And so it begins – sort of. Arsenal v Barnet
Well, Saturday 18 July begins what we hope is a long march to silverware this season. Okay not really, its our annual march up to meet League 2 side Barnett. Making the trip will be the following 21 players:
Manuel Almunia
Vito Mannone
William Gallas
Johan Djourou
Mikael Silvestre
Thomas Vermaelen
Tomas Rosicky
Andrey Arshavin
Jack Wilshere
Thomas Cruise
Craig Eastmond
Luke Ayling
Conor Henderson
Francis Coquelin
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Mark Randall
Emmanuel Frimpong
Gilles Sunu
Sanchez Watt
Jay Simpson
Nacer Barazite
The 21 players represent a fair mix of reserve-youth players and first teamers who need to get in to shape. It also marks the first return in 18 months of Tomas Rosicky to active duty. We’ll be watching to see how he handles even this match and see if he can return to the form that had us all enamored prior to his injury. This match is also our first opportunity to see recent signee Thomas Vermaelen play. I’ve been seeing pictures of this guy in training and if he is as much a beast as he looks – than our back four will get a little better.
Curious to see Andrei Arshavin on the list of players. Now maybe Arsene thinks he needs more conditioning – who knows. Just don’t want to see some League 2 twi go cleats up on him and have him out for 3 months.
All four pre-season matches are being shown live on Arsenal TV Online. The Barnet match is being played at Underhill Stadium and starts at 15:00 BST
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DAG,
It is obvious that Ade will provide the blogesphere with skuttle for years; but for Arsenal fans
its now time to move on.
I look at last season’s frustrations, my criticisms:
– defending free kicks launched into the box
– CB consistency
– midfield partner for Cesc
– back up for Cesc
So my hope you will start a post about how Wenger is seeking solutions (this transfer window).
Vermaielen, do you see his addtion a partial solution to the 1st two points?
What about midfield? Is Song and a fitter Diaby future mid-field partners with Cesc?
Rosicky or Nasri to be Cesc’s back up.
All this talk about bringing on a new striker – just don’t see that happening unless Eduardo
is still questionable.
Rosicky didn’t look two bad. Had some nice shots and some nice link ups with Arshavin.
The game was really slow paced and not to my liking. Even in a pre-season match Silvestre was attrocious being responsible for the first goal.
Couldn’t we have given Citeh him too?
Vermaelen looked okay. Though the real team 1 starters looked disinterested throughout.
me above..
Glad to see Rosicky atleast starting to play and he will probably have a few more minor niggles in the next month or so. I hope he can atleast start contributing regularly in the next few months.
The other transfer news is Zlatan going to Barca and Inter getting Eto’o, Hleb (on loan) and a whole whack of money. I know Inter thought that Zlatan was worth a lot of money (at one point Moratti said 80 million pounds) but it is amazing that Barca are paying around 45 million euros on top of sending Eto’s and Hleb.
Hleb must be very very happy. He can finally have that Italian gelato whose magic had enabled him to put in that great display against AC Milan :)
Awwww! No credit for my new Ade song?
– Brendan K
Adebayooor! Adebayooooooooor!
He is a money grubbing lazy whore!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article6719136.ece
AW doesn’t seem too broken up by Adebayor’s departure. I hope the talk of having “a big squad” is just to lower the prices that will certainly be demanded of us, now that clubs know we have money.
How was the game today? How did Rosicky look? How did Vermaelen look? Was Barnett an unstopable force?
A match, I’m so relieved to divert our attention away from Ade, who appears to have become the “Ali G” of football.
Whew – for a minute there – I got worried. Yes, somehow I think we all now it will happen.
“Rosicky, who was impressive and busy throughout a one-sided first half, was taken off at half time in what Arsene Wenger described as a ‘precautionary’ withdrawal. ”
Wenger:”Tomas felt a little twinge but it’s nothing. Really, nothing.”
You know it will happen.