The Arsenal Blog

I understand that the buck normally stops with the manager and a lot of Arsenal fans will surely think that Arsene Wenger has a lot to answer for this morning. The players were not properly motivated and our tactics just fell apart. And keeping the terrible Mesut Ozil on for the whole game was just bizarre.

But Ozil was far from being the only Arsenal player that had a shocker. Not one of them played well in fact. Welbeck and Sanchez dropped deep and came central to rob us of any width, the full backs neglected their defensive duties, Koscielny and particularly Mertesacker made bad decisions and just defended poorly in general.  ...........Read more

Not only is it looking like Arsenal will be battling with Manchester United until the end of the season for a top four finish in the Premier League, but the football fates have matched the Gunners up with our old enemy for a place in the FA cup semi-finals.

But there is no fear in the Arsenal camp about the upcoming clash at Old Trafford, if the recent comments by our French international centre forward Olivier Giroud are anything to go by. The 28-year old was understandably in a buoyant mood after scoring both goals against Middlesborough to get the Gunners into the quarter-final but that is not the reason he is so confident about Arsenal’s chances in the cup and league.  ...........Read more

It was a big surprise to see the name of Alexis Sanchez on the Arsenal team sheet today for the visit of \MIddlesborough in the fifth round of the FA cup. We had been told that the Chilean striker was not likely to play as his knee was still swollen after Tuesday night.

We know that Sanchez always wants to play and that this is an important game for the Gunners, but Wenger has made lots of changes, giving the likes of Chambers, Flamini, Gabriel and Gibbs rare starts. And with Theo Walcott finding his form and fitness, it is not as if the manager did not have a good option to play instead of Sanchez.  ...........Read more

It was a bit of a surprise to hear the Arsenal boss sticking up for his opposite number over at Old Trafford this week. I don´t think it would have been the same from Arsene Wenger if it was still his old enemy Sir Alex Ferguson still in charge, but the Frenchman has so far managed not to fall out with the new man Louis van Gaal.  ...........Read more

Danny Welbeck was thrown straight back into the starting line-up on his return from injury in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat by Spurs. In many ways it was a vote of confidence from Arsene Wenger. But at the same time there are now going to be questions about Welbeck’s role in the team, and where exactly will he fit in?

Welbeck left Manchester United in the summer window for Arsenal to play regular first-team football. He also wanted the chance to play as a central striker, having done so more often for England than United. He was initially handed that task by Wenger, but that was largely due to Olivier Giroud’s injury. Since Giroud’s return, Welbeck has been given the same wide attacking role that he was often employed in by United.  ...........Read more

Although Arsene Wenger publicly offered his support to the under fire Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere last week, there is a feeling that the Frenchman could finally be losing patience with the 23-year old who joined the club as a promising nine year old back in 2001.

A Metro report claims that Wilshere’s latest public smoking gaffe, when he was pictured in a nightclub holding a shisha tobacco pipe, could have been the last straw for his manager. And that could open the door for the Gunners’ Premier League rivals Liverpool to swoop for young Jack when the transfer window opens in the summer as they seek to find a replacement for the long serving Steven Gerrard.  ...........Read more

Without naming the names of any of his Arsenal players in particular, Arsene Wenger made it clear in his post match interview that he felt that many of them had not played at their normal level. His interview reported by Sky Sports shows that the Frenchman was not happy with the defending but he seemed more concerned that our midfield and attack did not do enough to alleviate the pressure and give Tottenham players problems at the other end.

Wenger said, “The only regret I can have today is that we gave two cheap goals away, but Tottenham deserved to win this game.  ...........Read more

It was not just a bad day for the Arsenal fans who will now have to suffer the taunts of our rivals from down the Seven Sisters road. The away day defeat by Tottenham in the north London derby has left Arsenal in real danger of missing out on a top four finish this season.

Any lingering Premier League title hopes were extinguished as Chelsea beat Aston Villa and now it is all about the top four for Arsene Wenger and the Gunners. But with Southampton grabbing an extra time winner away to QPR and with Man United still to play tomorrow, that is now looking like a tall order.  ...........Read more

If you believe what you have been reading in the Arsenal transfer rumours recently, then Arsene Wenger was definitely interested in adding the name of the West Ham and New Zealend international defender Winston Reid to the Gunners squad in the January transfer window.

But the rumours are that West Ham were asking too much for their central defender, especially as he will be available for nothing at the end of the season. So as we know, the Arsenal boss turned to the Brazilian Gabriel Paulista from La Liga’s Villarreal instead.  ...........Read more

After the Arsenal boss was uncharacteristically honest and open about the ongoing negotiations with the Spanish club Villareal about their defender Gabriel Paulista, it did seem to be highly likely that the deal was close. Arsene Wenger, quite rightly, likes to keep his transfer plans as quiet as possible until they are done.

But the Frenchman also admitted that the Gunners and Paulista’s current La Liga club were not in agreement over the transfer fee, although he did seem hopeful. But there is strong evidence today that the two clubs have come to terms and so the Arsenal fans will hopefully soon have official confirmation that the versatile defender is heading to north London to sign on the dotted line.  ...........Read more