Detailed coverage of Arsenal football club and its players, including match reports, transfer rumours and general football news.
We also have sections on Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry (two legends in football), as well as Cesc Fabregas.
Who would win the Premier League? The Champions League? The FA Cup?
Would Manchester United and Chelsea still fight for the title? Will Arsenal and Liverpool be dumped out of Europe by Villa, Everton and Tottenham?
Which is the best kit in England? in Europe?
Oliver Fowler finds out…
Written by Oliver Fowler. 12 comments
Football has a pretty big role in terms of UK culture, and never more so since the birth of Sky Sports and the Premier League, enhanced even further by Euro ’96. We’re now at a point where around 29 million people attend live games and that’s not even taking into account the millions more who watch from the comfort of their favourite armchair, and 1 in 4 of those who take on the title of a ‘fan’ suggest the game is one of the most important things in their lives.
Is that a bad thing?
Well, if you look at it from a Psychologist’s point of view, it’s pretty good. Dr. Sandy Wolfson, Head of Psychology at Northumbria University, says:
“Football does have positive effects on people’s psychological well-being. It gives people a ready-made topic of conversation where opinions on team selection, strategy, and players’ skills are enjoyable topics for debate. Many people have made good friends and even met their spouses through football.”
But considering some of us dedicate so much of our lives to it, it must give us more than just something to talk about surely? I mean, even the weather does that, right?
Written by Denise. Leave a response
Many a preseason favourite for the title have struggled to start their campaign in the manner that the media hype would suggest, but few have done so quite as spectacularly as Stevenage Borough.
Returning manager Graham Westley had made a number of eye-catching and proven signings over the summer, including Lee Boylan and Mark Albrighton from Cambridge, Eddie Anaclet from Oxford, and Iyseden Christie from Kidderminster.
The squad looked impressive and had many pundits tipping them for the top, but three heavy defeats and two draws see Stevenage in the bottom four, and if Westley was sacked tomorrow few Boro fans would shed tears at his departure.
Written by Gary Andrews. Leave a response
We’re one day closer to the end of the transfer window, and as expected, there’s a mad dash by many to make moves happen before time runs out. So, let’s get a move on and get started with today’s transfer roundup.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 2 comments
After the second weekend of the new season, there’s only one Premier League team left with a 100% record, according to the Right Result.
Written by Soccerlens. 14 comments
Well, we’re into the last week of the summer transfer window, so there’s going to be a mad dash to the finish for several sides looking to make some big signings before the window closes.
Some people are going to get their wishes fulfilled, while some are going to end up out in the cold. Who’s getting set to pack their bags today, and who’s still waiting for the magic words? Read on to find out.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 2 comments
There’s still one more fixture left to be played in the second round of Premier League fixtures, but it’s time to take an early look at the winners and losers from the weekend’s action.
Chelsea and Liverpool have gotten their title challenges off by taking maximum points from their first two league ties and are assured of sitting atop the table at the end of Monday night, but they aren’t the only ones with a reason to feel good as a new week commences.
However, things are not nearly as rosy for some other sides, who have a little something to say for themselves after the weekend.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 12 comments
Just in case you’ve missed anything on SL over the last several days, here’s a quick recap of some of the top topics from the last week.
Written by Eddie Griffin. One comment
It’s the weekend again, and while we sit back and take in the second round of Premier League action (or follow whatever league it is that’s your favorite), there’s still plenty to talk about on the transfer front as we move closer to the end of the transfer window.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 5 comments
I hate Liverpool and I hate Liverpool fans. This isn’t to say that I don’t have a mate or two who is afflicted with Liverpool support and this isn’t to say that as a rule I believe all individual Liverpool fans are scum of the earth, but I can guarantee the image of thousands of scousers bellowing out ‘You’ll never walk alone’ is always enough to turn my stomach.
Whatever the press say about ‘the top 4′, I don’t regard Liverpool as our title rivals and haven’t done for some time. It has been eighteen years since their last league-winning season and in that time they have finished above us twice (1991, 2002). Arsenal and Chelsea have been our title rivals over the past 10 years or so, yet my feelings of dislike for them are incomparable to what I feel for Liverpool. That is proper rivalry.
Written by Scott the Red. 74 comments
The Olympic Games have been a real disappointment. The only event that I was desperate to watch was the diving, but it turned out to be a few lunatics jumping into a pool.
My tissues did come in handy when Paula Radcliffe limped over the line in the marathon - that was pure comedy gold.
Britain has tasted success in the fringe ‘sports’, but we never even competed in the sprinting. We should have told Rio Ferdinand that a drug test was imminent.
Written by Gerry McDonnell. 16 comments
Question for Arsenal fans:
Now that Wenger has commented twice on Gareth Barry (here and here), will you:
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 18 comments
Every year UEFA nominates the best players in club football in Europe with the final awards presented on the eve of the end-of-August UEFA Super Cup. Last year we saw AC Milan’s Kaka, Maldini and Seedorf take the plaudits with Petr Cech rounding off the four and in the process denying Milan a clean sweep.
This year we see a strong England-based presence with 3 of 4 semi-finalists being from England in the Champions League last season and both Chelsea and Manchester United with a good chance of taking all the awards on offer. Here are the nominees:
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 23 comments
The amount of time left in the transfer window gets shorter, and so do the amount of transfer tidbits to talk about. Even though there isn’t a great deal to report on, you know I’ll be here to deliver it, true, false, or absolutely outlandish.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 4 comments
While Arsenal bagged a 31-year old defender who couldn’t make the grade at their fiercest title rivals, Manchester City went ahead and snapped up one of the hottest young defenders in Europe.
Something tells me that someone messed things up here. You’d expect Kompany to be going to Arsenal, Silvestre heading to City.
Has Wenger made a mistake or did he get it right and we’ll see Silvestre in the form of his life this season?
Have City pulled off another transfer coup (2 out of 3, what with Jo coming and Ronaldinho not) or is this going to be a dud signing?
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 39 comments
I’m back to give you all the latest in transfer news and rumors from around Europe and elsewhere, and after we all take a moment to digest/laugh at/make some sort of remark on the coincidence of Dimitar Berbatov signing a Manchester United shirt, you can get start getting caught up on today’s headlines.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 3 comments
Usually selling a player to your fiercest rivals would be considered a controversial decision at best, and an absolute travesty at worst.
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 7 comments
…link a 31-year old, injury-prone, error-prone defender to the club and make him look like Wenger’s first choice partner for another 31-year old, injury-prone, error-prone defender.
They’re both pretty fast though (fast enough to escape from Man City/Sunderland and Chelsea, respectively), although it’ll be interesting to see if Wenger says ‘I didn’t see the headbutt’ after the signing.
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 2 comments
It’s a pretty short day in transfer tidbits, since most of the focus today is on the international action going on everywhere, but there is still a decent amount of news to report on, so let’s hop to it, shall we?
Written by Eddie Griffin. 7 comments
This isn’t a slight against Arsenal, any Arsenal player or the Arsenal manager - more a question about Wenger’s management methods.
At times in the last two seasons it’s almost as if William Gallas never stopped talking to the press. He’d talk about the players, the team, himself, the manager - anything that was put to him, he’d have a nice chat about it.
Written by Soccerlens. 3 comments
The Premier League has confirmed the first transfer deadline of the season has been extended until 1 September.
The window is scheduled to close 24 hours earlier but, following normal league guidelines, it has been put back because August 31 falls on a Sunday.
The move has been agreed between the Premier League, Football League and Football Association.
Once the deadline passes, teams will then have to wait until January 2009 to sign players from other clubs.
Written by Soccerlens. 6 comments
As a child, the summer holidays brought about a family trip to a campsite in Europe. We’d get in the car to travel down to Dover and I would always be wearing my United shirt. After hours and hours of driving, we’d pull in at our designated tin can and the holiday had begun.
It wouldn’t be long before I started mixing with other kids, mainly English, who I’d bump in to at the pool or the kids club. These times were my first insights to what a hugely popular and unpopular club Manchester United were.
Written by Scott the Red. 23 comments
The first weekend of the 08/09 season saw Tottenham lose away to Middlesbrough, Manchester United held to a draw at home to Newcastle, Portsmouth destroyed in a game that will be as remembered for Chelsea’s tactical superiority as the lack of effort from Pompey players and Everton lose at home to a Blackburn side that has lost 2 of its best players over the summer (see all results here).
Shocking, shocking results. United have thrown away the title, Pompey will join Everton in a relegation scrap and Tottenham will probably join them once Berbatov refuses to come back from Bulgaria. It’s the end of the world as we know it….
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 18 comments
Wenger’s position at Arsenal has been over the years an object of respect, envy and curiosity. How does he get them playing so well so young? How can they keep winning even with a threadbare squad? How come he’s not out of a job yet?
More and more people are asking that last question in recent years as Arsenal haven’t won the league title in the last four seasons. In a culture where winners are glorified and everyone else is looked down on, and in a league where managers are fired on a regular basis for missing their targets by an inch, Wenger isn’t concerned.
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 15 comments
There’s not a great deal to report in today’s transfer roundup, since it’s Sunday, but with the Premier League season having kicked off, it’s about as clear an indicator that the transfer window is getting closer and closer to its end.
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
Where will the next generation of home grown Premier League stars come from? Nextsoccerstar.com predicts who will be the winners and losers in the ‘youth’ stakes this season….
Written by Oliver Fowler. 8 comments
The predictions are divided into 5 categories - the press, the players, the game, the teams and everyone else (fans, agents, management). You’re welcome to add your own predictions in the comments, discuss the predictions I’ve made or come back later on in the season and check how many I got right (I’m going for 50 out of 50).
Here we go:
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 23 comments
A look at the average attendance figures for the current 20 Premier League clubs for the 07/08 season:
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 20 comments
I left writing my season preview for Arsenal until as late in the day as possible. The season kicks off on Saturday with a home tie against West Brom, and the trepidation I felt mid-July still hasn’t disappeared.
Wednesday night’s result in Holland in the Champions League third qualifying round was a good early test for the Gunners, which they passed, though hardly emphatically. The 2-0 scoreline was somewhat undeserved as FC Twente had plenty of opportunities to score and should be going into the second leg at least level.
There is no doubting that Arsenal will need to improve significantly upon this performance when the real stuff starts this weekend, and they will. I am perhaps reading a little too much into a match in which numerous key first team players were missing, and plenty of young inexperienced players were blooded. It was an acceptable performance overall.
However, Arsenal’s squad depth was an issue last season, and will be their undoing again this season. I am not questioning the quality of Arsenal players; every player in the squad is more than capable of playing fluid, easy-on-the-eye football that we Arsenal fans have come to take for granted over recent years.
Arsenal brand of football seems to improve its level of technique season-on-season, but in recent seasons it has lacked the end product that was bestowed on it in the title winning seasons. Maybe Arsenal have to become a little more direct, a little more ‘ugly.’
There were signs early last season that Arsenal had adapted their game to become more efficient in front of goal, they were beginning to shoot more and from distance, and weren’t scared of the long ball, but as wins became harder to come by, and confidence ebbed, Arsenal retreated into their comfort zone somewhat by rekindling their ‘passing across the 18-yard line’ game that has been a large factor in the club’s failure to win any trophies during the last three seasons.
I don’t see Arsenal’s trophy cabinet having to make room for another addition this season either, unless the Carling Cup team can win the competition as their performances in recent seasons has deserved.
Before last season, supporters were justifiably worried about how the sale of Henry would affect the team; initially it galvanised the squad and Arsenal played as well, if not better than ‘The Invincibles’ of 2003/04. The preseason expectations were justified though, and Arsenal’s inexperience told as the finish line appeared upon the horizon. Whilst expected, it was a little undeserved. This inexperience can’t resurface this season if Arsenal want to win the league.
Finishing four points behind the eventual Champions was a fantastic effort and much more than I had imagined at the start of the season, but if I’m honest, Arsenal football club and its fans should never be settling for anything less than winn
