They Stay The Same…….
Amidst the backdrop of an unsettled squad, more speculation over player departures than arrivals, and a critical impending Champions League qualification tie, we arrived at the proverbial “scene of the crime” to kick the 2011-12 campaign off.
For a team looking to put things right after the disappointing end to the prior season, St. James’ Park is as good a place as any to start.
There were not too many surprises with the team sheet.
Szczesny was named in goal, meaning he is the first choice of the moment.
We lined up as Szczesny, Gibbs, TV, Kos, Sagna, Song, Ramsey, Rosicky, Arsh, Robin (Captain) and Gervinho.
Our bench consisted of Fabianski, Jenkinson, JD, Frimpong, Theo, Chamberlain, and Chamakh. No Cesc, no Nasri and an injured Jack. So this is how life will look without our former captain, it seems.
I didn’t expect a repeat of last season’s eight goals but neither did expect such a toothless performance from both sides.
Perhaps I should have known better, as both sides are minus key performers from last season and both sides have had to endure similar fan (and dressing room) unrest regarding player acquisitions and departures.
We were the better side in the first half, controlling possession and moving the ball well. Gervinho operated on both flanks and showed good speed – particularly acceleration – and skill with the ball; unfortunately his crossing was not consistently good and he wound up giving the ball away in the Newcastle area on several occasions.
On the half hour, we came closest to scoring when Simpson had to clear a Kos header (from a corner, no less!) off the line. Otherwise, there was very little end product.
We emerged from the break unchanged and continued to take the game to Newcastle.
Ten minutes after the restart, we earned a free-kick on the right edge of the box, after Gutierrez fouled Sagna, Robin took it and struck a fine, curling effort while didn’t clear the cross-bar by much…
The game had generally been physical but fair but I always felt there was an unpleasant undercurrent from how last season’s game unfolded. This came to the fore just around the hour mark, as Song and Barton scrapped for the ball in midfield. Song was too strong and won the ball cleanly from the Newcastle man, who fouled him right at the end of the move. The play ended with Barton grounded, and our defensive midfielder stamped on Barton’s calf.
Whether he was provoked, still angry over last season’s Barton – Diaby incident, or whatever, it was rank stupidity and inexcusable. Considering the fact that Song was already on a yellow (for an accumulation of fouls) from the first half, his afternoon ended should have ended then and there, and we should have found ourselves down to ten men at St James for the second season running.
There was still time for that…
Barton, predictably, went ballistic with an animated display of shouting, pointing and gesticulating…It was up to Arsh (who then made way for Theo) to usher him to the touch-line and try and calm him down…
Then “that” moment arrived some 15 minutes from the end…
Gervinho brought the ball down the left hand side and into the box, as he moved away from goal, he went down with Tiote close by; if there was any contact – and I could not tell conclusively from the replays I saw – it had to be minimal at best.
It certainly didn’t look a penalty and I didn’t see Gervinho (or anyone else in red) appeal.
Barton however, took it upon himself to race into the box, grab our grounded winger’s jersey and try and haul him to his feet by it. Predictably, a mass scuffle ensued.
During the melee, Gervinho reached around and slapped Barton on the cheek or shoulder. The latter collapsed as if shot, Steven Taylor tried to convince Referee Walton that Gervinho actually elbowed Barton and it took a few more minutes to sort things out. When a semblance of order was restored, Mr. Walton promptly showed Gervinho a straight red, showed Barton a yellow, and added a yellow for Szczesny, who raced up the pitch to argue Gervinho’s case.
While I have to say I am disappointed in Gervinho – regardless of how soft the contact may have been, he struck Barton with intent and had to go – Mr. Walton made a mess of this by letting Barton off so easily. The latter, clearly out of control, grabbed a grounded, defenseless Gervinho for nothing and tried to drag him to his feet….
How can that not be a red as well? If Gervinho’s actions were violent conduct, how was Barton’s not? Don’t tell me that you let Barton off lightly because of what Song did earlier? You blew that one as well Walton. Since when do two wrongs make a right?
Truth be told, I am more disappointed in Gervinho’s team-mates – particularly those who were on the pitch during last season’s 4-4. The ones who saw Barton bait and sucker Diaby into getting set off. The ones who know what Barton is about – to agitate and instigate.
When Barton grabbed Gervinho and they started to square off, there was nobody in red – least of all our Captain – to jump in between the two and usher our debuting winger away. Surely some of our players had to know that Barton was trying to get Gervinho sent off – why, oh why, didn’t any of them intervene and step between the two and drag Gervinho away.
If we were able to do that, I think Mr. Walton would have found it hugely difficult not to send Barton off and things would have been completely different. As it is, Gervinho is looking at a 3-match ban for a violent conduct straight red. Song will undoubtedly face trial by video and should expect at least a two match ban (ruling him out of the Liverpool and Man United fixtures, and possibly Swansea if the FA goes the full three)…
Barton? Well, since Mr. Walton gave him a yellow, as I understand the FA’s (antiquated) disciplinary rules, he dealt with the issue – however ineptly – and so the case is, as they say, closed…
Back to the match…
Little happened afterwards. Pardew made an attacking sub, bringing Lovenkrands on for Cabaye, but they created virtually nothing. Not that we did either. Injury time brought two interesting moments.
In the first, Kos made an excellent interception to prevent a corner from finding Lovenkrands’ head at point-blank range. In the second, JD came on for Ramsey in the last-minute and immediately went on a fine run out of defense, evading two challenges and bringing the ball across the halfway line. As Theo sprinted down the right, JD tried to pick him out with an utterly dreadful ball. Theo had to check his run and actually come back to get the ball; he accelerated into the area, but stumbled and fell, the ball went out of play and the whistle went a few seconds later…
So the first fixture of the season went into the books with a glass half full/half empty type result, and the away supporters reminding Arsene it is time to invest in players who can make a difference here and now. Leaving all that aside, I felt that we looked better in at least a couple of areas…
Defensively, I thought we were solid. While Newcastle hardly went all out to attack, they did have spells with sustained possession, had a few corners and threatened occasionally on the counter (mostly through Amoebi). Regardless of what they did, we defended calmly and had virtually no nervous moments.
The team, as a whole, looked more composed and disciplined (defensively).
We didn’t score and we created little – I think we had only two shots on goal and the only one I can remember was Theo’s low shot which Krul initially fumbled, then gathered at the second attempt – I thought we were more direct. Gervinho was a big part of that, but Rosicky, Ramsey and Arsh all made concerted efforts to work the ball into the area, instead of moving the ball slowly and passing sideways.
The only thing that kept letting us down again and again was the final ball. If had been better in that area, I think we would have won comfortably.
A win would have been a nice way to start the season and lift some of the negative atmosphere surrounding our club but it wasn’t to be.
We can still take consolation in that we kept a clean sheet this time and did not lose. Unfortunately, we are now going to be short-handed for the stretch of upcoming matches. Already without Jack, we will now lose Gervinho for the next three league fixtures and I would not be surprised if Song keeps him company for all three matches.
At least they will be available for the CL qualification ties versus Udinese. The home leg is on Tuesday and we MUST have a better offensive performance. If we should fire blanks and repeat this 0-0, we will be firm favorites for the Europa Cup competition. So back to the training ground, and work improving delivery and the final ball. That, more than anything, was what we really missed today.
It would also help if the outbound transfers of our former captain and the young man from Marseille are completed soonest – preferably before kickoff on Tuesday. I think it is pretty clear that neither man has a future here; we need to move on from them, they need to move on from us – it’s best for all parties.
Reinforcements? Possibly – but for the moment, we have what we have, and what we have is what we need to try and win our matches with.
There is no reason we cannot win out over two legs versus Udinese; no reason we should not beat Liverpool on our patch. No reason we should travel to Old Trafford scared and intimidated…
There’s no reason we should not get through this difficult stretch of matches with a series of good results, I’d call yesterdays “decent” especially considering what we were up against for the final 15 minutes…
There’s no reason why we can’t push on from there…
No reason at all…
Written by Oliver
morning
morning rsd and all
What did you make of that display rsd???
Morning all.
Let’s get this out of the way, gerv barely touched the weasal and if anyone thinks that was enough to hurt or knock down, i suggest you never leave your home as you make walk into a door harder.
Barton needs to be banned by video and if he is not, I want Arsenal to start publicly asking questions as we seem to always be on the end of these “decisions”.
As for the game, i thought we played well, more of the dreaded long ball as we were hitting the front players far quicker and without Cesc, we didn’t play that boring tiki-taka football and I think we are going to be a very exciting team this season as we have pace all over the team.
Newcastle came to draw, that is obvious and they got what they wanted but they are a snide team with a snide manager and I hope they get relegated.
Will,
It matters not if he’d knocked him out with a punch or slapped him the slightest of touches, in the laws of football you cannot do what Gervinho did – he has no defence, nor will Song for his stamp…
What maddens me more is our players didn’t/don’t learn to metally deal with that little squirt Barton, he’s a cheat, a thug and he will never change…
Barton is available on a free transfer, no-one wants him and we all know why.. I bet there was one reason Pardew played him yesterday and our players fell for it… Again…
A bigger man walks away, neither Song or gervinho could do that…..
Rico, hard to walk away when a raving lunatic has you by the throat. If Gerv had done that on the street it would have been called self defence.
oliver – how rude of me, cracking write up… thank you…
While i agree we were solid in defence, we are as usual one injury away from that changing, and to be fair, Newcastle were no Mancs or Chavs etc…
We still need to strenghten…
When Barton assaulted Gervinho the ball was still in play so THAT should have been a penalty!
I know Will but it’s sport not a street brawl – had Gervinho just let the thugs carry on, Barton and Taylor would have been off, not our man…..
We cannot keep blaming others for our players behaviour, well i can’t
I agree, the defence was fantastic, even the must hated Gibbs was fantastic but you are right Rico, we need one more.
I can Rico, if Barton (the snide coward) had not launched a physical attack Gerv would not have slapped him. Taylor running to the lino claiming an elbow needs to be looked at as well.
Newcastle really are a snide team.
My only fault of Gibbs is he neds to open his eyes a bit more and look around him. A few times Ramsey gave him the ball then made a run down the left. Instead of playing the ball early into his line of run, he dwelled and then cut in, slowed the play and the momentum of a possible break, otherwise he was better than pre-season…
I think Gibbs will surprise a lot of people.
Good read.we are really crap in the final third by the way and it seems Arsene won’t change anything.our bench said it all about the current state we are in.also expect song to be suspended and frimpong will be thrown in the deep end against pool and mancs:(
For sure, but, players cannot react, like i suggested before, that was Bartons plan and he won, we get drawn into it and end up being penalised and rightly so – i don’t care what Barton did, Gervinho’s reaction was wrong….
Sadly and as oliver points out, Barton cannot be penalised any further as he got booked…
Song however will be and now we will have two players out for the next three PL matches, Liverpool, Man Utd and swansea….
Morning Gooners
Morning Rico/Will
Good Post Oliver.
Question=
When Barton grabbed Gervinho, the ball was in play.
So, a foul in the box that equates to a….. penalty..?
Therefore, why did Mr [inept] Walton, restart the game with a free-kick for Newcastle?????????/
Offski now, car-boot sale, see ya later… 😉
Morning Kt –
I felt for RvP, he’s is no lone striker, we need a goal scorer…
Why are we going to Newcastle and playing with one up front is beyond me….
OT, Anfield, Eastlands, Stamford Bridge, maybe but Newcastle??
If I was a manager, I would tell my players, if you are going to do Barton, make sure it is worth getting sent off for.
KT, you REALLY need to lighten up dude, we played some good stuff and I can see a style of play emerginging that will be fantastic.
Gary Cahill’s goal was pretty special yesterday…. 🙁
Kev makes a very good point, if no free kick had been called for the dive, the ball was in play and Barton (the snide coward) fouled Gerv.
Morning bob john, good point made there, i missed that point in all the goings on…
Morning Kev, laters Kev 😉
Don’t sell all your boots… 😉
Will i’ve really tried to lighten up but the current state of affairs don’t allow it.i’m sorry but this is as optimistic as i’ll get if things stay the same.
Apart from our defending, i’d din’t see too much to make me think we are in for a good season…..
Morning all, what a game…our defence was better
Seriously Rico? I thought we were trying a new style of play and once it comes together, it will be devistating.
Rvp always looks isolated as a lone striker when cesc is absent rico.now that cesc is going we need to find a solution.from what i’ve seen so far alvarez was meant to be that player as he is impressing at inter.arsene can find this players in his sleep but it seems he prefers to have an internal solution.
Morning Erick, game, it was more like a long fight 😉
Got to agree with you guys we have to replace Cesc and Nasri…thats the only way up
Will my second favourite team Borussia Dortmund lost yesterday.it wasn’t a good weekend for me overall.
Will,
I thought it was same old same old if i’m honest, we get to the area and still try and find the extra pass instead of shooting..
In time Aaron will be able to do that but he didn’t get involved enough yesterday Kt, some believe that the midweek game was the cause of that..
I think Wenger needs to go 4-4-2 and buy a proper striker to play alongside Robin, if he’s not going to start Theo in the middle with him
Rico you know what thugs are meant to do…Jack Wilshere is our only hope if Aw does not spend. We have got to fight like we did yesterday in all 38 matchesnd. We have got to fight like we did yesterday in all 38 matches
I beg you guys, give this team a few weeks and I am sure they will surprise and delight you.
Rico but you can’t deny the team were up for it, think they gave their all. KT i hear we could be going for Gotze Gotze
Will we seem to have the right ingridients but whats the point of having 68% possession and only 2 meaningful shots?our penetration was non existent and its clear as day that cesc must be replaced externally.we have cash and to replace cesc adequately we’ll have to spend that cash.we’ll get £60mil from cesc/nasri therefore arsene has no excuse not to buy.
Will I have the same feeling, but we just have to buy replacement when the two leave
Erick,
We missed jack yesterday, big time – he and Aaron are good together, the game i always refer to is against the Mancs last season, they bossed a very good Manure midfield….
If Wenger spends, I’d much rather a CH, DM and a goal scorer, then i will start to believe we are in with a chance…
Erick, if that was ‘their all’, then i really worry…
After the game Wenger said if players leave then he will look to replace them…
Nasri
Bendtner
Fabregas
Eboue
Four new signings loom then Mr Wenger….
Mambo erick.Götze is a very good player but there is no way we’ll go for him as he’ll cost top dollar.
KT, hard to penetrate when the opposing team defend their 18 yard box when 8 players.
I think our passing was far more dynamic yesterday with far less 3 yard sideways passing and we got in a lot of crosses, the only problem was no one in there able to get on the end of them.
I think once the passes come together and the team clicks, we will see a dynamic, fast passing style of play that will destroy teams.
Rico arsene will tell you ramsey,oxo,campbell,jenkinson and ryo have already replaced those aforementioned players.just wait for sept.1st and you’ll see.
Poa KT then who do you think is a good Cesc replacement, Rico compared to other seasons I saw some fight in the lads yesterday s yesterday
I was being ironic Kt, I expect a central defender, maybe one other on the final day of the window and that’s it…
As you say,
Jenkinson is Eboue’s replacement
Campbell – Bendtner’s
Ryo – Nasri
Chamberlain – Fabregas
60 Million he could have, what will he do with it??
I’m just very cross Erick, cross with the two players who will now be missing for three matches…..
Cross that it wasn’t drummed into them before the game Not to fall for Pardew and Bartons sly tactics……
Am going to wait for Sept 1st…I will always support the Arsenal. Come on Aw do something
I hope this report in the Sunday Mirror is right….
Bolton star impresses as Arsenal plot a £16.5m bid
Arsene Wenger will summon his most trusted talent scout to the Arsenal training ground today and ask him for a final verdict on Gary Cahill.
Chief scout Steve Rowley watched the Bolton Wanderers centre-back in action against QPR will surely tell his boss that Cahill is made for the Gunners.
In fact, the goal Cahill despatched to set Bolton on their biggest away win for six years was good enough to grace the Emirates or any other home of Champions League football. Arsenal are well aware there’s a get-out clause in Cahill’s current contract which values him at around £16.5 million.
Cash-rich from the impending departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, a move for Cahill makes absolute sense.
Campbell wont play this year rico AW has said
Barton is a prick, the Ref a mug and the linesman can kiss my dish rag..they all fall for the thugs trick. Thanks to Song who took matters to his handstrick. Thanks to Song who took matters to his hands
I’ll always support Arsenal Erick, i’m just frustrated with our ways in the transfer market and we dropped two points yesterday…
By the time Sept 1st is here, we could have lost to Liverpool, Man Utd and be knocked out of the CL…
Yes, worst case scenerio but the club knew we were going to lose Cesc this summer, why have we not spent the money already and have the players in for pre-season?
Grrr 😉
thanks rsd, he’s a good signing then 😉
Rico we need creative midfielder too
Will i agree that we seem to have the right ingridients as the first half showed but we are still lacking something.what makes me pessimistic is that arsene will probably think that oxo/ryo can do it and he won’t have to spend the ca$h.they may deliver right away but they’ll most probably need time.that will cost us again and the likes of rvp will get restless and will leave.that cycle will continue and we’ll end up as a farmhouse for top clubs.
top you can read a blog post on the blog from a mate who used to live in costa rica and watched him for a season 😉
least we looked solid in defense yesterday last season we’d have probably lost that
What we need and what we get Erick are two different things sadly, we desperately need a proper DM too but we won’t get one of those either…
Still, I’m like everyone, and thats hoping Wenger spends the money and brings in 2/3 players to really make us stronger, not kids, not those who need a visa, ready made PL players to make this side strong….
looks like we’re gona make bid for jags and making bids for some frenchy midfielders
The sad thing is that we’re not that far off.we just need to wisely spend the cash outlay from cesc/nasri/bendy/eboue sales and we can be better.Mourinho while at inter sold ibra and in return got milito,eto’o,lucio,motta and sneijder.they went on to be a better team which was proved by them winning the treble that year.
Ha ha rsd, one for the future then 🙂
I don’t want us to sign Jags, Cahill or Samba yes but not Jags, talk about a waste of money he’d be….
What Frenchies rsd??
Marseille’s Andre Ayew. He has a buyout clause of €13m in french papers this week supposed to be very good
but AW said after signing Joel Campbell, he is now after Eddie Ljungberg, Len Helder and Terry Groves
instructive to listen to Liam Brady on television last night. He is a pundit on the Irish version of Match of the Day on Irish television station RTE. When asked about the current turmoil at Arsenal and why Wenger is reluctant to buy in players he replied that the Arsenal board and unwilling to sanction very high wages for any player hence the fact why we have failed to buy any player of proven quality. He further addded that Wenger would carry on trying to buy players on their way up rather thatn proven players whose wages are deemed to be too high.
As Brady is an inside man so to speak I think that in his answer last night you find the reason for all the club’s dithering over the past six years. Trying to find players on reasonable wages that they can eventually sell on at a profit. Even at this we are useless in comparison to the likes of Porto, Lille etc. What the hell are our scouts at???
It also leads on to the interesting question that if your manager is on six million in wages a year, how much of his remit is to make sure that he stays within financial perameters as laid down by the board. I find it incredulous that our two main shareholders who are multi billionaires have not as yet put their hands into their greasy pockets. Compare Kronke’s inaction to what has been going on at Liverpool, At Maunure under the hated Glazers.
How hard Barton was or wasn’t slapped is immaterial , a trap was set and our most vulnerable player with the least experience of the ways of the premiership fell for it. Song should have gone earlier and the indiscipline that has dogged The Arsenal in the Wenger years has continued. All of this begs the question of why ?. Are we too stupid not to work things out and taking into consideration the previous between Pardew and Wenger and Barton’s performance with Diaby last year you have to conclude that we are. Pardew’s game plan/ agenda is to get Arsenal’s eyes off of the ball in which ever way they can. He succeeded . You have to wonder if we are so obsessed with what we want to do that we forget that the other team have a plan as well.
😆 rsd
That’s intersting cavalry and i agree re the two ownder, how they can’t get together and work together for the sake of the club baffles me, what’s the point of being share holders??
Potter, you and i agree on that….
We fell again for the dirty tricks of Barton and co, when will we learn..
Few chores to do so off for a bit….
is interesting cav but we knew that, interesting for him to come out with it tho
Waht leaves me cold though is that while I don’t personally agree with ridculous wages either nor compeltely silly money for “proven” players there are still plenty of good palyers out there a hell of a llot better than what we have and we can’t seem to identify them let alone buy them. You look at Ajax, Athletico, Lille, Porto, the list just goes on and on and year after year they bring in new talent (usually from South America and Africa) and are able to sell on their top players at a ransom to the “top clubs” and still replace them adequately. So what the hell are our scouts at?? Waht remit is Wenger giving them when going out to scout.
Look at some of the middle rank players that we have missed in the last year, players like Smalling, Suarez etc. not huge money, not on huge wages yet will be top top players. Rome ,fiddle and burned come to my mind this morning!!!!
we aint signing anyone, this is the team…. gazidis and wenger have lied their way through this window…
and we can bang on about barton until the cows come home but song assualted him and got away with it.he wont when the fa review the incident..and maybe gerviho would get more decisions if he ditched the eboue dives..
talk about being selective.. sounds more like excuse making again to me
morning all.. 🙂
It looks like we are really after Jadson.Shaktar headcoach Lusescu has said its up to the player now.
Jadson is not what we really need.he is even smaller than AA!he isn’t even that good.
he’s worse than that kt
morning jj
yeah great jadson..
can he defend set pieces..can he get 10 goals and assists a year?? probably not
is he a midget and will he cost less then a bag of crisps?? probably
i take it back it looks like we are signing someone 🙂
howdy rsd
long time mate.
scarf vader will have hundreds, probably thousands of storm troopers this year..
the PR at this club has taken a huge kick in the bollox and the people who run the club are fully 100% responsible..
Just seen the Jadson story, he’s just what we need then…. Not!!
Hi jj….
true good thanks
at this rate usmanovs going to find himself in demand quicker than he thinks
how can a club the rake in as much cash as we do maon and complain about the prices and wages
the transfer market isnt like a supermarket for us but it would be if we were willing to pay the price on the sticker..
if you need a loaf of bread you dont haggle with the assisstant over 50p you pay the money thats on the sticker to get that laof of bread..if you try to haggle you get told to fuck off and you end up with nothing..
i can understand teams like bolton and villa complaining but when your a club that rakes in as much as what we do youve got no right to complain..
we should be acting like the big club we want to be..keep acting like a feeder club and expect to be treat like one..
isnt it funny how we cant seem to get other teams good players, but they have no problems getting ours??
bolton and everton are skint i dont believe for one minute if we paid for what it said on the tin we would get there players..
wenger just doesnt want them..he pretends to, so then he can bullshit the fans about how he tried but its not like a supermarket crap…but the fact he offers half what they are worth just shows how much he wants them..
jj, i already want the russian 😉
spot on, go offer 15M for Cahill and i bet we get him, he’s worth it…. offer him Nik and £9 million, i bet we’d still get him….
Or offer him Almunia and £20 Million 😉 😉
Granted the market is inflated but thats just how it is.you have to be prepared to pay top dollar for a quality player.you can’t go against the laws of demand and supply.mata would suit us down to the ground,if valencia ask for a fee even if its inflated just pay it.all clubs nowadays have excellent scouts and it won’t get any easier to unearth gems like vieira anymore.
Rico Usmanov is from uzbekistan i think.
If oxo/dann/jadson are the ‘super super quality’ signings wenger was referring to then the men in white labcoats should come and pick him up 🙂
I have to ask, do you really think a gus whose very job depends on results would buy crap and not try and get the winds on purpose?
Kt, I know, but i always call him the russian as he lives there now… 😉
We could have go Mata before his price increased, for half of what we are getting for Cesc…
his job doesnt depend on results..
it depends on the balance sheet.
Kt 😆
Will, sadly, it seems he is putting money before quality/experience but then goes and spends around the 15M (as reports say) on chamberlain….
Yes i am sure Chamberlain will come good but what about today, tomorrow, this season??
JJ, you are the one person I didn’t think would get anti-Wengerisits.
Will unfortunately wenger’s job doesn’t seem to depend on on the pitch results more like off the pitch results.he is like a director of football on the touchlines not a football manager.
im nippin gout for a bit
short and sweet i know 🙂
be back later to discuss wenger stan and gazidis creating a black hole this summer at arsenal and quickly dissapearing into it..
Will you should’ve met jj 2 years ago.just ask rico she’ll testify 🙂
Jesus guys, please look at the bigger picture.
The ‘self sustaining model’ is the blackhole that our funds are disappearing into.
Oh my. I am struggling here.
Re jj, he’s very calm these days 😉
Will, we have for the last five years, but nothing changes…..
youtu.be/NupDUzb97U8 Joey Barton’s History of Violence
Wenger is no longer among the cream of top managers.he has lost that winning mentality,he doesn’t have the fire in him anymore.he has also lost that ruthless streak top bosses have.look at rednose for example,Taibi made 2 high profile mistakes and he was out.Bebe was only given 1 season,obertan 2 seasons.how long have we persisted with the likes of Almunia?Arsene is done.
My ‘bigger picture’ see’s this:
Right now we have a squad that will struggle to keep up with the likes of Citeh, Chavs, Mancs, Dippers and even Spurs.
We are now on the verge of losing two players who were the play makers in the side last season when they played – albeit Nasri for half a season and Fabregas when he felt like it.
Should Wenger not get the players we need we could very well find ourselves out of the top four this coming season
Experience, quailty players all want to play in the CL, we are struggling to attract and keep players now, what will happen if we are not playing CL football??
My bigger picture see’s us being a Europa Cup side IF, we don’t sign what we need by Sept 1st…. Then we will lose RvP, Walcott, Sagna and all the great kids coming through may just want to jump ship too….
That saddens me…..
rsd, i don’t even want to watch the thug, he should have been kicked out of the game a long time ago…..
Who are the 3 clubs above us?
The problem with the bigger picture is that everytime we approach the ‘future’ it seems to move even further away.its like a movie ending whereby the camera zooms to the main character but he drives off and all we end up hearing is the car engine as he fades into the sunset.
Will,
There is no point in going down the rich club route yet again, we are not talking about spending their kind of money, we are talking about spending what we have and that is 60 million which is coming our way…
Now that 60 Million could change our season…..
Like finding the end of a rainbow right now Kt….
Jesus.
as clear a penalty as you will ever see? another mug of an anti-arsenal ref
How about this for the bigger picture:we bought nasri at 21,persisted with his subpar perfomances.now that he is coming good he wants to leave since we aren’t ambitious enough.arsene then replaces him with oxo/ryo who take time before finally delivering.that will cost us again and it won’t be long before seeds of doubt are planted in the likes of rvp.when they leave we throw more kids in there and by then oxo/ryo are top players who will not be happy with that and they leave.we start rebuilding again.thats the major flaw in arsene’s philosophy.top players want to play with top players and thats a fact.you always have to supplement youth with wise buys to develop a winning culture that can make it easier for a young player to transition and integrate into the first team easier.right now we are just a feeder club for the top dogs 🙁
How about, how much do we pay in upkeep and all wages for the club? And before you ask Rico, I don’t know but we just focus on the first team with the money we make, a lot of us forget there is the running and upkeep of the ENTIRE club to take into consideration.
I’m not sure it was zulu, even replays don’t suggest it was a certainty, but, the barton grabbing Gervinho should have been given but Walton had walked away and had his back to the game, that’s his major error, he should have been watching…
What’s happened to walking backwards….
Thats all most want to see Kt, no-one will moan at Arsene for buying youth and looking after the future but we are forgetting the present along the way….
Will, doesn’t ever club have similar expense??
Every club has to pay staff wages but maybe we could save a few million a year by reducing the salary paid to the manager who, if reports are to believed, earns more a year than the most successful manager in the PL….
if you watch the video rico youtube wont even show him
apparently we had a bid accepted for samba last night
you serious about Samba rsd???
I’ll have a watch in a bit then 😉
AfternoonGooners.
Couldn’t find a centre-half at the car-boot sale.
Samba eh Rico….. Calm down calm down…. 😆
SS’s are suggesting we are in for Dann and Cahill or Samba..
Now if that comes off, i’ll be bloody happier….
cahill heading to liverpool swap for ngog according to the rumour mill
rsd, how could you do that, you just give us good news then follwed by bad 😉
Hi Kev, i can’t 😛
We should offer Nik, he’s better than N’gog…. Well, Nik thinks he is 😉
Can someone explain to me, why Joel Campbell won’t get a work permit..?
Considering that Hernandez just got off of the plane from Mexico City and had one placed in his hand.
Does Red Nose not only have the EPL/FA in his pocket, but also the Home Office?
Cahill to Liverpool……………………….now i am serously pissed off.
These rumours, i hope they’re not off of NewsNow… 🙄
i don’t know kev, stinks doesn’t it, especially as he already plays for his country….
not a done deal kev, just rumour – if wenger wants him he needs to get in their, cahill wants to join us and want cl footie….
off to visit the patient, back in a bit….
Take care Rico… 😉
Barca had gone trophyless from 99-05.in that period though they had messi/iniesta/xavi impressing in the backdrop.they did not throw them in the deep end but instead they went for dinho/eto’o/deco who were experienced players that could cope with the pressure to end that drought.once they started winning they started to slowly integrate their youngsters.once they were ready the likes of dinho/deco/eto’o were let go to allow iniesta/messi/xavi a seamless transition without a drop in quality.this has ensured they breed in their best youngsters without having to compromise their ability to win trophies.thats what we should be doing.
KT, we were in a position to do that in 2004, but because of the new stadium and the Board’s desire to reduce the wage bill, Wenger had to get rid of the core of our experinced players.
He himself, isn’t blameless, afterall how can he justify letting Pires leave because Bobby wanted a 2 year deal, and then give that useless pile of shite Silvestre a 2 year contract.
But i still, and always will, blame The Board.
Remember, those wankers have ‘history’…
We have gone for 6 years without a trophy.the media and the fans are on our backs.that environment isn’t ideal to throw the youngsters in the deep end.not many can handle the pressure.for every jack/cesc there are hundreds of larssons and lupolis’.right now we are counting on ryo to deliver.the japanese media will put extra pressure on him forgetting that he was in high school only a year ago.if he isn’t strong enough mentally he will collapse under the pressure we are putting him into.
I know i can come across as very harsh towards arsene right now but its not like am enjoying it.its killing me inside because i love the club so much.it pains me to see us struggling.
Will, doesn’t ever club have similar expense??
And how many are challenging on all front like us year after year?
However Will, to me that’s not a badge of honour, it may be an argument in the pub but when they read the record books in a few years time , Arsenal will not feature as Champions.
http://www.gunnertalk.com/component/content/article/61-miscellaneous/831-get-him-booked-pardew
Potter, realise what Wenger is doing, it may take another manager to make you realise of what an amazing job he is doing.
Rumours are rife on twitter that we have agreed a fee for Jadson :(.he is shit!a denilson with a stepover 😉
depressing isnt it
i love all these fools thinking they know who is good and whos not,,,,leave the signings to the pros and cut the shit talk,,,,,,PS i love chesney
Well, I for one have not seen Jadson play 10 minutes live let alone a season so I will reserve on my judgement.
RSD, you think it’s depressing mate..?
Go on LG, and you’ll top yourself after half an hour on there!
Will, that Gunnertalk was very illuminating…
But we all know that the FA will steam into us again.
Meanwhile cnuts like Barton & Pardew walk away laughing.
Ask yourself, what have that pair of tossers ever brought to English football?????
I’ve seen jadson play and im just giving my opinion.he is even smaller than arshavin 🙁
How often and where KT?
Potter, realise what Wenger is doing, it may take another manager to make you realise of what an amazing job he is doing.
I have never called for his head , I believe that he has been hamstrung by a board more interested in lining their pockets than winning things on the pitch. However I wish if this is the case that he would walk away so that the cancer in the board room could be removed .By doing what he is doing he is helping them stay and rape ( financially ) the fans.
So Potter, you want to get rid of the only manager capable of keeping us in the top 4 so you can prove a point?
CL games,Europa league games and just recently in the copa america where he scored i think twice.
Then I bow down to your extensive knowledge of the player.
Looking ahead we’ll struggle for goals against shaktar with chamakh up front.id rather bendy played than him.
Udinese KT….?
Are you being sarcastic will?…everytime someone asks me about a player i’ll always give my opinion.from what i’ve seen he hasn’t impressed me.it may not be what you want to here but maybe arsene and his scouts have seen something i don’t.if he comes i hope am wrong but if im right it will just prove again that the board are lining up their pockets with the profit from the cash influx of cesc’s sale.
KT, what do you think of Marvin Marin???
Stoke 0-0 Chelsea…….. Crisis at the Bridge……?????
Doesn’t look as if Chelsea will finish in the Top Six….??? 🙂
A little KT and you have left yourself open to it. You have a set in stone opinion of a guy you have watched a few times on TV and the internet.
I am sure if we are after the guy, people from Arsenal have been to watch every game he has played in, taken detailed notes and watched every aspect of his game not just goals and assists.
i love marvin the martian
RSD, what is he like?
How much do you think he would cost??
I have not seen him play AK.
KT, I am not picking on you personally but I find it hard to believe that an opinion can be formed on any player by watching a few games of his on TV or the net.
I think we played pretty well yesterday and I can see the start of a new attacking style growing.
What about Andrew Ayew KT..?
Hope that’s right…
We’ll jush have to wait and see will.i hope am wrong in case he signs though.
hi all wherever you are. Yesterday I was livid that Barton didn’t get a red card as well, but I never thought of anything else about that incident, however, since then I heard some commentators talking about the possibility of a penalty as a result of Barton obstructing Gervinho while in play. Is there any interpretation of penalty law that justifies that assumption?
I have seen Ayew play albeit more for Ghana than Marseille.he is a decent player.id liken him to A.young.however i don’t think he is what we need at the moment.
No problem will 😉
Cheers KT
Hi Osi.
It was a penalty to Arsenal.
But are we suprised at the outcome???
I think we need a proper DM and a commanding CB and we are sorted.
Boo, afternoon all….
hello.. i promised to take olivia to feed the ducks today so i had to dash earlier..
will..
im not anti wenger.i admire the man, hes a legend, a visionary and a man of total principle..
hes done alot for the club and for that i’ll always regard him as the best..
but questions now have to be asked..whats going on??
u see the doubts have always been there, the board this, wenger that…the debates have rumbled on and on but its now clear that we are nothing but a feeder club..i’ll never slag him like you here on other sites but i wont support him going into this season if we lose cesc and nasri and gervinho and a handfull of babies are his answer..
the club has lost direction..no doubt about that and wenger has contributed more than anyone..its his team..he has to be held accountable, surely he cant think that after last year, this summers actions so far would be acceptbale..just listen to the fans..home and away..they aint happy..its not a handful of blogger kicking off on le grove,its the majority of the support..we aint far away as long as the right actions are taken but the club just seem to be happy to bank every penny they get and its no longer acceptable..and the more it goes on the further away we will be..
apart from jack that was our strongest squad yesterday..
not good enough when you consider the money we have at our disposal..
disgusting…
and someone at the club needs to explain why…
Ayew is a skilful left winger/midfielder, very hard working, great engine. Would do well in prem according to matt spior french journo €13 m buyout clause and wenger is interested
I agree someone has to explain why we are not going after more experienced players but to blame Wenger without knowing the inner secrets of the club is a tad silly.
And remember, unlike a couple of clubs, we have to pay all bills and pay them from the money we make. That means not only first squad wages but all ground upkeep and all staff wages. So yes, we make a lot but what percentage of that is taken up with the running costs of the club.
Remember, before silly money came into the league, we were always at the top and Wenger has never signed a top class, experienced player.
I read on here and other blogs that we need a new blah blah and we are missing players from that team but how many, Bergkamp apart (and he was considered a failure in Italy) top class “named” internationals has Wenger actually bought and how many of the stars of “that” side were unknowns that Wenger created into world class players?
AK thanks. I have to congratulate our defense yesterday especially Koscielny. Chamberlain on the bench, your thoughts?
For the away fans who are usually very vocal to sing ‘spend some f***ing money’ instead of ‘one arsene wenger’ you know the tide is well and truly turning.the pressure is on.
Will says:
“I agree someone has to explain why we are not going after more experienced players but to blame Wenger without knowing the inner secrets of the club is a tad silly. ”
I totally agree mate, some people think, write as they know the inner secrets of the clubs, the inner secrets of the transfers and other clubs. The most noisy people on the planet are the ignorant because they think they know all and they base their arguments on that false assumption while in reality they know nothing.
Problem is will that teams have got better at scouting these gems than all those years ago.and the ones we get normally join due to the wages we offer and the knowledge that their development will be well taken care of.once they are top players they leave us for even better wages that our wage cap doesn’t allow us to pay to keep them.its tit for tat.
I agree, Wenger’s success in finding the Vieira’s and Henry’s of this world made all other teams beef up their scouting so now we have to work very hard.
I also think the standard of football and players in all teams has gone down.
Where are the Henry’s, Bergkamp’s, Pires’, Vieira’s, Scholes’, Keane’s and Desailly’s in the premiership now?
Thats why we must spend the cash we have.its very difficult to unearth gems anymore.
And that is the question, after everything else is taken into consideration, how much do we actually have?
I think we have far to big a squad, we could lose 10 players quite easily and get the two, maybe three players we need.
I hate to admit it but the mancs should win the league very easily 🙁
jj
re your earlier, i honestly believe that most admire and respect wenger for what he has done in the past but what is happening now is turning fans…
As Keown said recently, his success is now his downfall…
Assuming bendtner and eboue sales are offset by the signings of jenkinson,gervinho and campbell,and oxo’s transfer by our transfer budget which i have no idea how much it is we should have at least £60mil from the expected sales of cesc/nasri.
ktr
it wasnt ‘spend some fucking money’ they were singing it was ‘wenger what are you doing’
money wasnt the issue..they are now telling him they ..
the home fans take the piss with all the boos but when the guys who have arsenal legends and cannons tattoed to their bodies, follow the team around europe, stand in all kinds of weathers and sing their hearts out for the team twice a month you know theres something not just a little wrong, but alot wrong, with whats happening..
will, of course theres running costs..thats what i beleive the self sustaining model is based on..our bank reserve is over a million quid, its a huge safety net, but we turn over 300mil regular..and even after costs and loans to the stadium we rake in 30-40mil a year..
check out the bank accounts, arsenal are a plc we have to publish our accounts, in 2010 we made 60mil net profit and that was after tax..
thats alot..and between the AST and the swiss ramble they had us about about 30-50 million in transfer kitty..
if we sell cesc and nasri we can rebuild this team in one summer..80-100mil to spend..that would get us 4-5 very good players
and it will be all our own money..self sustained money from our own pockets, so no breach of morales or fair play rules..so why are we acting like we are skint?? just for kicks??
Oh De Gea
ktr
if you read some of the other stuff i wrote on aclf, i said i didnt rate dea gea and i’ll be interested to see how manutd do with a dodgy keeper..
i can see a few blunders in this kid and manu wont find it easy
I love De Gea 😎
Let’s say we have after the sales, £80M. 3 players wages would be £15m so that would leave £65M for three players.
Did you know that De Gea conceded the most number of goals in la liga last season?:o…jj i did.
What pisses me off the most is the amount of people who slag our defence off. last season we have the 4th best defence in the league. Why is it that never gets mentioned?
why is gary neville on my tv? cock
I can see now we are on the same page will.3 quality players could make a big difference.
http://jacksfootballopinion.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/new-season-begins/
give it a read please 🙂
Lets hope De Gea has Taibi’s brilliance in his genes 😀
JJ, what is the rat faced one saying?
KT, I have always said we need players but we can’t do a Chelsea or Man City.
Let’s wait out August 31.
Whatever Wenegr said is all smoke and mirror to divert our attentiona way from the real negotiations that are conducted in secrecy.
By now, you all must realsied that it is always Wenger’s policy to give all his youngsters to break into senior team and he will wait out til Decemebr before he even contemplate buying.
Kos, Djourou, Miquel, Gibbs, Traore, WIlshere, Ramsey, Gervinho, Frimpong, Ryo, Oxalde-C, Lansbury, Walcott and even Benik are fighting for a palce in senior squad with Wenger challenging them to prove from August to Decemebr that it is not necessary for him to buy to strengthen the squad.
Look at Manu today.
The youngest squad ever with an average age of 22 year old??
Maybe Fergie will think about buying almunia??
😉
ktr
why didnt you say something?? lol
almunia mk2?? hahaha
will
we can defend..we are a good set of scrambling defenders on the floor we can intercept and everything but its the set pieces and the panic defending..
we have good defenders but we need another CB still to add depth..
id be thrilled with cahill/tv jd/koz for this season..
and while we are at it id go for another wingfoward..
cos i think rosicky is no more than a back up..arshvin should play behind rvp..id get mata or hazard to play left..
Thats what most of us want will.just sensible buying.id not like us to end like city who have 7 international strikers for half of whom won’t make the 25 man squad.
I have just seen that Taylor attempted 23 elbows yesterday :o…ramsey got dispossessed 4 times and turned over possession 6 times.Gervinho was dispossessed once.
sensible spending is all we ask…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2025700/Gary-Neville-Arsenal-fans-shouldnt-criticise-Arsene-Wenger.html?
jj
‘sensible spending is all we ask…’
Amen to that……
Will, Neville is a knob! Not for what he has said but he’s not to be taken seriously…… He hates Wenger and just think what he has said in the past….
hes probably saying that because hes enjoying whats happening..
I agree, a commanding CB would cut the set piece goals down a lot, meaning we let in even less.
I thought Rosicky played well yesterday and was doing a lot of the closing down in midfield.
Neville is a knob.he is probably enjoying every minute of our demise.
Thats how i think of him too, but in all honesty, the mancs in the second half have nowt to shout about either – DGea is nowhere near as good as our Chesney 🙂
Ha ha, have Man United bought another Almunia ?
Yes but it being Man Utd, watch the ref’s give him far more protection than any other keeper.
And I see OG has scored once more for Man Utd.
How the hell can the mancs be so damn lucky?:@
Given the positivity of yesterday’s post, isn’t it a bit too early to get depressed. Compare our performance with Liverpool, Chelsea and Man U. With the team we took to Newcastle I didn’t think the result was too disappointing and we never looked like losing. You could write a book criticising Wenger, but if our current problems are going forward that is surely one area we can trust Wenger to sort out.
Why is a Man U player always allowed to run around with a whistle ?
Is it a Sky TV thing ?
I think it was a great performance seeing all the crap that had been written about us.
Apparently Gilles Grimandi was today at the Marseille vs Auxerre match to scout Ayew.
So that is a scout at the Bolton game and one in France.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/13477
Worth a read…
Interesting read AK.
-Steve
You said the result wan’t too bad considering the team we brought to Newcastle, apart from adding Wilshire into the mix, that I am afraid is the best we have. That is our first choice team.
–
Just checked out André Ayew’s stats and as a striker, they are awful. Nikki B has better stats.
Does anyone else think JD would make a far better DM player than Song?
Just a point, no idea if someone has made it one here yet, Gervinho goes down (Never a penalty) and Barton grabs him by the scruff of the neck and drags him to his feet while play is still going on, isn’t that a foul in the box and a penalty in itself?
Paul, already said we should have had a penalty for the Barton grab.
I also think JD would make a top class DM.
Hi all again 😉
Will, now for once you and I agree 😉
With Song out, i think JD will be played in DM, especially if we sign a CH…
Sorry ESP, JD as DM was your comment 😉
-Will
Ah was’t sure if someone had brought it up, doesn’t it feel we are always on the wrong end of the decisions? Although every fan in the country would say the same.
JD really should be given the chance to play there, 6’4″, strong, good feet, can tackle and win a ball in the air. I can’t see a downside to playing him as a DM. Then we could go back to 4-4-2. We need that second striker in a big way. RVP is not an out and out striker, would have like to have seen Vela given a chance to play up with RVP.
If we play 4-4-2 I would like
Ches
Sagna Kos Tv Gibbs
JD
Theo Jack Gerv
Robin
Vela.
that is an interesting read kev..
but we wouldnt win that league either.. 😉
JJ we would get relegated in that super league 😉
Sagna to Tiny Totts….. 😆 😆
Arry is obviously in our Fantasy League 😉
Arry must surely be dreaming.maybe the signings he had lined up were arrested trashing london earlier this week 😉
Is it just me or does chamakh look like the big blue dude on Avatar?;)
Cesc on the 18.20 flight to Barcelona I am told. So around now
😆 Kt, although i shouldn’t laugh at such awful goings on…
rsd, they said he wasnt to arrive in spain until the RM v Barca game was over so its prob right….
I’d laugh if he failed a medical…. 😉
JD joined arsenal as a DM by trade.
Rsd we need that sitiuation sorted asap.and where did you hear about our samba bid being accepted?
-Will I agree with your team apart from Theo, would have Ryo miyaichi in instead of Walcott.
But we need 3-4 new signings before the end of the window, which won’t happen!
Can’t ever see a super league happening to be honest.
JD for DM (Then president)…
well airport staff said he was on the plane just now
Samba Samba Samba, is it true about our bid 🙂
a trusted source
Rico where are you seeing this??!
What ESP, Samba???
Blame rsd, he told us this morning….
Photo Cesc caught at the airport in London. http://t.co/ttaCGCV
A.Ayew on Canal plus just now “Arsenal is a big club, but i’am focused on what’s happening with l’OM right now. What will happen will happen.”
You would have a boy fresh out of school ahead of an experienced international that scares the hell out of defenders~?
Would love that bid for Samba to be true!
Goodbye Cesc, you got your move, and all it took was a season of sulking and faking injuries, at least you kept your dignity intact… oh wait..
Its odd that that photo of Cesc would emerge leaving when this photo of Nasri at Citys training ground also emerges.
http://tinyurl.com/3mgt2fm
-Will
I certainly would, he showed real quality in Holland last year, while Walcott has yet to produce anything worth talking about.
Holland is not the Premier league.
cesc and nasri are definately going
we have been negotiating both their sales all summer, even though wenger said he expected nobody to leave..
its just who comes in..
-Will
If Walcott was French people would have far less time for him than they do, and I never said the dutch league was the premier league.
Will, i don’t get your comment at 7.28??
Forget that Will, i just looked back, Ryo…
I’d rather Theo – played in the middle….
The stage is all yours now arsene
who would you get in jj??
The Ladies need two more wins and they win the first ever WSL – now that is some good news 🙂
i would get cahill and mata
Rafael out for 10 weeks,rio out for 6 weeks and vidic for the next few weeks…:o
hello theree!
I knew the score and I’ve watched the resume if the match…
Our team is weaker then last year…
without Cesc, Nasri, Bendtner, Eboue, Denilson… wilshere injuried and now Gervinho out, I’m not confidrnt in the early future…
Rico…….. HP….? 🙂
JJ, 8.04……. Give that man the job..!
Can I just say, until we do get new people in, let’s send positive vibes to the boys actually playing.
Anyone watching the El Classico tonight?
I’m sure that big ManUre fan Mike Riley will ensure that Ferguson has one of his favourite arse-kissing refs for the visit of Arsenal….
Whatever injuries the Mancs have, we’ll still be playing against 11 players and 4 officials….
A draw up there at OT, in the heart of those cheating bastards would constitute a minor miracle….
Am glad that we finally agree will.
im watching it ktr
i want to see if they uncover cesc after theyve lifted the cup
I just wish Gervinho was available for that trip.we also have to target De Gea with shots low and hard anywhere near the box.
No I am not watching.
http://goonerholic.com/?p=3921
Will……. This ones for you…..
And …. for Stevie P…
Love it.
And Wenger built the Emirates.
KEEP THE FAITH……
Sums up the media scum busy sewing discontent and division.
Everyone must be watching El Classico… or Dragon’s Den…
This is what I have been saying in my ham-fisted way. We keep feeding the rags the filth they send right back to us.
Gavin and Stacey for me Kev 😉
I am watching Burn Notice online.
Gavin & Stacey, i like it.
Dragon’s Den on here.
What’s that Will..?
the holics a good read..
i like his posts..
Kev, a tv show on mostly in the States.
Any sign of Cesc at El Classico?
Ok Will, has it been screened on terrestrial or satillite in the UK yet?
i want real to win..
Yes it is on FX but not the new series.
After the way Newcastle play us, would you want to sell them Nik B or not?
Yeah JJ, i’m watching it now.
Hope Real get ‘stuck-in’….
Kev, it’s tidy 😉
I’m off guys…
catch you tomorrow..
night all
Nik..? Only if they pay £15million. After all, they can afford it.
Then we’ve Oxonaldo for freemans, well, sort of.
Yacky dar Rico, goodnight boss. 😉
I am sot sure if I would sell him or not, I would sell them Deneilson though.
benzema looks good right now..
ozil 1 nil madrid..
Yeaaah, take that you Catalan wankers
I would love Benzema at Arsenal.
night rico..
No Denilson to Stoke…… 😉
I would not sell them my sweat Kev.
:)….. Yeah i’d love Benzema Will.
Benzema off RvP.
ok will
heres one for ya buddy..
we tell cesc and nasri to piss off..cesc goes with love, even though hes jumping ship…nasri can just plain fuck off..
nikki, eboue, almunia all gone too..
we buy cahill mata benzema
and our team next year
————-ches
sagna–cahill—-TV—-Gibbs
——-song——jack
—Gervinho–RVP—-Mata
———–Benzema
that team could change to 433 to 442 in the blink of an eye and not lose the fluidity..
u could get a 424 with that as well
Put JD in for Song and you are on.
i also think kadhira is a great player who i would have loved us to have signed..
u dont rate frimpong?
Why didn’t Wenger sign Alonso when he had the chance?
with jack diaby and potentially song out we might need JD for that position..
but i really think frimpongs a player..hes going to suprise a few of us i think..
I do rate Frimpong but I think he needs to be played in the right games this season to give experience so he knows how to handle the Barton’s of this world.
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/105880.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
kev….alonso..
what a player, wenger thought denilson ws the next alonso so probably didnt feel the need to spend the extra to get him
i hope these are the mistakes he has learned from..and the club act more agressive in the window to get the required player..so far though, not so good..which is why this is becoming frustrating..
Quality finish… 1-1
I understand that JJ.
But if Alonso had been signed, then Cesc wouldn’t be on a plane to Spain…
We lost Anelka and gained a top class training ground and Henry.
We lose Cesc and we gain?
Hope so Will.
Arsene needs to invest, and that’s how he should see it, an investment…
I’m offski.
See ya Will/JJ
Unless the board take it to pay off more debt.
Se eya later Kev.
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