A couple of days on and I’m still pretty raw about the Manchester United loss. Reading around the blogs, there’s not a groundswell of anger, more a deflated feeling of acceptance, like when you look at the weather forecast and realise global warming has done nothing for those Mediterranean winters you were promised.
F*ck you Al Gore.
One of the more worrying issues that came out of our loss to United was Wenger’s excuse regarding the poor United pitch. This was an ill-advised statement and I’ve been wondering what ramifications it has for the culture we have at the club?
@Jack_Wilshere haha to be honest the pitch was shocking! Wanted to stop us playing!
Now, I don’t expect young Jack to slate the playing staff at the club, but he seems to be pretty nonchalant about churning out the same line as the manager. Simple fact is, we weren’t good enough on so many more levels than just the pitch. Arsene making excuses about the grass merely masks the truth. That’s ok if he’s giving the players a rollicking at training but from what I understand, he doesn’t.
You can’t have a culture of excuse making at a football club. You need a winners mentality to flow through everyone. Jack coming out with that little pearler on twitter leads me to believe that he’s not looking closer to home. If he’s not, what makes anyone think the rest of players are?
Chesney was in the Evening Standard yesterday, goading lucky United. Denilson will no doubt be on Arsenal.com later telling the world how we’re ready to win the league and Theo Walcott will be telling us how he likes to go to the cinema and watch films in the front row to make his eyes go funny (Bless).
The coach needs to start driving some spark into our players. You can see on the pitch that we’re too nice. He needs to drop non-performers this weekend and he needs to start creating a fear in the dressing room that if you’re not good enough, you’ll go.
Telling your squad you’re not going to buy in January served no purpose whatsoever. Where is this incentive to up your game if you know the coach isn’t going to put pressure on your place?
Let’s talk about some stats from the United game that should be flagged at the training ground.
- Clichy pass success rate 64% (56 total passes)
- Sagna pass success rate 65% (81 total passes)
- Chesney pass success rate 43% (35 total passes)
- Song successful tackles 1 (Out of a total of 3 attempted)
- Chamakh successful tackles 5 (Out of a total of 13 attempted)
- Arshavin successful tackles 5 (Out of a total of 5 attempted)
- Chamakh successful shots 1 (Out of a total of 2 attempted)
Just for the full backs, here are the stats from the Spurs game
- A.Cole pass success rate 86% (51 total passes)
- Sagna pass success rate 94% (32 total passes)
- A.Ekkotu pass success rate 73% (51 total passes)
- Sagna pass success rate 67% (46 total passes)
Our full backs have been flagged as being inadequate for a long time. Did United pressurise them as a tactic?
I think Sagna is generally fine, what he lacks in flair, he makes up for in defending. However, I’m not so sure with Gael these days. How loyal can you be? He’s costing us in games on a regular basis now, he shows no sign of getting his head together… maybe it’s time to bring in new blood or hope that Gibbs will fix?
Talking of Gibbs and super injured players, where are we getting these days with loyalty to them? When was the last time sticking it out with a crock paid off? Marc Overmars and Kanu put their problems behind them back in the day and gave us some good service, Bobby P put his hard times behind him for at least a season and did well, but lately, we haven’t been getting the same luck.
We waited the best part of 2 years for the return of Rosicky. We could have gone out and purchased a glut of attacking talent in the meantime, but we didn’t. Now he’s back and fit, he’s 29 and like before his injury, he really isn’t putting in the barnstorming performances we expected after we saw him score that goal against America in the world cup. He has rarely imposed himself on a game, rarely scored a winner and he hasn’t found the net since January.
Was that two years of rehabilitation well spent?
Now we’re on the topic, we might as well talk about Robin ‘I’m ok for the World Cup’ Van Persie. He spent the whole season out, comes back fit as a fiddle for the world cup, picks up a customary injury on his return, gets back to fitness and now he looks lost. He’s apparently upset because he’s no longer first choice, but Wenger is so confused with what to do with him, he’s resorted to sticking him as a deep-lying Paul Scholes-esque playmaker.
Have the club finally realised they’re not getting value for money out of these crocks?
Will they realise that Diaby has been the biggest disappointment since Lapland in the New Forest?
Hooray kids!
Again, fit for the world cup, but comes back and he doesn’t fancy it. He was last spotted on the bench when we spanked Shaktar on the 19th October, since then, he’s been more elusive than Julian Assange (Fight the good fight Julian!).
- 2005 – 15
- 2006 – 13
- 2007 – 16
- 2008 – 25
- 2009 – 34
- 2010 – 6
Above are appearance stats for Abou. When do you stop, analyse and decide this player is never going to be a man you can depend on?
Wenger needs to be more ruthless in his approach to injured players. Chamakh might not be the world’s greatest striker, he might not have the talent Robin does, but he’s there, every week, trying his heart out and he hasn’t let us down yet.
What’s worth more, him in the team week in week out, or Robin for the odd 25 games?
In other news, @Greggooner told me that a number of Premiership clubs are looking at Inter’s fullback Santon. He’s fast, energetic and he’s 6ft1. There were big hopes for him at Inter but he’s fallen down the pecking order under Rafa. He’s 19 years old and worth £8.5million, so obviously, we can’t rule him out in the January transfer window. I think the fact he can play both sides has appeal, so we’ll see where this one goes!
Davide Santon
Right, I’ll catch you all in the comments section!
Have a ripping day, it’s nearly Christmas!
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I thought fat Sam was holding out for the Man U job? He might have to settle for Barca or Madrid.
Coentrao is a top class defender. He’s quick, reads the game very well, can tackle & would probably fit into any of the big sides bar chelsea.. Also costs a few pennys
Basicly ticks all the boxes that says wenger wont ever go for him.
See Gooby, what did I say…realist!
Winterburn didn’t play in the current league nor system. He’s a legend but wouldn’t play for a team like us these days.
Baines would get found out massively imo in our system, we’d ship more goals down our left side than we do with clichy, because of the lack of recovery pace.
I think Wenger will ignore our defensive problems and make no signings in january,seen it happen many times before and I have no reason to think he will do anything different this january. Makes we want to stab him in the face……………
Keyser says:
December 15, 2010 at 21:12
David – There’s no need to answer the question, because it’s got little to do with what I was talking about,
——–
What that pretty fucking confusing Keyser,
The first thing you said was if Ray was blamming the manager. How does that translate to I came off as angry?
You see you really dont make sense.
Tomtom
Do it, I know some good lawyers.
Maybe we should change our system A? Our current system is clearly not working
I don’t see anyone coming in unless Vermy is REALLY fucked TomTom, or Madrid offer big money for Clichy.
It isn’t individuals we need, it’s a collective improvement as a unit imo, organisation, concentration etc
Of course keyser doesn’t make sense. He’s a fat Minh, but he’s blog gold.
I disagree TomTom, although it isn’t working as well this season at home, but much better away from home.
If we could just remember how it worked last season at home, and keep the way it’s working this season away from home then we’ll walk the league!
Vp, Cesc, Diaby staying fit would make a big difference at home though, however unlikely that is….
Exactly A.
Wenger out.
hope madrid offers big money for clichy.
they should sort out fat sam’s contract first though, they are begging him accept the £10m/py, too low for lost walrus it seems
Minh means mong, I’m not trying to say Keyser led a successful coup at Dien Bien Phu.
vermy djourou should sort out the defending.
i think that diaby-cesc-song is a well balanced midfield that easily dominate in most of the games bar chavs, manure and shitty.
on the front line RvP can provide the goal scoring talent we’re lacking, he’s un playable when fit (when fit, when fit, when fit………)
Madrid wont sign Clichy,Mourinho would never be that stupid
Fat Sam will be an Essex bwoy inside a month if Avram doesn’t get his shite together and concentrate on his job rather than his weekly sponge baths.
Oh….. I thought you were suggesting he was merciless.
Goody you are deluded,Djourou is a very average defender and Vermy cracks under pressure as we all seen in the big games last season
I dunno about JD-Vermy Gooby, I really don’t think individuals will sort us out defensively.
Agree about midfield though, although I disagree about Utd and Chelsea, they have dominated them too, it’s been us bottling it that’s fucked us despite dominating the midfield. One reason Monday was so shit – we’ve dominated the midfield in recent games but couldn’t at all on Monday….
Agree about VP too, we REALLY need him to stay fit
Birdmen….DIVE!….
TOMTOM
instead of insulting me propose a better solution (and please don’t come up with gary cahill)
Sack Wenger,thats my solution Goody.
Pathetic earthlings!
A
i believe that DJ and vermy are our most talented defenders they never played together but i’d give it a go, see where it takes us…
That midfield did dominate possession quite a few times but they failed to deliver, and provide enough chances to score. they were caught napping on many occasions too. it maybe lack of focus or understanding
Kurt Russell auditioned to play Flash. How’d they fuck that up!?
Every great team is built on a strong defense,our defense is a joke and we dont even have a good defensive midfielder to protect our back four. Our team has no leaders
TOMTOM
do you think that after sacking wenger we’ll get a good enough manager and 4/5 top signings?
i don’t believe it could be that rosy
A – Let’s see how we dominate midfield against the big sides when we’ve taken the lead. Up until Monday all we’ve done is dominate possession against good sides when they’re one goal up, and they absolutely love us wearing ourselves out and being ripe for the counter.
If we ever get a goal up, the likes of Song, Diaby, Denilson will get totally smashed by Chelsea and United when they up the tempo. It’s been proven time and time again we can’t cope against intensity as all out midfielders are too slow. Ramsay is the only one has the physical capability.
We should have signed Mascherano but maybe we can still get him if Cesc wants a move to Barca
I dunno about that Gooby, I’d say Koscielny and Vermy are. JD has improved loads but I still have real reservations about him ever being a first choice
Nah Paulinho, we’ve done so before we’ve gone a goal down too, but the dominating the midfield has ultimately meant nothing because of individual mistakes and collective bottling of it.
Lurch, call me Snake.
Would anyone consider one of the Diarra’s from Madrid. Lassana is younger than Mohomadou (sp.?) but both IMO are world class. They both are also on the outer with Maureen now that Alonoso and Khedira are at the club so by offering regular game time, I’d think we could get either of them.
Anyone else agree???
Pliskin!
Great film.
i’d take mamadou and give song some competition, he might learn to do his job lol
we’ll see what wenger choses when vermy is back, i think he’ll go with verm and kozz anyway
I disagree hugely gooneroo, Lass is far from world class and never will be imo. He’s a level below Song for me.
Mascherano would be absolutely class though
I think Diarra is a trouble maker and is not the leader we need. Wenger is at Arsenal now for 14 years,time for a change imo
mamadhou as a backup obviously, lassana is a cunt a wouldn’t have him
Mascherano is a proper DM,he would make a big difference to this team
You know what Jack Burton always says at a time like this?
Who?
Jack Burton……..Me!
Is it true that Wenger blamed our defeat on the Chillian minors? Maybe we should invite them to our games so they can help us get out of a hole…
You mean…. the tall guy weird clothes, first you see him then hes gone?
Shoulda made a sequel.
A
didnt you say denilson was better than mascherano this summer?
Come on Dave, 2000 years and you can’t find a girl with green eyes. You must be doing something seriously wrong!!!
On that note I need to pass out. Oh and Song better than Diarra is an immense joke.
What’s popping pimps?
I’m in the middle of my final exams (i have 2 tomorrow and then i’m done!
) so i haven’t really gotten the chance to see anything.
Have to say I’m bitterly disappointed with our performance….absolutely gutted
lol incesc, yes that’s exactly what i said, and that was two summers ago not this one
On another note…
Ray Tango: When this is over, we have to pay Jabba the Hutt here a visit.
Gabriel Cash: I’ll bring the chainsaw.
Ray Tango: I’ll bring the beer.
oh i thought you said alonso incesc, actually no – although i preferred the idea of yaya to him in the summer!
yaya, if only….
no it was this summer because i said he did a great job for argentina and id like him at arsenal.
you and qos argued he was shit
Dunno about the performance, but the result definitely..I really was confident we’d get something out of the game.
RvP needs to hit full stride ASAP and Diaby needs to be fit. He is underrated at times in his ability to unlock defenses. Last year, there was this 2/3 month period sometime around Dec/Jan/Feb where he was absolutely world class. If he can rediscover that sort of form and consistency it’ll be a great plus for us.
Unfortunately incesc he’s right.
It came up again this summer while under scrutiny.
Oops.
Stat of the day:
Maroune chamakh 10/11 so far: 23 appearances, 10 goals and 6 assists.
Nicklas Bendtner 09/10: 31 appearances (with more than a couple sub appearances and playing in what was a imo a weaker team offensively) , 12 goals and 7 assists.
Maybe it’s time to give His Royal Pinkiness his chance up front against Stoke?
AW needs to grow some cojones and start RVP. If it dont work sub Chamakh on, not the other way around.
Rohan
the biggest news is that bendy set to be announced the shock winner of this years ballon d’or
Not to mention Bendtner has the snazziest website on the internet. FACT!!
http://nicklas-bendtner.com/
Bendtner’s too good for the Ballon D’Or.
really incesc?!
i’ve always been a huge fan of mascherano, i would never claim that he was shite.
After yaya imo he’s the next best dm in the world. not always what we need in terms of bringing physical/athletic balance to the midfield but he’s an awesome player in his own right and i’d love him at the emirates.
yaya AND mascherano, with cesc now that would be a dream midfield!
bendy probably put more money in his site than any other footie player
http://nicklas-bendtner.com/Files/Billeder/Nyheder/6_nyheden_personlig.jpg
GOD
i watched trainspoting, top movie. tells you a lot about how shyyyyte it is being Scottish
Evra said: “I think we confirmed what I’d said before the match.
“I think Arsenal played really well, you shouldn’t neglect that, but we were better.
“I really say that without any arrogance.
“I heard people saying that what I said was below the belt, but that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to show how much I believe in my team, in their potential and strength.
“We know Arsenal and we know that if you don’t let them breathe – which is what the coach said before the match – then it becomes hard for them, especially at Old Trafford.
“United always show up for the big games.
“Arsenal enjoyed a lot of possession but only had one chance.
“I think our victory was really deserved, it didn’t boil down to small details. But people will have a go at me again for saying what I think.”
phuk that,
Philipe Coutinho’s website is the biscuit
http://www.philipecoutinho.com/
what pisses me off most about this?
“We know Arsenal and we know that if you don’t let them breathe – which is what the coach said before the match.”
WE KNOW ARSENAL
The truth is utd always have the refs advantage at home, so it was always going to be tough.
We didnt work hard at all, and to be honest i dont think we’ve gotten out of first gear all season, maybe against City but we were playing against 10men.
We’ve got the best French player, the, Best Russain player, the best Moroccan player, the Belgium Captain, The Croatian Captian, The best Midfielder in the World, the best English talent, so its all a little embarrassing when you blame the pitch.
David
That wouldnt cover up the fact that we have the worst manager in the world,who is a senile loser only interested in his own bonuses.
Really like Santon! Tall, fast, left/right back/midfield, can shoot
David
Croatian captain????
Worst manager in the world? lmao.
Santon is a right back, where we need help is left back.
Talking about the Untd game and i just realized how extremely hard it is not to say anything racist against that chinese c8nt.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1338942/Roma-plan-5million-Emmanuel-Eboue-swoop-Italians-look-sign-Arsenal-star.html
Sorry i mean Czech captain.
Fuk.
I guess i am racist.
David
Geoff is the only racist AKB…
David hates Bendtner,Van Persie,Wenger,Koscielny, Squillaci and the Chinese
Infact,he loves Djourou,Adebayor and Walcott.
So that makes him a racist
J.Cole looks past it
Nicklas Bendtner website is all style…
Jag,
I love Van Persie
He’s Mr. Arsenal ffs.
Nothing like some samba music to give you that Brazilian style flavor.
Touch above.
I think we would be mad to sell Eboue.
Id rather we let go of Bendtner, he has no future at Arsenal.
If their offering 5million i’ll take a turkey sandwich.
David, wenger blamed the pitch for the poor quality of the game, not for arsenals defeat.
New post!
come on arsenal!!!!!
tomorrow is the CL draw fellas!
he can be easily the best GK in the world in a few years!
attention the sound is really bad heheheh
http://www.youtube.com/cwdgunnereserves#p/a/u/0/jRG5CJ4JnCE