Morning all.
I would have loved to have managed Didier Drogba, for two reasons. One, I missed him when he played at Le Mans in France, not even in the top league. I knew there was a good player there and I missed him.And secondly, because he hurt us so much in big games that all this pain would not have happened.
Not so good at spotting great talent in France then is he, or was it a case of Drogba isn’t French so he didn’t bother?
Not only Drogba did he miss, but also Cristiano Ronaldo:
My biggest regret? I was so close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo. And not only did I not get him, but he signed for Manchester United.
That, of course, still hurts today.
And he’s not lying, honest. Even Ronaldo admitted he was close, very close to signing for us instead of Manchester United back in 2008:
I was within an inch of joining Arsenal. I have a lot of respect for Arsene Wenger, he is a very clever man.
Then of course there has been Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, both of whom had trials with us but neither were snapped up…
No doubt everyone can remember when our manager plucked young players like Anelka, Fabregas, Clichy, RvP and…. I’m sure there has been others from overseas clubs for little money but he sure missed out on a few too. Why? Money or simply bad judgement?
As far as Ronaldo goes, I am sure that when Arsene Wenger and Fergie were sat side by side when Wenger said he was close to signing the Portuguese man and Fergie said he was a few noughts short on the price. Just like he/the club is so often today really, in fact I still wonder how they got Alexis and Ozil wrapped up….
But they did and I admire them for doing so and they showed that if they really want to get a deal done, they can and they do. However, on one hand they show a bit of determination and intent at times, yet on the other, they leave the squad so depleted…
And then of course, and in the case of Mesut Ozil and others in the past, including Andrey Arshavin, Arsene Wenger does all he can to make sure the team does’t get the best out of the player. It doesn’t make sense does it!
Mesut Ozil isn’t a young play who needs to learn his trade in other areas of the pitch, he’s a world class footballer who if used properly, will show the world just how good he is but the longer he is played out of position, the further his head will drop and the more he will be criticised.
Even the Arsenal fans are turning on the German World Cup winner and I know he could put in a bit more effort each week but he’s a flair player, perhaps a luxury player who if given freedom to roam, he will and it will pay off.
The trouble with Arsene Wenger is, it appears that he likes to change a players style/position and then take the credit, and Lauren is just one of many examples. A midfielder turned into a really really good right back.
Wenger still rates him as one of his better signings:
Iβd never say which player was the best, but I think itβs the signings like Lauren who you spot when nobody else does.
He was a right midfielder who I played at right back and was one of the Invincibles.Β
Sometime it works and back then it did but not now and that’s when a manager has to quit his stubbornness and admit defeat..
With Mesut, it’s that time.
Maybe tomorrow eh…. Maybe not….
Have a good day all….
Morning all,
Great post Rico,
Wenger has come out this morning and defended Ozil, claiming he’s been made the scape goat, why don’t the media ask Wenger why he doesn’t play him in his natural position? Frustrating
honestly IMO it is not a case of playing ozil.on the wings more of ozil not stamping his authority on the game and of course he doesn’t seem interested in helping the team defend……..morning Rico a very good read….I’m sure plenty people knew Lauren as Mallorca was doing well then and he was already getting good reviews
morning nickie
Rico, good post, CR7 was lucky, AW would have probably tried to turn into, an attacking centre back…poor Ozil, i find it so hard watching a once great player, being destroyed by the ‘genius’ that is AW..
SO SO FRUSTRATING
Thanks Nickie. I wish he’d get asked the most obvious question too, bizarre how these so called experts who slate the player in the news, don’t ask him…
Morning snaparse, thanks.. Perhaps if Ozil played central, he would stamp his authority on the game, especially as we have Welbeck and Alexis around him. One sublime pass through for either to get on the end of, and we might even score..
Thanks Bt π
It’s a sad situation….
Morning snap π
Same Bt, it’s upsetting how can you go from such highs to such lows? Poor management
Rico, i suspect all the questions, from these so called ‘experts’ are well vetted before hand..
I bet they are Bt, can’t have the lord and master being asked anything tricky eh…
In his pre-match press conference ahead of the Gunnersβ trip to face Aston Villa, Wenger defended his decision to deploy Ozil out wide and claimed that the German is not restricted to playing on the left.
He said: “Thatβs a secondary debate in my opinion because he has freedom to play when we have to ball to go where he wants.
“If you look at the heat map where he plays you will be amazed β heβs all over the pitch’.
true Rico but but even carzola tries when played in the wings that he really isn’t suited to in ozil’s case I think it is a lack of fitness and of course he isn’t really suited on the wings and his limitations are always exposed there maybe bringing him infield will benefit the team more? but that will involve dropping wilshere but will it be fair to drop him ? its a tough choice but it is what arsene is paid to do and we all expect him to make the right call but………
Arsene about time you play ozil in his favourite position or get some one who can play that role helping our right back
Wenger talk and act differently
snap, or AW could always change our system to suit the players he has. Now that would be novel.
Plus snap, it’s not about dropping players is it? Surely it’s about setting up the right team, with the right players to face any particular side and AW has to play the 11 who he believes will win at Villa and of course, have the right bench to enable good changes…
Jack is playing well, but it doesn’t mean he has to play every game and if he does, he’ll soon be injured. Same for any of them really, they all need to sit games out every now and again.
Rotation is the key with such a small squad. Well, I’d have thought it was..
Bullseye! wish him to leave Afc and perhaps the football stage asap. Destroying established talents has been his recent 9 years’ biggest achievement. If he likes to continue his wonder work, please get a copy of football manager and work his way with his tab. Im absolutely fed up! Get Klopp to take over the job, Ivan pls.
IMO it is not that easy we have too many offensive players ATM the balance is not there we don’t even have tall players really I know height doesn’t account to much but the balance really is missing in this team even arsene said something about us having too many offensive players and needing to balance and he also said we are missing a petit/Vieira why der didn’t/doesn’t address this is beyond me really he is basically trying to just find a way around it
BELIEVE WENGER WANTS TO BE SINGLED OUT AS THE SCAPEGOAT THEN…..AND YES HE WENGER SHOULD BE THE SCAPEGOAT FOR PLAYING A PLAYER OUT OF POSITION IN 3 MATCHES IN WHICH HE HAS REALLY UNDER PERFORMED AND YET IN OUR LAST MATCH, HE STILL GOES AHEAD TO PLAY HIM THERE WHEN EVERYONE THOUGHT IT WAS TIME TO SEE THE CHANGE IN OZIL’S POSITION….IF BODY LANGUAGE IS ANYTIN TO GO BY, IT IS EVIDENT THAT MESUT IS VERY UNHAPPY ABOUT WHERE HE IS PLAYING, JUST THAT HE IS TRYING TO BE PROFFESSIONAL BY NOT COMPLAINING….
WHAT’S EVEN FRUSTRATING IS THAT FACT THAT OUR FRONTLINE IS SUPER FAST NOW AND THAT WE NEED HIM IN THE MIDDLE TO BREAK DEFENCES…..
THE CURRENT FORMATION IS CURRENTLY AFFECTING ALL THE PLAYERS EXCEPT JACK WILSHERE…HE IS THE ONLY PLAYER BENEFITING FROM IT….YOU WOULD OBSERVE THAT IN RAMSEY TOO….HE IS ALSO AFFECTED BY THAT….EVEN FLAMINI & ARTETA ARE UNDERPERFORMING….LETS GET BACK TO OUR 4-2-3-1 FORMATION….
ALSO IT IS NOT COMPULSORY HE PLAYS JACK, RAMSEY AND OZIL AT THE SAME TIME….EITHER HE PLAYS JW10&AR16, JW10&MO11,AR16&MO11….SO THAT NONE OF THEM HAS TO SACRIFICE TO PLAY ON THE WINGS WHEN WE KNOW NON OF THEM ARE BETTER SUITED TO THAT ROLE AND ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE BY FAR BETTER LM’S IN THE TEAM(SC19,OC15,LP9,TR7,EVEN JC28) WHO CAN DO A BETTER JOB THAN ALL THESE INFIELD PLAYERS…JACK,OZIL & RAMSEY ARE MEARNT TO BE IN THE MIDDLE…IF HE WANNA PLAY THEM ALL THEN THERE’S NO NEED TO HAVE ARTETA OR FLAMINI IN THE FIRST 11….ONE OF OUR WINGERS MUST BE IN IT…
IS SO ANNOYING(WENGER’S COMMENTS)…”WE’VE LOST ONLY ONE GAME”…BLAH…BLAH…BLAH….ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOSING A GAME WE SHOULD HAVE WON??…DRAWN GAMES WE SHOULD HAVE WON??….
I PERSONALLY BELIEVED WE WERE GONNA BEAT DORTMUND UNTIL THE GAME BEGUN & ENDED….OZIL ON THE LM DESTROYS SO MANY OTHERS POSITIONS: FULL BACKS EXPOSED, NO SUPPORT FOR EITHER THE MIDFIELD OR ATTACK….
I BELIEVE A PLAYER LIKE SANCHEZ SIGNED CUZ OF OZIL’S EYE FOR A PASS….CANT WAIT FOR WALCOTT TO RETURN…
I’m not against rotation Rico far from it really in fact I think we suffer from lack of rotation it is just I think the season is just beginning and with a new system it naturally will take awhile to adapt so he can’t really do much about changing personal so as not to obstruct the chemistry some players can easily adapt of course
Good read Rico…
Snap, since you watch more RM matches than I do, can you correct me if I am wrong but I thought Ozil played on the rhs for RM more than centrally?
The German coach who won the world cup played Γzil on the wing as well and he played ok it’s not where he is playing its how he is playing.
At Bremen he played mostly on the wings from what I can remember…
Its just that with our formation because our FB’s bomb forward he is required to defend too…
Our mode of attacking is not efficient as we are lead to believe…
I agree Gj…
The friends I speak to who slate Ozil all ask why he can’t play like he did against us/England in South Africa?
Unfortunately that is what most fans remember him as… Ozil hardly dictates play… he is just a silky player who requires those around him to be tactical sound for him to flourish… That is why like Gervinho, Ozil plays better when he has Rosicky in the team…
Unfortunately TR07 is well approaching retirement?
I totally agree there snap, the balance in the squad is all wrong…
Dave, do you have to shout?
Thanks Ts..
Not on the right though Joe.. lol
Cut the grass Villa… π
Arsenal have a proud reputation of providing one of the best surfaces in the country and Wenger says supporters deserve to see football played on quality pitches at every top-flight ground.
“It can look a ridiculous subject but it is a very important one because the speed of the game is linked with the length of the grass,” Wenger said.
“People pay money to watch good football and behind that is always the respect for people who pay and buy their tickets. We are all there for that.
“I know perfectly and you know perfectly as well that some managers give orders to their groundsman sometimes to not cut the grass because they play against a team who passes the ball well.
“We have to be above that and it’s quite sad that we have to regulate it. I think we all have to serve people who come and watch good football.”
Gj, yes he did play there in WC, Ozil himself said he was doing a job for the team, a job his manager wanted him to do..He wasn’t great, but had better players round him, than at Arsenal.
One thing too, Ozil has completed less than 1 in 5 of games he has started at club level…
As Gj suggested above maybe he is not physically/naturally fit… and the pace of the game in this league is just a tad too much for him…
And Germany looked like they knew what they were doing, hey had a plan..
What’s Wengers?
π Rico
Dave angry, Dave smash
Bt62 yes he did do and say all of that but he still played much better than he is for us now
He started well enough Ts, so I think he’s fully able to compete in the PL…
Morning all,
Nice read rico.
Dave, it was all going so well against Dortmund until we ran out onto the pitch !
Ts, maybe if we played with the pace and intensity, that other teams play against us, we might get somewhere.
I bet if we had a stronger central midfield than we have, Ozil wouldn’t even be being discussed..
But we haven’t and that’s where it’s all going so very wrong…
As usual Rico is been hard on poor old Arsene π 1 defeat in 15 and I know the is a problem with the manor of the defeat but look at man city’s result.
Im sure every manager in every league in every country has a story about players they could have signed so Wenger isnt special there is he. Hes had a team advising him with players bought and sold so the credit or blame should never be fully given to the mamanger. theres sporting directors and scouts that they get advice from.
IMHO its time to start looking for fresh management . The club needs younger blood that has more experience managing in Europe if theres going to be any real chance of competing on the big league. Hes done some good things for the club but hes got past is skill level and its time for a change.
Thanks Micko..
True Rico…
Personally, I think Ozil is playing a 6/10 in most games… the issue is that he was bought for Β£42m so folks expect a certain standard particularly in assists.
The question is how is a Β£42m performance qualified? The other side of the coin is OG12 was bought for Β£12m and he earns Β£60k p/w but he is expected to perform as a Β£35m striker on Β£200k p/w…
Since the board charge big bucks they should buy from the top of the tree instead of buying top team rejects which to be honest Ozil and Alexis were…
π Joe, but yes, I do blame him and the board and owner..
If I had my way, they’d all be gone… Especially Wenger..
Gj, like i said, Germany had better players, we spend so much time making unnecessary passes, don’t exploit the spaces, make three passes when one would suffice. Have we played 15 games already this season?
Bt- I thought the Germans were predictable and reliable like the Golf MkIII’s? π
Nice read again rico – trouble is we’re one win for everything being rosy again in the Wenger world – “our season starts here” is a classic Wenger one liner that was never proven true and never will be. The players defend him because he defends them and so the circle continues. Great managers do not create these lop sides, inconsistent, arrogant teams. He’s gone, excuses are all dried up, piss off and play your ego games somewhere else, you aint good enough and everyone can see that now Mr Wenger.
true ts he played mostly on the rhs but he always started centrally di maria who is what everybody wants ozil to be is the one who always cut inside to help do the defensive work……..like I said it is not really about where he is started it is a case of him not looking interested and not influencing the play much…..I think Wenger really has got his team confused IMO how can you be playing away in Germany and almost halftime your fullbacks are pushing as high as how we were pushing? it’s extremely rare to see from an away team it is always a safe approach first against the big boys away IMO
Not everyone judges Ozil on his price tag Ts, I know I don’t as I think it’s shallow to do that. Just as I dont judge Sanogo for being free, just merely the fact that he’s not good enough yet…
Ozil and Alexis rejects? Totally disagree with that statement, would you say that Utd bought RvP because he was our reject?
right now IMO it is beyond who we buy as Wenger rarely want to seem to get his players to function as a unit properly……..if we want to press higher up the pitch surely we should be doing so with the right personnel’s? IMO per more than arteta isnt suited to the new system
“Poor old Arsene” Gjoe ! When something clearly isn’t working you have 2 options, ask yourself why and what you can do to correct it or assume everything will turn out ok eventually.
Ts, yeah, predictably bloody good at what they’re doing….lol
i have read a number of reports accusing us of lacking passion. My question is where does that passion start? We are being played off the park and our leaders sit there sulking on the bench with their arms crossed, clearly wishing they were not there
Thanks Oz, has Wenger actually said ‘our season starts now’ – what a chump if he has….
Wilshere out Saturday against villa, surely a chance to see Ozil played in the hole. If he,s still shit drop im at half time, And give Chamberlain a chance in the hole. Put Sanchez on the right. Bench Ramsay and play Rosicky inter-changing position with Cazorla on the left. Welbeck will score Saturday. Start Ospina, We,ve got to freshen this Team up.β BIG TIMEβ. Obviously the worry is the defense, which is still incomprehensible to me that he let Sagna, Jenkinson, and Vermaelan go, and only brought in 2 defenders ,after the hammerings we got last season. Give joel a run when rosicky or cazorla get tired. Aaron Ramsey should not start this Saturday. CMON WENGER MAN UP. CHANGE THINGS.
he has done this 2 season running now Rico and i am confident we’ll see this again after our next win – might be wrong but it is rather a classic Wenger line now
rico, so much for ‘the best things in life are free’ Sanogo has blown that myth outta the window !
Catch 22 snap, get the proper DM in, and suddenly it frees up our attacking play. Because our central midfield is so flaky, everyone is expected to defend…
Like wath said the other day, a pairing in midfield similar to Paddy& Petit, we be battering sides…
wouldn’t you say he’s had long enough to work all this out now Rico?
Oz. ‘classic Wenger’, like a classic car, should be kept locked up and only taken out when the sun shines.
Jack is fit Dublin…
Oz – boring isn’t it, perhaps someone needs to remind him it started in August.. And he’s the only one banging on about the German players not being fit… Yawn!
Well and truly Micko…
I think you might be assume my use of ‘reject’ means they are bad buys or players…
RvP was not a reject because we wanted to keep him imo…
On the other hand, Ozil and Alexis as good as they are we only bought them because their teams wanted to balance the books…
In Ozil’s case he was sold because of Isco and Bale, whilst Alexis was sold to balance the books and bring through Delafeu and Rakitic and of course Neymars signing issues from last season amongst others…
Southampton sold the players they wanted to sell so I consider chambers amongst players who their clubs thought they were dispensable…
I want us to buy a player that their club did not want to sell for once…
Maybe go into a semi bidding war for once…
We wanted Morgan S. but when the saints said no we walked away… all noble of course but we live in a competitive world
assuming*
lol Bt
tsgh – good post and fair enough on your points
Snap- working as a team/unit means defending as a unit first and foremost; that is why Alonso at his age walked into FC Hollywood’s CM whilst Thiago etc who are younger albeit maybe injured sit it out…
Top teams defend as a unit.. if CR07, Benzema and Messi can defend then I expect some of our so called better players to defend…
Matic against S04 did jack all in the middle because even Hazard a big name player defends…
We have too many players like Mata in ours squad who defend for their national teams but are afforded too much leeway with us… imo
Clearly not Oz…
Ts, who gives them all this leeway?
Oz- our hierarchy says we the club like to do things the ‘proper’ way but football is ran by money hungry men who will do anything to fill their wallets…
Men like Jose will do what it takes to win…
Our board does what it takes to get the ‘customers’ money as well but fail to address or confront key issues on the pitch…
It starts from the top; we try to sign players without a fight and so we can’t expect the players to turn up with a fight imo…
IMO Rico even petit will struggle with our playing style currently yes I want a petit as I think arteta needs a replacement now but if our fullbacks keeping getting caught high up even the strongest of defensive mid fielders won’t be able to defend against two or three men on the counter IMO…..that is why I think arsene really doesn’t do enough tactically
Bt- of course the pacifist. lol
Ts, but didn’t ‘some’ fans suggest back then that AW had to make Β£20 million each year by selling players and RvP was the sacrificial lamb that summer. In fact I am sure you were one of the people who suggested that…
Did AW want to keep him though? He made all the right noises but he hardly did all he could to convince him to stay.
In any case, he could have kept him, he had a year left on his contract… So what if it meant him walking away for free a year later, we are hardly a poor club…
Petit was moved from LB to CB to DM for a reason… he was too slow… according to Jacquet and Santini and then LVG at Barca…
I think we have too many players who AW hasn’t got a clue what to do with..
And I’d put money on it that if a new manager came in tomorrow, we’d see a very different game of football…
I did say two like Petit and Paddy, together they were formidable…
Ts, maybe he went to Rome, hoping to be made the patron saint of football….lol
my point exactly ts as much as I love matic he giant really the difference maker in Chelsea midfield IMO look at this around him working Costa Ramirez azi ivanovic hazard willian heck even cesc we have too many skillful players but we don’t have too many that wants to do the other side of the job IMO it is instilled by the manager and that us where Wenger for all his genius falls short……I watched OM and even without buying much bielsa has got this same players from last season working hard in all front Wenger doesn’t do that our defenders are left too exposed in the big games a matic would help but t doesn’t really depend on buying just a defensive midfielder
Mind you, I don’t think Petit was as slow as some are suggesting…
you did say two of them Rico my bad……like I said I wanted a DM even in the summer but seeing the way we play I still want the defensive midfielder but he isnt going to solve all our problems imo
Rico Sergio matic Fernando Martinez carvalho aren’t even that fast but the are big and strong and positionally sound so you don’t really notice but arteta isn’t really strong so he can easily be brushed aside
look at our bench managers during some our our rather more inept performances, it tells the story all by itself – then read the perusing comments as to why it’s never our fault. How long does this crap continue? At least another 3 years, you can count on that
snap, we agree on Arteta… lol
Oz, I don’t think he’ll last 3 years…
Chambers would suit CDM. shame we don’t have any other CB cover..
Lol Rico…I like him but I like the club more
no Nickie, what is a shame is we didn’t buy what was needed in any of the last 4/5 windows is the truth, now we’re scratching around looking at freebies, what an embarrassment they are
Afternoon friends,
I’m excited for tomorrow’s game. We’re playing shit and Villa is on fire, we have everyone fit so same team again. We will play our game so the exciting part is to see if it’s possible to get a different outcome doing the same things again.
villa and dortmund, hardly a comparison mate
lol we are never going to get what we want/need with Wenger….EVER. I’ve accepted it now. Wenger and the club are an embarrassment but us sounding like a broken record isn’t healthy. Let’s just try and get a result at the weekend…Nothing can be done in regards to transfers now
i hope the fans let rip this and every game till he’s gone
Hayden is our only other proper option imo Nickie…
Bad defensive TW..
Oz, a BVB 2nd team v Arsenal, was hardly a comparison.
I ike him snap, but his legs are gone, AW shouldn’t be relying on him as our main DM, a position that’s not his proper one anyway…
Rico, was thinking the exact same thing, the other day….it’s either great minds or fools seldom….lol
I’m with Wath…Until Jan (as if we’d sign a DM then anyway) play Ram and Jack double pivot both deep, 1 goes 1 stays with a creative midfielder in front of them. Arteta and Flamini offer zero going forward and can’t really defend anyway so why not sacrifice them for Ram or Jack so we can still defend as ineptly as before but have more going forward.
Nickie, in other words, same old….
What’s same old? When have we ever played both Jack and Ram deep? there’s always flam or arteta there. Drop the both
Which bit Bt? lol
Jack, sorry for the delay in letting you out of moderation. I personally would like to see the back of all of them – perhaps not Gazidis as I have heard he really does care and wants us to win things….
Nickie, defend ineptly….lol. you’d confuse the two of them.
Rico, i’ll leave that decision to you…lol
π Bt, I meant what is it we agree on… lol
Perhaps Diaby will make to bench this weekend.
Rico, Hayden being….lol
Tuesday I reckon for Diaby in the CO Cup..
Then great minds it is Bt… lol
Clueless clueless Wenger
Phew, that was a close call, Rico..lol
It was never close Bt… π
Off out with the woofa now, catch up later…
How can people continue to still defend Wenger? Fucking crazy!
I perfer le coq to MA08 and ospina to WS01 right now.
lol thanks Bt, What I meant was it doesn’t matter who we play DM no one can perform that role to the standard we need so put someone in there who can offer more on the attack lol…Gung ho if you will, outscore the opponent. I just want to see attractive attacking football like the good old days
Good post Rico…
Yeah, that’s just the sort of garbage we need to hear from Wenger.
How he contrived to miss out on two of the biggest names in recent EPL history…
Instead of bragging about it, just keep your stupid French gob shut…
I daresay, in 3 or 4 years time, he’ll be able to tell us all how he missed out on Costa and Fabregas, that’s after those two have helped Gazprom to another haul of trophies…
Why doesn’t he just keep those things to himself?
You never get Ferguson fobbing off about the top players he missed out on.
What’s the bloody point???
On another note, I think Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should be given a chance to play the holding midfielder role. Think about it. It might just work. That, and a few other orothodox thoughts on how to right the Arsenal ship here – http://wildamericangooner.com/2014/09/19/fixing-arsenals-problems/
etfaust,
He doesn’t lack in tenacity or effort but his passing and concentration is poor. We see him make a good tracking back tackle but that’s usually after he’s lost the ball after a poor pass. Would like him to stick to wing play, more dangerous there.
Ox may work at β Μ₯ΡΖΊ HM role but I think rosicky is more suited in that position.He can pass,he’s very fast and pacy,he can also tackle.Its a shame Wenger is too rigid and stubborn.Diaby and walcott a must if β Μ₯Ρis system has to succeed
Good Afternoon Rico and All. Good Read Rico.
As Wath said,” If my aunt has a balls, he could have been my uncle.”
Why mention those fishes you never fought hard for and never caught?
But where is the Owner and the Board in all of this? Are they really satisfy with all of these shambles in the pitch just because of the Balance Sheet? If the Owner and the Board are satisfy, we the customers are just wasting our time complaining.
Would Roman Abramovich settle for mediocre when he thinks he can do better? I seriously doubt that.
We’re a big club, yes on paper ( both sides of the Balance Sheet).
Come villa,we won and Wenger is on β Μ₯ΡΖΊ right way
Β£173m in the bank………
Is that all?
Afternoon all…
Thanks Kev and Ng..
Totally agree, some things just aren’t worth talking about, especially players he reckons he nearly signed…
What a lovely day, wish I’d been to the seaside… π
Lee, do you think there are many fans left who do defend Arsene Wenger? If so, goodness knows how or why….
I had a lovely day by the sea Rico. Fish’ n chips and a puddle in the mud down at Leigh On Sea. Pouring with rain now I am home though with thunder and stuff.
There will always be defenders of him Rico as memories only extend to about 2 days.
I do Rico, also fans worrying about what citeh are up to……… it’s beggar’s belief.
Why prattle on about who he could of signed over the past few years or even weeks after the transfer window is shut the need for a Petit/Viera type of player at Arsenal! Embarrassing to say the least!!!
You did a puddle in the mud Adam… π Fish n chips by the sea and in paper is the best, hope you had a lovely time…
I’m off to the seaside too soon, can’t wait.. π
Haven’t read all the comments and don’t have time but as far as I got :- Wenger says Ozil has the freedom to go where he wants when we are attacking and the old chestnut about him playing wide for germany comes up again. The difference being Schwienstieger and Khedira and Lahm . With them he does not have to protect the backs and for that matter neither does Podolski.
Adam, or until we win again and then all is rosy….
You are probably right Lee, amazes me how though. I know last season we were winning but we were hardly playing really good football and that showed when we went away on too many occasions….
I stupidly thought he’d have a new lease of life after our FA Cup win and a summer of spending. What a twit I was to think the old stubborn one would ever change….
HAPPY CLAPPERS!
I also had a prawn roll Rico. I actually meant a paddle in the mud. π
That was my point earlier to Potter. We have Ramsey, just need another two in there….
I knew Adam… π
Lee – have you been watching this series of gogglebox?
Ah well first with the news :- Mafekins been relieved.
You have lost me there Potter.
Blonde moment??
Mafeking?
What is that Adam?
An Italian chain of Burger King? π
Im not going to pretend that we have the perfect balance, the perfect team, and the perfect players in the perfect positions. You all know I dont think that.
But equally I think it is absolute RUBBISH that Wenger is a destroyer of players.
So, so many players were developed and sold on for big money in recent times when the club needed it. It is a rare ex-player indeed who speaks negatively about Wenger as a manager and coach. And many top Arsenal players from days gone by speak glowingly – Henry and Bergkamp are the biggest names.
This is not to say that I wish some players were playing in different positions, or that we had a bigger squad so didnt have to plug holes when we have injuries. But ruin players? Give me a break.
Andrey Arshavin might disagree Roger, so might Park and a few others….
Arshavin contributed to his own ruin – if you want to stay at the top you have to work damn hard. Not saying he didnt get to play his favourite positions all the time, but thats being a professional. You work and you adapt for a team. This is for all clubs and all sports.
Ruin Park? I dont remember him ever being good enough to ‘ruin’. He’s a player who never made it. Most professional players dont make it to the top.
The correlation of a player playing worse under Wenger is not causation. We are cherry picking a few such examples here. And some players need to look at themselves and ask themselves if they did enough themselves to stay at the top, or did they rest on their laurels.
Rico
Arshavin got fat and suffered in the head when Russia did not make the world cup or euros.
As for Park he was never good enough he was just a cheap punt it wasn’t Wenger’s fault they did not make it at Arsenal.
But it was he’s fault we bought Park.
Potter, relief of Mafekin, bit of a history lesson….Boer War…
Rico, Google Box next Friday. 9pm ch4,
Turns out the 170m in the bank does not include the money we spent on players this season but there’s still more than 100m or so in the bank.
Roger, Park was an international footballer when we signed him, he was doing well for his country but once signed, he never played and then got dropped for his country.
I would say we can’t judge him as an Arsenal player because he was never ever given a chance….
A truly spiteful signing imo….
Arshavin was a top player when we signed him, he gave the whole squad a lift and pretty much made sure we secured CL football that season..
But imo, after that, it all went downhill and we will all have our views on why that happened, I certainly know mine…
Thanks Bt, it’ll be set on my planner at the first opportunity….
Exactly Bt , I posted a comment which I was told had been made earlier , so I thought of an old bit of news as a sarcastic remark aimed at myself.
But Rico we all know who you blame π
Potter, i do like a bit of history.
I hope you don’t mean my 4.14 comment Potter, I was merely agreeing with your view… π
Yes Joe, Wenger, the board and Kroenke… π
I’m off guys, catch you all tomorrow….
Night all..
Night Rico….
βΖ starting 11 for Saturday game.4-2-3-1 formation that contain:Ospina-bellerin,PM04,kosser,Gibbs-Arteta,rosicky-OX,ozil,alexie-campell.I promise you a great result with β Μ₯Ρis team
We won’t know what Ospina gives us until after the Southampton match and most probably we won’t see Campbell till then either.
Yes, agree with ya there Potter…
Ospina, Akpom, Hayden, Sanogo, Campbell, Zelamen perhaps.
The Southampton game will be an interesting glimpse into the young talent coming through…
Who ever starts need to be at it, from the off, i reckon the Saints will be up for it…Hope to see some of those mentioned, get a chance.
So because Brazil won the world cup in the 70’s with 4 number 10’s it’ll work for us in 2014.
So narrow sighted. Perhaps he wants to bring back the telegraph, it also worked many years ago
There’s no sign of this formation changing anytime soon. No wingers, sideways passing, no tackling and no pace.
Morning all.
I’m stuck in Yankland awaiting the moment I can head to Hawaii.
Disneyland is for kids.
Still, the people here are damn friendly and inviting, and everything here is bloody cheap.
It’s no North London, but it’s pretty cool.
I caught the CL match and we were just shit.
Time for redemption?
No.
Time to get off our arses and start winning some games.
Matchday…..can’t wait
Morning all..
Enjoy Hawaii Scott, and avoid the match… π
Best time to be at Disney is when it rains , all the Americans go home at there are no queues ( sorry lines ).
Sukky, I have a feeling we will get beaten..
I’d say the best time is never…
Depends if you go all soft and get into the kids mode for the day.
Just not my thing Potter, crowds and bumper cars… lol
In my case I had an eight and six year old with me and we were in California , had spent three days in Vegas and a day driving through Death valley so it seemed only fair to take them. If you turn the brain off it’s not too bad.
Morning Rico, Potter and all. I went to Disneyland in California a while ago. For a day it was fine but the rides made me feel ill.
Death Valley is one of my favourite places. I have stayed there, at Furnace Creek, many times. Unique atmosphere and quiet like I have never experienced. Sunset from Zabriskie Point is unforgettable.
I’m sure it’s fun if it’s someones ‘thing’….
Morning Adam, they’d make me ill too, as would the millions of people…
I think so Rico. π
Rico relex,I know we are going to win.
I like the way the wild dingo’s stopped near the water bowsers and waited for you to pour water for them . I found and old plastic tub and put about two pints in it , a few minutes later a pack of them turned up . drank walked away about 10 yards and waited for me to do it again . As we drove away I saw a sign which said don’t feed the prairie dogs. Ah Well !
π Adam..
Sukky, Villa have conceded just one goal so far this season….
That’s more my kind of thing Potter..
I have often given the wild dogs a drink on the De Beauvoir Estate, Hoxton…
Wildlife is a wonderful thing.
A draw today, could constitute, a good result, given the teams currant form, morale and it’s total lack of organisation…
Yes, I also love wildlife, especially the desease ridden birds of London (pigeons) and the way they shit all over your car….
Delightful…
Er, morning all btw….
Morning Rico, I can feel you rustling up a post of salmon tikka proportions.
I know that I will enjoy it… π
π Adam..
Morning Kev..
New Post up…
You might not Kev… π