The Striker Conundrum

Posted on 19 November, 2015 by A Bergkamp Wonderland

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By #ABW Guest Blogger and Radio Regular, Tom Canton (@TCanton94)

Olivier Giroud. Bought by Arsenal from Montpellier for £9.6 million. The man who came “to play with Van Persie” but instead replaced him has definitely left his mark on Arsenal and the Premier League.

If you ever find yourself having the displeasure of scrolling down a particularly Arsenal based twitter timeline after a result which was not favourable to the majority of the fans, a common theme is that Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger, should have bought a striker during the previous 2015 summer transfer window. This is usually followed by a list of possible targets from our well informed unofficial scouting network. However, this isn’t the transfer window. We are 12 games in now, so I feel this is a good time to look at ‘what could’ve been’.

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128 – The NLD (11th November 2015)

Posted on 12 November, 2015 by A Bergkamp Wonderland

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Gimli (@GoonerGimli) is back where he belongs (no not in a box on the moon) and is joined by :

Andrew (@PR_WhoRu)
Rev Raj (@RajPatel1809)
Other Geoff (@Hollefreund)
Danny (@The_GFP)

Problems using either of the two media players, try these :

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Gimli is back, like cat aids n free cheese.

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Is Laurent Koscielny World Class?

Posted on 11 November, 2015 by Blog Admin

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Laurent Koscielny signed for Arsenal in July 2010 for a reported fee of £10m from French club Lorient. Coming here he was much of an unknown quantity, only signing for Lorient from Ligue 2 club Tours in July of the previous year, but Koscielny made great strides that season earning rave reviews in France and being closely watched by Wenger. Koscielny endured a difficult start to English football, mixing flashes of potential with a struggle to adapt to the physicality of the premier league – some Arsenal fans lambasted Wenger for signing a ‘lightweight’ Koscielny instead of Christopher Samba or Scott Dann but since then Koscielny has won over the entire fan base.

In modern day football one of the most scrutinized positions is the growing breed of ball playing centerbacks. These are centerbacks that aspire to be more than the majority of their predecessors, concentrating not just on defending when off the ball and recycling the ball into midfield but actually having a genuine impact on the attacking side of the game, whether that be from being on the ball or through split second ball retention.

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Nacho Monreal – Arsenal’s Unsung Hero

Posted on 9 November, 2015 by Blog Admin

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6/10 – Most of his evening though was spent struggling to contain the opposition. [London Evening Standard]

5/10 – Wasteful and occasionally timid. [Huffington Post]

6.5/10 – Almost scored with fizzing left footer, beyond that unspectacular. [Arseblog]

The above player ratings come from September 2013 as Arsenal were dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Chelsea.

They are all for the same player; Nacho Monreal.

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127 – Swansea & Bayern (5th November 2015)

Posted on 5 November, 2015 by A Bergkamp Wonderland

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Jason (@jasondavies71) is back again to host but is sitting on a rubber ring after last nights whooping from Bayern and is joined by :

Chimp (@chimpthegooner)
Geoff (@GeoffArsenal)
Kris (@AFCfreddie8)
Danny (@The_GFP)

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Does anyone know how to count to 5 in German?.

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Theo and Alexis – A Blossoming Partnership

Posted on 3 November, 2015 by Blog Admin

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New ABW Blogger Luke (@LukeisPremium) gives us the breakdown on the emerging on field relationship between Theo and Alexis.

When Arsenal signed Alexis Sánchez in July 2014 it’s fair to say a lot of people were excited, players and fans alike took to social media to express that. One of the most excited was Theo Walcott (looking pretty smug in the below picture with the Alexis printed shirt). Theo gave an interview to Arsenal player a few days after the signing saying this:

“Sánchez is a world-class player and I enjoyed watching him play for Barcelona and for Chile at the World Cup.”

“He’s still very young as well and he is going to show so much pace and power, which we lacked a bit last year.”

“With me and him on the flanks, a lot of teams won’t be looking forward to playing Arsenal this year.”

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Here and Now for Joel Campbell

Posted on 2 November, 2015 by Blog Admin

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Rewind back to the 16th of September last season – Arsenal are set to take on Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park and a young and untested Héctor Bellerín was given the nod at right-back. A recent injury to France international Mathieu Debuchy thrusts the young Spaniard into the fray against one of the best counter-attacking teams in Europe. Come the end of ninety minutes, Arsenal run out 2-0 losers and Bellerín put in a display that did him no favors when it came to proving to Arsène Wenger and the supporters that he was ready for first-team football. But if you fast-forward to the present, you would be hard pressed to find a single Gooner, anywhere, that would not tell you with absolute confidence that Bellerín is the best at his position in the Premier League. One match does not make a career the same way that one page does not make the entire book…it is how you build and progress that counts.

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126 – Everton, Injuries & Dom (29th October 2015)

Posted on 29 October, 2015 by A Bergkamp Wonderland

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Dom (@ozgooner49) has put Gimli & Jason in a boston back crab to get his bum in the hot seat and is joined by :

Jason (@jasondavies71)
David (@Goonerholic)
Geoff (@GeoffArsenal)
Danny (@The_GFP)

Problems using either of the two media players, try these :

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Ozzy Dom, Ozzy Dom, Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy Dom.

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125 – Oktoberfest (22nd October 2015)

Posted on 22 October, 2015 by A Bergkamp Wonderland

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Jason (@jasondavies71) has put on his best pair of underpants, cracked open a bottle of babysham and is sat in the hot seat and is joined by :

Andrew (@PR_WhoRu)
Mark (@mzk90)
Raj (@rajpatel1809)
Danny (@The_GFP)

Problems using either of the two media players, try these :

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Happy Birthday Mr Wenger.

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Where Have Arsenal’s Africans Gone?

Posted on 19 October, 2015 by A Bergkamp Wonderland

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Since the day the wayward shooting Gervinho left for Roma, Arsenal’s starting eleven has not had an African born representative playing in any position. Now I know that the club has some coming through the academy, and if you wanted to be truly technical, there are a few in the team of African descent, but I’m focusing on the starting eleven of our current squad.

Gone are the days where we fielded the likes of Kanu, the ill mentioned Adebayor, cult hero Emmanuel Eboue, Alex Song, Christopher Wreh, Lauren, Kolo Toure, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Kaba Diawara, Kwame Ampadu and even Marouane Chamakh. Yet deeper questions remain, but who or where will the next African star come from to play for our great club who, over the years has had a brilliant history of cultural diversity and being one of the first English clubs to give players of different backgrounds a chance to showcase their talents.

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