Welcome to Arsenal episode of the fan-inspired series, A Gooner’s Perspective. This episode is firmly focused on the activities of the summer transfer window as some Nigerian Arsenal bloggers took some time out to share their thoughts on the issue. Every Arsenal fan is always entitled to his/her opinion and these views are more than likely to be supported by one and opposed by another. A Gooner’s Perspective is a series of posts dedicated to airing the views of selected Gooners on certain issues with the club.
Introducing,
Mister Spruce: A goonerette that’s also a lawyer, Arsenal blogger and men’s stylist. She owns a beautiful website with top notch content.
Soccergunz: A hardworking engineer that takes some time out to blog about Arsenal despite the fact that he spends more time offshore than the amount of times Yaya Sanogo has scored for the Gunners
EPL Naija: A collaborative site managed by some passionate individuals. They keep coming up with innovative strategies with alarming consistency. Here’s one of them.
Gooner Memoirs: Talented Arsenal writers that take some time out to blog about the club. One of the writers, Punkenstein, also has his own personal blog. He writes really well.
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Enigma106: It’s going be an Arsenal bloggers forum today. Sweet!
SG: You don’t mean it!
Enigma106: Look bush Oga -___-
MS: lol. Hi guys. Sprucy here
EPL 9ja: Welcome madam. This is Rahman of EPL Naija
*Seymour, Escobar and Punkenstein speak at the same time*: We are Legion… err, Gooner Memoirs legion tho.
Enigma106: What’s your take on the season so far?
SG: The season is a few games old and it all has Ramsey on it. We are yet to click and seem to have players playing in positions that they don’t seem comfortable with. At this rate, Arsenal cannot beat Manchester City or Chelsea. We have been awful in front of goal and have really not created a lot of chances. We will need to maximize our counter attacks. We just can’t continue like this.
MS: Soccergunz, easy with the negativity. To me, it’s letter than the last 8. I’m almost satisfied.
EPL 9ja: It’s just like the normal Arsenal I grew up loving; nothing exciting yet as per the games we ve played
GM: Bittersweet. We’re undefeated, made the Champions League group stages but there’s a sense of anti-climax as a result of the transfer window activity. One or two more quality signings in necessary positions would have seen us have the best window since the first one that opened on Noah’s ark.
It’s felt too much like we were still in preseason so in a way, season starts after the interlull really. And the football by us has been like lukewarm fanta in Apapa traffic during fuel scarcity.
MS: Lmao!
Enigma106: How did you react to the signing of Alexis Sanchez?
SG: i was quite excited to see a striker that could make something out of nothing. In as much as i expected an out and out striker, i felt it was a replacement to the Suarez we never bought. Great buy, hope he justifies the immense expectations.
MS: I was wowed!
EPL 9ja: Well when we signed Alexis, I was wowed just like when we signed Ozil.
Enigma106: Because Madam Sprucy was wowed, you too were wowed abi. Issokay. #TeamWowed noni
I got them like, ‘Wow’
GM: Same way I did with Ozil, now spread that feeling over a couple of days. I was pumped, because I knew we signed a world beater. His WC outing made it even sweeter. And he’s repaid his transfer fee with one goal. One thing Alexis – they’re football shorts, not panties.
SG: Don’t mind Alexis. Lol.
Enigma106: With Matt Debuchy replacing Bacary Sagna, would you have preferred Carl Jenkinson to serve as his deputy?
SG: Jenkinson needs a number of games to gain experience. I believe he was sent out on loan for his own good. His passion and love for the club is awesome but love and passion is not enough.
MS: Errr… Yes / But still with a Calum Chambers buy.
EPL 9ja: Yea..since Carl is still an Arsenal player, a loan spell with be beneficial to his development as a player.
GM: Yes, I would have. But that purely based on emotions. He hasn’t improved much since he arrived. A little disappointed to see him leave on loan but c’est la vie. No. Harsh maybe but I don’t rate Jenkinson strictly because your mind is never at ease when you see him in the lineup which is rather ironic as he’s yet to have a bad game. He actually plays well in big games but a tall FB doesn’t sit with me.
His passion for the club is most admirable but he’s at a stage now where a run of matches is what is needed for him to develop as a player.
SG: *Looks around for @DondeonBeke*, the Jenkinson Lover.
Enigma106: Can we survive the entire campaign with just three center backs?
SG: This is a 50-50 chance. Will Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny be able to carry the gunners all through the season? They are aging. I seriously don’t like the idea of Monreal at the back. We are just an injury, a flu or a suspension away from chaos at the back. The exit of Vermaelen and even Miquel made us thinner. Wenger may have to look inside to get that temporary replacement when the time comes.
MS: Mba. Only by a miracle. Don’t think the youth are ready.
EPL 9ja: T.B. Joshua kinda miracle bah? Emmanuel!
GM: We did last season, but it was safe knowing our backup was an experienced head not a 19-year-old who spent last season playing right back. Chambers will have to learn on the job, and he’s looked an eager apprentice so far. Hopefully he doesn’t get caught out too often. It’s sad that we go into every season missing the most important additions. Have to hold vigils every weekend to pray for them to stay injury free and not burn out quickly. We can get by until January anyway but the season? That’s pushing it.
Let’s hope these folks don’t get injured
Enigma106: Does David Ospina have what it takes to displace Wojciech Szczesny from the first team?
SG: Szczesny will be our number for a long time. Ospina will only push him to perform better. Ospina will have to make do with FA Cup and Capital One Cup and a couple of UEFA Champions League games. Moreso, everyone wants a homegrown player.
MS: Sometimes.
GM: Yes, absolutely. I was surprised we went for a goalkeeper that young but it’s a sign AW intends to put pressure on Szczesny. He had a decent outing in Brazil and I expect him to be ready if the Pole’s performance drops. Szczesny’s recent comments make the ‘battle’ even tastier. May the best hands win. NH. Yet I still think Szczesny will step up because of Ospina’s presence and remain first-choice. Club benefits either way.
Enigma106: When you saw that the Gunners replaced Olivier Giroud with Danny Welbeck, what were your honest thoughts?
SG: 1st, i was disappointed because Welbeck was from Manchester United and wasn’t the top striker we had salivated for. I have always wanted strikers that need half a chance to grab two goals. A striker that instills the fear of God in defenders. Welbeck was not that striker i painted.
But after a longer thought, Welbeck is faster than Giroud and Sanogo. He is more clinical than the latter and his Premier League experience will be of great help. I can only hope that Wenger brings out the best in him. Half is better than none.
MS: I’d have preferred a Jackson Martinez or a Remy. But Welbeck’s not rubbish either. We just didn’t see that coming.
EPL 9ja: On Welbeck, I was not really surprised when I heard the signing. Not what I wanted but I think welbeck will do Well
Welbinho!
GM: Few minutes in after the news broke – “Danny who? What? Same Welbeck who can’t hit a barn door?!” Later that night – “Why didn’t we get Falcao?? Or Cavani? Or Messi?! What’s AW doing in Rome bringing peace to the world?!” The morning after – “Maybe Welbeck isn’t so bad afterall. I mean he combines the best qualities of Giroud and Sanogo. Raw pace with average finishing. Will thrive on through passes from our midfield.” After his brace against Switzerland – THAT GUY WELBZ! WELBINHO! We have finally replaced Bendtner! Whooop!
MS: Welbinho? loooool
Enigma106: Rate Arsenal’s activity in the Transfer Window.
SG: 65% overall. 100% before the season began. 50% just before the deadline. Ospina, Chambers, Debuchy, Sanchez and Welbeck is good business. But we all wanted a little more.
EPL 9ja: Arsenal rating in the transfer to me is a little above average taking our past dealing into cognicance
GM: Began really well, like Usain Bolt at the IAAF 100m men’s finals. Then 90m into the race (August), we began to slow down. At the finish line (deadline day), we managed to add a young striker. But without a CB and a DM, we failed to complete what would have been an awesome summer.
6.5/10. Which is a huge jump from the usual under 5/10. A DM and an extra CB would have made it a solid 9/10.
Thanks for your contributions guys.
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