After his heroics towards the end of the transfer window, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is set to agree a new deal to keep him with Arsenal for the foreseeable future.
Wenger IN
The Frenchman was under intense scrutiny after his lack of marquee signing during the summer and then an opening day defeat to Aston Villa where there were calls for the 63-year-old to be replaced. However due to a string of good results including progression into the group stages of the Champions League and victory in the North London Derby, Wenger has won back the hearts of the Emirates faithful.
Another factor in the rumours linking Wenger to a new contract is the signing of Mesut Ozil. The German superstar joined the North London side on transfer deadline day in a £42.4million deal from La Liga giants Real Madrid, and the profile of the signing has put the Gunners back on the map when it comes to transfer business.
The deal has been called the transfer of the season already with Ozil joining countrymen Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski within the ranks, reassuring Wenger’s position in charge. Jack Wilshere had admitted that he would have to reconsider his status as an Arsenal man if Wenger had left, another reason to keep the Professor in charge.
English duo’s praise
Arsenal’s Englishmen Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs have also been singing Ozil’s praises, in their second interview together in the space of two days with BT Sport.
Alex is currently side-lined through injury and therefore will not line up next to Ozil for quite some time, however the England international midfielder is obviously a huge fan of the new number 11:
“Everyone knows how good he is. To be at a club like Real Madrid, you’ve got to be doing something right.”
“He’s still young, he’s only 24, so that’s great promise and potential for the future and what he can bring to our football club.”
Gibbs added:
“I think he’s going to be quickly settled because of Lukas and Per. They’re big characters in the dressing room” before going on to mention his dream of winning the title.
Vermaelen targets Albion
In other good news, centre-half Thomas Vermaelen appears to be in good spirits as he nears his long awaited comeback from injury.
The Belgian international has not played since Arsenal’s 4-1 win at home to Wigan last season, however hinted that he could be back in action as soon as the end of September.
He mentioned the Capital One Cup game against West Brom on the 25th September specifically, giving hope to the Arsenal fans that he could be back in time to play the majority of the season and thus solving the current central defensive problems.
“The West Brom game is a few weeks away yet and hopefully I will be closer to a return. I can’t put a date on my comeback. But I am really happy with how things are going so far.”
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