Arsenal kicked off their Premier Reserve League campaign with a 2-1 win over Manchester United this evening. Goals from Sanchez Watt and Chuks Aneke were sandwiched between a Mame Diouf header, as the young Gunners defeated a strong United lineup.
The visitors boasted the likes of Tomasz Kuszczak, Darron Gibson, Darren Fletcher, Mame Diouf and Paul Pogba, but Neil Banfield responded by calling upon first-teamers Vito Mannone, Armand Traoré and Benik Afobe, all of whom have been involved in Champions League training this week.
ARSENAL: Mannone; Yennaris, Boateng, Miquel, Traoré; Özyakup, Ebecilio, Aneke; Watt, Afobe, Freeman.
Arsenal are United are among the early favourites to win the Premier Reserve League title this season, and as such, both sides began with real pace and vigour.
But it was the hosts who carved out the first real chance of the game, when Ebecilio collected Watt’s flick but could only lash the ball straight at Kuszczak. United hit back when Cole’s right wing cross was headed inches wide by Diouf, but the game lost some of its edge when Traoré and then Afobe both left the field with groin injuries.
However, despite Banfield having to reshuffle the setup, Arsenal stuck first. Some clever foot work from Freeman allowed him space to roll the ball through for Watt, and the former Leeds United loanee fired into the roof off the net for 1-0. The Gunners grew in confidence and began to find their feet, but with half time approaching, United levelled. Pogba’s quick feet saw him get away from Meade, and Diouf was on hand to fire home the resulting cross 1-1.
Mannone made two quick fire saves on the cusp of half time, but the two sides were level at the break.
Some words of wisdom from the United coaching staff seemed to work wonders, as the visitors returned with real threat. Mannone made a solid save from a smart turn and shot by Diouf, before Fryers saw a free-kick go inches over.
The fixture then seemed destined to be a draw, but up stepped Chuks Aneke. The powerful central midfielder had been frustrated by Gibson and Fletcher for most of the evening, but with 15 minutes left, he burst from the centre of the park and as Fryers backed off, Aneke’s lashed shot took a deflection and wrong-footed Kuszczak. 2-1.
Arsenal weathered some strong United pressure in the closing stages, to seal three points and notable win, to start the season in style.
How good is Meade o_0 damn hes short but the boy can play. yennaris is a bull. if i were Arsene I’d include them in cc. meade looks a fantastic winger even though playing at left back.
Only just finished watching the game and i love the way your on the ball with a match report! Great job. Good result for the young lads, hope they build on this for the rest of the season.
Most of the reserve players need a loan playing in the reserve is wasting their talent at this point
Let the likes of martinez, Angha, Embecilio, Meade, Ansah take over.
Hey how do you rate Kyle Ebecilio? He won the golden ball for the Euro-17 following rooney sahin and of course cesc! How good do you think he can be? Cesc like?
that was the first time i ever watched the reserves play and tbh the werent that impressive. I was in complete AWE at Paul Pogba , wow , ManU have a star on their hands .But on the good side for arsenal , Aneke bullied the Manchester midfield for most of the game . Luke Freeman is a livewire with his little tricks , he’s the closest thing we have to messi nd luks like he has a good football brain. Sanchez watt is clearly not goin to make it here.Özyakup wasnt that good but he did have a few good tricks . Manone saved us from defeat . miguel looks class at the back but boateng is a joke.
P.S really sorry for Afobe and Traore ….apparently there were groin injuries . hope its short term
Nice run tho
This is an Arsenal blog, you need to find a manc one you twat
Meade did look very good going down the wing although made a slight error in the first half when he took slightly too long on the ball. Encouraging though.
Really like the look of Freeman as well. Excellent brain although he didn’t have his shooting boots on today.
I love when people spout of crazy things. I got to watch the 2nd half thanks to the guy posting the link and there were no players in the line up (Afobe was off) that are ready for the first team.
I though little Meade was impressive on the ball but lets not forget that this is one reason a lot of athletes don’t become top professionals because physically they just do not develop. He is a nice little player tho I must say.
I was really looking forward to seeing Aneke but I can see why he is not in the first team yet. He didn’t impose himself on the guy like I thought he would.
On Yennaris, that kid has a nice little long shot.
Last thing I noticed is at Arsenal, we will throw you anywhere. We have box to box midfielders playing winger, strikers playing winger, center backs as full backs, wingers as strikers lol.
Edit….”He didn’t impose himself on the GAME like I thought he would.”
That seems harsh on Aneke; he only just turned 18 last month, it’s easy to forget how young he is. And Aneke was up against two established Premier League players in Darren Fletcher and Darron Gibson, the former being Utd’s best defensive midfielder, and one of the best in the country. This game was probably the biggest test of Aneke’s young career so far, and he popped up to score the winner. That shows a lot of determination to go with his talent.
Chuks should take a lot of confidence from this game, it’s just a shame that Arsenal will likely have to put his progression in the hands of loan clubs. My hope is that we see him in the Carling Cup this season and he can use that to make the leap into the senior squad the way Frimpong did without any loan spells to dull his talent or harm his confidence.
I am not talking about his talent mate. I am just talking about as the play maker, you would expect him to make more effort to get on the ball and try and create things. Like I said, I only watched 45 minutes so of course I can not pass any definite judgement, was just saying I was excited to see him play thats all. By the way, that goal was as lucky as they come to be fair.
Aneke said he was not at 100% so I guess that explains it then.
First of all a very sad day to see Cesc leave, especially for such a low fee. Really disgusted with how barca has handled this transfer over the years, but at the end of the day it was all down to cesc. We need a 100% committed captain. At the end of the day no player is bigger than Arsenal Football Club. Really excited about Aneke gonna be a real player for us! I love my club
How about the keeper? Better than Schmeichel yet?
better than freaking david de gea ;)
lol….I feel bad for the kid. I remember when Tim Howard got there and was voted the best keeper in the league and a few bad games the next season and he is shoved out the door.
why did traore play? if he’s injured then we only have injury prone Gibbs as LB :S
hopefuly he is well
What’s happened to Lansbury?
Where on earth is Coquelin? Haven’t seen sight nor sound of him during pre season or reserves and no mention of him going on another loan again?…
U20 World cup with France. Went through into the semis last night.
Where you been hiding in a cupboard? any football fan knows that the u20 world cup is on coquelin and sunu are both there and playing really well.
Coquelin & Sunu are with France at the U-20 World Cup
Playing for France U20 World Cup. He was playing Central MF last night against Nigeria – which France won 3-2 to qualify for S/Final.
Watched the game via live stream – thanks!
Overall good result – whole team worked hard to defend the lead, in contrast to the 1st team: a trait even the commentators on MUFC TV mentioned. And they won quite a few aerial battles!
Was hoping Ozzy and Aneke would be more dominant, but noted United had 5 in midfield to stifle Arsenal. Aneke DID impose himself physically e.g. on his way to scoring, tussling with Fletcher. Needs to work on his attitude – got annoyed with a couple of team-mates re: strayed passes (but some might interpret that as heart:)
Strange to see Ebecilio playing as a winger. Worked hard and could’ve scored. BIG future ahead.
Meade needs to work on his defensive positioning – United had a lot of joy down Arsenal’s left flank (where they’re goal came from. Good bombing forward though.
Relatively easy night for Boateng and Miguel with only 1 striker to deal with.
Mannone very impressive when called upon – could do nothing about United’s goal.
Can’t wait for U16s to get started – so much talent it’s unreal!!!
meade is a winger not a left back. i’m tired of seeing wingers turned into fullbacks at arseanl.
shame afobe injured. I want him to be in 1st team at least as much as oxlade-chamberlain this season.
Afobe has played better standard of football and physically better than oxbow, but AW obsessed with weak midgets
What? Afobe and AOC played in the same league (League One), except AOC got more starts and played for a better team… he also made the England U-21 squad, while Afobe is 1 year behind (despite actually being 6 months older)… and finally, they don’t even play the same position, so it’s not like one is keeping the other out of the team.
Oxlade is a midget?????????? Take a look at him he is 180cm and very strong not only for his age but compare to adults. The he is performing in the wings…. you idiot. He also took southamton to championship this year.. that is a lever higher than Afobe did. And don’t forget that play in a different position you idiot. Its like saying why include a CM when a striker has done better??? Lets include the striker instead just because he is a better player in a total different position while we need a player in CM.
Pfft, what utter drivel twatinator
Not to mention he was on the team of the year
Thanks Jamie.
Shane, I read your comment regarding the Fabregas issue in an earlier article on Joel Campbell and I gotta say you are spot on mate!!! I hate athletes or anyone who sign long term contracts and then do not honour them!!! He is a little bitch and I hope he doesn’t get a sniff over there. I know he will, but I hope he is exposed for what he truly is, a weakling and a mouse in big CLUB matches. I love mice but you know what I mean!!! He has done well internationally for Spain in the big matches I know!!! He’s a choker and a bailer and I hope Barca come to realize this. I have his shirt from 4 years ago and I haven’t worn it for the past 2 years, I have been so ashamed of his behaviour!!! That’s why I got Bergkamp’s shirt off of e-bay instead!!!:D A true legend!!! I’m happy we could beat the Mancs!!! I didn’t get to view the match but I hope that Freeman gets a look in. I’ve seen him a few times (not today) and he looked lively in each match. Full of little tricks and creativity!!!
Come on man, even if you don’t agree with the way this entire situation has been handled you can’t put that all on Fabregas. He says that he wanted to talk to the fans but wasn’t allowed to. Whether that’s true or not I guess we will never know but it seems distinctly plausible.
Also, the guy always gave everything he had for the club, lets not forget him tucking away a penalty with a broken leg.
I’m not happy with Barca low balling but Fabregas was offered a chance to play for the best club in the world, his home town club no less, and Catalan pride is a big thing. The guy is paying almost £5 million to get the move of his dreams and whilst I’d have liked Barca to stump up more lets not blame Cesc, it just stinks of sour grapes.
The “move of his dreams”….he was already a Barcelona player at one time lol. Then the douche signs an 8 year contract with us then reveals “oh, I had no clue you intended on build around me. I just thought 8 year contracts are the norm. I had no clue why you gave me this captains arm band. I didn’t know that meant I was the leader of the team. Oh, no worries Mr Wenger….I am getting the fuck out of here. Who wants to earn something when you can have it handed to you?”…….as I said, fuck Cesc and Fuck Barcelona. We don’t want him to give us a special message. That is only for legends like Thierry Henry.
I am going to try and let this shit go but come on…it just happened lol
Yeah, he left them when he was 16 years old, that doesn’t mean going back isn’t a dream move. You also can’t blame him for having someone else build a team around him or offering him long term stability.
I’m gutted to see him leave but blaming him for not staying due to having a team built around him or him being made captain is silly. Would you turn down the honour of captaining your club because you may leave at some point in the future? As for the 8 year contract, without that we wouldn’t have got as much money for him. Would you rather him have signed a 5 year contract and left for free?
As for the earning/handed to you thing, what exactly has he had handed to him here? Titles? You could say he earned the move to Barcelona to win the titles, and lets be honest, as much as I love Arsenal he is more likely to win something with the Catalans.
Like I say, I’m gutted to see him go, especially for so little money but Cesc is the reason the money isn’t insulting. I believe as a person he has handled this in as well a manner as is possible. If someone can explain to me what he could have done different that would be better for everyone (or even just Arsenal) then I’m willing to listen, otherwise it still comes off as bitter fans upset at losing a star player.
I’m actually looking forward to this season!!! We’re going to be less attractive I feel, but much more together as a squad I think!!! I want to see some right royal bastards fighting for their lives out on the pitch!!! Wether it be through skill or shear determination, I want us to put clubs in their place!!! I’m so pissed off right now regarding everything (not with Wenger) that I wouldn’t mind seeing a few x rated tackles fly about this year if provoked!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR let’s kill ’em all!!!!!!!!! Who’s with me????
I’m with you all the way Milo!
Seeing the headlines on the official Arsenal website makes me more mad ‘We have strength to cope with Fabregas loss’ ‘Wenger – Bendtner could play on Tuesday’
Great win tonight, I wish I could see all of the reserve games.I have high hopes for Freeman & Meade, I wish for them to go out on loan with Aneke to some Championship club fighting for promotion.
Btw. What would you think if we bought Jack Rodwell? is he overrated?
I will be surprised if Bendtner starts tomorrow. Unless he is sharper than Chamakh or Walcott who would be my choice to play up front if he’s available. I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Even if he does start, I think we will still win. It won’t be easy, but I feel that we can do it!!! I would think that if Bendtner plays at all he will start from the bench and ocme on if we are losing or are locked in a draw. I could be wrong though. Seeing as he hasn’t played in the pre-season though, one would think that he couldn’t last a full 90 minutes. We’ll see though. Whoever plays, has my full backing and I’ll cheer them on the tele as hard as I can. I’ll admit I’m more of a nailbiter than a loud supporter, but it’s just that I get sooooooooooooo excited and nervous before any Arsenal match!!!:D
It was weird before the newcastle game because I knew and had already stated a ton on here what was going to happen. The result was just about what I thought it would be so I did not have any of the nervous or exciting feelings about the game that I normally do.
I have believed in our starting back triangle group in Song, Koscielny, Vermaelen, and Szczesny when most people are shouting about needing a top class expensive center back and our guys made it look easy to defend in that game.
I also knew that we would lack any creativity with that line up. That is what happens when you don’t have your special talents out there. 2 shots on goal is ridiculous for a club like us.
You are giving me a thumbs down because I was right? That makes sense. That is how the game actually went. oh well
I don’t even know which part is getting the negative thumbs for. I will bet anyone with Koscielny and Vermaelen at center back (and Szczesny in goal), we will have top 2 defense in the premier league. (aka lowest goals against average). I have all the faith in the world in those 2 at center back.
Wow! We defeated the Noisy hornbil.cant wait to c Ignasi Miguel start for the first team instead of playing the old awful S.Squillaci.n Wenger should move fast for the Cesc replacement as well as Clichy.
off topic and a bit of breaking news
about time del boy arry hires proper scouts.
and stop going after our targets
http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Soccer/Arsenal-FC-target-Jadson-wanted-by-Tottenham-Hotspur-201108150088/
Yeah, shame we swooped for Squillaci so close to deadline day, otherwise he would be a spud now. Imagine they could field a back 4 of Hutton Squillaci Bassong and Essou-Akouto or whatever his bloody name is
@Mouthy Smart, Yeah you could say I’m bitter about the Cesc deal, BUT I have felt this way ever since Cesc DIDN’T deny that he wanted to go back to Barcelona 3 years ago!!! So it isn’t sour grapes you numpty!!!
JS – Any idea why Pedro Botelho’s loan move has been kept under wraps by the club? where as they announced the loan departures of Galindo, Silva, Shea, Bartley, Denilson.
Also what is the latest with Campbell and Murphy?
Finally, was you there last night? did you see any scouts/managers? My friend works for Crewe and he said him and Dario Gradi were going to watch a few of ours and a few of United’s with views to loan moves.
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/clubs/club=52280/squad/index.html
Champions League squad was revised last night on the deadline of 5pm
Miyaichi has been added whilst Fabregas and Eboue have been deleted.
Almunia, Bendtner and Nasri remain on the list, but still no place for Martinez, Ebicillio, Angha or Monteiro
Interesting point there is only one place left in the squad, so if we were to sign more than one player we will have to leave someone outunless of course we sell someone….probably Nasri as it looks like Bendtner and Almunia are going no where
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It annoys me how result driven most of this football appears. I’d rather we lost 20-0 as long as the players all improved aspects of their play.
Half way through the arsenal man u reserve match and is it just me that thinks Daniel boateng looks hopeless?Am I wrong in thinking that he was wanted by ac Milan 2years ago?!I mean AC MILAN!They pride themselves on defensive discipline and real organisational skills to match and they want that?!No way.Relatively impressed with ozyakup as it’s not often I’ve seen him play,his touch is tidy it’s just a shame the balls diverting him so much.I don’t think many if any will be making any steps up this season to the 1st team.Also it seems everyone on this site has ‘a source’ so could someone let me know who we’re gonna sign in the next 2 weeks please?
http://www.realsociedad.com/caste/home/real.asp?menu=110100&id=125701
Another one has gone, bye bye Carlos
The reserves were disappointing but it’s the first game of the season. Kyle ebecilio is a weird one looks great for holland but looks crap for Arsenal
Chuks aneke has 0 pace JS how’s his stamina levels? Looks way too slow and ponderous
Daniel boateng has improved looks alot more calm and composed
You need to write an article on “has the youth system failed” or has project youth failed. Seeing the sales of JET etc as they near 21. Nordvoit etc.
I was suitably impressed by Jenkinson and Frimpong tonight!!! We actually defended better in the 2nd half with a make-shift back 4!!! I really, really like the look of Jenkinson!!! He had a look on his face of total commitment and concentration out there!!! I bet he communicates pretty well as well, although that is hard to know watching the match on the television. I just got that impression though. I also thought that Frimpong offered a bit more than Song in the short time he was out there. Song looked and played like he was tired. I hope he gets enough time to recuperate and is fit enough for the weekend!!! I think we really do have a true deputy for him though in the shape of Frimpong!!! Good to see us stick that out!!! Nothing wrong with a good ole one nil to the Arsenal!!! There was a worrying lack of composure and craft emminating from the midfield and Chamakh was, well, Chamakh, but I really do think this is a result to build on and I’m pretty happy with how we defended in the 2nd half!!! NOT the first half though. But it’s all about how you finish right???
Hmm outplayed by udinese on our own turf,2 games in and our squads stretched to the limits,predictably Gibbs and traore are injured and we’re right in the shit left back wise,I had no problem with Gibbs quality wise but if you can’t at least prove you can last half a season then there’s no way you should be given guarantees of a first choice spot.After a second match with a lack of anything in midfield I do worry that wenger has Ramsey and rosicky ear marked to takeover the fabregas role,if these 2 games have shown us anything it’s that we need a couple of creative stars more than a centre back.Oh and it’s no wonder bendtner wants to go when chamakh gets fame time ahead of him,well and truly hopeless.On the plus side frimpong was excellent and may give song a run for his money this year,jenkinson out of position on his debut did pretty well considering and won everything in the air,he just looked petrified!
You all know Cesc did us a favour by signing a long term contract right? The shorter time there is left on his contract the less money we can get for him when selling.
What is your point. We got screwed on the money part of that deal.
If anyone would care to explain to me what Cesc has actually done wrong in this transfer saga I’d be most grateful.
If he truly loved our club then he would not have let Barcelona treat us like shit. He knows he is worth more then the 29 million and he knows that Barcelona and their players aka his friends were being disrespectful to our club. Look, if Barcelona would have just come in and payed the true value of Fabregas then I would not have cared less. It is about how the whole situation went down. I do not let people treat the people I love with the disrespect that Barcelona showed us.
Good win but still showed our true flaw. The midfield leaves the defenders hung out to dry way to often.
On Gibbs, I thought he was brilliant for the most part. There were still moments when he got lost. (one time he ended up in the right wing). Then came the issue we all saw coming. Seriously do our players not stretch or something? 2 games and both left backs already out.
On Koscielny and Vermaelen….simply brilliant. Yes I know Koscielny missed a pass or 2 but defensively, they were brilliant considering how often they are left stranded by the midfield. They kept one of the worlds best strikers under raps.
On Song, I thought he had a horrible game. His passing was off and I don’t know whether it is his fault or tactics but we don’t need a free role defensive mid, especially when Rosicky provides no help defensively at all.
On Frimpong, personally without Wilshere, I would love to see Frimpong in behind Song and Ramsey.
On Ramsey, brilliant to see him get some confidence. The true test though will come against the teams that pack it in deep but he had a great game.
On Djurou….who did not see that coming lol. Lets face it though, at least the 2 injuries happened in the transfer window so hopefully it is obvious to see that the depth is an issue there.
On Chamahk. I am sad that Vela is gone. At least Vela’s potential gave me hope. Chamahk has to be the least inspiring striker ever. We might as well put Denilson up top…at least he has a better long shot. I know hope Bendtner stays and pushes his way through.
Overall, good result verse a good team considering how many of our top players were out.
I really don’t know what to think now…we probably need a midfielder, a striker and a defender ideally. Not from the standard of play, although poor at times, but for suitable cover!!! This really annoys me as I think that if healthy, our squad only needs a midfielder to help replace Cesc or Nasri. But now it looks like we might have to spend more. Although Jenkinson did very, very well and I hope to see a lot more of him. Thank god Vermaelen and Koscielny are both healthy!!! That makeshift back four did extremely well I thought!!! I agree with Shane here, Song can play further forward in a pinch as he has shown he is creative enough amd Frimpong can slot in behind Song and Ramsey. Frimpong added a lot of composure defensively as well as attacking-wise and although he is a big motherfucker, it looks like he can really move!!! He really is an intruiging prospect!!! I hope Ramsey can build on this performance and gain the confidence he needs to get back to where he was and continue his development!!!
New signing must come in immediately. Our midfield can’t keep the ball. and we still bombing forward without thinking of the defence. Especially Rocisky. He is running all over the place with the ball and trying to do fancy stuff instead of playing it simple and fast. He should now by now how a top CM play at Arsenal…. its a shame really. Frimpong and song needs to play at the same time and let Ramsey do the magic. Walcott and Gervinho knows how to be a treat upfront. Chamakh needs to hold the ball up much much better and pass it right.
4-3-3 make us too much vulnerable at the back. We was just lucky against Udinese. Let Gervinho play upfront and Chamberlain in the wings. Or Walcott upfront and Gervinho in the wings. Chamakh is not getting it. Chamberlain needs a chance now. Without signing we will have to call Aneke, Afobe and Ozzie. That is something I don’t want to see right now in the beginning of the season. But I can’t understand how we find it so hard to buy a player in a club like Arsenal. We should have been ready for this.
I also saw that we are €14M+ right now in the transfer window. Which mean if we wanna go plus after the closing we can buy at most 2 players with the quality we want. We have to find players that are close to end their contract or free players that are class….. We all know how much Wenger wants to go plus so I have lost my hope already. I expect one more player at least.
I predict a few youngsters moving up. With Afobe, Ozzie and Aneke the most likely. Then Watt have a chance too.
“On Chamahk. I am sad that Vela is gone. At least Vela’s potential gave me hope. Chamahk has to be the least inspiring striker ever. We might as well put Denilson up top…at least he has a better long shot.”
On last night’s performance, Diaby would actually be a decent replacement for RvP. The problem was that Chamakh was dropping very deep, and then not being able to turn. Diaby, for all his faults, can turn with the ball like few other players. If he drops deep, brings a CB with him, and then turns his defender and rolls simple passes into the gap that’s left for Walcott and Gervinho (or whoever) to run onto, it could be very effective. Doesn’t offer an aerial threat, though.
Let’s not forget, Chamakh could have had a penalty for a shove on him as he was going up for a free header in the box. Although the penalty would have been harsh, if he’d got his head on the ball, you’d back him to have buried it.
Man U played well. Pogba looks a prospect! Great burst of pace from Aneke to score the winner. We need that kind of determination in the senior team!
Chamakh is so bad it’s ridiculous. He looks like he doesn’t even no where to stand.
any true that traore is going on loan!!!cant be possible or wenger will have the most busy transfer in arsenal history
I kmow this doesn’t give Chamakh a free pass for piss poor play, but maybe his fasting for Ramadan has something to do with his insipid display??? Sagna fasts too though and he did fine!!!:S So I’m not sure, but one thing is for certain…we need a better Back-up option for Van Persie and we need Wilshere or somebody who can dictate or slow the tempo and keep posession back in the lineup!!! I noticed that the introduction of Frimpong helped in this regard, so maybe he’s worth a start against Liverpool??? I know that isn’t his main job on the pitch, but he helped a lot and seemed to settle the side down!!! I know if I were a midfielder or defender I would hesitate to tackle Frimpong even when he’s not going full burst!!! What a beast!!!
I know the transfer rumors usually are not true but I can’t help get excited about this Zarate link. He would be the coup of the summer if we get him, trust me on that.
What the heck is going on with Henri Lansbury? Should be playing.
I concur with the zarate thing…. i was dizzy with excitement….. but for now it seems only just a rumour :(
Zarate thing? Haven’t seen that. Who are we talking about, because I can’t imagine anyone getting too excited about current Lazio player Mauro Zarate. Bit unfair to call him a Birmingham reject, so I won’t, but he didn’t exactly set the world alight there, or since then at Lazio. If we want a striker who doesn’t score many, we already have Chamakh…
What are you talking about? He had a very good spell at Birmingham and he had 1 great year at Lazio but has had a few issues but that is a Wenger signing. Finding the diamond in the rough and Zarate is one hell of a diamond.
Chamakh has all the skills in the world to be dangerous upfront. He just needs to adopt a little and trying a lot more to do it himself. He try to play it simple too much.
At this point I am excited about any transfer rumors to us. I hope a new Striker comes in and a new midfielder and a new CB. there are the 3 priorities right now.
Zarate- talented but mercurial.
On loan for the season with an option to buy would be perfect. No way I’d pay the reported 20m Lazio want straight off the bat.
Shane>
He’s been ok, nothing special. Four goals in his season at Birmingham, 25 in 100+ games at Lazio, nothing particularly special. Considering Lazio paid €20 million for him, he’s not going to be cheap.
I mean, obviously I’ll back Wenger’s judgement whoever he signs, but if it’s Zarate, you can colour me surprised. In any case, I just don’t see why he’s a player you’d get so excited about, even if he might be a decent enough signing.
If you’ve watched him play a lot, do enlighten us, but from what I’ve seen, he’s nothing special, which is why he hasn’t done much even in a weak league.
Yes, I have watched him a ton. You can’t always put football down to simple numbers. We all know more things then just talent go into football. I mean Henry had trouble at Juventus and Bergkamp at Inter. They turned out pretty good. Lets not forget that the italian defensive style does not always fit top attackers. You have to judge the ability of the guy and consider if put in the right situation, will they succeed. You must judge the quality of a player and assume that in the right situation, you could exploit that quality.
I have watched Zarate a ton and I am telling you, the guy has special talent. I do not just randomly endorse players and I sure never discuss players that I have never watched. While there is no other Messi, Zarate is a player with similar skill. He takes players on and in tight spaces, he beats 2 or 3 players with that close ball control similar to Messi. He is as agile as they game and has good pace. He is also a top class finisher especially from long range. Then he has a quality free kick as well. The one knock he normally gets is that he is selfish on the ball but when I watch him, it is normally because of the italian style of play, he doesn’t have many players to link up with. Regardless, a little confidence on the ball and willingness to make the difference would not be a bad thing in our squad.
Now, the fee that was rumors was like 10 million pounds which is where I said, it would be the coup of the summer. I doubt this move is going to happen but he is a player I would be excited if we sign. I rate him on talent and quality higher then Mata. He would instantly become our best wide forward.
Its funny how people talk crap that have not watched a player play. Dave…. you are quite off. So what if he was a birmingham reject. is he playing great football now? how many people have been rejects only to recover their form e.g. Henry, viera…. dude the list goes on. is he better than all our forwards except RVP? he can play central midfield or supporting striker or striker…. he is good in tight spaces and even in a weak lazio team he had 9goals 7 assists in 35 games and nasri who played 43 games with 16 goals and 4 assists. he plays great foot ball period…. and i think he would help our team. Frankly i prefer bryan ruiz, Giampaolo Pazzini, Necid… the list goes on. But i would take zarate without even blinking.
mario balotelli was in a weak league did he score a lot? Eto’o was in a weak league how many did he score, Ibra? that argument is weak… and the italian league may not be creative going forward, but they know a thing or two about defense.
Rash>
I’m not writing him off (at all) – I was just really surprised people seemed so excited. He’s a decent player, but hardly a big name or really top prospect.
“Frankly i prefer bryan ruiz, Giampaolo Pazzini, Necid… the list goes on.”
Exactly. I mean, I’d love nothing more than for us to spend £20+ million on a player who then makes the fee look cheap, and if anyone’s going to find him, it’s Wenger, but I haven’t heard or seen anything to make me think Zarate is that player. Shane called him ‘the transfer coup of the summer’, which seemed a bit ott.
i would say compared to what we have brought in, jay is right but i see your point as well because we can get better.
“i would say compared to what we have brought in, jay is right”
Oh, yeah, didn’t see it that way. I’d be excited by any proper signing right now, it’s true, but it seems Shane was saying that he reckons Zarate is the dog’s bollocks. Hell, that could be true, I haven’t watched Zarate enough to have an opinion, but Shane hasn’t really been back to tell us why he thinks so.
I watch the italian Serie A every weekend on Sunday. I was really impressed by Zarate!!! He is kind of like Arshavin but he’s a bit bigger and faster I think. He’s got a lot of talent that’s for sure. I was more impressed by him in 2009/10 than last season, but everyone is entiteld to an off year. When he was in the squad he was still Lazio’s best creative player. Hernanes was superb as well but he plays in a deeper position in midfield than Zarate. Zarate CAN’T play centre-midfield like someone said. He’s not strong enough defensively, but he can play like Arshavin does, or through the middle. In a pinch, if we play 4-3-3, he can play in the 3 in midfield, he just obvously can’t be the midfield anchor!!! Shane already told you why this potential signing excites him, so I don’t know what else you want him to say…I think he’ll either be a stunning success or a complete and utter failure. That is the way he plays too. There isn’t too much middle ground with him. He’s either brilliant or he’s invisible. Like Arshavin. I think the more pressing need is a true midfielder, but another player who can play in the middle as well as out wide in the attacking third, like Nasri is alright as well.
I would say in some ways he reminds me of Arshavin in his prime. He doesn’t have the passing vision of Arshavin but he has the other attributes. Sometimes I think people don’t realize how great of a player Arshavin was in his prime.
Tevez no.9 and rvp no.10 awesome
nasri plus 10m then broker a salary deal with him.
Vertonghen no.4 and hazrd no.11.
swap squillaci with mertesacker and bring in scott parker for that no.8 shirt. finally no.22 needs filling and we need another left back surely wayne bridge is worth a punt as back up and if u are looking for a freebie to cover the.injuries to diaby henderson eastmond then why not joe.cole.
I don’t think people truly realize how ridiculously high the wages Manchester City players are on. And some of the other suggestions like Bridge and Joe cole were funny.
Tevez- NEVER EVER GOING TO HAPPEN.
Mertesacker rofl
Wayne Bridge Rofl
Joe Cole roflmao
Cheers Milo. Didn’t see Shane’s post before where he explained. I’ll have to keep an eye out for him now (unless he does sign…)
@ Shane, I know I didn’t watch the Russian league when Arshavin was in his true prime, but I have watched a lot of video of him from those days and obviously I saw the Euro 2008 championships and I really do appreciate how good he really is!!!:D I still think that Wenger should try him through the middle with Ramsey and Frimpong holding the midfield against Liverpool and give him a few matches in his true position!!! Wenger knows a lot more than I do though so maybe there is a reason for his decision to play him out on the wings. Obviously there was Fabregas and Nasri to consider in the past but now that they both might be going, there could be a chance that Arshavin gets to play where he prefers!!! I certainly hope to see him shine through the middle once more!!!:D Even if he has to go back to the Russian league to do it!!! I really hope to see Russia qualify for the Euro’s this year just so I can see him play off that striker again like he did 4 years ago!!!
That is one thing that has always frustrated me. I have always wanted to see him in his proper position. Yah, if you saw the Euros or the uefa cup the year before then you saw how good he was. Even in his first half of season here, he was just getting to the end of his prime but we all saw the 4 goal game verse liverpool. He had so much quality then.
7 minutes in and frimpong could not be more stupid. Already diving into challenges and picking up stupid yellow cards.
He has been a beast the first half now to be fair. As long as he learns to be smart in his play then we have a hell of a defensive mid on our hands
LOL Shane. No knee-jerk reactions here, eh? :)
No, it is reality. He had a great game but throws it all away with stupidity and honestly who didn’t see that red card coming. I mean, we only got 2 defensive mids and 1 is already suspended so you run around hacking people? Come on mate, there is no excuse for that.
Shane> You’re not wrong – I just found your flip-flop funny.
Still, can’t blame Frimpong for the red card – he was a bit overkeen, but Atkinson was always going to send him off whatever he did. If Kuyt, Lucas and co can get away with multiple tackles like that and not even get a free-kick given against them, whilst Frimpong got sent off for one foul and a bit of handbags that wasn’t worth a card at all, (and let’s not even mention failing to apply offside to Liverpool at any point) you know it’s because Atkinson’s one of the crooked refs in the league. I’m sure he’ll be getting an extra bonus in his brown envelope from Fergie this week.
It really frustrates me knowing that whatever we do, whatever youngsters come in, whatever stars Wenger might sign, crooks are bribing refs to throw matches.
I can’t help wondering if Wenger’s holding funds back because he knows the opposition’s bribing officials, and he’s learnt from his time at Monaco that when that’s what you’re up against you might as well save the money until the scandal breaks and you can compete fairly again.
You can’t blame that on the ref. Frimpong starts off diving in to a tackle. Then he does the “hand bags” to get the first yellow and then the last yellow was clearly a yellow card foul. We can’t make excuses for everything. He was not provoked like Gervinho. He was simply acting in an immature way. Now we are left with no defensive mids to go face Manchester United. Awesome
Also there was no flip flop at all. My first comment was on him being dumb, not his talent. I said the same thing about him playing dumb sometimes but I just added a comment on his talent.
Flip flop is if I said, “he is shit” and then 10 minutes later, say, “He is awesome”.
Frimpong played well but was silly to get a second yellow but why in the first place is Arsene Wenger not investing. Arshavin was utterly appalling no heart no commitment. In fact all the young players Miquel,Jenkinson,and Frimpong played well.
On has to say that with the team we had out there, it was not a bad performance but at the same time, none of these injuries are a surprise because they happen every year so can you really on that as an excuse.
Lets be real, there is no creativity out there which has been obvious for 3 games now. Also half of our players should be on pay as you play wages.
On Vermaelen…. He was in beast mode. Without Vermaelen, I can’t imagine what the score would have been.
On Szczesny…. same thing as Vermaelen. One of our best players.
On Sagna and Jenkinson….. I don’t get why we did not put Jenkinson on the left sense he doesn’t really provide much in the attacking 3rd anyways and let Sagna who is the best right back in the league stay on the right.
On Walcott…. He is good at 2 things. Running fast and finishing. He is not good at all at taking players on with the ball and he can’t pass. He is wasted way out there on the right wing. It looked so easy by Enrique.
On Bendtner and Chamahk…… This one cracks me up. We state Bendtner is allowed to leave yet we have so little confidence in Chamahk that a guy that we are allowing to leave come in instead of chamahk.
On Miquel….what did you expect? Lets be honest, he did better then we would have thought but it still was not good enough. 3 games in and Bartley would already be in the line up if he stayed.
On Arshavin…. I have said many times, he is my favorite player of all time but from a realistic point of view, he is just past it and that is clear.
Overall, I mean who did not see this coming. I am not shouting for us to waste money, but realistically, it is clear that we need several things including a play maker, another striker, a better back up center back and I would even say a left back. I think we are good at defensive mid because Frimpong is clearly good but definitely needs a talking to.
Forgot Nasri. While he clearly was not at his sharpest, at least he showed some passion.
Jenks was great today. I think it would have been a bit much to ask him to play on the left, though. At least we were solid in defence.
You’re right, this wasn’t the performance to make use of Walcott’s assets.
Bendtner is allowed to leave because he’s asked to, not because we want rid of him.
No idea what you think Miquel did wrong. He was excellent, all things considered. Perhaps that’s why Bartley was loaned out?
“Frimpong starts off diving in to a tackle. Then he does the “hand bags” to get the first yellow and then the last yellow was clearly a yellow card foul. We can’t make excuses for everything.”
No, but when you get a ref like that, it doesn’t matter what a player does – if he hadn’t given him the yellow for handbags, the ref would have given it to him for something else. You could see from the first minute that a red card was Atkinson’s aim for the match.
I don’t know why there’s so much resistance in England to admitting that our refs are largely a bunch of crooks when it’s so obscenely obvious.
The ref could have given him a yellow for diving in at the beginning. The ref could have given him the 2nd yellow on a couple occasions. It was not the refs fault. It is Frimpongs fault and no one elses. You can’t always blame the ref.
I have seen the refs make horrible calls but this was not one of them.
Jenkinson would have been fine on the left because all he provides is defense. You generally don’t want right footed players playing left back because of crossing going forward so it would not have mattered.
I said, Miquel did well for what we would have expected but at the end of the day, he also had a big role in what we also expected in giving up a goal. He did not do bad though.
Jom, I think you are getting lost in translation mate. I have said I believe we need to strengthen. All I am saying here is that some people forgot the real goal which is long term. Yes once Fabregas left I felt it was going to be difficult right away. Especially because we sold a 50 million pound player for cheap. It is what it is though and we are still on track for the long term goal so there is nothing to cry about.
keep decreasing the level of the first team buy keep sending experience away and buy even younger players with no experience whats so ever will not make us better. Fabregas was going away and everyne knew it… still nothing happen in the transfer… Nasri is going away and nothing happen…. CB is an issue and nothing happen…..
Can we still demand super quality when the team is looking like this? We have no other choice than to pay big for the players now cus the clubs know we have no other choice than to pay what they demand if we wanna become better.
Ohh and I forgot that we keep players that are mediocre and stick with them for 3-4 season… really. I honestly think Wenger has lost it but I can’t see who’s gonna come instead… we are in a fucked up situation.
What I think is the best right now is to get the players we can from the transfer.. I don’t care whos coming in clearly we need a few players who can keep the ball… Arshavin keep giving it away and do stuff he can’t. And then pass the ball in nowhere constantly. Give Chamberlain the chance NOW and give Lansbury the chance NOW, who looked like he is the midfield we re missing right now. If no transfers comes in we need to be patient and give the youngsters a chance to improve. We will end up 7th but atleast we manage to stay up in the PL and we will be better next season.
It is not all doom and gloom like people paint out because this is all just a transition time. We all know it is about just getting through this period of time until the stadium is finished. At the same time though, Wenger can’t say we can spend 40 million on a player and then not improve the obvious weak areas. It is all a bit confusing. How ever, do I think another manager in our situation could be super rich Man City, Man United and Chelsea…? No, so that with what Wenger has done for the long term success of the club, I will stick with him. Now if we were falling well below our realistic expectations, then that might be different but truth is, we have still never finished outside of the top 4 with Wenger so we are not.
@ shane
Yeah we have never been outside of 4th place… but the truth is also that the time has changed and today we got 5 top teams. not 3 or 4 anymore. And if you look at the quality and experience we have right now it is chocking.
Ryo, Cambell,Chamberlain is unproven and with no experiance in the PL. Those are quite big gamble. And are suppose to win us the CL and the League…. are you serious? No experience in the highest level either.
Then we got some very very very injury prone players like Rocisky and Diaby who are also suppose to carry us and win title… that is a joke.
Then we got Arshavin, bendtner and sometimes chamakh who doesn’t perform consistently and is giving us a hard time defending.
Add to that many youngsters who now needs to perform consistently in the very very top level we demand. I mean world class level. We are not winning the league or CL by playing average.
Now put all these things together and imagine us end top 4 below teams like Tottenham, liverpool, everton, aston villa and sunderland. If you still think we can do it yo have lost it. We are expecting too much of this team right now. We have no other choice than to buy big to improve and secure a top spot or any title challenge.
Everything I said has be spot on if we don’t buy and that is never gonna happen. Frimpong was gonna be sent off when he got the yellow card no doubt. Someone needs to tell him to defend by thinking at times.
Jom…. We are not suppose to win the premier league or the champions league right now. Do you realize how difficult it is? For one we have never won a champions league final in our entire history so why is it now that this is a must? And the league is really really fucking difficult. Manchester United are one of the top 2 or 3 biggest clubs in the world and Man City and Chelsea have unlimited budgets. Hell even last year with all that Man City money, they only finished 3rd and Liverpool has not won a league title in how many years now? What Arsenal are doing is trying to see out the process of paying of our new stadium which will eventually allow us to compete financially with the other big clubs. Yes, we could open up the check book and bring in a 40 million pound over priced player but would that gaurentee short term success? Probably not and it would set us back from the long term goal. Now I am not arguing against strengthening the squad, just saying people perspectives are all fucked up right now.
Shane
yeah we have never won CL but we have challange for it. But now it seems like you are happy with things and come with excuses. Who said we can’t challenge like the others right now? We sold some players and should be buying players who are experience or really top class. It doesn’t have to be expensive but at least bring in some players so we can have some depth and not relying on injury prone players. And I don’t care about liverpool and what city does. Whats matter is what we do with our team and be aware of the competition and not take anything lightly like you seems to do.
We will never challenge for anything this season and will struggle like any middle team if we keep this squad. Frimpong will be suspended for a few times this season I feel. And will put us in 10 vs 11 if he keeps playing like a league 2 player. Playing physical is one thing, playing stupid is another thing.
I just don’t understand some people. Yeah we have a weak squad this season and we will at least be in top 4 so we are happy but then when we have a good squad they complain about why we didn’t win the league. We will fall apart like a brick stone with this attitude. We will end up top 4 no matter what and then when we have paid off the debt we will buy players for 400M…. not gonna happen. And just stupid thinking to buy these kind of players anyway. How is a 40M player gonna make us better??? I never said that. I said we need to buy and this season is a failure already if we don’t buy.
Please can we all.finally accept that jenkinson miquel frimpong lansbury and ramsey have not got the experience to carry us through. can we also accept that djourou gibbs traore diaby and rosicky do not have the fitness and arshavin chamakh walcott and bendtner do not have the quality. on we are only a point down on the corresponding fixtures last season. but wednesday represents our biggest game since the champions league final of 2006. it is a must win match. so sad when it is only our 4th match of the season.
The most important transfer Arsenal need this season…Wenger to Man United, city or chelsea…ahh man this transfer would be better than messi to arsenal
Mannone
jenkinson
djouroy
miquel
traore
frimpong
lansbury
ramsey
chamberlain
campbell
miyaichi
a great team for the.carling cup but lets be honest we need much more for epl and cl matches. i know everyone has laughed at barton parker jcole ccole
“The ref could have given him a yellow for diving in at the beginning. The ref could have given him the 2nd yellow on a couple occasions. It was not the refs fault. It is Frimpongs fault and no one elses. You can’t always blame the ref.”
Shane, I think you’re wrong. Sure, you can point to things the ref could have done differently and still sent off Frimpong, but the fact is that if he consistently applied the same rules to Liverpool as he did to Frimpong, Carroll and Lucas would both have been sent off in the first half.
The ref also consistently gave Liverpool far more leeway to foul Arsenal without giving free-kicks than vice-versa, gave two offside goals, and so-on. Either he had the shocker of all shockers, and Arsenal were just unlucky to have every single decision go against them, or the ref’s a cheat.
Now, you can say maybe it was just unlucky when it’s one match, or even two, three, four or five at a stretch. When it’s almost every match for an entire season, and then starts again from the start of next season, you know something’s up.
We disagree, simple as that mate. No point in keeping this discussion going.
Shane>
Yeah, but I want to understand why you disagree. Am I going utterly mad, or the first person to spot something going on? It wouldn’t be my first time either way :)
You’re almost entirely right in your post to Jom about money – one thing, though, is that it’s not really paying off the stadium that’s important: at the moment we need to catch up on commercial deals with United, and either way we can’t compete directly with City and Chelsea on financial matters.
If you would have said your comment when Gervinho got sent off or in last years Newcastle game. Or when Bramble pushed Arshavin in the back last year and it was a clear penalty. Or when Rooney got away with elbowing James McCarthy in the face, etc. This situation was not a conspiracy though. It was simply Frimpong not playing smart.
i dont know why people talked about defence all summer. our defence is fine its the attack thats rubbish. failing to finish off team that comes back to haunt us in the second half. i thought arshavin was going to be subbed in the second half but i have a feeling that miyaichi is the new vela, he will only have a place on the bench and will never be selected ahead of the 3 donkeys( chamakh, bendtner and arshavin).
wenger should have even started with chamberlain instead of that russian. arsene is not onlt buying players but still keeping the rubbish that cost us last year
It is funny to see people come around lol. This is what I said all summer especially enlight of Fabregas going. Aside from depth at centerback (which we had in Bartley) and my worry about the injury issues with gibbs at left, I actually have faith in our back 4. I thought we were going to lack creativity. Remember the year when we bought Arshavin. We were having all those issues creating chances.
did you people realise that frimpong was covering the job of 2 people in the midfield, ramsey was totally invisible.
Oh, now people use that as an excuse but when Song is playing in their no body says that.
Agreed, before kos got injured I didn’t get the impression that we would’ve conceded, and would have been very happy with a draw.. Fair dues to the young players today though, Miquel didn’t do much wrong when he came on, Jenks did well, and even with the inevitable red card Frimpong was a beast.. I reckon Song should be really looking over his shoulder, and speculating from what I’ve seen today I would consider Frimps the more balanced player..
More balanced then Song? I hate how people short change Song. Oh well, I am going to look at it from the point of it looks like we have 2 top defensive mids on our hands. To bad neither will be playing verse Manchester united.
I think we’re gonna be just fine. I’m too lazy to say why though so I’m not gonna go in to details. @ Shane, I think Jenkinson is very good on the ball and made some good passes out there!!! Yes he didn’t really venture in to the final 3rd, but his main priority should be defense at this point in his career and the attacking aspects of his play will show themselves in the not to distant future I would wager!!! Give him some time is all. I still liked the look of our back 4, and 5 , when Frimpong was on the pitch!!! Very encouraging defensive display again!!! I just have a feeling that we are going to be alright and even if we finish out of the top 4, we will be in the champions league this season because we will win on Wednesday, or draw at the very least!!!
Milo, do you not have a period button on your computer? lol. I did not say anything bad about Jenkinson. I just thought he should have been on the left so Sagna could help us in attack more.
MIlo>
“even if we finish out of the top 4”
Don’t worry – the one real plus we can take from today was getting a good look at Liverpool and realising we’re not going to have to worry about them unless we have an absolutely dire season. They certainly appear to have flushed most of the cash they spent straight down the toilet.
LOL that is more what I took from the game to be honest. Liverpool have spent how much now and they are not going to win the title. At least as a club we are moving forward. Liverpool still have a small stadium and are spending a ton of money so we are ahead of them in the bigger picture.
I mean the whole game, I was thinking how in the hell is Jordan Henderson worth 20 million. I give them credit on Charlie Adam, Luis Suarez (who I was never a fan of but 23 million pounds is still a ton of money) and Enrique (who looked very good) but 75 million pounds on Henderson, Downing and Carroll is a joke. 17 million pounds on Glen Johnson is shocking. 20 million on Robbie Keane who a couple years later is off to LA Galaxy.
Yeah well I said “even if we finish out of the top 4” just in case it actually happens!!!:S I don’t know if it will and right now I’d say it’s about 50-50 but we’ll see. I really hope to see Wilshere play soon!!! That would help a bit, but I don’t know…we need someone else as well I think. I really would like to see us buy Marvin Martin or Mauro Zarate, or both!!!:D I don’t know if I’d pay 60 million pounds for the both of them combined though!!!:S We’re deffinately in a bit of a pickle when it comes to creating chances from the midfield!!! I mean Ramsey just hasn’t improved like I thought he would. He will come around eventually and become a top player, but until then I don’t know what we can do to make the situation better. Ramsey really has to look inside of himself and ask himself if he’s doing all he can to contribute to the squad!!! He’s not as solid as he used to be defensively and he’s not nearly as incisive as he was two years ago offensively. It still looks like he’s lacking match fitness for some reason. He had the injury but I thought he would have at least recovered his strength and endurance by now!!!:S I think we just have to be patient with him though and he’ll be alright!!!:D If Wenger and Cesc have confidence in him then we should too!!! Liverpool were shit on the day too, so I don’t expect them to set the world alight!!!:D Fuck them!!!
Marvin Martin is what Arsenal need, the best playmaker out there and only $10 million, Arsene Wenger better move fast.
Shane>
Suarez looks ok for the money – that is, he’s a good player, but he ought to be for £23 million. I’d put Charlie Adam in the waste of money category as well, though – I’m not sure he’d have started for us today if he’d been in our squad, even with all the problems. Really need to know his wages to know if it was good value for money or not, but even without that it’s my opinion that he’s (by a small amount) not good enough to be a squad player for a top four club.
I thought Enrique looked a bit rubbish, too, to be honest. He’s a decent enough player, but Sagna makes a better left back, and, really, Jenkinson was about as good at right back as Enrique is on the left.
Not sure if I’ve said just how impressed I’ve been with Jenny, though. I thought he was going to be a reserve player this year at best, but from what we’ve seen so far he’s seriously quick, has good positioning for a young player, can tackle, and whilst he’s completely inexperienced, looks pretty solid as back-up.
You weren’t impressed with enrique? He got forward well and made Walcott look like a horrible player. And I disagree on Charlie Adam. I think he is a quality player. Yah, thats why I said that about Suarez. For 23 million he should be a good player.
“Marvin Martin is what Arsenal need, the best playmaker out there and only $10 million”
By the way, I really hate it when people do that. Tell us a bit more about the guy if you’ve watched him, because we can’t all watch everyone out there.
Reminds me of Xavi. He is good in small spaces, has good vision and is a good link up player. I have not watched a whole lot of him to really go more in depth though but he plays with that style.
Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t short changing song, I’ve always rated the guy! But with more experience under his belt I reckon Frimpong will be the better player.. I especially liked that his attitude, although brash, shows he has the balls to take the game to the opposition..
“You weren’t impressed with enrique? He got forward well and made Walcott look like a horrible player.”
Liverpool were doubling up on Walcott, so it’s not just down to Enrique. I have no recollection of Enrique doing anything particularly noticeable at all in the match. (That last sentence may not be 100% literally true.)
Enrique#s not a bad player – not by a long shot – but he’s also not a top player. Bit too average for that.
I’ve only seen Marvin Martin play twice…for France…so I don’t actually know what I am talking about…I’ve been impressed with him each match I saw him play and I thought he could help us. He has very good vision and he has the ability to pick the final pass and he can play a very accurate long ball like Cesc could for us. BUT it sounds like Ozyakup is a similar player and if Martin comes that could disrupt his development and hinder his chances. The best player should come out on top and shine though!!! I really would like us to get Martin. BUT I won’t be upset if we don’t
enough of weak midfielders
jack jodwell is available, the real english steel. he can also play in defence.
i meant jack rodwell
Jack Rodwell is possibly the most overrated player in Britain. A good prospect but there’s no way in hell he should be a starting XI player for a top side.
Jamie reckons Coquelin could start against United. Awesome. He’s better than Frimpong.
Coquelin is better then Frimpong? Are you out of your mind. A couple years ago probably but Frimpong has developed into a beast while Coquelin is a little small for a defensive mid at this level.
“Coquelin could start against United. Awesome. He’s better than Frimpong.”
Don’t know about that, but you made me think of something: if Wenger had signed a young DM who’d done well in France last season, everyone would be reasonably pleased, but when Coquelin comes in having been out on loan, everyone will say how rubbish it is to play a kid…
“Jack Rodwell is possibly the most overrated player in Britain.”
Yeah, but he’s not really even close. Who is actually the most over-rated player? Could have a good debate about it.
I’ll plump for Rio Ferdinand, based on last season, although Rooney would also be up there, along with de Gea, as would absolutely anyone who plays for the Spuds. Andy ‘Roy’ Carroll? Charlie Adam has to be up there as well, at the moment.
No, wait, what am I saying: it’s clearly Samba.
I don’t think any of those guys you just listed are “over rated”. Ferdiand is just coming to the end of his prime like all players do at some point. It is not like people rate him as high as Vidic.
Rooney was completely over rated until about 2 years ago and he has come in to his own. I think he is even better now in the number 10 role. He is not my favorite player but definitely not that over rated.
De Gea is just a young boy. You are clearly judging him on 1 or 2 games when every knows goal keepers are going to make mistakes. Even van der sar had his low points.
I don’t see how the whole Spurs team is over rated lol.
Andy Carroll by his price tag of course is over rated but so is almost every other big money transfer now days. I don’t think any of the public actually rates him as a 35 million pound player.
I also disagree on Samba and Adams as well.
Most over rated players to me are like Jordan Henderson, John Terry (I never got why he was rated higher then Carvalho), Darren Fletcher, Nigel De Jong (fucking hacker), Chamahk (how is he an Arsenal player lol), Phil Jaqielka, Glen Johnson (of course), Lampard (He is made by PKs and the good chelsea players giving him easy goals), etc. This is of course all opinion though.
jack rodwell might not be tricky/creative like cesc and nasri but he’s the kind of player we really need in the squad. he does simple things to push the team forward.
how can you call a 20 years old overrated.he’s still learning and can turn out to be top defender or DM. he could have been useful in the second half once we noticed frimpong was risking a red card.
in my opinion, if we have wilshere, ramsey,frimpong,rodwell,song and maybe one more then we can just concentrate on spending big on a big striker to bang us goals we are lacking.
Remember we have a few talented CM’s in the reserve team as well, like Landsbury who had a good season in the Championship with Norwich last season, and Aneke, just to name the two obvious candidates for a first team opportunity this season. We also have Coquelin who has the potential to be a great DM as well as Frimpong.
I personally feel we’ve now been reset how we were a few seasons back, promising young team who will need time to properly gel and flourish with a few hangers on getting in the way.
A striker would be a good call, we should have Joel Campbell coming who looks decent but isn’t exactly experience, RVP doesn’t need replacing but we need somebody to back him up, and we don’t really have a man to do that effectively atm. Maybe Campbell can prove to be that player but it’s hard to look at teams like City bringing in players like Aguero and not feel frustrated.
judging from last game i doubt arsenal need samba or jagielka as long as he keeps them fit.
ignasi miquel should be ahead of squillaci.then again, they is still incertainty on the left back position, both injured! maybe we should buy one
If we’re signing a midfielder, another 20 year old is really not what we need AT ALL. I don’t understand why on earth we’d go after Rodwell, we’ve got plenty of young talent in midfield. We need experience and quality, not another prospect.
And Coquelin is absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt better than Frimpong.
Though I like Frimmy a lot as as well.
Traore and Gibbs are both injury prone. We can’t rely on them for the whole season. If nothing happen in this transfer window something will happen in the JAN. We can’t let Sagna play as LB the whole season.
Whats wrong with Davide Santon? He can play as a LB I’ve heard. He might going to Newcastle. We should bring him here if he’s not injury prone.
And seriously RVP needs to hold the ball a lot better too. Best striker in the team and one of the best player too but come on he is losing the ball easy when he got it.
I think Sunu will come straight in to the team cus we are desperate right now. So much is missing at the moment I can’t believe it. I hope Cambell get a visa fast cus in not now when is he going to get a better chance to come into the team?
the midfield is missing something too and clearly Arshavin is not a man for 90 min of hard work. Maybe a substitute but not a starter. Walcott has improved a lot and should keep his place but Chamberlain needs to get a chance ahead of Arshavin.
Jom>
There’s largely no such thing as an injury-prone player (with rare exceptions like Ledley King who have chronic conditions). Look up statistical clustering. Some players do get more injuries than others, but it’s mostly just the luck of the draw.
What bud? There are clearly injury prone players. RVP and Djurou for example. I have a friend that gets injured almost everytime he plays. He has had so many surgeries that it is just getting ridiculous now.
you can call it what the hell you want but Diaby, rosicky, gibbs, traore, rvp are injured a couple of months every damn season. I don’t know what to call them by one thing is for sure. They can’t stay fit for a long period and thats my point. Luck or not luck I don’t care it happens to the same players season after season and something has to be done.
enough with the age bashing, i think most arsenal fans dont know what to think anymore, they just follow the media.
actually all our kids played well last night and in contrary the oldest player on the field was arshavin and he was crap. chamberlain or miyaichi could have done better. everyone is buying kids these days including chelsea/man utd, the only criticise arsenal.
jack rodwell maybe only 20 but have premiership experience than anyone we will bring in from abroad who can’t even speak english. nothing wrong with having him just as a squad player anyway.
i was arsene i will sack arshavin and play chamberlain or miyaichi, they might be young but they will make efforts.
Yes let’s pay £20m for a 20 year old squad player.
Thank god you’re not in charge at Arsenal.
first of all, jack rodwell won’t cost 20 millions. arsenal just spent 12 millions on a kid that don’t even play whats the difference?
keep haggling over prices then you on your way to become a midtable team. to be top you have to pay top fee.
btw, chelsea just signed juan mata
its a total disgrace hw mr.wenger is been treated we support aresnal but it seems like da only people dat can aford 2go 2a game is a bunch of muppets give da boys ur support its nt helpn all guns blazing
if u didnt no which player ws bought 4 20mil pong r henderson must b avn a laugh all guns blazing
“Coquelin is better then Frimpong? Are you out of your mind. A couple years ago probably but Frimpong has developed into a beast while Coquelin is a little small for a defensive mid at this level.”
As i said he is absolutely without doubt better than Frimpong. Frimmy is practically a year behind having been out injured all last year. Coquelin has had a whole years regular football in a good league, and impressed everybody. Frimpong is bigger and stronger; Coquelin is more technical, quicker and more tenacious.
Size is completely irrelevant when you’re as tenacious as Le Coq- look at Flamini, Lass Diarra etc. He’s a little terrier.
Speaking of Flamini, Coquelin is the closest thing we’ve had to Mathieu since he left. And how we’ve missed that kind of player. The kind that will hassle and harry for 90 minutes and never give opponents a second on the ball.
Coq is so good. I saw him play last season and he is also very versatile. He works hard for the team and keep hassle the other team for 90 min. If you look at what Ramsey is doing for the team right now it is fantastic. Ramsey works his socks off for the team and try things forward. If we had Coq in the team too alongside with Wilshere or Lansbury or even Song our midfield will be like passing hell. everyone works so hard for the team and that is the most important thing right now. We need players that are not only good but can work hard and tracking back in the defence. The second goal could have been prevented by Nasri. He didn’t track back and follow his man when he could. Watch the replay. Frimpong is sometimes too slow and too aggressive when he try to defend. But he is a good player no doubt about it. Anyway we need more cover in midfield and Wingers who track back for the team.
If we don’t have the class we used to have then atleast bring on players who works for the team. We have enough class to beat anyone right now but hard work in all over the pitch is a must if we want to win this season.
im sorry but coquelin is marginal at best. I still think arsenal needs to go back to 4-4-2. We do not particularly have the players to succeed in 4-3-3 and i do believe that is the major problem that we are having…. at least 1/2 of the team cannot keep pace with the formation or are on a consistent basis playing out of position in that formation. When we go forward our midfielders leave the defense exposed… Frimpong left me impressed because he tracked back and forgive me for saying this even though he cost us the game but i love that pitbull in him… he just needs to harness it. Say no to jack rodwell please…. Kaka? no. Actually outsides of Hazard we have not yet been linked to anyone that i am impressed with. Our current team is a good one but needs a bit more time. One last thing we have the WORST ABSOLUTELY WORST FANS in the premier league. I mean give me a break… let these boys play and get better.
For many years have the fans been patient but they are now fed up with it. Everything we’ve waited for when the team was new and young 4 years ago has been thrown away. We have started all over again but this time with an even younger squad.
Don’t you understand? We also manage to fill the stadium every match but now its so frustrating when nothing happen and we bring in players that are not ready to be champions yet.
I totally understand why the fans are booing but I don’t agree with that. But it seems like we’ve drop a few levels and the fans don’t like that. How are we suppose to show frustration? Stop buying tickets? Cheer the team up like it was nothing? Like we have won CL twice and won trophies regularly? For 6 years have we been cheering and listen to Wenger but this time we have lost it.
I don’t want to sack Wenger.. he is the only one who I think can make something of this current squad. But obviously he has done something wrong here and that are investing for quality so we have depth. We have a huge squad but not really depth.
What on earth does marginal at best mean?
We know the 4-3-3 can work brilliantly for us, we’ve just got players out of form and injured- or leaving the club ie: Cesc/Nasri. Wouldn’t hurt to try a different formation though. Maybe 2 up front, although we are extraordinarily average bar Van Persie in the strikers department so perhaps not.