Pre-season friendly or not, I don’t think anyone who watched Saturday’s clash with Chelsea can be anything but underwhelmed by Arsenal’s general performance. There were plenty of signs in the Bayern Munich match, which preceded the fixture against Chelsea, that we were a little disorganised, leggy, and generally underwhelming as a team. Against the Germans,…
Plague-striken Arsenal hang tough to snatch win from devious scoundrels Bayern Munich
As far as stern pre-season tests go, it doesn’t get much more rigorous than taking on the Bundesliga’s sneakiest cheat merchants. Bayern Munich were not just a step up in class from the opponents we faced in Australia, they were a relative leap into the stratosphere, and it was a welcome chance to step up…
A good workout for Arsenal as they go 12 rounds with the Australian Stoke City
Arsenal slipped through the gears on Saturday as they eased past the Australian League’s very own Stoke City subsidiary, otherwise known as West Sydney Wanderers. In some ways, it was good for the players to face up to something a little more physical than the rather genteel outing against Sydney FC a few days previously,…
Young Gunners to the fore as Arsenal ease past Sydney FC in pre-season opener
Arsenal kicked-off their pre-season campaign with a comfortable, if somewhat profligate, victory over Australian champions Sydney FC on Thursday. To be fair to the Gunners, as profligate as they were, it was a very eye-catching performance going forward, with plenty of movement, invention and incisive running from those given playing time. A few missed chances…
New signings are a good start but will they be enough to make Arsenal title contenders again?
Official confirmation of Alexandre Lacazette’s arrival at Arsenal brings our summer signing tally to two, but how far does that move us forward us a squad and do we still need new faces before we can realistically call ourselves title contenders again? Even the most blinkered of Arsenal fans will concede that we were miles…
Should Arsenal put principle ahead of price and make Alexis Sanchez see out his contract?
It’s a question we have faced many times as a club before but, until now, we have never really had much of a choice when it has boiled down to money or principle. In the case of Alexis Sanchez, however, and against the cash-rich backdrop of today’s Premier League, we find ourselves with a few…
Arsenal have a second chance at Alexandre Lacazette – let’s not make the same mistake twice
With Arsenal reported to have lodged a £43million-bid for Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette, you have to wonder why we just didn’t wrap this deal up 12 months ago. Money was not an issue for the club – the cash was available then just as it is now. Nor were we late to the party in lodging…
Reasons to be cheerful as Arsenal’s Premier League fixture list is released
As far as fixture lists go, Arsenal’s 2017/18 line-up is probably about as favourable as it gets. Inevitably, when the Premier League releases its fixture list, fans immediately turn to their end-of-season run in, and I have to say the Gunners can look forward to what should be (yes, I know) a comfortable April and…
The one that got away? Former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry completes move to Bayern Munich
News that former Arsenal midfield man Serge Gnabry has signed for Bayern Munich leaves me with an acute feeling of foreboding. The 21-year-old German spent four seasons at Arsenal and, after a decent run of first team starts early in his Gunners career, around the 2013/14 season, looked set for big things at the club….
One down, two to go: Arsenal swoop early to announce Sead Kolasinac as first summer signing
Of all the things I thought June might bring for Arsenal, the announcement of our first summer signing in Sead Kolasinac was so far down the list as to be microscopic. It is a rare occasion indeed, almost unprecedented in fact, for Arsenal to get a decent piece of business done so early in the…
Who is likely to leave the Emirates as Arsenal prepare for busy summer?
As the manager and his staff step up their bid to bring players into Arsenal over the busy summer period, there will also necessarily be a thinning of the squad as the Gunners look to free up space and raise funds for new arrivals. But who is likely to depart the Emirates as the manager…
Arsenal board rubber-stamps new deal for Arsene Wenger but are changes in the offing?
Though there had been some late doubts about Arsene Wenger’s desire to extend his stay in north London, they were well and truly dispelled on Tuesday when the news broke that the Frenchman had signed a two-year deal to stay at Arsenal. It was no secret that the contract had been on the table for…
