After this past week with the senior side’s travails against Tottenham, it’s really refreshing to watch the Under 18’s play. While it’s certainly important to the lads and to Arsenal as well, as a spectator of the match, it’s nice to see a bit more fun in the football than often times happens the farther up the footballing ladder one goes.
Well, what can one say about the match against Charlton? A bit like herding cats, at times. It’s not always easy or a pretty sight, but eventually they all start going in the same direction. For the uninitiated, Under 18’s is quite a bit off the pace of a senior side match and the players are frequently chasing the game, so to speak. The matches present less collective football than individual performances, but that’s really part of the fun. Over time those individual performances are melded together into a cohesive football team, and that’s the task for Steve Bould’s lads.
Luke Freeman had himself a nice, if somewhat selfish first half. A couple left-footers goalwards from outside the box challenged the Charlton ‘keeper. Good control of the ball and some nifty shouldering off of defenders, but he had a couple opportunities to distribute that weren’t taken.
Sean McDermott in goal for the Arsenal side showed some very nice reflexes and an aggressiveness that didn’t border on reckless. Coming out to challenge a few Charlton attackers, he managed to close down well with blocks or disrupt possession altogether. Unfortunately, some shoddy defending led to Charlton taking the lead in the first half.
At the half, I found myself sitting here and thinking “hmmm…meh…not a great half of football. A couple moments stand out, but there are 11 players on the pitch for Arsenal, not one team.” Funnily enough, Bouldy’s post-match interview went like this – “I cannot repeat everything I told the lads at the half, but I did tell them to stop showing off! They had to come out and be more collective, play for the team.” In case you’re wondering, no I am not Steve Bould in disguise.
The second half was decidedly better for the young Gunners.
Some excellent defensive work by Sead Hajrovic and Jernade Meade put a halt to some attacking gumption by the Charlton youth. Hajrovic put in some nice sliding tackles and Meade was top man in snuffing out the offensive efforts on a number of occasions with excellent closing down of possession.
Benik Afobe pulled Arsenal level with a most excellent header on 73 minutes. Roarie Deacon provided the superb cross from right to left into the box that allowed Afobe to soar above the defenders and put the goal away back across the oncoming Charlton ‘keeper.
I’m rapidly becoming a fan of Zak Ansah. He’s just got something about him. Coming on at close to the 80 minute mark, he immediately made his presence felt. Arsenal won possession just to the Arsenal side of midfield, the attack went through Oguzhan Ozyakup centrally, who then hit Afobe out wide right. Afobe let go with a blast that the Charlton net minder blocked to just in front of him and Ansah was Johnny-on-the-spot for the follow up goal. It was a very nice possession from the Arsenal youth side, with two crisp passes from midfield to the wide area before Afobe let loose and Ansah cleaned up for the match winning goal.
If you haven’t been watching the Arsenal youth match highlights on ATVO, I highly recommend you start. Again, it’s not the finished product, but you’ll see some fun football and get a glimpse of what Jamie’s been keeping us all up to date on with his regular reporting on the youth players. Arsenal took care of Charlton, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable display to take in.
manone was far better earlier this year when he was in the first than fabianski. WHere deos the first team get so careless goalkeepers.
When wil AW realize that Fabianski is as poor as his spaniard team mate. Mannone is better than those 2 low-self confidence clown. We desperately need to buy a better GK in the transfer window if we want to win something next year..
A new goalie, and I even think we should start fresh with the entire defence, less Gallas and TV. We are so average its a joke.
Poor, Poor team.
I agree, today was painfully poor. As much as a love Arsene and his youth policy he need to spend in the summer. We cant keep waiting for the youngsters to show up. Those who are the real deal, of Arsenal material, will make it here even if we buy some established players.
We cant stick with Almunia while waiting for Szczesny to mature, if he becomes the keeper he looks the become he will eventualy get the number one shirt whoever we buy.
I just hope Wenger spends on a worldclass keeper, one or two central defenders, depending on who leaves in the summer. We also need another defensive midfielder to compliment Song and add som muscle to our midfield. I also wouldnt mind a actual winger. I also wouldnt mind another striker, if Chamakh is done, then great.
I know it sounds like alot but im just so sick of these avrage preformances. Im a firm beliver in the youth policy but we got to find something in between. Barcelona is a great example.
why doesnt wenger give vela a chance i havent seen him play as a first 11 or sub in a loooong time…
I agree!!! Why didn’t Vela get to play this season!! Walcott was given chance after chance!!!!!!!!
ATVO doesn’t seem to work on my mac, so I watch what I can on youtube, but there’s only a few matches. Is there an alternative place to watch the highlights?
(I’ve tried installing windows media player, arsenaltv just keeps telling me I need to install it)
mate u can watch all arsenal goals highlights etc.. here
http://arsenalist.com/
mate u can view arsenal highlights here
http://arsenalist.com/
nice to see conor henderson on the bench yesterday but arsenal were very very poor
they should have closed the game out earlier
but arsenal real need to get a good kepper
i heard they were going to bid 8m for joe hart and were also intrested in robert green
1 of the will be good signings
you cannot play nasri, rosicky and diaby in the same team, they are all players who likes to do nice turns and run with the ball from deep. Bentner looked helpless today because he had no centre striker partner. the full backs defending today was awfull and in ben watson’s goal no one went with him. I think arsene needs to increase the intensity at which they practise defending in training and thats if they practise defending at all. there doesn’t seem to be that friendly light hearted atmosphere within the squad no more like when hleb, flamini and gilberto was there in the 07/08. watching one of the season review dvds of that year, it looked as if the whole team enjoyed playing football as a team, which ultimately tranfered into how they performed that season up until eduardo’s injury
I heard that as well James;
Joe Hart would be ideal I think… I heard Man City wanna get Buffon and with Shay Given there already, Joe aint gonna wanna play third fiddle when he’s been playing really well at first team level all season is he…
Gotta add, Chesney has apparently been playing really well for brentford, and although the one game I did actually see him play against West Brom this year, he looks really good but we cant just wait for him to develop as our number 1…
Oh yeah, a little while back I put up a post which asked “In any of the games that Fabianski has played for Arsenal this year, whether it be at first team or reserve level, has Arsenal even won a game?” lmao I pretty much got crucified by a bunch of people who would still have have faith in Pascal Cygan if he was here… So can we all now agree, Fabianski is CRAP and he needs to go!?
Agree………….!!!!!
I feel that I should apologise to Mike Urbanski for the previous post and for this one as it has little to do with the under 18’s which he has just reported on… with due respect, Arsenal have not won anything for a fifth season; and for all the doom and gloomers out there, I read somewhere earlier that it took Herbert Chapman about six years before even he even won anything at all and the man is a hall of famer…
Although I don’t agree with everything Arsene says (ie. Fabianksi being a great keeper), I think it would be a catastrophic for the club if he doesn’t renew his contract after 2011… I’m proud to be a supporter of Arsenal, with its great new stadium, the way we play and the youth setup (and giving them a chance in the first team).
I must admit, that I know little of the under 18’s, apart from the when you hear the obvious names like, Luke Freeman and Benik Afobe; but that’d be by reputation alone from what I hear on here. However, last years winners with the obvious talents such as JET, Wilshere, Lansbury etc, we have a seriously bright future…
Success often comes around the corner from when you are ready to quit and I for one would be gutted, if those that have given up on Arsene’s way of thinking already, vent their feelings to the team in a way which make Wenger decide to quit his position as manager and the youth setup gets scrapped.
I said it for this season and I’ll say it again for next; keep the faith! If we don’t win anything next year, then I may be tempted to bow my head and admit that it’s taking longer than I thought, but I’ll never join the pessimists and believe we wont win anything again under Wenger…
Though it was hard to take, the defeat to Spurs on Wednesday ended the title race for us. Yes Chelsea lost there to, but as United picked up 3 points it was still a very long shot. So yesterdays defeat for me was more ‘the rubbing of salt’ in the previous results wounds rather than the game that ended our season. And my god what a nasty way to rub salt – what a painful way to fade out of a season which though never had strong title hopes after initial defeats to Chelsea and United in 2009, still carried a dream of Champions league victory, and the potential of a super come back title race to pip the lead in the closing weeks. How quickly things can change – does each season seem to be the same story, pundits write us off at the start, we produce some great football at times with new found hope, we loose out in the domestic cups as Wenger priorities in bigger glory, we enter the last leg of the season, when injuries expose the lack of squad depth, and our hunger and experience to beat the very top teams….so all lights out as the seasons end without glory or success, while Wenger and co cling to the claim of youth and improvement for next season – surely this ongoing merry-go-round will loose its following one day, surely soon the fans will no longer except improvement, surely soon they will demand trophies and nothing less?
Credit to Wenger’s policy and morals – however since his double winning teams, prior to the invinsibles, the standards have risen beyond what Wengers CURRENT plans can reach. Not only do teams spend £100m+ per season just to reach the top four, but also scouting across all the premier league has improved, so now its not just Wenger who knows the best talent to pick around the world, the likes of Chelsea, City, United, Spurs, have insight to what initially seemed to be a Wenger only little black book back in the 90’s.
So what next? Certainly only a fool or narrow minded pundit or fan would look beyond Wenger for success at this time. What do these idiots think – if Wenger goes the next manager will buy Messi and Torres and we will win everything! Do they not see the likes of Benitez, Scolari, Ramous, and countless other managers who come with great respect and reputation fail to deliver…there is not a pot of top class managers waiting abroad who are automatically going to bring success. We should let Liverpool, Chelsea, City and Spurs play that game, and come to think about it Man United will soon have to when Fergie leaves. Instead lets back Wenger in his final years, which one would guess until maybe 2013 or 2014, and then seek someone who can continue his good work (but thats a discussion for another day).
Football in this country, and in fact the rest of the world maybe first, will not always be able to support the millions it does now, like all rapid growth industires, economies, and products there will be a down turn, there will be dips and there may even be crashes!!! When this happens, and it is already showing strong signs of doing so now, we will be greatful of the aray of talent, youth, policies, and the stadium in place from the period of Wenger.
So what do we do in the meantime – how do we take the team that stage further?
This is the big question Wenger has had on his mind for sometime now. He could, and if luck would have shone a bite brighter our way at times, he would have been able to ignore such a question with a trophy of two. But it didn’t, and now Wenger must answer this question – he must take action, and if he can turn Arsenal back into a title winning team, which will be his 3rd team/era at Arsenal to have done so, then what a man, what a legend.
We all know, debate, and see the issues at hand. Whether that be better players in the first xi, such as a keeper, a stronger squad, more experience and strength, better defending as a team, and greater fight and determination for 90mins week in week out.
All of which CAN be improved with the right Manager and funds – both we have, so lets ensure they get it right for next season, otherwise for me Arsene though amazing he has been, will fade out of an era which will be graced with so much “what if’s” and “nearly’s” rather than successes.
I Agree.
Next season I can’t make any excuses for Arsenal for not winning a trophy. With Van Persie, Fabregas, Arshavin etc all back from injury, plus all of the young players building from the experience of this seasons and the one before, new players such as Chamakh (and possibly Joe Hart and maybe a top draw centre half to partner Vermaelen if Gallas leaves)… I don’t think we can possibly be as unlucky with injuries this year and so we should mount a very serious title challenege and have another go at the likes of Barca in the Champions League as well.
Is it just bad luck with injuries, don’t forget this is about the 3rd/4th season on the trot that AFC have suffered too many injuries. Change the physio, fitness coach or medical staff ????
Is there any truth in the rumours that merida has joined athletico madrid. I hope not becoz he was certainly close to the first team. Made a cameo at dw and looked better than denilson and rosicky. I hope its just a rumour.
As he hasn’t signed a contract with AFC after all this time, it looks like the rumours may be right.
I have a feeling Vela will hand in a transfer request because of lack of playing tim, why doesnt wenger just give him th starting role for the last 3 games, also Eduardo could be on his way to Lyon for 8 million. If I was Wenger I would add 2 top strikers, chamakh(which is very likely) but also Luis Suarez.Suarez is the Ajax captain and is top scorer in the Dutch league plus he is going for the golden boat. A good goalie is needed(I would be extremely pleased with Joe Hart), and a top centre half Gary Cahill is now being linked with Arsenal.I am sick of watching Tomas Rosickys poor diplays he either performs better or Wenger should show him the door. All these signing would make a huge difference but I know myself it will be a good centre half and Chamakh and no more I think Wenger is going to stand by Fabianski and Almunia unfortunately.
I quite like Cahill as well… and with Owen Coyle saying he’d like to take on Arsenal youth players when he see’s one he feels could help his team and that he wants Jack Wilshere for another year, it could well happen!
I do rate Almunia as a good GK by the way, but not the best… he’s very brave and If he ever has to come out and kick the ball away it often goes to an Arsenal player… the only things I would mark him down for is his reactions (although very good against Barcelona) and decision making. I hope Almunia is there next year, and if Joe Hart does come in then it’ll be good competition for them both to hold the number 1 spot.
As for Fabianski… lol… it doesn’t even bare thinking about.
Mannone and Sczeszney are good prospects however I’d be more excited by the latter.
i hope wenger will sign either frey,buffon or hart for keeper…i prefer the keeper that AW signed will be quite grown keeper such as frey from fiorentina and buffon from juve…as you see..arsenal got a few good young keepers(exclude fabianski)…if sign another young keeper like hart…then there will be all stack up together…besides…micah richards and gary cahill will be fit in our defense system…as silvestre should leave the team and one of the signing will be starting with tv5 with gallas campbell be the sub and djourou gaining experience…another anchorman in the midfield would be perfect for arsenal…felipe melo would be the top in aw ‘s list…chamakh wiill be a great signing and improve our already “okay” firepower…loaning eduardo away will help him to gain confidence back…the front court of arsenal seems okay for ma…
P.S.Wenger pls sell almunia and fabianski…
OMG look at this last save of the game by Szczesny http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8628507.stm
I don’t know about you lot but yesterday’s defeat was the most painful defeat all season for me. I can’t, for the life of me, understand what Wenger thinks sometimes. He did exactly what he did when we threw away the lead at West Ham earlier this season. Take a comfortable lead but when the other team raises their spirits after a half-time team-talk or feed off the energy of the crowd (like what happened yesterday) Wenger has no clue what to do as far as subs go. The boy Eastmond, yesterday showed how you should play for this club. He has heart and some fucking testosterone (sp?). I hate seeing Diaby flounder around the pitch half-heartedly like he hasn’t got a care in the world. When he gets the ball he is very sloppy in possession and often plays the wrong pass (don’t know why AW is still wondering why we’re so poor in retaining possession – it’s clear to see, mind you, Abou isn’t the only culprit).
Myles Palmer is an old twat who doesn’t even support Arsenal but he hit the nail on the head yesterday when he said Wenger makes reactive subs and not proactive ones. He should have done a straight swap with RVP and Nik at around 60-65 and never taken Walcott off. He was our outlet and although (like Diaby) he has poor decision making, his pace puts the shits up any team he comes up against and he can hurt any team at any time. Rosicky tired so he replaced him with Fran, who’s leaving the club and is a CM/AM and not a left winger. Tomas should have come off for Vela who would have put the shits up Wigan down the left while theo did it down the right. Carlos also knows how to track back and help out his LB, so there would have been no problems there. This would have instantly taken the initiative away from Wigan which they had clearly built up. Eastmond shielded the defence for the whole game and helped Clichy deal with the one guy who could really damage us, N’Zogbia. Using his brain and often keeping the Wigan winger on his ineffective right foot – something Denilson or Diaby don’t have a clue how to do. Then Craig comes off and surprise, surprise, N’Zogbia cuts onto his left foot for the first time in the game on the edge of the box, under no pressure and scores a beautiful goal.
Diaby looked knackered and it’s a shame there was no viable option on the bench to replace him. Coquelin should have been on the bench ahead of Henderson. He could have come on and hassled and harried along with Eastmond in the centre of the park. Abou was poor and i swear, this is no knee-jerk reaction or nothing, but i don’t mind if he’s sold in the summer. What people need to realise is that despite being a top athlete, if your brain doesn’t work quick enough then you can’t play in CM for a top, top club. He’ll be good for a Sunderland or something but not for an Arsenal.
Yesterday we were linked to two players who i would love Arsenal to acquire in the summer. Joe Hart (who is England’s best ‘keeper right now IMHO and much better than the dodgy Green – Joe Hart is also supposed to be a die-hard Gooner and has A LOT of self-confidence – something every top ‘keeper needs) and Gary Cahill, who is big, imposing, tough, smart, quick and he can also play ball. Add to that Chamakh, then there’s three very good acquisitions for about £20-25m depending on how inflated the market is at the time. I reckon a few players will leave this summer. It’s possible that we could have a mini-clear-out even. The futures of people like Eduardo, Almunia, Fabianski, Denilson, Gallas, Silvestre, Campbell, Randall, Merida, Vela have question marks by them. Some with bigger question marks than others. I reckon Sol will be rewarded with another year though as he’s the only one out of that bunch along with Gallas (who i believe is refusing to sign a new deal) who always performs well when relied upon. If it was up to me, i would retain Vela and Campbell, and try to keep Billy Gallas too but if he won’t sign, then that’s that.
I believe Wenger should really go for Jack Rodwell too. This kid is still a teenager. I’ve seen him play in central defence, as a holding midfielder and a box-to-box midfielder too. He has always impressed me – bar once. The England under 21’s last game was a 2-1 defeat against Greece where Rodwell played CM and had a very poor game (so did everyone else, and young JW was their best player on the day) and i remember thinking, man, i’m shocked Rodwell is actually having a poor game. He might cost up to £20-25m but i say go for it because this kid will be chased by every single top club in the world someday, he’s that good.
We could have this next season and i, for one, would be more than happy:
GK’s: Hart, Mannone, (tech 9 out on loan at Championship club), may have to buy an experienced journeyman who’s happy to be third choice (that’s what Almunia should have always been by the way, nothing more, nothing less)
Defenders: Vermaelen, Sol, Cahill, Djourou, Clichy, Gibbs, Sagna, Eboue, (Rodwell and Song in cases of emergency), Bartley on loan at Prem club preferably but if not, then Championship (and he really needs to have a recall option in case defensive casualties reach desperation levels – just like Danny Rose who was recalled from his loan spell after ‘Arry realised Lennon is fucked and is now a fucking hero in that half of North London)
Midfielders: Cesc, Song, Rodwell, Rosicky, Eastmond, Wilshere, JET, Lansbury, Coquelin, Ramsey, Nasri (keep them all here but send Coquelin, JET and Lansbury out on loan if they ain’t getting any game-time at all)
Forwards: RVP, Chamakh, Vela, Theo, Nik, Welington (from January onwards), Watt, Sunu and Simpson should all go out on loan
That means four ins (Hart, Cahill, Rodwell, Chamakh) who could cost around £40-50m but we could easily receive about £25-30m (maybe even more) on Merida (comp), Randall, Eduardo, Denilson, Diaby, Almunia and Fabianski, who i feel will never make the grade here.
That’s just my two pence. I ain’t playing FM, just stating something that’s very possible and something i would like to see. It’s still quite a young squad but one i know, for sure, will give absolutely everything in every game and are tried and tested and have come through those tests – AND are good enough to represent this great football club. Some first team members right now are defintely not. Any constructive arguments are more than welcome.
To be honest I could not agree more when you talk about Eastmond’s desire compared to the other players. I think it was the first or second goal but when Arsenal lost possession, Rosicky was walking slower than my grandad and Diaby and Nasri were just jogging – this led to one of their goals, or indeed a chance that led to a goal. Eastmond was the only player who looked like they had the determination to track back and help the back four. Another thing that worries me is communication. When I watched Match Of The Day yesterday, Lee Dixon picked up on two things which were very true. When our midfielders actually close down opponents, they all surround the same player AT THE SAME TIME, leaving Eastmond on his own to defend against the other 2 or 3 midfielders who had miles of open space. Furthermore, if you saw N’Zogbia’s goal, somehow Clichy got in Silvestre’s way, and Silvestre got in Campbell’s way. They were all aligned in a straight vertical line pointing north, they were pretty much in a shopping queue, how the fuck are you meant to defend like that!? Not only did they just get in each other’s way, but none of them even attempted to stick a foot in. And although it was a pretty prolific finish, Fabianski’s idleness in goal did not help the cause either.
Your squad for next season looks pretty decent but I think especially in central midfield there isn’t enough cover as you would prefer to sell Diaby and Denilson, yet you have only mentioned Rodwell as someone you would bring in. I am a keen admirer of Jack as well but unless Lansbury and JET somehow become good enough to deputise for Arsenal, which I think will happen in 1 or 2 years and not anytime short term, then you are still leaving the midfield exposed to lack of depth. I think Diaby and Denilson are average players and if you combine their individual skills together you would have one top midfielder, but as two individuals they lack the Arsenal calibre. Diaby is a strong dribbler who is our only 6 foot powerhouse and he is decent in the air and good at 1-on-1 finishing. However he cannot pass for shit and doesn’t defend at all (when he does he seems to just injure players). On the other hand, whilst Denilson isn’t good at anything Diaby is, he is assured in possession and can easily pick out a pass. However once again either players close down oppositions quick enough and they are far too inconsistent. In my opinion, Wenger should only get rid of them if he has a world class replacement in line and if Lansbury and JET are good enough to cover them before Ramsey returns. The one thing that I admire of Lansbury is that he looks like he wants to work hard for the team – not just for his weekly salary. That is one thing you cannot buy and can only acquire from the youth system – raw, pure committment and determination to work for the ball.
My perfect, but reasonable squad for next season would look something like this:
GK: Hart, Almunia and Mannone.
That means forcing Almunia to be our #13 whilst Hart takes over the #1 jersey. Hart would be very achieveable as I don’t see him wanting to sit on the bench and in fact I know he doesn’t because I’ve heard him say so. I would send Szczesney out on loan, hopefully to a Premier League side, whilst if Fabianski is sold or loaned, I don’t give a shit, as long as he isn’t with Arsenal.
Defence: Sagna, Eboue, Vermaelen, Djourou, Cahill, Campbell, Clichy, Gibbs, Traore.
I think this would ensure four CBs who are more than able to play week in week out (ability wise, obviously Sol can’t for fitness reasons). As for our reserve defenders, Nordtveit would have to impress in pre-season if he wants to be in the 1st team squad and I would send Bartley on loan to a decent squad with a recall option too. Stefan Savic wouldn’t be a bad acquisition either but I’ve never seen him play, but if he’s good enough to earn a trial with the 1st team then he must be decent.
Midfield: Fabregas, Rosicky, Nasri, Ramsey, Song, Wilshere, Lansbury, JET.
I would add two or three midfielders, depending on how well Lansbury and JET perform with the 1st team. I have no idea who I would like to buy but I’m certain midfield reinforcements are definitely required. We’ve been linked to Felipe Melo and Blaise Matuidi so they could be possibilities.
Forward: van Persie, Vela, Walcott, Bendtner, Chamakh.
Eduardo just doesn’t look the same to be honest and he doesn’t look confident anywhere in the team. I would probably sell Simpson and loan Watt and Sunu. We still need another striker even if we buy Chamakh to be honest because with our luck with injuries, anything can happen.
Like TJ I am not pretending to be player any football management games and because I don’t have the knowledge of world football, I ain’t even going to pretend I’ve seen Melo, Chamakh, Matuidi, etc. play and pretend I think they’re good enough. I just wanted to point out where we are lacking and where we need to strengthen.
TJ and Tony,
interestingly enough, both of you forgot to name a certain forward: Arshavin.
Diaby did have a bad game yesterday, that’s a fact. But I don’t want him to be sold, because he was very good this season, and his improvement is immense, so we should expect him to be better. This is one of the problems with Wenger. For instance, Senderos, Denilson, DIaby, Song were allowed to improve game after game on behalf of our other players. I mean they were making critical mistakes regularly but weren’t sent on loan. If we look closely we sold Toure, Adebayor, Hleb, Flamini who are top-class players who haven’t won anything in their time here, so Wenger isn’t such a magician after all. We all know (we who follow youngguns) how much young players we buy, and it’s pretty darn obvious we will have someone like Fabregas every decade. Obviously Wenger reaaaally liked the hype around him when Fabregas started to play like a true world-class players, so he went on and bought 5,6 players that don’t wort shit. Besides Jeffers who is probably one of the biggest flops in british football, he bought Senderos, Almunia, Fabianski, Denilson, Silvestre, Cygan and many more weren’t good enough for Hull F.C.
The problem with Wenger is his stuborness. He’ll play Denilson forever, he’ll play SIlvestre and Almunia, and we all know that these players make more errors than others combined.
This summer Wenger will swallow his pride and buy 4,5 players, and making us Chelsea for one summer.
I would definitely sell Denilson (hate him), Silvestre (hate him even more), Eduardo (bad luck bud we have to move on), Almunia (no comment), Fabianski (shite), Senderos (needles saying anything), Arshavin (isn’t interested in playing for Arsenal anymore it seems), and a few of our young players like Simpson, Nordtveit, Watt, Randall and Merida. Send Vela, JET and Mannone on loan with a view to draw him back at any time. Make Szczesny our first goalkeeper, and buy some journeyman goalkeeper like Manninger. Put Wilshere on with the first team.
Definitely don’t buy Marouane Chamakh cause he’s not good enough for Arsenal. I would buy Falcao of Porto (they won’t play Champions League next season), or Lisandro of Lyon if possible in a swap deal with Eduardo. Buy Gary Cahill from Bolton or Hangeland from Fulham and some young winger like Hazard. Also sell Walcott :=)
Haha, the funny thing is when i listed all those players i knew i forgot somebody and just couldn’t remember who. Arshavin! Of course, how i could i forget. I would sell him. I’m strongly against the grain of what many Gooners go by when it comes to him. They love him, i hate him. Can’t stand him. Brilliant talent but he isn’t here for Arsenal football club. Only for himself, has poor work-rate and isn’t on the same wave-length as anybody else. Has a poor attitude and talks too much shit often destroying the squad’s self-belief (we can’t see it, but i can assure you, it happens). I have released a couple of young boys from my football team because they did pretty much the same thing. It’s so counter-productive and i hate it. I’d sell him and bring in another £15m+.
Wouldn’t sell Walcott….his dribbling and first touch has evidently improved over the past couple of months and if he could improve it further (which he will) along with his decision-making (which he will), he will be a superstar.
I’ve watched Chamakh play on a few occasions now and i reckon he will be a huge acquisition to us. He’s an intelligent player with very good technique and link-up play. Makes very good runs off the ball, very mobile. Physically sound and will help out a lot on offensive and defensive set-pieces along with scoring and making a few goals. Him and RVP will terrorise every single defence they go up against next season.
Apparently Laporta had a meeting with Cesc about a move. I think we should forget about signing players at the moment and aim to keep our good players. Also some people are being very harsh on Diaby, he is a top player but maybe just needs a rest.
Tony – Thanks for the post. Interesting. I liked this part which brings me Wenger’s ultimate flaw:
“When our midfielders actually close down opponents, they all surround the same player AT THE SAME TIME, leaving Eastmond on his own to defend against the other 2 or 3 midfielders who had miles of open space. Furthermore, if you saw N’Zogbia’s goal, somehow Clichy got in Silvestre’s way, and Silvestre got in Campbell’s way. They were all aligned in a straight vertical line pointing north, they were pretty much in a shopping queue, how the fuck are you meant to defend like that!? Not only did they just get in each other’s way, but none of them even attempted to stick a foot in.”
This is a classic case of ‘Non-defensive-training-itis’. :)
All jokes aside mate, We are probably the worst defensive (as a team) side in the league. There seriously is no communication between them. No double-ups, no hunting in packs. Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing! I saw Nani track back and help Neville double up on an opponent a couple of weeks ago and thought to myself, that’s been brought into this twats game. The Mancs have trained him to do that. If AW thinks that we can win this league by just playing pretty passing football and not do dirty mucking in work then he really has lost it like some blogs will have you believe. It’s beyond ridiculous.
As for the lack of depth in midfield. I really believe JET, Coquelin or Lansbury will do a good job if ever called upon. The thing about people like JET, Eastmond, Lansbury, Watt, Ayling, Wilshere and Simpson is that they have grown up in this club. They have found manhood within the confines of Hale End, Shenley and Colney and have grown together as one big family. You could say they have ‘Arsenal DNA’ flowing through their bodies. They fight for one another, work for one another, defend for one another. Last season’s Youth Cup triumph exemplified this. They fight for the cause! That’s what’s required. Barcelona don’t just play pretty football. They work as a unit in everything they do. Their fans must be so proud seeing local boys sweep all before them. A bit like how i felt watching those lads land the youth ‘double’ last season (but on a much smaller scale obviously).
Those kids like Lansbury, JET, etc, grew up collecting football stickers and dreaming of playing for AFC someday (i swear, that’s all i ever wanted to do when i was a young boy). It’s like if i was thrown into the mix for Arsenal now, i would run my fucking lungs out for the cause. These kids will do the same thing. You ask any old-school 50 year old Arsenal fan going week-in, week-out to the Grove and before that, for decades, going to Highbury, how they feel about people like Diaby and Denilson lumbering around our midfield. They will be disgusted. That’s where the hatred comes from. These Arsenal players are getting paid very handsomely to do something the majority of us will seriously do for free and they clearly don’t care. Otherwise their persona and work-rate on the field will clearly prove this. Sometimes it’s better to just throw a youth product like Eastmond into the mix who bloody well cares rather than splash out on a slow, lumbering, weak Brazilian for about £3m who, as Le Grove have quite rightly recognised got outpaced by the referee while ‘tracking back’ while we got hit on the counter-attack resulting in yet another goal being conceded (i know, it sounds too ridiculous to be true). Coquelin didn’t grow up in our academy but he is a warrior. He will endear himself to the faithful, much like Flamini did because he’s a fighter. He works his bollocks off.
As for Matuidi or Melo. I’ve never seen Matuidi play but i hear good things. You can never tell how he’ll adapt to playing in the PL though. The same goes for Melo although i’ve actually seen him play. He’s like denilson but taller and wider. Faster, much stronger, good in the air, better range of passing and better and more aggressive tackling. He’s a tenacious midfielder with a good engine on him and although he’s predominantly a defensive one, he can get forward and nick a goal. Also, has a good shot on him like Denilson. I reckon he’ll be a good signing but you never know. Plus he’ll cost a few bob. I hear he’s been a flop at Juve this season though.
From what you have just told me, Melo is probably the perfect player to partner Fabregas and Song next season, and it’s been proven, not rumoured, that Wenger wants him as I’m certain we had a bid turned down last summer because Fiorentina wanted Eboue in exchange. I completely agree with you when you say the youngsters will work hard and it’s true that they’ll do the sticking in. What I’m worried about is inexperience and inconsistency. Loan moves can bring a lot of experience to someone’s game but filling in at Arsenal and being tasked with providing adequate cover is totally different to playing at Watford or Doncaster. And the one thing that you see a lot in football is young players playing other players off the pitch – but that I mean completely outshine everyone else – but then at one vital point in the game they give away a cheap penalty or make a costly mistake which is only down to lack of experience. But yes, you’re right, I’d rather see these young stars work hard for the ball because they have the passion for the team rather than the likes of Denilson. Oh, and by the way, I think we paid £6-7m for him.
Instead of Melo,who i think is a very good player,i would rathjer Arsenal go for Maroune Fellini(not sure i got his name ryt) the Everton guy,the guy is exactly what we need to fight in the middle with song and cesc.In the attack,i will definatly buy Carlton cole because i belive he is almost there.He has Drogba’s physical presence and his quite skillfull and also young.Both of this player hav also played and excelled for average english teams.
I hope to this 2 we can add Hazard cos we need a real winger,a young but very good right back,use Arsene’s french connection to get mexes.With these players,we will just be fine.I wont mind the sale of eduardo,Denilson and the release of sylvestre.
I also think the critisicim of diaby i smostly Harsh…i no he lets us down sometime bu tlook at the player,we have a real world beater on our hands…i strongly beliv he will come better next season.
And y do u tink we will buy a keeper,dint we just buy Martinez???everybody seems to have forgotten the guy.I dont tink wenger will make any rash decision in the goal keeping dept.I wish we can get a world class keeper but i just dont see wenger doing it.I od belive he need to loan Fabianski and and cech9 out tho.
Well you say a young right back but Mexes is 28. I heard we’re in the run for Cardiff’s Adam Matthew who is only 18 and I wouldn’t mind a teenager with such a reputation to deputise for Sagna. After all, Sagna is rarely injured and is usually rested. If a game might be deemed to big for a teenage right back then Eboue can always be on hand. Also, isn’t Martinez 17 or 18 when he’s joining us? We should definitely get Joe Hart as he’s young, but experienced, proven in the Premier League and he’s English (just to quiten the anti-Arsenal brigade for now).
Hey J is merida out?
Well,we need to reinforce our sqquad by bringing new key players like ones our manager trying take an example of luis suarez,hazard,manuel neuer…list continues?