In the Aftermath: Arsenal v Fulham post-match
Cesc Fabregas orchestrates Van Persie's winner
On an unusually warm September night along the river Thames, Arsene Wenger’s side proved that things this season may be different in how his club does business. Amidst a full crowd of Fulham supporters and the travelling faithful, Arsenal on the foot of Robin Van Persie and the hands of Vito Mannone, worked out a 1-0 victory over a very determined home side.
In recent memories a hard fought match like this, usually saw Arsenal finish on the wrong side. Usually an opponent like Fulham who played determined ball were destined to either win or equalize late in the match. Post match discussion always revolved around, Arsenal’s “soft under-belly” or ability to play a beautiful, flowing match without a positive result. However, none of that was prevalent during yesterday’s match.
Arsenal met on the pitch a side who in recent times has been one of the few lower/mid table teams who have performed well against the big four. Last season, Fulham had wins against Arsenal and United with a draw against Liverpool. Only Chelsea, who needed a last minute winner to escape managed to win all points at Craven Cottage. For Arsenal, last season saw them only manage one point off of Roy Hodgsen’s boys.
With all that in mind, plus two excruciatingly painful loses in Manchester, Arsenal had to come out with authority win this first London Derby of the season. Form the start it looked like the side would do just that. Arsenal quickly challenged with Eduardo’s header missing wide. But it was in the 14th minute when we were truly going to get a glimpse of what the match held.
Fulham were playing well early on and with American Clint Dempsey releasing Bobby Zamora, fill in ‘keeper Vito Mannone made a brilliant hand save only to use his head to save Dempsey’s immediate rebound shot. Throughout the day Mannone would be in good position to stop an onslaught of Fulham shots. Mannone it is clear from a review of the game is gaining confidence in front of the goal. He is doing an outstanding job of marshalling the defence in front of him. His play in the air is quality and his ability to distribute the ball to help force the counter-attack is uncanny for a 21 year old. If there is one flaw in Vito’s game, its that he still looks a little awakward and overwhelmed at times. There was less of that in this game and the italian was clearly in a zone. It was clear that no matter what Fulham threw at him he had the positioning and ultimately the answer.
And that is a good thing!
Arsenal lacked the verve throughout the match. They owned possession but only slightly. They were outshot 20-16 with Fulham getting a good 8 shots on goal. The threat of set pieces only once or twice seemed to threaten Fulham as both Robin Van Persie and Fabregas seemed off in their shots into the pieces. But it was this duo that showed their class in winning the game. Fabregas intercepted a Fulham pass and was given the space he needed to send Van Persie into the box with a beautiful lob pass. Robin Van Persie had the positioning and speed on the defender. His first touch lowered the ball on his right foot and he fired a low volley into the left corner.
This blog and I as a writer have commented that Fabregas has seemed slow to regain the form he had before the recent international break. But yesterday there were at least 10 or 12 separate occasions that showed the Arsenal Captain is returning to form. Most of the match feautured passing not typical of an Arsenal side. It looked labored, forced and with out emphasis. However Fabregas, who seems to play matches a move or two ahead of his oppposition made a series of through balls that threatened to open the match up earlier. Even after the goal, Fabregas semed to be picking his game up. On Bendtner’s miss, the exchanges that led up to it were all orchestrated by the Spanish Captain.
Even as pretty as they seemed at points though, Arsenal were not their normal dominant self. Again, this is a good thing. Teams that win championships, be in the EPL, NHL, NFL, etc, win even the games they have no business winning. It is a staple of Manchester United that they have won games where they have been sorely outplayed – cough cough – like against Arsenal a month ago. Arsenal are too often criticized for not winning these types of matches. It has been basis for some pundits crying that Arsenal will never win anything unless they learn to win ugly.
After a come behind win at Standard Liege and a hard fought win at Fulham, it could safely be said that Arsenal are learning to win when wins don’t seem evitable. It is a maturation of youth when that starts to click. And for all the crying that Arsenal lack the experience to do well, it could be argued that they are applying lessons from last year and even learning on the go this year. It still does not mean that Arsenal will win the EPL. What it does mean is that Arsenal are showing improvement and yesterday went a long way to showing that this team is growing up.
Player Ratings:
Vito Mannone – 10
William Gallas – 7
Thomas Vermaelen – 7
Bacary Sagna – 7
Gael Clichy – 6
Diaby – 4.5
Fabregas – 8
Song – 7.5
Arshavin – 6.5
Robin Van Persie – 8
Nicholas Bendtner – 7
Subs:
Eboue – 5.5
Tomas Rosicky – 7
Next Match: Tuesday 29 September Champions League versus Olympiakos at the Emirates Stadium
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I miss Denilson! 2 months, that sucks.
Despite my reservations of Wenger, I still retain faith in his ability to develop players. The improvement shown by Denilson and Song in the past 2 seasons has been significant. Of course, they’re not at the Invincible level yet, but they’re still only 21-22, with a lot of maturing to do. I’m confident that Denilson will easily surpass Gilberto.
Joshuad’s point in the first post is very true – some of the Negative Nick’s only see what they want to see…
I’m a little torn about Diaby. My gripe with him in the past was that he was inconsistent and injury prone. This year, touch wood, he has managed to stay fit. But he is still very inconsistent.
When he is good, he is very good. Just happens way too rarely. The OG at OT was a shocker. Last chance for him this year.
Glad to see u here Joshuad!
Wut up, boyz? I’ve never posted on this site; been incredibly busy. Organic chemistry seems tough when you’re close to forty, especially when you need an A in the class and the content seems to be trying to change the way you think. The saying of teaching an old dog new tricks has never been more appropriate. Proud to say that I’m holding my own. I’m thinking of it as med school prep. We’ll see how I do.
I haven’t been able to stay read-up on what you guys have written but I have made time to watch the boys play. Central D looks as solid as I’ve ever seen. I only saw the second half on Saturday and Song looked brilliant. Can’t see Melo being much better than him. Fab is jaded; tired of getting kicked, just like Hleb when he left. Cesc needs someone in front of him to make plays and take the pressure off; allow him to play deeper. Arshavin, while he’s a better scorer, is not the playmaker that Hleb was. Hleb made the whole team dangerous. If Cesc does leave, Gourcuff is the guy to replace him. Always liked him. When you get a chance, watch him and tell me what you think.
Many are happy that Denilson is out. I think we’re going to miss little rat-face. Man City got a lot of chances (incl. three of their 4 goals) after Denilson was replaced. Did anyone notice how Fulham overran us. When we needed simple passes to establish possession and slow their momentum, no one was there to make them and we struggled to keep possession. Only Mannone saved our asses. When Song went forward Saturday, no one was there to cover him. I’m not trying to re-spark old debates. He’s got two months out. We can let time tell.
Selling Adebayor and Toure to Man City was foolish. Wenger said he didn’t see why it was bad business. I have a funny feeling that he’ll find out why in May. Those two make Man City so much stronger. People talk about Ade’s lack of class. Screw that! He’s a freaking monster. Only Drogba and Torres compare. Anyone who thinks his thrity goal season was a fluke will soon see what that kid can do. We’ll see if Arsenal can stay in the top 4.
Correction:
51 min: Denilson is substituted
62 min: v Persie scores
74 min: Bellamy scores
76 min: Song is substituted
79 min: Ade scores
84 min: SWP scores
Maybe it was Song that we missed. :)
Those stats – that bit you posted are meaningless.
They prove neither, unless you’re hinting at the 4th goal when we’re down 3-1 which came on the counter as the one which proves Song > Denilson. Not the most accurate IMO. It proves nothing about either.
Mark my words – we will miss him if we play Song in every game. 100%
Exactly my point.I put out the facts to show the other side of the story.
One thing was clear – we kept replacing defensive minded midfielders and with attacking ones, so it was highly likely that we will get hit on the counter attack.
Huh? U said we missed Song – I said that doesn’t prove that we missed Song. The point on the counter attack wasn’t even brought up initially.. so I’m not sure there is any connection. Anyway.. doesn’t matter.
Good to see you here JoshuaD. Long time. Agree fully on the Denilson bit.. as long as Rosicky stays fit we mightn’t miss him. Song is far too adventurous IMO.. which is a good thing at times but not at others. Ofcourse people will not agree and just moan. With Nasri also out and we want to play keep ball between 80 and 90 Diaby, Song and Eboue are NOT ideal. Denilson gives that little bit of a balance and a slightly more calming influence.
Sill lets see. Either way I couldn’t care less who starts or not. I hope we win none the less.
The best part is the new found love for Song. The Fulham game is still fresh in my mind when people mercilessly hounded the kid… and now look at him. Very happy for him but it just shows how quickly things change at that age.
Anyone who bashes Cesc is an idiot. Yes, he has the odd off game. But he has the best, most influential central footballing brain in our team. Arshavin on form, might have a more dynamic effect at times. But Cesc is hub.
Who put the pass through to Van P. on Saturday?
Agree on both points. Andrei may be more of a “spark” in the team, someone who can make something out of nothing, who can win a game even when the team plays awful and can’t string anything together. But Cesc is the one who you want to build your attack around, the one who sets things up. He’s the hub, and the the rest of the forward-going players are spokes around him.
“The Arsenal striker crashed his £120,000 Aston Martin into a tree on the way to training on Sunday”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1216681/Nicklas-Bendtner-lucky-alive-car-crash-misses-Olympiakos-tie-Gunners-injury-list-grows.html#ixzz0SRoVAwKR
Typical Bendtner – he gets a nice clear run and still hits the post!
Good one! :-)
Classic :)
If you want to just watch nice football, I would suggest ManCity.
They are entertaining to watch, but they actually have some good players in their PRIME, not kids… and they have players who have WON things, so that will help them in the experience department when it counts.
In the 3 matches I have seen (and I am watching them take it WetSham), Kolo Toure looks pretty damned good… happy to see him thriving, as I doubt he wanted to leave Arsenal… but sometimes a change of scenery is a good thing for all parties.
We will have to reckon with this team for 4th place or better. There is no doubt about it. They are not pretenders.
I’d rather see this guy play over Denilson
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1216712/VIDEO-Arsenal-starlet-Fran-Merida-wows-Under-20-World-Cup-sublime-double-Spain.html
He’s the one guy that can make a difference. The only midfield youngster that gives me some hope.
He UNDERSTANDS the Fabregas way of playing football, the Rosicky way. He might be physically a bit unimposing but that will be negated by his vision, technique, and intelligence.
At the moment Fabregas is being reduced to being a killer passer merchant when if surrounded by players like Hleb and Rosicky he can actually move with the ball and be penetrative with the ball at his feet. I still do not see Arshavin as a playmaker that Cesc can link with deep.
Merida brings that possibility. A fellow product of Barca, they will know each other inside out. That’s something Diaby will never be able to do – link with Cesc. Besides the difference in quality, there is a difference in the way they see and pay the game. It was the same with Vieira and Fabregas.
The pecking order?
It was hilarious reading that Arsenal were “hit” with Denilsons lay off!
LOOOOL!
My heart fills with joy at his layoff. Same goes for Almunia.
I wish they can selflessly carry more of the injury burden of their teammates.
The news about Denilson is disappointing. All of this speculation about Cesc (and Barca) and Arshavin (fitness) is blog gossip. I threw my magic 8 ball away years ago.
I admit to rating Diaby as a weak link in our team. However, I watched the Fulham replay and I will say that Diaby did not play as bad as what was written. Just as Song started slowly in the eyes of many, we need to trust Arsene’s judgment and have more patience.
From my favorite football news site, football365.com. This is today’s headline, and I gotta say, I disagree whole-heartedly w/ AW on this one. Nothing should be more important than winning… if achieving that goal necessitates a balanced book, then ok, but that should never take priority over the ultimate goal of bringing in the trophies:
“AW: ‘Winning Trophies But Losing Money Unacceptable’
Arsene Wenger’s message is clear: Winning trophies means nothing if the club loses money. He says: “I would not feel that I do my job well if we lost money at the end of the season – never, no matter what happens on the sporting side – because you put the club in trouble and, in my opinion, that cannot be accepted from any manager.” We suspect the new Man City owners will think differently.”
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_5589595,00.html
Wenger should really be sacked. I mean really. But the board absolutely love someone like him.
So when we miss out on champions league (maybe this season) and we lose Fabregas, Arshavin, etc) and promote Ramsey and Denilson and Eboue to permanent first team positions, we will be permanently outside the top 4.
And if we are we will be losing money meaning we will have to SELL just to balance the books.
Meaning we will have even a far WEAKER team than we do now, but without the star players.
So we are well on our way to Everton, Fulham status.
While PAYING THE HIGHEST TICKETS IN THE WHOLE OF F#CKING EUROPE!
Denilson being out 2 months is NOT good. Another hit against the depth in a deep that has little. He could have played the CC matches the FA Cup matches, etc…
Bravo and Cheers to Wenger for bringing in Vermaelen. He is excellent so far. That is great. Unfortunately, he doesn’t make up for losing Hleb & Flamini, Adebayor and Toure… and not spending to replace them in some fashion… oh, and not addressing the keeper situation for years, leaving us with Almunia and Mannone.
You take the good with the bad, and get praise as well as heat.
He deserves more to be bashed over lack of moves, than he does for bringing in talent in recent years.
Well said. Now that’s a FAIR statement.
Between the injury news and our inability to control possession against Fulham I’m becoming more and more concerned about our team going forward. Luckily we’ve got a couple of home matches to (hopefully) build some confidence and then the international break. In fact, our fixtures look pretty benign all the way thru the end of November and the insidious WC qualifiers. (North London Derby at home being the toughest….)
And it’s these int’l games that continue to make me fret about our better players (team leaders). Arshavin’s fitness and attitude (frustration with Diaby and Clichy, especially) seem big question marks. He’s got a huge game in Moscow vs Germany coming up and I worry that this is his true focus. Maybe a thumping in that match will show him that his teammates at Arsenal really aren’t so bad and that London is where he needs to strut his stuff. Similarly I worry that Cesc is tiring of the physicality of the English league and that the siren song of easy international matches with his quick and talented Spanish/ (future?) Barca mates has turned his head irrevocably. There’s more parity than ever in English/European club football this season (and thus opportunity for the big trophies) but there’s also a long, wet, rainy English winter to survive and I sense that our best players are already looking ahead to South Africa and beyond. Fingers crossed that I’m wrong.
Maybe the Denilson injury will get “rusty” Rosicky (who does at least look fully committed to the Arsenal) on the pitch with AA23 & Cesc. Those three (along with Song’s strong eye for attacking touches, and RVP’s quick moves starting to work) perhaps have enough quality in attack to restore the “pretty football” we’re known for AND score some lovely & timely goals producing the 3 pts/game that we require over this stretch.
Bendtner is out of CL match after minor injuries sustained in a car crash.
Denilson is out for 2 months with a fracture in his back
Whoa….
Though some might be glad to hear the Denilson news, I thought we could have used his “safe,” tempo slowing passes against Fulham.
Barndoor might be missed less, especially if Theo can get a run out. (Or Carlos Vela—Please!) And where was Dudu on Saturday? You must’ve meant somebody else (“headed wide”) as he didn’t even make the bench.
So, it looks like we’ll be seeing Diaby and Eboue in there despite the galling performances, with maybe Ramsey and Wilshere playing some added minutes. Or maybe it’s finally time for Rosicky to be “officially” back. Certainly we’re now looking very thin in Central Midfield if any other injuries pop up.
I did mean someone else. But the ESPN commentary log has it as DuDu. I will have to check on the TiVo and find out who.
From what I am hearing Walcott has also been ruled out for tomorrow.
Which either means our starting midfield will include Diaby (ugh) or as you say Rosicky finally “comes back”
The Greek team at home “should” be a good opportunity for Diaby to get on track, but we’ll see. He needs a bunch of goals/assists to purge the ManU own goal. On the plus side (for the purist) he tries to keep his feet when he’s pushed off the ball–For the Arsenal supporter, however, it looks bad because he usually loses possession (sometimes in bad spots) and rarely gets the call.
If Rosicky stays fit we won’t miss Denilson else we will. He’s a very neat steady player. We already have IMO in the last 2 games.
p.s: Cue for rants.
The whole “we miss Denilson” chorus is the pinnacle of comedy.
Diaby is utter shit, the fact that Denilson is slightly less utter shit should NOT make us miss Denilson.
Both should not even be at the club in the first place.
Infact both wont even start for f-cking Burnley.
I completely agree. First, we gotta understand one basic – is AW a STUPID manager?
He can’t POSSIBLY be. IF he is, there’s no way in hell he could make it as a manager of a top club in England, earning millions a year, more than many of us would have earned in our entire life in one single year. Let alone being Arsenal most successful manager in over 100 years.
Everything he does, be it we agree with it or not, there must be a REASON behind it. He didn’t just suddenly go nuts and making decisions without any LOGICAL reasons behind them.
Take the pecking order as an example. Yes, it’s not ideal. But we must ask ourselves one question – WHY he sticks to his pecking order? For fun?
I am not DannyT, I don’t know the TRUTH, as I am not a fly on the wall of the Arsenal dressing room. And the closest thing to any INSIDE story regarding of Arsenal are the stuff I read on the net. So I can only guess.
Dressing room harmony that is.
To let every player knows where they stand. You, you are the stater. And you, you are the back up. And you, you, you, you are the 3rd choices. So and so. That would help to prevent any jealous, bitterness in the dressingroom regarding of playing time.
And to live up to his promises to the players he initially signed.
Now I am not saying it would completely get rid of the trouble makers by sticking to his pecking order, afterall if you are a jerk, you are a jerk. But at least that’s the thinking behind it – the pecking order. Which I believe, makes sense. Like it or not.
And most importantly, AW is not an IRobot, his pecking order is not fixed permanently.
Take Senderos, he was ahead of Djourou initially. But he failed to impress, got his share of chances. So now he’s behind Djourou.
Song is a perfect example. A few years back, he was behind a ton of CMs in the pecking order and seemingly never be able to get to play. Gilberto, Flamini, Diarra, Denilson, Diaby were all ahead of him. Through his hardwork, he had gradually pushed himself up the pecking order and now is very much a starter.
As LDE rightly pointed out – football management is never that straightforward and simple as just pick 11 players and let them play.
If so, everyone could manage a club. And the top managers today would not have been earning what they are earning. That is a very SIMPLE logic.
I postulate that Wenger has gone nuts.
Not surprising at all.
I think Almunia’s spirits went down and he started performing badly when Capello ruled out picking him for England. That after all was his main reason to up his game all along. I doubt he’ll have a season as good as last year when our Central Defense was letting them in left and right. Still for Arsenal’s good.. I hope he picks up.
Fred,
I agree I am not sure I understand why the Cesc bashing has begun. Frankly put even on a bad day, the Spaniard has to be one of the top 10 or 15 players in Europe. His ability to control a game and the midfield were very evident right through the Man U loss.
I get the feeling that his duty for Spain took more out of him than he would let on. It has only been in this last game where I saw a spark again.
As for the money situation I have been giving that some thought and there are only a couple reasons I can think for not spending:
1. Board direction to not do so since the outcome of Highbury estates was in question
2. He wants to win with what he has. Or prove he can with what he has.
3. The money isn’t really there
Number 1 has to be clearing up since it now looks like Arsenal are going to make out nicely from that.
Number 2 makes sense and seems to play into Arsene’s ego. However, if come January the top four and the also rans are all sitting within 3-6 points of each other, I can’t see how he doesn’t buy. Whether he buys were the perceived weaknesses are remains to be seen.
But I do have to say this about Arsene. When Vermaelen was signed the collective joy from Arsenal fans was shall we say less than forthcoming. Now this far into the season, fans are making him into an Arsenal folk hero. Where is the praise for Arsene for making the signing. For seeing something in the Belgian that none of the pundits saw.
I don’t know but it seems to me that if Arsene knew what Tommy Gun had inside then maybe, and I say just maybe we should trust his judgement on the makeup of his squad. Though admittedly Diaby has to go.
Well, the bashing of Cesc might be starting early… because we know its his last season! LOL!… might want to just get on him before he departs for Barcelona!!!
Without Cesc, these team is devoid of anybody that is close to a great passer. He has parts of his game that could be better, but he is clearly our star player.
The money?
Please. Why even discuss it? We know the goal of the board and maybe Wenger is to win the profit league, not the EPL…
It was a good win against a pretty decent team in Fulham. Mannone made some very good stops to save us, it makes you wonder what would have happened if Almunia were in there. We had some chances that we could have finish, but nothing clear cut. Bendtner missed a couple, and we know Eboue can’t hit the side of a barn from 10 feet. But a 1-0 victory on the road is a good win.
Lastly, I thought the important part was that Arsenal play a pretty finesse way… it isn’t important to win or compete for trophies & championships.
At least thats what I read on here. We play beautiful football… winning is not important.
Oh please Stag .. cut the condescending tone. Its very easy to take things out of context really.. All I said was I’d take a season of well played football and competing throughout over winning trophies with 35 1-0 scorelines. I’m not sure if I’d change my mind once we got a trophy.. but right now that’s how it is. Trophies clamored for by fans = he wants something to brag about to his football buddies. It means nothing else IMO. Unless you’re Usmanov in disguise that is ;)
LDE, its about WINNING, and trying to WIN. If your trying to play pretty football and make money, then say so. To soak the supporters with the most expensive ticket prices and not re-invest the money into improving the team is BULLSHIT.
The club love folks like you that just want to see pretty football.
Yes, I want Arsenal to win trophies… or at the very least, actually compete to win them. If they don’t plan to, lower ticket prices and make the game more available to the masses, as opposed to the elite. Why not show the matches online for free?
I’d take winning 1-0 over losing a beautifully played game EVERY TIME.
Look Stag. I’ll never get to see an Arsenal game live most probably. Ticket prices mean nothing to me. They might to you – if you go watch. For a large majority all around the world ticket prices mean zilch. So if you say you want to win and will take a 1-0 every time, you might have a point. The rest – its all bragging rights.. thats all.
However is that the only answer? Say they drop ticket prices – wont happen but just say they do.. Would the above premise still stand?
I hate to take Stags side on anything … but the idea that a fan will rather draw than win 1-0 … especially for our side that has not won anything in a while is incredibly ridiculous.
And how is the club to keep its best players and keep playing “beautiful” football without winning something soon?
LDE, I don’t get it? Sorry. You have the club making big profit, and soaking the fans with ticket prices, merchandise, etc.
So you can’t go to a match… you would still prefer they play nice football, and not win anything? puzzling, considering we played fantastic football AND WON trophies not so long ago. Why can’t it be both? Why applaud Wenger’s extremism?
Oh don’t get me wrong. I’d LOVE both, I’m just saying .. if it doesn’t happen.. for whatever reason I wouldn’t moan too much.. that is all.
As for the best players thing Fred .. that is true to an extent – its hard to attract top quality if you win nothing and(key) pay less than Man City. I am only saying – If we give it our best and come up short with the players we have but have played well throughout I won’t be moaning and the 3 extra players the manager didn’t buy.
Nobody is praising Wenger for the Vermalaen buy because he bought a proper defender TWO seasons too late.
Two summers ago, Wenger pinpointed the center of defense as a problem yet he did absolutely nothing about it.
That is two seasons wasted AFTER already identifying the problem.
Now he is wasting our time with central midfield and goalkeeper.
After another two trophyless seasons he will finally buy a CM.
And when he does he is not going to get any plaudits because it is 3-4 seasons too freaking late.
It actually is a management style. There’s some who will think there is a problem.. jump in and fix it right away. Sometimes it works, its a risk well taken sometimes its hasty and u pay the price.
The other style is believing in the basic qualities of a human being..in this case footballer. You give them as many..as many chances as you think possible and then let them go. The “as many chances” of course is fully relative – you might think 3 chances are good enough and a change must be made..AW says no.. 2 years at least. The reason you think that way is because football is just another way to pass your time – there is zero risk – for you being held accountable for anything you say. It isn’t that way with AW or ANY MANAGER.. before you jump on me. Who knows what he said to the board 2 years ago? Who knows its financial state? Who knows how much who was on? Who knew Flamini and Hleb would leave? Who knew Rosicky and Eduardo will get crocked for so long? What happens if we buy a new defender for 12 Million and he gets crocked in his 2nd game? I mean… the point is.. there are tons of things to think about for a manager .. unlike you or any other armchair fan like me.
Yes the buck stops with AW.. ofcourse. But its a package deal.. if you enjoy his good points as a manager, you bear his blind spots. Decide whether its worth it – its not EITHER OR .. it is a package deal.
“It actually is a management style. There’s some who will think there is a problem.. jump in and fix it right away. ”
I cant think of a comment more hilarious than that!
So when a problem exist, jumping in and FIXING it is too radical?
Wow dude, wow!
If anybody pulls that crap at work he will get fired ASAP.
As usual… which is not surprising you take things way out of context. What I meant was .. say there’s a hole in DM and you have 3 good CM’s developing at your club; a manager doesn’t wait for them to grow up and hopefully mature – he just goes and buys the next big thing instead. Thought that was pretty clear.
Of course if you pretend not to understand and debate for the sake of it , I can’t help it.
don’t fix it, wait to see if it works itself out?
So, that’s like turning the machine off, saying a prayer, and turning it back on… and hoping it works?
See above – Without the last paragraph.
http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arsenal-truth/posts/clueless-gooners-berate-fabregas
Nice response from DannyT to the growing Fabregas bashers.
Its a bit incredible how people are now trying to pin woes down on the guy. The guy who for 3 seasons (with Gilberto and Flamini) was the TOP assist-maker in the whole of Europe. That is 3 straight seasons.
Everybody in the world and their dogs could see we needed CM re-inforcements but instead of blaming Wenger, the ironic optimists have taken to bashing one of only two world class players we have.
Next up is blaming Arshavin for his poor game.
We are a suspension away from being without a single DM on the entire roster. Meanwhile 30 million is sitting as profit and Wenger was boasting about the profit he made just this last Friday …
A little bit of magic won the game for us. Wonderful.
Plays like that will do Cesc and Robin a lot of good.
Fulham had the edge of the game for much of the time. Not necessarily dominating us but more cohesive.
I’m really pleased with the points, away against a competent side, that’s a good result. And another building block after the twin manchester disappointments.
Sometimes when I look at the attack I think Arsene is trying to win things the hard way. Obviously he sees RvP as central in position and importance to the team, and he would probably explain that Bendtner will benefit from learning the wider arts, and some say Arshavin needs to be more central. Yet whatever the theories, the outcome is a forward line that looks awkward and is yet to click at all. We can only hope that it does start to work, it must, that RvP tunes his radar and takes to this central role, that Bendtner and Arshavin adapt to their wider roles.
I find the discussions around our midfield interesting. I’ve liked Song this season and find his inclusion in corporate criticism amusing. We all have a confirmation bias, a tendency to see things a certain way and then to look for confirmation of that in what happens. So if we think Song is slow, we will wait for an event that confirms that and ignore everything else. When that event occurs we will say “see I told you so”.
Let’s keep this little run going and let the guys find their feet in the season.
So if we think Song is slow, we will wait for an event that confirms that and ignore everything else. When that event occurs we will say “see I told you so”.
Perfect. Nice one Kiwi. Everyone has their blind spots.
How is saying Song is slow…. a blind spot?
You either are or your not and an example of that in a game is valid, regardless of whether it was something that was being focused on beforehand.
It’s not just just lack of acceleration with Song, it’s lack of mobility and lack of concentration at times.
Oh come on. Read what Kiwi wrote.
We all have a confirmation bias, a tendency to see things a certain way and then to look for confirmation of that in what happens. So if we think Song is slow, we will wait for an event that confirms that and ignore everything else.
If the same thing happened with say player X you’d ignore it and highlight good points instead.
That means you have a blind spot for Player X. Obviously Song’s speed or other qualities were nowhere in discussion this time.