It’s frustrating that one of the most important games in the calendar for a lot of Essex based Gooners is this one… yet we quite often seem to make hash of it.
Today was frustrating because you could only put it down to one thing, complacency.
Complacency from the players, complacency from the management and maybe even a little bit from the fan base.
Arsenal went 0-1 up early on after Robert Green flapped at a Sagna cross. RvP was on hand to tap in once again.
It didn’t take long for us to capitalise on our lead. Gallas leapt the highest and nodded in an RvP corner to send us into the break cruising.
The second half started and Arsenal came out believing the game was won. Our passing was the first thing to go. Coupled with West Ham’s renewed vigour, things really started to fall apart. As an Arsenal fan, you have a sixth sense for things going wrong… a clumsy challenge from Diaby on the edge of the box started the downfall. Demented fired a relatively tame freekick over the wall, Mannone clambered across the goal and palmed the ball at a reverse angle back into the box where Carlton Cole was awaiting ready to pounce. A bad mistake from the keeper, some sluggish reactions from our mob to clear it.
By this time, most of us knew what was going to happen… after Gallas got away with a shocking challenge in our box, it didn’t take long for someone else to make an equally silly challenge. Alex Song clipped the ankles of Carlton Cole and the ref pointed to the spot. On replay, it probably wasn’t a penalty but when the ref has watch Song make 3 or 4 dopey challenges in the space of 20 minutes, he’s hardly going to give him benefit of the doubt is he?
Up stepped Demented, 2-2.
So, I have a few complaints about the day.
How many times are we going to persist with a right back in midfield? It’s embarrassing… everyone in football can see that Eboue is a very poor midfielder except Arsene Wenger and a few of his fanboys. His product in most games is falling over in suspicious circumstances to win a free kick in a non-threatening area. He was back to his old tricks today, diving around at the merest of touches, shanking crosses and feigning injury. He is an embarrassment and should not be fielded unless he’s being played in defence.
What must Ramsey, Vela and Wilshere think? What do those two have to do to get a chance in the starting 11? At least they know how to deliver a final ball and know where the back of the net is.
The late substitutions were also baffling. We were clearly on the back foot and struggling for ideas, yet we wait until the 81st minute to make a change. If we’d brought on some fresh legs earlier, perhaps we’d have given our attack a bit of freshness and turned the game. Instead, Arsene sat there and watched the inevitable unfold.
We seem to capitulate under pressure. Alex Song had a reasonable first half and was looking ok, then in the second half his game went to pot in a big way. He started passing badly, then the clumsy challenges began… then the penalty, which perhaps wasn’t a penalty, but the earlier Gallas challenge kind of ruled out any thoughts of me complaining we’d been hard done by.
Arshavin was a passenger again, but the type of passenger who’d just landed a Ryan Air seat next to a 43 stone man with wind problems. He looked very uninterested and some of his play was wasteful and lethargic. Diaby was marginally better than the Russian, but still very frustrating… he seems to struggle past 60 minutes.
The most disappointing complaint of the day comes on the back of a warning many of you said was unfair. I said in my last post I hoped we wouldn’t have to witness an error by Mannone before he was dropped… boy did we witness an error. I play in goal for a Sunday league team and I struggled to see how the Big Italian managed to palm that shot back into the danger zone like that… it was very amateur and sadly something we’ve seen regularly from him, though normally unpunished.
Arsenal need to approach games against weaker teams with the same vigour they approach the bigger matches. The players have superb technical ability and have done very well so far this season, however, technical ability alone never won the league. Character and fight did though and we need to start showing some of that if I’m to be convinced we can win a major trophy this year.
Player Ratings:
Mannone: I willed him on to do well with all my footballing heart, but deep down, I knew it would come to this. Fabianski needs to come in, or Almunia will have to take over the gloves. The position between the sticks is one that we can’t afford bedding in time if we are to challenge. 5
Clichy: I wasn’t very impressed with him today, his crossing was woeful as always and his passing wasn’t very sharp. He needs to buck his ideas up because as a xenophobe, I’d be more than happy to see Gibbs take his place. 6
Gallas: Took his third goal of the season very well, battling through a sea of bodies to nod home a RvP corner. He had a shaky second half which nearly culminated in him giving away a penalty. I still maintain I’d like to see more from him leadership wise when we’re up against it. 6.5
Vermaelen: Again, a good performance in the main. He got forward when he could and even managed to secure himself a place on the free kick roster. 7
Sagna: I thought he played ok today. He managed to fortuitously bag himself an assist from a cross which was pretty poor. He defended ok and passed the ball much better than Clichy. 6.5
Arshavin: ………………… duff pass……………. duff shot…………….. hand on hips, strange facial expression. That pretty much summed up his game. I’d like to see more effort from our record signing in the non-glam games. 5
Diaby: Released the ball quickly today and tried his darndest to muck in with the defensive duties. We need to see more end product though, otherwise, I struggle to see his use to the team. Nasri will have no problem taking over from him when he is fit. Opportunity well and truly missed by the Frenchman. 6
Song: Started well, passed ok and got in the way. Then the second half began and the cracks began to show. He missed headers, his passing disintegrated and he started fouling like Robbie Savage on a bad day. He doesn’t deal well with pressure. 5.5
Eboue: I’m lost for words… he is diabolical in midfield, he really is.
‘Oh but he covers well’
Please… I’m sure Senderos would defend well if we put him in right midfield. It’s such a weak excuse to play him in midfield when we have obvious talent sitting on the bench. How will Jack, Vela and Rambo ever develop defensive skills if they’re never given the chance? 3
Cesc: I thought he played quite well in stages. His passing was ok, but he looked a little lost when West Ham pulled back level. He is Captain because he is top of the wanted list in Spain. Give me a PV04 or TA6 over Fab in that role any day… he struggles to get a grip on the team when things are going badly. 6
RvP: On the score sheet again and very busy all over the pitch. I don’t think he had very good service today, but when Diaby, Eboue and Song are off-key… Arsenal kind of limit where the opportunities will come from. There was not excuse for the missed header in the last minute though. 7.
Conclusion
Very disappointing and a bit worrying. The weather turns and so does our game. We need to stop the rot early and Wenger needs to start making some bolder decisions when it comes to team selection. Going with average in the hope you’ll squeeze by isn’t good enough when you’re looking to challenge. Take a risk on some of the obvious talent we have wearing out the bench… it could work out rather nicely.
I sometimes think Arsene makes a rod for his own back. He’s spent the whole week telling his kids how amazing they are and how they will deliver this year, despite them not really doing anything of note this season. I don’t think many would disagree that over the last two games, we’ve played like we believe the hype… like you just need to turn up to win games. That’s a bad trait. Liverpool in the Carling Cup next… I think a few of the first teamers need to be played in that the recover a bit of form, that would be a bad game to lose when we’re teetering on the edge of a loss of form… memories of United in the cup are flashing in front of my eyes…
See you in the comments Grovers!
P.S. If you have spares for the Liverpool game, let me know… I have hoards of people who will snap them up!
Dont worry people….Mannone will soon get a 5 year contract extention. As would Diaby and SOng.
@Stu,
Your 16:02 comment mate.
hi guys,i had a feeling that bendtner would have scored atleast one goal from a header,rvp is just so shit in air
When we won the league at White hart Lane we let a two goal lead slip.
yeah that’s a point bendtner would of stuck that away van pesie fucked up on that one
@BBK,
I definitely think we can win silverware mate. In fact, I reckon we will win the league.
Yeah its true Wrighty…
I would have Flamini back.He deserved a new contract,and Mr.Wenger doing justice to his yearly dose of hypocrisy,offered that to a cunt,called Greedybayor who was no more than a one season wonder.Hypocrisy at its best
According to Big Raddy, his mum (who’s 91) would have buried it.
Sign her up.
Wasnt flamini a one season wonder then?
Gutted with yesterdays result! 2 points lost although i am a ‘law of averages man’ and knew we where due a draw sooner rather than later and would take it yesterday rather next Saturday! My one question is this, how does Eboue warrant a start instead of Steady Eddie, Eduardo is on the bench too much for my liking and granted like Arshavin he can go missing in games, but when things aint going well, he can do the unexpected, so why wait till the 81st minute to bring him on?????
Ade wasnt even a 1 season wonder. Most of his goals in 07-08 were before January. He should be called a half season wonder. At least Flamini performed at a high level for the whole season.
Cant see flamini pulling up any trees at AC!!
west ham have always been a pain in our arses,like boltan they never read the script and draw or beat us when on paper we should beat them hands down.
To a point im glad we got away with a draw in the end could see us getting stuffed towards the end.
Flamini unlike that cunt,didnt try to keep his club to hostage.Beyonce afer a dirty cunt,FFS.
88th minute Nick. Bendtner was the 81st minute sub.
wrighty not gonna happen m8
Arshavin was the worst, Cesc was not his usual self may be of family problem.
may be Arsenal SHOULD ENGAGE GEORGE GRAHAM AS SPECIAL ADVISER FOR THE DEFENCE. He is the best DEFENDER.
already leak 13 goals in EPL; 4 goals in CPL.
Always the same excuses: didn’t get final ball to kill the game. Where & when is the ruthlessness coming ? (always like to buy midfielder who can play wide & not deadly striker e.g Torres from LFC)
If the defenders can grind out, the game is already won. it’s better to win 1-0 than draw 2-2. Don’t understand y other teams can grind out 1-0 win. At the end of season they have trophies.
AW likes to play players out of position, y he didn’t do to diaby as a lone striker baffles me ???
If continue to let Diaby involve in defence, we will definitely get more similar result & forget about winning trophies.
Pls Mr AW don’t be TOO stubborn in substitution, learn from J. Mourinho
We Respect u
reggie im with feck flemony but over song i would take tom huddlestone
*Nick Eleftheriou that is.
@Stu,
They are diffent types of player anyway mate. Essian is all action and Song kind of does what Makelele used to do, sit in front of the back four.
Don’t for a second think I’m saying that Song is as good as Makelele, although I really do think Song has improved this season.
So he never said that he might sign a new contract with us then!!
Wrighty7,Whats your opinion on Diaby,mate?
What about wilson palacious nick over song then!!
Wrighty, Song doesn’t really do the Mak job… he’s not intelligent enough or disciplined enough.
Half the time he fouls because he gets caught out of position because he’s too far forward.
We need someone more dynamic in that position…
07-08 season before January When Ade went to the ACN?
Is it a big surprise players dip for after the ACN hence our getting rid of 2 of them?
Ade isnt to blame. Flamini isnt to blame.
Blame Wenger. Period.
And that shit cunt hleb with his cornetto hes just the same as cuntly in my book!!
David, Ade didnt go to the ACN because Togo didnt qualify. For once the acn isnt to blame for an african players drop in form.
song is slow cant read a game not good at tackling and has the passing range of me and im shit.
WHY IS HE PLAYING 1ST TEAM FOOTBALL FOR US??????
Nick our new midfield general!!
REGGIE AT least he came out and admitted he made a fuck up by leaving for barca,Stuttgart are doing shit as well at the mo hahahaha
@Jaguar,
One word for Diaby mate-FRUSTRATING
He’s either non-exsistant or man of the match. Very rarely inbetween.
I look at him and sometimes he does the most amazing things with the ball but he also does the most amazingly bad things too.
Also for a player of his height he should really be better in the air, although to be fair I think Peter Crouch is shit in the air for his size.
Song starts for us as we dont have anyother player who can play in his position.Why blame him,when there are players far worse players starting week in week out for us.
reggie would do a better job at least i would care
Its great having hindsight Stu!!
crouch always scores against us saturday will be no different
song eboue and diaby are not the blame wenger is for playing them out of position or outta their depth but if they play badly then i will criticise them simples
because songs one of them players that is completely shite
songs supposed to be there to keep the other team from scoring he hasn’t done a very good job of making that happen has he
BBK lets not get down on a game that aint happened yet plenty of negativity around from yesterday
@Pedro,
What I meant was that Song TRY’S to do the Makelele job. Ha ha.
What we have to remember with Song is that he is learning all the time but it must be difficult for him because who in this Arsenal squad does he learn from?
I think during his absense at the ANC we should sign an experienced DM. Someone who Song and Denilson could learn from.
Senna, Vieira, players at the end of their careers who won’t kill Denilson or Song.
But then you have to ask yourself that Gilberto could have had that role
Song better than Eboue better than Diaby.There cant be any worse players.Funny,how we are comparing shit with shit.
Hes our defensive shield BBK!!
Jaguar, when you can’t see past one player, it really is hard to debate.
Diaby was far from the worst player yesterday.
Saying it’s ok for Song to play badly because he is all we have is ridiculous as well.
what i remember is eboue wanted to leave in summer due to lack of playing time,but by august he changed his mind,maybe because maybe wenger could have committed him place in starting line at any place in case of any injury to any player at any position
We should have bought Tymoschuk…he was on a free from Zenit ffs!
i would have swapped the three with westham for parker, collinson and noble why we were there and hoped zola didn’t notice
yeah reggie he must get rubbed down with that vanish stick before he goes on
when has diaby ever been mom wrighty
I didnt mean to say that Song can afford to play badly,Pedro.But he will start every single day because we have NO option apart from him,thanks to the VISION of our great manager.As in Fabs and Arshavin’s case,I wouldnt blame them,as they too are frustrated by shit players starting at the expense of better players on the bench.
And Pedro,how delighted we are if Diaby is NOT the worst player on the pitch,as we are used to him being shit,every single match.
@NN,
I can’t name every game mate but the one against Fenerbache comes to mind.
Songs shield is made of glass!!
sand paper more like
Jaguar, I’m not used to him being shit in every match.
It seems to me you’d like that to be the case because you bang on him in an obsessive manner.
You think Arshavin and Cesc should want to leave after two draws in a row? What sort a statement is that?
We’ll be two points off the top if we win our game in hand, we’re top of a champions league group and we have a couple of cups to play for.
Why would any player want to leave now?
If Eboue puts in the same sort of shit shift in the african nations he,s own fans might do us a favour.
wrighty we should not have players learning like u say song on in every match. its not a creche . we are supposed to be challenging for the title
Wrighty, he played well against Pompey as well… and against Brum… and if you’re fair, he wasn’t the worst player by a long shot yesterday.
Some people love to hate a player, I don’t get it?
coz training with diaby could stop em going to the world cup
NN, we are challenging for the title…
We should have bought one of:
Inler
Toulalan (PX with Diaby,Eboue?)
Alou Diarra
Tymoschuk (As Stu said)
Gourcuff should have been bought and Rosicky sold.
Also ANY decent goalkeeper should have been bought!
Nick you are right there mate collison made our midfield look like statues….
pedro i agree but only because others are weaker not that we are much stronger song and his position is our biggest weakness and can see it being our downfall.
when other players are back eboue and diaby will not feature unless its warranted that useless feck is here to stay
I think the frustration of going through this barren spell without a trophy is key to why certain players are being singled out for criticism more than others Pedro.
Samir, I don’t think I’d take any of those players.
Inler is so good, no one snapped him up this year, the same with Diarra. Tymoschuk is 30… as for Toulalan, why has no one been in for him?
I’ve seen him play and I thought he was pretty limited.
Gourcouff… I think he’s a good player, but over Rosicky or what we have in attack, I think probably one that we don’t need.
Eboue doesnt play like shit for Ivory Coast because he plays right back for them.
We are challenging for the title but throwing away points stupidly.
And..we arent really a creche because we dont play youngsters that much. Song is really the only youngster we play and he is 21. All the most hated players are of a decent age. Diaby 23, Eboue 26 and..who else.
Point being its the average players that hurt us….not the young ones because they arent playing.
@NN,
we are challenging for the title mate
No its not that wrighty them players are not good enough to play for us in the 1st place!!
Nick, Wrighty… I don’t understand that hatred though, most of the players being critiqued to the max are players that have helped get us into a pretty good position in the league.
attacking wise we have the personnel its wenger not to selecting accordingly thats holding that front back.
we should go for a player like collinson cattermole or flether they have the work ethic we miss, they make up for what they lack in talent in determination and hard work, those players are real spoilers.
we have enough talent but not enough hart imo
Who are those players,Pedro?
pedro really eboue song diaby have been involved direct and indirectly with all thats been bad this season and last!!!
Me neither Pedro.
If we won the league this season I doubt that the criticism would be given half as much
wrighty i think it would, we would do it in spite of those players not because of them
Nick, I don’t think that is fair…
Eboue has had some good games, even in right midfield. That’s coming from a self confessed hater of the man.
Diaby has contributed to some wins and in my opinion, improved aspects of his game. He’ll come good, I’m sure of it…
Song has in the main been of acceptable standard if average is the standard. He’s hardly been a let down…
The players as well as Mr.Wenger is equally responsible for this stick.If he plays his players like Eboue and Diaby in their right positions(ie right back and substitute bench),we wouldnt have been making the noises.
the team that started against wham over a third of the personel were not good enough to play for a supposed top 4 team imo!!!
pedro average isn’t good enough nor is inconsistency mate,all three are liabilities.
blame wenger for putting them in,It would be good to see diaby turn in to the player he can but its wearing thin now do it or go.
potential is quickly turning into an excuse not a promise for me
Who are they reggie? Eboue, Song, Diaby, Mannone and……?? WHos the fifth?
Stu that is over a third isnt it?
I suppose…
Subs changed the match yesterday. West Hams subs got them the 2 goals and we didnt make any until it was too late.
Instead of the usual 70th minute changes Wenger didnt bother. We needed to freshen things up at the hour mark, we didnt and it cost us.
AW just sat there like a turtle winding his neck in!!
I think Song is shit, I would sooner play with 10 men.
GEOFF you know it,i know it half the football world knows it but wenger and a couple of other numpties cant see it
how very right you are
I hate you all, I’m going to the gym.
I feel sorry for ramsey
see you know we are right,run rather then admit it…
Homo, LOL!
Geoff i bet he looks like something out of fame in the gym with his spandex and leg warmers on
He wears a leotard nick!
Wins against liverpool and tottenham will change the mood big time.Hope rosicky is back for the spurs game
whats everyone gone to the gym??? another 40mins for me
I just got notification from Arsenal that Kroenke has bought another 10 shares and now controls 28.9% of the club, they even make a meal of taking the club over, fucking hell, get on with it, it’s death by a thousand cuts.
I hope Song gets himself a yellow card in the Tottenham game so that he will miss the Wolves game…..cant afford for him to be out for the Chelsea game….
If he does that he will get a rest as well which I think he needs, he has played every almost every game.
I would play this team for the CC.
……………………Almunia……………………
Gilbert/Eboue……….Senderos………Sylvest……..Gibbs
……………………Coquelin……………………….
…Ramsey………………………………Merida……..
..Wishere……………..Vela……………….Nasri…..
Can’t afford for him to play in the Chelsea game, he almost lost the West Ham game Ja!
I can see him getting a yellow for tripping lennon
Jeez,
I went through every single post and I must say the jury is out on Wenger and his lap dogs. Thats why am still not entirely satisfied with Pedro’s board meeting. I had expected questions on why we persist with Diaby, Eboue and even Song. Song should have a guy he deputises for and not just be the lone hardman at the midfield. Seeing diaby play, I long for Dennilson … at least he releases the ball quickly and does not do hare brain tackles. Talk about a squre peg in a round hole. If we had TR for that match we should have scored at least 4, they were there for the picking.
Wenger is at fault for not investing in a midfielder when we had the resources. Take a look at my post from 07/08, I had known 2 years back that Monsieur Wenger is not a very good tactician.
Arsenal with Rosicky is a different team…the guy not only provides sharpness but also there’s something about his attitude which instills a kind of composed winner like behaviour in the team….my heart sinks 3 feet everytime i hear about him getting injured….We need him more than anyone else!!
Geoff I know that Song is not the best in the world…but we have no else who can play there….Song is probably better playing against Chelsea because they use physicality and SOng has that….I think it would be better to play without Song against technical teams
EVryone else is either too young(Coquelin)
or are too attack minded/weak (Nasri, Merida, Ramsey, Diaby etc)
the only other person we have capable of playing that role is Vermaelen…..
We would then have to draft in Sendy or Sylvest to replace him at the back.
When Song is gone to the ACN I would like to see Vermy and Denilson used there in rotation…because Denilson alone cannot manage all those games coming fast and furious…
Another option is to buy a DM but I dont know of many ready made ones out there that are available….it would still be a gamble with players like Matuidi,Inler etc..
Ja I just don’t think Song is strong, he’s dirty and clumsy, Chelsea will just go round him.
I would sooner see Nasri alongside Cesc, one goes forward and one hangs back, like Petit and Vieira did.
All this man in front of the back 4 only started when we bought Gilberto, before that we just had 2 midfielders.
We also have Vela and Ramsey to go wide, not to mention Wilshere.
Song rarely gives the ball away and he gives opposition midfielders a hard time and disrupts their play. That’s why he is getting picked. He has been having a good season so far. He had a bad half yesterday but he won’t be getting dropped for that.
Ridiculous tackle for the penalty though.
I’m far more worried about Eboue and Diaby being our only options, and generally our lack of composure all over the field, bar one or two players
let us look at a few positives -
1.nasri is back
2. rosicky is back ( i’m guessing)
3.out of our next 8 games , only 2 are away
4.we’ve made the worst possible mistakes at a time when , even though it was significant , wasn’t too crucial
5.eboue n diaby played poorly and didn’t get their lucky goals so there is a good chance they might me dropped
ok ok..that last point was just to make you feel nice..it aint happenin
And that just shows us guys, we won’t win a trophy this year once AGAIN. We don’t have ANY quality gk, back-up defenders and any quality cdm at OUR Club. And since Overmars we still do not have any quality winger. Shame, we didn’t go for Torres. He is a special talent. I do not even know if there are any quality strikers available. Villa maybe, but he is out of our reach.O’m so depressed. We are 4 players from being GREAT. Why Wenger is doing it to us? Could someone, please explained it to me? He used to be a different man 5 years ago…..
Eboue made deep penetrating runs with no end product. That should have made a manager sub him at 60min max.We had Nasir and Bent on the bench ffs! I would also have subbed diaby after the first half and brought Ramsey, then given Wilshire a run out at 80 mins.
Watch Wenger critically. He bottles it with his matchday strategy.. and is beyond rebuke, not even from the Board. Wish I had such a job! More than any single person he cost us the league in 07. Is he set to repeat in 09/10? The jury is out!
Bill I agree with you on Diaby and Eboue but Song does give the ball away. He also passes to players that have two defenders on him and he hits it hard, so they rarely do anything with it. He isn’t good enough to play in this team, sorry mate.
This team deserves an Essien, and Alonso, or whoever else is out there.
All this ‘It would kill them’ shit is shit.
when i look at song performances over the past 12 months he has been very conistant and i think is looking as good as barry and in 1-2 years will be better,if wenger cant find a good dm player in jan he will have change the formation around and play 2 dm players i feel maybe delinson and diaby may bebale to play together i am not realy sure about.i would like to see nasri given game to get his sharpness and match fitness back,although i dont think diaby has as bad as poeple makehim out to be i just feel nasri would play better with nasri.but ramsey wintshire and vela should not rushed they very young and few bad games will knock there confedence better bring them in gradualy in the last few munites of a game and increase that gradualy,i read alot nonense that these players will move soon if they dont start playing but all these players are all under 19 and just need to be patient
Confident you are spot on, the only manager in football that wins fuck all but has a job for life, fuck he even threatened the new owner we don’t have yet.
He said don’t interfere with the way I run the team.
EMPEROR, I respect Your view, BUT:
- Nasri will take a time to adjust,
- Rosicky will soon be injured again, since he always does it,
- Eboue and Diaby will start MANY games,they are Wenger’s love children,
- It will be a very difficult game against the spuds,
- Our 3rd choice cd is Silvestre,
- Our 4th choice defender is Senderos,
-Wenger will never learn,
- Arshavin is played out of position,
- Fabregas seems to be lost,
-we are 4 players away from being great,
- with Arsene in charge we won’t win a trophy again.
Best wishes mate, and take care!
Consistently bad Leon, he is so ordinary I want to scream, I would love to sit down with you and all the Song lovers and watch a game where we could pause, point out his fuck up and write it down, you may be surprised.
Geoff here is the situation…..
If we want to go back to that style..it means we have to get rid of Fabregas as well….
With Petit and Viera you had 2 guys who could both attack and defend……Veira being the slightly more attacking one, and they covered for each other..they also both had size,athletism and pace..
Fabregas lacks athletism, power and pace…what he has is technique, vison etc…. so to counter balance that we need someone who is much more defensive minded and stronger..
I think SOng is more defensive minded and stronger and is good on the ball….but he is somewhat slow and naive like with the penalty yesterday…
But if we should go back to the 2 box – box midfielders then we would have to get rid of Cesc as well and start a new…
Cesc cant defend to save his life…so we not should ask him to take turns holding and defending……what he can do though is pressure high up the pitch…
I mean look at Ronaldo at United….he wasnt asked to come deep and defend…
That’s my point Ja, I don’t think Song can defend, he can foul though and mostly it costs us.
Grovers, I have to go for a while, catch you all later.
when did song suddenly become a defensive midfielder. i always thought he was a centre half. just another player played out of position by wenger and being found out. its hard to blame the players. they are told were to play. wenger is using this team as one big experiment. thers only about 4 or five players playing in their rightful positions. arshavin is totaly wasted out left and no wonder his heads gone down. when did rvp suddenly become an out and out lone striker. for fucks sake play them in their right position and if they are shite so be it.
But other than that Geoff I agree with you that Wenger has to take the blame for yesterday and many other days.
He talks up the kids so much and then does not play them…
To me yesterday was so simple I would have played Vela on the left and put Arshavin on the right……
I mean Vela plays for Mexico….thats pressure and he helped get the World Cup comfortably after a poor start.
What the fuck is Wenger hiding him from….it was West Ham in a league game for crying out loud…..not away in the Bernabeau against Madrid…..
Also during the game it was clear that we were not dominating even though we were 2 goals up..he should have made some changes and some players on that are hungry…they could have upped the tempo and kept West Ham on the back foot…..but instead Zola made the changes upped the tempo and forced the referee to make some terrible decisions……
If Vela cant start with Theo, Eddy, Bendy, rosiky, Nasri all being below 100% then when is he ever gonna play…does Wenger expect him to develop by playing 1 game per month?
@nn
Song is not a centre half…
He plays midfield for Cameroun…its Wenger that wants to convert him to a centre back…
He is a midfeilder…
goeff,thats your opinion his performaces say differently most likley most consistant player of the season protects the defence very well allowing cesc and all the attacking players to bomb forward yes he makes fouls but it does not cost use in fact what it does it kills the opistions momentum ,if you refering to pentaly that was dive
Geoff, Nasri and Cesc are just not physical enough compared to PV4 & Petit, they are just 2 wee boys and would get smashed to fuck…
@nn also
Arshavin said himself in an interview that in a 4-3-3 he plays on the left…
In 4-4-2 he plays as second striker…he said it himself…
He is not being wasted….his teammates are not getting the ball to him and also sometimes he is very lazy……
Thats how he is apparently that must be one reason why no big team went for him until now…..his laziness has probably prevented him from being a bigger star than he is now
if wenger wants to convert him to a centre half wats he doing playing in midfield
Song can defend, the problem is he has to defend for diaby as well as fab.
song is decent..it’s only diaboue that screw up
yep.. didn’t think we would miss denilson this much!
@nn
The only thing I agree with you on is RVP as lone striker…
He is an excellent forward but he too weak to play lone forward against Vidic etc..
Every time he plays against those types of defenders he is on the ground half the time..
But against smaller defenders he is ok
* who screw up
nn
He is playing Song in midfield because he has Gallas and Vermaelen in defense…
I think he wants to convert Song to a centre back for thw long teram….but for now he is playing him in his rightful position because he is the best guy we have at the moment…
Maybe if he gets a better DM he will then convert SOng..
But I am telling you SOng plays midfield for Cameroun so its Wenger that eventually wants Song to be a CB
sorry but eboue is the only player that dashed to every position he been asked to play right back left back dm,right wing and left wing as them both as squad players the fact is if nasri and risicky aa are all fit they would come on from the bench but they would not start as mush as run down eboue and daiby for player who played more dissapointing than either of them has baerly had mention aa who for world world class player played extremly poorly
RVP isnt as strong as a traditional CF.
Watch the goal Torres scored against United. Rio came rushing across and ran into Torres trying to push him off the ball but Torres was having none of it and shrigged it off. RVP doesnt have that kind of strength but he isnt weak imo.
yeah bu aa23 can be excused cuz he’s class and we’re fortunate to have a player like him..what have diaboue ever done???
provided diaboue dont feature anymore , atleast in the strting 11 , the title is ours..trust me on this one
Song is a midfielder and always has been. Its only Wenger that wants him to be a defender. Maybe because he is too slow to be a midfielder but whatever the reason its stupid.
Wenger is probably covering himself so that in the future if we get a better DM than Song Wenger can move him into defence and still play him.
Stu.. what a goal by torres though..
Damn what a player!
I am not going to be too critical of Song
He had a poor game yesterday, but it is his first in a while.
I am more concerned about the player that never delivers. Diaby. And what fucks me off is that he will start the North London Derby and will be shit….again.
It is time to play people in their right positions. You cant keep coming out with arguments about not buying players as it will kill the youth players, yet then play older players who are shit and kill those same players. Ramsey, Wilshire, Merida and Vela must be in a similar state of shock to Danyl on the X-Factor, in that they see this lump getted picked every week only to be completely anonymous for 90 mins week in week out.
A post yesterday summed him up. He majestically pulled a ball down, a quick trick played himself into space, then he had a stroll, failed to pass to the 5 Arsenal players in space, got caught in possesion and lost the ball.
Not only that but he is supposedly in their for his bulk and height, yet does not do anything with it.
And why play Eboue RM. He is an excellent RB and in my mind is currently ahead of Sagna, but if you have a gap in that position and when you are playing a West Ham team in crisis, throw Vela in there… Jesus he did not even make the bench.
As for Mannone. That was an accident waiting to happen. Unfortunately he has Italian Keeper disease and chooses to constantly make the MOTD Highlight save with his fist instead of catching or putting the ball around the post. If he plays next weekend, it will probably happen again.
Nope it is time for Almunia or maybe Fabianski. I personally would play Fabianski in on Wednesday and if he does well, then he keeps his place for the Weekend. I would get rid of Mannone in Jan as he will never shake the punching syndrome, and if Fabianski does not cement a place by Jan, then it is time to spend big.
I have calmed down a bit since yesterday, but I still rate that as the most dissapointing result of the season so far. I hope there is not a worse one.
Diaby and Eboue should only play in home games!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZL9E8SCxlI
and against Pompey-like opposition too…
Eboue should start ahead of Sagna atm…
Leon,
AA was not given the ball much, although he had two shots that looked like Eboue shots
Eboue should only start at home and away against poor attacking opposition…and only at right back.
no no you’re wrong..they shouldn’t play at all
We once had a striker like that didnt we.. baaah
We the too many hot and cold players. Arshavin is either anonymous or brilliant. Diaby is more anonymous than anything most of the time and Eboue is either fucking things up or terrorosing a fullback and having no end product.
We cant afford to have that many kind of those players in the team. There is only room enough for 1 and thats gotta be arshavin. We need to buy a midfielder who is consistent with his performances even if unspectacular.
Evening All…
two dropped points agree…still to see the snipers get out for an easy kill….is way over the top…what truly amazing fans they are….one win and we’re one ..1..point off the lead…do you all hear uno point…so get over it…
in a game things once in a while happens with no explanation…and trying to find rational explanations for it…isnt always the thing to do..but maybe we all should think about it…
im prouder than ever to be a Gooner…
tom
Wenger should take a leaf from Guardiola…
When both Henry and Iniesta were out…he did not put Dani Alves as forward(I believe Alves is the best attacking full back in the world)
Guardiola instead put Pedrito up there……Pedrito delivered most times as well….
Wenger with all those guys out you should have played
Vela…….RVP……..Arshavin
ANd I heard ppl saying he did not play because he wants to be available for the CC…
But that is absolute crap a young professional footballer like Vela can play 2 games in a row….and even if he were not capable…
He would still have Bendy and Eduardo ready to fill in the CC…
stu,song has played cd before and looks very solid there he can play both position but there is no one availeble to dm so he puts him there and is doing very well if you on sky and arsenal web site he down as adefender not midfielder,i know wenger has big up his players but he does not trust anyone else to play there lets get real here he was turned down by annon,inter clement lets protend here we have been lucky he does get injured often he is the only real defensive minded player
Watch how a real team finish off the opposition…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-4UfVJKtrg
cant beleive people here are having a go at arshavin….the guy is probably one of the most deadly players out there…he can make something out of nothing…..see him play with the likes of rosicky , nasri , cesc rather than diaboue and you’ll see his true game..he just can’t link up with em morons ..his expressions told the whole story yesterday
that video comment doesnt make sense..even we socred a few sixers
Ja_Gunner..
i hope we never allow anyone like *The Pimp*himself influence anything we do ever..and if you had been ?? a fan of the inglorious barca’s you would most certainly be a very happy man…the whores isnt even close to be the great team we are…
besides im guessing if Our Beloved Arsenal had lost to kazan ..you might have had a heart attack..
tom
patthegooner agree 100% about mannone; right about fabianski start him on weds and then make him the new no 1 and stick with him till either the transfer window, or till the end of the season almunia and mannone are nowhere good enough for us!!
I am going to e mail Pedro with a spare Club Level for Wednesday if anyone is interested