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Analysis of Arsenal’s Offloaded Deadwood this Summer
The prodigal soon returns home
Many Arsenal fans won’t be happy with how the transfer market has panned out so far but one thing is certain – the Arsenal hierarchy has been very busy offloading their deadwood that offered little or no contribution to the team’s cause last season.
In the course of the 2012/13 campaign, Arsenal had some players that worked their skins off and producing the goods on a weekly basis, even if it wasn’t enough to end the club’s everlasting trophy drought.
In goal, Wojciech Szczesny had the lion’s share of game time but Lukasz Fabianski had a rare stint at goal that was highly productive. The defense was manned by Per Mertesacker on a regular basis but while Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen struggled for fitness and form, the performances of Laurent Koscielny, Carl Jenkinson and of course, the intense battle between Kieran GIbbs and Nacho Monreal were worth commending.
The midfield had an interesting outlook with injuries robbing the club off the services of Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby but while Mikel Arteta was a standout performer all season long, Rosicky’s rennaisance and Aaron Ramsey’s late season flourish were heartwarming to say the least. Santi Cazorla however, was in a realm of his own.
In attack, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud had to combine to fill van Persie’s scoring boots (there was still some space in the boots though). While the likes of Gervinho and the Ox failed to impress, Theo Walcott’s goalscoring form was a vast improvement in more ways than one.
At the end of the 2012/13 campaign, Arsenal would look back at the season with shame bearing in mind that they were outsed from two winnable cup domestic cup competitions by lower opposition that would’ve been defeated any other day. Even if they could take some solace with the Champions League exit in the hands of the eventual winners, the Premier League campaign turned out to be another topsy-turvy adventure that just saw the Gunners sniff at the final Champions League spot on the last day of the season.
After accessing the squad, Arsene Wenger and his negotiating chums got busy and many of these players have new employers. Here’s an overview of Arsenal’s offloaded deadwood this summer.
Vito Mannone to Sunderland
In 13 appearances for Arsenal last season, Vito Mannone managed two clean sheets against Stoke and Liverpool. He deputized when Szczesny suffered an ankle injury and on the Pole’s return to full fitness, Mannone was sent back to the bench and never managed to get his footing till the season ended.
He has had his fair share of heroics like the Fulham game a few seasons ago where he put up a 5-star performance but in my honest opinion, he has never convinced me and probaly many fans out there that he actually has what it takes to command a starting berth in an ambitious club like Arsenal.
With Simon Mignolet departing Sunderland for greener pastures in Anfield, Paolo di Canio’s punt for his compatriot, Mannone, is a highly welcome move and he would thrive in a club like Sunderland where he won’t be under any pressure to deliver but when I remember di Canio’s antics last season, I believe that Mannone would have to really step up.
Deadwood Offloading Conclusion: With Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski clearly ahead of Mannone in the pecking order, selling Mannone to Sunderland has a very good move
Andre Santos to Flamengo
When Andre Santos joined the club in 2011 along with a plethora of “panic signings” Arsenal made after that humiliating defeat in the hands of Manchester United, he looked a decent buy as he offered what Arsenal had lacked in the days of Gael Clichy – an attacking outlet on the left flank. His goals against Olympiakos, Chelsea and West Brom came in vital moments and he enjoyed a good first season by his standards.
Last season, things had gone awry for the Brazilian and his performances on the pitch have been nothing short of appalling. His poor positional awareness and dismal defending has cost his team times without number with his performances in the games against Schalke (home), Manchester United (away), Liverpool (home) and Brighton (away) bringing him to the bad books of Arsenal fans.
Then of course, there was the halftime shirt swap with Robin van Persie that prompted the fans for ask for his head on a shiny plate.
After another bad showing against Liverpool, the manager went to the transfer window when Gibbs suffered an injury, clearly indicating that he had no further plans in his team. He was shipped to Gremio but the club didn’t have the financial capabilities to seal a permanent deal and after grumbling on his return to London, he reached an agreement with Arsenal to terminate his contract.
Andre Santos is currently basking in the Brazilian Sun and I must say, he won’t be missed.
Deadwood Offloading Conclusion: With Kieran Gibbs injured on the tail end of the January transfer window, Arsenal didn’t think twice before swooping for Nacho Monreal. That speaks a lot in volumes.
Sebastien Squillaci to SC Bastia
For those that don’t know, Sebastien Squillaci is the real Man of Steel.
The French bloke arrived at the shores of London with an amazing trophy haul from his days in France and Spain and the “experienced” tag on his head that was supposed to be a very in teaching the younger ones like Djourou and Koscielny but he turned out to be the right-footed version of Mikael Silvestre.
He even lived up to the Legendary No. 18 own goal billing by heading the ball into his own net when Arsenal played Wigan in the last game of 2010. Pascal Cygan (No. 18) did it in his time and Silvestre (No. 18) was the quickest of them all with an own goal on his debut.
Seeing that guy wear the Red and White sends chills down my spine most times because you can never predict the next calamity he’s about to make. To the delight of Arsenal fans worldwide, the Man of Steel’s contract expired and Arsenal wasted no time is rolling the red carpet in front of the main gate of the Emirates.
At least, there’s a Daily Planet in the island of Corsica so Squillaci will be doing two jobs – playing for SC Bastia while wearing the Superman outfit inside his jersey. When there will be trouble in the town, Squillaci will leave the pitch and save the day, because when he’s on the pitch, he’s as good as someone that’s off it because he’s a short one as we call it in Nigeria.
Deadwood Offloading Conclusion: Despite his VAST EXPERIENCE!!!!, he’s behind Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Miquel and even Johan Djourou’s spirit that’s in the club while his body plays in Hamburg. If he signed a new deal, there would have been a riot in London Colney.
Denilson Pereira Neves to Sao Paulo
Denilson was the part of the Brazil Under-20 side that won the South American Championships and was labeled as the next best thing in Brazil so he snapped up for £3.4m from Sao Paulo in 2006.
With World Cup winner Gilberto Silva, Mathieu Flamini, Alex Song and Lassana Diarra all in the squad, Denilson had to settle for Carling Cup starts but as the years went by, Denilson found himself available for first team action and he took his chance in the 2008/09 season because he was the Gunner with the highest amount of appearances that season (over 50 games or so).
Jack Wilshere’s emergence in the 2010/11 season limited the Brazilian to Cup matches and substitute appearances in the League but Denilson was a shadow of the player that was quite impressive a few seasons ago. After Arsenal played Fulham at the end of that campaign, the Brazilian told the World that he’s a frustrated figure at the club and he’s going to leave.
Arsenal negotiated a loan move for the bloke to his native Brazil and after a spell with Sao Paulo, they failed to match the Gunner’s evaluation for the player and another loan move came into fruition. With the Brazilian outfit failing to meet Arsenal’s demands again, the player took things to his hands and like Andre Santos, his contract was terminated.
Now he’s back with Sao Paulo after joining as a free agent, wily old sly foxes, the lot of them.
Deadwood Offloading Conclusion: Instead of trying to fight for his place with Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, this Brazilian brought out a white flag and chickened out. Good riddance.
Andrey Arshavin to Zenit St. Petersburg
After an extremely disappointing campaign, Arshavin’s time with Arsenal is up as the club chose not to renew his contract. He was reduced to spending a lot of time in the dugout and when he came on, he looked rather uninterested.
He was pretty impressive in the Capital One Cup last season and his only significant Premier League moments include his late cross into the box that led to the goal against Queens Park Rangers and the penalty he won for his team against Fulham.
In what became his final appearance for the club, Arsene Wenger summoned him with 15 minutes left to play when the Gunners visited Stamford Bridge. With the Gunners trailing, they needed inspiration from anywhere but when the ball came to Arshavin’s path, he was found wanting.
Some say that he was played out of position, others said that his attitude was lackadaisical. I say that he’s a technically proficient player that began his career in the club like a house on fire but plummeted into mediocrity due to his lethargy and lack of work ethic.
Deadwood Offloading Conclusion: Arshavin’s movement was excellent and after what we’d seen from him at Anfield and the boost he gave our season after his signing, there was no doubt in my mind we’d signed a really talented footballer but talent only gets you so far. We paid a big transfer fee and big wages, and we got nothing close to value for money. – Arseblog
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Johan Djourou and Francis Coquelin may be technically regarded as “deadwood” as well, but they are currently on loan and still have contracts with Arsenal so I decided not to add them on this list.
As for Marouane Chamakh, Park Ju-Young and the World’s Best Striker, Nicklas Bendtner, their cases are in Mount Olympus.
Sayonara.
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Szczesny dominates the headlines for more reasons than one
I’ve reiterated times without number that Arsenal has been haunted with squad indiscipline, bad refereeing decisions, bad luck and mysterious injuries and I was proven right when Sagna became a victim of the last attribute in the aforementioned list.
He challenged for the ball in the air with Assou-Ekoto before landing awkwardly on his ankle and it didn’t seem really bad until I watched the replay in slow-mo and it was quite a horrible sight. The orderly came up with their stretcher and I, Arsene Wenger and the fans will be biting our fingers to know how long Sagna is going to be out of action.
While waiting for Sagna’s prognosis, I spent a long while biting my fingers. When I realized that all the 10 finger nails had been bitten off, I looked around to see if there was anyone close-by so that I could repeat that scene in Ice Age 3: The Meltdown.
Arsenal’s most consistent player in recent seasons suffered a fractured fibula and has gone through a surgery that was successful. With Farmer Emmanuel Eboue chilling somewhere in Turkey planting crops and diving in stadia like Sukru Saracoglu and the Inonu Stadium, Arsenal’s hopes will fall on the inexperienced Carl Jenkinson to hold the fort till Sagna arrives.
The youngster was quite impressive in both legs against Udinese, he wasn’t half bad in Old Trafford but Gareth Bale gave him a torrid time on Sunday. Sagna is going to be out for the best part of three months so Wenger has to make do with the young bloke with the hope that he’ll get better with each passing game.
Before writing the detailed info of all news involving Wojciech Szczesny, I’ll give a quick roundup of other Arsenal related news starting with news from the big boss himself, Arsene Wenger.
Uneasy is the head that lies the crown but Wenger’s kingdom is in disarray and shambles at the moment. He let his best princesses Francesca and Samantha leave his castle for greener pastures elsewhere and his team has gone on a downward spiral from the start.
Wenger has painfully admitted that there’s no hope for the Premier League title with just seven games gone. With the clubs from Manchester inflicting damage on every other team in the Premier League, it’s not going to be easy for them to lose four games for Arsenal to catch up.
However, there’s another manager that has decided to delve his raised eyebrow into Arsenal’s affairs. He’s the manager that delivered Chelsea their first double since the days Merlin was the chief wizard of Camelot but he was giving the boot a season later and has been replaced by a Portuguese Boa Constrictor from a Villa.
Carlo Ancelotti has questioned Arsene Wenger’s ability and even went as far as saying that he’s ready to replace him as Arsenal’s boss. The Italian has a pretty decent CV, as a player he won three Scudetti (AS Roma and Milan), four Coppa Italia, two Champions Leagues and two Intercontinental cups while as a manager, he won one Serie A, one Club World Cup, one Coppa Italia, one Champions League, one Premier League and one FA Cup.
I’m pretty sure that the media Vultures will do their bit in making Wenger’s chair hot but I don’t see Stan Kroenke or Alisher Usmanov giving Wenger the boot anytime soon. Another season without a trophy might….
I’m sure that the name Denilson has faded with the wind at the Emirates but the Brazilian has come under the spotlight again when the Sao Paulo faithful demanded that he should be sent packing after his recent row on Twitter.
Denilson packaged himself in a knapsack and swam over the Atlantic to his native Samba land because he labeled Arsenal as a trophy-less outfit and he declared himself a winner. The bloke did more damage than Thomas Gravesen and Lee Cattermole by getting two red cards in his first three games.
Denilson was criticized for his petulance with a series of angry messages on Twitter, but his online row escalated this week, after he branded fans who moaned about manager Adílson Batista as ‘very, very annoying’.
He and the fan engaged themselves in a Twitfight but I didn’t bother to bring my Twitter popcorn and 3-D glasses because I didn’t know Portuguese but Denilson tried to claim he did not mean his comments in a negative way, only to once again rile up the Sao Paulo faithful.
It appears Denilson has found no more support in his native Brazil than he had in North London, with a section of fans now demanding manager Batista never selects him again. This was a player that amassed over 50 games in the 2008/09 but he chickened away because he couldn’t challenge Jack Wilshere for a place in the squad.
I don’t give a hoot what he does in Brazil, Iraq, Chechnya or Kandahar. Denilson is the definition of the term “past tense” so I’m pretty sure that many gooners won’t break sweat over his recent predicament.
To round it all up, Arsenal legend Lee Dixon says that the players defend like school boys, the world’s best left-footed Chimp told the media Vultures that Arsenal is damaged after the loss of the midfield duo of Francesca and Samantha while Alex Song believes that the next five games are going to be important.
Wojciech Szczesny is gradually becoming a household name in Arsenal Football Club. He was first mentioned in the tabloids when he broke both forearms in November 2008 while lifting weights but the likes of Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone were clearly above him.
Since his emergence last season, Szczesny has not looked back and Fabianski is currently Arsenal’s number two again after fighting hard to win the jersey from Almunia before injury paved the way for the younger Pole.
Szczesny has been very excellent for Arsenal this season but he had his first horror moment sice the Carling Cup final when Kyle Walker released a surface-to-goal missile that was enough to hand the hosts all 3 points. Szczesny was quick to apologize for that error:
“I didn’t see the handball, I thought he controlled it and finished very well. It was a good finish.”
“The second goal I was very disappointed in myself – I shouldn’t get beaten from that kind of distance so I will take that myself.
“There was a lot of movement on the ball and I reacted too late. I got a touch on it but it wasn’t strong enough. I blame myself for the second one but other than that I didn’t think the team deserved to lose the game.”
He talked about his profound faith in Arsenal and he also reiterated that the Gunners are stronger than Tottenham:
“You cannot make such a statement after a couple of months after our poor start to the season or after just one game, I think Spurs are a great club and they have shown today that they can play really good football, but are they better than Arsenal? I don’t really think so.”
He also believes that the Gunners will find some consistency soon:
“We have to improve our performances and then we just want to give ourselves the best chance of finishing high in the table, getting into the top four, and possibly winning the championship.”
“We have lost four games and Manchester United and Manchester City have lost none so we are behind at the moment but I believe every single team in the league will have a period somewhere where they play poorly.”
“We had a poor start but I think we can kick off the season after the international break. Hopefully we can catch up. I hope we can do it as soon as possible. The fans deserve better.”
Szczesny is a player that’s never afraid to say what’s on his mind and he went a further mile to declare that he’s like to be the club’s captain someday:
“I feel that when I say something, everyone listens to me. More so on the field than in the dressing room, but that’s more important I think. In the national team as well as at the club, teammates respect me. I’m not saying I’m the only leader, but I feel I am one of them.”
“I want to be the captain of the team. I feel that I am able to take on that responsibility. I always wanted to be captain and if I ever get that honour, I will gladly put on the armband.”
Most goalies become beasts when they lead their teams. That added responsibility is reflected on their play and they always emerge as the best players in their clubs.
Oliver Ganges Kahn was a colossus when he led Bayern and Germany; Jose Chilavert was renowned as one of the best penalty stoppers of all time, Rogerio Ceni is a set-piece demigod for Sao Paulo while Igor Akinfeev is one of the most sought after goalies in Europe.
Writing about sought after, Arsenal’s hardened transfer window pests FC Barcelona are back in Arsenal’s business and this time Wojciech Szczesny has become their agenda and the Pole hasn’t ruled out a move.
I guess you’ll know what will happen next.
Please don’t forget that the voting sequence for the awards for September isn’t over yet.
The polls will close on Friday.
Sayonara.
10 players that need to step their game up in the 2011/12 season
The 2010/11 season was a season to forget in Arsenal Football Club. A season that promised so much ended in shambles and the panic button was pressed so hard that it sprang out of the remote control. The club won the 2011 Emirates Cup following a draw with 7-time Champions League winners AC Milan and a 3-2 victory over Celtic. At the start of the New Year, Arsenal was the only club that was still eligible to win every competition football as a port had to offer but disaster struck as the season progressed.
The Gunners had another clear shot of silverware on the 27th of February when they took on Birmingham in Wembley but the game will be remembered for the error that won Birmingham the game after a mix-up between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny. Arsenal was shown the exit door in the Champions League by Barcelona and Manchester United drove the nail in the club’s FA Cup coffin despite starting the tie with 7 recognized defenders. The Premier League offered the Gunners a chance to end the 6-year trophy drought as well as the 7-year Premier League drought.
The last Arsenal team that won the Premier League did it in grand style as they went to an entire season unbeaten so Wenger’s class of 2011 had it all to do when they were told that victories in their last nine games would have been enough to put their names in history. The last nine games that included: Blackburn (home), Blackpool (Away), Liverpool (Home), Tottenham (Away), Bolton (Away), Manchester United (Home), Stoke Rugby FC (Away), Aston Villa (Home) and Fulham (Away).
With Manchester United competing on three fronts (League, FA Cup and Champions League), Arsenal was expected to have the fresher legs and had the chance to rest because every game was played on Sunday but it wasn’t still enough for the Gunners as they decided to put up a dismal run of form that can be compared with the likes of Wigan, Sunderland and Wolves.
The run started with a bore draw at the Emirates against a Blackburn side that has a goalie that opens the floodgates anytime he plays against Arsenal. Mad Jens Lehmann came back from retirement to be the custodian between the sticks in the 3-1 win at Bloomfield Road against the relegated Blackpool so Arsenal was faced with the “week of destiny” with games coming up against Liverpool, Tottenham and Bolton. With Manchester United making steady progress at the summit of the table, there was no room for error but Farmer Emmanuel Eboue inspired an amazing comeback for Liverpool in the 101st minute after Arsenal had gone ahead in the 98th minute. The spoils were also shared in the North London Derby after an intense battle so Arsenal required a win against Bolton to stay in touch with the leaders.
After conceding a headed goal to loanee Danny Sturridge, Wojciech Szczesny spared Arsenal’s blushes by making a good penalty save before Robin van Persie brought Arsenal back into the game after a neat one-two with Francesc Fabregas. Nasri and Chamakh had the chances to kill the game off but it was Tamir Cohen’s header in the 90th minute that inflicted the final blow in Arsenal’s title aspirations.
The fact that Arsenal lost to a side that was pummeled 5-0 by Stoke Rugby FC wasn’t enough, the defeat also meant that Chelsea had usurped Arsenal to second place as the new challengers for the title and where really close but Manchester United’s character shone through when they needed it the most. I’m very certain if Manchester United or Chelsea were behind Arsenal with 3 points, the match would have ended in a draw or a win for Arsenal’s rivals because the squad’s mentality is very low.
The remaining fixtures were mere formalities so no eyebrows were raised when Manchester City leapfrogged Arsenal to take the final Champions League automatic slot. At the end of the Premier League campaign, Arsenal scored 72 goals and conceded 43 with a final league position of 4th place after amassing 68 points. Some players like Robin van Persie, Jack Wilshere, Samir Nasri, Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary Sagna et al could raise their heads high and pat themselves in the back for a brilliant season but I’m going to lay emphasis on 10 Arsenal players that were largely disappointing in the entire campaign and they need to step their game up or face the axe.
Here’s my take on the infamous ten.
10. Manuel Almunia
After doing so well to render mad Jens Lehmann out of business, Manuel Almunia became a shadow of the blonde haired player that took the Premier League by storm and saved a million and one penalties at the Emirates. Anytime the name West Brom will be mentioned while he’s asleep, I’m pretty sure that he’ll scream and start having nightmares because West Brom was the club that sent Almunia’s Arsenal career into oblivion both home and away. Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone are clearly above the Spaniard and he has been heavily linked with a move to Spain or Turkey. I just hope that Arsenal can do its best to get at least £1m for the aging goalie.
9. Denilson Perreira Neves
Even though he has been packaged in a box and has been sent across the Atlantic to his previous employers, Denilson was a false clone of the player that featured in over 50 games for Arsenal in the 2008/09 season. It’s true that Wilshere’s emergence last season limited him to a meager appearances but Denilson was an absolute stinker in 90% of the games he played for Arsenal last season. So bad that he couldn’t even play well against the lowly sides Arsenal faced in the Cup competitions. He was the first player to wave the white flag shortly after the Fulham game and I’m pretty sure that he won’t wear the Red and White ever again.
8. Abou Vassiriki Diaby
In the summer of the 2008/09 season, Abou Diaby was the reason Samir Nasri suffered a broken leg in Austria but he probably got himself acquainted with a female physio working at Arsenal because he spent more times on the treatment table than on the pitch. His appearances were so low than 21 players in the 25-man squad list had more minutes than him. Diaby is a man that plays with a loose nut in his brain and he can be very frustrating to watch at times. So frustrating that a gooner threw his footwear at the television in a public viewing centre in my days at Owerri; a television that did not belong to him.
If Diaby continues in this mold, his Arsenal days will definitely be numbered and he has already started the season with a 10-week layoff thanks to the demons of injury.
7. Tomas Rosicky
“Little Mozart” as he is fondly called in some parts of the World suffered an injury that was more than enough to make him announce his retirement from the beautiful game but he has done really well to fight his ‘enemies’ to stay fit. However, his injury has taken its toll on his football and Rosicky was a fringe player that offered nothing to the club last season. He was afraid to go into any tackle and the goal he missed against Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter final was more than enough to shatter someone’s confidence. TR7 has been okay from the preseason games I’ve watched so far so he’ll have to step his game up because the attacking midfield position is suddenly up for grabs again with the imminent departure of Fabregas and Nasri.
6. Farmer Emmanuel Eboue
Farmer Emmanuel Eboue has had his moments at Arsenal football club. Starting from when he usurped Lauren to become Arsenal’s No. 1 right back to when he scored his first Arsenal goal against Hamburg in the 2006/07 season. From when he scored that belter in the same season against Reading in the Carling Cup till when we was promoted to the position of a right winger after the acquisition of Bacary Sagna. There were times where he turned into a diving specialist to win set pieces for Arsenal, there was also a game where he turned into a pantomime villain against Wigan and he was substituted despite coming on as a sub. Last season, Farmer Eboue was a major disappointment and he dug his own Arsenal grave when the Gunners hosted Liverpool on the 16th of April, 2011 after conceding that penalty thanks to a push on Lucas Leiva. Farmer Eboue has been linked with a move to Galatasaray and it seems as if he’s odds on to complete the move.
5. Sebastien Squillaci
The Squisha (as I prefer to call him) arrived at the shores of London with an amazing trophy haul from his days in France and Spain and the “experienced” tag on his head that was supposed to be a very in teaching the younger ones like Djourou and Koscielny but he turned out to be the right-footed version of Mikael Silvestre. He even lived up to the Legendary No. 18 own goal billing by heading the ball into his own net when Arsenal played Wigan in the last game of 2010. Pascal Cygan (No. 18) did it in his time and Silvestre (No. 18) was the quickest of them all with an own goal on his debut. To be frank, I don’t even want Squillaci to step up his game; I want him to enter the nearest train through the English Channel to play for any French outfit available. Seeing that guy wear the Red and White sends chills down my spine most times because you can never predict the next calamity he’s about to make.
4. Kieran Gibbs
Kieran Gibbs spent a long while out injured two seasons ago when he damaged his metatarsal in the Champions League match against Standard Liege but he wasn’t too impressive when he deputized for Clichy last season with his most glaring mistakes present in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter final. His positioning was questionable and he offered no threat going forward but Clichy’s exit has given him the chance to shine this upcoming season so I hope that he’ll do well to grab the bull by the horns and balls.
3. Nicklas Bendtner
Bendtner scored nine goals for Arsenal last season but the bulk of his goals were scored against lowly sides in the Cup competitions because of his limited chances. He banged in a hattrick against Leyton Orient and he scored a peach of a goal when Arsenal played Ipswich in the Carling Cup semis but Bendtner has decided to call it quits in his fledgling Arsenal career because he feels that he’s good enough to start every game in an Arsenal side that has a Robin van Persie. Many clubs have placed their radars on Bendtner but he still remains an Arsenal player so he’ll have to step his game up if no team decides to buy him again because he has a contract to fulfill.
2. Marouane Chamakh
Last season, Arsenal’s new boy deputized for the injured rVp and B52 and he was in a hot streak with 10 goals in his first 21 appearances but the goals dried up faster than the wells in the Sahara, Kalahari and the Atacama deserts put together with one goal in his remaining matches for Arsenal. He hasn’t impressed yet this preseason but I truly hope that he’ll step his game up because we can’t bank on van Persie to stay fit for an entire season.
1. Andrei Arshavin
With 10 goals and 17 assists to his name last season, people will still ask,
“Why on Earth is Arshavin’s name doing in the same list with Manuel Almunia?”
But the truth is that Arshavin was quite disappointing even if he delivered. He was so disappointing that he lost his place in the starting lineup to Theo Walcott and he didn’t win it back till the season ended. With Nasri going out the way very soon, Arshavin will only have the threat of Gervinho to contend with even though Carlos Vela, Ryo Miyaichi and the Chambered Ox are somewhere in the mix.
I just hope that these Gunners will do well to kill their personal demons and play very well in the upcoming season because Arsene Wenger’s future might just be in their hands.
Going trophyless again after selling key players like Fabregas and Nasri will definitely backfire on Wenger.
Sayonara.
