Ice Cold Alex On Song
May 4th, 2008 by 'holic
Well, there was a day of contradictions. You can tell who Arsene is not best pleased with at present. We have also possibly seen one of the players who has turned supporters opinion full circle.
Alex Song was vilified on occasion last season, but he has knuckled down and returned from the African Cup of Nations with his reputation much enhanced. There is no question in my mind that he was the man of the match this afternoon. Given he was at the heart of the defence you can guess that this was typical end of season fare.
If Song is ending the season in a blaze of glory there was a noticeable absentee. On the day that Arsene Wenger gave Jens Lehmann a cameo farewell appearance in front of appreciative fans, Mathieu Flamini sat in the stand exchanging anecdotes with Cesc Fabregas and Alex Hleb.
‘Two of those three may not be with Arsenal next season.’ Don’t you just hate commentators when they overstep the mark? It was painful watching Flamini joking on the sideline through the proceedings, and surely indicative that the gaffer has run out of patience with him and accepted his departure.
I had cautioned that a goalfest was not likely, and in all honesty 0-0 looked on the cards until Armand Traore was introduced on the left flank. In recent months we have lost faith in the young Frenchman as a full-back, but he has found a new lease of life in an attacking role in the reserves, and set up the only goal today with an inch-perfect cross for Nicklas Bendtner to thunder home a header.
Until Traore’s arrival the midfield had not functioned smoothly. Shorn of Fabregas, Hleb, and Rosicky, we were clearly devoid of any creative presence. Walcott gave his all, and Gilberto was, well, Gilberto. Eboue and Denilson have not made progress this season, and both have much to concentrate on over the summer break.
In fact Eboue provided the biggest mystery of the day. Almost cut in half by a scything Jagielka challenge midway through the first-half we awaited the customary five minute Eboue treatment break. However, he got straight to his feet and on went the game. Midway through the second half he unleashed a wild shot high, wide, and handsome and looked as if his knee had spontaneously combusted. Oh well, some things never change.
The team that travels to Sunderland for the final fixture next week will doubtless be shaped by the result of Chelsea’s game at Newcastle tomorrow. If nothing can be gained from the afternoon you could see a very young side being given Premiership experience. Let’s worry about that later in the week.
For now let’s make the most of what remains of the holiday. Have a good one, Gooners.
43 Responses to “Ice Cold Alex On Song”
Guys, please tell, Is Bendtner going to make it? He seems to be too slow for my liking, especially when the brake though is on.
How the fuck did the commentator overstep the mark? Flamini will sign for Milan and it looks like Hleb did more than just lick on an ice cream when in Milan recently – my guess is he licked Bobby Mancini’s ballbag. So it’s a fairly accurate comment. And out of the three, two are cunts and the one worth keeping is probably the one who will stay.
Fuck you Flamini. And fuck you Pleb.
Not at the EwA ‘holic?
Word on the street is that Wenger only has 25 Million to spend in the summer?? Thats absoloutly nothing! But why would Edelman halfway through the season lie about the size of our transfer kitty? Or was the kitty originaly 75, then he slashed it to 25, got fired and now its changed… was that the reason Edelman was forced out?
We need a CM, Left winger and and CB… 25 Mil definaltey isnt ebough… Ben Arfa 12 mil, Johnson 7 and that leaves 6 mil for a CB and we need to extend Hlebs contract with that.
If it it true that Edelman was forced out for slashing the kitty, atleast we know that Wenger wants to spend some real money on some world-class players…
Flamini is now officially gone… hes flying to Milan tonight to sign the contract.. Im very disappointed with the way he has acted over the new contract, he should have just let us all know that hes leaving instead of stalling like he did.
atleast it looks like Hleb’s staying with Wenger saying only one player is allowed to leave, that being Flamoney… we cant let our players leave if we want to win anything…
Also read somewhere that Ben Arfa is in later stages of contract talks with us… dont know how true it is but i hope it is!!
Lets hope its only flamini that leaves!
I thought Alex Song was very effective, seemed to be at the heart of things and made a number of timely interceptions in defence. Eboue continues to infuriate, though he did ping in a nice cross for Ade. As for the Flamster, good luck to him, but I think he will regret leaving at this point in time. Let’s hope Arsene’s not thinking of using Song as a direct replacement for him, we definitely need to buy-in.
How can the 3rd richest club in the world have no money? Of course you have to sack Edelman for that. Mismanagement looks like.
The reason for the transfer kitty cut has to be the global halestorm that is the financial market of today. Money just ain’t what it used to be and so the chest has to be rearranged and prepped for a skirmish instead of a full blown war.
Pretty pathetic news, to my view. A lot of us Gooners have been fairly excited over the past few months, ever since news of Wenger’s impending psychosis reached the papers promising an opening of the coffers and the introduction of wolves instead of cubs into the first team. Not now, no sir. Again we enter the dreaded period of the Arsenal coveting players and them signing for our rivals, be it in England or on the continent. The small funds Le Boss has to spread around barely covers the crack of his arse, and this we have to use to hold on to the players we already have.
Indeed, fuck Flamini.
1. Wenger wants to bring in players…
2. Edelaman tells him he only has 25Million to spend…
3. Wenger is outraged and the two have a fallout…
4. Fizman shares Wengers view about wanting big name players and decides its time for Edelman to go.
Big names will be bought this close season, not many but one or two will be brought in, im sure of that.
Thats my view of the situation…
Ben Arfa, A CM and a CB will be brought, maybe a striker but im not sure, Wenger seems to have faith in Bendtner and Theo to do the job next season.
we are lucky to have a manager who has worked magic for the last 10 years to keep us in europe, we are a club that has been punching above are wieght for the last ten years, people go on about 3years with out a trophy but every one new there would be sacrifices coz of the stadium cost, but we have done the hard part and it will only get easyer when most of the debt would be payed in 18months so have faith as then we will challenge manshit,liverpoo not chelki(sugar daddy), as long as we remain in europe we be ok,
Need cover for clichy more than anything. Replacement for Flamony, then central defender.
It doesn’t have to be a big name player to cost a lot of money, as long as sugar daddy clubs are going after similar. Essien wasn’t a big name player but Chelsea payed 24 million for him. Modric is hardly a big name player and look what he cost. Big name players are guys who are top internationals and have won some of the biggest prizes already in their career.
I would not expect a big name – too old, wages demands too high, too injury prone, too many eggs in one basket, too long to adapt to premier league, too hard to learn the arsenal way. In short, too many things going against it, and these are the things that matter to Wenger, although, I admit, if anyone can find this player and lure him to Emirates it would be AW.
But look at Ballack, you say – look what he’s done for Chelsea at the business end of the season. I agree, to a point. That is what superstars give you. But he was a passenger for much of the last two years, a passenger that Chelsea can afford but Arsenal cannot, or on principle will not carry, not least b/c we don’t have other superstars to carry the burden over stretches of the season. I am working up to this hypothesis: that the big name route only wins you more than AW’s current route (which still has future big names in Van Persie, Cesc, possibly Cesc and Sagna if France win another big tournament over the next 6-7 years, et al), only seems to win you more if you have at least 5 of them in your club at one time – like Manure, or Chelsea, or AC Milan. Look at Liverpool – when they won the European cup they had less big names than they do now! Ditto Barcelona, although it seemed as though the Galacticos showed the folly of having too many big names! Porto have claimed the biggest prize in Club Football, as have Greece (well, the second biggest). Mega clubs have better odds of winning, but not enormously bigger odds when Wenger is around.
Alex Song CAN do a great job as a defensive midfielder, I believe better that Falmini. Look at the poor state of our defence this season, with Song in front of it….no problem.
alex song ahd a brilliant game hardly mad any mistakes and is a cool customer. i think wenger will not hesitate to play him in defense or midfield next season. hes like a mini essien hard to get off the ball, infact he got the better of essien in the ANC when the two respective countries met.
we are bing linked to makoun and perrin, i like makoun hes a terrier with a shot. perrin is an unknown so a Wenger type player.
I hope the one star we sign this year is robhinio, he owuld be perfect for us.
as for your assessment of denilson were you watching the same game today. denilson hada competent game hardly gave the ball away and was tidy, he coming on nicely.
bendtner hada good game worked harder the ade who didnt look like he was bothered.
traore looked good him and clishy may be a good pairing on the left against speedy teams.
walcot needs to gain composure and have more belief in himself, can do better.
eboue should be sold there is nothing more to say about this player.
nice to see lehman get a final farewell he has served us well and given us some foot in mouth momments. good luck and thx for the memories.
good luck to the flamster its a shame but he has served us well and after all its a job like any other and milan are offering him a lot of money would any of you turn it down? when you know your career in football is max 15 playing years
milan have got a good player.
i hope hleb stays but i got the feeling that the flamster was saying see you in milan.
ARSENE KNOWS!
Whoever leaves Arsene will find a solution so I’m not worried. As long as Cesc, Sagna, Clichy and Ade are sticking around, I’m less concerned with the rest.
Denilson has had a difficult season with injuries disrupting his development and today was his first full game for months, so I’m not unduly concerned. I have seen enough to be confident that with a good run in the team, he has plenty to offer us.
I’m really pleased for Alex Song that the Arsenal fans are starting to come around and see that Arsene was right about what a talent he is. He could easily cover that DM role and he is a better forward passer of the ball than Flamini. The latter mostly won the ball and passed it to Cesc, who then did the magic.
Fuck you herdee string you bastard.
I AM CONFUSED!!!
At Arsenal, the board announces that they have a lot of money ready to be spent on players ‘if only the manager needs it’. The fans, or the media, or rather the fans and the media decide NOT TO BELIEVE THEM.
Then Mr. Wenger says, He DOES NOT need to buy new players because he has enough good players. Now, everyone (fans and Media) decide not to TAKE NOTE OF HIS COMMENTS.
My question is “WHY DO ARSENAL FANS PREFER TO ‘THINK UP’ WHAT IS GOING ON RATHER THAN JUDGING THE CLUB BOSSES FOR THEIR WORDS?
As for me, whether you agree with me or not, the problems we’re having IS WENGER. Because I believe his integrity and when he says he does not need a player, he simply means that and we all know Arsenal need at least 3 more players. That is if we are talking about the team. But in terms of the squad, arsenal is being let down by the size of their squad – it’s too small.
Another interesting point. Wenger once said that HE IS NOT UNDER PRESSURE TO WIN a trophie. Now tell me, is that what you expect from a manager? All I can say is Wenger spoke so much about his beautiful football philosophie that a certain Henry 14, while underperforming shamelesly said “I will not abandon playing beautiful football even if it means losing”.
We have 25 million to spend – because though there is 75 mill in cash – some it’s needed for 2 reasons – 25 million to secure the debt – 20 million to pay for players we already have – players are always part bought intially. It leaves about 25 million.
More money is available – we can borrow another 20 million at the drop of a a hat – and more could be borrowed. Is it a good idea to borrow topay for players? Wenger thinks not – and I think he’s probably right.
Wenger nearly always says either we don’t need any players – or we need 1 or 2 – that’s what he alway says – its partly motivational- he’s backing his team – it’s partly understated. He refuses to build up expectations of players being bought.
Arsenal aren’t the 3rd richest club in the world. In terms of income Arsenal have the 3rd highest income in Britain – below Manure and Chelski. In world rankings Madrid and Barcelona earn more too.
Does Wenger not spend because he’s tight? Does he not spend cos he’s lost it? Does he not spend money cos he’s under pressure? Obviously no to all of that.
Will Arsenal be speding “big”? We’ll be spending around thee 20 million mark (like we did last season) – that will be less than Chelsea and Man Utd. But more than many others – maybe even more than Liverpool.
When will we spend big? If all goes right – the debt is pretty much paid off in 2009. Maybe we’ll have more to sped then – if the housing market doesn’t collapse.
I thought Song was excellent today. Gallas was good. Traore was very lively when he came on. Lehman and Flamini have gone. Gilberto probably. Eboue hopefully. I think Wenger will probably spend what he has got strengthening the midfield and maybe a CB. I’d buy a goalkeeper – but that’s me. Vela, Gibbs, Baracite, Randall will be added to the first team – Wilshere I hear too. I’d like to see Simpson get a chance.
If there’s anything I’d like to see – I’d like to see us faster on the counterattack We used to demolish teams with speed on counter – we’ve lost that a bit. With Vela and Walcott playing next season maybe tha’ll return.
guys its as simple as this:
There is a good kitty to spend. But Arsene hates being ripped off by clubs that know he has a big kitty. So they have made the story about having only 25 million and this way we can buy a player for 10 million, one for 5 million and clubs with think we only have another 10 to offer for the third instead of trying to rip us off. Man U and Chelsea get ripped off every time they buy cos everyone knows they have the cash. Arsene doesnt like being ripped off.
Denilson hasn’t had a lot of chances, but presumably he’s not showing enough in training. I still like the player.
If we’ve got £25m then let’s just go for 3 or 4 decent players who can cover the cracks that have appeared over the last few seasons (largely due to AW’s apparent view that injuries won’t keep happening). Speculation may be interesting but ultimately it’s pointless as it’s all down to AW and his mysterious ways.
To return to an earlier theme though, presumably we can also add Cesc to the current sufferers of “precautionaryitisâ€, given his absence. It was a little worrying that this provided him with an opportunity to sit with his 2 wantaway buddies for an afternoon of comparing notes as to how the grass is always greener . . . .
Oh no, I see AW now says “Cesc wasn’t in the side because he was injured. He came in yesterday morning, we made a scan and we couldn’t take a chance to play him. On the scan it is a three-week injury. He’ll be ready for Spain but not for us.”
Ok, so what exactly is the injury and who gives a fuck as to whether he’ll be ready for Europe’s most famous underachievers? More precautionaryitis.
Does AW suddenly find Aragones’ racist views so refreshing that we have to accommodate his every whim?
Given Clichy has played more games than anyone else, has never given less than 100% all season and presumably will be off to the Euro jolly as well, how come he isn’t “afflicted†with precautionaryitis?
I know looks can be deceptive on the injury front but the fact that Rosicky – and for that matter Sagna – were capable of actually walking around the pitch without the benefit of an iron lung or a full body cast did raise the question whether they too are now suffering from this new condition; but might just find themselves fit for Euro 2008.
RVP’s condition however appears terminal as he couldn’t even be risked for the lap of thanks/honour/whatever – presumably as the pitch was a bit slippery? I might be wrong but I think Diaby was also an absentee; so what’s his problem?
Overall this situation is an insult to the fans and, with the club announcing price rises for next season, any repeat of this bullshit will be totally unacceptable.
The positives from the afternoon? Well, as ‘holic says, Song again was impressive. He still seems too short to be a realistic starting centre half, but he has done very well of late and could well fill the Flamini spot (as could Kolo?), so some money saved there Arsene!
Gallas showed more commitment than we’ve seen of late (but I wouldn’t be sorry to see him go), Theo continues to progress and Traore in 20 minutes on the left wing managed no goals but one assist, to match the execrable Eboue’s stats for the whole goddamn season.
The down side to this is that Arsene just might decide that’s the left wing sorted so no need to buy there and – at 3.30 on a Sunday and the last home game of the season – “fans†still left early.
Even more worrying, AW might also decide that there’s no reason to sell Eboue to Aldershot; or whoever else is willing to give us 50p . . . .
Why do people continually question bendtner!!??
The guy is only 20 years old and has put some solid performances this season-as he did today.
I honestly think Ade is way overrated. The reason he has scored the number of goals he has this year is due to the service he received….cesc,hleb,rosicky, wallcott etc. Most games he is lazy and ineffective.
The same people who question him are the same mugs who no doubt have blind faith in the likes of eboue!
Why do people still question Aede? I think he’s scored 24 league goals this season. Is this not enough! We will have more goal threat from the left next season when Vela joins. Plus Troare looked usefull on the left today. Hopefully Rosicky and RVP cant have another year like this one! Can they? Eduado should be back, fit and ready by January so he will boost the lads for the final push.
On a seperate issue altogether, I am thoroughly fucked off. It’s clear we made progress this year only to find ourselves worse off for the start of next season.
We’ve lost our midfield general in Flamini over a few farthings. We will lose Hleb for the same reason. And when we finish third or fourth next season we will lose Fabregas.
It’s a disgrace and to be honest, either manager or the board should ultimately be held accountable (in other words heads should roll). Now before I get some nonsense about being a fickle football fan, Wenger knows, we don’t want foreign owners etc. just hear me out.
I have been at almost every game home and away for 25 years. I pay more than £5000 each year on a pair of season tickets. In fact all Arsenal fans pay substantially more than our nearest rivals – particularly Man Utd. Food and drink is astronomical at our new home – in fact it makes The Ivy look sensible. Who said £4 for the worst pie on earth was acceptable? But I would happily accept these trivial matters if we came close to competing with Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea and even Spurs financially.
We will find ourselves four or five players worse off over the summer including Eduardo (who may never be the same player). We will no doubt sign one flatter to deceive player for £12m and then rush through a couple of deadline day deals that offer us little more than we already have.
I can assure you we are our current squad plus two world class players and a couple of squad men away from being the full ticket. What’s worse is that losing Flamini makes no sense. We will only end up paying a bigger transfer fee than his signing on fee plus the same wages.
Wenger will never be a true great until he realises certain things and learns fron his mistakes. Ferguson is in a different league. Look at United. They won the league last year then added Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson and Tevez – no wonder they ar so successful.
We all would rather retain our old Etonian style board of english thoroughbreads but who says having a different and foreign owner is so bad – works fine at Old Trafford.
last season the arsenal’s director said ” hey, wenger, if we give u 100 mil or 200mil what’ll u do with it? but now the rumours flying we got 20 mil to 25 mil to spend? come on..guys be real for a moment..and suddenly arsenal in debt reaching 360mil?
wenger knew all along about the club’s account status and we should take our hats off for him..y? coz if u compare him to other top 3 like man u,chelsea and liverpool..this wenger doesnt spend much on players and still managed to stay top four all these seasons with younger build-up players.
Players- if flamini wants to leave..we cant stop him..so get lost plzz..and dont drag hleb to lick ice-cream at milan..
Players- as much as i dislike bendtner’s style of play but he did score on sunday’s clash with everton.Really hope he could be more aggressive,technically on ball,have a better vision and brave enough to dribble off defenders after he’s huge and look strong.he really need to use his physical presence like ade does on box.
Players-RVP keep getting injured all the time..and if wenger got enough budget..just get robinho …he’s the got trickery in the box..a good playmaker and great vision..but rumours is martins on pursuit..this guy is great too..he’s short,mobile,aggressive,strong and have pace..always have eye on goal..
Players-Sundays clash reveal how weak we are at midfield with fabregas not playing..gilberto seems to lost his touch of holding the position.song is coming to become a far better defensive midfield player now..he seems to be more energetic tackling & defend his area.
We need to buy experienced player in this area.I think wenger will add 2players in his squad as the low budget issue.
Players-Wenger look for michael johnson???sunday’s clash reveal he’s a rookie that need experience..he’s not aggressive,strong in midfield or fast enough..he did not create much as he dont have that vision at all..for 15mil????he’s worth less than 5mil in my point of view..
hey oliver if u dont like it and are paying £5000 for a pair of season tickets then just hand them back mate, i been waiting a few years to get one and there are 40000+ waiting , and ive got 7000 people infront of me, so please dont moan just give me your season ticket or shut the fuck up
In the last few weeks speculations were high on Flamini’s move. Now he is living Gunners to AC Milan. I wish him well and let him not regret on his dicission.
Song should be prepared to fit in Flamini’s boots. I know he is talent and he is physically strong as Flamini. Song is a player that i belive and trust that he can command our midfield as Viera.
SARCASM AT ITS BEST :
“We won trophies with Gilberto and Jens because they’re special human beings. You don’t win with average people.†– Wenger
SO Mr FLAMINI YOU ARE AN AVERAGE PERSON !!!
And i agree..Gilberto&Lehman= Resillience & Patience..NO matter what they say & Arsene is right about Jens :- not always an easy character but you take that if the guys is “committed” every day.”
FLAMINI..U UNGRATEFUL CUNT..U WERE NO-BODY At the start of the season..NOT even Birmingham would have wanted to sign you..But look what has Arsenal done to you now- to be fit enough for a club like Milan..& YET you DONT WANT TO GIVE BACK TO ARSENAL with a trophy..YOU COULD HAVE TAKEN THE CHANCE & STAYED FOR JUST 1 MORE SEASON..& AM SURE at the end of it MILAN would have offered you much more because you won a trophy as well, u cunt !
The Vieras,the Henrys, the Bergkamps, the Piress didnt WIN trophies immediately as soon as they found out they are world class..they persisted & then the rewards came..
& YOU FLAMINI CUNT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOT FAR AWAY FROM A TROPHY..WE WERENT FAR AWAY FROM 1 EITHER this season..A TEAM THAT has already ACHIEVED 80POINTS this season with a game in hand..IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR NEXT SEASON, U CUNT !!
I respect your abilities..but your a BASTARD – cos you are what you are because of Wenger, Cesc & Arsenal !
oliver lloyd , i share your frustration in that for years now we always are just two players short from winning things . we don,t seem to learn and go the next level. two things that bug me and i would like to know if you guys agree . 1. these people with there in arsene we trust banners . for me its like we are not really sure or divided ,a statement of don’t worry , an insecurity if you like . do you see in alex we trust at old trafford !? no cos they don,t fuck about up there. , do you guys no what i mean ? it ,s like the little guy reasuring us it will be ok . 2 . the bloggers who try to appear like they read the f t all the time and say what a great job as we will hopefully secure the future of the club soon and what a great policy . firstly a club of this size will never go away and will always attract investment and more importantly i don,t go there jump up and down hugging the guy next to me that i don,t even know to celebrate our bank balance ! hey , great we won,t have any debt in 2010 , yippeeee or hey wow we won the champions league . i know what i go for.
FLAMONEY !
I AM WAITIN FOR THE OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION ON ARSENAL.COM of the Ungrateful CUNT NAMED :
FLAMONEY !
Of course nobody celebrates no debt or debt – it comes up because some fans get carried away we’re the richest club in the world and we should be spending a 100 million on players, etc. Who gives a fuck about the money? I don’t – I got for the football. The money isn’t there yet but it will be.
The banners are out cos Wengers getting a lot of criticism. Le Grove is full of get Wenger out. And the papers are full of the club is in crisis. Personally I think banners supporting the team/manager are a good thing. That’s fucking obvious.
Do other clubs have banners supporting their manager when they get criticised – nah! never happens.
obafemi martins??? are you kidding me ? f***in useless … i can’t believe people are even considering this to be good speculation
Lads, even if we had £200m to spend, who would come, the truth is the wage structure stops the best in the world from coming here, it’s that simple. We are a top level feeder club, if you are keeping your hopes alive for one of the best player’s in the world i’m afraid you are going to be very dissapointed. It’s not Arsene’s fault either, the guy is working miracles believe me. All we can do is hope for a couple of strong leaders to really show their grit and determination and hope we have an injury free season. Good luck!
It’s just not true that our wage structure prevents us from competing with the big clubs.
We have the 3rd largest annual wage bill in the PL – some way ahead of 4th. Only Chelsea and ManU have larger wage bills and in the case of ManU it is only slightly ahead in absolute terms and in fact as a percentage of revenue we spend more. Chelsea has a wage bill that his almost 40% higher than ManUs and at any other club in the world would bankrupt them. That’s financial distortion that we cannot compete with and over the longer term Chelsea cannot sustain.
si , thanks for response , just posing a question , i am not one the wenger out knobs and i love football we play but it is frustrating to be so nearly all the time . nucks , you are right do you think robinho will come , i would love him but he will want 110 k a week , can not see it happening. wenger has made a profit in the last two windows , i hope he invests what he can , vela may be a good prospect but he ain,t going to win us the league on his own next year like some people think !
yes, unfortunately guys ‘nucks’ is right …. it is hard to bring in big name ‘marquee’ players with a restricted wage structure …. and we all know that mr. wenger is the best in the world at bringing in class players with lower resources … so please keep the faith …
sagna is arguably one of the best signings of the season, and to be fair we would have been lost without him in defence
flamini departs … yes disappointing … but you are talking about a player that has failed to impress in previous seasons and has had a good season this year and everyone feels that it is the hardest thing in the world to take …. flamini has had to impress this season otherwise he wouldn’t have any interest from other clubs i don’t think we will miss him that much …. i feel denilson has ability and of course diaby was originally hailed as the new viera and can play anywhere …. diarra must now be kicking himself now realising he could have be stepping into the first team every game … and of course if he gilberto goes …. arsene will probably feel he has to provide cover in this area …. so i guess he will probably buy …. but i think with relative funds he will easily be able to provide cover for flamini
plus hopefully rosicky, van persie (and potentially eduardo) will be back next year (international injuries aside) which on paper is a massive loss for any side …. they have really all struggled this season
all hail theo ….. he could be the key for us next season, i have heard a lot of people on the terraces slate walcott over the last few seasons, i bought his jersey on the open day of the emirates at villa 2 seasons ago …. because on that day …. like thierry some seasons ago … we saw it … the future …. he will become great … we have seen glimpses this season, the boy is becoming a man, and even yesterday began to show his football brain has developed so much … yes he still has a bit to go positionally and tactically … he is young he can still be a little naive …
where we really need ….as mr wenger has said is a central defender … gallas and toure have struggled with just about anything in the air this season (don’t get me wrong they are great across the floor) …. but we have struggled to cement a real partnership there for a while now, and this has to be addressed
song has impressed … traore looks good but has a lot to learn …. but i think djourou or senderos will go … hoyte?
it will be interesting to see what happens..
a goalkeeper? maybe? now jens has gone in a fine farewell yesterday … i laughed when he started to do his somersaults … ha ha …
people say almunia is not a number 1? i really don’t know i like him but is he as good as others out there … probably not … but i think he will be having a look
anyway … i have rambled away my point guys …. is we have a great squad when fit .. a few good additions … and we will be right at it again next year!!!
who?
i would love to see robinho and have always maintained he would be one of the best assets to arsenal … but someone told me on here the other day robinho will never come to arsenal … and again would want a huge wage i’m sure
martins ??? …. please god NO! …. bring back ti-ti !!!!!
krancjar/noble/johnson ? well at least the latter would be english … they are all possible contenders …. and with great potential
but necessary purchases?
i feel and hope it will be players with slightly more leadership qualities and a tad more experience
Jules – Like others I doubt they’ll be any big name signings – 3 or so players will probably come in – and they’ll be in the 5-10 mill bracket. That’s no bad thing necessarily – Sagna is probably the best right back in the land.
Your right Vela won’t win us the title on his own. But the gap wasn’t that big this year. If we’d won against Wigan (A), Birmingham (H) and Boro(H) we’d be top.
Next season: Song was hardly used and he looks good. A season with Van Persie fit (don’t laugh – it could happen!). If Eduardo gets back to being as good as he was beginning to look. Walcott stronger. Another Ade 30 goal season. Even Rosicky might play a few games! – Alright that won’t happen. Add a CB, CM and Vela and I think things look good.
si , yep agree , sagna is a great signing and who had heard of him !
would,nt swap him for anyone . i think we do need a wide player as this year we have played diaby , toure and even cesc wide which highlghts the lack of depth , eboue i have seen enough of in that position , cover for rb ok otherwise go . we can not really on the fitness of rvp and rosi so we need cover here . no 1 priority is dominant centre half as we have failed to deal with simple balls in the air . i would also get jaaskelienen , 12 clean sheet in a crap side , 6 ft 3 .
33 years old and FREE !! what. a good bit of business , so for me a ch, a keeper and a midfielder/wide player . As you say only three needed. easy within the budget.
si, ps
if we get a real good ch you have song and toure to fill defensive mid role . toure also cover for ch
Jules, I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly about wide players before this season. But I think Walcott blossoming on the wing means we finally have a quality player who’s fast and can cross. Add to that Traore – who’s future may well be on the wing – rather than right back – and Vela – not the finished article – but who gave Real Madrid the runaround on the left earlier in the season and things looks good. Add in Rosicky who can wide and Hleb and things almost look crowded!
I feel Wenger and Arsenal did well this season. They spend far less than tottenham and Liverpool yet finished higher than them.
Last yr, ppl are critisizing song, hleb and Flamini. Yet this year, they have demonstrated their capability. Before this, there are lots of ppl asking song to be sold.
Arsene make 3 superb signing this season. Sagna is brillant for the price of 6 mil pounds. Voted best right back of EPL. Eduardo cost 7 mil pounds and is looking world class till a reckless tackle ended his season. Fabianski cost 1 mil pounds and he looks very agile. His decisions are still suspected but he is young and skill learning.
Have anyone heard about Lehman, Song, Gilberto, Clinchy, Sagna, Toure, Farbegas, Hleb, Adebayor, Eduardo, Diaby, Flamini & Van Persie before Wenger sign them?
If Flamini leave, we have to respect his decision. He did well this season but I believe it is Arsene who develop great players. Wonder how Henry, Pires, Overmars, Petit, Anelka & Edu performs after leaving Arsenal? Petit left Arsenal after a fantastic season and never peak after that.
I am eager to know who Arsene are going to sign. However, I wont speculate but I doubt it will be any of those mention in the press.
ONLY ARSENE KNOWS!
I would imagine that we have more than 25 mil available for wenger if he needs it. but the fact is if arsenal come out and say we have 75 mil for transfer this seasons other clubs will go huh, arsenal have a lot of money this year. lets add to our evaluation and we end up paying over the odds like chelsea have to do. this is why wenger has played down talk of how much money he has so he isnt held to ransom. having said that whether he will spend it is a different matter! i would like to think thought that wenger feels this team is very close to being real contenders and that a bit more quality could really set us alight next year. i hope ben arfa comes as we do need width although i expect vela could be used on the left next year as well which would give us two good options. a cm is now obviously needed and a cb as well as wenger has already spoke about correcting our deficiencies in the air. so could be some big shit kicker which is just what we need. should be an interesting summer, but dont believe everything you read as you’ll be a quivering reck by the end!
The thing that annoys me the most is Arsene seems to be an intelligent man, but he decides to let a guy with a contract in Diarra go and keep Flamoney who was stalling on his new contract to stay. I honestly feel Wenger has lost something he is no longer the same man. I don’t have as much confidence in him as l used to, his decision making is a bit out.