Arsene Wenger has revealed Arteta has a ‘minimal chance’ of featuring in Arsenal’s must-win final game away to Newcastle United this weekend.
The news will come as a blow for the outstanding vice-captain who has been a pivotal figure in the Gunners lineup this season. But Arsenal have depth in midfield with Wilshere able to step in, however his own ankle complaint will limit the time he can play for.
While Wenger will miss mr consistent in midfield, Olivier Giroud is once again available after sitting out the past three matches due to suspension. The Frenchman will struggle to get the callup to start however with Lukas Podolski netting a brace against Wigan this week, but he will certainly play a part in proceedings.
Wenger revealed the following team news in his usual pre-match press conference:
[On Arteta] For the weekend, we have the uncertainty over Mikel Arteta, who had to come off just before the end of the Wigan game with a calf strain. Honestly, his chances of being available are minimal. I have to be realistic and prepare for another solution.
[on the overall injury situation] Everybody else should be alright. There are no other real uncertainties.
[on Wilshere replacing Arteta] He is an option yes. We will monitor him until Sunday and I will make a decision very late over what I will do.
[on the significance of missing Arteta][For] one game, we will find the resources to do without him if we have to. I’m convinced we can because he was out for a while during the season and I played all sorts of combinations.
Arteta was out and we played Ramsey and Wilshere. A few times I played Coquelin, Diaby so we had a few combinations that could work.
Thursday 16 May 2013
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Arsenal condemn Wigan to relegation - and give themselves the best chance for Champions Leauge all season
Wigan became the first FA Cup winners to be relegated from the top flight in the same season after a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium sent them down.
But hopes of a dramatic escape were washed away by a flood of catastrophic defensive lapses as Arsenal struck three times in eight minutes through Theo Walcott, Podolski and Aaron Ramsey.
Wigan lurched painfully from triumph to despair just three days after winning the FA Cup for the first time in their history with a 1-0 win over Manchester City at Wembley.
Owner Dave Whelan now faces losing not only his club's top flight status, but his manager Roberto Martinez and leading players including Maloney and Callum McManaman.
They are marooned in 18th place, four points behind Sunderland and five behind Aston Villa whom they play on the final day - those two clubs can breathe long sighs of relief after a trying season. Wigan join QPR and Reading in the Championship.
Arsenal now need a win at Newcastle on Sunday to guarantee fourth place and Champions League football at the expense of North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Martinez banned alcohol after Wigan's Wembley triumph, but Arsenal attacked vigorously from the off in search of a Cup final hangover and found their opponents - metaphorically at least - reaching groggily for the Alka Seltzer after 72 hours of celebration.
Walcott, effervescent down the right wing, crossed for Santi Cazorla who nipped in front of his marker but headed wide of the right-hand post.
Wigan found themselves under the sort of pressure Manchester City could not muster and soon cracked in miserable fashion.
Cazorla delivered a corner from the Arsenal left and Podolski somehow found himself completely unmarked as he headed the bouncing ball in from six yards.
Roberto Martinez's side barely had a kick, let alone a shot, in the first haf-hour, but they gradually came into the game through the ever-lively Maloney and McManaman.
Maloney won and scored the equalising free-kick amid controversy - the Scot appeared to back into Mikel Arteta as he was tackled but Mike Dean penalised the Arsenal captain.
Maloney punished him with a beautiful free-kick that flashed over the wall and into the right corner of the net.
Wigan needed victory to maintain any realistic chance of survival and continued to attack after the break - however without the injured Maynor Figueroa their awful defending cost them dear.
On 63 minutes Antolin Alcaraz failed to cut out a Santi Cazorla cross and Walcott stole in to finish from close range.
Shortly afterwards Podolski grabbed his second after Paul Scharner played him miles onside, allowing the German to collect a headed Cazorla through ball and lift the ball past Joel Robles.
Ramsey then drove the final nail in the coffin, dribbling inside from the left, deceiving Joel with his eyes and finding the far corner from a tight angle.
Poorly as Wigan defended, the damage was done well before tonight - though Martinez still emerges from this season with credit, he will wonder how a side capable of such heroics could end up in the second tier
Monday 13 May 2013
Arsenal vs Wigan predictions
Arsenal have two fixtures left in the Premier League this season. Both Arsenal and Wigan have plenty to play for as Arsenal are still in the hunt for Champions League football next season and Wigan currently holds the 18th spot in the Premiership table, a spot that means relegation. In my opinion this is therefore more like a cup game rather than a league game.
Arsenal is 10-4-3 in the Premier League since January, and hasn't lost a game in the last eight. They haven't got any new injury worries either. Oliver Giroud is out through suspension. Wenger has plenty of attacking options though, so he has no excuses.
Wigan triumphed in the FA Cup final and will come into this game on a high. They'll need that against a motivated Arsenal side that won't underestimate them. Wigan hasn't reported new injuries, but Beausejour, Figueroa and Stam will still be out.
Arsenal is a through and through quality side in more than decent form. They have players that can cut through most defences. I am pretty sure we will see Arsenal in full flow here trying to attack. This is mainly due to Wigan's poor defensive record in the EPL as of late. Wigan has let in two goals or more in their last four Premiership games.
Arsenal is 10-4-3 in the Premier League since January, and hasn't lost a game in the last eight. They haven't got any new injury worries either. Oliver Giroud is out through suspension. Wenger has plenty of attacking options though, so he has no excuses.
Wigan triumphed in the FA Cup final and will come into this game on a high. They'll need that against a motivated Arsenal side that won't underestimate them. Wigan hasn't reported new injuries, but Beausejour, Figueroa and Stam will still be out.
Arsenal is a through and through quality side in more than decent form. They have players that can cut through most defences. I am pretty sure we will see Arsenal in full flow here trying to attack. This is mainly due to Wigan's poor defensive record in the EPL as of late. Wigan has let in two goals or more in their last four Premiership games.
Sunday 12 May 2013
Wayne Rooney to Arsenal?
After Sir Alex Ferguson's fair well game at Old Trafford today he said in the interview after that Wayne Rooney had asked for a transfer. There has been speculations that Rooney has been unhappy lately but now that it has been confirmed a lot of clubs have show interest in the English superstar.
There has been talks that Arsenal is one of these clubs. This sounds ridiculous seeing as Arsenal have only spent over 15 million on a small handful of occasions and that the price tag for Rooney would be on a scale never before seen at the Emirates.
One would think that a name like Wayne Rooney's would have a price tag of 30-40 million but this isn't the case, it has been said that a 25 million bid would be required for Manchester United to let him leave. This would still be a record breaking buy for the Gunners but with them spending big this summer it is looking very possible financial wise.
Arsenal were already looking for a record breaking buy this summer with Steven Jovetic but now that Rooney has come available will the Gunners be making there two biggest buys in one summer? If so these two buys would be over half of the Gunners summer budget for sure.
The Pros and Cons of signing Wayne Rooney
PRO: it sends out a message to the fans that big transfers flow in both directions. Arsenal fans have had to endure summer after summer of selling there top players and watching them win titles with other clubs. A Wayne Rooney buy would show Arsenal fans that the Gunners are capable of buying the top players as well as building them.
He would also contribute greatly to the attack of the Gunners at his best Rooney has tremendous vision and execution of a range of passes on the ball, he can beat defenders with strength and subtle touches of the ball, his movement is good in the final third, and he certainly knows where the goal is.
He can also be counted upon to put in a real shift and work hard for the team cause in a variety of positions.
Wenger could play Rooney as an outright forward instead of Olivier Giroud, this not only improves Arsenals outright attack but it also allows the likes of Santi Cazorla to keep his position behind the attack. In the season of 2011-2012 when Rooney did play this more attacking position he racked up an amazing 27 league goals.
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What is becoming increasingly clear is that Rooney needs a new challenge. He has been substituted, or starting on the bench, far too often in recent months for a player of his quality and importance, and he no longer appears to be the obvious choice to make things happen for United when they are struggling to break down the opposition. He needs a new challenge and the Premier League is his home.
CON: the price for Rooney would be more then the Emirates have ever seen and while Arsene Wenger has plenty of money to spend this summer he has always had difficulty in buying quality players for a big some of money. Not only that he is 27 years of age and that is well over Wengers average big transfer buys witch is about 24 years of age.
Rooney plays in a central attacking position and has the licence to roam during attacks, dropping deeper into an additional support midfield role in transition play and when defending. This is arguably the most stacked position on the Arsenal team. Santi Cazorla has proven an excellent addition and plays in that role more often than not, while Jack Wilshere, when not injured, also thrives in the role. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky all can feature in that role also, so with the addition to Rooney it will only cause problems in the starting XI.
There is one final complication for Arsenal to bear in mind, which is of course the spending power of rival clubs who might see Rooney as a transfer target. Within the Premier League, should Rooney choose to remain in England, only Manchester City and Chelsea would be able to match both the transfer fee and his wages, which are reported at around £200,000 per week. Chelsea and Man City will also both be in the Champions League next season, which Arsenal have yet to guarantee themselves, and the blues have a Europa League cup final to look forward to as well—while City were defeated in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Arsenal failed to make any kind of impact in the cups this season and have gone eight long years without a trophy. Also the likes of PSG and Real Madrid are looking for some new signings and a big club like Real Madrid could be very tempting.
There has been talks that Arsenal is one of these clubs. This sounds ridiculous seeing as Arsenal have only spent over 15 million on a small handful of occasions and that the price tag for Rooney would be on a scale never before seen at the Emirates.
One would think that a name like Wayne Rooney's would have a price tag of 30-40 million but this isn't the case, it has been said that a 25 million bid would be required for Manchester United to let him leave. This would still be a record breaking buy for the Gunners but with them spending big this summer it is looking very possible financial wise.
Arsenal were already looking for a record breaking buy this summer with Steven Jovetic but now that Rooney has come available will the Gunners be making there two biggest buys in one summer? If so these two buys would be over half of the Gunners summer budget for sure.
The Pros and Cons of signing Wayne Rooney
PRO: it sends out a message to the fans that big transfers flow in both directions. Arsenal fans have had to endure summer after summer of selling there top players and watching them win titles with other clubs. A Wayne Rooney buy would show Arsenal fans that the Gunners are capable of buying the top players as well as building them.
He would also contribute greatly to the attack of the Gunners at his best Rooney has tremendous vision and execution of a range of passes on the ball, he can beat defenders with strength and subtle touches of the ball, his movement is good in the final third, and he certainly knows where the goal is.
He can also be counted upon to put in a real shift and work hard for the team cause in a variety of positions.
Wenger could play Rooney as an outright forward instead of Olivier Giroud, this not only improves Arsenals outright attack but it also allows the likes of Santi Cazorla to keep his position behind the attack. In the season of 2011-2012 when Rooney did play this more attacking position he racked up an amazing 27 league goals.
.
What is becoming increasingly clear is that Rooney needs a new challenge. He has been substituted, or starting on the bench, far too often in recent months for a player of his quality and importance, and he no longer appears to be the obvious choice to make things happen for United when they are struggling to break down the opposition. He needs a new challenge and the Premier League is his home.
CON: the price for Rooney would be more then the Emirates have ever seen and while Arsene Wenger has plenty of money to spend this summer he has always had difficulty in buying quality players for a big some of money. Not only that he is 27 years of age and that is well over Wengers average big transfer buys witch is about 24 years of age.
Rooney plays in a central attacking position and has the licence to roam during attacks, dropping deeper into an additional support midfield role in transition play and when defending. This is arguably the most stacked position on the Arsenal team. Santi Cazorla has proven an excellent addition and plays in that role more often than not, while Jack Wilshere, when not injured, also thrives in the role. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky all can feature in that role also, so with the addition to Rooney it will only cause problems in the starting XI.
There is one final complication for Arsenal to bear in mind, which is of course the spending power of rival clubs who might see Rooney as a transfer target. Within the Premier League, should Rooney choose to remain in England, only Manchester City and Chelsea would be able to match both the transfer fee and his wages, which are reported at around £200,000 per week. Chelsea and Man City will also both be in the Champions League next season, which Arsenal have yet to guarantee themselves, and the blues have a Europa League cup final to look forward to as well—while City were defeated in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Arsenal failed to make any kind of impact in the cups this season and have gone eight long years without a trophy. Also the likes of PSG and Real Madrid are looking for some new signings and a big club like Real Madrid could be very tempting.
Arsenal forward summer signings
Steven Jovetic: Arsenals number 1 priority for this summer is Steven Jovetic, the Gunners have had there eye on the Montenegrin striker for a while now and Arsene Wenger was told that only a 25 million price tag would grab the Fiorentina super forward. Rumour has it that now the price for Jovetic is between 15-20 million. Steven Jovetic is well worth that price and Arsenals fans are hopping that he will bring them there first title in 8 years.
Christian Benteke
Arsenal and Tottenham are ready to battle it out for the signature of Aston Villa goal-machine Christian Benteke this summer.
His form is in stark contrast to that of Emmanuel Adebayor, Jermain Defoe and Lukas Podolski, all of whom have struggled to find the net consistently this term, despite representing more illustrious teams.
Benteke is certain to leave Villa if the Midlands club are relegated and even if Paul Lambert’s team avoid the drop, there will be a cluster of clubs fighting for the Belgian’s signature. Villa, however, are ready to demand three times the £7m they paid Genk for Benteke in the summer.
Remy
Arsenal have been looking at Remy in recent weeks seeing as the Frenchman will be going for a very cheap price of around 6 million because OPR are in sure relegation and are needing to sell.
With Jovetic's price apparently cheaper Arsenal might feel that they don't need the Frenchman, even though he would be a great asset to the team for a cheap price.
David Villa
Wenger did try and buy the Spanish veteran in the January window but he signed a new contract with his long time club of Barcelona. There was more talks of Villa's move to Arsenal in this summer for a price in the region of 12 million. This still doesn't look very likely because Villa wouldn't want to leave his current club but with big changes expected in Barcelona this season Villa might have to accept that a change in club could still very much go ahead.
Weather it will be to Arsenal or not we don't no seeing as the Gunners have plenty of other stikers available for purchase.
Saturday 11 May 2013
Wenger looking confindent in his hunt for Jovetic
Gunners fans are expect to witness a busy summer at the Emirates Stadium as Arsene Wenger desperately tries to keep pace with the best teams in the country.
After losing Robin Van Persie last summer Arsenal failed to compensate for his loss. The likes of Olivier Giroud has been good for the Gunners this season but he isn't up to standards that Arsenal need, they need to buy a top class striker if they want to finish in a Champions place next season.
However Arsenal fans might be getting there wish this summer, rumour has it that Stevan Jovetic is going to be their main transfer priority. For a while it seemed like the transfer Fiorentina had on Jovetic at 25 million was to much for Arsene Wenger, now however it has been reported that the Fiorentina forward could be available for around 15-20 million.
With the price of 25million Wenger could have been favouring a David Villa and Remy combination but now that the price is apparently cheaper Jovetic has taken the number one slot on their transfer list again.
The Gunners might have to give the Montenegrin forward a 100,000 wage per week but with new commercial deals and there 70 million budget in their hands it looks like that wont be a problem and giving his rising stature in European football they would have to give him the wages anyway with clubs like Juventus and Manchester City also looking at the 23 year old Striker.
After losing Robin Van Persie last summer Arsenal failed to compensate for his loss. The likes of Olivier Giroud has been good for the Gunners this season but he isn't up to standards that Arsenal need, they need to buy a top class striker if they want to finish in a Champions place next season.
However Arsenal fans might be getting there wish this summer, rumour has it that Stevan Jovetic is going to be their main transfer priority. For a while it seemed like the transfer Fiorentina had on Jovetic at 25 million was to much for Arsene Wenger, now however it has been reported that the Fiorentina forward could be available for around 15-20 million.
With the price of 25million Wenger could have been favouring a David Villa and Remy combination but now that the price is apparently cheaper Jovetic has taken the number one slot on their transfer list again.
The Gunners might have to give the Montenegrin forward a 100,000 wage per week but with new commercial deals and there 70 million budget in their hands it looks like that wont be a problem and giving his rising stature in European football they would have to give him the wages anyway with clubs like Juventus and Manchester City also looking at the 23 year old Striker.
Wednesday 8 May 2013
What the result of the Tottenham vs Chelsea game does to the leauge table
A thrilling game ending 2-2 has kept Tottenham in 5th out of a Champions league place. Arsenal wanted a Chelsea win but a draw still means it is out of Spurs hands to get a top 4 place. If Arsenal win their next two games against Wigan and Newcastle it will put them in a Champions cup place know matter what the results are in Spurs games.
The game started with Chelsea taking the lead form a headed corner form Oscar, Dawson left Cahill with to much space in the box and Cahill headed it to Oscar for a header at the back post.
The next goal then came Tottenhams way, Chelsea turned the ball over and it came to Adebayor who made a run from his own half to the top of the Chelsea box unchallenged, he then took a shot that curled with finesse into the top right hand corner and left Cech standing still with no chance of a save.
There was another goal in the first half and it went to Chelsea. They passed the ball around the Spurs defence and a final ball through to Ramires who hit a toe poke first time into the side netting making it 2-1 going into the second half.
The second half had a lot of chances for both teams to grab a goal especially Chelsea, however Tottenham took the chance for the next goal. A pass to Adebayor (he was offside but it wasn't called) who did a skill full back heel to Sigurdsson, he took a touch and hit the ball clean into the right side netting making it 2-2.
The man of the match was given to Adebayor after his sublime goal and his skilful assist.
The pressure is all on Arsenal to keep their run of form going and win their upcoming games. It looked doubtful that Arsenal would finish ahead of Spurs in the latter half of the season but now it is all down to the Gunners to keep their London rivals waiting another year for the chance to finally finish ahead of Arsenal in what seems like a lifetime ago.
It looks promising that the Gunners will finish in the top four and get their 70 million budget for the summer, if they just preform like they have been the last couple of weeks it shouldn't be a problem. The Premier league is extremely unpredictable however and you can never be sure.
The game started with Chelsea taking the lead form a headed corner form Oscar, Dawson left Cahill with to much space in the box and Cahill headed it to Oscar for a header at the back post.
The next goal then came Tottenhams way, Chelsea turned the ball over and it came to Adebayor who made a run from his own half to the top of the Chelsea box unchallenged, he then took a shot that curled with finesse into the top right hand corner and left Cech standing still with no chance of a save.
There was another goal in the first half and it went to Chelsea. They passed the ball around the Spurs defence and a final ball through to Ramires who hit a toe poke first time into the side netting making it 2-1 going into the second half.
The second half had a lot of chances for both teams to grab a goal especially Chelsea, however Tottenham took the chance for the next goal. A pass to Adebayor (he was offside but it wasn't called) who did a skill full back heel to Sigurdsson, he took a touch and hit the ball clean into the right side netting making it 2-2.
The man of the match was given to Adebayor after his sublime goal and his skilful assist.
The pressure is all on Arsenal to keep their run of form going and win their upcoming games. It looked doubtful that Arsenal would finish ahead of Spurs in the latter half of the season but now it is all down to the Gunners to keep their London rivals waiting another year for the chance to finally finish ahead of Arsenal in what seems like a lifetime ago.
It looks promising that the Gunners will finish in the top four and get their 70 million budget for the summer, if they just preform like they have been the last couple of weeks it shouldn't be a problem. The Premier league is extremely unpredictable however and you can never be sure.
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