So I’m imagining there are going to be two camps out there today. You’ll have the camp that will be over the moon that we’ve responded with a victory after a massive defeat, with a bunch of new players. Then you’ll have the the camp that will say that yesterday was a major struggle and on the face of it, the new players didn’t look like they’d kicked us on a level.
I’m sitting somewhere in-between. Though I could see the benefits of having experienced players in the side, we still lacked that sense of urgency that haunted our game most of last season. There are lots of interesting cogs in the Arsenal machine this season, I’m just not sure the system Wenger is putting them into is going to work that well.
The first major chance of the game fell to us after Arteta picked up the ball centrally and fed Ramsey through the middle, the Welshman some how managed fire it higher than you’d need to for a Rugby World Cup drop goal.
Down our end, Mertesacker had recieved rapturous applause for his first two passes, feeling selfish, he decided to give Chezzer the chance to garner some of his own. The German latched onto a Swansea cross, guided it towards our goal, some how the Pole kept it out with an instant save. I was sitting very close to that and it was a sight to behold!
We were very sloppy in the middle of the park. This wasn’t helped by Frimpong whose passing was wildly off kilter. Like I said a few weeks ago, people are very quick to jump on youth as the solution to an experience problem, thing is, you have to remember he’s only 18 years old. Passion and drive rarely converts into an accomplished teenage midfielder.
We were struggling to get shots on target. Theo broke through from an Arshavin slide rule pass, his effort was bundled off the line with some spectacular last ditch defending from Swansea.
Down the other end, Mertesacker made a double tackle to keep Dyer away from our goal. A few minutes later, Frimpong showed his naivety again by unnecessarily grappling a Swansea player to the ground outside our box. Our players were quite often guilty of watching the player, not the ball yesterday.
Our opening was a bizarre one. The Swansea keeper Vorm made a total hash of rolling the ball out to his full back, he dropped it on his ankles, Arshavin saw, turned and first time slotted the ball from a Kanu-Esque angle into the net. A top piece of finishing from a player I refuse not to love.
Ouch...
The second half opened with a bit of action. The giant pole waver clumped a female photographer over the head when she wasn’t looking. Maybe she forgot to get him a beer at half time? Who knows… it took 9 stewards about 20 minutes to remove her, I’m pretty sure she was ok. Some of the crowd cruelly sang, ‘Are you Diaby in disguise’ and ‘You’re staying down for compo!’. Not me… I find singing at the ground appalling.
Robin opened the half with a thumping hit of the post. Swansea retaliated after by clipping the bar with a Scott Sinclair freekick. The rest of the half kind of panned out without too much to talk about.
We slipped into panic stations after 70minutes, pretty much a standard with Arsenal sides of late. Even with the added experience, we couldn’t avoid that. We also showed a total lack of urgency or will to kill off the game. We should have capitalised on their morale dip after the goal and we should have looked to improve our lack lustre goal difference. It’s no good saying that Swansea are a good team, so are Bolton, United didn’t settle for one, they absolutely destroyed them.
I guess the toughest question we have to ask ourselves at the moment is where are the goals going to come from this year?
Robin Van Persie looked incredibly isolated up front on his own. I’m not sure this whole loan striker option is going to work without a Cesc or a Nasri in the side. He needs support up top. At the same time, the team needs to take more responsibility for creating decent chances for him.
There were some positives that came out of the game, no doubt about that. For starters, having a player of thee size and stature of Per Mertesacker in your back four is pretty incredible. He towers over everyone. He boasts so much height that when he high fived the Gunnersaurus he was nearly at eye level with him.
He’s a thoughtful defender who defends cleanly. He was a nuisance for corners down there end. I think his presence will be a calming one and he’ll certainly give us a big advantage against long ball merchants. My one concern for him will be against the pacey tricky players. Will his slow turning ability cause him problems? Or can he rely on whoever partners him to deal with that side of the game?
Arteta had quite a disappointing first start. His integration into the side was seamless. He has great technique, he’s not afraid to stick his boot in but his overall impact wasn’t amazing. I thought he was quite slow on the ball yesterday and I was hoping to see him take more of a lead against weak opposition. Still, it’ll take him time like everyone else to settle into his new role. You can’t expect to replace one of the best talents on the planet, you instead have to adapt and work out a new way of playing.
I also found Theo a bit of a struggle, poor finishing an poor crossing dogged his game. If he can iron out those issues, his pace will put him in plenty of great positions this year.
My MOTM performance was to Chezzer. He made a couple of crucial saves, however, it was his absolute domination of the box that impressed me the most. He caught nearly every cross, his distribution was solid and he’s looking more and more like he could become our next in line for the ‘world class’ throne. I wasn’t too sure about Cruyff turning a Swansea player. Keep it simple, don’t let your arrogance get the better of you…
I know it’s only one game into our new season, but my overriding feeling from yesterday is that we’re going to really struggle this year. 4th place isn’t going to be straight forward, it’s going to be a battle. We’re in yet another transitional year but at least we have experienced heads to fall back on. The team won’t have much time to practice together. It’s off to Germany to face a very, very good Dortmund side on Tuesday. An exciting match with some very exciting players on show.
We’ll have all the suspended mob back and ready to play. Song and Gervinho will be like new signings, hopefully we’ll find a bit more of a creative edge by then!
P.S. Not sure why everyone who wasn’t at the game kept saying the atmosphere was poor yesterday, I thought it was ok?
Ratings:
- Chezzer 7
- Gibbs 6
- Mertesacker 6.5
- Koscielny 6.5
- Sagna 6.5
- Rambo 6.5
- Frimpong 5
- Arteta 6.5
- Walcott 5.5
- Robin 6
- Andrey 7
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M’Vila would’ve been an absolutely massive signing for us. Playing a MF of M’Vila, Song and Arteta/JW would basically guarantee that we don’t lose the match. Great for CL away ties.
Agree with Suga, Theo is shit.
Been saying it for years, as usual im right.
A,
effective? do me a favour…
jogging with the ball because he can’t get past his man, call that effective?
sorry to break this to you, but ‘nearly scoring’ against some shit side at home does not count as ‘effective’…
is ‘nearly scoring’ the new ‘nearly signing’?
For the time being I’d like to see a MF of Frimpong, Song and Arteta for tough away matches. Frimpong playing the furthest back.
Hope we get him next season, A.
I walked into a fancy dress shop and asked for a vampire outfit. The assistant came back with a full Spurs kit.
I said “I think you misunderstood me. I want to look like a count”
Coquelin is far from good on the ball.
He will be found wanting at this level.
On a fairly unrelated subject, if you want to see what footballers can be like, go to youtube and search on come dine with me celebrity ruddock. It is quiet funny watching Ruddock, Fashanu, Carlton Palmer and Frank Worthington cooking for each other! All I can say is it’s a good job they could play football!
Suga
- Nearly scoring
- Nearly signing
- Assisting the assister
Don’t be intentionally thick Suga3.
You said Theo wasn’t effective yesterday and didn’t even use his pace. To which A pointed out that he used his pace and almost scored in one of the few opportunities we created. Besides that he did well to get into space to make the shot which lead to the howler.
I was in a bar in London and ruddock came in to pick up a few grams off a known dealer.
He was a mess.
Can’t see it Rohan. He’ll go for silly money post Euros….
gambon how many times have you seen him play?! Coquelin is quality on the ball, his passing and general technique is far superior to Frimpong, and Song.
The only worry about him is his lack of strength, otherwise he could become a really top player
Isn’t assisting the assister what made Nasri better than Theo despite Theo having more goals plus assists.
Mayank,
care to remind me when he used his pace?
as for the ‘thick’ bit, please dude, you are not in position to call anyone that…
SUGA he used his pace when he ran in behind and his shot was cleared off the line
and the defender had all the time in the world to catch up with that shot, some blast, eh?
the keeper smothered it SUGA…. Who called it a blast?!
Ramsey ‘doubtful’ to play against Dortmund with ankle problem…
I didn’t say you were thick, I said you were being intentionally thick. There’s a small but important difference. Which being as intelligent as you are, should have spotted.
And as for using his pace,
http://arsenalist.com/video/?id=xl0tzx
at around 1:30 Theo goes from outside to inside despite the defender having a yard on him.
at 3.15 he does a neat little trick too.
Now I know that’s not much but far from being useless.
OK, what the fuck did he do apart from that?
nothing, null, zilch, nada!
he is not a Premiership player, but a headless chicken with pace…
Yeah I saw that SUGA – not sure he would’ve started anyway as looked tired recently.
Song back so could go for a two DM formation with either Frimpong or Coquelin in there and Arteta more freedom going forward. Front three of Gervinho, VP and Theo
Mayank,
dude, this was Swansea…
I remember him jogging with the ball when the situation begged for a run and getting booked for being a petulant twat…
Theo had 15 goals and 10 assists last season. If that’s being useless, what does that make 95% of premiership attackers?
Theo wa booked because he lost his head when he was fouled off the ball and the muppet lino missed it.
Speaking of muppet-like officiating I’ve gotta say that the ref yesterday was one of the worst I’ve seen. The Arteta corner thing was just a joke. You’re allowed to have the ball on the line, it was just really odd, as if he didn’t know the rules
SUGA3, you’re clearly trying too hard. You don’t like Theo and that’s fine we don’t have to like all the players in our team. Neither do I.
But do be sensible about your criticism.
two DM formation is a load of wank, remember 08/09 season?
Jesus, that was dire!
not a chance of that happening tho, OGL would not even change his tactics one bit at Old Toilet, oh wait, he did, by taking the DM off and setting us up for spanking…
Ah so we get to see the midfield I just mooted for away CL matches.
Lets see if its effective.
95% of premiership attackers dont get to play in a team where the manager detests defending, allowing Theo to purely concentrate on attacking.
Hes shocking.
A,
that just shows him as ill-disciplined and he deserved a slap for that…
ditto Song for the stamp and Gervinho for that handbag shit…
both should be docked wages, that would teach them…
C’mon gambon. Don’t exaggerate like you normally do. Theo does his fair share of defensive work .More than most attacking players even.
Mayank,
but I am being sensible, and I actually like Theo, but he is a shocking footballer…
i can’t wait till the end of the season and wenger to go he has a new toy and obsession now francis cockerlin
You like Theo? Hahahaha! And I like Christiano, Mourinho and Rooney.
How does a shocking footballer get as many goals and assists as he does.
How does a shocking player be singled out as the biggest threat in our team by Barca. And Messi!
Theo is not a shocking player he’s a good player we expected would be great by now and he isn’t.
Off topic but makes me ashamed of the people who run my country
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/embassy-protesters-burn-us-flag-132118970.html
Interesting that they call “Muslims Against Crusades” a ‘radical’ group.
13 goals and 8 assists in 38 apps (all comps), playing in a supposedly attacking team?
yeah, he is something else…
http://gunnersphere.com/2011/09/view-from-the-sphere/arsenal-looking-to-sign-this-barca-starlet-within-the-year
fuck me, he dpesn’t learn, does he?
jesus, SUGA. You really are hard to please aren’t you.
All this, and then you say that you feel that Jay fucking Simpson wasn’t given a chance
It’s like that in every country. The government is basically there to protect the rights of the minorities only.
The worst way to counter it is through a majority representing radical group. It just gives the media and lobbyists an excuse.
Gambon,
Try eating in a kosher diary restaurant….
Simpson was pretty good whenever he was given the chance to play…
I reckon it was a tad unfair on him, given that we had to endure that cunt D******n for more than 150 games!
Dissappointing article. You should be seeing the brightr side of this following the defeat at O.T. Afterall, Gervinho and Song will be back and the new signings also need to settle. I’m feeling pretty optimistic about Arsenal this season.
13 of those 38 appearances were as a substitute.
Better return than Nasri, Young, Arshavin, and basically any other winger last season bar Nani.
http://football-talk.co.uk/38559/video-eden-hazard-scores-stunning-solo-run-for-lille/?
different class and a joke that we didnt go and spend our millions on him
Mayank,
IMO, he is dogshite, and this season he added some unmerited arrogance and big gob to the package, which is not going to add to his likeability…
I’m not impressed with Walcott at all. End product is desperately important and Walcott lacks end product desperately. He needs to stat whipping those crosses low and hard considering the fact that we don’t have an aerially dominant striker. He just isn’t producing the goods. I wouldn’t mind An attacking line up of
Gervinho-Arteta-Arshavin
van Persie
Because of RvP’s lack of support It would make sense to go with two up front and then dropping Song to the bench making a midfield duo of Arteta and Wilshere. Come on Gooners!!!!!
jay simpson last season for hull 34 appearances 6 goals 1 assist
Jay Simpson was never any good and anyone who watched him for the youths/ressies could see that he was never going to be close to being an Arsenal player. It was just laughable that a couple of goals in the league cup and he was better than Bendtner.
To his credit although he wasn’t good enough for Hull he has managed to stay in the Championship.
He’s a trier and I still think he COULD make it into the Prem if he managed to settle into a Championship side that got a surprise promotion, but talking about Jay Simpson as anything close to an Arsenal player is just silly.
We tried Mark – I just hope Lille capitulate in the Champions League and/or he falls out with their management again meaning that we could have another go in January. As it is he looks like he’ll go next summer to Barca/Madrid/City for mega money
A, if you’re still there? Do you rate Tom Cleverley?
not that it’s saying much, but he has better first touch than Bendtner, and is also quicker and more composed on the ball…
never any good for youth? first player to score a hattrick at the Emirates?
silly? I’ll tell you what is silly, talking crap about D******n being better than Alonso is silly!
I’m still here Rohan, or at least back briefly….
Yeah he’s a good player imo, although not AS good as the recent hype, and I’m not sure he’ll be an England player. Works hard, covers a fair bit of ground and is very tidy and intelligent.
Shows what Lansbury could be if he puts his head down and buckles down. Lansbury is a year younger than Cleverley but they played together and had a great understanding throughout with England youth teams, with Lansbury usually being the more influencial of the two, and often the captain. They were both very good at Watford although Cleverley was the more impressive of the two then though being a year older and with Lansbury returning from injury you’d expect that. I’m still waiting for Lansbury to make the next step as Cleverley has done. They were always very similar but Lansbury was (and still could be) the player with the greater potential, but he needs to show Cleverley’s drive to make it happen…. Hopefully big Sam will knock some sense into him and he’ll come back next summer ready to be an Arsenal player.
nope SUGA he doesn’t have anything like a better first touch than Bendtner. His first touch is WOEFUL and was even at youth/ressie level. He had pace, power and kicked the ball quite hard.
He’s a massive exageration of what you believe Theo is though. Completely clueless/unintelligent and has nothing other than pace.
Yeah he scored goals at youth level but no wasn’t ever any good in terms of a player who could make the breakthrough. Certainly I never thought so.
Frimpong a 5 but Art and rambo a 6.5. I was there yesterday and i am surprised by that rating. You give him a low rating compared to the other 2 in the middle who constantly played the simple ball and side ways when they are supposed to be are creative players.
His passing was not great yesterday but at least when he lost the ball he went back and got it and Im surprised you have failed to acknowledge his work rate, takling, and driving force within your ratings.
I mean look at tackle he made in the box when Arshavin and Gibbs messed up and he gave Arsh a bashing. When is the last time we have a player play with the sort of passion, determination whilst being vocal.
Lansbury is just a skinny Kevin Nolan type. No understanding of pass and move, or the required work rate to play in a top side.
A,
I will leave it at that, simply because it’s pointless…
A
Lansbury is done at Arsenal, he was for sale 2 weeks ago.
Time to give up on that one, like i assume you have finally done with Denilson.
Who says Arsenal have given up on Denilson? A year with all those Brazilian trannies and hookers could be the tonic he needs…watch this space
Paulinho on the pitch Lansbury has a great workrate and all he does is pass and move, and play one twos! He’s quick and covers alot of ground – very dissimilar to Nolan in that regard, although he does make the same late runs into the box and score goals from midfield.
gambon fraid not – Arsenal decided NOT to sell him, and to loan him instead, otherwise he would’ve been playing for Norwich today against WBA!
Lansbury has done something to upset people behind the scenes though that much is obvious, but the club seem to have decided to give him a second chance rather than sell him on to Norwich or Wigan or any of the other interested clubs last month
Regarding Denilson it was always touch and go whether or not he was physically up to the Prem, and it seems that his head went last season which spelt the end of his time with us.
He’s still got a fair bit of ability though and if he sorts himself out he’ll most likely end up at a good Spanish side, I’d go for Villareal sort of level
i dont think denilson could get into the team at Accrington Stanley to be honest
If you are not in the first team squad at 21 then it is very difficult to force your way in afterwards. I really can’t see Lansbury making it at Arsenal or any top 6 side. He’ll do well in a team where passing and keeping possession aren’t key to the way they play.
A,
er, no, it was not touch and go, we had to endure watching him for two seasons where he was completely shite…
Wenger seems to dwell too much on such experiments…
A – With Lansbury being the all round perfect midfielder it’s a real head scratcher that no premiership clubs seem remotely interested in his services.
Raheem he’s 1 year younger than Cleverley, AND his development was set back a year by injury. Look at what Cleverley has done now in terms of breaking into Utd’s side….
His best attribute is his passing – he needs to play in a passing/possession side to get the most out of him! And to be playing with players on the same wavelength.
They were Paulinho, Norwich and Wigan in Particular but Norwich had already used up both their loan slots in their squad when we decided we wouldn’t sell him permanently, although I’m not sure why he ended up at West Ham rather than Wigan.
I’d imagine because he wanted to stay in London
gambon I wouldn’t say that he was total shite for two seasons at all.
He had some very good games, but also alot of games where either his lack of strength and power or his lack of pace, or even both showed him up
a win is a win thats all i cared for watching the game. i dont think theo is so bad, hes just a stricker stuck on the wing andus all wondering why hes not playing well. almost the samefor arsh, a central attackingmid stuck out in the wing and us all wondering why hes not playing well. still im pretty sick of entertaining a crap team like the swans at home and playing with just one stricker! i would undersatnd if we had messi vill pedro xavi and iniesta but we dont. 4,3,3 is dumb for us and a defencive 4,3,3 at that. roben was saying the reason he played so well for holland is because he can play behind the sricker drop off and pick up the ball and if we are to score he is a guy we realy need to get on the ball more often. oh well. still the only way is up
Watford fans were unanimous in thinking that Lansbury was no where near good enough for Arsenal and that Cleverley was by far the more accomplished of the two.
Think you’re getting Clev mixed up Lansbury A. Clev needs to play in a passing side with movement while Lansbury is an off the ball player with average game intelligence, average passer who would thrive running off a big man.
Very Lampard-ish. Except nowhere near as talented.
A, I admire you sticking up for our players. I would do the same if I was chatting to a non-Arsenal fan but between us gooners I have to be honest. Lansbury may be 1 year behind Cleverley in his development but there is no basis of comparison apart from the colour of their skin! I see Lansbury as a ‘runner’ he covers ground gets from box to box. he isn’t particularly strong like Frimpong or quick like Coquelin, neither is he an okay passer like Ramsey. Cleverley, I hate to say, is very good on the ball and good passer too so much so that Fletcher can’t get into the manure team.
I hope you are right about Lansbury and that in a year’s time he’ll be a super player. I’ll eat my humble pie and those of all the Lanbury doubters out there. Somehow I can’t see it happening mate. He’ll be gone in a year or two if he is not gone by the end of this season.
A
Youre wrong. Lnsbury was up for sale, but no one wanted to pay his wages on top of a fee.
No different to the situation withDenilson & Bendtner.
Paulinho they’re VERY similar players, and no Watford fans were certainly not unanimous in thinking that Lansbury was no where near good enough for Arsenal – that’s just a completely untrue statement!! Cleverley was the more accomplished of the two and I think even got their player of the season, but Lansbury wasn’t far behind. Lampard is fat and slow, Lansbury is skinny, quick and athletic. Again as with the Nolan thing, they do both make late runs into the box and score goals but the rest of their games are completely different.
Raheem they’ve played in the same England youth side alongside each other their entire career, and had a club season alongside each other at Watford too, and there is a very good basis for comparison.
One year ago there was very very little to choose between Lansbury and Cleverley. Cleverley really kicked on last season and Lansbury did very well at times but struggled with injuries and stagnated a bit at others. It’s time now for Lansbury to do exactly the same and kick on
I wonder if there is anyone else on the blog who honestly thinks Lansbury will make it at Arsenal or in a top 4 side?
A – Where Clev completely leaves him for dead is in subtle short range passing, and little movements in the middle third, the sort Iniesta does to create little pockets of space. This means he’s constantly available and can keep play ticking over.
Lansbury goes missing an awful lot. Switches off, and ALWAYS drops deeps to collect the ball, and that’s when he’ll do a 30 yard spearing pass across field. He doesn’t have the ability/mindset to collect it between the lines and create triangles and create pressure that way. If he’s not dropping off constantly then he’ll do a lung-burster and he might get a goal or two.
Also, he’s a novelty player. Starts well at clubs and fades away.
gambon that’s not true.
The way I heard it Norwich wanted him and were willing to pay what he wanted but the with the season starting and our lack of a midfield we told them he was going nowhere for the time being but would speak later on. It was the potential for a permanent deal that was being talked about at that time and they went on and got in two loanees assuming that that’s what they’d get when we’d reinforced so were prepared to sell and then by that time we decided we were only willing to do loans – hence them being a midfielder down and not overly happy, fans especially!
Bendtner was a lack of time rather than wages, it seems likely that Sunderland will sign him permanently with a deal to be completed in January. Real pity imo
Paulinho I’d agree that Lansbury is not as good with the very short passing, and is more of a power player than a tippy-tappy player.
A Gerrard style rather than Iniesta/Xavi, but with our style changing I could see us having that sort of player fitting in, as with Ramsey.
World Football – Papers: Hiddink offered £66m job
Former Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink is set to be offered £66 million to take over as manager of Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, according to the Mail on Sunday.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/11092011/58/world-football-papers-hiddink-offered-66m-job.html
LJW rules
i miss him
Why are people debating whether Theo is banned for Tuesday?
At the moment I’d say Lansbury is more a Savage style midfielder than a Gerard one.
Lansbury isnt a bad player, but the fact is we have JW, Frimpong & Ramsey all under 20, and theres no room for Lansbury. We cant keep piling kids on top of eachother.
Also you have to ask yourself why a player that turns 21 soon is still in the Championship.
Answer = Not good enough.
Ah ok, no matter – two bookings in qualifying.
Well I’d have to be a bit worried about your judgement then Raheem seeing as Savage was a defensive midfielder and Lansbury is very much more offensive than defensive!
So far this season Lansbury has played one and a half games for England U21s and gotten three goals and a MOM, and one game for West Ham, getting a goal an assist and MOM in that.
We’ll see what happens with him for the rest of the season but imo if he keeps his head down and really puts in the effort he’ll certainly be one of West Ham’s best players and come next summer ready to play for Arsenal
gambon he would’ve been in the prem if we hadn’t decided we weren’t willing to let him go permanently so that can’t be a measure of the player!
“he’ll certainly be one of West Ham’s best players and come next summer ready to play for Arsenal”
And you think the quality of player we need is ‘one of West Hams’ best.
There isnt a single player in the championship that can improve us.
We need players like Hazard, MVila, not fucking Henri Lansbury.
Note that you also said exactly this for the last 2 years.
And that Wellington would displace Arshavin.
And that JET was gonna be the next young phenom.
Better than Bale?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqOlFMjScGs&feature=player_embedded
Lol
So we decided to loan him to a lower level, rather than give him PL experience?
Do me a favour.
Why did we let Jack go out in the PL?
Never said that about JET gambon, there were always questions about his attitude….
Wellington Silva yeah he’s an absolutely phenomenal talent but there are questions about his attitude. He needs a work permit ASAP so he can develop with us but he could still have a very good season in Spain and kick on there this season. He’s still a very young kid.
Hazard and M’Vila would be amazing of course, they’d improve our first team and they’re two of the top young players in the world! No-one would claim any of that about Lansbury, but he is a player who is Arsenal through and through and could be a very good squad player for us if he fulfils his potential
Don’t need Dzeko cause we have Bendtner as well Gambon
No gambon, he decided to loan him out rather than let him go permanently, and the club whom had been lined up and in for him all summer already had two players on loan so weren’t able to take him, hence his last minute move to West Ham who DID want him on loan at the last minute.
If another prem side had come in for Lansbury on loan at the last minute and he wanted to go there then I’m sure he would have. As it was it was last minute and West Ham wanted him and he wanted to go there
Well yeah Paulinho he did score 4 goals in a game didn’t he Dzeko – he’s certainly shown (in that one game) that he’s the “world class proven goalscorer” who would make all the difference for us! Well worth the £30 mil!
Honest bill @ 16:10
Your exactly right my friend, it’s now become more about hope than belief. I can’t remember having such low expectations for a season.
Wenger recently said “4th is like a trophy” and the sad thing is it might aswell be for us because even if this lot overachieve 4th is the highest they’ll ever realistically manage. Gone are the days of competing for the title, even being a few points off seems a distant memory now. There will be clear daylight between us and the top 3 this year, around 9 points I guess, sure they’ll all drop points but we all know we’ll drop a fuck site more ourselves.
We don’t have a squad to compete in the League let alone the Ch Lge so an early exit in Europe might be a blessing. Crazy to think that our best chance of qualification next season is via early elimination this year. Although Europa Lge isn’t what we need either as the daft bastard will actually believe we can win that so again the squad will be exposed.
Not even a timely Uzminov arrival could sort this clusterfuck out in January alone.
Lol Paulinho, forgot about that nugget!!
6 goals already this season A!!!
Yeah gambon he’s done pretty well this season, and certainly looked very good against Spurs.
Still that’s just one game, and a couple of goals in other games where the rest of the time he looked lumbering and pretty pants!
Let’s see what happens over the rest of the season, I certainly wouldn’t consider him to have proven himself having played 3 games this season, following his 13 games without a goal last season!
Bendtner last season actually had a better scoring record funnily enough, and he had a very bad season, injury problems and lost his head etc etc
Lol,
Dzeko with his 97 goals in his last 162 games hasnt proven himself, yet championship loan specialist Lansbury will come into the Arsenal team next year.
Oh, ive missed this!
lol and I’ve missed your ridiculous skewed and misleading stats gambon!
What on earth does Lansbury and a player with potential have to do with a player who is proven?!
Dzeko scored goals in a second rate league, then came to the prem and scored 2 in 15 games. He’s had a very impressive start to this season stats wise, but if you want to call a player proven after three games then I fear you’re not entirely confident in your undestanding of the meaning of the word….
Oh Bendtner who has been playing in england since 06/07?
Had a better season that a guy who moved to England in January?
Shock.
and had that little Argentinian dude who could not stop scoring ahead of him?
Bendtner who is nowhere near good enough for us compared to a £30 million player?!
I’d expect a £30 mil player and certainly anyone who is “proven” to make a pretty immediate impact, a la Aguero
U were sorely missed A.
Comidy Releaf. Just what the doctor ordered.
M’Vila and Hazard would make a world of difference to this side. Unfortunately we are looking at a min of £50-60mil for the pair of them and it will never happen
i feel the big advantage the young manu players have over the young arsenal players is they have been playing behind experienced leaders like giggs scholes evera ect and if they are not in the first team they were out on loan until there were realy ready wenger has throne alot of these young players in deep end to save money.there is nothing wroung with having youth in your team if you combine it with top exsperienced players thats why manu have thrived.i realy feel fringpong and couqulin should be out on loan at 1-2 seasons learning thier trade.this team has been crying for some real commited players with real work engine to many luxury players in the team
A,
mate, you just never cease to amaze me, how’s that tan from the sun shining from Wenger’s backside?
Some people’s obsession with Wenger never ceases to amazing me SUGA – he’s not been mentioned on here and has no relevance to any of these discussions, but I guess when you run out of logic to support your argument (usually pretty quickly) it’s an automatic go-to function!
mate, seriously, me running out of logic?
that’s a bit rich coming from you, a person who would not show up on here for about a year to hold his hands up, I have never encountered anyone who has been so spectacularly wrong about pretty much everything and tried to back it up with ‘logic’, Dr Goebbels would be proud of you…
So what your saying A, is that we should spend some fucking money
and you are about the biggest Wenger apologist there was, I am leaving WillythefuckingclownshoesBilly out of the equation, as he must have been on a windup
obsession? naah, just criticism aimed at the man who is either completely insane or happy to pocket £7M per annum for being the face of the ‘fleece the mugs’ project…
Mr B
Why would we need to do that!
Weve got the new Gerrard in lansbury.
Coquelin is gonna be better than Makalele.
JET is better than Ronaldo, oh wait he got sold.
Wellington is better than Ronaldinho ever was, I know he couldnt get a game for Levante, but its true.
suga-
your opinion of frimpong’s play? aside from one nice, midfield splitting pass to arsh, which was followed up with walcott’s typical “end product”, i was not impressed. i believe he needs a loan…
Dzeko is a top player. Powerful, strong and a finisher. Kind of what we needed on the end of our 60% possession. I’ve watched him quite a bit and he’s well suited to the PL. He’s also been banging in the goals in internation games.
Not a great dribbler and creator but we missed out on him before City moved in.
I’ve seen him live a few times and his work rate is high. When he was linked with us I would have given one of my testicles for him to sign! He’s that good. Hope he has a shit rest of the season though!
frenchie,
I reckon he was a bit cautious not to get cautioned again, liked the way he tried to do something and that he chased after the ball whenever he lost it, you don’t see the peroxide head doing it too often, do you?
he could do with a loan, but with Our Glorious Leader must have figured that we don’t need another DM…
I cannt wait for deni to come back.
Come back baby…. comeback.
But Gambon most money spent on proven players is wasted.
I mean look at the likes of Silvest, Squalachi and who else have we bought thats proven.
If it wasn’t so sad it’d be funny.
suga-
i think ogl was looking for another dm–just incredibly late on m’vila. nothing new, there. (side note: did you happen to read stan’s comments re: st louis rams and how he learned a lesson, which he would now apply to arsenal?)
frimpong’s challenges are diametrically opposed: either great or reckless and place arsenal in position of giving up close range free kicks.
frankly, i thought he was toilet yesterday, but forgive him for his youthful exuberance. not only do i think he could benefit from a loan, but i also think he could benefit from losing weight…at 85 min he was winded and lazy; weight will kill pace and recovery, even if it is muscular.
http://www.sportsvibe.co.uk/news/football/arsenal-target-10m-january-move-for-real-madrid-midfielder-10668/
Esteban Granero?? Worth a shot?
frenchie,
come on, do you seriously think that making a bid for a player of such stature at the ‘selling-club-to-be’ this late was serious?
by his own admission, quite a few of our ‘nearly signings’ fell through because there was no time for the prospective sellers to secure replacements, that leads to the conclusion that he is either cuckoo or a pathological liar…
75* minute…whatever.
frenchie
Spot on. Frimpong is nowhere near ready for this level. He wouldn’t start at any other club in the Premier League. Miyaichi also needed to out go out on loan. Wenger’s banking on all these kids ending a 7 year trophy drought for the biggest club in London. That just seems more demented as I type it…
we shoulda sold WALCOTT to manshit and kept sammy
suga-
i am uncertain. was it a serious bid? a serious bid would have been made in june. was it a bid with an eye to a need? without question. was it a bid made understanding the late position within the window? indeed. even ogl would ahve to say no when selling a player at the 25th hour…
as for his pathology: the behavior will increase without corrective treatment, which is why i directed you to stan’s comments. if there were two individuals more perfectly made to support each other’s shortcomings and neurosis, i cannot find them. enabling is destructive.
there is just one way for this club to compete and that is for the Yank to sell to Jabba once the 12 month period is up…
I have judged OGL on 01/09 and only the actions of the ‘defence’ (read: Gazidis and Co.) saved him from being lynched yesterday, he has got a stay of the execution, but I don’t think he will be the man in charge next summer…
yandi-
i imagine he could get a minute or two at bolton. i do not think it was intended for him to be the starting dm; however, song’s stupidity made it necessary. piers morgan can run on about frimpong all he wants, but he will be fine in about two years.
to be fair, some maturity and experience was brought in this window, and the signings were done with a acknowledgment that experience was lacking and needed. does the late realization make up for 3-4 years of negligence? no. the last few years were inexcusable and unforgivable.
suga-
agree on both points. i think the arteta deal was key.
if we could pm through the blog, in a few weeks i might have something interesting for you…might, but then again it may result in nothing. i will let you know.
frenchie
Well, he’s our back-up to Song… which is all the more sad when you realise that Song should himself be back-up to someone actually competent. Which brings me onto my point… Yann M’Vila must be signed at all cost this January. His value will sky-rocket after the Euros. We have the fucking money right now.
yandi-
agree.
frenchie,
check my blog (click on my nick to have a peek), you will find my email and Tw*tter account there
Kroenke needs to realise that he will be hounded out if this season goes tits up…
given the way American ownership panned out for a few clubs, he will not get any leeway IMO…
suga-
henry does seem willing to spend for pool, even if not wisely. but yeah, ownership of top flight football requires an understanding of the game. i think we have expounded upon the differences between mls and epl enough.
Suga,
I’d love for u to be right but with these lot of bottlers that call themselves fans supporting the club, kronke & the rest of the board can do what they want,
First genuine attempt at a protest was already called off at a time when the teams on it’s face so I have no reason to believe there will be any sort of pressure put in the board or the manager.
We need to forget who we’re going to sign in January if we even make any signings. We’re looking royally fucked right now. Theo is useless and needs to be dropped. Bring in Gervinho or even Benayoun. Anything but Walcott. Dortmund lost on the weekend to a promoted team at home so they’re going to be low on confidence. We need something from the game. Fuck me, Wenger really needs to start playing around with different formations. He’s so fucking obvious.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/844793-good-riddance-to-fabregas-nasri-and-bendtner
haha, good riddance
Just seen the ref ordering players back into a free kick wall in Argentina. He sprayed a line on the pitch with an aerosol for the defenders to stand behind……genius!!
TonyS
they did it in the copa america too
I m laughing my ass off at Gambon and his disciples gangbanging the shit out of A.
Its quite hilarious really.
Apparently, “When a German communicates you listen.”
“So I’m imagining there are going to be two camps out there today. You’ll have the camp that will be over the moon that we’ve responded with a victory after a massive defeat, with a bunch of new players. Then you’ll have the the camp that will say that yesterday was a major struggle and on the face of it, the new players didn’t look like they’d kicked us on a level.”
How many people are in either of those groups ? I’m guessing it’s about 3.
If it makes anyone feel better, i bought Park Chu Young in Pro Evo 2008 and he scored somewhere close to 100 goals per season, so that’s something to be positive about …right?
“I’m sitting somewhere in-between”
-Yes surely nothing great about accidental win with accidental goal…ya know just like Bendtner tap-ins ::::
“…wasn’t helped by Frimpong whose passing was wildly off kilter…Passion and drive rarely converts into an accomplished teenage midfielder.”
-Perhaps also lots of intelligence, a brain like off-shore banker that makes money laundering legal easily.
“Will his slow turning ability cause him problems? Or can he rely on whoever partners him to deal with that side of the game?”
- It doesn’t matter if Per partnered with — Gary Cahill damn it!
“It’s no good saying that Swansea are a good team, so are Bolton, United didn’t settle for one, they absolutely destroyed them.”
- Absolutely kick them so hard they quit EPL, forfeited all points, rejoin the N-Power pub teams again.
“…Robin Van Persie looked incredibly isolated up front on his own…Theo a bit of a struggle, poor finishing an poor crossing dogged his game.”
- Robin and Theo should be the wolf pack upfront, it’s a no-brainer at all. Of all the genius in Arsene somehow he never thought of it?
“It’s off to Germany to face a very, very good Dortmund side on Tuesday. An exciting match with some very exciting players on show.”
- Mario Goetze…?? When was the last time Arsenal signed a pin-up boy band pop idol? (Insert screaming female Gooners here)
A win’s a win but 3 points at home courtesy of a howler from the Swansea keeper is nothing to crow about.
Nervy in defence; meaningless tippy tappy in midfield puttering out with no invention, flair, pace or killer instinct in attack.
Arsenal has become very ordinary.
Fuck of naija. gambon just made himself look like a massive tit today. Nothing new really
HAHA
AKBs sticking together.
Wenger should give Ryo Miyaichi a go….
Top Premier footie ace is ‘on cocaine’
TV show will name
him tonight
By ALEX PEAKE
Published: Today
THE identity of a top Premier League footballer who tested positive for cocaine will be revealed tonight.
He was later sold by his club in a multimillion pound deal but his new team were not told of the drug test, a TV investigation claims.
The star will be named by Channel 4 show Dispatches as it focuses on the use of recreational and performance-enhancing drugs in football.
The show claims to have discovered the identities of dozens of footballers who have failed drugs tests for cocaine and cannabis.
Their names have been kept secret by the Football Association and their clubs.
It is also claimed 240 drugs tests had to be abandoned between April 2007 and August 2010 after officials turned up at training grounds to discover the players were not there.
The show claims to have official documents that show three former England internationals and one Scottish star faced doping investigations after suspicious levels of testosterone were found in their urine.
All four were later cleared of wrongdoing.
David Howman of the World Anti Doping Agency said the FA needed to be more open about drug testing.
He added: “If you don’t, then you are susceptible to an allegation you’re hiding something.”
The FA said it abides by the World Anti Doping Agency code.
————————————————————————————-AND WHO COULD THIS BE
this season will be a struggle, all of what we had has gone, there seems no hope in the team, no passion of belief in the team, the team in fact is on death row….. just waiting to be killed off!.
mkv… cant be an arsenal layer we dont have english internationals at that time!
Why Why Why??? isnt 6 years of not buying even a single top quality player, couldnt the fans have expected an Aguero/Villa/ Neymar/ Sneijder/ Forlan to sign in a club which had been ruling teh game between 200 and 2004? How coudl we let the club management lower our ambitions? We are a second class lot. We don’t aim big! We are all losers!!!!!!!!