Newcastle v Arsenal – Match report

August 14, 2011

Arsenal came to Toon to play and play they did.

The first half was predictably all Arsenal, controlled possession and lots of through balls for Gervinho and Arshavin to chase. Gervinho did extremely well on his Premier League debut and there is much more to come from the talented Ivorian. Ramsey busied himself about in the middle of the park and did very well, the midfield trio of Ramsey, Song and Rosicky functioned well and snuffed out any attacking threat from Barton, Tiote and Cabaye whilst piling more pressure on Newcastle.

Unfortunately Robin Van Persie was isolated up front and rarely received the ball in a goal-scoring position. Gervinho worked tirelessly trying to create opportunities but none came to fruition. As the first half came to a close with the score at 0:0 it was deja-vu, the problem with the 4-3-3 is this, if they don’t have to come at you and can afford to keep at least 5 players at the back then it just doesn’t work, because the target man is man-marked leaving a minimum of 4 players to handle the runners.

Jonas Guttierez didn’t shower himself in glory, I saw him on two occasions wave an imaginary card at the ref to get players booked. I thought that was a yellow card offence in itself?

We weren’t clever enough at times and showed a lack of sharpness and guile, Ramsey made some excellent runs which were missed for other options. Our defence coped well with the physical presence of Demba Ba and Ameobi and finished the first half with plenty of credit. Sczcesny had a very mature, consistent performance with some excellent catching and punching whilst under pressure. I thought he particularly dealt with high balls well which always makes the defence feel more relaxed and his ball distribution is much improved.

Out we came for the second half, at this point it all still felt good. I felt the team blend was good and if we got a goal (with the likely source being Gervinho/RvP combo) then I thought we were capable of scoring a few. Rosicky again started pulling the strings and we carried on as if the half time break never happened. Again plenty of pressure and a RvP free-kick that threatened the goal but just skimmed the top of the net with Krul floundering.

Arshavin came off on 60 with Theo coming on to try and stretch the game. Theo looked a bit leggy, off the pace and laboured. I would have saved him for later in the game. A bit of controversy as Song stamped on Barton, which infuriated the Newcastle player as it was missed by all the officials. Currently I wouldn’t be upset if half of the Arsenal faithful marched all over his stupid face, but it was not to be.

Barton, not to be ignored however managed to get into the limelight, never one to shirk his responsibility as a role-model and professional he decided to get involved when Gervinho, who went down in the penalty area after slight contact with Tiote. Barton charged across the pitch, grabbed Gervinho by his shirt and hauled him to his feet. Far be it from me to defend Gervinho, but if someone did that to me I’d headbutt them. Barton looked incensed that Gervinho went down and continued to hold him. A ruck of players ensued with players entering the fray to seperate the players and Gervinho foolishly tapped (only a tap, not a slap or punch) Barton on the head and he went down like he’d been hit by a rock. So, don’t mess with Gervinho, he’s really hard as nails.

Gervinho got sent off, Barton got a yellow. Worst decision ever. I agree Gerv had to go, for the tap as it does count as raised hands, but surely Barton’s handling of the player, his aggressive attitude deserved a red also? – Referee Peter Walton take note: Have a look at the replay son, if you think it’s OK to manhandle a player up from the floor by the shirt then you need to be refereeing somewhere else.

Newcastle tried to press home the man advantage, but the defence held firm with some excellent work from Koscielny and Vermaelen. Gibbo and Sagna both did extremely well also.

We played a containing game after the sending off, looking to break with the pace of Theo and Gibbo but Theo really looked slow today. An odd thing to say and I know he’s coming back from injury but he looked really slow. Frimpong came on for Rosicky in the 84th minute and shored up the midfield further and pushed Gibbo to left midfield. We didn’t really carve any more opportunities in the match and it headed into injury time. Djourou was brought on for Ramsey and literally his first touch robbed a Newcastle player and he bombed forward, charging across the halfway line, it was 3v1 for Arsenal as Gibb0 and Theo ran either side of the beleagured Newcastle defender, Djourou stumbled and half stabbed the ball wide for Theo but he had to check his run and it allowed Newcastle to recover. A short burst of pace failed to beat his man and the opportunity was lost.

There was just enough time for RvP to have a snap-shot at goal which went well wide.

All in all it felt like the end of last season. The Arsenal fans were baying “Spend some F#*#@n Money” and it finished goalless.

There are plenty of positives to take from this match;

1) We defended extremely well at both corners and set pieces. The zonal marking system looked very effective.

2) Our midfield trio looked very good, I can’t fault their performance and I didn’t once think that I wished we had Cesc in there, I thought in particular Song did a great job covering the defence, whilst Rosicky kept pulling strings. Sometimes we needed a bit more guile, but it is still the first game of the season and there is a lot more to come from our midfield if this performance is something to go by.

3) Gervinho is going to be awesome. I hope his red card is turned into a yellow, because I feel it is very harsh considering the provocation and the agressive manner in which Barton grabbed him. I would have done far worse in Gervinho’s shoes and Barton would still be looking for his front teeth now.

4) Sczcesny looked every bit our number 1 keeper. He was very focussed, confident and tidy today.

There is much to look forward to with Udinese on the 16th (tuesday).

Come on you Gooners!!
WG

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Posted by WiganGooner

Act One Scene One

August 13, 2011

Let us start with the simple stuff.  We are playing Newcastle . Everything else has complications. Which team will we play? What are the tactics? What is happening with the squad?   Will the shenanigans with Cesc and Samir affect the team? How will Newcastle perform with their new players and the loss of major stars? Will last season’s lucky socks bring a better end of season result?

I cannot speak for all but I am really excited by this season. The potential loss of our best player (and Samir)  will not mean the loss of our football ethic and ability to win trophies. We are about to witness the development of the best English creative talent since Gazza (let’s hope JW has a longer career); TV has the potential to become a real world class player –  we missed his drive and resolution throughout last season, should he form a partnership with either  JD or Kos, we have defensive solidity. The loss of Clichy (who I liked very much) allows the fleet footed Gibbs and Traore to shine – they are the future. One of last season’s highlights was the Pole in Goal – still a baby and yet comfortable, relaxed and confident, an AFC legend in the making. What with the youth and skill of Ramsey, Song, Theo, allied to the experience and quality of Sagna, AA and RvP, what is there to be fearful about? And that is before we look at Chamakh who will surely improve in his second season and the dazzling talents of Gervinho.

It would be easy to see Newcastle away as the beginning of the end of our previous season’s trophy campaign.  I prefer to look at that amazing first half when we blew away a decent Newcastle side. This is the Arsenal I want to see – incisive, intelligent, impish,  involved and inspiring. Turn off the DVD at 4-0 and you will be a happy man; stay watching and you will see one of the worst refereeing performances in the history of the Premiership. Let us hope for better from  the referee today.

The team? Your guess is as good as anyone’s. Our midfield is decimated and yet we still have the opportunity to play with 4 full Internationals and three national captain’s (Rosicky , Ramsey and AA).   I haven’t seen any of the friendlies and have no idea about the form of our players but my gut feeling (based upon too many years as an amateur pundit) is the following:-

though we may be better going at a dodgy Newcastle defence and playing Theo in place of Rosicky. There has been talk of Lansbury getting a game – I would be loathe to start him at  St James’ which can be a testing ground for a young man, I would prefer the experience of Rosicky (though much depends upon the fitness of Ramsey).

A topic of discussion on yesterday’s AA blog was whether we play 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 or another combination. My take is that we  have such fluidity  there is no fixed formation, particularly when we play with overlapping full backs and centre backs who like to go forward!

And how about the opposition? Fervent, expectant fans will be expecting a win against an Arsenal team in “disarray”.. The Barcodes are a passionate club and their players will be fired up. The loss of Nolan could be telling as will be the lack of an adequate replacement for Carroll. Mad Joey Barton has yet to find a club yet it would be no surprise to see him start – Pardew will be  short priced at the bookies to be first manager sacked this season, and for that reason he may well decide to forego creative football for the malice and aggression we saw last season.

We usually start the season well and perform our best when facing difficulties. No Wilshere is disappointing but Arsene still has enough strength in depth to cope, especially as we have our first choice defence available (if this IS our first choice defence!).  Can we win? Of course.

Newcastle was home to  Reginald Mitchell (1895-1937). Who, you may well ask? Mr. Mitchell was an aeronatical engineering genius who designed and created the WW2 fighter plane, the Spitfire, without which Arsenal could currently be playing in the Bundesliga!

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Leave the dog alone

August 10, 2011

Written by Camberwell Gooner

The final weekend before the Premier League kicks off is over, and all that separates us from competitive football is five long days of work (or daytime TV, depending on your current situation). We’re coming to the end of the Worst Pre-Season Ever (copyright), our squad is paper-thin with no real sign of reinforcements, and Rooney is not just a big-mouthed, balding granny shagger, he also believes that coming back from 2-0 down represents a “footballing lesson”.

Last season, Arsenal’s pitiful descent into the abyss of fourth place when second could have very realistically been achieved, is better than well documented. It’s been discussed, documented, dissected, deconstructed, denounced and, finally, flagellated to within an inch of its life and left to rot on the slagheap round the back of the old coal mine. Meanwhile, Arsenal are the naughty dog slinking back into the house, tail between its legs, after laying a steaming turd (last season’s performance) on the herbaceous borders in the back garden. And some fans have taken on the role of the fuming, green-fingered owner who has administered serial beatings to said hound with a rolled-up copy of the Sun, while others are the sympathetic wife defending Rover – even though this is the SIXTH time he’s done it.

So we’ll leave that smelly dog mess where it is, or better still, bury it so that it can nourish the azaleas…and I have no idea what the flowers represent. (Note to self: ease off the metaphor. It’s getting tired now.)

The Guardian’s season preview booklet thingy is out and for me this is the light at the end of the tunnel, the sign that the very silly season is almost over and we can all enjoy a good few months without its nonsense and our own repetitive navel-gazing. Some of the stats make for some interesting reading, so I did a very quick, extremely dirty and utterly unscientific comparison of Arsenal against other top clubs to see if I could glean anything of note, a sparkly diamond in the rough if you like. My eyebrows were raised more than once during my ‘research’ (and not in the disapproving, “Good God! What perfectly abominable behaviour!” sense, more in the, “I say! Corking stat old chap!” way).

I said myself that in the latter part of last season our attack became stale, slow and predictable – a bit like Old Twitchy’s speech patterns after too much ale, but I actually found that…….

We led the league in shot accuracy with 47.5%, followed closely by Liverpool with 47.2%, ranging down to the Spuds with 41.6%.

We also had the highest pass accuracy (83.7% compared to Liverpool with 77.2% and the others close to us around the 80% mark)

……but hit the woodwork more than anyone else (22 times, The Chavs running us very close with 21, then the others no more than 14 times). Which means we’re the most accurate shooters, but still need to be, er, more accurate.

Even though we scored more than most (72 times to be precise, and you’re probably not that bothered about the other clubs’ stats in this area…what’s that? You are? OK then. As we all know, the Spuds are constantly breathing down our necks and soon to replace us as the biggest club in North London, and they’re well on their way to doing this, scoring a whopping 55 league goals last term. Sorry Spuds, not even close. Now get back in your box. Thwack! *twats them with the Observer – no supplements removed*).

I’ve intentionally left out a lot of other figures as they don’t tell us anything we didn’t already know (and they’re kind of dull), but it’s not hard to see that we’re quite a bit better than the baying, pitchfork-wielding, firebrand-waving mob would have you believe. And before people start lighting Molotov cocktails and sharpening their gardening tools, would they please read my disclaimer below:

  1. I don’t think we’re the best in the league.
  2. I know last season sucked ass over and over again.
  3. I agree we still need more signings.
  4. I’m just as worried as others are about our tough opening fixtures.
  5. I’m not a Wenger apologist.
  6. I do think the board have feet of clay.
  7. I do wonder how good Gazidis actually is.

BUT……….

We kick off on Saturday. It’s a new season. It’s the Barcodes away. And we owe them a hiding. Let’s all get behind the boys. We Are The Arsenal. Come on you reds.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Ask not what Arsenal can do for you, Ask what you can do for the Arsenal

August 9, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

This is a plea to all fans lucky enough to walk through the turnstiles at the Emirates this coming season. Since we moved there from our beloved Highbury, I can count on one hand the amount of times I wished I had been there rather than watching on TV or on the radio, those games are:

Liverpool 2008 when the crowd went ballistic against Howard Webb after sending off “he who shall not be named” with a second yellow, it was the first time I had heard the Emirates really rocking as the support got behind the team.

Spurs 2009 to have been there when Cesc nicked the ball straight from the restart and dancing round the defence before slotting home the second and sending the faithful into raptures.

Barca 2011 the atmosphere sounded incredible the result even better, that night the fans did something they so often don’t they made noise even though we weren’t winning, they were singing at 1-0 down coming in at half time, they were singing to the rafters as Arshavin came in to pass the winner into the net.

Personally I have been to one game where the atmosphere was memorable and that was Everton at home last season, again suffering an injustice the crowd made noise, pressured the ref, and lifted the team on to win in the second half.

This coming season I am worried more than ever about the lack of natural atmosphere in the Emirates.

To be quiet until given something to cheer or applaud is one thing, the growing prevalence of the boo boys (and girls) is another. I wrote a post last season about the growing moaners and groaners greeting every misplaced pass or shot, now I am asking that all who go to a home game go a little further, its time for everyone to unite in vocal support of our team.

By the way I should mention here that a long drawn out “SHOOOOOOOT” is not my idea of vocal support, if there is anything more ridiculous to be heard at a sporting venue I have not yet heard it, yes its more ridiculous than those teams in the Premier League that play a bit of music after every goal scored and the fans dance and singalong.

We need to create an atmosphere that not only lifts the players but also gives the players something to play for.

So how are we going to achieve this…….thats right what are WE going to do, no more excuses about it doesn’t feel like home, that the club don’t want an atmosphere that the stewards tell you to sit down. How many were standing for the last ten minutes against Barca, did you all get thrown out? No because they can’t they have no way of removing the whole end if you’re all standing and singing, its a football match they do expect it to happen.

The club gave us our Clock End back, and whilst the North Bank is not the same it can still be identified. So this is your mission if you find yourself sitting in the Clock End I ask you to stand on your feet, and sing loud and proud, you know the words:

“We’re the Clock End, We’re the Clock End, We’re the Clock End Emirates.”

Undoubtedly some around you will look at you like you’re the maddest fool ever to walk in the ground, but all you do is repeat again, louder if possible, and again. Now this is where your resolve will be tested trust me others want join in, they just don’t know it yet. If you still can’t get a response turn round make eye contact spread your arms wide and gesture to your fellow supporters that they might like to stand up and give you a hand in your stirring rendition. If at all possible make eye contact with the few that are singing with you and make sure they follow your lead in encouraging others to join in.

Hopefully if all goes to plan soon the whole of the Clock End will be singing and the North Bank (and RedAction) will have no choice to respond, if they choose not too I would suggest a rendition of “Can you hear the North Bank sing?” to get them stirred into action and try again with “We’re the Clock End.”

By the way I realise that I am asking that we include Emirates in the song, but if we haven’t accepted that is what our new home is called yet then we are stuck in the past unfortunately and I worry that we will never move on.

I know I am asking my fellow supporters to cast off the inhibitions but why should we care, we’re amongst friends, why should we feel we cannot express our love for the team in anyway we see fit. Its been five years since we moved to the Emirates its time we made it our home, its time we the fans built a fortress that other teams don’t like to come to and one that our team can’t wait to play in front of. The team needs us more than ever this season, I want them walking out feeling ten feet tall.

Whilst we’re discussing atmosphere we need some songs for the new additions, and a few for players who have not really been given songs unique to them. This lot either have boring songs (in my opinion) or no songs, time to get the thinking and lyrical caps on lads and lasses.

Aaron Ramsey

Jack Wilshere

Gervinho

Theo Walcott

Laurent Koscielny

Johann Djourou

Kieran Gibbs

Robin Van Persie

Bacary Sagna

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Wenger on Transfers

August 8, 2011

One of the fuels that has fed the fire of discontent among Arsenal supporters this summer is the sense that we are being misled by the club.

When the club speaks, through the mouth of the Manager or the Chief Executive, some fans refer to “spin and PR bullsh*t” designed to placate the faithful or, more cynically (in some people’s opinion), to con them into renewing season tickets with the hint of big name transfers that will never materialise.

I have been convinced all along that we will still make at least one big name signing this summer (although whether it comes before the season starts is another matter).

But if I question the basis for this conviction, I have to ask myself whether it really stacks up – because I realise it comes from me pinning a huge amount of faith in what Arsene Wenger said in May about being very active in the transfer market.

Why would he lie? What would be the point? (I don’t buy the “get them to renew their season tickets” line). He clearly felt he needed to strengthen his squad, he said he would do so, so why would he not?

The problem is, those who doubt that we will make few if any more signings are also able to point to AW’s words to back up their case.

It seems that we each hear what we want to hear and ignore what contradicts our pre-formed opinion.

So are Arsene’s words really so contradictory? Is he really sending out such mixed messages that some fans can practically smell the dubbin on Juan Mata’s boots, while others hear only tumbleweed blowing through the arrivals room at the Emirates?

There was only one way to find out. Starting from late April I have gathered as many AW quotes about transfers as I could find (apologies if I have missed some). The dates are approximate because some may reflect the dates on which the comments were reported rather than the dates they were made. I have also added a relevant quote about transfers from Ivan Gazidis.

Here they are, with time line…

April 22nd
On being asked at a press conference whether he had as much as £40 million at his disposal:
“Is [that] available? Frankly I don’t know. We have not completely checked out our financial position. The only thing I can say is that the Club is in a healthy financial situation and, if needed, we can make a big transfer.
“I don’t [expect a busy summer] at all. The team is 23 years-old [on average] so why should we expect to have a huge turnover at the end of the season?”

April 23rd
”Why should we sell Cesc [even if we received a ‘silly’ offer]? In our job it is difficult to know what is silly money. We have built our team around Cesc and we have Wilshere now as well and we want to keep doing that.
”We are talking to Nasri and his agent already and we have the same situation with Clichy. We have agreed to speak about it during the summer.
 
I am very optimistic [that they will stay].”

May 1st
In response to a question about whether the team needed more experience:
“The team has accumulated a lot of experience despite their age. They are 23 on average but football-wise they are 26 or 27. I gave them a chance to play at a young age and I don’t regret that. 

Maybe I could have got some more experienced players but it is too easy to say that. They [the current squad] are very close to their peak.
“We need to strengthen some areas but we have the quality. 

At the moment we have to face some scepticism, but we have to keep believing in our strengths. These players all started at a very young age and they should be ready.
“We want, of course, to add what we need to add. I am very cautious with what I say because it can be turned both ways. I feel it is important for the Club that we keep faith in what we do.
“You can see that the players grow when they get the chance to play. Like Szczesny, for example, you can see already that compared to two months ago, he has already grown. It is a law in our game that you can only grow, at some stage, if you play. So people want both, they want to win every game and they want us to produce quality young players. But if Wilshere has grown this season it is because he played. But on the other hand, if you do not win, people say, ‘why do you play young players?’”

May 8th (After 3-1 Stoke defeat)
“Something has gone [and] you could see that today. We have to take a distance and make the right analysis of the season.”

May 15th (After 1-2 defeat to Villa)
“It is down to availability and quality. We don’t rule out any position and we don’t target any special position before the transfer market.
 
We look to strengthen every year of course. But first we look not to weaken because we want to keep all our players, and then we try to strengthen.
“It’s not about the number [of players], it’s the quality. I don’t want to give out a number [we’ll go for]”.
On conceding from set pieces:
“It has been [a problem]. We cannot deny that because we conceded more goals from set pieces than other teams. But you have to consider as well that we conceded 17 penalties.
”It is more about the size of our whole team in some games like Stoke. When you go out of the back three, after that we are quite short, especially when Abou Diaby wasn’t there for big games. When you have the defence plus Diaby and Alex Song, and you go to places like that, you can of course fight. 

Sometimes we’re one or two men short.
“The fans want to win football games. They will not check how much money we spend, they want to win football games. When we don’t, they are not happy and that is completely normal. We will try to strengthen our team, of course, but the best way to keep our fans happy is to win the games.”

May 20th
“We need to add, of course, and we will do. But we have a strong base.
 
We have enough quality to beat anyone in the world, even with the current squad. You have a Champions League Final and only one team has beaten both of them and that is Arsenal.
 
We have a good team and the best away team [in the Premier League]. The loss of the Carling Cup Final had a huge impact on the team and we did not handle it well.
 
It is not catastrophic and do not think we can go to Coventry and find the player who saves Arsenal Football Club.
“I always try to get value for money. That is the job of a football manager. 
 
In England, it is a bit more difficult because player inflation is higher than everywhere else. When you only have a few players at many clubs, the price is too high.”

May 22nd (After draw with Fulham 2-2)
“If you speak about the quality of the Club and the style of football we play we have many offers on the table for players who are desperate to join us. [But] if you speak only about money, we are certainly less attractive than some other teams.
“We will try to buy the right players. Spending is not a purpose, it’s not our goal. We want the right players. We cannot buy players for £50 million and, even if we try to strengthen our team and spend money if needed, that is fact.”

May 24th
“The market will be hyperactive because everyone believes financial fair play will happen soon. So we are quickly doing the last buying before the stores will be closed. And for the first time for a while, I will be very active, too.”

May 31st (French radio interview)
“We’ll invest in players who can bring something more to the team, and that won’t be easy.
“I am very active on the phone. Everyone is in a standby position, where everyone is waiting for the first step, expecting a super-transfer. It will move in late July and early August. Then we will analyse the gaps in each team.”

June 8th (Carl Jenkinson signed from Charlton)

July 2nd
“Everyone wants to make that great signing and I’m focused on those objectives and am very busy on the telephone.”

July 8th
“For me, the best thing is not to talk too much about it. The more you speak about things, the less chance you have to achieve them. The only thing that I can promise you is that we will work very hard and we have had some long nights to achieve what we want to achieve. I can understand [the impatience among the fans].
“Believe me, I know all the clubs in the world and everybody needs the same players for the same positions. If there were an obvious choice, people would have already made their decisions. We are at the top level and therefore need exceptional quality to strengthen our side. I can understand that people say ‘you have money, just go out and buy’. But it’s not only that, we want to find the quality we need.
“I have said many times that we were very close to winning things last season, despite the disappointment we had at the end. I hope that provokes a response from my players. We were so close this time we want to come back and achieve it. 

My responsibility is first of all not to lose players and then to add and make us stronger. 
Let’s hope we can bring in one or two more additions of top quality.”

July 13th
“Yes [I expect Cesc to stay]. As simple as that. I have never spoken about what has happened behind closed doors but Cesc loves the Club. We know the Barcelona story goes on for years now and we have to close that. Now we focus on the new season, hopefully with Cesc Fabregas.
”Yes [I expect Nasri to stay as well]. There is always speculation when a player has one year to go on his contract that he might leave the club but Samir Nasri is very happy at the Club and committed to stay at the Club. I hope he will sign a new contract but I am not the only one to decide that.

”Both of them (Bendtner and Almunia) are possible departures. They are talking to other clubs at the moment. I cannot tell you which ones.

“For us it is important that the team settles, psychologically, as quickly as possible because we have a tough start. We play all the big clubs away in the first half of the season.

 It is important that the players focus on the season and not the transfer market. The players who are here as well will ask ‘will he go? will he go?’ – that is not the way to prepare for the season.

“The plan for left back is that we have Kieran Gibbs, Armand Traore and Thomas Vermaelen can play there too. So we have what we need.”

July 18th (Gervinho signed from Lille)

July 18th (Ivan Gazidis):
“If we found an established world-class player and we thought the economics made sense and he would add to what we could do on the pitch then there’s no philosophical objection to that.
Arsène has no point of principle to show the world that he can build his own team of young players. That’s just not the way it is. 

It’s easy to lose perspective on what Arsène is trying to do, which, I think, is an extraordinary vision but if you look around here, the fans we have around the world, that vision is very attractive and very, very powerful. We should be proud of that.

“We still will be active in this window. We haven’t finished our business at all. We’re just not conducting it publicly; we’re working hard privately.
 
We understand where the weaknesses have been. Financially we’re in a strong position, we have resources to spend. We’re certainly not sitting there saying ‘let’s hold back on our resources’ for some reason, why would we?
 
The resources are there. We’ve got a substantial amount of money that we can invest. The important thing for us, which can be frustrating, is not doing it only in response to a public clamour but in a way that can positively impact our performance next year. That’s the focus now.”

July 23rd
“Certainly, we will have to find one more defender. We [are] working on it.
 
I can promise we work very hard on it. In fairness, everybody looks for players. Everybody looks for the same area and you see that nobody turns up with magic. It’s all about being steady, working very hard on it and being calm as well.
 
I don’t want to comment individually because I do not want to destabilise clubs. I do not want to do to other clubs what some clubs do to us so I wouldn’t like to comment individually on any player.”

July 30th
“Our business will be done sooner rather than later but it is difficult to speak about any individual player because that makes things difficult. I cannot complain about other clubs talking about our players and then do the same.
“I like the player [Mata], but that does not mean we will buy him. The other player [Jagielka] is under contract at Everton. If we want to buy a player, we need first the agreement of their club.

At the moment the rules are constructed in a way where it is basically forbidden to speak about one individual player. I know that not everybody respects it, but I try to do as well as I can.
”At the moment you have two categories of movement, one from zero to 10 million, and one from 30 to 50 million. We are in between. In between nothing happens at the moment, there has been very little movement. All over Europe our industry is basically in a very bad financial situation. All the clubs who live from the money which football generates do not buy. The only clubs who buy at the moment in Europe are ones who buy with money which is not generated by our industry. There are two categories of club – those who travel with sweat and those who travel with petrol. We are those who travel with sweat.”

August 6th
“Ideally I would have finished all [our business] but it doesn’t work like that. We
work very hard, we are non-stop working throughout the summer. I am positive because we have good quality and a style of play that is known by the players. So we want to add not quality but super quality.
“You have to identify the players, agree with clubs to get them out, agree the fee. That means they have to agree with you and they have to find another player before they release their players. In England, it is a lot more difficult to move during the summer because some people are not there. It’s all kinds of things you meet during the transfer market. But I can understand the impatience of people.
And are Arsenal close to a new signing?

 “No, not at the moment. We hope to give you some good news soon. Next week, something might happen.”

So, what conclusions can we draw.

For me it’s the realisation that substantial new signings are perhaps less likely than I imagined. For every positive noise from Arsene, there are two warnings about the difficulty of finding the right players, of getting value for money, of not blocking the opportunities for our youth players to come through, of how we can’t compete financially with some top teams and so on.

I have been listening to the positive noises and screening out the cautious ones.

But I also think the quotes indicate that Arsene intended to buy players and buy them early, but found his hands tied. Tied, presumably, partly by the Fabregas/Nasri sagas and partly by the fact that it has perhaps been more difficult to get his men than he has expected.

Certainly there are inconsistencies in the messages that have been coming from both him and Ivan Gazidis. “We can buy if we want, we have the money… ah, but it’s harder than you think and we have to make sure we don’t stop our young talents from coming through.”

With the quotes all together I can see where the frustration among a proportion of the fan base comes from.

But with Arsene saying as recently as July 23rd that he will “certainly” add one more defender, I expect that to happen soon. Whether it will be a name to quieten the skeptics, or another “experienced” but jobbing CB like Squillaci or Silvestre, only time will tell.

More worryingly, as Arsene himself stated clearly on July 13th, the uncertainty over key players’ futures undoubtedly unsettles the whole squad – and the fact that such uncertainty is still rumbling on as the start of the season heaves into view is surely not a good thing.

RockyLives

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Thoughts on Benfica and Another Bad Week

August 7, 2011

Benfica 2-1 Arsenal

Aimar 49,

Nolito 60 van Persie 33

It started well enough and we tried hard enough. That is the best I can say.

Gervinho looked good and went close twice before Arshavin played Gibbs in, who found van Persie for a cool finish. It is a goal Arsenal wouldn’t have scored with Clichy overlapping on the left.

In the second half Gibbs failed to clear and Squillaci went a wandering before Vermaelen got brushed aside by little Aimar. I am sure Alan Hansen would be sitting at home uttering his trademark phrase.

Shortly afterwards the lively Nolito cut in from the left and Squillaci got mugged again, 2-1.

The look Ramsey gave him and what he appeared to say was telling.

Benfica have played competitive games and that sharpness gave them the edge. The performance in itself isn’t that much of a worry but the last week has been.

I don’t care about pre season results, they don’t matter. What does matter is that you get to your first game with 90% of your first team fit and on form and we are not anywhere near that.

Arsenal were missing many players for various reasons and that does excuse the lack of craft in an under par second half performance but that in itself is an issue seven days away from the big kick off.

We haven’t had a good week since February.

Injuries to Gibbs, Vermaelen, Diaby, Wilshere, Van Persie, Walcott and no win in three this week.

Fabregas, Nasri, Bendtner and Eboue are sitting by the phone.

The fans are fighting amongst themselves.

In the space of a week I have seen two draws, one defeat and more importantly three fairly average performances from patchwork sides. Seen fans turn on each other watching friendlies and training sessions, met some heroes, lost a couple two.

I’ve seen our captain train, smile and give an imperious wave. Mad people could read all kind of things in to that.

Are we together? No.

Are we healthy? No.

Are we ready? No, we are not even close.

There is nothing wrong with being anti-Wenger. If you are, I think you are wrong but you are entitled to your opinions and we shouldn’t make out that it is a crime or that it means you are not a real fan.

It is ok to get angry.

It is ok to doubt.

It is ok to be frustrated that we haven’t spent a pound (net) in five years.

It is ok to question Wenger’s training methods when we are seeming to be starting a season with anywhere up to eight players suffering injuries of some kind.

It is ok to think that if someone had come to you in 1996 and told you that you would win 7 trophies in 15 years when Arsenal had won 6 trophies previous few years, you might have said we will gamble on someone else.

Again, I think you’re wrong but it’s your choice.

It is ok to hold that opinion and you shouldn’t have to say 10 “Hail Arsènes” every time you question the team sheet.

It is ok to be sick of “mental strength” performances and “super quality” players that never seem to materialize.

Question his methods, but don’t question his motives. Do you think he would still be here if he didn’t care? Do you not think there are easier jobs he could do?

You shouldn’t think that those of us pro-Wenger don’t see his flaws.

We see Wenger’s flaws but don’t boo the team, don’t insult your fellow fans, they pay good money too. It doesn’t help anyone.

We don’t sit there in some drug induced haze thinking that Squillaci is the future.

I’ve seen cheap comments from cheap hacks, stories and “inside” knowledge twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools.

I have read Myles “Source” Palmer spreading poison among the masses. Do me a favour!

I wonder how many Arsenal fans regret buying that book.

Arsene Wenger has won three league titles, four FA cups, paid for Arsenal to build a training ground and a stadium by keeping a team in the top four with little money to spend and taking a skip full of flack while he has done it.

This is the man who brought you a season unbeaten and some of the best football you have ever seen.

This week I have seen someone refer to our Captain as Fabretwat, on this very site.

I saw a Gooner make comments about Arsène Wenger, the kind that are usually reserved for nights at the Lane. At the time the drunken slob was getting a free tour of the Stadium. His kids must be very proud of him.

It is ok to disagree, but stop the hate. It’s pathetic.

Arsene Wenger, any team he picks, and captain he chooses, deserve a little more respect.

Raise Yourselves!

The fans need to get on the same page, for the good of the team.

Wenger needs to do his bit and get a centre back, patch up the walking wounded and get three points.

The board need to tell Barcelona and Man City to do one.

We all have a part to play.

Don’t blow it or this might just start feeling like an ending.

Written by Jamie

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Szczesny – Arsenal’s No 1?

August 2, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

With the season fast approaching and yet another summer passing without the departure of Almunia and without the arrival of the much craved experienced custodian I thought it would be a good time to assess our current goalkeeping line up against the rest of the top four wannabes.

So let’s look at our current crop first.

Szczesny – aged 21 – this lad is the real deal in my opinion. A good communicator, confident to come for the high ball, and an excellent starfish approach to deal with one on ones. There are still a couple of areas for improvement one is decision making under pressure the mad rush out for a 50:50 through ball which will come with experience. The other is his kicking which again will come with age and strength development but is such a necessity in the modern game, especially as we as a team so often lose the fifty-fifty ball that the kick needs to be competed twenty yards past halfway line rather than on it.

At 6ft 5 he provides an imposing figure in the goal although for me I would like to see him fill out a bit as a bit of extra padding for a goalkeeper is useful when being challenged in mid air.

One thing that does not appear to be an issue is his confidence, he appears to have an arrogant streak about him, which all the best keepers need, even after the Carling cup final he came back to give a good display against Sunderland before being injured against Barca. It is these moments of error where only the keeper is to blame and how the keeper responds to it that truly separates the great from the good keepers.

Half a season of top flight football under the belt will have benefited him. Perhaps the best thing that has been said about him was from his Brentford manager Andy Scott during his loan spell during 2009-10. “It has reached the stage where when he lets in a goal we wonder why he hasn’t saved it.”

Fabianski age 26 – I believe he has had enough chances, whilst his general keeping improved last season there is still an underlying weakness in his basics, in my opinion he snatches at the ball which leaves him vulnerable to fumbling it, and for me is too jumpy on his feet.

The only keeper around our rivals that I could liken him to is Gomes, the same scruffiness to the style of keeping which concerns me when watching. He is 6ft 3 but somehow he manages to make himself look 5ft 9.

Mannone – aged 23, again not good enough for the Nunber One shirt although he is a good shot stopper. Like Szczesny he seems to have an unwavering confidence. Last season on loan at Hull he received some good reports bit unfortunately his appearances were cut short by injuries.

So that’s our bunch I’ve left out Manuel because he as we all know has had his day. I think despite that Szczesny has been given squad number 13 for the forthcoming season that he will be first choice, although I expect Wenger to make plenty of noise that Fabianski is still in the running to keep the younger of the two Poles in check throughout the season.

So what about our rivals?

Manchester United, after losing Van Der Saar who has been unquestionably the best keeper in the league for the last three or four seasons Ferguson has decided to invest in youth. He has signed the 20 year old De Gea, however the noises coming out of Old Trafford are not resoundingly positive. Ferguson has signed him it appears because he feels he missed out on Cech at a similar age due to worrying about age.

The goalkeeping coach has cast some doubt on his decision making saying he expected him to come for a high ball that led to a conceded goal in a pre season friendly, a view Ferguson shared before retracting his comments and saying he didn’t think he had a chance with the goal. Additionally Ferguson has questioned his physical build. He is not a fluent English speaker and therefore will have a communication issue.

With Kuszczak requesting a move away from Old Trafford Ferguson is left with Anders Lindergard (27) and the young Ben Amos (20) as cover should De Gea be left out for any reason. I think United have left themselves remarkably exposed in this area.

Chelsea have Cech who has never recovered the form he showed before his unfortunate collision with Hunt’s shin (accidental my arse). He still remains one of the best shot stoppers in the league but his timidness in aerial duels since that injury has led to Chelsea looking more vulnerable from set pieces. Like Ferdinand and Vidic, Terry and teammates have never looked comfortable with anyone else behind them, so for them an injury to Cech would leave them fielding Turnbull or Hilario, Hilario has often been called upon and found wanting, Turnbull has less experience but is probably second choice. Combined Hilario and Turnbull they have made 26 appearances in five years.

Spurs have signed the ageing Friedel, whilst last season he continued to defy his age with superb performances for Villa he is not getting any younger, older goalkeepers hit an age where everything looks great one day and two weeks later the age starts to tell and the injuries mount up. Gomes always makes me smile as despite some great shot stopping he is always prone to an error or two. As extra cover they have Cudicini who I would have liked to see us sign when Lehman departed.

The Twitcher has assembled an experienced group of goalkeepers but only Cudicini has ever set the world alight on the top level and at 37 his best days are behind him as he proved last year. His game was all about shot stopping and agility, you just can’t keep that going into your late thirties as a keeper and to survive at the top level you need to rely on your mind more than your body.

Man City have Joe Hart who benefited from a season long loan in with Birmingham to return to City last season and capture the starting slot. He is probably the most complete young goalkeeper in this crop and will go on to be one of the best England has produced. With Given left for Villa the only cover at Eastlands is provided by ex Arsenal trainee Stuart Taylor, who at the age of 30 has never found a regular Number One berth that he desired when he left. The other backup is Neilsen. Like Chelsea reserve keepers these two have only a handful of games at the top flight and any serious injury to Hart would leave them also exposed.

Liverpool still have Reina who Carragher has called the best goalkeeper in the world (after gifting us an equaliser at the start of last season) despite not even being Spain’s number one. I think he is good in every aspect of keeping but he is not great in any. As an ever present he has also prevented the reserve keepers any game time so if any injury occurs they would also be exposed to fielding Brad Jones or the untested Doni.

Having taken a more detailed look at the goalkeepers among our closest rivals it is difficult to see why our goalkeeping options are so maligned. It is without doubt a fact that we have not had a number one since Lehman good enough for the level we compete at. However take the main keeper away from City, Chelsea or Liverpool and they look very vulnerable, Spurs have assembled a group of experienced but hardly world class keepers and United find themselves in a similar position to us, except they have spent a lot more acquiring the group.

I hope that Szczesny continues to improve and we can finally put the goalkeeping question to bed and be safe in the knowledge we have a keeper for the next ten to fifteen years who we can trust. What I would ask of Wenger is that our young keepers coming through are sent on loan to other Premier League clubs as for keepers the only place to learn is at the sharp end, and I’d rather that it be at the expense of WBA or Wigan than for us.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal’s ‘F’ Plan Diet – eat up and stop pushing your greens around your plate

July 29, 2011

Written by Camberwell Gooner

Resumption of hostilities is just around the corner. Like the starving dog stumbling through the streets on his last legs in search of a morsel, we’re starting to catch whiffs of steak wafting from a nearby kitchen, giving us renewed hope that we will actually make it to the new season before the municipal authorities bundle us in a van and drop us off at the city pound. Or something.

In a mere two and a half weeks, genuine, real, tangible football will be with us again and no longer will my Saturday nights be aimless, no longer will I look forward to the weekend with only a vague sense of what I’ll be doing and no longer will I have nothing to listen to when I’m washing up. Yes indeed, life will have purpose again.

And this also means that, for the next nine months, none of us will have to put up with any of the following: pre-season posturing between fans egged on by the slimy little life forms known as journalists (depressingly familiar announcement: Arsenal are doomed to 5th again while Pool, Manure, Citeh and Chelsea will take the top four spots), industrial amounts of tripe in the media about new transfers, waiting for Wenger to actually sign someone. (Insert pre-season irritant of choice here.)

The problem is, all of the above are so many insect bites on the arse of every fan. They itch like bastards and you know that scratching them will only make them worse but each scratch brings delicious, momentary relief. Then back comes the itch, the desire to find any little scrap of info about a new signing.

And wouldn’t it be just fantastically, arse-kickingly, John-Terry-stampingly, Stoke-beatingly awesome to log on and find Wenger has signed who we need and that we’re ready to challenge seriously for the title while stamping on John Terry and beating Stoke (in the face, repeatedly)? It really would, but you and I know about as much about what’s going on behind the scenes at the Ems as I do about Wenger’s favourite boxers.

*tries not imagine Wenger in boxers, fails, shudders*

Sadly, the same goes for our final league position come next May – we’re all in the dark, and that includes the know-all gobshites from other clubs and our friends the cow-manure-spouting hacks. We can all agree more signings are needed if we really want to challenge, but (a) they don’t guarantee us a trophy and (b) will the sky really fall in if we only get one more and lose one or both of the Annual Super Arsenal Summer Selloff Boys (aka ASASSB 1 & 2)?

If any part of (b) happens, I will not be a happy bunny. I’ll probably even be put off my breakfast egg (one of my Favourite Things). But what I won’t do is go around with a face longer than Southend Pier and start chucking my toys out of my pram (nanny would only make me pick them up again).

Whatever happens, I just want to enjoy my football without fixating on trophies and the Champions League and the top-four mini-league and all this other stuff which is icing on the cake of course, but do you only eat the icing? I know dessert can be the best part of the meal but before you get your paws on the sticky toffee pudding you’ve got to get through the leek and potato soup and your meat and two veg. So you might as well enjoy your starter and main because in football there’s no guarantee of dessert.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

A Few Thoughts From London

July 26, 2011

Not a very exciting title and certainly not one that is going to shoot the lights out of the hit stats but after questioning myself about it I thought why not, do I really want to attract people who’s blog name is “Wenger The Liar” and the like, not really was the answer. No, far happier am I to address the solid regulars of this fine site.

We have got off to a good preseason don’t you think? Two great goals from Gervinho who really does have that last piece to the attacking jigsaw about him. This man is going to allow Wenger to take no nonsense from Arshavin or Walcott, if either one of those is not performing then bang, off and on with Gerv. I say it this way around because I still think that Wenger will start with Arshavin, RvP and Walcott up front against Newcastle but I don’t anticipate that it will be too long before the goal scoring prowess of The Gerv finds it way into the first team on a regular basis.

If I had to guess as to the player who will ultimately lose out, then for me it will be Walcott. Those who read my comments know that I have a bee in my bonnet about Theo and in that same vein of bias I predict that this time next year he will be a Liverpool player.

Dalglish is on a one man mission to Britify that team in the belief that it is the El Dorado, the magic formula that manu have been using in recent past to win the league as many times as they have. Liverpool have paid some outrageous prices for average English players and I for one do not think that it will work for them. But the man who cannot be understood has too much credit in the red half of Liverpool to be kicked out too quickly and that is why I predict that after another shabby forth coming season the Scousers will make us an offer we cannot refuse – think Pennant.

I do have an alternate theory as to why Liverpool are in such a hurry to Britify that team and that is because Britain is the only football that Dalglish understands (He got lucky with Suarez). By contrast Wenger obviously knows the British players but has almost exclusive fishing rights in France and French speaking Africa. It’s like having our very own pool of talent to pick from, how brilliant is that and amazingly to me there are some who moan – oh no, please, anyone but another French speaking African. Just watch those two goals by Gervinho again and thank your lucky stars we did not buy Stewart Downing.

Walcott highlights the flaw in the youth policy that Wenger has clearly adopted, which is not to complain about its adoption. I am a firm believer that there are only three types of available player out there: the youth player, the twelve million pound player and the thirty five million pound player. Very few thirty five million pound players become available, I’m talking Aguero here, and when they do they inevitably draw the attention of Man City and once that has happened what is the point of trying to financially compete? Aguero is such a good example as it is plain to see that no one has even tried to involve themselves in the potential purchase of what is one of the best attackers in the world. No, at the present time players like that are not for us. The result being that we either have to fish in the twelve million pound pond and hope the likes of Gervinho turns into the next Drogba or try and develop the next Messi through our youth system.

This is all well and good but it is flawed, in order for the club to continue to attract the best youth players out there the fathers of super talented fifteen year olds must believe that if they succumb to Arsenal’s charms then their precious son will get the fairest crack of the whip possible and the flaw, I finally got there, is that players like Walcott are overplayed long before they are genuinely ready, the result is that we lose precious EPL points. I blame the loss of more than one league title on Wenger’s obsession with playing Walcott. Do you remember the crowd’s reaction when Walcott used to get off the bench to warm up: screams of Theo, Theo rang out throughout the ground; for goodness sake he is a puppy with a beach ball now he was even worse then.

Certain young players become too important not to play; their inclusion becomes more important than winning the league. Wilshere is another example of a player who has to be played, I complained last season that he was not strong enough to shield the defence on his own and offered next to no goal threat. My concern about him has been tempered by the realisation that the amount of games he played probably had as much to do with Diaby and Cesc’s injuries than Wenger’s impossible position of having to play him. Can you imagine him being on the bench for the first game of the season? No you can’t and yet if Cesc stays, a player who is light years more talented, then he really should be playing instead of Wilshere, well if we want to win the league he should be.

Which brings me to the title I really wanted to use Cesc, Stay, Please Stay, we are so close to having a team that just rips the EPL to pieces and with the arrival of Gervinho I think we have it. Did you see Nasri on the weekend, talented man but if there was a choice between keeping him and Cesc, hellooooooooo or should I say au revoir. We have one world class player, head and shoulders above all others and if we let him go we are back to hoping that Nasri can become the playmaker and that Wilshere will start scoring goals. They both will at one stage but I believe to win the league you have to have these two things up and running from the outset of the season. I am such a Fabregas fan I would sooner sell Wilshere to Barcelona.

Moving on or running away: cries of, if we don’t buy another defender we will continue to be vulnerable to an aerial threat from set pieces ring out from the blogshere, all I have to say to this is — tosh. Vermaelen wasn’t playing last season so it is reasonable to assume that his experience will galvanise that area of the team; Koscielny coped extremely well with his forced baptism of fire to the EPL brought on by the captain of Belgium’s injury, he played far more games than was originally anticipated and did a good job in my opinion, I expect him to be even better this season.

The idea of Gibbs as the new left back is starting to grow on me; so many teams come to the Emirates and park the bus that in the past we have struggled to break them down far more than we should for a team of our quality. How many times have we seen the ball played along a line of Arsenal players backwards and forwards before going out to Sagna or Clichy to send in a poor cross that nine times out of ten results in the loss of possession — too many is my answer. Gibbs can operate skilfully in the opposition’s eighteen yard box and as a result I expect him to start scoring some important goals.

I really do think we are ahead of the curve it terms of having a more settled side than the likes of United, City, Chelsea and Liverpool a side that is ready to storm the EPL but our side is only settled if Fabregas remains — Stay Cesc, Please Stay

London

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Posted by Rasp

Gervinho Has Arsenal Singing In The Rhine

July 24, 2011

Written by Jamie

Match Report: Cologne 1-2 Arsenal

So now that we have the far-east hand shaking junket out of the way, Arsenal fans could be justified in feeling that this is where the serious stuff begins. After all, Arsène Wenger said so himself.

No more games against Kuala Lumpur elevens or tepid match ups with the mighty Hangzhou Greentowns. Proper football is upon us. An English team against a German team. Football as we know it.

Of course while Arsenal began the Pre- Season proper in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region yesterday, El Capitan, Bendtner and co were still plotting moves away from London. So it is impossible to know exactly how we will line up next season but we got a pretty good idea.

One thing is for sure, Arsenal don’t seem likely to change formation. So it seems that 4-2-3-1 or as others like to call it 4-3-3 is here to stay. Frankly, I think that the only difference between the two is how effective the wingers are.

If the wingers are slow and lack movement it is a 4-2-3-1. If they are fast and quick in to space like the first half yesterday then it is a genuine mobile 4-3-3. This is when Arsenal play best.

All of which was evident when Wilshere chipped a perfectly weighted pass to Gervinho.

The new boy crept in on the defenders blind side to lift the ball over the on rushing keeper.

This seemed to dampen the crowd who had been in good voice pre-match.

A short while later Wilshere was again the architect. Pinging a pass wide to Walcott this time, who squared it cutely for Gervinho to sweep home a second from eight yards out.

The first goal to me was a Wiltord finish, the second a Pires, right place, right time finish. It was very impressive how he found space frequently in the first few minutes.

Based on very little, A you tube video, 29 minutes in a Arsenal shirt and half a dozen games when I didn’t really know who he was in the French League a couple of years back, I would say he looks to me like a Pires/Wiltord hybrid.

Arsenal had wobbled towards half time before Jenkinson capped a brilliant Arsenal performance by beating Szczesny with a lob Dennis Bergkamp would have been proud of.

Arsenal looked vulnerable with the normal high defensive line. The midfielders don’t get enough pressure on the ball in pre season. Frankly, I’m fine with that, I would rather they didn’t risk injuries.

I don’t worry about us defending in open play. Our record is very good on that front. At the risk of stating the obvious, we need a big centre back or an organiser at set pieces.

Arshavin had four attempts in the second half but again didn’t really hit the heights. His pace seems to have gone and he needs to play in the middle somewhere. Where he can use his close control, vision and shooting. He is too isolated on the wing.  He never hides though.

Sitting at home, I might be getting worried about Fabregas leaving but all I know is this, if I were sitting on the banks of the Rhine with some of the Gooners that made the trip, I wouldn’t be worrying about any of that. I would be ordering another round of the local Kölsch and trying to work the name Gervinho in to a song.

Life goes on.

First Half Team

Szczesny – Didn’t inspire confidence but did ok.

Koscielny – Strangely out of sorts. One of our best last season but lacked his competitive edge.

Vermaelen – Similar start to Koscielny but improved as the half went on.

Jenkinson – Was trying to cover Koscielny when conceding the own goal. Technique needs work. Could he be a better cover right back than Eboue?

Gibbs – Excellent, his best game yet in the warm up. Smooth and could have scored in the second half.

Song – Solid but no yet at full tilt.

Ramsey – Played well, some nice touches.

Wilshere – Best player, was involved in both goals. He looks very well after his summer of rest.

Walcott – Sharp and focused, made one, movement was good.

Gervinho – Eventful, 29 minutes, 2 goals, impressive movement and a knee knock. I like him even if he does have the least subtle parting since GDR made plans to stop defection in 1961.

Chamakh – Did he play?

Miyaichi – Must have been chuffed to get on, did have one run, with what is becoming his trademark step over. Hoping he gets a Visa, He might brighten up the Carling Cup come the winter.

Second Half Team

Mannone – Curiously solid.

Fabianski – Not much on but good to see him back.

Sagna – No thrills, no spills, just another 45 under his belt, coasted.

Henderson – Got his chance at left back but seems to have come to a sticky end after giving himself a nasty looking knee injury in the dying moments of the game.

Squillaci – Could look out of his depth in a puddle.

Djourou – Tried hard to cope with the lack of structure around him, he gives his lot.

Frimpong – High on industry and low on artistry which is no bad thing for the anchor man but still lacks consistency to his passing.

Rosicky – Played well, it is bizarre that there is a part of all of us that still thinks he might still have his finest hour ahead of him. We can all dream.

Nasri – He looked a bit disinterested other than his cuddle for Jenkinson at half time. I wouldn’t read too much in to it, just easing in the warm ups.

Vela – Introduction was about a noticeable as air

Arshavin – Tried but still looks under par.  Arsenal need to get the best out of him this season.

Van Persie – Couple of lovely touches, time has taught him to take pre season easy.

Afobe – Got on at 89 minutes, hopefully we might see more of him through the season.

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