Daily Bits and Bobs

Campbell & Podolski Off? Schar Bid Going In & Merts Wants Improvement!

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

On this day back in 1932, Gillespie Road station was renamed the Arsenal station. Bet you didn’t know that did you? No, neither did I…

Gossip:

A few headlines around this morning suggesting Arsene Wenger wants Swiss defender Fabian Schar and will make a £10 million offer in January, if not before! Apparently the player is up for a move away from FC Basel…

On the outs – Lukas Podolski is wanted by Inter Milan and Joel Campbell is ready to jump ship having not been given a chance by Arsene Wenger. Have to say I’m surprised he’s not getting playing time and he’d have been a much better option from the bench on Tuesday than Rosicky or Podolski because like Alexis, he works hard getting back and helping out!

Surely he’s got to get a chance soon?

3-3 doesn’t get any better after another nights sleep does it……..

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has blamed the amount of crosses which were allowed to be put in for our collapse on Tuesday, therefore our full backs are to blame but in the eyes of our vice captain, it all starts before then. I agree too.

He’s been quoted in the Evening Standard as saying:

That was a good warning that everyone should raise their game and give maybe 10% when it is needed.

Well, that’s true of course, as every player, apart from Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck, need to raise their level of commitment each game and Mertesacker sits high on that list of players. His defending this season has been quite average and for a guy who stands so tall, he shouldn’t be being beaten in the air by any forward.

He goes onto say:

When we drop sometimes everyone has to be involved to defend. You can’t afford for just five or six players to defend, or just the back four. That is what we lacked especially in the final third and in the last 20 minutes.

We have to defend better as a team. We did not stop them playing and they are good at it.

As you could see, even in the final third, when you do not put them under pressure, they can deliver good balls through the middle. They can cause trouble and we just left them playing, so in general that was the problem.

Just how long have I and many others been bleating on about defending from the front? It’s not bleedin rocket science is it but we simply aren’t doing it!

Football is simple, attack as a team, well not everyone! Defend as a team. Get the ball, keep the ball and if you lose it, close the opposition down quickly and get it back.

It’s clear we attack as a team, too much at times as we get left exposed at the back far too often and it’s our downfall.

If Arsene Wenger got this crop of players to give as much in defence as he does in our attacking play, we’d be good, very good but until that attacking mindset changes, nights like Tuesday will always take place.

As for the consequence of dropping points, Merts says:

This result is a small setback for us but it is a good warning and we will bounce back quickly.

We are really good at that, we have shown that a couple of times. We still have a comfortable situation in terms of going through.

We want to secure second place and we still have a big advantage after four games.

If Tuesdays performance and surrender was a one off then yes, perhaps he would be right in suggesting it was a small setback, but it’s not, our defending and ability to see out results has for a long time now been our Achilles heel.

It’s all very well the players and manager talking about how we need to defend better during matches, at some stage he and they need to start practising what they preach and put it right!

And like I said, it’s not rocket science is it…..

It’s basics!

That’s it for this sunny Thursday…..

 

rico

104 thoughts on “Campbell & Podolski Off? Schar Bid Going In & Merts Wants Improvement!”

  3. rogerbij says:

    Where do you get those nuggets like the station name change? Do you have a direct line to the Arsenal gods rico?

  4. Nickie says:

    Roger, follow Arsenal on Twit! 🙂

    Thanks for the post Rico, great points

    Swansea is going to be a really big test Sunday.

  5. potter says:

    Seems like a shell shocked inertia has hit the world of Arsenal . The whole of the net seems to be shaking it’s collective head. Apart from Untold of course who have the facts to back up their theory that it’s all a hypnotic conspiracy sent by agents from another world.

  6. bradster says:

    Afternoon all,

    I knew that one, it’s on FIFA where i think it’s Ian Dark that comments about that when you play with Arsenal.

    Christmas shopping already Rico, you go girl.

    Pity about Pod and Campbell. I see more fatigue injuries on it’s way.

  7. Steven Kelly says:

    Campbell is a great player with heart and pace and never gives up. Theo should be starting at the weekend yeah he’s missed 10 months but he’s ready for a starting place now and put the OX in CM to help cover ground left by the lack of pace and Ramsey not being a box to box CM this season just trying to be in the teams box. Carzola hasn’t won a tackle since 2012. We need a CB ASAP play chambers there instead of a left back at best an average performer in that position. This season however could become a great season if CB an DM are address in Jan. We have to play Arteta and Flamini every game and sacrifice a creative player as we did that in the prem back to back games and didn’t conced a goal. Break with pace and defend as a team or at the end of season we’ll be 4th again and Sanchez will question what am I doing here and be sold to the highest bidder and who could blame him? Wenger needs to rethink the structure of the team as it’s too unbalanced. City played like Arsenal last night with an unbalanced midfield their boss will get it right and play the two defensive mid and let Toure do his own thing higher up the pitch both Toure and Ramsey along with Luis Suaraz dominated the prem last season and two of those are still living in the past and not performing this season maybe I’m being harsh on Ramsey due to the injury trouble but for me I feel he’s trying too hard again and has lost that cutting edge, Toure has given up and wants out that’s pretty clear but Ramsey needs to sort his head out and get back to basics. Sorry for the rant.

  21. rico says:

    Hi Steven, sorry you were stuck in moderation for so long, don’t worry about having the rant, we all share the frustration….

  27. Wavy says:

    I’ve got a red one and a silver one!

    Afternoon by the way.

    I’ve completed my post Tuesday ‘retreat’ do I can report that I am in a happier place! The grass is green, the flowers’ are red and everything round me is mellow! I’m on tablets by the way! Well you would be when you are surrounded by men in white coats!
    My god the result was shite and the players were shiteier! No wonder I’m in a state of temporary insanity! However, there is a cure, a win at Swansea will see me back on the straight and narrow, but a loss could be the ‘padded cell’ treatment.
    Come on you reds, get a bloody grip!

  29. goonster says:

    Morning guys what’s new?? Campbell on his way out? Do you blame him?? The whole place stinks of incompetence. What a rotten landfall. We ll be out of every cup and the league by January mark my words but le fruit cake ll still be here come August. Arsenal tsk tsk tsk we re like a nightmare that never ends.

  32. BrainwashedKev says:

    Yes, I can well remember the good old days.
    Wath wearing his school cap and shorts, me in my cloth cap, catching the tube to Gillespie Road.
    Wath was a miserable little bugger even then!
    But he was a great fan of Cliff Bastin and always broke into a rendition of ‘Anchors Aweigh’ whenever Boy Bastin had the ball…

    Mind you he was a bleedin noisy little sod, what with his rattle and all…

    Ah, the good old days… 😀

  42. Wavy says:

    Welcome home Rico et al it’s cold outside here, too, and I havent even got a dog!
    Ah the good old days……..freezing feet…….cups of bovril………the Metropolitan Police Band and sometimes dogs…….some outsize sod standing full square in front of you on the North Bank……the two mile walk to find your car…….the elation of a win…….?The despondency of a loss………all the emotions within the space of 90 minutes or so!………I remember them well!

  47. rico says:

    Is the rain that bad Bt? Adam told me earlier it crashed a couple of days ago, inevitable I guess as everything sorts itself out….

  53. potter says:

    I took a look over at Untold today and felt the need to post. This is the post :-
    I may come from the opposite side of the spectrum but if you want to discuss football without resorting to boring acronyms then please do.There is an obvious course to take if a poorly refereed goal sets you back to 3 -1 with 20 minutes to go. We are a team that prides itself on passing in fact we are often accused of over doing it, but in this case it was the thing to do. Keep the ball starve the opposition out of the game and see it out. Shankly once said that the other team can’t score if they don’t have the ball. That was the instruction that should have come from the bench and enforced by the more mature players on the pitch . In my opinion the substitutions were wrong , not so much the players coming on but the ones going off as Both Ramsey and Cazorla were having stinkers. Gibbs and Chambers should have been told to stay back and the team should have formed triangles and played keep ball to eat up the time.

    Guess what ? into moderation.

  55. Adam says:

    Potter. They must see you as a dangerous and subversive anti-Wengerite now. My advice is to keep a look out for strange men in red hats. They never forget.

  56. potter says:

    No I have posted before but not regularly. The only men in red hats round here are the many Father Christmasses creeping into the department stores. Ho Ho HO.

  57. rico says:

    Strange then Potter, guess they don’t like your comment. Either that or they are struggling to understand what is the bleedin obvious…

  62. Wavy says:

    Delphi? Only if he’s going to play in the development X11!

    How about Theo to Fiorentina on loan? Allegedly, yeh right!

    All taken from the pud it of the Daily Bullshit.

  73. Lee says:

    I drove to work this am as I’m off to Bath this afternoon….. the journey took 2hrs and was terrible in the pouring rain! There really are some shit drivers out there!!!!

  74. rico says:

    Bellerin at rb for me too Lewis, much more balanced… Anyone up against our back four these days is a worry….

    Morning Lee, good luck with that journey to Bath, the weather is grim down South…

  76. rico says:

    But Chambers has been awful at Rb recently, he’s better playing in the middle imo.

    Still, we all know AW will continue to play a midget left back in the centre, one who has the spring in his legs to stop Bony….

  77. Lee says:

    Adam, that’s not the only worrying position…. DM Arteta/Flamini CB Merts/Monreal! Who is to blame for this sad state of affairs? Who’ll will be given a stern talking to about the demise of the Arsenal team?

  78. Adam says:

    Lee. I agree. My point with the whole team at the moment is that we are far too offensive when we don’t need to be. Gibbs is caught dozing in front of the play so often that it is ridiculous. Yes, Chambers had a bad game the other evening but him, Gibbs and Bellerin are really playing as wingers because we don’t have a single player at the club, except perhaps Walcott, who can give us genuine width. This would be ok if we had a couple of midfield players that were strong enough to hold, but we don’t. Gary Neville’s assertion last week about the shocking defending in the PL is absolutely right. This, for me, is why Mourinho is so successful. He won’t tolerate shoddy defending. This is how Pulis pulled off a minor miracle at Palace last year. Proper defending and not stupid Kamikaze stuff. The old adage about building your team from the back is still relevant and the next contemporary top manager that sorts that in the PL will be successful. Look at Koeman. It means buying better players who can do a serious job through the middle of the pitch and back into defence. Intelligent players who can read a game in real time and a few who can put their foot in and be brutal and cynical when it is needed. When Mitrovic came on for Anderlecht the other evening, the first touch he had was to go into Per, hard. It shook him up and set the tone. I doubt he would have got away with the shit he was dishing out if we had a Vieira on the pitch? PV would have mullered him within a few minutes. We are too soft back to front for me and playing musical chairs with players is just papering over the limpness of Wenger and the the team.

  79. rico says:

    Isn’t all things Arsenal papering over the cracks right now.

    An owner who isn’t doing his job.

    A manager who is doing his job.

    Coaches who clearly aren’t doing their job.

    And too many players who aren’t up for the job…

  81. frednerk says:

    Morning All,
    Adam we have the most brutal defender coaching our first team..Steve Bould.

    1992/1993 season Ask any Sheffield Wednesday fan around at the time,
    his tackle on David Hirst ruined him as a player.

    Bouldy must be sitting on the bench thinking.What a bunch of effing Panzies.
    These players do not represent Bouldy..That I’m sure of.

  82. Adam says:

    Yes, that’s close, but is Arsene doing a good enough job? The results might suggest not. I suppose it depends on your point of view. As Kev said to me yesterday, the whole thing reminds him of the last days of George Graham.

  84. Lee says:

    Adam, Potter and Rico you carry on talking like this about “Le Boss” and the Untold red hat wearing disciples will after you………. tutu tut!

  85. Adam says:

    Fred. From what I can see, Bouldy is just picking up a few quid these days. The last thing Arsene wants is any real input. SB must be weeping internally at our defending.

  90. Adam says:

    The Gary Neville thing on PL defending was one of the most interesting things I have heard lately. He really has become an interesting pundit and that is something I never thought I would say about him, having seen him kick so many of our players over the years.

  92. rico says:

    🙂 Lee

    Adam, of course Wenger isn’t, he’s the most guilty. The state of the squad, the kamikaze football, no CDM, a shortage of defenders and his inability to be proactive or reactive from the sidelines.

    ‘Some’ fans might think many other big clubs would be in for him should he leave, but imo, they won’t or if they are, they can have him…

  94. Lee says:

    Adam he’s the best pundit on tv by a mile! He went up in my estimation when he was really rooting for us in the second leg against AC Milan!

  96. Adam says:

    As Ivan said at the start of his recent sermon, the biggest thing at the club at the moment is finding a replacement for Arsene and working out a way to facilitate a smooth changeover.
    I bet Wenger loved that one.

  98. frednerk says:

    After Andreas Weimann equalised for Aston Villa in the 68th minute in a move which started with an Arsenal corner, the Match of the Day cameras appeared to catch Bould mouthing the phrase “How many times?”

    Then, during the Match of the Day replay of the away goal, Bould looked to have said: “How many times must I say it to you” behind manager Arsene Wenger’s back.

  99. Adam says:

    Fred. I remember that and it’s one of the reasons I think he is just there for a few quid. Quite frankly, who could blame him?

  101. Lee says:

    Arsene Wenger is confident his Arsenal side are still in the title race…

    The Gunners are already nine points behind Jose Mourinho’s side, who have enjoyed a blistering start to the new season and are yet to taste defeat.

    Many from within the game have tipped Chelsea, even at this early stage, to win the title and emulate the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ of 2003/04.

    But Wenger has not yet given up hope of chasing down the Blues.

    When asked if he and his players still believed they could catch Chelsea, the Arsenal boss said: “Of course.”

    “We have just got to win the next game to achieve that.”

    “In our job you always get taught lessons by people after the games. But before the games we only have one target and that is to win the next game.”

  102. rico says:

    Morning Bt..

    Arsene, we are more than 3 points behind Chelsea and we need to win more than the next game to catch them..

    We need a bleedin miracle…

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