Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gunning for World Cup place

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After an impressive individual display in Munich, Nathan Carr considers Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s role in the England team ahead of the World Cup…

Arsenal left the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night empty-handed after fighting back from a goal down to clinch a draw. But it wasn’t enough as the aggregate score of 3-1 sent Bayern through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

As the Arsenal players trudged off the pitch at the final whistle, one individual could hold his head high: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He was outstanding on the night, acting as the only real attacking threat for Arsenal throughout.

The midfielder has only recently returned from a lengthy period of time out on the side-lines which makes his performance even more impressive. With Roy Hodgson carefully monitoring players in varying competitions right up until he announces England’s World Cup squad, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s exploits against Bayern will certainly do him no harm at all. That game may well have just cemented his place in England’s squad to travel to Brazil. Continue reading

The Battle for Fourth: North London and Merseyside

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Halfway though the  Premier League season, Simon Smith surveys the chances of Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in finishing Fourth…

At the start of the season nearly everyone predicted a Manchester top two by this point, and Chelsea looked a good bet for third after a busy summer in the transfer market to improve on a dire league campaign last season.  Fourth place, just as in 09/10, 10/11 and 11/12, looked to be the position most hotly contested for a lucrative Champions League spot.  At the halfway point, with so many more questions than answers, it seems a good time to review the four contenders vying for fourth place.

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The Nearly Men of the League Cup

Arsenal’s astonishing 7-5 win at Reading put them into the quarter-final of the League Cup for the 10th consecutive season. False Nine editor, Andrew Belt, looks back on their efforts over this time and finds a club who have been involved in some fantastic games without winning the ultimate prize…

Arsene Wenger surprised no one when he claimed that the Capital One Cup was not a priority for Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ Fourth Round tie versus Reading. Under the Frenchman’s stewardship, Arsenal have fielded youthful sides in the League Cup, using it as a vehicle for promising players at the club to get some competitive experience under their belts. Continue reading

League Cup Breeds Unhealthy Obsession With Youth

False Nine writer Felix de Grey examines the dangers of overhyping young footballers…

This week, news of John Terry’s international retirement and racism trial hijacked the back pages of red tops and broadsheets alike. Implicit in the number of column inches dedicated to these stories is more evidence -as if it were needed- that the Premier League’s mass appeal draws interest like nothing else. Terry’s actions again demonstrated that we now live in an era in which no lips go unread, and no World Cup is more important than club football. Continue reading