Have you seen the latest website redesign from Arsenal.com?
The navigation is perfect, it’s really engaging and you can link the content inside easily with different social networking platforms.
As we all know, the Gunners are set to travel to every corner of the globe to represent their respective nations, and all eyes fixed on two fixtures – England vs. Brazil and France vs. Germany.
A large contingent of Arsene Wenger’s men have left the shores of England to their various nations and we can only hope that they return unscathed.
In the all-European affair, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker will be on the white corner, while Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Bacary Sagna will be on the blue corner.
The French will be keen on hoping for Giroud to continue his purple patch of form against Germany tonight. The striker has promised that there’s more to come from him as he settles in life at Arsenal (via ESPN),
There are many good things. It’s positive in terms of numbers with 14 goals and ten assists in all competitions. But I know I can do better. I’ve matured.
“I’m also learning a lot in terms of how to play, particularly with my back to goal, my touch and the information I take in before I get the ball. I was under pressure when I came here, but I’m rather satisfied.”
Giroud came under some stick from the Arsenal faithful when he kept shooting blanks but everybody sings his songs and his performances have been hugely encouraging to say the least. The way he links up with his teammates has been a major highlight of his fledgling Arsenal career and he already has 10 assists to show for it.
According to EPL Index, Giroud has competed in 159 aerial duels thus far and he has won more than half of them. He offers Arsenal a focal point in attack and his partnership with Theo Walcott has become reminiscent of the RvP-Walcott link up last season. He has integrated himself well into Arsenal’s attack and the best part is that he’s willing to learn more, so he can only get better.
Giroud is six goals short of hitting the 20-goal mark this season and that will be an awesome return for a striker that was brought in to replace the red-hot Flying Dutchman, Robin van Persie.
Bacary Sagna on the other hand, has been a source of constant speculation following his discontent with the way Arsenal sold key players like RvP and Alex Song this season. When it seemed as if Theo Walcott was odds on to follow suit, he turned the screw by signing a long term deal with the club, making him the highest earner as well.
With the next transfer window coming up this summer, the media Vultures have linked the fullback with a potential move to the oil-rich Paris St. Germain but the defender has played down the speculation (via Sky Sports),
“The transfer rumours regarding PSG? I am 100 per cent devoted to my club, I am only thinking about defending the colours of Arsenal until the end of my contract.
“The fans are angry with me because they heard about PSG’s interest, but I am not responsible for that. I have never had any contact.”
Sagna’s deal expires in 2014 and Arsene Wenger will be keen on keeping his talismanic fullback till his twilight years at least. The French star is 29-years-old and he’ll be hoping to get one final pay rise before probably retiring back to a club in his homeland. I’ll keep you posted as the days go by.
The other friendly that will be on the spotlight will be the match between England and the 2014 World Cup hosts, Brazil. From an Arsenal perspective, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott have been invited by Wily Ol’ Woy Hodgson and two of the three aforementioned players are likely to start tonight.
The Ox, as he’s affectionately known in these parts of the world, has featured sparingly for the Gunners this season after his breakthrough campaign last year. Anytime he’s summoned on the pitch, he tends to try too hard to impress the crowd and he messes things up at times.
The winger has stated that he’s willing to bide his time (via Sports Campus) to wait for his chance at Arsenal. Unfortunately for the Ox, Walcott and Podolski are in blistering form and it will take some stuffing to displace them from the squad this season.
Theo Walcott is having his best goalscoring return for Arsenal this season and he has staked a claim for the center forward role as well. However, Walcott wants to strike for the national team as well (via Daily Star) but with the likes of Shrek, Danny Welbeck and Jermaine Defoe in England’s ranks, that might not be possible for speedy Theo.
During the European Championships, he lost his place on the right wing to James Milner, that failed to impress though.
Arsenal’s midfield maestro, Jack Wilshere, will be on the spotlight tonight and the media Vultures have waxed lyrical about the young lad. Arsenal legend, Liam Brady, also believes that there’s much more to come from Jackie Boy (via Footy Mad) but we can only hope that Jack’s level-headed nature will come in handy yet again.
The media Vultures have a way making their plaudits get into players’ heads and that almost put the early part of Walcott’s career in jeopardy. The same can be said for the Ox that was labelled as the next best thing and as we can see, he has failed to live up to the expectations bestowed on him this season.
England captain, Steven Gerrard, is wary of the heavy expectations burdened on Wilshere’s shoulders (via Fox Sports) and his manager, Woy Hodgson has followed suit (via Sky Sports).
While England seems to label Wilshere as some Superman from Krypton, his primary affiliation remains with Arsenal and we can only hope that he doesn’t suffer any injury tonight because his influence will be badly needed against Bayern Munich in two weeks time.
Best of luck to Nigeria as they take on Mali in today’s African Cup of Nations semifinals.
Sayonara.
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