Does Carlos Vela have a future at Arsenal?

The young Mexican forward came to the Arsenal as a young player with a great future ahead of him. He had signed for Arsenal back in 2005 but due to work permit issues didn't join the squad until the 2008/2009 season after two loan spells in Spain. 
Carlos has never really got in the first team at Arsenal on a regular basis since joining in 2008. He has featured regularly in the cup competitions and has scored some outstanding goals in the Carling Cup. He is clearly very talented as some of his goals have shown but he has never really got the chance to showcase his talent regularly at the Emirates. This is understandable as there are many players ahead of him such as Nasri and Arshavin, therefore he was loaned out to West Brom back in January. At the time this seemed like a great move for the Mexican, as he was moving to an attacking team that would suit his game perfectly. However not long after Di Matteo was sacked and the ex Liverpool manager Roy Hodghson replaced him. He brought with him a defensive brand of football that really hasn't suited Carlos and he has struggled to get on the pitch as a result. Carlos has made 8 appearances for West Brom only scoring two goals in the process. Therefore his loan spell really hasn't gone to plan and he will be glad to return to the Emirates in the Summer.

 Many Arsenal fans don't believe the Mexican has what it takes to make it at the Emirates but I believe we will see very big things from him in the future. Even at just 22 he has made 35 appearances for his national side and is clearly a talented footballer. Next season it is likely that Arshavin,Bendtner and Rosicky will all leave therefore giving the young forward more chance to get onto the pitch and show everyone what he can do. I also believe that the formation change has stunted Vela's development. He looks like he would be comfortable playing as a second striker and seems to struggle playing as part of a forward trio. 

 Wenger may be tempted to loan the youngster back to Spain but I can't really see the benefit of this at all. As the leagues are so different there is no point to him gaining experience outside of England. I also believe he will want to give it one more year at the Emirates to finally prove himself. If he can't showcase his talent next season it will be then time for to let him go and he will probably sign for a Spanish side,where his game will be better suited. 

I leave you with a video of what he is capable of, and what I hope to see a lot more in the future. A brilliant goal from Carlos Vela

Who we should buy and sell in the Summer

This season has shown that the club has the talent needed to win trophies but not quite enough. Some of the players clearly lack commitment and some of the players simply aren't suited to the English game. Im sure there will be plenty of transfer activity at the Emirates this Summer with many players leaving as well as many new names joining the Arsenal. The majority of the transfers this Summer could depend on whether we hang onto Cesc Fabregas or not. The Spaniard is clearly an amazing footballer, but in my opinion if he wants to leave and we can get £30 Million from Barca we should just let him go. There's no point having a player at the club who doesn't want to be here and if that is the case im sure he will be heading home in the Summer. If he does leave it gives Wenger plenty of cash to spend on players and I'm sure he would be encouraged by the new board to buy some star players. 


 I believe we have a squad capable of winning trophies and this Summer will be a case of removing the players who have struggled recentely and have let the side down. We then need to sign some experienced players who know how to get a side over the finish line, which is what we have clearly lacked this season. 


Who we should sell in the Summer:

1. Manuel Almunia:The Spaniard is clearly not good enough for the Premier League and due to the emergence of Szczesny and Fabianski he is no longer needed at the club.
2. Sebastien Squillaci: The French centre half hasn't impressed this season and I don't see the point of him staying as a 5th choice centre half as its a position we are going to strengthen. He is clearly suited to Spanish or Italian football and I can't see him staying at the Emirates for another season. 
3. Gael Clichy: I don't think the French full-back is going to sign a new deal in the Summer and we should therefore sell him whilst we can. His form has been suspect over the last couple of seasons and it may well be the end of his Arsenal career. 
4. Denilson: The young Brazillian has had plenty of chances to prove himself at the Arsenal and this season he's proved he simply isn't suited to the English game. He wont be missed due to the emergence of Ramsey and Wilshere and will probably end up in La Liga or Serie A. 
5. Tomas Rosicky: The Czech International has never been the same since his injury and he has rarely even made the bench this season. Time to cash in whilst we can with his contract being up at the end of next season.
6. Nicklas Bendtner: The over confident Danish striker clearly thinks he is better than he is and this isn't what the side needs. He has talent but never appears committed to the club and doesn't seem prepared to fight for victory.
7. Andrey Arshavin: Big things were expected from the Russian forward but he has never really got going at the Arsenal and had a couple of months of top form. His recent performances have lacked energy and I can see him going back to Zenit in the Summer.
8. Francesc Fabregas: Obviously I don't want the Spaniard to leave but as I've said previously if he wants to go and we can get £30 Million we should take the money straight away. He is fairly injury prone and we could buy a couple of top class players with £30 Million. 

Who we should look to buy in the Summer:

We are clearly in need of a centre back and I'm sure this is a position Wenger will strengthen in the Summer months. For the past couple of years we have been constantly linked with centre halves and a strong consistent partner for Thomas Vermaelen is exactly what we need. I believe the most likely candidate is Jan Vertonghen of Ajax. Him and Vermaelen have played together for years and are a perfect combination. He would also cost less than £10 million and would provide great competition with Johan Djourou to start alongside Vermaelen. Other likely candidates are Sakho and Cahill. They are two more top defenders but I believe they would both cost more than Vertonghen and they're not any better than Vertonghen. 

As Gel Clichy is likely to leave we are going to need to sign a top quality left back. The obvious answer to me is Leighton Baines of Everton. He has been one of the best players in the Premiership for the past three seasons and is clearly good enough to play at a top four club. He is also a huge attacking threat and would give us another option for free kicks apart from Robin Van Persie. He wont be cheap but in my opinion you need to pay for the top class players and a fee in the region of £10 to £15 Million would represent excellent value for the English left back. 

We are also in need of a top class striker to replace Nicklas Bendtner. There are a number of players we have been linked with over the past couple of months and Karim Benzema is one name we are regularly linked with. He isn't a regular at Madrid and has struggled to settle in alongside the likes of Ronaldo and Ozil. I believe he would be perfect alongside Robin Van Persie and that if we gave Madrid a big offer they would sell the French Striker. After all if we sell Fabregas for £30 million, we will have plenty of money and I think Benzema would be available for a fee in the region of £15 to £20 Million. There are other strikers who we could target especially in the European leagues, but Benzema would be my personal choice. 

I also believe the club could do with a wide man to replace Andrey Arshavin. The stand out candidate for me would be Ashley Young of Aston Villa. He is a proven Premiership performer who could play out wide or up top with Robin Van Persie. We are likely to face tough competition for his signature with United and Tottenham also both interested. As he's only got a year left on his contract, an offer in the region of £10 million would probably be enough, and then it would be a case of convincing the Englishman the Emirates is the place to be next season. 

 I believe all of these are potential signings that we could see happen at the Emirates in the Summer. It would give us a squad with considerably more experience and I'll leave with you the starting XI I'd love to see at the Emirates next season. 

Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United

Arsenal proved what a good side they are with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in a match our young side dominated. It was the youngest XI in the Premier League this season and proved you can win with kids. Ramsey came in for Fabregas completing a very young midfield alongside, Song,Wilshere,Nasri and Walcott. The Arsenal midfield completely dominated the poor Manchester United midfield and this was the basis for the Arsenal victory.

 The major surprise before the game was the absence of Cesc Fabregas from the Arsenal starting XI. It turns out he had picked up a minor injury and as as result Aaron Ramsey came back into the Arsenal XI. He is an extremely talented footballer and if it wasn't for his injury last season he'd be a regular starter for the Arsenal.

 Arsenal started the game very brightly creating a host of chances. Wilshere was unlucky not to score when he pounced on a Vidic mistake but shot just wide of the goal from inside the penalty area. Later on in the first half Theo Walcott put in an excellent cross towards Van Persie which was clearly punched away by Vidic inside the area. Nothing was given but this was as clear a penalty as you're ever going to see. Van Persie was understandably furious and made his feelings clear to the assistant referee who failed to spot the blatant handball.

 Arsenal were in full control of the match going into at half time and the second half began with Arsenal still well and truly in control of the game. United were hardly getting a touch and the Arsenal pressure told on United when Ramsey scored a memorable goal in the 56th minute. Song started the move who played the ball to Ramsey who then played a magnificent one-two with Robin Van Persie before calmly placing his shot into the corner of the United net. The goal must of meant a lot to the youngster who must of feared he wouldn't play again after his horror injury last season at Stoke. We go to Stoke next week and if Aaron plays, the event will surely be on his mind. Arsenal then closed out of the rest of the match with relative ease something we haven't seen all season from the Arsenal.

 This performance showed what we are capable of when we're at our best and hopefully we can play like this far more often next season. If we do we will be in with an excellent chance of silverware. The main positive of the victory however was the fact we did it all without Cesc Fabregas. It may be a sign we could deal with the loss of Fabregas in the future, and Ramsey and Wilshere can clearly fill the void if he does sign for Barcelona this Summer or next Summer.

Arsenal VS Manchester United Match Preview

It is clear now that our title chances are virtually gone but today's game is still a very important game for the club.  Today gives the side the chance to derail Manchester United's title bid and surely that is enough motivation for the side. In a way it can also be seen as a game to show the world what this side is capable of and what we are capable of achieving next season. We once again have a full strength squad apart from Vermaelen and Diaby. Vermaelen played a full 90 minutes for the reserves during the week and it will be a huge boost to the side once he is back. I expect to see him back next weekend competing for a starting place in the heart of the Arsenal defence. Abou Diaby will be a big miss today as this is the type of game where he is normally at his best. For example he put in a great performance against Tottenham but after all Jack Wilshere will be playing instead who I'm sure will put in another superb performance.

 Wocjech Szczesny will continue in goal for the Arsenal and he has been one of the major positives to take from this season. He has solved the goalkeeping problem at Arsenal and I believe he can be the number one for many seasons to come. Bacary Sagna will continue at right back and he has been one of the most reliable members of the side this season. Laurent Koscielny will partner Johan Djourou at the back for Arsenal and they will need to be at their very best. Koscielny proved how good he can be against Barcelona at the Emirates and hopefully he can put in a similar performance this afternoon. Gael Clichy will continue at left back for the Arsenal and he will need to be at his very best to deal with the pace of United's wingers.

Alex Song will partner Jack Wilshere in the heart of the Arsenal midfield and the duo have formed an outstanding partnership this season. This is the chance for them to prove that we don't need to buy another holding midfield player for next season. The captain Cesc Fabregas will play as the attacking midfielder behind Robin Van Persie. It is rare that we have both of them available for a big game and hopefully they will be at their very best today. Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri  will play from the right and left and both have the ability to score goals and create goals.

 Today is a very important game for the side, and hopefully the eleven players Arsene picks can actually play to their full ability. Too often this season they have crumbled under the pressure and threw away victories that we should of got with relative ease. Hopefully today can be a turning point for both the players and the manager and we can have a good end to the season. After all if we lost the next couple of games it may put potential signings off coming to the Arsenal and may encourage the likes of Clichy,Fabregas and Nasri to leave in the Summer. We are capable of victory today and I'm predicting a 2-1 victory for the Gunners.

Bolton 2-1 Arsenal

The photo that sums up today and our season. 

Bolton defeated Arsenal 2-1 at the Reebok Stadium in yet another disappointing match this afternoon. Our title hopes are now well and truly over and we are now in a battle for second place along with Chelski. We are now nine points behind United and with only four games remaining. Therefore it is going to be very difficult to catch United but the players shouldn't give up and they should give their all for the fans even if it is just to finish second. We have four games left and finishing the season on a high is crucial for the team. If we lose a couple more games even more people will turn against Wenger and this is the last thing the side needs. We need to stick behind the manger as he has been a brilliant manager over the years. Despite spending hardly any money we have consistently been in the champions league and have recentely moved to a magnificent stadium. Compare this to Tottenham and Liverpool and it's clear how good a manager Arsene Wenger is.

We started today's game with the exact eleven that defeated Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium. Therefore Jack Wilshere returned to the starting eleven replacing Abou Diaby being the only change from the Tottenham game. This was therefore a very strong starting eleven which should of beaten Bolton comfortably. The only first choice player missing was Vermaelen but we missed him a lot today.

We started the game very brightly with Theo Walcott breaking through the Bolton defence on a couple of occasions. On one occasion he was tackled in the penalty area and the replays showed it was a stone wall penalty, however all we got was a corner. Throughout the rest of the first half we created some chances but we wasted much of the possession we had. Cesc Fabregas was finding gaps inbetween the defence and midfield and was linking up well with Van Persie. Nasri and Theo however were struggling to get on the ball and this was where we were struggling. Bolton were also creating lots of chances however and Lee was very unlucky not to have scored two by the half time whistle.

 A goal did eventually come but it was for Bolton and in all honesty they deserved to be in front. However they should never of been able to score such an easy goal. It was a Daniel Sturridge header from a corner kick. Originally Gary Cahill had a header supposedly cleared off the line. He was being marked by Alex Song but it was the worst attempt at marking a player I've seen in a long time. Gary Cahill simply jogged away as the corner was being taken and Song went away even further. This then meant he was jumping against Clichy and he was always going to win the header. This is once again Arsenal getting the basics wrong. It happens so often and it must simply be a lack of concentration. Wenger and his coaching staff aren't stupid and it must just be that Song lost concentration as many other players have done at crucial stages this season.

Another superb goal from the flying Dutchman. 

The second half began and within the first minute Bolton were awarded a penalty. Djourou got the wrong side of Sturridge and there was contact made between the two. Sturridge clearly made a meal of it however and the ref fell for it. For example Rio Ferdinand's 'tackle' on Anichebe yesterday was a far worse tackle but wasn't even awarded a penalty. However after all it was at Old Trafford. Luckily Arsenal's super keeper Wojciech Szczesny came to the rescue and confidently saved Davies's penalty. It was a weak penalty but was still a good save under immense pressure. If there are positives to be found this season Szczesny is definitely one of them as he looks an amazing keeper already and he looks set to be our number one for many years to come. Shortly after the penalty save Arsenal equalised with a brilliant goal. Van Persie was the scorer and this was his 17th goal in his last 17 games and his tenth consecutive goal in away premier league games. He is in unbelievable form and may just be in with a shout of challenging for the golden boot. He's 6 goals behind Berbatov but he is in the form of his life and I'm sure he is aiming to win the golden boot. Fabregas was involved in the build up for the goal and we once again saw how well the duo can play together. We can only imagine how different our season would of been with them playing together in every game. Shortly afterwards Chamakh came on for Song and we switched to a 4-4-2 formation. We were clearly going for the much needed win and we created plenty of opportunities to grab a vital winner. Samir Nasri was especially wasteful and had two fabulous chances to win us the game. However the goal never came for the Arsenal and once again we were punished by a corner kick. Tamir Cohen scored an unstoppable header late in the second half and it was too late for Arsenal to respond. The game was then over and our title chances were over as well.

 It is difficult to see how we lost the game today. In recent weeks we have been criticised for throwing away our leads, but we never even in front today. It was more a case of being wasteful in the final third and not capitalising on our domination of the game especially in the second half. All that is now left to realistically fight for is finishing second in the league and defeating United at the Emirates. The players should still continue to give their best and the fans need to stay behind the players and more importantly the manager. If you remember back to the beginning of the season, the majority of the media were saying we'd struggle to finish in the top four. They have all been proved very wrong as Wenger has guided us to yet another top four finish. I'm sure he will however spend money in the summer as he is also desperate to bring silverware to the club. He has tried to do this in his own way but it hasn't quite worked out and with a few transfers in the Summer we will once again mount a strong challenge for the title next year.

 Im currently working on a major article about transfers in and out of the club in the Summer and hope to have this live on my blog by the end of tomorrow.

Bolton VS Arsenal Match Preview

Arsenal are making the long trip North to the Reebok stadium to take on Bolton Wanderers tomorrow afternoon. It's yet another must win game but with United winning this afternoon it will now be very difficult for us to win the title.We need to win all five games and hope Chelsea beat United and that United slip up in another couple of games. We shouldn't give up all hope yet but in all honesty finishing second should be our main priority now as Chelsea are now ahead of us by three points. The Bolton game is our game in hand but Chelsea still have a superior goal difference in comparison to the Arsenal.

 Once again Arsene Wenger has pretty much his first choice eleven available for tomorrow apart form Vermaelen. Abou Diaby's injury curse has also struck again and he looks like he will miss the next couple of games. This is frustrating as against Spurs, Abou showed how good he actually is and I'm definite if it wasn't for injuries he would be one of the top midfielders in the league. He is clearly very talented and selling him in the summer would be a huge mistake. Hes twice the player of Denilson and I'd much rather see him leave the club.

 Wocjech Szczesny is set to continue in goal for the Arsenal tomorrow and I'm sure he can build on his great performance against Spurs. Despite conceding three goals he had a superb game and if it was Almunia in goal we would of definitely lost. Bacary Sagna, will be at right back and this season he has proved he is the best right back in the league. Laurent Koscielny will partner Johan Djourou and the central defensive duo will need to be at the top of their games against a physical Bolton side. Gael Clichy will start at left back and has recentely reaffirmed his position as the clubs first choice left back ahead of Kieran Gibbs. 


Alex Song will play alongside Jack Wilshere in the centre of the Arsenal midfield. Song will be the more defensive of the duo and Jack will be expected to push on and join Fabregas further up the pitch when we counter attack. Cesc Fabregas will be playing in his apparent new role behind the striker. According to the magnificent Sky pundit, Ray Wilkins, the Tottenham game was the first time Cesc played in this attacking midfield role. Clearly Ray Wilkins hasn't got a clue as Cesc has been playing there for the past two seasons and surely Sky can do better than Wilkins. I can't stand his commentary and it makes you realise how good Andy Gray actually was. 


Theo Walcott, will start on the right hand side of Arsenal's three man attack and once again his pace could be crucial to us winning the match. He will link up with the central forward Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri who will start on the left hand side. This is our first choice attack and they should be able to dominate the Bolton defence.


 This will be a tough game for the Arsenal, but I believe we showed a return to form on Wednesday, Samir Nasri especially. If we're going to win the title, Nasri will need to continue scoring and so will Van Persie. At the moment the Flying Dutchman can't stop scoring and has been the best striker in the league since the turn of the year. If these two play well we will win with ease but there's no guarantee they will. However I do believe we have enough to win the match and I'm predicting a 3-1 victory for the Arsenal. 

Tottenham 3-3 Arsenal

Arsenal drew 3-3 with Tottenham in an enthralling Premier League encounter. Arsenal threw away a two goal lead but the players can't be criticised for throwing the result away. They tried their best and all played well but Tottenham scored two great goals and a draw was a fair result in the end.

 Abou Diaby started the game ahead of Jack Wilshere who was in clear need of a rest after the amount of football he has played this season. Diaby also gave us a physical presence in the midfield sitting deep with Alex Song. Bacary Sagna also came into the side replacing Emmanuel Eboue and the defence looks far more solid with Sagna playing instead of the liability which is Emmanuel Eboue.

 Theo Walcott opened the scoring with a Henry style finish and hopefully it is a sign of things to come from the young Englishman. This goal came in the 5th minute and Van Der Vaart responded with an equaliser in only the 7th minute. The game was level again and both sides were clearly giving it their all and all the players knew how important the game was to their respective fans. Samir Nasri scored a great goal from outside of the box and then Robin Van Persie scored a third giving the Arsenal a two goal lead. Arsenal were in a commanding position and were dominating the game. However as an Arsenal fan I still felt nervous and didn't really have any confidence in the side of seeing out the victory. It was always going to happen and Huddlestone clawed back a goal for Spurs just before the half time whistle. It was an unstoppable shot and Szczesny had no chance of saving it.

 At half time Arsenal were still in the lead but you could tell the game wasn't over and more than likely Tottenham were going to score an a equaliser at some point. Tottenham scored in the 70th minute when Szczesny tripped Aaron Lennon and gave away a clear penalty. Van Der Vaart scored his second with ease, and the game was level and entered a tense final 20 minutes. Neither team created a great opportuunity and the match fizzled out into a draw. This was a bad result for both sides but a great result for both the Manchester sides.

All in all we have blew our chance of winning the title. We now need to win our next 5 games and hope other results go our way as well. However the team needs to keep trying thier best and the fans need to stick with the players as well. We still have a slim chance of winning the title and getting behind both the manager and the players is the only way we will win the league.