Arsenal Lobby

Wenger: "I am not obsessed by Spurs. We are playing in the Champions League this season."

http://t.co/disrmMdp

if haven't read them yet
Arsenal Tactical Evolution-part 1
Arsenal Tactical Evolution-part 2
Arsenal Tactical Evolution-part 3
Links

sina90 wrote:if haven't read them yet
Arsenal Tactical Evolution-part 1
Arsenal Tactical Evolution-part 2
Arsenal Tactical Evolution-part 3
Links

Good set of articles...Cool work,bro

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says returning hero Thierry Henry is ready to start for the club.

The 34-year old star striker came off the bench to score the winner in the 1-0 FA Cup third round triumph over Leeds United on Monday night and although his two-month loan from New York Red Bulls was suggested to be no more than a bit of help for the Gunners, Wenger suggests he may be in the starting eleven for Sunday’s trip to Swansea City.

"He's ready to start," said Wenger. "He was ready to start against Leeds [in Monday night's FA Cup tie, when he came off the bench to score the only goal], but the most important thing is to help the team win games.

"The way he does it, I cannot say what will happen on Sunday, but he can help us win games, coming off the bench or starting. He just wants to help the team to win games."

And Wenger is confident that the club’s all-time leading scorer can form a successful partnership with current scoring ace Robin van Persie.

"They can play together, as long as the team's balanced around them," he added. "They can do it defensively and offensively.

"We have two winners, so it's difficult to find a balance, but they can.”

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Arsene Wenger's signing of Thierry Henry was an Arsenal masterstroke.

Ferguson feels the arrival of the New York Red Bulls ace has lifted everyone at the Gunners.

Fergie said: "The fans' reaction was almost as if there's a new messiah arrived. There are no negatives as far as Wenger is concerned.

"OK, he has only got him for six or seven weeks but that six or seven weeks could be the most important for Arsenal's whole season."

ernie_schwarz wrote:Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Arsene Wenger's signing of Thierry Henry was an Arsenal masterstroke.

Ferguson feels the arrival of the New York Red Bulls ace has lifted everyone at the Gunners.

Fergie said: "The fans' reaction was almost as if there's a new messiah arrived. There are no negatives as far as Wenger is concerned.

"OK, he has only got him for six or seven weeks but that six or seven weeks could be the most important for Arsenal's whole season."

He be shitting his pants thinking of playing against Le Titi.

(this should go down well...) New Post - Redknapp transforms Spurs from relegation battlers to potential champions - http://bit.ly/yB6Yme

Angel Rangel reckons Arsenal striker Robin van Persie is the best player in the Premier League.

Van Persie has carried the Gunners’ attack this season and is the leading scorer in the top flight with 17 goals.

Rangel, who faces Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow, is tipping the Dutch striker to lift the PFA Player of the Year award.

He said: “I would say that Robin van Persie and [Manchester City midfielder] David Silva have been fantastic. But for me, Van Persie has been the best.

“It’s like every time he touches the ball, he scores. And goals win games. He can hold the ball, has two good feet and runs the channels well.

“He’s probably the complete player and will get my vote.”

Antoine Griezmann

20-year old French left winger/striker.

Real Sociedad.

Scored a beauty on weekend to beat Valencia at Mestella. Big talent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGmCKmtMCVA

Former Arsenal star Nigel Winterburn says Arsene Wenger must sign another centre forward this month, claiming loan signing Thierry Henry is not a good enough back-up to Robin Van Persie.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry clashed with fans at the end of their shock 3-2 defeat at Swansea City last night.

Henry was stunned when after persuading his teammates to thank their away support he was abused by a small group of fans.

The Frenchman appeared to have a heated exchange with one fan, making gestures before storming off the pitch.

A Gunners source told The Sun: "Thierry had encouraged his team-mates to go and acknowledge the fans and show their appreciation for the people who made the long journey to Swansea.

"Unfortunately one or two of them had a few things to say and expressed their disappointment.

"One in particular was shouting 'Where is the heart and the character and the fight?'

"Thierry shouted back 'Get behind the team and support the players and don't be negative.'"

On-loan Wolves midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong delighted Arsenal fans by pole-axing Tottenham ace Rafael Van Der Vaart when he fired a ball into his face from point-blank range. The term "Frimponged" quickly started trending on social networking site Twitter. (Metro)

Something to cheer about...

Talksport Poll: Who would you take to the European Championship - Nathan Dyer or Theo Walcott?

http://t.co/JuXPknwp

For those of us who have bashed Arteta, I hope we all realize how important he is to the team. We were out passed and out smarted by a team that just got promoted from the championship.

and now this table
stoke benefits the most from referees mistakes
no surprise we are bottom of the table 11(important) decisions against us

table yet to be updated after MD 21

Thierry Henry has apologised for using "inappropriate language" to the fan he argued with post-match at Swansea.

http://t.co/ggVVxlZr

I would like to apologise if I offended any of you in any way, in past 48 hours.

I was deeply affected by the defeat to Swansea, and not been that angry in a long time when it comes to Arsenal.

Any moronic comments I take back.

I still stand by my belief that the board and Wenger need to look at themselves, and operate more like a big club should in the transfer market, particularly when it comes to deal break-downs like Mata, Cazorla or Cahill in the summer.

However, let's hope for a successful second half of the campaign.

In the PL, we've now conceded 25 goals away from home, equal to United, Chelsea's and Liverpool's away goals conceded, totalled. In our Invincible season, we only conceded 26 goals in the entire season, both home and away.

Good post on 365 - 'The players missed by their clubs most this season' - Wilshere top.

http://t.co/l84aCTx7

Arsene Wenger is demanding his players buck up their ideas ahead of the visit of Manchester United.

Arsenal now they face Sir Alex Ferguson's men at the Emirates on Sunday on the back of defeats at Fulham and Swansea.

Boss Wenger said: "It is time for us to wake up and be focused — we have a good opportunity to do that against United.

"It is a massive opportunity because you feel we have given six points away in the last two games in a way that is unbelievable.

"At our level that is frustrating and not good enough.

"It is down to a lack of composure and the right decision-making.

"It is alarming because at Fulham we were 1-0 up and we lost. At Swansea we came back to 2-2 and straight away we gave the third goal away."

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott is convinced of stopping Manchester United’s latest resurgence this weekend.

Walcott, 22, insists the mood among the players is far better than when they were humiliated 8-2 at Old Trafford in August.

He told Match of the Day Magazine: "We're making the Emirates into a fortress now.

"We're coming back in games we might have lost before. The top teams are not dropping many points so we need to win.

"The atmosphere in the dressing room is unbelievable. We have some great leaders as well.

"Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker and Aaron Ramsey have all captained their countries.

"You ask any player here and they'll tell you it's the best it's been for a long time."

Wojciech Szczesny is confident Arsenal will manage to finish inside the top four this season despite a recent run of poor results, especially away from the Emirates.

Following a miserable start to the season, the north London side's form increased remarkably throughout October and November, but they have suffered recent defeats to both Fulham and Swansea on the road.

The Polish shot stopper believes the Gunners already deserve to be sitting in a Champions League spot following their displays this campaign, but admits he is baffled by their poor away showings.

"I am confident we will get into the top four," Szczesny told reporters. "We don't deserve to be outside the top four.

“We should be challenging for trophies every year and I believe the results will pick up and we will at least finish in the top four because we have the quality in the squad to succeed.

"I have no idea why we can't win away from home. The results speak for themselves and we have been really poor away this season. I really can't explain it.

"We go everywhere and try to do our best but the results don't go our way. We have talked about it and cannot come up with an answer. We need to sort it out."

The Gunners endured a frustrating 90 minutes in their 3-2 loss at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, but Szczesny believes there were positives to take away from the match.

He added: "We can't take many positives out of it [the Swansea game] because we lost the game and we are disappointed about it.

"Credit to Swansea - I thought they were fantastic all over the park, [but] I am very disappointed."

Arsenal ace Andrey Arshavin wants to stay in the UK.

The People says Arshavin wants to stay in England long enough for him and his family to qualify for British citizenship.

That means the Russia captain’s six-year-old son, Artem, could one day be called up for Three Lions duty.

Arshavin, who also has a daughter, Yana, moved to England with wife Yulia three years ago when he joined Arsenal from Zenit St Petersburg.

And he has been so taken with the life he and his family have created, as well as the education his children are receiving, that he would love to stay here.

OMG!

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is a major injury doubt for his side’s up-coming game with Arsenal after suffering concussion against Bolton, The Daily Mail reports.

The England international will be required to pass a series of rigorous cognitive tests set by the club’s medical staff if he wants to play any part against the Gunners on Sunday.

After the win over Bolton, Ferdinand claimed on Twitter that he had no recollection of the game at Old Trafford as he had suffered a concussion.

Under old FA regulations, the centre-back would be unavailable for the next 10 days, but due to more relaxed guidelines Ferdinand will now have to pass a medical examination.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping he can keep the 33-year-old fit for the rest of the season after already losing inspirational skipper Nemanja Vidic until the next campaign.

Am I supposed to feel good or bad....?

Frank McLintock fears Arsenal will not finish in the top four this season – because Arsene Wenger failed to strengthen his squad enough in the summer.

The Gunners slipped to their seventh defeat of the season at Swansea on Sunday, leaving them fifth in the table and 12 points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

Speaking to Hawksbee and Jacobs, McLintock said Arsenal’s lack of ambition in the transfer market is likely to cost them Champions League football next season.

“Arsenal always seem to be looking at the profit margins more than it seems other clubs do and I think it has cost us this year. I don’t think we have got a strong enough squad at the moment and I think that has shown up and I think it talks for itself,” said McLintock.

“Over the last two years the transfers [out] must be about £100million but I think we may have spent about £50m in return. The money seems to be there. It’s very difficult to know if it’s the board holding the money back or Arsene.

"I think a lot of the supporters feel as though we need a good injection of money in the transfer window. Sometimes people talk about big money but when I think of some of the players that have gone recently like [Scott] Parker, who went to Tottenham, [Jose] Enrique, who is a fabulous left-back and went for about £5m or £6m, [Chris] Samba I think you could have got for £8m, maybe £10m maximum, and [Gary] Cahill the same. It’s not an awful lot of money and those four players would have made an awful difference to our defence for a start.

“I think it will be a great challenge for Arsenal to actually finish in the top four because of the squad they have got. I’m really sad to say that because the top four should be the last thing we would be looking for.

“We should be challenging for the Championship and the Champions League, not talking about getting into the top four. That is a step backwards and I thought we were going to the Emirates Stadium to challenge the Real Madrid’s and Barcelona’s. We all love Arsenal but we are just disappointed and confused with the situation."

Andrey Arshavin has leapt to the defence of Aaron Ramsey and feels it is wrong for fans to blame the defeat against Swansea on his young shoulders.

Ramsey came under fire after Arsenal lost 3-2 at Swansea, which leaves them 10 points behind arch-rivals Tottenham.

Arshavin believes the whole team should take responsibility for their latest defeat and feels they have to show a major improvement if they are to take anything from the game against Manchester United on Sunday.

When asked if Arsenal fans are right to lay the blame on Ramsey, Arshavin said: "I guess this is not the case. The fans shouldn't blame everything on him.

"We all deserve criticism. It's the team that loses not the player. Now we have to think about the upcoming game against Manchester United. We lost to this team twice in a row, so we have extra motivation for this match.

"We lost concentration [at Swansea]. And the fact that the opponent
was able to restore the winning score quickly influenced our psychological state. We tried to escape the defeat, but the luck was on the side of our hosts.

"We knew that the trip to South Wales wouldn't be an easy drive for us. Swansea is the team that loves to play football. We expected a difficult away game and we got it."