Arsenal coaches to Greek trialist: “You showed energy and played well”

By Aries

Nikos Karelis, is a 16 year old schoolboy playing for Cretan side Ergotelis in the Greek league.

As we reported a few days ago he was suddenly summoned by Steve Gatting, coach of the Arsenal Under 16s, to go on a trial with Arsenal in Italy and participate in the Atalanta Cup tournament.

Nikos scored two goals, one against Chievo and the other against CSKA Moscow and also scored his penalty in the shoot out against Juventus in the final.

His room mate and fellow trialist Norwegian goalkeeper Sean McDermott saved one and scored another as his was the penalty that won the competition. So both trialists seem to have done very well in the end.

Sean plays for Norwegian outfit, IK Vag.

His father is from Donegal and his mother from Norway so he is eligible to play for both Norway and the Republic of Ireland.

He has chosen to play for the Republic of Ireland and is considered to be a young goalkeeper with a bright future.

Nikos was instructed to play as a centre forward in a 4 3 3 formation and he reveled in that position.

The travelling from Greece to London and then back again to Italy all within 24 hours must have taken a lot out of him.

However according to Greek sports paper “Goalday” the Arsenal bench seemed satisfied with his performance labelling it as energetic. He was told that his trial went well and that contact will be made soon.

Nikos himself said that “It was a tremendous experience for me playing at such a high level of football and with some footballers who will be the stars of the future”

While he waits for that phone call his mind will be full of the memories of the last few days:

Scoring the goals, lifting the Cup along with the other Arsenal young stars and singing «we are the champions» in front of the spectators (which were mostly Juventus fans).

What also made an impression on him was the fact that the Arsenal defenders always played the ball on the ground!



Greek wonderkid completes trial with Arsenal scoring two goals in Italian tournament

Wenger’s three experiments that went bust and two that didn’t

By 1970’s Gooner

Wenger’s stinginess and the Arsenal Board’s tight purse strings has been a match made in heaven.

While the other big three have been splashing the dough making big money purchases during the last two transfer windows, Arsenal, apart from Sagna and Eduardo, have been recruiting youngsters mainly under 18 years old.

Reliance was therefore placed on a squad that was thin and littered with younger players with as yet unproven ability on the big stage.

This approach had made Wenger take a chance on many positions and rely on squad players to fill in if and when required. And this is where eventually a lot went wrong.

Experiment Number 1: Not buying a centre back during the January transfer window

It was known beforehand, of course, that the Africa Nations Cup would take Kolo Toure away during the significant January period.

Yet Arsene refused to bring in cover choosing to rely on the services of two error prone and relatively inexperienced youngsters. Philip Senderos and Yohan Djourou.

And on top of that Kolo Toure returned crocked.

As he did during the previous Africa Nations Cup (and so did Alexander Song a possible adequate replacement as it turned out to be)!

Senderos had a few good games and even scored.

But he also had a few bad games; and when you make mistakes in defence they count more than if you make them in other areas of the pitch as an attacker….

Yes it is important to allow the youngsters to get valuable experience.

But letting Djourou play in very demanding games for relegation threatened Birmingham and then recalling him in the middle of the season meant that his fatigue levels were high as also was his susceptibility to injury.

He only played in the Carling Cup semi final against Spurs and then he got crocked too! He hasn’t started a game since. It’s difficult to say, of course, whether he would have made fewer errors than Senderos…..

Experiment Number 2: Anointing Eboue as a winger

Eboue showed weaknesses last season as a right back. He did however sparkle when he ventured forward being very incisive and thrusting.

But promoting him to a more permanent role as a creative wide midfielder backfired pretty quickly.

Especially when the injury prone Rosicky began to miss one game after another.

And then Wenger had to choose between Eboue, Diaby and Walcott to play on the wings.

Two of them proved to be square pegs in round holes.

The other needed time and games to grow up a bit. Need I say no more….

Clearly a real winger, either left or right footed, has been badly missing from the side. This meant that in his absence, opponents were not stretched enough thus forcing Arsenal to attack mainly from the middle.

But that is the easier way to defend, by packing the central areas in front of the defence and making it really difficult to get through. And this is what Arsenal faced throughout the season……

Experiment Number 3: Relying on a newly bought forward to blend in double fast and on a rookie with promise

You can’t win games in football unless you have pretty potent and experienced forwards. And you need more than two as injuries are always part of the game.

Yet Wenger chose to rely on only two relatively experienced forwards in Van Persie and Adebayor (who admittedly proved to be up to the task), on a new to the Premiership recruit and on a youngster who showed promise but in a lower League the year before.

This was indeed an experiment because although Eduardo blended in fast it did take him the best part of half the season to do so. Until unfortunately when he was coming good he got taken out by injury.

However during the time it took him to acclimatise there was always the real danger of either Van Persie or Adebayor getting injured. And Murphy’s Law says that if anything can go wrong it will go wrong!

Van Persie got injured on international duty with Holland in October.

He hasn’t really been back since.

Injuries are part of football life and everyone knows that.

That is why you are taking a real risk when you are really relying on only two proven forwards to get you through the best part of the season.

This forced Wenger to change the system from 4 4 2 to 4 5 1 by bringing Hleb in the central areas of midfield and playing Adebayor usually as a lone striker.

No wonder the guy was so tired in many of the latter games of the season (and probably why he kept getting caught offside).

This also meant that Wenger had to find other players to occupy the wide midfield positions as Hleb had to fill infield; but of course Arsene then had to improvise as there weren’t any genuine wingers in the squad that he could rely on.

And talking about taking risks; Togo failed to qualify for the Africa nations Cup otherwise we would have been without Adebayor as well as Toure during January (may be Murphy’s law is not foolproof after all).

Experiment Number 4: Signing a new right back

This is a move that really proved very successful as Bakary Sagna has excelled in that position; rightly picked in the Premier League’s best 11.


He is strong and tenacious in the tackle but more importantly has excellent positional awareness. He will be Arsenal’s right back for years to come.

And with Clichy blossoming as Europe’s best left back leaves as the only tinkering needed in defence the recruitment of another top class central defender who can also tackle the long balls.

Experiment Number 5: Promoting Almunia

A lot of fans may disagree but in my opinion Wenger had no other choice after mad Jens begun dropping clangers early in the season costing us points.

Almunia has defied most of his critics making some great saves and even saving a crucial penalty against Spurs at the Emirates.

He will be even better next season as the experience gained as first choice this year will be invaluable.

A note of optimism

The best way to look at it is that this season has probably been used by Wenger as a learning process and to provide a hands on assessment of areas in the team that need strengthening.

A calculated experiment towards getting the youngsters ready for a real onslaught on glory for next season.

Then all the above were experiments well worth taking…..



Arsenal and Barcelona play the beautiful game…… and then get knocked out

Kolo Toure stretchered off the Africa Nations Cup

Sagna: get your hair on please!

Song shines for Cameroon as they reach the Africa Nations Cup Final

Greek wonderkid completes trial with Arsenal scoring two goals in Italian tournament

By Aries

Arsene Wenger’s appetite for young starlets plucked from all over the world never ceases to amaze.

This time his scouting network has span its web much closer at home, in Europe and the Greek league. This is where Nikos Karelis, a 16 year old who last week became the youngest player to kick a ball in this part of the world has been spotted.

His parents received a phone call out of the blue last Tuesday from the President of his Cretan Club Ergorelis who duly informed them that Arsenal were interested to take him on a week’s trial.

They couldn’t say no so young Nikos packed his bags and off he went with everyone’s wishes for the best.

“ I am very happy and I will certainly try my best….I am not afraid” he said in a quick interview he gave to a Greek sports newspaper before departing.

Apparently he made an impression during his recent call up with the Greece Youth team and he is highly rated by his fellow players:

“He is bound to become a great player. He is strong for his age, quick and can kick a ball. He has courage and initiative in his play” they say.

He joined Arsenal’s under 16s and traveled with them to Italy to take part in a youth tournament. He is expected back to Crete today, Monday.

“It was a tremendous experience for me playing at such a high level of football and with some footballers who will be the stars of the future” he said to Sport 24 after the end of his trial. He didn’t meet Mr Wenger but he did get to meet Jens Lehmann!

“I haven’t been told anything about the outcome of my trial but Arsenal will speak to my parents and my club about it soon".

He scored two goals during the Atalanta Cup Tournament and has left very good impressions after helping Arsenal win the Cup beating Juventus in the final on penalties.

Nikos is a left footed midfielder but can also play through the middle.

Flamini having dinner in Kaladze’s Milan restaurant (+ photo)

By Aries

As announced in the afternoon, Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani, Mathieu Flamini, arrived in Milan in the evening and is now having dinner in the restaurant owned by his future team companion, Kaladze, near the central station.

The French midfielder landed at 20.45 at the private Linate airport, on board a plane from London. In the afternoon he was on the sidelines at the Emirates Stadium for the last home game of Arsenal’s season.

He looked then a man without a care in the world as he hugged and joked with his mates, Fabregas and Hleb. No wonder as he is due to sign a lucrative four year deal worth a staggering 144,000 pounds a week!

In jeans, black jacket and shirt, Flamini was welcomed by a dozen of journalists, photographers and operators who were waiting in front of the restaurant.


All the questions were responded to with a dry "later, later."

He is expected to undergo a medical on Monday.

Arsenal opened bidding with 15m for Kranjkar

By Aries

When we first reported on this site that Arsenal were interested in Portsmouth’s creative midfielder Niko Kranjkar as far back as early March there were some readers that ridiculed it either as pure speculation or even fabrication!

Well, once again we are proved right as our post “Wenger interested in Portsmouth ace to replace Arsenal midfielder” proved to foretell of what was to come.

We then wrote that Arsene Wenger was looking to replace Alexander Hleb who was and still is courted by Italian sirens.

And today’s English press is reporting what Niko’s father, ex Croatia national coach, Zlatko Kranjcar has confirmed Arsenal's interest.

"Wenger likes players with a sense of the game," Kranjcar told Croatian tv station Index. "Arsenal plays creative football and Wenger recognises this in Niko and he would be a logical replacement for Hleb."

This came after the current Croatia coach, Bilic, stated recently that Niko would be ideal for Arsenal’s way of playing. He was the one remember that encouraged Eduardo to join Arsenal having already given a glowing report on the player to Wenger.

Portsmouth is of course resisting with the general manager Peter Storrie issuing a statement just five days ago:

“As regards to all of this supposed interest in Niko, it was the first we heard about it. We don't know anything about it, Arsenal don't know anything about it and Niko doesn't know anything about it. So you can take it as the usual rubbish speculation that goes on at this time of the year” he said.

With Niko’s father “coming out” it doesn’t look like speculation now does it?

And there are further news for you. Arsenal have already bid 15m pounds (19m euros) for the player, Croatian internet news site index.hr is reporting. They also state that this has been rebuffed by Portsmouth.

Just for how long though? The player is probably too focused on the FA Cup final for the moment to force the issue if he wishes to. But after that is over the bidding will begin in earnest.

What is also of course interesting and troubling is Wenger’s desire to sign another creative midfielder unless someone is leaving.

This is worrying as Hleb has been the one who Wenger has been complaining about after Inter Milan’s approach to the player in an ice cream parlour in Italy.

And the Croatian media and Kranjakar’s father do mention that Niko is targeted as a replacement for Hleb.

We are not about to lose two of our midfielders are we?

Arsenal and Barcelona play the beautiful game…… and then get knocked out

By 1970’s Gooner

It was strange watching the Manchester United Champions League Semi Finals against Barcelona. It was like any of Arsenal’s games against the big three in England this season.

Barcelona played beautiful football, passing the ball around using technique and ability and had 61% of possession at the Nou camp and 62% of possession at Old Trafford!

In a similar way Arsenal enjoyed the majority of possession during periods of the Quarter Final games against Liverpool and I would go as far as to say that overall they outplayed them. They also did the same in their recent encounters with Manchester United and Chelsea.

Yet both Barcelona and Arsenal end up with nothing.

The major reason for this is that they both lacked power and strength which would have complimented so well their pretty and technical football.

Barcelona had Messi, Deco, Eto and Iniesta in their line up against Manchester United. Arsenal had Fabregas, Hleb, Van Persie, Adebayor and Walcott. All beautiful players but not really powerful enough.

Compare this to Chelsea’s Drogba, Ballack, Lampard, Essien and Terry. And to Manchester United’s Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Tevez, Anderson and Rooney.

There’s no comparison.

You need both ingredients to succeed in today’s football. If one of the two is more prominent then the imbalance hampers the team’s performance and inevitably results in failure.

Just as Barcelona and Arsenal did not have enough steel in their sides and were in the end overtaken by the more balanced sides they faced.

For they played the beautiful football, weaved their pretty patterns but in the end succumbed to the forcefulness of their opponents.

Chelsea and Manchester United have more or less managed to find this balance (Man U a little bit more than Chelsea) and as such have made the transition from the old typical British sides who had a lot of steel and pathos in their play but not enough skill.

Arsenal (and Barcelona in their own way) need to find theirs still; but in the opposite way.

Levski comment on Dimitrov transfer to Arsenal

By Aries

Well we told you that if there was to be any movement on the on going saga of Dimitrov’s transfer to Arsenal we would get a sniff of it.

And yesterday in our post titled “Dimitrov’s transfer to Arsenal hit a snag” we reported that Arsenal had to get round work permit regulations if Dimitrov was to play for Arsenal before 2009.

Now Levski have issued a denial that Dimitrov is Arsenal bound rubbishing recent rumours that have been spread by some blogs and even the Epping Forest Guardian!

When contacted by The Sofia Echo (a Bulgarian newspaper) about a transfer deal involving Dimitrov and Arsenal, a spokesperson for Levski Sofia said "there is no such thing".

The Sofia Echo mentions that the rumours had started when the Arsenal-Gunz blog posted a fabricated entry on April 28 quoting local Bulgarian press about the transfer. The blog has since been taken off-line, but its Google cache is still available.

The Echo goes on to say that the blog entry was subsequently picked up by other bloggers and even appeared in the East London and West Essex Guardian series newspaper, which headlined Gunners believed to have landed talented Bulgarian winger.

Dimitrov scored Levski’s only goal yesterday in their 2-1 defeat against Chernomore.


“Dimitrov’s transfer to Arsenal hit a snag”

Dimitrov’s transfer to Arsenal hit a snag

By Aries

There has been pure rubbish written in the last few days about Bulgarian Nicolay Dimitrov’s “impending” transfer to Arsenal (for 700k).

As you may recall “Arsenal Analysis” first reported on Dimitrov’s trial period at London Colney, the ensuing communication between Arsene Wenger and the Levski hierarchy and the scouting that took place by Arsenal’s Bobby Bennet.

So you would expect that we will be one of the first ones to get a sniff of any impending transfer that might involve Dimitrov.

What has actually happened is that the Independent in an article last week mentioned in passing, if you like, that Arsenal’s interest in Dimitrov may be renewed.

This has resulted in various blogs and the Epping Forest Guardian of all newspapers taking it as fact that the deal has gone through!

Well we have news for you.

Firstly the Bulgarian site that one Arsenal blog (we will not mention their name here) quotes as their hot source, “The Sofia Echo” has no such news on Dimitrov.

Secondly our sources have informed us that a reason for the inactivity around Dimitrov’s transfer to Arsenal is that a work permit is required by the UK authorities for any player originating from Bulgaria (and Romania).

This is even if Bulgaria is a fully fledged member of the European Union as there is a restriction on the movement of labour which will last until the beginning of 2009.

This was also the reason that the transfer (for £700k) of another Bulgarian, CSKA Sofia’s Valentin Iliev, to Norwich failed last January.

So if there is to be any activity on this front it will have to be with the new year unless Arsenal ask and get special dispensation for Dimitrov.

But this is unlikely as he has not played in three quarters of Bulgaria’s international games.

Dimitrov for his part has said that he has read of the English press stories about him and Arsenal but all he is doing now is concentrating on helping his club, Levski, get into the UEFA positions in Bulgarian League.

"I read what they have issued in England for me and Arsenal. I try not to think of these things but only of Levski” he said to Bulgarian Sports paper “Gong”.

Eduardo on course for earlier than expected return

By Aries

Eduardo has been in Rio de Janeiro attending Ronaldo’s Clinic R9 every day.

As we have reported first on this site his doctors who Arsenal entrusted for his recovery programme headed by the Brazilian National Team doctor,Jose Luis Runco, have come out and put his expected return on the training field in four months.

This has encouraged Eduardo who said to Brazilian Globosporte.com that he wants to shorten his time of recovery even further.

“I prefer to look forward and I am dedicated to my physiotherapy programme. If necessary, I will spend 24 hours on the treatment table. If God gives me the right to hope, I will fight for it – completely”.

He also revealed that Martin Taylor has not yet apologised to him!

When asked about the punishment of a three game ban that Taylor received he said that it was disproportionate to the damage done to him.

He compared his situation to Dutch player Niels Kokmeijer who broke his leg after Moroccan Rachid Bouaouzan (now with Wigan) tackled him. He was sent to prison for six months by a Dutch court.

He thought that Rachid Bouaouzan’s punishment was too excessive.

“I think Rachid Bouaouzan should have been removed from football for the same time that the victim remained in recovery. As the player can not go back to work, the aggressor deserved to be excluded from football”.

Eduardo's return is now expected in September of this year.

This will probably encourage Arsene Wenger to utilise any transfer funds he has in strengthening other areas such as in central defence and in midfield especially if Flamini leaves.

Arsenal’s title hopes are still alive. Player analysis and ratings Vs Derby

By 1970’s Gooner

Call me the eternal optimist if you like but as I have been saying throughout the last week we would still have a chance if only Chelsea would beat Manchester United.

Now they did and the fact we have reduced the gap by thrashing Derby means that the scenario that would give the title to Arsenal is not that implausible….

The ridicule I have received is welcomed especially if Manchester United and Chelsea slip up in the next two games.

All we need is for Manchester United to loose one and draw the other of their two remaining games and Chelsea not to win any (as we have a superior goal difference over Chelsea)

Manchester United play against West Ham (home) and Wigan (away) and Chelsea against Newcastle (away) and Bolton (home).

Oh and Arsenal have to win both their games against Everton (home) and Sunderland (away).

Manchester United 36, +53, 81
Chelsea 36, +37, 81
Arsenal 36, +41, 77

Highly unlikely you might say but it’s not over until Vic Akers sings; and as in life, the most unpredictable things can happen when you least expect them…..

Tonight’s game can be characterised by the word “undisciplined”. When Arsenal went 1-0 up and then again 2-1 up they lost their discipline and started prancing about as the game became too easy for them.

They were lucky they were playing against a Derby side that was undisciplined and lacking in defencive capabilities. Darren Moore looking like a pub player than a Premiership come championship centre half.

Any other team would have punished Arsenal’s stepping off the gas like a lot of other lesser capable but more disciplined teams have done in the past causing Arsenal crucial points.

Nevertheless you can’t complain much when your team score six goals at a canter.

Fabiansky

He showed us both his strengths and weaknesses. He is a very good shot stopper as are a lot of goalkeepers who hail from Leagues that play the ball more on the ground rather than send crosses in at every opportunity.

But he is weak on the high balls as he always opted to punch out rather than catch the ball in the air. He was also partly at fault for the equaliser as he stayed on his line when the corner was placed in the heart of the defence. 6

Song

He made a few mistakes tonight that unfortunately resulted in the two goals that Derby scored. The first he failed to jump in order to head the ball away from the corner, may be waiting for Fabiansky to come out.

For Derby’s second goal he took the ball out of the defence too much and then proceeded to make a hush of a pass that was intercepted. He was then course out of position in the center of our defence which Earnshaw took advantage and raced on alone to beat Fabiansky. 5

Gallas

He was professional enough and kept to his position and role quite well up until the final ten minutes when it was obvious that the game was won. He tried to go forward to get a goal but couldn’t manage it. 7

Clichy

He has been along with Fabregas Arsenal’s best player this season. If it wasn’t for a few lapses of concentration he would have had a perfect season. No one got passed him tonight and went forward all the time. 9

Toure

Solid and looked less tired tonight. Had a couple of shots that went very near to getting him another goal for this season. 8

Fabregas

The little maestro was back to his best. He was controlling midfield spraying the passes left right and centre. Not even that idiot hatchet man calling himself a footballer (Savage) could get near him. 9

Denilson

He started very tentatively and looked out of the pace and game. But after 20 minutes or so he started contributing constructively and from then on he bossed the midfield along with Fabregas. He was also quite good at stealing the ball and setting counter attacks up. 8

Eboue

He was less frivolous tonight and actually got his crosses in early and to the right areas. One of his better games for Arsenal. 8

Walcott

He was always a danger on the flanks as the Derby defenders couln’t keep up with his pace. When he began to look up rather than just hair down the line he became much more dangerous. This was very evident in the second half as Derby tired and he found more space.

He scored a wonderful goal which was a carbon copy of a goal he scored for the under 21s against Bulgaria (I think). He cut into the area from the left and curled a shot around Carroll into the net. 8

Bendtner

Combined very well with Van Persie for the first goal after they played the one two. He took his goal coolly into the opposite corner.


From then on he had an average game until the second half when in an withdrawn role (Van Persie had gone off with a thigh strain) he showed that he has the vision and the pass to set up his fellow players.

Adebayor was guilty of not scoring more goals as Bendtner set him up on his own in the area but he failed to beat the goalkeeper. 8

Van Persie

Played only one half but he of course oozed quality. He missed a sitter though when he did all the hard work to get a clear shot on goal which he put wide.

But he made up for it by scoring soon after controlling Toure’s delightful high ball which he brought under control with his chest inside the area and slotting passed the hapless Carroll. 8

Adebayor

Came on the second 45 minutes but managed to get his second hat trick of the season (the first was against the same opponents at the Emirates).

His first was a tap in after good work from Walcott who cut in from the right after a delightful through pass from Denilson.

The second came after wonderful interplay in the middle of the park and wing play from Clichy who cut in from the left and laid a through ball across the area for the oncoming Adebayor to slide in.

And his third after a sumptious through ball through the middle from Fabregas which left him with only Carroll to beat; which he did by dancing passed him and rolling the ball into the net. 9


Man of the Match: Adebayor