Arsenal fly back from their Austrian base today following nine days of intensive training ahead of the new season. The camp is traditionally where Arsène Wenger begins to mould his first-team squad, and as usual he took a selection of the club’s most promising youngsters.
Wenger will now make plans ahead of the Emirates Cup, but what does the future hold for those who were handed chances to become first-team players? Jack Wilshere, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Havard Nordtveit, Henri Lansbury, Emmanuel Frimpong, Craig Eastmond and Conor Henderson are all awaiting their fate, but who are the real winners from Austria 2010 and positives can they take from their experiences?
The Positive
Jack Wilshere is the big name youngster of the bunch and he is all but certain to begin the season in Wenger’s first-team. He shone against Barnet and was one of the few players who stood out in all of Arsenal’s games in Austria. He appears to be taller, stronger and full of energy.
Elsewhere, Havard Nordtveit and Emmanuel Frimpong are the other big winners. The duo featured prominently and although they both had one poor game each, star performances against Sturm Graz (Nordtveit) and SC Neusiedl 1919 (Frimpong) left the feeling that they’re genuinely ready to compete. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was typically mixed, as he looked hugely impressive from the bench against Graz but wasn’t really at the races against Neusiedl. That said, he did score against the latter, leaving a firm impression he could be a useful forward option.
The Negative
It’s certainly cut throat being with the first-team. The training is harder and it’s made even more difficult for those with young legs. Conor Henderson and Craig Eastmond were both left exhausted and carrying knocks after their first experience of Austria. Henderson didn’t feature at all while Eastmond played second fiddle as Frimpong looked to have jumped the queue in the race to be Alexandre Song’s back up.
Henri Lansbury’s chances to impress and take a first-team role in the absence of Aaron Ramsey were dealt a blow as he too bowed out early with an injury. It leaves pretty much everybody in this category looking at loan football instead of a place in the squad. Lansbury could still turn it around if he can shake off his injury before the Emirates Cup.
So overall it proved to be another great work out. Wilshere, Nordtveit and Frimpong are the clear winners with impressive performances in areas that most fans agree need strengthening. Lansbury and Emmanuel-Thomas still need to do a bit more to press their cause while Henderson and Eastmond look destined for the loan market.
Has Henderson decided whether he will play for England or Ireland?
Declaring a young players whom their body can’t cope YET with pre season workout negative is just ludicrous, Wenger is more likely to assess them on their technical work training or game 1sts before physical performances comes into it.
Frimpong hasn’t shown anything we don’t already know [physical beast specimen no doubt] but will his ball manipulation, passing, vision & intelligence ever match his physical prowess. History shows injury has a funny way helping youngsters breakthru in our 1st team, so non of them can rest on their laurels, if opportunity comes they must grab it with both hands.
Wilshere is a phenomenal talent. He really is!
Aside from the usual facets of technical excellence, vision, dribbling etc etc the 2 most impressive things about him are his composure and efficiency – everything he does has a purpose and a goal behind it, he lacks the usual naievity that comes at his young age. I can’t wait to see how he’ll develop.
I am so scared for wilshere
every great technical player in England gets so many stupid tackles that they are plagued with injury all their footballing career
@Andrew – Henry, Bergkamp, Ronaldo, Rooney, Ljungberg, Gerrard, Lampard, etc. have all had pretty good injury records (well, Ljungberg was injured a lot during his last season but I’d chalk that down to age). Even Pires really only missed significant time with that one cruciate ligament injury.
I would say it’s true that Premier League footballers suffer more injuries from bad tackles, but a lot of the players you think of as injury-prone – Owen, Rosicky, van Persie, etc. – get a lot of injuries that have nothing to do with bad tackles. Think of Owen’s knee injury at WC2006 where there were no players within 10 feet of him, or Rosicky’s muscular problem that kept him out for more than a year.
Thanks for summary and great work J, Totally agree except for Jay Emmanuel -Thomas is truly needed in the first team and worked great with Nasri and Wilshire. Also really liked to see Henri Lansbury giving a go @ right-back I guess the professor obviously has different idea’s as always! Great experience for Nordtveit the back four all look very calm maybe too calm? Can’t wait to watch the Emirates Cup have to record it though going on family vacation wish to London but someday soon! All AFC Young Gunners bloggers enjoy! Peace
MattMQ, don’t you mean right midfield? Henri’s obviously an attacking player, not any sort of defender.
I realy had big hopes 4 eastmond considering his perfomances last season. I hope he gets another chance. This Havard guy, isnt he suposdta b a cb? We are realy thin there when compared to the RB Position. Consider the fact tht JD is already injured. Wht do thînk J?
We’re thin at CB but until the Neuseidl game, our top 2 right backs were unavailable because they played at the WC. That’s why Nordtveit (and Eastmond) played RB… anyway, Wenger will certainly find another CB somewhere just to make up the numbers. It might be a Silvestre / Cygan type signing but my guess is, that player will still be ahead of Nordtveit as a CB. His best hope to making the first team is as backup RB or DM.
I didn’t see any of the matches but judging from the Graz highlight,JET looks a real deal and Wilkshire is always himself(a player that doesn’t let occasions get to him)
Wilshere!!!! sorry dude but for crying out loud its not hard to spell that!
bobby- relax, some people (like me) make grammar errors, ITS OK! you knew who he was talking about so calm down mate, its not that serious
*some people make SPELLING errors… Grammar was pretty good.
(sorry to be a pedant, I just found it slightly amusingly ironic and had to point it out)
With a bit of practice everyone should be able to spell the players name correctly ;)
Funnily enough in the papers and on websites it seems to vary between “Wilshere” and “Wilshire”. I even saw one article name him as “Jake Wilshire”!
Any news on Bartley? real shame i had high hopes for the kid? Latest i heard he out for 3months ?
Jason – Bartley story – http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2010/07/arsenal-sheffield-utd-frustrated-over-bartley-injury.
jonathan – He’s chosen Ireland.
MattMQ – Thanks mate. Enjoy your holidays.
thanks for the little spelling lesson bobby,you should be teaching at a nearby university instead of sitting on coumputer doing nothing!now that’s funny
lol your very welcome, i’m not a teacher… sorry dude just frustrates me its a simple name… i’m just a caring guy trying to help you out … i’m a nurse. peace.
Errrr mate speak English don’t get catty he was right to point that out. What is funny is how you present yourself as arrogant kid by attempting humour (university because he can spell?!) but then unwittingly reveal your fragile self-esteem by congratulating your own joke (..oh now that’s funny).
Maybe you should recoup the energy wasted on attempted jokes and plough them back into learning how you can read and write your own language Leon.
ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! WAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ARSENAL OR THE YOUNG GUNS?!?!?!!? THIS IS FRIGGIN COLLEGE, ITS A BLOG, I COME HERE TO READ GOOD COMMENTS THAT CREATE A DEBATE AND J’S GOOD REPORTING. SO PLEASE BEFORE YOU RUIN THIS SITE, SHUT UP AND GO HOME WITH THE GRADE SCHOOL GRAMMAR ARGUEMENTS! KEEP IT ON THE GUNNERS AND THE YOUNG GUNS PLEASE!
* IS NOT COLLEGE (SORRY FOR THE TYPO BUT ALL THE GRAMMAR CRAP PISSED ME OFF)
we all have pet hates… yours is clearly people expressing therir views. chill out, i think you made it out to be alot more serious than it was. peace
Thanks J.
Henderson did feature, he played the second half of the first game if I recall.
Wait, nevermind, think that was against barnet
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I watched all the games, Wilshere was phenomenal throughout, every little touch he has just oozes class. He is composed, very competitive and full of energy – hopefully we can find a place for him in the team asap.
Nordveit looks very good, despite a few mistakes in the Neusiedl game. I am not a fan of Sagna at all so would like to see us have some options for right back.
I thought JET looked impressive in all the games, it seems he has to do a hell of a lot to convince people for some reason. I would like to see him getting some action on the right to give us something very different from Walcott.
Frimpong’s work rate is amazing and some of his tackles are sumptious, he defintitely pushed his cause a lot in pre-season, although I hope Song is pretty much ever-present in the DM spot this season.
Very impressed with Gibbs, would be happy to see him push Clichy out.
Who isn’t a fan of Sagna? He’s never hurt, defensively very solid, reads the game well and provides quickness on the right flank. The one valid criticism of him has been his crossing, and even there he’s gotten better (he def provided the cross for one if not both of RvP’s goals against sp*rs last season at the Grove). We all long for new names, but theres no reason to fix what isn’t broken.
Couldn’t agree more about Sagna’s crosses. It’s awesome that he’s constantly making those overlapping runs to be able to make the crosses. but he really needs to work on the crosses themselves. If he worked on it and was able to consistently make solid crosses we’d score so many more goals!
yep..your right about JET..if i’m not mistaken JET start playing in CB..before the season end he already playing for 5 position eXcluding GK..he;s extremely flexible..
I would pls like frimpong to be the back up for song rather than denilson. he really looks a battler and a fighter. Emmanuel thomas should replace dudu while jack should also be included. nordveit should also be back up to sagna and eboue.
Can you imagine Frimpong against Barca?! He’d be murdered. It would take months for him to recover from the embarrassment. What level do you expect arsenal to play at? Frimpong is a few years away mate. Use your imagination to bet envision he and top level competition. Denilson, however, CAN actually hold his own against Barca as he showed last season. The only questions with Denilson, unless you are making shit up, is if he’s got the consistency over an entire season and if he’s got the concentration levels to make less mistakes at DM, and/or if he’s quick enough to make up for having shorter legs than Song and Gilberto Silva, a la Mascherano or Makalele. Otherwise, he’s a serious serious player, especially with world class players around him. Frimpong has not got his class no matter who he’s playing with. Don’t even try it. Frimpong is perhaps a slightly better athlete, but I don’t see anyone wondering if Spain could ever beat Ghana. Spain owned Germany (better athletes), and controlled the game against a more athletic and aggressive Dutch side. Don’t fall into the English cul-de-sac of thinking that pace and power and commitment are the only attributes worth admiring in a a footballer (although I’ll admit Denilson didn’t help his cause weakly tracking back on Rooney’s goal or Fuller’s goal; I was just as pissed off as the next guy).
I’m so happy to see Frimpong move ahead of Eastmond. In an ideal world, we’d have experienced cover for Song, send Frimpong on loan and sell Eastmond. However, without the experienced cover, I’ll take Frimpongs youthful tenacity, over Eastmonds weak ‘I’ll fall over and look weaker than Denilson when I tackle’ approach.
I do apologise to any of his fans on here, but Eastmond is just awful. In the second half against Graz, he had nothing to do defensively and wasn’t being pressed when in possession, but still the only passes he made sucessfully were to left back and right back. Even ten yard passes to fellow midfielders in front of him went to the opposition.
I do hope JET finds a position that suits him as well, possibly on the right of the front three for now and hopefully his ability to work hard defensively will improve as he gets older. Don’t need another lazy Arsh in the team.
Actually Frimpong looked pretty rubbish imo in nearly every game running around like headless chicken playing passing into the back of his teammate and taking the speed out of the game in several occasions. The midfield balance looked awful in the first half aggainst graz until Eastmond came in.
Eastmond did good work when he played for us last season
and he’s not a weak player
Eastmond reads the game better than Frimpong
Frimpong is a better tackler than Eastmond
Coquelin has both of these things and more which is why I am still surprised why wenger picked Eastmond over coquelin last year
Andrew – Coquelin seemed to lack composure when he played once at RB, I think in the FA Cup game (?). He gave the ball away often and didn’t really do himself justice. It seemed to be more that he was overcome by the situation rather than simply because he was not playing in his best position. Eastmond in contrast has always looked mentally ready, almost to the degree of gibbs.
I couldnt say that is definitely the reason because Im basing it on one game, but its a possibility – what do you think?
Always felt Frimpong was a better player than Eastmond, i think Eastmond just developed a littele quicker over the last year than his counterparts. However, once they are all developed, i think Eastmond will once again have to be satisfied with RB and maybe not at Arsenal.
I personally think with such a small squad of over 21’s we will have to rely on more youngsters than any other team as at their age they cannot expect to have the amount of minutes that older players can. That is why i think there will be less loan outs than recent seasons, especially now the reserve league decision has been reversed alomg with this new 25 man rule. W
i don’t like this notion that if a kid has to go out on loan then he must be a failure…
did loans mean the end of song or bendtner? loand were the making of them more like.
i think eastmond will become a better player if he goes out on loan this year, much better than of he stays third string behind song and denilson.
It depends more on what league the player goes to
coquelin went to the right club and right league
if eastmond plays in the same level then I have no problem with him going on loan
oops hit the button too soon. We are one of the few clubs that will not have to loan players out, although we will look to aid their development, i think many of our 57 professionals will see game time time at Arsenal this season.
Why has ‘Szczesny’ got the nickname ‘Tech9′..??
What does ‘Tech9′ actually imply J..??
Think it’s how his name is pronunced.
Great overview.
Someone asked about Henderson’s nationality. What about Frimpong. Would he ever choose England at senior level or is his emotional attachment to his homeland so strong that would never be the case?
It’s be great for the club if he chose England but would understand if he did otherwise.
WIlshere and Nortvedit is staying with first team that’s for sure
as for who will be the backup either Eastmond or Frimpong then I still think Eastmond is the better bet
Frimpong was very impressive against Barnet but he’s looks too hasty to me and to me he might be someone who can either become great or flop in the PL. I love his hard tackling style but I still have doubts he can make those kind of challenges in the PL and not get a yellow or red card. He commits too much on too many occasions and is caught out on positioning on quite a few occasions.
I hope Lansbury gets a chance in the emirates cup but he might have squandered his chance and with ramsey I dont see him making it at arsenal. HE might make it in the PL but not at arsenal if ramsey gets back to his best.
JET has someone who I have grown a real liking too and although I was hoping this might be Barazite’s year in the first team I hope JET makes it in the first team.
HE can provide real quality protection to the wingers and strikers and even midfield if we desperate.
OFFTOPIC
According to tribalfootball arsenal have squandered Genoa’s bid for Veloso and are trying to sign him with Veloso favoring us over Genoa.
This is Tribal football so its usually always wrong but if he does comes to arsenal then Lansbury future becomes rather bleak
dont ever look into tribal stuff. surely the boss is not going to kill off frimpong and estmond (donot forget coquelin back next yr) by signing valeso. i would prefer Gokan Inlar any day over valeso.
why don’t we realize that there is something called squard players who plays as big a role as the first 11 itself over the course of the season. Lansbury is definitely decent enough to be in the squad and hopefully he can pick up from there and start showing his well documented talent.
Veloso seems really overrated, probably because he’s amazing on FM. (So is Joao Moutinho who is also overrated – none of the big clubs wanted him so he moved for 10m euros to Porto). We haven’t seriously been linked to him recently – if we sign a first team central midfielder my bet would be Inler or Felipe Melo before Veloso (or it could easily be someone we haven’t been linked to at all).
I am just dying for the Emirates Cup to start to finally see or get a better idea of the final side. Frimpong, Thomas and Nordveit, i hope should be in the final squad. Wilshere to me already there i dont think he will ever go on loan again. To actually challenge for the number 1 spot we need a central defender and a keeper. Thomas seems to can manage up there by himself if given the chance. Injuries get us at the wrong time each year. Two or three more quality wont do the bank book much. ARSENAL I HAVE A FEELING, THAT THIS GOING BE A GOOD YEAR
Wenger said henri lansbury will be a “Big big player for arsenal” so do i.
He just needs to be given a chance i am sure he will grab it hes one of the best technical english central midfielder we have got and i think hes as a good as aaron ramsey.
BTW Ray parlour was on talksport he said he played golf with ramsey and the arsenal chef saying hes in great shape and he has bulked up alot. parlour also said ramsey thinks he will come back in ocotober
Ramsey is more talented than Lansbury and that’s a fact
as for Lansbury making it at arsenal then he has ramsey and Wilshere in front of him and he’s not better than either of them
I thought Ramsey injury might propel him into the first team but now Ramsey might be back to his best by october/november and I doubt wenger will play him before Ramsey or even Diaby in the starting lineup
Lansbury might make it because he is quite versatile. I dont see him taking over from cesc, as ramsey or wilshere probably could in a few years, but henri has other important qualities I think. He can play a more withdrawn role and in our 4-3-3 could probably play the role that denilson or diaby play currently. Also, wilshere could well end up playing as one of the wide forwards, rather than in the middle. I dont think ramsey, wilshere and lansbury are in direct competition.
Hate to sound like the TV pundits, but players like JET give us that added bit of physicality.
He keeps the ball well and if he keeps things a bit more simple can be incredibly effective anywhere in the front 3. He has excellent close control for a monster and isn’t afraid to pull the trigger.
Given the injuries we get (Diaby and Denilson already sweating over weekend places) I hope we keep Lansbury. His work rate and effort is excellent and he also has good vision and touch. He looks to have bulked up too.
amazing the difference a few games makes. I was certain Eastmond was the replacement for Song last year but wow what about Frimpong?! Again physical lad with excellent tackling and reading, just keep it simple in the distribution and we are there.
For my money Nordveit, Frimpong, Wilshere, JET and Lansbury should all be kept due to the sheer weight of injuries we suffer. Eastmond and Henderson look like loan material
Nortvedit and Wilshere are certain to be in the first team
Ramsey hopefully will be back by October so it might mean Lansbury going on loan to a PL club
JET will be in the first team atleast as a sub in the pool game. Van persie wont be back by then, B52 is injured and Chamak is the only real target man we will have for the pool and even Blackpool game depending on how long it takes for Van Persie to be back so JET might be kept in the team
I will still take Eastmond over Frimpong in the first team
JET really does remind me of Balotelli. I am really hoping he makes it. I still think that Eastmond will have a good career. i’m just not sure if it will be at arsenal. Coquelin is probably the answer to the backup defensive midfielder question. But you never, ever know with young players. Who knows how they will develop in the end. Wilshere shouldn’t even have to play in the Emarites Cup lol. He should be a shoe in for the first team.
JET looks nothing like Balotelli.
Balotelli is a fantastic striker in the Ronaldo mould whereas JET is not. Balotelli also has much more pace and is generally a better athlete. JET looks fat in comparison.
Andrew i personally think lansbury is as good as ramsey. He just needs to be given a chance.
Lansbury can play in different positions and he is effecitve anywhere he plays which is why i rate him highly.
Just so unlucky with the injury. I watched the game it was just after he scored a goal he got a tackle he seemed slugglish.
I really hope he gets a chance in the emirates cup hes was brilliant on loan compared to JET, gibbs
I can’t agree with the comments saying Lansbury is as good as Ramsey based on the fact that after watching Ramsey pre-injury I can honestly say I won’t be worried when Fabregas leaves and he has to step in. With Lansbury I cannot say anything like that, I would be very very concerned.
As good as Ramsey? You’ve gotta be kidding us, surely?
Ramsey has dominated games at the PL. At the championship, he was the best CM in the league, and led cardiff to an FA cup final.
Lansbury, no disrespect to him, was 2nd to tom cleverly, and was nowhere near being the best CM in the league.
Ramsey was 17 during that time. Lansbury was 18/19 last season.
I thought JET had very good loan spells too. Did he not play for blackpool? I recall reading Ian Holloway raving about him more than one occasion. Lansbury on the other hand was good but nothing special at Watford. I watched them many times (live closeby) and Tom Cleverley (Manure loanee) always upstaged him and looked the class midfielder.
That is not to say Lansbury won’t come good though… he still has time, even if he has to go on loan again.
Good post J. I have watched almost all the preseason matches so far and would like to mention that Estmond does need a loan spell to speed up his development. he needs to bulk up and also needs to understand that if he wants to play the role of a ball winner then he needs to get more aggressive. that is what Frimpong has impressed me most with. the fellow is well built, athletic and has an attitude to his game which is not necessarily self destructive as in evident with a certain Dane. he is also hard working and is calm and composed when in possession. coming back to Estmond, i agree that he had a horrible 2nd half against Strum Graz but that alone should not be used to judge him.. send him out on loan and see what he turns up with. needs game time in my opinion.
Noidveth is definitely staying with the first team for me and would cover up as right back. i always felt that we lacked cover at right back. the lad is versatile and can only improve.
JET for me should be off to a Prem team same as wilshare last year. i wont mind keeping him with the first team though and he is not lazy for me defensively cause if he is then i would struggle to describe Arshavin on days like yesterday. JET is a right winger for me who can be deployed in the hole behind a target man. he is strong skillfull and can hold up the ball, a quality that i noticed during his last yr outing against Stoke.
Wilshare, well let us just say that he is first team for sure this yr. and i for one is happy that we did not buy Joe cole. would have hindered wilshares passage into the first team. the fellow is all that cole is minus the experience.
btw…think gibbs was really impressive yesterday and definitely reminds me of a certain cashly going forward. i think we will keep Armand as 3rd choice left back since we have finally managed to see the last of Silvestre if not the manager decides to promote Cruz which i would be happy with. keep ticking lads, not long till the real show begins. Per Matsacker Plzzzzzzzzz
Sol Campbell just signed for Newcastle…NEWCASTLE!!! What the fuck. I have always admired his talent, but something tells me that there is a screw or two loose up there in his head. Am I nuts or what?? Who else agrees with me??
he lives up near newcastle, so now he’s got more time to get bizay with his new wife…plus it wasa choice of be a starter for a massive underachieving northern premiership club or be fifth choice for an arsenal team full of kids not in his generation…he had his swansong…staying would have been pushing it…good luck sol!
Sol was rumoured to be put off signing for Arsenal by Denilson’s ring tone. It was very annoying.
Newcastle were far and away the best team in the Championship, and they have a side capable of staying up. To be honest, there aren’t that many teams in the EPL that really need a centre back who would be better options than Newcastle.
Sol campbell only moved to newcastle cause of his wife. Shes from Newscastle and they got married
A reliable source has just sent me this:
Following hot on the heals of James Henry’s signing earlier today, Kenny Jackett has dipped once again into the transfer market to snap up Arsenal’s highly rated young utility player Jay Emmanuel-Thomas on a season-long loan.
Hope it all goes well for him and hope to see him back at the Emirates next season.
I do hope this is not true! :-(
i dont know about JET but Kevin Lisbie also signed on loan today for Millwall
Sorry please disregard that last comment I have just been Rickroll’d by the person who sent me that. After being subjected to Rick’s delightful tune I managed to confirm that he made it all up to get back at me after I sent his dad a picture of him naked and asleep after a very heavy drinking session in which he consumed most of a bottle of vodka, several Jager shots and a shot of Drambui. I apologise for any inconvenience and want to tell J that I like his site it is very good although it is a bit biased towards Arsenal – where is all the news from other youth teams? Keep up the good work and you never know BBC3 might commission it into a series.
lol you got me worried their! haha… its biased towards Arsenal youth, i think maybe because J is an Arsenal fan prehaps, i don’t know sorry dude but this is an Arsenal youth site. you’ll just have to look else where for indepth with other teams.
Mate, it’s called “Young Guns”
What club did you think it was about?
every1 jay is meeting with daily mirror columnist john cross
he wants u to ask questions for him
it says it on his facebook
Eastmond is too dull to be a DM.A DM must be crazy and aggressive like d likes of masch,lass,viera and so on.He nids to step up his game if he wants to displace both frimp and coquelin though both are better than him in my opinion.Nice blog J.s.
Andrew, I agree it’s a thuggish league, but I think Wilshere, because he’s England’s white hope, will get some protection. Vela or Chamakh, if they start looking dangerous, are far more likely candidates for a career-threatening injury. These things aren’t accidents (except in the obvious sense that no player goes into a game planning to break someone’s leg); they’re a direct result of the manager’s team-talks – ‘Show them you’re there. Kick Fabregas. Let them feel the tackle. Kick Fabregas. Arsenal don’t like it up ’em. Kick Fabregas’. They’re accidents-waiting-to-happen, in short. We know this because Alex McLeish actually boasted about egging his players on to kick Arsenal in a pre-match interview on Sky. But Wilshere’s tough and gives as good as he gets, so he should be OK.
Also agree that Coquelin is the most promising of the holding midfielders but Wenger seems very protective of him. I remember him being taken off at half time in the Carling last season, allegedly because he was tired, but he didn’t LOOK tired, not physically, so maybe Wenger sees him as lacking in confidence?
dude cole was the shining light of english football his career hasn’t been any better than rosicky now has it
I hope English football changes but until the english fa changes I dont see anything changing
Teams we scared of players like Vieira, Sol and Adams to pull that kind of crap on us before but we are too “nice” now
I honestly don’t think that’s true. Dan Smith (the DIaby tackle) was just a stupid player – there’s a reason he’s playing in the Conference now. Your point is probably valid in his case, although I don’t blame the manager at all – no player should ever make a tackle like he did, no matter how fired-up.
Martin Taylor is actually a very clean player – in the past 6 years he has received 7 yellow and 1 red card in 133 matches. (In comparison, Lorik Cana received 12 yellow and 1 red card in his 33 matches for Sunderland this season). I don’t think Taylor was trying to “send a message” at all – he just mistimed his tackle very badly. Again, there’s a reason he’s spent most of his career in the Championship – tackling is a skill, and he’s apparently not very good at it.
Shawcross is somewhere in the middle – he does commit a lot of fouls and his tackle was worse than Taylor’s (but nowhere near as bad as Smith’s). But again, I think it was just a bad decision and a bad tackle – not meant with the intention of “sending a message”. Every player makes bad tackles, even great players – Vieira and Bergkamp both made their share of bad tackles.
We should be criticizing these bad tackles, definitely, but the thing is, tackling is a legitimate part of the game. I don’t think Arsenal fans spent so much time talking about bad tackles when it was Vieira making them. Honestly, I think the worst “tackle” we’ve been subjected to in recent years is Adebayor’s swipe at van Persie’s face. Players can recover from a broken leg; Adebayor was literally inches away from taking out one of RVP’s eyes. His stamp on Fabregas ranks pretty high up there too… those were objectively bad tackles. I don’t think you can really put Taylor and Shawcross in the same level, even if the injuries they caused were much worse.
Calm down people. It’ pre season against pretty weak opposition, so I would not read so much into it.
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JS – I have pretty much seen every player that i have expected to see play, either in Austria or v Barnet, Welling, Crawley, D & R and in the Southend Cup. But what of these? Deacon, Yennaris, Hajrovic, Wynter, Bujaku, Neita, Martinez.
I see Deacon has come on as sub at D & R and grabbed a goal
There are a number of rumors now out there that Arsenal is trying to beat Genoa to signing Veloso as their deal had long seemed ‘just about complete.’ There are a lot of people on here pumping up the chances of Frimpong and Eastmond, but they’re just not ready. If Song went down with an injury, the team would suffer somewhat if Denilson came in to replace him. And while it might be good for the youngsters to get some work with the first-team at this point in their careers, Arsenal would truly suffer. They might “do well considering” their age/experience, can anyone honestly say that Eastmond came anywhere near “marshaling” the midfield like Song does? Not a huge fan of Veloso, same with Felipe Melo, but they’d provide a good backup for Song, as well as pushing him, but also push Diaby/Denilson/Ramsey for the box-to-box CM role.
Veloso is a brilliant backup
and his long shot capability is awesome
Eastmond showed last year that he can fill in for Song. Now he has to show that all over again this year for anyone to be convinced. That is the way it should be even if it is a little harsh. If he can play as well as he did last year and bulk-up, then I will have all the confidence in the world in him. We will see what Coquelin is made of this year as well. If he doesn’t do well on loan, then he should be recalled and given an opportunity to play a cup game or two. If he does do well on loan, then he can stay there the rest of the year or be recalled depending on the situation with Song in regards to his health and strength. I guess what I am saying is that whether Coquelin is on loan or not, this is a big,big year for him. I know that is obvious. Here’s something that isn’t so obvious. I’m not worried about our situation at defensive midfield at all. Denilson will return a much better player IF he is healthy. We have him Song, Eastmond and Lansbury to fill in there. It is time to see what these players are made of (excluding Song of course). If in a year, they prove not to be good enough, then we can buy. But i don’t want to buy someone we do not need. If we do get Veloso, then I wouldn’t want it to be for anything more than 8-10 million pounds. I’m more worried about our goalkeeping situation. And maybe our defensive pairing as well. Vermaelen is fine and it looks like Koscielny could be too, but beyond that, I am a little worried. Djourou has to, he has to be counted for this year, or else he could go the way of Senderos. I know they are completely different players, but he may be sold after this year if he can’t get it together.
Maarten Stekelenburg played today in the champions league for Ajax so that means we will not get him
@WillyG I’m sure I read somewhere that the qualifying rounds of the Champions League games don’t count and cup tying only starts in the group stage.
yep
i think JET has done well this pre-season and maybe one more year loaned out will hold him in good sted to make the first team the following season.
@Milo, there are oceans of quality between Song and Eastmond. I’m not a Eastmond doubter, but he’s just not ready for Arsenal’s first-team yet. If you saw an experienced 25 year-old that you weren’t invested in play as he did last year, you would have been unimpressed. You have Arsenal blinders on. He’s just not there yet. Hopefully he will be, but he’s just not. If Bendtner is backing up RVP at striker, then Arsenal should have someone of that quality backing up Song. Denilson isn’t a DM. Neither is Lansbury or Diaby. Arsenal is a big club and should have a “true” starting and back-up DM. Eastmond or Frimpong should be emergency 3rd DM’s in the squad only suitable if there’s an injury crisis. To expect more than that isn’t fair to them nor the club.
Neil Banfield trotting out well in that photo
Miguel veloso for me has lost his muscle and power.
In the under 21s tournament even though hes 5ft 11 he looked physical, strong, looked a beast.
You see him now hes looks alot slimmer, skinny i dont know how he would cope physically in the premiership.
IF he can get back his physical shape i think theres a quality holding midfielder in him
I don’t have Arsenal blinders on mate. Bendtner as true quality back up to RVP?? IN the past no, but maybe this year yes. I still think Eastmond can do it. I’ll admit that it’s not for certain, but from what I saw last year, he can do it without much of a problem at all. We’ll see who gets the most chances to prove themselves this year at that defensive midfield position. I have confidence in whomever it is. If we buy, then fine, but I don’t think we have to. I don’t think I have Arsenal blinders on just because I say this.
Bendtner is probably not even the main backup – I think that’s Chamakh. I’d rather have him than Berbatov, that’s for sure – only reason nobody criticizes Man Utd’s striker depth is because Rooney is an iron man. But now we have RVP + Chamakh – I think it’s fair to say we would be the unluckiest team in the world if both of them suffer major injuries.
If we are going to buy anyone for that spot then it should be Ever fucking Banega. I said we should buy him almost 4 years ago and we could still use him.
is banega really that good ? and how expensive is the guy
there was a lot of news when he signed for valencia that they paid around 18 million euros for the guy so now he might be around 20-25 million euros
veloso will come for less than 13 million euros so I am sure if wenger does buy a DM its going to be Veloso
Seems “all” rumours about Veloso stems from this “news article” written by some “Antonio Bulla”. Say no more. http://www.itasportpress.it/?action=read&idnotizia=31664
Forget about scoring goals, in those pre-games our defence was not tested at all and with that little to do, Djourou still got injured. I think we cannot depend on him this season as he is so prone to injury (not physical enough for EPL).
I am afraid that if Arsene do not bring in extra proven CB (at least 2) , this will be another scapegoat for not winning the championship for another year. Last year at least we got TV and Gallas (Hoping them to be fit for the entire season). This year we have TV and Koscielny (not proven). Just imagine if TV gets injured, Arsenal will be looking to outscore their opponent everytime as the defence will not be able to keep a clean sheet.
I mean to give Nordveit and Koscielny a chance is fine but if they cannot take the physical side of the game. It will be another season without trophy. Why does Wenger always gamble on the defence when he knows that defence win championship. This will be why Fabregas choose to leave Arsenal which is Arsene’s own making by saving a few bucks on CB.
no he actually just feels that the young players being promoted i.e nordviet and co can fill in for the missing links. its economics not being up tight. Song is a CB people, remember?