Former Arsenal player Ian Wright blasted the effort of the management in not getting players this summer, despite the obvious need. After the 4-3 loss to Liverpool, fans and analysts dragged the club for not making enough reinforcements and Wright was one of them.
Ian Wright has said that he is feeling sorry for his countryman Theo Walcott who would not be able to represent the Three Lions in the upcoming World Cup Finals because of being injured.
Walcott is yet to play for his country in the World Cup. He could have done that in 2006 and 2010, but, due to different reasons, that didn’t happen.
However, this time around, the English forward was almost certain to make his World Cup debut only if he hadn’t injured himself badly in a league game against Tottenham Hotspur.
In a televised interview made to the former Arsenal player Ian Wright, he said that Arsenal’s opening match of the season against Aston Villa and their 3-1 defeat was a good thing for the team as the pressure from that loss made Arsene Wenger make a move for Mesut Ozil.
He said: “Villa beating Arsenal on the opening day of the season was the best thing that could have happened to Arsenal. If that doesn’t happen, then I don’t think that Wenger buys Ozil. He wouldn’t have felt the pressure he would have been feeling.”
Kolo Toure has said that Liverpool has a great chance of making it to the Champions League this season.
The Reds have made a fine start to the ongoing premier league and are currently at the second position in the points table.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has said that Mesut Ozil has had an impact similar to that of Dennis Bergkamp at his former club. The midfielder was brought from Real Madrid to break the transfer record of the club.
He has cost the Premier league outfit £ 42 million, but he has so far had a stunning impact on the pitch as well. He has contributed numerous assists and has scored goals as well. He has been compared with Arsenal legend Bergkamp and Wright believes that the comparisons are not beyond the mark.
Santi Cazorla has played down rumors that have linked him with a move to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid who have already apparently lodged a cheeky bid for the player with the Arsenal player insisting that his future lies firmly at the Emirates Stadium and with the Gunners.
The Spanish international midfielder joined the club just last summer from Spanish club Malaga and enjoyed a stellar debut season for the club in which he was arguably the club’s player of the season. But the 28 year old has been linked with a stunning return to the Spanish League in recent weeks with Atletico Madrid set to utilize the huge transfer fee they received for Radamel Falcao from AS Monaco in making a bid for the player.
Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein was responsible for bringing Arsene Wenger to Arsenal. Now, he has backed the Frenchman to deliver the goods amidst a wide range of speculation that Wenger may leave the club at the end of the season.
Wenger had a hugely successful spell at Arsenal when Dein was at the club. The recent years, though, have turned extremely fruitless for the Frenchman, as Arsenal have not only struggled to finish with trophies at the end of the season, but they have also failed to comfortably finish in the top four as well.
As the MLS is just about to begin with another thrilling year of soccer, people are getting ready for their favourite teams to battle it out with the best that America can do in this sport. These teams have to work incredibly hard in order to qualify for the play offs and then the final match for the cup.
Because the season is just about the get started many people are starting to place their bets on who they think will take the entire thing. This is a hard thing to do as there is no real indication of how the teams are playing together but many people still try.
Saturday afternoon’s game at the Emirates Stadium sees fifth place Arsenal host an Aston Villa side one point and one place above the relegation zone.
The Gunners go in to the game having suffered back to back defeats. Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in their Champions League last sixteen tie followed them being knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers last weekend.
They are however unbeaten in their last four games, and could close the gap between themselves and fourth place Tottenham Hotspur to a single point, with Spurs not in action until Monday evening.
Nacho Monreal is set to return to the starting line-up having been ineligible for visit of Bayern, while Carl Jenkinson is available following his suspension though Bacary Sagna and Keiran Gibbs are both injured.
Olivier Giroud is favourite to open the scoring at 5.0 (4/1) with a variety of firms, while top scorer Theo Walcott is a 5.5 (9/2) shot with Ladbrokes.
Arsenal are odds on to get the three points, with a price of 1.36 (4/11) widely on offer, while Aston Villa are 11.0 (10/1) with William Hill. The draw can be backed at 5.5 (9/2).
The visitors haven’t played since their 2-1 victory over West Ham United the weekend before last; a result that lifted them out of the relegation zone.
Charles N’Zogbia is set to be fit after suffering a thigh injury in that game, while Gabriel Agbonlahor and Karim El Ahmadi both return after recovering from illness.
Bet Victor offer 11.0 (10/1) for Christian Benteke to open the scoring with his sixteenth goal of the season, while Andreas Weimann is a 16.0 (15/1) shot with the same firm.
… Read More Arsenal vs. Aston Villa Preview
The Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam could be set for a return to first-team action for the first time since losing his father tragically a few weeks ago. The former Liverpool and Blackpool man had to suffer the sudden loss of his father a few weeks ago.
Since then, he has not played for Stoke City, but the manager Tony Pulis has revealed that he is considering including the midfielder into the starting lineup for the match against Manchester City. Pulis has said that it is difficult to know how players will react when they lose one of their parents, but he is confident that Adam can cope with the loss.
Pulis has said that all the players at Stoke City are extremely close, which means that Adam can remain comfortable. Stoke come into the match on the back of the disappointing 3-3 draw with relegation threatened Southampton.
After being extremely good in terms of the defensive performances in the first half of the season, Pulis was extremely disappointed to concede a lot of goals in recent matches. The manager has acknowledged that a few of his players have been looking tired, and he will be looking to make some changes for the visit to the Etihad stadium.
“It’s very difficult to gauge how individuals react to losing their parents, but the good thing about this place is that the players are so close to each other. They are a good group of players. Him being around, even sitting on the bench for a couple of games, takes his mind off it, just to be part of it. We will be looking to freshen it up. I thought one or two players looked tired against Southampton. Ryan comes back into the squad. We will make three or four changes,” said Pulis.
… Read More ADAM SET TO RETURN