So ,Arsene Wenger is proven right once again – nothing new there says you ?
Last season the malcontents took umbridge when AW said, when discussing how LCFC were able to sign the likes of Mahrez and Kante, despite the big clubs having the exact same scouting info on both players, that a section of Arsenal fans would react negatively if AFC bought a player for £400k, that they did not want to see an unknown signed.
The malcontents told us this was bollocks, yet look at the reaction of the malcontents to the signing of Takuma Asano.
Not only is there negative hysteria from them, its xenophobic, and in some cases downright racist. We also have the brainless soundbite that its a “commercial” signing, or a “shirt sales” signing.
One of the most laughable reasons (should that not be excuses, as I know they like to use that term, when it suits them), for their over the top reaction to this signing, is that it is “all Arsenal FC’s fault”, as they should know better than to announce his signing when Utd have announced Mkhitaryan and Zlatan. They say AFC should have waited till we had a big name(money) signing done and slip in the news about Asano, with it.
So to compound their initial attacks on both AFC and Asano, they have totally disrespected the player again.
Does Takuma Asano not deserve respect, is he not a full International, is he not likely to be playing at the Olympics, did he not have up to 200 scouts running the rule over him at the Toulon U21 tournament in the summer, is he not a big star in his home country, is he not young player of the year in his homeland(their Dele Alli per say, but without the hype)?
Does he not deserve the chance in his last couple of game for them, to say goodbye to his club, their fans, his team mates?
Arsenal announced the deal, cos the story had broken in Japan, Asano was already getting asked lots of questions about it, and he had admitted the move was happening, he even said that the only thing to be decided was if he would join up directly with AFC, or go on loan to get used to European football.
A post stolen from the comments section by eduardo792
Positively Arsenal 
media reporting that Arsenal are in for Man City’s Belgium International central defender Jason Denayar, 21 year old, who has yet to make his city debut, he spent the last two seasons on loan at Celtic and then Galatasaray. He was part of the Belgium squad at the Euros.
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the Bolton News is reporting that Arsenal have had a £2.5M bid accepted for Central Defender Rob Holding, and they say that he underwent his medical at AFC this evening, and that contract talks will continue tomorrow.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/14626844.Rob_s_a_Gunner__Wanderers_accept_bid_from_Arsenal_for_Holding/
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I see Gilles Grimandi has hit back at those that claim Wenger does not do enough to bring in former Arsenal players to coach or work for the club. GG said that AW goes over and beyond in his efforts to give former AFC players work at the club. It made me think of how many former AFC players I could think of who work for the club in one capacity or another
Bould – assistant manager
Gatting – u21 head coach
Ampadu – u18 coach
Garry – u13 head coach
Lincoln – head foundation phase coach
Morrow – head of scouting
Arber – senior academy scout
Grimandi – head scout in France
Voltz – scout in Germany
Boa Morte – scout in Portugal
Bradley – scout in Ireland
Karbassiyoon – scout in North America
Brady – club ambassador and works for the academy too
George and Groves – Arsenal tour guides, think they are also club ambassadors as are I believe a few other former players, Kanu and Pires are as far as I know
Clarke – presenter on Arsenal player
reports suggest Ljunberg is coaching the u15’s and Adams is coaching the u18’s, Ljunberg is a club ambassador too
anyone able to add to the list.
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http://www.insidefutbol.com/2016/07/19/lets-see-utrecht-boss-not-sure-whether-arsenal-talent-will-join-on-loan/295716/?
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lots of whinging about how little transfer activity from Arsenal so far, so just suppose for a minute that we buy no more players – other than the completion of deals for Asano, Holding and Nwakali. How strong is our squad, please think of who you would have as our starting 11 from our current squad, and then name the back up 11 you have left. Don’t include Welbeck as it seems he will miss most of the season.
here is my back up 11
Szczesny
Debuchy Mertesacker Gabriel Gibbs
Coquelin Elneny
Oxlade-Chamerlain Cazorla Iwobi
Walcott
extra players
Ospina
Holding
Campbell
Akpom
Sanogo
Asano
injured Jenkinson and Welbeck
my starting 11 would be
Cech
Bellerin Chambers Koscielny Monreal
Xhaka Ramsey
Alexis Ozil Wilshere
Giroud
I would we have the most squad depth I’ve ever seen us have, the only thing for me is I would say we need a little more quality in our starting 11, great if we can get a couple of better players, but looking at who we have, it will not be easy to bring in better.
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Cech
Bellerin Per Koscielny Monreal
Xhaka Santi
Alexis Ramsey Ozil
Giroud
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Well
If Giroud is playing 60 odd percent of your matches then as early on last season when Walcott was in form you could have:
The furious back five
Xhaka-Coquelin/elneney
Cazorla
Ramsey Walcott/Alexis/Vacant No.9 shirt-Ozil
Or if you need less cover and more creativity or when chasing a goal whereas the above could be when defending a lead, or Away vs Home line ups…
The furious back five
Xhaka-Ramsey
Ozil
Walcott-Vacant no.9 Shirt/Alexis-Iwobi
From the little I’ve seen in happy to speculate that Iwobi is a serious contender. The only thing that can stop his smooth ascent to the higher echelons is, you know, something like a broken leg. Or repeated hacks on the same point. Now, where have o seen that before! Blimey.
You know, there’s not much doubt that AFC are, by far, the greatest team the world has ever seen.
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I expect that with the additional tendon scare for Saint Cazorla that delayed his return in the Spring that he won’t be starting thirty matches next season/this season. I hope I’m wrong and he plays more but I don’t expect him to. I imagine Cazorla and Wilshere covering the Rosicky shaped hole in the squad for this season and considering all three were lost for too long last season there should now hopefully be enough spark in the engine (Xhaka etc.).
With the Euro’s keeping some back there will be a chance for JW to build up some form at the start of the season but he’s only going to have a few games to find any decent rhythm before others are back. therefore pre-season is crucial for JW, if he can have a niggle free pre-season and get the minutes in then the (creative) midfield engine / cover for Ozil prize they all compete for, it could be looking super strong going forwards.
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Petr Cech @PetrCech 8m8 minutes ago
Good to be back!
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Wilshere is the known unknown – or rather the unknown known. Back to his best and injury free for the next two seasons he has it within him to ascend to Bradyesque heights. And should he do that at the same time as Alexis recovering the form that saw him signed as the missing piece in the attacking jigsaw two seasons ago then the goals may start to flow again
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Not sure where Jack fits in without injuries
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He just needs a decent stretch without the injuries to start with! Then we’ll see how he gets on.
If Walcott can reach heights the experts never imagined from him (20 goals 10 plus assists as a modern PL wide forward) when he’s had injury free seasons/prior to his ‘Falcao’ injury (fingers still crossed he’ll manage to complete some kind of recovery, complete being the key word for me there), then Wilshere will be fine if his luck holds.
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Big Sam for England.
Not appreciated by the football crazies at Newcastle or West Ham (didn’t see the football can’t comment) but he gets a cuddle from the sweet FA.
The manager who brought over Jay Jay Okocha to the PL (and by association Iwobi to Arsenal!) he can’t be all bad. Can he?
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I recall him saying if he was named alladici he would have gotten the job
well then, a few years in and he does get it so lets see where he goes with England
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cech
bellerin, per, kos, monreal
xhaka, ramsey ozil
alexis, giroud, iwobi
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Arise Sir Samwise Allerdici
Defender of the Flame
Guardian of the Pure
To be fair I can’t imagine the coach who signed a veteran Jay Jay choosing to play a rookie Sterling aka Shaun Wright Phillips II as his no.10 possibly one of the worst decisions ever seen upon a football field (at the last WC, this time round we had the genius of Rooney on display for the world to see). It can’t get any worse?
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FK² @fkhanage 15h15 hours ago
Sir Alex in his book, ‘Leading’: “There are one or two agents I dislike. Raiola is one of them, I distrusted him from the moment I met him.”
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xhaka has begun training at Arsenal
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by Jeff Carlisle
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said past success isn’t the reason why he and the club’s board still believe in manager Arsene Wenger. Rather, it’s Wenger’s continued commitment and long-term vision for the club that has Gazidis convinced he has the right man in charge.
Since Wenger’s appointment in 1996, Arsenal have won the Premier League title three times and the FA Cup on six occasions.
But it has been 12 years now since Arsenal last won the league, and while the club have won two FA Cups in the last three years, they have faced continued criticism. They have been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the round-of-16 stage for the last six years running.
Wenger is entering the final season of his current three-year deal and will celebrate his 20th anniversary at the club in October.
So despite, the fact that the last three Premier League seasons have seen Arsenal finish fourth, third, and second, the calls for the club to move on from Wenger have increased.
Gazidis’ confidence in his manager is unwavering, however.
“I don’t have a nostalgia for [Wenger], and the board doesn’t have a nostalgia for Arsene,” said Gazidis in a wide-ranging interview. “That’s not why we believe in him. This isn’t a football club that looks backwards. This is a club that looks forwards and is always, always pushing the boundaries of how we can progress.
“That’s why we built the new stadium. That’s why originally we hired Arsene Wenger and that’s why we’re keeping him engaged and involved in the project that we’ve embarked on.”
Gazidis admitted that he shares the frustrations emanating from the club’s fans, especially in light of Leicester City’s run to the title in a season when the usual challengers like Chelsea and Manchester United struggled.
“Our fan base is frustrated that we didn’t win last season. We’re frustrated that we didn’t win last season,” said Gazidis. “I am. Stan Kroenke as our owner is. Arsene is. Nobody is more frustrated than he is; disappointed that we didn’t finish on top because that’s our goal.
“What I see is a manager who is deeply committed to this football club, devoted to it, continues to think about the long term.”
When asked why he thinks Wenger is the man to lead the club forward, Gazidis went down a long list of the Frenchman’s qualities.
“Arsene is highly intelligent; very, very devoted to the club,” he said. “He lives and breathes football. He’s massively respected by his players. He’s a big reason why players like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez want to come to Arsenal Football Club.
“And he’s a manager who remains at the forefront of thinking in all kinds of areas around the game; his involvement with analytics, with psychology, with what we’re doing on fitness.
“I think one of the challenges we have as a club, is that because we have constant [presence] and have somebody who is resilient, consistent, disciplined, and clear in his thinking, perhaps sometimes people outside can get the impression that there is nothing changing.
“And nothing could be further from the truth. We’ve made dramatic changes in how we operate as a football club, in all of the areas I mentioned.
“We have to be world-leading in those areas, and Arsene has been not just deeply engaged in those areas, but driving many of those areas forward.”
Despite reportedly spending over £30 million each on Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in the last few seasons, as well as recently acquiring Granit Xhaka, there is still a sense that Wenger needs to be more willing to spend.
While the Gunners have been linked with several players, including Inter striker Mauro Icardi, Gazidis stated that the club’s philosophy won’t change.
That includes developing and giving opportunities to young players as well as making sure the club’s infrastructure evolves.
“Of course everyone is engaged in the transfer market, and of course there’s a tremendous media focus on that,” said Gazidis. “I’m not saying that’s not important. It is an important piece of the puzzle.
“There are so many other pieces to the puzzle that are critical contributors to success but are perhaps a little less glamorous.
“We haven’t been falling behind, but we haven’t been able to get that extra few percentage points that we need to achieve what is our goal. And our goal is not to be consistently in the top four.
“Our goal is to win it, so we’re working on so many different fronts to make sure we can take that extra step.”
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Eddy, he said that a while ago, just before the AGM I think.
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PLEGUEZUELO AMONGST 11 YOUNGSTERS TO TRAIN WITH ARSENAL FIRST-TEAM AHEAD OF LENS GAME
by jeorge bird
Arsenal held their final training session today ahead of tomorrow night’s opening pre-season friendly away to Lens.
A host of youngsters were in attendance, with Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Matt Macey, Krystian Bielik, Reiss Nelson, Marcus McGuane, Ben Sheaf, Julio Pleguezuelo, Stephy Mavididi, Matt Macey, Chris Willock and Gedion Zelalem all training with the senior squad.
The game against Lens will be a particularly significant occasion for Reine-Adelaide, who joined the Gunners from the French side last year. Pleguezuelo’s involvement in training, meanwhile, represents the first time he has linked up with the senior squad this pre-season.
Several of the aforementioned players are likely to be involved in tomorrow’s game, where they will be joined by the first-team players that have played a full part in pre-season training so far, namely Emiliano Martinez, Mathieu Debuchy, Per Mertesacker, Gabriel, Calum Chambers, Nacho Monreal, Kieran Gibbs, Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi, Serge Gnabry, Yaya Sanogo and Chuba Akpom.
Joel Campbell could also be involved in tomorrow’s fixture. Petr Cech, Jack Wilshere and Granit Xhaka are all at London Colney after their international exertions but aren’t yet ready to play.
Hector Bellerin, David Ospina, Alexis Sanchez and Wojciech Szczesny are due back at the training ground soon, although Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey won’t return for a little longer.
Danny Welbeck, Carl Jenkinson and Santi Cazorla are all out injured.
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Eduardo, interesting your article doesn’t mention Mesut at all… Another snub from the media?
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oh they are back, our boys are back, and we have a game, tonight at 7pm, it might “only” be a friendly v Lens, and half the squad are kids,the team might be a bit disjointed, they might lack sharpness, even fitness, but its the Arsenal, and they are back in action after what seems like an eternity,
We are unlikely to see new boy, Xhaka, in action, but you never know, he has been training a couple of days. Cazorla is said to be still out injured too.
So who will we see
Seniors
Well the established players expected to be in the squad/team are Mertesacker, Gabriel, Chambers, Monreal, Gibbs,Debuchy, Coquelin, Wilshere, Elneny, Campbell, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott and Iwobi. So that is a full outfield team, and 3 subs.
Kids
I’m keen to see how last season’s loan spells have helped Martinez, Zelalem, Akpom and Sanogo, will it have given them the belief, the experience required, are they now battle hardened, will they be up to the challenge, will they be out to show that they are above being sent to the dismal(comparatively speaking) lower reaches of league football and Scotland. Martinez has always looked like he could be a top keeper, Zelalem oozes class and style, much like a young Ozil, his slight frame said to be the only real hold back in his progress, Akpom has huge potential, consistency his big downfall, and then there is Sanogo, can cause havoc v Bayern, and in a cup final, but has so far been unable to get the goals needed to bring him to the top level.
Of the really young lads, Bielik, Willock and Nelson are the 3, I find of real interest. Bielik has now had a year of playing at CB, and has got better and better at it, he is the one youth we have who could be described as being man able, he looks fully developed physically. He can be slow to get going in games, and tends to grow into games, if he can start games quicker I’m sure we will see a lot more of him. Willock is a great dribbler, and like Zelalem he needs to learn to handle the rough house tactics, he has great vision, has a goal in him, and takes people on for fun. Everything I just said about Willock can easily be applied to Nelson too, the lad is only 16, and has been training with the first team on a regular basis for a year now, he has crazy ball skills.
So no mater who is fielded v Lens, I will be eager to see them, its Arsenal, and the new season starts tonight and I for one can’t wait, I’ve got “my Arsenal back”, and I will support it, regardless of who is in the team or squad or dugout, no matter who we play, no matter if its a friendly in France, or a cup final at Wembley, yes I will vent my frustrations at times but I will support the team, manager, club, as that is what a supporter is meant to do.
Arsenal are back, oh yeah baby.
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