I am the most optimist of optimists and most of you know that judging from my posts. But I suppose even for a guy like me its time to face up to some certain facts:
FACT: Chelsea were superior to Arsenal in almost all departments
FACT: Arsenal have a host of injury problems
FACT: Chelsea easily outmuscled the Arsenal midfield
FACT: The Arsenal backline were outpaced by the Chelsea attack
FACT: The Chelsea defense plays as a unit with no nonsense defending
FACT: Essien is a very solid “tree trunk” of a player but deserved a red
FACT: Arsenal were unlucky with post & then with the dissallowed goal
FACT: Arsenal are out of title race
Looking at all these and I am sure lots will add more facts to this Arsenal are in need of surgery. Pires and Bergkamp and even Lehman (although he is having a great season) have to be moved on. Campbell at best after this season must be used more a sub rather than a starter.
Unfortunately David Dein’s comments prior to the game did not give me much heart for the amount of money available to spend….I seriously don’t think there is much there unless absolutely necessary. Silver lining AW has been fessing up to the soft center in the heart of the midfield. Let’s add a few players to the squad. Beef up the squad which in comparison to Utd let alone Chelsea looks frail. I believe Quincy needs to be judged by season end and sold otherwise increase his work ethic.
The 3 cups (Carling, FA, CL) are the options for silverware. Against Real who I have been watching for last month very closely are in as much a crisis as Arsenal are only difference is that whereas Arsenal’s team is very unexperienced Real’s galacticos are now over the hill and slow…points to an interesting match ahead. Even if we beat Real winning the CL is very tough. Look at what Vieira has done to Juventus this season - made them so solid that the hardly ever lose…he is an established world star….
Perhaps with the league now gone, like last season when Arsenal were out of league contention towards the end of the year we put together a decent run to clinch second place…well AW needs to take things one step at a time….aim for 4th place followed by 3rd and 2nd.
I still believe and remain optimistic that Arsenal will finish the season somewhere in top 3….what’s the bet that after the Christmas fixtures are over somewhere towards the end of January Arsenal will be sitting in 3rd place!! Ever the optimist!!
57 Responses to “The Aftermath & The Consequences”
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December 20th, 2005 at 8:21 am
“I still believe and remain optimistic that Arsenal will finish the season somewhere in top 3….”
I think im an optimist,but i’m not sure if we can play next CL,so must win it.
we always say it,we have to win the CL,but to be honest,we can’t win any other cups,but we can win the most difficult cup,that’s impossible.
The facts are all the facts…so we won’t win it.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:33 am
It’s strange, I seem to have gone full circle in regards to who we should buy. At first it was central defender about half-way through last season, but then Senderos came in, steadied the ship, and then I thought midfield and then the forward positions needed surgery. I still think the forward positions and midfield need strengthening but without doubt the area of most concern is the defence. I would go as far to say that without our two left-backs, it is the second worst defence in the league -it is that bad.
Sol Campbell is finished, finito and Senderos is a big lug who frankly not good enough against the top teams, although he is better bet than Campbell at the moment. Therfore the only central defender that we should keep in contention is Kolo Toure and he is prone to bouts of idiocicy so basically our defence is one big catastrophe waiting to happen. Our full-backs such as Lauren often have a mare against top players as well, and Ashley Cole has been mediocre for about years now IMO.
We need two or three top quality defenders who can defend with composure and be able to stride forward and instigate attacks when teams, such as Chelsea, defend deep. Someone like Lucio would be perfect. Every top team has them, even a team like Man Utd, who are struggling, have Rio Ferdinand.
People like Rosicky are good players but we need to sort out our defence but we start addressing our attack. Chelsea’s central midfield was no more impressive than ours on Sunday, and it was their defence that proved the difference.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:49 am
Why are you on Senderos’s case anyway all of a sudden. Unless you have a particular recent episode in mind I cant seem to find fault with him.
If your mind is on the Chelsea game then the guy I deem most at fault is Lauren. Lauren was the one who dithered with Joe Cole was bearing down on him. Then again Lauren can always claim that he was played out of position and that would be a valid point.
But we definately need to address the defense before anything else. That I agree with. The defense is the key.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:58 am
sorry, one off topic side note:
When Lauren were knocked down by Essien (and probably would lose one of his front teeth), the Arsenal players were furious, surrouded the referee, so did the chelsea players trying to prevent their guilty teammate got booked… Have anyone noticed where were our captain? Putting his arm around Michael Essien and dragging him away from the “crime” scene… Successfully claming Essien down and prevented him from getting another yellow card from the referee. It’s a sensible thing to do if he’s a Chelsea captain, unfortunately, it was our peace-maker captain.
Sportsmanship, 10 out of 10. Team spirit, 0/10.
I hope the next time, things like that happen again, first, as a captain, go check out your own man if he’s ok. After that, go stand tall face to face in front of the offender and warn him of cutting the cr*p.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:05 am
It may be appear that I suddenly changed my opinion of him but I started to doubt his ability in the Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge last season; the first game Drogba began haunting him. The F.A Cup Final only intensified my fears as he got turned more times than John Travolta. Arsenal were not conceding that many goals though so I waited a bit to see what he would be like this season, and I’m afraid he still doesn’t convince. He still does 85-90% of things well but that other 10& will continually cost us. I think is a better than Campbell though so I’m trying not to be too harsh on him.
Lauren is a disaster at times as well but others seem to be cocking-up more than him at the moment. It’s like everyone takes it turns to be the prankster and screw us over. Lauren’s mistake against Cole was unforgiveable at that level and I don’t think it had much to do with his position- he’s cocked-up in similar fashion on the right over the years. You don’t see William Gallas make such mistakes from left-back.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:08 am
Agreed, Henry shouldn’t try to be a nice guy, it’s not as if the ignorant opposing fans ever acknowledge his sportsmanship, they just come out with the usual “arrogant” spiel. I for one don’t think the captaincy issue is an issue, not making jot of difference in my opinion. Tony Adams was the only guy in which the role of captain meant something and affected our team.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:08 am
Valid point. But I dont know how you get around that as sportsmanship seems to be one of Henry’s defining points. In this instance an experienced captain would have hacked Essien down.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:09 am
to be fair, their full-backs seldom go forward and makalele, while not doing much else, filled in the space in front of their back 4. this makes the job of Terry and Carvahlo much, much easier. It’s Wenger’s call how high up the pitch we play and he got it wrong - 10 yards further back and the through ball has to be more than just a punt. I think this was to blame more than any player. In spite of the massive PR campaign, John Terry is not fast and not particularly good one on one, where he is good is in the air (packed midfield forces other teams to play through the air, playing deep takes pace out of the equation and it helps when you have the pace of gallas and carvahlo next to you) and he can pass well, so his manager plays to those strengths. Senderos is very good, just watch how well plays when the Swiss play deep. Campbell always takes about 20 games to return to fitness and we were missing the pace of Cole from the left and Toure through the middle which can rescue the entire back 4 at times - Wenger’s call.
I agree that Essien and Lampard offered did nothing more than Flamini/Fabregas - I even thought they made Flamini look useful - , but it’s not about the chelsea game, it’s about those other games where you need the platform to let you other players play. The dream team of Vieira - Petit allowed an ageing back 4 to play on a bit longer than they would have otherwise. In my opinion Fabregas has done well and Gilberto has been failing - I think this is because he knows he’s got a massive reponsibility and nobody to cover him - maybe Flamini’s performance will add to his confidence. Someone like Rosicky may be another Fabregas - probably nowhere potentially as good, but he has 7 years more experience which counts.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:10 am
Love Titi to death. Really. But he was a poor choice for captain.
Should be: Captain, Theirry Henry.
Not: Thierry Henry, captain.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:11 am
yup, as Stag might say, i don’t think we’d have seen Vieira in there as a peacemaker. Lord alone knows what Tony Adams/Frank McLintock would have done.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:13 am
I agree that so far neither Vieira nor Henry have proven themselves to be of the calibre of Tony Adams. I am still hopefull that Henry will mature into a top rated skipper because if it comes to the point that his captaincy has to be taken away, then thats a hot potatoe that no one will want to handle.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:15 am
What Scotty!!!
You have changed your mind on Henry’s captaincy already. I remember that you were the first guy I talked to on this subject when Henry was announced as the new skipper, and you seemed to be warmly in agreement back then. Just like I was, and still am, just not as warmly.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:16 am
Think Rosicky is actually better than Fabregas going forward but lacks Fabregas’ tenacious all-round game. Fabregas struggles to impose his offensive qualities against top teams thus far- maybe that will change as he gets older.
That Vieira/Petit combination was quality, absolute dream ticket, best ever in english football. Pity it was relatively short-lived. Gilberto/Vieira was total pants in my view.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:25 am
According to the Borussia Dortmund website, Rosicky “was one of the most successful strugglers in the league with 58 per cent duels won outflanked by Soldo and Owomoyela only, but his annihilating in the midfield led to a lack of goal traction.” - I think that means he had the 3rd highest tackle success rate in the league.
Gilberto-Vieira was good in my view, but they fed off each others experience and both knew that Edu could come in if they got injured.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:32 am
Most successful struggler? What, like Frank Bruno? ;^)
Maybe Rosicky has improved defensively, to be honest I havent seen him play in donkeys years, Stag says he is good though. I know he is a graceful floater who can dribble with purpose and create. Thought he must have regressed in recent years as Dortmund have gone down a bit but it looks like he has still retained his quality inspite of their general decline.
God, would I have loved Edu on Sunday.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:36 am
thnakfully Edu is picking up his perpetual sick pay elsewhere.
December 20th, 2005 at 12:06 pm
You want to change who Thierry Henry is?
Thats not going to happen. He’s a sportsman and a gentleman.
Blame someone else for our problems, please, because NONE of our problems are down to Thierry Henry. Try appreciating him for what he is, the best striker in the world… not for what he isn’t.
Y’all can keep banging the drum on Henry and his captaincy… but you are way off base as far as it being a problem for this team. There are about a DOZEN other problems that need correcting before we discuss Henry’s captaincy.
Let’s just sell all the best players now, because if Henry leaves, they’ll all follow.
December 20th, 2005 at 12:25 pm
Well said Stag….
December 20th, 2005 at 12:28 pm
I have never, not even pnce advocated selling Thierry Henry. And you are right there are a lot of other things that can be corrected before the issue of Henry’s captaincy comes up.
December 20th, 2005 at 12:37 pm
Stag, I think the above was an aside, a minor piece of criticism for our best player, not some ‘pin all the blame on Henry’. Everyone knows we have have other issues than Henry’s captaincy to address, but thanks for getting it back on topic.
December 20th, 2005 at 1:37 pm
There a few inaccuracies in this thread.
FACT: Arsenal have a host of injury problems
Well, not really. Reyes & Cole. Clichy isn’t a great player yet and would never get in the team ahead of Cole. Gilberto was suspended, not injured. I hardly think 2 injuries to first team players constitutes a crisis - I would imagine it is entirely normal for most clubs.
FACT: Arsenal were unlucky with post & then with the dissallowed goal
Well, the post is the post - if you hit the post it means you’ve missed the target right? Besides, Chelsea also hit the post in the second half.
FACT: The Arsenal backline were outpaced by the Chelsea attack
No, Philip Senderos was outpaced by the Chelsea attack. Other problems were down to positional sense.
As for Henry, I think we should give it a rest now. He is not going to be at Arsenal forever anyway, he is 28 not 21 - one day he will retire. Of course we all want him to stay, who wouldn’t - but he’s not perfect. Wright scored as many goals, Alan Smith used to bang in 30 a year - maybe one day we’ll have two strikers who score 25 each and a more balanced team - it’s certainly not balanced now.
Realistically, Henry might have made his mind up no matter what - and his decision might have nothing to do with the current squad. Even if we were top he might want a different scene, one more culture change, one more experience. If we won the Champions League (unlikely I know) he might think, that’s it, I have done everything at Arsenal now, so it’s time to leave.
It’s just up to Wenger to get the team in as good a shape as possible before he makes a decision, if he hasn’t already. But then he might have decided to stay already for all you know, remember he has an English wife and daughter - Bergkamp stayed all these years because it was important for his kids, he felt they were in the right environment for their education.
There are lots of factors ,and we just don’t know. But if he leaves then I will not be 100% gutted, and life goes on… there will not be an exodus.
December 20th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
I never really made up mind about it. Sure I was open to the possibility because it might have been a bargaining chip to keep him. I was actually thinking Ash prior to his self-righteous activism. Or Sol, prior to his injury and now, his being a loon.
Henry needs to be Henry. Captain is a position for someone who can rally a side to outperform or who, by word and example, sets the tone. In a way, it burdens him by calling too much attention to his style of play. And despite what some may think, I think in a few important ways it holds him back and the club back.
But, as in all other areas, we’re short of candidates.
December 20th, 2005 at 1:47 pm
I disagree with your first FACT check. Injuries were substantial and we’re still paying for them with lack of match fitness and lack of team chemistry on the pitch. Although there might not be enough years in one’s career for Reyes to gel. Worried about that talented, but somewhat strange, Spaniard.
Agree with FACT check 2. Chelsea hit the post and scored. Our lads need to hit the right part of it. Indicative of how we’re off just enough to have hit the spell we have.
And another factor that might make Henry leave is the existence of Chelsea. What’s the point?
December 20th, 2005 at 1:54 pm
Somebody will emerge, Somebody MUST emerge before this season is over. This must happen in the interest of continuity so we know who will be the central defining axis of the team.
December 20th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
TH14 is a great sportsman, we love him. He is the best player Arsenal has ..no Doubt its a FACT.
But TH14 might not have the ability to score and also to be in the middle captaining his teamates (some of them are over reacting)
I always notice that TH14 is slowed a bit because he needs to look after the team. We have young players that need to be directed and protected. TH14 should be busy scoring.
Our type of playing, with flow soccer, should have a captain in the middle. or in the back. Something like Tony Adams and Veirra. I always thought that Camble can be a good captain or maybe Cole (but he is too young to be a captain). Freddy has been there for so long, but does not has the leadership ability. TH14 is a very leader oriented person.But there is something missing ….
\
December 20th, 2005 at 2:23 pm
Adams was 21 I think when he made captain. If you have the innate leadership qualities to lead a team then age should not be a problem.
December 20th, 2005 at 2:25 pm
If he leaves, we are a selling team, having sold 2 captains in 2 years… and our best players.
Nobody of greatness comes to a team like that.
Anybody worth anything will see the writing on the wall and want to go.
You can dream that there won’t be an exodus, but we’ll see. I know there will be players leaving quickly if Henry goes. Without him now, we are mid-table. Now thats a FACT.
December 20th, 2005 at 2:32 pm
Stag, Well said - Maybe when Henry leaves some folks will sit back and realised the meltdown of Arsenal. Arsenal at the moment is a one man team and without him we fcuk.
Most of these folks or so-called fans will follow Henry out of the door. They see one thing and that is Arsenal, everyone else is evil. That is why Arsenal is in a mess.
What Henry did is nothing new. QPR did the same thing yesterday even they were losing. It happens every week. The games between Fulham/Blackburn, Liverpool/M’brough, West Brom/M.City I saw the Captains showing Sportmanship so I don’t get what Andez wants Henry to do. Maybe go and knock ME out and what will that achieved. I want men with fighting spirit on the field not thugs.
Andez surprised me with his articles and posts of late. Like Wenger blame everyone you can think of but will not find a solution to the problems.
December 20th, 2005 at 2:35 pm
I agree somewhat with your point on our position without Henry. He made a massive difference in 2002 and 2004 and we would definately be weaker without him. Just as we are weaker without Edu and Vieira.
However if Henry leaves I dont think thats any reason to throw in the towel. If we sell him deliberately like we did Vieira then that would be unforgiveable. If however he leaves in the manner that Anelka, Petit and Overmars left, then there is nothing anyone at Arsenal can do about that.
December 20th, 2005 at 2:36 pm
DannyT
Don’t come here and say the truth. It hurts and some fans can’t handle that.
Hey your Christmas card is in the post.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:45 pm
I love the sportsman that Thierry Henry IS.
I wouldn’t change that aspect of his game at all.
He took the young kid ESSIEN, and probably said to him, you CAN’T continue to do this crap… in a friendly manner…
We don’t need a THUG.
What puzzles me is this so-called adoration for Barcelona, and what the team allegedly stands for, left thinking… yet they get on Henry about his sportsmanship?
Having said that, you KNOW Vieira would have crunched Essien about 2 minutes later and taken a yellow. But we didn’t need him anymore either.
Instead, we are asking Henry to change the way he is… go figure.
Sell the lot of stars, because we’ve got POTENTIAL. We’ve got all these great young kids, and we shouldn’t get stars in here, because we don’t want to stunt their growth. Even if it means we don’t make the Top 4, thats OK… we have a plan to win the League in 2009!!!
(the stadium will be empty by then, but GREAT PLAN!)
December 20th, 2005 at 5:21 pm
You don’t think I’m gonna give my address to a nutter like you, do you?
Have a good one.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:25 pm
No point blaming injuries, every team has them.
It’s the manager’s job to have a squad capable of counteracting the obvious injuries that will entail - and Wenger didn’t, so I don’t find it a justifiable excuse.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:31 pm
Of course we’ll be weaker, for now. You make it sound like you expect him to be at Arsenal until he is 100.
He has 5 years left at the top - maximum, not a long time really. Different players bring different attributes - Ian Wright was completely different to Henry, nowhere near his pace or technique, didn’t stop him scoring nearly every week.
Just don’t go OTT on Henry, yeah he’s a legend - but so was Wright and he got replaced. Arsenal will be ok long term, our history, the stadium and our London standing will always attract the very best players to the club.
Don’t underestimate Arsenal, we bought Bergkamp for God sake - some might have said, why would a player of that calibre want to play for Arsenal? But he did - for 10 years.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:32 pm
I will take sportsmanship over cheats anytime of the day even if it means we have to lost a game.
Sometimes it makes you wonder why guys like Henry and Ronaldinho are loved by all football and sports fans. They have the skills to win games but at the same time they have the respect of their fellow players because of their sportsmanship.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:37 pm
Ha! Think
It was a joke. I was talking about those 2 big women fighting over a Christmas card. Very very sad.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:40 pm
Not until 100 but at least till the very end of his illustrious career.
Of course like I said before it all depends upon the manner of his departure. If its like Anelka’s or Petit’s then nobody at Arsenal can do anything about that.
I have no doubt about Arsenal being able to attract top players though. They may not be the most expensive ones but they will go on to prove themselves at the highest level.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:47 pm
You guys are being a bit unfair to Lauren and Gilberto. Lauren’s a midfielder who happens to play RB better than anyone at the club. What midfield player do we have that can play LB better than Lauren? It’s not Lauren’s fault that the boss decided to play a midfielder at fullback. He’s just played where the boss asked him to.
With Gilberto, his talent is good positioning & protecting the defense, not kicking people. He’s more like Deschamps whenever he played for France. No one would gamble sending people forward with Zidane/Dugarry, and Petit kicked the crap out of those that did go forward. Deschamp’s role was simple, clean up anything that may have squeaked past Petit. It’s why no one scored on France. They had the perfect midfield combination. A couple of years ago, so did Arsenal.
Gilberto’s only good at what he does. We saw his contributions make history with Brazil winning an unprecedented 5th World Championship, and help Arsenal go 49 games unbeaten. He’s no good at play-making. He’s no good at going out and kicking people.
Gilberto was part of a perfect midfield combination. We were invincibles. We were similiar to Juve now and France in ‘98. He’s out of his element now, trying to do something that he simply can’t. But he IS trying. How else do you explain a center mid who previously went an entire season without receiving a single caution receiving two in the same match? Something similar would happen with Henry and Bergkamp in center mid or Fab on the wing. They’re simply out of their element.
Bert didn’t ask to be in this predicament and Vieira be sold. It wasn’t Lauren’s decision to continue to play a midfielder at fullback. The reality is that there’s one person responsible for making those decisions and it’s not either of the players. Place the blame where it belongs. This is your “Consequences and Aftermath, Oz.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:14 pm
Interesting points. You right as I said to Stag people should blame the person responsible for Arsenal not the players.
You can’t get rid of all your experience players and think the kids will come good. Since 2002 we have offloaded 7 experienced skilled players and in their place about 12 kids and none of them are making the grade apart from 2 RVP and Cesc but both are still inexperience. I have never blame the kids apart from saying they are not good enough.
We have players living in a comfort zone who knows whatever happens they will play in the next game. If not they are playing out of position.
Since Wenger is above God you can’t question him. That is the problem with Arsenal. As someone mentioned on the TV, Arsenal are not serious and instead of fixing their problem Wenger is short changing the fans with excuses upon excuses and if not blame anyone you can think of so far as is not the man in charge.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:42 pm
Agreed. Its a point that cannot be underestimated.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:43 pm
Yeah getting tired of all the excuses from Wenger. Okay the linemen got it wrong with the disallowed goal but that was the only time the ball landed up in the back of the net for Arsenal. In fact after that chance, there was nothing else to offer from Arsenal. Sure there were games in the past when the ref’s were at fault but right now, arsenal are not creating enough chances. And if one of them gets disallowed, then well blame the ref.
Every team is openly talking about Arsenal’s problems. Heck even a team like Thun can talk about how to handle Arsenal. That is terrible. Even the UEFA Champs League magazine (last month’s issue) listed one of Arsenal’s biggest weakness as not having a Plan B, which is something a lot of people have been saying. If there was some progress being made to address the problems, then it would not look as bad. And it is not like all these problems have come over night. Our past poor CL seasons have shown what can happen to arsenal if they are not allowed to play with Plan A. Roma suffocated Arsenal at Highbury few years ago. Man U did that in the F.A Cup semi final loss.
Arsenal gave up two late goals at Bolton and let the title slip from their grasps in 2003.
And I am pretty sure Wenger will complain about losing Toure in Jan.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:52 pm
Very true. But outside of Chelsea’s depth, where are we really hurting? Yes, we’ve fallen too far. But the table might look different if Chelsea were in there having their trouble with fielding experienced internationals to replace experienced internationals. It might change a lot of attitudes about the season and affect results.
Point being, even if we faltered the same, we’re still in it and chasing United and Chelsea withing a reasonable range. Our squad is thin, but nothing short of five times what we had, or three times what United had, was going to effectively counteract anything.
SWP, 26+ million or some such nonsense. For what? We could have used him. They’ve got him if two go down. Chelsea might have injuries, but they don’t have “injury problems”.
It all trickles down from there.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:55 pm
Yeah Interesting point you make joshua. After the game, I was thinking of how Lauren started out as a midfielder but was moved to the defense. One tends to forget that. Didn’t Toure start out in the midfield as well? Also did Toure play LB for a while?
Gilberto is not the sort of player who can win balls outright. And if he tries, he might make a rash challenge, the consequences of which we saw a few weeks ago. I can also see players like Cesc and Flamini making rash challenges because they have the pressure to step up and fill big shoes. Some players can indeed step up but not everyone can. Shouldn’t a good manager be able to bring the best out of his players? And also shouldn’t a good manager know what his players limitations are?
December 20th, 2005 at 7:06 pm
I am not blaming Gilberto for the problems of the team, and I dont think that he is to blame much. Maybe he is undergoing patchy form but I believe that will change and Gilberto will continue to play a huge part in the team.
Laurens issue is more complicated. The mistake he made on Sunday against Joe Cole was very crucial and it pretty much snuffed out any chance we had of recovering. However I do believe and hope that once he is put back in his usual playing position he will be back to being a solid rightback.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:08 pm
I bet Wenger plays Cygan instead of Senderos while Toure is on holiday. Great planning that. What a joke.
December 20th, 2005 at 9:04 pm
plrease dont even joke, we shd buy someone in jan or even force wenger to get hoyte who is excellent back. not cygan pleaaaaase!
December 20th, 2005 at 11:06 pm
I feel that at seasons end we will finish above the likes of Tottenham, Bolton and such, but probably behind Liverpool, United and of course Chelsea. I think it is possible that with Cole back early next year we could string a cup run together, more than likely it’ll be the F.A.Cup rather than the Champions league though and I doubt that we will have what it takes to reach the final. (I would guess at being knocked out at the quarter final stages) So if I’m right I would say the season was a wake up call, major changes will be made in rediness for Ashburton Grove and the fact we scraped into the qualifing rounds of the C.L is a huge releif. These next few months will really show us how good a manager Wenger is when he’s under pressure and has to pull a ‘Lapin’ out of his hat!
December 20th, 2005 at 11:21 pm
Exactly LoveG…
that is why Henry is adored by most football fans. He not only has sublime skills, like Ronaldinho, but he has fun out there, and he is CLASS on the pitch. Sportsmanship = TH14.
And I’d love to know how someone could give this guy 0 of 10 for team spirit.
He wants to win as much as any other Arsenal player.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:25 pm
LAUREN is a right back. OK?
He’s played there for years. I don’t care where he started, he’s a RIGHT BACK NOW. He’s a damned good one as well. We don’t need to move Lauren anywhere.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:03 am
Someone said
“With Gilberto, his talent is good positioning & protecting the defense, not kicking people. He’s more like Deschamps whenever he played for France. No one would gamble sending people forward with Zidane/Dugarry, and Petit kicked the crap out of those that did go forward. Deschamp’s role was simple, clean up anything that may have squeaked past Petit. It’s why no one scored on France. They had the perfect midfield combination. A couple of years ago, so did Arsenal.”
That’s why Gilberto looked good with Vieira. Now that Vieira has left, what to do with Gilberto? Fabregas will never be a Vieira, he is a different kind of player.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:08 am
Bring in someone in the mold of Vieira.
Cesc shouldn’t be playing 55 games a year at 18yrs. old… so bring in Gravesen or Diop or Yaya Toure or Ballack or Rosicky or hey… why not bring in TWO midfielders, and rotate them, or have them actually challenge each other for the starting spots! What a concept!
While we are at it… 2 defenders of proven skills are needed as well… for the same exact reasons.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:16 am
ANR review of the Chelsea game - interesting reading.
http://www.anr.uk.com/articles/m-2005-12-20-23-39-41.html
December 21st, 2005 at 4:17 am
Why bring in someone just to accomodate Gilberto? The way I see it, we must get a Vieira-like player to replace Gilberto, not complement him. If we have a strong defensive midfielder, Fabregas will be freed up to express himself. I do agree that Fabregas needs a replacement too, but that player has to be a creative midfielder.
December 21st, 2005 at 5:14 am
AN EMOTIONAL OPEN LETTER
to all the idiots out here
well to start with i think u people don’t love arsenal,u people don’t like the way we play football
u people hate wenger and all his policies.well U PEOPLE THINK THAT U KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT HOW TO MANAGE
A CLUB .IT IS EASY TO SIT HERE AND COMMENT ON THE EVERY MOVE THAT MR.WENGER AND ARSENAL TAKE.BUT TO ACTUALLY
MANAGE A CLUB IS LIKE SITTING ON A TREE FULL OF SNAKES AND STILL GET OUT WITHOUT A SINGLE SNAKEBITE.
there are only a very few people out here who really really like ARSENAL,and i am proud to say that i am
one of them.
u wretched snakes do u know the load that wenger bears at this very moment.
i suggest that u people take out the log in ur own eyes before
taking out the speck from MR.WENGER’s eyes.U PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT UR A BETTER MANAGER THAN MR.WENGER HIMSELF.
IF U THING LIKE THAT PLEASE GO AHEAD AND PROVE URSELF,U THINK THAT U KNOW THE FINER POINTS OF MANAGING A TEAM
DON’T U???????????
I AM PROUD OF A TEAM WHICH DOES NOT ADPOT A RACIST POLICY IN ANY WAY OR ANOTHER.I AM ALSO PROUD OF
A MULTI-CULTURAL,MULTI- COUNTRY TEAM.ON THE LAST COUNT THIS TEAM HAD A “BELIVE IT OR NOT”PLAYERS OF13 COUNTRIES PLAING IN ARSENAL.
I AM SURE THAT BECOZ OF WENGER’S POLICY WE WOULD BECOME A FINCIALLY INDEPENDENT TEAM WHICH WOULD BE SUCCESFULL IN
WARDING OF THE DEBTS OF THE NEW STADIUM.
1. first we were talking that we will not be able to play the physical kind of football against chelsea was so quiet during the game that he was almost invisible.
then when we did play the physical game against chelsea ,u started moaning about the loss to chelsea.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE FELT HAPPINESS IN THEir HEARTS,WHEN THAT FCUKING CNUT DROGBA was crying and complaining to
the ref about the way senderos was playing .i absolutely loved senderos in that game .he gave his everything to that game.he ddn’t
allow drogba one inch of space . HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE felt that MR” RUNNER UP OF THE WORLD PLAYER
of the year” award
I felt utmost pleasure when he had his head heavily bandaged and i WAS thoroughly laughing AT thE very thought that
MR. LAMPARD was even a contender for that award.i absolutely loved it when henry gave a piece of his mind to that CARVELHO
2. now think of this U have just bought a new home with 40% of the finance coming from
a financing company. we all would be first looking to somehow finish off the debt
and then only we would be at piece of mind.now if alongwith this debt if u are given the responsibility
of managing a family of 5 members ,u people would thoroughly suck at that idea.
NOW PICTURE THIS …….
MR.WENGER IS ON THE VERGE OF A SWITCH OVER TO A BRAND NEW STADIUM .HE KNOWS THAT BUILDING A NEW STADIUM
WOULD BE A GREAT RISK ,BUT HE STILL SUGGESTED THAT MOVE.AND NEXT YEAR WE ALL WILL LOOK TO THAT
STADIUM AND PROUDLY SAY TO OUR COMPETITOR’S “HEY DO U SEE THAT ,THAT IS OUR NEW STADIUM WITH ALL THE
MODERN FACILITIES AND A 60,750 SEATING CAPACITY” SOON WE WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE ELITE GROUP
OF FOOTBALL CLUBS.
MR.WENGER KNOWS THAT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF THE DEBT PROVING TO BE A FUTURE BURDEN TO ARSENAL
HE THERFORE KNOWS THAT EVEN IF DD SAYS TO HIM THAT U HAVE 60 ODD MILIION TO SPEND-HE CAN,T ACTUALLY SPEND ALL THAT MONEY
.HE ALSO REALIZES THAT TIHS YEAR IS A YEAR OF TRANSITION ,even though he has not admitted it.
so he thinks that that it would be raather foolish to spend a lot of money on a single player.
he also realizes thet he needs to keep henry and iam sure he will do his best to keep henry.
3.BUT I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE RATHER FOOLISH TO THINK THAT WE COULD KEEP HENRY .IF HE HIMSELF
HAS DECIDED THAT HE SHOULD LEAVE ARSENAL.
BOT NONETHELESS IAM OPTIMISTIC THAT HE WOULD NOT LEAVE ARSENAL.
4. I SERIOUSLY think that if cole returns and even if we could get a single player in th transfer window
then we could become the old arsenal.
FINALLY THERE IS ONLY ONE WENGER AND HE IS THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS OTHERWISE HE WOULDN’T
BE APPROACHED BY REAL MADRID, JAPAN OR FRANCE
HE IS A MAN OF GREAT VISION ,A PERSON WHO IS HOLDING THIS TEAM TOGETHER.A PERSON WHO IS WITH ARSENAL
EVENTHOUGH HE CAN GO MANY PLACES.
A PERSON WHO ,LIKE US CAN’T GO TO SLEEP WITH PEACE.A PERSON WHO HAS TO ANSWER AT LEAST 100,00 FANS
AND STILL TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE OF MANAGING A CLUB LIKE ARSENAL
WELL TAKE MY RATINGS OR DON’T TAKE IT….. BUT THIS IS HOW I SAW THAT MATCH AGAINST CHELSEA
LEHMANN 10C
LAUREN 8
SOL 8
TOURE 10B
SENDEROS 10A
FLAMINI 9A
HLEB 10A
CESC 9B
LJUNBERG 6C
HENRY 9C
PERSIE 9C
the only thing we lacked was coordination and lack of organization.
and yes…….from the lack of captaincy
seeing toure play i again felt that it woulld be ideal to pair him and hleb upfront.
we can allow senderos and cambell to be in the centre of the midfield
i hope WENGER DOES TRY THIS OUT
i had always hoped that before the transfer window opens we should go through such a
tough and trying time thus it will bring out the shortcomings in this team and wenger makes surethat he would
get some good players.and
iam most happy that we face manshit on 3 jan at highbury
DON’T LOOK AT CHESEA AS THE MOTHER OR FATHER OF FOOTBALL.
I AM SURE THAT ONE DAY THEY WOULD SUCCUMB AND FALL IN THE PIT ,WHICH THEY THAMSELVES HAVE BUILT.
CHELSEA WOULD SELF-DESTRUCT THEIR OWN TEAM.also,a team which is made up of money will not be as
succesfull as a team which is built on team-spirit,hardwork and the passion to play the beautifull game in the beautifull manner.
I AM SURE that next year ..if not a C.L. SPOT,we would atleat get a UEFA cup spot and that is
not as half as bad as the humilitian that manure are going through right now< no uefa cup spot>.
the present year is the transitional year but the next 2 years will see the revival of arsenal
also,do not forget the future is what we all must look forward to.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
ALEX < ARSENAL AND ARSENE TILL I DIE >
December 21st, 2005 at 8:15 am
Welcome to the site.
Who are you and what are you on about anyway?
What a load of drivel.
Yes, here its a FAN’S SITE, we can and do 2nd and 3rd guess managers, players, owners, and other members!
If Wenger is such a mastermind “THIS SEASON”, why are we 20 points out before Christmas???
So we shouldn’t question him at all?
Please, if he loses Henry and the team finishes below 4th, he’ll probably be OFF anyway… so then you can praise him when he’s coaching Real Madrid or the French team…
and when he does go, Arsenal FC will still be here and continue for many many decades to come.
And so you are another one of those on your HIGH HORSE. You are a fan, and the rest of us surely are not. Do you live next to Highbury as well? Or in North London? I’ve heard that crap too… that you can’t REALLY be a fan if you don’t live within 50 yards of the stadium, or in North London, or in London, or in England, or in the UK, or in Europe…
What utter RUBBISH.
But thanx for the input, and again, welcome to the site… go slag off some Brits if you wish, but we don’t take non-sense lightly here. It doesn’t usually go un-punished.
Cheers!
December 21st, 2005 at 8:58 am
Well you are right about the fact that this is a very emotional open letter.
However when you say “you people”, you are painting everyone here as an enemy of Wenger and that is not the case at all. There are a lot of hardcore pro-Arsene Wenger partisans here, myself included. Personally I think that Arsene Wenger is the greatest manager ever and would never change him for anyone else.
Other than you have made some very valid and positive pro-Wenger and pro-Arsenal points, and I would like to welcome you to the site. Especially since we could use an extra person to take on some of the moaners, whingers and outright traitors that hang out here.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:49 pm
It’s about the team balance. Bert and Vieira have qualities that supported and complemented each other. We saw what happened to Arsenal when Gilberto’s element was missing over an extended period. Now we’re seeing what it’s like without Vieira.
It’s thrown the entire team’s chemistry out of balance. Ljunberg and Pires are even seen as being out of form. Has Pires really faltered that much? Every time Ljunberg plays for Sweeden he’s bangin’ in goals. So what’s good?
Wenger knew the traits Gilberto would bring. When forced to play without the Vieira/Gilbeto combination, Wenger learned that others had a high enough quality to play. I believe this led to a false sense of security believing he could tamper with the chemistry of the invincibles. It’s plain to see he was wrong. Quality and chemistry are two different things.
Take the French team in the last World Cup. Petit/Vieira weren’t nearly as effective as Petit/Deschamps in previous tourneys. Is it because Deschamps was a better player than Vieira? Of course not. Deschamps simply brought the right qualities to make the team stronger. It also goes to show that Vieira’s not a defensive midfielder. It’s an unfair label he’s been given just because he tackles hard.