Next season could be an extremely important, even pivotal, one for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. If the Gunners finish the campaign with no trophies and way off the top spot in the Premier League again, it could be all change. The Professor will be at the end of his contract and will probably not get another.
When most of London was expecting Wigan to pull off another one of their dramatic last gasp escapes from the clutches of relegation, Arsene Wenger's men destroyed any such Latics dreams in an inspired 2nd half display at the Emirates. At the end of the night Roberto Martinez's men became the first team to be relegated from the EPL after winning the FA Cup.
Sky Sports' director must have been cursing after this. Of all the Wigan fans they could have cut to after Arsenal scored they happened to choose the one who was about to give a middle finger salute to... well, it's hard to know exactly who he was giving it to. Had he spotted the camera [...]
The Arsenal vice-captain is not expecting an easy game against Wigan tonight, in fact he thinks the FA cup winners will give it everything they've got. He is, however, confident that Arsenal can get the win and the three points we need, as long as they don't let the occasion get to them.
"They will play for their lives," said the Spaniard.
These last two games of the season are so massively important, we can't afford to inject the typical poor support for the team that those who usually attend home games emit. This is the time to get behind the team 120%! None of these awkward silences and conspiring whispers and jeers.
Stan Kroenke seems determined to stay in charge of Arsenal, even if the proposed takeover offer is forthcoming, the American billionaire is ready to dig his heels in at the Emirates. With Alisher Usmanov topping the UK rich list and desperate to get a seat on the Arsenal board, a lot of Gooners are not happy about Kroenke's stance but there is little we can do.
The Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen will probably be sitting on the bench today as the Gunners go up against the runaway Premier League champions Manchester United. It has been extremely painful and disappointing to see Arsenal fall away from challenging for the title since we last won it in 2004, but Vermaelen believes that the Arsenal players can use their disappointment to focus them to challenge United for supremacy again.
The lame talk of United rocking up as newly crowned Champions and strolling this match are left to the dim witted guessers who are new to this sport. Clearly they may rest one or two, but they have the like of Chico to step in and give us the run around. The long held rivalry between the clubs the classic North South hatred will ensure no game between these two sides will ever feature one side not bothering to show up.
Robin Van Persie left Arsenal for Manchester United because his biological clock was ticking, according to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman compared his former star striker to a 39-year-old woman who wants her first baby. And he seemed to acknowledge that RVP had to leave in order to fulfil his ambition of winning the [.
It is aslmost nine years since Arsenal won the Premier League, but Arsene Wenger remembers what it feels like and the effect it can have on the players. Thinking about that, Wenger believes that Manchester United might ease off in the last few games of the season, but thinks they will still be on a high when they visit the Emirates tomorrow.
Arsene Wenger has revealed that not holding a guard of honour for Manchester United was never an option for his Arsenal side, and they will show the newly crowned Premier League champions the traditional respect they deserve.
With the Barclays Premier League crown already heading to Old Trafford for a record 20th time Arsenal and Manchester United will clash at the Emirates this weekend in hopes of finishing the 2012/13 campaign strong.
The Gunners are currently in a close battle with Chelsea and Tottenham as all the respective clubs are in search of securing a spot in the Champions League for next term.
Manchester United players will work out as champions at the Emirates and the Arsenal players are expected to pay us the respect of a guard of honour. It should be noted that this isn't a mandatory requirement and not all clubs welcome the newly crowned champions on to the pitch in such a way. I think it says something about Arsene Wenger to sanction it, given how fierce the rivalry used to be between the two clubs and managers, and we should have a fair amount of respect for him being big enough to pay us our dues.
It has still not been decided one way or the other, apparently, whether the Arsenal team will give the newly crowned Premier League champions a guard of honour. It has become a football tradition that the Premier League winners are clapped on to the pitch by the home team, but it is not set in stone and there is real reluctance at the Emirates to do this for Manchester United on Sunday.
I am not sure that Arsene Wenger fully understands how mush the sale of Robin van Persie from Arsenal to Manchester United got under the skin of the fans. The Frenchman was left with two horrible choices when the Dutch striker refused a very good new contract offer in the summer, and the fee offered by United for a player with just a year left on his current deal seemed good at the time.
Arsenal is all set to kick off against Norwich City at the Emirates in London on Saturday, April 13. The Gunners will be hoping to close the gap on third-place Chelsea and fourth-place Spurs and widen the point spread between themselves and sixth-place Everton. Chelsea is busy with their FA Cup semi final against Man City at Wembley on Sunday while Tottenham and Everton both have the weekend off.
The veteran Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky was brilliant in scoring both goals against West Brom last week, but Arsenal's newest secret weapon believes that the Gunners need to start being consistent at home as well and need to win all our games to make surte of a Top Four finish.
He said: "During the last couple of games we have produced some good football,"
"It gives you confidence when you win in Munich and at a place like West Brom when in the last 20 minutes your backs are against the wall.
Arsenal's Lukas Podolski has recently been linked with a move to Serie A's Juventus; however the German international put the rumors to bed (via ESPN FC):
"I want to say two things. Firstly, I cannot help it that clubs are interested in me. And there are always people behind the scenes who want to float something in this business.
Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)
Arsene Wenger is reportedly in the hunt for another striker this summer and his latest flavor of the week hails from Italian club Fiorentina. According to the Mail Online, Arsenal are currently mulling a move for Stevan Jovetic to add to the Gunners struggling striker core.
George Graham had a decent stint himself as manager of Arsenal. In nearly nine years in charge of the Gunners, he won two titles and four cups. He was sacked by the club after the `bung` scandal when he took nearly half a million to facilitate the transfers of John Jensen and Pal Lydersen.
Graham thinks he would also have been sacked if he had been in charge of a trophyless spell like the one Arsene Wenger is currently enduring.
Let us just presume that Arsenal fail to make it back into the Champions League this season. That's not really too far beyond the realms of reality of things, with the Manchester duo, along with London rivals Spurs and Chelsea all in contention for the top top four spots in the Premier League.
The Telegraph is reporting that Arsene Wenger is ready to set aside his wage ceiling structure this summer in order to bring in some world class talent to boost his Arsenal squad.
Mario Gotze (R) of of Borussia Dortmund (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Despite losing him to Manchester United this past summer, Arsenal were reportedly ready to splash £140,000 a week on Robin Van Persie's wages.
Arsenal.com confirmed last night that the club would be unveiling a statue of Dennis Bergkamp at the Emirates Stadium to honor the former Dutch International. The statue will go be placed outside of the North London ground at the start of next season.
Check out all of Bergkamp's goals for Arsenal below:
Bergkamp spent 11 years at the club winning 7 major honors along the way, including the memorable 'Invincibles' season in 2003-2004.
When Dennis Bergkamp ended his playing career in 2006, he had scored 122 goals for Arsenal at a rate of more than one every two games. He had picked up 10 winners medals with the the club, and been a key part of the invincibles who went an entire league season unbeaten.
The first match at the new Emirates Stadium was a testimonial for the non-flying Dutchman, and he will soon grace the stadium again, in statue form.
Arsene Wenger was frustrated in his attempts to persuade Barcelona to release the Spanish international striker David Villa in January. The 31-year old was seen as the ideal player to add some venom to the Arsenal attack, but the Spanish club refused to sanction the deal, despite the fact they were hardly playing him and that Villa had told them he wanted to go.
Sadly, it seems Andy O'Brien won't be part of the finished statue. Damn shame.
Is it just us or does the Bergkamp statue look a bit silly? They've used Jens Lehmann's face for starters, the pose seems a tad on the cartoonish side (it hardly encapsulates a man who spent very little of his time in the air!
Santi Cazorla of Arsenal (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
"Boring, boring Arsenal;" the infamous chant that would resonate around Highbury in the 90s. A team that was so defensively efficient under the stewardship of George Graham and leadership of Tony Adams, that as soon as Ian Wright got his inevitable goal, the points were safe.
1. It looks distinctly like Arsenal's last hope of a trophy this season has just slipped away like a Bayern Munich player escaping from an Arsenal defender at a set-piece. 2. Arsenal had to resort to kicking another team off the park as they can't cope with their pace, passing & movement. Presumably even Arsene [.
Jack Wilshere of Arsenal-Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
If Arsene Wenger is to announce Jack Wilshere as Arsenal's captain in 2-3 years time, a topic discussed previously here on SWOL, how many Gunner fans would reject? A fan favorite, the England midfielder continues to dazzle the Premier League from his central midfield role for Arsenal, and it seems his importance will only continue to grow as he ages.
In a move that is probably designed to stop too much speculation about the Arsenal manager's position before it starts to build, the board at the Emirates are preparing to offer Arsene Wenger a new contract with another two years on it. This will keep the Frenchman in charge of the Gunners until 2016, 20 years after he took the reigns.
Michael Owen is set for an FA charge after kicking off the least fearsome scrap in history. The Stoke City benchwarmer threw an outrageously poor punch at Arsenal's Mikel Arteta during yesterday' match at the Emirates Stadium. The Spaniard then responded with a strange forearm backhander. Via Feint Zebra
The much anticipated wait for Arsenal fans has finally come to an end as Arsenal has come to terms with Malaga for the transfer of Nacho Monreal ondeadline day. Nacho Monreal has reportedly been signed in a deal worth £8.5 million, and is currently undergoing talks with the North London club over personal terms.
Arsenal will freeze ticket prices for the 2013/14 season by AH
It has been announced that Arsenal will freeze the current ticket prices for next season and so there will be no change to the amount that fans will have to pay. A statement on Arsenal.com said;
"The price freeze applies to all match ticket prices including season tickets in both general admission and club level, Club level season ticket renewals will begin on February 12.
Is about time we get back to supporting Arsene?? by RC
As we reach the end of another tortuous January transfer window with little action, but as ever much hope, I appreciate everyone including myself feels frustrated. It is what it is to be a Gooner. Unfortunately, we live in the shadows of several billionaire bank rolled clubs whose transfer budgets exceed that of small countries!
Mohamed Diame of West Ham United (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Although Arsenal have yet to make a splash in the January transfer window, recent developments indicate that the West Ham United man, Mohamed Diame would consider a move to the Emirates before the window closes.
A few days ago, the Senegalese international "spoke with the manager and told him I want to stay here [Upton Park].
The Emirates cup will be back at Arsenal this summer after missing last year because of the London Olympics. It will be played at the start of August and, along with Arsenal, will feature Napoli from Serie A, FC Porto of the Primeira Liga in Portugal and Galatasaray from the Super Lig in Turkey.
These are all good teams and will provide a useful test for the Gunners.
There is no room for error for either team tonight as only a win will do for Arsenal and Wigan Athletic at the Emirates stadium. Although the Gunners would still have a mathematical chance of overtaking Tottenham on the final day of the Premier League season if we drew or lost tonight, realistically it would mean that Arsenal would be consigned to the Europa League next season.
It is being reported in the Mirror this morning that Arsenal have secured the biggest ever sponsorship deal with Puma, which means that Nike are getting pushed out after a 20 year relationship with the Gunners.
According to John Cross, who obviously has a good relationship with an insider at Arsenal, the partnership will be worth £170 million over the next five years, when added to the £30m-a-year that they get from the Emirates for sponsoring their shirts will make the Gunners a very rich club indeed.
