Robin van Persie... back in goalscoring form.
The week that was - May 2010
May 29, 2010
The World Cup is quickly approaching, and due to the national teams playing warm-up friendlies before the tournament kicks off on June 11th, it’s been a fairly active week for a number of Arsenal players.
The first of the games took place at Wembley on Tuesday as Theo Walcott and England took on Carlos Vela and Mexico. Vela had a couple of good scoring opportunities, but was unable to convert as the home team topped 'El Tri' 3-1.
Despite the loss, no one can say Mexico is dodging the top competition, because two days later they lined up against the Netherlands in Germany. Undeniably, star of the game was Robin van Persie who scored twice in the first half. In very good timing for the Dutch, it would seem RVP is back in top form.
William Gallas and Bacary Sagna started for France as 'Les Bleus' took on Costa Rica. France fell behind early, but managed to equalize in the first half. But it wasn’t until late in the second half that Abou Diaby came on and set up the winner.
Lastly, Alex Song played the first half for Cameroon in a scoreless draw against Georgia. More games are on tap this week, so stay tuned to USA.Arsenal.com for updates.
While you are there, be sure to check out a couple of new series that debuted on the site last week. ‘My Country’ gives you the chance to learn more about some of the nations competing in South Africa, and ‘My World Cup’ brings you the views and memories of the tournament from different Arsenal players.
Also going on now is the UEFA European Under-17 Championship. 17-year-old striker Benik Afobe is playing for England, and has been one of the tournament’s top players. He and his teammates will get a chance to play for the trophy on Sunday against Spain.
The rest of the news this week was still focused on looking back at the 2009/10 season. Stewart Robson provided his thoughts on the campaign and broke everything down by position. He also named his player of the year and most improved player, neither of whom should really surprise anyone.
While he wasn’t Robson’s player of the year, Thomas Vermaelen still received high praise from both Robbo and another former Gunner. So far, Martin Keown likes what he’s seen from the Belgian defender. In an interview with Arsenal TV Online, he said, "He's been outstanding, without doubt, and it's only his first year." Keown went on to talk about what he thinks Arsenal needs to do next year and is well worth a watch.
One thing Arsenal definitely need is to get Aaron Ramsey healthy and back on the pitch. He says that he is feeling good, and is seeing some positive signs in his recovery. Still, when asked about a timeframe, he couldn’t offer anything concrete. "I'm not sure when I will be back,” he said. “The medical staff can only take it every few weeks or every month.”
Another bit of news from this past season came from the Premier League's Dubious Goals Panel. They ruled that two goals credited to eduardo and denilson were actually own-goals by Portsmouth and Everton respectively. A shame, but a goal is a goal I suppose.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the center of most of the week’s chatter, the rumors swirling around Cesc Fabregas’ future at the Club. But truthfully, there isn’t much to say. The latest from the media is that he had a long conversation with Arsène Wenger, but there’s no solid word on what they talked about. All we know is that he’s leaving everything up to Boss and fully believes he will make the right decision for everyone. Sounds like a good plan to me.
We did, however, get confirmation that another product of the Barcelona youth system has left the Club as Fran Merida signed with Atletico Madrid. Since he joined the Club in 2006, we only had a few opportunities to see him in the first team, but he showed flashes of brilliance in that time. Good luck to him in Spain.
Lastly, more top moments of the Premier League era have been unveiled. This time it’s the Top 5 solo goals by Arsenal players. Now you can see all five complete with expert analysis from two former Gunners, Kenny Sansom and Martin Hayes.
Until next week…
- Kevin Mooney
May 22, 2010
The off-season in sports is a bittersweet time – especially for fans of English/European football. It’s a remarkably short off season, so we know we don’t have to wait too long before it starts up again, but the withdrawal symptoms still kick in quickly.
It’s not all bad however. For those of us in faraway time zones can again sleep in on the weekends and all of the injured players can recover from a season’s worth of fatigue and injury. Of course, with the World Cup starting in just a few weeks, both of those concepts kind of fly out the window. At the moment, there are 12 Arsenal players who are set to take part in the tournament.
The break also gives us time to reflect on the 2009/10 season. Arsenal TV Online has broken it all down and analyzed the highs and lows in a Review of the Season. It’s in four parts and well worth checking out as you begin to look ahead to next season.
Speaking of looking ahead, we completed our first signing of the summer yesterday, bringing in former Bordeaux strike Marouane Chamakh on a free transfer. If you look at his numbers for both club and country, it looks like he will definitely add a new element to our attack.
For his part, Chamakh describes signing for Arsenal as ‘a dream come true.’ He’ll wear the No 29 shirt and is set to join-up with his new teammates in July.
Arsène Wenger spelled out the reasons why he wanted to sign the Moroccan international, and there are many. He also went on to say that now that Arsenal is pretty stacked up front, he’s now looking at other areas. We can expect at least one or two more signings, and you would think that still depends on what happens with some of the current players.
One of those question marks is Sol Campbell whose comeback this season is the stuff of legends. Robin van Persie (10) player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/first-team/players/robin-van-persie">Robin van Persie hopes he stays, saying that Campbell brings something to the locker room that this squad needs. Campbell is dropping hints that he’ll be back next season, and is already talking about next season.
He’s not the only player who is already looking ahead. Van Persie is talking about how he loves being involved with the team and enjoys setting up goals as much as scoring them. Alex Song (17) player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/first-team/players/24021/alexandre-song">Alex Song also chimed in and said that he knows he can add even more to his already impressive form.
In addition to the established first-teamers, we also can look forward to contributions from some of the younger players. Several of them have spoken up about how much they have learned this year.
Carlos Vela (11) player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/first-team/players/carlos-vela">Carlos Vela, while he didn’t play much, spoke about how much he has developed as a player. He also referenced the injuries he dealt with and how they hampered him throughout the season. Vela could be one to watch in the World Cup as he was his country's joint-top goalscorer in the qualifying rounds.
18-year-old center back Kyle Bartley says he soaked up all he could while on loan with Sheffield United. Like Vela, Bartley also experienced some ups-and-downs this year, but overall said that he picked up some valuable experience.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had two loan-spells this season, first at Blackpool and then Doncaster. He raved about his time at Doncaster, calling their playing style similar to Arsenal.
Henri Lansbury had a similarly successful experience at Watford, and even managed to return to Arsenal in time to make his Premier League debut in the season finale against Fulham. The midfielder said that the loan spell made him stronger as a player and learned a great deal playing regularly in the Championship.
If nothing else, players such as Vela, Bartley, JET and Lansbury add to the many questions we’ll all be asking in the off-season. Do the young players have what it takes to break into the first team? Will Arsène sign make more signings? How will this team look when training camp starts in July?
Only time will tell.
Until next week…
- Kevin Mooney
May 12, 2010
The 2009/10 season came to end over the weekend with an emphatic 4-0 win over Fulham. In a lot of ways, I think it was one of the most important wins of the year. It ended the season on a high note and ended a pretty brutal stretch of games.
It was a good end to the season for Robin van Persie (10) player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/first-team/players/robin-van-persie">Robin van Persie, who once again showed his goal-scoring prowess. And also for Carlos Vela (11) player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/first-team/players/carlos-vela">Carlos Vela who scored a lovely chip in his only Premier League start of the season. Johann Djourou came on as a second-half substitute, and starlet Henri Lansbury (45) player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/reserves-youth/players/henri-lansbury">Henri Lansbury also made his debut.
The win also secured third place and automatic entry into the Champions League group stages next year. Any time Arsenal gets the opportunity to play fewer games and pick up a little bit of extra rest is nothing but good news.
Immediately after the match, the annual Lap of Appreciation took place, with players thanking fans for all of the support throughout the turbulent year. Arsenal TV Online caught up with several of the players during the celebration and covered all kind of topics.
T he talk after the game was more focused on the season as a whole however. Arsène Wenger had mixed feelings, saying “We have done beyond expectations,” but that that Arsenal was “just a fraction short” of winning the title.
The inevitable questions relating to transfer targets also emerges, but the Boss was, as ever, tight-lipped on the subject. Of course, that doesn’t stop the media from speculating. Some of the recent rumors have suggested the imminent arrival of Yaya Toure and Shaun Wright-Phillips, while other rumors have Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon joining us from Juventus.
It’s sure to be a big summer for speculation, and part of that is due to the fact that Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis said that the Club’s financial health is secure and that we have “we have sufficient funds to invest.”
Of course, this doesn’t suggest that all speculation will come true. Gazidis quickly added, “As always we’ll only do this on our timescale, on the basis of our manager’s assessments and not those of the media.”
And as always, USA.Arsenal.com will bring you the official word on the Club’s comings and goings when they are signed, sealed and delivered.
Another rumor that has been circulating was that Wenger has already signed a new deal with the Club. While not actually true, Gazidis did say that he fully expects it to be done and that it "will be announced at the right time."
The CEO was a busy man this week, taking part in a Q&A with the Arsenal Supporter’s Trust. He touched on many topics including injuries, Club finances and even next year’s kit. It’s broken down into three parts and each one is free for anyone to watch and well worth checking out.
He also announced some Arsenalisation updates. A clock reminiscent of the famed timepiece at Highbury will be positioned in the south end of Emirates Stadium during the summer. The Emirates Stadium quadrant system will be tweaked in order to bring “something more meaningful, renaming the stands so that there is a sense of belonging in the stadium.”
More good news took the form of the Under-18s lifting the Premier Academy League trophy after beating Nottingham Forest 5-3 at Emirates Stadium. Benik Afobe () player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/reserves-youth/players/benik-afobe">Benik Afobe and Luke Freeman led the charge with a hat-trick and brace respectively. After the match Manager Steve Bould gave his thoughts on the game and the season as a whole. Congratulations to the youngsters!
Lastly, congrats go out to Theo Walcott for being named to England’ provisional World Cup squad. He still has to make Fabio Capello’s final cut, but it’s an important first step.
Looking ahead seems a bit silly right now since the season just ended, but several new pre-season friendlies have been announced already. And when you look at the schedule you realize just how short the summer is for many of the players.
In just over two months, our beloved Gunners will be back on the pitch, playing the beautiful football we can never get enough of. A good thing too. Baseball is really boring.
Until next time…
- Kevin Mooney
May 5, 2010
One game remains in the 2009/10 season.
After this weekend, we will reflect on the season and try to parse out if it was a success or a failure, if it showed progress or regression. We will remember the high points and cringe at the low points. We will start thinking about next season and what changes need to be made.
But this season isn’t quite over yet.
After another disappointing loss, Arsenal is crawling to the end of the season in like that Australian triathlete from the Gatorade commercial. Over the last six matches we have picked up only five out of 18 possible points. Mix in the Champions League games against Barcelona, and it has been a dreary 40 days.
Despite an early goal from Robin van Persie (10) player profile" href="http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/first-team/players/robin-van-persie">Robin van Persie, we couldn’t hold on against Blackburn on Monday. Arsène Wenger was not happy with the team’s performance saying, “Our passing was an illusion”. Ouch.
As many people, and especially the media, are already looking ahead to next season, the Boss had a lot of questions to answer regarding the squad during the week. One of his comments is sure to please most fans: there will be at least one signing before the World Cup starts next month.
William Gallas’ future at the Club is also up in the air, but the sentiment seems much less positive. Wenger said, “If Gallas doesn't extend his contract we have to go out and strengthen this position.” He also still needs to sort out Sol Campbell’s future, but after the 35-year-old won Arsenal’s EA SPORTS Player of the Month for April, that decision may not be as difficult as some others. If he manages to hold on to both players, Wenger said “It will depend slightly on how well Djourou comes back about what we will do. He looks good in training, quite positive."
Midfield was also discussed in depth this week, although the Manager does not believe it is a big concern. "I believe the midfield was not a problem this year,” he said “because we created so many chances from midfield and we dominated nearly all the games in midfield.”
Injuries still took their toll on the position. But if not for some serious depth in midfield, we could have been in some real trouble as virtually every Arsenal midfielder missed at least a few games. Wenger is looking for big things to come from Samir Nasri, and his hoping he will become more similar to another former Marseilles man, Robert Pires.
He’s also eduardo-">expecting better things to come from eduardo next season, but based on his comments, it’s difficult to tell if that will be with Arsenal. The Croatian striker signed a new deal with the Club earlier this season, but hasn’t seen much playing time due to niggling injuries. "He is very important,” said the Boss. “But I will assess that situation and sit down with him before the end of the season, you want to see as well how he feels. He is 27 years old he wants to play."
Of course, any potential moves are completely dependent on other teams being willing to buy and sell. With the European economy still reeling, Wenger said “Outside of England, apart from the big clubs, there is no market." Strangely enough, inside England, the market may be better than usual. With clubs like Man City and Chelsea expected to look abroad to bolster their squads, some English players may end up being available at comparatively bargain prices. Which is good considering that he thinks it’s not as easy as it once was to sign that diamond in the rough.
Still, the major trait Wenger says he wants in any potential signing is experience. "If we bring some players in then they have to be experienced players."
One marquee player with gobs of experience is expected to be available. Thierry Henry looks set to leave Barcelona at the end of the season, but before you get excited at the thought of his dramatic return to North London, Wenger believes Henry is off to America.
The MLS has definitely been growing in stature over the last few years, and more former Gunners are calling it home. In addition to Freddie Ljungberg in Seattle, Ryan Smith has been working his magic in Kansas City this season. He took some time to talk with me about his time in the Arsenal youth system and how things are working out in the MLS.
Looking ahead, Arsenal will close out the season against Fulham at Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Fulham’s attention may be elsewhere as they are set to play in the Europa League Final against Atletico Madrid a few days later. Considering the poor run lately and it being the last game of the season at home, I’m guessing Arsenal will be up for it. Besides, we still need that single, solitary point to lock up third. Or we can just hope that Spurs don’t beat Man City today. I’m not one to pin my hopes on others, so let’s finish the season on a high note!
Come on you Gunners!
Until next week…
- Kevin Mooney
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