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But lets get back on track, now that Wenger has money to spend, he is spending and I believe he will sign more big names. From what I have heard the phone call Ozil and Wenger had was about Wenger explaining what he had planed and that is that he is going to make Arsenal into a Premier League title winning side and Champions League winning side and he plans to do that by buying big names like Ozil. This on top of how Arsenal's newly found confidence is making us play sounds like an unbelievable future but I well

Enter Mesut Ozil. The German national team's technically gifted playmaker and the world's best number 10 according to the Special One. A player quite surprisingly deemed surplus to requirements at Real Madrid, simply because of the shed load of cash Los Blancos were prepared to spend on Galactico-in-waiting Gareth Bale. It is ironic that Spurs best player securing a spot at Madrid enabled Wenger to finally splash the cash with an almost Ivana Trump style abandon.The moment Ronaldo’s No.1 fan secured his dream move; it was on like Donkey Kong for Arsenal, with transfer drama more fraught than an Eastenders Christmas special.Twitter was in a frenzied state along with Sky Sports News and their deadline day hosts trending nationally and worldwide. Shouty gob-almighty Jim White dedicated more time than usual to AFC deals.

Just yesterday I met a fellow Gooner in a class who hailed from Peru – and that got me thinking, nothing brings great people together the way Arsenal (and the wonderful sport that is football) does. Who would’ve thought that a guy from South America and a guy from Asia would meet in North America and talk about their common love for a club that’s based in Europe? It’s experiences like this one that makes one’s love for the sport and in my case, Arsenal, even greater.

Walcott caught the eye of Wenger early on during his Southampton days. The academy at Southampton has produced some of the most talented players to grace the EPL today including Bale and most recently Luke Shaw. Pacy with a good eye for goal he was hailed as the next Thierry Henry. Arsenal ultimately forked out 5 million pounds plus add ons for the player in the January transfer window of 2006, a gargantuan amount for a 16 year old. The transfer drew a lot of interest from media and fans alike. In fact it drew so much attention that Sven Goran Eriksson took the extraordinary decision to include Theo in the England squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Critics and pundits alike were flabbergasted by the move as Walcott had yet to feature in the Arsenal starting XI. He didn’t make an appearance in the World Cup but it turned out to be a good learning curve for him. He finally made his debut in the 2006-2007 season. Arsenal were down a goal against Aston Villa with time running out when Walcott was brought on. His introduction had immediate effect. His electric pace was too much for the Villa defence and was clearly putting them ill at ease.In the dying embers of the game he provided Gilberto Silva

The first is to say that I absolutely believe Giroud is good enough to lead our line. Whilst of course a truly elite striker would have been a wonderful addition I am secretly pleased that Giroud is going to get the chance to be the main man for another season (or at least half of one). Whenever I talk up Giroud I always refer to 2 matches from last season. The first was the 0-0 draw at Stoke right at the start of the season. It was his first start in the EPL, away at Stoke of all places, and yet for 90 minutes he out-fought and dominated both of Stoke’s huge, brutish centre backs. The lack of goals for the striker was of course what the media seized upon, but it was actually a hugely impressive debut that more insightful commentators might have written up very differently. The second game is the 3-2 victory over Brighton. He scored 2, and both had the hallmarks of another player all over them – Didier Drogba. Yes I know it was only Brighton, and I’m not actually saying he’ll reach those heights, but it

With Arteta currently injured, I am curious to see whether Wenger gives Flamini a starting berth or plumps for Wilshere or Rosicky. In the Villa game, Wilshere and Ramsey struggled to connect in midfield and their lack of understanding led to Villa’s third goal. And whilst I find it hard to believe that two professional footballers with their remarkable talent cannot play together, I do think a more senior head is required alongside one of the duo. In years gone by we have made the mistake of surrounding young players with other young players and seen them collapse under pressure; this season we have three experienced international midfielders in Arteta, Rosicky and Flamini who can accompany them. With Arteta currently sidelined, Flamini and Rosicky have a chance to break into the team. For me Rosicky, whilst a fantastic player, is suited to playing higher up the pitch and may not be able to resist joining the attack with Ramsey, leaving us exposed to the counter. Flamini, on the other hand, offers a doggedness and hard hitting style of play we haven’t seen since…well since Flamini of 2008. He is tenacious in the tackle, marshals the team well and breaks down attacks. We have not had a player of his controlled aggression for a long time, and I say controlled because I have seen Wilshere dive in
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Firstly, let me just state that as a young man, I had almost instant gratification when I began supporting Arsenal back in 98. I was not subjected to long years without trophies or title challenges until recently. I didn't really recognize the significance of the Bergkamp signing because of how young I was and my interest in football was in its fledgling years. Now that I am a bit more informed I realize how big a statement it was for a club of our stature to sign a player of his quality; with that in mind I feel the Ozil signing has the potential to change the reputation and perception of Arsenal football club. In my eyes it is the biggest transfer of the summer, I believe him to be a better player and one with more potential than any of the other high profile transfers that have taken place this summer. Wenger has many detractors but I think this transfer has as much to do with him as it does with the mega bucks we’re spending on him. He obviously sold Arsenal to Ozil, he demonstrated the unwavering faith he has in his players and

Therefore with our new found ability to grind out wins and the added world class quality of Ozil will prove Arsenal to be much improved from last season in my opinion. I also think the signing of Flamini is a very good one, he showed on Sunday his leadership, ability to protect the back four and ball winning qualities. He has a lot of experience and will prove to be a good signing this season. I cannot understand why that signing has been mocked more than anything, he was excellent before he moved the AC Milan a few seasons ago for Arsenal and showed on Sunday he doesn’t seem to have lost

First a fee was agreed (not a formal bid, a discussion of a fee) by Real Madrid and Arsenal for Di Maria, leaving AFC only to convince the player. This was much earlier than last week as reported. Despite his departure looking likely, the Argentinian continued to stress his desire to stay and do anything on the pitch. This is also the company line being assimilated by Modric, and the rest of the players that understood that Bale’s arrival meant ever shifting formations to find the correct balance. Özil by contrast made it very clear that he had proven his worth and that he wanted to play his position behind the striker as he always had. New manager Ancelotti was none too impressed with this as he saw a need to interchange all the attacking players to different positions. Di Maria