Make no bones about it, this game was, like Geoff said, more important than the Chelsea game. Lose and we’d have found ourselves in the same position we were before the weekend started, but we could have given Liverpool the impetus to kick start their season. Win and we’d close the gap on the Manchester United and Chelsea and put ourselves firmly back in the title race.
Could Arsenal show the needed hunger? Could they score points of a top four rival for the first time this season? Could they handle the pressure?
The team lined up as expected.
Almunia
Sagna Gallas Verminator Traore
Cesc Song Denilson
Nasri Arshavin Walcott
Arsenal lost the ball almost as soon as we kicked of. The opening 15 minutes was a cocktail of bad passing and poor play.
The first real chance Liverpool had was on the break… Gerrard slipped in Torres who left Song for dead, luckily for us the Spaniard had left his shooting boots in the office.
Moments later, he glided past Traore on the edge of our area, passed to Gerrard, who took an uncharacteristic heavy touch, followed with a clumsy challenge from Gallas which in fairness, was a nailed on penalty. Looks like the ref read the Grovers concerns about Stevie G landing a penalty against us!
Arsenal had their first chance of the game from a set piece. Vermaelen connected with an Arshavin freekick and headed over.
The first goal went in Liverpools favour. Stevie G fired a freekick into the box, Song lost Aurelio who did enough to force Almunia to flap and parry the ball to Kuyt who toe poked it through a sea of Arsenal players into the back of the net.
Arsenal had their far share of the ball in the first half. Sloppy play from key players and good tactics from Rafa were key to the our ineptness. Mascharano and Aurelio were doing a good job stifling our midfield.
As a fan, I did feel like there was a lack of urgency. No one seemed particularly bothered about taking the game to the scousers. I thought we were over powered in the middle and up front. Our team lacked power in comparison.
This team needed a bit of grit, someone to gee them up… someone to take a stand.
Cue Mr Wenger and the half time bollocking that kick started our year.
Arsenal came out a different team. We played with more purpose and fire. We pressed Liverpool from the front. If we couldn’t out power them, we’d out play them.
Song started the move to the goal. It was a nice 4 pass move that concluded with a superb own goal by £17million wonder signing, Glen Johnson.
Glen showed his value moments later when Fabregas picked out Arshavin at the back post, the diminutive forward cut inside Johnson and fired in a peach of shot into the top left hand corner. Reina left hapless. Arshavin ecstatic as he headed over to celebrate with Wenger.
Liverpool resorted to bully boy tactics, Gerrard and Kuyt doing their best to injure Denilson and Nasri. Typical really.
Arsenal soaked up the odd smattering of Liverpool pressure, but to be honest, Liverpool had nothing. A team devoid of ideas. There were two bum notes in the second half, the first being the curse of the left back. Traore hobbled off with a suspected hamstring problem. The second being the thigh injury Arshavin looked like he’d picked up.
Arsenal took the victory with a super two goal turnaround. The performance wasn’t amazing, but that’s irrelevant. Give me a ground out result against Liverpool over a superb spectacle of play with no result against United. For the first time in a long time, we took advantage of others poor results. That’s a very good sign, we dealt well with the pressure and we caught up with the league leaders. Hey, we may have contributed to a possible Rafa sacking!
Some mentioned in the comments that people were going overboard at half time in the comments, well, if it’s ok for Wenger to, I think it’s alright for the fans to! My hat goes off to the coach for turning the game around. It’s about time someone within the club iterated the meaning of playing in the red and white of Arsenal.
‘The boss screamed at us like I’d never heard before’
He said Arsenal lost the 50-50′s in the first half and he was right. Those types of challenges are about hunger… if your team can’t show hunger for the club, how can a Premiership challenge be mounted? The second half will give the team renewed hope for trophies this year… lets all start getting excited again and keep you fingers crossed that the injury to Arshavin isn’t that bad!
Santa is a Gooner, Santa is a Gooner, da da daaaaah da da!
Ratings:
Almunia: A poor performance for the consistently inconsistent Spaniard. He flapped for the Liverpool goal and his kicking was erratic. 5
Sagna: I thought he had a pretty solid game defensively and some of his crosses were very good.7
Gallas: On another day, he’d have conceded two penalties. A bit of a messy performance, but overall, I’ll take it! 6.5
Verminator: Strong play from the Belgian. He worked hard and kept Torres relatively quiet. 7
Traore: Caught napping on a few occasions and clearly lacks experience. I like his as a player, he’s powerful and he’s got a lot of desire. 6.5
Cesc: Instrumental in the turn around. First half I’d have given him a 3, second half I’d have given him an 8. His back post pass to Arshavin was world-class. 7.5
Song: I thought Song was the best player on the pitch today. His passing was a little dodgy in the first half, but overall he was the most consistent performer of the day. He made some great interception and he reduced Liverpool to zero chances in the second half. For those who don’t like his fouling, I hope you took not of what Mascharano does all game. 8
Denilson: Largely anonymous today. I struggle to see what he adds to our midfield. He’s very weak and he’s not much cop going forward. Still, he was part of a winning team, so credit where credit is due. 6
Nasri: A much better performance second and half and some flashes of brilliance. He set up the first goal with a tricky pass. I think he disappears for large parts of the game… if he wants to get better, he’s going to have to want the ball more. 7
Arshavin: Quiet in the first half, but hard-working. Then he did what no other player could do in that side. Created something out of nothing. He is a genius of a player and it was nice to see him run over to the coach, he’s not thinking about leaving any time soon. 7.5
Walcott: Ahhh Theo, what are we going to do with you? He was pretty hopeless today, causing minimal problems for Liverpool. He has very little skill out wide and he makes it pretty easy for experienced defenders to mark him out of games. Disappointing. When are you going to start showing us some value? 5
P.S. I have 5 Burnley tickets going and 2 Hull, e-mail me today if you’d like them! Oh and have a look at these two articles to warm the the cockles of your heart this morning, here and here!
GM so whats the problem???
letting Tevez go was a bad move. They really miss the dogboy
SS. I cannot recall a more disliked man. What you say is true. Though I would bet he scores at the Spuds on Weds
not at 47m though BR.
The one that got away for me was Barry. Great business at 12m and Given at 6m too. We would be top if we have bought those two IMO
I don’t think they are Pele and Maradonna. But they’re not dogshit. Tha same person rates Walcott Nick
no thanks to either pat, especially barry, song is already better than him, and will develop further.
aquilani has to be the biggest waste of money actually, it’s like if someone offered us £20 million for rosicky now
Aed was getting slated by City fans on talkshite on Saturday. I remember reading gooners telling smug mancs that they’d grow to hate the cunt.
Thanks for the input guys, make sure you tune in tomorrow.
I’m posting a non-match review… scary times.
I’ve got plenty for you to chew on though!
Right, off to the gym!
True Fran…but by the same token Benitez has spent loads and gotten them nowhere except halfway to broke.
YOu try telling some aRSE FANS HOW WE’RE A WELL RUN CLUB AND THEY’LL TELL YOU TO STICK THE BALANCE ShEET UP YOUR ARSE.
Spending big money on ‘big’ stars is inherently risky, its like putting all your eggs in one basket.
Look at Liverpols teams two top players and the rest mostly averahe (bar Benayoun). Allbought for decent dish, and mostly no better than our bargain buy yout’s.
Traore vs Aurelio, Sagna vs Johnson, Masch vs Song, Lucas vs Denilson, Reina vs Coco
sorry about the caps …not gonna re-type
Raddy I make you right about AdeNuff on Weds, I’ll have a £5 on him
I agree that Given was a steal, but Barry? I would have preferred Alonso (if we are in fantasyland)
Not true A. Rosicky has starred at the Euro’s, scored twice in the WC and captain’s his national team , Aquilani is unproven. Therefore I wouldn’t sell Mozart for less than 25m!
Off homeski….might look in later
True Raddy, and Rosicky has played more games over the last few years, so yeah, the Aquilani signing is like paying a good £30 mil for Rosicky
Richard Dunne to Villa was another good bit of Business.
A, I think that Song will become better than Barry, But would have liked to have seen a midfield of Song, Barry and Cesc. Either way we have no cover for Song which is v risky.
SS Benitez is a pony. That has been established for a few years now
Wenger is a great manager no doubt but……………….
its nice to plant seeds but i wld like to see some more ripe fruit shopping
fran make you right we have some prospects and include song in that but to have them in the team for three years when its clear they shouldn’t be is unfair on everyone imo
I wouldn’t pat – i’d rather song, diaby, and cesc. I agree though, probably be happier with barry as cover than denilson at the moment.
******* to see more ripe fruit shopping i meant to say
SS,
agreed on the lot, apart from Reina v Coco – no competition…
A Says:
December 14, 2009 at 17:05
Supergunner – and an injury record that makes Rosicky look like superman!
————————————————————
Of course i know that, my dispute is not about his injury record, i cannot have people calling rubbish player when he hasn had a pre-season and a chance to know his teammates inside-out.
Also off subject, Livepool’s poor form also shows the need to keep key players in the spine of our team together, they lose Alonso like we lost Flamoney & Hleb and another rebuilding recommences while Man Ure & Chavs keep all their key players together.
Diaby is still a massive disspointment for me A,
I thought he looked an excellent prospect before the injury up at Sunderland, but that was a few years ago, and he is now 23 and not really fulfilling that early potential. Better than Denilson though.
its quite premature to dismiss signings early cos some players take longer than others to settle in
i remember laughing at how shit vidic and evra were when i first watched them
fran thought they both settled in well from the begging
You look at Drogba and the age when he came into his own and it makes writing of our youngsters a bit silly. Diaby’s injury-proneness can hinder any progress he could make…
beginning
I agree he hasn’t fulfilled his early potential pat, but in a midfield three with song and cesc he offers physicality and drive, whereas barry is just decent all round, but not great at anything
Did they SG1? Is Valencia really an adequate replacement for Ronnie?
Not a fair question really because CR7 is irreplaceable.
I cannot recall the Chavs losing any decent players in recent years. They even kept JT under pressure from the new Chavs
I would love to see Diaby flower in the same manner as Song, I just don’t believe he will.
However, AW was adamant that Song would be a great player a few years ago when the crowd got on his back. He says the same of Diaby, and as we all know AKB……
not really nick. they were signed in Jan 06 same year we signed diaby walcott and ade. they didnt start to perform until the next season
Mayank the point is u have to balance bringing up youngsters and challenging for honours. not just challenging but winning.
wenger knows himself that if he stifles some youngsters progress by signing more classy experienced players that he would be able to challenge better for honours. that is the dilemna he faces.
Big Raddy its always nice to see you on the blog. I got tremendous respect for you.
blog fart and on that note im out
for now at least
do we see the return of Sabeel on podium tomorrow?
or do we see TAIG get b2b titles? tune in tomorrow for more action on the world’s best footie blog
I love you all. im such an ass licker
Why Franchise, I am honoured. Same goes from me to you ………..
I am cooking for a dinner party tonight (a roast salmon in ginger and soy sauce, with toms, green beans and wild rice) accompanied by a chilled NZ Sauvignon Blanc ……
So, I bid you Goodnight my Gooner Mates
Good luck BigRaddy
What do you think of the rumoured moves for Van Der Vaart.
Can’t see it myself, surely with Diaby, Denilson, Merida, and Ramsey there is no room for him.
I like him as a player, but it makes no sense.
I think there is no chance pathegooner, unless Wenger is looking to offload someone, even if that were the case Ramsey and Merida would be given the chance first.
pat i’d be very surprised, we’ve got arshavin, rosicky and nasri, then merida and wilshere who all play in the same sort of position, can’t imagine it happening, though if he is available on the cheap he is a superb player, and I dunno if Wenger would be able to resist!
Maybe sign him, send wilshere and merida out on loan as they aren’t gonna get first team football on a regular basis with us anytime soon?
Samir – You’ve killed Le Blog…are you a big money signing…lol
van der vaart is 5’9 so he’s got a chance
Lol
I would like to see rosicky out and VDV in. Even if it means cesc will lose a friend. If one friend affects cesc’s determination to arsenal that much then he really shouldnt be with us anyway…Rosicky is not coming back strong. Hasnt had a really good performace all year, and has been injured every other game. We need some stability. Imagine, Van persie with arshavin and VDV.
next year atleast…:( Fucking Chiellini
luke rosicky was fantastic against Blackburn, and was generally very very good until the last couple of games. imo rosicky > vdv
Youre right, he did p;ay good against blackburn, but really missed a sitter against sunderland and has looked flat the past 3-4 games hes played IMO. You may be right that rosicky > VDV…if he plays, which he doesnt, and hasnt, and probably wont at this point.
Cant agree there luke. Rosicky against Man Shity was sheer brilliance (even if it was just as a sub).
Lol.
I’m thinking if Senderos leaves Wenger will buy a new big DM in January along with a cheap striker (someone like Chamakh). Wenger has said that he see’s Song as a CB. He might be Senderos’s replacement. Song will challenge the new DM in midfield until Gallas leaves or a injury happens where he will take their place at CB.
Future Defence?
_______Fabianski__________
Sagna–Song–Vemy–Gibbs
How is Vdvs injury record?
I dont see how Wenger can move Song back now. It would be a total waste of the last 2 or so seasons with Song as a DM.
Maybe samir, but I dont like the idea of Song being the last man. Im much more confident in last pitch tackes from gallas and vermy, song is a bit more clumsy, and really does well bossing the midfield around. I think Wenger might be reassessing…
What I meant was that his most recent performances have been pretty miserable. He has been injured every other game, and bar a decent sub appearance in September where he bagged a consolation goal and a good game at blackburn, he has been inconsistent, flat, unfit etc. We have enough injury prone players, I really want to sign a player who will actually play for us.
not great at all stu, last season he made more appearances than in any other season, but only made 20 starts in all comps, so i guess you could possibly deduce that he gets injured when plays regularly
It is a shame it is only Media rumour mongering on a slow news day but a midfield 3 of
Cesc, Song, Van Der Vaart
would be pretty good.
lol Luke, Rosicky out and VDV in isnt exactly going to solve the injury problems then, is it.
Especially in light of his injury record being so shit.
pat couldn’t see that happening, vdv would play as one of the wide forwards in our system imo, nasri is more a midfielder than him
Didnt think he had been injured since 2006…
I dont know A, I see him and Cesc in the Xavi and Iniesta role
rosicky just cant get fit. He is an amazing player when he plays dont get me wrong, but, has he really ever played consistently for us except when he first got here?
I might be mistaken but didnt VDV play central in the Holland midfield when they played 4-3-3?
I think we have to give Rosicky time. He has to be given at least this season to prove that he can play at the highest level without constantly getting injured.
I certainly would not be offering him a new deal though until he has proven himself
Their injury records are pretty similar, apart from last season where vdv wasn’t playing regularly so easier on the body. league appearances –
07/08 vdv 29 rosicky 19
06/07 26 26
05/06 19 27
04/05 22 26
I wouldn’t say we could guarantee that vdv would be fitter any more often than rosicky
Rosicky and Eduardo will soon be back and in form (crossed fingers) , that is once they get over all these small injuries.
perhaps pat, though i see nasri more like iniesta then vdv too! see vdv as someone who’d be better in the more advanced positions, as rosicky is.
Yeah he does luke, though that’s different to playing in the prem, and that’s with two dms….
against crap teams at home vdv would play in the middle, but i doubt normally. Nasri and rosicky have more bite to them, so if one of them played there i’d expect one of those two before vdv
I dont know A, he had much more competition in Madrid, and Rosicky has just been out for 18 months where the last long term injury problem VDV had was in the last world cup. I see what youre saying and ofcourse we cant guarantee VDV will stay injury free. Id agree with pat, give him until the end of this year, if he gets on a good run, give him the contract, if not, hes 29…move on.
A Says:
December 14, 2009 at 19:29
perhaps pat, though i see nasri more like iniesta then vdv too! see vdv as someone who’d be better in the more advanced positions, as rosicky is.
Yeah he does luke, though that’s different to playing in the prem, and that’s with two dms….
—————————-
Not to be rude, but dont we play with Song and Denilson? I know cesc still has a place, but I would not mind a 4 midfielders, Cesc and VDV, with Song and hopefully denilsons replacement.
What I mean luke is that VDV has never spent even 3/4 of a season free of injury, except for last season when he wasn’t a regular starter, therefore it’s easier on the body. Rosicky only got this latest niggle because he started two games in a week, VDV didn’t have those niggles last season because he never did that.
I’d say give him the contract now regardless, Merida and Wilshere will need to come through sooner or later, and it would be good to have Rosicky there to help them through and they could rotate with him meaning he doesn’t have to start regularly.
Okay A, I could agree with that, I just think it might hinder our chances at winning something this season. Ofcourse Wilshire and Merida need to grow, but if we are compromising our starting eleven so teenagers can grow a bit…I cant see us winning trophies consistently
Yeah luke we do play with song and denilson except in easy games, so when VDV plays in a midfield three he plays Cesc’s role….
We aren’t suited to a 4 man midfield, especially not having 4 centre mids, how would that work??!
Maybe Turan, the turkish winger/attacking mid. He is class, and loves the arsenal.
Back 5
Cesc-Song-Denilson
——-VDV———-
—RVP—–Arshavin
Maybe?…
Anyways’s wtf are we going to do about the DM position when Song goes to the ACN?
Denilson is totally to lightweight. If we did not have Song V Liverpool I believe we defiantly would have lost IMO!
Song will be missing for;
West Ham United
Bolton Wanderers
Everton
Bolton Wanderers
FA CUP ROUND 4 (If we beat WHU)
Aston Villa
Manchester United
He will miss all of them in January.
After Man Ure we then have Chelsea and Liverpool as-well……. What a hard fucking list we have. Also we play bolton twice in January…. It’s taking the piss TBH!!!
Back to the point and Denilson could only do it with someone beside him giving him a hand.
Imo Wenger has to buy a DM if we are to contend for the PL trophy. Otherwise we will lose most of them games, the midfield will get overpowere easily!!
overpowered*
Sign a CB and move Vermy to DM…haha. I agree, Song is our only real DM. Denilson is lighter then an anarexic, how can he boss a midfield around?
I dunno about that luke, I’d rather Vela, Wilshere and Merida got more game time than sign someone like him, unproven at the top level. Chamakh would do me, or Carlton Cole is he’s actually a possibility, or even Adriano, then a centre back to replace Senderos, and maybe even a Matuidi. That’s 3 players though, pretty unlikely.
Who is out there though? Yaya is going to ACN too. Is Matuidi all that good?
Denilson will play DM with Diaby providing the physicality, I’m absolutely fine with that pairing.
Even if we signed a DM there would be absolutely no chance of his walking straight into the team so if we signed someone they wouldn’t cover most of January anyways.
Song will only be away for Villa and Utd if Cameroon get to the final, so I’ll be cheering on their opponents
Whatever happens, it will be interesting to see what wenger decides to do in January. He has some crucial decisions regarding what to do about Rosicky, Senderos, Gallas even, DM position, lack of RVP,
I dont trust Diaby to hold back. We would be so vulnerable every time Diaby decides to forward.
luke I wouldn’t say there are crucial decisions over Rosicky and Gallas, both have been offered new contracts already so those decisions have been made, it’s just waiting for them to sign.
99% certain Denilson will play at DM when Song’s away, and rotate with him whilst Song is here too, but it’s whether Wenger sees Song ultimately as a centre back, or feels more cover is needed at DM.
VP replacement is the big one for me, will be very interesting to see what happens.
Don’t you think this run of games is a bit of a pisstake though?
Bolton Wanderers
Everton
Bolton Wanderers
FA CUP ROUND 4 (If we beat WHU)
Aston Villa
Manchester United
Chelsea
Liverpool
Burnley
Hull
Aston Villa
A,
we are going to lose ground with this clown in DM – he was so shit yesterday it was unbelievable and he played with his Cameroonian nanny next to him and was not much better in the second half either…
no other top team has such a weak player who would be considered to play in DM, period
I really hope le gaffer shells out his summer funds.
Out-Denilson,
In-Toulalan, Chamakh
and Diaby has absolutely no defensive discipline – I feel for Cesc if he has to play with these 2 idiots: both Denilson & Diaby lose balls and having 2 substandard players out of 3 doesn’t bode well…
Samir Bolton and Everton at home should be easy enough, FA Cup isn’t a big deal, but Villa away, Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool are a tough 4 consecutive games. After that though it’s a walk in the park, just gotta get the consistency going and if we’re within 6 points of top on 11th Feb I expect us to win the league!
A,
Everton an easy game? c’mon mate, did they just not draw against Chavs at SB?
Fabianski
Sagna-Gallas-Vermy-Clichy
—Cesc–toulalan—-Diaby/Denilson
—Nasri—–Arsh——Rosicky/eduardo
yeah they did suga3, because chelsea and cech were shocking. Everton have lost 5 of their 8 away games this season, they aren’t very good away from home
luke toulalan plays with another dm, he isn’t good enough defensively to play it himself imo
Fact is, we are vulnerable in just about every position I can think of right now except rb. This squad needs some strenghening IMO.
Cesc-Toulalan-Denilson
A,
we happen to have even more shocking GK and they are getting their players back, plus they may have a point to prove after that mauling on the first day…
they are a decent team that underperfomed so far, but are slowly clicking into gear…
Everton is never an easy game. I could easily see Fellaini or Cahill scoring on a set piece and us losing. We could have not won our opener as they almost scored before we did, and I think they hit the bar once too. Could have easily changed momentum…
Yeah they are suga3, not not as good as us and we’re very good at home, i don’t foresee problems with that everton game. However bad almunia has been this season imo cech has been the worst keeper in the league and by then Fabianski will be number one!
Fabianski initially wont be much of an improvement, but by next season I could see him being better than our cunt of gk almunia. Truly gets worse each game I see him. I thought I was watching a championship keeper on sunday, I truly did. Quite sad we are the mighty arsenal and our last line of defense is…well, almunia. *sigh*
Toulalan is not good enough to play as a lone DM and Denilson is, A?
he is a full French international with 30 caps, what about Denilson?
One thing i don’t understand is the difference in Wenger’s ruthlessness in different situations. With Toure Lehmann etc. he’s been very ruthless but at the same time Al and Gael seem to slip under his radar…
Toulalan would be expensive though. Wenger would only offer 15 max, and I dont think Lyon would take the offer.
I keep wondering whether what happened yesterday will convince Wenger to give his side a bloolocking more often.
It seems to be what we need
Think clichy has got too much stick this season. Bar man shitty, he has been our best left back, but Traore is really impressing me. Clichy>Traore>Gibbs IMO now.
I just don’t get why everybody says Rambo isn’t ready, and Denilson has more experience, is better defensively yadda yadda. Didnt look like that yesterday. Denlison reminded me of my little fox friend who got run over the other day (bless his little lost soul). Vaught between the headlights every panic stricken time he got the ball. Made poor rushed passes, cannot defend well IMO, and not much shout going forward. Hasn’t Rambo scored more in the few games he gets than our lame Brazilian has in the last few seasons? Can’t be much in it anyhow. Rambo isnt the finished article true, but a run of games could get him there quicker and I think he has maturity beyond his years on his side, as well as a bit of grit, a great running and shooting ability. Seems to be daft keeping him a bit part sub when frankly Denilson since coming back has been shocking every game…
A Says:
December 14, 2009 at 19:34
We aren’t suited to a 4 man midfield, especially not having 4 centre mids, how would that work??!
————————————————
Nasri-Fab-Song-Rosicky
All of them are central midfielders who effectively offer no width,apart from may be Nasri.
no, he was not – Almunia is the worst keeper in the league by a country mile…
It was absolutely needed. Arsenal have underperformed consistently, and I think everyone is f%$#ing of it
Sick of it*
The Almunia situation surprises me, he was a consistent if unspectacular keeper for us but his form and confidence has really dipped. I think if he’s dropped and gets back into the team on merit like he did initially it’ll do him a world of good. He seems afraid to make a mistake and this causes hesitancy while coming off his line…
——–song——–
–cesc———Toulalan
——-Arshavin——–
—–RVP——-Bendtner
if I had my way.
and I would not like to see Lukasz being thrown into the deep water without strengthening first – I have been going on about this for a while: this team needs spine, do you seriously consider Denilson to be a part of it?
SUGA3 I never said not good enough, i said not good enough defensively, he’s similar to Denilson though, someone who couldn’t play DM by himself. We can make do with someone at the club doing that with Diaby having to play to help him out, but we’d never spend big money to bring someone in like that. If we signed a DM it would be someone who had the ability to play the role by himself.
raynor on the ball denilson has been very poor, but he’s still been good defensively and won the ball back. He’s done way more defensively in the last few games than Ramsey is currently capable of doing.
Jaguar you’ve gotten confused, go back and read the post again, the proposed midfield 4 was song, denilson, cesc, and vdv
Mr. B the reason the bollocking had such an effect was because he doesn’t dish it out a lot. It’s out of character for him. If he does it too much the players will treat him like you do a nagging woman(no intent to be sexist here) and just tune him out.
The style of play we have is built on freedom of expression, not fear.
luke how would that work – so narrow, no wide players at all!
Yea jaguar, I was proposing out rosicky in VDV with a midfield 4 of…
Cesc——–Song——–Denilson
————VDV—————–
——Rvp————Arshavin–
Seems like Chelsea’s diamond luke. We won’t go for it…
luke that just couldn’t work though, it would really limit us, because either cesc and denilson would spend the whole time being dragged wide to cover opposition wingers, leaving massive gaps through the middle, or they’d stay central and teams could get round the outside of us really easily….
Sagna and Traore get upfront, and whenever we attack from the wide, we cross in balls to our midgets, lose possession, and get nixed on the counter. I dont see a problem. Our most important part of attack is in build up IMO, so why not play a little more central, with fullbacks drawing out defenders.
How about Mohamed Sissoko?
24 years old and 6 ft 2…
Has premier league experience after playing with Liverpool…..
He did well there. Anyone know why they sold him?
He could be our new Viera?
“Sissoko is a tough tackling defensive midfield player. He is often compared to Patrick Vieira due to their similarities in playing style.”
A,
fair enough, I was just referring to you being ‘fine’ with Denilson being OK as a lone DM – as far as I am concerned he is not Arsenal quality and his alleged intelligence counts for nothing, as he is weak and slow as fuck – so what if he anticipates if he gets outpaced and then outmuscled? I don’t think delaying the inevitable is what we are looking for is it?
alright, alright, alright, just an idea jeez guys. lol
The 4-3-3 was a step to go a little more central without giving up the wide areas of the pitch, this would be overdoing it.
He plays for Mali Samir, ACN player, if mali qualifies that is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ6689rwzSU&feature=fvw
lol luke
Sissoko is a juve fan favorite, wouldnt come cheap, and Juve probably are not looking to offload.
I can’t take that video seriously, the music is beyond shit…
hahah thinking the exact same thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfrGXqlvwrQ
sorry, couldn’t resist…
up yours, bindipping cunts!
Lol. He could be amazing for us.
Well for sure Wenger has his work cut out in the transfer window
The ex liverpool sissoko isn’t good enough for us imo – he’s as good defensively as diaby! The toulouse sissoko is very highly rated though. There are a few dms in france but whenever rumoured the talk always seems to be of silly money
@Mayank
I didnt mean for him to get bitchy like Red Nose or Arry. I just ment he should be a little more transparent on his feeling about how he thinks his players are doing.
I mean this isnt the first time he has been disapointed by the way this team has performed and appreciate that He’s a Gentleman.
Mr B it isn’t the first time he’s bollocked the team, it’s just the first time we’ve heard about it, though obviously he doesn’t do it on a regular basis.
I just don’t think it suits him. He likes the players to analyse the game and correct their faults. I think the fact that this result could make or break the season got to him…
Anyway, I’m off. Night all.
Yes your right A.
Moussa Sissoko seems very good. I haven’t watched at all to be honest, only heard great things about him on the net. He is the right build we need at 6 ft 2 but he’s only 20.
He is also of Malian descent just like Mohamed Sissoko. He did however chose France instead…..
Maybe a sneaky bid could tempt them?
He looks to me (From vid) like Diaby was before that injury….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ITBvggd3R0
Walcott told the Daily Mail: “If you put him in those positions, he is always going to put it away.
“He has got plenty of pace as well. We can frighten defenders at times but also you have to defend well and not always break forward. We have got so many attacking players and Andrey has done it yet again.
“He just seems to be relaxed. There is always a smile on his face when he is playing and to get a goal was very well deserved.
“You could put any goalkeeper in that position and he is never going to make the save.
“It was a fantastic finish,” concluded Walcott.
AND
By Nick Teale
Wojciech Szczesny is thriving under the pressure for results at Brentford and says he relishes the battle every time he pulls on a Bees shirt.
The Polish goalkeeper signed a one-month loan deal with the League One club at the end of November and has played in all five of the Griffin Park outfit’s league games since.
Szczesny has kept two clean sheets for Andy Scott’s side and says that League One’s competitive edge gives him a real buzz.
“I’m really enjoying it here,” he told Arsenal.com. “I’ve got a chance to go and train with Arsenal twice a week so that’s good as well. I’m really loving it at the moment.
“In the lower leagues there are 22 players coming out for a battle every week and you have to come out and fight and compete for every single ball and stay focused for 90 minutes, so that’s very good for me.
“I’m not the smallest goalkeeper fortunately. I think I can deal with it but of course there’s some mistakes sometimes but it’s part of learning and of gaining that experience.
“It is difficult but I was expecting it, I’m not surprised and I just deal with it. I think concentration was a weakness of mine, so hopefully I’ll improve that.”
The 19-year-old made his Arsenal debut in the Carling Cup victory over West Brom earlier this season and says he is savouring the opportunity of playing competitive football week-in, week-out.
“We want to win every single game,” he said. “I want to feel that pressure and hopefully take something on and come back stronger to Arsenal.
The loan move has also given the youngster a chance to develop important skills that he might not get the chance to work on as much with the Gunners.
“My distribution must have improved a lot because in one game I kick more long balls than I kick all season for Arsenal,” he explained.
“You have to come for crosses a lot here and the players and managers expect you to do that.
“But the most important thing is playing regular first-team football and that gives me the experience I need at this age.”
And just days before signing the loan deal with Brentford, Szczesny made his full international debut for Poland as a second-half substitute in their goalless draw against Canada.
“It was a great week,” said the keeper.
“I was with the national team for ten days and that was my first game so it gave me a lot of confidence.
“I came back to Arsenal hoping to get some football and I signed a deal with Brentford and played at the weekend so it was a really good week for me.”
Szczesny seems so intelligent….
He will be amazing!
Dominguez has joined valencia on a free transfer.Great signing.Him and villa could be a dangerous combination
Samir,
Szczesny is very much like his old man (Maciej), former Polish international GK, nowadays a TV pundit with a lot of interesting and funny stuff to say and cheeky, sarcastic sense of humour…
Anyways’s peeps I’m off.
Have a good one!
take care Samir, nite
THE BEST COMMENTARY EVER!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdXFrnTyTHI
look at the advert behind the goal when the ball is going in…
how fitting
Dodged a bullet with Melo haven’t we?
Earlier on Monday, Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo won the Golden Bin award, given to the biggest flop in Serie A through a voting process. However, the 26-year-old is not concerned what other people think of him.
moussa sissoko is stunnig player; already international. he is similar to PV04. he is solid and got amazing tecnique. plus he runs fast and likes to get forward like true box to box midfielder.
But Zeus Melo is world class and Huntelaar is a proven goalscorer, Wenger is such a cunt for not spending all our money on signing them!
yes AA23 is definitely the class we need .
shame wenger wont sign more like him ..
the van der harrt rumors are still doing the rounds ..
at 26 and being dutch , there could be something to the inquiry … if that could be confirmed , i wonder why he’s gone off numbchucks !
sounds like the type of player wenger likes too ,
not enough games played this year so his value is low , excess to a club requirements so will probably go cheap ..
and he was touted as top shelf , and wenger could make him so again …
And before you start A ! listen to my gutt
numbchucks may be coming for free in the summer!
when they arsenal and rosicky are in talks over a new contract…
I’m surprised there are talks…. Rosicky should just sign whatever we give him on a piece of paper for the patience we have shown….. whats there to talk..just sign whatever arsene offers…Rosicky is in no position to negotiate here…..
I wouldn’t trust your gut ethan, it told you before the start of the season that kalou is a much better player than van persie
I wouldn’t ming vdv, he’s a quality player, and potentially available on the cheap, though no less injury prone than rosicky, and in a position where we’re inundated with players, so wouldn’t make a great deal of sense, but a top quality player for a bargain might be something Wenger can’t pass up, regardless of the position he plays!
that sounds like a good deal choy ,
wenger might have to throw stupid wages at him
or give him some signing fee to secure him …
not sure if he gets someone in this window if he will want another come the summer , but if he’s on a free , im sure wenger wont say no , olde tight wad that he is …