bettering the Frenchman's 3. Again however, he has played far more games. My point is that there is no point in signing a striker for the sake of signing one. That sentence was strange. Wenger is always saying that he will only sign 'top, top quality', and I don't see Higuain in that category. He does have a great first name, however.

Right we'll leave it there for today, to put it quite simply we need quality in the squad now, not depth. I also think we are fine at the back, we have 4 centre backs (Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gabriel, Chambers) Two right backs (Debuchy. Bellerin) and two left backs (Monreal, Gibbs). I suppose this summer, more than others depends first and foremost on who leaves the club. Realistically, we are most likely to see a midfield signing or two, but I have been wrong before...

Let me know what you think in the comments, should we sign Higuain/Cech? Who should we sign? What positions need strengthening in your opinion?

Follow on twitter @Cosmic__Kid

Edit: There are 'google plus' badges on the side of this page so if you follow me on that my posts get shared directly there as well!

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.