Words we have heard much this season, the boss believes in this team and wants to keep it together, unless of course they want to leave to earn more money, then they can go, because you have to respect that.
What a load of bollocks, why do we have to respect a greedy toe rag that is shit for years, then good for one and wants more money, breaking contracts is low and deserves nothing but contempt and Wenger should dig in and let Hleb rot in the reserves.
Before anyone says he can buy out his last 2 years, don’t believe it, it’s very complicated and he wouldn’t be playing football for months.
Let’s move on to the kit shall we? I quite like out home kit, apply the same logic as Wenger does with the team, keep it together for another year, believe in it, it has spirit.
Well he won’t will he, why? Because you, the fan who may only earn £5 an hour not £60,000 a week, will pay for it, because you are a fan, and because that’s what we do, we buy the latest kit. Doing that allows us to pay wankers like Flamini and Hleb £55,000 a week, to then stick two fingers up and bugger off to Milan for more.
So Arsene can keep faith with a team that screws him and we get no silverware for 3 years, but you the stupid fan get to buy a new kit, year in and year out.
See where I’m going with this one Grovers? I think it’s time to show us some respect boss and get your cheque book out, it’s not your money, it’s ours, go out sign what we need and then win something.
You maintain this philosophy about respecting players who earn huge amounts, but you’re okay with another kit change and watching your fans once again cough up when you give us nothing back, even Gilberto is telling you to spend now. We may be stupid, but if we can see what Gilberto can, maybe you should listen.
At least sign Nasri and give us something to look forward to during the Euros.
Have a great Domingo Grovers!
May 25, 2008 at 9:40 am
I’m just sick of all of it, and will be glad when signings have been made and the season is off and running
Great post as usual
May 25, 2008 at 9:45 am
I totally agree. The players at Arsenal doesnt starv exactly. So Hleb should be given no alternative. I also think it is time for the fans to say enough is enough. The fans should tell the players, not only at Arsenal, that we had enough of this greed. Its appaling, its low, its Bush, its totaly without perspective. The players at Arsenal should know they are playing in front of a crowd that are pround of their club, that stands for certain trandions and values. Flamini was ok, he played out his contract, but Hleb and his type certanly should not be alowed to have the Arsenal shirt on.
May 25, 2008 at 9:46 am
does anyone believe this rot about Thierry nearly moving to Manures?
May 25, 2008 at 9:52 am
Link
May 25, 2008 at 9:54 am
Thierry at Manure… no way!
Mind you, if there are quotes, it can’t be far from the truth!
Great post Geoff! It’s hard to make a post out of nothing…
I wonder how Fergie and Moanrinho would deal with the situation?
Did you read about when Drogba flew to Milan to have discussions and Jose went mad and made him train with the reserves until he changed his mind…
May 25, 2008 at 9:54 am
top class buddy i have 2 season tickets in emirates had to buy club level or wait another 20 years on waiting list it went up to £5200 this season and i agree spend some money its ours.
my opinion is that as a club arsenal and the board including the manager are in the comfort zone you see the board have a manager that makes a profit every year on transfers yet gets us into the top 4 you see champions league is the trophy the board want each year i dont mean winning it i mean getting into it because their is loads of cash to be made i think arsenal need to fail to get into champions league and then we might see some money spent.
remember we made money in the last year on diarra freddie thierry larson muamba and sell on fee,s on upson/pennant etc.. i make that about 32 million yet we spent about 14 million that is just not on and in a year were its the biggest tv deal ever our coffers must be huge.
i for one am fed up with this if we had of signed a few players in jan we might have one a throphy yet we get wenger bullshit about i had eduardo/vanpersie/risicky at that time and did not need anyone that is crap van persie played 45 minutes in mid jan and got injured and risicky got injured in jan too so he is talking threw his arse.
ARSENAL IS ALL ABOUT PROPOGANDA once we renew our seats each year and to scare you you are told pay quick there are thousands on waiting lists yetb i know people who have still not payed and the deadline was march 5th yet the club are still sending the emails with threats they will lose their seats,if their is so many on waiting lists why not give them the seats not payed for BULLSHITTERS
May 25, 2008 at 9:55 am
I’m giving Wenger the benefit of the doubt for another year. We have to win SOMETHING next season, even Spurs won something this year…….
If we’re empty handed next year, Wenger needs to change his philosophy, bring in investors, or (yes, infact), leave the club..
May 25, 2008 at 9:57 am
Hleb is one reason why we pass too much,i have been praying he leaves in peace
May 25, 2008 at 9:57 am
Here, here! Good post. And the home kit should stay. It’s a classy, classic Arsenal shirt (and I would like to see us win something in it before it goes).
May 25, 2008 at 9:59 am
Can you believe we’re getting 2 new kits next season?
May 25, 2008 at 10:06 am
I’ve been looking fwd to the new kit, mainly cos I had henry on the back of my last one! I think AW will splash cash.. He’s made clear statements of intent, let’s just wait and see what he delivers.
Played cricket yesterday, got 19 runs, more than Hleb could get for sure!
And one more thing- COME ON SUPER LEEDS TODAY!
May 25, 2008 at 10:06 am
We have got a financial millstone around our heads it is called the Emirates !!!!
May 25, 2008 at 10:07 am
Ribery says Nasri is bound for Arsenal.
May 25, 2008 at 10:07 am
its about bleeding us dry. thats it and we could even be fooled to buy into it if the people running the marketing and the management had the brains to launch both kits on the day when we have made three qulaity signings the facts are that the majority of us fans are held to ransom because WE LOVE THE ARSENAL.
GREAT POST, KEEP HLEB PLAY THE BASTARD IN THE RESERVES….
May 25, 2008 at 10:08 am
Paid for by 2009 with £35million in the bank Danish Gooner!
May 25, 2008 at 10:09 am
hehehe somone is not so happy this morning lol
did u wake up to check your e-mails and see the renewal form for next seasons, season ticket?
only to have a heart attack when u look at the price?? then to be followed with the thought of money for the new kits, for ur self and kids if u have them followed by any other new merchandise!!
only to feel you have been spat in the face by the players whos getting paid from your hard earn cash?
yep i think we all felt like that
May 25, 2008 at 10:13 am
Raif… spot on mate… we got our price hikes in February. We reported them… 10% I think? In club level.
So many people came on and said we were lying and normal tickets wouldn’t go up!
Two things you can guarantee each year:
1: We wont spend any money in the transfer window.
2. Prices will go up… on everything.
May 25, 2008 at 10:16 am
the emirates has a mortgage oof £14million a year that is in public club records yet we make (we are told) 30 million MORE THAN AT HIGHBURY a season so you dont need to be good at maths to see we are 16million better of than we were at highbury and the tv money is a lot better and the big wage players sol/viera/bergkamp/henry are of the wage bill them 3 earned around 350k a week between them so someone is bullshitting us.again i;ll say it the club has a MORTGAGE ON THE STADIUM its 14 million a season it does not have to be payed in 3 bloody years they are just in the COMFORT ZONE full stop!!!
May 25, 2008 at 10:20 am
Exactly Alanc… sources close to the club told Geoff it would be paid off next year with all the property etc.
How good does this make you feel?
“I am calm. Everything’s clear and I will repeat it once again so that the whole world understands, there will be news in two or three weeks.
“At the moment I am here, I am going to give my best and do the best possible in the European Championship.”
Ronaldo.
Could the above be the reason Fergie is chasing Thierry?
May 25, 2008 at 10:25 am
I don’t know why you lump Flamini and Hleb in together. Flamini’s situation was totally different to that of Hleb. And as much as I’m disappointed when players like Flamini leave on a free, I’m not going to blame them for maximising their income; he’s not a native English player with love for the country, he’s not come up through the youth team with love for the club, why shouldn’t he leave at the end of his contract? I do wish he’d STFU about “I did it for love, not money” though.
Hleb on the other hand. I’ve got no patience for people who break their word, and that’s what a contract is. He should be sold on our terms, and replaced by someone who wants to play for the club.
May 25, 2008 at 10:27 am
Morning Grovers, I got a magazine in New York yesterday called Forbes, it’s a business magazine, they did an interesting article on Arsenal, Usmanov and Kroenke, it shows how much we actually make, interestingly neither of the 2 billionaires wanted to comment, I’ll do something on it tomorrow, but the ‘we have no money’ bit is complete bollocks.
Forbes magazine don’t know what an AKB is, so they print the truth!
May 25, 2008 at 10:28 am
I was convinced when i got up today - it would happen.
I turned on my pc , my yahoo page came up and the top sports headline was Arsenal Sign Sami Nasri…
At last .. at bloody last….. i click on the link only to faced with some regurgetated crap that had been doing the rounds weeks ago.
Check Arsenal.com - no nothing there.
Cue depression…
I like today’s post, it sums up how ive felt about things for a while now.
I read through the threads already, and can i say that TH14 going to the mancs cannot happen, i would seriously have to HATE him for it and that could prove a hard task to do.
May 25, 2008 at 10:32 am
pedro..shouldnt we be chasing Thierry?
so if he is good enough for red nose, he surely must be good enough for us
unless Wenger banks everything on Adebayor..our beast from Togo who will fuck off any day now if somebody flashes the dollars in front of him
with hleb/flam gone, we will get one more year from ade/cesc and they will be off as well
even Gilberto is talking about it
I still think we will see many changes this season..Gallas will go me thinks
just a gut feeling
he is too quiet for the moment..normally he always opens his gob
May 25, 2008 at 10:33 am
It looks like a new kit is the only thing we have to look forward to, so we sign Nasri, a 20 year old with no premier league experience and we get Vela a 19 year old with no premier league experience. We lose 2 first teamers. and important ones at that and not to mention experienced at premier league level.
We must be one of the only big teams in europe that year in and year out sign replacement players rather than additions and improvements to the squad. Even if Hleb, Flamini and Diarra had stayed we all agree that we needed at least 2 or 3 new players, so now we need 5 or 6. do you reckon we will get them? I doubt it very much.
May 25, 2008 at 10:37 am
pedro my friend yes we have a lot of prop deals going on and if we get the highbury flats money yes we will be nearly clear of debt but no bussiness plan or bank would let you do that so you have a mortgage and the clubs is according to them £14 MILLION A YEAR if we sell highbury flats that will be less debt. but no bank would give you a loan on the condition you will pay when you sell the flats. i love arsenal like us all but we are being fed propoganda and shit every year face it.
May 25, 2008 at 10:38 am
Th14 is not good enough for whisky nose, and his certainly not wat this team needs now.
he is entering his twilight days -it might be only the beginning of the end but never the less….
this team has moved forward with out him.
May 25, 2008 at 10:39 am
We are in very dangerous territory and times fellow Grovers, If the club persists in it’s archaic wages policy and not compete with other top clubs coupled with paying overinflated wages to the under 18’s in order to attract them to Wenger’s academy, then these same players wil use Arsenal, they will use the coaching staff, the training facilities to gain a higher profile in a style of football that is renowned around the footballing world only to clear off to any number of clubs who are willing to pay more for their services once they’ve got first team experience. In fact we’re in danger of developing into the ‘Carling Cup’ team of Europe, as in Real Madrid etc use us much like we use the CC to give our youngsters first eam experience!
People an argue about paying more and we’d end up employing mercenaries, but the truth of the matter is that is what professional footballers are now.
Don’t forget this is our money that’s being used to develop the young talent and our money that’s used to pay players like Flamini and Hleb who do next to nothing for 2 or 3 years only to watch them finally perform at the required level for one year and then their off.
Admittedly the Flamini situation was a complete fuckup by whoever is running the show at Arsenal with regard to contracts, but he’s still gone and now e have the Hleb situation. Is he really leaving coz London’s too noisy………ooooohhhh pluuuease!! We all know it’s money, Hleb knows that he can double his wages after playing just one decent season. The worrying trend is how players, both at the club now and prospective purchases perceive our club, do they see us as a big club that is chllenging for honours and competing with the Real Madrids of this world or are we looked upon as a stepping stone to get a contract at one of the truly big European clubs?
For me EUFA and the FA are just a bunch of cunts, what do they do, we’ve had a contracted player (Hleb) engineering a move away from a club with the help of his registered agent to another club (Inter). Now there’s no doubt he will get what he wants, but surely there must be a price to pay. Maybe Hleb’s signing on fee should be confiscated by EUFA, the agent should have his registration suspended to a couple of years, and Inter should be suspended from all further transfer activities for a year.
If nothing is done this sort of tapping up/engineering a move out of a contract will continue, there is currently no deterrant. Equally, Arsenal’s handling of it’s wage structure may have to change and also how they deal with players like Hleb otherwise we are going to continually get shat on by players like Hleb and most of Europes big clubs.
May 25, 2008 at 10:40 am
also UP FECKIN MUNSTER. sorry bout that i realise its a arsenal blog, but somethings just need 2 be said
May 25, 2008 at 10:44 am
What’s that then Col?
May 25, 2008 at 10:45 am
col.. is that some smelly French cheese that you are talking about?
May 25, 2008 at 10:45 am
Alanc… you can pay off mortgages early though can’t you?
Who are Munster?
May 25, 2008 at 10:46 am
Nasri cannot be announced until tomorrow at the earliest so don’t worry about it, besides which its much more likely to be announced on tuesday & in my opinion on wednesday once Domenech announces his actual 23 man squad. Tomorrow is a bank holiday here so I doubt anyone at Arsenal.com will be working, the website never seems to get updated over the weekend or on bank holidays.
Geoff, you disappoint me I thought you’d be a annual subscriber to Forbes!!
May 25, 2008 at 10:49 am
Diarra said: “To lose one French international midfielder may be regarded as misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness.”
Hard to disagree…
May 25, 2008 at 10:50 am
hey people
i think we all pissed off, yes we pay loads of money and the emirates cup they probarly earn loads by hosting it.
reason why wenger is still at the helms is because he makes money for the board and why would they sack him when he making so much profit for them. wenger is the one who suggested we move into the new stadium.
all the fans are asking for, is sign some world class players like ricardo quresma, robinho, ronaldinho, lucho gonzalaez, david villa, david silva, franck ribery, pablo aimar, lucio, eto’o, deco, andrea barzagli
these players are actually available, most teams around europe wait for english teams to bid on their players because they know they getting money for it.
again we being linked with crap like blaise maluadi, mohammedo dabo, that paris sg player.
samir nasri, hatem ben arfa, nuri sahin, giovani dos santos, mario gomez, cristian zapata, alexis sanchez, joao moutinho, miquel velaso, andreas guardado
these players are upcoming generation of superstars which i dont mind coming to the emirates
unless wenger leaves we wont be signing big named players and he has admitted it
May 25, 2008 at 10:51 am
Sorry it was the Final of the Heineken Cup yesterday, their version of the CL and (our province) team won it, we beat Toulese, so you BB could say we destroyed some french smelly cheese!!!! ha ha sorry still bit pissed - still drinkin 20 hours later
May 25, 2008 at 10:53 am
GMR I used to funnily enough, it’s a good read!
May 25, 2008 at 10:54 am
at least barca are showing their a world class club, and i know they like to unsettle players but they have not won anything in 2 years and they aint fucking around this summer
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=707664
pique, keita, alves, malouda, hleb, silva, adebayor, berbatov, benzema
May 25, 2008 at 10:54 am
Pedro, I saw that article, as annoying as it is to be in the position where we lost Flamini & now don’t have an immediate replacement the fact is we made money on Diarra. I was a big fan of his but lets face it he is nothing more than a snide little c**t. There was probably a good reason that Chelski were willing to sell him to us & no doubt it had something to do with his attitude. I’m glad we’re rid of him & if he truly thinks that winning one FA cup makes him a success then he’s deluded. We won’t hear a peep from him if Arsenal win a major trophy next season.
May 25, 2008 at 10:56 am
GMR
this happened when we expected to announce franck ribery and ryan babel, can u remember last year both players wanted to come to arsenal.
again we got nothing, so i love to see samir nasri but i am preparing myself for dissapointment
imagine if we did sign both franck ribery and ryan babel last summer, am sure we would of won the league
May 25, 2008 at 10:57 am
Geoff, I like it as well, haven’t read the proper version for a while now, I just keep up to date by reading the online version.
May 25, 2008 at 11:07 am
I don’t know what happened with Ribery but it certainly seems that he changed his mind or Wenger pulled out the deal when Henry left. As for Babel we were never in for him & I’m pleased about that. He is fairly average at best & hasn’t impressed at all with Liverpool.
Nasri cannot be announced, you can spend all day refreshing Arsenal.com but it’ll make no difference, even if every single aspect of the deal is complete it wouldn’t mean a thing. If he hasn’t signed by Wednesday evening then I’ll agree it has become worrying & will then be likely to fall through. If reports are right the only problem right now is that Arsenal want to pay based on achievements & Marseille want the whole buyout fee upfront, but thats Arsenal all over.
May 25, 2008 at 11:16 am
does anyone know who fergi wants this summer Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Carlos Kameni (Espanyol), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City) and Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyon) and they just won the champions league and premiership arsenal wont even buy such players or as many even after going 4 seasons without a trophy imagine and thts y they are a big club and arsenal is just used by youngsters,even chl$i are fast becoming one with the money
if wenger is chosing not to spend and just replace then i would sadly suggest sack him get someone like joe (not him we cant know)and buy and be a top top club
May 25, 2008 at 11:30 am
news now it wenger says “nasri move likely to be done”does it mean he is surly coming now
May 25, 2008 at 11:42 am
We’ll see how Diarra’s fares in the Euros. For all his talk of moving to a big club and Portsmouth pretty much saying the same thing the only club that has been linked with him is Top4Tottenham……….as have everyone who’s ever even looked at football, including me, but I told them ‘fuck off bollocks you’re cunt
Will he even start? Methinks he’ll warm the bench, or maybe get a sniff a right back
Nasri move looks sorted, which is nice, although not official, which isn’t nice. Still want a mid-twenties, died-in-the-wool superstar tho’
I also want a low-mileage Lancia Delta Integrale Evolution II in mint condition but neither is likely to happen
Oh and want about the sodding defence?
May 25, 2008 at 11:51 am
Geoff, completely off topic but how did you get on at Pinehurst ?
May 25, 2008 at 12:06 pm
we’re linked with gomez again…!!!
May 25, 2008 at 12:09 pm
This Diarrs geezer, agrees to sign for Arsenal for what 4 years
“Can I leave early Mr Wenger?”
“Yes thats okay Lassana you can break your word/contract.”
Then the cheeky fucker slags Wenger and Arsenal off, as if we have done wrong.
May 25, 2008 at 12:13 pm
gee.. thats all there is left now david… catfights between wenger and the players…
we still got version 2 coming… versus hleb and flamini!!!
May 25, 2008 at 12:16 pm
KJS I played well, it’s quite forgiving, the trouble starts on the greens!
May 25, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Wenger confirmed he is signing Nasri on French TV apparently…
http://goonertalk.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/wenger-nasri-move-likely-to-be-completed-before-euros/
May 25, 2008 at 12:25 pm
He should be saying. “I would like to thank Arsenal for letting me go when I felt that I needed reguler first team football to be picked for my country”
No respect at all.
Then after the Arsenal/ Portsmouth game Arsene shakes his hand and jokes and puts his arm around the tosser, that fucks me off even more..
May 25, 2008 at 12:28 pm
we need to be a little ruthless!!!
and it should start from the manager!!
May 25, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Was there a few 3 putt moments out there then Geoff ? Makes you realise how good these pro boys are when u get to play on a course like that doesn’t it ?
May 25, 2008 at 12:33 pm
and firing grant is the stupidest thing abramovich could have done!!!
if he was the owner of arsenal.. we would have had 3 different managers by now!!!
lol.. what a cnut
May 25, 2008 at 12:38 pm
KJS I missed more three footers than I have ever done, after 3 rounds though you begin to get used to them!
May 25, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Hleb’s agent Shpilevski said ‘Alex has spent three good seasons at Arsenal and he wasn’t sure he could maintain the same level that he has been showing if he stayed.’
Right so Barca or whoever would say, come and join us then, we don’t mind if your level drops, as long as you like the country, we’ll pay you more and pay Arsenal £15 mil on top of that.
Yeah sure they would, that cunt should rot in the reserves.
May 25, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Hi Pedro/Geoff, Le-Grovers.
Off topic i know, but I read about the possible signing of ex-Gunner Edu this morning. How would you feel about that?
It reckon it would be a mixed response. I’ve fond memories of him and rated him as a player, BUT, he did what Flamini did. Ran down his contract and left for more dough.
So that would make me a hypocrite for welcoming him back after the slagging off I’ve given Flamini for leaving!
I’m torn!…….Am I a hypocrite?………Fuck it….Dont want him, my reputation is at stake!!!!
May 25, 2008 at 12:54 pm
GREAT ARTICLE MUST READ
http://arsenalmuse.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-going-downhill-but-hey-isnt-it.html
May 25, 2008 at 12:58 pm
He’s a great player, but he screwed us like Flamini did so he can fuck off in my book Wrighty.
May 25, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Does anyone know when the the kit(s) are out? Is the white kit going (hope not)?
May 25, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Pedro, I don’t like the sound of that. He was hardly confirming it was he!!
He said IF it goes through, whereas I & many others have already been led to believe it was a done deal. Not good news in my opinion
May 25, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Here is a rough translation (some online translator) of that comment:
Arsene Wenger, trainer of Arsenal, indicated in Téléfoot on TF1 that the transfer of Samir Nasri of Marseilles to Arsenal had “chances to be done”.
“Ca has chances to be made, if that is done, it will be before the beginning of the Euro (7 June 29)”, explained the technician of Gunners.
The agent of Samir Nasri had specified Wednesday afternoon in AFP that there was “no agreement finalized” concerning the transfer of the player towards the English club of Arsenal.
“There is no finalized agreement, we study, it is true, a proposal on behalf of Arsenal which interests Samir Nasri sportivement, it is also true, but other offers arrived on my desk”, had explained Jean-Pierre Bernès, without specifying from where these other proposals emanated.
Since Clairefontaine, Franck Ribéry had wished Friday with Samir Nasri “to become an owner as Vieira” if the transfer of the player of Marseilles is finalized in Arsenal, where Patrick Vieira had become a leader emblematic, before leaving to Inter Milan.
That doesn’t sound too good to me, if he had been definate about it I’d be happy but he seems neutral. What happens if Nasri doesn’t sign then, I bet he has no backup plan!!
May 25, 2008 at 1:05 pm
The difference for me Wrighty is Edu couldn’t get a regular place in the first team and Flamini kept other players out promising to stay, then left.
Flamini isn’t as bad as Hleb though.
May 25, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I think the main reason for him not getting in the team though was that he hadn’t signed a new contract, so Le Boss sort of punished him in a way.
Makes me wonder whether Flamini had promised Le Boss that he would sign because he was still playing right up to his departure.
May 25, 2008 at 1:18 pm
always enjoy le grove. especially now it’s all fairly depressing for arsenal fans.
the media’s hatred of our team can fire you up as well as get you down. i suspect that a lot of northern biased football commentators have an almost xenophobic dislike of arsenal’s genuine cosmopolitanism - both of its players & its fans.
go back to birmingham; you would be forgiven for thinking it was actually an arsenal player that broke eduardo’s leg! andy gray was silent for last ten mins of match when it looked like arsenal were taking all three points, then when the penalty that wasn’t a penalty was given he went nuts with glee. the shithead. there’s got to be a ‘non andy gray’ option worked into skysports.
wenger’s ways are mostly admirable & he should be commended for being prepared to act contrary to the worse trends & developments in the game. the media suspend themselves in anticipation of the slightest thing going tits up & use it as a an opportunity to dismiss the wenger philosophy and his footballing praxis.
i know there are a lot of people who think wenger has lost his effectiveness but it’s not a black & white thing. there are frustrations & oh how the media love to qualify them as ‘meltodown’ and ‘crises’ etc, but fans who call for wenger to go are emotional knee-jerks. the club would gravely miss his stature.
fans who call for him to go are the type who bang on about signing ronaldinho etc. & they’re probably the ones who moan about hleb being the greedy, self-important, over-rated yawn that he clearly is (just like that flash goofy twat, ronaldinho, in fact).
it’s frustrating when we miss out on signing stand-out ‘arsenal’ type players (picture hargreaves next to cesc!) & i will cry if arsenal fan micah richards ends up staying in manchester (especially in a red shirt!).
keown getting a prominent coaching role would cheer me up.
getting cider served at the stadium would also cheer me up!
ignore all the media shit & trust that our team will win major trophies in 08-09. so, roll on next season (with cider!).
May 25, 2008 at 1:22 pm
You may be right, but we were playing with two wingers then. It was either him or Veira I never remember the two playing together.
May 25, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I must say I dont agree with alot of what the article says, apart from Hleb. The season only finished a few weeks ago & yes wenger said a signing will be done within 2-3 weeks. So lets just wait a little longer & see what happens. We may be surprised.
If he signs Nasri Im gona be over the moon, especially if the deals done before I go on hols in a week!
Does anyone know when the new kits are out???!!!
May 25, 2008 at 1:33 pm
The new kits will be out at the end of July… Well, if seasons past are anything to go by!
What don’t you agree with Stevie?
Nasri maybe a great signing, but he is a replacement for Hleb if rumours are to be believed… that still leaves us short 3 players?
May 25, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I just see the whole kit thing as being petty. We are due a new home kit, thats always the way its been. However if they get rid of the away kit after just a year that will be annoying. I just get the feeling everyone is being critical before we actually know the outcome of things.
Ok Flamini situation was annoying but that was one player, if Hleb goes i can see that being positive as we could get someone more effective in front of goal….& the rest? well alot of it is dog shite paper talk which can be taken with a pinch of salt, u gets?
May 25, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I have read that the new Home kit release 3rd July away kit about a month after that may not be correct.
Thierry Henry was reportedly on the verge of a move to Manchester United two weeks ago - but changed his mind after talks with Pep Guardiola
If that is correct.
(a) Is Fergie on a wind up?
(b) What sort of reception would he get at THOF?
(c) Was Thierry’s love of Arsenal and I would never play for another EPL club, bollox?
May 25, 2008 at 1:46 pm
The whole Thierry - Utd story is laughable!!
May 25, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Right well if we do get Nasri thank you very much. Flamini great runner, great fighting spirit will be missed but WILL be replaced, Diarra = thick tosser.
Alex Hleb = fuckin cunt. This skinny little shit can’t shoot, all the prick wants to do is run around doing fancy skills like a fuckin fairy. Maybe im being a bit to harsh but i’ve had enough of wankers like him! The guy is a NOT a winner let me tell you this, more like a little pussy i hope they break his fuckin twig legs in Serie A. Rant on Hleb over i will not give this tosser any more of my time, thank you for the fond memories of…..well of simply fuck all!
As for our squad, i think Gilberto is becoming senile, why on earth is he still with us? We should do an X-Men project on Rosicky/RVP similar to Wolverine, at least the cunts wont be injured and could recover quicker! I think we need a hard bastard at centre mid, im talkin big, ugly as fcuk etc. Same at centre back too please and i think we’re good.
So next season we should line up like this:
Almunia/Fabianski/Mannonne
Sagna/Eboue/Hoyte Gallas/Djourou/Nordveit Toure/Senderos/? Clichy/Pedro/?
Rosicky/Walcott/? Cesc/Denilson/? Gilberto/Diaby/Song Nasri/Traore/?
Adebayor/Bendtner/? RVP/Eduardo/Vela
I really think Traore should be mouled into a left winger, his pace, power and trickery could help us a lot there. This would mean bringing in another left back for back up to Clichy. I think we have ample cover for right back and i think Eboue should go back to being a right back! In defence we require two players, a CB and a LB.
In midfield i think we have good players but for me Denilson and Diaby have not progressed in the manner in which we hoped so i think a centre mid is needed. If Traore is not to play left mid then i think another winger is needed at least (Ben Arfa plz). On the right we have good players in Walcott and Rosicky. I think maybe we could see the promotion of lads such as Mark Randall, Keiren Gibbs, Jay Simpson, Jack Wiltshire, Fran Merida and Nacer Barazite. This should bulk up the midfield but these players are unknown quantities.
Up front we have two target men in Adebayor and Bendtner. One sublime talent in RVP (how many times have we said that only for him to get injured!). We also have Eduardo and Vela. I think we need another right footed/two footed striker to maintain the balance as Dudu, Vela and RVP are both left footers.
We have a very good team that was put together for peanuts all we need is to spend a little to catch up to the top two. This year the difference has been 4 points in the league and two games difference in Europe (we were robbed in the quarters!). Some gooners need to get this into perspective and not believe media hype, this was the same media writing us off before the season began, half way through they were singing our praises and at the end they were sayin to us ‘told you we were right’. This is how fickle our media wants us to be!
May 25, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I think the analogy is deeper than just the kits…
Its the price increases in season tickets… the shameless promotion of the Emirates Cup… Golf days… bragging about profits… and then pretending to be skint.
So Flamini leaves… we promote from within… Hleb leaves… we buy Nasri…
Do you see Wenger buying 4-5 players this summer? I doubt it…
ManU have just won the double and they are already trying to sign players like Thierry henry…
People can harp on about how Arsenal fans are too transfer hungry… but at the end of the day we have been starved for the last 3 years whilst other clubs have steamed a head.
When players like Bertie come out and say we need players you can’t ignore them can you.
It seems like the only person in the world who thinks we need 3 players is Arsene… (And select AKB Blogs/commenters)
Wenger will not sign lots of players this summer despite us being short last season… now we have lost 2 of our first 11 and arguably we only really have a first 11.
What happens next?
Have a look at what Bayern did last year and tell me buying players doesn’t work.
May 25, 2008 at 1:59 pm
From my reading of the article Geoff is talking about the Hypocrisy oF Wenger about certain issues & has just used the kit as part of his analogy.
stevie, I think there is a difference this summer from previous ones, clearly fans are more restless. We have already seen Flamini leave & soon to be followed by Hleb but nothing concrete on signings. We also know that teams like Chelski (& by no means only them) are after the same players as us, even if they aren’t they would sign a player just to prevent us getting them as they done with SWP. Then you have the Euro’s coming up & players prices can sky rocket as can their profile so we need to get players in early. When you put everything together fans just want the shopping done early, it also creates a better atmosphere & means the signings have more time to settle before the season kicks off. Signing players on 31st August when the season has already started isn’t ideal & to be honest I’m yet to see a player sign so late on actually go on to have a good season.
May 25, 2008 at 2:06 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ymuTd18bIU&feature=related
good buy jens he has done a lot for us and is hard to believe wht he said(arsenal not good etc) was actually said by him after listning to him now
May 25, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I agree GMR.
I don’t really understand people who are quite happy to just sit there and say… oh I’m not interested in anything until it appears on Arsenal.com… that is why Arsenal fans get so upset… becuase deep down, they know very little will happen this summer. Wenger will more than likely persist with his failing youth policy.
It feels like we are only signing Nasri because Hleb is leaving… we should be signing players like Nasri to play alongside Hleb. The last 3 years have been one for one transfers… ManU create competition… we create a complacent environment, player know they are too good to be left out… who could keep Hleb out the team? Who could keep Ade out? Who could keep any of the first 11 out?
ManU/Chelsea you could near enough swap the whole team about and it would still be relatively effective.
May 25, 2008 at 2:11 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ymuTd18bIU&feature=related
he will always be in our hearts it is very hard to believe tht he actually saaid all th in the magazine and all after this he is a wonderfull man should have had a better farwell but still
May 25, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Spot on GMR, that’s exactly my point! Patient with the team, quick to change the kit and make more out of us.
May 25, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Season tickets don’t have to be paid until the 1st of June. The signing will come then because the club knows that it will have the pavlovian dog affect of making us immediately send our money to them.
May 25, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Samir Nasri could be the start of the transfer movement for us. I and many others have been knocking AW for a while now and I believe he knows the fan base are unhappy. This is the reason I believe he will buy some decent players in the Nasri mould. The club who are after Hleb are a mystery at the moment and Inter would not be AW’s choice i think. Maybe Barca are the team and we will get players plus cash swap for one of theirs. I believe he would have wanted Nasri even if Hleb was staying so this isn’t a replacement for Hleb. Gilberto must now stay just in case the new Flamster replacement back fires, contrary to what many people think Bertie is an experienced world class player in this position and he is a genuine humble bloke who would probably nurture his own replacement. Ben Arfa looks like it could happen, maybe Le Guen didn’t play him in the final because he knew the lad was going. The Manc cunts can sign whoever they like because if they continue to get away with things like they do then no matter who anyone else gets it wont make any difference at all. I didn’t watch 1 second of the CLF but I was in France with some Chavski supporting mates who did watch it. I though it was hillarious listening to them moaning about the cheating Mancs, especially as i predicted the outcome before hand.
May 25, 2008 at 2:51 pm
If Wenger is in France (clearly he is), is he there on business or is it on holiday?
I was really positive yesterday that 2 signings would be announced this week, now I’m beginning to doubt any will. Obviously we don’t actually know whats happening behind the scenes but you never get the feeling Wenger is pressing ahead with deals, he seems more interested in his commentary work than he does signings. I couldn’t have been more sure about the Nasri deal but Wenger’s words have made me start doubting it. This “We have a chance of doing that” is nearly word for word what he said about the Baptista deal when he was with Sevilla.
I’ll be really pissed off if Wenger doesn’t stick to his word & make at least one signing by next Saturday, it means it was just another way of fobbing off the fans when Friar met them.
May 25, 2008 at 2:57 pm
hey el tel, how is the trip going?
May 25, 2008 at 2:57 pm
GMR..Wenger’s comments arent that bad in French
the fact that he spoke about it should be seen as positive
he just said that there was a chance that he would join and that if it was to happen, it would be before the start of the tournament in Europe
he can hardly say more until the deal is signed..on top of it, on TV
El Tel.. I found it very strange that Arfa didnt even get a look in the final
we could still be on his case
also his coach is Perrin, not Le Guen
May 25, 2008 at 3:11 pm
BB, Wenger just didn’t come across as being that positive it would be done, he used the same words with the Baptista deal & we all know happened there. I don’t want a summer of will he/ won’t he with regards Nasri, then have say Real Madrid step in & sign him & Arsene come out & say Nasri was his main target or only target.
May 25, 2008 at 3:14 pm
well i just would like to say ( because it might get back to a certain nameless blog )
that diarra stated
“Do you really think I would leave a side like Chelsea to join Arsenal if certain promises were not made? I did not panic but wanted to play as promised.
HE WANTED TO PLAY .. its a simple common sense issue , and he puts it in perspective
love him or hate him diarra , the guy wanted to play before he gets splinters on his ass and it turns to wood or has to sign on for the old age pension !
People told me in october there was no proof he was promised anything from arsenal !!
WELL FUCK ME who was right !!
BB - Gazzap and pat the goon might recollect me stating it ..
it just shows you how certain AKB supporters think wenger is infallible in his decision making .
and this is just a classic
“Perhaps to lose one French international midfielder may be regarded as misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness.
told you so arsene my boy should of listened to me in october- november !
why is wenger commenting on diarra .. when i think about it .. the lad has said fuck all
until wenger came out a day or 2 ago and said diarra jumped ship due to nerves
or some bollocks ..
STOP LOOKING BEHIND Mr wenger ! open the fucking cheque book and stop throwing stones at glass houses !
GMR
i think something will take shape in the next 2 - 3 days !
nasri sounds like a go’er ..
and ben arfa could be like the sagna signing ..
heard a lot initially .. then it quietened down ..
once a fee was negotiated it happened ..
i think the only way we wont get ben arfa too is if a another club comes along and
offers more .. which theres every chance of that happening . .
May 25, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Good thanks Chris we returned late last night 2,300 miles in a week. Glad to be back I missed Le Grove.
May 25, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Thanks for that BB you are right Le Guen sticks to my mind as I have a feeling he could be AW’s eventual replacement.
May 25, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Geoff made the point earlier that Wenger said he thought Flamini was going to sign… thent the other day Wenger said he thought Flamini would leave so he signed Diarra?
Mental.
Can you give me and acronym of the nameless blog Ethan?
The worry is that Arsene is still only going to sign 2-3 players despite losing 2 first teamers…
It would be nice to start the season saying,
‘Fuck me, Arsene spent well’
Instead of,
‘Am I the only one who thinks we are painfully short… didn’t Chelsea and ManU spend well…’
Like I said earlier… Nasri is a great signing, its just a shame he is a replacement signing as appose to a bolster signing.
May 25, 2008 at 3:20 pm
El Tel
Samir Nasri could be the start of the transfer movement for us.
Well no shite sherlock !
either him or ben arfa .. im sure arsene hasn’t been chatting anyone else up
He hasn’t exactly been the invisible man in this transfer window ..
wenger has definitely left footprints in the sand , during his transfer business,
chatting up ben arfa himself and pretty much not denying negotiations with
nasri ..
So what makes you think that el tel ??
May 25, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Oh sorry… Welcome back El Tel… I hope you holiday was good!
May 25, 2008 at 3:24 pm
point taken GMR .. just dont forget he is on French TV.. the risk is that if we dont do it before the 7th, his price will go up a lot and we wont pay up
his agent is probably speculating on this
but you said that you heard from sources inside the club that the deal was all but done
ethan..Wenger has got too much responsibility resting on his shoulders since Dein left
Arfa .. cant see him going to a good club outside France bar us..especially after the restless season he had..with little playing time.. he looks a lot more a Wenger signing than Nasri from that perspetive
not many people would want to take a risk..I actually think that Arfa lacks confidence to move away from France..still comes across as being very green
May 25, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I heard who I think is Gordon Taylor on the radio this morning slagging off Chavski and calling them a little club. If it was Taylor I don’t like the Northern twat as he slags us off regularly, but he got that right about our little neighbours down the road.
May 25, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Aw himself said things would happen in 2/3 weeks time and European football has just finished this weekend. Teams playing in finals would be unsettled if their players were transfered before cup finals or deciding fixtures. We don’t like this happenning why should they. We kept the Flamster decision quiet till the season ended so do other teams.
May 25, 2008 at 3:31 pm
BB… if Wenger has too much responsibility resting on his shoulders… surely it is his own fault?
He was in charge of finding a replacement and In a year… he hasn’t managed it? A YEAR!
May 25, 2008 at 3:35 pm
If he knows who he wants he should get the cheque book out now, don’t wait for the price to go up, or to get outbid!
Christ we have a choice of 220, don’t we???
May 25, 2008 at 3:35 pm
As for Mancscum being the great buying no selling club lets see how big they are when their best player decides to walk. If he doesn’t go then they are that club.
May 25, 2008 at 3:38 pm
You are right Geoff and Pedro. It is all his fault. What though if the person he wants is under contract and he has to wait. As for the transfer deals he should already know who he wants and he should have been working on the deals, but maybe he has to wait till the season as ended for this.
May 25, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Theo’s twin brother wins Monaco Grand Prix. Monty is skittling out NZ in the Test. After a week of riding the bike across Europe its good to be reading what us Gooners are saying and this is the best place to do it. Thyanks Guys.
May 25, 2008 at 3:43 pm
El Tel… contracts don’t mean anything… ask any AKB!
Contracts should only be respected if Arsenal are after a player… but if one of our players want to leave, you must respect that decision.
The same probably goes for staff.
I am pretty sure if Arsene wanted someone to takeover from Dein, he’d have them in place by now.
May 25, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Pedro
You know Aw respects His contract and as much as I blame him for our problems other peoples contracts are out of our hands. What if it was true and he wants Karen Brady ( who wouldn’t want her
) There are problems in getting her at the moment that isn’t his fault. Other clubs also have players who want to leave them and we have benefitted there too. I am certainly not an AKB.
May 25, 2008 at 3:50 pm
wenger saying that about nasri, well now its all up to the player….. lets move on and sign hatem ben arfa.
May 25, 2008 at 4:08 pm
El Tel, I am not saying you are an AKB…
Karen Brady is being done for corruption… cross her off the list. Karen Brady would be brought in as a replacement for Edelman not Dein!
May 25, 2008 at 4:11 pm
While I’m very pleased he screwed the Chavs, can I just say thank fuck we didn’t sign Anelka because the post CL Final ‘explanation’ for the missed final demonstrates he hasn’t changed a bit from his Arsenal days. Pissed off at being on the bench and then put in late and at full back, he refused to take one of the first five penalties then made a pathetic effort when he eventually did, and then blamed it on a lack of warm up. The cunt is on £90,000 a week, for that alone you fucking do the job that asked off you. He was so narked at being left out I don’t think he even wanted his team to win.
Funniest thing is apparently Top4 want him. But then they want everyone
May 25, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Sorry Pedro you are right I have been away to long.
May 25, 2008 at 4:35 pm
The Euros doesnt start for a few weeks yet, my point is we need to be patient up until then, Im sure we will have signed a few players by then. look at Rosicky in 2006, he was signed before the world cup
May 25, 2008 at 4:40 pm
stevie..me thought the euros start in 2 weeks time..lets hope we will see some action soon..Wenger owes us a lot..
May 25, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Yer they start in two weeks time. I wonder if Wenger did say this:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_3609039,00.html
May 25, 2008 at 4:46 pm
You can still go after a player under contract before the end of the season, you just can’t buy them until the end of their seasons, you can however agree a price.
2,500 miles El Tel, on a bike? you must have a sore arse! and be slim!
May 25, 2008 at 4:50 pm
built for comfort not for speed
May 25, 2008 at 4:54 pm
sorry leeds but i cant forgive so no sympathy here
May 25, 2008 at 5:10 pm
No Geoff my arse is ok and I wish I was slim. I ride a sports tourer, we covered France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France again passing through Lichtenstein and Monaco stayed in St Tropez for 3 days. Lots of miles on an Aprilia Futura. Missed the Footie news though and the chat from all you guys. Lets try to be possitive for a bit. If Aw fucks us off, lets let him know at the Emirates cup.
May 25, 2008 at 5:25 pm
BB, my contact isn’t actually involved in the transfers themselves (his position really isn’t that important), but a lot of the new signings meet him before they actually sign. I can’t say why because there are very few of them doing the same job so for obvious reasons I’m not going to say what he does.
What I knew is that he’d had a medical, so for me the deal was as good as done & certainly when I said that it was new information, however its since become pretty common knowledge. What I don’t understand is why there is now a delay, as I’ve said it cannot be announced until tomorrow anyway, but Wenger’s latest words make it seem a lot further off than that. Are Arsenal trying to get a lower price as usual to save a few quid or is Nasri having second thoughts??
May 25, 2008 at 6:10 pm
pedro
its on your blogroll .. in fact its 1st on it .
)
actually you should make a separate box put it into a box and call it BOG roll ..
its funny you meet the most blind sided AKB lovers in the world on that blog , its a breeding ground for them .. pats a regular
and BB goes on to stir the shit .. ( we used to do that together quite often
No other thought is allowed to be discussed ! if you disagree with arsene , ade ,eboue or anything that comes from the paper prior to it being announced on arsenal . com , they condemn any talk at all of transfer rumors a veritable AKB play ground .. Every single paper source
every journo .. all wrong and not to be trusted , yes theres some truth to it , not trusting the papers .. but in these lean news times , if you cant all discuss some pipe dreams then you might as well subscribe to ARSENAL.COM and wait for the email …
Give up blogging and watch game re- runs
speaking of which did Arsenal.COM ever actually release a FLAMINI IS LEAVING
article !? i dont think they EVER did .. i looked for 3 or 4 days after bbc news released the story and still nothing on A.COM
since that time there has been articles stating he has left within another story line , but no official article coming directly from arsenal .com im sure !!!
fuckin hopeless !
May 25, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I was never any good at maths, but let me see if i can work this out.
Wenger claims after empty handed season - Wenger Logic - 3 Players Needed.
2 First team players leave(hleb and flamini) - Wenger Logic - 1(?) Player Needed.
Flamini - Denlison
Hleb - Nasri
Don’t expect big signings, expect random names from random teams.
Odds on Ben Afra coming here are HIGHLY unlikely, he will cost money, yes money!
May 25, 2008 at 6:36 pm
GMR so hes definately had a medical, maybe they are just tieing up the loose ends for next week then.
May 25, 2008 at 6:38 pm
liverpool are going to have a 70 mill kitty..!!!
May 25, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Bout the usual then hey choy
May 25, 2008 at 6:54 pm
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=news&article=491182&lid=&Title=Flamini+will+complete+AC+Milan+move+in+summer
Ethan
dated may 5th
May 25, 2008 at 8:16 pm
PMSL
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7419271.stm
May 25, 2008 at 8:31 pm
any one want to predict arsenals line up next season mine would be-
would also like
——Almunia————–
Clicjy signing toure sagna
walcott rosciky fabregas nasri
——V.p Adebayor———
Bench—
Gilberto,vela,song,gallas,signing,Fabi,Bendtner
Wenger has got two other french players so hope they turn out to be like sagna and give us depth if u see the 11 we have one of the top sides in europe but depth is wht is lacking
May 25, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Where is everyone ? I just saw Newsnow saying we missed out on Pjanic - but then I found out he was 18.
Big deal - we don’t need anymore kids.
May 25, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Whos Pjanic?!
May 25, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Stevie, a bosnian midfielder that has moved from Metz to Lyon. Somehow I don’t think I’ll be loosing any sleep over missing out on this one. However if we blow a chance of signing someone more worthwhile..
May 25, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Well yer Im really hoping we get Nasri…….patitence is a virtue!!
May 25, 2008 at 11:28 pm
dont think le boss is going to sign a direct replacement for flamini
think gilberto will stick around for one more year and diaby and denilson will battle it out to partner cesc.
May 25, 2008 at 11:29 pm
fabgooner - never in 100000 million years would wenger play such a fucked up all out gung ho 0% defensive cover midfield
ffs
May 25, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Love the intensity of all the Arsenal Blogs. I’m a Brentford fan so I can view the Premier League with an unbiased eye. I love Utd, I love Arsenal because you play the game the right way. I hate Chelsea because they’re Chelsea. Wenger vs Fergie on a level playing field is what all neutrals want. My post http://daverossfootball.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/arsenal-its-time-to-splash-the-cash/
asks Wenger to show us he can spend money as well as find talent. I want to see Arsenal v Utd next year get your hand in your pockets Arsene.
May 26, 2008 at 1:53 am
Geoff/Pedro, It was mentioned earlier about Nasri is only really being signed as a replacement….& that Arsenal doesn’t have a big enough squad for the 1st 11 to have pressure put on them. At least Le Grove is applying that necessary pressure, & by the sounds of it, is being observed by many. Hope we have a signing by next post.
Happy Bank Holiday to all, of The Arsenal ,in old Blighty.
May 26, 2008 at 1:59 am
Do the Mods & Skins still belt each other up on this weekend? Gee! showing my age now.
May 26, 2008 at 2:25 am
thanks Chris . i must of missed it .. I suppose because it was common knowledge in
april
choy ?
HOLY …
poo have 70 mil kitty !?
geez … we couldn’t really beat them this season either !
now we are 2 experienced players down !!!
well all i can say is denilson had better step up !
because bert hasn’t got the legs .. and in my opinion never really played that well with cesc ! …
lets hope cesc turns into a messi this season ! . (can do it all alone !)
May 26, 2008 at 2:30 am
……………………….Almunia
Sagna………Toure/new………Gallas/new……..Clichy
…………………….Gilberto………………………
……….Cesc……………………Diaby…………….
Van Persie………Ade……………..Rosicky…………..
May 26, 2008 at 2:37 am
Nasri can be put in for Cesc/Diaby/VanPersie/Rosicky
Walcott can be put in for Vanpersie/Rosicky
Bendter for Ade
Vela for vanpersie/Ade/Rosicky
Denilson/Song for Gilberto/Diaby
The full backs can take turns overlapping putting in crosses.
In this formation Diaby can be given a chance to prove his worth without being a defensive liabilty since Gilberto will still be there staying home protecting the back four.
May 26, 2008 at 3:17 am
very attacking ja ,
but i dont think it will happen , wenger plays 5 across the middle in tougher games .
midfield and possession domination . i cant see him going to a 3-3-4 which is essentially what your suggesting ..
He plays 4-4-2 against weaker teams and 4-5-1 if he feels it will be a tough demanding game , where we need to hold onto possession ..
I like the idea of a 3-3-4 , its actually my favorite formation if you have world class forwards , i wouldnt class us currently as owning 1 !
ade = a big clumsy joke who was over played and over trusted by wenger this season
RVP = the closest striker we own if only he would stay fit
Bends = best potential at 19 .. but still 2 years away
Walcott = played only a handful of games in this role and wenger has stated he will
get more chances this season on the wing ..
dudu= ???? huge question marks once fit again if he still wants to play in the UK
and this one i wouldnt blame if he wants to quit the EPL !
i still think also dudu wont appear until after christmas ! knowing how long the medical staff at AFC take to re-introduce players to the 1st tier of football !
May 26, 2008 at 4:15 am
If 4-3-3 is too attacking then in the above formation Van Persie and Rosikcy could drop deeper so esentially that would become a five man midfield.
Ade could stay up front.
I point i was tryin to get across was that Diaby should be given a chance to prove himself in his natural position, if he fails so be it.
By using the 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 formations he can be placed in the centre with Cesc and both could attack while Gilberto or another holding midfielder stays home and protects the back 4.
May 26, 2008 at 4:42 am
diaby would have to turn around like flamini did , whilst i believe he will be used more this coming season ( or sold due to lack of action and frustration from the season just gone)
I do think flamini will be replaced by either bert- denilson
i think
they are the only ones other than song who play the defensive midfield role .
youll have
the back -4
walcott-cesc-bert-rosicky
ade - rvp
is it enough ? it wasnt last season and that was with hleb/flamini ..
who i rate higher than diaby - denilson /bert..
i dont think diaby ’s the answer !
buying 4 new 1st class players is the answer !
i dont think diaby will be successful here , unless he adapts to the wings ..
maybe he will be played in a 4-5-1 .
but thats the only scenario i can see him starting ..
May 26, 2008 at 7:55 am
I can’t help but think having Gilberto in the team would be a step backwards. We’ve already tried that & we wasn’t successful with him there alongside Cesc.
Gilberto is a model professional & a real genuine person both on & off the pitch & I have no problem Arsene keeping him as backup but certainly not first choice. Gilberto only really adds to the team at opposition set plays, he is particularly good in the air which we do lack, but when we have the ball, which is a large portion of any game he just isn’t very good. His short passing game is poor & he quite often gives away possession & causes play to break up.
I confess I’ve never seen Chantome play but if he’s the player he’s supposed to be then it would be a terrific signing. At 6′ tall he adds the height that Flamini didn’t, but from everything else I have read on him his game is similar to that of Flamini’s so he could well be a better player.
May 26, 2008 at 8:37 am
my point precisely GMR …
i think diaby - denilson are all a step back if they are trying to replace flamini .
like it or lump it .. our midfield wasnt really a concern this season gone ..
we needed to improve other areas ! but now we are spending too much time on damage control !
May 26, 2008 at 8:47 am
I agree wholeheartedly there GMR, Bertie is a top gent and a absolute credit to his profession and to Arsenal, but he’s not what we need in the middle of the park now as he’s quite simply not mobile enough and his passing is erratic at best…….
May 26, 2008 at 8:51 am
Someone made the point much earlier that every summer we end up buying players as replacements, we hardly ever seem to enhance or add to what we’ve already got.
May 26, 2008 at 8:55 am
You know, i wouldn’t put it past the wankers that are running our club that they are quite happy to lose one or two first teamers every summer, after all it would keep the wage bill down, and that’s what this club seems to be all about these days, do everything as cheaply as possible………..
May 26, 2008 at 8:58 am
DDM & ethan your avatars look…well. the same.
May 26, 2008 at 9:34 am
Yeah, i’ve just noticed that, bugga! I’ll change mine…….
May 26, 2008 at 9:35 am
heard ade going to barca for 25-30millin$ arsenal have started talks so if he goes surly we need villa or eto and not vela to replace him
May 26, 2008 at 9:36 am
thankyou…
better late than never