A season-defining week for Arsenal

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Good evening everyone.

Here we are at the start of one of Arsene Wenger’s most important weeks as a manager of our club. I think it’s fair to say that this is a week that could define our season. This is a week in which he’s got to do most of his transfer business. This is a week in which we’ll fight for a place in the Champions League group stage and a week in which we’ll face champions Manchester United. And we better be ready for it.

There are exactly 10 days left of the transfer window and while it won’t surprise me if we see some last second movement, I would prefer things to be done before United. A decision has to be made about Samir Nasri and soon. The Frenchman clearly doesn’t want to sign a new contract, but I think Wenger won’t sell him if he can’t find a replacement. Roberto Mancini said yesterday that he hopes to have Nasri in his side in the next 24 hours. He also said that if Samir plays on Wednesday for us it would be “a big problem”. Of course, that would mean he’ll be cup tied and City won’t be able to use him in Europe.

The 24 hours have passed, more or less, and the number 8 is still an Arsenal player. We’ll see what happens on that front, maybe Arsene can convince him to stay? I guess we’ll know the answer before Wednesday. If he plays then that for me is a clear sign of what will happen. I would be happy to see him stay, I’m not going to lie. He’s a quality player and we need to keep him. Losing both him and Fabregas in one summer is just too much.

Arsenal have included Nasri in the A List for the game in Italy, but that doesn’t really mean anything. Remember that Cesc was also included in our Premier League squad before he got sold. The rest of the squad can be found here.

Why is it such an important week for Arsene?

I said above that this week could define our season. Firstly, we must qualify for the Champions League. Failing to go through on Wednesday is equal to a disaster and I don’t even want to think about what the consequences of that might be. I don’t even want to imagine the reaction that it’s going to trigger from some sets of fans. A defeat would be a massive blow and I hope the players realise what they’re playing for.

I think we have what it takes to win in Italy, but what really worries is what we are going to do in the Premier League and all the other competitions. I have to say, as big an optimist as I am, I don’t believe that the current squad can win us a trophy this season. The basis is there, we don’t need any major changes, but we need some minor tweaks here and there and if we want to challenge for anything alterations have to be made. Wenger must act, and he must do it quickly. Time is ticking away. Chelsea confirmed the signing of Juan Mata last night and that really is a chance missed for Arsenal. I don’t know how big our interest has been, but we certainly could have taken him more than a month ago if we had matched the transfer fee required by Valencia. He is now a closed chapter and we must look elsewhere.

I trust Wenger’s judgement and I’m sure he can find the right players. There was a rumour about Kaka joining our club from Real Madrid. I remember what Kaka was at Milan, but we never saw him at his best at the Spanish club. I don’t think he’s the player he once was and while his name may excite a lot of people, I’m not so sure we really need him. Anyway, that’s just speculation so we don’t know if there’s anything in it at all. I’m not going to list any names, let’s just wait and see what happens. One thing is certain for me – Wenger wants to make changes and is looking. He knows that without a few new faces in we simply cannot be a contender this year and I sincerely hope that he and the board take the required actions.

In other news, UEFA have given the manager a fresh two-match ban following what happened last week at the Emirates.

“Today’s decision was taken in relation to the Arsenal manager not abiding by the decision of the Control and Disciplinary Body during the English club’s UEFA Champions League play-off game against Udinese Calcio last Tuesday, 16 August. Wenger is therefore suspended for Arsenal’s second-leg match against Udinese in Italy on Wednesday and then the next UEFA competition fixture for which he would be eligible.”

They’ve also fined us €10,000 for improper conduct. Bollocks. The decision will be appealed by the club and quite rightly so. I think UEFA need to stop being so petty and focus on the bigger issues in football. I didn’t see anything wrong with what Wenger did the other night. He’s been told not to communicate with Pat Rice and not to enter dressing room. He’s also been told that he could speak to Boro Primorac who could then pass things on to the bench. From what we saw Arsene did just that. I’m a bit sceptical about us winning the appeal though. Anyway, it’s not such a big deal, we should be able to beat Udinese without Wenger on the sideline.

Finally I suggest you check this out. According to the article Arsene Wenger and the board are in disagreement over how much the players must be paid. It says that both the board and the manager realise the need for signings, both agree that big money must be spent, but their opinions differ when it comes down to how much they have to pay the players. It’s certainly an interesting read and it may be the answer to many of our questions over the summer. I don’t think we’ll learn the truth any time soon though, maybe in someone’s biography in a few years time. I highly doubt the credibility of this information, to be honest. With the “unknown source” and all that, but who knows. I for one don’t believe it. Go check it out.

And also, for those of you that have subscriptions to Arsenal Player I suggest checking out the new Talking Tactics video with Stewart Robson. He does make some good points about our performance on Saturday against Liverpool and I think it’s worth a look.

So that’ll be it for today. We’ll see what destiny has in store for us over the next couple of days. Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing the results from the poll, you still have time to vote. Question is on the sidebar. And on I’ll be back on Wednesday morning too previewing the Udinese game. Until then, have a nice week.