Can Arsenal win at Montpellier’s Carrelet?

September 18, 2012

I love the late summer CL fixtures. Warm nights and the opportunity for fans to watch decent football midweek.

Our first game is challenging – playing the French champions even sans OG will be difficult. A compact ground filled with 33,000 fervent fans awaiting  (what I believe will be) their first CL game.

Montpellier: I have to admit to knowing almost nothing about Montpellier HSC. I have been to the town and didn’t even know they had a club! We all know about their fairy tale La Ligue win last season but beyond that? Mbiwa, the captain is much admired and it is unlikely he will be at the club next summer.  Another player known to English fans is John Utaka who was signed by Portsmouth in 2007 for £7m and given a wage of £80k a week …. yes, you read that correctly! More than Theo is being offered in 2012!! You will not be surprised to read that Utaka was signed by a man who has a Rosie account. Montpellier’s most famous ex -player is Eric Cantona – shame he couldn’t make it in the English game.

The night’s talking point will obviously be the return to Stade de la Mosson of Oliver Giroud. It will be a special night for him and I expect OG to mark it with at least one goal.

Montpellier’s form is poor. They have won just one of five games in La Ligue, the latest resulting in a 3-1 loss away to Reims.

Stade de la Masson. Home of the French Chapions

Arsenal: There are so many possible permutations of the team tonight but I will start at the back and with our ‘keeper. Mannone will play due to an ankle injury to TPIG. It would have been interesting to see which GK would start had TPIG been fit.

The Corporal has been outstanding, an astonishing improvement in one so young and inexperienced. He isn’t the finished article yet but he deserves to keep his place. Centre back is not so simple;  Mertsacker is quality but Koscielny is too good to leave on the bench. I would play Kos tonight and Per on Sunday when it is likely Djeko will start.  Despite Gibbs improvement, I would prefer to see Santos start tonight. He is a better crosser (Gibbs must keep practicing) and OG needs something to feed on.

Midfield is also difficult to predict. My choice would be Coquelin, Cazorla and Arteta..  Diaby’s height will be important on Sunday – no risks should be taken with our fragile Bambi – and Coquelin is an able deputy who performed very well on Saturday. However, Ramsey ‘s vibrant substitute cameos are evidence of a player in good form.

Upfront we finally have options. The Ox is likely to be rested having played 2 Internationals and on Saturday. Assuming Giroud starts, The Gerv will not play centrally, so I expect the team to line up like this:

My Team:

And what a  bench….. O-C, The Gerv, Merts, Gibbs, Shea, Diaby, Ramsey.

Mr Wenger usually likes to get the 2nd round qualification achieved as soon as possible and as such I expect him to play our strongest team despite the difficult fixture on Sunday. For once, playing Tuesday will help us.

I was going to write a “where are they now?” feature for this season, it is on the back-burner at the moment but here is a taster. This gentleman is currently living in sunny Malta and owns a pub….

Fashion can make a fool of Heroes

It is hard to know what to expect of Montpellier, they could be excellent and win the group or be whipping boys. A poor start to the season does not mean that Montpellier are a poor team (AFC 2011) and tonight will be one of the biggest nights in the clubs history, they will be playing in front of a full, expectant stadium and be desperate to start their CL campaign well.  Should be a good game.

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Deluded Vertonghen and the Myth of “Arsenal Tried to Sign Me”

September 17, 2012

It’s a brave man who openly defies the word of God, especially when it comes directly from the Divine Being himself.

So no-one can fault Jan Vertonghen for courage.

Apparently when considering his future, the Belgian-born Ajax defender sought – and gained – an audience with the Almighty to ask whether a move to Arsenal or Teetering Horseparts would be the better option.

The Holy Dennis told him, emphatically, that he should not go to the Godless lands of N17. But once he had got up off his knees, we all now know that fearless, Godless Jan chose not to heed that advice.

And what happens to people who ignore the word of God? The Bible has the answer:

“…since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.”

Romans 28-29

Just turning out in that awful shirt with a skinny chicken balanced on a basketball is almost a perfect definition of “being filled with every kind of wickedness.”

Not that I’ve got anything against Vertonghen in particular, other than his choice of club. He seems a decent enough defender, though not in the same class as our own Lion of Flanders.

But I am interested in his need – and that of other players before him – to make a big issue of the fact that “Arsenal wanted to sign me and I turned them down.”

Kevin Mirallas, now at Everton, said something similar at the tail end of the summer transfer window.

I don’t doubt that in their egotistical heads these players believe Arsenal wanted them, so they are not actually lying. But they are misleading themselves – or have been misled by their selling clubs and agents – if they think they were a priority for London’s top club.

It’s the same problem that plagues the news wires all during the summer and winter transfer windows: players, clubs and agents fall over themselves to suggest that Arsenal is “after” certain individuals.

Some of the reports are downright fabrication, often from agents trying to put their players in the shop window. For them, the idea of being linked with a club like Arsenal adds noughts to their player’s value.

But I am equally sure that many of the reports of Arsenal’s interest have a grain of truth to them.

As a club competing at the highest level for the biggest prizes, you would hardly expect us to have just two or three targets and leave it at that. Such an approach would leave us exposed to the whims of players, the machinations of greedy agents and the vagaries of an open market.

Instead, I would imagine we “enquire” about dozens of players. In some cases we may approach a club simply to find out whether, in the future, the club would consider selling a particular footballer; other times we may want to know about length of contract and so on.

The vast majority of these players will never come to THOF, but our club needs to keep across their availability in case other deals fall through or unexpected departures and injuries blight us.

Arsene Wenger’s knowledge of players is legendary and I would bet he has dialogue with other managers about players on a frequent basis.

With the classier outfits these discussions stay secret, but there are plenty of classless people in football, which means many of our vague enquiries are leaked as news stories that we are definitely trying to buy player X or Y.

Returning to the Belgian Blasphemer, you have to ask yourself why on earth we would have made a serious attempt to sign him. We already have three of the best centre backs in the Premier League and our fourth choice (Djourou) is greatly under-rated by many fans who only remember his poor showings at full back last year (if you doubt me, go back and read some of the match reports when he was playing regularly at centre back. I did, and he gets a lot of rave reviews).

Perhaps we wanted Vertonghen as an alternative to Djourou as fourth choice, but that seems unlikely.

Far more probable is that we were keeping tabs on him in case one of our first choice CBs suffered a major injury in pre- and early season.

But with Laurent Koscielny – arguably the best CB in the league last year – currently unable to get a starting spot, Vertonghen – if he was ours – would not even get on the bench.

One last theory (which I kind of like) is that maybe we were making enquiries about him just to annoy the Spuds and to help push up the price they would end up paying for him.

Either way, I do not believe for a moment that we were seriously after Vertonghen, so the idea of him “turning down” Arsenal is all in his head.

Regular readers will know that the sensationalist and often inaccurate reporting of our club’s affairs is one of my big bugbears. The succession of stories claiming as fact that we are trying to sign this or that player fall into this category.

It wouldn’t really matter except that some people – including some Arsenal fans – use these essentially false stories as sticks with which to beat the management and Board.

It never ceases to amaze me how people can whip themselves into such a lather of fury about a supposed non-signing that has been nothing but a fiction all along.

Whip… “We haven’t signed Llorente…” whip… “what does that clown Dick Laws actually do?” whip… “we have no ambition” whip… “we’ll be lucky to finish in the top half this year.”

I suppose it’s a kind of sado-masochism: fifty shades of twat.

Anyway, my point is: please, please don’t always believe what you read even – maybe especially – if it comes from the mouths of footballers who have no reason to wish well of Arsenal.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Arsenal drink Sangria in the park

September 16, 2012
Such a perfect day …… well almost! A win by five goals, and we continue the great start to the season, despite having lost two of our most important players in the summer.  The first half was especially impressive, with the cohesive team-play the most significant feature.  Arsenal quite simply dominated Southampton all across the pitch in the first 45 minutes.
The only fly in the ointment came just before the half-time whistle when a rusty Szczesny dropped a high cross, with Daniel Fox capitalising on the error with the first entry in the Arsenal goals against column this season.  But at half-time, the crowd was purring at the level of the first half performance; Southampton might not be the most capable of opposition, especially in the defensive third, but the way in which our team knitted together was very, very impressive.  The second half was decidedly less fluid than the first, with Arsenal defending deeper than they might have liked and possession being given up too easily.  But that said, it was still clear which was the better team.

The defence today was every bit as coordinated as it has been this season, with Mertesacker magnificent in his domination of Rickie Lambert, a player who had bossed the Man United defence a couple of weeks ago.  Vermaelen was the foil to Mertsacker’s intelligent performance.  And on the flanks, Gibbs and Jenkinson were assured, being careful with the ball and careful without it. Gibbs also managed to get two sort-of-assists, having crossed the ball for both the Southampton own goals.

In midfield, what more is there to say about Cazorla and Arteta?  These guys are the business, their ability to organise the side is awesome. Even in the Cesc years, I don’t think it was as good as this, not because Cesc is less talented than our current Spaniards, of course he isn’t, but because this pair work together in such a seamless way.  Today, they were denied the chance to continue working in tandem with our renaissance man, Abou Diaby, and the ambitious Francis Coquelin was given the nod.

The general passing game was excellent, but the thing that stood out for me was the quality of the Arsenal passing in the final third, with Cazorla, Podolski, Gibbs, Chamberlain and Gervinho regularly shredding the Southampton defensive line.

Up front, the team selection was interesting, with Gervinho played through the middle, as he had been in some of the preseason games, and Podolski and Chamberlain on the flanks.  Many have had their doubts about Gervinho, and after a pretty tame first season in red and white, he certainly has something to prove this season.  The goal he scored for the Ivory Coast last week shows that he knows how to score, but the question remained: will he do that for us? Well, he did today, with a pair, and some excellent attacking play that created chance for others.

It was lovely to see Gervinho turn into space on the right and pick up a typically perceptive chipped pass from Arteta, and then attack the box and simply drill the ball past Kelvin Davis at the near post.  And in the second half, he was in the right place to knock in a rebound off the post after substitute Aaron Ramsey had done brilliantly well to hold off a challenge and send the ball across to the far post. Luckily, the Mekon was on hand. One measure of Gervinho’s progress was his clear reluctance to come off when the substitute’s board had his number on it. Does anyone remember Gervinho showing that sort of appetite last season? Long may it last.

Podolski was belligerently energetic, often playing in a very central position, leaving the left-hand flank to Gibbs.  For our first goal, he battled with two Southampton midfielders just outside the centre circle, emerged with the ball at his feet and then slotted it through to Gibbs, whose drilled cross was fumbled by Davis and accidently knocked in by Jos Hooiveld.  Poldi’s goal was a joy to behold: we see fewer free-kick goals than we should, but with Cazorla, Arteta, Vermaelen, Walcott and Poldi, we certainly have options now. And, after Coquelin had been naively clattered just a few yards outside the penalty area, Podolski despatched his free-kick with Germanic efficiency. (Apologies for stereotyping….)

Chamberlain had a good game again today, with a couple of very decent efforts on goal, and he continued to play with a blend of youthful hunger and early maturity. The boy really is special, even in a game where colleagues take the lead.  His fellow ex-Saint, Theo Walcott, got a 15-minute run-out, and notched up a follow-up goal after an at-the-death Vermaelen surge.  For the more sentimental souls, like me, it was nice to see Chamberlain and Walcott make the effort after the final whistle to go and applaud the Southampton fans, whose club of course nurtured them in their earlier years.

There were probably only two negatives from the game today.  The main one was Szczesny.   It wasn’t only his error for the goal conceded, in a game where he wasn’t fiercely tested.  His distribution was as bad as it has ever been, displaying a nervousness that in a stiffer challenge would be a real source of difficulty.  We should cut him some slack, he’s not played much football recently, and his quality remains.  But he can’t afford to become a liability, hopefully his performances will lift soon.

The other negative was a minor one.  Having been dropped to the bench, Olivier Giroud’s chance to notch a goal was limited to his short appearance at the end of the game.  Probably his best chance was messed up by Walcott, who could have slipped an early ball through to Giroud but chose to hold onto the ball too long instead.  Nothing better emerged, and so the wait goes on.  Personally, I’m not worried, Giroud is a quality player, the goals will come.

So, a very satisfying day.  Next up Montpellier and Man City.  Some real tests for us there.

Written by 26may1989

Thanks to chas for providing the following player ratings:

Szczesny – Looked out of sorts and was sloppy for the Saints goal, though he did make a couple of decent saves. His kicking wasn’t up to Don Vito’s standard. Surely practice makes perfect for such elementary things……… 6

Mertesacker – A towering performance full of anticipation and Teutonic class…… 8

Vermaelen – Solid, powerful and a fine example to his teammates. His late surge created Walcott’s goal…… 8

Jenkinson – The Corporal is growing by the game. I can only remember one dodgy crossfield pass. He’s some footballer and is rapidly having his rough edges knocked off…… 8

Gibbs – Excellent from start to finish. The movement of the front three allowed him to join in with the attack on numerous occasions. Sometimes I confuse him with Podolski which shows he’s strengthened from the skinny whippet he was 18 months ago (mind you, it could just be my eyesight)…. 9 (My Man of the Match)

Arteta – The Spanish metronome makes the whole team tick. Majestic yet again…. 9

Oxlade-Chamberlain – The Ox looked a little tired to me but still managed to show real quality and ability on the ball…. 8

Cazorla – Santi has class oozing from every pore of his body. An Arsenal legend in the making. Would be Man of the Match but he’ll have lots of those during the season…. 9

Coquelin – Le Coq was robust, yet skilful. Perhaps the highest compliment to his performance is that Diaby was not missed yesterday.. 8

 

Podolski – Another instant crowd favourite along with Santi. You can see him straining every sinew to help the team. His free-kick was hit with such speed and whip it didn’t need to be right in the corner to beat the keeper. Goodbye Mr Row Z, we don’t need you anymore….. 9

Gervinho – Gerv’s best performance in an Arsenal shirt I can remember. His movement playing centrally, then left, then right had the Saints guessing all afternoon. Perhaps Wenger’s ‘Beat the Bus’ tactic might involve a bit more of the ‘false 9’ tactic…… 9

Subs

Ramsey – 67′ – Rambo helped us keep the ball better when he came on and his skill to create the 5th goal was sublime…. 8

Giroud – 74′ – Everyone willing Olivier to score a goal was great to see. It’ll come. I bet he wished he’d been on from the start yesterday. I wonder how the game would have developed if he had been…. 7

Walcott – 74′ – Theo was bound to make a good impact sub in a game like this. Shame he didn’t get his head up earlier when Giroud was all on his own, but he took his goal very well…. 7

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Is Arsène Wenger any different to the Arsenal players?

September 14, 2012

A recent statement from our esteemed manager got me thinking, should he be treated any differently from the once ‘hero-like’ ex-players who left the club for ‘trophies’ and are now regarded as the spawn of the devil himself, or is he in a different position!?

What possible statement could make Slim compare the club’s greatest ever manager to these money grabbing heathens, I hear you cry!? It was this:-

“I’m an Arsenal man but two years is a long time in my job. At the moment I’m not in the mood to think about the long term future.”

How many times over the last 5 years have we heard words along those lines being said by the likes of Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri etc?

Now I’m not for a moment suggesting that Wenger is about to throw away 16 glorious years at the club to go in search of ‘trophies’, after all, he’s probably had more than 1 opportunity to do that in the last few years with the likes of Madrid, Barca, France and Chelsea all hunting around for new managers and all with the loaded bank balance needed to tempt people to forget their loyalties! But it does make me wonder wether he should be treated any differently to the likes of Theo, who has been lambasted for his approach to contract negotitations.

I know the response to this will be that Arsene has done unbelievable things for this club, whereas the likes of Cesc, RvP and Nasri used us as a stop gap to seemingly bigger things (their wallets being the biggest, bigger thing!), but I was wondering what would your reaction  be if Arsene decided to run down his contract next year to move on to a club with the cash flow to bolster his bank balance and buy the worlds best.

Would he be getting a gold carriage clock and a whip round from the staff, or would he be cleaning out his locker in private and get booed upon his return!?

Written by SlimGingerGooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

14 Days that will determine Arsenal’s season

September 13, 2012

The inter-lull – I pronounce it with a strong emphasis on the last syllable, as the Dutch word ‘lul’ is a less flattering description of the male reproductive organ – is once again testing our patience. Like LB said the other day: ‘don’t they realise some people have serious addictions to feed?!’

You could say football is football and just make the most of it, but when you have been dining on caviar and champagne for a few weeks, it is hard to be appreciative about a plate full of dried-out fishcakes and a couple of table spoons of sloppy baked beans on your plate. Qualifying games for international tournaments have become so boring, and the only thing that really gets our attention during the inter-lull, is any news regarding injuries of our star players. This leaves us all in continuous state of being bored and full of angst, and that is not a healthy combination!

But the seemingly endless wait is almost over and we can once again look forward to a five-course meal of the finest cuisine:

15 September: Arsenal v Southampton

18 September: Montpellier v Arsenal

23 September: Man City v Arsenal

26 September: Arsenal v Coventry

29 September: Arsenal v Chelsea

After a promising start to the season – especially our excellent performance against Pool has lifted our spirits – I have a feeling the next five games will determine how we will fare this season. Of course, nothing will be lost or won at the end of this month, but with three of the hardest away games out of the way, and having battled with fellow title/top-4 contenders Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City, we will know a lot more about the readiness to fight for the title of our team.

We are no longer a team made out of mainly young, promising players, but stocked to the rafter with experienced players who have arrived at the summit of their professional careers.  This will be a test for them and we should judge them accordingly – or, as Winston Churchill once put it: “It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required”!

The first game after an inter-lull is never an easy one, as Managers have ample time to assess the fitness of their players and get them all focussed again on the next game. It is usually a big advantage if it is a home rather than an away game. In recent years, I have always felt we are most vulnerable when we have just beaten one of our direct competitors and we are to play a team that we all believe we should beat. So, I am really hoping that Wenger and Bould will get our players down to earth again and make them realise there are no easy-three-pointers in the league. Southampton leak goals for fun but have also scored a lot of goals and this should be another game in which we can assess the strengths of our defence. Let’s hope it is also a game in which we can acctually find the net several times, as some players are desperate for a goal or two

The first game will be a test of our ability to concentrate and be professional, and to take our opportunities if and when they arrive: we only have to think back about our recent home disasters against Wigan and Norwich to know what is at stake.

The second game, against Montpellier, should be a good test for us. I like it that it is an away game which will help us to concentrate from the start and will avoid any risk of underestimating them. It is great to have Giroud in our team who will be able to explain to Wenger and Bould and fellow players the strengths and weaknesses of his former team. Montpellier will either play for a draw – as they are likely to regard a point against us as a good outcome – or they go all guns blazing with the ‘we have nothing to lose’ attitude. A draw would not be a bad result for us, but I reckon Arsene will want all three points as he will want to qualify for the next round as quickly as possible.

The second game will be another test of our ability to concentrate and be professional. It could also be a test of our squad depth as not all players will be able to play three games in eight days so soon after the international break.

The third game will be the second biggest test we’ll get all season (the biggest test will of course be where brave sir robin and his little-boy-inside-him are currently hiding). I reckon MC will be as nervous about this game as we are. I was there when we beat them 3-0, two years ago, and it was one of my favourite Arsenal away games ever – Song’s goal, right in front of the away fans, especially springs to mind! If we can keep a tight defence against them then we can do it against anybody. This will be one of those typical games we will all approach with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. A win would mean a hell of a lot this time, and I reckon it will be one of the best PL games of the season. It might turn out that this game just came too early for our new team, but I still have a good feeling about it.

The third game will be a test of our leadership within the team and our level of unity. We will also know how much every single player is (still) capable to perform at the highest level.

The fourth game will be a good test for our strength in depth. A number of just-outside-the core and wider fringe players will be very keen to show how ready they are for the first team. Although this game holds little significance, I am really looking forward to watching it, so we can see how our young talents have developed over the last 6-12 months. Luckily, the core team will be allowed to rest for a week, which will be a welcome break for them.

The fifth game will be against the Chavs, and it is hard to tell against what sort of team we will play. Will it be an attack-minded outfit or will RdM revert to a park-the-bus approach against the bigger teams? Whatever it is, this is an important game for us and a win would do us a world of good. For once since the start of the season, we have home advantage against a main competitor, and it is our first opportunity to get the home crowd really behind the team.

The fifth game will be another test of our leadership within the team and our level of unity and every single player will be thoroughly examined. I have good feeling about this game as I feel we have a better balance in our team and the recent away thrashing of the Chavs will still be in our and their mind.

Once again, a win would mean a hell of a lot and combined with good results against Southampton and Man City, it might well mean we will be catapulted into favourites for the title. It would not come as a big surprise if this was to happen, but the big question is, would we be able to cope with the added pressure? Recent Arsenal teams have not, but this is a different team with experienced players across the spine, and in all three areas of defence, midfield and attack.

However, we might also fail miserably and struggle with the psychological impacts for the rest of the season.

It is make or break time, and we can all look forward to two weeks of awesome, meaningful football. The wait is almost over!

But what do you think: how will we do in those five remaining September games, and would we be able to cope with the pressure if we are upgraded by the press to direct title contenders at the end of the month?

Over to you!

Total Arsenal.

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Posted by Rasp

Beating the Bus

September 12, 2012

Saturday found me, not unusually, afloat in the Atlantic. Yip, once again feet towards the Eastern Seaboard, and yip, once again my mind settled down to resolving the key issues of the day. Again Arsenal stuff, and in particular, winning the League. We finished a few points behind the eventual winners last term, and I wondered why. Sadly, this was not a soothing and relaxing meditation (and nothing to do with the Portugese Men’o’War in our waters), as I was forced to confront the one single obstacle on our route to the Title. The Bus.

Dealing with this terrible scenario is not a new topic on this site, but it remains an unresolved issue. Today Lads, we need to put the full weight of our cumulative thinking power together.

Naturally I have unearthed a couple of more unusual solutions, although a powerful case could be found to support them as serious contenders.

1. The Pyrrhic Victory.

The biggest problem is how to create some space. How to draw the little snakes out. Right, let’s say we kick off. The brilliant simplicity is that we do very little. Step one is to hoof the ball high and long towards their keeper. Whilst the ball is still in flight, we retreat, en masse, to the edge of our box and there we stay. At this point, the opposition are in possession and will have no option but to open the depot doors and ease the bus gently forwards.

In the unlikely event that they abandon altogether their beastly tactic, we could begin the process of reconciliation by implementing The Semi-Pyrrhic. Some may leap to the conclusion that this involves adopting The Maureen and depositing a lone centre forward up field. I suggest leaving two speed merchants “up”. Not together central, but each stationed chalk-on-boots wide.

Leaving Theo and Ox up-and-wide will cause panic and confusion. Pointless for them to leave their tried and tested central defensive oafs behind, as they will require the speed of their full backs to counter the lightening threat. Brilliant, leaving two up, now requires them leaving four behind, thus creating more space for us.

2. The Assault.

The Assault reveals the more ruthless and less tolerant side of me. It assumes that The Pyrrhic has failed, and our Northeners have looked into the distance from within the Depot, and said: “No. We shall not advance. We care not for the win bonus. We shall be happy here for the afternoon”. This attitude would leave me no option than to call up Plan 2, The Assault.

Now picture this. For the moment you are Michael Caine. There is a large locked door in front of you, behind which lurks many large gold bars, and you have no key. What d’ya do? That’s it, blow the bloody things open.

Ok, with that in mind, here’s my Plan. We position our forces in and around the Northerner’s already packed penalty area. With two exceptions. Our hardest kickers. Verm and Pod. These two are stationed 10 yards back from their area and 10 yards apart. The advanced forces do not try and football their way through, or around, the Busmen. No. They pass back, every single time, to an already up to speed advancing kicker who rifles the ball, full power howitzer strength bollock height into the area. The casualty rate will be high. Yes corners will be won and goal kicks awarded as the ball cannons off and ricochets around Northeners. There shall be much blood and chaos but the bombardment must be continuous until no Drivers stand. We then freely add +’s to Rasp’s GD Widget.

These are my two solutions, and although yours will not be so clever, I’d love to hear them.

Apologies in advance to SilentStan and Buddhist Steve. This was not written with you in mind.

Written by MickyDidIt

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Does Adrian Durham really hate Arsenal?

September 11, 2012

The answer to that question is almost certainly yes, but probably not as much as we think.

One of my best friends is a presenter in the afternoon for BBC Radio London and I can tell you that he hasn’t got a clue who or what is on his show until he arrives.

The same is almost certainly true of Adrian Durham on Talk Sport; he arrives in the studio and is presented with the suggested windups, compiled for him by his producer, that he should employ that day. There is no way Durham sits at home thinking about how to belittle Arsenal — his producer does that for him and do you know what team he supports? Right first time — Arsenal.

The thing that Durham is particularly good at is acting out the windups that are presented to him within minutes of arriving at the studio.

The only saving grace that stops me hating the producer is the story that on one show Adrian Durham was calling Jamie Carragher a bottler, when a call was put through to him from a very irate Scouser, that being Carragher himself, who asked if Durham was man enough to sort things out face to face, needless to say Durham bottled it. But, you know who is charge of putting calls through to the studio – yep, Gooner revenge.

I know, I know, if you look down into the interlull barrel you will see a clean patch at the bottom — that is where I scraped it to produce this post. Lol

People who are familiar with my comments know that I can’t write a post without singing Wenger’s praises in one way or another so here it comes.

Rocky posed an interesting question recently: is Wenger planning a December surprise?

I think it is unlikely that Wenger has one particular player in mind to sign in the January transfer window; far more likely is that he has half a dozen. The squad as it stands is strong enough to challenge City for the title: the goal keeper and his cover are sufficient, the defence and certainly the midfield are sufficient. Even the attack right now is sufficient and has cover. I know GN5 will disagree with this but out wide on the right we have Walcott, The Ox, and Gervinho and on the left Podolski, Gervinho and Arshavin, plenty of depth there.

If Giroud gets injured then Podolski can play in the middle and this is where I came back to sharing GN5’s concern. If the Giroud injury is serious then Wenger can bolster the attack in the window and the player he brings in will know that he is needed and will not just be sitting on the bench.

Put simply.

Right now the squad is big enough, good enough and strong enough to win the league.

Onwards and upwards my fellow Gooners.

P.S. I am all for a bit of robust optimism but Chamakh to score 10 goals? You’re having a red and white scarf.

Written by LB

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Gunners’ Goalscoring Problem Solved?

September 10, 2012

So far Arsenal have failed to score in only two thirds of our Premier League games this season.

That would be wrist-slitting form if it was now late November – but it’s less alarming when you take into account that we have played only three games and that we remain unbeaten.

Nevertheless, after scoreless draws against Sunderland and Stoke the media weren’t the only ones asking whether finding the back of the net would be our biggest challenge this year.

Nerves were soothed somewhat by the two-nil win at Scamfield, but I believe there is cause for optimism that’s even more recent than that.

Looking around the international games that have taken place in the last few days, Arsenal players have been prominent on the score sheets.

Santi Cazorla nabbed a tidy goal and also had an assist in Spain’s 5-0 ‘friendly’ thrashing of Saudi Arabia.

Gervinho whacked home a peach of a goal in the Ivory Coast’s 4-2 defeat of Senegal (in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers).

And Abou Diaby got the only goal of the game as France clinched victory in Finland.

Meanwhile for England against Moldova, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain provided an assist during England’s comfortable win. Given that the assist was for Jermaine Defoe – who’s about as lethal in front of goal as a dead sheep – it should really count as two assists.

So what conclusions can we draw from this?

For me it’s that New Arsenal have the potential for goals from all over the midfield and attack.

Last season we were over reliant on Brave Sir Robin* for finding the back of the net but this year I expect the goals to be shared more widely.

Podolski showed at Liverpool a wonderful combination of determination and skill to open the scoring (that powering run, that single touch to control the ball at high speed and that clinical finish). I would expect him to run close to 20 goals this year. (He featured as a substitute in Germany’s 3-0 over the Faroe Islands, but will probably start against Austria on Tuesday).

Cazorla – class act that he is – is well known to be a decisive finisher as well as a provider. Close to double figures for him too.

And then there’s Diaby. Like many, I have had my doubts about him in the past (and I don’t mean over his injury record). At times he seemed to dwell on the ball too long and make poor decisions. However, he always showed a keen eye for goal and his winner for France just hints at what there is to come from him.

And what about Gervinho? He’s a bit of a divider among fans at the moment (some relish his dribbling skills, others feel he runs into blind alleys or fails to use the ball well when he breaks through).

I remember the goals he scored in pre-season last summer (2011) in his first games in an Arsenal shirt. His composure and finishing skills led me to believe we might have Thierry Henry Mark Two on our hands. Suffice to say he didn’t live up to that promise throughout last season. But his fine finish for Ivory Coast will boost his confidence and I expect him to start chipping in with his share of goals. Again, nudging double figures is not an unrealistic ask.

Of course there is also Giroud. I see that in some reporting it now a “fact” that he has missed two open goals in his short Arsenal career. Two good chances, certainly – but open goals? Come off it. Let’s put the hysteria away and assume that Olivier has a “steady” first year with the world’s best football team, giving us 12 goals.

Last year in the EPL we scored 74 goals, shared as follows:

Van Persie 30

Walcott 8

Vermaelen 6

Arteta 6

Gervinho 4

Benayoun 4

No-one else got more than 2.

It’s a really unbalanced picture.

When we tot up the statistics at the end of the current season I would hope things will look more like this (and I am trying to be conservative: I assume fewer goals for Arteta because of his deeper-lying role and I have not assumed any defender getting above two):

Podolski 18

Giroud 12

Cazorla 10

Gervinho 9

Diaby 8

Walcott 8

Oxlade-Chamberlain 7

Arteta 4

With the usual array of people – including defenders and less frequent starters – scoring one or two goals, we can expect a total haul that is considerably higher than last year – perhaps closer to the high 80s. You will notice I have not included Wilshere, Rosicky or Ramsey – any or all of whom could also chip in with important goals.

Events may prove me to be over-optimistic; injuries might throw some almighty spanners in the works, but I genuinely believe that we have a broader range of goal scorers this year than last and that we will do better as a consequence.

What do you think?

*I’m not praising our errant knight with that comment. It refers to the “Brave Sir Robin” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail who is anything but brave:

Brave Sir Robin ran away.

(“No!”)

Bravely ran away away.

(“I didn’t!”)

When danger reared it’s ugly head,

He bravely turned his tail and fled.

(“no!”)

Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about

(“I didn’t!”)

And gallantly he chickened out.

****Bravely**** taking (“I never did!”) to his feet,

He beat a very brave retreat.

(“all lies!”)

Bravest of the braaaave, Sir Robin!

(“I never!”)

RockyLives

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Will Arsene save his prodigy Cesc?

September 9, 2012

   

Poor Cesc: torn between the love for his adopted family in London and his birth family in Catalonia, he decided last summer to return to his original home, only to find himself not fitting in properly there anymore.

Two’s company, three’s a crowd and you could not find a finer, more strongly joined-at-the-hips couple than the phenomenal central midfielders of Iniesta and Xavi. As fully expected, Cesc has lost out, at least for the moment.

Cesc has suffered a season of being compromised to somehow fit into the Barca team, and although he has shown a fantastic ability to adapt and continue his successful career – 15 goals and 20 assists in 52 games is very impressive indeed – this season, under the new manager Vilanova, it has all become too much, or should I say too little for him; finding himself more regularly on the bench than on the pitch, and seldom being played in his most natural, and favoured position. During a recent interview it became clear that all is not well with Fabregas, as it would take some doing for the normally diplomatic and always professional ex-captain to speak out like that.

I wonder how he really feels now; whether he has any regrets regarding his decision last year to leave his beloved Arsenal – let there be no doubt that he really loves Arsenal and respects Arsene as no other in the world of football – for his homeland; the place where he grew up, and learned most of his football.

I was sad to see him go, but never angry with him. Having left my home country to live in England in my twenties, I know exactly how it feels when you start feeling homesick. Moving at a very tender age to another country, away from your family and friends and everything you know, is especially not to be pooh-poohed at. Without any doubt, he will have felt homesick and lonely on many occasions during his teenage and early-twenty years in London, and at one point the longing to return home can simply no longer be ignored. Only those of you who have lived abroad for a long period will really know what I am talking about.

The call from Barcelona’s manager and boyhood hero, Guardiola, and their players – many of them his friends – was simply too sweet for him to ignore anymore. The flesh is weak but the blood is even weaker, and Cesc was born with Catalonian blood, one of the most patriotic areas in the world. Arsene could not hold him anymore and had to let his prodigy go.

At the time of his imminent departure, I humbly dedicated a post to him urging him to stay at Arsenal for a few more years; saying that now was not the right time to leave Arsenal. His job at Arsenal had not been completed and at Barcelona they did not really need him, at least for the time being. For me, it was all a matter of timing. Inevitably, he would return one day to Barcelona but he should only do so if and when they really needed him.

They didn’t and still don’t need him, and the new manager is, understandably, less willing to somehow fit Cesc in. Cesc is getting restless and might find himself now snookered on the bench of the Nou Camp. The faith of many an Ex-Gunner it seems…

In an interview last season, he said how he always tries to watch all games Arsenal play, and will only miss a game if and when Barcelona and Arsenal play simultaneously. So he will have noticed how his friend and fellow Spaniard – the more mature and seemingly fully adapted to living in England – Arteta has been faring at Arsenal: how he did not fill his spot per se, but nevertheless has fully won over the hearts of the fans with his disciplined and effective displays as one of the deeper laying midfielders.

He must have been wondering how it would be to play alongside the hard working and enthusiastic Basque, and seeing brave sir robin having the season of his life must also have had some impact on him. He will have seen the gap he left behind and was not filled properly last year, and how he could have been really needed, really wanted, and really loved back in London. A love he can only dream of at the Nou Camp.

This feeling of possibly missing out on something will only have become stronger when another fellow countryman and national team colleague, Cazorla, joined Arsenal a month ago. Santi has won over the fans and critics in no time, and has finally filled the gap that Cesc left gaping open for a year.

Besides that, Diaby is showing signs of finally finding and maintaining full fitness and since his departure Arsene has re-invested the income from player-sales in experienced, 25+ year old, quality players – something Cesc had been asking Arsenal for during the last years at our club.

Poor Cesc: he is being torn to pieces between two sets of Spaniards.

On the one hand, Xavi and Iniesta are too good and keeping him out of the first choice team at Barcelona, and on the other hand, both Arteta and Cazorla are inadvertently rubbing in what he is missing out on. Some will say, it is just what he deserves, but I feel truly sorry for him for this cruel twist of fate.

Yes, he did not behave impeccably towards the last few months of his Arsenal career: he might have put his physical (and possibly his mental) health before the needs of the club, and he should not have attended the Spanish GP, but for feck sake, didn’t he give his all for us from the moment he was positioned next to PV4, many years away from becoming a fully grown man?

Our current, new team is one in which Cesc, without any doubt, would love to play, and I would not be surprised if he does not feel at least some regret for leaving us last season.

I would love it if he would return to Arsenal, and rather sooner than later, but it would require more than a small miracle. It would be fantastic if we could field all three Spaniards in our midfield and Cesc and Santi could alternate between the deeper laying and more advanced midfield positions.

But it would mean that the likes of Diaby, Ramsey, Coquelin and JW would be on the bench a lot, or even have to be moved on, and I cannot see Wenger wanting that. Besides, Cesc would be expensive to buy as Barcelona would undoubtedly be hoping to get back most of the money they paid us.

However, of all the players Wenger has developed over the years, Cesc was very special to him; perhaps the most special of all. Cesc was the on-field embodiment of how Arsene wants to play football, his fulcrum, his conductor. There was no doubt how much Arsene regretted having to let Cesc leave for Barca last summer and what a hole he left in his team subsequently. Let there be also no doubt how much Arsene fought for his captain to stay at his adopted home.

And if there is one player I expect Wenger will do everything for, it is for his forlorn son. And that’s why it is still possible we will see Cesc back in the shirt that made him big, at the club where he is loved the most and he fits in to like a glove, and where there is a manager who would once again allow him to conduct the sweetest tunes of football.

Total Arsenal.

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Posted by Rasp

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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