Aaron Ramsey had a blinder at Euro 2016. Leading Wales to an unexpected semi-final (albeit one he was unfortunately suspended from) and standing out in every match he played in. He ended with stats of 5 appearances 4 assists and 1 goal, in my eyes he’s been the best Arsenal player at the tournament (Koscielny […]
Tag Archives | Laurent Koscielny
Ramsey and Giroud both take the plaudits as 4 Gunners fire 3 Countries to Semis
Howdy. So the quarter-finals of the European championship in France are behind us and I find myself at something of a crossroads, as only 2 out of 4 were actually entertaining. Poland vs Portugal was a complete drag, while the much-anticipated Germany vs Italy may have a tactical masterclass from Lowe, Conte, or both, but […]
Transfer and Barbecue Season – What does Arsene need to throw on the AFC Barbie to ensure a feast?
As May comes to a close and June is in sight, the football world takes on a new form. No longer is it about 11 players giving there all on a football pitch to win, the football supporting masses redirect there attention to transfers. That’s right its silly season coinciding with barbecue season once more; […]
Would Benatia allow Mertesacker to continue as a leader on the Training Ground and Dressing Room?
It just hasn’t worked out for Medhi Benatia at Bayern Munich and we had a scouting report fron Germany on him earlier in the week. The 29-year-old arrived at the Allianz Arena from Roma for an estimated fee of £22 million but he has struggled to adjust to life in Germany. Benatia is a supreme talent […]
Medhi Benatia to Arsenal – Exclusive Scouting Report from Munich
Delighted to welcome back Chris Mader our German correspondent to report on Arsenal target Medhi Benatia. It’s not a surprise that a place besides Koscielny is up for grabs for next seasons curtain raiser with Per Mertesacker and Gabriel both seemingly not the best solution for a long term central defensive pairing. Last month and […]
Granit Xkaka is DESIRED but leadership and Creativity REQUIRED
“For me, the standards you need to play for this club, it cannot be eight out of 10, it has to be 10 out of 10. When you cannot deliver that, it is not good enough. Sometimes people get away with it. Inside myself, my gut wasn’t clean and when you are like this, I […]
From Blind Alleys to Happy Valleys – Arsenal v Watford Player Ratings with a difference
We are still without our superb Match reviewer who returns next week for West Ham so I thought I would step in again with some player ratings instead. It was a hugely enjoyable performance from Arsenal yesterday and the only disappointments came off the pitch and not on it. The 7th minute response to Rocky […]
Arsenal have done it before, can they do it again? #AFC v FCB
There have been quite a few articles this week on how we can beat Barcelona. I particularly liked this one from Michael Cox, where he argues the combination of early pressing and deep defending for the remainder of the game can do the trick. Then there were two, very similar in the idea they conveyed, […]
‘Title-winning sides win ugly when playing badly…’
“The thing I rue the most is that we never seem to get away with playing badly. We almost always get punished for not turning up, only the extent varies, whether it’s a fluky 2-0 opening-day loss to West Ham or a thorough bashing at the Allianz Arena.” “That is the thing I love, and […]
A Case of Preventable DEJA VU for Wenger who now admits he was wrong
I have just watched Arsenal disintegrate against Southampton in a way which takes me back to the worst of our defensive performances i.e. Liverpool, Man U, Man City and Chelsea. Throw in Monaco and Dynamo Zagreb just for fun. Ironically, as I sat at my PC I noticed Timothy Hargreaves article about defensive discipline. I […]