In the years when Arsenal were not winning anything except our annual place in the Champions League group stage, Arsenal fans were understandably a bit miffed when Arsene Wenger spoke about the balance of the squad and about building for the future.
But it now seems as though the Frenchman´s plans for the foundation of future success were well laid and are now beginning to pay off. The paying off of the Emirates stadium debt and the subsequent ability to spend big money on top quality players like Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil has helped, of course, but we have not had to go out and buy a whole new team.
Premier League rivals like Liverpool, Man United and the spuds have all brought in big numbers of players in recent years and then seen them struggle to gel into a team. That has not happened at Arsenal and it is the balance between exciting new players and those that have been with us a while that makes the Gunners such a happy and together unit according to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The Ox told Arsenal Player, “It’s a great place to be. I’ve always loved being at Arsenal and the group’s always felt like a great bunch of lads.
“But where we are right now with the boys who have come in and the boys who have grown up through the club – the likes of Jack, Theo and Kieran – it really feels like a great group of lads.
“It’s a really nice place to be and everyone gets on really well. We’re all in it together. This parade is lovely and this is what winning’s all about.
“That’s what we were talking about yesterday, that we wanted to go that step further and get more success. We’re motivated to do that but I’m glad I can enjoy this moment with all my team-mates and I’m really proud of all of them.”
Wenger is not just in the business of making his players happy, but it does seem to be a no brainer that you will get more from a happy dressing room than one where players do not get on, are separated into cliques or are simply not happy with the manager´s demands of them.
Hopefully our happy team will continue to be a successful team and hopefully the negative side of the Mourinho effect will soon start to tell in the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
I truly hope Ox with a bit of time off and conditioning in pre-season can put those hamstring problems behind him. If he can find a bit more consistency with his final ball, I personally think he can reach the elite level. The way he strikes the ball is Gerrard-esque.. He drives with purpose. IMO he has the potential to be a complete player, whether in midfield or on the wing.
That being said I think it will be hard for him to nail down a regular first-team place next season. Though Theo has shown a glimpse of what he’s capable of as our main striker, he can still give the majority of that playing as an inside forward on the right. People label it lazy when he doesn’t track back… But the truth is he often stretches the opposition and pins his opposing number back with him giving us a lot more space and freedom in midfield transition, allowing for much, much more fluent moves. A lot of fans underestimate the impact he has even when not spending a lot of time on the ball…
Only few months ago half of this sorry blog thought Ox is a headless chicken. Judging by the up votes I’d say people lurking on this site are pretty much emotionally unstable.
with new signings coming in…will hardly see him feature in the first team…
he will make a good squad back up player…
If he’s fit, he’ll feature off the bench a lot. Wenger will give him plenty of chances to prove his form deserves a start. As he’s done with many players previously.
Theo Will be playing as CF next season, Wenger will give him some chance as he himself said many times. Theo seems to be extra motivated when playing CF. Into the wings OX will get a chance. He was one of the most improved player before his injury and I am sure next season we will see OX impacting games. He can dribble pass players easily, his final ball needs some improvement. He started to add assists before the injury. I think he assisted for the Giroud goal at the Final I guess or had a hand. OX will be massive for us next season.
Theo Can score 20 PL goals where ever he plays.
Next season my only worry is injury side. If we are lucky in terms of injury then these players can win the league for us
Remember in October itself we lacked chelsea by 11 points, so the start of the seaosn cost the league
well….then either Theo, Giroud, Welbeck or the new striker will not be happy playing 10-15 games a season….
Obviously.. If you have multiple players battling for a position the one who brings the most and is most in form starts. So obviously there will be competition and someone sitting out.
You are right about Ox. He was fantastic early this season and at one point I believe he was the only player to appear in every EPL game (until his injury).
He is also one of the few Gunners who appears to actually enjoy playing the RW and is one of the few Gunners to consistently take the ball deep behind the defense for cutbacks to charging strikers – something that is missing when he is not on the pitch.
The only problem is………. when Ox plays RW and Coq plays DM there are only maximum 3 midfield positions remaining for Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis, and Cazorla. One of these players will/would miss out.
I think thats why some fans reckon it should be Cazorla/Ozil. Its hard to argue when they play like they did in final though. Cazorla playing beside Coq i dont think there is an argument from many if any so that leaves us with Ramsey/Ozil to miss out.
This is why having versatile players is important, Sanchez can play up top Ozil can play wings and Cazorla is both footed.
It is starting already……. the push to denigrate and minimize Arsenal’s 2nd FA Cup Trophy in 2 years.
The theme for a sports radio broadcast in the U.S. was promoted as a discussion to answer the question, “Does the FA Cup really mean anything anymore?”
The contention is that Arsenal only had to beat Aston Villa and Hull so those trophies really don’t mean too much. (Of course they don’t mention the fact Arsenal had to get past ManU AT Old Trafford to win this year and had to defeat Spurs, LPool, and Everton just to get to the final last season)
The sports media (on both sides of the pond) apparently only consider winning the FA Cup a valid achievement if….
A: Chelsea, ManU or City win it.
and
B: Any of those 3 teams play another “top” team in the final.
Any other result means that “the very good teams just did not really try to win it.”
As you can see the push to minimize Arsenal’s/Wenger’s accomplishments is a non-stop endeavor by the sports media – throughout the world.
We haven’t seen anything yet – wait till we win the PL and someone will say it is the UCL that defines a club. If you want proof that the FA Cup means something watch the footage of Chelsea celebrating their League Cup win – or the reaction of any FA Cup winning team since time began.
The same lie is perpetuated to a lesser extent regarding the top 4 finish. Every team outside the top 4 would kill for it just once. And any team failing to achieve it when they are expected to qualify face crisis and upheaval.
i just hate Liverpool for wanting walcott + gibbs in exchange for sterling…..who do they think that they are to make stupid demands and negotiations with us?…..Left to me, i would say THEY HAVE NOTHING GOOD TO OFFER TO US…….. They won’t be able to keep hold of sterling when he puts in a request(they know this)….it will be like another suarez saga ….and they would end up buying average players to flourish the team with their undeserved sterling pounds
It is ridiculous and insulting.
I realize Sterling is considered by some people to be a potential superstar. But in most of his recent games finishing up the season he was not good at all. In fact, if Lpool did not have Coutinho and Mignolet they would have lost almost every game in the 2nd half of the season.
Arsenal do not need sterling and certainly do not need to give up anything substantial for him. Keep in mind, Sterling claims he is worth FAR MORE than the 100,000 per week already offered to him. The whole thing stinks in my opinion.
thank u mohawk
@SoOpa Aeon
Saw that sht on facebook and laughed til I cried…What the hell are they shootin up over there at anfield?
thank u mohawk
Ox explains
Ramsey reveals
Metz messages
Ospina orates
Arteta articulates
Every summer the same.
We are close, next season will be huge.
The spirit is great the belief strong.
We are ready to take the final step 🙂
Its what they are saying at Chelsea Man City Utd no doubt
Spurs and Liverpool too. And we fans believe it all..every summer 🙂