TV And Now We Wait…
“Oi, Blatter, it’s our ball and we’re going home!” might well be the cry of a thousand club managers as World Cup issues are clarified and muddied in one fell swoop.
The most pressing issue for Arsene will be the expected walking wounded with Aaron Ramsey’s back not knacked enough to stop him playing yesterday and scoring to boot. Not to be outdone, Andrey Arshavin found the net for his country as well. Results are such that Eduardo and Rosicky are going to have a nice restful summer, perhaps even popping over to Tommy V’s to lob a few prawns on the barbie. Quite what Ken will say about that is another matter.
Which is a cue to praise the Belgian once more. Player of the Month twice so far this season highlights his form and how much his efforts are appreciated by those less talented, i.e. us. Cesc joined in the chorus:
He’s been doing so well. It’s difficult in this position, especially from centre back because you will always be compared to some other players, or if you know that your defence is one of your weaknesses then you have to do even better to be loved by the people, and I think the fans clicked straight away with him since his first game.
Scoring a goal helps but proving to an impressive barrier to the opposition attack is probably what swings it. Whether he has revitalised William Gallas is open to debate but without doubt Vermaelen has contributed to the Frenchman rediscovering his form. The pair have been a marked improvement on Gallas and Toure last season.
Equally, Vermaelen is invaluable for goals. Wenger highlighted the advantage of not having a recognised ‘number 9‘ in the traditional sense, in that goals are coming from everywhere. Being joint top goalscorer is way ahead of any expectations that anyone would have had for Vermaelen.
Perhaps it is the manner of the goals which has been most stunning, his technique in striking the ball puts a fair number of midfielders and attackers to shame. The willingness to go forward at any given opportunity adds a different dimension to attacks but his speed of recovery, as evidenced at Celtic, is phenomenal. As Cesc observed:
These days, to have a centre back that can play, you know, these balls on the ground, between the lines, and past players, for players like me in midfield it’s really good because it gives you so much time and so much space on the ball. It’s really good.
A final thought is Vermaelen’s abilities as a leader. Captain of Ajax and Belgium gives a fairly good indication that he is not going to fall short if Arsene requires him to fill the role at Arsenal. Maybe even arrange an arm wrestling contest with Cesc, the winner getting the armband. Fabregas may be worried about the outcome but he is not showing it:
I don’t think he needs any advice. I am sure he is a very strong guy with a strong mentality.
’til Tomorrow.
Posted on October 15, 2009, in Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Premiership, Soccer and tagged Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Soccer, Thomas Vermaelen. Bookmark the permalink. 100 Comments.
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podium
bam!!!
Shit…smoletar..you thief!!!Today was my day to take the pole
Whatever..grrrrr!!!
With Vermaelen and Gallas marauding in the opponent’s box like they like to do, I would suspect that as a defensive pairing, they’ll accumulate the most amount of goals this season. They’re both also good on set pieces and have the nous to sniff a goal.
The Verminator has been a joy to watch especially with his ability to play the ball out of defense. You can also see his skills as a general in the field in the way he takes control and organizes the back four.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he is appointed Vice-captain of Arsenal very soon. What impresses me the most is his ice cold temperment. I suspect that once his reputation has been stamped authoritatively as a no nonsense defender, very few strikers would want to see the whites of his eyes, let alone meet him in the wrong side of a dark alley down Holloway road.
Darius you and Arseblog summed TV perfectly….
Birmingham won’t be easy.
I doubt we’ll be able to steamroller them.
Fingers crossed that Cesc has another good day.
Alan. No game is easy, but it says a lot about our mental attitude if we’re not confident at home against a team like Birmingham.
The minute them punks get off their team bus they should be shaking in their boots wondering what the hell they’ve got themselves into.
We have far superior technical players even if we fielded our Carling cup team and we should approach the match with that mental strength. A touch of arrogance from us won’t go a miss – and the most important thing is to be disciplined, avoid complaicency and be professional in dispatching a team that we are expected to dispatch.
Firstlady, my next Arsenal shirt is Verminator 5.
Great article today. Vermaelen for signing of the season! Love the way he’s able to balance going forward and staying behind at the right times such that he’s rarely caught too far out. And that left foot! “gasp”
I do get worried when I see him and Gallas BOTH darting around in the penalty box at the same time.
hey, im new on this blog, i have to say YW, that you have done a nice job on this site
TV, i call him tommy Vee or the venom, has been a revelation this season, he strike against wigan was a cultured left foot really.
ill like to see him and sendo play this weekend or against AZ. i reckon they would fit, TV would guide him and i still believe senderos can be a hit
It throws up an interesting aside all this talk, this nonsense that we have no leaders on the pitch…TV captains Belgium, Arshavin and Rosicky are both national skippers and Gallas regularly gets the armband for France, not to mention Denilson captaining Brazil at every level and a couple of the other youngsters have, I am sure, for their respective age groups/ nations…maybe the problem is too many leaders?!!!
Any news on Clichy, heard Wenger was a bit grumpy he didn’t get subbed though blatantly injured…
One more thing – we need to give Merida, Vela and Ramsey some game time, EPL, CL, whatever, more frequently…they are far too good to be sat in our reserves and we will loose them…which would be a shame as they will all be worldclass…
Cant wait for the Brums!!
Jeff-
Sendoros scored twice last week so maybe he is enjoying training with Venom.
Passenal-
No, sorry no highlights. Just goals from 101. As usual, we’ll hear the reports that Song was amazing for Cameroon, and then listen to people claim he isn’t good enough for Arsenal. And as usual, he shall prove them wrong when he plays on Saturday. Venom’s success in settling down so well has been helped alot by Song’s performances this season, Song and Diaby did a great impersonation of the older two DM formations of AW’s sides against the Walrus Men. Shame Denilson is out but it gives Diaby the chance for that run of games. The scary thing is Song is still getting better with every game!
Nice post again YW.
Darius –
There’s no doubting Vermy’s influence – he really does look like a superb addition providing more discipline in defense and a great attacking option at set plays – two things we’ve been really lacking in. (And to think that we made a nice profit in the swapout is unreal..!!) I also think Rosicky’s come back has made such a difference too though. The lad is super talented and really provides us with that slickness and simplicity in our passing game that been missing. I really hope Theo / Vela / Wilshire and co learn from him – he really is mercurial in his distribution and yet also does the donkey work in tracking back. I think Cesc really Flourishes when Tom is beside him.
How do you think the January transfer market will go? Do you think we need the strengthen?
Tru dat Andy B. We need to keep as many of our youngsters as possible at the club for the long term if the youth policy is going to really bear fruit…But can we really afford to play them in the big competitions now so that they might win those competitions next season or the one after?
The thing about always planning for the future like that is there’s always more future to plan for. When does a group of youngsters who’ve been brought through together become the ‘finished article’? Or are they always just standing in the way of the next generation?
Joe. Wenger’s M.O shows that he likes a signing or two in January. I’m sure he’ll sign someone, but it’s fruitless trying to guess who. The only time Wenger has signed 3 players in one transfer window is January 2006 when he went for Theo, Diaby and that lanky “Beyonce” admirer. I don’t see that happening again though, and it’s likely to be one or two at most.
I would suggest that they will have to be exceptionally good players, enough to add value to the team and be worth the purchase in terms of stifling the growth of the current young guns. The last few signings give you an idea of the impact the players have had particularly Arshavin, Vermaelen and Nasri.
I doubt if he will sign a defensive midfielder unless one miraculously appears from planet Footi, as by not signing anyone so far, he has blatantly suggested that no one out there is better than Alex Song. During the ACN, I suspect he will be playing a central midfield combination of Cesc, Nasri, Denilson and Diaby (rotating them depending on opposition) and the time between now and January will be used to familiarize them with dealing with Song’s absence. Remember also, Rosicky can fall back into central midfield and he is actually one of the best midfield maestro’s you’ll ever find. An experienced customer who totally earned his “Little Mozart” nickname. If Rosicky had to as he has done on many occasions, he wouldn’t be averse to chipping in at DM, and he will take to it like water off a ducks back.
Speaking of which, just this past summer, the world of punditry and fickle Arsenal supporters were screaming for a world class DM because Song was viewed as “not good enough yet” and now everyone seems to be worried about how bad he will be missed during the ACN. What a remarkable improvement. I think Song will easily be declared the best DM in the world within a couple of years.
i dont think we need to buy in january, the squad is strong enough. we have the strongest attacking unit in the world. gallas and TV are relaiable. song and dennilson have also become dependable players
people keep on talking bout that we need a new DM and CB to back up.
We play to DM’s , thats song and dennilson. But there is also Diaby who i like and Nasri can do a decent job there also , ramsey could try and couguelin(i cant spell his name) is also decent
As for CB, theres sendo and johan djoru, even if i think silvestre is shit we dont need any back up….trust
wenger knows this and he wont waste money buyin in january. im sick and tired of fans trying to tell wenger what to do, his is the fucking manager not us…
something special would happen this season, im sure of it
Hi guys, more news on the Mess!
http://arsenalteranga.blogspot.com/2009/10/arsene-wenger-keen-on-messi-plus.html
Agreed Jeff.. like Song says he, Denilson and Diaby can all play in the DM position, as for other roles which apparently need cover in January, I’m struggling to see them..
Francis Coquelin. Not to be confused with Douglas Coughlin, Logical Negativist. Flourished in the last part of the 20th Century. Propounded a set of laws the world generally ignores, to its detriment.
Coquelin’s Law: Never show suprise, never lose your cool.
there is nothin better than wacthin arsenal attack. against olympiakos and blackburn(after scores were 1-1), our attack was so out of this world its was like we were worrioirs , attacked as a unit, as a force , we showed olympiakos that were were the real spartans( aho ahoo ahooo)
i used to love watching pires and ljunberg down the flanks, after that i started liking the rosicky and hleb movement on the wings but now i cant express my love for arshavin and rosicky with fabregas behind them. just wait till everybody is fit.
Eto’o, messi, henry, xavi and iniesta was a real force last season.
this season, the force would be AA, RVP, rosicky, fab and nasri…….dont forget dudu, wilshere, vela, walcott, bendtner, ramsey, merida…and they said we dont have depth. oh to be a gooner
Great quality videos KS. Shame about the Coldplay.
I love Eboue.
Bugger. These international games have caused my ardour to wilt.
All managers plan for the future its just that with the current Arsenal model the future (with outside additions) is there for all to see.
The great thing with the Arsenal academy is that it is working hand in hand with a firm financial footing and great scouting network allowing us to purchase players of great quality, if and when they are needed.
There are other clubs which appear to consistently produce fine players but they do not appear to have good enough overall management to be able to identify when they need to spend money on players or to sell players. Thus their overall performance has declined.
At present the only major European club that appears to be also getting this balance correct is Barcelona.
Fucking FIFA are doing there fucking utmost to fuck football up.
Jeff thank you. We need more like you to shut the know-it-alls up.
Limpar do u mean coldplay the band?what’s up with them?
These bastard WC European Zone playoffs mean that there is another fucking gap in league games between 7th Nov and 21st Nov.
…during that time England will be playing in Brazil. We are in the middle of the most interesting EPL season for many a year and just as we get started it all fucking stops.
This is fucking hilarious…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepp_Blatter
Coldplay are like the Wayne Bridge of music. They probably make ok company and on the whole they’re pretty much harmless. They are also inexplicably overrated, overpriced and overhyped.
They are frustratingly middle of the road, unadventurous, mild, fluffy and beige. They are a meek and embarrassed smile on the face of mediocrity.
But it’s all just a matter of opinion, you know…
They are also lead by an ‘upper-class twat’, according to my son.
“inexplicably overrated, overpriced and overhyped. ”
The same could be said of all pop music. It also sounds a lot like man utd.
Frank, The bloke is a perpetual criminal, how the fuck he gets away with it again and again and again is (almost) laughable.
Perhaps its the mighty honours bestowed on him; The legendary Moroccon Order of Ouissam Alaouite and of course the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun.
I wonder if the latter was bestowed to him during the build up to Japan’s successful campaign to bid the world cup.
Perhaps England should honour him with an award during their bid, I am sure it would be presented in a low key ceremony and would involve a very large brown paper bag.
yeah Kingsalami.. Old Batter should be knighted as part of England’s 2018 campaign..
I think the Order of the Garter would be appropriate.
typo there – think it’s Order of the Rising Sum.
No, actually it’s “sun”.
Er, moving on. Initial injury news seems OK, doesn’t it? At the moment the problems don’t seem any worse than what we’d expect over a normal two week period in the middle of the season.
Excellent
Good lord, I have just discovered that male Ice Hockey players wear suspenders (garter belts). You never can tell just by looking at people, can you….
The only positive in a prospective Kroenke takeover is that he’ll get a chance to buy out the jolly (fat) Mr. Usmanov.
It’s funny – when you call an activity “—- on ice”, it makes it sound a bit naff and campy.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=on%20ice&lr=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
I think garter belts go together quite well with “Hockey on Ice”.
KS,
Great videos, thank you. I actually got quite emotional about the Eboue clip.
I love Arsenal so much, sometimes I do not realise how much.
God, sound like a wet blanket don’t I?
This shows how much talent the Gunners really have on their squad. Now its back to the EPL season. http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
I agree with Bobby Gee
No use brown-nosing, bobby.
I think that Kroenke will buy the club and put it in a trust for the supporters…as a gift. Convinced of it.
When Kroenke has the club in his grasp, he will hold a press conference, at which he will whip off his moustache and then he will remove his wig to reveal a shock of silver hair, he will pop out his contact lens to reveal dark-brown eyes, and lastly he will use a wet wipe to wipe his face to reveal a rich orange colouring…..and there in front of our very eyes we will see David Dein.
Dirk Scheringa the owner and chairman of AZ has just gone bust. His bank is in receivership.
Joan Laporta is a lawyer I think. I wonder if it possible that her legal practice will go down the tubes for malpractice.
I feel a sting coming on.
Hope you’re right Frank.
Kronke does like to own sports franchises.
Forgetting about “Arsenalisation”, how would people feel about the “Americanisation” of AFC.
I don’t even know what Americanisation means. America is a big place and quite varied. But I do know that if Ashburton Grove ends up anything like Lords, I’ll have to eat my AFC beanie.
Don’t know what the link is between Lords and Kronke is, but if you throw Comedy Stanford into the mix I’m sure it’d be possible.
Stanford, now there was a sign of things to come if there ever was one. A giant intense flashing neon alarm signal. Says on the BBC that Birmingham FC, owned by ? now have £40M to, er, invest in the club, not weird, inflated agents fees or anything like that.
How I wish we had some scaly Caymans with their jaws locked into our club… the Caiman croc’s preferred method of hunting is to drown it’s prey first, and devour it later, at leisure, I think.
“I do get worried when I see him and Gallas BOTH darting around in the penalty box at the same time” – Ghoulfest
I feel the opposite way…I worry when Clichy and Sagna canter up too far up but TV and Gallas have a knack for timing their foray upfield properly. My only concern with Gallas is the offside rule, especially late in tight games when the forward line is fighting for a goal. Other than that, they’ve shown that they read the game very well.
And I bet this aspect must seem frightening to opposing managers. You might be able to stop our forward line from playing but then as soon as you think everything’s under control, up comes Vermaelan with Gallas in tow and maybe Mannone trailing the line..
Arsenal at full flow…its like trying to stuff a dozen kittens into a box.
or I rather like Arseblogs remark about how Arsene’s 0-7-3 formation.
.
sorry, one last one:
“…during that time England will be playing in Brazil. We are in the middle of the most interesting EPL season for many a year and just as we get started it all fucking stops.”
I don’t understand why FIFA has to have the Confederations Cup…If it wasn’t for that, maybe qualifications would’ve wrapped up much much sooner. Instead, players will still be flying about through Winter.
This hurts the top clubs more than stuff like Citeh and Sp*rs and will have some sort of adverse impact come February and March…especially for Arsenal given that we seem to lose around 20 players every break.
We seem to have pulled through without too many injuries this time around. Anyone know what happened with Cesc and his grandad? Hope Ramsey’s ok as well.
I have never understood the attraction of taxidermy
Taxidermy captures the true beauty of nature. I’ve a stunning 5ft black bear in my downstairs toilet.
Very nice videos KS, especially Eboue’s.
It would be a lot more fun if you had a stunned 5ft black bear in your downstairs toilet.
Yogi’s
“Scoring a goal helps but proving to an impressive barrier to the opposition attack is probably what swings it. Whether he has revitalised William Gallas is open to debate but without doubt Vermaelen has contributed to the Frenchman rediscovering his form. The pair have been a marked improvement on Gallas and Toure last season.”
I think we somehow miss the fact that Wenger said Gallas prefers to play on the right side of CB, I think this was part of the problem he had with Toure since he also preferred the right side of CB. Tommy V’s natural “sweet” left foot helped resolving this issue which would’ve continued if Toure stayed with us.
That should not take away any credit from Gallas’ performances since his captaincy & media debacles. He went quiet and let his performances do the talking….Long may it continues.
Gallas played well for most of last season, and I think it is unfair to attribute his continuing good performances to the influence of Vermaelen. Vermaelen’s claims to esteem are so great that he needs not to be given the esteem that rightfully belongs to others.
These Messi rumors are awful…not only because they’re silly but also because they get me all giddy and giggly wishing they were true. Bastards!
I agree with Poliziano, TV has his own esteem….and neither of them should let off any esteem.
Yesterday I was watching France playing and I thanked God about 493 times that we didn’t buy Malouda….and then that reminded me to thank God another 702 times more that we didn’t buy Babel either.
Both players were linked with us but thank God 1069 times that we have Wenger to weed out the flakes.
You a girl, axis?
GFE, they were that bad, huh?
Just curius though. When we hear on the news that players are linked with us, who actually does the linking. Is it a hack sitting down the pub in the afternoon thinking of his next piece and going – “you know what? A Titus Bramble story to Arsenal can do the trick here”….
But seriously, agents in particular need to be taken out back and shot. Most rumours originate from agents who are looking to prostitute their player clients to all manner of clubs just to get a better contract for the player with the current club – and of course, a bumper commission for themselves.
Clichy is out for Saturday and probably for the trip to Alkmaar. Gibbs will do a good job at left back and is likely to get a good run starting with Birmingham, Alkmaar, West Ham, Liverpool and then Tottenham. If needed by the end of that stretch, he’ll have got some good momentum to make sure Lennon has a quiet haloween. But I suspect that for an ankle injury, Clichy will be back by then.
A toothless Gallas should still be in contention this weekend.
It is better for centre-halfs to have no front teeth, especially against pre-possesing centre forwards. A smile, followed by ‘what could you poshibly do to me, shun’, does the trick nicely.
Outside of the usual suspects Buuurmingum rank alongside Hull as a club I want us to demolish this season.
Apart from the Eduardo assault we dropped 4 points to those classless scumbags.
Paulie.
I do so pray Birmingham get a public lynching on Saturday. A professional job and zero complaicency from the boys should ensure a good platform for a hiding. I’m sure the boys will want to redeem themselves from the 2 goals they gifted Blackburn.
@Frank, a smile from a toothless Gallas with the “my shun” speech will do the trick for me. Comedy central I tell you.
Darius,
I don`t mind gifting two goals if we score another half dozen.
Gibbs to start & maybe Eboue too if Sagna played twice for France – otherwise unchanged for me.
No, I’m not…I’m obviously not very funny as well.
You are a star, axis
lol…thanks, Frank. Much appreciated.
Arsenal’s Zak Ansah scored for England U-16 he looks like a real talent.
I wonder if that’s what goes in Febregas’ mind before the killer pass?
Clichy out…Good. Hopefully Gibbs (the Gem) will stamp his mark in the team. Take the bull by the horns and cement his place in the defence.
You don’t like Clichy Duke?
I just think duke was trying to get as many cliché’s when commenting about clichy into one short post.
Sorry, maybe it was obvious… : )
DukeGoonem, how does an Arsenal supporter think it’s good when one of our players is injured?
it is a good chance for Gibbs to shine, to show his metal, to nail down a starting birth. Clichy has been in poor form and a chance for Gibbs is what s needed.
So using that same example you can also say when Cesc is in a bad form for a couple of games, good chance for Randall or Wilshere to shine, to show his metal, to nail down starting birth?
Be weary Arsenal foreigers, two bad games and you are out.
i love the kitty in the fab Vid…Reminds me of my marbles
As a university student, I need to be productive and manage time wisely. If Arsenal is playing, I will wake up at whatever ungodly hour to watch and stay awake. If Arsenal is not playing, I’ll sleep in until 2 in the afternoon. Arsenal = higher grades. Thank god club football is back.
What Arsenal defender holds the club record for most goals in a season?? Would it be Adams?
Re Dukegoonem @ 10.06pm. I honestly dunno how it can be “good” that an Arsenal player is out injured!
DukeGoonem, if Arsene thinks a player is off form he will allow him time to play himself back into form, if he does not see improvement he will be rested and someone else will take his place. We should not be delighting in injury as a reason for someone to get a chance to play. Players will get their chance when the man who sees them everyday and has access to information we don’t have, knows when they are ready. Young players suffer from inconsistency and a few good displays do not necessarily mean they should replace an experienced player at the drop of a hat.
Prediction: Wenger’s going to be an Ambassador, or Minister when he leaves Arsenal.
Duke is on a wind up, Passenal. Duke is ALWAYS on a wind up. Unless he is talking about cricket.
I’m fantasising that Chelsea’s transfer embargo appeal fails, they tie down all their aging stars on long-term deals as insurance, and the Chelsea team then grow old gracefully together and… slump together. Haha.
Credit Wenger for re-shaping central defence. As we all know, the popular view would have been to offload Gallas and keep Toure. As we all also know, Wenger doesn’t run AFC by opinion polls nor by blog-polls. And that’s why he’s the AFC manager, and we are not.
Thats a nicely put point luke.
A thing to think about would TV have played as well with toure as he has with gallas?
Looks like kroenke is going to buy us out before long unless something drastic happens. As I have said before I think he is the lesser of 2 evils. May even be beneficial if hill-wood is backing him now.
Great, bloody marvellous.
Trust us to get bought out by the ugliest man alive
Where is Yogi today
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