Monthly Archives: May 2017

Henry Onyekuru – The Name on Everyone’s Lips

While we are waiting for the imminent announcement of Arsene Wenger extending his stay at the club for an additional two years, the news making the rounds is that the club has agreed a £6.8m deal with Belgian outfit, Eupen, for the services of their attacking hotshot, Nigerian forward, Henry Onyekuru. According to the Daily Mail, Eupen have received bids from leading Belgian clubs like Anderlecht and Club Brugge while a plethora of clubs in Europe have made other offers includes Arsenal, Red Bull Leipzig, Schalke, Borussia Dortmund, Monchengladbach, Lyon, Lille, Monaco, Nice, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Fiorentina and Roma.

The demand for this kid is really high as he’s one for the future. Eupen finished the campaign in 13th place, which guarantees them a Europa League playoff slot but it’s quite astonishing to know that this youngster scored 23 of the club’s 40 league goals this season. This YouTube clip below gives an overview of his exploits this season

I have never seen him play before so I have my reservations about his ability. Sure it’s nice to score a hatful of goals in the Belgian league but moving to a division as demanding as the English Premier League can take its toll on players. However, he’s a youngster with good potential and it would be nice to see what he can do for the club. With competitions like the EFL Cup and Europa League available, we can take a punt at him there and see what he has to offer.

I’d keep you posted on this transfer rumor as it develops.

Sayonara

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Posted in Arsenal, Football, Transfer Gossip

Time for Closure on Arsene Wenger’s Future

May 30

Posted by enigma106

There have been banners, planes flying with messages, fans have aired their opinions, pundits and journos alike have shared their thoughts, even the players have said a thing or two but it’s down to the folks that can actually do something about it – Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal Board of Directors.

It has been labelled as Arsene Wenger’s worst season in his 21-year stint with the club. He crashed out of the EFL Cup to eventual finalist, Southampton, but that competition isn’t high on Arsenal’s priority list, so the home defeat didn’t matter. Then there was the embarrassing elimination from the Champions League in the hands of Bayern Munich. Losing yet again in the Round of 16 for the seventh season in a row wasn’t news, but the manner at which the team crumbled against Bayern was a real cause for concern. For the first time in 20 ish years, Arsenal finished below fierce rivals, Tottenham, in the Premier League and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time under Wenger’s reign. However, the FA Cup triumph added some gloss to what was really a torrid campaign.

There were several factors that led to the team’s poor campaign this season, which I really don’t want to dwell on, but I must admit that Wenger’s future played a role too. It was the discussion of the Press almost every other week even to the point where the manager stated that they lack creativity. The uncertainty surrounding his future was quite tiresome, but now that football is out of the way, it’s time to sort it out once and for all.

The Board has to let everyone know their stance on the issue. If Wenger is staying, let them be clear on their expectations for the team and provide the funds he would need to buy world class talent. If he’s not staying, let them announce a succession plan, which would include the new manager and their aspirations for him.

It was believed that there was a board meeting yesterday on this matter and I’m guessing we will get feedback in the coming days.

Time for some closure on Arsene Wenger’s future.

Sayonara

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Posted in Arsenal, Football

Southampton Preview: Team News, Injury Updates and Predicted Lineups

May 10

Posted by enigma106

This hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Gunners in the past but in their bid to finish the campaign in the Champions League positions, they need to end their hoodoo and get all three points. I’m pretty sure that the netbet odds for the Gunners to finish in the top four would be very high. Arsene Wenger has mandated his team to win all their games after that terrible slump the team suffered that saw them win just six in 16 games in the manager’s worst ever run in the club.

Things got really toxic and many just couldn’t wait for the campaign to be over with the manager’s head on a plate but as it stands, Wenger’s future is the least of our problems. We have barely three weeks of football left which includes four league matches and one cup final, so the team has to show some consistency that has seen them win four in their last five games since the switch to three at the back.

The new-look Arsenal side is clearly not there yet in terms of the fluidity as it’s evident that the players are still getting used to the new tactical setup, but the results have been very good, especially with wins over both Manchester outfits in recent weeks. However, the Gunners would be itching for some revenge after their 4-0 drubbing in the hands of the Saints last season at St. Mary’s. This is one of the grounds the team tends not to flourish too well but the lads know that anything less than three points would end their quest for a Champions League berth. Arsenal’s last win in this ground was December 2003, and in the club’s last five matches at St. Mary’s, they have suffered two defeats and three draws. However, the Gunners smashed in five goals in the FA Cup fourth round against a rather weakened Southampton side

Team News

Southampton are set to welcome their star forward, Charlie Austin, back to the fray after he suffered a shoulder injury early in the campaign. The English forward played for the Under-23s on Friday night, alongside Matt Targett, that had been injured for a while too. Talismanic defender, Virgil van Dijk, and back up goalie, Alex McCarthy are still long-term absentees.

The Gunners on the other hand would be sweating on the fitness of Laurent Koscielny that picked up a knock in the win over Manchester United but Wenger would be hopeful to have Lucas Perez in the dugout to bolster his attacking options. It has been a very underwhelming season for the Spaniard and there is talk of the forward opting to leave the club this summer for regular football elsewhere. Granit Xhaka is another player that picked up a knock but I’d expect him to start tonight after he was substituted for Francis Coquelin in the remainder of the game. Shkodran Mustafi (thigh) and Santi Cazorla (achilles tendon) are still out.

Predicted Lineups

Southampton (4-3-3)