Rivals: Can Arsenal win the League?

September 8, 2012

Given the evidence of the first 3 games, where do you think we will finish in the league this season?

Today’s post is a look at our rivals, starting with the current Champions.

Manchester City

Man City have strengthened in areas which Mancini identified as weak – Garcia, Rodwell, Sinclair and Maicon arriving with the very average Savic, Johnson, De Jong and a few others leaving. Maicon, despite being 31, is a top quality player and will definitely be an asset, but did they need to sign anyone? MC’s first team  improved steadily over last season and with the return of Tevez to the fold they continue to look formidable. My guess is all the new arrivals will be spending most of the season sitting down.

Their first two games showed some weaknesses, particularly at Anfield where they were a defensive mistake away from defeat. they trailed at home to Southampton before getting a squeaky win and walloped QPR.  City travel to Stoke for their next game afar which we can compare our game to theirs.

In my opinion the title will be City’s to lose; they have a powerful and high quality squad which is well prepared for inevitable losses of form and injuries. Plus they have a manager who knows how to win titles

Manchester United

Essentially the question is “Can RvP deliver the title to MU”? The lack of investment into an ageing and non-creative midfield would be a cause for concern in any other team,but Ol’ Bacon Face has won the PL so many times with what to outsiders were average teams we cannot dismiss them. So far RvP has saved them humiliation at Southampton and scored the first in a fortunate win v Fulham and they have lost at Everton – hardly the stuff of champions. Yet despite having a thin squad, particularly at the back where Carrick has played CB, they must be considered a threat – MU always are. Kagawa looks quality, a player in the Giggs mould and SAF has looked to the future with the signings of the highly rated Powell and Buttner.

But have they got enough?. Are 3 world class players (RvP, Rooney, Vidic) enough to compete with the other challengers? Can they continue to rely upon the ancient legs of Scholes to give them impetus? Not in my opinion. There is a fragility in defence which teams will expose, though it has to be said, the Old Red Nose knows a hell of a lot more about football than I do!

Chelsea

A very impressive start to the season for the history lacking Southern Oilers. The new signings look superb – the combination of Mata, Hazard and Oscar is frightening (though this must be tempered by the very average Obi One Mikel). Hazard will light up the season as Silva did when he arrived at MC, he has deceptive strength, vision and pace – what a pity AW couldn’t persuade him to sign a few years back.But as good as they are in midfield where Fatboy Lampard will struggle to get a game, there are problems at The Bridge. An over-reliance upon the questionable gifts of the PL’s most expensive player will prove costly, and there is not much else. How do you replace a player like Drogba? Sturridge isn’t the answer, Victor Moses despite being quality will not score the missing goals. So if teams can stifle the midfield threat, then Chelsea will struggle.

In defence there are also problems. JT is a  …., we all know it, he is thankfully at the end of a career which has disgraced English football but in Cahill they have a decent replacement. Add in the “mercurial” (read unreliable/nuts) talents of Luiz, the ageing legs of Cashley  to the quirkiness of Ivanovic and we can see cracks.

Then there is the manager. An incredibly lucky CL win (has there ever been a more fortunate win in the history of football?) led to his appointment. One can only assume RdM is a stop-gap appointment prior to Guardiola. But what happens if it all goes TU? Will Abra give him time?  We all know the answer.

Tottenham

Yes, laughable as it may seem the knuckle draggers are rivals. Can they win the title? Of course not – they haven’t won it since Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister and he was born in 1894!!! (love that fact) but they finished 4th last season and must have chances of a repeat performance. One can only assume that Monkey Boy has no ambition as he remains at  Sh*te Hart Lane; whilst Ratboy and FanderFart have had enough of the lack of light in the caves. As usual the Totts have made some decent signings – Dempsey was an AFC target as were Vertoghen and Loris; Dembele should have been. Ade will continue to score goals and infuriate with equal measure, and Defoe will sit on the bench.

Their problems lie in defence where Gallas’s pace is constricted by his Zimmer frame. Dawson was out the door until someone realised Kaboul was too fragile and King has retired. They do have some very good youngsters coming through and I guess they will blood them this season should Vertoghen struggle.

Then there is their new manager. I like AVB and expected him to be a huge success at Chelsea. Will the fans (gimps) and the board give him breathing space? I hope not because he will improve them given time.

Liverpool

Two thoughts come to mind: You’re having a Turkish and Calm Down.

Newcastle

Did well last season and definitely punched above their weight. Again the defence has to be their weak point. They have managed to retain their best players despite the attempts of AW to sign Cabaye. Newcastle have beaten the Totts (easily) lost to the Chavs (easily) and fortunately drawn with AV. A difficult start but 4 points is OK and about on par. My expectation is they will have a good home record but struggle away.

Others

Everton have a decent first team and started better than normal, AV are dull in the extreme, but Top 4 ? No chance.

Conclusion:

There can only be one outcome …… Arsenal will be crowned Champions in late April.

1. Arsenal

2. Chelsea

3. Man City

4. Man Utd

5. Newcastle

6. Stoke

7. Wigan

8. The Noisy Neighbours

What do you think?

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Wenger Planning A December Surprise?

September 7, 2012

In the hubbub of the last couple of days of the transfer window one comment from Arsène Wenger seems to have been largely overlooked.

Le Boss was pretty laid back in the final 48 hours, leaving the undignified scrambling to the likes of Totteringham and Liverpool.

“I am relaxed,” he said. “We have enough players, that is for sure, but you want always to improve your squad… We bought Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud so you cannot say we have not bought but, when you listen to people, you always have to buy more.”

And though many supporters were disappointed not to get at least one more high profile arrival, it’s fair to say that this year’s business seemed much more planned than last August’s trolley dash.

But in the middle of the above quotes, and rather overshadowed by people’s reaction to the fact that there were no new arrivals, Arsène said this:

“We have resources available so if it is not happening now it will happen in December.”

Note the use of the words “will happen.” Not “might happen”.

I’m sure the cynical will suggest that it’s just another example of the manager throwing a bone to desperate supporters eager to spend £25m on whichever foreign player the newspapers tell us is essential to our season.

But I noted his words at the time because it sounded to me like a deal was being put in place for a particular player – and that if it did not happen this summer it would happen in the winter transfer window.

Who could it be?

Yann M’Vila has a contract up to 2015 – but could still be a possibility I suppose, particularly with Song having left for pastures Nou.

However I suspect that if Arsène has lined up someone to boost us during mid season, it is more likely to be an attacking player – either a wide man or more back-up in the centre of attack. Perhaps, very specifically, a replacement for Theo Walcott.

Many of you AA regulars are much better informed than me about the merits of players plying their trade elsewhere in Europe. Who do you think Arsène has in his sights?

And who, arriving in December, would really get you excited about our prospects for marching on to glory?

Let’s put one restriction on the guessing game: it’s fair to assume that even if we have £50m of spare cash we won’t be spending it all on one player – it’s just not the way Arsenal operate. So let’s say that any players under consideration should be available for under £20m.

Over to you.

By the way, if anyone wants to have a moan about a transfer related Post coming so soon after we finally got shot of all the summer window hysteria, then you think of something to write about during this Godawful interlull.  Send your submissions using the “Be Our Guest” tab at the top of the page.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Will Arsène ever be able to complete his vision?

September 6, 2012

“Alas”, said the mouse, “the whole world is growing smaller every day. At the beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad when I saw walls far away to the right and left, but these long walls have narrowed so quickly that I am in the last chamber already, and there in the corner stands the trap that I must run into.” “You only need to change your direction,” said the cat, and ate it up.

A Little Fable, by Franz Kafka.

This ‘little fable’ by Kafka has been a favourite of mine ever since I read it for the first time, back in the late eighties. I was introduced to Kafka by the father of one of my housemates during my student years. He was a semi-famous Dutch writer and knew from his son that I was very interested in literature. He handed me a copy of Kafka’s Der Prozess (The Trial) with the words: ‘This will get your brain working’.

I was working as a cleaner in a factory that produced plastic bottles for shampoo etc during the summer holidays, and when I complained to my manager that I had feck all to do, he took me aside and said he knew there was not enough work but they did not want to lose the hours on the contract, and that I should simply try to look busy. For the next few days, I ended up locking myself in the cleaning cupboard reading Kafka’s masterpiece. Anybody who has read The Trial will know that it is a surreal and creepy story, and I could not have wished for a better place to read it than in a dingy cleaning cupboard of a soul-destroying factory in the middle of a colourless industrial estate.

After The Trial, I read more work by Kafka and ‘A little Fable’ always remained at the forefront of my brain. Although Kafka apparently wrote it as just a bit of fun, I feel it is a brilliant anecdote for the cyclical, trial-and-error nature of our lives.

It somehow makes me think about the predicament Arsène Wenger has had to face over the last seven years, and is likely to continue to face for the foreseeable future. The decision to build a new stadium and the unfortunate, simultaneous arrival of the Southern and Northern Oilers, have forced Arsene to ‘change his direction’ a number of times in order to remain competitive and somehow stay firm towards his vision of football for our, and his, beloved Arsenal.

On a number of occasions over the last few years, Arsene had to face the cat that ate him up and spat him out again, telling him every time to change his direction in order to avoid it happening again.

Arsène knew he was entering the final part of his management career and, a visionary as he is, will have foreseen the above mentioned developments and their likely impact on the club and therefore on him, and yet he decided to stay loyal to us – despite strong rumours of a number of overtures by clubs with far superior financial means than Arsenal. For that, I will always remain thankful to him.

Due to a lack of financial means, he invested heavily in bringing through young players. In the meantime, he let go a significant number of experienced (and expensive) players – either by choice or somewhat forced upon him by the club in order to make the books balance. Initially, the departures did not appear to hurt us too much. Vieira was, for example, replaced relatively well by Fabregas, and the departures of Toure and Adebayor to Citeh did not leave large holes for us either.

But Arsène did not have much budget available for quality/experienced player additions, which forced him to field relatively young sides that lacked experience over the last few years.

He built a team around Fabregas and on a number of occasions we came close to winning something. Maybe with a bit more luck, Arsène and Fabregas would have succeeded but it was clear something was missing: experience, strength in depth, cohesion, the right (fighting) spirit; you name it.

Just when Arsène started to get on top of things with his team led by Fabregas, and an improved budget appeared to be made available to him so he could once again add some experienced players, Cesc, Clichy and Nasri all had to be sold, for various reasons. And although he was able to buy a number of experienced new players, it became clear he had to start again and go through another transitional year.

However, after a difficult start, the team started to gel better and better and brave sir robin had the season of his life. We finished third and there is a feeling that with the signing of Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla we could confidently make the final push toward the top-prizes.

But once again our star-players are sold: Song, brave sir robin, and almost Theo – either in order to make the books balance, or to avoid having disgruntled players in our squad whilst losing out on their potential sales value.

Just imagine, we would have been able to keep hold of brave sir robin and Song and added Cazorla and Podolski this summer. We would once again have spent a lot less than the Chavs (1/3) and both manc clubs (1/2) and yet have a team that can compete against anybody.

It just looks like every time Arsène is about to put the final shape of his Russian dolls around his team building work, somebody comes and takes one of the smaller, internal dolls away, forcing him to start again.

As a result, we are in strong danger of being in perpetual transition; of never being able to pick all the fruits of Arsène’s vision and unbelievable hard work.

Early signs, regarding the latest team Arsene has been able to put together are looking promising, though. The new additions have hit the ground running, especially Cazorla and Podolski, and Giroud had a positive impact in the first few games as well. A number of young players are coming through quickly and have claimed, or are competing hard, for first team places. On top of that, the arrival of Steve Bould appears to have given us a better structure and discipline to our defence: an absolute necessity if we are ever to win something again.

The excellent win against Pool offers us real hope of what this team might be capable of. But there remains a feeling of unease for us all.

What will happen when the next summer TW opens again: will we be subject to more transfer shenanigans; will our best players once again leave us? And will Arsène be forced to start building again?

The good news is that Arsène seems to be allowed now to spend the money that comes in from player sales again. Since the summer of 2011, there has been a clear shift by Arsene towards buying experienced, quality players who have either remained below the radar of the oil-sharks or are not deemed good-enough for them. Arsène’s nose for a good player is second to none, whether it is a young talent or an experienced player with additional potential, who would fit perfectly within our team.

It looks like Arsène is now able to foresee future loss of players and subsequently put in effective contingency plans. Our investment in young players is starting to really deliver with the likes of Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Jenkinson, Diaby, Theo, the Ox and Coquelin all becoming better and better. And there is more to come with the likes of Yenaris, Frimpong, Miquel, Myachi, Eisfeld and Aneke knocking hard on the first squad door.

Add to that, Arsène’s ability to find, and attract, experienced super players like Arteta, Cazorla, Mertesacker, Podolski, Giroud and Koscielny – except for the latter, all bought in the last 12-14 months – and maybe we will become increasingly immune to the annually recurring threat of our best two or three players being bought away from us.

The super overinflated salaries paid by the Oilers, in the UK and abroad, will remain a threat to us which is likely to lead players forcing a move on us again in the future. We cannot compete with them, and neither should we try to.

And I don’t think winning something is going to make much of a difference either. Just look at Dortmund: they keep losing players despite winning a number of trophies in recent years, and having a fantastic stadium and fan base.

But, maybe Arsène has finally found a way to stay away from the claws of the cat. She might scratch us painfully again – just, for one second, imagine TV and Diaby or Szczesny being sold next summer – but Arsene seems to have found a way to heel us quicker now, and to make us stronger every season, against all odds.

It looks like Arsène is finally able to put his vision into practice and hopefully, helped a bit as well by FFP and a quickly improving financial position of the club; we will finally reach the very top again.

We are very lucky that Arsène stayed loyal to our club and let’s hope he’ll stay a lot longer with us to fully complete his vision for Arsenal.

Keep the faith fellow Gooners!

Total Arsenal.

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Posted by Rasp

The Arsenal Laundry Service Cancelled.

September 5, 2012

That win was too good to just let go after a couple of days; we have been waiting all summer long for that feeling so this post is unashamedly designed to prolong the crowing.

Yes indeed and why you may ask has the Arsenal laundry service has been cancelled? Because of all the clean sheets, of course.

Before we went into that game against pool it was talked about as a real test for Arsenal as Liverpool had shown their fighting form the previous week only failing to beat the mighty man city because of a silly back pass.

One week later and we completely humiliate them — are we credited with realistic statements like this new Arsenal look like they can seriously challenge for the title? No, we get wishy, washy nonsense about how poor Liverpool are and how Brendon Rogers hasn’t had anywhere near the amount of time that Wenger has to put his team together.

I said this in my match report after the Cologne game and I am going to stick with it: the EPL will be between Arsenal and City this season and yes that does mean finishing ahead of manu and Chelsea.

Arsenal didn’t just beat Liverpool in third gear they beat them in second, there is just so much more to come from this team it is frightening.

And talking of frightening, have you ever seen a player quite so two footed as Cazorla? I don’t think I have, his ability is quite amazing and what’s also important is that he looks really happy to be at THOF.

By contrast, have you noticed that we finally have closure on Cesc? He is no longer talked about, he is hardly mentioned now, the reason I would suggest is simple; he has finally been replaced.

The same will happen with BSR, we will continue talking about him until Giroud takes over, this will become apparent in two ways: The Frenchmen will start scoring goals and the away fans will start bellowing out the song “Who needs Van Persie when we had Giroud.” It’s going to happen; it’s just a question of time.

I watched Barcelona-Valencia on Sunday to see how Alex was getting on. I was fascinated to see if he made the same kind of school boy errors for them as he did for us. The answer was no; they had obviously told him to keep his passing simple and always find your man, pretty basic really but effective nevertheless. I thought this transfer really showed Wenger’s tough side, no room for sentiment there: we have had an offer from Barcelona to buy you, collect yours stuff.

Why didn’t Theo also leave this window? Because no offers for him came in would be my guess. Something is not right there, Arsenal have never let a player run down his contact, apart from Flamini but who predicted he would have the last season he did, anyway Walcott is different his value is obvious so I still see him going in the January window to avoid the complete loss in sale value.

Did I mention that we beat Liverpool two nil at Anfield before? Well we did and it was a great feeling then and it is a great feeling now.

Onwards and upwards my fellow Arsenal loving friends.

Written by LB

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Posted by LB

The Robin song does us no credit

September 4, 2012

I don’t think there is a better or noisier group of away fans in the Premier League than ours.

At the weekend, while the commentators pleasured themselves as they murmured about the “famous Anfield atmosphere” our boys and girls out-sang the Scousers all game long.

They were loud, supportive and funny.

I loved the many choruses of backing for Giroud as he plays his way (slightfully painfully) into the EPL and the hilarious Andre Santos song (“he drives how he wants”).

But for the second week running there was also loud singing of a Robin van Persie song that refers to the untrue rape allegation made against him very early in his Arsenal career (“she said no, Robin”).

I was saddened to hear this particular ditty and I’m trying to figure out why it bothered me (I have felt no such qualms about the songs of abuse aimed at Nasri and Adebayor).

The first thing – and I fully expect some people to heatedly disagree with me about it – is that I feel van Persie deserves more respect from Arsenal fans than many of the others who have angled for transfers in recent years.

He was at the club for a long time and although his glass ankles shattered far too frequently he always tried his best when fit. Last season he proved to be an excellent captain as well as a top striker and played a massive role in getting us to third place. If Robin had had 10% less effective last season we would now be settling in for “Thursday night, Channel Five” to quote another song that was belted out with gusto on Sunday.

He made one silly statement to force through a move – no doubt based on poor advice from one of his management team – in which he dared to assume that his view of how the club was being run was as important as Arsene Wenger’s. But apart from that he was quiet and dignified and has said nothing negative about Arsenal before or since. Nor do I expect him ever to do so.

Some people will never forgive him for going to Manchester United, but I’m sure the club could have sold him abroad if we had been prepared to accept less money, so he doesn’t share all the blame for that one.

(Incidentally, the other galling thing about that transfer is that, seeing United’s urine-poor performance against Southampton, they would be struggling for top four this year without van Persie).

The second thing that bothers me about the rape song is that it is factually incorrect. He was arrested following an allegation that, on police investigation, was determined to be unfounded. He was never charged.

Now I know that terrace songs are not meant to be judged on their accuracy (although it is incontestable fact that the w*nky T*ttenham Hotsp*r did, indeed, go to Rome to see the Pope and he did, indeed, tell them to f*ck off), but this is the equivalent of the scummy fans from Old Toilet and Riot Hart Lane singing about the false claims made against Arsene Wenger in his first days in the Arsenal job.

And let’s not forget that when the allegation was made against Robin he was one of ours. To sing that song now just makes us look like hypocrites. It would be fine to ridicule him for an indiscretion committed while under someone else’s colours, but for something he did (or didn’t do) as a Gooner? Really?

Thirdly, it bugs me that we have adopted a song that was invented by opposition fans who wanted to abuse one of our players. Surely we can do better than tinkering with other people’s sloppy seconds.

Finally I’m against the chant because it feels low class. One thing that has always separated Arsenal, its players and its supporters from other clubs is that we have conducted ourselves better than them. Even now in an age of crazy oligarch spending the way we run our club is a clarion call for sense and integrity.

And in that context seeing Arsenal fans abuse their former captain and hero over an untrue rape charge he faced while he was under our protection just sticks in my craw (not sure where my craw is, but that’s where it sticks).

On balance I would prefer that we didn’t abuse van Persie at all (although I’m probably in a minority on that one) and I would love to see us give him a polite round of applause when he takes the field against us in recognition of what he did for us last season. That would be classy.

Having said that, if the away fans want to abuse Robin (and they, more than anyone, have the right to sing what they want) I would rather see them restrict it to the bit about him being a front bottom. Or wait until he commits some new indiscretion while belonging to Manchester United and lambast him for that.

Or come up with a new chant that has wit rather than classless insult – maybe something about him and Fergie, or him and Rooney.

In fact – how about we try to come up with a new van Persie song ourselves? Any offers?

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Responsibility, Teamwork, Goals – We could be onto something

September 3, 2012

A trip to Anfield is always full of trepidation, despite Liverpool’s recent decline, they are still a team that hold many dangers. If the Kop are allowed to get into the game they can be a telling 12th man roaring their team on. With this in mind Arsène Wenger and his newly arranged squad deserve a large amount of credit for making the game a very relaxed enjoyable affair for us fans.

Photo courtesy of chas – our man at the match

Quite simply we looked comfortable from the 1st minute, even when passes from the back went astray the team had retained its shape and there was no sudden chase to catch opposition forwards with the defence and midfield looking all at sea.

Liverpool tried to press as Swansea did last season but the lads in the main looked calm and collected as they moved the ball in neat triangles around the red shirts, most importantly they moved themselves as well to a position where they could receive the ball again, too often last season we saw an Arsenal player pass the ball and stand still or move as if pre programmed not reacting to what was happening around him. At our worst last season the man in possession was lucky to have one man available when faced with the press, yesterday he was unlucky if he only had two options.

The first twenty five minutes saw the two teams sizing each other up, apart from Mertesacker pulling down Suarez after letting Suarez drift off and spin him quickly and a couple of dodgy cross field passes by Jenkinson there was not too much goalmouth incident at either end, a couple of speculative efforts from either side and nothing more.

Any foray into our half by Liverpool was dealt with comfortably, any foray into Liverpool’s half by us resulted in an overhit cross or a missed pass.

On the half hour mark With Liverpool pushing forward again and committing men forward Gerard played a pass which Vermaelen read and dealt with quickly, the ball played straight to Podolski who turned and found Cazorla, for the first time in the match he was in space between the midfield and defence, Cazorla drove at the heart of the defence, Giroud pulled right and Podolski was busting a gut to join in on the left of Cazorla.

Cazorla delayed until he had the attention of the four men in front of him and as they started to think about closing a potential shot down he played a pass into the path of Podolski, one touch to set and the second touch sent the ball low and hard past Reina. One nil to the good guys, a good pacy counter attack. Perhaps the best thing about this goal was not even the goal itself, it was evidence that lessons have been learned, look behind the front three and not one other Arsenal player had left our half.

Amongst all the action something exciting was happening in the middle of the park, we were seeing the player we have been dreaming of since about 2005 when Vieira left for Juve, we were seeing Diaby stamp his authority on a football match.

Arteta was quietly and effectively mopping up the pieces in front of the back four, Cazorla was pushing and probing in the final third, and in between the two Diaby was doing whatever he wanted. Throwing dummies, back heels, twists and turns, running with the ball at pace, pressing opponents and tackling. In short the lad was class and reminded all of us just how good he can be, and precisely why Wenger has persisted with him.

Before the half ended Diaby drove with the ball through the Liverpool lines and picked out Giroud’s run, unfortunately our new front man couldn’t quite get his leg round the shot and it went harmlessly wide. To be fair to Giroud he had spent most of the first half watching crosses from Gibbs sail over his head, this was his first real chance of the game.

The second half started in the same way as the first half ended, Liverpool had possession, but they didn’t threaten sufficiently to cause the nerves to start jangling. Gone from our performance in the second half were the half hit misplaced passes, everything was being done efficiently and the team was moving up and down the pitch as a cohesive unit.

Mertesacker took our lives (and his place on the park) in his hands when he tickled Suarez under the arm which I can only imagine sent the Uruguayan weak at the knees and he couldn’t help but fall to the ground. I think this decision was probably the hardest for Webb all match, he knows he is not supposed to help Arsenal but he is definitely never allowed to help Liverpool under the terms of his contract with ManUre.

As the Arsenal midfield started to control the game more pressure was put on the Liverpool area, Gibbs was released into the 18 yard box by Podolski, his cross come shot was well saved by Reina. Cazorla going across the box let fly with his left foot to see his effort go just wide of the right post.

Finally the second goal cushion was achieved, a classic Arsenal goal, a swift one two between Cazorla and Podolski released Cazorla into the box, he drove his shot low and hard, and Reina could only parry it into the net. Two nil and cruising.

The last twenty minutes was a case of getting the job done, this is where we would really see if things have changed in the team this season, and on the evidence of this final twenty minutes the answer is a resounding yes. We were not committing six or seven men forward when in possession, when players were in possession and isolated they waited for support or the foul to come, to use a US sports phrase, we ran the clock down. Not by walking the ball across the 6 yard box every goal kick, but by keeping the ball, and supporting each other around the park.

Liverpool’s best chance came on 87 minutes and it fell to Shelvey who drove low and hard, Mannone was equal to the shot, and Vermaelen was first to the bouncing rebound to clear the lines.

The final whistle brought a few boos from the Anfield crowd, well except that corner which was full of Arsenal fans who had been magnificent (as always) for the ninety minutes. Although i would ask them to drop the “She Said No” it does us as fans no favours.

Okay so having read all of that you must be thinking everything’s rosy and we’re on the march for the league, well I wish i could agree, a good manager I played under always said the time to put things right and focus on the negatives of a performance is after a win, that way you are not further demoralising the players and they are more receptive to the ideas.

Areas for improvement:

1) Row Z is never the wrong option for a defender, sometimes it is just needed, the defence need to understand this and not be afraid to hoof it into touch to relieve pressure rather than trying to find a difficult pass with opposition shirts close.

2) Supporting the front man, occasionally we went longer to Giroud, this is a good thing as long as it doesn’t become the only ball, occasionally when Giroud did manage to get the ball ahead of Skrtel and Agger he wasn’t getting enough support, or there was breakdown in communication between him and the player coming to support, resulting in losing possession when the chance to break was on.

3) Attacking set pieces still need more work (not that we had many).

And finally the ratings, always difficult for me as its all very subjective but I will start with giving my basis for scoring. Each player starts with a 7, that 7 is based upon what i know of them as a player not how they performed compared to others on the pitch, for example Sagna might have got a 7 for the performance Jenkinson put in, but Jenkinson will get an 8 because I don’t expect him to be at that level yet….make sense?…no? …..good you can’t complain about them then:

Mannone – 8 Solid performance from our oft criticised 3rd choice, he almost made me forget that horror goal in the CL last season

Jenkinson – 8 Despite a couple of dodgy passes he just never gives up, stuck to his task of dealing with the highly spoken of Sterling very well he didn’t get a sniff.

Mertesacker – 7 Exactly what we have come to expect from the BFG, calm and assured, puts himself in the right positions most of the times, how many centre backs in the PL would stay on the park after picking up a booking in 5 minutes against the likes of Suarez at Anfield?

Vermaelen – 8 Solid display from the skipper, strong in the air when needed, good on the ground, and a couple of well timed clearances.

Gibbs – 7 Defensively solid although Borini posed nowhere near the threat that Jenkinson had to contend with, supported the attack well but must improve final ball.

Arteta – 8 His normal influential self, disciplined to play the holding role, eager to break up opposition attacks, read the game brilliantly.

Diaby – 9 – MOTM Probably his best match for the club, simply magnificent in the centre of midfield drew opposition shirts too him and then fed the ball to the free men, he helped set the tempo of the game with Arteta and Cazorla

Cazorla – 8 An assist and a well taken goal, welcome to Arsenal Santi, head up football the whole time, good runs with the ball, two footed in possession, makes the game look too easy.

Podolski – 8 Strong performance, put in a decent shift up and down the left flank, also made the pitch narrower to help out on defence, superb finish, good assist.

Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6 This to some will be abit harsh, but i don’t think Ox got into the game, he was easily marshaled at the moment by more experienced players, he will learn a lot from his new teammates, and i expect huge development this year.

Giroud – 7 Worked hard for his team, in a thankless task, didn’t stop running for 90 minutes and looked dead on his feet at the end, will need to relax to score his first goal.

by Gooner in Exile

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

Us and Them.

September 2, 2012

After two games without conceding a corner, we have the opportunity to play a team who are sure to attack and thank goodness for that. Our stats show that either our defence is the best in world (ever) or that our opposition have been too afraid to offer anything other than estacionar el autobús football – I would love to believe the former.

Today will be a test, a big test. Liverpool have spent plenty of money after a very poor couple of years. The massively over-rated management skills of King Kenny have been dispensed with as John W. Henry attempts to rebuild – it is proving to be an expensive overhaul. The signing of Rodgers will, in my opinion, prove to be inspired, he is a fine manager with a commitment to playing entertaining football – the banishing of Andy Carroll says all about the differing philosophies of Dalglish and Rodgers. I wish him luck and for his team to finish higher than last season, say 6th.

In 2011 Liverpool spent £113m. How many of those signed were successful? Well, Carroll is at WHU with L’pool receiving just 20k a week of his wages, Adam at Stoke, Henderson was offered as bait to sign Dempsey, Aquilani bought for almost €20m was sold to Fiorentina for under €2m and €22m Stewart Downing is playing at full-back. All of which gives further evidence to the genius of Mr Wenger in the transfer market. Henderson, Carroll, Aquilani Downing, Suarez, Johnson and Allen all cost more than our record signings. And how many of them would get into our current team? Perhaps Suarez and even he is doubtful, why? Because he is a diving cheat.

Of course Rodgers signings could turn out to be inspirational but looking at the fragility and lack of depth of their defence added to the lack of clinical finishing upfront indicates a lack of balance. We shall see in April. Sahin could prove to be worth the wages AW would not pay. Rodgers also has the mercurial talents of Joe Cole to work with (on 90k a week!!).

Liverpool were unlucky not to beat Man City last week whilst we struggled with Stoke. Outsiders would say we are in for a drubbing, and let’s be honest, Anfield has not been the happiest of hunting grounds for Mr Wenger. (though it was for a certain George Graham 😀 ) Another week on the training ground to gel our mis-firing but hugely talented squad will be beneficial. We have few injuries, we have strikers who are certain to score very soon, we have a defensive co-ordination not seen for some years (so far!) and will be playing a team who will attack – I rate our chances.

Theo should start, and both Pod and Giroud. We need goals.

My team:

If fully fit , the mobile Koscielny is a better choice than BFG against a small, pacy attack. The rest pick themselves. I would certainly have Arshavin on the bench and give him 30 minutes. He looked lively as an impact sub.

Howard Webb will need a clear head today. Suarez and Stevie Me are two of the PL’s worst cheats. Can there be more detestable (if quality) players in the PL? Throw in the eye-bulging madmen – Skretl, Carragher and Agger and we can see that this afternoon will be highly contested. Thankfully Lucas is out through injury, he is very good and would complement our midfield (sadly, too expensive for AW).

One interesting fact, in the last 7 games between the clubs there have been 7 goals after 90 mins. Last season BSR won it a beautiful volley.

Following on from kelsey’s Stoke non-revelation ….. Stoke have signed a new central defender.

To those lucky enough to attend today, have a wonderful day and remember the spirit of 26 May 1989

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

In Praise of Almunia

September 1, 2012

It’s not so much the fact of players leaving that riles fans, it’s more the manner of their leaving.

Which is why I want to single out Manuel Almunia for a round of virtual applause (more of him later).

Not all players can guarantee the affection of supporters once they have moved, but they can guarantee a degree of respect.

It’s not that hard. All they have to do is avoid the short list of “DON’Ts” that should be pointed out to every departing player. For the more stupid ones (yes Adebayor, I’m thinking of you) it could, perhaps, be stapled to their forehead.

This is the list:

DON’T p*ss down our backs and tell us it’s raining (in other words, don’t lie about “ambition” when everyone can see you just want to fill your pockets). You know what? We can understand that. We like money too and most of us would find it hard to resist a job move if someone offered to triple our salary. We’d respect you more if you were honest.

DON’T tell us how your vision of the club’s strategy is different from that of the manager and the people who run the club. You are someone who makes a living from kicking a piece of leather while wearing shorts and long socks. Clausewitz you are not. Let’s leave strategy to those who know what they’re doing, thanks very much.

DON’T, on leaving, talk about how great it is to join a “big” club. If you think Arsenal is not as big as any club in the world then, during your several years with us, you clearly never took off your headphones or lifted your eyes from your smartphone to absorb the history of football’s greatest club. The history of Arsenal is the history of football. You can, if you are lucky, leave Arsenal and move sideways. You can never leave and move up.

DON’T badmouth the club, the fans, your former team mates or the manager. If you want to go, just go and keep your mouth shut. Coming out with periodic, self-justifying swipes at your old club just tells us that you are still desperately insecure about your move and, probably, filled with self loathing.

DON’T ever score against us.

OK, that last one’s a bit hopeful, but you never know…

Some of the departed have managed to exit while retaining our respect. I’m thinking of the likes of Gael Clichy and Kolo Toure, who just got on with their careers and never felt the need to criticise the club that made them or the fans that supported them.

Others – you don’t need me to name them – went through the Exit door with all the grace and elegance of Jo Brand off the high board in the diving pool.

There is a third group, about whom people have mixed feelings: the departure of Cesc Fabregas, for example, may have been a slap in the face for the manager who gave him so much support, but it was long heralded and, since he went, Cesc has said nothing but good things about Arsenal.

Robin van Persie also clearly went for the big payday. With his injury record I can’t really blame him and, one ill-advised statement aside, he at least conducted matters privately. He will not be forgiven by many just for going to Manchester United but I doubt you will ever hear him criticise Arsenal, Arsene Wenger or the Arsenal fans.

Finally, back to Manuel Almunia.

Manuel’s contract expired this summer and he joined Championship side Watford as their first choice goalkeeper.

For most of his last two years at Arsenal, the Spaniard knew he was out of Arsene’s thinking for the Number One spot at The Emirates. And that he had, indeed, lost the spot to someone young enough to be his son.

He also knew that a large proportion of the supporters had serious reservations about his ability to be Arsenal’s custodian. He was likened to Manuel from Fawlty Towers, ridiculed for his mistakes and lampooned on the internet.

During all this time – and despite all that provocation – he never complained, never bitched, never criticised the club or the manager.

I know the cynical will say “why would he? He was getting paid fifty grand a week for doing nothing.” But it’s not Almunia’s fault that Arsene tried to make him the Number One after Lehmann left and paid him accordingly.

Many other players, in Almunia’s situation, would have been disruptive and difficult, leaking stories about their dissatisfaction and moaning to team mates.

Almunia did none of that.

This is what he had to say in an interview recently: “It was really difficult two years ago… because I expected to play more, and better. The last year wasn’t very difficult because I accepted my situation; I went to training every day, I enjoyed the football and staying at a nice club.

“I was trying to teach the young goalkeepers because I knew it was my last year so I did try to enjoy one last year at a big club.

“I believe I left Arsenal as a gentleman and people know that.”

I love the humility of these quotes – particularly the acknowledgement that despite wanting to play more, he also knew he should have played better.

He probably knows he did not quite have what it takes to be the ‘keeper at a top four club, but he had one very decent season for us and some very fine games. Rather than remembering Manuel for his mistakes, I will remember him for his performance in the first half against Barcelona in 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh0i8AdQd2I

Manuel, good luck at Watford and thankyou for being such a dignified servant of Arsenal.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Let’s get down to the important business ……….

August 31, 2012

So the Champions’ League 2012-13 is upon us. Here’s a bit of info and ill-informed thought on our oppo this time around.

Schalke 04

Stadium: Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen (61,000 capacity). Has a retractable roof.

Manager: Huub Stevens (Dutch, appointed in September 2011)

2011-12 performance: 3rd, but 17 points behind champions Dortmund. Lost 10 games and conceded 44 goals.

The players: Their most significant players are probably Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (“the best box player in the world at the moment” said his manager in April), Jefferson Farfan (good quality right winger) and Christoph Metzelder (experienced though slow defender). The loss of Raúl to Qatari football will be a big loss – he had two excellent years at Schalke, and worked very well with Huntelaar. But the dangerman remains Huntelaar, as confirmed by 48 goals scored in 47 games last season. Control him and we’ll be a long way to dealing with Schalke.

The fans: Club has 100,000 members. Recently departed Raúl said “In each game, how they [the Schalke fans] live for the club, it’s almost like a religion if you want to put it that way. This is really wonderful.” And having gone there in 2001 when we lost 3-1, I can confirm it is a great place to watch football, there is a real passion for football and for their club.

Olympiacos

Stadium: Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus (32,000 capacity).

Manager: Leonardo Jardim (Portuguese)

2011-12 performance: Olympiacos are the reigning champions and are Greece’s most successful club; they have won 14 of the last 16 league titles. (Being a fan of their bitter rivals, Panathinaikos, must be even more annoying than being a Spurs fan.) Last season, they conceded only 17 goals, so they may be pretty effective at the back.

The players: This is a team of veterans. There will be at least one familiar face, in the form of Roy Carroll. The loss of the Greek Super League’s leading scorer, Kevin Mirallas, to Everton will hit Olympiacos hard. But they will look to Rafik Djebbor and experienced Marko Pantelic to make up the difference. Ariel Ibagaza, David Fuster, and Djamel Abdoun will be the principal creative forces.

The fans: They will be intense, as we know all fans from south-eastern Europe are. Their rivalry with Panathinaikos is called the “derby of the eternal enemies”. The derby in February was abandoned due to rioting, which included throwing firebombs and resulted in multiple injuries being suffered by police officers.

Montpellier Hérault SC

Stadium: Stade de la Mosson (capacity 33,000)

Manager: René Girard (French)

2011-12 performance: For the first time, Montpellier were crowned French champions.

Given that they started the season simply wanting to avoid relegation and they were competing with PSG’s money and the experience of Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille and Lille, that is deeply impressive. They had only finished in the top three once before, more than 20 years ago. They’ve had some great players in the past, like Laurent Blanc, Eric Cantona and Carlos Valderrama, but winning the French title was a genuine shock. Their win was based on excellent home form (they won 16 out of 19 home games). Here’s what Girard said on seeing his players become champions: “It just goes to show that everyone can beat everyone and that money isn’t the be-all and end-all. We’re a club of mates, a club that brings young players through and gives them a chance. At the end of the day, it’s worked out well for us. We played some great football, with a well-balanced team and I’m overwhelmed.” Donchya love it?!

The players: The squad is based on youth, nurtured in-house and recruited from elsewhere – sound familiar? Losing Olivier Giroud to us will hurt, he was joint top scorer in Ligue 1 last year. But they have a bright young creative talent in the form of Younès Belhanda, and will be looking to him to weigh in with goals and assists. His manager has likened Belhanda to Robert Pirès. High praise indeed. They also have former Pompey striker, John Utaka. In defence, Henri Bedimo and (if we, Milan or someone else haven’t signed him) Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa will provide a tough shield to get past.

The fans: After last season, they’ll be euphoric. Beyond that, I can’t say much, but coming from a university town in a pretty part of France, I’m sure they’ll be charming.

*************

So overall, we’d have to say the draw has been pretty kind to us this year. It won’t be completely straightforward (Olympiacos did beat us last year, for example). But this is a group we should feel we can cope with, and enjoy.

Written by 26may1989

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal – Hardball or Soft Sell?

August 30, 2012

Today’s post derives from a comment posted by Adrian yesterday. It is fair to say that his opinions are not in keeping with many on this site but they do represent an interesting counterargument that is worthy of debate.

RVP, Song and now maybe Walcott – although the latest reports suggest he may stay. Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy last year. Anyone want to guess whose turn it is to shine this season only to be sold by our great owners at a minimum of 200% or higher profit to the highest bidder the next transfer window?

I’m sorry, but those who are insisting that we are good enough to compete for silverware need a reality check. Don’t get me wrong, the 3 players we brought in are very promising prospects, but so far only Cazorla has truly shone. Even then, you need to remember that Cazorla is no Fabregas and Podolski/Giroud is no RvP.

The point is, the club has been continually selling its BEST players and replacing them with decent players but in some cases not as good as their predecessors. Just take a look at Chelsea/Man city’s squad, it is very unlikely that we will have the squad depth or quality that can match theirs even though we have a fairly decent squad. Diaby is too injury prone, Arteta and Rosicky are getting one year older, Wilshere will be back god knows when, Ramsey is very inconsistent although promising. Therefore while it may appear on paper that we have a decent squad with enough depth, at a closer look you’ll start to notice some cracks and problems.

The last thing we need now is for Theo to leave. I simply cannot understand why some people have mentioned that the business end of the club is being well run. For heavens sake, its 2012 now and wage inflation has already been going on for some time. As of now, it is the norm for the better players to get around 100k a week. For those insisting that players getting 100k a week to play football is unreasonable and absurd, you need to ask yourself this, does 70k and a 100k really makes a big difference? Clubs everywhere are already paying these type of wages to their players for many years and it is time for Arsenal to go along with this concept and start being competitive salary wise, considering that Arsenal season tickets are the HIGHEST in the EPL. For heaven’s sake, we are Arsenal, one of the top clubs in England, not a 1st division side.

As mentioned above, a quality winger would easily cost 10m+, so why the big fuss over the 6m increase in Theo’s salary? Taking a stand against player contracts is very admirable, but once again you have to question the way the board acts in a business sense. Why only take a stand in the LAST THREE days of the transfer window? If they were not prepared to accede to a demand of above 75k (which is absurd as losing 3 vital first team players in a transfer window for 2 seasons consecutively should not happen in any top club), why didn’t they make it clear weeks or even months ago? Why only take a stubborn stand when there are only 3 days left to the transfer window thus leaving us with even less time to find a replacement?

For those saying that the Ox will be a great replacement in the unfortunate event that Theo leaves, he is good but not polished or fully established yet and depth as mentioned before is  vital when we are challenging in 4 competitions. And Gnabry, seriously? You expect a reserves squad member to step up and instantly hit the ground running in the EPL? As for those who mentioned Affelay, he will only be available ON LOAN. Some of you slagged Theo saying that he doesn’t want to play in an Arsenal shirt. What makes you think Affelay who is only on loan from Barca will play for us with all his heart IF he does come, as the club in his heart is Barca?

I must say I am very disappointed with the way the club has operated in the transfer window this season. I thought what happened last season would not be repeated this transfer window, but clearly I was wrong. For now I can only hope that this will not happen again next year. I strongly believe that Theo should be kept and is a vital part of the squad. Too many changes will do us no good.

Written by Adrian

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Posted by Rasp

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