Our little Russian reminded us yesterday of what a super, super talent he really is, I cannot come up with enough superlatives to cover his performance in this game.
I have to say the starting line up filled me with horror, Eboue back in midfield again, no, surely we have better options than that, well we do, but Wenger put him there regardless.
A 5 man midfield at home against Stoke was a strange choice and it still puzzles me, but to be honest, when we played, we still looked like we were playing 4-3-3, the fact that we only had one striker dulled the point of the sword a tad, but the football we played was amazing.
I won’t do a match report because that’s Pedro’s job, and he was partying last night so you’re stuck with me, thank god we won eh!
I’ll start with a 9 for the team, so no one can say I gave one more than I gave another.
We got an early penalty from a great little jink through from Arshavin, and when Cesc stepped up I just hoped that when he side footed it, he didn’t side foot it the way Sorenson was going, well he did and the score stayed 0-0, shortly after our diminutive little Russian playmaker scored a fantastic goal, much deserved and very, very accurate.
Then we broke through again and the post saved an own goal, Cesc latched onto the rebound but Eboue cleared it off the line for Stoke. …Yes I know he plays for Arsenal.
Second half saw the end of Rosicky so Vela came on, Arsene, you must not renew Rosicky’s contract, he is a crock and we can’t afford to keep him, do it on a pay as you play basis, but don’t give him a shiny new contract. I love him, but enough is enough.
Sorenson kept them in the game, oh how I wished he played for us, the first three Delap long throws that came in, the hapless Almunia flapped at them, what does Wenger see in him? Someone please tell me, there must be an AKB reading this that has some idea, I won’t hold my breath though.
Tony Pulis substituted Eboue shortly after and the magnificent Ramsey entered the stage, he started those wonderful little one-two’s and the team started to get closer and play better, shortly after he scored from a great little move and another one-two. Arsene you have got to start giving him the time you give to the Marmites, this kid can play anywhere in midfield and looks the part.
And yes, I know Tony Pulis is the Stoke manager!
Some may say the chavs lost so we are back in it, others may say it was only Stoke so don’t get too excited, me, I think all the games are tough and we have our work cut out finishing in the top four.
I will say our midfield look much, much better than it has done for weeks, we looked more like a team that could move the ball swiftly from one end to the other, so draw your own conclusions from that one.
I would be unfair if I didn’t say well done to Sagna, I thought he had a great game, the whole team looked like they had a toe up their arses for this one, and rightly so.
Great performance Arsenal, get your cheque book out boss, we really do need to spend some money, and before you say Dzeko is out of our price range, you may want to ask Wolfsburg, how much first, they may surprise you.
Have a great day Grovers, we won, we closed the gap and we are back in front of Tottenham again!
I believe you suggested him but at that time he believed his squad was good enough. That’s why buying Arsh was an admission of the fact that it wasn’t.
You don’t get to where he is if you don’t accept your mistakes. I think the lack of signings are more to do with his fondness for a bargain than anything…
Last 3/4 games show that players like Denilson,Eboue,Vela and Almunia are not good enough for Arsenal. Also Rosicky is so injury prone – no way should he be offered another 3/4 year contract. The jury is out on Ramsay and Walcott because of their age but I am not sure that they will be the big stars that everybody predicts. The squad is still 5 players short of being good enough to win the PL or CL. All we can hope is to retain a top four spot this season – no trophies.
Mayank,
at approximately £5M a year he is not much of a bargain himself, is he?
Berba actually gets dropped because he offers nothing if he doesn’t score or assist. He hates running about for the team.
Top post Geoff, really good report!
Glad to see rambo come on and make a difference… He should be starting in the midfield, not eboue.
I think carlton cole is out for 3 months!
Let’s get dzeko…!or that half english kid they have!
There are many more better paid managers with smaller reputations. I think he could get much better than 5m elsewhere anyway, Man City and RM for 2.
About Denilson, I accept he is invisible but not really a wall. I specifically watched what he was doing yesterday. Song is miles ahead of him as a DM. Also he is not good enough to play as one of the attacking CMs. Ramsey any day over Denilson. Denilson makes many mistakes when passing and he doesnt make really penetrating passes too.
De Jong was brilliant yesterday. I think he must have been MOTM. If I am not wrong he had a very good game against us as well.
what do you guys think abt Ochoa…da mexican goalie
Theo and Diaby should play some minutes in mid week. Then we’ll have a nice balance back in the squad with Song back, and Bendtner back around xmas. I really think this is the Dane’s big chance. He hasn’t played in the middle for a few years now, and he is killer there forr denmark. My team for Liverpool;
Almunia
Sagna Vermaelen Gallas Traore
Fabregas SONG Denilson
Diaby Eduardo Arshavin
Bench: Walcott, Nasri, Vela, Eboue, Ramsey, Silvestre, Fabianski.
Mayank, you know that’s not true… don’t you?
Wenger is the third highest paid in the world!
i think people are really unfair on eboue preventing a goal. Arshavin did it and no one said anything. Fab misses a penalty no one complains. or is because he is a marmite that everyone is on his case?
Plus his massive bonuses for spending fuck all.
From the top of my head SAF Mourhino and Ancelotti make more than him.
Old list but i suppose not much would have changed, bar the value of the Pound v/s Euro…
Maureen, Alchy & Lotti get paid for getting football results though…
Scolari is jobless atm (I think), Hiddink’s salary was combined and Capello is not a club manager currently…
Namibian I was joking for fucks sake, don’t you learn humour and irony in Africa?
Correction:
Scolari is now managing FC Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan)…
And that Wenger salary doesn’t included his bonus for not spending, he is the only manager that gets it too, which is why I say it’s a conflict of interest.
Umm… Namibian didn’t say anything to you specifically and irony might be hard to get over the net esp for a non-native speaker. No need to get so worked up.
@Gunner90 i agree walcott may/may not get consistency. I think rambo will keep on getting better though. He is not as feeble as theo. He does not get thrown off the ball as much and has working shoulders. He also has vision. How many times have we seen theo turn turn lose the ball? the more i see of rambo the more i think he is the real deal
Mayank shut the fuck up.
Did anyone see the Gerard dive??
http://www.southasiablog.com/2009/09/top-ten-highest-paid-football-coaches.html
If he made lesser money would you be happier with the results?
Well done Geoff.
Namibian Gooner, totally agree with you Fab4. He had a very average game yesterday but no one would mention that. He lost the ball too many times, mis-passed and got dispossessed too easily. Also, he missed a penalty, secondly he hit the ball so hard like he was trying from 35 yards. It’s not Eboue’s fault, how the hell was he supposed to get of the way when the ball was travelling at the speed of light and hit his knee. All Fab4 should have done was just tap the ball in. For God Sake, you’re only 3 yards away from the goal.
Now that was a great example of irony.
Gunners are you having a pop at Fabregas because he’s white? And Spanish?
* on Fab4
it’s not about the money, Mayank – we want Our Glorious Leader to deliver, not to satisfy own ego with the Arsenal Lab that produces great skilful players, but no end result…
at the moment it seems we could nick a few specialists from the Milan Lab – they somehow manage to keep a bunch of fucking pensioners fit…
Geoff, I’m not having a pop at Fab4. He is my favourite player but I would question his dedication when he is not giving his 100%.
Geoff,
to be fair, Fabregas did not have the best of games (by his standards) yesterday
I did Ooby – surprise, surprise, no press backlash…
apparently rosicky out for 3-4 weeks.
le rosick list:
djourou
clichy
gibbs
rvp
bendtner
diaby
eduardo
gallas
eboue
traore
walcott – should be fit for olympiakos
think we won’t risk eboue, traore, gallas and eduardo.
So line-up for the game??
Almunia
Sagna Vermaelen Senderos Silvestre
Fabregas Song Denilson
Ramsey Walcott Vela
Subs: Fabianksi, Bartley, Merida, Wilshere, Nasri, Arshavin, Watt.
Guys I was having a pop at the fact that so many people today completely missed the Eboue tongue in cheek comment, and so many have suggested it’s because Eboue is not a European, as usual.
That why I was being double ironic about Cesc, I didn’t really mean it!
————–Fabianski—————
Ebowie—Song—–Senderos—Silvestre
—————Denilson—————
—–Ramsey————-Merida——–
—Walcott——Watt——-Vela——-
screw UEFA…
would even consider resting Vela and putting Sunu in there (if registered)…
Goals on Sunday just laughed off Gerard dive. Cunts. Shouldnt be surprised I guess.
The way Geoff carries on about Song, you will think we lost to Chelsea from the mid. I think we lost from allowing crosses in, ball watching defenders and bad goalie/defender communication. Song and Verm are the only hard men left in this effeminate team. Gallas injures easily, so I haven’t counted him. Song only needs to add shooting to his game to become complete.
Bench:
Al, Bartley, Coquelin, Wilshere, Arshavin, Vela
an frankly, I would not expect anything less than a draw, as Olympiakos are shit…
arshvin will get better as the winter goes by
the lad likes cold weather, i wonder why hehe
I don’t think I mention Song in this post Confident, as far as the chav game goes, it was Wenger that pulled him off not me.
Gooby, AA will get better as soon as he gets all the ‘season break’ out of his system…
I saw him at Barnet and he looked like he just came back from a good month long bender in Russia…
Since back in september 2003 when we lost at home to Inter Milan (0-3) we haven’t lost against any “foreign” clubs at home…
We have played 33 home games since then…
26 games won
7 games drawn
68 goals scored
9 goals conceaded
Only 2 times have we lost in the CL since that Inter game and both times it was english opponents, (Chelsea 1-2, & Man United 1-3)
So the conclusion is, if we’re not drawn against Chelsea or Man United in the QF & SF of the CL we stand a good chance of winning it…kinda’…
note that we won the away game against Inter that season with 5-1!!! so we would have gone through if it had been a knockout game…
Geoff, Not starting a fight but I get your thoughts on the bloke. I read your blog daily, so I know your thoughts on him – which is Ok. Thats the reason for your blog… having opinions.
Do we need another DM – sure, a pacier one with confidence to shoot. Do we need another central defender-yes. Do we need a winger- yes. Do we need a tall fast striker irrespective of VP’s injury- Yes! Do we need a goalkeeper –Yessssss! See the club is not balanced and I have always blamed Wenger for this.
Then we are in agreement Confident! I’m glad you keep reading, you are always welcome.
haha I just got tickets to the FIFA club world cup in Abu Dhabi. The school gave them to me, how awesome is that?
I’ve tickets for AlAhli against Auckland ( haha what a borefest ) and the semi-finals…
Not that confident though is he
Well Ooby, thats thanks to Le Prof. For our money even I could buy a better balanced squad.
Ooh you lucky thing Rohan
Agreed Confident. But at least AW has consistantly kept us better than Stoke, more or less!
Geoff – Spot on re Ramsey. Quality player, should get in the team every time over Denilson in my opinion.
Not sure how you see Denilson better than Song. Denilson is not the real deal, whereas Song can do the hatchet job in front of the defence.
Why Chiris Hughton will did bid for Westham ace
Ans;
It would be like carrying Cole to Newcastle
did=not
Confident, are you saying that we must buy a whole new team? You mentioned every position on the football pitch!!
THAT’S A GREAT IDEA!!!! Sorry about the caps, but getting rid of Fabregas’ best friend (Rosicky) is a stupid idea, he’s already half way out the door and you want to sell his best friend in the club. The person who he says he spends most of his free time with? The person who consoles him after bad games and the person he said has helped him become the player he is today?
No just no, selling on Rosicky is not a good idea at all, we’ve stuck with him on the injury table for over a year and we shouldn’t quit on him now, it would not breed confidence in our oft injured squad to think that if they suffer a big injury they’ll be sold.
Are you all crazy? Ramsey as a DM?? He screwed it up against Sunderland and Mancity. Denilson had a pretty good game. Ramsey sure is talented. But it is quite early for him to be a regular.
Only if this blog can analyse games rather than just giving their pointless opinions(like Song needs to be faster and needs to score more goals!).
Confident, are you in line to replacing Rafa Benitez at Liverpool? I am hopeful because they are my biggest rivals…
Bongo,
sure I’d keep Rosicky, but on a pay as you play deal – it’s not like we’re selling him, his contract runs out and giving him another 3 year deal, out of which he could play 6 months is just not justifiable…
we can always buy Cesc a new mate
Typical Spud.
Totally deluded….
Liverpool will finish higher than 10th
yid,
yep, Denilson is brilliant
come on, BR, Spuds are looking allright this season, and if they beat Everton they will be above us in the table, game in hand or not…
their goal difference is worryingly similar to ours too…
Suga, great coming from your mouth!
Does anyone here read articles by Jonathan Wilson?
Great articles… top analysis. The best football journo around.
3 in a row!
5 actually.
Lets get Romelu Lukaku.
yid,
no offence mate, but today I am Toffees fan
man, I like good NL banter – used to work in Archway Tower, both set of supporters would rip piss out of each other
6 feet 3 inches. 95 kg. Great goalscorer. Can hold the ball up and is incredibly fast too. He is hailed as the new Drogba…
Lets look at Wengers recent ‘proper’ signings, I’m struggling to see many sucesses, with the exception of Vermaelen & AA
Nasri still nowhere near finished article,
Rosicky keeps the Doc & physio’s busy,
Eduardo, granted was stunted by the injury – but we’re still waiting value,
4 yrs ago he went spending crazy with Walcott, Diaby & Lazy Cunt. Two have failed to make any impression & the other was a failure as an individual & Thank Fuck for that Cunt Hughes.
Thats why its time to buy quality & no fucking maybe’s
SUGA, why would that offend me maite?
dunno, perhaps I’ve made ‘offensive’ assumption based on your nick
Suga.
What do you mean “come on”?
I have a whole family of Spuds. I am the only Gooner and have been fighting the good fight for 2 (soon to be 3) generations.
If we can’t take the piss out of each other, what hope is there ?
And Pond life is Pond life,
SUga I am jewish…
Any news on Gallas and Traore injuries? Also, hi guys!
Hi Maciek. How do you do?
yid,
cool, just made the wrong assumption of you being a Spud
*yellow cards himself*
No problems Suga, I rule out a yellow myself thus saving you from suspension.
BR,
whole family of Spuds? like in ‘Dwight Hart Lane’ with you being Gustavo?
yid
Czesc Maciek
nope, no news as yet – no need to worry, both should be OK for Sunday, possibly just a smokescreen to be able to field a team of kids v Olympiakos…
Hi Yid. I’m ok. I see many Tottenham supporters( I seee Your nickname) like Arsenal blogs.LOL. I see, You make many valid and intelligent points. But I must disagree on Denilson and De Jong. Deni is poor man’s Dutchman( my opinion). What about Your top4 chances this season. Have You heared about David Bentley? He used to be an Arsenal player but I think he would have been great for You….:-)
Take care, mate. Best wishes and no offence.
Thanks Suga.Czy Finest już wytrzeźwiał?LOL.
Yid, who’s got a pointless opinion, or did I read your comment wrong?
So Wenger has just come out and said this – ‘It’s a vicious circle when you have been out for a long time. Eduardo had not played for 18 months, Tomas has not played for 18 months, when you come back, one or two games, your body has to get used to producing the energy levels again and it’s difficult. Nobody masters that’
So that’s what pisses me of, he said in August, he wouldn’t buy any new players because having Rosicky and Eduardo back was like have two new signings.
So why didn’t he factor the above garbage into that. He just talks constant bollocks.
Wonder if the Spuds can score more tan we did at Goodison ?
I guess the Toffees will field a youth team.
Even Crouch could score…….
No offence to you geoff. You are a great writer. I was referring to a select few who were making great sense.
Maciek, I greeted you in the hope of making a friend but…I am no spud.
Looks like rosicky is out for a month.He should buy a new winger is january or should give wilshere more oppurtunities.
Torres be might be fit for our game.I really hope he misses that game
who the fuck cares if torres plays. If he scores a hatrick, we will score 4
Torres will definaly be fit for our game, I have no doubt!
Ha, ha Yid, fair enough mate!
I see Yid. Be my friend if You want.I would be happy. have You heard about Cetin from Galata? He is a great central defender and Drogba said that he is a monster of a defender. And he is valued at 10m and wants to play abroad. Would be my choice. About this kid from Anderlecht- Lukaku( sp?). Is he THAT good?
So it will be another Torres vs Silvestre match and another Mikael f*ck up. GREAT. I miss Adams and Keown, Cambpell days. They would have tought Torres a few things.Why we must play with such a dross like Traore or Senderos/Silvestre?
dunno about finest, I saw him posting here earlier today
Lukaku is 16 years old.
Fuck that!
But Cetin.
Yes he sounds amazing and just what we need!!
Maciek,
Traore started looking better and better after shaking off the rust – it was unfortunate for him to play the first 2 games v Southern & Northern Chavs in quick succession w/o having any proper match fitness…
BEASTY!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMHxBHKSoNM
as for Silvestre – well, he was purchased as stopgap for the likes of Djourou and despite getting a lot of stick for being an ex Manure player and a little shit initially, he behaved like a professional and had a few decent games for us…
as far as I am concerned, it’s a shame that Sendy got frozen out, as he is much better option that Silvestre IMO…
Thanks Suga.It’s nice to hear Finest is home and dry.LOL.I rate Traore, I just have expected more from him. Maybe to much?
Samir-yes, mate, he is a a BEAST. Cana You imagine Drogba shaking his pants?
Cetin has DOMINATED both of Ronaldo and Drogba.
We need some agression,strength and height like that.
His presence would stop players thinking they can push us around. I.E. Chelsea and that cunt for Standard Liege on Fabregas the other day…..
Why cannt we get someone like Zidane, who whould dive when neccessary and kick Metaradsi’s as
se when neccessary.
Suga, mate. A few decent games? Name me 3.
Chelsea forward Didier Drogba is known to be a fan of Cetin. Drogba said: “I have never struggled like this against any defence in the English Premier League. Servet is devilish. I could hear him breathe and it sent chills down the back of my neck.”
The terrifying 6ft 4in centre half, who was linked to Chelsea earlier this year, could be offloaded in January as manager Frank Rijkaard looks to reconfigure his failing defence.
He was apparently scouted recently by Arsenal and has been tracked by Spurs since the start of the year.
He has a £10million price tag and AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Cologne are also interested.
did not look bad againt Shitty (bear in mind his age, being 4th choice and the quality of the opposition) and WBA, scored against Spuds as well…
at £10M I would snap their arm off…
on the other note: Come on you Toffees, nick a point or 3
Samir,Suga. Aside from Cetin are thre any more quality players around here(central defenders)?
My first signing would be a world class physio!
Cetin has the ugly thing going for him. He scares people even drogba.
I would rather get Subotic or Fazio or both. Both are tall and goods players. We need a couple of good tall defenders(I dont think Djorugh is that good.) so we can have a tall short combo in defence.
*good, Djourou
Damn well be 5 points off chelsea if we win next week.
same as we were acouple of weeks back.
Huh? They might win their game too you know…
MrB. Can we win at Anfield with Silvestre in our defence?
hey Maciek Pigs may fly.
Who would have thought we would have had a 4:4 draw.
U have to keep believeing my dear chap.
Hope springs eternal.
Besides the scouse army is playing shite. Im gonna watch the game with my Scouse mate. Its gonna be great ill take the piss nomatter what the result.
Im worried about my other gooner mate though, he gets realy emotional and goes mute if were loosing.
If we hadn’t lost stupid points at West Ham and Sunderland we could be on 33 points now with a game in hand.
One point behind Man U and 3 behind Chelsea with a game in hand.
Imagine how far we could be in front if Wenger had bought some quality in the Summer.
We would not have lost V Man U, Man City, Sunderland, Chelsea and we would have beaten West Ham…….
FFS!
Cetin and TV as central defenders could be a strong pairing.
Although they might be a little too intimidating for some of our kids in training. Might stunt their growth…
http://arsenalcolumn.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/no-false-dawn-about-andrey-arshavin-experiment/
LOL Gordo, Im sure thats how Wenger jutifies his behaviour.
Excellent link SuperGunner! Brilliant analysis. Sensible responses too. Perfect Blog.
WHy am I banned???????????????????//
Sorry, all my comments were getting deleted. Apologies guys.
BTW, brilliant link Supergunner. Bomb analysis and sensible responses too. Perfect blog.
Cetin looks more like a drunken gorilla. Thats why Drogba(smaller Gorilla) is scared of him.
Dunne would have Dunne us, I’m sick to death with kids. Why the age limit, it’s almost perverse.
I’m supporting Everton with my heart today. I do feel for them re: their long injury list. Now, we’re not the only ones to have an injured XI…
Imagine if we had used the Adebayor $ to get Dunne, Krancjar and Given.
Slot them in for Silvester, Denilson and Almunia and you’d have true strength in depth, i.e., squad players with legitimate Premier League experience.
But I know, that’s not the Arsenal way right now…
I am expecting big things of Bendtner this season especially come winter.
Do you guys really rate Kranjcar. He seems to blow hot and cold a bit too often for my liking.
Am I the only one not in the slightest bit worried about the Liverpool game next weekend. I don’t know why but its just a sure 3 points in my head.
Yid it must be because “yid” is a banned word.
Defoe scores…
2-0 to Spuds. Bad times for Everton.
Geoff. I am a big fan of your blog.
I wasnt talking about your funny comment about eboue. But there are people who find faults with people like eboue unfairly and do not accept that a fan favourite player makes a mistake or had a bad game for instance Cesc.
Also , just wanted to point out about our free kicks.
Earlier we were a huge threat from free kicks. Henry and RVP earlier had a very good strike rate. These days I can almost bet on us not scoring on a direct free kick (We have not this season except the deflected one against Celtic I guess)
“I am not a big fan of January, that’s why I say I will be on the market but that doesn’t mean that I will buy.”
Seems to me when our season was going to the toilet Arsene does a fair bit of business in January.
Quality of Arshavin is still saving our skins.
What happns when the russian isnt up for the fight?
We suffer.
You had better buy a Striker in Jan.
Coleman is a fast fucker…
I’ve always liked Kranjcar, but maybe that’s because he was linked with Arsenal so many times in the past.
But it’s more the type of player he and Dunne would be: solid, if not flashy, with lots of Premier League experience. I’m sure there are 3 or 4 others who would fit the same bill.
I’d rather we had paid the big transfer fees for a Melo and a Zhako, Subotic, or Zapata-type player, but Arsenal won’t spend on transfers like other championship clubs.
If you won’t buy top-price players, buying second-tier players with experience would be another (and more economical) way to strengthen the squad.
What’s so frustrating is that we do neither and ask too much of young, unproven players who may come good eventually but clearly aren’t ready just yet.
come on everton………..
2-2!
Everton have equalised.
2-2 at Goodison
nick all 3 points now…..
Sweet cahill… get another one
good right full back they got everton… anybody know anything about him
ref is a spurs fan