A Touch of Class
Back then with so much promise
Classy: adjective, class·i·er, class·i·est. Informal . of high class, rank, or grade; stylish; admirably smart; elegant
“Before I start a new chapter in my career with Shakhtar Donetsk, I just wanted to send a message to all my friends at Arsenal.
“The past few days have been very emotional for me. Although I am excited about the challenge ahead with my new club Shakhtar Donetsk, I am so sad to be leaving my home for the past three years – Arsenal Football Club.
“Arsenal is a very special football club and I will miss so many people – my team mates, all the staff and of course, the wonderful Arsenal supporters.
“I would just like to thank everyone for your support during my time at Arsenal. When I first came to England, I could not speak the language and knew nobody, but as soon as I arrived I was made to feel at home and part of this big family. Also, I want to say thank you to the Arsenal supporters – you have been fantastic to me and always sung my name and I will never forget this.
“I had some very difficult times with my injury, but Arsenal was always there for me – the medical staff, the management, the players and the supporters. Thank you everybody.
“Although I have now left the Club, Arsenal will always be in my heart. I will always look for the Arsenal results and of course, I wish Arsène Wenger and the great players at the Club well for next season and the future.”
And so with that statement, the rather sad chapter of Eduardo’s time at Arsenal came to a close. For the striker who was signed from Dinamo Zagreb in 2007, the move to Shaktar Donetsk was the end of a tumultuous time that peaked with his horrifc injury at the hands of Martin Taylor. Heroically, the Crozillian came back from the leg injury but sadly, he would never regain the form he would delight Arsenal fans with prior to the injury.
However, Arsenal fans do not look at Eduardo’s departure as a “good-riddance” type of event. Unfortunately for the Daily Mail, Eduardo is not another striker failure as they would have us believe. No. Dudu’s departure is a chance for him to begin anew, regain some confidence and shine again. And frankly, Arsenal fans couldn’t be happier for him.
This isn’t the acrimonious departure of Adebayour of a year agao. A departure that his him on a hatred level equal to that of Ashley Cole (I never thought Arsenal fans would hate anyone as much as him). No, Arsenal fans saw the writing on the wall last season for Eduardo. Who only netted twice and as the season wore on, it was evident Wenger saw less and less of a role for him. Chances were given but not taken.
But can you blame the lad? Returning from that injury had to have some psychological effect. Pre-injury, it looked like Dudu was the prototypical poaching attacker. His strike rate of 23% was evidence of that. But a poacher needs to be confident in the box. To have some strength of presence and after the injury, Eduardo just didn’t have that. As evidenced by a strike rate of 2.3%.
With his depature an outpoouring of well wishing was vocalized by Arsenal fans and capped off with Dudu’s farewell note above. Class. Absolute class. This is why while Eduardo may not be remembered on the likes of a Bergkamp or Henry, he will nonetheless be remembered well, for how carried himself, how he wore the badge with honour and tried to defy all expectations while on duty for Arsenal.
In an age of the prima dona millionaire players, to see such affection displayed and returned is reassuring. To know that this player played for our club is even better. And frankly for the most part, these are the type of players that play for Arsenal. Players of character (some are characters – think Lehman). Players that seem to above all else carry themselves in a way that is reflective of the club and the fans that support them.
Players like Henry, Bergkamp, Ljunberg, and others all talk fondly of what the club means to them. Henry recently saying when he is done playing wants to return to the club – even if it’s as “the waterboy.” Contrast all that to the likes of John Terry, Mr Chelsea who last season nearly switched to Man City for the allure of easy money. In my opinion only one other club has players that seem to emulate the same loyalty to the club and is United.
Look I know class doesn’t win anything and maybe there is something said for the egotistical, individually focused star players who win. But when the likes of Cesc Fabregas, who will not be bullied into submitting a transfer request because he doesn’t want to offend the club that made him, or when Eduardo, who gave everythying to try and come back to repay the club who had faith him, when these kinds of players are wearing our badge, I can’t help be proud to be an Arsenal fans.
Yes, the days of single devotion to a club are gone. The EPL has followed its American sporting cousins and now its all about the biggest pay day. Ya hear that Joe Cole? How about you Ya Ya Toure? There are still a few hold outs and god bless them.
Eduardo, you are gone but not forgotten – absolute class mate.
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excelenta reenso de pressescr y moles con deires triaso. metes a rreituala y dismo cemobro con coria sacho!
Before anyone goes on about the lack of posts despite our HOISTING A TROPHY, I’ll throw down a few thoughts, though I think Nipuna summed it up above…(“Attack is fine, but the defense suffers from the same old problems.”)
Actually, I think it might be a bit worse than that… We’ve got some nice depth at a certain level of quality, but both the depth AND the quality falls off mightily as we move from front to back. Up front, Vela is moving well (and looks deserving of his new kit #). If he could stay healthy AND develop a killer instinct (he looked well satisfied after the early goal) I think with his vision and ball skills he could be quite a player, maybe even rivaling his fellow Mexicano, Hernandez, who we seem to be already hailing as the next Rooney/Ronaldo up in Manchester…
World Cup absentees Arshavin, Nasri and Theo all look fairly rested, fit and up for the new season. And Chamakh, who I thought would mostly contribute with his greasy head and by moving industriously and with reasonable intelligence, also looks serviceable using his feet and his body as a hold-up guy.
In MF the youngsters, Wilshere and Frimpong, look like they’ll be part of the next wave of players (along with Eastmond–injured?) who can slot in for the likes of Diaby, Song and Denilson. Whether that impresses ANYBODY is the larger question… And, if you buy that our defense begins at the front (or at least in the MF), then you have to worry about what happened when Celtic’s only decent attackers (Samaras and Fortune) came on and started slicing us apart. As per usual we looked tired AND indecisive getting back to defend and do or die tackles (which isn’t really how teams properly defend) were out and out missed. Once Vermaelen was off the pitch and with Song, who I think at least knows, most of the time, where to go when getting back, not playing, we looked a shambles. Certainly Wilshere and Frimpong were completely at sea, tired, and almost as good as useless trying to help out defensively. Those two, along with Koosh and Djourou, made things exciting, but given their combined experience (ZERO) the lessons in how to kill off a game that MUST have been part of the regimen there in Austria, were unable to be seen in the match.
And given that our keepers are shot-stoppers with very unpredictable patterns of coming off their line, it all seemed pretty predictable, and the recipe for a season ahead that will strain the hearts of too many of us. But hey, Almunia (unlike Flappy the day before) did the job by blocking a couple (to match the two that were let in) and scaring Samaras into trying an unstoppable penalty. If anybody deserved to hoist the trophy, he did… ;-)
Well, the sad stats of our youth experiment is that all that has come out of it, has been a lot of average players.
Starting with the generation of Bentley, Quincy-Abuywe, Jeffers, etc. to the current crop of Vela, Walcott, Song, Bendtner, utterly-shit-Denilson,
Traore, Simpson, even- Merida and so on.
We have a bit higher than avg potential in Wojesch, Wilshere, Frimpong Gibbs, Ramsey, and Clichy, while Fabregas has been the only true success.
I think Manchester United have had a much higher success rate, growing youngsters in rates of one or two a season.
The new guy Hernandez looks very good.
There are a few other guys, like Macheda, Welbeck, Rafael, and Evans look so much mature and complete.
I envy them in this regard.
Also, this is on back of their tremendous performance last decade, of coming out with the Golden Generation, which was a set of 7-10 first- team players out of the academy, regularly winning the Premiership.
I think Wenger has placed his bets long, and he is just holding out, hoping that the unexpected nature of progress of young players combined with luck smiles his way, and he gets success.
But this suffering of seeing the team being raped by Drogba and Xavi and the inertial-clown abusing bitch that is Rooney, season after season, is a bit hard to take.
Still hope to see a new CD and GK before the end of the window.
optimistic, hopeful and philosophical.a
I think 1:1, our kids are as good as if not better than any other club. But football is a team game.
The ManU kids play along with real stars and experienced players, so they look better and learn faster.
Our kids, on the other hand, play with more kids, struggle more and therefore don’t progress as fast as we would like.
As for our attack.
It’s one thing to score a few goals against part-timers and B-grade line-ups in the warmth of pre-season. The acid is what happens when the summer passes and you need to find answers twice a week in the cold and against teams that have no intention of letting you twinkle-toes through their defence? What then? Who’s fit & who’s injured? And out of who’s left who’s good enough?
I’ll say this though, I liked the way Chamakh took his goal against AC Milan. The timing and intelligence was 1st-class. I bet Arshavin liked having him at the apex too. Who else would have scored that? Bendtner would be too slow in both thought and in leg, I doubt RvP would sniff around for those chances. If Chamakh causes our team to be less lateral and slow-paced it might be nice. The question is whether the return of Fabregas will see the team return to that awful slow paced game that has seen us become ineffectual even against dross teams.
Not a lot of comment on the weekends games.
We’re now asked to believe that the emergence of Wilshere and Frimpong in the pre-season is evidence enough for Wenger to decide not to recruit another defensive midfielder. So there you go, we’re in the deep grip of the youth experiment.
But ask yourself this, when we’re in the clutch, when Song and Fabregas(?) are fatigued and pick up injuries from a season of over-exertion, what will we have in reserve to see us through? Diaby? Denilson?
Emirates cup gave a good preview of the season to come.
Attack is fine, but the defense suffers from the same old problems.
If Samaras hadn’t missed the penalty, Celtic would have won the tournament.
Well, at least we have won some trophy. ;)
why do I have that feeling that Cesc is going to leave
Arsenal right before the season starts…
why is Wenger still talking about it?
Now its up to him?
I thought we were done talking about it Arsene?
Strangely enough, Wenger may be impressed enough with Nasri and Wilshire in the pre-season to actually be contemplating allowing Cesc to leave Arsenal.
Thirty-five million is quite a bit of dough for a kid you virtually got for free. We could sign Uzil for only a fraction of that and let Nasri run the show until Uzil is adapted.
Samir is talented but can he be selfless and consistent enough? Can he play well against the big teams in tough games? We’ll see if he gets a chance.
You know a lot better than to listen to anything anyone says this time of year.
no sweat on the new thread DAG!
Though I requested again before scrolling UP!
to see you have been away.
Cheers
Arsenal on my television but not in HD, though I can see the crime of Chamakh’s hairstyle pretty clearly…And I thought I saw Koosh, but then he turned sideways….
Gonna sit in the GDC if anybody cares to join me…
Arseblog is a good read and often highly entertaining.
I disagree with his take today though.
Essentially he says Cesc is back and all is rosy and that it was all that nasty Barca club and its players talking it up.
One small problem with that hypothesis. Cesc could have come out at any stage and said – “this is nonsense, I’m Arsenal captain and committed to the club.” That would have put an end to it. He didn’t did he. Not once. He never came out and spoke against the constant stream of comments. And really, let’s be realistic, would the Barca players speak so stidently if they didn’t think Cesc wholly condoned their message? Of course he did. His silence was simply to hedge his bets in the event that Wenger didn’t grant his release.
So….. if it makes you feel better believe that Cesc was a victim of a baseless campaign. It’s only football after all and as an Arsenal fan your probably getting used to hearing subdefuse on a regular basis.
As for him being 100% professional….. sure, he’s as good as it gets. Yet I can’t help but be snotted that once again our captain is less than definitive about his loyalty and that this is likely his last season at the club.
He did say something of the sort, that he is a “Gunner” and the “captain of Arsenal” didn’t he? Alongside his desire to play for Barca however.
But I think Arseblog is playing politics. The last thing he wants is the fans to boo Cesc and we end up with a demotivated player who will then definitely leave at the end of the season. Although I firmly believe he is going to leave anyway, it would hardly do our cause any good if the fans get on his back.
I’ve been diving for mussels a bit and I have to agree with Kiwi…Arsenal may have Cesc for the season ahead but it will be a delicate situation, which, if I were an Arsenal supporter would piss me off. (Or make my ink boil, or something….)
Kiwi is right. Cesc, AT BEST, is being a professional about matters and we need to keep him happy AND maintain his value, even though we’re being held hostage by (the player and) a cash-strapped club. It thus becomes a transitional season for both Arsenal AND Barcelona….Arsenal as they strive to show Cesc that there might be a reason to stick around (If the team shows it can actually compete at a high level and that players stand up for him when the inevitable bad tackles come in….) Barcelona, likewise, need to handle the new threat from Mour-drid and adapt to a new fiscal reality, wringing some value from overpaid players such as Ibrahimovic, etc.
It’s a very risky situation for Arsenal. If Cesc gets hurt, or if Barca prove they don’t really “need him,” his value could plummet. However, if, somehow, Cesc were to prove himself a real leader in Arsenal success, while Barca struggle, his value could actually rise…. Swimming around, I must say that I haven’t seen any mussels in any tanks with that scenario described upon them….
Arsenal are standing behind the idea that their “financial strength” allows them to resist teams that try to buy their best players, but the Cesc situation is unique in that Barca represents an attraction beyond money for him. Somehow, this season, Arsenal need to create their own (non-monetary) reasons for the very best players to find the red end of North London a happy place to be.
… Arsenal are standing behind the idea that their “financial strength” allows them to resist teams that try to buy their best players, but the Cesc situation is unique in that Barca represents an attraction beyond money for him. Somehow, this season, Arsenal need to create their own (non-monetary) reasons for the very best players to find the red end of North London a happy place to be.
Hey P.t.O, how about you start predicting Arsenal to win Premier League or Champion League? Your hit rate is like 99.9999% correct. That’ll give Cesc something to think about.
Fully agree with Kiwi.
Cesc wants out, Barca want him, but Arsene is not willing to let go.
Result? One unhappy player who will supposedly give 100% for another season, before he eventually leaves.
Where have we heard this before?
That’s the deal Kiwi.
Cesc wants to be at Barcelona, but Wenger probably has told him, sorry son, I can’t let you go this season, you have to stay.
That will make for a less than enthusiastic player, and team-mates who also know that he wanted to be in Spain, not with them… and that’s the Captain.
He hasn’t said anything to the effect of: BARCA SCREW, leave me to play at Arsenal please…
He’s been smart and coy… but there is no mistaking where his heart and soul is.
If that fills you with confidence for the coming season at Arsenal FC, more power to you…
APOLOGIES APOLOGIES APOLOGIES.
I am travelling fro work again – this week I am in Madison WI for the National KIdney Foundation’s Transplant Games –
I have not been able to even look at the world of Arsenal in quite a few days. Today is my last day here and tonight I am just spending in the hotel before checking out. I will have a post out tonight (hopefully)
Again apologies.
Unless anyone else wants to write something
I will not accept your apology DAG…
I think we should all understand you have commitments outside of YAMA, this is not your living after all.
I presume we all appreciate what you have done with this site and the work you have put in. Sincerely tou have done a great job.
Can anyone registered post a new thread? It wouldn’t even let me put up an avatar when I tried.
Too right. We appreciate all you do Mike.
Right on Art. Kudos to DAG for getting the site running 99% of the time.
p/s: I did try to upload my avatar too, but wasn’t successful. But that was like last year.
I hope you enjoyed Madison. It’s a really great city for it’s size and there’s a lot to do there.
I see Hleb has been left out of Barca’s equivalent of our Austria camp. Thats rock bottom right there!
Yes, Mazza, am calling you out! :-D
HLEB is being linked with a return to the Premier League … with a few of our biggest rivals for a Top 4 spot.
Tottenham and Villa included…
Motherfucker! Latest Puyol comment on Cesc:
“I won’t say he is in a prison, as we know how privileged we are as football players. But after how clear Cesc made it that he wanted to be in Barcelona, I thought they would have granted him that.”
Really? A prison? If being in prison means being a millionaire living in London, getting to play football for a living, getting all the babes you want, and being one of the most famous people in the world, then please arrest me and throw me in the slammer right now!
If you make a comment like “I won’t say he’s in a prison,” then that’s what you’re actually doing: you’re saying he’s in a prison. If you really didn’t want to convey that type of message you wouldn’t mention the word at all. This is just a way to use the word without having to take any heat for it.
I’m not saying that we should keep Cesc no matter what; I say sell him if the price is right (which is a subjective amount). But whatever your view on the Cesc transfer saga and how Arsenal should handle it, I think we can all agree that Barca are setting a new low in the shameful behavior of (particularly Spanish) clubs when it comes to tapping up players. I bet Cesc does want to go to Barca, but that’s no excuse to behave like this. They are making Real look like goody-two-shoes. The Cronaldo to Real saga looks like nothing compared to this.
CG.
Arsenal won’t talk to them about the transfer, so Cesc’s FRIENDS at the club, his Spain team-mates, are DOING THE TALKING.
Not the actual CLUB … Barcelona FC has not said squat, other than to say Arsenal don’t want to sell or negotiate.
There is no doubt Cesc wants to be there. How do we know he isn’t asking the players to CRANK UP THE RHETORIC, to try and force the move.
When Cesc comes out with… “I AM 100% COMMITTED TO ARSENAL, PLEASE STOP THE TALK ABOUT GOING TO BARCELONA”…
then I’ll be satisfied as to where his allegiance lies.
So City, despite having an already bloated roster, are finalizing negotiations with Inter for Mario Balotelli. Only 19 years old, and the fee is reported to be 30m Euro guaranteed, rising to 35 depending on results. Meanwhile the clear-out has begun, w/ left back Javier Garrido being sent to Lazio.
The madness continues! Just as they seem to start trimming the fat at Eastlands (Garrido), they continue with negotiations for yet another player (Balotelli), thus nullifying the extra spot they just created… and Garrido is being sent to fill the spot of Kolarov who plays the same position as him and just went from Lazio to City! City have turned football upside down!
balotelli is U-21 so he is not taking up any spot!
I did read something about City getting Balotelli and he really wants to go there too.
I am not sure of whether to be happy about it or not. I would like to see his ability expressed in the premiership but not for such a big rival.
I am excited about this guy…. He used to play for my local team in Ghana before leaving for Italy. He is a really really great player Emmanuel Balotelli ;-)
the stories are that City will try to clear out MANY players… up to 30, from their fringes, loaned out, youth, and excess players…
They are not going to have much problem selling off the likes of Bellamy, Santa Cruz, Ireland, De Jong, etc… there will more than 1 or 2 teams that will want these players, and they’ll get them for a lot less than City bought them for…
When they don’t have to consider money, then they will have little to know problem reducing their squad.
They just need 2 teams interested in a player to get a decent price.
Wenger really dislikes the new rule…
so it is NOT an advantage for Arsenal.
WENGER ON THE HOME-GROWN RULE:
“I am not a big fan of it,” he told a press conference at Emirates Stadium on Friday. “It puts first of all many players without clubs, that is the first mathematical consequence of it.
“Secondly it puts the clubs in a weak position most of the time on the transfer market.
“When you have already 25 [players in your squad], when you buy a player you know you have 26 and now you have to get rid of one. So you have to integrate in the transfer market when you buy a player how much as well it costs to get rid of a player.
“You are not sure after you will be capable to buy the player, so I believe it is a disastrous decision for football and for the players and I was quite amazed that the union accepted that. I believe as well for the clubs it is a very bad decision.
“The big clubs have 25 top players anyway and you will not stop that by these kind of decisions. When you have already employed a player and he has to go to a smaller club there are only two solutions; the smaller club pays above their potential or the big club takes a part of the salary. In both cases it is not satisfying.”
INTERESTING.
WE’LL SEE HOW THE RULE AFFECTS ALL IN THE COMING YEARS.
Arsene says:
“Arsenal need at least one more defender”
Bravo.
now get it done.
so, he KNOWS it… he’s aware of the issue.
Arsene KNOWS. I see what you did there. ;-)
Bravo, Arsene Knows, I knew you concurred all along ;-)
yes. Arsene knows we need 4 CB’s in the team, at least.
and probably knows we need a new keeper.
But he doesn’t care!
But he Knows :-D
BTW:
I sent an Email to the EPL and asked them a question pertaining to the meaning of homegrown.
“Response (Cathy Long1) – 30/07/2010 03.17 PM
Hi
A Home Grown Player means a player who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21).
I hope this answers your question.
Regards
Supporter Relations Team
Customer (Michael Magnus(null)) – 29/07/2010 06.02 PM
Does every player with a British or Welsh passport qualify as a homegrown player, regardless of age or where they played previous to being 21 years of age?
If not, what would be the exceptions?”
In other words, nationality means nothing. If you are a Brit but was signed by Barca at age 16 and played with them until you were 19, you would not be considered homegrown.
I wonder who made up that stupid rule.
I’ll leave you guys to “cuss” each other over the weekend as I am heading to the tar filled beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast to do a photo shoot and will most likely be incommunicado. Unfortunately, I’ll miss the Emirates cup, but that may be a blessing in disguise as I would surely puke my guts out if Almunia were to start any of the games.
As they say in the south, “see y’all next week”
Kiwi made an excellent point about the midfield being the MAIN issue. I have been saying this for over three years now. The CENTER of midfield is by FAR the most important part of a team.
If your opponents attacking midfielders or runners from deep are going face to face with your CBs too often, you are f&cked! Because if you are facing the AM, it means the strikers are FREE and roaming. It also means the defense is outnumbered! Yet that is what happens at Arsenal.
Thats why I couldnt believe my eyes when Wenger started the 2008/2009 season with Denilson, Cesc and Diaby as our CMs. It was f&cking unbelievable! That was the first time I wrote Arsenal off before September even started.
Gallas/Vermalaen was an excellent CB partnership but still leaked goals. Why wont they with that kind of midfield in front of them.
We have a midfield in which there is NO physicality, there is no tackling, most of them are lazy and dont track back. They dont have the skill or strength of Vieira/Petit or Vieira/Gilberto yet they dont even attempt to make up for that with hardwork.
This whole problem with midfield is why I always rant about Denilson … for me he is the mascot of the weakness of our midfield and team in general. Every one was ranting about his “stats” of assists, sideways pass completion, while all I was seeing was mediocre AMs running right past him like he wasnt there.
Tony Adams used to scream at Vieira, Petit, etc, imagine what he would have done to folks like Denilson, Diaby and the other clowns. Even someone like Song who looks good compared to the others, wont have cut it. Yet here we are. Wenger has not bought a starting midfielder in over 8 years now.
On a related note, I continue to be bemused by folks who think we should be adding to our attack. Attack is the LEAST of a team’s problems. First have a monstrous midfield, it is the SPINE and BRAIN of the team. Then have a competent defense and keeper. Then you can go on to the forward line.
Really good read.
Building from the back? That is a concept totally unfamiliar to Arsene.
If the famous back five were not around, we wouldn’t have won anything in 14 years now.
How much of the famous back five went unbeaten Nips?
Petit and Vieira were the catalyst to our 2nd double not the famous back five, or else we wouldn’t have needed Arsene Wenger in the first place.
All this talk about Arsene inheriting his success is just absolute rubbish.
The thing is Art, Arsene seems to be struggling to mount title challenge year-in year-out for five years now suggests some ingredients are missing. The general consensus in YAMA is that our defense sucks. Even during the unbeaten years, our defense wasn’t that great. The offense was really awesome though without doubt.
Armchair, my point was that Arsene was able to win without the inherited back five, as some people want to put his success down to these individuals.
The back five without Wengers intervention were not good enough to win a double or finish consistently higher than Arsene’ teams.
We all agree with Arsene that we are lacking defensively, it is obvious from the shere amount of goals we let in.
Gallas has always been a top defender. After Desailly retired, it was Terry and Gallas at CB that qualified for the Champions League even before Roman came in with his millions. Gallas was first choice CB for Chelsea until Mourinho came in with Carvalho in tow. Gallas, played LB because Babayaro, Bridge, del Horno, Geremi, and anyone else Chelsea put there couldn’t play the position better than he could. And he still played plenty of CB for Chelsea. In fact, Mourinho threw a fit when the club sold Gallas to Arsenal against his wishes.
In his BPL career, Gallas looked good playing along side Terry, Desailly, Carvalho, Toure, Djourou, Campbell, Vermaelen, Sylvestre, and even Senderos. Vermaelen has only looked good playing along side Gallas. I’ll make of that what I will.
Gallas’ biggest mistake was to take captaincy of a bunch of spoilt, overpaid posers who wouldn’t accept personal responsibility for what they did on the pitch. He showed this young team, by his example, how to play like champions. The Arsenal team blew him off because to be a champion requires you to be a hard man and our kids didn’t want to do that. We’ve got a team full of posers because Wenger’s allowed those overpaid kids to be slack.
Gallas, even at 32, was one of the top 2 performers on the Arsenal team last season. He deserved to be paid like it. I guarantee that David Dein wouldn’t have let him leave unless he really had his heart set on leaving.
Agree 100%.
That’s a good story.
If William Gallas is so good, and was so vital to the importance of Chelsea’s success, and one of Arsenal’s best players…
WHY HAS NOBODY SIGNED HIM, or GIVEN ANY INTEREST IN HIS BLOATED WISHES?
Seems kind of strange that someone who you believe is so damned good, can’t find a club.
Chelsea went on to win league titles WITHOUT HIM… we’ve won shit WITH HIM.
All this flies in the face of the idea that he is so instrumental to the teams he’s played on.
Since he’s done at Arsenal… I’m THRILLED.
And we can agree to disagree on the merits of Gallas.
Maybe he can find an MLS club.
“Chelsea went on to win league titles WITHOUT HIM… we’ve won shit WITH HIM.”
This is the kind of utterly moronic and illogical statements that make arguing with Stag equivalent to arguing with a retard.
He ofcourse conveniently ignores the differences in strength between the two teams.
and in typical fashion, Fred, you are a tough guy behind your keyboard, and can’t have a discussion without name-calling when someone disagrees with your OPINIONS.
Sorry your boy Gallas is gone, and he’s done shit for Arsenal.
@equivalent to arguing with a retard.
Fred, you consistently add so much to this site from a football standpoint, I really wish you didn’t so often find the need to lower the level of discourse from a rhetorical perspective.
We’re a small group here, and as far as I know, all adults. Can we not disagree, even vehemently and (occasionally) rudely, without having to go back to Middle School for references? If for no other reason, than it’s being disrespectful to what Mike has set up for us here?
I only “argue” with Arthur and Stag really. I dont repent of that at all. They know its nothing personal ;-)
I agree. Nothing personal Stag.
Stag you have kinda known Fred a long time now, you should know half of the time he doesn’t really mean what he is saying he is just being dramatic. And sometimes it is really funny if you take it that way.
Look at it again Stag.
“This is the kind of utterly moronic and illogical statements that make arguing with {Arthur} equivalent to arguing with a retard.”
Either answer him seriously as to why what you are saying does make sense or just laugh :lol:
Vibe4Monger however is a different proposition ;-)
Art, Sarah Palin is okay with calling you a retard.
She also agrees with everything you’ve ever posted on here.
LOL! I love Sarah Palin :-D
International FRIENDLIES.
What the F*CK???????
OK, so I see the USA is playing Brazil on Tuesday Aug.10th…
I thought, cool… but odd so soon after the WC.
and its the middle of the MLS Season.
Then I realized that there is an INTERNATIONAL WEEK, a few days
before the season starts!
REALLY?
The World Cup ends July 11th, and on August 11th there are many many International Friendlies… 3 days before League Seasons start?
WTF?
Why in the hell would there be a meaningless friendly, interupting
training sessions, when all the best players have been at the WC all
Summer …
Shall I assume that most of the best players will be exempt from
this idiotic group of friendlies?
Where does the madness end? No wonder so many players get injured.
Like you always say Stag, “it’s all about the cash”.
National FIFA boards use friendlies to generate cash. Brazil commands up to 4M + expenses per appearance.
As much as it stinks in relation to club football, the leagues are just as guilty of milking their players.
Picking up on the discussion between Steve and Mazza et al and where exactly the defensive issues are.
It’s interesting to look at Chelsea a team that has garnered a reputation as defensive (as opposed to ManU and Arsenal) and hard to break down. Yet, look at their mainstay CB’s over the period of their success. Terry, Carvelho and Gallas (I think that’s a fair call). Interestingly none of these partnerships were stocked with towering behemmoths. Only Terry is over 6ft and only by 2 inches, Carvelho is 6ft or a tad under similar to Gallas. Yet undoubtedly the partnerships worked. It’s more about attitude and working together with a CB partnership. But also as Mazza has said it’s about having defensive cover in front of you in midfield (and organising your FB’s). Chelsea do this well.
Adams (the master CB and defensive leader) once very publicly INSTRUCTED Wenger that Vieira and Petit must give the defence greater cover. That has gone down as a defining moment in the success that then followed. Now, if a midfield partnership with the natural attitude, toughness and physical presence of Vieira and Petit needed to be told specifically to cover the watertight SUPER BACK FIVE it makes the point as to how critical that role is. We should also recall that the successful Arsenal side played with either Parlour and then Ljungberg in the midfield (both hardworking ‘wide’ players) – and they were there to help balance the midfield, i.e. give the little lads in CM a hand – Vieira and Petit!!
Fast track to now. You get an ever-changing wholly unaccountable midfield 3 (note not 2) in front of the defence (with an average keeper) and we expect the team to defend well? It makes no sense. It won’t happen because the midfields are not naturally balanced toward defence – they’re firstly ball players.
All this said however, it makes me go full circle. Wenger knows the team is attack-centric, he’s constructed it that way intentionally. The other issue is that he doesn’t give this attack-centric a chance by failing to stock the attacking side. So we’re an attack-centric team with a crap attack (due to a combination of poor quality youth and crocks).
Kiwi, if John terry is 6′ 2″ I am 6′ 5″. I know it states that in Wiki but I remember seeing him listed at 5′ 11″ on the Chelsea pages some time back and seeing him besides other players he just doesn’t seem that tall.
BTW, that just further proves your point :)
I hear you CK, I thought he was around the 6ft mark too, but being a good boy and doing my due diligence I checked both wiki and espn and they both said he was 6’2″. So….
But as you say, assuming he is no more than 6ft (or less) it further reinforces my point. That height alone does not maketh a defence.
It is interesting to observe how ‘great’ club defences (the ones that result in winning) tend to have a strong defensive leader. Vocal leaders like Adams, Bruce, Ferdinand, Terry. Guys who don’t just see their specific role as ‘their’ role’ but see organising the defence as their role.
We’ve lacked that since Campbell left. Campbell was a defensive leader, and Toure excelled with him in part because he was happy to be led by Campbell and also because his strenghts (pace and mobility) complimented the imposing Campbell. It worked really nicely.
Gallas has never been a natural leader, and sadly over time his relationship with Toure deteriorated. Importantly his strengths (pace and mobility) mirrored Toure’s, meaning as a partnership they both naturally wanted (competed) to play the same role.
They must be measuring his height NBA style. They always add 1-3 inches to player’s official listed heights. When Yao first came over you always heard he was 7’5″ but that’s since become 7’6″.
Chelsea’s defense played just fine when Gallas left…
so he probably wasn’t the reason for their defensive success.
Ours has been shit since he arrived.
Make of it what you will!
:)
There is no doubt that Gallas is a very talented and versatile defender who loves to win, plays hard and leaves his heart on the field. In fact, he did an excellent job with Vermaelen last season.
The real problem is team defense and pairings. Take Rio and Vidic or Terry and Carvalho. One is the brute and the other is the finesse player. See, that’s called complementary.
As Kiwi mentioned, Gallas and Toure were too similar and neither were particularly dominant in the air.
Speaking about team defense, has anyone bothered to notice last season when Anelka, Malouda and Drogba were defending in the defensive third during the general flow of play. Now gentlemen, that’s team defense.
At Arsenal we have too many players concerned with going forward rather than defending. Too many times I have seen Arsenal players lose the ball in the attacking third and slowly jogging back rather than harry the player who dispossessed them.
Take note of Barcelona, Chelsea, Manu and Inter last season. One player would slow the counter down, even without tackling, which enabled the defense to reshape and get behind the ball.
I can’t put all the blame on the players for this one, as this comes with coaching strategy and training repetition. Obviously this is not being preached at Arsenal.
In years past, Arsene would not have preached that, as Adams, Parlour, Keown, Bould, etc. would ensure that it was done. None of the new breed has anyone to look up to and emulate as they are all in the learning stage.
In fact, when Gallas would berate his younger players there was no one else to support him. The young players would say “Who is this old Geezer trying to tell us how to play defense when our beloved Arsene Doesn’t”.
Therein lies the contradiction, and no matter how many great players we have, until we get a proper defensive coach we will always be leaking goals and hope that we score more than the opposition.
Gallas loves to win…
who doesn’t love to win?
Gallas plays hard…
if you don’t, you shouldn’t be at this level…
Gallas leaves his heart on the field…
as opposed to who?
Toure did all those things as well…
He was a good defender for Arsenal… wonderful.
Wasn’t well liked by many team-mates… and we never won a damned thing with him in the team.
Please, lets stop waxing poetic about Wild Willy, who wanted a raise and a 2-year deal, and never plays a full season.
He shot his way out of Chelsea, and we took him on, in return for Ashley Cole, who shot his way out of Arsenal for more money.
I’d have to say they got the better of that deal.
@ CARIBKID:
As you notice the comment above completely misses the point of your comment and shows the immense folly in trying to argue with Stag :-D
Have fun at it!
@stagg,
“Gallas plays hard…
if you don’t, you shouldn’t be at this level”
Then obviously there are many players in the EPL, including Arsenal, who don’t belong.
who at Arsenal doesn’t play hard?
As much as the talents of some of the players could be questioned, I don’t think there are players just giving it 75% … and not trying.
If you have to ask, you must not have being watching Arsenal for the past 3 seasons :)
STAG: “you can choose your examples to make YOUR point.
Spain, co-favorites to win the WC.
How’d that work out?”
Ehh, having Spain as favorites is the direct equivalent of having Man U as co-favorites. Spain were defending Euro champs and ranked no. 2 at the time, why wont they be ranked joint favorites??
Having City as third in this case is the direct equivalent of the clowns that had England as third favorites for the world cup. Nonsensical and basis-less.
you pick your points Fred, you want it both ways!
so the bookies know what they are talking about with Spain, (but apparently not Brazil, they lost)…
but they have no clue, because they said England are 3rd favs… (probably based on lots of Brits betting on their team).
good stuff.
How daft are you?
Brazil were world number 1, south american, and confederations cup champions and always do well in world cups … Spain were world number 2 and current european champions.
They are favorites by FACTS. Its the equivalent of having Chelsea and Man U as favorites because they have won the last SIX titles.
What is the BASIS of having England as third favorites??? What have they done since 1966? They didnt even qualify for Euro 2008.
Its the same nonsense with Man City.
Just last season the clowns had Liverpool as second favorites to win the league! Man U were supposed to drop to third place. LOL!
The Octopus has infinitely more predictive credibility than the drunk, pot-bellied money wasting yobs that drive the odds at betting parlors.
it is a relatively simple equation that seems to escape you…
if Man City finished 5th by a whisker, and have IMPROVED / STRENGTHENED their team, more so than those above them last year… then there is a likelihood that they will MOVE UP THE LADDER.
Thus, they are 3rd choice.
England were ranked high in the World Rankings… and since the bookmakers are mostly based in ENGLAND… then their odds are going to be LOWER, because Brits are going to back their country.
I’m not telling you anything you shouldn’t know.
The bookies aren’t BASED in Manchester though… that’d be based on off-season activity and last seasons 5th place finish.
are U doing a PREVIEW of the Arsenal Tourney?
we need a new thread!
:)
defender Serdar Tasci of Stuttgart … linked, and has
“big respect” for Arsenal.
and our hero Cesc… “underlines his great admiration” for Barcelona.
he says… I am a member of the club…
Even though traditionally there have been a lack of Brazilians and South Americas in England, Edu’s comment that he was the first Brazilian to win a title in England was still interesting. South Americans are not the only top regional players missing in England but I think Germans and Italians are in minor representation as well? Can one attribute historical rivalry for lack of Germans in the league? Or do very few German and Italian players leave their domestic leagues?
Here’s a list of all the foreign players in the Premier League. The Dutch and French appear in strong numbers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_Premier_League_players
I think there are few Germans and Italians due to the strength of their own domestic leagues.
For Brazilian player it is more complicated. In the old days, before all ‘the internets’ and globalization, it was only the very top Brazilians that left Brazil. Hell, lots of them didn’t even leave… Pele for instance.
But b/c it was only the best leaving, they had their choice of where to go. Obviously they want a top league, and Spain/Italy are much closer to what they’re used to in terms of culture, climate, and possibly football style than are England or Germany.
But in today’s interconnected world, Brazilians of all skill level leave to play just about everywhere. The size and scale of the exodus are truly immense. You see them in the former USSR, the Arabian peninsula, the Far East, and yes- England as well.
I think Brazilians coming to England is part of the overall trend in football for more and more players from Brazil (from all poorer nations for that matter, no matter their location) to ply their trade elsewhere in the hopes of higher wages.
Global scouting networks, a modern transportation infrastructure, instant global communications, the demise of immigration barriers, the mobility of capital, the shrinking of cultural differences, and the convergence of regional football styles into a recognizable global standard have all contributed to this.
While I agree with most of your points CG I think you left out two salient factors.
Firstly, a lot of them also went to Portugal and in fact, some like Deco eventually went on to play for Portugal. Portugal, being the mother country so to speak was a natural move especially since they used to have reciprocal work visas.
Secondly, although speaking Portugese, most Brazilians can easily communicate in Spanish and even Italian. Hence, Spain and Italy.
MONEY.
you go to Spain, Italy and England because that’s where the most money often is… not in France – Netherlands – etc.
On the button Stag
Right, that’s why they go there. But before they only went to the other two, and never to England, so there was something that was preventing them from going there.
I’ll chime in from the land of the fools (optimists/AW supporters)….Though I agree that we need to wait until the transfer window closes to make our predictions for the season ahead.
I will agree with the doomers that it would be heinously irresponsible if we get nobody in at keeper or CB between now and the end of August. So, I will hope that we do. For me, Schwarzer as a player/coach seems a wise pick as we desperately need a makeover in our communication at the back. I would almost say that, if we don’t get a new #1, the guy who proves he can talk the best with his back 4 (esp. his center-backs) should get the job. Let’s remember that it was 4 years ago this August that we brought in (“World-class”? “EPL proven”?) William Gallas. In many respects, that character, I think, is more responsible for the undoing of our team, in particular our thin defensive core of players, than anyone. (Toure hung in, but played poorly, Senderos and Clichy–not too mention Almunia went backwards, confidence-wise at the very least. Only Sagna and Vermalaen seemed to be able to play their own game decently with Gallas as the central character back there.) I’m prepared to support going forward without him, and with some new faces, as long as they’re all on the same page, with the strongest voice coming from between the posts.
Another element I wanted to comment upon was AW’s recruitment patterns. I think it’s true that he leans towards the French and the Francophones, and that doesn’t seem the worst idea as, for awhile at least, Arsenal and AW were about the best place French speaking players could land. That has changed quite a bit as other teams have copied us…Chelsea, in particular, with players such as Drogba, Anelka, Kalou, Malouda (and other African/dark-skinned players) have created a core of such players and obvious success. Also, the French league has improved and found some parity and financial stability with Lyon finally getting beaten by the likes of Bordeaux and Marseilles and these teams (and others) only offering their top players for very high prices. Likewise the Bundesliga has made a solid comeback while the English league (and the other 18 teams in the Spanish League) have lost some of its luster (lustre?) given the poor weather, the long, break-less, schedule and lack of referee protection for better players. Overall, I think, it’s just getting harder and harder to cherry-pick established players (esp. ones that are regular starters…note that some of the biggest transfers and transfer targets are benched or oft-injured types) making youth development or going after up and comers (i.e., who had heard of TV5, LK6 or BS3, etc., before we snagged them?) a reasonable, if less exciting approach.
Finally, comments about the “spirit” or personality of the team, based on Edu’s interview….I like “friendly” guys myself and I’m thus attracted to players like Cesc, Vela and Eboue (how could he be omitted from the list of friendly sorts?!?), but I’ve also heard that we need “steel” and “toughness” and all that sort of thing. Players like Nasri and Diaby seem overly cerebral (under-passionate?) to some, whereas players like Bendtner and Arshavin seem absurdly cocky and selfish. I agree that it IS very difficult to find the heart of the team and that’s why I was pleased to see Vermaelen wearing the armband during one of the Austrian friendlies. He’s got that steely look, an obvious level head, and a bit of compassion (his reaction to Ramsey’s injury summed that situation up perfectly) that seems ideal in a captain. I hope he can have a fruitful year and move towards being the obvious choice if and when Cesc departs. Cesc’s participation, or lack there-of this season, and his ability to lead and show commitment to the team, of course, is a huge question mark, and all we can really do is hope for the best. And maybe take comfort in some of the departures…i.e., Adebayor a year ago (sorry Arthur…) and Gallas this year. It’s not much to hang one’s hat upon, but there you go….
Oi leave EMMANUEL out of this :-D
I strongly disagree with your assessment of Gallas I think he was a rock for us and led by example.
To be honest I never liked Gallas when he first came I saw him as a Chelsea cast off, an overrated DF and I thought we did a really bad deal to sell Ashley for peanuts with Gallas as an exchange. However I didn’t like it at the time but I can understand why Arsene made him captain. The guy just doesn’t give up when when we were down he worked harder, trying to score or help score goals. That example lifts a team, Cesc however sometimes lets his head drop when we need him to be at his best and set an example.
Yes Gallas does appear to have a moody side to him but that shouldn’t be seen as some sort of perpetual behaviour. Yes he fell out with Toure but that was it, just Kolo (oops and Big Al too some say, but who liked Al when he was playing like do-do and you can bet Gallas would have told him so). I have heard it said that Bendtner is unpopular in the dressing room, nasri has no respect for his seniors (all speculation) but does that mean they are all cancers that need to be cut out. To be honest I think henry was more of a negative impact to team dynamics on the field (where it really counts) in his last season or two than Gallas could ever have been.
Yes people refer to the Gallas outburst as the reason for our implosion a couple seasons back but I disagree. People seem to forget how the emotion of the Eduardo “break” affected the team and obviously William Gallas n particular. Has he ever thrown a wobbly like that when we lost a game much less drawed? The guy could not even bare to go close to Eduardo after seeing the results of the injury from afar. Maybe he was thinking the least we can do for him is win this game and being the do or die type that he is something snapped!
We are by far a better team with a fit William Gallas than without forgot all the dressing room gossip that we really don’t know anything about.
Did you know that Emmanuel is his middle name :-D
Gallas is gone.
no need to talk about that bitch!
;)
Koosh will make us all forget him… though he didn’t do much whilst here to forget.
Arthur, Gallas is/was our best defender and we will miss him, as a player, very badly….For a smaller guy he broke up plays, scored (needed) goals and got away with all kinds of stuff others get called for. And last season, with a partner he seemed to respect, he really looked strong….until the annual Springtime injury….
That being said, and I base this only upon what I’ve seen on the pitch or direct statements I’ve read….leadership was not his bag…
A true leader needs to play the hand he is dealt, not throw in his cards and sit in huff. And I don’t just mean the B’ham game….You can’t simply stop talking to your other CB (Toure) nor let your (critical) autobiography come out while your team is on a losing streak and you’re (photographed) out smoking cigs and making the scene at the nightclubs….I actually empathize with Willie as I have some of those same tendencies….(towards giving up too easily, etc, not the smoking and dancing stuff….)
All told, Gallas’ rise to the Captaincy (and his mishandling of it) emphasize how badly AW miscalculated things like “loyalty and collective leadership.” By freezing out and then letting Gilberto leave (the obvious choice for Captain) AW assumed Flamini would stay and that other “natural” leaders (Goalkeepers? RVP?) would share the burdens that Gallas could not handle alone. It most certainly did not happen….
But now I’m suggesting that Arsene doesn’t always know best…And it’s a slippery slope from there….
Steve maybe what you see or maybe it is just how you interpret what you see is different to my interpretation, I don’t know why that is. But what I saw on the pitch as Gallas as captain was what I would want to see from my captain. I would want him give orders and he should give them with passion as if he cares.
If I received orders or criticism as a subordinate I should be man enough to take them and thoughtful enough to know it is passion and desire that drives them. Frank McClintock was known for being a bullish Captain that didn’t mince his words but he is seen by many as the greatest Captain in Arsenal’s history.
As for the off the field stuff, there is hardly a footballer that you cannot find some misdemeanour on these days, and surprisingly quite a few of them smoke! I have never heard about Gallas getting drunk, eating kebabs and having orgies at any nightclub though so what is the big deal?
As for the autobiography, bi’ness is bi’ness, it had to come out at sometime right? How was he to know that his release date would coincide with a losing streak, it is not like he has an Octopus under his bed or anything :-D
Was it Gallas not speaking Toure or Toure not speaking to Gallas? Well I suppose it is about who you want to criticise at the time.
You talk about wanting to give up, Gallas give up! No we are not talking about the same person. The Birmingham game that you constantly refer to was totally isolated. Do you not think that the emotion surrounding the Eduardo incident had something to do with his outburst? Like I said he had never done that before.
You’re right….And I will concur that at least, I, Paul the Octopus, has never spent any time under Willie G’s bed….
Also, I will be making my predictions come September 1, when rosters will be finalized and early matches played.
Until then….
LOL! Brilliant! :-D
Oh and why people keep referring to Vermaelen when talking about Gallas’s best form amazes me. Gallas was fantastic before Verm came along and worked well with Toure at times. The fact that the Verm Gallas partnership shipped in so many goals this season anyway should show you that it is not the CB pairing that is the problem but rather how we defend as a team and GK errors that are our DF issues.
Come on Steve we all know Arsene doesn’t ALWAYS know best he isn’t God. There is no slippery slope for anyone to fall into, your diehard respect for the man is commendable you are truly a high class HO ;-)
“(I)t is not the CB pairing that is the problem but rather how we defend as a team and GK errors that are our DF issues.”
This is my point exactly….As Captain (for a while) and the most dominant voice in the defense, Gallas must take the lion’s share of the blame (at least regarding the “defend as a team” bit) for the goals we shipped. That’s why I’m “optimistic” that our overall defense (goals against) may improve if we can bring in Schwarzer as Player/Coach and codify a method of communication that conveys necessary information AND builds confidence among all the defenders. Some of the anecdotal evidence I’ve heard (from bloggers at games, mostly) suggests that this has been sorely lacking in recent years.
And thanks for calling me a high class HO….I think….
Steve – I don’t think that really has much to do with why we conceded goals.
The key area, imo, was the central midfield in front of the defence, which just by chance, is littered with Wenger’s youth projects ; hardcore youth from 05/06 which almost reflect Wenger’s idiosyncracies on the pitch to startling levels. Not sensing danger = Wenger not forseeing injuries. Not tracking runners = Wenger’s idleness in the transfer market. Hastily halting forward runs which led to initial gains in a match = Wenger not making subs.
The central midfield area is the cause and to a large degree the goalkeeper issues and defence are the symptoms. If Wenger goes the ‘pharmaceutical’ route by buying defenders and goalkeepers without adding to the midfield, then he’s even more misguided than I initially thought. Although at this stage I would take anything, even short-term symptomatic allievation.
I agree. Our defensive problems are mostly due to severe weakness in midfield.
Hhmmh I was about to say the something in my comment about the Vieira Petit model being something that would stop the DF leak.
But what Wenger has have to look at especially at this late stage is how to DF with what he has got.
Right or wrong he has chosen not to replace Flamini for a few years now, he has decided to stick with what he has got. He needs to able to formulate a better strategy as a result. I say this because I do not believe that our MF is so bad (personnel wise)that it is the biggest cause of our DF frailities. I ma sure there are teams with a worse MFers than ours letting in less goals. Nevertheless I have always advocated Flamini should have been kept or at least replaced. We appeared to have had the balance then, or did we? how many goals did we let in pre Eduardo-gate?
I have said it several times, Mancini is a DUD coach. He is NO better than Mark Hughes … and Hughes was a dummy coach himself.
Winning the Serie A without Juve or Milan and a nearly bankrupt Roma is the equivalent of winning a league of one. Its a hollow and completely meaningless victory.
The Top 4 spot was FIRMLY in his lap, he had both hands on it and he completely BLEW it …
They wont do sh&t with him in charge. Infact I predict he will get sacked midway through the coming season.
“……do you really believe Wenger does not want to win the EPL and CL? So why accuse him of low ambition?”
____________________________
Arthur, my feeling is his burning desire is the CL and to see this (youth) project develop to the stage it is recognised and applauded. I believe he knows the EPL is a long-shot with this squad and he has now dismissed both domestic cups (on the basis he has won them already and because they wear his thin squad). The changes in our style of play and the ‘cut’ of our players also reflects a changed footballing philosophy (uber-possession) that seems much more suited to Europe and not the robust EPL. All that to say, I am genuine in thinking his aspirations have been compromised.
Your comments on GG and the final few years of his era are very valid. The quality of football had reached a low ebb and whilst GG continued to produce cup success his squad overall had well and truly lost its footballing compass. In some ways (but certainly not all) GG’s demise mirrors Arsene’s, reminding us how exceedingly hard it is for a manager to sustain the highest level over an extended period at a club (Ferguson apart).
Great to have you posting Arthur, we need the robust discourse. Indeed, great to have all the ‘old firm’ on-site.
I hear you Kiwi but I still believe he is of the opinion last season at least that we could win either the Champions League or the Premiership with what he started the season with. I suggest he may well have been right, without injuries to key players particularly the in-form RvP, we could have gone to the wire. I have heard Wenger say the the PL is his priority but of course it would be special to win the Champions League as Arsenal has never won it or words to that effect. I think he wholeheartedly believes in the ultimate success of his youth project.
I do not believe he has thrown the domestic cups as such but again wants the Carling Cup as a way to blood the youth and keep them happy that they are getting first team football too.
The FA cup he takes a little more seriously he tends to mix seniors with the youth. Of course he knows that his 1st team will be fresher if they play less. But I would go as far as to assume he has thrown the cups.
As for GG as successful as he was he wasn’t consistently able to make Arsenal one of the best four teams in the country. Has Arsene ever been outside the top four?
Also Arsene Wenger has to deal with stronger opposition than did GG. The economic restraints caused by the new stadium was also factor that GG never had to take into account. The financial might of ManU, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and now City are a something I don’t think GG would have been able to cope with.
Yeah Kiwi it is nice to have everyone over here. But then again there are quite a few missing from season or two ago I doubt they would be able to find their way back if they wanted to. DAG has done some great work with the site too.
Mark Hughes is set for the Fulham job.
Knowing his “love” for Arsenal/Arsene, will he let Schwarzer leave?
It seems like Arsene is set on Schwarzer or no one. Never a backup plan. And there is history too. Baptista or no one. Melo or no one. Chamakh or no one. Really sad. :(
we are being strongly linked to Cagliari’s Marchetti…
Yes, Mancini won three titles, but how many of them were when Milan and Juve were stripped of their titles and after they were weak because of that.
Did he ever win when Juve and Milan were in their prime? I don’t think so.
Fair enough, he deserved those titles because the others cheated, but what I am trying to point out is that he didn’t really have competition. Now he faces Fergie, Carlo and Arsene, among others.
If he was really good, he would have taken the 4th spot, that was there for the taking. So sorry, I just don’t see him winning the league title at City. 4th place, maybe, but then again, what achievement is that, considering teams like Pool, Arsenal and others are all moving backwards.
“Kiwi, don’t twist words. It was tight-fist”
___________________________________
Sachin, naughty me. ;-)
I loved that Edu interview. Like you, waves of memories came flooding back. So wonderful and yet so sad. Those days were beautiful. That team, the quality, even the squad players like Edu – magnificent. Yet….. it just makes the current lack feel so much more empty.
I always really really liked Edu. I couldn’t understand at the time why he didn’t play a larger part. He was the consummate team-man, much like Gilberto his countryman. Why did they go? Why did Toure go? They were all good club men. They didn’t cause problems like the awkward moaning French types Gallas and Diarra and even the mercenary Flamini. Sometimes I think Wenger’s desire to create and maintain a French dressingroom has worked against him/us.
Sigh, I often wonder about that myself. I find it very difficult to find an emotional connection with this squad, especially since it seems to be a case of “musical chairs” for the past few years.
Its almost like we are in a perpetual rebuilding phase with the amount of players leaving every season. All great teams find a core and add or subtract a few pieces every year to fine tune the machinery.
Arsene seems to be doing complete engine overhauls every year. Where is the Stability? It’s nonexistent.
this goes back to my arguement that I find it difficult to support LAUNDRY!
so if I don’t really like the players that much, they don’t have character, and as you said, get moved around like “musical chairs” …
then it is more difficult to feel a connection with the team, like when the CORE players return for 3 or 4 or 7 years.
I always liked Edu as well. Something about Edu, Gilberto, Eduardo emitted a friendly vibe. (sorry, vibe4 not naming names but I had to use this word :)
I see Vela and Cesc in the same friendly light.
I find very few friendly players in this squad and that has created another emotional barrier with this team, as echoed by CaribKid.
It seems Wenger now favours going to the French league to get players or French players from elsewhere. Yes there have been exceptions but why can’t Wenger look at the Bundesliga or Serie A for talent? Was Hleb the last Bundesliga player that Wenger bought? The Bundesliga has been amazing to watch in the last few seasons and I only get to watch the hand picked matches shown on tv. How can Wenger prefer Ligue 1 to the Bundesliga? Maybe I am just watching the wrong French League games.
Wenger has always gone for French players more so him his formative years than now. He probably has a greater scouting network there.
There are not that many Italian players that want to leave Serie A it seems not for the premiership anyway and I don’t know why he has an aversion to the Bundesliga
He got Rosicky and Hleb from the Bundesliga. He should go there more often – especially for defenders.
Oh yeah of course Hleb and Rosicky, but I was thinking of German players, has he ever bought one of repute?
Apart from Malz (at senior level) and Voltz at youth level I can’t think of any.
are you forgetting Jens? :) The last real goal-keeper.
But you are right about Wenger probably having an established French connection network. It is where he plied his trade and probably knows the terrain well. It was not a problem in the early years, Cygan apart but in recent years, I wish he had looked elsewhere.
Oh damn! that is criminal! Jens the Great, but he is only a GK though, that is probably why I overlooked him.
Oh yeah of course Hleb and Rosicky, but I was thinking of German players, has he ever bought one of repute?
Apart from Malz and Voltz at youth level I can’t think of any.
he just went there for a defender, Koscielny.
heard he’s pretty good!
and he’s apparently after another one as well.
See how little attention I have been paying to football of late, I thought Koscielny played in France for L’orient ;-)
I hope we don’t settle for Per Slowersacker! But I suppose he would be better than nothing
France, Germany… all the same really…
;)
LOL
OK, maybe Mancini at the helm is not their problem, but there’s no way they’re winning the league this year.
Anybody who puts any amount of money on any team besides Chelsea or Man U (excepting the team you happen to support, b/c it’s fun to bet on your own team) is a fool. Don’t take it from me, take it from CaribKid.
its about return on the wager… they have the best chance based on what they did in the offseason, compared to those teams ahead of them.
I wouldn’t bet on them winning the league either!
but Top 4?
Very possible.
As Chicago Gooner said, take it from CaribKid, City will go top 4 this season.
I wont make my arsenal prediction until I see what Arsene does in the next few weeks in relation to transfers.
I still stand by my statement that we wont make top 4 with the current squad as it stands today.
I was more so referring to the large sum of money you won by picking Chelsea for the title. But, yeah, the principle still holds. I still think both us and City will be top-4 this year.
It wasn’t that large CG, but I did enjoy a nice vacation and added some photography equipment :)
For those of you Man City HATERS, who think they won’t make
the Top 4… because you don’t like them!
Here’s what the Bookmakers have to say:
Odds to WIN THE LEAGUE: Ladbrokes (first odds) William Hill (second odds)
CHELSEA 13/8 13/8
MAN UTD 2/1 5/2
MAN CITY 5/1 9/2
ARSENAL 6/1 6/1
LIVERPOOL 14/1 14/1
TOTTENHAM 28/1 25/1
Odds to MAKE TOP 4: Ladbrokes (first odds) William Hill (second odds)
CHELSEA 1/25 1/25
MAN UTD 1/16 1/20
MAN CITY 1/2 1/2
ARSENAL 4/6 1/2
LIVERPOOL 11/8 13/8
TOTTENHAM 11/4 11/4
and for FUN!
Odds for TOP GOALSCORER this season:
DROGBA 9/2
ROONEY 5/1
TORRES 7/1
RVP 9/1
TEVEZ 11/1
DEFOE 12/1
BENT 14-1
ADE 20/1
CHAMAKH AND ARSHAVIN 33/1
BENDTNER 40/1
CESC 50/1
Make what you will of the odds, but the bookmakers
are obviously saying that Man City are 3RD CHOICE to win the league…
and to MAKE THE TOP 4.
Picking Man City to win the league as long as they have Mancini at the helm? I might as well go outside and light some money on fire. It’d cost the same, but it would take less time. I could also go light some money on fire instead of betting on a player who will likely miss anywhere from 40-70% of the season (RVP, maybe Torres too) to lead the league in goals. Also Ade is on that list. What are the odds he sits in the stands till January? The bookies should put out odds on which City players will sit out as a result of not being in the 25, sold, or loaned.
I will however pick City for the top 4. Saying it right now. Spurs will be swamped, and unless you’re a perennial top-4 team, it’s probably very hard to replicate that type of success. Liverpool are still sorting themselves out. Villa are slightly below those teams in terms of depth and talent. If I had my choice it would be Everton.
What makes you think Mancini can’t win the BPL? That guy won like twelve scudettos in a row. Now, he’s managing a team where money is no object.
He’s inherited Mark Hughes’ team so it will take him a while to purge some of those guys he doesn’t want. Once they get back the likes of Tevez, Dejong, and Barry, they’ll be back playing well.
I think he has won 3 as a manager with Inter, but the point is valid. He has an impressive winning record and huge financial muscle. His greatest challenge is to win something quickly and thereby buy himself a bit more time to let this squad mesh.
The emergence of ManC is great, it places a competitive power on ManU’s doorstep. fantastic
I think ManCity knocking on the door of the Top 4 is good for the EPL.
There are 6 or 7 teams that can legitimately make a run at the CL spots.
Win the league?
Well, there is ONLY TWO… 6 years in a row isn’t a fluke…
we haven’t improved, so we haven’t come close to catching United or Chelsea, and at least ManCity has tried to make that leap. That’s why they
are 3rd choice, and we are 4th.
But I like City for Top 4… sure.
and CG, the bookies say they have a better chance with Mancini at the helm, than Arsenal do with Arsene at the helm!
They are apparently attracting the most money bet on them, because 6-1 is a nice price.
2-1, not so much.
And England were also third choice for the world cup.
Bookies adjust bets due to interest (or lack of) from their customer!
So quoting the odds from the bookies is quite ridiculous.
No not necessarily Fred. Bookies make odds on the bets that they receive. The majority of hardcore gamblers bet because they have some kind of knowledge in other words it is an educated guess.
Bookies know that if a lot of money is being put on something or someone than it is likely that the majority is right so they have to reduce the odds.
A good example is the Cole to Liverpool scenario. It was 6-1 in favour of Arsenal then all of a sudden it was 2-1 in favour of Liverpool because they were getting a large number of big bets that suggested there was some inside info being passed about. Where did Joe Cole go? Obviously Bookies don’t always get it right but they are often a good indicator, that’s why people always refer to the odds.
And England were third choice to win the World Cup.
The odds are nonsensical. Just because there are tons of fools out there that bet doesnt mean they are correct.
These are the same clowns who put Liverpool as SECOND favorites to win the league last season and for Man City to break into the top 4.
you can choose your examples to make YOUR point.
Spain, co-favorites to win the WC.
How’d that work out?
Generally you can’t listen to Wenger, his public diatribe tells you nothing enlightening. You can only piece together his MO and it’s likely effectiveness by sifting through for grains of truth.
On that score – listen to the Edu interview on Arseblog.
I picked up:
1. a lot of respect from Edu for Wenger and AFC, yet….
2. Wenger’s a tight-arse
3. he screwed up Edu’s contract negotiation (only came up with a decent offer at THIRD attempt by which time Edu had obviously realigned his own future direction)
The fact the 3rd offer was 5 year and obviously good enough dollar-wise shows you that Arsenal could afford it. They just screwed it up.
It just builds further on the picture that AFC/Wenger have moved in to a space where their player valuation/retention/recruitment is off. It used to be a lot better – now it’s not.
Kiwi, don’t twist words. It was tight-fist :)
That Edu interview brought back a lot of memories. I remember all the goals in those clips. The sense of joy at the way the team celebrated those goals and especially at his final goal seem a lifetime ago.
Edu does rightly talk about the quick dismantling of the team as being incorrect and does point to the irony that the big stadium was meant to bring in more revenue so that Arsenal could buy more top name players but he says the philosophy of not spending from Highbury remains.
The interview starts out with him mentioning the winning mentality instilled by Wenger and when asked if Wenger was the sole reason for success in those years, he does point to other factors such as the presence of all those great players and the team unity, factors missing today.
He also said that Wenger was able to keep internal conflicts down in the dressing room, another factor missing with the current squad.
That team from 98-2005 was likeable, had a winning mentality and was bloody good. The number of likeable & competent players in this team are few and of those likeable ones, one has eyes for another team.
A real waste. And utterly pointless. Maybe this tragedy will have an ending soon. I certainly hope this tragedy does not continue beyond summer 2011.
You mentioned this quite often Sachin …
“2012 isn’t that far”
Something to that effect ;)
I talk about 2011 quite a bit as that seems to be a pivotal year. That is when Wenger’s contract runs out and that is when he asked to be judged. So I wonder if that is when he is planning to leave, and that would make sense for why he would want to be judged then. He can talk about the great financial shape he is leaving the team in.
Ofcourse if Wenger leaves in 2011, some fans might consider that as 2012 when the world is supposed to end. Their Arsenal world might end :) While others might rejoice.
Although I never finished seeing the movie 2012, so I don’t know how things end. Maybe John Cusack’s character finds a Hot Tub Time Machine and saves the world. Maybe there is a happy ending after all :)
I said recently that Wenger’s best chance of success is to go to another club (like a RM) where the defensive frame of the team is already in place and for him to overlay his vision of how football is to be played. This is what he did very successfully at both Monaco and Arsenal. This is his genius.
When he is allowed to recreate the defensive aspect of the team (GK, CB’s, FB’s, DM) the whole creation becomes ineffectual.
On Arthur’s comment that he will likely stay until he decides to leave – that’s sad but true. Hence we should will Arsenal to have a crap season so that we can all move on. The worst scenario is for another 3rd or 4th place and for Wenger to find new belief in his rabid ideology. Watching (waiting for?) Denilson, Diaby, Walcott, Bendtner emerge is like torture. You could almost take the medicine if it was laced with a League or FA Cup win but a diet of CL qualification and little to celebrate in the squad is only suitable for a Spurs or Villa supporter.
I did notice Arthur that you went AWOL for most of last season. What happened? I hope you didn’t lose belief?
Sorry but I won’t cheer against Arsenal. “Won’t” is maybe the wrong word- more like “can’t”.
Maybe it would be better for the long-term health of the club to lose out on the top-4 for a year, but even if that’s the case… what are you going to do? Cheer for Arsenal in some matches, but not too many? Are you going to decide whether you cheer for them or against them based on their position in the league table? In 1st, cheer for. 2nd thru 4th, cheer against. 5th thru 7th do neither. 8th or below cheer for. Makes no sense.
no, can’t root against the club.
Wenger is going nowhere until he wants to, and we will be in the hunt for the Top 4 spot, as always, as long as Cesc is in the team.
I didn’t mention the words cheer or root. I used the word ‘will’ in the sense of wanting to move on from this holding pattern of under-achievement and low ambition. It’s like driving with the hand brake on.
But your call, if you want to cheer and root for a team that limits its aspiration to CL qualification and overpays the mediocre simply to satisfy the experimental obsessions of one man then over to you. 100% your right to do so.
I’m just calling it out. Arsenal FC isn’t a faith – it’s a sports club. I watch and follow out of interest – nothing more. That interest has remained for a long time (there is a sense of loyalty) but it’s not a given – the interest level morph’s. I set the rules of engagement not Arsene Wenger. I followed the club long before he was employed by it and will likely follow it long after he leaves – but on my terms not his.
For many years I was fascinated by his managerial accumen – not now. Now that interest is a tad macabre, limited to a dispassionate assessment of how he’s gone/going wrong and how organisations need to mitigate the cult of one man.
Kiwi as intelligent as you are do you really believe Wenger does not want to win the EPL and CL? So why accuse him of low ambition?
The guys wants to balance winning with finacial prudence, he wants to create a legacy, a foundation that will keep us on top for long after he leaves. The youth policy and a “conservative” transfer policy is his method of achieving this.
Yep, I have always been critical of youth policy because it is risky and I wish he would be prepared to spend some more as long as it is within our means.
But regardless of the failings of his methods his ambition cannot really be questioned.
I will forever respect this man, no matter what, although I must admitt that he annoys me sometimes.
I will always have a Hippie approach to Arsenal as it is more fun than bitching all the time (not that you do, but some on here get a kick out of bitching I think).
I love this historical revisionism, where some HOs are now saying they’ve always been critical of the youth movement and didn’t really expect us to win anything under this policy. As if the words Arsene and Knows have never met.
I guess rose-tinted glasses even effect the ability to look back with clarity.
As ever, reality is what it is.
Vibe how can you tell me what I know I have ALWAYS openly questioned the youth policy, I have written lengths on how it is a massive gamble. Yet I have always hoped it would work and win us silverware I am a HO after all :-D .
Go and search the archives for my comments, I don’t need to.
I use Arsene Knows as a banner for my support for him and to get up Monger noses ;-) How many times have I reiterated that he isn’t God, thats why I don’t trust in him (not really a Q).
Anyway who the frig rattled your cage, Monger? :-P
This monger horse should have been beaten to dust by now. I nor anyone else has never called for DOOM. Merely that we would win NOTHING following the course that Wenger was plowing. Like the rest of the Realists, been saying it for four years straight now. Go check the archives, I don’t need to.
For awhile, we were arguing opinion. Your opinion was that we just liked crying doom. Well, these opinions have hardened into facts. It can now be said that some were wrong, while others were right. I don’t expect any on your side to actually acknowledge your misplaced faith in the All Knowing for all these years. But you might at least manage the grace to stop slanging names against those who saw it more clearly and correctly than you.
And I know you’re feeling frisky now. Goodonya. But, as Kiwi observed, we’ll be on an art-free diet should things go South again, as we were/they did last season. So I hope you enjoy playing with your happy emoticons, as much it seems like you do. Because the way things are looking now, off-season is liable to be the peak of your season.
:-)
Yep.
I remember very clearly the: “what will you say when Wenger wins the league again?” cries from HO back in the day(3 or 4 years ago) when – on a superficial level at least(which they tend to operate on), they looked to have a modicum of a point.
However, they failed to pick up on the increasing dementia creeping into Arsene’s thought-process and the disassocation between what he said and what he did.
Now it’s “Wenger will leave when he’s ready”.
Bless em. Lifting the goal posts without realising.
Oh I sure you won’t hear from me when we lose after a poor performance and you guys come out to party, I have no love for morbid negativism.
So you guys will have a great season then right :-D
See! Mazza the Monger personified, how dare you claim our great manager has dementia :-P
Not sure what goal posts you are talking about. But you could bet your house on it; Wenger will leave when he is ready to and I am one HO that will be sad to see him leave but I will just have to have Hippie hope :-) .
LOL :-D :-D I do like smileys but they are used to help you to understand the mood of the comments. Fun light hearted stuff… most of the time :-D
It is not about faith in Wenger, it is about respect for Wenger, don’t you get it? I have as has any one that can come under that wide banner “HO” criticised Wengers transfer policy over the years but we have always done it in a respectful way and as a high class HO ;-) would never call for Wenger to be sacked. NOOOOO! HOs have way too much respect for that.
What is a HO? A Hippie Optimist was a term invented by Fred. I suppose it was a derrogatory term, like the term Gooner and Yidos once were, used to describe those who chose to back Wenger and hope for the best. I found the term really funny and catchy and had fun with it, eventually calling myself a Hippie Optimist and eventually a HO, it was just fun but there was obviously two camps and neutrals. Nothing serious really.
I doubt if there was a HO who agreed with the quick dismantling of the double winners but we chose to back Wenger anyway and hope for the best. Can I really define a HO, no because someone else will disagree with me as we have differing opinions. Some generally are more optimistic than others and obviously optimism raises and falls with circumstances. But HOs will always show respect for our club and our manager neither seemingly take a morbid pleasure when things go wrong.
What is a Doom Monger? Someone who appears to take innordinate pleasure in Arsenals/Arsene failings and or often appears to show a distinct lack of respect for our club and or our manager in :-D Arthur’ Sheds Concordance 2008 edition
I coined the phrase due to Mazza and co the so called “realists” (not all of the so called realists to be fair) having blog parties when we lost or played poorly. It was really evident to me that Mazza’ comments in particular were far more frequent when we were played bad or lost points and cohort like yourself would bounce off him happily. You are no more realistic than a Hippie O just far more negative ( :-D sarcasm) ;-)
Kiwi no I didn’t go AWOL last season Kiwi, I thought you did. But I hardly ever visit the sight when we lose because the Doom Mongers start partying and I hate Monger parties ;-)
I never had a belief that we were going to win anything last season just had Hippie hope, like I will this season.
CK, the problem is even Spurs won’t take Almunia. They know better.
why would Spurs take Almunia? He is not better than what they have.
I have no idea if Spurs would take Almunia, but its’ worth a try. Get ole “Arry” drunk one night and anything could happen.
Sachin the get rid of Al brigade are being nonsensical or simply just having a laugh, either way they are not to be taken seriously.
Get rid of Al and be left with Fabianski as our number on or rely on Shez (he maybe the best GK we have but relatively inexperienced) who is untested at the highest level.
To replace Al makes sense to get rid without a replacement is silly.
Hopefully if Wenger is unable to sign Marchetti or someone else Al returns back to the form before his father in law died.
When rumors of Madrid wanting Wenger came out, it seems I misunderstood the intent. I figured Madrid wanted to target trophies and was puzzled why they wanted Wenger in. But I think they were instead bringing Wenger in to reduce their debt while still having a squad which competed or gave the apperance of competing :)
Seeing how Barca were winning everything possible might have changed Madrid’s mind. Instead of slashing their debt, they would like some trophies first, so Jose is in. I think Wenger would be the perfect person to replace Jose at Madrid. If Jose does win the trophies he boasted about, he would have to build a strong defensive core. And then Wenger could slide into Madrid after Jose and implement his style while using Jose’s defensive players — the end result would mean beautiful football with trophies :)
A few years ago, I thought why couldn’t GG be brought in to work with the defensive side of the game while allowing Wenger to implent the slide-rule, one-touch game. Not sure if GG would have liked that role, as it would be downgrading from what he did, but someone like him was needed to shore up the defense.
Seeing as it fits the tone of discussions we’re having; for the fourth year in a row I’m calling for Wenger to be fired.
When I first starting calling for Arsene’s head, I was in a minority of one. His sage and cerebral superficiality in regards to our squad development won over the hippies, and still carried resonance with the more measured folk who, while concerned at our fallibility, believed Wenger was still a man with a plan.
Four years on, the landscape has changed. The hippies have declared themselves guilty of Pollyanna tendencies and the middle of the roaders have pulled over to side of the motorway/freeway Dennis Weaver style. Anyhoo, through all this enlightenment, Wenger’s bullshit has been called. Well and truly.
Mazza you can call all you like mate. The only way Wenger leaves our great club is when he chooses to, get it! :-P
If he doesn’t “get out of jail” this season then he may well walk at the end of it. He looks stressed already and he will have to concede that the youth policy will have failed. How much more abuse can he take from spoilt ungrateful fans? But he is a stubborn so and so, so maybe you will be calling fruitlessly for another 5 years or so, I hope your throat doesn’t get dry :-D
Yes Wenger is stubborn but he admits that he hates losing. So this coming season, something will have to give. I think he will wait to renew his contract until the early part of 2011 by when the picture will be clearer or uglier, depending on one’s point of view.
Yes our great manager hates losing and that is why I agree (i think) that he will consider stepping down at the end of season if things are going really, really wrong.
He is still in the transfer market so you never know he might secure his future a little by addressing some of the those glearing holes in our squad.
He should have been fired 2 years ago when he started Denilson in midfield.
Hopefully this is his last season here.
I hope Denilson shuts you the eff up this seaon!
… I know it is highly unlikely.
Wenger is going nowhere UNLESS HE WANTS TO LEAVE.
do you want to hear it again?
yes?
sure.
The board and AFC absolutely LOVE THIS MAN.
Always in the Top 4.
Always sells out the stadium.
Always makes money in the off-season.
Always reduces the debt.
Always keeps the club competitive enough.
Not a thing changing in regard to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal FC, until he wants to leave, or he fails to get Arsenal into the Top 4, or fans stop showing up – spending money on merchandise.
He’s been absolute FANTASTIC at keeping Arsenal in the Top 4 every year, and making money for the club.
Nobody comes close to his record in that regard.
You want to win Trophies? well… that’s nice, but its truly not part of the Arsenal “PLAN”. It’d be nice, but its not necessary or “success”.
sorry.
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again:
This team as it currently stands, with Almunia in goal and no experienced additions to CB, will be fighting Villa and Everton for 6-7 spot in the EPL.
If that’s what has to happen to get rid of Wenger then so be it.
I still see this Arsenal team fighting for 3-4 no matter how bad the current squad is or how many more injuries pile up. I expect Chelsea and Man Utd to fight for the top 2 spots but after that, it will be a free for all. I think spots 3-6 might be quite fluid and change on a bi-weekly basis. The only difference is the point total between 2nd and 3rd might increase to a substantial gap.
Agree. We will finish in the top 4 this year.
and that…
is SUCCESS!
That’s all that has to happen to maintain the Arsenal FC LLC model.
So barely a forthnight from the start of the season, Wenger is gambling big-time in the goalkeeper, centerback, centermidfield and centerforward positions.
We have no number 1 goalkeeper.
We have only one solid CB, Djorou wont play more than 5 games tops. Koscielny can not see Gallas in his dreams. We have gone SIGNIFICANTLY backwards in defense.
We have only one DM, Fabregas will leave soon. Ramsey will play no part this season. We have been gambling in this position for 3 years now and losing big time.
Chamakh looks completely out of it. RvP is not going to start the season. Bendtner is going to miss half the season at least.
Wenger has GAMBLED completely in ALL four central positions from GK to center forward. The only positions we are competently settled in are the full back positions. Thats it.
Our inexperienced midfield protecting our dumbfounded and inexperienced defense who in turn are worrying about the goat in between the sticks. Pure comedy all around. For Gooners its dark comedy.
I know this wont happen, but we NEED to get on the phone with Gallas and get him on a contract ASAP. You may think whatever you want about him. And yes, he was foolish to leave and he is losing big time by leaving … BUT we will also LOSE big time without an experienced center back. Now that he has been suitably humiliated lets just offer him his old wages and a two year deal.
We cant afford to have just ONE real center back.
I’m sure if Arsene can tolerate 0 real GK’s , then 0 real CB’s should be a cinch.
Gallas should get a call…
but since he’s a bitch, and probably pissed Wenger off out the door, I doubt Arsene will offer him a chance.
ONE YEAR. Same Wage.
Like it, or maybe hook up with some French team.
As Josh has said many times, these groin injuries can be quite long-term (thats is good in Denilson’s case) so do not expect the Bendtmeister back till January. He might get better by November or December at the very earliest. The guy says he is having pain when he gets out of bed sometimes! That sounds very bad!
So if he comes back by December, he wont have played any football for six months and with no pre-season under his belt he will need at least the whole of January to get into shape to play by mid February!
All that said, Bendtner should get any needed surgery NOW! Rather than waiting and praying the problem “goes away”.
Wenger says, he doesnt know how bad it is! WOW!! We might be looking at Rosicky part 2.
Players we should expect NOTHING from this season:
1) RvP
2) Bendtner
3) Rosicky
4) Djorou
5) Ramsey
6) Denilson (although this one is a positive)
well, if Bendtner comes back in January, it will be like a “new signing”!
;)
You forgot to add Koscielny to your list as well.
Thinking more about it?
well Sachin.
that’s dangerous.
perhaps its better for supporters to not think about things Arsenal at all!
Your last line sounds like a great idea for an Inception. I am sure once the season starts, that idea will take shape for me.
Thinking a bit more about it, Arsenal are probably the only top club whose official #1 strategy to tackle a new season is faith and hope – faith in mostly average players and hope that the injury prone remain injury free. Team Formations mostly depend on the injury factor and a change in formation happens only because of injury whereas a failed formation will continue to be used even if the evidence points against its usefulness. Faith in players will continue due to loyalty even if their performances are below par.
Regarding profit, I think that is still guaranteed atleast for the next few years as attendance won’t drop no matter what the team does. I think there is a huge supporter base from pre-Wenger days who will rightly point to even worse times than currently. So those supporters will have no problem riding out this current trend of 3-4th place struggles. In fact, some may even call this 3-4th place a luxury compared to the old days. Then there would be supporters acquired during the Wenger days who were dazzled by his team’s performances from 98-04. Some of those fans would continue to show faith in Wenger and await the maturation of his policies because if Wenger did what he did in the past, then they would expect him to repeat it again. Out of the rest, those that get disillusioned and choose not to renew season tickets would naturally be replaced by others waiting in line. So I think atleast for the next few years, audience attendance is guaranteed regardless of whether the team win something or not. I think this lack of urgency for change combined with qualifying for a champions league spot via 4th / 3rd place allowed the deterioration of the existing squad to a point of averageness.
In the early 1990’s before Man Utd started their title wins, their fan base & profit grew despite them not winning a league title in ages (remember reading this in Winners and Losers by Stefan Szymanski & Tim Kuypers). In a way, it defied the common expected trend of a winning team attracting more off-field success. I think Arsenal have now comfortably acquired that tag of being profitable despite not having any on-field success. So in a sense, Arsenal have indeed mimicked Man Utd in one way. Arsene has milked his economics degree background to the fullest extent yet has neglected the actual footballing aspect expected of his managerial position.
My fear of no new keeping being brought in is still looking a reality. Near the end of last season, I thought if either of Almunia Sr. or Almunia Jr. were the #1 keeper for this season, I would avoid watching the games. But I have never been able to stay away from watching an Arsenal game, no matter what nonsense was played out on the field. So I doubt if I would be able to carry my boycott through but I will give it a go. I cannot stand any excuse for a club like Arsenal to have two of the worst keepers in the league. Ofcourse, the goalkeeping issue is not the only problem with the current team. Injuries are still a persistent issue and as usual the summer clearout/exodus of older players continues.
The Austrian air might have done the squad some good allowing them to win the Emirates Cup and start the league season positively but besides faith and hope, what other evidence is there to expect the team to improve on the past few seasons’ tally? Although given how the past seasons have gone, even 2nd place will be sold as a massive improvement. After 4th, 4th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, I am sure Wenger would hail 2nd as a sign that the project has been successful and point to the glory days of 2004/05 when the squad last finished 2nd and won the F.A Cup. The last team to finish 2nd was actually a competent squad, so if he can get a young inexperienced injury prone squad packed with some incompetence to second, he would consider that as the highlight of Arsenal career.
typo..meant keeper
Sol’s signed for Newcastle. Tschuss. I know some are disappointed but he’s not good enough to play for Arsenal anymore. Arsenal won’t miss Sol, Syl, or Sendy but Vermaelen will miss his mentor, Gallas.
Just read an article on how much TV5 feels the need to stop his old teammate, Huuntelaar. The problem with young Thomas is he fixates sometimes. A similar thing happened in the first leg against Barcelona with his fixation on Messi. Xavi saw that and played him like a drum.
A year off has absolutely killed Djourou’s game. Before the injury, he was in a proper rotation with Gallas and Toure as they all played two games on, one game off. He played regularly and played well. I hope he gets it together soon.
Prophetically, Wenger has back-tracked on Bendtner’s injury. Last week, the injury was “no concern”. Now, suddenly, it’s “we don’t know when Bendtner will be back”. Imagine that!
We’re starting the season with two fit center forwards; one who’s got a history with injuries and one who’s clearly not ready. Jay Simpson looks more ready than Chamakh. Wow!
We need a CF and a CB as much as a GK right now. Wenger is just depending on too many things to go right in order for Arsenal to have success. We’re always so close but he won’t buy that one or 2 players we need. Our boys from Liegue 1 ain’t ready.
Lastly, Samir Nasri is having a dynamite pre-season. I think he’s relishing being the main guy in midfield with Cesc still not back. All eyes are on him and he knows it. This weekend will be a step up in class. Let’s see if he’s ready. It’s too bad he and Cesc couldn’t build up a descent chemistry this pre-season.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=810540&sec=england&root=england&cc=4716
Yet another article which states that almost all clubs will easily be able to fit in the new 25-man rule, including Man City.
Maybe I am an optimist (but every new season – hope springs eternal – until December) I think there will be at least one more CB signing – I think it is likely more or less a EPL player already due to the HG rule.
As for GK I am all for rolling out Szczsnesy (sp?) and letting him go with it. People will argue “experience” well the kid has to get it some how – let him get blooded properly. He’s aggresive with his distribution of the ball and seems to have better situational awareness than Flapi or Metro Man.
I’d prefer to get someone in as gap fill but short of seeing Almunia or Flapi in goal, I say give the kid a shot.
DAG.
if we are going to go with Almunia or Flap-man, I AGREE, I’d rather see what Szczsnesy can do.
But to me, that simply is surrender.
You can not afford to give away points in the league, trying out new keepers or going with the Dynamic Duo we have… that is of course, if you are actually trying to win something.
There is no winning trophies with below average keepers.
If we can’t afford (or smart enough to spend)4 Mill. for Schwarzer for a year and have him coaching the others, then we are truly doomed to another year of failure on the pitch, and success in the Profit League.
Arsenal won’t sign a new keeper. It’s too late in the pre-season. Schwarzer is the only one even rumored and Fulham won’t have time to replace him so they’re unlikely to sell him. Miracles can happen but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I told you guys in April when Almunia was flapping the ball in his net in the 92nd minute that he will still be our number 1 this season. Everyone thought I was nuts.
2.5 weeks till the start of the season and he is still here – starting games with the captain’s armband!
Marchetti from Cagliari is rumored to be an Arsenal target as well.
Too late? the preseason is about 2 weeks old. half way thru it.
Letter to Arsene from a disgruntled fan:
Dear Arsene, if you find it difficult to spend other peoples money and realize you prefer to shop at the “dollar” store, I have a solution for you. Spend nothing, let Almunia go to Tottenham for free, and elevate CZ to number one GK.
You will accomplish 2 things in one fell swoop. firstly, you would be saving money that can go towards paying down the debt and you will f**k up our most hated rivals.
Thanks in advance for considering my request.
sincerely,
A fair weather Arsenal fan
Your letter will be thrown after just after the first line :) Remember, as per Wenger and the Ministry of Truth, if one is unhappy with the team, then one is not a fan. So your letter won’t be read.
IN: Chamakh (free) Cooch (8M)
OUT: Silvestre, Campbell, Gallas and Senderos (free) and Eduardo (6M)
Arsene has continued to preach from the pulpit that we have a weak defense, leaked too many goals and it’s an area we need to strengthen. How do we strengthen our defense? Release 4 experienced CB’s and bring in one inexperienced CB. Sorry, maybe Cooch will be great one day but he is not as good as Gallas, like him or not.
How do we strengthen our defense? Open up the GK competition to 2 young, inexperienced whippersnappers in CZ and Mannone, and continue to play horse with an incompetent Almunia and a nervy Flappianski.
Defense is something which takes time to gel and this should have been straightened out before the trip to Austria, which is what Arsene basically said at the start of the season. It is CRUCIAL that we go into the season with a strong, settled defensive rotation and unless Arsene makes some moves over the next 3 days it will not be the case.
I am starting to think that Arsene has become a demagogue who is starting to believe his own lies and thinks that the masses are unintelligent, uneducated fools who will not know the difference.
As Stag would say however, we have won the financial battle, -2M net in transfer fees but 7-8M savings in wages.
WTF
Well, maybe he’s just waiting for the fire-sale to start at ManCity… and we’ll pick up
Shay Given, DeJong, and Bellamy for 10 Million combined!
and…
the rumors have us interested in Mertesacker, and Cagliari keeper Federico Marchetti.
probably a smoke screen thrown out there by Wenger to keep the supporters interested / at bay… until the season starts!
With Sol, Gallas and Syl leaving, we have only one first team player above 30 years of age – Mooney.
Total average age is 24.2
Defence average age is 23.9
Midfield average age is 22.5
Attack average age is 24.7
Keeper average age is 25.3 (without Mooney, it would be 22.7)
Anybody believe that we can win the league or CL with this team?
Neither will we win the Carling or FA cups.
Probably the single most important position on the team is GK.
I can only think of one team, Brazil, who has managed to win trophies without a good GK, and that was over 20 years ago.
We need a GK who is a decent shot stopper, commanding in the air, good on ball distribution and who can lead the team defense. Almunia never will meet this criteria and Flappianski is not there at this time.
We either need to get a # one in immediately or anoint Cz or Mannone as # one and stick with that for the season. Preferably, get a veteran GK with those attributes.
We also need an experienced CB who is dominant in the air to complement Vermaelen. At minimum, this would give us a chance.
In many ways, it is a good thing Sol didn’t sign for us.
Now Arsene is forced to sign another CB. At least, we think he is.
If he doesn’t and he puts his faith in Verman, Kos, Djo and Nord, then it is simply gross negligence. Or at least, we think it is. :)
Nip, I don’t think its a good thing for Arsenal.
I assume he is guaranteed more playing time at Newcastle, if that’s possible… a 1 Yr deal?
curious-er and curious-er.
It surely doesn’t mean Wenger will sign another CB…
Campbell presented at Newcastle for a 1 YR deal. The difference likely between Newcastle and Arsenal – Sol probably will be the first choice CB.
Bendy will miss the start of the season.
Deni and Diaby will miss the Emirates cup.
Djo and Sicky were injured for the last game but “should” be ready for the week.
Cesc and RvP may not be ready for the start of the season.
Welcome to the new season!
What’s happening in regard to possibly doing a
YAMA Fantasy League.
I like this idea… and it would be fun/interesting to compete
with each other in a league (or even two, as there are so many
different leagues/ types)
Some leagues are FREE… which is important to many folks.
Some like FantasyLeague.com
cost… but I think that’s the best league.
The season starts in about 2 1/2 weeks!
and I can guarantee NOBODY will have MANNY in net for their team!
(besides Arsene!)
:)
I am going to try and get it all set up this week. I was actually looking for a link of the LEague site you guys were talking about and you’ve given it to me so I could have it up as early as today or no later than Monday.
http://www.fantasyleague.com/Classic/
The nice thing about setting up a league here is that individuals can choose to be regular, silver, or gold and have some control over their costs, but can still participate in the YAMA league. Plus they’ll also be in their own (random) 20 person league, and all the other permutations the game provides.
I can remember a time when the league was a more level playing field. Sure the ‘big clubs’ have always dominated in England, yet there was a time when a minor club (like a Norwich or Crystal Palace) from the top flight could lead the league for say half a season (accepting they would eventually be drawn back into the clutches of a Liverpool, Everton or Arsenal). Those days have now gone.
So yes, certainly since the advent of the EPL, we have witnessed a consolidating of power in the clubs with money (either old money – ala ManU, Arsenal, and Liverpool) or new money like Chelsea and now ManC. Without the money – to (a) pay the remuneration and (b) try and sign up a competitive squad – you have no chance. I even see the future of clubs like Spurs and Villa as mediocre unless they can maintain a top-4 place, get CL money, and then start to grow their sustainable income (from an increased stadium and/or increased commercial revenue streams).
The Emirates stadium was a pivotable achievement for AFC, it has consolidated our seat at the top table in a way that nothing else could.
Steve, apologies for flogging the point – I guess I just see it as fundamentally true. As for NZ, yeah I think it fair to say as a nation we aspire to be both egalitarian and socially compassionate, however I find it a bit misguided to apply the notion of sentimentality to 20 year olds on 60,000 pounds per week. Are they needy recipients, do we need to remove all vestige of market forces from the top level of professional football? I don’t think so, we should save our compassion for those who need it.
As I mentioned above guys, there is a strong positive correlation between wage spending and number of games won- but a much weaker correlation between transfer spending and number of games won. I think this goes along with what DAG said that high spending alone does not guarantee success- you need to have a comprehensive strategy with players that complement each other- players who make a ‘team’ in the true sense of the word- not just a random grouping of 11 (or 37) more-or-less independent individuals.
But on the other hand let’s not kid ourselves- no one is going to win the league without high spending- it just doesn’t happen. You don’t have to be the highest spenders, but you need to be up there. Spending lots of money alone won’t do it; nor will trying to build a solid core of players who support each other be enough by itself. You need both.
On the homegrown players issue….
I think it really should give Arsenal a leg up in the domestic cup competitions, which (maybe) could help us win a trophy (any trophy)….The top teams will have to morph towards the model Arsenal has pursued over the past several years (using their “limitless” supply of younger players, etc.) if they hope to compete on all fronts when the fixtures come thick and fast. It’ll be interesting to see how Tottenham and ManCity are able to pursue these other competitions when defending or improving their league position is paramount.
CK is right, however, in that 17 “unrestricted” players is generally plenty…unless, of course, you’ve got massive injury problems, or non-homegrown players who really aren’t good enough, etc….
Mike, you seem to be expressing annoyance that supporters want to see new signings to fill the gaps and address our areas of weakness – the areas that have let us down repeatedly.
I’d doubt many Arsenal supporters want to see silly spending. I think most admire our fiscal approach in very broad terms. However somewhere between the extremes of Wenger’s current approach and the dreaded silly spending is a place that would give us a better chance at winning. I think supporters want to see us operate in this place (transfer-wise).
The truth is Wenger’s approach is not as frugal as many want to portray. We are one of the highest spenders on remuneration (that is published fact). We also do spend but more-so on the long-range gamble of youth, a strategy that in reality contributes little or nothing to current performances. For heavens sake, how many years will we all have to wait for a Walcott or a Bendtner to become the superstar that this approach relies upon?
So, by all means quote statistics around which particular club spends the most in a given season – yet we all know (or should know) that actual spending on transfers only tells part of the story.
What might be a more convincing argument is to find a way statistically or evidentially to explain how this current approach under Wenger will bear fruit. But perhaps therein lies the problem, there aren’t too many (any?) examples of successful clubs who intentionally spurn the recruitment of proven performers, whilst also spurning the concept of defence, and then persisting with horribly fragile players.
Kiwi…You know I love you and I have the utmost respect for your views on Arsenal and the game….but I think you’re letting your emotions get the better of you in flogging this argument….;-)
Arsenal DO pay high wages to young, under-proven players, and to injury prone players, and you’re right that this undermines the portrayal of Wenger as “frugal.” You’re also right that it WOULD be nice to know the exact terms of every contract that is written (and actually paid off) for statistical analysis….but, at this time, that data is simply not available. Transfer fees are more highly publicized (though we often don’t get all the info), thus we get statistical portrayals (driven by the agenda of the writer) like DAG’s above. Everything I’ve read suggests that there is a much stronger correlation between wage bill and league success, the current lack of trophies notwithstanding….
Personally, I feel the brutality of the marketplace needs to be softened by the the more humane urges in the human spirit to care for one another, etc. I know a few folks who have moved from the US to New Zealand in pursuit of just such values…but maybe the grass is always greener elsewhere….and you’d prefer a more naked, market driven economy….
Because Arsenal is pursuing this sort of economics (albeit, highly distorted by the absurd amounts footballers command) it may, eventually, attract the cream of the crop of the world’s young players, as well as a superior team ethic, etc. (Imagine if players were only payed an amount per goal, per assist…) As it is, I prefer to think of it as a bold experiment that hopefully, soon, will bear fruit….
But, of course, you may call me a dreamer….
I don’t know that any of this corrects the whole Wenger-doesn’t-give-ahite-about-domestic cups…thing.
But you can dream. ;-)
New report by Deloitte shows that Barcelona lost more than €77 million. That is counter to the €11 million that Laporta said Barca were in debt.
The new audit also puts the club’s total net debt at €442 million (€552 million gross).
Didn’t Laporta say they were 11 M in the black? That makes the discrepancy even worse.
Great insights on spending big and what it gets you.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-beware-history-of-Manchester-United-Leeds-Liverpool-and-Newcastle-shows-big-spending-doesn-t-guarantee-the-title-article538491.html
Basically it eloquently says exactly what I have been saying. Just because you spend doesn’t instantly guarantee success. You have to have a team.
it also says, it matters who is buying the groceries…
(a bit of Bill Parcells speak)
You HAVE to spend money to win… that’s FACT, but just because you spend it, doesn’t guarantee you will win.
Blackburn spent, and won the league (the only non-Big4 team to win the Premiership)
Newcastle and Leeds… spent and got relegated.
Chelsea. Spent. Success.
United. Spent. Success.
Man City. We’ll see.
ARSENAL had spent previously… and some pretty good sums of money… there is no poor mouth in regard to Arsenal.
Can money buy you the league title? The Mirror did this table starting in ’92 with who the biggest spenders were and who the champion was for that year:
1992-93: Blackburn £8.11m (4th); champions Manchester United £2.3m.
1993-94: Blackburn £8.65m (2nd); champions Manchester United £3.75m.
1994-95: Everton £10.9m (15th); champions Blackburn £6.8m.
1995-96: Newcastle £14.78m (2nd); champions Manchester United £750,000.
1996-97: Newcastle £16.5m (2nd); champions Manchester United £7.5m.
1997-98: Newcastle £21m (13th); champions Arsenal £16.55m.
1998-99: Manchester United biggest spenders with £27.75m and also champions.
1999-2000: Liverpool £36.3m (4th); champions Manchester United £10m.
2000-01: Leeds £38.45m (4th); champions Manchester United £7.8m.
2001-02: Manchester United £57m (3rd); champions Arsenal £23.25m.
2002-03: Manchester United biggest spenders with £33m and also champions.
2003-04: Chelsea £121m (2nd); champions Arsenal £13.25m.
2004-05: Chelsea biggest spenders with £89m and also champions.
2005-06: Chelsea biggest spenders with £63.4m and also champions.
2006-07: Chelsea £64m; champions Manchester United £18.6m.
2007-08: Manchester United biggest spenders with £52.125m and also champions.
2008-09: Manchester City £113m (10th); champions Manchester United £46.75m.
2009-10: Manchester City £124m (5th); champions Chelsea £23.5m.
I like the way the EPL is bringing in rules that help define squads – both composition and number. This is a preferred route to a salary cap or a straight nationality restriction. It acknowledges where football is as a professional sport. I haven’t processed it fully but at first pass it looks clever.
I think there is awful waste in remuneration levels in top level football. In any other sector reward is related to return – this isn’t applied sensibly in football. Wenger himself is now driving some seriously deranged concepts. Prepaying teenagers obscene amounts simply to attract them disgusts me and makes a mockery of his penchant for claiming he operates on a higher moral level.
Clever restrictions on the number of players allowed in a squad will prompt the questions CEO’s and managers ought to be asking. A club should ask; “What does this guy contribute? How many games can he front up for? Is he a bad risk?”
Whilst the sums paid to many footballers at the top level are gross, I am less concerned at ridiculous sums being paid to real performers who have proven their worth than to the those who have achieved little or nothing or are perpetually injured. And save the apologetics that players don’t want to be injured – this is the real world and you’re paying for what you ‘can do’ not what you’d like to do or could do if all the stars came in to alignment.
Nice game to watch today, but Chamankh and Theo really need to up their games. The way Chamankh is playing he is not ready to fill Bendtner’ boots much less Ade’.
JET was impressive again and the Guvnor played him in the Denilson role for a bit too, he was OK. Wilshere was outstanding today, some fantastic skills and good movement. However he has a nasty side to him that he needs to curb. He is a better diver than Eboue and dished out two really reckless challengeses without even so much as an apology. Nasri was also, outstanding I hope he can run a game like he did today against quality opposition.
The only other player worth mentioning for me is EMMANUEL Frimpong ;-). I have watched him a fair bit in the reserves youth and always thought he was overrated. It looks we have another DM enforcer in the making, he looks far more combative and effective than Eastmond in that position and has had a great pre-season so far.
We need a little “nasty” and combativeness in the squad.
Agreed, we need some “nasty’.
US Gunner if nasty means what Taylor did to Eddy, what Shawcross did to Ramsey or what Jack Wilshere did to two players in preseason FRIENDLIES then I beg to differ, regardless of who wants to agree with you.
If anyone did that to Jack Wilshere I doubt if you would be saying the same thing.
Combativeness is fine, reckless “challenging” in the manner of Wilshere’ two tackles is not combativeness it is closer to being assualt, he did not even have a 60/40 chance of getting the ball without going through the player with such force that potentially both of them could have got a serious injury.
Arthur, officially it isn’t called a nasty side. It is called stuck ’em in footie and is considered a valid playing method because only nice chaps practice it :) The real villains are the players who can’t admire this manly football and get themselves injured, thereby tarnishing the nice chaps’ reputation. It is a fast game built for men.
As for the diving, I believe it too will undergo a brand change and become more acceptable. It will be likely called the Spanish Method to Winning a World Cup or the Iniesta fall. Diving is acceptable as long as it is performed by British footballing heroes or by skilful players not playing against British teams.
:)
The Spanish Method – I LOVE IT
LOL! Nice one Sach
Thanks DAG, Arthur.
“The only other player worth mentioning for me is EMMANUEL Frimpong ;-) . I have watched him a fair bit in the reserves”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KUJE2xs-RE
LOL! Nice one Mazz
Liked Nordveit’s distribution out of the CB position.
JET, Wilshire and Frimpong confirming their ability to play a part in the first team.
Frimpong looks like Freddy Adu on steroids :)
Will be interesting to see how the young lads perform in the Emirate’s Cup if given a chance.
Wenger is not going to buy another GK or CB. We are done for this transfer window. Infact we are done till next summer.
I have been saying this since last April.
Fabianski will start as number one, he will mess up and Almunia will take over. Turns out its also now getting increasingly possible Almunia will be number 1 from the very beginning.
As for CB, we still have “three” center backs in THEORY. In practise it is just one. Djorou will not play more than 5 games this season due to injury. Koscielny will be brutalized and murdered when he comes across any striker who does not fit the small, slim, slow, latte drinking, opera-attending, white French strikers he is used to from the French lower divisions.
In other words we actually have only ONE center back.
BTW,
I think we are all overreacting to the home grown rule. In essence it is saying you can only have a maximum of 17 foreign players named in your squad of 25. Incidentally, most teams, including Arsenal, normally only carry a squad of 21-23.
Regardless of the homegrown rule, City would still have to sell players or put them out on loan in order to have a manageable squad as no coach wants to have too many players on the training pitch as it becomes a distraction. Also, quite a few teams can’t even afford to have a 25 man squad.
Look at it this way. You could keep a player in the stands for the first half of the season. Someone goes down and you could have “a new signing”
However, if you have a full squad of 25 and someone gets injured, they can’t be replaced until the transfer window re-opens.
It almost makes sense not to name a full 25 man roster.
Feo scores
JET scores
Chamakh scores
Vela scores (with a real nice chip shot)
Don Vito with a PK save off of a crappy PK attempt
That’s why Vela is named Senor Chips.
Looking at his girth its more like Mr. Burrito to me.
:-D
Mooney starts today’s game as captain. I get the feeling we will see rotation of keepers for the league season. ;)
On another note, Nasri was a late call up for the game in place of Sicky who ….. picked up a knock just before kickoff. Lovely, isn’t it?
Djourou injured. What else is new.
great, Rosicky picks up a knock, Djourou injured, and Almunia starts as the Captain.
Should be an absolutely magnificent season.
;)
So it appears Sol Campbell is signing for Newcastle.
I’ll assume its a 2 year deal.
Good for Sol Campbell, bad for Arsenal.
This either means we have to sign at least one more CB… or
we are going with players from the reserves that have little
to no experience, as 4th and 5th CB’s.
(and that’s currently in front of the league’s worst keeper tandem!)
—
City are allegedly close to signing Balotelli!
so instead of getting rid of some of their excess, they
are still buying.
AMAZING.
I believe if they don’t sell the players not on the 25 man
roster, the players CAN NOT PLAY.
Yes, they get paid, but if you are a player, is that what you
want? Home watching TV until at least January?
Crazy shit.
as the closer it gets to the deadline, the LESS teams will
offer for the players they don’t want on their 25 man roster.
—
Emirates Cup this weekend…
I am sure a few of the young guns will impress, and Wenger will
point to that and say, we don’t need anyone else!
:)
Stag you are right – if they don’t sell the players they have to pay the players their weekly salary while they basically watch from the stands.
To have so much money that you are willing to pay players to sit in the stands and watch is amazing. I believe that is what is commonly known as “F-U money.”
madness.
I really wonder if that will occur, if so, to whom… and what the reaction of the player(s) will be.
I’ll assume they can loan them out to teams, if they can’t sell them.
Only semi-related to Arsenal:
The NFL will vote on Stan Kroenke’s bid for the St. Louis Rams on August 25. I don’t know all your guys’ opinions on whether or not you’d want him as an owner, but if you ask me, becoming full owner of an NFL franchise would make him far less likely to want to become the majority shareholder at Arsenal.
Yeah, except that it is just another addition to his collection. He owns the Avalanche, Nuggets and I think the Rapids. The only difference is that Arsenal is in a different country.
With Sol gone, I say we offer Gallas 50kpw on a one year contract.
why not offer him ONE YEAR, same exact weekly pay as last year.
here you go, you done window shopping? and want to play football?
By the way, Sol Campbell is signing for Newcastle.
http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog/posts/the-difficulty-of-moving-players-on–emirates-cup-competition
Arseblog explains nicely why it is difficult for Arsene to move on players once you have given them a long term contract.
Yeah, with Almunia on 40k per week, when most middle of the table keepers in Spain are on 5-7 k per week, it is not a surprise it is going to be very hard to move him.
I say we PAY him off and cancel his contract. We should do the same for Denilson too.
http://desigunner.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/don%E2%80%99t-be-mislead-%E2%80%93-man-city-don%E2%80%99t-need-to-sell-too-many/
Why the brouhaha about City being screwed maybe a little premature and misinformed.
No offence – he’s wrong. Not because I say so but because about 10 different sources have laid out that Man City could be the biggest sufferers of the home grown rule.
My source from the write up is Daily Mail.
Keep in mind they only have 5 U21 first teams that could be classified as home grown. That’s not plenty thats 3 short of the required 8. Which basically means the penalty is fielding a smaller squad by 3 players.
If you don’t have the 8 than your squad suffers in size less the number of home grown players you would have in the case for City that is 3.
That means at least an additional 7 that would have to go.
It’s about having 8 players that you ‘want’ (i.e. are useful) to fill the quota.
Here’s 8 that I think comply with the rules, altho Clichy is borderline and it depends on the date he actually signed with the club.
1. Bendtner
2. Clichy
3. Djourou
4. Gibbs
5. Mannone/Szczesny or Wilshere
6. Song
7. Cesc
8. Walcott
What it does is distort the importance of some players in the squad – guys like Walcott and Bendtner become more important because they meet the rule. :-(
What I do like is the way it focuses on the players and who is really useful and who isn’t. Guys like RvP and Rosicky will be looked at a little more circumspectly – do they deserve a spot in the 17? Or are they bad risks as certified crocks? ;-)
I’ve been banging on about this for over 2 years so it’s good the EPL have noticed. ;-)
In theory the rule should hurt other clubs more than Arsenal.
It also puts a bigger spotlight on guys like Denilson, Diaby and Almunia!!!!
They are over 21, they didnt spend 3 years between 18 and 21 in England … so they dont qualify as “carry on” players …. maybe thats why Wenger seems to want to move them on! :-D
PS: Scznezy doesnt qualify as homegrown because he is still under 21. The only under 21s that qualify as homegrown have to be English or Welsh.
I would debate that point Fred. If you read the rules it states that 8 players have to be home grown and nothing is said about their age.
Also, Ramsey being Welsh is automatically considered homegrown.
Also, since he qualifies, Almunia could get a British Passport and then would be considered home grown.
Nothing is said about their age but it states that foreigners must have spent the THREE years between the ages of 18 and 21 registered in an English/Welsh club!
As a 20 year old foreigner he literally can not meet that obligation to be titled “homegrown”.
He will have to wait one year for the designation of “homegrown”.
In other words, a 20 year old foreigner is not “homegrown” but a 17 year old English player is. However the 20 year old is still usefull because the pool for U-21 is limitless.
The folks who are hurt by this the most are the mediocre players over 21 years old who did not spend 3 years under 21 at an English club. Players like Denilson, Diaby, Almunia. And thats awesome news!!
Personally, I hope it rises to 15 homegrown soon ….
Clarification on the home grown rule:
As of Spet 1 at 5PM squads will have to have a roster of 25 Senior players. 8 must be home grown.
If a team does not have 8 home grown players – they will have to field a smaller squad.
A home grown player is anyone who is registered with an English or Welsh club for 3 years between their 16th and 21st birthdays.
A squad may also consist of as many under 21 year old as possible and they can be used inc ase one of the senior roster players gets hurt on a long-term injury. In exceptional circumstances (2-3 players on LT injury or a GK injury) teams may be allowed to bring in another player.
Changes to the 25 man squad cannot be made until the transfer window.
So who stands to suffer:
1. Man City – current roster size 38 – only 5 first teamers are under 21 which means up to 8 senior players could be sitting in the stands collecting a pay check.
2. Chelsea – ONly have 4 home grown players in the squad – which means their squad could only reach 21.
4. Liverpool – Only 5 home grown players
5. Arsenal – It depends on whether Sol is really signing. If Sol signs we are fine. If not we could only field a squad of 24.
6. United – would depend on whether or not they buy anyone.
All this talk about home-grown players and the 25-man limit in the build-up to this season? Have these types of discussions surfaced before other seasons and I’ve missed them, or is this all b/c of City?
1st year it is being applied
There is no upside to Cesc staying only to leave next season. This recurring pattern makes Arsenal look like a second-class feeder-club. Adebayor, Henry, Vieira. Sell him, top dollar to a high bidder.
Cesc’s departure is the end of the experiment. Time to grow up, be a big club in keeping with our heritage, income and infrastructure. We haven’t got this far to slide backwards.
Therefore this is also an opportune time to part company with Arsene Wenger. Have a warm discussion, couch the parting in the nicest possible way to recognise his service, and let him go. If it means a season of disappointment, so be it. The supporter base is bored and dulled by the last 5 years. There was a dip between Graham and Wenger. It happens. Identify a sharp cookie to rationalise this squad and win something quick (a Hiddink). Then appoint the manager to take us in to the new era (may even be a guy like Bould).
I agree Cesc’s departure shows the youth project is doomed to failure. One of the things Wenger failed to consider with this idealistic concept is that loyalty is not guarenteed or bought. In fact loyalty is atypical from foreigners who have no real connection with the club.
As for a dip between GG and wenger I would not call it that. The GG Arsenal was no better then the present Arsenal, i.e they were not dominant but capable of winning a trophy here and there. In fact the present Arsenal has far greater competition and consistently finish higher than the GG Arsenal on average.
The issue is Arsene raised the expectation level and was not willing to do what it takes to keep us there other than embark an what appears to be a somewhat fruitless youth policy.
Should Wenger go? I like continuity and would rather that he learned from his mistakes and turn some of our home grown double winning youth team into our hall of fame.
If Hiddink came he would “kill” J. Emmanuel T. ;-)
I read Cesc Arsenal and Barca has signed a deal that means Cesc is off in June 2011! No mention of the fee though, i would imagine Wenger would like to keep it undisclosed though.
Anyone care to rubbish this rumour… Fred?
If its true hopefully the fee is set already, cause if Cesc’s value changes this year, it will more likely be down than up.
Where did you hear this rumor?
“Lengendaire”, the guy is connected, I have never known him to get it wrong.
Well maybe he is not well connected but uses a crystal ball or an Octopus, either way Cesc has done a Ronaldo on us
non-sense.
I heard it from a dragonfly that knows Cesc’s Father’s dog… it has never steered me wrong.
LOL! wasn’t you the guy that was arguing vociferously saying Cesc was off this summer?
He’s a prized dick who think he’s in the know. Goal.com reported that Cesc thing the day BEFORE his “exclusive”.
He also said we were signing Hangeland. Wrong again.
No Mazza, this guys knows.
Where is the link on Goal.com I have not seen it? If you have post the link.
Did he say we had SIGNED Hangeland because we all know that Hangeland was a defender Wenger targetted.
“He’s a prized dick who think he’s in the know” reminds me of Fred ;-)
Goal.com got the story from a spanish newspaper. I think it may have been deportivo region paper. Anyway, I cleary remember reading it the night before legenderriere reported it as exclusive.
On Hangeland, he claimed his dutch source said they were agreeing terms. That was two months ago.
At least Fred is generally IN the know, apart from Hlebby ;)
Fred know’s shiddizzle, he reads websites and quotes directly from them, I have witnessed this myself when he was talking rubbish about Stuart Taylor and chatting dros about only immigrants supporting the French national team.
I want the link from Goal.com, maybe they both have inside info the Spanish paper and Stringfellow.
As for the Hangeland thing that was stupid for him to believe a Dutchman can give him an inside line on Arsenal when Hangeland’ is not Dutch neither is his agent I think, but maybe they were discussing terms but eventually not agreeing ;-)
Sex Bomb! bloomin’ hilarious by the way it took me a while to get the relevance at first though!
with what type of stipulations…?
what if he gets injured? why would Barca take him?
why would he risk injury or play with any type of knock, if he knows he is off next Summer?
makes no sense.
Agreed Stag, it makes no sense.
Cesc is off in June 2011, the deal is done, it doesn’t have to make sense.
Remember where you heard it first ;-)
How can a deal be done when you have the Barca Vice President coming out today and saying basically,
“Waaaaahhhhhhhh Boooo Hooooo we’re big bad Barca and Arsenal won’t talk to us about Cesc Fabregas. Wahhhhhhhh.”
True he came out and said Arsenal refuse to discuss the sale of Fabregas. As we are some how obliged to talk to them because they are Barcelona.
Fuck Off I say
DAG that is a rerun of old news.
The deal is done for 2011, this way Arsene doesn’t get to keep a player against his will, a compromise has been reached.
It should also give Barca the time to stump up the cash we are ready to accept for him. I would rather them keep their money but the only one we can say f off to in this scenario is Cesc, he is the one that wants to leave and I am sure he is aware that this is the end of the youth project and could cause Arsene to step down at the end of the season bar a trophy or two.
Personally I think he should have given us two more years.
yes, Cesc should give us two years, or until someone breaks his leg, and renders him a shell of his former self, and then Barca won’t want him, and he’ll never lift a trophy!
There is no deal in place… it would be idiotic… there would have to be set parameters in place in regard to injuries, playing time, number of games, etc.
How do you explain Ronaldo’ exist from ManUre the following year after his flirtation? And how about the concept of precontracts? Chris.
I do not doubt that there are get out clauses in any deal, as with Ronaldo. If Barca cannot stump up the cash or Cesc or Barca want to pull out of the deal then sure there will be a way out. However the deal has been done and you can be sure Cesc will give us his all while he is with us.
What’s your guys take on the keeper situation? Wenger has completely thrown that position up for grabs. We’ve got four keepers fighting for that spot. The competition is desperately needed. All of our keepers are talented. It’s just a matter of who will keep their nerve. Maybe that competition is what Mooney needs to play well. You know Lehmann was talking shit to him every day in training. When Lehmann left, maybe Mooney got soft.
Hopefully we sign someone, but if not then hopefully you are right. The team needs you to be.
the keeper situation? its a DEBACLE.
If we don’t get a new keeper, we are absolutely screwed…
Almunia and Fabianski can NOT start at Arsenal.
The latest rumor has Osasuna interested in bringing back Almunia… take him, please.
Spurs might struggle but not because of what everyone thinks. Everton and Newcastle struggled because they signed a bunch of foreign players they manage to attract with the allure of Champions League football. But there was no time to gel before they had CL qualification matches. What Spurs have done that’s admirable is try and persist with the team that got them into the top four.
Tottenham’s problem will be that their central defenders are made out of marshmallows. No way in hell is Ledley King going to play more than one game in a eight days. No way in hell is Woodgate going to play for a month without sitting out for 3 months. Tottenham have the two most injury-prone players in the BPL.
What professional footballer would plan his honeymoon during pre-season training? That’s no coincidence. Sol Campbell is just plain lazy. I don’t want him back. We lost more games with him playing than we won anyway. Lord only knows how many penalties he didn’t get called against him only because he’s English. Maybe he’ll go back to Tottenham. They certainly need something. He may not go there as a starter but I can guarantee that by September, he’ll be playing every week. Atleast they re-signed Kaboul in January.
Not so sure the fans would accept him back, Josh. I think they’re still pretty upset at ol’ Judas.
brilliant stuff… when would you like him to plan his honeymoon? (which I believe is over)… during the season?
Sol played well while back at Arsenal, that’s why we are interested in bringing him back for one more year… he added experience, and certainly held his own…
if he played poorly, Wenger would not have offered him another go around.
“if he played poorly, Wenger would not have offered him another go around.”
I completely agree with you that Sol should be offered one more year by the club, and that he brings lots of intangibles with him. Furthermore, I think a player of his age would only be hurt by pre-season training. What are they going to go over that he doesn’t know? What will he learn? His experience and knowledge of the game should help with the team building part. Pre-season would only put more miles on his body, which we don’t need.
BUT… using the phrase “if he played poorly, Wenger would not have offered him another go around,” is not a good method of proving this. The new Arsene Wenger loves to award lengthy and lucrative contract extensions to players who have played poorly, barely played at all, or both. Exhibit A is Denilson.
Whether or not City and Spurs makes the big 4 this season is basically immaterial when related to Arsenal.
The main problem we face is that we now have to face more teams which are talent wise, capable of beating us on any given day even if they are not consistent enough to win the PL or CL. Liverpool, Spurs, city, United, Chelsea, Villa and Everton all fall into that category.
With arsenal’s recent history of being unable to overcome some of the lesser teams which impose their brutal “Rugby’ style on us we will need experience and strong on field leadership to steady the ship. As someone said earlier, experience and leadership is something we lack, especially with the uncertainty of our captain being on loan to us for the season as per Xavi and Iniesta..
If nothing else, Cesc needs to come out and make a positive statement very soon, otherwise this could cause severe problems within the squad. I don’t know about you guys, but as a player I would not be a happy camper if I thought my Captain was not wholly committed to the cause. At this point, it may well be better served for Arsene to negotiate a good transfer fee for Cesc and send him on his way to Barcelona so he can play DM or be a sub behind Xavi and Iniesta.
Please note, I am not berating Cesc, still love the guy, but too much shite has filled the airwaves and think he could become a very negative distraction for the team this season. Sell Cesc, promote Vermaelen to Captain (please, not RVP) and buy Ozil for 10-15M. Yes, Ozil has refused to re-up his contract and with him being in his final season, 10-15M would be gratefully accepted. It would probably take him some time to settle into the rhythm of the EPl but the following season we would have a potentially awesome MF with Song, Nasri, Ozil, Ramsey and Wilshire as key cogs in the wheel, especially if we were to revert to 4-4-1-1.
Will this happen? I rather doubt it as it makes too much sense.
I believe its still possible Cesc could go, but I doubt we’d buy anyone of note with the 40 Million. Wenger would say we didn’t have enough time, and that we have the talent within the squad to cope.
It would make the board very happy with another huge profitable Summer, and the debt would be lowered significantly yet again.
The fans?
already bought tickets for the season anyway… so we know the stadium is sold out for the most part. That’s probably why we sell so late in the Summer, so kits, and tickets are already bought!
Cesc hasn’t said much either way, he’s at least smart enough in that regard.
Wenger and AFC have sold the supporters lies for 5 years, they’ve likely come to believe their own nonsense. You sense one by one the lights are going on (or out) with supporters who see the same strategy of under-aspiration recur.
All you’re left with is this dulled down sense of being an Arsenal supporter. We don’t even compete for cups – how incredibly arrogant and stupid is that. Yet that is where the 60 year old Wenger is at.
we don’t compete for Cups, because we don’t have the depth to truly compete in the 3 big competitions…
and Wenger has complete disdain for the FA Cup.
it is definitely by plan that we focus on just the league and CL…
the crazy part, is when we progress to the late stages in the FA Cup or League Cup, its like we TRY to go out and lose it!
Man U and Chelsea have done f-all this summer so I dont see why anybody is mentioning them.
Man City are a shambolic team who will NOT make top 4 UNLESS they sack Mancini and get a real coach. He is a Ranieri – nothing more. He has no control over transfers, he has a bloated team of giant egos who came to City for the money and who probably know the guy is going to get sacked the moment a top manager is available. He is winning nothing.
You guys vastly underestimate the amount of stress Spurs will encounter this season. Balancing a Champions League campaign with League and the 2 cups is very, very hard! For an “old” top four club, playing at Wigan at the weekend and travelling to Eindhoven or Valencia on Tuesday or Wednesday is water off a duck’s back. For the rest of the sixteen teams it isnt! Their league performance can crater during the group stages!!!
Assuming they make the group stages (which isnt a given), if they do well in their group, their perfomance in the table will be affected, if they flop, their performance will get even worse and their confidence completely shot.
I will bet Spurs struggle to make the UEFA cup this next season, let alone retain their top four spot.
we can certainly hope Spurs struggle with the added matches and pressure of the CL, but there is no evidence to suggest they will. It’s watch and see.
City got 5th last season, missed by a whisker on 4th, and have added good players. Again, you don’t know what they will do, and most folks would love to see them flop, but I think its more likely they don’t, than they do, with the experience they have in the team.
and ManU and Chelsea won the last 6 titles, its up to the rest of the league to “do something”… they have to be caught, not do the catching up.
And we haven’t done much in terms of getting better yet… its possible we are actually worse off that last year…
“there is no evidence to suggest they will”.
WHAT??? No team other than the old top four of Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool has ever qualified for the CL and NOT cratered the next season.
So if Spurs break that trend, it will be the very first time that has happened.
What good players have City really added to the TEAM?? Third choice Barca CB and midget Silva – who would get kicked six feet into the air?? Good luck to them.
As for Man U and Chelsea, no doubt they will finish in the top two, but saying they are impoving is just false.
Fred, I am with you. Unfortunately a large segment of people here believe if you spend an inordinate amount of money each season it amounts to success.
I think the top 4 at the end of the next season will still stuggle to include Liverpool. I just don’t see them much improved and they are losing players on a regular basis now. I don’t thinks a question of if Torres leaves but when.
I will say if Chelsea add Torres they have to be preseumptive favourites to repeat. Man United just don’t look like they are in a position to be doing anything money wise.
As much as we hate it DAG, money does talk. Chelsea broke into the top two with money, even when Ranieri was there they were competing for the title.
Spurs broke into the top four with money Man City will break in the same way sooner or later, whether they have to BUY a new manager to do so or not, that is what will happen.
The only way to stop the trnd is the proposed move to ensure clubs stay within their means.
Again, they added Toure, Silva, Boateng…
ALL 3 would help ARSENAL, let alone City… and they will just add depth and talent to City.
I get it, you don’t like them… and don’t want them to succeed.
But you can’t debate that they were extremely close last season to making the Top 4, kicked our ass at City… and have again added talent and improved their team.
or you can debate it if you want, but it won’t make much sense…!!!
Answer the following, Stag:
Is Toure, 3rd choice CB at Barca better than Vieira, Barry, De Jong, Ireland or Kompany?
I dont think so.
What has Silva ever won at the club level? Do you know he is considered a diver in the Spanish league and accused of going to ground too often!! Do you think he can survive an October trip “up North”?? Also what exactly has he won??
Lastly, who the f&ck is Boateng? He hasnt won or done shit! He was the weakest link in the German team at the World cup and was almost always the first to be subbed.
I have told you several times, just because a player cost a lot to buy doesnt make them good!
Apparently City have (already) surpassed Chelsea as the biggest net transfer spenders since the start of the Premier League in 1992. Their recent purchase of Kolarov brings their net total to £379 million, while Chelsea are at £371 million (not adjusted for inflation). They’ll probably dip back below Chelsea momentarily when they have to sell off 12 players over the next month, and Chelsea probably aren’t done buying for the summer (likely one more is my guess), but I’m sure City will re-take them come January.
my question is this… what would the outcry be like for Arsenal supporters if ManCity took our place in the Top 4?
Chelsea, United, City, and Tottenham as a Top 4.
All spend (spent) tons more money that Arsenal have over the past 5 years to get to the top, and we made money while sliding down the league ladder.
To some, it matters “how” you get there, but it surely doesn’t matter to Chelsea & United fans, who have DOMINATED the league… and City fans would not care either, as they are now a challenger, and playing better football, and better results than they have had in many many years.
So Spurs have outspent us in 5 years and what has it resulted in – nearly getting relegated 2 years ago. And 1 CL Qualifier position.
City have out spent us for two years what has it gotten them – nothing.
Chelsea and United are the only two with some merit. And I am beginning to think that this could be the first we start to see some effect of the budget issues at United. Don’t you find it surprising that if they had the money to land the big names they wanted to – they’d have done it already?
For Chelsea, I am scratching my head on them. Benayoun in, Ballack, Cole, Carvallaho and others out. With the core of that team another year older and John Terry (If I were an opposing team I would watch every World Cup video for England and watch how he was skinned in each game) is hardly the player he was. I don’t know what to make of Chelsea.
Problem is, that while Tottenham and Man City are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, Arsenal is going the opposite direction. 2 players in and 4 out so far with the likelihood of anyone else coming in diminishing further and further by the day. Eventually all that money is going to do something right. Arsenal barely finished above Tottenham last year and City wasn’t far behind them. The gap shrinks every year and I wouldn’t be surprised to either or both of them pass Arsenal this year or the next.
I give Spurs credit too, hate them though I do. (That has a nice ring to it.)
No matter how much you spend, when there are a group of teams that basically have a cartel on the league title and the CL spots, you need a certain mental strength to be able to break into that group and force another team out. Granted, Liverpool made it easier than it could have been, but Spurs still had to be the best of the rest. They had more mental strength and bigger balls than Villa, Liverpool, and especially City. That being said, f**k Spurs and the only reason I would ever want to see them in the CL is so we could knock them out of it.
As for City, I think they might be able to win the league… eventually. If you keep attracting big-name players and eventually win something like a UEFA Cup or domestic cup, you will eventually attract a good manager who will actually have a plan instead of buying players b/c he can. I think this is all far down the road, though. Like five years minimum. But just b/c they have no history doesn’t mean they can’t do it eventually. Chelsea had no history, but they said f**k it, we have cash. And it worked.
An interesting point to keep in mind when discussing all this is that success in football actually correlates much more strongly with spending on player wages than it does with spending on transfers. I recently read Soccernomics (co-authored by a journalist and a PhD economist) and they crunched the numbers (lots of them), and wage spending is actually a much better predictor of how many games a team will win. Arsenal are the perfect example of that. Low transfer outlay, high wage outlay, lots of games won. Unfortunately for purists, City are also spending a shitload on player wages.
Oh, and I agree that Man U not spending must have something to do with the suits halting the cash flow available to SAF. Everyone was talking Suarez to Man U during the WC, but now all that talk is gone and nothing happened. That’s not how SAF normally does things.
As for Chelsea, maybe Roman is feeling the pinch right now, or maybe Ancelotti thinks he can make do with what he has.
well, the pack has to catch Chelsea and United… between them, they’ve won the last 6 league titles, 3 each.
United lost Ronaldo and Tevez, and STILL finished in front of everyone else in the league, except Chelsea, and it came down to the last day of the season.
Chelsea, won the league, get one of their best players back with Essien, and brought in Benayoun. Yes, they’ve let a few players go, but I don’t think they are worse off… and we certainly haven’t done anything (YET) that makes me think we could catch them.
Why are you guys all salivating about JET?
Isnt that the guy who got drunk, drove, got chased by cops, crashed and totalled his inappropriately expensive car (for a youth teamer), and had to go to the ER??
I have never seen Wenger waste time on players like him. Infact yobs like him are probably the reason Wenger is so scared of English players. If he is getting up to this and driving a 150K car as a reserve, imagine what he would do as a first teamer.
I would be suprised if he makes it under Wenger. He is probably being put on the window sill to be sold.
folks need to latch onto a young player or two as “then next star” coming thru the ranks.
He hasn’t done anything special.
It’s the modern plague brought about because of the internet and blogs etc.
Players that would have been barely footnotes in George Graham’s reign are lauded as the next great thing.
Plus Arthur has some Mandingo fantasies when it comes to certain players ;)
LOL @ mandingo fantasies …
That plus the “Emmanuel” in his name really sets Arthur off! :-D
LOL! nice one Fred :-D
No Mazza it is you who has the man crushes. first Hleb now Ramsey :-P
Oh yeah he has Stag, scored a lot of special goals. Also captained the youth team in the first double in Arsenal’s history?
I have been keeping an eye on the reserves and youths for several years now. So if there is anything special I will have seen it, and I have seen it in JET, however he still has to develop into a more rounded player to achieve what is in fact massive potential.
Well, here is the thing about City I don’t understand – the team they will field come opening day has not practiced at all yet.
The other thing you have to wonder about is – how can they possibly get by the home grown rule this season? Most of their 1st teamers are not home grown and their home grown players are being sold off.
I am not lowering myself to thinking we have to hope for some rules glitch to get ’em. I really don’t believe they are going to be a winning team. They will likely finish anywhere from 4-6.
I was right about them last year and I will be right about them again this year. They simply do not have the intangibles in place to be considered champions in any way shape or form.
They aren’t building a team they are building a group of individuals who are all very talented but are more concerned with themselves. The best addition they have had is Jerome Boateng. Out of their four big ones – he is their best. There is some question about how Silva will hold up in the EPL and Ya Ya Toure while good you have to wonder if he was that good why did he get relegated to 3rd string at Barca?
I heard all this stuff when Chelsea started buying players and spending crazy money.
They can’t buy success… and here we are with Chelsea being a super-power in the EPL, and Arsenal on the outside looking in during the last 5 seasons.
Top 4 is A WINNING TEAM. or are Arsenal an absolute flop the past 5 years.
You can hate on the team, and signings, but we would be improved by Yaya, Silva or Boateng… so they will be as well.
What they do with their “extra 12” players? Haaa. should be fun to watch and see.
Yes, but Chelsea had Mourinho in charge which is a huge difference from Mancini. And Chelsea wasn’t going to have to gut their team to meet the home-grown rule.
“gut their team”?
they can just sell players they don’t really use, and there are about 10 of those…
not exactly “gutting the team”, when those going are little used.
Sorry, they may not necessarily need them, but when you have to dump 12 players, that’s a pretty big percentage of your team. Particularly when you have to find someone to take on some pretty exorbitant salaries. Not many teams are looking to add big numbers to their payroll right now.
Just finished watching Man City vs NY Red Bulls.
Man City were mostly made up of players not likely to be in the squad within the next 3 weeks – names like Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Jo, Bridge and Adebayour.
By EPL standards that’s still a pretty good team. Well they looked like shit. THere is no simply way to say it. Red Bulls controlled most of the game. Even against SPorting they looked awful.
I am going to say it – Mancini is not going to get this team regardless of its configuration over the hump. Will the improve. Probably. But they will not win the league with Mancini as the Manager.
Man City’s first priority is to win something. Once they do that they’re on their way. So they don’t need to win the EPL immediately, just win something.
To win the EPL they may need to appoint a professional winner like a Mourinho, Capello, or Hiddink. Thing is, they are very much capable of signing such a manager.
agree with Kiwi, they simply need to make the Top 4 first… and they were very close last season… or FA Cup?
they have the quality to do it, its just a matter of the right players becoming a cohesive unit…
with the talent they have, injuries become less of a factor… over the long English season. That’s a plus… as well as experienced players.
I think they’ll get into the Top 4 this season.
Win the league? I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them in with a chance come Spring.
Hell. Shay Given and Joe Hart are better keepers than we have.
Can we take one of them in their yard sale?
Post-invincibles, the last ‘team’ that started to emerge at Arsenal was the class of 2007/8. A core of Adebayor/Hleb/Cesc/Flamini. Every successful team has a core, a group of players that gel together and create a style, a pattern, a formation. That started to emerge in 2007/8. It’s probably no surprise that the midfield trio actually liked each other – they were friends and meshed on-field. Adebayor’s role was more one of utility – he was a useful foil, a player who whilst raw was good enough to do what strikers must – score goals. His spiteful exit will likely mask (perhaps forever blight) his potential.
Sadly, the emerging team was snuffed out. The roots weren’t deep enough. I still maintain the undoing was the lack of belief from the core itself, their doubts in the capacity of the squad to acheive success soon-ish. First Hleb and Flamini and then Adebayor left.
So, that’s all history (albeit recent), the question “is there a new core? I can’t see it. Can you? I can only finger a few players who have the capacity to step up and yet there seems little glue between them. Nasri, Song and Vermaelen look to me to be players that could be pivotal.
The matter of Cesc. Obviously Cesc is a player that should be at the heart of our team this coming season and for the next 10 years. So what would we have to do to make this happen?
Wenger’s waxing words won’t do it. At best, they’ll buy us a disappointing ‘exit season’ where we all mourn his coming departure. No, Cesc needs action. Cesc needs a team that he can feel excited about. Give him that and the Barcelona factor will become cloudy.
What needs to happen? Some is pragmatic, a filling of the holes we all see (like GK), yet some is also around making a statement of intent. Showing Cesc and the world that Arsenal are truly big. We don’t need to be silly, it can and should be targeted and limited, yet it needs to happen. Who? Why not Torres? He is Spanish, they have an affinity and that would resonate with Cesc. He would give us potency which we have lacked since Henry’s departure. He is everything we need in a striker. But would he come? Well, I think we have a window, he’s disillusioned with Liverpool, injured, had a disappointing WC, and yet seems to have enjoyed life in the EPL. Wenger won’t get the ‘I made him’ glory yet if he doesn’t do something like this I think his future is truly poked and his legacy will start to decline more quickly than people can anticipate.
while I would love to see Arsenal make a splash signing on a player of Torres’ caliber… there is a better chance of seeing christ, than Arsene and Arsenal spending 40 Million on a single player.
Indeed
Wow, Raul is set to leave Real Madrid for Schalke. I really thought he’d be a one-club man, but I guess w/ Mourinho cleaning house and at the age of 33 it’s time to move on for him.
That is a surprise I expected him to retire at Real.
The other surprise is his age, I thought he was about 102. I guess that’s what happens when you start at the top at 17.
Cesc will likely be the same, a guy who started at the top at 16-17 and may well play until he is 36. So for those who started following football say 5 years ago it will seem as though he has been around forever.
JET is just another performing circus seal at this point. Hence why Wenger has given him this carte blanche role as a pivot when he’s played in the first team.
He’s got great talent but has no concept of the basics, lacks any sort of physical stamina or ethic (don’t let the powerful frame fool you) and I don’t think he’ll cut the mustard here.
Wenger really needs to work out where he’s going now in terms of style of play. The likes of JET, Diaby, and Lansbury are simply not cut out to play top draw pass and move. Only Wilshere seems to be a genuine fit and even then it’s no guarantee.
That’s why I’m in favour of keeping Rosicky. He understands the type of football Wenger aspires to, and doesn’t have to adapt to it.
You may be right. Keep in mind that these guys are still kids. They are far from the finished product. There is a steep learning curve along with their physical maturation still to come.
I strongly disagree he is cut out to play top draw pass and move.
He is an intelligent player with the speed of thought and passing ability to play the Arsenal way. When you are dealing with potential anything can happen they can make it or totally disappear in few years. However I do think JET and Jack are a cut above the rest. Landsbury is another excellent prospect but another that plays in the Cesc/Ramsey role, unlike JET there are less holes in which his peg can fit.
What part of the basics doesn’t he understand?
So what is the status of players who are on a team’s books but are not included in the 25-man roster submitted to the league? Manchester City, for instance, currently have a whopping 37 players on the books… not including those in the reserves, academy, or out to loan. What happens to the extra 12?
City will have to sell 12 of their players.
Given how late it is and the sanctions that will be imposed they will have to sell quick.
Which means- cheep.
This is going to be interesting and fun to watch, if City have to sell off 12 players in 21 days.
:)
I’d take Bellamy for the 6 Million he’s been mentioned for… and I’d also take DeJong … he’d be a nice rotation player with Song…
But we won’t take on anyone… I’ll be happy if we get a keeper and sign Sol.
I think this might be why Arsenal don’t travel all the way to the US for their pre-season tour. There are just too many moving pieces. You can’t focus on football when this succession of things happen. It’s much more likely to happen coming to the US then going to Austria. Why run the risk of blowing your entire pre-season? What a disaster.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=810185&sec=england&cc=null
I know, its been such a terrible thing for Chelsea and United over the past 5 years…
They’ve only managed to win the league between the EVERY season.
we don’t want to ruin our run of Top 4 by coming to America!
Portsmouth with no money, no admistration, no infrastructure is COMPLETELY different from a bigger “company” like Arsenal, ManU, Chelsea, Liverpool or even Spurs.
First they get their kits missing … because they have no kits person. No big club has that problem.
They spent 28 hours getting to a game because they were flying commercial. The big clubs have their own dedicated planes and pilots. The only thing that delays them is the weather.
Portsmouth are not the type of club that should be going on tours abroad. So their experience is completely different from what a club like Arsenal would experience.
As a follow-up to our last thread – this is some clarifcation on the “home grown” rule.
The new rule is that each club must register a 25-man squad with the Premier League — including eight ‘home-grown’ players.
To qualify as one of the eight, players must have played at least three seasons before the age of 21 with a club affiliated to either the English or Welsh FA.
just read that City will have to unload up to 12 players to conform to this rule. don’t know who is running the management side of things, but they should be fired for being so incompetent. sheesh what a waste of money… maybe we can pick up someone for cheap?!? ;)
You missed 1 thing DAG, if the player has a British or Welsh passport he is instantly a home grown player regardless of length of service or where he played.
So….not a lot of news on the transfer front, it being Sunday and all, but I’m wondering what people think about the rumors out of Russia….
Last time AW went to a big tournament (Euro 2008) he (eventually) came back with the Russian player that impressed him most (Arshavin). This time at the WC he seemed to like Keisuke Honda (who plays for CSKA Moscow) and a couple of mentions about Rosicky heading that way have also popped up. Personally I thought also thought Honda was quite impressive and he showed a damn good left foot with the Jabulani (for those who think RVP shouldn’t be taken our left footed FKs/corners….) Plus, a Japanese star would be great for selling shirts and AW’s got to have various connections/language skills at his disposal…
Obviously we need more help further back, and there’s also mention of Igor Akinfeev as a potential “quality” GK signing (as opposed to Schwarzer). IMO he seems a bit slight of stature for the English league and I was pretty underwhelmed by his performances in the Russia-Slovenia matches that knocked Russia out of the WC. And I’m sure he wouldn’t come cheap either….
For “emotional” reasons, I’d like to see Rosicky have a solid, injury free season with us, and the small bit of the last friendly that I saw he was the guy popping into space and taking every other pass and keeping our offense going. Unfortunately we don’t have too many of those guys without major question marks (Cesc, Denilson, who else?) and Rosicky’s got his injury issues and his extreme right-footedness, so now (while he’s still walking….) might be the time to move him on….
Just curious what others think…
Steve, I believed the speculation that Arsene was interested in Akinfeev prior to signing Fabianski is true. Akinfeev appeared to have broken Arsene’ golden rule of silence by mouthing off that he was wanted to replace Jens as Arsenal’s No:1, obviously he was not so keen on the move then or he would have kept his mouth shut. He was eventually overlooked for Fabianski and I cannot see Wenger changing his mind now and “killing” Shez, Mannone and Fabianski all at the same time.
Honda would be a great buy especially as Eddy has gone but I cannot see Wenger pulling that off at this late stage even if he wanted to.
I would like to Rosicky back to his best this season as I think at his best he is a fantastic player and I have to concur with some the 2nd most creative and dynamic MF we have bar Cesc. But I had really high hopes for him last summer after watching him and seeing the apparent hunger. After he returned from his first injury after his return, he seems to hve lost that spark and has not regained it since.
Move Rosicky on? And replace him with who? that’s the question. If there is somebody we were willing to fork out on that has greater potential at least i.e Hazard then yes Tom could be allowed to leave. If not then a motivated Tom Tom will always help you go where you want to go :-)
Honda for Rosicky, Steve what do you think?
Well, that’s what I was suggesting….
Like I say, I would like to see Rosicky play a bunch this season AND be effective. Like so many have pointed out, he needs to shed the image we have of him as a Perma-crock. Of course, if everybody who plays in our attacking half is healthy some pretty good players are going to find it difficult to get playing time, and
Rosicky might be one of them.
The Russian season (I think) is on now and ends before the dead of Winter, making the January window a more likely time for a player like Honda to move. Googling him, however, shows a reported €13 million (£10.9m) offer from AC Milan. Given our “strong financial situation” we could go higher than that pretty easily if our current options aren’t cutting it and Honda is still available and agitating for a move come January.
But maybe there are people who’ve actually seen more of Honda that I have and don’t think he’s all that….
The biggest problem with signing Schwarzer is it’s getting late. We’re waiting for Fulham to get a new coach. Then they will have to get a new #1. If you were Fulham and couldn’t find someone of equal quality as Schwarzer, which will be nearly impossible this late in the summer, would you sell Schwarzer? It could still happen but that just seems very unlikely at this point.
Procrastination is in the water at Arsenal. Gallas waited until after the World Cup to handle his business and he still doesn’t have a team. Sol decided to plan his honeymoon during pre-season training and Sunderland signed Titus Bramble instead of waiting for Campbell. Even Celtic aren’t thinking about him anymore.
You can wait on depth players like when we signed Lassana Diara as you’re not depending on them to be a starter. But when you need a new starting keeper, why would you wait or try and bargain shop?
How about a loan-swap for Fabianski? (or Almunia or even Mannone who played a blinder there last season?)…..
The one thing nobody seems to be picking up on is that Schwarzer would be a “Player/Coach.” I think that the Coach element could be huge as communication seems distinctly lacking among our defenders/keepers and is a absolute must, esp. at set-pieces. I’ll never forget Sagna miming that Fabianski needed to talk (hand imitating a flapping mouth) after one of gaffes at Porto….And, supposedly Gallas was the main voice in many situations. With him gone and younger players ahead of whatever keeper we’ve got, consistent communication seems more essential than ever. So Schwarzer may not be much of a jump in quality from any of current keepers but the coaching element could, longer term, at least, be extremely helpful….Whenever we get him….
Koosh says he LOVES THE PHYSICAL GAME!
Arshavin trying to recruit Afinkeev!!
Wenger to have showdown talks with Cescy!!!
3 weeks until the start of the new season!!!!
LOL … the ONLY way to prove he “loves” the physical game is to do it with relish. Something I have never seen him do.
He needs to get into some good tackles … get into some real battles.
The “physical game” in the French lower leagues (with all their small, thin, slow, metrosexual, French white men :-D) is remarkably different from the physical game in the EPL.
If JET is that good, he should target CM, where he could easily surpass Deni and Diaby (notwithstanding Arsene’s pecking order).
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has looked impressive over the pre-season so far, looks like he will realise his potential after all, the only question is in which position?
I have been watching him since youth level. He is a great passer of the ball only Fran Merida was better if better at all. He has also got great technique, great dribbling ability for such a big lad and you will witness he is an intelligent player too, thinks quickly like Jack Wilshere.
He seems to have gained a lot of confidence since his loan at Blackpool where he scored a couple of special goals. I think he is the most exciting prospect we have alongside Wilshere.
Do you rate Ramsey as a prospect? While we will have to see how he returns from his injury – if all is right mentally with him – he will be one of the most exciting players we have in development.
JET is a big man who moves to the insideof the box real well.
I’ve been wondering what the latest news on Ramsey’s recovery is and I’m actually a bit surprised that he didn’t make the trip to Austria as I thought I’d heard that he was back on his feet (running?) as early as a couple of months ago. (And all runners can use a trip to the mountains to burn up their lungs).
I guess that even if he’s at that stage Arsenal/AW need to manage expectations about his return to action….This article, the most recent I could find, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/402962-arsenal-in-2010-11-aaron-ramseys-role-in-arsene-wengers-new-squad (from about 6 weeks ago) was suggesting a Sept. return, and announcing his signing of a new long-term deal. Hmmm….(Cue to kiwi and others who lament such practices….)
Personally, I’m still wondering about whether or not he needs a second surgery to remove supportive “hardware”. Any info? DAG/others?
No I don’t rate
Ramsey as a prospect, I think he is already established himself as an Arsenal first team player in comparison to Wilshere and JET.
“JET is a big man who moves to the insideof the box real well.” That is a bit simplistic for someone of your descriptive capabilities.
JET to me is not a striker and should be played in MF, his vision, passing range is fantastic second only to Merida in the reserves in my opinion. He has an eye for the killer ball and can deliver from distance too. He can score goals hence the decision to play him up front, but although he is big he is not that great in the air.
What lets him down in my opinion is his workrate, he probably does not cover enough ground to be a Wenger CM.
“he probably does not cover enough ground to be a Wenger CM”
Like Deni and Diaby? ;)
Deni covers a lot of ground, Diaby not so much but I suppose he can get away with it in the 4-3-3 as opposed to the 4-4-2.
I presume Wenger looks at JET in the same way he used to look at Song he believes he hasn’t got the stamina. I believe Wenger favours the box to box energetic types in the “old” 4-4-2 system the likes of Vieira, Petit and Flamini being the ideal.
Arsene has chosen to stick with the players he has left and build a formation around them. If JET can improve on his DF game and morph into a DM like what Diaby is trying to do then he can replace him. Otherwise he is suited like much of our up coming youngsters in the Cesc/Ramsey position.
He is obviously not ready to be replacing those two in the pecking order at anytime soon but may end up having a Diaby style upbringing playing all over the place to get experience before cementing a position in CM somewhere.
Jay Thomas is now what Diaby should have been a few years ago. I’ve always been critical of Diaby’s lack of vision. It was plain to see how his poor vision inhibited his game both offensively and defensively. I’ve always believed that if Diaby got his vision right, the sky would be the limit. He could be a world class player by now.
Thomas has the proper awareness, size, and skill to go on and achieve greatness. He may not be as gifted technically with the ball as Diaby but he’s close enough and still developing. Tactically, he appears several levels higher than Diaby, hence it seems easier for him to impose himself on the game.
Positionally, I always thought Diaby would be best behind the main striker. He didn’t have the vision to play CM or the pace to play out wide. He is only effective with the ball at his feet. Wenger actually played Diaby behind Baptista in a game and it was a disaster as Diaby’s lack of vision caused him to keep getting in Baptista’s way. Your front two have to be on the same page. Thomas is more dynamic and allows Wenger more flexibility. He could eventually morph into our long-awaited Vieira replacement. I think where Wenger eventually puts him will depend on the needs of the team; where there’s a weakness. I’m sure we’ll revisit to this conversation in the future.
Current squad sorted by the age at which they were signed by Arsenal.
28-30 -> None
25-28 -> Arsh, Mooney, Chamakh, Sicky
24-25 -> Kos, Sagna
23-24 -> Verma
22-23 -> Fab, Eboue
21-22 -> Nasri
20-21 -> RvP
19-20 -> Diaby
18-19 -> Vela, Deni, Clichy, Gibbs
17-18 -> Song, Ramsey
16-17 -> Theo, Traore, Bendy, Djo, Cesc
All players were signed from 1 Aug 2003 and onwards.
Wenger’s still trying to down-play the significance of Denilson and Bendtner’s groin injuries. These guys had groin injuries that kept them out of the squad for a good bit of the season last year. Clearly, these injuries are more significant than he realizes because he’s got two first team players out during the pre-season. Being stubborn isn’t all bad but you’ve got to learn.
Anybody notice that the might Flamini will be coming back to North London for The Emirates Cup? Do you guys think he’ll get booed like Adebayor or Cole? Reyes got a few boos last year but they didn’t appear hateful. In fact, he seemed to have fun with the fans back at The Emirates.
I was there Josh, they were hateful boos for Reyes, from all over the stadium, but at least they didn’t sing about his mum though.
Flamini will probably be booed as well, but he does have a greater affection for the club than Reyes did. Reyes looked quite surprised he was booed by the way.
Few rumours on other sites that Denilson could be off to Roma or Lazio next week. Here’s hoping ;)
These are clearly rumors. The likelihood of Denilson moving next week while he’s currently injured is ridiculous. Most clubs will respect how significant groin injuries can be.
A move to a less physically demanding league may suit Denilson. He simply doesn’t have the physical tools to dominate a BPL midfield on a consistent basis. Last season, he had a few good moments but had some bad ones as well. If he doesn’t have an improved season this year, Wenger may look to move him on next summer. We’ll see.
We couldn’t be so lucky as to have Denilson sold. I might actually begin to think there is a real change in direction if he goes.
It’s nice to see Eduardo thank the supporters. I think a lot of pro athletes don’t realize how much they mean to ordinary supporters. It may be silly to spend so much time obsessing over these individuals’ lives, these people who we have never met, and who have never heard of us. But Dudu seems to get it, and so it’s nice that he did this.
It reminds me so much of when Kerry Wood moved on from the Cubs. Both started with so much promise (a 20-K game as a 20 year-old) but moved on to start anew after significant injury problems. And much like Dudu, Kerry Wood took out a (probably expensive) full-page color ad in the Chicago Tribune to thank the Chicago fans for their support. I’m not a big baseball guy, but I’ll always remember that.
HOLY SHIT!!! Paddy Vieira may yet get to suit up for France one last time… they’ve suspended all 23 players who were at the World Cup! Their next game is a friendly against Norway, and Blanc will not be able to select any of those 23. I’m glad to see Blanc and the FFF show some balls here and make this decision. That squad deserves no better. The thing is, even with their 23 WC players unavailable, they can still put together a pretty good side. Diarra and Benzema are eligible, just to name a few.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6276279,00.html
And looking on the bright side – Sagna or Diaby can’t get hurt on international duty because they will be banned
Samir Nasri’s sure to be called up though. Maybe Flamini can get back into the team, too.
As for Joe Cole even with all the speculation I could not see why we would want to pay approx 100,000 per week for a player who has not proved he has much more if anymore talent than we already have in the wide positions of MF. It would be better we save the money and buy Hazard who has a massive upward curve to come.
Cole is a Chelsea fan but also a mercenary too it seems. He also strikes me as being the type of guy that would want more English teammates rather than sitting in a dressing room with a squad full of foreigners.
I will be sad to see Eddy go but like Andez and I discussed last season it was highly he would move on with his lack of first team football and evident new found fear of Premier League football.
Last season should have been a transitionary period in which he got him self into gear like most players take a season to gel, however I do not think he overcame that fear enough to be able to perform at his optimal for this season. What a shame because before his injury he showed what he had the potential to do once he gelled he would have done it on a more regular basis.
I cannot remember having any issues with his pace pre-injury either. No he was no Henry or Walcott but he could hold his own. I am not as sad to see Eddy go as I was Ade because Ade was more important to us and didn’t really want to leave, Eddy does for his own good.
I really hope Chamankh can get it together thgis season because we need someone to fill the HUGE gap Ade let behind ;-) as it appears Nicklas BD is not ready for it yet. Must say Chamankh has looked pathetic in the first two friendlies, he will need to improve so much to satisfy the insatiable modern Arsenal fan.
Ade, you are not forgotten absolute class mate :-D