Arsène Wenger has put a selection of fringe youngsters on stand by ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United, as the Frenchman’s selection headache continues, Young Guns understands.
The Gunners will give fitness tests to Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou and Bacary Sagna this morning, with the latter complaining of illness on Saturday. Ignasi Miquel and the fit again Armand Traoré are both ready to step in if they all fail.
Elsewhere, the suspensions to Alexandre Song and Emmanuel Frimpong mean Francis Coquelin is in line to start at Old Trafford. He only returned from international duty with France Under-20’s on Thursday, but trained with the first-team on Friday, and is thought to be preferred to Henri Lansbury.
Like Coquelin, fellow countryman Gilles Sunu also returned on Thursday, and should be named on the bench, due to injuries to Ryo Miyaichi and Benik Afobe. Both of whom have been ruled out for around 10 days.
Joining Lansbury, Miquel, Traoré, Coquelin and Sunu in travelling to Manchester, is Dutchman Oğuzhan Özyakup, who has been promised further first-team involvement after signing a new contract this summer.
You can follow the progress of the youngsters involved on our Twitter feed.
lambs to the slaughter?
wow scared and excited
IM JUST IN SHOCK RIGHT NOW……………….
according to the telegraph we are going to sign andre santos from fenerbache http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/8729940/Arsenal-begin-rebuilding-process-with-signing-of-Brazil-left-back-Andre-Santos.html
Seems like Lansbury’s days at Arsenal are numbered. What has happened? He is way down in the pecking order at the moment.
think we need a more defensive minded player – lansbury will get chances
whoa !!!… is it the toilet we are playing at or a reserve game ?
Blimey, we really are down to the bare bones. Hopefully the youngsters put in a good performance if they’re given the chance.
if we don’t lose today, in five years we will have at least one champions league title, i guarantee that…
provided he passes the fitness test, djourou can play dm
It’s my understanding that, whatever happens fitness test wise, Coquelin will start at DM.
Maybe, just maybe, Lansbury doesn’t want it enough. This is arsenal and nobody will hand you a first team place if you are coming from the youth ranks. its no guaranty. There is no financial implication for not playing you and also no shame in admitting you didn’t work out that comes with being a proper signing. So you have to grab with both hands when that chance comes… see wilshere, frimpong, gibbs, afobe. These guys do not want to fade into the long list of youth that don’t make it. to them its not enough that they are arsenal reserve players. They want to be in the first team. They are ruthless as they don’t mind who they knock out to be there. Lansbury has to show desire to be in it.. he’s getting older and very soon his chance to have his name in lights and adorning the back of jerseys would be gone and it would be no one’s fault but his. wish him the best though as he’s and arsenal boy through and through.
Completely agree. It is down to the player to prove himself. It is not like we are Chelsea and just never give the players a shot. If you are good enough then you will make it. I thought it was funny that no one brought up Lansbury after he got a chance verse Benfica and he played so bad that he even admitted on twitter that he played like shit.
Really? I am sure Gibbs has a fantastic attitude, but has he really grabbed his place with all of his injury woes? Yet, despite not being able to relie on him for more than 2 weeks straight, he gets chance after chance. I really hope Gibbsy gets over his injury problems, but it just shows that there is player preference and politicking at Arsenal. Arsene has been fantastic with the youth, but I agree with YoungGuns in saying that certain players do get a longer leash then others, and I am just sad to see young Henri not get the shot his ability deserves.
Possibly, but Coquelin is a better fit at DM than Lansbury. I like Lansbury as a player but DM is not his position of choice.
What did exactly Gibbs has done that you can count “grabbing the chance with both hands”?
Getting injured in every 20 minutes only makes him look better,haven’t really pushed Clichy for the first team spot,did he?
Lansbury impressed on loan and I’m sure if Arséne let him grow in the first squad he can be with us for at least years.Though it seems Wenger tries to get shot of him before the window starts,I mean he surely has his favourites(Traoré goes out on loan yet again(QPR?),showing nothing less than Gibbs?)
There are some players that get there chances by potential and being highly rated. I mention this in a comment below and besides, Gibbs looked pretty good before he got injured. By the way, Gibbs was on loan at Norwich a good 3 or 4 years ago as a teenage so doing alright in the championship does not mean you are now good enough for Arsenal and people pretend like Lansbury set the league alight. He was a good player their but not like people pretend.
Like I said below, the less fancied players can all pull a Flamini if they work hard and make their chances count.
Coquilin was a head of frimpong before going on loan! Very good tackling midfielder…looking forward to seeing him!!
Henri wont sign a new contract.
papers tomorrow bendtner swap with arteta
I always thought Bendtner would be a good fit for Everton, so why not kill two birds with one stone and get shot of him and pick up Arteta into the bargain?
It should be Baines we need a player like him at LB was a ironman for Everton? Sad to say this NB + 10mil for Baines makes sense!
That sounds too good to be true.
Amazing stuff! sunu makes the team. Have not been really impressed with him the few times have seen him play,as for coq i hope he does not lose the ball in dangeous position like he did against Nigeria and i know alot of people rate him highly including J S. On the match itself am only looking forward to a spirited display and 11 players who gave their all. Best of luck tommorow
Been waiting long time for Coquelin to play. Will be big test, but if he shows enough passion like Frimsong, who I believe if not up to his level, its going to be the making of him.
Most people think Arsenal are going to lose this one given our threadbare squad, so may as well see whether Coquelin and maybe one or two others have got what it takes against tough competition. We honestly have nothing to lose, and plenty to gain if Coquelin (and others) make the step up.
United will have jones smalling degea rapheal cleverley welbeck not exactly old boys are they.
The funny thing is we are at a point with the media that it is like who cares. We know what they are going to write if we lose and we know if we win, they will still down play it. With all the injuries and suspensions plus still looking to add a couple players and playing at Manchester are we supposed to win? Is the game tomorrow going to represent what our normal team will be like for the season? No, so just relax and enjoy the game.
Don’t forget to add Howard Webb to that equation.
Really looking forward to to see some of these youngsters win or lose. Coquelin, Sunu and Ozy these are the players i am really anxious to see and if they play with the fire it will be interesting, Manu young players may have more experience, but anything can happen
We’re going to be butchered on tv
If TV is healthy we might see Djourou playing as a DM, with Arshavin, Theo and RVP in attack. First team should be good enough, but we best pray we don’t need to make any substitutions…
we often play with two DF’s while one of them is more offencive, but today i expect a more deffencive formation anyway… coquelin played in lorient first team, starting almost every game, and that was in leagua 1, last year… this year he can only be better, and i certainly don’t see the harm in playing him… if he provec to be good, we save up to 25 millions on m’vila, which can be spent elsewhere…
At the end of the day Lansbury isn’t a DM. We need a DM and Coquelin is more fitting to that role.
Lansbury got his playing time against Liverpool.
What is the crack with him though, did he sign an extension or is he in his last year of contract?
Massive chance for coquelin if he does start altho i prefer TV or even djourou at CDM to be on the safe side, altho united’s midfield isnt as it use to be with cleverley anderson and carrick…
I think it’s best to give the players like Coquelin, Sunu & Ozyakup a baptism of fire. It worked for Wojciech Szczesny. I would rather have these players if they play bad(i hope not) play bad against United rather than a sub par team like Shrewsbury town. Its a huge confidence boast for these players and sometyms thats all you need as a footballer to take your game to a new level.
In ARSENE WE TRUST
Proud 2 B a Gooner 4 life
What, I don’t really get that logic at all. Look, I think we are past the point of just playing young players for the hell of it. Szczesny got his chance because of his talent and performance and was always seen as the number 1 in the near future. Then you have Frimpong, Wilshere, Walcott, Ramsey and Gibbs who Wenger has always fancied. This situation is different. I think it is more of a Flamini case. Some less hyped players getting a shot because of the situation and it is up to them to grab it by the neck.
Isn’t Coquelin a damn good player? I say let’s go with him. Let’s see what he’s got. Looking forward to tomorrow.
from alll the youth players we have i like coquelin the most. Even over frimpong . its not about skill , its just that have any of u ever heard this boy complain or anything about going on loan all the time or anything of the sort nd now he is being rewarded with a chance against a big side . I guess its true when they say good things come to those who wait. [ yes im thinking about u nasri -.-]
He has only been on loan once and where would he complain? It is not like the media follows him. There are plenty of reserve players that I have never heard complain but ultimately it will come down to his ability. Frimpong is in there now because of his ability. Szczesny , Wilshere and Gibbs are the same. I am excited to see the kid get his chance though and we will see where we are at with him.
make not mistake our kids are better than man u kids, if you can start by comparing sczesny with de gea you will know we can pull it off as we have nothing to lose everyone wrote us off already. yes wenger should bite the bullet and start coquelin. even more coz arshavin is a risk you don’t know how he will turn up, alex the ox please stand up. QUE SERA SERA!
Coquelin should start at DM. Djourou would be a horror-show his lack of awareness would be exploited even more than when he plays as a CB.
So in DM position Coquelin > Djourou.
I haven´t seen much of Coquelin though but what I´ve seen from him I have a feeling that his baptism of fire will be pretty solid.
ARSENAL TIL I DIE!
I just died – 8 times
personally i wouldn’t want lansbury to start tomorrow. not good if things go wrong for him, for arsene not to make decision we all dont want to hear and also for his confidence.
he’s not cesc but given chance can grow to be our new parlour. if he’s playing then i will hold my heart he impresses
of topic…think chamak should b given 20-30 mins…jenk has been puttin quite a few delicious crosses in nd i’m telling you he would b d 1 scoring d winner 2dy…
(sorry i cant nd wont b dreamin anythin less than victory 4 us be that any game)
Chuks Aneke has been great in the first 2 reserve games. I can understand Lansbury and Coquelin being better tacklers than Chuks and therefore ahead of him for the DM birth but don’t quite understand Ozy.
As to Coquelin, I’ve been keen to see him play but we have to make sure we’ve learnt from past experiences. Manninger copping 4 in the UCL match where we churned out a bunch of youngsters destroyed his confidence.
To be honest I’m not sure Coquelin is up for such a big game and I think one more loan spell will do him well. Approx 7 starts for Lorient last season just wasn’t enough to get him used to first-team football.
OMG!Fellow fans,its the high tym we knw our target n go 4 it.we need new equiped players who can play lyk our invincibles.lets all support tha youths n we’l make it.
Though I am from Singapore I support these Young Guns in their ‘baptism of fire’ ….. and they may just produce the fire that ARSENAL Need.
The Fans and Supporters must be always behind this young team…It means alot!
Take On ManU! n Good Luck
Truly we are down to the bare bones, but I am happy about one thing, we have started using our reserves when the first team is short. Towards the end of last season when most of our first team were out of gas, we ought to have call up our best reserve players to fill in the gaps.
It is in games like these we will see if they have any real potential.
All their training is for games and moments such as these, in truth they ought to be fitter and sharper and be able to out run most first team players. More importantly they must also keep their heads and not fear the opposition.
Coquelin deserves a first team chance, that’s for sure. I’m pretty sure wenger wouldn’t have given him a start in this game if he had frimpong or song available, but he’s the best guy we have right now. Hope he shines, and so do all the other youngsters.
Our biggest problem is the number of foreign players we have, all our youth imports are given preference to English boys.
How can Oğuzhan Özyakup be picked ahead of Aneke and Yennaris……. Wenger has seriously lost the plot.
Any English kid is pushed to teh back of the line to allow another foreign kid a spot
Yes because Frimpong is not given a chance. Walcott was not given 100 times more chances then Vela. Wilshere never got his shot. Cashley Cole never had a chance. Gibbs still has not been given a chance. Carl Jenkinson has not seen a game yet. Do english people still not realize that you over hype almost every young english kid with a little bit of talent? Sometime you are going to have to wake up and realize that the talent is just not there and when it is, they get their shots. At the rate we are going, I could see us starting 6 or 7 english players in the near future. I just don’t see how anyone could criticize Arsenal for not developing English talent anymore.
By the way, tell me the last English youth player that we let go and he went on to be world class……
Arsenal can bit manu, wenger should b prepared jst anytin 2day bcos our title hope starts 2dy.
Here shows you how we get blamed for everything. Owen Coyle blamed all the talk about Gary Cahill got to him. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT TALKED TO THE MEDIA ABOUT THE TRANSFER STUFF…..LMAO.
My need to see the positives and this will be the time to see some players taking their chances to prove their worth.
To me Coquelin had to snatch his chance with both hand and really make Wenger to loan him back to Lorient almost impossible. Seriously can three defensive midfielder players (Song, Frimpong & Coquelin) be back for all competitions, injuries as well as ACN. I will never complain.
Lansbury seems to lack determination or technical quality what Arsenal demands. I might be wrong and hope he prove us wrong soon.
Oğuzhan Özyakup needs to improve much more to even allow Wenger to play more regularly in the first team. If not what
I think he might go with Djourou in DM. My predicted line-up:
Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Traore; Djourou, Ramsey, Rosicky; Walcott, Arshavin, van Persie
If all these youngsters are in the squad our bench would be: Fabianski, Miquel, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Lansbury, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chamakh – Don’t see a need for Sunu or Ozyakup tbh unless some of the defenders fail late fitness tests
There on standby mate which means if kos,Traore ect fail fitness tests then they move into the squad
Jamie what’s the contract situation of Coquelin? Has he renewed his contract or are we going to lose him for nothing?
Anyone know?
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Coquelin is superb. Really looking forward to seeing him get a chance. Everything points towards an easy United win but my heart says 2-1 Arsenal!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS!
You are too much guys
coquelin is a class player who is better than landsbury and hopefully he will start, as for Özyakup he is also a comfortable midfielder with a fantastic range of passing, good luck to all of the youngsters as i am sure you will do us gunners fans proud ps thank god squillaci is injured
this team cannot compete if we dont get some new blood in…. its apparent. I luv the fight in some of our young ones but geesh! We need some creativity
SURPRISE!!!!!!! SURPRISE!!!!
We had our ass fucked. Wenger and the board must be congratulated, we are touching new heights.
8-2, Are you kidding me!
Arshavin is not creative enough and was totally shit today as usual. The worse part was Wenger not taking him off and keep him on the pitch so he can give the ball away and also keep letting our defence to struggle. The last 2 season he has done almost nothing for us and Chamberlain looked a ton of a player Arshavin used to be. He should be ahead from now on. Arshavin was easily the worse player today with RVP the second.
Traore needs to improve his link up play and defending but was quite good anyway. Coq looked damn good and should have never been taken out. Other than Arshavin I don’t think we was totally shit they scored some amazing goals from freekick and outside the box… really fucked up. But its very very clear we need a better midfield and Arshavin is dropping the ball constantly. Its really dumb to let him in the team when we don’t accept that from the youngsters but an experience player can do what ever he wants to? Insane and Wenger needs to make it right if he is not letting youngsters play. I am 100% sure Chamberlain or Lansbury could do a better job in the flank and more ball would have been won and more ball would have come in from that side.
I am very very interesting to see the stats from Arshavin after this game if anyone knows how to see that. I will make a count myself next time I see Arshavin play. The percentage off pass complete must be under 60%. Which is so so so bad from a “special player”. other than experience he got nothing else to offer. Sad but only the truth and this was yet another evidence of that.
Absolute drivel
that was ridiculous, im a true fan and i like wenger,we have injuries and suspensions but cmon it is ridiculous BUT HE HAS TO SPEND AND HE HAS TO SPEND BIG!
It was 3-1 when Coquelin came off. We then lost 8-2.
Ramsey, Coq and Wojech the only players who can come off that pitch with any respect.
and Theo
I think Koscielny got hung out to dry by the poor full backs and Djurou. Koscielny was not at fault in any of the goals if I can remember right.
This is one thing I will never get. Taking off your one defensive midfielder is not going to make you more attacking. It is just going to make you unorganized leaving players scrambling all over the pitch. If you play 2 defensive mids, the ok, taking off 1 helps but playing with no one defending in the middle is a horrible choice.
ManU have never had younger team and we got ass kicked. WE NEED LB, CB AND CM, but now I hear that Arsene is going to replace B52 with LOWER quality korean striker, where did story of Benzema go, where did Samba story go, where is CM to replace top quality player like Cesc????????? Arteta is no match for Rosicky and he is shit so why do we need him??? Only positive thing from this trashing COULD be that Arsene comes to work tomarow and sends 4 BIDS: Baines, Cahill, Kaka and Benzema, hell we’ve got money. unfortunatelly I don’t see it coming so I think it will be Cahill, Arteta and chu-yong at the very best. I don’t mind thumbs down becouse my mood is also DOWN!P.S. I would love arsenal even if they are in league2 and bancrupt, but we are not bancrupt we are rich actually and our ticket prices are the highest in the PL.
wojech let 8 goals in! ok its not just his fault but he coulda done better for a few of them!
Which one could he have done better on? The perfect free kicks, the upper 90s shots by Young, the Nani one v one, the PK? How can you blame Szczesny for that?
You have to feel sorry for Szczesny. He’s a great goalie – far better than De Gea, and certainly not someone you expect to let in 8 goals. But Young and Rooney were too good. And our defense, midfield and possession was atrocious. You can’t fault him for this. The field play was just ridiculous.
Trust me, if Szczesny was playing for Man Utd, we would not have scored those 2 goals against him.
thank god for man utd smacking wengers ass. he deserves it hes a complete prick get out of arsenal… in arsenal we rust
Wher is shane? are.u still trying to say everyone else has problems? ther are.problems at.this club it.is not supoorters shareholders and.season ticket holders like me. it is the board the manager the players and the fans who have their heads buried so far in the sand or up their own arse to admit the truth. i am on my way back from a match witnessing the biggest humiliation of my 40 odd years as an arsenal supporter. cant wait for swansea when the biggest march ever will take place to get some answers. come up the george and we can sort it all out together. EiE arsenal longer than most of the board the manager and any player
I have always made proper comments that are realistic to the situation. I am not going to be a dick or disrespect the man that has brought us so much but I was pretty vocal once we let go of Fabregas and all I ever said was at least wait until the end of the transfer window before we judge. That has affectively ended with this thrashing because no big player will want to join after that in which now I have stated my opinion (which you can see below). The faith was always held that we were building for a great team but when Nasri and Fabregas jumped ship and it appears like we were not prepared for it at all, I had questions. I thought I would wait it out until the end of the transfer window to see what was going to happen. Pretty simple. I know the team we have now is not good enough to challenge for the title which I said before this game. We are a good 4 players away and a new team doctor or fitness program. I also questioned the tactics plenty as I have said, our full backs and center midfielders play irresponsibly. Stop acting like I am just always saying we are amazing. The thing I don’t do though is be disrespectful to the people that have brought this club so far from where it was.
We need 11 players !
So many new commentators that I have never heard from coming out of the wood work.
Anyways, we always need to be grateful for what Wenger has done, but at the point when the club starts going backward (quickly) then you have to respond. The issue is now, even if we wanted to bring big players in, what big player would want to join now? If you thought our reputation was poor then go to twitter and see what footballers are saying now.
Tough situation, but for the ass wholes that are being disrespectful to the man that has brought so much to the club can fuck off. Whether Arsene goes or stays and turns it around, he is still the man that has put this club to the lime light so show some respect.
Up until now I’ve had some optimism regarding Arsenal, even tough my head said not to. That’s now gone, well and truly gone! I’m actually having trouble finding the words that could describe how utterly disappointed I feel. Not just with this match but with the last two or three years. In 20+ years I’ve never, ever felt shame in being an Arsenal fan but I do now. Says it all really.
How many were shouting “bring on the young guns”? Mr Wenger had to because of the injuries and suspensions.
Well done, Shane! We have lost a game BUT not the war and have 35 games to rectify a somewhay shambolic performance. The schedule was a burden, but for three midfielders to have successive Red cards is a burden too far.
I see some nitwit has missed typing the first “t” in “In Arsène we trust”. That person is made of inferior metal with an inherent weakness!
With The Arsenal win, lose or draw!
You people need to stop running our club down. Yes it was embarrassing I agree but now more than ever Arsenal need their supporters. The away fans were unbelievable today singing for us and I quote Jack Wilshere on twitter “I heard all the Arsenal fans singing! You my friends are a fucking (excuse the language) inspiration to Arsenal Football club and i love you”. We need to do that at home to lift the players and lift the roof of the emirates. Liverpool also went through a tough patch and got through and so will we. Come on guys for fucksakes lets stick together and support this club now when it needs us the most.
That’s the spirit. Surely, this is the lowest it can ever fall. From here onwards it should be upwards. Not easy, but possible. Up the Gunners!
Another thing if u read between the lines when Wenger was questioned over reinforcements in his interview after the game – “I am very open if we can find the right players. We have the money to sign players. If we find players who can strengthen our team then we will do it. But I am not the only one to work on the case, we have 20 people who are working on that.” You guys always crucify him for not signing he just chooses the player and advises his board to go for it. they are the ones that need to up their game..
This is true. Wenger takes the bullet every single time and never complains about it.
Not a lot of positives to take from this one really, defensively we were a shambles. Jenkinson looked off the pace and massively out of his depth. Just go back and watch the game again and see how many times hes massively out of position, playing people onside or both. Yes he’s young but the thought of him playing in place of Sagna in big games fills me with terror.
Kos and Djourou both looked tentative and were at fault for the first goal. Centre halves should not be hesitating in that situation, the ball, the other defender and danny welbeck should all have ended up in row Z, instead…. well, we all saw what happened.
Bright spots are that Theo looked dangerous and Coquelin was solid, other than that not a lot can be said other than I feel for the big pole today, he didn’t really deserve that.
If we are being honest signings have been needed for a while, letting Mata slip was disappointing, not signing Mertesacker is also saddening but some real signings are needed. I don’t know much about this new guy supposedly being brought in, but I can’t see him changing too much.
New signings will be a massive plus. remember, also, we have players coming back from injury/suspension who will make us tick. I know some people will argue that the injured/suspended players are not good enough to get into the ManU team – fact is they are coming into the Arsenal team, and will make us better and much more competitive.
i dont wanna talk about this game i wish i could forget it that easily.
anyway, now its clear that we need more players than i thought.
we need 2 defenders, a centerback and a left back. i dont rule out jenkinson totally coz he played well in europe last wednesday and today it shows he still a longway. we need 2 midfielders, the midfield of song, frimpong and wilshere will be solid but we need to sign 2 more to avoid being in this situation again.
we need 2 strikers, arshavin’s presence is costing wenger his job. it will be really stupid to ever play him again. i thought wenger was going to try chamberlain but as he’s usual stubborn french prefer his useless russian.
back to reality now, we are victims of manchester galacticos competition. while we were sleeping, both manchester teams have been building powerful squads that could smash anyone in the league. maybe the 6 players we need will be too much but we have to buy 4 now and 2 in january. otherwise we will suffer.
the only consolation for tonight, tottenham is still below arsenal in the table.
VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT
i can’t remember lehman conceding from a free kick, which means our new number one still need to learn about his positioning during freekick.
maybe thats what they’ve been practising to beat us with and our defence clearly gave them plenty.
please correct me if i am wrong but i remember being very confident when we concede a freekick that jens lehman was going to save it.
Those free kicks were just good. If a guy places them like that then there is not much you can do other then not foul. Have you ever seen Ronaldinho or Juninho? You don’t save many of those.
I AM JUST SORRY BUT I AM NOT COMPLAINING.
LETS BE HONEST, NO ARSENAL SUPPORTER BELIEVE WE WILL BEAT THIS MANCHESTER TEAM TONIGHT.
8 GOALS IS TOO MUCH BUT WE HAVE TO SIGN NEW PLAYERS AND STAND UP TO FIGHT AGAIN.
ONLY DEPENDS ON ARSENE AND THE BOARDS, WE CAN STILL LIFT THE TITTLE IN MAY IF THEY PLAY THEIR CARDS RIGHT.
STILL NEEDS TO CLEAR 3 OR 4 PLAYERS THEN BUY NEW ONES NOW.
NO LAST MINUTE BARGAINS JUST GET THEM IN TIME BEFORE THE WINDOW SHUTS.
None of the goals were Szczesny’s fault. He made a few fine saves for those who don’t remember. Koscielny was at fault for only one goal and that was only partly his fault!!! Djourou is terrible right now and needs some platform to get some true fitness and form going. The Arsenal first team shouldn’t be that platform though!!! I don’t know what type of injury Vermaelen has but if it was anything he could walk on he should have been out there. That’s the only complaint I have. I know Shane is going to tell me that it’s only the 3rd match of the season, and that I’m an idiot, but he’s our true captain, leader and organizer back there!!! If it were me, I would have had to be handcuffed and strait-jacketed not to have been out there!!! I hope he has learned his lesson in that he should play no matter what, even if it’s just a minor injury. You can worry about the effects of playing after the fact. I bet you any money he’s regretted not being out on that pitch today, which is very sad!!! If Wenger told him not to play then I seriously question his judgement on that!!! Jenkinson looked very tired and he is much better than what he showed today. Coquelin looked great out there and he can tackle and tackle cleanly!!! If Song isn’t available and Frimpong picks up another yellow card in the 1st half against Swansea, then I would swap him for Coquelin, in this particular match, without hesitation. He looks a fine player in the making and I have really liked him all along. I have great respect for Theo, Kos, Ramsey and Szczesny!!! They tried their hardest and showed real fight and big-match mentality!!! RVP blew it for me today. Not forever, just today!!! He played pretty well but that penalty miss was a big turning point in the match. Overall though he played his part well. So he’s alright by me!!!
What did you say that I would be upset at? Did I miss something? Anyways, the only thing I can say about Vermaelen is that none of us are doctors so I can’t say whether he should have played or not but it does seem like we get more of these “soft” injuries than any other team which is frustrating.
On Jenkinson, no we saw what is going to happen when he comes up against a proper winger. I said this on the Asian tour. He gets out of position way to often and I said as soon as he came up against proper wingers, he would get exposed. Is that not exactly what happened?
I don’t know about Theo to be honest. He seems to just jog around a bunch and god forbid he has to get on the ball and create something. He will surely do something random or just dribble straight into Evra. To me he is like Chicharito, except we don’t play Walcott the same. The only time these 2 are dangerous is running off the ball and finishing. Any thing else and they are average players.
We also saw the WTF is RVP the captain. He is a great player but being a great player does not mean you should be the captain. Is Rooney the captain? Is Messi the captain? We just got slaughtered and you saw not one person upset about it or even try to get some passion.
honestly i don’t want to question wenger’s season plan for the team, but my question is, arsenal’s board knew cesc wanted to join bercelona and according to nasri’s interview he said he told the manager in early july he wanted to leave, shouldn’t plan of replacement been made b/4 selling? sometime i question if the board are truly backing wenger as they sometime claim.
The Arsenal season plan is thus:
Step 1: Sell best players
Step 2: Sign youngsters
Step 3: ????????????
Step 4: Profit.
I didn’t mean to be so dammning of Vermaelen in my last comment. My point is this…IF he only was carrying a slight knock, he should have been playing, no questions asked!!! IF he couldn’t play I understand, but if there was any chance that he could, he should have been out there!!! If it was HIS decision I bet he regrets not helping his club out when they need it the most!!! I hope he really was injured so that this is NOT the case, as strange as that sounds.
@Shane
Its time Wenger stops taking the bullets. If the board backed him on moving from highbury to new staduim, big money move and it worked, they should back him now when he says raise the wage of the top earn to 150-160K per week.
First goal djourou was more obsessed with shielding welbeck away from the ball into the box when he could’ve just stuck his head on it,I can’t have been the only one screaming ‘head the fucking ball!’ that sums him up really,he’s a midfielder turned defender,he hasn’t got the instincts of a centre back as wenger turned him into one,he lacks alot defensively for a guy built for it,very annoying.Jenkinson looked very much like a league 1 player being asked to play premiership football..wait a minute!…Traores the worst of the lot,the guys an athlete trying to play football,possibly the quickest player at the club but beaten by a runner over and over again,to steal a Chris waddle quote ‘he has no football brain’ he is a terrible left back and an insult to all the past brilliant ones we have had over the years.I won’t blame szczesny or even koscielny,they can’t do everyones jobs for them,they scored some great goals that possibly could’ve been prevented if we’d tried the tactic ‘closing down’ the defence is so static that I believe my local team could play successful through balls consistently against them!I thought these problems were not gone unnoticed and would be rectified this season?!Not good enough.Throwing these youngsters into this environments gonna destroy them,buy some decent experienced players that are gonna bring them through the hard times and give themsome motivation when they’re down and out,all I see is heads dropping whenever we concede!Did anyone else see the camera pan onto rosicky as he said ‘aaron Aaron you’ve got to talk more!’ says it all really,we’re a scared team too quiet to have a big impact and it needs addressing big time.I do feel that we need a different approach and
I do believe this will be wengers last year,no matter how good he’s been in the past once you’ve lost the dressing room that’s it and honestly we’re fast on the way to needing something fresh to get us going again,I for one wouldn’t be completely against guardiola getting bored at barca and seeing a real chance to make himself a managerial legend by taken us along the barca route that we’re already trying but trying badly at,that or a new number 2,I watched pat rice do the same warm up as he’s done for almost 20years and it’s so stuck in the times,we need change in some way and I just feel so confused that a man as bright as wenger can’t find any solution.Frustrated.
You wrote so much that I don’t want to comment on it all but the Pep part. You think Pep could do better then Wenger? Please, Pep realize on he super star players to make the difference. You see what happens when he faces Jose Mourinho. He freezes. He makes bad substitutions all the time and if it was not for Messi bailing them out, they would lose. I will give him some credit for the style but that has been the style at Barcelona for several years now. Also think how much money he has already spent on bad signings…..that would put us in massive debt. Oh wait, it has put Barcelona in huge debt. I mean look at the depth at center back…they have none lol. That would get caught out at a smaller club. I just hate when people put guys on a pedestal when they have not proven themselves. He has proven that with by far the best team in the world and 4 of the top 6 players in the world that he can win. Congrats, I am sure Wenger could do the same. Hell Wenger built a team that had an undefeated league season at a much smaller club. Just saying don’t crown a guy to soon. Hell we saw Rijkaard win with not even half of that golden age team and look how bad of a manager he is now.
Shane.. I’ve got lots of respect for your comments! At least there’s a few people with brains!
Wenger loves the club more than any of these so called fans! He’s the one that takes the stick when others should be standing up and being counted!
He is the one who is thinking up and putting his life and reputation on the line for the youth project simply because it’s the only way the current situation will allow the club to have world class players! They can’t afford/ won’t put the club at risk by buying rediculously priced players! So the only option Is to buy young and develop! I don’t see any other manager in the world who could do that to any standard near to wenger, and the majority wouldn’t try because of the risk!
But look at his record, it’s pretty fucking impressive! And when people he has made and developed fuck off for money and selfishness he’s still there to be counted doing what he does best, putting himself on the line for the good of the club! It’s about time the board, the players and a lot of fans follow suit!
I think the comment on “I am not the only one working on this, we have 20 other people working on it”, says it all. I truly don’t think we know the whole truth about what goes on at Arsenal. All I know is that Wenger has done far more right then wrong, but realistically we have to figure something out because clearly there is something wrong now and my fear is just that the media and negativity has finally broken us down. Where to go now is not for me to say, but all I know is that no matter what, I respect Wenger for what he has done for this club.
@HotRod
Word!
But yes.. Terrible result and to me shows the weakness of the overall squad! Desperately need a fabregas replacement! It seemed man u were wide open if there was someone there to thread the passes! A front 3 of walcott, rvp and gervinho will be scary with a creative midfieler a la fabregas in place!
Lacking strength in depth in certain positions but it certainly seems that the transfer policy,at board level, won’t allow the type of renovation needed! We now need players back and for the fans, mainly at home, to get behind the team! Confidence is the key to our game and right now there’s no confidence in anybody within 100 mile of the club!
Let’s pull together and getthis season back on track
Well on top of tghe Vermaelen comment I was going to say that he should be our captain…either he or Szczesny because they are the ones who communitcate the most out there. Shane is right, I didn’t see anyone talking out there and I saw a lot of heads drop each time we got scored on. We really need someone who can lay it on the line verbally…hell if I were in that team I guess that’d be me, but I’m not so it obviously has to be someone else. We played like mice today, or most of them did and I’m tired of seeing us curl up in matches and just take a pounding. We DIDN’T against Barcelona, but we did in other matches and we certainly did it tonight. I can’t believe we just took it like that. If I was out there I know I probably would have gotten a red card I would be so angry. I mean just to give you an example, when I played on my travel team and we got beaten 5-1 in a quarter final I ran straight through the celebration circle of the 5th goal and knocked a guy on his ass because they were celebrating what was really a meaningless goal in a whitewash!!! That’s the kind of spirit I want to see. Even if it means we lose a player to suspension. That is how I see it anyways. There was no anger or sense of pride out there today. NONE. They just took it. They didn’t need to. They really didn’t.
To be honest mate, I think it was more a question of talent and tactics than work rate or passion. Jenkinson can be as passionate as he wants but Ashley Young is a far better player then him point blank. Same with Traore on the other side. If the only part of the entire line up that I saw was Arsena starting Jenkinson and Traore at full back and Man United starting Nani and Young at wing, I would tell you we are going to get killed.
Then the other thing that points to tactics is, we talk about defensive midfielder but Manchester United don’t even play one. Neither Anderson or Cleverly is a defensive Midfielder but they do what they are told and they play with responsibility. This came up in the Udinese game when we had Song and Frimpong out there but it doesn’t matter if they don’t play responsible and tactically proper.
wenger clearly got his tactics wrong
playing high line without pressing in the midfield
i cant understand how can you play a high line without pressing. even a defender could see the pass that would break the offside trap.
we were playing midfielders and fullbacks onside each and every time.thats why we got thrashed.we were giving to much space and time for a player to pick his pass.
no doubt we were clearly beaten by quality
but in terms of work rate were awful.i cant see any midfield in the league that works so less when we dont have the ball.
and im sick of this wengers comment
Wenger: “We suffered physically in the second half. They have class and they punished us. We opened up and were punished”
Wenger: “We collapsed physically more than anything else”
so why dont we go any buy players that dont drop physically in the second half.it may be difficult to find quality players but its not hard to find players who are hard working.example fletcher,he may not have the super quality neither technically great but his work rate is exemplary
no doubt we should re invent our defensive tactics.
a good team always builds from the the back.
so no matter we buy how many defenders we would struggle to cope defensively if we dont get the tactics right
wenger clearly got his tactics wrong
playing high line without pressing in the midfield
i cant understand how can you play a high line without pressing. even a defender could see the pass that would break the offside trap.
we were playing midfielders and fullbacks onside each and every time.thats why we got thrashed.we were giving to much space and time for a player to pick his pass.
no doubt we were clearly beaten by quality
but in terms of work rate were awful.i cant see any midfield in the league that works so less when we dont have the ball.
and im sick of this wengers comment
Wenger: “We suffered physically in the second half. They have class and they punished us. We opened up and were punished”
Wenger: “We collapsed physically more than anything else”
so why dont we go any buy players that dont drop physically in the second half.it may be difficult to find quality players but its not hard to find players who are hard working.example fletcher,he may not have the super quality neither technically great but his work rate is exemplary
no doubt we should re invent our defensive tactics.
a good team always builds from the the back.
so no matter we buy how many defenders we would struggle to cope defensively if we dont get the tactics right
IN ARSENE WE TRUST
If this match is an indication of what our season is going to be like, i hope some pple will take note and improve the squad wer need be, or else, if nothing is done then we fans should be prepared for a finish outside the top four.
On an optimistic note, better times are coming.
Traore is pretty tragic it has to be said.
I do not want to be too critical of the team that I love but if you consider losing 3-2 at home after being 2-0 up and drawing 4-4 after being 4-0 up then the result with a patched up team is not completely in isolation.
The team needs more players that battle for the club. We have Wilshere, Ramsey, Vermarlen that really go for it but too many players that do not do enough in games.
Cesc was an absolute gladiator for Arsenal and with no Wilshere or Vermarlen yesterday, or Frimpong, too much was being asked of Ramsey who is showing such courage coming back from the thug at stoke did.
Arsene has done amazing things for this club, look at clubs that cannot afford to move to new stadiums as failures because they are not winning things either. Not so sure on the board though and do not see the point in a wage structure that pays lots of players a lot of money that do not play but does not pay enough money to stop its top players from moving on. Sometimes when some of the board members speak I really think they do harm to the team and the manger.
Anybody that tries to defend Wenger is a complete moron. Times up …… p45 time.
Troare set for a QPR medical. So tell me is Wenger so dumb or refused to listen? He will buy a Left Back replacement so this 3 days would possibly see the following:
1) Striker (cofirmed: Park)
2) Defensive Midfielder (Possible M’Villa to provide more rotation and competition)
3) Central Midfielder (No idea)
4) Central defender (Possible Cahill or anyone I don’t know)
5) Left Back (Maybe: Baines or anyone I don’t know)
Wednesday we’ll see Arsenal one of the most busiest transfer window.
You know you are a true fan when it still hurts alot the next day. Sounds like wenger gave traore the boot and will hopefully be replaced with a solid LB.
One thing that pisses me off that UEFA needs to sort out are these clubs with owners supplying endless cash. Arsenal, United and Liverpool have a history and tradition (Arsenal 125years) and then Chelsea and City come along with a combined history of 6 years and start throwing their money around. Its fucking the Premier League up. the last thing we want is a two team league like la liga.
They have with the financial fair play rules but then Man City come around a do a BS stadium naming rights deal to get around the rules.
On the left back thing, I would absolutely faint if we signed Baines or someone like that but I get the feeling that we will sign a center back and then use Vermaelen as on of the options for left back which would be stupid in my opinion.
Yeah I heard about that deal. The fair play only comes into effect in 2013 i think.
I agree Vermaelen is a class CB and Koscielny is learning alot from him.
Guys Wenger won’t be so dumb to instill TV5 on the left back. I really don’t think he will get Baines but most probably someone outside of BPL.
Based on current situations Wenger must be getting:
1) Defensive Midfielder (Possible M’Villa to provide more rotation and competition)
2) Central defender (Possible Cahill or anyone I don’t know)
3) Left Back (Maybe: Someone outside of BPL that’s my personal opinion
Regardless it will be interesting to see what comes out of Wenger pot
With Bendtner set to leave do you realise we are down to just 17 players over 21 (under the 25 man squad rule) One of those is also Almunia, whose days are surely numbered? Who would bet against Mannone and Arshavin leaving permanently or on loan?
Assuming Park is already in the bag, the minimum we should be looking for is:
1 Centre Back
1 Left Back (or another CB)
1 Centre Midfielder
1 Attacking Midfielder
1 Winger
My choices would be
Cahill or Samba
Vertonghen or Cissokho
M’Vila or Diarra
Sneijder or Kaka
Affelay or Elia
However should Almunia and Mannone leave i would think an experienced keeper should be considered. Likewise if Arshavin leaves he needs to be replaced and so does Squillaci. Rosicky, Chamakh and Diaby are for me 3 more players that need to take a good look at themselves.
I am far from Anti-Wenger and understand the problem he is under. It is now clear to anyone with an ounce of business accumen, that he is under orders to reduce the size of the playing squad. Today another 3 players have left, yet still we have 75 players. In the summer that figure was approaching 90, but 75 is still far too many.
Personally i think the first team needs a squad of around 30 and we need probably 18-20 for the under 18s. But do we still need another 20+ reserves?
I expect at least another 6 or 7 to leave before Thursday at the very least on loan.
I remember saying in the summer that we would do this and got shouted down by Andrew, something along the lines of yeah right that is almost half the squad. Well here we are
Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, Eboue, Traore, Emmanuel-Thomas, Lehmann, Denilson, Vela have all gone from the 1st team squad with Almunia & Bendtner set to join them and may be more.
From the reserves and youth we have seen Randall, Deacon, Cruise, Webb, Smith all depart with Watt, Hoyte, Eastmond & Murphy looking likely to go
Shea, Bartley, Wellington, Botelho, Galindo, Boateng and Campbell have joined or soon will have joined Vela and Denilson out on loan.
Basically it is not rocket science, when a new owner comes in the first thing he does is look to trim the staffing numbers. It is exactly what every company and football club has been doing. Even Man United who have lost 8 players from their 1st team squad since last season, bringing in only 3.
The difference is they milked what they could out of their experienced players until their youngsters were either ready or they had the money to replace them. It is exactly what we could have done, but Wenger chose a different strategy. Unfortunately, his strategy has not paid off and our youngsters are no where near the quality of theirs or perhaps it is our experienced players that are not near theirs…..even worse i fear it is both
I do not want to be to critical of the team I love but in the last year we lost a game we were winning 2-0 at home and lost a 4 goal lead to draw 4-4. So the result is isolated.
In cesc fabregas we lost a gladiator who gave everything for the team and without jack and vermarlen it was too much for the likes of ramsey who is a player who also does not give up.
I am really pleased we got through on Wednesday and still believe in arsene wenger. I not so sure on the board though who seem to do harm to the club when they say things.
whats wrong with verm on the left wing? im honestly not against it. we could try it out as a possible formation and see what it looks like. Its ok for us to have different fronts up front and at the back as well… We also neet to tailor our formation to this team… they are very good players but they are not fitting into that 4-3-3 formation. I could go more in depth with that but its not neccessary. At this point the season has started off badly, it cant get any worse than repeating a record set since 1896. it really doesnt hurt to see what they can do in different formats.
*left back* i meant to say….. this is all contigent on if we get a very good center back…. i know verm would not bomb forward but he would certainly lock down that wing….. He plays that position for belgium occasionally. I love the Verm-Kos connection but against teams with good wing play i trust verms postioning to come through…. it’s an interesting time at arsenal but i would love to see how far we can go and things we can tinker with to push us farther.
Sneijder or Kaka… come on guys it’s never ever going to happen. I really can’t see us signing a left back. Wenger’s got two days to pull one out of the hat from absolutely nowhere. We’ve left it too late. Enrique wen to Liverpool for £6m ffs! Why were we not all over that like a rash? I was one of the few people who didn’t want Clichy to go because we knew we wouldn’t sign a replacement. And it was obvious we’d be in this position with Kieran “perma-crock” Gibbs and Awful Armand Traore.
And now we’re seemingly after Yossi Benayoun. “I will only sign super quality” – Wenger. Juan Mata? Nah. Benayoun on the cheap you say? Oh yes. Just such predictable baragin bin signings. Wenger’s not solely to blame but this is a complete shambles. I can’t remember a worse pre-season.
Scratch that ^ seems we are close to signing a left back afterall. From nowhere it looks like we’re signing Andre Santos from Fenerbache. Know nothing about him but he can’t possibly be worse than Traore, can he?
Does anyone know the off-field issues that Chamakh has been struggling with??? Jamie said that he is struggling with off the pitch issues and I was wondering what they are…Andre Santos is a steady if unspectacular player. He has started for Brazil and is defensively aware!!! A lot more so than Traore or even Gibbs. I still reeeeeeaaaaalllllly like Gibbs and if he could ever get himself fit I think he’d do fine as first choice, but for now Andre Santos will be alright. He has a very good engine and I THINK he CAN play centre-back if needed.
He can but that doesn’t excuse Wenger singing a centre back. Not that I’m saying that’s what your saying but I find it worrying that people are getting excited over getting a good left back that can fill in as a decent but far from fail safe CB.
Lets be honest, at the start of the transfer window that’s what everybody demanded, all other positions were bonuses but we needed a centre back. Then Clichy left unexpectedly (I’m still pissed that we let one of the best left backs in the europe if not the world go for 7 fking million to one of our main rivals in Europe as well as the League and domestic cups), so yea, an experienced, dependable and occasionally spectacular left back, great. A new striker, less so, especially one of Park’s quality, which is basically that of Chamack, and Benayoon? Duno how much that’s just pure rumour but a utility midfielder we don’t need.
Still most certainly need a CB though. Samba, Cahill, hell even Sakho who we’ve been strongly linked to in the past, would all give us good options, better than the ones we have now.
Sure a defender is great but man we can’t keep the ball in the team right now so that shouldn’t be the priority. If we keep the ball the other team can’t score. Lose the ball and they can score again.
We need a midfield player that doesn’t give away the ball which mean Arshavin should not play as long as he keep giving away the ball and not helping the defence at all.
We need winger who can keep the ball, work hard and is creative. So new CM and 2 new wingers. So far we have Walcott and Gervinho who is great but other than that we have Chamberlain who is not given a chance even though he deserve one ahead of the shit Arshavin.
A striker that actually can hold the ball up and play the final ball and also great link up play. Hopefully Park will be that man cus he seems to understand link up play and being dangerous in front of goal he can also give the final ball. RVP is good but he also losses the ball way too easy both when the ball is on his feet and when he trying to pass the ball.
Chamakh had a strong link up play but was not dangerous enough and couldn’t do shit alone like RVP and Park seem to do.
Transfer priority: 1 striker, 2 winger, 1 cm, 1 cb,
Oh god… we’re signing Per Mertesacker apparently. Prepare to see bucket-loads of errors/blunders. Horrible defender. I really think Wenger was just trolling us now with his “super quality” nonsense.
Big time reality check for all you foreign loving crap players v Man utds british players…. why would any class or above average player sign for this club unless to pick up wages and do nothing ala Arshavin Rosicky Bendnter and Denilson.
Would the FA Youth cup team with Szchezzy and Van persie lose 8-2 to man utd, unlikely. Homegrown players get consistently shat on. No Lansbury Jet Watt Bartley in favour of limp wristed lazy fat arsed Arshavin types. Le Professor is a coward its easier to get rid of junior pros eg Traore than bag off his ritual wasters, Rosicky Walcott Arshavin Bendtner and Denilson. One more thrashing and this train wreck is over aa his blind faith in dross will earn him the sack. The clocks ticking as Per Mert(sack)er walks into the building…… and before you mention Walcott as a Brit he is consistently average after 5 years at the club and was bought
Before condemning Mertesacker imminent signing. Lets look at all the facts presented: aerial duel percentage at a massive 74%, impressively mobile for a player who is 6’6″ and that shows in his 2.2 offsides drawn per game and that he also he racked up 3.5 interceptions per game for Bremen last term., Bremen play a high line just like Arsenal.
Tactically difference in fullback positioning between Arsenal and Werder with the German team playing almost a back three and Arsenal leaving the center halves more exposed. Only Wenger knows if he will choose to play with one of the fullbacks in a more reserved role than Arsenal supporters are used to seeing when (if) Mertesacker plays for Arsenal.
I hope Arsenal’s Summer final puzzle could be completed with the signing of Sochaux’s Marvin the Martin.
Arsenal rumored to be on the verge of signing Fenerbahçe’s Brazilian left back Andre Santos. Santos is well known for his ability to get forward and is a superb dribbling fullback capable of breaking down teams who like to park the bus. Any change in tactic that would keep a fullback in reserve would most likely see Bacary Sagna play that role as long as Santos is in the starting lineup.
Sochaux’s 23 Year old playmaker Marvin had a breakout season last year getting 17 assists. Already this term he has 1 goal and 1 assist in four starts and looks to be on his way to top last season’s tally.
As usual Arsenal have surprised the pundits in the transfer market, ditching Bolton over their demands, letting Clichy, Cesc, and Nasri go, signing two forwards, and looking to bring in a midfield playmaker. If all goes as it looks like it will Arsenal will have signed three massively experienced international players and a precocious French midfield star.
Personally I still want 2 more players which it looks unlikely now. M’Villa and Hazard. Okay if all the above sign I am a happy Arsenal fan so are you still complaining?
Oh the three experienced players are: Chu-Young Park, Andre Santos & Per Mertesacker.
They’ll probably all be okay as squad players but it just makes Wenger’s “I will only buy super quality” quotes all the more ludicrous. It’s like it’s finally dawned on him that the window shuts tomorrow and he’s panicking.
Adam you are an economic nincompoop.
With the property side of the business mow almost completed, Arsenal Holdings have a financial headache. Income c. £222.5 millions, Expenditure c £210 millions.
Commercial and sponsorship deals are the only way Arsenal Holdings can stop trading at a loss.
End of story!
What on earth are you talking about? I don’t comment on things that I have no idea about, one being Arsenal’s economic involvement in property, or exact figures they make from sponsorship or anything of that sort. I’m only interested in things on the pitch.
No idea why you’ve addressed me with that. Just bizarre.
I think Park Chu Young can be a veeeeeerrrrrry valuable piece of the puzzle. He’s much more creative than Chamakh and he can finish too. He’s not as good in the air but that doesn’t matter too much. He has much better movement than Chamakh in that he can get in behind defenses and trouble them with his pace. Wenger must know something about Wilshere regarding his injury, as he doesn’t want to sign another playmaker to start. Maybe Jack will be coming back soon??? I don’t know, but Wenger probably won’t sign Marvin Martin as he doesn’t want to spend the money on a player who would be second choice to Wilshere. He will move Wilshere up to Cesc’s position and probably go after Yann M’vila even though he has Coquelin and Frimpong and Song to play that position. Song and possibly Frimpong could both be away in January due to the African Nation’s Cup so getting M’vila wouldn’t be such a bad idea. We use two holding midfielders when we play the 4-2-3-1 anyways so having him and Coquelin play behind Wilshere wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Ramsey would have to fight for his place and unfortunately I can’t see him winning the battle with Jack UNLESS he gets back to the form he had before that horrific injury. I really want him to stay and IF Wilshere returns and Wenger uses him as a defensive midfielder like last year, I hope Ramsey can step up and take Cesc’s place. That would mean that M’vila would start ahead of Coquelin to see who pairs with Jack, but that’s how it goes when you are signed for 20 million pounds plus. And right now it sounds like he is a better player than Frimpong and Coquelin.
Love Arsenal but I want to quality more than quantity. I wanted Cahill and someone like Neymar, Schwinestiger, Hazard. Cesc is world class and needs replacing both in the way of skill and more importantly desire. when the teams line up on the pitch we want to be able to match the best teams in the number of world class players and not expect Wilshere, Ramsey and Vermarlen to be the only players willing to fight for the team. Stop paying average squad players too much money as then we have trouble moving them on when they are not good enough for the first team. Its frustrating at the moment but Arsene seems to have enough trouble dealing with the board so needs the true fans support.
are you people for real? a 26 years old with 75 caps is not quality but a 25 years old with only one cap is quality.
i can agree if you said you are disappointed because we didn’t buy cahill but to say cahill is better its just plain stupid.in 2 weeks we are playing borussia dortmund in the champions league.
i think wenger made this decision based on experience. personally i don’t care i just wanted to see a commanding defender and now we have one.
So is Emile Heskey better than Van Persie then? He has more caps afterall…
Such a stupid thing to say. I’ve seen plenty of both Cahill and Mertesacker and it’s clear that Cahill is the best option. The only reason we’re signing Mertesacker is because he’s cheaper. £60m in for Cesc and Nasri, plus whatever we already had yet we still want to shop in poundland.