Heart And Sol Overcomes Official Incompetence
Jan 27th, 2010 by 'holic
So the ‘big four’ becomes the ‘threatening three’ after what was, let’s face it, a bit of a damp squib at Villa Park. The point means we have now won seven and drawn three in the Premiership since that last defeat to Chelsea.
Expectations were higher, I am guessing. In the end neither side could put together any spells of sustained pressure. That wasn’t helped by Paul Chuckle, sorry, I mean Lee Probert, the referee who seemed to want to take his share of the limelight and intensely irritated both sets of supporters as a result. Frankly the game seemed too big for him, and his inability to let it flow, coupled with a string of poor decisions (both ways, I’ll accept) helped to put a damper on proceedings.
I don’t think I am talking through my rose-tinteds when I say the best chances were clearly fashioned by Arsenal. As the opening half drew to a close only the post denied Cesc Fabregas what would have been a stunning solo goal. Villa fans will argue, with some justification, that an Ashley Young free-kick wasn’t too far away either, and it wasn’t.
The woodwork again saved the home side in the second-half when Tomas Rosicky looked set to apply the finish to an Arshavin and Fabregas inspired attack. I thought the commentators who rounded on Downing for apparently squandering Villa’s best chance at the far post missed an outstanding piece of defending by Bacary Sagna.
If there is a silver lining for the visitors it was hung upon a very dark cloud indeed. Just past the half-hour the unthinkable happened, and the excellent Thomas Veramelen hobbled off. I’m sure I’m not the only one offering up silent prayers that rumours of a broken fibula are exaggerated tonight. Step forward Sol Campbell. What a timely signing he is turning out to be.
I have to say I thought Campbell was excellent, and he actually eliminated any threat from the ball lumped up towards Heskey, as you would expect. Big Emile was getting mightily frustrated as a result and eventually found his way into the book for being one of the string of Villains who, like so many other clubs these days, took it in turns to flatten Fabregas.
If Sol gave us a degree of aerial solidity at the back, the return of Nicklas Bendtner as a second-half substitute for Eduardo could have given us a similar benefit up top. Players not used to having a striker above knee-high didn’t give him much of a chance to prove that. His one opportunity at the end of a rapid counter-attack came to nought when legs, knees, ankles and feet refused to act in unison, but at least that rustiness is now closer to being run out of the big fella.
As the last of far too many whistles approached, Sol Campbell just missed out on a fairy-tale ending when he reacted quickest to a loose ball from a corner but failed to find the finish required.
So the point is ok. Nothing more, nothing less. There is perhaps a little more pressure to take all three off United on Sunday, and with that in mind let us pray that Song returns on time and in good shape, or Diaby returns to fitness, or preferably both!
Chins up Gooners. This could still be a special fortnight yet.
115 Responses to “Heart And Sol Overcomes Official Incompetence”
I’ll have a large one, please ‘holic, and no skimping on the meds.
A fair result I think ‘holic.
A quiet, meditative port for me, ta.
St. Ives? That’s a quiet port…
Will do me, Snail.
I sea what you did there, Snail 😉
Let’s hope the injuries aren’t as bad as some early reports suggest. I think a point at Villa Park is a decent return, even if it does now mean we need at least 7 points from the next three games. I’m already going mad with the amount of doom and gloom merchants popping up in places in the last hour (‘Terrible result’, ‘We threw away the FA Cup for that?’ moan groan etc).
Evening ´holic.
The early reports, (I don´t know if they´re true) are saying Vermaelen has fractured his Fibula. This is NOT good news.
I thought the game, although played at quite a fast pace, never really got going, you´re probably right about the ref.
I´m trying to put an optimmistic spin on the result and say it´s an away point won instead of two points lost. Villa are a decent team and played well and we´re the only “top 4” team they failed to beat this year, and we managed to keep a cleah sheet so that´s gotta count for something.
I´ll have half a pint of Cider in a pint glass tonight please barkeep.
Now, what´s that what we optimists say about half full glasses?
Cheers.
This place is always a haven from the storms out there.
Denilson and Ramsey were very poor. When will they step up??? Cant wait for Song and Diaby to return. Wenger has to buy a genuine striker.
Since when has Probert actually been competant? Wasn’t he the wailing git that got Arsene sent to the stands in the 95th minute at Old Trafford?
The point is ok as you said…
ewan, I think you need to differentiate between inconsistency and poor play, and consider the ages of those you single out. I know they weren’t at their best tonight, but we didn’t really have too many options, and both have earned their chance.
Look at the bigger picture, is all I ask, not just at the game that has just ended.
I think we now need to win 2 of the next three games.
I think we can get it against United and Liverpool, but u never know in these games.
We need to buy a CB is vermealen is out for the season.
Am I the only one who thinks Nicklas did remarkably considering the circumstances? I felt his touch was good, the timing on his jumps was equal to it and he seems to have learnt how to pass the ball to a teammate during the last 3 months. Encouraging signs I think! Keep it up Nick! Shame about Vermaelen though if it’s really a broken fibula…
Great spirit out there today. I was particularly pleased with how we poured back in droves to defend and moved very rapidly in counter-attacking moves. It bodes well for our chances when we meet Man Utd Home and Chelsea away.
I just hope the rumour on Vermaelen injury isnt very serious. We need him so much now…but our saving grace was that AW for once set aside his own usual IRON-clad RULES and re-signed Campbell;Sol was superb tonight and now I trust AW that if he says Sol can still play at the top level, he’s right cos I saw it myself; what a relief that it wasnt Silvestre coming in for TV5!
Now AW must overcome another phobia and sign another striker as Eduardo limped out too and for how long we dont know.
Nothing to the Smalling transfer rumours.We can still find many other young defenders better than him IF we REALLY WANT ONE!(That is even b4 the window closes). Let those who say Arsene doesnt buy English talents, blah, blah, blah pls note the player choosing Man Utd over us.
Agree on the 8 point target for these run of games and we’ll surely catch up again when the other ‘Big 4/5’ play each other.
Did you see how frustrated O’Neill was cos he didnt win? One by one they are going to discover that their rugby/Boltonesque foulful football doesnt work against us anymore. I love the way we responded to their physicality rather than fold up and play sissies. This is how to play against both Chelsea and Man Utd.
How do we count how many long balls they kept sending into our box? Yet they were lucky to have gone away with even a draw from that game.
chelsea will take the title. manure 2nd. arsenal will be 3rd or 4th.
we just do not have the squad to take the crunch and go through the season like a big club. experience is not an excuse tis season, but injuries to a lack of depth in our squad is probably sound.
and AW is still not buying to help our cause.
holic’ please tell me that adding 2 proven names will not help us gain the title?
verm is out, omg!
I’m rather disappointed, not by our draw but by Chelski’s win. I was really hoping that Birmingham would hold Chelski and if that had been the case a draw with Villa would have been a good result. I was also hoping Citeh would drag United in extra-time. Oh well.
Injuries are killing us again this season. Let’s hope Vermaelen and Eduardo will recover quickly. Bendtner had a good start after his long layoff, Nasri looked lively and Sol looks like he still has what it takes to succeed at this level.
Still a poor day in the end. I need a mood enhancer. Another manhattan will do.
Ewan, don’t forget that Ramsey has been fantastic overall this season. Look at West Ham in the cup and Portsmouth in the league. He is a terrific player already and will turn out world class.
A point against Villa away won’t cost us the league, we’ve got 4 points off Villa which is more than Man U, Chelski will take. It’s games against our immediate rivals for the title that are most important.
‘holic, I agree that it’s starting to look like we need 3 points against United. I’m hopeful.
Guinness.
we still ok. draw against united and chelsea, beat pool and the rest of the league and we stand a chance. WE JUST NEED DRAWS AGAINST THOSE TWO SO WE DONT LOSE TOO MUCH GROUND. WINS ARE A BONUS. i know we need them wins but with the two draws it evens out. believe me.
1st of all big prayers got to verminator hopefully over reacations and he’s ok. but goin to the main article have to disagree with (the return of Nicklas Bendtner as a second-half substitute for Eduardo could have given us a similar benefit up top. Players not used to having a striker above knee-high didn’t give him much of a chance to prove that. His one opportunity at the end of a rapid counter-attack came to nought when legs, knees, ankles and feet refused to act in unison, but at least that rustiness is now closer to being run out of the big fella) he’s is always this way fit, unfit, not match fit and ever top of his game…. how ever you want to call it..!!! why are there so many gooner fans and gooner forums that seem to think he has something??? and there’s always other reasons why he has a shocking game…????
plz gooner fans that big him up plz tell me why? coz all i see is a useless tall danish bad 1st touch no vision player!!!!!!
This one point could win us the tittle and I agree with Agdwengo 17th comment it’s all about beating Man U on the weeked to start with. If we achieve just that then we are heading strong for it. We have the toughest three games coming up, lets get behind the lads.
Those glory hunters and doom and gloom brigade can kiss my hairy dogs dangly bits 😉
Hope Verminators injury is not too serious. Song needs to play against those dirty Mancs!
Come on Arsenal!!!
it had to happen, didn’t it… You didn’t think that we’d be going all the way this season with our centrebacks playing every single match did you? What is it with us and injuries? Its a shame we’ve never seen our best 11 play and sadly we never will…. The question is how will We cope with the likes of drogba and rooney in the next 2 without TV? Will sol campbell be fit enough 2 play week in and week out 4 the rest of the season? What happens if billy ( who’s apparently been playing on the edge 4 quite sometime now) also gets injured? wenger needs to act…. And act real fast before another promising campaign ends up with the question what could have been….
O’Neill has said that Wenger’s assessment of Villa’s long-ball game is an “appalling insult”. How can it be when it is so blatantly true? I lost count of the number of long balls launched toward the Arsenal goal tonight. And as for the classic O’Neill tactic of asking his players to dive when they get near the edge of the box, giving Villa a free set-piece? Well it’s been happening for years now and is no surprise to anyone who has seen them. The other “tactic” born from their manager’s own brain is to moan to the linesman at EVERY opportunity. Presumably this is to try and influence the next decision. As for Heskey. i haven’t forgotten the tackle he put in on Clichy at the Emirates last year and his antics tonight was the thing that was really appalling. That tackle could have put Fabregas out for several weeks and his show of childish petulance afterwards was pathetic.
leeroygooners
The “other reasons”:
1st game back from long injury
21 years old
was our fourth choice striker last season
scored 18 goals in all competitions
good link up play
aerial presence
Need any more or do you still think we need fabiano/villa/benzema/huntelaar?
Good summary ‘holic. Here’s hoping the Vermaelen injury turns out not to be a fractured fibula. Sol was indeed a fine stand-in and hopefully his legs will stand up for the 96 minutes against Manure and the big games to come. Good to see Nic back and fully agree that he contributed more than Eddy who is clearly struggling to reach his previous sharpness. Real pity. Song cannot come back too soon to give us more bite in midfield. On balance we were unlucky not to win that game. Come on you redzzzz!
Mines a Macallan, cheers!
leeroygooners
You are having a giggle mate arent you? Which game were you watching?
Bendtner gave us more presence up front he won headers as well, the bloke was not playing for months what the fuck did you expect him to do? Do a solo from half way line?
Give him time he needs get his fitness back and his 1st touch will improve ith few games. Bendtner is a player I rate highly, he’s still a baby!
Leave him be, Harsh. He has more windows to lick tonight 😉
Ever the optimist, Goonerholic.
It’s good to hear.
I wanted 7 pts from these 4 fixtures.
That’s 1. 😉
Let’s hope we can pick up a couple of wins in the next three.
If Diaby has recovered and Song isn’t too tired we will have a very decent squad for Sunday.
WD Sol tonight btw. I thought he played really well.
to 23Harsh and 25ArthurTheGooner
im not talking about tonites game at all i’d give him few weeks at least to get his sharpeness back im talking every other game before his injury. nothing in every game game gives the ball away constantly and thinks he’s better than he is. what game do we play passing or long ball like i need to ask so aerial presence wasted. we bring him on and carry on with our passing game no long balls….. plus as iv already said shockin 1st touch(not counting tonite before you cry) and no link up, no vision wot is the point. i give you the fact he’s only 21 but under wenger you get till 22 to prove your self as our young ones esle where now will tell you, so only a few months for the tall useless one to prove him self… and no i dont want fabiano/villa/benzema/huntelaar as they dont play the arsenal way just like useless bender……
anyway apart for my bitchin at others….
good game sol have to give it to him the dirty Yido LOL
and get well soon verminator hope its not that bad….
up the gooners and see ya all on sunday at the emms when we bash them dirty mancs…. you got tickets ArthurTheGooner????
Campbell had a wonderful return to the PL though it was helped by Villa constantly pumping the ball high into Arsenal’s half. Campbell will deal with that all day. I think Gallas deserves a lot of credit for his performance tonight. Not once he allowed Gabby to get away from him. Where did he find the pace to do that (the rest he got at the weekend perhaps)
Just got in from Villa Park after one of the worst journies home ever. 125 miles door to door. 121 of them on motorways. Just over 4.5 hours. Saw more roadworks than shots on goal.
Right, good write up holic. You echo many of my thoughts. The ref just was not good enough and out of his depth. Many gasps from all sections.
Overall a point is a fair result. Thought we had the more clear cut chances but Villa took the game to us. I was really disappointed with various aspects though. Can’t remember 1 second ball that we actually won. Villa were sharper to those. We gave the ball away far too often. In the first half I thought we look tired and jaded at times. The loss of TV is massive. It could not have come at a worse time. Sol played very well when he came on and looked strong. My worry is that against Rooney he may find it a tad different.
Thought Denilson actually started the game well. But after about 20 mins his touch was dreadful. Thought Almunia was also a liability. Looked unsure with crosses and his kicking was shocking. When with our team of midgets did we decide to keep hitting long balls from the back????
Positives were definitely the retun of Bendtner. No idea what the negative comments on here are about. I thought he played well when he came on. Just a shame it was because of another injury. Nasri also looked lively and it ws good to see him back.
Thought Villa caused us problems with their width. I thought they spread the play well and opend us up at times. A side with more up frnt would have asked us more questions. Perhaps something we can learn from. I so wish we played with more width rather than making games so narrow.
Bedtime. I am up again in 4 hours. Oh okay, just a quick cheeky Bass before I turn in. It was a shit journey after all.
Keep the faith.
leeroygooners
Do we really have to do this?
“nothing in every game game gives the ball away constantly”
He’s a striker, I would expect someone in the final 3rd to give away the ball more so than a midfielder or a defender. We keep possession very well but we’re not invincible; somebody has to lose the ball eventually.
“and thinks he’s better than he is”
Wtf does that even mean?
“what game do we play passing or long ball like i need to ask so aerial presence wasted”
We play a passing game but as I said, he’s an excellent link up player. He’s a good plan B if we must hoof it up to the box. Even today he was winning headers and played extremely well with his back to the goal. He’s been doing that since he was at Arsenal, and we’ve needed a presence like his in the absence of RVP.
“plus as iv already said shockin 1st touch(not counting tonite before you cry) and no link up, no vision wot is the point.”
I don’t know what you see but he links up well, dribbles, can shoot from outside, good aerial threat, and young. What more do you want from a 22 year old international striker, who has been out injured. First touch could be worked on but not everybody is RVP.
My only criticism of him is like he’s sometimes wasteful in front of goal, but that only gets better with playing time. Wenger wouldn’t keep him in the squad if he didn’t see something and thats good enough for me.
@Steve T: thanks for the update from Villa Park, even on TV we looked jaded. Better than against Stoke but still not at the level we reached before. I remember the UK road as quite but 4.5 hours for 121 miles? Was it because of the snow?
@John: indeed with Diaby and Song we’re a much better team. But with TV out for a while we will see Song more often in defense than in midfield as Sol can’t play a full game every 3 days.
As for Bendtner’s mentality, he may be irritating with his big ego but at the same time you want your strikers to be fearless and doubtless which obviously he is…
the form and pace we begin each match with has got to change and pick up. we need to be the aggressors and set the tone and our style of play from the beginning. also when nasri is fully fit I believe we should definitely start him if possible against manure and chelski. nasri’s craft on the ball, and his ability to find teammates in tight spaces in or around the box make us more threatening then with ramsey / denilson ( even though I am confident they will gain these skills) against top tier defenders right now.
Silvest and Campbell for back up!! oh dear if Arsene needed a test for his team ,this is it ,we don`t have Striker and officially we don`t have defence,so then as we plays the big boys surely Arsene will find out if “His” team are any good enough. But a couple of pre emptive steps and this would have been no fuss.but what can you do ,we will always have Cygan or Silvest to ruin the party i guess !!
Palace in liquidation and Warnock asked Moses to sit out v Newcastle. Maybe we could get Moses. Will leave that to Wenger, who surely must be thinking about a signing now.
I started watching the Villa game with an optimistic outlook, but was glad to get a draw, esp. when Vermalen had to be subbed. As mentioned by others, Sol did really well.
Hope Villa squad get some of the absentees back in time to fase Chelski and Manure.
I too don’t think a draw at Villa park is the end. It’s the home games we have to win.
For me, Nasri is that battler that can turn games around when others aren’t up for it Chicago Gunner. I agree about us needing to be the agressors from the start too.
Danielson…i don’t think the defensive role suites him. Maybe he just needs more experience in the role.
during the recent matches he has played there Denilson seems to be in the right position where he should be right in front of the back 4 ready to break up opposition attacks and passing, but the one thing that has been letting him down is his tackling. various times throughout todays match denilson simply lunged in one foot forward on a couple of tackles in the middle of the pitch making it easy for petrov and milner to skip past him and into our back 4 ( as we saw downing find himself in a dangerous attacking position after doing this) . also lunging in and giving away the terrible penalty vs Bolton. if he uses his body to go stronger into tackles and moves his feet laterally quicker, combined with his long dist shooting, at 21 he has a bright future ahead.
chance to replace vermi isnt gone yet even tho smalling became man u player. AW can still get kjaer or subotic or maybe even vidic XD
Chicago Gunner’s comment about taking charge of the game early really resonates with me. We often start too slow and play catch up to a team that has built up confidence. This must be addressed.
Three more points: Campbell and Bendtner were EXCELLENT. Bendtner actually helped us keep the ball in the Villa half for the first time in the game. Campbell looked like he had never left.
O’neill surely must be insane. How can he say that Wenger saying Villa played long balls is an insult? What is with all this vitriol directed at Wenger no matter what he says or does? And can anyone who watched the game disagree with Wenger? I found O’neill’s comment really disgusting and designed to stoke up more hatred towards Wenger.
I didnt want to check any blogs, match reports…cos I thought we did OK…and its good that we played a good side and was tested well before we play united…
BUT out of curiosity just wanted to check on the players…but still optimisti… thought TV5 was a pre-cautionary withdrawal and Eduardo was a tactial switch (which almost paid off)
BUT WHAT THE FUCK…WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH OUR FUCKING PLAYERS MEDICALLY…tv5 is off for a couple of months and eduardo is out for sunday AND I am sure sagna is a concern because he had a sore…hmm..set of balls i guess before the game and Rosicky i feel is MORE than a tactical switch..
at the end of EACH OF THE LAST FEW GAMES.. ITS BEEN .. GOALS – ARSENAL X – OPPOSITION – x…injuries Arsenal – 2 Opposition – 0…
THERES some mystery to all this…this is just ridiculous and amazing..sure every team suffers injuries but theres also a period that a top-class team have also been hold onto a group of players for a sustained period of time after they go through an injury spell…
GOD SAVE CESC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I’m not overly disappointed although I clearly think we were the better team. Villa’s long ball game is boring as all hell but I guess they have to play within their capabilities!
Sol was excellent when he came on and held that ship steady when Vermaelen had to come off. He is still a top class Premier League defender and a strong leader!
Denilson had a really poor game yesterday. His distribution was overall crap and he was not commited enough in the tackles nor in backtracking.
I have to say I’m getting increasingly worried when he is the side.
Here’s to hoping that Vermaelen Fibula is fine and that Song and Diaby returns against Manchester United. I’m thinking Diaby has some payback to lay down on the Mancs!
SOL YESTERDAY DID WHAT MOST OF OUR DEFENDERS SOMETIMES IGNORED TO DO – STAY BACK FOR GOD’S SAKE !!! and not leave a left back and denilson to defend…
if we can get Diaby, song and bendtner + sol fit = a reasonably physical side which will be good not for the next game but the game after – remember chelsea = physically bullied !!!
btw…Ramsey (1st half) and Denilson WERE SHIT yesterday !!! Denilson is in the team – i guess -for those shots from 20 yards and a deflected goal !!!
we now all see the need to add backup players to cf/cd/dm to our current squad coz it is rather apparent that we are short in these dpts and if we are to fight for the two remaining trophies seriously A.W. will have to enter into this transfer window between now and 31st to secure services of experienced players who can boost our quest for title challenge to the end of the season.
Denilson is only in the first team because of injuries right now
WE are running out of players as Wenger has bought one in the Summer and sold 2 and lost one on a free transfer. He sells atleast one player every season in order to invest part of the proceedings. Our placing in the league reflects our lack of investment.We dont have any seasoned players with the exception of Fabercass, gallas, sagna, Vermaelen, & diaby who is also injury prone. With half a team we wont win anything as we not good enough to be in the top as the team lacks depth. Our strikers with the exception of Van persie are not good enough.Van Persie spends most of the time injured with Walcott, clichy,Djorov & Roisky keeping him company.
We desperately need a quick striker.
Bentner knew of nothing to do with the ball on a clear oppertunity to score.
Seems he has come to start from where he was before he picked up the injury that lay him out for all that long. Dances with the ball at a point where he is supposed to stike.
Wenger clearly needs not to wait till its’ too late to act.
i verma is out of the season then we desperately need a cb for cover…….an please a striker mr.wenger
Matt. All roadworks. Poxy roadworks. Did not see one person working, just loads of lanes coned off and moster hold ups. Wonderful.
Tommy V played on for about 10 mins after his injury. If it is a break how hard is he then?????
Just to say, I think a few people in the press etc are getting a bit carried away with Chelsea right now. Don’t get me wrong, they are very strong and clearly the team to beat. And we might end up on the wrong side of a thumping when we go there. But their last two league games have both been at home where they’ve been invincible all year (the bizarre game with Everton apart, where they seemed to have taken notes from our defence), and one of those was against a team in dreadful form. I’m hoping they might drop points at Goodison Park and Eastlands next month, though of course a fat lot of good that will do us if we don’t get a couple of wins over the next month or so.
righty pointed out Steve T…………….thats what i was wondering……on that alone i dont think it should be broken……but still lets keep our fingers crossed!!
Still no news from Arsenal.com on Verminator. For some reason I have a bad feeling about it, I reckon it could cracked bone not completely broken. I pray it’s only a nerve problem thou!
Most moaners should know better that Arsene will not commit to buy just any player even though we seem to have never ending injuries at the very moment.
Sol signing was a blessing in the sky and what about the timing? He should be an adaquate cover if Verminator is out, but what worries me if Sol or Gallas get injured, I just can’t seem Silvestre doing CB job well enough for us to win games.
I know we have Song back for the Man U game well he must be back in the team if we want to win this game. He can also play CB but I dont fancy him there at all.
Come you gooners out there stay positive and support you CLUB!
Our placing in the league reflects our lack of investment
Heh! Two points off the lead.
So given that most of the seventeen clubs below us have spent more than us what does that tell you about the correlation between investment and results in todays market?
Let me pick those toys up for you…
‘holic
Some fans will never fully appreciate what Arsene has done for the club in all those years, we made a hefty profit from selling Toure and Ade, some of that cash was spent or Verminator and what a buy he proved to be? The rest of this money was invested in contract extesions of our current players and rightly so. I have said this many times and I will say it again, why go and spend money on someone who could be a flop when potential is right here in front of you? Those younger players who are almost ready need to be looked after too!
The only thing that really needs addressing is our constant season by season injury problems and it’s not two players or even three, I think at once stage we had 11 players on the treatment table. Aside from those injuries affecting us we have a team full of hunger, you could tell Cesc was not happy at the end of the game he looked very frustrated, if Rosicky would have shouted at Ramsey “ITS MINE” we could be sitting here now and cheering on another win against a very good and phisical Villa side. Despite that you would still get moaners complaining – do they ever stop? There alays will be someone bitching!
Well written and well balanced (almost neutral) article, Goonerholic: keep it up.
Holic. The other way that is can be viewed is to think where we would be if we had actually invested??????? I am a massive AW fan but will be devestated if we fall just short because we have missed out on the odd signing. Money alone is not the option. It has to be used wisely.
@ Steve T
“Money alone is not the option. It has to be used wisely.”
You said it yourself; Arsnal invests when then ‘right’ player is available.
I’m a little worried with a couple soft spots in the squad.
We’ve had a great season, and it’s great to be so close to the top, but looking ahead, I wouldn’t expect us to win the league, unless we bring in new players.
With so many injuries, and players coming back from injury completely out of form, I would bring in a center forward and a center back if I were Arsene and I wanted to win the league.
This injury crisis is a test of his management, and I’m not optimistic.
It’s not too much of a stretch for me to imagine Sol being a revelation – he just might be; but up front, I’m worried. Very worried. I’m not convinced by Eduardo, Bendtner, Arshavin, Vela, or Walcott. Is Diaby the best option in the squad?
I’d bring in Gignac. He has a poor touch from time to time, but he likes to score goals, and he’s a big strong guy. Sometimes he looks poor, but he’s a physical player, and that would be a nice addition to the mix.
Maybe I’m being a tad over optimistic, but I feel that if he gets it right and manages to stay injury free, then NB52 could may well be that “missing link” that we have been lacking.
He has been at the club a while now, so he knows all the players and the way we play, lets not forget that new signings usually need a while to bed into a team, so NB would have an advantage there. He defenitly provides that extra bit of height/muscle that we have lacked in that area, shame that Eddy is out for a bit because I feel he may of benifited playing off NB.
TV’s injury might not be as bad as first feared;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/8484274.stm
Word round the camp fire is that Song’s back and fit too.
I’ll drink to that!!
Anon. Do you not think that there is anyone that we could/should have bought that would have added to the squad then????
@ Steve T
Hello.
“Anon. Do you not think that there is anyone that we could/should have bought that would have added to the squad then????”
There may be several players who are right in terms of talent and personality, but what if none of them are available? No club HAS to sell to us, and no player HAS to come to us. Should Wenger just get another player about whom he is not 100% convinced? Or should he pay over the odds just to get someone (about whom he may not be 100% convinced, either)? Should he do this every time a player is injured? At what point is our squad big enough?
Can Wenger stipulate that the players that he buys should never, ever get injured?
And lastly, Hleb, Rosicky, Sagna, Eduardo, Nasri, Arshavin, Vermaelen. All top-class experienced players, all bought in the last four or five years. That represents investment in the squad. So does promoting players from the academy. Banfield and Bould et al don’t work for nothing. Money has been put into every youngster even before they get anywhere near the first team.
AW is doing the right thing. Just because the outcome isn’t always what we’d like, it doesn’t mean we are on the wrong track. Life is just like that, sometimes.
Good article, btw, Goonerholic! That was the comment I was originally going to post!
I’ts very easy for any supporter to say we need more strength in this or that position and every fan has an absolute right to have an opinion.But what is often forgotten is that the boss never misses a training session and I imagine this applies to all levels so he really does have the overall view of whos coming through the youth level (leave openings for),who’s slacking off in training(move them on) which unfortunately none of us is privy too.In brief Arsene knows.
The other thing is what goes around comes around regarding injuries.Look at last season’s league contenders Liverpool whose standing last season was all to do with scoring last minute winners and equalisers and avoiding injuries without which they would have been far behind man u and probably Arsenal.So last year they used up all their luck ,look at them now.
Holloway2Holland
This is definitely good news about Verminator no fracture, thank god for that. He surely will miss the game against the Mancs but than again who knows lets hope he recovers quickly. I don’t think Arsene should gamble him I want him 100% for the game at Stolichnaya Bridge.
Eboue and Song are both fit a bit tired though they did some light training today and this made me smile, this was the second bit of good news today and I’m very positive about the game on Sunday. We all know it will be hard as anything to beat the Mancs but we can definitly do it!
I like the idea of Bendtner playing the central striker role, some of us fans think otherwise, I suppose everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Now bring on the Mancs I say!!!
Steve T: You make it sound like signings would surely have improved our team but they could equally have an adverse effect. Despite selling Kolo and Adebayor, we perform better and have more depth this year thanks to the progress of young players. And certainly our starting XI at the beginning of the season did look like title winners.
You can argue that after the injury to RVP we could have gotten a striker but none of the required quality is available (and it’s not a matter of money, there have been no transfer of a decent striker so far).
Right gents let me put a few things straight. I am not advocating spending money for the sake of it. I am not advocating spending on players that do not improve what we already have. I do not the annual bring and buy sale that takes place down the road. I love the fact that we get in young players and develop them into Arsenal players. I love the fact that many youth team players are now starting to forge their way into the reckoning. But I do think we have missed a trick or two and I just hope that it does not cost us.
Yes I do think we need a striker. I thought it at the start of the season and I have not changed my mind. The injury to RVP was a massive blow. It is an even bigger blow when you realise that Vela, Walcott, Eduardo and Bendtner have managed only 11 goals between them all season. That is from a total of 34 starts and 33 sub appearances. Do you think that is good enough? My opinion is that it is not. Now I know we have had injuries but I do still feel we needed another striker. Why did we not fork out the dosh for Marouane Chamakh? I don’t know. Wenger clearly wanted him. Market forces dictate that if a player is in demand then the value increases. Sometimes we have to go along with that. I personally would have liked to have seen us make a move for Edin Dzeko.
I also think we need a top class keeper, nore cover at centre back and a top class holding player. My God how we have missed Song.
FunGunner. I do not wish to sound rude but your comments seem a little basic. Of course no club has to sell and no player has to join. But we are The Arsenal. We must be as attractive a club to join as almost anyone? We are loaded according to the figures published each year. We took 40 million from Citeh in the close season. We even made 10 million when Bentley signed for the spuds and Diaira left Pompey. So we should have no problems offering adequate packages for players that AW feels will improve the side.
Your last point about the players brought in is valid but unbalanced. Yes we have brought in top drawer players. But you need to balance that by looking at who has left. In the last five years, for various reason we have lost Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, Ljungberg, Henry, Cole, Lehman, Gilberto, Hleb, Flamini, Kolo, Adebayor etc etc……… Hopefully you get the point I am trying to make. We have brought players in but have lost a vast amount of talent. That happens.
My opinion at the start of the season certain positions needed strengthening. I still feel that way. I do not want to waste money, pay over the odds or buy for buyings sake. But I do think we need to add to already very impressive array of talent.. Just to put the cherry on the top.
Let’s hope The Verm makes it for the weekend.
Keep the faith.
It’s not anti Arsenal to disagree with Arsene or disloyal. Sure, a certain amount of perspective is required and you have to look at our finances. It was encouraging to learn that Arsene went to plunder our pregnant piggy for Smalling. I skip from blog to blog and I am encouraged by Arseblogs latest post.
He too thinks that Arsene should not worry about “killing a young player” by signing someone who can slot straight in. I’m all for building sensibly unlike livershite who practically are the opposite strategically to us. BUT, as Arseblog says…
“Is there money to spend? If so, spend it. It’s not panic buying, it’s reacting to circumstances which more or less dictate it. Arsenal have a chance of winning the Premier League this season but I think in order to do that the team needs new faces. Worry about who plays and what you’ll do if everyone’s fit if and when that ever happens, Arsene.Â
Signing a centre-half now would get in Djourou’s way? That’s Djourou’s problem and one for him to solve with hard work and performances, and you were prepared to pay £7-£10m for a rookie from Fulham. A new forward would ‘kill’ Walcott or Vela? So be it. It’s up to them to prove they have what it takes, not trade on reputation and potential.”
Steve T – love what your saying.
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Steve T & AFC1974:
DM: As it is, we have Song as our DM with Eastmond & Coquelin groomed for back-up and Denilson assuring the interim when we have to. Now which world-class DM would want to join us to play the odd games when Song is not available? I contend none, the ones accepting would either be not top-class (at best either promising or has-been).
Now if we found this elusive player, why would Eastmond and Coquelin stay with us? And if he was better than Song, why would Song accept to be a back-up where he could get in any club’s first team for more money than he is paid now?
CH: Now that Big Phil is gone, we know that Arsene will bring in a defender.
Striker: Bendtner was played on the wing this season but last season he averaged 0.5 goal per game which at his age was simply phenomenal (think Henry or Bergkamp) and I understand Arsene thinking that RVP with NB52 as a cover would be a terrific option, assuming that RVP’s belief in the end of his injuries was grounded. Unfortunately the only proof we got is that RVP is too often injured to be relied upon. It will be interesting to see how Arsene plans to address the situation. Anyway there was not a single player mentioned this month that I thought was even worth considering for us to buy.
Chamakh is not good enough and Arsene was wise not to buy him, even with RVP’s injury. Chamakh is definitively not as good as Bendtner, even probably not as good as Eduardo. Being tall is not enough.
Dzeko has said many times that he wanted to play in Italy and he would finish the season in Germany. Case closed, we did not even have to make a move. He could be the next Ronaldo or the next Berbatov, in any case I am very thankful for Arsene not to risk 40 millions on a player who’s had one succesful season in the Bundesliga and has never stated a desire to play in the premiership nor for us.
CB: Arsene is obviously aware of the issue as he did not let Big Phil go until Sol was brought in. With Djourou not having played for a year, Gallas and Silvestre not becoming younger and Bartley + Cruise a few years from challenging for a position it’s obvious we will buy a defender this summer. I believe the Smalling offer was only made to fuck with Ferguson and that our real targets are monitored with as much secrecy as an Apple prototype.
We already have too many players. We’re lucky to have injuries because if everyone was valid, Arsene would be scratching his head to select his best 11 and there would be a lot of drama off and on the pitch and the resulting team would probably perform worse than we are today.
And yes we could bring one or two players but that’s not enough to say it. A new forward? A new CD? Which one and why would he be better than what we have?
As it is today and from the many blogs I read: none.
Huntelaar? No. Failed twice in easier leagues than ours.
Chamakh? No. Worse than what we have.
Dzeko? No. Won’t happen.
Arseblog has it wrong. If money is available AND there is a better player willing to jump ship in the middle of the season then spend it. Otherwise don’t. We have room for a couple of players max so they better be exactly what we need and we should not compromise.
It’s fine to tell the manager to buy, buy, buy. Just try and come with a single name that makes sense. I’ve seen none so far and I even read Le Groan were muppets are drooling over rejects from bottom teams of the french ligue 1.
Just reread myself and I think my tone was too abrupt, I did not mean to confront you. I was annoyed by Arseblogger, not by you guys!
BTW there was a good piece of business to be made in this transfer window, unfortunately it was done by RM: I’m thinking of Sergio Canales. At the same time we have Ramsey, Wilshere and Merida in that position..
@ Steve T
But if Wenger can’t find anyone who he thinks is better than what we have AND would fit in with the team, then we would be just spending for the sake of it, wouldn’t we?
We are indeed The Arsenal. But we are not the only big club in the world. We haven’t lost top targets to Wolves or French league 2 sides – if we’ve lost out it has been to clubs of comparable stature. Money offered is not the only or even the most important factor in these cases. We got Ramsey because he wanted to work under Wenger and in a club which gave youth a chance. We lost out on Ronaldo because Carlos Queiroz is Portuguese. And anyway, we shouldn’t have to bribe players to come. We’re not Man City.
I could counter your list of talent which has left over the last 5 or 6 years with this list: Clichy, Fabregas, Diaby, Song, Denilson, RvP. All players who have been developed and come good in that time. And that’s not including the ones who are nearly there or up-and-coming – Bendtner, Ramsey, Djourou, Wilshere, Merida, Gibbs… If you add the developed players to the players Wenger has bought (who are stilll here), that adds up to the core of a great squad. Growing our own and supplementing those players with judicious buys is by far the most efficient way to proceed. Remember that many of the clubs currently BELOW us in the league spend more than we do.
Anway, you never said – at what point do we decide we have enough players?
If we weren’t scoring goals, then perhaps I might agree that we need a striker with all our injuries. But the team is scoring goals. It doesn’t matter which player scores as long as we are creating chances and finishing them off. Four strikers and AA and Walcott is enough.
@ Matt
Nordtveit – that’s another CB/DM in the oven. 🙂
Hi Matt, a good defence. Firstly our club is not (yet) owned by a single entity. It is truly a plural club. Our finances are balanced – there is no financial doping, no bottomless pit. We all subscribe to this. I am not advocating spending for the sake of it. The Sol signing in my opinion was a great one.
You left out goalkeeper. This is where real value can be added. And as I’m not paid to scout 24/7 I have no idea where the next Big Dave Seaman is. It’s too simple to say name me one etc etc.
With regards to Chamakh, I’m going to side with Arsene – he does think he’s good enough, he just doesn’t want to pay when the player can go for free this summer.
Blogs are about opinions. And that’s what makes them readable. The good the bad and the ugly.
Come on guys this is getting interesting each time I refresh the page he he, both sides have raised some good points. However I think Matt has nailed it down to the bottom. Wenger is not only finding the best buys ever (Vermalen who?) he also made his plans quite clear, that he will build an academy and this academy is to provide players for the first team, not everyone will make it we all know that but his work ethic and long time plans are slowly coming together.
King Arthur, if I may add to your majestic court…Sagna Who?
You people get better and better. Loving the way you are all putting your cases. Better add a couple of pennorth I suppose.
The money question is key here. Yes, we have a pile of cash, possibly nine figures, sloshing around in the businesses, but this is being held for the final piece of the development jigsaw, Queensland Road.
If Arsene needs any of it, the board will not deny him it if he provides the justification. This man understands business far better than most, and will only spend it if he can find someone who he believes will fit in with the squad, and be better than what we already have.
Clearly he identified Smalling as one such candidate, and I would be astonished if there were not at least one other that has been worked on in January.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I would like to see a goalscorer signed, if one is available, and I don’t much care if it is a short-term signing, or six-month loan, to give us the best chance of capitalising on where we are now.
However, who is out there and available? Don’t tell me van Nisteldonkey, or Huntelaar. The infirm and the failed would not help. Would Everton let Saha go? I doubt it very much. Will Chamakh leave Bordeaux in a season where they will fancy their Champions League chances as much as us? Sadly not, because I would grab him tomorrow. Dzeko? Too expensive.
Now although I don’t know who is out there, I’ll tell you one man that does. Yes, AW. If he can get what he wants, at a sensible price for Arsenal, he’ll do it.
If not, let’s pray for a bit of luck. We may need it, but we are still in the big two with a shout.
Good shout ‘holic. I was wondering when you would wake from your slumber.
FunGunner: right, I forgot about him. 19 and already a full season in the Bundesliga.
AFC1974: You’re right, I forgot the GK position. I’m pretty ambivalent about it, when Almunia is in form he is more than good enough, unfortunately he goes through these spells that make him (and us) vulnerable. You can argue that Shay Given would have been a good buy but we never could have matched the wages Citeh offered him anyway. Now with Buffon unsettled at Juventus, Arsene could be tempted by a coup in the summer. But again others would probably preempt us. Arsene has been particularly ruthless will goalkeepers in the past, I think it all depends on how Almunia plays in the second half of the season. If he performs he will be safe, if not he’ll be replaced.
As for Chamakh, I think Arsene had buyers remorse before buying him. I don’t think the deal was off because of the price but more out of respect for the player who at the beginning of the season would have been 3rd choice at best. And from Ligue 1 to EPL there is quite a huge step to climb for a striker.
`Holic to the rescue as usual, I’d forgotten about Saha. A short loan deal in exchange for Big Phil would have been an excellent move. But I guess if Saha is too expensive for Everton he would have been for us too.
Matt – Buffon, now you’ve really got me salivating! I know I’ll get pilloried for this, but I’d break the bank 😉
…and where is BtM. Don’t remember him booking a day’s holiday?
Wow, some really insightful stuff here tonight, it’s hard to disagree with anyone.
Some good debating going on here gents.
I do not get this Dzeko being too expensive. No one has mentioned a price apart from the press. No one has any real idea of how much he would actually go for. Matt and FunGunner. I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I have already said that I want young players to come through. I want them to develop. I want them to be good enough. But they are not good enough yet. The likelihood is that it will be at least another 2/3 seasons when they are good enough.
Arsene clearly wanted and still wants Chamakh. He or the club clearly baulked at the price. The point I am trying to make is that why could we not come to an agreement? Why could something not be worked out? Yes we might now get him on a free this summer but I still feel we could have dome something. I was at Villa Park yesterday and the arrival of Bendtner was a breath of fresh air. Now how many would have thought we would be saying that 12 months ago?? I hope and pray that he finds form and stays fit. Eduardo is not a loan striker. Vela and Walcott at the moment are for me, just not good enough yet. If Nicky gets injured then we have massive problems.
Don’t get the argument re another DM. It is feasible that we could end up playing near to 60 games this year. Add to that internationals. I doubt very much if anyone is going to make all of them. My opinion is that I would want 2 players for each position. I like Denilson a lot. I think he does a great deal of work and gives the side balance. But he is totally different to Song. Personally I would have tried to get Senna 2 years ago. I know he is no spring chicken but he would have been ideal in that role.
One other aspect of our dealings in the transfer market that has always baffled me is the players we actually sell. I for one would have kept hold of Gilberto and Pires for a few more seasons. You can not tell me that the likes of Denilson and co would not have learnt anything from him in training? I will never get that. If I was looking for a player now I would be looking at YaYa Toure. I think he is tailor made for this side. And how we need a keeper. Why did we not follow up on Shay Given? He is head and shoulders above Almunia. I remember a George Graham interview that he gave after he bought Dave Seaman. He said that he rated John Lukic as one of the top 5 keepers in Europe. He just thought that Seaman was the best. Says it all for me.
We go into the last 16 games full of hope. I sincerely hope that I am wrong and that the players we have can do it. However, I would feel a lot more confident if our forward line still contained Henry and Adebayor. (Apart from the fact that Adebayor is a right horrible knob now). I would be happier if the likes of Gilberto could come off the bench and sit in front of the back 4 to steady things up in the last 15 minutes, so that we see the game out. I would also be happier if we had a keeper that did not may be want to speak with the big fella upstairs every time the ball goes near him. Oh yes, and a genuine bloody winger so we can use the extra width. In my opinion, minor tinkering is all that is needed. Nothing more. That is why I get frustrated.
Keep the faith.
Right, think I need a drink now. I guess that is one thing that we will all be in agreement with??????
Beer. Gods way of showing that he really really loves us all.
Buffon?????? Why the hell not. People should be chomping at the bit to play for us. What a great signing that would be.
Almunia I think has confidence issues, his main downside is in the air, he just doesn’t know what to do some times. The other thing that really annoys me in what he does is when ge gets a passback he just launches it loosing possiesion straight away, where he could play the ball to a LB or RB. When in form and confident he is top notch but those spells never last very long. I reckon my fellow country man Szczesny is the one to look out for and yes I think Fabianski has a lot to learn himself but I don’t think he has what it takes to be our number 1.
As for Buffon well…enough said.
Arthur. Sorry to disgree but Almunia just is not good enough. Look at all the other Premier League clubs. At least half the sides have keepers that are better than Almunia. I think he is a great back up but for me just does not have the quality to be number 1. Fabianski needs a season on loan at a Prem League club. Then we will get to see him develop and how good he really is.
RE: Steve T
“Buffon?????? Why the hell not. People should be chomping at the bit to play for us. What a great signing that would be.”
By the same token, I would think strikers would be chomping at the bit to play for Arsenal. Imagine coming into a team as a target man with players of the ilk of Cesc, Arshavin, Rosicky, etc etc playing the ball to you. In my opinion that would be a major carrot.
As for Bendtner, I think the jury is still out. He has time on his side and has a lot of things going for him already. His composure in front of goal is questionable but this is something he can improve. What worries me is his first touch – is this something he can also improve or is his technique fairly set? I guess time will tell but as I said, it is on his side.
In the meantime I don’t think it would hurt to have more competition in the striker position. Fair enough RVP was more than earning his spot as main striker but he could play anywhere in the front 3, especially along side a more ‘traditional’ center forward (they would obviously be more ‘Arsenal flavoured’ though).
It does get frustrating, the combination of a lack of depth in some areas (you know the ones) with the amount of injuries. This could still be our year though – and I still think the first trophy will lead to many more.
Oh and.. it’s nice to read a measured discussion about Arsenal. Lately all I seem to be seeing is threads mostly consisting of people arguing about exactly how shit Denilson is.
(Just to make it clear I don’t agree, I think he will be an extremely valuable squad member for the next 5 years and will turn out to be a very good player. I am sick of reading about it though!)
Steve T: wow, a lot of interesting things.
Dzeko will not go anywhere until the summer. He re-signed for WB last summer despite propositions from everywhere and every single club that inquired in January has been told the same thing. We can mention his name as much as we want, the likelihood of him joining us in January is exactly 0 even if Arsene went from London to Germany on his knees. And then I doubt we will buy any players for over 15-20 millions not only because of the transfer cash issue but because we want to maintain our wage structure which is the cornerstone of our success.
I fully believe Chamakh is not playing with us because:
1) Arsene did not believe in his potential enough. He’s 26 and it’s not like he’s setting the Ligue 1 on fire, is he? If he is to replace RVP, he is clearly not good enough.
2) He thought that in our 433 with only one striker, having both RVP and Bendtner meant we were covered. He was proven wrong: RVP is made of cristal. A real shame because he’s a hell of a player.
DM: we do have cover for Song until Eastmond and Coquelin mature. It’s Denilson and Diaby together. Each one alone is not as good as Song but when both are on the pitch we’re a tough nut to crack.
Players want to play: look at what happened with Diarra. The only teams that have top-class players warming the bench are Chelksi and Real Madrid because they pay them so much above the market prices that those players shut up and put up with it and then there is us because we have these wonderkids that are injured 50% of the time. Now getting the equivalent of Silvestre for DM as in Senna, why not? But your mention of Gilberto exactly prove my point. He was offered to stay but clearly told he would be a cover for Flamini as he was already well slower than the other players on the pitch at that point. He wasn’t thrown out but he wanted to play so he left despite the offer (and he was 100% right, he’s a regular starter at Pana and he will go to South Africa).
Again which player will come and accept to be a cover for Song? None too interesting nor much better than what we have. And if it’s not a cover, how will Song react if he’s told he will play half the games from now on? He’ll have to wait 30 seconds after the news before picking up Mourinho’s phone call and he will fuck off straight to Inter to play more with a big pay raise to boot.
Now Yaya Toure is an interesting case, he was recently wondering aloud why Arsenal never enquired about him. Imho it’s because he’s like his brother, his principal asset is his heart. Not technical enough, not game-savvy enough. In any case he’s making quite a lot of noises from Barca’s bench. Would he want to come to our bench instead? Very doubtful as he’ll have no problem finding a starting spot in another team which is not gifted with a Song.
For the record, Pires was offered the same one-year contract as DB but wanted a 2-year deal. Same story, the guy loved Arsenal, we loved him back but he was not assured of a starting spot and was offered more money in Spain. Retirement money starts to matter when you’re close to retirement…
I feel Vieira, Henry and Adebayor left at the right time. The were already declining and they needed a new challenge as their motivation was on the wane. I think one of the strengths of Ferguson is too keep his old dogs productive while keeping them in line too and only the ones that hamper the team’s development are shipped out (like the thug Keane). Vieira and Henry are not the kind to give up their spots to help the team so at some point it was best for everyone to let them cash in for their retirement.
And I think 25 millions for a shitstirrer like Adebayor is like winning the lottery. You could see that the guy single-handedly destroyed team morale last year and his back to his shennanigans at Citeh. If he was still in our team we would not be were we are, we’d be struggling like last season. He’s got great potential but 2 seasons ago was the best we’ll ever see of him given his shitty mindset. The only hope I have regarding him is that he will not reproduce his display against us!
And to get on with what matters, Ferdinand is banned, O’Shea is injured and Vidic will be returning from injury, knowing he will play at Madrid next season. For once we’re level with United injury-wise. Let’s hope NB52 will leave them even more ragged than he did at Old Trafford!
It’s hard not to like Bendtner. Almunia, Denilson and others can be victim of self-confidence crisis but Bendtner? Never!
http://www.tribalfootball.com/bendtner-i-will-be-arsenal-no1-and-win-us-premiership-607201
He really cracks me up. Go get them Tiger!
Great stuff from everyone tonight. BTM will be quite upset when he sees what he missed ‘Holic. One thing that worries me and is not being said is about Fabregas. Arsene himself has said that he is a once in a lifetime player. If we do not win any trophies this year, Cesc will be a little uneasy at looking over his shoulder and seeing Barca winning trophies for fun in Spain. With a talent like Cesc at Arsenal now,do we really have time to sit back and wait another (possible) trophyless or two because of players developing or injuries. or should we go out and spend money to show Cesc our ambition matches that of Barca and possibly bring in a proven striker over the summer. Even though it may take away some playing time from the likes of Vela or Walcott, I believe we may have to do a few things out of the norm to keep an out of the norm player and heartbeatvof the club happy and not even think about leaving.
Chicago Gunner
Please I do not even want to think about this, surely time will come when he will sail back home, but for now he’s our player and long may he remain.
Chicago. I think you make a really valid point. No doubt this summer we will be inundated with press trash about where he is going andfor how much. As we have been before with Vieira and Henry.
I have no problem with taking away playing time from Vela and Walcott. My opinion is that they need to be made to work rather than pick up big wages for contributing very little. Now I know both have suffered from injuries but let’s be honest here. We can count on one hand the amount of times either has changed a game for us. I think some of these young lads get into a comfort zone. I read recently that Theo has just splashed out 150k on a new car for his girlfriend. I think you are entitled to ask how someone at his age and who has produced what he has produced, is able to splash that amount of dosh just like that? The answer is that even at his tender age he has enough money to never have to work again. If players are brought in and it takes others out of their comfort zone then so be it. You may actually see what they are capable of. Then we will see if they really have it or not.
Re Denilson and Bendtner. I think both have the ability to be real top drawer players.
Come on The Arsenal.
Steve T
This will always be the case with Cesc, he’s one of the best midfilders in the world and each trophyless season will increase those chances of him leaving.
As for Wlacott splashing out 150k on a car for his missus, well it speaks for it self. He has not shown anything this season yet and I’m starting to wonder if his services are worth the money. I’m still a big fan of Walcott but he really needs to tak a step forward, he needs to work on his first touch and how to keep/shield the ball. I love his runs but they are nothing if he can’t do those simple things and at this level he should really be starting to show he’s worh every penny.
I may sound harsh here but I think Vela needs to do the same thing, everyone was talking about all those tricks and fancy suff he does in training but we haven’t seen half of it yet I reckon. He’s also very quick and should be running at those defenders which he very rarely does.
Arthur. Could not agree more. That is exactly what I meant with comfort zone. Quite frankly both need a rocket up their arse. Especially when you see the way that Ramsey has come on. Different players I know but development wise, he has shot passed them at a great rate.
Walcott should of listened to Wenger instead of taking part in those two competitions over the summer. We haven’t heard much more regarding that incident, but I can’t help but feel that AW may feel a little agrieved that Theo choose England over Arsenal.I have the feeling that if he doesn’t “shape up” this season then AW may be tempted to cut his losses.
and the funny thing about that H2H, Theo was terrible at the U-21. was benched all.
was benched alot *
So I left this great court last night. A fascinating debate with champions on both sides. And as I join the fray again I see the battlefield has many warriors. Once again, that indefatigable soldier Steve T is taking no prisoners with the rear being shored up (ooh err missus) by King Arthur.
On a serious note, I have always said that competition for places will only benefit Arsenal. If certain players go down the pecking order then it is up to them to raise their game and stand up and be counted. I cannot think of a better current example than Ramsey. He is a fighter. Remember that piss poor game against Cardiff? He did not fold. And I never thought I would say this, but what about Eboue? He is another example of someone who had the added insult of coming on as a sub and then being subbed shortly after!
You know that the cream will always rise to the top.
Vive le Cesc!
@ Steve T
But they are not good enough yet. The likelihood is that it will be at least another 2/3 seasons when they are good enough.
The players in my developed list (Fabregas, Clichy etc) are good enough right now.
And how do the Ramseys and Eastmonds get good? Playing time. But if Gilberto is in the team (assuming he’d agreed to stay and be cover), Ramsey and Eastmond don’t get to play. We have a policy of youth development, and that means we have to give young players a genuine shot. We pay for their inexperience in some ways, but gain from their accelerated development.
Regarding cover for DM, I agree with Matt ‘s comment 90. In fact, I agree with every word of that comment!
Re strikers…
What do we need a striker for? To score goals? We are scoring goals. To make chances? We are making chances. We went on a winning run without RvP and Bendtner. Although, I grant you, if RvP had been fit and playing at Aston Villa, I think we would have got a goal or two. He’s that good. But our problem isn’t strikers, it’s injuries. Which brings me back to the point, how many players is enough players? We can’t buy every time we have an injury, can we? First stop should always be adapting the team play. Signing a player is a long-term commitment, injuries are a short-term problem.
About Chamakh…
He or the club clearly baulked at the price. The point I am trying to make is that why could we not come to an agreement? Why could something not be worked out?
Because AW didn’t think the player was worth it, I’d imagine. It’s easy as fans to forget that it’s the manager’s assessment of individual players which counts, not ours. I saw nothing special whatsoever in Craig Eastmond as a RB for the youth team, AW puts him in at CM for the first team and blow me – the lad’s a revelation! Wenger has pushed the boat out for players he thinks are REALLY special – he broke the transfer record for AA, didn’t he? But the reality is, there are very, very few players who are soooooo good that they’re worth making an exception for.
Also, re Walcott, yes his double England selection and the consequent lack of rest is definitely the root cause of his current problems, but I can’t blame the player. I blame Capello and Pearce. You can’t expect a 20-year-old who is fighting for an England place to turn down a call-up. Older heads should have been wiser.
And can we give the guy a break? 20 years old. Been injured and played fewer than half a dozen games since the summer. Remember his run and assist against Liverpool in the CL? Hat-trick against Croatia? He’s got the ability to change games.
FunGunner.
We’re not slating Walcott as a player, just the fact that he went against AW wishes and advice and made the choice (himself) to join up with those two squads. Spending a large part of those tournaments on the bench, as Chicago Gunner has pointed out.
If he’d had a decent break he may well of been able to make a greater contribution to the club that pays his wages week in and week out.
I think that’s a fair criticism.
Chamakh looks like he would be perfect for us right now, with Van Persie out injured. He doesn’t look like a 30-goal scorer, but he’s a great all-round player – the kind Arsene likes. Arsene took a gamble by not signing him, and now that Van Persie is out and Eduardo and Bendtner are out of form, I’m sure he wishes he had it to do over again. I also think Chamakh is the player Arsene wants, so it looks like he’s taking a gamble by not signing anyone during this transfer window, hoping to get him in the summer.
He’s always thinking long term, Arsene.
And that is the absolute be all and end all – It is Arsenal that pay his wages (Walcott and anyone else). And by Arsenal I mean the fans. (see my post last night re the plurality of our great club). His loyalty is to the club first then country. Arsene has said enough on this so I’m not going to rehash.
With regards to his age and decision making, pleeeease…come on that is feeble. If I was under the tutelage of a grand master then I certainly would not go against his judgement esp one who is known for taking enigmatic young talent and turning them into great players coveted by peers.
Hey, but what do I know…
@ H2H
It may not have been you, but someone did say they couldn’t think of a game in which Theo had made a difference.
But what I mean about Theo’s comparative youth and the blame being on Capello and Pearce is that you can’t realistically expect a young player to turn down his national team if they come calling. It’s practically a royal command. At 20, he hasn’t proved anything significant yet, and the pressure on him to say yes if asked is correspondingly greater – he might think, if I say no now, they might not pick me again. cf David Bentley. We know what the wisest course of action would have been, but our judgment isn’t clouded by being IN the situation and feeling that our future in the national team being at stake. Like Wenger said, if you ask the player, he always wants to play. And despite all the evidence to the contrary, young people always think they are invulnerable.
@ 433
Bendtner’s only just come back. I’m backing him to do that job. He’s got the confidence and the work ethic and he seems to have improved – against Aston Villa, he was better than I remembered at receiving the ball with his back to goal and holding it up.
Those wheels keep going round and round peeps…
As H2H mentioned above we are not slating Walcott in anyway we only wish for him to contribute more to the team and the club that pays his wages. As for his development I think at this very moment is at a stand still, how many games did he play this season so far? I can understand that playing for your country is an honour but he tried too hard to please both Pearce and Capello. He missed pre-season and never really recovered, and this really gets to me because Cesc had a busy summer as well, missed his pre-season too but managed to get him self back into shape.
We want to give him more time we don’t have an issue with that but we obviously want him to start playing and stay playing. We have really only seen glimpses of what he is capable of and we need him to be a winner game in, game out.
Theo…Theo…Theo.
@ ArthurTheGooner
I think Theo DOES contribute to the team. He’s not doing much at the moment because he’s been injured. After he’s had a run in the team, then we can start to assess whether he is contributing or not.
He shouldn’t have played in both teams over the summer. No doubt about that. But it would have taken an exceptionally strong character to rebuff his national boss. Did you notice that Wenger’s pleas at the end of last season were directed at the managers, not at the player?
In the line of this discussion it does look like we are trying hard to get a striker on board. Various sources are linking us with Loic Remy but it seems Nice doesn’t want to sell until the summer and also refuses to loan him to us until then. I know little about him but Grimandi sounds very optimistic about the player:
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2010/01/29/arsenal-set-to-clinch-intelligent-15m-striker-swoop-and-good-vermaelen-news/
Very good discussion about our young players, unfortunately I have a busy day ahead. But it’s an area of concern for sure.
@102 FunGunner. I fully understand what you are saying about young players coming through but do not agree that the likes of Gilberto and others would hold them back. My point is that the transition from one to the other would be more natural. As the likes of Gilberto play less then the young replacements gradually play more. At times for me it seems that there is too much in at the deep end.
My opinion is quite simply this. We have a great squad. We have great talent. We have great potential. There is no doubt that if we can keep everyone together then we will have great times ahead. But all too often I have heard AW say at the end of a season that we do no want to lose anyone. Then 2 or 3 experienced players leave.
I think we are really close to being the best. I just think the squad is 2/3 players short. That’s all.
@ Steve T
I fully understand what you are saying about young players coming through but do not agree that the likes of Gilberto and others would hold them back. My point is that the transition from one to the other would be more natural. As the likes of Gilberto play less then the young replacements gradually play
Ideally, perhaps yes. But Gilberto left because he wanted to be first choice. That was the actual real situation that Wenger was faced with. If Wenger had agreed that Gilberto would be first choice and he had stayed, the chances for the younger players would have necessarily have been limited. There is no way around that conclusion. We’ve got lucky with Sol because he is prepared to be cover, even though he is fighting for a starting place as well.
One could argue we are 2-3 players short of a PERFECT squad, but we are not 2-3 players short of a title-winning team. Despite our injuries, we are third, two points off the leaders.
And when has a team ever been perfect? Whatever you gain in one area, you tend to lose in another. The Invincibles were not a perfect side, but they were able to avoid injuries to key players, they knew how to play to their strengths – which is what we are learning to do.
One could argue we are 2-3 players short of a PERFECT squad
I agree totally. My point is that with all of the money we have made in previous dealings we don’t need to be short. We have the money to address the issue. We just have not. I just don’t want it to cost us again.
@ Steve T
My point is that with all of the money we have made in previous dealings we don’t need to be short. We have the money to address the issue. We just have not. I just don’t want it to cost us again.
If the right 2-3 players were available at the right price – in Arsene’s view, not the fans’ view – they would be here. Such players are neither plentiful, nor easy to find. They aren’t lined up on a shelf in a shop somewhere, just waiting for Arsene to come along and point at the one he wants.
He can’t find what he’s after, simple as that. He’s not perversely refusing to buy players or spend money. He was looking for a DM in the summer, and he did look for a striker in this window. He said both times that we have the money, but he couldn’t find the quality to push the current players. His judgment of players trumps the judgment of any fan, every time. Granted, there might have been players who were right, who would fit in, but who were too expensive. You might say, lay out some extra money anyway, if it will make the difference between winning a title and not winning a title. But that is a big if. We buy players on the basis that they will justify their transfer fee and wages in terms of points gained, games won etc. (Good article about this on Untold Arsenal, btw.) The better the team, the more marginal the benefit is. Wenger thought AA would make the difference last year and he broke the club transfer record to get him. So he will do it, but only when he thinks the player is worth it.
But my underlying point is that we don’t have to have the perfect squad to win the title challenge. None of the other squads we are competing with are perfect, are they? Teams win trophies because they are good ENOUGH, they have team spirit, they know how to play to their strengths, and usually, because they have a bit of luck. How did Greece end up winning Euro 2004? Were they the best team? Absolutely not, but they played to their strengths and they fought for each other. Did ManU have a better squad than Chelsea last season and the season before? I don’t think so. So having those 2-3 more players wouldn’t necessarily mean we would have a better chance of winning the EPL. Knowing our luck they’d probably all get their legs broken within a month of arriving, anyway!
All that was my way of saing that I believe the current squad is good enough to win. I can’t say they WILL win, but I believe they can. We’re suffering from injuries, but we seem to be turning the corner there, too.