Morning Grovers!
First up… a record! Well played everyone, we nailed 1000 comments!
That is a massive achievement considering all we talk about is Arsenal all day long… It wasn’t so long ago that me and Geoff were high fiving over 17 comments in a day… oh how times have changed!
So well done to Geoff for a great post and well done to the Grovers for making this site the best place to be if you are Gooner!
So, what of the game?
Well, first things first. We’ve had a pretty poor summer Arsenal wise and it was going to be interesting to see how the gates would be affected by the poor start and the exodus of players…
Well, I can shamefully tell you all that the ground was disgracefully empty. Now before anyone tells me the compere said there was 61,120 people in the stadium… Let met tell you that the figure he shares is based on tickets sold. The Grove must have been below 56,000 last night and that is a real shame (Club Level and the normal seats were equally bad).
The starting line up looked a little like this:
Almunia
Sagna JD Gallas Clichy
Nasri Denilson Cesc Walcott
RvP Nik
Not a bad line up and in my eyes and all the right players had been dropped… sorry Ade/Kolo/Eboue.
The most apparent thing about our midfield was the lack of presence, they are like children out there… I originally thought it was just a height issue, but Nasri is 5ft11 apparently? I think it is more down to the lack of bulk. We don’t have and Essien or an Anderson… I hope Wenger takes that into account when signing a player.
The game went pretty much as planned… we over powered them with technical ability and held onto the ball nicely. Twente were a weak team and showed little imagination or interest in chasing the game.
There weren’t to many thrills and spills, so I’ll give you the player ratings and hopefully that will give you a good idea of where we stand.
Almunia: Had bugger all to do all day. 6
Clichy: Pretty quiet all game. He did a lovely back heel tackle in the first half which I though was pretty cool. Other than that, very muted. 6
JD: This guy attacks the ball unlike Kolo and Gallas. He has a major physical presence and a calmness on the ball Big Phil could only dream of… I really rate him and I hope he proves many doubters wrong. Solid performance and even a cheeky half volley to his name. I for one hope the partnership of Gallas and JD is a sign of things to come! 7
Gallas: Ok, I am in a minority here, but I rate him. He defended pretty well today and popped up for a goal after following in a Nikki B shot. He needs to regulate his attitude when things are going wrong, but there is no doubting his quality for me. 7
Sagna: Like his buddy Clichy, pretty quiet but with little to do… why over exert yourself? 6
Nasri: Picked the ball up outside the box, jinked inside, powered into the box and duffed it past the keeper. He also steamed into a couple of slide tackles without any regard for his safety… how unHleb like? Just what we need right! Oh… and incase you didn’t know… Hleb is struggling at Barca… mwhaha! After watching him a few times now, I can safely say this boy is going to be special. He is so much more interested in going forward than Hleb ever was. I love the way he pops up all over the park almost in a Pires like manner. 8
Denilson: Come on… do we really think this man has what it takes this year? Ok, so he set up Nik with a nice back heel… but lets not get all ‘Don’t you remember Eboue’s cross’ about this. He is not ready to take a starting berth. Maybe one day… but not now… buy someone for this century Arsene. 6
Cesc: A bit rusty today, but that is to be expected. Nice to have him back in the team… Nasri and Cesc look like brothers from afar (Geoff and I thought Cesc got the first). It is nice to have the ring master back in the team. 7
Walcott: Geoff said he was great… I said he was poor… Theo said I’ll have a goal and score it right in front of you and do it in a most Thierryesque way. Great goal, great effort and hopefully a sign of things to come. He looked hungry to prove the doubters wrong tonight and I think that goal will take a lot of pressure off his shoulders 10 (<- He is English so he gets a 10 ok?)… Just kidding. 7.5
RvP: Did a whole lot of nothing tonight. Shot wide with and open goal… hit a tame free kick… and that was about it. He didn’t get injured though! I don’t know what is up with RvP, is he trying to play in his comfort zone for protection? Is he low on confidence? Maybe he just needs a goal… come on RvP get it together man! 6
Nikki: Set up 2 goals and constantly tried to integrate himself into play. He even managed to get on the score sheet tonight after latching onto a Denilson back heel. Nik is a player that polarizes opinion… some say he is no more than a Championship player, some say he could be better than Ade. I think he is going to be a good player, lets see! 7
Subs
Ade: Came on to a chorus of boo’s/cheers… didn’t really do much in his limited minutes on the pitch. 6
Song: Played ok… got stuck in, but I’m still unsure of his role. Tonight he played in the defensive midfield role, but Arsene said he’d play CB? Lets see! 6
Eboue: Made a few nice runs, passed well and did ok by his standards. He was played out wide again… be thankful because that means the DM dream has died for Arsene. 6
So in conclusion, we played ok and got the job done. Lets remember though… we did it against a Steve Maclaren team… that is like beating an under 16′s team and bragging about it. I just hope Arsene doesn’t use this game as justification for a weak squad with a massive hole in the heart of the team.
Ade / RvP and Cesc all need to sharpen up in a speedy manner if we are to have any sort of impact on the Premiership. If Arsene signs a player, we need to pray he is a leader and a healthy leader at that.
Lots of work to be done, just be thankful we’ve banked £20million and pray Wenger spends it.
We’re back on track Grovers! Have a great day!
barca’s group C surely is the easiest!
Jason
If Wenger fucks up and we know he has the money would you want to see him get the boot?
Geoff and Pedro,
May I just congratulate you on sticking to your guns this summer and not taking the ‘I have no money’ line like many of your fellow bloggers.
I have just read the Fizman comments and it was extremely pleasing to read that we are in good shape financially and that Le Grove was correct all along.
Bravo.
El tel – are you sucking downs some kronenbourgs out in the garage?
imagine if chavski beat the spuds this weekend, they’ll have 3 losses on the board – gold!
however it would be better for a draw or spud win for us!
if Gallas and Djourou really link up as well as these early games have shown us(for the most part) and Wenger is not putting kolo in the middle i really wonder what he will do. Surely Kolo won’t be content without starting, and I honestly think Djourou has brought the best out of Gallas.
I also wonder why Vela has not been brought on more often? The lad had an outstanding pre-season and when we are loosing we bring CB’s on before a highly rated young striker.
I do think our defense looked better against Twente though.
El tel, without wishing to go against the current grain, I have to say that no I wouldn’t want him sacked.
I understand why he undertook the project and I can understand why he would pretend we are poor.
This would be the last season I would accept it though.
Next year, I would expect a return to business with experienced world class players on the agenda.
Would you sack him?
=70/227 in fantasy grove
Evo
151 / 112,453
Nice. Mine . . . not so nice.
Hi all.
I guess our summer will be here by November when Kiev arrive here….they won’t stay the distance in the heat!!! Not sure these Turk or Russkie sides perform well away from home, so predict 9 points from home games, and draws away. Unless Wenger decides to throw some points away like he did last term! Draw could have been better but I’ll take it.
Be interested to know the Mancs games after CL fixtures…bet they are all at home or local!!
Not sure about the Wiki link on the french guy….nothing real about this anywhere else yet. Besides he will take time to aclimatise to the physio room!
Looking forward to Saturday but have that niggling feeling about KK’s boys coming down here and AW ringing the changes back to his ol favs again!
de guzmans manager has said he isnt coming
seen a few people querying Vela not getting a run. I heard this was down to him having to travel to Meehico for international games and he wanted to give him a rest…… personally I want to see him play…think he has what we need on the edge of teh box as a forward, eye for that clinical pass to play people in, bit of trickery and scores goals.
Alex…I agree JD for me…but twente did not offer much so hard to judge how he is going to fair…I would play him….but pretty sure AW will revert to type…
Just seen on SSN, that henrik larssen is considering a move back to the PL at 36. 3 clubs interested. Did well for ManUre the other year as a cover player…wonder if he will offer the same for someone this time round.
i think someone has signed…who..i dunno !!
Arsene was supposed to be at the Worthing game to watch reserves, but it has been reported that he pulled out at the “last” minute due to “pressing” commitment.
hmmm
what could it be ???
Wolski – that sounds a plausible reason, i do want him to get on the pitch as well. the game against sevilla when he scored was good, it was a cracking goal!
GG -really?
that could be exiciting news!
Wolski – did you see larssons goal for sweden the other week, he is a freak!
Totally agree Evo. I think he will need the Carling Cup to get his games and prove himself to push for a starting place. Too many players in front of him at the mo until he gets some games under his belt and proves himself.
BTW don’t believe the TH rumour..I would be gutted if he pulled on that red top of manure…and there is no way he would be able to get in to have a medical without the press being all over it.
Evening all!
Can’t sleep so I thought Id join the night shift for a bit!
65/227
No..didn’t see it…..but the man knows where the net is. Wouldn’t mind having him on the bench as a supporting role personally..he just has that something…but at 36 he is not an AW sort of guy..
Pedro..would you take on larssen at 36..
I think that might be pushing it a little!
I think we have a pretty lively forward line… you wont be asking questions about strikers after RvP and Ade get their shooting boots on.
Ade plays off love, and no one loves him. RvP plays off confidence… which is lacking.
I think a couple of goals at the grove on saturday could see those two go on a spree!
Would you take him?
Personally no…but apparently 3 PL clubs interested…probably not got 90 minutes in him but at the same time would n’t like to see him come on against us….too many memories!!! He could do a job for the new boys or the likes of Citeh or Portsmouth.
i wouldnt take him because we have too many others, but i love him. wish he never left Celtic!
just watching SSN and the group review for the CL…..teh liverpool group is a mamma
oh well is that the time already..time to get my head down, get the last day of the working week out the way…then the geordies…..ah what a great time of the year!
how about joe hart the man citeh keeper saving 2 penalties, that’s bloody awesome!
to me the hardest game will be at fenerbahce,with sly old fox aragones now in charge,he knows all about fabregas,a hostile stadium with a capacity of over 50K and the longest journey of the 3 away fixtures.As already pointed out other teams will take points off each other and i can see 2 home wins and a draw with 1 away win 1 draw and 1 loss.We usually make it difficult for ourselves,but i am confident,just don’t want wenger to use the old chestnut of playing games away in europe are always followed by a difficult [pl game,in case we don’t win.If he had bought and had a bigger squad,that wouldn;t come into the equation.
By the way kiev only has a capacity of 19k so allocation of tickets might be sparse.
Kelsey, tough to disagree with that assessment, they have some really good players on their books and they play an a attacking brand of football not to dissimilar to ours.
The whole group is a bit of a nightmare if you ask me…
Only a few more days of the transfer window left… Wenger has been well and truly hung out to dry by Danny boy… in fairness though, the same thing happens every year! If its not danny denying financial ruin, it is one of the others!
The trouble is that the fenerbahce game is sandwiched between the away games at blackburn and bolton.rosicky wont be match fit by thenthough silvestre should be,adding experience to the squad.
This henry story I hope is exactly what I read pure speculation.He nearly failed his medical at barca,has an on going back problem and has lost a couple of yards of pace.the key is that he misses his daughter in London and believe me the spanish in barcelona are the rudest of any in Spain.Not a friendly enviroment for foreigners and they are a touch racist.
Senderos loan deal or whatever is strange,only in its timing.he will benefit from the slower pace,but why sell him now,it should have been done 2 years ago,he is not top PL quality but as cover he has more PL and CL experience than others and without buying and relying on others with less experience could backfire.i just hope the boss has a very long sleeve to pull at least 2 surprises on us let alone one,but my head is not too optimistic.
What henry story?
henry going to the mancs
AW said it wont happen; if he comes to England it will be to Arsenal. Daily Mail rubbish!
Morning all!
Henry would never, ever do that, it’s all bollocks.
Pedro the post is done and over to you for formatting, it won’t be up for a while grovers.
What Fizman said is totally fucked.
Goonerman, I agree with you,but the fact is i think he half regrets going to barca and he would come back to us if anyone in the pl,but my guess is that he will have one more season and then go to the states to play mickey mouse football for big bucks.
Morning all.
Half asleep……………
Until I read that Danny Fizman said AW can spend 30 mill on a player if he wants!!!
Do these guys ever stop sprouting shte?!!
iqwoo – are you saying he is a liar or got his facts wrong?
Exactly, Henry is a gooner, if he wants to play for Arsenal again we have the money to buy him back. All those AKB’s who kept saying we were skint…..we earn more than when at Highbury including all bills paid, and Wenger can choose who he wants to buy. The only reason why we wouldn’t get a top player in before the deadline is because Arsene doesn’t want to, Fiszman confirmed it, Wenger can buy whoever he wants.
As far as Kiev is concerned, they don’t have a massive stadium but CL state that they are obliged to allocate at least 5% of the ground to away fans meaning there will be approx 950 available. I phone Kiev today but all of them either refuse to or don’t speak English so I haven’t been able to find out more….I’ll just have to be patient and wait for the box office in London to open.
Geoff I was defending his case not saying he would go to the mancs,oh by the way good morning
He said: “If Arsene said to us, ‘I want this guy and he’s £30million, can I buy him?’ the answer is, ‘Yes’.
“Absolutely yes. It would be no problem. It’s not our decision who he spends on nor will it ever be. We back him totally.”
ORLY?
kelsey – I think you are right. He regrets leaving THE Arsenal.
He was the man; now he is simply a number at Barca with plenty of pressure on him. Arsenal fans would have treated him like Bergkamp in his ‘old age’.
Henry WILL NOT go to the mancs, it’s paper talk!! Just because red nose said he wouldnt mind having him at mancsville the papers jumped on the story.
No different to AW’s smirky response re Barry last week, arse.com even had a pic of Barry on the website with the quote… I dont see Barry in an arsenal shirt, do you?
but i dont really think we need any 30 million player.
Robinho is all big in his head right now. SWP has too much to prove.
I wouldnt mind if anyone we sign as the CDM comes good and stays fit. That position doesnt need supermen… and barry and alonso cannot influence the team as flamini did.
And both of them are fucking over rated and over priced. Nasri at 12 million looks like a real steal though.
It takes a genius like wenger to carry out his transfer business in the same scale as the yesteryears, defying the market dynamics, that shud be appreciated.
If the team plays like they did against fulham , yes manager is to blame…. but not for not buying.
Buying just for the sake of it isnt the solution and i completely agree with that.
NEW POST!