Form seems to go out the window in these London Derby games regardless of who you are playing. West Ham have looked utterly hopeless over the last few weeks. In fact, the only game I’ve seen them play where they looked any good was against Chelsea where they were unlucky to finish up the losing team.
Yesterday, West Ham fully deserved to finish pointless, but they managed to put on a resolute defensive display for 86 minutes against and Arsenal side that’s been averaging 3 goals a game so far this season.
It took a while for us to create an opening chance, Song played Sagna in with a pass of great vision, the full back cut it back to Cesc who could only find the hand of Rob Green.
Song managed to get himself in the book again which was irritating as it was for his second reckless challenge. He doesn’t need to make them and someone should have a word because he’s no use to us suspended.
That was pretty much it for tame first half.
Mark Noble capitalised on a Denilson cock-up near the half way line, powered through everyone but could only fire his shot straight at Fabianski. He did well to hold onto it.
Down the other end Song played a cheeky one two with Cesc and fired hard and low… too close, Rob Green saved again.
Squillaci rose highest from a corner, his looping header was tipped over by the keeper again. Was this going to be one of those days I thought to myself?
Nasri took time out to remind us why he should take the freekicks with an absolute rocket from possibly 35 yards out… a shame the cross bar wasn’t 3 inched higher!
West Ham were putting their foot in with some heavy challenges which we were riding pretty well. Well, until Arshavin was slipped in by Song and fell to a very light Da Costa brush. From where we were sitting it looked nailed on, replays indicated otherwise!
Walcott came on to great applause. It’s been a while since the home fans have held genuine excitement about his arrival. Cesc played him in almost straight away with superb ball, Theo fired it past Green only to hit the inside of the post! What a joke… this goal was never going to come!
West Ham’s pathetic time wasting was also becoming a farcical, I think it’s disgusting players can walk off when they’re subbed and I think it’s outrageous goal keepers can pick the side they want to take their kicks from. Very unsportsmanlike.
Walcott went close again with a deflected shot that was saved well.
Alex Song picked the ball up in the middle of the park, sprayed it out wide to Clichy who cut inside his man and chipped a perfect right footed cross tantalisingly across goal where Song was on hand to head home! A superb goal and a super performance from Alex!
Interestingly Robert Green started sprinting for goal kicks after that, West Hams substitutes managed to leave the pitch in double quick time and there was a lot more urgency to their game for the last 6-7 minutes? Funny that?
That made our keep ball all the more entertaining! The final whistle blew, the fans roared and we’d just bagged 3 points and our 3rd clean sheet in a row!
Conclusion
This was my favourite performance of the season. Our dependence of Cesc last year has been well documented and today he was very off colour. He didn’t cover as much ground as usual and his first touch was nowhere near the usual standard. Arshavin was terrible for large parts of the game and Denilson might as well have not been there. I was surprised by his inclusion considering the team we were playing and the form he’s been in.
Anyway, that didn’t stop others in the team standing up and making an impact. I thought Alex Song had his best game of the season to date. His defensive performance was superb and going forward he was direct and bold. His goal was more than deserved and he’s really starting to grow into his more marauding role. That was his 4th of the season so far!
Our backline didn’t have a lot to do, but what they did do was excellent. I thought Koscielny and Squillaci both had excellent games and I thought Fabianski built another layer of trust with an assured showing. His distribution is excellent.
What I enjoyed most about today was the patience we showed. There were many times we could have let our heads drop, Theo hitting the bar, Arshavin not winning the penalty, the 600th world class save by Rob Green! None of that halted our patient approach which for me shows a real maturity.
More exciting than any of that was our bench. Who in the league has the options we do attacking wise? To my mind, no one. Nik Bendtner no longer draws moans from the crowd when he’s warming up, Theo Walcott is a genuinely scary player these days and Eboue… well, I’m not going to take the compliments that far!
Anyway, the Arsenal title challenge train is picking up some pace now, we’ve got to take it game to game and we’ll have to improve on yesterday’s performance but regardless of the score line I’m taking more positives than negatives.
Player ratings (These are opinion, not calculated by a computer or a special formula)
Fabianski: He played well, he distributed cleanly, the only critique I’d have of him was his liking for the punched clearance. Regardless of how good your fist is, I’d always prefer a catch. 7
Sagna: He’s really turning into an attacking full back this year. He whipped in a couple of very dangerous crosses today and he’s always keen to get forward. 7
Clichy: He’s had a lot of criticism of late, but what can’t be denied is that he’s a trier! Bar one episode of confusion round by the half way line, I thought he was excellent. He’s getting an extra half point for his pin point delivery for the goal! Well played! 7.5
Squillaci: I really tried to watch him today. He’s slotted in so seamlessly that sometimes, I don’t notice him. Today he marshalled the back line, he put his head and body in the way of anything and he out thought the West Ham strikers. It seems to go unnoticed how often he gets his head on the end of attacking corners! 8
Kozzer: Another assured performance from a centre back who is growing in stature. He relishes the rough and tumble and his positional play is second to none. There was a one on one moment in the box in the first half that he did fantastically well to shield so Fabianski could pick up. Calm, collected and impressive. 7.5
Song: He had a faultless game bar the yellow card. His passing kept the play moving at speed, his directness opened up West Ham in numerous occasions and his goal won us the game. His form is finally starting to pick up and I think that might coincide with him learning this new position he’s being asked to play. 9
Cesc: A bad day for the best creative midfielder in the world. Important to note that he still created a shed load of chances, he just seemed off the pace and his first touch put him in trouble on more than a few occasions which is unusual for him. He made ten unsuccessful passes which is very high for him! 6
Denislon: Not his finest 90 minutes of football. He was sloppy in midfield and didn’t really add too much to our game. He seemed to get out muscled or caught out positionally. I thought Rosicky would have been a better option in the midfield. 5
Nasri: Some though he was poor today, I’m going to disagree, I thought he was good, his pace really shining at times and a few crunching tackles as well! He was knocking crosses into the box whenever he could and he hit the bar from a thunderbolt of a freekick. 7
Chamakh: Didn’t really happen for him today. The service wasn’t amazing and nor was his game. He still causes problems with his runs and strength up top. Nik Bendtner is knocking on Arsene Wenger’s door and the noise is getting louder! 6
Arshavin: A very disappointing game, he made 18 good passes and 12 shocking passes. That’s really poor for an Arsenal player regardless of the additional risk associated with attacking passing. He delivers, but like I’ve said before, we know he can do twice what he’s currently doing. Hopefully the penny will drop before he finds himself on the bench! 4.5
Subs:
Bends: Came on, caused a nuisance straight away, looking sharp. 6
Theo: Came on, hit the post and forced a good save! 6.5
Eboue: Came on, ran about a bit. 6
P.S. Someone took the time out to question why I didn’t support West Ham as I currenlty reside in Essex. Well, firstly, if we all supported clubs according to proximity of our home address why do clubs do preseason tours of Asia and North America? Surely the point of supporting a club is that it’s for everyone?
I’m surprised someone from the educated City of Cambridge would say something so stupid. I was actually born at the Portland Clinic, which is w1, which by google’s calculation is 3 miles from the Emirates, 10 miles from West Ham, 3.5 miles from Chelsea, 3.9 from QPR, 4.7 miles from Milwall, 6.2 miles from Leyton Orient and 9.6 miles from Milwall.
I think I’ve made my point on many levels.
Oh, did you hear Bob Wilson talk about the fantastic money we offered for Reina in the summer?
Jimbo the man who slated Verm as not good enough.
hes still dodgy. better than he was but that wouldnt be hard
Feck, I read jacob’s comments and feel like a doomer. I read Jimbo’s comments and feel like a Wengerite.
Does that make me balanced or just perverse?
he was Wigan’s player of the season the year before last, in a side that included the much hyped palacios and valencia….
he’s not arsenal standard obviously, but he’s on par with the likes of richard dunne, or even clowns like lescott imo
Chozzer ur perverse and for more than that.
Jimbo remenber that God and I and jaquar love u, even if noone else does.
jimbo give the lad a break its his first season in a top league and hes doing well considering.
less than composed match yesterday but there are a lot of positives regardless.cesc having a below par performance but still creating numerous chances,squillaci and koz again solid and impressive considering they themselves are new signings.walcott and bedtner both looked bright when they came on and considering we were playing without TR7,TV5,RVP10,RAMBO,AD2,gibbs and jack.also fabianskis communication and distribution were fantastic.on the negatives,aa23 just isnt the same player.its sad to see as he dosent seem to have that explosive burst of pace to his game anymore.whether its age or morale remains to be seen.have a look on youtube zenit vs bayer leverkusen,he was unbelievable like a tornado.agree that denilson is sub-standard and that we need a DM badly.overall tho its 3 points on a weekend where we were shown man citys true colours..
A Guy on twitter hinting that MC29 is gay
for more than what?
More than feeling like a Doomer and Wengerite Hybrid.
im just messing.
BD he’s fulla shit. I heard it on the Alan Davies Podcast and looked it up. Nothing in it same as the Sol rumors.
A Guy on twitter hinting that MC29 is gay
Who is it big dave not the iron dale wynton is it??
By the way where is Big Raddy. Anyone heard from him???
I’ll tell u what Puffs wish he was. same as CR7 and Gourcuff.
Very good read from Piers Morgan.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1325197/PIERS-MORGAN-Manchester-United-imploding-Arsenal-soaring-England-win-Ashes.html
Top post Pedro. Agreed with your review. To those who rant about how bad certain players are/where or those who continously pick out certain players to call shit, I’ll assume you have never played the game, moody, a bigot, habitual moaner, tactically inept, or just despise. Not all applies, just pick which fills your descrption. If
Jaguar came out and said Cesc was shit yesterday, I’d say that’s his way of describing an off form player.
But constant attack on Diaby? Occasional slagging of Song, with no praise when either do well? And don’t get me wrong, Jag makes some sense time to time. Jimbo calling Chamakh shit, so some still moaning about Song even when he is playing well, is just pure dislike for no reason,
anything to moan about.
Anyway, on the TV and RvP situation, TV would slot back in with SS resting in some games, after all he is our elder defender. RvP, for all the love I have for him has 1 year to prove he can stay healthy, not his fault, but we need a dependable marque striker. AA23 has not looked fit, but he is putting in work. TW cannot do this all season long, so to drop AA23 to accompdate Tw14 is stupid, they offer different things. A flat front 3 of Chamakh, van Persie and Arshavin can cause damage, with Theo and Bendtner coming on at half is great to have.
Chamakh has a bad first touch? I would disagree strongly there. The ball sticks to him. I would say its B52 who needs to get his first touch lighter. Chamakh is gay i believe and was engaged in a spot of man love with Gourcuff wasnt he? Whats the big deal, hes a footballer to me and nothing else really.
Chozzer, I wouldn’t read too much into Jacob’s comments… he’s trying so hard to criticise the site he’ll say virtually anything to get a rise!
He’s probably reporting back all the good work he’s doing to Untold.
You’re realist… face it
davies has more yellow cards than goals in the prem
ridiculous stat for a striker
Agree with most of the ratings but think your being abit generous to Song maybe cos he scored a goal and thats fair enough.
I thought our midfield was shocking yesterday Cesc was definitely off but he wasnt help by Denilson who was again woeful as in mid week and I thought Song was okay with alot of misplaced passing.
If we add to this that Arshivan was he normal w**kbag self and Nasri not really playing at the level he has been in previous games, we were up aganist it and to be fair West Ham played their game well…. even if the are sc**bags.
On the plus side we won got the three points with Kozzer and our defense playing well and its another clean sheet.
Going forward Arshivan has to be benched and after the Newcastle game I understand why Vela has not been thrown in…I’d like to see Narsi on the left with Walcott on the right of the attack. The Denilson problem should be solved with Wilshere/Diaby but I like Rosicky to be given some games either in the middle as he can pass and tackle or switch we Nasri and play on the left of the attack.
Lastly I’m getting pi**ed at are players lacking a backbone … Parker should have been given some of his own medicine .I not talking about of leg breaker but Song is built like a monster just a nice firm tackle to tell the little t*sser if you give it your going to get it back, Plus it kind of embarrassing Song being bullied by that John Travolta wannbe Behrami like Smith done to Denilson midweek not good to see they have to man up in this situation.
In France it is known that Gurcoff is gay
chamakh, shit really!!!!!!! i cant see that myself he runs his arse off for the team he has only played 10epl games .
just wait until he’s settled , jimbo are you one of the people in the crowd who used to piss me off slagging off alan smith.
What we have is a proper no 9 which enables the others to play in the spaces he takes defengers out off , he will be a real star mark my words…
Song gets booked instantly though, he can do no good if he’s suspended, how can he win a physical battle against a player who is clearly golden in the referees view?
Disappointed that AA didn’t slap that Da Costa (or whatever his name is)
Chamakh is engaged, he’s not gay.
ARSENE WENGER- SIGN HIM UP ! ASAP !!!
Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has revealed his ambition to play for an English club.
The Germany international, who is contracted at Bayern until 2012, has recently been linked to several Premier League sides, including Manchester United and Arsenal.
And 26-year-old Schweinsteiger has admitted his admiration for the English game, even joking United could exchange him for Wayne Rooney.
“I love the kind of speed of the English game but I don’t know what will happen with me,” Schweinsteiger said in The Sunday Times.
“I have a contract until 2012 and we’ll see.
“What I love is the atmosphere in English stadiums. When we played last year in Manchester it was fantastic.
“My brother is a big fan of Man U and he always says, ‘Go to Man U, go to Man U.’ I say, ‘I can’t, I can’t.”
He laughed: “Maybe they can swap me for Rooney.”
Arsenal
Schweinsteiger also expressed his appreciation of Arsenal’s approach, adding: “I watch the English games on TV and I like the Arsenal style at the moment. They’re very strong.”
The midfielder admits his relationship with the Bayern fans has not always been good, and says he admires the loyalty of the English supporters.
“For me, in England the fans are better,” he added. “When the team give their best, they are not booing.
“It’s more like they are fans more with the heart.”
He does look a bit gay.
stream for Pools plz
Big Dave Gourcuff is seeing some model, daughter of an ex PM in France
I hope he is gay, he could easily win psychological battles with defenders by threatening to bum them
Fuck me, can you imagine Schweinsteiger, that would put an end to this Denilson/Diaby nonsense.
Reina & Schwein and we have the best team in the PL.
I bet if we had a midfield of Cesc, Alonso and Mikel Obi, people would still moan
nah chamakh isn’t gay
http://12.img.v4.skyrock.net/125/fandemarouane/pics/1969736455_small_1.jpg
I don’t care what. Get Schweinsteiger. Our team would be better than Barca’s with him. He’s an absolute beast in the middle of the park.
A midfield of Cesc, Schweini and Nasri – jesus fucking christ.
Schweinsteiger would probably have to play ahead of Wilshere though, so I doubt it’d happen. Would be a great signing though.
Cassano could be on a free transfer apparently, Sampa might be terminating his contract. Pity we’ve got so many players of that sort, would love him at the Emirates, take him to replace Arshavin!
@ Dale
If they performed as poorly as Denilson and Diaby generally have then yes I’m sure people would still moan.
Why on earth would we want that midfield Dale?!
I’d rather Cesc Song Wilshere
Guys, any stream for the Pools for the poor plz
A
Id be more than happy if JWs appearances were somewhat restricted in the coming few seasons.
Song, Schweinsteiger, Cesc, Ramsey, Wilshere & Frimpong sounds like a good 6 to me.
Chamakh is the buy of the season. Not my words, but from just about everyone I’ve spoken to about him.
I’ve no idea what’s got up Jimbo’s arse, but to slag him off hits two problems. One, he’s made all the difference in an RVP-free start to our campaign, and two he’s a thoroughbred Gooner.
Goals, asists, penalties won, and a real threat for the oposition to work out. Duh?
The problem yesterday might well be that he’s played virtually every minute of our season so far. But then everyone had a problem yesterday until Clichy and Song did their thing.
If fatigue is the problem then Bendtner starting on Wednesday would be an indicator.
So, give Chamakh a break, in more ways than one.
And Jimbo … get off his back, won’t you, it looks a trifle odd.
Hazard is coming to ARSENAL IN JANUARY, Benzema possibly at the end of the season.
Why gambon?! We don’t want to burn him out, but prior to his red card he was looking like someone who would be playing a big role in our season, and needs to be a regular starter to develop. Wilshere by the end of the season could be seen as one of the top players in the league, and Cesc Song Wilshere a midfield trio that everyone envies….
@ A
Alonso is better than Wilshere ATM (it’s still pretty close), but Wilshere is going to be a much better player than him in the long run I believe.
Dale, if no one moaned, you’d have nothing to moan about.
Schweinsteiger was rumoured to be on the hit list this summer… I guess we now know why with him being in his last year of his contract.
He’d be an excellent addition, not sure we’ll go for him now though!
different type of player pants, i’d rather wilshere in our midfield three to alonso
A
Why? Because Shweinsteiger is much better than JW right now, and Arsenal come before Jack.
I think Gambon meant “restricted” as in him having more competition for the position he’s playing, though I’m probably wrong
Haha now i see Pedro is getting similar treatment to A.
Anyone who makes a comparison with Bergkamp instantly gets people jumping down your throat. Actually the comparison is relevant. Both play/played as forwards for Arsenal no?
So the point is relevant. because he is not Prolific, or should i say wasn’t prolific for FCGB, doesn’t mean he is shit, or else it means Bergkamp was shit, which as we all know, would probably be the most retarded statement ever.
In conclusion, if you think Chamakh is shit, you better have a much better reasoning behind your argument, that is of course assuming that you don’t just think it because he came on a Bosman, or perhaps it’s because you don’t like his name. Or is it that he’s rumoured to be gay?
Arsenal’s Midfielder Fabregas is adamant team-mate Jack Wilshere is not going anywhere in the January transfer window.
Wilshere cemented his star status at Arsenal with a brilliant display during their 2-0 UEFA Premier League defeat to Chelsea earlier this month.
That display put the English international on the radar of several top clubs in Europe, prompting speculation of a big-money January move for the 18-year-old.
But manager Arsene Wenger has since made it clear Wilshere is not on the market, and Fabregas has reiterated that stance by insisting the winger is staying put.
“He is such a good player and the way he was out there was just amazing,” Fabregas told The People.
“He’s not going to leave though, I’m positive. He’s staying with us.
“Everybody was already talking about Wilshere.
“But he has to keep working and I’m sure he is going to be a top, top player.”
I do get frustrated by wengers very ‘academic’ and overly cautious substitutions. chamakh nasri and Arshavin have played up front together for just about every league game this year and clearly yesterday we were looking like treading water a bit. surely wenger can see how the game is developing, yet he seems to decide on wednesday what subs he will make on saturday. wouldn’t constantly want harry rednapp type substitutions but some sort of middle ground would be nice. 10mins is simply never enough time to make an impact and in fact the shortage of time available combined with the frustration of the game puts our subs under even more mental pressure then they can hope to excel under.
we needed penetration badly and wallcot and NB know where the goal is. their desire to score, albit even selfish at times is exactly what we needed. they proved it mid week so lets put 2 and 2 together.
early days to be moaning about this perhaps as NB and walcott have just come back from injury but we have newcastle up next and though that should be a far more exansive and open game we need to match their kahunas when going for goal.
chamakh is a great link up player but i can’t remember the last time he shot from distance or ran directly at goal, a more selfish edge can break things up and create more varied chances. So basically I for one would like wenger to make better use of our attacking options and allow our more goal hungry players a chance to go balls out, if things aren’t working then give our sub 30 mins to make the difference not 15 or 10. I thought he would have more faith than that.
Who was talking about JW leaving?
Nah, A, I was thinking more about his goals against Shaktar, Braga, and Blackpool, oh, and the countless misses and failed opportunities along the way – he’s missed a scary number of chances, for someone who’s getting the supply he is!
Read My Post @ 17:33, JACK WILSHERE WILL NOT LEAVE ARSENAL!
ps
WE COULD SIGN HAZARD IN JANUARY, AND MAYBE BENZEMA IN JANUARY AS WELL ON LOAN.
Pedro, Apparently Real Madrid, AC Milan and Barcelona want him!
This is England, the man who can’t think of anything useful to say so makes something up.
Brilliant.
Lol, as if anyone is talking about JW leaving!
Ridiculous journalism.
Jimbo, all strikers miss chances… Thierry used to have the most shots on target and the most off in the league.
The team is winning, we’re averaging almost 3 goals a game and he’s had a major impact on our play.
He’s been a great signing.
Why on earth would we sign Hazard?! Of course we won’t we’ve got a plethora of players in his position, Vela isn’t even making the bench, JET is pushing hard, and Wellington Silva is coming in in January. Hazard wouldn’t even get on the bench.
simon mcmahon – big difference between Alan Smith and Marouane Chamakh is that Smudger could actually shoot. Chamakh is the worst striker of the ball we’ve had, pretty much since Franny Jeffers.
Arsene Wenger has revealed that he is not planning to sign any new players during the January transfer window.
Arsenal remain five points behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League table following a 1-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday.
They are playing fantastic football this season but there has been plenty of discussion about whether Wenger might need to strengthen his squad in the New Year.
Fabregas in the summer questioned the club’s ambition and ability to attract the world’s top players, before being given reassurances and staying at Arsenal.
And Wenger does not see the need to bring in a single fresh face when the transfer window reopens, with a number of key players set to return to fitness for the second half of the campaign.
“We won’t be buying in January, definitely not,” Wenger said in the Independent.
“If you want someone to play in Europe, you are limited right away. There are hundreds of players cup-tied.
“You have five months left of the season, I will have more than enough players coming back, Bendtner is like a new player coming back.
“If Robin Van Persie gets back, it is another new player coming back. So with the squad I’ve got, I don’t see any reason for us to buy anyone.”
Jimbo, how are you judging striking of the ball? Seems a bit flimsy to me?
A
Im not sure about that. Hazard is much better than JET, Wellington, Theo, Rosicky. He would be first backup behing AA & Nasri.
But youre right, there is no way we will be signing him.
Sure, all strikers miss chances, but there’s still a difference between Franny Jeffers and Ruud Van Nistelhorse Pedro. Chamakh was always known for being weak with his feet in France. Excellent in the air, and I think he’s still shown that, but when the ball’s on the ground he’s god awful.
He’s only been a good signing ebcause he’s better than Eduardo, Arshavin or Vela, and Nik and RVP are constantly out. Now that they’re coming back, I hope we don’t see too much of Chamakh apart from in sub appearances and cup ties.
G STAR why are you trying to make up bollocks? just to get fans riled up?
What did Wilson say about Reina? Good Post
I wish he wouldnt use the “like a new player” bullshit….just makes him look like an old fool.
There is a sponsored link in the side bar for Arsenal tickets with LG’s address under it!
No wonder people keep e-mailing me demanding price schedules!
gambon he’s not even close to Theo, nor Rosicky.
He doesn’t even start every game for Lorient in the French league, he may well turn into a very very good player, but currently he’s still just a young and talented player with alot of potential. He’s similar or a bit behind Vela imo, who would tear the French league to pieces if he went over there
Pedro,
I’m not trying HARD to criticise your site mate. That isn’t something I’d ever consider doing as it would make me a hypocrite. You on the other hand couldn’t even come up with a logical headline for a quite impressive performance because you instinctively feel the need to nit pick.
BTW I don’t report to anyone, my opinions are my own and neither would I say just anything… that is the MO of some of your more regular posters_ people who seem to be able develop an irrational hatred for players they’ve never even met! 
My beef with your blogs are mostly that …
a) You try to make posts that relate to football economics in a way that is, to be blunt, ridiculously shallow.
b) That your appreciation of the last 5 years at Arsenal and what was achieved in the teeth of ferocious odds is lacking and that leads you to make bizarre assumptions
c) That you have a rather simplistic way of assessing players.
d) That you have a habitually negative take on most things to do with Arsenal under Wenger in recent years that isn’t justified by the facts.
Now your blog is yours and you can slant it any way you want… that is your right and priviledge but surely yopu expect people to comment on your points of view and disagree with them civilly and cordially as I do
(PS my use of “you” in this isn’t really personal but relates to the Le Grove blogs as a whole whether written by you or not.)
I’d also add that your call for the manager and board to take more risks by signing big money players on fantastic wages appears to not take any cognisance of the lessons of Leeds, Newcastle, Valencia and most recently Liverpool. I can respect a well laid out plan showing how a particular course of action can lead to a set of particular results but to bring up Real Madrid as a suitable model to emulate ON ANY LEVEL is not it. You have blog Pedro and you Blog about Arsenal… here’s a challenge why don’t you and Geoff set out a credible anti-Wenger manifesto. A manifesto that can keep us challenging at the top level without become either the plaything of an Oligarch or Sheikh… or going Bankrupt. In fact can produce an example of a team that didn’t have a hugely rich Benefactor (Inter, Milan, Chelsea, etc) or didn’t have some kind of surreptitious state backing (Barcelona, Real Madrid) or didn’t play in a tightly regulated league (Bayern Munich) who have matched our achievements? What gets me about Bloggers like you is that you all assume that to have a wily manager like Fergie with a transfer budget advantage that has always been at least 3 times as big as Wenger’s is some how easy and to be taken for granted… Is there a team out there with anything approaching our budget that is doing as well? If so NAME THAT TEAM. even when we were winning Wenger had both Ronaldo and Van Nistlerooy snatched from him because Fergie and united could offer a bigger fee to the club and a bigger wage to the player… that is before Chelsea even turned up on the scene!! Yet some people on here assume that Arsenal have an absolute right to challenge for the title while armed with a fraction of our rivals budgets!
Now having said all that I have to congratulate you and your sidekick Geoff for setting up a forum where opinions on Arsenal can be freely exchanged and interesting debates can be had… and I’m sure that a lot Arsenal fans who use the net to exchange views will heartily agree with this bit of my post at least. I thank you.
We must be doing well if Chamakh’s the player Jimbo’s decided to pick on.
gambon that article is an interview with Ferguson after the game at the weekend, or maybe from his press conference.
Arsenal has just been put in for Man Utd, Cesc for Rooney, Bendtner for Owen, and RVP for Valencia
So it makes Ferguson look like an old fool?
He plays for Lille A, and hes there best player, and double young player of the year.
As for Vela, thats just very lol, he cant tear the reserve league to pieces.
Havent been around for a while and I come back to “LJW leaving” posts.
FFS I wouldnt encourage anyone to be banned on this blog but if someone bumps into G Star could they please either shoot or stab him.
Thanks.
Pedro,
I judge it on the fact that the guy simply cannot get a great deal of accuracy or power on his shots, and doesn’t really have the strikers instinct to beat the keeper and get the ball in the net.
I know we’re all excited about him because he’s a new player, and he’s done well in a few games for us, but the guy’s technically dodgey, and should be down the pecking order now we have better players coming back.
Pedro,
I’m not trying HARD to criticise your site mate. That isn’t something I’d ever consider doing as it would make me a hypocrite. You on the other hand couldn’t even come up with a logical headline for a quite impressive performance because you instinctively feel the need to nit pick.
BTW I don’t report to anyone, my opinions are my own and neither would I say just anything… that is the MO of some of your more regular posters_ people who seem to be able develop an irrational hatred for players they’ve never even met! 
My beef with your blogs are mostly that …
a) You try to make posts that relate to football economics in a way that is, to be blunt, ridiculously shallow.
b) That your appreciation of the last 5 years at Arsenal and what was achieved in the teeth of ferocious odds is lacking and that leads you to make bizarre assumptions
c) That you have a rather simplistic way of assessing players.
d) That you have a habitually negative take on most things to do with Arsenal under Wenger in recent years that isn’t justified by the facts.
Now your blog is yours and you can slant it any way you want… that is your right and priviledge but surely yopu expect people to comment on your points of view and disagree with them civilly and cordially as I do
(PS my use of “you” in this isn’t really personal but relates to the Le Grove blogs as a whole whether written by you or not.)
Yeah sorry I meant Lille, said Lorient because I was looking at how much Coquelin had been playing for them.
He’s not even been a regular for Lille this season, started 7 of their ten games. Bad attitude apparently.
Vela would be amazing in the French league, even Bellion is a good player over there. Vela is far better than reserve team level as well, obviously.
Jacob, you’re not the sharpest tool in the box and I really can’t be bothered to read your essay.
1) Because it will be boring
2) Because it will be full of holes that I can’t be bothered to pick
3) Because I don’t care
I might run a blog, but sadly, unlike you, I’m not a web nerd.
I’d suggest you get out a bit, maybe have a beer with friends that aren’t cyber… and get over you obsession with Le Grove and the people who frequent it.
Oh sorry
A, how many times has Coquelin played this season?
Yeah Pedro, stop calling for the odd sensible signing, we only have £130m in the bank, were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Hazard is very talented obviously, but he isn’t THAT good yet, doesn’t start regularly for Belgium even. He’d not close to Theo or Rosicky, and no better than Vela certainly imo.
On top of that he seems to have taken a step backwards this season, poor attitude, off form, and not even starting for Lille every game.
He could go to a big club and develop into a top top player, but currently he wouldn’t even make our bench, and would struggle to get into our league cup team
Gambon, you can just imagine the type of person Jacob is in real life can’t you?
Spends half the time taking on the blog world, the other half immersed in world of war craft…
1 start 4 subs Pedro, started the second last game and supposedly impressed a bit, but back on the bench yesterday, came on for last 25 mins. Gotta hope he gets more and more starts and really develops, could come back next season and be a first team squad player, although I thought that about Nordveit after his loan in Germany, and impressive pre season!
I met a guy from blog world yesterday, nice chap, but he told me he thanked John Cross for his tweets when he saw him?
I mean seriously… hero worshipping a mirror journo?
You must be loving how we’re playing recently Gambon? On a good run no?
Jimbo – Mate, seriously what’s annoying you about Chamakh ? Is it the hair ? Because you’re sttruggling here.
He’s a very good player, there’s no getting around it, the only aspect that is dodgey is his finishing from the floow, but he’s still got 6 goals and we haven’t even bothered to try and exploit his aerial ability.
He’s techincally very good in his link up play, his first touch and under pressure physically. He’s not Van Persie and he’s different to Bendtner, but for someone in his first season in the Premiership, he’s done very very well.
Mate pick on Denilson or something, he’s got braids now.
A, I’ll take solace in the fact JW didn’t start for Bolton straight away.
Was shitting myself yesterday til song popped up.
Its always good to win and its great that everyones haps but the reality is that when you are playing the team thats bottom of the league at home a win is bog standard.
If you find yourself playing with 3 men and coming back from 4 nil down a win is still bog standard.
The only way that yesterdays win could become anything other than bog standard is if chelsea or united dropped points…
They didnt
Bog standard.
I dont see why people are being critical of Cham at the moment, he has changed the course of quite a few games and I cant remember him costing us any. Whats funnier though is people being critical of Cham then suggesting Bendy plays……
Yeah right.
Pedro – Hero worshipping ? He thanked him for his tweets ? Or was there more to it.
At this moment in time I’d prefer Marin to Hazard purely cause he seems to be getting better and better and apparently Hazard isn’t doing so well this season
Chozzer,
a lot of people tend to think that the sensible middle lies at some point between too opposing arguments. That is not strictly true… reasonableness can only really be judged by the weight of facts. If, for example, one person says that moon is made of cheese and another says the it is made of ancient rocks and other materials the sensible middle isn’t to say that it is probably sewn together from jute bags
Just saying…
Marko
Yes, very good. Ill be happier when all our crocks are back fit.
good point Pedro, hope the same development happens with Coquelin, time for him to really kick on and come back a force next season
Keyser – I had Denilson covered, yet nobody seemed to disagree with that one…
So we also agree that his finishing on the floor is dodgey – that’s a start. And I don’t know why you think criticising a striker for not being able to shoot is scraping the barrell.
I don’t know where this idea that he’s technically good comes from. We saw it yesterday, we saw it against Chelsea, and we’ve seen it against other teams – under pressure, his first touch is pretty poor. Yes, he’s not Van Persie, and we can forgive him that much, but on the other hand a striker who’s playing through the middle on his own needs to be able to control the ball well when it comes to him under pressure, and the better teams we’ve played have had no trouble taking the ball off him, precisely because he’s NOT very good with his first touch.
Wenger the liar, a striker will cost you games if he fails to create space for himself, provide an outlet, or miss chances that come his way. He came damn close yesterday to costing us the West Ham game, and more or less cost us the Chelsea game as well, by not carrying out the role he’s supposed to be able to. Anonymous against Sunderland and West Brom as well.
That’s ‘costing us points’ as much as any striker can – it’s not his fault on his own that we dropped points there, but because of the way we play, if we don’t get an outlet up front for goals, he WILL be problematic for us further down the line.
Jaguar came out and said Cesc was shit yesterday, I’d say that’s his way of describing an off form player.
———————————-
Fucking hell.I have never said that.Prove it you ****
Good good. At this moment some people might disagree but I don’t think we need to sign someone in Jan, especially when you consider we’ve Ramsey and Van Persie back before christmas. Where will we play all these magnificent players when all or most fit.
Please don’t hate on World of Warcraft. Those days bring me fond memories.
Hazard is a top,top talent. Why is everyone disregarding him?
Gambon… why don’t you give me a name of … the odd sensible signing that you’d make that will improve this team. Lucio will most probably improve our team, so will someone like Maicon or Ronaldo but who in the 20m range will do the job?
You just sit around moaning and making vague comments not linked in any way to reality and then get the hump when it’s pointed out to you… Think for once and come up with something REASONABLE that isn’t just a bunch of waffley vague “sign somebody” hokum.
How anybody can find fault in any of the summer signings is beyond me they’ve been good to excellent so far.
Jimbo, i agree his finishing can be weak, and he will never be a ballon d’or nominee, however for a squad player hes pretty awesome.
There isnt a club in the world, outside of maybe madrid, that wouldnt want him as their backup CF.
Jimbo – You’ve said he’s shit you plum, of course it’s scraping the barrel, he’s supposed to be excellant in the air, I think two of his goals have come aerially, might be wrong.
We haven’t really tested his finishing skills on the ground and he certainly doesn’t miss loads of chances, he’s usually working his ass off being the focal point of the attack for other players to run off.
He can control the ball under pressure he’s just not going to turn on a sixpence like Van Persie, but then neither can Bendtner or Adebayor. Watch his touch for the Wilshire goal against Shakhtar or countless others like it that show it’s not a one-off, that is technically good
What did you see against Chelsea ? That’s their whole gameplan, you need Van Persie for games like that not Chamakh because teams like Chelsea love that type of striker, they crowd the middle and make themselves very hard to play through, that’s not his fault.
Jimbo -
I dont agree that he has cost us points and even if you are right and he has you cannot point to players who could have played instead, in our squad that were fit, that would have won us games.
Get out the betamax of last year and watch AA playing up top on his tod and thank your lucky stars that Cham was free becuase you know as well as I do AW wouldnt have spent a fucking penny signing anyone.
Youre eating from the trough, no use waiting for the sommelier to walk past and ask you what you want to drink. Thank god for Cham count your blessings and get any thought of signing a world beater out your head.
Pedro,
I must say you sound a bit peeved. Is it because the team won?
Internet nerd eh? Well I’ve been called worse and I tend to take the personal insults as a mark of honour from bloggers like you… it’s usually a sign that a raw spot has been hit. Have a good evening sitting in your echo chamber!
gambon – that’s it, exactly – he’s a good squad player, and has covered us well with Nik & RVP out, where we would have had much worse options in this situation last year.
But as you say, he’ll never be nominated for the Ballon D’Or, and he has some fairly major, frustrating holes in his game. If he’s treated as our backup CF, as you say, when our other options are fit, I’ll be fine with that.
Jacob,
Well firstly, i think we’ve established that you are the biggest bore & moaner in internet history.
As for players, its pretty obvious for anyone to see where we are weak.
We dont have any GK good enough to be our #1. At CB Djourou is a liability, and nowhere near the class of the other 3. We really could do with another DM, as Denilson gets schooled by everyone he plays. Finally RVP really has to be on his last chance. I wouldnt be unhappy to see clichy replaced either.
Oh, and whats your obsession with £20m? I couldnt care less if we spend £3m or £30m, as long as we get the right players in.
As for the players, even a rampant TAKB like you must recognise that there are numerous better players than some we have out there.
Keyser, before you call anyone else a plum, maybe you ought to look at what I said in the immediate post after that? That it was perhaps a harsh term, and he didn’t deserve it?
Still, as I said, I don’t think he’s exactly brilliant either. Squad player, at best. Plum.
As for ‘we haven’t tested his finishing skills on the ground’ – what on earth are you talking about? The guy’s had plenty of opportunities to finish with his feet this season, and he’s missed almost all of them. And it’s not like he wasn’t doing much the same in France before he came here.
As for controlling the ball, he, like Bendtner and Ade have a bit of a dodgy first touch. But, unlike Bendtner, he’s not got a great second touch either. Nik, running with the ball, is a much better prospect than Chamakh, and though Marouane is a lot more intelligent, he doesn’t have Ade’s physical gifts either, and won’t be the 30 goal striker that Ade was (at least for one season).
What you need against Chelsea are strikers that can control the ball under pressure and shoot – things that Chamakh ain’t good at, and RVP is. So I take it you agree with me after all?
Jimbo
The biggest problem we have upfront is that our one world class forward is a joke from a fitness point of view.
A worldclass CF, with MC & NB in reserve is incredible depth, shame we dont really have a world class CF.
Jimbo,
. And RVP is on much much higher level than those two. I am surprised that people here say that he should not come straight into the team. May be people are pissed off that he is always injured. But RVP would just walk into any of the premier league team.
Chamakh’s first touch is quite poor, but it is not as bad as Bendtner’s . But i do agree Bendtner has better instincts for a striker, may be in a year Bendtner will be better than him but right now he must be slightly behind Chamakh. I am not sure what do you mean by technically bad, he has done quite well being a crucial part of his goals so i do not believe he is technically bad.
I also believe Bendtner is going to be as good as he says
I’m sorry but who exactly are these world beaters that would definitely do more than Chamakh… I can only think of David Villa. Torres’ form has been stinky for an age now. Adebayor cost City 25m and our fans didn’t rate him much when he first arrived. Neither did they rate Henry either. Come to think of it neither did the Chelsea fan rate Drogba! All this world beater talk is a load of old nonsense in my view. Chamakh has stepped up a level and I’m sure that he is smart enough to step up his game to match. Is that really so hard for some of you to understand? The most surprising striker signed to the premiership this season has been chicarito… is he a world beater or not? Will he definitely win a Balon d’Or?…
I’m old enough to remember George Weah before he went to Milan and he looked anything but a Balon d’Or winner. Incidentally when he did win guess who he called on stage to share the moment of glory with him. It would be nice if people had a clue before posting TBH.
Some random
He wouldnt walk into UTD, Chelsea, Liverpool or maybe Citys team.
Indeed gambon, which is why I wish we’d signed someone a bit better than chamakh in the summer.
gambon says:
October 31, 2010 at 18:31
Some random
He wouldnt walk into UTD, Chelsea, Liverpool or maybe Citys team.
Sigh, He is certainly better than Nic Anelka or even Malouda . So Berbatov, Hernandez,Rooney all better than RVP ? Liverpool also ? God . City will die for somebody like RVP they have nobody else than Tevez.
Jimbo – I saw it, a bit harsh ? You’re still a plum.
He doesn’t have to be brilliant, he’s a very very good squad player for a team with title ambitions, he’d start at lesser teams, and that’s only if Van Persie is availble, he’s on par with Bendtner at the moment, because he works harder and brings others into the game far more consistentlt through that workrate.
Plenty of oppurtunities ? I dunno what you want from him, no striker finishes all of his chances and he hasn’t missed an inrodinate amount, just the usual. It’s like you talking about the Chelsea game, when he has 2-3 good chances in a game like that and can’t finish then you can state his finishing as weak.
Even then this isn’t France, 6 goals, 4 assists, and several very good performances for a lone striker knowing how teams setup against us.
He has a better first touch than Adebayor, and he’s consistently better than Bendtner, Bendtner has greater potential though, right now as a link man Chamakh has been excellant for us.
The year Adebayor scored 30, the only year, remember he didn’t exactly excel in France either, do you remember the sort of chances he had, or was getting and especially the ones he missed, I wouldn’t say he was much better than Chamakh, because he had fairly major holes in his technical side aswell.
You need all sorts of striker to excel in the Premiership, we’ve finally got enough options to cope with the situations we’ll face with Van Persie fit.
You never had much of a point about Chamakh, but to win titles Van Persie will have to be fit.
jacob said “It would be nice if people had a clue before posting TBH.”
A little hypocritical?
Who is this Van Persie person you guys keep talking about?
I think our strikers are the most versatile in the league may. We have incredible depth to have Bendtner as 3rd choice striker .
somerandom
Im sorry but Drogba, Rooney & Torres are all better than RVP, undoubtedly.
With Tevez its close, but 36 in 51 suggests hes better.
i sea chamkh as a great team player works extremly hard great touch realy good on set plays but is not finisher that may improve for wenger should try to get another striker i dont trust rvp,in midfield particualy on the creative there alot depth therein dm position i feel we song diaby delinson wilshire ramsey,delinson is squad player for in most times he wolnt start and i dought he will much once ramsey gets back to full fitness
Who is this Van Persie person you guys keep talking about?
LOL . He is a character in football myths
.
Im sorry but Drogba, Rooney & Torres are all better than RVP, undoubtedly.
With Tevez its close, but 36 in 51 suggests hes better.
Hmm i do not want to get into this argument, i did not tell RVP will replace Drogba or Rooney or Torres. But certainly he can walk into the team. I would say only Drogba is better than him.
For whatever it is worth I believe none of those strikers would be better than RVP for Arsenal.
So Djourou is too weak to be our 4th choice CB? Why exactly?? Who is Chelsea’s 4th choice CB, Who is United’s? or may be we should sign Lescott or Jagielka and pay him a 90 grand a week to sit on the bench? Do you imagine that a player of the stature of Kolo will come to Arsenal and sit on our bench as 4th choice? Robert Huth left Chelsea in search of 1st team football (or may be you want a Winston Bogarde type who’d take your money and do sod all) and you’re looking for player better than Djourou, who incidentally is a 21 year old who spent an entire season out with injury. This will be the same Djourou who as an 18 year old kept Jason Roberts quiet in CC semifinal? Gambon, seriously, why don’t you get a clue?
So Fabianski on current showing is worse than Robert Green or whoever? Who are you gonna get for 1 million or 8 million or is Wenger supposed to magic players out of thin air?.. Muppetry
The reason you’re all peeved and have resorted to infantile insults is that your silly echo chamber has been broken into.. there’s someone with a voice who isn’t on here to blow smoke up Pedro’s arse and tell him how everything he writes is all so wonderful and how his vision is so far sighted…
My advice to you is to stop being peeved and start thinking because on my occasional visits here I shall continue to just point out the hollowness behind the rattling tin of your words. No offence
Keyser – you saw it? Yeah yeah, wouldn’t be the first time a mug like you didn’t bother reading something properly in a rush to try to post some kind of smug rebuttal. Hardly surprising.
It’s not really all that hard to understand. No, no striker will score all their opportunities, but some still score a whole lot more of them than others, and Chamakh’s finishing ability with his feet is beyond poor. I EXPECT it to be better, because I expect Arsenal to have a squad capable of winning a trophy, and whilst Chamakh will be useful from time to time in that ambition, he’ll also let you down quite regularly at this level – after all, he already has.
I don’t know what you mean about consistently better than Bendtner though. He wasn’t better than him against City, and he hasn’t put in a performance as good as the one Nik did against Newcastle for over a month.
As for the Akinbayor comparisons, it’s fair to say that Ade was another very, very flawed player. He had a terrible first touch too, he was a fairly poor finisher on the whole, especially before he came here, and he was stupid. He was however a pretty impressive physical specimen, strong, fast, and most impotantly he played in a creative side that one season, and knew damn well how to put himself on the end of things. For me, there are valid comparisons to be drawn with Chamakh here, as well as differences. Maruoane is, for me, more intelligent but less physically gifted than Ade was that season, but he still plays in a team that is incredibly creative (if not more so), and so needs to learn how to put himself about, get in the box, and be clinical with the chances that come his way. He’s very good when the ball’s in the air, but on the ground he’s much, much less impressive, and it was this area of the game that Ade improved in so greatly to allow him to score all those goals.
RvP is twice the player Rooney is imo and is better than Tevez. I’d put him on par with Torres when fully fit. Only Drogba is more of a menace than him.
I don’t see what the fuss is about. The messiah that is Nicklas Bendtner is back and he’s firing.
@Rohan
I would put Bendtner on par with Rooney or may be slightly ahead of Rooney
So i just write a long post and its nowhere to be seen? this happens a lot on here? Sort it out Pedro.
Jacob,
So having one good game as an 18 year old is the mark of a great defender? And lets get this right, you mean the CC semi where Jason Roberts scored to put us out?
Wenger himself knows our GKs are shit, why do you think he tried to sign Reina & Schwartzer? So youre saying Wenger doesnt know what hes doing? Thanks for that, youre a true doomer.
Youre also very dumb.
Well, just to point out, last season before he got injured, in a worse team than we’re in now, Nick scored 7 goals with 4 assists in the last 10 games before he got injured.
The stats argument is hardly conclusive in proving that Chamakh should be starting ahead of Bendtner, though Chamakh is undoubtedly a better diver!!!
Lol, Jacob, you are a true retard, i dont think you even realise how pathetic your arguments are.
Djourou is nearly 24, so youve lost all credibility anyway, but wait a minute…..he kept jason Roberts quiet in a CC game, oh well lets get him in the first team, Arrigo Sacchi once said the mark of a good player is keeping Jason Roberts quiet in a game once.
And would this be the CC semi where Jason Roberts scored to put us out of the competition? Cos I was there at highbury that night.
I think the fact that Wenger bid for Reina & Schwartzer puts you in a bind doesnt it? Wenger is clearly saying our GKs arent good enough, so are you going against your deity?
Oh no, you only have eyes for your lover Tony dont you?
Mug.
Bendtner is more productive than RvP. FACT!
I’m not saying that he’s better than him though.
Gambon, retard is a banned word.
I’m sorry but some this Chamakh stuff is hilarious. We are talking about a guy who’s come over from France and is settling into a new team and a new way of playing. A guy who has already scored important goals, led the line with intelligence and shown himself to be a willing worker whose movement and skill on the ball has won us how many penalties? Jeez, talk about deluded! It’s almost as if these discussions take place in a kind of vacuum. Tevez cost a bomb, adebayor cost a bomb, Drogba cost a mint and it took him some time to settle and become the player we see today. Berbatov cost a bomb and did less in whole first season at United than Chamakh has done in his first few months but on here people are having a quite demented conversation about Chamakh’s first touch and his ability with his feet all probably because he didn’t cost us 18m! Weird.
Rohan, RVP is certainly behind them other 4 strikers, mainly cos hes a crock. Here are there respective averages in english footy;
RVP 12 (per season)
Drogba 22
Rooney 22
Torres 24
Tevez 21
Pedro,
Now i understand why Jaguar is so civilized and uses *
Rohan,
> Bendtner is more productive than RvP. FACT!
Possibly better than any other striker in the league ?
For last season
http://www.imscouting.com/reports-generator3/?id=33&t=586,587,588,589&p1=1&p2=500&p3=0&p4=10#rep
Nicky’s numbers would have been much more impressive if not for his initial games in right wings.
Jimbo -The first time ? What would you know ? You only turn up to talk shit when we’re losing or on the downslide.
Come on, honestly, I’m just a bit surprised to see you and it just seemed weird and overly critical to pick on Chamakh like that, you usually put more effort in when trying to be snide on here.
Have you read what you’ve written today ? Like saying his finishing is beyond poor ? He’s scored 6 goals and has 4 assists and has played a big part in why we’re still in with a chance soo far.
Saying he’ll let you down reguarly at this level is rubbish, just like saying he already has soo far, he hasn’t even got through half a season in the Premiership yet and I’ve never said he’s going to be the difference between us winning titles or not, though he’ll play his part.
Bendtner tries to be more advanturous in his play, therefore he’ll fail more often, whether or not he becaomes consistent with some of the things he tries is yet to be seen, Chamakh is older knows his strengths and limitations and works arounds them.
You’re 3rd paragraph is just odd, Bendtner came on to score the 3rd goal after the game was effectively over against Citeh. Likewise with Newcastle in the Carling Cup, did you actually watch the game ? Bendtner was decent, he scored a very good goal, but it wasn’t the best performance, just like it wasn’t from the team as a whole.
This team has a wider creative edge, it’s not as efficient offensively or defensively as the team from a couple of years ago, there is a comparison to Adebayor, but it’s far from clear, Adebayor was a bit younger, didn’t have a smuch of a pedigree, but also had a season or so before he scored 30.
If you go through the goals he got, or the sort of chances the team created for him everytime he was put through, you’ll see the difference between them, watch how many times Adebayor would open up his body and try to curl the ball around the goalie with the inside of his right foot, he wasn’t good on the floor even after he left, he didn’t improve greatly, he was better with volleys though.
Improving greatly at this age is akin to Van Persie going from completely one-footed to developing a pretty decent and accurate shot with his right foot.
We haven’t had everyone fit, we’ve had to throw Chamakh in and he’s done very well.
Arrigo Sachhi was also extremely confident that Argentina would win the world cup. No joke.
Stats proving that Nick is amongst the best strikers in the league which goes to prove that stats are fucking bollocks.
I’m talking in terms of pure ability and effectiveness in our game. Having said that, I wouldn’t swap RvP for anyone.
@Gambon
Your numbers are certainly flawed. Not even once has RVP played less than 15 league games in a season. This season is incomplete.
rsenal 2004–05 26 5 1 9 4 0 6 1 0 41 10 1
2005–06 24 5 1 7 4 0 7 2 0 38 11 1
2006–07 22 11 7 1 0 0 8 2 1 31 13 8
2007–08 15 7 3 1 0 0 7 2 2 23 9 5
2008–09 28 11 10 6 4 1 10 5 2 44 20 13
2009–10 16 9 7 0 0 0 4 1 1 20 10 8
2010–11 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
I would swap RVP for more or less anyone. Having your Ferrari in the garage means you have to catch the northern line like every other mug, better to have a VW Golf in the driveway.
But I dont disagree with you on his level of skill.
Laters ppl.
@WTL
No , it proves he is certainly amongst the strikers in the league. I seriously believe that.
@ Rohan
Same thing here RVP is the special one.
@Gambon,
Your numbers are certainly flawed. RVP ‘s league appearances are
26,24,22,15,28,16 that is 131 appearances for 6 seasons that gives a number of 22 league games per season.
I agree Jimbo’s views are a bit cheesy, but to suggest that your views are factual, jacob, is crackers.
Jute bags, wtf.
Ho hum… Wenger bid for Schwartzer who is the world’s best keeper! He was so keen to get him that he wouldn’t pay an extra half a million! And if he wanted Reina he had really strange way of showing it… why go for Schwartzer if he wanted Reina?? How gullible are you? You think that Liverpool will hand Reina over to Arsenal because of a last minute inquiry that may or may not have happened? Phooey! Let’s see what he does in the window… The truth is that Wenger always believed in Fabianski; I didn’t and I’m still not sure about the guy but the FACT is that We have now kept two clean sheets in two tough EPL matches with him in goal and with giving outstanding performances. I’m absolutely willing to accept that I may have got it wrong… you on the other hand are still banging on about Schwartzer who isn’t exactly covering himself with glory for Fulham nor exactly excel for Australia in the WC!
The point remains that Djourou is as good a 4th choice as there is out there and that much is a fact. I got his age wrong by 2 whole years and I apologise for that but if you were at the match you’d have seen a young man handle Jason Roberts with aplomb… the guy has improved every single match he has played this season so your moan about him is baseless… who is a better 4th choice CB? Who would you get in Djourou’s place to sit on our bench as 4th choice CB?
Why don’t you answer some questions instead of hiding behind lame insults.
Ade arguing on the pitch with Kompany and Yaya leaving early to avoid traffic. Only at cityyyyyy
Chozzer…
Crackers and cheese, what could be better? Facts relate to the real world mate… they are not subject to a vote. Make of that what you will.
SomeRandom
Stats are bollocks. You cannot compare 1 player with another based on minutes on the pitch to give an average because it doesnt take into account that one person maybe coming off having worked for 70 mins and won the game (drogba) whilst another comes on with 20 to go to bag an easy goal when everyones tired (nick)
Now I am not saying the above is the case its just an example.
Forget stats, there are these little things that get handed out at the end of a season, they are called medals you can tell who the good players are as they are the ones who build up collections of these shiny things.
As for Jacob
“we have now kept two clean sheets in two tough EPL matches”
LOL.
Seriously,
Laters.
Many will not understand this…
Am I the only one not impressed by the chavs and perplexed on how the mancs are level on points with us?
I’ve watched chelsea quite often this season and I must say I have not been impressed by their play. If they have a higher level within them they certainly haven’t reached that level in a while. Personally, I don’t think there is another level in them. Belief is something I feel they have above others.
As for the mancs, they are a mystique. If the totts had some sense in them they should have beaten them comfortable yesterday. The mancs are so open to play against I don’t understand how they win matches.
I feel as if the drop in quality in the top tier of premier lge has got wider still.
Arsenal are the only team bucking the trend in the top tier. I’m not quite sure if Arsenal players know how good they can be. What I see is a team still capable of reaching another level but, for some reason, not doing so. They still need to make an extra collective mental shift to truly reach that level. Players like Nasri you can see has done that somewhat (although I feel there is still room for improvement).
As for the premier league, one feels like the product has become sub-standard. It’s not quite as exciting. I think its peak years were 3-5 ago. Still, I’ve been impressed with teams like Newcastle (even before today’s results), Blackburn, Stoke, Fulham and Wolves. The excitement in the league is largely in watching the smaller sides it seems.
somerandom
I mean goals.
@WTL
Forget stats, there are these little things that get handed out at the end of a season, they are called medals you can tell who the good players are as they are the ones who build up collections of these shiny things.
Irrespective of stats, i would tell Bendtner is one of the best strikers in the league. And you accept Medals are important then you must accept stats are very very important. Since medals are nothing but stats it need not show quality. You cannot differentiate between stats and shiny medals.
Jacob what are you talking about-Bob Wilson who i’m sure knows a little bit more than you said Wenger bid “a lot” of money for Reina. Schwarzer was an insurance policy.
RVP is better than Anelka,Tevez and possibly Rooney. We should save him for the big games as Chamakh and Bendtner can cope with the other matches.
Also Djourou has looked poor on occassions (perhaps due to injury.
Chamakh shit- someone is on a wind up.
Jacob
Sooooo…are we talking about the CC where Roberts put us out?
If letting your man score is your definition of ‘handling with aplomb’ then i worry about your standards.