Signs of Fatigue & Injury Loom Up Front despite Gunners Flying High

Hello again. It has been quite a thunderous run for Arsenal as they stole back to back home victories which includes a clear heist against the German giants Bayern Munich in their UEFA Champions League crunch tie. A game that has kept the hope alive for going through to the Last 16 round of the European competition.

The French duo doing the Magic against Everton

And just when some critics thought that complacency might stretch the hang over of that triumph into the Premiere League, Arsenal produced another superb performance against Everton with first half goals by Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny and then held on to the lead to take the top slot on the table for the night. Both Frenchmen have been extra ordinary this week with Koscielny being the most prominent name in the list of the league top center-backs season after season.

Ozil raising the level game after game

 However, the name that has stifled every critic's voice is of Mesut Ozil who has powered himself up in all the big games so far in the past few weeks. His performances have put a stop to the constant jibe of his price-tag since he signed for the Gunners two seasons ago.

All in All, Arsene Wenger's adaptability to the modern techniques and ever changing style of game play against the big sides is paying off healthy dividends and the cohesion of the defense wall with the Experienced Petr Cech is absolutely perfect, pushing the confidence sky high.

Sanchez has to take a break.

However, there has been a clear sign of fatigue in a player whose presence makes every opposition nervous on the pitch and he is none other than Alexis Sanchez. Although he seems to be pumped up for every game, he can't hide the level of fatigue when moving up front and the Gunner's boss has to give him rest in order for him to gain the strength he has to demolish opponents single handedly.

Another player who seems a bit out of ideas after a powerful display against Manchester United is Theo Walcott and his last two games of growing quietness gave Giroud a chance to start last night where the Frenchman proved to be the vital force in last night's victory. Although Walcott has not been bad at all during the Bayern game but missed chances may have stirred down his confidence a bit in his role as a central striker.

Another player gained by the club's medical staff is Aaron Ramsey whose hamstring has again started to give him problems before the season has not even reached halfway. His expected return will be after another make-or-break, tough, away gtie in CL against the wounded lions Bayern Munich and the international break. 

Joyous now but tough weeks ahead for Wenger

With no signings up front this past transfer window and complete confidence in the players to be fit with the support of the ever hardworking medical staff, Arsene Wenger has to take some precautions and calculated risks in squad rotation given how Wilshere, Welbeck and Rosicky seem like on the KIA list.

That may play into the fear of a slump which usually is the reason of Casualty for Arsenal season after season and Arsene Wenger would not want that to occur again given how his side has been performing so far in this season with all the Star players he has mustered to build a squad that is being termed the "Best" since the Invincible's Era.

Leave your thoughts below if you feel like by firing in a comment and thanks again for reading it patiently.

Cheers!!

Feiry Flams & Stunning Sanchez: Reasons for Gunners to Rejoice

Last week's dreadful show and this week's display makes a perfect moment to recall a famous line of Al Pacino in The Godfather III movie which was, "Äs soon as I thought I was out, they pulled me back in."

Yes, this is the week to bask in immense delight for all the Goonars as Arsenal made a statement to quiet down all the doubters and put a stop to the taunts by many that a top class proven striker is what Gunners actually require to fight for the title. Well, not so much if you take in the accounts of how we played at White Hart Lane in our Capitol One Cup tie against Tottenham but last night practically shut down all the critics who has the fan drive against the Gunner's boss.

Wednesday night seemed to be a bit of stuttering approach as fresh loss to Chelsea was looming over the players and the absence of Coquelin, due to injury, saw two veterans Arteta and Flamini filling in the position with no Cazorla in the squad along with Ospina, Debuchy and Campbell coming in the line up.

Flamini Shines for Arsenal in Capital One Cup

That seemed to be working against the team until Flamini popped in the picture, scoring his first on the rebound, followed by a spectacular volley finish that completely broke down Spurs and saw them out of the competition on a night where Giroud again came a bit clueless with his approach on the goal.

However when dumping our North London rivals in a slightly fortunate manner wasn't enough, a complete assault came in at Leicester in the Premiere League fixture yesterday where the Gunners finally went in with all guns blazing on the offensive, particularly with the man in question who lead the Arsenal goal scoring stat last season - Alexis Sanchez And also especially against the only team with an unbeaten record in the League which seemed unstoppable till the very game at their home.

Alexis Sanchez is back with a Bang.

After giving away the first goal in the early minutes of the game, Arsenal had the hard work cut out against a strong team laid out in front of them by Claudio Raneiri but the counter attacking mindset paid off with Walcott equalizing due to an excellent pass by Santi Cazorla.

Then came in the dazzling Chilean with an appetite, scoring his first of the season on a Bellerin cross, then heading off an excellent Ozil lob for his second which by his his trademark long shot finish from 20 odd yards to bag his first hat-trick in the Premiere League.

Although, Jamie Vardy scored again following his first to make the Gunners nervous but Giroud came off the bench to grab the fifth and end the powerful run of Leicester City to a complete stop.

Wenger rejoiced following Arsenal's strong Comeback.

This victorious week has given great boost to the fact that Arsene Wenger had given the fans a great reason to get behind him and most importantly the team itself. Moreover, questions that loomed about having a renowned proven striker signing might be out to rest as all three designated forwards were on the score sheet.

However, the need of a strong defensive midfield back up seems to be the area that should concern Wenger the most as Flamini and Arteta could only provide limited cover for Coquelin, the man who has become the actual anchor for Arsenal since last season.

Although he would be back in a week's time to face Manchester United at home but any serious injury to him may leave Gunners on the back-foot so let's hope he stays fit along with Arteta and Flamini in the squad till January transfer window.


What's your opinion on it? Do tell through your comments and Thank you once again for reading. Till next time, Come On You Gunners!! Cheers.

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!!

St. James Park reveals Nervous Strikers ahead of Transfer Window Deadline

Well, it seemed an eventful night for both; Gunners and their fans when Match Day 4 kicked off with our game against the Magpies. 

A Solid defensive performance followed by a Persistent attack by a midfield (Even without Ozil) proved to be too Strong for New Castle United who were reduced to 10-men after Mitrovic Red Card.

The result on the sheet was all smiles as we came away with all 3 points from St. James Park making 7 point from 4 games (2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss).

 

Ironically, both our winners in the away games have been own goals and that is too out of total of 3 goals scored so far by the Gunners in 4 games. That states a whole different story about the Gunners who may well have claimed to be ready the Title Challenge.

Walcott seing end of the line?

Surprising as it may be with all the players shining in the pre-season, it feels that all was an illusion after all. Especially after seeing The Player (Walcott) whose demand for signing the new contract was to be the Main Man upfront and then not delivering when we needed the most. 

On the day when Arsene Wenger gave Walcott the golden chance, before the Transfer window ends, to show his true worth as the strike-force upfront, he wasted the opportunity to stamp his name in the position by failing miserably time to time.

Struggles of Giroud continue.

In the last 20, Giroud took over and showed his physical presence but just like last week at home against Liverpool, he was still ineffective in front of the goal . He looked to be to trying too hard but came off with nothing in the end.

For the Arsenal Boss, it seemed a more revealing time to realize that he would have to pull out his chequebook and find a last minute solution to the goal scoring area which looks to be the only leaky hole in need of being fixed without wasting a moment.

Arsenal Boss doing some deep thinking.

A dilemma that's been often highlighted all this Summer by critics, former legends and most of all, the Goonars.

They want to see a Star Signing in the front!

However, the eminent striker's arrival may be exerting extreme pressure on the shoulders of both apparent culprits in the central striker position as it would only mean dropping down the ladder and fighting for the place at all cost.

Both Giroud and Walcott are fine players with the latter having pace and the ability to slide past the defense of any team while the former possesses the physical strength and the confidence to score at crucial times but these qualities appear to be lost at the start of the season. 

Maybe the fear of slipping down the food chain is keeping both the players from performing on their optimum levels, leaving them nervous at every start they have gotten so far.

This leaves Arsene Wenger in a very excruciating circumstance amidst all the pressure coming from the fans and critics which may force him to act despite the fact that Welbeck will be ready for action in a fortnight.

It all remains unseen until the last tick of the clock which may well decide the fate of the Duo coming this Monday night at 00:00 hrs.

That's all for now. Do leave your comments please on what you think and thanks once again for reading. Cheers!

Would signing Benzema or Cavani mean writing Death Warrant for Walcott?

And I am back with my latest post after two years with a whole new different way of giving an insight of what's happening and what's not happening at Gunner's home.

Recently, we have seen massive flooding of rumors of us signing Superstar forwards with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Cavani, Thomas Muller, Gonzalo Higuain and even the ever 'Majestic' Zlatan Ibrahimovic to provide cover and strong competition for our out-and-out striker Olivier Giroud.

Benzema Happy to stay at Bernabeu.

However, the rumor that doesn't seem to go away is that of Karim Benzema which seems to be getting stronger as the Summer Transfer window comes to a close.

The Los Blancos Goal Scoring machine has been on the wishlist of every Goonar and to some point, a source of admiration for Arsene Wenger and some of the star players like Cazorla.


Benzema is the bridge between Ronaldo and Bale forming a Trident for Los Blancos in the front, which almost makes him an irreplacable force at Barnebeu.

Cavani wanting a New Scenery now?

While Edison Cavani rumor has recently gained strength over these last few weeks and being frustrated playing as second best to Ibrahimovich at PSG, he would most likely be benefiting the most to regain his superstar Reputation if Arsenal sign him in this window.


Both are top quality strikers and would give guaranteed boost for Arsenal to pose title challenge on both fronts; Premiere League and Europe.


However, what we have at our disposal in the front is quite sufficient to accompany Giroud such as Walcott and Welbeck along with Sanchez; all possessing speed, crafty dribbling and clinical finishing to change the game within a blink of an eye.

Options at hand for Wenger - Wellbeck & Walcott.

Not to forget the Youth Academy where Wenger has worked immensely to bring up has seemingly fit options in all departments to break into the first team such as Apkorn and Iwobi showing their skills up front in Emirates Cup and Barclays Asia Trophy this pre-season.

Walcott being the most strong contender for sentral striker position next to Giroud has been aching to make his place prominent but somehow some fans see things otherwise. For them, Cavani or Benzema are definite Title winners no matter how expensive they are for the club and a move for either move definitely mean the end of the line for Theo Walcott.

Giroud wot worried about new striker along with him at Emirates

Walcott has shown time to time how lethal can he be in the front replacing Giroud, giving more assurances to Wenger to let him play in his favorite position after starring in FA Cup Final and starting in 2015/16 Community Shield. Wenger had to work to convince Walcott to stay and signed for long term at the Emirates with promises of playing as a center forward as his usual position.


That promise can only be fulfilled if temptations and pressure to bring a mega star signing up front is made to quench the fan's thirst after Cech being the only signing to upgrade the long awaited keeping department.

So for Walcott, this Transfer window is crucial till the end and not a day before the close would pass for him without hoping that the status quo in the Arsenal offensive stays the same. We hope for the best for him as well.

That's all for now but give your view about what you thinkby leaving a comment and Thanks once again for reading patiently. 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.