Daily Bits and Bobs

Medical complete, so where is he? Besiktas benefit from Arsenal education…..

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Well I know nothing about tonight’s opposition, other than Demba Ba plays for them, as does one of our old youngsters, Oguzhan Ozyakup.

Arsene Wenger has spoken about the 21 year old:

I’m happy that he came here. He was educated by us and we saw that he had top quality and technically he is very good. Physically he can run all day, he has very good stamina and a good final pass.

I always thought he could make a career but at our club he had big competition in front of him and that is why we let him go.

It is good to see he has made it to the top level and is now an important player in Turkey.

That good eh Arsene, well why didn’t he get a chance?

Both Kieran Gibbs and Yaya Sanogo have hamstring injuries and miss out. As do the three World Cup winners.

Laurent Koscielny has recovered from his injury problem and he will partner Calum Chambers in the centre of defence.

Arsene Wenger also had this to say in his press conference last night:

The play-off is not not affecting too much my transfer policy. Financially it is a big game but it’s not that that’s the most important thing. We want to compete at the top level, we want to fight against the best in Europe and that’s the real target of the competition tomorrow.

To be honest, his transfer policy seems to have died an early death after the flurry of quick signings were announced so either this match and the away leg is holding things up or we really have done all we are going to do this summer. Somehow though I doubt it’s the latter as the manager would have to daft to believe we have a squad anywhere deep enough or strong enough to compete this season.

Right now the best thing Arsenal can do is get a handsome victory tonight, one which will almost guarantee our place in the group stages and if there are a few big names waiting for us to qualify before signing on the dotted line, they may just be snapped up a bit earlier.

One can only assume that Besiktas, being the home side, will be all out to score goals tonight in attempt to take a lead to The Emirates.

That might just play into our hands, unlike Palace whose defence was tighter than Arsene Wenger!

Gossip:

Kostas Manolas is soon set to to sign for us as according to many reports, he’s agreed personal terms and had his medical. So where is he I wonder?

The Sami Khedira stories rumble on too and bearing in mind his agents were supposed to be in London yesterday to sort out his future, perhaps he’ll be an Arsenal player soon too..

The Star continue to report that Podolski could soon be a Gonner.

Come on Arsenal, get the victory tonight and then get the final pieces of the jigsaw signed and sealed…

COYRRG’s….

Have a good day all…

 

rico

325 thoughts on “Medical complete, so where is he? Besiktas benefit from Arsenal education…..”

  5. Nickie says:

    2-0 win I think, Demba ba won’t be as lethal without the service. They have to impress their fans and certainly won’t sit back. We will bide our time and pick em off.

  11. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Good Morning Munchkins and Chipmunks

    Good post Rico…..why dont you email him the question….That good eh Arsene, well why didn’t he get a chance?

    I saw him play twice for our youth teams…..and I was impressed. Yes we had competition. Song for example.

  13. rico says:

    Thanks Devil.

    Doesn’t make sense does it? Goes back to what some have been saying for a while, the manager has his favourites and plays them regardless.

    Adam said yesterday that he’d like to think that cream rises to the top but how can when certain players don’t even get a chance, yet others get selected regardless of how average they play…

    Song being the prime example…

  14. dublingunner says:

    Fabregas impresses, costa scores, chelsea win. thats a headline i didnt want to see this morning.I hope wenger knew what he was doing with cesc,Cant see past them this season for the league. Anyway we would want to be very careful at the back tonight. gibbs out, koscielny might not be a 100% fit and i hope were not over playing chambers, so early in the season. 17 years in row if we qualify for champs league, but i cant help thinking, statistically we could be due a change of luck and not qualify.If we keep on getting 4th place. one year it will happen. hopefully not this year .

  16. emma says:

    Goodmorning all,
    Good post rico,

    It was Burnley FFS,

    If The Arsenal had gone to burnley(a newly promoted team with majority/all of it’s players without EPL experience) and controlled the match beating them 3-1, the media will still say it’s burnley. But the chavs went and hammered them and in their eyes automatically wins the league. Would have love to see them play crystal palace in d opening fixtures and see how they fair with the compact defending palace put up. Lets not forget the chavs next match is another newly promoted team Leicester so the media w*nkfest continues

    Not surprised by Cesc ‘the traitor’ performance. When he was with us and even when he went to barca, he starts off the season fast and furious and cools off at the beginning of the new year. Doubt if it will change

  17. rogerbij says:

    Anyone else feeling a bit sick watching maestro Fabregas doing his thing for Chelsea? I know a lot on here didnt want him back. I did. Ive got a bad feeling we’re going to be sorry for not taking him back…

  19. Scott From Oz says:

    Emma, good point, and one made by Barca’s president…Cesc died off badly towards the end of the season.

  21. Lee says:

    I’m not saying we are bad Scott, I just think Chelsea have a better squad and have addressed their weaknesses, whereas we haven’t (yet).
    Ok, a bottle of fizz or wine your call mate but we gotta drink it together!!! 😉

  22. Scott From Oz says:

    Now that is a deal, Lee !!!!
    I don’t think they’ve done that much, to be honest.
    Cesc and Costa, who is unproven in the PL, and after Ba, Torres, E’to and others, Jose is yet to work his magic on the guy.
    We’ve done very well this far…if we get two or three others, we will smash the Chavs.
    As it stands, we will beat them comfortably 🙂

  25. emma says:

    I am with wenger for not resigning that traitor(Cesc). A player who went on strike all in the name of Barca DNA. He said he was going home and that was enough reason for us to let him go. Even at a cut-price when he could have being sold for £40/£50m at that time. Flirted with manure last season and finally discovered that the grasses where not greener elsewhere and joined that arrogant Moaning idiot, who slated and kicked him in Barca

  32. emma says:

    Lee- Cesc publicly came out and said he would have a word with Martino and if he is not wanted he would leave but Martino refused to sanction the sale as he wanted him at Barca

  34. Luznic says:

    Nice post Rico, Morning to you and everyone……..I posted this on the old one……….. I would do the same thing Wenger did to Fabregas, I won’t take him back, why should he? he’s good and so fu*c*ing what? he left us and claimed love for barca then barca who he called his home claimed much love for Suarez and pushed him out and then again he’s back, please he looks confused and his story sounds like a glory hunter, I have an Ozil and a Ramsey and cesc will unsettle that team, except for a DMF that midfield still looks better without cesc, we might still argue what if after the season but we are human and Fabregas didn’t deserve the second chance let’s move on

  35. Lee says:

    potter says:

    August 19, 2014 at 10:33 am

    Scott , Cesc is/was a young impressionable kid when he left home to join us and he got caught in a political war as the presidential candidates for Barcelona fought each other. Many things were going on in his life his parents divorced and one candidate in particular wining and dining his father to get him to return.In the spanish team he was pressured every day to go back and he buckled. When he got to Barca the man he idolised all of his life Guardiola left the club and the new man and the new president wanted a new shiny toy to give the fans and eventually they splashed out on Neymar. He was then shunted all round the pitch not because he was playing badly but because there was no room with the other stars and because he was so adaptable he was the one that got hooked everytime. In the meantime a new manager came and the boardroom unrest continued with the neymar deal being exposed as not Kosher , the rumblings on which continue. All in all the homecoming as you named it was not a happy one and the promises made were not kept.
    All of this has come from people i know in local supporters clubs in Catalonia. It was also difficult because a certain section of the crowd never accepted him because he went in the first place , just as many of you can’t see past him leaving us.

  36. dublingunner says:

    Have to defend cesc until im told different. he supposedly wanted an arsenal return. knew barca were likely to sanction a move this season. and did not want to be a united player. but found out in may that wenger would not be persuing him.

  40. emma says:

    I believe we can win the league If we can get a CB and as well a DM, manage the squad properly and hopefully forsythe methods works to reduce injuries *simple*

  43. rico says:

    Had AW wanted to, he could have forced Fabregas to stay as he was on a long term contract.

    For whatever reason, and I think we all have our own ideas, he was allowed to go home…

    I don’t think it was a harmonious departure….

  47. BrainwashedKev says:

    A bottle of Cobra after a ruby…

    Then another bottle or three…

    Yep, I’d have a bet on that…

  50. BrainwashedKev says:

    Yeah, Burnley always struggle without their harp… 😉

    Adam is learning how to play Bridge of Sighs on his harp…

    I can’t wait to hear it…

  51. AndrewH says:

    Nice post rico.

    Manolas is mentioned all over the place, including the paper websites, but actually, I think it all stems from one report in Goal which is being quoted everywhere. Hope they didn’t make it up like so many other stories 🙂

  57. BrainwashedKev says:

    All we do, is hope that the delay in anymore signings, is linked to CL qualification…

    Also Wenger might be looking at what he has before he brings in anymore new faces…
    Looking at them in training as well as in games.

  58. Scott From Oz says:

    I am betting with both here……I just don’t see Chelski as any stronger than last season where we are much better, IMO.

  61. BrainwashedKev says:

    Scott, I think that Arsenal have a great chance of winning something this season…

    But as I said to Lee and Adam, over our chicken tikka, I don’t think we’ll win the EPL.

    As for the CL, well I can’t see AW ever winning that…

    But the domestic cups are a real possibility again and I’d like to think that we can finish top three this season…

    That’s my head talking…

    My heart says we’re gonna win the quadruple…. 🙂

  64. BrainwashedKev says:

    Let’s win tonight, beat Everton, Leicester and Besiktas at The Grove, and then we’ll have a better idea where we stand….

    Watching Cesc play for that Portugese Prick was always gonna be painful…

  65. kyawmgmgtun says:

    Chealse have costa
    man.city gave aguero
    liverpool have strag
    man.u have v.persi
    arsenal have giroud
    arsenal have champion with giroud

  70. Lee says:

    All hearsay Rico. To say we don’t need him or he wouldn’t get in our midfield is total bollocks imho! He’s a fucking good footballer and we are short of them! Anyway Sanogo will come good, that’ll clinch it, I’ll exhale now!

  75. HenryB says:

    Afternoon, Rico.

    A very nice Post, as usual.

    I have sometimes wondered who has the best team in the EPL and with the Invincibles we were as good as or better than any other team in those days.

    Nowadays I wonder.

    What if, for the sake of argument, all the squads of Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Citeh were put into a pool, and fans from each club could pick the best team from all those available, how similar would they be, and how many Arsenal players would get picked?

    Özil, Sanchez would figure in many fans’ team, but who else?
    Of course with club loyalty we will probably never get a representative answer, as we cannot know who the Chav or Citeh fans would pick — but not many of ours I suspect.

  76. rico says:

    For sure he’ a great player Lee, and he would definitely get in our midfield – of that there is no question….

  79. potter says:

    People say things to cover their arses ,however the fact is he has left us and subsequently gone to Chelsea via Barcelona. We can only look on and wonder what if. I believe the whole affair was handled badly by the club and by Cesc’s father who made promises to Laporta and pressurised him into returning. He then found out that nothing had changed , Messi , Xavi and Iniesta were still the golden children , Guardiola left and Neymar was bought in . He now plays for a competitor that indirectly we have helped to strengthen and still remains a better player than Flamini, Arteta , Wilshere and the hapless Diaby and from a footballing view , that is the point.

  80. Nickie says:

    Courtois, Zabaleta, Kompany, Cahill/Kos, Kolarov/Gibbs, Sanchez, Ramsey, Ozil/Fabregas, Silva/Fabregas, Hazard, Aguero

  82. Bob John says:

    What I was told at the time about Cesc was that we had accepted a £50m offer from Real Madrid and he refused to go there and spat his dummy out. So called injuries were non-existent and he would only go to Farca. Can’t say I thought he looked particularly happy last night though!

  84. rogerbij says:

    And that little thought game says it all for we have strengthen. My head, when i use it, says the first teams of city and chelsea are clearly better. Draw a matrix 11×11 for arsenal llayers on one axis city plays on the other. Who is better man for man? Count the points. Repeat for arsenal / chelsea. Repeat for chelsea /city. Count the total points (do again for 11 subs if uou wish) . Basically its pairwise ranking. Anyway, love our club and have a good shout at winning something this year, but we havent had the best team or aquad for a decade. No apologies if that hurts. The big positive is that we are stronger than we have been for years 🙂

  86. Hell Raising Devil says:

    I have thought about that as well Kev. We will not sign anybody else until we are sure of CL qualification.

    However Manolas and a CDM should be imperative as well. and another defender. We need eight bodies in that department. Unless Miguel steps up and Hayden as well.

    if we qualify for the CL I think that one or two marquee signings will follow

    Regarding Cesc, I am with you all the way Potter. Cesc is far superior to Arteta, FLamini, Diaby and Wilshere. Physically, technically and tactically. I believe he would have found it easier to adapt to the pivot role in the team.

  88. potter says:

    As I said BJ , probably a move to Madrid would not have pleased his father who had made promises to Laporta . That I believe is the tangle he got into trying to hold his family together and it got in the way of his football.

  89. frenchgunner says:

    hi rico and all housers

    thanks for the upbeat post

    AW talking about Fab after joining the gas company “he fell where he wanted to go”….says it all to me

    the so little dwarf claiming it was so easy to convince Fab to sign,yeah right! with a hefty sum of dosh surely!

  91. HenryB says:

    That’s interesting Nickie, so only two Arsenal players definitely in your composite team.

    I would pick much the same as you, but would definitely choose Rambo, Ozil and Sanchez.

    It does show that we will have a hard struggle this season – not that anyone can be surprised by that. 🙂

  93. BrainwashedKev says:

    That’s the way I see it Coach…

    I can’t see Khadira coming to Arsenal, or any other marquee player…

    We’ve signed Sanchez, and that’s our lot from that level of talent…

    Any other signings will be from the lower levels, talent wise…

    Like Manolas, when we should be a Hummels or Subotic…

  95. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Manolas will surprise you Kev…..if he plays like he did with Greece and Oly. He is another Kos

  96. Nickie says:

    Yeah shocking really Dev. Would much rather more in there, there aren’t really any decent LBs so maybe Gibbs would clinch it. If Gibbs would there his relationship with Kos would be key so he’d get the nod over Cahill lol i’m being generous to our players though.

    I was full of optimism a few weeks ago. I just don’t think we will go the distance again, we are short in terms of quality depth. Although our stats suggest we were the best team out of the big guns at the weekend, we didn’t look too good on the eye. Palace are a tough team to break down but they will get blown away by our rivals

  97. Lee says:

    Apparently if we get a DM and a CB we’re going to win the league…….. I think we’re still too light up front!

  98. rogerbij says:

    exactly lee – buy Hummels, Carvalho,and Falcao we win the league. (or replace with your 3 favourite players in the same positions). As it stands now, we are an outside chance at best. We only got close last year because City kept screwing up at the start, and Chelsea had a strike force about as potent as ours. Its going to be harder to get close this year than last. And even if we do… the squad is still a bit light so get ready for another fade – especially if Giroud gets injured for 3 months.

  99. Lee says:

    Roger surely another striker will come in? He can’t gamble on Giroud again, I know Sanchez & Theo can player there but go buy a proper striker!

  100. Nickie says:

    it’s so much easier said than done. Especially at Arsenal. Ozil and Sanchez is great but why not follow it up with a couple more “quality” signings. This year business has been good. Ospina WC goalkeeper, Debuchy france’s number 1 right back, Chambers amazing prospect and Sanchez WC we are close, why does Wenger tease the fans, he sets us up for a great summer and we are only slightly better off than last year. Maybe i’m greedy but after the taste of the FA cup I want more

  101. rogerbij says:

    You know it and I know it… but we still havent properly replaced RvP in the lethal striker dept… and I cant see us spending 50m at this late stage. Would love to be wrong!

  109. BrainwashedKev says:

    BT, it ain’t always jam tomorrow mate…

    Although it often feels that way…

    It’s just that Arsenal will push out the boat so far, and have us going ‘That’s it, almost there’, only to put their oars away.

    I hope I’m wrong and I hope that Ivan has a couple more suprise’s up his sleeve, but ya know BT, this is Arsenal, and they just love to keep us on the edge…

    Then, let us down…

  110. BrainwashedKev says:

    Coach, I’m banking on that Manolas being as good as you say mate…

    I wonder if Campbell will play tonight, even off of the bench?
    Cup-tied and all that jazz!

    If he plays, then it seems that he stays…

    If he don’t play, then it could be offski for Joel?

  117. Bt62 Gooner says:

    Kev, i’d hoped this season, would be the end of that. There is still time,to add real quality to the squad/team, but is everyone within Arsenal, singing from the same hymn sheet? I’m not so sure.

  118. Lee says:

    Potter to us….he can perform the Hollywood lob pass to Giroud, give fouls away in stupid areas and get sent off! Super….

  119. etfaust says:

    Playing Koscielny in my eyes would be way too risky. Bite the bullet and protect him – start Monreal in the middle and shift Flamini back to left back. He’s played there before, so he should be alright. And I don’t think Alexis should start today either. He played all ninety on Saturday and will be short on fitness right now. We need him on Saturday, so play Rosicky or the Ox in his place. For my preview and prediction for the game, see my blog post here – http://wildamericangooner.com/2014/08/19/arsenal-crystal-palace-reaction-preview-and-prediction-for-the-besiktas-match/

  121. BrainwashedKev says:

    Fellas, there was a sense of irony in my Alex Song query?

    If we took him back then I would blow out this entire season…
    Take up fishing or join a chess club…

    BT, my sentiments entirely mate.

  123. Lee says:

    How comes Schurrle was back playing and scoring for the chavs yesterday, yet our German trio aren’t ready?

  130. kene says:

    Even if we buy Messi, Ronaldo, Hummels, Khedira… people will still write us off the league title. I strongly believe, with a quality dm and a good cb we can clinch it. Sanchez will end up playing top striker. Sanchez will shine against Besiktas.

  135. BrainwashedKev says:

    The Daily Excess says that Rabiot is going to Juventus.

    The Daily Shite (Star) says that Rabiot had rejected Juventus and joining Arsenal

    Both newspapers, if you can call them that, are from the same company, and both are a pile of crap

  140. tsgh says:

    Evening Hhers…

    Interesting post Rico…

    come on ………… lets make it 16 and a half… lol

    I couldn’t agree more with you emma at 11:14 am…

  143. tsgh says:

    Micko/Bt-

    your friends are below..

    daRealAAkinfenwa @daRealAkinfenwa · Aug 14
    “@FootballFunnys: If these two can play League 2 football, there’s hope for us all yet. pic.twitter.com/wiZeGshfqW”at least tag me in it lol

  147. NashuaGunners says:

    @Rico. If Sami agents were in London yesterday, just maybe, after the win things could be announce. Fingers cross.

  148. Lee says:

    People would take song and not Fabregas? FFS I give up, seriously we could get Frimpong and Gerwanko back too!!

  150. NashuaGunners says:

    Song Vs Fibraglass.

    One is world class; the other a team player
    One is not reliable; the other is reliable

    What they share in common: ungratefulness.

  151. rico says:

    Song??? Jeez, I just don’t get why anyone would want him back?

    The biggest waste of an Arsenal shirt ever!

  153. Lee says:

    One is lazy, one is always giving away free kicks and one was voted one of the worst players in La Liga! Let’s get him back….

  162. BrainwashedKev says:

    I’d take Kalou in a heartbeat….

    Then drop him off at Terminal 5 and say don’t come back…

  164. NashuaGunners says:

    Rico. With fibraglass, the only thing that bothers me was the delibrate back heel pass. Just like Diaby got sent off against N.Castle

  186. potter says:

    There are times when you have to make sure of your passes . Giroud is flicking them , this is not the pitch for them

  194. Scott From Oz says:

    How the hell did we get Chambers so cheap??
    Seriously.
    Yanited chose Shaw.
    Do they have a scouting system at all?

  203. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Per and Kos work well

    Chambers and Kos are working well

    Would Per and Chambers work well????

  219. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Rico…..you can concede however much you want.

    The most important thing is that AFC do not concede. 😉

  230. BrainwashedKev says:

    Listening to BBC5Live…

    John Murray (Geordie) and John Hartson (bitter ex-Arsenal)
    Has to be the worst commentary I have ever heard.
    Absolutely fcuking useless…
    Turned it off…

  232. tsgh says:

    Scott.. I was just reading your comment about the chavs not winning the title/finishing above us..

    That 2nd half shows why no ‘neutralist’ religiously watches a Jose team… even at 3-1 up with 8 minutes to go he tok of a forward and brought on a defensive player…

  235. Micko says:

    Irish tv reporting Manolas having a medical this evening but in all fairness we’re usually a couple of weeks behind the times.

    Lee, have you been on a raw meat diet the last few days !

  236. bradster says:

    I guess that mean Wilshere holding against Everton or is ita turn for the jack of all trade Chambers turn

  244. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Geez Potter…..you and I on the same wavelength then regarding red cards…..same comment on the same minute

  249. Lee says:

    So is Santos but a great turn of pace to get to the front of the buffet queue! I’ve been on the Cobra Micko….

  256. Hell Raising Devil says:

    the game is so scrappy it is reminding me of the Terry Neill team or the GG team post 1993

  259. rico says:

    Just like Ozil, Alexis deserves better…

    I’m off guys, enjoy the rest of the game, I’ll suffer with a cuppa….

    Night all….

  279. emma says:

    God help us if Giroud leads the attack this season. Ok against the teams at the bottom of the league but pants when it matters against the midtable team and rivals. What would Campbell do to get game time. Joel Campbell would be wondering I could do better than that(Giroud)

  280. BrainwashedKev says:

    Ramsey sent off….

    That’s a real result…

    Now at least he’ll get a rest as ‘old silly bollocks’ can ‘t now play him in the 2nd leg

  281. emma says:

    Does Cazorla have any hold on Wenger? He is not match fit and shouldn’t be starting ahead of Chamberlain

  282. Gunnerdna says:

    Emma, Campbell is either going on loan or is up for sale. If Man U get there shit together we might not even finish 4th. This game was worst than the Palace game.

  287. Nickie says:

    Wenger tells us and the media his players are fatigued….arguably the 2 most unfit players Cazorla and Giroud are kept on until the 90th min and end of game. Those defenders looked terrified every time someone ran at them. The midfield trio of Arteta, Ramsey and Wilshere has rarely worked. Wenger should have made changes sooner. I’m not with these people that say that’s a decent result, we should have rolled that team over.

  288. Micko says:

    Ramsey out, Ozil in, I can live with that next week.

    Gdna, the walking wounded might be our plan B at this rate.

  290. Nickie says:

    which world class striker is going to want to sign for Arsenal IF we crash out next week lol. Some how a summer of optimism is turned to shite after a couple of poor performances and injuries. Giroud was unbearable tonight and i’m sorry but Santi really had a stinker, why he’s playing out there I have no idea, he doesn’t have the tools to survive out there, looked dead after 10 minutes

  291. Nickie says:

    on his transfer plans…
    Not at the moment, no. I have nothing special to add on that at the moment. Honestly, we are not close to signing anybody.

  296. Wavy says:

    So, having just seen the result we didn’t win then?!! Mmm. Did Le Chef get it wrong?
    It will be a good game to win 0-0 invariably favours the away team, one goal from the opposition requires two from us! Can we do that?
    Yes, I think we can!

  297. Scott From Oz says:

    Damn, have a read of the comments lol.
    One game and one CL tie in and we are just about dead in the water?
    It’s going to be a long season alright, but that’s mainly due to the negative posts lol.

  298. Lee says:

    Scott the squad isn’t good or big enough….we are an injury or two away from being in deep shit! Wenger has had plenty of time and has just deliberated! I know he speaks with a forked tongue, but he has stated we aren’t close to any signings, which is madness!

    Everyone can see we need a proper goal scorer, a DM and a CB why the fuck can’t he? Giroud was woeful last night, if he spent less time adjusting his hair and poking his tongue out he may start to do a bit better.

    Also tactically Wenger was shite last night………

  299. Adam says:

    Morning all. The bitter irony that defines part of Wenger’s latter years is that he has become almost totally reactive in all he does. He fails to equip the squad properly leaving us to ponder whether a very bad result might convince him that we need strengthening. Yet which Arsenal fan wants to suffer such results? On the pitch he seems stubbornly stuck in his ways. Tactically he appears to be going through the motions. Santi on the left? Come on! Giroud and Sanogo as our main strikers? You’re having a laugh. Chambers, fantastic though he has been, looking like Wenger will burn him out. Blind faith in Arteta and Jack, with no plan B, presumably why Cesc was deemed surplus to requirements and allowed to strengthen one of our biggest rivals (a double whammy). Hindsight, as they say, has 20/20 vision. But how many times have we been here. Susceptibility to the long ball has been going on for so long I can only assume it is either a complete blind spot for Arsene or he is just teasing.
    With barely two weeks to go to do what should have been done over the past several years, i.e. consistent and relentless improvement of the squad, one would need to be a Wenger fanatic or blind not to see that we not only need some serious players quickly but we also need a huge shot of proactive ambition in both the market and from what I can see, tactically. There is something of the past about Arsene these days.
    Yes, the season is very young but it is hardly the first time we have been here is it? Please Arsene, use the money that you always used to moan that we didn’t have and use it now. He whose needs are greatest often pays the highest price.

  303. Scott From Oz says:

    Morning guys.
    We have two weeks.
    He has time, but no excuses.
    Nil all away…..we will touch them up at home…job done.
    Everton will tell us a lot more about where we stand.

  304. Scott From Oz says:

    Lee, you are just trying to fire me up so I double the bet.
    CHALLENGE ACCEPTED 🙂
    Two bottles it is hahahahaha

  305. Nickie says:

    We still look so slow, there’s no fluidity. Jack and Ramsey never work. There’s not pace in Caz, Ram, Giroud, Wilshere and Arteta. Sanchez needs more support and the team needs more pace. I’d rather have my teeth pulled out than view that all season

  307. potter says:

    Actually your 2 weeks taper down to 4 days and then only if we qualify for CL continuance. The players we need will want top level football and probably are waiting to see if we get it Which is why last night was so disappointing. If Manolas comes I don’t want to see Chambers moved into defensive midfield because although I think it’s a job he can handle our press would be all over him as the new Stevie Gee. They built up and spoiled Wilshere , I don’t want to see the same happen again.

  308. Scott From Oz says:

    Still so negative guys?
    I’ll sit back, chill out and enjoy our first title in a decade.
    You lot can do the stressing for me 🙂

  309. Adam says:

    Scott. I remember you saying that you wanted Wenger to win the FA cup and leave with dignity. What changed your mind? 🙂

  310. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Save your teeth Nickie. not worth the hassle.

    Good Morning Munchkins and Chipmunks.

    we were crap yesterday. the defence seemed ok and got better as the game went on. But the fluidity between the midfield and attack was disjointed.

    We have to keep in mind that the conditioning of all teams atm is nearer 100%. As the season progresses the teams will begin dropping their conditioning levels. And with that the psychological levels as well. At least we did not loose although a 0-0 draw is not the ideal. 1-1 would have been better as that would have forced the turks to attack at the Ems thus opening up. but at least we did not loose.

    now with Aaron out….it surely must mean TR07 to play. yesterday and against CP the game was crying out for him. why wasnt he introduced earlier yesterday? I would have taken off OG12, put Sanchez up and introduced TR07 earlier.

    Besiktas defended like their lives depended upon it. TR07’s skills and technique of short pass and move will have opened them up.

  316. ozgunner says:

    so much still missing and with a comparatively small amount of available net funds spent, one wonders who teaches Wenger the meaning of squad depth?

  319. ozgunner says:

    7.49 Adam – As is often the case, i sit reading your post nodding my head – what was it you said last season, “its all so predictable”?

  321. Scott from Oz says:

    Adam, who said I changed mind on Arsene?
    I have accepted the fact he’s staying as there’s not much else i can do…..no real point complaining about things I can’t control.

  323. ozgunner says:

    If he doesn’t invest in a thoroughbred to assist Ozil and Sanchez perform like the stars they are, its him who should visits the vets. There just is no excuse, none.

  324. Nickie says:

    I like Wenger but why is he so stubborn he doesn’t change the players that are obviously having stinkers? Where is the pace in that team still? Fastest player was sanchez followed by Kos lol it’s ridiculous. Rosicky the oldest player in the squad has more pace than 85% of it probably the most freshest along with Campbell and neither were properly used.

  325. potter says:

    Thereby hangs the tale , so near yet so far. Will never go the final mile .
    That’s my cliche’s used up for the day.

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