My Arsenal Blog

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.

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?

In the last few days there have been reports of a former Gunner returning to Arsenal in the summer, in the player of a certain Cesc Fabregas. I, as like most people would be absolutely ecstatic if Fabregas was to return to Arsenal in the summer and who knows it may happen. But this time it’s another ex-arsenal player that’s in the headlines for a return.

Carlos Vela is a player that has had rumours of a return surrounding him for the majority of the second half of the season, mainly due to his impressive form in Spain, and it’s the constant rumours that make me believe that maybe there is some real truth in this story.

I always liked Vela; I felt he brought something different that was special to the Arsenal team; however it was unfortunate that it seemed he was inevitably going to be sold after so many loans. It was best for both the club and for the player but personally I was sad to see such a talent go. Now after a full permanent deal in Spain with Real Sociedad, Vela is showing the true form that got Arsenal fans excited for his future time and time again.

Vela has managed to notch 13 goals so far this season and his performances have been purely brilliant, leading to the suggestion that Wenger will look to activate a buy back clause implemented into the Mexican international’s contract.
On a return Vela was today quoted saying; “Going back to Arsenal? It could happen at any moment, but I don’t want to think about it. My life is at Real Sociedad, and it is with that shirt that I want to play in the Champions League next season.”

Now of course he never actually states that he will be returning to Arsenal but he certainly doesn’t seem put off by the thought. He says Champions League qualification is important and of course we can’t even be certain of providing that yet, but I really do think there’s some genuine truth here.

Wenger always knew he was a good player and you can’t say he was sold because he simply wasn’t good enough. There were some elements of that and yes he probably isn’t good enough at the present moment to be Arsenal’s number one striker, that’s almost a fact however I think he could provide very admirable back up to a striker and it only adds to our options. Last season Van Persie was on fire and you’re never going to knock him out the team, whilst Chamakh, Walcott and Gervinho all played a part in attack, but now with the team arguably being short of strikers I think the 24 year old could once again walk out in an Arsenal shirt. At £3 million, Carlos Vela is a steal and in my opinion, he’s definitely someone we should look at in the summer, should our other targets fail in the attacking positions.

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.

There is a tendency at Arsenal Football Club to keep things in house, as can be seen by one former Gunner, Steve Bould, taking over from another, Pat Rice, as Arsene Wenger’s assistant. So when the Arsenal midfield legen Liam Brady retires as head of youth development and Academy Director, it is likely that another former player will take over and the favourite for the job is the Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp.

According to the Mirror, Wenger and Bergkamp are in regular contact and they discuss tactics, training and all aspects of football management. The Former Arsenal striker is currently working as assistant to Frank De Boer at Ajax, where they have an admirable and successful youth system which is based on the ideas of Johan Cruyff and is run in a similar way to the famous La Masia academy at Barcelona.

The plan for Arsenal, apparently, is to bring Bergkamp in to run the academy and implement ways to pass on his technical skill and understanding, before finally taking over from Wenger when the Frenchman steps down as the manager. It all sounds excellent to Arsenal fans, so let’s hope we can make it happen.

The Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny was probably glad of the international break to give him a chance to get away from the glare of the English media. The Polish international was dropped by Arsene Wenger for the games against Bayern Munich and Swansea City to give him time to get his `mental state` in the right order. Szczesny must have been wishing for a peaceful couple of weeks, but it was not to be after his father criticised Wenger and Arsenal about their handling of his son.

This has obviously caused Szczesny extreme embarrassment and he has issued a statement to try to put a stop to the story before it goes too far.

“I would like to apologise for the comments made by my father which have been used by both Polish and English media,” said Szczesny.

“I’d like to make it clear that those were the views and opinions of my father and not mine and, although I respect his views, I cannot accept them because I find them disrespectful to the club I truly love.

“I have been at Arsenal football club for seven years now and I have always shown my full respect to the club, Arsene Wenger, all the coaching staff, my team mates and the fans.

“I’ve always felt that I received great support from the manager and the fans and I am fully focused on getting back to my best.

“I am proud to be a part of Arsenal and I see my future at this great club.”

You have to feel sorry for the lad. Parents really can be embarrassing sometimes, but this could not have come at a worse time for Szczesny. At least he made a frank and speedy apology, though, and from his statement it is clear how much Arsenal means to him. It also seems to dispel the rumours that he would seek to leave if he was not the automatic first choice.

You never know, but these last few weeks could actually be the making of him.

Arsene Wenger knows that he needs to sign some top quality players in the summer, or as he puts it, `top, top, top, top players. The current top wage at the Emirates is around £100,000 a week for Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski, but that will not be enough to persuade some of Europe’s best to join the Gunnersespecially when they know they can earn the equivalent of winning the jackpot at www.MansionCasino.com every week if they join Chelsea or Man City.

According to the Telegraph, Arsenal officials are aware of the problem and are ready to tear up the rulebook this summer in order to land the players that Wenger thinks will make his team able to compete with the very best again. One of those players is the young German star Mario Gotze. The 20-year old is a real talent, and apparently has a release clause of around £30 million in his contract with Dortmund, so the transfer fee is known, but just because Arsenal offer to pay it does not mean that Gotze will agree to the move, or that another club will not make the same offer but with better personal terms. The same can probably be said for another top target, the striker Stevan Jovetic from Fiorentina has been linked with a number of big European clubs.

Arsenal will, therefore, be looking to offload a number of players who are surplus to requirements, such as Djourou and Santos, as well as seeing the end of the contracts of Squillachi and Arshavin. They may not get much, if any, money for these players, but their wages will help us to attract the new stars.

It is unlikely that Arsenal will get anywhere near the silly money paid out by Chelsea and Man City, but at least the club is ready to change it’s ways to compete.

Everybody knows that Arsenal are having a tough season, and it got a whole lot worse last night. The 3-1 home defeat by Bayern Munich left the Gunners almost guaranteed to suffer another season without any silverware, unless Wenger can orchestrate a miracle in Munich. The odds against us getting through to the last eight are 25/1. Please remember that if you are crazy enough to back Arsenal to get through make sure you use UK responsible gambling resources!

The only thing that Arsenal have to play for now is a top four spot which will guarantee a place in next season’s Champions league. Wenger has achieved this year after year, but we are currently sitting in fifth, four points behind Tottenham and five behind Chelsea. With 12 games of the season left there is plenty of time, and Arsenal made up a bigger gap last year, but the bookies have Tottenham as slight favourites to keep their spot this time around. They are slightly odds on at 4/5 while Arsenal are 11/10 to do it.

It seems as if the nerves of the Arsenal players and fans are starting to give the bookies second thoughts. Wenger’s press conference rant will not have helped either, as he has always been calm and authoritative before. Maybe they are not convinced that Wenger can get the Arsenal team back up and feeling positive and confident after such a disappointing week, although we are still heavy favourites to beat Aston Villa at the Emirates on Saturday.

However disgruntled the Arsenal fans are, however, the bookies feel that the board will not sack Wenger, as the Frenchman is still 4/11 on to be in charge of the Gunners at the start of next season.

Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger has declared that the club is still looking to add talent to the squad and make a few transfers, but despite having lost RVP and Song, the Frenchman isn’t too certain of his statement.

According to Wenger, some players might still join, but his main focus is to get back Wilshere and Rosicky (and when Wenger says that, it’s not usually a good sign of new transfers), so it’s tough to say whether Arsenal will manage to bring in fresh legs or not.

“Some things can still happen,” he said.

“I don’t want make a promise that I cannot keep. It does not only depend on me. But there still could be some action on the transfer market – ins and outs.”

“We are working [in the market],” he went on. “We’ll see what we can do.

“The transfer market is open for two months and yet for one month and three weeks it is nearly closed. It wakes up completely in the last week and then every minute becomes important. Everybody has played for time for seven or eight weeks and now suddenly everyone is in a hurry. And that is when the most intense activity happens.

“We knew we had to buy [at this point] last season. We had lost Wilshere and Gibbs. We had just beaten Udinese in the Champions League but had just lost to Manchester United. This season is completely different. We have a good, stable, focused squad. We just have to show how good we are in the season.

“We have Diaby and Oxlade-Chamberlain back now while Rosicky and Wilshere are coming back. They are all international-stature players. I focus highly on that. If we get these players back in good shape then we have a very, very strong squad.”

By this time last season, Arsenal’s transfer campaign has just started basically, so we can suppose that the officials won’t sleep about and that they will bring in at least a couple more players as Wenger stated earlier this year.

Arsene Wenger might be taking a bit of a gamble not properly reinforcing his team before the new campaign kicks into full flow and the odds on Arsenel making serious progress in the champions league are probably going to reflect that. If you’re looking for a style of betting with fixed odds why not try playing at the mobile casino? With hundreds of games such as Roulette, Blackjack and slots you are sure to find the right game for you, and with the added bonus of fixed odds you can properly plan your bets with no worries about the odds changing.