Arsène Wenger gave a handful of Arsenal’s young starlets the opportunity to play a part in the prestigious Amsterdam Tournament this evening, as the Gunners looked to press home their advantage in the competition against a physical and energetic Sevilla side.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Kieran Gibbs, Mark Randall and Jack Wilshere were joined by Aaron Ramsey in a young side, with the average age being just 20.
They got the perfect start to the game as Vela turned sharply past Mosquera before bursting down the left, shrugging off the challenge of Konko, and smashing home on his left foot from a difficult angle.
Kieran Gibbs looked bright an attentive against the tricky Jesús Navas and with Jay Thomas frequently dropping back to ‘double up’ on the Spaniard, Arsenal had neutralized his threat.
The giant Emmanuel-Thomas would then show two aspects of his game, first leaping highest to flick Vela through on goal, before coming back and putting his huge frame in front of Arouna Koné as he shaped to shoot.
The next youngster to impress was Mark Randall, as Navas found himself un-marked in the area until a last ditch slide tackle crunched the ball away – but most importantly fairly. The Sevilla bench would be furious with the the 18-year-old Randall after another tackle on Navas, but replays showed the winger make a meal of it.
Despite some late rallying from Sevilla, Arsenal took the lead into the half time break.
Half Time – Arsenal 1-0 Sevilla
The second period would be a difficult one for the young Gunners, with a barrage from Sevilla expected during the final 45 minutes of the tournament for Arsenal.
True to form the Spaniard’s did hit back, with Fabianski pulling out a handful of top draw saves to keep the slim advantage. Diego Capel would then drift in from the centre out to the left, after first skipping beyond Wilshere, Randall made sure he would holt his progress with a clumsy kick on his ankle to send the little winger crashing down.
Emmanuel-Thomas’ defending was far too casual, with Javier Chevantón and Jesús Navas both working angles to shoot in quick succession. Randall was forced to head over his own bar on the hour-mark following more pressure, this time from Koffi Ndri Romaric.
Wilshere was left alone up front to attempt to break away, but he found himself physically dominated by the powerful Sevilla back-line.
Capel worked space down the left, and as Gibbs and Thomas were sucked inside, Navas was free on the right to fire a shot well saved by Fabianski. With time ticking down the rugged Randall and the powerful Jay Thomas were both withdrawn, as Wenger looked to secure the points.
But the pressure would eventually toll on the now physically tired Arsenal. Navas who had tortured Thomas and Gibbs in the second half crossed for Chevantón to fire home from close range.
The result may have been a slightly disappointing one, but Arsenal look set to have done enough to retain the cup, whilst giving several promising players vital experience against a top team.
Article By – J.Sanderson
yes we won the tournament
All but won it mate, we must wait for the outcome of the next game.
Man of the match was defin. Fabianski. No one really stood out for Arsenal otherwise. Ramsey was not very good today, wayward passing and getting caught in possession. Randall did nothing to show he is knocking at the door. Wilshire was decent and getting those knocks will only sit well for his development. As for Sevilla they should have one and had they been sharper they would have. Diego Capel was class as usual and Navas was as well.
get in
Ramsey and Randall were non-existant, which is really bad for central midfielders because they should be seeing the most of the ball.
Djourou, Senderos, Fabianski and Vela were the bright spots. Walcott is better at defending than Justin Hoyte, Bendtner tries to do much with the ball (he managed to hold onto it for a while but couldn’t pick out a team mate and didn’t do much), Gibbs was OK and I would’ve liked more of an impact from Walcott when he came on. Wilshere found himself defending most of the time and the whole team found it hard to string some passes together, but the most important thing is or the likes of Jay Thomas and Gibbs to get some experience.
Fabianski MOTM for me. Jst by todays game, he’s palyed better than all of Almunia’s pre-season games put together.
If ALmunia was in goal today, i believe we woulda conceded more goals.
Fabianski for No 1 goalie for the new season
was c. vela’s goal good?? i heard it ws a great individual goal
I’m no able to see any of the games, someone told me Justin Hoyte was playing is this correct or was it his brother?
Vela and Fabianski for me were the 2 best players! Djourou had a pretty good game. I agree Ramsey and Randall didn’t perform well today. Bendtner should leave the tricky dribbling to Vela.
we make sevilla look very good
Randall looked pretty impressive to me but he did give away some niggly fouls.
RANDALL & JUSTIN HOYTE need to sold or got rid ASAP. Randall will never make it at Arsenal, he was poor once again.
As for Hoyte, think he’s time is up at Arsenal, maybe i’m been harsh on, but i’ve never really been impressed with him.
Todays game was good to see how well we can defend. Djorou is beginning to knock on the door and its gettin louder now. Think he will play a big part of our season, when Mr Wenger realises Toure and Gallas cant work together.
Senderous was very good again tonight. But Fabianski was out of this world. He can replace Almunia
Yes it was a really good individual goal. Showed his strength and composure. The defender tried everything to get him off the ball but Vela wouldn’t budge and made a very good finish from a tight angle.
fabianski had a awesome game his handling decision making and shot stopping was spot on. Vela looks like he is going to be a great player for us but bendtner is looking worse everytime i see him
Shaun he played the full 90 mins and said before hand he doesnt want to leave.
I agree with you on Djourou MIke, I think he showed what he’s made of today. On his day i think he is better than Senderos.
fabianski should play instead of almunia.
justin hoyte lived up to expectation and
vela should be tried on the wings as he’s more productive than walcott
Thanks J, guess we’ll see what happens over the next few days.
Mike, I couldn’t agree more about Randall and Hoyte. Randall was very petulant at times and as for Hoyte, I can’t believe he is 24 already. He needs to think of his career. Not only is he third choice behind Sagna and Eboue, he also needs to realize that there are young reserve players coming through challenging his position. He has less than 10 years left in football, he needs to think of his career.
Yeah Fabianski was MOTM no doubt. Some great saves and his overall performance was perfect. Cannot blame him for the goal. Think the biggest reason we had to defend for our lives was cause of the very young and inexperienced midfield. If we would have had some 2 more experienced players I think we could have kept better control of the game and had more of a delivery for the front men.
But a good result and the defending was decent I think, with some well needed help by Fabianski. :) Hard to single out praise for the outfield players, but Senderos and Djourou seemed to work well together. Wilshere got a good test today, and at times showed he has decent physical strenght already. Vela and Bendtner started of well but faded, Bendtner especially.
That’s right Derrick, Hoyte is okay as back up at RB, but there are better players coming through.
@ Derrick
I totally agree.
He’s 24 and hasn’t really improved. I think he needs to leave Arsenal to become the player he wants to be. A Middlesborough scout was in the stands, so hopefully a move for him is on the cards.
Man Utd players stay at the club for a long time without playing much. e.g Fletcher, O’shea and to a lesser degreee Wes Brown (before last season). It’s good to see some loyalty from Hoyte even if he’s getting on my nerves.
We are in serious trouble in midfield. Defensively as a club we are in trouble. Ironic how everyone moans abour senderos but i thought he and djourou did well this evening despite the incessant pressure from sevilla. Compared to the perfromance of Gallas and Tuore yesterday, who were awful, thought the second choice lads did well. Overall I would be worried for the forthcoming season. The areas we all know we are short in have not been strengthened.
@ Canadian Gooner.
I think if Djourou can stay fit all season, he’ll be pushing for 3rd choice DF, behind Gallas n Toure.
good good, thanks TH,..vela is making me more excied by the minute hes really settling in now
Thanks for thr report Mr. J. I don’t often comment because I rarely get to see the live match from India (so I love your reports and updates). I did catch the second half though, and I feel somewhat sorry that I did. We were cut open time and time again, especially down the left. The Sevilla players found it so very easy to turn away from our central midfielders and make space. We were nutmegged at least twice! This could easily have been a 5-1 loss without Fabianski (and maybe Djourou and a couple of other players). Yes, this has been a good learning experience for the younger players, but to what end? The non-priority Carling Cup? Sorry if I sound too harsh, but to me we were awful in this game. And it doesn’t matter if the average age was 20; no one forced us to play such a young squad.
Of course it’s preseason, and I am sure the first team will play better, but a number of these players are supposed to be around the first eleven. That seems rather scary based on tonight’s performance, coupled with Mr. Wenger’s unwillingness (or inability) to buy what we seem to need.
@ Mike
I agree. That leaves Song and Senderos; I think Senderos will be 4th choice and Song as 5th. Nordveit will be brought in for that extra bit of cover if needed in the EPL.
how did gibbs , and thomas deal with navas ?
I think if Djourou gets the same amount of playing time Senderos has had, then he will show that he can be a quality CB. I’ve always felt he has it in him to be a top CB, hope he makes it happen.
Senderos was solid tho, although he did get turned easily by Chevychase.
Fabianski was outstanding and for me has the ability to make saves Almunia can’t; match winning saves.
Vela looks sharp, hope i see that smile of his after he’s scored goals for us loads next season. bendtner looked good too.
Was impressed with gibbs and Thomas.
The only ones who didnt really do too well were randall and ramsey, but i aint gonna write 2 very young players off.
It was a great test & result for our youngsters. We were overan in midfield. Randall and Ramsey were poor I thought. I was impressed with Wilshere he showed tenacity & used the ball well when he had it. Vela, Djourou and Senderos were excellent too. Fabianski was MOTM he handled the pressure very well
Is Merida expected to play any role with the first team this season?
WHAT I’VE LEARN’T FROM PRE-SEASON.
1- Critics have written us off ALREADY.
2- Fabianski can push for no 1, when Almunia starts to crack.
3- Djourou has improved so much, we might not need a new DF.
4- Randall and Hoyte are c**p and need to be urgently sold.
5- Adebayor is back to normal and proves he can score, but still needs 5 chances to score one goal.
6- Wilshire stepped up to the first team is one to watch out for i the future.
7- DESPERATELY need a DM. Denilson has done well, but we still need a natural DM.
8- Diaby is always going to be injured.
9- Vela can fill Eduardo’s boots for now, until Eduardo returns.
Gerry gooner;
Kolo has hardly played all pre-season nor has Gallas. In Djourou and Senderios we have decent cover.
Gallas and Kolo were fantastic for 3/4s of the last season.
Basing the sefence on ONE pre-season friendly is bull shit.
BUT, the area that desperately needs adding to is DM tho.
To be honest, Gibbs only looked good for the second part of the first half when he switched his left back position with Jay Thomas(?) to left wing. When he was at left back he was skinned time and again by Jesus Navas.
MIKE;
Agree with you on almost everything mate. Just think you are being a bit harsh on young Randall!
The CM role is a very demanding one and we had two very young players in there, so it wasn’t too surprising they got over ran.
I think Djourou could well end up partnering Kolo this time next season.
This match was the best thing that could have happened to us, because having to defend all second half will enable those young players to learn defending or doing work going backwards because most matches, we are usually just going forward with not much defending to do.
But i do think we were very fatigued later in the 2nd half, Mike & Derrick most of the wasteful passes was made by Ramsey and players on wing but i doesnt matter. The match was for a workout and thats what we got, so stop bitching like a girl.
Well played Fabianski
Song will make a difference,,we must buy a midf player
Annan ,Inler ..who knows
Derrick;
Gibbs did well as LB, especially given he aint played there much and he was up against a top quality player.
What do some people expect of our young players?
We also need squad players, players who can do a job when called on and who are HAPPY to wait for a game.
Derrick,
Gibbs looks good at LB. To be honest, i think he looks more solid than Traore when he plays there.
Fabianski was absolutely world class today. I thought after 20 minutes that he had improved so much. He was taking the crosses so easily and just looked solid. Then this second half performance came and he won me over. He looked much more like a Lehman than an Almunia. The Spaniard really has to stay on his toes if he is not to lose his place in the months to come. I had started to lose faith in Fabianski but this performance was reassuring that he is a possible long term GK for us.
Ramsey and Randall were awful. Especially Randall, he was shit. Thomas is not ready for this level but I think he would play much better more central than out wide. He obviously has some potential but he is still far away from even getting into the Carling Cup side. Wilshere was okay but got bullied off the ball on several occasions. It would have been interesting to see him with a better midfield. Our midfield played so bad that Wilshere never really got the chance to do anything. Gibbs did okay but lacks some positional awareness at the back. He has to learn when to change the player you are marking, when to follow the running man and so on. Gibbs was the best one of a really dreadful midfield. Notice though that nobody in our entire midfield has ever started an EPL game. Things really got better when Denilson came on. For the first time since the tenth minute we could hold on to the ball for a bit. He still needs to add some agression to his game.
Djourou and Senderos did good. I am hoping that either one of them will get into the starting XI this season. Kolo and Gallas should never, ever play together again or we will never win anything. So Senderos in the starting line-up in my opinion. Hoyte was just being like Hoyte is. He never gets forward and never does anything outstanding. Eboue is so way better RB than him. I do not see why we should keep onto this guy, nevermind that he is an Arsenal supporter. He is so far off the Arsenal standard and does not have any potential as an impact sub.
Vela was good but didn´t see much of the ball due to our lack of midfield performance. Nick had bright moments but again his descision making let him down. He really has to learn when to get rid of the ball and when to dribble. I was very dissapointed when he got clear on goal but passed it back to Wilshere.
So overall a good result but a little dissapointing performance by many of the guys. Sevilla are a very good side with deadly wingers. Fabianski and the centre backs are pushing on the starting XI while Hoyte and Randall seem to be knocking at the exit door. Walcott was again bad and I seriously would prefer Vela on the wing instead of him. Denilson is our best DM at the moment and should start alongside Cesc. This was also a reminder that Wilshere is only 16 years old. He is agressive but tiny and often got bullied off the ball by the enormous defenders from the Spanish outfit.
@ Dwayne Dibbly.
i’ve watched Randall in the reserves n i wasn’t impressed there either n today jst proved my point.
About Djourou,
you might be right on that one. I believe this is Gallas’s last season with us, leaving Toure needing a partner. i say this is his last season, because he’ll be 31 or 32 then n he’d want to leave when the captains arm band is taken away from him.
I believe Djourou would be groomed this year to fill the void Gallas would leave.
Cheers for all the support guys, i think this game will stand us in very good stead.
One thing i have been very worried about Jay Thomas is that he is far too casual. He doesnt seem to read the game very well, but can have an impact when he has the ball, some things to work on for the boss.
MIKE: “i’ve watched Randall in the reserves n i wasn’t impressed there either n today jst proved my point.”
You must be blind then.
Thomas was woeful tonight. What position does he normally play in?
im starting to get seriously sick of seeing the likes of randall and eboue in the side at the mintute. Randall arrogantly struts about the pitch like he’s the muts nuts instead of actually playing football, hes shite and needs to be shipped on. im not even gonna get into eboue as we all know just how awfull wengers love child is. jay thomas looked way way way out of his depth but ill let him off as it was his first start but he doesnt really look promising. hopefully hoyte will move to middlesbourgh or aston villa soon as hes becoming as unreliable as titus bramble. ramsay was also poor today but has played well the rest of pre season an just looked a little tired and his confidence started to take a beating as the game wore on, same with bendtner. arsene needs to seriously think of adding a few experianced heads to strengthen the spine and depth of this squad or this season is not going to go well….right, rant over
Gibbs was run ragged by navas in the second half, sevilla in truth should have won, but the kids were resilient and fabianski had his best ever Arsenal performance for me.
2 things concerned me, Bendtner is a decent player but there were times he was moaning at Ramsey snd Randall about wanting a pass, it was sort of HENRY ESQUE, like how he used to get frustrated with Reyes and Van Persie way back. In my mind he hasn’t yet earned the right to act like he did, i can see why he isn’t much liked in the dressing room, there were times he hogged the ball instead of passing, i noted 3 times he ignored Wilshere being open, he looks for Vela but never anyone else.
Vela for me can be a really good player, i just feel he needs to stay in the game more, 20 minutes can go by without him touching the ball, i feel he has the ability to drop deep or out to the left to show himself for the ball but often i think he looks too often for the ball in behind, its me being very critical but if he is too be a first team regular i think he hads to get more involved in play but im sure he will.
Arsene needs an experienced midfielder,i felt sorry for the lads in that second half, not one of them could hold onto the ball or string a pass together, it needed a calming influence to steady the play and calm the lads down, but there was literally no one, Im not on this bandwagon for Barry or Inler, but i feel Arsene need to address that, because today Sevilla really could have won by 4 goals and Ajax could have easily won last night.
@ Supergunner07
if you can get 5 ppl on here who can say Randall is good n would make it at Arsenal then, i’ll eat my words n dnt u go writting it as different Alias
stone;
I take it you never saw any Arsenal games last year then?
To say gallas and Kolo should never play again is the funniest thing Ive read on here!
You were joking right?
I think we only need one player, but he will cost us £15 miilion+.
We have been written off by everyone and even Ray Parlour says we need more experience.
There’s still a few weeks till the transfer window closes….
I think with Randall’s passing range he can make it at Arsenal as cover for our starting MFs…
Randall really hasn’t taken his opportunity, today would have been a good day for Merida to play, i have no idea where he is at?
People complain about Arsene not given English talent a chance, i think this preseason has rubbished that talk, he gave so many youngsters an opportunity and really only Wilshere impressed, therefore he got made a first team squad player, he showed he had the talent, Randall, Lansbury, J Simpson, both Hoytes, have all showed they are not ready, and havent stood out or grasped the opportunity.
The only failing of Wenger for me is that Barazite, hasnt been giving more of an opportunity, i also feel that Gibbs should have been given more opportunitys in his preferred position, however other than that, none of the English lads can complain because they really havent taken the opportunity in the same way Wilshere has.
And for me the Jurys still out on Theo,he has flashes of brilliance but needs to be consistent.
Theo is quality and will show that this season.
Gibbs has had a decent pre-season and did well at left back.
Merida’s “chillin” on holiday.
I feel this squad is not as good as last year’s. I’m not exactly sure but isn’t this squad even younger than last year’s. And God Inter is boring. Is there anything else on to watch. Damn………… Its like watching Chelsea vs Liverpool.
Mike, give it up, i am very confident that he will be eventually become useful member of the squad,creativity,passing range and vision are not easy to find. He is also 18 yr old CM who will get better with age.
We need numbers in the squad not pleasing fickle blind fans like u, may i suggest u should go & support spuds if u want to.
DERRICK:
I agree with you, Inter are shocking,i now know why i stopped watching Seria A, i know its early in their pre season, but they really dont look that impressive.
I have tried to watch this game but cant, ill set my alarm, for the 90th minute, just so fingers crossed i can see Arsene and Van Persie be awarded the trophy :)
Sevilla are a brilliant team. Navas and Capel are not easy to play against. They thrashed us 3-1 last time we played them with a young team. We finished level this time around. Everyone is saying we are missing experience which is true but we still have Song, Rosicky and Eduardo to come back & Wenger will sign a defensive midfielder
@ Suppergunner07
only time would tell i he’d make it at Arsenal. in my opinion i jst dnt think he has wat it takes to make it here
I really don’t think we are far about as there are players to come back from injury (well, hopefully) Its obvious where we do need to buy tho.
I think we have got a lot of quality young players but they need some older hards around.
Im gonna stop now as I am just repeating me self! :D
May I advise our fans to stop getting brainwshed by awful pundits and instead analyse the situation yourself with your brain switched on becasue it seems take words out of stupid pundits’ mouth & start spreading such negative vibes around.
What did these fools say last year [finish bottom half of the table], look at players who were not there today with potential acquisition [Its not that bad]. Plus academy starting to producing quality youngsters. PLEASE USE YOUR BRAIN
older heads! Oops
The commentator just said ‘And there is one more half to come in the Ajax cup.’ I think i just died!
Supergunner07
So whose using the family brain cell today then?
Personally i think Randall will go on loan this season, as will Jay Simpson, maybe Gibbs and Barazite.
But im unsure what Arsene will do with Merida? Loan? Reserves? First Team Squad, personally id like to see him loaned to a mid table La Liga side, just so he’ll get games and play, like Vela did, theres no point him playing with the reserves at this stage of his devolpment.
Merida’s going to Spain isn’t he?
IMO theo has not earned a place in the starting eleven. having nasri and vela (after all eduardo played left mid b4 he got injured) play the wings would be a more preferable solution, until rosicky gets fit.
for now, theo has only earned a place on the bench until he improves!
did anyone hear what wengers views were
I dont think Wenger has given an interview yet, but i heard the squads already left the stadium, while Arsene and Van Persie have stayed behind in case of a presentation to the winners, i think he will definately be interviewed then, hopefully the question him about possible signings coming in, even if he does say the usual, we will look for one, but if not we are happy with what we have :),
The fact that yesterday Senderos came on and played Centre Mid would suggest we desperately need one more Midfield Player, and theres no way Diaby can be anywhere near match fit, he has hardly played this pre-season.
Arsene was interviewed by Sky’s chief football reporter, Nick Collins or whatever his name is. He said that none of the players at the tournament are injured, that Diaby is definitely out of the Wednesday game and that Nasri will have a fitness test on Monday or Tuesday.
Fabianski was very impressive today, and I think that if he were to be given a proper run in the first team, Almunia would find it very difficult to get back into the side.
most of arsenal fans can’t stand eboue however I just can’t deal with the fact that Mark Randall is playing at arsenal, he sucks ass even for the reserves.Arsene must kick him off the team.
Theo is quality and is 1st choice right winger.
Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, howvever crap it is. :D
Diaby is out??? That aint good is it. Wow! We have some right injury prone players don’t we?
Theo is first choice whilst Rosicky is out, but when hes back, its back to the Bench for Theo, where he can be used as God intended, as an impact player after 70 minutes when defenders are tired, then next year he can give his place to Wilshere .
Oh shit did i say that out loud :) what was i thinking lol
RIP Bernie Mac
Haha!
I have got loads of faith in Theo. Towards the end of last season he was effin fantastic on the wing. I see no reason why cannot carry that form on this year.
He WILL be 1st choice RM and if/when Tomas comes back, he can play on the left, as Gawdblimey allmighty intended! :D
Amazing…………The arsenal fans at the Inter game are asleep while Wenger and RVP were shown YAWNING. most exciting thing I’ve seen all game.
If Toure and Gallas don’t get their act together I’d like to see either Senderos or Djourou replace one of them (and based on performances in pre-season and last year Kolo would be the one to make way) and my ideal choice for DM would be Song although I think Denilson could eventually become a good DM. It’d be perfect if we bought a new DM though ‘cos Arsene doesn’t want to use our best option of Song in DM.
Vela’s also our third best option up front with Eduardo out. The jury’s still wide open on Walcott and Bendtner who really should learn from Adebayor and van Persie in training (he had the one shot, that’s all I remember, and he did an Eboue/Diaby on us of failing to release the ball when required). Vela’s balance and composure on the ball reminds me of Messi (although he’s obviously not as good, hopefully someday:))
Hoyte is not good enough even as a backup RB but hopefully the youngsters and Arsene will have learned a lot from this game
the thing with randall is that almost every pass go astray but he doesnt even make the effort to do anything afterwards and just jogs away and is very lazy
Dwayne, Nasri will likely play on the right when Rosicky’s back with Rosicky on the left.
Told you god intended Theo to be on the bench lol :)
I MISSED THE MATCH…
BUT I HEAR WALCOTT PLAYED POOR AGAIN…
HE’S REALLY PISSING ME OFF NOW, AS I CANT SEE WHY HE CANT NOT BE A GREAT PLAYER….
HOYTE CAN GO…I SAID FOR AGESS AGO…DIDNT LIKE THE WAY RONALDO DESTROYED HIM WITH STEPOVERS WHEN WE PLAYED AGAINST MAN UTD..
RANDALL CAN GO TO…HE AINT NUFFIN SPECIAL ANYWAY
This is simple. From the pre-season matches Vela has proved to be a better overall better player than Theo. However, Theo has shown some improvement from last season in several areas especially his first touch and approach.
Nonetheless, there is an assuredness and efficiency about Vela’s play that comes from playing regularly that Theo seems to lack.
Enough said chaps.
Walcott played ten min m8. whoever told u that needs to relax.
Hold up, Dwayne no offense but you said Theo looked good at the end of last season, but its easy to look good at the end when teams have little to play for, we need players to play well up into March and April when we are playing back to back League, F.A cup and Champions League deciders, i know you look Theo and i hope your right about him, and he has improved but i just dont think hes an automatic starter.
Everytime I’ve seen him play well, its when hes come off the bench other than Birmingham away, when he starts he just doesn’t do it, maybe he will prove me wrong this season;.
Looks like none of the Ajax fans stayed behind to watch van Persie collect the trophy:).
does anybody know how inter ajax played?
@ austriangooner
they played POOR!!!
yes but what was or is the score???
inter-ajax game was awful m8. Most of the fans were sleeping, Wenger and RVP were shown YAWNING, hell, even martin tyler was asleep! His voice trailed off for the longest while. Or maybe it was coz i myself fell asleep.
1-0 to inter
yep our first title…. hope many will follow
The jury is still out on clueless armchair fans saying the jury is still out!
Cracks me up, people passing judgement on Theo.
Basing it on a 2nd half performance in PRE-SEASON.
You want that clueless clown Eboue in there?
UKMIKES;
Jesus fella! The end of last season, the 2nd half of last season, I didnt effin mean 3 games.
Fuck me!
The oracle;
Sorry, no offence and all that, but you are talking crap. Stating vela is ahead of theo based on pre-season.
get over your self chap
man we need one more defensive tough midfielder, and fran merida needs to stay this year, to play when fabregas can not. man we need to avoid injuries in any position, otherwise we’ro doomed.
CHAMPIONS!!
gunna4lyf, whenever Cesc doesnt play, Nasri will thru the middle. thats the 2nd choice AM
Like i said before, media always before the season that we are in crisis. Dont get brainwashed
We won the cup with our youngsters and am very pleased
http://theworldsmostbeautifulgame.wordpress.com
Dwayne Dibbly, I can’t see how it’s wrong to say that Theo still has to prove his worth considering he was a squad player last season. Theo floats in and out of individual games, now he’s gonna have to do a job on a consistent basis every week for the whole game. He gets into good positions but he needs to get the final ball right, although that should come after a few competitive games.
Oh and I would think pre-season is pretty important for players wanting to get into the first team like Vela and Theo. If you’re not gonna base your first XI on that, then what the hell are you gonna base it on?
I dont give a shite what the media/pundits/Ray Wilkins, Ian ‘ex-legend’ Wright says, I just want us to be strong in all departments and we aint strong enough in one major area.
But, hopefully we will sign someone.