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29 March 2024

Wenger arrests Arsenal’s dive: But not Walcott, Giroud or PSG

Jack Wilshere of Arsenal acknowledges the fans at the final whistle during the Barclays Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at Emirates Stadium on December 8, 2012 in London, England. (GETTY)

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By Allaam Ousman

It has been a tumultuous week for Arsenal, who are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel after their emphatic win against West Brom Albion at home.

Coming on the back of a surprising defeat at the hands of Swansea the previous weekend and Greek side Olympiakos in a Champions League group tie midweek, it calmed the nerves of a frustrated Arsene Wenger who was facing a familiar backlash.

Despite their defeat at the hands of Olympiakos in the final group-stage match, Arsenal managed to progress to the knockout stage of Champions League for the 13th consecutive time having finished second in their group behind Schalke 04.

He vented his ire on 23-year-old striker Theo Walcott admitting that Arsenal had not made progress with discussing a new deal with their top goal scorer who is in the final six months of his contract.

"He knows what I want and he has to make up his mind," Wenger told reporters ahead of the match against West Bromwich Albion.

"We have not made any progress. I have no news, I am frustrated. We are in negotiation for a long, long time.

“We have not been late in re-negotiation with him. We always try to extend contracts very early."

PSG SPECULATION

Wenger himself had to shoot down speculation that he was lined up to replace Carlo Ancelotti as Paris Saint Germain boss.

"It is the wrong information, believe me," he told French TV station TF1, according to ESPN.com.

"They haven't contacted me and I think they must support Ancelotti. When a club is surrounded by rumours, it's because they are not strong enough and aren't in control of things. Anyway, I always honour my contract."

‘Le Parisien’ newspaper in France had reported that a meeting took place at the Hotel Monceau late last week between representatives of PSG's Qatari owner Sheikh Hamad Al Thani and Wenger, it said.

However, they also reported that the Arsenal boss has long standing links with the Sheikh and acts as an adviser to the Al Jazeera television channel.

Wenger's current contract runs through until the end of next season and he is not a person who would walk out on the club.

Arsenal needed to soothe their frustrating fans with a win and it came against the Baggies courtesy two controversial penalties which Mikel Arteta calmly slotted home.

There was no denying the fact that the Gunners were in control for most of the game, passing and running with a precision that was missing against Swansea last weekend.

Hardly anyone disagrees that the first penalty should never have been given after Santi Cazorla went down easily when Steven Reid whiffed him with a clumsy challenge.

Wenger was at pains to defend the Spanish playmaker whose diving antic was the talking point of the match. "I am sorry if it was not a penalty. I have spoken to Santi, and he said he has been touched and lost his balance. Maybe he made a bit more of it. I don’t know.

“It’s a difficult decision. It can go for you, it can go against you. It went for us today," he said at the post-match conference.

However, Wenger was keen to delve on the positive side of their performance especially that of Jack Wilshere.

He said: "He is getting closer to the player we know he is and in this game, I think he made a big step.

"You could see it already this week in training, that he has gained a little burst again, a little zip in the first three or four yards.

"That's what you have to accept in football, you have sometimes to be patient. He can only gain it by playing but of course in the first games you cannot be at that level."

Wilshere was at the heart of Arsenal's best attacks although victory was not sealed until the 64th minute when Oxlade-Chamberlain was brought down by Chris Brunt which resulted in their second penalty.

Wenger expects Wilshere to be back to his best by February and will continue to be cautious over the player's recovery management.

"The surprising thing for me is that he is (ahead of schedule). I expected him to be back at his best next year, in February.

“He looks (almost back to his best) much earlier than I expected him to be," he was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph.

The 20-year-old who has been fighting his way back from a series of injuries which sidelined him for all of last season, himself described his West Brom display as his best yet.

"I have got better every game. (I'm) maybe 90 per cent," Wilshere said. "I'm not sure. Every game that goes by I feel better and better fitness-wise.

"When I get up to 100 per cent I will really show what I can do."

RETURN OF THE KING

Wenger received a further boost with news emerging that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is set for another loan spell.

Daily Mail reported that the New York Red Bulls striker could make his debut in the Gunners' FA Cup clash against Swansea on January 6 with talks between the two clubs reportedly at an advanced stage.

Buoyed with all these positive news, Arsenal are ready to come out with all guns blazing for Tuesday’s League Cup quarter-final against League Two (fourth tier) Bradford City.

BRADFORD

Arsenal will be without striker Olivier Giroud but Wenger still plans to field an experienced side.

Wenger is not taking any chance when they travel to Valley Parade since they have not won at former Premier League club Bradford for 90 years.

"The only new player who is not available is Olivier Giroud," Wenger said in a club preview.

"He got a kick on his back on Saturday. He has not recovered and he will be out," the Frenchman said.

But it may come as a blessing in disguise for German striker Lukas Podolski who could be back in the starting line up.

"We will have an experienced squad at Bradford. We have a good recovery time ahead of the (Premier League) game at Reading on Monday. So we can use the players we want to use."

Fullback Bacary Sagna is likely to miss the match and Walcott, who scored a hat-trick against Reading in the previous round, remains unavailable.

Bradford, who beat Premier League Wigan Athletic in a penalty shootout to reach their first League Cup quarter-final in 24-years, last played Arsenal in 2001 before a spectacular fall from grace saw them topple out of the top flight into the lower tiers of English football.

But Wenger, trying to guide Arsenal to their first piece of major silverware since the 2005 FA Cup, is wary of the opposition.

"We know in England, you need to be ready when you go into a cup game of this intensity. Of course we want to take our chance and go through to the semi-final," Wenger said.

"We have watched them on video… They are a force in their league, they are a team who play very good football, very efficient as well.

"We know some players, we will study them more today. We take them very seriously, they are very efficient on set pieces, so we will have to be very strong on that.

"The atmosphere is similar to what we know when they were in the Premier League. The two strikers are very dangerous. it is a team who is very compact and very direct as well."

(with inputs from Agencies)