Goodbye Silvestre, Gallas and Campbell – Boy Wonder Number 10.

July 8, 2010

Its getting exciting now – you know the season is impending when people are making travel arrangements for our annual trip to Barnet.

This week, Arsenal.com put up the pictures of those of the first team not on international duty who came back for some fitness work. It was nice to see Kieran Gibbs back in training, and word is Aaron Ramsey is back running without any trouble. Our latest recruit Maroune Chamakh seems to have a new BFF in Samir Nasri.

Laurent Koscielny is an Arsenal player. To all those who think he can’t be up to much because he comes from the second tier of French football, consider this; Arsenal is notoriously frugal in its spending and yet we’ve lashed out £8.5m for him (reportedly) when FC Lorient only paid £1.5m a year earlier – he’s going to be some player believe me.

While having a look around the site, I had a look at our lovely new kit again – only problem is the large sponsorship font, but beggars and choosers and all that… Anyways, I went into the online shopping section and happened upon something very interesting.

It seems all the ifs and buts are answered. William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre and Sol Campbell would appear to be no longer Arsenal players. In the drop down section that allows you to select a personalised name and number, the options of Campbell, Silvestre and Campbell are no longer available. (Oddly you can still get Gilbert on your shirt – two things, WHY? and he was released last week, memo mustn’t have gone out). I doubt this is because of uncertainty over their contracts, it must be because they are going and honestly none of the three are a shock.

Silvestre no-body will cry over. Campbell was always bound to go wherever he could get a nice signing-on fee (sorry Peaches) and while Gallas has been a good player for us overall, he’s become increasingly injury prone. What is key here, is that all three are CBs. Its a broken record by now, but signing Koscielny won’t be enough. Vermaelen is now our only tried and trusted CB, Djourou is largely untested and coming back from a long lay-off. We don’t know what Koscielny is like, and I won’t sit here and judge before I see just because I’ve not heard of him. Alex Song can play there but he is needed in midfield, so Wenger must be looking at, at least one more defensive signing – none of the youth’s look ready to come up and its far too risky to chance it. Wenger must know this by now.

Aside from Silvestre’s, Campbell’s and Gallas’ numbers being unavailable (at least in the drop down menu) its also worth noting that Robin van Persie has applied to have his number changed for next season. As Arshavin hasn’t applied (he being the other option) I expect the boy wonder to drop down a number next season and become number 10. Bergkamp is his hero and how nice that he can wear the same number at the same club as his hero once did.

That is unless Cesc is leaving and the number is for a new play-maker but all things considered, its going to Robin – why else apply for a change of number?

World Cup is coming to an end and Barnet is just around the corner – new look Arsenal is beginning to take shape, I hope!

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Posted by criochnaithe

Come on You Rip Roaring Gunners…..

May 9, 2010

I have end of season blues. The past few weeks have been tough but are nothing compared to the cold turkey that starts on Sunday evening. Every close season is tough, but with the prospect of having the “scum from the Lane” gloating for 6 weeks, and the media circus that surrounds the World Cup,  this summer  is going to be grueling.

However, we have the little matter of tying up 3rd place and automatic qualification to the CL. For goodness sake Arsenal please do not blow this…. the consequences are unthinkable. Fortunately today’s opposition have bigger fish to fry in just 4 days time.

If we could have picked who to play today, there can be little doubt Fulham would be at the very top of the list. Fulham have never beaten us at home, and have won only one away game all season – to Pompey on the first day of the season!

In my early childhood Fulham were famous for paying the then England captain, Johnny Haynes the amazing sum of 100 pounds a week. The furore was all over the back pages of the papers. How could a humble footballer be paid such an outrageous amount of money?? If only they knew what was to come!! The 60’s saw Tommy  Trinder and Jimmy Hill.  Then there  was a fine season when Rodney Marsh, George Best and an ageing Bobby Moore played at The Cottage, three of the greatest entertainers ever to grace a pitch. Unfortunately putting two huge party animals together was never going to be a recipe for success and Best’s alcoholism ended the fun, but I was lucky enough to see them play.

It says much about Fuham that no-one I have ever met has Fulham on their hate list. No-one dislikes them. Even with a Chairman of such dubious background that he still awaits a British Passport!

It is difficult to find enough praise for Fulham’s achievements this season, and it would be a fitting testimony to the work of their manager and team should they win the Europa Cup. None of the Fulham team would get in our first choice team (OK  – the GK ) and yet with hard work, excellent tactics and what AW calls “spirit”, Fulham have had the most exciting season in their history. It would be understandable if Hodgson rested some players today, Zamora is out as is Duff. Hangeland is expected to play and is a supposed Arsenal transfer target. It is interesting to note that Wenger says he has never put in a bid for Hangeland despite the media telling us that Fulham had turned down a substantial bid last summer …. who do yo believe?

For Arsenal, Clichy could make a return which would help the team after Traore was so anonymous at Ewood.  Bendtner, Rosicky, Cesc, Vermaelen, Gallas, Song, Ramsey, Almunia and Denilson are all injured. Will Vela or Eduardo get another start? Could Arshavin be playing his final game at THOF? (I do not believe all the transfer talk). It will certainly be Silvestre’s last appearance. Some may say that he has been a poor signing, but nonetheless he has been wearing an Arsenal shirt and as such deserves support and thanks for his input.

The Craven Cottage game  earlier in the season saw us gain a 1-0 victory thanks to a RVP first half goal (in the days when we could hold a lead!), but the stand out player that day was our goalkeeper, the 21 y.o. Vitto Mannone.  Could he get a chance to repeat his heroics this afternoon? The goalkeeping issue has been covered at enormous length in the blogs, suffice it to say that Fabianski doesn’t inspire confidence with the fans, but Mr. Wenger will surely continue with The Pole in Goal.

As this is my final preview of the season, it would be churlish not to supply some facts about the London Borough of Fulham. Called Fulham because the tiny  hamlet was owned by a man named Fulla- it was home to the Bishop of London in the 12th century. By the 18th century Fulham was known as a haunt for gambling and prostitution, which is appropriate considering the other football club within Fulham’s boundary!

I expect us to end the season on a high, winning with style and brio. RvP will definitely score today.  One last time this season…… Come on you Rip Roaring Gunners.

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Posted by Erik the Red

May 2010 – A Team Chasing Shadows

May 4, 2010

Sadly, I remember London saying how difficult it was to write the match report after the 2nd defeat by the chavs earlier this season.  Yesterday’s game is not deserving of a match report – if someone else wrote one I probably wouldn’t read it –  and as a result of that poor display, I’m going to have to wrap my Arsenal heart in cotton wool for a few weeks and probably not talk football as I’m not sure that I can make any sense of the last three defeats we’ve suffered.

In all three games against the spuds, Wigan and Blackburn there was a team wearing the red and white of Arsenal but they didn’t seem to be Arsenal footballers. Obviously they were getting paid to be Arsenal footballers but somehow they didn’t really know what they should be doing. They were, by and large, a collection of not very good footballers who weren’t trying very hard to play the Arsenal way. A couple of exceptions in van Persie and Sol Campbell who seemed to be the only Gooners on the pitch yesterday.

Why is this Arsène? When the Carling Cup team of 1st team elect players comes up against a premiership side they pull out all the stops and play with freedom and no fear. Some will argue that yesterday’s team was part Carling Cup team of old and possibly it was but where was the passion? where was the desire? It was embarrassing to watch.

Arsène complained about the pitch, complained about the treatment that was metered out to Fabianski, complained that we could have had a penalty. Blackburn’s captain Samba stood head and shoulders above  everyone in our penalty area – why was our goal-keeper muscled out of the way, why was he sitting in his goal when Samba headed home the winner? Because he’s not big enough and not strong enough. Arsène, if you think that we can go another campaign without a world class goal keeper then I’m sorry for you because you must have contracted a very strange illness that stops you seeing what thousands of Gooners see.

Most of us accept that a player can have an off day, that players returning from injury are not going to be sharp or match fit but at least if they try, if we can see that they want it, that they’re disappointed for the team when things go badly then on the whole we’ll be forgiving. A defeat is always hard to accept but yesterday’s game wasn’t even two teams competing. We are pale shadows of the Arsenal team that existed 6 years ago and the small nimble players we have now cannot compete against the big lumps of Blackburn or figure in the ranks of most other Premiership sides.

When we come up against a team that wants it more than us we have no answer and no bottle for the fight. Our ‘clever passing football’ appears incapable of penetrating a 10-man defence and no-one seems to have the ability/desire/confidence to shoot from outside the box.

We looked like a team of school boys out there yesterday, no sophistication, no slick passing game and no ideas. Your put these players in Arsenal shirts, you have shown faith in their abilities but when are you going to admit that they aren’t capable of repaying your, or our patience? Sometime soon please Arsène.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Blackburn Preview

May 3, 2010

Ewood Park. Hardly inspires a sense of excitement , does it? Sam Allardyce? Seems a marriage made in Northern hell. Work ethic, win ugly, they don’t like it up ’em, let them know you are there, passing football is for soft southern poofs, hit hard and hit often, we will score from set pieces…… the epitome of anti-football.

But is that a fair summation? Am I being Southcentric? Only you can decide. I have been to Ewood Park, to the shabby Northern streets of Blackburn, and it was exactly as expected – though the pies are excellent!

The stats: One point and we are guaranteed third place. Blackburn have lost only 2 of 17 home games, they have won just 2 out of 18 against top half opposition. Arsenal have scored 16 goals in the last 4 meetings between the clubs. Van Persie has scored 9 in 8 games against B’burn. The usual suspects are missing for Arsenal, though there is a small chance that Arshavin could play. Allardyce has a full squad to choose from. We will have the opportunity to check out Phil Jones (CB) and N’Zonzi (MF) both talked of as potential AW’s targets (though AW has been his usual non-commital self).

Writing this I feel a sense of apathy, and really fear the team will feel the same. The Fulham home game will secure the 3 position and a trip to Ewood is hardly an enjoyable experience. I am concerned the team will just go through the motions and look to escape without injury prior to the World Cup selections. However, as these are men who are paid a huge amount of money to play for The Arsenal, will they give their all for the cause against a fired up Blackburn team? – because there is no doubt Allardyce will want his team to give 100% and mirror his gum-chewing, snarling self. When the first thumping tackle goes in will our lads fight fire with fire or will they roll over and avoid the confrontation? We have some players that undoubtedly will give as good as they get (Sol & RvP to name but two), but we also have players who go missing in the heat of battle and in a meaningless game like this, I would not play them. So, I would continue the Eastwood experiment and play Bendtner instead of Theo. Maybe let Eduardo show us the improvement AW has seen in training.

There is not much more to say about Rovers. We know their style of play, exemplified by El Hadji Diouf – a serial bad boy and a man even his own fans are ashamed of.

Blackburn was the centre of the textile business during the Industrial Revolution with 43 mills and 43,000 looms! Real Lowry country. The spinning Jenny was invented in Blackburn. What else…..? Carl Fogarty was born there. It has the highest percentage of Muslims in the UK. And of course, as most of the world knows, there are 4,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire but what that means I have no idea!

Expect a physical battle. Be happy to escape injury free with the point to secure 3rd. My personal target is to stay awake until the final whistle, but I will be recording the game just in case……..

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Posted by Erik the Red

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