Manchester City: A shambolic display

I decided to write this blog post today with the bid that I would have gotten over yesterdays mauling by MANCHESTER CITY. Unfortunately I haven't. Still hurts. Lol.
ARSENAL had the best defence in the league prior to yesterday's match but so much has changed and a whole lot more has been put into perspective. Does MANCHESTER CITY have a better, more in depth squad? YES! Did ARSENAL deserve to lose to MANCHESTER CITY like that? YES but at the same time, NO! Let me explain. Prior to the match we've been good defensively. Very good actually! Had 6 clean sheets in the last 7 matches if I'm correct. So we didn't deserve to let in 6 goals to any squad no matter what! However after watching our shambolic display yesterday, and giving away so many loose balls in the middle of the park the way we did to a team as superior as Manchester City, then we deserved to be punished!

Well the match is over and yes there are some positives to take. Walcott is getting back to form. Another positive is SURELY, SURELY Arsene is obviowe're going to buy a REAL STRIKER come January!
I won't fault Arsene so much this season! He brought is some steel in FLAMINI and he went out and spent big to get a TOP PLAYER like MESUT OZIL (worth every penny) but OZIL NEEDS a TOP STRIKER to play with and OLIVIER GIROUD, whom I love for his passion and hold up play still doesn't cut it.
GIROUD loves ARSENAL so I like him. I love the way he celebrates with our fans after he scores too but truthfully? You can't give what you don't have. He, in all truth, should be more of a back up striker to someone like ROONEY, BENZEMA or even LEWANDOWSKI or SUAREZ! Can we get any of these strikers come JANUARY? YES! Emphatically yes!! We got OZIL didn't we? We need to bid and we need to BID BIG NOW!
Guess what? After reading our latest financial report its so OBVIOUS that ARSENAL has the money now to afford these guys and we're not asking for all of them, we're just asking for ONE of them! One will suffice!
Sadly guys, if we don't get any striker come January it may just end up being another year where we'll be let down again and celebrate in MAY without a trophy once again.

Do leave your comments in the comment section below.

Follow me on twitter @iklemieux

DONE AND DUSTED

Wow! The transfer window for the 2013/2014 season is DONE and DUSTED and my word what amazing transfers! Think everyone may still be awed by OZIL coming to ARSENAL though. That my dear friends is probably the biggest deadline transfer I've witnessed in a long long time!
I'm looking at all the teams in the English Premier League and this years race is gonna be a tough one! My predictions? Ill highlight that at the end of this post but my word.. I'm amazed.

MANCHESTER UNITED
FELLAINI has gone to MANCHESTER UNITED! That for me was a no brainer. I told a colleague in JUNE that DAVID MOYES was gonna find it difficult to stamp down his authority in his new team so the best thing for him to do is to retire GIGGS, SCHOLES and FERDINAND (IMO THE CABAL of the MAN-U team). Well, SCHOLES has gone, GIGGS is on his way but FERDINAND is still around (shrugs). Also told him MOYES should get FELLAINI and BAINES into his team.. Well BAINES didn't go through but ah well.. They came close didn't they? MAN U have bought ok but guess what? They're gonna struggle this year! That is for sure!

LIVERPOOL
This is one team to watch out for! The may just make it into the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE this year! Except if BRENDAN ROGERS just gets his tactics all wrong! THEY KEPT SUAREZ! UNBELIEVEABLE! (Forgot to mention MAN U kept WAYNE ROONEY too) Now keeping SUAREZ was either an UNBELIEVABLE GOOD MOVE or an UNBELIEVABLY STUPID one. Time will tell! They have an inform STURRIDGE and have also bought some TOP PLAYERS too (SAKHO comes to mind). They also got an experienced KOLO TOURE (good move).

ARSENAL
MESUT OZIL! Nuff said. World class midfielder! Created the most assists in the past 3-5 years in Europe. More than MESSI, more than C.RONALDO. Got into the Fifa 11 team last season. Real good move by ARSENE! Will he be enough? Hmmm. I don't know.. Maybe... Maybe not.. Got FLAMINI! Another good move add VIVIANO as well but they also need a TOP STRIKER! Let's wait and see!

CHELSEA
Chelsea did its business early.. Brought in SCHURRLE, DE BRUYNE back from loan and SAMUEL ETO'O. Lastly they have MOURHINO aka "The Happy One" *making an uninterested face* He will make the difference! CHELSEA have the most talented midfield in the EPL and a schemer of a manager in MOURINHO! Full of his MIND GAMES and TRICKS! In my opinion, CHELSEA are the number one contenders for the title.

MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester City brought in a solid coach in the mold of Pellegrini! A good and experienced tactician who did wonders with his MALAGA squad last year. The same squad who were robbed under controversial circumstances in the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE by BORUSSIA DORTMUND who were eventual finalists.

TOTTENHAM FC 

Hmmm. TOTTENHAM have sold their most prized asset, GARETH BALE!! For a ton of money too!
Mehn, I've never seen such an OVERPRICED player! Fantastic player though but WAAY overpriced! A world record was broken and cudos to D. LEVY for procuring such a deal for his club! The money he got was wisely invested in TOP QUALITY PLAYERS too. They're definitely gonna make a run for it... Would it be enough to break into the top four? Hmmm.. With Liverpool stepping up too? I doubt it.


Here is my prediction for the 2013/2014 EPL season.

1. CHELSEA
2. ARSENAL
3. MANCHESTER CITY
4. LIVERPOOL

I can hear you scream, WHAT??!! Lol. Calm down.. Time will tell..

5. MANCHESTER UNITED
6. TOTTENHAM


Well that's it for now. Leave your thoughts and comments below..

Follow me on twitter @iklemieux

THE WAY FORWARD

       Firstly I'd like to say, you gotta be impressed with the way we qualified for champions league last night... It all started way back in March when we became only the 2nd team last season to beat Bayern in their home.. That was the beginning of the comeback... Did we win anything? An emphatic NO. But we once again showed our consistency in the last 17 seasons by belonging in the elite tournament of tournaments... The Champions League... Here's my point... We can't attract the right kind of players when you don't qualify for the champions league... The time has come for Arsenal to spend Big or at least spend properly on quality and no more on average players... Firstly I'm glad Arshavin, Fabianski and Squillachi's contracts are all expiring this summer... That should free up the wage bill a bit... We also have Denilson, Bendtner, Djorou, Park, Chamakh, Frimpong (all on loans outside) and Sagna and Mannone who's contracts all end in the summer of next year (2014)... So i figure a good clear out should be on the cards this summer...Get rid of them and bring in a few really good players.... I'm gonna highlight a few players in a few positions where we need strengthening... These are players I'm aware are available this transfer window..

STRIKERS

1. ROONEY
He wants to leave Man U because he "can't" work with his former manager David Moyes
Buy please
2. LEWANDOWSKI
Great finisher but I wonder how well he can adapt to the EPL? Strikes me as a fragile player.. However that's just my own opinion.. Still think if we can get him we should
3. HIGUAIN
Hasn't been playing regularly in Real Madrid because Mourinho prefers Benzema (so do I.. Lol) but he's waaay ahead of Giroud in quality.. So.. Why not?
4. JOVETIC
Heard this ones a done deal.. Lets wait and see.. Pretty good tho.. But would prefer him as a back up, not our first choice striker..

Here's my point... Let's get any 2 of these strikers if possible.. If I were realistic, maybe ROONEY and JOVETIC.. If we can achieve that then that would be a coup and would definitely make a statement...

MIDFIELDER

1. MARCO REUS
Boy! Would I love to have this guy play for Arsenal! Nuff said.. Watch him in the Champions League final..

2. ISCO
Fantastic player.. Very creative..


DEFENDER
1. LUKASZ PISZCZEK

Solid replacement for Sagna

GOALKEEPER
1. JULIUS CEASAR

Almost perfect No 1 keeper for Arsenal.. Szczesny would thrive and learn a lot from him..

So that's basic.. If we can make this happen, and I know we can we'll be back to winning ways trophy wise..


Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below...
Thanks

Ik
Follow me on twitter @iklemieux

TOTTENHAM??

Firstly, I'd like to say how disappointed I was with our performance at yesterday's match against Tottenham Hotspurs in the North London Derby at White Hart Lane. Prior to the match, I had never felt so apprehensive over watching Arsenal play and for that reason I chose not to watch the match (live). I just wasn't ready for all them emotions. Well, like I said, Arsenal gawked(again) Typical right? Yeah, yeah, Tottenham is a pretty good team with the likes of the in form Gareth Bale and all, and yes Andrea Villas Boas aka AVB has done a great job there  but for goodness sakes we are THE ARSENAL! The decline at our club hurts so bad considering that at one time we were the best club in the whole of England and Arsene Wenger was the best Manager in the whole world bar none. However, he doesn't seem to be the same man we once knew.

Fine, we moved to a new stadium which put the club in massive debt etc However, don't forget, we were told in December by the club CEO, Ivan Gazidis, that we had £70Million to spend on improving our squad. So? What happened? Same old, same old, same old story! The won't spend the money.

Last week we got wind of some gist that a middle eastern consortium wants to buy out ARSENAL for £1.5Billion with each share going for about £20,000 per share. What should we do? SELL! Naturally! Lol. The money will wipe out all the debts, give us more than enough to rebuild out squad and guess what? Stan Kronke would make roughly about twice the amount of money he spent buying into Arsenal. Sadly, except for some miracle, I don't think its gonna happen.
Unless of course the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) and all our fans worldwide mount tremendous pressure on the Arsenal Board to get their act together and start winning! Eight years is too long.. Could you imagine a team like MANCHESTER UNITED with their winning mentality going Eight years without a single trophy? Your guess is as good as mine. The winning mentality in Arsenal has gone but it's up to us to bring it back.


Follow me on twitter
@iklemieux

THE JANUARY WINDOW

As the January window opens this week, I just can't help wonder... What kind of signings will MR. WENGER bring in? I've done a bit of dispassionate thinking and I've decided to highlight a few key areas where I feel ARSENAL must just get it right. Fine, we all know the January window ain't all that when it comes to signing top players but I still think we can get a few players right now that will boost our challenge for a top 4 place! Hmm.. So weird...  I just spoke about top 4! Odd! I've never been a "qualifying for top 4" person! Is that what we are supposed to be fighting for or should we be fighting for trophies??  WENGER and IVAN GAZIDIS' statements earlier this year quickly comes to mind... "TOP 4 a trophy"? Anyway that's another days discussion!

We need a few quality players! Don't see why we can't get a creative ATTACKING MIDFIELDER in the GOTZE moult... And please don't say we can't afford it... We have the $$$$..
We need a TOP STRIKER! Yeah... Not so many around this January... HUNTELAAR has resigned with SCHALKE so that's out, and FALCAO is maybe just wishful thinking..but there has so to be a few available ones out there... We need a SOLID CENTER MIDFIELD GENERAL with a no nonsense attitude.. How I miss the days of VIERA! Lastly we need another top keeper as a back up to SZCZESNY.. He's good but just has to be on his toes a little bit..

There it is... Do let me know your thoughts in the comments below..

Thanks!
Ik

Follow me on twitter @iklemieux

ARSENAL: The Decline Continues

This year has been the worst start EVER in Le Professeur's reign as Arsenal's manager and most probably our worst start also in the history of the Barclay's Premier League!
I can imagine what Van Persie must be thinking by now! (Whew)
It hurts me to say this because I love Arsene as a person and indeed he has been Arsenal's most successful manager till date, but something has got to change! Either a policy change, change at the board or unfortunately Arsene himself.

I've been a fan of Arsenal for the past 15 years... From the days of Kanu Nwankwo, Davor Suker and Dennis Bergkamp.. The invincibles came and left... Yes it was all Wenger but WAAAY too many people forget that there was a DAVID DEIN who was the then Vice Chairman of Arsenal (later forced out of the board) who made the transfers happen and put all sorts of pressure on Arsene to win things..

Yeah yeah.. I know a lot of arsenal fans will get upset with me for what I'm about to say but COME ON GUYS! Something has got to give! Wenger IS NOT under any pressure from the board so that's why we are in this current state!

Wenger remains THE BEST when it comes to raising young talent but quite frankly he really does need a firm kick up his ass!

How I miss the days of Thierry Henry who created goals out of absolutely nothing! Not to mention last season's Robin Van Persie who is probably the best center forward in modern football. Ah yes! We sold him for "footballing reasons" according to IVAN GAZIDIS!


Ok so what's the solution? We need to SPEND THE MONEY! Don't tell me we can't afford CRISTIANO RONALDO! I'm already aware of Arsenal's football module and yes I support it FULLY! Why spend more than you earn? But what I'm saying is we can afford QUALITY PLAYERS so why not get them? What the hell are SQILLACHI, ARSHARVIN, DJOROU, BENDTNER, DENILSON, PARK and CHAMAKH still doing in ARSENAL??? We are ARSENAL not EVERTON! COME ON! We need to CUT OUR LOSSES and BUY QUALITY PLAYERS like GOTZE, REUS, HUNTELAAR, AFFELAY etc

You sell FABREGAS, NASRI and RVP and you replace them with who exactly? ARTETA, GIROUD ? Did we STRENGTHEN our team? Do the math..

Like I said Wenger is a Great Coach and his record speaks for itself but if he can't get players like I suggested and sell off the dead wood? Then unfortunately I have to agree when the Arsenal fans say Wenger out!

What's your take?

Please leave your comments below
Follow me on twitter @iklemieux

A First Post

Well the most prestigious EPL is here again!!! It comes full of excitement  and fans worldwide of the most prestigious clubs are full of anticipation for what the season holds.

The transfer window is still open for two weeks.. But MY WORD the buys so far have been truly mind blowing.. Arsene Wenger.. Erm.. You sold YOUR BEST PLAYER to YOUR GREATEST RIVAL? Ok.. I’m still trying to see the logic in that… Hmmm. Let me pause before my fellow Arsenal fans look for a couple of stones to throw… Lol. Well..£24Million is a good sell for someone who in my opinion is one of the 3 Top KNOWN strikers worldwide (though with terrible  history of being injury prone) But selling him to your RIVAL??  Hope it doesn’t come back to haunt you man.. 

ARSENAL

Ok, so Arsenal have actually made some good buys.. CAZORLA and SAHIN if the rumours are true are PURE CLASS. Not to mention PODOLSKI and GIROUD. Guess Wenger has really given up on the youth project then. Lol. Erm DENILSON and BENDTNER somebody.. 

CHELSEA

Let’s face it. Chelsea probably has the BEST MIDFIELD in right now.. Ok arguably.. I mean.. Take a look.. HAZARD who is probably the hottest young midfielder under 21years (though maybe slightly over-rated, time will tell..) OSCAR, MARKO MARIN, make no mistake because of his price (£7M).. MARKO MARIN is GOOD! Then they also have the likes of JUAN MATA and RAMIRES. Now that is what I call FIRE POWER.  I aint a fan of the way Roman fires MANAGERS but please.. If Roberto Di Matteo can’t deliver with these boys.. Fire away..

MANCHESTER UNITED

Hmmm. MAN U.. The club everyone loves to hate. I gotta say it guys… They have THE BEST STRIKE FORCE in Europe! WHAT? Someone sayss? Relax.. It’s true.. Most especially in terms of options?? They do.. (Assuming RVP doesn’t get injured though. Lol)(I’m sure a lot of Arsenal fans would want that) Yep yep.. Fergie was right to say this reminded him of the 1999 squad of COLE, YORKE, SHERINGHAM and Baby faced assassin himself OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER ).. Take a look.. Ideally RVP and Rooney will give at least 20 league goals each.. While Hernandez in particular is pretty good as a super sub(injury free of course)

MANCHESTER CITY

The current league winners, Manchester City, without a doubt have the most complete squad all round.. One thing a lot of people fail to get is that you need time to build squads! Man City has a squad that has been together for a full season and have not lost any key players either (Learn Mr. Wenger.. Please learn) So they will DEFINITELY be title contenders…

Well there it is for now… Personally, I already know who is gonna win the league.. But I’ll wait and tell you right after the transfer window slams shut.. Who do you think will win guys?

Leave your comments below..

Thanks

Ik

Follow me on twitter @iklemieux