BenjiCorbett, Author at Arsenation

BenjiCorbett

RVP contract talks are a mystery.

May 182012

If you didn’t know by now, Robin Van Persie, had contract talks with Arsene Wenger on Wednesday to either extend his contract with Arsenal, or ask to leave the club. Now to all the Arsenal fans who are worrying after reading articles from newspapers saying Robin wants to leave. Look back at the details we know about the meeting and what we know about Arsene Wenger and contracts in general. Everyone knows Arsene isn’t the biggest fan of talking about contract situations to the media while they are ongoing. This is the main reason why, when Arsene called the meeting at his house, it allowed only himself, Ivan Gazidis, Robin Van Persie and Robin’s agent to be present with no media there whatsoever. Which then leads me to ask a very big question.

Why on earth do all newspapers seem to have an insight to what has been said?

Newspapers have claimed Robin Van Persie is sick of not winning trophies. The fact we haven’t won anything for seven years is certainly something the media can use in their methods of trying to convince us that the talks have gone bad. But you must realise no one knows what has been said. If they have gone bad, they’ve gone bad. If they have gone good, they’ve gone good. But with the media lying in their stories to try and get more attention and readers does not help the situation of the player and the fans. I’m sad to say that it appears a small majority of Arsenal fans have read these false articles and have decided to abuse Robin on twitter. Which will definitely not help his decision on signing. There is only one thing that is certain though, all shall be revealed before 1 September. But in the mean time, don’t believe anything till either Arsenal or Robin announce it themselves.

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The German future at Arsenal.

Guest Columns 2 Responses »

May 032012

Podolski, Mertesacker, Eisfeld and Gnabry. All of these players have two things in common. They’re German and they play for Arsenal. But what can they show us next season?

1). Lukas Podolski.

Lukas Podolski is one of the best German strikers that is playing football today, he can play in the centre, behind the striker but he is well known for scoring a lot of goals on his favoured left side. He has an extremely impressive record at international level scoring 43 goals in 95 appearances, and at 26 years of age that is phenomenal. At Club level he has 112 goals in 290 appearances which one again is fantastic. But can he play to this level in the Premier League?

Everyone knows that adjusting to the Premier League is hard as it is very dominating and quick. Which is why most players don’t make the impact required. But fortunately for us, the Bundesliga is very similar to the Premier League, powerful, demanding and fast. So hopefully Podolski can make the impact that we all want. One big question is though, where will he play? Will our formation be changed to fit him in with Robin Van Persie (as long as he signs the extension). Honestly, knowing Wenger, he will probably do the same thing he did with Arshavin, switch him from the centre and play him on the left. While this didn’t work for Arshavin, it should be no problem for Lukas as it is his preferred position, because when he catches he ball on his left foot, the power he can put behind it is incredible.

2). Per Mertesacker.

Per Mertesacker, may not be the best defender in the world, but he is defiantly one of the tallest. Everyone know’s that we struggle from set pieces. But while Per was not injured, we could always count on him to to clear the ball. But in his defence, not everyone adapts to the premier league straight away. His performances were not up to the level we had hoped for at the start of the season, but slowly he became much better. He gave a very good goal line clearance against Manchester United, and his defending overall became a lot more solid. Per Mertesacker is well known for playing exceptionally well for Germany, and with him stating that he will be fit for the Euro’s in the summer, this could give him the chance to get game time, and give him the chance to prove his ability once more.

3). Thomas Eisfeld.

When the news had broke that we signed Thomas Eisfeld, we had no clue who he was. However stories from Germany claimed his style of play was exceptional for the Arsenal method of play. On his first game for Arsenal he didn’t fail to impress, he gave a perfect assist, and even though it was his first game, he seemed to link up with his team mates perfectly, as if he had been playing with them for years. All though he suffered a minor injury which kept him out for a month, when he came back to the pitch he scored his first Arsenal goal to help Arsenal Reserves seal a victory. On the last game for the Arsenal Reserves in which they lost 2-0, Eisfeld delivered great passes which nearly paid of in assists for him but unfortunately they couldn’t be converted to goals. I’m very sure that by next January after a few more games in the Reserves, it wont be long till we see him on the bench and coming on as an impact sub.

4). Serge Gnabry

Finally but certainly not least, Serge Gnabry. While most Arsenal fans may not be aware of him. Let me assure you, he will be a star for Arsenal in the future. At the age of 16 he already has played 8 times for the Arsenal Reserves in the 2011/12 campaign scoring 4 times. Making him joint 4Th top scorer. Now lets say that again, he’s 16, in the Arsenal Reserves, scored 4 times in 8 appearances. Already that is an accomplishment for someone at a young age. However it’s not only his statistics that are impressive. Its what he does on the pitch that also makes him a future prospect as well. He has the ability to take on players, boss the game in midfield, assist goals, and score them. Down to all this, along with Eisfeld, I reckon it won’t be long till we see him making an Arsenal début next season.

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Podolski in, who’s next?

Guest Columns, Latest News 1 Response »

Apr 302012

Well well, what a fantastic announcement we were given today. Today Arsenal.com announced that a deal has been agreed to sign German international striker Lukas Podolski on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. For Arsenal fans around the world, this is a brilliant signing for two reasons.

1).

Throughout the season, we have been extremely reliant on Robin Van Persie for our goals this season, as Chamahk and Park haven’t performed to the standard that was required. So the addition of a very clinical striker like Podolski will be brilliant for goal scoring with Robin.

2).

His signing, hopefully the first of many will be enough to convince Van Persie to extend his contract with Arsenal. No player doesn’t want to win trophies, especially when they are at top level. Arsene Wenger has already confirmed he want’s to sort out Robin’s future before the European Championships in the summer. So maybe he want’s to bring in players early to convince his main striker.

With Podolski now in the bag, and a high possibility of Vertonghen and M’vila also coming in. Could this be the team to break Arsenal’s seven year trophy doubt? Only time will tell. We may not even sign Vertonghen or M’vila, we all know how Wenger promises bringing in big names, and in fairness he does. Normally just big mouthfuls in which we can’t pronounce. But hopefully this is the summer where we can announce more well known players who can add the skill and power to our beloved club.

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Could this season be the beginning of something fantastic for Arsenal’s future?

Guest Columns No Responses »

Apr 292012

To every Arsenal fans displeasure who had to witness it, the start of Arsenal’s 2011/12 campaign was the worst that had been recorded under Wenger. People were questioning whether we would make the top half of the table let alone top 4. After being forced to make late signings of Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and the loan deal of Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea, we didn’t have time to let these players gel together and prepare for the upcoming season.

However we were given a life line, one last chance to fight other teams and climb the table, newly appointed captain Robin Van Persie was that lifeline. Robin delivered crucial goals week in week out to ensure very important victories for us while our new team was slowly gelling and becoming stronger. On Monday 3rd of October we were 15th in the table and this is where our climb began. After a disapointing loss to our North London rivals Tottenham on the previous day, we would then go on to complete 10 games undefeated in all competitions. Slowly we were becoming the Arsenal we all knew and loved, in this matter of time we had gone from 15th to 7th.

The purchase of Mikel Arteta had proved one of best signings we had made in years, his passing, vision and understanding of the game kept our midfield together, plus he was also able to get a few goals at the same time. Come New Year we were 5th and getting close to our usuall position of top 4, our defence was restored to its original line up which allowed Koscielny and Vermaelen to show how dominant they can be when they play together. Our team were on the form of their lives, they were catching up with Tottenham, scoring goals and most importantly not conceading many. January and Febuary were very special month’s for Arsenal, we had brought back legend Thierry Henry on a 2 month loan deal, with him scoring on his second debut against Leeds, but added to that by scoring on his last game of the loan deal which helped Arsenal win in the dying minutes against Sunderland. We got revenge on our rivals Tottenham by beating them 5-2 at the Emirates, which then led to Tottenham’s poor run of form which cost them a 13 point gap between us.

Eventually by March, we had overtaken them and were now 3rd. In the same month reports from Germany had stated that Lukas Podolski of FC Kóln would join Arsenal in the summer for a fee expected to be around £10.9m. Even though both clubs denied this rumour, everyone knew it was probably true. So far this season had proved to be the one of worst, but the end was looking promising.

Why you may ask ? Well lets look back. We lost two very big players during the summer, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. We didn’t buy any replacements until the last hour of the transfer window. We had lost the promising Jack Wilshere to injury. Yet still with all these problems we were third buy March. We had witnessed the determination to win and achieve and it had paid off.

Which is why im confident that by next season, when our team is all together with players back from injury and new additions. This season will be the start of something very bright for Arsenals future.

By Benji Corbett

Follow me on twitter, @benjicorbettafc