I’ve just got back from the game and although I am chuffed to bits about the result, I am by no means pleased about a lot of things though. If you want to read a report about how great our come back was, go somewhere else. My biggest concern is that this current team and the way it is being set up wont sustain a challenge this year.
Firstly the team selection…
Eboue played a whole season at right back and he did ok. So for me, if Sagna is injured, Eboue should cover.
Arsene put Song there, a defensive midfielder by trade… and not a great one at that. He was terrible in the first half.
If you have a right winger with the ability of Walcott but he is tired… you don’t put someone with the attacking ability of Eboue in his position.
Wenger put Eboue wide right.
Also, if Everton have a player as monstrous as Fellani in the middle of the park… surely putting Denilson in the team makes no sense? Denilson doesn’t have the strength and he doesn’t have the height to compete with players like that.
The first half was fucking woeful. Denilson looked so far out of his depth it was unfair. He was dispossessed by Osman then he didn’t track back so he missed the run of the Everton man who buried the return pass for the first goal. Stuff like that is midfield basics and it is shocking to see such mistakes at this level. He was poor for the whole half… passes going a stray, getting knocked off the ball and failing to pick up players in the middle.
For me, once a team has the beating of you in the middle of the park… you are going to struggle to control the game. Bar an RvP shot… not much happened up front. The fans were getting restless and the game finished 0-1 at half time.
The second half started with a forced change. Kolo went off with shoulder damage which forced Le Boss to bring on Theo and move Eboue to right back. He also moved Song over to his favoured second position in the middle of defence.
Now Arsenal looked like a team. The game began to flow our way almost immediately. Sammy boy spanked the ball low into the corner early on to get the ball rolling. 1-1 and we looked like we meant business.
Theo gave us a new dimension and gave the team an outlet other than Sammy. The passes started to connect and Everton didn’t really know what to do.
The second goal came from some great work in the midfield… the ball ended up with Ade who decided to cut back instead of shoot… he laid it off to Cesc who fired at Howard… the rebounded save looped up and RvP nodded it into the bottom left corner narrowly missing the boot of the incoming defender. 2-1 and a damn good job to.
The next incident came when Nasri collapsed just outside the Everton box. Nasri got up, but he looked in pain and was duly substituted.
Then something I hadn’t seen since I was a wee child… Diaby… fit and raring to go!
He was great as well… he is so skilful and he always want the ball at his feet. He was holding up play well and he showed good strength… for me, he makes Denilson look like a reserve… which in all fairness, at any other club wouldn’t be an insult. I think Arsenal fans have to pray to whichever footballing God owes them a favour… pray to him and beg that Diaby can make the jump this season.
He linked up with Theo well for the last goal… he played a one two with Theo and held his line like Adebayor could only dream of… laid it off to Theo who buried it precisely between Howards legs! Superb… it was great to see Messimars get a goal after taking an outrageous amount of flak after the England game.
We won the game 3-1 and it was a pleasing result. We showed great character to come back from 1-0 down against a resilient team but don’t be fooled… some weaknesses were exposed today and they need addressing.
Denilson is not good enough at the moment. His sloppy play inhibits our ability to attack and defend. Cesc doesn’t want to get forward in case the young Brazilian drops a clanger and the defence are always on edge because he doesn’t know how to track and he quite often gets out muscled. I hate to say it… but why sell Berto? He may have been poor last year… but if I was booted out of a team in the fashion Berto was I’d probably have trouble raising my game. There were limitations to his game, but he’d be doing a far better job than Denilson at the moment.
I have no problem promoting youth when it is exceptional talent… but for me players like Denilson (Does he represent Brazil at U21 level? Did he get in the Olympic Squad?) and Song are not exceptional talent… hey, they might be in 3 painful years time… but do we really want to wait that long? I thought that getting into a top 4 team was supposed to require a bit of hard work? I didn’t know the deal was you sign at 17 and then get in regardless of how ready you are.
I mean Denilson isn’t even close to being a great player… so why is he entertained for the first team? What sort of a message does it send out? If Arsene rates you… you’ll get played and played and played until you come good? I thought the Arsenal motto was ‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough’… maybe it should read, ‘If I think you have potential, but you’re not quite ready, I’ll keep you in there till you are good enough’.
Think of the great midfielders we’ve had… Petit, Overmars, Gilberto, Parlour, Edu… I mean even the Grimster would do a better job than Denilson.
I think Wenger needs to realise that there are only so many times he can pull the ‘Lets take a striker and play him in defence’ trick… if you buy a defender, play him in defence… stop assuming our players are good enough to play anywhere.
Song is either a centre back or a defensive midfielder. He is not a right back and it is really unfair to put him there. The same for Eboue… stop persisting with him out wide… he is a right back cover at best. As for Diaby… I pray we never see him out wide again.
Theo is 19… if he is too tired to play… there is something seriously wrong there. If you can’t play him… put Vela, Wilshere or Ramsey there. We all know what they can do and that is a hell of a lot more than Eboue can.
Finally… I do wish Arsene would stop underestimating crap teams. We are the only team in the Prem who don’t seem to ever have tactics. We just play our game and hope for the best… why don’t we nullify opposition players or at least pick a team capable of matching another teams strengths? This current crop of kids isn’t as good as any of our previous teams… they need tactics… they need guidance. I don’t think they are getting that at the moment.
Good news is this… Samir Nasri will banish the ghost of Hleb, Silvestre looks like a supremely astute signing, Eboue played well at right back, RvP is so close to going on a helluva scoring run, Ade played very unselfishly (offside too many times though), Cesc played with a lot of purpose today and we secured 3 points against a good team.
The fact still remain that there are 3 other great teams we are competing with… we need to start upping it otherwise we are going to find ourselves getting punished when we start playing the big boys.
At the end of the day a victory is a victory. I am reporting from the perspective of someone who wants us to challenge for the title this year and currently I can’t see that and apparently, nor can Cesc (or Theo).
We were all pleased that he came out and said what he said in the week… but he didn’t deny the comments did he? He knows we’re not winning anything with Denilson in the middle of the park and he knows that with a few injuries we are already down to bare bones. Plenty of Arsenal fans talk about having patience… well, when the golden boy of the project has had enough… is it any surprise a vast majority of the Gooner faithful have as well?
People talk about us selling Thierry Henry and how it was great for the club that we sold him because he was inhibiting the youngsters. No one ever points out the reason he behaved as he did in the last season… he didn’t like playing with what he believed to be players beneath him.
How wrong would I be if I said that maybe Cesc is starting to feel that way? All your mates in the national team are playing with world class players… and you’re lining up with kids. You could say he is forgetting his routes… maybe you’re right, but he would have a got a chance anywhere he went because he is a top talent… he doesn’t need to offer us Charity and I think Arsene needs to realise that.
World class players like playing with world class players… even if they don’t win anything at least they know their club gave it a good go by signing the best they could.
The attraction of playing for a big club is trophies, not critical acclaim for pretty football.
Anyway, have a great Sunday Grovers!
1st
wooo!
1st!
)
The most shocking thing about yesterdays game was Wengers decision to play song at rb and eboue rm-what was he thinking! Song was not comfortable there at all and we conceed a goal from that side!
back to the reading now.
fantastic post!!!!
Near the top?
Sorry it was a bit of a long one… but there was a lot to get through today.
If Arsene doesn’t think Eboue is good enough cover for Sagna – why sell Hoyte?
Nice post! Right on the spot.
I know it was the NOTW but the Cesc story is very worrying
And you cant blame him, He was loving his football alongside Flamini last year, but this year his game has affected by trying to fill a Ferrari with chip fat, Denilson and Song just arent good enough. I just hope that either Diaby or hopefully a Jan signing is good enough to allow Cesc to do what Cesc does best.
I said it last night, I know everyone has their own opinion and some think that Song or Denilson could be the answer but for me…..No Chance
We need a Keane, Gerrard, Vieira, Makele, Essien type player in their prime, we are supposedly a Top Four Club challenging for honours, and you cant do that by playing joe average in what is probably the most important position on the pitch.
I too am pleased with the 3 points yesterday, I hope it is the stepping stone to a bit of a run, but I repeat what I said yesterday, I am at the lowest point in faith of Arsene Wenger since he came to the club yesterday, and before people start abusing me for that, it is not a reaction to another pants performance, it is a culmination of events and more importantly lack of events of the last few years and it culminated when I realised that Song was playing RB yesterday.
You dont fuck with your back four and you dont experiment, especially with someone with the trickery of Pienaar on the pitch. especially when as you rightly post we had Vela, Wilshire and Ramsey available to fill RM so that Eboue can play his rightful position at RB.
Blimey Pedro, there was a lot of pain in that blog! I agree though, Song is shit, Denilson isn’t good enough to start and Eboue is only good as cover at right back.
Thank you….i’m completely fed up with the constant playing of players out of position. I don’t mind traing these players to be multi skilled/positioned but there is a limit. Sagna injured, fine, Eboue can finally return to RB and do a solid job for us again. But, no, lets put the RB at RW, the CM at RB?????? Then a CM comes on for Sammy and is played LW….????I really am getting fed up with it, I just cannot believe AW does these things. The team was so unbalanced it just didn’t happen first half….repeats will cost us a healthy title challenge and that concerns me…..as per your article we all know it concerns young Cesc too. I think our actions now, and throughout the season will go along way to determining whether or not Cesc decides this really is the club he wants to comit his carear to. Good result lads.
spot on about dennilson….he looked clueless. But song at right back made me lose interest in watchin the game.
Damn straight Geoff… but we said it all before the game started… it was a weak line up and it showed with our performance in the first half.
Pat, it’s the same with this post… it’s not reactionary because we’ve all been thinking the same things for weeks now.
I think diaby was superb when he came on. And denilson should never play alongside cesc again.
by the pedro/Geoff…who was captain after kolo went off. Another thing,i believe RVP is gonna explode soon…the guy really fought even tho he missed some few chances.
I think it went to Cesc?
Pedro i had a good look at cesc but he didnt have it on his arm……or maybe he tucked it in his pocket. After seeing diaby yesterday..i feel denni boy should be rested….the guy is so huge and the ball sticks to his feet like glue….diaby for DM!!!
I think you right in many respects. Most of the time I find myself asking why-o-why does AW keep doing this to us. IMO there is no real reason not to buy any experienced player in a key positions. They don’t even have to be ‘super’ quality, just someone who knows their role and is able to perform 7/10 times.
I, like you, fear that if AW keeps this up, Cesc will leave. It doesn’t take a genius to know that my beloved Arsenal aren’t able to challenge with the current squad. We are paper thin. Also, Ade annoys me the most, he is a striker that plays like an floating mid. Just watch where he plays, you will always see him deep or on either flank. The only time he gets close enough to the box is on a counter-attack, and he still manages to miss or fire straight towards the keeper.
I think Denilson should go on loan and let Diaby or even Ramsey (who is much more confident and able) fill that spot.
My alternate line up would be:
Almunia
Sagna-Silvestre-Gallas-Clichy
Theo-Cesc-Nasri-Vela OR Theo-Cesc-Diaby-Nasri
RVP-Eduardo (can’t wait)
Just to try something new, because now-a-days Ade isn’t even in the box to be THAT target man we need. But it’s not all doom and gloom, we just need an experienced leader in the current squad to step up (or be installed).
Thanks for reading my rant.
G4L
There is this news that cesc has rejected a new contract offer of 90,000k a week.
thats was damn good thing….! i stand with you with the fab issue, i wont be sacred if he is gone, he has snabed a 90,000 deal, he want to see what barca and real are offering….? a year back he said he regrets having signed so many years here, i think we gonna have our best players go if we dont have anything for them…. i will miss him, just like i miss berto, Tit,pires….
For those of you who want Diaby in for Denilson, you have to remember that Diaby is more of an attacker than Denilson and cant tackle to save his life! Denilson definitely needs to improve on his defensive side, he is lazy at tracking back and not naturally defensive minded.
Morning all, top notch post Pedro
I commented last season that I thought Denilson was poor and got a bashing, suggesting he was injured and could not be judged, and that he would be class – well he is not injured, he is playing and for me he is very poor!! Having seen what Ramsey did in midweek, and I know he is even younger, but he has much more of a footballing brain, and seems a bit stronger – why not play him??
Bischoff – I know he needs to get match fit, well when he is – surely he would be better – even Coquelin has more of a tackle on him that Denilson…….
Diaby – my word I pray he stays fit now, because Cesc needs him, he is the best we have to play alongside Cesc – he can tackle and keeps the ball, a run of games would give him more confidence, and just maybe he will be our saviour….
Cesc is tied up with us until 2014 i think, why would he want to extend his contract, if AW doesnt bring in the right players in either January or next summer, he will be gone anyway, so whats the point in looking much further…………
Oh – and Song, I dont think he is fit, he looks slow, laboured and overweight, AW talks about sharpness every blessed interview, well Song is not sharp, sluggish, but not sharp!
Looks like cesc is doing an Ade……. cant be arsed with all this bullshit again
kenny i agree,
when ade did what he did this summer it paved the way for everyone else to follow his example-once again it will be the supporters who suffer.
Tuesday – my hopes would be
Almunia
Eboue Silvestre JD Clichy
Theo Diaby Cesc Nasri (Ramsey is Nasri out)
RvP Vela
I have tried to be positive about ADE, but yesterday, he was shocking!
I know RvP is struggling to, but at least he is shooting and giving it a go, he only needs to go on a little run of goals, and we will see the real him
I think the NOTW are wrong in one respect
They say that Cesc is not signing as he wants to see what Real and Barca will offer.
I dont think this is a money issue, it is an ambition issue. Arguably Cesc has benefitted more than anyone in this youth experiment, and if all of the youth experiment players were as good as Cesc, I dont think we would have a problem with it, but they are not.
I dont think we are far away.
I for one am happy with Almunia, and I know we have a fucking awesome understudy coming through in Fabianski
I think we are more than covered at the back now, I just wish Wenger would stop playing his favs. Djourou has to be given his chance when fit. Toure is sadly not what he was. Eboue is a great backup for RB and to be honest he would get in 95% of other premiership teams starting in that role. I personally only see Bosingwa and Sagna ahead of him.
I think we are covered out wide in Nasri, Theo, Vela, Wilshire and Rosicky when he comes back.
The problem is CM. For me we currently only have Cesc of a good enough standard. Denilson and Song should be in the reserves or on the bench. Diaby is promissing but again is he actually a good enough player in that position to be able to win us something. He is my first choice alongside Cesc though. I think we need a Defensive Midfield powerhouse. Maybe Yaya and once that is in place and you have that quality, it is not so doom and gloom to be able to rest Cesc from time to time and play Ramsey. Mark my words, as it stands Cesc will be burnt out by March.
Upfront concerns me, I know RVP scored yesterday but he still does not convince me that he will be a 20 goal a season striker. Ade is affected by the summer and I think his only thoughts are on next summer. Nic is ok but again he would not get a game at Liverpool, Chavski and Manure. Likewise Vela but we have too few NOW players and too many FUTURE players. I just hope Eduardo returns to form quickly. I still would like to see a world class striker to come in. I would have loved Etoo in the Summer. Some have mentioned Zaki but you have to be wary of that 1st season premiership syndrome similar to Santa Cruz who is struggling to repeat the feat this season.
Excellent post Pedro,Denilson is a typical brazilian reserve player,he is too lightweight and defensively he is awful.personally I think Adebayor gets worse with every game,when did you last see him strike a ball accurately from outside the box,his only use is od nuisance value.
As you said Pedro,how in gods name did Wenger pick that starting line up,that is the biggest worry.
With regards to tabloids cesc is contracted until 2014 and is reportedly refusing a 2 year extension.not bothered about that,I would be delighted if he stayed until 2014(which he won’t)
more concerning is that the club is letting Theo’s contract run down(18 months left) and they need to offer him a new deal quick or we will be raped again by the big fish.
great great post! Haven’t posted in a while but I have to say that you really are spot on! Children say “we must have patince”, because they don’t want to think they can offer something and …Well. they just don’t want to think. But the simple truth is there are some real flaws to Arsene’s thoughts of the game. Some real diabloical positioning. So happy you guys cut through the shit and say it how it is!
Anyone at the ground what was the misiles and coin throwing from above the everton fans all about.Is unemployment bringing back the ugly face of thuggery and holoiganism back to football.Villa yesterday as well.
was silvestre good in the air yesterday? do u guys now think its him plus toure or gallas from now on?
I think AW gets it so wrong, Yesterdays team was not about playing Everton, it was about who he is going to play against Fenerbache – Why can he not just peck the right side for the team we are playing ‘today’
Its the same when he buys players, he buys them for next year, or the following year, Well Arsene, you need to start getting some players for today!! Otherwise, you wont need to worry about who to play in the ECL – ‘cos we wont be in it!!!
look the honest to god truth is we still do not have a number one DM in the team. Diaby will work till January (as long as he stays fit) but if we are to contend we need to spend for a great DM and with Theo Cesc and Nasri we could be unstopable again.
I think wenger is having a brain fab at the moment,how the hell did he play song at rb when we have eboue who plays there before sagna came.Silvester looks good but we can’t tell yet cos this is his first game for us.
Pedro. spot on with the post
i was at the game aswell and the fans around me just couldnt think of any logical reason to poy Song on the right side of Diffence.
not only that non of the starting 11 could say they was tired as non of them plaid 2 games for there natinal team.
there wasnt 1 challange on Fellani when they hoofed the ball up to him. it was shocking. i was happy with silvest tho. he was pritty solid
to play Song i mean**
Another thing, if Djourou had concussion, why was he driving past us in the Blackstock road in his 500SL Mercedes, I wouldn’t have thought that was legal?
also why not play HJ in Center with Silvest and then play Kolo on the right. instead of “Dont have a Qlue Song”
Hate to see Cesc go.. dont think he will any time soon.
Diaby is the answer in central midfield if he can stay injury free..
Denilson is adequate back up and feel he will be excellent in a year or two.
Can Sylvestra play in that holding role?
Never want to see Song at right back ever again! Brain explosion Wenger?
Defence still our primary issue.
Looking forward to seeing Edwardo back.
I posted this idea several weeks ago – AW has been kidnapped and David PLeat has had plastic surgery and is currently impersonating him as part of a master plan to destroy our club.
I can’t think of any other explanation why this man who was so brilliant for the first 6 years has morphed into some kind of antichrist. It all began as we moved into the Emirates.
I don’t believe AW would have made the ‘match winning’ changes if he hadn’t been forced into it by Kolo’s injury, and I think we would probably have lost the game as a result.
I can’t disagree with any of the comments on here today and its as plain as the nose in your face. OK the squad is light on size and experience, we have to live with that for the time being but to persist with players who aren’t good enough when there are better options and then to play others out of position id madness!
nice post pedro.
only extra info i would add was Edu was never good. he was rubbish too. likeable bloke with charisma, but he was rubbish.
Pedro, excellent post! Watching the 1st half was painful, but with the unfortunate injury to Toure, forcing Arsene’s hand, the team was swicthed around and it suddenly was morer balanced. Up to then, the only positive thing was it seemed that Toure plays better with Silvestre than Gallas, not running into each etc. Silvestre looks like a bargain buy (£750k?) and accross the whole game I think he won at least 90% of the headers in the air, I quite like the look of him. Talking to the boys sitting around me at the game in half time and asking who would they like Wenger to buy in January, majority responded with Gareth Barry, some wanted both Gareth and Alonso? Saying that though, I would have liked to have seen both Vela and Ramsey at some point during the game. Why wasn’t Ade replaced by Vela and Denilson by Ramsey? I’m not the Manager I suppose, but if everyone else sees what Pedro says, how come the Manager doesn’t?
I thought Edu was a real classy player and he was a big loss after he left.
Admittedly he was crap for the first few years… but that last season he was really good.
Strong, skillful and reliable.
Evo
ill have to disagree with u there mate. Edu was a good player for us and worked hard. he had a good touch and a eye for a killer pass. not to mention a decent Free kick taker. but he also had a little work horse in him to get the ball back. even tho he was Brazilan there was somthing not so Brazilan in his style of play.
i was sad to see him leave when he did as he was a good player for us
Pedro
Spot on.
edu cost us the CL game against the chavs. never forgive him for that rubbish performance
Yeah, I think Edu was great. Hard, crunching type. He would hit an opo player then look like butter wouldn’t mealt in his mouth. And also he was the catalyst for Sir-Fur-on-Tongue kicking the boot @ Beckham after the F A Cup game @ the theatre of patheticness(is there such a word)
when we went on and won it.
Gunners,
Now everybody is agreeing with me on Wenger. I had always said that the guy makes too many mistakes and is not humble enough to admit them. Y’all saw that yesterday, so I don’t need to repeat the obvious. For me the team is still not a playing unit. They give too much space around the midfield and outside their own box. This is down to
;
a) Poor midfield play by Dennilson
b) RVP not linking back good enough
c) The defenders not closing up, leaning back rather than attacking the ball.
For all the criticism of Ade, you have to love his decision making which led to the second goal. Blame the coach, because he should have replaced Ade after that second goal. Another AW problem, keeping faith with players against realities on the ground.
Song is not shit. He was payed out of position. Though he has his drawback-mainly pace, his positional play is very good. Am not saying that he should hold the DM position, but what are our options? Bischoff will need to be assessed, but Ramsey is an attacking mid, not a DM. I still think playing Toure as a mid fielder is not a bad idea, but I have heard Groovers say he does not have the stamina? That will be surprising because he shows clearly that he has pace, can hold the ball, pass and shoot. For January we should be looking for a beast of a DM, nothing short of that. We should also be looking for a Tall defender. Are those quality available? The jury is out.
I will like to stay practical. At least for now we cannot buy, so I will like the best lineup that we can present at any point in time. Diaby holds the ball very well. I hope that if he plays the DM role he will not hold the ball too long and he will not be tempted to run ahead of Cesc all the time like Dennilson.
Am really not too bothered about all this Cesc story. With or without Cesc, there will always be Arsenal and we will always support our team. I hate it when top players complain about their club in the media. Players come and go. Ramsey can replace Cesc and to be honest, we should be planning for Cesc leaving. No very good Spaniard stays for long in the top 4 prem teams.
SkandiBird.
the reason Vela wasnt plaid was Becos he was in Mexico playing for the national team and then playd in Canada after that.
so by the time he comes back to london would have been somthing like Friday and that means abit of jetlag. wenger dont like playing the players after they have flown half way around the world. its a shame as i wanted Vela aswell.
also what i heard about the national teams in south america is what they do is Link up in there native land then fly out. after they have plaid there games in another country they have to fly back to there native land before they can fly back to the clubs. its odd and clocks up more flight time
….does that beat a CL exit evo:?:
fromw hat i can remember about the CL exit was that they was Lucky with getting a goal at the last min. it was our fualt in not killing them off. as remember the first leg game at the Brige we let in a stupid stupid early goal with a diffensive mistake witch ment we was chasing the game from the start.
Edu wasnt the problem it was the team
If Diaby plays like he did yesterday, he should start every game. I don’t see him as a Vieira type or a DM he is naturally more attacking.
I’m not sure how the chemistry would work in midfield next to Cesc – we have plenty of attacking midfielders, how many ‘playmakers’ can a team support. I still think that in time, Ramsey could be the answer, but he too is more of an attacking playmaker.
It is right to think beyond Cesc as much as I love the guy, and maybe by trying too hard to accommodate him we are blind to other options?
Some interesting ideas here. Why doesn’t anyone identify one of our main problems – our so-called captain Gallas. I think this team started to lose it when Eduardo was savaged in Birmingham and Gallas showed precisely who he is. He should never have continued as captain after that. AW’s team selection yesterday was frightening (and that’s an understatement).
I think Nasri is a great player and can easily replace Hleb, even if he was one of my favourites, but we don’t seem to have anyone like Flamini (who is really starting loads of matches for Milan – sarcasm). We have to find an aggressive midfielder, otherwise we are for it.
jeanette
the Captin Debate has come and gone most of us all agree that Gallas is not the man to lead the team.
but i would like to beg the question why would one of ur Favs be a player that gave a ridiculously poor return of 11 goals in 3 years for a so called attacking Midfielder?
Wenger has lost the plot completely ..
Song at right back is the joke of the century .. run close by Eboue as a left winger
does he have no confidence in a Toure/Song pairing.. is it Toure??
if so, and after yday’ s 2nd half perf, it appears to be so, dont play him anymore
Song/Silvestre had a solid game and won headers ..
Eboue is a good rb as a matter of fact, but he is not any of the other 10 players that Wenger wants him to be
Wenger doesnt listen to anybody anymore .. he is in a world of his own..and thats not a good one right now ..
its about time Fiszman shows him the yellow card .. and even then the red one cant be far off
there are reports that cesc turned down arsenal contract….
haha for any of u guys who was at the match. do u rememebr the part were the Job Seekers was having it off with either the police or the arsenal fans in the second half???
wacth this
http://www.nsno.co.uk/news.php?item.3860.1
been talking about the Captain situation for weeks. I dont think Gallas should be captain but I struggle to think of anyone else who is classed as a regular member of the starting 11 that can do it. We are painfully short of leaders in the Squad.
When we buy a CM player in Jan (Surely we would be crazy not to) we have to look at one who has leadership as an attribute.
Also good to bring back Edu’s name earlier, I loved Edu and personally I thought he was unlucky to be at the club whilst we had Vieira as he struggled to get a look in. Tell you what though, he was better than Diaby, Denilson and Song…..by a mile. For me that is when it all started to go wrong……when we allowed Vieira and Edu to leave in the same Summer. That is when Wenger started to dismantle experience and class.
If you read what Cesc said about Hleb, you will understand why.
Just because the Gallas question has been discussed doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep an eye on it.
raif – Vela was actually on the sub bench, warming up before the game with Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs, Gavin Hoyte and Theo and 2nd half approx 20 mins to play he was warming up, unless it was his twin?
I must say I was shocked to see Song at right back. Eboue should be playing there is best defensively there & thats why it worked better in the second half. But my fear is Wenger wont be seen to change it next time. Anyway 3 points against a half decent side. Bring on tuesday…..p.s gwan Theo!
The Gallas question isn’t too important… he is a world class player, and if he isn’t leading, someone else should takeover… teams of yesteryear had 4-5 leaders on the pitch… this one doesn’t have any really.
No one else has the ability to step up… so unless we buy someone in, we are stuck with Gallas.
The bigger concern is that we don’t have the same quality as last year… and we could be in for a very poor few months if Diaby doesn’t step up.
Diaby may be attack minded, but he has the pace to track back and he is better aerially than Denilson. I also think he possesses more quality.
I really hope Nasri isn’t out too long.
Cesc denial is on the web already.
morning all..
hah raif.. that was comical…
well the game was typically arsenal wasn’t it.. give away a cheap goal..and spend the rest of the match trying to win it.. why can’t we go at the opposition right from the start… ?
haha no rest for fab even on sunday!
Cesc Fabregas has dismissed reports that he has turned down a new contract as “mischief-making”.
It was suggested in Sunday’s newspapers that the Spanish midfielder had refused a deal, perhaps paving the way for a move away from Emirates Stadium. However the 21-year-old has flatly denied the story.
“A newspaper report suggesting that I have rejected a new contract is untrue,” he said.
“The article is just mischief-making. Everybody knows I have a long-term contract and that I am happy here. I’m focussed on doing my best for Arsenal.”
Apologies for the slightly over the top post yesterday, i just sometimes get annoyed when people slag off the team within 10 mins of a game, it seems fashionable to have a pop at the moment.
It annoys me that it also seems to happen in the stadium, we should be getting behind the team, not moaning and slagging off players.
I could see as much as everybody else that we were shite in the first half, but it cant be helpful to players confidence when all they hear is moans and groans everytime there is a misplaced pass.
I agree totally with the post – Denilson is not even close to being good enough for Arsenal, he cost us another goal yesterday with poor positional play, and then failing to track the guy he had already lost.
Unfortunately at the moment, we dont have anyone who closes the opposition down quickly, and snaps into tackles to win the ball back, and as much as i dont want to say it – we badly miss Flamini.
On the positive side, Clichy was excellent, Nasri was very good and Silvestre won more headers yetserday than Gallas and Toure have all season.
Good post.
Although it continues what what 90% of have been saying that we were understrength.
Wenger’s really starting to get to the blinkered faithful. A loyal AKB who has sat in front of me for 12 yrs & gets pissed off at any critism yesterday had his head in hands when their 1st goal went and said;
” I just don’t know what he’s doing anymore”
And after some of the mad decisions with tactics & round pegs in square holes etc, no fuckin wonder.
some sunday laughs
BENTLEY: CAPELLO WAS RIGHT TO DROP ME
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/08/10/19/SOCCER_Bentley.html
Just watching the game again, why the heck does Ade always run the wrong side of the defender – twice towards the end, had he have run the other side, he would have been one on one with Howard – and could have scored
now cesc says contract story is mis-chief making by tabloids…..whats wrong with all these tabloids reporting….who do we trust..?????
Silvestre did look very assured yesterday… he dropped a bit of a clanger in the second half, but for his first game, I thought he looked good. He’s not interested in passing it out of defence…he just clears it. He could prove to be a very clever signing.
How confident are we in this defence:
Eboue Song Silvestre Clichy
They looked ok in the 2nd half… but how would you feel if we had to go for any prolonged period with that back 4?
Some good points, but some of the criticism here is OTT.
Regarding Nicklas Bendtner not getting in Liverpool’s team, that may be true following them signing Robbie Keane (however i’m sure he would feature in most games), however i’m certain there wouldn’t be one team in the Premiership that wouldn’t love to have him in their squad. He’s a fantastic young striker, and we should be glad he’s with us rather than one of our rivals.
Denilson is too raw to play alongside Cesc, but has a lot of ability, so should be carefully groomed for the role rather than thrown in the deep end. Abou Diaby will have to do for now, and then in January hopefully we’ll do what we had all Summer to do and buy a proper DMF replacement. Yaya Toure would be perfect.
Almunia/Fabianski
Clichy/Silvestre
Gallas/Alex Song
Toure/Djourou
Sagna/Eboue
Nasri/Vela
YAYA TOURE/Diaby
Fabregas/Ramsey/Denilson
Rosicky/Walcott/Wilshere
Van Persie/Eduardo
Adebayor/Bendtner
Is it just me that thinks that with the addition of Yaya Toure that looks a pretty fucking good squad?
B Team
Fabianski
Silvestre
Djourou
Song
Eboue
Vela
Ramsey
Diaby
Walcott
Bendtner
Eduardo
Reserves: Wilshere, Denilson, Fran Merida, Randall, Gibbs, Barazite etc…
Doesn’t look too shabby to me?
I, for one, still have faith we could see something special from Arsenal this season when we have Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby, Carlos Vela and Eduardo integrated back into the team. I admit i’ve been a little disappointed with our form so far, but remain optimistic we’ll stay within reach of the top and come strong in the second half in the season.
Wenger is an idealist..i think he wets his pants watching,thinking abt the Ajax team of the 70s…thats the reason he keeps playing players out of position. hoping to discover the next ajax…hope he can prove me wrong but seriously i think we have a better chance of becoming the next newcastle though
James:
Send me some of that stuff you take
James, Nik B is a top striker. He is creative, unselfish and a pretty sharp finisher. He is only a year older than Walcott… and I expect him to make a big impact this year.
I make you right… we are only 1 maybe 2 players from being a top team… it’s just a shame that one player needs to play in CM. You can’t have a make shift middle pairing…
I like Yaya, but he always seems a bit slow to me? A poor mans Paddy… I wouldn’t say no… but I wouldn’t get too excited.
I think David Beckham will come to us on loan, once LA Galaxy season ends soon, rumour has it he will be training with us and he wants to play competitive footie in EPL, he and AW are very good friends, and I reckon he will want to play at Arsenal -
Yeah Yaya looks assured but isn’t the most mobile of midfielders, especially considering how fast we go from defence to attack and back again.
Yesterday was funny reading through the comments, it’s like two different sites before and after the Nasri goal, is it always like that here ?!
I thought Clichy was fantastic yesterday, I know he doesn’t look like much of a leader… but he was screaming at Adebayor to get back onside after we conceded a freekick… really shouting at him!
For me, he is the epitome of what an arsenal player should be. Skilful, committed and extremely fit. Probably my favourite Arsenal player these days.
I also thought Ade was ok yesterday… he is really trying hard to get others involved in the play. It doesn’t always work… but you have to give him credit… he is trying to improve.
Cesc Fabregas has dismissed reports that he has turned down a new contract as “mischief-making”.
It was suggested in Sunday’s newspapers that the Spanish midfielder had refused a deal, perhaps paving the way for a move away from Emirates Stadium. However the 21-year-old has flatly denied the story.
“A newspaper report suggesting that I have rejected a new contract is untrue,” he said.
“The article is just mischief-making. Everybody knows I have a long-term contract and that I am happy here. I’m focussed on doing my best for Arsenal.”
[Sunday, October 19, 2008]
If Beckham come to Arsenal Rico, I’ll never go again until he’s gone.
People slate Gallas and compare him to Adams, but Adams wasn’t just a great Captain he had players around him who stepped up aswell and that’s what we need the team needs to step up as a whole.
Fabregas last time around, Clichy this time, Nasri’s always about and Toure needs that spark he’s had before, even Denilson fighting for the ball with Fellaini in the second half just before Hibbert fouled him.
right i am sorry but its getting beyond a joke now…… if this stuff really is untrue can we not do somethign about this. in America you could sue this newspaper for about 1 billion dollars………….
Geoff can you start a petition NO BECKHAM if the rumours build up please?
This happens every week dude, the papers always have ways around it and they’ll quote a source close to Fabregas or an insider and suchlike, don’t you get that in America ?!
Guys, leave it to me, like we need a 33 year old has been, what is Capello thinking, really what can he offer England now, apart from Bobby Moores record, fucking joke.
So we won’t buy Alonso or Barry, but we’ll have Beckham instead, oh yeah, even Wenger wouldn’t do that.
Kenny, if you say ‘a source close to’… you can write pretty much whatever you want.
It is probably agent talk… if they are renegotiating, they will want to get a better deal than Ade.
im not american im just saying using america as an example. Geoff can u start a petition against tabloid newspapers.
Geoff, I think the Arsene quotes were just regarding training.
Yeah i know what u mean pedro but it sucks. So does that mean if i say a source close to me says i have a 12 incher does that mean its true if i dont move quickly to rubbish the speculation? haha.
A source close to me says david becham is shite.
It’s down to shirt sales, the FA didn’t sell enough when they (England) didn’t qualify, so they need to wheel Beckham out to keep the sales up to pay for that ploughed field with stands around it..
Pretty much Kenny. If newspapers only reported on fact, they wouldn’t sell many!
So why would we want him anywhere near our training ground? If you wanted to learn free kicks then Henry was the one.
Our season went pear shaped last time he came over, he’s a fucking Judas, and he probably accuse our staff of selling his kit on Ebay.
this is just enough evidence saying he is gone, end of. i blame wenger for it cesc is gone all these people saying they are not reading into it well you better believe it hes going
how much do you think we will get for him?
its got to at least be 50 mill plus we have ramsey
This Zaki chap seems to be a bit of a superstar!
comebacks against the likes of everton & sunderland? you gotta be kidding!
unless its a top 4 team… i’m not having any of it!
kill the game fast & clinically.
struggling times ahead, guys.
yeah pedro.. he sure is looking the part!
i dont think sunderland was a comeback!
comeback was last season.. against bolton
thats another point song and denilson would not get in any other team in the top 4 so why do we have to put up with them they cost arsenal week in week out time for them to go
bring in ramsey for denilson and put eboue back in his original place.put up with song as c.b untill toure is bk or even gallas
Ballon d’Or Nominees
We have cesc and adebayor, liverpool torres and gerrard, chelsea ballack drogba lampard and man u ronaldo rooney vidoc
Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Togo.
Sergio Agüero (Atletico Madrid), Argentine.
Andreï Archavine (Zénith Saint-Pétersbourg), Russia.
Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Germany.
Karim Benzema (Lyon), France.
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus Turin), Italy.
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Spain.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Portugal.
Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Ivory Coast.
Samuel Eto’o (FC Barcelone), Cameroon.
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Spain.
Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC), Spain.
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC), England.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Sweden.
Kaka (Milan AC), Brazil.
Frank Lampard (Chelsea), England.
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelone), Argentina.
Pepe (Real Madrid), Portugal.
Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich), France.
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), England.
Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Spain.
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Spain.
Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Italy.
Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Netherlands.
Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg SV puis Real Madrid), Netherlands.
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Netherlands.
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Serbia.
David Villa (Valence CF), Spain.
Xavi (FC Barcelone), Spain.
Youri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscou), Russia.
sorry choy, my humble definition of a “comeback” is that we salvage at least a point from the game.
ronaldo for sure
okie…
great post! wenger is a terrible tactician,
and imo makes many tactical/positional mistakes on a very regular basis,
denilson, eboue and song -would any of these even make the bench for chelsea manu or liverpool? DEFINATELY NOT!
SkandiBird.
i think u missed read what i said fella. i NEVER said he wasnt on the bench. i said WENGER dosent like playing players after they have been far away on natinal duty. thats why he didnt get a run out.
read comments properly next time
This time last season, I really started to think we could go on and win the league.
This season…. I have no such faith. I really wish I did, but the way we are playing, with players being played out of position, like Song and, lets face it, Denilson too, I cant see us doing anything, well, except maybe the kids winning the carlin Cup if we get good draws!
Diaby has to come in now in place of Denilson, I know some dont see Diaby as a DM, but his physicalo prsence has got to be an improvement on Denilsonh who is half the Invisible wall nickname of an ageing Gilberto; the invisible bit!
I hope Djourou gets a go too as soon as he recovers from his bang on the head as he for me can be the top commanding CB we need.
Hope Im well wrong…. usually am!
Every one. look at this excellent Link.
http://www.eatfootball.net/opinion_images/Image/right_said_arsene.jpg
Denilson got out played and out fought by a 17 year old.
Maybe Randall should come in for Denilson then, he was a right terrier in the Flamini role!
forget randall bring in ramsey hes better then all of em
that was a ripper raif!!
i cant stop laughing at the full gallas Line up lol
munia
eboue silvest song clichy
walcott ramsey cesc diaby
bayor van persie
Ramsey?
Jeez! So when he forgets that he’s supposed to be the defensive midfielder in the side, he’ll get slated as much as Cesc!
And forget Song at CB! Gots to be Djourou. He should be back for Tuesday.
Slated as much as Demilson, I meant! Oops!
walcott diaby cesc ramsey
BBK weres Nasri??
So the problem with Denilson is that he is weak and rubbish at defending… so people want to stick Ramsey in… who is 17 and a half.
Bad bad idea… stick with Diaby… at least he is a man.
djourou denilson and song are all as good as eachother
hes injured
Djourou is a a good defender. He is ready to step up this year. Big, quick, good in the air and strong… perfect
it is clear ramsey is better then both song and denilson in the middle of the park at least he can make tackles and pass to the right players
no i dont agree with that pedro djourou is not a good defender at all i.m.o
do we all know how long Nasri is out for? he could be fit for Tuesday
Djourou is well ready to step up. Song might turn out to be a half decent CB, but Djourou, for me, has all the attributes and should be given the chance to show it. Maybe Kolo’s injury will be a blessing in disguise.
BTW; I was only half joking aBout playing Randall instead of Denilson! Shit! We shouldve played the whole Carling Cup team against Hull! At least theyd have turned up for the game and not acted like arrogant twats!
The best post I can ever remember reading Pedro.
Pedro
i 2nd that Motion. Djourou can give us somthing in thr air aswell
Boy Better Know;
Think you oughta change your name!
Jus Jokin’!
Thanks London.
Ramsey’s one for the future;
So, we can expect to see him in the 1st team next season…. when Cesc goes to Barca!
Angry Loner
we all been saying that for some time now mate lol. about the name change LOL
angry loner do you come from manchester
I’m really impressed with how well Fabregas deals with the incessant media suggestions about him leaving, time and time again he refutes the flat out fallacys that are printed about him straight away and with authority.
it’s such a refreshing change from Arsenal players, past and present courting moves away through the papers.
i have a Question Govers.
would any of you take Beckham on loan when the MLS season comes to an end?
i mean GROVERS***
LOL! le-gove lol
And also, refuting storys about Fabregas leaving is the only time that Arsenal.com ever breaks a story. hah.
BBK;
Nope, from Camden, but I live in Mancland now!
Spooky or what???
Raif – No. For so many reasons it’s not even worth discussing.
people dont get it twisted cesc is gone at the end of the season end of
I thought the Beckham thing was just for him to get match fit?
Anyway, if he did sign for us, Wenger would probably play him at left back!
angry loner i think you adopted the language barrier already proper munich now from camden hahahhahah
well wenger liked him didnt he. his alway liked DB. and Bcos he weants to stay fit for the England he wants Competitive games so that can only mean a loan move.
i can see it happening. dont think of it from own own views try and see it from wengers view. this story wont go away so fast ull see
Beckham’s behind Walcott in the English setup, but if we took him on loan he’d be starting instead of Walcott at Arsenal?
Pedro … excellent piece … spot on.
he would get 3 min Cameo’s but i only see the logic to get some experience amongs the kids to learn from and not play before anyone
beckham would never come to arsenal hes already stated that a couple of years ago…..