Arsene was keen to focus forward and not back as he started off the interview by stating that we were simply 'not at our level' against the mancs last weekend. He reiterated his confidence in the players and strangely stated that the lads 'wanted to do well so much that they didn't do well', not an entirely convincing explanation in anyone's book. The lack of patience shown by the team as we were nailed on the break was acknowledged, it was almost a lack of maturity shown by the side in our wanton attacking from such an early stage in the match, it appears that words have been had on this in private, I would love to know what has been said.
A key point in the interview was the fact that Arsene admitted he was 'very close' to signing someone at the end of the transfer window. The fact that he said this shows that he is not entirely happy with the current squad, the more I think about it the more likely it appears that thus player must have been a striker, the fact that we have been playing with AA up top for so long speaks volumes about our lack of striking strength in depth. AA realises this problem, I'm sure Arsene does too, we really need to hope Bendter and Eduardo can stay fit for the rest of the duration. Benik Afobe, the highly talented England youth striker, has spurned Barca's advances and signed a new Arsenal contract, good news for our striking future.
For Chelsea Campbell is definitely back, it sounds like Diaby may make the bench, while Eduardo is out. Good news in the long term that John Djourou is making a good recovery and will be back in around two months, realistically Van Persie is probably out til April time as well. Nic Bendtner is still a couple of weeks away from full fitness, I'd imagine that this means he's on the bench again. Arsene wants us to fight for every point, he wants us to be 'tough, persistent and consistent', the impression he gives is that last weekend the fight and effort was not there from all eleven players. Arsene sensibly wants to take each game at a time, rather than getting carried away with careless speculation.
Chelsea are going to pack their central midfield area as they did against us at the Emirates, it will mean the selection of who is to play alongside Song and Cesc will be key. Personally I'd stick the young Craig Eastmond in the mix, he is good in the air, he can defend and he will work hard. If not Eastmond they I'd play Ramsey, Denilson should be dropped, his recent performances have been substandard. I don't think Nic is fit enough to start, meaning that it's going to be Arshavin up top again, I'd probably go for Theo and Rosicky alongside him. These three could swap positions fairly freely, Theo could give us a bit of threat over the top which would be useful.
The whole eleven men are going to have to up it if we are to get anything from Sunday, the defence will need to play with some discipline, while all ten outfield players will need to press and work much harder off the ball. I used to look at the Arsenal team and find it hard to improve us by stealing players from the Chelsea and Manu squads, the problem now is that very few of our players would make it into their sides, Sagna, Vermaelen, Cesc, Song and Arshavin are the only five of our fit players that would really have a chance. Our squad is just not good enough to win the league, I can't get my hopes up for Sunday, I think the best we can hope for is third spot and that frustrates me.
Finally I'd like to point out a rather interesting Le Grove post, the point made at the end of this is particularly relevant in an age where the England captain's private life makes the front page for weeks on end, while the important things like political and scientific corruption are routinely ignored. Cheap gossip is easy news, proper intelligent investigative work is being done less and less by the mainstream media as it costs more, with readerships going down the quality of news is going down the toilet with it. The exposure of global warming lies are just one great example of how bloggers are rather important in this age of mainstream media laziness. The recent drive towards 'licenses' for writing on the web and more mainstream control of the web are based about the dying cry of various corrupt and useless figures in big business and government who want to control everything, in reality their own corruption has seen their control wane with the freedom of the Internet. Blogging and the freedom of speech on the internet are so key for our freedom that I would urge anyone reading to sign the following Petition at No10, with a free media the truth always outs, with a controlled media lies with be peddled by those in control.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Fence sitting et al
There has been a fair amount of criticism of the team's performance against Manu and quite rightly so in my opinion, it simply wasn't good enough, especially defensively. I think most Gooners aren't bad at taking defeat on the chin, it was the manner of this defeat that hit home so hard. Ted talked of the fight we had when the likes of Nutty played, saliently Nutty has been commenting on the defending that took place at the weekend (or lack of it).
Obviously despite what one may feel about certain Arsenal issues, we should all get behind the lads, it goes without saying. However this most certainly doesn't mean that we can't say what we think is going wrong and how it should be fixed. Arsene has always been a very patient man and his patience has paid off in the past when persevering with certain players. He has some big decisions to make in the next year or so and one wonders whether all of the current crop will escape unscathed. Gunnerblog talks about Theo Walcott's situation, for me if he stays fit then he has to start delivering in the next couple of years. There are quite a few players in the squad who need to step it up, for example Denilson, Clichy, Almunia, Rosicky and Nasri have got to start performing consistently if they are to justify their wage packets. One wonders just how many seasons without success the squad can go before some of the dead wood is released.
A lot of the criticism of Arsene is way over the top, as it often is, and the calls for him to step down are simply ludicrous. However this frustration from fans is not all without cause, to just blindly carry on and ignore the problems we have is not wise either. The fact that the club has been built on a much more solid financial base than many others is something we should be very grateful in the current financial climate. The revolution in our young player development under Arsene has been simply fantastic, Wellington looks to be another potential star from the production line. The fact that we have lacked a bit of experience in the squad has been undeniable in the last few years and I bet if Arsene could go back in time he would do things a little bit differently in the transfer market in this regard, the retrospectoscope is a wonderful thing.
Overall Arsenal Football Club is heading in the right direction and for that I am glad, I can see recent setbacks in this perspective, I hope I am no reactionary lunatic. However I still reserve the right to point out where I think the club is going wrong, that's only healthy criticism in my eyes. If we were miles off then I wouldn't be so frustrated, but as supporters of one of the biggest clubs around I think we have the right to question some things that have gone on of late. We have one of the biggest turnovers, one of the biggest wage bills in the land, but are the players in our squad really delivering in this context?
Possibly our young players are paid a bit too much before they have actually succeeded, maybe this is partly down to a systematic problem whereby young talent is financially rewarded far too early. Maybe Arsene has got a bit carried away with his fantasy of beautiful football, he has lost sight of the real world in which it is not just pretty passing football than wins points. Whatever happens, Arsene is no fool and I am sure he is also very much aware of the same problems that we are, we are lucky to have such a wise man at the helm. Next up Chelsea at the Bridge, what a chance to answer one's critics.
Obviously despite what one may feel about certain Arsenal issues, we should all get behind the lads, it goes without saying. However this most certainly doesn't mean that we can't say what we think is going wrong and how it should be fixed. Arsene has always been a very patient man and his patience has paid off in the past when persevering with certain players. He has some big decisions to make in the next year or so and one wonders whether all of the current crop will escape unscathed. Gunnerblog talks about Theo Walcott's situation, for me if he stays fit then he has to start delivering in the next couple of years. There are quite a few players in the squad who need to step it up, for example Denilson, Clichy, Almunia, Rosicky and Nasri have got to start performing consistently if they are to justify their wage packets. One wonders just how many seasons without success the squad can go before some of the dead wood is released.
A lot of the criticism of Arsene is way over the top, as it often is, and the calls for him to step down are simply ludicrous. However this frustration from fans is not all without cause, to just blindly carry on and ignore the problems we have is not wise either. The fact that the club has been built on a much more solid financial base than many others is something we should be very grateful in the current financial climate. The revolution in our young player development under Arsene has been simply fantastic, Wellington looks to be another potential star from the production line. The fact that we have lacked a bit of experience in the squad has been undeniable in the last few years and I bet if Arsene could go back in time he would do things a little bit differently in the transfer market in this regard, the retrospectoscope is a wonderful thing.
Overall Arsenal Football Club is heading in the right direction and for that I am glad, I can see recent setbacks in this perspective, I hope I am no reactionary lunatic. However I still reserve the right to point out where I think the club is going wrong, that's only healthy criticism in my eyes. If we were miles off then I wouldn't be so frustrated, but as supporters of one of the biggest clubs around I think we have the right to question some things that have gone on of late. We have one of the biggest turnovers, one of the biggest wage bills in the land, but are the players in our squad really delivering in this context?
Possibly our young players are paid a bit too much before they have actually succeeded, maybe this is partly down to a systematic problem whereby young talent is financially rewarded far too early. Maybe Arsene has got a bit carried away with his fantasy of beautiful football, he has lost sight of the real world in which it is not just pretty passing football than wins points. Whatever happens, Arsene is no fool and I am sure he is also very much aware of the same problems that we are, we are lucky to have such a wise man at the helm. Next up Chelsea at the Bridge, what a chance to answer one's critics.
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Where from here???
Having cogitated and deliberated following our defeat to a distinctly average Manure side at the weekend, I have come to a few conclusions as to where we need to go from here. The defensive problems were obvious but for me they were not down to the defenders, it was more a systemic problem. The team did not defend as a unit, there was no adequate communication as to who should cover for defenders when they went on attacking forays up field, there was not enough defensive work done by our midfielders and forwards as well.
Defend from the front. The best example of this are Barca, they might not be the most physical or biggest of sides but every single one of their players works like a beaver for the team in pressing and closing down the opposition, it makes it very difficult to keep the ball against them and forces errors very quickly. If one is to do this it requires a lot of fitness, effort and discipline. Everyone must work hard, players must not dive in and commit themselves to tackles that can be easily side stepped. We have had too many passengers in recent weeks. The lack of defensive work from the likes of Denilson, Cesc, Nasri and Rosicky is obvious. Players who don't give their all for the cause need rockets up their backsides and should be dropped no matter of their reputations.
Communication. How can one or two light weight players be left alone to cope with three or four marauding attackers. The second Manure and the second Everton goal were both examples of this shambolic organisation in the current Arsenal side. Maybe it's fine to leave oneself open in the 90th minute when searching desperately for an equaliser, but doing it in the first half is just plain foolish. If players go up for set pieces or corners then there must be adequate cover left at the back to cope with the potential counter attacks, this is just simple basic defending.
The right squad balance. Song is our only defensive midfielder, while Diaby is the only other midfielder we have who can defend to any degree, obviously Eastmond is a great prospect but I do not include him in this assessment of the squad. The list of attacking players we have is ridiculous: Nasri, Cesc, Denilson, Walcott, Arshavin, Rosicky, Merida, Vela, Ramsey and on and on. The balance is simply not there. All championship winning squads need the right mixture, in the past the likes of Vieira, Petit, Edu and Parlour have given us this. The transfer window is not shut and changing the squad is impossible. I hope that the summer sees a realisation from Arsene that the balance is wrong, and that some players have had their time and failed.
Tactics/4-3-3/4-4-2. The formation matters far less than the players within it. The defensive problems with our 4-3-3 of late have been down to playing five players who don't do much defensive work in the front six, this has been a mistake. The full backs have had precious little support, even the best would have trouble dealing with endless 2 on 1 situations. Maybe Arsene has become carried away with his attacking and free flowing ideology, forgetting that at the end of the day this will count for nothing if it doesn't achieve the results. Our team has become too attacking, too small, not physical enough and weak defensively. This must change.
Defend from the front. The best example of this are Barca, they might not be the most physical or biggest of sides but every single one of their players works like a beaver for the team in pressing and closing down the opposition, it makes it very difficult to keep the ball against them and forces errors very quickly. If one is to do this it requires a lot of fitness, effort and discipline. Everyone must work hard, players must not dive in and commit themselves to tackles that can be easily side stepped. We have had too many passengers in recent weeks. The lack of defensive work from the likes of Denilson, Cesc, Nasri and Rosicky is obvious. Players who don't give their all for the cause need rockets up their backsides and should be dropped no matter of their reputations.
Communication. How can one or two light weight players be left alone to cope with three or four marauding attackers. The second Manure and the second Everton goal were both examples of this shambolic organisation in the current Arsenal side. Maybe it's fine to leave oneself open in the 90th minute when searching desperately for an equaliser, but doing it in the first half is just plain foolish. If players go up for set pieces or corners then there must be adequate cover left at the back to cope with the potential counter attacks, this is just simple basic defending.
The right squad balance. Song is our only defensive midfielder, while Diaby is the only other midfielder we have who can defend to any degree, obviously Eastmond is a great prospect but I do not include him in this assessment of the squad. The list of attacking players we have is ridiculous: Nasri, Cesc, Denilson, Walcott, Arshavin, Rosicky, Merida, Vela, Ramsey and on and on. The balance is simply not there. All championship winning squads need the right mixture, in the past the likes of Vieira, Petit, Edu and Parlour have given us this. The transfer window is not shut and changing the squad is impossible. I hope that the summer sees a realisation from Arsene that the balance is wrong, and that some players have had their time and failed.
Tactics/4-3-3/4-4-2. The formation matters far less than the players within it. The defensive problems with our 4-3-3 of late have been down to playing five players who don't do much defensive work in the front six, this has been a mistake. The full backs have had precious little support, even the best would have trouble dealing with endless 2 on 1 situations. Maybe Arsene has become carried away with his attacking and free flowing ideology, forgetting that at the end of the day this will count for nothing if it doesn't achieve the results. Our team has become too attacking, too small, not physical enough and weak defensively. This must change.
Monday, 1 February 2010
The featherweights will always fail.
The last time Arsenal were thrashed 3-1 at home by United, the result was triggered by an unfortunate slip by Keiran Gibbs, deputising for an injured Gael Clichy. Cristiano Ronaldo then fired in a thunderbolt free kick past Almunia. 2-0 nil down and the game was over after 20 minutes. That result followed an appalling performance at Old Trafford, and an abysmal lack of will in the FA Cup semi final against Chelsea.
Several people have said that there is no comparison between those Utd games and yesterday's encounter. Well I think the similarities are stark. Ronaldo did not beat us by himself last year. Fat Wayne was there last year and he did us again yesterday. Ji Sung Park is now well on the way to being a specialist anti-Arsenal player. He was terrific in both games in terms of workrate and commitment. Fletcher, as well, epitomises everything that is missing in Arsenal's team.
We should also look at the abysmal defending against Chelsea at home in November, against Everton at home in December. The sheer number of times we concede goals due to "individual errors" is quite incredible. So I am going to throw my tuppence into the hat on Arsenal's problems at the back. The answer, I think, is blindingly obvious - we only have one good defender. We just don't want to admit it.
A good back 5 (4 defenders plus keeper) play as a unit. They communicate almost instinctively, a nod of the head, a flick of the hand is all that is required, because they spend the entire game reading the threat posed by the opposition and collectively moving against it. Watch Chelsea's back line next week for guidance.
The only defender Arsenal have who would interest Chelsea or Manure is probably Tommy V. And he is our only "proper defender". But Tommy's clear ability as a defender has led us to believe this season that we are better defensively, which we are clearly not. We have conceded more goals this year.
A defence starts with its keeper. And Manuel Almunia's time is up. Forget the own goal yesterday, just ask the basic question - does Almunia inspire confidence? The answer is a resounding "no". And that applies to the fans as well as his team mates. When was the last time you saw Almunia "high fiving" with another player after a miracle save. Exactly. Its never happened.
Gael Clichy and William Gallas I am going to lump together. They are both potentially very good footballers, potentially world class. But neither is a great defender. Neither is good in the air, neither is particularly physical, but both are excellent on the ground, like to get forwards. We might be able to cope with one player like that in the team, but we struggle with two. Ashley Cole got away with it at Arsenal because he had Sol Campbell and Keown at centre-back. The first thing Mourinho did with Cole was tell him to stay at the back and defend.
Bacary Sagna is a mystery to me. He started off looking like a good player after a season of Eboue mistakes. He seems solid enough defensively, I guess, but somehow seems to make a lot of mistakes as well. For a big strong lad he seems quiet, well behaved and a bit reserved. Which are none of the characteristics that make a good defender. People like Lee Dixon and Lauren knew that occassionally you need to just pole-axe your opposite winger. But the same accusation could probably be said about Clichy and Gallas as well. We are far too polite in our defending.
Those defensive frailities are then compounded by the fact that of the midfield, only Alex Song knows how to defend. Denilson is beyond bad. And Nasri and Cesc seem to treat the 4-3-3 system as a free pass to skip defensive duties. Frankly, I have no idea what Nasri does. Rarely have I seen an Arsenal player who is so anonymous for large parts of the game. Only Rosicky seems to have a clue about getting back to tackle, and he is hardly diligent at it.
So when an opposition team counter-attacks us, if they have a decent runner or two in their team, then you can virtually guarantee them a good scoring chance against Arsenal. Because if they evade Song and Tommy V, then our defensive ability is very, very suspect.
We have all been saying for some time that the balance in the team is completely wrong. The line-ups in our title winning seasons are immensely strong compared to this rag-tag bunch of lightweight midgets. I would swap the technical ability of Clichy, Gallas and Sagna for the blood, sweat and tears of Keown, Dixon and Winterburn at a drop of a hat.
Several people have said that there is no comparison between those Utd games and yesterday's encounter. Well I think the similarities are stark. Ronaldo did not beat us by himself last year. Fat Wayne was there last year and he did us again yesterday. Ji Sung Park is now well on the way to being a specialist anti-Arsenal player. He was terrific in both games in terms of workrate and commitment. Fletcher, as well, epitomises everything that is missing in Arsenal's team.
We should also look at the abysmal defending against Chelsea at home in November, against Everton at home in December. The sheer number of times we concede goals due to "individual errors" is quite incredible. So I am going to throw my tuppence into the hat on Arsenal's problems at the back. The answer, I think, is blindingly obvious - we only have one good defender. We just don't want to admit it.
A good back 5 (4 defenders plus keeper) play as a unit. They communicate almost instinctively, a nod of the head, a flick of the hand is all that is required, because they spend the entire game reading the threat posed by the opposition and collectively moving against it. Watch Chelsea's back line next week for guidance.
The only defender Arsenal have who would interest Chelsea or Manure is probably Tommy V. And he is our only "proper defender". But Tommy's clear ability as a defender has led us to believe this season that we are better defensively, which we are clearly not. We have conceded more goals this year.
A defence starts with its keeper. And Manuel Almunia's time is up. Forget the own goal yesterday, just ask the basic question - does Almunia inspire confidence? The answer is a resounding "no". And that applies to the fans as well as his team mates. When was the last time you saw Almunia "high fiving" with another player after a miracle save. Exactly. Its never happened.
Gael Clichy and William Gallas I am going to lump together. They are both potentially very good footballers, potentially world class. But neither is a great defender. Neither is good in the air, neither is particularly physical, but both are excellent on the ground, like to get forwards. We might be able to cope with one player like that in the team, but we struggle with two. Ashley Cole got away with it at Arsenal because he had Sol Campbell and Keown at centre-back. The first thing Mourinho did with Cole was tell him to stay at the back and defend.
Bacary Sagna is a mystery to me. He started off looking like a good player after a season of Eboue mistakes. He seems solid enough defensively, I guess, but somehow seems to make a lot of mistakes as well. For a big strong lad he seems quiet, well behaved and a bit reserved. Which are none of the characteristics that make a good defender. People like Lee Dixon and Lauren knew that occassionally you need to just pole-axe your opposite winger. But the same accusation could probably be said about Clichy and Gallas as well. We are far too polite in our defending.
Those defensive frailities are then compounded by the fact that of the midfield, only Alex Song knows how to defend. Denilson is beyond bad. And Nasri and Cesc seem to treat the 4-3-3 system as a free pass to skip defensive duties. Frankly, I have no idea what Nasri does. Rarely have I seen an Arsenal player who is so anonymous for large parts of the game. Only Rosicky seems to have a clue about getting back to tackle, and he is hardly diligent at it.
So when an opposition team counter-attacks us, if they have a decent runner or two in their team, then you can virtually guarantee them a good scoring chance against Arsenal. Because if they evade Song and Tommy V, then our defensive ability is very, very suspect.
We have all been saying for some time that the balance in the team is completely wrong. The line-ups in our title winning seasons are immensely strong compared to this rag-tag bunch of lightweight midgets. I would swap the technical ability of Clichy, Gallas and Sagna for the blood, sweat and tears of Keown, Dixon and Winterburn at a drop of a hat.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Arsene must look in the mirror
Firstly I am not going to dissect the details of our depressing 3-1 defeat to Manu today. It was a Manu side there for the taking, they had a very weak back four on show and an unconvincing keeper. We did create a lot of very decent chances and on a better finishing day we could have easily had four or five goals. The referee was woeful, allowing numerous tackles from behind to go without punishment, but this was not the reason for our capitulation.
The defensive naivety on show today was truly flabbergasting. The first United goal was awful defensively, Nasri didn't cover Clichy properly, Denilson's attempted defensive effort was truly pitiful, I don't blame Almunia as Nani's ball was almost impossible to defend. The problem was that when we went behind we threw men forward in the most suicidal of manners, we were frequently outnumbered on the counter attack, it made it easy for United to dismantle. There was simply no need to throw caution to the wind like this, we were only one goal down for God's sake. The second goal showed our rank defensive naivety as Nani broke, Vermaelen tried hard to cover, Denilson's casual strolling while Rooney motored past him was typical of his pathetic performance, Rooney finished well but it was far far too easy for him in so much space. Gallas was regularly going missing up the field, seemingly forgetting that his primary job is to prevent the conceding of goals.
The frustrating thing was that this is no great United side. Arshavin could have had a hat trick, as could Song, we opened them up easily without even having a proper centre forward up there. With RVP up there we could have cut them to ribbons. Song was the only midfielder really defending for the team, Denilson was wasteful in possession and as useful as a traffic cone in defensive positions. Overall in our front six we only have one player (Song) carrying a decent portion of water, that is simply not enough to get by in this league.
The third goal saw Gallas nowhere again, Clichy was left on his own and failed to close down Park quickly enough, it was another calamity of errors, conceding a third so early in the second half meant that game was over. There was just no need to leave ourselves so outnumbered at the back, serious questions need to be asked of the management as this defensive naivety has seen us attempt suicide in several games of late, the Everton game included in this and the Pienaar goal a classic example of this idiocy.
I do not mind us defending naively in the 89th minute when we are going for a key goal, but throwing men forward recklessly so early in the game is nothing but plain stupid. The lack of defensive players in the squad compounds this obvious problem, Song cannot lift planets alone. Denilson was awful yet again and does not have what it takes to make the grade at Arsenal in my opinion. The lack of strikers in the squad is also obvious, even if Bendtner and Eduardo were fully fit it would not leave us enough depth to cope with our fixtures for the rest of the season, a striker is badly needed in my opinion. Ignore the referee, ignore the great chances we squandered, the defensive naivety that we are playing with at the moment will never win us a league title, this was no great United side and we made them look rather good as a result. If Arsene does not look in the mirror soon then I really fear for our future.
The defensive naivety on show today was truly flabbergasting. The first United goal was awful defensively, Nasri didn't cover Clichy properly, Denilson's attempted defensive effort was truly pitiful, I don't blame Almunia as Nani's ball was almost impossible to defend. The problem was that when we went behind we threw men forward in the most suicidal of manners, we were frequently outnumbered on the counter attack, it made it easy for United to dismantle. There was simply no need to throw caution to the wind like this, we were only one goal down for God's sake. The second goal showed our rank defensive naivety as Nani broke, Vermaelen tried hard to cover, Denilson's casual strolling while Rooney motored past him was typical of his pathetic performance, Rooney finished well but it was far far too easy for him in so much space. Gallas was regularly going missing up the field, seemingly forgetting that his primary job is to prevent the conceding of goals.
The frustrating thing was that this is no great United side. Arshavin could have had a hat trick, as could Song, we opened them up easily without even having a proper centre forward up there. With RVP up there we could have cut them to ribbons. Song was the only midfielder really defending for the team, Denilson was wasteful in possession and as useful as a traffic cone in defensive positions. Overall in our front six we only have one player (Song) carrying a decent portion of water, that is simply not enough to get by in this league.
The third goal saw Gallas nowhere again, Clichy was left on his own and failed to close down Park quickly enough, it was another calamity of errors, conceding a third so early in the second half meant that game was over. There was just no need to leave ourselves so outnumbered at the back, serious questions need to be asked of the management as this defensive naivety has seen us attempt suicide in several games of late, the Everton game included in this and the Pienaar goal a classic example of this idiocy.
I do not mind us defending naively in the 89th minute when we are going for a key goal, but throwing men forward recklessly so early in the game is nothing but plain stupid. The lack of defensive players in the squad compounds this obvious problem, Song cannot lift planets alone. Denilson was awful yet again and does not have what it takes to make the grade at Arsenal in my opinion. The lack of strikers in the squad is also obvious, even if Bendtner and Eduardo were fully fit it would not leave us enough depth to cope with our fixtures for the rest of the season, a striker is badly needed in my opinion. Ignore the referee, ignore the great chances we squandered, the defensive naivety that we are playing with at the moment will never win us a league title, this was no great United side and we made them look rather good as a result. If Arsene does not look in the mirror soon then I really fear for our future.
Saturday, 30 January 2010
O'Neill a sad and bitter man, Manure preview and Smalling's error
So Martin O'Neill continues his very inappropriate and personal attack on Arsene Wenger, his comments do nothing but make himself look rather reactionary and foolish:
Wenger added: "We know what you get when you come here and we weren't disappointed. It's a very efficient English game with long balls, and very physical. They did that very well and are a good side on counter-attacking, so when we took the gamble to go forward and they won the ball they are quick. That's why it was always us managing to create chances and them catching us on counter-attack or playing on [Gabriel] Agbonlahor and [Emile] Heskey with long balls.
The reaction from O'Neill and players like Collins is embarrassing. These people would rather react like children without thinking and without examining what has actually been said in context, O'Neill is having a kind of verbal epileptic seizure. Arsene has said nothing offensive, he has just stated a few things as a he saw them, of note he has also been very complimentary to Villa in a number of ways. There is no 'appalling insult' amongst Arsene's words, I can only think that the media have tricked the naive O'Neill into giving them a story that he should have been sharp enough to side step. Andrei Arshavin is typically honest in his assessment of this mountain out of a molehill. O'Neill is showing himself to be a very bitter and resentful man, actually rather unpleasant as well, strange that the media let him get away with such a vitriolic and personal attack on another manager in response to such mild comments from Arsene, shame on you Mr O'Neill.
Alex Ferguson does not miss the opportunity to have a dig at Arsene as well, Fergie seems to think that the sun shines out of Darren Fletcher's arsehole, obviously Darren the cherub would never set out to foul another fellow professional, would he? He also wouldn't dive either, let's just ignore that booking he got for a blatant dive in the CL earlier this year, maybe Wayne taught him but obviously not well enough.
What a huge game it is. Manu will have been boosted by their win against City in midweek, Ferdinand's suspension for his vicious elbow on Fagan is thoroughly deserved and is a blow to them, I was rather amused by the FA's description of Manures appeal as 'frivolous' and by Fergie banning Sky from his press conferences, surely Fergie should be directing his rage at Ferdinand's nasty violent actions. Rooney will be their key man, he is on great form at the moment, it will be important that he is not given the room to do us damage. Fletcher is their key man in midfield and it would be nice to see him punished for any cynical indiscretions early by the referee, this can have a big impact on games.
Thomas Vermaelen will probably not be risked, meaning that it's a big one for big Sol, he's looked decent in his outings thus far, but facing Rooney and co would be a stern test of anyone's abilities. I'd hope to see Bendtner starting with Eduardo out, Arshavin leading the line would be playing into Manure's hands in my eyes. I'd be very surprised if Song didn't start in the holding role, Cesc will be alongside him in the midfield, Denilson may make up the trio but Nasri would be a good option for me. Then again Nasri may come into the front three with Bendtner and Arshavin, although Rosicky has been very useful in our last couple of games there. I really don't know how Arsene will play this one, all I know is that we will have to get in and amongst them, we will need to play with a real drive and tempo to unsettle the mancs.
Finally I'd like to say that Chris Smalling has probably made an error in joining Manure. Not only does he have to live up north near or in Manchester away from his friends and family, but he also is taking much more of a gamble with his career by trusting Ferguson to nurture him. Ferguson's record with developing young players has been good, but very erratic in recent years, I would argue that Arsene's ability in this area is second to none. Arsenal also have more space in which Smalling can develop, we have only one young top class centre back in his prime, Manure have Ferdinand and Vidic, as well as some good young prospects like Evans. The fee of around ten million pounds is a hell of a price for a kid who has barely played at the top level, it is a gamble in anyone's book, it remains to be seen whether he has the temperament to survive at the top level. Bringing in young players for huge money is always a massive gamble, for every Rooney there are more than a dozen Jeffers, Djemba Djembas and Bellions. Arsene is sorry to have missed out and wishes the player well, but how Smalling may come to regret his decision in time.
"I believe we dropped two points [rather than gained one] because we had clear chances. On the other hand it was a very difficult game because they stopped us from playing when we had the ball and when they had it they played a very long-ball game and closed us down. We couldn't find our passing game."
Wenger added: "We know what you get when you come here and we weren't disappointed. It's a very efficient English game with long balls, and very physical. They did that very well and are a good side on counter-attacking, so when we took the gamble to go forward and they won the ball they are quick. That's why it was always us managing to create chances and them catching us on counter-attack or playing on [Gabriel] Agbonlahor and [Emile] Heskey with long balls.
"I wish them to have a good run now because they are quality. They are well-organised and have a strong spirit. They are very strong physically and the four in midfield do not stop running and all these players can score goals, so they have a chance. I think they have a very good chance but you have seven teams for four places."
The reaction from O'Neill and players like Collins is embarrassing. These people would rather react like children without thinking and without examining what has actually been said in context, O'Neill is having a kind of verbal epileptic seizure. Arsene has said nothing offensive, he has just stated a few things as a he saw them, of note he has also been very complimentary to Villa in a number of ways. There is no 'appalling insult' amongst Arsene's words, I can only think that the media have tricked the naive O'Neill into giving them a story that he should have been sharp enough to side step. Andrei Arshavin is typically honest in his assessment of this mountain out of a molehill. O'Neill is showing himself to be a very bitter and resentful man, actually rather unpleasant as well, strange that the media let him get away with such a vitriolic and personal attack on another manager in response to such mild comments from Arsene, shame on you Mr O'Neill.
Alex Ferguson does not miss the opportunity to have a dig at Arsene as well, Fergie seems to think that the sun shines out of Darren Fletcher's arsehole, obviously Darren the cherub would never set out to foul another fellow professional, would he? He also wouldn't dive either, let's just ignore that booking he got for a blatant dive in the CL earlier this year, maybe Wayne taught him but obviously not well enough.
What a huge game it is. Manu will have been boosted by their win against City in midweek, Ferdinand's suspension for his vicious elbow on Fagan is thoroughly deserved and is a blow to them, I was rather amused by the FA's description of Manures appeal as 'frivolous' and by Fergie banning Sky from his press conferences, surely Fergie should be directing his rage at Ferdinand's nasty violent actions. Rooney will be their key man, he is on great form at the moment, it will be important that he is not given the room to do us damage. Fletcher is their key man in midfield and it would be nice to see him punished for any cynical indiscretions early by the referee, this can have a big impact on games.
Thomas Vermaelen will probably not be risked, meaning that it's a big one for big Sol, he's looked decent in his outings thus far, but facing Rooney and co would be a stern test of anyone's abilities. I'd hope to see Bendtner starting with Eduardo out, Arshavin leading the line would be playing into Manure's hands in my eyes. I'd be very surprised if Song didn't start in the holding role, Cesc will be alongside him in the midfield, Denilson may make up the trio but Nasri would be a good option for me. Then again Nasri may come into the front three with Bendtner and Arshavin, although Rosicky has been very useful in our last couple of games there. I really don't know how Arsene will play this one, all I know is that we will have to get in and amongst them, we will need to play with a real drive and tempo to unsettle the mancs.
Finally I'd like to say that Chris Smalling has probably made an error in joining Manure. Not only does he have to live up north near or in Manchester away from his friends and family, but he also is taking much more of a gamble with his career by trusting Ferguson to nurture him. Ferguson's record with developing young players has been good, but very erratic in recent years, I would argue that Arsene's ability in this area is second to none. Arsenal also have more space in which Smalling can develop, we have only one young top class centre back in his prime, Manure have Ferdinand and Vidic, as well as some good young prospects like Evans. The fee of around ten million pounds is a hell of a price for a kid who has barely played at the top level, it is a gamble in anyone's book, it remains to be seen whether he has the temperament to survive at the top level. Bringing in young players for huge money is always a massive gamble, for every Rooney there are more than a dozen Jeffers, Djemba Djembas and Bellions. Arsene is sorry to have missed out and wishes the player well, but how Smalling may come to regret his decision in time.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
A point gained but inability to strengthen will cost us
A point at Villa park is nothing to be sniffed at, just can't help but think how sweet three points would have been, then again what's the point in wondering about all the ifs and buts, reality must be dealt with. It certainly leaves a lot of pressure on the home game against the mancs this weekend. It was an interesting game last night, slightly contrasting styles and some decent football, a mixture of poor finishing and some excellent defending meant that the deadlock was never broken.
It could all have been very different had Manuel Almunia not got down extremely well to a very firm Agoblahor shot in the first few minutes, he tipped it wide and this was a top notch bit of goalkeeping. Friedel was forced into a slightly less tricky save when Denilson cracked in a decent left footed effort from the edge of the box. The game was fairly rapid from one end to the other, Villa preferring to play on the counter than investing too many bodies forward at any one time. Thomas Vermaelen, in landing seemingly innocuously having jumped for a header, then hobbled off injured. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, he did try to play on for a few minutes on it which must be a good sign, fingers crossed. Defensively we coped reasonably well with everything that Villa threw at us, Gallas was particularly good, Almunia too, Young did catch Clichy out a few times.
The best chance of the game came when Cesc drifted past a couple of defenders towards the end of the first half, he shot low and hard against the base of Freidel's right hand post, Rosicky looked set to fire it home on the rebound, alas Ramsey got in his way. Dunne saved Villa with a vital last ditch clearance at the feet of Villa, Downing then headed wide with what was probably Villa's best opening of the game, Arshavin nipped clean through to be blocked by Friedel, Rosicky was terribly unlucky to see his effort crack back off the underside of the bar.
Overall we were a tad unlucky to only get the point, Villa never really opened us up, they put in some dangerous crosses which we defended well, but we looked the far more likely to score. The game was slightly cagey, Villa were never going to leave themselves open by playing like the traditional home side, on another day Rosicky's effort would have bounced the other side of the goal line or Ramsey would have moved out the way to allow Rosicky to side foot home. The spat between Wenger and O'Neill was nothing but a bit of media spin, in reality Arsene said nothing offensive, he just stated some pretty basic stuff that appears to have been twisted before being played back to O'Neill by some disingenuous hack
I am a great fan of Arsene Wenger, so what I say now must be seen in context, I really do fear if we do not strengthen by the end of the window then we will be jeopardising our chances of success this season. If Vermaelen is out for a few weeks then there is no doubt that we need another centre back on board, it is not good enough to have only Gallas, Campbell and Silvestre for the next couple of months, it's a simple as that in my eyes. The apparent collapse of the Smalling deal is a blow because he appears the exact kind of player we need to have floating around in reserve. We have both the Champions league and Premier League to fight for, we need more depth in the squad, it's getting beyond a joke. Even if Eduardo was not injured I would say we need another striker for the rest of the season, three strikers is a minimum number for me, so with Eduardo injured for who knows how long, Bendtner just back from a long lay off, it is absurd to not be lining up someone to fill this short term gap for a few months.
It really would be such a crying shame if were to leave such gaps in our squad before such an important run in. Buying in a couple of experienced pros in these positions would guarantee nothing, we may well end up with nothing even with them, but if we do not it will be so frustrating to be thinking 'what if we had strengthened' those blatant deficiencies in our squad. I agree with Arseblogger when he talks of the nonsensical arguments of stifling the development of the Velas and Walcotts of this world. All I am asking for is a couple of short term signings that will plug the gaps until the end of the season when RVP will be fit and when we can bring in another young centre back who can be groomed for a the future.
ps Great news that Thomas Vermaelen has no break and will be back fairly soon, also good news that Eduardo is only out for a few days with his hammy. Eboue and Song are also back in training and will surely be available for selection at the weekend.
It could all have been very different had Manuel Almunia not got down extremely well to a very firm Agoblahor shot in the first few minutes, he tipped it wide and this was a top notch bit of goalkeeping. Friedel was forced into a slightly less tricky save when Denilson cracked in a decent left footed effort from the edge of the box. The game was fairly rapid from one end to the other, Villa preferring to play on the counter than investing too many bodies forward at any one time. Thomas Vermaelen, in landing seemingly innocuously having jumped for a header, then hobbled off injured. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, he did try to play on for a few minutes on it which must be a good sign, fingers crossed. Defensively we coped reasonably well with everything that Villa threw at us, Gallas was particularly good, Almunia too, Young did catch Clichy out a few times.
The best chance of the game came when Cesc drifted past a couple of defenders towards the end of the first half, he shot low and hard against the base of Freidel's right hand post, Rosicky looked set to fire it home on the rebound, alas Ramsey got in his way. Dunne saved Villa with a vital last ditch clearance at the feet of Villa, Downing then headed wide with what was probably Villa's best opening of the game, Arshavin nipped clean through to be blocked by Friedel, Rosicky was terribly unlucky to see his effort crack back off the underside of the bar.
Overall we were a tad unlucky to only get the point, Villa never really opened us up, they put in some dangerous crosses which we defended well, but we looked the far more likely to score. The game was slightly cagey, Villa were never going to leave themselves open by playing like the traditional home side, on another day Rosicky's effort would have bounced the other side of the goal line or Ramsey would have moved out the way to allow Rosicky to side foot home. The spat between Wenger and O'Neill was nothing but a bit of media spin, in reality Arsene said nothing offensive, he just stated some pretty basic stuff that appears to have been twisted before being played back to O'Neill by some disingenuous hack
I am a great fan of Arsene Wenger, so what I say now must be seen in context, I really do fear if we do not strengthen by the end of the window then we will be jeopardising our chances of success this season. If Vermaelen is out for a few weeks then there is no doubt that we need another centre back on board, it is not good enough to have only Gallas, Campbell and Silvestre for the next couple of months, it's a simple as that in my eyes. The apparent collapse of the Smalling deal is a blow because he appears the exact kind of player we need to have floating around in reserve. We have both the Champions league and Premier League to fight for, we need more depth in the squad, it's getting beyond a joke. Even if Eduardo was not injured I would say we need another striker for the rest of the season, three strikers is a minimum number for me, so with Eduardo injured for who knows how long, Bendtner just back from a long lay off, it is absurd to not be lining up someone to fill this short term gap for a few months.
It really would be such a crying shame if were to leave such gaps in our squad before such an important run in. Buying in a couple of experienced pros in these positions would guarantee nothing, we may well end up with nothing even with them, but if we do not it will be so frustrating to be thinking 'what if we had strengthened' those blatant deficiencies in our squad. I agree with Arseblogger when he talks of the nonsensical arguments of stifling the development of the Velas and Walcotts of this world. All I am asking for is a couple of short term signings that will plug the gaps until the end of the season when RVP will be fit and when we can bring in another young centre back who can be groomed for a the future.
ps Great news that Thomas Vermaelen has no break and will be back fairly soon, also good news that Eduardo is only out for a few days with his hammy. Eboue and Song are also back in training and will surely be available for selection at the weekend.
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