There are a few things to be cracking on with this morning. Firstly, sad news reached Spanish shores yesterday that Cesc Fabregas had been captured on the milk run by 6 Arsenal stewards, bundled in a Bentley Continental and is currently being held hostage in a luxury mansion where he is free to go wherever he wants outside of working hours. Rumours have it he’s been plied with £110,000 a week just to make his stay a lot worse.
Our hearts go out to Cesc’s family during this worrying time.
For me, this whole Cesc saga is incredibly boring. Does it really need to take this long? Can’t we issue some sort of public deadline on the deal? Can’t Arsenal release the news to the public as to why it’s taking so long to secure the move either way? The fact Cesc has gone silent is a good thing. It means he thinks there is a chance he’ll be here next season. This is exactly the same scenario as last year. I’d prefer him keep quiet rather than do a Modric and shame himself in the press. The irritating thing is that Wenger was banging on about Cesc and his long contract only 4 weeks ago. What changed Arsene? What is the point in that massive, long, secure contract if it only helps him? As far as I can see, it has not protected Arsenal. We’re not getting £60million for him?
Nik B seems to be doing a very bad job finding himself a new club. I guess that £52k isn’t representative of what he’s worth in the grand scheme of European pay packages. Good news is we’re looking at someone with an English name to replace him. Joel Campbell, if rumours are to be believed is top of the wanted list with Dick Laws out in Costa Rica negotiating his release. Now, he’s untested at the highest level and I’ve spent almost 6 minutes trying to find out about his background with little luck. All I know is he set up a goal against Bolivia and scored one. Oh, and that he’ll be cheap..
Seems an odd signing and an unimportant one as I don’t think we’ll be able to land him a work permit. So another player we can’t have for 2 years. Surely there are more pressing issues Dick Laws should be attending to? Maybe there is? Maybe he’s out there on other business…
Theo Walcott has been speaking to the press about his desire to become a striker. He sees himself down the middle and after 3 years of begging the coach in a cryptic way, I think he’s finally going to get a go there. It’s amazing what having two years left on your deal can get you! I’ve been dead against him moving centrally for a while. Previously I haven’t thought much of him with his back to goal, or in front of goal with a defender there to be honest. However, last season, the tricks started to drop for Theo, his movement improved vastly and he began to add clinical finishing into his arsenal.
Perhaps he would be good as a striker? Perhaps if Wenger does have to sell Cesc, Theo could form part of a formation that would allow him to feed off Robin Van Persie? Who knows… but if Cesc goes, there is no doubt in my mind the system will have to change because like it or not, Cesc is irreplaceable with our wage structure and transfer budget. There is a reason the best team in the world want him and him alone to replace Xavi.
Enrique of Newcastle has had his head turned by the gossip columns insisting Arsenal are interested. Someone should point him in the direction of Arsenal.com… no left backs here my friend! We have our two in place already.
One thing that has been getting on my wick is Arsene Wenger and his insistence that all his players can play everywhere. Sorry Arsene, but Vermaelen is not a left back, he’s a centre back. Alex Song is not your 5th centre back. You won’t end up playing Gervinho across 5 positions and nor should you. Having versatile players is great, but that should never be at the expense of buying in someone who can do the job properly. We never did this in the past did we? We only have a finite amount of squad player, when half of them get injured, shuffling them about because we can leads us into situations where we have to play Arshavin as a central striker or Eboue as an attacking midfielder.
Anyway… that’s just my opinion. Today we’re playing Hangzhou Greentown. If I’ve spelt that wrong, tough, Chinese English is difficult. The game kicks off at 12:30, hopefully the Arse Player works!
See you tomorrow for the match report!
Update: Denilson is going back home! Confirmed by himself on twitter! Wooo hooo!
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Tiarnan baby take a chill pill, ring Zee if you can’t cope. He’ll be there to “console” in a heartbeat you naughty boys
Bummer -
Once again, where did I contradict myself?
Dya have any idea of how fucking stupid you are? Of course not, youre fucking stupid.
Tiarnan aka patricia the auld slapper aka the contradictor
Rite once again Im oudda heeeee…
Ivory & Bummer its been a plezzure innnnit!
By d way Bummer u know Im only bantering with ya
lol @ TIARNAN…..haha yeah….. The owners we have the new manager will come in and after sometime we are destined to hear……..” We have a sustainable model and in order to sustain it we cannot afford to shoot “….
bdw dude you are fucking legend……
I believe my young team has developed and are destined for glory.
@ tia and yes with Ivan Gazidis we will miss out on our transfer targets on a regular basis
Goon Bd –
Talk l8r bro
now what a great late tune that is!
denilson is out! oh, we might win something now, when the only player that was beaten by an official no longer plays for us…..
ah, we still need another thing in order to get competitive, you all know what…..
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
you can see the same players are making the same mistakes as last year. Nothings gona change this season as we wont spend the money where we need it – defensively.
Not even any transfer rumours? hmm
No CB – WE HAVE BARTLEY
No DMF – WE HAVE FRIMPONG
No VF – WE HAVE VELA
CF*
now our beloved arsene, our current manager, the very same intelligent person who stated he had the best ever squad (denilson, almunia and squirll included), and that sometimes you should be happy with what you get and ask for more (like trophies or so), now he is moaning about disrespectful mancini, just a couple of day after slapping the disrespectful xavi….
noe they both nedd the slagging, they are both fu88kers that should be banned for trying to tap up a player who is under contract
but you know what arsene, there is another element in this equation, they allow themselves to show disrespect to the club as they show no respect for you….. now come on you have a bunch of mediocre players (at best) moaning about you and your team showing no minimum respect to you or to the team. now you didn’t do anything to stop those and you didn’t take any action against any of those players, who are playing still to the arsenal gaining a ridiculously unjustified salaries only due to you…… so if those players don’t show you the respect they have to, why do you expect players or managers out of your team to do so? they all see what you do and how do you act, then they make the very reasonable conclusion out of that scene……
so don’t play it innocent and surprised now……
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
after all arsene, you are an intelligent person eh?
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
@RCB…..The board pays Arsene to keep us competitive and well be in the CL. If Arsene is totally washed up and they need a wakeup call then that might be it for Arsene.
But as it seems Arsene is just part of the whole crime and the people who pay him to play his part are worse. So that might not be enough as I said in a previous post that another guy will come in and do the same.
My point is there needs to be a change in the whole system of Arsenal. First Wenger goes then if everything still remains the same……..then one can clearly say that we lack leadership at the top. Coaches and players come and go but no one can change our situation when the leadership is shaky. Thats my point really.
WENGER OUT.
Even if we finish outside the top 4 there won’t be any wake up call.
We need to sack this clown, bring someone with fresh ideas, bring David Dean back and have someone like Usmanov as our owner. Kroenke is here only for money.
The biggest joke of all our summer is the fact that aside from Jenkinson and Gervinio we won’t sign any new players.
Arsenal were this way before Gazidis, so it must be Wenger and that old cunt Hill Wood.
This club will not change its spending until these people vanish. We can only hope that Wengers next unknown signings turnout to be the next big thing, otherwise we are depressingly fucked.
Lol just saw the score.
faith!?
Yeah get fucked.
Lurch
Keep the faith. Why do some of you moan like spoilt fans. I am keeping the faith in Wenger. He knows best. We have not found anybody better than what we have. I believe this team has a lot of quality. Just judge him in May! Okay?
Kaiser Chiefs had a good day and i ain’t talking the band.
??
Anyone know if the Spurs fans are taking their loss well ?
Personally I predict a riot
when will the messiah(FFP) come to save us from this evil tyranny(financial doping)?
Oh prophet(wenger),pray do tell us…
Same manager + same players + same attitudes + same philosophies + same problems = THE SAME RESULTS
Agreed but Gazidis can’t handle European football that is something im sure.
Dennis u forgot to add …”FACT!”
what was the scoreline Tiny?
Kaiser Chiefs 1 – Harry’s Chumps 0
Reading Arsenal Truth’s blog, he’s always been harsh about Wenger’s failings, but I have to bite the bullet and admit that I’m very unsure about how the club will progress from here. I will of course try and be as optimistic as I usually am, but we cannot continue to ignore our flaws.
good thing wenger and his dross didnt come to Nigeria. I bet you the crowd would have been less forgiving even though the stadium would be full to capacity,and the club would have made mullah, plenty of it(see man u’s visit to Nigeria last pre season).
Arsenal’s Nigerian fans are die-hard lol.
I’m in two minds about Wenger at the moment. I hope he gets back on track, but it looks like he will continue with the same ish.
From another blog
Here is starter for 10
1. Opposition did not want to play the football the way arsenal want to play.
2. They had only one shot of the goal and scored, while we had 70% possession but could not find the goal
3. Opposition was too physical and stopped us playing
4. We don’t have money to sign good players
5. There are not any good players out there who can add to the quality player we have here at Arsenal
6. The referee conspired against us
7. Our 117 million wage bill is not big enough
8. We have too many injuries
9. Opposition parked the bus
10. ManU and Chelsea keep on wiinning
11. We were in hunt for all trophies in February, shame they did not finish season at that time and insisted on playing till May
12. We have too many injuries
13. We are very good defensively even though we consistently conceded leads and turn victories into draws and losses
14. We have world class goalkeeper in Almunia for last 6 years
15. We don’t have the mentality to cope with pressure in big games
16. Players were scared
17. Our fans can’t pay inflated prices to watch us not winning anything
18. We have a young team
19. We lack experience
20. We are maturing with every season
21. Other big clubs trying to poach our players because they can guarantee winning trophies
22. Other clubs are not following the fianancial fair play rules
23. They are doing financial doping
24. During pre season, if some one points out problem areas, the reply is wait till season starts, this is just a pre season friendly
25. When same problems occur at the start of the season, they say, wait before this team matures and gels together
26. By Deember time, same old problems, wait till January transfer window and we will buy players who will improve us
27. In February, we are competing on all fronts and playing every 3 days
28. March time, players are too tired and can’t get over the disappointment of going out of 2-3 competitions
29. In May, when finishing empty handed, at least we are still in top 4 and we were competitive in all 4 trophies
30. We will buy new players to rectify the problem areas
31. We are investing in youth
Nothing happens and same old cycle starts again. We want our fans to support us, play inflated prices so that club can post big profits, we will give tippy tappy football for once in a while, why do you boo and complain.
Battle of Los Angeles – Simply THE worse film i’ve ever seen!
Gibbs is not ready for a whole season so get a better older left back.
Kozzer is not good enough to partner TV all season. Get a more experienced centre back.
Song is not good enough to be a holding mid all season so get an experienced holding midfielder.
Our goalkeepers also need an older head around.
Enrique, Samba, Parker and Given are crying out to be signed up and they would not cost the world!!! No excuses this time Wenger, you may not realise it but you are on a final warning from us fans.
haha tell me about it, ddm
Fuck me Rohan, it really is beyond bad……….tbh if it was a footballer it would be Denilson!
We just lost on Thibaut Courtois. Had him on my radar, didn’t want to give names, but well. He’d have been great at Arsenal, I actually use him with Frey on my FM game ATM …
I believe our team is better than even the invincibles
Would Arsene Wenger just fuck off hehe.
hmmmm watch the game or pick the scabs from my razor cuts?
We must have had 99% of the game. It was the other 3% that cost us the match.
If they hadn’t scored, we would’ve won
If you do not believe you can do it then you have no chance at all
For me, when you change more than three players in a team, you always take a technical risk because you change the deep structure of the team and the deep balance of the team, mentally and technically
Squillaci is “pap”
Jenkinson isn’t ready, but time will tell
Manone, hmmm i can’t say he’s ready at all
Djourou is inconsistent
Traore isn’t good defensively
Frimpong will need time
Rosicky just makes up the numbers, he has lost it
Nasri, i am reconsidering the whole let him run his contract, sell him and buy Mata now!
Arshavin can still be kept
RvP Needs similar class around him
Walcott, you aint ready for lone striking son, just score from the right.
Miyaichi, decent player to have, will need proper dev to reach that world class potential
Chamakh, I thought he shot well today, needs to gain more confidence
Vela, more chance please? Now that Bendtner is leaving
Ramsey and Wilshere, bright spots and hope
Song is still our better DMF
Kos and Verm are solid
Sagna should be played with the first team, tour or not
We need a LB, We need a solid English CB added, We need to get in replacements or supplements for Nasri\Cesc, Mata is the one.
Is this Lukaku thing real? The lad Joel Campbell looks really good! Typical unknown signing , But is this real?
Wenger needs to sort the defense out.
Mancini is a TOP DRAWER CUNT!
Why is it that we don’t shoot Arsene? Is it to sustain our sustainable model that we cannot afford to shoot?
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
the game was so unbearably boring it’s unbelievable…
if it was not for Vela’s poacher instinct, we would have lost to these mugs, we did not look much like scoring throughout the second half…
yes, their GK made some saves, but these balls should have been placed out of his reach, simple as that…
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
bade,
whatever happens, court adjourned until 01/09…
suga3,
how are u mate?
same old same, we are riding on the slippery slope down to the hell!
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
bade,
I am having a blast mate
I have told myself that nothing will ruin my perfect summer this year and I am reserving my full judgment until the end of the transfer window, because I can’t be bothered to argue the same ‘there’s still 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 week left in the transfer window’ arguments…
why? because it’s boring and repetitive and the current AKB lot’s kung fu ain’t awesome enough to make it worthwhile
Pingpong looks rusty and nervous. We should get Joey Barton. He has got kwality. I personally think he is way better than Scotty Parker.
Adolf Barton!!!
*lightz up a phat one*
Frimpong must work on his passing and I mean A LOT…
“Judge me in May.”
Night guys!
Dobranoc Suga!
well sug,
it’s only about buying time for arsene, surly not players
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
Good post!
bade,
01/09 is the time to say ‘let there be DooM’ if necessary…
although the above stance does not stop me from voicing opinions in the short term discussion subject department…
how fucking shit was that game today?
as for the tour being a success (OGL’s quote), do me a fucking favour…
@gunner: fuck you you little piece of shit.
dobranoc Macku
IG,
don’t waste your bandwidth on the barely literates…
i felt the game only successor of last third of season
i fell no need for any theory discussion when OGL is there still,
btw what is OGL ?
uruguay 1-0 up against argentina!
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
OGL = Our Glorious Leader
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy3eT6IyTA8
yeh he is …. eh?
higuain equalise the score 1-1
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
vela scoring twice in asia has done us no favours
probably means wenger will give him a go rather then signing a proven striker
bade,
I thought of that as a bit of an Eastern Bloc era satire
good game!
I like Vela, if he got as many chances as Bendtner, he would be the dogs bollocks…
as I said before, he needs a bit of love and his prozzie antics are the living proof of that
this is not going to end 11 v 11…
Fatty Usmanov gets a load of bad press…
Michael moore’s Capitalam Doco, on more4 identifies wallmart as a fortune500 company that profits from the death from its employees….
Takes our life insurance policies on the life expectancy of their staff, and makes more profit from them in death than life. Classy way of conducting business.
And fatty’s the bad guy?!
SK the White saint of corporate america myth busted.
good foresight suga3
this is not going to end 1-1 either….. a cracking game so far eh?
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
Lurch,
#uzbekispy much?
yeah, especially after that midday gashfest
as for the foresight bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb9LJI7YrtU
Wallmart profiteering…
http://bx.businessweek.com/employment-law/court-battles-continue-over-wal-mart-insuring-employee-lives/3299929751899652/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/666837/posts
#suitedandbooted
well, zdrastvujte comrade Rouge!
@suga3: yeah I know just needed to let it out once and for all…
still 1:1…
how fucking long does it take atvo to post the games up…
#appetite4selfharm
chooon!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJ1AIOgU7o
the argentinian centre backs have a massive blinder…..
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
tune of the summer, you listening Arsene!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stNQZGNtfPk
When Wenger said, “Judge me in May.” he just forgot to add the “2015″ part.
now this is how you trap the ball!
are you watching, Nicklas?
what a fucking save…
aguero was bad …..
the argentinian defence looks so cheeky, as it was our defence
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
now that was a super fucking save of the game!!!!!!
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
i’m an argentina fan, but i have to admit uruguay play like legends! what a fucking display, with 10 men against the hosting team!!
Uruguay are everything I want it a team. Strong, skillful and competitive.
LUIS SUAREZ. Now there’s a footballer.
Arsenal should have signed him.
Is this a knockout game?
Suarez is a cunning bastard. Dives around a bit which isn’t really saying much but lost a little bit of respect for him after the way he celebrated after his hand-ball knocked Ghana out.
it is, rohan. quarter finals, the winner play peru in semis….
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
If Higuain were 2 yards quicker, he’d be the best striker in the world.
shocking miss from higuain!
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
even a more shocking one from messi! this is ridiculous!!
SACK ARSENE!
THE JUDGEMENT MAY BRIGADE
Bet a million pounds that messi misses his penalty…
Up u freaking Argies
That’s why I’m no betting man
What a shit peno by Tevez
lol Higuain you jammy bastard
Waste man Tevez
Tevez will be officially dropped by Argie. What a Chamakh-like display today.
Tevez is easily the shittiest of the talented Argentine lot. He is lucky he has a ‘never say die’ attitude or the Argie ppl wouldn’t give 2 shits about him.
So now Batista gets sacked and the mad man Maradona gets his head back in the game again.
Messi, forever in Maradona’s shadow.
chupa argentina!
Tevez let his country down. The Argies on the other hand had no sense of urgency. Muslera is what a keeper should be like. Uruguay defended well. Mascherano never surprises us, he is back to his red-card-recieving ways.
Anyone fancy a punt on Gago? I think he did enough to get back on equal footing with Banega during these 2 games. Banega (with considerable more playing time at Valencia) had surely usurped him.
Not the strongest, but there is a technical positioning and organisational skills that accompanies his play. Above average passer of the ball as well. More mobile than Song.
It will take Messi two world cup titles to attain Maradona’s legendary status, there is still time though. He might be a ‘late bloomer’ on the international scene. Without Barca, he flops
Santos
That second yellow for Mascherano was a joke though. Absolute joke.
Re: Tevez, I will assume that some have only seen him in a PL shirt. THE GUY IS WANK FOR ARGENTINA.
During the WCQ campaign for South Africa, the dick got 2 FIRST HALF red cards in consecutive games. At one point he had the appalling record of 1 goals in 14 games and zero assists stretching back over a year to that point. He is so overrated its not funny.
Again his fantastic running gets him a free pass from people. He fucked it up now, at the world cup Maradroga changed the flipping formation to accommodate him after the Mexico victory, unbalancing the team…..WHEN OH WHEN will an Argentine coach grow some balls and leave him out all together.
Oh and Pastore……..45? or whetver……..ur havin a laff.
Pastore is not ready yet, IMO. Argie defending was dodgy at times. I agree the Mascherano red card was questionable. Suarez kind of overdid it. Why didnt Argentina change to a 433 to bring out the best in Messi? Tactical negligence or lack of urgency. I wanted them to win, because they were the host nation. See how they let the whole nation down on their home soil.
Santos
Haven’t been watching the tournie have you?
They came into the tournament playing 4-3-3, exactly copying Barca.
Were they atrociously woeful?……………
Is Harry Redknapp a Cunt?…..
They were shocking. In the second game against Colombia Messi didn’t touch the ball 5 times proper in the first 20 minutes.
Its when they dumped the cunt Tevez ad Levazzi and brought in Aguero and Di Maria and Gago and changed from a 4-3-3 and opened up the pitch with Di Maria did they start to look anything like the Argentina who fucked up every team bar Brazil in the last Copa America, though they had Riquelme then.
Zeus
You missed out Higuain! 442 it was. When the Uruguayians had a red, the gaffer should have moved Messi up front making it a trio of Kun, Hig, and him. Then perhaps Pastore Gago and Masch in the midfield. I saw a Messi who was in No 7. Perhaps it was 424 but defo not 433
I meant they should have switched their tactics immediately after the red or at half time.
Yeah, Higuain too. Batista didn’t want to rock the boat too much. Argentina does have a shaky defence.
Hopefully Ezequiel Garay will be first choice at his new club Benfica and come in and sort out that CB position.
Interested to see the new coach of Argentina now. They can’t wait forever. South American qualifying for 2014 starts soon.
A real shame. I quite like Batista. He did rid the side of dross Heinze – a calamity of a player.
On the bright side, Zanetti is evergreen, even at 38. He must be a role model for these younger players.
Can’t believe he lasted the entire game.
Wonder if he would’ve fooked up the pen. Even Pastore got lucky on his.
Messi showed a cool head after waiting so long though.
from gunnerblog
In the last few minutes, Costa Rican radio station ADN Radio have interviewed the president of Deportivo Saprissa, Juan Carlos Rojas, who has confirmed that the club have reached an “agreement in principal” with Arsenal.
Rojas called it a “historic agreement” for Costa Rica and Saprissa, and said that whilst the club had been offered more money by other clubs, Arsenal’s stature made this the right move for Joel.
He finished by saying that assuming personal terms are agreed, a deal could be finalised in the next 24 hours.
Will we get a permit for Campbell. I’m proud of this guy, another from CONCACAF.At least he possesses the basic requisite skill set for traditional Arsenal strikers under Wenger: pace, directness power and a bit of skill.
Who the fuck is campbell?
Joel Capbell
http://gunnerblog.com/?p=2881
but does he speak french?
laters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfpFuCekrf8&feature=related
ZEUS was Higuin profligate as usual..??
Denilson is going?
It must be beer o’clock
I’m happy if we’re buying Joel Campbell if that means we won’t spend so much of the budget on Oxo Cube, both are for the future but not quite what we need atm. Defenders and a midfielder should be top priority now.
As per Footy Latest:
“It is being reported this morning that the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has sanctioned a massive £7m a year contract extension to persuade Cesc Fabregas to stay at the Emirates, but the People says that the Spaniard will happily turn down the cash in favour of a return to Barcelona.
It has already been rumoured that the Gunners’ captain is happy to take a pay-cut at Barcelona, and is also willing to forgo his 15% cut of any transfer fee, meaning that he will be massively out-of-pocket to fulfil his dream of winning trophies with his hometown club.
The People says this will mean he will be losing £85,000 A WEEK to make the move, whereas Barcelona will only give him £2.5m a year (£55,000 a week as opposed to £140,000).
I find it hard to believe those figures, although he is more certain to get umpteen more in win bonuses if Barcelona go on to win the treble again next season.
They are also assured that Barcelona are intending to stick to their guns with a top-priced £34m offer for Fabregas, which they believe will also compensate them for losing Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral-Harper, who are both moving to the Emirates this summer.”
As per gnarleygeorge9:
Barcelona want their cake & eat it too. Arsenal should sell the boy to Real Madrid or to his home town team Coppa dat up De Arse.
I
Footylatest? The people? lol It’s Sunday Madness but I noticed very few transfer rumours for us this weekend..
This by a phone tapper called Patrcik Collins
A compelling Open Championship is clattering towards its conclusion, a sumptuous Test series is about to unfold, this faltering summer still holds the prospect of glory. Yet our attention is distracted by a familiar voice from distant Hangzhou.
‘I believe that the real destiny of this team is now,’ says Arsene Wenger. ‘It demands the strength of character that champions have. I believe we are perfectly good enough.’
And English football reacts with an ostentatious yawn. We have all been here before, year upon barren year, since Arsenal’s last title was won in 2004. We have endured the soaring hopes and great expectations, the crushing disappointments and the unconvincing excuses.
If it were any other club, or any other manager, then we might sympathise with the disillusion which is increasingly prevalent in that frustrated quarter of north London. After all, the evidence scarcely justifies Wenger’s talk of Arsenal as potential champions.
Falling short has become an Arsenal tradition; an integral part of their DNA, like Liam Brady or Charlie George. Falling short is what they do: attractively, entrancingly, infuriatingly, inevitably. And their manager dusts off his explanations, offering them in banal appeasement, like a string of empty catchphrases.
Now I tended to agree with him till he bad mouthed my hero Charlie George. How dare you, you “Fleet Street Phuckwit”. Don’t you ever call our Charlie as falling short
Joel Campbell you say?
Another 19 year old.
What a sad joke this is.
joel campbell has a short back lift.
It was painful to see the utter disbelief on Wenger’s face as his squad achieved a miracle of managing to finish 4th when 1st or 2nd seemed 10:1 on.
The team had it in the bag. On our day, we played football so far superior to anyone else but Barcelona it was truly inspiring. We all wonder what happened but I say this to all Wenger doubters: Was it his fault that the team collapsed so expertyl? Of course it wasn’t. Also, those that think we should be spending ridiculous sums on players like City do, just look at last season when City couldn’t play against us. With all their amazing world-class talent, we made them look like amateurs, just as we did against Chelsea.
We all know we’d like to see better defending against set pieces. But as for finding better CB’s than those we already have I’m not so sure. Ther are only 4 players at CB in this country who I think are as good or better than Vermaalen and Koscielny and they are Terry, Vidic, Carragher and possibly Ferdinand. Skill wise they aren’t close but doing the job of CBs they are good. Very good.
If the training emphasized CB’s doing what CB’s normally do then these players we have would be fine but here at Arsenal, they are taught to use the total football style and go AWOL regularly hoping that someone will cut back in to bail them out on the counter-attack.
When we have the pressure on the opponent this is fantastic but the foundation of what CB’s do needs to be the fallback for these guys. What I am saying is that I think we have 2 of the best CBs in the league but they need to have basic defensive duties drilled into them constantly, and the total football added for use when we are completely on top, with a quick reverting to basic duties when the opponent gets some time on the ball, a la Newcastle last year.
This is an easy situation to remedy but we need to see it happen. Wilkins said the same thing. So does Winterburn, Dixon and a whole host of people who really do know.
If we start to do this then in midified we have the team that cann everything. And thats without spending much money at all because of the firm foundation we have in the academy.
Get this right and we will be laughing.
Also, has gambon been banned yet? Ifthe owners of this site don’t have the cojones to ban someone who calls the manager a n0nse then the site is not worth visiting. Go on, be brave. Let everyone argue their points without being subjected to such juvenile drivel. Please!
OPG says:
July 17, 2011 at 07:58
Footylatest? The people? lol It’s Sunday Madness but I noticed very few transfer rumours for us this weekend..
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Wenger: “even bad journalism take some holiday, why shouldnt I”
Bob M. “evil men don’t take no day off, why should I”
@buffalo:
“they need to have basic defensive duties drilled into them constantly, and the total football added for use when we are completely on top, with a quick reverting to basic duties when the opponent gets some time on the ball, a la Newcastle last year.”
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Wenger knows this since 2008 at least, hasnt done anything.
the 433 formation always leaves us open for counter attack putting extra pressure on the Defense we almost alway conced goals, I had no confidence when went a goal up last season as the opposition would always score shortly after. so many games. u need to add Hangelaand to that list also
‘Koscielny was one bad touch away from having the season of his life’ and thats a fact
defending also is about balance too cbs usually pair well when one is skillful quick and the other has the aggressive and good read of the game, to compliment each other
Fuck Americans take penalties like England
Japan world champions. What a fucking winning penalty.
Mow brazil misses 3 pens wtf?!!
BraZil misses 4 penalties in a row?!!!! Unbelievable.
The more I look at the team we have , the more In like it. We agree that the players need to look at defending set pieces.
I agree with IvoryGoonz that this does seem to have been neglected for 2 or 3 years. But part of that is the media needing something to cling on to wrong with Arsenal.
Those of you with memories will remember we used to be called too rough. A couple of seasons later we were too soft according to them.
You only have to look at our games against City last year to see that we outmuscled them for most of both games.
Our defense was very good up to the implosion last year. Yes, we need some defensive work but when I look at the players I am really excited by it.
What I am saying is that we shouldn’t let some of the more ignorant commentators label us with a title that is untrue. We should at least not start thinking those things ourselves. It is only going to create doubt.
Vermaalen is back. We have so many great players around, we can really make a statement soon. I am really positive.
Wenger is active in the transfer market and even Gazidis has hinted we will make big signings. All the while we are acquiring fantastic talent for the future. I think we are very nearly there in the present. The Bendtner, Gervinho, Campbell, Frijmpong, Denilson situations are ALL being dealt with, much to our fans delight.
We are not happy bunnies yet but we are very close to getting everything we have been asking for.
For me, one English CB would be great to play aginst teams like Stoke whose main threat comes from set pieces. But I would choose Koscielny and Vermaalen over Samba and Cahill and either of them for most games, certainly against footballing teams.
I ask you Gunners, is it time to get fully behind the team in the hope that we will go that extra mile with the extra grit we seem to have acquired? I reckon so. I am not an AKB. But I do believe that Wenger and Rice are best for us just now. Wenger’s vision so nearly payed off last year. Let us not forget that. He is stubborn but it looks like he is addressing everything we want him to. So let’s give the current squad our full backing. It will help a lot. We need to present a united front.