Good morning Grovers! It’s cold, it’s wet and we’re playing Stoke. In fact, looking out the window, it looks like the scummiest team in the North has brought down it’s dour miserable atmosphere along with it just to hack us all off. Still, apparently we can’t complain, we’ve made about 50 more fouls than them this year.
Tonight we host them at the Emirates, it’s the game that was postponed before Christmas and it’s an absolute must win for us. I’m pretty sure we’ll have far too much in the locker for them and hopefully the boys see this one as a bit of a personal vendetta and they truly do dish out a spanking.
There’s not really much to look out for with Stoke. They’ve got a few players in their side that are hugely underrated. Ricardo Fuller is certainly one of them, factor in John Carew and Robert Huth from set pieces as well. They’ve also added Jermaine Pennant to their set up. If Stoke pick up a freekick anywhere near the half way line onwards, they pack out the box and the ex-Arsenal man fires a looping ball just before the 6 yard box, this either baffles the keeper into a mistake, confuses the defenders or the ball rolls in off someone’s back.
They’re also a massive threat from throw in’s. Rory Delap, with a pass rate completion of about 12% had to be good at something. His bullet throws have caused even the very best keepers nightmares over the years. Having played against many teams myself that adopt this tactic, it’s not so much the height that is the problem, it’s the alien trajectory that is hard to compute. It kind of floats at pace and it doesn’t have any spin like a corner. The keepers at Arsenal have all the problem set plays loaded up onto ipads, hopefully they’ve been studying the how the set plays go off and practicing them in a real world scenario this week.
Make no mistake, this is a big game for Chezzer tonight. It’ll also be a big game for the midfield. We must try and avoid throws in dangerous areas but most importantly, we’ve got to avoid clumsy fouls all over the place. They’ll be looking for them so we’ve got to stand them up opposed to chopping them down. Song, that text was aimed at you…
I’ve got a good vibe for this one. We’re without Koscielny and Robin. Pam the tea lady spoke to me and she laughed off any suggestions they were long-term absentees. Both the players should be fit and raring to go for the final, they’re just being rested due to a bit of tightness. In fairness, this game is perfect for Nik B to strut his stuff in the CENTRE. You’d have to say that if there is a weak area of Kozzer’s game it’s in the air, so this is also a great opportunity for Squillaci to show that he is in fact a good defender.
Chezzer
Sagna Squillaci JD Clichy
Jack Song Cesc
Theo Bendtner Nasri
It’ll be tight out there tonight, make sure you’re vocal if you’re a fan because the boys will need you. This will not be a pushover!
In other news there has been wide spread panic online about the state of Samir Nasri’s contract. We’re getting into the Flamini zone and that £80k a week deal still hasn’t been penned. Now, I’m confident that the in form Frenchman is going to sign. He seems really happy whenever I’ve seen him interviewed, his girlfriend lives over here and he’s settled in a side that looks capable of winning things. However, we’ve been here before. I don’t understand why a player would be stalling on signing something that could more than double his wages? Every week it goes unsigned is another week of lost earnings?
Lets hope Sammy has more scruples than our last Marseille import. I do worry that mega money offers from Chelsea, Madrid and City might sway a young man. Hopefully Wenger’s puppy dog eyes look will do it. That thought has just made me feel a bit queezy…
Did you hear about new Barcelona signing Toral? According to sources close to Barcelona, we offered him a staggering 35x more than they did to join us. It’s highly amusing to hear their fans moan about us financially doping the youth systems. A bit like getting a lecture on public finances from Gordon Brown. It’s great to nab these kids but I’d like to see us pursue senior players with the same vigour going forward.
Finally, as it’s finance countdown week, I thought the following information from my best friend Tim Payton at the AST would be interesting. There is always a lot of hotly contested debate when it comes to the £127.6million that sits in our bank account as of 1 June 2010.
Well people, I can sadly announce that this is but a mere accountancy trick. The time period coincides directly with the period the clubs coffers have been swelled with the money from people paying off their massive season ticket debts to the club. So basically, kind of like someone judging your wealth after you’d been paid a years salary on the 1st of June.
From that money, we pay salaries, bonuses and expensive other costs. Apparently staging a match can cost up to a £1million a game and of course, there is the hush money Denilson, Eboue and Diaby are paid.
My exclusive for today is this though. Last year, cash reserves had risen significantly, apparently this is because last summer, Arsenal fans were far quicker to pay for their season tickets than ever before, to the tune of a whopping £14million! I’m not sure whether this was because of a sound North London month at the races, or perhaps because many people gave up their tickets last year and the newbies were just showing off. Either way, it’s good to know that if you lend a gooner a crisp £10 note, you’ll get it back in good time!
Also now that the property is debt free, all flat proceeds are cash in the bank, but not in accounting terms.
There is some good news as well, when you take out all furture costs plus the debt servicing requirements, we’ve got a cool £30million to play with… so I make that a large percentage of an Andy Carroll, or possibly an Eden Hazard? Anyway, we can give you more details on that when the interims are announced.
You will have to tune into the AST – via Le Grove – for that next week!
It’s all give, give, give here…
So there we have it, a beautiful end to a miserable Wednesday morning post. Remember, if you’re one of those nerdy types with a twitter account, you simply must follow us @LeGrove and do make sure you give @TimPayton from the AST a follow. He’ll be announcing all the finance details as they happen next week. He’s the most informed online source on that front on the web.
Enjoy the night and if you see someone with a begging cup sitting out in the pouring rain, don’t give up your money for them, it’s probably a Stoke fan!
See you in the comments!
P.S. I have a couple of singles going for a very fair price tonight. E-mail in if you’re interested. Also, that Arshavin video might have found a new home somewhere else.
just got back from emirates
bendnet aint good enough for a top club like ours, especially to be starting games
and seeing as he is 1st choice back up to robin van glass ankles he will be required to come in and perform when needed
he is not direct enough and too weak
Rohan – I hope you don’t mind me asking – what’s your connection to Nikki B?
There are few strikers in the prem that will stand up toe to toe with Stoke City and dominate their players!
ok bendtner is a great crosser of the ball
HE IS A STRIKER its a bit like saying almunia is good because he can kick a ball 50 well
denilson is total and utter bollocks and the sooner aaron is back the better
hope theo is ok for nou camp we need him for that
Just following a but of tue arseblog tweets.
I fear he is right. Cesc out for a month. To miss a cup final and the noun amp return……….kid can’t catch a break can he?
luke,
and? so, he played a few good passes and one great cross, so what?
albo,
still, you would expect a wide player to be able to get past his man more often than not or at least make the attempt convincing, no?
*look convincing
NB is defo not good enough for us anymore.
What worried me was as soon as Cesc went off we went stale and then lost theo pace. Last week Barca on a high today glad we won but feeling a bit flat about it.
And who can come in AR maybe Diaby if fit hmmmmmm
Bendtner is strong and good in the air, sometimes he shows some flashes of skill too but he needs to work on his touch.
If he hasn’t got that touch at 22/23 I’m afraid he may never have it. He’s a good squad player though…the kind of squad player that get 30/40 appearances a season.
He certainly put the effort in today and as a fan you couldn’t ask for more.
Bendtner is in top 10 strikers in the prem. And top 25 strikers in the world imo.
And Tony, nothing really. Just spreading the Bendtner love. Seriously though, I just feel he is grossly underrated and underappreciated
Just back from the game what a vile bunch of cunts they are. What’s the latest on the injuries?
Rohan
And to compensate you go to far in the other direction. He ain’t that good. Believe your eyes and not your heart.
What do you expect from our second/third choice striker? To score 30 goals?
If Bendtner were first choice, he’d score 20+ goals in a season. That’s not shabby at all for a 23 year old striker.
rohan sorry mate i cant believe u think that
he aint good enough for us, im not saying he wont make it somewher else but certainly not with us
he lacks any presence and not technically good enough
if he played a whole season for us we would be lucky to see 10 prem goals
and that is the reason he aint good enough to be arsenals 2nd striker
RvP, Rooney, Berbatov, Drogba, Anelka, Torres, Tevex, Elmander, Doyle, Bent/Odemwingie/Saha/Ddeko/……Bendtner?
I really wanted it to be true Rohan but I think there are, at least, ten strikers better than Bendtner in the league.
MG,
to be fair, he scored more in the last season and the one before that…
but yeah, I don’t consider him good enough to be the Arsenal player, if he is not using his biggest attribute, which is his size, I would rather give Vela the same number of chances…
plus defoe hernandez balotelli pavlyucenko andy caroll suarez
thats 15 id swap for him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruD2hult4P4&feature=related
“if he played a whole season for us we would be lucky to see 10 prem goals
”
He scored 12 goals in 31 appearances (probably 20ish starts??) last season with 7 assists.
The season before he scored 15 goals and had 5 assists playing a lot of games off the bench.
That’s decent enough. That’s not all of it though. It’s the knack he has of scoring absolutely crucial goals…the knack of being in the right place at the riht time. You can’t teach that. It’s innate instinct.
The composure will come with time. Don’t forget that this season, he has hardly played up front in his preferred position, and when he has appeared for us, it’s almost always been with a team largely inferior to our first team.
He isn’t the finished article. Nor is he good enough to be our first choice striker but imo we can do a lot worse than him. Have patience with him..he may yet go on to become a world class striker. He does have it in him. Who do you propose we get instead?
People like Benzema are not going to join us and then sit on the bench behind van Persie.
they would all score more with the service we provide
he doesnt get in the box enough to score enough goals
and he aint techically good enough to play 2nd striker
Elmander, Doyle, Bent/Odemwingie/Saha/Ddeko/
Out of that bunch, only Bent and perhaps Dzeko (unproven) are better than him.
Andy Carroll definitely isn’t proven also. He’s scored something like 9 goals in half a season. How have you come to that conclusion?
I would rather have Benzema to rotate with RvP as more or less ‘equals’ to keep the both fresh ahead of a striker who is usually played out wide when RvP is injured or knackered, wouldn’t you?
wait, don’t answer that
That’s cause he’s being played out of position, Mark. Whenever Bendtner has played it’s been with our B team which give him fuck all service.
I’d wager that he’ll have a big say yet in what we win this season. His impetus off the bench will be important.
Bent better than Bendtner?! good one….
In the prem I’d have Tevez, Rooney, Drogba, a fit Saha and Torres, and maybe Berbatov ahead of Bendtner. Struggling after them though
I’d love Benzema though. Be delighted if we snapped him up in the summer. Can’t see it though….
Anyone would love that. My point is he’s not going to be ready to come here for a bit-part role like that. I don’t see a proper world class striker coming to us until van Persie leaves/retires/fades especially in the 451 system in which we operate.
AA
Yeah perhaps A. Bent has a good record though, but yeah, as a whole, I’d say Bendtner is a better player.
Does this mean we will see more of Denilson now
I think bent will score more goals in an Arsenal team than Bendtner but may be less adaptable.
Elmander will too and he is even more adaptable too.
Saha the same
Dzeko is better, better touch and all that
Doyle is a better player technically and a hardworker. If he got the service Bendner got he would score aplenty. He was pretty clinical at Reading but he’s asked to play a different role at Wolves.
Bendtner is a good squad player…I fear he may not move beyond that role at Arsenal. He could turn out to be the leading player at a lesser club though.
Bent has a good scoring record but would completely nullify our attack with his completely and utterly non-existant all round game.
Hence the fact he’ll never play for a big team….
Rohan,
it would not be a ‘bit part’ role, but filling in for one another on (more or less, unless Benzema would earn that) without the need for a big runway required for the ‘Spruce Boots’ to gain speed and take off onto the mythical goalscoring run
there are more fans of bendtner on le grove then in the whole of the emirates every week
lets not forget that rvp is as reliable as a train in snow so we need 2 world class strikers
and niki or chamakh aint that
which is why wenger will attempt to sign a striker in summer imo
*on the equal terms
Give Chamakh a break I think he’ll come good. He was fantastic earlier in the season. He has had a good first season in my view better than I thought he would.
MG,
dunno about the train in snow bit, this one looks reliable as fuck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAg8tssYFlI
there are hardly any Bendtner fans on le-grove. FACT
FACT
Am missing Edi tbh
Have to say, if there is a recurring theme in the criticism on here it is from people who (IMO) have a fundamentally unrealistic view of how good we can expect our squad players to be.
Let’s ignore for a moment all the boring comparisons of which striker is better than which other striker etc etc and just say this:
An attacking unit of RvP, Walcott, Arshavin, Nasri, Fabregas, Wilshere, Bendtner, Chamakh, and Rosicky is still probably the best in the league right now.
Yes, there are some players that people are more or less happy with on that list, but the overall quality is still undeniable.
as much as i hate adebayor he was on another level compared to bendtner
our rivals
man utd – rooney berbatov hernandes
chelsea – torres drogba anelka
man city – tevez balotelli dzecko
us rvp bentdner and chamakh
that is not good enough and could easily be improved upon
we have the best midfield in country by a mile and its just a shame that when rvp doesnt play (which is quite often) we dont look clinical
ever since chamakh has fucked those brasses in vegas he’s game has gone to shit
Folks hot of the tweet world:
Cesc Fabregas: I don’t know if i’ll make sunday or no, but all I know is that from this moment to sunday 16:30 I wont sleep if its necessary
I’ve waited..too long to captain a final for Arsenal and I won’t give up till the last second”
albo,
Gooners:
RvP, Walcott, Arshavin, Nasri, Fabregas, Wilshere
goners, unless they raise their game to the level we all know (or like to think) they can:
Bendtner, Chamakh, Rosicky
All of them bar City ( they pay exorbitant wages) play in 2 striker systems most of the time.
You have to take that into account. Not to mention our strikers in a system such as ours have to do so much more than just score. Linkup play and such comes into play.
Hench, in our system, I can’t think of a better striker in the league or even in the world bar a few perhaps, than Robin van Persie.
Chelsea’ Drogba and Anelka are past it. Torres is a crock and has looked cack for the past 20 months or so.
Balotelli is a cunt with no work ethic and Dzeko is completely unproven.
Only Utd’s can compare with ours really. even then, none of them could do the job up front for us.
and it is not unrealistic to expect that you will have resonably competent players waiting in the wings…
albo i am very realistic mate
and the players you reeled of are quality attacking players
but the difference between us with rvp and without him is too big a gap
we need forwards who like to play on the shoulder and not dilly dally all over the pitch
at our sucsessful best we had that
bendtner has had some good moments no doubt
but when you have your main striker out every season for at least 2-3 months you need a top class replacement and bentdner is not that
Don’t think it’s too serious by that tweet. If he knew he were fucked, he wouldn’t say that. That brought tears to my eyes really. Tears I tell you. What a legend.So proud of our team. So proud of cesc.
What sort of squad do you want us to have SUGA? Even Barca’s isn’t that great. I’d say our squad players are on par with theirs. Bar their first team, their bench is shit.
Rohan,
a squad with no Denilsons, Rosickys, Diabys and all the other duds who never had it and never will, are past it or simply can’t be arsed to stay fit – is that too much to ask?
SUGA3 – but in fairness, I’d say they are ‘reasonably competent’. Just not world class.
Mark Gooner – I completely agree with this:
I was complaining about exactly this in NB’s game earlier in the day. I just wish he would try one 90 minutes where he stuck himself right on the shoulder of the centre backs for the entire game and made a real nuisance of himself in the box. He wastes so much of his time coming into the midfield, trying to be Bergkamp. It’s the reason I prefer seeing Chamakh up front, despite feeling that NB is overall the better player…
legendary stuff from Cesc there…but I think it may be sorta serious if he is saying that Rohan, otherwise he wouldn’t. I guess we’re just going to have to pray and way, nothing else really.
I love Fabregas for that tweet. LEGEND!
Diaby’s “never had it” He has undoubted talent. I wouldn’t really be surprised if 5 years down the line he went on to become a superstar. We all know that he has the potential to be one of the best players in the world.
Denilson I sort of agree, but Rosicky has class and experience in him and hasn’t been all that bad this season to be honest. He’s always played with the B team. He’d be a lot better if he played a few times with the first team.
The only perosn I am adamant we should get rid off is Mark Randall.
Rohan,
I knew I should have added ‘respectively’ in there, that would probably make a lot more sense
screw the ‘potential’ & ‘experience’ I’ve had it with all three of them, neither should be on the summer plane to Japan…
I respectfully disagree. I’d give both Rosicky and Diaby another season.
Absoultely perfect
Seriously though, Cesc-what a great great captain and player. I really hope he plays.
What did Cesc tweet?
Diaby deserves another season.
naah LAzer, he sounds a tad optimistic really. Atleast seems like there’s a bit of hope. If he knew there was no way he’d play, he wouldn’t say it.
I hope it’s just bruising or a minor strain or something. If he’s not going to be sleeping, can I recommend dumping himself into a vat of van Nistelrooy’s special horse placenta?
dunno, I certainly would not appreciate if he was to rush to play in that final and fuck himself up for the rest of the season…
besides, am I missing something here? we are going for a quadruple, which means two more finals, right?
http://www.cesc-fabregas.com/preview
Looks like he’s taken lessons from Bendtner. Still maintain that Bendy’s is the best football player’s website on the internet. Pure class.
http://nicklas-bendtner.com/Reality_check.aspx?ID=30
Told you Squillaci would have a good game
Man,
on what grounds? can’t stay fit to save his life, inconsistent and as it has been proven recently, also immature and dumb as fuck, why bother?
Suga – yes, its those sort of ridiculous knee-jerk statements that really annoy me from gooners. 12 months ago that list would have been totally different, and the chances are some of the players you (or others on here) might have named then are now key members of our squad. A year ago it might have been Djourou, Song, and Walcott. A few years before that it might have been Flamini and Hleb.
Yes, the players you listed happen to be playing poorly right now, and might not make it in the long term. And I’m not saying that Diaby will, for certain, fulfil his potential. But just as often as not armchair managers like you get it totally wrong.
The only difference is that 6 months later they can pretend that they never said that “this new guy, Thomas Vermaelen, is total rubbish – even Tony Adams and the dutch press say so!!!” etc etc etc
Breaking news. Bendtner’s on twitter. hahha
http://twitter.com/#!/bendtnerb52
lolz
http://nicklas-bendtner.com/Files/Billeder/about/awards.jpg
albo,
I never said Vermy was rubbish or had a different opinion on either of the three players mentioned, bar maybe Rosicky, who has gone to pot this season…
yes, Diaby is talented, but how many chances do you want to give him and how much money are you prepared to lose in the process of doing so?
Walcott was still a headless chicken last season, I thought that JD was a bit clumsy and always rated Song, ever since that ACN a few years ago…
they don’t ‘happen to play poorly’, they are consistently shit with an occasional good/great game in them, but as they say, even an unloaded gun fires once a year and a broken down clock is right twice a day
Player ratings:
Chesney – 7
Clichy – 6
Squillaci – 8
Djourou – 7
Sagna – 7
Song – 7
Wilshere -8
Cesc – 6
Nasri – 6
Theo – 5
Bendtner – 6.5 (.5 for the assist!)
Arshavin – 8
Denilson – 5
Chamakh – 6
CESC IS A FUCKING ARSENAL LEGEND!
Sorry Sug, we’ll have to continue another time. Gotta be up EARLY! Night all
Suga
Apart from his injuries, that are not intentional, I completely disagree with you. In fact, if not for his injury record I would advocate that he be given a 5 year contract.
Unfortunately, I gotta go. We win on Sunday!
Nite all
nite
What I find funniest is that now that the good times are here ( hopefully for long), J@guar has completely fallen off the grid. Brilliant really
Jimbo,
I agree with your ratings in the main
right, I gotta go as well, nite!
come on you good guys in red!
suga, i wasnt debating whether or not Bendtner is top quality or not, but the past few seasons clearly show that Nick is more effective out wide than at CF.
People doubt his desire to be at the arsenal
http://www.cleansheetsallround.co.uk/2011/02/off-the-pitch-arsenals-fabregas-defiant-despite-injury
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/9406224.stm
CUNT. Couldn’t resist saying that at the end could you.
That guy Pulis is proper filth isnt he
Anyone seen Six paac?
Never knew id miss the bastard.
Actually i dont. Im glad he’s gone.
Yeah funny that. Where has sixx gone off to?
Good morning.
Good game last night, a win and only two injured key-players… that’s a good result against a team like stoke. With a little bit of bad luck we would’ve had a nice broken leg on Sagna as well
I’m getting a lot of satisfaction looking at the table right now. Finally put daylight between us and the chasing pack. The reality is: we’re right in it now, with Manure to play Chelsea and Liverpool soon. This is it.
What time is kick off on sunday?
looking forward to the match report today…
Gutted about Walcott not being available for the final. But the good news is our little Russian has hit form and with him and Nasri we SHOULD have enough in the locker for em.
Hope to God Cesc makes it…I can see Koscielny and Van Persie back for this. If Cesc isn’t available who plays in the center? Rosicky? Denilson? Guessing Diaby still isn’t available. We can’t get young Ramsey back soon enough for the bench now…
Still don’t care about Barca return leg…
Arshavin’s run and lay-off for Walcott was just fantastic – so glad he’s back in the zone, perfectly timed for Walc’s absence. Just need to add the goals that TW was contributing.
Arshavin’s return to form will help cover for TW’s absence. Fab’s injury is a bigger concern, because TW out means Nasri is needed further up, meaning Diaby or Ros into the midfield. I’m a Rosicky fan, but he’s definitely a few notches down from Fab and Nasri. This is where we’ll be needing Ramsey in the longer term.
Haha, we said almost the same thing.
stalker!! haha. jk.
I like ROsicky’s passing and running more but Diaby’s presence is of course better. He offers better tackling but decision making is definately not as good. I am guessing if Diaby is available both will contribute in some way cause Rosicky almost always runs out of steam if he plays the 90.
Lazer I reckon Nasri will play in there. Bendtner and Arshavin would’ve started anyways so Theo’s injury isn’t a massive deal for Sunday necessarily, but really need him to not be out for too long.
If Cesc is fit I reckon
Szczesny
Sagna JD Koscielny Clichy
Cesc Song Wilshere
Arshavin Bendtner Nasri
or if he isn’t then VP starting and Nasri in midfield with Bendtner on the right
I would rather see Nasri on the wings, I think he is more threatning there having a run at the fullbacks and cutting in to the middle. Even if Cesc is unavailable.
He is not a very creative passer at the moment from a center mid position. Depends on the opponent as well.
Stoke don’t offer much in midfield, they usually just by pass it and lump up to Carew or whoever up top trying to pick up sloppy seconds from knock downs.
A you really think if VP can play he won’t? That is the sort of game Mr. Arsenal will be buzzing about in the ear of the gaffer if he has too I think..
Depends on whether he’s 100% or not Lazer. Yeah if he’s fully fit I guess he’ll start, although then I’m not sure who wouldn’t as I really think Arshavin and Bendtner will regardless!
true enough…I guess we’ll see. But you’re right, the Walcott injury is not dire as we have the best backup in the position in the squad in Arshavin. And esp since he has hit some form now.
But will need him back for the run in, Nasri was back pretty quick from his ankle sprain no. Hope Walcott has a grade 1 and its a quick two weeks out. Obviously am fearing the worst as usual for him and Cesc.
Yeah I agree Lazer.
The MASSIVE problem with Theo’s injury would be the Barca game, that would really make a big difference not having him. Arshavin couldn’t start against Barca imo because of his lack of defensive ability etc so I’d see Diaby start instead of him if not Bendtner.
that GD of 7 might come back and bite tiny totts in the arse for a top four finish…just looked at the table.
Thinking back, the players were quite unprofessional when Cesc got injured, granted you can understand why because they didn’t want to get injured ahead of the Cup Final.
Thankfully we wised up in the last 10-15 mins.
Stoke could have scored in between the 60-70 dry spell but they have a group of C/D Grade players who play one dimensional football because of their. It’s no wonder they are shite away from home and lingering above the relegation zone, it would be good if they went down or they sacked Pulis for being a awful manager.
Somebody like Martin O’Neill would do a good job.
Yeah and the fact that Barca piss their pants at the thought of Walcott running at them.
Shame, real shame. Still I know you all may disagree, but I don’t see CL as much of a priority even now. If their is one competation I would not be TOO depressed about going out of so we have better squad strength for the run in it is the CL this year.
I think if we are realistic with ourselves we know Theo doesn’t make the Barca game. It is only 10 or say days from now…even a grade 1 sprain is minimum 2 weeks I think.
Did Squillaci’s performance last night soften any opinions of him?
is someone going to have to tweet le pedro!! he’s late.
He had a better game then JD at some moments imo Savage. It was a stern test so credit where credit is due. The gloss of a goal also adds to his performance. And personally I liked the whole team celebrate with him as well.
Yep Savage, one half decent performance and hes great.
He’s always late, morning all!
Squillaci was excellent yeserday.As long as him and koscielny don’t play together its fine
I like the way some are almost grateful if a poor player puts in a shift, same with Denilson and Almunia!
Perhaps part of the problem with Kos/Squid is that Kos tries to dive in to win the ball, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t, when it doesn’t Squillaci is not quick enough to react.
Another thing is that the partnership is slighty weaker in the air compared to the other partnerships.