Arsenal for third

Following the departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas last Summer transfer window, the news that club captain Robin Van Persie wasn’t going to extend his current contract came as no real surprise to most Gunners. However this season Arsene Wenger has dived into the market impressively, and more importantly early, with the additions of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, before pulling off arguably the biggest transfer coup of the summer with the arrival of the classy Santi Cazorla from troubled Malaga.

Can Cazorla guide Arsenal to the top of the league?

Twice Arsenal turned their season around impressively (Losing four of their opening seven as well as a poor run in January) and only a minor hiccup towards the end of the season meant they needed victory on the final day of the season to secure the all important third spot, which they duly did away to West Brom. Wenger's current squad seems to have more mental strength about it, after previously bottling it in either a title race or in a cup final, and instead of being caught, found themselves successfully hunting down their target last season as they ended the season well to overhaul Spurs.

Their starting XI is as good as any in the Barclays Premier League, however following injuries to first choice full-backs Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs last season, their full back alternatives are incredibly weak. The same goes for the centre half position as in reality neither Per Mertesacker nor Johan Djourou are good enough.

Should the worst / predictable happen and Van Persie leaves the Emirates then the burden shall fall heavily on their £13million addition in Giroud. He and his former club Montpellier stunned Ligue 1 last season; however the Premier League is of a much stronger standard, so Gunners fans will be hoping he has more of the Thierry Henry about him then the Park Chu-Young. 

Key player(s) – Arsenal have always been brilliant going forward, but for me keeping their centre half duo of Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen fit is a real must. Together they form a brilliant partnership, with the latter’s goal threat a brilliant bonus.

Verdict – 3^rd Whether they’ll have the strength in depth to challenge for the title is another thing; however I do expect them to finish ahead of their London rivals in claiming another Champions League spot.

View from a fan – Culann Davies   @CulannWDavies

What would be an ideal season?
Ending the long trophy drought whilst finishing third in the league again

What would be an awful season?
Finishing outside the top four as well as trophy less

Have you got the right manager?
Definitely. What Arsene's done on such a smaller budget in comparison to the rest of the league is unbelievable. Finally he’s allowed some money this summer and it's told with brilliant additions.

Which other Premier League player would you like to sign?

Probably Vincent Kompany. Koscielny is class whilst Vermaelen has struggled for form and fitness since his debut season.

Is Robin Van Persie replaceable?

He is, but we need more than one player to do so!

Who should we keep an eye out for this season?

Laurent Koscielny. He was our second best player last season but largely unnoticed outside Arsenal, worth keeping an eye on.

Arsenal recover to secure Champions League spot

Second half goals from captain Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott saw Arsenal come from behind on the night to secure their place in the Champions League group stages.


Despite all the pressure surrounding Arsene Wenger and his side, Arsenal's second half performance was a reminder not to write off his young side. With injuries and sales to key players, many predicted Arsenal would fail to overcome Udinese despite their one goal lead, and after Di Natale had given Udinese a deserved lead many expected Arsenal to wilt under the extreme pressure and heat in Italy, however their second half performance not only defied their form but the question marks over their heads with Aaron Ramsey in particular dominating the midfield, proving yet again what a fantastic young player he is.


Udinese's captain Antonio Di Natale had levelled the tie on aggergate heading home superbly from a Pinzi cross, however Arsenal turned it around with a much improved second half performance with Van Persie finishing comfortably after Gervinho had done superbly, as well as Walcott getting in behind Udinese to beat the impressive Samir Handonvic.Arsenal's two goals were sandwiched by a Di Natale penalty miss, as Wojciech Szczesny pulled off a quite spectacular save, and with the game level at this point, if the Italian had scored then Arsenal's progression wouldn't have been as comfortable.


Both sides came into the game with similar problems, with Udinese like Arsenal losing key players in Cristian Zapata, Gokan Inhler and most notably Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona, and after a close first leg, in which Udinese were unlucky not to pinch an away goal, the closeness of the first half was to be expected, with both sides taking the game to each other in a very lively start.


The first real chance of note fell to Udinese as Di Natale got ahead of the Arsenal centre half Johan Djourou to turn Maurico Isla's cross against the near post. However it was Arsenal, who should've taken the lead, through their first leg scorer Walcott.

Gervinho did superbly well to engineer an oppourtunity, and superbly laid the ball of for Walcott who faced with just Handonovic and the goal smashed his shot into the chest of the Slovianen keeper, who then expertely repelled Van Persie's rebound.

With Udinese growing in confidence, the Italian side opened the scoring just before half time, with their captain Di Natale heading superbly over Szczesny in the Arsenal goal.

Wenger replaced the ineffectual Emmanuel Frimpong with Tomas Rosicky in an attacking and bold move that paid dividend for the under pressure manager, as his side levelled early in the second half. The impressive Gervinho again caused havoc down the Udinese left, and squared well for Van Persie who samshed home superbly.

Minutes later, with Udinese needing two goals to progress, they were literally handed the chance to half their needed goals, as Thomas Vermaelan handed from a uncleared corner resulting in a penalty for the home side. Di Natale's penalty however was expertely saved from Szczesny who diving to his right pulled off an incredible one handed save.

With the frustration evident Udinese's temper got the better of them and were lucky not to be reduced to ten men as was fortunate not to be sent off as his elbow on Walcott went unoticed. However Walcott had the final say as he and Sagna linked up brilliantly down the left hand side, who when one on one with Handanovic finished superbly.

The final whistle came as a huge relief to Wenger as his Arsenal side confirmed their status in the group stage of the Champions League.

Gervinho set for Arsenal move

Arsene Wenger confirmed today that the club have signed Gervinho from French Champions Lille.

The transfer had always been on the cards when Wenger confirmed an interest in the Ivorian striker at the end of the season. Arsenal beat off reported interest from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the 24-year olds signature.

Wenger confirmed the deal this morning as Arsenal prepared for their tour of the Middle East saying "Gervinho has joined. He had a medical on Thursday. We sent him home for a couple of days because he has a family and children. He did not come [on tour] because he has not had a [training] session yet."

The signing is the clubs second addition of the transfer window after moving for Charlton's teenage defender Carl Jenkinson. Gervinho is the second of the Lille double winning side to move to the Premier League following Yohan Cabaye's move to Newcastle United.

Gervinho's move is expected to be in the region of £12million