Arsene often refers to his team as being intelligent footballers… but today, I saw no evidence of that. Bolton enjoy long ball football… they play it, they practice it… so you’d presume they are quite good at it… so why did Arsenal play long balls into the box all game? That is playing to Bolton’s game plan… and that is why it took so long to break them down yesterday.
Arsenal should have played to Bolton’s weaknesses today… but they didn’t… instead we struggled away for 85minutes… picked our game up at the end and showed a bit of vintage Arsenal by squandering countless chances only to grab it at the death.
There were a lot of complaints in the stadium about the way the game was played out… understandable, it wasn’t pretty and the first half was nothing short of shambolic from an Arsenal perspective. However, I will defend the coach on this one… becasue nothing has changed since last week. The proposed signing of Arshavin was never going to make an uncreative team become creative… so yesterday was to be expected.
Arsenal crabbed the ball about quite nicely… if there was an award for the most sideways passes yesterday, we’d have won it hands down. The teams confidence seems so fragile at times, that no one is willing to risk that killer pass incase the crowd get on their back. This started to change in the second half with introduction of our Mexican magician, Carlos Vela. When he came on Bolton began to waver. The problem Bolton had with Carlos is they couldn’t sit back from him… when they did that, he’d go round them… and this was a key contributor for Bolton losing their shape and eventually, the game.
Arsenal really started to play after about 65 minutes… Nasri moved into the middle and began to orchastrate the revival… Carlos hussled and harried out wide… The young frenchman began to work some magic and slowly started to unpick the tightly organised Bolton defence. Adebayor was the first to be played through with a superb ball… he found himself in acres of space, but he panicked, took an age to mavourver himself and the first clear cut chance of the match was defended well.
Nik B then entered the fray… he looked like a man with a point to prove. Almost immediately he latched onto the end of a high ball into the box only to be denied by the Bolton keeper. 5 minutes later he found himself in the box, but he couldn’t craft anything meanigingful on the shot/pass. Then, right at the end… Clichy played RvP through with a well weighted pass… RvP floated a ball to the back post and Nik B buried the ball hard and low into the bottom corner. The crowd erupted, and Arsenal held on for a win.
Player ratings:
Almunia: Another weak performance from the Spaniard. On two occasions he didn’t call for a ball and confused his defence. He has also started punching crosses again… which is a sign of a keeper low on confidence. 6
Clichy: I thought the ref did a superb job of not protecting our man from the sporadic attacks by Kevin Davies. Gael played well though and started the move for the winning goal. 7
Toure: The difference in defence between Kolo and Gallas is that when a 50/50 ball is up for grabs… you know Kolo will put his neck on the line to win it. I thought Kolo showed the passion and heart we expect from a captain and I hope his new found responsibilit will be the starting point of great things from the Ivorian favourite. A spirited performance. 7.5
JD: I can’t fault him really. He and Kolo mopped up all day at the back and I think they dealt with Bolton’s sometimes physical approach well. 7
Sagna: A few of his crosses were a bit wayward, but it says a lot about his game that I have to criticise that… because his defending is always top notch. 7
Nasri: A very sparky performance today. He is starting to show consisitency and he is starting to justtify that price tag. He floats accross the midfield, linking play and always looking for someone in a good position. He doesn’t waste too many balls and the rest of the team are starting to look to him now. He looked great in the more central role, and I wouldn’t bet against him ending up there. 8
Diaby: A man struggling to make his mark in this Arsenal team. Having bucket loads of ability means nothing if you can’t show that in a game. He reminds me of the kid at school who was amazing in the playground and could do all the silky skills till the cows came home… but when thrown into a game where tactics and positional play are more important… they’d fail. 5
Denilson: Superb performance today. He was productive in the middle of the park and he was diciplined. I really am beggining to enjoy this guys game and though he lacks dicipline sometimes, I really believe he is trying his best to become a great player. 7.5
Eboue: I thought he played ok today… well, in the sense he didn’t make too many bad passes and he didn’t do anything silly defensively. However, in the grand scheme of things, he doesn’t create and he doesn’t really defend that well. When you throw him into midfield… you are just throwing a body into the team. You need goals and creativity… if you can’t offer either out wide, why are you there? 6
Adebayor: So used to reading about how much the fans dislike his high line play… Ade appeared to be playing a lot deeper today. This reduced his overall effect on the team and took something away from his game. He fluffed his lines when we were at 0-0 and he looks like a player in need of a goal. Currently, Arsenal fans are witnessing a power shift… 5
RvP: That power shift is moving towards Robin Van Persie. He is the man who is taking over as numero uno at the club.. The status quo is returning. The Dutchman was superb today… he fights for everything, he is strong and he creates. The only thing missing from him today was a goal, but an important assist will do. When Robin starts firing… we will have a player on our hands. 8
Subs:
Vela: Has all the ingredients to make us a real threat. Why isn’t he started? 6
Nik B: Has he taken a good long look at himself in the mirror and decided he needs to work for his place at Arsenal? Could have done… he looked like a different man out there today and took his goal brilliantly. 7
Rambo: Not on long enough to pass comment.
So not the best performance, but 3 points against a team who have been our bogey side for many years… made all the more important because the bindippers drew and Villa won.
Lets take the positives and move on to the next match in the hope we sign someone up pretty sharpish.
See you in the comments!
P.S. Thanks to the guys in the Hen and Chicken for letting me join them while I waited for a mate!
wrighty you forgot the love children eboue and song
I think my team would be:
——RvP–Ade–Theo
———–Nasri
——-Cesc–Ramsey
Gael–Djourou–Toure–Sagna
———Fabianski
God knows how the defence would cope, but with a monster CM in with Cesc i think it could work. But attacking wise we would be lethal.
What a cunt Wrighty!
We were worried about that… you still have to pay the bastard referee though! Our game was on… we spanked them 5-1 taking our goals per game average to 4.36 this year!
That is a bold formation! What did you think of Denilson yesterday?
Wrighty, snap fella ha ha. Well if you used the fully fit squad anyway.
it really does baffle me how everyone thinks denilson is decent
Evening chaps. Think the post today was unbelievably negative. We’re now seven unbeaten in the league and have finally learnt to win ugly. The players fight to the end always find a way. And this is without all those key players in the spine and on the wing. Take a look at who was actually out yesterday. Btw you have discovered the bext pub at highbury in the hen and chickens. Proper beer in glasses and pretty birds behind the bar.
he’s not i don’t care if he’s playing out of position even when he was playing in the right place last year he was crap
jamesH i don’t know what you were watching then,if you thought that was winning ugly that was just pure shit what we have put up with for far too long
Pedro,
It was bollocks mate! The ref must love that.
5-1??? Nice one matey! Sounds like you are smashing it. Good luck for the rest of the season mate.
I thought Denilson was quite good yesterday. If he is the answer to our DM problems then he will need time to grow into the role.
This is his first season of regular football at Arsenal and I think we will reap the benefits of that next season.
Joe,
I like the look of that team mate.
arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh denilson is crap can you not see that?????????
Having said that, I still would prefer Arsene Wenger to sign a DM. Denilson could alternate with Cesc and the new signing keeping everyone fresh.
JamesH
I would not call it Negative, despite winning there was not a lot to get excited about apart from the important thing which was 3 points.
We are unbeaten in 7 though and confidence is rebuilding in both the squad and in the fans.
I honestly think though that if we can get a couple of decent players in, and with those coming back, we will finally be flush with options and should comfortably get back in the top 4. If we get them, i am going to make a boldish statement and say we will finish 3rd behind Liverpool and the eventual Winners Man Ure.
If we dont, then I have a horrible feeling that Villa’s spawny luck will continue all season and we will finish 5th.
Chavski got a Pasting today. i would have rather a draw tho..
tho it wont matter much if Man Utd Drop points in them to games they have in-hand.
Arsenal on the other hand needs to win every game from now on to have any chance to finsh forth,,
James, I thought the post was pretty amazing myself.
I was out with the guy who runs the place… he reckons it’s the only place you can get beer in a glass on match days.
I’d be interested to know which parts you thought were unfairly negative?
Ehh, Denilson aint crap man, he had a stuttering start to the season, where he was quite poor, and seems to have a wayward creative edge, but he is adapting to the more reserved central midfield role, and remember he is still young, not everyone is a world beater at 21. He will get there (hopefully).
And he does try harder than most people at the moment.
Diaby is the one who is really disappointing me, because I rate him very highly, but he is playing poorly at the moment
pedro i love this site but like arsene you dont always get it right. we spent the whole second half probing albeit with a bit too much long ball. surely the goal demonstrated intelligent football ? also aint it obvious why vela gets 20 odd mins. the opposition are tired and the boy is learning is trade on the wing. if ade and vp had taken thier chanes it would have bene 3 or 4 nil. also isnt it great to see nasri in the middle. finally i can see partnerships emerging offensively. if we can start to believe as fans then anything is possible.
jamesH do you think the team we had out yesterday would of beaten man u at o.t today????????????????
James, I don’t think it is obvious why Vela doesn’t play. He is 19, a full international and he has had a year playing top flight spanish. He is electric and he proved it in the carling cup. He offers way more than Eboue ever does.
As for the intelligent football… taking 65minutes to work out Bolton’s game plan doesn’t demonstrate intelligence to me.
That United team took 90 odd minutes to beat a managerless Sunderland 1-0 at OT.
They must be rubbish!
Just thought I’d chuck that one in there, run it up the flag post, see who salutes it, yadda yadda…
Bolton don’t have a game plan, unless you count 10 men beind the ball, kick the opposition and then hoof the ball is a gameplan.
reminds me of andorra LOL
I salute Angry Loner
Other teams are a shit as us they just haven’t been losing the stupid points we have though Chelski could be in trouble
James H, of the spine we were missing- Cesc is the only one missing.
Our spine is:
Almunia
JD Toure (gallas will be sld soon anyway and the defence wasnt even tested)
Cesc Denilson
RvP Ade.
All we didnt have was Cesc so….
We can pip Chelsea to third if we win all our remaining games. So 3rd is just a formality.
Btw, Roma up 1-0 against Milan
Pat, that wouldnt happen to be on tv would it?
Its on fox soccer channel here in the states
Nope dont have that but thanks anyway. I’ll just have to find it on jtv.
Who scored? Vucinic or Menez?
is that john arnie chuffin riise playing for Roma?
Thanks IrishGooner!
The Chavs may well fuck up (thought it before their piss poor showing today) Here’s hoping!
There should definitely be a sense of urgency for the new Chief exec where transfers are concerned.
Whatever we think of our glorious Board, even they will realise that failing to finish in the top 4 (something they’ve taken as a given i bet!), wilol be a massive financial loss, so spending a few million now makes good business sense…. Surely to effin goodness???
Pedro lets agree to disagree on Vela. Youre right its the only place you get beer in a glass and all the barmaids are ‘resting’ actresses. Plus the short cut over the fields gets you to the ground quickly.
Boy, didnt we recently beat Manu ?
We did recently beat man U but it wasnt with the sane team as yestersday or against the dsame team united played today.
Hi guys!
What about Goran Pandev. He scored 3 goals today and is on fire!
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Silvestre, Clichy, Walcott, Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri, Diaby, Bendtner.
Subs: Fabianski, Toure, Vela, Ramsey, Song Billong, Wilshere, Djourou.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Anderson, Carrick, Park, Rooney, Berbatov.
Subs: Kuszczak, Giggs, Nani, Rafael Da Silva, O’Shea, Evans, Tevez.
Pedro meant that yesterdays team wouldnt have beaten united if we played like that against them.
I wouldnt mind Pandev. He scored against us 2 pre seasons ago.
Stu, its 1-2 now. Vucinic for Roma and Pato (2) for Milan.
The 2nd was a beauty
Don’t spose Flamini’s playin is he?
Saturday afternoon’s lunchtime kick off between West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa may have been Jay Simpson’s first Premier League start, but the 20-year-old striker looked the business straight from kick off.
West Brom went on the lose the game through two goals that really should have been defended better, but it was the Arsenal loanee who stood out among a few million pounds worth of talent.
It’s obvious that there are things to work on. Pass timing, first touch and positioning all need a little a little fine tuning, yet his quick feet, raw pace and bulky physique offered Albion a real threat up front.
Not only were the watching fans impressed, but his new manager was quick to pick out one of the main positives from the encounter – his new striker.
“I think it says a lot when our best player today was a 20-year-old boy on loan from Arsenal. He’s what we’ve been looking for this season, some real quality in the final third.”
It only looks like a matter of time before goals come for the young marksman, and after penning a new contract a month ago, it would put him in a fine position to try and make a push into Arsène Wenger’s plans.
Match Of The Day pundit Alan Hansen also highlighted Jay as one of WBA’s shining lights – Gooners will hope that Hansen will be saying the same when he returns to Arsenal – and on yesterday’s showing, there’s no reason why not.
Flamini is on the bench. Beckham started
Barca just scored 1-0. Eto’o. Messi with the assist
Pat; thanks fella!
I just read that Young Guns blog. I really hope Jay does well at WBA, comes on loads and comes back ready for a crack at the 1st team!
Pat, homw many matches are you watching?
Is that Eto’s 16th goal he’s just smashed in from outside the box? If we missed the opportunity to do any kind of swap deal with Barca for Ade then it is possibly one of the greatest mistakes in football history.
Tottenham, are going down, oh tottenham are going down
Carlos Vela should start when Theo and Cesc are out, no excuse there… Diaby, Song and Bendtner should actually fight to make the bench when everyone’s fit (and I don’t include Rosicky).
Sorry my mistake its Eto’s 19th goal.
F****ing Ade!!!!!!!!!
Its actually his 19th. I think Villa is on 20+ tho iac.
Eto’os transformation this season is much down to Pep motivating the players individually. Henry is playing his best football since moving there too.
I’d have Bendtner on the bench ahead of Song and Diaby every game.
Eduardo and RvP up front with Bendtner and Vea as subs. Ade can fuck off.
im watching barca atm, they seem to play good football but have this resilience about them aswell. and Eto’o is on fire in terms of goals with henry playing well tooo
yeah I can’t wait for Eduardo to be back playing 1st team football, Ade was really terrible yesterday and he needs someone to compete with him for a palce up front
jusst as i say that. 1-1 lol
Looks like benitez blew his boltt too early. He couldn’t control his big mouth & has played into ol’fergies hands. Liverwurst are gone, mind you I have always thought they are over rated. It could be The Arsenal & manure fighting it out for top spot, & spuds &, well, whoever for the wooden spoon
chris;
You were saying….
Sorry fellas, I sold my soul to the Devil in August with the proviso we’d win nothing this season, but the spuds would be relegated!
Did I do good???
Benitezs outburst stinks of KK “i would live it” rant when he was top all those years ago.
Barca are a load of Babys. The ref didn have to stop play, thats only for a head injury.
Angry
you are one of the true believers when it comes to mashed spuds. How would they fill their proposed state of the art stadium playing fixtures against Accrington Stanley & Luton
getting ahead of my self there maybe 
who are they!
By getting the piece of paper out and reciting it, makning a huge thing of it, Benitez looked like he’d been spending way too much time and effort on the things that he accused Fergie of. Even tho what he said was more or less right, he should’ve just made a small remark about it in passing. It wouldve still been picked up, but he’d have been seen as being a lot more savvy and less like a bitter, lost it twat IMO!
gnarley;
Haha! We can always dream!
Osasuna 2-1!
Ya agreed Angry.
Getting out the piece of paper gave a sense that he had been up all night practicing in front of the mirror, obsessing over it.
Has Barca lost at all this season? Their first 2 games were bad, but I don’t remember whether they drew or lost them
They lost the opening game and drew the second.
You people should ckeck Gourcuff goal against PSG tonight doesnt get much better that that!
Well check it tommorow…
imo Barca should be playing Gudjonson(sp).
RasDef, i was planning on watching that but just forgot. Post a link if you can.
Agreed Angry, I think Liverpools title challenge ended right there. He spoke the truth but you could tell with Red Nose’s post match interview that Benitez played right into his hands……
Well i’m watching it on Cannal +, since i’m in France right now, but you should really check it out, the kid dribbles one person backwards, turns dribbles another player and with the point of his toe scores a powerful goal. Thats really Zidane like!
it was the 3rd goal btw…
WOWWWWWWW WHAT A FUCKING STRIKE LEO MESSI
Other wise i’m off, have a good evening Gorvers!
Yeh, I think we shud go and sign that young Argie fella barca have, he seems quite good!
I hate Barca so much. Great shot granted but keeper didnt stretch his arms out and the defence didnt even try a block.
wenger almost signed messi lol
who could of saved that bullet of a shot NO ONE
Who needs Messi? We have Jacky!
Eto is a fucking cunt too. Just get off you gowl!
Laters Ras
Mannone would have saved that with his eyes closed
who needs messi lolllllll
Is Toure playing in that Barca game, or is he on a flight to London to sign for the Arsenal.
I can dream cant I
no toure
yaya got on with a couple of minutes left
Oh BBK you had me there. My Conspiracy Theory that Kolo only stayed as his brother is coming has been ruined by Swedish.
I dont suppose he waved his goodbyes to the Barca fans at the end did he?
There is no chance of Yaya leaving half way through the season, especially not this season.
Would he still get a medal if he left?
arsenal won’t be signing no one this january the board will see to that
sorry pat
he kissed the badge and then humped messi
I know Stu, I am only MESSIng, there I go again.
Surely we will see someone this week though!!!
don’t count on it ptg
And yeah if he did come then I think you only have to play ten games.
On that, i wonder if anyone has won Domestic Title medals in two countries in the same year. How cool would that be as a player. Did Zenit win their league?
i think the name zenit should be banned on this blog as far as im concerned they are cunts
I know BBK, but after the deadline day Alonso fuck up, I fear we are putting all our eggs in one Arshavin basket and may end up with no one again.
BBK;
We WILL sign someone, so there!
Zenit finished 6th or something i think?
ok a.l you will see
man city have fucked us over so thats arshavin off the radar,who else will there be ?????????no one
Arsene Wenger asked Stephen Appiah to come over to London Colney so that his staff and himself could assess him. This was a few months ago when the captain of Ghana finally relieved himself off the clutches of Fenerbace and became a free agend.
He had just recovered from a botched knee operation in Turkey which, as he claims, had gone wrong leaving him out of action for the best part of ten months.
Since then a lot of clubs had been interested in him including Arsenal who were (are?) still looking for a strong experienced defensive midfielder.
He however flatly refused to go on trial:
“If they want to check me out in terms of fitness that is fine but don’t tell me to get on the field and play for you to see how good I am because even if I am sleeping and I wake up I can play” he said.
Appiah then went on to prove his fitness by playing in Ghana’s last two World Qualifiers.
Well he has in the last two weeks been on trial with Spurs as Harry Redknap, who was keen on signing him during his Portsmouth days, renewed his interest now that Spurs can afford his £60,000 a week wages.
Our sources in Ghana indicate that Appiah has impressed during his trial at Spurs and has undergone a medical this week which he is reported to have passed.
It is reported that doctors have been assessing his blood, heart and more importantly, the knee which has kept him out of action for so long.
It would appear that the only impediment now will be his wage negotiations between Appiah’s agent and Tottenham Hotspur.
He’s expected to sign a contract which ends this season and may be extended if he impresses.
i just read that pat lollllll
Erm, the effin Sunday M*rror had a story that City have made a bid.
But Zenit, who have been ever soooo nice reporting everthing to the media have said only we’ve made a bid…. Hmmmmm
I doubt Arshavin will want to go to City BBK. He’s desperate for CL football with a good team. City could keep dreaming.
Arsenal were accused of making more squeals than a kindergarten as they eked out a victory against a stubborn and resilient Bolton
Nicklas Bendtner’s 84th minute winner brought a decisive end to what had been a tedious afternoon of lockpicking by an Arsenal side guilty of creating their own frustrations through over elaboration and indifferent passing.
Bolton’s strategy was applied without apology – a line of four behind another line of five, playing close together to prevent any free flow of football.
‘For a club of our ilk, coming to a top-four club, you certainly don’t have much choice in the way you play,’ claimed Bolton manager Gary Megson.
But it was Arsenal’s antics that upset Kevin Davies, one of the Bolton players who spared no sweat in the effort to prise a point from the Emirates.
There is no love lost between these two sides at the best of times, their philosophies diametrically opposed, and Davies has had previous spats with individuals, not least Gael Clichy. Bolton, it is fair to say, are Arsenal’s least favoured opponent.
Davies said: ‘I have been accused of cheating by them in the past yet when you catch one of them they scream to try and get you a booking, which is disappointing.
‘There were a couple of challenges where I felt I won the ball and a few easy free-kicks were given their way because of the squeals they let out. ‘It’s a bit embarrassing really and in my eyes it is cheating the referee.
They con the referee to try and get free-kicks and some of their players are very good at it. Clichy made a meal of one challenge when he made no attempt to play the ball. There was no contact between us yet he’s on the back of the referee.’
Frustrations are inevitable when you have one side monopolising possession without making a breakthrough and it is becoming an increasingly disheartening aspect of games involving the Big Four clubs against lower opposition. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has never been a man afraid of confronting challenges in the game and has some sympathy with the dilemma of a manager like Megson, who had only four fit players to put on his bench.
‘I sit where I am and try to put myself in his position,’ said Wenger. ‘Straightaway I understand why he plays this way. We have to be good enough to create the chances if the opposition merely defends. It may be one of weaknesses of the top four, now five, that they struggle when a team comes just to defend. Even Liverpool and Manchester United seem to have struggled.’
So a player like Bendtner, who has been given an uncomfortable ride by the fans but who has scored now in successive games, can be of immense value and, at 20, Wenger believes he has natural scoring talent.
‘Fans judge on the game but the manager has to consider what he can display in one year. The fans are always looking for the finished article – that is normal – but Nicklas is not 21 until next month.’
Bendtner took his chance well. Clichy had opened up the Bolton defence and Robin van Persie found the young striker beyond the far post. He got ahead of JLloyd Samuel and fired through Jussi Jaaskelainen’s legs from a tight angle.
His goal was the 16th Arsenal have scored in the last 10 minutes in 33 matches, and these late strikes have been worth five Barclays Premier League points and three in the Champions League.
The kids may have been screeching but they didn’t spit out the dummy because the points went their way.
THE BEEB THINKS THEY’RE BORING, BORING ARSENAL
Arsenal were relegated from prime-time to graveyard shift again on Match of the Day. Two weeks ago, only Wigan’s industrial 1-0 win at Bolton was deemed less appealing than the 1-0 Emirates win against Portsmouth.
This week, decision-makers at MOTD selected the Tees- Wear derby, which attracted just 29,310 to the Riverside, ahead of Wenger’s stylish team. How times have changed.
pat do you think robinho wanted to go there???????
he had no choice same as what a.a will have
Robinho wanted to get out of Madrid at all costs. He wasn’t even getting 1st team football.
Arshavin will whine his way out of a City move. Binho just stayed quiet.
Steve Curry’s a pathetic old cunt. A dinosaur and a little Englander to boot!
To completely overlook that thug twat davies’ antics is disgusting!
As for MotD??? Who really gives a flyin fuck? Shit programme, worse pundits (apart from when Martin ‘when the fuck is he gonna get a coaching job at Arsenal’ Keown’s on!
if city pay the money he will do as he is told
Who the fuck is Steve Curry?
Long gone are the days when players are forced to go to a team they dont wanna. IF Arshavin, or any player for that matter, dont wanna go somewhere, he wont.
He’s the old hack who wrote that article about Davies calling us squealy bitches! Writes for the Daily Bigot, I mean mail!
RasDef, I will definitely have a look at that goal. Gourcuff’s been brilliant this season so far, he scored a few very good goals… I hope he doesn’t go back polishing Milan’s bench next season, that’d be a real waste. That’s a player I’d like us to go after.
ok will see where he ends up then
A midfield of Gourcuff, Cesc, Rosicky and Arshavin ti chose from we would be unstoppable (in terms of attack anyway)
Add a monster CB and top class Dm and they might as well just give us the title.
stu are you dreaming m8???
Why would Arshavin join a relegation threatened club instead of a regular CL club (next season might be different tho).
Gourcuff’s on a season long loan from Milan aint he? Maybe we’ll get him in the summer when Gallas goes there!
you could ask robinho the same thing
Stu;
You’re dreamin about that line up mate.
As IF Rosicky’s ever gonna be fit again!
listen money talks in this day n age
“I told him two weeks ago he and Darren Fletcher would play against Chelsea. I thought this game was made for them, given Ryan’s ability to hold the ball and beat a man in midfield with that left foot. Ballack couldn’t live with him really.”
Now thats tactics.
I wouldnt mind swapping Gallas for Gourcuff.
Its pretty annoying that one player left on a free to Milan, we let on go on loan there and Ade almost went there yet we got fuck all in return.
Robinho thought he was goin to Chelsea tho! I think the £130k a week probably tempted him and he is still young enough to use City to get another move.
What are tactics?
what do you think city will offer arshavin peanuts???
Stu;
I think by the time we may have done a deal with Milan, Giourcuff had already gone to France.
BBK;
Looks like either I’ll be dead disapointed or you’ll be pleasantly surprised then!
i hope im pleasantly surprised a.l
I know Arshavin would be offered loads of filthy lucre by City (if they are EVEN in for him that is) but it’ll boil down to his motivation; money, location location location, etc etc…
I just want us to sign a bleedin DM FFS!
Angry, who do you suggest that we can afford and is available because there is absolutely noone out there that we will be seriously linked with.
Angry, a defensive midfielder ain’t really going to change that much. Our main problem is teams camping in their half, letting us have the ball, and us having hardly anybody with a clue to create anything to disturb their game plan. Defending against our offensive midfield is an incredibly easy day at the office, at until Wenger goes all desperate and throws the kitchen sink at them.
A defensive midfielder would be fairly reduntant most of the time and our passing game has always been our best form of defence anyway. I would still like a dmc, but only after getting someone like Arshavin.
Stu;
Gawd only knows fella???
I’d be quite happy with someone whose happy just to defend, break up attacks, get stuck in and who isnt arsed about wanting to effin get involved in our attacking play!
It’ll probably be some fella from France!
I just feel that if we had a shield in front of our ever changing back 4, we might be able to win the games we’ve ended up drawing! Boro, Villa, Lpool to name 3. Thats 6 points better off.
Saying that, I get ya about the need for a creative spark for our midfield as Nasri is the only one capable of doing it at the moment, apart from when Vela comes on for the last 20 odd minutes.
so much is needed in this team not only on the attacking front but defensively too
2 signings it is then fellas!!!
I expect em both this week! Thursday at the latest!
Nitey night!
lets face it we are not going to win the league with players like denilsong,eboue,almunia,bendtner
and throw djourou into that mix
BBK, there is every chance of winning the league with those players but not as starters. As subs yes but not when they are vital members of the XI.
no way stu not good enough m8
Bendtner will be good enough one day but for now he isnt yet.
i doubt that one stu
Well dont!!!
He will come good for us. In the same team as last season he might have done as well as Ade. Its just he is in a shit team now and he has no help. His confidence is shot to shit just like the rest of the squad.
Denilson = New Cesc
Song = New Essien
Bendtner = New Kluivert
Eboue = African Ronaldinho
Arshavin Cesc Toulalan Rosicky. That would be the perfect way to start next season. Get rid of the deadwood and cunts and we will have a decent chance at the league. A defensive coach wouldnt hurt either.
Zenit St Petersburg have revealed they have turned down a bid from Arsenal for midfielder Andrei Arshavin.
The Gunners are hoping to sign the Russian schemer as they look to bolster their attacking options in this month’s transfer window.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been coy on his side’s interest in Arshavin, but his club are believed to be leading the chase for the 27-year-old.
Arshavin is determined to leave Zenit this month after being frustrated in his attempts to move last summer.
Reports suggest Zenit are demanding a £20million fee for Arshavin, but the Gunners value the 27-year-old at considerably less.
Zenit spokesman Alexei Petrov has confirmed Arsenal are the only club to have made an official approach for Arshavin, but that their initial offer was turned down.
“I can confirm that Zenit did get an official offer from Arsenal about Andrei Arshavin,” Petrov told the Mail on Sunday. It was rejected as insufficient.
“They offered about £10m. No new offers have arrived from them since. At the moment, Arsenal are the only club to have approached us about the player.”
It remains to be seen if Arsenal will increase their offer for Arshavin with fresh reports suggesting Manchester City could hijack their move.
Typical, offer half what the qwant and hope for the best! I bet we dont offer anymore than 12.
Stu, if no one else offers, he’s as goods as ours. He could always buy out his contract
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1957194/
WOW. The tone of the french commentators says it all.
Gourcuff magnefique!!
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1957194/
Does his contract go from winter to winter or summer to summer like ours?
I’m not sure
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1957194/
GOurcuff magnefique!!!!
WOW
I have no clue. Just saw Gourcuff’s goal. It was beautiful
Where did you see it?