Basel Bossed as Burnley Beckons!

  Well…….that was easy. No I mean, that’s went easier than expected. I mean the gunners practically blew away the Swiss champions, turning them into Swiss cheese in a less than 30 minutes blitz. From the blast of the whistle we were dominant for most parts till Walcott got the brace that pretty much ended what we feared might be contest. Basel came to the emirates with a fine record of no loss to an English side in 5 UCL games. My only gripe is our wastefulness in front of goal, Ozil missing two good chances and Sanchez being a bit unusually casual at the last.  Now to Walcott, I asked before what exactly he was on cuz he showed here again the willingness to chase everything, his movement on and off the ball was full of intelligent running into space while putting in some good diagonals that no one connected to. When Arsenal play like this, free of any mental shackles....they are quite difficult to stop. Kos, Mustafi were practically on holiday only doing occasional mop ups to recycle play forward. Ospina, well he saved when he was called to action by a Bjarnason dipping shot.

   I talked about seeming wastefulness up front, sometimes we take our foot of the pedal and ease off. I hope this is dealt with, that’s how complacency sets in besides, its always good to score as many goals as the opportunity allows and not dawdle like u showing mercy. Be that as it may, we must give credit to the boiz. they bossed the game from midfield, Santi was at the heart of it all linking well with Iwobi and Ozil especially the pass to Sanchez that was the “pre assist”.  As for Ozil, he spurned one or two chances but he is getting into good positions, he needs to imbibe that killer instinct for him to become the player he has the true potential to become. Alexis had one of those games where he got everything but score, frustratingly denied a couple gilt edge chances by FC Basel Vaclik whom Basel would do well to give a healthy bonus for his heroics that ensured a respectable score line. I am sure Marek Suchy has aches on his aches after his torrid time trying helplessly to keep the Chilean quiet. All in all, another good day at the office, 3 points, 2 goals and 3^rd consecutive clean sheet not forgetting better depth in the squad...signs of an Arsenal in Crisis init?

  Next Stop is an away match at Turf moor, Sean Dyche’s men have had something of a yoyo season thus far, beating Liverpool on Match Day2 followed by 2 losses and a draw then a Stephen Defour inspired win on Monday against Watford......Yep same Watford that trounced Man United just last week. They should be buoyed by that win but I am sure the way Arsenal seem to be cruising won’t have gone unnoticed by them, so expect them to have a game plan prepared. Arsenal hasn’t lost to Burnley in over 3 decades and I hope they don’t start now. As another international break looms after match Day6, it would be nice to extend our match winning streek to 5 on the bounce and keep the momentum going into the break. Arsene summed it up in these words:

“In recent games we have combined style and efficiency and we want to continue that because we want to give pleasure to the fans,” Wenger said. “We know that comes with results but as well with the quality of the game and in our recent games against Chelsea and against Basel, we managed to do both.”

My predicted lineup for both teams  below (Courtesy the UK Guardian Online)

subs: Ospina, Debuchy, Chuba, JR Adelaide, Gibbs, Perez, Alex Ox, Giroud,

While i humbly remain unconvinced by Sanchez through the middle, 4 goals in 5 premiership games is  quite difficult to argue against, besides, its tough to change Arsene Wenger when he has his mind set on a certain task as he seems to have done here. I also believe Elneny deserves a start while Santi should get a rest, Wenger is the coach though and he would likely do the opposite, thus my term Predicted lineup. Whatever TEAM files out for the gunners, i would hope for another 3 points, keep the winning streak going and put the pressure on Man City who have a tricky date at Spurs especially without De Bruyne, someone needs to remind Master Pep that this is the premiership, no coasting to the title allowed....LOL. Anyway those are ma thoughts from here, dont forget to critique /Like/Commen and share our post. Do enjoy the game wherever you are....Ciao

Chelsea High To Basel Preview

     So Big Sam ends his short stint as england manager with an egg in the face that gives Arsene another reason to laugh as he dropped a clanger after being caught on video making unsavory and damning comments by a Telegraph Journalist working undercover. You'd expect some of us would have learnt to keep our opinions off the record so to speak cuz you don’t know when Big brother might be watching…yeah I know. If Cops don’t learn not to get caught on video shooting indiscriminately or accepting twenty naira, then who will? How sad though, only one game at the helm of one of the best paying jobs in the world right now and you have to step down cuz you couldn’t keep those implicating opinions about ya predecessor or employers to yourself…sorry mate.

Anyway good riddance, he was never going to be "The Solution" to England's footballing Woes,  now to Arsenal tins jaaare. As a big fan of DC & Marvel Universe, it’s only natural that one enjoys watching Batman, The Justice league and all their spin offs. That’s the inspiration for the picture below, one fight scene that I enjoy so much however brief  is  "Bane Vs Mammoth" (Still enjoy it). Now that’s what the win against Chelsea reminded me off. That super duper soccer punch you didnt see coming, Arsenal came with a game plan and stuck with it for 90+ mins, Chelsea never had a chance.!!

Young Justice:  Bane Vs Mammoth courtesy Warner Bros Animation

     By now I expect you must have relived all the moments taking it all in, enjoying that last drop of satisfaction gotten from thrashing Costa and Friends from Chelsea FC. Costa is probably still in Koscielny's Pocket crying somewhere. Guys lets face it, this hasn’t happened in a long long time, sure we beat both Manchester Clubs last season at one time or the other, but not Chelsea, even at their worst nadir……they still managed to do a double over Arsenal yet again, it was all too painfully familiar.  Ok, ok, oooakaaayyy,  enough already with the Chelsea win, even if we would love to continue milking every bit of pleasure that’ win gives, there is no time for that, same 3 points as any other  win so why the plenty OMG (rolling eyes here). I am not trying to trivialize by brushing aside this win like it means nothing, far from it, it means a whole lot for the Team. It was as a well wrapped 20^th Anniversary Gift to Arsene Wenger, confidence booster, a wonderful feeling of pleasure and the continuation of the momentum we building, whats not to like there? Still.....this is football where there is no room for getting ahead of ourselves despite the performance, like we have been there before, Arsenal build ya hopes only to send them crashing so lets stay focused by keeping our feet firmly planted on the ground. The result was good but the performance in general was what caught the eye, everyone is gushing about Sanchez/Özil but Walcott must be on something beastly extraordinary or how do you explain his transformation in the last 3-4 games. His goals, assists & especially his work rate and hustle to get stuck in, i mean he's already made more tackles in 6 games than he had made in the past two seasons!! Can you beat that?? Arsene commented on his new work ethic:

“He has improved, he showed that on Saturday [against Chelsea].

He knows when you play on the flank, you have to add that job to your game,

because today all the full-backs who go forward are dangerous.

 Despite that he wanted to compete on the flank,

 and as long as he produces these kind of performances, I’m OK with it.”

Encouraging words that will bode well for Walcott, hope Oxlade is listening too.

Keeping our feet on the ground means taking it one game at a time, so time to switch focus to the Champions League as we welcome FC Basel to town in a match Day2 game . I expect the players to know this is a must win game (no offence to Basel) to boost our chances of topping the group. We have to win all our home games, so let us start by winning FC Basel on Wednesday. On paper, an Arsenal win is very much expected but we all know how in football, anything can happen.  Add the fact that Arsenal’s consistency is being inconsistent….again anything can happen. Having said all that, I expect the players to guard against any form of complacency and remain focused in order to the job done. Another 3 points will do nicely, as PSG would most likely beat Ludogorets FC barring any unexpected miracles, so we need to win this. I don’t expect Basel to be push overs, they currently top the Swiss Super League by 14 points above their nearest rival, marching their way to an 8th consecutive title which is nothing to scuff at, but i expect our fire power should be too much for them hopefully.  Coquelin’s Injury (Out for 3-4 weeks) being the only blip on a perfect Saturday, means we Arsene has to start one or both Xchaka &/Or  Elneny  in the middle just behind Özil, I would give Santi a rest maybe Sanchez too, he needs it.  Besides Ospina back in, the defense picks itself as the same while i'll give Perez a start as the arrow head in attack, no Sanchez through the middle for me. While I don know which Arsenal will turn up my line up will look like. 
Bellz, Mustafi, Kos, Nacho, Xhaka, Elneny, Özil, Walcott, Perez, Sanchez/Iwobi, a 4-2.3-1 formation:

Subs: Gibbs, Santi, Adelaide,Oxlade, Iwobi.

The flipside of the Chelsea win is that million dollar Pound question. Is Arsenal now a True Title contender or is this another flash in the Pan? We have seen this before(Man U win last year), so its up to this crop of mature Men as Wenger calls them, to show that they are ready to challenge for Silverware regardless of the pressure that comes with it. For now though, lets enjoy this and hope its another win against FC Basel on Wednesday, enjoy the game wherever you are........Ciao

20 Years On: A Chelsea High or Low ?

Chelsea preview

   20 years is a long time in this era of  "instants" ….instant messaging, instant coffee, instant noodles, instant gratification and of course the big one, INSTANT SUCCESS. Don’t we all love it! Arsene Wenger celebrates his 20^th anniversary as Arsenal FC, coach,making him the longest serving coach for the club and in the EPL currently. 2 whole decades of management has had its effect, shaping both Man and the Club in ways that have been good and at times not so good. There is no denying it, Arsene has been a revolutionary in helping build the Brand called Arsenal FC, from its style of play to popularity across the club and of course Trophy wins especially the 49 game unbeaten run. Recent years though......i leave you to complete the rest as you please. Amy Lawrence of the uk guardian has an article here that sums it up nicely if  you want to read more on 20 years of Wenger's reign.

  

No one can argue against the streak the team is on, 3wins one draw from the last four premier league games  or four wins in the last five regardless of the strength of the opposition you can only play what’s in front of you, that’s the counter argument and the Team has done just that.  Nottingham forest was swatted away with such ease that Arsenal never really moved out of 3^rd gear such was the gunner’s dominance. Xhaka’s goal again was the pick of the four but credit to Lucas Perez who announced his coming into the TEAM with a brace. Particularly eye catching was his 2^nd that added credence to his repertoire as a hustling forward who can fight his way to a goal. A date with Reading FC in the 4^th round is something to look forward to but we know the picks of the bunch will be Pool Vs Spurs and especially ….the Manchester derby.

     This weekend brings forth the London Derby which is the first of our many tests as we welcome Diego costa and friends   from Chelsea, I can’t really say I am expectant while trying not to sound pessimistic.  One win in the last 10 meetings against Chelsea, 7 of which Chelsea has managed to keep a clean sheet tells you the much you need to know. Last season when Chelsea was all at sea, they still managed to get a win over us home and away, the same way Arsenal couldn’t beat a Man Utd coached by David Moyes (Yes …pun intended). Having said that, I still believe Chelsea on current form is very beatable. Arsenal seem to be gathering some momentum with 4 wins on the trot, while Chelsea seem to have stuttered a bit of late, allowing us to catch up with them on points. I expect the usual tension between both sides and fans alike with Diego Costa trying to make a nuisance of himself as always. Koscielny and Mustafi will have to very alert to his riling antics that usually get opposition defenders wound up. They are both more experienced at top clubs and country, it’s expected they will let this show. Antonio Conte though meeting Wenger for the first time would set up his team to bounce back from their recent stutter coupled with our not so smooth home form. His style of play will take a while to settle with the boiz and he may not have the right personnel yet, still i expect a tough game for the Gunners. Nacho Monreal & Bellerin will have to up their ante against Hazard and Willian, these will be key battles. In the middle of the park i think Arsenal has the slight edge, Fabregas isnt playing thus short of confidence and Matic seems to have lost his edge, although Oscar is being given free reign there which he seem to be enjoying. I would start Xhaka/Elneny or Coq, lets leave out Santi for the tired legs in the second half. Up front they have mobility and aggression in Batshuiyi and Costa (sighhhhhh), when they are on form, if our players keep their heads Costa can be frustrated out till he gets yanked or booked. For the gunners this is a must win match, as it is games like this that help define your season by putting down a marker as True title contenders (if we are) and to break that psychological block against Chelsea since the coming of the “Special once”. The other sentimental reason would be for Arsene Wenger……..an Arsenal win would be a perfect Anniversary gift to mark this milestone. We all remember how the last milestone of 1000^th game in charge went against Chelsea in 2014, so let’s hope this would be much better. My line up would be built on midfield solidity and Pace in the attack with Chelsea’s back line being shaky without John Terry’s Organisation and David luiz’s propensity for playing into trouble. My line up below courtesy of Lineupbuilderdotcom.

Subs: Ospina, Iwobi, Gibbs, Giroud (Mystery Toe willing), Oxlade, Santi, Coquelin

Cheers to Le'Proff on his anniversary and here's hoping for a Win today. Enjoy the game wherever you are and dont forget to like critque and share the post......Ciao

A 3-Points "Hull" Please!

Hull Preview

       The good thing about the past week has been the results of the team. 4 points from two matches’ one home and one away may not be the 10/10 we like but it shouldn’t be sniffled at. Put in the obvious fact that the “massive haul” was against some very tough opposition and there you have it, my positive spin to get you in the mood for the weekend. The icing would be a 3point Haul this Saturday and that would be perfect. Perspective is a two way glass and you see only what you desire to see, not always the exact obvious to a blind man. In the game of football results are what counts and these margins can be too fine, Arsenal has been very lucky at the least in this past week. The performance against Southampton was ok but not sublime lacking a “Killer Instict” and only snatched a win in the last minute, a very crucial one too. In Paris, I struggle with how to describe the snatch and grab we did to steal a point from the current ligue 1 champions. I take nothing away from Ospina, he did what a goalie is paid to do, keeping the gunners in the game till they woke up, but if Cavani hadn’t forgotten his scoring boots back in his villa in Monte Video, we probably would have been discussing a cricket score line right now. There you see what I am talking about…. fine margins. Results are the koko as we saiy in naija and the gunners did get the necessary results so kudos to them.

        Arsenal follow their away adventures at Paris with a Visit to Hull City or is it Hull Tigers KCom stadium which is just as well. The gunners seem to be getting more joy on the road with wins and draws.  Hull citys form has been startling and refreshing for a newly promoted side, a haul of 7 points from 2W 1D 1L, shows a team in good form especially when you look at the opposition and see the league champions as part. A potential banana skin for the gunners even though Arsenal has only lost to Hull once in its last 18 meetings. Mike Phelan must be doing something right even if its as an acting manager or he found some back doorway to get Fergie in. I don’t know which but it obviously is working, 3 goals only conceded in 4 matches with two clean sheets as against Arsenals same 7 points from 4 games with 6 goals conceded in as many matches. The gunners would need to to shore up at the back and play as a unit, no room for the way we defende in Paris, Hull may not be PSG but this s the premiership and its very unforgiving. I would go with the same Team  that finished in Paris as Ospina makes way for Cech despite his Paris heroics, a charge to Monreal to sortout his dip in form or Gibbs takes over his starting berth and then just a tweak to midfield base of Santi / Xhaka. I feel Elneny deserves a start and Santi at 30 somthing is no spring chicken anymore he should be rested, coupled with Chelsea match on the horizon. Give Perez a start over Giroud again…Yes, he needs to blend in “sharp sharp”. My line up will be

Bells__ Skod___Kos___Nacho

       

           Xhaka___Elneny

                    Ozil

Iwobi____Perez_____Alexis

Subs: Gibbs, Giroud, Ox, Coq, Santi, Walcott .

A nice 3 points haul would be a good weekend starter see that chelsea already dropped points against the 2faced side called liverpool, they are becoming like Arsenal in, you just never know what to expect from klopps men brilliant today ...Meh tommorow. Anyway thats it from us, do enjoy the match wherever  you are and please dont forget to comment like and share........Ciao

New Gunners or Ghosts Of Paris??

Hnmmm so we are off to Paris eeh? After a hard fought last gasp victory on Saturday there Is no time to sit and admire Giroud’s coiffed hair while sipping on 3points Nope, successful teams know they cant bask in the aura of their image like a CR7 oogling at his own beach body with narcissistic admiration…. Southampton is already a distant past of 3points done, now is time to focus on an occasion where the “Champions” come to battle in the UEFA Champions league 2016/17.

2006 UCL Final  Stad de France- Paris   coutesy: Getty Images

 Looking through our group one can't help but put the group winner between Arsenal or PSG, no offence to ...FC Basel and Ludogorets, no Leicester fairytale here. So many questions come to mind on Arsenal, Will this be Wenger's last roll of the dice in the UCL, can we top our group, are we now mature enough to handle the pressure have lessons been learnt from past repeated mistakes??? While 19 consecutive years qualifying for this group stage maybe something to extol, a habitual round of 16 exit 6 consecutive seasons reeks of same old same old frustrating Gunners that can't be depended on as they let you down. Wenger has to be running out of excuses as to why the Team seems to come unstuck here regardless of the opponent (Monaco hellooo). This year it appears that the luck of the draw has us starting with what has to be d most difficult match of the group stage, on paper ooo cuz after all this is football and Arsenal..... anything can happen. Considering that Paris hasn’t being a particularly good hunting ground for Arsenal. We have lost two finals there, in 1995 UEFA cup final and 2006 Champions league final. I hope this will be positively different, why not? One can dare to dream, yeah PSG has kolobied the Ligue 1 since the billionaires from Qatar took them over making it their own but still remain short of that extra step up into the "league of champions"  Arsenal can boast of a Final appearance at least . Speaking of leagues their start to this year's championat hasn't been the stellar usual, only 2wins and 1loss 1draw, very unlike d PSG we know, maybe losing Ibrahimovic Levezzi & Deschamps has them in some sort of Transition which Arsenal might do well to capitalize on. They still have very good players in Di maria (yeah he bummed at Man u, we know) Verratti, Matuidi, Cavani, Moura. Pastore. Motta and of course Thiago silva at the back. Some say that, in selling David Luiz back to Chelsea they have actually strengthened…....now that’s funny init? Arsene still has an almost full complement of a squad to call on except Ramsey who is a bit short on fitness while Koscielny is available after the eye incident he suffered on Saturday which is good news for the Gunners.

“He's alright,” confirmed the boss.

“He had a big knock on his face [after the Southampton game] but recovered quite well. I was concerned after the game that he wouldn't be available, but he's alright.”

We all know Koscielny had been key to our defensive solidity especially as Mustafi  settles in, it would be asking a lot of  Mustafi to play alongside Holding (despite his impressive start so far). I expect Xhaka to bounce Coq in midfield with Carzola retaining his spot and  Ozilla just ahead of them. I would still prefer to start Perez over Giroud just to get him bedded with d team quickly flanked by walcott/iwobi and Alexis. I believe a draw would be ok from Paris but who says the Gunners can't nick a win here. Don't be a kill joy ....one can dream naa.  My Team would look like 

Bells__ Skod___Kos___Nacho

                                                                     

              Xhaka___Santi

                      Ozil

     Iwobi____Perez_____Alexis

Subs: Gibbs, Giroud, Coq, Elneny, Walcott.   

Anyway the final result at the end will depend on which Arsenal Team shows up, the Boyz who we have come to expect to bottle things as usual or the Men as Wenger bullishly seems to think. 90+ minutes should tell. Do enjoy the game wherever you are...........Ciao

Saints Or Gunners??

   Well well well, football is back but it never went nowhere like Ludacris said after all we just watched decent footy on internationals. It feels like a lifetime of forever but it was only a weekend we missed. The hype is on about the Manchester Derby or is it Mourinho vs Pep all over again? Anyway we all know that’s going to be the star match for this weekend so lets move on.

Now to things arsenal ……...No I am not talking about the story on Eddie Howie being touted as our next coach, Naaaaaaaah that’s for the press. The Gunners welcome the Saints to the emirates in a must win match cuz absolutely any more slip ups in form of dropped points...…you can help fill in the blanks. It's funny how this suddenly is a must win match so early in the season, a reflection of the stiff competition the english premiership has grown to become, add the fact that Chelsea Man United and Man City all boast 100% starts so far (one of them will drop points here …TRUE THAT) can Arsenal make up on lost ground?? BIG BIG question! Southampton haven’t exactly had a stellar start to this season so far, sitting in 15^th place with just two points from a loss & two draws. There has been another summer of high profile exits for them, Saido Mane and Graziano Pelle both top scorers for the Saints last year add Victor Wanyama to that list of  departed...…....i think Arsenal fans can relate to that. Does this mean they should be push overs?? I doubt any match is after all Southampton also have a notable name at the helm - Claude Puel, who played under Wenger at Monaco and has translated his tenacity as a player into management so expect a fight. Arsenal on the other hand need build some momentum with a couple wins to help build team confidence and some momentum. Arsene at his press conference today talked up the maturity of his current squad and how he felt they could compete, especially with the new additions.

“I would say it’s the most mature squad I’ve had for a long time, because they are men,” Wenger said. “They are not 19 or 20 years old, they are 24, 27, 28, and the whole squad is quite mature. It’s the first time for a long time that I’ve had a team of what you can call men, ready to compete. After, we have to show that we are good enough to beat everybody else. “I always believe we have a chance [of the title], even when we had young players. Certainly, I haven’t had a squad of players [like this] for a long time, who have enough experience to compete”.

I am quite sure we have all heard that before, lets have football do the talking starting with another win. The team selection should remain the same as Watford except maybe Alexis could start from the bench since he only joined the team on Thursday from international duty. I wouldn’t start Mustafi over holding just yet, I am kinda liking Rob the way he is coming along even though it seems we have thrown him into the deep end a bit early but let us see how he performs. Let’s give Perez a start over Giroud.
                

                   Cech

Bells__ Kos___Rob___Nacho

                                                                       

        Granit___Santi

                Ozil

 Walcott____Perez_____Ox

Subs: Gibbs, Giroud, Alexis, Coq, Elneny, Iwobi.  

That should do it for a first of many three points at home, do enjoy the game wherever you are and please dont forget to comment/like/share the post...........….ciao.

Fillers On International Break

 The inter lull comes in just at that time when you are getting down with an ice cold lager, ready to chill with the boiz and enjoy the footy fest, yeah bad timing init? I know I am sounding like a fantasy football addict/nerd here, but you expect that those peeps at FIFA should know better than to punctuate the glee of league football just when we were all getting into the groove of the new season. Now don’t get me wrong, international tournaments are cool and also necessary for the global growth of the game, however the recent stink of corruption that has engulfed the global football governing body has left fans of the game just asking what exactly the essence of their existence is, a balance keeper or another vortex conduit for funneling the huge largesse the sport generates from sponsors??

  Ok so enough of my whining, still some titbits on football matters to banter even when the leagues are on pause for the internationals. The Nigerian super eagles did our FIFA ranking no ill with a narrow 1-0 win over the “Taifa” stars of Tanzania through a Kelechi Iheanacho scorcher curled into the top corner of Aishi Manula’s goal in the 78^th minute. See the goal here , now that’s 3 goals in 5 matches, Pep I hope you are watching.  Manula had more or less being the difference between what should have being a Dasukigate thumping & the respectable 1-0 score after 90+minutes. I must say the Nigerian forwards were very wasteful in attack having created chance after chance without taking them. I don’t mean to take anything away from Manula’s man of the match performance though, he was jaw droppingly imperious between the sticks for Tanzania, hats off to him, he was THE MAN!!

The Nigerian Super Eagles (Image courtesy soccernetdotcomdotng)

 We know the super eagles wouldn’t be at the next AFCON in Gabon 2017, however Gernot Rohr must realize that much work is to be done for the current eagles team to achieve anything significant at the next world cup, if we do qualify to be on the trip to Russia 2018, still a win is always a good start for any coach. I wish him best of luck with the drama kings at the glass house in Abuja.

Unto other happenings as per Gunners, a charity match between Arsenal Legends Vs Milan Glorie organized by The Arsenal Foundation rolled back memories. The football legends were coming together for the good cause of spreading the beautiful game to refugee camps of internally displaced people in Somalia and Jordan and I believe 1Million pounds sterling would go a long way in developing football pitches in not just Somalia and Jordan but also IDP camps in north eastern parts of Nigeria too[I wish]. Anyway not much to give in terms of a match report as these affairs are basically not about the scoreline, it was still nice to see the gunners come out on top by a 4-2 scoreline, with our own Nwankwo Kanu showing Ighalo, Moses and co how to do it in front of goal.    A throwback Kannuuuuuuuuu grabbing a hat trick and Bobby Pires adding a 4^th goal while Vieri nabbed a brace for Milan Glorie. It was nice seeing Seaman, Gilberto, Ljunberg, Keown, Anders limpar, Vieri, Dida , Cafu,  & other legends that made us fall in love with both teams strut their stuff on the pitch, showing some of today’s up and comings that the class was still there you know ………… we still gat game. I for one had never seen Anders limper play in an arsenal shirt, and it was nice to see him having heard and read so much about the nifty swede. The one thing that got me wondering was the absence of Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera……cant help but wonder if much is to be read into their recent criticisms of Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal board over the way the club has seemingly refused to strengthen the team appropriately but that is talk for another day. Some can argue that Igwe was handling business with the Belgian Team on their world cup qualifiers, still eyebrows are curiously raised here. Elsewhere we hear rumblings that Ozil would very much like to take over the number 10 jersey vacated by Jack on loan, as well as possibly kick of discussions on a his contract extension which would be nice, maybe that would help convince Alexis make up his mind and stay with Arsenal too. You can definitely trust us to keep you posted the season’s events unfold.  On that note I will be leaving you to enjoy the rest of the weekend offering on international footy fest, please feel free to like share and comment on this post, lets make it an interactive community for lovers of the game and of course, things Arsenal……ciao

+234 Arsenal FC

The blogosphere for gunners is one with a wide gaping hole, none representing the pulse of the teeming supporters here in motherland 9ja. I get it, we are in far flung Africa right [the continent most misconstrued as a country] do we even have electricity talk less of knowing what a box called a TV might be? …..

Anyway let’s talk about what this blog is gonna be focused on, that is ……things Arsenal from a Nigerian supporters perspective, I must warn you though, it won’t be perfect no it won’t!! It would be no less passionate within objective reasonable means than what you get from other places of civilization because it would be sincerely from the heart however divergent or convergent you might find the opinion here, football first let’s all remember that.

Supporting Arsenal football club or Arsenal FC can be such a paradox at times, both exciting and frustrating all at the same time, trust me. This season I chose to wait until our first win before I launch into this blogging about Arsenal thing [the ink flows better writing in a happy mood]. The truth if we choose to face it is that, our preparations prior to this 2016/17 season’s kickoff has been avoidably less inspiring and that’s putting it lightly, yes Arsenal won a couple of preseason friendlies against lowly opposition scattered across the globe add the fact that we just beat man city coached by master Pep himself, the young lads [Chuba Akpom especially] did put in a good showing for maybe another loan spell…….still we all knew deep down what Arsenal and the board seem to inexplicably brush aside like we all are JJCs. The team had holes and still has holes that need immediate plugging. For about 3 seasons now we have been banging on about needing a “top-top qualiteee striker” (Arsene’s voice) and we had faffed about chasing Luis Suarez, Higuain, Benzema, Draxler, Griezman, Lacazette and ……Vardy but when it came down to showing the money like Juve / other teams did for Higs and the rest, we stuffed our hands in our cash loaded pockets, pouted our mouths and walked away, like we typically do. Now here we are, three matches into the season, Arsenal have 1 win 1 draw 1 loss and are 5points behind leaders from manchester and chelsea…..let that sink in!!

The league is a marathon as we all know so maybe we don’t have much to worry about for the gunners as there’s still lot of points to play for over the course of the season. The fear is Arsenal football club have left a lot more to be done for the team to properly compete against the perceived big boiz in the Premier league and Europe. Some may think we are being glass half empty here but far from it, the need for objectivity requires one to look at the numbers to see the big picture, 10 points off the champions Leicester and another round of 16 exit in the UEFA champions’ league reeks of stagnation not stability. Okay we got our first win at Watford plus the purchase of Mustafi and Perez, with loan moves for Joel Cambell, Calum Chambers and likely Jack Wilshire should stand the players/team in good stead but I believe we still might be a bit short on that very “next level” quality up front. I would love to stay away from the deadline hysteria cuz as much as it can be exciting from a neutrals perspective, it is hard to see Arsene Wenger dashing into the market for a marque splash ...even if the late dominos start falling in Madrid. In all i believe we are done, now would these players be able to cut it for the whole season by finally maing that stepUP??? Only time will tell, not that i advice you to hold a  breath on that .......naaaaah, i wont! Ciaooo