What Arsene Did This Summer or Arsenal at a Glance
And Ahbooooehhhh Shall Lead Them to the Promised Land
Written by: CaribKid
UHMMMMMMM!
Let’s see what we have going on at Arsenal this pre-season.
Out: Senderos (free), Eduardo (£6M), Gallas (free), Silvestre (free), Luke Ayling (free) Francis Merida (free)
In: Chamakh (free), Koz (£8.5M)
Maybe Returning: Campbell
Current Injuries: Ramsey, Bendtner, Denilson
Returning Wounded: Djourou
If we lose Campbell along with Gallas and Silvestre we will have lost over 100 years of playing experience. Throw in Dudu and Almunia to that list and we would be in the 170 year range of losses. This would probably make us the youngest ever EPL squad with no players over 30.
The only player who has ever won anything major then would be Cesc, who played a minor role in the WC, albeit probably securing the Oscar for “Best Supporting Soccer Actor”. Our squad will also include 3 players who are union activists and may agitate work stoppages if Arsene doesn’t deploy them in their desired roles.
Up front we will be led by Mr. Fragile (RvP), EPL debutante (Chamakh), who apparently was forced to use Amunia’s hairdresser as a rites of rookie passage, and the father to be of a son ensconced in Danish royalty ( the mother being an old Danish baroness), none other than Real Madrid bound Nicolas Bendtner (a legend in his own mind). This will also be bolstered by Mr. Chip, Carlos Vela, a handsome young Mexican lad brimming with unfulfilled potential but very little to show for it at club level.
Our midfield will boast a slew of young and not so young, technically gifted, non aerial midgets, bolstered by the peaceful gargantuan, Ras Song and the Viera lookalike but not playalike, Abou Diaby. The £12M pre-pubescent signing (Messeur Walcott, Esq.) will attempt to not break any more shoulders and not run into blind alleys and ultimately becoming the next British media darling so he can screw his teammates’ wives and girlfriends and be elected national captain.
At the back, Arsenal will field their smallest and shortest ever line up with union activist and nominee for “Worst Hair Style Of The Century, Bacary Sagna and Calamity Clichey , both being 5’ 8” or less, as the bookends to the 5’ 11” Terminator (TV) and our other EPL debutante, the wiry, Franco/Polish Terminatee (Koscielny), who will hopefully add some weight and strength on his new diet of fish and chips.
In goal? Who gives a shit if they keep the metro sexual oaf, Almunia or the infinitely gifted but nervous Pole, Flapping Fabianski out of there. Here’s to Arsene getting drunk one evening on non-alcoholic beer and getting a vision to either start our other young Polish GK (he who does not have a vowel in his name) or actually buying a true, tried and tested option for once.
At the helm we are led by a 23 year old with Barca DNA who may well be off to the sunny climes of Catalonia next season, where he will not only represent the colors of their club, but also the nation of Catalonia when they secede from Spain. Leadership will also be inspired by our unparalleled cast of veterans, including the male model and fashion designer (AA), union activist Bacary Sagna, the esteemed Verminator (TV), and the oft injured Maestros, (TS and RvP). Such exceptional leaders can only serve to place us in line for a slew of wins this season so we can add something besides the Emirates Cup to our new trophy case.
I would absolutely love to hear your sane and rational opinions in response to this highly thought out and reasoned labor of love.
BTW DID I SAY TONGUE IN CHEEK?
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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.
I’m hoping Arsenal go for Winston Reid. Young Kiwi CB (just turned 22), playing in Denmark, very ‘mobile’, athletic and strong, 6ft 3in, calm, excelled at WC. I reckon he’d assimilate very quickly, he just looks like a guy who takes each step in his stride. He’s been linked to us, and Keown even liked him.
Vermaelen, Kos, Djourou, Reid – I reckon that could almost do it.
Another little NZ football interlude. The Wellington Phoenix (NZ’s only fully professional team) have just beaten Argentina’s Boca Juniors in a friendly. Not bad aye!? The NZ coach (Ricki Herbert) who also manages the Phoenix is proving to be quite a club/man-manager. Steve talked about stars aligning, well you get the sense that Herbert has a certain x-factor:
– he qualified NZ for the WC for only the 2nd time,
– he guided the Phoenix to the preliminary final (their best finish),
– he then guided the NZ team through the WC undefeated gaining real credibility in the process.
– the Phoenix knock over a South American giant (albeit in a friendly)
Hopefully NZ football will continue to grow – we just need a few more young players to sign for really serious clubs and to raise the bar of expectation.
maybe he’ll sign Gallas, he’s still available!
apparently wants too much for Pantha to pay… maybe Qatar will come calling.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see him start backtracking his stance towards Arsenal soon!
Hey, do you think any of those NZ clubs would want any of our youngsters? We could loan some of them out to make room for players who are, you know… old enough to drink.
anybody can drink in the UK!
There are just too many stars that would have to align…….It’s all too much…
___________________________
It’s funny to read your post Steve. It echo’s my feelings two years ago. When the Ade/Hleb/Fabregas/Flamini axis got flogged to a standstill and our challenge duly disintegrated, when we saw RvP and Rosicky break down yet again only to be joined by Eduardo as a chronic injury case, when at this critical juncture Wenger chose to do nothing, it was at that moment that whatever remained of my belief in Wenger’s competence evaporated. I expressed this at that time in the pre-season and got howled down by the then optimistic majority. Alas, the 2008 pre-season was for me (and for Arsenal) an epiphany.
Like you say Steve, too many stars need to align. It’s an unreasonable expectation. What we now know is that winning trophies is not as important to Wenger as it was. His mysterious ‘values’ and need to prove his strategy right have gazumped (more bonus points Vibe?) this basic reality. One by one I think we’re seeing the penny drop with supporters.
Joshua, Arsenal would be a massive step up for Mark Paston.
Whilst I’d be thrilled to have a NZer playing for Arsenal, I would have to say that signing him as no.1 would be a gamble. You simply couldn’t be sure as to how the transition would go. No.2, sure no problem, that would be a reasonable risk.
The goal keeping situation at Arsenal has become ridiculous, a circus.
I had the pleasure of observing David Seaman’s Arsenal career from day 1. For me he was and is the benchmark. For those who started following Arsenal during the Wenger era you only saw Seaman in his declining years. Before Wenger came Seaman was immense, a giant, in my mind the best I have ever seen. He had no weakness. I would pay 30m pounds for a 24 year old David Seaman today. He is that good. So….. Almunia, Flappy whatever. Lehmann – not even close to Seaman. David Seaman was unflappable a calming influence on his defence and team. Lehmann never was that.
The other aspect to this is the interaction between the keeper, the defence and the defensive balance in the team. Whilst we can single out the GK and rate them, it is also true to recognise that even a good keeper could have his confidence undermined playing behind a poor defence or in a team with poor defensive balance. I think Arsenal FC has progressively become a poorer team in this regard. We lack authority and cohesiveness in the CB’s, one FB is given to calamitous moments and the team is unbalanced between defence and attack. So in that sense I think the problem extends broader than just the GK.
We could sign a world class keeper and watch in horror as his confidence gets eroded by Wenger’s increasingly bizzare footballing philosophy.
I think Seaman was a fantastic keeper as well, but Lehmann was pretty damned solid.
…set-pieces aside
No Fred they are not realists neither are you, you and they are negative Nancy’s that are making judgements on someone you know nothing about, that you have seen for two halves. He was voted the best DF France last season? He has been scouted by one of the best managers for spotting talent in the world, the same man that bought us Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and the brilliant Brazillian Denilson ;-)
Although I must must admit I did have a flashback of Stephanovs whilst watching him. He doesn’t look like he will be able to cope with the likes of Drogba either.
But saying that Chamankh looked far worse than Kol’, Kol had so little to do, no one has written Cham off yet.People seem to forget Lehman was a complete clown when he came to Arsenal, full of gaffs. We were the first side to win a title with a shit GK. He improved immensely however butonly at his vey best do I rate him on the same level as seaman. I can only recall one season when I can say that he was that good.
I think the best GKs I have ever watsched in the premier English league would be Peter Shilton and Peter Smiechel though.
Hoping to chime in with a little goal post shifting and maybe just a bit of optimism. I’m probably rather naive, but not such a hippie…Although maybe I could use a shower here at 4:20, local time, this afternoon….
Our fearless leader (AW) is getting himself backed into a corner. (And we fear corners more than just about anything…) Guy Fawkes day at the Ally Pally will be nothing compared to the fireworks in Islington if we don’t get a new keeper. And it seems it’s all about getting ransomed for our GK player/coach (Schwarzer), who will organize our newbie defenders (and maybe biblical-aged Sol) with his booming Aussie accent. Whether or not he’s a jump in quality over Mooney or Flappy seems secondary to his potential to hold a space for Sneezy and get a Gallas-free (finally? good-riddance?) defense working in sync.
And if this is true than what is this season about? It would seem, at best, (and I admit to being taken somewhat out to sea by the tide of doom-mongering here amongst my fellow YAMAs) that Arsenal want to fight for that 3rd (or 4th place) trophy while grooming the aforementioned new-look central defense, hoping that our attack stays healthy and gets some goals and that someone (anyone?) steps into the giant zapatos of our Capitan who may or may not be with us, play his heart out for us, preserve his transfer value by actually playing or only suffering minor recurring injuries and coming in for a few sweet cameos (i.e., a redux of his previous campaign).
In other words…Transition, Baby, Transition….for that siren-song of a future which always looms, tantalizingly, on the horizon. You know, the dream where the young, dedicated Arsenal players all step up and become (somehow) world-class contributors, if not stars….
So, even a guy prone towards optimism (and kiwi is right about our emotions and desires clouding our judgment) doesn’t see much hope in the situation. There are just too many stars that would have to align. Cesc needs to return AND re-dedicate. (And I am not overly swayed by gratuitous displays of his hairless chest). Young potential needs to be realized or improved upon in players like Vela, Theo, Diaby, Nasri, Bendtner, Vermaelen and Song. Our new additions and long term injury types (Chamakh, Koosh, our new GK, Djourou, Rosicky, Ramsey, sleepwalking Andrey) need to slot in and produce immediately. It’s all too much….
I will say this, however….In my sporting life, the most amazing thing CAN (and for me, did) happen when young promising types arrive and displace established ones. In this post WC environment when some of Chelsea’s oldsters return in mild (Lampard, Drogba, etc.) or not so mild (Terry, Anelka) disgrace and have to rally the aching bones to defend their championship….well, it might present some opportunities for the teams that finished below them last time. Whether we’re making the moves necessary to step into that void (versus frugal United, or profligate City up in Manchester, or new-look ‘Pool or overreaching Spurs or maybe even more solid teams of lesser means like Villa or Everton) seems a very open question….
I will say that if anything bodes well for us this season, it is that the League looks to be at least (and potentially much much more) as wide-open as last season. None of the top 3 finishers from last year have done any considerable strengthening, Pool are still Pool, Spurs are still Spurs. City are the only ones who’ve done a lot and we all know they won’t win the league. I doubt we’ll win the league, but if we really do sign a GK and one more CB, while Man U refuse to spend and Chelsea gets one year older… well, you never know. Hope springs eternal. Thank god it does, or why else would we tune in?
umm, weirdly, part of your posting, isn’t showing…. to me! after “(and potentially much” I see a big blank space!
(and now it appeared!)
Pretty sure Chelsea has brought in a few players this Summer, they are hardly standing pat and going with their returning Championship team… and they get Essien back at some point… its like a “new signing”!
:)
Chelsea Ins:
Benayoun
Chelsea Out:
Rhys Taylor
Joe Cole
Ballack
Twumasi
Likely Departures:
A Cole (Real Madrid)
Belletti (Inter)
Deco (Brazil)
Man United Ins:
Smalling
Hernandez
Zieler
Heaton
Man United Out:
Gray
James
Frankly Chelsea look worse off for it and with the exception of Smalling there is nothing at United to make you go – wow they did something with their transfers.
you can’t seriously count Rhys Taylor and Twumasi as the equivalent of ANYTHING.
Ballack is older, so Beny makes them younger in the midfield.
Essien comes back.
I don’t think they are worse off at all.
Sorry.
You’ve got an excuse Steve, being a ‘Summer of Love’ Haight-Ashbury roamer ;)
Well whatever you think about the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga, you’ll probably find this email from the F365 mailbox to be very funny. I know I did. (Wish I could take credit for it):
“After reading David Villa also wants Cesc to join Barca I was wondering when ‘Barcelona player talks about Cesc’ stops being considered a news story?
When I turn on the news at ten I don’t expect the main story to be about the earlier sunset. The only difference between the two is that the sun only sets once a day, where as there is sometimes more than one member of Barcelona staff who will open their gob per day, so you’re actually reporting something less unexpected than sun set.”
Thank you, Kiwi. Paston. Mark Paston. That kid looked the business at the World Cup. Early thirties, not over-awed by the World Cup stage, competent, and damn near unbeatable in goal. If not for Paston, New Zealand would have gotten wiped in the World Cup. He looked good against Italy and Paraguay. He looked better than Almunia, Fabianski, and Schwarzer. What’s your honest take on this Paston? Is he any good?
Not to mention one of the ‘goals’ he let in was scored from an offisde position.
Funny how the HIPPIES at the Young Guns blogs are now unanimously agreeing that Koscielny is a “naive defender”, “does not tackle at all!”, “not up to scratch”, “too small”, “too slow”, “does not look up to scratch”, “he’ll be another stepanovs!”, …. and the ZINGER, “turns into a completely retarded zombie when the ball is in the air” …… oh ohhh!!
And these guys are not your run-of-the-mill “realists” like myself … they are the kind of Wenger-worshipers who think every kid in the academy is going to make it really big (one once claimed Eastmond would be better than Makelele in five years! :-D) … I guess thats a requirement for a being devoted to a youth team blog anyway.
One comment stuck though … what really is the difference between our 20 year old Havard Nordveit and Koscielny?? Both have ONE year of top flight experience … the Bundesliga is tougher though.
hasn’t kicked a ball in anger at the club, might not even start for the club… and you have this guy BURIED.
No Fred they are not realists neither are you, you and they are negative Nancy’s that are making judgements on someone you know nothing about, that you have seen for two halves. He was voted the best DF France last season? He has been scouted by one of the best managers for spotting talent in the world, the same man that bought us Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and the brilliant Brazillian Denilson ;-)
Although I must must admit I did have a flashback of Stephanovs whilst watching him. He doesn’t look like he will be able to cope with the likes of Drogba either.
But saying that Chamankh looked far worse than Kol’, Kol had so little to do, no one has written Cham off yet.
To be fair, Lehmann was getting increasingly nutty … but I knew right from the off that Almunia was atrocious. Remember he got the number 1 jersey twice from Lehmann and fucked both chances royally … yet everyone forgot about those the third time around.
I remember the Bolton game, early in 2005, when Almunia let Faye score at the near post. He got nowhere near the ball. The same thing happened with Eto’o in the CL final. After that, I knew that Almunia sucked.
I prefer the nutter who can be down-right brilliant most of the time to a guy who couldn’t get the basics right in tough games.
Let’s not get too misty-eyed about late model Jens Lehman. He was letting in soft goals at the beginning 0f 07, that had nothing to do with a wonky Achilles. He was pretty much forked.
The problem isn’t that Lehman didn’t stay at Arsenal longer. It’s that in three years, the Wizard still hasn’t found a way to replace him.
Joshua, I think you’re referring to Paston the New Zealand GK. He plays for the Wellington Phoenix in the Australia competition.
If a player who nobody has ever seen play is considered the best at Arsenal, then the situation is really really sad.
Josh, you were not the only one who said that Lehmann was better than Mooney. There were others too, like me. :)
Lehmann was better than Almunia, but Arsene took 3 years to realize that. Now Mooney is better than Flap, but Arsene may take another three years to realize it.
Don’t worry, the future is bright, we will have Szczesny in 2015. ;)
I think Wenger’s making a big mistake by not signing another striker. If he’s not willing to use Carlos or Theo as CF’s he needs to sign another striker. It seems a strange decision as lack of depth at CF was a bigger problem than even our keeper situation last year. He didn’t take Simpson to Austria so that leaves Jay Thomas as the next option on the pecking order. Maybe he’s ready to give Thomas a chance. Also, I’m willing to bet money that Bendtner’s not going to be ready by the start of the season.
Likewise, I just watched the Sturm Graz game this morning and both Djourou and Vermaelen looked very unconvincing in the first half. Sure, you could say that it was pre-season but it was also Sturm Graz. I don’t know, boys. The scorelines can be deceptive. We’ll see.
I think we are okay at striker for now Joshuad. I see Chamakh, RVP and Bendtner being used as central strikers and Vela, Arshavin or even Nasri and Rosicky being used to play in the advanced hole.
I do agree with you that NB may well not be fit for the season’s start, and if history follows true I think he may end up doing a Rosicky of 2 seasons ago and not be able to contribute for the entire season.
Even if NB is out for the season Artsene will probably not go out and get another striker, and then the following year NB will be “like a new signing”.
how many matches has the duo of Vermaelen and Djourou played together.
OK, in a Summer scrimmage they were unconvincing.
I wouldn’t be too concerned.
Keeper is the No.1 priority. Signing Sol or another CB, next… and I’d even put a DM ahead of another striker.
But we all have our wants… opinions. I don’t think scoring was the problem last season… not close to the give-a-way goals our keepers leaked.
In the ’07-’08 season, I made the claim that Lehmann was a better keeper than Almunia. Lehmann made a couple mistakes early in the season and many fans were of the belief that Lehmann was too far past it to be the #1. In fact, many of you called for an end to Lehmann because Almunia got quite a few good results. That was a good season as we had Almunia punching above his weight and a very good “backup” in Lehmann.
Well, I’m going to say it now and you can quote me, “Almunia is a better keeper than Fabianski”. Some can be swayed by their disdain for Almunia but I’d like to believe I can remain somewhat objective. Almunia made some mistakes last season; many I can actually empathize with. However, with Fabinaski, that kid does some stupid shit in the goal. Add to that, he’s a nervous wreck. Not a fan. For anyone who doubts me, I guarantee that Fabinaski will prove himself a walking disaster by Christmas.
There’s a bunch of talk about Schwarzer but Fulham don’t even have a coach yet. By the time they sign a coach, it will be too late for them to try and sign a new first choice keeper, unless the new coach doesn’t mind settling for David James and he’s still available. There’s about a 70% chance that we won’t have time to sign Schwarzer and we’ll start the season with Fabianski as our starting goalie. I simply don’t see us being able to make the Schwarzer deal happen in time.
BTW, I still like the Kiwi’s countryman that played in goal during the World Cup for New Zealand. That kid looked competent, composed, capable, and confident. I know you shouldn’t base too much on a player’s performance in a tournament but he was that impressive to me; second only to Casillas. He made it a tournament worth watching for New Zealand. What’s his name again, Kiwi?
Who on this board actually has the nerve to come out and admit that they were in favor of Wenger dropping Lehmann for Almunia back then?
I Have the nerve Joshuad. Having said that, I thought Lehman would have to go because his antics on the pitch was unsettling to a young team.
However, At that time I was pleading for Arsene to get Brad Friedel or some other available GK whose name slips me at the moment.
I’ll say it, too. Lehman was losing his composure more frequently. The act was getting old, distracting and becoming detrimental (10 men against Barca, anyone?).
I mistook Almunia’s ability as an instinctive shot-stopper for an all-around game (and a brain). I was wrong.
Now…anybody have the nerve to say ‘I am a hippy optimist and I have been wrong about almost everything for 5 years running.”?
You’ll be waiting a long time Vibe.
Firstly because the hippie optimists seemed to have retreated to the ‘dumb corner’ gradually over the past year or so, brain back-firing at the lack of any sort of culmination or peak to Wenger’s masterplan.
Secondly, if they did show up, expect some serious goal post manouvering.
Josh, (for me) the tipping point for Lehman’s career at Arsenal was his red card against Barca in the CL final. Mature keeper loses sight of the big picture!
Almunia does not have the basic technical skills, coordination, athleticism, nor mental strength to be our keeper.
32 years old and his positioning is poor, regularly failing to cover the near post.
No command of the goal box.
Poor hands for high balls into the box.
I doubt he has the respect of his teammates (nor coach).
He will progress only when he can make a fresh start at another club.
Almunia is better than Fabianski?
is that comforting?
they both are NOT No.1 Keepers, and should NOT be starting for Arsenal. If EITHER are the starter for this season, we are in for a repeat of the same shit from last season… letting in bad goals that the other big 6 or 7 teams do not have to worry about.
I liked Lehmann, but then again, I value experience in players.
Lehmann made a few mistakes that caused people to believe Almunia was a better option in goal. While his game was certainly in decline, I still considered Lehmann a better option than Almunia who, at best, was a good back-up. There’s a difference between making a few mistakes and bad goalkeeping. Even the best keepers make mistakes.
Wenger seems as if he’s done with Almunia and is hoping to get Schwarzer. I think Schwarzer wants to come but there may not be enough time to for Fulham to find a coach, then find a new #1. With Fabianski getting all the nods in the pre-season, he’s poised to be our starting keeper. I could be wrong but, for me, Fabianski isn’t even good enough to be our back-up. Atleast Almunia got us into the top four. Can Fabianski? Time always tells.
Fulham could have a new manager by the weekend, and just because it takes Arsenal a MONTH to sign somebody, other teams can do it in a week.
Schwarzer would have plenty of time to be at Arsenal for the start of the season, which is 3 weeks away.
“If a deal for Schwarzer can be reached, Almunia will almost certainly be allowed to quit the Emirates and could be followed out the exit door by Tomas Rosicky.
Midfielder Rosicky is a target for CSKA Moscow, as well as his former club Borussia Dortmund, but a deal could be complicated because of his poor injury record at Arsenal.”
________________________________
On Schwarzer/Almunia – are we that lowly that we can’t nail the deal and move on? Surely it’s in everyones best interest to sort this early.
On Rosicky – that would be like christmas.
Next…. Theo anyone?
Quite honestly we could lose Eduardo, Rosicky and Walcott and it would have a net positive impact on the squad. De-clutterisation. None of them have added any value for the last 2 seasons.
I’d be happy to go in with:
RvP, Chamakh, Bendtner
Arshavin, Nasri, Wilshere
If Robin’s fitness falters again before Christmas, have a number of targets to pursue in the window.
Nowhere for anyone to hide in that attacking squad.
I somehow still like Rosicky and think he is one of the few potential leaders in the squad.
Even if he plays a bit role, I would still welcome him.
Now then, Walcott is something else entirely. Although him being of Jamaican parentage leads me to be somewhat biased, the lad needs to go play wide receiver with the NY jets so he can talk to Thierry and earn some cash.
And I understand why you have a soft spot for Tomas CK.
You’ll notice I’ve acquiesced by allowing RvP in the squad. For me it’s about balance. You simply can’t carry too many ‘questions marks’. We have for too long.
Tomas isn’t going anywhere. I read an article (not sure how legit) that said Everton tried to throw in Rosicky as part of the deal for Jagielka. Prophetically, Arsenal told Everton to go fuck themselves.
that’s too bad, if he needed a ride up to the Liverpool area, I would have tried to arrange one!
Rosicky and cash for Jags.
Yes. Please.
Fulham is not selling Schwarzer until they get a manager… so the manager can make a decision on HIS team.
Makes perfect sense to me, giving your new manager input on players.
Wenger could move on any of 10 other keepers that would improve the squad, but he probably won’t get them for the 4 Million it takes to get Schwarzer. It’s about money with Arsenal. Always.
Henry had a nice one on one with Cudicinni which got stopped. Another time he nearly pulled a beautiful spin move on a defender.
He is going to shred the MLS and do for it what Beckham was supposed to
And Henry scores against Spurs – again.
By the way Henry took public transportation to the match (the Path).
Is that the thing from NJ? I don’t know the area well, but Titi… in Jersey? Come on! He should have a swanky penthouse apartment on the east side. (East side is the rich(er) part of Manhattan, right?)
awesome!
of course he did.
Henry lives in NY City. The PATH goes from Penn station,NY straight to the Meadowlands where the game was played.
Did that many times in the past , but in reverse, since I lived in NJ.
I was certain he would do that. Arsenal DNA and all :) just wish others in the current squad were like him….
And Henry scoring must have made Robbie Keane believe that he was playing against Arsenal as he also scored.
Arseblog just tweeted:
“If we start the season with Fabianski as number 1 I’ll make an Arsecast with me weeping for half an hour. It’ll be easy.”
John Cross at the Mirror is reporting Sol is set to sign his Arsenal contract. John has been bang on with his reporting – breaking the Chamakh deal in May before it went down.
He is also reporting that Almunia will not be the starting Keeper – with Schwarzer the preferred choice (lack of a manager at Fulham is holding up a deal).
Also even with Sol signed with John is saying that Wenger is looking to bring in another CB.
If we signed a serious CB option to partner Vermaelen then having Kos, Djourou and Sol as back up sounds about right. If we go into the season without that ‘serious’ signing we’re shot before we start.
Sol simply can’t play back-to-back games the way an Arsenal CB needs to. Djourou has never been close to being a starter and his body looks suspect. That means Kos is the only serious replacement if one of the starters is out for anything more than a niggle.
Sol’s value is more holistic in that we hope his presence can compensate for the coaching staffs defensive lack.
I would be happier if we went with Vermaelen, Koosh, Djourou, Sol and a youngster as 5th choice… AND a NEW KEEPER.
If we sign Sol, I think a keeper is THE most important piece to the puzzle.
Would I like another CB with some experience at this level, like Jagielka? HELL YES, but I just don’t think Wenger will bring in more and more new faces…
but please, we have to have a new No.1 Keeper… its a MUST.
God, I hope you (and Cross) are right! I would be ecstatic if we brought in a GK and another CB.
There’s no merit in rationalising why Eduardo was demonised after the Celtic incident. We all know he wasn’t a persistent diver. Just more bad luck for the young man after his horrible injury. That’s all you can say.
I too wish good things and a great time for him at Shakhtar.
I checked in to the 7am site and read Tim eulogise Eduardo as one of the Arsenal Greats. That has to be up there as one of the more retarded comments I have read in a long time. On a personal level anyone can put forward a player as one of their favourites (some love Eboue), that’s a persons right, but to call him a Great? The guy never got past the ‘bedding in’ stage at the club before he was the victim of a thuggish challenge.
Perhaps this illustrates again how many supporters are simply guided by emotion, the substance of just what a player actually contributes to the club is largely irrelevant. When I think recent ‘Great forwards’ I think Bergkamp and Henry and Wright…. Eduardo????? I don’t want to labour or overly define the term but it just shows to me again how this theatre of sport just drips in rabib sentimentality.
If you spend as much time on Wikipedia as I do, you may have noticed the admins at the place sometimes put labels at the top of certain articles. Labels such as “This article needs to be proofread for spelling and grammar” or “This article documents a current event and may not be up to date.” Stuff like that.
Well one of the labels they put on articles is “This article suffers from Recentism. Please address this.”
Recentism, meaning the article may cover a subject that has a 200-year history, but 50% of the article is dedicated to the first 190 years and the other 50% is dedicated to the last 10 years.
We tend to assign greater importance to people and events that have happened more recently than to ones that happened long ago. Sports tend to suffer from recentism more than anything else if you ask me. (And I’m not talking about Wikipedia here, just the way people talk about and remember things).
When Arsenal did their 50 greatest-ever players thing, recent players made up more than their fair share of the list since people assign greater importance to them.
In 10 years, no one will think of Eduardo as an Arsenal Great, not even Tim. Only the truly good players and games stand the test of time.
In 10 years, no one will think of Eduardo as an Arsenal Great,….
_________________
….or perhaps in 10 days
Well said though.
That’s a product of media. The simple fact is that most people haven’t seen any of the older teams play. I’m pretty sure there isn’t even much footage of them doing so. You can’t say for sure whether a person was any good if you haven’t seen them and must rely on hearsay.
Kiwi, I think Tim’s comment of Dudu as great isn’t that far off because the definition of great has changed under Wenger. Sure, in another life time the word great was used for DB, PV, Henry or my fav Pires. But the new generation brings a different standard. Wenger used to say he won’t sign a player unless he is world class. Meaning he believes the squad he has is already world class. So if the average players in this arsenal team are world class, then calling Eduardo a great is actually an insult :)
When it comes to the modern day Arsenal, no standard can ever be low enough.
When it comes to the modern day Arsenal, no standard can ever be low enough.
_________________
ouch!!
Eduardo an Arsenal great? in no respect is this factual!
tell me what was great about him, or his play?
it’s farcical.
Ummm, I don’t really remember Eduardo being “vilified” for getting
his leg broken… must have missed that.
His dive against Celtic, well… he, along with ANYONE who pulls that
shit should be posterized in Trafalgar Square under the caption “CHEAT!”…
The diving and theatrics ruin the sport… I think only Dempsey does the occasional flop for the US team, which is why I like watching us play… and Dempsey probably picked up the routine playing in England.
I wish Eduardo all the best, but as Josh said, it is probably
in his best professional interest to move on…
I hope he lights it up, and has a great season.
We sold him for 20% less than we bought him for, according to what I heard on SkySports… right now, I’d have taken that too.
We have to sell before we can buy… who else can we jettison to
try and keep the financial score-sheet even?
Come on, it’s not like he’s Eboue out htere. He dove once and I wouldn’t even say it was that egregious of a dive – more like he was trying to get out of the way and f**ked it up. Yet the British press treats him like he strangled the Queen Mother in Trafalgar Square.
It’s not only the fact that they hanged him for doing it once, but that they don’t say a word about other players doing it week-in, week-out in more important matches. Like when, say… Rooney dives to get a PK at Old Trafford which prevents Arsenal from reaching 50 games unbeaten.
Hell, Eboue dives all the time and that’s hardly ever mentioned. Never understood what all the Eduardo hate was about.
Really?
he was diving to get out of the way?
REALLY?
He DOVE TO GET A F’N PENALTY.
Really?
more important matches?
Ummm, CELTIC supporters would say the match was MASSIVE. It cost them any realistic chance at going on to the CL groups.
That’s a big match.
Eboue dives all the time, and I mention it all the time, and his “fans” think its no big deal.
Was Eduardo a serial diver? Like too many star players in England and Europe? No, I don’t think so, but he like others, went down a bit too easy to get calls.
It is too well accepted in football. The refs have to really start carding players for diving, and SUSPENDING them if it is egregious… as in, the replay showed it was a dive, and he got a penalty for the dive, then the league SUSPENDS HIM for 2 matches.
Like wise, the HACK-AN-ARSENAL PLAYER shit… if you hack down a player with a vicious Eduardo/Ramsey type foul… 19 game suspension (1/2 season)…
I think that’d stop the shit pretty quickly.
Here’s an excellent piece that is pointing out Fleet Street’s unfair treatment of Eduardo: first they “canonize St. Taylor” as the article puts it, then they make Eduardo the bad guy of that story, then vilify him for diving against an SPL team in a CL qualifier, while they make no mention of dives week-in, week-out in EPL games. And to top it all off, the tabloids are now waxing on about his failure in England, as if it’s entirely his own fault.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_6274415,00.html
It is the std anti-foreigner fare.
I assume the English are still pissed at Croatia knocking them out of Euro2008.
Nip, the guy who takes the free kicks could be the same guys, depending on the team rules. Sometimes, a coach will leave it to the players or the captain to make that determination.
When Henry was at Arsenal and it was within 45 meters of goal, he took all the freekicks; direct, indirect, corners, etc. The emergence of van Persie gave us a potent left-footed option to Henry exclusives. I’ve seen Kolo Toure, as captain, releive Fabregas of FK duties during an FA Cup game and pass that on to Denilson because Cesc was having a bad day. The first time I saw Toure hit a FK was in the ’06 AFCON. I was like holy shite, because I’d watched him play every week for like four years at Arsenal and never knew he could do that. I never saw him take a free kick for Arsenal until the Barcelona game. When Fab was injured last season, Denilson got his chance to show he could knock a lovely FK. Now, with no Fab, Nasri’s gotten his chance to showcase what he can do in a game.
It all depends on the team rules and who’s available. We’ve seen Arsenal designate Fab and van Persie as FK takers, full stop. They’ve even got a short corner routine. We’ve also seen Man Utd have Giggs, Ronaldo, Nani, and Rooney all standing over the ball discussing it. Xavi takes nearly all of Barca’s FK’s. It all depends.
I don’t care who takes it. I care how many we score. Last season, Cesc scored 1 and Denilson once. Maybe RvP but have never seen him curl the ball over the wall and into the goal.
When others can do it, they should be given the chance. It is like a penalty kick. If you can’t score, then you change the player who takes it.
Agred, Nip. I’m just saying…
Maybe Fabregas and van Persie are the best two we’ve got. I’ve never been to an Arsenal training session and don’t know the whole story. Maybe Nasri only hit’s that one out of ten times, whereas Fabregas can hit that 4 out of 10.
Ah, the classic Arsene way of judging players – show me what you can do on the training pitch; don’t matter what happens in actual games.
With Mooney and Flap in goal, I am sure even I can hit them in training. ;)
Remind me the last time RvP scored in an actual game? My memory says home game against Sunderland in the 08-09 season !!!
What would you do differently?
Stop RvP from taking all free kicks and give others a chance.
To be honest, his free kick ability is over-rated.
He hits them really hard but always in the far corner. Any decent gk should be able to stop it.
We need folks who can curl the ball over the wall. Never seen RvP do it. Only Cesc, Deni and Nasri have done it. So they should be taking more.
This was the same issue when Henry was playing. He would take all of them. So Pires and Reyes, both of whom could take good free kicks, never got a chance. At least, Henry knew how to curl the ball and would score quite often.
In RvP’s case, that is not true.
To me, it appears a case of seniority wins.
In his heyday, I have seen RVP bend the ball with pace over and around the wall. In the last two seasons he has been both woeful and unlucky. He has hit the woodwork on quite a few occasions, but I have also seen him time and time again hit straight into the wall or into the stands.
Neither Cesc or Denilson really has a good free kick on goal as neither hits the ball with any venom but relies mainly on placement. Any good GK, unless he is wrong footed, will save a placed shot which has no sting.
Nasri’s free kick was the best I have seen taken for Arsenal since RVP’s some 3 seasons ago.
Also, a la Barca, Xavi takes most of their kicks but tends to put it in an area where other players can attack it rather than going for goal.
Spot on Carib. The best FK taker we have when he is on form. But Nasri was known for taking Fks in France and i remember him taking few for us early on in his career, maybe Perse was injured or it was in a friendly. We appear to have a few options for FKs maybe the alternatives should be used more often.
Eduardo leaves with a classy message to Arsenal and
its supporters:
—-
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.
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.
—-
good luck Eduardo.
As much as I hate to say it, Eddie needed to leave. At his age, he needs to find his top form and being playing weekly. That’s unlikely in the BPL and behind van Persie and Chamakh.
He also needed to leave because, despite being soft spoken, he’d been villified (not sure I spelled that right) in the English media. He was the bad guy for the Taylor tackle. He was the bad guy for the dive against Celtic. That’s quite a bit of press for a guy who didn’t have too much to say.
I think it was a tough decision for Wenger to release him, knowing what the kid is capable of. However, I think Arsenal releasing him was the best thing for him; personally and professionally.
Good luck, Eddie.
@Chicagogooner
Any English or Welsh player, regardless of age and/or length of service, is considered to be home grown.
Also, a simple test of a foreign player is anyone who has been signed up to age 18 and has played 3 seasons is also considered to be homegrown. Say that we sign X at age 18 and he has only two years service, he would not be eligible this season but would be eligible next season. However, because he is under 21 he could be included in the squad because he is under 21.
Funny how several blogs are already noticing Koscielny looks “relatively weak” and accusing him of not putting in tackles! Denilson redux?
Arseblog is saying he looks “quite small indeed” … what the hell does that mean? … he is TALLER than Gallas, Toure and Vermaelen!
Again this is just the second game of the pre-season … maybe just warming up and is gonna show us his toughness soon.
Maybe he meant thin? Not sure because I think he’s 6’2″ or something like that. I’ve read some comments from people on message boards that watch Ligue 1 (I don’t) who say he’s a pretty good tackler and very tenacious. Hopefully that’s true.
Bitching about team selection and the lack of players brought is one thing – and it’s justifiable – but bitching because Arsene doesn’t prepare the night before on an opponent’s pitch is just looking for something to bitch about.
:-)
Highlights of the Graz game.
http://redlondon.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/video-sk-sturm-graz-0-3-arsenal/
Notice how Arsene already has his head in his hands. Isn’t it too early for that? Or is he blinded by all the talent and potential on the pitch? :)
Also, notice how Narsi scores a lovely goal from a free kick, actually curling the ball over the wall. But he will never take a free kick in an actual game that matters. No, Samir, you are not allowed to score like that. You have to actually pass 100 times before you can even think of shooting. :(
I’ve never heard Koosh’s name pronounced, but based on the spelling my best guess is something like this (keep in mind I know zero French words):
Cos-see-el-nee
(Kos-ci-el-ny)
According to Wikipedia, he has not decided which country to play for yet. He is eligible for both France and Poland. If he ends up liking it at Arsenal, he better pick France, or Arsene will sell him in a heartbeat for not being a true Frenchman.
You don’t have to know French to pronounce his name CG, it’s Polish. :)
My name for him is “cooch”.
Liam Brady has taken over the youth team and Neil Banfield as been promoted to a first team coach. Does anyone know anything about Banfield and his background?
Importantly he won’t question Wenger’s approach.
!!
if he questions anything, he’ll be demoted or fired!
not worried what we paid for Koosh.
right now, he’s either 2nd or 3rd choice CB (if 3rd it’d be Djourou 2nd)…
I am not going to complain when Wenger actually DOES buy a player over 16 – 18 years old, who has played some top flight football…
If Wenger liked him enough to pay 10 Million, BRAVO.
Just tell me WHO’s NEXT coming in? WHO’s PLAYING KEEPER?
What I don’t want to hear, is an Abbott and Costello routine… who’s at CB? I don’t know?… KEEPER?!
Who’s playing keeper?
Why Manuel Almunia of course.
Wenger-speak
13 July
“Eduardo is an Arsenal player and I am expecting a lot from him this season,” Wenger told Sportske Novosti. “He had a terrible injury – he went through hell – but I think his workrate is fantastic and his determination, which is exceptional, will be of great use to Arsenal.”
22 July
AFC website reports the sale of Eduardo
As the Native American Indian often said about his European invaders, “White man speaks with forked tongue”.
Hell Kiwi, what did Arsene say wrong?
Pay attention.
Arsene said – “Eduardo is an Arsenal player and I am expecting a lot from him this season, ……. will be of great use to Arsenal.”
All of 6M GBP !!!
You need to read between the lines.
;)
It’s kind of sad when you can’t take anything he says at face value.
Of course, we understand the need for managers to be circumspect in their comments, yet does he actually say anything of any interest to Arsenal supporters these days? Anything? Serously is there any utterance that makes you think – Aha! that’s interesting, I see where we’re going?
When your successful and foreign you can get away with mysterious word-plays (Wenger 1996-2004), take away the success and it simply rings loud as empty nonsense and sub defuse.
I have no issue with Wenger’s actions this summer both with players out (Dudu, Gallas, Campbell,Sly, Senderos) and in (Cham and Kos). Yet…. knowing his and his teams weakness he simply hasn’t done enough to compensate for the dross that remains and the gaps that have existed for five seasons.
He’ll be in a pickle. If(when) Fabregas leaves he’ll be without a mega-star. Forget Robin van Persie, he can’t play half a season. Who’s the next object of Wenger’s affection? Nasri? Ramsey would have been in the running yet he got Dudu’d. The rest aren’t even close.
Nice stadium though, and we do have our values.
That was neat CK, it’s good and necessary to have a laugh.
I also liked DT’s “In Arsene we rust”, absolute classic.
I note Fred’s reference in the previous thread that Koscielny may have cost a lot less than K10m. This does make sense from a valuation perspective. It does though raise questions. If he is a relative cheapie, then Vermaelen aside, who are the starters and the serious backup CB’s? Just further evidence that Wenger truly couldn’t give a rats about the concept of defence. Keep laughing.
If Koscielny cost that less, then I can easily foresee that Wenger will spend double the amount on a 17 year old this summer and then immediately loan him out. The money is there but only for young kids ready to be loaned out to benefit other teams.
Thanks guys,
I just thought we really needed to have a good laugh, and I was actually sober when I wrote it. Imagine if I’d had a few :)
Nice article CK. Do I thank you or DAG for these wonderful lines :)
And Ahbooooehhhh Shall Lead Them to the Promised Land
Yes it has come down to this. From the stuff of dreams to pure myth.
Maybe this season might be prove to the final chapter in Arsènal: the unmaking of a super-club and then next summer, a new project titled Arsenal: the rebuilding of a former superclub can start.
Also hearing that Arsenal are offering Schwarzer a player coach role. The only issue holding up the deal is Fulham signing a new manager.
I read that, and sure… I can see Wenger’s thinking.
He’s relatively cheap, plays for 1 or 2 years, is a coach to his wonderful young keepers in the team.
All positives for Arsene.
Deal for Eduardo is done – he has been unveiled at Shaktar. Curious fact – prior to the injury Dudu’s strike rate was around 23% after the injury it was 6.3%
Liked Dudu and wish him the best.
Good luck to Eduardo. I hope he continues to heal well, and scored a hatful for his new team.
6 Million in the Arsenal bank account!
CHA-CHING!!!!!!
yeeeeeees.
(its like a big goal scored)
its like Pac-Man…
with every profitable sale eating up the debt… wakawakawakawaka…
No one even bothers questioning why we continue going to Austria EVERY season. Just a continuation of our we are “too good” to go on tours like the rest of ’em attitude. Other clubs go on tours and still have more success.
Then again, an argument can be made that without the Austrian trip we might not even make top 4! :-D
————————————————
Current team remains:
GK: Almunia, Fabianski, Mannone, Woz
LB: Clichy, Gibbs, Traore
RB: Sagna, Eboue
CB: Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djorou, Nordveit
DM/CM: Song, Diaby, Denilson, Ramsey***
AM: Nasri, Rosicky, Wilshere
WG: Arshavin, Walcott, Vela
ST: RvP, Chamakh, Bendtner
Without counting Fabregas or Ramsey AND assuming Woz will go on loan that is already 24 players, and remember we have to register 25 first team players with the league starting this season.
Therein lies the problem. For Wenger to actually buy, he NEEDS to sell one of his babies first. Literally. Because they are clogging up the roster!!!
There is just one space, which can be used for getting in a new CB, maybe Campbell.
But he needs to sell Almunia to make room for a new goalie.
He needs to sell one of Denilson, Diaby or Rosicky, if he wants to bring in a new midfielder.
Fred, it is not like that.
It is 25 players with at least 8 home grown. Which essentially means, maximum 17 outsiders. Any number of home grown are fine, even if the total goes beyond 25.
There is a nice article on UA explaining it.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/2010/05/arsenals-squad-for-next-season-no-restriction-on-the-number-of-new-players/
Home grown does not mean English (if I remember) it has to be 8 players who came through the club’s academy.
If not from England or Wakes, home grown is considered to be with the Arsenal academy for 3 years prior to turning 21.
We are stocked for many years to come. Merida would have qualified for home grown, as is Cesc, etc.
So does an English or Welsh player automatically count as “home-grown” even in their first year with the club? Or is it just less of a threshold, i.e. 1 or 2 years?
I have questioned why we go to Austria EVERY season… and folks always point to Arsene’s and Arsenal’s success.
No distractions, we don’t need the tours, and YES, they said that the fatiugue suffered by ManU & Chelsea with the US and Asian trips is a big negative.
I would imagine Arsenal will be in Colorado in the next few years for Summer training. One can only hope so…
We get nothing from the Austrian trip financially, and we haven’t won in … years, so its not a big positive in any sense.
Arsenal wouldn’t exactly be swamped in the US…
Just your typical Wenger bullshit. Like not training in the ground of the opposition the night before a game and becoming more enamoured with players the more mistakes they make.
One month to go… Not very optimistic about the new season. Probably the first time since I started supporting them some 10/11 or so years ago.
Watched most of the WC in Spain. Unfortunately couldn’t stay for the finals (Urghhh! they do know how to party…) I suppose I can empathise with Cesc, that said though, lost a fair bit of love for our captain (htSteve knows what I’m on about). Barcelona is a beautiful city and they do love their club but my god they’ve been utter cocks bout this whole thing. Anyway, I still think Cesc is going to stay for one more year, and a Cesc at 80% would still walk into any team in this league.
I think everyone here (and Arsenal fans elsewhere) have resigned themselves to our current situation. I myself am steeling myself for the very real possibility that we’ll be joining the ‘chasing pack’ this season. I only hope that the foundation we have laid, especially financially, allows us to come back sooner rather than later.
ps- Some quality football would be nice as well. No guarantees there either though
The only photo of Almunia in the Austria pictures is of him watching the ball go into goal. :D
#6 in http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/33575/pre-season-training-exclusive-pictures
And Fab about to watch one go through his legs. ;-)
“Our midfield will boast a slew of young and not so young, technically gifted, non aerial midgets, bolstered by the peaceful gargantuan, Ras Song and the Viera lookalike but not playalike, Abou Diaby. The £12M pre-pubescent signing (Messeur Walcott, Esq.) will attempt to not break any more shoulders and not run into blind alleys”
Really good stuff, CK. I agree with, nip. I’d rather laugh with the sinners, than cry with the saints.
(And now, Arsene, I think I’ve quoted Billy fecking Joel. You drove me to this!!!)
One of the comments on DannyT’s AT site has a new slogan –
“In Arsene, we rust”. :)
HA! ;-)
Lovely article, CaribKid. Couldn’t stop laughing.
I am enjoying not taking Arsenal seriously. That is the best (and possibly only) way forward. :)
I am hence forth referring to Koscielny as Koosh since his last name is too hard to prounounce.
Maybe we need to call him “cooch” instead, until he proves he’s no pussy cat. :)