My Arsenal Blog

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.  .......Read more here.....

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.  .......Read more here.....

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.  .......Read more here.....

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.  .......Read more here.....

Wenger’s wish for Diaby to return for Arsenal

Abou Diaby is a well-recognised player in football; however it’s for the wrong reasons. The Frenchman is an excellent player and arguably one of the best in his position for both club and country but his injury blighted career has stopped him from becoming that Patrick Viera or Yaya Toure type figure that he certainly has the characteristics to be.

His performances have been overshadowed this year by the consistent time spent on the treatment table, but if you remember back to the start of the season, in the game against Liverpool in particular he was a dominant figure, driving the midfield forward, whilst also helping out at the back.  .......Read more here.....

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.  .......Read more here.....

The young French centre-back Laurent Loscielny seems to have replaced Thomas Vermaelen as first choice in the Arsenal starting XI after his performance against Bayern Munich in midweek, and his pairing with Per Mertesacker was confirmed in yesterdays game against Sweansea where we yet again kept a clean sheet.

Wenger explained why he had to stick to Vermaelen for most of the season up til now. He said: “Koscielny was outstanding on Wednesday night,”

“He has shown a bit more authority than usual and when he gets into that frame of mind, you can see he has outstanding qualities. It’s something I know he has but he needs that authority in his game to get his qualities completely out.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal find themselves at a crossroads, both on and off the pitch and the next six months will be a critical time for the north London club.

The Gunners have not won a major trophy since 2005 and the gap between Arsene Wenger’s side and the country’s top outfits appears to have opened up even further over the last couple of seasons.

Since Arsene Wenger’s appointment in 1996, the club have finished in the top four of the Premier League in every season, but this year there is a real danger of the club missing out, with the Gunners a full five points adrift of Chelsea in fourth place.  .......Read more here.....

Arsene Wenger is usually bullish about the strength and spirit of the Arsenal players, and he has been proven right on numerous occasions. The Gunners have responded well to pressure and adversity already this season and, of course, they dragged themselves out of a bigger hole last season. They must now do it all again, though, and Wenger cannot be sure just how much the recent disappointments will affect the players.

“I am not worried about us potentially coming back against Bayern,” revealed Wenger. “I am more worried about consequences that could manifest in the heads of our players.  .......Read more here.....

The Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski has been involved in plenty of high profile and high pressure games in his football career. He has played in two World cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2008 when Germany lost out to Spain. With over 100 international caps and lots of experience, the striker is a great man to have in the dressing room for a fierce local derby, and he has issued a word of calm in the build up to the game against Tottenham today.  .......Read more here.....