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3 players Arsenal should sign this summer

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May 222012

As Arsenal secured the Champions League spot for next season, many supporters are starting to discuss the club’s future. While the number one topic is Van Persie’s future, the next most popular subject is potential signings that we are all waiting for.

Although many fans including myself are eager to see the big names like M’Vila, Kagawa, Hazard etc, I decided to take a different perspective and look at the players who are not as popular, but can certainly improve the quality of our squad. I also wanted to include only attacking players with Epl experience that could be purchased for a relatively cheap price.

In order to explain my decision I am going to make an assumption that Yann M’Vila will be an Arsenal player next season. With that being said, I genuinely believe that Yann will solve our defensive problems and Arsene will try to bring an attacking player. Since M’Vila will cost anywhere from 17mil to 22mil which will break our current record signing (Arshavin £15m), and that makes it very unluckily for us to spend anything more than 15million on an attacking player. Alright, let’s talk about those 3 players.

1) Matthew Jarvis (estimated cost 7 million Euros)

Even though Wolves had a terrible season and deservedly got themselves relegated, they can hardly blame Jarvis for this. He had a good season, featuring 37 times, netting 8 goals and assisting 6 times. If we compare his numbers to the previous 2 seasons we get: 34 apps, 3 goals and 6 assists in 09/10 season and 37 apps, 4 goals and 8 assists in 2010/11 season. As we can see Jarvis has been consistently improving and there is no reason to think that he can’t improve even more. He is 26 and a move to a bigger club can be a catalyst to his future improvement. Jarvis is known for his pace, ability to cross and a good shot. When I think of a player who is similar to Matt, Antonio Valencia comes to mind. He has similar qualities and since moving from Wigan to Manchester United, Valencia was able to take his game to another level. With that being said Jarvis desperately needs a move to a bigger club and Arsenal could be the answer.

2) Stephane Sessegnon (12-15 million Euros)

Stephane has only played two seasons in Barclays premier league, but he already made himself known. His lighting pace, quick feet and a great shot make him one of the most dangerous players in the league and his numbers don’t lie. In 24 games this season Sessegnon managed to score 6 and also added 9 assists to his name, not bad huh? Stephane is a very versatile player and can play on the left, on the right or through the middle. His preferred position is a playmaker and since Fabregas’ departure Arsenal has been missing a player in that department. Sessegnon can score a goal out of nowhere and could be a natural replacement for Andrei Arshavin.

3) Junior Hoilett (free agent)

Junior Hoilett is probably one of the most exciting talents in the world. In January, Fifa named him among the 13 players to watch in 2012 and Junior didn’t fail to impress. Junior loves dribbling past people and does so with ease. He is not afraid to shoot and to be honest I wouldn’t be either if I had a shot like that. Want a proof? Just Youtube his goal against Norwich and thank me later. Hoilett is currently a free agent as he declined a contract offer from Blackburn and media already linked him to a possible transfer to Arsenal or Spurs. Let’s be honest this kid is a genius, and the last think we all want to happen is to lose a player of his quality to Tottenham.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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Better late than never…..

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Apr 142012

Firstly, I would like to apologise for the site downtime over the past two days. It was unexpected and very frustrating. I Think this piece is fittingly titled, although a bit late, I hope you can still enjoy it. Anyway, on we go,

A classy performance was all we needed yesterday night, and I think it’s fair to say we got what we asked for. Many people expected a goal fest as we played wolves, the team propping up the Premier League table. That was not to be, simply because the team played very professionally, they could have gone all out to score sack load of goals, but what would be the point? It was clear to see the team were preserving their energy for the next game, less than a week away.

We started the game in scintillating fashion, the breakthrough coming in the 8th minute. Theo Walcott played a lovely one two with RVP, only to be felled in the box by – on loan Spurs defender – Sebastien Bassong, who was subsequently dismissed. As RVP stepped up to take the Penalty, we expected something special. He showed the fans he was still around and scoring, by delicately chipping the keeper, at little more than five miles an hour! The second came minutes later, again, the same RVP/Theo combo set Walcott clean through. He slotted cooly past Hennessey at the near post. From then on, the game went a bit flat, we played keep ball, only allowing them one opportunity in the first half. Berra came close, heading the ball into the side netting, but The Gunners went in with a comfortable two goal advantage.

The second half began very much like the end of the first, we kept the ball and dominated the game without creating too many clear cut chances. In the 59th minute Szczesny produced a stunning save to keep Kevin Doyle’s header out, it was a very special save, shifting his weight from left to right to palm the ball away. The third goal came in the 68th minute, song adding another assist, as he laid the ball off to Benayoun, who blasted into the net from just inside the box.

That win now takes us to nine wins out of the last ten. Five points clear of spurs, and seven clear of Chelsea. A Champions league place is looking likely, but we would be silly to take our foot of the gas at this stage of the season.

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Chris Gouw – Wolverhampton Wanderers Preview

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Apr 102012

Wolves may look like an easy opponent on paper, but believe me, they should not be underestimated. Their Midfield is probably their strongest part of the field, with the likes of Jamie O’Hara, Matthew Jarvis, and Michael Knightly, a former Spurs player, and one who scored against Stoke City last time out. However, this Arsenal looks way too strong not only on paper, but on the table and on recent form too. With Arsenal’s form being 3 wins, the loss to QPR and the most crucial win of them all, on Sunday verses Man City. Wolves on the other hand, have lost 5 out of their 5 last games, including two 5 nil losses to Fulham and Manchester United. It also should be noted that Wolves sit LAST in the Premier league table.

5 things I think we have to do in this game I think are as follows:

Get the 3 points! – still only 2 points above Tottenham, who lost to Relegation Battlers Norwich on the weekend, they will be itching to get back on the field and win against Chelsea, who are fighting for the same 4th spot along with Newcastle, in order to have a crack at next years UEFA Champions league. Therefore it is important that Arsenal Grab the 3 points, and stick to 3rd, and who knows, maybe even come closer to 2nd if Manchester City ,who play West Brom,slip up again.

Keep the clean sheet! – we have been doing so well defensively with goals only conceded against QPR and Newcastle. Even if we do somehow not score any goals, we can at least pick up an away point if we keep the clean sheet, and keep up this amazing run of form. It will be also important to keep our goal difference ahead of Tottenham and Chelsea as we are only 3 and 4 goals ahead respectively.

Dominate the midfield! – we did it so well in the last game verses Manchester City and the stats show it all, with 65% possession, and an 82% pass completion rate. It is important to note that Arsene DID in fact learn from his mistakes in the QPR match and start Benayoun, thus allowing the team to attack on both flanks rather than on just the right side. In the second half however, even though they had this option, Arsenal seemed to stick to the Right hand side when on attack especially as Nasri got replaced by Kolarov. Even though this plan did not pay any real divided in the final scoreboard, it allows Arsene’s men to keep hold of the ball, and most importantly keep Manchester City off the ball. Therefore it was a real disappointment personally for me to see Walcott have a poor game, despite most of the game being played on his side.

Whoever replaces Koscielny must have a good game! – chances are it’s going to be Djourou, but it could also be Song, and Ramsey start in central midfield with Arteta dropping deeper, but whoever it is, they must ensure Arsenal do not look weak without Koscielny as he has been the rock at the back. Even when Vermaelen slipped up against QPR, Koscielny stayed on his feet, and played well. Koscielny will be out for the next 2 games after receiving too many yellow cards but most importantly, he will make the Chelsea game.

Get RvP to score! – yeah this really isn’t an important one per se. But if he doesn’t score in this game this will be his 5th game he doesn’t find the back of the net, and COULD start a vicious cycle of Fernando-Torres syndrome and the monkey on his back could get heavier and heavier if you know what I mean.

Overall we should have too much pace, technical ability , strength and desire on the day. I did not try to predict the score line for the Man City Game because I was nervous as hell and probably had the right to be, but this game should be easy. 3-0 or higher is what im predicting. I am sure Arsenal fans would be disappointed if we didn’t score more than 2 considering our form and the huge gap in quality with Wolves.

SIDENOTE: What if we signed Gareth Bale?

In class today I had a random thought…what if we signed Gareth Bale this summer? Here’s why it may work, and why it may not.

Why it COULD work.

For 1 he is better than Ramsey on the left of our midfield, better than both Gibbs and Santos at left back, and could even play left wing if Gervinho and ox are injured. He is already acclimatised to the English Premier League as opposed to say Lukas Podolski and can score goals with 9 goals and 8 assists in 31 appearances for Spurs. He would have 2 major Incentives, 1 playing In the same team as is compatriot and national team captain in Aaron Ramsey, and according to Theo Walcott, play for a club he is a fan of in Arsenal.

Why it MAY NOT work.

Because he is playing for the Spurs and a good one, Arsenal fans automatically hate him. They especially like to mock him calling him a monkey etc. This could deter the move both ways with Bale himself reluctant to move to a team with fans who hate him, and Arsenal fans could revolt at Arsene if he tries to sign him. Another deterrent for Arsenal would be his price tag because it is reported that Spurs have put a £40m-plus bracket on him to keep Barcelona away. Arsene has never signed anyone more than 20 million let alone 40 million and Spurs probably would probably only sell him for even higher, considering Arsenal is a rival club.

Conclusion, though it probably will never happen, I can at least dare to dream.

COYG

By Chris Gouw
@Morphjin