Daily Bits and Bobs

Robin van Persie Struggling and It’s all Too easy to blame One Man for Saturday!

Posted on by rico

Robin van Persie is obviously struggling with his mathematics…

Come on Robin, Maths is Simple - 4+5=9 🙂

Arsenal did not sign five players this summer, we signed NINE. 😛

Eight of which are ready to play in this current side, the only one missing is Campbell….

He’s been talking about our ‘five’  deadline day summer signings and how they bring experience to the squad – especially Arteta and Benayoun.

We have some new additions that we are very happy about, I followed the transfer deadline day quite closely from Holland, and was in touch with people over here. It was quite crazy really, I followed it like I’m sure all the fans did.

I met all the new players after coming back from Holland, and of course I knew a few of them from playing against them before anyway.

They are experienced, so I’m sure that will help them settle in much quicker – especially Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun who already know the Premier League well.

They are experienced, and they are all leaders, and as I’ve said before, I’m a believer that you don’t just have one captain in the dressing room.

You should have leaders in every area of the squad, and that’s what it looks like now.

Poor old Michael Vorm of Swansea has had to endure a bit of stick for the goal we scored against Swansea but I’d like to think that Arshavin should take a bit of the credit for what turned out to be our solitary goal and winner.

Ok, Vorm fluffed his lines somewhat with his attempted throw out but Arshavin was pretty sharp in capitalising on the error and scoring a peach from a very difficult angle.

Arshavin has been one of many players to come under scrutiny from fans recently but he was sharp to firstly spot the error and then capitalise on it. Arshavin of last season could very well have already had his head down and be trudging back towards the half-way line in similar circumstances but not on Saturday.

Have the new signings given him a little kick up the backside, one he really did need? Finally he has a couple of players really threatening his place in the side and that can only be good for him and Arsenal.

Is this going to be a season to remember for him? I hope so as when our little Russian is on form, he’s bloody good!

Talking of our new boys, our not so small German centre-half has been talking about our fixture on Tuesday against Borussia Dortmund. Mertesacker will know all there is to know about our opposition; he’s played against them enough during his Werder Bremen days:

Dortmund were the best team in Germany last year, they do a good job passing the ball and have great players. It will be difficult for us but I know we have very good players and I’m confident we can get a result.

Dortmund are the toughest opponent in our group, so we will be very happy if we can take something from this match.”

Mertesacker has also been talking about his debut on Saturday:

I have a lot of experience but it is a new level for me to play in England although my targets and goals are high.

One thing is for sure, I will give everything every time I put on the Arsenal shirt.

That’s all we ask…..

Have a good day Gooners, tomorrow it’s Footie again. 🙂

rico

132 thoughts on “Robin van Persie Struggling and It’s all Too easy to blame One Man for Saturday!”

  4. goonster says:

    Tomorrow sees the return of the GERV monster…am so excited! He’s well rested now and raring to go. He ll combine well with artera and RVP. He was already developing a partnership with Robin before barthug struck. He ll wanna continue from where he stopped. Can’t wait. COYGs

  6. rico says:

    Morning Diane & goonster…

    I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, a real test for us and it’s going to be a cracker..

    Doesn’t Subotic play for Dortmund?

  8. goonster says:

    Hi Rico subotic does play for dortmund but we ve got mertesacker too. Something for them to worry about, I guess.

  9. rico says:

    I hope Wenger picks Merts brains for this game goonster – they haven’t started well in their league campaign either…

  11. rico says:

    Morning Lee,

    indeed, and a snap shot… great finish and i know a few that wouldn’t have scored from that angle….

    Do you watch Despatches Lee??

  16. Lee says:

    “I don’t want to compare. Personally, I like Cahill as a player,” said Wenger.

    “Both are good players. Mertesacker is a good player. He is more experienced. He has more international experience.

    “Cahill is a young, promising English player. I suppose he would have done well for us.”

    Get him in Jan, you think??

  17. ArsenalDK says:

    Morning everyone!

    Götze is valued at 26.500.000 £, Compared to our little Jack who is valued at 17.500.000 £

    He really must be pure class this guy.. And he’s even younger than Jack!

  18. ArsenalDK says:

    young, promising English player?

    He’s only a 1 younger than Mertesacker.. AND knows the premier league very well..

  19. rico says:

    I hope so Lee – I dread us getting an injury to Kos or Merts, JD doesn’t convince me at the moment..

    I wonder if wenger put in his bid just to make sure Cahill knows we want him, then another cheeky bid in jan or a freebie in the summer…

    Can’t see Citeh or Manure going after him, maybe the Chavs or Spuds but hopefully in Jan we’ll be in the KO stages of the CL….

  20. rico says:

    Morning ADK, i think if jack was ‘up for sale’ he’d fetch in excess of 30million….

    but he’s not, he’s ours 🙂

  22. goonster says:

    Been watching the swsnsea game all over again. I noticed how flat our attack was. Whenever the mid fielders had the ball, there were no runners. Theo and audrey were too slow to get into position hence the ball was always played sideways by arteta and ramsey. Hopefully with the imminent return of the GERV monster we ll be more direct and potent again.

  23. rico says:

    Should be back in training in 3 weeks now ADK…

    Can’t see Jack going anywhere, not unless the club go downhill rapidly…

  25. ArsenalDK says:

    thanks rico.

    Goonster, it’s a bit sad actually, that we have to rely on one man, when we want to be more direct and potent… We should be a team that has 4-5 players like gervinho..

  28. Scott says:

    Gervinho left,RVP middle,Ox right.
    Theo can come off the bench and fight to win back his spot.
    The front WERE very flat on the weekend,so let’s spice things up a little,Arsene.
    It’s great the break is over,back to regular games now,and loving it….though,it isn’t easy here in Oz….work is no fun after very early morning games,but such is life!

  29. goonster says:

    Hi lee….didn’t see you there. Me too rico, gervinho will give us something we never had with nasri:the ability to take on his man and beat him. The fat ponce tend to pass the ball back or sideways when confronted with a wingback. Gerv has proven he ll be a handful this season. My only fear is he might be the one to suffer a horrific career threatneing injury! There is a pattern already forming…06 we lost diaby,two years later it was EDU and last year it was Rambo so there you have it.

  31. goonster says:

    Dk my man…where the heck have you been? Saw bendtner’s well taken goals last Wednesday and I thought of you. Ironically the big freak wants nothing to do with us. Feel betrayed,no?

  32. Lee says:

    Yo Stan, sounded like all the new boys got a good reception at the Emirates on sat…from what I heard on MOTD,as soon as the game finished switch the sound off, so as not to hear that Olympic standard prick hansen!!

  34. goonster says:

    Lee from what I saw on TV it was a rapturous reception. The biggest cheer was reserved for our giant German. He made a few interceptions and a double block at one time and the crowd went wild. He ll be a crowd favorite pretty soon. He’s mine already though. Come on!

  37. goonster says:

    Lee I don’t get the British press…..some mug’s been comparing both teams and sold us out for cheap. Said we bought aging players while dortmund has a young gifted playmaker by the name of goezte! If we had bought this dude the press will have been on us like a part of wolves chasing a deer saying we shouldn’t be buying anymore kids but experienced players. Now we ve brought in experience yet they moan! Its like we ll never win with these guys. Tsk tsk tsk

  38. rico says:

    goonster, i’m watching the game again, if we had a player who could strike a shot on target, we’d have got the scoreline you hoped for….

  41. goonster says:

    We do rico…..rvp verm and ashavin can. Now we ve added arteta to our ranks. We should be able to score a few crackers this year. Fingers crossed. Its been a while we got on sky sports goals of the season.

  43. goonster says:

    I wish I could Lee but I can’t…those mugs really stick in my craw. Wish I could run across one of them in a dark alley with a crow bar!

  45. rico says:

    So much so I thought he was he 😉

    On sat we didn’t though – how many shots did we have at goal, 19? we need those to start being on target and finding the net…

    One thing Arteta brings is a great corner from the right, Chamkah and Merts need to get on the end of these….

    Ches
    Sagna Merts Kos Gibbs/Santos
    Walcott Song Arteta Gervinho
    Robin Chamakh

    That’s my team….. 🙂

  48. theGoon says:

    off topic, iam really curios as to why everyone including the fanbase is writing our title chances off??? am i the only one that is seeing a season of 2 halves like the man u style of winning the league? i believe its because they always start slow and they fluff early enuff and from then on begin to build their confidence. i think thats what maturity is. i dont know but iam so 98% sure we are going to see a twist in this league like we always do come april-may. i dont know, i just have that feeling especially cos i feel wenger will re-inforce the squad jan with quality like hazard, mvilla etc,i see us having a well-gel ‘ed team come next half of the season. i also think our surprise signings will be park, santos and Chamberlain. i just have that feeling that we wont even be fighting for 4th but 1st place… i dont know. i think mancity have had a good start and have depth but i just dont see them having the same wining mentality once their key strikers or assist providers get injured or something unlike man u.i think this might be the season arsenal get to collect silverware especially FA n carling cups. i personally see the confidence building in this squad with every match up cos honestly they have sank as low as can be looking at stats. and to know how to win in life you have to feel the pain bad enuff to do something about it. once the wining formula is there is will start kicking in when it desperately needed, …just remember to bring this up when it happens

  49. goonster says:

    Later mama bear….now who’s with me? Anybody home? Guess I have to hold down the fort on my own. Oh well here goes nothing.

  52. goonster says:

    Yeah I ve seen it….it was something to behold lee. If we get this guy in jan I ll dance on my roof naked! Hazard is class but I ll rather have a happy fabregas back. We missed him so much out there.

  53. goonster says:

    Hazard is a beast but my fear is: will he flourish in the BPL? A lot of cloggers ll target him. He dribbles a lot and holds on to the ball far too long. Its an invitation to be SHAWCROSSED! I guess.

  54. goonster says:

    Hey lee have you seen this dutch hungarian dude play? I hear he could be our next fabregas. What’s his name again? Ogyzyaup or something. I hear he’s awesome. How true is that?

  56. adam says:

    Wenger’s view that our season started on Saturday was all well and good, but United’s started a month ago and they had their squad in place to be ready for it.
    4th place even doesent look any certainty for us on what we have seen so far and a lot of faith is being placed in Gervinho returning ,his final ball though is no better than Walcott’s and his finishing from what I have seen of it is nothing to get excited about either.
    Let’s hope he’s not another of these over-hyped by Arsene ex-French league players .

  57. goonster says:

    Shut up adam….don’t spoil it for me. Am on a high right now and won’t let nobody bring me down…not even you*winks* morning by the way. Looking forward to the game ain’t ya? Top of the morning to you too KT. Its been a while.

  59. adam says:

    If a 1-0 at home fluke win over mighty Swansea gets you excited goonster then this shows how far we have fallen .It’s a start in the right direction,but hardly conving was it? Let’s hope for a bit better v Dortmond.

  60. goonster says:

    Kev my brother from another mother….what’s popping man? Looking forward to see the GERV monster are ya? Can’t wait. Am addicted to all things arsenal! Lord help me.

  61. goonster says:

    Adam my dad(God rest his soul) used to say the first step is the most difficult but when you get going nothing can stand in your way. Give this team a chance. The manure team is tearing everyone apart yes but remember they are yet to go through a bad patch of their own. chelsea started so well last season and we all know how that one panned out. Get behind the team dammit. Coygs

  62. allezkev says:

    Hello Stan. How ya doing little bruv..?
    Yes really looking forward to Dortmund.
    Lee, my two teams are Arsenal & Dagenham+Redbridge.
    Btw, good post Rico.
    It’s murder using an android on a train.

  66. goonster says:

    We just need to get our first 11 together for a short spell and we ll tear the league a new one….nasri and fabregas were not on the pitch the day we beat manure at the Ems were they? A mid field of arteta wilshere and song will give any team a run for their money not to mention a backline of chesny sagna mert verm and my man santos. We ll be alright adam. BELIEVE.

  71. goonster says:

    You said it the goon…..that’s what I ve been saying all week. We could still win the league. Barring any injury our squad is almost as good as manures…the difference is in tactics and coaching!

  72. oliver says:

    morning all…hearing that rosicky will not make the trip to dortmund and ramsey is also a doubt…every time you turn your head, it seems one player or another is getting ruled out…

    thanks for the comment about the tenth anniversary ricco – it seems like yesterday, and i can clearly remember where i was and what i was doing when i heard…

  74. W.A.T.H says:

    I’m fine Lee, how’s you fella…? All good I hope….!

    Song n Gervinho will be back though Oliver so not all doom and gloom. Lose two get two back swings and roundabouts as usual.

  76. Lee says:

    Fellaini, Mata ,Aguero & Parker all in the sun dream team 11 this week….weren’t we linked with all of them?? 😉

  77. oliver says:

    hi wath/lee…yeah, it will be good to have both song and gerv back…jenks will be available again as well…

    arsene is suspended, though…this time, lets not give uefa a reason to pile on him again…

  78. W.A.T.H says:

    The uefa rules on managers getting banned Oliver are pathetic but wenger needs to be more subtle if he wants to get a message to the team…!

    Don’t think we were linker with Aguero Lee, we would never of been able to afford him would we…….

    I’d of taken Fellaini all day long…! Great player and knows what the prem lge is all about.

    Interesting game tomorrow night and a very stern test…! they have some great players also play very good football.

  79. theGoon says:

    true goonster i really think we fans are very hyporcitical at times, we say the team has no “winning mentality” and at the same time we the fans ,especially those who never or have chance to go to the games, dont even lift a finger to contribute to what physically goes on the pitch are at the forefront talking about “we wont even finish 4th”. with ONLY FOUR GAMES played!!!!! talk about lack of wining mentality,we seem to have it in abundance. yes we have alot of issues but I think its very realistic for arsenal to challenge if they play their cards right jan. people always wonder why man u seems to have “ALOT OF LUCK” . if we only understood that its not luck but confidence. its merely a science of wining /confidence. whenever confidence oozes it will force your opponents to make errors, your accuracy increases and everything falls in place. that explains exactly why van persie missed the penalty, he has never missed and 9.9/10 he would not not have missed that penalty. the same reason ashley young is scoring the kind of goals he is now by simply wearing that jersey, he is probably thinking “SAF picking me for the first team? i must have more in me than i thought”. the same reason when Scenzy is our no.1 , he is much younger, inexperienced but you notice he never beats himself for long NEVER, unlike fabianski or almunia. the boy is always smiling and chatting to rooney after all our games and even though he took the knock at 8-2 he was motm for poland against germany. coincidence? Thats what our team needs. the confidence that causes who ever is at the top of the table loose points whenever they feel Man u tracking their tail. its that very reason that teams make way for them cause they see man u climbing up the table and they start to panic and loose unneccesarily. This is our opportunity to turn the tide around, focus on which players to build this team around, forget the cesc saga, we have plenty of experience in rvp,santos,benayoun,meta,park,arshavin,arteta and i personally think that was one of the reasons we managed to grind a 1-0 win. arshvin sort of feels he has what he was asking for, experience and hence he put in a good shift. benayoun was busy defending. yes we could have drawn the game but i feel we saw a glimpse of the much talked about experience cos we could have even lost. Now we wait to see the gel-ing of the new experiencd players. we dont expect that to take too long to adapt to arsenal 1st team as we do with the fimpongs , ramseys etc.

  83. Lee says:

    Arsenal squad (in alphabetical order):
    Andrey Arshavin
    Mikel Arteta
    Yossi Benayoun
    Marouane Chamakh
    Johan Djourou
    Gervinho
    Kieran Gibbs
    Lukasz Fabianski
    Emmanuel Frimpong
    Laurent Koscielny
    Per Mertesacker
    Ju Young Park
    Andre Santos
    Bacary Sagna
    Alex Song
    Wojciech Szczesny
    Robin van Persie
    Theo Walcott

  87. oliver says:

    dot com has announced the squad that left for dortmund today. no ramsey or rosicky present, but all five players confirmed during the final week of the transfer window are making the trip…

    if we should finding ourselves needing a goal with 2/3 of the match gone, i would like to see ju come on ahead of chamakh…

  90. oliver says:

    speaking of dot com, the squad page features the new season first team photo…it has four goalkeepers in it…our current number one was included in the official first team photo – i don’t think he is going anywhere…

  91. W.A.T.H says:

    Oliver, as you and I have said previously, it’s an insult that the No1 is even earning a salary at our club…! Quite unbelievable in fact.

  95. oliver says:

    i don’t hate the guy, wath…far from it. i just think it is unfortunate that he is holding a first team slot – and the number one jersey to boot – when it is clear he has absolutely no future at this club. if al could not make the bench ahead of a literally-fresh-from-retirement jens once szczesny was fit again, what possible scenario – other than the catastrophic loss of both our polish keepers – would see him play a competitive match for us again?

    at his best, al was never good enough to be our first team keeper. that is not a slam on him, rather an acknowledgment of what i see as his ceiling. for all parties sake, he should no longer be at this club…he deserves an opportunity to get a fresh start somewhere else, and the club deserves to have its true number one goalkeeper formally recognized as such…

    in most sports over here, when a team and player are no longer a good fit, both sides can often come to some sort of agreement about a buyout, where the player will accept a percentage of the remaining money on his contract in order to release both parties from any future mutual obligations. if that could be done in this instance, i think that would be the way to go here…

  96. oliver says:

    hi ricco…very busy week at work last week, so i could not participate at all…thankfully it is a bit slower this morning.

  97. rico says:

    She’s back on her feet so to say now thanks WATH, bit unsteady but the meals on wheels are no longer and she has company now for a couple of weeks 🙂

  100. oduye says:

    we tlk much about other squad players witout realy tinkn of d japanes ryo. Anywayz, tink ox and him wikk hve their chance to impres wen da fa cup starts. For da champ league match mrw, my team, woljiech(gk), sagna, per, koscienly and gibbs(dfence),by da way, we r nt tlkin about sagna as we do wit othr players. Think hes my no 1 man in d team. Arteta, song and arshavin(md). Da lil russian fr form and his play tru d midle in our last match. (Attack)z theo, rvp and gervi. Ur tot.

  103. oliver says:

    isn’t theo suspended for tomorrow night? i seem to remember him earning a booking at the friuli and that leading to a single-match suspension…if that is true, why include him in the traveling party, as the piece on dot com indicated?

    of course, if i am wrong on theo, it makes perfect sense. but i don’t think i am…i clearly remember him getting booked for retaliation, much like on saturday…

  106. agirlagunner says:

    Boo! Our new players are saying all the right things! rico, I was reading Lansbury’s interview and if we lose that boy, it would be a shame. He is AFC through and through.

    oliver, another good one yesterday 😉 How are you? Hey, KT. I want Hazard, too. Pure class!

  107. oliver says:

    i am pretty sure they carry over ricco…i am distinctly remember hearing that theo’s booking in italy would rule him out of the next match…we’ll have to see i guess…

    i know theo was booked in the second leg, but it is entirely possible that i am wrong on the suspension. perhaps it’s just a booking that puts him closer to a suspension, rather than one that leads directly to a suspension…

    i am going to check the dot com in a few minutes and see if there is any clarification there…

  108. rico says:

    oliver – i just checked the home fixture too, Walcott got booked then too – have afc gaffed this one, surely they would know?

  109. goonster says:

    Good post the goon. We moan and complain that the team lacks a winning mentality yet we the fans don’t have any! Its disheartening to hear “fans” say we won’t even make 4th spot. A couple gooners whom I watched the game with even got into a fight. One pin head said we won’t make the top 4 the other got mad and said we ll (lucky to make top 8! I mean what’s that all about. How do you expect the team to react after hearing that we have written them off.

  110. oliver says:

    hi agag…alright?

    perhaps theo’s status was overlooked in the drama over arsene’s ban/appeal/confirmation? but if theo was booked in both the home and away legs, that is two and i think that means an automatic one-match ban…methinks tomorrow night is a perfect time for gerv’s first competitive goal in arsenal kit…

    i’ll keep looking…perhaps theo wasn’t even on the planne and the list of who travelled is in error…don’t know why he would make the trip if he is not eligible to play…keep him home and let him rest up and prepare for blackburn.

  113. agirlagunner says:

    Hello, again. Busy. Sigh. AFC couldn’t possibly have overlooked Theo’s booking… Or could our good people…? Eeeps.

  114. rico says:

    CL Rules re Bookings….

    Article 21

    Yellow and red cards

    21.01 As a rule, a player who is sent off the field of play is suspended for the next match in a UEFA club competition. The Control and Disciplinary Body is entitled to augment this punishment. For serious offences the punishment
    can be extended to all UEFA competition categories.

    21.02 In case of repeated cautions, a player is suspended for the next competition match:

    a) after two cautions in two different qualifying matches, as well as after the fourth caution during the qualifying phase;

    b) from the first match in the group stage, after three cautions in three different matches, as well as following any subsequent odd-numbered caution

    (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.).

  115. oliver says:

    citing item a), it seems apparent to me that theo’s status is suspended for tomorrow evening. if i read it right, two cautions in two separate qualification stage matches = one game suspension. in the group stage it goes up to three cautions in three seperate matches for the single-match ban to kick in…

    so why is theo on the plane today?

  116. rico says:

    This was the ‘on the night’ commentary

    74 mins – Tempers boiling over a bit now. Walcott is not happy after being caught by Benatia. The Arsenal man sees yellow for reacting. He must now serve a suspension.

    AFC have made an error…..

  117. rico says:

    I don’t know oliver, either it’s wrongly printed as you said or they have totally mucked up – i emailed them 🙂

  118. oliver says:

    thanks ricco…i was pretty sure at the time that his booking in italy meant an automatic ban…

    good luck on getting a response from afc…i can think of a couple of other questions i would like to ask them…

  119. rico says:

    you and me both oliver, i don’t think they would be too different from yours either 😉

    i hope it’s a typo, otherwise we have missed the chance to take Chamberlain ….

  121. oliver says:

    oc wasn’t in the squad on saturday, either…while he is not listed as injured on dot com, surely he is at least carrying a slight knock?

  122. mog says:

    maybe arsene wants him in the stand, sitting next to him so he can pass messages onto wild cat pat on the bench.
    arsene thinks with theo’s speed no one will notice hes disapeared for a minuite.
    hope its just a mistake like you said.

  123. oliver says:

    hahahaha…to be perfectly honest, i would be happy for arsene to watch from his hotel room. why even be present for the cameras to pan back on him every two minutes? why give uefa and all the satisfaction of seeing him up in the stands?

  124. rico says:

    oliver – he should stay well out of the way, if i had my way, banfield would be in germany tomorrow night….

    Chamberlain is fit, it would take a double decker to stop him….

    hi mog 🙂

  125. oliver says:

    it will be rice and boro it seems…we’ve won before with that combo, both at the lane and udinese in the last two seasons, so it isn’t the end of the world…nevertheless, rice’s telegraphing his imploring glances towards arsene during the latter match didn’t inspire much confidence that he will be able to see this through without relying on constant instruction…hopefully he will – i don’t remember such antics in the cc tie last season…

  126. rico says:

    oliver, that’s exactly why i wish banfield would be there, he’s a ‘proper’ manager… just hope the two there have been rightly advised….

    mind you, sometimes wenger’s tactics/subs surprise us all…. 😉

  130. allezkevallezkev says:

    Think we may see Miyaichi and Oxlade-Chamberlain either side of Chamakh or Afobe in Carling Cup next week.
    Wenger will almost certainly go with his most experienced available line-up in Germany tomorrow.

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