Arsenal out of Champions League but still in trophy hunt!

There are a few talking points in relation to Arsenal's disastrous 2014-15 Champions League campaign, with their collapse to French giants Monaco being the biggest of all. The gunners did their best to overturn a 3-1 first leg deficit when they defeated Monaco away from home 2-0, but alas the gunners were once again victims of the away-goals rule and saw themselves exited from the tournament in as early as the round of 16 for fifth successive year! The harsh reality is as simple as this, Arsenal were never going to win Europe's premier prize, thus the pill wasn't as hard to swallow as it should have been. but being in a tournament for 17 consecutive seasons does suggest however that a lot needs to be done to fix this team.

Per Mertesacker, the vice-captain who at times seems clueless on the pitch, should be reprimanded a million times over for his at times chaotic contributions that have seen Arsenal suffer defeat due to defensive complexities! Per, at one point, was the ideal signing that Arsenal needed just a few seasons ago when he signed for the team, but that slowly has converted into a mistake that should have never happened, and now it's time maybe for Mertesacker to finally go! Koscielny has been the rock of defense over the past few games, and he's not only been tasked with the job of covering his half, but also at times covering the gaping hole left by Mertesacker on more than one occasion. Arsenal are in dire need of a new CB, and this has to be on Arsene Wenger's to-do list come this summer! Something simple as defensive complacency will once again prove to be the club's Achilles heel, as it has been for many seasons.

Olivier Giroud must be commended for his effort as the main striker, as he scored against West Ham this past weekend, and on Tuesday night against Monaco in scintillating fashion! Giroud was again on target in Arsenal's 2-1 win at Newcastle, scoring both goals to increase the Gunner's chances for Champions League qualification. The team is once again ready and fully prepared for an epic end of season, as Wenger and his men aim for a second successive FA Cup victory! Will we however see some fantastic summer signings after the season wraps up?

In reality, good performances will take Arsenal so far, but a fantastic performance and some superb additions to the club will make a better team become the best! Wenger will need to recapture his glory days, or what's left of it, by signing the players he need, and releasing the players that need to finally go, but Gunner fans, march on, up up Gunners!

'Dat Guy' Welbeck is Arsenal's man of the week!

Danny Welbeck's sublime finish proved vital in Arsenal's 2-1 away victory over arch-rivals Manchester United, and what a heck of a show it was! Despite valiant efforts from Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young, United weren't strong enough to see off the Gunners who staked their claim to being favorites to retain their FA Cup title. The atmosphere in Manchester was far from hostile, as match-winner and former United boy Danny Welbeck received mainly cheers with a few jeers on the side from the home supporters, but that didn't change the outcome of a fantastic evening for Arsenal!

Back in August, Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal made it clear that Welbeck wasn't good enough to feature in his team, that he wasn't a requirement that suited his standards, thus replacing the United native with the superb loan capture of Colombian hitman Radamel Falcao, a player many perceived to have been more than a fantastic upgrade to Welbeck's talents! Today, Van Gaal's gamble not only costed him the respect of his fans and the media, but more importantly it costed him any chance of winning a single trophy this season! Danny Welbeck has seen to it that this was the case, as his celebration after his brilliant goal was the highlight of sports tabloids and also proved to be another nail in the coffin of Van Gaal.

Welbeck has finally provided hope to Arsenal supporters, that there may finally be something special about this young lad after all! Welbeck has often come under intense scrutiny regarding his performances, which at times proved his inability to perform as a top-class striker many have been hoping he would become, thus often leading to questions about him being the right fit for Arsenal and manager Arsene Wenger. On Monday night, any such feelings may have been quelled for the time being, as Arsenal and its fans can finally parade down the streets of London and give themselves a pat on the back for finally breaking the 'United' curse over the last twelve games, a curse that has so long taken a toll on the pride and egos of Arsenal fans! The team should be applauded for their valiant effort, as it proved successful; and the time for Arsenal to rise more than ever, is now.

Aside from the fact that Falcao was demoted to the United under-21's on Tuesday, Van Gaal's arrogance proves the point that he has destroyed the United philosophy left by Sir Alex Ferguson, by failing to get the best out of his own players, a visible sign of imminent failure, and to top it off, having the player he so rejected and shipped off to his very own rivals kick him out of the FA Cup! Danny Welbeck should consider himself extremely blessed to have escaped United at a time when the club is in shambles, even worse because of a manager who is oblivious to the English game. The celebrations will be ringing right through until weekend as Arsenal once again prepare for a big test when they face West Ham at home, a game they need to win in order to maintain any hopes of Champions League football next season. Danny Welbeck should now use this opportunity to continue the momentum of Monday night, and evoke his brilliance, and prove to the world that he is indeed deserving of his place at Arsenal, and that he is ready to one day be considered among the world's best! We've had our doubts about Danny, we all have, but after such display against Van Gaal's men, he more than deserves a second chance at glory, he has earned his spot, and he will need to make toe most of his opportunity and send a message to United, the fans that even jeered him, and to Van Gaal, that he isn't finished just yet!

Arsenal will then face their biggest task come next week in their Champions League away game to Monaco, hoping to overturn a 3-1 deficit and see themselves through to the quarterfinal stage for the first time in five seasons. There's finally renewed confidence injected in this team, something they needed for a long time. Will Danny Welbeck prove his worth once again and deliver?

Manchester United vs Arsenal: FA Cup Quarter Final Analysis

The FA Cup has been for a while, the dominant KO competition in England, and safe to say, in all of Europe too! The quarterfinal clash between Manchester United and Arsenal will prove to be nothing short of mouthwatering! The tale of two rivals will once again prove to deliver the inevitable drama we have all come to love in the game of Football!

Radamel Falcao, once the most coveted striker in World Football, will be available and ready to go, after a lengthy injury layoff which has seen him on the bench for most of this season for United. The big question remains, however, as to whether or not coach Louis Van Gaal will actually feature Falcao in his starting eleven for this match. As of late, evidently so too, Falcao hasn't featured half as much as expected in Van Gaal's plans, and this has caused a huge strain between fans and the coaching staff for some time now regarding how much United's formation fails to suit the South American hitman! Ashley Young will be fresh in form after a string of decent performances for the Red Devils, as he will surely remain a goal threat against the Gunners.

Olivier Giroud, Santi, Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, and Alexis Sanchez will all be ready and loaded for the big game! Arsenal boast an attack that has the ability to be one of the most deadliest teams, on a good day that is. They lack consistency, and proper structure especially when they face bigger oppositions, but it's no doubt that Arsenal have continually produced some of the most entertaining football in Europe! Arsene Wenger will no doubt have his hands full as he knows the progress of his club hangs in the balance of this match, as he looks to defend his FA Cup title, with success. 

Arsenal's track record vs Manchester United hasn't been the best of the best, as they haven't only beaten Man. United once in the last 12 games, and this is perhaps to their advantage if Wenger's men are able to spin the 'psychology game' correctly! Arsenal will no doubt be bringing the bang come Monday, but they need to play on United's possible overconfidence, and strike where they least expect it, by pressing in United's box and exposing their vulnerability in midfield, making sure the likes of Di Maria is completely marked out of the game! Their biggest task, however, will be preparing for the likes of Wayne Rooney, who has always been Arsenal's kryptonite for over a decade! Arsenal's main priorities will be to preserve their back four, and ensure that they keep majority of their possession in the midfield with the likes of Coquelin leading the defensive charge, to ensure that they are able to release the likes of Alexis and Giroud to create damage in the United box!

Manchester United will play under another one of Van Gaal's horrendous formations, which may end up being their ticket out of the FA Cup, and yet result in another trophy-less season for the Devils. Manchester United will be without Robin Van Persie, but they do have Falcao and Fellaini to push on for United, but will that even be enough? Ryan Giggs' stare at Van Gaal during United's previous win over Newcastle suggests that all isn't right at the camp, and it's pretty evident, no matter how much Van Gaal tries to play it off, that even his assistant is infuriated with United's style of play!

What can we expect come Monday? There will be goals for sure, as both teams will put it all on the line, and play for it all! This isn't a Premier League match, where both teams would've taken calculated measures, this one is for the FA Cup, where it will be 'all guns blazing!'


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Welbeck, Giroud, Ozil = Arsenal Disaster! #AFCvsMON

First off, it hasn't been a pleasant afternoon for fellow gunners fans worldwide on Wednesday, as the fantastic Arsenal were left picking up the pieces of dignity they had shattered on the grounds of Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night. As you may all know, Arsenal were kicked in the nuts 3-1 at home to Monaco, a team that on paper only would've been considered inferior to the Gunners! The indignity suffered wasn't the cause of one or two players, as the entire team were shockingly horrible on a night that should have been a moment of celebrating our first success in five years of 'round of 16' Champions League football. 

Danny Welbeck, is well, #thatGuy... He proves to be 'that guy' who repeatedly provides clear cut chances in the box that eventually becomes nothing but a squandered opportunity as per usual! It pains any fan to see the likes of Theo Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain rusting on the bench on a night where they should have been granted the green-light to spear-head the Arsenal attack! There is no hate whatsoever towards Welbeck, but the truth of the matter is simple, he just isn't good enough! When Welbeck was purchased for as cheap as he was, I'm surprised that it never dawned on Wenger and party that United were too quick to give away a striker they no longer needed, so with this being the case, why have we happily received this riff-raff? 

On to Giroud, good ole Oli Giroud, the man who was quickly becoming a legend among the Arsenal fans, but once again showed that he just isn't up to scratch for the big games yet again! While he had numerous chances to change the complexion of the game, Giroud failed when it mattered most, and thus was easily one of, if not, the worst performer of a night to forget. A top striker has been on the lips of the fans for quite some time now, pleading with Wenger to make this signing for the betterment of a club that desperately yearns success, only to have it fall on deaf ears, as usual. The inclusion of a player such as Cavani, or Gonzalo Huguain would have solved the problems in attack, but based on the manager's preference, struggles seem to the be the only thing he seems happy to relate to over and over again! While on the topic of struggles, enter Mesut Ozil! With big bright bulby eyes, and a heck of a track record to go along with them, Ozil has once again proved to the world that he isn't what Arsenal needs! Wednesday night surely did Mesut no favors, as he was practically invisible throughout the game! As a World Cup winner and a former Real Madrid star, Ozil was to be the promise that the fans were dying for, only to have that seemingly dashed in the garbage heap! When will this club once again taste glory?

The thought of the second leg in Monaco already sends chills down our spines, as this has already emitted doubts of a comeback by Arsenal. With the likes of Dimitar Berbatov once again revved up to take on his 'back in the day' rivals, I can't help but feel even more concerned when during an interview after Wednesday's game, he stated that Arsenal wanted this, but Monaco simply wanted it more! Where is the aggression from Wenger's men? Have they already thrown in the towel? There is further need to speculate that this may indeed be Wenger's final season, but then again, that's highly doubtful. I must however, give credit to Alexis Sanchez for his display, though not one of his best. The Chilean forward did as much as he possibly could to provide chances for his strikers, only to see them all wasted. One can't help but imagine Alexis' frustration in the side, as he seems to be miles apart from the rest in terms of hunger and sheer aggression. 

The essence of it is this, Welbeck needs to be benched, he should be given the Sanogo treatment and stay put! Giroud should never have been the main striker to begin with, as he is good, but just not good enough; and as for Ozil, it's no doubt that his career is losing its breath as the games go by, and this lad just seems as though he doesn't want to be at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger should shoulder some of that blame, as he is known to be a bit too 'chill' with his players, and that's whats lacking in the dressing room, that fire! The invincibles of 2003-04 had sheer poise, hunger, and power when they successfully overturned a 3-0 1st leg deficit and inflicted a 5-1 hammering to Inter Milan that year in the round of 16 Champions League stage! What Arsenal lack, is the leadership and fight to achieve such a result, which further cements the indigestible fact that Wenger's time is maybe just about up!

Arsene Wenger's reasons to stick around! or not?

Arsenal FC have faced some challenging times this season that can be summed up as 'bittersweet' to say the very least... but what are we as their fans doing about it? After what I witnessed as a horrid display in tactics when Arsenal lost to Tottenham 2-1 last week, I literally threw my crockery out the window, thankfully, no one was hurt by this ordeal of mine! Arsene Wenger has time and time proven to himself that he is the master manipulator, a magician of old, and a football genius, but has he proven that to everyone else?

Taking a look back at last season, we managed to barely scrape the surface and managed to come out on top with the much coveted FA Cup trophy, our first trophy in nearly nine years of despair and frustration, but nonetheless we had a reason to finally celebrate the end of an era! Full of strength and filled with pride once again, Arsenal were back on cloud nine, or so it seemed. Before the opening of the Premier League season on 2014-15, we went ahead once again and won ourselves another trophy, the Community Shield, after we rightfully thrashed a poor Manchester City 3-0 to end their nightmares! Oh how things started to finally look up for the Arsenal supporters! Where then did we go wrong? A season that looked promising has so far resulted yet in another desperate attempt to salvage fourth place once again just like every other season for the past ten years and counting. Is Wenger really the problem, or are we expecting way too much from the gaffer?

In an article I previously posted, I was clear on the fact that Wenger should pack up and leave, for the sake of the club, after nine barren years of depression! After watching a few of Arsenal's last games, I somehow found a glimmer of hope that would allow me to accept the possibility of Arsene sticking around a little bit more, but only for the sake of our players and fans finding the courage to believe in Wenger once again. We defeated Man. City yet again, but this time in the Premier League, in their backyard! BOOM BOOM POW! Madness and jubilation filled the skies of North London, but of course Chelsea were just as much celebrating as we were, all for the obvious reasons of course! Wenger pulled out that ol' book of tactics he seemed to have returned to his local library nine years ago, finally putting it back to good use! Sure we didn't play the most attractive football, but it was football nonetheless and we were back to beating the big teams yet again! Fast forward to the Tottenham match, Wenger brought back the exact tactics he used against City, to a team that were never as superior as Arsenal to begin with, only to see it backfire in his face.  It doesn't take a simple man or woman who knows Arsenal's history with Spurs, to realize that Wenger was doing nothing but crap from the moment the kick-off whistle blew! The scary thing is this, not only did we face defeat to our London rivals, but now we are yet again scratching our way hoping to make it back in the top four for a Champions League tournament that we seem destined to 'not' win any time soon.

Wenger however, will have defended his claim that he is indeed the right man to see us through our difficult times, and especially with the implementation of Financial Fair Play, he sees himself as savior, which to some extent, rightly so. Wenger also believes he's able to continue to nurture the young stars such as Chamberlain, Walcott, Alexis, Ramsey, Ozil and even Coquelin to become world-class under his watchful eye! Who would argue about his determination to see the likes of Yaya Sanogo and Danny Welbeck blossom into two of the deadliest strikers in world football, only to eventually come to terms with that failure? Arsene Wenger is a man of chances, a man who sees the potential in even a rock, who/what he believes can be converted to the next Thierry Henry, but has so often ended up unsuccessful in his venture to do so.  The ruthlessness possessed by such managers like Ancelotti, Mourinho, Guardiola, and even Van Gaal, is what it takes to succeed in this Game of Thrones, which is our game of football.

Should Arsenal see better years, it will take a lot more than just hopes and dreams and WengerIn/WengerOut tweets and banners, we need the fans to voice whats truly in their heart and finally be heard! Arsene Wenger has been a significant contributor to the team, but how can we continue to overlook the big mistakes such as the refusal to re-sign Fabregas from Barcelona, who now has put his new club Chelsea on top of their football rivals? That alone in itself is considered a sackable offense! How can we afford to watch a manager who places feelings and favoritism above the game itself? I'd be the most disappointed fan if we do fail to qualify for a the Champions League next season, but I'd be even more disappointed if Wenger did stick around just the same after that, because the reason is simple, we need to grow, we need a leader who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, afraid to embark upon new challenges, afraid to make decisions that's best for business, even if that means sacrificing French pride to do so!

Arsenal are in need of a successful season, a season where we the fans, can once again say In Wenger we Trust, let's get the ball rolling in the meantime, support our club, and get behind the team to the very end! 

P.S.: Wenger, we're watching you!   -_-     -_-       -_- 

Time's up Wenger! (Part 1)

'Here's to greatness and new beginnings'! The much anticipated toast from Arsenal fans to their fellow compatriots around the world on the 30th of September 1996, after the dismissal of 'then' Gunners manager Bruce Rioch and the famous appointment of Arsene Wenger. This period was definitely the beginning of the road to the 'Invincibles', a stalwart image that has now faded into distant memory of what once was. During the 1996 to 2004 period, football bore witness to some of the most magnificent players to have ever graced the football field such as: Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Tony Adams, the ill tempered but rock solid Patrick Vieira, the controversial but talented Nicolas Anelka, the iceman Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and of course Mr. Arsenal himself, Thierry Henry. Iconic images of pure greatness under Wenger rewarded the happy gooners fans with coveted titles such as the English Premier League (now the Barclays Premier League) 1997-98, 2001-02 & 2003-04 and the FA Cup in 1998, 2002, 2003 & 2005! 

Let's fast-forward to now! Since 2005, Arsenal FC has won approximately 0 (ZERO) trophies to date! If this isn't a heck of a reversal, I don't know what is. Their collapse, believe it or not, began at the end of the Invincibles era, in 2003-2004. At the end of that dream team season, the nightmare began! Yes oh yes, our worst fears came to life, and that was relayed the moment Arsene Wenger lost sight of why he was brought to the club in the first place! Lovely that the manager chose to seek out new ways and means to develop his team, but quite simply, he's failed to accept that his attacking tactics that back in the good ole' days, would simply leave his opponents in awe of Arsenal's tremendous display, has now proved to the the cause of their failure! Wenger over the years grew with the club, but somehow, not mentally. His philosophy has often left the much committed fans on the verge of oblivion and total anger with a side order of frustration to add to the mix. Wenger today, simply has no tactics nor an answer to his team's decline! To put it quite frankly, he's lost his cutting edge. Since the departure of David Dein, then the inevitable tragic acquisition of Arsenal FC by the 'great' Stan Kroenke, the club's woes got worse, plummeting to the verge of obscurity! 

Track back to the January transfer window of this current season (2013-14), since Theo Walcott's injury back in January vs Spurs in the FA Cup tie, Wenger was urged numerous times to sign sign sign! Let's not get carried away by my implications, we don't expect him to make a City or Chelsea shopping list, just the necessary signings to bolster the cracks in the squad. Arsenal urgently needed a striker, yes! a striker! Who did they opt for you might ask? Kim Kallstrom?! Who is he might you ask? A Swedish international who was once valuable back in his days at Olympique Lyon in France 2006-2012 when French Ligue 1 was once exciting before PSG purchased it (obviously). Kallstrom is nearing 32, and is currently on loan, is this the answer to the Gunners' attacking problem? Maybe Wenger surely knows something we aren't aware of because the last time I checked, talent wins games and proper direction wins trophies! Wenger hasn't provided this since 2005, thanks to his lack of the obvious regarding making major signings. Arsenal's current top strikers are as follows: Olivier Giroud, and Yaya Sanogo, and I still can't figure out how Gunners have barely managed to score goals as of late?! Maybe because the Higuain summer deal was botched? Or did Arsene spend too much time trying to put together that extra £1 in the audacious £40,000,001 Luis Suarez summer bid that he put together from his car wash savings that would eventually prove a big joke and failure for the North London club? In the words of Andy Hunter from the Guardian, he described it as "the most insulting pound thrown at Liverpool by Arsenal since Jamie Carragher was struck by a coin at Highbury in 2002." OUCH! The audacity of Arsenal and Wenger to take advantage of Liverpool during their seemingly fragile period leading up to the start of their 2013-14 season, the moment that Luis Suarez was dying for a move away from Anfield to feature in Champions League football! Arsene Wenger was defended by the fact that Liverpool were unwilling to sell Suarez, but the truth is, no one truly knows what the outcome would've been had Wenger made a serious bid for the man who has now proven to be the best striker in England today. This incident has somehow brought Liverpool and Suarez closer to a realized dream, while Wenger and Arsenal have been brought closer to a trophy cabinet that may require dusting for a ninth straight year.

Make no mistake about it, yes Arsenal signed Mesut Ozil, that proved positive leading up to January-February where the German maestro maybe finally realized he's no longer at Real Madrid, and the guy up front is actually Giroud not Cristiano Ronaldo! No one can blame Ozil for his decline in his attitude, after all, a champion only desires to play in a team of champions, and sadly, Arsenal currently don't fit this bill. Wenger has once again failed to uplift his team, employ new tactics, and has now fallen to the bottom of the top four, and maybe at the end of this 2013-14 season, he'll take his place at the bottom of the top five. A team can't be successful if they've allowed for all their top players to keep on leaving (Nasri, RVP,Fabregas, Kolo Toure, etc.) and have failed time and time again to sign the proper reinforcements! 

Wenger, you will be greatly appreciated for your past achievements, but you wont be missed... When you finally decide it's time to leave, your bags would have already been packed and a first class plane ticket would have been booked by nearly every single Arsenal fan alive... Your time's up gaffer, and you know it!

Part 2 coming soon!