Broken and Battered Gunners still fighting for Top Slot

Greetings and most sincere apologies for not updating this page for over a month's time due to some unconventional excuse. 

Nonetheless, here's a fresh, just out of the oven post about the Gunner's complete see saw month which saw them crashed down at Allianz Arena (Bayern Munich) and The Hawthorns (West Brom), picking single point results against Spurs in North London derby at home and away at Carrow Road against Norwich and most importantly, losing three of the most important players they have depended upon since last season.

,Cazorla, Sanchez & Coquelin.

The Trio lost to injuries before festive period.

However, Arsenal did pick two crucial wins at home with last week in the UEFA Champions League tie against Dynamo Zagreb and last night against Sunderland in the Premiere League to go second on the table. Positives during this time span were the return of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Walcott and along with the fact that Joel Campbell has started to make his presence felt on the pitch by scoring a goal and an assist in the last three games he has started in two weeks.

The King of Assist is back.

More importantly, a new leader has emerged and is now being seen as the catalyst behind almost every other goal scored by Gunners and he is none other than Mesut Ozil who has now 12 assists in the league in 15 games with two goals as cherry on the top. Training hard to make runs, re-tracking and winning possession and finding space on his own, Ozil has become the driving force in the Arsenal's offensive unit, feeding goal scoring passes at times out of nowhere and in games that have mattered in the season.

Nonetheless, it was a nervous win last night which saw an own goal from Giroud who later cancelled it with a spectacular header to put the Gunners back in the lead and revealed clear signs of vulnerability in defense and hesitation in picking up passes in the last third. This shows how much of a difference does the presence of Coquelin, Cazorla and Sanchez make in the game.

History depicts that although Arsenal has seen many injury filled seasons over the last decade but this time just when the tide has started to favor them, these injuries have started to wear down the team in the most crucial phase of the season. The fact that Arsenal are just two points behind league leaders Leicester City with the spread among the top five of only six points proves that our chances of winning the league title this season are quite high.

Wenger needs to find the perfect DM cover for Coquelin

The only drawback is the lengthy list of injured players who can actually make up of almost the entire first team and their long term absence would prove the Gunner's boss Arsene Wenger wrong in his decision to not buy during the summer transfer window. Although very edgy whenever asked about the injuries and January transfer window, Mr. Wenger would have to admit that he would need to find decent cover for the team in the midfield to progress swiftly towards the title challenge. 

Last night's performance may have boosted a load of confidence among the players but make sure that Coquelin and Cazorla's absence at the heart of the pitch is not felt so much, at least two potential signings should be on for the upcoming January window. If not two, then at least a central defensive midfielder to enforce and release the pressure off the back four. 

For now, a still very decent unit is available for the make or break Champions League away tie at Olympiakos on Wednesday evening with an outside chance that Mr. Sanchez may be seen on the bench while completely ignoring the hamstring he picked up against Norwich unless he is locked down in the infirmary by the Boss himself.

Only the game night would reveal the rest so till then, that's all for now. Leave a comment to speak your mind and thank you so much for reading patiently. Salud & COYG!!

Arsenal Low on Cover as Bayern Clash closes in

Well, Well, Well, as I last wrote about the fragility in the squad despite strong performances in the premiere league, it feels that there is much more to it than it meets the eye.

Campbell finally makes his mark for Gunners

Yes, we pulled another victory last night against Swansea City with goals from the French duo (Giroud & Koscielny) once again along with the long lost child Joel Campbell who finally showed the skills to stick in the first team. Once again, Ozil took the front seat with Alexis Sanchez finding his 'born to kill' talent again on the pitch.

The result has left us level on top with Manchester City on points in the league while the latter takes top slot on goal difference. However, the result seems to have covered up the clear flaws which have been a problem for Arsenal. Particularly, the outcome of the Capitol One Cup exit to the hands of Sheffield Wednesday at their home.

Walcott back in infirmary.

Number one as highlighted in the earlier post is the number of injured players Arsenal now have so far after the League cup exit. Walcott and Chamberlain picked up injuries within the span of 20 minutes of the Capitol One Cup fixture and they joined Ramsey, Wilshere. Welbeck, Ospina, Arteta and Rosicky. None of them available for the UEFA Champions League tie with Bayern at Allianz Arena which leaves Giroud the lone central striker for Gunners till at least December.

Chamberlain out till Int'l break.

Moreover with no further addition during the transfer window, things have started to look quite tight with availability of strong back-ups in the midfield and as well as on the offense. The right flank especially is placed open for Joel Campbell who showed strong legs and fine set of talent for just one game now so far.

The other option is the Academy boy Alex Iwobi who has been in sparkling form in the youth team. Unfortunately, Santi Cazorla and Francios Coquelin have to be cautious and extra vigilant about their fitness level as they have no back-up so far.

Defense still a concern for Arsenal.

Second major problem which is seen in this past week is the complacency in the defensive line which resulted in a humiliating loss in Capitol One Cup and as well as gave Swansea City two absolutely clear goal opportunities which were ruined by Swansea striker Bafetimbe Gomis and cleared by Hector-Flash Bellerin. No matter how strong it may have been for Gunners to have Petr Cech as their ultimate savior, Arsenal back four should not be caught napping in any game.

This sort of stance is what Bayern would be looking for in the Arsenal team to exploit when they meet at Munich for another crunch tie which would determine the course of Arsenal's progress in the UEFA Champion's League this season. 

With full strength in the squad and a clear eye of vengeance, the German champions would strike hard against the Gunners at home and a slight lack of concentration could cause a lot of turbulence in the European competition as well as the title challenge in the Premiere League.

Tell us how what you think through a comment and thank you for reading patiently.

COYG! Salud. 

Gunners fired up as D-Day approaches in Champion's League

My oh My! The days have passed on too quickly despite the international break as Arsenal have progressed tremendously well ahead of make or break, back to back UEFA CL ties against the European giant Bayern Munich. 

Sanchez shines again

Another night of happiness and excitement drove the fans to the peak as Alexis Sanchez - the new talisman for Arsenal truly showed why he was signed by Wenger last season. 

After a sensational display against Manchester United at home where he earned a brace, Sanchez was there again to cause the Watford's backline a serious trouble at Vicarage Road as he finally break the deadlock after the hour-mark with his sixth goal in the league this season.

Ramsey finds the goal and so does Giroud.

Besides Sanchez, Super sub Giroud scored his fourth goal of the season after relieving Theo Walcott who found himself a bit rusty after performing greatly on the international duty. And finally after a long wait, Aron Ramsey's name made it on the score-sheet while Mesut Ozil is giving the critics moments after moments of silence through back to back brilliant performances for Arsenal.

Becoming the team's go to guy now, Sanchez has the work-rate that is not only impressive but quite contagious for the team. While on the other hand, Bellerin has practically killed any chance that remained for Mathieu Debuchy to feel motivated in fighting the place in the team whereas Monreal is emerging a silent hero on the backdrop for Arsenal, making his position secured on the left.

At the moment, Arsenal are sitting 2nd on the Premiere League table and have been getting stronger on practically all fronts but the real test is yet to arrive as they head into the "D-Day" in UEFA Champions League, hosting the ever dangerous Bayern first and visitng them at Allianz Arena the following week.

Bayern - the unbeatable force this season in Germany.

A team which is most feared in Europe at the moment despite the absence of their catalysts Arjen Robben & Franck Ribery and especially after the eminent departure of Bastian Schweinsteiger. Those name have been taken over by the lickes of Muller, Lewandowski, Vidal and ever green Xabi Alonso; all in supreme form with Bayern yet to drop a point in Bundesliga after winning all nine games since this season's start.

However, the first tie with Bayern is at home for Gunners and that would be a bit comforting and slightly alarming at the same time. For one, it is a crucial tie in Champions League group stage for Arsenal as that would decide whether they have a chance to progress ahead in the European competition. 

The comfort of playing it at home with the  crowd support is always encouraging but at the same time, the home record this season hasn't been that solid for Gunners as compared to the last season. Secondly, Bayern has beaten Arsenal at the Emirates on last two occasions so it could turn the crowd into jeering after producing a stunning display against United two weeks back.

So the threats are clearly there and Arsenal have to prove their mettle to make sure that they remain in the UEFA Champions League in the hopes of moving forward in the D-Day on Tuesday night.

What's your take on it? Leave your thoughts and point below and thank you once again for reading patiently.

COYG! Adios.

Stoke Test Cleared, Dynamo Up Next. Champion's League Dream begins "Again"

Gunners Relieved to have their names in the Scoring sheet against Stoke City .

Greetings as I write this post on almost the eve of the Europe's's greatest club football competition of this season involving all the big guns. And with delight too as Arsenal picked up three comfortable points as they won strongly.Especially after a lot of disappointing criticism made of the club's transfer handling this season following by some really nervous performances up front.

Waclott embraced on his fist PL goal of the Season

Some solid performances from Coquelin in the heart of midfield with Cazorla and it would be quite impossible not to mention Ozil and who was the caterer of the attack fest with Ramsey and Sanchez to give Walcott numerous opportunities to score. And score he did in the first half following by a strong headed finish by the much crticized Arsenal front man Giroud.

All in all, a great comeback performance by the team as for at least a few days, Arsene Wenger would find himself in a slight comfort zone and so will Giroud and Walcott. As for some fans who would still say that Gunners were not really convincing last evening winning against Stoke City at home, I would say that they expect far too much, watching far too many games of star studded opposition teams annihilating mid table to lower grade teams. 

Finally some joy for the Frenchman

Just to give them a comparison of yesterday's fixtures in the League, our London rivals Chelsea (Defending Champions - Premiere League) were crushed by Everton at Goodison Park, making it their third defeat already in total of 5 matches so far with just 4 points.

However, we now move on to the bigger stage as the battlegrounds are now being ready in Europe for the UEFA Champion's League with us drawn against Dynamo Zagreb, Olympiakos and German Champions Bayern Munich . Most importantly, all that talk of getting a star signing up front would really come into question as we visit Dynamo at their home for our first game of group stages. 

So far, Arsenal have not made it further than the last 16 in the UCL since last 5 seasons and being one of top renowned clubs among the Europe's elite, it is a huge concern for Wenger whose dream to win the Champions League has gradually transformed into a fantasy. 

Wenger not deserting hope for UCL Glory

The pressure to perform well against Dynamo in a away game shouldn't be of too much intensity for a top club but for Arsenal, there is always tons of pressure to do well in the Champion's League. Now with a shameful benchmark set by the club as per past performances in UCL, the primary objective for Arsene Wenger should be the breaking of that self created "Round 16" barrier convincingly and taking each games piece by piece. Rest is all faith

To say that the Dream can become reality for the Professor would be a far fetched idea but for sure, almost fans would get really excited to see Arsenal in the Quarter Finals at the Champion's league.

What do you think? Do leave a comment below and thanks again for reading patiently! Salud. COYG!!

Transfer Window Speculation begins with all eyes on Wenger

Well, well, well, here we go again with our first post of this year as the transfer window is underway and word has it that the hardcore Gooners want the Arsenal boss to pick an " impact" signing this January.

Although, the strike force in the club's First Eleven has been in impressive form in the first half of the season, sentiments are very high on bringing a match-winner which can boost the Arsenal's offense as lethal as the Premiere Leagues Top-four.

However, Mr. Arsene Wenger have a different way of seeing things. His structural approach is one of the reasons why he turned his face away from Demba Ba, who hinted his interest clearly in becoming a Gooner.

Fans await a Wenger Surprise - if any this January.

With Ba now signed off at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea, Arsenal's boss has hardly a few good options left in the market to satisfy the fans at the Emirates Stadium.

A statement is already out at the press conference earlier last week from Wenger that 'not a lot will happen' in this January cause of limited money at hand as most of the major clubs already packed with their fair share of star-players.

This can only mean that not much may happen for Arsenal this month since the combination in the first team is gelling up very nicely but given how Wenger can surprise you with a deal too good to believe, one can only wonder what the French Maestro could bring to the table.

Whether a new player or not, Arsenal's boss would most definitely want to have Theo Walcott's signature on  a new long-term contract at Emirates to make sure that faith in Arsenal's fan can be fully restored after the damages caused by the departure of star players RVP, Fabregas, Nasri and Alex Song have appeared to be more taxing.

What is more decisive of Wenger's movement is this weeks crucial game against the Barclays Premiere League champions Manchester City who are eager to close the gap between their rivals home rivals United.

Thanks for reading this post and dont forget to leave a comment.

Cheers.

Hi-5 Gunner's New Year cake still awaits the Walcott Icing

Hello Again and welcome to another edition of fan rants and a review on how Arsenal find steady feet in the Premiere League table.

Yes, the French Mastermind has pulled the Gunners back into the Top 5 once again as they ran a riot at Emirates, dismantling John Pardew's Newcastle this past Saturday night.

A match which see-sawed and leveled as goals were fired from both ends with classy finishes, ended with supreme dominance lead by England's star Theo Walcott who was sublime throughout the match, earning his 2nd hat-trick of the season.

Not to leave the French substitute Olivier Giroud who along with Walcott showed what he is capable of by scoring twice within seven minutes of his stepping on the field.

The victory not only ends the Mid-Season and the 2012 on the high note, giving the fans a great reason to rejoice and redeem our faith in Arsene Wenger but also makes the January Transfer window interesting for Arsenal.

Walcott - A Certainly Uncertain Gunner 

Yet the cherry on the cake remains in doubt as Theo Walcott drags his decision to renew his contract with Arsenal into 2013 and the threat of losing the Arsenal's only senior striker becomes more eminent as he would be permitted to speak to other clubs in the January Transfer Window.

While on the other hand, the UEFA Champions Leagues last-16 draws have made the Gunner's season even more tougher as they travel to Munich to face Bayern for their first leg.

Not only that, Premiere League champions Manchester City travel to Emirates on the 2nd weekend of January as they look to clear off points to regain the top slot in the league table.

So it all depends on Arsene Wenger to conjure up a deal which is too good for Walcott to refuse and have his future certain at Arsenal as the English star is very pivotal role-model for his national team-mates at the Emirates.

Tell us What you think and Thank you once again for reading with patience.

Happy Holidays and Cheers!!

Capital Shootout Critically Dealt in Reading

And We are back with a late addition to cover the recent ridiculously symmetrical displays of Gunners at away games over the last 10 days. It also includes late night's overpowering away Victory at Reading in the Premiere League.

Yes, again the voices were raised and the mouths were left gaping in shock when Arsenal were seen off by a League 2 minnows Bradford in the Capital One Cup Quarter Final last Wednesday.

Another Tremor hitting performance where the Gunners played an all-strength team and their strikers still couldn't find the back of the opponent's net till the dying moments of the game; thanks to Le Capitiane Vermaelen who had to leave his defensive post to do the offensive task as well.

Bradford, in their home turf, seemed to dictate the terms to Arsenal in the end at the penalty shootout after being pressed on with only 36% possession on the field during the entire 120 minutes.

This humiliating elimination from the smallest competition added further fuel to the already fiery question among the critics and the Arsenal fans whether 'if Arsene Wenger can further do Arsenal any good".

Furthermore, Theo Walcott has become more adamant in signing a new deal with the Gunners and the talks of Henry's probably 3rd stint in the January Transfer with Usmanov mentioning him in a role more inspiring than just a borrowed player, has pushed Wenger a step closer to the electric chair.

Somehow, Wenger has silenced Arsenal critics with his side crushing Reading on the opponent's play-ground 5-2 where Santi 'Clause' Cazorla registered his first Hat-trick in the Premiere League.

Gunners Redeemed - For now.

This emphatic victory helped Arsenal to jump back up in the Top 5 of the League and maybe a slight outside chance to challenge the title race.

However, this could ll depend on what Wenger does in the January Transfer Window.

Other Positive news at the Emirates are the young starlets JackWilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain willing to re-new  their vows with the Club for longer terms.

Questions for now at the Emirates are: Will Theo leave? Can Wenger muster up some A-class confidence and sign a Star player?

Let's see how it pans out at this weekend's away Brawl at Wigan. Do let us know what you think about it and thanks again for patiently reading it.

Derailing once again but in Slow Motioned Denial

Hey Everyone,

It is indeed almost the Mid Season with Christmas and Transfer window opening again in January. 15 Games into the Barclay's Premiere League and the Gunners have been shaken down to stumble even further low than they had been in the last season of 2011-12.

When losing Star players Van Persie to rivals Manchester United and Alexander Song to Barcelona wasn't already a sore moment for the fans, Wenger's men lacked the zing right from the start. Vermaelen being named the Captain with new faces in the attack, fans were already feeling queasy about the team. 

However, Arsenal showed some character through the Midfield Starlet Cazorla and Podolski who took charge and saw their team winning 4 off the first 7 games with the rest ending draws. 

Hopes were rekindled but only to get tarnished by Chelsea's visit to Emirates Stadium where Arsenal's display wasnt bad but the cracks seemed to appear once more which we have seen over the last 7 years. Their lack of hunger to win. 

Visit to Old Trafford wasn't much exciting either with RVP's so called "Replacement" Giroud misfiring every time his foot found the ball in the opponent's box.

Wenger's worries have grown more drastic as Theo Walcott, one of the retained players since Thierry Henry left, is adamant in signing another contract with the Gunners.

Last 5 league games have seen Arsenal slipped down to 10th spot in the Table with only a single victory at home and despite qualifying for the Knock-out stages of UEFA Champion's league, Wenger's slightly baffling player selection for the last game against Olympiakos resulted in another away defeat.

As the time passes, the fans lose their faith in the Manager's decision making style. With the owners already declaring the Club's inability to spend too much in getting Big players, Arsene having difficult to find a reasonable excuse for recent failures, one must wonder whether the direction is ever going to change or it would be the same repeat film where the plot is too secure "4th Spot" in the League?

Can the Philosophy change? If not, then what can give the fans a chance to see something Magical in this Season?

A combined feeling is, Arsenal is derailing in the race to win a Trophy but it cant be said yet if the damage is repairable or not.

Do let us know what you think and Thanks for reading it out.

Cheers!!