Gooner Talk

Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabiański believes he can overthrow his compatriot Wojciech Szczesny as the club’s no 1 shot stopper, but admits he will consider leaving the club in January if his situation doesn’t change.

Fabiański, 26, returned in the goal for the Gunners during the recent 3-1 Carling Cup win over Shrewsbury Town in what was his first appearance since January, when shoulder problems ruled him out for the remainder of last season.

The Polish international is still hurting after his aforementioned injury troubles, although remains adamant that he can win back his starting spot from highly-rated Szczesny in the coming months.

“That injury brought me back to the beginning. It hurts, because I was number 1 and I lost that place not through poor form but through injury, which didn’t let me play for 9 months. I have to fight from the beginning now and I think I can win it. Wojciech [Szczesny] wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for that incident in January. I can’t complain though, that’s football.”

However, Fabiański believes his Euro 2012 amibtions are being blighted by the lack of regular football, revealing he is prepared to look elsewhere in January if opportunities fail to arise soon.

“I know that if my situation doesn’t change by January, I will be thinking about it [leaving Arsenal]. I’d have to, because I want to go to the Euros. That’s the only way I can convince the national team coach – by playing well and regularly.

“I don’t want to think about this now, because we have couple of months until the transfer window. Until then all I can do is work hard in training and take the chances I get.”

Meanwhile, the former Legia Warsaw man doesn’t believe Arsenal should be worried about their future despite a poor start to the season, insisting that the north London giants will get their campaign back on track in the coming weeks.

“I think those kind of jokes are a bit overboard [Arsenal playing for survival]. We are going through a difficult spell, because a lot of key players have left. Of course it has an impact on our game. But I hope that with every week passed the team will be looking better and will be back on the right track”.

Translations via Bartosz Ciurski

Tim Payton grew up in Islington and went to Highbury Grove School, and has been going to watch Arsenal matches since he was 10 years old. He has been a season ticket holder since he was 12, starting life on the North Bank.

The avid Gooner has been on the Board of the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) for a few years, whose aim is to give Arsenal supporters a say in the ownership of the club, and give Arsenal fans influence on how the club is run as well as a better understanding of its financial policies.

Last year the AST launched Arsenal Fanshare, a scheme to allow supporters to buy ‘part-shares’ in Arsenal and share in the benefits of ownership.

In an exclusive interview with Gooner Talk, Tim reveals what Arsenal’s transfer strategy is for this summer, why the return of David Dein has been proposed and how increasing ticket prices are squeezing the ‘ordinary’ fans out of watching their beloved team.

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Arsenal play Catalan giants Barcelona on Wednesday night in what can only be described as one of the biggest games of the season. Barca, who could only manage a 1-1 draw against Sporting Gijon at the weekend, will be confident after dominating the two legs during last year’s Champions League clashes.

However, Arsene Wenger’s side were missing key players in those games with the likes of Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin and Alex Song playing minimal if no part in either game. Injuries forced Wenger to play Mikael Silvestre in defence at the Nou Camp where he faced the unstoppable Lionel Messi, but admittedly things could have been different.

Nicklas Bendtner and Jack Wilshere have both said that Arsenal have what it takes to beat Pep Guardiola’s men, while the world’s football pundits make Barcelona favourites to win over both legs.

Gooner Talk caught up with ‘Shekhu’ from one of the biggest Barca-related websites on the Internet, totalBarca, to discuss Wednesday’s match and much, much more. Check it out below.

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Gooner Talk have managed to catch up with Andrei Arshavin’s representitive, Dennis Lachter.

The 27-year-old Russian hotshot has been linked with Arsenal for several months now with Ivan Gazidis looking to broker a potential £14 million pound deal.

Arsenal officials, led by Gazidis, had been invited to Zenit St. Petersburg to discuss the possibility of  Arshavin signing for the north London giants. Zenit turned down a £10 million bid, plus a possible £5 million at a later date according to president Alexei Petrov.

“Zenit have invited Arsenal officials to come to St Petersburg next Tuesday.

“Zenit does want to find an acceptable option for everyone.” said Petrov

Just days after refusing to give out any interviews to the International media, I posed a simple, but effective question to Israeli-born agent Lachter.

Will Arshavin – in your eyes – be an Arsenal player by the end of the current transfer window?

“I do believe that Andrey will be an Arsenal player.” he replied.

Lachter was present at the Emirates Stadium for the Gunners’ Champions League clash with Dynamo Kyiv in November. He praised the Arsenal atmosphere – labelling it ‘terrific’, but refused to answer any more questions on his client.

Stay tuned to Gooner Talk for the latest news and rumours concerning Arsenal football club.

Gooner Talk have managed to get our hands on an exclusive interview with Standard Liege midfielder Axel Witsel.

19-year-old Witsel has attracted attention from a host of top European clubs, including the Gunners and Real Madrid.

In the interview with Belgian newspaper Sud Presse Sport, Witsel spoke about:

• His passion for Arsene Wenger’s side and why he supports them.

 

• Rumours linking him with a move to Arsenal.

 

• His views on the William Gallas ‘saga’ and the recent Portsmouth game.

 

• And why he would never sign for Tottenham!

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If you didn’t know already, Gooner Talk have several partnerships with Arsenal associations from around the world. One of those is in France, not too far away, after our recent interview with Setanta Sports journalist Philippe Auclair, we’ve managed to catch up with Vince from ASCFR (Arsenal Supporters Club France), and asked him a few questions about his Supporters Club as well as the current crop of Gunners stars.

Hi Vince, thanks for agreeing to take part in the interview, first of all, tell us how you came to start supporting the Arsenal.

In France, The 98 World Cup Victory was a big shock in our country – and French Football too. A lot of kids like me started being football fanatics since the historic date of July 12th 1998. Then there was the Euro 2000, and the France squad was brilliant with players like Henry, Pires, Wiltord, Vieira… all Gooners! But I already followed Arsenal, I loved the English back four, I used to watch highlights of their games on French TV. I remember as well of my first game in a stadium, France – England in 2000 (1-1) and I was just behind David Seaman, a great keeper, and Manu Petit scored for France. Anyway, it’s tough to say why I became an Arsenal fan, but those reasons come some way to explaining why.

What drew you in straight away to Premier League football?

A lot of things. First of all the English games, with a lot of commitment, a lot of spirit. They use to give everything no matter what’s the score, that’s why there are always crazy games, until the last minutes the teams try to come back.

I love the British atmosphere too, with a lot of chants, the fans are always behind the team, it’s definitely the country of football. And Premier League is now the best league in the world, with the best players in the world, some of the best teams in the world.

What was the most significant game you ever saw Arsenal?

I remember the game against Middlesbrough when in the unbeaten season. We were losing 1-3 at Highbury and everybody thought it was over. Then they came back, with brilliant goals. But I think defeats are also very important, I remember the game against Galatasaray (1999) in UEFA Cup final, also the game against Man Utd (2004) which we didn’t deserve to lose, and the final of the 2006 Champion’s League final against Barcelona. But every season, there are great games (last season the game against Liverpool at Anfield was amazing), that’s also why it’s great to be an Arsenal fan.

Have you experienced the Emirates atmosphere, if so, what do you make of it?

Yes, I went two times. It’s an amazing stadium, very beautiful. I went for a big game (against Spurs last season) and for a normal game (against Everton this season). And the atmosphere is very different in the big games like today (against Man Utd), the fans give everything, it’s a great atmosphere. Against the other teams, it’s a bit quiet, but it will improve with time.

Arsenal’s young Guns have been on an inconsistent run of form recently but with Saturday’s terrific win over Man United, do you believe we could still win the league?

I think we’re as strong as Chelsea, Man Utd, and Liverpool. We shouldn’t underestimate our team, we’ve got a lot of talent, a great manager who has experienced winning this league many times, and he trust his young players. Yesterday he told us we’ll win today (against Man Utd), and that’s what happened, so if he says we’re good enough to win the Premier League (and the Champion’s League) I think we can trust him. Anyway, football is unpredictable, I think we’re good enough, but we need the luck to be on our side.

As for ASCFR, how many members do you actually have?

We’ve got today almost 200 members, it’s a lot because we’re not the only association now. But we kept the same number of members, and we’ve got the maximum of members to each games at the Grove. I think we’re doing well with my mates this season, we improved the association. There’s now some new shirts, new partnerships (like the one with GoonerTalk), a very famous honorary member (Darren Tulett – journalist on French TV who present the only program about English football). And we still gather the French gooners to watch the Arsenal games in the pub The Lions, in Paris.

Finally, for our French readers of the blog, could you tell them how they can join ASCFR and the advantages of subscribing to your association?

It’s easy, you just have to send us the subscription and 8€, then you’re an Ascfr (Arsenal Supporter Club France) member. You can order tickets for every home games (we’ve got 10 tickets for each games). You can also buy The ASCFR T-shirts designed by Arseshirts. There’s a forum which attracts a lot of gooners. And if you live near Paris, you can join us at The Lions Bar to watch Arsenal games.

Thanks a lot Vince, and good luck with ASCFR in the future.

Thank you Chris it’s always a pleasure to visit your blog. Come on you Gunners!

If you are interested in subscribing with ASCFR, or just want to check out the site and chat in the forum, visit the link here.

Gooner Talk have managed to carry out an exclusive interview featuring one of France’s most passionate and talented football journalists – Philippe Auclair.

In his homecountry, Auclair is renowned for his work in the music industry where his name – Louis Philippe – was associated with the short-lived, but very influential ‘él record label’; since this label’s demise (1989), he has grown into one of the ‘elder statesmen’ of indiepop.

Philippe – who is a hardcore Gooner himself – works for RMCinfo, arguably the biggest radio station in France. He’s also a regular contributor to FranceFootball where he posts a daily blog on all things footy, definitely one to read.

Our British readers may be more familiar with Auclair’s work on Setanta Sports News as their French football analyst, as well as popular radio stations TalkSPORT radio & BBC Scotland.

The concluding part of the interview includes:

• Philippe’s opinions on the latest young crop of Arsenal talent coming up through the ranks.

• His views on why Michel Platini made a ‘personal attack’ against Gunners boss Arsene Wenger via the French media.

• What Philippe thinks about the squad in terms of experience and quality of football.

• Arsenal’s chances of winning silverware this season and if so, what trophy are we most likely to claim.

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