Goodbye Wojciech Szczesny

January 29, 2015

Many regular readers of this blog will know that I have never been a great fan of my compatriot Wojciech Szczesny. There were many reasons for my disapproval of him, but most were based on the knowledge of his father’s career – average keeper, arrogant and mouthy. From the start Wojciech reminded me of his Dad. But I am a fair person and decided to give him a chance and it seemed he rewarded me for that. Since replacing Fabianski in goal, he has grown from strength to strength and most fellow Gunners were delighted with his performances.

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Exactly 4 years ago he became our new No 1. Since then we have witnessed a true rollercoaster of a career, culminating in his disastrous performance against Southampton earlier this month. Rumours followed that Wenger had dropped him there and then as our first choice keeper and that was confirmed by Ospina’s appearance in the next few fixtures while Szczesny returned in the FA Cup. As we know Wenger always plays number 2 keeper in FA games. Do we have a permanent new No 1 or will Szczesny return to reclaim his place? And most importantly – do we want him to return?

The media and the fans have  varied views on Szczesny’s career. It has almost become a norm that after a few good games he fails completely – stupid mistakes, lack of concentration, wrong decision or  even a red card. Other players cannot possibly feel safe in front of a goalie with such a poor level of consistency.

Some claim that he is suffering from the same virus that made van Persie and Cesc move to clubs where they have better chances to achieve full potential and win trophies (more money). Others argue that Wojtek is an average keeper and will never be world class. He still makes the same errors as he did 4 years ago and his personality will always get in the way of true progress.

Psychological profiling is nowadays a part of the modern selection process for all top professionals, including footballers and I am sure that Szczesny must have been assessed too. I therefore wonder if his temperament has been ignored or deemed as no issue. Or did Szczesny became nervous after joining the Arsenal? By the same token we can discuss our previous number one, Lukasz Fabianski nicknamed ‘Flappy Hands Fabianski’. Lukasz seldom appeared cool, calm and collected while at the Emirates. Yet he seems to be doing well at Swansea.

Szczesny’s last EPL appearance was a complete disaster. His performance was below par and he cost us valuable 3 points. His body language after the game and failure to even look at the defenders were a sure sign that he knew he let us down. To calm the nerves he had a fag in the changing rooms, right under the nose of Wenger, known to be obsessed with a healthy life style of his employees.  Was it a provocation on WS’s part? Does he want to leave?

The Pole signed a new 5 year long contract in November 2013 making him one of the best paid goalkeepers in the world. Wenger was happy, we were happy and I am sure Szczesny was delighted. But that was more than a year ago, a long time in the short career of a footballer. This time last year Szczesny’s stats were better than De Gea’s, but this certainly is not the case this season. Even Fabianski and Vito Mannone seem to be outperforming Wojciech.

I don’t think I need to say anymore on the subject. I think that Szczesny should leave, don’t you?

Written by Eddie

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

The Premier League race to qualify for the 2016 Champions League.

January 28, 2015

With 16 games remaining in the season the race for Champions League places is agonizingly close. Mathematically the top 4 positions are not locked up but Chelsea appears to have the top spot firmly in their grasp. As this table shows any one of the current top 8 teams still have a shot at being in the 2016 Champions League.

                     Current position in the league

GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Chelsea 22 16 4 2 51 22 29 52
Man C 22 14 5 3 45 22 23 47
Southampton 22 13 3 6 38 17 21 42
Man U 22 11 7 4 36 20 16 40
Arsenal 22 11 6 5 39 25 14 39
Tottenham 22 11 4 7 33 31 2 37
West Ham 22 10 6 6 35 25 10 36
Liverpool 22 10 5 7 32 27 5 35

The next table shows the 8 teams results against each other so far this season. Arsenal has dropped 15 points, losing to Chelsea, United and Southampton and tying with Spurs, Man City and Liverpool. To stress the importance of games against these teams – if (I recognize that it’s a big if) we had won all of these games then we would be on top with 57 points – 8 points clear of Chelsea who would only have 49 points.

Games against Top 8
GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Chelsea 8 4 3 1 15 9 6 15
Man C 8 4 2 2 15 9 6 14
Man U 8 4 2 2 10 6 4 14
Tottenham 8 4 1 3 12 15 -3 13
Arsenal 9 3 3 3 11 12 -1 12
Southampton 9 3 1 5 9 12 -3 10
Liverpool 7 2 1 4 10 14 -4 7
West Ham 7 2 0 5 8 12 -4 6

Our record in the last 10 games is surprisingly strong having gained  22 out of 30 points we are exceeded only by Manchester City who have gained 23 points having lost only once to Arsenal.

Last 10 Games
GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
Man C 10 7 2 1 21 9 12 23
Arsenal 10 7 1 2 19 10 9 22
Man U 10 6 3 1 17 5 12 21
Chelsea 10 6 2 2 21 11 10 20
Tottenham 10 6 2 2 16 13 3 20
Liverpool 10 6 3 1 16 9 7 21
West Ham 10 5 3 2 15 9 6 18
Southampton 10 5 1 4 13 10 3 16

The final tables show the remaining games for the top 8 teams.

Chelsea Man City Saints Man U
Man City H Chelsea A Swansea H Leicester H
Aston Villa A Hull H QPR A West Ham A
Everton H Stoke A West Ham H Burnley H
Burnley H Newcastle H Liverpool H Swansea A
Leicester A Liverpool A WBA A Sunderland H
West Ham A Leicester H Crystal P H Newcastle A
Southampton H Burnley A Chelsea A Tottenham H
Hull A WBA H Burnley H Liverpool A
Stoke H Crystal P A Everton A Aston Villa H
QPR A Man United A Hull H Man City H
Man United H West Ham H Stoke A Chelsea A
Arsenal A Aston Villa H Tottenham H Everton A
Crystal P H Tottenham A Sunderland A WBA H
Liverpool H QPR H Leicester A Crystal P A
WBA A Swansea A Aston Villa H Arsenal H
Sunderland H Southampton H Man City A Hull A

 

Arsenal Tottenham West Ham Liverpool
Aston Villa H WBA A Liverpool A West Ham H
Tottenham A Arsenal H Man Utd H Everton A
Leicester H Liverpool A Southampton A Tottenham H
Crystal P A West Ham H Tottenham A Southampton A
Everton H QPR A Crystal P H Man City H
QPR A Swansea H Chelsea H Burnley H
West Ham H Man United A Arsenal A Swansea A
Newcastle A Leicester H Sunderland H Man United H
Liverpool H Burnley A Leicester A Arsenal A
Burnley A Aston Villa H Stoke H Newcastle H
Sunderland H Newcastle A Man City A Hull A
Chelsea H Southampton A QPR A WBA A
Hull A Man City H Burnley H QPR H
Swansea H Stoke A Aston Villa A Chelsea A
Man United A Hull H Everton H Crystal P H
WBA H Everton A Newcastle A Stoke A

To date it’s been one of our worst seasons under Arsene Wenger but we remain in strong contention to retain our place in the CL for the nineteenth consecutive season. The last two games against Stoke and City have arguably been our best of the season winning both while scoring 5 and keeping two clean sheets, not surprisingly this coincided with the return of many of our walking wounded.

There are 320 games remaining in 2014/2015 Premier League season but I feel that the top 4 places will be determined by as few as the following 13 games.

Chelsea vs Man City – Jan 31st.

Arsenal vs Tottenham  – Feb 2nd.

Liverpool vs Tottenham – Feb 10th.

Chelsea vs Southamton – Mar 15th.

Man U vs Tottenham – Mar 15th

Man U vs Man City – Apr 11th.

Chelsea vs Man U – Apr 18th.

Arsenal vs Chelsea – Apr 25th

Southampton vs Tottenham – Apr 25th.

Tottenham vs Man City – May 2nd.

Liverpool vs Man U – Mar 22nd.

Man U vs Arsenal – May 16th.

Man City vs Southampton – May 24th.

GunnerN5

 

 

 

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Posted by Rasp

“That’s a good foul” ….. Savage by name ……..

January 27, 2015

In its infinite wisdom, BT has chosen to employ the services of one Robbie Savage as their expert analyst to educate us with his pearls of wisdom regarding the subtle nuances and tactical complexities of football.

Savage earned his reputation as an old fashioned hard man during his career by regularly stepping over the boundary between good play and foul play.

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The aptly named Savage is an odious character who has been branded ‘the dirtiest player in Premier League history’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-539649/REVEALED-The-dirtiest-player-Premier-League-history.html

His trophy cabinet boasts an impressive 87 yellow cards – 5 more than the incumbent of second place, that other gift to humanity, Lee Bowyer.

All of this of course makes Savage the perfect recruit for BT. The once respected national telecoms institution has been sold to the highest bidders and with it, lost its integrity along the way.

This brings me to Savage’s commentary on the match between Brighton and Arsenal last Sunday. Savage had been spouting his usual dinosaur drivel throughout the game, but really stepped it up a notch when our rookie striker Chuba Akpom came on in the 70th minute.

Chuba is an exciting prospect from our academy. At 19, he’s a strong, quick and direct striker – the sort defenders hate. It was an excellent substitution because we were under some pressure from Brighton and needed an outlet that would keep their defenders on their heels. And so it proved as on several occasions the ball was passed out of defence to Chuba who subsequently went up through the gears and looked a real threat.

But each time Chuba got the better of the defenders he was cynically brought down. Most neutrals watching the game might expect the studio pundit to observe how well Chuba had done in drawing the foul and maybe god forbid, to criticise the defender for breaking the rules of the game. Not Savage. On two separate occasions his sage assessment was “that’s a good foul” …… I repeat …… “that’s a good foul”

Now forgive me, but aren’t the rules of the game designed to protect players and ensure that the game is played in the proper manner. If a foul is committed due to a lack of judgement, or just because your opponent is too good and has fooled you, then fair enough. A deliberate foul where there is no intention of getting the ball, only to stop the player in order to avoid a goal scoring opportunity is just plain cheating and risks injury to a fellow professional.

I accept some footballers practise this dark art, it often goes under the affectionate term of ‘taking one for the team’ when a card is brandished, but when it is a blunt instrument regularly employed to stop the side with superior skills playing football, it is detrimental to the game, and contrary to the spirit of the game.

Savage thinks this kind of behaviour is to be applauded. He’s on the telly telling millions of people that this is a good thing. Thousands of aspiring young players will have heard an ‘expert’ describe cheating as “a good foul” – a great example to set. How many times will those actions be replicated in parks up and down the country I wonder? And what if Chuba had suffered a career threatening injury in one of those ‘good fouls’? Hope you’re proud of yourself Robbie. It doesn’t matter to you, you’re busy carving out a celebrity career where the most base of behaviour only serves to enhance your reputation.

This is not an argument against tackling or strong physical play, they still have a place in the modern game. Players with intelligence will know where the line should be drawn. Tackling has been described as an art form by those appreciate the skill and timing involved. I have no problem with that. However, players who lack ability will always seek refuge in an overly physical approach that manifests itself in habitual fouling and should not be encouraged by the media.

It is up to the officials and rule makers to ensure that such practices are discouraged and penalised appropriately. If the rules currently in place do not deter ‘professional fouls’ then the penalties are clearly not harsh enough. We can only hope that their thinking is not influenced by the ‘Savages’ in our media.

He is a disgrace to his profession. BT are guilty of the lowest form of tabloid recruitment in giving him air time.

How are we ever going to progress in football in this country when we have characters like Savage promoting anti-football in our media? We should mount an internet campaign to get Savage off our screens to prevent his contamination of the beautiful game to which Arsene Wenger, Arsenal and all football purists aspire.

Here’s a reminder of the gulf in class between Savage and an Arsenal great ……

Rasp

P.S.

My son is running The London Marathon to raise money for Leukaemia Care. Any donation however small would be gratefully appreciated. There is a link in the side bar to the right of this page, or go to https://www.justgiving.com/jamiemonk/ to view his Just Giving site … thank you 🙂

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Posted by Rasp

The Mods defeat the Rockers …. Brighton 2-3 Arsenal

January 26, 2015

Firstly, the result. A 3-2 winning scoreline can only be bettered by a 4-3, a 5-4,  and so on.

Seven changes from a side that went away to beat the current League Champions, and with that, the current Cup Holders marched on into today’s draw.

When so many changes are made, we’re looking at squad depth, and players returning from injuries.

Recently, Mozart and Santi have been the heartbeat of the side, and yesterday Thomas continued his incredible run of form, coming out by some distance as Man of the Match.

Mixing up centre back pairings is always an excellent idea if you want a little excitement when taking on some lower league minnows, and yesterday the plan worked to perfection. From 2-0 up, the changes had the desired effect with Brighton twice scrambling back into the game to give us the exciting climax we all enjoyed so much.

Most Arsenal eyes will have been on the returning Mesut and Theo, and mine were no exception.

Really, there were no great surprises. Theo continued to blow away a few cobwebs, and began with a typically clinical finish. As far as I’m concerned, the thought of Alexis suffering a long termer without the goals of Theo is terrifying, so great to see Theo back on the score sheet.

Mesut: looks stronger for sure, but as with last season, I don’t believe we will ever see the best of him without a fast striker through the middle.

As for the rest of the side, well, ok performances, nothing outstanding but enough to provide an enthralling encounter. RC78 said more or less the same thing in his player ratings, but the most accurate for me was on Ollie: industrious but not dangerous. We played some wonderful moves during the ninety yesterday, and if I was going to be critical it would be the finishing.

This should have been a less exciting 5-2.

MickyDidIt89

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Posted by Rasp

The Kids are Alright

January 25, 2015

Is there a better away day to be had in Britain? Those of us lucky enough to have spent time in Brighton have a special attachment to it but not all memories are rosy ……

From the time I was 7 y.o. my parents had a summer house in Trafalgar Street which is in Kemptown about 10 minutes walk from the sea. To my dismay this meant that whilst my friends travelled abroad for their summer holidays I was forced to spend 6 weeks away from my friends in swinging North London. If I was lucky my best friend Robert was allowed to spend his holiday with us.

We were always playing football on the beach or cricket in the gardens around the Royal Pavilion. One evening Robert kicked the ball into the sea. This was a time when a football was precious, it cost at least a months pocket money and we watched in dismay as it floated off on it’s way to France. Stupidly, we decided to swim after it. Thankfully neither of us got hurt but we had to walk home in wet clothes and incur the wrath of my parents.

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Danger Awaits

My last visit to Brighton was to spend time with my mother in her final days.

I learned much about life in Brighton; not to talk to strange men, not to be on the beach when the Mods and Rockers turned up, not to eat candy floss until it makes you sick, not to waste all my pocket money in the penny arcades, and later that is a long cycle to Brighton from Islington***  … enough of this – there is a game today!!

Given yesterday’s spectacular results we cannot go into the game with anything but total focus. Right now we can laugh at City, Spurs, MU, L’pool, S’ton,and especially Chelsea – we don’t want to reduce their fans hurt by being another victim of a lower league team.

Mr Wenger may be tempted to play a very young team and approach the game as a Capitol One Cup match but although are youngsters are full of potential I hope he plays safe

With the return to the first team of both Mesut and Theo we should be safe. It will be interesting to see what defence Mr Wenger picks – I would give BFG a rest and play Chambers. However, as Cup Holders we have to play our strongest team. No slip ups against a team who have struggled but will be desperate for a win. Plus they are managed by an old Miscreant, Chris Hughton – apparently a likeable chap but clearly mentally scarred from his time in the cess-pond.

I haven’t been to the Falmer Amex stadium, but I have friends who are Brighton S/T holders who tell me it can generate a lot of noise and today the ground is a sell-out. The team will be confident after beating high-flying Ipswich last time out. Hutton teams are generally sent out to play entertaining, fast passing football – he is unlikely to zaparkawac’ autobus

We are on a very good run and the win at the Etihad must have given huge confidence to the squad plus it seems we have shiny new CB.

**** This being a family site most of the lessons I learnt in Brighton will remain private 😇

COYRRG

written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Can we buy on Ebay?

January 23, 2015

I have bought over 300 items from Ebay  and have a 100% rating, granted throughout those 300 items I have been disappointed with one or two items. Buying things from photo’s and a short description, can leave you exposed to the odd dodgy item but read the description and many times you read in them what you want to read, only when you log back in and read it all over again you can often find something you missed.

I have always bought, but I have just entered an item for sale, a set of alloy wheels, and the amount of questions i have been asked has surprised me.I know we send scouts out to watch certain players, and yes a player may look good on the field. But what about his personality his sexual persuasion or even his record, sickness discipline or even a police record, surely for the amount of money paid out you would expect a 4 page dossier, but we have still signed injured players.

Now I read that we have added 8 year old kids to our academy, even Beckham’s boy has come and played a bit and i have to ask myself what’s the point. Young kids who don’t even know what its all about, being propositioned by scouts agents or even parents, lets face it they are kids who still have a lot of growing up to do before you start nurturing, a talent that may never come to anything.

Now when have we ever found a talent in the lower divisions, there are plenty who play, and when we play some of them in the cups we see guys who look as good as some of our multi million players, but no we spend millions on a 17 year old kid who plays in a foreign league who most of us have never heard of.

Now with all of the holding midfielders and central defenders in the lower leagues who are all used to English football surely some of them are good enough to play in the premier, but how often do we even look. If we search the world for 8 year old maybe’s, and hope they grow to six feet 2 or 3 and will be strong enough to play top flight football who are we trying to kid.

A few seasons back when we were struggling we could have bought Cahill or Samba and we never, we buy Squilachy instead  I don’t think the right questions were asked then, do you. I feel we have to buy players who have a bit of a track record, a player who is six feet 2 or 3 already players who have shown they are resistant to playing in rain sleet and snow, players who have a bit of fight in their bellies, and leave the Chamakhs and Eduardos Gervinhos  to other teams.

We have in our fold Wilshere Walcott Ramsey Diaby Gibbs who seem to spend most time injured, fairly good players who have shown when fit are decent talented footballers, but when these players are injured the team seems to struggle, so what do we do.

Maybe like Ebay we should ask more questions, ask them early in the window so when an answer comes back that casts a doubt we can scroll through the others on the list. Research, and lots of questions before we part with our Wonga.

written by Steve Palmer

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Posted by Erik the Red

Is Theo Worth his Wages?

January 22, 2015

9 years ago yesterday,  a 16 year old born in Stanmore, North London was signed by Mr. Wenger. His arrival aroused much excitement because this kid was meant to be the best attacking prospect in the land. His name? Theo Walcott.

He was so good as a young boy that he was sponsored by Nike at the age of 14 and much to his credit refused an opportunity to join Chelsea. Joining Southampton Theo was the youngest player in S’ton’s long history to make a debut in the first team – he was just 16 and 3 months. Scoring a goal in his first starting game and playing with such verve that he became  one of the BBC Young Sports Personalities of 2005 (winning it in his first AFC season ).

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Walcott signed for us in Jan 2006 whilst still a 16. y.o for ￡9m. I was excited – I bet you were excited. He took the 14 shirt which shows just how confident a young man he is.

How do we assess his time at Arsenal? Do you think he is worth the hype and the huge wages?

Let us start with the number of games he has played – almost 200 in a 9 year spell = 22 a season. Not good. From the season out with the shoulder injuries to last years knee-knack Theo has spent much time in the massive AFC treatment mansion. Yet when fit he is a potent attacking weapon and a man whose defensive abilities are under-estimated.

Perhaps my impression of Walcott is through the rose coloured glasses of absence but he is one of my favourite players. I love how he skins the full back or scores by shooting across the keeper a’la TH14. I like his smile and his honesty, unlike most speedsters the man doesn’t dive  – he is a bloke I would love my daughter to marry (if I had one!),

But is my assessment skewed by my liking the fellow? Would we be better off selling him for a bucketload of money in summer rather than go through another tortuous contract negotiation?

A goal every 5 games is not a particularly good return for someone who creates and is given so many scoring opportunities, yet in my opinion his absence cost us the title last season – we had no-one who could scare the opposition; a situation AW recognised and remedied with the purchase of Alexis.

The fans love him as witnessed by the reaction when he warms up prior to coming on as sub. Which brings us to the nub of this post …. Is Theo still an automatic starter in our best first eleven?

Given the wealth of attacking talent we have and the development of The Ox where does Theo fit in? Do we drop the magical Santi or the mercurial Alexis? We have two target men which indicates that either Welbz or OG will always start centrally.

Rasp has been writing about a player having “their time” (re:Coq) and perhaps Walcott has missed his. I cannot see him as anything but a super-sub who will start perhaps one in three games. Is that enough for a man who is an automatic pick for England and has such a high media profile?

What to you think?

written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

It is Your Fault Players Are So Expensive

January 21, 2015

Following on from yesterday’s  topic, it seems an unwritten rule in football that the higher up the pitch you play, the greater the price tag. This is a generalisation of course, but it is an undeniable fact. Strikers command the highest prices and goalkeepers seem ludicrously cheap when you consider they have it every bit as much within their power to win or lose a game for the team.

Why is this?

Well the answer has to be that it is 90% down to commercial considerations. Strikers are the glamour boys of football. They score goals, they put bums on seats, they sell shirts, they recruit new supporters who will spend money with the clubs, they appear in advertising campaigns …. everyone loves a striker. In short, strikers create revenue for the clubs, it’s market forces.

Furthermore, it is easier to gauge a strikers abilities by the simple goals/game ratio, whereas a centreback for instance has no such definitive data on which to judge them. There is even a subtle difference between the relative values of an attacking midfielder in relation to a holding midfielder.

Admittedly there is now a plethora of statistical information available for the geeks and statos among us to analyse the performance of players in all positions (no offence intended GN5 🙂 ), but as we have agreed many times on here, stats can be used to prove anything you want – or sometimes the opposite of what you want! In any case, which is the sexier, a player who smashes the ball into the back of the net or a defender who wins a header?

Some supporters are exceptions, like those who have played the game (even if over the park) who will have an appreciation of the skills of a player who occupies the same position on the pitch as they once did, but most people these days watch football from the comfort of their sofa. We are a generation of fake football managers, experts on everything and nothing …. and yet as a collective, we wield more power than we imagine when it comes to the price tag attached to players.

Obviously specific criteria are important in different positions on the pitch. The most obvious being height in defence, speed on the wings, vision and work rate in the midfield, trickery up front etc etc. Beyond that, there are fundamental considerations for all player purchases that combine to reach a price tag – and then add 20% on top for the agent!

I thought it might be timely in this January window period to examine what these criteria are, and why they affect the player’s value.

This would be my list in order of the effect they have on player value in the current transfer market …..

  1. Position
  2. Ability
  3. Marketability = persona
  4. Age
  5. The wealth and need of the buying club
  6. History of injuries
  7. Nationality

I would argue that points 1,3,5 and 7 are influenced by fan power.

It is you who makes the strikers so expensive … just because you aren’t sophisticated enough in your appreciation of football to value a defensive midfielder. You’re so shallow you have to have pretty boys wearing your shirts. You feel deprived if your club doesn’t spend every penny of its transfer budget on shiny new players every window and what’s more, you want a German in defence, a Spaniard in midfield, a flying Dutchman on the wings and a South American magician up front.

Hopefully I have managed to insult everyone so far 😀

Footballers are overpriced and overpaid because we, the supporters, idolise them. We give them their value and the money men take their lead from us.

So is there anything we can do about it? Yes, we can just stop loving them for their flair, brilliance, athleticism, fabulous goals and crunching tackles, the way they love only our club (not!) ……. OK, maybe we can’t do those things.

You may wish to disagree with my list of criteria, or to rearrange the order of precedence, or just insult me for being ‘an armchair expert’. Feel free to steer the debate in whichever direction you desire – just remember, it’s not the fault of the new young generation – it’s all your fault.

Rasp

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Posted by Rasp

The Window is Open …. Do You Predict a Draft or a Draught?

January 20, 2015

Though the victory against City has quietened a lot of the speculation, with the transfer window still open, Arsenal continue to be linked with players in virtually every position.

For GK, the media insists Szczesny’s time is over at Arsenal and we’re looking at Italian ‘next Buffon’ (I forgot his name) as his replacement.

At CB there are rumours of Paulista (confirmed by the player), Moreno, Otamendi, or Winston Reid. The Loic Perrin rumour seems to have died a natural death.

In midfield there’s Gundogan, Schneiderlin, Carvalho, Sissoko (he’s not a DM), Brozovic (an AM) and Atletico Madrid’s Suarez.

Oddly enough, we are also being linked with strikers like Dybala, Destro (COOOOBbbbraaaaaa!!) and Micky’s man crush, Cavani. I shall ignore the Falcao rumour.

That’s all good fun, but what will that mean for some of our current squad? Who we buy now also affects our plans for the next season and beyond. Are we ready to make a final decision on the likes of Campbell, Sanogo and Akpom and get in someone else? Is there room for all of them? What about Gnabry?

In midfield there is now Coquelin who, if nothing else, has reduced the need to buy ‘someone, just anyone’. With Flamini and Diaby likely on their way out, and Arteta and Rosicky on their last legs there is potentially space to buy here. Hopefully players like Maitland-Niles, Zelalem, Crowley etc will still get their chance to impress, along with Bielik of course, if he signs.

In defense we could definitely do with a signing, and since Mertesacker and Koscielny are now both around 29, the likes of Hayden and Ajayi should eventually get their chance if they keep improving. But what of Jenkinson? Bellerin showed great promise against ManCity, but Jenkinson has been doing well at West Ham, and is a genuine gooner. Can we make space for him in the squad next season?

Here’s how I see our squad next year:

GK: Szczesny*, Ospina, Martinez*

LB: Gibbs*, Monreal

CB: Mertesacker, Koscielny, new signing, (Chambers)

RB: Debuchy, (Bellerin)

CM: Arteta, new signing, Coquelin*, Ramsey*, Wilshere*, Ozil, Cazorla, Rosicky (Zelalem), (Bielek)

Att: Ox*, Sanchez, Campbell*, Walcott*, Giroud, Welbeck* (Gnabry) ,(Akpom)

 

That would mean 23 players registered. Sanogo and Jenkinson, if included, would have to be registered too. Which would make 25. Do we need them? Considering that I’ve already accounted for a new signing in defense and midfield each, do we need anyone else, maybe in attack?

Who, if anyone should we buy? Who else should we retain? Maybe Diaby? 😀

Pretend you are a manager and that you know what you are talking about and discuss.

Written by Shard

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Posted by Rasp

The Champions taken down at the Etihad

January 19, 2015

Here are a few AAers’ comments………………….

Rocky said

Santi was simply amazing. As AW said in his post-match comments, he is so effective in getting us out of trouble when we’re under pressure. If any of our defenders can get the ball to him, he just starts tap dancing and defence is turned into offence…

Big performance from Le Coq as well. Wasn’t it Gary Neville who said after the Stoke win that if we went up against City relying on the likes of Bellerin and Coquelin we’d be in big trouble? Well, sorry Gary, you may be flavour of the month when it comes to football punditry, but you got that one wrong.

And big hat-tip to LB, who posted this before the game:

“Remember at the beginning of the season when we looked at the squad with its shiny new signings and thought — wow!

That excitement has dimmed by the fact that it has taken and still is taking a lot longer for that squad to gel to the potential that we all expected.

Well, it changes today.

We are capable of fielding a team every bit as good if not better than City and they are under far more pressure than we are.

Big day, big game, big result.”

Shard said

We witnessed a veritable miracle today. Mike Dean actually awarding Arsenal a penalty. Who would have thunk it? Except Raddy under the influence of some psychotropics obviously.

That obviously helped us, and we were very very good almost throughout. Cazorla definitely Motm, and I loved the vine of him dancing after Groud scored.

All 4 defenders did well too, ably protected by Coquelin, who now that he is playing well, will inevitably run off at the end of the season by running down his contract. He still has some way to go in improving his passing and vision, but he can still learn. I hope he’s given an extension.

Sanchez and Ox’s dribbles didn’t really come off as usual, but there was no lack of effort from them, and Giroud as well. As you can see, I think everyone did well, and it feels good to be able to say that.

FGG said

We were absolutely fantastic for the whole 90 minutes. Reminded me of the Dortmund game at the Ems where we defended as a unit and broke at pace. That first goal is so important to how we play and once again it showed.

Cazorla was quality again and Sanchez never stops. The 4 at the back were excellent as well.

Player Ratings

Ospina – Didn’t have a lot to do except appreciate the away fans Ossssssssspiiiiiina-ing his name every time he kicked the ball………8

Mertesacker – Even had time for a little feint and drag back. Sometimes row Z is where it belongs……8

Koscielny – The Boss. He oozes class……9

Monreal – Another excellent performance from the much-maligned Spaniard……8

Bellerin –  Hector seems to be growing in confidence with each game. Nineteen years old – what a prospect ….9

Coquelin – Aggressive, disciplined and effective….9

Oxlade-Chamberlain – Worked his cashews off. ….8

Cazorla – Santi was said to be surplus to requirements both in the summer and at the start of the season. How little we know….9

Ramsey  – Aaron took his responsibilities very seriously yesterday. Only in that period just after half time did he lose focus and get caught too far ahead of the ball …..8

Giroud – Defended from the front and scored the crucial second…..9 

Sanchez – No goal or assist from the Chilean wizard, he must have been pants!……8

Subs

Rosicky – Unlucky to lose his place to Ramsey, but very effective in possession when he came on for a tiring Ox ….8

Flamini and Gibbs – Neither on for long enough for a rating, though the Flamster should have lifted the ball over Kompany’s big toe for Giroud to score a simple 3rd goal

Cobbled together by chas

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