Alex Oxlade-Chamberlan hits superb England hat-trick

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain just gets better and better. The 18-year-old, who was left out of the squad for Sunday’s North London derby with Tottenham, scored all three goals as England Under-21’s beat Iceland Under-21’s 3-0 in Reykjavik this evening.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s two goals in two first half minutes helped settle Stuart Pearce’s shaky looking young Lions in the opening stages, before capping off a superb display with an excellent third, beating four players in the build up.

It means the former Southampton prospect, an initial £7 million buy from Southampton in the summer, has five goals in his last three games for club and country. Arsenal may well have to pay out the remaining £5 million in bonuses sooner than they thought.

Feed the Ox, and he will score.

Want to find out all of the latest Gunners scores as they happen? Come to www.footballscores.com to recieve live updates on scores from not just the Gunners, but games being played all over the globe. Come now!

103 thoughts on “Alex Oxlade-Chamberlan hits superb England hat-trick

  • October 6, 2011 at 10:10 pm
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    any video links? anyone??

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  • October 6, 2011 at 10:27 pm
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    Well done ox, a great player with lots of potential, i like u ox, but want to see u and ryo in arsenal’s starting line up sooner than later.

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  • October 6, 2011 at 10:29 pm
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    AW will bring him through slowly, probably rightly. He’s an awkward case to work with defensively, going by what I saw against Olympiacos. That said, by next season he may offer more offensively and defensively than Arshavin, at the current rate.

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  • October 6, 2011 at 10:30 pm
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    Well, an Icelander here, I was rooting for England just because of Oxlade Chamberlain!

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  • October 6, 2011 at 10:33 pm
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    AOC is absolute shite, he is useless, he is too young ,he is a gunner, ohhhhhhhhhh wait….I’m not a whiny,gloomy,AAA moaner, Le Grove doomer, I’m a real fan…let’s try this again:

    AOC will be the best purchase AW has made since TH14 came to us. He is another diamond that Arsene can add to the crown jewels he is accumulating at AFC: Campbell, Miyachi, Ignasi, Frimpong, Coquelin,Walcott, Aneke, Lansbury, Gibbs, Szcesny,etc.

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  • October 6, 2011 at 10:35 pm
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    He ıs better than walcott will lost a great striker of nicar barazite he is better than chamark

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  • October 6, 2011 at 10:55 pm
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    Szez-carl-ingasi-kolse-gibbs or santos in the defence,francis-wilshere,lansbury in d midfield,in attack miyachi-campbell-oxo and sub aneke,afobe,kyle,frimpong,boateng,oza in our team in the future

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  • October 6, 2011 at 10:56 pm
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    any one know a website i can watch the highlights

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  • October 6, 2011 at 11:03 pm
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    if i was arsene i will drop arshavin and rosicky now as january window is far. i bring in aneke and chamberlain.
    i know they are still kids but they can’t be that worse.

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  • October 6, 2011 at 11:08 pm
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    I think that the boss is absolutely right to bring along AOC at the current pace. AW has learned hard lessons from bringing in young players maybe a bit too quickly. Obviously, some of it was out of his control. Theo, who I think will soon become a world class talent, particularly when he is played more centrally, has suffered from the weight of too many expectations too quickly. Wilshere, on the other hand, has suffered from playing too many matches at such a young age. I would love to see AOC in the first-team, but I think AW is right to protect him from the expectations of many fans, myself included, who expect, explicitly or not, that AOC, Ryo, and others will usher in a new Arsenal golden-age this season.

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    • October 6, 2011 at 11:44 pm
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      it wouldnt hurt bringing him as a supersub this year. arsenal usually make substitution at around 60 minutes when things are looking good or when arshavin is out of breath.
      despite having a bad start we have a big squad and can afford rotation and our team B looks better than that of last season

  • October 6, 2011 at 11:11 pm
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    real fan? People need to start worrying about this season and the state or current squad lies in, not about how class our kids are going to be in the future! Worry about the present, otherwise the future will never come

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  • October 6, 2011 at 11:50 pm
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    WOW! Super Ox! Exciting Talent! Can’t wait to see him in the first team soon but I know Wenger want him to take time and slowly to developing into world class winger!

    To be honest, Ox remind me a bit of Messi skills and I know both are different but you can see him the way he’s playing like dribbling, cross the ball, good at shooting accuracy and good pace. If he developing well under Wenger, then I believe he will be the world class player!

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  • October 7, 2011 at 12:04 am
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    Do you think AOC can eventually play more centrally? Perhaps in a No 10 role?

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  • October 7, 2011 at 1:24 am
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    wow! third goal, what a goal?

    take nothing away from our new messi but iceland had arsenal defence with almunia in goal

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  • October 7, 2011 at 2:40 am
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    Wilshere made the team of the year last year and AOC has already played a full season of physical lower league football so there is no reason that he can not start THIS year. Screw next year. Half of our team might be gone by then if we don’t get some positive energy going and if you have seen AOC play, that is one thing he definitely contributes. Well done again Alex.

    By the way, for all the people that screamed about signing a new kid and they just wanted a big center back and a bunch of experienced players. AOC was our best signing this summer.

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    • October 7, 2011 at 3:22 am
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      Agreed that AOC has stood out among all the summer signings, Gervinho seems to have faded a little and his decision making is dreadful at times. I don’t think the young lad is ready to play so often in the EPL, but I do think he should get some substitute appearances under his belt soon against Sunderland and Stoke.

    • October 7, 2011 at 1:17 pm
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      It is easy to see why Wenger the Miser went out and spent a chunk of money on this kid, with even more in incentives to pay out considering Ox’s excellent showings. However, as many have pointed out, it’s important that Wenger gives the kid space to grow and to screw up here and there.

      RJ, Gervinho hasn’t faded. I just don’t think he has fully integrated yet. In time he’ll get more accustomed to the other players and his decisions will improve.

    • October 7, 2011 at 2:04 pm
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      True but we still should’ve signed a Gary Cahill or someone.

    • October 7, 2011 at 5:55 pm
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      Adam, I have made my opinion known on what we should have done in the summer. This however is all about Alex and he is a fantastic talent.

  • October 7, 2011 at 5:12 am
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    Dodgy keeping on goals two and three, but he got himself into a position to take advantage on goal two and created the chance on goal three so full marks to him.

    I guess that Cesc’s and Wilshere’s injuries make AW cautious about overplaying him too early.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 5:51 am
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    Good game for him. Another brilliant performance sending a message to AW to give him a chance in the first team. Looks like we got ourselves some talent here. Brilliant OX.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 7:14 am
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    Alex is showing he is ready and determined to hold down a first team position. The only sadness is that Sagna is injured and the left back Jenkinson likes to camp out in the midfield and leave a hole at the back.

    Should Carl play in the same team with Theo or Alex both lads will find themselves playing in the left back position more often than not.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 7:17 am
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    I hope enough players stay fit so that he and Coquelin can be eased in over the rest of this year

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  • October 7, 2011 at 8:42 am
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    You have to wonder, AOC, to me already is hungrier than Arshavin, Rosicky, etc. One thing is certain this boy is all about end product, something we have been starved of since Henry left. 2 goals in 3 apps for arsenal, 4 assists and 3 goals in 2 for England U21, should be first choice on the right.

    If they are good enough, they are old enough.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 10:14 am
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    Wish we could fast forward 2/3 years. Check out the first team. Szcesny; jenkensen, vermaelen, bartly/miquel, Gibbs; Lansbury, wilshere, song; ryo, walcott, AOC.

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    • October 7, 2011 at 10:57 am
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      Surely You see Coquelin in any future side, talent-wise he is up there with AOC.

    • October 7, 2011 at 5:58 pm
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      First of if you fast forward 2/3 years, You probably should not count Vermaelen. Secondly, if you said the same thing 2 or 3 years ago then it would have included Bendter, Denilson, JET, Vela, Traore, Merida, Fabregas, Nasri, etc. You see how it does not always turn out like that?

  • Pingback: AOC hat-trick, Arteta isn’t Cesc, Close but no Gourcuff and Ivan talks financials | savagegooner

  • October 7, 2011 at 1:09 pm
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    I hope he can put a bit of fire under Arshavin this season, I’m sick and tired of Arshavin now. I’m just constantly disappointed with his lack of commitment. Plus his tricks have dried up somewhat, it’s like even when he does try hard he just can’t seem to pull it off or he ends up just making the wrong decision. I’d expect it more from a kid but he’s old enough and wise enough to know better. He’s a has been already in my book. Get rid in January.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 2:33 pm
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    OMG!!!! I have not seen so much slobbering on knobs than i’ve seen on this site. I really like to sit back and watch people repudiate everything they say even in this instance because AOC scored a hat trick. At first it was oh we sign a kid and then it became we need an out an out striker and DM to AOC can save us. Im sorry i like the kid but Iceland??? come on. Goals two and three were gifts. Gimme a break. I think this is good for his confidence but lets see more against premiership competition before we set out to annoint him the next TH14… Lol and Shaking my head at the same time. Dynamite player? I’ll say Coquelin. I am more than impressed. I mean good gosh. Speed, Tackling, Positioning and Smarts. There is something to be said when you watch against tottenham, he got up there in the air and won 50 50s on the ground. He is head and shoulder over frimpong, im sorry. There is a reason why Arsene has not started AOC in the prem. He is a star in the making but let him be made first. AOC would be a good player without a doubt. Of all things i like his level headedness and his desire.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 3:07 pm
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    How a club like Arsenal still keep players like Arshavin and Rosicky is a big question mark. and Why we keep players like Bendtner in the club too is a big big failed. I just don’t understand why we don’t buy players when neeed and sell players when they are pretty shit.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 10:20 pm
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    whats the difference between alex chamberlain/aneke and hazard/gotze. first they all a thing or 2 in common which are they are all kids and have no premiership experience. once given a chance to play for arsenal first team they will need time to settle.
    i only see hypocrisy here people calling on wenger to spend big on foreign kids that cannot even speak english at the same time dismissing our own top kids. well since foreign kids like eden hazard cannot come to us till january at least whats wrong with trying the kids we already have?
    yes its only iceland but he can also score against bolton.
    i am sure i have seen enough of rosicky, i have also seen what aneke’s been doing.
    i dont say we shouldn’t buy eden hazard or gotze but you have to remember that they are also kids just like the ones we have here and keep dismissing them.

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  • October 7, 2011 at 10:48 pm
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    The only difference between Gotze and Hazard and Aneke and Chamberlain, is that the first two were allowed to play in the first team at their respective clubs at a young age, while Aneke will probably have to go out on loan or wait a year at least before he is allowed to play. Chamberlain will be allowed to play more than Aneke I reckon and he might make a similar breakthrough to that of a Gotze or Hazard. I wouldn’t dismiss Chucks at all. Wenger even said that he has what it takes to become a great player at this club. Yes, he also said the same things about Jay-Emmanuel Thomas, but I think Aneke could be even more talented than JET. I’ve only seen him play twice, but I really liked what I saw. He doesn’t have any pace though, but he can work on his strength, and in doing so he can improve his explosiveness and his pace to a small degree. He is by no means the finished article and I have faith that he can make it big here.

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    • October 8, 2011 at 3:43 am
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      You 2 have gone a little nutty. The difference is Eden Hazard and Gotze are bonafide super stars not only at the youth level but in the professional ranks 2. Comparing Aneke to any of Wilshere, Neymar, Gotze, AOC or Hazard is somewhat crazy. It is in no way degrading Aneke by saying he is not near that category yet because those guys are the best young players in the Entire world. Maybe you are forgetting that Aneke has not even become a star in the england or nigerian youth ranks and I don’t want to here that he has not had his chance. If he stood out to the point of those other guys then he would be there. Now give this kid sometime and wait and see what happens. I hope he turns out great but we have seen so many talents come and go that unless he is one of the for sure cases then we need to just wait and see. The boy has talent but please keep it realistic.

    • October 8, 2011 at 3:47 am
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      Weird position to be the back up to RVP. If RVP is fit then you are never going to see time. Then again with RVPs injury record, you will get a chance at some point. One thing I know is that I am going to loose my mind if I have to keep watching Chamahk up top. Please make this guy the new back up.

  • October 7, 2011 at 11:32 pm
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    @milo

    tall midfielders always look slow because they don’t display much urgency as short tricky dribling ones like hazard,cesc,gotze etc….
    even vieira looked slow but he was not and at the moment i could say the same thing about marouane fellaini. if you wanna know how fast tall midfielders are please clock them when they are covering from box to the opposition box. i loved patrick vieira for that, he only needed few steps do it.
    i don’t know why people claim chuks aneke is slow and still he doesnt need too much speed anyway. he’s not a winger.

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  • October 8, 2011 at 12:59 am
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    was it almunia on goal?

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  • October 8, 2011 at 9:25 am
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    No need to fast forward his development. Let him develop at his own pace. Even Thierry Henry made our dreams come true at the tender age of 22-23, i believe. He is just 18. Wilshere being injured is a fine example of what happened after a long last season.

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  • October 8, 2011 at 10:46 am
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    Why the hell was he left out of the Spurs game completely? I just presumed he must have had an injury.

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  • October 8, 2011 at 2:43 pm
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    why do you call him back up for van persie?
    if he can play anywhere up front it means the likes of arshavin and chamakh should sometimes step back for him to play and arsene has a habbit of favouring his senior players no matter what.
    we had other players available against spurs but he prefered to give gervinho and walcott late fitness test and play them instead.

    and it backfired, they were both crap that day

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    • November 20, 2011 at 11:27 pm
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      100% agree

  • October 8, 2011 at 7:59 pm
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    arsene’s problem is that when he takes on a project, he does not know when its time to stop and say ok, this is not working out as i thought. I think that has always been his achilles. Arshavin should be on the bench and play a role as a sub. This season is already a wash as far as im concerned. I do not see the likes of man city or Man utd losing more than 5 games this year due to the gulf in class they possess compared to most prem teams. At this point we have a slim chance at 3rd or 4th (some moron would say oh no our team is capable of going unbeaten till the end of the season and win it all). Hey if they do… im all for it. Realistically we have no championship defence which to me is down to confidence more than talent. I say let some young ones play. E.g. AOC, Coq and if possible bring back lansbury, Ryo, Frim. Some of our senior playrThere is a time to start rebuilding. I believe that this is it. There is nothing wrong with experimenting. Go back to 442 and see how it works. I personally think walcott and van persie can play well together up front with van persie right behind walcott. gerv and AOC on the wings. Arteta and Song in the middle. However with the log jam at CM this experiment is unlikely. Ramsey, Wilshere, Diaby et al. I admire Wengers technical ability. However i say to him let the players that we have cultured play. Hey im just an arsenal fan observing from the sidelines. Im not an expert in all things football.

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  • October 8, 2011 at 8:02 pm
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    some of our senior players are either disillusioned or have lost a lot of confidence such as Rosicky and Arshavin… That was my unfinished thought in the line above.

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  • October 8, 2011 at 10:43 pm
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    Wenger has said that he can see alex playing as the playmaker at some point in time…does anyone know if he can actually do this??? From what I have seen, he has the passing accuracy, if not the vision, to play in this capacity. He’s strong and can finish as well obviously. I don’t know if he is a pure striker though who could push RVP like you are saying Shane…

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  • October 9, 2011 at 10:03 pm
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    @milo,
    you are right he is very capable of doing so. honestly i personally would love to see him own one of those wings. he gives us something extra in terms of changing the dynamics of how we attack. He can hug the touchline or drift into the center…. he has good movement i think it does two things. Keeps the defence honest by spreading them out and creates holes for runs up the middle. It is sad though that our midfielders dont make a lot of runs into the box. but i think you have a valid point of view

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  • October 12, 2011 at 12:41 pm
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    Anyone have the link for u18 vs chelski..please

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  • October 13, 2011 at 8:20 pm
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    Anyone got any news on the Real Madrid kid we’re in for?

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  • October 14, 2011 at 10:49 pm
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    Well lads i know this has nothing got to do with what we are talking about!! Does mikel arteta have a twitter profile!!

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  • October 14, 2011 at 11:29 pm
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    @ Derek…Huh?????? Aneke will be in the first team soon…I don’t think skin colour has anything to do with how long it takes him to get there though…you’re picking a fight when really there isn’t anything to fight about. Diaby, Frimpong, Sagna, Eboue, Henry, Wiltord, Kanu, Ian Wright, Christopher Wreh, Walcott, Song, Kolo Toure, Gallas and a few others of black or African origin have been bought by Wenger or played under him, and NONE have ever come out and said that he has a problem with them or black people in particular. You are a fool. Sorry. And bringing Ozzy in to the discussion is rediculous. He sounds like he is just as talented and unique a player as Aneke and he gave an assist in his only first team appearance for us in the Carling Cup. Man you are a damn fool for bringing up the issue of racial discrimination at the Arsenal under Wenger’s rule.

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  • October 14, 2011 at 11:54 pm
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    wenger is definately not racist but his weakness is his loyalty to senior players and players like aneke fell victim of it.
    i am not sure we can call it favouritism or he’s simply not ruthless enough to axe senior underperformers like arshavin, chamakh, rosicky, djourou and guess who’s back? diaby it means chuks aneke chance of first team will be affected. personally i see nothing wrong with dropping rosicky for aneke but arsenal is a big team and games come fast he should be patient especially in the second half of the season he will be given games including miyaichi and ozzy.
    but accusing wenger of racism sounds really embarrassing to even read it, please stop!

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  • October 15, 2011 at 1:14 am
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    Wenger is an racist for not letting one guy play central????????? Man some people are plain stupid. How many black goal keepers have Arsenal had under wenger?????????

    Who played central in CC? Ohh thats right Frimpong and Coq!!!!!

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  • October 15, 2011 at 1:39 am
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    I’m unsure why people seem to want Diaby, an established international player, to be dropped in favour of a unproven young guy who from what I gather plays a very similar role.

    I’m all for playing the young guys when they’re ready but during a turbulent time like this throwing a host of youngsters in at the deep end is the last thing we need.

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    • October 15, 2011 at 7:47 am
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      dude!
      thats why its called squad, you have to perform to keep your place. but its not the case with wenger, he kept almunia for 6 years and even called him world class keeper.
      diaby being an international is because the french fa trust wenger, had he play for another team he won’t be selected.thats not even the case,my point is if you keep letting the team down you should be dropped. amazingly we will see ramsey,arshavin, rosicky and co in the starting line up. they will still f***up and we’ll throw away 3 points again

    • October 15, 2011 at 4:12 pm
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      The thing is, with the players you’re criticising (Arshavin, Diaby etc) their main issue isn’t their quality, we have seen that they have that, it’s their consistency. The general problem with talented youth players is the same thing, they can have moments of magic but struggle to maintain a performance for 90 minutes, or to take form from one game to the next.

      I still don’t get why you think that a player that 2 highly placed managers have faith in should be replaced by a guy who hasn’t really done anything other than play well for the reserves.

      Diaby has had some starring performances for the french national team, Aneke hasn’t ever really shone at youth international level.

      Sure, keeping faith in some players (Almunia) was a mistake but you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. By all means play him in the CC and see what he’s got, but for now I wouldn’t feel more comfortable if I saw a team with Aneke in it as opposed to Diaby, I’d actuall be more concerned.

  • October 15, 2011 at 5:23 pm
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    sam

    You must be kidding. Diaby was one of the best french player when he played for the national team in world cup and in euro. He is a good player for the national team no doubt… trust wenger… what a joke. Watch the games when Diaby play for the national team instead of talking shit.

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    • October 15, 2011 at 5:48 pm
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      well he still failed as an arsenal player he supposed to be our new vieira but ended up costing us games for his inconsistency.
      hey! he’s such as great player let try to sell him and see how many big team would want to buy him

    • October 16, 2011 at 1:52 am
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      Thats not how you see if he is a good player. But you will see a few top clubs will want to buy him for sure. He is injured too much and this should never be accepted at arsenal consider the wages he’s on. I also wants Aneke a chance but we already gor a very young squad and I am not sure at all that those players will secire a top 4 spot which should be our main target this season.

      The #1 spot in all competition looks very far away. Aneke should be given a chance in CC cus that competition is a joke for us when we are struggling at the moment.

  • October 15, 2011 at 5:59 pm
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    chamberlain only played 3 games in a arsenal shirt but he’s now worth more than diaby and the rest of our deadwoods. if i was wenger i will bring aneke and ozzy. try them and see if they will make it if they don’t i buy players and still show rosicky and diaby the door in january.
    loyalty is costing arsene so much, starting with cesc and nasri they could have stayed one more year and give him time to rebuild. nope they still left him hanging with a team full of deadwoods.
    i appreciate we have a good manager but there is a time he has to say enough is enough. try to be a bit ruthless.

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  • October 15, 2011 at 11:22 pm
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    Mouthy Smart, you are wrong. From the two matches I have seen Aneke play, he looks a bit different to me than Diaby. He seems to have a bit more vision and even more technical quality than Diaby. I do not think he is ready to play regular first team football though. For whatever it’s worth both Ramsey and Rosicky played well with their respective national teams this past week and I wonder if they can take that form back to Arsenal. Especially Ramsey who should be starting against Sunderland if Wenger sticks with him. Rosicky on the other hand just isn’t suited anymore to playing as the playmaker or even on the wing. I think a deeper role, despite his size might suit him better. He could be like a Pirlo for us if he is used there. NOT to start though!!! The way he lpayed against Udinese shows that he can still turn out a good performance every now and again and he played a deeper role against them. He even tracked back and tackled. I think a deeper role might suit him better when he comes on. Of course he’d have to have a more defensive minded player play with him like Song, but it would be interesting to see what he does in that role. He’s lost too much pace to play further up the field for me, but you can still see that he has good vision for the game and he still has enough technical ability to play some role here. What do other people think about this??? Am I crazy??? Could Rosicky actually play a deeper role and succeed??? As for the Aneke, Diaby comparison, they are very different players in my eyes.

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    • October 16, 2011 at 12:22 am
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      I’m not saying that they’re carbon copies of each other, just that they play a central but advanced roll with a lot of similarities. I am curious why you think that Aneke is better technically than Diaby though. Diaby is very solid on the ball with excellent control, his technique and passing isn’t the issue, it’s his injury problems, work rate and decision making.

  • October 16, 2011 at 2:40 pm
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    well well well!
    what’s rosicky doing on the pitch?
    he did it against man u and again today when freekick is being played he’s not interested in standing in the wall and clearly walking away. we are basically playing with 10 men.

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  • October 16, 2011 at 2:57 pm
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    he’s doing well in the second half with his runs but we are wasting set pieces we should be 2 one up

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  • October 16, 2011 at 3:30 pm
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    finally 3 points!
    song was the beast, my man of the match
    come on you arsenal

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  • October 16, 2011 at 4:29 pm
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    Milo, I think that the problem is not Rosicky even if he is not the player he used to be.
    The problem is Arteta who despite being our playmaker does nearly never make a forward pass. Song has more assists that him.
    In a poor team that does not have a lot of possession is a godsend because he keep possession. In a team who already enjoy a lot of possession he is a liability because he never offer penetration.
    Penetration is exactly what Oxlade Chamberlain, Aneke offer. We may lose on the ball retention but if our possession drop but our scoring rate increase then it is still a benefit. IMHO both play more advance football and will cause us to score more.
    Another of a my bugbear with Arteta is his tendency to underhit his passes he often either slow an attack or put his team-mates under pressure.
    The final nail for me is the fact that he is involved in nearly all the goal we conceded. Today it was a handball that he could have avoided. Against Spurs it was not tracking his runner twice once in open play and once at a throw.
    Today we played 4-1-4-1 but with Gervinho and Walcott much higher it looks more like 4-1-2-2-1.
    *
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    IMHO a combination of Coquelin deep, Song and Rosicky slightly higher would have been more effective.
    When Diaby is fit, we may move back to a nominal 4-2-3-1 with Diaby and Song sharing the deeper roles. When in possession the team would move back to a 4-1-4-1 with them alternating between sitting deep and roaming forward.
    Against Marseille who are a very physical team I hope that Frimpong is reinstated. His drive can cause them problem because
    their defense is not very good when facing runners.

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  • October 16, 2011 at 8:03 pm
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    A big fact is this arsenal fans at home don’t get behind the team they make noises when it’s going wrong. I just saw newcastle fans behind there team from the start to the end…. were way to quiet at home and that’s a fact…

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  • October 16, 2011 at 9:43 pm
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    Valentin…I wasn’t complaining about Rosicky…I still really like him as a player. He was making good runs today and if he wasn’t subbed off, he would have scored about a 7 out of 10 for me. Even with being subbed off I thought he was around there. I was the first, THE FIRST ONE ON HERE TO SAY THAT ARTETA WASN’T A PLAYER WHO WOULD REALLY HELP US. His play is no surprise to me!!! I’m serious, look at the articles on here around the time we picked him up!!! I might even do it myself just to prove it to you!!! I said we don’t need Arteta and that Rosicky is a BETTER player than he is.

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    • October 17, 2011 at 1:05 am
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      And you are still wrong Milo. For god sakes, you pick the one game in about 3 years that Rosicky has played good in to now say he is better than Arteta. That’s a bit ridiculous, mate. Yes, an Arteta past his prime is hardly the player I was hoping for, but come on with all this Rosicky talk. Flat out the truth is we need to just take the “Rosicky role” out and put another striker up top. Are we really going to rely on RVP and Szczesny to carry us this entire year?

  • October 16, 2011 at 9:51 pm
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    This is the comment I was telling you about Valentin, from the article at the time of the 8-2 Man U match when Wenger took some of our reserves there…If Rosicky plays at his best, and Arteta plays at his best, I’ll take Rosicky and I’ll win every time. Rosicky changed the match against Udinese when he came on and he wasn’t the worst player against United I don’t recall. Rosicky has more pace, is a quicker thinker and is way more inventive than Arteta. This year Mikel has played like shit. And most of last year as well. He’s nothing more than a sideways passer and that’s it. He can keep the ball well for us though and that will be his biggest contribution!!! But if you are looking for him to play passes like Cesc did, he doesn’t. He DID but he hasn’t played like that for a while. He used to be REEAAAALLLLLY good!!! A talisman for Everton, but recently he hasn’t put forth much effort. IF that changes then he’ll be a very good buy. But when Rosicky is at his best, he’s still better than Arteta. People forget just how good Rosicky was when he was in the Bundesliga and playing for Sparta Praga as well!!! If it weren’t for injuries, we would have had a world class winning midfielder to sing about and praise for a good 4 or 5 seasons. At his best he is better than Arteta by a mile. Don’t get me wrong, I think Arteta is or was a very good player, but I know, at each one’s best, who I would rather have. ROSICKY

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    • October 16, 2011 at 11:36 pm
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      I don’t know what you are talking bout… if if if if if….
      Arteta is not a sideway passer. He was very good today and had been for a while for us. The team is getting better and getting to know each other much more. Rocisky on the other hand has been the one who was shit and he didn’t change the game against Uninese himself… We changed the system a bit and that was the main part.

      I’m tire of the if if if if if if if…. get some perspective and think forward and not backward. He was was was was was was was if if if if if… so tire of it. Whats matter is the performance from your last couple of games not the games you did when you was in another team 86 years ago…. Pele at his best would be nothing at Arsenal today, blatter nothing.. yeah you get the point.

    • October 17, 2011 at 1:07 am
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      LOL, I go one comment down and I find another Rosicky post. 1 good game does not make him a good player. Lets put it this way, He would not be a starter for about half of the teams in this league so it is crazy that he is starting games for what is supposed to be a top 4 team.

    • October 17, 2011 at 1:09 am
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      PS, Stop talking about Rosicky’s best because that never got out of Dortmund so it means nothing to the Arsenal team.

  • October 17, 2011 at 1:19 am
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    On this game, it was very much the same old story. Lots of useless possession. Scoring quick and then not putting the team away. They get their goal and our crowd does what they normally do. Szczesny saves us with an amazing save. Walcott makes us feel like we only have 10 men out there. Another player gets injured. Then luckily RVP rescued the result this time. Nothing is really changing though. I mean why are players that are putting in top performances not getting looks while under performers get chance after chance. What signal does that send to the players. Park, Coquelin, and AOC deserve a chance out there.

    The funniest one will be Jenkinson. We will pretend like we are fine in that position because of a good performance where there was no winger threatening him then we he has to face a winger and gets burned we will act shocked. All I can say is that at least we picked up the 3 points and hope it continues until the winter window and I pray that we actually make some good moves. Honestly it has gotten so bad in my opinion that I seriously can not even listen to Wenger’s press conferences anymore because all I hear is bull shit now. (And I am a massive fan of Wenger)

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    • October 17, 2011 at 2:42 am
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      For a second there I thought I was the only one who was concerned whenever any player gets the ball and actually runs at Jenkinson. With Sagna out for so long I have massive reservations down that side, especially since that’s normally Walcotts wing and he’s not the best at supporting his full back.

      Whilst today wasn’t awe inspiring I am forcing myself to look at the postives. Szczesny made some big saves, we were generally solid at the back despite a bit of a blip after they scored, RVP was immense, Gervinho started really impressively, Arshavin came on and actually looked hungry for a change and we generally bossed the midfield.

      Today did highlight that without the likes of Fabregas and Nasri we do struggle for creativity though and our possession feels somewhat toothless, but with 1 or 2 signings in January and with Vermaelen coming back soon(ish) the season isn’t a complete write off just yet.

  • October 17, 2011 at 3:35 am
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    yes we are struggling without cesc and nasri because we are still playing the same system. song could become our yaya toure if wenger wants, driving the ball forward kinda box to box and also getting goals, frimpong or coquelin watching his back to guard the defence everytime he ventures up front.
    even djourou can try that role you never know he might pay off.
    cesc and nasri are gone and we have massive squad we should move on and its now down to the boss to find the winning formula and get us back on track.

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    • October 17, 2011 at 5:26 am
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      I do not under stand why Wenger is now so against the 4-4-2 when thats what his best teams played. It is weird to me. Yes, when our top players fit the 4-3-3 then that is fine, but that is not the case now.

  • October 17, 2011 at 3:53 am
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    I still think Rosicky played well for us…I don’t understand all the hate that is directed towards him by the supporters. Arteta is not as good as him in my eyes. This isn’t the only good match that he has played either this year. Like Ramsey, he has done very well internationally. I thought besides RVP he was our best player going forward this past match. He can’t start every match, but if he continues to play like he has been when he does, he will be valuable. What is wrong wiht me saying this. How is Arteta better than him Shane??? Arteta has made ONE good pass since he came to Arsenal and that was against Swansea when Arshavin blazed over the bar. WHat do you see in him that I don’t??? I called it before anyone did, that he wouldn’t provide much going forward for us and so far, I have been proven correct. I admit when I have made a mistake in judgement (the Eastmond case for example) why can’t you admit that you might be wrong Shane…instead of getting angry and all indignent like you are. Really, Song is better going forward then our supposed Cesc-light. You are wrong mate. Sorry.

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    • October 17, 2011 at 5:24 am
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      What am I wrong about mate? Go read my comments when we signed Arteta. I was not very high on the move. He had 2 off years (including injuries) and is only getting older so I was not that happy about the signing and I said that. Now being better than Rosicky is another story. Other then maybe agility and out side of the foot passing, I don’t think there is 1 thing the Rosicky is better than Arteta at. Also you do realize that Arteta is playing deeper for us which is why he is not contributing that much to the attack. Rosicky and Ramsey are not providing much defensive cover at all. Sorry if I am coming off as being upset. I respect your opinion on him, but this is just one of those times where I think the comment is flat out wrong. Good game today by him though, I will give him that.

    • October 18, 2011 at 5:09 pm
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      Best way to settle this silly argument.

      Rosicky is CRAP, and Arteta is average. Arsenal need better players then both. END OF STORY. Stop crying about who is better of two now Average players. btw. If you say best of Arteta v Best of rosicky, Arteta would win hands down. Rosicky’s best ability is getting injured like a plum.

  • October 17, 2011 at 6:04 am
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    walcott has like 18 months left on his contract i say sell him hes english some like liverpool will buy him for 20m den get jesus navas … he is as pacy as walcott but has so much of end product to his game… moltolivo has jus 8mnths let on his contract we can snatch him for free and 2 more players in eden hazard and samba and we will be sorted out .

    hazard RVP navas
    wilsahre moltolivo song
    santos vermy pet sagna
    schezny.

    we can sell players like arshavin (one in a ten game wonder), diaby (the bed man), squillchi (u knw him best), almunia (no comments), flappy(the name says it all), chamak (not suited for our play), nikki b (arrogant SOB), theo (navas better option).
    all together would definately fetch us 50m+
    plus 50m in the bank see again we have 100m

    hazard- 30m, samba-10m, navas-25m, maltolivo- free, drogba (if we could snatch him from chelsea for free, a 1yr contract, by then joe cambell will be ready for first team football).

    by the way how did our lonees perform this week….
    looking forward to your next post.

    Reply
    • October 18, 2011 at 12:27 am
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      What exactly is your back up plan if Navas don’t want to come? And should I remind you of the very known homesickness he has? Read about it. He will not come for sure. He had problem with traveling with Spains national team.. how the hell is he gonna stay here for years?

      We have AOC who looks like he’s gonna be one hell of a player. And why sell walcott when he has 18months left? We can sell him for 20 when he has 12 months left too.. trust me a few clubs will go for it.

  • October 17, 2011 at 10:36 am
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    How Chamberlain is not even making the sqaud is completely baffling. He’s in sensational form. I’m gutted that Coquelin is not making the squad either. He’s quickly becoming one of my favourite Arsenal players. The guy’s got so much heart, something our team desperately lacks. He’s a comfortably better and more complete player than Frimpong so there’s no excuse for him not to make the bench at least. Park making the bench ahead of Chamakh is a long over due step in the right direction though.

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  • October 17, 2011 at 2:24 pm
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    i think we should try this out
    schezny
    kozzer pet dj santos
    coquellen song rosicky
    walcott RVP gerviniho

    if walcott is not playing well jus sub him for AOX or play AOX on the right and walcott on the left for some reason i fell he will have a huge impact as a left sided player coz he can cut in and he has a shot on him.

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  • October 18, 2011 at 7:11 am
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    the problem with our team is simple… no playmakers and no confidence. Against sunderland outside of Van Persie and Kos the entire team played like shite.

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  • October 18, 2011 at 8:33 am
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    breaking news!
    wellington silva recalled from his loan spell.
    we shouldn’t do business with levante again. they are still going on about their lame twitter excuse i guess spanish players don’t use twitter.

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    • October 18, 2011 at 10:51 pm
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      Best news in a while. Levante is a joke club. Clearly don’t understand how to care about other clubs players too. Hopefully Wellington find a new club that believes in him.

    • October 19, 2011 at 12:34 am
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      I wonder if it’s possible that Wellington Silva could be loaned out to Feyenoord in January,or even sooner.
      Not sure that it’s a good thing loaning anymore young Arsenal players to Spanish clubs.

  • October 18, 2011 at 8:56 pm
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    Mr Sanderson…. your blog is lacking severely. I think its a disappointment to log in and there is nothing to read. YOU are reporting on the young guns and there are a lot of them. U-18s AND U-21s. Can you figure out a way to keep us informed. In other to ensure that you maintain a monopoly on this market irrespective of your desire to redesign your page, figure out a way to provide us with at least basic updates about our loanees or at least a look into individual player profiles….

    Sincerely,
    A fan!!!

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    • October 19, 2011 at 6:28 pm
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      follow him on twitter, smaller things are thold there.

  • October 22, 2011 at 7:06 pm
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    Rashonwenger is right, I understand that Jamie has now a career in the media to take care. However he should remember that his career is entirely due to the good work he did on this site.
    Neglect the site and a large number of people will desert you. I am sure that the media would suddenly be less interested in you.
    I am not interested in Twitter the refuge of wit-less and gossiper.

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  • October 22, 2011 at 7:24 pm
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    IMHO Rosicky is a very good player who has had a rotten luck with injury. Since he has been able to play continuous game without injury or fear of injury we are now seeing the player we thought we bought not the physically and emotionaly crippled shadow of those last couple of years.
    At least on form Rosicky is better than Arteta, who looks like a spanish version of Ray Wilkins. Sideways passes and keep possession without giving any penetration. He is very useful to keep possesssion, but his lack of assists is the reason why we rely so much on Van Persie.
    When I go to the Emirates I want to see dribble, penetrative passes not lateral passing like in handball. At least in handball players tend to shoot from outside the penalty box.
    Against Sunderland, Van Persie kept taking those great positions and expecting passes he could run onto but they never came as Arteta kept passing back to Koscielny.
    Arsene Wenger missed a trick in not hiring Marvin Martin from Socheaux.
    They have same role, however one is a highly effective player who has the highest number of a assists in Ligue 1 for the last couple of years and the other is a ball hoarder.
    If we sell Nasri 23M then Marvin Martin is worth at least 25M. I am pretty sure that had we offered 20M we would have had him.
    Wenger is started to get a reputation in France as a scrooge who came in France and screw his fellow countrymen.
    Wiltord went on strike to join us.
    At Auxerre some coaches thought that as soon he was aware that Arsenal were coming for him at the mid-season transfer period Diaby was pretending to be injured (maybe he was not pretending just training for his future role).
    His refusal to play ball with Bordeaux with Chamack did not go down.
    The same thing with the Gervinho transfer who dragg so long because he knew that Gerbinho would only join us driving down the price of the transfer.
    Again with his latest stunt of highjacking Lille move for the Monaco Korean striker when he already had a medical.

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  • October 23, 2011 at 11:47 pm
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    There should be an article on the academy friendly that was played after the game. Didn’t see it myself, bit I am sure other people did.

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  • October 24, 2011 at 7:38 am
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    please somebody help me find out whats up with J. av been checking this site for like 3 weeks but no change, no update. j hope nothing is wrong? no news, no stories, no improvements. pls J if u r good pls let me know. love from Nigeria

    Reply

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