What does the future hold for Arsenal?

I’ve given myself some time to digest the news that Arsene is leaving. I still believe in him to deliver the first European Trophy (that I can remember properly) in my lifetime. My personal view was that it was time to go at the end of this season. Although I only came to this conclusion in January, after I drew an imaginary red line and said that if he didn’t buy a CB then and address the clear issue we have, then he wasn’t fit enough to run the club anymore. He didn’t and here we are. That being said I have always supported the team regardless. I don’t need to go overboard in my praise for Arsene, as I have always been a vocal supporter of his and believe he truly is the greatest manager we will ever have.

I have said before that he created his own downfall by raising expectations so high in the first place and not being able to replicate that, ushered in resentment from members of the fanbase and was a catalyst for the sense of entitlement that flows through the Emirates. It’s toxic and as a whole makes the fanbase look like spoilt children. I want to see that end once he’s gone. New manager, new expectations. But what expectations though, what should we look forward too? I believe that the entire fanbase should take stock and have a look around. We aren’t a crisis club in any respect and have an amazing platform for someone to come in and do great things. That being said, I think there should be realistic goals set for a new manager. They are as follows:

1. In the first season, Top 4.
2. Second season, focus purely on the League and try to win their first title.
3. Third season, everyone knows no one retains the league, so go for Top 3 and the FA Cup.
4. Go for the Champions League as after 4 years, you’d hope the manager has ‘his’ team in place.

That is a realistic view of what we should be looking at. Anything other than that is delusional. Yes it would be spectacular if we got a manager in who wins us the league in the first hit, but then he’d be put in the same category as Arsene and yet again set the bar too high and we would have a manager conveyor belt, becoming like Chelsea! The fan unrest would force him out as soon as we go a season without winning anything, which quite frankly is pathetic and doesn’t run parallel to club values.

Now, the glaring problem we have is defence. It’s no secret! I now move onto the potential candidates and obviously top of that list is Allegri. I have alluded to this in a previous post but it’s the name that keeps popping up and to be fair, he would be ideal. For one he’d drill the defence and we’d have to set up slightly different but that’s what is required. Arsene has left behind a great team that can win things. If the funds were available I think we should buy two centre backs and a new goalkeeper. Simple, Butland will be going cheap as Stoke Rugby Club will be relegated almost for certain now. A player of his calibre has to go to a top side as to me, he is England No 1. It’d be nice to have that again, as all throughout my childhood we had Seaman and it’s good to have your country’s No 1 as I fear with a new foreign manager, not enough English players will get in. I say this because my two choices for centre back aren’t English. Yet again I echo myself and say Manolas and Koulibaly. If we have to sell Mustafi to help pay for it i’m happy with that. Koscielny is one of my favourite players, yet even I can see he should hang up his boots at the end of next season. His legs are going and he’s making more and more mistakes. It pains me to watch it happen to an idol but yet again you have to be realistic.

Next on the list, Nagelsmann. I include this because of what Ivan Gazidis said in his conference about being bold. What he lacks in experience he can make up for in talent I suppose. A great short term record, saving Hoffenheim from relegation in his first season and taking them to the Champions league in the second. I watch Bundesliga weekly and Hoffenheim do play attractive football, which would go down well with the fans. I just worry that a manager that’s so young, coming into a dressing room of not only players older than him but big name players, something he hasn’t had to deal with before. It’s a baptism of fire, if he is appointed.

Leonardo Jardim, a great choice. He echoes Arsene’s past. Monaco are a good side and play wonderful football, good defensively and are a mainstay in the Champions league. All the things we could want, plus he’s young for a manager. Personally, think it’s between him and Allegri.

Arteta, why? There’s being bold and then there’s being stupid. Maybe as an Assistant Manager, I could get that. Zero experience. I hear murmurs from people on twitter (the worst source of any information) that Pep holds his coaching abilities in high esteem. Does that warrant being given the job at Arsenal (if you believe that of course)? No. Next.

Vieira. Interesting. He is doing well at New York, haven’t seen them play and don’t know the standard in the MLS, i’d imagine not great as most old players go there to retire and earn big bucks. Although, he had great pedigree as a player and was almost a manager out on the pitch, I could see this being a left field choice but one that fans could get behind. He’s young and understands the club values and what is expected.

For me, there isn’t any other discussion. It’s all hearsay and fake stories from the media. Arteta and Vieira are included in this but I gave them respect because they’re linked to the club. The last thing I want to add is that, whoever comes in should have the full weight of support from the fanbase and should turn the Emirates into a fucking fortress. I heard what that stadium can really sound like the other night for the Madrid game. AFTV should be banned from entering the ground by the club. All negativity should be stamped out and not given room to breath. It’s a new start and we don’t need any divisive people, trying to be edgy by saying the new manager is shit because he loses one game. Manager’s are human and aren’t exempt from making mistakes and/or losing. They’re not going to go unbeaten. It’s okay to lose 4-5 games in a season. Most teams who win the league, lose 3-5 games throughout the course of the season. It’s natural, you can’t win them all. Regardless, I stand behind whoever the club appoint and wish them all the luck in the world. As a club, we can do great things together. But only together. The fans included.

Predictions

It’s that time of year again! I’ve decided to wait for the window to shut before making any predictions this year though.

Arsenal: Top 2 finish – We have actually gone and done it. The shameful side of the fanbase have been baying for Arsene’s blood through the whole window and he has given everyone what they want and what every pundit has said over the past ten years. A CB and ST, as we’re “a CB and ST away from challenging for the league” even though we have progressively been getting better year on year for the last 3 years! Having bought very shrewdly in Mustafi a regular in the German National team, which is no easy feat. And Lucas Perez who has been dubbed as the Spanish Vardy, who should share the burden of the goals with Giroud who’s been so underrated and under appreciated. Also not forgetting Rob Holding who has been pound-for-pound the best signing we’ve made, considering he’s made more clearances, won more aerial duals and made more tackles than the boss man Koscielny! Man City wasted almost £50 million on Stones and we paid £2.5 million on him. Granit Xhaka is a beauty to watch, we have finally replaced Viera in my eyes, the passing, leadership and ‘industrial’ side of the game all rolled into one, he’s also not shy of sticking the boot in, a proper enforcer in the ranks once again. All in all it looks to be an amazing season if you’re an Arsenal fan as the fanbase has to unite under the Arsenal banner as Arsene has done exactly what all his critics have been screaming for, if we can crack on and make a proper atmosphere in the Emirates again, we can win something this year. Expect some amazing European nights and a long go at the FA Cup again this year, depth in the squad is sublime.

Bournemouth:Relegation Scrap – Having made the biggest ‘coup’ of the transfer window by getting the best English Midfielder on loan (Jack Wilshere), they should have an exciting season when he starts to link up with his best mate Afobe, yet I don’t think it’ll be enough to get them into mid table spots, they’ll enjoy their scalps of some of the bigger teams along the way but with the league being so unpredictable with this disgusting amount of money being injected into it, I think things will start to even out as the rich clubs get richer (e.g Man United) and we go back to how it was with people buying the league. If they can get Wilson firing on all cylinders after he had all of last season out then they could surprise a few but the forecast still looks dim.

Burnley: Relegation Scrap – Sean Dyche has done an incredible job with Burnley considering they couldn’t compete financially with the big boys, they’re now enjoying the fruits of their labour after gaining promotion back to the Premier League and get that windfall of funds. They’ll still be near the bottom come the end of the year, yet I expect some good home results this season.

Chelsea: 5th – Chelsea have made a good acquisition with Conte and he seems to be coming up with the goods so far. Yet they let themselves down on the last day of the window by buying David Luiz again. Kante will be tested immensely having that clown behind him, I for one am licking my lips in anticipation for Arsenal’s trip to Stamford bridge if he is playing as I feel Özil, Sanchez, Ox and Perez\Giroud will tear him a new arsehole. (This article was drafted before our prefect 3-0 display at the Emirates!) Also I feel it’s only a matter of time before Costa is sent off for being a cunt, interpret that in whatever way you want, be it spitting, eye gouging, slapping, tripping, shirt pulling, dissent, he will be getting sent off more often and hopefully it will curb that disgusting side of his ‘game’ if you can call it that. Hazard seems to be back to his best after going on holiday for the whole of last season and will drag the team to Europa League places as they have no European football to hinder them, yet I think the two Manchester clubs and Arsenal are a still a step above them in many respects.

Crystal Palace: 7th\8th – They have addressed their main issue of not having a good enough striker for this league, say what you will of Benteke but when he gets going he’s a top goalscorer. Pardew has been around long enough and I think he’ll make a significant improvement this season and will scrape through and get a Europa league qualifying round spot, either in the league or through a cup. It’ll be good to have another London rival in the top half of the table.

Everton: 7th\8th – I like how Everton is set up at the moment, they have the players, the resources, a good home ground and a cracking manager, I hope this is the season they prove me wrong and go for top 4, yet I still don’t see it happening. They’re a work in progress and could grow to be a major force in the next few years, however they aren’t quite there yet. This season is a building block and I don’t expect many to take points away from Goodison Park this year, also another team I think could go far in the Cups.

Hull City: Mid Table obscurity – They’ve played a blinder the first few games of the season and got robbed of a point when Man United rolled into town, if they could keep it up they’d see themselves in the top half of the table, yet it won’t happen. Mike Phelan deserved Manager of the Month in my opinion, for motivating that small squad of lads and coming up with those results in the face of almost not having a fully fit 11 to put out on the field. I also fully expect to meet Hull in the FA Cup for our customary annual fixture!

Leicester City: 9th – They did it, hats off and all that jazz, but another year another season and they will have to contend with a clogged up calendar with European football without their Midfield enforcer Kante to make the difference, no offence but Drinkwater is nowhere near the player he was. Mendy looked good against Arsenal and could come in handy but they will come up against some stiff opposition and take into account they won’t be able to keep that tight knit group together like last season as the tinkerman will have to tinker to keep things fresh and you’ll start to see a different team. That’s why when everyone lost their heads when they won and said it was the greatest achievement, I still believe that Nottingham Forrest and Brian Clough edged it. It all depends what Leicester do in Europe I guess!

Liverpool: 3rd – Well they’ve been tearing the league up from the start and Klopp is really kicking on with instilling his style of play in the team. They’re sublime to watch and have the firepower to play any team in the league out of the park, we lost first game of the season to them in an all action encounter. They also beat Chelsea, the game to watch for will be Man City and Pep. Whilst I expect Arsenal and City to go Top 2, Liverpool will be right behind you can believe that. They don’t have European football to hold them back either. I think they’ll get 3rd and maybe even a cup!

Man City: Top 2 – Well it’s happened, Pep is here and has hit the ground running. He has really pulled the best out of De Bruyne and is really one of the most exciting midfielders to watch in the league. Aguero is STILL the best striker in the league and will crack 25 goals this year. He could fire them all the way to winning the league depending on how Arsenal get on. It will be tight at the top and may even go down to the last game of the season. The only place I see negativity is the defence and Claudio Bravo. He’s a good keeper and all but there have been some questionable decisions made, it could impact how they play. At the moment it doesn’t matter as they seem to be able to outscore everyone anyway!

Man United: 4th – They’ve attempted to buy the league this season in a knee-jerk reaction to Pep going to City, they’ve got that foul human Jose in and spent ridiculous amounts of money on players for the coming season. From what i’ve seen recently, going on a 3 game losing streak I don’t expect great things this season from them. Rooney is finished, the only plus is seeing Zlatan in the League, everyone’s favourite Swede. Jose will secure a Champions League spot, you can almost guarantee it, yet they seem to struggle in the Europa League almost as if they’ve got a superiority complex where the players think they’re too good for the competition. Go out and prove us wrong by winning it! They aren’t the finished article like their Blue rivals, scousers or the mighty Arsenal so 4th is a realistic finish.

Middlesbrough: Relegation – It’s a shame to say it as I was quite happy to see an old ‘original’ premier League team return (Much like Sheffield Wednesday or Nottingham Forrest) but they look out of their depth and will be scrapping with the likes of Burnley to stay up. I don’t think Karanka can be blamed, he’s made good signings but it won’t come together in time. They’ll grab some well earned points come February but I think it will be too late.

Southampton: Mid Table obscurity – I like Claude Puel and I think Southampton were unlucky not to get a point out of the Arsenal game if i’m honest. I expect them to do okay but with Europa League matches piling up and the managers inexperience in the league will lead to a mid table finish and maybe round of 16 in Europa. A good side that are 2 or 3 players away from challenging for 4th.

Stoke: Staying Up – There is no doubt that Stoke will stay up. They might finish 17th but they will stay up. I was really expecting them to smash teams apart this season but they’ve fallen flat on their face. I truly do love watching Bojan play. They have a good manager and the squad to compete but getting off to this start can’t help in the dressing room and the confidence isn’t there. The league is wide open from 7th downwards and some teams are still trying to find their place.

Sunderland: Relegation Scrap – Will they won’t they. Will they get going under Moyes, he’s got the experience but I don’t think he has the right team behind him. Pickford looks to be an exciting young prospect and has almost cemented his place in the starting 11. There will be some tough games ahead and if they haven’t got many points on the board by mid November then i’d start to get a bit worried for another ‘big’ team that can’t go down, much like their Tyneside rivals last year.

Swansea: Staying Up – Another club that look alright but won’t set the world alight this year. They’ll get some goals out of Fernando Llorente as he is a classy finisher but I don’t think they have enough to get mid table and aren’t bad enough to be fighting for their lives at the bottom. Expect draws, and lots of them.

Spurs: 6th – Now I would be a bit biased but let me have a look at this realistically just for arguments sake. For a start they aren’t playing at home this season which is unsettling, even if they’re sharing Wembley for European games which is an honour for them. I expect them not to do too badly in their group, they have a good manager and I expect him to push them like last year and they will probably make last 16/round of 32 and finish just outside of top 4 as the big boys return to the fray after being absent last year. I can tell you, this stadium malarkey is no walk in the park.

Watford: Mid Table obscurity – They’ve had an okay start to the season and Mazzarri isn’t a bad manager, they look solid and can get points on the board. They’ll be overpowered by the next level of opponents like Everton/Crystal Palace but they’ll pick off the weaker teams in the league. They have a nice style of play this year and Deeney is so underrated. However, like I say Mid table at best.

West Brom: Relegation Scrap – Now, I have respect for Tony Pulis and think he’s an exceptional manager with the resources he’s had at this club and Stoke, but I don’t think West Brom scare anyone. They can grind out the draws where needed, but that isn’t enough in this open league anymore, he has the experience to keep them up but you do wonder if these are one of the ‘big’ teams that are ripe for relegation. The league is changing.

West Ham: Mid to Bottom Table (16th) – Another team in transition, attempting a stadium move. They have the players, Payet in particular is World Class and Antonio is having a blinder at the moment, Slaven Bilic turned out to be a hit last year but this year throws up different situations and a new home. They seem to be stuttering but I feel they have just enough to beat off opposition.

Premier League Prediction

With the new season starting this weekend I have taken some time to do a little prediction without knowing the results. I took the fixture list and put down for every game and what the result would be and the results were surprising.

 

 

The league on the 28th of December looks a little something like this:

1.  Arsenal
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester United
4. Manchester City
5. Everton
6. Liverpool
7. Tottenham
8. Crystal Palace
9. Hull City
10. Stoke City(on the same points)
11. Sunderland (on the same points)
12. QPR (on the same points)
13. Newcastle United
14. West Bromwich Albion
15. Aston Villa (on the same points)
16. West Ham (on the same points)
17. Swansea
18. Leicester City
19. Southampton
20. Burnley

Before you start and say this is biased because i’m an Arsenal fan, we were at the top at Christmas last year so not so unrealistic. I shall also give a few explainations, Manchester United for example will do well as they don’t have European football and seem to be revitalised under LVG so a top three finish isn’t out of their grasp, much like Liverpool last season. The pressure is all on Manchester City as defending champions, Arsenal will be very strong after (finally) strengthening their squad and will be a force to be reckoned with.

Everton only just fell short of Manchester City in my prediciton table by 2 points as they have improved immensely. Liverpool will suffer due to having European football again and I feel their team will not work quite as well as they expected. The biggest surprise to myself being Crystal Palace in 8th, however this is understandable due to Tony Pulis turning the team around and grabbing the points where he can. Hull City have improved under Steve Bruce as well and I expect them to be at least mid-table by Christmas, yet it is to be seen how his team will cope with Europa league, so Hull City is the only question mark in my table that I will say now I will get wrong, my predicitons are made down to Premier league games only.

 

 

All of the teams next to each other with (on the same points) could be in any of the spaces they share with the others so for example, if at Christmas QPR are in 10th rather than 12th i’m still technically right! The only one I think could change depending on the second half of the season would be Leicester City as I think the crunch games near the end of the season could keep them up. Any other thoughts about this let me know! Feedback is welcome, no hate though please as it was done fixture by fixture so as not to be biased.

Thanks for reading!

My Team And Me

After a long break from blogging i’ve decided to pick up the baton and carry on as it were. After much deliberation as to what I should start on, I thought i’d take a leaf out of my own book and start the way I did before and talk about Arsenal.

Despite what you’ve heard from the media, things within Arsenal couldn’t be much better right now. ‘How?’ I hear you say coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich? Well for a start there are more positives than negatives to be drawn from the game. For a start, I believe if Szczesny wasn’t sent off the whole complexion of the game would of been different, considering our defensive record at home is impeccable, it would of freed up time and space for our offensive players to get to work like they did in the first 15 minutes. Let’s say for example that we went on to win that game 2-0, keeping a clean sheet and scoring a couple of chances, people would be writing Bayern Munich off. Considering what happened last year when we famously went to the Allianz Arena and won 2-0, albeit getting knocked out on aggregate, it was a statement of intent being the first English team to do so. So I wouldn’t be so quick to write off our chances this year, with Fabianski taking Szczesny’s place, who incidentally is going through an amazing patch right now (watch the Arsenal v Liverpool FA Cup match), arguably the best defensive partnership in the Premier League Mertesacker & Koscielny, the anchors of midfield Flamini & Arteta, a plethora of attacking talent to choose from in midfield and a promising young talent in Sanogo. If we get off to the same start we did the other night in Munich then expect a very hard fought and surprising result.

Yes, admittedly we lost 2-0 and it will be hard to come back from that, especially if Bayern score first in the second leg. However, I still think that the defeat will kick the team up the arse and evoke a strong response from them. If Oxlade-Chamberlain starts expect him to be a key player in the match. I also expect Podolski to have a good game if he’s involved. But most of all, in the last game I was impressed with Sanogo. I will stand by Wenger’s decision to not buy a striker in the transfer window if Sanogo develops properly and is nourished by Wenger, much like another young Frenchman that came to the club! Also it’s worth remembering that Henry himself didn’t score for 8 games when he first started at Arsenal. Now I shouldn’t compare the two I know, but I just want people to get perspective in regards to the situation and not write the young man off too early. If it’s one thing Wenger knows about it’s teaching and guiding young players, all you need to do is look at Aaron Ramsey, someone who even myself over the years have bad mouthed. He’s easily one of the best midfielders in the league and he’s done that by proving all the haters wrong, Wilshere, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott and Szczesny all joined at young ages, a couple through the academy others joining from other clubs at around 16/17/18/19, now look at them!

If you look back over our baron trophyless seasons you begin to understand why we haven’t won things and understand what’s going on in the background. I knew nothing at the time only being a young teenager and not looking into how the club was run, me being 23 now and paying attention to most things behind the scenes. The best place to start would be the Champions League Final 2006, not the FA Cup in 2005 as most people say was the start of our ‘downwards spiral’. People forget that the season after our last cup we won, we reached the Champions League Final beating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the process (another first for an English team I believe). Yet again in circumstances that remind me of the other night, Jens Lehmann became the first goalkeeper to be sent off in a Final, and we chased a Barcelona team for the rest of the game, had that red card never been issued I believe we’d of outplayed and beaten Barcelona, much like Bayern Munich the other night, but we didn’t and that was the fateful night that started the ‘disbelief’ of Arsenal fans and pundits alike. Bearing in mind though we still went and scored from that glorious Sol Campbell header, if we could score one against Barcelona with 10 men, imagine what we could do with 11. The following season we saw an exodus of core parts of our squad, they were part of the invincibles, the likes of Henry, Cole, Campbell & Lauren. This triggered a knock on effect and we lost our top players each season from then on as we didn’t have a player of Henry’s calibre to bring in big signings.

Yet, this was a mastermind move from Wenger and the board of directors as the fees we received from all of these transfers were paying off the stadium we’d just moved into and creating more revenue, which in doing so freed up funds which are currently available this season. I never understood this obviously as I wasn’t paying attention, and now feel harsh of my criticisms of Wenger when I was a teen. Although I can resolutely say I have NEVER jumped on the ‘Wenger out’ wagon, he makes the club what it is and were he to go then expect to see what is currently happening at Manchester Untied or maybe even worse, considering it’s publicly known that several players have come out and said that if Wenger left they wouldn’t know if they’d stay, causing yet more unstability within the team and any new manager would have an impossible job. Apart from of course, the return of Thierry Henry who recently omitted his desire to return to Arsenal as a manager one day, which would be the only suitable candidate in my eyes. Although, Thierry needs to go and get some management experience under his belt first, but the raw talent and understanding of the game he possesses and his understanding of the club and how it works and our style of play would mean he would slip right in. I only write this as I can tell like many others that Wenger will leave the club in the next 3/4 years. Anyway back to the point, now we have the funds available, we are suddenly a big choice for big names, we proved this with the signing of Ozil. Think about it, we have an amazing squad available, players other players want to play alongside, we play Champions League football EVERY season, we are title contenders, we have a healthy history and a genius manager. One thing I will say, this summer watch for another German to come in, whether it be Draxler, Khedira, Emre Can or Bittencourt, it’s a pattern i’ve picked up on like the flood of french players that came in from the late 90’s/early 00’s who all wanted to play with Vieira, like Petit, Henry, Pires, Wiltord, Cygan, Clichy & Flamini. We already have Mertesacker, Ozil & Podolski, with the emergence of Gnabry, Eisfield & Zelalem from the youth set up. I think it would be fair to say we can expect one or two more German’s to join this year.

So to conclude, the reason I think we could go on and win the league if not any other competition is because we have rebuilt our core and with the funds available are on the verge of adding some real world class players to our already extensive squad, whilst still keeping a good balance! Also Ramsey is yet to come back from injury and could be the deciding factor in the latter stages of the season, only time will tell. Thanks for reading!