Wojciech Szczesny is positive Arsenal can challenge for the title this season after strengthening their squad during the transfer window.
The Polish goalkeeper says he’s been impressed by the way the Gunners four new signings have settled in North London and also believes that squad stability will also pay off.
Speaking in the aftermath of Sunday’s 3-0 Community Shield win over Manchester City, the 24-year-praised the debuts of Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy and teenager Calum Chambers.
“I thought they did really well,” he told Arsenal.com.
“They’ve been around [the club] for a while now. Alexis is very dangerous – a very quick player. Calum is really solid. He’s only 19 as well so for him to make his debut for Arsenal at Wembley and do so well is very good to see. Mathieu has a lot of experience so we expect him to perform at that level all the time.
“Except for Thomas [Vermaelen on Saturday], we’ve not lost any key players. Even if someone did leave on a free, we’ve managed to replace them with good players. As I said, we’re looking stronger and stronger and we’re very happy with that.”
Arsenal are still on the lookout for reinforcements in midfield and defence, although it’s looking increasingly unlikely that either position will be filled before Saturday’s first Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace.
In attack, the Gunners look to be well stocked; a state of affairs that excites Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman, who scored a cracker in the second half at Wembley, says he’s looking forward to linking up with new boy Alexis Sanchez.
“It is always easy to play with these kind of players,” said the striker. “I think he will maybe need some more games to adapt his game to the Premier League, but that is normal.
“He is a fantastic player, so I think he will [have] a great season. He has different qualities to me, Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell. He can bring his pace and his technique in the centre of the park and he is a great finisher.
“We have a good quality squad and now the quantity, so that is why I think we will be stronger this year.”
Coming to The Vermaelen leaving.. We’re being linked to Kostas Manolas. Any thoughts on that? Is he top level?
I saw that too but wouldn’t Nastasic be the better option? He has PL experience and alot of potential as well as already being a good young CB. With city signing mangala is hard to see him starting.
The Nastasic rumour makes sense, except for the part where City don’t want him. He’s not going to be a starter, but he is a quality player who won’t take up a space in their already limited CL squad (because he’s 21 and has been with City for two years). Considering that they can only select 16 non home grown seniors, and only have 3 home grown players they actually want to play (being generous to Milner here, plus Hart and Clichy), he might be too valuable an asset for them.
I fancy someone unexpected will once again come up with the goods, like Ramsey did last year. Maybe Jack, Joel or the Ox.
Obviously I hope the stars do well- Mesut, Aaron and Sanchez in particular-but there’s something nice about seeing someone young, and yet to make an impact, step up.
Its Alexis
He took a shot at BAC
From the full arsenal.com article:
‘Except for Thomas [Vermaelen on Saturday], we’ve not lost any key players. Even if someone did leave on a free, we’ve managed to replace them with good players. As I said, we’re looking stronger and stronger and we’re very happy with that.’
That’s a nod to Sagna and a suggestion TV’s not been replaced yet, in my opinion.
Classic Szczesny, “Even if someone did leave on a free, we’ve managed to replace them with good players”. Great attitude.
Wegner did say he wants to sign someone versatile that can play DM and CB and IMO the perfect person for that type of role is Javi Martinez. With lahm and thiago preferred in midfeild and with the likes of Bastian S and the other new signings bayern have made he could become available and could be very good at Arsenal
That would mean too many right footed defenders. I have a feeling its gonna be a left footed guy to balance things out.
Meh. If you offered me a partnership of Adams and Campbell I wouldn’t give a shit that neither of them are lefties. I think it’s a little overplayed.
Bendikt Howedes has also been linked. Makes some sense as he can cover CB, DM and LB. I cnat see Javi Martinez coming to be a utility player and with Arteta as club captain he may get enough playing time in his preferred DM. Would be brilliant in that position and would be a fantastic signing but I cant see it. Howedes would be more th etype of player I feel Wenger will look for. Anyone else think we are still light up front?
I don’t. We’ve got Giroud, Alexis, Walcott, Campbell, Sanogo and Podolski who can all play through the middle to varying degrees of success. When you consider Real only have Benzenma as an out and out striker with the obvious benefit of Ronaldo who can also operate there, that’s not bad going really. Much sooner concentrate on getting bodies in to defend.
sorry for essentially copying your post…
Serious? how can we be light up front? Giroud, Sanogo, Alexis, Podolski, Theo, and Campbell can play up top. Thats a weird/crazy idea that we could be light up front at this point…
Let me qualify my question. I dont think its weird/crazy to say we are light up front if we are talking about the central striker positon. Wenger favours a big central striker in the system we play. Last year we had Giroud, Sanogo and TGSTEL. The latter scored two vital goals when the other two were unavaibale and has now left. Sanogo is yet to score in a competitive match and looks raw at times. Now I know the other players you mentioned can play centrally but one of Giroud’s best contributions in our system is that he brings the… Read more »
Glad to see Wenger’s vision & Economics degree finally blossoming! He stuck to the 10yr plan of the stadium. Now we’re spending on the right players!! Love it
He wasn’t manager of the decade for no reason
I second that point Gooner Love – when Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool all expand or even rebuild their stadium – that will be when everyone in the English football will finally see how the man managed us to the Top 4 each year, buy very few players and balance the books.
Absolute Genius. He stuck by despite all the criticism for 9 years – what strength of character and belief in yourself. Incredible.
The strength of character is also exemplified in the manner he conducted himself. Not one time (that I am aware of) did he blame the board and/or the direction he as given. The media pounces on every detail which they can use and abuse, and many a “leak” from Arsenal board was presented as if AW had a massive budget to spend but the media presented him as he was too stubborn to move away from his academy development philosophy. Thus a loser. It’s funny how the truth comes out in the wash in the end.. What a Legend! Btw,… Read more »
“Just sit back and watch us win the league,” says Szczesny. Yeah, right. We’ll finish about third or fourth – again. The squad is probably stronger than it was last season – Sanchez will make a big difference – but we are still not good enough to win the title. Yet again, Wenger will prove that he is the master of producing squads which are about two or three players short of those which can go all the way. And yet again he will be found out tactically in the big games by Maureen and the other top-four managers. We… Read more »
. Are you just hedging your emotional bets in fear of being disappointed again? Or do you truly lack the ability to follow a dream when, believe it or not, there is a chance of it becoming a reality. If we all followed the laws of probability in every walk of life, nothing would get achieved and the world would remain status quo. Not a world for me, so whilst I love the fact that you are a fellow Gooner, I am also glad I am not your type of Gooner. Surely when it comes to being a football fan… Read more »
Nobody bottled our last two games at Wembley, one a hugely important game for the club and the other laying down a marker against the champions.
We seem very much to be on an upward curve, which started about a year or so ago, both in terms of results and player purchases. Let’s see where we are at the end of the season, and if we crash and burn in the cups and scrape 4th then we can reevaluate our progress. I’m convinced that isn’t going to happen.
Lighten up a bit, you’re supposed to enjoy following your football team!
I’m inclined to agree. For all the optimism with the purchase of Sanchez he appears to have undone it with the sale of Vermaelen. Don’t get me wrong i think selling him isn’t necessarily a bad move, but the noises he’s making is that a replacement might not be bought, which would be disastrous. Vermaelen shouldn’t have been sold until a replacement was bought and that doesn’t mean Chambers, who is a prospect.
If Man City and Chelsea over the last several years have shown us, is that you need a player surplus not shortage to win the league now.
Vermaelen is injured, and probably wouldn’t have played a part in the first few games of the season either way. When Barcelona made an offer for him we had no choice but to cash in straight away. Trust me, and trust Wenger, a defender will come in eventually.
As i said i don’t think selling Vermaelen was wrong, but not having bought a replacement first is!
Are you only happy when you have something to be unhappy about?
That’s actually not what Sczcesny is saying at all, nor anyone else. People are saying we’ll be stronger, which seems likely considering the transfer business we’ve done so far (although we need an extra defender). And people are expecting us to challenge for the title, which also seems reasonable, given that we were only 7 points off last year. I don’t think anyone is making us favorites. We could challenge for the title for a long time and fade at the end like last year. But it could also be that either City or Chelsea go on a long unbeaten… Read more »
But we’re not stronger because we’re short in defense having lost Vermaelen. I don’t think we have to win the league, just do our level best to try and win the league. Getting rid of Vermaelen without bring in a replacement undoes the work with getting Sanchez. Our newly acquired wealth was supposed to stop this from happening. Unfortunately, this has become textbook Wenger though, raise the expectations with new signings then quickly bring them down again by selling a vital first team player, one step forward, one step backwards. For once i’d like one step forward without the step… Read more »
Wenger has consistently said that if Vermaelen would leave, he would (try to) sign another defender. He was a bit pessimistic about it in his last press conference, but that’s probably just because he didn’t want to look desperate.
Like most people, I would have preferred a replacement to be lined up before Vermaelen was allowed to leave. But I’m not going to judge this business until the first of September. Three weeks is a lot of time to find a single defender.
I don’t think you have seen Arsenal play in the last three years if you are seriously asserting that Vermaelen was a vital first team player or that we have lost him. He has hardly played since the defensive fiasco at WHL in 2013, which appears to have been the final straw for the manager. He has been a model professional throughout his time with us and I was pleased that he was able to lift the FA Cup; but it was right he and the club agreed that he could find a new team. There are almost three weeks… Read more »
Vermaelen was NOT a VITAL first team player. He was a backup, and not even a confidence-inspiring one at that.
I didn’t say he was good, but he was vital, we are going to need more than 2 centre backs in what will (hopefully) be a 60+ game season.
I also appreciate he wasn’t fit but that hasn’t stopped Wenger holding on to either Diaby or Rosicky over the many years they’ve been injured.
I’m judging his business as it is of today, and that is a senior centre back and defensive midfielder short, i very much hope he brings those in otherwise we, as the guy above says, will again be 2 players short.
@Anonymous Physicist Sorry, but if Wenger is determined to win the only circumstance he should be prepared to let Vermaelen leave under is when we have a replacement lined up. He was paid 80 grand a week to fight for his place, not for us to sell when he couldn’t be bothered. I have to say, i’m with Tony Adams, it’s far to easy to leave Arsenal, it’s not Wenger’s job to be fair to the players, they sign contracts to compete for their spot in the team, and if they don’t get in then they should work harder.
Chambers looks good enough (and also has the self control to stay in his defensive position) to cover the 14 games that Vermaelen played last year.
Hardly an issue…..
@Mesmatronic, 2 pre season friendlies have made you come to that conclusion? what happens if we have 2 central defenders out?
Are you so lardy that the extra glutinous red faced cheek of your own portly facade has gotten so large that you have now effectively blinded yourself?
What part of last season didn’t you witness, up until March, the first 6 months?
For Shad’s sake, have some belief and/or faith.
As much as I think the only positive in this transfer window was Sanchez, others were good replacements for equally good players we had. My Optimism for this season does not come from the transfers,It came from the fact that I believe the players are more experienced, the medical team is working hard to avoid the injury disasters we’ve had past seasons. I saw hunger for trophies when the players lined up at the Emirates cup and community shield. If we could do that much last season, then with the addition of Sanchez,An improving Sanogo,the replacements and return of the… Read more »
Have Giroud been working on his finishing? Because with a 100 missed chances last season, many of those a hell of alot easy’er to pull off than the perfectly balanced shot over the keeper to make it 3-0 at Wembley on Sunday. I dont reckon that is something he even would have attempted last season, and if he did he would surely have missed it. But now he was all “oh the keeper is off his line. by weighing my shot perfectly i can arc it over him just out of his reach and still get it under the crossbar”.… Read more »
He’s not adverse to having a pop from there if the situation allows. Admittedly unfortunately it wasn’t a goal but recall the home draw with Everton last season, cracking game, 1-1 , 1 minute to go, Giroud unleashed an absolute rocket from 30 yards, screamed past the keeper and hit the joint of bar and post, inches away from being right up there in the goal of the season stakes. I guess though because of his role in holding up the ball with his back to goal laying it off to the runners, that kind of situation doesn’t come up… Read more »
I felt the difference was that this shot looked caressed whereas most of last year he was going for power when he hit from distance and his body was generally leaning backwards when he did that. In other games, it seemed that he is also looking at running in behind as an added variation. Lets see, the season shall tell.
We need a centre back…..would Agger do? Heh…
Yeah… Fatgooner… You’re right on just the last one… its just you…
By the way… This is off topic…
I know the chinless man isnt worth the attention or boos he’s earned from the gooner faithful… Or, wait, He’s earned it… He’s a piece of poo… And a chinless one too… Lol…
Here’s a pic to smile to…
https://m.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-g.ak/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-0/10557225_434577320015370_4327244748486937005_n.jpg
#COYG!
“Or wait… He’s *worth it…”
.
We really need the “Edit” button… Arseblog
🙁
I think the pace we will have in our game this coming season is really going to make a difference – Alexis, Theo, Ox, Campbell, Sanogo, with Ramsey timing his runs from midfield – Ozil and Santi will be like a pair of quarterbacks picking out passes through, over and around the opposition. This can only add to our traditional ball retention.
Central Defense is the only area in which we look light of numbers – I am hoping Arsene will bring someone in with experience to act as cover.
COYG
Can we ban FatGooner, it is boring now.
I second that. I can’t even be arsed to respond to his idiocy any more. He’s just a boring troll.
Besides Sanchez, every other player we bought this season was a replacement for another good player we had.
I hope we do well but I seriously don’t get this so much celebrated improvement.
You must be a self harmer. The goalkeeper is better than Fabianski. Debuchy has replaced Sagna in the France team. I am astonished by the quality of Chambers. You should Google Duncan Edwards if you want to gain an understanding of what this guy could become. I pity you you if you think the squad has not been improved by these acquisitions.
Reasons we’ve improved: – We didn’t lose anyone important we didn’t replace (assuming we replace Vermaelen properly, which we should). – We added Alexis. – We won a trophy last year, which gives confidence. – Many players should have gotten better because they are young and still learning (Ramsey, Gibbs, Sczcesny, Wilshere, Sanogo) – Ozil has had a full season in the PL, so will probably be even better than last year (if we don’t rush him back). – We can reasonably expect Walcott (and Diaby) to be available more than they were last year. – We added Chambers and… Read more »
Fatgooner has a point. For all the “numbers” we have upfront, we are short of actual quality. I’ll probably sound like a broken record, but giroud is simply not good enough to lead a title chasing team’s frontline. Its the plain truth…we’re finished if theo and alexis get both get injured at the same time. And not forgetting that other teams have also strenghtned their squads, so we’re probably going to scrap for a 4th place position. Wenger has to get a dm and a cb; no arguments. Some people need to stop being deluded claiming that is optimism…especially with… Read more »
Were you one of those indulging in the “wankfest” over Higuain last year? His numbers are not materially better than Giroud in an inferior league. If Giroud improves his positioning and movement in the penalty area he can score 30 goals for us this season. If he does not then he may well be replaced next summer.
Exactly @truth hurts. But trust some people here with their blind optimism…if ur taking about improvements, chelsea is a perfect example. Much as it pains me to say, he’s gone and filled the holes in that chelsea team. While we’re busy hyping up giroud…its shameful that city have four strikers who are better or maybe equal to giroud. But no…its “hfb” this, hfb that. Even adebayor and bendtner had a better scoring ratio than giroud.
You can’t be an Arsenal supporter to assert that Moanihno has filled the holes in that Chelsea team. At this stage it is a ludicrous assertion to make. None of the four strikers you claim are better than Giroud scored on Sunday, Giroud did score. If you care to check rather than make wild assertions you will find that Giroud’s statistics for goals and assists are good. Please provide supporting evidence for your assertions.
Some gooner’s make me laugh… We get our transfer business done early, sign some good players and 1 world class player in alexis and here you are crying about selling TV5… Our BACKUP CB… WTF!!!
Seems not winning anything for a few years has breed some truly pessimistic gooners. This is potentially the best team we’ve had since the invincibles. Try and enjoy it occasionally FFS
Giroud was Montpellier’s lead striker wen they out ran mighty PSG. He led Arsenal’s attack in a season we won our 1st trophy in nine years. So what do you mean he is not good enough to lead a title chasing team?
Here is how giroud compares to our past strikers in the last 5 years: Giroud:186.82 mins per goal Henry:132.69 Rvp:140.21 Eduardo:183.1 Chamakh:259.64mins There are the numbers…Giroud’s minute per goal is only better than that of chamakh, Rvp in his last season alone almost scored the same amount of goals giroud did in 2 seasons. Giroud has had a better midfield than rvp did to supply him goals, yet he still flops. People come up with “oh but he’s link up play is superb” like they never watched rvp, henry or adebawhore. And for the guy comparing higuain to giroud…put higuain… Read more »
Giroud was meant to be a backup for Robin van cunt when he was signed but the latter left us for the scum and so Giroud was thrust into action as the no.1 striker in his first season in a new leauge and club with different style. I am not arguing the fact that RVP is better in terms of scoring goals but giroud did get better in his second season and you can’t exactly blame him for not scoring as many goals he was the only senior striker because we didnt sign anybody. this season with alexis and also… Read more »
So he’s pretty much equal to Eduardo, whose career ruining injury is widely thought to be the only thing that stopped us from claiming the title that year. Not too bad I’d say, especially for someone who spends a lot of time bringing others into play rather than just hunting for goals himself. Which you would probably have seen if you added his assists statistics, which out of those I’d expect only Van Persie can match. And out of City’s strikers, probably only Aguero. Also, just because Giroud is the player standing closest to the goal when Sczcesny has the… Read more »
I think Szczesny has to be paid some quids with a drink for his comment on sagna……top class act