My Arsenal Blog

If things go disastrously wrong for Arsenal on the final day of the season, Arsene Wenger will find out first hand what the Europa League is like. He has criticised UEFA and the way the competition is set up, however, because the two finalists this year, Chelsea and Benfica, both dropped out of the Champions League at the group stage.

“Their target at the start of the season was the Champions League, not to win the Europa League,” declared Wenger.

“We raised that question many times at UEFA. Is it right to reward teams, basically, for failure?

“The teams who go through in the Champions League to the last 16 don’t have a chance after. If you go out in the last 16, you don’t drop into the Europa League. If you don’t qualify, you have a chance of winning the Europa League.

“If I had won the Europa League like Chelsea, I would have been happy as well. It is a trophy, but overall it raises a question.”

You can understand his point and his frustration, especially as Arsenal have been without a trophy for eight seasons now. In every single one of those seasons, Arsenal got through the group stages of the Champions League, so have never had the opportunity to win the Europa League, despite doing better than the teams who came third, like Chelsea.

You would think that Arsenal would have had a good chance of winning it if we had, so that is a bit of a wind-up. Maybe we will have a chance next season, depending on what happens today, but I seriously hope not.

Arsenal are closing in on a deal to sign young French striker Yaya Sanogo from French club Auxerre. Arsenal have been linked with lots of players already in the last few weeks but the deal for Sanogo is the only one that Wenger has commented on himself.

Wenger admits that the deal is in it’s final stages and it is very likely that there will be a new French striker at the club next season.

Sanogo was hailed as one of the world’s future stars when he was young because of the way he dominated the youth leagues and even the international youth competitions with his unmatched scoring records and ability.

He holds lots of records in youth competitions for the amount of goals he has scored and he has begun to show his ability in the Auxerre team this season by scoring 9 goals in just 19 appearances and a lot of those appearances were off the bench.

Despite him being destined for great things, he suffered a double leg break when he was 18 years old and was out of the game for nearly 2 years which severely halted his progress.

Arsene Wenger along with most managers in Europe had his eyes on Sanogo when he was 16 and he looks to have won the race for his signature. A lot of other clubs would have lost interest in him when he suffered the leg break but Wenger kept to his goals and now he is about to sign him.

Arsenal could have a deadly strike force in the future in the shape of Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell who are both around the same age and are admired greatly by Arsene Wenger. Joel Campbell has spent the last 2 seasons on loan but he could be about to break into the Arsenal first team because of his impressive performances.

As an Arsenal fan, I don’t know whether to be pleased or worried about Wigan Athletic beating Manchester City to win the FA cup at Wembley on Saturday. All we heard from former players was that a Wembley final saps the strength from your legs much more than a normal game.

That is why most people were surprised that Roberto Martinez put out as strong a side as possible and they really went for it. It must be a fantastic feeling for everyone at the club, but they would all admit that Premier League survival is more important. Martinez has vowed to get his players fully focused on beating Arsenal at the Emirates tomorrow, because no other result will do for them.

Is it realistic, though? I know that players can sometimes run on adrenaline, but against the Gunners at the Emirates, where they are likely to be chasing just to get hold of the ball? Not only will they have tired bodies, but the elation and emotion of winning the FA up will have taken it’s toll mentally.

I think they were really brave at Wembley and fully deserved the win. It would be a shame to see them relegated in the same season, but, unfortunately for them, Arsenal need a win too and will be taking no prisoners. If we can get an early lead tomorrow, it could be a long, hard night for Wigan and a heavy defeat.

We have been promised that the financial shackles at Arsenal would be off `very soon` for some time now, but this summer it actually looks like it will happen. Although not officially confirmed by the club, it seems to be an open secret that Arsene Wenger will be handed around £70 million to spend in the summer transfer window. It could be even more, now we are hearing about a whopping shirt deal with Puma.

The Puma deal will not start for another year, but there could well be a down payment, which could leave the prof with nearly £100 million burning a hole in his pocket. The timing could not be better for Arsenal; with the departure of Ferguson bound to have an effect on Manchester United and Roberto Mancini and City seemingly losing their way. Mourinho may well be going to Chelsea, but that is no guarantee of success, just ask Real Madrid.

Tottenham seem to be headed for crushing disappointment again and they will find it much harder to hang on to Gareth Bale this summer if they are faced with the Europa League again. They might have a lot of money from his sale, but they will struggle to attract the top players without a Champions League place.

If Arsenal and Wenger add some top quality players this summer to complement the strong core already in place, it could be the start of another great period of success for Arsenal. God knows we have waited long enough. Wenger has a year left on his contract, so next season will be crucial in deciding whether he is the man to take us forward, or if it is the end of an era in north London as well as Manchester.

Arsenal are today closing in on moves for several strikers as they aim to spend money this summer to restore faith in the fans. The moves are being completed quickly in case of the clubs failure to qualify for the Champions League and then a possible failure to attract the players they want.

Stevan Jovetic from Fiorentina is looking like the most likely of the deals to happen as the two clubs ave been in talks for around a month now, apparently, and an agreement with the club and the player are seemingly complete. Jovetic would be a welcome signing in North London as he is a tricky attacking player who has excellent technical skills and as he has proved recently he can be a prolific goalscorer. I feel as though he would link up excellently with Theo Walcott on the wing or even in the centre, he is a similar player to Cazorla as well but he is more advanced on the pitch.

Edin Dzeko from Manchester City also looks to be on his way out and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may be interested if he can get the Bosnian at a bargain price. Dzeko showed excellent goalscoring ability earlier in the season but has since been dropped again in favour of Tevez and Aguero. I think there would be no need to buy Dzeko unless Giroud was on his way out of the Emirates, This may be the case as Wenger would not want two similar strikers in his squad like Giroud and Dzeko.

It is also being reported that Arsenal are going to make an unexpected move for Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski. It was thought that Lewandowski was close to signing for Bayern Munich or Manchester United but if Arsenal have made a late bid it must be a spectacular one. This would be a great statement to the fans if a deal for the Pole really is on the cards and may change people’s minds about Arsenal.

This season, especially in the second half of it there have been lots of reports that Bacary Sagna will be leaving Arsenal this summer and that Arsenal will not offer him a new contract when it comes to expire. The question is, do Arsenal fans think it’s time for him to move on after six year at the club in which he has not won a single trophy?

One of the big contenders for Sagna’s signature are PSG but negotiations are apparently breaking down and starting again every few days. If the Frenchman is sold, who can be bought to replace him or will anybody be bought to replace him? Carl Jenkinson should be moved into the right back position permanently if Sagna leaves because he is a future England international and can offer something that Arsenal full backs have not since the 90′s, competent defending skills.

Jenkinson can offer a balance with the defence and create a new tactic and alter the way the entire team plays, for example Monreal on the other side can bomb forward and leave a gap in the defence without being worried because Jenkinson would slide over into the centre and the other two centre backs would reshape to form a 3-man central defence. When this happens any counter-attack which seems to catch Arsenal out so often will face more resistance as Jenkinson has the defensive ability to operate as a centre back and a right back in the same match.

But the fact still remains that if Sagna leaves and Jenkinson takes a first team place, the club will need cover for the position. Sebastian Corchia has been linked with the club in recent days and could be available for 3 to 6 million pounds. Corchia would be a gamble but e could show potential to become a world class right back with the proper guidance and training.

Would you happily wave goodbye to Sagna and what do you think about Carl Jenkinson and Sebastian Corchia?

Ever since Olivier Giroud got sent off against Fulham, Arsenal fans were clamouring for Lukas Podolski to be given the centre-forward role for the future, but after the German was hardly seen in the game against Man United, perhaps the enthusiasm has waned.

But Arsene Wenger seems convinced that the German international is the right man for the job going forward, despite his no-show in last weeks game. Wenger said: “He has the qualities because he is a good finisher,”

“He has a good technique and because we have a game based on very quick combinations, I believe he can be a part of that. Overall I am convinced in the coming games he will show it.

“A definite decision has not been made, but if there is an opportunity then there is a good chance I will do it.”

There is the problem with some surgery that Podolski needs in the summer, but if he can play through the pain (and improve after last week!) we all know he has the talent to be a brilliant centre-forward. Surely he has to better than Giroud in the end?

Or should Walcott be given another chance to shine?

Arsene Wenger has shown the kind of loyalty to Arsenal that we wish a lot of his players had dome in recent years. It must be difficult for the Frenchman, because he seems to keep producing top class players only for them to leave the club in search of more money or guaranteed silverware.

If the stories in today’s papers are right, Wenger could soon be following the likes of Ashley Cole, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie. Paris Saint-Germain have money to burn thanks to their Qatari owners. They are about to wrap up the French title, having spent millions on players. They also gave Barcelona a scare in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Apparently, Carlo Ancelotti will be leaving at the end of the season and, according to the French media, the owners of PSG are confident that Wenger will be the new man in charge next season. The Frenchman is supposed to be contracted to Arsenal until 2014 and has never walked out on a contract before, but maybe he will change his mind, especially if we fail to finish in the top four.

Many Arsenal fans have been calling for Wenger to go all season, so if he does, who would we get in his place?

I don’t know about anybody else, but I have been very concerned recently about the Arsenal talisman and England’s great hope for the future, Jack Wilshere. An originally not too serious looking injury led to nearly six weeks out of the game. The main worry, for me, was not so much that Arsenal need him badly at this crucial stage of the season, but more concern for his future career.

The Gunners have had some terrible luck with injuries recently, most notably with Abou Diaby and Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman finally seems to be regaining the form that has our mouths watering before one of Stoke’s resident thugs, Ryan Shawcross, smashed his leg to pieces with a tackle that would have definitely ended his career a few years ago.

It is with great relief then, that the reason for Wilshere’s recent problem has been revealed. Arsene Wenger has not been very forthcoming. The manager has said that Jack was not suffering from a major problem and that the club were just being cautious but we have heard that sort of thing before about Diaby and then he has been out for months. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was a bit more informative.

“The news is not too bad,” said the Ox. “He’s just getting a bot of pain in his ankle from a few screws.

“If you can bounce back from what he did, you can bounce back from anything.”

So the pain and inflammation is caused by some of the pins used in his previous operation. He may have to have minor surgery in the summer to sort this out, but at least there is nothing for Arsenal fans to worry about.

For weeks Arsene Wenger has been saying that he would not rush Jack Wilshere back into the Arsenal team until he is 100 percent sure that the England international is ready. Despite Arsenal being in a tough battle for a top four finish, which is crucial to our future success, most Gooners were perfectly content with this policy.

Jack is our star, the player we are relying on to make us great again. Every time he gets fouled and clutches his knee or ankle, every Arsenal fan watching holds their breath and hopes that he gets up and shrugs it off, as he normally does.

So I was furious today when Wenger admitted that starting him for the game against Norwich was a bad move and that Jack was not quite ready. What the *~’k were you thinking, Arsene? It is just lucky that the 21-year old didn’t suffer further injury.

“I rushed Jack back a bit, he was not completely ready,” admitted Wenger.

“How careful have I to be? To listen well to the medical advice and that is what I have to do. Use him when everything is alright and listen to him as well, how he feels.”

It’s not exactly rocket science is it? You have a player who has spent lots of time on the sidelines through injury and he has been out for the last six weeks. The medical staff tell you he’s not quite match fit, so what do you do? Start him obviously. Doh!

Jack thinks that he will soon be back to where he was, but he should not start tonight against Everton, no matter how big a game it is. There are five more games after tonight and we will need him fully fir for those.