Premiership preview, table prediction: 5. Arsenal

Arsenal 

Arsenal Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12

Manager: Arsène Wenger

Ground: Emirates Stadium

Nickname: The Gunners

Capacity: 60361

Squad:

Goalkeepers 1 Manuel Almunia 13 Wojciech Szczesny 21 Lukasz Fabianski 29 Vito Mannone 59 Damian Martinez Defenders 3 Bacary Sagna 5 Thomas Vermaelen 6 Laurent Koscielny 18 Sebastien Squillaci 20 Johan Djourou 25 Carl Jenkinson 28 Kieran Gibbs 28 Gavin Hoyte 30 Armand Traore 48 Ignasi Miquel Pedro Botelho

Midfielders 2 Abou Diaby 4 Cesc Fabregas 16 Aaron Ramsey 17 Alex Song 19 Jack Wilshere 26 Alex Chamberlain 27 Emmanuel Eboue 35 Emmanuel Frimpong 40 Craig Eastmond 44 Conor Henderson 46 Henri Lansbury 58 Nicholas Yennaris Francis Coquelin Samuel Galindo Attacking Midfielders 7 Tomas Rosicky 8 Samir Nasri 23 Andrey Arshavin Sanchez Watt

Forwards 10 Robin van Persie 14 Theo Walcott 18 Carlos Vela 22 Gervinho 29 Marouane Chamakh 33 Benik Afobe 42 Ryo Miyaichi 49 Rhys Murphy 52 Nicklas Bendtner 56 Luke Freeman 57 Gilles Sunu

Arsenal finished last season in a disappointing 4^th place. The Gunners are usually one of the first teams getting mentioned as a title contender, but if you ask me this season is going to one big disappointment for Arsenal fans. There have been a lot of speculations about Fabregas and Nasri this summer, and as I’m writing now it being said that Fabregas is more or less a Barcelona player, and that Nasri will join Man City within a day or so. This has been a long and bad process for the whole club, and the ending cannot be good for Wenger. Losing two of his key player’s right before the start of the season. Bringing in players and getting them settled into the club and the system is not easy after the season have started. Replacing one of the best playmakers in the world is not easy in itself. The belief in the squad has properly gone to hell, and a lot of players might be looking to exit Emirates stadium in the coming year. Manager Arsène Wenger is world class, but he is in for what most likely is his hardest challenge in his career. The question is will he be able to keep his own motivation after this?

Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

July 13 vs Malaysia XI 4-0 – Ramsey, Walcott, Vela, Rosicky

July 16 vs Hangzhou Greentown 1-1 – Vela

July 23 vs FC Cologne 2-1 – Gervinho (2)

July 30 vs Boca Juniors 2-2 Van Persie, Ramsey

July 31 vs New York Red Bulls 1-1 Van Persie

August 6 vs Benfica 1-2 Van Persie

Players in

07/11 Craig Eastmond DF Millwall FC

07/11 Emmanuel Frimpong MF Arsenal FC (R)

07/11 Gervinho FW Lille OSC

07/11 Carl Jenkinson DF Charlton Athletic

07/11 Henri Lansbury MF Norwich City

07/11 Vito Mannone GK Hull City

07/11 Ryo Miyaichi FW Feyenoord

07/11 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain MF Southampton FC

07/11 Armand Traoré DF Juventus

07/11 Carlos Vela FW West Bromwich Albion

Players out

06/11 Gael Clichy DF Manchester City

06/11 Denilson MF São Paulo FC

06/11 James Shea GK Dagenham & Redbridge

Injuries and bans:                           Return date                       situation

Wilshere (Jack)                              Unknown                           Ankle injury

Van Persie (Robin)                         13th Aug 2011                   Knee injury

Koscielny (Laurent)                        13th Aug 2011                   Muscle injury

Nasri (Samir)                                  13th Aug 2011                  Muscle injury

Abou Diaby (Vassiriki)                   17th Sep 2011                     Ankle injury

The signing of Gervinho is clearly not enough to get Arsenal to fight for titles this season and Wenger needs to spend a lot of money if he is going to keep up with the big guns in the league. To make things even worse it’s many key players out with injury before the season starts as well. Players like Wilshire, Van Persie, Diaby and Koscielny are all out with small or bigger injuries.

Most likely starting lineup for Arsenal next weekend:

13 Wojciech Szczesny

3 Bacary Sagna     20 Johan Djourou    6 Laurent Koscielny   28 Kieran Gibbs

16 Aaron Ramsey  17 Alex Song

7 Tomas Rosicky                                                                             23 Andrey Arshavin

                                    22 Gervinho        29 Marouane Chamakh

Arsenal still have a big squad with plenty of talent, but losing two of their biggest playmakers and captain right before it all kick-starts, is a massive blow to the team. Arsene Wenger have a lot to do within a small period of time, and the biggest job is boosting his own and the squads moral and hope before it’s too late. I think Arsenal is in for a humongous disappointment this season, and need to spend big if they are to get a champions league spot. Wenger is by far one of the best managers out there, so if anybody can do this it’s him. Myself I think they will fail to come top 4 this season.