Dear Alex,
The Grovers have woken up this morning to the unshocking news that you have decided to leave our wonderful club.
The thing is Alex, you were never really anything more than the poster child for technical ability. Your main skill was never losing the ball, FANTASTIC, shame your other skill was never really doing anything productive with your possession. If Wembley doubles was a professional sport you would have been world champion… shame it isn’t.
In your chosen sport of professional football you had 2 major flaws.
1. You couldn’t shoot
2. You didn’t create.
People will say you helped Cesc look good, but to be honest, that was Flamini’s job last year. Having 2 players making 1 player look good is kind of pointless really? You were bought to help replace Bobby P or Freddie, sadly you didn’t come close. You had two seasons of pure crap and one season of above average performance and now you have decided you are off.
Well see you later son. I don’t know what Milan/Madrid think they are buying but it sure as hell ain’t the ‘White Ronaldinho’. You’d need directness, goals and some trophies to be classed in the same category as him. Hopefully Mr Wenger will replace you with the type of wide player the Gooner faithful are used to…
Have fun in Madrid, we dearly hope you recreate your goals and assists ratio in the coming season… oh and good luck convincing the Madrid fans you do a lot for the team… those fans don’t do grey… it’s purely black and white (Goals/Assists).
Bigger and better have left us in the past, we’ll get over you… in fact, I already have.
Kind Regards
Le Grove
May 24, 2008 at 9:48 am
Lol Pedro!
Aussies Won Last Night!! Maybe chelsea should look at Sterjovski as a replacememnt for Drogba - At Least He Scores Before Being Sent Off!!!
Any Definite News on Hleb? I just want to know how much $$ we managed to force out of the other clubs!
May 24, 2008 at 9:49 am
yeah he can go, good technical footballer but thats it, how many assists did he have last season.
now the thing is, if he said this before instead of these stupid games, i would of respected him.
but he went behind our backs the sly fucker
May 24, 2008 at 9:49 am
“Didn’t create - he’s our second most creative player after Cesc - and will leave a big hole to fill. His treatment by the fans and bloggers has been consistently shoddy - and almost certainly plays a part in his decision (if he is indeed leaving)
May 24, 2008 at 9:53 am
we need a good fee for hleb, £10m will do i dont think we will make a profit.
swap hleb for ronaldinho… that would be interesting
May 24, 2008 at 9:56 am
No - that would be a disaster….
We dont want someone who’s past it - and with those teeth
May 24, 2008 at 9:56 am
hleb is/was a luxury player
its fine in a team that has 20 world class players
but not when you are a young side that relies on everybody to contribute
I will always remember against Liverpool when he was free on goal and turned away saving himself he embarrassment of another lame shot..that was last season..supposedly his best
and TH14 could never stand him..
May 24, 2008 at 9:58 am
big Johan - he is a good dribbler. and is very creative, but sadly it all came to nothing at the end, because his final pass was more often poor and he would dribble to much, he held up play well, but i think he held up OUr style of play as he would go backwards. His speed is not quick enough, which ivariably allowed defences to get back. He would not shoot when he was in a cracking position to do so, and instead seemed to look for another pass to play.
Yes creative, but for all of his creativity, no goals came. And as said well by Pedro, he is and never will be a Sir Bobby or Freddy - we should get a few pounds for him because last season he looked good - but for us fans he looked good because the previous two seasons he was so poor. The boss will replace him i am sure, but Theo gives us much more pace and his final ball has got so much better, and this will only improve.
It is not a huge loss, and he is getting older. No doubt he will go to Madrid, if he takes time to settle, the fans will crucify him…. Too Bad
May 24, 2008 at 9:59 am
The mutant crossbreed born of the loins of Camilla Parker-Bowls is running away from a sucessful future at AFC and will certainly fail and be doomed at his next club. Like someone urinating on a slope the piss always goes down.
May 24, 2008 at 9:59 am
Comon we do not like what has happened but saying that we do not care is just crap… hleb is a great player and yes his goal tally is not the greatest but neither was fabregas’s until this season gone.
Hleb is a fantastic player with bags of skill and i can remember him doing more for the club than not.
How we have gotten into this situation is stupid we should be buying in more players and keeping the likes of hleb and flammini.
If you think replacing hleb and flammini will be easy you are smoking the best drugs available pure madness on who ever has the job of keeping our player i am gutted because you wont find many better players than flaminni and hleb.
And if you think brining in this next zidane who is unproven at premiership football and a load of other young players is going to fix our problems you are seriously mistaken.
The chances of us winning the league was great when we had these two players and all we needed was say another 2 - 3 new players coming in NOW we need another 5-6 lol
In dream land!
May 24, 2008 at 10:00 am
He’s a cock end of, and I’ll be glad to see the back of him, hopefully with someone a lot better coming the other way
May 24, 2008 at 10:00 am
Says a lot about our midfield then Big Johan. 7 assists compared to 17 by Cesc…
Look at the below table and tell me if 7 assists is good enough, look at some of the shite players who got more.
Cesc Fabregas Arsenal 19
Ashley Young Aston Villa 17
Wayne Rooney Manchester United 13
David Bentley Blackburn Rovers 11
Dimitar Berbatov Tottenham Hotspur 11
Steven Gerrard Liverpool 11
Gareth Barry Aston Villa 10
Kenwyne Jones Sunderland 10
Carlton Cole West Ham 9
Salomon Kalou Chelsea 9
Martin Petrov Manchester City 9
Nicky Shorey Reading 9
Gabriel Agbonlahor Aston Villa 8
Nicolas Anelka Chelsea 8
Simon Davies Fulham 8
Elano Manchester City 8
Big Johan, how about how he treated the fans? Ice cream for Milan ring any bells?
If he left because of the blogger, he is an even bigger prick than I initially thought.
Blogger, noise and not being able to recreate form… we’re better off without him.
May 24, 2008 at 10:01 am
“swap hleb for ronaldinho… that would be interesting” interesting? absolutely devastating more like! trumped up ego monster from brazil who’s close to looking over the hill??? leave that kind of trouble to bolton or spurs mate - we dont need that kind of disruption! this isnt championship manager!!! Jeeeeeeeezzz!!…..
May 24, 2008 at 10:01 am
absolutely perfectly spot on - the two players we had to lose were Hleb and Flamini - i go to every game and neither are good enough for this club - i don’t care what the media says, or fans who post who never go to games - these guys are way below the required standard of bergkamp, pires, vieira. so can all gooners wake up, stop seeing the best in our mediocre players and force wenger - who no-one seems to question - to get his brain in gear to get world class players in the club
i really hope hleb has gone and if we can get eboue out as well it would complete the set
May 24, 2008 at 10:01 am
2nd last pass just as important as the last pass in a move plus a bit hard with diaby and or eboue in the side he needs at least 1 quick direct winger in the side with him to look his best but all in all he was great last season thats y Milan etc. r offering more money
May 24, 2008 at 10:02 am
Couldn’t have put it better myself .
Big Johan you so obviously have his name on the back of your shirt hahaha, for him to leave a big hole he would need to be a big player to start with. His goal ratio and assists over the past 3 years are very low in fact my Nan could have done better and she’s been dead for 20 years.
His treatment of the fans is contemptible he went behind everyone’s back including Arsene. This club gave him his international name like most players he wasn’t known until he joined us. Sorry take the money for him and Hleb close the door on the way out!
May 24, 2008 at 10:03 am
G’Day all,
Spot on Pedro. The club has no time to waste. Arsenal has 4 Titles to win.
May 24, 2008 at 10:04 am
2 of them played wide all the rest r in the middle
May 24, 2008 at 10:05 am
Thinking thought he only good that can come from us selling hleb is if we get someone on a exchange from real or the likes.
barca - toure/ronaldiniho+ money for hleb
real - robinho+money for hleb
Thats the only situation where we can actually come out of this with some creditability
other wise its just the usual stepping stone arsenal!!!!
May 24, 2008 at 10:06 am
why dont we buy SWP from chelsea for our right wing
quick and direct and gets crosses in for our adebayor
great counter attacking player
May 24, 2008 at 10:06 am
Link
May 24, 2008 at 10:07 am
Damian, midfielders need to contribute in terms of goals and assists.
Wenger says you can’t judge Eboue by his goals and assists… you’re saying we can’t judge Hlebs… who can we judge by goals and assists? That only leaves the holding player and Cesc!
Midfielders at big clubs need to score and assist… otherwise their existence is not justified.
May 24, 2008 at 10:08 am
Watching the way Alex Ferguson handled this Ronaldo to Madrid thing, I got to thinking.
Why doesn’t Wenger stand up and blast away the other clubs like Ferguson. Say what you want about that Scottish Cu#t, he has some steel in him, and he will fight and protect his players from other clubs. I hope Arsene take note of this. it will stop other players from thinking they can leave anytime they want to.
May 24, 2008 at 10:08 am
Look at the final game of the season, i think it was Randall who came on…. i would rather him any day, straight into the game, gets a goal (wrongly dissallowed) and most important he was obviously proud to wear his shirt - hleb is history and i just cant wait to see how much we get for him. Maybe enough to get D Villa…………………..
now there is a lovely thought………..
May 24, 2008 at 10:09 am
hleb is simply not a match winner
thats all, he has good close control and can twist and turn defenders but its like cristano ronaldo when he join united, he did all his tricks but no end product now fergie sorted him out and look at him
we need match winners in our team, chelsea, man utd and gerrard is that match winner.
frank lampard, micheal ballack, joe cole
thats the difference, we need match winners
May 24, 2008 at 10:11 am
stonroy
yeah i seen that, he blasted barca and madrid for chatting shit in public
thats the only way they get players by unsettling them…. why cnat wenger just say shyt the fuck up am reporting u
May 24, 2008 at 10:13 am
I agree Hleb don’t give us what wingers should give us, (Look at Ronaldo, Babels pace and directness, and so on). But according to Nasri’s (I assume he’s the one replacing the cunt) stats,he’d not exactly contributing that much either.. I just hope with the quality in the team, he’ll be able to up his tally..
May 24, 2008 at 10:16 am
Sue, his name’s on the back of my son’s shirt actually - fortunately it’s too small, so we’ll be in the queue for a Nasri shirt on Monday - time to move onwards. I just hope the fans are more appreciative of his talent that we have been with the lonely boy from the leafy lanes of Stuttgart
May 24, 2008 at 10:17 am
I thought Ferguson threw up an interesting point yesterday when talking about Ronaldo & Real Madrid. He was saying about how many of the big european teams are interested in their players but they don’t come out in the press, only Madrid have done that to them.
If you turn that around to us instead of Man Utd it seems every big european club is happy to say which Arsenal players they want through the newspapers. We’ve had it with Barca, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan & Juventus. I think the moral of this story is that until Arsenal start acting like a big club (& no I’m not just talking about transfers, I’m talking from top to bottom), then we are going to be seen as a medium club punching above our weight & it doesn’t help when Wenger says pretty much the same thing (such as Tottenham, Birmingham & Middlesbrough have as much potential as us), as much as I hate Mourinho could anyone ever imagine him saying Chelski were a medium club or punching above themselves when he was there??
May 24, 2008 at 10:17 am
Oh well, me, i dont care that he is off and jsut want to be positive that the boss will replace him - talking of signings we have a new kid joining the block next week jibril so something to get excited about!!!!!!!!!!!!1
And i have a cunning idea, we are in the running for Ramsey, he is selling at 10m - how about we swap Hleb and cash for him!!!!!!
Cardiff is a quiet little town…………
May 24, 2008 at 10:18 am
GunnerShabz it has always been Wengers weakness. He hates confrontation. He is the most brilliant manager and shrewd as all hell. But he needs to learn how to roll his sleeves up and get himself into the shit. Tell the teams to go fuck off, we hope we meet you in the Champions League so we can destroy you, the tell Hleb to go and spend some time in the Reserves.
May 24, 2008 at 10:18 am
Ola… I have the same fear… at least Nasri shoots…
Pires wasn’t prolific when he joined us, nor was overmars or Freddie. The difference between them and Hleb is at least they had the desire to shoot.
If Hleb goes, we need to sign more than 3 players don’t we?
This is what annoys me about Arsene… he says he needs 3 players and no one will leave. 2 big players leave and I bet he only signs 2…
So we will start the year 2 players worse off…
I would like to see like for like signings and additions to improve the depth of squad.
May 24, 2008 at 10:19 am
2nd highest goals in premiership 1st 14 fine the problem was the rest of the squad & only 2 ways to fix it pay or find them young & wait So with no money it leaves just 1 way
May 24, 2008 at 10:19 am
the important thing is how wenger going to replace them 2 players, everyone knows we came short this season for 5 points, just for the fact we had 2-3 players less then the top 2.
now we 2 down, thats like losing 7-10 points already next season
May 24, 2008 at 10:20 am
Tell me Wenger really wants Eboue & Diaby as his 2 second choice wingers
May 24, 2008 at 10:21 am
All I can say is he better accept nothing but a swap-deal for a quality player. Sends a message, we are not a club that sells just for money, it says we believe in this talent more than the one we are giving up. Gives you more power.
May 24, 2008 at 10:22 am
come on guys and gals - this is flam and hleb we are talking about, they are replaceable, they are no PV, TH, RP, FL, MO, EP……. and we carried on…
May 24, 2008 at 10:23 am
honestly this is what our shopping list should be
samir nasri
hatem ben arfa
carlos vela is going to be up front now - wenger will say he is a new signing
SWP
Chris Metzelder from real madrid - tall, strong commanding centreback
give real hleb and we take robinho plus give them cash
and a good centre midfielder like nuri sahin
May 24, 2008 at 10:24 am
http://sport.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/05/24/Prem-Gilberto-fears-for-Arsenal/
gilberto knows the score, why aint this fucker wenger doing anything……
May 24, 2008 at 10:24 am
Pedro, I think he’ll sign 4 players & overall 5 will be coming in if you count Vela. The only thing that is slightly worrying is how many more will leave.
Flamini, Hleb have both basically gone & there is still a massive chance Gilberto & Hoyte will follow. Maybe even one of Senderos or Djourou. Most of those aren’t first team players but they were all part of the squad so will most likely be replaced by even younger players.
May 24, 2008 at 10:26 am
this is what wenger should be looking at
direct style winger
Valencia have offered winger Joaquin to Atletico Madrid.
Marca says Valencia made the proposal to Atletico last week and the Madrid club now have it under consideration.
Valencia are seeking at least £10 million for Joaquin, who still has four years left on his existing £1.3 million-a-year deal.
now why dont we get him, direct replacement for hleb
May 24, 2008 at 10:28 am
another player would be great at arsenal
box to box central midfielder
Lucho Gonzalez wants to quit Porto for Atletico Madrid.
The Argentina international midfielder has admitted to close friends he wants to move to Atletico this summer, says AS.
However, Gonzalez is reluctant to demand a transfer as he doesn’t want to put fans offside and is hoping that gentle pressure from his representatives will convince Porto to sell at a reasonable price.
A swap is being mooted, with Atletico keen to send midfielder Cleber Santana in the opposite direction.
replacement for flamini
May 24, 2008 at 10:28 am
arsene u watching i found u 2 replacements from tribal football lol….
joaquin and lucho gonzalez and they are class players
May 24, 2008 at 10:28 am
Look quite simply, if we don’t get in some quality big name players, we will for sure, %100 loose Cesc. Gilberto is exactly right.
May 24, 2008 at 10:29 am
Pedro..when Metz finished second in the French league, Pires scored bags of goals
in fact Pires nearly won the League by himself..thats how good he was
freekicks shots you name it…….
Marseille did not work out for him ..a lot of personal reasons as well.. his then wife having an affair with Courbis etc..Marseille are one of the biggest scumback clubs in the world
if Nasri stays there, they will break him as well
Nasri is the most talented player that is coming out of France since Zidane
I would be very excited if we signed him.. now get Robinho and a big centrehalf & CB and off we go ..
May 24, 2008 at 10:29 am
here is another option
experienced world cup players
River Plate are chasing Real Zaragoza pair Pablo Aimar and Roberto Ayala.
The Argentine pair are likely to jump ship from Zaragoza following their relegation and River have the cash to bring both internationals home for next season.
May 24, 2008 at 10:30 am
I think Wenger has become to caught up in his own ideology!
He needs to take heed of what Bertie is saying… 2 of our first team are now gone and we are heading towards a crisis because we only have a good first 11…
This is a big test for Arsene… if he fails, we wont tolerate another year of transition.
May 24, 2008 at 10:30 am
A few years ago I thought Joaquin was going to be some player but his party lifestyle is ruining his career. He is really overweight now & doesn’t look a tenth of the player that bemused England in a friendly match.
I’d prefer Ben Arfa or Quaresma but I think Arfa is off to Marseille next week & Quaresma would be out of our price range as is Robinho.
May 24, 2008 at 10:31 am
cheers for making dad promise me a new shirt. But he says its not a legal contract what do you think?
May 24, 2008 at 10:32 am
I don’t get people moaning about Flamini and Hleb leaving. As soon as a player treats the club like they have they can fuck off, and no regrets. No player is bigger than the club, and especially not two mugs like them.
Buth we do need to strengthen. We lost this title because the squad wasn’t strong enough, both mentally and in terms of numbers/quality. We need to buy some experience and most importantly defensive solidity. If we can ally a strong back 4 to our attacking prowess job’s a good ‘un
As for Fergie blasting Madrid, how many players have United tapped up? Funny thing is you’re now hearing the United masses going on about what a good club Barca are and how they hope Ronaldo goes there. Comedy
May 24, 2008 at 10:34 am
Stonroy, I think Arsene has done exactly that (shown some steel). When Hleb’s agent started agitating and had the whole Ice Cream incident, Arsene basically told Inter to F off or he’d report them, and he laid down the law for Hleb’s agent — saying if he tried to buy out his contract he’d take him to court and wreck his season, etc. Arsene will never publicly act like a c-u-n-t like Sir Rednose, but he’s definitely protecting the Arsenal’s interests. Because of what he’s done, we’ll get something in return for the Belarussian, either money or a player in return.
May 24, 2008 at 10:35 am
GMR
we can afford ricardo quaresma and robinho, but its the structure though
u know id love to see both or one of them at arsenal but its just us dreaming, we have to get hatem ben arfa and samir nasri, both of them and i hope that wenger is doing this right now
both french and young and he will develop them for sure
May 24, 2008 at 10:36 am
The two players that have left are replaceable. Even if we buy someone who doesn’t have Hleb’s actual on ball ability we sure as hell can find someone that scores more & causes problems with a direct approach. As for Flamini there must be thousands of players that can run all game, he lacked any sort of quality on the ball.
I still wouldn’t bet against seeing Zapater at Arsenal. Zaragosa need the money & surely the player will want to leave now they have been relegated. We’d get him for 4-5 million & he wouldn’t be demanding stupid wages like Flamini.
May 24, 2008 at 10:37 am
Udinese sports chief Pietro Leonardi insists top defenders Felipe and Cristian Zapata will not be sold.
“Felipe and Zapata are fine,” said Leonardi. “They have many admirers but that does not mean they’ll leave. Indeed, they’re like the other jewels of Udinese - we have no intention to sell.
“Felipe and Zapata are part of a project that we want to pursue.”
we wont be getting zapata then, livercrap are bidding on their left back
May 24, 2008 at 10:39 am
Valencia have opened talks with Real Zaragoza for midfielder Alberto Zapater.
The Spain U21 international is reluctant to play in the Segunda Liga following Zaragoza’s relegation last week and is now the subject of an approach from Valencia.
With Ever Banega unsettled, Zapater could arrive as a direct replacement for the Argentine.
well GMR good call
ever banega is a good player, i dont mind seeing him here at the emirates
GMR whats your money on nuri sahin coming to arsenal, wenger always been an admirer
May 24, 2008 at 10:40 am
Tottenham will make a straight £15m cash offer for Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka and £10m for right-winger Shaun Wright-Phillips
at least tottenham are doing something about their squad
id love to take SWP, £10m is a decent price
May 24, 2008 at 10:41 am
Arsenal are set to sign midfield wonderkid Torric Jibril, 16, from Ghanaian side Hearts of Oak, subject to a two-week trial
ok, lets sign him, the more wonder kids the better but this is getting to much though
May 24, 2008 at 10:42 am
i read on sky comments the other day, micah richards has signed pre season agreement with red nose bunch - 26m!! thats weakened their defence then!!
May 24, 2008 at 10:42 am
GunnerShabz, Nasri is a definate, he had a medical a while ago (not last night as reported on some other blog). He cannot be announced until after the French season is over today (something to do with his new deal he signed at Marseille according to the French press) but don’t expect anything until monday, tuesday or possible even wednesday (depending on the France situation as thats when they announce the 23 man Euro team).
I can’t see us getting Ben Arfa though because it looks absolutely certain he’ll join Marseille.
May 24, 2008 at 10:43 am
So…
Le Transfer List:
1 Scary Centre Back
1 Holding midfielder
1 Creative midfielder who can score
2 Further creative midfielders
What do you think? My names…
Barry
Arfa
Nasri
Robinho
Lescott
Add or subtract as you like!
May 24, 2008 at 10:44 am
No doubt just after he leaves we’ll have a tearful press conference where Hleb will explain to anyone willing to listen how he felt he was being played out of position and for him to progress he needed to be played in his favourite position blah blah blah.
Well Hleb what is your favourite position? cos you dont seem to be very effective in any! In fact as a fan I’m remember that he gave away the free kick that led us being knocked out of the champions league the previous season. He doesn’t put enough crosses in for a wide man, as a central midfielder he seems to want to beat the same player four time before passing the ball to one of the opposition and as a second striker he seems to have a developed goalphobia which prevents him from shooting and scoring.
Perhaps the reason not many other big clubs seem to “bother” Man U is that the players they want to keep ie Ferdinand, Ronaldo & Rooney high are all on long term well paid contracts and would cost stupid money to sign them. Where as our “top” players are not all on similar contracts and that we seem to keep them on so called poorer contracts for as long as possible.
May 24, 2008 at 10:45 am
Fergie:
“He’s 23 years of age and I think that when he gets to 25, 26, he will have a big decision to make then,”
“That will be the biggest task when he gets to that age.
“How big we are then, in terms of European championships, that will resonate with him and be very, very important to this club.
“That’s why I make the point of winning European trophies - we’ve got to do better at that. And we have got the structure here.”
Could the same be said of Cesc?
May 24, 2008 at 10:45 am
pedro - did you mean ugly centre back
May 24, 2008 at 10:48 am
We have an ugly centre back already.
I’d like stylish, yet ruthless… Nesta/Cannavaro type player.
May 24, 2008 at 10:48 am
I’m not sure about Nuri Sahin. It seems strange that he is considered such an excellent player but was loaned out?? Maybe political reasons behind it.
I can believe Wenger likes him but if he signed him it would be as a winger & I thought he was more a midfield player!! Could be wrong though.
May 24, 2008 at 10:48 am
Pedro
fergie is right…..
Cristano Ronaldo and Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres are the biggest foriegn stars in the premiership at this current time
age ranges from 21 to 23, they want to win titles, euros and so on. if u dont win nothing they will leave when they 25-26
so we have to do something now, or risk losing cesc
May 24, 2008 at 10:50 am
Mr. Bread was over-hyped. He helped us out in a big way against Fulham, but he only got two EPL goals all season. I am glad we have an opportunity to sign a superior player for his position.
His agent came out with a statement a few weeks ago asserting that Hleb was “World Class”, and upon announcing that Hleb is about to leave, he passes on Hleb’s “point of view” that he wasn’t good enough for Arsenal, that all the chaos surrounding him was driving him nuts etc. I can understand that actually, I’ve known many people who have come from small town or even villages and have come to places like London with dreams and illusions of how they’re going to be a superstar. Then reality hits them, it’s much tougher than they thought it would be…..there are lots of others in the same boat as them and there isn’t that support structure that they’ve got so used to depending on. They’re on their own, a few people they know around them, but also some of them aree competing against you. Reality is harsh, full of hassles, full of people who wants something and aren’t necessarily thinking of your best interests. It enough to make you bitter and twisted unless you have a sense of humour and can see the bigger picture.
I agree with Hleb, standards aren’t going to drop and he may be better of playing somewhere which isn’t as demanding. He also knows very well that there are plenty of clubs ready to roll out the red carpet just because he is an Arsenal player. Hleb has about 4 years of peak playing time left so he’s being logical about the situation. He’ll get a four year contract somewhere else and can then disappear to some small league where they pay well and life is good if you’re above average, like Qatar, MLS or the J League. The slap on the face was the first clue, is this the new players system of guaranteeing the manager chucks ‘em out if someone is standing in front of the door?
It is a bit of a melo-drama every time one of these guys leaves but Hleb leaving will not make the team worse, there are SO many players better than him, i’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. He’s not enough for Arsenal. We ALWAYS need five players in the team who are good enough to make the individual effort required to overcome negative situation. They don’t even need to do this every time it’s simple mathematics.
Say you have a player who can make the difference when you’re a goal down 10% of the time. Five such players would give us enough enough clout to overturn 1 in every 2 games.A 50% strike rate would mean that half our draws turn into wins, and half our losses would be turned into draws. Hleb was a passenger, thankfully we don’t have many of those at Arsenal and we certainly don’t have room for anymore.
Our best player is Fabregas bar none. With RVP (fully fit), Adebayor, Fabregas and Rosicky we already have four great players, just 1 more playing next to Fab or on Left wing will make a major difference.
I believe our style will change with both Flamini and Hleb one, our game will become more direct. Sometimes as many people have noted we haven’t launched enough all out attacks and prefer to feed the ball through. But with two poor finishers, 4 out of 6 such players up front is too much, I’d always (whenever possible) play 5 good finishers. Wenger sometimes went with 3 (Hleb, Flamini, Eboue…..it has to be one of my least favourite midfields ever, and thankfully it has collapsed).
Wenger is on the free transfer trail, you can get some gold on the free transfer market if you have the right scouting network, you only need one gem every couple of years, a hard working kid with world class potential…and you get the Fabregases, Clichys, Toures and all other such players.
Can we get more goals from LW and DMC? Sure, at least another 4 altogether. Can we reduce the amount of goals we can let in? Wenger wants to do it by about 7 or 8, we can easily achieve 3.
+7 GD …… that has to be worth at least 6 more points. My prediction for Arsenal for next season is to finish with 89+ points.
May 24, 2008 at 10:51 am
gareth barry, samir nasri, hatem ben arfa, lilian thuram (he is ugly), chris metzelder
thats it we be ready
May 24, 2008 at 10:53 am
Excellent post Pedro; spot on, well said.
It beats me why some people are worrying about him leaving; he was an okay player who had 1 good season (similar to his mate Flamini) and that’s about it - end of. He was no legend who unlike others (Dennis, Pat, Thierry, Bobby, Freddie & more) performed season after season - no; he’s a very technically gifted player but as yet no superstar and in truth after a few games next season he’ll be forgotten - fuck I’ve forgotten him already.
May 24, 2008 at 10:55 am
if we can get
gareth barry, swp and micah richards ( i know its a big task)
we would be excellent
then add the flair of nasri and ben arfa we be up and running for next season
May 24, 2008 at 10:57 am
Pedro,
I think Le List will be more like:
1 Scary Centre Back
1 Holding Midfielder
2 Wingers
1 striker (Vela)
CB- I don’t know cannot even guess at this one.
HM- Zapater or Clement Chantome (Zapater is my choice but I reckon it’ll be Chantome)
WG- Nasri (even though he isn’t one) & another that once again I cannot even guess at or maybe Wenger will change his mind & play Vela as a winger & buy a striker.
ST- I think he’ll sign Gomez if he does take that second option & play Vela on the wing.
The only problem with my list is that it doesn’t contain 1 player from the premier league & he did say he would sign someone thats played in it. Maybe the CB will be from our league.
May 24, 2008 at 10:59 am
GMR
i dont think he will sign any strikers am sure of it, especially what he said about carlos vela
so no david villa, klass jan huntelaar or mario gomez
May 24, 2008 at 11:01 am
CB from the PL - Lescott/Wheater/Richards??
Personally I think the CB will come from Europe with CL experience.
AW is going to use Song either at CB or HM - wait and see
May 24, 2008 at 11:01 am
AW will be making a very BIG mistake if he doesn’t sign a striker
May 24, 2008 at 11:03 am
Make that 24 assists for cesc this season
May 24, 2008 at 11:03 am
Hlebs stats at Arsenal: (All competitions)
Appearences: 130
Goals: 11
Assists: 14
Cesc has something like 17 assists in just this season… why do we all think Hlebs amazing? and lets be honest, hes been dismal in the 2nd half of the season.
May 24, 2008 at 11:03 am
GunnerShabz, I agree I don’t think he will sign a striker. I was just saying that if he does change his mind about Vela’s position then he may go for a striker, however if he can sign 2 wingers (or at least 2 players that can play on the wing) then he definately won’t sign a striker.
May 24, 2008 at 11:04 am
fuck pleb, fuck him in the eye.
he will learn.. just as
overmars, petit, anelka, viera, henry learnt.
there is NO club on earth like the Arsenal… anywhere is a step down.
May 24, 2008 at 11:04 am
Nasri deal is obviously done then… thank god!
May 24, 2008 at 11:06 am
Do we really think that Vela is going to come straight and perform? I have my doubts
May 24, 2008 at 11:06 am
I agree GMR, we have plenty of goals up front.
Eduardo 15
Nikki 8
Ade 30
RvP 13
We have goals up front, we need them in midfield.
Btw… those stats are off the top of my head!
Stupid… well said.
May 24, 2008 at 11:07 am
GMR
i think we will get an unknown replacement for flamini
but i do feel samir nasri and hatem ben arfa are a must, but if he misses out on ben arfa get SWP
May 24, 2008 at 11:08 am
Roll on next week, I’m 100% convinced Arsenal will be announcing on their website that we have signed Nasri & Chantome. I haven’t heard anything about the Chantome deal but there was a rumour going round the press midweek that he’d signed then it went quiet, but that may be due to PSG being in the cup final today.
May 24, 2008 at 11:09 am
I’m not sad to see him go. Not good enough. No goals, no assists , no bottle. The only thing that worries me is that both him and Flamini were Cesc’s best mates at the club. Cesc will start to wonder methinks.
Wenger’s the BEST manager we ever had and It’ll be a sad day when he decides to walk.
May 24, 2008 at 11:10 am
Maybe Hleb can go to Marseilles in a swap deal for Nasri. If Hleb goes to Inter he’ll flop, Hleb for Nasri could be the deal we’re looking for.
May 24, 2008 at 11:10 am
i also agree ( unfortunately ) that le boss will not be signing a new striker.
with ade, nikki b, rvp, eddy (when fit), vela, and theo as options up front , 2 midfielders and a rock hard dirty bastard defender are most likely to join this summer.
nasri looks done and dusted, seems ben arfa will replace him at marseille… i think this makoun fella looks like a wenger type of player.
still think squillaci from lyon is the best option for a centre half… he is bouldie re-incarnated.
May 24, 2008 at 11:10 am
Finestcuts, I was thinking more that maybe Hleb could go to Lyon in a swap for Ben Arfa!! How good would that be.
May 24, 2008 at 11:11 am
btw - hope benzema stays on at lyon for another season and we can dream of him signing next summer.
best striker i have seen since R9.
May 24, 2008 at 11:12 am
Personally I think he will buy the CB and creative midfielder as stated in an interview and replace Hleb with perhaps another winger. He might go a bit crazy and buy another player, possibly a striker or a strong DM. I also think he will be looking to promote some of the shining stars from the youth set-up and replace those with some younger ones.
May 24, 2008 at 11:15 am
i said it before the season started that Helb will leave or get sold. i was really suprised he wasnt sold at the end of last season were he plaid utter utter shit. and 11 Goals in 3 Seasons is fucking ultra utter shit. so i say thank god his gonegoing.
the sooner the better i say.
and we will probably get somthing like 5 to 7 million mark for him. remember if a player wants to leave his value goes Down, so expect 5mill in return
and the Samir Nasri deal is ment to be done already, so lets hope and see what happens next week.
as for Vela he look really really good and im sure he will cut it in the prem. it will be a extra bonus if he settles as fast as Eduado did. if he does then his going to be Shit Hot my Brother Arsenal Fans
May 24, 2008 at 11:19 am
They’d both be good GMR, they’re both small towns that Hleb wouldn’t feel alienated in.
Nasri or Arfa are the two hottest leads but the Nasri story sounds more feasible. They’re all waiting for bids to come in and are playing it cool but if they really want a slice of the action they’re going to have to admit to it in the end. In many ways it’s good that this system exists because it test a players resolve, do they really want to be a success at Arsenal or elsewhere….we’ll only get players who really want to make it coming along. There are thousands of top quality footballers in the world, we only need a few of them to mould and shape, and we’re big and good enough to be able to catch one ore two top fish, so I’m not worried.
May 24, 2008 at 11:23 am
Raif - that’s my concern about Vela; will he cut it next season - no doubt about his future but next season might be too soon.
We need a striker - RvP can’t be relied on from a fitness angle, Eddy is going to be out for the majority, Ade will be found out, NikkiB is not the finished article yet and Theo whilst improving all the time will still need time.
May 24, 2008 at 11:26 am
Scuba, Bendy is already a PL quality striker, better than most in the league, he’s already proved that this season and he’s only going to get better. Of course we need a ready made striker next to him but by the start of the 2009 season he could be force his way into the first 11, the lad has great potential.
May 24, 2008 at 11:29 am
i like hleb but he fucked me off now
he slows our game though, brings others in play…. good ball control and sometimes he can be real good
but he aint going to go lyon or marseille, he wants to go barca, real, inter or milan or maybe juventus
Carlos Vela is seen as the eduardo type of player, so i guess he is the replacement
we could sign giovani dos santos, wenger has always liked him and he and carlos vela are best mates
May 24, 2008 at 11:29 am
re-iterate most of todays points,
see ya hleb, your legacy will be the highlight of many a table quiz question time, beside shabbam rickets and boa morte
May 24, 2008 at 11:35 am
Finest - totally agree with regard to NikkiB; yes he could be there season after next but not next year and that’s why I believe we need to buy a striker. I think NB is one for the near future and is a great option to have coming through.
May 24, 2008 at 11:37 am
I think Nikki B would be good next season, he is a good finisher, some of the finishing i seen from him is brillant, i think he a better finisher then adebayor.
he just needs to work on his team play.
Carlos Vela is going to be shit hot, live wire up front or on the wings, maybe wenger is thinking of 4-3-3 formation.
sagna toure gallas clichy
????
May 24, 2008 at 11:41 am
ScubaGooner - i can see were ur comming from. now if we take what Wenger did with Eduardo. he slowly let him in bit by bit comming on as a sub in the early parts of the season, i think that gave him a chance to see what his up against. come half way to the season he was ready and took his chances.
on the flip side i was also thinking that one of the reasons for Eduardo’s fast settling was Bcos the croatian leagues aint like the spanish (were Vela is) with the fancy football and nice pitch’s. its a little more Physical,
the worse case scenario is we get another Reyes, and i honestly think that wont happen with vela. as his been mentally getting ready for the prem knowing he will be playing over here. were as Reyes was rushed out of his village in a matter of minutes of his deal being done. he wasnt ready at all.
May 24, 2008 at 11:45 am
FUCK OFF HLEB U PRICK
May 24, 2008 at 11:48 am
As it now seems Hleb is off a ready made replacement is needed, preferrably someone with premier league experience. Unfortunately our requirements are now:
1. EPL centre back
2. EPL scarey midfielder
3. Experienced commandng goalkeeper
4. Back up scary midfielder/left winger
3 of the 4 need to be able to slot in without a transition season.
BTW Chris I’m tempeted to use your suggestion for avatar - it’s better.
May 24, 2008 at 11:48 am
Talk to a neutral supporter and they say the same thing about Hleb “why don’t you like Hleb, he LOOKS great”. Herein lies the problem, he looks great but he just isn’t and the stats prove it. There is no end product to this scampering bulimic ice cream vomitter.
This provider for the provider bit that people are going on about is absolute nonsense, We could trace back every pass of a goal and start saying things like “Yeah, Toure is the provider of the provider of the provider of the provider for a lot of goals, isn’t that marvellous!”.
Hlebs not bothered about football, he never really showed much passion on the field. He likes MONEY and he’s going to get oodles of the stuff. He will not mind sitting on the bench one little bit.
May 24, 2008 at 11:49 am
Raif - fair points and well made but even taking your best scenario we’ll have to wait till mid way through the season for Vela to really come on - and I think the way forward with him is exactly how you stated - which still leaves us if the need for a striker.
Good points about the background of Eduardo and Reyes; make you right on those.
I think (hopefully - fingers & toes crossed) AW has learnt from the Reyes deal.
The bottom line on all of this is that we have some excellent prospects coming through - Vela, Theo, NikkiB and even Eduardo to some extent but they need an experienced striker that they can all learn from and develop along side.
May 24, 2008 at 11:53 am
Steve Pires - point well made re “provider for the provider” absolute bollox; totally agree.
May 24, 2008 at 11:56 am
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/05/24/arsene-wenger-clinches-deal-for-samir-nasri-89520-20427993/
samir nasri looks to be signed then…..
am just waiting for official confirmation
May 24, 2008 at 12:02 pm
so the free booze in the sponsors lounge at the races was good today, backed a couple of winners!
so whats the chat, kleb’s off, any signings in yet, or are we still waiting?
May 24, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Stevie Pires… top points there.
Providing for the provider is what the holding midfielder does!
When you are a winger or wide man… you provide the final pass or score the goal…
Arsenal fans will go to extreme lengths to justify a players use to the team… see Eboue(Ray parlour like… haha) and Senderos (John Terry used to make the same mistakes, I think not! Senderos is 24… not a kid anymore).
I think this could be a good thing… it forces Wenger into changing things this summer.
May 24, 2008 at 12:13 pm
lets not forget guys… hleb was a talent… and he would be great for exhibition matches.. but he is not the answer…
so we have a replacement for hleb in the form of nasri….
we need another winger…
a CB….
wenger won’t buy a DM i think… he won’t buy a striker also…
so are we going to have have just 3 signings for the first team?
May 24, 2008 at 12:15 pm
gunnershabz - looks like its a done deal, so hopefully we can lock it in when hes finished with the france squad!
May 24, 2008 at 12:16 pm
choy - wenger always said 2-3 signings, no more! were you anticipating more yourself?
May 24, 2008 at 12:20 pm
well the thing is wenger has too much faith in players and thats what fucks him up in the end.
he had faith in hleb and looks whats happened, same thing with flamini.
its going to happen to fabregas as well.
he is going to have faith in RvP being fit next season
he has faith in the players like denilson, song and senderos, djorou and eboue
so honestly i dont think we will see much signings, probarly 2 if we lucky even though we got 2 players leaving.
he needs to be ruthless like fergie take no shit, imagine if he seen rooney, ronaldo pictured having ice cream with another team board geeza
he will blow
May 24, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Bye Bye Alex.Now the world can watch as we unleash the mighty Eboue,flying down the wing evading tackles,staying on his feet before unleashing that rocket of a right foot into the bulging net 15 goals from midfield easy
May 24, 2008 at 12:22 pm
honestly this the only thing shitting me is that eboue will be made permanent on the right wing
May 24, 2008 at 12:23 pm
welll evo… i thought 2-3 considering that those 2 cunts had stayed…!!!
which would make it 4-5.. which we really need…
o well…
we’re fucked…
May 24, 2008 at 12:24 pm
ok so your saying have no faith and just be cunts and buy players galore and just be greedy?
May 24, 2008 at 12:26 pm
All I’ll remember about Hleb is how he dumped us outta the Champs League Final by giving away a pointless free kick…………
May 24, 2008 at 12:27 pm
the thing is we dont mix it up a lot, teams know how we play. others know which players we need
but its wenger who is stubborn.
honestly we need 4-5 players
2 of them experienced and the others can be like nasri, ben arfa
May 24, 2008 at 12:28 pm
well gilberto is asking for wenger to spend ….the most senior player of brazil is voicing his concerns.if someone of that stature says anything the situation is indeed serious
so on the youth policy building scheme…it has been 3 years and a big club is suppose to be on verge of winnin major trophies given this time period….where are we exactly now..
in the middle of nowhere. well fergie went without a trophy for 3 seasons and then u knw the results…thats what we call a top club(well i hate saying that bout manures )
whom are we able to replace in this last 4yrs….barring lb,rb an cesc do u feel the current crop is even close to 2003-2004 team.yes you will say they are young ..cut the crap 3yrs are eternity in football…they havent won anything and now some shitty agent thinks that we are the stepping stone for a big club.
WHERE IS THAT ATTITUDE GONE…WHERE HAS THAT PASSION GONE…WHEN WE SAW ONLY CL AND PL ONLY WORTHY OF OUR GREAT CLUB.WE GIVE LAME EXCUSES NOW.THEY SAY WENGER HAS NOW BECOME THE NEW ARSENAL,THEY WONT SACK HIM …WELL THAT WAS SAID ABOUT TH14…BUT WHEN WE SOLD HIM WE WERE MUCH BETTER WITHOUT HIM.
JUDGE THE MANAGER ON HIS ABILITY TO WIN TITLES….IN HISTORY ONLY THAT COUNTS.IF WENGER DOES NOT WIN THIS SEASON ..DO YOU THINK WE ARE WORTHY OF PAYING SUCH HUGE TICKET PRIZES WHEN THE CLUB SAYS ITS FINE TO FINISH AS SECOND BEST .I HEARD ONE OF THE BOARD MEMEBER SAY THAT IF WENGER DOES NOT WIN THIS SEASON IT WONT BE A DISASTER….WELL IT WONT BE DISASTER FOR U CU@# BECOZ U R EARNING QUITE A LOT AND U R NOT THE ONE CRYING WHEN WE LOOSE THE MATCH…ITS THE FANS WHO R SUFFERIN AND THEY PAY THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY FOR THAT.ITS THE FANS WHO MAKE A CLUB BIG OR SMALL.
IF ARSENE WINS THE TITLE FOR US I HAVE NOTHIN AGAINST HIM,,,,,,BUT HE SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR NOT WINNIN TOO.
WE ARE A GREAT CLUB AND FOR THAT WE HAVE PROVE OURSELF WORTHY BY WINNING CL AND PL AND FUCK THOSE REAL AND MILANS OF THIS WORLD TO SHOW WHO IS THE BOSS.
May 24, 2008 at 12:32 pm
i dont think our unbeaten team of 04 would of won this season, thats how much has changed in the premiership.
we had good 14 players but not a whole squad hence why we did not beat chelsea in the champions league.
man utd have upped it, u need 90 points to win the league, they did not draw much but they won loads of games.
May 24, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Don’t forget we all wanted Flamini and Hleb gone this time last year, so don’t be too sad, he will be judged by who he brings in, not I hope, who leaves.
Also if he was doing such great things with team building, why do all his buys want to leave?
Even Gilberto now urges him to spend, so that’s Gilberto, Viera, Henry, Pires, Freddie and Gallas urging him to buy, are they all wrong Arsene?
May 24, 2008 at 12:33 pm
so you guys are sacking him and bringing in who?
May 24, 2008 at 12:34 pm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7418443.stm
maybe we can sign yaya toure from barca
May 24, 2008 at 12:34 pm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7418443.stm
barca are signing this guy, maybe we have a chance to get yaya toure
May 24, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Evo - don’t think anyone is saying sack him but he needs to wake and smell the coffee and go out and buy some fuck off experienced quality players!
AW need to drop his stubborn attitude and beliefs; he can can make it right for sure however, if he doesn’ty make the changes then I doubt we’ll win anything next year and then big, big questions need to be asked about him. I think he has one season left; we can’t be rebuilding forever….can we?
May 24, 2008 at 12:42 pm
yeah im over exaggerating as thats the way it comes across in peoples chat.
People need to say what they mean rather than just make demanding statements!
May 24, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I want Wenger to stay but otherwise you’d have to put Scholari; Qeuiroz & O’Neil in the pot. None would however repeat Arsenal’s style of play…..
May 24, 2008 at 12:46 pm
no evo.. the thing is that we all know wenger doesn’t tinker too much…. unlike rafa who takes it to the extreme.. and we all know by feb-march the players are fucked.. take cesc for example…
take the euro’s for example.. players are already knackered at that point depending on how far they go in the tournament…
as wenger does not like changing his teams a lot…. the squad players are asked to deliver from the get go.. that is not possible…
stats from history also show that arsenal have not won a major trophy after a major tournament!!!
thats why.. we’re fucked… if you say i am greedy ..
yes i am greedy for trophies…
i am greedy to keep our star players at arsenal…
May 24, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I’m with you Choy; I want trophies, I want back to back PL trophies and I want the CL trophy — I don’t see that as being greedy just wanting the best for the club I love and have supported forfuckingever…
Star players and trophies that’s not too much to ask…..is it?
Fuck if I wanted ordinary I’d have chosen the spuds but even as a 6 year old 40++ years ago I knew they were shite!!!
May 24, 2008 at 12:53 pm
rafa is a fuckwit…there’s no way i would want him as our manager rotating players for the sake of a merry-go-round…thats stupid behaviour!
May 24, 2008 at 12:54 pm
guys your missing the point - what i want to know is from your hearts what you are going to do at the end of next season if your demands arent met? simple as that, thats all i want to know?
May 24, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Hleb’s impending depature is hardly the end of the world. His recent Anelka-like pissing and moaning have lead me to loose all respect for him.
The guy has bags of ability, but, much like Flamini, has only had one decent season in an Arsenal shirt - before that he was infuriatingly bad.
I reckon we’ll be better off with Nasri or Ben Arfa.
May 24, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Evo - what will I do? I’ll rant a little louder no doubt but I’ll still support the Arsenal, I’ll still buy my season ticket, I’ll still go to the away games,
May 24, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Yeah Benitez is an idiot & hasn’t been close to winning the PL since he arrived. On the flip side of that though he has won the trophy that Wenger hasn’t been able to & overall has been a lot more successful than Wenger in the period of time he’s been here.
I still prefer Wenger & the football we play but its true that he cannot keep making the same excuses year after year. Last season he claimed we lacked maturity (he didn’t rectify it), once we had been knocked out of everything this season he once again claimed we lacked maturity, but since then Flamini has gone & Hleb is going but the players he looks like bringing in are youngsters again. We’ll have to see if he buys experience this summer but if he doesn’t then he has to be the one thats accountable should we miss out again. After all he’d take the plaudits if we won!!
May 24, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Scuba - good answer, thats fine in my books!
GMR - agreed, however naturally playing through 1 season adds 1 more year of maturity onto every player, no matter what their age?
May 24, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Yeah playing through a season adds a year of maturity as a person, but I don’t think thats the sort of maturity Wenger is talking about. I don’t think you could find a more mature person at his age than Cesc, but as a footballer he has a lot to learn & nobody to learn from. Gilberto would probably be the one he looks to for guidance but he wasn’t in the team hardly at all last season.
The youngsters don’t learn to close out a game just because they mature as people, they learn that from playing with pro’s who have experience who can better judge a game or a certain situation.
May 24, 2008 at 1:24 pm
He was one of my favourite players but i aint gona lose any sleep if he leaves. We can definatey get someone more effective in front on goal. Too many occasions he disappoints, great skill though. Lets see who we can get to fill these gaps……..Come on Nasri sign up!
May 24, 2008 at 1:28 pm
guys guys guys…..
i have been to 37 games this season incl 3 CL
hleb wasnt good enough
and leave it out if you even compare him with cesc ! cesc is on a different level i love him
but yes it worries me deeply that he has let two of cesc’s best friends go
anyway
LISTEN THESE ARE THE SIGNING WE NEED. NO THURAM YOU PLEASE……
CB- VINCENT KOMPANY
DM- YAYA TOURE
ML- SAMIR NASRI
MR- BEN ARFA
(OPTIONAL) ST- GOMES
then we will almost definitely buy these guys as reserve youngster people
makoun
ghanaian kid
chantome
May 24, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Those assists stats are total bullshit. 14 assists in three years?Nonsense. I’ve counted ten this year already.
I’d like to know what mugs do these stats, whoever is they seem to have a vendetta against the Hlebster.
Assist stats are misleading anyway. Did you realise Cesc gets an assist for that Adebayor volley against the Spuds at White Hart Lane? Also he gets one for Gilberto’s gammy goal against Reading a few weeks back.
Hleb is a massive loss. He did have a loser vibe about him, and he should have shot more, but he was a very good player for this club. People say he was shit for the first two years and yet he had a cruciate knee ligament injury in his first season and yet he still played a vital role in our champions league run. Great pass through to Fabregas to set up Henry against Juve(Toure couldn’t have done that!) and he set up Toure against Villareal.
I would very interested to see Fabregas’s reaction to this. He recently said Hleb would go on to become one of the top five players in the world. His mentality would stop reaching the very top echelons but that shows you how highly our best player rated him.
Feel sorry for Cesc, he is bound to Wenger like a child even though he realises we are a club in perpetual transition.
May 24, 2008 at 1:30 pm
oh and
AARON RAMSEY
but ive lost faith with our english boys lol i doubt he will be the next ryan giggs ?!
only theo has impressed from england recently at arsenal
hoyte is a failure
May 24, 2008 at 1:36 pm
ok if we have nasri,velaand have sold helb then our 11 will be
almunia
sagna toure gallas clichy
walcott fabregas rosciky nasri
v.p ade
now the bench it has got a little depth but with 1 def and 1 mid it will be better-
vela,gilberto,diaby,bentdner,sendros,eboue(rm,lm,lb,rb),gk
if we get i more def then sendros will go and i mid then diaby i think and we have song and the guy who played a game last time and scored but not given
May 24, 2008 at 1:44 pm
my comment is stuck in moderation
May 24, 2008 at 1:44 pm
now it is not
May 24, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Nasrirocks, no abusing fellow Grovers… if you disagree… say way as you would to your mate down the pub.
Cheers.
May 24, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Fabgooner, you are free to comment… I’ve been out for a bit.
May 24, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Arsenal scored 74 goals in the league last season, Hleb assisted 7, Cesc assisted 19 (if the assists are league only) where the fuck did the other 48 goals come from?
And who scored the goals? it wasn’t the great Eboue (0) or Hleb (2)
Imagine if we got rid of Ade and the next striker takes a year to settle we are shagged for another season.
May 24, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Much better video of Nasri…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDOJNL0wNM
(Thanks gunnerblog)
May 24, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Paulinho - i think ur looking at a compilation video of helb on youtube or somthing.
the only thing helb has been good at is close ball control and technical ability. other then that he aint done much.
also how is Helb a Massive lose????? 11 goals in 3 seasons.. hardly massive mate. he will get replaced and he will be forgoten about. a massive lose will be players like Fabregas, Sagna, and henry a year before. who ever replace’s PLEB he will do better in his first season then helb could do in his 3 shit seasons he spen here.
May 24, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Paulinho:
The Providers Team Assists
Cesc Fabregas Arsenal 19
Ashley Young Aston Villa 17
Wayne Rooney Manchester United 13
David Bentley Blackburn Rovers 11
Dimitar Berbatov Tottenham Hotspur 11
Steven Gerrard Liverpool 11
Gareth Barry Aston Villa 10
Kenwyne Jones Sunderland 10
Carlton Cole West Ham 9
Salomon Kalou Chelsea 9
Martin Petrov Manchester City 9
Nicky Shorey Reading 9
Gabriel Agbonlahor Aston Villa 8
Nicolas Anelka Chelsea 8
Simon Davies Fulham 8
Elano Manchester City 8
Frank Lampard Chelsea 8
Mikel Arteta Everton 7
El Hadji Diouf Bolton Wanderers 7
Alexander Hleb Arsenal 7
Kenwyne Jones got more assists than Hleb… as did Simon Davies…
http://www.squadgod.com/players/AlexanderHleb
May 24, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hleb leaving may be the best thing that can happen to Arsenals style of play.
I don’t think the Hleb, Eboue complicated football suits Ade, Theo or our full backs, it compresses the play into the last third of the field and draws our midfield and our defence too far forward, then when the opponents get the ball one hoof over Gallas or Toure and we are exposed.
If we let other teams come onto us with Fab passing the ball we can break quicker like Anelka and Overmars in the 98 season.
May 24, 2008 at 2:07 pm
yes we getter get back to the counter attacking rampant football we used to play!!!
May 24, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I liked Hleb but always thought he was a bit ineffective so I think we could get someone who maybe can’t dribble as well but is more effective. Gunnershabz don’t call Wenger “this fucker” wether you think he’s good or not is beside the point this club is in his blood and he would never act like hleb.
May 24, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Fellas, just reading the sparks flying about today, i think its time the big brown bear left the 19th hole & rotated with Pedro.