Tag: Arteta

Wanyama to be NEXT Arsenal midfield transfer?

I am really not too sure about the Arsenal transfer rumour to be honest, especially if the talk about the young French midfielder Francis Coquelin being back in training and close to an Arsenal return are true.

But Metro are reporting that Arsene Wenger has not finished strengthening the Gunners in midfield this month and is planning to make the Southampton and Kenya star Victor Wanyama the second Arsenal signing of the January transfer window.

Arsenal have been linked with the powerful and combative Wanyama in every transfer window for years, dating back to when he was impressing north of the border with the Scottish champions Celtic. But after Wenger completed the transfer of one central midfielder in Mohamed Elneny, it seemed as though the Frenchman was done.

But the prof said today that he was still unsure about the best position of our new player and in Arteta and Flamini we have two player that might have reached their sell by date. So would the Saints’ star be a good player to sign this month and would Wenger sign two players in the same sort of position like this?

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Arsenal to complete TWO midfield transfer deals this week?

If the latest Arsenal transfer rumours doing the rounds are not just hot air, then it could be that the current Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta could soon be leaving the club and going to join his former team mates Alex Song and the on loan right back Carl Jenkinson, as Metro is reporting that our Premier League rivals West Ham are keen to take the Spaniard during the January transfer window.

The fact that Arsenal are currently in the middle of a midfield injury crisis, with key players like Cazorla and Coquelin still some way from a comeback, saw Arteta used as a sub by Arsene Wenger in the FA cup win over Sunderland on Saturday. So Arsenal will not be letting him go just yet, but the boss could just be waiting until the deal to bring Mohamed Elneny to Arsenal from Basel to be signed, sealed and delivered and the report says that could happen this week.

If the Elneny transfer is sealed and with Mathieu Flamini and Calum Chambers fighting for a place in the first team as the holding midfielder, do you think Wenger might be willing to let Arteta go this month? He is not getting any younger and what are the chances of him getting much game time?

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WBA v Arsenal Ratings – Sanchez MOTM – Arteta NO COMMENT!

There isn’t much left that can be said except that Arsenal had 73% possession to West Broms 27%. Arsenal had 11 shots to West Broms 5, and the Gunners still managed to throw the game, mostly thanks to a nightmare from our poor captain Mikel Arteta, who wasn’t even on the field for long!

Anyway here are the Player Ratings….

Cech 6.5
Can’t really fault him for the goals and he didn’t even have a bad game!

Bellerin 5
Worst game ever for Arsenal. Maybe he hasn’t completely recovered yet…

Koscielny 5.5
Another one not really on the ball. Join the club!

Mertesacker 5.5
West Brom were just too fast for him

Monreal 6
Didn’t have a bad game. He just didn’t have a lot of involvement.

Coquelin N/A
14 minutes until injury. Should give him a 2 just for being injured and ruining my day!

Cazorla 6
Should have had an assist with Campbell, but the penalty…..ooooh!

Ozil 7.5
Can’t knock him for breaking record of 7 assists in last 7 games.

Sanchez 8
How does he just keep going? Who says he needs a rest? Far and away the liveliest player

Giroud 6.5
Perfect use of Ozils cross, but faded away for rest of game

Gibbs 6
I think we can call that experiment as failed.

SUBS
Arteta NO COMMENT

Flamini 6
Played well considering but should have been on earlier

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Arsenal starting XI for Dinamo Zagreb with FOUR changes

We already knew that Arsene Wenger would be making at least two changes to the Arsenal starting line up from Saturday´s win over Stoke City, as he told us that Aaron Ramsey and Hector Bellerin were staying at home for a rest ahead of the Chelsea clash.

But with less than three days between games, those will not be the only changes made. Mathieu Debuchy will come in for Bellerin and I would be amazed if Kieran Gibbs did not replace Monreal on the other flank as well. As Ramsey has been playing on the right, he could be replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain but I think he will bring in Giroud and push Walcott out wide instead.

The other change I expect is in the middle, with either Coquelin or Cazorla getting a well earned rest and the club captain Mikel Arteta coming for a rare start. So this is how I think Arsenal will line up against Dinamo Zagreb.

Cech
Debuchy, Gabriel, Koscielny, Gibbs
Arteta, Cazorla
Walcott, Ozil, Alexis
Giroud

What do you think of this team Arsenal fans, and is is strong enough to bring all three points back to north London?

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Arteta – The rewards are now coming to Arsenal

When Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta signed an extension, it may have come as a surprise to a section of the supporters. Not that the Spanish midfielder is unpopular with the fans but because this may have signaled Arsene Wenger’s intent on signing a new defensive midfielder.

With the captain extending his stay at the club by another year, it more or less put curtains on the hopes of any new defensive midfielder signings. Well, at least, temporarily till the point Wenger comes out with a concrete bid for any one.

The 33-year-old Spanish midfielder is never in doubt that he would extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium. His original contract was due to expire this year and with the undue delay in signing an extension, there were rumours that he may move out of the club.

Arteta had an indifferent last season where he struggled with injuries and made just seven Premier League appearances. With the emergence of Francis Coquelin and the craving for a world class defensive midfielder, he was being linked with a move away from the club.

But, quashing all the reports, he signed an extension. In fact, Arteta insists that he never considered a move away from the North London club. The former Everton midfielder, who signed for the club in 2011 believes that Arsenal is now on the verge of challenging for more titles.

“It’s been three or four years and the rewards are coming now, so you want to be part of that as well”, Arteta said.

Arteta has overseen back to back FA Cup triumphs but also saw the club falling flat in their challenge for the Premier League title. He feels that there is competition for his place but wants to win back his place. The ankle injury he suffered in January was a setback but he believes that he is now fully fit to win back his place.

Its good news that Arteta feels he is fit enough to help Wenger mount a challenge for the Premier League title. It will be difficult for Wenger to have Arteta in the first XI instead of Coquelin; at least not in the current form.

Arteta has never taken his performance to a level that would woo the supporters. He was a reliable player but never one who could be that next level player. The Gunners supporters always wanted a world class enforcer who can be a shield for the back four. Arteta, sadly, could never be that player.

Using Arteta’s experience can be positively viewed but if his contract extension is seen as a reason not to sign new defensive midfielders, it may prove to be a glaring mistake. Hopefully, Wenger will make reinforcements.

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Arsenal HAVE signed ANOTHER defensive midfielder

With the young product of the Arsenal academy Francis Coquelin surprising all of us, except Arsene Wenger apparently, by showing that he has got what it takes to star for Arsenal in central midfield and provide the work rate, energy and tough tackling that you need to thrive in the Premier League, we all wondered whether that was it for Arsenal in that position.

And when Wenger also brought in the 17-year old Polish prospect Krystian Bielik from Legia Warsaw, said to have the potential to become a player like our former captain Patrick Vieira, it seemed that the Gunners had the deep lying central midfield role sewed up for years to come.

But it has now been revealed in a Metro report that our manager has completed another deal as well, by already signing up the club captain Mikel Arteta for another year. The Spaniard’s contract was due to expire at the end of this season but the boss clearly wants him to stay on.

Arteta has not managed many games for us this season due to injury problems, but Wenger still thinks he has a lot to give, possibly by imparting his experience and reading of the game as much as by doing it on the pitch. So is that the end of the Schneiderlin and Carvalho Arsenal transfer rumours?

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Wenger and Arsenal finally set for offer to solve DM problem

With Arsenal having been hit by the bad news about the club captain Mikel Arteta suffering a setback to his recovery from an ankle injury, Arsene Wenger’s need to use the January transfer window to strengthen the Arsenal squad in this area was made even more clear.

It was widely reported that the Frenchman was already looking to sign a player to cover us there, so you would think that the boss was even more determined. But at the same time, we have seen the emergence of Francis Coquelin who was recalled from a loan spell with Championship club Charlton and has been getting better and looking more composed at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield ever since.

His latest performance away to Man City has not only got the fans and media talking about him, it has convinced Wenger to sign him up to a new deal, according to a report by The Independent who claim that we are set to offer Coquelin a new contract as his current deal is due to expire at the end of the season.

That still leaves the question of whether the Arsenal manager will still want to use the transfer market this month and you guess is as good as mine on this one.

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Is Rosicky set to be Arsenal’s secret weapon today?

The Czech midfielder Thomas Rosicky has only recently started playing for the Arsenal first team this season, but he has already shown his quality with some top performances and an important goal against QPR. Thomas may be 34 years old but Mikel Arteta believes that he is extremely under-rated and has been ever since Mikel first joined the club three and a half seasons ago.

“Within a week of joining Arsenal, watching Tomas train and having him play alongside me, I knew he was one of the most underrated players,” Arteta said in the official website. “It’s hard to find players like Tomas who can be that clever and do things so simply and lively on the pitch.

“I think everybody likes to play next to Tommy and I’m very happy for him because he was given the chance and again he hit the spot.

“He can carry the ball and he’s got that 10-yard spurt where he can change direction, his vision and his final ball.

“Something people sometimes don’t think about with Tomas is that he works really hard. He’s always very alert with very high concentration levels during the game and that’s why he’s so good.”

Today is obviously about rotating the players that have been seriously overworked for the last few weeks. If Rosicky plays his normal brilliant game against Hull we can be assured of a good showing against Hull.

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Van Dijk STILL Arsenal’s top defender target

There have consistently been regular Arsenal transfer rumours linking the Gunners with the Celtic star Virgil Van Dijk. Our interest was first noted when we made a last-minute bid for the Dutchman this summer, but the Scottish giants turned Wenger down as they had no time to find a suitable replacement.

I am sure in the intervening months the Hoops have had more than ample opportunity to source a cheaper alternative, and the Glasgow club are not averse to taking money of Premier League clubs if given the opportunity, so I believe this is the reason these rumours simply won’t go away.

Arsene Wenger has already told Arsenal fans to expect a defender and I don’t think that he would have been so definitive unless he already had one lined up, so now that the Star has yet again reported that van Dijk is the Gunners top target I am not surprised in the least and fully expect him to arrive as soon as the window opens.

Yes it is true that Arsenal also need a defensive midfielder, but I seriously cant see Wenger bringing in two players in January. Let us all just hope that Flamini stays fit until at least Mikel Arteta comes back from his own injury!

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Wenger lets back-up Arsenal DM Coquelin stay on loan!! Is he MAD?

I cannot believe that Arsene Wenger has not decided to recall the French midfielder Francis Coquelin to Arsenal. Instead, the manager has allowed the 23-year old midfielder to stay with the Championship club Charlton for another month.

I know that Coquelin has only made one appearance for the Gunners so far this season, when he filled in at left back in the Capital One Cup defeat to Southampton and I agreed with sending him on loan in the first place. It will give the versatile Frenchman some valuable competitive football and some experience of the rough and tumble of English football, but we might need him.

Surely Wenger could have sent him back to Charlton in January when Mikel Arteta was back from injury and the winter transfer window was open. I have got a horrible feeling that Mathieu Flamini will now pick up an injury or get sent off and suspended. Then the decision to leave Coquelin on loan will look misguided and short sighted at best and plain daft at worst.

Who the hell is going to cover if Flamini does have to miss any games in the next few weeks? Not Diaby who is still not fit and not Jack Wilshere who is out for three months. Calum Chambers? Oh no we need him at right back. Someone from the academy? And who is the best defensive midfielder in the academy? That’s right Arsenal fans, it is Francis Coquelin.

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