Fabianski To Claim Pole Position?
Oct 27th, 2009 by 'holic
Take one game at a time. How many times have you heard that? I hope the players and staff are better at it than I, because I don’t mind admitting I have more than one eye on the game that follows our Carling Cup meeting with Liverpool.
It’s a certainty that Lukasz Fabianski will have his mind on the visit of the Mickeys. Back from injury, he has an opportunity to stake a permanent claim for the goalkeeping berth. He could be the one player in the squad to start both in this match and the North London derby on Saturday.
Ahead of him the back four is likely to feature Gilbert, Senderos, Silvestre, and Gibbs, the same quartet who helped to keep a clean sheet against West Brom in the last round. In midfield Coquelin and Ramsey should survive from that tie, but Wilshere is ruled out with an ankle knock. Samir Nasri is set for his first start since breaking his leg in pre-season. Don’t expect too much too soon from the little Frenchman.
It would not be a surprise to see a pacy, if short, attacking trio of Vela, Eduardo, and Sanchez Watt, although Nicklas Bendtner is available. His participation may be determined by what lies in store for him on Saturday. Against quality opponents that starting line-up will need to be at its best from the first kick.
Liverpool too appear to be coming with a mix and match side, but you can be sure they will be organised and very difficult to break down at the very least. I really haven’t a clue as to the outcome so the ‘holic pound will be ventured on an ‘anytime goalscorer’ bet, and an outsider at that. Set pieces have been a surprising source of goals for us this season, and Mikael Silvestre is an astonishing 19/1 with Paddy Power.
Before you start looking for my marbles remember his header against Tottenham last season, and his finish at Wigan as well. In a close encounter his experience in such situations may come to the fore once more. Let’s hope so.
As usual I will be back with my take on the night relatively shortly after the final whistle. Then as long as nothing goes horribly wrong on Thursday evening my thoughts will turn to the visit of sh.., you know who. I see there are question marks about the name of their new stadium, if they ever manage to get it off the ground. My preference would be the Ninety-nine Bowl. That would serve two purposes. It would remind them of the last year they beat us in the Premier League, and would prompt us to look forward to the good licking we usually give them.
I don’t know why they are bothering though. The grass will never grow in N17, because they are forever in our shadow.
29 Responses to “Fabianski To Claim Pole Position?”
Don’t agree re the Spuds pitch. Could be the best ever with the amount of shit they put on it every week.
man u are winning 2-0 now so we have to win to enter d final 16 with our rivals…..i guess they might be a strong bench
Could spurs try any harder to copy Arsenal at everything?
‘holic, what’s tthe odds on a Silvestre own goal? 18-1 😉
Worth a pound
Don’t be mischievous, Darren 🙂
I like Mannone, he deserves a longer chance, he won us the game with Fulham and has not let in many goals at all, he was man of the match not so long ago, he has been solid.
I dont think Mannone can really cut it playing for a top 4 club. I am still unconvinced about Fab too… Almunia has not really proved that he can play well consistently (apart from maybe some of last season) and i’ve never seen szchesney hawks play. I seriously think we need to splash some cash on a top quality goalie, i’m sure most gooners agree…
Almunia is better than both and will be back on Saturday.
I am always surprised at how many continually write off Fabianski. I think he is an excellent goal keeper who just needs polishing off at the corners. half a season of consecutive games and Fabi will be one of, if not, the best keeper in the league. cant believe others cant see how good he is.
Doubt Mannone will cut it even in the long run though I didn’t think it was fair to promote him 2 places like that and wait for his mistakes. he needed bringing in more gently than that.
Looking forward to the match tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how strong a side Liverpool put out, let’s enjoy anyway.
‘holic, that is simply the greatest put down I could ever hope to read about the spuds’ new ground. Eloquent, damning and accurate in equal measure.
keeper spot defo up for grabs, Fabianski has a real chance. He is prone to rash decisions but you cannot argue about his shot stopping. Of all our keepers Sczheny (sp?) looks the brightest prospect. He has the assurance and calmness together with height and athleticism. Almunia for me lacks presence and command, all three young uns below him will surpass his current level. Just look at the ages. For a 21 year and 22 year old to be pushing Almunia says everything about their promise and maybe something about Almunia’s limitations. Can we afford another developmental position, maybe if they develop quickly and show promise after all Buffon and Casillas were blooded very young.
Let’s hope we play with the handbrake off, the engine revving and Fabianski’s arms going like windscreen wipers whenever a stop is needed.
Strong attacking line up, eagerness to impress and home advantage will make it competitive for us, reservations about Silvestre but if Torres and Gerrard arn’t playing which you would assume not that you would think limits the potential damage.
Arsenal’s biggest danger generally?
It gets too easy, game tempo drops.
I don’t expect low tempo from Liverpool or Spurs so that should set right for playing in the right gear, and playing in the right gear is to to concentration and killing teams off.
Got me convinced.
I would like to see Rosicky fit for Saturday though. This knee knack is just a tad worrying 🙁
liverpool are in for long night if we play vela eduardo and watt as our top 3 attackers 3 pacey players who can whizz around all over yhe place,if eddie gets a 1/8 of a chance he will score anwith watt n vela operating out wide its gonna be a busy night for the liverpool defenders,id asy 4-1 arsenal pity no wilsherinho though im sure we se him in the next round , cee ye later gooners keep it real
I wonder if Nasri might play as holding midfielder tomorrow, with a view to doing that while Song is away for the ACN.
I must admit I do not really get what AW is trying to do with the keeper situation. Almunia manages to oust Jens. Jens leaves. Almunia claims the number 1 shirt. We have a rookie as back up and a mega rookie as 3rd choice. All of a sudden the 3rd choice has come in as number 1. The number 2 is fit again and starts on Wednesday and the number 1 is still sat in the changing room doing his hair?????
I like many have more than one eye on Saturday rather than the Carling Cup. If Almunia is in line for a game then surely the wise decision would be to play him on Weds?
If we look ahead to Saturday what do we have? 3rd choice, who has been promoted in the field and done okay. 2nd choice who has not played a game, and first choice who has been “ill” and then sat on the bench. I would love to know what Almunia has really done to upset the Boss.
My opinion is like some others here. I think we need to dig deep and spend some money on a real top class keeper. A top quality keeper can make all the difference. Not just by the saves they make but by the presence they have in general. The whole situation is all very strange if you ask me.
Looking forward to tomorrow night. Shame Jack is not available but very much looking forward to seeing Coquelin play again. That boy really does look like he has it.
Keep the faith.
All our goalies are a bit pants, and we will suffer/have suffered because of this. We can cope with relatively inexperienced out field players, but not a goalie who needs to learn on the job. Al has never been up to it… so please Arsene, I will forgo an experiencef dcm, cb to match the verminator and a replacement for cowsarse, but for all that is holy, get us a sodding keeper! Ta.
http://www.kickette.com/baller-bylines-cesc-fabregas-and-robin-van-persie/
The cl final in2006 exposed thatAlmunia is not a top class keeper. However AW has chosen to stick with his current three keepers. It’s only after a calamity is there a hue and cry.Yes I know the manager knows best but sometimes you need ann outside part to tell the shortcomings.
The draw with the hammers have reveled the flaws in the gunners and AW will ignore them at his peril.For starters the goalkeepers are far from satisfactory. Yes I know Mannon has wc potential but if he makes mistakes it is sa goods as points dropped.
The other thing is the gunners are unable to hang on to a lead.This is criminal and will be the undoing of the gunners.
Hopefully things will improve but the warning signs are there.
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What has happened with Almunia is not Wenger’s style at all (especially as he was hardly is terrible form before).. I can imagine only that Almunia is having some personal problems that they don’t want to reveal or something has gone on between him and the manager.
holic, Vela is NOT in tonight’s squad:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-name-18-man-squad-for-liverpool-clash
I don’t understand why. There’s no injury news about him.
I agree with gazzap re Fabianski. It’s extraordinary how people make snap judgments on young, inexperienced keepers, predicting they’ll never be any good. We can make our own subjective judgments (like mine re Fabianski) but we really have no idea just how good or bad Mannone or Fabianski will ever be, we just don’t know enuf. If we’d seen Seaman or Jens at the age of 20, we’d be saying they’d never make it.
But one thing’s for certain, a team chasing trophies can’t rely on young 2nd and 3rd choice keepers, esp. if they have in front of them players who get arrogant and complacent when they need to concentrate for over 90 mins., players who make stupid individual errors that result in cheap goals, players who crap out in the final third, and players who refuse to track back and help in defense.
Last year Barca’s weakest player was Valdez (he can’t even get on the national team as 3rd choice keeper) but he had in front of him players who defend collectively (the front players committed more fouls than the defenders), players who are clinical and efficient in front of goal and who consistently help out in defense. Messi constantly runs back to help snuff out attacks.
AW’s extraordinary decisions in the keeper position this season tells me that not only has he lost a LOT of confidence in Almunia, it also tells me he’s in the midst of re-thinking the keeper situation in general. When your #1 AND your #2 are both fit and available, and you still start with your #3, that’s a huge statement.
AW isn’t stupid, he knows Mannone’s very young and inexperienced, and that he can’t be relied upon for an entire season. You don’t need to tell AW about Mannone’s terrible record on loan. The fact that he’s stuck with him to me shows that he’s decided that going with Almunia is actually riskier than sticking with a young keeper who’s had a consistent, successful run of games. It feels like a decision borne of desperation, not confidence (regardless of his public comments).
AW knows what’s going on with Almunia better than we do. The fact that he’s kept him on the bench tells me he has good reason to doubt him even more than a young 3rd choice keeper who’ll make serious mistakes.
It tells me that AW is wrestling with the keeper situation, that he has serious questions about the position and who he has available for it. Remember toward the end of the summer transfer window we heard stories about the club inquiring about the availability of Robert Green? Regardless of what you think of Green’s quality, it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true.
But AW’s problem is that he just doesn’t have a lot of money to work with, and top class keepers are very expensive. And very difficult to find. Clubs will fight like hell before letting them go. So AW is stuck with this problem. I don’t see how it can be resolved. The club really should set aside a substantial amount of cash for the keeper. I’m not one to demand splashing the cash but for this one position, I don’t think there’s any other option.
The only other way to solve our keeper problem is for the rest of the team to STEP UP consistently and compensate for whatever weaknesses of our #1. Right now, I don’t have a lot of faith that that will happen.
DonVito should stay inbetween the sticks for now and we should sign a world class keeper in January. It certainly can give us a vital few more points at times like the mad German Jens ze Lemon and Safe Hnds gave us over the years.
Eastmond starting whith Vela and Coquelin on the bench? Honesly this is one of those baffling decisions even if we don’t know what happens behind the scene.
Anyway it’s going to be good to see Merida, Rambo and of course Nasri back.
GO GUNNERS!
OK now I see why. Estmond has been our best player in the first half. We really do have an embarrassment of riches!
Well that was certainly enjoyable. Eastmond and Merida were magnificent.
Cracking stuuf, ‘holic. Now, where’s that write up you promised.
*taps pod expectantly*