‘It’s time for Arsenal and Wenger to part company’
No that wasn’t my headline, it was that of big time Gooner and former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.
I have to say though, it could have been my headline, because that’s the way I feel too, not only crap team selection again and probably the worst display I’ve seen from Arsenal since the days of Glenn Helder, but also hearing that Wenger thought it flattered Man City, and because of that, I think he has lost it. Bad loser.
The players quite clearly get paid too much, much more than their ability warrants, Gallas had a point there and if he didn’t earn around £90k a week for doing what he does, I would take what he says much more seriously.
Wenger needs to spend in the window and get rid of some flotsam too, how the hell did he get Song on an exception talent visa yet have to wait 3 years for Vela? Who clearly is exceptional.
How many games do we have to watch someone that can’t pass, can’t tackle and can’t shoot and don’t say Ade or Robin because they absolutely can, why does he continue to play players out of position (Diaby) and expect a big performance, who is he kidding?
Arsene, you weren’t an Arsenal supporter 12 years ago, I was, you are a great coach, but a lousy manager, yes I really believe I could do a better job, look at Redknap, at least he can get a shit team going, why do you keep saying you have belief in this team?
Yes we beat the Mancs but on another day we would have lost 3 nil, let’s not kid ourselves, your team weren’t good enough last season, then you let Lehmann, Hoyte, Hleb and Flamini go and only brought in Nasri, what did you think would happen?
Regardless of what Gallas said, you stripped him of the captaincy and dropped him, you humiliated him and now you say he still has a future at Arsenal, will you ever learn??? – Get shot of him in the window and bring in 3 world class players, maybe then we can salvage something, you have fantastic players like Ramsey, Wilshere and Coquelin and yet you stick with Denilson, Song, Eboue and Bendtner.
Listen to me, THEY ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, STOP BEING CHILDISH AND GET SHOT OF THEM.
You probably will do nothing, but heed my warning, the fans will stop coming, the predators will circle and your legacy will be like that of many managers in the premier league that got sacked, won us a few trophies but wouldn’t listen, do you want to be remembered for that Arsene?
I won’t mention Ramos, but at least he won them a cup. He gave them something to cheer about, and a DVD, when was the last time we got a DVD? It was for an ex player Thierry Henry.
I hope not because you’ve been too good for that, don’t spoil the last 12 years because you think you’re right, look at the results, look at the stats, they’ll tell you how right you are, you’re a stat person, well when it suits you you are.
Finally, look at all the other sites, they’re not calling you god now, time to change to plan ‘B’ Wenger or you won’t be getting that statue, and that would be a shame.
Finally if you afforded the same indulgences to English players as you do with Song we may still have Mathew Upson, David Bentley and Steven Sidwell.
Before any AKB’s tell me they hate Bentley, Upson was a crock and Sidwell isn’t that good, look at Sidwell now and think how much better he could have been had Wenger been as patient, at least he won 2 FA Youth cups.
Le Grove is now smart phone compatible!
Pedro
Geoff
November 24, 2008 at 09:03
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1088594/PIERS-MORGAN-Its-time-Arsenal-professor-Wenger-company.html
November 24, 2008 at 09:04
Morning all. Good reading Geoff
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1088594/PIERS-MORGAN-Its-time-Arsenal-professor-Wenger-company.html
November 24, 2008 at 09:05
morning all
November 24, 2008 at 09:06
morning
November 24, 2008 at 09:07
What’s going on? I read the post, and was sure I wouldn’t get a podium.
Yet here I sit with the heavy weight of a Gold around my neck. !!
I am humbled. But perhaps it is more to do with the shambles we witnessed on Saturday
November 24, 2008 at 09:07
crunch!
November 24, 2008 at 09:08
dudes
November 24, 2008 at 09:08
1st!!?
November 24, 2008 at 09:09
Haha
No
November 24, 2008 at 09:09
And we wanna bring Upson back……..apparently…..
November 24, 2008 at 09:10
damn didnt get close!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:10
It’s the latter Raddy…..definately the latter.
November 24, 2008 at 09:10
Good ultimatun Geoff, I really truly cannot believe that we won’t spend in January now, whatever it takes. In the summer we decided to trust the boss’ decision to stick with Denilson et al, but now it has been PROVEN that on their own, these young players are not up to the job. They need quality and experience around them and indeed ahead of them in the squad, to make them see what it takes to play at the very highest level.
At the moment we might as well get any old sunday league player in the side, they would show more ambition.
November 24, 2008 at 09:12
I agree with your fine post Geoff.
We have to get rid of the deadwood. If they are in the squad, then AW will pick them.
Where we disagree is, who is ‘deadwood’ ?
To castigate players who should dtill be learning their craft in the reserves is unfair. It would be better to criticise AW for playing them before they are ready. I still believe Denilson, and Nik have a future with us.
Having said that , they were both very poor on Saturday.
November 24, 2008 at 09:13
Sic post My man!
Yeh i reakon it wont matter how much we whinge, the cunt aint doing anything about it.
He says Man citys win was flattering? Ha! they coulda scored 6 i feel. even my best mate who is a spud said how this is un-Arsenal at the moment.
Also another point,
Lehmann – 2 absolute clangers = 2-3 Carling Cup games then Tranfered
Almunia – At least 5 = Still starting + some more Hair Dye!
Yet Fabianski an INTERNATIONAL and maybe save of the season, cant get a look in>? Am i Missing something Blokes>?
November 24, 2008 at 09:18
The WG affair is a conundrum. The man is a known Loony. He has had problems everywhere he has played. But he is our best defender (IMHO). We are better with him than without.
I don’t think we shall see him in the shirt again. He is likely to refuse to play. WG has an enormous ego, and self-regard. He will not take this lightly.
But Upson ? Are you guys serious ? He is no Keown.
We are fine for CB’s. In JD , Fish-face, and Kolo, we have all we need. Particularly as Swiss Phil can return next season
November 24, 2008 at 09:19
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/3508899/Arsenals-11-big-problems-Football.html
November 24, 2008 at 09:19
I agree Raddy… Denilson and Nik have a future.
Song, Eboue and maybe a couple of others do not.
Maybe it isn’t even about removing players… just complimenting them.
There is nothing wrong with a big squad is there?
Seb, he has to spend in January. Football has been recession proof in the main because Renewals were in May and Jan last year… in the good times.
Will they get renewals in January if we persist with project youth?
Well… I’d say they’d struggle.
November 24, 2008 at 09:24
morning all..
anyone else have a feeling we are going to get raped on sunday?
November 24, 2008 at 09:25
Choy, I think we are going to win 2-0.
November 24, 2008 at 09:25
Yeh hard! Choy, borderline prison sex i reakon………
November 24, 2008 at 09:26
When I sit in my arm chair I also think that I could do a better job sometimes..
And to compare the manager with Juande Ramos is a bit laughable in my opinion. Spurs may have won a cup last year which is more than we did in the past 3 years, but if you look at the bigger picture we’re still in a much better position.
As for Arsenal sacking Wenger, that wouldn’t change anything NOW. Let’s see what he’ll do in January and then one can review his position.
I think he deserves the chance to put right what he got so horribly wrong.
November 24, 2008 at 09:27
morning all…
i think only song & gallas are deadwood
eboue is a good back up RB and considerign the fact sagna isnt the most robust he’d be good to keep until hoyte is ready, plus he’ll do a half decent job at RW in an emergency but only in an emergency!!
denilson and bendter can be use full…. not as first teamers but as squad players for early fa cup games and carling cup… its about time we had options in games to
November 24, 2008 at 09:27
haha rob.. i like the optimism pedro! who’s gonna score though? we haven’t scored for two consecutive games!! i don’t remember the last time our first choice strikers scored!!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:27
Can’t we recall Swiss Tony at any time?
November 24, 2008 at 09:28
PIERS MORGAN is even more brutal than me !
you got to love the man !!!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:29
looks like wenger is going to recall gallas.. how embarassing is that.. hope he doesn’t score an own goal!!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:30
if everyone wants the real reason … its the stadium .. i said this back in 2005 ..
a financial commitment like that can only see us degrade in quality ..
and it has .
November 24, 2008 at 09:30
November 24, 2008 at 09:32
But dont u think the Gallas saga is setting up nicely for the cunt to leave in Jan? Cause he aint saying sorry…i reakon he asked to leave cause he has had a right gutful and they need a way to transfer him with out us kicking AW in the dick.
November 24, 2008 at 09:32
haha ethan this is a classic line
“Today’s squad is full of boys who would run back to mummy at the first sign of Roy Keane’s snarling shadow emerging into a tunnel.”
November 24, 2008 at 09:32
rob.. even if he leaves wenger won’t replace him. In his words ” it would kill a younger player”
November 24, 2008 at 09:35
Sigh…………what was i thinking? I mean we have SONG!
November 24, 2008 at 09:35
getting rid of AW is definately not the way forward, however bad things are at the moment. It would be a knee-jerk reaction. We need to deal with the WG situation first, and let the team settle, re-group and, literally, start the season again.
Put together a good run and make sure we buy 3 class players in Jan.
Simple as that.
Have a good day Grovers. I will leave the board and Wenger to sort things out, having (blind?) faith that they love the club like we do and pull out all of the stops to get it sorted……I’m fnished with talking about all the doom and gloom!!
Roll on CL night!!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:35
senderos is long gone… theres more chance of me playing for arsenal next year than him!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:36
Michael… I know it is hard to believe… but managing a football team is not the hardest job in the world.
It is one of the most privileged positions a man can hold… and I am sure there are plenty capable of it.
November 24, 2008 at 09:36
gotta love this too
Beaten by Fulham,
embarrassed by Stoke,
humiliated by Hull, thrashed by Aston Villa,
and now murdered by Manchester City.
We’ve become a laughing stock, and I blame Wenger. He is the one who let Gilberto, Flamini and Hleb go in the summer, ripping the heart, lungs and technical genius out of our midfield.
November 24, 2008 at 09:36
(Michael from 09:26)
November 24, 2008 at 09:37
“how the hell did he get Song on an exception talent visa yet have to wait 3 years for Vela?”
Hmmmmm, maybe it’s because he has dual nationality with France? He didn’t need a work permit – and didn’t get one.
November 24, 2008 at 09:39
Is it me, or is anyone else embarrased every time Arsene opens his mouth now?
How the hell can he come out and say that the result flattered Citeh. If anything, it flattered us !!!
His constant moaning is trying to deflect attention to the real issue….HIM !
How the hell can we let so many experienced internationals go in the summer and only sign Nasri, when he already stated before the season finished that we were at least 4 players short !
If he’s been given the money and he’s not spending it, then he should move upstairs and let someone else take over who isn’t scared to open the bl@@dy chequebook.
If it’s the board, then I’m all for someone buying the lot of them out.
Someone, somewhere is lying and it is distroying our beloved club.
Actions need to be taken and taken now !
COME ON YOU REDS !!!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:39
everytime vela starts he scores and assists… what does he have to start?
Wear Pink Boots?
November 24, 2008 at 09:39
Song exceptional talent is……………yeh u know what it is! His stage name is Deep Throat Mary.
November 24, 2008 at 09:39
Pedro, i didnt see or hear about the game on sat, other than the result.
I couldnt bring myself to watch motd.
Arsenes comments are along the lines of the coreline flattered mancity etc.
How did we actually perform as a team?? Dare I ask….
November 24, 2008 at 09:39
Neal… WRONG.
He doesn’t have dual French nationality… because if he did, he wouldn’t need a work permit at all.
November 24, 2008 at 09:42
lets get this into context.
We are playing crap.
We have loads of players injured
There is no confidence in the team.
Gallas is a muppet.
Some of the young players in the team feel safe, as Wenger wont drop them.
The league has gone.
We cant buy a player until Jan.
Wenger has to prove he is up to the job now. It must be easy to manage a team when they are playing well and winning. Now they are shoot of players, confidence.
They have not scored in their last 2 games, this from a team that holds the record for the most consective games to score in.
So we need goals. Vela seems the natural option.
Is RVP the problem? Perhaps he should be dropped so we can play as a team again?
We must win tomorrow, and who knows we could do well in Europe this season.
November 24, 2008 at 09:44
Quotes:
“Last season we had an exceptional talent visa for a Cameroon international, Alex Song, and this player looks another exciting prospect.”
Link
November 24, 2008 at 09:46
A win tomorrow is an absolute must to restore some confidence before Sunday.
Nevertheless there are some deep seated problems that are not going to be solved just by bringing some real quality players and offloading the dross. There is a rebuilding of dressing room confidence and belief which has slipped badly this season. More importantly there is a need to instill the ‘Arsenal’ way into players. The biggest problem is that there are not enough senior pros in the team who have been around long enough in the club to have been indoctrinated with that themselves
November 24, 2008 at 09:47
Piers “F*******” Morgan……..the idiot has a column?? my god…..time to support the team now, we can’t do anything till jan anyway.
November 24, 2008 at 09:49
Wenger had the chance to get rid of Ade & Bendner in the summer, then he should have bought Benzami Why he didn’t do this is unexplainable, Flamini goes, there must be a tough tackling defensive midfielder about who doen’t like losing. Then to finish it off a world class centre half, and please don’t let Wenger pick him, his choice of Centre halves has been questionable ever since the loss of Tony Adams.
November 24, 2008 at 09:50
My Man City mate reckons there are rumours in their circles that they will be after our best players in Jan (Fab4, Ade, RVP) and also Kolo.
If this is true we’ll see who really are the Arsenal men and who are teh money grabbing bullshitters!
November 24, 2008 at 09:50
Sarge if we win tomorrow, that just means we qualify for the knock out stage in Europe.
The main goal is to stop leaking goals in the league and string some wins together in the league.
Beating Chelsea would be good, but that has to be matched by beating Wigan and so on.
November 24, 2008 at 09:51
I have to say, P.Morgans article is way too harsh.
The guy is a complete prick.
Cant fucking stand him.
Fuck off Piers, you complete twunt.
Lets get behind the team tomorrow, in a big way. The bottom line is that the most important game is the NEXT game….it could be a catalyst to start a good run.
Come On Arsenal!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:53
Big Rad /Pedro .
Do you really think Bentner is good emough !???
I just can not see he is good enough for THE ARSENAL . no way .
and to come out wearing pink boots before he has done anything says it all for me .
as well as no first touch and pace …..what a cock !!
November 24, 2008 at 09:53
please take ade for what like 30 mill?
November 24, 2008 at 09:54
I say draft the Arsenal Ladies into the team. Will do a much better job than what we saw on saturday.
Good post mate. Agree with you but I think AW should stay and get us off the mess he put us in.
November 24, 2008 at 09:55
Geoff .
great post , we also lost gilberto and did,nt replace him either !!!
and now it comes home to roost !!!!
November 24, 2008 at 09:56
Morning Grovers,
What Geoff has posted is a distillation of our fears over the summer transfer window crystallising into a horrible reality. The 3 main points are:
1. Wenger said “we will keep the squad together” – we lost the 3 of the 4 midfield components that made us such a threat till the last few months of last season.
2. Wenger said we would be “reassured by 2 or 3 quality signings” – we got no one.
3. We lost a CEO and have yet to replace him while being assured every month since the season started that a replacement was imminent – we still have a post of critical improtance left unfilled.
Add to that the persistence with sub standard players(Song from the beginning, Bendtner lately), and Wenger’s stubbornness in not using substitutes till either it’s too late or when they’re not necessary it’s no wonder we’re in the disarray we are in now.
The final capper comes when we’ve been screaming out for Wenger to be decisive and get some cajones all summer/season(e.g. the Flamini/Diarra situation) and he decides to become all macho when his captain blurts out (off the record to an underhand hack – is there any other sort?) and he drops him so that we’re rudderless against Robinho & co.
Right attitude wrong time, IMHO.
I’m going to the Kiev game tomorrow which I expect to win as our few quality players will be putting themselves in the shop window. It’s the game they CAN be bothered to put some effort into so they can secure their moves to sunnier climes.
Hate to sound so negative but I feel, as do most Grovers, we’re being royally screwed here.
November 24, 2008 at 09:59
RVP is a prat, he has always been a prat-he plays for himself and not the team. I dont blame Gallas for speaking out, it gives us a real insight into what the problems are an RVP is a big problem.
November 24, 2008 at 09:59
For thirty odd years, I have been a proud gunner, through the good, the bad and the boring. However, after last week, for the first time ever, I am positively ashamed of my club, the manager, and the players.
The players are gutless overpaid kids, totally unaware of the club whose jersey they are entrusted with
The Manager has lost the plot completely, and is now ungracious in defeat – something I consider cowardly and not of the history of Arsenal FC
The club are messing with the fans, not being honest about the true state of our affairs.
Last year, we could have won the league. In the end we ended up 5 points short. At the rate we are going this year, we will be lucky to be within 25 of the champions.
The reasons why I am annoyed, ashamed and generally pissed off are now so plentiful, it is laughable, cos we all seen this coming. Anyone with a idea about football saw this coming down the tracks. You can’t let experience like Lehman (how’s he missed now), Gilberto, Flamini and Hleb go and expect to kick on and improve.
I have said it before, there is something seriously not right at our club. The board need to come clean. Wenger is a pale shadow of the man he was – very sorry to see.
Mid table mediocrity bekons.
My team for the rest of the season;
Fabianski
Sagna / Gallas / Djourou / Clichy
Ramsey / Kolo / Cesc / Nasri
Ade / Vela
Eduardo, Diaby, Silvestre to be used regularly also
We are leaking way to many goals. Now more than ever, we need a buffer in midfield. Kolo can play this role if given a chance.
November 24, 2008 at 10:01
anyone else missing eboue.. at least when he was there we never got raped so badly on the right.. robinho was just skinning hoyte and diaby..!!
diaby on the right ? wtf wenger?
November 24, 2008 at 10:03
“Finally if you afforded the same indulgences to English players as you do with Song we may still have Mathew Upson, David Bentley and Steven Sidwell.”
Players like Song are the reason why some people support the 5+6 rule, Song was obviously brought into the team to save money, not because he is of a higher standard than most English players, he is occupying a position in the senior team when there are clearly better options available.
I am totally opposed to 5+6, I am even opposed to the current rules regarding
eligibility for non-EU national (the player must have played 75% of games for his national team in the past 24 months as well as playing for a national team and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. (If a player does not meet those criteria, the club wishing to sign him may appeal if they believe that he is a special talent and “able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in the UK.).
I believe it should be purely on merit, but these rules are in place to prevent Premier clubs buying the cheapest players fromobscure (to us) leagues just to make up the numbers. My take on the Song situation is, he is not there purely on merit, he is exceptionally priveliged rather than talented.
I’d like to know, why is there so little youth development work done by Arsenal, and other Premier League teams in London. Greater London has a larger population then the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Holland so please lets not say that they’ve made use of all the potential resources in London.
If there was a mass youth development initiative in London I believe London teams could be some of the strongest self sufficient teamin the world, there is no other city in the world with so many football clubs, it’s the capital of football.
No one can agree with the manner in which Gallas chose to share his opinion about the rest of the team, and since he’s not part of the solution he is part of the problem. He only did this because he didn’t want to quit, he wanted to force Wenger into transferring him. He knew he could not lead the team and that his captaincy was purely symbolic, he was not a leader on the pitch, not every player can be, and Wenger still chose him because sometimes he is too caught up with what could be some day rather than the way things are now.
We need to solve this imbalance of focusing on youth development and creating a winning team. One does not have to be at the expense of the other.
Pleading poverty is an insult because the clubs profits (after all bills paid) is higher than when at Highbury, saying that players need to be sold to make ends meet is a fallacy, after the monthly mortgage repayment, the club has more in the coffers than it ever did at Highbury. The media is paying more than ever for broadcasting rights.
Since the dawn of the Premier League, the best clubs have attracted the best players, paid big money, made big profits, and battled for trophies. Youths have always been blooded by sending them out on loan, if they perform well give them a squad number (unless they are exceptionally talented, and you don’t need rose tinted spectacles to see it). I’m all for youth, I love seeing players like Ramsey and Wilshere up against battle hardened Premier League players and beating them at their own game, but there has to be a balance. Players with potential need to break into the squad naturally, not have the road paved for them with no other options.
Wenger keeps saying it’s not all about winning trophies, so is it about survival?
It’s great for Hull City to be on 22 points, they’re the new boys on the block but for a team like Arsenal with heritage and a history of fighting for trophies, not competing with all the available resources to you is not really competing, it is regression, it is making do with what you’ve got because you believe that they’re better, even though they haven’t proved it yet.
Saying that the team lacked maturity is stating the obvious…..you cannot expect a team comprised of 18-25 to be mature on a consistent basis, you can hope, but that’s not a calculated risk, it’s a hazardous gamble.
The chips are down, what are you going to do Mr. Wenger? You’ve lost your bets, we’ve lost 5 games, only once has a team had four defeats by November and won the title, and that was Blackburn, a freak result and a one hit wonder.
Time to go for 24 carat Mr. Wenger, not tech stocks with great potential.
An interesting take on Wenger as a coach. I agree he is a great coach, so do you believe in the continental model Geoff, that teams should have a director of football buying and selling players and that the coach should come up with a winning team from the players he has been given?
November 24, 2008 at 10:04
I miss eboue Choy!
November 24, 2008 at 10:06
Mark C – Qualifying is incidental as far as I am concerned. I would expect us to qualify from where we are. A win will restore some confidence. It’s going to be hard enough at the Bridge but going there on the back of 3 shit results is going to help us.
The other problems you mention like leaking goals and not being able to score or even fucking buy one is down to the man Wenger.
Part of the problem is the shit we have in midfield. No invention, fucking lazy, can’t defend. This is the worst midfield since the days of Selley and Hillier. Solve this first and the rest will follow.
November 24, 2008 at 10:14
Good Morning all,
I will repost what i said earlier.lee dixon was at the training ground and talking to Wenger,and Wenger said he was thinking of taking the captaincy away from Gallas but was scared to do so,in case of his reaction…….What does that tell you.It tells me that some players have lost total respect for Wenger,and those are dangerous signs.
Yesterday rosicky’s brother was asked how and whenTomas would be able to resume training,to which he replied he hadn’t got a clue.
This question about building a new stadium to compete with United,can someone explain it to me in simple terms.does it mean we are morgaged up to our eyeballs and for the nextt few years it’s a juggling at just to keep the team in a position to challenge without spending any money(our net spend through ins and out last summer was about 4 million)and relying on players who are either not mentally or experienced enough yet,to cope with the pressure,together with others who just aren’t good enough or have inflated egos.
Today’s post is good,but is just a pipe dream.We all know what we need but is it really going to happen.
November 24, 2008 at 10:16
Piers Morgan has hit the nail on the head harsh but states the facts,
Deadwood: Bendtner (Never want to see playing in the first team again this season: No Pace, No touch waste of space. Resorts us to whipping balls into the box with no chance scoring, because can’t get behind yet wenger continue to play him)
Denilson(Blows hot and cold, one good game one bad, i feel not his fault as not CDM, to similar to Fabergas both want to get forward neither want to hold, still has a future in the squad or as a resevre when Fabo not playing.
Eboue: I keep eboue as at least hes shows commitment, and the ability to knock the
ball pass a player and has pace,
Song: Had his chances now, shocking passing recently & performances recently has to go Jan, also looks better at CB, but never gunna get a game there.
and Finally
Le boss: Is he losing it
1. Team selection
2. Subsitutions
3. Playing Bendtner!!!!!!
4. Letting 75% first team midfield leave in the summer ie: Hleb, Flam, Gilberto
5. Not replacing them
6. Constant bullshit.
totally pissed off! next up the Chavski!!! 4-0 Chavs
November 24, 2008 at 10:17
we COULD have a much better team on the pitch than the one wenger used.
The bench actually had a lot of quality on it – Ramsey, Vela and Wilshere. cant beleive Vela was used as a right winger – why not use him as a striker? Denilson was so bad – he would have struggled in the blue square south league with that performance, and I am being serious.
For me central midfield is our problem area and Den is our real problem player. If you are wondering why we have turned from almost a title winning team to a mid-table also ran look no further than Denilson.
Please dont give me the crap that he has played well. what has he actually done? watch the BIG moments of the games. giving the ball away in dangerous areas, failing to track a runner – he does these every game, while making killer passes, getting out of tight spots, scoring goals – he rarely does any of these things. Sure, Cesc is not playing well but he still makes killer passes regularly because he is a class player. Denilson is second rate. Dont blame the back 4 or the strikers – that are only as good as the midfield that protects them or supplies them. Denilson is wenger’s failed experiment this season, nothing else.
I wouldn’t make Almunia captain because that makes him undroppable, and I would rather see Fabianksi in the team. The only player who is literally undroppable is Cesc – thats why he should be captain. that and the fact that only captains can talk to refs, so what can Almunia possibly say from 80 yards away?
November 24, 2008 at 10:17
Hey Bren. I totally identify with your pain and disappointment. I feel it too. I agree with all you’ve said but for Almunia. I think Almunia is the reason we haven’t been completely laughed off the world of football at the moment. He is doing good even with the crappy shites we have for defenders. I believe Silvestre was sent to sabotage The Arsenal..(LMAO…that sounds funny, even to me but i gotta console myself one way or the other). We sould have kept more faith in Kolo Toure. He has served us like a warrior over the past few years. Gallas makes more mistakes than others and complains most. I also believe Diaby is a class act when he’s played in his true position. I hated Song but i saw his contributions for Cameroon in the last african championships and realised the problem was AW playing his out of position. That said, all the players we have now are not first team materials. Cesc, Van P, Toure, Sagna, Nasri, Alminia and Clichy are the only first team players. Eboue, Diaby, Vela, Wilshire are great back-ups. The rest should be replaced – Ade, Djourou, et al. Long Live The Arsenal (that will only happen if we spend and accept the truth, if not we’ll only sa this out of love and not reality)
November 24, 2008 at 10:18
kelsey..the biggest question of them all! is there money to spend?!!!
November 24, 2008 at 10:20
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=1129&cntnt01origid=30&cntnt01returnid=42
Myles Palmer has a lot right in this piece. He’s stuck the boot in pretty hard and, at this moment as things stand, I can’t disagree too much.
Basically, if we’re honest about the players we have (and don’t have more importantly), an about the board who did nothing pre-Dein and are doing nothing now, we’re well and truely fucked!
I’m a season ticket holder. Its costs me more than I can afford really. I buy the tickets because I, like everyone on this site, has an irresistable love for the club. But with each passing week, there is less about this club to love.
- A board who do nothing but care more about property development than football
- An unopposed manager who lies to everyone including himself
- A youth project that has clearly failed long, long ago
- Players who don’t respect the shirt or the fans who give them their life of luxury – or even understand why they should give the fans their all.
With all that said. What is there left to love? Answer – a name: Arsenal.
But you don’t marry a woman because you like her name. You marry her because of the person she is.
And at the moment we’re married to a club that doesn’t love or respect us back. It doesn’t listen to us or give us what we want. It just cares about our money. We’re married to Heather Mills!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 10:23
The game against Wigan still isn’t sold out. Will it be the 1st league game (as far as I know) to go on general sale? That should be some kind of warning sign.
November 24, 2008 at 10:25
I can’t understand why He is not giving the kids a chance. Ramsey and Vela are seeing some daylight, but Wilshere is warming the bench. He needs to let Vela start since Ade is injured, Ramsey start in place of Denilson (too inconsistent) and give Wilshere at least the last 15/30 mins in the game. I don’t see Diaby fitting in, to be honest (though with the number of positions he has played in, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him stanidng in for Sagna!)
Whether we like it or not, Gallas is probably our best CH and we have no option but to play him till January.
And Fabregas has to act like the captain, regardless of whether he gets the amband or not. This team will not look up to anyone else.
RvP is playing weel, but I keep wondering if he is the rotten apple….
November 24, 2008 at 10:25
The rest of the top 4 (3?) would love to have the young players we’ve got coming through. They’ll probably end up getting them as well! We only really need to have bought 4 or 5 players over the last 2 years. It’s so fucking frustrating.
November 24, 2008 at 10:27
By the way. wenger has not had around 20 games to see where the problems lie and whether he has seen them or not he has totally failed to do anything about them. if thats just stubbornness, then he’s badly wrong. if he’s not seeing the problems then he’s inept. either way he has to take the blame and act. so 20 games without action – not good enough. For me its a sackable offence but I dont think the board will see that.
The midfield needs shaking up and if wenger wont do it then somebody else will. I’d rather get someone in now, than finish 9th then sack him. Of course we dont have a CEO to actually sort out replacing the manager so it cant happen.
I heard that wenger said he didn’t like/want that Vodaphone chap so he veto’d the decision. FUCKING DISGRACE. wenger should not be appointing his boss. if the board wanted him (and he is a gooner) then he should have been employed. wenger probably saw that he was a no nonsense CEO and would have let him go if he thought it was for the best.
November 24, 2008 at 10:30
Hi Maqitlarge, I was a fan of Myles Palmer before he started going crazy trying to sell his book in every post. Now his blogs read like he is agreeing with the majority of the fans just to sell his book. I don’t get the ring of authenticity in his posts. I wish he’d go back to being an Arsene fan. Then at least, I would respect him, even if I did not agree with him.
November 24, 2008 at 10:34
Agree with you PRo – and I didn’t think that he might be agreeing with fans to sell his book, although he does shamelessly plug it at every opportunity. Cheeky bastard if so.
However, why would we want to read about 1998-2004/5 at this moment in time? Far too depressing. Perhaps AW should read it to see how far he (or his team) has fallen.
November 24, 2008 at 10:40
Gee – thanks Arsenal. Just what we really wanted this fine Monday morning! More opportunity to give you more of our money so yu can pay Song and Gallas!
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/magazine-out-now
November 24, 2008 at 10:54
It’s a quiet morning today!
It’s not often we’re not past 100 comments by 0930…
I think everyone is a bit gutted still… we need to turn it around by Tuesday!
November 24, 2008 at 10:55
Did everyone hear/read Wenger’s comment ”I don’t believe too much in leadership”. Can anyone seriously still believe he is the right man to lead the Arsenal. As the Le grove article mentioned, he has never in my opinion shown the same loyalty to young English players as with people like Song, mostly it seemed favouring Cygan over Upson, Shaabhan to Taylor, Garde or Grimandi to Hughes, Anyone to Bentley or Sidwell, Bendtner to Simpson, Eboue to Hoyte not to mention that the whole handling of Jermaine Pennant (which was a very very poor example of man management imo). Not to mention the rumour that Ashley Cole only got a chance in the team because of Sylvinho’s passport problems.
I seem to remember (I apologise if this is wrong) but after the defeat against Stoke, Wenger, claiming the stoke players set out to deliberately injure the arsenal players described it as a ‘typical English encounter’. If true, I find such a disparaging remark against the country in which he lives and works deeply offensive and that alone would be enough to make me not want this man running my club. And maybe it is unintentionally revealing as to his feelings about the English. It also doesn’t sit well with the image of Arsenal imo to have a manager who is such a ungracious loser.
Wenger brilliantly used his french knowledge at a time when French football was in the ascendent to create a wonderful team (Henry, Vieira, Petit, Pires) but he was fortunate to inherit a strong English base which created a balance at the club. But am I alone in thinking he has actually underperformed; at one time we genuinely had one of he very best teams in the world, yet we have never dominated (retaining a league title or winning the champions league) as we should have, or showed much tactical flexibility (the famously non-existent ”plan B”)
Also, regarding his signings, personally i’m not sure he has the right mentality or is comfortable handling genuinely big named players and their usual egos (just my opinion but we’ve seen how without the leadership given by and Adams or Vieira the team is full of discord). The big players we’ve had (with the exception of Sol) have all been either at the club when Wenger arrived (does anyone think he would have signed a 26 year old Bergkamp?) or were probably known to him as youngsters in France.
I genuinely and passionately believe Arsenal need to get rid of Wenger, five years ago we were a big team on a European scale, now we’re in danger of not even being a big team in England and I also think we’ve lost our soul too.
November 24, 2008 at 11:02
Good call Jim, as was ANR, funny though, they were slagging us of not so long ago for saying all that, he’s as bad as Wenger, hunting with the hounds and running with the fox.
We have never changed our stance here on Le Grove and if the board don’t watch it, the fans will be doing to them what Newcastle fans did to Ashley.
November 24, 2008 at 11:03
hmmmm so how do we all feel we will do against the chev’s on sunday ..????
i seem to remember saying something like november will make us or break us ..
well i cant say im surprised by the out come , gallas was a distraction , but
i think it will eventually become a blessing .. some players might get down off there high horse
(RVP) . and some might buck there idea’s up if handed the captaincy (CESC )
but with injuries i think we will come out 2nd best again !
but i do expect a better team spirit and willingness to win ..
we might just muster the same sort of spirit we did V’s the manc’s .
and that being said im more worried about facing the stokes and fulhams now than
the top 4 ..
Oh seb does this mean i won the midfeild bet
???
November 24, 2008 at 11:03
I’m only writing this to boost the post count. I’m so gutted I don’t know what to say.
I know it’s not friday but apparently 20000 obama supporting women shaved thier pussies and said “read my lips, no more bush”
November 24, 2008 at 11:03
Jim,i get your point but good teams don’t need to be managed to a certain degree,they operate as a unit.
November 24, 2008 at 11:10
When you find yourself agreeing with Piers Morgan or Myles Palmer then you know somethings wrong, I still won’t because I think they’re a couple of cunts, but there you go.
November 24, 2008 at 11:11
All of us are as frustrated and unhappy. I feel like why should it be Arsenal. Our result on Saturday was to me not a big surprise. I had already prepared myself for the worst, and the worst I got. Suddenly, at 12.05 p.m. my mood changed. Whatever for or to ? you may ask? I cant explain it myself. But I was on the internet and I saw a picture of wenger in the daily telegraph, I felt pity, pity and pity for this man. Why should I pity a man who had sturbonly brought calamity onto the greatest club in the world, over 6million fans wordwide and most importantly to himself? I dont know why i should pity him, but one thing in me continue telling me, pity this man, he is dying. I am now feeling bad now. I hate this period. Why can’t i decide??????????????????????
November 24, 2008 at 11:12
Jim – “Anyone to Bentley ?” What do you mean ?!
November 24, 2008 at 11:13
Well Keyser as they are saying the total opposite to what they normally do, it’s okay to agree with them agreeing with us… …this time!
November 24, 2008 at 11:13
Sounds a bit like Stockholm syndrome kunle.
November 24, 2008 at 11:14
Keyser
call them cunts but they are still arsenal fans .
November 24, 2008 at 11:18
Ethan – Yeah that’s right they are cunts.
November 24, 2008 at 11:28
Myles Palmer isn’t an Arsenal fan, is he?
November 24, 2008 at 11:29
not saying Myles is always right but he gets it right more often than not and he always sticks his neck on the line and is there to be shot down so I respect him for that alone. he called the Gallas quit thing hours before any other news-feed.
Piers is a massive gooner and you could tell from every word he wrote how much its hurting him. He is as angry as any of us about what is happening at our club.
Without a proper physical tackler in central midfield, who can pass the ball 10 yards and track opposition runners, we will continue falling down the league. Coquelin is the future but we need one now and we needed one in the summer when Flam left. everybody knows it but wenger. get that position completely sorted and we would sovle 75% of our problems overnight.
November 24, 2008 at 11:29
Pedro, it is a quiet morning.
My guess is that many feel what is the point in blogging – who the hell reads our comments except die hards.
I have to say, I am losing interest myself, and not just in blogging.
I keep asking myself why the fu-k I care so much, when others that can make a real difference do not ?
November 24, 2008 at 11:36
Have not posted for ages but read the site everyday. The correlation between the reduction of English players and trophies is obvious. An EPL team needs a backbone of English players who are usually better mentally to cope with the pressure and the fight requirement at this level. Very English players unfortunately have the nouse and technical ability to play at such a high level as per the England team demonstrates, however the correct mix is world beating as the Champions league has demonstrated with manure and chelski. Wenger you have just received a yellow card mate I do not want you to go but as Peires Morgan said I can see a divorce coming unless you stop being so stubborn!!!
November 24, 2008 at 11:37
November 24, 2008 at 11:38
Bren that would be giving up, that’s what the AKB’s have done, that’s why we don’t hear them anymore, that why the Irish site and the on-time-gooner suddenly agree with us, because they know we were right all along.
Now is the time to support our team because unlike most of the others, we are real supporters, always have been and always will.
November 24, 2008 at 11:38
Another truly depressing Monday, but I don’t feel as bad as after Hull or Villa as I saw this coming. Plus I’m in the “acceptance” stage of mourining/death at the moment.
Anyhoo…I’ll be goimng tomorrow so if Pedro/Geoff/Bud are going to be at S & B pre match I hope to be there around 6.30. I’ll may be meeting some old work colleagues also though.ust
November 24, 2008 at 11:38
bren
im with you there , its all too depressing to comment ..
where do you start ?
sack everyone
November 24, 2008 at 11:40
I remember Bobby Robson saying Arsenal ie AW must learn to lose graciously.That was when Newcastle had beaten the gunners 3-1 at Highbury.
That season the gunners went on to complete the double.I doubt the gunners can achieve such a feat.
The problem as everyone knows is AW’s obssession with pretty soccer with passing all day.As this passing is slow buildup allowing defenders to regroup. Is it anywonder the gunners are finding scoring hard when confronted by thou shalt not pass over my dead body defenders.Enough has been written about this topic.
Don’t be surprised if DK play a similar game to hull and those teams that have beaten the gunners.I know class is permanent and form temporary.
However all is not lost. If the gunners stick to the basic ie. play to win instead of showing intricate buildup,dribbling,etc then there is hope of qualifying for the ko round.
I hate to imagine the consequences of Arsenal missing that round.Btw the gunners have no divine/god right to be in the cl year in and year out.The test of a manager is to adapt to changing circumstances be it players or otherwise.
November 24, 2008 at 11:40
Well said Prophet – the chemistry is all wrong
A few Irish and Scots thrown into the mix might also help
Given from Newcastle and McManus from Celtic
November 24, 2008 at 11:41
too true geoff !
its time too get behind them … because its one thing being right , and its far worse seeing it happen b4 your eyes !
November 24, 2008 at 11:42
Rudolphp I was at that game, we were cheated and robbed by the cunt of a ref, this team would get hammered by that team, there’s the problem, stop playing people out of position.
November 24, 2008 at 11:42
And don’t tell me Djourou is a good defender. He has a good shape to be a defender but unfortunately he doesn’t have the courage and brains to become a gr8 defender. After seeing him conceed a penalty like that is relly embarassing.
November 24, 2008 at 11:42
with the present focus on Gallas can anyone explain why the red faced is chummy to AW?my feeling is he doens not consider the Frenchman a threat as five years ago whe AW was fighting him for dominance.
The redfaced is too canny to let beautiful things stand in his way to winning. He can win ugly or play ugly.In short he will fight fire with water not fire.
That’s why he is successful. he values trophies more than entertainment and until AW follows this track it will be diasppointment for all gunner fans.
November 24, 2008 at 11:43
Myles is right. Fabregas is wasting his time at Arsenal FC
November 24, 2008 at 11:43
Don’t forget he save one on the line and that was clever, he saw where Robinhio was going.
November 24, 2008 at 11:43
Myles doesn’t stick his neck out for anything, he posted that story and then changed it hours later, he generally promotes himself and talks a load of shit in the process.
Piers Morgan is a massive Arsenal fan and loves to tell people about how great an Arsenal fan he is, about how he shared a glass of wine with Wenger after the Tottenham game in 2004.. He goes on to say we haven’t won anything since not even a Carling bloody Cup..
Massive Massive twat..
November 24, 2008 at 11:44
Piers Morgan is right!! Wenger has completely lost the plot!! I realised that he is so blinkered when he recently said that this present crop of players are the best squad he has ever had. Fabregas is the only world class player that we have in the squad now and he will be off at the end of another disappointing season. I keep reading that the board claim Wenger has 30/60 million pounds to spend on players but chooses not to use it. Someone is lying- either he has no money at all or if he does have some money to spend then why has he not bought the experienced players that are so desperately needed in the key positions where we have totally useless players. He is taking us in the same direction that he took Monaco 12 years ago and that is why they got rid of him!
November 24, 2008 at 11:45
Geoff – That Newcastle game, the one where Campbell got sent off despite getting the ball ?!
Then henry going mad afterwards ?!
November 24, 2008 at 11:47
KEYSER Oh how true you are about both twats, my favourite editorial is Kevin Whitcher’s published in Online gooner. What do you think about him.
November 24, 2008 at 11:50
Geoff,
No one who takes time to write on this site would I think ever give up on the club. We may however take a ‘time out’ and instead of digesting everything Arsenal, play with the kids a little more, fix that gutter etc etc.
I am sick to the bollox of what is going on presently at the club. I though writing on the site would be theraputic, but it only makes my grumpier.
Will sleep on things !!
November 24, 2008 at 11:50
g90
of course the club have no money , or wont spend it … why else would we have held off on buying nasri until hleb was sold . why has wenger every year returned a dividend and not used a dime on getting in surplus players ..
does he even get a transfer budget ?
i think not ..
November 24, 2008 at 11:50
It seems Everyone Knows, except Arsene………
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1088877/Arsenal-pay-stubborn-Wengers-unwillingness-strengthen-squad–McLintock.html?ITO=1490
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=1129&cntnt01origid=30&cntnt01returnid=42
November 24, 2008 at 11:51
Guys did you notice, no-one has denied the charges Gallas accused arsenal players of?
November 24, 2008 at 11:53
Spurdozer – Never read any of his articles, is there something specific you’d want me to read ?!
November 24, 2008 at 11:54
Sorry everyone, this is for another pencil dick website who just sent me a comment.
Hey you inarticulate wanker, I see as usual you have no comments on your blog but you did have a massive 6 on there yesterday, maybe no one gives a rats arse what you think, I sure as fuck don’t.
Fuck off and stop sending me comments, they go straight in my bin.
November 24, 2008 at 11:54
Legrove is the only place to converse, debate and share views with reall gunners, real fans, and people who have a true love and interest in Arsenal FC.
Keep it going people!!
November 24, 2008 at 11:55
Easy Geoff!!! You are normally so calm and collected!!!
November 24, 2008 at 11:56
hey people show some support, the guy has been loyal to the club for 12 years, he did many great things. don’t forget about that……..yes he made mistakes, but he didn’t deserve to be blown for this. i still believe that he is the right one ,he will fix things and get the job done.
November 24, 2008 at 11:57
Keyser that was the game! Bren I felt the same on Saturday, but it really helps to talk to like minded people, they keep me sane and you won’t get wet, unlike fixing the guttering!
November 24, 2008 at 11:57
http://www.onlinegooner.com/editorial/index.php?id=134
.
.
http://www.onlinegooner.com/editorial/index.php?id=135
.
These are two of the latsest editorials by Kevin whitcher. KEYSER. I find them informative.
November 24, 2008 at 11:57
Geoff – Why not just let him comment come through, it’s like you’re talking to yourself..
November 24, 2008 at 12:00
Morning everyone,
Well we dont want to say we told you so AW but we did!!
There has been many people myself included saying Gallas isnt captain material and AW has suddenly realised this his arrogance is so annoying the mark of a man is being able to say im wrong
Diaby,Bendtner,Eboue,Denilson,Song… will only ever be squad players
Gallas is just bad news get rid we need now more than ever that DM & CB im not talking players with potential but the finished article.
to me AW has become obsessed with his experiment and looking to the future but we are suffering now.
November 24, 2008 at 12:00
Geoff, These wb authors are brainless gits. they’ll never learn. I never give a rat’s arse what they say. Le grove has given us space to share and discuss everything about Arsenal and not Arsene. And btw why my comment is awaiting moderation
November 24, 2008 at 12:02
burn the cunt at the stake geoff !
if someone is in denial smack em between the eyes !
November 24, 2008 at 12:07
He has been loyal, but he didn’t do it for nothing ramy, I do, that’s a real fan.
Big Frank is a player I have respect for so when he says Wenger is wrong, he’s right!
November 24, 2008 at 12:07
Just wanted to point out that all the proceeds from the sale of Gallas’ book would be going to charity (if it hasn’t been mentioned already). I respect him even more. The team should be built around him, he and Fabregas seem to be the only ones with a winning mentality in the side. More importantly, he is our best CB.
RvP needs to grow up!
November 24, 2008 at 12:10
Gallas is trouble through & through he was at chavski & has been since we signed him hes in it for himself.
November 24, 2008 at 12:15
Because that way Keyser he gets his 15 minutes of fame and everyone will abuse him, he doesn’t deserve our abuse, starve him of oxygen and let him stare at his blank screen all day because no one comments!
November 24, 2008 at 12:15
I hear ya Ethan, I hear ya!
November 24, 2008 at 12:18
If Wenger leaves, the man who comes in will need at least two or three years to make sense of the mess Wenger has left behind. Which is ironic considering that everyone assumed he would leave such a great foundation.
The new man will come in to discover that the contracts the young twats are on are crippling the club and he will need to either re-negotiate the terms until these players actually DO SOMETHING, or sell them off. Hell, just put them all on a boat launch them into the Pacific.
The new gaffer will have three jewels to work with in Ramsay, Vela, Wilshere but I will take him a while sort out the ridiculous wage bill before he can bring in top class players.
November 24, 2008 at 12:20
Paulinho – yeah it’s weird that he’s completely fucked the club up, we’d have been better off without him, great points spot on.
November 24, 2008 at 12:23
Geoff, Keyser, that Newcastle game was the infamous Graham Poll is a f*cking arsehole game, wasn’t it? I’m sure he sent Parlour off in the 1st half for tackling Bellamy. I remember thinking I would have killed him if I’d been close enough. Thierry would have too.
November 24, 2008 at 12:24
Well Keyser, he has with this ludicrous experiment, cultivating a zombie-like environment where the young players walk around in permanent state of malaise.
A new manager will walk in and think he’s in an episode of the X-files
November 24, 2008 at 12:24
Spurdozer, I had a peek, his last 11 posts have got 28 comments ha, ha, ha, so he is really popular!
November 24, 2008 at 12:24
The House of Arsene has a bathroom in the driveway and a swimming pool in the kitchen
November 24, 2008 at 12:25
hahahahah,
November 24, 2008 at 12:25
afc53 – Im sure you sat in silent protests when he scored late vs. United and Chelsea….I see above someone quoting both Myles palmer and Piers Morgan…..lads seriously dont quote these idiots. They are as fickle as they are wrong. The Prophet – you mention English spine but we won league bases on a French spine. to those wanting Arsenes head. Whos going to replace him? What happens if he goes and they’re is an exodus of talent. Cesc, Clichy, Sagna all gone. You forget these players came to play for Wegner. This witchhunt will end badly for us if you are not careful. Arsene has done enough for this club and for us the fans to be judged at the end of the season not in November. of course he knows there is problems, injuries aside. I trust him to get us through it and PLEASSSE don’t support that idiot, trouble maker Piers Morgan and that tabloid, hysterical inducing Mail.
November 24, 2008 at 12:25
Chozzer, I think you’re right, it was Parlour, then he sent one of theirs off at the end, it was when Henry lost it, I was pissed then so my memory isn’t great!
November 24, 2008 at 12:26
This just tells us Geoff how popular these legendary morons are!!
November 24, 2008 at 12:27
Colonel Mustard, this isn’t a season this is the fourth, everyone is saying that his stubborness is costing us, you can’t keep the faith forever.
November 24, 2008 at 12:27
Bren
Getting the right chemistry is spot on. They call Wenger an alchemist but alchemy has never succeeded in it objective. Also I stand corrected I would include all players from the British Isles not just English, Ramsey looks like he is fighter, however please not another Willy Young!!!!! Or perhaps?
November 24, 2008 at 12:28
Paulinho – err, yeah, ludicrous..
Hopefully if Wenger hangs in there for a season or two, and we keep playing the same Carling Cup team, maybe elevate them to FA Cup status and so on, it’ll be like emergence of a buttefly from it’s cocoon and the new manager can simply sit back put his feet up and share a Gauloise with Gallas.
November 24, 2008 at 12:28
Got that right Spurdozer!
November 24, 2008 at 12:28
Gallas trains with Arsenal
by Alex Livie, 24 November 2008
Have your say Read comments
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William Gallas edged closer to a return to the Arsenal fold when training with the first-team squad on Monday.
The France defender was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy and left out of the squad to face Manchester City at the weekend following his extraordinary attack on his team-mates.
Arsene Wenger gave no comment on Gallas before or after the defeat to City but reports on Monday suggested the Gunners chief was ready to offer the olive branch.
Arsenal face Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday and Gallas trained with the squad on Monday.
There has been no word as to whether he will be included in the squad to face the Ukrainians, but the defender seemed happy during the training
.
.
I was wondering what he’d feel when he trains with the team.
He seems happy though
November 24, 2008 at 12:30
thing is about getting behind AW just because he’s been here 12 years, I dont agree. its not like we are angry because he made the odd team selection gaff or dodgy substitution. we are far more worried abou the bigger picture. All the big stuff going on at the club is in a bad way. The only positive is the quality of the 16 and 17 year olds coming through. That is one aspect of a huge football club.
wenger did well for 8 years. he managed the club in the right way by using lots of top quality experienced players. since the move to Emirates he has gone on a massive transfer wage cut but increased wages massively at the same time. We dont even have a proper management stucture since dein left and there’s no one to tell Wenger when he’s getting it wrong – if they did , they’d be sacked. its a dictatorship.
wenger is so far up his own arse, he cant even admit to the problems that are blatently in front of everyone’s eyes. he’s the only person who thinks what he thinks. since 2004 the club has been on the slide and incapabale of winning trophies. In 2004 i felt we were about to embark on a period of dominance, how wrong was I?
November 24, 2008 at 12:30
I know one thing: AW’s Frankenstein experiment with the team has to stop. If it doesn’t he will be history. If he holds his hands up (privately) and admits to himself he has f***ed up and is starting again, the supporters will unite behind him. But things have to change. STAND FOR CHANGE.
November 24, 2008 at 12:31
Chozzer – Dayum was it Parlour, Poll was a knob that day, I still remember Campbell getting sent off for a last ditch tackle against newcastle must;ve been a different game, maybe a different team or even different person.. In fact I could have been watching rugby.. heh..
November 24, 2008 at 12:32
Myles Palmer is capable of rational points but also of complete stupidity. I remember when he said Hleb was a cross between Beckham and Solano
I actually stil don’t think Wenger will buy any players in January or even next year. He will just say at the end of the season that these young players have learnt from such adversity and ….”the mark of a young player, a GOOD player, is how much you want it. How do you respond? Are you happy to accept we what has happened this season or do you want to come out fighting? I see these guys every day and let me tell you they are fighters and have tremendous quality. Are United and Chelsea better than us? I must say, I’m not convinced.”
Expect Wenger to roll lines similar to that at the end of the season.
November 24, 2008 at 12:33
So at what point does Arsene either make a change to his policies, or the board says . . . “enough?” Do we really think that the board will do that?
November 24, 2008 at 12:34
he will prove you all wrong, mark my words. You forget easily how good we can be. We are in crisis yet United are level with us, adversity is now our friend. “If you’re going through hell, keep going” ~Winston Churchill”
November 24, 2008 at 12:34
What are the odds of us beating the chavs 2-1, with WG scoring the winner?
Priceless….
November 24, 2008 at 12:35
Paulinho, I don’t agree . . . I do think that Arsene will buy at least one player. I don’t see him buying 3, but I think that he sees the potential of the fans to carry him out of the city with pitchforks and torches . . . it could get really ugly for him.
November 24, 2008 at 12:35
hahahaha, niceone paulinho, a cross b/w becks and solano hahaha.
November 24, 2008 at 12:36
ahh the fickle mob…
November 24, 2008 at 12:37
Great quote by Saint-Exupery which is very relevant to today’s topic and Wenger he is a compatriot of your’s so maybe you will listen?
A chief is a man who assumes responsibility. He says “I was beaten,” he does not say “My men were beaten”.
November 24, 2008 at 12:37
he is a manager, but we aren’t…….do you get what i mean??
November 24, 2008 at 12:37
Mustard, well . . . your commitment to Wenger is admirable. I don’t know if calling for his head quite yet is the answer, but I do know that something has to change, and that change typically happens at the top . . . le Manager.
So, Mustard . . . if Arsene is to stay, what has to happen in order for things to change? How do we beat the Chavs?
November 24, 2008 at 12:37
Myles Palmer thinks he is too cool for school…….
November 24, 2008 at 12:38
hahaha another nice joke by colonel mustard.
November 24, 2008 at 12:38
Spurdozer, that was before he joined. He thought he was giving us the scoop and lowdown of our new player.
He contradicts himself continously but he has been very consistent in mocking Wenger’s youth policy so I don’t think he’s adjusting his pieces to suit the current climate of discontent.
November 24, 2008 at 12:39
My comment is a reply to mustard 12:34
November 24, 2008 at 12:40
Colonel Mustard, we are far from a fickle mob and that comment gets you a yellow.
November 24, 2008 at 12:44
gazzap – The bigger picture ? This is supposed to be the lowest point in Wenger’s whole career at Arsenal, yet we’re 5th in the league, top of our Champions League goup and still in contention at least in the Carling Cup.
We’ve moved to a brand new stadium in the 4 years he’s supposedly gone down hill and while it’s imposed restrictions on us for the near future it only bodes well for the future, in that same space of time Clubs haven’t done anything special to supercede us but have outspent almost everyone in the whole history of football.
November 24, 2008 at 12:45
Michael P, the funny thing is you are probably right. We will end up beating the Chavs, and then Arsene will be hailed as a genius. Can’t we just get some consistency.
Oh, and I bet you that we win this weeks CL game, and then Gallas will be forgiven, and it will all go back to the way it was. What to do? What to do?
November 24, 2008 at 12:46
Song shielded the defence well in the West Ham game and because of that I have been calling for him to be given more time. Song was not played out of position on Saturday he played defensive midfield but unfortunately he neither linked the play nor shielded the defence. I realise now that the West ham game was a fluke and I have sadly come to the conclusion that many on this site had reached some time ago.
The more important question is will Wenger? It is possible as between now and January he can only work with what is available and that includes Song. A repeat performance which I am sure Chelsea will be more than willing to supply and Wenger will have to take his head out of the sand. I hate to quote Miles Palmer but “Chelsea will not stop at 3.”
Wenger has never failed while being at Arsenal: a minor signing error here and there during 12 years is not what I call failure but his gamble of finding a midfield partner for Cesc this season has failed.
I don’t believe that Ramsey is the answer this season but I hope he gets the chance to play, In fact there is a part of me that would like to see Ramsey and Wilshire play against Chelsea that way all those people who have been crying out for Djourou as some kind of saviour of the defence, who have been remarkably quiet after the weekend, will see first hand that it is too early.
November 24, 2008 at 12:46
Geoff – I’ve heard you say that this site is jst for kicks and you don’t get any money for hits, is Myles site run the same way ? Because he’s got a couple of adverts running, how much profit could someone generate like that ?!
November 24, 2008 at 12:48
Hot news off Arse.com !!
We have a new head of corporate hospitality.
No CEO/Replacement fo rthe orange one appointed for over a year but a new head of fleecing the fans.
Further proof of where our club’s priorities lie.
The mugs.
November 24, 2008 at 12:48
Maryland…..again I think we have enough to beat Chelsea…as we had United….its very easy to motivate yourself to play the big team…we tend to shine in these games and we certainly have the weapons to beat them…but our consistency remains troubling but thats Arsenes job now. Hopefully by this time next Monday, we will have our reputation intact post Kiev and Chavs. I see your frustration as much as anyone but now the players need to show Arsene and us what they are made of. let see where this takes us, we can do nothing till january and our collective blood pressure need a drop. Its ironic that Villa plus Hull are being lauded and United still 3/1 for the league and we are on the same points pretty much. If we can ride this storm out we can spring a few surprises this season.
November 24, 2008 at 12:49
Paulinho – Hleb: A cross between Beckham and Solano ? That must piss you off endlessly, when did he say that, was it mean’t as a compliment or an insult ?!
November 24, 2008 at 12:49
London – Ill wire you a hundred pounds if Chelsea put 3 past us…….
November 24, 2008 at 12:50
Keyser the bigger picture is that all the teams behind us are pretty crap and only 2 have our level of support.
I told the board 7 years ago to get the site offered at Kings Cross, 100,000 capacity and a million ways to get home, they went to the Grove, so he’s not that bright.
Arsene wants the credit for all the good things, so he should take the shit for all the bad things, especially when it’s his fault.
The money we all pay to watch entitles us to compete, he gets tons in from the EPL and the ECL, there’s no excuse.
November 24, 2008 at 12:52
Keyser I don’t know, I just turn them down flat, that way no one can accuse me of trying to get ratings.
November 24, 2008 at 12:53
Keyser
http://www.anr.uk.com/articles/m-2005-06-09-08-20-02.html
This is when I knew not take him too seriously. I mean, he couldn’t have picked players that were more opposite to him.
November 24, 2008 at 12:54
London I’m glad you are seeing what I am, but Djourou I though did okay, Song was supposed to be shielding him from SWP and Robinhio but went missing as usual.
Also Djourou’s quick thinking save a certain goal on the line.
November 24, 2008 at 12:54
we should ask the court of justice to persuade Chelsea for mercy on our piss poor kids. What you think Col. mustard.
November 24, 2008 at 12:54
Chary
Who are the mugs?
November 24, 2008 at 12:55
Colonel Mustard, nothing would give me greater pleasure than for Wenger to be proved right at the end of the season; I will eat all the humble pie available. All I crave is for us to return to being a successful club with a good manager at the helm.
November 24, 2008 at 12:55
Keyser, I don’t think that anyone is disputing your points, rather it is the consistency, the lack of performance, player selection, losses to lower and mid tier teams . . . that is the issue.
On a different note, I thought you all would want to see our records since we last won the league . . . note the loss’:
2004-2005
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
2 Arsenal 38 25 8 5 87 36 51 83
2005-2006
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
4 Arsenal 38 20 7 11 68 31 +37 67
2006-2007
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
4 Arsenal 38 19 11 8 63 35 +28 68
2007-2008
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
3 Arsenal 38 24 11 3 74 31 +43 83
November 24, 2008 at 12:55
To be fair, he compared their assist records not playing styles( he didn’t have a clue then what his playing style was I suppose). But it wouldn’t surprise if he thought he was deadball expert.
November 24, 2008 at 12:58
OK players must come in, but who should come in?
Who can we really get?
I would drop Almunia, play Fabianksi until Jan. If he does well then we dont need a keeper.
I would sell Gallas, and replace him with a big strong CB. I dont know who is available, Zapata?
I would bin Song, and see if Ramsey and Fabregas can play in the middle together. Alonoso or Barry would be great for us.
I dont think we need a forward. If Eduardo comes back, we will on paper have loads of forwards. I would like to see some wide players in the team, however with Rosicky and Walcott out, and Wishire not ready to play 90 mins we need an option. Perhaps Vela if he is not starting.
Should RVP be binned as well. He is a great player, but not a team player. By removing him perhaps the spirit in the dressing room will improve.
November 24, 2008 at 13:00
Geoff – There’s no excuse ? Maybe but there’s plenty of reasons, it doesn’t matter in todays game how much support you have because you end up with some minted billionaire comes in and just transforms a whole club from mediocre to World Giant.
If Wenger brings in a few players during a transfer window, but Citeh outspend everyone else in World football like Chelsea did to overtake our Invincible side, it’s not really a reflection on Wenger so much as it shows the state of today’s game.
Villa’s net spending for this seaon on transfers was only exceeded by two other clubs across the whole of Europe, Inter was one I can’t quite remember the other.
November 24, 2008 at 13:01
I would bring in Lucho Gonzalez in Jan, that’s if Wenger doesn’t want a defensive mid but a central midfielder who can bring defensive solidarity at times.
November 24, 2008 at 13:03
I’ve got a spud client in my shop at the moment. She’s an oap season ticket holder, Never seen her so happy. At least she’s not gloating.
November 24, 2008 at 13:04
Keyser the players he sticks by are shit and the player he brought in wasn’t what he should have.
Song is shit, Bendtner not the quality we need and Silvestre is okay but it should have been Kompany, Zapata or someone like that.
November 24, 2008 at 13:04
Hi Guys. Top Post Geoff. A bit off topic. Do you know that Scolari (Chelsea), Benitez (Pool) and Vidic (Mancs) all complained about 10 men behind the ball teams? The team that can handle facing these sides would win the league. Thats what I think anyway. And what do I know?
November 24, 2008 at 13:07
Geoff, it appears we have another fan boy to add to our list.
It seems he is about as popular as all the other sites that write nasty things about us.
Zzzzzzzz!
It is sad when the only thing you can write about is other websites.
November 24, 2008 at 13:07
Mark, is this your dream scenario, or do you think that Arsene is going to do this? The reality:
1. He won’t drop Almunia
2. This is the only reality . . . he might sell Gallas, but I doubt that he will sell him during the regular season . . . remember that Gallas is cup tied
3. He probably won’t bench Song . . . but then again his performance on Saturday was shocking
4. Ramsey and Fabregas would be nice, and we actually might see that . . . though my concern is that they are very similar, and I don’t know if we need 2 Fabregas’ right now
5. Forwards – We need a feeder/finisher, and an out and out striker. RvP and Ade need link up men . . . Nikky B. I don’t even know where to begin with my frustration with the Dane
Just my two cents.
November 24, 2008 at 13:09
Gooner michael – the board of the AFC are the mugs. For what they think is important – corporate hospitality instead of the haemorrhaging of the first team.
November 24, 2008 at 13:11
He wants to slap me Pedro, can you imagine what he’d do if he saw me?
November 24, 2008 at 13:12
good shout paulinho, that guys a nasty fucker and a good player too.
November 24, 2008 at 13:12
I think Arsenal should kiss and make up with Willy G. I kind of like the idea of pairing him with Upson. We could really do with some English players in the team to see the emerging crop through. You watch Muamba in Bolton midfield or Sidwell in Villa’s and u think these guys would have fough better against ManCity, Villa, Fulham etc. Not ideal signings but these guys were once in our ranks. How did they escape it and the like of Song remained. Im tired of all these talented continental players like Hleb and Flamini who see the club as a stepping stone. For once lets splash the cash on an English CB and CM say Upson, Barry
Just to point out that I am not English, not European too so please dont get paranoid about my comments
November 24, 2008 at 13:14
Geoff – Bendtner’s our 4th choice striker, how good should he be ? he’s young and does have potential despite putting in a couple of bad performances as for Song i’d still like to see him play behind a four man midfield.
It’s not that simple anymore, the trasnfer window was almost dead this year with only a couple of players moving for big money, I’d think most of the playrs being linked with us were more interested in re-negotiating the contracts they have with their clubs.
Alonso and Barry were linked with but in an ideal situation I wouldn’t want either of them, if only Essien was free but then he’s out injured anyway.
November 24, 2008 at 13:15
WATCH SKY SPORTS NEWS.
ARSENE PRESS CONFERENCE ON NOW
November 24, 2008 at 13:16
Keyser, good enough to head the ball somewhere near the goal and good enough to have the odd shot, that’s all I expect, he’s done neither in the last 4 games.
November 24, 2008 at 13:17
MG – my comment was what I would like to see.
Gallas is only cup tied for the CL.
He has not played in the Carling Cup or FA Cup, so Stoke or Fulham could buy him!!
There are plenty of teams in france, such as PSG that would take him in Jan.
November 24, 2008 at 13:18
I’d imagine there would be a small puddle by his feet. It would be like that fat guy who wet himself in Shawshank Redemption.
Children eh?
November 24, 2008 at 13:18
Cesc New Captian
it was a no brainer really wasnt it
November 24, 2008 at 13:19
Fabregas is the new Arsenal Captain.
November 24, 2008 at 13:19
Heh, Raif beat me to it.
November 24, 2008 at 13:20
CESC IS NEW CAPTAIN!
November 24, 2008 at 13:22
Shit… my news wasn’t exclusive.
November 24, 2008 at 13:22
Yeah tell me about it..
November 24, 2008 at 13:23
sorry mate. lol
im actully recording the Conference aswell. i dont know why but hey.
November 24, 2008 at 13:24
Keyser ManUtd won the league with Carrick partnering Scholes for most games in the last two seasons. (Last season Anderson got the nod for a few games) That pairing looks a bit light weight but when you’ve got a no nonsense CB pairing like Ferdinand and Vidic then u dont necessarily need a tough tackling midfielder like Essien or Cana. We are a passing team and I would prefer we had a CM player that had some steel and brain. Alonso and Barry are very good passers of the ball and they read the game excelently (Spot the danger intercept the pass, make the tackle or close down on the man) whats the use breaking up the play then misplacing a pass like Diarra used to do in the few games he played for us or like Sissoko did at L’Pool.
November 24, 2008 at 13:24
good news, has wenger given any team news ahead of the game? ade and eboue fit?
November 24, 2008 at 13:24
NEWS BROUGHT TO YOU FIRST BY RAIF
November 24, 2008 at 13:25
kingsley
CESC BACK
Gallas is back.
Nasri OUT
diaby OUT
November 24, 2008 at 13:26
How’s Gallas going to perform now, he had enough trouble with the 25 year old!
November 24, 2008 at 13:26
Visqui Cesc (Catalan)
November 24, 2008 at 13:27
Did we ever find out who the 25 year old was?
November 24, 2008 at 13:27
It’s still not on Arsenal.com, how fucking shit are they?
November 24, 2008 at 13:28
London
no mate. but all the fingers point to RvP
November 24, 2008 at 13:28
Is Nasri out through injury or has Wenger finally seen that Vela is a better option on the wing?
November 24, 2008 at 13:28
Perhaps now Cesc will tell him everyone thinks Song is shit and to buy some players.
November 24, 2008 at 13:29
We can do but hope
November 24, 2008 at 13:29
Hey pedro/geoff could you plzzz give me any site’s link which says bad words about le-grove. I sort of enjoy reading the comments of these brainless gits. plzzzzzzzzzz.
November 24, 2008 at 13:29
Geoff
you will be waiting for ever if you keep looking for news on that webite mate.
i only go on Arsenal.com for the fixtures and the injury updates
November 24, 2008 at 13:30
I’ll go get it for you now!
November 24, 2008 at 13:30
Cheap plot again by Wenger to keep Cesc at the club. It was a no-brainer anyway Alumnia is shit, Toure is becoming shitty
November 24, 2008 at 13:31
London
Nasri is out Bcos of a Inflammation of the knee
November 24, 2008 at 13:31
That means he will be leaving in the summer then!
Oh btw Bendtner looks like shit but so does RVP… …only Drogba, Jones and Adebayor can survive the way Arsenal is playing on scraps…
FFS the midfield does not create chances and gives the ball away in the final third… …that is bhy Nick looks better playing with the kids they give him the ball in space where he can use his skill… …ATM he receives the ball in impossible situations.
His backheal in the box was genius and had any other player then Dong recieved it then we might have been 1nill up!
November 24, 2008 at 13:32
Here it is Spurdozer, but be careful, he has 5 comments on there, and we got them for him! http://www.upforgrabsnow.co.uk/
November 24, 2008 at 13:32
does anyone wants me to e-mail them the Audio of the conference??
November 24, 2008 at 13:33
I though Robin’s goal was fantastic.
November 24, 2008 at 13:33
Cheap plot! That’s a bit harsh most fans would offer their wives or girlfriends to keep him at the club. Yes his passing has been off but who has he had to work with?
November 24, 2008 at 13:35
I agree Franchise. This could backfire spec-fracking-tacularly!
November 24, 2008 at 13:36
yeaaaaaaaaaas. CESC IS CAPTAIN. I wanted Ramsey though, but you can’t have it all.
November 24, 2008 at 13:37
Franchise – Last season United and Chelsea were most effective when playing 3 in midfield, using the likes of Hargreaves, Anderson, Essien and Mikel to be the tough tackling energetic player.
It’s no surprise that Liverpool have shown the same sort of consistency and Alonso his best form for a while because Liverpool have Maschrano behind Alonso and gerrard in front. Then have 2 wingers or hard working players with an end product and it becomes very dangerous. Although it’s taken Benitez 4 years to finally get there.
It’s just one way of going about it, we had a midfield 4 last season that were just as good because all four could tackle, pass and had had 3 seasons to build up that sort of understanding. We had all the qualities that were needed, it’s going to take time to build it up again unless you bring in like for like. If we’d had Alonso instead of Flamini last year it wouldn’t have worked, Alonso for Fabregas maybe. Barry would be more of a fit.
Alonso and Carrick are good all round players.
November 24, 2008 at 13:37
I cant wait for January window. If Wenger really wants to assure the fans we need to wrap up three deals by the 5th of January.
November 24, 2008 at 13:37
oi editor,dont slag off glen helder,his debut was the best afc debut that iv ever seen
November 24, 2008 at 13:38
Thanks very much Geoff!!!! And raif email me here at bulletproof_waleed@hotmail.com
November 24, 2008 at 13:38
well lads if we look at past events about our players getting the armband is nomally to keep them at the club. PV04 – TH14 one year later there backs was packed so Cesc Could be on his way out come next year
November 24, 2008 at 13:38
after all the summer campaigning for ade out bendtner is old nik has let his fanclub down bigtime,now you know why ade is worth 80 a week
November 24, 2008 at 13:39
Was his debut at Wimbledon?
November 24, 2008 at 13:39
1 good thing from today then.
and Gallas will play tomorrow.
Any news on Adebayor, and Toure, we need them both now…
November 24, 2008 at 13:40
if cesc packs his bags that his choice why arsene trys to keep some guys is beyond me,if they wish to leave then let them,i hope he stays but i wouldnt give him the armband purely to keep him
November 24, 2008 at 13:41
helders debut was nottingham forest at home,him and chris kiwomya, the day george got sacked an we won 1-0,merson scored the most overweight overhead kick iv ever seen
November 24, 2008 at 13:43
Mikel is not a tough tackler Keyser he just has a physical presence. He hardly slides to tackle like Ferdinand. L’Pool Play with Alonso and Mascherano as Holding midfielders if u watch them Mascherano is even mostly ahead of Alonso. Trying to break up the play in the opponets half. Chelsea used to do the same with Essien ahead of Makalele who IMO is the best player to play that position since Rijkaard. They actually named the role ‘the Makalele role’ Makalele was also no someobne u wld regard as a tough tackling player. He just always did enough to get the opposition players frustrated. He would stick to players like glue, hold on to their shirts if possible. In his career he hardly got sent off cos he was so cunning
November 24, 2008 at 13:43
i think edelman got scaked for a reason,all that he decided to leave is bollocks,he got shoved and i think what happened in the transfer window and with matt flamini’s negotiations was a major part,you cant let a man whose aim is to make the club money be incharge of spending it
November 24, 2008 at 13:48
Cesc was the only choice which says a lot about the lack of maturity in our squad.
Some points;
1. Gallas should have been stripped of the captiancy but only cos he went public.
He is right that there are to many prima donnas at the club who think they are Bertie Big Bollox . They’ve won nothing and can therefore never be considered Arsenal greats until they do. They need to understand this.
2, Anyone who wears pink boots is an embarassment. In Bendtners case he is a no-talent embaressment anyway – get rid of him back to the championship asap
3. If there are troublemakers in the squad they should be got rid as well, no matter who they are. What ever happened to the huddle….our team looks like a collection of individuals at the moment.
4. The club needs a CEO now. Wenger looks/sounds like a man streched to breaking point – his press conferences and post match interviews are becoming painful. Someone needs to let him concentrate on team affairs and let them deal with transfers etc, espcially as we need to get a few players in and ship a few out in January.
November 24, 2008 at 13:48
Pedro/Geoff if nobody has mentioned it yet, we played Man City on Saturday and Dynamo Kyiev is up next!
November 24, 2008 at 13:49
Got to agree guys, we cannot turn the clock back, but if we could, would you believe in august that with the start we had (the fixture list – no-one of note to play until mid November) that we would be on 5 losses by now?????? exactly…no fucking way! And would have thought that when the Spuds had 3 points from 8 games that after 13 games they would be breathing down our necks???? Why can’t Wenger just come clean and stand up and say…we are not good enough – If he say “spiwit” of the team once more, I ‘m gonna chuck something at the tele! _ You know why he can’t say we’re not good enough???? because he is the one all along that has said we are! Be a man and admit you’re wrong! I’had to learn the hard way in management…when you’re beat, hold up your hands, say your wrong and more importantly, what you’re gameplan is to put it right……….I’m moving in to me office in the Emirates next week
x Sharky
November 24, 2008 at 13:50
We didn’t actually play man city. We just turned up.
November 24, 2008 at 13:50
haha the huddle,van persie is too evil to huddle
November 24, 2008 at 13:51
Franchise – Maybe I should have said can put in a tackle when needs be, it’s more the energy and stamina, Flamini had a bit of pace aswell, we’ve conceded goals in the last few weeks, partly because the midfield doesn’t have the same understanding going forward where players know where to make the runs to free up space, especially when playing teams who sit back, but also because the more we’re frustrated the more players we push up front.
We’ve got caught on the break numerous times, someone like Flamini could get back, as could some of the others we mentioned, Makalele wouldn’t allow himself to be caught out of position he’d let the other midfielders do the attacking work.
Alonso would get caught out, or he’d most likely sit back but then we’d have the same problems going forward, there’s loads of little things we need to work on, like the cunning side, Fabregas and Denilson got booked pretty early on against Villa while their midfield got away with several fouls each before they got a talking to.
November 24, 2008 at 13:52
see sharky your wrong,he cant come out and kill confidence even more by sayin they aint good enough,for your information there is a transfer window in january when you fix problems,until then you cant do nothing so you dont come out an diss the players you have
November 24, 2008 at 13:54
Hey raif did you send me the video?
November 24, 2008 at 13:55
we dont seem to score with van in the team unless ade is putting chances on a plate for him,he spends too much time droppin into the creative midfield zone ,he is blocking cesc or denilson from gettin creative by snatching their space instead of leading the line,i suggest ade & vela or ed eventually!
November 24, 2008 at 13:56
spurdozer. / Everyone intrested
i couldnt send it to you mate Hotmail is rubbish only lets you upload 10Mb.
so for you and everyone who wants the Wenger conference i have uploaded it to send space.. its a excellent website to send data over the web.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/490ay7
November 24, 2008 at 13:57
Audio Mate. i couldnt do video
November 24, 2008 at 13:58
Sharkey, hence why I mwntioned this quote earlier
A chief is a man who assumes responsibility. He says “I was beaten,” he does not say “My men were beaten”.
I just want to hear Wenger stand tall for a change is it too much to ask!
We can see what a difference a coach makes with the same squad;
England under Sven
England under Macca
England under Capello
November 24, 2008 at 13:58
Keyser Alonso doesnt just sit back. Remember his goal against Chelsea. He was on the edge Chelsea’s 18 yard. Anchoring the midfield doesnt neccesarily mean that you dont support the attack. We get hit on the break cos we attack stupidly taking too much risks Clichy and Sagna the furthest up the pitch yet no decent crosses. Gallas pushing up from CB etc. We need to be more crisp and faster with our passes especially when we are in the final third of the pitch. We pass the ball around without purpose more defensive players start to push up to support then we loose the ball carelessly and our defensive players are out of position and we get hit on the break
November 24, 2008 at 13:58
I was at the Nou Camp recently – in their club shop they have pictures of players decorating the walls, the only non-Barcelona player they had was Fabregas………………
November 24, 2008 at 14:00
Good luck to Cesc!!!!!
This has got to be the hardest time to be appointed captain in the last 50 years..
November 24, 2008 at 14:03
And I hate to say it Goona 8 but the Spuds under ‘Arry – breaking news Cesc just been naed skipper
November 24, 2008 at 14:04
No problem raif. thanxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
November 24, 2008 at 14:06
i disagree avanell,he isnt following adams or viera or a captain which has won something,id rather take the job from gallas than viera or adams
November 24, 2008 at 14:07
when did we last sign an italian that got into the first team /
why is diaby out,anyone
i still think the culprit is ade not rvp a pair of cunts.
November 24, 2008 at 14:09
lol ade is innocent this time kelsey
November 24, 2008 at 14:10
Everyone Intrested
i have uploaded the Wenger conference to send space..
its a excellent website to send data over the web.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/490ay7
November 24, 2008 at 14:10
Judge me in May, then we’ll see, he said that when people are wrong they never come forward and say the were wrong.
Well Arsene we’ve been telling you to buy new players for 3 years now and we’ve won fuck all, will you admit you’re wrong? course you fucking won’t, hypocrite.
November 24, 2008 at 14:10
Bergkamp..
When Adams took the captaincy, we had never won anything for years.
When Vieire took i,t we was best in England.
Same with Henry.
Gallas had it harder..
Now the expectation and the media spotlight is on Arsenal like never before.
That’s why I think it’s a difficult job… I may be wrong..
November 24, 2008 at 14:12
Avenell I agree with you. Crap Squad, Media Hate, An even more stubborn coach etc
November 24, 2008 at 14:14
avanell do you think arsenal care about the media really?? the media is just a pest to them, if footballers read and cared about everything that was written they would all be suicidle,cesc is taking a job that can only get better,the fans are on his side,he is a trusted member of the squad,adams had it hard and done well,patrick viera was lucky wenger spent money when he took over,for cesc he wont be blamed for any of arsenals problems,henry and gallas had it harder!
November 24, 2008 at 14:15
come on Cesc, let the good times begin, starting with beating Kiev tomorrow and the Chavs on sunday!!!!
We are Arsenal – and we’re back!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 14:16
if i was cesc i wouldnt be too worried about the captains armband,id wear it but unless i had promises that i wasnt gonna play as denilsons body guard for another 6 months i wouldnt embrace it that much!
November 24, 2008 at 14:17
I have to comment about this captain’s role….really what is it?! Does wearing the armband bestow some super captain powers on you!? Its a collective team attitude. nothing more. if you are a professional player, this should be a given. Did he say Diaby and Nasri out too?……unreal…
November 24, 2008 at 14:17
i dunno about back,back to 94 maybe
November 24, 2008 at 14:20
Raif, thanks for sending the MP3. Arsene is very defensive when asked about the captiancy.
November 24, 2008 at 14:21
very defensive during that interview. you could feel the pressure.
November 24, 2008 at 14:25
BTW Maryland. How was your experience of England?
November 24, 2008 at 14:26
Michael P . . . woah there fella. 2 changes have been made. Gallas is no longer captain. Cesc is captain. That solves only one issue of character.
We need to sort out the midfield. Song has got to go. Diaby needs to be slotted in his proper role, along with finding the right DM for the job.
Then we need to sort out our strike partnerships.
Arsene is right on one point . . . “let’s be judged in May.”
November 24, 2008 at 14:27
he said that also last year
November 24, 2008 at 14:27
marylandgunner
no problems man. did you listen right till the end of the recording? lol
November 24, 2008 at 14:27
No, that sorts out a captain who has played with the invincibles, is world class and IMO can pull the team in the right direction.
I seem to remember a certain Tony Adams being made Arsenal captain at the same age?
November 24, 2008 at 14:28
Gooner . . . it was absolutely fantastic. I had never been to London (The Mrs. has been before . . . she is the jet setter) before. We did all of the touristy things (Tower Bridge, Parliment, London Eye, etc.), but most importantly we saw 3 games. Two great games (Arsenal v. Man U. and Arsenal v. Wigan), and one crappy one (Arsenal v. Villa).
We stayed in Belgravia. Really nice area. We are planning on coming back in the spring.
November 24, 2008 at 14:28
Afternoon all…
Excellent post Geoff!
November 24, 2008 at 14:28
Raif . . . still listening.
November 24, 2008 at 14:29
lol ok
November 24, 2008 at 14:30
Cesc got the armband…which means…”operation Save Cesc from leaving for Barca at all costs”
November 24, 2008 at 14:32
Raif . . . lovely . . . not a fan of Van DerSar I see.
November 24, 2008 at 14:32
I’m glad you had a great time and to see us beat the mancs must have been amazing. And you’ve been to 2 places I’ve never been to! Strong dolllar so buy your sterling soon!
November 24, 2008 at 14:33
Maryland…good to hear you had the chance to see 2 great games…lets face it 2/3 definately isnt bad – especially condidering….
November 24, 2008 at 14:34
marylandgunner
i just felt it was the right thing to say after 12 mins of silence. lol
November 24, 2008 at 14:34
maryland gunner what is diabys best role??
November 24, 2008 at 14:35
David (BHQS), I don’t think that this was a ploy to keep Fabregas. Cesc is not stupid . . . he knows that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. Torres (Who he is mates with) left the La Liga because he wanted the accolades/successes associated with playing in the EPL. The EPL is the most watched league in the world. I would have to think that Cesc knows this.
Arsene is (At least from the outside) trying to sort out the debacle known as Arsenal right now. Cesc as the le-Captain makes sense. Clichy just isn’t vocal enough, and Almunia has only started since last season.
Changes are happening . . . probably just not as fast as we would like.
November 24, 2008 at 14:38
wenger shouldnt have been on tv all summer working at the euro’s,that to me shows he wasnt busy looking at our club to find out ways to make us challenge
November 24, 2008 at 14:39
maryland…seriously…who will take Song???
agreed however, that we def need to get rid of him.
Diaby is a powerhouse and should be utilised as a central attacking midfielder, possibly in a 5 man midfield?
Re: strikers, i think some are being a bit harsh on NikB, myself included. I think he has a lot of potential, has shown flashes of class, and will come good.
RvP, should he stay fit, could be huge for us this year, his class in unquestionable, i think he needs an injusy free season to show what he can REALLY do.
Ade, IMO, must go this summer, he just is NOT up to standard. Bring on Adriano in January, along with Cana and Van Buyten….
November 24, 2008 at 14:40
diaby a powerhouse?? just coz he looks like viera it dont make him a powerhouse,iv seen him get muscled off the ball by tall midgets
November 24, 2008 at 14:41
Michael P
theres always somone who will buy one of Wengers Kids,.
Charlton loved him when he was on loan there as he was playing well up there
November 24, 2008 at 14:42
and van persie huge for us?? is it any coincidence weve always done well when van is injured?
November 24, 2008 at 14:42
Does anyone really think we’ll get rid of song? We’re stuck with him I think.
November 24, 2008 at 14:42
Good news, I hope Cesc put it in as part of the deal that he needs partnership of a players of his choice in the midfield and defence come January
November 24, 2008 at 14:43
some people must be watching different players named van persie and diaby
November 24, 2008 at 14:43
Bergkamp….yes, just look at what he does on an international level.
He has the best left foot in the EPL.
HE lacks consistency cos of all the injuries.
Lets judge him after an injury free season (or atleast one with few injuries)
November 24, 2008 at 14:44
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/fabregas-named-as-new-arsenal-captain
November 24, 2008 at 14:44
Wenger says: “You know how it works, you go from fantastic to a catastrophe, but real life is somewhere in between”.
Spot on, exactly right. We are somewhere between fantastic and a catastrophe -its called ‘average’ and why we will end up mid table. To win the prem you have to be fantastic all season, so any drop from that level and you will not win a trophy. I thought wenger said he wanted to win the title not long ago. does he think we can win a title by being average?
Also, if anyone thinks that just cos he has made him captain that Cesc will definitely not leave in the summer is wrong. This changes very little on that front. If we make a mess of the season and Barca offer £30m he’ll still go.
However, its the RIGHT decision and it will lift the other players in the dressing room, even if its just for the short term. I dont think galllas would ever have made a good captain, but at least everyone respects cesc as a player.
November 24, 2008 at 14:45
more and more i think we need cana… him and cesc and chalk and cheese which is why they would work so well together
did anyone see the bit on ANR where he mentions us seemingly turning into another monaco??? not good!!!
November 24, 2008 at 14:46
on international level he plays right midfield,he scored two sitters dont get two happy,look at our best attacking performances of the last 3 years,no van in the team, henry didnt like playing with him,ade scored 30 without him, arsenals forwards dont score without ade in the team,look at the stats,most of vans goals have been sitters an he has missed even more glaring chances than he has put away this season,he is a one trick pony an he has been figured out
November 24, 2008 at 14:48
thanks god
is that you Geoff? haha
November 24, 2008 at 14:48
taeluv… and CF
November 24, 2008 at 14:48
van falls too deep into the midfield,how is cesc gonna rediscover form if van persie keeps falling into his favourite slot on the pitch instead of leading the line?? i wouldnt mind if he was creative but everything he does he does it so he can hopefully score goal of the season,he doesnt do fuck all for the team
November 24, 2008 at 14:49
For a team who are obsessed with keeping possession Song dont fit in. He might do well in Bolton or elsewhere but at Arsenal no chance
November 24, 2008 at 14:49
if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction you might as well leave van on the bench
November 24, 2008 at 14:50
It was a strange one wasn’t it raif!
Tom I loved your Le Grove comment, you seem to have fan mail now!
November 24, 2008 at 14:51
9 times out of 10 the so called amazin left foot misses the target,usually by miles as well,2-0 down at city an he is blazing 30ft over the bar from the edge of the area
November 24, 2008 at 14:52
The truth is if players are gonna come in players would have to go. Arsenal’s policy is to keep our Wage bill at 40% of revenue.
November 24, 2008 at 14:52
@raif
nope my friend
i sit somewhere 5.5 hrs ahead( in india)
November 24, 2008 at 14:52
VP hasn’t scored from a free kick yet if I’m not mistaken.
November 24, 2008 at 14:53
it sure was a Strange one Geoff.
it had your name all over it i felt
November 24, 2008 at 14:53
the amazing free kick taker who starts grief amongst international class dead ball specialists,but when does van take a decent free kick?? he hits the target once every ten attempts,and he goes running across the pitch for them short corners,thats the only time he runs
November 24, 2008 at 14:53
yupppiiiii Fabregas new captain hope it lifts his game to the levels of last season or even further…..
November 24, 2008 at 14:54
They have to change the flight path to Heathrow when RVP’s playing at The Grove..
November 24, 2008 at 14:54
i think van has scored 4 free kicks in his time at arsenal,how can he be snatching the ball of wesley sneider an causing international friction,he aint worthy,his bad points outweigh his good by miles,at least ade puts himself about,but with van snatching at everything why should he bother
November 24, 2008 at 14:54
great. all 5 first choice wingers are now injured. Eboue, Walcott, Nasri, Rosicky and Diaby. not too many options left. Ramsey, Wilshere, Bischoff and Vela are it I think. none are proper wingers. I dont even know if Amaury is in the squad. I dont think he is. Vela looked out of it on saturday on the wing. that leaves just Wilshere and Ramsey. I like them both have to say.
November 24, 2008 at 14:55
goonermichael, not this season.
bergkamp, are you including the freekicks and volleys in the tap ins??
Check out how many tap-ins Ade has missed…
9 times out of 10? where did you find that stat??
November 24, 2008 at 14:55
EE’s back! our saviour!
November 24, 2008 at 14:56
We have a game tomorrow and people are still talking about last game??????
No anticipation????????????
November 24, 2008 at 14:56
Now we won’t have to play that young wippersnapper Ramsey.
November 24, 2008 at 14:56
van has killed kids having saturday afternoon picnics up highbury fields with some off his reckless scud missiles
November 24, 2008 at 14:57
Gazap. Vela Had a double figure flight back from an International and must have felt it a bit.
November 24, 2008 at 14:58
RvP….32 caps and 10 goals….surely thats not right????
November 24, 2008 at 14:58
rookie, the only thing that will lift Fabregas’ game is taking denilson away from midfield. Cesc is desperate for a new partner in there. song isn’t the answer. I dont think we have the answer, but anyone is better than Den. Not because he’s crap but because of the affect he has on Cesc’s game. Losing 50% of cesc is killing us.
November 24, 2008 at 14:59
michael p,which freekicks?? you mean the 5 or 6 averaged by good dead ball takers a season or the 4 in 4 years for van? or the volley 3 years ago?? wat about the 4 yard misses against fulham and sunderland?? wat about the right boot from a rediculous angle with half the team quein up to score in the middle against hull?? see its a telepathic understanding when ade fits vp up with sitters,but its a shyt partnership when van refuses to pass back
November 24, 2008 at 14:59
The Fans can play their part. We have to give Cesc the best opportunity to start his tenure as captain. I think it is the right choice, cesc IS a gunner, gallas never was, and you always felt he was in it for himself before Arsenal.
I think this is great news. The fans need to make sure the gloomy atmosphere is lifted in the next game. I only hope Wenger goes with an attacking line-up, fuck this defensive crap. Lets go at them….
COME ON YOU GUUUUNNNNNNNNNNERRRRRRSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 14:59
8 goals in 8 starts last season was it?lol
November 24, 2008 at 14:59
Van Persie has scored free kicks in the past against Wigan, West ham, Fulham and Sunderland but this sason all he does is hit the wall.
In other news my shit dell laptops harddrive crashed and i havent been on anything in days nor will i be able to be on again for a few dsays. Thats a real bollocks but at least i wont have to listen to thwe AKBs or any other bad things. Anyway thats all.
November 24, 2008 at 14:59
Thing is Gazzap none of the players you mentioned are wingers, they’re all centre midfielders, that’s the problem, we need wingers, the only one we ever had was Overmars, even Pires wasn’t a real winger.
November 24, 2008 at 14:59
i aint Geoff
November 24, 2008 at 14:59
hi PPL finally the expected is done .. FAB is captain…..
November 24, 2008 at 15:00
Hi i am back.
November 24, 2008 at 15:00
like i said michael,van plays for himself,he will always do well,but its no coincidence no one else does well playing with him!
November 24, 2008 at 15:00
Stu
More like Hit Row Z
November 24, 2008 at 15:01
welcome back spurdozer
November 24, 2008 at 15:01
Van persie has hit the bar and several posts though this season.
November 24, 2008 at 15:01
thats his complete list stu??
November 24, 2008 at 15:01
Kiev are at full strength minus 1 defender.
November 24, 2008 at 15:02
fenehbahche away.bolton away,man utd,our best attacking performances,no van
November 24, 2008 at 15:02
geoff i just went back and read what ‘grabs’ said… the first sentence sounds like he wants to be best mates the next im gutless and stupid !! ha… what a cunt!! maybe you should impose a no ‘good morning’ rule… who wants a friendly polite atmosphere anyway!!!???
November 24, 2008 at 15:02
Geoff you dont get points for bar or post,thats nearly man stuff
November 24, 2008 at 15:03
Stu… Have a go at Choy..
November 24, 2008 at 15:03
man, you is an RvP hater…..
you’re looking at THIS season….thats a good measure!
November 24, 2008 at 15:04
Jay Simpson and Fran Merida are likely to be added to the squad.
November 24, 2008 at 15:04
Anyone who knows about a class footballer knows that RvP is world class.
FACT.
Haters are everywhere….
November 24, 2008 at 15:05
im looking at the career of van at arsenal,his best time was as an impact sub,never as a first choice,he is greedy,he wants the headlines,the way we play we cant afford to have one guy upsetting the balance,with van in the team we havent done shyt ever
November 24, 2008 at 15:05
hey guys, i know we’ve been stressing on getting that much needed midfield enforcer to replace flamini but i really really think arsenal shld try and get podolski.
he takes his chances well and will shoot from any distance.
heard on sky that he handed in a transfer request wanting to desperately leave bayern in January although manchester city looks to be favourite to outbid anyone else interested.
still i think arsene shld try to get him and a hard tackling midfielder(of course), that will lift the fans and players around surely!!
November 24, 2008 at 15:06
why is this van persie hate thing going????????
November 24, 2008 at 15:06
When Bendtner plays,, We all have to hit the bar!!!
November 24, 2008 at 15:07
michael p class footballers win trophies for teams single handedly almost,hery,bergkamp, no point in having class alone,matt le tissier had class,id rather play for the team and win and have class,like bergkamp or henry!
November 24, 2008 at 15:07
our whole team is not performing so don’t just blame the kid……
November 24, 2008 at 15:07
most strikers are, by defination, greedy.
November 24, 2008 at 15:08
singlehandedly???
oh, ok, i thought it was a team game…
November 24, 2008 at 15:08
where was the class when he was having a pop at theo for shooting against spurs,where was the class on the left foot from 4 yards against fulham?? where was the class with the hat trick of chances at sunderland?
November 24, 2008 at 15:08
VP is bad, but bendtner is worse.
November 24, 2008 at 15:08
Actually bergkamp they changed the rules this season, have you not heard? that’s why we are 5th, if not we’d be down the bottom.
Tom I suspect the sad bastard posted the comments himself! How desperate to get readers from slagging us, it really is a poor site though, he can’t even spell.
Thanks god, you aint what???
November 24, 2008 at 15:08
this why he should have bought cover …
9 1st team players out…..
Kolo Toure (calf), Theo Walcott (shoulder), Emmanuel Eboue (knee), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Bacary Sagna (ankle), Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle) Eduardo (ankle), Nasri (knee), Diaby (abdominal).
November 24, 2008 at 15:09
it is a team game,an it was always a team game when van aint playing, remember fenehbache away?? or bolton away?? or man utd at home?
November 24, 2008 at 15:10
Van feels the same as Fab at the moment… they are not sourrounded by world class players….
Van is definetly a world class player and deservely he shoudl be playing with world class players…
November 24, 2008 at 15:10
to be fair to RVP… who IS having a good season so far???? nobody!!!
last year when he had a proper midfield behind him RVP was on fire till he got crippled for holland… 7 goals in 9 games or something like that… fair enough he hasnt scored but not many people have!!!
the midfield is the problem
November 24, 2008 at 15:10
he’s human….
and, how can you even begin to single out RvP when we have the likes of Song, Ade, Nasri and even Cesc underperforming?
I take it you have never been part of a team…or managed at any level!
November 24, 2008 at 15:11
ATom…now those are stats!!
November 24, 2008 at 15:11
lol geoff,van cannot be called great until until he achieves something,ade has achieved more than van with half the talent,when van starts to think as a team guy he will start to use his potential fully,until then he will always be an arrogant cunt who is risky
November 24, 2008 at 15:12
Thanks raif. I didn’t know you were waiting for me.
FUCK VAN DER SAR. FUCK HIM.
November 24, 2008 at 15:13
Ok Grovers, I’m off for a bit, catch you all later.
November 24, 2008 at 15:13
spurdozer
hahaha i was waiting to see if u heard the end LOL
November 24, 2008 at 15:14
It will take RVP 75 years to beat DOL5 appearance record!!
November 24, 2008 at 15:14
I’m gonna find it hilarious watching Gallas sheepishly take his place near the back of the line in the tunnel. He’ll probably forget the whole captaincy issue and form a pre match huddle like he did at Chelsea.
November 24, 2008 at 15:14
whats the point of havin a player who only does anything when the team is playin well, thats exactly what van is,we might as well drop him an let the workrate guys do their thing until were on a roll again
November 24, 2008 at 15:15
michael… not the most accurate but people get the idea lol!
if we playing like we were last year and RVP was playing like he is this year they’d have a point but the fact that the whole team has been pretty shocking its not fair to single out people…
except song… he’s the cause of it all…
us being shit -song’s fault
war in iraq – song’s fault
cancer – song’s fault
i even blame him for the printer at my work packing up… he’s the devil
November 24, 2008 at 15:15
I am not saying this in a contentious way – i am generally interested.
For those of you who wish to remove Wenger, who would you bring in?
And be realistic, they would need to be available.
November 24, 2008 at 15:16
raif kudos to you for uploading the conference audio, just dloading now, cheers pal
Fabregas, The Only Serious Choice
Fabregas, The Best A Team Can Get
Fabregas, Because We’re Worth It
November 24, 2008 at 15:16
bergkamp… we won against everton convincingly too and he scored in that game are you trying to prove van is a bad player or curse by quoting three or four games he did nt play and we won convincingly…… we have won many games more convincingly when he played…so please stop these illogical comments…
November 24, 2008 at 15:17
yeah 9 first team players out but Djourou and Vela still wont be in the team! Actually I guess Djourou could play at RB.
I thought Gavin Hoyte did OK the other day too. the papers slated him but I think he did OK considering his first game was against Robinho.
For what its worth I think Vela is better than RVP. there isn’t a lot between RVP and Bendtner IMO.
November 24, 2008 at 15:17
Evening. Re WG.
We shall soon see if he really is ‘Big Balls’ Willy, or just a temperamental Frog.
As the best defender at the club, I hope he is the former.
November 24, 2008 at 15:17
bergkamp… ‘workrate guys’ who are they then?
November 24, 2008 at 15:17
\rsenal tom you find out who your best players are when its backs to the wall time,and van is most likely to throw a strop and get sent off than to actually think about making sure he hits the target,he hasnt got the guts to face pressure
November 24, 2008 at 15:18
workrate guys well ade works hard,im sure vela would chase an not worry about tackl,ing back,sometimes u have to defend from the front
November 24, 2008 at 15:19
Matt any one that can see Song is not arsenal player
November 24, 2008 at 15:19
It would be cheaper to pay Rvp £500,000 a game, than £80,000 a week.
November 24, 2008 at 15:19
Matt’s so sexy. At least his avatar is.
November 24, 2008 at 15:20
van is great when the sun is shining,the team are cruising,everything is goin nice, but when things arent goin well an his captain tells him to get closer to his man defending a set piece he will explode at his captain then go up the other end and get sent off,this is exactly why he was flogged to arsenal,they were happy to see him go
November 24, 2008 at 15:20
Raif it was fun after hearing same words from wenger for 12 minutes again and again.
November 24, 2008 at 15:20
bergkamp… but your admission then this whole team should be got rid of then?
who’s stood up and been counted this year? whos showed never say die attitude not to loose and dragged us back… clichy’s tried, nasri has in flashes and cesc did at sunderland… thats all apart from man utd which was a 1 off
November 24, 2008 at 15:20
I have been reading the comments today. How can anyone deny RvP’s talent ? It is evident that unless he has a decent midfield to pass to him, he cannot perform. Had the great DB10 been in the team, RvP would score 25 a season.
Once Cesc starts to play higher up the pitch (which assumes we sign a DM in Jan), then we shall see the return of RvP’s form
November 24, 2008 at 15:20
hahahaha avenell,and he wants a payrise
November 24, 2008 at 15:21
avenell SO TRUE.
November 24, 2008 at 15:21
no one is denyin his talent,his mindframe and personality/temperment are his downfall BIG RADDY
November 24, 2008 at 15:22
how do you actually upload an avatar if one was so inclined?
November 24, 2008 at 15:22
spurdozer
lol. i thought it was the right thing to do.
anyways lads im off till later
November 24, 2008 at 15:22
I’m even sexier than my Avatar.
November 24, 2008 at 15:23
dennis bergkamp knew when to pass and when to shoot,van persie only passes when it can benefit him,he wants 8 touches of the ball and another 6 to get it on his left foot everytime he gets the ball,he slows down some of the swiftest attacking moves the emirates have ever seen,an thats when we are playin well
November 24, 2008 at 15:24
when cesc starts playing higher up the pitch van and him will be fighting for the same balls, whenever van plays his partner is practically a lone striker
November 24, 2008 at 15:25
colonel mustard… register with wordpress and upload one on the profile page
November 24, 2008 at 15:27
if you play ade and vela they can play off each other well,vela leading the line ade supporting him,but van doesnt support anyone and he doesnt lead the line either, he is too busy jumpin tackles
November 24, 2008 at 15:28
RVP dropping deep gives space for other people to run into… dragging defenders away is as good as setting up a goal just look at what theo did 1 second before nasri’s goal against man utd… that was our strength last year – everyone moving and switching so the defenders didnt know who they were marking
November 24, 2008 at 15:29
arsenal tom we dont have goalscoring midfielders to run into the space,whats the point,we need our goal scorers scoring goals not doin anything else,van probably gets less asists than ian wright did
November 24, 2008 at 15:29
Hey. Matt you might be sexier. But I am interested in girls
. Okay guys I am off. CIAO
November 24, 2008 at 15:29
GUYS HEALTH WARNING DONT ARGUE WITH BERGKAMP. WASTE OF TIME
November 24, 2008 at 15:30
hahaha now bergkamp wants Ade and Vela to swap places…lols
November 24, 2008 at 15:30
that was with 5 in midfield ,playing van is practically 5 in midfield every week,it doesnt support the forward properly
November 24, 2008 at 15:30
Anyone read this: –
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/3511953/Arsenal-manager-Arsene-Wengers-top-10-January-sales-targets-Football.html
I am not too sure we need a striker !!!
A defender/ keeper, midfielder, and wide man before a striker, unless one is leaving ??
November 24, 2008 at 15:31
ade and eduardo was our best partnership,ade and vela would be practically the same thing
November 24, 2008 at 15:32
Bergkamp. We disagree.
To me RvP always tries, He is a temperamental guy – it is the nature of genius. He will never be the Stevie G/JT type of man.
In a winning team he is a must, the problem is that in a struggling team he is a luxury, but one we should keep playing.
I would like to see RvP and Vela tomorrow. It is obvious that Nik is suffering from a lack of confidence, and another night of getting booed by a few arses will not help.
November 24, 2008 at 15:32
rookie what do you mean?? i said play together,they as a pair offer the best variation
November 24, 2008 at 15:32
Franchise have you had these debates before?????? with Bergkamp????
November 24, 2008 at 15:33
Oh. Thanks Franchise
November 24, 2008 at 15:33
beg… this time last year was banging them in and if we had the same system he would be again.
RVP isnt playing well i agree but nobody is and he’s getting no service… if he still plays shit when everyone else ups their game then its a different matter
November 24, 2008 at 15:33
BIG RADDY EXACTLYYYYYYY,a luxury,right now we dont need a van, we need a proper centre forward/striker
November 24, 2008 at 15:34
bergkamp, ur contradicting yourself in every comment, time to give it a rest.
You hat RvP, we get it.
November 24, 2008 at 15:34
who cares if he isnt getting service,that means he has to be more clinical when he does get chances,van is the main man at tryin to be too perfect instead of hittin the target @arsenal tom
November 24, 2008 at 15:35
i don’t have any problem playing them together but Ade supporting Vela???? and vela leading the line????? it is completely opposite vela likes to play off the other striker’s shoulders….
November 24, 2008 at 15:35
Franchise…never a truer word spoken!
November 24, 2008 at 15:35
i dont hate rvp,i just think that he needs to be more direct,bendtner too,i hate to see our forwards out wide an making no effort to get in the middle,we need to get direct
November 24, 2008 at 15:36
bergy…there you go again….
November 24, 2008 at 15:36
vela leading the line,like ian wright an alan smith,dont you remember them days rookie?
November 24, 2008 at 15:37
No I haven’t but its easy to see when a debate is not fair. More of a witch hunt
November 24, 2008 at 15:37
Key word there Raddy, ‘winning team’.
Would Song look any worse than Grimandi in the invincibles team?
Doubtful.
RvP is a superb player, but he’s not getting the service and he is trying to do it all on his own.
November 24, 2008 at 15:38
bergy…on a serious note…WHAT are you banging on about?????????????????
November 24, 2008 at 15:38
Right so cesc is captain… thats brightened up my day a little, not so sure how the crowd is going to react when gallas gets the ball all tomorrow night though lol.
But seriously job half done… all cesc needs to do now is convince our manager to buy in january.
Its kind of mixed feelings for me. imagine if we do well with our new captain up til january??? wenger will turn round and say o we are doing well now no need to buy anyone!!!!
As for tomorrow. we officially have no wingers and no diaby which means wenger cant convert anyone to right of left wing! Cesc in his first game as capitan cannot be shifted to the wing! no fuckin way!!! If this isnt the midfield tomorrow wenger needs his head kicked in!
Ramsey RW, Cesc CM, Denilson CM although he is getting as bad as Song now, Vela LW
Or perhaps this might be better,
Ramsey RW, cesc CM, denilson, CM, LJW LW
and RVP and Vela upfront… drop bendtner!!!
Or since we have so little midfielders availible go 4-3-3
Ramsey, cesc, denilson
RVP, Bendtner, Vela
November 24, 2008 at 15:39
i think i would take Franchise’s Advice…… and stop arguing with bergkamp….:) thanks franchise
November 24, 2008 at 15:40
like i said,dont be foolish im not an rvp hater,but i just think an im sticking to my guns,play ade an vela upfront,ade offers a direct rout an vela seems much more clinical than anything else in our squad,they would combine well,if rvp wants to play iin the midfield supporting nobody then let him,wahats the point f tryin to support bendtner from deep when he cant even do anything when he has the ball
November 24, 2008 at 15:41
Franchise – Don’t worry, I’m back to continure our Alonson discussion Happy Days.
I think you’re right about the faster crisper passes, I see loads of little things wrong with the way we’re playing, we are capable of much better we just need to work out to keep the better side of our game going while slowly eradicating the bad, I though the first half against Man City wasn’t soo bad but then we got caught out right at the end.
After that our gameplan changes, Citeh’s remains the same and they’re just waiting to pick us off, thing is this isn’t resolved overnight it takes time players who are playing with each other every week.
About Alonso, every team that’s showing promise this year seems to be employing the 4-3-3/ 4-5-1 as a basis, Alonso works especially well in that as does Barry and Carrick, even Lampard.
I’d still try a midfield with Song behind the four left from the United game and we’re probably most likely to see that against Chelsea.
November 24, 2008 at 15:41
We lack width, and with Theo out for the foreseeable future, Vela will play outwide. Maybe cutting in aka TH14.
If he is not starting tomorrow, I will return Geoff’s season ticket !! You know the one he is giving up after Song started on Saturday .
November 24, 2008 at 15:41
someone in the arsenal team needs to step up an take matters into their own hands,all that shyt we saw at man city missin the target by 30ft over the bar is not good enough
November 24, 2008 at 15:41
Cesc’s been officilly named as captain… No suprise there then….
As for clearing the deadwood… I would NOT put Eboue in that bracket, i’m sorry to say… He has been one of our better performers and is versatile, so i’m going to disagreemassivly…
You want the honest to god truth who needs to be sent packing….
Almunia (Been promoted cause “WORLD CLASS” Mad Jens left… Doesn’t deserve it just for sticking around and it’s starting to show)
Gallas (Sorry but he cannot be expected to wear the shirt again, best defender or not)
Song (No need to say much, Obviously)
Bentdner (Had his chances and looked very medicore indeed)
Those who are playing for their future:
Van Persie (Had his time and chances and still is yet to produce on a consistent basis)
Denilson (Would be one of my choices to leave, but has at least looked like he has more to offer in the future. Right now though, he looks like a rabbit caught in headlights)
Eboue (Just cause some of you don’t like him)
Clichy (Mr. Arsenal or not, he has in the last 8 months turned into something of a titus bramble fuck up monster of epic proportions)
Toure (He isn’t injured and he doesn’t start.. Being our longest serving player as well and no wenger loyalty spells trouble)
Arsenal line up:
Fabianski/Schzerny
Sagna/Eboue/Hoyte
Toure/Song/Nordviet
Silvestre/Djourou/Bartley
Clichy/Gibbs/Traore
Rosicky/Walcott/Wilshire/Eboue
Fabregas/Diaby/Merida
Ramsey/Denilson/Randall
Nasri/Diaby/Lansbury/Barazite
Adebayor/Eduardo/Simpson
Van Persie/Vela/Bendtner
Looking at that squad and possible alternatives the average is is something scary like 22/23… The obvious fall out from our form and captain’s public comments have rocked the boat… We arsenal fans caould see the problems would arise, but we haven’t just become a bad team with a shit squad over night whatever way you want to look at it…
You can blame the board, the manager or the players, but it isn’t going to help… We need to spend money, but like i’ve reiterated many times in january it will NOT happen… To get deals done for players who are usually:
a) cup tied
b) Non EU, therefore needing to apply for a work permit.
c) Reluctant to move to a club who’s future at that time in uncertain
d) Reluctant to uproot his family at that time full stop
e) Having a nightmare at their current club if they are any good
desn’t make any sense whatsoever… We need in all honesty
A International class keeper (Landreau has been bandied about behind the scenes. Let’s be honest we are not signing buffon with our budget)
A Tall commanding centre back (I’d probs go english on this one (NOT UPSON).. Wheater fits the bill for me but Zapata or some eastern block nutcase will do. Do YOU honestly think SENDEROS want to come back!!!!?)
A Class winger (Over 23 please!!! We are lacking here big time.. Walcott is living off an england performance and is still best used as an impact sub in my opnion, where as Rosicky isn’t fit untill the summer. That leaves us with new boy who doesn’t have a house yet Nasri and 16 y/o Wilshire… Or if you’re Wenger… Diaby, Eboue and Denilson if he’s forgotten his medication)
A Centre Midfielder (Our biggest concern.. You can’t xpect to have 1 of the best passing midfieldersin the world in your team and surround him with unproven, undeserving and under performing talent. Cesc’s been made captain, but in his own mind he probably thinks he deserves a whole lot better than is currently available or afforded him.. It’s De Rossi for me all the way.. There isn’t much else i’d take, so this is the place where the real money must be spent)
Centre Forward (I don’t think this area is an issue, but some of you do…. We’d have to sell one of our starters to replace 1 and that means selling adebayor or van persie… I’d personally keep both of them and with ed, vela and to a lesser extent bendtner and simpson I think we are o.k there… Watch out for Benik Afobe in a couple of years)
Let’s just hope the manager can sort out this mess by listening to the fans this time… Cause to be honest when he saiid 3-0 flattered man city, was the day he in my eyes has lost himself in his seige “us against them” mentality.. Arsene just for the record, I was watching and how it wasn’t 5 or 6 I do not know)
November 24, 2008 at 15:42
???????????????????????????
Anyway, moving SWIFTLY on!
Kenny, it def will be interesting to see the crowds reaction to Gallas.
I hope the crowd just gets behind the team and makes Cescs debut as captain a good night!
4-3-3? Now that would be interesting!
November 24, 2008 at 15:43
I feel just gutted that what I said, what most of us said in August has come true and it’s only December. remember back to 12 midnight 31st August, as the transfer news petered out and Arsenal failed to purchase, that sense of disbelief and emptyness is going to haunt us all season long.
fucking shit.
November 24, 2008 at 15:43
we should play van on the right of midfield, vela on the left, cesc and ramsey in the middle,ade upfront with bendtner,i dunno who is fit for defence,but we might as well just all out attack
November 24, 2008 at 15:43
Keyser. What went well in the first half v City ?
November 24, 2008 at 15:44
comments on RVP is so predictable… its the same thing every year…he is world class, will explode into the scene soon, he needs a good partner bla bla bla…5 years and counting.
November 24, 2008 at 15:46
van will make even fucking fenando torres look useless,he has the ian wright effect,alan smith was a a golden boot winner till wrighty partnered him,except van aint ian wright,he is a good player but no wrighty!
November 24, 2008 at 15:46
With Nasri and Diaby out tomorrow the team will be interesting! I’m pretty sure we’ll see Vela start for the first time, probably in a 4-5-1, 4-3-3
Almunia
Djourou Gallas Silvestre Clichy
Denilson Song
Cesc
VP Vela
Bendtner
That’s what I imagine the team will most likely be, though I’d love wenger to take a risk and put ramsey in rather than song. In the current atmosphere though I think he’ll go with Song to try and add a bit of steel.
What people thinking? A good win would be nice to get us up for chelsea at the weekend
November 24, 2008 at 15:47
that schzerny geezer has two broke arms
November 24, 2008 at 15:48
Big Raddy – I admittedly had a crap feed, I just felt we weren’t completely out of it, Djourou wasn’t completely suspect and the game was choppy but we were in it, almost like a goal for us could’ve swung it a long long way in our favour, we need to score first in the next couple of games just to give us some confidence.
November 24, 2008 at 15:48
we need to win bigtime or we could be dumped out the champions league
November 24, 2008 at 15:49
when city went 1-0 up the writing was on the wall,thats the biggest worry about the city game,we never threatened them once,both our forwards went missing
November 24, 2008 at 15:51
Keyser we weren’t at all completely out of it. It was a tight and pretty nothingy game with very few chances, the song miss and Benjani header the best chances of the half, then we gifted them a goal with the clichy fuck up. Second half likewise. Chances were pretty even, we couldn’t control the match at all but neither could they. Started to open up a bit in the second half with a few more chances but still very weird game, then they hit us on the break, then djourou gave away the clumsy penalty. They probably edged it, but didn’t hammer us in terms of the play, they just took their chances better. They deserved to win, but 3-0 was very flattering
November 24, 2008 at 15:51
Is Ade out tomorrow?
November 24, 2008 at 15:52
avenell Says:
November 24, 2008 at 3:19 pm
It would be cheaper to pay Rvp £500,000 a game, than £80,000 a week.
Haha -not to far from the truth , i should really laugh its kinda sad.
November 24, 2008 at 15:52
i hope not avenell,no one else who can play upfront alone in our squad
November 24, 2008 at 15:53
yeah i agree bergkamp, we never looked like we were going to really penetrate, we never tore them apart. Nasi, VP, and Bendtner had some nice little interchanges, but never in the critical areas, and never actually created anything at all. Not that they created much more
November 24, 2008 at 15:53
For once I agree with Bergkamp. Our forwards went missing. But so did the rest of the team apart from JD.
We need to get some luck and score early tomorrow. Once the nerves have settled, we can get back to playing our passing game
November 24, 2008 at 15:53
yeah he is avenell
November 24, 2008 at 15:54
Merida has been included in the squad and it is expected he will play on the left wing….jay simpson has also been included with gavin hoyte expected to keep his place…
November 24, 2008 at 15:54
the squad is the same as saturday, except for nasri and diaby out, with gallas and cesc back
November 24, 2008 at 15:55
It’s that bloke with the … “I am a Dickhead aware” boots then..
November 24, 2008 at 15:55
the main problem really amongst our forward is they all play with their back to goal,this is why id throw vela in to shake it up
November 24, 2008 at 15:55
yeah and simpson and merida in, but i doubt we’ll see either of them. Where you read that merida will start rookie? ahead of Vela?!
November 24, 2008 at 15:56
or even simpson,pace is the thing defenders hate most
November 24, 2008 at 15:57
nasri is another sicknote,dear oh dear
November 24, 2008 at 15:58
simpson ahead of vela now too?! I’d be shocked if it isn’t bendtner up top supported by vela and vp in our old school champions league formation. There just isn’t any alternative
November 24, 2008 at 15:58
Wilshere could start tomorrow, now that will be interesting.
Piers Morgan is a c*nt; disloyal article in the Daily Mail. After 25 years as a Mail reader I stopped buying it 6 months ago as it’s journalists are complete rubbish.
AW should be given 12 months to sort out his mistakes – just as suggested yesterday.
November 24, 2008 at 15:59
nikolas bendtner thinks he is a proper footballer,someone should slap him an tell him no he is a centre forward so when the ball is in the air clatter some fuckin goalkeepers or defenders and stop standing on the wing with gay boots on
November 24, 2008 at 15:59
Hi all
Anyone worked out what the team is gonna be tmoro
November 24, 2008 at 15:59
4-5-1
————-Almunia———-
-Djourou–Toure–Silvestre–Clichy–
——Ramsey–Cesc–Denilson—
Van Persie——————Vela–
————-Adebayor———-
November 24, 2008 at 15:59
yeah it is worrying bergkamp, i hope he isn’t injury prone in the long term or we could be in alot more trouble!
November 24, 2008 at 16:00
ramsey, fab, denilson, vela
RVP, bentdner
thats what we’ll get i reckon… nice and safe from mr wenger
November 24, 2008 at 16:01
Merida has been playing well on left wing in CC…. and Arsene sees vela more of central player so he may be playing upfront tomorrow with RVP or start from the bench….because according to Arsene he is yet to get that battling side of English game…and he seems to lose physical battles too easily…
November 24, 2008 at 16:01
i agree with that team reva apart from toure is injured, it’ll be gallas in for him. i do think there’s a good chance wenger will include song ahead of ramsey, I hope not though!
November 24, 2008 at 16:02
A…i think he is quite prone to injury and badluck,he missed a season with meningitis and has been in an out since then
November 24, 2008 at 16:03
he aint gonna learn about english physical battles on the arsenal training ground,wenger should put vela straight upfront an tell him to stick to the weaker of the rival centre backs like glue,he would frighten the shyt out of them
November 24, 2008 at 16:04
yeah rookie in the future vela will be more central, but he can still play out wide, he did all last season and has a couple of times as sub this season. He’d be in well before Merida would. Wilshere would also start out wide ahead of Merida I’d imagine.
November 24, 2008 at 16:04
Really A? O.k then swap Toure with Djourou and start with Hoyte again…
————–Almunia————
G>Hoyte–Djourou–Silvestre–Clichy–
——Ramsey–Cesc–Denilson–
Van Perise——————Vela
————Adebayor————
Bench: Fabianski, Song, Gibbs, Merida, Wilshire, Bendtner, Simpson
November 24, 2008 at 16:05
when were defending corners we should also leave the fastest attacking player on the halfway line,iv never understood why theo gets back in the penalty area
November 24, 2008 at 16:07
ReVela, I would see Djourou plaing a central role. The rest is probably right.
November 24, 2008 at 16:07
yeah i know bergs, though you can’t really blame him for the meningitis! It is worrying that it’s always knee injuries, something recurring there could be horrific. We need a bit of consistency and structure in the team, especially with nasri. He needs to play so the team can adapt to him being the link man, as they did with hleb. If nasri is in and out of the team the system doesn’t have the chance to evolve.
I agree about vela. No more internationals now for a good while so i’d imagine vela will be more and more involved from now on.
November 24, 2008 at 16:07
Rvp’s stats are better than last year…
Ade stats are good…
Nasri’s stats are better than Hlebs..
Walcotts stats are better than Eboue’s …
Yet were crap compared to last year….
November 24, 2008 at 16:07
If Wenger starts with song again after that citeh shambles, i’m not even watching the game. YES I mean it.. How he and denilson stayed on for 90 mins in that game is beyond me… And Arsene took off Hoyte for Ramsey so he could put Song at Right back????? I thik Song has some dark secrets about Arsene
November 24, 2008 at 16:09
almunia
gallas djourou sylvetre clichy
vp cesc ramsey vela
ade nik
that should be the starting line up ,if he plays 4-5-1 thats just too much resepcet shown ,bordering on inviting them to beat us
November 24, 2008 at 16:10
oops, meant to say as well reva, ade is injured. It’ll be that team with bendtner in rather than ade, though interesting whether gallas put straight back in or we play the same defence as saturday. Also interesting to see whether it’s ramsey or song, i really do hope the former. Give Kiev a right hammering be perfect build up for sunday. Also good we get the extra day’s break.
Thinking about it I reckon Nasri just being rested for sunday’s game. He’s come from france which is a much less physical league, so his body won’t be used to getting kicked non-stop and he’ll have loads of niggles.
November 24, 2008 at 16:10
Keyser Im back. Yeah 4-3-3/4-5-1 is becoming very common these days. I think the reason is cos teams are placing more emphasis on defending rather than attacking. I think building a team from the back is the term Mourinho used when he won he’s first league title in England. 4-3-3/4-5-1 is a more cautious than a 4-4-2 with the extra man in the middle however it doesnt neccessarily make it less adventurous. Even Wenger a 4-4-2 believer eventually succumbed and the first time we employed it we got to the CL final in 2006.
November 24, 2008 at 16:10
because we cant defend avenell
November 24, 2008 at 16:11
Simpson should ALWAYS start ahead of Bendtner.
NikB has been given his chances.
November 24, 2008 at 16:12
without ade
almunia
gallas djourou sylvestre clichy
denilson ram cesc vp
nik vela
November 24, 2008 at 16:12
bergs theres no way vp and vela can play on the flanks in a 4 man midfield. Neither of them are midfielders as such, they can just play out wide if there are 2 holding mids to cover them, not in a 4 man midfield with no holding mids!! Ade is out too so it won’t be that.
It’ll be more 4-3-3 than 4-5-1. Or 4-3-2-1 probably a more accurate description, the barca formation, I think it could work well, especially if ramsey plays rather than song
November 24, 2008 at 16:12
Revelation i like your line up. I would play the same.
November 24, 2008 at 16:14
michael p simpson is miles away from starting, he doesn’t even train with the first team on a regular basis, not anywhere near the first team squad regularly, let alone ready to start.
yeah bergs i reckon that will be the team, though the formation will be different i’d imagine
November 24, 2008 at 16:15
with Cesc, Denilson and Ramsey in the middle 3 players that can give those killer slide rule passes our strikers should have a few chances
November 24, 2008 at 16:15
A the thing about that team is it can change formation 2 or three times and at least maybe 1 substitution could change it yet again if it aint working out
November 24, 2008 at 16:16
Bergkamp, you asked a bit ago about where I would play Diaby. He could play a central role in midfield. He has done very well in a 5 midfielder layout. I really like him, and rate him as one of our better midfielders. He isn’t Viera, but then again, Viera wasn’t known for his amazing goal scoring potential now was he.
November 24, 2008 at 16:16
Franchise – He didn’t eventually succumb, 4-3-3 was what we were going to play in 98′ but the defence felt they needed more protection, I’m pretty sure he’s played those formations before. Ranieri had put it in place somewhat and the base was there, Mourinho was lucky because he just went out and bought all the players he could find and left World Class replacements on the bench, sadly for him the replacements begin to go stale being left out for soo long and the team started to fall apart, I don’t think United were particularly good in the 06-07 season.
avenell – Individually their good, we just need to get the pieces together, we’ve barely played our fully fit first team let alone the same players in a couple of positions, we need a bit of luck right now.
There was a bit of luck involved last year aswell as the fact that the players had spent a few seasons together, we just need to start small, hopefully get some luck then build on to it when players start to come back ?!
November 24, 2008 at 16:17
Hello peaches,i did give you an answer yesterday but you went off air.
November 24, 2008 at 16:17
id play van on the right unless he assured me he would play closer to the other forward an wouldnt go off strolling leavin nik isolated an looking shyt
November 24, 2008 at 16:18
yeah i agree franchise. although only really vela is a run behind the defence sort of striker, though bendtner and VP both can it isn’t really their strengths. Though with cesc, denilson, ramsey, VP, and Bendtner all brilliant at creating chances for others vela will be in dreamland! I’d imagine vp, bendtner, cesc, ramsey, and even denilson will all get chances tomorrow. Though if it is ramsey in rather than song denilson could well be told to be completely and utterly a DM, not go forward at all
November 24, 2008 at 16:18
maryland see but it suits diaby to be the main midfielder with the free role in the 4-5-1 but even then he rarely has the legs for the full 90,in a 442 where would you see him?
November 24, 2008 at 16:19
A…thanks for the info on simpson.
He is still a better option than Nik B on his current performances…
November 24, 2008 at 16:20
yeah i agree bergs. would be a very fluid formation. As we’ve done many times in the past in the champions league couple years ago especially started 4-5-1 with vp on the wing then moved him up front changed to 4-4-2. Does give us alot to work with
November 24, 2008 at 16:20
I would like…
Fab2..
Hoyte… JD.. Silvestre… Clichy..
LJW.. CAPI.. Denilson… Rambo..
RVP.. Vela..
But it will never happen, Wenger will bring in one new player at a time and destroy there confidence…
November 24, 2008 at 16:20
the main difference between vela and the rest of arsenals forwards is he wants the ball infront of him an not to his feet,he would keep defences on their toes rather than the guys who play with their back to goal, perhaps he could create the space for van to utilise the left sided cannon, perhaps he cant!
November 24, 2008 at 16:20
Jut so I actually know WHO ISN’T AVAILABLE?
November 24, 2008 at 16:21
Keyser do u know that Mourinho’s and Benitez’s arrival in the Prem made teams more defensively aware. Who cared about clean sheets prior? In the last 4 seasons the teams that have won the league mostly played a 4-3-3, 4-3-2-1, 4-5-1 whatever u want to call it
November 24, 2008 at 16:22
we have to start scoring withing our first few chances rather than expecting more chances. urgency is the order of the day,an waiting till theirs 10 minutes left to throw on a kid to win you the game will not do,netheir will piling on defenders if were 2-0 up
November 24, 2008 at 16:22
Arsenal’s current injury list reads as follows: Kolo Toure (calf), Theo Walcott (shoulder), Emmanuel Eboue (knee), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Bacary Sagna (ankle), Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle) Eduardo (ankle), Nasri (knee), Diaby (abdominal).
November 24, 2008 at 16:23
Man U started the 4-5-1 when Van Horseface was striker…
November 24, 2008 at 16:24
we need to have players who make runs mixed with players who come to collect the ball,this is why were so easy to brutalise as well
November 24, 2008 at 16:24
franchise george graham would have something to say about noone caring about clean sheets before mourinho and benitez!! formations have changed massively though you’re very right. Most teams do play with just 1 up top, and that used to be unheard of 15 years ago
November 24, 2008 at 16:25
A . . . we’ll be fine.
November 24, 2008 at 16:25
4-3-3 then…
Almunia
Hoyte/Gallas
Djourou
Silvestre
Clichy
Ramsey
Cesc
Denilson
Van Persie (RWF)
Bendtner (CF)
Vela (LWF)
Bench: Fabianski, Song, Gallas/Hoyte, Wilshire, Gibbs, Merida, Simpson,
November 24, 2008 at 16:25
Franchise – How do you judge that, I don’t quite get what you mean ?! In the last 4 years the biggest change has been Abramovich and the amount of money that’s flooded into the Premiership. Plenty of teams cared obout clean sheets prior to that.
November 24, 2008 at 16:26
I remember a day . . . not that long ago . . . when we could be behind by a goal, and come back and win . . . those day’s are a distant memory now.
November 24, 2008 at 16:26
with one up top you other players have to be very supportive like hleb and rossicky,and like cesc would be if he wasnt wipin denilsons skinny ass
November 24, 2008 at 16:27
After saturday i wouldn;t play bedntner he gets worse with every game,in fact as far as strikers go,he is one of the worst i have seen.without wingers expect rvp and whoever go to the wings and cross balls to no one in the centre.
Is diaby fit?
Randall should play at least he gets stuck in and simpson for bedntner
November 24, 2008 at 16:27
To get the best out of our most talented attacking player Van Persie, We should maybe once adapt their system.. i like my 4-3-3 above looks dangerous, but suspect to counters, which we havent dealt with well lately
November 24, 2008 at 16:27
So, if we win tomorrow, do you think that we will win on Saturday?
November 24, 2008 at 16:28
I remember when you could stand behind the goal, and not get hit with a RVP free kick..
November 24, 2008 at 16:28
I can’t remember a time when Arsene played a 4-3-3. Sounds great, but I don’t think he likes that many strikers up front.
November 24, 2008 at 16:28
i remember the day when if we got reduced to ten men we would probably be 1-0 down an still win,those days seem even longer ago,no one these days is stepping up,cesc would but the manager has abused his talent
November 24, 2008 at 16:29
no kelsey diaby is out. randall is talented but a complete bellend and won’t ever make it or become a top player because of his attitude, he’s a poor man’s bentley.
November 24, 2008 at 16:29
Whatever reception WG gets tomorrow, the fans should raise the roof when Cesc is announced. He needs all the support we can give. A lot of articles are heralding his appointment as a ‘new beginning’ which is expecting a lot of him, but it might just make the players feel like that and be the boost we need to return to winning ways.
November 24, 2008 at 16:30
i can remember just,when we were a great team,and everyone feared playing us
November 24, 2008 at 16:30
we played a 4-3-3 when we had the ball an a 4-4-2 when we lost possesion with bergkamp henry wiltord ljundberg and reyes maryland,attack as a team defend as a team,formation dont matter as long as everyone steps up and does their job,the defenders enjoy defendin and the forwards defend with intent even if it aint their cuppa tea,thats the difference in this team an wengers usual teams!
November 24, 2008 at 16:31
Avenell, the scary thing is that RVP is our best free kick taker. Name one other player that has that kind of pace on the ball? Cesc’s corners and free kicks are like punting the ball in the air . . . let’s just call a Spade a Spade . . . free kicks aren’t his forte.
November 24, 2008 at 16:31
how could i forget pires,remember his legendary tackle on viera,you wouldnt get one of them from denilson or diaby maybe even clichey
November 24, 2008 at 16:31
A – I agree totally about Randall, but Coquelin is a little terrier, snapping at heels and he doesn’t give the ball away. I’d like to see him make a first team debut sometime.
November 24, 2008 at 16:32
i bet the fans will cheer everytime gallas gets the ball lol
November 24, 2008 at 16:33
Nasri and Ramsey should be our free kick takers.. Rvp takes just about every one when he’s on the pitch..
November 24, 2008 at 16:33
no they aren’t maryland, he’s pretty average at set pieces in general, just because he can’t kick the ball hard enough! Though he demands to take them all when vp isn’t playing despite the fact nasri is much much better at them. That’s what worries me alot regarding his appointment as captaincy. If he’s already so arrogant that he uses his superiority in the team to demand to take set pieces ahead of those better than him, what’s he going to be like as captain?!
November 24, 2008 at 16:34
Avenell . . . I forgot about Ramsey’s free kick . . . it was on target, had pace . . . shame on me.
November 24, 2008 at 16:35
if we signed ronaldinho do u think rvp and cesc would accept their set piece deadball days are over?? i think rvp would refuse to get off the ball
November 24, 2008 at 16:35
yeah i really really rate coquelin too rasputin, but it’s a bit early for him just yet. I think he’ll be an absolutely fantastic player, but only moved to england in the summer, and is very young. It’ll be a while yet before he’s considered for the first team properly, probably not till next season.
November 24, 2008 at 16:35
Actually i’d prefer not to go to a 4-3-3 as i’d smack of barcelona….
You’ve seen my team selection so i’ll give you Arsene’s:
Almunia
Djourou
Gallas
Silvestre
Clichy
Denilson
Fabregas
Song
Ramsey
Van Persie
Bendtner
November 24, 2008 at 16:35
One of the best 4-3-3 ive seen in the prem of recent was Chelsea in 2004-2005 with Robben and Duff on the wings Didier as CF. Even Utd last season werent that great Ronaldo was just extra-human. CHelsea looked like one of the most organised teams I had ever seen in my life. In fact I was scared of them
November 24, 2008 at 16:36
maryland… no
a draw at chelsea will be a good result. especially considering the injuries, last week and personnel we have
November 24, 2008 at 16:36
Quite a bit of RVP bashing today. Is he really that big of a problem? Or are we addressing the ego issue here?
November 24, 2008 at 16:37
if ramsey tried take an arsenal freekick from that range robin would feel his toes being stepped on
November 24, 2008 at 16:37
Rasputin – I think Coquelin does give the ball away from time to time difference is he goes and gets it back, Heh..
November 24, 2008 at 16:37
to be fair bergkamp vp does on his day have one of the best left foots in the world! A free kick felt almost like a penalty a couple of years ago, but since he came back from his long term injury he just seems to have lost his range completely, though has been improving gradually, as with his shooting in general. When he first returned he struggled to keep the ball in the stadium everytime he stepped up! His corners are still absolutely fantastic though.
November 24, 2008 at 16:38
its the ego,maryland,their is a famous story at feyonard of rvp ,1-0 down in the last minute a freekick,they had pierre van hoidonk an he placed the ball,rvp started an argument an ran up an blazed it 60ft over the bar,thats one of the reasons he was only worth 2mill
November 24, 2008 at 16:40
A i been a season ticket holder for 14 years and i can say theirre was no specialist an van seems like a power man,he is no specialist,when i see guys step up to hit them against us i feel like they could score,i dont feel the same about van and his record of 4 scored in 4 years!
November 24, 2008 at 16:41
Cesc Fabregas has described his elevation to the Arsenal captaincy as “a great honour”.
The Spaniard was handed the armband on Monday as a replacement for William Gallas.
At 21, Fabregas is one of the youngest captains in the Club’s long history and he admits it will be emotional experience to lead the side out for the first time against FC Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday night.
“It is a great honour for me to captain one of the biggest clubs in the world,” said Fabregas. “It is a proud moment. I know it’s a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential.”
good on the boy
November 24, 2008 at 16:41
yeah he did have massive attitude problems in holland, though he was and still is rated as their most talented player back home. Back then there was robben and rvp, and rvp was the one they rated higher. The lack of a big transfer fee had alot to do with the fact he’d gone on strike or fallen out with the coach and the rest of the team so wasn’t even playing, and his contract was up in the summer and he was refusing to sign a new one. I remember him being unveiled at highbury, paraded on the pitch wearing the most ridiculous black and white striped trousers looking like such a poser!
November 24, 2008 at 16:41
how many freekicks has van taken this season?? 1 hit the post,and the rest hve been miles away
November 24, 2008 at 16:42
I figured it was the ego. Well, the truth is that EPL footballers can be Type A personalities. I am not surprised that we have ego’s. But Arsene (Being the head honcho) should trump all of that. There should be a healthy dose of both fear and respect for Arsene.
Do you think that still exists today? I think the Gallas drop might have stirred that pot again. But before this week, I think that he was looked at as the Gaffer, not as Arsene Wenger. Just my two cents.
November 24, 2008 at 16:43
Clichy – Fabregas deserves his new role
Gael Clichy has backed Arsène Wenger’s decision to install Cesc Fabregas as Arsenal’s new captain.
The Spaniard was given the job on Monday as a replacement for William Gallas. Fabregas may only be 21 but Clichy, a ‘veteran’ himself at 23, believes he has the right mentality to excel in the role.
“It is a new start and I hope Cesc will do well,” said the left back. “I’m sure he will.
“When he started in the team everyone was saying he was too young to have so much responsibility but he has shown he can handle a team and put in good performances.
“I’m one of the older players now but, it’s not only about age, it’s more about togetherness. Of course I will do my best to help my team-mates and I’m sure all the players will give him all the support he needs to be one of the best.
“I’m not scared of saying that he is the key player in the squad so he deserves the respect of the boss.
“His performances over the last couple of years have been fantastic and so I feel it is a good choice.
“For example when we played this year against Sunderland, we were losing 1-0 but he scored the header and we drew the game. That shows the character of Cesc.
“And, last year against Milan he scored a goal that makes you feel this kind of player is really important in the team.
“The only thing Cesc has to do now is play his best football. I’m really happy for him and I’m sure he will do well.”
November 24, 2008 at 16:43
bergkamp how many free kicks did you think henry scored in his Arsenal career?
November 24, 2008 at 16:43
its no coincidence that plenty defenders like to thump van,there is arrogant and then there is van, i just think he is his own worst enemy and you gotta question why rival fans hate him badly and rival players an even team mates,he is no wayne rooney,so exactly what is it??
November 24, 2008 at 16:44
Bring back Brian Talbot for the free kicks..
Maryland rvp is okay just having a bit of a laugh, nothing much else to smile about…
November 24, 2008 at 16:44
franchise not that many but he wouldnt have taken them had we of had a so called specialist,he scored more than van but iv never heard anyone talk about the right foot of henry like they do about the left boot of van
November 24, 2008 at 16:44
he must have scored more than that bergs! He is considered by everyone that plays with him to be brilliant at set pieces. Sneider is one of the best in the world and he shares them with rvp though obviously there was that one big argument little while ago between them!
November 24, 2008 at 16:45
Other than Ronaldo, how many truly lethal free kick takers are still in the EPL . . . Gerrard? Becks was lethal, but those days are over. Lamps? They are all spotty, except for Ronaldo. He is one of the few that truly amazes me time and time again.
November 24, 2008 at 16:45
Berg, I think it is safe to say, you are not an RVP fan.
November 24, 2008 at 16:46
there was an argument because van wanted to take an freekick from a right footed position an moved sneider off the ball,an sneider is a much better freekick taker than van
November 24, 2008 at 16:46
bergkamp… its because they know he’s a good player… all the better player get kicked… ronaldo used to get battered reyes got battered… its standard practice… its how u react that matters
November 24, 2008 at 16:46
well theres brilliant on the training ground and brilliant on the pitch,van is definantly not the latter
November 24, 2008 at 16:46
Afternoon Pedro/Geoff and Le Grovers,
Good post mate, maybe we should start doing DVD’s as often as the Spuds do.
If we get a draw on Sunday against the Chavs maybe! Ha ha
I think we will do Chelsea on Sunday. 2-1 or 2-0, and yes, I am being serious.
November 24, 2008 at 16:47
AT, spot on.
November 24, 2008 at 16:47
im a van fan.id love van to do the business,but its season 4 for van now,im not convinced,i prefered 30 goals ade to no goals but helpin van out ade
November 24, 2008 at 16:48
Hi guys you seem to be ignoring the fact we have 9 players out.
Almunia will start, even though Fabinaski should be given the start.
Defence will consist of 4 from Gallas, Clichy, Silvestre, Djourou
Midfield with no Nasri we have no natural width.
Vela, Gibbs, Merida, and Simpson, Wilshire and Ramsey can play there
The likes of Song, Denilson cant play out wide.
I would go for something like RVP Ramsey, Denilson, Fabregas and Merida
With Bendtner up front.
November 24, 2008 at 16:48
Wrighty, I think so as well. The Chavs will expect the same Arsenal squad to show up that played Man City. We will beat them . . . they will say it’s a fluke. I will say piss off to them.
November 24, 2008 at 16:49
maryland vp is much better than ronaldo at set pieces, and his conversion rate is much better! ronaldo is actually pretty crap at set pieces, i don’t know a single utd season ticket holder that thinks he should take them. they are just down to luck, spectacular when they go in, but just hitting the air valve isn’t a great skill, and he takes so many but very rarely scores!!
November 24, 2008 at 16:50
giovani,elano,ronaldo,the german englishman of man utd,gareth bale,david bentley, steve gerrard,even john arne riise is better than van at free kicks (formerly of liverpool) ballack , thats just a few,all better than van
November 24, 2008 at 16:50
Thats the attitude Maryland! Piss off Chelsea and whoever else! ha ha
November 24, 2008 at 16:51
hahahahhahahaahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahaahahahahaha vans conversion rate at freekicks better than ronaldos hahahahhahahahahahhahahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahaaha
November 24, 2008 at 16:53
i disagree with most of those bergkamp! all supporters of clubs think differently to the rest, about their free kick takers. Except for the likes of juninho, sneider, del piero, free kick takers miss loads more than they score, but because everyone sees the ones they score or go close on motd and the pundits go on about them people think they do it every other time, which the vast majority dont
November 24, 2008 at 16:53
The best free-kick I’ve ever seen was that Roberto Carlos goal against France for Brazil in 1997.
Amazing!
The ball went about 5 yards wide of the post and then just bent in.
I think Carlos used to hit the valve as well but I suppose it helps to have 34 inch thighs!!!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 16:53
bergkamp – Seriously mate, you’re putting way too much emphasis on this and the stories from way back when, look at Ballack and Drogba last season for Chelsea, fighting over a free kick or was it a penalty ?!
Van Persie I think had 3 assists against Tottenham for one, we don’t have a massive problem we have loads of little ones that have begun to effect all the players, I don’t think we can focus on one player to shoulder all the blame.
2 of those were free kicks, you’re right about the power thing but when he hits a sweet one it’s almost unstoppable.
Ronaldo must’ve taken 10 free kicks against Villa on the weekend, his technique while it looks good is pretty much crap.
Beckham’s most famous free kick is probably the one against Greece, he still hit another 7 or something wide or over the bar or into the wall.
November 24, 2008 at 16:53
vans only technique is to bang the ball as hard as possible,thats why usually the goalkeepers dont move an someone in the crowd dies,he has no real skill
November 24, 2008 at 16:54
It if it wasn’t for RVP we wouldn’t have scored any goals against Spurs at all. He was directly involved in every single goal.
And only last month he hit the post at West Ham with a free kick.
November 24, 2008 at 16:54
bergkamp ronaldo’s conversion rate is absolutely attrocious. he has at least 3/4 every single match, and scores one maybe every ten games at very most
November 24, 2008 at 16:55
and every utd season ticket holder is as annoyed when ronaldo insists on taking every one as i am with cesc taking all ours!
November 24, 2008 at 16:55
yeah but chelsea is a team full of world superstars,van is in a young team imagine if cescs attitude matched his potential,him and van would have to both settle it like a pair of silverbacks keyser
November 24, 2008 at 16:55
Ronaldo too more shots than any other player in the league last year, how many of those do you think were free kicks ?!
His shot to goals ratio wasn’t much better then Adebayors, or Torres or anyone else, you can dress stats up but then they still mean something.
November 24, 2008 at 16:56
and hes scored 5 not 4
November 24, 2008 at 16:57
van should definantly take our corners,our freekicks too seen as no one else seems to be able to as far as i kno,but i wish we would start signing talented players who also come with bonuses like freekick practice
November 24, 2008 at 16:57
Afternoon Wrighty, I think RVP will be the worlds best one day, I’ve never seen anyone hit the ball as hard as he does in my life, I remember when Ian Rush went 10 games without a goal, I remember because he and I both went 10 goals without scoring and both scored on the same day to end the jinx, all great strikers go through a patch and yes I include myself in that group.
Robin to come back and me to have a tenner at 40-1 on us winning the league.
November 24, 2008 at 16:58
I have never thought people like P Morgan had any sense, his rant only depicts him for what yhe really is. Wenger is running the team on shoe string because of our lovely new stadium, also if Morgan or anyother fans are a real fan where were you in the middle 80s when we awful and won nothing, real fans support the club through all circumstances.
Morgan & his supporters are no more than a plastic fans who thinks they know it all so please come with something constructive next time. It is pretty obvious that we dont have resources and sooner Fizman & Hill-Wood come out and tell the truth the better.
November 24, 2008 at 16:58
keyser his shot to goals ration was much worse than all the other people on the top scorer list. This season hes had 9 starts in the prem, 65 shots! 8 goals in 9 is impressive, but he gets so many goals because the team is built for him to shoot, and let him shoot at every opportunity, just like chelsea and lampard, especially a year or two ago.
November 24, 2008 at 16:58
ian wright had an effect on arsenal,we went from title challengers to cup team with him and gerge graham ,i think van and arsene are forming this partnership
November 24, 2008 at 16:59
THOU SHALL NOT ARGUE WITH BERGKAMP
November 24, 2008 at 17:00
if we signed ronaldo id tell him to take the free kicks,thats for sure,ballack too,and elano, and giovani,there are arsenal fans who aint even old enough to have seen van score a freekick
November 24, 2008 at 17:01
but its not just van,we dont practice shooting or set pieces in training anyway judging by our denfensive confusion
November 24, 2008 at 17:01
im off
November 24, 2008 at 17:01
Hey there Geoff,
True what you say about RVP, he can strike the ball very sweetly with that left foot.
I can’t imagine you went 10 games without a goal mate! But as the saying goes, form is temperory, class is permanent!
November 24, 2008 at 17:02
lol franchise,it aint arguin,im down with van and song,galactico’s of the future,if i could have a cup of tea with van id tell him how he could improve,he’d thank me for it lol
November 24, 2008 at 17:02
A. The stats were from last year, where are this seasons to be found ? On the Skysports website ?!
For lasts season Rooney had more shots per game than any other player aswell.
November 24, 2008 at 17:02
bergkamp ballack and elano definitely, ronaldo not in a million years. All he does it kick the air vent as hard as he can, and however incredible it looks when it goes in his conversion rate is absolutely attrocious
November 24, 2008 at 17:03
Best free kick taker in the prem this season – Kieron Richardson
November 24, 2008 at 17:03
strikin it sweetly dont mean its goin on target
November 24, 2008 at 17:04
kieron richardson just picks his spot,if you hit a certain area the goalkeeper cant do shyt,you aint gotta beat land speed records,cesc can pass any kind of pass,but he cant place a ball goalwards,even in a one on one from 8 yeards,its amazin
November 24, 2008 at 17:04
Fucking hell, Cesc has only been captain 5 minutes and there is a poll on him.
Poll: Will Fabregas be a good captain?
Give him a chance! Let him grow into the role, it’s not going to be easy for him.
November 24, 2008 at 17:05
bergy…seriously man, do u not give up???
looking through your last few posts…ur bstarting to argue with yourself!!!lmao!!
RvP is world class, he will come good given the chance to play consistantly (eg injury free)…the fact that you put him on the same level as NikB says it all.
And why do you keep going on about his bad attitude?
Did he corner you after the game or something?
Do you remember one game when Reyes was gonna take a free kick, henry shrugged in a very arrogant way and then just walked off, not even bothering to dummy it for him.
All strikers and attacking players have an arrogant streak, not just RvP.
Franchise…i see you got sucked in too!!!
November 24, 2008 at 17:06
You are right there Bergkamp but its a start!
November 24, 2008 at 17:06
i know when van scores it will look amazin,but how many did he miss tryin to rip the net up,van needs a guy like me to tell him goal of the month isnt important
November 24, 2008 at 17:06
Bergy, check our his goal against AC…then come back….
November 24, 2008 at 17:06
When it comes to free kicks…
Arsenal have got van Aerial disease ……
November 24, 2008 at 17:07
keyser all the stats on on soccernet website, rooney had nowhere near as many as ronaldo, noone in the premiership did! ronaldo had 181 shots in 31 starts in the prem, thats nearly 6 a match! in comparison torres had 93 shots in 29 starts, rooney 104 in 25, ade 101 in 32
November 24, 2008 at 17:07
Bergy, why would RvP need a guy like you to tell him that?
He would probably end up lumping you one!lmao!
November 24, 2008 at 17:08
ade scored goal of the season but he waited till we had burried our enemy before trying it, van should take a leaf from ade’s book of 07-08,beat your enemy then start trying to score the greatest goal ever
November 24, 2008 at 17:08
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ViDRtfReo
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=u4dOJiLSZGU
VP versus Fulham.
The gasps and laughter make me smile.
November 24, 2008 at 17:09
Supergunner07, who’s P Morgan? Welcome by the way.
November 24, 2008 at 17:09
if i told rvp pass the ball or try play theo in on goal instead of sending him wide for once he would tell me what he told gallas F(*&^&*^%*&^*k off you fK*&^%*(%*(^g w(*&^*(*&^*&*r
November 24, 2008 at 17:10
piers morgan geoff. though why anyone would even bother to read any article in the daily mate let alone written by that contemptuous little prick i’ll never know
November 24, 2008 at 17:11
Yeah we should let Fab grow into the role, like a method actor. Be like Russel Crowe and put on a couple of stone
November 24, 2008 at 17:11
Chozzer, you got stuck because you had an attachment!
November 24, 2008 at 17:11
daily mail that is, think i mixed up daily mail and daily hate, which would be a much more appropriate name for said tabloid
November 24, 2008 at 17:12
A. Shots per game LoL, not shots per goal, he didn’t just take loads of shots he didn’t score that many either yet Rooney’s abve criticism.
Thanks for the site.
November 24, 2008 at 17:12
Fuck off Avenell………..;) Ha ha
November 24, 2008 at 17:13
fabregas should come have a cup of tea with me,i could show him what the job means to true gooners, show him why viera an adams were gods ,i think cesc has the common sense an the desire
November 24, 2008 at 17:14
ah ok, yeah sorry i was being retarded there. gerrard’s must have been pretty pants last season too!
November 24, 2008 at 17:15
i hope so bergs. the only worry for me is the fact that he insists on taking fk and corner shows either a lack of common sense or a lack of desire in terms of the good of the team!
November 24, 2008 at 17:16
Wrighty your taxed at 45% now.. you double glaziers..
How you doing mate? New post ?
November 24, 2008 at 17:17
if i was arsenal manager i would have cliche an sagna practising their crossin,van practicing keepin the ball lower than 8ft,ade practicing the difference between an attempt an a backpass,denilson watching a flamini dvd ,we would win the league but id have to buy new centre backs
November 24, 2008 at 17:19
hahaaaa, a moment for great things, meet your new capitain FRANCESC FABREGAS!
November 24, 2008 at 17:19
the thing is,van should take corners,but takin the corner means he cant score goal of the season if the ball drops on the edge of the penalty area,cesc cant beat the first man,why dont we play front post flick on style like george graham,i bet if we put a man on the front post cesc would start overhitting them
November 24, 2008 at 17:21
is anyone else getting tired of Bergy???
Im out, have a good evening grovers.
Come on Cesc!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 17:23
Just watched a re run of wenger’s press conference and as usual avoided every single question.
most on here are saying cesc should have a rest as he is playing nowhere near his form,so now at 21 he is our captain,is that such a good thing,when a 31 year old cant control a 25 year old.i accept gallas is more emotional,but is cesc suddenly going to raise his game.
tomorrow we have no ade,bedntner is shit and the onus is on rvp to score.I think it will be a hard game,just because the armband changes doesn’t lift the team overnight.
then comes chelsea and if we lose that,and the form book doesn’t suggest differently we will be 13 points behind and if spurs win,only 5 points above them.
We are on our worst run since wenger took over,so dont expect miracles.
November 24, 2008 at 17:23
but like wrighty said were gonna stun the chelsea,if van scores a double or a free kick i will take back everything i ever said regarding van persie
November 24, 2008 at 17:25
Avenell,
Cheers for reminding me!
Yeah I’ve done a new post mate.
I’m OK mate. Just found out a mate of mine has died. Only 26, was diagonosed with Cancer only 5 weeks ago.
Kind of puts things into perspective really!
How are you anyway mate?
November 24, 2008 at 17:25
pahahahahaha michael p,your obviously an armchair fan in everysection of the emirates is a fan like me,we used to hate gilberto till he got injured an we realised maybe we were harsh,then we turned on henry ,then we blamed ade for everything,but i didnt follow fashion,i just slag rvp
November 24, 2008 at 17:28
Fuck, five weeks. Sorry Wrighty.
November 24, 2008 at 17:29
Just saw the entire press conference on ATVO
The boss is really not well – I have never ever seen him like this – like an animal in a corner
Despite all the bullshit coming from him we can very safely assume that he understands fully well the depth of the pit we have fallen into
November 24, 2008 at 17:29
At least he only suffered for 5 weeks mate..
My old man just had a spell in hospital, things looked a bit rough (bit better now)..
You need reminding every now and again to make you appreciate what you have got..
November 24, 2008 at 17:30
bergkamp you missed out the bit where eboue was the cause of everything that went wrong, and now denilson closely followed by bendtner
November 24, 2008 at 17:30
wrighty i know someone simular who thought he had beaten cancer then died suddenly, sad news buddy!
November 24, 2008 at 17:31
Thank you guys.
November 24, 2008 at 17:31
Just saw the entire press conference on ATVO
The boss is really not well – I have never ever seen him like this – like an animal in a corner
November 24, 2008 at 17:31
bergy, your obviously a….
to be honest, i wouldnt waste my time.
Just read through your comments and you’ll figure out what you are!!
obviously an armchair fan…..now how do you caom to that conclusion???
In fact, please dont answer , i just dont have the time…..
November 24, 2008 at 17:32
AKB? what was wrong with your old name of Gooner 2, you are sticking your neck out there old chap!
November 24, 2008 at 17:33
eboue is missed,he is a good defensive balance,he is a bit theatric but he defends pretty well compared to most of our players,our team has super talent,but we just need guys that we know have this supertalent to be less diva an start co-operating as a team,defend as a unit,stop pointing fingers ,recently weve looked like a team of strangers ,denilson is a good player an he is doin or tryin to do what they are askin of him,aint his fault we need a DM …A
November 24, 2008 at 17:34
hahahaha michael p
November 24, 2008 at 17:36
bergkamp
any chance to get a word in edgewise.
some of us,including me would like to discuss other things that might not interest you mate
November 24, 2008 at 17:37
everyone has different soultions for the so called crisis,my solution is to get back to doin the exact basic things a trainee footballer is taught first,play as a team,play for the team, and dont be running into every goalkeeper that gives you the eyeball
November 24, 2008 at 17:37
kelsey, you just made me chuckle out loud!
bergkamp, go out or something….
November 24, 2008 at 17:37
kelsey,come lets discuss,what is it?
November 24, 2008 at 17:37
OMG…..
November 24, 2008 at 17:38
nah seriously,serious talk,no more winding people up
November 24, 2008 at 17:38
i agree about eboue, we’ve actually missed him massively whilst he’s been out recently. Denilson is a DM, much more than Flamini was imo, but people were looking from before the start of the season to blame any loss of a match on flamini’s departure, rather than looking at our performance then analysing it. I personally believe we’d be in exactly the same position as we are now if flamini was still here. Flamini actually arrived at the club from marseille where he was more of an attacking mid, often playing right mid. Denilson played his entire career for sao paulo and brazil youth teams as a dm, and came to the club with wenger putting him under gilberto’s tutorage, and described him as defensively like gilberto, offensively like rosicky. He also doesn’t go up the pitch anymore than flamini, who went forward a hell of a lot last year, but just wasn’t as good at it!
November 24, 2008 at 17:39
my post at 5.23 about a few things but especially the effect if any on cesc being made captain.
November 24, 2008 at 17:40
i think denilson is a good cover for cesc maybe for 5 games a seaon,but last year we had a bentley and a hummer in our garage,replacing flamini with denilson is like puttin a ford mondeo next to the bentley
November 24, 2008 at 17:41
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/859783/van_persie_free_kick_against_sunderland/
Bergkamp . . . there are very few that can strike a ball like this.
November 24, 2008 at 17:41
Geoff – thought I would get more attention as AKB
Anyway – on the press conference you could really see that Arsene is badly shaken, so I think we can very safely assume that he is beyond self-delusionment, in fact he was so defensive I was worried about him losng his temper in a bad way
November 24, 2008 at 17:43
i think cesc is a well spoken captain who will lead by example,gallas is a bit hot headed an admitted when he was under attack from the press his english wasnt good enough to reply,well how can he be arsenal capatain if he cant speak up when required? cesc is a new breed, like theirry was except he is hungry,thierry wasnt as hungry an he wasnt sure if he wanted to be at arsenal,if cesc wants to be there his body language will be that of a proud captain,thats what we need,nothing else matters right now
November 24, 2008 at 17:45
maryland thats the last free kick he scored, a woman might want quality,i prefer quantity (sunderland was over a year ago)
November 24, 2008 at 17:45
bergkamp flamini was never going to be a long term solution. He was given a chance at the start of the season and never gave arsene a reason to take him out of the team. Wenger himself has said that at the start of last season diaby would have started alongside cesc when gilberto was out, but then got injured, next choice would have been denilson, but he was injured, therefore we had to start with our 4th choice dm, and he came in and was miles better than anyone ever thought he could be. He still was never going to be good enough to be a long term regular. Denilson is a better all round player than flamini in my opinion too, and will accomplish much more in the game. Whether he’s good enough for what we need at the moment is debatable though.
November 24, 2008 at 17:46
Gooner2 I think Wenger reads the sites and I think he realises a lot of them have had enough of him, that’s why he’s shaken up, serves him fucking right taking us for granted.
Wrighty a friend of yours has cancer, man I’m sorry to hear that, anything we can do?
November 24, 2008 at 17:47
geoff, wenger won’t even read the papers properly, theres no way he’d read blogs lol
November 24, 2008 at 17:48
A im sure if flamini was still at arsenal cesc would have the freedom to express himself and wouldnt be chasing after danny murphy and gareth barry like his life depended on it
November 24, 2008 at 17:48
I was truely shocked when Wenger 1st gave it to gallas, I thought gilberto would get it if not then toure. gallas hasn’t been at arsenal that long to give him the armband.
Why isn’t toure being played? he could fit in the defensive midfield role perfectly. he has played as a CB for a long time and he knows when there is danger. song is too young and doens’t show any promise.
this summer when i heard gilberto was sold, i was stunned. he had a lot of experience. Y do we keep selling players who crossed the 30 year mark? we sold a whole lot of them starting from viera who wasn’t even 30 at the time. he was a keyplayer and a captain and we sold him, why? from then one we have won nothing. no one from the invincible team is there anymore except for toure who is now not being played.
this season has been one of my worst experiences as an arsenal fan. I almost smashed my TV couple of time. I didn’t see any passion, spirit or desire in the team when we lost or in some games we wont to. it was frustrating to see arsenal lose but worst than that, I didn’t see any fight in them.
but still I don’t think wenger should be sacked, btw i m not an AKB. he has setup some kind of infrastructure in the club and even if he was sacked it would take the new manager atleast 4 year to build a new team.
lets see what happens tomorrow in the team selection and how the team play.
November 24, 2008 at 17:49
Geoff, I can see Arsene now . . . le-Gripe on the screen of his Apple (Of course he has an Apple . . . he’s French) computer, crepes on the plate next to him . . . “I just don’t understand.”
Wrighty, I am sorry for your loss my friend.
November 24, 2008 at 17:50
We all know that Flamini still sleeps in his Arsenal PJ’s.
November 24, 2008 at 17:51
i question pat rice in all this,he should be helping out his govenor a bit more, quireoz never stood back an watched fergie twitch,i bet he told the players fuck what fergie says that was crap,bein an arsenal man he should be letting them know wat arsenal expects, this is why he shouldnt be age-ist an clear out the players who care like pires an keown ,he should keep them about to pass the mentality on
November 24, 2008 at 17:51
Late post today;
Excellent, well written & totally correct analysis today.
Most people have discussed the re-appointment of Gallas tomorrow. I’m totally against it as IMO it shows his weakness again.
Lets pray we get a win tomorrow. Every player who wears the shirts OWES every fan a gut bursting game.
On a separate note: Why isn’t there more noise from all fans towards our board ??
They employ Wenger not the other way round in case they had forgotten. We’re a fucking PR mess & they treat us all like the ‘little people’.
November 24, 2008 at 17:51
nah i disagree bergkamp. Denilson gives cesc as much if not more than flamini did. He doesn’t kick other people for him, but sits deeper and gets far from interceptions and little tackles. Cesc this season is 100% down to the lack of hleb imo, nothing whatsoever to do with flamini/denilson. Last season villa and fulham didn’t have enough of the ball so cesc didn’t have to defend. I remember matches where in terms of the positions they were taking up flamini was more advanced than cesc most of the time, because i remember screaming at the tv screen the whole time. Flamini was not a dm
November 24, 2008 at 17:52
arsene is from the strasbourg area,everyone knows thats practically german, he aint a romantic of france,he is a german dictator,he will tell anyone who tells him they know better to piss off
November 24, 2008 at 17:53
sorry to hear of your loss Wrighty.
AW definetly looks a shadow of his former self in the interview. Maybe…just maybe he realises that his experiment has not worked and it has finally sunk in that his babies of song, denilson and bendtner just cannot cut it at the moment, and needs to shake things up a bit. Lets see what side he puts out tomorrow……findgers crossed
November 24, 2008 at 17:53
arsene a dictator?! he’s the most undictatorial manager there’s every been! he’s a philosopher, not a dictator.
November 24, 2008 at 17:53
A denilson strolls around,cesc has to play to deep ,you never see denilson busting a lung to get back,he is a stroller
November 24, 2008 at 17:54
if denilson is a natural DM then im a blind man
November 24, 2008 at 17:54
arsene is to football what marx is to philosophy
November 24, 2008 at 17:55
I find it amazing that apparently Wenger blocked the move for the Vodafone CEO,,,,how does that work!!
November 24, 2008 at 17:56
Geoff I think what Wenger has forgotten that fans are not only fans but in fact we are customers, meaning (in my case) we pay to go to matches as often as we can, we buy something at the armory every year, we pay our subscription to ATVO and we subscribe to a pay tv station so we can watch every match and so contribute to the ty money arsenal is getting. And therefore we want to be treated like good customers and reserve the right to went our frustration when we do not get the correct entertaiment value for our money – for example players who are not or not yet up for it!!!
November 24, 2008 at 17:56
wenger will not change format even if he knows he should,if alan shearer or alan hansen say arsene needs a Dm then he gets more stubborn not to be seen as takin advice,the more you tell wenger the more he digs his heels in,even if he knows
November 24, 2008 at 17:56
all dictators have a philosophy,an everyone elses opinions dont change them
November 24, 2008 at 17:57
Later all.
November 24, 2008 at 17:57
thats his position bergkamp, he’s played there all his life for every team he’s ever been at, but because he’s good on the ball it’s created the myth that he’s an attacking mid and pundits and fans alike have latched onto that! He doesn’t have the energy of flamini to get back when the opposition are breaking, but his starting position is much deeper, and he intercepts a hell of a lot more than flamini did. Denilson outthinks the opposition through his reading of the game, whereas flamini out kicked and fought them.
November 24, 2008 at 17:58
arsene has forgotten to keep his eye on the prize,his job is to build a football team that competes,not grow good young players,thats bradys job
November 24, 2008 at 17:59
A writes;
‘ Denilson gives cesc as much if not more than flamini did’
Are bloody serious ??
Denilson is very average for the English game. He’d be a tidy half decent midfielder in Spain or Portugal.
November 24, 2008 at 18:00
A he has only been at 2 clubs,if thats denilsons role then maybe we should blame cesc an say he has been rubbish out of position,which would you blame on cescs bad form?? denilsons inclusion changing the dinamics?? being played out of position?? or rvp droppin deep into his favourite part of the pitch?,id blame being asked to defend,denilson is not a Dm
November 24, 2008 at 18:00
to be fair, why on earth would wenger listen to idiots like hansen or shearer?! wenger is a philosopher, he starts from basic principles, and uses logic to decide every single decision that he makes. He isn’t going to change his mind as to which decision is logically correct just becuase some retards who have fuck all footballing knowledge but are paid to talk shit about football say so!
November 24, 2008 at 18:01
if denilson is naturally a dm he must be the most attacking DM in the world
November 24, 2008 at 18:02
bergkamp its 100% down to hleb/theo. Our style of play has completely changed, and whereas hleb brought cesc into the play with every other pass or run, tho is very direct and doesn’t bring him into the game whatsoever. I don’t think denilson has changed our style of play much at all, it’s all down to the lack of hleb, and inclusion of theo, as well as nasri not settled down yet. 80% hleb though, he made things incredibly easy for cesc to be amazing, now he doesn’t have that help at all
November 24, 2008 at 18:03
A they are statin the absolute obvious,they are not telling him anything that he shouldnt see for himself,but even though a dm surely tops his list he knows they will say i told u so, wenger wants to be the soul decider an seen to be never doin the easy things, just like playin eboue at right back when sagna is injured,why dont he do that?? why is he so awkward?
November 24, 2008 at 18:04
A so why did wenger not by a right sided player?? dont blame theo or hleb,hleb is gone,theo was a striker an wenger plays him on the right,it is completely down to WENGER
November 24, 2008 at 18:05
its 100% wenger,100% not hleb,he plays for barca,theo is 100% injured so its not him either
November 24, 2008 at 18:06
so why is wenger so stubborn??,why doesnt he adress the obvious failures
November 24, 2008 at 18:07
Nasri and when fit Rosicky should be our wide players, stick Theo up front or as a impact sub..
November 24, 2008 at 18:07
bergkamp wenger bought an attacking midfielder to do that job, but nasri hasn’t settled in yet properly, or adapted his game, as noone expected him to this quickly. he also expected rosicky to be back sooner, had he known rosicky was going to be out till the new year im sure he would have. If rosicky has more injury problems i’d imagine we will in january sign someone for that roll, but there are very few players in world football who could do it.
November 24, 2008 at 18:07
we havent been able to play for a clean sheet or defend for years,why not?? is this hleb the barca players fault as well??? shall we blame adebayor?? no its WENGERS FAULT 100%
November 24, 2008 at 18:08
A so why has he been playin nasri on the left?? has wenger told nasri to play on the right an he has gone over to the left by his own decision??? no its wnegr again 100%
November 24, 2008 at 18:10
A dont carry on,wenger plays nasri on the left but we bought him for the right an would rather not play him there?? so he would rather chuck in a centre mid an wreck his confidence instead??
November 24, 2008 at 18:10
Thanks very much for your kind offer Geoff and thank you all for your messages.
Life can be a real bitch sometimes. My mate didn’t even drink or smoke and was the same age as me. I only saw his brother just yesterday at football but didn’t get the chance to speak to him.
I guess these things in life are there to test us but life can certainly be a right kick in the bollocks sometimes.
November 24, 2008 at 18:11
i wasn’t putting blame down to it, like a personal attack on hleb or theo bergkamp! blame has nothing to do with analysis, and is completely futile.
i agree avenell, nasri and a fit rosicky i’m sure will be our wide players. Although we would be much better off having signed another one of them, i can see why wenger didn’t. Nasri coming in, rosicky back soon, theo still learning his trade and not likely to get in up top ahead of other players, diaby more chances to get in the team, wilshere coming through who is going to be absolutely incredible in the hleb roll, ramsey will be tried out wide a fair bit before he commands a place centrally, just like cesc was, and vela can play out wide.
November 24, 2008 at 18:12
wenger has lost sight of the prize,u dont see rafa bein all pally pally with the yanks, you dont see fergie settling for nothing when he identifys a player to make his team stronger,the best players are available when money talks, wenger is more interested in sittin at the round table with the chairman talking about their problems and who he can sell to ease their stress instead of fighting them to make his team stronger
November 24, 2008 at 18:12
Good evening everyone, I have some strong feelings at the moment, and to vent them here would get me a load of angry comments in return, so i am going to keep my choppers closed…..
Good news on Cesc though, he seems chuffed to bits, may tomorrow bring he and all the team a damned good performance…..
Where is choy???
November 24, 2008 at 18:13
bergs is irrelevant whether said players play on the left or the right. They are central attacking players, who start out wide because we play 4-4-2, and whether they start on the left or the right shouldn’t make much of a difference, as it didn’t with hleb. The reason nasri has been on the left is because theo was the other player warranting the starting place, and he plays on the right.
November 24, 2008 at 18:13
see but wenger wouldnt have paid 3 or 4 mill for sylvestre,so does that not tell you sylvestre isnt good enough?? we needed a centre half but werent willing to pay for one good enough,wheres the ambition at our club?
November 24, 2008 at 18:15
Rico … come on enter the Bergkamp show.
Hi by the way…
November 24, 2008 at 18:15
wenger spent his summer talking at the euro’s gettin his bank account fat,why didnt he look to improve our squad an adress our weaknesses instead of gamblin on liverpool signing barry an gettin alonso for the price he put on his at 11.45pm??? he had no plan,wenger is a poker man,a gambler!
November 24, 2008 at 18:15
bergkamp wenger said that he wanted a top centre back but there simply wasn’t one available, who would make a difference that is available? the only player i can think of who would immediately make a difference is lucio, but he isn’t available. There is a distinct lack of top class centre backs in world football at the moment, which is why milan took senderos on loan.
November 24, 2008 at 18:16
lol avenell,im telling it how it is,wenger cant dodge these bullets, we went from bein 2 players short of winning the league to being 5 players weaker
November 24, 2008 at 18:17
Hey there Rico, vent your views away. I’m sure everyone would like to hear them.
November 24, 2008 at 18:18
A thats why you gotta make players available, players are always available for the money! if any other club is short of a player they go and make one available, why is arsenal the exception?? why do we offer half the askin price then give up,why us?
November 24, 2008 at 18:18
how many 18 year old attacking midfielders can we possibly buy,wenger needs to call his scouts an tell them defensive minded players this year
November 24, 2008 at 18:19
I’ll give Wenger his due in regards to interviews, he always does them. Not like old sulky Fergie!
But sometimes I’d love a straight answer instead of the usual!
November 24, 2008 at 18:20
we dont have a big centre half,we dont play any kind of defensive game,we just need a defender who is brave,that would improve our defence
November 24, 2008 at 18:20
Geoff, did you notice that that Grabs bloke has “It’s rather fine” as a sub-heading for his blog? What a twunt.
November 24, 2008 at 18:20
ave, Wrighty
Good Evening fine Gentlemen
best i read back a few comments so i can join in
November 24, 2008 at 18:21
jonothon woodgate was askin to join us,he is better made to partner gallas or toure than they are to partner each other or sylvester
November 24, 2008 at 18:21
you can’t pay silly money for players, we certainly can’t afford to. The only clubs that can do that are utd and chelsea. We’re an upstanding, respectable football club. We don’t engage in tapping up, or any sort of illegal bollocks fucking over other teams, and I’m damn proud of that fact! The only players who are good enough to make a difference are the likes of lucio, or players at utd/chelsea/madrid/barca. How could we possibly make them sell us their players?! There is a distinct lack of top class centre backs in the current generation in world football. There isn’t another centre back in the premiership outside of the top 4 who would make a big difference.
November 24, 2008 at 18:22
wenger is the man,he defends his team till the death,i just wish now that people are throwin stones at him his team would respond for him
November 24, 2008 at 18:23
is rico around?
November 24, 2008 at 18:23
Bergkamp,
The reason we always come short in transfers is because Arsene Wenger values a potential target and won’t budge on his valuation.
Which is good and bad really.
It’s good because we don’t pay over the odds like Tottenham do but its bad because it means we miss out.
We need a COE to do the negotiations, Dein was good at it. Wenger treats it like its his own money!
November 24, 2008 at 18:23
hellooooooo im back whats the latest.
im sure somone by now has asked if they Fancy us getting Lukas Podolski
as he has come out saying his going to leave the germans
November 24, 2008 at 18:23
A im not sayin pay silly money,there are good players available all over the world,he has had good players an drained their confidence by in an outin them from the team like rag dolls
November 24, 2008 at 18:24
Bergkamp… you carry on mate.. I share a lot of your views (not all) I’d like to see you and BBK posting toghether..
November 24, 2008 at 18:24
ave – love the Nik plays – We hit the bar
November 24, 2008 at 18:24
Rico….anyone…say something, this has become legrove/bergkamp…
seriously, this is getting soooooooo boring….
November 24, 2008 at 18:25
bergy…how many blunts have you puffed on today???? Jeeeeeez….
November 24, 2008 at 18:25
Chozzer,
What blogs that mate?
November 24, 2008 at 18:26
lol michael p,no blunts,my throat is horse,im doin my talkin on here instead
November 24, 2008 at 18:26
Michael P
scroll up to 6:23 pm. and answer my question LOL
November 24, 2008 at 18:26
thats if its getting borin for you mate lol
November 24, 2008 at 18:26
wrighty it’s also because we can’t afford to spend over the odds. Success brings x amount of pounds to a football club, a players will increase the chances of success by a certain amount, and will cost a certain amount. Wenger the decides whether it’s worth it. We are a club run like a business, and don’t have the funding to run it any differently. Although we have the ability to spend more money than we do, we still don’t have enough to make it financially viable to compete in the spending silly amounts on money ten times a player’s worth.
I agree completely regarding CEO, how on earth we could have functioned this long without one i’ve got no idea. I reckon it will also have had a fair bit to do with the lack of transfer activity.
November 24, 2008 at 18:27
Rico.. I thought my “van Aerial disease” from free kicks was best..
Wasted I am…
November 24, 2008 at 18:27
A
we can spend over the odds. the money is there. its just WENGER wont spend over the odds
November 24, 2008 at 18:28
It’s looking quite fitting that ‘become legends’ advert on Arsenal TV. Fabregas speaks through it.
Maybe with Cesc, we can become legends
November 24, 2008 at 18:28
Wrighty,
see second post for Le Grove mention
http://www.upforgrabsnow.co.uk/
November 24, 2008 at 18:29
ha raif that hasn’t actually happened! though it would never happen, that’s about the one position we have too many players on the payroll!
bergkamp we already have good players, we need players who are amongst the best in the world to improve on what we already have, and they aren’t available for anything other than silly money. Especially with man city’s infinite transfer fund now
November 24, 2008 at 18:29
really wenger should introduce the youn players like ramsey and vela and wiltshere when were 3 nil up or 4-1 up against the spurs,not throw them in head first now we have problems,they are gonna end up like phil senderos,played everytime drogba is in sight or hypia,then forgot about,then when they get back in an are playin well they will be dropped again,like phil an the CL league,wenger damages as many or more than he makes (young players)
November 24, 2008 at 18:30
raif…hmmmm…podolsky….we could do a lot worse, no?
bergy, PLEASE do not answer, this is a questions for RAIF and any other grover…
November 24, 2008 at 18:31
raif we have more money than we spend, but we don’t have the money to piss away paying over the odds, unless we want to end up like leeds
November 24, 2008 at 18:31
oh rico… just received your mail.. thank you so so much
please check your email tomorrow!!!
November 24, 2008 at 18:34
Lets hope Cesc will make a good captain, it’s a big responsibility for someone so young, but I would have made the same choice. I believe it will work, and that Cesc will take to the role and hopefully he’ll get back to making lots of assists. Rumours are already flying about regarding who we’ll buy and who we won’t.
Are Portsmouth going to do a fire sale and if so are we going to buy any of their players? How strong a possibility is Upson returning. Wenger must strengthen the team, if he doesn’t and we drop out of the Champions League all the years of “transition” have led to major regression. Once you slip out of the top 4 it’s difficult to get back in it, with Aston Villa and Man City looking stronger than ever, we need top class options, because we’re on a slippery slope, those two teams will only get stronger, and if we don’t match their claibre we’ll be in a weaker position than we were in September.
There’s still the Champions League to fight for, a win against Kiev tomorrow shall secure our place in the knockout stages, we need to be as strong as we possibly can, and Wenger needs to build a team with the Champions League in mind, and top four survival. This is the worst start I can remember under Wenger, but he can still make things right.
Gallas without the captains responsibility can focus more on his own game.
November 24, 2008 at 18:34
Chozzer.. is aa blog with that few comments even worth your breath?
November 24, 2008 at 18:35
rico good evening …..no chance i tried earlier but bergkamp is on a mission.
did you enjoy strictly come dancing,that girl that went out was taller than ade
poor old danni lost it on the x factor
no other non footballing news unless you earn more than 150K a year
November 24, 2008 at 18:36
Wow choy you finally got the book! I hope it’s a good read!
November 24, 2008 at 18:36
evening choy
November 24, 2008 at 18:36
podolski is alrite,but he aint the answer to our players,just another drama queen, we need someone like lasana diarra,matt flamini,or muwamaba,even sebastian larsson could do us a job
November 24, 2008 at 18:37
Guys – i cant really grasp whats going on here, anyone care to sum up in simple terms ??
choy – i really am sorry it took so long
November 24, 2008 at 18:37
wenger should offer lasana diarra a trial
November 24, 2008 at 18:38
bergkamp – who do want us to getid of and you do you want us to buy?
November 24, 2008 at 18:38
I’d rather we got Yaya Toure, someone who has experience playing for a top team. Larsson…..no…..and especially after what he said post-the Eduardo incident.
November 24, 2008 at 18:40
Don’t encourage him Rico…
November 24, 2008 at 18:41
Gallas’s contract with Arsenal did not specify that he must wear the armband. Lets see how Cesc copes with the arm band before he sets off to barca next season.
Thinking about our midfield frailties Can we play this formation. Thoughts anyone.
Fabianski
Sagna/Eboue Djorou Galas Sylvestre
Ramsey /Toure Clichy
Vela /Ramsey Ade Nasri/RVP
With this we secure our mid with fast er players. Our problem is down to the slowness and lack of physical presence of our Midfield of Dennilson and Song. Moving Clichy Foward can address that.
November 24, 2008 at 18:42
Avenell ….. never said a word.
November 24, 2008 at 18:42
rico i think he has given the denilson cesc partnership a fair trial an he should try out any other combinations he has in mind,kill all doubt,then take the plunge,i aint telling him who to buy,just sayin he should fix the problem which is so obvious,january is an expensive time to buy,but aston villa look in good shape compared to us an the 4th spot
November 24, 2008 at 18:42
Michael P
i think we coul do alot worse aswell. as his only 24 and thats not bad for a striker. ofcourse we would maybe have to get rid of somone. but who.?
DuDu – No.
Vela – No.
RvP i would say a big maybe but if his signd a new deal then No it is
Ade. Probably Not.
so that just leaves Nikki-B
–
A.
i dont expect us to pay over the odds and piss away the money. but if u want to bring in one or two class players you may have to. witch is fine and what we need. the players we have missed out over the years Bcos Wenger didnt want to pay 5 million more is rather shocking. now look at us we just dont have the numbers. and in some cases the players.
its a shame really considering what we used to have beforethe dismemberment of the invincibles.
November 24, 2008 at 18:42
finest, i am with you on Yaya..
Also, I still think we should go to Chelsea and offer money for Alex, he must have earned enough now for the rest of his life sitting on the bench. If he is a man who wants to play football, he would consider a move.
And we need a real goal scorer, for me that is David Villa. But right now I would play Simpson.
November 24, 2008 at 18:43
That “up for grabs” blog doesn’t hold back!
I don’t know how a blogger can write about a fellow blogger with such venom!
I write mine because I love Arsenal and have an opinion on the club. People may agree or disagree with me but to write something like that is out of order.
I’ve never seen that blog before.
November 24, 2008 at 18:45
i think theres only so many chances you can give to diaby song bendtner (denilson as a partner to one of the top 5 midfielders) before you have to say ok enough ..raif
November 24, 2008 at 18:46
wrighty 7 there are too many arsenal blogs and some are written by real vultures, i like your blog but i hate signing up and the anonymous option,im sure its yours you should make it easy to name like this one
November 24, 2008 at 18:46
Hello bergkamp
–
Wrighty7
got a link for that bog
November 24, 2008 at 18:47
I think we need a player who can protect the defence.
Upfront I think we can cope with what we have, especially with Dudu coming back. If he recovers fully then he can be our goalscorer.
At the back unless we sell Gallas I wouldn’t buy anyone. Djourou is well worth a go now and my ideal partnership would be Djourou and Gallas.
Maybe a keeper as well…….Sorry Rico!
November 24, 2008 at 18:47
bergkamp – agree to a degree
Denilson is not the man to play alongside Cesc, he plays too similar yet gulfs apart.
Cesc needs to be alongside Diaby right now, and for two or three games. Diaby is not a winger and never will be. Ramsey is another player similar to Cesc, but I think he is better by far than Denilson. Right now I would be tempted to put Ramsey on the leaft and move Nasri to the right, Cesc and Diaby in the middle.
November 24, 2008 at 18:47
I agree about Alex as well Rico, but unlike Diarra, Alex would be a first team player so Chelsea most probably wouldn’t for strategic reasons, Scolari is happy to use him, they get clean sheets with him, Carvalho is injury prone so they need him.
November 24, 2008 at 18:47
i disagree raif. We bring in top class players all the time, we very rarely bring in anyone who isnt top class, and we’ve never paid over the odds.
i agree re yaya rico, if he’s available im sure we’ll be in for him. there’s no way chelsea would sell us alex, though he is a quality player, his performance at the emirates for psv was out of this world. Villa would cost 40 million, and you go from a real goalscorer to someone who doesn’t even train with the first team, and can’t even score regularly in the reserves?! We won’t sign a goalscorer because we have eduardo coming back, vela and theo coming through, bendtner coming through, and van persie and ade. Villa is amazing, but if we’re talking about him we might as well say we should sign messi!
November 24, 2008 at 18:47
oh shyt sorry rair pal,that was for mr rico
November 24, 2008 at 18:48
Bergkamp:
The loss of Diarra just makes the current situation even more annoying.
People said he was trouble. I’D BE FUCKING TROUBLE If I couldn’t get in the team over Eboue !!
He ain’t no trouble down at Pompey is he ??
November 24, 2008 at 18:49
Hello Raif,
Go to Chozzers comment at 6:28 mate, its there.
November 24, 2008 at 18:49
rico diaby can’t tackle to save his life, and has no positional intelligence whatsoever. If we could get denilson’s brain into diaby’s body we’d be sorted, but at the moment although physically diaby fits the bill he could never play in a 4 man midfield alongside cesc or without a dm in there
November 24, 2008 at 18:50
we brang in sylvestre and cygan,they are both wenger specialitys A
November 24, 2008 at 18:51
double he said in his press conference upon joining pompey that they were a stepping stone, yes he’s trouble and shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near our club! If people claim van persie’s personality is a detriment to us diarra isn’t fit to clean his boots
November 24, 2008 at 18:51
Chozzer, Wrighty, we apparently only say ‘hello’ what a prick eh, I expect he has no friends, has never been to the Arsenal in his life, still lives with his mummy and looks forward to ‘Celebrity come dancing’
November 24, 2008 at 18:51
A:
Agreed. We all wanted Diaby to be another PV4.
Even though Wengers playing him out of position, he’s looking clueless as the midfield answer either as a 4 or 5 man set up.
November 24, 2008 at 18:51
chozzer just went to that blog and gave them whatfor……… he says he should come round hear and give the writers a slap…. hahahahahahahahahahaahahaha what an absolute fucking CUNT!!!!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 18:52
Diaby will be world class one day but I’m not sure that him and Cesc would work at the moment.
Both like to get forward too much and at the moment Cesc is nullified because he can’t get forward enough.
We need a player who can protect the defence. Pedro will love me for saying this, someone like Gattuso.
November 24, 2008 at 18:52
A so u felt for wengers bollox that there are no good centre backs in the world anymore?
November 24, 2008 at 18:53
yeah double, i really don’t know what’s happened to him, maybe he just doesn’t have the intelligence to ever adapt to that roll, 2 years ago i expected him to have pv4 like influence centrally, but he’s gone a long way backwards
November 24, 2008 at 18:55
well all clubs seem to be agreeing with that franchise, which is why chelsea pay 16 million or whatever for ivanovic just as cover, and milan go for senderos on loan. there simply aren’t any around, can you name any?!
November 24, 2008 at 18:55
* fell
November 24, 2008 at 18:55
A:
I think if you do some digging you’re find that RVP is not the nicest character. Not someone to warm too on or off the pitch.
He bloody well owes this club. Would help if he practiced more using his right foot for a start.
November 24, 2008 at 18:55
Geoff,
To be honest mate I’m shocked at reading it. To talk absolute shite about a fellow blogger is so disrespectful.
Who does the guy think he is? Its unbelievable! it really is.
November 24, 2008 at 18:58
Hi Kenny he’s funny isn’t he? give me a slap, ha,ha,ha! Do we think that’s a threat?
Wrighty I think Pedro has a Gattuso disorder!
November 24, 2008 at 18:58
ave – me, encourage, never
November 24, 2008 at 18:58
Geoff.. Have a meet up see if he puts his mouth where his keyboard is…
If you could stick it on you tube foe a laugh as well please!!!
November 24, 2008 at 18:59
Evening Geoff
November 24, 2008 at 18:59
Wonder how many of the blinkered fans will chant ‘ One Arsene Wenger’ tomorrow.
He has alot to do to earn it back again. So bloody sad, he let it get to this state.
November 24, 2008 at 18:59
Whrity it’s about the fifth blog to do it, they’re like a recruiting office for Le Grove, all their bloggers go and look at our site and never go back!
November 24, 2008 at 18:59
Why doublegooner? He was a bad boy at school…..I bet a few of you here were as well….or had friends that were….he has his issues but I wouldn’t write him off as a bad person.
November 24, 2008 at 19:00
that doesnt prove anything A. chelsea didnt even pay that much for Ivanovic
November 24, 2008 at 19:01
Hi Rico, yes Avenall that would be funny!
November 24, 2008 at 19:01
why is the club offering rvp a new deal at 80k a week
diaby,as i have said before is an enigma.he is always played out of position,doesn’t tackle well,seems to try and beat everyone,yet i still like him.more of a hleb brain would help
November 24, 2008 at 19:01
Doublegooner
ill let you know when i get back from the match. or the day after LOL
November 24, 2008 at 19:02
yeah double i know rvp isn’t a very nice character, but even then i’d have him ahead of diarra every single time. There is obviously something very wrong with diarra from the fact that chelsea let him come to us, then we let him go.
Let hhim get to what state double? we’ve lost 2 on the trot, it’s shit, but it isn’t the end of the world! we still have the best youngsters coming through in world football and have an incredible future ahead of us!
November 24, 2008 at 19:03
A Did u know about Vidic b4 ManU signed him? Or about Skrtel when Pool signed him? In the prem alone there are at lest 5 possible CB we could have signed under £8 million
November 24, 2008 at 19:05
Geoff;
Your site is bloody spot on mate.
I’ve given up on pretty much everything else. I used to read Areblog daily but lost touch with his views.
Your site is fair but bloody weel to the point. Many other sites/non readers get the impression people like us just want Wenger out.
They completely miss the point & many seem to be saying what the majority here have been saying for 18 months.
I near enough got into my first ever scrap with a handful of mouthy Arsenal fans at city.
November 24, 2008 at 19:05
Franchise – In the prem alone ? Who do you think would have good for the role ? Please ffs don’t say Dunne..
Zapata was supposed to be an option but pretty early on Udinese’s Chairman came out and said there was no way him or Inler were leaving, both I think got new contracts.
Where’s Bergkamps gone ? Juts wondering LoL.
November 24, 2008 at 19:06
Grovers I’m off now, catch you all later, be sure and tune in tomorrow for a rousing jingoistic post!
November 24, 2008 at 19:06
Good evening ladies and gentlemen and rico
November 24, 2008 at 19:06
Franchise
if you keep going back years an seasons there was players we could have got or nearly got that we didnt. for some reason
Yech,
Ribery,
Woodgate,
Ya Ya,
SWP,
Modric,
the list is endless
November 24, 2008 at 19:06
What have some of you got against RVP as a character? I don’t get it.
November 24, 2008 at 19:07
Yea I thought I’d gone deaf Keyser..
November 24, 2008 at 19:08
Yech,??
opps i mean Cech
November 24, 2008 at 19:08
Doublegooner thanks mate I appreciate your support, you sure deserve your money back for going to City, you’re the supporters that do us ‘homers’ proud!
November 24, 2008 at 19:09
raif (A) said that there is a shortage of world class CB in the world. And I was just trying to explain to him that that is just pure Arsene propaganda. Citing Senderos’ loan to Milan as proof.
November 24, 2008 at 19:09
Finestcuts:
My office is 5 mins from the training ground. I know someone very well who has been going there for nearly 8 years & he has had regular dealings with many players past & present together with non playing general staff & get to hear 1st hand how some of the current lot behave.
RVP doesn’t rate highly with many.
November 24, 2008 at 19:09
finest
if you had asked me that 2 weeks ago i would have said nothing,but what he did at stoke was unforgiveable and showed a lot about his character.it was totally uncalled for.
November 24, 2008 at 19:09
night Geoff mate.
you going to the game tomorrow? if you are lets home those of us going (including me) get value for money
November 24, 2008 at 19:10
evening kelsey.. evening finest…
she just sent it today.. haven’t received it yet!!
rico.. its ok.. tis’ a long life!!
November 24, 2008 at 19:12
OI Oi rico, i must insist you vent your spleen baby, ’tis not good to keep the angst inside babe!
November 24, 2008 at 19:12
Franchise
i think its a smoke screen for not buying a CB. so he thinks Sending Senderos on loan to Milan is a easyer and a cheaper why to give Senderos the Experience he needs but being around players like Nesta and Maldini.
November 24, 2008 at 19:13
Night Raif, yes mate I’ll be there, I was going to miss it as a protest but I can’t stop myself, it’s like having a bit on the side that you can’t say no to!
November 24, 2008 at 19:14
Evening guys, i enjoyed yesterdays views and opinions, i thought id come back for more how are we all today??
at last wengers came out and told us what was going on, it took him long enough.
good news though i feel, gallas was a disaster waiting to happen, but it will be interesting to see if cesc can handle the pressure, but one thing i do hope is that he finds form from this.
November 24, 2008 at 19:14
Yea c@mon Rico spit it out..
November 24, 2008 at 19:14
Yeah your right there Geoff! Ha ha
Its funny you saying Pedro has a Gattuso disorder. I remember when Gallas was at Chelsea, I really really wanted Arsenal to sign him so bad. Cheers.
The worst though had to be Baptista. I wanted Arsenal to sign him more than anything and when he did I was telling my Dad what a great deal we got! Cheers.
November 24, 2008 at 19:14
Good Point raif
November 24, 2008 at 19:16
Hello Jonjon.
I hope you don’t mind but I told everyone on here about the Denilson comment you left on my blog.
November 24, 2008 at 19:16
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICO!
November 24, 2008 at 19:20
November 24, 2008 at 19:20
hi wrighty mate, no i dont mind, but iv got it out of my system now, i just couldnt beleive the attitude, altghough it didnt suprise me mate, it just proves the spirit in the squad was down at at time, hopefully a new captain will breathe fresh confidence into the players.
i still dont think its a confidence problem though, we still need better players than what weve got now.
November 24, 2008 at 19:21
ok since evone is gone i would like to quitely slip in this..
cesc is our new captain and cesc – ramsey would be starting against keiv
November 24, 2008 at 19:21
rico you bloody tease!
November 24, 2008 at 19:21
Franchise
thanks. i honestly think thats what the idea is. other wsie we would have Sold him out right. tho i did hear a roumor that the option to buy him is agreed at 6.5mill. now if we do or did sell Senderos for that much then i think thats a good bit of business
-
does anyone play FOOTBALL MANAGER 2009?
November 24, 2008 at 19:25
Yes raif ive got a right sqaud with arsenal, i sold the entire midfield apart from cesc and ramsey and wilshere, and brought in palombo, veloso and moutinho, i also bought mandanda as a new keeper and iv won the treble three seasons on the trot and went unbeaten in 93 league games. iv only been manager for three years and im in the hall of fame.
November 24, 2008 at 19:28
JonJon
nice one. iv just started playing it now so im in my first season.
i got Cana, Metzelder, & Arteta, plaid 4 games in the league so far and won the lot.
November 24, 2008 at 19:28
Theres a Football manager 2009?????
I’ve got 2008 version!
November 24, 2008 at 19:29
havent sold anyone at the mo. Real came in for KOLO with 20mill. but it wasnt all upfront what i wanted. but it was over a 24 month installments
November 24, 2008 at 19:30
raif in terms of those players who we “could” have got those are all just players we tried to get! Ribery’s head was turned by munich’s money, swp we were priced out of, neither of those if we spent all our money we could have signed. We tried for yaya but he went to barca, we could only realistically have got him when we had gilberto and flamini, woodgate is a sick note which is why we didn’t pay big for him.
franchise vidic has been around for years, and although skrtel is what we could do with, the jury is still out on him, and there aren’t bags and bags of those centre backs. We also had one exactly the same in senderos, who was better than vidic was at his age. There are very very few top quality centre backs on the market. Look through the national teams and you’ll see that! There are a few like Zapata and Kompany, but neither are guaranteed and alot of their attraction is potential. We need a top top class centre back right now, not someone who could become one, and there simply aren’t any available at all.
November 24, 2008 at 19:30
Wrighty7
wakey wakey mate it came out 2 or 3 weeks ago for the PC. get it now
November 24, 2008 at 19:31
dennis, i have been eating pasta and a hot sauce, yummy yummy….
What exactly do you require fine Sir
Ands whats all this ladies, gents and rico stuff!!!
November 24, 2008 at 19:31
yeah raif i’ve got fm09, though won the league in my first season with arsenal with only signing fazio and decided i needed more of a challenge so managing peterborough now!
November 24, 2008 at 19:32
A
we could have got Ya Ya when he was at the belgium club brevan, way before barca and the other clubs he went to.
November 24, 2008 at 19:33
peterborough
now thats a challange indeed. normally when i win everything i like to try and bring up league 1 team.
i did it in the old FM games 05 and 06
November 24, 2008 at 19:35
raif, I forget to mention i kept nasri also and sold bendtner to money bags city for 16mil
curtis davis becomes available for 13mil in the second season, hes class. senderos goes to milan then for 6.5 so another defender is always handy..
November 24, 2008 at 19:37
Wenger is just bad at signing CBs A. He can unearth attacking players but when it comes to CBs he is very bad. Gallas was a good signing so was Campbell but they were both obvious
November 24, 2008 at 19:38
no we couldn’t raif, there were work permit issues, he came on pre-season tour and trained with us, beveren were a feeder club of sorts then before the ties were broken after the controversy, but because of not being able to get a work permit he went to the littler donetsk, then was in greece and france i think before big moves to lyon and barca. Since we couldn’t get him at the start when we tried we havn’t had a need for him with gilberto etc until the last year or two when we lost out to other clubs.
November 24, 2008 at 19:39
JonJon
thanks for the Heads up. 13 mill aint bad to be honest as im looking to sell Gallas after the first season is over maybe even Silvest aswell lol.
theres this italian Kid 18 years old and plays for Inter. i could have got him for 10mill but i dicided to get arteta instead,. he can play ATK Mid L/R/C and striker. his stats look good. i cant remember his name. i may have to boot up the game to find out
November 24, 2008 at 19:40
Davies was available when West Brom was relegated wenger didnt sign him even though he was tipped to join us.
November 24, 2008 at 19:41
yeah i agree franchise, but at the moment we can’t afford to unearth a gem, we need someone for the immediate future, and there simply is a real dearth of available players. With gallas looking set to stay i doubt we’ll sign a defender in january now, have to wait till the summer and hopefully something will happen or senderos will return revamped and amazing! senderos is better than vidic was at his age, so i still have faith he’ll become truly world class
November 24, 2008 at 19:41
Franchise
yeah i was convinced we was going to get him. shocked when we didnt
November 24, 2008 at 19:42
i feel like an outsider at a mason’s meeting.
has berkcamp got a soapbox at hyde park corner
has bergkamp got a soapbox at hyde park corner
i feel like an outsider at a mason’s meeting
November 24, 2008 at 19:42
franchise davies is alright but not good enough, we need someone who’s really top class, not just good premiership class.
November 24, 2008 at 19:45
kelsey, saty off the cucumber, it repeats on you
November 24, 2008 at 19:45
we need someone who would make a difference, it isn’t just the style of play. The likes of wheater and davies can do well in incredibly defensive teams like villa, but at an incredibly attacking team like us he’d be worse than what we already have. I’d rather have Djourou in the side than davies. In the premiership the only defenders who i think would definitely make a difference would be ferdinand, vidic, alex, carvalho. We need international class centre backs, not good premiership centre backs
November 24, 2008 at 19:47
We should have bought Carlos Cuellar.
November 24, 2008 at 19:48
rico,
i only wrote it once and it came out twice.
i think fabianski will play tomorrow,just a hunch
November 24, 2008 at 19:48
what makes u think he isnt good enough? We have a very good back 3 in Gallas, Sagna and Clichy the problem is that our CBs pairings in the past dont gel. Davies is good in the air and he personally plays ppl out of games. Remember wen we lost to West Brom in the league when Kanu score he stuck to henry like glue. The guy has always showed the potential and now at Villa he is living up to it.
November 24, 2008 at 19:50
we should have bought given for 4 million,torres was available if we had sold that togo dude,and why noy buy cudacini,he is wasted at chelsea.
November 24, 2008 at 19:52
he isn’t ready yet to make a big difference imo franchise, he still makes a fair few mistakes and we need someone really experienced. He’s not exactly living up to his potential, Michael Mancienne gets called up ahead of him to the england squad! There is much much more pressure playing for arsenal than the most defensive and dirty team in the premiership.
November 24, 2008 at 19:52
I agree franchise, villa are benefiting from the fact they were willing to pay the 10mil wenger wasnt, davies was awesome against us and one thing england are good at is producing quality CB’s, davies is quality.
another one that wenger let get away, and he’s english, any coincidence you think???
November 24, 2008 at 19:53
only teasing kelsey
I dont think Fabianski would be good, give Almunia a kick up the rear
Fab
Hoyte JD Silvestre/Kolo Clichy
Nasri Diaby Cesc Ramsey
Ade Simpson (old fasioned CF )
Thats my team
November 24, 2008 at 19:54
Our main problems defensively is the aerial balls we dont deal with them convincingly. Also unless we balance our attacking play with a little more focus on the defensive aspects of the game we would keep letting in goals. Djourou is a player that is very good and comfortable with the ball at his feet, he is also similar to Gallas and Toure. Djourou and Davies if given time in our back 4 would be a very good pairing. Davies’ strength is the aerial balls but he is also lightning quick
November 24, 2008 at 19:55
torres
i was singing his name for years and i do mean years. even before Reyes came to arsenal aswell.
i was praying we would sign him. i mean it i really was. and it didnt happen.
my heart was broken when the Pool-of-Liver signed him when they did
November 24, 2008 at 19:55
Davies? Y’all think Davies is the answer?
Hell the guy even describes himself as a pub player! No thanks!
November 24, 2008 at 19:55
jonjon he’s ok and has potential, but isn’t quality. Think about how good Kolo was 2 years ago, twice the player Davies is. Different styles of play I know but he’s still got to be a good player all round, he isn’t good enough to make a difference yet. We don’t make quality centre backs, we just produce good premiership centre backs. In terms of world football and the champions league they aren’t in the same league as the top centre backs
November 24, 2008 at 19:56
ALEX!????
November 24, 2008 at 19:56
nasri is out injured knee again
November 24, 2008 at 19:57
I wanted Davies aswell, but as soon as we showed an interest West Brom decided to slap a 10 million pound price tag on him, he ended up going to Villa on loan, he’s shown good form but he’s not proven in any way shape or form.
You can’t buy everyone and you can pick apart who he didn’t buy and who we didn’t but it’s not that simple is it.
November 24, 2008 at 19:57
thats your team for when rico?! simpson lol
i agree raif, torres would be incredible, but he was liverpool through and through and was only going to leave for them
November 24, 2008 at 19:57
diaby is also out
November 24, 2008 at 19:59
Evening Grovers!
How are we all?
Anything new in the world of Arsenal?
November 24, 2008 at 19:59
A – tomorrow against Chicken Kiev
November 24, 2008 at 20:00
The truth is that Wenger has some biase against buying English players probably its because of their price who knows? Or that the ones he bought ended up as flops
November 24, 2008 at 20:00
true keyser. If we could have signed davies relatively cheaply then we should have, but for a player who would be a potential player ten million is far too much
November 24, 2008 at 20:01
well ade diaby and nasri are out so i doubt that’ll be the team!
November 24, 2008 at 20:03
bloody hell kelsey, thats not good.
fab
hoyte jd kolo/silvestre clichy
ramsey cesc diaby merida
ade simpson
subs – coquelin bischoff almunia kolo/silvestre vela rvp randall/nik/eboue
November 24, 2008 at 20:03
rico the team will be, almunia,
Song/hoyte JD/Gallas Silvestre Clichy
Ramsey/Song Denilson Cesc
VP Vela
Bendtner
I’d put a bet on one of those variations being the starting line up!
November 24, 2008 at 20:04
A
Yeah he was wasnt he. bloody Wanker. i would have gotten El Nino on my shirt if he came to us.
instead all we got close to that is RvP. the player apareantly as good as Torres tho the only thing is his injurd to many times to prove it
November 24, 2008 at 20:04
A – you dont know that
November 24, 2008 at 20:04
rico diaby and ade are out!
November 24, 2008 at 20:04
Hi Pedro
Seems the excitement at Cesc getting the arm-band has worn off.
Did you have a nice day
November 24, 2008 at 20:05
If Fergie was top of the league in January with one of his CB at the nations cup, one returns from loan and is injured against spurs in CC and the other one (Sendy) has a history of cock ups and he was approached by Woodgate’s agent saying that Boro were willing to listen to offers in the region of £7mill for Woodgate I bet he would say DEAL DONE
November 24, 2008 at 20:05
November 24, 2008 at 20:06
Whats up ddm, why so glum?
November 24, 2008 at 20:06
Buttox!
November 24, 2008 at 20:07
Hello Pedro. (y)
November 24, 2008 at 20:08
I’m sure you can get something for that – care to enlighten us further
November 24, 2008 at 20:09
A,
Manchester utd and chelsea were in the final last year their CB’s were ferdinand and terry, Campbell was our CB when we made it to the final so what makes you say england doesnt produce quality defenders, and in international competitions, englands defence has been solid, its been scoring goals that has been the problem.
Davies doesnt look pretty, but defenders dont need to, they are there to look ugly and defend,
im not saying hes the answer, i just dont understand why wenger didnt get him when wenger loves to invest in youth. yes he was 10mil, but so was nasri and walcott so why not spend that on a promising Defender??
i guess my point is that wenger doesnt do defenders, he doesnt know a good defender when he sees one, he got lucky with sol and gallas but other than that hes been pretty crap at defender spotting, stepanovs for example
November 24, 2008 at 20:09
I am glum because i have finally lost faith in our manager……..
November 24, 2008 at 20:10
cheer up dennis, we are going to win tomorrow
Vela and Simpson up front the
Coquelin and Cesc in the middle
Ramey and LJ on the ‘wings’
Zip ed ee doo dah
Cescy baby, our main man…………
November 24, 2008 at 20:11
ddm – we’ve all lost faith in our manager – now we have to hope that he and his boys can restore our faith in him
November 24, 2008 at 20:12
well like somone said on here few days ago.
YOU CANT PLAY KIDS WITH BOYS.
November 24, 2008 at 20:12
dennis – dont be, he will get it right again, he is getting it wrong at the moment, but it can only get better – give him until the end of the season, we will see something in january, Michael has told us that
!!!
November 24, 2008 at 20:12
Good players cost dosh United paid £30 million for Ferdinand.
November 24, 2008 at 20:13
peaches, not all of us, not just yet anyway
November 24, 2008 at 20:14
because jonjon theo and nasri were two of the most highly rated young players in the world, whereas davies is a defender with a bit of potential, and theo was signed for 5 mil with add ons. Terry is incredibly overrated. Ferdinand is fantastic though, but that doesn’t mean that the second rate english centre backs are any good! Gerrard is an incredibly midfielder but that doesn’t mean all english midfielders are that good, likewise rooney and english strikers! Davies doesn’t even get near the current english squad, even when we have so many injuries. If he was top class then there is no way someone like mancienne would be in ahead of him!
November 24, 2008 at 20:14
Franchise – No he wouldn’t, we didn’t have trouble conceding apart from weakened teams in the cups, we were doing ok, Adebayor and Eduardo were scoring and we were getting the wins we needed.
We drew too many games after Eduardo got injured because we had two of our 3 main strikers out it wasn’t because of centre backs.
Woodgate made 9 appearnaces for Real Madrid over the course of 2 seasons, they finally gave up on and sent him to Villa, he’s a good centre back, not special and people like to say injury prone ? Well he doesn’t have the best of records.
He was an answer not the Answer. Even Fergie with all the money they have would probably promote someone like Evans rather than take a punt on Woodgate.
November 24, 2008 at 20:15
How silly they were Franchise
November 24, 2008 at 20:15
Hi Rico – I love your team selection – I’d go with all those. How exciting would that be?
In the summer before the season started, I joked with a friend that we really only needed a team of clichy, sagna, cesc, nasri, theo, ade and vp and that it wouldn’t matter who else was in the team cos we’d score so many goals!!!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 20:15
My real main worry is not the shite teams he keeps picking, or the insane subtitutions, or the constant ‘belief’ in this group of players (zzzzzzzzzzz) or even his lack of activity with the cheque book, my real main worry is he can sit there and watch that game at Man Citeh and believe that the scoreline flattered Citeh, he doesn’t see what everyone else is seeing, and as such i truly believe he will carry on with this insanity because he doesn’t see that we have a major problem………
November 24, 2008 at 20:16
Keyser – woodgate went to ‘Boro ?
November 24, 2008 at 20:18
rico01 – Yeah thats what I mean’t sorry was thinking of Villa and Davies.
November 24, 2008 at 20:18
peaches – i think would see a great performance with them, and glad you agree
4-0 tomorrow, simpson hattrick!!!! just for us peaches
November 24, 2008 at 20:18
Since when has Ade been out?
November 24, 2008 at 20:18
keyser, no worries, i was being cheeky
November 24, 2008 at 20:19
I hate to say this, but god forbid that the Chavs tear us a new arsehole on Sunday, 3-0, 4-0, or even 5-0 what will his excuses be then………..
However, i am hopeful of a 1-1 with a Fab4 goal……..c’mon!
November 24, 2008 at 20:20
ddm – do you want him to go?
November 24, 2008 at 20:20
ddm the scoreline did flatter them, they deserved to shade the match, but from from deserved a 3-0 win…. It’s not like they completely outplayed us. It was a very nothingy match with more or less no chances for either team until the clichy fuck up handed them a goal. bit more of an open 2nd half but still even, then they hit us on the break and then djourou gave away a clumsy penalty. They deserved to win but it isn’t like we were hammered on the balance of play, we just made mistakes at the back and didn’t take our chances up top, whereas they didn’t make mistakes and were more clinical
November 24, 2008 at 20:20
DDM, Wenger feels he has to say that lol, hes not gonna belittle the team. We all know it didn’t flatter City, and Wenger knows that.
November 24, 2008 at 20:21
Terry is not overrated Mr. A. The way Spanish Teams produce midfielders thats the same way England produce top class CB. Why did u think CArragher retired from the national team at 28.
Terry
Ferdi
Carragher
King
Upson
Davies
Wheater
Woodgate
Any of those two if 100% fit are good enough to play in defense for England
November 24, 2008 at 20:21
ddm – see how easy it is to get a bit of positive blood flowing!!!
Cesc is our captain and we’ll get to sing his name over and over and over again
November 24, 2008 at 20:22
im hoping Nikki-Big Balls gets a few tomorrow.
November 24, 2008 at 20:22
lol why are people even talkin about Woodgate, regardless of whether he is good, he commited a racially motivated crime, I don’t want that playing for Arsenal
November 24, 2008 at 20:22
*Correction* i mean NIKKI-PINK-BOOTS
November 24, 2008 at 20:23
You’ll have to manage the therapy without me for an hour xxxxxxxxxxxxx
November 24, 2008 at 20:23
guys, i got to dash, back to normal tomorrow and will be cheesing you all off all day long!!!!
Be safe – ddm, be good, and get out of that depressing mood
nighty night all grovers
November 24, 2008 at 20:26
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR KIEV CLUB LEVEL HALF PRICE!
November 24, 2008 at 20:27
Keyser after Djourou got injured in the CC with Kolo not around it would have made sense to sign Woodgate who IMO is a top class CB. He had shaken off his injury nightmare and was having a very good season partnering Wheater at Boro.
November 24, 2008 at 20:27
Good points A, but Terry isnt overrated, he is a proper defender who wins balls in the air and is brave in the tackle, although i hate him, i cant say he is second rate.
would you not have the terry/ferdinand parnership instead of the gallas/silvestre one?
i agree davies is not top class but, he doing a good job at villa.
like i said im not saying hes the answer, but for someone with wengers scouting network, im sure he could find a defender out there who is quality.
you backed up my point with nasri and walcott, wenger got them cos they are promising attacking players, he doesnt do defenders. when was the last time we seen wenger buy a defender for 10mil. and defenders are what we lack.
November 24, 2008 at 20:29
Terry is good enough to play for england but a level below the top class CDs
Ferdinand is class, though had a bit of a dodgy season this year
Carragher was solid enough but like terry a level below the best in the world
King can’t play 2 games in a week, was good but is a sicknote
Upson very average but can fill in ok for england
Davies is behind mancienne in the pecking order which shows that he isn’t that good yet but has a bit of potential
Wheater had a good season last year but been average this year and even been moved to full back a few times!
Woodgate like king but slightly less of a sicknote.
Out of all of those players ferdinand is the only one I’d want at arsenal, and the only one who’d make a big difference. In most countries there is a higher percentage of domestic nationals in defence because other than the top top class centre backs, there isn’t a massive difference in the other solid ones. Ferdinand is the only top class english centre back we have, and obviously we couldn’t sign him
November 24, 2008 at 20:30
hey kelsey, just reading back, and saw your comment, strictly was good, but didnt want jodie to go out, shes a big animal lover, so ’she’s my favourite’.
Erin and Austin for me
I am really off now
November 24, 2008 at 20:32
jonjon if there was a really promising defender i think wenger would be willing to splash out, but nasri and theo are two of the most promising in the world, and davies is just quite a promising player, nowhere near the highest rated in the world! Senderos was one of the highest rated young defenders in the world, we beat off madrid and barca etc to get him, nordveit too is meant to be very highly rated.
November 24, 2008 at 20:32
I would maybe sign Upson, he would be good to have back at the club
Davies is a good one, but paying 10 million is inflation for someone who isnt that good yet
Woodgate, never, don’t want racists playing for Arsenal, I will stop supporting them if thats the case.
Wheater is too average IMO, not good enough to play for Arsenal. I’d say in the current climate, we’d need a stop-gap defender until we produce one of great quality.
November 24, 2008 at 20:34
A u can dream on this isnt fantasy football. Especially for a club like Arsenal that dont seem to spend a lot. Ferdinand is the only CD u rate. Who are u comparing these guys to? I dare you to name 5 CB in the world that are arguably better than John Terry. Go on. I like when ppl are objective with their arguements saying John Terry is overrated yet Djourou is class is strange. Im waiting for my list
November 24, 2008 at 20:36
what another poor decision from wenger to curse cesc with the the captaincy the last two who received the armband have left and one more to follow we all know he’s in a barca shirt already it just rubs it in that little bit extra
November 24, 2008 at 20:36
I personally believe that both Carvalho and Alex at chelsea are better than terry!
November 24, 2008 at 20:37
Puyol, Lucio, Ferdinand, Nesta, Cannavaro, probably the top 5 in the world imo
November 24, 2008 at 20:38
SDF what did Woodgate do?
November 24, 2008 at 20:39
he and bowyer beat up some asian bloke in leeds i believe some time ago
November 24, 2008 at 20:40
woodgate and lee bowyer racially abused then assaulted an asian boy while they were playing for leeds. They got away with community service, and I have never forgiven either of them, and I still feel they shouldn’t be allowed to play football.
At the west ham game, the sight of Lee Bowyer running around in a “lets kick racism out of football” shirt was enough to make me laugh ironically lol.
November 24, 2008 at 20:41
Guys. i have a question.
since the Spurs Game and every game since then all apart from the Man Utd game (Witch we WON!) i have Worn my Arsenal Home Shirt.
do you think i should wear it for tomorrows Game?
i could plunge our season more into misery if i wear it lol
November 24, 2008 at 20:41
Surely the answer is to buy a top quality defender who is already eastablished then A,
senderos turned out to be a train wreck and nordveit is a baby.
woodgate is a quality defender and we let spurs get him, cueller is quality but villa got him, mellberg is quality and was available for a free but he was allowed to get snapped up without a fight.
surley wengers scouts knew about vidic, but man utd got him
there are defenders out there who cost less then 10mil, but wenger doesnt do proper mean defenders, so he doesnt get them.
November 24, 2008 at 20:42
sion i heard that bowyer, however much of a nasty piece of work he is wasn’t actually guilty at all, and it was all woodgate. That’s why bowyer left leeds so soon after, he was furious the club didn’t come out defending him properly. Family friend who was a board member at leeds said that!
November 24, 2008 at 20:42
Lucio better than Terry this isnt 2005 the same can be said of Nesta both past it. Puyol better than Terry comon be real. Cannavaro of 2006 world cup possibly. Ferdinand close to call. Carvalho and Alex better than Terry? Go to a Chelsea blog and ask the fans who watch the club every week if Carvalho and Alex are better than Terry. U being silly
November 24, 2008 at 20:45
JonJon beautifully pointed out Wenger doesnt do defenders yet he wonders why he has never won a cup in Europe.
November 24, 2008 at 20:45
wenger wouldn’t sign upson if he was free.he could have had anelka back for 10million,he could have got swp for 9million,no he is stubborn.
going back to the city game they are not a great team,yet scored 3 ,plus one disallowed and one cleared off the line by djorou,how many decent chances did we muster.
cesc has now got the armband,well i would rather he had a magic wand so that the whole team vastly improves,this is yet another pivotal week,and i am not at all confident
November 24, 2008 at 20:45
yeah i agree, that’s what we desperately need jon, a top quality established defender. woodgate isn’t that, he’s a sicknote and a shadow of his former self. We can’t talk about players we didn’t get in competition with teams like barca and utd, if we did know about them and go for them they didn’t want to come to us! cuellar is not top class and not established, he’s pretty good but not like he’s a top player, and not good enough to make a difference for us. We want to sign someone who is or will be world class, not a centre back just for the sake of it, unless we can for fuck all as a stop gap till someone world class becomes available, which is what silvestre is
November 24, 2008 at 20:47
im from leeds, it was all bowyer, woodgate was there but didnt actually touch anyone and got done for it because he was famous and the asian dude wanted a huge payout. bowyer was the culprit, woodgate was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
thats why leeds had to sell duberry, he and woodgate were best mates and duberry said in court that woodgate could have stopped it but didnt, and they fell out, but why didnt duberry stop it also, they could no longer play together and leeds offloaded duberry because woodgate was innocent and a better defender than dubes.
November 24, 2008 at 20:47
im so gutted about cesc being the new captain we all know he’s in a barca shirt already.it just rubs it in even more when he’s in the nou camp being raped by pep and henry it makes me sick wenger stp down now and take your shit players wid u
November 24, 2008 at 20:49
jon jon what is all the hype surrounding fab delph
November 24, 2008 at 20:49
Franchise – Come on how highly do you rate Terry ? Seriously he’s had Essien, Mikel, Makalele sitting in front of him , Cole, Bridge and then Gallas and Carvalho next to him with Cech behind, not today’s Cech but the one that was awesome in the first couple of seasons.
Whenever we played them I looked to see if Gallas was playing because Terry we could get past, Gallas was something else.
He’s made the best of what qualities he has and is very clever with them, he isn’t as good a player as Ferdinand is but because Ferdinand is a dopey so and so he doesn’t do himself justice, I wouldn’t even rate him that highly because he makes a lot of mistakes.
November 24, 2008 at 20:52
JonJon – What happened to Woodgate was he convicted ?!
Kelsey – Anelka for 10 million ? Do you mean the year before or when Chelsea bought him for 15 ? SWP for 9 ? after almost completely flopping at Chelsea ? Come on it’s not that straight forward.
November 24, 2008 at 20:52
puyol is incredible, twice the player of terry! Not seen lucio play for bayern this season granted but in the summer he was absolutely amazing too. Terry makes a goal-scoring mistake a game, he’s cost 4/5 goals this season with really crap mistakes, done it for england alot too. People are blind to his mistakes because he’s so determined and passionate! He’s massively overrated. Puyol is comfortably the best defender in the world, Ferdinand is up there at that level, terry isn’t in the same league.
ah ok jon, just what i was told, though i was shocked it wasnt bowyer as he’s just a turd
November 24, 2008 at 20:52
Boy Better know – We should be happy with FAB..Now he will at least stay for the rest of the season…
November 24, 2008 at 20:56
wow magnus that sound’s really great till the end of the season the off to sunny spain
November 24, 2008 at 20:56
What year do you think we are in A? Cuellar isnt good comon look b4 u leap on what basis do u draw these conclusions. B4 Vidic joined United he was just a CB from Serbia now look at what he is. He cost £7 mill that tells you that Utd didnt get into a bidding war to sign him. Cuellar is top class not cos u dont play for the top 4 doesnt make u shit.
November 24, 2008 at 20:56
Boy Better know
who would you have made captian? if ur not happy about it being Cesc.?
the comes out every other week saying he loves the club and wants to win things with arsenal. his heart is in the club. Gallas Never has.
Be happy we can only go up. providing we dont go anymore Lower then we already are lol
November 24, 2008 at 20:57
I agree completely keyser, terry has had it easy at chelsea, Terry looked brilliant in mourinho’s defensive system, with gallas alongside him, cech behind him etc etc but his mistakes show up more now, but are ignored
Just in the last 3 weeks he’s cost 2 goals with horrific defending for chelsea against roma and for england!
November 24, 2008 at 20:58
franchise cuellar is good for villa in a very defensive system, as davies is for villa, but neither are anywhere near their national set ups because individually they just aren’t top class. They’re both good, and do a very good job for their team, but by themselves do not have the ability to play for arsenal.
November 24, 2008 at 21:00
Ironicly speaking of course – BUT What are the alternatives ? The whole squad
has been weakned over the last 4 seasons so who would do a better job then Fab..
November 24, 2008 at 21:00
U keep talking about mistakes lioke there is a perfect player. B4 goals are scored a defender either makes a mistake or an attacking player pulls some magic out of his hat. All defenders make mistakes Terry is world class no manager in the world dare says he is overrated not to mention us as mere followers of the game.
November 24, 2008 at 21:01
A. – Come on LoL he didn’t have it easy, that’s just like saying he’s one of the greatest ever, he’s a good player, a clever one, knows most of the tricks abuses the ref when he has to, is a good leader and Captain but even thats over stated considering the players he has around him.
November 24, 2008 at 21:02
yeah magnus i agree, I don’t think Cesc should be captain, but there really is no alternative. Clichy was probably the only one, but he still has kinks in his game he needs to focus on. Almunia would have prob been if his place was concrete in the side, toure likewise
November 24, 2008 at 21:02
BBK delph is class, hes the best youth product leeds have hd in a while, thats a player a would gladley see wenger get, hes only 18 and runs leeds midfield like a general. hes the best midfielder they have and for his age hes too good for that division.
woodgate got convicted of assisting an offender, which means he was just there but didnt do anything, and it was all down to duberrys statement keyser.
the asian boys actually started the fight, they were throwing bottle tops at the players in a club, they seen them later on in a kebab shop and started throwing chips, bowyer lost it and chased one of them down the street and kicked the shit out of him, all on cctv, woodgates biggest error was to help chase them but he didnt actually touch them.
the whole thing was done for compensation, leeds were popular then, which is why after the trial, the asian lad took it to civil court to claim compensation.
there was two trials the first was the trial for assualt, which included bowyer and woodgate, the 2nd was a trial for compo, which only included bowyer.
November 24, 2008 at 21:05
when senderos makes one mistake against liverpool he becomes absolutely shit. When terry makes 2 in 3 or 4 matches it doesn’t matter because he’s world class. A defender is judged largely on the mistakes he makes, and terry makes far too many imo, but has the players around him and fans blinkered by his determination and passion that he gets away with it. I don’t rate him at all but it’s all about opinions
November 24, 2008 at 21:05
Jon – Jon ! He would suit Arsnal if he was 30 years…General in the championship, and a private in the PL…
November 24, 2008 at 21:08
jonjon i disagree regarding delph, though obviously i dont watch him week in week out since i moved away from london and near peterborough i follow league 1 closely and watch posh alot and from what i’ve seen he’s good but not even the best player in that division, and won’t make an international class player. He’ll most likely play prem but nowhere near our standard. The best player in league 1 is George Boyd
November 24, 2008 at 21:10
Dont let Intl setional setup deceive u. u dont just sign players cos they are internationals Bendtner is one, Djorou is one, Senderos is one, Song is one. Does that mean they are world class. Clichy made his first cap 2 months ago and he has been class since cashley left. Arsenal lost the league cos we couldnt deal with aerial balls especially against Chelsea. We pegging Pool back at Anfield in the CL they score with their first corner Hyppia unmarked by a carried away Sendy. Wenger promised to signa CB that is commanding in the air then turns around ans says they arent available. bollox. Cuellar 6ft 3 powerful in the air, Mellberg uncompromising hard tackling defender good in the air to name a few. Stop looking at names as wenger pointed out rightly there are only names. Either of Cuellar, Woodgate, Mellberg, Upson would easily improve our defence. Its all about balance which we lost when Sol left.
November 24, 2008 at 21:10
Hello everyone.
I see Nasri and Gallas are ruled out, so I’m starting to be really worried about tomorrow’s game. I will take any win. Wenger must play Ramsey in the middle and I would love to see Coquelin as CDM, but it will never happen.
About CD position. C. Davis will never come here, and I don’t think Upson will be back, probably not. Zapata will be off to Juve, so Wenger must hurry, because the number of quality defenders is not big. Zapata would be my choice but it’s highly unlikely. Distin and Zapata are my choice, and Cana with Arshavin of course. But it will never happen and we will end up with van Buyiten and Dabo.
November 24, 2008 at 21:11
A – could have been a viable option – I certainly agree on that… Love his passion
and effort. That’s the attitude with need these days. Take a look at Denilson for example when he tryes to win the ball..There is no heart…I get so pissed by looking at it..The words that pops up in my mind should not be written on this site…That’s for sure…
November 24, 2008 at 21:15
A hes not the best player in the division i never said that, but hes the best midfielder leeds have, and at 18 trust me he is too good for that division,
he wouldnt make the fist team at arsenal by a long chalk but he will be a premiership player by the time hes 21, arsenal, chelsea, liverpool and manutd have scouts at elland road every game watching him. although hes not top quality yet, for his age hes immense.
he’ll be at a premiership club soon, ken bates has already rejected a 6mil offer from wenger with a view to loan him back for a season.
November 24, 2008 at 21:15
A Terry makes far too many and Ferdinand doesnt? Ferdinand is notoriously guilty of playing himself into trouble and Utd have been punished a lot of times cos of this. Look at Chelsea’s defensive record over the last 5 seasons then you would understand what Terry is all about. U cant isolate Chelsea’s defensive strength from Terry. Saying he plays well bcos of the ppl around him is bollox.
November 24, 2008 at 21:17
Guys… those who are bigging up Delph… let remember that Simpson was voted the best player in div one… and he gets alsorts of stick on here!
November 24, 2008 at 21:20
JonJon, Fair enough, but with the limited funds AW has he should focus on the more experienced players + We have Ramsey and Wilshere who can both Play CM with FAB… Were ok in terms of talents in the youth system, but we are in serious need
of experienced players..
November 24, 2008 at 21:20
As for Upson – All i’m saying is ask the bar manager at the golf club he used whilst playing for us why we shouldn’t re-sign him….allegedly.
November 24, 2008 at 21:21
Hi Pedro, i also rate Simpson, hes a good old fashioned CF, pacey strong and hits the net, theres so many english youngsters that are overlooked in the lower divisions, like you say simpson was immence on loan.
there are some real gems out there, if snapped up at the right time at a young age could go on to be quality players.
November 24, 2008 at 21:22
Stop speaking in codes QOS. How do we meet the bar manager?
November 24, 2008 at 21:22
Chelsea until this season played an incredibly defensive style of play, and they didn’t concede many goals because of that, not because of Terry. Last season Utd conceded less goals, and played a more attacking style of play. This season though both Ferdinand and Terry havn’t had the best start to the season and have both made mistakes. Ferdinand has a great reading of the game, and is very quick, both things that Terry lacks. It’s all opinions and you aren’t going to persuade me otherwise about Terry. I’ve never watched him and seen anything about him that makes me rate him as a top player!
Jonjon I’d be shocked if we signed him as I don’t see him ever being our sort of standard, but he will be prem I’m sure, blackburn could well make a bid, ince loves his league 1 players!
November 24, 2008 at 21:23
I would say – Purchase N’Zogbia….Guaranteed sucsess!
November 24, 2008 at 21:23
QoS… ellaborate!
JonJon, fully agreed… he could be an alternative.
November 24, 2008 at 21:24
magnus i very much doubt wilshere will ever play centrally in a 5 man midfield, ramsey will be brilliant though.
November 24, 2008 at 21:24
Really Magnus?
I’ve not seen a lot of him… what makes you think he could bring us success?
November 24, 2008 at 21:25
Franchise – It works both ways, singling out Terry for special praise in a great defense makes just as little sense. You said yourself Makalele was soo good he had a position named after himself and thats just another player in a great team, even better squad.
Cuellar, Woodgate, Melberg and Upson are just names aswell, they make names for themselves at teams like Leeds, Villa or West Ham, but it’s make or break at teams like Arsenal.
It works both ways, you can’t be sure that one player will improve a team unless that player gets a run in the team.
November 24, 2008 at 21:25
I know magnus mate i agree, i was asked a question about delph earlier and i was just saying if wenger was going to keep splashing out on youth then delph would be a good prospect, but your right we need experience.
i actually said that to a friend when we heard that delph was a target for us, i went mad cos 6mil is alot to fork out on another kid when we are lacking in more important areas.
dont worry im with you on the experience and we have enough youth, i was just answering the delph question.
November 24, 2008 at 21:25
sorry, i meant except in a 5 man midfield
November 24, 2008 at 21:27
Nzogbia????
Really magnus??
November 24, 2008 at 21:30
The thing with arsene is that he only spends money on players who are, or could be amongst the best in the world, which usually means signing very young players and developing them into being the best in the world. He’s never spend money on someone who’s good now, but could never become incredible, which is why he signs younger players who are less reliable at the moment, because they should become much better.
It results in our squad consisting of the likes of ramsey, vela, theo, nasri. Rather than fletcher, park, etc
The only time he’s willing to sign players who won’t improve is if they are a stop-gap whilst he looks for someone with that potential, or if he thinks the players who will be amazing aren’t yet ready to play. Like Suker and Silvestre
November 24, 2008 at 21:30
No more Africans please, remember the ACN!
QOS I imagine the same could be said for Adams as well, but I’d have him back in a heartbeat!
Really have to go, see you all tomorrow, sleep well!
November 24, 2008 at 21:31
Hi Pedro – hi has the tech – the movment of the ball is good with a good speed as well.
He knows the PL, and his french and let’s mot forget..Hi is more then 13 years “lol”
November 24, 2008 at 21:32
A Chelsea have only conceded 4 this season, L’Pool have conceded twice as much i.e. 8 ManUtd have conceded 10 and Arsenal 18. Chelsea have also scored the most goals 32. So ur point about them conceding more this term is a lie. United also had the best defense in the league last season.
November 24, 2008 at 21:33
i said last season franchise.
November 24, 2008 at 21:34
Would anyone be unhappy if we brought back upson? or do you think that there are better players available?
November 24, 2008 at 21:39
I dont know what league u r following A Terry has been rock solid this term.
Keyser u just jumped in the middle of myself and A’s debate w/o understanding what we were talking about. A was saying that becos a player is not an international therefore he wasnt good. Also he said John Terry was overrated that he looks good becos of the ppl around him……. Finally (probably not)
, either of Cuellar, Upson, Woodgate, Mellberg could have solved our problems at the back. I stand by it these guys hardly miss anything in the air. Its not certain but for the price we could have snapped them for it was worth the risk.
November 24, 2008 at 21:42
it wouldn’t happen jonjon
Wenger will only spend on someone who will become world class and be the future of the club, Upson isn’t world class and won’t improve. If he was available on the cheap it would be a possibility, but not for what west ham would ask for.
November 24, 2008 at 21:43
Don’t foget West Ham are strapped! Iclandic banks etc..
November 24, 2008 at 21:44
JonJon – I’m Norwegian so i would say Brede Hangeland…Had his first season in PL with Fullham. He has the height t be king in the air, and he is very good with with the ball a his feet..A really good distributor…And he is 27 years old….
November 24, 2008 at 21:44
Wot are the odds Wenger is going to Stick with his Experiment.
I think he is obsessed with proving the “doubters” wrong.
November 24, 2008 at 21:45
Franchise he has completely individually cost 2 goals in the last 3 weeks, that’s more than titus bramble has in that time!
I didn’t say because a player is an international he isn’t good, but if a player is 27 or older and not even in the national squad then he isn’t and would be very unlikely to ever be world class.
Mellberg was going to juve from over a season ago. Cuellar Upson and woodgate would do a job for us at the moment, but will never be world class, and we need people better
November 24, 2008 at 21:45
Franchise – I saw Terry, and saw red, sorry mate, I can’tbelieve we’ve started discussing transfers now or players that would be good, we’ve got a month of this and then some.
Come on just like A. saying Terry isn’t that good, it’s the same exaggeration saying he doesn’ put a foot wrong.
All those miss hardly anything in the air ? Come on, they are good players, at Arsenal we need great players, no-one is going to come in and suddenly be upto pace after a few weeks.
November 24, 2008 at 21:46
Terry is not the only reason that Chelsea dont concede goals easily. U can say the same about any other defender even the so called world class CB u rate. Football is a team sport played by 11 individuals who have their respective duties. John Terry over the last 5 seasons has done his part magnificently for club and country. The guy is a rock in defence. We are not talking about Song here we are talking about Terry
November 24, 2008 at 21:47
exactly keyser, we need great players. Though good players will do a job for us at the moment, it isn’t worth spending big money on them as we need great players for the long term, and that money then wont be there when a great player becomes available.
November 24, 2008 at 21:47
who else is there for CB, and im not saying i want upson, i dont think hes good enough, but anyone who watched the euros will know theres no quality CB’s out there, in europe anyway, all the best ones have slipped under wengers radar, or allowed to slip under, which ever way you look at it, and have been snapped up by other teams and would cost huge amounts of money now.
there is alot of hard mean defenders who play for south american teams, but could they handle the PL, collochini at newcastle is struggling and he was meant to be class,
November 24, 2008 at 21:49
at the moment there isn’t anyone jonjon, but Upson isn’t much better than silvestre, and he’d do exactly the same job.
November 24, 2008 at 21:49
David – When we’ve got players like the ones we’ve got coming through in the reserves and from the Youth Acamdey you cna understand it to a degree, yes there should be something in the meantime, but considering everyone’s been impressed with a 15 year old we brought from some Second Division French team shows that there is still hope, actually pretty significant, for his experiment.
November 24, 2008 at 21:50
Magnus, is that the lad who scored against us, dont know much about him mate so i cant comment.
November 24, 2008 at 21:50
Kompany was a good buy in my opinion…
November 24, 2008 at 21:52
Hello avenall, kompany was a mystery to me, wenger said he had been watching him for a while and admired him, but then he goes to city for 6mil or what ever it was.
another one wenger let get away.
November 24, 2008 at 21:52
We need great players I agree. Sagna was a good signing but I bet u didnt hear of him b4 he joined us. Eduardo who? Robert Pires? Freddie Ljunberg? Thierry who? There are a lot of players who would improve us massively w/o the need to splash the cash. Great players is just a term. By the way do u think Barca would sell Puyol to us or Madrid Pepe, Cannavaro? Would United sell us Vidic or Ferdinand? Even if they would could we afford them. Arsene Wenger has always added these kind of players to the squad and I dont see why he should not do the same especially cos we dont have a sugar daddy
November 24, 2008 at 21:53
Thanks Avenell Kompany would have improved us at £6-7 mill we should have snapped him.
November 24, 2008 at 21:53
I was about to say Kompany might not be Arsenal quality… but neither are Song or Eboue.
So I’ll extinguish that point right away!
November 24, 2008 at 21:56
Had heard of Eduardo though didn’t think he’d be as good as he was, Thierry and Pires were big names though Fred wasn’t. I get your point but we need someone good enough now, and there isn’t anyone, that’s the point. No obviously barca madrid utd etc wouldn’t sell us players, thats the point, there aren’t any top class players who aren’t at top clubs.
November 24, 2008 at 21:57
theres a defender who pays for paraguay, they are flying in the south american worldcup qualifers and this mans a monster, iv watched a few of their games now and hes good, just dont know his name or club haha, il find out though
November 24, 2008 at 21:57
U make a point A that there are no good enough players then u keep saying we should sign world class where do u want to sign them from.
Shay Given was available at £2 mill would he have improved us? Of course yes
Or should we go for Cech. Fergie signed EVS from Fulham for £2 million and since then they have won the Carling Cup, Premier League twice and Champions league. It wasnt only down to Edwin but there is no doubt that he did his part
November 24, 2008 at 21:59
rico,
I like your optimism but I will urge caution. Wait for Mr. Wenger’s team sheet before having any hopes.
November 24, 2008 at 21:59
Yeah i agree regarding kompany, though he is a potential player rather than a top quality centre back, though i would have been happy with him. When did they sign him though? Was it when Senderos was still at the club?
November 24, 2008 at 22:00
Sagna was in the Ligue 1 team of the year when he was with Auxerre.. He wasn’t exactly Lord Lucan…
Hi JonJon!!
November 24, 2008 at 22:02
That’s my point though franchise, we need world class players, there aren’t any available at the moment, so there’s absolutely no point us signing someone just for the sake of it. Given was not available for 2 million that was lazy journalistic rumours, and we didn’t sign a keeper because Fabianski is incredibly highly rated and should come through this year.
Van de Sar was a great signing for utd, though until last season we didn’t need a keeper, and now fabianski is going to be the next buffon and almunia is a decent enough stop gap whilst he’s coming through!
November 24, 2008 at 22:02
A Henry big name? Henry was a Juve reject. He was a player with a lot of potential that was gonna either make it or mess it up. Pires wasnt world class when we signed him he had potential to be one just like the likes of some players i’ve mentioned earlier. If we apply the theory u are applying now Pires wasnt good enough for Arsenal then
November 24, 2008 at 22:04
Without being too coded – lets just say he must have really liked his golf when he was an Arsenal player!
November 24, 2008 at 22:04
Franchise – Come on you keep saying this or that player would have improved us, thing is we cricise Wenger for not buying all these different players after they’ve shown promise or fulfilled potential at other clubs, is it really that simple, how long do you think these players are watched for, how much effort do you think goes into it ?!
I’d guess a whole lot more effort than either of us have put into this argument, maybe not as much effort as you put in with bergkamp but a lot more than we have. LoL
Shay Given ? Come on at 2 million ? and you’re saying he’d definetly improve us ?!
Fergie bought Van Der Sar for 2 million, he spent 30 million on Ferdinand though and 60 million alone last year to add to the squad, not even mentioning Tevez.
We all think the managers job at Arsenal is easy, do we really truly and utterly believe that ?!
November 24, 2008 at 22:05
Franchise… Henry was a big name around Europe… he was bigger than Benzema is now.
November 24, 2008 at 22:07
hey has anyone seen this before?
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ars%C3%A8ne_Wenger
November 24, 2008 at 22:07
Francise is right – it isn’t Wengers way to sign established players. He signs good players and hopes to turn them into great players.
The problem seems to be that over the last few years hes signed players who are talented enough to be good maybe even great but he’s playing them before they are even good!
November 24, 2008 at 22:07
Lets face it for the first 5 or 6 years Wenger stole a march on the rest of the Premiership.. Other clubs were looking down the League and buying players, Wenger already knew about the likes of Henry Vieira etc, from his days in France..
But now the Premiership has caught up and Arsene has lost his advantage..
November 24, 2008 at 22:09
World class players attain that status when they play for a top club. Because u need honours to back ur performances to be regarded as World class. Look at the list of the last 15 players to win Ballon d’ Or they all played for Top Spanish and Italian Clubs. No one would rate u when u r not in a top European club that is the job of the scouts. Ashley Young is a better wide player than Theo at the moment but who gets the nod to play wide right. Walcott. That is the way it is. There are a lot of top class players there within our spending power that would make us a force to be reckoned with.
November 24, 2008 at 22:11
Can’t wait for tommorrow will be at the game the start of a new era’and i can say i was there that day.Hopefully then those who tell Cesc and Wenger to fuck off will then keep their mouths shut or get behind the team
November 24, 2008 at 22:12
Henry had been talked about as a wonder kid for years, and transferred for alot of money, Even being a reject he cost us a hell of a lot! Neither Henry nor Pires were world class when they came to us, i’ll give you that, but they very obviously had the talent to be world class, and were already international class, both were french internationals and had won the world cup!
November 24, 2008 at 22:13
Keyser, he is just a football manager. Compared to other jobs, it’s easy… look at some of the brainless idiots that are managers.
Stuart Pearce for starters runs our under 21’s! Thick as two short planks!
November 24, 2008 at 22:14
Avenell Wenger is just stubborn could u really tell me that Wenger could not find a replacement for Flamini. The guy is just a fantasist and his fantasy has caught up with him. There are at least 3 players from the Villa side that would walk into our team. If Villa can find and afford these players why cant Arsene?
November 24, 2008 at 22:15
true qos, wenger doesn’t sign world class players but signs good (usually youn) players, with massive potential, and unleashes that potential making them world class. He doesn’t buy good players who will never become world class, like davies and cuellar.
which top class players would make us a force to be reckoned with franchise?
November 24, 2008 at 22:15
Franchise – Why does Ashley Young play for Villa and not for any of the massive clubs, because obviously the scouts that watched him realised that he wasn’t worth the money for the potential he had, not to say that he won’t make it but that there’s a whole lot to be considered than what we see, hear or derive..
November 24, 2008 at 22:16
franchise again opinions, there isn’t a single player from villa who would get in our team IMO, unless you include friedel, though he’s very short term, that’s it.
November 24, 2008 at 22:17
Pedro – Until you’re in his shoes, you won’t know what it’s like or how effort goes into, is Wenger thick as two short planks ? is he a brainless idiot ?!
Yeah a great amount of luck takes you into these positions but no more or less than any other high profile position, you need the breaks in life and things falling your way but you also need to be able to make the right choices and make the best of what goes your way.
November 24, 2008 at 22:20
avenell – You have a point, but i’d say it’s more to do with the state of World football now, it’s globalisation at it’s finest, if Wenger so much as sends a scout to watch someone it adds millions to their price tag, people can get better contracts just with the mere mention of the club Arsenal.
Do you see us raiding Milan’s B-team for someone like Vieira now ? Look at how the English league has grown.
November 24, 2008 at 22:20
Franchise.. To be honest, I don’t think it is as black and white as we all think it is..
I don’t think any club had any real money last year, judging by the amount of transfers.
And I think we had less than other clubs because of the new stadium, the credit crunch came 1 year too early for us..
But this point is a bit boring to some!!
November 24, 2008 at 22:20
Pedro my point about Henry is that he wasnt categorised as world class when he joined us. The big names then were Ronaldo9, Romario, Bergkamp etc Henry had just burst onto the scene fast forward from 1999 to 2002/3/4 and he was regarded as a world class striker. Until Benzema prooves himself in a club like Madrid, ManU etc he wouldnt be reagarded as world class. If he joined us would he improve us compared to what we have now I would say yes
November 24, 2008 at 22:22
lol
November 24, 2008 at 22:23
My point about Young was regarding England. He has been doing well for Villa on the right 17 assists last season a few goals but Theo who still has a patchy form for club gets the nod to play on the right for England
November 24, 2008 at 22:23
… I didn’t say Wenger was a brainless idiot, I merely pointed out that Wenger is just a football manager.
There is only a small pool to choose from, but I bet if you took manager from the lower leagues, they’d do just as good a job as the current managers in the Prem.
If you took the man who ran the local corner shop and put him in Charge of Vodafone… he’d struggle… but if you took the man who ran a top Div 2 team, and put him in charge of Newcastle, he might not. I don’t always think the cream rises to the top in football.
November 24, 2008 at 22:27
Pedro – I didn’t mean it like that, there is an obvious difference between some managers and the rest, especially ones that get breaks because of their playing careers, but then they must’ve done something good as a player to warrant mention in the first place.
If the man had the same intelligence and understanding as the person who ran Vodafone he’d struggle at first but once he’d built up the experience he’d get results. I suppose you are right to an extent. Football is a completely different world.
November 24, 2008 at 22:27
I’d disagree massively pedro, most league 1 or 2 managers are retarded, and the ones that aren’t rise to the top very quickly. Even the ones that are if they seem like they might be successful they rise very quickly, look at ince! There are very few good managers
November 24, 2008 at 22:27
Do you know what the funniest thing is, and I’m not aiming this at anyone in particular, is that this is Arsenal in crisis, us at our lowest ebb during Wenger’s whole career with us, where players are called useless, worthless, unbelievablly untalented, some not even good enough to play in the Championship…
We say Wenger has lost it, it’s insanity to pick who he does, play them in the positions he does, that if he fails now all he has done for the club will be undone, that we would’ve been better off without him, that the next manager that comes along is going to be fucked because Wenger has left the club in such a bad state..
Then at the same time we go into the next game expecting Wenger and the team to suddenly turn everything around on it’s head and perform the sort of miracles we think he as peformed in the past.
Cracks me up..
November 24, 2008 at 22:28
WEll i cant say that I agree with you Pedro…but you have a point nonetheless.
Wenger’s Team Selection has been very Atrocious…and we could’ve picked better teams than He did….and probably would’ve had better results! so you are right in a way…about a Div 2 coach
November 24, 2008 at 22:29
Pedro…… I have a couple of points to talk about but they are a bit AKBish, do you want them?
November 24, 2008 at 22:29
i agree about benzeama franchise. Though he’d cost about 30 million so it isn’t as easy as that. There are good young players who could become world class and we snap up any of those we can! I agree to an extent about theo, but I’d say SWP has been leagues ahead of both him and young this season, he should be an england regular imo, far better all round game than the rest
November 24, 2008 at 22:30
I would rather watch Murphy and Bullard run around in our current midfield than see Song and Denilson looking clueless like they did against City. My point is our team is so weak that every week when u watch us play against other teams that u wld be able to pick at least one player from the opposition that would improve us. Signing World class players isnt gonna happen i.e. depending on what ur definition is. Signing players that would improve us so much to the point that they would be regarded as world class is very possible. We need more Sagna and Eduardo like signings
November 24, 2008 at 22:30
gopher it.
November 24, 2008 at 22:31
Thats the plight of a football fan I guess though, we’re not the same people when it comes to football our thought process changes.
Franchise – I agree he has been more consistent, I’m just saying we don’t have everything before us, remember the papers talking of a wonder goal Theo scored in training with England, how the other players were in awe of him.
Young has all the potential to become a great player, he’s definetly more advanced than Walcott as a player but however good he is do you see him making that run against Liverpool ?!
November 24, 2008 at 22:33
So its true then Cesc is the new skipper. Chamon(E) to that
November 24, 2008 at 22:34
A… no joking here… this is what an MK don said about Ince:
‘The manager is cracking, he keeps our minds sharp… like yesterday we did a shooting competition and on other days we’ll do a sprinting competition… he is fantastic.’
Well gee whizz… what a revolutionary!
Keyser, we all moan… but at heart, we all love the Arse and blindly believe we’ll turn it around every week.
November 24, 2008 at 22:34
You would rather watch Bullard? That man has a face of two ass cheeks put together.
November 24, 2008 at 22:35
Would anyone swap the Grove (Emirates) for 2 League Championships and a CL in Man U’s case.
Or 2 league championships, and a couple of cups in Chelsea’s case.
and we stayed at Highbury and financially died..
November 24, 2008 at 22:36
This absolutely wreaks of a new era for The Arsenal. Now, a couple of new signings in January, after we hold our ground in the PL, CL, FA & CC Cups. I tell you what, WE ARE BACK IN TOWN
CHHHHHHHHAMMMMMONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
November 24, 2008 at 22:36
23.00 and 989 comments…lets hit the magic 1000!
its been a mad bad 10 days for the arsenal….. I’m no akb but ill cut the man some slack….he may be stubborn but hes not a fool!
come on you gunners
November 24, 2008 at 22:36
Players that have points to prove Cana is a very good player but isnt seen in the same light as the likes of Essien. We would have to pay £15 mill plus for him because Marseille knoe how good he is and jow good he can be for us. Plays for Marseille who havent won the league in ages, havent appeared in the CL consistently and for Albania who havent ever qualified for a major tournament. Is he a World Class Player? Not in many ppls eyes but he would improve this Arsenal team because he can provide us with what we lack
November 24, 2008 at 22:37
Evening Guys.
Song will definitely start tomorrow night, so we may as well build the midield around him !!
Almunia
Hoyte Djurou Gallas Clichy
Ramsey Song Denilson Vela
RvP Bendtner
Terrible team, but one I think AW will go with
November 24, 2008 at 22:38
Avenell, I wouldn’t swap the Emirates now…
November 24, 2008 at 22:38
Oops I left out our new Captain !!! Who will replace Ramsey
November 24, 2008 at 22:38
Big Raddy
You have just burst my bubble mentioning song
November 24, 2008 at 22:39
To see what warrants a superior manager in the lower leagues you just have to look at barry fry, or even better, steve bleasedale in big ron manager, true representation of 90% of lower league managerial ability! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRsvAVpW_Qc
November 24, 2008 at 22:40
Guys what Im trying to say is that we cant keep saying players like , Kompany, Upson, Barry arent good enough for Arsenal when Song has featured like 8 times this season.
November 24, 2008 at 22:41
A… even those guys pick up £200k a year! That is more than the PM for being shite!
November 24, 2008 at 22:41
close raddy, but it’ll be cesc for ramsey, or maybe song (though i doubt it
) and they’l line up with rvp and vela on the flanks bend up top by himself
November 24, 2008 at 22:41
And we know arsene wont go for players like Robinho, Kaka, Pepe, Aguerro etc
November 24, 2008 at 22:42
Has anyone seen the state of Fabregas’s mullet when he first played in the premiership ?! Sky keep showing it and I swear I can’t even remember it, it’s soo bad I must’ve wiped it from my memory..
He looks like Kurt Russell…
November 24, 2008 at 22:43
Another winger who impresses me is (Christ , I can’t believe I am writing this !) Aaron Lennon. He was superb v B’burn, and is steadily improving.
In fact there are quite a few quality English wingers. SWP, Joe Cole, Theo Lennon, Young, That other twat at Spurs, etc.
November 24, 2008 at 22:43
Arsene should get George Graham to find him a couple of centre backs !
November 24, 2008 at 22:43
True true!
November 24, 2008 at 22:44
Song has potential though, as he showed in the ANC, though he hasn’t shown it for us! If he doesn’t fulfil his potential he’ll be off sooner rather than later. We’ll never sign the likes of upson and Barry when they have nowhere to improve, as they aren’t currently top quality. We make do with players slightly worse in the belief that they’ll become much better. Kompany would be a potential player, and I reckon he’ll move back to defence soon if Dunne doesn’t sort his head out, then we’ll see how good he really is
November 24, 2008 at 22:45
Big R Lennon is very good. he started well for tottenham in 2006/07 but last season he was very inconsistent no final ball. I saw the game ystdy and if Theo or Nasri could be menace like that against those 10 behind the ball teams we would be fine. The guy was like an animal
November 24, 2008 at 22:46
I’ve chamoned too early. I almost forgot the managers pib headedness playing song & nicky b.
The pheonix has just been engulfed by the flames. phuck it.
I’m now on the Piers Morgan band wagon
November 24, 2008 at 22:47
* pig
November 24, 2008 at 22:47
A sad point is that the players Franchise mentions will not want to come to the Emirates, and play in this team.
If you were already a World Star, why would you come to a club that has a wage limit? Or one where Song/EE etc play. Especially when every other big club are after you.
November 24, 2008 at 22:47
I took it from the Guardian but this is the sort of Leadership we need, young, powerful and commanding.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7lJpFwAcCs&eurl
November 24, 2008 at 22:47
Ashely Young had his way with B.Sagna….it was a revelation. So now i think Hoyte has his oppurtunity to step up and claim his place.
November 24, 2008 at 22:48
deary me raddy. Lennon is ok, but will never be a regular for a top club. He is a fantastic dribbler, but is the most one dimentional player in the world, he can’t pass, cross, shoot, and is stupid! swp is amazing though, as is cole. Had a text from a spurs fan mate of mine today saying he would’ve preferred downing and bentley is an absolute joke but thinks he’s the bollocks!
November 24, 2008 at 22:49
GG.
Don’t despair. They could come good, however unlikely that may seem
November 24, 2008 at 22:49
A Sol was regerded to be very good at Tottenham but he had his best years in an Arsenal shirt (and worst if u add West Ham Sol the nutter) There was still room for him to improve. Barry could still progress his career in an Arsenal shirt. I wouldn’t say he is the finished product
November 24, 2008 at 22:49
The second question…
All these people calling for Wengers Head…
Have we been spoilt?
We had no financial right to have achieved what we have done under Wenger, 2 doubles. Unbeatable in a season, FA cups, One of the biggest clubs in the world now.
Best Stadium in the UK.
Did he do it too early in his career at Arsenal?
Are we expecting too much or not?
November 24, 2008 at 22:50
A
first it was Nikki B that had potential now its Song that has potential.
I dnt get you mate. When a player has the most shite performance of the season…you say they have Potential?
To get kicked out? Yes!
November 24, 2008 at 22:51
A. If you had seen him the other day , you would change your mind. He has really improved – but fuck him. He is Spurs shite.
November 24, 2008 at 22:52
Sagna is so quick to show defenders his back on one v one. ive noticed this a couple of times.
November 24, 2008 at 22:52
Don’t start that stuff again David. It is really dull………….
November 24, 2008 at 22:53
Avenell, would you say that to your boss (or if you were the boss would you expect that)?
Say you were an estate agent and you sold 50 houses a month… then for a year you only sold 10… would you expect to stay in a job on basis your bosses have been spoilt?
Of course not… you raised the bar, it’s up to you to keep your standards there.
November 24, 2008 at 22:53
Raddy we’d get players who care about things other than money. I wouldn’t want a player at the club who came for money anyways. We play the best football in the world, on par with barcelona, and there are loads of players who’ve said we are the team they’d want to come to because of that and because of Wenger. Chelsea/utd and other big teams were after theo, Hleb, rosicky, ramsey, diaby but they chose us for footballing reasons. Even though we wouldn’t have to break the wage budget for them the others would still have been willing to pay much more. Anyone who cares that much about money I wouldn’t want in the team. We’d never sign top top players like Aguero and Villa because they’d cost £40 million, but the £20 million players we could get on footballing reasons.
November 24, 2008 at 22:54
What is it with us and injuries? Have we employed West Ham’s physios? How do players pass mediacls?
November 24, 2008 at 22:55
i WAS talking bout Sagna…and how Hoyte should replace him…
Ashley young didnt have to dribble him and he broke his own ankle.
Terrible.
November 24, 2008 at 22:55
Avenell. I expect the best, every season, without fail.
If we do not believe we should be the best, then we accept mediocrity.
November 24, 2008 at 22:57
i did see him raddy, and he was quality, but still completely one dimensional.
franchise at spurs sol was considered one of the top defenders in europe, he was wanted by all of the top teams and expected to go to barca instead, he was already world class! Barry would never be world class, and there isn’t potential for him to improve, he doesn’t have the ability. He’s a good premiership player, and has made a very good career for himself, but leading Villa is his level, he doesn’t have anything about him to do it in the top 4 and make a difference
November 24, 2008 at 22:58
A.
Hope you are right. It would be great to believe there are still players (and agents) who want to develop their talent rather than their bank account.
November 24, 2008 at 23:00
Pedro… If the estate agent next to you had premises 5 times bigger than yours, and spent 5 times as much on advertising.
You know in the end they will come out on top..
Do you invest in quality staff and stay in your small little shop or do you see the shop accross the road is as good as next doors and buy that, and keep it tight until it’s paid for?
November 24, 2008 at 23:00
A.
A quality EPL midfield player would be great just now. Are you saying that Barry wouldn’t improve our team ?
November 24, 2008 at 23:02
yeah i’d honestly rather have denilson than barry, I don’t think that’s our problem position and reason for our inconsistency at all
November 24, 2008 at 23:03
Avenell, if you made me up root and move down the road to a new office on the promise of glory and world class talent, I’d still be expecting.
We’re not saving up to pay the stadium off… that is why we have a mortgage.
Investing in your own staff only works for so long… if you want to kick on, sometimes you need to freshen up the work force and get some new personality in.
November 24, 2008 at 23:03
however, that isn’t to say should yaya become available i wouldn’t love him to sign
November 24, 2008 at 23:04
A, I don’t understand how you can’t think the gaping hole in the middle of the park is a problem?
November 24, 2008 at 23:04
A……Yeah the Villa he’s leading might pip you to fourth place. Do u watch these players week in week out b4 u make ur judgement? Barry would never be world class????? Greece would never win the Euros. Is M.Carrick regarded as world class? But Fergie believes he is good enough to play for United. Cos he cost £18 mill doesnt make him world class. If it does then in that case Bentley at £15 million is world class. U missing my point again already after agreeing. World class is a term. Succesful managers build teams by buying the palyers they need not buying world class players. Madrid won nothin for 4 years signing world class players. until they realised that they needed to reinforce their defense and midfield they won f*ck all for four years. Its not fantasy football Mr. A.
November 24, 2008 at 23:05
I was just about to say that Pedro !
November 24, 2008 at 23:05
Plus… the holding midfielder never seems to get world class recognition these days…
Who are the best about?
Carrick, Mascharano, Obi Mikel… then who? I don’t see why Barry couldn’t work at Arsenal?
November 24, 2008 at 23:07
Night All.
Enjoyed the banter, and give A a break. …….
November 24, 2008 at 23:07
Pedro we have a long term mortgage and a bridging loan until the flats are sold.
Until the bridging loan is paid of we have no money for staff, that’s where we differ because we don’t know the facts!
November 24, 2008 at 23:09
Why Avenell?
What makes you think we wont sell the flats? 90% are already sold?
November 24, 2008 at 23:10
Plus… £93million in cash reserves…. Plus Fizsman has said there is money to spend… Plus we have had a transfer surplus for eternity… Plus the tv money we didn’t spend…e tc etc…
November 24, 2008 at 23:11
Agree Pedro
November 24, 2008 at 23:11
no carrick isn’t world class, but does a job and fills a role for utd, as flamini did for us last season. Barry doesn’t fit the role to do that job. Our current problems stem from a lack of creativity, and physicallity in defence. We could improve on denilson but it isn’t a massive problem. The reason we aren’t controlling games is because we can’t keep the ball, because we don’t have a consistent playmaker. We need a commanding centre back just like we did last season, though then we had senderos. Barry if he was free could possibly do a job, but spending the silly money it would take to get him would be ridiculous when he’s improve our team a tiny amount. What on earth do madrid not buying defenders have to do with anything?! when they bought defenders they bought world class defenders because they knew they needed to improve defensively, they didn’t just buy defenders no better than what they had just for the hell of it, which is what we’d be doing if we signed people like barry and cuellar.
November 24, 2008 at 23:13
That AKB John from the other day wont leave the spam bin alone!
I’d feel a bit humiliated being banned from a website for bad behaviour… some people eh!
November 24, 2008 at 23:13
Pedro it’s because Barry isn’t a holding mid anymore than denilson is! He doesn’t have the engine of flamini, doesn’t read the game as well as denilson! He’s a big bigger than denilson, left footed, and a dirty twat, but he really wouldn’t improve the team that much! He isn’t even playing as a defensive mid at the moment, sidwell and petrov are playing behind him! mascherano is amazing, mikel would be brilliant. carrick isn’t good enough defensively for us imo though and wouldn’t fit our style of play.
November 24, 2008 at 23:14
Raddy why havn’t you included Fabregas in your team? is he banned?
November 24, 2008 at 23:14
night raddy
November 24, 2008 at 23:14
We may have been down this route so stop if you want Pedro.
There is a difference between 90% sold and 90% have deposits on them..
Check out Woolworths, Northern Rock, The big housing companies like Wimpey, Bovis.
It isn’t as clear as we may think it is.
I hope you are right but, I’m just not sure.
November 24, 2008 at 23:17
and if villa beat us to 4th il eat my hat. They have a system which is very good at preventing footballing teams playing, but against teams who won’t come at them they’ll always struggle.
November 24, 2008 at 23:17
Pedro
i bet u get tired saying that all the time dont you? about the £93million in cash reserves and so on
November 24, 2008 at 23:17
London,…Europe is different from English competition and it was only a 1 match ban anyway (I think)
November 24, 2008 at 23:19
A… I’ve watched Denilson like many others all season, and I don’t see how you can possibly say that our young Brazilian reads the game well.
Look at the state we are in… look at what all the pros are saying about our needs… if Denilson could read the game well, we’d be a lot better off. He is constantly losing players, he switches off and he isn’t particularly strong. He’ll never be the tenacious midfielder we need.
Barry may not have started out in the holding role… but at least he has a trade in defending.
November 24, 2008 at 23:19
Raif, I think I might make it my Avatar!
November 24, 2008 at 23:19
A, I give up man, u are not making any sense.
November 24, 2008 at 23:20
Night Raddy.
November 24, 2008 at 23:25
pedro he doesn’t have the tenaciousness, but his ability to read a play and intercept it incredible, or nick the ball off someone’s toes. He was in the top 5 tacklers/interceptors in the premiership according to opta stats until this month! The job he does is just much more subtle, like Gilberto, and being used to Flamini steaming around like a madman it’s very different and less obvious. He has lost his man a couple of times, but has intercepted pull backs on the edge of our area so many times. Look out for it tomorrow, how many times they attack and it’s denilson who intercepts and comes out carrying the ball! though they probably won’t attack much tomorrow, hopefully! Against villa denilson was absolutely brilliant defensively, he was the one who won it back pretty much everytime they attacked
November 24, 2008 at 23:26
A… I don’t think anyone in world football can match Flamini’s energy.
Especially not Toure… he is very slow paced.
Who would you stick in as DM?
November 24, 2008 at 23:27
although pedro, yes he isn’t that strong, and yes he isn’t a great man marker, but in terms of reading play he is absolutely fantastic. He’s just different to flamini, but the reason we look weak defensively compared to last season is that we don’t dominate possession anymore. If Denilson had played last season i 100% believe everyone would be singing his praises as brilliant dm, and flamini this season there would be idiotic pundits going on about him being absolutely clueless defensively and saying he isn’t a defensive mid etc
November 24, 2008 at 23:29
Pedro/ Raif … this £93 million pounds is starting to sound like Wengers belief and maturirty to me..
My books have to be in to my accountant soon and I am going to print out Arsenal’s finances and show him, if he has time to help explain them to me.
Raif I have run a Limited co for 7 years and been seff employed for another 10 so I am not totally stupid (just in case it may of crossed your mind)
November 24, 2008 at 23:29
I dunno pedro, at the moment i think we have the best man for the job in there out of our current squad, but we havn’t had a world class one since gilberto was past it, but it was just the fact that with hleb and cesc interlinking, that weakness was hidden because we never let the opposition have the ball! I do think yaya toure’s physicality would add alot to the midfield as he’s a monster, but whether he’s available is another matter as he seems to have worked his wway back into barca’s team
November 24, 2008 at 23:30
A, I have to disagree there. If Flamini had of stayed, we could have coped with the loss of Hleb. Losing both was a disaster…
Denilson just isn’t ready yet… he played well against ManU… but that was a 5 man midfield. It is much easier to play when there are 5 men crowding out the middle of the park.
In a 4-4-2… he is a disaster.
November 24, 2008 at 23:34
I just don’t think either are good enough, along with our defence. Our whole team defensively is under much more pressure this season because of us not dominating possession anymore, and that’s why sagna and clichy have looked like shadows of the players they were last year too. I don’t think anyone centrally could help us cope with hleb’s departure, even mascherano would be overrun in our current build, albeit less so than denilson
November 24, 2008 at 23:34
Pedro
Cesc will have to have more say now about who should play along side him as a DM.
November 24, 2008 at 23:34
Avenell, why don’t you just read the explanation in the annual report. The link is in the side bar.
Or better still, go through the Arsenal.com archives for August… Wenger isn’t alluding to having not finances in any of his interviews, he is saying he doesn’t need players because he believes in his squad.
If Wenger was strapped… he’d say. Primarily because it would suit is project and give him an excuse.
I just don’t believe we are skint… we’ve spent too little and earned too much over the last 5 years to not be able to afford players. The maths does not add up to being skint, nor do the MD’s statements.
November 24, 2008 at 23:35
Gnarley… he’ll have exactly the same say as every other captain.
Zero.
Wenger wouldn’t buy for Paddy, Thierry or Gallas… he wont buy for Cesc.
November 24, 2008 at 23:36
Pedro.
hahaha i think you should
-
avenell
i dont rememer saying you was stupid mate?? all i did was ask Pedro if he was getting tired telling people about the £93million in cash reserves almost every night as i remember him saying it last night and a few days before. thats all mate
there was Nothing in my comment to Pedro that had me thinking you was stupid mate
November 24, 2008 at 23:38
….well in saying that Pedro( fair point you make), now the pheonix is well and truely flame grilled.
Its starting to look more and more like “Good bye Arsene, Arsene Wenger, hello Guusie Hids”
November 24, 2008 at 23:43
Maybe its time
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200806/r262718_1095032.jpg
November 24, 2008 at 23:45
Pedro I love you and the site too much to fall out over it.. We will find out one day..
Raif no worries,
November 24, 2008 at 23:52
Avenell! I would never fall out with a loyal Grover!
Sometime the debates get heated… but we’re all buddies on here at the end of the day!
I’m off though… off to sulk about people disagreeing with my opinion.
Stalin would be ashamed of me…! haha!
Have a great night Grovers… ’til tomorrow!
November 24, 2008 at 23:52
avenell
its all good man
Night all. till tomorrow
November 24, 2008 at 23:53
Oh… remember there are 2 half price club level tickets for tomorrows game! £50 each in the front row!
Bargainous (<- top made up word)!
November 24, 2008 at 23:54
Gnarley… top shout…
Night everyone.
November 24, 2008 at 23:55
pedro as in you’ve got two club level tickets for sale??
November 24, 2008 at 23:56
Night all !!
I’m here for a bit though..
November 25, 2008 at 04:10
i think morgans a 2 bob supporter to be honest just because we have had a lousy few matches he starts slating arsene and saying how his love affair with the club is coming to an end, dont get me wrong arsene has made some poor decisions in not signing enough expierenced players etc etc but if your a true fan you would support your team through thick and thin and yes its hard losing when your used to winning and watching great football for so many years, under arsene or george graham and so on but if you give up supporting the team when the going gets tough your an idiot
people who criticize forget that we as supporters have a impact on the how our team plays it may not be a great impact but if every match our 55 000 or so gooners got right behind the boys then i think that would give them more confidence rather than your stuck up unpassionate supporter who just about claps when the team score and leaves 10 minutes from the end if were 1-0 down or drawing or whatever !! and i think morgan symbolizes and sums up these type of supporters who get tickets due to there wealth not because they have a true passion for arsenal football club
November 25, 2008 at 06:19
Great little blog you’ve got here – keep up the good work. Patch.
November 25, 2008 at 06:53
Quiet on the nightshit
November 25, 2008 at 06:57
A bit too quiet…..
We have a new skipper…….yay
November 25, 2008 at 08:06
anyone about
November 25, 2008 at 08:11
morning all
still over 1000 posts, even without the antipodean massive participating – impressive stuff!
I expect people posted Cesc’s response to the captaincy, but I didn’t see it in the comments anywhere, besides it bears repeating
“It is a great honour for me to captain one of the biggest clubs in the world,” said Fabregas. “It is a proud moment. I know it’s a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential.”
You know, I think he still believes… good on yer sunshine
November 25, 2008 at 08:17
Hopefully this is a new beginning………
November 25, 2008 at 08:17
If raif is on anytime soon someone tell him i play FOOTBALL MANAGER 2009!
November 25, 2008 at 08:34
Im at absolute war with that up for grabs blog now lol, check their comments section on that blog about le grove its funny
November 25, 2008 at 08:34
kenny ,
that makes you even more qualified to run arsenal than even arsene, do you want the job
?
November 25, 2008 at 08:36
Morning all, I have just finished todays blog and it’s a ripper, if this one doesn’t get you going, you’re already in Elysium and your dead already!
November 25, 2008 at 08:39
Nice post Kenny I love it, I think all the other comments on that site are from his class mates or from him under other names!
November 25, 2008 at 08:41
whilst its the logical choice for many reasons , cesc needs to concentrate on his game and i think its smelling like the TH14 appointment .. heap bag loads of pressure on someone who has been constantly rumored to leave !
this just might spell the end for him ! and more importantly , his end for us !
whilst we have no other candidates available , it just doesn’t sit well for me !
i didnt want any undue pressure helping the lad out of our club !
i suppose time will tell !
November 25, 2008 at 08:41
More Cesc comments, plus more from the boss:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1966552.ece
CESC FABREGAS insists his appointment as Arsenal captain proves once and for all that he has no intention of quitting The Emirates.
Midfield maestro Fab, 21, was handed the skipper’s job permanently after William Gallas was stripped of the armband for his public outburst against his team-mates last week.
Fabregas said: “By becoming captain it shows how much I’m committed to the club. I actually feel I’ve shown commitment since I arrived here.”
Fab has constantly been linked with a move to Catalan giants Barcelona. But the Spain ace reckons he will be a Gunner for years to come.
He added: “Each year people talk about me leaving yet I’m still here and I want to be part of the future of Arsenal. I love the club and I’m totally committed to it. I’m not looking to play anywhere else. Of course, the future for Arsenal is bright. The players are very much looking forward to the next few years.”
Manager Arsene Wenger said: “I have never doubted Cesc’s commitment and that was one of the reasons for making him captain. It’s important you are the voice of the club to the outside and your commitment is not questioned. Cesc has the leadership qualities, the experience and the confidence of the other players.”
Wenger has put deposed skipper Gallas back in the team for tonight’s home Champions League clash against Dynamo Kiev.
Gallas was left out of the 3-0 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday as a disciplinary measure.
But Wenger said: “William is a player I rate and a man I rate as well. I have a big respect for him. But he was under big pressure and you do not want this high pressure to affect him or the team.”
November 25, 2008 at 08:47
Or it could be the opposite of the Henry saga……………..
November 25, 2008 at 08:48
it’s probably all made up bullshit being the Sun, but at least it’s positive ^^
makes a fucking change
November 25, 2008 at 08:56
6.30am SBS Arsenal v Dynamo Keiv
…..for the Australian Grovers
November 25, 2008 at 08:59
You gonna wake up for that Gnarley?
November 25, 2008 at 09:02
Hi Geoff have u read Lee Dixons view on the Gallas issue?
November 25, 2008 at 09:11
…thats EDST for kick off.
Iceman
They have had a habit of losing which makes getting up @ odd hours annoying, but 6.30 am is OK by me. I’ll be watching
November 25, 2008 at 09:14
I reckon 1-0 to The Arsenal.
November 25, 2008 at 09:15
Wanna witness the start of a new era eh
(fingers crossed)
November 25, 2008 at 09:16
young guns is reporting that fran merida will start the match? cant see it myself.
November 25, 2008 at 09:19
Will probably make the bench and depending on the score line get the last 15-20 mins………..
November 25, 2008 at 09:22
I need my fix. Where’s my fix. I want it now or I’ll squweem and squweem and I can squweem really loudly.
November 25, 2008 at 09:22
Where is it Franchise?
November 25, 2008 at 09:24
I don’t know what Pedro is doing, I wrote it ages ago!!!
November 25, 2008 at 09:24
Starting lineup against Kiev:
Szczesny
Eboue Sagna Toure Traore
Walcott Rosicky Diaby Nasri
Adebayor Eduardo
Oh no my mistake. that’s the injury list! (plus Armand who is on loan)
We have to admit that’s a lot of decent players out – wtf are we doing wrong in training…
November 25, 2008 at 09:25
Or am I already in Elysium.
November 25, 2008 at 09:25
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/11/25/william-gallas-was-speaking-the-truth-says-former-arsenal-legend-lee-dixon-115875-20922714/
November 25, 2008 at 09:26
New post!
November 25, 2008 at 09:28
seb
you were joking i think,but why are players we but lately al so injury prone.is it the new pitch,the training ground.now nasri has a third reoccurence of a knee problem after 3 months.