Who will depart Arsenal in January?

As usual, Arsenal have been linked with a ridiculous amount of players so far this month and also just before Christmas. Most fans see it absolutely necessary that Wenger spends this window and most importantly strenghens the squad. What positions do we need though? It all depends on who we sell/loan out as well.

It seems as though Wenger is having a January clearout, getting rid of all the deadwood that is currently at the club. However that is proving difficult due to the high wages that these 'fringe' players are on. Marouane Chamakh has gone out on loan to West Ham until the end of the season whilst Djourou has been shipped out to German side Hannover for the same period. The penny seems to have finally dropped with Wenger in terms of selling players that aren't needed. He's also looking to find a new club for Sebastian Squillaci who is rumoured to be of interest to many french clubs. Squillaci himself has said that he is looking for a new club, whether it is this month or in the summer when his contract ends remains to be seen.

Another man that could be on his way out of the club is Andrey Arshavin. The Russian has been a bit hit and miss of late, but in my opinion defintely adds more to the squad than Gervinho who has just departed to the African Cup of Nations. Arshavin is being chased by quite a few clubs. One of which is Reading. The relegation threatened side, who have a Russian owner was looking to Arshavin to guide them to safety after a brilliant display against them in the League cup earlier this season. However according to reports, he isn't keen on a move to Reading due to the low wages that they would pay him. Another club after him are dutch giants PSV who are wanting to take him on loan. There have also been quiet rumours that he could be apart of a move which sees defensive midfielder Kevin Strootman move in the opposite direction. A fair deal in my opinion. Strootman is man that we've apparently sent scouts to watch a few times and they rate him highly. Could a move be on the cards? Arshavin's Arsenal contract ends in the summer meaning he could go for free, a bargain for any club looking for creativity. It would be a shame to see him go after all he gave to the club in his early Arsenal career but I think his time is up.

Could Arshavin be leaving for good this January?

Euro 2012 Review: Group A, B and C reach conclusions

Group A, Group B and Group C have now all reached conclusions and we now know which teams from those three groups will be going through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.

Group A saw 2004 winners Greece spring a surprise to beat and knockout dark horses Russia to second spot as Karagounis scored a late first half goal to send the Greeks through as they beat Russia 1-0 in their final group game. The other team to make it through from the group was Czech Republic. They were thought to be long shots to make it through after losing their first group game 4-1 to Russia but a well taken goal from Jiracek sent them through as they knocked co-hosts Poland out of the competition with a 1-0 win. 
Group B also sprang a surprise as Holland were beaten and knocked out by Portugal, who beat the Dutch 2-1, thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. That result meant that the Portuguese went through along with Germany who were victors over a good Denmark side as new Arsenal signing Lukas Podolski along with Lars Bender scored for the Germans to seal a 2-1 win. 

Group C didn't really throw up any shocks as both Spain and Italy, the teams expected to make it through from the group did. The final games finished Italy 2-0 Ireland thanks to goals from Cassano and Balotelli whilst Spain were far less convincing in their final group game but still managed to come away with victory as a single Jesus Navas goal meant the final score finished Croatia 0-1 Spain.

Euro 2012 Review: Day 5

Day five of the tournament saw the teams from Group A return to action and it didn't disappoint us.

The first game saw Greece take on Czech Republic. It was vital that either team got the win after having drawn and lost their opening group games respectively. It was the Czech's who came out on top though as they scored two goals in the opening 6 minutes through Jiracek and Pilar. However Greece came back fighting once again as another goalkeeping howler gifted them their second goal of the competition as Gekas gave the Greeks some hope. However it wasn't to be as Czech Republic picked up their first points of the tournament as the final score finished Greece 1-2 Czech Republic. However it wasn't all smiles for the Czech's as captain Tomas Rosicky was taken off at half time with an injury.

The second game of the day saw co-hosts Poland play a very impressive Russia side. It was Russia again who played the better football and if it wasn't for Kerzhakov, Russia could have had two or three. However the Russians only got one as Arsenal man, Andrey Arshavin's floated freekick fell to the head of Dzagoev who grabbed his third goal of the tournament. However Poland fought back well in front of their home crowd and it took a brilliant effort from captain Blaszczykowski to equalise and leave things evenly matched in Group A after two games each. The final score finished Poland 1-1 Russia.

Andrey Arshavin assisted the Russian goal from a freekick

Euro 2012 Review - Day One:

Euro 2012 saw one of the most exciting starts to a major tournament in recent years as seven goals were scored, red cards were shown and penalties were missed.

The first game saw co-hosts Poland, the lowest rank side in the competition take on a Greece side that won the tournament back in 2004. Poland looked favourites going into the game as they had the home support and it definately looked like going Poland's way as the game got underway, Greece were terrible at the back and looked like they were going to concede after every Poland break forward. That was eventually the case as Blaszczykowski found the head of Manchester United target Robert Lewandowski who found the net. However the game from then on seemed to be ruined by a poor refereeing performance as Socratis Papastathopoulos was shown a second yellow card and was sent off harshly for blocking off a player that was already slipping. However 6 minutes after the break Greece equalised as they took advantage of a slip up in the hosts defence as substitute Salpingidis fired home for the Greeks. The game then saw its second red card of the match as Szczesny brought down Salpingidis and was sent off whilst also giving away a penalty. However the sub goalkeeper, Tyton, dived the right way to keep the penalty out, much to the relief of Szczesny. The final score ended Poland 1-1 Greece.

The second game of the day saw Andrey Arshavin's Russia against Tomas Rosicky's Czech Republic. Both players are captain's of their respective nations which saw both of them shake hands at the coin toss before the game. Once the match did get started, it was once again a fantastic match, perhaps not as much drama as the days earlier game but football wise it was a fantastic match. Russia showed that they could be dark horses in the competition as they dominated Czech Republic with a very impressive display as Arshavin showed glimpses of his normal self, playing a part in two of the Russian goals. Young CSKA Moscow midfielder, Alan Dzagoev opened the scoring as he grabbed two on the night, meanwhile Shirokov and Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko got one each as Pilar scored the Czech's only goal in a weak performance from them. The final score finished Russia 4-1 Czech Republic.

Wojciech Szczesny was sent off in Poland's game against Greece