Comfort food time…
It felt bad last night, this morning, it feels even worse.
I watched the game on my own in a pub in Leicester last night. The first thing I saw when I walked in was Adebayor hugging some of the kids. A very transparent attempt at restoring the Ade-brand that I think was only ever about as reputable as that of an Asbestos salesman.
My pre match thoughts were:
- I was deeply concerned that our coach is arrogant enough to decide what he will and will not take seriously as a competition. I’d understand if he’d been delivering us consistent silverware over the past 3 seasons, but let’s be honest, our trophy cabinet is emptier than Dubai building site. Beggars can’t be choosers and lets not kid ourselves, we’re beggars.
- I was not expecting the kids to beat a very strong team full of proven professionals. The power and experience on offer from Man City was always going to be too much for our boys.
Arsenal knocked it around sweetly for the first few minutes. That play was interrupted when Ade secured first foul of the game after ploughing into Traore. Rocky was looking younger than his 29 years, spraying the ball round like a finely honed sprinkler system.
It didn’t take long for Ade to get the first free header of the night after poor marking from Song. The Togan was being heckled by the away support as expected.
Shortly after the header, Song mistimed a slide tackle that allowed Tevez in. There was a lack of organisation at the back and most of it was down to Song and Eboue.
The kids were resorting to long ball football early on which was interesting. Long ball football is usually the by-product of panic football, or a lack of creativity.
Rambo had the first dig for Arsenal, straight into the legs of Bridge. Shortly after Traore fizzed a cross in that was headed back for the corner. It was nice to know that some of the full backs at our club can cross.
The defence was looking very sloppy, Bellamy hit the post after Traore was easily dispossessed on our byline. Very weak defending. The crazy thing was Silvestre looked our most assured defender.
Eastmond demonstrated why he’s not first choice as Tevez held him off like an older brother holding the head of his younger sibling as the he swings wildly to no avail. This is why young footballers take so long to break into the first team, because of the power difference. I really don’t understand why they don’t go to the gym to bulk up?
Eboue went close after Jack slid him in, he cut it back to avoid the incoming Lescott tackle but meekly shot into Given’s arms.
Song took the ball off the head off Lescott from a good City set piece. The next corner flew in and ans something happened…our keeper came for it despite it being a tough ball! Madness… Keepers can claim the ball outside their six yard box!
Kolo handled a Vela cross. Vela was never going to get the penalty… It’d be like God rolling into Richard Dawkin’s local, and expecting a free packet of crisps with his pint.
Song continued to drop clangers as the half went on. The technique of breaking a few dishes whilst washing up sprang to mind! Surely he’s not going to be happy about being dropped back to 3rd choice defender?
Just before the second half kicked off, the camera cut to Ade patting Eboue on the back, Eboue defiantly shook his head, eyes transfixed on the floor. Fair play Eboue, fair play.
Tevez opened the scoring after Rosicky lost the ball out wide, the Argentine bombed into the box, breezed past Eboue who didn’t get in tight enough, waltzed past the Song who weakly dived in and buried the ball in the top corner. Too easy, far too easy. Our defence was ridiculously deep at times last night.
I knew things were going to go wrong when 4 alchoholics came and joined me in the bar I was in. I’m like a retard magnet when I’m having a bad day…
Arsenal continued to plug away. Vela did well to play Rambo in, shame about the lack of composure from the Welshman as he blasted over.
City broke unexpectedly, Song stood rooted, Fabianski did well to put Ade off. My Sunday League team would have reacted quicker. Die for the cause mentality loses its meaning when the coach fucks the competition off as a development exam.
Merida floated a half volley cross, Rambo was unlucky to head wide.
City’s second goal came when SWP flw down the wing, cut inside and unleashed an amazing outside of the boot spectacular into the top corner. A fabulous goal, but to be expected when you’re playing at the highest level and you give top players too much time on the ball.
The final nail in the coffin came when some Eastern European player turned in a cross. By this point, I was so disinterested, I couldn’t be bothered to write his name down.
A disappointing game from a selection point of view, but not unexpected. Did Wenger really think his kids would head into that game with any sort of belief? They were sacrificed in some sort of defiant showing by a coach who is so single minded, it’s embarrassing. If getting spanked by better players is good for your development, then last night was a resounding success. All last night proved to me is that Arsenal don’t have a winning mentality and our kids aren’t that amazing.
If you don’t want to read a rant, look away now.
Arsene-al football club appear to have lost their way over the past few years. They seem to have forgotten who has allowed them to develop the club into a hugely profitable organisation… the fans. We’re the ones who put a high percentage of our cash into the club, more than any other fans, yet we’re only afforded two competitions as a priority.
Football is there for the fans, like it not, we’re the mugs who power the merry-go-round. Arsenal is not there to grease the pockets of young men, their agents and the hierarchy. If the development of a player is in conflict with the winning of a trophy… screw the player. Do you think I care, as one of the 90 percent of the population on sub 50k a year whether or not a player makes it after 3 years?
Do I fuck.
If I don’t deliver after 6 months in my role, I’m out on my ass. Do I get 3 years to develop? Not a chance. Theo does though, he doesn’t deliver and he gets a new 60k a week deal for 5 years based on what he might do.
The whole youth set up is a farce… the model is grossly flawed and I’m sick of it. It’s not even about the money… If someone earns 60k a week and they deliver me success, I’m happy. We’re dishing out 100million a year to serial under achievers. Put that number in perspective, that’d employ you 4348 people on an average 23k a year salary. Or 8872 people on minimum wage. That’s a hell of a lot of money funding something which from a sporting perspective is not working.
It’s time we took back our club, demanded value for money and got over our obsession for a coach who has clearly become complacent in the extreme.
Arsene, time to accept that your old policy of spending money was a good one. Time to accept that every player from the invincibles was a purchase bar Cole and Parlour. Time to think about something other than the clubs profit margins, and your hideously inadequate ideology. Time to grow up when you get out played and stop acting like a petulant child. It’s not Mark Hughes fault he took the game seriously.
Arsene, for an intelligent man, you’re incredibly reactionary. Why don’t we ever make a proactive signing? Why don’t we ever replace players like for like? Why have we now given up on replacing players full stop?
I’ll make a prediction. When Gallas or Vermaelen get injured, we’re going to be in alsorts of trouble because the cover isn’t adequate, just like it hasn’t been for the last 4 seasons. Why doesn’t out coach address that? We’ll all be sitting here in July blaming injuries to one of those two for our demise in February when in actual fact, we should be blaming our manager for not making the correct decisions with his squad. He has the money, there is no excuse for oversights that are so glaringly obvious, 90% of the fanbase can see them.
Grovers, I don’t like writing stuff like this, but seeing us piss away another trophy that the coach had not right to dismiss hurts. The fans who travelled up there should be refunded for that display and the coach should apologise.
The only people who seem to be getting any value out of the club are the staff. Bloated long-term contracts for accepted mediocrity that the fans are supposed to be thankful for! Lovely…
All I ask is that we compete. We’ve not managed to sustain a Premiership challenge past March for years. Not good enough. As Mourinho once said, how many managers could deliver so little success and still be safe in their job?
A total lack of respect for the fans seems to be running through the club at the moment and I’m not happy.
This is our club and I want it back.
Right, I’m off… have a great night!
Pat,
another thing: internationals…
where do I start? Chavs game – Drogba, Lampard, Terry, all ‘unfit’ to start in some two bob friendlies, then miracle, fit as fuck to spank us at THOF…
if RvP is so important for Holland, he should have told the Dutch FA to go fuck themselves – club, kid, pulled muscle, you know…
I agree Pedro. He needs to demand £50m.
We have it. He spends it, we’ll win trophies again. Wengers successful teams all had money spent on them.
The 1 game that RVP plays centrally for Holland.
It all leads back to Wenger playing him there for Arsenal!
wandarah,
Shitty have not achieved world domination, as this does not take a year and we were more advanced already, but we have declined a bit (sure, we’ve got a new stadium, but now the club struggless to sell out)…
and under Hughes they will be just Blackburn on speed…
1
Baxter, that’s always my point.
This isn’t Mark Hughes or Ruud Gullit spending 50mill, it’s one of the greatest talent scouts in the world.
He has the money available, he just doesn’t have the mentality to admit project youth is flawed majorly.
if you look at wengers career over the now 12 ish year period it can be split in half like …
1st 6 years = successful rise to world fame ..
(i think we will always be in debt with wenger for that)
2nd 6 years= frustrating -selling club mentality-
losing all the best talent , and retaining youth and injured players who failed to be sold on as his priority over EXPERIENCED PLAYERS in …
wengers minimum requirements deemed acceptable during the stadium rebuild stage …
4th spot – in EPL only ,to retain C.L proceeds
get this minimum spec each season and wenger can a continue to sell at a profit , and have job security …
if thats the sort of management you want to see
run the club then get ready for another 5 years of excuses .
Is ‘Project Youth’ just a vanity for Mr. Wenger or is an essential part of the board’s behind-the-scenes financial scam which puts their personal finances above the club’s success?
This giving Kroenke shares that he doesn’t need to pay for until he owns the club suggests that there’s serious financial stuff going on that’s in the interest of certain individuals and not the club.
Ray, if we had a wage bill of 40mill, I’d back you on the underhand dealings… but it’s 100mill… it’s hardly coming cheap!
i think most fans would rather marvel at the clubs ‘sound financial long term plans ‘ than what the clubs very existence is all about ….
F O O T B A L L !
win SHIT ! and the rest will take care of itself .
and i cant find any form of common sense when people say we DONT need to spend ..
whats the worst that can happen ?
we buy benzema for 25 mil !
next season he’s worth 40 ???…
RAY
which puts their personal finances above the club’s success?
————————–
spot on i feel what other excuse could there be ?
if your in charge of a football club and you start seeing signs of the ship sinking usually you do something about it !? dont you ?
at the very least ‘abandon ship’ !
pedro
theres always ways to cook the books . in any business .
and they are hardly successful business men if you measure the success of the football over the past 5 years ..
they would rather have a short term cash wind fall , whilst ruining the clubs immediate footballing history , over the sake of bringing in a few quality additions .which of course costs money which they FOR SOME REASON .. cough … they wont spend …
it all sounds WAY too fishy !
wenger has no problems in pocketing 4.4 mil P.A
but cant spend the fans money on quality players ?
Higuain is much better than Benzema
that’s very debatable Pat, Higuin was pants early on in his real career. I’m a big fan of his, but Benzema is absolutely class too, even though he’s finding it hard there at the moment
Higuain is the same age as Benzema no? Last season and this season he’s been great. And when you think about it, last season was his first real chance.
Benzema doesn’t impress me for France or for Madrid.
Yeah same age Pat, but it takes time to adapt to a new club when you’re young, it isn’t an age thing imo. I’m not sure he’ll ever be given the chance at Madrid, but if he doesn’t I expect him to turn out like Etoo, rather than Huntelaar
Still, one of those would do well at Arsenal. Wenger should just spend ONE summer damnit. Just try it out.
Lloris
Sagna Gallas Verm Clichy
Cesc Yaya Nasri
RVP Higuain Arshavin
Some bench depth as well, not world class necessarily
lloris pat?! Fabianski>lloris and that’ll be shown by the end of the season! RV is better than Higuain centrally too, surely there can’t be any arguments about his ability there now, or will people forget with him injured and we’ll start with the VP should be playing right, he can’t do it centrally etc etc when he’s back?!
Higuain-now that’s one player who i would like to join arsenal.out of all these youngsters out there,he would be the only one i would welcome
What really bothers me is pettiness. Buy Alonzo for 15 million win the league and sell him if need be for a profit next summer, but NOOOOOO, the board balk at upping our 13 million.
We lose out on the player’s service (EPL title was, of course, not guaranteed, but more likely with Alonzo than without him seeing the way the season panned out) and the board loses out on the player’s resale value.
gallas and vern need to step aside in that team
sagna gallas verm clichy-that’s not a very good defence
i am almost certain no gk will be bought in jan,but maybe in summer depending on fab and szczesny performances this season,no point discussing lloris yet.
I m so worried about stoke game,bcz i seriously think we could lose that one.we have song,diaby and bendtner out for this game,we will be lacking badly in physical aspect of game.who is going to stop their long balls!
i think senderos should be given a chance at dm
Ray you honestly believe that’s why we didn’t get alonso?!
lol bbk, i assume you’re joking about the defence? on paper that’s top top class
WB i’ll guarantee a victory by at least 3 goals
A,
is this ’3 goals guaranteed’ a mantra of some sort?
they are very likely to frustrate us a tiny bit – we lost to them last season, remember?
I think as we can relax and kiss league goodbye, now is the time to give Fabianski some game time IMO…
A, I’m not so optimistic about the game. This could easily be a repeat of our 0-0 draws against Fulham Westham and Sanderland, if not worse. We are really strugling in the attack at the moment (0 goals in 3 games), and other teams seem to have found a successful tactic against us.
A,we will see.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2755789/Wenger-is-Edin-for-Bosnian-ace.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=Football
just my prediction for this weekend SUGA3, a certainty in my eyes. We’ve only failed to do it once in the league other than the chelsea game, and that was against birmingham when we could’ve easily destroyed them by got complacent. Against teams like Stoke I still expect us to score goals for fun, VP or no VP, and we’ll be desperate to do so after the recent set backs.
8 points is kissing the league goodbye?! come on now – 2 games ago we were going to beat sunderland, then a win at chelsea would’ve put us top.
A,
we have lost the most important cog in our attack for a season, and no, whatever you say, there is no like for like replacement in our paper thin squad…
Stoke are just a bunch of good ol’ shitkickers and I am afraid we may bounce off them once or twice…
nah a im serious that defence is weak maybe on paper it is top class but in real life it certainly isn’t clichy and sagna couldn’t cross a road and defensively they are shit,gallas has lost it,and vern never had it,all im intrested in is them keeping the score down to zero and that does not happen enough for them to be a world class unit,
and AW’s stubborn persistence with 4-3-3 when everyone bar Our Glorious Leader and your good self says we have no personnel to continue – why let Vela & Dudu get battered on their own, when if combined upfront in 4-4-2, they would bang in goals left right & centre…
———Fabianski———–
Sagna—-Willy—TV—-Traore
—–Denilson—Cesc———
–Rosicky————Nasri—
———-Dudu—————
—————Vela———-
*stubborn persistence doesn’t help
sorry, it’s late…
Since winning the FA cup in 2005, our manager has been buying one kid after another.He has said that when his kids grow up ,they would be a force to be reckoned with. Sadly how many of the kids of the 2005 class are still around.
No one is indispensable in this world and age. If mistakes keep recurring it shows the same policy is in place.The problem with AW as some writers have said is his ego. Since winning the title in 2004, Arsenal could have won more trophies if he had bought more players with experience.
I think he better realized all the epl sides know how to counter the gunners. He has said these teams play anti soccer and hit the gunners on the break.These teams teams aint going to him time and space for his pretty weaving soccer.
In short Arsenal are like trying to burgle a house. Instead of stealth,he is trying to confront the owners of the house and in the process gets a bloody
nose.
A, tell my why we didn’t get Alonzo
I too am apprehensive about the Stoke game. With our total lack of confidence (and height) it’s hard to see us scoring or shutting them out.
But it is a home game and, if one or two players have something to prove, the current malaise could be ended as suddenly as it started.
SUGA3 let’s talk about 4-3-3 then rather than 4-4-2
4-3-3, vela, theo, nasri, rosicky, arshavin, cesc, song, denilson can play in positions that suit them better than any positions that exist in 4-4-2
4-4-2, eduardo, bendter can play in positions that suit them better than any positions in 4-3-3
there is noone in world football like for like with vp! arshavin, vela, bendtner, and eduardo to a lesser extent can all play the central striking role well. We’ll see anyways how we do tomorrow without vp.
In that team of yours nasri, rosicky, and denilson would suffer from playing in a position and system that suits them worse than 4-3-3, and dudu and vela aren’t exactly a great partnership as a front two, still no physicality….
Ray AlonSo didn’t get bought because Liverpool changed their minds at the last minute about selling him to us, simple as that! Their board vetoed the Barry deal, so they wouldn’t let Alonso go!
well, I recall to go back onto the winning streak as soon as fans learned some humility a few times, so there is a cause for optimism
Ray I expect us to destroy Stoke, as we have every team at home apart from Chelsea. Chelsea are a special case, and even against them with their superior physicality we totally dominated possession, but didn’t take the few chances we made, and they were superbly organised to prevent us getting through. No other team is that organised, certainly noone outside the top 4.
well, A, we just don’t have the physicality upfront anyway, so maybe, just maybe, two strikers with great movement could dazzle a defense or two…
way better than frustrating both of them by asking the to play upfront on their own and watch our fullbacks’ ‘crosses’ IMO…
no good partnership? I remember a few games where they linked up pretty well…
A,
how about Sunderland?
WB re Dzeko I wouldn’t believe transfer rumours in the papers, but you never know!
Denilson is a fucking walking crab football virus…
SUGA3 that’s the whole point of three forwards, with two starting out wide! It gives three players plus a midfielder or two midfielders freedom of movement, rather than being more confined to their positions as in 4-4-2! How many games have they played in a front two together?
regarding sunderland we are TOTALLY different away from home, compared to at home. VP wouldn’t have necessarily made much difference against Sunderland imo anyways. At home Chelsea is a special case, other than that game we’ve scored at least three goals in every game, and only failed to win by three goals once
A – come on, that is just bonkers: with RvP we would have obliterated Sunderland and given Chavs a game…
he is Mr Arsenal and he should be the captain, not Cesc…
IMO, with 4 in midfield there is more options to pass and move – it is easier against options that has physical advantage, but each to his own
anyway, with this hattrick, I shall bid you good night
SUGA3 We struggled to create in away games at Celtic, Utd, Fulham, and West Ham with him in the side. I’d say it’s far from guaranteed that it would have made that much difference.
We’ll see against Stoke though, we’ve played two games without him that we’ve struggled in the past in with him, a tough away game after an international break, and against Chelsea. The telling times will be situations as on Saturday, when with him we’d create chances galore without a shadow of a doubt
SUGA3 that leaves only 2 in central midfield, and one on each flank, rather than an extra man in midfield who can cover both flanks, or centrally, which frees up a central midfielder, and both wide men to have much more freedom! AND an extra man in there to help us in the physical battle!
anyways, nite nite
Ashvin says Arsenal are dwarfs playing in the land of giants. Well the latest is Arsenal are signing another brazilian . He is no giant.
AW better know the other teams are resorting physique to counter his bewitching soccer.
In the 2004 teams of invincibles,there were few shorties most were 180 cm plus.
Ashvin says Arsenal are dwarfs playing in the land of giants. Well the latest is Arsenal are signing another brazilian . He is no giant.
AW better know the other teams are resorting to physique to counter his bewitching soccer.
In the 2004 teams of invincibles,there were few shorties most were 180 cm plus.
ray
100% right people dont think of the possible re-sale of players ..
why buy senderos and make 2 million in 5 years .
or get torres for 24 mil and sell him for 50 in 2 years !!
knowing wenger and his phobia of being 30 or over , he would only get a 22 year old torres or alike .. so the chances are by buying ANY player we can stand to make more $$$ on a top quality signing !
wenger gambles on inferior starting line ups and resting players , so why not just go TOP SHELF and take a gamble ? ….
surely when you get a top class player you arent taking much of a risk .. and even if he is unsuccessful you dont stand to lose much ..as you can re -sell …
and surely not worth going understaffed because of it !
it would make me think that the board has no available funds or that it would stun cash flow
by getting new signings and remember its not very often wenger loses money on players ..
but getting rid of some dead would would ease the wage bill also ..
smart stuff that isnt being done .
I would love to see Dzeko come in. He’s class. I really think if we got Dzeko, Matuidi, and a CB (leave GK for summer) in January, we would have a shot at actually being a team capable of doing things. I think it would be better to play 4 in the mid, pair song with Matuidi, as matuidi is a flamini like box to box run everywhere DM, and song is huge and powerful. That would make things easier on back 4, and it would break more up in the midfield as Denilson isnt really that good at the defensive aspect of the game IMO. then pair RVP with Dzeko up front. Woooh!
New GK
Sagna-new cb subotic hopefully- Vermy- clichy
—————song————-
——–cesc——matuidi——-nasri
———-Dzeko————RVP
What a crock of shit. Everyone’s jumping ship again. Arsenal fans do my head in. We’re a much bigger club than the Carling fucken cup, and when win something bigger this year, all you witchhunters will be praising the genius of Wenger and the beautiful football AFC plays. Mourhino? the long ball specialist? No thanks. You dont win every day people. Deal with it. Pedro I expected more from you.
Fucking Walcott injured again?
Not that he makes any difference to us but fuck me does that cunt love an injury.
I hope Wenger never shakes Hughes hand again. He could make it his “thing” like a catchphrase.
go up to him like he’s going to shake his hand then do the thumb on the nose finger wiggle thing, or pull his hand out of his pocket and it has a massive sponge glove on it, shit like that.
He could do him with the old fake hand that comes off routine or have some dogshit hidden in his hand and start shouting “sparkys shit himself look at his hand!”
I’d fucking love that.
We’d all be wondering what will Old Wenger stitch Sparky up with this time? It could become a big deal.
Good Morning
“As for the other players we had injured, the long-term ones I do not even speak about. But the players who looked to be shorter – like (Gael) Clichy, (Abou) Diaby and (Nicklas) Bendtner – will not be available. And, of course, Song is suspended for the weekend.”
Great just great
Maybe Arsene will get the old boots out and play himself.
we need some tall players and Wenger is about 9 foot 6, he should get himself out there, he’d be alright defending setpieces.
8 pts behind if we win our game in hand.
Now think about it this way, City beat Chelsea this weekend. All of a sudden, its only 5 pts…if we beat Stoke of course.
As long as the players haven’t lost belief, we’re still in this.
The Blackburn-Chelsea game showed us how much Chelsea rely on Drogba. They’ll drop points in January, guaranteed.
Pat
We must consistently win our games. Then and then only other teams loosing ground has any meaning at all. If we loose games like Sunderland then all speculation becomes meaningless.
georgesydaust,
there has been a misunderstanding here – no one is ‘jumping ship’, there is just some general dissent on here about where the ship is going, that’s all…
and oh, morning all
georgesydaust
3 fuckin defeats on the trot ?
not so sure what your all gleeful about ?!
worst part about it is most fans with half a brain knew we went in LIGHT – ON this season and wenger did fuck all about it ..
the the year be 6 … with no silverware .
pray tell how are we a better club when we havent won it EVER ! ..
and NO littlewoods cup doesnt count ..
we have no cups with CARLING as sponsor on it !
we DONT OWN ONE !
the clubs didnt over spend like some do now
the game has changed and so has the trophy and more importantly what it means ..
you only think we are better than the Carling cup because wenger has brain washed you into thinking so !
fuck i could do with that ben and jerrys ice cream !
GOOD MORNING EVERYONE…..
http://www.imscouting.com/global_news_item.aspx?id=3853
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/incoming/Premier-League-bosses-queue-up-to-proclaim-Arsenal-boss-Wenger-a-bad-loser-article243109.html
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/football-banter/Top-10-reasons-why-Arsene-Wenger-might-not-have-shaken-Mark-Hughes-hand-following-Carling-Cup-defeat-10-10-article242565.html
Is is a coincidence that we’re playing crab football and lacking punch and creativity now that Denilson is fit?
i could totally understand the club if we won the thing a hat full of times !
wenger cant surely think he can still win
the EPL ?
he will throw everything at the C.L trying to jag a win ..
so if someone with a rational brain for success ran the club we would at least try to win some accolade to breed some belief !
it all starts there ! ….
there is no magical movie where arsenal suddenly win the EPL and C.L in the same year
from no where , being under manned and down on fit bodies !and there best striker out for 5 months (probably the year) & with a shit goalie
the only way to turn the ship around is start small but finish 1st every time .
i dont think too many fans would complain if we finished 4th in the EPL yet won the FA and cc cup !
beggars cant be choosers !
Arsene Wenger’s problems this week have mounted with the news England winger Theo Walcott has picked up a hamstring injury and will miss Saturday’s Barclays Premier League clash against Stoke.
Walcott, 20, played the second half of the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea on Sunday, with Gunners manager Wenger then selecting his fringe players for the Carling Cup loss to Manchester City by the same scoreline.
The hamstring complaint is described by Arsenal as “short term”, and Walcott will be desperate to return as soon as possible as he is yet to complete a match this season after shoulder and knee problems.
Wenger also has Alex Song suspended for the Stoke game at the Emirates Stadium but right-back Bacary Sagna has recovered from his ankle injury.
“We had Sagna out injured but, normally, he will be available,” said Wenger. “However, Theo Walcott will not be available. He has a hamstring injury.
“As for the other players we had injured, the long-term ones I do not even speak about. But the players who looked to be shorter – like (Gael) Clichy, (Abou) Diaby and (Nicklas) Bendtner – will not be available. And, of course, Song is suspended for the weekend.”
Walcott’s absence denies Wenger another option for the central striker role following Robin van Persie’s ankle injury, which will rule out the Holland forward for five months.
Eduardo and Carlos Vela shared the duties during the Chelsea reverse.
Wenger has not spoken to Van Persie yet but has positive news following his surgery and left-back Kieran Gibbs’ recovery from a foot operation.
“Kieran is doing very well,” said Wenger. “I had him on the phone and it looked to be completely fine.
“I have not talked to Robin yet but there again the news I got from the surgery was it went very, very well. There was a lot of disturbance on our side recently [about his injury] but the surgery went well.”
rohan
i think we play crab football once the belief is gone ! ( and RVP )
Premier league managers queue up to proclaim Wenger a bad looser.
Sir Alex threw a strop and blasted the ref when he lost.
Did all managers loose their voice?
Sir Alex is a good looser, one of our own?
eg,
Its crab blogging, all ganging to pull Wenger down
SUGA3 Says:
December 4, 2009 at 00:21
Denilson is a fucking walking crab football virus…
PMSL Fucking Comedy Gold
ddm,
I aim to please
So stoke with Dudu and Vela forward.
I dont remember us having any target man to play against stoke. We are badly missing a target man.
Wenger should have got Chamakh. We would have been far far better off.
Unbelievable!! Walcott is injured!!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2756788/Arsene-Wenger-hits-back-at-critics.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=Football
Nigel Winterburn has leapt to the defence of Arsene Wenger, amid accusations that the player’s former manager – according to Manchester City boss Mark Hughes – lacked grace in defeat following Wednesday evening’s 3-0 loss.
“I don’t think he lacks grace,” he told Sky Sports News, before commenting on the importance of retaining cordiality. “I think it is more important to shake hands when you lose – if you only do it when you win then it looks like you are gloating a little bit.
“But you can look at incidents through all managers and see where they have done things wrong. I have done things in my career that I wished I hadn’t and regretted it but you live with it.”
He continued: “I would like to see him shake the hand of Hughes after the game. But what you have to look at is whether Wenger thought that he was being disrespectful and decided he was not going to bother.
“Or maybe it was sheer frustration and at the end of the game he was so disappointed in his team that he just walked straight down the tunnel.
“Hughes and Wenger have got a little bit of history going back to Blackburn. Wenger will say that if I am not happy with what he is doing to me then I am certainly not going to shake his hand at the end of it. There is no written code or law to say that you have to do it, is there?
“Wenger may not admit it, but when he looks back he may think maybe to defuse the whole situation I should have shaken Mark Hughes’ hand. But he hasn’t and it gives us something to talk about.”
The Daily Mail reports that the player is certain he has played his last game for his current club after spending some of last summer on trial at the Emirates.
The Gunners are believed to have had bids of £1.5m and £2.75m rejected as Juventude were holding out for £7m.
However, it now seems that the Brazilian outfit will settle for £5m, which will wipe out the club’s debts.
Zezinho has also been linked with Liverpool, but it seems that north London is now set to be his destination very soon.
“My time at Juventude ended on Saturday. Until now, I thought that I would continue in the Gaucho, but my agent said that it is impossible,” he is reported as saying. “He told me that Arsenal will submit a new offer to Juventude – the third in a year, it seems – and this time it will be solved.
“I don’t know about any other interested team. The only proposal is from Arsenal, the others were for trials.
“I don’t know about the price. I can only say that Juventude will receive 70 per cent, I’ll receive 20 per cent and my agent 10 per cent.”
However, the left-sided playmaker, 18 in March, would not be available to play competitively for the Gunners until next season.
Shaking hand is too much fuss.
Shaking hands originated in an era where there was no pressure on manager to dry hump the camels that belonged to the club owners like Hughes does now. It was relevant in an era when football was played in a sporting spirit and money and money were just two of the many reasons to be involved in the game, and not the only two reasons.
The tradition has carried forward and is solely based on the amount of respect that each manager shares towards the other manager. Showing the kind of disrespect that Hughes did while the game was still 0-0, I would have shook hands and gave him a piece of my own mind, I am sure Wenger would have done that had we not been outplayed and had we lost by just 2-3 or 3-2. But that was not the case.
The disrespect and the frustration compelled Wenger not to aggravate the situation by exchanging words with a manager who had already been on the cockiness of a teenage street player since the first half.
He took the right decision. However nothing should be taken away from how bad our performance was, and this episode is just the result of our display.
The team is not letting the manager speak up loud.
No one is dumb to go on and on about how the other team lacks history and we are glorious and not get retorted with “just look at the band of losers you have that we just spanked”
We haven’t scored a goal in 270 mintues of football.
Are we gonna break that duck against Stoke?
What if they get in our faces?
No RvP, Bendtner, Walcott, Diaby.
A miracle somebody…anybody!!!!
I hope these Dzeko rumours have something to them…I Really do…
Hopefully Jan should see Dzeko and Matuidi come in…
It isnt the first time Wenger refused to shake hands. It wont be the last.
Where is this club heading? Please. Where is it heading?
Morning All.
Walcott ?
OK, the guy may get 60k a week, but how frustrated must he be?
Morning all, new post, sorry it’s late!
I won’t shake the hand of a man who calls me a f****** ******, check the daily express.
AW is a sore loser? show me a good loser and i will show you a loser. somebody said and i believe him. We are all bad losers as shown by the above comments.
I still believe in AW and it seems that he is still perfroming well in the eyes of money, check out Chipo’s questionnaire @ 10:07.
He must buy! A keeper, central dfender,defensive midfielder x 2 & a striker ( one whos tough, strong big & can score goals like macDonald used to)
Wenger under pressure
Arsene Wenger has long cherished his reputation as one of English football’s great sages, but he will take no great satisfaction in seeing his most recent prediction born out.
Asked at the start of last month where he felt this season’s title race would be won and lost, the Arsenal manager was unequivocal in his response.
“November is important,” he said. “Traditionally it has not been a good month for us, but I explain that by the fact we had more injuries, it is the first period when they kick in. It depends on the fixtures too – you can have two or three difficult games in November.”
Now, as he stands on the cusp of the traditionally frantic festive period, Wenger can reflect gloomily on how history has repeated itself.
Arsenal’s title challenge, which appeared in rude health just four weeks ago, has suffered two devastating blows thanks to defeats at Sunderland and, more pointedly, at home to Chelsea, results which have left them 11 points adrift of their west London rivals ahead of Saturday’s home game with Stoke City.
Even the club’s famed youngsters have seen their progress checked in the most brutal fashion courtesy of a 3-0 League Cup quarter-final reverse at Manchester City.
Combine all that with serious injuries to Robin van Persie, Arsenal’s most potent attacker this season, and the reliable left-back Gael Clichy, and a season which promised so much is already teetering on the brink.
Next year, Wenger might just be tempted to relocate his summer holiday to the dank autumn days of November.
Criticism
The Frenchman has been his usual bullish self in the face of a fresh wave of scepticism over various aspects of his managerial methodology: the reluctance to spend heavily in the transfer market, the almost complete absence of rugged physicality in a squad overladen with small, scampering attackers, the dogged refusal to field his senior players in the League Cup and thus by-pass another chance to end a trophy drought which already stretches back to 2005.
Wenger has always been fiercely principled but there have been occasions in recent weeks when his determination to defend his methods has come across as self-delusional.
His refusal to acknowledge the performance of Didier Drogba after the defeat to Chelsea was remarkable for a man whose views on the tactical and technical nuances of the game are so renowned, while his sulky reaction to the defeat at City on Wednesday – Wenger stomped down the players’ tunnel without bothering to shake hands with his opposite number, Mark Hughes – was graceless.
Arsenal supporters are not turning on Wenger – indeed, it is hard to imagine a day when they do so in significant numbers.
But it is debatable how long they will be prepared to pay the eye-watering prices routinely charged at the Emirates stadium in return for watching a team with no realistic hopes of winning a major prize.
Wenger might yet come under pressure to overhaul his rigid footballing philosophy next summer.
For all their recent troubles, Arsenal should still have enough to account for Stoke on Saturday. The Potters might boast the kind of strong-arm tactics which can traditionally ruffle the feathers of Wenger’s dainty team, but slip-ups on home soil remain a rarity for the Gunners.
Stoke are also notoriously poor travellers, having won just once away from the Britannia stadium all season, although they have taken heart from Arsenal’s slump in form.
“I’m hoping that it will play into our hands,” Andy Wilkinson, the defender, said. “But you don’t know, you don’t want the backlash of it. We’ll need to be right at the top of our game.
“Our away performances are much better than last year. We’re going to places, we’re believing in ourselves and we’re not letting the occasion get the better of us. But by no means is it going to be an easy game for us.”
Hands down Arsenal has some of the worst fans in the premier league.