Jack Wilshere May Be The Future But It’s a History Lesson Arsenal Need Most
by Jon WestFiled under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football
Jack Wilshere reckons the criticism levelled at Arsene Wenger is "a joke" but for many Arsenal's demise is no laughing matter.
Two wins out of seven in the Premier League have intensified discussions among those of an Emirates persuasion on the subject of whether the Frenchman has taken the Gunners as far as he can.
"We haven't won anything for six years and that's not good enough," Wilshere admitted to the Evening Standard. "But the criticism we get is harsh, though, especially on the boss. He has been great for Arsenal. The criticism Arsene gets is just a joke."
You would expect Wilshere to be full square behind his manager as the teenager is a real rarity at Wenger's Arsenal: a local lad deemed good enough for the first team while still a teenager.
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But inadvertently Wilshere also hit the nail on the head. Wenger has indeed been great for Arsenal but increasingly everything he has achieved is moving into the past tense. Those glory days are fading away into history, game by game, season by season.
And no-one knows that more than Alex Fynn and Kevin Whitcher, whose updated version of their 2008 book Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub makes pertinent reading in the era of Per Mertesacker, Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, even though all three were signed after it had been sent off to the printers.
The book as a whole is a story known to all football fans: unknown foreigner (or at least unknown on these shores) enjoys instant success with a decent but dull side he had inherited and goes on to create another that was much, much better before, slowly but surely, starting to lose his way.
And it is the added chapters which outline just how far Arsenal have fallen behind their rivals, and by that we don't just mean the 12 extra points that both Manchester clubs currently possess in the Premier League table, and how much Wenger, with his insistence on doing everything himself behind the scenes and picking potential over experience on the pitch, is the reason.
How many of the post-2004 personnel would have forced their way into the Invincibles side asks financial expert Fynn and fanzine editor Whitcher, who come up with the answer of Bacary Sagna (but only because Lauren wasn't that hot at right-back), Cesc Fabregas and perhaps Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie.
"How in 2010-11 could the manager believe he had a potential title-winning squad which depended upon a spine of (Manuel) Almunia, (Sebastien) Squillaci and Denilson?" they ask before pointing to statistics that show that the midfielders do not score enough (reason: Wenger's insistence on a 'tippy-tappy passing game means moves are over-elaborate) and the defence lets in too many, especially from set-pieces.
"Since when did an uncapped or immature goalkeeper and a less-than-world-class central defensive pairing anchor a championship-winning side?" they ask. Quite.
And their prediction for the future? That Wenger will never change, and, in all probability, not be forced out any time soon either, although failure to qualify for the Champions League might just prompt another few hastily-added chapters next summer.
So long as Wenger continues to keep Arsenal at the top table by not spending half as much money as their rivals then the chances are he will be allowed to carry on leading a club which has become synonymous with a brand of entertaining football similar to the Hungary side of the 1950s, the Netherlands in the 1970s and the Brazil of the 1980s.
None of whom won anything either, the book duly notes...
Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub by Alex Fynn and Kevin Whitcher, published by Vision Sports Publishing at £8.99
Emmanuel Adebayor Discovers Dignity At Last But Will The Fans Ever Follow Suit?
by Jon WestFiled under: Arsenal, Tottenham, Champions League, Europa League (UEFA), Premier League, Football
Emmanuel Adebayor has spoken of the chants directed his way during the North London derby on Sunday as both Tottenham and Arsenal vowed to ban for life anyone proved to have been singing them.
During Tottenham's 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane, Arsenal fans directed their vitriol at the man who used to play for them but now appears in the colours of their rivals by mocking the machine-gun attack on Adebayor and his Togo team-mates in Angola last year.
That, you will recall, left three of them dead and Adebayor has now been quoted in The Sun as saying: "The songs that they sung about me were very bad but was I surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes.
"Obviously it was all meant to hurt me, to upset me, to anger me. But I am so glad I kept my dignity in the face of people behaving like that."
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True, football could do without such bad-taste chants, with Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp correctly pointing out that it sent entirely the wrong message to the younger generation of supporters.
And Tottenham put out an appeal to their own support on their official website, saying: "You do not have to put up with mindless supporters who are intent on ruining your day, so use the system, report the individuals and let us take it from there."
It was the same message from Arsenal. "We do not tolerate discrimination of any sort at the club, on the pitch or in the stands. If you experience any form of discrimination at Emirates Stadium, please report this by texting 67777 or contact a matchday steward," their statement read.
All well and good but Adebayor also knows he brought the abuse upon himself by his goal-celebration antics in front of the Arsenal support when he scored for Manchester City in 2009.
That saw him run almost the full length of the pitch to reach the away support and that particular game saw him accused of deliberately kicking Robin van Persie, now the Arsenal captain, in the face.
Will Cesc Fabregas get such a reaction the first time he plays for Barcelona against Arsenal? No, of course not as the Spain midfielder was always respectful towards the fans even when he had set his mind upon a move. Samir Nasri will get some stick for choosing City's offer of a far fatter pay-packet but no-one is likely to wish him dead.
So Adebayor brought the torment upon himself in many ways. It doesn't excuse it of course, but it certainly does explain it. And therefore he does deserve credit for keeping his cool this time.
The player himself has clearly grown up. But it is churlish to expect the fans to as, let us not forget, it was the Tottenham contingent who used to give renditions of uncomplimentary songs about Adebayor and his family not so long ago.
True, references to elephants getting washed do not equate to sick death wishes but you simply have to ask Sol Campbell about how unpleasant Tottenham supporters can really be when in full voice.
Good luck, then, with the attempts to use CCTV to pin-point the perpetrators therefore but the only way you will ever get rid of the abusive chanters is to make both White Hart Lane and the Emirates Stadium corporate and family zones only.
And you can wash a lot of elephants before that will ever come to pass.
Gareth Bale’s Assessment of Arsenal’s Woes Makes Painful Reading For Arsene Wenger
by Ian WinrowFiled under: Arsenal, Tottenham, Premier League, Football
Arsene Wenger isn't known for his willingness to embrace the advice of others so it is highly unlikely he will welcome Gareth Bale's contribution to the debate about Arsenal's decline.
As if it wasn't bad enough that the Tottenham midfielder could savour a derby win, Bale reacted to his side's victory by also offering his own analysis of the problems that have afflicted Wenger's side this season.
"Arsenal have lost a few players, which makes them more beatable I think as that has damaged the way they play," he told the London Evening Standard. "We exposed that. I think keeping your best players is a massive thing. They are used to how you play and what you do. It is vitally important to do that and build your team around them."
Bale was making the comparison between Spurs' success in holding onto Luka Modric in the face of interest from Chelsea and Arsenal's inability to keep Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri at the club.
"It is important that we have kept him [Modric], and Arsenal were unlucky not to keep theirs," he added, before offering encouragement to Tottenham's closest rivals. "But they are still a great team. They haven't had the best of starts but I am sure they will improve.
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"They have a lot of young players who are going to grow up in the next season or two and learn a lot. I am sure they will be fine."
Losing to Spurs is painful in its own right, being forced to listen to soothing words of encouragement from the young winger must be agony for Wenger and his players. If anything is going to fire up their season, it will surely be that.
Bale has a point though, although the reason the two teams appear to be following different trajectories goes beyond the movements of Fabregas, Nasri and Modric.
Tottenham's victory was built on the midfield platform provided by Scott Parker who is maintaining the form he showed for West Ham last season. Wenger could have pursued Parker this summer but decided against it, giving Redknapp a clearer run at the player. On the evidence of the game at White Hart Lane, there was no doubt whose judgement appeared the better advised.
Equally, the performance of Emmanuel Adebayor emphasised Redknapp's knack of buying players who will make an impact on his side.
Wenger's signings have, in more recent times, been slow burners, frequently young players who will take time to mature. His batch of summer recruits include several more experienced players who have come into the team but they have so far failed to match the deficit created by the departure of Fabregas and Nasri.
Redknapp frequently claims the key to success is the players at a manager's disposal. And right now, it is hard to dispute the inference that it is the Tottenham manager who has accumulated a stronger, more stable collection of players than Wenger.
Now Or Never for Tottenham to Mount Premier League Title Challenge
by Mike McGrathFiled under: Tottenham, Premier League, Football
Harry Redknapp was talking about a Premier League title challenge for Tottenham last season until around February time, when their Champions League campaign caught up with them.
This time around they have been hampered by the London riots leading to their opening game against Everton being postponed, then the fixture computer matching them with Manchester United and Manchester City as their next two opponents.
Zero points and eight goals conceded while others had played three matches meant Spurs were playing catch-up. Not quite as bad, but they were on their way to a start similar to the "two points from eight games" that led to Redknapp being appointed three years ago.
Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor arrived before the transfer window closed and after four wins from as many league game, including the victory over Arsenal, Spurs are at the right end of the table again.
"I just felt after two or three weeks, I could see what was coming," Redknapp said. "I never went home and worried about it because I was confident.
"We had Adebayor coming in, we had Scott Parker. We had Sandro coming back. I knew we'd suddenly be a much better team."
Redknapp even believes they should not just be aiming for a top-four place that would bring a return to Champions League football. They could set their sights higher.
"We keep talking about finishing fourth but who knows. We may finish third or second - it's not impossible," he said recently.
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Why not? From the teams that finished in the top four last season, Arsenal are - by some distance - the most vulnerable to dropping out.
They lost their captain Cesc Fabregas and lost their playmaker in Samir Nasri. If the performance in the 2-1 defeat at White Hart Lane is anything to go by, their defenders lost the ability attack long balls down the middle.
Elsewhere, the consequences of the Carlos Tevez row at Manchester City could still impact on their season, while Chelsea have been impressive recently without having the aura of previous campaigns.
Spurs could find themselves chasing champions United soon if they continue their current form. In their 4-0 over Liverpool they showed how much Kenny Dalglish's team have to improve to topple them.
Redknapp has a better squad this season, and it is not just because of Parker and Adebayor signing for them.
Players with little hope of getting in the first-team squad were loaned or sold, meaning the smaller squad has less disruption. Alan Hutton, Jermaine Jenas, David Bentley, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios were the ones offloaded.
For the settled team that remains, it appears it is now or never in terms of challenging United.
Redknapp's progress in three years at White Hart Lane means he is favourite to land the England job when Fabio Capello leaves at the end of the campaign.
Should that happen, changes mean it would difficult to maintain their momentum. At the moment everything is going Spurs' way and they have to take advantage.
Jack Wilshere’s Five-month Lay-off is a Major Blow For Arsene Wenger
by Matt ButlerFiled under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football
Just days after Arsene Wenger actually appeared to enjoy an afternoon at the game, the manager has been forced to confront the fact he will be without Jack Wilshere for five months.
The midfielder has had surgery for an ankle problem that provoked only minor concern when he was forced out of the pre-season friendly with New York Red Bulls back in July, but was subsequently diagnosed as a stress fracture.
That means he could be missing for around 20 more Premier League games and may not play until the Champions League last 16 ties.
Wilshere's absence is a setback for Arsenal, who have made an inauspicious start to the season and who would have loved the England man to slot into the space left by Cesc Fabregas to soften the blow of their captain leaving.
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Consequently, the fact his injury has not responded to a rest cure is frustrating. Manager Arsene Wenger had acknowledged earlier this season that Wilshere had been played too much and said after Wilshere had been out two weeks that he had a "hot spot" on his ankle that may have been "a consequence of overuse last year".
The hope was that a period of inaction during which Wilshere wore a protective boot would help the injury to heal. It didn't, and a decision was made to undergo surgery.
The timing could have been worse - had this happened in the wake of the 8-2 defeat at Manchester United it would have been another devastating blow to morale - but not much worse.
Wenger's side may have shown signs of a return to form in the second half against Bolton last weekend but Wilshere's absence has only served to underline just how important he is to the team. Without him, the task of reviving a stuttering campaign becomes an awful lot harder.
England will suffer too, although a consequence of this lay-off is that, assuming Fabio Capello's side qualify, Wilshere should head to the Euro 2012 finals fit and fresh.
At least the player is showing no signs of being weighed down by the latest disappointment. His Twitter followers were treated to a picture of the player laid up in a hospital bed smiling, while he admitted he kept falling asleep because of the drugs.
The club announced on Monday afternoon: "Under the care of two world renowned surgeons, Jack has had the stress fracture of his right ankle repaired. The initial indications are that the surgery has been successful and Jack will now undergo a prolonged period of rehabilitation.
"It is envisaged that Jack's rehabilitation will take a period of four to five months."
Wilshere himself over-used the exclamation mark key - not to mention risking censure from hospital staff on the lookout for patients breaking the inevitable "no mobile phones" rule - as he tweeted: "Had my operation and all went well!
"I am feeling good will spend the night in hospital to monitor me but apart from that I am happy! I am lying in my hospital bed recovering. still a bit drowsy so awake one minute asleep the next!"
Now that he has had his ankle cut open, the rehabilitation will be less uncertain.
In months to come, Wenger and his medical staff will face the tricky decision of when to re-integrate Wilshere into the team - and that's another decision with little margin for error.
Arsene Wenger Admits He is Powerless to Stop Arsenal Talent Exodus
by Jon WestFiled under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football
It's easy to criticise Arsene Wenger. He's stubborn, irritatingly one-eyed when it comes to his players' on-field indiscretions and glacially slow in the transfer market, but the majority of Gunners fans would take all that for a repeat of the success they used to enjoy just a few seasons ago.
Except that those glory days are more unlikely than ever to be returning to the red half of north London, and for one good reason. And it's not Arsene Wenger, who has received yet more bad news on the injury front by confirmation that Jack Wilshere requires an operation on his damaged ankle and will not be available for selection before Christmas.
Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen, Andrei Arshavin and Johan Djourou are nearing the final season of their contracts and the Gunners board are not among the top wage payers in world football.
Which means the players in question could very well follow Samir Nasri's path out if the Emirates Stadium exit door rather than sign new deals, forcing Arsenal to sell before they become free agents in 2013.
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Of course, many fans would be delighted to wave good-bye to error-prone defender Djourou and frustratingly inconsistent forward Arshavin. But losing van Persie, captain and the undisputed jewel in the Gunners' crown now that Cesc Fabregas has left, would be a huge blow. Walcott's pace makes him all but impossible to replace and the injury-hit Vermaelen is missed at the back every time Arsenal have to take the field without him.
And Wenger's hands are tied by his employers' wage ceiling policy.
"We will try to sign them but we have tried before," Wenger admitted. "The gap on that front has become bigger for us. I cannot say that if we go to our maximum wage we are sure to sign the players.
"We will try to convince them. Our desire is there and we are ready to sit down with them. After that we will see where we go."
Of course, much will depend on how Arsenal fare over the next few months in the Champions League as well as the Premier League, where they began the weekend fourth from bottom.
Keeping van Persie would be every fan's priority and the Netherlands international is understood to be on around £80,000 a week at the moment. The Arsenal hierarchy would no doubt be willing to raise that figure but have so far shied away from trying to compete with the real big spenders in the game, the clubs Wenger bitterly accuses of being guilty of financial doping.
He has a point but even if he wins his crusade to enforce a fairer financial playing field the victory will probably come too late to stop Arsenal's current stars from having picked up one big pay day elsewhere.
And that will leave him with no option but to have another crack at defying the odds with talented youngsters. One last crack perhaps. No wonder, then, that Wenger is feeling protective - and grumpy.
"When you have heavy criticism of a young player I am more worried about it," he said. "I am supposed to take the bullets and absorb them. Like a bear. A polar bear.
"In fairness, it does not hurt too much. You worry more about the young player who gets in the team at the moment and gets slaughtered, it's much more difficult. When I was 19 that was much more difficult to take for me.
"I'm a human being and I prefer it when you say I am not an idiot. But I know that it is an emotional game and I have to deal with that. That is why it is important that we do well for the club. That we try to get our fans happy again."
No-one thinks Wenger is an idiot. How could they with his track record? But he will find it increasingly difficult to please the fans as for as long as the board is content with being also-rans financially then the team is likely to be just the same on the pitch.
Owner Stan Kroenke is not short of cash but so far the American has shown Gunners fans precious little of it. Now might be a good time to change that, too.
With Friends Like These Arsene Wenger Makes It Clear He Prefers Enemies
by Jon WestFiled under: Arsenal, Carling Cup, Premier League, Football
A vote of confidence AND a clamour to get someone else in to sort out his defence? No wonder Arsene Wenger, currently presiding over Arsenal's worst start to a season in 58 years, was at his tetchiest after the 3-1 defeat of Shrewsbury.
Which had seen the League Two side take the lead and go close to doubling it in front of swathes of empty seats at the Emirates Stadium...
Of course the Gunners - a completely changed side from the one that had shipped four goals at Blackburn - came through in the end and Wenger will be hoping the game was a 90-minute premonition of the season as a whole: a bad start over-turned comfortably enough in the end.
Certainly there was much to cheer those who did comprise the Emirates Stadium's lowest attendance - and let's not forget there were more than 46,000 of them, a figure, like Arsenal's Champions League qualification record, that so many other clubs can only dream of.
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a fine goal on his full debut and midfielder Francis Coquelin, having been thrown in at the deep end in the 8-2 thrasing at Manchester United, was impressive enough to suggest he will be given plenty more opportunities in the Premier League.
But with chief executive Ivan Gazidis having given him vocal backing that was inevitably going to be translated into football-speak as 'the dreaded vote of confidence' Wenger wasn't happy.
"There is no issue about Arsene leaving," Gazidis said. "We are in a culture where things are easily discarded, and if this club were to give up the fundamentals that have made it so strong we would do ourselves more damage."
Former Highbury favourite and now Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson was very clear on exactly why the Gunners would not fire Wenger. "You don't sack someone who makes you money," he declared, referring not only to the Champions League cash but the amounts banked for the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri as well.
Wenger doesn't mind pundits having their say so long as he can ignore it but when your chief executive starts spouting opinions however well-meaning then inevitably it was time for some typically withering Gallic scorn.
"My record? I have just managed 14 years at this club and I have kept them 14 years in the Champions League and I wish it lasts another 14 years," Wenger said.
"Whether I work here for the next ten years for the club or the next day I will let others assess the situation. I focus on doing well for the club. And I must tell you something, I'm not bothered at all by all this speculation, not at all.
"I am completely focused on doing well. I can understand that people are unhappy and criticise but you know as well as I know people are very quick to go overboard.
"I accept critics and I do not say it doesn't matter that people criticises us, I prefer it like anybody else when they say I am good. But you cannot complain when you lose a game and you are criticised.
"When we do well we take all the plaudits so we have to take as well all the blame when it doesn't go as well. But we have as well on both sides take some distance.
"When it goes well we must not completely believe what people say and when it does not go as well, we must not completely believe it."
Yes, but how about bringing in Tony Adams or Martin Keown as a defensive coach then Arsene?
"I've just completed 32 years of coaching," snapped Wenger in response. "I don't want to answer this kind of question."
Somebody certainly needs to provide an answer though, don't they Arsene?
Signs of Recovery for Arsenal Despite Champions League Setback in Germany
by Mike McGrathFiled under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football
Conceding an equaliser two minutes from full-time feels like a defeat in normal circumstances, especially away from home and being on the brink of a morale-boosting Champions League victory.
But Arsenal have to look at the positives as they start the rebuilding process from their watershed defeat at Manchester United last month. Kicking Arsene Wenger's team when they are so far down would amount to cruelty.
They did not win against Borussia Dortmund but there were signs of recovery, despite the despondency after conceding a late goal to the German side.
Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas, the former Arsenal striker, suggested Wenger's team last season may have lost the game. The ingredients were there for a defeat. Wenger in the stands serving a touchline ban from UEFA, and opponents putting pressure on Wojciech Szczesny's goal.
Wenger's side have had a tendency of conceding when they are put under sustained pressure, while genuine champions manage to get through those tricky times unscathed. This time they conceded but it was only an equaliser and not a crushing winner.
"We expected them to try everything, they pressed and pressed and in the end scored a lovely goal, but we still have to be happy with a point," said Arsenal midfielder Yossi Benayoun on Sky Sports News. "There is a lot of quality in this squad and I'm sure we will show it game after game."
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Ivan Perisic's volley was also a freak goal, a stunning effort from the edge of the area. "It's a great strike but he won't do that again in a long time, said Szczesny. "We should be happy with our defensive performance."
It needs to be acknowledged that Arsenal were playing high-quality opposition. Bundesliga experts have predicted Dortmund to be a surprise package in the Champions League this season following their title win last season.
Dortmund may not be brimming with household names but the form book suggested they would be a match for Wenger's team. It was not merely two points dropped against European minnows.
So there is some good news for Wenger after a fortnight of scrutiny. His signings are settling in, and the new arrivals are setting their targets high.
Mikel Arteta told the London Evening Standard: "With a club like Arsenal, you are going to be under pressure and you need to handle it and try your best. At every club I have been at, I have had pressure and this is not going to be any different.
"The challenge here is to win trophies and at Everton I didn't have the chance to do that. Hopefully, we are going to have it here.
"The difference between winning trophies and not can sometimes be very small details. The important thing is to get there because, when you do, you have a chance. We have to make sure we are close."
Arteta has effectively stepped into the boots of Cesc Fabregas, who gave the new Arsenal player advice after his arrival from Everton.
"I talked to him the day after I signed the contract and he helped me on two or three things. He was really nice to me," he added.
"He advised me on the areas to live, about the team-mates, about the club and how good they are, the people at the club. It was very good."
If it goes Wenger's way, Arteta will be succeeding where Fabregas failed in the last six years - by guiding the club to a trophy. It may have seemed far-fetched when the final whistle blew at Old Trafford, but they are starting to turn things around.
Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal Preview: Gunners Look to Per Mertesacker
by Jon WestFiled under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football, Match Previews
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP F, SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 13 2011. KICK-OFF: 1945 BST
"When you look back when we travelled to Udinese everyone expected us to win the game and we did, we want the same against Dortmund." So says Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, who, not for the first time, appears to see things a little differently to everyone else.
Everyone expected Arsenal to beat Udinese? Not that I recall - Arsenal's form was so patchy and ill-disciplined that they appeared to be ripe for early elimination. It was the 8-2 loss at Manchester United that caught everyone by surprise as few had expected the Gunners to concede more than four or five...
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Actually, Wenger usually has the last word and when it comes to the Champions League Arsenal are always there and always get through the group stage as well. So win, lose of draw in Germany against Borussia Dortmund, the Gunners will probably still be in the competition come February.
Key match-up: Robert Lewandowski v Per Mertesacker. Lewandowski is one of a number of Poles in the Dortmund squad so Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny will have provided the lowdown on them. And new signing Mertesacker, the hugely experienced Germany defender who has just played for his nation agains the attacker, will tell the Gunners about everything else before protecting the goal during the match. "Mertesacker knows the stadium well and German football well," Wenger confirmed. "He is strong and talks, he communicates."
Form guide: Arsenal have little to speak of domestically but at least they managed to scape a win at home to Swansea City at the weekend. They do have a 100% record in the Champions League however, having won both legs of their qualification clash with Udinese, and the German champions aren't having much fun at the moment either as Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Hertha Berlin pushed them down to 11th. It was their first home defeat in 18 games however.
Odds: Dortmund 6/5, Arsenal 9/4, draw 12/5
ARSENAL:
As well as Lewandowski, Dortmund have two other Poland internationals in their pool in Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek so naturally there was plenty of banter involving Szczesny during the international break.
"They are a very good side and I have three very good friends who play for them," the goalkeeper told arsenal.com. "There was a little bit of banter in the national team going on between us. Out of the three of them I think two will be playing. The one who was loudest will be on the bench I think!
"All I want to say is that after the game I hope I will be the one who comes out on top. They can't get in my head, I will be focused."
This time last year the Gunners strolled to a 6-0 home success over SC Braga, who were overawed by making their Champions League debut so Tuesday's clash could hardly be more of a contrast.
"It will be very important to start the Champions League with a win," Szczesny added. "I'm confident with the players we have that we can build on Saturday's result and make sure we get the right result on Tuesday.
"Hopefully we can go there and get three points at such an exciting venue. There's going to be about 75,000 people there and it will give us a lot of confidence to do that. We're going to keep going. I believe we proved on Saturday that it is a very good side. We put in a good performance, kept a clean sheet and got the three points."
Strategy: Wenger is convinced the effort required to get past Udinese to qualify for the Champions League had a negative impact on the Premier League campaign, which reached a 100-year low point when they were thrashed 8-2 at Manchester United as soon as Samir Nasri had joined Cesc Fabregas through the exit door.
The Frenchman was hopeful a positive result in Dortmund would act as a much-needed confidence booster however. "The Champions League qualifiers had a big impact on our Premier League performances," he said.
"I think we were disturbed by two things - the players who were not with us and the two Udinese games had an impact on our games against Liverpool and United. We have a big game on Tuesday against a very big side. It's a massive game and a chance to show what we can do. It's a first big test."
Mertesacker wasn't the only debutant against Swansea as Mikel Arteta, Fabregas' replacement in the middle of the park, also started and Yossi Benayoun came off the bench, which is where fellow newcomers Park Chu Young and Andre Santos remained. The latter looks a decent bet to make a debut on Tuesday.
Injury update: Thomas Vermaelen and Jack Wilshere are the most missed of the injury absentees, with Abou Diaby and Sebastien Squillaci also in the treatment room. Midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been forced out with an ankle problem and Tomas Rosicky hasn't travelled either because of a knee niggle.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND:
Jurgen Klopp's squad was given a wake-up call from general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is not impressed with already falling five points behind Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen.
"We have to go about our business differently," he told the Bild newspaper. "We have in the coming days the time and opportunity to bring more sharpness and aggression into our game."
Mertesacker was not prepared to underestimate them however. "Dortmund were the best team in Germany last year, they do a good job passing the ball and have great players," he said.
"It will be difficult for us but I know we have very good players and I'm confident we can get a result. Dortmund are the toughest opponent in our group, so we will be very happy if we can take something from this match."
Andrei Arshavin Talks a Good Game But When Will He Next Play One?
by Jon WestFiled under: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Sunderland, Euro 2012, Champions League, Premier League, Football, Transfer News
You can rely on the international break for a foreign footballer to say something interesting and most of these revelations, once they have been translated for speedy repackaging to the UK, are usually either eyebrow-raisingly indiscreet or entertainingly self-deluded.
A few years ago, your average international import might, on being quizzed by a few friendly journalists on his his return to his homeland, might complain about his club manager not giving him enough respect/playing time (delete where applicable) of hint that the people of England/Scotland/Wales, including almost all of his team-mates and every female in a 50-mile radius, drinks more than he had previously imagined humanly possible.
That would be more often than not followed by a hasty denial on his return to the British Isles, claiming his actual words had been 'lost in translation' at some point on the journey.
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Now, it seems, you get a better quality of international break musings. Or at least you do with Andrei Arshavin of Russia and Arsenal, who will be hoping to help his nation move closer to Euro 2012 qualification at the Republic of Ireland's expense before resuming bench-warming duties at the Emirates Stadium.
Where, he has revealed, he has been engaging in insightful conversations on the Gunners' prospects with fellow under-performer Nicklas Bendtner. In which he claimed that losing Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri was "catastrophic" as neither could be replaced. Which will be sure to go down well with Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun, the men signed on deadline day to replace them.
"At the moment, losing Fabregas and Nasri is a catastophe,' Arshavin told Russian newspaper Sport-Express. "Watching the Udinese match I said to Bendtner that now we have no-one so comfortable with passing the ball to Robin van Persie or who ideally utilises the qualities of the other forwards.
"He smiled and replied, "Yes, the only player who could properly replace Cesc is probably Xavi". I'm very glad that I was able to play in the same team as Fabregas - he is a truly class footballer.
"When people say no-one is irreplaceable I don't agree. With Arteta or whoever replaces those who have left, we will play different football, not as we played with Cesc and Samir."
Arshavin did give a thumbs up to the recruitment of defenders Per Mertesacker from Borussia Dortmund and Andre Santos from Fenerbahce but lost potential brownie points with Arsene Wenger by insisting his manager should have also added Rennes' Yann M'Vila to bolster the midfield.
"I know a bit about Mertesacker, he is a good defender who should definitely help us," he added. "I know nothing about Andre Santos other than that he plays for Brazil - but this in itself shows credentials.
"Arteta and Benayoun have long proved themselves in the Premier League, they're not bad signings. And we needed strengthening in those positions. Perhaps another holding midfielder wouldn't have hurt and, as far as I know, we were trying till the last minute to get M'Vila, but unfortunately we weren't able to buy him."
One piece of business Wenger was able to do before the transfer window closes was to send Bendtner out on loan to Sunderland and he could be forgiven for wishing he had packed Arshavin off somewhere as well.
Does the Russian appreciate the irony of having pontificated about his team's strengths and weaknesses from the vantage point of the bench, where the players who are not good enough to make the starting line-up must sit? Perhaps that is too difficult to translate from the original Cyrillic script but the view of most Arsenal supporters isn't difficult to guess. They would prefer it if Mr Arshavin put in more impressive performances on the pitch at some point in the near future.
As for Bendtner, he was on the end of an international duty flaming himself, from Havard Nordtveit, the Norway defender who wasn't even good enough to make even a handful of appearances while at Arsenal.
The 21-year-old, who is now at Borussia Monchengladbach, was happy to tell Danish channel TV2 Sport how unlovable Bendtner was - and lazy too.
"You could not say much to him because it doesn't take much for him not to like you,' he said. "He has his own way of doing things, but he could have made more of an effort in training when he was at Arsenal.
"It was disappointing for Bendtner to have so little time on the field in the last half year but Arsene Wenger always wants to play with his best players and that's what he did."
I wonder if Wenger's best player pool will include Arshavin this weekend. We shall soon find out.
North London Succumbs to the Irresistable Power of Manchester
by Brian GlanvilleFiled under: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Premier League, Football
Well might poor, assailed Arsene Wenger say with Richard III, "Now all occasions do conspire against me". Alex Ferguson - generously sympathetic after his belated return to BBC television's Match of the Day after seven obstinate years - was in something of a minority. By and large, the Gunners' manager was pilloried for this teams abysmal collapse and 8-2 thrashing at Old Trafford. Yet what could have been expected when his team was in tatters?
Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri (no, of course he didn't move for the money) have been sold and lost. Alex Song, Gervinho, splendid at Udinese, and Emmanuel Frimpong, talented but rash, were all suspended. Jack Wilshere, the motor of the midfield, (England need him) was injured, as were the full backs Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs. To add insult to injuries, you might say, who was forced to drop out, unfit, on the verge of the match, but the true bulwark of the central defence, Thomas Vermeulen, leaving the suspect Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny flimsily there. Francis Coquelin, and obscure young reserve, was pressed into premature service in midfield. Though it is all too embarrassingly true to say that such experienced internationals as Tomas Rosicky and Andrei Arshavin shamefully contributed little or nothing. How long will Wenger's patience with them last? Given the departures of key players, there was never any real hope that the Gunners could win the Championship, after six years without a trophy, but now, all hope of that is surely gone. Yet the group they find themselves in now that they've breathlessly qualified for the coming stages of the European Cup is hardly beyond their taking second place to the formidable Borussia Dortmund.
It may seem strange to believe that Tottenham's 5-1 demolition at White Hart Lane by Manchester City was a worse blow to Spurs then Arsenal, their North London rivals, suffered at Old Trafford. Yet where the Gunner put out a team of threads and patches, Tottenham were at full strength and were still annihilated by Manchester City. A team whose access to untold millions from Abu Dhabi has enabled it to build up a glittering squad which will inevitably excel in the Premier League.
A team which can snatch Nasri from Arsenal, Sergio "Kun" Aguero from Atletico Madrid, can now find the powerful Edin Dzeko firing goals rather than blanks, can afford to leave the prolific Carlos Tevez on the bench, can hardly do anything but dominate. As for Spurs, Harry Redknapp, their manager, spoke with ill-concealed bitterness of the way his key creator Luka Modric has been undermined by Chelsea's declared, persisting interest, so that he didn't even wish to play against City.
Chelsea are the other plutocratic club which has utterly unbalanced what I still call the Greed Is Good League. It's something of a consolation that with all their vast expenditure, they at least have looked oddly mediocre so far under their voluble new 33 year old coach, Andre Villas-Boas. Who may well succumb as his predecessor; Carlo Ancelotti did, to what might be called the curse of Fernando Torres. Rashly brought for £30 million clearly at the behest of the Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich, but still, alas firing blanks. Villas-Boas is hardly short of self-confidence, but so far, his words have been more impressive than his team's performance.
Jack Wilshere’s Absence Until November Casts Yet More Gloom on Arsenal
by Matt ButlerFiled under: Arsenal, Premier League, Football
Just as the fug looked to be slowly lifting from Arsenal following a long-awaited transfer flurry, along came the news from Jack Wilshere's Twitter account that the midfielder is likely to be out of action until November.
Wilshere has not played for the Gunners since the slightly embarrassing pre-season friendly draw against New York Red Bulls, when he was withdrawn after just seven minutes. Back then manager Arsene Wenger claimed his player was taken off as a precaution.
Wilshere also claimed he would be back within days, but the injury has proved to be far more problematic than first thought. And he will now miss up to five Champions League group games, along with up to eight Premier League fixtures, including those against against Chelsea and Tottenham.
Wilshere, who is wearing a protective boot around the injured ankle, confirmed via Twitter: "I will be out for around 2-3 months! I am working hard in the gym to stay fit and I am gutted but I will be back stronger."
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After Wenger's frantic last-minute purchases in the dying days of the transfer window, he is covered in the area that Wilshere plays, with Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun ready to slot in.
But Wilshere's presence is important to the way Arsenal play - especially now that Cesc Fabregas has gone. And his absence has been noticeable (no, we won't mention the Manchester United game).
Arteta and Benayoun are decent replacements, but they have just arrived and may need time to fully integrate themselves into the team. And given the start Arsenal have made to their Premier League season (promise we won't mention the United game), time is one commodity the Gunners are short of.
Wilshere's team mate Theo Walcott said: "Jack's a very important player for us. It's a shame he's had this ankle problem. But he's a bright lad - he'll be back as soon as he can. We're going to miss him but he's professional enough to get on with it."
Although it is easy to overstate Arsenal's lack of form - the season is still only three games old, remember - the Gunners need to arrest their slump sharpish. Because no matter when it happens to be in the season, one point from three games isn't good enough for a club with designs on staying in the top four.
And with no Wilshere, halting the slide will be more difficult than it should be.
Grading the Transfer Window: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton, Chelsea
by FanHouse UKFiled under: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Chelsea, Premier League, Football, Team Reviews, Transfer News
The final hours of the transfer window were met with the usual feeding frenzy of shocks, sightings, rumours and tales of helicopters ferrying bewildered players from training ground to training ground.
Not every club was involved in last minute brinksmanship and there were some managers who were able to sit back and watch the fun unfold while taking an occasional peep through their office blinds at the windswept Sky Sports News reporter positioned on the pavement outside, just in case.
Yet no matter how clubs chose to do their business, the outcome was the same; three months of trading had come to an end and between now and the end of January, what you see on the back of your matchday programme is what you get.
So who were the winners and losers after the latest round of that peculiar version of fantasy football that's actually played with real money?
We think some managers have every reason to feel smug while others face an anxious wait to see whether their gambles have come off and here in our first instalment of club by club reports, FanHouse UK looks at the dealings of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea and decide whether they have passed or failed the transfer test.
In part two, we look at the dealings of Everton, Fulham, Manchester City and Manchester United. Read it here.
ARSENAL
Arsenal supporters have not seen a deadline day like it - but then again nor had they previously needed to. One by one their favouries left the Emirates Stadium without being replaced in one of the most frustrating summers in the club's history. The losses of Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri were lamented, the removal of fringemen Emmanuel Eboue, Nicklas Bendtner and Denilson less so and it all added up to a last-minute frenzy. Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta looked to be exactly what the Gunners needed but the jury is likely to remain out for a while on Gervinho, Yossi Benayoun, Andre Santos and Park Chu-young however, while Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are currently immune to censure because of their lack of years.
Highlight: Getting a player of the quality of Arteta to come at the eleventh hour - and a player of Mertesacker's quality to come at all.
Lowlight: The long, drawn-out agony of Fabregas and Nasri's departures. Why did it all take so long, Arsene? Why the late rush to replace?
Grade: In the end a pass, just: C
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ASTON VILLA
Alex McLeish has been forced to tread a financial tightrope as Randy Lerner attempts to slash the wage bill, however the Scot has still succeeded in bringing in some quality additions on a limited budget. The window began badly for Villa with crown jewels Ashley Young and Stewart Downing departing. The pair will be missed, of that there is no doubt, the question is exactly how much. Charles N'Zogbia and Jermaine Jenas should help fill that void, while Alan Hutton and Shay Given are younger and equally accomplished replacements for Brad Friedel and Luke Young. Question marks linger, however, over the size of the squad following the release of a raft of players, including Nigel Reo-Coker and John Carew.
Highlight: Persuading Given to join in a bargain £3.5 million move.
Lowlight: On the basis of his early United form, Ashley Young will be a huge miss.
Grade: B-minus
BOLTON WANDERERS
Owen Coyle bolstered his attacking options with two new deadline-day signings arriving at the Reebok - but it was the man who stayed put who quite rightly snatched all the headlines. England defender Gary Cahill, despite strong interest from Tottenham, remains a Bolton player and for Coyle that must feel as good as a new arrival. The Bolton manager refused to budge on his valuation of the player, rejecting straight cash as well as the likes of Sebastian Bassong and David Bentley in part exchange. In the end, the only business done was the £4 million capture of David N'Gog and the loan signing of Chelsea winger Gael Kakuta, who joined recent acquisition Tuncay. And even though long-term target Shaun Wright-Phillips opted to head down south, Coyle was the real winner in keeping hold of Cahill until January.
Highlight: Somehow keeping Cahill out of the clutches of the rest - despite Bolton's highly publicised debt problems.
Lowlight: Seeing Wright-Phillips opt for QPR ahead of the Reebok.
Grade: B
BLACKBURN ROVERS
No Kaka. No Ronaldinho. No David Beckham. No Raul. But Scott Dann's £7.7 million eleventh hour arrival from Birmingham has at least proved that Blackburn can attract talent. Dann might not be as high-profile as some of the targets the club's Indian owners Venky's have failed to lure to Ewood Park. But he is still something of a coup while Yakubu's arrival from Everton is more of a gamble. However, the 28-year-old is unlikely to be worse than Roque Santa Cruz, who failed to score in 10 appearances on loan in the second half of last season.
Highlight: In addition to Dann's arrival, El Hadji Diouf's departure is a plus.
Lowlight: Targeting Raul and ending up with egg on their face - again.
Grade: C
Arsene Wenger Should be Judged on Quality of Signings in January
by Ian RidleyFiled under: Arsenal, Premier League, Football
When it was all over, when the music and the dancing stopped, some very decent judges thought that Arsene Wenger had rescued a parlous summer situation and ended the transfer window by improving Arsenal's position and making them competitive anew. Really?
Out have gone Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy as big guns that Arsenal wanted to keep. In as replacements have come Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun and Andre Santos respectively.
That would be a 30-year-old with a bad injury record, another midfield player who has knocked about some of the top clubs of the Premier League but without any of them wanting to keep him and a left-back with a reputation for attacking instincts that outstrip his defensive qualities.
How exactly does that improve Arsenal?
But wait, say the Arsenal diehards. Gervinho is clearly better than Nicklas Bendtner, who is a decent striker and might blossom at Sunderland but not quite good enough for a Champions League club.
On top up front, there is Park Chu-Young and at the back, Per Mertesacker is the type of giant German defender that Arsenal have been crying out for.
All that may be true but Park is due to do his South Korean national service the year after next. It will be interesting watching Arsenal work out ways of getting him out of that.
And why did Wenger only come to realise on deadline day that Mertesacker was what he needed all along? The 28-year-old stopper was, it is understood, recommended by chief scout Steve Rowley three years ago. Mertesacker could have been prised out of Werder Bremen at almost any time.
Indeed, there was, in Wenger's belated dealings a desperation at odds with his traditionally calculated management and development of players.
How many times has he refused to give a player over 30 more than a one-year deal, for example? Arteta, aged 29, comes in armed with a four-year contract.
Now it might be said that Wenger has finally seen sense and heeded sound advice. He has more experienced players, such as Santos, to counter-balance ones for the future such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He now has a physical defender with presence and perhaps some leadership qualities.
Arsenal fans will surely hope so, along with those of who continue to wish Wenger well for his enlightened contribution to the Premier League these past 14 years.
Having earned some breathing space by cajoling the side into a win over Udinese to reach the Champions League group stages, he now deserves some time to determine if these new signings will work.
After the 8-2 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford - what someone cleverly called the Frenchman's 'Shredded Huit' - Arsenal need to demonstrate very quickly that they can integrate the new men.
And eight points behind Manchester United and City after just three games, they are fortunate they are at home to Swansea City when the Premier League resumes after the international break.
Post-transfer deadline day, the next ritual for the English game is the annual early autumn managerial cull.
Wenger can comfortably be expected to survive that, even if it takes a while for results to pick up. It is only by the start of the next transfer window in January that we will know more realistically whether this is for the manager the start of a new era or end of empire.
Why Missing Out on Mario Gotze Was a Blessing in Disguise For Arsenal
by Jon WestFiled under: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Champions League, Premier League, Football, Transfer News
An 8-2 thrashing at the hands of one of your biggest rivals is the kind of wake up call even the most stubborn manager cannot ignore at most Arsenal fans will have been impressed, in the main, by the quality and quantity of Arsene Wenger's deadline day signings.
Indeed, as was rumoured at the time and since confirmed by reports in Germany, Wenger's plans to revitalise his stalled side had included the allocation of around £35 million for a replacement for Cesc Fabregas, who, had he been signed, would almost certainly have condemned Mikel Arteta to remain at Everton.
The player in question is Mario Gotze of Borussia Dortmund, whose athleticism, speed of thought and technical ability have propelled him into the world class category in a short space of time.
Dortmund refused point blank to part with their best player and so Wenger had to look to Goodison Park and also borrow Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea to fill he gap left by Samir Nasri's departure.
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Gotze, who is already an integral part of the Germany national team having made his debut last year, may well go on to join Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the blue chip superstar bracket but Arsenal fans may have cause to be grateful he did not join them earlier in the week.
For he is just 19 and if such a huge chunk of the transfer kitty had been used upon him then he would surely have been doomed to be haunted by the ghost of Fabregas, forever being the best player in a team that didn't win anything.
There never was a team that needed an injection of experience more than Arsenal and every one of the new arrivals provided just that. Arteta, for his part, was desperate to get the deal done because he knew he would never get another chance. "I am 29 years old, so I haven't got much time left to take a chance like this one," the Spaniard explained.
Benayoun is 31, Per Mertesacker and Park Chu-young are both 26 and Andre Santos 28. If you need to build a new team then you need seasoned internationals not wonderkids. Arsenal have tried enough of those already.
And talking of youngsters who had their chance but weren't good enough, it seems Nicklas Bendtner has vowed to stay away from the Emirates Stadium once his loan spell at Sunderland expires.
"I will never go back to Arsenal. If I can have it my way, I will never play for them again," the Dane, angry at being snubbed so often, was quoted in The Sun. "I am really looking forward to playing for Sunderland and then we will see next summer. I will find a new club - but I will not go back to Arsenal, that's for sure."
Many Gunners fans are hoping he will keep that particular promise...