Walcott scare, M’vila close, Van Persie to sort out future soon – AFC

Theo Walcott has caused concern in the England camp after limping off from training citing a tightness of the hamstring as the cause. For Theo to miss out in the next game would be a big blow after the impact he made in the last game against the Swedes. The biggest message you can send out to the manager when you are aggrieved at not starting games is to show him what you can do when you come on the pitch. Walcott’s goal and assist was the perfect response and a chance in the starting line up for the next game was not an impossible outcome.

We all now know Roy Hodgson has carefully selected the best teams in his opinion that was best suited to play to his specific tactics. James Milner has left many scratching their heads at his worth to the team given his unspectacular performances. In his defence he has played to Roy’s expectation and is more unsung in the role he is asked to play. He has been a helpful assistance to Glen Johnson on the defensive side and can whip in a decent cross on the offensive side of England’s game. There are times when Milner’s robotic attention to detail is required and times when the more gifted, talented attacking players are needed.

I think that maybe Milner would have been selected ahead of Theo for the Ukraine game anyway due to the fact England won’t be going into the game desperate for a win. They wont need to get at the Ukrainians from the start so I feel Hodgson will opt for a more cautious approach from the off. Rooney will probably start but in midfield personnel will probably be the same as was used for the Sweden game.

It would still be a shame if Hodgson didn’t even have that dilemma to contemplate a switch but any impending injury will save him from criticism if England failed to qualify and he did not start the Arsenal forward. Theo did give us a scare during the Sweden game when he went down clutching his leg but that injury at the time was from his calf so today’s is unrelated. Theo has seemed to aggravate the hamstring which kept him out of the team during the tail end of the season; hopefully this has been spotted early enough to not keep him out any longer than Tuesday’s game.

The news has filtered around that Arsenal’s first game of the season will be a home game against Sunderland. Source of this is from RedAction who may well be correct but since the fixtures will be released today 9am UK time I see no need to read into this too much. I’ll prefer to wait and see when they are out which will probably be by the time you read this post. I will be more interested in the games that occur around our jinx month November, The Christmas and New Year’s fixtures and the run in towards the end of the season.

It was nice to hear quotes from M’Vila that he is aware of Arsenals interest and that he would be interested in a move to the emirates.

He said:

“I like Arsenal and I like the premier league”.

He then followed up with:

“I don’t know what is happening with the clubs, but yes I would be interested in the premier league and Arsenal.”

That’s the most positive quotes from all the players that have been linked to Arsenal since the season end so far. I now believe that transfer will happen once the Euros are over, not before though.

Robin Van Persie’s Holland team bowed out of the Euros with a whimper last night. I think many Arsenal fans secretly wanted the dutch to leave the competition early so that the future of our skipper could be sorted out as soon as possible. After Robin’s amazing season for Arsenal a lot was expected of the dutch master at Euro 2012. Even he must admit he hasn’t covered himself in glory at the tournament and his stock and ego has suffered a bit of a hit. Lets hope he can now decide whether he wants to stay at Arsenal quickly and look forward to atone for his disappointment as soon as possible.

Enjoy your day people.

Feel free to like the facebook page for this site: http://www.facebook.com/GambeanoSnitch

Update: RedAction were right. It has now been confirmed Sunderland home is the first game followed by two away trips to Stoke and Liverpool. Final game will be away to Newcastle. I will need time to digest to run the rule over the fixtures and will comment in a future post.

Theo Walcott, England saviour – AFC

Ladies and gentlemen he’s back on the national radar. The critics were left to eat their words last night as Theo Walcott’s introduction midway through the 2^nd half changed the game in England’s favour. England were in dire need of inspiration from somewhere; they did well to fashion a one nil lead in the first half only to self implode with two poor goals conceded. One being an own goal from Glen Johnson and the second a free header for Olof Mellberg; England really went to sleep for ten minutes in the second half.

England were in desperate need of a change to stem the flow as Sweden were growing more and more in confidence. I mentioned in my blog yesterday that I felt Roy would use Walcott’s pace in the second half to stretch the Sweden defence and keep them on their toes. What I didn’t expect was for Sweden to be leading at that time however what an impact that was made by Theo Walcott.

Theo was brought on as an immediate reaction to the 2^nd goal scored by Mellberg. The change was needed, something was needed to bring the game back in favour of England. Theo didn’t take long to make his mark, within 5 minutes of coming on he pounced on a loose ball cleared to the edge of the Swedish box from an Ashley Young corner, he cushioned the ball and pinged it through a crowded box. Luckily the keeper was unsighted and saw the ball too late to react, the ball flew into the back of the net and England was level.

Walcott is not known for is long-range shots so this was a welcome surprise for all. England fans, especially gooners were jumping up and down and cheering the goal that given England a second chance to get a result. Arsenal fans have had to put up with the constant barracking of Walcott as people questioned his right to be in the England squad. Mark Lawrenson tended to put the knife in when Walcott came on the pitch when he suggested that Theo has apparently been living off of his hat trick performance against the Croatians 4/5 years ago. Pretty harsh but Mark Lawrenson doesn’t do positivity, I’m sure he must have Stewart Robson as a facebook friend.

That goal was the perfect response to any critics and a reminder to Roy Hodsgon of exactly what he can bring to the England team. Theo wasn’t finished there though,England were level but the boost from the goal meant that their heads were up as they had a new impetus. And so then came the winner courtesy of some excellent work from Theo. From an England break Theo received the ball just outside the area from Glen Johnson; he turned at the defence and drove forward, he used his pace to get past two defenders to reach the by-line, he cut the ball back to Danny Wellbeck who with a brilliant piece of adjustment sneaked the ball into the goal with a back flick. Although it needed a good finish the pace of Theo unsettled the Swedish defence enough to create the chance, what an impact.

The turnaround was complete,England had the lead and all they needed to do was hold on for the last ten minutes or so. With a few minutes left Roy Hodgson made a change and brought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on. A bit late for the youngster to make much of an impact but he did mange to get in the right position for a late chance. Theo was the creator again as he put on the after burners to chase a ball played out in a counter attack, the Swedes were stretched at this point and as Theo worked his way into the box he saw Oxlade-Chamberlain at the far post. The ball was played over and heading to the boot of young Alex only for an over enthusiastic Steven Gerrard to charge into the box and steal the ball before it could reach the Arsenal man. The connection from Gerrard sent the ball flying into row Z and the chance was gone. England still managed to hold on to record the 3-2 win and move a step closer to qualifying from their group. Roy Hodgson’s tactics were working in the first half, they got thrown upside down with the sloppy Sweden goals early in the second half however he had a plan B in the two Arsenal players on the bench and thankfully he saw that early enough to introduce Theo who made the all important difference.

Enjoy your day people

Feel free to like the facebook page for this site: http://www.facebook.com/GambeanoSnitch

Oxlade-Chamberlain doesn’t start, Bendtner is pants – AFC

So as England get ready for their second match day of the group against Sweden news filtered through that Roy Hodgson has decided to go with two strikers up top at the expense of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Many gooners may be upset with this news but I don’t see it as a major issue. As we saw in the first game against France the England unit went into the match with a game plan to nullify France’s attack and nick something on the break. Many saw this as negative tactics but at the end of the day the draw achieved was a great result against one of the stronger teams in the tournament.

Now Roy Hodgson has come in for a lot of stick for his squad selections and obvious excitement killing approach. I myself have not been overly optimistic of England’s chances going into the Euros however after examining the France match and hearing the plans for today’s match with Sweden I realise Hodgson’s tactical nous for these types of games.

Many people lamented the appointment of Hodgson over Harry Redknapp. The nation seemed to have their heart set on the now ousted spurs manager. Though when you think about it given England’s loss of many important players England really need to get their tactics spot on to advance in this competition.Roy Hodgson can draw on his experiences of managing around the world to instil into the England team some tactical savvy.

Big European tournaments like this need tactics to be spot on and I’m sorry but Harry Redknapp who has proved over the last season he lacks heavily in that department. If he was the England manager he would have just picked his fastest players and told them to play like how they do for their club team. That would have been a suicide mission against the French. The gaps that Hodgson ensured were filled by the likes of Milner, Gerrard, Parker and Oxlade-Chamberlain would have been exploited and would have left to an open game in which we may have scored a few but also would have conceded and probably lost. We may have experienced an amazing game but that is irrelevant if we lose the game. There’s no point gaining plaudits for entertaining attacking football spectacles if we are on the first plane home.

Much like how Tottenham played the season with their swashbuckling style which worked at the early part of the season, once the season moved to the business end and required a change and more clever approach to games; Harry just kept on trying to play the same style with the same players and ended up burning out his important players. That is probably what opened the FA’s eyes as to what the Tottenham man was lacking and did not want an embarrassment on their hands at Euro 2012.

Anyway I feel Oxlade-Chamberlain not starting today is not based on him not performing against France or Roy Hodgson not believing in the player. I believe the England manager has adjusted his tactics to ensure his game plan for today’s game is spot on. It was a nice surprise when Alex started against France there cannot be a bigger compliment that the manager believes in you if he starts you as an 18 yr old against a big team like the French. Today’s game Hodgson recognizes the need for a second striker against Sweden; he will utilize Ashley young’s experience on the left after assessing the Swedes weaknesses in the game against Ukraine. Oxlade will gain a lot from the experiences for England and developing the non attacking side of his game, this is equally as important as beating 3 men on the wing. Arsene Wenger did a similar thing when bringing Jack Wilshere into the team; he played Jack in a more withdrawn defensive role in the Arsenal midfield and allowed him to develop that side of his game. Jack developed into an a more all round midfielder because of this and his contribution was invaluable to the Arsenal team. Defensive awareness and contribution may be unglamorous especially when you can see what a player can do offensively but it is an important attribute needed in today’s game. It’s when a player learns when to utilize both skills sets that he becomes a valuable cog in the team.

Expect England to be more offensive against the Swedes though still cautious of what is at stake. I actually feel Walcott will more likely be used in this game than Oxlade-Chamberlain as his pace can stretch the Swedish defence if the Swedes are still chasing a result in the second half. Young Theo is almost becoming the forgotten man after all the headlines focused on Alex making his first start against France. However I feel Theo still has a part to play in this competition we will see him involved more in the next two games.

Niklas Bendtner has drawn attention to himself for all the wrong reasons after his two goal performance against Portugal. After heading in the second goal against the Portuguese he shamelessly decided to lift his shirt; revealing his underwear which was conveniently positioned higher than his shorts. The shorts had Paddy Power emblazoned across the fabric and now UEFA and the Danish F.A are pulling him up for plugging the Irish betting company with his stunt.

Bendtner denies the claim and states it wasn’t pre-planned, he also states they are lucky pants which he wore in the previous game (hope he washed them). Very silly move from the Dane and I hope any impending fine is covered by the fee Paddy Power probably paid him to reveal himself in such a way. Many other players probably have planned the same thing. I’m sure Cristiano Ronaldo has a massive Giorgio Armani logo on his man knickers ready to expose to the world, problem is he has been pants and can’t score to save his life at this tournament so far.

Enjoy your day people

Feel free to like the facebook page for regular updates to the blog: http://www.facebook.com/GambeanoSnitch

Djourou breaks silence to dismiss transfer rumours – AFC

So Johan Djourou has no intention of leaving the Arsenal. The Swiss stopper has taken the opportunity to make a statement to dispel any rumours of unrest by reaching out to fans and public alike through his Twitter account.

The press has been rife with rumours of a potential move to Italy with Napoli being mentioned as a likely destination. Fees have even been reported with a price range of £8-10 million being mentioned.

All be it most of the quotes for this story have been allegedly made by Johan’s agent. Djourou’s twitter account has given us the opportunity to hear the news from the man himself as he tweeted:

“I just want to deny all what have been said in the press about my transfer. It isn’t true at all.

I have been at Arsenal since 10 years now and I’m always committed to the club”

The statement seems pretty clear on Johan’s intention to stay at the club. He clearly seems proud of his long-term affiliation with the club and has stated so. This is the type of statement Arsenal fans have been waiting to hear from skipper Robin Van Persie yet we still wait.

Many questioned the authenticity of the Djourou twitter account as it contradicted all the news in the press about unrest and Johan wanting to play first team football to enhance his international career. I can confirm that account has been active for a very long time as Johan conducts many a competition on twitter and via his fan page on facebook. The account @JohanDjourou is listed on the Arsenal.com website as one of the official twitter accounts for the Arsenal players. To have a fake account fed through the Arsenal website would be very poor and embarrassing to all concerned with the website. Check for yourself: http://www.arsenal.com/news/player-tweets

The comments from Djourou have clearly split the opinion of Arsenal fans. On one camp Djourou is not rated good enough for the Arsenal team and we should sell and take as much as we can get for the player. In the other camp Arsenal fans see the worth of Djourou as a squad player for Arsenal; one of the best 4^th choice defenders around who would be hard to replace.

I would fall into the latter camp, I see Johan’s worth to the team. He has been part of the set up for a very long time and clearly loves representing the club. He still has some parts of his game he needs to work on but is able cover to the defence.

I do not think he currently is good enough to dislodge the first choice pairing of Koscielny and Vermaelen but that is just currently. He showed a couple of seasons ago the fight and determination that Arsenal fans demand and was probably our best defender that season. After taking a backward step last season Johan needs to knuckle down, work hard and get back to the level of a couple of seasons ago. It’s unfortunate he has to prove himself all over again to win back the faith in many Arsenal fans but it’s not an impossible task.

He is a great 4^th choice back up but there’s nothing to say he can’t improve further, especially with Steve Bould now involved with the first team. That is an ideal situation as Bould was a master of the centre back craft, his advice and guidance should be a boost to all the defenders at the club.

Now that Johan has stated his intend to stay at the club Arsenal fans really need to get behind him and support him. There’s no point abusing him on twitter telling him how rubbish you think he is, we need to recognize the respect he has shown. As I mentioned earlier he has at least used his social networking platform to put the fans straight on his career.

Our captain has done no such thing, understandably Robin has been invaluable to the Arsenal team and without him our season would have been in massive limbo. Yet the longer the silence continues the more likely it seems he may move on. One feels if he was really staying a tweet about his love for the club would dispel all the gossip mongers and leave him to have a distraction free Euro 2012. There’s no point hearing from his dad, his wife, his cousin or his cleaner, we need to hear from the man himself.

Johan may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I think Robin should take a leaf out his book and be honest to the fans that clearly love him. Like a jilted girlfriend we need to be able to get over it and move on, don’t string us along. The Radiohead album is in the CD player, do we need to press play?

Enjoy your day people.

Please feel free to like the facebook page to keep up to date with the blog. http://www.facebook.com/GambeanoSnitch

Oxlade-Chamberlain plays his part, Giroud again,Wiltord retires

Well that came out of the blue, here we were wondering if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would get the chance for a cameo role against the French. What we didn’t expect was for Roy Hodgson to give the young gunner a start in the game. This wasn’t a friendly, this was a start against one of the tournament favourites France and I have to admit the boy didn’t let his country down.

I spent the best part of yesterday’s blog expressing how I hoped Oxlade-chamberlain would play some part in the tournament but never imagined he would have been in Hodgson’s plans. Downing seemed a shoe-in for the left side of midfield due to his age and experience against a high-profile team like France. It wasn’t to be, rumours filtered through in the late morning that Roy would be starting the youngster but they were just rumours, nothing concrete to confirm.

The buzz from the rumours alone were enough to get Arsenal fans excited, this was a game we weren’t going to miss but the added bonus of young Alex playing ensured it would not be missed for anything. Once it was confirmed it was a proud moment for all linked to Arsenal to see that Roy Hodgson had big faith in his ability.

And to the game the young gunner did not disappoint, putting in a disciplined and controlled performance that made a mockery of his young age. We all know Oxlade-chamberlain for his dazzling runs, awesome skill and play with no fear attitude but this wasn’t a game for running gung-ho at the French team. Roy Hodgson set out a game plan to be followed and Oxlade-chamberlain ensured he did his part in a disciplined performance by England.

France in hindsight were the better team, they had more chances at goal and more possession.England were camped in their own half in the second half of the game and did enough to contain the pressure. Roy Hodgson selected the team that he felt would cope best against the French flair, disciplined enough to track back and close the French down but still pose a threat on the counter. The 1-1 draw was a great result for England and Oxlade-Chamberlain can hold his head up high for playing his part in professional team performance.

He was replaced in the 76^th minute as Roy decided to change some tired legs; he played his part and now can look forward to the remaining group games having overcome the hardest test in the group. Expect him to have a more offensive role against the Ukrainians and Swedes if he plays.

The Olivier Giroud story is starting to pick up more pace as news surfaced that the Montpellier manager Rene Girard has apparently confirmed on French radio station RMC of Arsenal’s interest in the striker. Again it could be more made up stories since it’s the easiest story to run with without hard evidence in writing. If the manager has in fact confirmed the negotiations with Arsenal let’s hope his club Montpellier can confirm this more officially soon.

Special mention goes out to Sylvan Wiltord who announced his retirement from football yesterday. Our former French striker was one of the invincibles and spent a good few years at Arsenal. One of his most memorable moments was scoring the only goal at Old Trafford to clinch the title for us in 2002. Even more memorable was his part in one of the more remembered goal celebrations in Arsenal history when he allowed Kanu to pole vault over his head when in standing position. He will always be remembered for playing his part in that title clincher AND for looking like a member of Fine young cannibals. All in all we salute a former gunner who takes place in a part of Arsenal history.