Kroenke One Small Step From Arsenal Ownership

It’s now or never for Arsenal Football Club.  Stan Kroenke has been mopping up small shareholdings over the last couple of weeks to raise his share in the club to 29.8%.  He is a fraction below the mandatory bid figure of 29.9%.

It was rumoured that he bought 100 shares from Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood; this is the same man who famously said, “We do not need his sort at this club.”  Hill-Wood has since been turned by Silent Stan and went as far as saying he would welcome a bid fro the club by Stan Kroenke, for which he got his knuckles rapped by the city Takeover Panel.

At the club’s AGM when asked about a possible takeover, Stan Kroenke remained silent on the matter, any comment would have meant he would be precluded fro many takeover for six months.

Any takeover of the club, and it is now becoming inevitable will hinge upon the three major shareholders, Danny Fiszman who has sold shares to Kroenke in the past and allegedly not been paid for tem), Alisher Usmanov who bought his shares from David Dein and finally Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith who was sacked from the board last year but has recently been seen in the directors box.

Arsenal fans want something to happen, but not at any cost.  What we do not wish to see is Kroenke’s company land Arsenal plc with the debt of him buying the club.  If we can have assurances that this will not happen, then Kroenke will be a good owner for Arsenal, and we know that he gets on well with Gazidis who is slowly changing things behind the scene.

 

 

 

Carling Cup: Arsenal v Liverpool

Arsenal face Liverpool tonight in the Carling Cup, a competition that Wenger has religiously used to give reserves, youth players and first team squad players a run-out.  We have had some success over the years, reaching one final and three semi-finals, so the policy has its merits.  I would like Wenger to take the competition a little more seriously and start to use more experienced players the closer got to the final.

 

With players coming back from injury, tonight will see a stronger starting line up than in the previous round.  Fabianski will start in goals whilst all Arsenal fans will be pleased to see Nasri make his first appearance of the season. Swiss international Senderos continues his rehabilitation at the centre of defence and Gibbs will give the left side of the defence some strength and power, whilst Kerrea Gilbert Arsenal’s forgotten right-back is given another chance to show Wenger that his “problems” are past him.

 

In midfield we will see Ramsey pushing claim for a start, whilst the much talked about Fran Merida has another chance to show the fans and the world that he truly is a genius just waiting to be given his chance. Absent from the game will be Jack Wilshere which is a shame as he is a favourite with the crowd.

 

Up front Wenger will player Bendtner, hopefully as the main striker and Eduardo out on the left drifting inwards.  A notable absentee is Carlos Vela, an enigma if there ever was one, what do we do with him?

Tonight wil lbe an interesting challenge for the team to see how they cope with a fairly experienced Liverpool side.

 

In Whose Hand’s Is Our Future?

In whose hands is the future of Arsenal?  This is the question we have all been asking.  Almunia was the number one, but a mystery “chest” infection which has taken a long time to clear up ahs given the third choice keeper Mannone a chance, Fabianski is back from injury and should feature tonight against Liverpool.  Arsene has not taken the opportunity of Almunia’s return to restore him to the first team, so where are we in regards to goalkeepers.

Almunia has been our number one for a couple of seasons, since Lehman’s clangers.  Almunia is a good shot stopper, but he does not command the penalty area as he should.  He is indecisive as to when to come or when to stick to his goal-line.  He does not come out for corners and this helps create a sense of panic in the defence, a goalkeeper should come out for most corners, by staying on your line you are hoping the header will come straight to you. When he does come out, as against Manchester United this season, and most of his errors over the years have been against the big teams, he invariably gets it wrong.  

Fabianski has a chance to stake his claim tonight as he face Liverpool in the Carling Cup.  His injury could not have come at a worse time, with Almunia out; it was the opportunity for the Polish international to cement his place in the starting line-up.  Fabianski has not been without his faults when he has been in between the sticks for Arsenal, most notably in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.  His problem is the reverse of Almunia; he comes charging out too often.

Mannone expected to start the season as the third choice goalkeeper and even go out on loan.  With the injury to Fabianski, he was Almunia’s understudy.  When Almunia went down with a chest infection, Mannone stepped in and had a baptism of fire against Standard Liege, when he conceded two goals in five minutes without touching the ball. Since then he has shown to be agile and a great shot stopper.  Mannone comes out to collect the ball from corners, but on a couple of occasions he has opted to catch the ball rather than punch and we have paid.

Wenger has been reluctant to hand the gloves back to Almunia and the Spaniard has had to sit on the bench for the last three games and watch as Mannone has continued to be Arsenal’s number one. Mannone is not the finished article and has made two mistakes, against Birmingham and against West Ham, but he has been solid.  Some pundits claim that it is his continuing presence that is creating jitters in our defence, well this is rubbish.  Most teams seem to buckle when you have ball after ball launched into their area, it is not the goalkeeper.

Saturday is a big game.  Last season we threw away lead after lead to Tottenham and that was with Almunia in goal.  Wenger knows we cannot afford to drop any points at home and will pick the goalkeeper that will do the job for us.  Sod’s law states that if Almunia comes in he will drop a clanger and Wenger will be blamed for bringing in a goalkeeper with no match practice, if however Mannone stays in goal, you can see the press sharpening the pencils ready to slate Wenger about using such a novice in a high-pressure game.

We have three good goalkeepers, Fabianski and Mannone are the future but is either of them ready for the challenge now?

Nasri on the Way Back

Tuesday night was a special night for Arsenal, not only because we took one more step towards the knock-out stage of the Champions League, but Samir Nasri played for Arsenal reserves away to Wolves.

Samir suffered a broken leg in pre-season before he was able to kick a ball, with Rosicky fitness unsure and Walcott suffering an injury; it was a severe blow to Arsenal fans. Nasri scored seven times last season for Arsenal, but a series of injuries prevented him getting into double figures.

Nasri’s absence has not been missed this season due to the form or Rosicky and Arshavin, but his return is anxiously awaited.  We know that he can play as one of the midfield trio or further forward, either way adding to our attacking abilities.

Nasri played for the reserves on Tuesday and lasted 58 minutes.  In the time he created a goal for fellow Frenchman Gilles Sunu. 

“I feel good,” Nasri said speaking to Arsenal.com. “I was a little bit tired at the end of the first half but I am so happy to be back on the pitch. It has been three months I was injured so I am really glad to be back.

“It has been difficult but I was always looking forward for a speedy recovery. I knew it would be hard but everyone was behind me and helping me so I am OK.

“I don’t know if I am ready yet for the first team. I need to play because nothing can replace the games. So I work well with Tony Colbert and now after one or two games I will be ready to come back to the first team.”

Wenger is in no hurry to force Nasri back especially as our next two league games are against London rivals West Ham and Tottenham.  A more likely outing for Samir will be some part in the Carling Cup match against Liverpool next Wednesday followed by another reserve appearance on 2^nd November against Portsmouth.

Nasri will be fully fit by the beginning of November and will give Wenger additional options in midfield or attack.