Provisional Line Up

You know, I don't hate this team... yet.

I'm looking to move my premium pick from Nani to Robin van Persie but I'm afraid that's too many eggs in the Arsenal basket.  They have most players away for internationals today, then at Newcastle a the weekend with a tough but oh so vital Champions League qualification match against Udinese on Tuesday.  I worry about their focus.  Also, I think there's more value at the 6-something range at forward than in midfield.  That being said I could swap Holt for Formica.  However, while Formica has been good in pre-season, I'm hesitant to gamble on him and Rovers, even at home, against Wolves.

Oh, and specifically about the Ramsey pick...

FCB will pay 40m euros (30 fixed+5 variables+5m that Cesc will take off wages). Only little details to confirm but been told done by weekendless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyGuillem Balague
GuillemBalague

What do you think, and how is your starting XI shaping up?

Season Preview - Arsenal

Quick Reminder, Real Life

As we are all constantly reminded, Arsenal experienced what is becoming their typical season again last term. They looked to be contenders on a number of fronts from August until about February and then everything pretty much fell apart. The injuries mounted, the tragi-comic errors re-surfaced, and all was lost in about the time it takes to soft-boil an egg. Lest we forget all the positives, Luke Jack Wilshere matured significantly, Aaron Ramsey returned and at least showed signs of his pre-injury reputation coming good, Johan Djourou had a solid spell of being very good before an injury seemed to derail his progress, and Wojciech Szczesny showed enough that I won’t be terrified if he starts the season as the #1.

Quick Reminder, Fantasy

Robin van Persie was fantasy gold when healthy (which was more than usual). Samir Nasri was a stud in the first half but dropped off significantly in the second half. Cesc Fabregas was solid but nowhere near his fantasy peak, though he was still priced as an elite fantasy player. Wilshere reminded us that you can be both talented and effective but still be mediocre for fantasy purposes. The combination of injuries and attacking rotation - Theo Walcott, Andrei Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Niklas Bendtner, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Abou Diaby - meant that there was little long term value to be had but plenty of fantasy points still scored.

Summer Changes

Clichy to Manchester City

As the blog's resident Gooner, I figured it was my moral obligation to weigh in on the move of Clichy to Manchester City over the weekend.  As is usually the case with Arsenal over the last five or six seasons, my feelings on the topic are complex.  Here's some thinking on as many aspects of the move as I can think of:

Friday Trading

In my infinite capacity to mess with a good thing, and in clear violation of the fantasy rules, I've made the following trades today:

• Howard to Carson. I don't trust any of the cheaper keepers, but West Brom is coming off a six-match unbeaten streak. They are on the road against a Sunderland team in dire form and may see this match as their last chance for points for a while with Chelsea and @Spurs next on the schedule.
• Walker to Heitinga.  I may regret selling Walker as he is such a good attacking fullback.  But he hasn't been bringing in the fantasy points recently and I don't trust the Villa defence to keep it clean against anyone.  Heitinga should play in Everton's midfield against a limited, but dangerous Wolves side.  In the end, this one came down to price.
• Valencia to Hitzlsperger.  Like the above trade I can argue for the rules here. Hitz was playing well and taking kicks for West Ham before the poor showing against Manchester United.  Valencia has been rumoured to be getting some sort of a rest against Fulham, which is enough to make me nervous.  But in the end, this move also came down to price as I needed the money for...
• Osman to Fabregas.  Osman has been playing well for me but the siren song of Arsenal @Blackpool, coupled with their double match week next week was enough to lure me over to Fabregas.  Wenger says he will start against the Tangerines, and hopefully he can put on a show on the seaside.

Any last minute trades for you?

Arsenal Injured Again, Again

It starts with:

“For Thomas Vermaelen the season is over,” confirmed Arsène Wenger at his pre-match press conference.

And goes on from there.

“Johan Djourou is out for at least six weeks,” he said. “There’s a little chance [he will play again this season], he has an arthroscopy on Monday and we will know more about the damage in his shoulder. We hope we will have good news but no matter what happens he will be out for six weeks.”

Nicklas Bendtner could be back in the squad after missing the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford through illness. But Wenger will also be without Alex Song (knee), Abou Diaby (groin), Wojciech Szczesny (finger), Lukasz Fabianski (shoulder), Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) and Theo Walcott (ankle) at the Hawthorns.

“Cesc Fabregas is out for the game on Saturday,” said Wenger. “He should be back after the international break, maybe, he has a chance, but he is not available for the weekend. Walcott is not available for the weekend and he has no chance [for the international break]. He is not available for England.”

Dis

@jack_wilshere loves his twitter more than his girlfriend.less than a minute ago via webCesc Fàbregas Soler
cesc4official

Arsenal vs. ManYoo: A Look Ahead

Welcome to March.  That time of the year when we can expect crazy weather here on the East Coast of the United States that varies from snow to torrential rain to sunny and 70 degrees.  What else do we expect from March? Spring Training in baseball.  One amazing college basketball tournament.  Heavy squad rotation and injuries that throw our fantasy EPL line-ups into massive chaos.  And...most importantly for this particular post, March is about the time each year when we learn what combination of injuries, tragic mistakes, and bad luck will take Arsenal from "competing on four fronts" to "long shot for the league and booted out of the other tournaments". 

Is this year going to be any different for Arsenal? Tomorrow will tell.  As far as I see it, the season can go two ways:

Headlines

Nani and Fletcher to miss Wolves clash

Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled Nani and Darren Fletcher out of Saturday's Premier League encounter with Wolves.

The pair both picked up injuries during the3-0 win over Bursaspor in Turkey.

And whilst it is hoped the damage is not too serious, it is enough to keep two of Ferguson's most important players out of a key domestic encounter.

"Unfortunately, Nani has a groin injury and is out for Saturday," confirmed Ferguson.

Balotelli looking to reach the top

Balotelli endured a disappointing first Barclays Premier League start in the defeat to Wolves on Saturday, but could get another chance to impress in Thursday's Europa League clash with Lech Poznan if he shakes off a knock to the thigh in time.

Two weeks out for Joe Cole

Joe Cole will be out for two weeks following the hamstring injury he sustained in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Bolton on Sunday...

That means Cole will miss out on facing his old club Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday.

Injured Fabregas out of Arsenal's trip to Donetsk

Arsenal will not risk skipper Cesc Fabregas against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday after the Spaniard strained a hamstring against West Ham United at the weekend...

"Cesc will not travel," Wenger told Arsenal's website (www.arsenal.com). "It's a mixture of caution and his hamstring. We cannot take the gamble. He has a good chance to play (against Newcastle) on Sunday but tomorrow would be a risk."

Alex Song is also doubtful for the Group H clash with a calf strain, as are Andrei Arshavin and Denilson who have groin injuries.

Spurs make it White Hot Lane for holders Inter

Spurs fans were buoyed before kickoff when Van der Vaart was declared fit after tweaking a hamstring on Saturday.

Besides scoring the opening goal he was also at the heart of most of Spurs attacks during a 45-minute appearance before going off at halftime.

  ========

I know what you're thinking... "What does all this mean?"

And I wish I had good answers. Nani's situation is the most troublesome for me. Van Der Vaart I have so cheaply that it's worth keeping him even if he is out for a game or two. But Nani, while I have him at a discount, is still a significant investment and I'm leaning towards selling him. Not only will he miss the match against Wolves, but there are midweek games (a new gameweek for Y!, however) so you wonder if he'll be fit to play in the Manchester derby on Wednesday.  Fabregas is seemingly likely to play so is a good investment, but maybe Nasri is a better bet - he's healthier [at time of writing] and has been scoring well for fantasy.  We'll see if he plays, and if so how he fares, in the Ukraine today.

As for the man of the moment, Gareth Bale, he hasn't transferred his Champions League form to the Premier League recently.  But if Van Der Vaart does miss any time then Bale could be right back on set-piece duty and the offense will once again run through him on the left rather than Van Der Vaart through the middle.  Playing at Bolton and then home to Sunderland is a bit of mixed bag, especially after yesterday's exertions.  But I might consider backing him, even at just under 15.

Headlines

• Two weeks out for Joe Cole - Joe Cole will be out for two weeks following the hamstring injury he sustained in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Bolton on Sunday.
• Cesc out of Shakhtar clash - Cesc Fabregas will miss Arsenal's Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk because of a hamstring injury.
• Noble out for a month - West Ham United Mark Noble is ruled out for up to a month after undergoing surgery for appendicitis.

I see increased fantasy value for Victor Obinna and Samir Nasri.

Late Injury Post

OK, I'm finally back where I can post to the blog so here are some broader comments than what I was able to get out this morning at the crack of dawn here on the East Coast of the US. First things first, the link to the consolidated SoccerNet listing of injuries, suspensions, and players coming back.

Out

• Drogba - We covered it earlier. Out with an illness. Kalkuta seems to be the fill-in which makes him (Kalkuta) at least somewhat interesting.
• Cesc, RvP, Sagna, Verm, Koscielny, Ramsey - The list is getting shorter with Walcott and Bendtner coming back into the frame. With so many key contributors out or in question, I'm going to be very careful about picking any of Arsenal's expensive players. Just hard to know if they'll be worth the money.
  
• Duff and Etuhu - Duff is always a question mark and rarely worth the price but many have had Etuhu as an "enabler" so worth noting that you'll be getting less than usual (his one goal-scoring match aside) if you decide to keep him.
• Spurs CBs - Hard to have much of an idea what's going to go on there with so many coming back from injury (Gallas and Kaboul) or questionable with long-standing injuries (King).
  
• Ben Arfa - I didn't think anyone forgot that he was hurt given the nature of the injury but a solid reminder that Barton should be back to taking the vast majority of kicks with HBA sidelined.
• Agbonlahor - You weren't going to pick him vs. Chelsea (I don't think) but he's out so you don't have to worry about it. Chelsea's defenders/Cech go up in value because they're much better equipped to deal with Carew/Heskey than they are the speedy Agbonlahor.
• Fellaini - A yellow card magnet in a derby match with a ton on the line? Not a likely selection anyway but worth pointing out anyway
• Jagielka/Pienaar - Also just a reminder

In Doubt

• Odemwingie - I hate giving him up but with his participation in question and the opposition strong(ish) it seems like the logical thing to do. Best case, he comes on as a sub, doesn't do much and his prices comes down a bit.
  
• Theo/Bendtner - They're in the squad but seem unlikely to start so proceed with caution.
  
• Darren Bent - He is called a "major doubt" and Bruce mentioned that he thought that Gyan could fill Bent's spot reasonably well. Definitely makes Gyan a potentially interesting option if you're looking for an inexpensive striker who is better than di Santo.
  

Premier League Round Up

Stoke City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen hoping to return against Bolton Wanderers

Terry Assessment to Continue

Knee injury rules Doyle out

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres doubt for derby

Lennon ruled out of England game, Downing in

Jean Beausejour to miss Birmingham's trip to Arsenal

Injured Jagielka ruled out

Arsenal buoyed by imminent return of Cesc Fábregas and Theo Walcott

Frank Lampard optimistic of return for Chelsea's match at Aston Villa

Pavlyuchenko Blow for Russia

Finally, lost in this week's "blogasm" over Liverpool FC, I think we've lost sight of another similar, if not spectacular issue. Manchester United just reported financial statements that were about as bad as Liverpool's. They are also coming off a weekend where they benched their in-form striker and came away from another road trip with another draw. Were Liverpool not such a grease-fire of a club at the moment, I think SAF and Manchester United would be feeling a lot more heat.

Fabregas and Vermaelen not Back Until Chelsea Match

Diaby on course for West Brom comeback | News Archive | News | Arsenal.com

Abou Diaby is hoping to return for the home game with West Brom on Saturday.

The midfielder has been out since injuring his ankle against Bolton a fortnight ago and will have a fitness test on Friday.

Tomas Rosicky (ankle) and Emmanuel Eboue (knee) also face examinations. Meanwhile Alex Song is back from suspension and Sebastien Squillaci (muscle) should return after being rested in midweek.

Apart from that Arsenal’s injury list is well known however, speaking on Thursday, Arsène Wenger did have greater clarity on the timescales involved. Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) is out for the next two games but has a chance of returning for the encounter at Stamford Bridge next Sunday. Thomas Vermaelen (Achilles) is on a similar schedule.

Kieran Gibbs (foot) is almost certainly out this Saturday but any absence will be thankfully short. After limping out of the midweek victory at Tottenham, there were fears he had broken a metatarsal.

“The only player who could come back is Diaby,” said Wenger. “He will have a test on Friday morning and we will see from there.

Fabregas ruled out for two to three weeks

Right club, wrong incident. But you get the idea.

Fabregas ruled out for two to three weeks | News Archive | News | Arsenal.com

Arsenal Football Club have confirmed that Cesc Fabregas will be out for two to three weeks.

The Spanish midfielder gave the visitors an early lead at Sunderland on Saturday but then picked up a hamstring injury. He was substituted just before the half-hour. The extent of the injury was discovered after a scan on Monday afternoon.

Fabregas didn't even give us enough time to get used to his being back before getting injured again. Thankfully for Arsenal, they've got Nasri back, though that didn't work out TOO well earlier in the season. My $0.02 is that with ChamWow the focus of the attack, Arsenal have to work on playing the ball in from wide areas. That mean Clichy and Sagna have to play much better than they have so far this season. That means Eboue, if picked, needs to not drift infield and Arshavin, playing off ChamWow, needs to look to drop deep, get the ball centrally and move it wide. Look how effective Scholes has been for Manchester United simply by hitting accurate passes out to Nani on the wing. It's simple and effective, if difficult, and it will get behind any defence - something Arsenal haven't been able to do regularly since Henry lost a bit of pace.

Nasri blow for Gunners

Nasri blow for Gunners - Yahoo! Eurosport

Arsenal were dealt another injury blow this afternoon with the news that France midfielder Samir Nasri would be out of action for around a month with a knee problem...

Arsene Wenger must also now do without the versatile Nasri - who often came inside to cover for captain Cesc Fabregas in central midfield - for probably the next five games, which also include the start of the Champions League campaign in mid-September.

A club statement read: "Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri will today undergo minor surgery on his knee following a meniscal injury sustained during the match against Liverpool on Sunday.

"Nasri, who has been in impressive form, will be out of action for a month."

Well, it's back to the drawing board for me. I was planning on selling Martin Petrov to get Nasri so that I could afford Vermaelen in defence. However, now I may only be able to afford Sagna. I was worried that Sagna would sit out the home match as he did so often at the end of last season, but if Eboue is likely needed in midfield, maybe it's a safe bet.

This injury also makes Cesc's return to the first team even more vital for the Gunners. I couldn't find any information on his status yesterday, but will keep looking as the week progresses and the visit from Blackpool gets closer.

Season Preview: Arsenal

I'm sure readers familiar with the blog will assume I'm being biased here in going with Arsenal first given my personal bias toward them but as it turns out, that is also how the alphabet works so rather than trying to figure out a different scheme for ordering the previews, the Gunners are first up.  (NOTE: for the purposes of this preview I am assuming the following... Cesc will be staying and Arsenal will land at least one more CB and a new goalkeeper. I'll update the preview if one or more of these things turns out to be untrue.] 

Overall Outlook - Arsenal were good enough to challenge for the title last season and should be at least slightly improved this season with the addition of Chamakh and Koscielny (and the presumed additional CB and GK).  They should continue to be a high scoring team with the hope that they can tighten up the defence with better health at the fullback spots and improved talent/attitude at the keeper and CB spots.  The most important change this season will be the addition of Chamakh to the attack which SHOULD allow Wenger to insert Chamakh as the target striker in his 4-3-3 flanked by Arshavin and RvP.  Assuming Cesc is pulling the strings and Song is back-stopping midfield there will be plenty of options for Wenger to choose from - Walcott, Nasri, Denilson, Diaby, Rosicky, Wilshere, etc - for the final midfield spot in his preferred XI.

Transfer Roundup

Foster joins Blues

Birmingham have completed the signing of Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster.

The England international has agreed a three-year contract and although Blues have not disclosed fee, it is reported to be around £6million.

West Bromwich Albion clinch Gabriel Tamas transfer

West Brom have signed Auxerre defender Gabriel Tamas on a permanent deal following his successful loan spell.

The Romania centre-back, 26, arrived at The Hawthorns back in January and played 26 games, scoring twice.

And while not directly impacting the Premier League, today's big news and possible domino signing (the transfer that gets other things moving, say Cesc, etc):

Barcelona sign striker Villa for $49M

(CNN) -- Barcelona have signed Spain striker David Villa from league rivals Valencia for $49 million, further boosting an already potent forward line.
The 28-year-old goalscorer will be in Barcelona on Thursday evening and will undergo a medical test on Friday morning, the Spanish champions said on their official Web site.

And speaking of Fabregas, the article continues:

Meanwhile, club president Joan Laporta has commented on rumors that Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is to make a return to the club he played for as a youth team player.

Fabregas has once again been strongly linked with leaving Arsenal amid media speculation that he wants to play once again for his home town club and Laporta said: "It's remarkable that a player should commit himself in this way (if the reports are true)

"If the club technical staff believe we need to make the extra effort and sign him, we'll speak to Arsenal," Laporta added.

Cesc wants out of Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas is understood to have told Arsene Wenger he wants to leave Arsenal in order to rejoin Barcelona as president Joan Laporta hints at making a bid...

It now appears that the midfielder is ready to ask for permission to join the newly-crowned Primera Liga champions next season and a fee is likely to be in the region of £30-35million...

Laporta also confirmed transfer talks were well underway with Valencia over a deal to bring striker David Villa to Camp Nou.

"We are in the negotiating process and everything is going in the right direction," Laporta added.

I can't wait to get Neal's thoughts on this, though I'm afraid they won't be worthy of publication on a family-friendly website.

For my money, this is a year too early.  Xavi isn't going anywhere just yet.  And while Cesc is the natural heir to that role on that team, he won't want to go to sit behind anyone.  But if I'm Wenger, I forgoe the cash and get Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimavic in return.  Or Gabriel Milito.  All three?  Losing Cesc would be a huge blow to Arsenal's ambitions, but if he doesn't want to be there he will entually begin hurting the team.  And while Arsenal miss him on the field, they missed Song and Vermaelen more when they were out injured. With Robin van Persie able to be the team's creative hub (or Nasri), and with another capable center forward in Ibra, I think Arsenal would be well served making the swap(s).

But I'll defer to our resident Gooner.  Over to you, Mr. Thurman.

Blog Roundtable

In which we discuss Fabregas, Aston Villa and their upcoming double match week, and look at keeper choices for the remainder of the season.

Late Fitness Cesc

On the one hand...

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas says he wanted to play through the pain barrier against Porto, but took the advice of doctors in a bid to return to action at the weekend...

Scans have revealed that there is no major damage and there is a chance Fabregas could make his comeback against Hull this weekend.

On the other...

Arsenal are facing up to a month without William Gallas after the defender aggravated his calf injury.

What was just a few days ago considered to be a minor issue has turned in a major setback - and one which leaves Arsene Wenger with a major selection complication as he reshapes the centre of his defence.

Although Sol Campbell has been passed fit for tonight's meeting with Porto, he has so far proved unable to play more than one game a week since resigning with the Gunners in January and Wenger has admitted he may have to rotate the former England defender with Mikael Silvestre on a match-by-match basis...

As well as confirming that Cesc Fabregas would be unable to play against Porto and is unlikely to return for Saturday's trip to Hull, Wenger also acknowledged that Andrei Arshavin was not yet fit enough to play ninety minutes after his recent hamstring injury.

Of course the last time he returned from this hamstring injury he came off the bench to score two against Aston Villa. And speaking of Villa and twos. they travel to Stoke and Wigan this week. Perhaps Cesc to Milner or Young is the play here.

Early Late Fitness Test

Wenger accepts the loss of Arsenal's talisman - who has an outside chance of returning for the trip to Hull on Saturday - is a big blow. However, the Gunners boss insists his side have the quality to nevertheless secure their place in the quarter-finals by overturning a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.

"Cesc has a hamstring problem and we could not even take a gamble with him," said Wenger. "I was hoping he would recover after the Burnley game because we were cautious with him. We don't know how long he will be out. He is having a scan and we are convinced it will only be a small time, and he has a small chance of getting back for next weekend against Hull, but to play him again (Tuesday) would mean significant damage."