ARSENAL LEGENDS: Henry pays tribute to Wenger

The Arsenal Legend has hailed his former boss and said he is praying that the north Londoners are crowned champions of England this year.

The former France international scored 226 goals in 369 appearances for Arsenal between 1999 and 2007, before returning for a two-month loan spell in 2012 from his current club, New York Red Bulls.

Henry won seven trophies in his time in north London, but the Gunners have failed to win any silverware since 2005.

However, Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League table after 21 games and Henry believes this could be the year for his former side.

"I still watch Arsenal a lot," he said at an event in Barcelona. "They have had a great start to the season and I hope they can keep it up. I would be really happy if they won the Premier League."

Henry also paid tribute to former boss Wenger, who signed him from Juventus in 1999.

"He changed the philosophy of the club," the 36-year-old said. "He won stuff as soon as he arrived and therefore he earned the trust of the fans and the respect of everyone."

The striker left Arsenal in 2007 to join Barcelona, where he was part of the treble-winning side of 2008-09 under Pep Guardiola.

Arsenal's most successful manager, Arsene Wenger standing along side Thierry Henry.

(Stats are updated till 17th January 2014)

Appointed on: 1st October 1996

Games: 986

Won: 565

Drawn: 232

Lost: 189

Win %: 57.30

Tophies won:

FA Premier League: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

FA Cup: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05

FA Community Shield: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004

Individual achievements:

• Premier League Manager of the Season: 1998, 2002, 2004 
• LMA Manager of the Year: 2001–02, 2003–04
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2002, 2004
• Freedom of Islington: 2004
• FWA Tribute Award: 2005
• English Football Hall of Fame: 2006
• Premier League Manager of the Month: March 1998, April 1998, October 2000, April 2002, September 2002, August 2003, February 2004, August 2004, September 2007, December 2007, February 2011, February 2012, September 2013
• World Coach of the Decade in 2011. 

Wenger has full faith in his midfield

Match Preview: Arsenal Vs Fulham

Arsene Wenger is confident his wealth of options in midfield will keep Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

The Gunners hold a one point lead over second placed Manchester City as they prepare to host Fulham at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Free-scoring City boast by far the most impressive goal difference in the Premier League and are seen in many quarters as the most likely champions.

But Arsenal have continued to record victories despite long-term injuries to forwards Lukas Podolski, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at various points of the season. And that, the boss believes, is largely down to the quality and variety of his midfield options.

"In midfield we have plenty of quality players who you can rotate easily without really feeling 'today we are weaker'," he said.

"We have fantastic players in midfield and it always allows us to keep what we call the 'engine' of the team fresh.

"It is a real team effort. Maybe because every player in his position has a strong personality as well."

Aaron Ramsey is a strong contender for the player of the season accolades as the Wales captain has contributed 13 goals so far.

German playmaker Mesut Ozil has been less consistent but Wenger is nonetheless impressed with his efforts so far.

"He is a first of all a team player," Wenger said. "And also a football servant with the fact that he always does what the game wants and he has a big respect for the game. That's the brand of a real top-level player."

Walcott won't play again this season because of a knee injury but midfielder Tomas Rosicky could feature against Fulham wearing a mask to protect a broken nose suffered in Monday's 2-1 win at Aston Villa.

Left-back Nacho Monreal is a doubt after twisting a ligament in his foot and Thomas Vermaelen (knee), Mikel Arteta (calf), Ramsey (thigh) and Nicklas Bendtner (ankle) are all out injured.

Fulham are one of 11 teams embroiled in a battle to avoid relegation and could slide into the bottom three if they lose at the Emirates and results elsewhere go against them.

The striker dilemma

Arsene Wenger is known to be a miserly spender in the transfer market. He doesn't believe in in a squad bought with money. He has always had an eye for talent and has made so many players start from scratch and grow into big names. Cesc Fabregas, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Robin Van Persie, Thierry Henry, the list can go on and on.

Many have even been critical of Wenger's ideals of not using the transfer funds at his disposal. And a lot more people have agreed that this has been the primary reason Arsenal didn't win trophies. But that did not shake The Professor off. He stuck with the squad he had and now, the very team which people called as 'immature' and 'too young' a couple of years back are not only top of the league, but are also favorites to go ahead and win it.

But Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have run into a dilemma now, and that is whether to buy a new Striker in the January transfer window or not.

Until late November,  the boss was very confident that he didn't need to buy a forward. But recent injuries to Theo Walcott, who is out for the rest of the season, and Niklas Bendtner, who will spend 2-3 more weeks on the sidelines, has forced him to reconsider.

The injuries leave Olivier Giroud as our only striker up front. Lukas Podolski is available but the German is still not completely match fit after tearing a hamstring in August.

Giroud has been very important in Arsenal's success this season. He has 9 goals and 5 assists to his name already and looks in fine form. But the concern is, if he gets injured there's no one fit in the squad who can come in and fill in his boots. And that might just ruin the season for the Gunners. Wenger is well aware of this threat and admitted in a press conference prior to the game against Aston Villa that it would be a gamble if Arsenal didn't bring in a new striker this month. But he also believes fighter Giroud has the tenacity to lead the club to the title this season. Wenger said,

"People always want new names. What is important for us is that Giroud is back. He was a bit tired recently but now he is refreshed, he is back, and I am sure he will have a major impact on the second part of the season."

So, it's up to the Boss to take a decision now. It only seems wise that we buy a striker. That would take the pressure off Giroud, and Arsenal in turn. Wenger will consider all the aspects, and if he decides to buy, we may see the deal get done very soon.

But let's just hope that Giroud stays fit and keeps getting us the goals.

-Wishing the Frenchman and Arsenal a great second half of the season.

Will this be the year?

The title itself would have made clear what this article is all about. I am going to try and answer this question for you keeping in mind everything that my mind is capable of keeping

.

It’s January 15th, and we are already past the half way mark in the Barclays Premier League. 21 games have been played by all the participating teams, and as it stands, the club based in Holloway, London, though with just a point’s lead, are top of the league table.

Not many pundits saw that coming when the season kicked off. And I would be honest with you, even though every cell in my 133 pound body wished and prayed for something like this to happen, I wasn’t very sure it would. Going 8 seasons without something big to smile about really does start to make you doubt things. 

Even some of the players decided they have had enough and went on to leave the club. But the rest of the team, the Boss, and of course the fans, hung in there through all the downs. The lads kept fighting, and learning, and improving season after season. And the way things stand now, it looks very likely that this might just be the season when Arsenal get back to winning ways again!

Arsenal’s season so far has been nothing short of delightful. If you are in any way related to the club, I know you will be all smiles reading this (metaphorically).

Apart from that opening day defeat at home against Aston Villa, and the defeat at the Etihad, they haven’t really looked back, and the result is pretty loud and quite clear:

• Arsenal have sat at the top of the table for majority of the season (so far).
• Arsenal have the most wins in the league along with Manchester City. Both have won 15 times.
• They share the record of conceding the fewest goals this season along with Chelsea and Everton, only allowing 19 goals in their own net.
•  Arsenal have kept 9 clean sheets too.
• They have failed to score on only two occasions this season. Liverpool and Manchester City also share this stat.
• And the Gunners have the Highest points per game in the league. Their score is 2.29.

The path has been nicely set for Arsenal having started the season beautifully and all they need now is a little consistency to keep the good run of games going.

Looking at the team, I do feel really confident. The defense has been very strong with Sagna, Gibbs Koscielny and Mertesacker at their best ever. Szczesny has also stood up in his role as the Arsenal number 1 and made a few very important saves this season.

Our midfield is by far the best in the whole of England and has been getting us the goals regularly. Cazorla, Wilshere, and especially Ramsey, have been absolutely sensational. Ozil, I think, needs a little more time to blend in but nobody doubts what he is capable of. Flamini’s contribution has been vital in supporting the back four. I still have trouble believing we brought him in as a free agent. Well done Wenger!

Up front, Giroud has finally got his goalscoring boots on and his ability to hold defenders is amazing. He has set up a few goals too. And Bendtner hasn’t disappointed when given a chance either.

Walcott’s loss does hurt the team but with the likes of Gnabry, Rosicky, Podolski and Chamberlain available, we might be able to do without him for the remainder of the season. Get well soon, Theo.

Arsenal currently find themselves in the Premier League title race, FA Cup 4th round and The Champions League round of 16. Saying that they might win all three would be me being over optimistic. But that is what their performance this season has brought back in the team, and in the fans, optimism.

The competition is fierce, but the team looks well prepared for a fight till the end. And trust me, if we do win a trophy, it would be the perfect way to silence all our critics and everyone else who gave up on the club (you know what I mean).

Well, that's it. I have penned down all my thoughts for you. Now coming back to the initial question, will this be the year for Arsenal? Long answer made short, yes, I do have a feeling that this will be the year!

-A proud gooner who is looking forward to seeing a new trophy in the Arsenal trophy room come the season end