Daily Bits and Bobs

Deal Done For Holding Midfielder? Defensive Concerns Ahead Of Weekend…

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Sorry about yesterday, not sure what happened but HH crashed for most of the day. Perhaps Stan Kroenke had the Internet police on duty, hoping to prevent any negative comments about Arsenal and Arsene Wenger being made.

Still, my ironing got done, the house got cleaned from top to bottom and Fido had had a lovely long walk and a few extra cuddles on the sofa… Happy days….

Anyway, all has been resolved thanks to a very kind man behind the scenes….

Our old striker Niall Quinn says he would back Arsenal if they had Nemanja Matic playing in their midfield and I strongly suspect many of us wouldn’t disagree. After all, it was funny how when he was suspended for Chelsea, they lost their first game of this season. Added to that, Southampton haven’t won a game since Morgan Schneiderlin suffered injury and has been absent from their side. Rumour is he’s not willing to sign the new contract at offer at Southampton too and he’d be perfect for us. Imo of course…..

To a degree, the loss of Mikel Arteta has been the same for us. Not for one minute am I suggesting he is the perfect defensive midfielder because he’s not but he’s the best we have at the club for keeping a bit of shape to our midfield. I know I’ve said it before and I know people may not agree but I still think Isaac Hayden could help resolve our problem in midfield. Yes he’s young and yes he lacks experience but how the heck will he get experience if he doesn’t play? It’s a great shame he wasn’t fit enough to play on Tuesday as I’m sure he would have otherwise.

One thing is clear, Mathieu Flamini is not the answer to our ever increasing midfield worries!

According to a few reports, we are seriously trying to sign Lucas Silva. Some even go as far to suggest that a €15 million deal has already been agreed.

The 21-year-old Brazilian is a holding midfielder and is being tracked by a number of top clubs across Europe. He is 6ft exactly and very good and strong but his best attribute is reported to be his passing. He’s a bit small in my opinion, Matic is 6′ 4″ and I think that’s what we need, height.

We are just twenty days away from the transfer window opening and if by magic, Arsene Wenger can sign an experienced Cdm who Isaac Hayden can learn from and play alongside, this side will look so much more balanced. I’d like to think he’ll go one step further and add another defender to the squad too and that would allow Mertesacker to have a rest. A long one I hope!

Talking of centre-backs, we could have a problem against Newcastle as Calum Chambers is banned, Laurent Koscielny remains a doubt despite being on the bench last weekend and his deputy, Nacho Monreal has also missed the last few games through injury.. Let’s hope Koscielny makes a welcome and timely return….

That’s it for today, all that’s left is to wish HH regular Allezkev a very Happy Birthday…..

 

rico

88 thoughts on “Deal Done For Holding Midfielder? Defensive Concerns Ahead Of Weekend…”

  1. Wath says:

    We won’t buy anyone it’s all rubbish…………..

    Morning All…………

    Happy Birthday Grandad…. Have a good one mate and hope Lee treats you to pie n mash..!

  3. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. I hear what you are saying about height, the missing DM and the CB situation. These are open wounds for most Arsenal supporters. But, for me, they are all ‘sticking plasters on the broken leg’ solutions. If Arsene is going to send the team out with the same (lack of) motivation and the same level of (un) preparedness, then I can’t really see the point. If it became apparent that Arsene had decided that all our tippy-tippy football had become rather passé and ineffective and that we weren’t going to send dreamy Gibbs flying up the pitch at every opportunity, that we were no longer going to commit both Centre backs into the opposition’s penalty area at every corner. If it became obvious that the players were sent out to both attack and to counter the obvious threats that the opposition possessed and that, when they don’t have the ball, they were going to have a much better shape with discipline and application then I might be a little more supportive of Wenger’s ‘plan’. As it is, I can’t see much of one and I can’t see many players being able to influence matters on the pitch to suit the condition of the game. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if this was a ‘blip’ that we were all confident could be rectified on the training pitch. But this has been going on for years and years. Why should a 65 year old who has managed a million games change, if he hasn’t already? As far as I can see, barring a complete change of philosophy, we are caught in a loop of Wenger’s making. The ramifications of this are huge but the situation is not unique. Arsene has carved out a formidable position at the club, but without any checks or balances along the way, he has, as far as I can determine, become more and more entrenched in doing things his way. I can only assume that he has such belief that he must surely assume it will all come good. I think that his recent statements support this view. He says we are going to go on and have a great season and that we will win the PL in the next couple of years a day or so before we go to Stoke and get humiliated. Stoke bought nothing new to the game. Everyone on here knew what they were going to do. They did it and we had no response. We were weak and pathetic.
    The club needs new blood, a new philosophy and I would say a mindset that includes the fans rather than treating them as paying customers who are easily replaced with day trippers who will spend more at the club shop. The whole place needs a revolution from top to bottom and a new manager and supportive, younger board. If this necessitates a new owner then great.
    Some of are in an almost constant state of pain over what is happening at Arsenal and I don’t just mean the results. The whole situation needs addressing. What are the chances of this? Almost zero at the moment I would say but a tipping point is coming.

  4. Lewis says:

    Morning all.

    I have absolutely no faith that we will sign what we need, I wait to be proved wrong of course.

    Happy Birthday Kev.

  8. rogerbij says:

    Morning all, we will sign a DM and CB…. in the summer. There’s no way we will either find a top player in January, or will a top club let one go – especially with all the best still in the CL.

    Schneiderlin would be a great scoop, I agree, and I give that about 1% chance of that happening in January. The best we can hope for is an incarnation of Kim Kallstrom on loan. Im not against a January loan for an average player to bolster the defensive ranks. I prefer that than actually buying averageness.

    Happy birthday Kev

  12. dublingunner says:

    Morning, A day off at last. How are all. God its, hard being a gooner, Just when you think we,ve turned a corner, BAM A 47 bus hits you straight in the face, and Aren,t we just the most unluckiest team for injuries ever, it,s beyond comical. Big game Saturday evening, I think we could struggle, with Merts being the only recognised C,B, as kos is doubtful, Monreal struggling with a knee injury and Chambers suspended, Ramsey showing flashes of brilliance, can only be a good thing, considering that before the stoke horror show, he had not scored since August, and as for Cazorla, 28 games without a goal, could do with breaking that duck too. An in form Ramsey ,is exactly what we need, coming into the Christmas period. Wenger has reportedly held talks with Mountinho,s agent about a possible January move maybe it,s bulls..t, but If true, could he be the defensive/holding midfielder, we need along with another defender in January and with players coming back from injuries, we could actually be a force in 2015. ……Well maybe not a force, but an improvement.

  13. allezkev says:

    A very interesting post Rico, the points regarding Matic/Chavs & Schneiderlin/Soton are right on the money…

    Some great points Adam, I suppose we know where we are and as you alluded to Arsene is too long in the tooth and too stubborn to change tact now…

    Will Wenger sign anyone of consequence in January?
    Hmm, he had done it before with Reyes and Arshavin, who both, initially, had an impact.
    Long term they drifted away from the club as k fear that Ozil will, thru poor man-management and mismanagement…

    Thanks Grandson, cheers Lewis n Rodger.
    Thanks again Scott, nice picture btw…

  14. Wavy says:

    The greatest insult I can conjur is that Wenger seems to say stuff and behave in similar ways to Sepp Blatter! He won’t change his methods, he will carry on, the mission is not complete, he has the support of his employers, he has the wholehearted support of his players, except those he dumped, he brooks no criticism, and he is totally intractable and he is in TOTAL CONTROL, There are more but the Blatter jibe is damnation enough!
    Will we buy in January? Not a cats hope in hell! Will we loan a player or two? Possibly. Will they be what we need? No!
    The real difficulty I have is that despite everything he has done, over the last 8years we have made NO PROGRESS! Not even satisfactory! Do you remember your old school reports? remarks like those were commonplace and what harmed as a result, your mum and dad went ballistic for a week or two and then everything returned to how it had been before! Any difference at the Arsenal? Not a chance. Sure Wenger was angry and upset by the reaction after the Stoke game, what did he do? His bloody job and he prepared the team properly, next week it will be a return to normal, panic over, appeasement complete, not much effort put into preparation and planning, performance probablly poor, result? Depends on how the team play with minimal help from the side lines. A draw is the most likely outcome but another defeat would come as no surprise!
    So Wenger will get away with it again and carry on for at least another year, as will Blatter because no one in either camp has the ability or guts to out them. They have both got more influential people in their thrall than the usurpers outside the inner sanctums!

  16. Tai says:

    The problem with Wenger is – he thinks he’s God when he is not even an Angel. How on earth could every individual who could recognise a football object be able to discern that without a real DM and a CB, Arsenal’s team was not balanced…but the man who has managed the team for over 18 years refuse to acknowledge such elementary fact?

    Against Galatasaray on Tuesday, Arsenal were without Walcott, Sanchez, Welbeck, Giroud, Ozil, Carzola, Wilshere, Arteta but still looked a very decent European side with Podolski, Sanogo, Campbel, Chamberlain(the one player who has benefitted from Sanchez’s coming by emulating the Chilean in pressing, tracking back and darting runs) held their own creditably.

    If there was that DM, Arsenal would be talking of 30 points in the league!

  17. frednerk says:

    Morning All,
    Have good day Kev,
    Great read guys and gals,
    With the risk of repeating myself again,
    If we do sign the players we need,will that be it then,
    Can we challenge for the title,with wenger in charge.
    If we do sign the two players,we cry for,
    and the both of them get injured,
    Will wenger then become the manager,he was 10 years ago.

    To be honest,
    Who will replace wenger…It won’t be easy,Confused Yer

  18. Adam says:

    Fred. Every dog, as they say, has his day. Whoever the new man is he will need to have top motivational skills, be ruthless and a superb tactician. I think there are several top candidates but until the owner/board/club feel the need to compete at a much higher level, then I doubt anything will change. Except the Season Ticket prices of course. 🙂

  23. potter says:

    At some point the bullet has to be bitten , A replacement will have to be found. We have a squad that owe a lot to him their lifestyle and the wages , how they react to his going will be interesting . There are of course those that he has disenfranchised who may well secretly want him gone . Just how that will effect results would remain to be seen. However there is nothing that any one can do ,, it’s all a matter of how the dirty deed is done.

  27. allezkev says:

    Theo Walcott will hopefully be fit enough to be involved over the Holiday period…

    But not sure when we’re gonna see Gnabry back. It’s quite astonishing how long some of our players are injured. It’s almost as if Arsenal are cursed…

    Look at Hayden, when is he gonna be bloody fit again?

    Wavy/Fred, cheers fellas 😀

  28. mohamed aziz says:

    Wenger is a confused manager at the moment his mind is boged doesn’t know how to react when the team is a goal down

  29. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Happy Birthday to the oldest fella around. It is amazing that you look so young for a 95 year old Kev. Are you one of Tolkien’s Dunedain, blessed with long life?? Dunedain can live up to 250 years in which case you are still very young.

    Good post m’ Lady.

    Good afternoon Beautiful chicks and sultry gigolos.

  32. frednerk says:

    Makes me laugh some of these yiddo’s,
    talking to one after the game at twickys saturday,
    and the cheeky nob says,
    …….You gooners are full of sh#t,
    wengers gets you into the champs league every year,
    Look at us,every year that little nob Levy gets the hump,
    and sacks the manager.
    I said to him……At least you don’t get to love the manager,
    like most of us..love wenger.
    For us,
    It’s like putting your old dog down,when his back legs go.

  35. rico says:

    I feel sad for him too Fred, in the words of the Blow Monkeys, ‘it doesn’t have to be this way’…

    All of this could and should have been so easily avoided……

  36. George says:

    Afternoon troopers

    Tommorow’s line up will look like this

    Chez

    Bellerin Debuchy Merts Gibbs

    flamster
    Ramsey Cazorla

    Sanchez Welbeck

    Giroud

    I expect the boss to have to move Debuchy inside to cope with injuries. If gibbs doesnt make it he will play Flamini there and play ox as a CDM. Podolski will come on as a sub for the ineffective welbeck for 10 mins, Campbell won’t get on the pitch, and Giroud will come off injured towards the end and sanogo will get a go-again.

    Its all too predictable. Im going for a 1-1, with Sanchez saving us again at the death.

  38. George says:

    Adam, do you think Wenger will make it to May? Or Kroenke for that matter ?

    I see our Uzbek taking the reins at the board in hostile fashion, with Dein coming back…

  40. Adam says:

    George. I can’t see anything happening before the end of the season and think that is right. Very difficult for Usmanov to lever the club out of Stan’s hands. He probably needs another 23-25% but they are nearly all under Stan’s control. Dein is getting older too. I think we need a new dynamic set-up, top to bottom myself and I can’t see Arsene relinquishing any power along the way.
    All that should be concerning the club is who and when? The club also needs a new image, certainly to the fans anyway and to the outside world too.

  42. George says:

    Rico, I’d play Kos with one leg if needed be. Bellerin will have to do all the running as Merts is slow and Kos won’t be able to sprint away to help the BFG.

    A new set up would be good…Wenger should have gone in the summer. We will scrape 4th -again…be out of the champions league again thoroughly outplayed and go close in the FA cup.

    This summer will be very interesting. On new signings in January-err…there won’t be any. We will probably lose a few to loans. We may even sell a few kids who just wont make it.

    Anyone else think sticking Giroud at CB would be a good idea, just for this one? He could go up for corners lol..The average height of the toon is 6ft plus. Our midgets won’t win any aerial battles in midfield…

  43. rico says:

    George, I honestly think Kos will be fit, he’s been on the bench so surely he’s either fit or just being looked after for a couple of games. We seriously need him back…

    Merts – well he’s always been slow but when Kos plays, they look decent.

    I think we’ll see at least one jan signing…

  44. George says:

    i hope your right Rico, about Kos and a signing…Maitland Niles look half decent at CDM…possibly worth a go no??

  45. rico says:

    I hope i am too George. Maitland-Niles, Semi Ajayi and Isaac Hayden look good too, just need the manager to believe in them at some stage…

    Hayden though I hope gets the chance t fill his Cdm dream real soon….

  53. BT62 Gooner says:

    Kev,i’ll will, have had friends and family calling all day….tsk..lol

    You have a good night out, mate….

  74. Adam says:

    In perhaps the least surprising statement of the year Wenger has said that he doesn’t need any new players in January unless a player with a broken back suddenly becomes available.

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