Daily Bits and Bobs

Juventus striker & Costa linked. Theo has a point & Merts and Arteta speak.

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

If you want to win titles then you have got to go to the end and the thing about this team at the moment is that we never give up. 

Every game that we win the belief gets stronger and stronger.

Quite appropriate from Theo after our two goals very late on Wednesday and until the final whistle, the game is still going on so I guess as long as the goals come by the end of the game and the points go to Arsenal, we can be happy. I’d still rather we managed a few earlier on though just to settle my nerves…

And of course, if the squad of players show that ‘it’s not over until the end’ attitude until May, this season could be a good one…

We certainly need that attitude tomorrow when we face the neighbours in the FA Cup. They are on a good run since Tim Sherwood took over from AVB, he’ll have the players up for this Derby. Sherwood isn’t a born and bred Tottenham man but he had four years with them back in 1999-2003 so he’ll know what this game means to the fans.

Good news is that they are struggling with injuries just as we are.

Anyway, that’s for tomorrow…

In the meantime, Mikel Arteta is one of a number of Arsenal players who are rallying in support of our super sub Nikki B:

He is part of this team and he’s worked hard. His attitude has been spot on since I’ve been here and he knows that he has to wait for his time, Olivier [Giroud] has been doing really well.

The manager decided to play Lukas [Podolski] up front but when he [Bendtner] came on I think he looked really sharp and he looked dangerous.

We need people like him to help the team when he’s needed.

Per Mertesacker is another:

It was a vital goal from Nicklas. He did it against Hull as well when he stepped in for Olivier Giroud, and this time you saw how vital it is to have the depth in the squad.

It’s important to have a second proper striker who comes in and just does what he usually does.

Matheu Flamini, who was replaced by Tomas Rosicky, was full of praise too but his was for the team:

When you have opportunity after opportunity and you can’t find a goal it’s very frustrating.

These kind of games are not easy, but we played our football and found the goal so it’s positive.

We have to fight for every point, we have to fight for every goal so it’s not easy but once again the team demonstrated great character, fighting spirit and a tough togetherness that is very important.

So the spirit is there, we just need one or two additions over the next few days and as long as they have the same mindset, they’ll have a big part to play in our campaign and as Merts said:

Everyone is talking about other clubs but for us it’s not a problem, we play game after game and focus on ourselves, we’ll see at the end what happens.

Everyone is talking about Manchester City, Chelsea and even Manchester United despite the gap in points, but not many really give us much hope of winning the league.

Apart from us Gooners of course….

Just go and get us that top notch striker Arsene…..

Talking of which, linked to us today are:

Juventus 30 year old striker Mirko Vucinic – Daily Mirror.

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa – Daily Star & Daily Express.

Dimitar Berbatov – Yaya Sanogo on Facebook, although there is some doubt the account is genuine.

Corinthians striker Alexandre Pato – Malaga Gooner! 😉

Have a good day all……….

rico

0 thoughts on “Juventus striker & Costa linked. Theo has a point & Merts and Arteta speak.”

  1. rico says:

    Arsene on Berbatov:

    “He is not a name we have considered at the moment.

    “We have not contacted anybody. We are just considering our options. I must confess they are quite restricted.”

  2. HenryB says:

    Another good one, Rico, thank you, and a very important topic too.

    As time goes by and injuries keep occurring, the need for CF cover is increasing.

    For myself, if I had a choice, I would go for a fast tricky winger to counter the habit of crowding the centre of the pitch, which then starts all that cross field and backward passing you mentioned.

  3. rico says:

    Morning Hb, by the way, one the menu today is washing, ironing and dog walking between showers 😉

    Thanks by the way, I’d go for a winger, striker and a beast in midfield but I suspect AW won’t be, not this month anyway…

  5. kali says:

    morning Rico and all housers
    good read..

    great to have that high spirit and togetherness….
    sounds like the vibes are real positive in our camp..

    we are knocking on the door constatntly …confidence is high …
    can only do us good…now bring on the spuds..

  6. tsgh says:

    Morning Rico and all HHers…

    The faithful are not going to like this:… Chelsea have had £50m bid for Higuain rejected but will bid again. CFC would like to finance deal with De Bruyne & Mata sales

  7. rico says:

    I wasn’t too impressed either Oz, have to hope he is just playing the press…

    Morning kali, thanks…

    Morning again Ts, I read that story too about Higuain, good thing if it’s true is they aren’t after Costa…

  9. tsgh says:

    These Vicinic rumours are cheesing me off… hope its not true.

    I can see what you are ‘picturing’ Rico re Costa but I doubt we are looking at him…

  12. kali says:

    someone from within the PL makes sense,
    not many options there though

    should we forget the CL and focus on the PL+FA?

  15. kali says:

    “Thank goodness I didn’t go to Manchester, otherwise I would have committed suicide by now.”

    D.De Rossi…after rejecting a move tp Manure in the summer…

    have they lost that magnet to attract stars any more to OT!

  17. rico says:

    They certainly seemed to struggle in the summer kali, and it seems they are struggling to get Rooney tied down to a new deal..

  18. rico says:

    I cannot believe that Arsene Wenger has said that signing a striker depends on Nik B fitness and Yaya Sanogo who is now back in training…

    Jeez!

  20. tsgh says:

    No smoke without fire sometimes.. lol

    Wenger says Clattenburg should stay in charge tomorrow. Innocent till proven guilty, he says. “It would be a bad decision,” Wenger said.

  21. kali says:

    le prof back to his usual teasing game?

    this time better get it right…we’ are so close,the closest we’ve in many years……one or two addition and this squad will be
    awesome…

    more lift for the players too

  27. rico says:

    Arsène Wenger has revealed the latest team news ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup third-round clash against Tottenham:
    on Bendtner…

    What I can tell you is that from the last game we lost Nicklas Bendtner. We don’t know how serious his injury is at the moment because he had a scan yesterday. His scan will be assessed today.

    on Giroud…

    For the rest, Giroud’s ankle was quite positive yesterday in the test but he was sick overnight so he has a 90 per cent chance of being out. He is in bed today.

    on other injuries…

    Ozil will have a test later, personally I think he will be short. Gibbs and Ramsey are definitely out.

    on Oxlade-Chamberlain…

    He is close to being back in full training, next week. It takes a little time to be competitive again.

  32. rico says:

    Not good news at all. I think it will be Podolski up front again…

    Any news on Adebayor after he was stretchered off at the weekend, that git loves to score against us, or get sent off…

  33. rico says:

    So far so good Syg but the squad is looking very frail right now.

    AW has the cards in his hands, will he deal them….

  34. tsgh says:

    AFC team news: Giroud, Gibbs, Ramsey, Bendtner, Chamberlain, Diaby & Sanogo all out. Özil has fitness test today…

    Giroud is 90 per cent out, though…

    The spurds have 7 players out but they finished the Yanited game with 3 academy players…

  36. southyorkshiregunner says:

    Hiya Ginge.
    I’ve been keeping up with following the club, but to be honest bar Napoli away and conceding a crap goal v Everton there hasn’t been a great deal to moan about… Away v Man City ? that reminded me of 28 Nov 1990 Arsenal v Manchester United in the league cup and was a game which could have gone any way !!

    We seem to be playing as a team which after Wenger dispensed with procuring shite, I thought we would do.

  38. rico says:

    First half of the season, results have been very good and we sit top of the PL, in the KO stages of the CL and still in the FA Cup.

    Exactly why it would be a huge sin if the club do not sign a couple of players this window to add freshness and goals to the second half..

    All is looking very good but as the injuries set in through players having to play so many games, our squad depth could very well be seriously exposed and all the great work undone..

    How long can Merts, Kos and Sagna all stay fit…

  39. tsgh says:

    Good to see you back Syg.. Miss you… 🙂

    Have you forgotten about Yanited lose? I agree we are playing as a team… we have been doing that for over a year now so hopefully it pays off…

    Mg, when is Pato flying in then? Lol

  44. southyorkshiregunner says:

    Flamini? I have to admit I didn’t want him Ginge.
    But was that because I didn’t like how he left us or because he was or is a bad player?
    He’s not a brilliant player, but he’s a player that never shirks responsibility and always does his job.

  48. rico says:

    He said he wants to get reports on both before deciding Adam.

    I don’t believe him though….

    That Pato story Mg is on about comes from the rumour site, one of the editors has said that Arsenal have made contact with his agent. Not that that means anything of course…

  55. tsgh says:

    Finally Syg…

    I knew it won’t be a proper transfer window without Kalou being linked to us…

    Next week it will be Gorchuff… lol

  56. southyorkshiregunner says:

    At the moment the big ‘target man’ is working.

    Giroud isn’t too dissimilar to Alan Smith …. a bit bigger, far better looking and he doesn’t talk like a gay …

    Ian Wright was a much better, quicker and predatory striker than Alan Smith, but even so, the team as a whole suffered …..

    .. Adams said it I think – “We could have never won the title with Ian Wright ….” (Although we did win the 98 title with Wright in the squad as an injured member ….)

    Giroud is a selfless TEAM player who continually brings the midfield into play…. Wright, like Van Persie was neither – They were the men at the end of the move, although the latter was by far the more cultured player.

    A top striker? Are we to change the dynamics of something that is working? or are we to keep with the similar type of player?

  57. Nashuagunner says:

    That particular article is crape. It must have been written by OG12 agent. We definitely are in need of another striker. Bony can get the job done for us. Or even one of the local boys in the PL can do it for us.
    AW should have got this done during the last T/W. Time is not on our side to wait for someone who is not use to the PL to start jelling. Which will take another six months before he start scoring.

    Even Rooney who is not my cup of tea can make a massive difference in our attacking line up front. He sure knows how to find the back of the net, if we can get him.

    Good Afternoon everyone.

  58. rico says:

    Isn’t it more about adding to where we are rather than stagnating?

    Isn’t it about having something very different in the side when we face clubs who continually beat us with the same tactics they have deployed for years…

    Wouldn’t signing a top class striker show we have ambition, true ambition and Ozil wasn’t a one off…

    Surely as a club we can’t afford to rely on a forward who has already been overplayed and now injured, or a now injured Nik B, or a unproved like Sanogo…

    If AW wants us to win the PL or another cup, we need more than what we have imho…

  60. tsgh says:

    Hi Ng…

    Syg your post at 2:02 pm typifies what I miss from you. 😛

    Adams said it I think – “We could have never won the title with Ian Wright ….” (Although we did win the 98 title with Wright in the squad as an injured member ….)’- can’t agree more.

  61. Nashuagunner says:

    Imagine that NCU game, Szczesny’s blunder had gone in and OG12 sitter which was begging for the back of the net and he missed that?

    All of us would be singing the same song right now; another striker.

  62. tsgh says:

    We could certainly do with another prolific striker but IF the other midfielders score we won’t have problems at all winning the league. imho

    Based on observations, it is a lie that championship winners have top class strikers…

    In modern times teams such as Chelsea, Juve, BM have won leagues without having top strikers…

    Under AW we lost the title with a top striker…

    When Chelsea first won the league Drogba scored only 12 goals

  63. rico says:

    And not just the Newcastle game Ng..

    Relying on midfielders to score for the rest of this season would be wrong on so many accounts imho.

    Ts, I have to disagree, Chelsea and both Mancs had top class strikers when they won the PL…

    And so did we when we had Anelka, Henry, Bergkamp etc..

  64. Nashuagunner says:

    Hi Rico and T’s

    Oh no, Rico.

    All those clubs at the bottom half that where Suarez is racking up his goals tally, how come OG12 can’t do the same? We have the most creative m- field in the league yet he’s miss firing? You have to ask yourself, Why?

  65. Adam says:

    I see the crystal balls are getting their regular transfer window outings. More is less, less is more but not more than less. Limited options are better. Giroud is all we need.

  66. Nashuagunner says:

    Man city is breathing on our neck with just one point difference. They have load of goals. If AW cook this up I won’t forgive him.

    It been eight years and this is our time now.

  69. BrainwashedKev says:

    Afternoon All…

    Afternoon Rico, just gonna catch up.
    That’ll give ya a chance to finish the ironing Rico… 😉

  71. tsgh says:

    Ng, no one is saying OG12 is a world better not even an easy to please fan like me :P!

    There is no denying Suarez can’t score against the bigger boys though… we are already beating the smaller teams so what we need imho is someone who can score on the bigger stage ideally Rooney or VP but we know that is not possible.

    I know I may be called delusional again but this analogy applies to why RM can’t beat Barca until recently because in the past Ronaldo scored 4 against the lower tie teams but went dumb against the other 2 or 3 great teams in La liga..

    It could be argued that the likes of Benzema, Ozil, Hig, Di MAria could have helped but the answer is why I did not or believe Aw never went for Hig in the first place nor will he go for Benzema. imo…

  72. rico says:

    Afternoon Kev

    I must get mine out then Adam 😉

    Nipping out with Fido whilst the rain has stopped, back shortly…

  73. tsgh says:

    Ng, $hitty have scored more goals than any top club in Europe though so that is a difficult one and they are still behind us and still finished 2nd behind BM…

    Im the 2011/2012 season when it really mattered for $hitty Silva, Yaya, John, Milner all contributed to their title win on goal difference even though Aguero, Dzeko, Balo scored over 60 goals…

    The crucial goals came from the other players…

    When we won the title at Old Trafford it was not Henry or DB 10 who scored the goals but Wiltord who was playing in midfield on the rhs that day as he did that season…
    —————-
    Without sounding patronising to anyone I guess we all agreeit is a bit more complex than saying that if Suarez was with us we would have scored 20 more goals…

    Just last season, when VP joined Yanited how many goals less did Rooney score and the team as a whole…

    What Fergie bought imho was another big game player; something we currently lack vitally

  74. tsgh says:

    It has been argued and discussed by several pundits across Europe about our 2004 season. All agreed that Pires and Ljunberg won us more points than TH14 and our strikers as they came up with vital goals when needed.. and they were all midfielders on paper at least…

  76. Nashuagunner says:

    T’s, there is a reason why other teams back four is so relax when OG is leading our attack, because he is so slow. There is no urgency to his game. If we can creat those opportunities upfront for the likes of Bony, Rooney or the guy from Southampton, it will be a different story.

    Btw, I like OG but we need someone better or more options upfront.

    Those years of ‘make do’ are understandable but now is a different ‘ball game’ altogether .

  77. tsgh says:

    I totally agree that we need a new striker…Ng

    But I refuse to believe that Oviedo, Lalana or Benzema will score more goals than OG12.

    Nor am I convinced about Costa because 6 months ago, how many people on here would have said we should go for him…

    I am yet to be convinced by anyone yet why Benzema who plays for a better team with the world’s best player in Ronaldo has scored the same number of goals as OG12 having played 16 games but the argument is that he will be better than OG12.
    ————————————————-
    We all having a bit of fun btw so it is surprising when some folks get so wound out about something majority of us have no influence over and those who can influence do nothing about it…

  78. tsgh says:

    Ng, I am not so sure how you came up with the view that teams’ back 4 ‘go on holiday’ when OG12 is playing…

    In fact, I would say that most teams in particular goal keepers go out of their skin to show they are good enough against us compared to other top teams…

    The reason why goalie’s J Caesar was considered a great goalie and a must get by pundits and most fans when in actual fact he was having ‘flappy’ moments against other teams but he raised his game against us and other top teams…

    Was he not even dropped for Rob Green towards the end of the season?

    Another example is Matt Poom who even won a contract with us because TH14 etc could not score against him but he was average at best most weeks…

    Even great players like Wooney covers more ground when he plays against us than against $hitty or Chelsea and those are measurement traits…

  80. tsgh says:

    He could do Kev…

    I heard Stan banned him for associating with AU last years so…

    Have you read that Bellerin has gone back to Watford on loan?

  81. BrainwashedKev says:

    Sanogo so far, has been a total waste of space…

    He can not have even adapted to English football yet, being as inactive as he had been…

    This might open the door again for Afobe, and a possible place on the bench tomorrow?

  83. BrainwashedKev says:

    If that is true Ginge, then Kroenke is a prat.
    But if Wenger wanted Henry, I kinda think that he would get his way…

    I still want a marquee forward brought in this month…
    But I don’t expect one…

    Thus I speculate on the cheap alternatives…
    That’s my expectations…

  84. Nashuagunner says:

    T’s, there is a reason why other teams back four is so relax when OG is leading our attack, because he is so slow. There is no urgency to his game. If we can creat those opportunities upfront for the likes of Bony, Rooney or the guy from Southampton, it will be a different story.

    Btw, I like OG but we need someone better or more options upfront.

    Those years of ‘make do’ are understandable but now is a different ‘ball game’ altogether .

    Ian Wright was from a lower league but was able to joined Arsenal and scored twenty-four goals and won the Golden Boot. Bony can be our Ian Wright this season.

  85. tsgh says:

    We would all love a marquee signing Kev.
    I just believe a fergie style Cantona signing will do more for us than a non EPL based signing…

  86. tsgh says:

    But Wright was a bit part player when we won the league.
    Nonetheless he was a grafter.
    Ng,I liked Bony… But most fans say he is not good enough…
    Feegie won the treble with York,Cole,Ole and Sheringham…
    Apart from Cole none of them were truly proficient.
    I must admit,most fans are snobs…
    I wonder if they want big names or a hard working and efficient team?

  87. vernat1066 says:

    Hi, i think that while OG is not quick by any stretch he more than occupies the opposition defence with his workrate and movement. I also think that we are slightly lopsided at the moment when Walcott is fit there is a threat from the right hand side with Sagna and him but not so much from the left maybe a fit podolski and Gibbs and Monreal can provide that.

    What i would like to see if we buy a CF is pace so that opposition defences cant leave space behind them for fear of the ball through or over the top which is the one thing i think we miss now and also with our counter attacking capabilities and passers we could see a lot more goals from that as well … just like the good old days with anelka and henry where we would score 10 or 15 seconds later after an opposition corner we seem to have lost that threat and it makes us more predictable to play against

  88. tsgh says:

    my view is simply that assembling a superstar team along won’t win trophies…
    Recent successful teams all have 1 thing in common.hardwork.
    Pirlo was dropped by Milan for not being good enough but amongst a relatively cheaper team who cover his weak areas Juve are about to win their 3rd straight Serie A.Shitty won league imo in large part due to Milner,Balo,Tevez etc who worked hard off the ball.
    Fergus said he win the CL because he had Fletcher even though CR07 was the star…
    The same way Jose attributed his sucess at Chelsea and Inter to Makelele and Lucio.

    we will continue to struggle against big teams because for whatever reason must of our players refuse to work hard either because they are unwell or…

  90. rico says:

    Evening all…

    I read the same rubbish about Henry/Kroenke/Usmanov.

    Bloody mischief makers in the press…

    🙂

  91. tsgh says:

    Evening Rico…
    Don’t blame me.:P
    How was your walk?I traveled on train to
    Bristol and changed at Reading…bloody cold down your patch….

  93. rico says:

    Hi Ts, it’s not so cold today, just wet, windy and pretty dark. Nasty…

    Neither do I Adam, utter poppycock imho…

  94. potter says:

    Vernat we have the outball option with Theo but we choose not to use it. Sagna , gibbs and Wilshere don’t play with their heads up and as they bring the ball forward they try to get into space before they pass.What’s more i think Walcott needs to be be more demanding and scream for the ball , he always seems to start a run but get the ball when he has turned back from it to prevent being offside.

  95. tsgh says:

    Teams do not play with the same high back line as before purely to counteract counter attacks and players like Theo…
    Even Navas has not been able to break with speed playing for a free scoring team…
    Theo just needs to improve like Robben and the likes have to gain the upper hand IMHO…
    Saying that all speedsters get found out easily by dropping deeper so unless teams come out to play it is difficult to counter attack constantly imo…
    juve,Roma and Bvb are all struggling on that front I think…

  96. potter says:

    Arsenal are understood to be wishful of landing Benfica star Nemanja Matic at the Emirates this winter.

    J.M. comments please

  100. potter says:

    Yes but he was never Auto- Matic choice , I’m just full of hot air , kind of pneu matic ,

    Getting my coat.

  101. tsgh says:

    Potter, Jm and I were discussing Matic a few days ago..

    I think he he preferred William Carvalho instead…

  102. tsgh says:

    Lets all wait and see what AW does as what he says to the press can not be taken seriously most times..

    The same man who said he did not not know who SC19 was a week before we bought him…

    He also said we were not interested in MA08 3 days before he was bought…

  103. BrainwashedKev says:

    Yes Ginge, a Cantona style signing would be superb…

    Therefore, I give you…………….. Darren Bent.

    I know that his possible signing excites both Adam and Lee…

    Even Dutch is a fan…

  104. BrainwashedKev says:

    Although Lee is coming around to the capture of a Bender…

    Yeah, Lee and me, we know what we want…

    Er, in an Arsenal shirt that is… 😉

  109. rico says:

    Potter, very good but yes, go get your coat 😉

    Kev, I mailed Micko a while back, no reply 🙁

    Mg, if you have a rumour, just please tell us where you read it, it may stop the poop flying your way….

  114. Paddywhack says:

    What about Stephen Fletcher of Sunderland, I bet he could knock in a few goals. How much would he cost.

  117. BrainwashedKev says:

    There’s quite a bit of speculation about the Arsenal line-up today.

    Akpom, Afobe, Zelalem, Gnabry, have all been mentioned as possible starters.

    But I suspect that we’ll see as strong a line-up as we saw vs Cardiff.
    And likewise the Spuds.

    This ain’t a game for rotating and resting players.
    We want to beat the mob from Middlesex, no fear of that!

    So today isn’t for the faint hearted and it isn’t a day to experiment either…

  118. BrainwashedKev says:

    I see that Wenger was asked about Diego Costa in today’s Presser…

    Seems that it would cost Arsenal, in the region of £145m to sign the Spanish-Brazillian!!!
    Well, that’s according to Arsene, and I guess that he must know…?!

    So that, looks like that, as far as Señor Costa is concerned…

    So much for the €40m buy-out clause in his contract…

    Now where have I heard about buy-out clauses before??? 🙄

  119. ozgunner says:

    I think Wenger will gamble as he always does and hope Bendtner suddenly turns his life around and becomes the great white hope he and Wenger believes he is = no transfers other than maybe asking for help with a short term loan deal or two 🙂

  120. Scott from Oz says:

    Morning all.
    Back from a few days camping and fishing with the family.
    What a way to recharge the batteries, and the fish were on the job.
    Oz, since we have tried everything to get rid of Bendtner, not sure how you can come up with that one.
    Though if we win the league from a Bendtner goal, I am sure Gooners throughout the work will love and adopt him 😉

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