Today is the fourth in a series of posts reviewing Arsenal’s 2008/09 season. Last week I reviewed the performances of our goalkeepers and defenders and on Tuesday it was the midfielders. Today it’s the attackers.
Carlos Vela
It’s been a season of good progress for Carlos Vela. Despite having limited opportunities he scored a memorable hat-trick in the Carling Cup game against Sheffield and opened his Premier League account with a fine goal against Portsmouth. The Mexican’s major attributes have been his pace and a rare ability to finish with calmness and confidence. He has made the chipped finish his trademark and one would expect it’s only going to get better next season.
Eduardo
Season 08/09 can be considered a success for Eduardo for the simple reason that he was able to play again. Since breaking his leg against Birmingham in the last campaign there were fears that he would struggle to return as the same player, but two goals and a very tidy performance against Cardiff in his first game back showed a player who looks every bit as good as he has been in the past.
Very expectedly – at least by the manager – Eduardo suffered from a number of minor tweaks that minimized his impact after that thrilling return against Cardiff. However, his performances were strong when he was able to play and with the chance to participate in full pre-season to fine-tune those problems I feel he is set for a big impact in 09/10. Should Emmanuel Adebayor depart (more on him in a second) then it’s possible that Eduardo could start as first-choice next season alongside Robin van Persie.
Nicklas Bendtner
He may have been the butt of many jokes in the Arsenal community but a goal tally of 15 from 27 shows it hasn’t been a bad year for Nicklas Bendtner. The difficult thing about the Dane’s style of play is that, at this stage of his career, the negative aspects of his game are far more noticeable than his positives. It’s easy to mock his awkward/clumsy movement and criticize his tendency to finish erratically but that downplays the obvious trouble he causes opposing defenders and effort he is putting in to get in the right positions in the first place.
In the earlier part of the season when the team was struggling Bendtner was hugely criticised by the Arsenal supporters for a number of abject performances and I think it says a great deal about his character that he was able to fight back. Although he was used too often on the wing by the manager this season Bendtner has taken some big steps forward and developed into a very capable back-up striker.
Robin van Persie
This is the first season that Robin van Persie has got through without missing a huge chunk of it through injury and it showed. He may have only scored 9 league goals (18 in all competitions) but van Persie was responsible for a huge number of assists and showed his class by bagging two excellent goals to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Despite enjoying a strong season it must be said that he was far from perfect. Too often van Persie drifted out of games and a lack of pace in attack was evident when he was not paired with Adebayor. Meanwhile it wouldn’t hurt if the coach had a word with him about his finishing because numerous opportunities were wasted by his persistence to choose power over precision.
I think it’s fair to say that next season is a huge one in the career of van Persie. He has developed into one of the leaders in the squad and given the likelihood that Adebayor will leave I feel it’s vital that he takes his game to the next level. His propensity to sustain injury remains a worry but van Persie needs to improve on his consistency and finishing if he is to become a top, top striker next season.
Emmanuel Adebayor
The less said about him the better, but as this is a season review it would negligent to look past the contribution made by Emmanuel Adebayor this season. The Togolese striker won a lot of fans last season with in excess of 30 goals and a series of gut-busting all-action displays, but this time around things were markedly different. From the moment he was involved in a messy contract dispute with the club and threatened to go to AC Milan or Barcelona, Adebayor lost a lot of the fans he had previously won over and his performances on the pitch deteriorated as well.
It would be incorrect to say Adebayor had a poor season because he simply didn’t. He had some good moments, particularly that amazing goal against Villarreal and was very strong in the early part of the campaign. However, after demanding that he be ‘paid like Henry’ he fell well short of the level required and – absolutely inexcusably – his general effort tailed off near the end of the season. At times it seemed like he had simply given up trying and his recent interview on BBC’s Football Focus backed up that opinion.
There is a very real possibility that Adebayor will be sold in the summer and as much as it would be a shame to see him go it’s reached the point where it would probably be best both the player and the club. On his day he can trouble the best defenders in the world with his pace and power but as the two legs against United showed, when he’s not up for it he can be lazy and anonymous. If he does stay on then the manager has a job to do getting him motivated and playing for the team again because another season like the one just gone would be unacceptable.
Changes required?
Regardless of whether Adebayor goes, I feel we have enough strength up front. There is some merit in the suggestion that Adebayor should be replaced but I would much rather see the money from his sale go towards two quality additions in midfield or defence than splashed on another striker.
Van Persie has shown he can make it through a season without sustaining injury while Bendtner has improved significantly and is ready to step into Adebayor’s shoes. Add to that Eduardo – who will be absolutely raring to go and could have a massive impact next season – and Andrey Arshavin – who could well be moved to the support striker role – and we have at four players who can be trusted to get the job done.
Anyway, that’s pretty much it for today’s post aside from some spiffy photos of Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott wearing the new Arsenal away kit. Personally I really like it, but I think I’m in the minority. What do you think?
Have your say on Part 4 of the Arsenal Season Review or the new away kit by leaving a comment.
Generally agree with your comments SF, but (surprise surprise!), I don’t think Bendtner is ready to directly replace Adebayor. With the financial situation as it is, I think this is what will happen, but Nik’s clumsy first touch and inability to hold the ball up mean, IMO, he’s just not ready. I agree the potential’s there, and I especially think the point about his postiioning and running off the ball have improved immeasurably this season, but the awful finishing in the home leg against Roma, amongst many others, tell me that he doesn’t yet have the composure to be relied upon to score the goals we’ll need. We’ll see the best of Bendtner in 2-3 years time. At a club with a deeper squad, he would be allowed to mature slowly, with guidance and support from an experienced player ahead of him, getting his chances in early cup rounds against slightly weaker opposition, or half an hour against teams we’re two up against. With the paucity of our resources, this won’t be the case. Hey-ho, I hope he proves me wrong. Players do sometimes improve quickly following a sustained period of slower development, Song being a prime example.
To me Van Persie has been a bit of a disappointment. I agree with you about his value as a provider, but finishing-wise he’s a man who can hit a football very hard with his left peg. What else does he have in his locker? For a tall lad, he’s crap in the air (that abject header recently in the league game at Old Trafford demonstates), and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him shoot with his right boot. This makes it easy for opposing defenders to deal with him- they all know he’ll try to tee up on his left. Several times this season, I’ve seen expereienced defenders simply show him out to the right and he’s ineffective. His return of 9 league goals is poor. You’re right, he needs to show much more consistency and subtlety if he is to be regarded as a great striker. One other thing: I’ve made this poinr before, but why is it that RvP insists on taking corners and free kicks on the left hand side? He’s supposed to be a finisher, getting on the end of them, not out wide taking the bloody things. OK, if a free kick is in a position where he can shoot on goal fine, but it seems a dreadful waste that he’s out taking corners instead of scoring goals from them. Anyone else agree?
I think we all agree that Adebayor should go. His attitude stinks and we’ll be better off without him.
I agree that Eduardo looked sharp when he played against Cardiff, and with a pre-season behind him, I’m really excited about seeing him back at his best.
Hopefully Vela will get more chances next season, and we’ll get a better idea of what he can do.
Overall, I agree with you that we’re reasonably strong up front, but I worry about Bendtner being our only target man. Can he adequately play the lone striker role when we play 4-5-1 (which we do a lot)? I don’t think so.
Sorry, above comment from the Fatboy!
sf,just wondered if you knew the last time arsenal,s top goalscorer ended the season with only 10 league goals?
Thank you, Spanish. Actually I think you’ve a tad undersold our attack. Surely in Van P, Bendtner, Eduardo, Vela and, yes, Adebeyor we have 5 of the best and most exciting strikers in the Prem. No? Wouldn’t almost any of the other Premier League clubs stick any of these guys in their starting line-ups. Yes?
I am very very happy with our attackers. Arsenal under Arsene has always scored a lot of goals and it’s been pretty much the same this season. Give the strikers a bit more service and they’ll be cracking them in. Van Persie has dynamite in his boots and does a lot more than just score. Nicklas is a big arial threat and is getting bigger and stronger all the time. Eduardo is an ice man in front of goal. That side-footed goal was unbelievable.
Vela is so crafty and fast with it.
And Ade – well, I disagree with Fatboy. I don’t think he should go and I don’t want him to go.I want him to stay and get back to cracking in goals like last seasons gem against Spurs.
Plus you can add Arshavin to the list. Anyone who can score four goals in a match (against Liverpool!) is a striker in my eyes.
Now if Walcott and Fabregas can get their shooting boots back on too…Christ!
So does Arshavin classify as a winger then? It does for me, you think that way too SF.
Hows the weather in Brisbane? Seen some crap storms on the news lately
If you pick up a newspaper in France, you may read the story about Blaise Matuidi – I’ve had a few French contacts talking about this today.
Here’s a bit of background. We’ve been scouting Matuidi for several years, since Damien Comolli was in that role for us in fact. Well, Comolli is now St. Etienne’s director of football, who are Matuidi current club. And Arsene has been in contact with the former Arsenal scout.
Apparently, he has an agreement with Saint Etienne that he can talk to Arsenal at the end of the season, which is now… I’m not one for idle speculation, but there may just be something in this.
Basically, he is a very good ball winning midfielder – he’s got good stature and looks like he’d fit into the team. He’s more mobile that Song, has more presence and is very similar to Essien. I hope that sums it up well enough
I also really hope Adebayor stays. He gives our strike force versatility with his height and also is a key to the depth we need our squad to have to challenge next season. For this reason I think if Ade is sold we need to replace him. Perhaps not like for like in terms of talent or price but at least to be a useful squad player. Not replacing players that left is what got us in this position in the first place!
In regards to the team overall i think our attack is as good as any teams, we just need to add that extra strength and stability in defence and in a defensive midfielder, to ensure a strong performance in all areas and hopefully will lead to trophies.
Almost all people who have watched Arsenal this season have said the same thing so hopefully Arsene and Gazidis noticed also and are going to do something about it!
I would prefer it if Adebayor stayed, if only because I’m tired of people calling us a selling club. In Ade’s defence, he has been asked to play up front on his own a lot this season, particularly in big games in which Fabregas wasn’t always there to feed him balls. His strong point is definitely NOT finishing and definitely NOT taking on defenders, so he’s a pretty good target man who is capable of 30+ a season if the service to him is good enough. Repairs in the midfield and a regular strike partner might enhance his game next year, but whether his attitude and relationship with the fans can be mended is another matter.
I think Vela will have a big season next year. Maybe the only way that can happen it to let Ade disappear, but having on the bench is really quite comforting.
Hilariously, Bendtner has scored the same amount of league goals as Spurs’ Messiah Robbie Keane this year – despite playing 700 fewer minutes. I love that fact. He is fine as a backup player, it’ll be good to keep him in order to maintain some depth. He was linked with a move away though in January, so who knows? If we lost him AND Ade, I’d be thoroughly disappointed. But if he went on his own, Vela is an able replacement.
RvP kept our heads above water after January. I don’t think we managed to score a goal that he didn’t finish or assist. I think he’s a quality player, capable of some amazing things.
isn’t Ade th top scorer this season? (correct if wrong). considering tht he was out for close to 2 months, tht is an achievement u shld have at least pointed out SF!
I repeat, if Ade is sold, arsenal will not challenge convincingly nxt season. just think of who could replace him. Bentdner, too slow nd not yet there, eduardo nd arshavin r great strikers but they are tiny nd will be kicked around in th EPL, RVP is too slow, bad in th air nd he just didn’t step up this season, walcot is fast enough but again lack in physique! all am saying is tht Ade has all th qualities expected in an EPL striker nd letting him go will b a mistake unless he’s replaced by a Torres or Rooney or Drogba like striker.
I agree tht Ade lacks in discipline nd maturity off th pitch but it is easier tweaking him than buying another striker.
SF, u were sport-on on th other strikers!
@ totaly agree with you SF, except for Ade, he must go if he still wants to be paid with the same wages,I even see RVP deserving more wages than him regarding of this season’s performance, he must accept lower wages than its OK.
Ill put my full trust on RVP and Bendie,having Arshavin as an assistant striker and Rosicky placed as a winger.If Ade stays, its better but this is my best line up for next year:
——–ALMUNIA—–
SAGNA-TOURE-GALLAS-CLICHY
———SONG———–
WALCOTT–CESC——ROSICKY
——-ARSHAVIN(driftin from left or right)
———RVP———-
Shud we play 4-4-2, then Le Boss will play around between Nasri(Rosicky),the Dane,Dudu, Vela(As striker), Eboue,LilGibbs,Djourou,Diaby(more likely not to be selected to me).
I dont really have Ade and Deni part of my 09/10 plan but who knows?? Le Boss is the decision taker, we cant do anything, we can only wish.
@ Fatboy – Fair enough with your thoughts on Bendtner. In my opinion I think he’s a little bit more ready than you think he is, but maybe not quite as ready as you think I think he is. If that makes sense.
I think if given a chance he could really surprise us but in a perfect world I would probably like to see van Persie and Arshavin start us our front pair next season with Eduardo the first-choice replacement and Bendtner next.
@ georgetown – I have absolutely no idea mate. The season’s not over yet though!
@ GPS Justin – I classify Arshavin as a support striker. It’s clear from his comments that he wants to play there and I think, depending on whether Adebayor is sold, he’ll start there behind van Persie/Bendtner next season.
enemyairships – Thanks for the comments about Bendtner/Keane. That is a hilarious statistic 🙂
@ knightman – Some fair points on Adebayor but I think his whole season has been coloured by his lack of effort when it came to the crunch. The worst thing about it is how much respect I had for Adebayor at the start of the season and how things have faded since then. He’s a great player when he wants to be, in my opinon, and like you said he is our top scorer but you HAVE to expect more from a player who gave far more to the team last season.
@ rilub – I just googled that Blaise Matuidi you’re talking about. There’s a Sun article from October last year linking him to us. Thing is, he’s only 5 foot six ins. according to Wikipedia and since we need a defensive midfielder I reckon he’s a bit on the short side. Neither Arshavin, Nasri, Walcott or Fabregas are tall. I really think we need a bigger lad there.
@ Hey Nonny Mouse – Flamini was a short-arse. I have no issues with a short guy as long as he plays like an Ox.
@Sf,I still have a little fear about DUDU, asthough he has made a massive come-back, im a bit hesitating with my choice.I saw him not really as fast as he used to be, dunno, who can predict whats gonna happen after his rehab???
As for Bendie, he’ll better be satying as a back up striker to me,we got enough power on our midfld to line up 4-5-1 especially having Rosicky back would be wonderful to me (One of my best Arsenal winger), so id stick to RVP alone upfront supported by Arsha as you stated.
Look at my line-up, I think this is a deadly one to crash any team.
Adebayor is our top scorer in the league this year, he’s netted ten goals, but overall as a team Arsenal have scored ten fewer than last season (with a game to go). Interestingly, Man Utd have scored 13 fewer than last season. I think the league has made it much more difficult to score goals this season, thanks to how tight it’s been. There might not be any shame in his goal tally then!
Even the top scorer this year will finish at least ten goals shy of last years golden boot winner.
New away kit certainly isn’t bad… Of coarse you like it Spanish Fry, you retro bastard.
Ade has had a poor season and I would be disappointed to see him leave against that background when he is a player with great ability. Wenger needs to get inside his head.
Nik for all his rawness has scored some important goals – the winner against Kiev being the pick
RvP ? Someone once told me he was a dead ball specialist but I cannot rember when he last scored from free kick – Any ideas anyone ?
AS for the away kit I hate it, – blue is an unforgivable colour, unforgivable – and as for “style” it was clearly designed by the same team that brought the PRIMARK senior citizens leisure range to the market.
The extraordinary thing is someone actually got paid for that design 🙂
To be copitative in the next season arsenal should have buy new exprienced player unless it is difficult to compite with the others. so the board and coach should have do these assigment properly
well said SF,well said.Esp the part of high possibility of Adebayor leaving,i feel we have good strikers in the form of Eduardo and Van P though Van P should improve massively.
As for the money,it should buy anotha lethal defender and/or anotha midfielder.Arshavin can play both roles well so no problem.Adebayor should improve b4 he goes wherever he’ll go.O’wise he myt find himself warming that bench start-end of season.Hleb can bear me witness 2 that.
Well I think adebayor should go, people are right to say he has scored some magical goals including some this season, that one against sp**s last season was very special. On his negatives, he is always offside, he has been very lazy, he talks the game but doesn’t play the game he says he is going to. Henry who Ade was supposed to replace scored 30 goals a season and also set up loads, I don’t think Adebayor has ever been able to replace Henry and with Ade with him gone it will give the other guys a chance to shine. Ade scored a load last year but we were flying at the time and he was getting quick passes through the middle, what striker wouldn’t have scored?
On to the kit, Arseblogger doesn’t like it but I do and would certainly buy it. Question to you Aussies, how much in UK pounds is to buy. It goes on sale for £40 in June from the Arsenal shop.
I think with Adebayor gone, Carlos Vela will be given more options, and maybe we will keep Jay Simpson and he will be last-choice striker and CC starter. I think RVP and Eduardo would be great striker line and of course we have Arsha too but I think he impacts the game better on the wing than upfront but when Arsha plays, Walcott or Nasri will miss out so AW can try it in pre-season and see how its works, Bendtner has improved greatly and while I dont think he should start 38 league games next season, I would like to see him appear in most of them. Walcott may also be used upfront if he is too follow in Henrys footsteps however I like him on the wing. Next season Vela should be scoring for fun, he has great technical ability, calmness in the box and his chips are just great. Rvp, Eduardo or Arsha to start upfront, AW has a lot to experiment with in pre-season, plus I like the blue kit, I have seen green and white rumoured kits that i hated and this is actually a nice kit. I think ours and liverpools are both very nice, our keeper kit is ok, much nicer than liverpools which is all yellow but I do like it and will be buying it.
@ Dally – Kits are always around AUS$120, which is about 50 pounds I believe. They’re fecking expensive, in other words.
Spot on SF. I can’t really think to add to much more. Shame about Ade. Last year he had an almost Tevez like work rate but that all but disappeared this season.
Oh and I love the new away kit. I think it looks smashing.
Hey, Spanish, according to Wikipedia Flamini is 5 foot 10 which I wouldn’t cal short. I know what you mean though – but remember, we didn’t win anything with Flamini either. I think as we have quite a few not particularly tall players we could do with one, especially as a defensive focused person. Gareth Barry’s 6 foot. That’s the kind of geezer I’d like to see slotting in there. We don’t really need another, nippy, kind of player. We want someone solid. Song’s getting there but he isn’t there yet and won’t be good enough to get us through next season.
If Ade’s head is on straight, I’d like him back. If not, I agree that AW should sell him and plow the cash back into midfield and/or defense. And we don’t need any “stars” in those 2 places – we need tough men with strong personalities. GO GUNNERS!
yeah song is getting better but with the acn in jan we will be missing him and thats why we should sell ade as he will be gone also. Really like the new kit and if you wait till aug/oct you can get really good replica shirts from ebay as I’m not one for sweatshop labour but my friend got me a fabregas shirt from an arsenal shop in thailand for about $20 but it doesn’t have the sweat technology thing you can on the original.
@SF
Thanks for the info, I have just put my order in plus i get a free beach ball, bag and wallet. I don’t actually want the shirt just the freebie stuff. I am fortunate that I have the post office forwarding all my post to me in Turkey so I don’t even have to pay the extra postage. Not sure what the wife will say when this turns up though.
Times have changed when I was a kid my Arsenal kit was plain yellow socks, plain blue shorts and a plain yellow t-shirt, but I still thought I was Liam Brady, unfortuneatly I didn’t play like him.
@ dally that was my 1st kit it was about 25 years ago and had the blue cannon with afc under it I found that picture of me wearing it a few years ago and I didn’t know I supported arsenal back then haha. I’ve been following them since the gg days properly though.
So glad that the disgustign 08/09 away kit has been replaced. However, i still miss the 07/08 home kit. The design resembles the colours on the Arsenal crest.
As for Adebayor, i think he would be more beneficial in giving AW funds to bolster the squad which he described as the weakest he has ever seen. We just have to pray he dosent go to some rival BPL club and hits top form again. That would be puerly embarrassing for Arsenal. However, i do feel Ade needs to be replaced. We simply cant depend on an inexperienced, still-maturing striker to lead the line on his own. The kid still needs be an under-study striker.
Wenger should purchase English talent though as they form the spine of the team. How can we be called an English side when there are only 2 young Englishmen in the squad only.
Wenger priority: 1. Sell Adebayor for at least €25 mil 2. Use the €50 mil to get a world-class striker, a physical CDM and a CB that is dominant in the air.
@Butterfingers
I started supporting Arsenal when I was 7 way back in 1971 so that makes 39 years, I must admit I am ashamed to say that I started my supporting life following the FA Cup winners as I supported Chelsea in 1970. Haven’t looked back since then. I used to go up and watch the Arsenal v Sp**s games in the 80’s with my step brother and watched Charlie Nicholas chip the goalie in a 4-2 win at WHL, great moment as I was in with the Sp**s supporters, we took it in turns as my step brother supported sp**s. In those days you could turn up and get a ticket off the touts at face value.
Good review, as always. As a striker this was the one I was waiting for.
We really do have an abundance of talent in attack. My only concern, should Ade go, is our lack of a ‘number 9’. Eduardo, having gone through some more secret surgery recently, remains an injury doubt for the future I fear. So it could mean relying on Bendtner more and more.
I really don’t see RvP as a typical centre forward and the likes of Vela and Arshavin play more in ‘the hole’.
Maybe Walcott will get his chance there next season…hmmm…
Not sure what to make of that new away kit. The first Arsenal kit I ever owned was that colour, with lightening bolts running top to bottom. Great times! Midnight blue has been an away colour for us for a long time.
I miss the burgundy and dark blue hoops from a couple of seasons ago. That kit was lush!
My first gunners kit was 5 seasons ago lol, and then my 2nd was last season lol, I have both home and away this season. Im only 16 so I think I can get away with it and I started my life as a west ham fan like my grandfather but watched the 2001 FA cup final when Pires scored the only goal against Soton and fell in love with the football. I like the away kit and will be getting it with Arshavin on the back but will wait for the squd numbers to be released just incase there is a change lol.
@ Dally – I’m a ’71 starter like you mate. The first game I watched was the Cup Final with my Dad. Me and the old git are still going 38 tears later. We couldn’t afford a proper replica kit when I was 6, so we bought a plain red shirt and my mum replaced the sleeves with white ones to make it an Arsenal shirt. Unfortunately the elastic in the cuffs was too tight and when I wore it the first time it cut off the blood to my hands. Had to come off at half time and get the elastics cut, as my hands were blue and had no feeling.
I like the new away kit too, better than this years.
@ Fatboy – I did buy this seasons away kit but wasnt a big fan, nor was I a big fan of the white kit but I am a fan of this kit. I really do like it. Wonder what changes will be made to our home kit.
I like this better than both the last two kits. I’ll probably get one to replace my white ‘Adebayor’ kit from a couple of years ago. I’m really hanging out for them to change the home kit back to one that has white sleeves, I’m not a big fan of the ‘Charlton’ kit at all.
@ enemyairships – You liked the burgundy and navy kit? Ergh!
Yeah I know, I was in the minority even at the Emirates :(!
about the jerseys*
i think that they look pretty good on the players, but i cant picture myself wearing one of them. idk, we’ll see, and i will say to radadsRSA, that denilson had the most starts for anyone on arsenal this season, he is pretty good, and about bendtner, he isnt all that bad, its just that his bad moments are more memorable than his good moments, kind of like eboue
if we are to mount a realistic title challenge next season all our players need to stay including ade,yeah he hasnt performed as well as last season but he offers us a new dimension up front and bendie is,nt ready to lead the line yet. attack is the one area of the team that doesnt need changing i,m happy with the options available and hopefully with rosicky to be added to the mix things look quite promising for next season.
@ georgetown gooner – there is always one lol. For us to progress and move on, Ade must move on aswel
enemyairships – that kit is one of my favs from the last few years. very lush.
@censored – what english striker do you want? i can’t think of anyone who i would really go for. save the english dudes for the defense and dm.
i think ade goes, wenger “replaces” him wih more young talent, and buys a someone with a bit more experience for defense. i bet he stays with song for dm. not what i would want, but my prediction.
Finally the post we were all looking at. It is the business end in the ground. Whatever SF say may be we agree. But I think we should buy an new striker if ADE does leave this summer. Bcz I still believe Eduardo will not be fit to next season. I would be hopeful that he is fit but it is difficult situation. He has just underwent an operation. I still have some doubts about Bendtner leading in attack. He is an impact player as an sub. He has proved whenever he has started has failed drastically. Vela i personally like him he has pace,finishing,awareness,good enough body strength. But still I think the we requires an season to be playing regularly. I would rather see him on loan for half an season were he plays regularly weak in weak out and come back again in January to join arsenal. Van persie has been good but think in patches more over. He still need to work on his finishing. But to be he has been our best player thought the season without an doubt. We need to quickly make him sign an long term contract. I sum up i would prefer an quality striker to join us if ade moves on…..As far as kit is concern …..yuck….it seems like an school boy uniform..what an error. Who is the kit designer sack him sack him sack him….one of the worst arsenal away kit after Shit Kits of Arsenal, 1991….My best kit…..SF if that is arsenal away kit for 2009-10 than what is this …..http://arsenalaction.com/board/new-arsenal-kit-t15.html……..if this is our new kit than i am already saving money to buy this green kit….it looks stunning….
If we are to buy any new players then Ade has to be sold to make up funds. I rather not lose any players even those who do not perform as a bigger squad means less injuries.
We have been unlucky with a lot of injuries to key players and as a result the fit players get burn out even more easily.
If we sell Ade, then I hope a quality equivalent comes in, preferbably one that dosen’t get offside easily :P. My guess is Arsene won’t be buying any strikers, I have a feeling it will be a cm or a fullback.
@fatboy 6.38pm, Van Persie scored s scorcher against Liverpool with his right peg and also did same against Chelsea! While he does favor his left foot,i reckon he can use his chocolate leg to good effect too!
Hey lads, no blog tonight unfortunately. I’ve got some other things to attend to. Speak to you on Monday!
Cesc’s been cleared of the spitting incident. I was really pleased when Hull got into the Premier League – I think it’s great for a club of their stature to battle against the odds and do so well. But as the season’s worn on Phil Brown’s begun to look like more and more of a twat. Now he’s wasted everybody’s time with this pointless and ultimately fruitless pursuit of Cesc. The FA have to rule about his own conduct now…
There’s more rumours about Brede Hangeland too. This guy certainly does fit the bill. Very tall central defender. 6 foot 5 according to Wiki. 6 foot 4 elsewhere. He was actually born in the US which I didn’t know and which is interesting as it may attract further American interest in the Arse, were they to buy him. I’d still prefer a Brit but I’m not that fussy.
Checking the stats I see that Fulham, who are currently 7th, have conceded 4 less goals than us this season and in fact only manure, chelski and Liverpiddle have let in less. Hmmm…
I like the new kit too!!!! cant wait to have the Walcott’s one 14 14 since TH14!!! cant wait to see the gunners gunning down Manu and Chelsea with this new kit.
@radadsRSA
Though the kit is great, I have already ordered it, can’t see us beating Chelski in it as they play in blue.
I, too, like it. The blue kit always looks good. It reminds me of the FA Cup Semi Final when Wiltord and Edu worked their magic against a Man U(seless).
Interested to see the comment that we have been playing away in midnight blue kit for ages
Eh ! As far as I remember we did not start playing in blue kit until the early 2000s when it was decided that blue was the most appropriate colour for “leisure” sales of the shirts (ie fat blokes) ? I see we have a pinstripe design now 🙂
I remember back in the 60s one season of blue shirts and white shorts ( I am that old) but apart from that it has been pretty much yellow and blue – with various monkey sick decoration – hasnt it ?
Well said that Ade will go but has not yet been approved but if approved, I done think that Bendtner can actually step in Ade’s shoe if comparing their performances.
I also have great fear that Eduado can perform to best that we the fan expect of him. Because I can still see the fear in him on the pitch since his return from injury. In fact I should not say I, everyone knows that has caused some set of stimulus in him.
My opinion when Ade is sold is to buy another potential striker to augment the attacking force.
Van Persie’s the top scorer this season- 2 goals more
well well Ade is good he did a bit of mess but that i think could not be the total measure of him he is a quality player and once he goes out there , i have a feeling that he will prove his capability.am worried about RVP to be sincer,the way he ended the season is not really encouraging however, i hope Eduardo will compensate for that.CV should be given more chances to play he has done great this season and surely he is gonna do more than that.
We should let ade go to milan and we could also ask for flamster in the deal and wouldn’t that be wishfull thinking eh!!!!! Plus the 120k a wk ade gets give to the players that really deserve it. Also hangleland would be a great addition to our squad and hopefully we can get rid of tweety.
@ butterfingers – Wouldnt that be nice, a deal that sees Ade go to Milan and Flamini return to Arsenal.
I bow to your superior knowledge Anicoll5! My lightning blue kit still had JVC as a sponsor, which seems like yeeeears ago now. But you’re probably right, it was probably only then that we started sporting a blue strip.
That’s still nearly half my life ago!
it’s incredible and unbelievable some of the things i read on this blog from arsenal fans.U’re all calling for the head of Adebayor.It’s unbelievable and laughable.I laugh when i read we’ll be fine with RVP and Eduardo next season.It’s a joke.This guys can hardly go three consecutive games without injuries.Adebayor scored some incredible goals under difficult circumstances of being a lone striker.He’s good if and when the entire team plays well.This is the time to hold on to everyone and add a few new signings.If we let our highest goal scorer go,we’ll be the losers for it.As simple as that.
Arsenal Yth 4-1 Liverpool Yth – great score tonight for our youth team in the FA youth Cup 1st Leg, 2nd leg on tuesday and I feel we will win after an emphatic display from the young guns tonight. Sunu, Wilshere, Watt and Emmanuel-Thomas socred, our youngsters are seriously awesome.
@Anonymous – its truethat he is our highest goal scorer at the moment and adebayor scored some good goals like the one he scored against villareal. However, you haven taken into account his ego, his attitude, his work rate, his wage demands, his finishing.
He obviously thinks that he is the best one in the current crop of strikers club and therefore should be compensated with henry-like wages. But is he good enough to command such wages just because his competitors in the club arent good enough?
Name me a player who thinks he is bigger than the club and manages to stay at the club for more than three seasons? There may be some, i’m not sure. but what i’m sure is, these players don’t sit well with the fans. we could easily replace these players with others as long as we are willing to spend.
GUNNERKYV, wat th f*ck does ego, wages, attitude – blah blah blah got to do with a fan’s support for th club? RVP played more games than ade this season, did his good attitude, little wages, good ego blah blah blah made him score more than Ade? this is unreasonable! Do u people knw why Ade wants to leave? because of th critisism he recieves frm arsenal supporters! it is our weak defence, a weak midlield (especially when cesc was out for 4 months) tht cost us th titles this season so let’s stop bundling all th blame on th guy who scored more goals than anyone else in th EPL for th club! letting Ade go this season will resemble th mistake th club made when they let flamini go. if Ade goes, we’ll get back to experimenting on who might be th best starter nd tht will cost us a lot. we saw th ineffectiveness of Bendtner and RVP when Ade was out injured nd if u think am lying, just look at th records for urself (arsenal.com)…those two were just pathetic! can anyone tell us for how long th current united team have been playing together? years nd years of constructing tht team finally paid off for fergy. arsenal shld do the same – in fact wenger shouldn’t sell any single player! what he should do is get us a good central defender, a more experienced goal keeper to assist almunia, a backup for Clichy. he should then change our style of play to a more counter-attacking one nd train th slikes of nasri, rosicky, arsharvin to take shots. the team shld also work on set-pieces nd we’ll be good to go! remember in Arsenal, it is all about team-work so we fail as a team nd win as a team nd not for a second shloud we blame a single player for a whole season’s failure
haha i checked out this stat.
arsenal have won the league title 15 times. 3 more and we equal liv/man u’s records.
I believe we should sell one of the strikers and get Tevez in. He’s a fighter Gunner lack. He can finish and also supply. He can trouble opponents with his determination and running, then teammate can take advantage of it. His effort & urgency to win can motivate gunners too who were too often playing too casual.
Blurguy, tht’s a mature way of putting it…if we need th qualities tht Tevez got (which i agree we do) and Tevez is available for a sensible price then th manager shld indeed consider letting go an appropriate striker to bring in Tevez. good comment!
Adebayor maybe our top scorer but that doesnt mean we shouldnt sell him. Fans are what a club is built on and you dont really want to see a player playing for your club that you dont want. Ade is one of those players. Why? Simple, he thinks he is entitled to Henry-like wages after 1 good season, this season he hasnt hit top form! His ego is bigger than England! You can tell when he is up for it or not and too many times he has not been up for a game and that is dissappointing. Ade may have scored more than RVP but RVP always seems to try hard every game, he seems to try everything whereas Ade does 1 thing, it doesnt work, he will then do nothing for rest of game. I agree he scores great goals (v Sp**s, Newcastle and this season Villarreal) but that isnt a big enough reason to keep him. We could get good money from him. I would welcome a transfer for Ade to leave aslong as we sign big players!
Knightman,i get ur drift but its not even about whether u r the best striker on earth, its simple actually, synergy!do ur being part of the team make it better or can it do better without u?in case of Ade its the latter!yes he does score but his att(“pay me like Henry and al play like Henry”!)his lethargy and lack of inspiration.this inevitably creeps in on the whole team.look at how Bendy picks up the team simply for his work rate and willingness to try anything for a goal!and thats what u need coz if uv u got it u dont have to depend of one player for goals.
If Villa/ Benzema are out of our range what do you guys think of Mario Gomez? I know he had a shocking Euro 08 but I think he could be what we are looking for provided he has the right mentality…
@ MoMONEY – I think we need players with 100% positive vibe. Mario Gomez although good at CLub level, he is dissappointing at international level and that is why he shouldnt come. We want players that other people are going to be scared of and we are going to be proud of. Gomez wont scare everyone. Villa will. get my drfit. Agbonlahor would scare more than Gomez IMO.
Im very very anti-Agbonlahor tbh. But I agree with you. Villa is ideal, Benzema would be a great second option… THen Gomez/ Santa Cruz and many others….
I agree absolutely with the long write up of Knightman.Arsenal fans need to grow up and get behind every arsenal player including adebayor while hoping Arsene wenger will do the right thing by improving our weak points.It’s crystal clear to everyone that we need some improvements in our defence and our midfield.If we keep our heads and do the right thing i’m positive we’ll be challenging for the premiership next season.Selling useful players will be our downfall.Why do u think other clubs want these players anyway????
@Knightman – I think you’ve misinterpreted my comment. So pls refrain from getting agitated or violent.
ego, wages, attitude, blah blah blah has got NOTHING to do with a fan’s support for the club. But it does have something to do with the fans supporting the PLAYER itself.
My point is, replacing someone with similar quality but however willing to give his 100% for the club should be done. But in this case, I reckon Eduardo is more than enough to step in the shoes of the striker role. you want effectiveness, here you’ve got a clinical finisher. I believe his injuries is a one off misfortune. we shall see wat happens next season.
All this talk about Adebayor. Arsene says: “He has a long contract and we want to keep him at the Club. I am hopeful I will be able to keep him.”
Okay? Yer hear that? The main man has spoken. Now shaddap abadit will ya????
HAHA the idea I mentioned a few days ago:
http://goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/05/24/1282948/thierry-henry-could-return-to-arsenal-arsene-wenger
Id be all for it though I would prefer someone like Villa obviously
agree its time for all our fans to get behind the team and manager….its tough times like these that make winnin a trophy,however long it may take,all the sweeter when it comes and it will come if we can keep this team together….i watched west broms fans sing themselves hoarse as their relegation was being sealed in front of them against liverpool…put that into prspective compared to our behavior as fans this year and its embarrasing.we have to go back to scrapping to win aswel as playing our brand of football as we have no divine right to win games every week,i think this is something that has been takin for granted within our club and manifests itself in our fans restlessness.
in relation to ade im sad to say its the first time iv ever said i wudnt be sorry to see an arsenal player exit the club,its becoming increasingly difficult to like or relate to him and once that happens theres no way back
cant wait to have fully fit rosicky and eduardo next season be like two new signings….also i have alot of faith and respect for bendtners attitude i think hes grown this season and his initial arrogance and selfisness has evaporated and he showed more pride and fight in his two sub appearances vs manure and chelsksi than ade all season long so,with more experience to come and learning, he can become a good target man.
as for signings always said i would like agbonlahor his pace with cesc,nasri and arshavin linkin up would be awesome..but i doubt that wil happen.santa cruz would be excellent as he has proved himselfin this league while talk of villa,tevez and benzema is fantasy….anyone been following diego forlans progress??????
hangelaand would be good but i think there are tough strong defenders to be got at a bargain heres who i think could add some steel and grit to our team without costing a fortune;
robert huth,boro
joeleon lescott,everton
gary cahill,bolton
paul shwarner,wigan
bassong,new
micah richards,city
Personally, I wouldn’t want Henry to be a major summer signing for us. Granted we need some experience, but the forward line is one are of the pitch where you can’t really afford to have someone who is falling off the pace a little bit. Not to mention as he gets older he is going to suffer even more injuries.
I’d welcome him back as a coach or something, but not as a remedy to our lack of player experience.
Aggreed. Henry is not the answer. I don’t see this happening anyway, might as well use the money to fund more important areas of the team such as our defense.
Really just sign Benzema or D.Villa already arsene, hahaha i know its a pipe dream. If Madrid are foolish to believe Lassana Diarra is the answer, Maybe we could get Mahmadou Diarra to partner Cesc.
Last game of the season, hope the lads sign out in style. Cheers All!
I had a dream the other night that wenger himself played in goal against stoke…hope this isnt true
I really think M Diarra will be available…
Great end to the season from all boys, even though it means absolutely nothing. Looking forward to a quick rest and then a whole summer full of speculation – but for once, hopefully not disappointment!
@ MoMONEY – I wasnt saying I wanted Agbonlahor, I was simply trying to point out how Gomez was a bad choice for Arsenal.
If Arsenal are to challenge for the title, we need 2 BIG NAME players, to get the fans more behind the team, the spirit in the camp to rise and the belief to rise also. It will also mean we have quality players as back up players. D.Villa, R.Albiol, M.Richards, M.Diarra, M.Flamini, K.Benzema, any 2 of these will be great and we will have gotten 2 world class players to add to our squad, believe it or not, other big 4 teams mock us for having the least talented squad in the big 4. Man Utd: Rooney, Ronaldo, Carrick, Vidic, Ferdinand. Chelski : Lampard, Drogba, Ballack, Terry, Cech. Liverpool : Gerrard, Torres, Carragher, Mascherano, Alonso. Arsenal : Fabregas, Van Persie, Arshavin. And that is how it is seen, we want other clubs to be scared to play us. Full backs are currently scared of Arshavin, we need a tough-tackling, no-nonsence, tall, strong defender and an energetic, holding midfielder, and hopefully when Ade goes, we will bring in a world class clinical striker. I hope we bring in big players : people will say we dont NEED it but personally I think it will benefit us in more ways than 1.
Moving on to the Stoke game, we took chances (fabregas strike for Beatties OG), We took our chances (RVP in particular), things just went our way, except the pen which was a stonewall pen, silly deni. Good result I think, 4-1, great way to sign the season off. good for Rvp aswell to get 2 goals. Also good luck to the Arsenal Yth on Tuesday who take a 4-1 agg lead to Anfield in the FA Yth Cup Final 2nd Leg. Now I look forward to a busy transfer season and an impressive pre-season. Sorry bout the long post.
Arsenal currently need a big strong tackling holding Midfield player who can leave Fabregas, Arsharvin,Walcott,RVP etc to get on and create.Lets face it we have yet to replace Vieira.My only real concern is the general downturn in the stature of the current squad, we need to be able to mix it with the teams who bullied us out of the games we lost.This would also eliminate the occasional panic shown by the defence, if they had more confidence in the protection given.
The season had some low points, but there are many other teams that would have loved to have had a season like ours.Arsene Wenger has proved himself to be a shrewd judge and i believe he will turn it around.The last thing we need is a quick fix by buying in big names.He is bringing through a crop of youngsters who are the envy of all.AW knows what he is doing.