Jack Slays Rangers, While Chamakh Throws A Sickie
Aug 2nd, 2009 by 'holic
I’m not entirely sure we have learned anything from a three goal drubbing of the champions of Scotland that we didn’t already know. Except maybe one thing. I have been talking since the end of last season about the difficulty of accommodating Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, and Rosicky in the same side. To that list add the name of Jack Wilshere.
It took the seventeen year old less than two minutes to open the scoring, and he closed the half with a sensational run and chip that so deserved to find the target, rather than bring a superb tip-over save from McGregor.
In between times the unexpected starter, Fran Merida, had freed Eduardo for a typical clinical finish and the game was effectively over just ten minutes in. The only times Rangers threatened came not surprisingly from set pieces.
Gallas and Silvestre are about as accomplished in the air as Icarus, and all the Gunners old failings were again apparent. I’m yet to be convinced that Vermaelen will solve this particular problem, although his other qualities will be welcome.
The second-half settled into a fairly timid affair, although there was an unexpected appearance for Sanchez Watt, which suggests he is being considered for Carling Cup duty later in the autumn. Rangers came close but were denied when Alex Song made a great block from Davis.
There was to be no denying Wilshere a second man-of-the-match award of the weekend, however. Jack scored with an exquisite half-volley after some terrific work by Sanchez Watt and Ramsey down the left.
In a thinly-veiled warning to some fans Arsene Wenger suggested that he would still be very protective of his burgeoning young talent. Queried about how many games Wilshere may play in the coming season.
“How many games? I don’t know. The only problem in England is knowing the impatience of the people is that it will be difficult to keep the right pace in his progress.”
He could have added that Jack will be contesting a berth with some of the finest attacking midfield talent in the Premiership.
After the match I caught the second-half of Bordeaux beating Villareal 2-0. Whilst I was delighted to catch a glimpse of Robert Pires, I was denied another look at Marouane Chamakh, officially ill, but rumoured to be in London negotiating a transfer, according to French press sources.
Now there you go, putting two and two together and making five. Even if there is any truth in that rumour, it may not have been with Arsenal. If it is, he may need to book some extra nights in the hotel. We need a centre-half and a midfielder first!
70 Responses to “Jack Slays Rangers, While Chamakh Throws A Sickie”
First in the bar then?
I’ll have anything so long as it is refreshing.
I thought we lacked a bit of physical presence in the attacking department. Perhaps a reason for someone like Chamakh…
Chamakh is awful and a trouble maker, hope we go for Huntlaar.
Good blog Sir. Sipping a mug Tetleys here. Milk, no sugar. All I’m fit for tonight.
Cheers Esso, milk in a pint of Tetleys? Ugh. 😉
stephen, you appear to be confusing Chamakh with Adebayor. We will have to agree to differ.
Seriously… you are going to have to get over this notion of a new centre half. Senderos has gone and we have four left, not including Song. You may not like them or think we can do better but that doesn’t change the fact we are not getting any more. Wegner just spent £10m on the central defender you asked for… so he must think he’s quite good. The best you will get is cover for the right back position that can play centre half.
A single malt would do fine now.
Thanks, ‘holic.
Nice post ‘holic.
I got the impression from Wenger’s comments regarding attacking options that he doesn’t see the need to add another striker but it could just be more Wenger mindgames.
I was impressed by the team defending collectively today, pressing high up the pitch and allowing Rangers no time in midfield. The 433 system allows for a greater flexibilty in the players defensive positions which is good for a team lacking in positional discipline. There was, on more than one occasion, up to 4 Arsenal players harrying and shutting down players and space together. This would not be possible in a semi-rigid 442.
Eduardo led the line well thanks to very good support play from Cesc, Merida, Jack and AA. When the technical players get close together and start forming their passing patterns and off-the-ball movement a lone striker can work for us. Dudu encourages this with his intelligent runs and good close control whereas Ade’s poor touch and ridiculously naive running made it nigh on impossible for the others to get near him and support.
Song did ok but it would be foolish to think that with 3 central positions up for grabs that he can be the only genuine defensive midfield option. With Cesc, Diaby, Ramsey all wanting to support the forwards and Denilson hovering somewhere in between we need another option who would have similar attributes to Song (but hopefully better and more experienced.)
Mr Deus, when I asked for a centre-half I wanted a net gain of one. The new signing is balanced by the loss of Toure and Senderos. Anybody who has played the game can see we are crying out for a dominant figure who will get on the end of crosses into the box, rather than get stuck underneath everything like rabbits caught in the headlights.
Does anyone else think Arsenal take the fun out of transfers for fans now?
Everything is so clinical. We don’t comment until it’s 100% official (that’s probably fair enough).
We then post it on our website 2 hours after the story has broken elsewhere with a video of the player and a generic Arsene quote about his versatility and how he can play in 8 different positions!
There’s no press conference, no chance for the fans to meet the player etc.
It normally drags on so long that it feels like more of a relief and less exciting than it should.
I remember the Sol Campbell press conference and how much fun that was, how exciting it was when we signed DB10 etc.
We did used to do it – I wonder why we’ve stopped?
It’s not a massive point but I think it’s a shame. It’s always interesting to watch the press conference at other clubs with the manager and the new player.
Anyone else agree?
Good to see the players getting into the swing of things, particularly important when you consider the start we have.
There are a lot of numbers in our squad which means some may be disappointed if they’re expecting a few signings, I would guess at maybe just the one.
The important thing is that the fans support the team and get behind them. This is going to be a wonderful season, there will be ups and downs, and the support of the fans will be imperative for this young team.
First time up in here Holic…good joint.
I think the attacking strategy being tested out for the coming season is quite exciting, especially with a front three who are extremely mobile and can keep defences guessing – and in the case of Eduardo and Arshavin, scare the living shit out of any defence.
I say Arshavin and Eduardo (and if I may also add Vela here), because they are the most clinical finishers Arsenal have. Call them assassins because that’s what they are – they make football look beautiful and make fans shout Dagamit! when that ball hits the back of the net.
I think Wengers’s strategy is to unleash his assassins to feast over the truck of chances that will be created by an intelligent midfield of Cesc, Rosicky, Nasri, Wiltshire, et al.
You may note that I haven’t mentioned RVP or Bendy or Walcott, and the reason is that my sense is tthey are excellent players for a different purpose or a different type of opponent, and will be used for impact. Not everyone is coming to N5 to play football, some will come to park buses on our lawn and some creativity will be needed to unleash the assassins – who frankly speaking, we have lacked since Henry left N5. RVP and Ade chipped in, but let’s face it, it just wasn’t enough.
…And since Wenger’s philosophy of winning is based on scoring more goals than the opponent, then by Jaffa, let’s hope our assassins remain fit and sharp.
As for defence, I’ll reserve judgement until the first few matches. I’ve always believed that we expect too much from the defence line. Granted, they have a key role in keeping our goalie gainfully unemployed, but our biggest problem in the last 3 years has been that we don’t defend as a unit, starting with the striker up front.
George Graham used to tell his team that if you don’t have the ball, hunt the opponent down like a pack of wolves. Our playing is fluid enough to support this notion as there are enough creative players who know what to do to initiate an attack when they find their prey.
I think the notion that height is an absolute cure for our defence is a red herring, if we defended better as a unit and tracked back well, teams will find it harder to get at our goalie. Couple that with the assassins up front, you have an end result of a seriously demotivated opponent and a damn good football match.
But then again, it could just be wishful thinking…
Saying that, I think Mr. Wilshere should start a few matches ahead of Mr. Walcott. Capello might just have to get another plane seat for a trip to South Africa booked in the summer of 2010 right next to Walcott and Gibbs for a one J Wilshere.
You are absolutely right when addressing our lack of heading prowess for our defenders. It is too early to judge Vermaelen, but he certainly looks like he relishes physical battles. But who should Wenger buy to make our defence better?
Judging from today’s game, I suggest an experienced defensive midfielder. Someone who can position himself intelligently and mop up dangerous passes. I remember Gilberto being really competent at protecting our defence with his reading of the game. We need that sort of midfielder. I’m just really looking forward to if the boss ever addresses our concerns.
Chamakh in London? I will accept him with open arms. He certainly has the work-rate and we all know what the boss is capable to make out of under-rated players.
Who is not excited about Wilshere? The boss will have some serious problems with keeping him under wraps with these quality performances. He is certainly one of the most talented players to ever come from our academy.
Well done Jackie! Chamakh? Why another striker? My real comment is with Eboue. Why wear Gers shirt when on the podium? Why give boots away and shirt? Has he gone mad?
Completely off the topic but can I just say Myles Palemer is the most annoying “blogger” there is. It’s as though he anti Arsenal!!!! That guy should never watch Arsenal again. He talks the most amount of shit. I’ve been reading his pieces for 9 years and had a lot of respect for him. However, the guy is no Arsenal fan though. He’s as dramatic as they come and should go write for some crappy tabloid. He’s obviously only an Arsenal fan when we are winning but when things get a bit ropey he completely slates us beyond belief. I’d like to say more but I m way off the topic and don’t want to waste anymore time on a so called Arsenal “fan”. !!!
Wow, a pre-season game and one that Vermellen didnt even feature in and already he aint what we need?
A bit hasty no?
Oh and how many set piece goals did we concede from today? Cant quite remember. And we happened to have a pretty good record of conceding goals from set pieces, but thanks to the media, every goal conceded that way, always gets the tired old tripe of how crap we are at defending set pieces.
chet,
who is myles palemer
Spike, you may just want to go back to the clinic. That isn’t a labrador they have given you 😉
Jack Wilshere Is ready now. Foget all the waiting crap, He is ready now Wenger. He must start or at least be on the bench from now on.
Nice to see that Reyes has plenty of nice things to say about the club. This is quite unlike most players who leave who just can’t wait, it seems, to have a go. I am particularly disappointed with Kolo if he did say the things that were reported. Why not maintain a dignified silence and count your money?
Myles Palmer writes for Arsenal News Review. He wrote a book called The Proffesor. He seems to be in the “know” about a lot of Arsenal stuff but sometimes I think he makes it up! But on a serious note, check his site out. His articles in the last year or 2 , you would think he’s a Chelsea fan posing as a Gooner. He slates us beyond belief. I mean slates us on everything we do. There are other bloggers who say much worse about him than I have said today, trust me!!! I was going to buy his book but he don’t deserve it!! Arsenal 4 Ever!!!
Holic must know Myles
Chet,
Cheers mate…. It seems that there a lot of imposters as of late. I don’t know if they are tired of Wenger or just true haters but I’ll have to check it out. Any thoughts on Eboue’s antics?
So we didn’t concede, well thats because they missed two open goals.Even Fulham wont be that generous when the league kicks off.We still need some differerent options for the tough games. We have to have a centre half who dominates. In midfield Viera playing say twenty games,big ones, would be great for us and great experience for Song. In fact against Chelsea and United you could play them both. Up front wonderful football, but where’s the variety on a day when it isn’t working.I have doubts about a bunch of vertically challenged strikers away in the north in mud and slush, so Huntelaar please.
A lot of fans have only ever experinced the Wenger years. They forget years of not competeing for the league or the boring football we played before. Not that that was an issue for me but people fail to realsie we have always punched above our weight and thats down to AW and no one else!!!!!
Eboue’s just a bit mad.!!! I know he can be a bit iratic but if we get rid of him we will be short at RB as there’s only Sagna and no one else if Eboue goes. He is a good right back but needs to keep things simple! I say we keep him otherwise we be stuffed if Bacary gets injured.
Chet,
Why do you think Holic would know Myles Palmer? I don’t think any of the Arsenal bloggers such as Arseblogger, Goodplaya etc have anything to do with Palmer.
Spike, I was at the match, despite the scoreline the defence looked brittle and panicky at times.
I am not really sure how to cure it. It seemed more a lack of organisation and awareness than anything else.
I am surprised we’re in for Chamakh, we look like we have more than enough attacking options. It’s the defence that needs strengthening with two top draw signings, a centre back and central midfielder.
cally,
Fair enough…. but Arshavin surely in a striker position this year begs the question do we need more strikers? I’d like to see Vermealen more possibly with vieira but still keeping Denilson in the mix..
I meant as in he must know of Palmer thats all. Just how negative Palmer is about the club thats all…..
Anyway apologies as this is not a place to discuss the Chelski lover Palmer….aplogies for going off the topic! Prince Jack is King!!!!
I really wish AW didn’t sell Senderos to Everton. He had some howlers in his time but it was more psychological then anything else. Centre backs blossom much later than attacking players. Shame to see him go.
Remember he was one half of the 10 games without conceding CB partnership in the run to CL final.
Agreed Sniff. We could do with a tall international centre-half, strong in the air, young and improving, with Champions League experience. If only we could think of one…
Darren, good to see you. We need all three, i suspect we’ll get two, if we’re lucky…
Today was it was great to see Wilshere and Merida shining. Hope to see a lot more of them both this season now with Nasri out for a while. IT’s still pretty obvious that our big concerns this season will again be in defence. I honestly think a Zapata and Inler/Toulalan double signing would do the trick. Oh and a Huntelaar or the like would be welcomed too. What’s likely though is Chamakh and Matuidi. I don’t mind Matuidi and while I prefer other strikers to Chamakh he’ll still score goals in this team.
Sniff,
to be fair to Senderos he was not at the same level of his swiss buddy Djourou. No doubt he will be good but he needs minutes in order to get there. Staying with the Arsenal i’m afraid he would decompose. At least now he will be able to assert himself, much like Howard, and the other MU castaways.
I resented much of the criticism directed at Senderos because I felt if he was English those half wit pundits would have replaced ‘error prone’ with ‘his made a mistake there Senderos, but it’s all part of the learning experience and it would be wrong to crucify the lad…'(etc).
In the end the decision was down to AW. I feel there is something else going on here though. Perhaps Senderos wanted to leave and given he was entering the penultimate year to his contract AW felt it was better to do cash in. AW defends his young squad but seems to have made a decision about Senderos being expendable some time ago.
Hartwick, fair point about getting the minutes elsewhere. The loan period to Milan last season was baffling.
However, whilst Djourou might have had a better time of it overall, Senderos brings qualities that the squad desperately lack. His aerial ability, physical presence will be missed and helped bring balance to the defence. It’s about the right mix and blend.
Djorou might be the better player overall but I think he is too naive when trying to attack the ball.
I see Vermaelen as the type of defender we need against players like Drogba, Davies and the like, he’s strong and not afraid of a tackle from what I’ve seen. On the talk of defenders I’m still hopeful of one more coming because as things stand now we’ve lost Toure and Senderos and Song will be gone in January and throw in the fact that Gallas and Silvestre are in their final year and are unlikely to be offered new deals due to their ages. A back four consisting of Sagna, Zapata, Vermaelen and Clichy would be world class and would appear to be dominant and is young.
Fair or unfair Senderos always seemed to be the guy who screwed up when we needed it the least… Wenger gave him many pristine chances to be #1 CB. Finally, his last chance believe it or not was with AC. So that’s football. He just cannot prove himself. Even in the Euros he just couldn’t prove himself. He is gone and its best for Arsenal & him. He will do well with mini SAF
Stéphane Sessegnon is a lad who would look good as a Gunner… I bet he caught Wenger’s eye?
Neven Subotic ?
6’4 strong aerial CB… Young… a fighter who is a fighter! Thoughts?
Mamadou Sahko the new Thuram.
I thought the game was pleasing today for many things. I agree with a lot of the comments on here. Wilshere has taken a lot of the praise and rightly so. But for me the highlight was actually seeing Rosicky take the field. If he can manage stints in two games in two days then that has to be massively positive.
Going forward we could be something special this season. However, as almost everyone else has eluded to, we do need to sign defensive players. Whilst I wih that Kolo would keep his gob shut unfortunately he does make a bit of sense when he speaks about lack of leaders. I have been saying that for some time now. That has to be one of the reasons why Wenger is considering bringing Vieira back.
I feel that we are possibly only 2 signings away from being a really great side, with a real chance of winning the league. We Have 40 million in the bank, plus whatever else there was in the transfer kitty. Surely now is the time to make those special signings that could put us right back up there?????????
We have to consider we played a team that is very strong in the air. They did have two chances coming from set pieces but isn’t that their main strength? It’s not that unexpected, although of course there’s always room for improvement.
Steve T,
Your wishlist? I disagree about defense….It seems where the team is a bit short but we are still great; is the new Adams or Campbell…Solve it and we win…. Sorry Gallas is not up to it… Vermaelen I haven’t seen enough to comment… and everyone else is cb #2
hartwick89,
Sorry, should have been more specific. I like most people here feel we need a strong dominant centre half and a defensive midfield player. I personally am happy with Gallas. I thought that when he lost the captaincy last season he baecame a far better player for it. We missed him massively when he got injured. And oh to find another Adams or Campbell???????? I have also not seen enough of Vermaelen to comment yet. My ideal DM player would be Yaya Toure. I know that is not likely but for once, why do we not make an offer that Barca would struggle to refuse?
Last season we gifted so many points from winning positions. That cost us dearly and is not something we can afford to do this term. I just feel that with the cash available we could really make the difference this year. Find me a 25 year old Vieira and Adams and we will not be far away.
Problem is YaYa is like his brother and I like Denilson as DMP… Vieira is availlable so why not him? As for Gallas, he is great but… he still hasn’t convinced me that he is the answer. Maybe with Toure out this year it will work but why not a Gallas protege now? Vermaelen may be it? we will see.
Last thought…
This year maybe a cracker w/ or w/o defensive reinforcement. Why? Almunia is getting much better. Look at Fulham with Hangeland. It is supposed that Fulham was so great in the back because of him… But look at Schwarzer. He should have been Premier Defensive player of the year in my opinion. Look at him at Middlesborough; brilliant. This year Almunia is a year for the wiser. Maybe that’s why we weren’t up to it last year?
I like Denilson a lot and think he has a real future with us. I do not expect Cesc to be here forever and feel he is more suited to that role than the DM role. I do think a big, strong centre half to play with either Gallas or Vermaelen is what is needed. Vieira???? I have my reservations. Not sure he has the legs anymore. Would hate him to come back and fail. I would not rule out Marcos Senna if we are looking at the older player.
I like Schwarzer as a keeper. I am still not 100% sure about Almunia. He has come on leaps and bounds but I again look at what we have been used to in goal. I do not think he comes anywhere near Lehman and especially not near Seaman. Not yet anyway.
For once it would seem that we have the money. I would hate us to come up short again and suffer because of the same weaknesses when we could have done so much more to address the problems. That said, there are still 4 weeks left of the window and I am sure that Mr Wenger has his targets.
Stevie,
Than we agree! Vieira, a Gallas protoge (Vermaelen) or a newcomer…Rosicky, Nasri fill-n and we are done.
Last, problem….A wing back that can cross the bleeding ball? Cliche, Gibbs, Traoure? Sagna? Can Arsenal get a back who can cross the ball?
Wenger is right, we must respect his development. It’s only 2 games and we’re talking about Fabio Capello.
Wilshere has 2 terrific games, I know we can’t help it, but let’s pay less attention to him.
Fascinating reading this thread….as a result of an inspired overview of the game ‘holic. Thanks.
I’m gonna sound like a broken record I’m afraid – it’s as clear as daylight that we need a central def’ midfielder plus a central defender (why not Hangeland??). And I’m bemused as to why Wenger feels we need another striker?? Or does he think the likes of Eduardo or maybe even Rosicky will struggle to remain fit over the season??
SK – I completely agree with you that we have to keep our excitement in check over young neutron Jack. Give the fella the time needed to develop. The lad is pure quality indeed – so refreshing to see a young English player with (a) patience on the ball and (b) such technical artistry. He reminds me of my all time Arsenal hero Liam Brady, and Dennis Bergkamp…..with a little bit of Patrick Vieira rolled into one. High praise indeed. Perhaps a little unfair?!
Anyway, there is still much work to do and we should not kid ourselves……Rangers (with respect) is no Chelsea or Man Yoo or Liverpool or indeed Everton on the opening day of the season.
Keep on believing 🙂
Final thoughts….
Steve T – I agree 100% with your #45. Great comments. Gallas for me is a super player. He is still a little rusty but will be ready for the new season. As you rightly say, he was probably our best player for the 2nd half of last season, (a) after he was stripped of the captaincy and (b) before he got injured.
UP THE GUNNERS!!
Can Vela really make it? i love the guy but its frustrating that Mexico seem to play every week and so Vela is never around!
In 2004/2005 and Chelsea won the league only conceding 15 goals all season. There centre back pairing was:
John Terry – 6f1”
Ricardo Carvalho 6f½”
Going into this season and our first 3 choice centre backs are
Willy Gallas 6f0”
Johan Djourou 6f3”
Thomas Vermaelen 6f0”
Does 1” make that much difference? Why is Terry a giant and Vermaelen not tall enough?
I’m not sure where this misconception started about our centre backs being too small, however what I can agree with is the notion that Gallas and Toure didn’t work in the air. You asked for “a dominant figure who will get on the end of crosses into the box, rather than get stuck underneath everything like rabbits caught in the headlights” and Wegner delivered you one Thomas Vermaelen, the most expensive defender in the clubs history. Vermaelen has a reputation for being somebody who is a dominant figure and who will get on the end of crosses in both boxes.
With Senderous returning we then had 7 players at centre half. Two have since been sold for about 20m, circa 18m or which was gross profit. We now have 5 left the same as last season. Who does Man Utd have once they lose RF and NV? They have Jonny Evans, a kid just like Djourou. Who plays for the former European champions and current title holders then?
My point yesterday was that you need to see the bigger picture. Another centre back isn’t going to happen.
Vieria is 80% done btw… they are in advanced talks. It’s looking very likely. ?
In general I agree Venatus-Deus but we still don’t and have not, for a long time, had a central defensive pairing that could be anywhere near compared to Carvalho/Terry and Rio/Vidic. Height is not necessarily the issue, QUALITY clearly is.
A high quality experienced central defensive pairing has to be the target. We do not have that yet.
Don… I agree with you; however I get the impression from some bloggers that Thomas Vermaelen has been written off purely because of height (when it simply makes no differance). He might turn out to be worst that Cygan however we’ll only know at the end of the next season after his second year at arsenal. Gallas will go on a free next summer and then you have the partnership of JD and TV which on paper looks very good for the future.
Indeed venatus. I have high hopes for Djourou. He is physically strong, quick, agile and a good tackler. He’s only drawback is he can a little too often get caught flat-footed, as if trying to work out his positioning but I’m hoping that will be oversome with (a) further experience and (b) working with better central defensive partners.
I really wish him all the best.
Mr Deus, welcome back!
We may have got off on the wrong foot but you argue your point well, and I welcome that.
Let me just point out I am not writing Vermaelen off because of his height, or anything else for that matter. If you read the piece again you’ll see although I do have real reservations about his ability in the air, I also added ‘his other qualities will be welcome.’.
My judgement is based on his early appearances in friendlies, and he may well improve the one aspect of his game that concerns me, and that is still Arsenal’s achilles heel. Again, based on that small sample, I am impressed with the way he reads the game, the way he can both tackle and intercept when required, and the way he seems to be communicating already.
My overall point stands. We are notoriously vulnerable to any ball just tossed into the box. Even if Vermaelen improves and becomes ‘the answer’ to that problem he won’t be around for every game. We need a quality option, or dare I say it, partner for him. When the five remaining options include Silvestre (only because he has no value!), or switching Song back, we have done nothing to resolve the problem that cost us points last season.
I accept we may not buy another centre-half, but I think you would find a majority of Arsenal supporters would share my opinion, that it would be a huge mistake not to do so.
I think a lot of the comments re Vermaelen’s height are a bit of a red herring. I do not know anyone that does not welcome him to the club or wish hime well. We all hope he is fantastic and has many great years at the club. The point is that we lack height and strength in general.
venatus-deus, you use Chelski as an example re their centre backs. A valid point. But what you are forgetting is that they have height and strength all over the pitch. Ballack, Drogba, Mikel etc etc. Add that to Terry, Alex andCarvalhio, and as a unit they have the height and strength. We do not. I am not that bothered where it comes from but we are at times lightweight.
Back in the days when we won the league we did it with players like Adams, Campbell, Vieira, Petit, Gilberto etc etc. Defending corner and free kicks was not a big problem. We now have a midfield containing the likes of Cesc, Arshavin, Theo, Rosicky, Nasri, Denilson etc etc. All real quality but none have the presence to dominate physically and none of them are famouis for their aerial power.
We now have the best part of 60 million to spend. I do not see any reason why we should go into the season a tad lightweight.
Senderos is 6ft 3in and scored 5 goals in 15 appearances for AC Milan last season – that’s the sort of player we need in our side.
Wikipedia has him signed for Everton already.
I must admit I do not see either Senderos or Djourou as the answer. Senderos is too slow and too clumsy. He is fine when going forward or backwards in a straight line. Ask him to turn and milk reacts faster. It is a shame because I rely thought we had found someone when we first signed him.
It is a big season for Djourou. I really hope he develops and moves up a level. I am just not confident at this stage that he can do that. I hope I am wrong.
Then why didn’t AC Milan take up the option to keep Senderos? Cut the cake as thinly as you like but he was considered not good enough and, personally, I don’t see him as the answer to the extra steel needed in defence.
Yes, I agree, this is a massive opportunity for Djourou. Fully deserved too!
On their own neither looks great, but together they compliment each other, just like Toure and Senderos did on the way to the champs league final. Senderos is 24, he’s only beginning the journey. Adams was hardly the fastest for us, but it was his reading of the game and positional sense that made him, plus what he didn’t have in technique he made up in attitude. I thought Senderos had all the attributes of a good leader and he did shout, which is more than can be said for some others.
Do you not think that over the last 2 years that Senderos has lost his way a bit? I don’t know what it is? Loss of confidence perhaps? I had real high hopes for him when he joined. I remember reading an interview with Martin Keown who was saying how great he was going to be. So why has it not happened? I get the distinct impresion that Wenger is quite happy for him to leave.
@Steve T – I didn’t forget, it’s just I used examples of players who were at Chelsea when then won the title the season they only conceded 15 goals.
Their team actually contained players like, Lampard (not know for his heading ability), Duff, J. Cole, Bridge, Robben, Makelele, mutu, Kezman (remember him?) and GALLAS!!!!!! The players with height and strength all over the pitch have won them only a few F.A Cups in the last few years. Back then thier reputation for dominating teams started, however their players/team wasn’t considered in terms of height. Why is that? In the age of the internet one or two opinions/misconceptions can affect many. This, with that lack of real original journalism maybe the answer, but that’s way beyond my level of intelligence.
Another misconception is that we are weak at set pieces. If that’s the case then so are all teams. The Stats show that yes there have been periods which includes the first 4 months of last season and a couple of periods in the 2006/2007 season. The problem early last season was Gallas but this was then solved and he became a rock in defense. Our problem is actually the long ball over the top but that’s another topic and one that boils my blood.
@Gooner – fair point, but as a blogger you also have a responsibility to educate and act as a rallying call to follow supporters. We need to give players time and making another signing only means that player will ALSO need time to adapt to the team. A few games in preseason aren’t enough. Being a centre back is all about working in a unit, which means maybe as supporters we should be more focused on getting a settled back four and not giving it more options. I’m Arsenal till I die and I want to win just as much as the next man, but Wenger really knows what he’s doing and spends a lot of time looking at the bigger picture. All new players are watch 50+ times and you really should see how many scouts we employ…
you really should see how many scouts we employ…
Sounds like our paths may have crossed, Mr Deus. You are hinting at being an insider. Feel free to drop me a line, gooneratgoonerholicdotcom, if you want to argue stuff that cannot go on here. It will go no further, as others can attest.
Interesting views you have about responsibilities of bloggers. I suspect I may be more sympathetic to your views than some.
65venatus-deus.
I agree with a lot of what you say and I trust AW implicitly. I always have been firmly in that court. I have also been able to accept that for a few seasons we may not have the financial muscle to compete at various levels. I think it is fantastic the amount of players we are bringing through. I can not wait to win the league with some of these kids just to shove it down the throats of all the doubters.
I agree with you about a settled side. One thing that does concern me is that for the last 2 season we have not been selling anyone?????? I think that continuity is very much a major part of success.
I know we are more than meticulous when we have players scouted. It is a system that for the vast majority of the time works exceptionally well. No doubt we will continue to sign players that very few have heard of or even less know anything about.
However, I do feel that as a team we are slightly short. The squad lacks numbers and experience. I for one would have wanted to retain the likes of Pires and Gilberto. For their experience even if we were not going to get a full season out of them. I feel many would have benefited from their knowledge. I also think that last season we got out fought at times. That is what I mean when I have said that we are a bit lightweight.
Add strength, quality and a bit of experience and we will be right up there. Regardless, like you I will still be supporting the club home and away and with a real passion.
Keep the faith.
For a long while now I’ve been dropping the same line about Blaise Matuidi in my lurker arses @ arseblog. That being said, I agree wholeheartedly with needing another defensive central midfielder, or two. Viera and Matuidi would be… amazing, in my oppinion. We need a hard man or two in our midfield, flamini did that and Song did with some regularity last season. However, we don’t have someone to really bite into the opposition, hell as you said even, we don’t got a lot of talent at defending corners/set pieces. Wish Adams would swallow his pride and be an assistant under Arsene for a spell. Anything, anyone, to help right that aspect of the squad would be fantastic.
Oh @ Venatus-Deus we let up long ball goals this pre-season already too. Cannot have a defender getting stuck between two minds and caught on their heels. Our lads need to get faster at rotation back and that just isn’t happening when so many people attack, attack, attack. If our midfield shores up, we don’t get stuck passing the ball to the other team and giving them a chance to dink one over on us.
Dein’s legacy in action: Lady Bracewell-Smith is thinking of selling her shares with one of the potential buyers being another kleptogarch.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/5973767/Stakes-rise-in-battle-for-Arsenal.html
With the shares having been in her family for the last 70 years we can only hope that Nina Bracewell-Smith will do what’s best for the club but at the same time she must be quite miffed by her treatment by the current board members.
I’d be devastated if we became Arsenalski.
I need a few vodka shots to forget all this.