Injuries, injuries, injuries, Bolton (Home) preview

10 09 2010

So the Injurenational break ends and some of our players come back crocked. No change there then! In addition to van Persie (6 weeks), Theo picked up an ankle injury (6 weeks) and Vermaelen has an achilles problem. It is very frustrating for a gooner, and it must be for Arsene himself. However you do have to question, Vermaelen aside, why our players seem so brittle. Van Persie, Nasri, Walcott, all impact injuries.

Some good news though, Samir Nasri has recovered quicker than expected and will be in the Bolton squad. I suspect a place on the bench is more likely than a start and all things point to a full return against Braga next week. Hopefully he is fully healed and will last for a decent length of time and can continue his early season form.

With Vermaelen missing out it means Sebastian Squillaci will get his full Arsenal debut tomorrow, hopefully it will be uneventful for him unlike the debut of Koscielny a few weeks back. With Squillaci to start it does point to, as I mentioned when he signed, Djourou being the current fourth choice in central defence. But that is still something that can change over the course of the season with 4 players fighting for 2 spots on the team sheet, can only mean good things and good performances we hope.

Bolton under Owen Coyle are a slightly different animal, but they still have a thug or two, but their more willingness to play the game will open things up for us and should allow our attacking play to give us an early hold on the game. Goals wont be a problem tomorrow, perhaps 3-1 to the home side. This should be a 3 point home banker, and I don’t see why it wont be. The players were back a day earlier than usual, those who are fit should have no excuses why they don’t give their all tomorrow and see us running out winners. Enjoy the game wherever you are watching.


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Categories : Arsenal, Arsenal Injury News, Premier League

Season Preview

13 08 2010

Can this Arsenal team win the league? Possibly. Do I think they will? No.

We head into the new season that starts this weekend with much trepidation, despite assurances from Arsene that our defensive issues would be solved we are weaker in defence than we were this time last season. We only have three recognised centrebacks in Vermaelen, Djourou and Koscielny, an injury to Vermaelen and we are fucked. It’s not harsh on the other two but I don’t see them coping with Drgoba, Rooney etc. There is still time for a signing but looking at what we have there is real worry.

In midfield we are strong, even with the question marks that surround Cesc, we have Nasri showing some excellent pre-season form and Jack Wilshere looks like he could hit it big this season. Walcott, Rosicky and Arshavin need to impress this year compared to last season, I know they all had injuries but they just didn’t do it in the games they played last season.

Equally in attack we look good, the addition of Chamakh will add something we have perhaps missed since the departure of Adebayor. Goals this season, much like last in the main, won’t be an issue. The problem is will they outweigh the ones we conceed?

But goalkeeping is a major issue, we might have bid for a number of keepers (the Schwarzer rumours picked up again late last night) but nothing concrete has happened. Couple that with a pre-season selection policy and poor form means I don’t think even Arsene is confident who he will pick as number one. Personally it has to be Almunia, he is the best of a weak bunch. A club like Arsenal need a strong keeper if we are to challenge for trophies and currently that is one of our weak links.

We again will have squad depth problems, sheer numbers is not the issue, it’s having some quality rather than untested youth to step in during the inevitable injuries and dips in form. That is probably what worries me most.

Is a trophy possible? Yes, but it will take some big doses of luck to get one. I would like more attention paid to the FA Cup this season, but I’m not totally convinced that will happen. Maybe come May I will have to eat all these words when we are crowned Premier League or European champions, that hope isn’t totally missing. Come on you gunners!


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Cup Winners, Club Level, Celtic fans, Clock End

2 08 2010

picture from arsenal.com

So we won the Emirates Cup. Whilst as fans we will joke later in the season about defending this trophy, I worry Arsene may point to it in some of the darker moments of the forthcoming season. Pre-season tournaments do not a season make, but some of the signs were there both good and bad for us all to see.

The positives were the return of Jack Wilshere, I think he was the only player to play the whole 180 minutes of the weekend, he looked as good as ever and was very keen to impress. And that he did with a man of the match award yesterday against Celtic. His passing, running and tackling were all great – I fully expect him to play a more increasing role in the starting 11 as the season goes on. Chamakh also looked good, his goal on Saturday was well taken and he adds a slightly different dimension to our attack, the signs are good there. Nasri continued his pre-season form and I have high hopes for him this season, a central role seems to suit him.

But it wasn’t all positive, defensively we are still not great. Yes it was pre-season, yes we were trying new centreback partnerships but the signs were still there. Koscielny looked good against Milan, but was not great against Celtic being a stride behind the attacker when chasing back (granted that might be due to coming on for the second half and not getting in the game) but I think there are concerns having him as the first option with Vermaelen, but equally Djourou does not inspire confidence to a high extent either. Had Samaras not taken a rugby conversion whilst trying to take a penalty the result would have been different.

So yes it is pre-season, we cannot be too harsh but there is only one game to go until we face Liverpool in the season opener. We need more cover and quality at centreback, a goalkeeper is a must as neither Almunia or Fabianski had inspiring performances. But there is still time to sort that we hope. I’m not totally downcast about our seasons hopes, but I’m hardly jumping for joy either.

I sat in Club Level yesterday, I was with a group of work mates and for the extra £5 over a regular ticket I thought why not. So what was it like? Well it’s very plush compared to the “cheap” seats. An escalator takes you up to club level and you are met with carpeted floors in the bar areas, very small queues at the bar even during peak time (Kronenbourg is also sold up there alongside Fosters and John Smiths, I wonder if that is new this year or a club level exclusive?) and the toilets have tiled floors rather than the bare concrete we get in the other areas. The seats were the same as everywhere else, the view pretty good, not too high an angle compared to the Upper. But is it worth the premium? (£1500 extra compared to my lower tier Season Ticket) No, I don’t think so. It is a luxurious brand of football viewing, not what I am looking for in a match. Nice to entertain people or if you are in a group, but it’s not something I want to do week in week out. I prefer my seat in the lower tier thanks very much.

At the start of the match I was impressed with the noise the Celtic fans made (I was sat directly above them). Noise clearly travels upwards at the stadium, you cannot hear much of what the other parts of the stadium are doing noise wise. The sang and chanted even when the went a goal down. I was impressed, but it was totally ruined by the attitude to the members of the armed forces when they brought the podium onto the pitch for the trophy presentation. Booing them was not on in my opinion, I know exactly why they did it (I, by birth should be a Celtic fan but am not as I moved away from the city when I was young) but I wasn’t impressed by that at all. Took away any respect I had for them immediately.

So I was sat in the Clock End (cock up caused by the map for Club Level being reversed to the normal seating map on the ticket purchasing webpage) I had hoped to be able to see the clock, but you can’t from the seats unless I think you are in the front few rows of the lower, caused by where the clock is on the roof. That’s a shame, but it’s still nice to have a Clock End and the other three Highbury stands in our home.

So a week of no football, but some transfers might spark some life into us. We live in hope! Thanks for reading.


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Is Sol enough cover?

25 07 2010

The moves to Sunderland, Newcastle and Celtic seem not to be happening for Sol Campbell. Press rumours report that he will re-sign for us on a 1 year contract in the coming weeks. But is he enough cover?

If he signs we will only have 4 central defenders; Vermaelen – definitely up to the job, Djourou – worries about his long term fitness and capability for a full Premier League season and Koscielny – unproven at this level. Sol will be the fourth member of that quartet. He did great for us in the second half of last season, his positional brain is still there and he had some pace that I never expected to see. But will that still be there as he is one year older?

There is no doubt that he adds something to the dressing room, his experience and character are major plus points which I think as fans we cannot truly value as a lot of that part goes on behind closed doors. We need some commanding people at the back, it will be interesting to see how loud Vermaelen gets this season, we saw glimpses last year, he is no longer the new boy and Gallas is not there to give him “that look” if he dares shout a bit.

But is 4 enough? We love our injuries at Arsenal, so a few games without Vermaelen leaves me worried at the moment. The two younger players will hopefully surprise us all and be fantastic, but it is still a worry that hopefully Arsene is aware of. There is the option of Alex Song covering at CB in times of need, but he plays better slightly further up the park and he always seems to be one yellow card off a ban when we need him to fill in for a few games at center back. However if we bring in another defensive midfielder who can fill both roles like Song can then things might be a bit more comfortable for the defensive ranks.

Thanks to all those who entered the competition, and congratulations to our winner Daryl. I hope to have a few more competitions over the course of the season. Thanks for reading.


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Arsenal Home Kit revealed (it’s got white sleeves!), some transfer stuff as well

1 07 2010

picture from arsenal.com

Above is the new home kit for the forthcoming season, it’s red with white sleeves – brilliant! There has been a lot of fan backlash following our current home kit not having fully white sleeves and you have to think that Ivan Gazidis listened to this and perhaps pointed Nike in the right direction. The players seem to like it too with Alex Song, Thomas Vermaelen and Theo Walcott all talking about how traditional it looks. I like it, it looks like my last home shirt I bought (the last O2 kit) and I pre-ordered one today from the official store. It comes out on the 27th July, but you can pre-order now to avoid the queue at the armoury on the day.

picture from arsenal.com

One thing to note in the pictures for the new kit is the number that include Cesc, perhaps the club are more confident of him staying now. I wonder if his experience of bench warming for Spain has concentrated his mind a little? Maybe, maybe not but there has been a lesser number of “Barca DNA” stories recently – perhaps the Catalans have less money than they thought? John Cross in The Mirror writes today that Cesc may stay after all following his experiences at the World Cup.

But then again when Thierry left there were pictures of him wearing the then new kit.

The transfer merry-go-round continues to gather pace, Laurent Koscielny still hasn’t completely signed but all things point to that being a mere formality. But our defensive corps took a beating yesterday as Sylvester, Gallas and Sol all saw their contracts expire. Sol was up in Glasgow looking at Celtic, but he is delaying a decision – perhaps to see what we can offer him? This morning The Sun links us to Per Mertesacker, a good signing for us and clearly an area we need to improve on following last season.


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Some thoughts on Fabregate

20 05 2010

I was going to do a player by player review of the season in the last few days, but the events of Fabregate (see what I did there, TM & C block6gooner) have concentrated the mind away somewhat.

So from numerous mid-season denials and confirmation he was an Arsenal player we now have Cesc telling Arsene he wants out of the club. But when you examine all that has happened this season, and some of what might happen, his decision is far from madness.

To lose Cesc will hurt Arsenal, it will hurt Arsenal fans and it will hurt Arsene. He is by far our best player and single handedly kept us in the title race at times last season. 2009/2010 was his best season in an Arsenal shirt, he scored and created around 30 goals and was admired by the footballing world, and of course coveted by his boyhood club Barcelona.

So why might he want to leave? Here are some of my thoughts behind his reason why

- Is this current squad top class? I think, aside from Cesc, we only have 4 real top class players – van Persie, Arshavin (when he tries), Vermaelen and Song. 5 players does not make a team. Whilst we have some decent squad players, each season we have fallen short recently.

- Will investment be made to improve the team? To add to the 5 money needs spending, Arsene wants to live within the club’s means so big ticket players are unlikely. Rumours are that Cesc asked Arsene what his transfer plans were, perhaps the answer was not one that inspired confidence and that helped with the decision to leave.

- Is Arsene staying beyond next season? Coupled with the above, what if Arsene really is thinking of not staying on. I think his principles would mean he would not want to saddle a new manager with a number of his new players and not much money in the coffers.

- The Premier League is not based purely on skill, hard challenges are very much part of the game. Cesc does not hide from a challenge, but he has seen two team-mates suffer broken legs in the last 2 years and with his recently broken leg (suffered ironically against a Spanish team) perhaps a league that is less robust and more about football is more appealing.

I also think that giving him the captaincy was more about trying to keep him at the club than seeing him as a natural leader, when he was appointed Arsene said there are “lots of leaders in the dressing room” almost ceding that Cesc was not an out and out leader. If you look at Vermaelen (granted making a new player club captain is not the best move) or Sol they lead on the pitch where as Cesc is a lot quieter at times, that is no criticism of him but more of Arsene for bestowing him with the armband.

There has been a fair bit of negative reaction from some Arsenal “fans” towards Cesc, if he moves I won’t harbour any hatred against him. I will be gutted, and 5 days of mourning will be in effect, but he has given his all for this club from an early age you cannot question that. One thing I will say though, there has to be some questioning of Arsene if Cesc does leave – is this the end of that project? The team will change fundamentally and perhaps the focus on certain trophies might have to change.

Arsenal are reportedly going to fight to keep the player, but like in a relationship when one partner wants out and the other begs them to stay things are often never as good as they were. Patrick and Thierry did not play that well in that “extra” season after they asked to leave, I would far rather have the season just gone as my lasting memory of Cesc in an Arsenal shirt rather than a mediocre one.


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Arsenal v Fulham preview, the last game is upon us – they still need our support

9 05 2010

So here it is, the last game of the 2009/2010 season. At times we have dreamed of what might be, but sadly these dreams did not become reality. But I still feel it was a positive season, despite what others may feel, and I will add more on my thoughts over the next week or so in my end of season round up.

Today we face Fulham who have their minds hopefully on the Europa League final this Wednesday, a great achievement which should warrant Roy Hodgson manager of the year. We need at least a point to ensure 3rd place, I am confident we will get that.

A win would be a nice sign-off for the season which has drawn to a close with a big dip in form. The usual lap of honour will take place today, some blogs have called for everyone to leave at 80 minutes or to boo during the post match festivities – all bollocks I say. We have supported the players all season, and can anyone say that they all deserve to be boo’d at this juncture? Cesc, Vermaelen, Sol, Song to name a few players who have been fantastic – do they need to hear boo’s in recognition of their efforts this season? I think not. Yes there are some players who have not performed to their best, but as fans we are meant to support our team through thick and thin – however hard that can be at times.

Enjoy the game wherever you are watching.


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Categories : Arsenal, Premier League Home games 09/10

Tottenham 2 – 1 Arsenal, oh how we missed you Robin

15 04 2010

Picture from Arsenal.com

No two ways about it. Bollocks, fuck fuck bollocks. We lost to the shite from the lane. Following last night’s victory Spurs will now play in the world cup and get a bye to the final of the Champions League next season.

Half the team didn’t turn up, in fact only 3 players did. Sol was immense, despite the constant abuse he got he just played on, and played really well. I think Arsene should keep him on next season. Whilst he might start to lack the fitness required what he brings in experience and desire cannot be easily sourced elsewhere. Desire seemed lacking from most of our players on the pitch, Spurs clearly wanted it more. Samir Nasri tried really hard, he wanted to drive the team on but didn’t have the players around him to help.

Being 2 goals down I thought the best we could get was a draw. Two attacking subs would help, Theo came on but had no impact really. He simply couldn’t beat their left back(s). His only highlight was the cross that set up Bendtner’s goal.

Our other attacking substitute was Robin van Persie. Out of the game for 5 months, but it looked like he had never left. He has a particular running style – I can’t describe it but you just know it’s him by the way he moves. His chest-down and left foot volley was fantastic, great save Gomes, Robin doesn’t need time to regain his touch. A free kick that dipped for the top left corner was another gem, again great save Gomes. I was left wondering what might have been. If he had been fit all year, who knows. But my philosophy in life is what has happened has happened, you can’t look back thinking what if this, what if that. You just get on with it and our lot is 3rd place most likely. Yes we might sneak second, but I doubt it.

But is 3rd that bad? I don’t think so, as I alluded to after Birmingham we have done pretty well this season. Add our injuries, of which Vermaelen is now another attendee at Arsenal Injuries Anonymous and will be out for 2-3 weeks but I think that’s his season following a calf inury, and how well we have done in the league is fantastic. Take some of the top players from any other team away and see them mount a title challenge for this long into the season.

However it is not all rosy; Arsene said if we didn’t win anything this year he would need to change his buying style – will he do that? Time will only tell over the summer, but I suspect he is less than impressed by some of the performances in not only last night’s big game but some others this season where you have to wonder if some of the players really want to be Arsenal, or are happy just being footballers.

Thanks for reading


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Categories : Arsenal, Arsenal Injury News, Premier League Away games 09/10

Vermaelen appeal rejected

23 03 2010

The FA have confirmed in a statement that they have rejected the appeal by Arsenal regarding the red card given to Thomas Vermaelen during Saturday’s game against West Ham. He will serve a 1 match ban with immediate effect and will therefore miss the game v Birmingham on Saturday at St Andrews.

I can’t say I am surprised at the decision as I didn’t see much point in appealing.


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Arsenal appeal Vermaelen red card

23 03 2010

Picture from Arsenal.comYesterday Arsenal and the FA confirmed that an appeal has been made regarding the red card given to Thomas Vermaelen in the Arsenal v West Ham game on Saturday.

I am unsure if we should have gone to appeal on this, I can see why and I also think it was not a red but I thought at the time it was just best to accept it and get on with it. However the club have appealed the decision and that appeal will be heard today. I highly doubt that this will be seen as frivolous so there should be no extra sanction taken by virtue of going through the process.

I will aim to get the decision up on twitter or later today on the blog.


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