A video to cheer up the saddest of Arsenal fans

Beeeeerrrriliant

A brilliant video and a timely reminder that the boys are capable of surprising us. However I will stress that we wont Adebayor playing this week (probably) and Utd will have rooney, tevez, berbatov and a much improved Ronaldo. Not forgetting Carrick, nani and Anderson.

Im hoping for a win, but if someone gave me a draw now i would take it.

I’m looking forward to Saturday. Neither team has made a brilliant start to the campaign- Man U started badly and have improved recently, we’ve been lukewarm throughout so far. We’re a point behind them, albeit having played an extra game. We’re all low after this last weeks events, including the players, but Saturday will show us if Wenger’s losing his touch or not. Will he be able to get the players to stop feeling sorry for themselves and show some of the mental strength he keeps insisting they’ve got? Or will we collapse the way we did last season after the setback at Birmingham? This is a defining moment for both the members of this team and the manager. What we need more than anything this weekend is performances of guts, determination and passion from the players. I want to see them fighting for every ball, getting into Utd’s faces and imposing themselves. I want to see them rattling Utd the way Hull did in the last 10 mins last weekend. I want them to answer those of us who questioned this week whether they care enough about Arsenal. I’d love to see us win the game, and a draw would be an acceptable result. I’ve accepted over the last few weeks that we’re probably not good enough to win the league this year- fair enough. But we need to get that 4th place as a minimum, and I want to see us fight tooth and nail to get it. If we lose on Saturday to a team that’s better than us, but we go down fighting all the way I’ll hit the beers Saturday night knowing we’d done all we could. If we capitulate softly like we did against Spurs and Stoke I’ll know we’ve got serious problems.

PS: @ Gunnercesc4- stick with it son, I’ve been riding the Arsenal rollercoaster since 1970 (when I was 5). I’ve seen plenty of ups and downs, but I’ll tell you this: you’ll get to see more trophies soon enough. It may take a little more patience, but we’ll be back on top soon enough. Think about those poor Spurs boys, who were celebrating so much last week- they haven’t won the league since 1961, that’s 47 years! And they probably won’t win it again for another 47!

On Saturday, before the Stoke game, I said that as a test of the players’ mental strength, of which we have heard so much, largely the same team as faced Spurs should go out at put things right against Stoke. And other than the crazy tinkering in midfield, that was mostly the case.

Unfortunately, it quite spectacularly didn’t work. Rather than using the Spurs debacle as inspiration to go out and send a message to the doubters, they proceeded to show a complete lack of fight and allow many in the media to roll out their ‘I told you so’ line.

We now move into November, a month where we are traditionally extremely weak. It is so often the worst month of our season – whether it is the intense ‘every three day’ cycle of games, the cold snap, or just plain coincidence, something about the month sees us slip up. In 2006, we picked up four points from four games, losing at West Ham and Bolton, in 2004, we managed two from three, drawing with WBA and Crystal Palace and losing to Liverpool, and the pattern continues the further you go back.

This season has the potential to be another nightmare. Already with the Stoke loss opening the month, the rest of our league games are against United, Villa, Man City and Chelsea. All may end the season in the top six.

The saving grace is that the first two are at home, giving the crowd a chance to lift the players and set the season going again. And that is what is needed now. Yes, we need a centre back, and yes, we certainly need central midfielders, but we aren’t going to get them for at least two more months, so back the players we have. They have the talent, they have the potential, and at a time when they aren’t surrounded by the experience needed to guide them through, they need support from the fans instead.

Fenerbahce tomorrow night are a perfect example of that – their fans truly are a twelfth man. If ours can be on Saturday, United might be in for a surprise.

I fink Arsenal should win if not draw against man u.
Against fenerbache we need to win

I will admit that this goals allowed (GA) number is a bit problematic. It’s very early in the season for one, Arsenal could tighten up their defense and keep a couple of clean sheets and turn around their GA average. For example, Chelsea are currently on pace to only allow 13 goals which would be a runaway best ever but only allowing 13 goals in a season is not realistic.

The other problem with the GA is that, historically, the team with the stingiest defense doesn’t always win the league, it’s only a pretty good predictor, and it completely falls apart when trying to nail down the top 4 spots.

And really, isn’t it just a wonkish way of saying “Arsenal need to tighten their defense?” Which we all already know. I don’t know a single person who thinks that Arsenal can score their way to the League title, I mean apart from Arsene Wenger.

The club do need to figure out a way to tighten up the defense and some people think bringing Keown in will help. Given that Tony Adams revealed that Arsene has targeted the former Arsenal defender the people and the press might be on to something.

Personally, I’m not hopeful. Every three days Arsenal are linked with so and so and such and such and every third day the link is broken. I think the press just like messing with us Arsenal supporters. Of course I think Keown would be a great help — anything has to be better than what Pat Rice is teaching them.

What I do think Arsenal could do is regain some of the fire that they had last year and the year before. I don’t mean that fire that gets you sent off for a simple tease, I mean the kind of fire that sees you close down, tackle hard, win the ball back, and generally frustrate your opponent. That’s going to be difficult since Arsenal have a lot of matches and such a small squad but I think they can do it, right now, with the players they have.

It starts right there in the middle of the park and it starts first with Cesc. I’m not having a go at Cesc, I’m just saying that this season has shown his weaknesses. This isn’t the same kid who fearlessly tackled Patrick Vieira and took the ball off him. This isn’t the same kid who stood up to Fat Frank in the Carling Cup final. He’s looked pretty poor this season but worse, he’s looked disinterested at times and I’m not certain that he strikes fear into our opponents any more. Maybe he’ll never be that type of player, or maybe he’s just in a slump right now. Either way Wenger needs to shake him out of his current condition.

Standing next to him on most days is either Denilson or Song. I happen to believe that both of these young men have the physical ability to play the role that Flamini played last year. Interestingly, on evidence of the games I have seen them play in, they also have the technical ability to play the roles. What these two seem to lack is that intimidation factor that the position really needs. But, again, that’s something that Arsene could bring out of them: show them a video of Patrick Vieira’s greatest moments and say to them “alright, Son, go get em.”

At this point, that’s what I would do. I would have a chat with Cesc and get his head on straight and I would turn Denilson and Song loose. So what if they get a few red cards? Vieira did. So what if they make mistakes? Vieira did. At this point there’s no one to buy, so we need those two young men to play with wanton abandon and drag this team up.

Add in a fresh defensive coaching perspective to the mix of a loosened Denilson and Song and I think we could see that something special that Arsene keeps telling us that we have.

Ok, well, enough Football Manager I’m seriously on verge of turning into a cocksandwich with this post. Up next is Fenerbahce, who are struggling at least as much as we are having just conceded two late goals to give a “lesser” opponent a draw and also losing one of their most influential players to injury. They should make a good foil for Arsenal right now and I’m looking forward to the game on Wednesday. I’m not sure we’ll be able to see the match over here in the states since the only game that I can say for certain is being broadcast right now is the Juve v. Real Madrid match. So, stay tuned for an update on that.

OK, well, that’s that… Turn the boys loose, Arsene, let them run riot over the Turks!

@ Rilub: have to disagree about Denilson having the physical ability to be decent DM. He’s more a creative player, we need someone with bollocks. Have a look at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL_bZAdOKhk . It’s Lorik Cana from Marseille. He’s what we need protecting the back four and leaving Cesc to do what he does best.

I say, why not Denilson? I know he seems more like the deeper-sitting Fabregas, but his build isn’t much different to Flamini if at all.

He just needs to work on his strength and balance. Look at Makelele, one of the smallest holdings mids I’ve ever seen, and yet, so effective.

With reference to Man Utd, I hope this is like the match when we beat them 1-0 away a few years back, having started awfully losing to Man City and drawing with Villa (I think). Like the other anonymous poster, I’m from Australia as well and one of my dreams is to watch a game at the Grove (the other ones being to play for and captain Arsenal :P), and it is sad that the fans who do go, don’t always support the players.

@Josh: Denilson’s a young lad, so will get stronger but this will take time and time is something we don’t have. We need to look for someone in January, but if anyone from the current squad is to fill the gap, for me it’s got to be Song. He’s naturally big and strong and he understands how to best protect central defenders, having experience of playing there himself. His distribution is good and he’s got a good engine.

Fair points vinny

Not sure if we can pull of a win, but im hopeful after all we were in a worse position wen we faced them in that game, we hadn’t won in the league before we played united in that game. I feel the gunners have something to prove and they will want to prove it against united!

Spurs are no after yaya so we will be in a bidding war and who do you think we win a new manager at a club that blew 80 mill on players in the summer or arsne who won’t buy anyone over the age of 20? i think the cl is our realistic chance of silverware this season and I’ll love us to win it as no team from london has so it will be nice to have that to gloat with against the chavs. Plus to point out we are the only english team to beat both inter and ac at the san siro and win at the beurnaba against real. Also we are the only pl team to be in the cl 8 yrs straight and if we don’t get in next year maybe that is a clue we are going backwards but I’m not expecting big players to come in this summer and it’s rare that someone settles in like sagna straight away and also bischoff scored in the reserves and looks fit apperently so we might have a hidden weapon as no-one knows anything about him so he knows what we want and need so the lad might step up and we all said who? with raised eyebrows to henry, viera, clichy, sagna, ade and cesc when they came.

@ Rilub ; The game is on Setanta in the States.

I’m gutted. Can’t understand why I couldn’t find Spuds or Stoke matches anywhere to watch.

What can I say but thanks! Most needed in this, our hour of darkness!
Sure did cheer me up!

Thanks again!

this is the spirit the boys need to bring tomorrow i believe that they do get up for the big gmae all we need to do is FINISH and we will win this game no doubt. WENGER 4 LIFE!!!!!!

we will die hard as gunners funs