So the Arsenal chatter last night during the Liverpool v Manchester United game was the future of England striker Daniel Sturridge.

The discussion around Liverpool’s Sturridge centred on a rumour that he was to be Arsenal’s number one target next summer.

It was met with mixed response.

Half of the tweets I read were positive. They remember Daniel Sturridge the world class finisher. The new Ian Wright. The man who scored 31 league goals in 43 games in his first 18 months for Liverpool as part of the Sturridge Suarez Sterling frontline that nearly took Liverpool to their first league title in 25 years.

The other half were negative. Another Diaby was often mentioned. Pointing to the horrendous injury record which has seen him play just 18 league games in the last 2 seasons, and not play for England since September 2014.

Now his injury record is diabolical. But he is a talented player. So should Arsenal go for him?

On the face of it, I would tend to lean to a no, due to his injury record. We have had too many players who have been injury prone over the years. The likes of Rosicky, Arteta, Wilshere. And these injury prone players being constantly missing leads to too much pressure being put on those who do not have major injury issues. The likes of Welbeck and Giroud. Ozil.

This then means that these players play when not 100% fit are forced to play, increasing their chances of getting an injury.  And in turn leads to even bigger injury problems within the squad.

One of the key reasons why Leicester are top, Spurs are second, is due to their lack of injuries. Neither has lost a key player (Vardy, Mahrez, Kane, Erickson) for an extended period. It was the same with Chelsea last season.

In an increasingly competitive Premier League, keeping players fir is uber important.

So if Arsenal were to sign Daniel Sturridge, they would be signing a player who’s next injury is just around the corner.

But Daniel Sturridge is a class act when fit. And part of me looks at it and thinks lets take the risk.

Upfront our current options are Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck. Sturridge is better than both, when fit. But both are still very good players. Giroud has hit the 20 goal mark this season. What this would mean is that you could take the risk on Daniel Sturridge, knowing that you have sufficient back up to him were he to break down.

Sturridge would be the centre of an attacking trio that would potentially see Danny Welbeck on the right, and Alexis Sanchez on the left.

It would not surprise me to see Theo Walcott leave Arsenal this summer, maybe going the other way to Liverpool.

Arsenal would line up very attacking with that front 3. It would almost mirror what Liverpool played with Sturridge Suarez Sterling. Or England when they played Welbeck Rooney Sturridge.

What it gives you is a lot of versatility upfront. All 3 can play in the 3 front positions. Plenty of movement. Very hard to mark. Goals from all angles.

Sturridge would drop wide, with either Alexis or Welbeck dropping in the middle. Welbedk would drop inside with Sturridge dropping wide. And behind the trio would be Mesut Ozil pulling the strings. Conducting.

It would be exciting. It would be direct.

And then if Sturridge does break down, you still have plenty of options.

Giroud could come in, forcing a slight change in direction. Or Welbeck could go into the middle with Joel Campbell playing on the right, keeping the shape of the side.

Of course, this is all ifs and buts, Sturridge might break down in the next few weeks and the deal could be off.

There is a lack of top class strikers in world football at the moment. And even less that would potentially look to leave their current club. Despite his injury record, Daniel Sturridge might be the best option.

It is a quandary. If he does get fit, which he seems to be slowing doing, he is a brilliant striker. But we used to say that about Abou Diaby. We currently say it about Jack Wilshere. If they get fit, they are brilliant midfielders.

I think it is a risk worth taking.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

 

Over the years, we have banged on about ticket prices. Without blowing our own trumpet, I would say that out of the thousands of Arsenal blogs out their, we have been at the forefront of bringing the ticket price issues to public attention.

It might be down to many of the people involved in both the blog and Facebook page being regular football go’ers. Normal blokes, living in London, who travel home and away. Myself, I go home and away every game, One of the other admins on the Facebook page also has an away season ticket. Ticketing is a real issue to us.

So it is good news today that the Premier League have announced that for the next 3 seasons, ticket prices for away fans shall be capped at £30.

Now of course, it might not be as large a cut as we wanted – we are big supporters of the Football Supporters’ Federation Twenty’s Plenty campaign, but it is a step in the right direction.

Just over a month ago, we mentioned or dismay that Premier League chairman had voted against a price cap on away tickets. It is reported that Arsenal led the fight against the initiative. Despite Arsenal fans (amongst a couple of others) benefiting the most from price cap, Arsenal showed their greed by rejecting it.

I do now laugh to myself. Last week the footballing world was in uproar. Ivan Gazidis, alongside the chairman of Manchester United & City, Liverpool and Chelsea had a secret meeting. It was reported that this was to discuss a European Super League. It seems the papers misreported this, as less than a week later, the £30 ticketing initiative has been announced.

Putting 2 & 2 together, I would lay money on the fact they were meeting to decide how they would once more vote on this matter. And the result? A better deal for fans.

And what is good news is that Arsenal will benefit the most. Arsenal are ripped off over land and sea. We pay a premium price every ground we step into.

This season, a travelling Arsenal fan will pay around £300 MORE on away tickets than a Leicester fan. Clearly an issue. In fact, Arsenal charge away fans, over the course of a season, £200 LESS than what Arsenal fans are charged to visit away grounds.

My cost for all 19 away games this season is around £850. Next year, it will be £570. That is great news. More money for beer and Rainbows!

Of course, with one hand they give, one hand they take away. This agreement has meant the end of the Away Fans Initiative which was introduced in 2013 by the Premier League and saw clubs individually implement a range of measures, including travel subsidies, reciprocal pricing and reduced admissions as well as improved facilities.

What Arsenal did with the Away Fans Initiative was reduce prices for away fans. This year we have all benefited from a £4 deduction per game. If you went to all 19 games, this would save £76.

Despite this initiative being dropped by the Premier League, the club have perhaps learnt from PR errors of the recent past, and announced that they will continue to subsidise away tickets by the £4. Thus taking the cost to go to games to just £26. The cost to go to all games is now just £494 a season.

The battle is still not over. Ticket prices for home games is still too expensive. As is allocation of cup credits. And the way Silver Members get treated also needs to be addressed. But it is a step in the right direction.

It will lead to a few problems that we can foresee. More people will now buy tickets for away games and not go. It will give other fans less opportunities to go to games and build up their credits. You will now have more buying away tickets to sell on, knowing that the risk if they do not sell on is much lesser. But these are problems to be discussed for another day.

Today is a good day for an away fan. The saving is the equivalent of an extra holiday. An extra Euro away. A couple more dances in Rainbow.

I think every fans should be thanking the FSF and all supporters groups. Not just those of Arsenal, but those of Liverpool, of Everton, even of Spurs. There has really been a “we are all in this together” when it comes to ticket prices. And it is the pressure of all the groups that has led to this price cap.

Arsenal fans will pay the lowest for away tickets in the Premier League

Remember, without fans, football is nothing.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC