Arsenal concede 2 leads, lose own silverware and booed off by the home fans. Good times!

July 31, 2011

So another game, another disappointing result with familiar traits. We were 1-0 up, cruising, then we slipped up and conceded our lead late on with some typically slack defending.

Conceding two leads twice in two days is pretty poor. People can quote preseason statistics around what a good preseason means, but the point isn’t about whether your preseason results impact your campaign, the point yesterday was that the same old problems are still there because the coach hasn’t made any changes of note.

Just because it’s a preseason game, doesn’t mean you should have a different mentality going into it. You play to win. The same lack of ruthlessness that dogged us last season was on show yesterday. The only player who looked like he wanted to kill the game was Gervinho, oh, and Jack Wilshere before he limped off with a not so serious injury (we hope).

The game finished to a crescendo of boos. Now, as you know, I don’t boo. However, I’ll defend the right of a paying fan to express their concern at the lack of activity going on at the club this summer. The Emirates Cup isn’t billed as a fitness work out, it’s billed as a showcase for the new season. An opportunity of attendance for those less privileged than the season ticket holders.

They, like us, were promised that Wenger knew the problems with his squad and we were told he’d be active in the summer transfer market. So far, there is no evidence of either. Is it extreme booing preseason? Probably. However, this isn’t a knee jerk reaction to two bad games this is a result of a managers flawed transfer policies of the past 5 years. Everyone can see what’s coming… again.

… and before I leave this topic, lets put something in perspective. The players were booed for a shoddy showing over two days. Big deal. They’re professionals. Like Diaby said last year, the fans at the Emirates are too soft on the players. Everyone wants to play for Barca and Madrid, their fans are shocking in how quick they are to bust out a white hanky, doesn’t stop Cesc wanting to join them does it? Just because the players accept bad performances… doesn’t mean the fans have to.

You know what I find most embarrassing? Not the fans. It’s the fact we’re still talking about the same problems we were last year and the year before that and the year before that. We have the only manager in the world who cures the problem of conceding from set pieces by selling an experienced left back and buying in a winger.

There’s still time to bring in an experienced centre back, there’s still time to seal the deal with Mata and there’s still time to take Scott Parker on loan to shore up our midfield. We need a bit of experience and grit to bind the obvious talent this squad oozes. We also need to start forcing players into taking responsibility on the pitch. I think that’ll come when we bring in a new leader. Well, I’m hoping that will come when we bring in a new leader.

Everything at the club is in a bit if a mess. We’re where we normally are at this time of the year. We have some really exciting young players in the melting pot, we have some seasoned pro’s who are looking to prove themselves, we have a squad that’s too small and we have at least one of our best players leaving the club.

Would we be talking about booing if Wenger had just bought what was needed, hell, even just a decent centre back! Doubtful. It’s the inaction that gets people. That horrible question every fan has at the back of their mind…

‘is he even aware there is a problem?’

How the next two weeks pan out will go along way to deciding the season. I truly believe you have to win the summer to stand a chance of winning the league. There are so many variations of what could happen… so I’ll bide my time before passing judgment. One thing is for sure, the fans didn’t like what they saw yesterday, Wenger will have heard, which might not be a bad thing. We should be grateful we’re seeing the cracks now, while there’s still time to paper over them with some heavy duty cement. 2 clean sheets this weekend might have left the club feeling very content.

Positives

Gervinho is a man on a mission, that mission? To cause a problems up front. His runs aren’t telegraphed, he can drop in late like Freddie, he can hang off the last man like Ade and he is very comfortable out wide like Thierry. His passing needs fine tuning and obviously his finishing has another level to reach, but so far, so good.

Benik Afobe came on for Jack and looked very solid. He’s calm on the ball, he has great balance and he’s very strong. If he’s the reason JET left, no problem from me. I’d be happy with him in the mix for 4th striking option.

Rosicky looked very good in the first half. Pretty much everything he did looked classy. He was direct and adventurous all game even sneaking in with a couple of shots and an assist for Robin.

It was great to have Vermaelen back in the side. He’s very assured on the ball and he’s hungry to defend. Kyle Bartley also landed an introduction to the 1st team, he had twenty minutes to play, he made a couple of blocks and scored an own goal which was unlucky. One thing about Kyle… He is massive. He should be battling it out as our 5th choice this year.

Thierry returning really did showcase why we’ve got some of the best fans in the world. Perhaps his return was an ingredient that made yesterday worse, it was a stark reminder of how far away we are. Thierry set up the winner and gave Championship quality Redbulls the Emirates Cup win. It all got a little sycophantic in the end, but like Keown said, that sort of reception should be what the players of now aspire to have when they retire for the game. After all, when you have more pound notes than sense, it’s the adulation you crave…

The next two weeks are massive, right now, we’re not title contenders, only one man can make that right, if he doesn’t, I’m afraid we’ve all just witnessed Ground-Hog Summer 5: Return of the Hog, which means next season will be very disappointing.

What the hell is Bill doing to that Groundhog?

Fantasy Football…

That time of year has arrived again where we peddle a bit of Fantasy football! We have a £100 prize for the winner, which basically feels like I’m gifting myself and Geoff £50. The league comes with an app for your phone and it’s all very sophisticated! If you fancy your chances…

1. sign up the Metro Fantasy League HERE

2. The Join the below league, using the below pin!

League Name: Le Grove

League Pin: 4450

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

604 Comments | New Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Pedro

Did we learn about defending at Arsenal? Did we hell, zonal marking has to go Arsene.

July 31, 2011

The Emirates cup, the preseason tournament where Mexican waves are standard and high pitch shrieking is the norm.

The first half was a bit of a midfield bore-fest. Jack wilshere deserved a penalty early on, but the ref decided he’d rather ignore it.

Boca Juniors broke our high line early on but were adjudged to be offside. Pretty scary defending if I’m honest. It’s like our defence are told about the high line, but never ordered to practice is. Our defending from corners was a touch suspect, I do get tired of the sad fact that no one in our defence truly attacks the ball. You’d think after winning the worst set piece defence of the season award, we’d can in this zonal marking nonsense as just that.

Watch us on corners, we are marking fresh air, the opposition go where they want, follow the ball and often score as a result. What on earth are you doing there Pat, earn your money, stand up to the Emperor.

Just get it out. No nonsense. Give John Smiths a call, they’ll have a solution.

We broke the deadlock after Gervinho latched onto a long ball out wide, he walked the ball into the box, cut a perfect pass to RVP who buried it with no problems. A beautiful move. The simplicity of Gervinho is what I like about him. He’s no frills, direct and hungry to succeed. I’m pretty sure he’s been talking about joining Arsenal for years being his dream… now he’s got it, it looks like he wants to prove himself. We need players like that, he gets a big thumbs up from me.

‘He’s quick! He’s black! His forehead needs a slap! Gervinhooooo! Gervinhooooo!’ via @Ore_A1

I suspect he’ll get told off for not passing it across the line more, we need to make 55 passes to score, not one fool!

Jenkinson looks great as well, it’s hard to believe he was in the stands last year as a paying customer, now he’s holding his own as a right back. He has terrific control and a nice calmness about his game.

Traore started at left back and I can’t help but think he’s the man who will be starting against Newcastle. He’s played for Pompey in left midfield, he started plenty of games for Juve last season at left back and broke into the French squad last year. He has all the attributes to be a great player, bar a brain at the moment. Let’s hope he can develop that this season… and fast.

Nasri certainly didn’t do anything to satisfy me that he could be our solution in the centre of midfield. He’s powerful and direct, but he’s no Cesc Fabregas. Frimmers looked ok, a little rusty with the passing but rawness is to be expected with someone so young. Still have him over Song though.

Andrey was looking lean… like he’d said no to the summer pies.

Carlos Vela cut in from right, laid off the ball to Ramsey who nipped inside his defender and rifled the ball into the top corner with his first touch!

Mannone made a superb save from a long range Boca effort. Is it me or does anyone else think he Commodus from Gladiator.

Squillaci did his usual, lost the ball in a dangerous area, allowed Boca to run at our box, the end result, a goal. It does beg the question, what does that man have to do to be deemed not good enough? I’d rather take a risk with a player who could go onto to great things, over a player we know is at the peak of never seen powers. You know, like a benched Bartley. The crowd seemed to agree with muffled boos.

Moments later, JD slipped over a through ball allowing Boca to slip in and score another shocker. Slightly louder jeers. It was shambolic defending, but to those of us who can remember as far back as 3 months, not exactly shocking. The same players, same coaching staff, same result.

Nasri wearing the captains armband made me laugh… a day after complaining that we shouldn’t give the armband as a bribe, Wenger’s at it again. What a f*cking joke. Has the arm band got no prestige anymore? It’s embarrassing Nasri took it… shameful stuff all round.

Jenkinson got skinned again conceding freekick in a dangerous area, the resulting freekick was well kept out by Mannone.

Eboue coming on the pitch made it even worse… what he’s even doing in the squad? He seems to be saying all the useless players he can’t get rid of, aren’t useless, Bendtner, Eboue, Squillaci, Denilson, I expect we’ll see Almunia today!

I just hope he’s not paying Cesc, all that money to be sitting in the stands, it’s obvious Barca don’t really want him, stick him on the transfer list and think about Arsenal for once Wenger.

Interesting to see Thiago scored again for Barca against the Mancs yesterday, I really rate that kid and I suspect he’ll get the nod over Cesc before too long if he went there, that would be poetic justice on a Hlebesque level.

Red Bull New York up today, I wonder if he’ll stick Bartley on with Vermaelen at the back, I hope so, we’ll find out soon enough.

You sometimes wonder if Wenger likes hacking the fans off?

Have a great day Grovers, at least we get to see us win some silverware if we win today! Well and hope that Boca don’t score more than we do.

Fantasy Football…

That time of year has arrived again where we peddle a bit of Fantasy football! We have a £100 prize for the winner, which basically feels like I’m gifting myself and Geoff £50. The league comes with an app for your phone and it’s all very sophisticated! If you fancy your chances…

1. sign up the Metro Fantasy League HERE

2. The Join the below league, using the below pin!

League Name:  Le Grove

League Pin: 4450

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

701 Comments | New Review | Permalink
Posted by Pedro

Arsenal have bid for no one | No one has bid for Cesc and Nasri

July 30, 2011

Thierry, Denilson has been loaned back to Brazil

Gooooood morning Grover’s! We appear to be in a bit of crap situation here. No one has bid for Cesc and Nasri by the sounds of it and by the looks of things, we’ve also bid for no one… bar Joel Campbell, who if I’m honest, I reckon I could bid for out of this months pay packet.

Wenger has been talking to the press and apparently, this is the case…

‘Business will be done sooner rather than later,” he said. At the moment you have two categories of movement, one from zero to 10 million, and one from 30 to 50 million. We are in between. In between nothing happens at the moment, there has been very little movement.’

Ahhh, of course Arsene, Ashley Young (£15mill), De Gea (£22mill), Jones (15mill), Downing (£20mill), Henderson(£20mill), Sahin (£8mill), Santi Carzola (£19mill), Toulalon (£10mill)… you see where I’m going with this, right? It’s like Wenger doesn’t think the world has been introduced to Newsnow and 24hour Sky Sport News.

The reason there is very little movement in our price category is because it appears we’re doing what we usually do… making sure any transfer is a reaction, not a preemptive move.

‘He will not be involved this weekend because at the moment he is not settled. He is coming back from an injury and is not settled with us. There is only one deadline, it is on August 31. The other deadline is for us to get everybody focused, the players who are really committed to the club, my energy and my focus goes on them.’

Should we really be hearing talk like this two weeks before the season starts? We’re allowing Barcelona the chance to grind us down and just accept that the only way to deal with Cesc is to sell him at a knocked down fee. The absolute deadline should not be the 31st of August, if we allow that, we’re putting the power back in Barcelona’s court. They don’t really want him, they’re just playing with us, probably because we keep nicking they’re youth kids. They are take it or leave it because they can leave it and it won’t have any effect on their trophy dreams next year.

I’d imagine what Arsene has said to Cesc is along similar lines to what he said last year,

‘Cesc, if Barca wanted you that badly, they’d put a proper bid in for you’

Should we be talking of him as a Captain, absolutely not. That should be given to someone because they’re a worthy leader. It shouldn’t be used to bribe anyone and it shouldn’t be used as a CV booster. I’d give it to Vermaelen. Interesting that people are demanding Cesc speaks, if you want to know what he thinks, read this.

Kind of like Owen Coyle has had to say to Gary Cahill…

“There had been tentative enquiries, but there has certainly not been firm offers,I have said to Gary that as soon as there are, then he will be the first to know. But I think a lot of the speculation is certainly unfair on him at this moment.’

We’re playing a dangerous game if we’re waiting until we’ve qualified for the Champions League to make signings. So much for going into the season with a settled squad? I don’t think we’ve ever gone into a season in such an absolute shambles. This is where there is such a huge difference between the way United are run and the way we’re run. It’s almost like we’re an amateur outfit when it comes to the summer. Wenger doesn’t make a splash, the whole summer is about doing just enough to hopefully sustain a full season. With news that Diaby is out for 10 weeks minimum, you wonder what the hell Wenger is doing going into a season with just Frimpong to cover Song.

We’re still in talks for Joel Campbell, great news, not really what we need now and certainly not the type of player who will convince the rest of the squad Wenger is serious about winning the title this year. They must all be as perplexed as us. They know the limitations of the squad, they’ll know the defence needs addressing and the manager is sitting idly by whilst we bend over to the big boys of Europe with our star men.

Juan Mata has been the subject of a Spurs £22million bid. We still haven’t made an offer according to the Guardian. I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended out losing out to him, after all, there’s competition for a signature now and I’m guessing £18million was a good deal, £22million might represent value for Valencia and we all know how Arsenal feel about offering value to the other club.

Thierry has been creeping up the back passage of Arsene saying he’d keep him in charge for life. Well Thierry, I’d kiss up to someone like that if they’d sanctioned £10million in my last season at the club. The Arsenal legend had this to say about Gervinho…

‘“He is skilful, versatile and you will see that in one-on-one situations. Ee is going to kill a lot of defenders in this league. Gervinho is fast, has great vision and everything to succeed at Arsenal.’

I hope he does start killing defenders… if he could do that to Evra in the literal sense, perhaps with a removed boot, we’d all hold him in high regard!

Today we play Boca Juniors at 1600, it’s always interesting to see how good the South American teams are, I’m looking forward to seeing some exciting players and I’m looking forward to seeing how they compete with a European team. Hopefully we’ll spank them and hopefully the ground isn’t too empty today!

Have a great day if you’re going, the sun will be shining for the first time in July, take advantage!

Fantasy Football…

That time of year has arrived again where we peddle a bit of Fantasy football! We have a £100 prize for the winner, which basically feels like I’m gifting myself and Geoff £50. The league comes with an app for your phone and it’s all very sophisticated! If you fancy your chances…

1. sign up the Metro Fantasy League HERE

2. The Join the below league, using the below pin!

League Name:  Le Grove

League Pin: 4450

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

686 Comments | New Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Pedro

Juan Mata and Phil Jagielka the Arsenal chosen ones – Is that a good summer?

July 29, 2011

So today’s post is mostly going to be about your opinion on the state of the summer. We’re a little over two weeks until the start of the season, things seem like they’re shaping up and now it looks more like a case of us shuffling a few players around, so the question is, what makes a good summer for you?

I don’t have any red-hot sources, my contact has gone into hibernation, so we’re all clamouring over the same news, but it seems Arsene Wenger is going to land Juan mata, the versatile Spanish attacking midfielder and Phil Jagielka, the versatile Everton captain who can play almost anywhere across the back, including defensive midfield.

The difference between Jagielka and our other two British based targets is that he comes with more pedigree. He’s a solid international, a consistent outstanding performer for Everton and a player who is, like I said, a jack of all trades in defence. My worry is his height, we have a problem from set pieces, he doesn’t solve that. I can’t imagine he’s coming here for bench time, so the thought of Tommy V and him in the middle does worry me a little. However, that worry is offset that by the fact that he’s coming in from the hard knocks of Premiership football and he’s one more body in front of Squillaci. He knows what it means to be organised and he knows what it’s like to come in from a non-pampered back ground. I also know about the hard knocks of  Northern life A few years ago I was nearly attacked in a Merseyside petrol station for wearing a particularly stylish pair of winter gloves. Sammy, if you’re staying, put the fu*king snood away…

Juan Mata is another exciting signing. I can’t quite believe we appear to be in for a player Arsenal fans could only dream of before this summer. Valencia have said he can go as they’re looking to rebuild, Juan Mata Snr has said his son wants Champions League soccer ball, ruling Spurs out. Liverpool have bought Downing, Chelsea/City don’t have enough style for the Spaniard and United aren’t interested. So he looks set. Last season, in 33 games, he scored 9 goals and bagged 15 assists. If you’re looking at things cynically, what we’ve done is sold Cesc (pretty much so) who typically scores 20 and assists 20… and we’ve bough in Mata and Gervinho who between them last  year scored 19 and assisted 30.

I said replacing the Spaniard was a two-man job and it appears Wenger has taken my advice.

My gut feel is we will let Cesc go and he’ll keep Nasri on. That sounds like madness considering the £20mill we’ll be losing, but for Arsenal’s title aspirations next year, we can’t possibly sell both. Selling 3 first teamers is ripping the heart out of the team experience wise. Gervinho and Mata look to be fantastic prospects, but you can’t take 7 and 4 seasons worth of Premiership experience out of the side and not expect a negative impact.

So… Jagielka, Gervinho, Jenkinson, Mata and keeping Cesc or Nasri.

We’d obviously need a new striker to come in. If we sell Cesc for £40million, I see no reason why that couldn’t happen. Lukaku or Benzema would be the dream options. Finally, there’s a gaping hole in the middle of the park behind Alex Song. I’m not sure who’s out there, but for me, replacing Denilson with the 18 year old Frimpong really isn’t wise. We need to give the youngster some career breathing space because if we don’t sign a replacement for Denilson, I’ve no doubt the first player injured this year for 6 months will be Song.

So… if all the above happens, have we had a good summer? If not, what would constitute a great summer for you? If you looked at our squad after action like that, would it be fair to say that our squad was looking far better than the one Manchester City have? Would you be worried about the Liverpool title assault? Would we finally have the ammo to take down United and Chelsea over a full season?

Let us know!

Players sold…

So far you can’t argue can you? I said at the start of the summer who I was pretty sure would go and it appears we’ve made good on Eboue, Clichy, Bendtner and Denilson. Last year, bar Clichy, those were the boys grumbling in the dressing room and that’s why they’re off. I’m not sure if they’ll be anymore exits out the door, after Henderson picked up his nasty cruciate ligament problem, you wonder if Lansbury will  be given a reprieve? One mans nightmare is another mans dream… as the saying I just made up goes.

Cesc leaving…

As Geoff pointed out yesterday, Cesc needs to go, his behaviour this summer has been disappointing and unbefitting of a captain. I watched Alcantara the other night and I can’t for the life of me understand why Cesc wants to go back. Barcelona are about the exciting players, Cesc is exciting for me, but then again, I used to get excited watching Hleb maraude up and down the wing. Alcantara is very fast, very mobile, he’s got trickery to die for and he has a penchant for the spectacular. I know Cesc is amazing but I do wonder how much love he’d get in the Barca first team with the new kid on the block making waves?

Anyway… enough of my jabbering.

What constitutes a good summer for you now? Let us know in the comments!

P.S Yesterday was a record-breaking day by almost double our previous. Thanks for popping by!

Fantasy Football…

That time of year has arrived again where we peddle a bit of Fantasy football! We have a £100 prize for the winner, which basically feels like I’m gifting myself and Geoff £50. The league comes with an app for your phone and it’s all very sophisticated! If you fancy your chances…

1. sign up the Metro Fantasy League HERE

2. The Join the below league, using the below pin!

League Name:  Le Grove

League Pin: 4450

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

570 Comments | New Review | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Pedro

Mata in for medical, Cahill is waiting for a call and Benzema’s on his way, how’s that for ambition Samir?

July 28, 2011

If Cesc Fabregas goes to Barca it will be the dumbest move by a player and a club (Barca) I have witnessed since Alex Hleb left co-incidentally to go to the same club.

He’s not in the squad this weekend, and he’s not injured because if he was he’d fail the Barca medical, he’s sulking, the captain of Arsenal is sulking. What a joke.

I watched Alcantara score two goals for Barca last night and he was a joy to watch and he’s what 19? Iniesta is in his mid twenties and Xavi is just thirty, so where does Cesc fit in? Why would Barca spend big money to get a player in a position they have surrounded?

And he’s fast becoming a crock, snap off their hands and make Nasri sign a long term contract. If he won’t, then sell him too.

Make Mata a priority and unveil him at the Emirates Cup and sign Cahill or Samba, both have prices on them, Samba has tweeted that the Arsenal rumours are disrespectful, if only we got that from Cesc, if only. Point is both players are available and we know what their price is, so what’s difficult, sell Squillaci and bring in Bartley, then we’ll have cover.

Not sure who would buy Squillaci though, he’s a complete enigma, no wonder Nasri won’t sign a new contract.

Today’s rumour is Tevez to Madrid and Benzema to Arsenal, so if we did all the above I could see us ripping the league, all are available and all would transform this team, Theo getting injured in pre-season worries me enough to get a world class striker in now.

Crazy thing is we could get all those players without needing to sell Cesc, but his silence is deafening and it will be the same forever, so sell him and be done.

All the pundits are predicting will will finish 6th, if we play the team I’ve seen so far I think that’s a good call, if we make a few of the above signings I think we can win the league, it really only needs tweaking, but we have been here before so I’m not holding my breath.

The Mancs beat New York Red Bulls 4nil last night so I’m expecting a big win at the weekend, in fact it doesn’t look like a big workout like we normally have so with luck we won’t get too many injuries.

In my heart I would have Cesc stay and play with Mata, but at what cost because you know that Wenger will throw money at the problem and that will stop us signing more players, I still think that we need a big DM, maybe Frimpong will have a Flamini season and solve the problem.

Either way we to resolve this problem for good, if Cesc stays then he needs to tell the Barca team, the Barca manager and the Barca board to stop harassing the Arsenal, it has to stop, if not the please sell him.

I wonder why we took Ryo on our pre-season when he hasn’t got a work permit yet? Maybe a deal has been done already, I’m not sure he’s ready yet, but you can never have too many wingers, well not unless you are Man City that is!

Have a great day Grovers, hopefully Mata will happen today.

Fantasy Football…

That time of year has arrived again where we peddle a bit of Fantasy football! We have a £100 prize for the winner, which basically feels like I’m gifting myself and Geoff £50. The league comes with an app for your phone and it’s all very sophisticated! If you fancy your chances…

1. sign up the Metro Fantasy League HERE

2. The Join the below league, using the below pin!

League Name:  Le Grove

League Pin: 4450

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

513 Comments | New Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

Thomas off, Lansbury next? English kids dropping off | Denilson will be back next season!

July 27, 2011

When Arsene Wenger said he doesn’t look at passports when he signs players I wonder if he looks at them when he selects players for the first team.

I often championed Fabrice Muamba on here as the defensive midfielder we should have kept, many point to his Bolton career and say he hasn’t done great, my argument is, how would he have turned out had he been given a chance to play alongside some of our top players?

Take Senderos, Denilson, Eboue, Almunia Bendtner and Flamini, how many games were they given in the first team?

These players have been given hundreds between them to see if they could make it only to be shoved out quietly through the back door after 5 years or more of fan pain, well those we can anyway, some of them we can’t even give away.

Yet some of the English players don’t even get one chance, and by that I mean Muamba, Sidwell, Bentley and now JET, now I have watched him and surely he was worth a punt in a game or two, I know players like Randall and Simpson were not up to it and there are many more that you know will never make it, so why keep them on the wage bill? And then claim we have no money???

So before someone tells me that we have this fantastic academy full of worldwide talent, how many players have ever made it into the first team? One, Jack Wilshere, we bought Gibbs from Wimbledon, so one to show for that massive investment and 15 years.

And Jack Wilshere is like Gazza, a once in a life time talent, there aren’t many of him about so we’d better watch it or he’ll be next to want out.

I’m sure if we cleared half of them out we could buy a Mata with the money we save. If any of them had potential I would say keep them, but most of them have no chance, so why bother???

Denilson said that Arsene is more like a dad than a manager, well that sure explains our lack of silverware, he also said he moved to be near his three year old daughter but will be back next year, great.

As far as Cesc and the saga that follows him is concerned, he has a contract, there is no need to pay him more, we need to keep him or sell him, give Barca until Friday to stump up £40mil or that’s it. This has dragged on for far too long and it’s not fair on the fans, a disrespectful way to treat the club.

Denilson says Cesc will stay by the way.

I go back to the time that Liam Brady played Pedro and I through once on a golf course, as I walked by and recognised him I asked him why we sold Overmars and Petit to Barca, although he looked sheepish he said you can’t keep unhappy players, so if that was policy then, why isn’t it policy now? Same manager.

I think it’s because it will be an admission that project youth has failed and it’s failed because it’s poster boy has said it doesn’t work. Ego. If he stays he has to stay on the same money, no bribing, after all if he went to Barca he would get a wage cut.

It’s a real shame that we are only after 1 defender, we sold Clichy and replaced him with an inferior player (at present) we can all see that Squillaci is rubbish and Kozzer and Djourou aren’t up to it, for some reason Bartley isn’t getting a shot (English again) and he is leaving it very late to pick up a centre back, why I don’t know, he knows the price, what’s the problem?

How much for Cahill? £17mil? Ok, we’ll have him, simple isn’t it?

No Mata and no Benzema or Lukaku so I am struggling to see how he is going to spend more than he sells, so much for being very active in the transfer market, unless of course they meant in selling players.

I wonder if we are subsidising Denilson’s salary?

I want to write a positive and uplifting post but there’s nothing positive to write about. Still the sun is out and the Emirates Cup is coming up fast, so have a great day Grovers.

Fantasy Football…

That time of year has arrived again where we peddle a bit of Fantasy football! We have a £100 prize for the winner, which basically feels like I’m gifting myself and Geoff £50. The league comes with an app for your phone and it’s all very sophisticated! If you fancy your chances…

1. sign up the Metro Fantasy League HERE

2. The Join the below league, using the below pin!

League Name:  Le Grove

League Pin: 4450

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

620 Comments | New Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

Lansbury, Eboue and JET… you’re fired | I’d have Mario | New signing canned for Emirates

July 26, 2011

You didn't think I'd match the title with Alan Sugar did you?

The clear out looks to be gathering pace this week with Galatasary looking like the club ready to fulfill my 6 year dream of taking away Eboue. Thank Christ eh! I won’t even have to see him back at the Emirates as he’s off to Turkey. He was an average right back, turned poor midfielder turned sulky substitute. Make no mistake, he’s leaving because his attitude was rubbish last season and he gave the club nothing.

Good riddance.

Player number two seemingly out the door is reserve team sensation JET. If you’re losing Tom Cruise, you might as well take his JET right? And with that, any future hilarious puntasticism. He was tall, black and skilful… Obviously to most Gooners that meant we had the next Kanu on our hands. Sadly though, you can have all the talent but if you’ve got the work rate of a scouse dole queue, you won’t make it.

His Arsenal career was summed up for me when at 17, he crashed his 300k SLR… He didn’t even have a licence. How many United Youth players have one of those? It’s very hard to motivate yourself when you have it all… Look at me? I haven’t done a stroke at work since picking up my iPad.

The last name out of the door is Henri Lansbury. This name disappoints me. He’s not world-class but he has a talent. He outshone the £20mill Henderson at the U21′s, he did pretty well at Norwich and he’s been shown the back door. No chance to showcase his talent in the CC, no chance to improve around great players, no 160+ games like Denilson or ‘as many games as you need to be any good’ like Alex Song. Arsenal Column made the point yesterday, Wenger isn’t bias towards foreign players, he is however bias towards the players he’s bought.

For me, this club lacks players who care about the club and it lacks those who will work hard. Henri is incredibly versatile and for me, he should be given a go. I see no reason why he couldn’t be the modern day Ray Parlour.

Does Wenger have many regrets with releasing players? No. Does the cream always rise to the top? Again, I’d say no. Ashley Cole was a dodgy passport away from being released by Arsenal. Does anyone think he’d be the best left back in the world had he gone to Palace? Flamini was offered to Birmingham the season before he had a blinder for us. Both were thought average, both were fortuitous with injuries and legalities, both are doing well in their respective careers.

If Henri leaves, that’ll probably kill his top flight career. It’s all speculation at the moment, I’ve heard nowt. If he does go, I’m guessing that means more squad time for Henderson and Frimpong, but for me, they’re both still very green. Still, we’ll see… Wenger has a plan for all of us, an if we show mental spirit and belief, a place in footballing heaven will be ours.

Cesc Saga…

It continues. Slowly killing me. Like the ending of the 3rd installment of Lord of the Rings, Cesc, who looks like Frodo, just won’t say goodbye and let us get on with replacing him. The cheek of the latest episode is that Barca are on the record saying that they have until the 31st of August. I do hope we don’t wait until then to sell him. More importantly, I hope we don’t wait until we clearly have £40million in the bank to sign a replacement for him. We should make sure we’re ok before we sell Barcelona a player who will effectively be heading over there as a £40million substitute.

Will we sell him before the heavily marketed, not so fancied Emirates Cup? No chance I’d imagine! No chance at all!

Goal line tech…

Due to the lack of interest surrounding the Emirates Cup, Arsenal looked to spice things up by implementing some goal line tech for the games, only to be thwarted by the visionary that is Sepp Blatter. I can’t believe that in a game worth so much, officiating is so far behind almost every other sport. Sure a bad mistake adds to the drama, but it can also ruin football clubs, kill careers and disappoint millions of fans.

I’m waiting for the time when a referee, possibly in his last year as an official, runs over to a video monitor to check a flash point during a game, perhaps sending off Xavi in a Champions League final for diving against Arsenal. We’d go onto win 2-0, Xavi would cry into the ground like Sammy Kuffour and we’d all laugh. Oh my how we’d laugh.

Common sense needs to be at the heart of all decisions. The more decisions referees get right, the more respect we can bring back into the game.

Enrique…

He sent some tweets of anger about being at Newcastle, obviously he wants to leave. With locals like these (<- Not for sensitive people, kids or those without earphones), I don’t blame him. We do need a left back, he’s better than what we have, so why not?

Mario Balotelli

You may have seen the back heel that Mario tried in Manchester City’s friendly in the States at the weekend, people are talking about it showcasing his bad attitude.

That’s Mancini for you, a player shows an ounce of creativity for a team that wants to be the biggest brand in football and he’s subbed and told he needs to behave himself. What a boring, joyless, undeserving manager that man is. I’d take Mario in a heart beat, he’s wasted at City.

Here are a couple of Arsenal legends doing something far more stupid in the league against City. It’s part of the game, thank god Arsenal have a sense of creativity… it’s why we go every week.

On that hilarious note… have a wonderful day!

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

467 Comments | New Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Pedro

Don’t give Cesc a new deal | Tapping up needs to include player comments | McCarthy in?

July 25, 2011

Things really don’t move fast when Arsenal are involved eh? The Nasri and Cesc stories have acted like a tar on our summer plans. Instead of sorting it out early we’ve let it roll into August (probably) and now I’m reading Wenger talking about ‘maybe one more’ signing.

Early in the summer before I’d spoken to anyone I called that he’d do this. How can Wenger say it’s not about numbers when our annual end of season demise almost always comes down to a lack of number either resulting in too many injuries, exhaustion or poor quality squad players.

Anyway, I’m with Geoff, if Cesc stays, he shouldn’t be paid a penny more than his contract stipulates. Signing on till 2017 would be laughable. Nasri…? Again, if he won’t sign, flog him, because at the the end of the day, the only people footing the £25million bill next year will be us. It certainly won’t be Stan putting his hand in his pocket, he’s over stretched himself too much already with the initial club purchase.

Listening to Wenger talk about dizzying sums when purchasing players feels kind of laughable when he’s looking for about £40million for Cesc. I think someone needs to tell him that players outside of Arsenal also have quality and they also come from clubs who expect a return. He doesn’t dictate market price, the market does. His approach to player valuations is such a hindrance to the playing squad. As far as I’m concerned, he should tell Ivan who he wants, split his list down into plan A, plan B and plan C… then let Ivan work out what we can afford.

Team news…

It was great reading Geoff’s in the main, very upbeat match report. Gervinho sounds like he could be the player we need to help improve our goal threat and perhaps even spur Andrey onto a great season. I’m very worried about the defence… Expecting it to improve 35% in a summer by flogging two, buying in a right back and training the same way is an odd idea of progression.

Still, we can only hope the promise of an active summer was more than just a crowd pleasing statement. The Jagielka bid feels like Wenger is lining up a whole load of nearly stories for us to listen to in black November.

McCarthy…

Apparently we’ve enquired after the Wigan midfielder, initially we were told no, but there are rumours we’ll up our £16,000 bid towards the end of the month.

Comments…

This seems to be recurring summer theme but the comments have had a bit of a nasty edge of late. Abuse of the manager will not be tolerated nor will any other nasty comments.

We’ve always been about having an opinion that can be substantiated, if you come on just to abuse then your comment is no better than someone who try’s to kill an argument with Arsene knows. Be critical by all means, just keep them respectable… unless of course you’re talking about an opposing teams players, like, say, Patrice Evra.

Let’s keep the comments light hearted, lets be tolerant of views we disagree with and for flips sake, lets keep it about the flipping football ya?

Follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our daily e-mail or catch us on Google+!

565 Comments | New Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Pedro

Gervinho, the new Ian Wright? Same problems at the back but please leave Jagielka alone.

July 24, 2011

Great to win in Cologne yesterday as those boys are no mugs, fantastic debut for new boy Gervinho, he looked sharp as a pin and shot on sight, I bet he got a bollocking for that!

He reminded me of Ian Wright, I know it was only 25 minutes, but he did score 2 goals and he did hit it first time, very, very Wrighty!

Jenkinson scored an outrageous own goal but at least he was defending, I don’t blame him for that and I’m sure Lee Dixon did something similar on his debut, didn’t Silvinhio do the same on his? That will build his character.

The first half was as good as the second half was bad, apart from Alex Song giving away his usual sloppy, dopey foul on the edge of our area inside the first five minutes we had the game under control, the second half went back to tippy tappy boring football again, so no change there but we really do have defensive issues, we need a centreback and a DM, if we do that the team will get confident and we will be a force next season.

Unfortunately for us, Ramsey and Wilshere looked a great pairing, so good that I’m worried we’ll lose Nasri and Cesc and won’t replace them, which is great until we get injuries. I’m not sure what role he has in mind for Conor Henderson, but he does seem to play him a lot, bringing Afobe on at the end suggests to me we won’t be going after another striker, so Gervinho looks like a direct replacement for Bendtner, if of course he eventually goes.

I was looking at Wilshere and thinking this kid really is world class, and miles better than Cesc was at his age, we really are lucky we have him, and with Ramsey alongside we have the makings of a long term partnership there, so I think we should forget Cesc, get in a replacement and move on.

There are rumours that we are ready to accept Thiago and £25mil for him, now I know a lot of you are worried that this is a shite deal as he’ll want to go home, he won’t, Barca don’t value him as much as Cesc so he won’t want to return.

I think Thiago will be better long term and his value will go up, if that deal is on offer we should seize it with both hands, but cash up front, no more credit, get it done soon though before they change their minds, mark my words Cesc will be more injury prone than Robin Van Persie.

I remember watching Joe Hart at the under 21′s a few years back, I said on this blog we should buy him as he’ll be England’s new number one, I watched Thiago at this years under 21′s, he impresses me massively, him and Mata, so I would be very surprised if this deal is on the table, delighted, but surprised.

I was trying to put a team together from what I saw yesterday, what do you think?

Mannone or Chezzer

Sagna Koscielny(no choice) Vermaelen Gibbs(no choice)

Wilshere Song(no choice) Ramsey

Theo Robin Gervinho

If we bought Cahill over Jagielka and a top, top DM then I think we have the makings of a top team, I would also get a decent left back because Gibbs will get injured, and another midfielder like a Mata or a Schweinsteiger. I would get a big lump in like a Tiote or Sissoko, a nutter like De Jong who has stalled on signing a new contract or don’t laugh but a Joey Barton type.

The forward movement of this team was wonderful to watch in the first half, with Arshavin, Rio and Robin in the mix we have options, Nasri I would keep but only if he signs a new contract, doing our transfer budget on pay rises is not only a bad idea it would set the tone for the remaining players.

In Theo, Ramsey and Jack we have players that can pick the locks of defences and once Jack finds the net they’ll be no stopping him, yesterday really cheered me up but it also showed how desperately we need those two players we don’t yet have, it would be great to sign them in time for next week, Jagielka is 3 years older than Cahill and not as good, he also has a bad injury record. I hope we aren’t going after him over Cahill, I’d have him for sure, but I would prefer Cahill.

I would also have Hummels, Samba, Sakho, Shawcross or even Scott Dann, but one thing is for sure, we do need someone in there. A lump would be good, but a lump with skill even better.

Squillaci and Chamakh really are woeful, it’s unbelievable that Arsene can’t see that, I think he can though, but just won’t admit he was wrong, like he couldn’t with Senderos, Almunia, Bendtner, Eboue and Denilson, he thinks we didn’t (or won’t) notice them slipping out the back gate like Rupert Murdoch at number 10. Errrr, we did boss!

Finally a word for the tragic events that unfolded in Norway, our heartfelt sympathies go out to all our Norwegian Grovers, how does this world give birth to so many bad people, as I write this I read another nutter has gone on the rampage in Texas, so a cyber 2 minute silence for all those poor people, it puts signing overpaid players into perspective.

Have a great day Grovers, the post was on time and our new boy did good, plenty to smile about!

478 Comments | New Review | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

Jagielka, Cahill or Samba will sign and that’s it says Wenger. I won’t name names but…

July 23, 2011

So reading between the lines, Arsenal.com says one of Jagielka, Cahill or Samba will sign, Wenger doesn’t want to destabilise clubs by naming names, so he’ll use Arsenal.com to do that, I had to laugh, listening to our manager was like listening to Rupert Murdoch last week, smart once, but past his sell by date for one liners. It’s hypocrisy on an absolute staggering scale. Thing is Bolton keep telling Wenger if they want Cahill it’s £17mil come and get him, we could have done that in June, strange the way we do our transfer business isn’t it?

So that means no Mata, no Hazard and no Benzema. So we get Gervinho, and maybe hang onto to want-a-ways and do our entire budget on pay rises for two that may well be gone next term, smart.

So much for substantial investment in the market, we will soon have to add Ivan to that list of liars and in all probability do another season when more players leave than we sign, unless you include 16 year olds. In which case we can add another trophy-less season and Theo, Robin, Jack, Andre and Ramsey will want out next season. Can’t wait.

Onto today and our eagerly awaited match against German giants Cologne, I’m not sure what to expect other than another game of two halves, Our full squad minus our club captain will be there and we may see Bartley on show as he is now injury free, Diaby our perma-crock is recovering from his 14th operation but don’t worry, news is he is being handsomely paid whilst recuperating somewhere exotic.

Thank goodness we at least pay the people that are no good to us so well, it’s a sustainable model and a great way to use the transfer budget and keep the rest of the squad happy. Ask to leave, get the captaincy and regular, out of proportion pay rises. Great example to set the other players, lob your toys out of the pram and get a big bag of sweets as a reward.

I am looking for something positive to say but I’m struggling, but don’t blame our manager, that’s my fault. Hopefully we’ll se Gervinho today, it will be interesting to see where he plays, then we can watch the Grand prix qualifying, maybe there will be an African in it as Wenger has mentioned it. No offence to Africans, but our manager did draw the parallel, why? I have no idea, I would have Eto’o in a heartbeat though, but he won”t make that sort of purchase will he!

There are some great African’s out there, hopefully the one we just signed is too, we’ll see today maybe.

So in theory we will lose Eboue, Bendtner, Almunia and Denilson. I mention those as they have not featured in pre-season, well Denilson did but has now gone. Possibly Nasri and Cesc as well. But we signed Gervinho and possibly a centreback.

I’m happy with the leavers but I would be happier if he added Rosicky and Squillaci to that list, I used to love Rosicky but I think the magic has gone from him now, Squillaci is just rubbish, but he ho! Maybe Kyle Bartley will show us all what a proper centreback is today, I hope so because we sure need one.

I hope we can keep Nasri, but if he has turned down the latest offer then we must sell him and replace him, it’s madness not to, same with Cesc, using the entire transfer budget to keep them in gravy for one more season is even madder, act now Arsene, the new season starts soon and by then it will be too late.

Let’s hope for a revelation in defence today and a good strong performance from the boys, we all need cheering up! Have a great day Grovers, football’s back again!

620 Comments | New Review | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

« Previous Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 553 other followers