Two friendly games into our Asian tour, one win against Malaysia 4-0 and a 1-1 draw against Hangzhou.
Its to early to judge whether we have a team that will compete in The Premier League next season aswell as the teams we have played have been a tad inferior to sides we will be up against next season.
The opposition has not been a true test for The Arsenal, but pre-season never is really is it?
Usually its nice to start with easy opposition or two, build up the confidence and leave doubts from the previous season behind but the memory of the end of last season will still not be erased easily and Arsene Wenger has to make that his top priority – turn the bad memories into something positive to take into this coming season.
Big test….
Wenger took some of our younger players with him to Asia – Ryo Miyaichi being one and whether that was in attempt to boost shirt sales in this part of the world while we build on our Asian Fan base I don’t know but I guess that will all unfold in the near future. A work permit stands in the way of next season at Arsenal for this young man.
Our new young defender Carl Jenkinson was also included in the travelling squad and featured in both games, he looks a promising prospect but I have my doubts whether he will feature in an Arsenal shirt for the coming season and the trend that Wenger has for loaning out youngsters may continue.
Theo Walcott has apparently discussed with Wenger his wish to play upfront but after watching a poor stream of the Hangzhou game he still appeared to be on the flank every time he picked the ball up and to be honest, the couple of chances that he had he should have buried. One was a side footed chance with only the keeper to beat but he rushed his effort which resulted in a bad miss, not even on target!
The other was a header which cleared the bar by several feet, I’m afraid if Theo carries on fluffing his lines like this he may not be the striker some of us have been waiting for and with the latest news that Wenger is negotiating for Anderlecht super kid Romelu Lukaku who Chelsea have also shown an interest in, suggests to me that Wenger may not believe that Theo will cut the mustard up front.
I must admit instinctive strikers must hit the target, you may only get one or two chances in a game and if you miss those chances the team could lose, so my advice to Theo would be to practice, practice makes perfect and if you want to be off the flank don’t miss when you get the chance.
Some of you may think I am being a bit hard on Theo but he is not a newcomer that has to feed in gently, he is now a regular and I expect him to be over his rushes of blood and bad misses. If you had a tradesman in your house and he performed a shoddy job would you have him back? Well at the moment Theo’s work is shoddy, he struggles to put in a decent cross he has played there for sometime now so how hard can it be?
Arsene Wenger – although I hold the man in great esteem, he has the habit of confusing me all the time, the links with forwards has started to worry me as I believe a team is built from the base up. I see major problems at the back and am wondering why he keeps looking at attacking players…
Defenders are the key to a successful season ahead for us and in my eyes with the limited funds available, the more we spend on other positions will reduce the amount we have to spend on shoring up our back line.
Defenders are what we need and that is who he should be looking at, two good defenders have been up for grabs for some time now and as far as I can tell Arsene Wenger has not been in touch with either of their clubs. Is the price putting our manager off or has he got his eye on cheaper versions?
At the moment Arsene Wenger and Arsenal seem more concerned with selling shirts to Asian Fans and building our fan base.
I will only be happy once our defensive needs have been addressed and new defenders have been signed.
Are you happy with how things are progressing, or am I panicking to early ???
Written by Steve Palmer
Morning, I will read this as soon as I get back from the gym.
Morning all, good read Steve…
We needed to go to Asia, it’s a money making venture which in time will hopefully give us more money to spend on players.
I’m having a bit of a worry too, just don’t understand why we haven’t got the defender in that we need, well, two now that the LB has a vacancy…
But, we still need a goal scorer, not have as much as we need a defender though….
Whether that goal scorer will be Theo or not remains to be seen, ok he missed a couple of chances but i still think he has it to play central….
Lmao, you expect Walcott to get a header on target every time, even RVP can’t do that so cut the kid some slack.
Wenger is more concerned about selling shirts to Asian fans? You’re joking right? He’s the one that’s always blocked these kind of tours, this is all stan (good thing too, if we want to compete financially)
We certainly need a new defender, although we could cope without one, but we shouldn’t need to cope, not when there are two obvious players we know we can sign, can afford and will improve us.
We also need more threat up front. When we dropped off the pace last season it was because we drew too many games. A bit more cut and thrust up front and things would have been very different for us. So you can see why we brought in gervinhio, and may still be looking at attacking options.
Morning Rico. We all like Theo. He is English. Very, very quick and on occasion, very dangerous. We want him to succeed. But, taking an objective view I must admit I remain unconvinced at what his best position is and just how good he is at making decisions. If he is going to play down the middle surely he needs a creative player behind him who can slide the ball into the right areas. If Cesc leaves perhaps Robin could play that withdrawn striker role played so beautifully by Dennis. Fact is, we don’t have a proper winger at the club and this probably dictates our shape. With a pitch as large as The Emirates and our obsession with playing down the middle, through packed defences I have wanted a winger for years to get us in behind. I am not sure Wenger likes that shape of play though.
Hi Jack, welcome….
I’m all for giving Theo time in the middle, for me he needs a few games before we see the best – he’ll take his chances, i’m pretty confident about that…
Just hope Wenger lets him play in his true position…
Morning Adam
I see Ramsey just slotting in naturally when cecs goes and i hope wenger spends the money we get for him – 40 million should be the amount and just think what that could do to our squad.
In an ideal world Cesc would stay, be happy and play his heart for us but those days are long gone….
Rumours about us being in talks for Ribery, not the first time this has done the rounds this summer…
But £22 Million for a 28 year old, bit of a crock, that’s crazy money imho….
Kinda agree with Rico. We really need a goal scorer. not just one but two or three. When Arsenal are glorious, we have 1 30 goal strikers and others have somewhere between 15 to 20 goals a season. Now we hardly have a players that can scores 20 goals a season.
RVP is the only players that can reach 30 goals per season now. But only if he stays fits. Others rarely hits 15 goals not to mention 20 goals.
Maybe that is how Arsene see it. Who knows.
I think it is ok to be a bit nervous but I am not sure I would go into full panic mode. A couple of things. Firstly Theo said that he is not a natural winger but a striker. He arrived as a young striker but has not played there in 5 years and he stated that he would need a number of games to become a regular effective clinical finisher. If we are making comparisons with Henry when he was moved up front is this unreasonable? Unfortunately this is not a good season to be experimenting with Theo and if he takes as long as TH this season to settle into the strikers role it could well be at the cost of points. I agree the defence needs sorting but we do need another proven finisher. Someone who has been leading the line for a while and preferably one that is experienced at a high level so can operate under pressure. I believe it is why he looked at Benzema.
Morning Steve, Rico, 🙂
Good Post Steve addressing matters that worry all Arsenal fans.
I saw the ‘Greens’ game in China on a surprisingly good HD connection courtesy of AFC. I agree with your comments regarding Theo, and you are right in that he really cannot even think of being our CF with such woeful finishing. (Sorry Rico, 🙂 )
Maybe in the next few pre-season games he will come good, as it is still early days.
Like you, I was concerned that after Arsene said, at the beginning of the summer, the defence needed strengthening because they were poor in set piece situations, but no transfer has yet transpired since.
Guess what? At the first set piece free kick not one of our defenders got anywhere near the ball and it resulted in a goal. Same old, same old?
But that was in the first half, with the Squid paired up with Djourou. Not a good combination. When Vermalen came on in the 2nd half the defence looked much better and although Kozzer still hares around a bit too much, I am growing to like his total commitment.
I suspect Arsene will buy another CB later in the transfer window, once the Fabregas transfer gets sorted, but with Kozzer, Djourou and most importantly Vermalen backed up with Kyle Bartley (who played extremely well for Glasgow Rangers last season), I amfairly comfortable with the central defence.
AW has said he will not be buying a left back, so Gibbs and Traore look pencilled in there. Traore, surprisingly to me, has played well in the 2 pre-season games to date. But what might be in AW’s mind is that if he bought (say) Cahill, he might want to play Thomas Vermalen at left back.
Interesting times! 🙂
Hi Mark,
Sdaly we can all assume that RvP will pick up his seasonal injury and like you say, we will then suffer – but, Theo can step up, it’s a long time since he has played where he’s best….
But, first we really need to sure up the defence…..
Browny, we need a big brute up front, a drogba kind of player that frightens the oppos defence….
That’s a bit hard on theo in my opinion.
He hasnt really been given enough time upfront to really showcase what he can do.
People who say theo hasnt improved are very short sited if you ask me,he has come on leaps and bounds and he really is a finsher,he’s added much more to he’s knock and run style.
Without the injury’s,theo would be a key player in the team in my opinion.
I don’t think he would struggle upfront either,
I always picture that goal against chelski in the carling cup final and how he moved and took it.
I think theo will be a 20 goal a season man.
Morning everyone by the way 🙂
Still need at least 2 defenders, preferably Samba & one other.
Also, we will hopefully have Vela back; if he just shows some consistency up front ( & of course AW plays him up front, not on the wing) he could easily become our 25 goal-a-season striker.
His composure at times is so similar to Eduardo in his prime, he just doesn’t do it often enough in the important games….
Rico where you hear about Ribery???
Morning Mr Is, there is a story on newsnow but that’s not the first site to run this…
oh sportsvibe,who are they 😆
Hi che grimandi, sorry for the delay, all first comments go into moderation..
I think a lot depends on what Wenger does with Bartley and Miquel – the latter i don’t think is ready for the PL and could do with a loan – he’s too slight…. If Bartley stays with the squad i think we’ll get one defender, if he goes on loan, i hope we get two….
god morning!
I will answer you later
che grimandi,i agree that Vela can be the man too bag some goals.For me thou he looks very good in games that we are flowing and everythinks nice.
But when the games gets a bit rugged and its not going our way,Vela goes missing for me.
They could very well have got it from the rumour site Mr Is, it’s on there too but i think that came after the sportsvibe post….
I maybe just speculation, i can’t see wenger spending 22 Million on an old crock can you??
Another blog writes a post about Nasri having signed for Citeh and it will be announced tomorrow – again, i’m sure that has little substance to it as whoever wrote it doesn’t say where the info comes from….
Morning JM, catch you later…
He bundled the goal in on Saturday though Mr is 😉 I’m not sure what next season holds for him to be honest, like you say, when the going gets tough he backs off…..
Might aswell go for three 😉
Afobe was taken out of the reserves squad last night and the international squad – he’s off to play FC Cologne at the weekend..
Not sure I agree with this new bumper deal reported to be offered to Nasri…..
I would love to have Ribery thou.Always thought he was a massive wasted talent in Germany.
But 22m,no way jose!!!
If Nasri dosent sign for us and goes city,it just shows what the man is all about and it comes down to one thing and that’s MONEY!!!
I’m really trying hard not to hate Nasri,but my patience is wearing thin right now.
Vela has the talent,but has he got it right now??
Ditto re Ribery, five years ago we should have got him.. I’d love it though if he joined this summer but for a lot lot less money…
See where you are coming from re Nasri, he’s staying very quiet these days…. I hope he isn’t allowed to walk for free next summer….
There’s no way we can afford to let Nasri go for free.We have to get as much money as possible and replace him as soon as possible.
No one will say we are a selling club if we replace him with the right player.
no need at at all for the apology rico.
For me Bartley & Miquel are indicative of Wenger’s major flaw….a) he has never really been able to buy good defenders. He inherited adams, bould, keown & was a little lucky to get Sol on a free; toure’s speed & fitness made up for his poor, poor positioning at times, and obviously i am a huge fan of vermaelen, but if you look at the majority of wenger flops…squilacci, stepanovs, cygan, senderos…all central defenders. This just goes to prove that b) Wenger is the world’s greatest at spotting & developing talent, i don’t think that can be disputed, however you (he) cannot do it with defenders. To compete for the title & especially in europe we have to have some expeience at the back, and unfortunatley for wenger, that means spending money as opposed to developing youth from within.
Have big hopes for afobe this season, but again, playing him with no experience sat in behind him is a massive risk.
****sorry, I meant frimpong not afobe……
I don’t think so Mr Is – i still think he could do with a loan, with a call back condition with it – a club that really need him and will play him each week – QPR, Norwich or similar….
Toatally agree re Wengers defensive signings, and Gallas as good as he once was in my opinion had had his best days before he came to us….
I think w’ll see rotation a lot again on saturday, i really hope Bartley plays though, he had such a great review from rangers staff and fans….
Bartley could be very good and is a more suited to the epl then miquel…I would have Bartley over squilacci any day of the week.
But wenger’s flaw has been the defence,he was told by keown to move toure into the CB role.The best thing he did was snatch Sol off the spuds.Sagna and lauren were also excellent buys.
But he does struggle at looking at defenders,Maybe someone at the club should help him out.
Qpr would be perfect for Vela….But i think Arsene has already told Carlos agent that he will stay with us this season??
I am not that sure we are as bad as people say in defence. As has been proved on here, most of our goals come from set pieces not open play so I don’t think there is too much wrong back there.
But, that said, we do miss an organiser at the back. Someone with a voice and someone who can deal with the air bombardments we suffer. I think with an organiser, someone bullying our players, telling them where to be, were to run etc etc, we will be fine there.
Also, while on the subject of defence, we need a strong, disciplined defensive midfielder who can sit in front of the defence and stop the quick breaks against us.
But, what we require most to stop other teams scoring against us is a more dymanic attacking style. We pass pass pass, letting the other team get everyone behind the ball and them allowing them to stiffle our attacks and either hit us with a quick ball over the top, scaring the shit out of the central defenders or, play for position like rugby teams and try to get a set play out of it (see Song fouling with a desperate lunge because everyone is forward tryng to pass the opposition to death). With a strong and proper DM, it won’t matter about the long ball over the top as the Dm will be there to challenge and the CB’s there to fall back and mop up.
Oh and a striker that can get in there and put the ball away from half chances.
I forgot Sagna and Lauren 😉
I always think more central defenders he has signed – most of which have been shocking…..
Bartley over Squlli in a hearbeat, I’d rather me play than Squilli and I’m rubbish 🙂
He has Mr Is, but where/when is he going to get a game?
Your not far off Rico on that one 😆
I was trying to think the same and i only come up with the carling cup???
I would say that Vela is our most natural finisher and should get a chance from the start.
But with Nb57 going and if he keeps walcott as a winger and dosent buy,then maybe he will??
Will
A ‘Tony Adams’ – that is what we miss …. Tv though is the only defender who fills me with confidence in our central defence…
over who Rvp??..It all depends on what formation we go with….Where in the 4-3-3 would he get in and where would he get in 4-4-2 with gervinho there now??
Mr Is, That’s all i see Vela playing in too but surely Wenger wouldn’t keep him just to play in that??
Rico he will be used as a sub or when we get injury’s.
Ahead of who though Will?
We get plenty of injuries so he should be used a lot then 😉
Joel Campbell is ‘considering’ Juve than….
I personally woould change our formation to 4-4-2 and start with RvP in the Bergkamp role.
Rico, you are right, we need an Adams type player, I believe that in defence, that kind of player and a proper DM is all we are missing.
I maybe would too will,ive always been a 4-4-2 man 🙂
Maybe play theo or gervinho off rvp??
Would be good to buy another striker thou,someone with a bit of bang bang about them.
Cahill could be that player and likes to lead.Good reader of the game and very good in the air.Ticks all boxes if you ask me.
Exactly Mr Is. Why get Theo and Vela and then stick them on the wing? It is like he is trying to recreate a new Henry but Henry was a freak, a one off.
Mr Is, I was not saying we should not buy Cahilll but we should not go mental and pay almost £20M for a pretty much unproven player.
Def need a DM Will and a out and out goal scorer…..
I think Cahill is that man, I still think he and samba would answer our defensive problems…
Don’t think we need both Rico.
I do Will, especially if we don’t get a LB…
Ok, even if we sell Squil.
That would leave TV, JD, Kos, Bartley, Miquel and then Cahill and Samba.
And I would really not want to see TV at LB.
I’d be happy with one,but doing cartwheels if we got the two 🙂
17m for a defender that ticks all the boxes to your problems is worth it in my opinon.Who thought rio5 was worth 30m???….no ones complaning about the price now are they?
Rodwell would be a great buy and would make Song have to up he’s game.Everton would go mad with the price thou.
I don’t want TV at LB but, we all know it will happen IF we don’t sign a LB, Gibbs cannot stay fit.
JD is another who can be injury prone, Kos I am not convinced about and Squilli is not good enough for us…
Beacuse of that, in my humble opinion, we need two CH’s….
Bartley is unteseted in the PL/CH etc and Miquel needs a season loan too, he’s behind Bartley in my own pecking order….
Tv was very good at left-back at Ajax and also played there for country…Would rather him a cb thou.Good cover when Gibbs is injured,because i dont rate traore as a defender at all.
But, I still hope Bartley stays, I hope he plays on Saturday so we can all see just how good or not he is….
Thing is Mr Is, Man Utd can afford to take risks, if Rio had not worked out, they would have sold him for a £15M loss and spent even more debt to get another one, we don’t have that luxuary.
Bartley should be tested however,whats the point of buying these youngsters if they never get a game thou??….That’s the thing,how does Arsenal get the balance right??
Some punk’s reporting that nasri has agreed to join city…don’t these flea brained journalist have something better to write about? Why do they always pick on us
At the moment, there is a big Man City love in.
What annoys me the most if the Man City fans who were slaughtering Man UTd for buying success are no so happpy they are doing the same.
The game is no longer about who is the better club and manager but who is the richest owner.
Will,
Where has all Arsenal’s money gone then,i dont buy this thing about not having money.
We also have super rich owners and if in need,why dont they put into transfers.
Ok, I agree with you that we have money but, if we were to buy both Samba and Cahill. How much would it cost including transfer fee and wages for the first year?
Gooonerstan,
It’s because Arsenal let a player like Nasri run down his contract and dont get him to sign.
Man city throw there money around and Nasri see’s pond signs…Money goes to money.
***pound signs***
I don’t rate Traore as a defender either, he is too offensive in his play…
Totally agree re Bartley, we all want a brit at the back, he’s got to stay and be given his chance, otherwise, what is the point, exactly….
I cant stand city either will,they are destroying the game right now.
The really are destroying the game and their fans see nothing wrong with it.
Hi stan, i saw that nasri story too….. got to be false…
Got to go out, back later.
Will, i dont think it would be that bad, both are on pretty average wages where they are…
What is Squlli earning?
What was Clichy earning?
what we save on those two would probably pay their wage….
Rico I know am gonna get slaughtered for this but who cares…..I rate traore more than clichy…when he runs into space u expect something to happen but with clichy u get frustrated each time. So glad he’s someone else’s problem now
Will there fans will love it,
Can you imagine going from players like swp,dunne,samaras,vassell and then going to players like tevez,silva,vieira,kompany and being linked to every player in the world.
Can you really blame the city fans??
When i think traore,i think of that nightmare night at the lane…Not gonna say anymore than that.
I’m sorry goonerstan,but i have to disagree with you.
Clichy was a much better defender than traore. 🙂
stan, i was just answering Wills question about how much would both Samba and Cahill cost us 😉
I don’t think it would be as much as some think and as for Clichy, I am also glad he has gone….
Going forward yes…defender no.
I can’t blame the Citeh fans, I can honestly say if we had one window in which we bought 3 or 4 marquee signings, i’d love it 😉
Give Bartley a new contract and play him as 4th choice CB ahead of the Squid, add Miquel and thats 6 CB and i font see our third and fourth choices worse than Cheatski or Manure. I would like him to buy a good Defensive midfielder though to cover for Song and then hopefully feed Frimpong in a less presured way.
So how do we resolve the set-peice defence problems V1066?
Hey MR who’s to say traore won’t turn out a better defender than clichy…clichy was shit until ashley(God bless his soul)cole left. It was also reported that ashley was almost on his way out before syvinho’s passport debacle…..I have high hopes for traore….he’s taller stronger and better going forward than clichy. Let’s give him all the support instead of beating him down.
stan – i’m not sure traore will be here come the new season…
I’m with Mr is, not sure defending is his best quality but his attacking play is far better than Clichy was ever imho..
Traore is a winger in another life, Wenger changed him – why i don’t know, his pace and quality crosses, he should be left as a winger..
But, only my own opinion 😉
I think that with Verm back and kosielny we have two good CB, i agree that we have an issue with set pieces and short of pavlovian conditioning (with the use of shock treatment) the team will have to work harder on being responsible. I dont believe that Cahill or Samba will play as first choice or that either can play DM so i dont see them helping.
So i am afraid the short answer to yor question is practice, practice practice again until they do it right, and even if we bring in players that will still have to happen.
v1066, if we were to sign Cahill, he’d be first choice imho
We are not learning though, how many seasons have we been hopeless on set-peices??
True but first choice or not if we dont learn then he wont help us will he?
Oh well rico….what are we to do? in wenger’s almost 16 years in arsenal I can’t remember him buying a left back so am afraid we are stuck with traore and gibbs and I for one won’t be complaining cause to me both are better than clichy and don’t forget the competition for a starting berth will make each player better unlike when it was clichy’s solely. Am at peace with the left back just the DM and CB for me thank you.
He will be the one to get his head on the end of the set-peices V1066
stan, if he stays and plays, i’ll be right behind him trust me…
Wenger bought Van Bronkhorst and Sylvinho, i’m just hoping he buys again, either Enrique or Baines…
And a CH and DM stan 😉
To get his head on the set pieces he has to be at the right place and without organisation which we obviously have been missing one man cant do a lot i am afraid. And it would be interesting to see how many of those set pieces there were when the CB was beaten to the ball rather than a midfielder of FB.
Not disagreeing that he is a good player but i dont believe in a silver bullet that fixes everything.
samba for me ticks all the box but we need an english spine in arsenal again….remember the days of bould adams keown…..oh to be a gooner.
it of a catch 22 v10, we need a strong defender and Cahill/samba fit the bill, they are both organisers so could sort out the underlying problem…
4 4 2. (assuming Fabragas leaves)
Theo striker, van Persie second striker.
Gervinho and Ribery on the wings.
If Theo can’t cut it after a few games, try Gervinho in the middle.
In the back, Verminator plus Samba or Cahill or some proven center back. Sagna on the right and I suppose take a gamble of Gibbs on the left.
But none of this will happen *sigh*
I reiterate my pledge to shave my head if we sign any defenders for more than 2 million this summer!
One thing i have been getting wrong in the last few weeks/months is Scott Sinclair, I thought he was still at the Chavs and didn’t realise his move to Swansea was permenant…. 😉
In fact I’ll up my pledge: if we sign more than 2 quality defenders (more than 5 million each), I’ll give myself a reverse Mohawk.
That should say 2 or more, not “more than 2”
Hi Doc, you’ll have to send me a before and after photo so if it all goes wrong, i can post it 🙂
I’d be happy with samba stan but happier with Cahill…. even happier with both 😉
Back in a bit….
Afternoon Doc,
a little bird told me that all your hair fell out when we lost to Birmingham… One minute we were looking at extra time and glory, next minute we suffered a collision in front of our own goal, Birmingham won the cup and your hair was all over the floor 😆
Heavens above, is that you MikeB? or a figment of my fervid imagination? 🙂
Hi everybody!
Cesc and Nasri are everywhere in the media news.
From eurosport.com:
What type of player should Arsenal sign as a prority ?
goalkeeper – 26%;
Forward/playmaker- 3%
Central back – 54%
Striker . 6%
Defense/Midfieid – 10%
the majority votes central back. So we have many but not enought…
And full backs? (clichy was must better then Traoré… it’s my opinion).
And if Cesc or Nasry leave, those numbers stay the same?
This window transfer was very long… did you remember Neuwer? Since then, no more one goalkeerper was talking… and I ask, do we need or not an other goalkeeper? More then a quarter said yes but no news in this way.
For me, in this moment, the squad is weaker then last season.
How yer doin RA?
Thought Man City must have bought you, along with every other able-bodied man in North London 😉
That is, those who didn’t immediately slash their wrists at the end of last season 😆
How’s life ?
our official site just confirmed that denilson has returned to sao paulo on a loan deal…….some good news i say….
AF,
The devil in me wants to say ‘not good news for Sao Paulo’ but he left with a great deal of dignity and some very mature words.
So good luck to him. I hope he becomes a seriously classy player and either comes back here or we make a fortune selling him.
JM,
re: the Clichy v Traore thing… I don’t think Traore has Clichy’s skill set in defence, but Clichy also made some serious howlers.
I’d settle for a slightly less technically gifted defender and not so many high-profile mistakes.
MikeB,
Life has had its up and downs over the past few months, health wise.
The last I heard of you was that you were spotted flying a book to warmer climes wearing your Biggles outfit. Where are you? And have you written a masterpiece yet? 🙂
I’m keeping this blog going all by myself 😆
Perhaps I should post incognito, so nobody knows who I am… call myself Shoes or something like that 😉
RA,
it’s all about edits mate… takes 8 months to write the f*****g things and four years to edit them.
Still, no pain no gain… I’m told that’s what they say in rejection slip land 😉
Hope the health thing’s not too serious.
hope denilson…somehow plays well there and come as a completely different player……
the next one going should be nik b and if he goes on loan goes to everton for eg and scores 15-20 goals…he certainly deserves a place in the team…..
Evening all,
Whats accuring, my defenders come yet.
That sounds really great MikeB. What is the subject matter of the book?
Send me a copy and I will proof read it for you, with my eyes closed, obviously, so that I don’t pinch any of your material! 🙂
Sorry RA,
Still here, getting blown away in Daphne du Maurier country…
Given Spain’s forthcoming financial meltdown, I should be able to buy a villa for a packet of crisps by the time I get there 😆
stevepalmer1, are you one and the same as the famous Steve Palmer as what wrote the excellent Post? 🙂
RA,
The new one’s early Cold War… I’ll send you a First Edition… just don’t hold your breath 😉
Be careful MikeB, if Spain has a conflagration and goes into meltdown, it might be you who ends up like a crisp. 🙂
Daphne Du Maurier country is a fabulously wild and beautiful part of the coast. Best stay there!!
My cousins in Spain are trying to entice me to join them there, still, but I figure on going back to the States later this year for a sabbatical, once I feel a bit better.
i am indeed RA how you doing
MB,
With your skills, as I remember from your excellent Posts many months ago, I have no doubts that you will be successful.
Just stick with it, and be patient! 🙂
Got to go. It’s been really nice catching up with you after all this time. I really missed our conflabs, on Avenell and HH, after you disappeared (to write your book?).
Hope to see you around, again, soon. 🙂
See you RA…
I’ve been writing novels for yonks… I stopped writing on here because HH got so many complaints about my polarised opinions 😉
Also they’ve got SP and he seems to know his way around a keyboard.
Keep us posted won’t you.
Have a good one
Hi Steve, 🙂
I am better than I have been for some time, thanks. 🙂
Your Posts are always nicely structured and well worth reading and I enjoy popping on to HH to see how you are all doing! Keep it up.
Sorry I cannot stay, hope to catch you again soon. 🙂
Think its time Cesc left all this fuss aint helping us tbh
Keep well mate.
Steve nice post hope your all well
Aftenoon guys and gals….
Mr islington says:
July 20, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Will there fans will love it,
Can you imagine going from players like swp,dunne,samaras,vassell and then going to players like tevez,silva,vieira,kompany and being linked to every player in the world.
Can you really blame the city fans??
Yes when the very same fans were slaughtering Man Utd and Chelsea for buying success and ruining football.
I like Gervinho’s attitude,
‘We don’t need Fabregs and Nasri to win things’…
Well, he has a point, we didn’t win things with them so if they go and we win a trophy – he’s spot on…… 😉 😉
Got to be honest with you Eric the saga has gone on long enough, i would like Cesc to actually come out and say I dont want to be here, as all i keep reading is how unhappy he is here, anybody that is that unhappy only has to say and i think supporters would say Cesc you have been a good servant and good luck to you, i would be sorry to see him go but thats life.
Totally agree Rico time we have players that want to stay and give their all
Spot on Steve
I don’t begrudge him going…. for the right price…
Tevez £50 Million
Fabregas should be £50 Million….
Personally speaking, i get the impression that all the talk from the managment about there being funds available is on the assumption that Cesc goes, I hope i am wrong, but when Cesc eventually packs his bags, i may just get the defenders i have been asking for
Thanks Eric, yeh getting by you know how it is.
Steve agree with you, but our club has been disrespect for far too long and the captain who represents the club has yet to say anything, even if he stays I don’t think he should remain captain think its time we drew a clear line and please Aw let Nasri go and go get hazard
Yes geronimo is talking the talk now he just has to walk the walk. but he does sound keen, i like that but not to much, unless he can walk the walk
In my opinion Cesc got the armband to give him a rise so he would stay, personally i never saw him as a captain, but having said that he did a pretty good job, he didnt win anything unless you count The Emirates cup, but for me i would like to see it go to a defender, a big tough sturdy defender somone that knows how to play and organise and we dont have one , so get Cesc’s money and lets buy one.
Hi Erick,
I can’t see him staying under any circumstances if i’m honest, too much has gone on now and maybe that is why we are finally willing to talk to Barca? If by any bizzare chance he does, no way should he be captain….
I like Gervinho already, he wants to be here, he wants to play for arsenal and as i said before if he does on the pitch they way he talks, he’s going to soon be a fans favourite….
Gervinho tbh never seen him play so I will have to wait and see
Made me laugh when i heard that Modric was made captain of spurs, Arry copying old Ebenezer Wenger 😉
I agree, Cesc should come out and say he wants to leave. I would have no issue with that but he would lose money.
I heard it on talk shite this morning and i must admit i had a chuckle
Am good Rico thank you, hope all is well. Am honestly tired of the cesc stuff wake me up when he is on the barca bench same for Nasri we deserve better and the notion that he goes for free is totally stupid
Good point that Will, but if he’s that unhappy and he wants to go home, he must have made a few quid by now.
Ha ha ha poor old ‘arry he want to a loan deal for Ademoney more reasons to hate him
All good with me too thanks Erick 🙂
I know i’ll get slated but, Nasri and Fabregas can go, we don’t need or want players who don’t want to be with us regardless of the reason…
20 million for nasri
40 million for fabregas
IF Wenger gets that money AND he uses it to strengthen our squad, we will be a far better TEAM next season…..
Rico, going on today’s news.
Tevez = £50M
Fabregas = £50M.
What makes me smile is if both Cesc and Nas PO and we win the league next season i hope they don’t want to come back to win trophies
Steve – i think we have a certain amount of funds regardless of any sales – and Clichy has paid for Gervinho..
He probably had between £20-30,000 before we started selling and Nik, Almunia are still to find clubs and if we believe what we read, Eboue is off too….
Wenger could have some serious money to play with….
Will,
That’s exactly what i posted earlier @ 5.15 about tevez and fabregas but i suggest 40 million as that is what is supposed to have been the price given to barca.
Rico I agree with you 60mil can get us a defender and two dangerous attacking midfielder and Aw can keep the change he he
Look lets face it we wont get 50mill for him, in fact after his season with us would you pay that, and we moan about paying 20 mill for a defender that will probably win us the league, what a sorry bunch we are.
Steve 😆
Long runs, short piers spring to mind…..
Erick
I’d rather, defender, defensive midfielder and a goal scorer 😉
We have the dangerous attacking midfielders in Aaron and Jack 🙂
Will barca can’t put their money where their mouth is so 40mil it is..and we can let Cesc live his bench dream
If it was the boot on the other foot and Cesc and Nas wasin one anothers positions i would grant Cesc a free move as he has certainly done his bit for us, but Nas he’s done bugger all yet
In teh last 20 games of last season, Nasri scored 1 goal.
Rico I don’t care who we get as long as we get players with heart and who know what playing for us means
chelsea have just bid for lukaku……..
Makes you wonder if nas had asked for a rise prior to those last twenty games Will.
Will thats why I say Nas is not worth going for free cash in asap and let city get that inconsistent player
suggestion yesterday was the deal could be 20 million and David Villa….
Free Steve, free – no one can go for free 😉
He isn’t worth losing for nothing free Will and i don’t care where he goes either
I didn’t say he was, I was just surprised by that stat.
AF – just read that too – could be interesting…
If he wants to play footie, he won’t get that at the chavs ….
Exactly Erick, exactly – we all have our wish list but i’m with you, as long as they want to be at arsenal and the way they play shows that, we’ll all be happy….
But no more french or spanish 😉
German would be good 😛
I’m wondering if Wenger keeps letting out little bits of info about who he’s after just so the other clubs buy them so when his ready to make his move for our back line the others would have done their dough
I didn’t say you did Will, just saying that afc cannot afford to let him go for nothing next summer…
Sneaky Steve, like your way of thinking…. 😉
ya rico…
german anyone interested in mario goetze or hummels……
Perhaps i was thinking with my heart instead of my head, as you say, nothings free in this world.
Sounds like somthing you eat AF
Reports on twitter say that guys at the Arsenal store have been told not to print Cesc’s replica jersey he is offey he is off
Apparently its bull bt lets wait n see
AF, don’t know much about them, what position do they play??
Steve, no emotion in sport 😉
I bet there is some truth in that Erick….
I’ll remember that next time you say they should only wear the shirt if they love the club and what Arsenal stand for, Rico
I think i have always said that Steve….
Gdnt guys am off for the day 🙂
Nte Eric
So, anything going on?
Night Erick – i was having my dinner 😉
I just can’t stand that fugly faced turd nasri….I want him gone..
That was random Stan.
:P: stan…
http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2011/07/hastings-0-9-arsenal-jet-shines-in-rout/?
I’m heading off for the day guys/gals – catch up tomorrow….
Have a good one and thanks again Steve for todays post….
Nighty all….
Morning guys.
Morning Will…
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