Great Dane Returns, But Will It Be Scooby Or Scrappy Doo?
Jan 26th, 2010 by 'holic
Wednesday, Villa away, to be followed by Manchester United at home, the bus stop in Fulham away, and then Liverpool at home. If you can’t get up for those four in a row, then you have no blood in your veins. It will be no different for the players I’m sure, nervously anticipating the test we knew was coming. Eight points out of twelve would be an achievement, for most, just one point less would represent a crisis for others.
Supporters of Villa and Liverpool will hopefully understand if I say it is the two Sunday games that are most important, and winning those two would confirm that we are rightfully contesting the title again. Chances are though that one or both may take points off us, so the two Wednesday fixtures must be approached in the right way.
We will draw some confidence from the comprehensive three goal drubbing of Villa at the Grove, and the Brummies will dread facing Cesc Fabregas for longer than the twenty-seven minutes it took him to score twice before limping out of that game. We will also have a slightly stronger squad than we have seen for some time.
There’s no getting away from the fact that Almunia will be back in goal. We saw why on Sunday. In his press conference today Arsene Wenger confirmed that Sagna would be back, as well as the central pairing of Vermaelen and Gallas. Clichy too should return on the left.
Samir Nasri is training again and could be in contention with Denilson, Rosicky, and Ramsey to partner Cesc in the midfield. My best guess would be that Rosicky and Denilson will get the nod, with Nasri replacing Walcott on the right of a front three including Eduardo and Arshavin.
Also in contention is Nicklas Bendtner who will add inches, (and hopefully a little bite as he is a Great Dane!), to the smallest attack since the Time Bandits roamed free. His return may be one reason why Wenger rather wearily responded to yet another request if he was interested in signing the expensive flop, Huntelaar.
“We are not after any striker at the moment.”
Now that is not an outright denial that a striker is not in the pipeline, and those who have heard my views of late know that I would hate for us not to strengthen that area right now, and wonder ‘what if?’ when the medals are handed out in May. Why do I keep banging that particular monotonous drum? Again I can quote Arsene from his press conference, when quizzed about Theo Walcott.
“There is no player in the world who can be out for two months, come back, and be outstanding. Doesn’t exist, unfortunately.”
Well Bendtner has been out for three months! It will take him a while to ‘sniff-out’ the chances again. Add that to the inconsistency, or just plain poor form, being exhibited by all of the other forwards at present, and I feel there is a compelling case to add a goalscorer to the mix to increase the competition that Le Boss so enthuses about.
Blimey, doesn’t that sound like a grumble? It’s amazing how the impending arrival of February is concentrating the senses. I’m nervous, excited, fearful one moment, bullishly confident the next. Welcome back title challenge. I bloody missed you last season!
Villa? The ‘holic pound? Damn it, I have to back us. Sportingbet have us at 17/2 to win 2-1 and I’ll have a bit of that. Fancy Cesc to score against Villa again? Anytime will earn you 13/5 with Paddy Power.
So that is it. I’m going to pour myself another glass of Badger Champion, settle down and catch up with the rest of the Gooner news. What’s that? Centre-half you say? He hasn’t signed for anybody yet, but I hope we are not bidding our striker money on him!
Have a good one ‘holics. Keep everything crossed for a great start to the ‘Big Four’. Let’s hope we are ‘dogged’ in our pursuit of the top spot.
52 Responses to “Great Dane Returns, But Will It Be Scooby Or Scrappy Doo?”
I’ll have a scooby doo please, meister.
Is it really three months since Bendy last kicked a ball in anger? Jebus, that’s one third of the season. We really have not been lucky with injuries have we?
31st October versus the lilylivered neighbours, Snail. Quite apart from the fact he hasn’t become world-class in the last three months there is every chance he will get niggles and strains just because he has been out so long.
Oops, there I go again. Sorry.
I am new to this great blog mr.holic ……………..can u please tell me what the holic pound is?
Any undate on smalling? Apparently its not a done deal with utd according to young guns despite them announcing it.
badger fursty ferret for me. that stuff is incredible! in fact i seem to have a soft spot for anything from the badger brewery
It will be Booooooh,why the fcuk is he playing for arsenal still
Hang on boom, I’ll fetch a nurse for you. You’re not right fella.
Usama, it is the bet I will have on the game. All the regulars immediately go and bet on something else 🙂
Did wenger say which game he expected Diaby back for?
I think his height and strength combined with his recent run of form will make all the difference through this period.
Please Mr. Wenger …. Sign Huntelaar… I know we are scoring for fun recently but i really do think we lack a ‘Big Man’ upfront like A Drogba / Torres / Rooney that gives opposition defences ‘BROWN PANTS’ just at the thought of facing them. This will leave our skillful midfielders to terrorise the midfields and we can really walk allover teams like only arsenal can …
If Herr Goonerholic will permit me, I shall educate yon youngster Usama on the “‘holic pound”.
The ‘holic Pound is a member of the currency family of the great United Kingdom, and is a cousin once removed from the Shilling. But that is where the relationship ends. In centuries long past, in periods of civil strife, so it was that the a certain pound came over to the side of Arsenal, which also known as “the Good Guys” and invested himself in the fight against the tyranny and oppression of the Mancs, the Lilly-Livereds from up the road, the Bus stop, and the Scouse Insolvents.
The pound was branded traitor and outlaw, but never wavered in his commitment to the cause, and came to show a particular flair for guerrilla warfare. Time and time again, the pound displayed his courage under fire, his willingness to die in battle, and often hauled in vast resources for the teaching of the true faith. In honor of the man who showed him the true path, Goonerholic, he decided to distinguish himself from the ponce knaves who called themselves “Pounds Sterling” by adopting the name ‘holic.
Every attempt by the forces of evil to capture him have failed, and we look forward to the day when he shall ride at our side to victory on the fields of England and in Europe.
I hope that answers your question.
I’m not sure that I want to sign Huntelaar, but a loan with an option to buy at the end of the season would be great
Hello wibble, no mention of a return for Diaby that I saw, just a ‘no Diaby’ when talking about who was ans wasn’t available.
I do hope it is Sunday, if Song is not fit.
Yep a loan move will do just fine … at least til we win the league anyway … then we can look at our options
Hmmm… I wouldn’t think Huntelaar has played as much as Bendtner has in the last 6 months. He would definitely add height but i’d prefer Eduardo who is starting to put in the assists and will gain his pace back it is just a matter of time. I would prefer Smalling as cover for Vermaelen but also as a prospect for starting with him in a year or two. In 4-6 months time when we have Eduardo, Bendtner and Van Persie all fit, people will be saying ‘lets sell a striker and buy x, y and z’
Great post to gee me up, ‘holic. I know how you feel with the excitement/nerves. Welcome back title challenge indeed. Bang on with 8 points being good but 7 being bad too….how much would you give for 12 though ey???
I think if we had Song, Diaby and Nasri back then we could end up with a great quartet of results. Winning at the bridge would be my top result though. Don’t forget though, if we draw with united and chelsea it means they drop points too so not all doom and gloom.
I’d be happy with 8 points from the next four games, you can’t win the league over this period, but you can lose it. If we can keep within 3-4 points over the next month, then we might have a chance.
Nice to see Liverpool all over the shop again tonight, and Leeds have now lost to Swindon, Exeter and Carlisle in the last few weeks. Great job last weekend eh Spurs.
Making the trip to Villa Park and no reason to expect anything less than a win. We are at last getting some players back. Villa have their sights set on the Fizzy Pop cup and good luck to them in that. I feel another 3-0 in the pipeline.
Keep the faith….
I’m a gambling man myself, but I can’t help wondering what the odds of us snatching all 12 points are.
…not a gambling man…
I’ll take evens you are one or the other, Josua 😉
I’ll have a striker please, ‘Holic.
Smalling would’ve been a great signing, talented and young (and English, who knew?!), and could’ve been right in the mix with Djourou to be the man to step in when Gallas shuffles off to whatever French retirement home wants him. Ah, well. Can’t win ’em all.
Can’t say I believe that there’s anything to the Huntelaar rumors, and I’m glad; he’s been terrible since leaving Eredivisie, failing in both La Liga and now Serie A. Let the neighbors have him. I’m still all for Dzeko, but he has as good a chance of playing for the Arsenal season as I do, more’s the pity.
Without reading the WHOLE post, and I will, how can you say that the two Sunday games are more important. In no way is there any more important game than Villa, the next one. Fuck that up and we have to build confidence again. It can ONLY be Villa that they are thinking of. That without doubt is the MOST important game. Deal with Villa and then MANU is the most important.
In absolutely no way, can Wenger allow his charges to think about games two-three matches away. I would say that the Gooner world should focus in and send the collective good VIBZ on our team for tomorrow!!
It will be a great game regardless. We need the 3pts and the team will be going for it.
and I did…..
woah take a step back there red and dread… if he were the manager it would obviously be the completely wrong thing to say, but since utd and chelsea are ahead and level with us right now those are the MOST important bc we influence them dropping points or not in those matches.
Don’t doubt the team will take it a game at a time, Red. They certainly don’t read this rubbish, so I don’t mind looking forward a little bit further. I want to see them cavorting around Upper Street in May with the Premiership trophy and the Champions League trophy.
Was unable to edit the comment… Should have said “not a gambling man”. PaddyPower offering 25:1 for us to win all 4 in case anyone is curious.
If we’re within 6 points of the top by the end, I’ll be happy enough. Our season gets a lot easier after that.
One game at a time, I totally agree with RedandDread. Villa away isn’t going to be as easy as the Emirates game even if Cesc is back on fire. They’ve been stung and they will give it all in front of their fans. I’ll go for a simple victory 0-1 and only because Almunia is back in form it seems.
Isn’t Hunter cup tied anyway? Even if he wasn’t, he just dosen’t do it for me. Just like Philip (16), I’d rather stick with Eddy down the middle and be positive on Bendy and may be, just may be, Theeeeeeo will finally justify all the faith Le Professor is shown in him (and rightly so I might add).
I’m not so worried about not signing a striker. We’ve scored 59 goals so far and scoring is not a problem. Our time bandit strikers lately seem to be just making space for guys behind them to come in and score, like Cesc and Vermaelen. We only seem to struggle against Manure and Chelsi’s big defenders tho.
Worse is Wenger’s failure to sign more defensive cover. Gallas has a niggly injury now and Song has been away. Denilson isn’t up to it and Ramsay is too young, as is Eastmond. We have been very flakey at the back lately and that will be exposed by the good teams coming up.
I reckon we will draw at Villa, draw v Manure, lose at Chelsea, and beat Liverpool at home. That’s only 5 points in the next four games. Sorry to be so pessimistic.
Are my eyes deceiving me? Is Le Professor really letting Jack the Lad go Bolton on loan for the rest of the season. This must surely just be a rumour!! We don’t want to spoil the lad now do we. Learning to play like orcs, surley not. But I do like Coyle though.
Villa have Carew, Reo-Coker and Warnock out and Petrov is a doubt.
Woof, ‘Holic.
I hope our lads come out of the box like Greyhounds tomorrow and really run the traps. Let’s hope Willie can keep Agbonlahor on a tight leash. I liked your Cesc comments, he’s the greatest thing since Johan Crufts, isn’t he? A different breed altogether.
I still think we need a bit of grooming at the back though. Let’s hope Almunia doesn’t need a pooper scooper to clear up any howlers. He’ll be boned and in the dog house if he does. He doesn’t quite have the pedigree.
Back four picks itself and looks strong as a rock, particularly with the Belgian rotwieler alongside Gallas. I fancy Ramsey to start in the middle with Cesc and Denilson. Rosicky, Eduardo and Arshavin up front. Late entrances from Nicky B and Theo depending on how things are going?
Pint of lager, tin of Chums and a packet of doggy bicks please, barman.
BtM beat me to the team selection, Nasri to come off the bench. Hope we can nick a win to keep the confidence going.
A striker would good but who is available in our price range and could hit the ground running? No to Huntelaar from me. A defender was probably planned for the summer but we won’t want to lose out to the premature mancs, not just before we play them..
I would be far more confident if coming out of these upcoming games with 10 points or more if we had a new striker ready to jump in at the deep end. Bendtner is unlikely to be on top form for the next few games after his injury, Theo, Eduardo are not playing like they can. Arshavin isn’t either, but you never know when he will come up with a piece of magic to turn a game.
A striker with a bit of height who can finish shouldn’t be too difficult to find, we have enough creative talent in the side between Cesc, Tomas, Samir, Arsh etc. A cheeky bid for a striker already playing in the Prem is worth a punt.
Carlos has the potential to be world class, he should have gotten a chance to play as a central striker this season instead of on the wing. He looks confidence shy but one goal and they will be rolling in for him.
hey i think i should be villa away, united home, chelsea away, liverpool home in our next 4 games..
Having a tall target to knock down balls for Arshavin is what Nick can do immediately. Great to have him back. We need to spend money on a good keeper. Scoring is not the problem, keeping goals out of the back of our own net is. Watching Julio Ceasar for Inter the other day made me see just how awful Almunia is. Is Buffon really wanting away from Juve?!
Scoring is not the problem, against the lesser teams, but we do struggle against manure and chelski, a powerfull striker could help me find a sound sleep in the next weeks, cheers ‘Holic
hey i think i should be villa away, united home, chelsea away, liverpool home in our next 4 games..
Hey, so do I. What’s your point?
Not everyone lives in London so probably GG doesn’t get the Fulham bus stop reference to Chelsea’s ground.
thank u for replying holic’ . anyone here who will be dissapointed if we dont sign a striker?
Hi to ol the gunners’
Indeed great to have the dane back,but the question is his fitness but for the benefit of he is a true gunner aned surely with the professor he will do it,our three points are in pipeline come the 90 minutes..Arsenal oyee with African SONG back come sunday.
No Ollie yet?
I’ll have a rum, please barman!
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And just at the last hurdle, there is a minor typo.
It would have read ‘hopz’ on my keyboard.
Which could just have passed at txt language, OMGZ!!
I’ll have a Grand Marnier please.
Appletons Special for Hazza.
Thanks Ollie, how on earth did ‘hopw’ defeat the spellchecker???
Just seen a horrendous tackle on a Bolton player by a Burnley player last night. Takes him out at the knee with what looks like a kung fu type kick. Don’t know the names of the individuals involved. Funny but nothing made of it at all?????? Not a peep out of Coyle??? How very strange??????
Villa are no mugs, a tough game in store for us tonight.
I’m not too woried about our goal getting abilities because in spite of supposedly having a hoard of “mis firing strikers” we are still the PL’s highest scoring team. (Good that, innit?)
Re the Huntelaar debate; the guy is actually quite a good striker, but if he was to come on loan his wages (the same as he gets at Inter) would put the whole Wenger wage structure out of whack, don’t think our regular squad would like that very much.
I went on a bit of a lager bender last night, so in keeping with the spirit of the blog, I’ll have a hair of the dog please squire.
Cheers.
Am I the only one who thinks our central pair have failings?
25 conceded.
Gut chilling on any set play into the box.
Often caught up on our own set plays and loitering up there as the other team makes a break.
Don’t get me wrong. I know some.. some is on the injuries we’ve had to the fullbacks and that has exposed the 2, but for me… as well as Gallas and Verm have played at most times, there are some serious breakdowns that can’t happen for a “top” pairing.
That’s just me, guess I got spoiled from being a fan in the late ’80s and ’90s when we really did have a rock solid back line.
Either way, excited for the next 4 matches. (and let’s not forget that not so inconsequentiall match with a team called Porto waiting just after)
I’m watching Eduardo closely. There’ve been a few signs that he could be the required quality. Up to this point he’s been a very poor man’s replacement for Thierry Henry, but if he could consolidate his form for this title run in, sort of Ljunberg style, when it matters, he’d be a legend.
They’re suggesting on Sky that Vermaelen has fractured his Fibula and will be out for the remainder of the season.
If that is true then we’re probably going to struggle to win the league…
So let me get this straight? Anyone who criticizes flawless Wenger is plastic.