Tag Archives: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

Laurent Koscielny injury GREAT news for Arsenal

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You have to wonder if Koscielny will be seen again in an Arsenal shirt.

That was my thought process in an article I wrote after the Europa League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Laurent Koscielny’s troublesome Achilles once more reared its ugly head. Crumpled on the pitch in extreme pain, he was forced off after just 12 minutes. Immediate diagnosis was that he would be out of the World Cup.

Soon to be 33, I felt at the time it could keep him out longer, and so yesterday’s prognosis that he is set to be out for 6 months is not surprise.

“You will not see him until December at best,” said Wenger.

It pretty much rules the Frenchman out until 2019. At that is best case scenario. As we have seen with Santi Cazorla, any sort of surgery on your Achilles can lead to further complications. Even if he returns in December, he will only have 18 months left on his contract.

By the time that contract expires, he will be 35. This is almost certainly his last contract with Arsenal.

He has already spoken about wanting to see out his career at Lorient, and even before the injury, I felt that his Arsenal career was coming to an end. That he perhaps only had 1 more year left in him at the top level.

Whilst I do feel for Koscielny, this long term injury could actually be good news for 2 reasons for Arsenal.

The first (and lesser) reason surrounds the captaincy of the club.

For too long, the captain of Arsenal has been messed around with. Since Patrick Vieira left us back in 2005, the only consistent player we had as a captain was Cesc Fabregas – who led us for 3 years.

Robin van Persie was given it to try and encourage him to sign a new contract, whilst in recent years with the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, Mikel Arteta and most recently Per Mertesacker barely captained the team on the pitch.

The concern going into next season was that Laurent Koscielny was going to be the natural successor to Per Mertesacker, as the current vice-captain and senior professional in the team.

That concerned me as I felt he only had 1 good year left in him, and even next year he might not be guaranteed to start week in week out (if we sign a top centre back). That would leave us in the exact same position that we have been in recently. A captain who does not always play.

With captaincy off the table for Laurent Koscielny, it naturally gives the club a chance to look a bit longer term. Give it to someone who will be captain for the next 5 years, not just the next 12 months. If Aaron Ramsey signs his new deal, he is the man for the job.

The second reason is that Koscielny’s injury will force the clubs hand in the transfer market.

We needed a centre back last season. Instead of signing the player we needed, we stuck with Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi, with Per Metesacker and the youngsters Rob Holding and Calum Chambers backing him up.

After Konstantinos Mavropanos performances in the later end of the season, it would have been an easy option for the club to say “lets stick with Mustafi and Koscielny, with Holding, Chambers and Mavropanos backing them up”. This would have been a disaster.

Koscielny is clearly on the wain. He has always been error prone, but more mistakes seem to have crept into his game in the last 18 months. As for Mustafi, there are question marks over whether he will ever be good enough.

Had we gone into next season with Mustafi and Koscielny as our centre back partnership, it would have led to another season of disappointment. Now the club has no choice but to go into the market and sign a senior centre back to partner Mustafi.

Whilst the injury is bad news for Koscielny personally, it is great news for Arsenal as we can moved forward into the new era post-Wenger with a new captain and new centre back partnership.

Keenos

Arsene Wenger’s surreal send off

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I have found the whole Arsene Wenger leaving stuff just a little odd.

The obituary style articles by the majority of media outlets were morbid. It is the type of stuff that they have saved for when someone dies. To have Wenger’s obituary written and published when still alive made uncomfortable reading.

Then we have the weekends big goodbye.

It was the final home game, the big goodbye. A chance for fans to thank Arsene Wenger for his 22 years service, and a chance for Wenger to thank those same fans for his support. It was just all a little OTT.

The guard of honour before the game, the guard of honour after, the t-shirts and those inflatable balloons with a gigantic picture of Wenger. The oddest of them all was the 6ft white letters which spelt out Merci Wenger.

It almost felt like somewhere in the club, there was a brain storming session, and instead of picking the best ideas, they decided to “do them all”.

Giving Wenger the gold Premier League trophy that the club were awarded by the Premier League after the 2004 unbeaten season was also frustrating. It is a trophy that belongs to the club. Had they given him a replica, I would have understood, but to give him the original was too much.

The trophy should belong to the club, the players, the fans, not something to be given away. Again, someone in that brainstorming event would have suggested it, and they have decided to do it. My only hope is that Wenger does the right thing and lets it sit in the Arsenal museum, for future Arsenal fans to view.

I think the reason I found the big goodbye so awkward is that it is not yet goodbye. We still have two games left to go.

The season might be over, we can not finish higher or lower than 6th, but to have such an extravagant farewell when he still has another week in the job is just odd.

It is like having someone’s leaving do at work when they still have a week left at work. They’ve said their massive goodbyes after a few beers in the pub, slagged the company off to their closest colleagues, but then still have to turn up for work the next day to sit and spin on their chair and annoy everyone.

I am sure London Colney will be a strange place this week. After the “celebrations” of Sunday, it will feel like the season is over, despite their still being 2 games left to play.

Sunday was a brilliant day. With The George shutting as well, it was a quality drink up in the sun. Wenger deserved a huge send off, but I question if it ended up a little OTT – and did not respect that fact that we still have two games left.

I am probably just moaning.

Keenos

Who should Arsenal root for in the Championship play-off race?

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Wolverhampton Wanderers apart, there is plenty to play for at the top end of the Championship tomorrow.

Whilst Wolves are likely to break through the 100 point barrier, The second automatic place is still up for grabs, with Cardiff just a single point ahead of Fulham. The London club have the better goal difference.

To secure promotion, Cardiff just need to equal or better Fulham’s result. Cardiff are at home to Reading, Fulham travel to Birmingham.

Personally, I would prefer Fulham to return to the Premier League. It is always a great away day as Arsenal usually get the entire Putney End, which is usually a mixture of away and “neutral” fans. With it being in London, there is always a great turn-out, and someone is always doing to booze boat from Westminster. At 7/2 it is probably worthwhile sticking in any free bets uk you have on Fulham to go up in the top 2.

The likelihood is, however, that Cardiff will secure promotion – which could lead to two trips to Wales next season.

Cardiff is just not the same since Ninian Park shut down. I went to the old grand back when Arsenal played them in the FA Cup. There was tension in the air. Nowadays it is like Reading, Wigan and other grounds. No atmosphere, surrounded by retail outlets, it is just s bit rubbish. Add in the train line from Paddington to Cardiff being one of the most unreliable, it is not a trip I will be getting too excited about.

Aston Villa and Middlesbrough are already secure in the play off positions.

There is a 3 way shoot out for the last play-off place as 3 points separate Derby in 6th and Millwall in 8th. Sandwiched between are Preston.

Millwall are outsiders. 3 points behind and with a goal difference of 9 worse than Derby, they would need both the Rams and Preston to lose, and turn over that huge goal difference. It is unlikely.

That leaves Derby and Preston.

Both have home games. Derby to 4th bottom Barnsley and Preston to 3rd bottom Burton – both of whom are fighting to stay up. With a 2 point gap and superior goal difference, Derby just need a draw to make the play offs.

Odds are we will see Cardiff joins Wolves in the Premier League next season, and Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Derby in the play-offs.

Fulham will be my preference to go up, as detailed above.

Derby would be the next choice, it is an easy train journey from London, a ground I have not been before, and walk-able from the station. It is not like many of these new grounds which have been built on a industrial estate on the edge of the town.

Aston Villa would be next. Birmingham is always a good trip. And whilst we are getting Wolves, we losing WBA.

Only one I would be annoyed with is Middlesbrough. It is a horrid train journey and you just know that it is going to be move to a Sunday at late notice pushing up train ticket prices (the other games will be relatively cheap to get too).

Ideally,  I would want Fulham to go through automatic, and Derby in the play-offs. Realistically as Cardiff will go up, I shall be rooting for Fulham in the play offs.

Keenos