Hello there. I must warn you that I’m feeling a little bit down today. It’s nothing football-related, just been a long day and I’m glad to see the end of it. Now that I think about it I really should get a beer while I write…
* rushes off to get a Beck’s *
Ah – refreshing! There’s nothing better than a well-crafted German beer to lift the spirits. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, the Arsenal Football Club. It feels a bit a strange writing a match preview the day after writing a match report but with West Ham on Saturday that is exactly what I’m having to do.
Team news is excellent according to the manager. We have no new injuries and that means that the same players that were available against Everton will all be able to take part against West Ham. At the moment it’s Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott and Mikael Silvestre on the injury table – although Eduardo can effectively be counted among that bunch – and that means a decent side should turn out against the Hammers.
Arsene Wenger has indicated that he will rotate with the important FA Cup replay against Cardiff on Tuesday. The big question is who gets the chop? Those who read yesterday’s post will be aware of the problems I have with the current leadership in our midfield and I hope the Alex Song/Abou Diaby/Denilson combination gets broken up somehow. Denilson has played a lot of football this season and looked really lethargic against Everton so it might be that Emmanuel Eboue (sigh) gets the nod, although he can hardly be classified as a leader.
There has been a lot of support on this blog lately for pushing Kolo Toure into midfield. And although the manager will never, ever, ever do it – he’s cited Toure’s lack of engine as the reason – I really think it would help our young midfield through a difficult patch. In my opinion the combination of Toure and Song would promote both the defense stability and creativity in the side by allowing the two wide midfielders to push on without abandon. It’s an idea, one that’s never going to happen, but an interesting one regardless.
If we thought three points away to Everton was essential then three points at home to West Ham is super-dooper-absolutely-mega-vitally-essential. Or something like that. A win would see us move to within three points of both Liverpool and Chelsea, who play each other on Sunday. Meanwhile Aston Villa, who currently sit five ahead of us, play in-form Wigan and there’s every chance that they could drop points in that game. What money on Emile Heskey scoring against his former club though?
I’ll be watching tomorrow night’s game at the Pig ‘n’ Whistle Riverside so if you’re a Brisbane Gooner then be sure to get down there and support the boys. Hopefully they can do the business.
Thoughts?
Have your say on Arsenal v West Ham by leaving a comment. Come on, you know you want to!
PS. You’ll notice that I haven’t spoken about Andrei Arshavin today. It feels good, to be honest. However, if we do sign the stressfully annoying Russian over the weekend then you’ll be the first to know. Cheers.
pliz give VELA a chance
dont think Any Gooners sigh anymore when we hear Eboue name, its mor like a F**k Wanker. LOL
Nice write
yip think vela shold be given a chance. he would defintely be a better option then playing either denilson or eboue out wide. We seriously lack quality in our squad. non of the guys who are coming in are provong themselves.
bring eduardo as subs at least…
@ cd – Eduardo’s not fit yet. He can’t be rushed.
Whatever team the arse put out they are going to get well and truly spanked by the hammers tomorrow Mired in debt dropping down the league like a stone the Arse can now be classified as london’s 5th team……
Yea Vela not playing is something I dont understand at all…
Shouldn’t Spanish Fry be on a West Ham site with that rubbish?! VELA Needs to get sum Bloody time on the pitch! Ade is a joke. Time to sell Kolo, a swap for Micah Richards seems Perfect!! How about we forget the Russian and Go get N’Zogbia!!
@ Mike- what a wag you are, son!
I wonder where your allegiance lies? Are you a spud per chance? And what 4 other teams would we find ourselves behind in your little world? Give us all a laugh!
I agree Vela should be playing tomorrow, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Kolo pushed up a bit either. We need to keep the unbeaten run going, but we need more wins, not draws (especially lucky ones like Wednesday’s). West Ham are on a roll at the moment, but we should be confident of beating them at home. Villa will drop points at some stage- we have to make sure we’ve kept pace and are able to exploit it. Quite nice not to be talking about “you-know-who” for a change!
Hope you enjoyed your beer SF- it’s cocoa or warming brandy over here (-4C as I write). Count yourself lucky you’ve got a bit of sun….
@ Anonymous – What the bloody hell are you talking about? If you think I’m a West Ham fan then you must be very, very, very new around here 😀
@ Fatboy – I’m pretty sure he’s a West Ham fan. A Tottenham fan wouldn’t be so kind.
@ Fatboy x 2 – Where are you from? The states if I remember. Did you get the email I sent you a little while ago? If not, let me know your email address and I’ll re-send it.
Id rather see Eboue than Denilson on the right to be honest. If Denilson plays, he must be in CM, not the wings.
Does Vela have a song? Will those who’ll be at the stadium please shout or sing for Vela. Maybe Wenger will play Vela if the fans put under pressure.
Eboue-Denilson-Nasri-Vela
I still think this midfield can carry us through this difficult period.
I like the idea of Toure in midfield- at least as a temporary solution. I really do think Diaby is the weakest link though. I dont understand why Nasri isnt in the middle with Vela on the left… Seems like the perfect solution to me
@ SF- I’m in Merry old England mate, freezing me cods off, but hoping tomorrows game will warm the cockles. No, I didn’t your mail, but I’ve added my address- look forward to seeing it! No return posting from Mike yet- a shame!
@ Fatboy – I know, I know. Cheers for getting back to me though. England hey, you’ll have to take me to a game one day…
I have read on 2 websites this morning that Tony adams is looking at taking Vela on loan to pompey until the season is over.. and if we sign arshavin, the both will be sold.
Please dont let this happen.
@Jay
Clarify the bit about “the both will be sold please”.Biting my nails here to know who it is going with Vela – can’t believe it though.
Read interview with Hill-Wood this a.m.Depressing stuff to say the least.Sounds like they have ALREADY given up on Champions League next year.There’s a bit of it on SkySports Football – yeah, I know !!
What the hell is going on at Arsenal – and where are they taking the club ?? Sorry, sorry,sorry.COME ON ARSENAL!!!!
Who has Arsenal TV? Wenger just had his pres conference- says he wants a decision before the game. What else did he say?
All I can say is that it is a long time ago since we belonged to the “also rans”… where is the arsenal football machine… it can surely not all be down to the fact that our little spanish midfield genius is injured?
We will beat west Ham… no problem… i think that is worth a few bucks.
I’m going to pen a song for Vela. I owe him that after he took the time to sign my VELA 12 top after the Villa game, despite my pen not working and him having to find another one.
But until I pen my masterpiece, lets all just shout VELA! VELA! VELA! VELA! VELA! VELA! VELA! VELA! at Le Professor throughout the game until he gives in. It worked with Walcott.
Sorry the other player in question with regards to Pompey loan deal is Fran Merida.
Also Sky sports news says arshavin has been granted a work permit.
Arsene Grandpa said on Arsenal TV that Arshavin is 90 % not done deal.
Also, he said he is enquiring about some other players but hasn’t make a bid yet.
Conclusion: Either we will sign Arshavin OR Zero Player.
Abou Dubai Diaby has shown his courage and determination to help Arsenal win the title. He told Arsenal TV that, we can still win the league. Miracle!
I hate shitty players giving interviews week-in week-out. Sometimes I feel Clichy is Arsenal’s Spokesperson. Real players speaks in the pitch not in the press. All Bullshit.
According to the reports RVP has told the club he needs some guarantees that they will do everything in their power to strengthen the squad and maintain their position as Premier League and European challengers.
Van Persie has 18 months remaining on his current contract, and a deal had been expected to have been sorted in November but negotiations were postponed amid a club boardroom reshuffle. At the time he was said to have been offered £65,000-a-week until 2013.
However, owing to the form he has found in the last two months, circumstances surrounding the details of the contract have changed and the Dutchman is understood to want to join the top earners at Arsenal on £80,000.
Thoughts?
Arshavin update from Arseblogger
Arsene on Arshavin: He says it was 90% not done. Won’t have long to wait now, it’s the 29th. It’s make or break. If it can be done we want to do it as quickly as possible.
Other targets: “You can never rule it out. At the moment it’s more important to focus on the players we have, because every game is like a big battle. We cannot afford to be distracted because we want to focus completely on the players we have. Very happy with the attitude of the group so let’s do that first.”
Have you made any serious enquires for any player apart from Arshavin? “We have, of course, made serious enquiries but at the moment not any bid.
Van Persie is to thank for us not being around 10 points worse off!
If he leaves due to us not offering him enough money, therefre showing fuck ambition I along with all you other gooners will be fuming.
As long as rubbish like song, diaby and eboue are at Arsenal we will need all the help we can get.
Same for theo, we need to tie him down as well.
Arshavin has to come now. Wenger wanting a decision by tomorrow and now the work permit. I think we’ll sign him tomorrow
@SF,
Were you refering to me? About being from the states? I wanted to send you some quality American beer?
After talk of pushing Toure in to midfield and some people even saying his young brother should join us, the tabloids namely Daily Mail are saying that he is signing for Man City!!! Hopefully this is false, can man city play 35 people in one game because according to the media they are buying everyone, that is apart from Eboue.
@hartwick89
I don’t want to get in a slanging match, but I am from the UK, living in Turkey and you can’t get quality American beer.
I would say Van Persie deserves to be a top earner at Arsenal. He’s been with us for five years and worked his way into being a first choice striker. He’s also been a regular for Holland for a while now. He’s an absolutely vital player for us.
I’m tempted to say something about Arshavin but I won’t bother. I’ll just keep working on my Vela song.
You guys should go to gooner talk blog and work up a lather (they all are there!) Lol!
@Dalison,
Ever visited? We steep ourselves in the very best Microbrew’s in the world! I’m not talking Budweiser or Miller friend….Long Trail, No. 9, Coopers Cave, Davidson Bros….I’ll Call the American Batch in the spirit of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal Gems….Not World Known and Undiscovered…..But The World’s Best!
@Dalison,
A Brit in Turkey talking Brew? I thought alcohol was outlawed there?
Please advise.
@hartwick89
Actually I have been to a Microbrew, one in Anapolis which wasn’t bad, I was actually refering to Bud etc well I should have realised you were refering to proper beer as bud can’t be refered to as beer. Alcohol is definetly available in Turkey I think you are refering to Saudi. You can’t get proper English style beer such as Draught Bass, 6X, Abbotts etc but EFES is drinkable and the vino is excelent. In fact I don’t know why it isn’t exported more.
Why can,t aw give vela a chance,dis dude is so hot upfront.almunia
bs-wg-jd-gc
vela-denilson-song-nasri
rvp-ea
Why can’t aw give vela a chance,dis dude is so hot upfront.almunia
bs-wg-jd-gc
vela-denilson-song-nasri
rvp-ea
Can somebody tell me why wenger never signs most players linked 2 arsenal,which shirt number 4 ashavin,rosicky updates?SELL DIABY,SONG BUY ENGLISH PLAYERS AND LESS FRENCH MEN!!!!!!
Hartwick,
“Quality American Beer” That’s an oxymoron
@SF, I really would love to send you some beers someday.I beleive that you cant really watch a game without a 6X at least in front of ya, right!!??.
THIS IS MY WISHED LINE-UP TAKEN FROM OUR AVAILABLE PLAYERS:
SAGNA-GALLAS-DJOUROU-CLICHY
———TOURE————
EBOUE—-NASRI———VELA
——–RVP-ADE
Even ManU will struggle agst this line-up, i dont really know why cant Le Boss give something like this.I must admit that Eboue isnt the level of Walcott or Rosicky but at least He can give some acceleration and gud run on our game, there is nobody who can do this within our mdfld line up except Nasri.We were totaly dead in our mdfld agst Everton just bcoz of Diaby’s presence on the pitch.I can tolerate to put Song in instead of Toure (Still much preferable to see TOure) but to put Diaby instead of Fab is totaly unacceptable.He is so inconstant, some day,he looks like he is really improving,another day he is horrible.ive always thought that he is been having bad games durin those early stage of the season bcoz he was outpositionned and supposed to be an AM, but now I cant see anymore space to fit him in.Two games now, hes been playing as an AM, and it was uggly.He dfntly deserves the bench from now on.If at least AW had given Vela the same amount of time he has given Diaby, Vela would have been very far by now, and we wouldnt have been stting at 5th.Nasri has already shown his fantastic capabilities as an AM, by performing some great passes and gud run,even AW has made some official statements about it, why not play him in the middle and put Vela on left wing?????????
I REALLY BEG ALL GOONERS IN ENGLAND TO MAKE THAT SONG, PLLLLEEEASE GUYS DO IT,VELA MUST COME IN, IF WALCOTT OR RAMSEY CAN TAKE THE PHYSICAL SHOCK OF THE PL,VELA CAN DEFNTLY TAKE IT.THERE IS NO FUTURE ON PUTTING SONG AND DIABY TOGETHER ON THE PITCH.SING “VELA, VELA, VELA..” IW OUD REALLY APPRECIATE IF SOMEONE ELSE WILL FOLLOW MY STEP TO WRITTE THE WORD “VELA” ALL OVER THE ARSENAL E-MAIL BOX.By the time Arshavin (If he does!!), Walcott, and Fab come in, we would be 10pts down from AVilla.So lets do it b4 its too late.AW is lying if he says that he cant say anything abt the deal right now bcoz he is so much focused on the game and the current squad.If that was the case, then I think that he must double check his so called”..Focused mind..”becos focused mind woud never put Diaby on the startin line up
I like Eboue. He is quick, has a decent cross and most importantly he has the defensive ability in his game, mainly cus he was right back and there is no way Eboue would get infront of him in the pecking order, Eboue would have a better crack at RW and I like it. He does do clumsy tackles and give the ball away on occasions, but name a footballer that doesnt and ill re-consider my liking of Eboue. Although I must agree Vela needs a chance, and if thats on the wing then so be it, id rather Nasri and Vela and wings than Eboue and Vela. Eboue can play CM I think but I think AW wil choose this XI (not what I want);
Almunia
Sagna-Gallas-Djourou-Clichy
Eboue-Denilson-Diaby-Nasri
Rvp-Bendtner
Now although that isnt bad, it isnt our best either. He might even not change anything! I hope we sign Arshavin aswel.
Hey Radads RSA – I like your line up. No Diaby, no Denilson, no Song. ‘Fraid these guys have been holding us back for too long. Diaby I would happily but a bullet in to stop AW playing him. Denilson I feel sorrier for cos he’s a trier at least but still – this is our frick’n club we’re talking about here – not a Youth Training Scheme. Song is just brain dead. I mean look at him. There’s nothing going on behind then eyes is there? C’mon Arsene, fer the luv of christ – can’t you see what’s going on?
Toure I also agree would be great in that position in front of the defence. Vela, Nasri and Eboue some pace. Work that ball and send it through to RVP and Ade. They’ll do the rest. Come on you Gunners! Come on Arsene! We have been in worse positions but I’ve not seen us so uninspired in years.
PS- Arshavin? How can this still be going on? It’s a wind-up and AW either never had any intention of buying him or he’s waiting for the last moment just so’s he doesn’t feel pressuried to buy anyone else.
Grow Up Arsenal Fc Blog bloggers. Our club is in serious crisis. If we don’t see 2 signings by Feb1 morning, then Arsenal might collapse. We have a manager who cannot motivate his players anymore to perform OR we have a quality squad. SERIOUS CRISIS:
I repeat: if Arsene Wenger fails to qualify in the top 4 this season then the man needs to be given the heave-ho immediately. Some people don’t get it. The vultures have begun to circle. This has happened to many clubs in the past who have seen their teams decimated by a failure to establish themselves as a major force.
I for one could not blame Van Persie if he decided to leave a UEFA Cup side for a Champions League team because that a player of his redoubtable quality is on less money than Adebayor is an insult in itself. Van Persie deserve the biggest stage to perform on. Fabregas deserves the biggest stage to perform on.
Wenger is the one that cops the blame here for me. When Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry spent summer after summer attempting to beg the manager to add just the odd footbaler to their team and make it unbeatable, Wenger’s vision of a global creche got in the way. Henry was a tit in his behaviour agreed. But why on earth should he sit back and watch his ambitions stymied by a manager who cares more about African child labour than trophies? We lost Henry. Vieira was in a prominent position he would not find elsewhere but he left and who could blame him.
Cole is a bastard and a cunt we all know this. But the essence of his departure should not be overlooked: Cole left because of £5k per week. Honestly what is 5 thousand pounds in the grand scale of things?
A failure to qualify for Champions League this season and my prediction will again come true (not that it’s such a bold one mind): Van Persie will leave and Fabregas and Sagna will join them.
Why on earth should such fantastic footballers lapse into mediocrity? Look at the club Van Persie joined back in the summer of 2004 and look at it now. Shocking.
And Wenger cops the blame here for failing to build on success. If we failt ti qualify for Champions League – and it looks increasingly likely – then there would be absolutely no justification for retaining Arsene Wenger as manager.
The reasons in the past had been that ‘no other manager can qualify Arsenal for the Champs League on a budget’. No longer. The other oft-used apologetic excuse being that ‘if Arsene leaves then all our best players leave’.
However this fails to take into account the fact that if Arsene continues to show such a lack of ambition, the best players will all get fed up and leave eventually in any case. Question: what happened to Henry? Vieira? Cole? Flamini? Where are they all now?
Of course the C*nt affair was over cash more than anything. But can any of you honestly say we are better off with the liability that is Clichy?
Watch Almunia play next time and please explain to me if a cardboard cut-put could not do an equally effective job in the nets. I said it two years ago and I shall repeat: Arsenal will never win a major trophy, so long as Wenger plays a non-international keeper in the nets. That Everton goal. So many others: when have you ever seen Almunia come off his line and command his area like Jens? Never.
The midfield has been ridiculed so many other times that there is no need to refere to the Three Amigos (Song-Diaby-Eboue).
The vultures are circling.
A comedian on this blog called us a ‘European super-club’ the other day.
Wrong. See how easy it is to sign Ribery from Bayern, to sign Messi from Barca, to sign Casillas from Real or to sign Del Piero from Juve.
The true big clubs are monitoring Arsenal’s scandalous situation with salivating lips and they shall swoop, with good reason, if our biggest fears are confirmed and we are on Channel 5 next season.
Remember. Our move was predicated on Champions League football and a desire to compete with the biggest clubs in Europe. The board informed the club that there would be significant funds to strengthen the team, separate from the stadium budget.
And remember. A major property developer offered Fiszman and Hill-Wood £70 million of cash up-front to develop the Highbury Square properties themselves. The greed of our pathetic board however instead dictated that they were convinced that they could make at least £140 million if they undertook the development themselves. Our board seem to have forgotten that they could not organize a piss-up in a brewery.
Now there is a recession and a major property slump, the board have literally pissed away £70 mil of cash – through sheer greed.
And in all of the middle of this is one man. Arsene Wenger.
His job is not to make money. His job is not to curry favour with the IMF. His job is not to adhere to World Bank policies. His job is not to audit like KMPG.
His job is to win football matches and deliver success in his profession. For which he is paid far too handsomely. And he is failing to deliver Results.
Therefore if Arsenal fail to make Champions League football this season and lose Van Persie and Cesc (as we shall) then a major restructuring is needed. Starting with the main man: Wenger.
There would be no purpose retaining Wenger – and losing Van Persie and Cesc – whilst maintaining Song, Diaby, Eboue, Almunia et al. Imagine that? No thanks.
It is Champions League minimum or bust for me.
Remember: we lost at home to Villa. We got hammered at Citeh. We got beaten by fucking Stoke who scored without using their feet to deliver the ball once. We were beaten at home by a shocking and limited Hull team. We were beaten at Fulham, a side that only just scraped relegation last season.
There can be no excuses for Wenger there. If he fails to motivate his players for such matches – something Fegruson and Mourinho hardly failed to do – then he is in the wrong profession, or simply at the wrong club.
I also believe Wenger’s time is over.
Any manager who cannot motivate his players against Relegation battling teams is not good enough for top level job. For God’s sake, we were thrashed by Manchester City. Hull, Stoke, Sunderland, Fulham and Astonvilla outplayed us. Not good enough. Wenger who makes 5 million a year, more than Ferguson hasn’t delivered anything for 4 years and on…. A football manager is supposed to win games and deliver trophies in his profession. If he cannot do that, then, he is a failure.
Pathetic Board and Wenger Cunt are running a Business Club, not a Football Club.
By the way Hill-Wood came out today and said that he will take 5th place. Oh God! Arsenal are over fellows. Where is ambition? Where is motivation? Bar Cesc, RVP and Sagna all our players are below par. We will have Walcott, Nasri, Wilshere, Ramsey and Vela after 2 years.
@ New-Arse-Hole – I don’t understand why every comment you make has to be so negative. Sure, there are some things going wrong at the moment, but if you can’t find SOME enjoyment out of it then what point is there commenting at all. After all, football is to be enjoyed and we’re all Arsenal fans who should be supporting the club as much as possible.
@ Arsenal – This club is not going to “collapse” if we don’t get any signings. At the end of they day finishing 5th – whilst extremely annoying and disappointing – is not going to see our club fall away into nothingness. We’re run in a positive and sustainable way and this rubbish about us “collapsing” if we don’t do this or do that is just not true.
We will get the fourth place spot and I expect all of you negative fools come back and admit you ignorance… Wenger has never let us down. Sure no trophies for a little but the pieces are in place- it wont be long. And while everyone is killed by the credit crunch, we will be thriving due to out youth policy and wage structures…
Wenger’s recent comments are very irritating. To say, we do not need a tough, experienced midfielder in the central midfield because Diaby and Song are improving is total insane. Those players will never make to the top level.
When the manager comes out and claims that he is on a massive contract because ‘he makes profits’ then you have every right to ask questions. Is Wenger given a massive contract to make profit for the club or to win games and get results? Making profits is not what is asked of a Football manger.
I am certain our £3 mil a game gate-receipts and highest ticket prices in Europe are certain to be part of the ‘constraints’ that saw us humiliated at Stoke, humiliated at home to Villa, embarrassed at home to Hull, beaten comfortably at Fulham and destroyed by a City team who were subsequently thrashed by Forest.
can anyone send link for game tomorrow. dont get Setenta….
http://www.freshmillion.com/livefooty/
Go to this website and then select Live Streams. Links are for Sopcast.
@ New-Arse-Hole, plz can this link be trusted? ie virus free?
As much as I don’t want to aggree with New-arse there is some point to the negativity. I won’t turn into a Chelsea supporter if Arsenal finishes 5th or compete in the Europa cup but I do know that AFC have evolved from the Georgie years, therefore must compete for the EPL title every year.
We moved to the emirates with promises to elevate AFC to the top of European football. Wasn’t that the vision objective of the board, to justify the demolition of highbury and to charge us more than usual. But then they changed their posturing and said finishing 5th is acceptable. I really don’t understand the politicking that’s going on at executive level but it looks like they are trying to take the supporters on a ride. For that reason I am just taking whatever PHW or Danny says with a pinch of salt. I assume that the flats development is worse than reported, better still the chief protaganist(Edelman) for the flats project has been fired.
At least AFC is in debt by our own hands rather than selling out to an arab sheikh etc, the paradox of not selling out ultimately lands us in a simmilar situation because of the world economic recession. Which path we choose we are in debt either ways.
This is also affecting Arsene’s ability to sign players, current wages and so on. Come on guys Arsene is aware of this and just taking the hits for his young squad from the press. Do you actually believe he won’t ship out the likes of Denilson, Diaby or Song if he had a better alternative or more funds. Remember Arsene did it to Viera, Henry and won’t hesitate to do it if the business is good. He himself claims that he makes profit for Arsenal which justifies his high payroll.
I too am not in favour of players such as Denilson but that is the standard we can afford now so let’s just keep on screaming “Come on you reds!”
Also thanks to Spanish for letting us gooners have a voice no matter how diverse our opinions are. Nice work mate, Cheers!
Rather than trash each other, I wish we gooners (ignore the media, good or bad — and yes, there are a few good ones out there, very few) would just stop and listen to each other — and most of all, ASSUME that we all care deeply about Arsenal and that no one should have the arrogance to claim they are superior fans because the way they see things is more right than someone else’s.
There is so much polarization amongst us going on, it’s becoming impossible to have a credible debate. I’ve left two blogs because of this.
It’s true there are extremists and knee-jerk fans in our midst. And a lot of them don’t deserve a lot of our time.
But what I strongly object to is the assumption on the part of what I view as the two extremist camps amongst us:
1. The worst elements at le grove (which has become the symbol of the worst kind of a certain supporter)
2. The worst elements of what some dismiss as AKBs, the “rose-tinted” brigade, the self-appointed Judges of True Arsenal Supporters.
Both these groups are self-appointed Guardians of the Arsenal Truth. And it’s impossible to talk with them, to engage in any real, thoughtful discussion. The worst of these two groups merely post repetitive, lame, insulting, worthless comments that contribute nothing to any discussion.
For the first group, if you defend AW even while pointing out disappointments and criticisms, you’re put into a tiny little AKB box and nothing you can say can get you out of that box. They are rigid and absolute in their belief they are the best judges of these players and our manager, and that anyone who disagrees with them is not worthy of their attention.
For the 2nd group, you cannot use the blogs to discuss your skepticism, concerns, questions, doubts, criticisms in general. The blogs are the equivalent to the Grove — you must behave on the blogs just as you do at the Grove. Most of us agree that as fans at the stadium, home or away, fans must all unite and cheer their team on and never ever abuse anyone wearing an Arsenal shirt no matter what we may really think of their ability and commitment to the team. At the stadium, we must all act as one with one purpose regardless of our differences.
But for this second group, the blogs are equivalent to the stadium — fans are supposed to just cheer the team on in every one of their post, never ever voicing any criticisms of the manager, Board or one single player. We cannot talk like normal human beings on the blogs with differences in judgment, we must (just like at the stadium) all think alike and post alike.
I wish both these sets of fans would just LISTEN, open their minds and stop sitting in judgment over the rest of us who are trying our best to support the team in our own way. I wish they’d respect the fact that we are not all the same, that our brains don’t shut down the way theirs does, but that we all love our club and want it to succeed.
Was watching the first half. There was no flow to the game and right now I don’t feel like watching the games as well. I am not being negative. But I can’t watch my team just struggling to pass the ball in midfield which was regarded as one the best counter attacking and passing team in world. I had already left it to god this season. Hope he is hearing our blogs and can do something. But whatever be the position 5th or relegated from EPL. I will always be an gunner and proud of that.
Oh my…
Sigh, this is not looking good. 2 points dropped again. We are not top4 material at the moment, we deserve to be further down the log in my honest opinion!
Praying for Arshavin- Could have made the difference these last two games… Hopefully we bring him in and he scores next week vs the Totts and immediately becomes a legend…
Two things- first of all, Diaby’s injury looked very bad, and if he is out for any serious length of time a replacement may be needed, or Rambo will need to step up rather earlier than expected.
Also @-Arsenal
“The LIABILITY that is Clichy”
You should be ashamed of yourself. Last season he was voted into the PFA team of the season and came second in AFCs player of the season poll. He is going through a rough patch at the moment, but if you can refer to him in such a way, forgetting all his previous imperious performances, you are no Gooner. Remember what things were like before the professor came before criticising him.
There is no place for such harsh attacks on the club.
Piss Poor performance with no creativity, no intensity. 2 points dropped again. We should have won today to get within Astonvilla who also dropped points today. Title is Manu’s for sure. They know how to defend, how to score and more importantly how to get 3 points. Our current team is a serious problem and our manager has been a joke. I have no idea how a manger of his vision and quality is turning to an utter shit manager.
Was Wenger paid 5 million a season to drop his best player? Why was Bayor, who has been terribly shit this season not dropped instead. I repeat again: Bayor is very overrated. His only quality is in air when in form. 80k per week for dross like him is patheic. I don’t want to bash every single players. Arsene is the main problem for us right now. Poor team selection, poor substitution, irritating interviews with his usual words like ” Quality, Character, Spirit, Class”. Not good enough for his well paid job.
If you were at Emirates today, you could hear boo’s all over the stadium. Arsenal fans are regarded as best fans in Europe. Don’t you think it’s been too much to make them boo’ their team? To pay 1,100 pounds per season to watch those bunch of players is not a justice for fans.
Still some bollocks believe that we can win all the remaining matches. My question is do you actually understand football? Anyone with an ounce of football knowledge can tell our current team is a terrible team. At the begining of this season, Wenger told us that his team will dominate football this season. I guess we are dominating.
Spurs game is my last chance for Wenger. If we fail to win that game, I will boo’ Wenger every single time.
If not Wenger then who? The whole club is set up around him and if he was to go I would fear more for the club than if he stays, despite this shocking season. I’d be happy to give him next season to get us back into the Champions League (if we don’t make it this time). I’m as annoyed as anyone that the transitionary period has lasted so many seasons, and I hate that we won’t buy great players. But still, he’s taken us to the top once before – so who could do better that would actually come?
Anyway, there’s still a few months to go. We are lacking creativity it seems but with Walcott, Roskicky, Eduardo and Cesc to return, we have to keep the faith. No matter how hard it is. After all, supporters are there to support.
One positive guys – at least he played Carlos Vela.
@Arsenal
How I wish I had made your post.Agree 100%.Good stuff friend.
@Adam
Clichy IS a liability.He’s playing like a Sunday League defender- and has been for a long time. Wake up and smell the coffee buddy.
Adebayor is paid £80 grand a week?!
It should be laid out in 1£ notes and shoved up his ass – WEEKLY -until he starts earning it.
Almunia is a clown – how he gets paid as a ‘keeper is beyond me.
Denilson will NOT make the grade.How long do we carry on giving him the benefit of the doubt?There IS NO DOUBT -he’s not up to it.
Before anyone tells me I’m no Gooner, listen up. I’m 59 years old and have been a Gooner longer than I care to remember, like ALL my life.Think about that.Been there,done that, got the Tshirt.I remember Arsenal before AW – a long time before AW !!I don’t like what I’m seeing now.AW, who I supported(yeah, past tense) fully, is losing the plot, and needs reminding just what it is he should be doing.His arrogance in the interviews I’m seeing is breathtaking!What planet is he now living on?
We ARE shit as a football team , (how that hurts)and it’s time we woke up and accepted it.We need major surgery NOW – and if it has to start with AW then so be it – and I NEVER thought I’d ever say that.
There are excellent mangers who can replace Wenger easily. My preference will be Michael Laudrup who is at Spartak Moscow OR Van Basten from Ajax. Both of them are best players who played the game and now successful managers. Laudrup did a tremendous job at Getafae last season. They played great football in Spain last season including wins against Barcelona and Madrid. Same with Van Basten. Young, energetic and best footballing vision in the world. Those two players/mangers are the best option to manage Arsenal when Wenger leaves.
Spanish..;
You are absolutely right about Bayor, Almunia. Denilson is not ready to play at the highest level but I think he is better than Diaby, Song, Eboue in midfield. Player Stats are not reliable every time and they do not reflect the actual quality of a player. I don’t believe is those Stats either. No matter what, Denilson is the best midfielder in the league accoring to those Stats. This means he ain’t really bad, I will say he is fine to be a squad player. To play him as a defensive midfielder against monsters is not fair enough though.
I recently met few gooners at a bar who have been supporting the club for 30-40 years. They also think Wenger has been too negligent, arrogant. Every gooners should appreciate Wenger’s legacy at Arsenal. He did tremendous job with the available resources. Don’t get me wrong, I love Wenger and I want him to succeed.
Fair enough; We gave him plenty of time to experiment. 4 years and counting… Instead of making positive progress, we have been miserable every season. Out of 5 season, we challenged for title once. We keep losing our best players. I love the club. I do. I spend 2,000 pounds a year to watch my team play. Seeing the teams’ current situation, I have every right to ask question about the manager who have been failing season after season.
No more Excuses. Spurs game should be the ultimatum for Wenger.
Wow, this is awful. So many posters on this blog who just post negative, uninformed shit every week.
lets state some facts here guys.
– Wenger is one of the best if not the best Manager in the world. Sacking him is not even remotely an option.
– We have 4 players who are pretty central to our team injured for LONG periods of time, Eduardo, Rosicky, Cesc and Walcott. I’d love to see Man Utd without Tevez, Giggs, Ronaldo and Anderson for months like we have. Just wait until these players come back, if Eduardo was playing today, we would have won it with his clinical finishing!
– We arent a sell-out club like Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd, all foreign owned and have cash whenever they want it. Just look at Liverpools Summer dealings. 20 mill on Keane and 8 mill on Dossena, and what flops they turned out to be! Wenger spent 12 million on Nasri and he has been one of the standout newcomers in the league!
– Whilst I agree that our young Central Midfielders are playing great at the moment (Denilson, Song, Diaby) if they managed to make it to Arsenal and continue to play for Arsenal then Wenger who is undoubtedly a Footballing Genius MUST see some great potential in them! Think of what they will be like in 2 years thanks to all this first team exposure, they may be great players!
My main worry is what this club will do when Wenger retires when he is 70 or so, in 11 years. This club is the club of his life, he is very dedicated to taking Arsenal to the top of Europe, of that I am sure. No other managers have come close to matching what Wenger (think the Invincibles) has down with so little resources, nobody in the world.
We have been very unlucky this season with injuries. Cesc Fabregas getting injured was the absolute worst thing that could have possibly happened to Arsenal short of Somebody bombing the Emirates stadium, next season I think will be much better for us!
i meant that our young Central Midfielders arent playing great at the moment (Denilson, Song, Diaby) not they are 😛
Swift; It’s good to be positive. I don’t blame you. All your comments are relied upon past success. We are talking about present. Tell me one good thing, Wenger did on past 4 years.
How come you say Wenger is one of the best manager in the world. Of course he was. Best manager win trophies. Wenger has 0 in past four years. Let’s say trophies are nothing, we care about football and progress. The fact is, there has been no progress at Arsenal; this is the worst part. To challenge league title once in 5 years is not good enough.
Everything you wrote is utter bullshit. Wenger is finished for 2 reasons:
1. Exciting football we used to play under him is no more exciting. Go ahead and watch replay of most games this season, the football is as boring as Bolton.
2. We have too many mediocre players. When everyone is fit, we might have a better first team available. But, football is all about squad. We don’t have any depth at all. Quality all over the park is lacking.
Wenger will not be counted as a successful manager by making profits for the club. How come Arsenal manger come out and say he is well paid cause he makes profit for the club? Shocking. Manager has to win games, get results.
As I thought again the performance which raises more eye brows once. Why AW and board are not able to understand that supporter are not an fool to come week in week out in over 60 thousand in the stadium. Once they realize that this is not meant to play football and only to make make money they will stop coming to the stadium. For those who think we should not criticize our Manager board and team. Tell who are going to pay pack the money spent on very visit to our stadium. The supporters come to stadium to see superstars in there team and they expect that there team win matches at home especially. If this arsenal is not able to win matches against any lower table side than them at home. I don’t think they good enough to be in 5th position. I was tuning to Avilla in between yesterday. I can say that Avilla were very unlucky to drop points against wigan because they played brilliantly throughout the game. I never thought we will score because team was playing and every one was running behind the ball and that’s it. There is no fire in the team.Wait for morning AW,Diaby will come in an interview and will say we can win the title. Boss shut up you people and keep quite we are listening the same crap for the past four years. It is time to raise our voice now gunners bcz things are not going right at all. Apart from wining the games and playing good football this team is doing very thing else. I was and die hard fan of AW but not now. I think he is lacking ambition and hence it is showing in the team. If any people say we are negative. Guys wake up the last time Arsenal won the English Premier League was in 2003-2004. they finish that season unbeaten with 26 wins & 12 draws and than its been 3 years and I believe it was the FA Cup 2004-05 Season Though Arsenal did win the Emirates Cup and the Amsterdam Cup , two mickey mouse pre-season tournaments, last summer.Its been awhile they haven’t won a title. Patience has some limits in between this see were MANU are they won every single title apart from Carling cup if I am not wrong. AF of Manu is so ambitious even at his age. It is feeling like crap to write good about rivals but can’t help. This is truth if we can hail our team when are good we as an gan every right to criticize them when they are wrong. Bcz it is we who support them and make them popular and rich.
Wenger criticized Real Madrid’s ambition when they went 4 seasons without a trophy. He said big teams without a trophy for 4 years is unacceptable. Real madrid didn’t win anything between 03-07 but they were runners-up twice.
What about Wenger’s team now?
05-06: Undeserved FA Cup
06-07: Hardly finished 4th
07-08: 3rd place
08-09: Most unlikely
Rumor, rumor, i hate these rumors. 🙂
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Cardiff City FA Cup Replay, AW needs a win! we want to go through! i think Ramsey is up to it. I say :
Fabianski
Sagna-Djourou-Toure-Gibbs
Ramsey-Song-Wilshere
Vela-Bendtner-Van Persie.
Subs – Mannone, Gallas, Nasri, Denilson, Adebayor, Eduardo, Bischoff,
I hope Gibbs plays well against Cardiff. I’d like to see him challenge Clichy for time. Maybe Clichy will start to pick up his game a bit and play like the Clichy of old.
Am I the only one who sometimes feels our Cup lineups are more creative sides than those who have been starting league games? Considering the struggle the team has had finding a way forward, I’d like to see more Ramsey, Wilshere and Vela. Just to shake things up a bit.
Interesting; Senderos started for Milan against Lazio and played a good game.
Flamini was not seen anywhere in the pitch not even as a substitute. Poor little Mathieu! If he cannot cement his place in Milan team when Gattusso is injured, when he will? I don’t have hard feelings for him anyway. Paying Flamini 80k per season would have been better for Arsenal than paying over-rated, terrible ‘Bayor. Bayor should have been sold for any amount Milan/Barca were willing to pay. Wenger had a chance to buy David Villa for 20 million before Euro’s. Name me any striker in the world better than him. Torres and Ibrahimovic are close.
Arsene Knows? What the ‘uck he knows? What the ‘uck he did for last 4 seasons? Still he treats loyal Arsenal fans like Morons’ who spend 1,100 pounds a season for most expensive tickets in the World. To pay 70 pounds for some matches to watch Almunia, Eboue, Song, Diaby, ‘Bayor is not justified.
We could have this team if Wenger’s transfer starategy was spot on:
Lehmann
Sagna Gallas Zapata Clichy
——–Flamini——-
Wal/Vel/Ros Cesc Nasri
Van Persie Villa
You might laugh at Lehmann but he is having very good season with Stuttgart. He is still far better than “Clown”. This team is worldclass. Can beat anyone; Even better than Barcelona team.
I am tired, really tired of Arsene.
Arshavin is in London.
He might be signing for Chelsea or Spurs, I suspect.
1. We can’t afford Zenit’s demand for the player.
2. We can’t pay him more than 65k per week.
I hope we sign him no matter what. Wonderful player, has potential to turn around our depressing campaign.
I am tired, really tired of YOU New-Arse-Hole.
what kind of a horrible name is that anyway. You think you know more than Wenger? do you seriously think you know more than Wenger who has been playing and managing Football for the last 40 or so years. I’m not trying to sound like a fanboy here, he makes mistakes like ANY human being does but without Wenger facts are we’d probably be another Newcastle United. Face it, the fans actually have no idea (me included) quite what pressures and external factors Wenger or any other manager have to deal with. So just keep the personal attacks on Wenger out of it.
You are ruining this blog with your stupid comments New-Arse-Hole, reading the comments is no longer fun with your constantly negative comments. Do you actually think people enjoy reading your posts? no of course they don’t.
Swift; I don’t give a ‘uck if you like my comments or not. I am talking reality. None of things I have said are lies. If you don’t see what’s happening at Arsenal, then you must be blind. Do you really watch Arsenal play? OR you are just making your stupid comments on “Arsene knows” philosophy which has been a problem for Arsenal fans. You might not give a ‘uck about winning or being a top club. I have been a season ticket holder since Wenger arrived at the Groove. I was a big fan of Wenger before this Summer. Wenger had his chances to recover from his mistakes for last 4 seasons. Of course, Wenger was a genius who did wonderful things for the club. Now, his time is over. One man cannot remain a genius forever. Look at Rijkaard at Barcelona. Barca played best football for two years in last decade under him winning League and Champions league. He discovered Ronaldinho who went on to win consecutive FIFA World player of the year twice and Messi; undisputed star for football at the moment. He faded from last season and was replaced by another genius in Guardiola.
My suggestion for you is if you don’t understand about football, please don’t try to masturbate on past glories, past records. We are talking about present. We are nowhere near invincibles; actually we are invisibles in the pitch. I ain’t trying to ruin this blog. I am just talking what I have seen. I love my club and I have invested in my club. Nobody is bigger than Arsenal; not even Wenger. If he is underperforming, not for a season, for 4 years then I have every right to complain.
Do you really know why loyal Arsenal fans who supported Wenger for more than a decade are booing his players? Because of Wenger.
Now, can you tell me what you have expected of Wenger? His time is over for sure. I would be happy to be proved wrong. But I don’t see it coming.
@ New-Arse-Hole – I don’t think you’re trying to “ruin this blog”. Far from it. You’re giving your opinion and at the end of the day that’s fine. That’s what this blog is for.
But the manner of your communication is not great. I have to agree with Swift when they say that your posts are incredibly negative and as he said, don’t really add to the ‘fun’ of the blog at all. So far in this post you’ve criticised Abou Diaby for saying we’re still in the title race (not sure how he can avoid interviews for Arsenal.com), called Wenger and the board ‘pathetic c*nts’, said that ‘Arsenal are over’, written off Song and Diaby as players who will never make it, said that if Arsenal don’t beat Tottenham you will boo him every game, said that ‘Swift’ wrote ‘utter bullshit’ when he made some very fair points.
When you consider you wrote all of that in one post, I think you’ll agree that it’s a lot of negativity to be read through in a short space of time. I’m not trying to sugar-coat things and say that the team is going perfectly well and Wenger is having a great season, but you’re hyper-critical of our situation on such a consistent basis that it can be very frustrating to read. I think most people are well aware of our problems at the moment, it’s just that in the time I’ve run this blog the bulk of the chat is focused on positive things such as how the players we DO HAVE can progress rather than just criticising relentlessly and calling for new players/manager. There’s a time and a place for that but at the moment you’re being absolutely relentless and I think it’s a little tiresome.
What do you think?
Spanish; I have a huge respect for your blog. You have been doing a wonderful job. I tried to be positive for 4 years and it’s getting worse than improving. Trophies are not the only concern for me. If gradual improvement is seen at the club, I will be happy to change my mind on Wenger’s team. I am too frustuated with the state of my beloved club. It’s hard to kick out every single player or the whole Board. It’s always easy to point finger at the manger who chooses his team and he buys the players he needs. Most of the problems we are dealing for years are directly beacuse of Wenger’s negligence, carelessness.
Wenger is trying to prove the football world that he can be a winner without having superstar players paying big money. His aim is to match 1999 Fergusion’s team. That Manchester team had great academy players in Neville, Giggs, Beckham, Scholes etc. They got Keane for a cheap price from Forest who eventually became greatest leader in Premier league history. Wenger won’t be able to match that Ferguson’s legacy with a lot of mediocre players in his team. He needs more firepower. His experiment is continuing for 4 years with NO RESULTS, NO IMPROVEMENT. If anybody see improvements with this team, then there should be something wrong with you. I am really TIRED OF EXPERIMENT. Wenger looks like more focused in making profits for the club because the Board pay him handsome salary. We need a manager who is more ambitious and cares about results. I was in Wenger’s side till last summer but after he failed in that transfer I knew it is coming. As a team, We are not improving at all, that’s my main concern.
@ New-Arse-Hole – All fair points. I don’t necessarily disagree, so maybe it’s just a matter of ‘if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all’. Not that you shouldn’t say anything, but if it’s going to be overtly negative then perhaps it would be best to keep it to yourself?
Cheers for the kind words about the blog, though. I really do apprecitate them.
west ham are the best team in the world.i have been to see them play 3 times.
am not here to make comment but to tell arsenal football club that, the only no 3 defender who has not been discovered has arrived.am an arsenal fan and i know my football dreams lies on arsene wenger and arsenal management. i am a good footballer,but i hav not seen a club who will encourage me to hold on to my football dream.even if arsenal can assist me by putting me in the feeders team for now. iwill be verry happy.i know somedays i will play for arsenal wearing that no3as timtex.please arsene wenger am available.these are my profiles. name: TIMOTHY JOSEPH age; 20years
position: no3(left full back)
occupation: student
nationality: nigerian
phone number: +2348064579841.
thanx and Godbless.
i will be looking forward to hearing from you
Gunners is always the great fighter in cup games. Scored 10s in 3 matches, Arsenal can easily destroy Hammers.