A 64-team Champions League?

Just last week, I was browsing through Yahoo Sports when I saw this: 'European football's governing body is pondering a proposal to launch a 64 team uber-tournament that would double the size of the existing Champion's League Group Stage.'

On a first glance, this proposal seems like a great way to improve the interest in the Champions League by adding a whole new set of teams. But on a second glance, you can see just how messed up this proposal is. The reason the tournament is called the Champions League is because the CHAMPIONS or the top teams in each domestic league play. With the size of the group stage now doubled, the only thing that can happen is that the quality of the Champions League will drop.  It's hard enough to get people interested about the group stage of the current 32 team champions league  and with 64 teams, all interest will be lost. I can't see people queuing up for a fixture like Everton vs Levante; a kind of game that will soon be common in the new proposal.

Another factor that will come into play is the quality of the side that teams put forward. Will Barcelona play Messi, Xavi and Iniesta for a game against Aston Villa? Of course not. The group stages will become more like warm up matches and that is something I do not look forward to.

I am glad that someone else shares my view; none other than Arsene Wenger. This is an excerpt from his interview: 

"That could be detrimental to the national leagues as well and could take some interest out of the first stages of the Champions League. It would be a European league.”

Was this plan just a another scheme for UEFA to gain more money through increased game revenue? If so, I don't think they've done the math completely because whatever they gain, they will lose from a lower audience turnout. I would take 40,000 fans for 10 games over 20,000 fans for 20 games. ( I could just make a whole list of pairs of numbers whose product is 400,000 but I guess I would lose my point.)

We want our Arsenal Back

That's what the away fans were chanting at Old Trafford yesterday and you have to give them full credit because that line succinctly captures the mood of all Arsenal supporters at present.

To give you a glimpse of what I am talking about, let me tell you how I started supporting Arsenal. We were the fifth grade at that time and European Soccer was THE THING. Everyone sported jerseys from various clubs and it made for a very exciting atmosphere during games. So I too wanted to choose a club to support but I didn't know where to start. The logical thing to do was to watch the different clubs and then choose a club whose style I liked. Well, that's what I did and out of all the clubs I watched, Arsenal stood out. Their free flowing passes and attacking flair was simply captivating. Watching Thierry dink the ball in the net after receiving a defence splitting pass was breathtaking and I knew I liked this club.

As the years rolled by, Arsenal have stayed true to this passing game and attacking instinct. Whether it was Cesc, Nasri or Song, Arsenal have ruled the roost in midfield over the past 4 years and have built their game on midfield creativity. At one point in time, they matched Barcelona for incisive passes.

But sadly, those days are long gone. Though Arsenal have fantastic midfield players like Cazorla, Arteta and Wilshire, they are not able to create moves like in the past. At the start of the season I though this was just a one off and Arsenal would soon be back. But they still are not. From Shalke to QPR and now Manchester United, Arsenal just don't seem comfortable with the ball. It's almost as if they do not know what to do next.

I am not sure what can happen in future games but I feel for things to turn around, Arsenal have to find their identity. They need to realise what they are good at and play their games accordingly. Judging by their players, they still seem to be a midfield side it's just that they need someone to really drill this into their heads.

Here's to hoping we get our Arsenal back.

My thoughts on the Neymar Situation

He is easily one of the most recognisable players in football. At age 20, he has already won the South American player of the year for 2011 and has even been nominated for the Ballon d'Or. One would logically expect that a player of his calibre would be plying his trade at the best clubs in the world. Is he at Barcelona? Is he at Real Madrid? How about Bayern Munich? Well the truth is, the player who has been rated the 'next Leo Messi' plays at Santos; a good club in Brazil but not at the world stage.

Its not that Neymar has not been linked with a move to Europe's best. Infact I am not sure which major European club he has not been linked with (maybe Arsenal). Despite all the interest though, Neymar has remained in Brazil. There are a number of factors responsible the most notable of which is Pele. I recall reading several interviews from Brazil's football icon asking Neymar to turn down the lucrative offers from Europe and instead stay at Santos. Initially it made sense. A young player should first build his name before making one of them big money moves. Pele was probably also concerned about Neymar's maturity at that time and felt he needed more games before he could make a mark on European football. But now, I feel his comments are quite ridiculous. Neymar is now 20 and that is age when gifted players start performing on the big stage. Having scored 117 goals for santos and 25 for the Brazilian national team, it's safe to say that Neymar is ready for a bigger challenge. Preventing a move now would only impede his development.

Having said that though, Neymar should make sure he transfers to a club where he will get enough game time. Many bright prospects move to a big club but finally end up glued to the substitutes bench.I feel he should consider a club that has a strong attacking mentality but do not have many players in attacking positions.

Neymar's got the talent, he has got the publicity and he has got the flair to be one of the best. But to truly reach his potential, he needs a bigger challenge; a challenge that can only be found in Europe. If Neymar plays his cards right, we could witness the birth of another Brazilian footballing great.

What's all the fuss about Giroud?

Olivier Giroud. Dubbed the 'New Chamakh' by the English press though in my mind, this is far from the truth.   I admit Giroud has missed chances that even Chamakh would have taken (no offense to Chamakh) but as player, there is no comparison. Giroud has this ability to unnerve defences. His tall frame and physicality is enough to brush most of the Premier League defenders out of his way. When people talk about his goal scoring drought, what they are forgetting is the quality that Giroud brings to Arsenal. He has a fantastic strike, a good presence in the box and yes of course he can set up goals. When asked on his lack of goals by Yahoo, Giroud replied with a smile,"I had an assist tonight."

It's true, Giroud has as many assists as the flamboyant Santi Cazorla. This is a trait that cannot and should not be looked over. Arsenal have always had creative strikers and Giroud certainly continues the tradition.

Another factor that everyone is missing is the amount of time Giroud is on the field. On an average, he gets about 15 minutes in a game as a substitute. Considering this, the fact that he has a goal and three assists at this stage of the season is remarkable.

The important thing that when Giroud is on the pitch, you know he is on the pitch. Whether he is setting up goals or missing them, at least you can feel his presence. This 'presence' is something that Chamakh lacks and during games he plays, I feel Arsenal only have ten men. As Giroud himself said during an interview,"The goals are coming soon."

Is Arsenal Strong Enough?

                          
                                     



How many of you anticipated this? Not me, that's for sure. Well its about time that I get to the question: How many of you anticipated that Arsenal were not going to buy anyone after the sale of Alex Song? Not me that's for sure. For some reason Arsene Wenger has completely changed his mindset. There was a time when I and other Arsenal fans could predict exactly what Wenger's next plan was but for some reason our predictions no longer hold. If there is one thing I know about Wenger, its that he is a very stubborn person who does  not say things without actually meaning them. Take a look at this link here  http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-we-re-still-looking-for-signings

 First of all its very rare for Arsene Wenger to reveal his transfer activity to the media and secondly Arsene is talking about new signings. Arsene Wenger and new signings; somehow those two are hard to imagine in one sentence (I pulled it off in this sentence). This one article got me and a bunch of Arsenal fans around the world excited over new arrivals. We fantasised over which big star would don the red and white. 

Come August 31st 2012, Transfer Deadline Day. Come 1st September 2012 and no new signings. It was no secret that Arsenal needed players in certain positions and Wenger also recognised this in the link posted above. So why did Arsene go back on his original plan? Well the best answer I can think of is that Wenger felt with Wilshere coming back in a month , there would be no space for a new midfielder. But I am stunned not only because Wenger went back on his word but also that no one else at Arsenal saw how crucial it was to grab hold of a new player.

Arsenal were not title challengers last season, something that was supposed to change this year. Tell me this, if a team that did not win trophies the previous season wants to win trophies the next season, what do they do? They buy better players. What they do not do is sell their two best players from the previous season and make signings just to replace them. Well folks, the second 'solution' was the one Arsenal took this season. If it pays off ( and I sure hope it does) Wenger could easily be considered the best manager in the world and I will devote an entire post just towards that. Frankly the squad could be better but on the bright side maybe the gamble that Wenger has taken will pay off.

A new look Arsenal

               



Although its only been two weeks since the new season started I must say that Arsenal's style of play this season has been a complete shock to me. You may say that I should have anticipated it with players like Podolski and Giroud now in the squad but I have noticed that Wenger always has this way of converting players to his style of play.

The new Arsenal is far more direct than any Arsenal squad I have seen over the past few years with Cazorla and Giroud taking quite a few long rangers, something I have never been used to. Podolski is making runs at the defenders and not playing around them like our previous strikers. Its also very puzzling to me as to how Arsenal still haven't conceded a goal. Well its obviously down to excellent defending but all Arsenal fans know what I am talking about when I say that our defence has not really been impenetrable over the last few years.

A few negative changes have taken place as well and the one change most noteworthy is the fact that Arsenal have lost their fluidity. From one of the Premier League's most goal crazy and attacking sides, they have become more reserved and haven't been able to link up. Of course this is probably due to the fact that Arsenal has three new players in the squad but all the same you would expect the connection between older players to still be as good as it was. Its also very disappointing to see that Arsenal's  full backs especially Jenkinson, have not been able to provide good attacking width, something that gave Arsenal a huge advantage over other teams in past.

True, this squad will take time to bed in and learn to play with each other but I still feel that Arsenal's method of approaching games will be different this season.


              

The Van Persie Dilemma

Losing Captains has become an annual ritual at Arsenal Football Club in recent times. From Thierry Henry to Cesc Fabregas and now Robin Van Persie it seems as though Arsenal are less hesitant than other clubs when it comes to transfer of key players (More like Chelsea FC with their managers).

But the question to ponder is, was this transfer the right decision for Arsenal Football Club?

Would keeping Van Persie at Arsenal cause problems? My answer to this question is a resounding YES! Van Persie had reached a point of no return when he publically stated that he did not agree with Wenger’s vision for Arsenal’s future. Not to mention he enraged fans by stating that he was not going to sign a new contract due to Arsenal’s ‘lack of ambition’. Now the last thing that a manger at a club like Arsenal would want is his own captain not believing in the club.  A captain is someone who pulls the team together when all seems lost; this was something I could not see Van Persie do this season and probably Wenger felt the same way.

One solution at this stage would be to strip captaincy from Van Perise but obviously that action would have caused even more unrest in the dressing room and might have even led to mutiny among players.

Now we reach the problem that was bothering Arsene Wenger the previous week. Should Van Persie be kept till the end of his contract? This was a tricky question and according me I feel that if Arsenal had kept Persie for this season and ended up winning a trophy, he probably would have signed a new contract with Arsenal. But understandably Wenger chose 24 million pounds, over an injury prone, morale upsetting striker who may not perform for another season.

All in all the transfer could be in best of Arsenal’s interests, the only problem being that in the process they have strengthened a rival club. But if Wenger does invest the money from this transfer, Arsenal could make up for losing one of the best strikers in their history.

Spain won't have it easy

It's surely not a surprise that Spain are in the EURO 2012 final, in fact I am actually quite surprised that the final was not repeat of the EURO 2008 final ( Spain vs Germany). But while Spain controlled the game in that final, I quite certain that it will not happen that way this time. With Italy bursting with confidence and Mario Balotelli actually hitting the headlines for onfield performances, its very likely that Italy will give Spain a run for their money.

For some reason history seems to be repeating itself. The Serie A was involved in a massive scandal in 2006 but the same year, Italy went on to beat Germany in the semifinals and finally won the World Cup. Does something seem familiar? Well of course it does; the Serie A has once again been drawn into a scandal, Italy has once again beaten Germany in the semifinals and have a good shot at the title. Pirlo seems to have rolled back the years playing in the heart of Italy's midfield and that has been very crucial for the cohesiveness of Italy's game.

Although no one can deny that Italy has a chance, the fact remains that Spain are favourites to win their third consecutive major trophy. I also feel that Spain will win it, but rather than strolling away with the trophy, they will come out weary and bloodied because I am very certain Italy will not go down without a fight. To make history, Spain will have to dig deep.

Germany can go all the way

Well I know what you all are thinking as you read the title,"Its not surprising that you think the pre-tournament favourites will win the Euros." I completely agree with this point of view but haven't Germany been pre tournament favourites before and ended up not winning the tournament. Lets go back to 2006 where every person you met would say "Isn't it obvious, how can Germany lose in Germany with a squad like that?" But it was not to be Germany's year.

Germany have gone through a footballing revolution ever since 2006. The rise of players like Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller have strengthened them immeasurably and the best part is that they are very young. They put up a fantastic show in 2010 and they have the chance to go one better in 2012. You can't help but feel that this German squad is more lethal than the one we saw in 2006. Take for example the recent game against Netherlands; the Germans were beaten by statistics in every department: shots on target, possession, etc.
But what mattered was that they took their chances as they came and won the game.

Just like in 2010 when I could never see a moment in the World Cup where Spain would bow out (even though they had some sub-standard games) this time around I find it very hard to see Germany getting eliminated. With their precision attacking and ever improving defence they could finally seal that elusive title.

Chelsea vs Barcelona: How it will be played

Well here I am sitting at 12:00 am IST waiting for the mouthwatering clash between Chelsea and Barcelona and I was wondering how a game between sides with very different styles play will turn out. Well one thing is for certain, if Chelsea are to win this game, it could very well be just what Chelsea fans and Chelsea players will look back upon. Chelsea have had a horrid season and reaching the Champion's League final could suddenly breathe fresh air into a dismal campaign.

I definitely feel that Chelsea will stick to their long ball play, something Cesc Fabregas talked about recently.
Playing the long will definitely help Chelsea get past Barca's diminutive players and may help them create decent chances. Chelsea will more or less try and clog the midfield as most other teams have fruitlessly done against Barca in an attempt to halt Iniesta and Xavi. But for some reason I feel that these tactics will not work against Barca simply because if Chelsea resort to using the long ball, they will end up losing possession more often and will never have a real grip on the game and that is very dangerous especially if Barcelona is the opposition.
On the other hand, Barca will attempt to run and pass their way through an ageing Chelsea defence. I can just about see Sanchez and Messi ripping the defense to shreds with pacey zigzagging runs.As usual I feel that Barca's midfield will take complete control over game and will leave Chelsea gasping for breath.

My prediction: Barcelona wins. But if Chelsea do manage an unlikely victory, they will be on course to deliver a Champions League trophy to their Champions League fanatic owner.

Alex Oxalade Chamberlain: Legend in the making

From the moment Alex set foot on the Emirates pitch, many supporters knew he had talent. He wasted no time in displaying that and has played exceptionally well in every appearance he has made. The thing that tells us how good Chamberlain is, is how comfortable he feels on the pitch. From day one, he looked perfectly at home playing in the League. That is a quality only few possess and is a quality that was seen in Cesc and Rooney when they began their careers. For example Chamakh who has had 18 months in the Premier League looks about 10^5 times more nervous and prone to error than Alex.

I must say that I was one of those supporters who criticised Wenger for always looking at the future and not doing enough for the present but now I realise that Arsene fully knows what he is doing. Bringing in a 17 year old for 14 million pounds required immense courage and that has paid off as we now have a player who has the makings of a world beater.

One of Alex's best qualities is his eye for goal. He has this uncanny ability to identify points where he can slot the ball through. For proof of this, just watch all the goals he has scored this season and you will get what I am trying to say. At the moment he is like this creative goal scoring winger and that's a deadly combination in any game and against any opponent. Alex's potential at such a young age could persuade the manager to play often and this could eventually lead to a burnout but Wenger is a man with a keen foresight and I am glad he has addressed this issue; vowing to take his time with Chamberlain.

What's the matter with Arsenal?

Its been three weeks since my previous post and since then Arsenal have slumped to three consecutive
defeats in Premier League something that a team like Arsenal would not be expected to do. This recent dismal run of form has had more severe repercussions than just 9 points lost. One of the major outcomes of that run has been a complete loss of faith in the manager and also to some extent in the players. For probably the first time in Wenger's illustrious career, fans are actually calling for his head. I personally feel these accusations are not justified as according to me Wenger is the best man to have at Arsenal at the moment. I am shocked at outraged at the fact that some fans are even suggesting Mourinho is a better man for the job. I for one would not want a man who pokes his opponent's eyes out, leading my favourite club.

Nevertheless the fans do have a point in saying that Wenger is being too stubborn. Arsenal can no longer dominate possession even against teams like Swansea. They are at the moment completely outclassed in all departments as the recent match against United testifies and still for some strange reason Wenger feels a new signing will not help. Well if he signs some random guy from the 8th division Belgian League,  it obviously will not help(with all respect to the 8th division Belgian League).

I really hope that Arsenal can somehow pull off a recovery because if they dont, we may be faced with another mass exodus in the summer. At the moment everything except the goalkeeping department is not on the right track and needs attention if Arsenal ever feel the need for some silverware.

Tevez to AC Milan!?

I am a little surprised that the media have not felt that Tevez's transfer to AC Milan is a little strange. Wasn't his homesickness the main reason he wanted to leave, if so then why AC Milan? The distance from
Manchester to Buenos Aires is 8638 km and the distance from Milan to Buenos Aires is 9616 km. So what is really puzzling me is why he would move a further 1000 km away from home? This sort of logic is not uncommon in footballers these days but at least Tevez is sane enough to transfer to a top European club instead of certain clubs in Russia or China.

The only possible explanation I can think of as to why Tevez would move is because he wants to revive his career. He was City's hero last year, amazing people with his phenomenal work rate and passion but all of a sudden he did something uncalled for and is now left to rot in the reserves. As he has no chance of ever playing for City, he probably wants to move for footballing reasons.

Whatever is running through his mind, I wish him good luck as I really hope to see the former Tevez back,the one who terrorised defences with his pace and skill.

The Legend is back!

With just the final few things left to be sorted out, it is already virtually confirmed that Thierry Henry will be returning to Arsenal. It was a deal Wenger could not turn down and it has arrived  hardly two weeks after Henry was immortalised in stone outside the Emirates. Now the burning question, Is he still good enough and is he risking his reputation?

I say yes to the first and no to the second. Wenger has been known to make wise decisions and the fact that he has decided to bring back a 34 year old player means that Henry will definitely make the cut.
About Henry's rep, I say that the rep he has earned for his previous accomplishments will always remain with him and now he has a chance to increase it.

Now what can henry bring to the Arsenal side? If not anything, Henry's arrival will lift the whole squad's moral as they finally have a legend in the dressing room.
I dont care what Paul Parker thinks about this transfer as the signing of a legend can only mean a successful 2012. Happy New Year to all the Gooners out there!