Arshavin speaks!

January 12, 2010

Arsenal’s film star signing Andre Arshavin says Arsenal will need a miracle if we are to win anything this season, he says that we have been plagued with injuries and if we sign anyone, it will be at the last minute.

He’s only been here a year, but I think he is becoming a Grover with his thoughts, I’m not sure how his boss will take to his latest comments but I do think he has a point!

Chelsea are looking at Ribery and Arguela, Everton are sounding out a loan deal for Ben Arfa, the Mancs are looking at Di Maria and we are looking at Saha and Campbell, says it all really, and there I will leave it, the rest is up to the boss.

I watched the Africa Cup of Nations yesterday and Coté de Ivorié looked a real shower of stools, they had a team full of stars but couldn’t beat whipping posts Burkina Faso, what was funny were the hair do’s, they had one player who looked like he had a set of curtains on his head, Gervinho, a couple of Mohawks, and Didia Drogba’s ‘borstal boy’ hair do, and that really was as entertaining as that match got, the Toure’s were both rubbish, Eboue was his usual self but the kits looked impressive, I really like the Ivory Coast’s colours, I wish we could learn from Puma with our kits, they were really smart. Algeria, our world cup group opponents got beaten 2 zip and it looked like England have a chance in June!

I did criticise the competition, but only for the timing and the fact we lose key players twice every 4 years, but I do like the fact I am watching football when we aren’t playing, so it’s not all bad.

After the Everton match I was wondering if we should give Coquelin a go, I know he’s young, but he is a real fighter, and had he gone over like Denilson did, he would have fallen on the ball with his teeth, unlike Denilson who almost gifted them a goal, I think it’s time the boss gave him a try, as I see it, we couldn’t do worse.

Maybe he should try Watt or Thomas in the middle, we really lack a tall front man to hold the ball up and we were looking one dimensional, never mind the goals we are scoring, if we had a front man, perhaps we could score even more.

I had an idea yesterday, what about trying Vermaelen as the defensive midfielder? Although he is doing really well with Billy, we still ship goals, maybe if we tried someone else in the back four, having Vermaelen protecting them may well do it. Trouble is I don’t know who to suggest going in the hole, maybe Campbell, don’t forget it’s only a stopgap, maybe try something crazy like buying a centre back, a premiership player that would slot right in, like Cahill or the Stoke boy, just a thought, for me Vermaelen may just be the answer we have been looking for, he’s tough, fast, reads the game well, heads a ball and knows where the centre backs are, or should be, don’t shout me down because of the love for Song, he’s not here and we have a bunch of make or break season games coming up.

What we had against Everton didn’t work! We are entering into that faze where games will run out, and with the oil rich chav mancs winning again, we have to protect our ECL spot, I kid you not, they are right up behind us and with the spuds, scousers and Villa behind them it wouldn’t be hard to find ourselves way down the table, in a heartbeat.

Think about it, don’t have a cow, just think about it, it could just solve the problem without costing us too much of the money we don’t appear to have.

Have a great day Grovers, plenty to debate!

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Posted by Geoff

No one in but Sol Campbell and Denilson will return soon. I have now seen the light!

January 11, 2010

So after the interesting game that saw us win a point against top team Everton on Saturday, fans will have to wait until Sunday until we play Bolton. I for one can’t wait.

Pedro covered the game yesterday, all I can say there is at least the mercurial Denilson will be back on Sunday, Bendtner will be back in two weeks, Almunia got through the game un-injured and we may well be re-signing Sol Campbell, happy days then, the really good news is we won’t be spending any money so we will be in good financial shape.

Yes I know we didn’t really make the most of that game but don’t complain, we are in great shape. We are in third spot in the English Premier League, in the next round of the FA Cup and through the group stages of the European Champions league, how can we not be happy with that?

Resigining Sol Campbell will be like signing a new player and Fran Merida looks like he’ll be staying, I understand Man City, Aston Villa, Spurs, Man United and Chelsea are also thrilled we’ll be making no more signings, as they also believe we have enough in the locker room.

So they are thrilled, the board are thrilled and many of our weekend bloggers that came on, will also be besides themselves with our progress.

For any of you that may be a little disappointed out there, don’t be, as we are in great financial shape, and that’s the most important thing.

Ivan is rumoured to be taking the rest of the season off along with the 300 worldwide scouts we have, as there will be nothing to do until the summer, when all the 17 year old starlets will be looking for their first big professional contracts, and we all know that Arsenal is seen as the place to be as we pay so well and they will all get a chance to impress.

I just hope that Almunia gets a new and extended contract soon to match Denilson’s, as going through the summer wondering whether or not he’ll be off to Real Madrid will be too much for me to handle.

Anyone who may be a little nervous at the performance against Everton, don’t be, they drew against Chelsea, drew against Spurs and lost to us 6-1, but our team showed the same spirit as they did when we played Chelsea, so we have a lot to look forward to, mental strength, financial stability are massively important and don’t forget, we have a very young squad.

Not a lot more that I can add to all that. I hope this post shows the few doubters out there, that we are now true Arsenal fans, just like they are.

Have a great day Grovers, I’m sure our competitors will!

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Posted by Geoff

Dear Mr Wenger…

January 10, 2010

Dear Mr Wenger,

Firstly I’d like to congratulate you on getting this team to within a hair’s breadth of the top of the table. I must admit, I didn’t really expect to still be in the mixer at this point after our mini collapse a couple of months back. The team has played with cohesion, certain players have made the necessary flumps, ala, Diaby, Song and Nasri… and that’s been reflected in our play. That’s not to say cracks haven’t been showing. Injurires are starting to pile high again, like they always do and there are a few players who don’t seem to be pulling their weight.

This is a letter to ask you to make the relevant purchases in the January transfer window that will allow us to kick on comfortably during the second half of the season and compete. Yesterday it was apparent that the whole defense has lost faith in Almunia. He doesn’t have the commanding presence a world class keeper needs to dominate his area and he’s become decidedly shaky over the last few weeks. He was never the best choice from the start, however, he did do a job for a season. Your luck has run out though. The defence seems sorted, the keeper does not. Allowing a midget to sneak in and score a header is embarrassing and needless. Either buy a new keeper or put your trust in one of the talented understudies you have that are eager to capitalise on his demise. Giving him the captains armband wont perk his performances and it’s rather churlish if you ask me.

My next point is about the holding role. At the start of the season I believed you were going to start with Denilson. Song got the nod in the end and bossed that role. He’s left for the ACN and boy was that felt yesterday. The Brazilian is light weight, his passing was shocking and he cost us the first goal with two mistakes. He picked up what looked like a serious injury yesterday. Don’t ignore the opportunity to go out  and find a stop gap. We don’t have any other options now… it’d be unfair to put Eastmond in and probably too early to give JET a go. If you let us play the next few weeks without an experienced head there, we’re in serious trouble.

Finally, take note of the striking role. You need to fill it desperately. There is no doubt that we’ve managed to carve goals out this season without a striker. However, it hasn’t been convincing has it? Yesterday we got through with two deflected goals and bar the late surge, we looked impotent. We need a hit man who can hold the ball up and nod the endless crosses that are being fired in. Nik Bendtner isn’t the answer this season. He’s not fit enough and I think it’s asking far too much to expect him to carry the team until May. It’s a season too early. You need to open that cheque book and work some magic. There can be no excuse after watching the last few games. Injuries isn’t going to rub as an excuse this year.

What I will say is despite the result, that was one of the most enjoyable score draws I’ve been to see in recent times. The team showed an amazing grit and determination after they lost the second goal when other teams might have faltered. The weather conditions were atrocious and they type we usually don’t like. No such issues yesterday… loved it! When that second Rosicky deflection hit the back of the net… I knocked one of the chaps over who was sitting next to me… the joy over rode the embarrassment though!

Arsene, we’re nearly there squad wise. All it takes is a few smart additions over the next couple of weeks and we could genuinely be talking about a league winning squad. Don’t mess it up in a silly attempt to prove yourself right all along. Today was a kick up the arse, an early warning of what might happen if you don’t act. Thank the footballing gods it’s happened in Early Jan, not the first week of Feb. We all want to finish the season successfully, you’ve got the resources, the players are out there… you just need to give them the thumbs up!

Kind regards

Pedro and a million like minded Gooners!

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Posted by Pedro

It’s too dangerous to play Bolton but it’s quite safe to play in the ACN!

January 9, 2010

Well in a week that Arsenal call the game off because it snowed and was deemed too dangerous to go ahead with the match, our players go to the African Cup of Nations where it’s considered safe.

Well unfortunately for two Togo players and their bus driver, it wasn’t, playing the cup in war torn Angola is the equivalent of hosting the World Cup in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Maybe Arsenal should have been more mindful before they sent Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboue to play there about safety.

Hopefully they’ll call it off now and our players can come back, if not at the very least they’ll surround the tournament with better security. An official in Angola even criticised Togo for driving the dangerous route, blimey, that’s like saying the Everton team should fly down today to avoid going through the Midlands.

Let’s just hope our players are safe and come back in one piece, it sure does put football into perspective.

And before any of our African Grovers get bent out of shape, I’m not having a pop at the cup, I’m having a pop at where it’s being played, crazy. Unsafe at the Grove, but okay in Angola, go figure.

Arsene has said on Arsenal.com that he won’t be pursuing Chamakh and he almost signed Vieira and he is sure a premiership club will sign Campbell. So add that Dzeko and Gignac are too expensive and Cole is too injured then it looks like we won’t be signing anyone.

NOT EVEN SOL CAMPBELL!

The great news is that Bendtner is back in training and looks set to save us £25 million in the transfer window, but he won’t be back for two weeks. Thing is, even if Bendtner is fit, we are still two strikers short in Theo and RVP and 3 short if you consider we never replaced Adebayor.

Also, it’s not like we’re getting Thierry Henry back from injury is it, we are getting an unproven striker back, I like Nikki B a lot, but I still think he’s two years off fulfilling his potential, I beieive you need to be around 24/25 to be a top striker.

So it looks like we are once again being short changed, still as Pedro and Wrighty 7 said yesterday, be calm, we still have 3 weeks left in the transfer window. If only I had their confidence and trust.

Someone suggested Santa Cruz and Ireland or Kompany as they are basically redundant now, anyone?

Everton at home today, well they have been doing okay of late and did draw against the chavs and the spuds, I saw both games and the chavs were woeful, well at least Cech was and the spuds should have been 4 up long before Saha netted.

Saha is another one on the radar, apparently injured today, but too much of a crock to interest me, a perfect Wenger signing though, injured, French and cheap!

I predict we’ll hammer them today and the mancs will draw a blank at Birmingham which will put us second with a game in hand and one point behind the chavs.

Anyway at least we get to watch the Arsenal today and with new signing Rosicky back we should be in for an entertaining game, I really like Tomas, I think he gives our team another dimension, Denilson is in for Song so he gets a chance to show us what he’s got, but will the boss stick with Vela after his assist laden game at Upton Park. I don’t think so.

I thought Eduardo and Nasri did enough to warrant a game and Diaby has to be first on the team sheet these days, so what do we think the team will be today? Try this.

Almunia (prefer Fabianski)

Sagna Gallas Vermaelen Traore

Denilson (prefer Nasri) Ramsey Diaby

Rosicky Arshavin Eduardo

The way to play Everton will be to hit them on the flanks and whip in low crosses, their keeper is playing well at the moment but they’ll remember what we did to them at the first game of the season, Almunia is playing so I’m going for 8-1.

Kidding! But I do think we’ll win handsomely and go second because the mancs won’t.

Hey just a thought, but if the Manc and Chav games are called off and ours goes ahead, we get our game in hand game back, if that makes sense.

Have a great day Grovers, let’s hope we put in a good performance today, no Song, no Fabregas and no frontman, it will certainly show what we have in the locker.

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Posted by Geoff

Arsenal to pay for Bolton fans fares, what about Arsenal fans?

January 8, 2010

So we are told that Arsenal are going to pay for the travel fares of the Bolton fans for the cancellation debacle, good, so they should, what about all the Gooners that also made their way to the ground, unless the lucky ones me included are local, what about all the Arsenal fans that travel from around the world?

This is another example of how out of touch the powers that be are, that they think we all live in Islington.

Onto our 35 year old ex Highbury legend Patrick Vieira, he won’t be coming and that’s a shame, but the signs are we will be getting another 35 year old legend (ex-Invincible) in Sol Campbell, Wenger has been impressed with his training and if we can get shot of Senderos it could well happen, I for one don’t have a problem there, he is a solid back up and offers far more that fishead.

It turns out that Traore won’t qualify under the international games rule, why? Well because he hasn’t played any! However, he could qualify under the exceptional talent one, after all, we have done that before haven’t we!

Next up Everton, I won’t arrange to meet anyone, in case Arsenal cancel the game at 10am just in case we have a frosty day, however, if it does go ahead, same time, same place Grovers!

There still persist the rumours over Carlton Cole and even Scott Parker, I like Parker, but like Cole, he does appear to be a Theo (crock) unlike Cole and Theo, I think he will always be a crock, so I can’t see that happening, Cole though may well, and again, I don’t have a problem with that. Mauro Zarate has now entered the mix but that is a complete load of toot, one good game for Birmingham, a spell at Lazio, and suddenly he’s worth £35mil, perleaaase!

Dzeko, I would have in a heartbeat but Gazidas has said we won’t spend big, so I guess that rules that out. He says we will only buy if we can find the right type of player, well Ivan, if we can’t find a decent striker out there that would do a great job for us, either you need to go, or your scouting network does.

We lost Adebayor, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott and Nikki Bedntner since August, if you don’t think we desperately need a front man, I give up. Even if Nikki comes back soon, he may break again, why? Well because Cesc, Rosicky and Theo all have so why would he be any different? And to be honest, he’s not the answer yet, he needs a few more seasons, then I have no doubt he will be a great, but not yet.

Traore (6’8″ version) seems to be going up in everyones estimation, but until yesterday, no one had heard of him, so why aren’t there others out there that could do a job that we equally haven’t heard of?

Cahill would be another centreback we could get, but if Wenger rates this kid from Cardiff, that won’t happen, however, if we just sign a couple of pearlers in the window I believe the whole squad would get the lift it needs to push on, much like it did when we signed Vermaelen and Arshavin, remember, two ready mades!

Come on Arsenal, get the cheque book out and do it quickly.

We should beat Everton tomorrow, we have to beat Everton tomorrow, I feel the others will continue to drop points this month, and we are entering the toughest part of our season, after that it gets easier, so nail the points on early and we are in pole position, sign a couple of players that will make a difference. If we get injuries to the fragile Eduardo we are in big trouble and right now we have no one we can bring on from the bench.

If we aren’t going to bring Simpson back then sell him, what’s the point in keeping him at QPR if when desperate for forwards we don’t recall him, other than the fact he has no future, and if that’s the case, sell him and buy Moses.

Have a great day today grovers, I hope to see some of you tomorrow, but then that’s up to Arsenal, isn’t it!

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Posted by Geoff

Add Higuain and Lacina to the list + major disappointment last night, poor show Arsenal

January 7, 2010

First of all I have to say that to cancel the game last night, so late on was a disgrace, I live and work in the area and there were no problems with the trains, the problems we had with a bit of snow were there in the morning, Arsenal should have cancelled then, not left it until 4pm, I really felt for the poor Bolton supporters who would have either already been in London, or well on their way. Yes I really mean that, another great example of disrespecting the poor football fan that pays his way.

Not to mention all of us that had arranged to meet up for a pre-match bevvie, bad form Arsenal, you could have cancelled much earlier or not at all.

Moving on to the rumour mill, it seems that Bendtner may not be back as soon as the boss had hoped, it appears now that he will make a move in the window and the favourites are Chamakh and Carlton Cole, with Carlton Cole holding the early lead, a deal for him and cash with Wilshere going the other way on loan looks likely.

Madrid are starting the swap talk for Higuain with Fabregas rubbish, yeah right, what planet are they on? I like Higuain, but I love Cesc, and so might I add does Wenger, either way it’s Barca or Arsenal for Cesc, and if he liked Barca so much, why did he leave them in the first place? I’ll give that story a big fat zero.

Another that has serviced is Lacina Traore, he plays in Romania, is 19 and from the Ivory coast, he is the next Ade they say, so why on earth would we be interested in him? Just what we need, another trouble maker that is still in nappies and one that will leave us every 2 years to play in the African Carling Cup.

Mind you, he is 19 and that will get Wenger excited, someone that could be good in 2014 just before we sell him!

Another piece of interesting news is that Owen Coyle, Bolton’s best kept secret is set to move for Celtic’s Aiden McGeady and will need to sell centre back Cahill to fund the move, if that’s true we should move quickly to buy him, he is England’s next big stopper, and one we should not pass up, perfect to take over from Gallas should he decide to move to France on a free.

The only good thing about the Bolton match being postponed is that we should have Cesc back for that one, trouble is, we didn’t need him for that one.

I can see a lot of games coming up in March that we could well do without, especially if we are still in the cups.

Interesting times, I will forgive the Arsenal should we follow the disappointment of not playing with a couple of signings this week, I’ll take Chamakh and Cahill. I’d sooner have Dzeko or Higuain but if Cole is fit, he may do the job that Bendtner can’t right now.

We’ll see, still only 2 days to go before we can hammer Everton again, 7 nil anyone! And no, that wasn’t a prediction!!!

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Posted by Geoff

For you lot that chugged at my Ugs, you are mugs, cos I made it in for the suds!

January 6, 2010

Ok cast your mind back to Christmas day and my post, I said I had been bought a pair of Ugs, all the way from Australia, I was laughed at, told only girls wear them and don’t bring them to the Villa game, I didn’t, I felt proper humiliated.

Today, London is in chaos, I woke up to 8 inches of snow and the BBC said don’t travel if you don’t have to, well we’re supposed to be going to the Grove tonight to smash Bolton, I had to, enter my Ugs, yes I wore them, I glided effortlessly into the station and made my way to work, Ugs 1, Grovers nil. And tonight I’ll get to the ground and warm up by drinking their beer, the suds!

Ok so my country cousins, fellow Grovers and no doubt Pedro will laugh at me when we meet, but I don’t care, the birds love ‘em!

So the snow was everywhere but not in London, will the game be cancelled? Probably, but I made it and you can laugh all you want, I don’t care, I have warm feet and I didn’t slip over once!

Onto tonight, I’ll be there if it’s on, I hope it’s on but in this age of politically correct cancellations for adverse weather, I suspect they’ll cancel it, it also means that Cesc, Song and Bendtner will be a game nearer returning and Wenger will jump at that chance.

He was bigging up Denilson yesterday which means he will step in for Song and not Diaby and it also means he won’t be buying a replacement, shame that, a few world class players will never go amiss.

If the Merida stories are true, it’s the first clear signs of my youth policy theory, that it’s not working, why? Let me explain. With a young midfield of Cesc, Nasri, Song, Denilson, Ramsey and Diaby all between 18 and 23 where do all the other 18-21 year olds fit in? Who’s place will Merida, Wilshere, Thomas, Frimpong, Coquelin, Eastmond or Lansbury take? When Coquelin is 23, Song will be what, 27? That’s still younger than Rosicky and Arshavin, so what will we do, get rid of Song? Unthinkable, get rid of Nasri, yeah right, so my fear is these kids, that are super, duper prospects will want to leave to fulfill their potential.

This isn’t a criticism it’s a fact, how do we keep all these great young prospects when they already have great young prospects ahead of them?

The boss ruled out Paddy coming back and I think that’s a real shame, he is still a monster and experience like that will help out the youngsters, I remember Cesc saying how much playing with Paddy and Dennis helped him improve, still it won’t happen, so we’ll leave it there.

No transfer news to report save if he does buy, he’ll buy early doors, but he seems to be waiting for the merry go round to start with City and Chelsea to get the ball rolling, me I’d go and sign Dzeko right now and get him playing soon.

I think Carlton Cole is a class act, but he’s like a fighter with a glass jaw, he’s the sort of player I would have, a cheaper Dzeko, but it would be like buying another Rosicky or an Overmars, way too risky, but the sort of gamble Wenger would take, if he worked out, and stayed injury free, he’d be a great addition and probably make the team for South Africa, but for me, it’s a big ask and a huge gamble.

We’ll see, I hope like hell the game is on, waiting 6 days between matches when all the golf couses are shut is way too long, Arsenal, I’m ready for this, get it on, if the weather stops the 4 Bolton fans for making the trip, so be it, London is clear and the trains are running.

It may be difficult for our board members to make it in their chauffeur driven cars though, so I’m not holding my breath.

Have a great day grovers, we live in hope.

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Posted by Geoff

Merida’s going, Tomas is staying, Cesc is longer and Nikki is shorter, but Diaby’s the man.

January 5, 2010

So, quite a busy day and still no signing in sight! Apparently Fran has signed for Athletico Madrid on a 5 year deal, if it’s true I’m not too fussed, he has shown glimpses, but not enough to get me saying ‘oh no’ if it’s true, good luck son and may the force be with you.

Tomas Rosicky has been awarded a new 2 year contract, some may think that’s daft, but had we not signed him, he could have walked ala Campbell style at the end of the season, so it at least gives us some wiggle room, if its pay as you play, I don’t have a problem with it, if the rumours are true about Sol, again I don’t have a problem, at least it saves us from spending money in the window and we’ll have Djourou back soon.

Cesc’s injury is taking longer than expected, but if Aaron Ramsey steps up, we can survive and Bendtner is close to training once more so we may save ourselves £25 million on a new striker as well.

The big news is Diaby is ready to fill in for Song, my only question there is, what happens if he plays a blinder, will he drop Song? Hmmmm, his problem, not mine!

Tomorrow sees the return of Owen Coyle to the Grove but this time as the new Bolton manager, what a twit! Fancy going to Bolton, that’s like leaving Forest Green to manage Buckhurst Hill. I’m not too worried about new manager syndrome because Bolton aren’t that good and if we can’t beat them, we shouldn’t be thinking about winning the league, my guess is we will thump them, close the gap and do Everton on Saturday to go top. I just hope if it is true, he re-thinks the Wilshere move, because the new guy may not play him and then the move becomes pointless.

The Chavs will struggle without their four Africans and we will take full advantage, that’s my guess, I think Diaby will become the missing Paddy link and be immense, and talking of Paddy, I really hope we sign him and he doesn’t go to City, that would not be a smart way to end his career and I think he can help our team when we need it most, come back Paddy.

I still harbour hopes that the boss will sign a striker, I think Bendtner will take time to adjust and if he gets another injury, we will be screwed until the summer, so the smart money is on a signing, and as Wenger hasn’t ruled it out I think he will.

So a good result this week will see us top of the league and frankly, that’s where we should be. If we are going to keep signing Africans then we really should lobby FIFA to make them have their tournament every 4 years, like the World Cup and the Euros, I think if they don’t, clubs will be loathe to sign Africans and that can’t be good for African football in the long term.

We are also coming to that time of the year when we see our new kit appearing in exclusive contraband shots, lets hope we have white sleeves and a white collar again with red and white hooped socks, or even black and white hoped socks like we did when we had Ian Wright playing for us.

Finally let’s pray they don’t cancel tomorrow because of the snow, yes I know we have a heated pitch and warm lager, but they cancelled before because of the travel chaos.

Either way I’ll be there, so think about that Arsenal, don’t disappoint me as we have waited since the Celtic game to catch up, with the FA Cup getting in the way, I don’t want to wait until March to go top, regardless of what the chavs do!

Have a great day Grovers, tomorrow we go second! Yeeeaaah!

P.S If you haven’t joined the fanpage yet, do it quick, the next two hundred win big brother on ice tickets! I’ve also got one spare for tomorrow night in club level for the discounted price of £50… e-mail in if you’d like it!

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Posted by Geoff

Campbell to re-sign? Cashers nicked…

January 4, 2010

Newsnow messed up this morning, click the link below for your daily dose of Le Grove goodness.

Link

An artistic impression of what newsnow did this morning.

Oh and Ashley Cole has been done for speeding. 100mph in a 50mph zone… tut tut. We’ve also heard from a Grover that Sol Campbell is resigning… a very flaky rumour, but you never know! Apparently he is undertaking a medical and will be warming our bench for the rest of the season. Sounds like a worse option than playing Senderos to me… both have a fragile personalities, one doesn’t have the legs anymore. At least he was a champion back in the day.

Oh, and talking of dodgy signings, we’ve just secured Rosicky to a new 2 year deal. Fantastic. I hope we didn’t give him any extra holiday, he does enough lying around on his ass for the whole team!

Have your say in the other post, apologies for the confusion1

P.S. Join out Facebook…


Fan page

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Posted by Pedro

Whose in deep, deep trouble!? – Lay off Jack – The gamble nearly cost us!

January 4, 2010

Fabianski
Sagna Gallas Vermaelen Silvestre
Song
Ramsey Merida

Wilshere Eddy Vela

Initial thoughts of me and Geoff were good. The team was filled with the exciting kids, we had our future number one in goal and shockingly, Gallas and the Verminator started. So much for all the muppets that came out before the game digging out Geoff for wanting to risk the first teamers. Those two are by far the most important pairing we have if we want to win the league this year and Wenger played them.

The game started in similar fashion to the game against Pompey, except it didn’t really pick up. We had chances, but so did West Ham. Arguably, West Ham had the better of the first half. Song had a mare, misplacing passes, slipping over and fouling unnecessarily. Eduardo’s finishing was abject, Merida was very peripheral and old Jacky boy was having torrid time.

Defence 1

Before we get too far into this match report, lets put the Jack Wilshere performance in perspective. He’s played hardly any games this season, he’s only 18 years old and he was launched into the deepend against a very physical and hungry West Ham side. Lets not rip genuine talent a new asshole because he had a poor game or try and accuse me of nationalism for defending an English kid. He had a poor game, but he’ll go to Burnley, toughen up and come back a man… mark my words.

As the half drew to a close, Arsenal had 3 more shots on target than West Ham, not particularly troubling for Green. Fabianski pulled off a top save when he tipped Stanislavs looping shot wide. As the ticker hit 45 minutes, Diamanti beat the offside trap Silvestre had tried to set, raced through and slotted it past Fabianski who did well to even get a hand to it.

Defence 2.

Blaming Fabianski for the goal shows a lack of understanding of goalkeeping. He did very well to get down to stand a chance of saving that. People are too quick to apportion a scape goat sometimes, the keeper certainly wasn’t one in this case.

The second half began and to be honest it was just as painful as the first. There seemed a sea of claret shirts every time we bombed forward and very little spark to match it… down the other end, it was all very last ditch. Vermaelen and Gallas having to work hard for their pound notes.

The clock reached 64 minutes and finally Wenger rang in the changes… on came Diaby and Nasri, off went the ineffective Merida and Wilshere. Things started to look better straight away. Those two allowed Rambo to become far more effective, they also gave Vela far more freedom down the left. Who’d have thought 6 months ago we’d be cheering Diaby on to save our bacon!? Diaby the saviour… it has a nice ring to it!

We created a few good chances, Diaby unlucky to find Rob Green’s chest from a one on one, Song unluckier to find his hand for the double save.

Then the break through came, Song slipped the ball to Vela, who mispassed to Rambo, the ball came back to him and on the second attempt he found and onside Rambo who blasted it perfectly past the oncoming keeper.

I can promise you, you’ve never heard a louder cheer from me and Geoff… Geoff’s wife came in and told us to sit down and shut up. We duly obliged, just like being at the ground.

Arsenal had to win this. There would be no point in resting players if we’d have to replay the game. The team knew this and a few minutes later Vela whipped the ball into man mountain Eduardo, who cushioned his header over Rob Green into the top corner! Arsenal were through… cheerio West Ham!

Wenger’s impeccable record of never going out in the 3rd round was maintained!

So, in conclusion, a great result. However, I wouldn’t want to play a team that make shift in the next round. Give the players who are ready a game, but bundling them all in for one game almost seems counter productive. Jack Wilshere isn’t going to feel great about that performance, nor is Merida. Geoff suggested a better option would be to play the more senior players to get the lead, then bring on the young kids later on. Also, wouldn’t it be beneficial for the likes of Wilshere and co to get more of a game when we’re storming a crap team?

It’s also quite apparent that we need a striker who has the ability to hold the ball up and offer a physical presence. Wenger has started with the ‘I can’t find the players’ rubbish again. Don’t believe his tosh, if he can’t find a striker better than the Arshavin, he needs to sack his scouting network because they’re not doing a good enough job. Gignac, Adriano, Saha, Carlton Cole, Dzeko, Kiesling… the list goes on. I’m sure he’s bluffing as Chamakh has been quoted as saying Arsenal are pressurising him to join now. I’m more worried about the hideous lack of cover for an unfit Denilson and the lack of anyone Wenger trusts at centre back. Senderos is so far down the pecking order he’s paying for tickets to get into home games. If you ask me, despite the results, to launch a proper challenge of three trophies, we are 3 players short as of now unless we have an amazing run of zero injuries.

Also, a word for the away fans. Superb vocal performance. I got tickets for my brother to the game, he said he was embarrassed by how much the hammers talked up the Upton Park boiling cauldron when in reality it was more of a simmering puddle.

So, three trophies still to play for, Stoke in the next round!!!

Ratings:

Fabianski: He pulled off a couple of very clever saves and commanded his box just like Almunia should do. 7

Sagna: His crossing was dreadful as always but I guess asking someone with a lack of natural crossing ability to find a striker sub 6ft is a bit of a stretch. Some top defending today. 7.5

Gallas: A great game today. Good in ever aspect especially his recovery tackles. 7

Vermaelen: He’s been a star performer so far this season and 2010 looks like it’s going to be more of the same. Super game from a player you see getting forward as much as you do defending. 8

Silvestre: Too old to be playing left back regularly. His pace really exposed him and lets be honest, he was never a great reader of the game. He was at fault for their goal. 5

Song: Not exactly the best way to sign off performance wise. Unneccessary fouls in dangerous positions and some very shoddy passing from a player who has been consistently good on that front this year. Good pass in the build up to Rambo’s goal. 6

Ramsey: Man of the match from ITV, I wasn’t so sure until I started writing about his game. He got around the pitch a lot in the first half without ever really creating too much, the second half he was much better and when the subs came on he exploded into life. A great left footed goal to continue his successful run in the first team. The boys gonna be a player and a half! 8.25

Merida: Not his best game for the club. He had a few shots, but he wasn’t really involved in the game as much as you’d expect. Mind you, the same issue as Jack, not enough time on the pitch. Still, no excuse for failing to hit a corner past the front post, is there? 6

Wilshere : A very poor game from Jacky boy. Playing away is tough for any young player, being singled out for rough treatment by an opposing manager makes things even harder. He’ll bounce back after a successful man-up period away from the club. 4

Eddy: His main use is finishing. That’s been very off lately, but he showed his class late on with a very stylish header against a defender much bigger than him. Any hopes of Upson returning were cruelly dashed! 6.5

Vela: Considering he was near enough man marked by West Hams best player (Behrami), I thought he did a very good job. His cross to Eduardo was superb and his determination to put Rambo through was fantastic to see. He’s not afraid to put it about and given a run of games, I’m sure he’d reward the manager. The first real sign of fight I’ve seen from him this year. 7.5

Subs:

Diaby: The man had a mission… to put Arsenal through with hardwork and good passing. Mission accomplished. 7.5

Nasri: Great cameo appearance, not quite as good as Diaby’s but having him on the pitch put some of the other players at ease. 7

P.S. If you haven’t joined up to the Le Grove fan page, I’m going to tell everyone you support Spurs.

Oh, and before I go. I know we moan at Arsene for whinging in interviews, but at least the man comes out for them… everytime, on time. Ol’ red nose couldn’t even be assed to show respect to the ITV viewers to explain his teams woeful ineptitude… then when he did come out he had the cheek to say 5 minutes additional time was a disgrace. Will he get pilloried in the media today… very doubtful. On the Manc front, lets all laugh at them some more. They’re in so much shit they’re trying to arrange a £600m bond issue (Here).

Here’s how the other side blog and what they thought (Click).

Oh, many thanks for contributing to a wonderful day in the comments yesterday. 1500+ blog posts of pure football ramblings. Grovers, you’re the damn best…

…now join the fanpage

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