Author Archives: keenosafc

Right time for Jack Wilshere to leave Arsenal

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Fast on the back of Bernd Leno signing and Jens Lehmann announcing he is off, Jack Wilshere has released a statement regarding his future.

I think I speak on behalf of a lot of Arsenal fans when I say this is sad news, but also probably the right decision for all involved.

Jack Wilshere is now 26. Having joined the academy in 2001 at the age of 9, he made his debut 10 years ago – becoming Arsenal’s youngest ever league debutant at just 16 years and 256 days.

If back then you would have said that he would have played just 125 league games for Arsenal; I would have laughed.

By now, he really should have been captain. The heart beat of the team. Both The Arsenal and England.

Instead he finds himself at home rather than in Russia. And I think it is the snub by England that has left him to leave Arsenal.

Having missed Euro 2012 through injury, played just 2 games at the 2014 World Cup, and missed Euro 2016 through injury once again, he had got himself fit and ready to go to Russia. Gareth Southgate decided a lack of first team football and his injury record meant he missed the flight.

That means Wilshere has started just 1 game – a dead rubber against Costa Rica – in international tournament football. He made his debut at just 18.

I believe Wilshere when he says it was not about money. That he was happy with Arsenal’s financial offer.

At 26, he already has more money than he could dream of. He and his new wife and 3 children are already set up for life.

For Wilshere, he wants recognition. He wants to play regularly. To perform for club and perhaps now more importantly, country.

He wants first team football. The problem is, at Arsenal, we can not guarantee that. And not should we. I imagine this is what Unai Emery told him.

He is behind Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey, with Lucas Torreira also set to come in. He would be competing with Mohamed Elneny for a place on the bench.

Wilshere knows full well he will not get first team football, week in week out at Arsenal. He also knows he will not achieve this at the 5 sides above him. That means he will have to look down.

The likes of West Ham, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton have already been linked. It might be harsh, but this is probably his level to be playing week in week out.

Southgate has shown by selecting the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Harry Maguire and Jake Livermore that it is important to be playing and performing in the Premier League, regardless of who you play for.

I sit in the SheWore WhatsApp group where we can not agree on anything. When the news broke of Wilshere’s statement, everyone was in agreement, it was the right decision for him.

Yeah he needs a new challenge. Love him but he was getting stale

Good luck to him wish him well

We have had many heated debates on here over him over the years but I think we probably all agree it’s the right time for him to go

Gutted he going but no doubt it’s right time for both parties

And I think that last one sums it all up. It is probably the right time for him to leave, for both himself and Arsenal.

The easy option would have been for him to stay at the club, sign a new deal, remain in his comfort zone. 20-30 games a season. But he still has a burning desire to perform, to play week in week out, to get to the top.

I imagine in his mind he is focusing on the next two years. Euro 2020. Would he be best positioned to make the squad as a bit part player at Arsenal?

Or would his best chance be to join Wolves or Crystal Palace, playing week in week out – and not doubling up in mid-week allowing his body to rest?

I hope he gets what he wants, what he deserves. And in 2020 I hope I will be cheering him on in and England shirt.

Jack Wilshere, you are proper Arsenal.

Keenos

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Agenda driven idiots blame Mesut Ozil for Germany defeat

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We all know how it works.

Articles to do with Arsenal create hits. Hits create advertising revenue. That money keeps poor journalists in jobs.

It is therefore no surprise that the English media have attempted to blame Mesut Ozil for Germany’s defeat to Mexico. Even the usually partisan BBC getting on the banAgenda driven idiots Mesut Ozil blame for Germany defeatdwagon.

The usual suspects – the likes of the Daily Mail and Arsenal Fan TV – also added Ozil’s name in to the headline on the review of the game.

It’s all about the money rather than creating good, unique, insightful content.

The performance by Arsenal was very reminiscent to many an Arsenal performance in recent years.

Both full backs constantly pushing forward, and the midfield not providing any cover to the defence meant that Mexico were able to hit Germany on the break with the counter attacking, direct play. They scored from one break away, and with a better final ball could have scored 3 or 4.

But to blame Ozil for the defeat is childish click bait.

Mexico’s goal came from the German defence being exposed. They got at the centre backs easily, and Hirving Lozano drifted into the space left by Joshua Kimmich – who spent the entire game thinking he was a central midfielder.

The only German player to bust a gut and get back was Mesut Ozil.

It is a justifiable argument that having got back, he was turned fair to easily by the fleet footed Lozano, but to criticise and blame him for the goal is utter stupidity.

Where were Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos? The supposed defensive midfielders? Where was Kimmich? I imagine his heat map would show he spent more time attacking the Mexico area rather than defending their own.

Defensively Germany were awful.

Matts Hummels summed up the German’s problems saying “Mexico deserved the game because we made it too easy for them, knowing we should not have allowed that to happen.

“If seven or eight players play offensively, then it’s clear that the offensive force is greater than the defensive stability. That’s what I often say internally.

“Our stability is not good, you have to say – often only Jerome [Boateng] and I were at the back, so they mercilessly attacked us.”

As Germany’s most creative midfielder, Ozil can surely not be blamed for his sides defensive issues. The blame has to go to Joachim Lowe (for setting the team up incorrectly) and the midfielder and full backs for ignoring Hummel’s pleas to get back.

Germany created a lot. They had 66% of possession and 26 shots. Mesut Ozil was their man creator.

Ozil created 4 of his sides 20 chances, with only Toni Kroos playing more successful passes.

74 passes at 91.9% completion rate. Ozil played his normal conductor role. He was let down by poor finishing and poor defending.

The result should not actually be a surprise to anyone.

Since qualifying for the World Cup in October 2017, their record reads:

P 7 W 1 D 3 L 3 F 6 A 7

Keeping only one clean sheet in a 0-0 against England, they do not score enough goals – there only victory coming in a friendly against Saudi Arabia.

Probably brings into question why they have been made favourites by many.

Did Mesut Ozil play well? No.

Was he the worst German play on the field? No.

It will actually be interesting to read what the German media’s response was to their performance, who they blamed. What is for certain, Ozil was not to blame and anyone putting his name in the headline is just after the hits Arsenal fans will give them.

Keenos

Trust in Arsenal’s new axis of power

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We all love a good debate about who we should and shouldn’t sign.

Every time we are linked with a player, there are some who want him, and some who think he is the wrong man.

Bernd Leno is on who has split the opinion.

I have seen some say that at 26 and with 300+ games, he is the type of experience keeper that we need – whilst still having youth on his side.

That having played so many games, of course he will have some mistakes on his show real.

There are others who point at that there are reasons behind him not being with Germany at the World Cup. That he is not much better than David Ospina.

Both sides probably have a valid argument. And ultimately they are opinions built on having probably seen him no more than 20-30 times.

Some are calling for Jack Butland. A player those in England have seen a lot more than them Leno. But he also has errors to his game. He scored a ridiculous own goal against Leicester last season:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W12acl0jVPw

Ultimately, you could put forward a case for and against buying both.

My opinion on those coming in is fairly simple.

In Raul Sanllehi, Sven Mislintat and Unai Emery, we have a new axis of power at Arsenal. And we need to have faith in what they are doing, and who they are signing.

Sanllehi held a similar role at Barcelona.

Whilst in Spain, he was directly involved in some of biggest transfers in Europe.

He was the man who bought Neymar to Barcelona and in 2014 led the talks to sign Luis Suarez. He also helped bring in Ivan Rakitic and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

You then have Mislintat. Bought in from Borussia Dortmund to oversee recruitment.

He is credited with creating the pipeline of young talent at Dortmund which has produced the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa and Ousmane Dembele.

He is one of Europe’s most respected player recruitment experts.

It was Mislintat that brought Aubameyang and Henrik Mkhitaryan to Arsenal. He also returned to his old club to sign Sokratis.

Having spent all of his career in the Bundesliga (and being German), you have to think he has watched Leno more times than an Arsenal fan. He is the expert.

Finally we come to Unai Emery. After Pep Gaurdiola, he is the most successful manager in European football in recent years.

Having won 3 Europa League’s in a row with Sevilla, he went to PSG where he won 5 trophies in 2 seasons.

At Sevilla he had to work to a budget. Developing talented players, improving them. Organising them. Making the whole greater than the individual.

In the move to PSG, he dealt with the bigger egos. Edison Cavani. Neymar.

He has had success everywhere he has been.

Maybe we as fans need to forget about the past and look at the future.

Trust in the new men that they know what they are doing. Back who they are bringing in.

Also back whose contracts they are renewing (and whose they are not). I saw one idiot claim that he wanted Granit Xhaka to “break his legs at the World Cup” moments after his new contract was announced.

Let’s get back to supporting The Arsenal. Backing the team. Giving the new men a chance and trusting their decisions.

And if you are unable to do so, maybe it is you that is the problem, not Arsenal.

Keenos