Well gee whizz… that was long overdue! I’d imagine the satisfaction I am feeling this morning is similar to that of a hitch hiker whose been waiting for a ride… for a month and a half.
I feel good… so good, I’ve forgotten all the bad stuff that happened in the first half…
Shall we have a post where all I do is skim over the bad stuff? Ok… it’s a deal guys.
Bad stuff:
Selection: Very disappointed to see Song and Eboue start. I understand the logic in putting Arshavin up front… he isn’t fit enough to play in midfield at the moment… but I don’t understand why Carlos had to be dropped and I don’t understand why Song had to be included?
Eboue: Jumped out the way for a freekick, mostly did bugger all.
Song: Terrible in the first half.
JD: Terrible in the first half.
Good stuff:
Goals: Yes… we hit the back of the net from something other than a penalty.
Nik Bendtner: I’ve been backing him to come good all season. He had a Christmas time blip… his effort rate dropped a bit… but since then he’s worked his pink boots off, become more of a team player and has been desperately unlucky.
Tonight that all changed. Pretty much the first thing he did was charge into the box after receiving a pass from Denilson, jink inside his marker and roll the ball into the bottom corner.
His second goal came after Kolo hoofed a ball over the top, Nik latched onto it and fired across the hapless Scott Carson. Two great goals meant confidence was sky high. He grew as the game went on and went close again after some great work… only to be denied by the post.
I am hoping tonight is the tipping point in his season. He’s been getting into the right positions for a while… now he has a couple of finishes under his belt I expect him to be dropped to kick on and prove all the doubters wrong.
Denilson: Another player who I am starting to take a shine to… I’ve got the appreciation Society forms sitting on my desk… and there is every chance I could be filling them in and sending them back. Denilson rarely wastes a ball… most of his passes find their man and as a holding player, he reminds me a little of Gilberto. Considering he barely had 20 starts before this season, I think he’s done ok. Recent form has led me to believe he will become a good player.
Arshavin: Our little Russian maestro is running on fumes at the moment… but you can see he oozes class. His deft touches, his ability to craft a shot out of nothing… those quick feet. He is going to explode when he hits form/full fitness and I’ll tell you one thing for sure… that man will have his own song (A fan song… I’m not talking a chart single here…).
Arsene Wenger should take note of the impact this guy is having on the fans and the team. We love him already… and pretty soon, I think he’ll be worth the extortionate Emirates entrance fee. A player of his quality should be purchased every summer… I demand it… !
Oh and he made the important second goal.
The Fans: Well, there were good things about both sets of fans tonight. Firstly our lot… great voices up there tonight… nice to hear you all chanting Niks name… you know that will mean a lot to the young striker. It will also show the rest of the team that you can turn things around… all we demand is hard work and that players to try their best.
Now onto the WBA fans. I just want to thank them for proving that it doesn’t matter which club you support… if your team serve up crap every week, people don’t want to sing and people don’t want to stay till the end. It was reassuring to know that our crowd problems aren’t Arsenal specific. Couple that with the Villa fans booing their team off… and it appears the problem runs a little deeper than just ‘spoilt fans’.
Player Ratings:
Almunia: I think he’ll be disappointed to have conceded the goal… but he wasn’t at fault. He commanded his area well, made a couple of really handy saves and kicked well. 7.5
Clichy: Another quiet game from our young Frenchman. He did whip in a superb cross that Nik B only missed out on because someone called Dork fouled him. 7
Toure: I’ve been saying it all season… Kolo is the answer to our lack of goals. Finally he landed his chance to shine today. He scored from an Arshavin freekick, beating off his man to head low and hard. Moments later he played a tasty 40 yard ball into the path of Nik B who buried it. He went off at half time… lets hope it wasn’t serious… otherwise I fear more bore draws. 8
JD: I thought he was the worst player in the first half. He made numerous needless fouls in the danger areas and the one he made for the freekick was particularly silly. He improved in the second half, but that wasn’t hard… WBA didn’t offer much. 6
Sagna: I thought he defended well. I thought he attacked poorly. Rating Sagna is becoming a cut and paste job these days… 7
Nasri: I thought he put in a busy performance. He binds the midfield well, but I can’t remember him having a shot or playing any decisive balls? 7
Song: Awful, woeful… dreadfully slow. That was the first half. Second half, he looked a little bit better… he’d been asked to step in for Kolo… and he did ok. Song is like one of those people who can’t multi-task… if he worked in an office… he would be in charge of photocopying… at the moment, he is playing in centre mid… which would be like asking Song to run the pay roll and restructure the I.T department… it’s too much for him. At centre back… all he has to worry about is what is ahead of him… it suits him better… just like photocopying would. 6
Eboue: I know he has his own fan club… but I can’t understand his constant inclusion in the side. He offers nothing in midfield… he loses the ball, I think it’s a myth that he tracks back and his powers of pace and strength are useless, he doesn’t know how to use them. 5
Denilson: I’m a convert, move over Gilberto… you’re ugly mug isn’t fit to grace my bedroom wall anymore… it’s all about Denilson. I thought he played very well tonight, happily mopping up mess like that crazy woman who wipes tables in every McDonalds you ever go in. I know he is a bit of a crab, but he is an efficient crab… at least his passes find peoples feet. He’s not there to be Cesc Fabregas, he is there to feed our star players McCrab passes all day long. 8
Nikki B: I’ve already written a big chunk of ‘I told you so’ praise above…. I’m only joking, but I really do believe he will be an asset for us. Next on his list of ‘to do’s'… consistency. Wouldn’t we all love it if his performances kept Ade out the team and perhaps forced him to move in the summer? Think of it that way if you don’t like our young Dane. 9
Arshavin: A quiet performance from our most expensive signing… however, when he did pipe up, he looked good. He took a freekick off Nasri or did Nasri ask him to take it? and played a superb cross into the middle of the box. I wonder if we’ve got a new set piece king in the making… at least he can hit it past the first man! 7
Subs:
Diaby: I thought he played much better than he did against Fulham. He ran at players and made a few tackles. Does anyone else think he has been damaged by that tackle from a few years ago? He would rather pass than ride out a tackle… 7
Merida: A surprise sub, but a welcome one. He is a stocky boy, but good on the ball and like Denilson… he doesn’t seem to waste many passes. I look forward to seeing him a few more times this year. 6.5
Rambo: Made a ridiculous back pass when he came on that nearly cost a goal… and our keeper his leg. Luckily he was let off. He made a few tidy passes… one particularly nice one when he laid a ball in for Sagna to sky 50 yards over the bar. 6
Conclusion:
What started out as a bit of a nightmare… ended up a dream.
Yes… 3 goals… that’s the extent of my Arsenal dreams these days! My next dream… 4th place and Hull in the Cup.
It was refreshing to see some creative substitutes today… some quick passing and listen to some happy fans sing their hearts out!
Bravo I say… bring on Burnley… I smell blood…
Duke – If they make mistakes then we are no worse off than if we play Song and Eboue but all the while knowing that at least these kids WILL come good if we keep playing them!
Evening/morning all
Bloody good show to man city. Are we back or are we back
taig, i understand your point, i just think if we through them in the deep end, and they barely keep their nose out of the water, the fans will turn and put a foot on their head. Then they won’t reach the heights they could and maybe get sold. I don’t think confidence plays as big a part as Wenger does, but it is bloody important, and if you don’t feel wanted, and the fans say your shit, you try to hard and make more mistakes.
gnarley – have you got any jelly you could give to O’Neil? I hear he loves a good wobble……..
Duke – I hear you but I think the fans are far less likely to stick the boot into the promising players than then shit ones. Also, people need to understand these kids just want to play football. Wrapping them up in cotton wool doesn nothing to promote their football. After Ramsey had a stinker at Cardiff and got some stick for it (to my surprise) do you think he was thankful to be dropped back to the safety of the bench where no one could pick on him or do you think he would have wanted to get straight back out there to prove the fans wrong, show us what he can really do and continue his development in top flight football??
taig
As they in Russia Squeal O’Niell is in deep shitski
*say
Did anyone see Van der Sar completely choke when he had the opportunity to break a 20 year old clean sheet record…..what a numpty!!
The boys are back in town!The boys are back in town!
taig, do you remember our run to the CL final, people were saying that Eboue was the best RB in the world, he made it into the team of the season for CL. When we bought Sagna people were saying why? we have Eboue? What happened to Eboue now? He is one of the most hated AFC players EVER. Ok that not being his fault, Wenger broke him.
Then last season we had the 2 best full backs in the league in Sagna and the Clich. This season people want them dropped and are hating on them, some even go as far as comparing Sagna to Song on this forum which i think is out of line.
The point is, the fans turn very very quickly, and the people you are asking for to be playing this season, might be filling the boots of Eboue, Song, and Nikki next. Being booed, laughed at, and jeered.
Duke Eboue is a good right back but a shit midfielder, no one dislikes Sagna, he just needs resting occasionally.
People dislike Song because he’s a lousy excuse for a footballer and no one can understand his inclusion.
Geoff, i understand all those points, but the one i am making is that people say i would rather watch Ramsey screw up than Eboue, but then if he plays bad in a season time people will be saying down with Ramsey i would rather watch JW screw up than Ramsey and the cycle continues, i think we should use them a bit more but we need to get real players in those positions so they can be groomed.
Your forgetting he has exceptional talent Geoff….at what exactly we’re yet to find out
Duke – I havent seen anyone compare Sagna to Song and I would hope they are joking – even I accidently wrote in Song to start RB when I meant Sagna. People aren’t hating Sagna and Clichy, they just wanted to see Eboue and Gibbs play in a so called ‘minor’ game to give the regulars a kick up the arse as they aren’t meeting their own high standards. I wouldn’t say people are hating them and there is nothing wrong with competition for places – far from it! And again, if Sagna and Clichy cant take some criticism then shame on them. Eboue through all his faults endured the sub-subbing and booing at Wigan and still cracks on with his job (I’m not syaing he does it well). Players need to learn that they are earning the most rediculous wages around and that they cant under perform without repercutions.
Its like when parents wrap their kids up in cotton wool all their lives…….when its time to act like independent grown ups they dont have the necessary skills or attributes to do so.
taig i know when u wrote that it was a mistake, but then people went on about how he is not far off.
I am not saying to wrap them up in cotton wool, just not play them all the time at the age of 17-21. Even with a talent as huge as Cesc’s we haven’t won anything with him in the starting line up, and he had much better players around him at that age.
NEW POST!
They call him nick, they call him St.Nick, They call him nick cause that his naaaaaaame
Cause hes nicklas, niklas bendtner, they call him niklas cause thats his name and he’ll score us goals every game!!!
tell me what youu think!!!
10/10 from me
Life is too short for bad beer.