I’m feeling a little smug sitting on top of the league. Can we stay there?

by & filed under Uncategorized.

Well it does feel good sitting on the top of the pile does it not? You could not have written a better script for this could you? 11 points behind a month ago and playing 4 teams all in the top 5 in the next month to stay in front, wow!

Well it simple, win them and the title’s ours, don’t win them and who knows, but if we beat them we will put daylight in there, this is so close we can touch it, we have held it together well, we have learned to scrap and that game against Bolton showed that in spades.

We have a few stars in the making in Craig Eastmond and Aaron Ramsey and we have a few that are not improving, and we know who they are, don’t we?

However, we have lost our ability to hold the ball up, knock the ball down and win headers from corners, crosses and free kicks.

Arsene, we can win the league, for the first time since 2004 we actually look like we can win the league, if we signed a world class striker, we would win the league.

I like Edin Dzeko, I would go and get him, but you must know plenty of others that could do the job, even an Adriano would do it, we are that close it would be such a shame to lose out.

The Chavs have lost their big guns, the Mancs are short of centre backs, Liverpool are all over the shop and Villa aren’t good enough, we will never have a better chance, this is it.

Please get the cheque book out and seal the deal for us, let’s not have another season of near misses.

I think signing Sol was a good move, though I still think we need a strong tall centre back, the summer is fine though, we can wait.

I still think we need a keeper, but I also believe Fabianski can do that job, when Robin gets back we’ll be okay but only until he gets injured again and Bendtner isn’t ready for the number one role yet, but I do like him, however I think you know we need one but are reluctant to buy.

I really got excited by the silly Dzeko rumours yesterday, but I knew deep down they weren’t true.

Anyway, we are top of the league and that I’m going to enjoy until we aren’t. Hey who knows, we may well stay there until the end, that would be good wouldn’t it!

Have a great day Grovers, tomorrow we get into FA Cup mode!

P.S. If you get the chance, check out resident Grover, Suga3′s new site ArseGunn and get on over to Wrighty7 to read his thoughts on Cesc v Stevie G!

Geoff

905 Responses to “I’m feeling a little smug sitting on top of the league. Can we stay there?”

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  1. paul

    akb Thanks for letting me know i am not a true Arsenal supporter even though i have been going to THOF since 1967.Or are you just having a wind up.

  2. Stu

    Dont take it personally though..he is just trying to get a reaction and by you telling him to piss off its working. Fair enough..just wait until he gets banned for troublemaking..

  3. Baxter Wall

    For the record Arsene does know best. He’s the best manager i remember in my lifetime.

    Doesn’t mean he gets everything right though and it doesn’t mean that it isnt fun to discuss alternative strategies with like minded Gooners.

  4. Pedro

    Suga, we had a clear out of the black list the other day. Some have come back and joined in the banter… others, like AKB, have taken the chance to moan about what wicked beasts Geoff and I are.

    Zzzz…

    If we banned people for disagreeing with us, we’d have no commenters!

    I sit here all day arguing my points with people.

    It’s funny, without Le Grove, people like AKB would have nothing to talk about. It’s interesting, if someone writes a negative review about Le Grove, the same people show up congratulating it…

    Muppet is the name this guy goes by on ACLF. Every day, moaning about Le Grove… borderline obsessive.

  5. Pedro

    AKB, the only reason I don’t let you on is because you’ve called me a tosser about a thousand times in the last year.

  6. Stu

    On Sunday David? Probably Coquelin. Eastmond seemingly failed as a rightback so was moved to midfield. No point moving him back.

  7. patthegooner

    Coquelin for me.

    AKB. You said about I should have faith in Walcott, Bendtner, Eduardo and Vela, which I do,

    But I dont think they will stay fit, especially Walcott who I think will be dogged by injuries his whole career, and like I said Vela who I would actually like to see get more game time and am looking forward to seeing him on Sunday.

    Hence why I think we need one more head in there.

  8. David

    Cocq plays right back? hmmm.

    What about Tom Cruise? Or is that left back.

    I wonder what our obsession is with left footed players.

  9. Pedro

    David, I have no idea. I’m still unsure of what Big Phil did to Wenger’s lucozade bottle to deserve the treatment he’s been dished out.

    Golden child to out on his arse inside 2 years.

    I know he has some shockers, but he could still do a job as a back up?

  10. Pedro

    Pat, I’m not a fan of Theo in the slightest, but his pace certainly causes problems for teams. He’s looking bulkier than before…

    I’m actually really looking forward to Nik B coming back into the side. It’ll be nice to have a target man out there.

  11. patthegooner

    It is a real shame Pedro

    Him and Gallas were forming a great partnership this time two years ago. Senderos is a confidence player and with a run of games can become a great player. It was wrong that he was instantly dropped once kolo got back from ANC. I think it killed him.

    Our loss is Everton’s gain.

  12. akb

    Paul,

    Sorry. I think all you guys are arsenal fans. To be honest, I read the comments on this site, particularly those like Patthegooner, because it’s a good guide of how the devil feels about how arsenal are doing. If you guys on here are reasonably happy then it must be because something is going right.

    I think there are loads out there who are wound up by some of the negativity. But on reflection it’s probably because words look a lot worst when you see them on a blog, and also because it’s part of football culture anyway. All fans slag off the team. You only have to listen to Liverpool fans to realise even they only thing they have about 3 good players.

  13. Pedro

    Everton are in for him!

    I think he’s fragile mind set was always going to hinder him. Over thinking… Phil would be a shite golfer.

  14. patthegooner

    Nic was looking good early season.

    I was not sure about him playing wide right, but in fairness for a big fella, he has good feet and can beat a player.

    I think Nic will be vital towards where we end up this season.

    I like Theo, but I just dont think he will ever get the run of games to really hit any kind of form. He does seem to be targetted too. He is fucking quick and sometimes the only way to play him is to kick him out of the game which seems to happen quite regularly.

  15. patthegooner

    AKB, Jesus mate, I am nowhere near the top of the doom mongerers on here. If anything I have been pretty positive this season.

  16. paul

    akb there are plenty on here that i disagree with especially when they slag players off.don’t tar us all with the same brush,however i believe we all love The Arsenal i know Geoff and Pedro do as i have met them recently at The Emirates

  17. SUGA3

    akb,

    we all think we are a brilliant team, we all fucking bleed red & white on here – what really annoys most of us is that we are just a few players short of wiping the floor with most of the teams on this planet and giving selected few top notch ones a good game, getting a result more often than not…

    faith does a lot, but we have not beaten aby team of real quality so far this season – FACT…

  18. Pedro

    Top of the negative league…

    BBK – Undisputed King
    Jaguar – Junior Champion

    I can’t knock BBK thought, he’s consistent and always here to answer questions!

  19. Pedro

    So AKB, are there any player you aren’t pleased with the year? Players not quite fulfilling their potential as you’d hoped?

  20. Stu

    Toure at the acn and imo Gallas’s arrival (while Toure was undroppable) ruined Senderos. As has already been said he was fantastic alongside Gallas but was cruely dropped the second Toure came back.

    Kolo wasnt even squad fit and hadnt trained properly for a good month.

    Also, anytime Senderos got a start it was a last minute think because of imjury (anfield horror show) and he was just expected to come into the team, like he had been there all season, and perform perfectly.

    He didnt exactly have the best of times at Milan either by being injured for most of the season. Good luck to him whereever he goes…as long as it doesnt cost arsenal.

  21. akb

    I am not calling you a doom mongerer Patthegooner. I am saying that I am interested in your viewpoint. Your posts are always pretty lucid, and you have good points. I don’t agree with a lot of them, but I respect the views. Some of them can be debated, which curiously, don’t seem to be on here. For example, you keep making a point that Wenger doesn’t sign in the January transfer window, and you were putting timescales earlier to that effect. But last year we signed Arshavin, and one year didn’t we sign Reyes in this window window; also, we signed 3 players one january window – was it Walcott, Diaby and another player ?

    I am not trying to be funny or argumentative. I’m just saying that some of the viewpoints don’t seem to be contested.

  22. patthegooner

    SUGA3 I would go with that.

    The depth of my frustration was this time last year. Not only were we sat way behind in 5th, but we were playing poor football to boot.

    Last Jan, Arshavin came in and saved our season, not just because of his talent on the field, but it lifted the fans and lifted the spirits of the likes of Cesc and RVP that suddenly had one more WC player to play with. I think it even helped Song out as instead of the Crab football, he suddenly had a forward ball to play.

    This year, I just feel that although we are top, and rightfully on the points tally we are on, I do feel that if we dont strengthen again, I think we might miss out. If we only had a fraction of our current injuries (RVP especially) then I think we could go onto to win it without additions.

  23. Stu

    BBK is consistent if nothing else…and he doesnt resort to insults to make his point..he’s gotta be given credit for that.

  24. Gunners The Stunners

    Arsène Wenger believes that the media ‘brainwashes’ the public with the way it sets the news agenda.

    The Arsenal manager has dealt nimbly with the ‘Fourth Estate’ since he arrived in England in September 1996 and has always enjoyed a cordial relationship with journalists. But Wenger feels that real footballing issues are sometimes brushed under the carpet while other matters are amplified beyond all reason.

    William Gallas’ challenge on Bolton midfielder Mark Davies hit the headlines this week but Wenger wonders why equally newsworthy incidents during Arsenal’s double-header with Bolton have been largely ignored. He has seen it all before, of course, but the lack of balance in the media still surprises him.

    “Fabregas had two clear penalties at Bolton and one or two here,” recalled Wenger. “At Bolton there was what happened after [the penalty claim] when they [Bolton players] pulled his hair and stood on his neck.

    “Why is no-one sensitive to that? Does that not make a story? You wonder why. We saw it three or four times when we watched the tape afterwards and we spoke about it. How can that not be a penalty?

    “Today, we are all brainwashed by one or two main medias who decide what we have to talk about and we talk about that.

    “When it becomes the main story you have to give your opinion about it. I can accept that but it doesn’t always mean they are right. Some incidents they [the media] have not picked are sometimes more important than that. But I don’t get upset any more. It just glides over me.”

  25. David

    Quite right…I dont understand what Senderos did to Wenger…

    Specially since he looked sharp during pre-season and was the better of the pairing with Silvestre.

    Not sure about Bendy being a target man against strong CB’s…against smaller LB yes…he’ll win all the high balls as a RW…but as a CF…

  26. patthegooner

    fairpoint AKB

    The timescale was written in a bit of jest and it is not as if we are not spending but sometimes we seem to lose more out the door than are coming in.

    I hope you continue to post on here, it is good to get your viewpoint (When its clean)

  27. Stu

    Fear not David, Bendtner will win headers against most CBs in the premiership. Aside from his height he has a terific leap too. ;)

  28. Pedro

    Paul, when I spoke to my other best friend, Ivan Gazidis, he said they were researching it.

    He reckons the problem is Arsenal can’t get the fans to their seats in time to build a decent atmosphere, so they’re working on ways around that. He also reckons naming the Quadrants is the way forward.

    I suggested singing sections… he said he couldn’t move people.

    I reckon singing areas regardless and a new song to start.

    The only person in the world who likes that song is A.

  29. Pedro

    GTS, they’ll have Barry, Johnson, De Jong, Belgian guy, PV04 and Flamini all for one role… what a waste of money.

  30. patthegooner

    Also when the likes of Reyes, Walcott, Diaby, and the other was Adebayor came in, I was quite content with the squad anyway.

    It has been in the recent windows that I feel we have left ourselves a bit short.

    like I posted, Arshavin was a revelation but that Window and the one before it (Alonso nearly) was crying out for a midfielder as was this summer.

    I still worry about lack of cover for Song.

  31. akb

    Well Pedro, yes, you cannot say that everybody has had a brilliant season. I do agree with some of you guys on here. There are question marks over Almunia. I agree with those. I agree with the concerns over centre back cover. I agree with the concerns over defensive midfield cover. I know that Denilson is physically lightweight, although a technically gifted player, he leaves us sometimes too exposed. One thing I would say is that he has not had the run of games. Maybe an unconventional viewpoint, but I would say that we need another right back as back up to Sagna. I like Eboue, but I am not convinced his performance in last seasons FA Cup final. (Sorry for too many opinions at once).

    So yes, being an AKB doesn’t mean that you cannot see the weaknesses. Nor does it mean that I think we will win the title. My view, and it has always been the case, that given the resources of our opposition, that 3rd or 4th is a realistic target. That will piss a lot of people off I know, but if that seems like having low expectations, then you have to say, well, do we want to do a Leeds or Portsmouth. I agree that there are possibly other tactics and ways that we can improve, like not playing Wengerball, but hardball, or shifting some emphasis from youth to more experienced players, but on the whole, I am still enthusiastic about the Wenger project despite the trophyless past 4 years. If we fail this year and possibly next, then I will certainly agree that the whole thing would have been a failed project.

  32. David

    There are many of us who are/were negative and are slowly going down the middle.

    After chelsea we were all distraught. I decided to try and be positive after half time with liverfools. Turns out we are now top of the League.

    Akb

    We are all real fans here…heck…i Cant go to games…but i just spend shed loads etching my name in that Armory Square

    https://bookings.arsenal.com/bricks-public/index.htm

  33. chozzer

    The atmosphere was electric on Wednesday night. The hatred and venom was pouring from the stands.

    That level of intensity just isn’t possible in a lot of games.

  34. patthegooner

    I think they want Flamini to play RB!!!!!

    Pedro ref the stadium. I heard that they could take out the plush seats behind the goals and add additional cheaper seating to bump up the attendance. It would be nice to have a real home end again (Singing Section). It would be more affordable seating too

  35. SUGA3

    paul,

    I will say that once again (I have even naively emailed the club to give them that idea): scientific approach – I am a DJ and a keen sound technician, so I know a thing or two about sound…

    it is just all about putting a radar/sonar-like device bang in the middle of the pitch and pressing the button – once you get the results, you ask the fans if they want to sit in ‘tourist’ or ‘rowdy’ section, then you put the ‘rowdy’ ones in the carefully selected sector to get the best sound effect: it is more likely to synchronise chanting and create the ‘cauldron’ effect…

    you wouldn’t believe what good it would do – sound is an amazing thing: the train station in my home town was built in 1900s and its ticket booths are situated on an arch-shaped wall – if you put one person at one end of the arch facing the wall and another at the other end and ask them to speak at the normal voice level, one person will hear what the other one says and there is some 30 yards from one end of the arch to the other ;)

  36. patthegooner

    You want to be careful there AKB,

    I agree with most of the 1st paragraph. Apart from Eboue the RB who I would actually prefer in certain games.

  37. Stu

    SUGA, a few months ago someone suggested singing sections and someone responsed by saying the “tourists” would chose “rowdy” for the experience and the whole thing would go bust.

  38. akb

    Patthegooner,

    lol. But wasn’t Eboue at fault for Chelsea’s equaliser or winner in the FA Cup semi final ? Ball watching in the penalty area. Maybe I’m being harsh.

  39. Stu

    I have also lost faith in Eboue at right back. Im not keen on him in midfield either. Honestly in the summer when he was apparently off to Atletico or Fiorentina i wasnt bothered in the slightest.

    He was once a top attacking rightback but since being moved forward he has lost what little ability he had to defend. Coupled with his awful final ball i now see him as neither a competant(sp) winger or rightback.

    Wingback at best but seeing as we dont play those anymore i would honestly rather he just go and we get a proper backup right back.

  40. Gunners The Stunners

    Arsène Wenger says contract talks with William Gallas are ongoing, and going well.

    The centre-back has been in exceptional form ever since he relinquished the captaincy 14 months ago but his current deal expires at the end of the season.

    Wenger hinted a few weeks back that he may relax his well-established ‘over-30s’ rule to keep Gallas at Arsenal by offering him more than a one-year contract.

    And, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, the manager revealed that recent talks had been positive.

    “Yes, it’s going well,” he said.

    “Let’s keep the negotiations confidential. If we get to a conclusion, we will let you know. At the moment, I think it’s better we don’t talk about it.

    “It is not long ago [since we last held talks], a week ago, something like that.”

    Hopefully, he signs the contract. I think he wants a 2 years contract extention while he is only being offered 1 year. He should be given a 2 year extention based on his current form and commitment to the team.

  41. patthegooner

    No he was,

    Like I say some games.

    I would like to see Eboue in the games against lower teams.

    Sagna is better defensively, but Eboue is pretty good going forward. Infact if he could sort out his final ball he would be deadly. Love his passion too

  42. SUGA3

    Stu,

    we would have to make them sign a disclaimer stating that they will have no complaints about people standing up and belting out chants…

    or something like that ;)

    certainly worth giving it a try – better that than nothing…

  43. patthegooner

    Right got to go. Monster day of Rugby and Football to watch tomorrow.

    And the displeasure of supporting Hull against Man Ure to keep our top spot. Come on you tango’s

  44. Stu

    It wasnt neceassarily ballwatching akb. More that he didnt read the flight of the ball in relation to Maloudas positioning. He neither went for the ball nor stuck close to Malouda to stop him controlling.

  45. Pedro

    Pat, I agreed with the whole of the first paragraph! haha!

    The loose interpretation of the term AKB eh? I know how the Koran feels…

    AKB is the term given to people who debate using ‘Arsene knows’ as a finishing move. Not people who agree with most of what the coach does… and certainly not for people who debate by backing up their comments with reason.

    Though I’m not sure 3rd or 4th should be our realistic aim. I don’t think Wenger thinks that either. I honestly believe he hasn’t spent for the last 3 years because he truly believed his team could win the league. I think that’s why he took it to heart so badly last year… he knew he fucked up…

    This year, I think we could do it… I’m just worried about how weak our first team is going into the next 4-5 games…

    Can we score 2 goals past Chelsea and ManU? I think that’ll be the minimum we’ll need to beat them…

  46. Pat

    I really like this Remy link. Might actually be better for us than Chamakh. Definitely better than Gignac, in our system.

    I really, really hope its true. Saha or Remy and I’ll be very happy.

    Re. Senderos:

    Many Everton blogs reckon its a done deal

  47. Pedro

    My problem with Eboue is mainly down to the hot headedness (<- ???)…

    It drives his cheating and it drives his mistakes.

    When he faked that injury last year… everyone thought he had done his ligaments because of the agony he was in… the next game he was back. He'll feign injury regardless of what it does to the team…

    I really don't think he's a good ambassador for the club…

  48. patthegooner

    Pat

    The Remy story got pulled, apparently mr 10% has come out and said he is now staying there until the end of the season

  49. SUGA3

    Pedro,

    I said at the beginning of the season that it will be a close affair between us and Chavs – my ManYoo and Dipper mates said I was deluded, but I think we will finish no lower than second…

    being a perfectionist, I will be less than impressed when we finish second and we will hear these injury excuses once again…

  50. Pat

    Pedro, we might not need 2 against Manure. They created fuck all at OT to be honest.

    Now we have Cesc and I’ll be surprise if we don’t beat them. Even last season, in the league, we should have been 3-0 up before Rafael scored. Nasri was hauled down in the box

  51. Gunners The Stunners

    Pedro,

    We can score against Chelsea & ManU. I believe Eddy is slowly but steadily coming to his form and gaining his confidence back. Scoring against those teams will give a majot lift to his confidence.

    Also, I like the way he was so unselfish in front of the goal in the last two games and ended up assisting few goals…

  52. David

    Eboue is our best back up player.

    Like Senderos he did admirably in our run to the CL final.

    The diving thing is a shame…but its not his fault he’s being played in midfield?

  53. Pedro

    Evening Pat!

    Gunners, I hope you’re right… it’s going to be a massive game. It’d be nice for Almunia to make a return to form…

    Right, I’m hitting the sack… a pleasure as always!

  54. Stu

    SO who are Cameroon playing. I thought they finished second in their group so would play Egypt but someone else said they finished first and would play Nigeria…

    ANyone know which it is?

  55. Stu

    Eduardo may not be that pacey but he makes up for it with better allround play than Theo.

    Theo is just pure pace and with the run of games coming up all against teams than play relatively deep defensive lines, Theo wouldnt have much room behind to exploit. I say stick with Eddie for now.

  56. David

    yea Eduardo has had quite a bit of assists as if its a point that our CF should now be more concerened with assists than scoring…but i know with Theo’s pace and him being English we could get 1 or 2 penalties?

  57. David

    Yea Pat but we had Eboue and Diaby in midfield with Song and Denilson.

    AS it stands if we get Song back…not sure if Diaby would be available?

    I dont doubt we will beat the Mancs…but we cant afford to defend like have been doing recently!

  58. Stu

    Well if Eduardo isnt scoring at least he is getting assists.

    Theo generally does much better when given space and that only happens for us in the dying stages of matches when the oppo are pushing for an equaliser.

    For now Theo is a supersub who can utilise his pace. If he started CF he would just get bullied imo. Especially against Villas, Uniteds and chelseas CBs.

    As for penalties..arsenal cant buy a fucking pk at the moment.

  59. David

    Agreed.

    But i doubt Villa, Utd, Chelsea would park the bus with us.

    I reckon if we go to Stamford shyte they would press us as they did Sunderland and that would be a good game for Theo at least on the RW.

    So yes…Song should be back after Monday. This means he’d be back in time for the Villa game?

  60. Stu

    Should Cameroon lose then tecnically he would be back for the Villa match but he definately wouldnt be played because of fatigue, jet lag and lack of training imo.

    United or chelsea would be a definite though.

    Granted chelsea and united arent ikely to sit back but Chelsea usually play a deep line regardless of how many they have back defending and united usually line up to stop the oppo controlling the match when its against a big team.

    And especially Villa, under MON they are primarily a counterattacking team and especially away from home so Theos pace would be useless imo.

    He never does anything against Evra and i dont see that changing and given the form that Cashley is in its doubtful he would get much change out of him either. Bu Theo does have a good record against the Chavs.

    I dunno really. Wenger certainly has his work cut out for him in the upcoming matches..

  61. nishanth

    Disappointed to hear that wenger won’t buy a striker.I was atleast hoping for a loan move for some striker.Hope he atleast signs a CM and a CB if possible

  62. A

    I still think he will sign a striker nisanth – doubt a loan move though, noone good enough would be allowed to leave on loan by a club.

  63. B.B.K

    A the way he is talking,the only striker we will be signing is bendtner again,i think you should just accept he won’t make that sort of signing

  64. LAzer

    I think I am with bbk on this one….no signings I think. Don’t ask me what I think about it…might be too many expletives to delete if we suffer.

    How is everyone? Been fucked with work, missed the commotion am sure was on here since we went top..

  65. LAzer

    Lawro on BBC predicting we struggle to the Potters…I think Wengs will chop and change significantly so you never know.

    Don’t blame him though, the squad is thread bare thin and the Villa, Utd, and Chav games are vital as everyone knows.

  66. Pat

    I don’t think we have the right to be badgering Wenger’s selection tomorrow. I, for one, do not want to risk any 1st team players.

    We have a lot of depth, more than United and Liverpool imo. Problem is, even our replacements are constantly injured.

    Lets hope for a surprise tomorrow. It’ll be tough beating them with youngsters. Althouth I can see us getting something if the strong lads play. They’re certainly better footballers than the Stoke players.

    JET, Bartley, Eastmond, who is very tough despite his size.

  67. Pat

    I think we’ll get Remy or Saha, but I really hope its Remy.

    Smalling seems a real possibility as well. Wenger didn’t count it out this window. He said “This moment is this moment” Theres a very solid link imo

  68. AA23

    Stu
    thanks for pasting tha….
    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

  69. Micky Did It 89

    AA23: is there any basis for that being a FACT?
    And…goood morning Grovers.
    Its nice to be home after a failed mission to London to see the Boys. Oh well, will have to wait for the next midweek home game.

  70. Geoff

    AA23 you were in moderation, but sometimes that just happens, nothing personal, but it also picks up on unhealthy thoughts, were you thinking about your mates mum, or sister?

    That’ll do it!

  71. Pat

    I can definitely see someone coming in. Smalling seems like a certainty. Wenger gave it away in TWO interviews!

    Remy and Saha may come in also, but I’d like to know AA23′s source regarding Huntelaar

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