Going on from Steve’s post yesterday about what goes on in the coaching department at our club, there is one thing that really narks me about how we play..
The opposition get a corner, every man and his dog is back defending and I mean every player. Robin, Theo and Nikki all go back to do their fair share, WHY??
What the heck will we do if every player is back in our defensive area when we win the ball and look to break?
Yes, I know that you know the answer; we’ll play a lot of sideways passes, keep possession and give time for our attacking players to get forward.
Well, shock horror, what that also does is give time for the opposition’s defensive players to get back and protect their goal!
So what is the point, we gain little momentum and then we head off onto a mission of how many passes we can string together before we fluff the final move and back on the defensive we go.
Am I Right – or not?
Theo Walcott is renowned for his pace, so why is he not lurking on the half-way line?
If he stays there while we defend a set-piece, corner etc, that would be enough to keep two defenders back with him. Every side knows that give him an inch and he will be gone and before they would realise, Theo would be one on one versus the keeper and the rest could be history….
We all know strikers can’t tackle very well, how many times have we heard the expression ‘That was a typical strikers tackle’ when a player is rolling around on the floor in pain, is it all worth it long-term?
Don’t we have midfielders and defenders to defend; we don’t need strikers back there getting in the way do we?
But I don’t stop with just the defensive situations with Theo Walcott, I always struggle to understand that when we are winning and there is ten minutes to go, why is Walcott the one to make way for a ‘defensive’ player?
If Denilson or Eboue come on for him in attempt to hold on to our lead, does that not play right into the hands of the opposition?
Theo Walcott always keeps defenders in their own half, ordinarily we see two defenders marking him don’t we?
The answer to that is yes, so why on earth take him off? By doing so, all we do is free up those two defenders and give more momentum to the opposition.
Walcott may be creating little but just like Henry, he can have a moment of magic and that moment of magic could see us score another goal and secure the game beyond worry.
Even if he can’t do that, as long as he is on the pitch the team we are playing will always worry that he will…
Surely that has to be the best way to defend, by attacking?
And there is no better player, or quicker player to keep defenders on their back foot and in their own half than Theo Walcott…..
Come on Arsene, next season, let Theo Walcott go and let him do what we all think he can do….
You did it with Thierry Henry, now try the same with this young Englishman…
He deserves it…..
Morning all
New Post up….
In fact, I’m off too…
Night all….
I’m around JM but I think everyone else has gone….
Hi!
Nobody to chat now
See you tomorrow
Don’t push it Kt…. 😮
There there rico.was that so hard?
Hi Lee, not yet, tomorrow if you believe all that is written 😉
Anyone signed???
Thanks Dexter, that’s a shame…. Especially for England, i think he’s going to be really good…
KT, you know i have missed you, i miss all the regs on here when they are away, it’s like part of the family is missing….
I know now who Lebron James is, Oliver told me 😉
After catching up i’ve also seen that rico has no idea who Lebron James is.
Rico don’t tell me you’re Mrs.Twichy…!if not im not letting this go.
He’s chosen Ghana Rico.
Night Steve, and CIS/NCIS no doubt 😉
Have a good one, what ever you watch… …
potter, i think many of them choose their home country because it is possibly a tad easier for them to make the break through into international football..
Good point though about ACoN’s, has Frimpong finally made up his mind, the last i read he was still undecided…
Going on the Vodka chat tomorrow. Oh! and be careful out there.
I remember the W / M formation too Steve. We had wingers that could cross a ball and centre forwards that could head it. Now we have many Jack of all trades and they don’t seem to be able to master the varying aspects of their game.
Steve
But havent you seen the Sky hype? This is golden football, from another universe played by demi gods mate! And they earn every penny of their oh so very modest salaries! 😀
The English thing is difficult to regulate , we have many lads born in London that choose to play for their parents home country. Frimpong is one now playing for Ghana and in the under 17’s we have young winger called Mugabo who has chosen to represent Rwanda. I wonder if these decisions although understandable with peer and parent pressure are actually good for their Arsenal careers. Take Frimpong , we all know that he wants first team football and we all agree that Song needs to have a player pushing him but If you were Wenger, would you look at defensive midfield and say I want to give him a chance or considering the coming of two consecutive African Cup of nations would you go and buy Song’s competition. If he buys then Frimpong goes further back down the line but had he plumped for England when Song went away , the position would be up fpr grabs.
Thank you KT and welcome back sorly missed.
Vermy isn’t comfortable at LB.AW likes quick athletic players at fullback positions so no chance of him playing there.
Steve – i just love some of your comments, your last is just tops…. 🙂
Dexter, i didn’t get you wrong honest and suggestion is that many were surprised when we did sign him – i thought we’d got a cracker, he’d played for brazil through the ranks but when he got to us, he just stalled, sad really…. I wish him well though where ever he goes…
And most of all he said when he told the world he was leaving was true, apart from him being a winner 😉
You know what in my day we had five forwards three half backs two full backs, and the emphasis was on scoring, Two wingers who never left the wing fullbacks who never went past the half way line and a centre half who was usually an animal , we used to believe that the art of the game was to score more goals than the other side, goals were the main aim. today we have full backs running past the winger we have centre forwards defending corners centre halves chatting with his keeper and a captain chaseing the refferee and this is supposed to be better,
Mascherano played CB for Barca since April when barca played Shaktar in the CL quarters in Ukraine.it was around this time when it became apparent that puyol was struggling and abidal was diagnosed with cancer.
Gautam Bhargav Viswanathan
Welcome, but its how i meant it ‘let him go’ aka, let him free…..
Hey Rico, dont get me wrong. I don’t think DEnilson has a future at the club, that becamse clear, he further away from the 1st team he got last season. He looked like a world beaer when we signed him, but he just didnt improve or develop as anticipated.
Same could almost be said of Gibbs. He looked ready to take the 1st choice LB spot 2 seasons ago, yet last season he was really shaky, if Clichy leaves, I dont think we is up to the task just yet. Hope he comes good though. He is aother one who has been really unlucky with injuries.
We should have signed a DM a long time ago – once Gilberto and then Diarra and Flamini left….
Kt, put your fishing rod away 😛
agree re Steve’s posts though, top notch…
But is that right for Wenger to do that? Surely not if it means we don’t get the best from a player..
Steve I think Vermealen played as a LB at Ajax, not sure I’d want to see him played there for us though. I wouldn’t really call Theo’s position a winger in our set up, more a right sided foward. I think Overmars was the last proper winger we had. I’m probably wrong though!
Dexter – we will have to agree to differ on denilson 😉
There are some really good egnlish players available but we all know they are over priced because of it and that is what keeps afc away from buying them…
Hi steve.i read all your posts while i was away.they were top notch mate.
Rico you still have my email address…and you’re not old.twichy’s wife is old but she could apparently do a better job in front of goal than Bent.so stop spouting rubbish.
I think you need to rename your article. At first glance, it sounded like an article advocating the sale of Theo Walcott.
The title could be confusing to others too.
Apart from that, very well written.
Mascerano played as a CB vs the mancs in the CL final didnt he? Never seen him play there before. Snide, cheating little fecker!
Why do you keep going on about Denilson? He wasnt even on the bench! I loved Gilberto, but he was done. We should have signed a DM once Frimpong got injured, imo.
.All this talk about players positions makes me laugh, this player is not a so and so Theo is not a winger but he plays there Vermaelen is not a left back but people say he should play there what the hell is Nasri one day a winger next day midfield Robin a CF or MF. They play where Wenger tells them to play and thats that.
So, you want us to sign average English players instead of foreign ones? That makes sense!
DEnilson is a DM though. Thats the position he played in Brazil. He just aint cut out for the rough and tumble of the English league.
Kt, a lady doesn’t share her feelings in public…… especially old ones 😉
Gilberto on the bench or Denilson??
Gilberto is still playing for Brazil, he could have still done a job for us and just think what he could have taught others around him….
he wasn’t the quickest, he wasn’t the best passer but he could read the game and make very important interceptions…
Gilberto was done in my opinion rico.
Dexter, I didn’t suggest Lansbury was a DM, he’s a box to box Parlour kind of player but one can say the same about Denilson, no way was or is he a DM…
Didn’t stop Wenger persisting with playing in taht role though did it??
Re the ‘ist’ comment, no i didn’t find it insulting or offensive, if i had my way, we’d stop buying overseas players for a season or two – unless they are world class, we have too many mr averages and many of them are not english…
Im not settling for that rico.say it…my male ego needs to hear it.
You really have to respect how fab4 has acted this summer in comparison to modric.top lad top player.
You know the answer to that Kt 😉
Gilberto had lost it, I saw him up at the Reebok and he WAS shirking challenges and didnt look up for the fight. Loved him, he was awesome, the way he would act as another CB, clearing everything and his positional play was immense. I think Song is a hugely talented player, but needs competition, imo.
Miss me much rico?
Lansbury aint a DM, I am hoping to see Coquelin in pre-season after his spell at Lorient, rate him highly. Hopefully he could do that job and we wouldnt need to buy. He can also play RB too. Frimpong has missed almost a year and really needs some playing time.
You didnt find that comment racist? Maybe it was nationalist? Definitely some kind of ist and/or ism anyway! 😀
stan, i reckon we could get both, i really do…..
not sure we’ll get many others though, maybe just gervinho and oxo….
Dexter, agree re the DM, we should be buying a player better than Song but, what then lies ahead fro Coq, Lansbury, Frimpong??
imho, we should never have let Gilberto go…
Dexter,
stans comment isin’t racist, it’s just saying we need some british players in the squad and to be honest i agree …. i’m also sick of watching the english golden boys getting away with murder while our overseas players get unfairly treated.
The FA should sort this out but they won’t, they are gutless – but racist, nah, we don’t do racist here…
When Wenger picks his starting eleven that he would like for the season, i wonder if it ever crosses his mind how many of the players will see out a complete season. My own view on this is not to many, that would put me on danger alert, my best striker has missed almost half a season, my best defender also missed all of the season, the only player that i would write in straight away is Jack, but the poor bloke hasn’t got a shot in him, not an easy job this management.
Rico
I can see Lansbury being in the 1s squad next season, whereas I dont thnk sitting on the bench is what Frimpong needs at this stage of his development. A loan would serve him well. We do need competition for Song, so we ought to be in the market for a DM, imo.
Yeah but I don’t think we will get both…..
goonerstan
Thats some seriously racist shit you are serving up there dude. So, we should sign English layers so we get the ref’s decisions? I know what you mean as United get away with murder, but thats more to do with the club and Fergie’s powers than the players being English. Vidic gets a way ith hand balls and ridiculous challenges that would ead to pens bein awarded for any othr team, in every game. He aint English is he mate?
Steve – you are right, pre season will give us all an idea of what next season will see – Frimpong and Lansbury both need a strong one, as do a few…
There will still be time to sell
Can’t wait for pre season…..
stan, i’m here 😉
I want Cahill and Samba….
Night agag, sleep well….
I can Dexter but its not me, its u know who.
Where is everybody….
I am warming up to the idea of Samba.i can see similarities between this signing and Campbell’s.both are un-Arsenalesque CBs but they bring leadership and will prevent us conceding a goal at all costs.they’ll put their bodies on the line.in the PL we need that quality to prevent us collapsing when one long ball through the middle leads to a goal.let kos/vermy deal with small mobile forwards especially in Europe.Samba will do us just fine against the thugs.
Anybody home…..RICO
Does anybody think we will get both CBs….samba and cahill that is . My gut feeling is wenger might opt for the cheaper one….ie samba. Though am a huge fan of samba’s I really would prefer cahill…..u know why……cause his english. We need an english backbone in arsenal. Enough of the frenchies. Referee decisions seem to go against us cause we have few or no english player. Ponder on that arsene!
…’m very sleepy. Can’t even type properly. Night, kids. Have a good one!
I’m not sure how accurate any of the stories are Dexter, i hope the Frimpong one is wrong though… A loan would depend on who Wenger buys – if Denilson goes, we could need him or Coquelin as cover for Song…
Will, I’m not being rotten, he’s my fav 🙂
Lots to eat and bottle and pickle and jam when you get back, then, rico. Already I don’t like this Enrique. 😉 He also sounds like a telenovela star, rico. :
I
Dex i remember in 09/10 season there was a spell between December-Jan when he was absolutely immense beginning with that game against villa.he would make a tackle in our half and stride forward past players so easily.goals against villa,newcastle and b’pool show just how immense he can be.time is running out for him though…
When we played Bolton at home last season, one of their cloggers (Robinson?)really went it with a straight leg, could easily have broken Diaby’s leg, again. The muggy ref didnt even give a free kick! Not sure he ever quite got over that injury from that match.
Given his bad injuries to his ankle, can’t you have a bit of sympathy tho Steve? Although I’ve not noticed him pulling outof a tackle?
And Gervinho is a very good player.i’ve watched him since 2008.he is very quick and he and theo will murder teams on the counter especially if allowed to hang on the halfway line during setpieces.all he needs to sort out is his decision making.
That was meant to be KT, sorry!
I did see that rico, maybe throwing out a line to Wenger, i some how get the feeling that our little tour might give us some idea who will be lining up for us next season, Dexter where ever he plays that can not be tolerated.
T
Yeah he is quality, doesnt get the credit he deserves. Fingers crossed that surgery sorts his fitness problems out for good! If RvP can stay injury free, there’s hope for our Abou too!
Let’s lay off of Theo, if you were asked to sprint up and down the wing all day you would be jacobed too.
Would you ask Usain Bolt to sprint for an hour and a half?
Dexter am one of the few Diaby fans here.if he stays and by all accounts it looks like he will lets hope that ankle surgery sorts him out as he has immense talent.
Not too sure how accurate that FRimpong story was Rico? Seems a bit daft seeing as how he was injured all last season and this season is weeks away! For him to say tat he wants out doesnt fit with all his recent tweets. Like I said, a loan will be good for him.
Take the J off his name Kt, it’s pretty close then 😉
Speaking of Jenas why did his parents not just name him jeans because he is pants!…
Kt, i saw that re jack, i had a chuckle too, Modric wants out and Totts say they won’t sell….
Welcome to our world ‘Arry….
Steve, did you see that Frimpong is considering his future, he is not sure whether he is part of Wengers plans…. 🙁
agag, i don’t think that will happen, but thank you 🙂 Only going for a few days, can’t be too long away or we’ll miss all the veggies when they are ready to eat – i’ll still be posting each day, and will try and get on here as much as i can …..
Newcastle rate Enrique, Citeh and Liverpool wanted him before he signed for them, just over 6′ tall and pretty calm on the ball so reports say….
I’d still prefer Marcel Schmelzer if Clichy does leave…. or maybe Baines..
£185k a week? Sheeesh, thats too rich for our blood. He’d have to halve that wage! But with scoring bonuses, it’d soon go up again!
Jack is quite the cheeky one.he has really angered the tiny totts with his comments regarding modric.it will be funny to see jenas as a regular for them…
Diaby isnt a defensive midfielder thou Steve. When he went off vs the spuds at WHL we really missed him in the middle of the park. If he could only stay fit, then he’d be a top player for us. AS for Frimpong, I think he might have to get a loan due to missing all last season. That was real shame as he could’ve done a bit of a Wilshere and played in the 1st team, could’ve done with some cover/compertition for Song. Well, we could still do with some!
Eto’o is on 185k a week at inter.we won’t get him anyway.
Enrique is a decent player by all accounts from what i’ve seen.
At long last, rico. I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time. Make sure you don’t lift a finger to do any work. You deserve it. 🙂
Eto’o is really good. Seems to have a bit of mouth on him though, KT.
Dexter, i also liked Diaby till he started pulling out of tackles, can’t have a D midfielder pulling out of anything in my mind, perhaps he had a bad foot or something. he may get another chance if he’s not sold, Frimpong coming back may have a bearing though.With people coming in it may be to late
Is he a singer agag 😉
Just think he has baggage Kt, we don’t need players with baggage and ego’s…
Talking of which, you guys see the rumour about us going for Ade for a cut price ……
What do people know about this Jose Enrique?? Something tells me I won’t like him.
Rico Eto’o is a beast.among the best i’ve seen.
Agree there about both Dexter..
agag, i thought you knew 😉 Rotten about the weather, i am sure you struggled having to be in the spa etc … 😉
I’m having a few days away next week, forecast is also rain 🙁
For now yes rico.
I really like Chamakh, he came in and carried the scoring burden. I dont think he and AW thought he’d have to play so much so soon. He didnt really get any aclimatisation time did he? Same goes for Koscielny too due to Vermealen’s injury.
But Eto and Song don’t get on….. I was only referring to Diaby as in the chances he gets Dexter, not the fact that he’s rubbish and can’t stay fit 😉
Let’s not go there 😆
Welcome Doc & 9jagun
Sorry Doc re the headline – he’s one of my favs no way would i want to see him get sold….
9jagun, he’ll get fitter and last the 90 in fact i am sure he can last more than 90 now, just wenger doen’t give him the chance very often……
Steve
I am pretty sure Bendtner will do well if h goes to a team and plays every week. I dont think he suits our style, he’d do well at a club like Newcastle IMO.
Rico Eto’o is a class act, deadly finisher. I like Benzema, but hat deal looks dead in the water. Why even mention Denilson? He didnt feature at all last season did he? And lay off Diaby! I rate the dude. 😀
We’ll see a different chamakh next season, i still think too much too soon for him and he burned out – not easy getting used to the PL, it’s much faster from where he came from…
Had RvP and Nik both been fit at the beginning of the season (WC) he would have played more from the bench to begin with i think….
Fab, rico. But it rained pretty much the entire day today,; had to suffer room service and spa treatments. Poor me. 😉
it’s been a year now that I’ve been blogging, and I never noticed you liked Theo. 😀 It’s not obvious at all. Ha ha.
Hey Agag!
Steve – i think Nik will do well somewhere else, i just think the PL is a bit too much for him – mind you, it doesn’t help if you are played on the wing when you are a tall centre forward…
Sometimes i have a mad moment and wonder what would have happened had he had the same kind of chances as denilosn and diaby, would he have improved?
Also, we don’t really give our centre forwards too many chances for them to head home do we..
On hols, Steve. 😉 He was never going to be our No. 1 striker, with a fit Robin (and what a smashing season RvP had, when he came back from injury), but how Chamakaka looked out of sorts in the second half and sorely lacking in confidence. To be fair, it’s not exactly easy to come from the bench, play for a few odd minutes, and score.
Hey Kt, good to see you back, exams all done now??
I’m not fan of Eto Dexter, i’d ratehr Benzema 😉
Boo agag, good to see you, nice hols?? 😉 And yes I enjoyed writing that, he is one of my fav’s in case you didn’t know 😉
KT, I thought you were done with school? At least, your exams are finished. Go get yourself a tall, cool drink. Now you can concentrate on the non-events at AFC. 😉
Hi agag, hope your well, I don’t think it was that he lost his form, i think he was the fall guy for Robin and Nick, Chamakh was doing the business till they came back and even while Robin struggled at the start, Chamakh was never going to be the No1
simple and short theo gets tired and off the game cant conveniently beat a man most time runs faster than the ball. in my own honest opinion though, he needs only first half or comes in as a sub.
The queue for the players that we want to ship out is not exactly long. We will have trouble moving them on unless we take a lot less than their premierleague values. The leagues that are likely to sign them are in leagues where average transfer fees are much lower and lets face it they are average players.
Please let Nik B go.
Hello lovely lady.i’ve been doing my exams for the past 3 weeks.i just finished yesterday.am knackered at the moment.i’ve slept through the entire day but its good to be back.
Hello, KT! How are you? Where have you been? Hello, Steve. Howdy? I don’t see chamakh moving. He’d be eager to prove he can replicate his form before Robin came back. I wish he takes this summer to sort out whatever troubled him during the second half of the season. Hi, Dexter.
I’ll only believe it when he’s gone Dexter, although i think when he does, he may do good
I dont think Bendtner’s future is unsure at all. He is 100% leavng! Chamakh’s staying put though, pretty sure of that.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that Wenger will use Theo up front, Henry’s record will see to that, Wenger i am sure thinks Theo is another Henry, but it has been difficult to use him there while we had others wanting their chance. With Bentner’s future unsure and maybe Chamaks as well i think Theo’s chance will come after they have been sorted, Wenger realises that their not wingers and he likes a winger, so if we acquire one Theo could start his long awaited chance.
Hello housers!good read as always.have we signed anyone yet?
Boo! Hmmm. Someone enjoyed writing this, methinks. 😛 A really good one though, rico. Theo improved dramatically last season. Injury barring, he could really make a diff in the coming year’s campaign. H e does bring something to the team.
I have a theory that he’s rubbish at crossing cos he practices with his best mate… dear Clichy. 😛 The blind leading the blind.
Hey Rico
Yeah, I think Theo can be an important player for us and we missed his pace when e had those injuries. It makes sense signing Gervinho.
I’d also love Eto’o at te club, he has been one ofmy favourite strikers for years. Couldn’t see us being in for him mind.
Yes and I am fed up seeing the ball drop just on the edge of our box with none of our players near it.
Great post but the headline had me thinking you wanted us go sell Theo!
Anyway, I’m glad you and so many people in the comments are giving some credit to Theo for the effect he has on a game – even if he never touches the ball once. You don’t hear enough of that. Theo had a good season in terms of goal scoring. Not a spectacular season but a good one. I’d have to look at the stats, but it seems to me that goal production for both Theo and Nasri took a dive after Van Persi made his return. As spectacular as Van Persie is, I’d like to see Theo play more of a central role, or find another way to get him involved more often.
Hi Dexter – i thought it was his best season for us by a country mile….
See what you are saying Will – also, if we all defend at one time that means our oppo can use all their players to attack, it seems simple that if we leave players ready to attack, the oppo would have to mark them….
Theo had a great season, with a good return of goals and assists, he was lethal in many games that I went to, especially away from home. I think his finish for that Shaktar goal was one ofthe best finishes Ive ever seen, very Henry-esque. I like him out wide, but he says he fancies giving it a go up top, so maybe he will be used more there next season.
Rico, when we defend a corner I would like to see two of jack, Cesc or Nasri on the edge of the box and Theo right on the half way line. Any ball headed out should fall to us or at least we should fight for it and then the two can work space for the through ball to Theo.
Hi all
Thanks Steve, all the more reason to play him centrally 🙂
WG, but when we are defending a corner or looking for a quick break, he should be staying on the halfway line ready to turn and run onto the clearance at pace…
Thing is Wg, if they played deed to counter Theo’s pace, we need a midfield that is happy to shoot from distance and players like Pires who live for the follow up.
The thing about having Theo on the wing is that he’s got space to run at. Sitting on the shoulder of the last man is no good for him, teams play too deep against us.
WG
what about samba…..any new development. Am tired of waiting for that particular deal to through…..am a huge fan
just heard , gervinho signing to be announced next week hope its true and i love 3-5-2 and the best 4-4-2 but we havent used that for a long time…….
Morning,
Rico the reason they take Theo off and bring a defender on is because his on the wing, this releases one of their big defenders to go up usually central defender. Put Theo up front and if the same defender went up front, would leave a gap for Theo. Too many men back defending gets in the way and makes defenders ease off, everything is left to one another without anybody taking the initiative. Good post by the way.
I think that is what people hope for stan, the old clichy back and with a proper settled defensive unit he may just do that…
Laters…
Dog walk time for me, back in a little while…
Still he’s the only invisible left…that must sure count for something. Remember his 07/08 form. With a better backline he might regain it.
Thanks viv, i look forward to it, contact details are in the contact us page 🙂
Marcel Schmelzer
I think this is the left back i am referring to…..
Will do Rico….
Roy of The Rovers stuff!
Good sport football!
viv – i have to agree re Clichy, how many times does he dwell on the ball for too long and eventually loses possession and leaving us in a tricky situation, I’d rther Baines if i’m honest or the no nonsense german who’s name i still cannot remember…
If you ever fancy sharing your footballing experiences, feel free to write a post and send it in… love to read it….
Yeah rico…..it beats me why wenger keeps playing him on the wings. Hope he moves him central this season…..we need another reason why teams should fear us…..remember the 03/04 team. If u were an opposing defender who would u mark. Henry bergy pires wiltord or ljunberg……crazy right. Oh those were the days.
Regarding Gael Clichy? I think he’s a good footballer but robust , fit for purpose defender he ain’t. He could also hardly cross the ball! I mean , properly.
And before you know it, he will go to sleep and give away possession in the 88th minute and a lead is lost. I have seen that happen too often.
Im talking from experience! I played for a junior team that won a national championship and played for my junior national team before my studies suggested I changed profession, long story!
When we got into pitch, we had an air about us , a swagger and arrogance that destroyed all before us. We wanted to be first to every ball and we did! We wanted to impose our will on the opposition and we did. Every cross should be put away and everyone should do their job properly or else the nearest colleague will give you a right rollicking. {William Gallas anyone?)
That attitude meant our opposition could not live with us and we won more than 95% of our matches , thats what I want see from beloved Arsenal.
They should recruit winners and do away with the Clichy’s of this world. Buy defenders that would be feared and respected and when the opposition respects you and you are able to capitalise, you win matches! Unfortunately for Arsenal , the last time that happened was in 2004!!!
stan, he lacks the dribbling skills of a true winger because he isn’t a winger 😉
potter – agree, he needs the ball in front of him, well in front of him – but mostly he gets it at his feet then is swamped by dfenders….
Theo needs to be released early to use his greatest asset. When we go into passing mode and progress slowly he gets played out of the game. He could use a trick to beat defenders but his speed is enough if the midfield look up and see his runs.
Yeah cut him some slack slap……where was zizou at 21. He will only improve. Don’t forget this young lad has been playing in an unfamiliar position…theo lacks the dribbling skills of a true winger but when utilized in his favorite role…he’s a monster. Remember both his goals against newcastle in the carling cup….sheer class
Hi slap, he was our third highest goal scorer… imho he is far from our weakest link, i could name a few others who are far far worse….
but, that is only my opinion….
hi viv,
theo will always be compared to Henry, he’s his hero, he has his old number, he has his pace, he has all but Henrys ability – but, he is young and who knows how good he could get – that part is down to him…
Potter, tell your friend to tell them to shove it….no renewal until we see a statement of intent that the club really means business. No more GROUND HOG days. We want signings and quality ones at that.
stan, he gets worse though, how many errors did he make last season? Too many for me but i think he’ll stay in any case…
Hi potter, that is really interesting, bet the club don’t like a few of the answers they are getting….
What you say his right but Theo is the weakest link, playing him has cost us more goals against weaker teams he lakes knowledge he runs before he plans most of the time he doesn’t no how to position him self in other to confuse opponent defence he his not mentally strong which he needs to be to survive this season otherwise he would spend more time on the bench this season. The new players coming offer more mental strength than him and can even play better and more clever he has the talent but he doesn’t use it that is what killed denilson he compare him with wilshire massive difference that is what is going to happen to Theo this season, he needs to step up
Morning boys : Interesting on the announcement about purchases. A friend phoned me and said that the club are phoning long term season ticket holders that have not renewed and asking them whether they are about to and if not WHY !!!
I have actually had a change of heart…. Clichy is our longest serving player plus he’s the only invisible left….he loves the club and plays for the shirt. With better defensive signings to come I say we give him a new contract. He can only get better with age. Don’t forget he leads with the highest interceptions.
Hi and Bye JM, see you later 😉
good mormning!
Modern football haven’t wingers…
The full back are the wingers.
I’m working
see you later
I agree, Theo will run defenses rugged and score lots of goals form the centre. Only issue is he’s still being compared to Henry. He is Theo and needs to be given his chance on those terms. For me Theo is a better version of Chicharito, where pace is concerned and a good comparison to David Villa where technique is concerned, that goal against Chelsea in the Carling cup final that year tells yo that! We all need to get Henry out of our systems and allow ourselves to move on. Otherwise, Arsenal will never win anything!
4-4-2 for me, unless we are winning 8-0, then 1 1 8 🙂
Wow AF 3 5 2 against stoke city..that’s a recipe for disaster.
Get that German left back in for Clichy, can’t think of his nme, begins with S
enrique for clishit…….now that’s a bargain. Sign him up arsene
AF, not sure on that formation against Stoke, just two big strong CH’s at the back would keep them out, just players who will win everything in the air….
HJ, With the players we have right now, Theo has to start, troubl is his head goes down when he constantly gets no joy because he is being marked by 2/3 or battered by some…
What we could do is when he is getting little joy on the wing, switch him into the middle – but unless we buy another pacey player, I’d always leave him on if he’s fit of course 😉
Steve, i dont understand that either but that did lessen last season, we hardly saw Denilosn which i’m sure is the real reason he wants out, he’s jumping before being pushed – didn’t see too much of Eboue either unlike in seasons gone by when he has played ahead of Theo.
I see both of them going, and Nik, Almunia, Rosicky and maybe Clichy….
stan – agree, we’d all feel a tad more positive had he announced a Cahill or samba signing already, but remember when he signed Jeffers, Wright and i think one other, all on one day – blimey, i hope ours are nothing like those two 😉
AF, whats the lates gossip on Gervinho, last i heard we were in advanced talks??
Have to agree with the statement that we shouldn’t be taking Theo off at the end of games… but perhaps we should be bringing him ON!! There isn’t 90 good minutes in Theo (for whatever reason) and having a fresh speedster on when the opposition is tiring might be a better use of Theo for the greater good. Also have to say that bringing Denilson on for anybody is unlikely to improve matters – Eboue marginally better.
we can also use this formation against the likes of stoke,
3-5-2
scezeny
cahill samba vermalaen
sagna wilshere song/kos fab nasri
rvp waltcott/chamakh
Thx guys, you know, I don’t know much about AW relationship with Theo, but I have failed to understand why AW always drops Theo for the squad players like Eboue, Denilson and others.
There is something wrong in our coaching department. Either AW is the problem or the assistant is. It’s time to make up their mind, if not, we accept that every year sharp guns like Fabrigas, Nasri,Theo will always push the exit door to find out where they can win trophies.
Yeah but why do that. Why not announce one first to lift the fans…we the fans are almost developing high BPs already…..hope u r right rico..
yes it could happen that he announes the signings together,1st july
1.cahill
2.samba
3.gervinho
4.ricky alvarez
out
1.denilson
2.nik b
3.almunia
4.maybe clichy
I think so stan, and his dad wants him to join us. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one has been done – a bit of me thinks wenger will announce our signings together – try and lift the fans….
The cahill rumor just won’t go away yet there’s no way wenger will buy two CBs in one window….I could be wrong though. I just don’t see wenger doing both deals.
are we still chasing oxblood chamberbot….thought liverpoop beat us to him. Hmm theo and chamberlain combo. Now that would make most defenders shit themselves
I can’t see Squlli going already sadly but if he is our 6th CH, i’d cope with that 😉
wilkk, you are poss right and wenger said he intends to play Theo in the middle, he said that back last season so maybe we will see the switch this season – i for one cannot wait…
Welocme to those joing HH this morning…
Some good comments..
Yeah willkk……u might be on to something there…..makes perfect sense. And u are right again about theo’s improvement…..he did score a lot of goals this past season and men did he hit the woodwork. Its really difficult to score from the right wing if u are a right footed player……good one willkk
yes rico i seriously think we should get rid squillaci as well,and get in samba and cahill that makes us having 5 cbs
vermalaen,kos,jd,samba,cahill and a club like us it with the injury record we have it is necessary that we have those 5 cbs where vermalaen could be shifted to lb or dm and kos could also be used as a dm…
Arsene already had this plan anyway. Theo stated it several times during interviews. He’ll be a centre striker soon enough. Wenger started him out on the wing to develop his movement & passing etc timing of crosses etc i guess. I’m happy to trust Arsene on this one. He’s not a fool & achieved so much during his time at our club. We are all just armchair managers! Theo had his best season so far – he is better every year. He’ll be vital for us this year. Can you imagine defending against him & chamberlain?! I can umderstand why our attack was instructed to help more at the back last season because our defense were incompetent. Wenger missed out on defenders in the xmas transfer window & was stuck with what he had – so the whole team had to help out.
@duma – I’ve only ever seen theo play up front once, and he scored two goals, and that was a year or two ago, when he was nowhere near the player he is now. He can’t do it in this formation, but I really think it would be interesting to see him tried as a striker in a 4-4-2 over a few games. Vela is another: I’ve never seen him play badly as a striker in a 4-4-2; it’s clearly his natural position.
I know bendtner is leaving now, but he is fantastic at playing with a pacey forward like these two as well – so we could have seen the best of him if we’d persisted with that system.
It seems everybody is starting to realize this : ” play theo upfront with RVP”
Yes he will, and AW will turn him into the deadliest striker alive.
READ THIS !
Walcott has played in that role for years now( right wing ), this is the hardest position for a right footed playr especialy, its hard to shoot, dribble, pass and crossing the ball, I knw this bcoz I play FIFA, its hard to score frm the right wing fo a right footed plyr. And AW wants theo to improve in those area before back to his striker role.
and have u seen him improved? Yes he has improved, a lot.. Jst look at his last season’s stats.
Henry was a winger before turning into a beast
Why AW bought Gervinho??? Bcoz theo will back to his striker role next season!!
Morning stan
I don’t know much about any of them but, if one of the three take Denilson as part of the deal, i don’t care which one we sign 😉
There is a lot of talk about a few players AF but i don’t believe any until they sign this time around, too many times i have been left disapointed..
I think we will know soon enough – I hope our first in is Cahill, then Samba…
🙂
Ashburton groove is saying ricky alvarez might sign for us….it makes perfect sense. The willian or costa deal is not working..I would prefer the latter though….alvarez is an unknown quantity…..besides some say he’s a CROCK. What do y’all think……morning Rico.
your correct there rico,
owen coyle has said that they will certainly lose gary cahill this summer on the other hand marveux failed his medical at liverpool and signed with newcastle ,hope this is the case with gervinho and we sign hazard…..
Going on from that AF, just look at our squad, we have loads of midfielders but not many defenders/strikers….
Its not balanced…
dave, this is not arsenalnews and we are not moaning, i don’t really understand what you are saying??
AF – We seem to have too many square pegs in round holes, i’m hoping that Wenger buys players who play in the positions we are weak this summer, putting a stop to it…
sorry ,wanted to put this
it seems that wenger thinks if a player is played at the wings eg walcott or bendtner who are not good at finishing he puts them on the wing so that when they are put upfront it is easier for them to score….it sounds stupid but that must be the only thing……
arsenalnews has become a sight for people that like to MOAN.
Arsenal, IS THE BEST TEAM IN THE PREMIERSHIP.
If you take our results as a measure of our ability, then you’re a mug
actually it seems that wenger thinks if a player is played for eg walcott or bendtner are not good at finishing he puts them on the wing so that when they start upfront it is easier for them to score…..it sounds stupid but that must be the only thing…
duma – no-one is suggesting Theo is Henry, there will only ever be one Henry but Theo is similar in his play..
We don’t know how well he links up in the middle really, he seldom plays there but if my memory is right, his movement off the ball last season in the pen area created the space for RvP to score on more than one occassion..
He is not a winger, and never will be….
Moning AF, thanks
Every window we get linked to Matuidi, can’t see that one happening if i’m honest…
Modric to the chavs… interesting one, where will he fit in, they must be thinking of selling…
dude face it, his not henry and never EVER WILL be, theo will always be a winger. ALWAYS. he doesnt link well in the middle, and would only slow down play.
Stav,
Agree with your comment, and i think the reason he is yet the all round player is becuase of where he plays – the more he plays centrally his finishing would improve big time aswell – sometimes i just think Wenger has most of the players we need right under his nose but he opts to play them other than where they would play at their best
Arshavin and Bendtner are another two examples…
totally agree,
great post…..
it loks like we are after blaise matuidi aswell……and
modric says he wants to join chelsea
Agreed, Let the defenders defend and if you have someone like a Chamak playing, he can go back for set peices. My overall opinion is that Theo scares defenders and because of that he creates space for the attackers around him. The makes the oppo back off and I personally think he is quite an instinctive finisher. He may not be a completely rounded footballer, but he can do things others cant which will help us win games. I would like to see him through the middle a bit more.
I just don’t see that we ever gain anything by taking Theo off for a Denilson or Eboue kind of player, neither are very good at defending and in fact neither are very good full stop – by making that kind of change we are giving the momentum to the opposition…
What ever people think of Walcott, he ties up two players most games….
He’d soon start scoring goals if he was on the shoulder of the last defender too, his pace would out do most defenders in the league…
Well they do say attack is the best form of defense
Unless you arsenal
Morning All
Theo is totally wasted on the wing, in inhibits his true game – if AW wants a winger, buy one
he should be playing upfront in his natural possition, where he’d be most effective hes not a natural winger like young and lennon which is why the do better than him for england. play him upfront and he’ll start scoring.
Totally agree, for once.
Totally agree.