Happy Sunday to you all!
Well, as games go… that felt like a bit of a shocker… Hull were a well organised,powerful unit and if I am honest… they gave us a bit of a fright. We controlled the posession without ever really threatening, but I thought considering the season we’ve had… we did pretty well.
Wenger for me selected a strong team. He resisted the temptation to play Song, instead selecting Denilson who has performed admirably in the middle of the park of late. He also persisted with Diaby in middle, which again… I admired considering the sub standard performances he has been offering. Eboue out wide was a strange one… he consistently offers us nothing, but today he offered us nothing with a bit of stability. You can’t knock a player for being selected can you?
Adebayor showed both sides of his game… sometimes he looked superb on the ball… somtimes he looked clumsy… but he rose the highest from a corner and perfectly placed a header into the net. That is Ade… a battering ram of player who will nick Arsenal scrappy goals. Knock him all you like, but he is a difficult man to play against… he may not be Thierry, but he isn’t supposed to be… he is a physical prescence who is their to intimidate and cause problems.
The Hull goal was weak defending. Clichy backed off his marker and it was school boy… the goal came as no surprise, because I always expect us to concede.
Today, we responded… RvP played a superb ball into Nasri’s path… who took his time, but buried it into the bottom corner. A great goal from a player who is becoming increasingly important to our midfield.
Nik B finished it off after RvP received the ball in an offside position and laid it into his path.
Nik should show the same kind of urgency when he is started. He could be a top player if he played like that consistently… and I really hope those goals can help him regain the fans trust.
So a solid victory from Arsenal… and a resolute come back… let’s look towards the next game and hope we sign a bit of creativity to help us beat these teams early on. Don’t be to down about the performance, all the top teams seem to be having problems against the weaker oppostion!
See you in the comments!
P.S. If you are looking to buy or sell tickets, please e-mail me… don’t leave a comment! Oh, and thanks to the staff in the Hillgate (Notting Hill) for putting up with my noise!
Big Raddy, Kaka isn’t signing for City.
The problem for City is that they don’t offer anything other than money to transfers, They don’t have the lights of London, the allure of working with a great coach or the history of a Barca or Milan. Only the Cashleys of the world will be tempted.
PDT
we have a tough month ahead i wouldn’t start claiming victory until we are closer to the end ..
im hoping arshavin will come and if and when he does he makes a damning immediate impact .
Regardless , the eboue’s and diaby’s might have had sound games by there standards, but i think it is way too early to definitively say they are arsenals answers ..
In fact im pretty sure they are not .. once cesc and theo returns there can only be but 1 outcome regarding there careers , also if wenger does get a DM , it will spell the end for more than one of the above ..
If diaby wishes to be a bench sub and eboue is also happy with the role then they might see out another season or 2 .. but in all honesty can you see any of them wanting too be 2nd fiddle to our regulars ?
Time to take a break…
The hill gate is my local, I’ll buy you a beer if you’re in there again
PDT.
Is that why Man U have all those shite players ??
bendtner still has a lot to prove like theo. he was stuck on the right of midfield when eboue was subbed and did well in the 20 mins he played. same as he did last week. he needs to step up to be ale to be considered as a consistent starter unless he would still continue to be a part player. fine by me unless when injuries force otherwise
ethan the ball richocheted off his head??????
* able
PDT
they are going too offer him a 10 million hand shake plus make him the richest payed player on the planet ?
come on give it up ! everyone is a whore , it depends on how much money you throw at someone.
you only have too look at robinho , and flamini …
also look at our lanky striker ade .. gimme 80 k a week or im out of here !
money motivates footballers .. NOT history ..
AC let go of shevchenko for 35 mil .. so what do you think they will do if confronted by 108 mil
in transfer fees for 1 player ???
I reckon we will get past Roma and aftyer that, it’s the luck of the draw. I’d love to knock Liverpool out – revenge is sweet…….
Ethan, agree with what you have said.
I am not claiming victory, I am only saying that the team has earned itself some space. We should let them prove their worth with their results over the next 45 days to the end of February.
I am pretty sure that with Arsh is not the only new face we will see in February. I live in hope, as always.
Re playing second fiddle, I think Diaby can develop into a good player. But he will never be a great for a Barca or Milan if he cant hold his place in the Arsenal team. I think he is too ambitious to move to a Wigan or a WBA.
EBoue is a different story. He will not get a chance to play in his best position unless Bac gets injured, and I hope that that does not happen. I don’t think anyone will want to buy Eboue as a winger. So dont think he is going anywhere. He is good cover for Sagna anyway, so we can use him.
Kaka belongs to Jesus and to Milan.
Didn’t understand your point about the ManU players, Bid Raddy.
AC will be sure to agree. It is a question of whether Kaka wants to uproot his family.
If it was me, I would do to City. Not for the money – that is irrevelent to a man who is already extremely wealthy, but for the challenge of leading a very exciting project. Throw in a decent manager and City are going to be a dominant force in 2 years.
It’s nice to see Clichy get some impassioned support. I bet Willy Gallas wishes he was afforded the same luxury throughout his Arsenal career. I don’t remember many doing a John Malkovich and getting inside his head to explain his decisions! All good though.
The main problem yesterday was Eboue giving up possession and then as a result Gael’s flaky game came into sharp focus once again. He’s been ‘off-form’ for a year now and isn’t improving. Silvestre came in to replace him against Villa so Wenger is aware. Watch this space.
Anyhoo, lets get Arshavin in this week and move on and leave this chapter behind, with hands held and skipping together in harmony. Maybe put a few pig tails in players hair for extra effect!
Franchise
yes
look at the replay he looked like a stunned rabbit in the head lights as it hit his head ..
too me it looked like a comedy sketch moment ..
full credit too RVP it was a inch perfect cross floated at the right height perfectly …
and the angle it came off his head it was clearly a deflection more so than a purposely placed and directed header
* Big Raddy – sorry!!
PDT.
My point was that you say Manchester don’t have the lights of London.
Kaka has the opportunity to head what will be the most exciting project in World football.
A teams history is meaningless if the future is bleak. Look at N. Forest !
Didn’t see the match yesterday but from the comments I’ve seen so far looks like we deserved to win. It seems like RvP had a great match that is just bloody good! i can see some papers and fans already calling him the next DB. I love that to be the case, I honestly would but I think we need to ‘chill out’ on such praise for now he hasn’t been very consistent this season. Ok he has started showing some consistency in the past 2/3weeks, great but give him more time before drawing comparisons. At least until the end of the season!
I think I said here sometime ago that I saw Evra as being slightly better than Clichy. Apart from Evra I don’t see any other left back better than him in the EPL. I have read some nonsense on here that he is not good defensively, CLICHY HAD MORE INTERCEPTIONS AND SUCCESSFUL TACKLES RATIO THAN ANY OTHER PLAYER LAST SEASON!!! However, I do agree that he has to work on his crosses and he has made some uncharacteristic mistakes this season but with the kind of season we are having there is no player that has not underperformed or made mistakes in the team.
Enuff said. Good post btw Pedro
Agree on the manager bit, Big Raddy!
They need a charismatic leader. If they get a top manager, the players will come. Alternatively, if they get Kaka, the players will come. But they need a marquee name up front and Hughes is not it.
The guy doesn’t even realise that he is on the chopping block in the summer.
one of the sheikhs reps has slammed the figures quoted in the media. he said they are discussing bids in the region of £50 million not £100 million and the wages quoted are also grossly inaccurate
Big Raddy, I understand what you are saying, but I think its also about the branding of the club and the city.
Clichy is out for Crdiff – 5 yellows. Does that mean he misses the Everton game as well ?
BR
i agree , man shitty wont be shitty for too much longer ..
if this guy keeps on throwing money around it might make roman quit !
they are after some top names in there list ..
its just a shame that we only have cesc , but for 75-100 mil id sell him too
this is a deal that for any club is the golden egg !
a once in a life time , you have too be insane not too turn down surely ..
and kaka will have enough clauses in there too protect himself ..
have to get c.l football within 2 years .. robinho cant quit , etc ..
he will tailor make his own demands and the owner will throw more money at others
too ensure they make quota ..
i know most of you dont get it , but the EPL is evolving -like the universe !.. its big business , and if you think
its shocking now .. wait a few years because i can see some clubs will get left behind , and i hope our club isnt one of them !
Franchise, my understanding is that the 100m is for Kaka+Gattuso+ someone else. I also dont think it is GBP 100m, more likely USD100m, so the figures will be closer to what you are seeing.
Come on people.We won yesterday.So no need to sweat about mistakes. That can be improved. That is life. Although sometimes people really don’t change do they? Anyways. at least we’re not looking up at others like the supposedly ‘this year will be the year we beat arsenal to the champions league place’. They will beat arsenal at something. BEING RELEGATED FIRST. May you be down there at the end of the season.
Ethan, that why I keep saying that we need Dein back. He saw it coming, suggested that we bring in Stan, so the board threw him out.
There are too many teams in the 20-23 point space. I would be happier if there was daylight between the spuds and the 19th placed team.
Ethan, we have both Kroenke and the Russkie on board. We will not get left behind.
If I was a squillionaire looking for a fun new toy, Arsenal is the obvious investment. In London, best stadium in the Country. Always (nearly) full of fans. A long and eminent history, and already a World brand name.
If they win their game in hand, they will be out of the drop zone.
Me too PDT.
A loss to Fulham, today would really scare the shite out of them. The Spud fans I know are totally confident that this is a blip., and they will end the season in mid-table.
Come on Fulham…..
Ethan, hows Arsenal doing in Thailand. I know they have a soccer school in Thialand, but do they have big fan support?
Most of the Far East is dominated by Liverpool and the mancs.
Aah, lunch is on the table (almost 2 here).
Laters
Mandanda, It was actually pretty characteristic if you think of his mistakes in the past.
Agree about interceptions etc. Clichy is at his best being pro-active and imposing himself on the opposition winger. Problem is he lacks confidence and is weak tactically so the balance between being pro-active and passive is skewed.
Contrary to popular perception, he is being far too negative in his game. He needs to play like he did after the third goal more often, go forward, impose his game on them. At the moment he can only do that when the pressure if off and the game is won.
He was wonderful at Chelsea in that second hald after we scored, but a clown before it in the first half. It seems his performance is shaped by the fortunes of the side, rather than by his own initiative.
Have fun, BR.
clichy will be available for selection against everton..
cant wait for us to bag arshavin in.. i live in russia and follow the russian league here.. he’s a superstar and would fit seamlessly with our style of play.. he can play across the midfield and behind the striker.. don’t let him slip thru our fingers.. please arsene!
Paulinho, you are right in the diagnosis, but I disagree on the solution.
Our midfield has not been dominant this season which has prevented Clichy from bombing forward the way he enjoys doing. I think if Nasri or Arshavin stabilize on the wing, they could form a productive partnership with Clichy which will improve his game. The key lies in a more dominant midfield.
I hate the fact that Clichy is going through this difficult period. I want him to be recognized as the best left back in the business, especially better than the mug the chavs have.
I disagree with you Ethan. Whether the ball came to him and hit his head or he jumped for the ball, the lad offered us something: the opener, which gave us confidence. Do you consider how much pressure we wud have been if Hull scored first?
Having looked at the media reports of the games so far this weekend it has repeatedly struck me how when Chelsea and Man Utd scrape a narrow win with late goals their never-say-die attitude is praised but when Arsenal do it there is always a huge amount of luck involved ie, we are lucky and Hull were desperately unlucky. The increasingly sinister looking Phil Brown moans that JD “assaulted” his player but if you watch it closely there was just a clash of heads between 2 players going for the ball. Neither had his arms raised at all and Wylie got it right. A rare thing in itself. If I am correct tackling from behind is a foul. So why wasn’t JD awarded a penalty in the aftermath of Robins free kick? Yes, the player got the ball but it was from behind and he also got a lot of JD.
Agree. PDT, but I think Clichy has the pace and ability to do so regardless of having someone in front of him to free up a running lane.
It helps of course, but the best attacking full backs find a way. I also don’t think the opposition have planned for it or targetted his forays. Because when the notion takes him Clichy still gets forward and the space always seems to be there.
The difference is he seems to lack the confidence/tactical brain to do so in an frequent enough fashion. He should watch and learn from Evra.
I love GC, but he has made some awful errors, far more than any other defenders bar possibly Gallas and they have been really stupid ones. Birmingham was just unexplainable it was that bad, as was Citeh. The one against the scum cost us 2 pts as they were dead and buried and he just fell over the ball! Yesterday was poor because there was NO overlapping player, he just backed off, which was poor decision making, but neither cb was near enough to Cousin either.
The above are facts. He is still a brilliant LB and plays his heart out for the club and I would not swap him for anyone, especially given his age. He will hopefully eliminate these basic errors and definitely can become the best LB in Europe.
Talking about inexplicable mistakes, what about djourou’s headbutt yesterday?! deary me, once a game at least he goes crazy, after being solid the rest of the match. GC is a bit of a worry, especially without a replacement for him, imo we need a sub left back pretty badly
Paulinho – There was no favouritism shown to Clichy, I defended Gallas much in the same way, are you trying to re-address some sort of balance ?!
Clichy is good tactically and he’s saved us a hell of a lot more then he’s cost us this season and for the year he’s been out of form.
He’s not been afforded the same sort of space as last year, the confidence in his fellow players or the cover, what’s funny is that we seem to have problems all over the pitch but like to scapegoat players in particular, like Gallas was last year, maybe that’s what you’re going for ?!
The best attacking full backs play for teams that find a way.
A, as likeable as Djorou is and as big as he is, he is no more the answer than Toure or Gallas at this point. He is ricket waiting to happen, as he was at Birmingham, however he is worth perserving with until Wenger buys a centre back.
PDT
yes they have a youth academy , i was thinking of sending the youngster too it when he’s a bit older .. but the problem is thakin last year as part of his propaganda champaign pumped money into the man shitty fan club , and now its grown from 4000 into over 400 000 …
and im sure with kaka and all the other impressive things that are going on at man shitty
it will continue to be the IN football team too support ..
most asians however love man U ! its on every bumper sticker and on every back window of any supporter in Thailand .. also liverpoo is still big in support … sadly we arent even in the picture ..
im a dieing breed of fan here in asia .. A Gunner…
i remember being a tourist here back in 2002 and saw many arsenal fans .. it seems those days are over !
and i fear the old prunes in the board room just havent got there shit together in the international marketing stakes ..we hemorrhage money by not preforming and capturing these fans that just support and pump money into these other LESSER clubs ..
If people in the UK think our business model is far superior too other clubs then they havent seen what i have seen in asia ! because despite man U’s large debt , there global marketing strategy is years ahead of ours and we simply havent got enough class to make those percentages change any time soon ..
A. It was a 50-50 header, it wasn’t a headbutt, how many penalties would you get a game if the ref allowed all those fouls similar to that.
yeah i agree completely paulinho, jd is basically titus bramble imo, fantastically solid for 88 minutes but makes one or two horrific mistakes a game, and it’s just whether the ref sees the penalty, which twice he hasn’t or whether the opposition take the chance he presents them with. For the rest of the season he’ll play alongside one of kolo or gallas, and be ok most of the time, but he’ll never be a fantastic defender and i fully expect us to sign a top top quality player to play alongside toure for the start of next term
Paulinho, his mistakes are only characteristic of his recent past i.e. this season, he and Sagna have certainly been more dependable than most players in the team in the past 18months. however, u might be right there that his performances are linked to the performance of the team but i don’t think that is unusual but would be rather exceptional if it wasn’t.
Hi Khalid, howz Arsh been this season? From the 4/5 matches I’ve seen of Zenit he has been worth the hype or expectation some of the our fans have of him. Perhaps those ematches were just exceptions.
lol keyser that challenge is given as a foul 99 times out of 100, and should always be given, it was ludicrous to sprint towards someone and jump into them like that!
Keyser, you don’t seem to notice that the opposition let Clichy and Sagna go forward because they’re both poor crossers. They congest the central areas and let them do what they want, knowing that nothing comes of it.
Clichy is has no end product going forward.
Clichy is poor when he tries to play the Sagna way. He needs to be pro-active and trying to get possession high up the pitch. He’s not good enough to play deep, Italian style.
Another poor game from Eboue, it seems to me he is trying to hard for himself and not the team, he makes too many poor passes early in the game and spends the rest of the game trying to make things right for his own game.
Maybe Arsene should give him a break for a while and bring him on as a sub in games when we are winning comfortable, when mistakes are not so crucial.
gael clichy clichy, hes better than ashley, he should have been number 3, gael clichy clichy!
Khalid, I meant Arshavin has NOT been worth the hype
This might be a bit too specific and so last season and all that, but there was one moment in the Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge when we were winning 1-0. Fabregas or Flamni had the ball in midfield and there was a massive space on the left as Chelsea were trying their usual dirty central pressing game. Flamini passed it over to the left expecting Clihcy to routinely collect but incredibly, Clichy was way back in our penalty area, totally going overboard with the ‘protect a lead’ philosophy.
That’s why I say he is poor tactically. He always goes to extremes and doesn’t seem to realise that sticking to principles is the best ‘defence’alot of the time and we would be better served keeping a lead by attacking every now and then.
Paulinho – You don’t seem to notice that the opposition by that time are already camped around their 18 yard box, there is no space to run into and like you always like to point out, players like Rosicky and especially Hleb are not around to open up those gaps by cutting in in-field to the congested areas.
Nasri and Diaby are beginning to show signs of this, but until that point Clichy would still have to cover the length of the field to get back, a position he is reluctant to find himself in knowing we’ve been caught out sevral times like this and that the defensive cover is not quite the same as last season.
Clichy’s cross for Bendtner in the last few minutes was as good as you’re going to get anywhere in the world, and it was because he was finally afforded the space to run into and a ball to chase after.
He’s young enough to learn, playing high up the pitch will probably come with the confidence slowly returning to the side and him knowing that he won’t leave the team as exposed.
It’s a bit of a risk running into Hull’s 18 yard box, when Hull have purposely left Mendy waiting upfield for the long ball out of defence in his left back area.
ojaimo
its pretty hard to disqualify i know , because lets face it wenger plays him week in week out ..
but im sure arsenal would be far better served with RVP – arshavin or RVP – vela – RVP – dudu
or even RVP theo ..
i just think we would have far more penetration if wenger experimented with the strikers ..
he seems to be limited in mind by trying nik B only ..
its like he wont let class be over stepped by his chances waiting list ..
vela should be developed ASAP ! as with ramsey and jack ..
instead of persisting with song – eboue and too a lesser degree diaby ..
if other players show natural ability surely they will be the long term starting 11 , so the sooner wenger gets these youngsters sorted the sooner we can start playing like a team that shows understanding the better..
A. You’re joking right ? Outside the box it is, lately they’ve been giving silly little hand balls but apart from that defenders can pretty much get away with anything they want, Djourour was going for the ball, Manucho got there about a split second earlier.
Carvalho was trying to knob Ronaldo last week and Vidic thought we was a blocker for the Dallas Cowboys, the refs pretty much let it all go.
opps and the sooner the better
I dont know who are defensive coaching staff are but the need to get a grip of Clichy and sort out his minor flaws, he is a fantastic player in most aspects of his game, just needs to iron out a few faults.
Maybe Dixon / Winterburn could be asked to give him some defensive advice.
Keyser, Clichy did that cross because Hull had sagged and we were playing for fun because we were 3-1 up. The space was there because Clichy took the stabilisers off and moved his backside up the pitch for first time in the half. Of course there will be no space if you don’t speculate my moving forward. Buying a lottery ticket and all that.
That’s what I meant by his performances corresponding with the team’s fortunes. Against Chelsea he was a non-entity until we scored and then suddenly he was pressurising high up the pitch. it’s all in his head.
Chelsea having two strikers and playing a 4-4-2 didn’t stop Evra going forward last week did it? Sometimes being positive actually renders all these other dangers irrelevant, Play what you see, don’t fret!
Cole at 23 was better than he is now. There’s no guarantee that Clichy will improve in a straight upward trend. As I keep saying.
shame about WILSON PALACIOS,wenger blew that one i think,he is better than,eboue,diaby and denilson together,his work rate,tackling,defending,attacking is very admirable,also passes the ball too his OWN players,brillant
Paulinho – How obscure was the Flamini example heh..
Come on lottery ticket ? You were all doom and gloom and gave us no chance yesterday, yet we won, I think there was enough chance taking.
Which Chelsea game are you talking about, Stamford Bridge ?! Or is it different to the Flamini incident ?!
He can’t play high up the pitch if Hull are lumping ball in behind or using the pace of Mendy, teams that have done well against us this season have played 4-5-1 with pacy attackers, It’s been simple and effective.
Chelsea having two attackers ? They played 5 in the first half and according to you Chelsea dominated, watch Evra against us. Evra’s playing in a settled team with players he has confidence in , not just because their that good in the first place but because he knows one of the midfielders will drop back and cover, but against players like Walcott even he was pushed back continously despite Walcott not gettin many touches in the game, just his pace kept him tracking back.
Don’t fret ? Come on, were we fretting after the goal went in ? Were you preparing the I told you so speech ? heh, we’re focusing too heavily on one player here.
Other left backs have got better, Cole isn’t playing in the most attacking of teams is he ? and I bet he’d still have had a better understanding playing behind Pires. It’s something this team has to build up.
Understand Ethan. My 8 yr old goes to the Arsenal academy here in Singapore and he has an incredible amount of fun. But most parents send their kids to the school because it is the only good one, not because they are gooners.
Keyser, I agree with you on Clichy. He will develop the partnership with Nasri. Or Arshavin.
Cardiff next followed by Everton. If we can get through these two, we have a easier set of fixtures – West Ham, the spuds away and Sunderland at home in the run up to Roma. Nice easy fixture list if we can get past the Everton game.
In between, we have the next round of the FA Cup, then Fulham and WBA before we hit the business end of the season in early March with the return leg against Roma away and the FA Cup quarterfinal.
The fixture list, at least, is on our side.
If Cesc can get back ahead of schedule in mid March, my cup will run over…
The game was following a familiar pattern though Keyser wasn’t it?
I think my negative view of the game beforehand was well justified. Most refs would have given that penalty. Eboue started playing like a clown, and the Clichy lapse was as predictable as the sun setting. Third goal was offside as well. We got through but the same old deficiencies were there.
The ‘Flamini’ incident was last season, but I was referring to Clichy in this season’s game, you know, the one where played like a pub player for forty five minutes and then ran around like was on drugs after we scored.
Chelsea swithed to a 4-4-2 when Deco went off and were going for it, albeit hitting a brick wall. Evra was being very daring showing such ambition. He who dares, as Del Boy would say!
Clichy’s lack of understanding has shown up his defensive deficiencies, which were there last season anyway, so that’s it in a nutshell.
Either he improves his understanding with Nasri and makes up for this weakness by bombing on all game or he does a radical overhaul of his defensive game, because as it stands he is a massive liability. It wasn’t just the goal yesterday, he was making mistakes all game.
Sagna had Walcott in front of him but he doesn’t make so many mistakes does he?
There is a reason why Mendy pushed so high up on Clichy. It’s cause he’s dodgy and they no he hasn’t got the tactical brain to make them pay for it by exploiting the space that Mendy leaves behind. They would never try that shit with Evra, understanding or not. And this understanding thing is being overplayed.
hello all.. hows everyone doing?
Anyhoo, adios for a bit.
Paulinho – Justified ? If you think we’re incapable of showing an improvement, which I think we are, most refs wouldn’t have given that as a penalty, in fact they haven’t, Mendy clipped Djourou’s foot in the Hull box before he shot, they miss those all the time.
Whatever pattern there is, we broke it and quite emphatically, I’m not going to worry abotu decision that have gone our way because more often than not in recent months they haven’t, if luck plays any part in deciding games we’ve got shedloads of it coming our way.
You’re exaggertin about the Chelsea game, there was a marked difference in the team, let alone at left back after half time, we were more organised and covered space well, we were especially good at containing Cole and Bosingwa, Clichy at times in the first half was left dealing with 2 on 1′s but all in all Chelsea managed about a shot on target.
Chelsea can’t go for it, uness they’re at home and let everything go against sides like Stoke, they have no pace on the wings, the amount of times players were left out of position but weren’t punished because Chelsea did not attack quick enough was astonishing, I remember Evra ambling back at a slooow slooow jog while Chelsea tried this intricate patchwork of passes that left them 10 yards behind the point where they started just across the other side of the pitch, Evra must’ve covered 60 yards while then.
Lack of understanding ? He’s part of a team, he can’t cover for others lack of experience/ awareness aswell as his own.
Massive liability ? Heh, you’re wrong. Sagna had Walcott in front of him so he rarely overlapped just like Clichy’s taken to doing, instead Walcott ends up passing to him at static position and Sagna is left with limited space to cross or passing in-field, much like Clichy at times.
They would try that with Evra and have, hence why they scored a few goals at Old Trafford and why Chelsea couldn’t score for shit really.
Undertanding between players is just one element, Clichy has made mistakes, he is not a massive liability, and we can change this by not just Clichy improving his game, but overall as a whole.
whats happened???
wheres every one gone????????????
its all gone quite over there
Wow! Apparently Johan Djourou may as well quit football coz he’s destined to fail and is no9 better tyhan Titus effin bramble!!!
Hilarious! Who needs spuds with fake fans like that?
Joke! Fucking sad excuses for fans slating young players, who havent even played a FULL EFFIN SEASON for us!
The lad is settloing in, he’s what? 20/21??? Fucking hell how ropey was TA at that age? How shite was St JT of Chavland at a similar age???
Fucks me off it does, aplogies if its a bit heated!!
I rate JD (erm, obviously!) and think he will be a FUCKIUNG IMMENSE CENTRE BACK!
Put that in your over negative and pseudo-analyticalk pipe and effin smoke it!
Clichy’s getting a bashing today! Suppose it makes a difference from the usual song and eboue vitriol…
The Arsh should be over and done with by next week… Good signing, now just add an inler and we’ll be rocking…
Being one of denilson’s biggest detractors, i must admit he’s done rather well this season under pressure.. Song is still shit, eboue is nothing more than cover at right back and diaby is not exactly painting himself in glory with his recent displays… But it’s not all doom and gloom..
I’m particularly happy for nikki b, i’ve backed him and still back him to come very good indeed… I will admit though that he is best used as an impact sub at current like theo…
In regards to theo’s contract dispute… £65,000 a week.. Pull the other one…. Regardless of whatever bullshit his agent feeds him, or how great he might think he is after THAT hat trick against the croats.. He still, for arsenal has 8/10 headless chicken performances and that doesn’t justify such a large contract…
Van Persie on the other hand is playing like we’ve all hoped he could, for a sustained period… The best striker in the prem at the moment bar, none.. Even skysports agrees!!! Get him signed Arsene… Theo, take note!!!
Unbeaten in 8.. Happy days at the moment…
ITS SO QUIET ON THE BLOG, ITS SO QUIET ON THE BLOG!!
Pompey looking to sign Vieira on loan
We should be doing that.
Afternoon, can someone please help with the ‘correct’ link for ‘Young Guns’, as every time I click on it via Le Grove it seems to feed into something totally different? I’ve tried via Google, but just can’t find it. I really like reading the blog, always good for information re reserves, youth team etc (Le Grove still no.1 ,obviously….),
Campbell getting severe stick from spuds morons he seems up 4 it, no not that
No player ratings???
Calm down Angry – we don’t all think like that…. I rate JD too and he is certainly one half of our best centre-back pairing at the moment IMO with bags of potential to become even better…
I quite like our defense as a unit with:
Sagna–Toure–Djourou–Clichy (Most likely 2nd string: Eboue, Song, Silvestre, Gibbs)
Why does it leak goals so!!!!! Oh that’s right we’ve got manuel in goal… I think we need a keeper who organises the defense, catches crosses and commands his area better…
Almunia for me is a liability… Given, Hildebrand, Landreau, Hennessy, Frey etc is THE important and only signing we could need to make in the summer…
Further ahead… The possible numbers and potential centre mid signing means 1 or 2 will have to go…
Arsh–Cesc–???–Nasri — (Theo, Denilson, Ramsey, Rosicky, Diaby, Bischoff, Merida, Wilshire)
Also, up front we’re a bit overloaded…
Van Persie–Adebayor (Bendtner, Eduardo, Vela)
Looks to me that Jay might just never get his chance… And he’s having stormers for west brom at the moment.. Dead chuffed for the lad….
Don’t think we’re too far away do you? It could be worse we could support tottenham…
Crooooooooouch…. oh closee!!!
David, no need for player ratings really. All that matters is that Bendnter was great! Im never wrong!
Rev, we doont have a light squad at all its just that we have all the players we have are more or less of the same quality. There are no top players with understudies. We just have a team with no strongest XI atm.
hmmmmmmm… Is Traore still our player? Kind of forgotten about him
Was just thinking- all the spuds arent that bad. WHEN they go down is there anyone that we could get on the cheap? I personally wouldnt say no to Corluka. He was great at City and is a good footballer so wouldnt be an odd Arsene signing. He even said the only reason he joined them is because Modric is his best friend and wanted to play with him. Seeong as Modric will probably be going to Juve surely Corluka wont want to stay there or play in the championship. He could even do a job in DM.
Rev, Traore is still ours. Hes still only on loan. imo all he has going for him is pace and a decent cross. Doesnt ever really score even tho he shoots quite a bit and has an awful touch considering he is technically an Arsenal youth.
http://youngguns.wordpress.com/
young guns Skandi
Rasp;
Ha! I know mate, as soon as I posted it, I thought it was a tad over the top!
Oh well, thats me; Angry! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Come on Pompey!
Skandi;
http://youngguns.wordpress.com/
Are the spuds management staff really that thick? Just saw Bale taking the kick out because presumably Gomes still has an injured groin from last week. Surely is a keeper has even the slightest injury he shouldnt be risked! I knew they were stupid but this just takes the cake!
perhaps stu but a line up of…
Almunia (Would replace)
Sagna
Toure
Djourou
Clichy
Arshavin
Fabregas
Denilson
Nasri
Van Persie
Eduardo/Adebayor
Would be what i’d call our best 11
C.C/2nd 11
Fabianski
Eboue
Song
Sylvestre
Gibbs
Walcott
Ramsey
Diaby
Wilshire
Vela
Bendtner
I think Wenger is 2 or 3 from getting it just right minus Arshavin…
A Keeper
Centre back to replace the inevitable departure of Gallas
A top quality partner for Cesc… Denilson though however, is starting to win me over….
Still want to see more of Ramsey & Wilshire personally, also..
infact swap merida with diaby.. I’ve given up on him coming good
Rev, that is probably our best XI, i would have Eduardo ahead of Ade every day, but how often does that team play together? Rarely is ever. Especially due to injuries and player form etc.
I too would definately replace Almunia with a stronger keeper. He is weak in far too many departments. Also, despite his loyalty etc I would prefer to have a better CB that Toure but he is certainly good enough for now.
I noticed that you have completely excluded Rosicky. I havent totally given up on him yet. He will easily start IF fit. Also the exclusion of Gallas in either team.
I realise that he will leave in the summer at the latest and rightfully so but imo our 2nd 11 is too weak. I mean Song and Silvestre as back uos? Thats diabolical for a club of our stature imo. I would rather Gallas and Senderos as back ups, or even one of them partnered with JD.
Our spine is far too weak and easily the worst of the CL teams. Once we have that sorted the other positions will become less important and the kids can truly flourish.
I’ll agree with that stu however, Rosicky hasn’t played football for good knows how long… I think his career one way or another is over.. Ed broke him ankle and nearly lost his foot but is still fit before rosicly with a hamstring injury???
Yes, song and silvestre as back up is a joke, but senderos is currently on loan and we all know gallas will be gone this month or in the summer for definant… Well sign a defender in the summer, but not right now… Hopefully we can palm song off on newcastle hwo were interested earlier in the season…
No, no swap deals for n’zpgbia.. He’s shite and we have better in the youth squad…
Players i’ve completely given up on or have the smallest of chances:
Almunia: he wont get much better and makes was to many basic goalkeeping errors.
Song: There is still a chance he will come good with us but there has neverbeen anything less likely. Chances of him making the grade here are about 0.001%. If even that high.
Diaby: im still sceptical on. He has been playing DM recently and hasnt been bad and hasnt tried anything stupid. He doesnt seem to have a proper position within the team but there is still a chance he can be a god CM.
Other than that Silvestre, Gallas and Eboue dont deserve a place in the team. Silvestre doesnt contribute anything psoitive, Gallas causes too much trouble and Eboue at 25 is nearing his price so god help us.
HAHA….Spud is in deep shit :LOL:
YEE HAW
1-0 to Portsmouth, haha. Hello btw
NNUUUUUUUGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNTTT!!!!!!!
1-0!!!!!!!
GET IN – Traore assist
anyone notice harrys twitch come back?
Wouldnt it just be icing on the cake is Sol made it 2-0.
plau up pompey… After the sitter he missed earlier an all…. Nice weekend thus far…
What are we, 6 points off the pace? It’s going to go down to the last weekend of the season.. or 2 weeks before last game against the mancs…
injuries to the big russki and King on top of this…poor spuds
Afternoon Grovers – what a great run and pass by Traore, what a boy ..
James is playimg out of his skin, as is Big Sol – Oh how I miss watching his crunching tackles – no, not crunching ‘tackle’
Gareth Bale, it’s 21 games and counting without a win…. In other words, you’re shite…
Mourinho was having a giggle when he asked for him in pt/ex… Jenas however i can understand…
Redknob, Redknob, what’s the score, Redknob, what’s the score?
Reggie57 – is ‘yee haw’ what you cry when the gooners score?
Cmon Sol.
hey rico, nikki’s doing the biz as of late
“Groovy Yiddo:
” BorjeSpurs!:
Championship…”
We haven’t been sent down yet!”
And if we cant beat a shite Portsmouth team at home, then where the f@ck are we going to get enough points to stay up ???
This it it. We ARE down if we lose.”
That’s from the Spuds forum GlorGlory.. LOL
All we need now is a Red Card for Woodgate, and I will smile all week
Nik is our form striker! 3 in 3, 2 off the bench. Legend!
Gareth Bale is a very good player with loads of potential, unfortunately for him Southampton were desperate for cash & Man Utd didn’t want him until the summer so he found himself at the spuds, who have subsequently ruined him.
Thats why Wenger didn’t continually play Walcott when he clearly wasn’t ready.
Taking Bale off is cheating
ooooooooo cunt defoe scored
fucking sol had a hole in his legs
They should have made Bale Captain.
Baahh….tell the joy that last
Rev – I think Nik is doing well, it would have been good for him to have got that second, but I wont change my mind just yet as he needs to show what he can do from the start of a game – but credit where its due, he has done what has been asked from the bench – am I am chuffed for him..
I have always said that I hope I am wrong, but a couple of goals doesnt make him great, just like a few little mistakes doesn’t suddenly make Clichy a poor RB….
sort it out portsmouth jeesus
portsmouth with still win
yeah i agree rico, however clichy doesnt make little mistakes.. It’s none or they are disastrous… Boy needs to concentrate for the full 93….
The boy simpson is doing well on loan at the moment n all… Some people always find holes to pick at… With our current squad we’ve turned an 11 point defecit into 6 quite comfortably… Arsh should be here come wednesday and then alcott and ed should return..
Things be bubbling nice at current…
Note to walcott: A consistent string of top level performances will get you a contract…. £65,000 a week, you and your agent are having a laugh…..
Arsene, get van persie signed pronto… Best striker in the land at the mo!!!
Pompy better win!! Or else this will be one of the worst weekends ever!
The mancs and the chavs both getting late wins and cunts southhalpton not winning too!!
bergkamp pompey should be 2 clear at least… Now it’s fast becoming the alamo!!!
spurs are like us,they will concede a last minute corner lol
hahaha bent u mug!!!
hahahahhahahahahhahahahhahaha darren bent
The deficite will go back to 8 should Pool win the derby tho.
A draw’s best for us in the derby?
Bent is brilliant really! More expensive than Henry. phahahahahahahaa!!
bent will go down in the world football encyclopedia with:
moved to tottenham in a 16.5m move at a time arsenal’s all time highest goal scorer and best player (debatable) moved for 16m… Has since gone on only to prove one of the games biggest wastes of money right up there with veron, schevchenko, crespo, bentley & modric…
nah let everton win,we will stuff them in a couple weeks,arshavin hat trick
a 0-0 borefest draw preferably.
Rev, add Beckham to that list.
what’s arshavin’s goalscoring record like?
Basically, the scousers mean sweet fa.. They aren’t winning it.. You know it, I know it, Sir Alex knows it and they know it…. If we finish above man u we’re champions, 1 place behind them and we’re 2nd…
exacly how is that a spurs freekick?
i dunno chozzer but il take a hat trick of asists or goals or anything
i cant stu… that 23.5 m madrid payed was made back in a week in shirt sales…. for beckham that was peanuts… he’ll guarentee you 50m at least in 1 year… Not a great admirer of his footballing qualities, but man knows how to work what he’s got…
dunno about you guys but I’d have Traoré back anytime.
Good point rev, but in terms of football he was a massive waste of money. He only won something for them after he had agreed to leave.
and play him where exactly frenchie… Only role i can see for him is playing 2nd fiddle to clichy or 5/6th choice on the wing after arsh, theo, roscky, nasri, vela and eboue
Van Persie had an Hassistrick
traore is a crap left back though
he did though play an important part in madrid’s resurgance that season… That you cannot deny… He was droped by cappello and he and reyes basically won madrid that title… The state of them (madrid) now makes me giggle a bit….
not sure about Krancjar’s neckerchief
Well obviously I wouldn’t have him in my best 11 but I’d rather have him starting wide left if needed than have Eboué starting wide right..
Not sure about his haircut either chozzer. Needs a snip imo.
1-1 aint a bad result tho.
Wenger will always find a place for Eboue.
Stu – I am afraid so, yes…