Arsenal Comeback Masks Defensive Frailty
Aug 9th, 2008 by 'holic
The after effects of the Guinness have numbed the senses, but not the memory of a remarkable comeback by the Gunners in Amsterdam. This was a typical Arsenal performance in so many ways.
The first-half appeared to be going comfortably for the visitors with Adebayor (twice), Eboue and Fabregas all going close to opening the scoring. The football was a pleasure to watch, but then the Achilles’ heel was well and truly exposed. In the centre of the defence we are about as secure as a chocolate fireguard.
Toure’s poor clearing header fell to Suarez who was given time and space by Gallas to finish with style. Two minutes later Cvitanich was allowed to climb and direct his header to Huntelaar, again with time and space to add a second. It looked as though we had well and truly shot ourselves in the foot.
When Arsene Wenger frequently mentions the character of his team he is referring to the uncanny knack they have of recovering from deficits. The second-half of this contest may live in the memory a bit longer than most pre-season friendlies. In seventeen astonishing minutes Arsenal turned the game around.
Adebayor’s firm header from an Eboue cross got us back in the picture, and the big man was at the heart of the equaliser, intercepting a poor backpass to tee up Bendtner. The crowning glory came in the shape of a flowing Arsenal attack that ended with Adebayor converting a cut-back from Denilson.
Given that mass changes are expected for the final warm-up game against Sevilla today, this was the last chance for the first team to gel before the Champions League qualifier against Twente. The two major questions remain unanswered. Have we got a central midfielder who can afford some degree of protection for the back four? Have we got two players who can give us some security in the heart of the defence?
Those doubts have to be resolved, and quickly. We cannot rely on outscoring everybody over a fifty-plus match season. On the plus side though, we do look absolutely breathtaking at times in attack. The cautious optimism is building.
64 Responses to “Arsenal Comeback Masks Defensive Frailty”
that was toures and fabregas first pre season friendly so if your gonna judge being a pessimist im glad its arsene thats arsenals manager rather than yourself. a bit of rational realism please. A team consists of many players so if even one has a bad game it will upset the balance. so instead of judging now judge when everybody is firing on all cylinders as there is a long season ahead. if there is no change then nit pick otherwise support arsenal with all your positive energy.
Ignoring the ignorant comments from S***s fans with little understanding of history and the vocabulary of similar to their IQ’s, I am going to do the unspeakable and criticise Mr Wenger.
Last night’s game highlighted the problems that were all too apparent in the decline at the end of last season. The pundits, the fans, even fans of opposing teams could see where Arsenal were left wanting – everyone except it appears, Mr Wenger.
Not that he’ll read this posting, but gere are a few facts that Le Boss chooses to ignore.
1. We need tall strong centre backs who can cope with the most basic ‘english attacking ploy’ – the long ball over the top.
2. All the great sides have attacking flair in abundance, but it is always underpinned by a strong and resolute defence – ours is not good enough.
3. You need a top class goalkeeper. Almunia is a good second choice but nowhere good enough for No.1. Worryingly we don’t have a decent second choice goalie – Fabianski is not ready for premiership football.
4. If we aren’t going to improve the defence, we must have an experienced PROVEN, ball-winning defensive midfielder. Inler has little experience, and not track-record. We do not need potential, we laready have bucketloads of that! Cana would be brilliant for us and for that reason alone, I’m sure Wenger won’t sigh him.
5. Adebayor couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo. His first touch is poor, he seldom scores one-on-ones with the goalkeeper and his finishing requires 5 or 6 chances to score! He is a handfull for defenders but I would have let him go for £20+ million and signed a talented goalscorer like Santa Cruz.
In Wenger’s praise, I think that Nasri will be a great replacement for Hleb in time. Hleb overcomplicated the game, he slowed down attacks, was too clever by half and wpst of all was scared to shoot.
I would welcome responses from other gooners as long as its not just illiterate insults. In time we will find out if Wenger has produced his trademark master stroke and fooled us all, but for now I am worried that we will win nothing again this season.
rasputin..i agree with most of what you said except the ADEBAYOR part, yes he does have some problems but he is a brilliant player and the best sticker at arsenal at the moment. I am not sure which player out there doesnt miss goals..henry and torres miss a lot of goals..you’re not going to get many players out there as good as ADE, so shut it and fknuf off!
I agree with Meditation thats its too early to judge the team as a whole with Fab and Toure’s first game of the freindly warm ups but lets be quite clear here. If Twete hit the ground running and are sharp and Arsenal have another lack luste performance in defence we WILL be punished.
I for one don’t have as much faith in Gallas as le boss does. He is no Tony Adams, Terry or even Ferdy. I think Steve Bould would give him a run for his money. He is subject to lapses in concentration and is often caught out of position. Not as bad as Sendoros but like the post before we do need a big strong mobile centre back who can deal with the high balls.. can head clear confidently and can pass the ball to feet over 10 yards.
Toure is great, fit and covers alot of ground but we need a ‘Donkey’ in there to to the simple things well.
I also think Barry would have been a great addition to the squad bringing knowledge and understanding of the game in this league. Not a world class midfielder by 2days standards but a very solid realiable one.. just like (coughs) Flem was.. but hey Wengr gets paid shed loads to make it right. Lets support what he does and see if he’s worth his weight in gold!!
For all does that ask for tall defenders that are good in the air.
Senderos is 6′ 3”
Djourou is 6′ 4”
They are not first choice yes, Arsene reckons they are not far off.
Some fans and pundits may not agree, at least recognise it.
Unlike what a lot of fans and most pundits think, managing a club is not fantassy football. Djourou and Senderos have been and the club from there teenage years. If they have weeknesses in their games, it will be worked on and developed. That how AW likes to work.
When the board and fans are tired of this format of working, he will be sacked and employ a cheque book coach like Rafa.
Oh dear piken – are you really a gooner? I respected your opinion until the last barrage of insults. Are we really that insecure that we have to resort to childish language like that!
The statistcs prove the Adebayor needs considerably more chances to score than other top class strilers -your example of Torres for one is far mor lethal. Ideally I’d keep Adebayor – I just wouldn’t make him the target for all our goals. Eduardo showed that he is a much better finisher before he was injured. I think we would have won the Prem and possibly the CL had it not been for ‘that tackle’.
Here’s another thought for anyone not challenged by debate – Wasn’t it it a huge mistake to make Gallas captain again. This means he is always going to be picked when fit. I think he was partially responsible for both goals yesterday. I saw evidence that Song could be a really excellent centreback last season. He has that wonderful languid ‘African’ way of moving that makes it look like he’s not giving 100%, but if you analyse his positioning, distribution of the ball and tackling he is first class and in my opinion better than Senderos (if given a run in the side)
Whatever you guys wanna say but let’s face it if this was against the top 10 premier league side, they would have killed it by a third goal or would have outmuscled our team. Dont think that chelsea, man united or such teams would let us score three goals and come back. Our defence has the same stupid problem.. Toure is mediocre but only Sol Campbell used to save his butt and now that we have two defenders of the same height and strenght, Toure has been clumsy. We can use him in the midfield and should seriously get a new tall strong no nonsense defender! PLEASE WENGER BUY A GOD DAMN DEFENDER, YOU ADMITTED AT THE END OF LAST SEASON HOW WE CONCEDED ON AERIAL THREAT!!
Top 6 finish?
Piken is right. Ade is the best sticker at arsenal at the moment.
Top 8 then?
I’ll settle for top 10.
Half a Beamish please ‘holic
I agree with alot of what has been said on the defense…not just on that one game but on last season performances also. Yes Arsenal did brilliant and exceeded what was expected by many but the Toure Gallas partnership is not good enough to win a trophy.
There is a definite need to buy a quality hard man centre half 1 with some height and a bite in the tackle who can attack the ball and deal with crosses and corners.
God help them two aganist a powerful tall centre forward like Drogba he would take them to pieces in minutes.
To be fair there is not alot of that quality out there in a Terry, Vidic mould but Cristián Zapata looks a good candiate. Pay the 20 MILLION it would be money well spent if it brings defensive line up to scratch. Who would I get rid of?…. easy Gallas he is a knob and a weak link. Toure is a better centre half in my opinion now and is 100% heart always.
Another area thats needs dealing with is a centre midfield to partner Cesc. Denislon is not up to it and should be sent packing along with Eboune who is the worst player I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure who I’d like in there but I liked the sound of Alonso he’s good tackler and can pass a ball too….. very much a Petit type player we really lack at present.
As for Theo Walcott I would love to see him being a world beater but the lad needs to learn to maintain his balance. How many times did he slip last night it was unblieveable. The only thing going for him is his pace but thats nothing unless you have a brain and awareness he has neither and although he is young thats no excuse just look at Fabegras? I sure hope I wrong but my head tells me he will not be the palyer expected he years to come he will be average at best.
I sure hopes Arsene stops being a tight git and spends some money otherwise we will be there abouts but never winners. I am getting abit sick of being a nearly team!
Thanks william for treating the subjct seriously. I think Djourou will become a good player worthy of the first team – Senderos on the other hand has basic flaws in his make-up that cannot be fixed. If you listen to Wenger’s published theoretical analysis of a player’s development, he says (not word for word) that up to 14, players develop their skills, 14 to 18 they grow in strength and 18 to 22 they develop their footballing brain. Unfortunately Senderos (who is a highly intelligent individual) does not have a good enough footballing brain. Add this to his lack of mobility and apparent confusion when given too long to think of the right pass, and you have a player who is only good enough to play for the lesser premiership teams.
Raputin
If you are going to try and use statistics to back up your arguments at leasrt get them right rather than resorting to urban myths. If you look at the Opta stats for last year you will find Ade’s scoring ratio to chances is up there among the best with Ronaldo and Torres. Yes he misses some but he has a lot of chances. Yesterday he arguably missed two (the second was unlucky), yet he still scored 2 and had an assist for the third. How people can still argue with that beats me.
I am not particularly knowledgabele about EPL stats. Could someone direct me to a site where I could view figures like those Rasputin refers to:
“The statistcs prove the Adebayor needs considerably more chances to score than other top class strilers -your example of Torres for one is far mor lethal.”
what it with some arsenal fan did i miss somthing last night did we not come back and win the game. there dame if they don,t win and damed if they do .
jus read ur first comment rasputin and nearly totally gree wit what u say….
i would not sell ade 2 get d likes of santa cruz, i think ade”s finishing wil improve and he”s such a hndfull for d defence”s.
only if we could get leboss to read this website,we would be lot stronger for next season
If that is our best team then we will win nothing this season. There is a great big weakness at the heart of the side starting with the keeper. I agree that Almunia is a good keeper but there is no team from the top four last season without a world-class goalie and Almunia is by far the weakest of all of them – he is quite clearly an average PL keeper and there are many many clubs who are better than us in that department.
My solution: Artur Boruc (10 mill)
The centre-back situation is very worrying indeed because that partnership isn’t as solid as it should be – we’re obviously vulnerable to the high ball and also the pair seem to get pulled out of position too easily … they just don’t seem to compliment eachother. The backup is nreliable and doesn’t offer much difference either; while Djourou looks like he can develop into a good player I think we know Senderos is a liability. What compounds the problem is that Wenger has made Gallas coptain again which makes it difficult to drop him … therefore Kolo would be the one to drop out should we bring in reinforcements.
My solution: Vincent Kompany (15 mill)
Central midfield – my god! We must have the weakest bunch we’ve ever had in that position – having lost the (last season anyway) amazing Flamini and the hugely experienced Gilberto we’re well and truly lacking a decent defensive central midfielder. Forget Diaby or Denilson they are nowhere near being the player we need although both could become decent midfielders in time – Denilson especially. I just can’t see how we can seriously expect to challenge for the title with no holding midfielder at all – we actually need TWO … but we will probably get one, if we’re lucky.
My solution: Miguel Veloso (17 mill?)
I can dream on obviously because Wenger will not get any of these players – possibly one more to come in but it’s anyone’s guess who that might be. I have to say that with three more decent players we look like very serious contenders but as it stands we’re not going to win a raflle.
WENGER HAS ALWAYS FOCUSED ON ATTACK BUT HAS DONE NOTHING TO SORT THE DEFENCE OUT. HE ADMITTED AT THE END OF LAST SEASON THAT WE NEED A GOOD TALL DEFENDER BUT NOW HAS STEPPED OUT OF IT. I DONT KNOW WHAT HIS PROBLEM IS, BUT HE ALWAYS NOW WANTS TO BUY AND MAKE PROFIT TOO. EVEN THAT THE CASE, BUY A GOD DAMN DEFENDER FROM NORWAY OR ANYWHERE BUT FOR GOD SAKES BUY A TALL GOOD DEFENDER!! TOURE CAN BE USED IN MIDFIELD TO PARTNER CESC, AFTERALL HE CAN SHOOT AND HEAD! STOP BEING STUBBORN WENGER!!
The stats on Opta show that Ade was behind Ronaldo, Santa Cruz, Torres and Yakubu. They also show that he was caught offside more than any other palyer (66) and it is safe to assume that in being offside he was through on goal therefore denying himself another goalscoring chance – so his 24% conversion rate should realistically be considerably lower!
I said before that I don’t necessarily want him out of the side, but I do believe he was lucky to have scored so many goals last season and the grass roots gooner in me was offended at the badge kissing and retraction of statements that occured after he got his ‘pension fund’ But I will happily overlook that it he scores another 30 goals this season and apologise to Messrs Wenger and any other fan who thinks I’m being harsh.
The discussion about centre-backs is a waste of time. Wenger has retained Gallas’ services as captain so how is he gonna slip another tall strong centre-back into the team. Mostly, gooners agree that Toure is the better of the two so how do we get out of that one!! Hope that Gallas gets a long-term injury? Djourou does appear to be more of an athlete and can pass the ball more efficiently and Song will also play a part – unless he becomes the new holding midfielder. If we bought one player it should be to fill the gaping void left by Flam and Gilberto, how come we all know and Le Boss is having a blinkered moment. Cana gets my vote, arseblog said we need to be a bit ‘sendyoffy’ again and he would def fit the part.
El Tommo,
have you seen Kompany play or do you just play too much FM and pro evo?
He is a fucking liability. If you think Big Phil is dodgy and makes mistakes then you wann see this guy, he is a bloody spastic.
OK peaches – you state facts regarding the defense, but I’m using this opportunity to dream of what could be? You’re right, Wenger has put his faith in Gallas etc and I’m right – its not good enough and if anything stops us winning trophies this season, it will defensive frailties. Argue yourself out of that one….
El Tommo has a great slant on what could be…..but like me, I don’t think he believes any of the brilliant signings he lists will be wearing our shirt this season.
Let’s face it – Wenger is incredibly stuborn. The problem is, none of us really know how much finance plays a part in his signings. But if we are really about to sign Inler for 10million plus (6.5 wa s just the buy-out clause), then I can think of some much better proven players who wouldn’t have cost that much more and would rotect our shaky defense.
good arguments rasputin yr saying what ethan and a lot more of us were saying last season but you will never convince all the akb’s out there wenger says we need top quality centre half’s then we dont then we need a defensive cm now according to last night we dont need them he rightly mentioned the defen sive shortrcomings in last nights game but never mentioned the glaring misses by ade notouch
Rasputin – the reality is that Gallas is captain and plays as a central defender! Its a no-brainer, shall we play 5 across the back?
Try and be positive about the excellent striking partnerships that we’ve seen so far in this pre-season and thats without Eduardo and Rossicky playing. We came from 2 goals down to win last night, that shows a resilience that we should be thrilled about.
Rasputin
You keep quoting stats for your arguments – here are the actual stats
Scorers Team Goals Goal/shots
Ronaldo Man Utd 31 24%
Torres Liverpool 24 25%
Adebayor Arsenal 24 23%
Santa Cruz Blackburn 19 25%
Yakubu Middlesbrough/Everton 15 28%
From this presumably you would suggest we buy Yakubu as he has a 4% better conversion rate than Roanldo, who ion turn has a huge 1% better rate than Ade!
Be honest and just admit that you don’t like Ade, but please try not to justify it quoting dubious stats.
Anyway there’s not a chance that Wenger is going to listen to you on this, and there is no way he should do when he is scoring goals.
if we only buy one player i definatly would prefer centre back rather than a holding mid fielder, toure could do a very good job in the holding mid field position.
in an ideal world if we could get a big strong defender that read the game well and a top class battling mid fielder we could drop gallas who i think has lost his edge and who is always moaning and in my opinion has the defence feeling under a negative pressure which results in us making mistakes…
I have to question this
Where has all the money gone? not all on a new stadium
Sometimes i wonder if is Wenger or the board who are reluctant to spend
We need now a ball winning midfeilder Patrick Style
We need a ball winning Centre half Tony Adams style
These need to be Experienced leaders
We know Adebayor’needs 5 chances to convert two why did we not buy Hunteler he needs one chance bang in the net
I am sure a decent bid would have secured his services
We need to win something this year i cant stress the importance as Cesc will move on next summer if we dont he is the heart beat of our team
Everyone can see our weekness Experience and Defensive Everyone that is apart from Wenger or is it the board?
Manny – have you forgotten how many times even Thierry Henry missed hitting the back of the net? Of course we want every chance to be a goal but in real life it doesn’t happen like that. I accept that ade could have scored 50 goals last season with all the chances that were created for him but it has to be said that he works hard for the team and sometimes, for whatever reason, the chance goes begging as it does for all strikers. Luckily he plays for Arsenal – we will continue to create excellent chances not only for him but for all our players.
Peaches – I conceded in my last post that the defense has been decided for this season – but, in my humble, just a fan who wants to see us win something, opinion, I don’t think its good enough. The 5 across the back suggestion, although meant to be facetious is not that silly as it is to all intents and purposes what a defensive midfielder gives a team.
Only a blinkered optimist would take too much heart from the comeback last night. As a previous correspondent stated earlier – a top side would have sat on a two goal lead and we wouldn’t have got a look in. It was obvious that Ajax’s energy was flagging when they conceded 3 goals in 17 minutes.
I can see a lot of positives for the coming season. Nasri will be good. Eduardo will come back. Vela and Wilshire are exciting. Rambo is fitting in well and making progress quietly without attracting headlines. I hope Song will be given more opportunities and perhaps its worth trying Traore in left midfield for a couple of games.
The inevitable dissappointments will be Diaby’s and Rosiccky’s finess (hopefully not RVP) and our continued practice of fielding weakened sides against teams we should beat.
Tell me of any gooner who didn’t cringe when we announced the weakened sides for the Carling Cup against S***s and the FA Cup against Manure. I’m not sure if Mr Wener appreciated how much those games disappointed?
Keith
You are another one spouting ridiculous statistics. If Ad was in fact taking 5 chances to convert two he would be the best striker of all time. This would equate to a 40% conversion rate!
As I responded to an earlier post, most top strikers only have around a 25% conversion rate, or 1 goal in four chances. Ronaldo has a 24% conversion rate, Ade has 23%.
This means that for 100 attempts on goal, Ronaldo would score just 1 more goal than Ade (Torres would score 2 more!).
I don’t have the stats for him but I very much doubt Huntelaar is any different ( if it is it would be because he plays in the Dutch league which is not at the same standard as the PL).
21Azza
El Tommo,
have you seen Kompany play or do you just play too much FM and pro evo?
He is a fucking liability. If you think Big Phil is dodgy and makes mistakes then you wann see this guy, he is a bloody spastic.
– You’re a cunt … I don’t play stupid kids games as you obviously do. I have seen him play and I’ll tell you this – he’s a fucking class act compared to the donkey that is Senderos, so stfu you moron.
Rasputin, the stats say Adebayor’s conversion rate was 23%, Santa Cruz 24% and Torres 25%. Ronaldo took 216 shots last season, Ade 104.
Lunberg on a free?
Well said little dutch… Rasputin if you re going to put forward an argument try not too jump on the bleak scare mongering attitudes of the tabloid media!! Back them up a little… Other than your Ade comments n the rest you are right.
We need a keeper, I would have gone for Friedel, and obviously a CB and a DM…. but the priority for me would be a DM.
Little Dutch – have you read my response to this point listing Ade’s offside haul of 66. He was oofside countless times yesterday against Ajax. His 23% conversion rate would be lower if this was taken into consideration since to be oofside you must be in an attacking position and therefore about to have a goalscoring opportunity. But anyway it is irrelevant as our breathtaking midfield play means that we create high quality scoring opportunities. I bet Torres would have been up there at 27% if he’d played for us last season. I repeat though – I don’t want to see Ade go – I’m just being realistic about the quality of his finishing!
we only came back last nite when ajax started trying new player with unsetle their team. we had the same team for close to 90min
As supporters, surely, we all have to be optimists. Being blinkered obviously allows for lively debate. I can live with that. We can rant about our team and also be delighted by them, we can be proud of their achievements and disappointed in their failings – we are their supporters. Nothing we say here will change anything
Whatever this season brings we start with a clean slate at zero just like all the rest. I can’t wait for it to begin.
Lets have a bit more shared hope.
Thanks peaches ofr injecting a note of optimism. I am reminded by the book/film Feverpitch, that being a football fan has a lot to do with angst and suffering, but can produve the most exhilarating highs too.
Unfortunately, the removal of the terraces and the exhorbitant salaries mean that the players are now further removed from the fans. Those good old days are gone and we as a club have been leaders rather than followers in the evolution of football, but whichever ay you look at it, this new era at the Emirates has produced a level of uncertainty at the club that wasn’t there during Wengers early years. The pattern is set and we can envisage what lies ahead. Its better to allay fears by making changes than to sit back smugly at the end of the season and say “I told you so”
It is a fact that an increasing number of fans are questioning the direction we are going in – if it comes down to the old argument ‘do we want to play beautiful football, or do we want to win trophies?’, there is only one answer….We want to play beautiful football and win trophies and that can only happen when you have the right blend of attacking flair and defensive strength. So I’m all for optimism, but without some realism first, I find it hard to be optimistic
Rasputin
You don’t seem to get it do you? EVEN if Torres had had a 27% conversion rate against Ade’s 23%, do you know how many more goals this would he have scored for us last year than Ade. Two. He had 96 shots to Ade 104, so he would have scored about 26 goals. In fact his convesrion rate was 25% so he would have score about the same as Ade.
I’m afraid the offside is a a red herring too. His stats show that he is offside every 44 minutes or twice a game, which isn’t that far off many other strikers. I don’t know Torres figures, but here are comparative figures to some other strikers
Marcus Bent 43.2
Emmanuel Adebayor 44.4
Dean Ashton 50.4
Nicolas Anelka 57.5
Not saying he couldn’t improve on this, but hardly the damning stat Ade bashers say it is.
‘But if we are really about to sign Inler for 10million plus (6.5 wa s just the buy-out clause), then I can think of some much better proven players who wouldn’t have cost that much more and would rotect our shaky defense.’
Wow, I wish you were our manager.
As AW said, both Ajax goals were unbelievable strikes and sometimes you have to put your hands up and say – great goals. To even imply that Almunia was to blame for either is ridiculous; we could have had three goalkeepers and not kept them out.
Our defence seemed fine for the first 2/3 of last season and what Gallas and Toure lose in height etc, they make up for in their skill speed and passing. Have you forgotten the vital goals William chipped in with last season? A combination of factors seriously changed the balance of the team after February, which I believe resulted in us losing the league. But for crucial injuries and a lot of bad luck we would have won the league and you can’t win the league with a bad defence. We need someone to fill Flam’s role and whether that’s a player from inside or outside the club, I don’t know, but I’m sure AW will do his best.
What a great comeback yesterday and we must also remember this was preseason when players’ attitudes may be different and their fitness / sharpness is definitely less than it will be. Get behind the team instead of moaning like a bunch of frigging northerners.
Rasputin – you really are a supercilious twat, who for some reason thinks he can manage Arsenal better than AW. I guessing by your spelling of the word defence (or defense as you write it) that you’re a ‘Septic Tank’, so I shouldn’t really be surprised. Pull your neck in mate and either get behind the team or go and support the Scum or another team who buys crap just to appease fickle supporters.
Steve
I’ll admit to some typos but I can spell, and defence is equally acceptable to defense if you look in a modern dictionary.
You on the other hand are seriously lacking in manners, education and perception. My family come from suffolk, I live in Hertfordshire and I wouldn’t dream of calling another gooner a ‘supersilious twat’ just because I didn’t happen to share his opinion. to me the most important thing is that we care about our club and we are proper football supporters (and if you don’t know what I mean by that, then you’re not one!)
I have no doubt that Wenger is the best manager ever to grace the premiership, but in the same way as governments lose their way when they have been in power for too long, I am asking the question “Does Mr Wegers stubborn nature, prevent him from making decisions / signing the players that the majority of fans and pundits would like to see at the club?” I’m not offering the answer or dreaming to believe that I could ever be a great football manager, but I do know a bit about common sense. To parody an old adage “I am not advocating replacing Wenger, but I would fight for the right to ask the question”
[…] 3-2 win over Ajax was of course welcome but did mask some defensive deficiencies at the heart of the Gunners back line. Wenger was relatively pleased with Kolo Toure though who […]
At last – Steve D – thankyou, a gooner who is happy to stand up and have positive thoughts about how our team played last night. Good point about the Ajax goals – sometimes you just get undone by great strikes out of nowhere. Rasputin – instead of ranting in the bloggs, why not write to Arsene and make your intelligent suggestions directly to him. It might be an idea not to seem quite so negative if you want to be taken seriously though.
peaches – I hope you and steve are very happy together in your comfort zone of self-satisfaction. Good idea – let’s not ask any questions, let’s just say everything is great and then it will be great! Neville Chamberlain had the same idea in the ‘Peace in our time’ speech. You don’t seem to hear when I have made positive points – see entry 29.
Do you know, I’m actually ambivalent about making these points myself as I want success at Arsenal more than anything, but I can’t bury my head in the sand. All this is academic since we won’t know the truth until the end of the season. If I’m right I’ll be devastated and if I’m wrong I’ll be overjoyed – and I guess the same will be true for anyone who disagrees with me…..so on that basis, we all agree!
COME ON YOU REDS (with a chorus of ‘there’s only one Arsene Wenger’)
Rasputin
I sympathise with your views but you are wrong on a number of counts. Firstly as others have said Adebayor is fine stats wise. He is probably now the second best striker in the league. Sounds silly I know but only Torres is worth having over and above Ade. Rooney might have more skill but he is not a goalscorer and there is really is noone else after that. Roque Santa Cruz would be as good as Ade in our team maybe – but its better the devil you know. And anyway he is nowhere near as frightening to the likes of Terry or Vidic as Ade is… don’t underestimate him.
Secondly, who are these players that you would sign to ensure we won the league? I’d love to know. Last season we lost 3 games in the Prem two to Chelsea and Man U away after being in the lead… if we cant trust these players to get it right then who are the players out there that will guarantee us victory?
Its fine to fight for the right to ask the question but have some alternatives too???
Rasputin – ask the questions by all means, but surely its more sensible to ask the person who has the answers. You have encouraged a lively debate which I’m sure pleases you but you have no answers. I accept that your positive comments did go unnoticed and concede that you probably have got your heart in the right place.
Living in North London I am too often in the company of other london club supporters and its the self-satisfaction that keeps a smile on my face. I’m not gonna let that drop.
There’s no doubt that anyone who wants to question should be encouraged to do so. There is no truth here to be uncovered only speculation about what the future holds. You can’t get to the end without starting at the beginning. We’re almost at the beginning – just a few days to go. Be patient.
COME ON YOU REDS – I’m off to watch the babies
King Kolo, thanks for the considered response. It is my opinion (and as an opinion, like yours it cannot be right or wrong) that Ade is not as good as some would have him, and I believe Santa Cruz is a better footballer. I am not a fan, but Drogba would also probably have scored more goals for us. I don’t remember saying that signing certain players alone would help us win the league, but my preference would be to leave the back four as it is and buy a defensive midfielder to replace Flamini. I would take Veloso, Barry, Alonso or Cana and be perfectly happy. Inler has had injury problems and is not the finished article – so I wouldn’t be keen to sign him. However I’d have loved to have Brad Friedel as competition for Almunia. He’s getting on but has a couple of good years left in him and would give Fabianski time to come through. All of this is just my humble opinion – not a personal attack on Wenger or a criticism of the club I love.
One addition to my last comment. It wasn’t the games we lost to the top teams that cost us the league last season, it was the games we drew against lower half opposition – Birmingham, Boro etc
What do I know? Fabianski is having a fantastic game against Sevilla..
Rasputin:
As you started the quotes, let me suggest one –
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
I say we show some wisdom and serenity; and then have the courage to give AW and the team our full support through thick-and-thin, as that’s about the only way we can influence the team.
Let’s face facts, we’re not in a financial position to buy a team like the Chavs, so we have to build one from youngsters like Manure did over a decade ago. We’re all on the same side and want the same thing; I guess the difference is that having supported Arsenal for 38 years, I don’t expect us to win every year – although of course that would be nice. Two or three more seasons mate and we’ll be unstoppable!!! Although I still believe strongly that we have a good chance this season.
An optimistic view maybe, but it works for me and success is always sweeter after a few failures. 1989 was the most amazing year for that very reason.
COME ON YOU REDS!!!!
Steve
At no stage have I suggested not giving AW or the team my full support. I find it fascinating that you see fit to challenge any view that is ‘popular’ purely on the grounds that Arsene knows best. I too have supported the club for many years and have at no stage questioned your commitment to Arsenal.
I don’t expect us to win every year and I am very proud of our up and coming youngsters, but if you watched the game this evening, you will have heard the pundits bemoaning the fact that it demonstrated the lack of experience in the ‘Carling Cup side’. The squad is light on experience and doesn’t have a good leader on the pitch. The likes of Tony Adams and Vieira are few and far between, but boy, couldn’t they make a difference when the going got tough?
I’d never want an open cheque book to buy players like Chelski, but don’t forget that in revenue terms, progressing further in and winning competitions earns the money to afford better players.
I’m not sure a club can afford the “Two or three more seasons mate and we’ll be unstoppable!!!” mentality in the modern game. It is fast becoming th case that the top teams re-build themselves every year. I’d hate us to be ike that, but come on, are you seriously saying that we don’t need a couple of good experienced players. Just imagine if Fabregas, Toure and Adebayor were all injured – what kind of a bench could we field?
I think your quote could just have easily been used to substantiate my argument as yours – you seem unhappy that I have the courage to question what you see as sacrosanct! Perhaps we’d better agree to differ and direct our energies towards what we hope will be a successful season.
Thanks all for contributing. I don’t agree with a lot of what has been said, but am pleased to see the arguments didn’t spill over into something worse as so often happens. Cheers for that.
Rasputin –
You’re right, come Saturday we’ll be comrades-in-arms and cheering together. I think maybe my ‘supercilious twat’ comment was a bit harsh and I apologise, especially as you didn’t descend into any abuse. Please accept my e-handshake and good luck mate.
I have one statistic to add: this team wins nothing.
highest prices, lowest transfer funds. afc supporters have purchased in full the right to be bloody fakin shyte right angry and disappointed. these fargin poodles that wenger trots out are a damned disgrace to the shirt. outside a handful of players the squad is like a deer in the headlights.
too right, afc’s finances are a shambles. next thing we know villa is headed to the spuds. edelman fired without explanation explains it all. next thing we know our shirt deal is worth a third of manu and chels, oh yeah, that is already the case. who’s minding the shop?
is a big mistake wenger no buy anyone. to be a big team today you must spend the money. you no spend you no win anything. why we afc supporters pay so much money and team no win anything? all our players just want more money and they not that good and they injury all time. attrition is part of game, injuries happen and we all mess again.
Arsenal team is too young, even older players are immature. Very hard to for this team win anything at all. They looks good sometimes but this team very much same last four years and they don’t win. This team no win, they looks good but they no win anything again. Very wrong we no buy stronger players, we can no pay highest price for players but we need better ones.
i’sa gree, no win with team we have now. very bad, very very bad. We have weakness everywhere except three or four players. other teams gettin stronger but not Arsenal? Why we have no money for buy good players, we need better players, team is too young und too weak for win anything. I like watch but no hoping for more than some times beauty play. this team like a tease because looks good but no win. a team build for potential, not for win.
Indeed, the club’s current youth policy will prove very costly in the end. It is becoming increasingly doubtful that we can maintain our European ambitions with said policy. We all love to see young stars emerging but it’s the trophies that make a club successful. It’s what you win that determines your legacy. We, as a club, have clearly leaned too heavily on youth and that legacy is becoming obvious. Sadly, either we have no money to spend or the policy should be re-examined.
We are the only ‘big’ club whose books balance, unlike ManUre and the Chavs who are so heavily in debt that they could find themselves going the way of Leeds Utd in the future.
Wenger has given us the best acadamy in the world and that’s no exageration. That acadamy is finally producing a large number of superb players, who all play ‘WengerBall’ and are in their late teens.
Wenger has given us a magnificent stadium and turned the club into a truely global brand; both of which ensure our finances will improve remarkably in the near future, especially as the stadium loan gets paid off.
I have never been so excited about the future of the club and I have been a loyal supporter for 38 years. I can honestly see us dominating the league within a couple of years, for a very long time. You may as well be patient, because if you’re a true supporter, you’re not ever going to change allegances whatever happens.
Have to agree with the spirit of Rasputins post. I have been ranting like a madman for several season already that Toure is just not good enough, he had one fantastic season where he was the best CB in europe IMO, alas that was the exception and not the rule as he has patently revealed ever since. Poor positional sense, useless at long balls, lacks concentration, ball watches, at least 50% of the goals we concede are down to his ineptitude.
Toure reminds me of Gareth Southgate, who in his time was a truly fantastic defender for 89 minutes of every match he played, the final minute he was Gus Caesar personified and always conspired to concede goals through his narcolepsy.
Arsene, if you’re reading this, for the love of Cesc go and buy a world class centre back. Consign Toure to the bench the alternative is to guarantee we score two oasl every game to stand a chance of winning it.
P.S. please desist with the Kevin Keegan “just score more than the other side” approach. Defenses win leagues, not forwards.
How long are our best players including cesc and rvp going to stay if we don’t win anything. They’ll bugger off and for much more dosh. Arsene is being very cavalier if he doesn’t strenthen soon. The current team is so young if we get squashed one night, they’ll drop their chins and the seasons over.