Tag Archives: Arsenal

Alexandre Lacazette set for Arsenal exit

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Arsenal never really wanted to sign Alexandre Lacazette.

Over the years, we were offered him up numerous times by Lyon. Each time a decision was made that the French international was not top level. Not good enough for The Arsenal. Inferior to Olivier Giroud (who starts ahead of him for France) and Alexis Sanchez.

Last summer we finally decided to sign him, for a club record price. But even then, we did not really want him.

He was due to join Atlético Madrid. Everything was in place, the deal was done. Madrid were then hit with a transfer ban causing the deal to fall through.

At the same time in North London, Arsenal were struggling to keep their two big stars. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were refusing to sign a new deal. Arsenal needed a big name signing. And the deal for Lacazette fell into the clubs laps.

Roll forward 9 months and the deal that took Lacazette to Arsenal certainly feels like one of opportunity rather than one that Arsenal actually wanted. He was available, and Arsenal needed a big name signing, even if they didn’t need the exact player.

The fact that in January Arsenal moved for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang highlights the club were never quite convinced by Lacazette. And now we sit here discussing how we can fit our two record signings into the same team.

I believe we will go down a different route.

 

Instead of trying to fit Lacazette and Aubameyang into the same team, Lacazette will leave Arsenal in the summer.

In the meantime, they will split the work load. Aubemeyang starting in the Premier League, Lacazette in Europe – as Aubemeyang is cup-tied.

Over at Atlético, the transfer ban is set to be lifted. Antoine Griezmann looks set to leave for Barcelona, and they will be going all out for a replacement.

Top of their list will be the man they nearly signed last summer. Alexandre Lacazette.

Will it be so shocking for the Spanish side to offer up the same money what Arsenal gave to Lyon to secure their man? It would be an easy deal for them to make, having been so close last summer. And it would also be a deal that Arsenal might be happy doing.

With Aubameyang now at Arsenal – and performing – the club will likely look to build the team around the triangle of the Gabonian, Henrik Mkhyitaryan and Mesut Ozil. This leaves Alexandre Lacazette as the odd man out.

Having had to sell Olivier Giroud to Chelsea to force through the Aubameyang deal, Arsenal’s strike force looks a bit “samey”. Danny Welbeck, Lacazette and Aubameyang are all great at running in behind, but none are exactly a big presence up top like Giroud was. This means we now lack a plan B.

Moving Lacazette on will free up space (and wages) to get a Giroud-esque player in. A lump of a forward who could then compliment Aubameyang. Give us an option on the bench. A battering ram. Maybe Chelsea would return Giroud to us?

Arsenal need someone like Mario Mandžukić from Juventus or Bas Dost from Sporting. These guys have real physical presence about them and give us that different option off the bench.

Alexandre Lacazette’s stay at Arsenal may well be over before it really began.

Keenos

Club gives OFFICIAL status to Arsenal Left-Handed Supporters Club

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After a few months of negotiations with Ivan Gazidis, Mark Gonnella and the Arsenal Supporters Forum, we are delighted to announce that the Arsenal Left-Handed Supporters Club is set to become an OFFICIAL Arsenal Supporters Club from the 2017/18 season.

This is great news for a minority group who are often ignored by Arsenal, Football Club, The FA, The PFA and the football world in general. Arsenal are set to make the groundbreaking move establishing the first known supporters group for left-handed fans in the football world.

By becoming an official supporters club, it will enable us to fight the discrimination seen against left-handed fans at football games from within. The Arsenal Left-Handed Supporters Club shall be given a seat on the Arsenal Supporters Forum.

Members of the forum include representatives of domestic and international supporters’ clubs, the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association (AISA), the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST), RedAction and supporters representing the interests of the following categories of fans: 16-21 year olds, over 60s, disabled supporters, club level members, Gold members, Red Members, family enclosure members, ethnic minorities, gay supporters, women and shareholders.

Alongside the seat on the supporters forum, the Arsenal Left-Handed Supporters Club will also be given various perks that all official supporters clubs enjoy, including (but not exclusive too)

  • A banner within the ground where over time we can get our members seated near
  • 5 complimentary Arsenal season tickets for the supporters clubs key volunteers
  • 20 away scheme memberships so our members can be represented over land and sea
  • Guarantee of 50 tickets for an Wembley fixtures
  • A limited number of invites to all official Arsenal events, from Junior Gunners events to Ivan Gazidis’ Q&A
  • Snazzy jackets for all members (compulsory purchase with membership)
  • Use of a cooperate box for a single game to entertain a limited number of members
  • Use of Arsenal Football Club’s entertaining facilities at a reduced fee
  • A free table at the Arsenal Player of the Season Awards
  • 4 car parking spots at the Emirates Stadium on game day

After years of fighting for the rights of left-handed Arsenal fans, we are delighted the club have finally made the move to make our supporters club official.

Details of how to join the Arsenal Left-Handed Supporters Club will be released shortly.

Arsenal are back!

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So what have you done in the last 21 days?

That is how long it has been since Arsenal last player a Premier League game. I imagine most of us can not even remember who it was against?

We beat Watford 3-0 at home. And tomorrow we break the 21 day fast with Stoke visiting Islington. Maybe Arsenal gave up football for lent? Happy Easter All (or Happy Chocolate Egg Day for those who complain about such things).

In that time, Arsenal have played AC Milan, a nice easy victory putting us into the Quarter Final of the Europa League. But with no FA Cup football, the Leicester game postponed due to their exploits in the FA Cup, and the international break, it has been a long time since we last had a domestic game.

You hear managers and pundits call for a winter break. If my boredom over the last 3 weeks is anything to go by, then I want more football, not less.

We have Jurgen Klopp’s agent coming out saying “English football is so hard. With no winter break it is exhausting.” Well Jurgen has just had near enough 3 weeks off without football. Was he not able to relax then? I imagine he is just looking fore excuses on what could be his 3rd season in English football, at Liverpool, without a trophy. And he spent £40m on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and has improved him so much.

Anyway, I digress.

Games like tomorrow do worry me. It is like the first day of the season all over again.

After a long-ish rest, with some players flying around the globe to play for their countries, others trying to keep their motivation on the training ground in Colney, you never quite know the form of the players who will come back.

Stoke are often labelled one of Arsenal’s bogey teams. This is incorrect. Results between the two are massively Jekyll & Hyde.

Stoke usually win up north, Arsenal usually win in the capital.

You have to go back to 1975 for the last time Stoke beat Arsenal in North London.

Before Arsenal’s defeat earlier this season (a 1-0 defeat in which Arsenal had a perfectly legitimate equaliser ruled out), we  were on a run of 5 games without defeat against Stoke – 4 wins and a draw. Whilst no game in the Premier League is a given, it is a fairly routine game back.

I am off to the pub. Have a good day.

Keenos