I dint Know Our Deputy President was an Arsenal Fan look what you wrote. To those who may have wondered what Arsenal fans meant when they said they’ll win the title next season; it’s time to stop wondering. We meant the 2014-15 season and come Sunday, May 24, 2015, the Gunners will be crowned the English Premier League champions. And here’s why. Last Sunday, we all witnessed Mikel Arteta lift the Community Shield after Arsenal convincingly beat Manchester City 3-0 at the Wembley. As expected, the pundits and bookmakers had given the Gunners little chance – they always do. However, at the end of the match, Man City had more ball possession but Arsenal possessed all the balls that went into the net – the Citizens’ net! Please note that this stroll in the park victory happened in the absence of Fifa World Cup winning trio: Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker. Over the years, Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has been criticized for failing to sign big players during the transfer window to strengthen the team. Today, few can accuse the economics (and football) professor of the same. At the Emirates have come Alexis Sanchez (striker), Calum Chambers (defender), Mathieu Debuchy (defender) and David Ospina (goalkeeper) and the transfer window is still open. HERALD A CHANGE Ospina, the 6ft stopper acquired from Nice, impressed between the posts during Arsenal’s 5-1 mauling of Benfica during the Emirates Cup a fortnight ago. He also pulled a series of fine saves in goal for Colombia at the World Cup in Brazil, helping his country reach the quarter-finals. If Wojciech Szczesny is complacent, Ospina will impress during FA Cup matches and that could herald a change of the wearer of Arsenal’s Number One jersey. The other three new signings played a part in the all-important triumph over Man City last Sunday. Sanchez will undoubtedly become one of Arsenal’s finest talents and key contributors in front of goal. He is a major addition to an already star-studded striking department that includes Podolski, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yaya Sanogo. It gets even juicier in midfield. Tomas Rosicky, Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Mathieu Flamini will cause all sorts of problems for their contemporaries in the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool, who, as expected, are the other horses in the title race. PURSUE SAMI KHEDIRA However, I feel that Arsenal could do with a defensive midfielder to rekindle Patrick Vieira’s magic or do what Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso do for Barcelona and Real Madrid so well. I think Wenger should still pursue Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira for this assignment-he is made for it. At the back Arsenal start from a position of strength, the team conceded the second fewest number of goals in the league last season. Hats off to Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny for this record. At some point these two formed such a solid partnership that Arsenal managed a streak of nine wins and five draws, only conceding 10 goals. Thomas Vermaelen (now at Barcelona) and Bacary Sagna (Man City) were also part of the feat but were not the major contributors. Even with the pair leaving the Emirates, Wenger still has Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal as replacements to which he has added the arrivals of Debuchy and Chambers from Newcastle and Southampton, respectively. Barring any catastrophe, I see The Emirates becoming a fortress where teams will drop the highest number of points this season. I predict that Arsenal’s voyage to greatness starts today when they beat Crystal Palace 4-0. (The author is the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya and a diehard Arsenal fan)
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 09:28:16 +0000
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