A Week, Or Should That Be Weak, To Forget
Oct 10th, 2014 by 'holic
Anybody who wondered if the international break had come at a good time for Arsenal has probably had their answer now. The feeling that most of the squad would spend time away forgetting the Chelsea defeat and return ready to start all over again against Hull has been replaced by yet another massive inquest.
It all started on Wednesday when the German FA announced to the world that Mesut Ozil would be out for 10-12 weeks with a ‘partial lateral collateral ligament tear’ in the left knee. Immediately it sunk in that once again he and Aaron Ramsey, so crucially missing for a vital part of the title run-in earlier in the year, are out together again.
Twenty-four hours on and Laurent Koscielny was sent back to Arsenal by France with chronic tendonitis of both ankles. With Mathieu Debuchy already ruled out by injury and Calum Chambers suspended for the next fixture at home to Hull the last thing we needed was another scare involving a back four player.
The reference to the tail end of last season may be unfair. Theo Walcott is close to a return, and his absence was another contributory feature of our spring collapse. The cover for Mesut is there. Santi Cazorla, Tomas Rosicky, and more than ever Jack Wilshere, are all capable of fitting into the number ten role. They have not only the returning Theo to work with. In spring we didn’t have Alexis or Danny Welbeck. The forward options are starting to look attractive.
The potential early derailing of another title challenge won’t be down to any attacking weakness. We are, however very much down to the bare bones defensively. All together now. “We knew that. We told you so in August.” Hindsight favours those of a pessimistic hue, as it so often does. They aren’t wrong though. Going into a season with so few acknowledged defensive-minded players was likely to provoke a response if we picked up injuries and suspensions, and we have.
Having said all of that I think it wise to wait and see what happens in the coming weeks before going overboard with any assessment of where we are. Following, lest we forget, only our first Premier League defeat of the season, we have a string of fixtures which should yield enough points to keep us in relative touch with the leaders until the transfer window opens again in the new year. Without doubt we have the cash to buy should quality be available in that window.
Let’s assume we have the desire too, to strengthen further.
Campo Retro Arsenal Shirts
Look, as Arsene would say, the good folk at Campo Retro have offered Goonerholic readers a massive 20% discount off their superb range of shirts in October. You can check them out here. Pick your shirt or shirts of choice and when you checkout enter the code GH20 to secure your discount.
I’m tempted by the 1979 Cup Final shirt. What’s your favourite? Let me know in the drinks.
118 Responses to “A Week, Or Should That Be Weak, To Forget”
Thirst!!
Well dun, H2H.
Time to turn the page, eh, ‘Hols? Good call. Good weekend everyone. Think positive thoughts…or drink until you do.
Sobering piece ‘holic.
The perennial injury crisis hits very early this year and that might be a blessing in disguise if such a thing is possible. But do we have the depth at the back to cope? Up front no problem and the next games at hull will reveal alot; they’re not too shabby a side. We might just have to score 4 if they score three and 10 if the score nine!
Who will play alongside Mertesaker in the next fixture if Kos doesn’t recover? Only Arsene knows! “Rod for your own back” and all that Arsene…! Up the Arse! COYBG!
Top 10 and respect Holic for keeping a lid on the emotions that must be fluttering around the hearts of many a gooner.
I myself am wavering so badly I’m observing Arsenal through my fingers, footballistically reduced to a wreck quivering in the corner waiting for the UIX’s to turn out against City away. Tough times right now.
Sobering times H. Not easy.
Oooh, that 1971 FA Cup final shirt is pretty tasty. The year I became an Arsenal supporter. “Radford, ooh Charlie George, he can hit ’em… boom!”
’81 Cup Final shirt is the one for me, H. The day that Arsenal won the heart of a wee Scottish boy.
71 not 81! Doh!
Never mind the perennial injury crisis. As predictable as a Daily Mail front page screaming about immigration… What about Roy KeNe shaving his Captain Birdseye off?
We will beat Hull. Koscielny could do with a break to think about how he makes tackles in the box. Bellerin and Hayden can step in, temporarily at least. It’s time we rotated a bit more in home games we should be winning regardless of personnel.
The fact Another Roy is pissing me off by playing as many Arsenal players as he can is not helping matters though…
Premier League!
Twelfth !!! Dozen matter. 🙁
Legends shirt with ’10 Bergkamp’ or ‘7 Brady’ for me.
Now Kompany is off with a knee injury.
Apparently he could be out for anything up to 20 minutes …….
Delicately scribed Holic. Inspite of our injuries, we can still put out a decent team, and certainly should be good enough to pick up points from kinder on-coming fixture list. That is assuming we lose no further defenders (I know, I know!).
It’s now got to the stage where each time a new name is added to the list you just shake your head and laugh as it’s got beyond preposterous.
The alternative is to kick the wife and kiss the dog. No point speculating who to play against Hull until we see who is left standing.
Like the retro shirts, 1971 no 7 (Wee Geordie) is the one for me.
Hayden looked a very capable player alongside a raw Chambers so if BFG is beside him he should be capable of coping. I think Bellerin looked the nuts against Southampton so he should suffice too against Hull.
I like the optimism that suggests we are suffering the injury crisis now as if it’s temporary. I think stats show its a fairly permanent situation for us.
Evening, Uply. 😉
Trev 13, good job he’s not a gooner as he would probably be left on a trolley in our medical centre hallway waiting for a bed to free up 😉
Ttg,
I missed the Southampton game but I’m quite looking forward to seeing Hayden and Bellerin. At least it’s a decent run of games, in theory, to bed them in.
It will certainly add some, er, excitement to the next few games. 😉
Bring out the academy and youth gems! I’ve always wanted them blooded in the EPL and CL games and not just in the Mickey Mouse Cup! Sink or swim boys! You’re good enough to swim! Bring on the injury crises!
On a different tack, visited earlier today a local farm shop near Exeter that has the biggest range of bottled beers I’ve had the pleasure to come across. Of particular interest to some of the regulars who imbibe the black stuff ( myself included), they sold both Guinness Export 7.1 % AVB and Guinness Porter West Indies. Had to investigate further for research purposes, hic 😉
This is why we keep them on our books! What better time to check ’em out. Victoria Concordia Crescit…
Dear Arsene Wenger,
Could you please excuse my son Theo from training next week.
As you know he has not been outside since just after Christmas but somebody sent him out to practise in the cold rain yesterday and he’s now had diarrhoea through a hole in his boot.
I’m also very worried if you make him kick those big actual footballs around what is going to happen to his Crucial Ligaments what the doctor has replaced with some of my old knicker elastic.
Do you think they will hold up ok ?
Mrs Walcott.
I’m not overly concerned over with the Koscielny return from the French squad. We’ve known he’s been nursing a chronic achilles problem (didn’t know it was to both ankles though!), and I imagine that Deschamps is quite happy to send him home for some rest, seeing as France are only playing friendlies at the moment, and it’s one in the ‘good books’ for Deschamps with Wenger for future use in the ongoing club v country ‘negotiating’ game. My only query – and I’m not a medic here – is how long can someone play with this problem for, and how ultimately does it get resolved? Can Koscielny somehow scramble through to May next year with the odd rest only? Would a summer’s rest cure the condition? Anyway – something tells me we’ll be seeing much more of Messrs Chambers, Bellerin, Hayden & Monreal over the coming weeks….
As for Ozil – yes, we have Wilshere, the Ox, Rosicky and Santi et al – but he will be missed. His passing efficiency and perpetual movement in midfield (especially against lesser sides) will be hard to replicate, though the other guys have other attributes. I just hope no injuries to Welbeck and Sanchez in particular this round of international matches. As Holic correctly stated – they give our general attacking outlook much more variety and bite, but lose either one of them, and we’re suddenly over-reliant on Sanogo again and desperately waiting for Walcott and Ramsey to return (Wenger will be careful about reintegrating these two due to the time-period and nature of their injuries respectively).
Incidentally, completely agree with the excellent point by TTG in the previous drink. Wenger’s greatest successes at Arsenal were always established through powerhouse midfielders (and boy could they play too) with the likes of Vieira, Petit, Edu, Parlour, Gilberto etc., and though I know it’s not easy to find players of these calibre, it seems Wenger has been more than sidetracked (misled?) in recent years by the highly unique, romantic example of Barcelona (and by extension, Spain) being so successful with the small, metronomic, tika-taka approach. Without wanting to come over all Pulis, I’m not sure that’s suited to the weekly rigours of a Premier League campaign (especially this season where it seems an especially deep and strong lge), and also, it’s fine when you’ve got Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi etc. but these are all-time greats, and not necessarily an easy template to replicate on to even marginally less-good players I feel to win another Premier Lge, Wenger will ultimately have to unleash his midfield monster once again….
As for the top retro shirt. The Limpar 11 one (circa-1991) brings back memories. I seem to remember he scored a couple of late crackers away at Highfield Road of all places that season that really got us going at this similar autumnal stage of the season which we’d started off inauspiciously with a lot of draws…(ring any bells?)
Sign this player now. Must be injury-proof.
http://www.theactivetimes.com/when-your-next-opponent-robot
We’re old school at Castle Ned. Holding out for the 1886 Dial Square shirt.
http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Arsenal/Arsenal.htm
These are retro shirts, ‘holic? They all look quite recent to me… 😉 But I’ll have the Romford Pele – my kind of Arsenal hero.
Öskar
Did they play football on horseback in 1886, Ned? Those kits look more suitable for jockeys. Or for Victorian ladies to wear under their crinolines. 😀
Öskar
Heh @ Romford Pele.
Good piece, ‘holic.
Very late appreciation, but no less sincere for that.
COYG
Old Pix of some people we know : http://imgur.com/gallery/k8BcV
Gregoire: how long can someone play with this problem for, and how ultimately does it get resolved?
The answer is the not very specific “it depends”. Sometimes it cures itself if you just rest for a bit, sometimes it takes anti-inflammatory drugs and sometimes you have to have injections into the inflamed area. Whether you can play through it is also from case to case, it can be all about enduring some pain but in some cases you have to rest to give it time to start healing. Sometimes players with tendonitis play games and then don’t train (or at least train very lightly) for a few days and after a while it’s sorted itself out.
So, it’s all much clearer now, right? 🙂
is it just me or was their kess injuries when football training consisted of laps around the oval and a few shots on golas and oranges at half time and black boots…..
Sadly i cannot order those shirts for i stay here in India and i am not sure how much would it cost and will they ship.
I am not really sure if we can do this season without a dm and a cb now. We cannot have this make shift arrangement any longer.
My big worry or should i say grouse is what is the identity of this team?. How are we approaching games? Is there is a strategy?. I mean we have ox.sanchez and welbeck and that is some serious pace yet we play at a walking pace. I do not understand this insistence of playing through a crowded midfield when you know teams line up like that against us.
Classic case was the chelsea game, the only way you can beat a team like that is through pace and there was never a moment even when we were chasing the game, an element of pace. No one makes the runs or tries to dribble past a defender. Why?????.
I comment on this because it is easy to analyse sitting here and reality maybe different on the pitch but then i say what i see.
Arsenal of old were a team where opposition were scared to get free kicks or corners because of the fear of an Arsenal counter attack, nowadays even when it is say 3 on 3, there is no sense of urgency or zeal. I agree those players were different but these players are not so bad are they????
Just asking: does anyone have a status update on Ospina? Is this a slightly longer term short-term “thigh problem”? If so, and he’s out for Anderlecht in Belgium, who would be in goal and who is backup?
Otd@27: 🙂
BB@30: Fat Sam was an ugly looking piece of work even when he was thin.
BJ@34: If both Woj and Ospina are out, Martinez, as the No 3 keeper in the first team squad, would be between the jumpers with one of the Academicians, probably the U-21s’ keeper, Matt Macey, on the bench.
Fun times, Ned. Fun times.
@NBN
Fat Sam was skinny once it seems but he’s as fugly as they come!
Here he’s trying to get his paws together : http://i.imgur.com/U9xQYkr.gifv 🙂
On another note.. I thought our link up play was good.. this may be a small step up from where we’re at : http://i.imgur.com/AHyhmZW.gifv
😀
Vinay@33, I don’t think this team has an identity yet. I don’t think even Wenger knows his preferred starting 11, and all these injuries are definitely not helping at all. When Giroud comes back, what will be the style? Right now the front 3 are still getting to know each other’s movement and I think they will come good. There’s no better time than the next four matches to really get going. As for DM/CB, only Wener will know why he didn’t get one. We can’t keep talking about it now, the youngsters have to step up for the time been. I would like to give Kos a break for the next 2 matches. If we can’t beat those teams without him, then am afraid we got bigger problems.
Hi everybody. Hey Holic, 1st time using ‘prudent’ to describe your report. Fits the bill admirably. We’re so hung up on our injuries, that we’re having trouble seeing the bigger (and brighter) picture. ;
Ttg, Trev, Bath, Delia, Steve T, NBN and Holic have to put up with the British media, neighbors, co workers and fans from other clubs, on a daily basis. The rest of us, are somewhat spared the negativity, on such a grand scale.
Things will look up, they always do. When one door closes, a window opens, letting in the warm, sunny light. 🙂
Stevenage FC, is using a 55 yr old goalie as a sub. Let that sink in. I wish him well and hope he gets to play!!
Trev, I don’t like to single out holics, on the fine work, they do here because everyone is terrific. But what you done in the last couple of days, really is quite amazing. xx
Working the Lemonade Stand here with BB. He’s in charge of sweetening up the drinks 😉 So I forgot to include Esso, in that list of holics! Those folks even have to put up with negativity on their daily commute, as well. Or maybe their boss is a City, or heavens forbid, Chelsea fan 🙁
But our day will come, as sure as you name is _____ 🙂
Right back at you, abb. You always brighten this place, and enhance the experience for your fellow drinkers.
Thank you, x
’10 Bergkamp’ has to be the one *THE LEGEND !!!!!!*
We have over hauled the treatment staff yet the same problems seem to still be there. Have we sent Ozil off to international duty with what seems to be a very serious problem and dito for Kos. Has our medical department missed both these ? If the German FA have said 10-12 weeks that may be a blessing because if Arsenal had said 10-12 weeks you know that means 16-18 weeks.
What is going on ?
Any hoooooooooo
Thanks Holic, means more than you know xx
Umm, forgot Tabs! and anyone else who lives in England! 🙂
Thanks, abb – nice to know it’s appreciated.
I don’t always go 100% with your positivity – with things like Lampard !! – but as Holic said, you always make this bar a better place x
@ 40 ABB
Lemons without sugar summed up! : http://i.imgur.com/wqQj2d2.jpg
On another note, some good news for Alexis and Rosicky : http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20141003/international-watch-gunners-on-duty
Both completed 90minutes, think Tomas might need it as it does look like he’s going to be deployed for us in the near future! Alexis just keeps getting stronger and stronger with every game, shaping up to be one of our best acquisitions in a long time!
Gosh Trev , thank you! And I truly hope someone from the club, saw your analysis(s) on what may be causing such injuries.
BB, Such an adorable vision 🙂 Your one of the bear, many drinks ago, was hilarious! Good stuff about our players, fingers crossed for them.
Slightly concerned that Chile’s second friendly at home to Bolivia isn’t until October 15 (that’s Wednesday). Keep in mind as well that Chile is behind us in time, and that it’s a fair old whack from Santiago to London, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Wenger keeps Alexis back from the game against Hull (perhaps having him from the bench at best), keeping him fresh for Anderlecht in the week.
Every lge game is vital though as we play catch up, and knowing Alexis – he’ll probably be chomping at the bit to play. It’s a shame that the Copa America next summer is in Chile, b/c all Chile’s friendlies are going to be at home as build up (no short trips across the channel to mainland Europe), and Sampaoli is likely to pick his best available XI each warm-up game to get them honed for playing the tournament on home soil…Only downside with having a world-class South American in your club!
@ 47 Gregoire
Alexis seems to be getting better the more minutes he gets, of course there will come a time when the cost of playing him will outweigh the benefits, hopefully he’ll be amply rested by the time he plays for us.
Am actually more concerned about the atrocious tackles and challenges he has to put up with! If i recall correctly, the turks or even Cahill could have broken his leg on two occasions.
Sometimes I just wish he would roll around a bit just to emphasize how Serious it is and get their players sent off even! Am certain Hazard or any of them chelski chavs would have done it without a second thought!
Here’s some goals for you lot : http://imgur.com/gallery/ozR7n
Something to look forward to when we have all our players available again!
And here’s a great collection of posters! : http://imgur.com/gallery/2El7f
Enjoy!
😀
Good point BB. We’re probably due another leg-breaking ‘reducer’ just to complete our injury woes!
On a more serious point, I’m very happy with Alexis to date. Apologies in advance for the source to the below link, but apparently he was running the show v Peru…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2789117/alexis-sanchez-stars-brilliant-assist-eduardo-vargas-scores-twice-chile-win.html
The awful Ebola outbreak is a tragedy and sensibly the authorities are already considering the wisdom of playing the African Nations Cup in February next year. It has little relevance to Arsenal anyway but this is a situation where football has to take a very distant second place to common sense
Szcz playing a blinder for Polska. 1-0 up on the Weltmeisterschafters.
Superb save Sczesnyyyyyyyyyy!
We should keep Poldi… best left foot in the business currently!!!!
Come on Poland! 🙂
Who managed to beat the World Champions????
Polska Bialo Czerwoni 🙂
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brilliant work by Poland!
Sczesny’s confidence can only improve now!
Pod v Woj in Poland
Poldi vs Sczcesny!!!!
No it wasn’t
Sczcesny covered Kroos shot all the way.. brilliant!
Well.. germany were without six of their first choice players i think but they still looked too strong in the first half… second half and the poles just stuck to their job.. Sczcesny superb all the way.
Poldi did rattle the cross bar.. what a shot. He needs games and he’ll get a few goals for sure!
Good news is that Rossa played full ninety minutes for Czech Republic yesterday!
Now please no more injuries!
Does anyone know where I can get the 2004 invincible season DVD, thanks.
’79 cup final shirt. Sunderland.
Wasn’t even alive when we won that match. My old man is a Hereford United fan and didn’t take me to the Arsenal. Growing up as a youngster with no Sky tv my only chance to see the Arsenal was on season review VHSs and the like. Me and a mate used to ask for different ones for birthdays etc. so we could swap them. I nearly wore the ’79 cup final tape out- especially those last three minutes. We never do things the easy way. But we do things OUR way…
Still can’t watch it without either going nuts or it bringing a tear to my eye.
Germany’s first loss in a qualifier in seven years! (Take away 6-7 players from the first team and any team will look much more vulnerable, not only the mighty Arsenal. )
Congratulations to the Poland team and especially Szczesny. Great to see him perform so well in the International stage.
Germany without Reus, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Höwedes, Khedira, Özil and Klose from the WC today, most of them injured. Is this a hangover from the Forsyth era, or what happens when he leaves? o)
Cracking game ffom Sir Ches and a thunderbolt volley from Poldi which must have cracked the crossbar.
Öskar
ttg@51: sadly, i have been around the block sufficient times to realise that football and common sense are (very) distant cousins.
abb: you’re the bomb.
bb@37: back at you with some weird penalties:
http://youtu.be/zRUDSz6fofo
@NBN
The first one was unexpected to say the least, and the last, not sure to think if the player really expected that or that the goalie was totally out of it. 😀
This one just shows how important it is to mark all personnel on the field, although there’s a hint of offside : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X98Sy1G4yz4
😀
Far be it from me to scaremonger but today’s Sinday Times says Chambers and Gibbs will miss today’s game with ‘ niggling’ injuries. Surely not?
Pfft, why would we ever believe reports about injured Arsenal players???
Oh, right… 🙁
FFS. Well at least we can expect them to have a rest.
I suggest all fans who have ever played as defenders bring boots to the Hull game in case their active participation is necessary.
🙁
BB@71: If anyone knows about playing to the whistle it should be a dog. Very modest goal celebration though…
England moving downhill fast? More confirmation.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29584729
Maybe Wilshere and Rooney can form a happy family?
Very interesting how much interest BBC are showing in the Women’s Super League now that Arsenal can’t win it and Chelsea and Liverpool can! Or am I paranoid?
Bath,
I was a formidable centre back in my day. It was about forty years ago but I am ” fit’ for Saturday . Sadly though Mrs TTG has thrown my boots away as she didn’t like mould around the house. I may need a big pair of BFGs sponsored ones . I reckon Jelavic will fit nicely into my shorts pocket.
Heh, look forward to cheering you onto the sward, TTG.
COYGs
England: Hart; Chambers, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines; Henderson, Wilshere, Delph, Lallana; Welbeck, Rooney.
What? No rest for our players!
@75 NBN
He must have scored against his previous club.. no point having a bone to pick. 😀
Jack MOTM, Chambers promising, Welbeck, subdued, Ox added urgency. That was my take but watching England and watching paint dry are two similar experiences mainly because of the standard of the opposition.
Rooney got the goal but otherwise had a shocker
Welbeck went off with a twisted ankle ten minutes from time. Didn’t look bad but he does play for Arsenal!
http://misterspruce.co.uk/roy-keane-spoke-invincibles/?
This piece is worth a read from Keane’s new book- the interesting admission that the Invincibles were better than ‘ any team Ferguson or Busby assembled’
Ttg,
Must admit I thought that was a spoof page that The Arsenal Gent had put together. Seems unbelievable that Keane would say all that !
Cheers Holic!
Love you lots abb. Lots and lots.
Trev
The Roddy Doyle style makes it quite a funny read apparently but he is a seriously troubled guy.I was in Dublin last week and he certainly caused a stir there especially as Tesco’s released the book early( highly suspicious) . Fitting that he and Pietersen should have similar books released in the same week.
Top man Esso. Hope you had a great time down there. 🙂
There are some nasty and some ridiculous rumours being circulated about Arsenal, mainly by the Daily Mail. They are suggesting that Wenger has given up on Ozil and will replace him with Draxler in January. Apparently Ozil is unhappy at being played out of position. This is the sort of unpleasant , unfounded tittle- tattle that the Mail specialise in. I really don’t believe Wenger would give up on Ozil, sell him at a loss or let the situation deteriorate so early. He may like Draxler but not as a replacement for Ozil- maybe for Podolski.
There are also rumours that we are to meet the buy- out clause for some young French full- back at Athletic Bilbao. All 34 million euros! Utter rubbish. On top of this we are supposed to be close to signing Cavani or talking to Benzema.
Do these idiots not understand Wenger? He does not splash ridiculous amounts of money on areas where we do not need players. He will go with Welbeck and Giroud this season for sure. He is a great man manager and has fallen out with very few players but has lost faith in a few- Arshavin being a great example. Even David Bentley is now claiming Wenger was by far his best manager.
And while Arsenal apparently have a large cash reserve I think it unlikely we will see mega- deals in January. Hopefully a couple of sensibly priced defenders and maybe Khedira if he comes cheap. Madrid will lose him on a free if he doesn’t sign a new contract
‘Niggling’ injuries, Ttg (#72)? That would be out for about six weeks in Arsenal-speak, right?
Öskar
Evening Holic,
You have mail – if it’s of any use. 😉
Thank you Holic
Another shirt to add to the collection
TTG, that rag also reports that Man City are looking to offload Yaya Toure in January. His possible replacement, according to Daily Mail, is Cheik Tiote!
I was absolutely dumbfounded.
Can anybody explain , looking back , what went wrong with Arshavin ?
Nothing went wrong with Arshavin, scored 4 against pool and the winner against Barca!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulGCUC9u3QY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH41c5y-S7A
Get In!
😀
Hi ‘holics,
Just came by to say that those are some cracking pictures of PL managers
Cheers BB for the link
Trev, thank you. Can you forward it to goonerholic(at)virginmedia(dot)com please. I think you may be using an address that has been spammed out of existence 🙁
I like the shirts and the offer is excellent, but currently mulling over selling off most of my originals. Unfortunately the ones that will make most are the ones I want to keep 🙁
I am tired reading about Ozil, even he is not fit and injured there are persistent rumours about him being unhappy, we being unhappy with him etc. Tiresome to the core. Mesut is close to irreplaceable. There is no quite like him and i believe he is happy here for he knows he valued here by most except a few ignorant idiots.
Jack played both the games and i am worried about his fitness considering the fact that we ourselves are bordering on the threshold, he needs rest but i doubt we can rest him for saturday, maybe the anderlecht game could be the one.
Ox looked lively yesterday and a continued spell of games could see him fulfilling him immense potential. Hope Danny is fine but knowing our luck, i fear otherwise.
City want to offload Yaya??????, anyone with anything called sense will not do it, least of a clever manager like Pellegrini, so that rumour can be put to bed.
He could be close to irreplaceable if he’s played in the correct position.
Perfect cross to the penalty spot for a diving header by the onrushing…
Sitting on the grass, minding my own business doing the crossword, when a football appears from nowhere, and hits me on the head and someone shouts “goal……..”. 🙂
I was doing 7 across at the time 😉
I’ll have to get my own coat as the bar seems deserted at the moment.
Vinay,
“Bordering on the threshold” soynds like a very precarious place to be.
Could we all at least get on the threshold, please ? 😉
Great GGGOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL !!! Uply. 😉
Holic, done ! 😉
Cheers Trev,. Your shout echoed around the empty stadium – still, you did get to choose the best seat.
Vinay / Trev. – “Bordering on the Threshold”, now that will keep us on edge 😉
Right, off to play a bowls match – fortunately indoors till April.
Vinay: Yaya Toure is 31 now. Not past it by any means but perhaps past the zenith of his career. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pellagrini, who is a clever manager, wasn’t considering his succession plans. If he has a younger replacement in mind, he could still get a hefty price for Toure from a club in Europe. At 31, Toure would still have a good few years left in a less physically demanding league than the Premiership. I do think, though, that he would have to be targeting a better option to succeed Toure than 28-year-old Cheik Tiote. Or it may be Citeh needs some cash to help with Fair Play.
@93. Great four goals by Arshavin against Liverpool not to mention the one against Barcelona. To get at montreal gooner’s question a bit though, does anybody have a highlight reel of Arshavin’s defensive play the same night when Liverpool scored four goals against us? I’m not sure many people would say he was ideally suited to play in the Premier League defensively, and certainly not in the air, but in those five goals and in his first one for Arsenal against Blackburn he certainly brought me a few fleeting moments of joy.
Uply @100.
A true lawn bowler’s goal. Not to criticize the keeper or anything. 🙂
North Bank Red, i agree he is probably in the twilight of his career but then you rather have him in your team than against you. The classic case was the villa game where he was poor and then he just stroked a goal to help city win. He is what we say a game changer. I think ucl he is been found out by the more hungrier runners but then he is an asset.
Arsenal reportedly trying for Cabaye now that Rabiot is supposedly on the way to Roma. The merry go round of a jan transfer window begins with these news and then end jan we probably will see the same squad as it is. I still believe a dm and a cb is a must.
Montreal Gooner @92 & others, 7amkickoff had earlier attempted to demystify Arshavin’s Arsenal career this with the typically fact-based analysis:
http://news.arseblog.com/2013/04/andrei-arshavin-by-the-numbers/
Worth a read if you haven’t read earlier.
The overall stats, 31 goals and 39 assists in 96 + (45) appearances is quite healthy for someone who never really found true consistency. 7am shows that Arshavin’s final dip in form coincided with RVP’s return and finally finding his own consistency. But whether one caused the other is anyone’s guess.
I think he was a brilliant footballer — just purely technically speaking one of the best we have ever had — who had joined a top level league way too late (28 years of age) in his career. Too late to get rid of his bad habits — ignoring the tactical shape, not working hard enough off the ball, not fully focussing even when things are going well — and relied solely on his pure abilities as in Zenit that was more than enough.
Other than the memorable performances you mentioned, I would also remember his come-from-behind match winning goal away at Anfield, the superb strike at ManU to give us the lead which we inevitably lost, and the quite sumptuous assist for Henry to win us an away game at Sunderland in the dying moments. That assist encapsulated his wonderful ability to pull off something absolutely unexpected.
No one better be talking bad about Arshavin… not havin any of that!
Up The Arse!
😀
Arshavin’s assist and Henry’s final goal for us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Wrpe-0KKE
Hello all.
Watched (on a dodgy stream) the England game yesterday, thought Jack did well and Ox looked lively, Welbeck not really involved, needed to get himself in the middle a bit more, but I think he was sacrificed so that Rooney, who missed some absolute sitters, could be deployed there.
Chambers did reasonably well at RB, although was guilty of a few slip ups, great experience for him though. What I will say about him is how cool he looks and I love the way he takes it all in his stride, never over awed, pretty impressive for one of such tender years, I think we have a real prospect there.
Theo is back in training
http://www.arsenal.com/walcottgnabrybackintraining
Happy Theo is back training. A piece of good news for the Arsenal.
Cheer up ‘holics! With so many Gunners getting banjaxed, we’d be remiss not to take a moment to feel good about those coming back. Theo and Gnabry back in training today as mentioned, and Arteta and Ramsey are very close as well I believe. Also, the boss is saying Giroud is “ahead of schedule” coming back from his fracture.
As far as I know none of our player were hurt on international duty? (Ozil/Koz don’t count since their injuries were both picked up with Arsenal.)
Also does anyone know the latest on Koz? Haven’t heard anything definite.
GL @ 115: “As far as I know none of our player were hurt on international duty?” Right you are. But there are still some matches left, so fingers still crossed.
If Ozil is out for couple of months I think between TR7, Jack, Rambo, Santi and Ox through the middle we would have him covered for that time period, there would be some disjointed performances where we will miss him but the team would probably play more pragmatically and I believe we have more than enough to keep us alive in PL and CL. Hopefully the break would give Mesut some time to mentally refresh as well.
Hopefully we can get Debuchy and Giroud back in the squad before the madness of the Christmas-New Year schedule.
Vinay, Toure is a top-class player and has got plenty of good games left in him, no doubt. But as we’ve seen with Arteta, a midfielder’s legs can go once past 30, and box-to-box players like Toure don’t get much chance to pace themselves in games. He missed a couple of matches with muscle injury late last season, the first time in yonks he was out injured so perhaps Pellegrini is seeing something that we can’t. And you can’t fault him for looking to the future, especially if he has a new Toure up his sleeve.
A Trev blockbuster 🙂 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>