Arsenal Awards (Part 1)

Thanks to my inactivity on the blog since the season ended, I have not been able to do some things I planned. Having my end of season awards was one of the things I had lined up and it wasn’t something I was going to let off.

Just like everything in Life, last season had its high and low points. The points got very high at a period during the season but nosedived and got very low as we ended the season without a trophy again. In all, there were some standout performers and some crappy performers.

Below are the award categories and winners I came up with. This is solely my idea and I don’t expect everyone to agree with it but I must say that winners were picked on merit and with no sentiments whatsoever. Besides, not all the categories are “good”, I fooled around with some. *evil grin*

BEST GOALKEEPER

Arsenal’s Goalkeeping position came under serious scrutiny and criticism last season and no one would have wanted to be in the shoes of the dudes in that position. Almunia, Fabianski, Szczesny  and Lehman all appeared between the sticks for Arsenal. One thing we must all remember is that the Goalkeeping position is probably the toughest positions on the pitch as they are the last line of defense and the kind of defense a team has helps protect the goalkeeper from colossal embarrassment.

In this position, Wojciech Szczesny gets my nod as he performed well above expectations. His performances bellied his age (21) and his confidence is out of this world. You see him scream at his defenders when he is not pleased. He is blessed with superb reflexes and in him Arsenal has a world class potential. In all Szczesny made 24 appearances for Arsenal last season.

 Winner: Wojciech Szczesny

BEST DEFENDER

Defense was another trouble position for Arsenal last season, especially central defense where the players in that position failed to come to the party on several occasions during the season and conceded annoyingly simple goals.

Generally Arsenal’s defense would get a rating of 3/10 from me. Djourou and Koscienly performed averagely, Clichy blew hot and cold, Squillaci was a disaster, Gibbs rarely played but one man was rock solid in defense.

Bacary Sagna gets this from me. One of the first names on the team sheet and for me one of the best right backs in the world (yes! You read right….I said World). Sagna was ever present at right back for Arsenal last season racking up 43 appearances in all competitions. He is assured is defense and dangerous when he attacks. He achieved a rare feat of scoring two goals last season and he eventually made the PFA team of the season.

Winner: Bacary Sagna

BEST MIDFIELDER

Arsenal FC is blessed with talented and technically gifted midfielders, some of which would walk straight into most soccer first teams. Together they all performed well above average, the midfield contributed to the goals also with Nasri scoring 15.

Fabregas the midfield maestro was not available most of the season thanks to the World cup and niggling injuries. Nasri was a standout performer before Christmas but failed to show the same form in the new year. Arsenal’s midfield produced two players (Nasri  and Wilshere) in midfield of the PFA team of the year(that’s a testament to the fact that Arsenal has a strong midfield).

In this position, Jack Wilshere gets my nod (for obvious reasons). The lad was superb all season, assured on the ball, strong and committed in tackling. His performances bellied his tender age of 19. I won’t talk too much as I already have information about some things that would happen further down this awards.(Are you surprised? “Duuuurh” I’m the one writing it)

Winner: Jack Wilshere

BEST STRIKER

Before the turn of the new year, the bulk of Arsenal’s attacking responsibilities were put on the shoulders of new boy Chamahk. He came good on few occasions as he knocked in a few goals before the intensity and pace of the premier league caught up with the Moroccan and he openly admitted to been fatigued.  Theo Walcott was normally deployed to his right side position in the attacking trio and looked to have improved as he was among the goals last season. He also looked to have a telepathic connection with Robin Van Persie as he assisted a considerable chunk of the Dutchman’s goals.

Carlos Vela couldn’t find a starting berth and he hardly ever came off the bench even when he made the team, so the Mexican was loaned out to westbrom to get some first team action. (He still didn’t get much). Niklas Bendtner was in and out of the treatment room and even when fit ,found chances hard to come by no thanks to falling down the pecking order and the in form Van P. Bendtner is one of the players expected to leave Arsenal this summer (Gosh! I can’t wait! He should holla if needs transport fare to his new club)

Even the dumbest person would know that no other striker can lay claim to this award other than the one, the only RVP! Robin Van Persie takes this. That dude is world class and guess what? He is loyal too. (Fabregas and Nasri take note). In the new year, Van Persie scored goals like his life depended on it. He currently holds the record of the most away goals scored consecutively. No player in the top flight performed better than Van P in the new year. He shows commitment to the FC both on and off the pitch and if my opinion counts, I think he should be wearing the captains armband. He was lucky to stay away from the treatment room and he has had a wonderful 2011 banging in 22 goals. One question comes to mind, “where would Arsenal FC have ended if Van Persie was fit throughout the season?”

Winner: Robin Van Persie

REVELATION OF THE SEASON

Wojciech Szczesny had a breakthrough season cementing his place between the sticks for Arsenal. He ended last season as Number 1 and he looks set to hold on to that position for a very long time. Szczesny performed brilliantly, showing great reflexes and command of area. He made himself big when he had to and can easily be pointed to as one to watch out for in the near future.

Ignasi Miquel looked assured in the two games he played in the carling cup and in my opinion is also one to look out for in the future. (if he gets his chance at Arsenal).

The 19 years old whiz kid, Jack Wilshere played his first full season and wowed every soccer lover. On the way to racking up over 40 appearances in all competitions(a season he admitted to expecting to come off the bench and at least get about 20 appearances), Jack  performed way beyond everyone’s expectations. At 19, Arsenal has probably the best young midfielder right now.

Jack gets my vote in this category. (Again)

Winner: Jack Wilshere

PLAYER OF THE SEASON

Samir Nasri shone brighter than a halogen bulb before the new year, mesmerizing defenses with his dazzling runs and dribbling skills. I particularly remember his goal Fullham in the premier league where he showed composure at its peak, taking out three defenders comfortably before picking his spot.(I was a bit professional with that sentence….more like he gave them “show me your number” and “ja lo” things). Nasri struggled for form in the new year but still made the PFA team of the year after losing out to Gareth Bale for the PFA player of the year crown.

A superb player that hardly ever gets praise or accolades is the Cameroon power house Alex Song. That African brother practically does the dirty job in the Arsenal midfield and for me is very key to having a balanced Arsenal team. He plunges forward when he has too but he is always quick to recover to still get a foot in when play is against Arsenal. He slots in at central defense with ease and is one of the first names on the team sheet.

Another worthy mention is Theo Walcott. This guy (fine boy) often criticized for most times out running the ball, terrible ball control and a lousy final ball, proved his critics wrong last season by showing a great deal of improvement. He shone so well that even Fabio Capello publicly said he regretted not taking him to the World Cup. My praise for him doesn’t mean he has developed into the player we(Arsenal Fans) want him to be but I must admit that I was impressed with some of his play last season.

Having said that, I would go straight to revealing who I picked as my player of the season. *Drum rolls* and the winner is (I’m sure you know already)  ………..JACK WILSHERE!!!

The 19-year-old enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2010/11, starting the campaign on the fringes of the Arsenal side and ending it as a regular for club and country. This dude is world class! His confidence on the ball something out of this world considering his tender age. He plays like he has a ten year experience.

It's hard to pick holes in any area of Wilshere's game. He is a tenacious tackler, a wonderful passer - remember his assist for Nicklas Bendtner against Ipswich? - and can drift past opponents with a drop of the shoulder. What's more, he's got bottle and lots of it. When the chips are down Wilshere lifts his team - whether he's in the Nou Camp or the local park.

His display in the two legs of the champions league match against Barcelona confirmed his world class status. Coming up against midfield maestros Xavi and Iniesta, Wilshere made the midfield his and never looked out of place. Everyone who watched him play on those nights had nothing but praise for the youngster.

Wilshere racked up 49 appearances for Arsenal last season, more than any other Arsenal player. A feat even Jack himself wouldn’t have dreamt of during last year’s pre season. For me, his main success was his consistency. I can’t remember  him having a bad day. Even Emmanuel Frimpong admitted “The thing that is different about Jack is that he is very consistent. You hardly ever see him have a bad game.”

Jack shows love for the club and his quick to show his disapproval with either a tackle or wrong call. He has a go at the referee when he feels he or any of his team mates have been treated unfairly, that shows leadership quality(don’t forget, he is only 19).

Wilshere is one of the Arsenal players with twitter accounts and the dude tweets regularly.(even though he never replies my tweets…..I forgive him J). He is never afraid to say how he feels (baring in mind the consequences). This tweeter account brings him closer to the fans as he has currently has 621,259 people following him(wow! Jack abeg follow me back). I love his Bio on twitter “I am a professional footballer for Arsenal FC. I am also a senior England international” I wonder how the 19yr old felt writing that.

Jack Wilshere is the future of England but more importantly the future of Arsenal. I honestly wish Jack would take up Tony Adams title as “Mr. Arsenal” and stay on in Arsenal for the rest of his career. I’m looking forward to watching the dude play next season.

Winner: Jack Wilshere.

                                                    

I have been writing this post for the past two days and even after all this long story (shalaye), I’m just half way through. It’s been fun writing this and I hope you find it interesting.

Just like Nollywood, “watch out for Part 2” “coming soon” (In Segun Arinzes’ voice). With Awards like Best Signing, Worst Signing, Biggest flop etc. you won’t want to miss it.

If you read this post all the way to this point, thank you J. I admit that its quite long. Please feel free to leave your comments, agree or disagree, comments or suggestions. You can also like the Facebook page (TalkingArsenalFC). See you in part 2.

For daily Updates on Arsenal transfers and general Arsenal news pls visit www.goonerdaily.wordpress.com (Thank me later)

Arsene Wenger: Master of the Delaying Game.

It’s getting to the end of June and so far the only signing our dear Arsene has made is that of the relatively unknown Carl Jenkinson. The young man is definitely not one ripe enough for first team action, he was brought in to be an understudy to the superb Sagna at right back, a position I always thought needed back up as Eboue has lost that defensive quality he once had in excess.  Apart from Eboue, Arsenal does not have a first team back up at right back.

When other teams are going in for targets and closing deals, Arsene leaves us to keep checking sports sites and reading back pages of newspapers to feed on the continuous rumors surrounding Arsenal transfer targets.

Arsene Wenger does this every season and him more than anyone else knows that the fans have had enough of his transfer policy crap. Just when the season ended, we started hearing talk about Wenger wanting to go in for Benzema. Since then Arsenal has been linked with over a dozen players but we are yet to see any real move or signing. Downing, Scot Parker, Defoe, Harzard, Larsson, Cahill, Samba, Dann, Odewingie, Barton, Matuidi, Adel Tarrabt and a host of other pros.

I left out Gervinho from that list because his own deal is “almost” done. I don’t know what is delaying the closing of the deal and the announcement of the signing, the dude wants to come, Arsenal want to buy, Lille wants to sell and a fee has been agreed and personal terms discussed, so what is happening? I won’t be surprised if Arsene is the one delaying this deal because of his tendency to always want to get the best deal.

Wenger of all people should know that he has a lot of businesses to transact this summer and time wasting should not be an option. You cannot even afford to delay in times like this when money super powers Man City, Real Madrid and Man Utd are lurking hoping that you falter and “tadaa” they have the player you courted for months. The moment you identify your target, you should already have an acceptable price in mind (not Arsene’s type of pricing though) and if you put in a bid and the selling club rejects it for not meeting their price, the normal thing should be returning to the discussion table, reach a compromise and take your man (like my Nigerian friends say “No long thing”).

Wenger has also been in the market for central defenders and has been strongly linked with Blackburn’s Samba and Bolton’s Cahill. At a point, there was news that he would likely swoop for both players. I found that hard to believe because knowing Wenger, he won’t throw that much cash out. The point I’m trying to make here is the fact that this news has just been there since the season ended and up till now there’s no concrete move for either of the players. Arsene knows that he needs at least a central defender to pair Thomas Vermaleen next season but he still acts like he has the world at his feet and in his usual manner, he is delaying making a signing. Even Manchester United who don’t need drastic changes at central defense beat Arsenal to the signature of the highly rated Phil Jones.

Wenger is not only delaying in makings signings but he is also delaying in holding contract talks with Samir Nasri. He should know by now if they can reach an agreement or not and not push talks to later in the summer where not many clubs would be willing to spend and Arsenal would risk losing Nasri for free next summer. I’m a big Nasri fan and I would love to see him in an Arsenal shirt next season and years to come but if he is trying to prove difficult it is better he leaves and not cause any problems for the club. (No player is bigger than any club). Nasri has improved greatly but has not shown enough consistency to ask for a pay parity with club captain Cesc Fabregas. Whatever the club management decide, they have to swing into action on time and stop delaying.

I hope this attitude doesn’t cause us another trophyless season next year. Arsene should by now have made at least 3 key signings. As regular readers of this blog would have noticed, I’m a big Wenger fan and I still trust his judgments (not every time….like now)  but I would end like always, “In Arsene we trust” but errrrrrm ultimately “In God we trust.”

Back!

Hello everyone! It’s been ages, how is everyone out there? I want to use this opportunity to apologize to followers of this blog for its inactivity in a while. First it was due to lack of motivation because of the disappointment of ending the season trophy less again but that was a minor one, the major blow for me was losing out on  an automatic champions League spot.

It was becoming increasingly obvious as the season drew to a close that Arsenal FC would not have any silverware to call its own(again) but losing out on that automatic UCL spot was a disaster. I just couldn’t bring myself to writing any article. I kept on procrastinating and I got very busy (Work), days turned to weeks .

I had a lot lined up for the end of the season but unfortunately, It’s almost one month since the season ended and nothing. Good news is, I’m back and better.

Watch this space for a lot of exciting news that concern our dear club. Transfer news and a whole lot more stuff you won’t want to miss.