Guest Post: Defensive Holes Need Plugging
I’m off at the moment so here is an alternative viewpoint, put together by Graham Yates pre-Villa so perhaps highlighting defensive frailties will inspire a clean sheet.
Arsene was given another reminder of the recurring defensive frailties as we lost to Sporting Braga 2-0 in Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League Group H match to leave us with a bit more work to do to secure safe passage to the round of 16. Interestngly, as I write this, in our current predicament we are only likely to draw one out of these four Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Schalke & possibly Lyon.
Granted, injuries haven’t been kind to The Prof, but irrespective of the sidelined Thomas Vermaelen , surely even he is aware that sooner rather than later he will have to find some experienced centre halves which, as well as TV5, includes 30 year old (was once good, but now not so good ) Sebastien Squillaci and 25 year French novice Laurent Koscielny , not to mention Johann Djourou who has been the most consistent and impressive of the three.
Wenger has been linked with moves for Bolton’s Gary Cahill, Brede Hangeland & Phil Jagielka all with Premisership experience, but was quoted a price he was not prepared to pay, as usual. You know how it goes, £4m for Schwarzer, but refuses to pay more than £2.5m, I mean, words fail me.
I have picked out five other centre-halves I feel AW should look at landing. They are all within budget & also age range so I think they are viable options as they are at smaller clubs than Arsenal and just on the verge of long international careers. All the ingredients are there.
Federico Fazio (Argentina)
Club: Sevilla
DOB: 17.3.87 (23)
Height: 1.95cm (6”4)
Value Euros: €7.5m to €10m
The Argentine with Italian citizenship is a complete defender with huge potential. He replaced Squillaci on his departure to the Emirates and appears to have a fantastic future in the game. Fazio can play as a central defender, on the left flank (Bye Gael!) and, like at the end of the 2007/8 season, as a defensive midfielder (Bye Denny!). He is extremely strong and has very good heading ability. He is also quite fast and mobile for such a big defender, and his tackling ability is superb. His still could do with improving his technique and aggression though. Yet to make his debut for Argentina, but has experience at Under 20 & Under 23 level and has come through Sevilla’s youth ranks though has suffered a few injuries in his early career. We all know that Wenger likes a rough diamond, he is one.
Fernando Amorebieta (Spain)
Club: Athletic Bilbao
DOB: 29.3.1985 (25)
Height 1.92 (6”3)
Value: €10m to €15m
The Spaniard (though born in Venezuela) is an immensely strong central defender with excellent positional sense. He is fast and tall, which is a tough combination for opposing strikers to come up against. He has super-strong tackles and great vision for a centre back. Amorebieta is a versatile defender, who can also play at left-back (Oh dear Gael, not looking good is it?) , and if he continues improving at his current rate, he will be a top, top player. Made debut @ 20 and has played 144 times in the Spanish Primera Liga to date which makes him a consistent Bilbao 1st teamer. Likely to replace ageing Puyol, Capdevila & Marchena and join Pique & Albiol in the Spanish squad after being 1st called up by Del Bosque in August 2008.
Adil Rami (France):
Club: Lille
DOB: 27.12.1985
Height: 1.90 (6”2)
Value: €7.5m to €10m
Only ardent Lille supporters saw the potential of the Frenchman until then-coach Claude Puel gave him his first Ligue 1 minutes on the first day of the 2007-08 season after being bought from Fourth Division Fréjus. By the autumn, Rami had already become an essential component of the Lille defence playing in no less than 104 games scoring 7 goals. He is an extremely stubborn defender, with excellent positional sense and superb distribution and like Vermaelen has free kicks in his locker. His performances caught the eye of current France coach Laurent Blanc, and Domenech before him. Now has six international caps, and Rami looks like remaining at the heart of the France defence for years to come.
David Luiz (Brazil)
Club: Benfica
DOB: 22.04.1987
Height: 1.88 (6”1)
Value: €20m to €30m (Wenger has this sort of money we know that, though value rather inflated as Chel$ki & Etihad City are very interested)
The Brazilian is one of the most promising centre-backs in the world, with Internazionale his likely destination at this stage. Luiz is strong, fast and intelligent, and has the ability to move the ball with grace. He is also blessed with a great leap and good heading abilities and even played primarily at left back in the 2008-2009 season at Benfica. Luiz has such potential that even an injury-plagued two years he suffered from 2007-2008 shouldn’t scare off Wenger. Post World Cup he is now a regular with Brazil and now has 4 caps replacing the ageing and outgoing Roma defender Juan.
Benedikt Höwedes
Club: Schalke
Dob: 29.02.1988
Height: 1.87 (6”2)
Value: €7.5m to €10m
The German is a tall and aggressive centre-back, who is also quick and very good in the air at both ends of the pitch. He started to feature in the 2007/08 season and has been at the club since 2001, but really began to show his abilities the following campaign.
Howedes is a versatile player, having plied his trade as a defensive midfielder as a youth player, while also possessing the capability to play as a full-back so much so that he has signed a new deal to June 30th 2014. With more experience, the 22-year-old should get even better and has already made 72 appearances for Schalke and has German caps at all levels from Under 18 through to Under 21’s. He is also right footed which which would compliment the left of Vermaelen, something which Wenger would find attractive. Of the five he looks the most likely to join.
I’m back tomorrow, so ’til then.
Posted on November 29, 2010, in Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Premiership, Soccer, Transfer Gossip and tagged Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Soccer, Transfer Rumours. Bookmark the permalink. 268 Comments.
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i agree with what you’ve written but disagree with ur choices. We need players that are playing in the premiership already, so that we don’t have to wait for them to climatise to the league, whilst sacrificing results on the way. English too. English defenders are on the whole old school and no nonsense. Cahill would top the list with maybe taylor or jones in there too. We can’t afford to wait.
Why try and write a nice informative piece and ruin it with digs at players we currently have? Also it’s all very well claiming that Djourou’s been more consistent than Squillaci when he’s played less than half the amount of games the Frenchman has. Wenger obviously has total belief in Koscielny or he wouldn’t have him starting at every opportunity and while the guy’s obviously made a few errors i’m not moronic enough to claim that I know more than the boss. And Schwarzer? Ha! You mug.
Squillaci andKoscielny are not good enough.I would buy Cahill in january.A proven defender in the premiership.Wenger said the team that wins the league can conced no more than 28 goals we have already concede 17!!!!
And Vince you agree with Wenger that Stephanovs was good enough for us????????Wenger has been known to be wrong
out of them i would say howdes or fazio with cahill coming in at the end of the season when the aging squillaci grows another season older and when pat rice retires bringing in one of bould and adams as wengers new number 2 but tv5 an Djourou are our best possible pairing at the moment pity tv cant shake off his injury woes
Has ACLF been hijacked?
Alternative viewpoints? Really?
sorry but after the defeat to s***s it just aint the same…yes we could forget shite performances against hull as blips and this year against wba and the toon(2 more really shite performances)however the s***s game was the last straw…for 2 years plus we have had no decent keeper and a shortage of quality defenders clichy whilst backing up cash co looked good but now not so good..thomas v forgot what he looks like..just buy a defender or defenders with proven track records of prem league football not unknowns we have had too many of them,over the last 4 years.SO we have been linked by the media with cahill again well this time just buy him we have the money please dont let a cheaper by the dozen mentality derail another season..if we go player by player thru the current squad we aint good enough to challenge over an entire season.the media says we are aiming for the league cup as an answer to our lack of silverware and will field a strong team..we have no choice but to field a stronger side than usual most of the normal league cup shadow squad are out on loan..oh yes and players we should get rid of! both centre backs both goalkeepers current left back RVP(injury king)big nick ,vela.Soory but i have just had enough of this low budget football
I’d be really, really surprised if Arsene buys a player this January. I don’t see why we need to?
don’t really think we do need to what we need is defensive strategy. I think that wenger does obviously have faith in kos but i think he is the future first team defender. I think that his main fault is positioning, which will come with experience. Follow the optimists view at
gunddown.blogspot.com
I agree with Vince.
Also, Graham, you call Koscielny a novice before going on to reccommend a 22 yr old playing in the Bundesliga and and a 23 rd old from the Primeira Liga.
Also, belittling the performances of our centrebacks belies a miscomprehension of the system we play, I reckon, and of the difficulty of playing at centreback within that system. A Baresi | Beckenbauer partnership would struggle for complete lock-outs at the modern Arsenal. Just have to live with it I’m afraid. The positives far out-weigh the negatives, as Saturday’s scoreline shows.
My piece was really based on players that I think Wenger has already looked at. Incidentally I believe we should also buy Premier experience so Cahill for me is the ideal player, but whether we will pay over the odds is sadly unlikely. I picked these 5 as ones which would be typical Wenger acquisitions. Alot of fans do know more than the boss at the moment, as we have the money and he has the know how, pity that neither of these commodities are being used by our leader. Vince, don’t put yourself down mate your not a moron, but you have been and will continue to be mugged by your own club if you think we cannot do better that this.
Well this should be interesting.
I agree with Vince. By the bye, if Fazio is so good and replaced Squillaci, why didn’t Wenger buy him?
I think the biggest recommendation is to have the guest writer as football director at Arsenal football club. He obviously knows better and can do better than the current setup
There are still a lot of idiots, led by Stewart Robson (who’s not an idiot) who think Arsenal don’t have a defensive strategy. Idiocy.
It’s just like all the blipping morons who insist Arsene doesn’t coach defence, the team doesn’t practice defending (the defenders don’t have to train I suppose, while the strikers play against each other in training), and Martin keown was responsible for us setting a record for clean sheets in the Champions League.
Morons
In general I think our central defensive partnership has been pretty good. We ship goals due to the lack of protection that they are given. For me the only individual who have been responisble for goals in the back 4 is Clichy. Whilst I like and rate Clichy, he really does not seem to learn from his mistakes.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly why, but this side simply looks fragile. We always look like stringing 20+ passes together, only to lose the ball and conceed after 5 passes by the opposition. It is amazing where we are in the lge, and whilst on our day I think we are far and away the best side in the lge I fear our inconsistancy will cost us. The lge may be a push due to this, but I definately think one or more cups are within our grasp.
Graham,
Questions.
1. Do you think we can realistically maintain 5 centre backs? If your answer is no, then please state which of the four we currently have you’ll want to sell.
2. Why do you think that Gary Cahill would offer more to us than the more experienced and more accomplished Johan Djourou? Is it Djourou’s lack of John Bull blood?
3. What makes you think any of the players you have mentioned would fit into our system or what makes you think they are in any way better than the players we have? I ask because their teams play at lower levels than Arsenal in general, and concede more goals than we do.
Thanks
Rare is the occasion when commentators’ picks are Wenger’s picks. So best that we stop fantasising, come back down to earth and get on with supporting this team till the transfer window has come and gone and right up till the fat lady sings. Afterall, how much do we know of these candidates from youtube clips and games highlights on TV?
Very interested to see who plays tomorrow night.
How about something like…
- – - – - Almunia or Sczeszney? – - – - -
Nordtveit? Djourou Koscielny Gibbs
- – - – - -Denilson Wilshere – - – - – - – -
- – - – - – - – - Rosicky – - – - – - – - – - – -
Walcott – - – - – - RVP – - – - – - – - – - -
- – - – - – -Bendtner – - – - – - – - – - – - -
JET, Vela, AA23, Nas, Seb, Eastmond.
Maybe Eastmond to start ahead of one of JW or TR7
I’m hoping the urgency of a Cup Tie and the midweek crowd (including me!) will make for a top performance. ARSENAL!
meh…
A signing in jan is purely dependant on TV5′s long term injury concerns.
Thank you Limpar for your outstanding match report. It was like being there. I heard Arshavin’s shot hit the net. “Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
It was good to see the FA sticking to the traditions of the FA Cup yesterday by having two sad old rock stars do the draw. Just like when I was a boy wasn’t it?
Wankers.
Also grateful for the insights offerred by Alan Green on 606. Cutting edge that bloke. Do you know what he says Arsenal need?
A goalkeeper, giant centre half and a big destroyer in midfield.
Brilliant, especially the last one as I have not heard anyone suggest before that we should employ one of those soon to be redundant ships of Her Majesty’s Royal Navy in this role. Should be going cheap too.
Twat.
Tomorrow night could be interesting. A Carling Cup squad with our first three strikers from last year (RVP, Theo, and NB) up front?
As for the article, I can’t really see the point. Our defenders are fine and even better than that. Koscielncly has the makings of an absolutely amazing defender… but just has to adjust a bit to the speed (and refs) and to his teammates. He is made more in the mold of a Maldini than a Sol Campbell. No way Braga scores that second goal with him defending… attackers just don’t fake him out. Djourou, despite recent revisionism on the blogs that has his our most consistent defender, was shockingly bad his first few games, but has vastly improved during his last few as he’s gotten back his feel for the game. The guys we have will improve rapidly as a unit as they play more together. The only reason we might buy is if TV is really out long-term. But why diss’ what we have already at the club?
Nordtveit’s a good call, LA. I was wondering about that position.
Looking at the options up front, I’m not so sure Bendtner’s going to start. If RvP’s on from the beginning then I see a front three of Vela, RvP and Theo.
We’re suddenly just a little light in midfield though: I’d think about resting Rosicky as he’s going to be instrumental in Cesc’s absence, going for JW (who missed the internationals and the Spuds game), Eastmond and Denilson.
I’d love to see more of JET, but it’s not going to happen unless we’re three up going into the last half hour.
Limpar – I think that team is pretty much exactly what we will see.
The look on Balotelli (a big signing that misguided Arsenal supporters might pine for) ‘s face as he sat on the ground after a hard challenge from a Stoke player that said “welcome to the premier league” last weekend was priceless!
Tricky selection problems for tomorrow fo sure… I would ideally want to keep JW and TR7 fresh as they suffer the most from being over played. song has had a bit of a rest now and we know deni can cover for him in the premiership so maybe a start for him and keep our creativity fresher for the weekend? happy to see eastmond and some clever half time jiggery pokery should keep down the risks down anyway.
shame that JET cant get a game with those 3 ahead of him who all need to play
wouldn’t mind seeing him on the right and walcott in the centre but probably wont happen.
Football is about scoring more than your opponent, simple yes? Defence can only be understood relative to attacking strategy/results; the two are in reality one overall strategy – to win matches, yes? The statistic that’s really important is GD, which broadly says where a club stands vis a vis the vis the relation between the two. Ours is +15. Chel and ManU are +20. Therefore, generally, they are a little ahead of us, reflected quite nicely in a 2 point margin, not-with-standing that one great match and they can be equal.
I am happy with our defence, although like others a little worried about Clichy’s instant decision-making. I feel our left flank has been identified as a defensive weakness, and in part this is Arshavin’s frailties. Clichy however has strengths which are important, looking at the whole. He is a fine and fast attacking option.
Currently, in Kos, Skilly and Djourou; we do have three really excellent CBs and Sagna is a rock.
The adjustments required to rectify some current defensive lapses is really quite minor, but it is an adjustment, like vitamins, small but important. I feel the team will be concentrating on this in the next phase of the campaign, Dec-Feb, the mid-winter bit.
Our next 3 matches could be the most critical of the season: Fulham to keep a winning and overturn psychological home vulnerability and crap November; Partizan to proceed at all in CL; ManU (away) to embed confidence and state our claims, and make up a few point and goals too.
For tomorrow I’d go for;
Bendtner RVP Walcott
Denilson Song Wilshere
Gibbs Kos Djourou Sagna
Szczesny
Bench: Rosicky, Chamakh, Arshavin, Clichy, Nasri, Squillaci,
The big difference this season is that there is no such thing any longer as a “top 4″. The gap between the top 7 or 8 teams is much closer than the past 5 years. There is no ‘miracle defence’. Teams are getting good at scoring. New statistic – if I heard right – this weekend the most number of goals were scored in EPL since inception, that is about 45 in the 19 matches.
What is going on at ACLF first Yogi have this dig at the club saying that Ramsey will be cup tied for the domestic cup but not for the Europa league and now this guest “writer” comes here and have a dig a Squillaci, Clichy, Denilson and critisiing Wenger for not signing the old fart scharzer!
On question Graham, where does Fulham stand with Schwarzer as their GK?
In 17th place!
Can’t wait for the real yogi to be back!
We are such an up and down side. Great one week, horrible the next. It is not good for my health I am sure of it.
I think we’ve generally been good. We’re still the form team in the Premier League. We lost to Spurs, but we were much superior to them on the day despite the loss.
I don’t agree we’re great one week, poor the next. We’ve been good (not great) in recent weeks in general despite a couple of bad performances. The results have not always gone for us, but our performances have been better than our results. Which itself is not a positive thing.
Who is this Graham from London? Has Yogi lost the plot? Its sounds like what AIC rubbish to me.
I’m more worried at not getting to the Fulham match on Saturday, we are all snowed in in North Norfolk! Should be a great CC game tomorrow night ,a sell out and the “Kids” always keep up a good atmosphere on these occasions. Hope RVP and Theo get a start. Did you see Lansbury’s performance yesterday at Carrow Road, the Norwich fans loved him.
As always COYRs
Come on Max you should know that there is only 1 AIC.
Ole – Can’t agree with that mate.
Some good form early on, then bad performances against W Brom, Newcastle, Spuds (2nd half), Braga, Shaktar, Sunderland. The stat against Braga summed us up nicely. Something like 70% posession and one shot at goal.
We can be equally crap, as we can be equally outstanding. We most certainly are not the “form team” as you put it.
Don’t think we are not grateful for that AIC.
goonerandy,
I saw all those games. Again, as I said, we’re still the form team in the Premier League. We lost 2 games to Newcastle and Spurs that we dominated and shouldn’t have lost.
I don’t deny we’ve had bad results. My comments just take both results and performance into consideration.
Our results have been inconsistent, our performances have not really been so despite one or 2 bad performances. I agree with Wenger that the performance against Spurs was very good. It’s been a strange month. Amazing things are happening to us in each game.
I’m not even trying to put a positive spin on the issue. I consider it a negative that we’re losing games we dominate
Seriously don’t know why Yogi allowed an article with digs at our boys on here.
Cliche is a cracking player, but we are always going to be defensively weak down his side because Arshavin is not a natural defender. If we played Gibbs in front of Cliche people would be raving about his defensive ability. Sadly, realising that involves actual tactical insight into the game, which is apparently beyond most supporters…
who the f*ck are these defenders. never erd of em.who says their better then what we got,i could understand if you put a Mertersaker up there. anyway im not so sure about the spanish or argentine defenders, a bit soft for the prem, better a tough hard nut eastern european defender.
Personally i think Djourou has been unlucky to be benched these last 2 games after some solid performances on his way back to full fitness and some sort of form – but i also think Kozzer has done ok. Theres a lot to be said for a settled defense, especially at centrehalf so i dont quite understand why le boss changes so much. The fact that Kozzer comes straight in after a ban would suggest hes first choice along with the Squid (at least until Vermy comes back) – who will it be then? Or is it that le Boss is being extra cautious with Djourou?
Also i would say that if Wenger buys a centrehalf in the summer, then we have real worries over Vermaelen!!
Anyways Djourou will start in the cup game. Odd decision to send Ramsey out on loan as this would have been an ideal game for the lad!
Szczesny
Nordtveit Koscielny Djourou Gibbs
Eastmond Denilson
Walcott Bendtner Vela
Ole – That is fair enough.
We are the best team in terms of passing and possesion, that is without question I think. The team seemed to have (recently) hit a point where we have lost its penetration. It is amlost as when we get to the final 3rd of the pitch, we hold our play in order to allow the opposition to “get set” before we try and score. We were better agsaint Villa in that respect though.
We were excellent in the 1st half agsint Spurs, but the 2nd was terrible. As soon as they scored I just know we would throw it away. The Braga game was as flat as you like (only seen the highlights though, so could be wrong).
You can only be unlucky so often. If we keep losing points and deem it bad luck, we really should take a closer look at ourselves. All too often the opposition do not have to do too much to score, and for me that is my greatest concern. I can offer no explanataion, but so often it seems that despite our 15+ attempts at goal, the opposition will only have one or two, but take them. It has been the story for too many seaosn now to be a coninsidence.
An amazing first half performance that should have seen the game wrapped up in half an hour. The first half was as dominant a peformance as you can expect, especially away from home. The football was sublime. It was utter anihillation and 2-0 did not do us justice. Yet 7 minutes into the second half it was 2-1 and Villa were back in the game. Carew was 100% offside – an awful decision. Clichy backing off Clark was a joke though – its basic defending like not showing Downing onto his left allowing him to cross. The excellent Rosicky set up the even better Chamakh for 3-1 but still the game was not safe. Needing a goal from Jack in the 94th minute to seal a game that we utterly dominated was just insane.
Arshavin was brilliant – his best peformance in ages and he looks a lot better in a central role. He should play in the centre when Cesc is injured. Andrey does not have the stamina to play on the left and track back.
Its the defence that’s a worry – Villa only had 2 shots on goal and scored 2 goals and hardly had the ball at all especially in the first half. If we were as “efficient” in terms of converting chances as Villa were we would have scored about 14. In terms of the game overall our defence had little to do against a team with many injuries and stuggling for form and yet still conceded twice. Its a huge worry.
Our football was majestic and we were not as clinical in front of goal as we should be but still scored 4 away! We can still improve here and score even more. If we can cut out the defensive errors and lapses of concentration we have a chance to win, otherwise it will be a struggle.
I understand the general idea that Arshavin leaves the left side exposed more than our right, but I don’t see how that explains some of the individual errors in decision making that we’ve seen Clichy make.
He is still a very good player though and I’m not at all convinced that that are many left backs better than him in world football.
I’ve only heard about the defenders you posted about, Graham. I think Fazio is the best one you put up. Was in great form a couple of seasons back and then got into injury troubles. He’s coming back into form now, though. However I don’t think that buying him would be a good decision by Wenger as we have 4 centrebacks who all pretty good in the team now.
I couldn’t be bothered to read on after the player suggestions started.. its something that many bloggers do to get a few page visits. I ain’t too impressed, and I don’t expect to see such content on a cultured left foot. Yogi sort it out.
Anyway, our defensive options are much better than at United, Chelsea, and any other club. In fact our squad is the best equipped to mount a challenge on 4 trophies. I don’t see the whole point of all the whingers, and this article. The most pointless post I have witnessed on this site.
I agree with Ole, we are the form team. We dominate the play in more games than any other team, and we create as many chances as any other team. So yes we are the FORM TEAM, any blind man who listens to the commentary could even tell you that. This is why everyone switches on to watch Arsenal. We lost to Spurs, but we could have beaten them by a very impressive margin. At vital points in the game it didn’t go our way, the penalty, freekick, counter attack goal.. all avoidable, the defeat was down to us not seeing the game out, not Spurs being a better team.
The gap in quality between us and Spurs is very evident, they had their lucky day in the sun.. even if it took them 17 years. In football shock defeats happen, we just happened to have 2 in a week, in games which we dominated. The same cannot be said of the Newcastle and West brom defeats, where we actually played badly.
We have under-achieved, and we need to convert our play into more victories. No more shocking results.
Here’s the thing: we have not been the form team of the season so far. We have been up and down (mostly up, thankfully). But if you had told any Arsenal fan before the season we would be this good without RVP or TV getting on the pitch, without a new goalkeeper and with Cesc not at his best, I’m sure they would have been pleased. And thankfully, nobody has been that good this year. So, Fabianski seems to be settling, our defense will only become better as a unit, and RVP and Theo are set to come back. Considering all that, I’d say we are in excellent shape.
IMO the Braga game showed we missed Song and the Tottenham game showed we missed song ‘sitting’ in front of the defense. Both Braga goals were on the break, both could have been cut out by Denilson (not slating Den here, just pointing out a weakness) but he was either brushed off and didnt take the ball or he kinda gave up on his tracking back. The Tottenham first goal (which turned the game) would have been snuffed out at source (the flick on by Defoe to VanDerVaart) if Song was there. All he had to do was not stir out of his own half for 20 mins of second half and the game would have petered out. I like that Song is developing his game more but sometimes its just good sense to ‘be the wall’ a la Gilberto. But hey thats experience and Song can click with that yet, hes still young.
I still think that one of the 3 central midfielders would serve the team better with more defensive discipline. Song was excellent last season and played a much more restricted role. Sure he is good going forward too, but with the expansive game we play I reckon we would be better served with him restricting his forward runs.
AIC
Your comments have no logic once again. We only scored 4 becuase Villa chose to defend with all their team behind the ball. Even you should know how difficult it is to score against a team that sits in front of their goal. Arshavin wasn’t playing centrally if you didn’t notice! He actually got his goal by picking a pass up on the toucline racing into the opposition half, cutting in, and smashing it bottom corner. This is what he does best, hes direct, and needs to be running at people taking them on. His general game play is too sloppy to be in the middle. Come on wake up.
chris,
I agree that we completely dominate games but often the scoreline does not reflect our domination.
Why do you think this is?
Henristic,
I think that the issue with the first vila goal wasn’t Clichy’s error in not closing Clark. He went slightly and then retreated to mark the player (don’t know who – sorry) that he would naturally have been on. It’s a mistake, as shown by Squillaci’s reaction to him, but one that ideally he shouldn’t have been put in a position to make. I haven’t watched a replay with an angle that shows who left clark but i suspect it may have been rosicky.
chris,
Arshavin played more centrally in the second half. Villa were playing defensively but we had chances – Chamakh, Rosicky that we should have buried. Once we scored Villa had to come out more.
I think you need to clarify “form team” lads. If you mean by lots of passes without testing their keeper too often, then you are correct we are. If you mean by winning football match we are not.
gib – both Rosicky and Clichy could have closed Clark down. They were both at fault, but Clichy’s was the stranger as at first he decided to go to the player then changed his mind. All very strange.
how are we the Form team? didnt we lose 4 in six before Villa. surely Man utd are the form team having not lost yet. get your head out Chris.
Arshavin was excellent, and his primary role was at LW. Yes there is moments where he drifts, like all the Arsenal midfield do, but he is in FACT a Left Mid or Left Winger, and that is where he is best. You are wrong, and your opinion of him being better suited do playing centrally is wrong. Arshavin had to play CF last season for a spell, he didnt do bad, but his qualities are best suited out on the wing 1 on 1 with opposition players. This is why Wenger has never trusted him at CM or AMC. I thought every Arsenal fan realised this by now?!
So you agree that is harder to score against a team that is pinned back in their own half with all 11 players? Or you not gonna bother responding…
Did Villa park the bus??? i thought they were quite attacking hence the space our boys had.
When I say we’re the form team in the Premier League, here’s what I am referring to; http://www.premierleague.com/page/FormGuide/0,,12306,00.html
Apart from Shakhtar or West Brom, I don’t recall any game we deserved to lose in the last couple of months.
The real issue facing Arsenal is why we are not getting the results our performances merit.
We saw it again at Villa Park where we complicated our own lives in a game we easily shaded.
Don’t take the term ‘Form team’ too literally, maybe you should pull your mug out Duke. Try thinking outside of the box?
The Spurs game is the perfect example. Who was the better team, who outplayed the opposition, who created more chances, who embarassed the opposition through their intelligence and passing… just because they managed to beat us in what was a shocking result, doesn’t mean we having been playing well.
Form, after all is another word for performance. Our performances have been good apart from Newcastle and West Brom.
So Duke and Andy and any other simple minded gooners, try thinking a bit more first. This Arsenal team has shown in most of our games that we have the best options, we have the best squad, and we will be challenging. Chelsea have struggled without Terry and Lampard. We have made do without so many key players, now our squad players are stepping up as they are all familair faces. It is great to see, and nothing can stop this team. Not even a couple very ‘shocking’ results, of which some supporters cannot see past.
That is football, there will always be games like that. If you ever played you will know.
I agree we’re not the form team.
Ole contradicted himself a bit there. How can you say we’re the form team because we dominate games, but then say (correctly) that dominating possession and loosing as we often did is not a positive sign.
But we’re not doing too badly that’s for sure. We definitely have a good chance as most other teams but it has to be said that Manu has got be favorites right now. From what seemed like a terrible start, they’ve annoyingly started playing better at both ends of the pitch.
Did Villa park the bus??? i thought they were quite attacking hence the space our boys had.
After 45 mins of parking the bus they decided to try something different. But yes sticking all 11 players in their own half for 45mins at HOME.. is parking the bus mate. They were outplayed and outclassed. This is a team that got results againt Chelsea and United. So Arsenal for me, even if im biassed, is the form team performance wise.
Technically speaking… Ole has found that we are actually behind Man Utd, the second form team in results.
oh dear Chris, you getting a little angry are ya mate.
http://www.premierleague.com/page/FormGuide/0,,12306,00.html
Henristic, see the link above. We are 2nd in the form guide.
“…dominating possession and loosing as we often did” should read “…as we sometimes did”
Chris – Simple minded? Heh, right you are.
You seem to think that football is about stringing 20+passes together. There is a bit more to it than that you know. We have played well plently of times, yet thrown the points away. I know you will howl bad luck, but it keeps on happening which tells me it is something other than bad luck. But you keep your head burried mate. It is easier that way.
Losing 4 from 6 is not good form whichever way you look at it. If you think it is, becasue we passed the ball well in those games, you are clearly deluded.
oh so we are not including the cl games?? how very good for your argument.
Chris, our position on that table is exactly as I would have guessed it…
so are we the form team then. that table says we are not it says we ARE THE 2nd FORM TEAM. and im sure if you add the cl fixtures we probably would drop down a couple o places.
Interesting table. As much as we all keep expecting Manure to fall away (on paper their worst team in years) they still keep producing. Our upcoming game against them will be a corker.
goonerandy,
I’ll hold on to my prediction of them not finishing higher than 3rd place this season.
Duke, you are a bit childish aren’t ya? Do you manage to back anything up, or have you been a pure wind up your whole life?
Henristic, taking into account a few shock defeats.. the fact that we are still 2nd in that table and we are under achieving says a lot. I can’t understand why some idiots keep looking past something so obviously obvious.
California Goona, I quite agree with you.
No contradiction at all. We have actually won 4 of our last 6 games including tough away fixtures. In the other 2 games we dominated and should never have lost. But we lost, and that’s the problem.
Playing well and not maximising our the rewards of good performance.
Ole – Yeah maybe, I don’t know how they have managed to keep getting the results to be honest. This weekend aside they have been very average, but still manage to win. They are the anti-us.
Sounds like you’re desperate to prove we’re not in form. We were talking about the league, which as you might or might not know is the main competition we compete in.
There’s no form table created for the Champions League. Create one and show where we fall.
Bottom line is: we’re 2nd from top in the league, in quarter finals of the Curling Cup, likely to qualify in the Champions league. We’re a long way off from being in a disastrous position.
gib,
I wasn’t really referring to the last game.
Playing well and not maximising our performces seems to be an age old problem for us. It is the very reason supporters have howled for a “fox in the box” for years. We have good finishers in the squad though; Nasri/AA/Cesc/RvP are all pretty clinical.
Chris why dont you pipe your arse down. sorry but you do sound like a bit of a c*nt.
Ole,
I get the point you’re making, which basically explains why we’re not the form team at the moment.
But, how does not been the form team imply being in a disastrous position? I think you may have been exaggerating Duke’s position there.
No, it’s a problem from this season.
For some reason it seems easy to proclaim every problem has been existent forever but it’s not so.
9.5 out of 10 times, the performance against Spurs would have seen us win 4-0 or 4-1. On the balance of the play
By the way, at no point in that Spurs game were they better than us, or did they put us under pressure. We were always more likely to score. Strange game.
Our last 4 games have been very strange games. Strange decisions by our own players and by officials. Strange events occuring.
I’m afraid I only managed half the post today. What was that. Not my cup of tea. Also not a view I thought would be endorsed by YW. Still I suppose there are fans that are better at scouting than Wengers second to none network. Oh hang on probably not.
A few higlights: “Bye Gael” Bye Denni” is that to suggest this would be good to lose these players? and Also Squil has had a great season so far. He’s new to the fold and the EPL.
AIC,
As ever our propensity to concede always leaves us with the possibility of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory – even when we play very well.
While I think Rosicky was industrious throughout the game, I do hope he regains his form of old and gets back on the scoring sheet.
And practically everything we did against Villa from a creative perspective involved the little russian. He was simply majestic. While he certainly slacks off on the defensive front – he has been one of our most creative players this season with his goals and assists.
Graham,
I commend your article. It was indeed an alternative viewpoint, thoughtful and substantiated too. I think if Vermy continues to be injured we’re only one injury away from being in trouble at Centre half. Its my belief that Wenger just doesn’t completely trust Djourou for big games. I remember Alex Song being brought out of DCM a few seasons ago and chosen at CB ahead of Djourou (long before he was injured) in the knockout stages of the CL. In the same way Kos was preferred for the spuds match. While Djourou provides solid aerial cover for one dimensional teams like the stoke etc – he lacks pace against more open opposition.
And as for Ole – well his radical theory is that football is about out scoring the opposition and that defense has nothing to do with that. Anyone of the myriad of ex players, pundits, respected bloggers who disagree are all morons. By all means debate that point with him. That of course is based on the presumption that you have nothing else to do 24 hours a day, seven days a week but talk to Ole..!
excactly. i was mearly pointing out that we are not the form team which we are not , now some are trying to turn it round to me being a dooming ass want us to fail gooner. fukin pointless argument. f*ck about ive had some shit arguments on ere but this takes the piss.
I disagree Andy.
I am saying even factoring in the clear problem of not getting the results our performances merit (often due to our own actions) we still are the form team. It’s just a fact. It’s the reason we’ve closed the gap wrt Chelsea from 5 to 0 pts despite having had the tougher fixtures.
I acknowledge the negatives, and without them we’d be 4 points clear at the top because we would not have lost to Newcastle and Spurs.
Ole,
Playing well and loosing is NOT a problem for this season alone. Where have you been in the past few seasons?
Ole is just taking the piss now…
Oh shut up Joe.
Stop making yourself look stupid. Surely after 1000s of characters wasted trashing that issue you should understand by now what’s being said to you.
I don’t expect you will.
duke, joe
It is true that the data given by the official premierleague website is more subjective than ex-players that gives their opinions in tabloids because they are not good enough to be football mangers.
We are fans, obviously we will be subjective when talking about the team we support but when Ole gives his opinion by stating an official source for me is more valid than a guy who needs to insult the other person because he’s got no other evidence to support its fact.
Are the optimistic supporters officially now in the minority here.
What a waste of my time reading that post. Another idiot who picks a few names at random, watches them on youtube and knows better than Arsene.
Why am I not surprised that Joe liked it.
Henristic,
Last season, when we played well, we generally won. Exceptions were the games against Chelsea & Man United.
This season, we’ve already had more of those. The Chelsea, Spurs, Newcastle & Braga games come to mind.
But Joe is right about one thing. No point debating this. Believe what you will
Ole – But we aren’t. Man Utd are. And if you factor in our European games we are even less so.
Any team could say “if we had not lost that game we would be…..” so that hold no water. We lost the games because of our performace. Not to say we did not play well, but because we could not secure the game. That in itself is our problem. Playing well does not mean that we will will. Look at Braga; 60%+ posession. 675 passes. One shot on goal. Nice pretty passing is not enough.
You know it’s good if it gets Joe’s seal of approval.
Seriously though, Graham took the time, and stuck his neck out, so probably shouldn’t get slaughtered. And, for all the complaints, it might be healthy to get a spuds’ view of things occasionally.
It also looks like YW learned an important lesson in the summer: Don’t get outshone by your stand-in.
Just kidding.
Anyway, form or no form we are in a good position and that is all that matters. 2nd in the lge, and one win away from progress into the knockout stages of the CL. Not to mention the CC game tomorrow.
If we can pick up our form/improve on our current good form (delete as you see fit) we can really kick on.
Continuing on the theme by California Goona, and considering the injuries this team has experienced, being just two points out of first place is outstanding. And, as Ole has pointed out mostly our form has been quite good except for a few occasions of falling asleep at the helm in the second half of games. Some have said that we are arrogant and take the foot off the accelerator in the second half of games. That, in my opinion, is nonsense.
The second half of ball games require players like Vermallen and Cesc, who of course, are missing. In addition, the second half require teams to have a defence that is well aquainted with each other. To some extent that may well be the major problem with the second half performances. It has been a bit like musical chairs with our centre backs. The back four need consistent time playing with each other and that has been missing with Arsenal. In my opinion the centre back position is probably one of the most difficult and demanding to play.
goonerandy,
Don’t be silly. We have a similar record to Man Utd. If you prefer I’ll amend my point to “we’re the second form team in the league” if that makes you feel better.
Have a look at Tony’s piece on stats. I found it shows how wrong some people can be about form.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/9331
Despite all the flailing arms about how poor are defenders are, despite the fact that we’ve had to chop and change, despite conceding 5 goals in the last 2 games, we have only conceded one goal more than Manchester United. Despite having played tougher fixtures.
I take your point, but overall including European games we could not be described as a team in form (4 losses from 6) which was the point I think.
I think some folks would like to make a mountain out of a Cahill. Everyone thinks what will solve Arsenal’s problems is to make our central defense more like Stoke City.
Graham, nice effort but you’re a jackass. Slating players that are good just to get your own personal digs in is juvenile in the extreme. Nice work doing your research and highlighting who could be another stealth Wenger signing is just fine but cut the juvenile crap.
andy,
I’m talking about the league. And even if you want, we could see where we are in the last 6 games in all competitions and it’s still 3 in 6 not the 2 in 6 you say. Still not poor form by all means.
My original point is that despite many worrying signs (like losing while playing well & having lost 6 games by November) things are not as bad as people are making out.
Our keeper is useless, our centre halves are useless, our left back is crap. Yet we’ve still conceded a similar number of goals to Man Utd.
Ole – Well I do agree with that. We are in a good position.
Well we’re certainly the ‘form team’ away from home. And as AW has said, if you had to choose, that’s the way you’d want it – adjustments to a home gameplan being a much easier fix.
–
One of the highlights of Arshavin’s season’s best performance on Saturday was his defensive work. He won the ball for us more times than he had done in all the four games he’d played previously put together. No exaggeration.
I would be interested to know if this was a case of taking on some of Fabs’ workload in his absence or whether he’s been asked to fight to get the ball back a bit more anyway. If he wins that much ball in every game he plays we are laughing!
If the last month has been a disaster as people say then I reckon we’re in good shape. If our disaster run is not much of a disaster, then the good times should be very good indeed.
No, things could be much worse. By that I mean it literally. Things can actually get worse. We could have a worse run of results. Like everybody else, I see reasons for concern. Where I differ is in realising the current form hasn’t been as bad as a lot of us think.
Limpar,
The problem with that stat is that it shows ‘duels won’ as ‘tackles’. So the 12 duels he won (physical contest where he beat his man) are recorded as tackles.
His actual tackles were much fewer. Just 3 tackles.
Limpar – Agree on AA. He looked very good against Villa and “put in a shift”. Threatening every time he was on the ball.
Ole – You are right, our recent patch could have been much more damaging. We are fortunate that both Manure and Chelski have both dropped points recently and we have stayed in the mix. Hopefully will take momentum from the Villa game and put a good runs of wins together.
Except that, Andy I think Man utd and Chelsea are facing the same issues. A league in which the minnows take points off the superior teams.
I would argue that they’re benefiting from us not cashing in. We’d be top without the 2nd half slip up against Tottenham.
When they dropped points, they didn’t deserve results. Man United should have lost to Villa, dropped points to Wolves.
Chelsea did deserve to beat Birmingham but were comprehensively beaten by Sunderland, Liverpool and deserved no more than the point they got at Newcastle.
Anytime you take 3 points at Villa Park you are very happy. The first 1/2 was brilliant. The 2nd half we made the game unnecessarily interesting but in the end we got 3 points. Now if we can slam dunk Fulham and get at least a point at Old Trafford. Strange season, ManU has been dreadful for most of the season and yet they are on top. Chelsea started like they would destroy everyone but age, injuries and complacency has set in. We have been running hot and cold especially at home. Hard to understand.
Chelsea didn’t start, looking like they could destroy any team. They started with a string of easy fixtures at home and the media as usual got to their silly irrational bandwagons.
That was a different post. I agree with Henristic that it is very unlikely that we will buy anyone this January. Not sure what type of player we really need. Another DM if Diaby is a long term loss? Not sure what we can expect to get from RVP the rest of this year but doubt we will do anything personnel wise at striker. A new CB will not happen. I do not think a new player would solve our defensive problems. Agree with Limpar @ 9:37. I think its the system we use and not that the players that cause our problems. I thought we had figured out a better balance after seeing us defend against Sunderland, ManCity, Wolves and Everton. Unfortunately form is temporary and our recent results have been back to baseline. In the end we can only hope that those of you who think we can win while conceding lots of goals are right.
You mean easy fixtures like spanking 6 past W Brom?
Oh.
Ole @ 2:30:
Good point. Chelsea’s fixture list certainly made for a good start.
I think it would have been better to have a post on defending from Bill than potential transfer tittle tattle. The only real debatable point is whether we need to sign defensive players in January. It is too early to decide that, though we should always be looking and working on possibilities–what if we have another injury or Vermaelen’s achilles will not heal? But for the time being we have big fixtures ahead in the league which will tell us a great deal about where we are.
Regarding Arshavin playing in the middle or not–read 7amkickoff’s match analysis or do a couple Guardian chalkboards and it is strikingly evident that Arshavin played quite differently and in different places than he usually does.
Yes, exactly. Easy fixtures like a newly promoted team at home, first day of the season.
As soon as they had to play the likes of Villa away, Liverpool away, Newcastle away they dropped points all over the place
@goonerandy,
i think you are wrong, i think ManU and chelsea are fortunate that we have dropped points recently and underachived vastly. They are so lucky that the back 4 has not “geled” they are so lucky that the guys are stil young anad that they can loose 3-2 when leading 2-0 after 45 mins.
if it was not for Arsenals underachivements United and Chelsea would kiss PL trophy goodbye this year. So i really think Chelsea and Untied has been very lucky to see a good team as Arsenal play as bad as they have this season.
Tim,
It’s the non-stop shower of shite shovel-fed into the gaping maws of the masses by the likes of that discredited, useless, whinging leech: Alan Green.
Consolbob’s post @10:29 had me in trouble (the laughing kind).
Thanks, Two Owls and California Gooner from bringing some sanity to the thread (A top link, dupsffokcuf).Remember the Eduardo Embargo? As Arsenal fans, certain stats, like ‘fouls against’ for example, have to be considered unreliable.
Here’s an interesting vague stat I read on desigunner I think, (from Shotta?):
Alex Song has hardly ever got a yellow card in a CL game. Never, maybe. Can’t be Arsenalled to look it up.
I guess, Mr.Song Billong must spend his PL games kickin’ lumps out of people. Right?
As much as we can sit here saying that the other teams are lucky we have dropped points that we should not have, don’t you think that they will be saying exactly the same thing?
One of the most distasteful things in football these days is the media always trying to rule teams out and crown champions prematurely. They’re always wrong. Always.
And to hark back to Joe and his rant. Most of them don’t know better than you and I.
I did say when they were crowning Chelsea in August after 4 games that it was absurd given the fact that of the top sides, Chelsea are the ones definitely weaker than last season having lost 4 players.
Ole @ 9:54:
“There are still a lot of idiots, led by Stewart Robson (who’s not an idiot) who think Arsenal don’t have a defensive strategy. Idiocy.
It’s just like all the blipping morons who insist Arsene doesn’t coach defence, the team doesn’t practice defending .”
Ole how do you explain
1) Lee Dixon saying that Arsene did not really work with the defense at all when he first came. He basically let them “have at it.”
2. The brain saying that Arsenal does not do defensive drills or work on team defending during training.
3. Cesc saying during the world cup that Arsenal does spend any time working on how to stop the other team. That seems to be a very basic part of defending.
You talk about how the teams results do not match their performances. You know as well as anyone that the problem is our defending. When you have 70% of the possession and still concede 2 goals against Braga there is no way that your results will match the performance. The boss has said that many times himself. Until we fix our defense, that problem will never go away.
goonerandy,
They might be saying the same thing. If they were, they’d be doing so unjustifiably in my judgement.
Bill, Fuck off.
The Brain has had to come on ACLF before and sort you out, poilitely, for spreading that crap. He never wrote that. For you to, again, lie, is not cool.
-
Nice goal from Arsenal fan Micah Richards on the weekend. His shot was, as Trevor Francis would say, ‘Straight at’ Joe Hart.
I agree.
Chelsea are indeed weaker than last year. The first choice 11 is obvisouly very good, but a quick look at their bench tells its own tale. Manure are weaker (on paper), but are looking fairly solid and steadily picking up the points.
For me, we are the wildcard. We are a Jykell and Hyde team. We are absoultly amazing and tear teams to shreds, or we pass a team to death without creating a chance in anger. I do think we look more solid at the back than last year, but still worry about the protection that the rest of the team offers the back 4. Both Chelsea and Manure will be there or there abouts come May. We will either put together a very good run (we are more than capable) and storm the lge, or, wither away conceeding needless goals and throwing stupid points away and be some way off the pace. I hope it is the former.
Or even, politely?
Too polite?
Bill, fuck off.
Villa’s second goal was one of those, the likes of which will be scored any time. Well done to them, pressing … whatever. But the first was our mistake. We’ve conceded a few of those, from around the edge of the box. Clichy was best positioned the prevent a shot, and rather looked to prevent a possible pass, but there was no Villa player on his side. By the time the CBs dashed up to block, it was too late, and a well placed shot was taken, while Fab couldn’t see as the giant Carew was standing in front of him.
In some cases a goal like that might have been disallowed.
Not a terrible blunder, but one that could easily have been prevented. These are not alarming defensive errors. Personally, I think the Spurs result was a bit flukey really, especially the second (penalty). An unusual goal really. Liverpool did exactly the same, and Defoe missed the penalty too, luck of the draw. The third (header) was also a little unusual, Kaboul was quite tightly marked, and such a perfectly weighted ball in is quite rare. The Bale goal was very good by him, well done, bla bla, and also our error.
So, I don’t quite see the defensive alarm.
Bill,
Don’t be silly. Dixon was comparing to George Graham who was a defensive-minded manager. If you find that interview I’d have you read it again, Dixon noted that Wenger actually made them better players.
I am clear that Wenger isn’t as defensive in orientation as Graham. But he has a better defensive record than Graham who had no imagination.
The Brain has no connection with Arsenal. If he did say so, he’s apparently disputed that he said so, then I’d add him to the moron category.
That’s an absurd statement that’s clearly false so you have to be quite stupid to believe it.
Cesc saying that at Arsenal we don’t focus mainly on stopping other teams from playing means nothing.
it certainly isn’t a way to prove that Arsenal don’t work on defending in training.
You know what, if it were true that Arsenal don’t work on defending in training then I want Wenger sacked immediately. he’d be the worst manager in history.
If this were a 1500 metre race. We are quite nicely positioned, on the shoulder of the leader, around two laps plus to go, and – can we just agree – yet to get into our full stride.
I expect an acceleration round the next bend. November has gone, and we have survived.
Graham from London @ 9:38 am
“Alot of fans do know more than the boss at the moment”
I stopped reading your post after this. I’m sorry but thats just simply untrue. NO fans, repeat NO FANS know more than the boss. How one can argue such nonsense is indicative a very irrational and illogical world view.
I am sure that Arsenal do work on defending. It is absurd to think that they don’t.
I think we all agree that our defenders are all good players, but something is not right that we conceed the goals we do considering how much we dominate play. It just can’t be right. As Bill noted, the Braga game is a perfect illustration. Villa got two against us and hardly had a passage of play worth noting. How many times do we create 15+ chances and take one of them, only for the opposition to score one or more from hardly any chances at all? Teams don’t suddenly become more clinical against us.
November is our bogey month. And despite the usual November issues, it still saw us close the gap to just two points. Weird, but anyone saying that we are not in a great position right now is obviously missing something.
Come back Yogi – can’t believe you posted that…
A truly terrible post from yet another Football Manager playing expert, telling us who we should sign.
And while I am venting – what is it with people not being able to spell LOSE.
LOSE – it is very simple.
The post is total shit NJ – either ACLF has been hacked into or Yogi had been on the Ale when he agreed to put it up…
As for the same old CB story: if Vermaelen is not fit close to or by January (and there is no clear return date in sight) I believe that we have to buy a CB. However, I do not believe that we have to buy one of the CB’s that has been floated around. I think we would need a Sol Campbell-type signing in January — unless people just want to give up on Vermaelen. As, I think, Ole pointed out, keeping five centre backs happy is a difficult task. And in my opinion you can not really easily rotate your CB’s because that might affect defensive understand negatively.
Lose women. It just does not work Matt
The idiots are people who succumb to half-baked ideas.
Robson says we have no defensive strategy. No, we just have a defensive strategy different from the one he’d prefer us to have.
His entire comments were premised on us not pressing as intensely as Barcelona. Failing to do that, we have no defensive strategy in his eyes.
Well, Yogi did say that it is an alternative viewpoint. I guess that is enough of a disclaimer …
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_6538358,00.html
The bit on us sums us up nicely.
Strange to see an article of this nature on ACLF… What’s happened to the guest posts from Zim, Limpar etc etc? Who is this Graham chappie? Why is he listing players from Football Manager? What are you thinking Yogi? Sorry, but I’m just a bit surprised that this kind of talk made it onto your site… We expect it from the regular Football Manager players on here, but not someone recommended by Yogi…
I don’t know Andy – I have known plenty of women I would of liked to of lost…
For ‘alternative’, read ‘shite’ , Evil.
“And while I am venting – what is it with people not being able to spell LOSE.”
I agree with that and your thoughts on the poster.
Not enough for me Evil! We can happily (or not as the case may be) go to Le Grove or Transfer Tavern for articles like this – if we wanted to read some utter shite.
Ole – He has a valid point though. Playing a 433 requires a high tempo pressing game due to the positions of the players when the ball is lost. If we don’t press quick enough there are enough spaces inbetween the players to be expoilted by good footballers.
Good morning/afternoon all!
So, I guess we expected that Villa shouldnt have scored, HOW DARE THEM! Dont they know that Arsenal should score 5 goals and game and concede none?!
This defensive argument, to me, is a bunch of hot air. Reason being, the Goals Against dont reflect the dire defensive situation that people claim Arsenal are in. The only team that has a very good defensive record much better than our is City.
We dont lack for people who can defend well (and who said Squillaci is “not so good”? he is an fantastic defender) what we have lacked is focus for the full 90 and that could be due to overconfidence/complaceny is some instances. Its stands to reason that if teams are not getting many shots off we must be defending well.
If you look at most of the goals we conceded in the last 3 matches you can see that focus has been an issue.
Two long balls, One hand ball=penalty, One offside with clichy backing off.
All of these have to do with staying focused for the whole match.
I believe our defense will improve vastly as Kos and Squill get more PL experience. We have the talent, especially with TV coming back.
WHAT A TEAM!
BLESSINGS!!
When Arshavin was asked whether picking out Nasri for his volley was a move from the training ground he said, no, Nasri just looked lonely over there so he thought he’d cheer him up and give him the ball.
I think picking him out directly probably was spur of the moment, but the positioning of Samir Nasri and TR7 either side of the D, just outside the box, is a new tactic. On three seperate occasions the ’2nd ball’ fell to them. Twice Rosicky teed-up Nasri for a low shot (once with a lovely one-touch half-volley – zing!), and once Nasri returned the favour. So… I don’t think it’s a coincidence, rather a tactic – I think it’s a great idea to maximise our chances of recycling the corner if we don’t win the header, and get a shot on goal. It’s not like Nasri and Rosicky are going to be winning many headers for us in the box from corners anyway.
Ole @ 3:12:
OK. Obviously I have strong opinions regarding this issue and perhaps I am trying a bit to hard to make the evidence fit the conclusion. However, we have had the same problem for over 5 years. Players have come and gone, we have changed formations yet the exact same problem persists. We consistently play the “best football” and lose points against the run of play because we concede to many goals. The only thing that has not changed during that time is the coaching staff. Draw whatever conclusions you want.
Finsbury @ 3:04:
I will take your suggestion under advisement.
I believe the one defensive problem that has really cost us dearly is that we seem to lose focus, especially after free kicks and corners. I remember that being the case last year against ManU as well, for example. When our centre backs are still recovering, we need to apply more pressing, to prevent anyone from picking out a pass.
I would be more understanding if they simply were not very good. There is no excuse for not being focused.
I maintain out prime issue is that of protection for the back 4.
Not all the goals we concede are the fault of the defence or defenders. Case in point being the game against Tottenham.
I keep pointing out that we concede few shots on target, which shows that our defensive setup isn’t all too bad. I haven’t seen the latest stats on this, but last time I saw it we were 2nd in the league on that score.
Most of the goals we concede can be avoided. One blog I saw today pointed out that 60% of the goals we’ve conceded were in just 3 games.
We do have defensive problems as we do concede too many goals. But the solutions aren’t simple or obvious.
It’s quite hard to find the balance between attack and defence. As I point out, teams like Villa, Stoke & Man City have kept more clean sheets than us in the last couple of seasons but finish many points behind because they’re not good at taking the initiative.
The reality is that this squad is still in construction and is not the finished article and sometimes the balance is wrong.
@goonerandy
I would say that protection of our back 4 is usually not an issue during open play. It only becomes a big issue for us on counter attacks after free kicks and corners..
Bill – That is exactly it. We lose too many goals against the run of play. We play well, and then lose goals and games. A couple of times it could be conicidnce or bad luck, but the amout of times we do exactly that is criminal. I have no idea why we do though.
Matt,
your right, total shite. I just love how people talk about how the signing of a new centerback, goalkeeper, and what was the line earlier, old fashioned destroyer in midfield, would absolutely solve our problems. The idea that spending money guarantees results.. I guess those people choose to ignore the case in point of Citeh.
It really does make me laugh though.. “I’ve got this crystal ball one of my mates gave me and in it I saw Arsenal players with premier league medals around their necks, among them were Schwarzer, Cahill, and an old fashioned middle of the pitch hardman, thats actually on the back of his kit!”
@GA
Also, case in point, ManU are sitting on top of the table and have conceded just one goal less than we did. Fulham have conceded one more goal than we did and they are one spot above the relegation zone.
Ole – This squad has been in construction for over 5 years. Wenger himself said that the squad is now ready so that is no longer a viable excuse.
Evil – I agree about the counter attack, but that is sort of my point. We commit so many men ahead of the ball when we lose it we are in trouble. Our full backs play more like wingers, and I do think that Song (or whoever plays there) should not be as advanced as often as he now seems to be.
@GA
But we really do need our centre backs forward for those situations. It’s kind of a must to give us the ability to take anything from a corner.
I think the frustarting thing for us is the nature of the goals we conceed. So many of them so preventable. If somebody pings one in from 30 yards, or they score from good football, fine. All teams conceed. But so often other teams don’t really have to do much to score against us. That is what really grates, all of our excellent football just for us to gift the other team a goal (or more).
goonerandy
“A couple of times it could be conicidnce or bad luck, but the amout of times we do exactly that is criminal”
hasn’t it just been a couple of times though? If your talking about against the run of play then we can rule out west brom because they just dominated us in the first half of that game. So we’ll take Newcastle, Braga, and Spurs. 3 is a couple no?
Evil – I don’t mean corners mate. Just normal play. I don’t really have issue with our centre backs who I think have been very good.
NJ – I don’t just mean this season. We have been doing just that for many years now.
Andy @ 3:20:
“I am sure that Arsenal do work on defending. It is absurd to think that they don’t.
I think we all agree that our defenders are all good players, but something is not right that we conceed the goals we do considering how much we dominate play. ”
You are probably right about the first part and definitely right about the 2nd. None of us are actually at the training ground so we don’t really know what goes on. I would argue that however we do work on our defending, we should probably be doing something different. We have shown the ability to defend adequately in some games this year. With the weakness around us this year may be it will be enough. Time will tell.
goonerandy | November 29, 2010 at 3:31 pm |
Chelsea have won three league titles in 5 years mainly playing 4-3-3 and they don’t press like Barcelona.
I really detest the notion that pressing is a magic bullet.
There are problems with pressing as a defensive tactic.
1. Teams which press lose steam later in games. We saw that against Barcelona. They were exhausted in the last 20 minutes, and we could easily have won that game in the last 20 minutes.
2. It doesn’t stop teams hoofing the ball upfield. In fact, if you press it makes you more vulnerable to the hoofed ball upfield.
3. It takes a strain on a squad to press in every game.
I always say that all defensive strategies can work. For example, some would have thought Mourinho’s approach at the Nou Camp last season to be suicidal. It’s usually suicidal to say you have no intention to have possession. But it achieved the result. Some teams press, some teams don’t.
it’s all about execution
@goonerandy
Yeah but during normal play we do not concede that many goals, do we? Against Sp*ds we conceded one from a counter, one from a pen, one from a free kick. Against Villa the first one was a lapse in concentration (and offside, anyway) and the second from a corner.
Agree with ZP about the 1500.
And agree with Finsbury.
Well Andy, in that case, I dont know either. All I care about is this season. And I think its pretty safe to say that over such a timeline all teams will concede soft and preventable goals, even teams filled with good old fashioned english ‘ardmen..
Ole – I do agree it is all about execution.
The 433 that Chelsea played, and the 433 that we play are very different. For starters their full backs hardly ever crossed the half way line. They also had a holding player who never made forward runs. We do the exact opposite which is why we should press.
It does tire the team you are right, but controlling possesion is when you get a breather. Which is why Barca execute this so well.
Also pressing does encourage the “hoof”, but under pressure defenders will clear it anywhere and normally just conceed possesion. If we stand off them they will pick the target man out and put our back line under pressure.
My memory may be failing me, but I do recall a lot of goals we have conceded this season have been down to individual error’s / lack of concetration.
You can’t cater for that when practising on the training ground.
As a unit we have looked pretty solid at times, we just seem to get punished for mistakes more than average.
For me this current squad has existed in its current form for 3 years- since Henry left. 2 of the oft quoted 5 years were the last years of the invincibles. And even then we’ve had to rebuild the defence after Toure & Gallas left.
It’s frustrating that transition takes time, but let’s not forget that this squad is still better than most in the league. What is proving difficult is overhauling man United and Chelsea, who between them have spent some serious dosh.
Evil – We conceed plently from open play.
Ole – I don’t doubt that. I don’t even really know how I ended up having this debate as I do think we are in good shape. Just a bit of frustration I suppose that we are still conceeding preventable goals. It may cost us, and it is our own doing.
@goonerandy
But how many of the goals we conceded from open play are down to “lack of protection for the back 4″?
The goal against Newcastle was from a free kick as well.
The 1st Villa goal was an absolute disgrace to the game; & you can’t even blame the ref for that. The world governing body should make the rules more clear.
Inspite of his view being blocked, Lukasz still got fingertips on the ball; he surely would have saved it if Carew wasn’t there, & then nobody would be questioning our defence. I actually think we were pretty good defensively.
Good grief! Yogi has really scraped the bottom of the guest-posting barrel today.
Stewart Robson IS an idiot.
In fact, I can’t imagine anyone having a stronger claim to idiocy than Stewart Robson.
… unless of course it’s the person who wrote…
Nah, forget it! That would be rude.
goonerandy,
If Barcelona played in the Premier League, they’d get outmuscled in every stadium. They’d be surprised to find that a simple throw in from Delap can be very hard to defend.
Barcelona play in another league where all teams try to play football. In a league where a team could just hoof upfield, the striker can push the centre half (without a free kick being called against him) and suddenly he’s through on goal.
I am not against pressing high up the field by the way. We adopt that tactic from time to time. In the first half against Chelsea we used the tactic.
I’m just skeptical it’s the magic bullet Robson says it is.
The man can’t stop scoring against Arsenal:
Bill(y) is a LIAR
Btw. don’t forget, Nottm Forest play today!
Billy Liar.
The same, deliberate, disinformation: Not once, not twice, but thrice.
Three strikes and you’re out!
It’s not a suggestion, it’s a rule. In baseball. Thought you knew that.
I’ve just watched Stewart Robson’s tactical analysis on ATVO. He sounded like he was reading off of cue cards that someone else had written for him. Awkward to say the least…
goonerandy,
what you say about pressing is interesting because, for me, calling for that is saying we must persevere with the high line that so many arsenal supporters seem to hate. If you want to press successfully you need play to be as compact as possible so I’d say a high line is a must. Agree?
Personally, I think that while our defence isn’t perfect, comparing the criticism it receives with the number of goals we actually concede (4th best in the league?) suggests that it’s “the common sense of the era” rather than an objective truth.
”’Eboue ahead of schedule for Wigan”
Signs that november is finally coming to an end…
We’re not playing as high a line this season except on corners and set pieces.
I often read the post and comments, rather than comment myself (seeing as this post wasn’t by Yogi or Stone, it doesn’t fit into the non-speculative approach of the blog) but seeing as I was nickname dropped earlier, I am compelled to comment.
The reason being as I’ve apparently said Arsenal don’t do defensive drills. This may have got lost in translation. Rather, I meant, Arsenal don’t do as much beaurucratic defensive drills as other sides may do. Defensive training can focus on matches and specific drills but the defenders do get their own time to practice things and clearly, you can see in the way Arsenal are set-up for corners, they practice that as well. Maybe not as painstakingly boring and repetitive, and arguably as often, as other sides but they do it nevertheless.
Graham can say whatever he wants about Koscielny and Squillaci but the defenders he recommended have no BPL or Champions league experience. Not one of them. When they make the leap to a better league or play in the champions league let me know. I’ll surely be watching out for them. By the way, Cahill’s Bolton has shipped more goals than we have. How in the hell would anyone pay such absurd sums of money for a player who is worse than what we’ve got? Also, Koscielny is the best I’ve seen this season at taking the ball away from the opposition and playing it out of defense. If he were to leave our club I have no doubt he’d end up at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan or Inter. He’s that fucking good. Him, Djourou and Vermaelen are in every big club’s wish list. I can guarantee you that.
I am not sure if I would call one long ball over the top being beaten by a counter. In that I mean that we rarely get beaten on a counter when the ball is played on the ground.
The players were too focused on the individual with the ball on both goals. Simple adjustment needed. Watching the ball is not as important as watching the players around you. The only threat the person with the ball has is the long ball but we should let the players upfield players worry about closing them down. Drop back, to backside!
Love this team!
All this needs, again, is focus.
Those blaming Clichy for Villa’s first goal need to take into account that Carew was interfering with play and was thus offside. That doesn’t excuse Clarke not being closed down but that goal should’ve never been given.
@goonerandy, That all top 3 clubs has been lucky was my point. Arsenal is not the only club that has been lucky cos the other two underpreform. United has been lucy cos the two other underpreform and Chelsea has been lucky cos United and Arsenal underpreform. Frankly top 3 has not done very well this year. Simple fact.
That said, is it only me or is the tottenham hype making you sick? Now they can win the league aparantley.
I will die of embarrasnment if they A) beat us in the leauge, B) goes further than us in the CL.
The Brain,
You shouldve started your post by saying “I know absolutely nothing about any defensive drills performed by any professional football club when they are in training.” I know nothing about it. You know nothing about it.
So when you say: “Arsenal don’t do as much beaurucratic defensive drills as other sides may do. Defensive training can focus on matches and specific drills but the defenders do get their own time to practice things” What you were actually saying was: “I actually know absolutely nothing about arsenal’s defenisve training or any other professional football clubs defensive training methods”
So why do you bother to speak such pure garbage..err rubbish?
I don’t hate Tottenham fans, but I don’t think I would recommend inbreeding midges. Seems to create an unhealthy obsession.
Which do people dislike more: Maureen-led Real Madrid, or the abolitionists at Barcelona?
It’s like Manure vs Spuds tonight.
A R S E N A L
This is the kind of game you want both teams to lose.
Ramsey on the bench for Forest tonight.
OOU, I despise Barcelona but Real Madrid have Mourinho and Ronaldo. Tough choice.
I am really beginning to hate Stewart Robson! His turning out to be jut another little Englander!
I’ve spent nearly an hour thinking about it, G69. Aversion to Mourinho just about wins out. I just cannot stand him, or the c*nts who want him at Arsenal.
And at least Barcelona are kind of synonymous with good football.
My favourite player on either side is Oezil though.
Very interesting hypotheses as always but the team that wins the most games at the end of the season is the one that will win the league…not the one that concedes the most goals so all this talk about buying new defenders is neither here nor there. The issue is of a collective defensive mentality and never say die attitude that seems to desert us when it matters.Also Arsene has meticulously built this team down to the finest detail using the collective attributes of each and every player. When was the last time Wenger was able to field a fit team of his best eleven players for a consistent run of matches…Never. So blaming Wenger is very convenient. What is needed is not new players but some collective defensive fine tunning of the players we have. Until that changes even if we had JT and Lucio we would still concede. Isnt a win a win whether its 1-0, 7-1 or 4-2. I agree with goonerandy and ole
OOU, G69
pick your poison eh?? For me, Xavi & co.’s tactics in the press this summer win out.. or lose out ha. More than a club? Certainly, a group of indignant, shallow, cry-babies!
barca to win it! no contest…. they are preferred to anything Jose M
11 men in their own half and 2 down. lol
yep… just checked 2 – 0 barca
no packing of the bus LOL
Madrid will certainly want the bus now! LOL
I can’t wait to hear Mourinho’s post game ‘special’ moan
bus = ball
they dont seem to be getting it though LL.
Barca being one of the best passers of the ball on their day
Any links?
espn3 maria
@ maria, am following on bbc live text
Not the best
http://dedisport.altervista.org/
http://atdhe.net/29594/watch-fc-barcelona-vs-real-madrid
any news about Ramsey?
It seems espn3 only works if you live in the US.
Mourinho and his bunch of classless idiots deserve to be taken down a peg or two, shame it has to be those Barca guys though!!
He is on the bench
Messi with a little acting and got himself a well earned yellow.
There shouldve been a penalty also for RM.
I would prefer Barca lose. As much of a clown that Mourihno is he has not tried to personally undo our team. He can talk all of his stupid rubbish if he feels like.
Anymore I can’t even get anything on screen!! Also I am only working with the laptop!
Try this Maria, scroll down and check the various links.
http://atdhe.net/index.html
dolphin head coming on for Real
@maria
try firstrow.net if atdhe.net doesn’t work
So this shows we want to meet RM instead of Barca on our way to the CL final….
Droylsden one up at at home to Orient.
-
The Madrid No.10 Diarra on for Ozil. Classic Mourinhioballs. Could be four-one. Whoops, it’s three. The Arsenal Reserves were better then this.
Isnt Villa offside?
Ramsey on for forest
3-0.i hate barca but also couldnt bring myself to support mourino the egomaniac.oops it is now 4.
Well there goes the handy work of the “special” one.
The look on Moaninho’s face is just priceless!!!!!
is ramsey playing well, can’t find any links for that game
@firstlady – 9.17 pm isn’t that the conundrum and sadly there’s no lesser of the two evils here.
links http://www.footballstreaming.info/streams/todays-links/
I’m not watching the game, but if Barca is playing their style of football and humiliating Mouninho (The real LOSER) it’s a victory for football.
Agreed Zama, as an Arsenal supporter you win and lose at the same time with these two. However given JM’s latest disrespect of Wenger its very funny.
Yes Paul it is funny in the extreme. Maybe this will shut his trap for a while.
Maureen should explain to the Madrid fans why they are getting humiliated. can’t stand both teams but sadly both teams can’t lose, only one so I’m ok for now.
For those who are interested, the Panorama was another ‘BBC Beveren’ special. The ‘evidence’ related to bribes 10 years ago, was shown as lines on a spreadsheet which proves nothing – where were the bank statements that proved payment made and where it went. All very similar to the style of presentation that newsnight tried on the Beveren case. If that screwed England’s 2018 bid, it was totally fucked to begin with.
Well.
I wish we spent more money.
I wish we had Jose Mourinho as our manager.
Don’t kid yourselves people….it takes a special special talent to make a team that cost the best part of HALF A BILLION (fuck me!) never look like fucking scoring!
I can recount at least 4 clear chances for us at the Nou Camp..
Because of our poor form in the CL we could get Barca in the first knockout round.Barca are the best team in world football by miles
So what did the 80 million player do in a game like that?
In that case we’ll just have to beat Barcelona. I ain’t scared, fear’s for moist felines.
Anyway, I just found out Leslie Nielson passed away a few day ago, so I’m going to mourn by watching Airplane! and the Naked Gun trilogy back to and hope it snows heavily enough to stop the country for a half a day.
We should be doing that to the likes of Chelsea every season…
That close up of Mourinho at the end was priceless!!! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
G4E
Barely touched the ball. When he did he was woeful.
You know what… this result by know means confirms Real Madrid are a bad team…they are still one of the best in the world by a way. But hopefully this game has taught some of those would be football manager gooners out there a thing or two about the nature of football and about the fact that the heir apparent Jose is not the messiah…he’s just a very naughty boy.
I hope Cesc was out partying!!
I agree deano.
He sure is deano!!
The primal side of me really enjoyed Ramos slapping Howard Marks at the end though.
CR7 never touched the ball because his team was totally outclassed by a team that plays football from a different planet.The great thing about Barca is when they dont have the ball.Everyone of their players closes down their opponents when they have the ball even the brilliant Messi.I love Cesc and think he is a wonderful player but get into the Barca team ahead of Iniesta and Xavi No way Jose
Real Madrid should consider buying a defender in January. Pepe and Carvalho aren’t cutting it. They should look at those defenders that Graham listed and go get one. I bet they could use a young, mobile novice from France right about now.
The sweetest thing about this victory is that Mourinho can’t build an ultra defensive sqaud, in order to not repeat this humiliation, because Real Madrid supporters will not put up with anti-football. That type of philosophy only works in Italy or for upstart chavs who come into a bit of money and completely disregard their football heritage.
Pep Guardiola clutching at his face when Ronaldo shoved him was funny. Cheating runs from the top down at Barfa.
better gainsbourg ,we could exchange each other cb to see .
I suppose ,it s another excuse for maureen to spend half billion in january .Ronaldo do what he do best in the big under pressure match,he disappear.Everyone can see who is the best player in the world (ronaldette) and he i out of this world (messi)
@G69
What ’bout a keeper as well?
Yeah, Casillas got nut megged by Villa while very far off his line. Dude is suspect if you ask me.
LG, Ronaldo is shit when he plays against a team that doesn’t give him space. That’s why I think Messi is miles better than him. You give Messi a yard and he takes eight. When Ronaldo gets closed down his only move is those pedaladas and a sideways pass. He hasn’t the ability to penetrate through a crowd like Messi does.
In that sense, Ronaldo is very similiar to Robben.
What a load of bollocks. Denilson is pure class as is Clichy. Schwarzer? Bwahaha.
Hey Yogi you mugged us today. the Barcelona Madrid game was hyped so much but it turned out one sided with a lot of over paid players on show . Barcelona did their usual passing while madrid players stood and watched. mourinho was possibly told by the Madrid board they want to see the beautiful football and none of that defensive crap he usually serves up on the big occasion. Th te world is watching and they don’t want their reputation to be tarnished. And what happened?. Mourinho did not have a clue.
yep… that’s real Madrid for disbanding according to arsenal fans usual knee jerk reactions LOL
Awwww, come on, let’s stop mean. It’s time to feel sorry for that poor sod Mourinho. Knows how to build a wall but if he is asked to create something beautiful, his skills simply leave him. That’s why he could never work for Arsenal.
@ evil u think?
LOL
I think Cahill and Phil J are both crap. Win a ball and “huff it”? Minimal caps for a national team that is crap and both of their starting center-halves are regularly hurt. No Thank you
For those who question the validity of Wengerball and our passing game, please watch last night’s Barca v Real Madrid game. I have never seen Mourinho so clearly exposed as a one trick pony as he was last night.
My view of him is that he rides in on a wave of publicity and organises a defensive unit with one key striker up front and one in midfield. The euphoria that always accompanies a new manager helps elevate his team and he takes “all” the credit. However, as noted above, give him a more creative team with various attacking options and what happens?
Barca 5 Madrid 0.
If this seems unjust, let’s reflect beyond the hype and deification that has been bestowed by the British media. When he left Chelsky, their attendance was at an all time low (so much for entertaining a crowd). They had lost the previous season and (despite having the most expensive squad of the time) his complaint was that he could not do his job unless Abramovic gave him more funds to go into the transfer market. And that brings me nicely onto his position regarding finances.
What did the Chelski, Inter and Real Madrid teams that he coached all have in common? They were the most expensive squads in their respective leagues. Remember that he spent 4 times as much as Barcalona did in the Summer and what was the result:
Barcelona 5 Real Madrid 0?
And some say they would like him more than Arsene Wenger because, to quote, “he is a winner” Well, Cruyff was interviewed before last night’s game and he reiterated Arsene’s view by noting the duty of top teams to entertain as being more important that merely a desire to win. He noted that Mourinho was of the opposing (win at all costs) school. Last night must be seen as an interesting development in this light. But, as is his wont, let’s leave the last word to Mourinho. Pre-match he was interviewed by a notably sycophantic Sky reporter and the special one stated:
“I build a great defence because everything starts from there. Then with the striking options that we have that takes care of itself.”
Mmm? Barca 5 Real Madrid 0
IN ARSENE WE TRUST!
COYG
Barca were simply breathtaking last night. That is the brand of football we play, but are not at that level yet. They were in complete control of the game and were decisive and clinical in the final 3rd.
I liked the jostling, pushing, shoving, elbow-to-jaw and hand-in-face moves.
I thought Real had slightly the upper hand here, and well done Maureen for that, shows discipline, tenacity and quality, but a draw was a fair result at the end. Puyol’s hair was not disturbed after all.
I made a mental note not to quarrel with Iniesta next time, dynamite, small packages, you know.
Well, well … if that’s the best Barcelona can do, I rather fancy a draw against them, if we get past Eduardo next week.
I admire Barelona’s patience but they look a bit one-dimensional for me this season. Arsenal at their best are much, much quicker on the break. You have to be, in this league.
You have to admit, that “Ronaldo sulky stare” is impressive. None of our players have a good enough stare, although Rosicky has a good “throwing of hands in the air” move. Walcott is developing his stare, but it’s way too boyish. Sagna has a useful shrug. Arshavin has a sarcastic look. Cesc has a “you’ve got to be joking” look, but also, like Song’s “who me”? look, it’s just a bit subtle. We have work to do! Wake up Wenger!
All very true, ZimPaul. Sometimes Koscielny looks like he could go without blinking for days, and just bore right through you… but then his face creases up and he starts laughing and patting you on the back and you realise it was all just another wild, Franco-Polish wind-up.
Thomas Vermaelen does an excellent, “don’t even f*cking think about it”, when he’s marking someone.
Fabianski’s beginning to look like one of the Guns of Navarone troupe. The knife expert I think. A young, passionate resistance fighter who’s fervour for the fight has intensified so much as to seep deep inside of him, lending him the outward appearance of a glassy-eyed bear. Very dangerous, lightening quick reactions. Switches in a second to a roaring, bristling beast.
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