So we continue to move slooooooooooowly… very patiently. Hand close to the vest. Keeping it under our hat. Mr.Wenger saying very little, as usual.
Well… my impatience is KILLING ME!
Perhaps watching Dennis’s testimonial will calm me down and lift my spirits a bit…
but the facts are…
Barcelona won the CL and are 2-time defending LaLiga Champions. They have signed Zambrotta and Thuram. (both of them would have fit nicely in our team)
Chelsea have won the league easily for 2 consecutive years, and have brought in Ballack and Schevy… and are rumored to be close to capturing one of BEST players.
We have lost Sol, Bergy, & Pires… oodles of experience and confidence… with Cole looking to be gone shortly. I like Rosicky A LOT. But ummm… we were “bad lasagna” away from watching this years Champion’s League…
I do believe a QUALITY signing or two is in order, and in some KEY and PRESSING areas please. How many CB’s do we have injured?
Please Mr.Wenger… open the purse, and bring in some talent…
I don’t want to hear about a trialist kid named “Dudas”… who’s a striker. I just don’t give a rat’s ass…
Back to the beach!
70 Responses to “The slow moving Summer…”
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July 22nd, 2006 at 12:58 am
I completely agree. Rosicky does excite me as well but we have lost players as well to tranfers, injuries, etc. We do need to sign more players and it is frustrating to see our pressing needs and sit idly while other clubs continute to strengthen. We have the money to spend and need it (CB, CM). I am optimistic a move or two will be made but until that happens the anxiety will go on.
July 22nd, 2006 at 1:23 am
Wenger say’s he’s concerned that the team will not be ready for the Champions league 1st leg….Duh! This is de ja vous a-la last year, This is bla bla bla…..F88k sake Wenger, pull out the dosh and start team building! The only thing that I find comforting right now is Tottering signing Rebrov again (in everything but name).
July 22nd, 2006 at 2:00 am
Wenger has said, more than once, that we would like to sign one or two players. I don’t think he is kidding. I am sure he is working on it.
Yes, the lack of transfer speculation is frustrating me. But I’ll be happy if, by mid August, we have signed two players.
I do not expect big names but I also hope they are not 17-18 year olds. I’ll be delighted with players in the Rosicky category.
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:35 am
Ahhh Stag, I just sent something to the ol Members Mailbag saying essentially the same thing. 100% with you.
I believe AW has a plan. And I trust him. But I also think we should not forget that we came away with ZERO in hardware last season and for the early stages of the campaign, we were bitterly disappointing.
I don’t think you can buy your way to the top unless you go all the way, ala “Chelski.” Even Real’s spending hasn’t produced good value in a long while. But you can add a little spice, a little belief, to a squad that is essentially talented, yet still very, very green in the gills.
Just take a look at the comments about DB10 from his former mates: they all say that bringing someone of Bergkamp’s stature to the club gave them an almost magical belief in the triumphs that were ahead.
Come on AW. Just one, maybe two juicy ones. Our back looks terrifyingly thin. We can’t take it anymore. Its 100+ everywhere in the States…some relief please!
July 22nd, 2006 at 6:50 am
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood (from Sky Sports) -
“I think things are happening but I’d really rather not talk about them at the moment,” he told The Daily Star when asked about Cole.
Hill-Wood also confirmed that boss Arsene Wenger was looking to strengthen his squad further ahead of the new season, but would not be drawn on potential transfer targets.
“Arsene is quite cagey about these things but at the board meeting he did say he was keen to buy a couple of players,” he said.
“He said he’d find them but he didn’t say who they were.”
July 22nd, 2006 at 8:15 am
while yeah AW is again slow in the summer transfer market, we should all please note and be comforted by the fact that as at today (saturday), none of our main rivals (minus chelsea) have been significantly strengthend yet!
MAN U: so far, NOTHING and they might lose RvN and Ronaldo
LIVERPOOL: bellamy, OK! but they’ve lost morientes and cisse….so now they have bean pole, old man and bellamy, i prefer our attack thank you.
SP-RS: petrov. they lost mido and likely defoe and carrick. they also didnt get duff …
so as at this moment…our main rivals havent done anything yet as well…..so i wonder why some people here are already moaning and pissing themselves! crazy people!!
and dont say “oh man u or spurs or liverpool, they will definitely buy” becos that is silly guesswork…..wenger could also buy.
so to the professional moaners out there … CHILL OUT !!!
July 22nd, 2006 at 8:43 am
Agree on ManUtd. But on Liverpool and Spurs no.
Liverpool lost Morientes, Cisse and Hamman, but they signed Bellamy, Aurelio, Gonzalez and Palleta. So they have obviously strenghten up.
Spurs lost Mido, but get Berbatov, not Petrov, some left back from Lens I think, Zokora and Routlege is back from his loan spell at Portsmouth. So they have strenghten up too.
And sooner or later ManUtd. will sign some proven players like Diarra, Torres, Carrick…
But also agree that we shouldn’t be worried, because all we need is another defender, and if Cole leaves that makes two, and I think Wenger is working on that.
July 22nd, 2006 at 9:00 am
wait:
1) so they get zokora and lose carrick, they then get a LB from lens (!!!!) and routlege (when a team of the stature of spurs loans out a player i can guess the real quality of such a player)
and because of this dealings spurs are now significantly stronger??? NOPE !!
2) i said don’t do guess work !!! why do u say they “will” sign Diarra, Torres, Carrick??? okay, since we want to play this game, then we will sign: BUFFON, GERRARD, GALLAS, ADRIANO, etc !! the point is DONT GUESS !!!
besides Man U have been on to carrick for how long now, how come they have not bagged him yet?
also we should be aware that Man U are under some hideous debt and without even a new stadium … u honestly think they have the 50 mill (or more) to buy this 3 players?
3) Aurelio, gonzalez and palleta (!!) are these now the steady names that improve teams. they are PROSPECTS. they are not even in the rosicky category.
so now, i reiterate, as at this date our 3 main rivals have not significantly strengthened yet … so there is absolutely no need for all the doom and gloom descending on this website already.
July 22nd, 2006 at 9:21 am
Chelsea isn’t a rival any more?
Have we just conceded the league every year?
Liverpool… you are saying their signings are “prospects”? You have to be kidding when 99% of our signings are kids, some we’ve never heard of…
Liverpool, United and Chelsea ALL were ahead of us last season… WE have to improve to catch them, not the other way around.
July 22nd, 2006 at 9:35 am
also lets not forget that liverpool and Man U are both under considerable debt too (and without a new stadium either)
== liverpool to the tune of around a 100 mill. they have been looking for additional investors for quite a while now. that is why benitez will be buying a lot of prospects from spain…the way AW used to do from france. they won’t splash 20-30 million for ANY player!
== Man U are in a deeper and more perilous state. 700 million and the interest. present tense success will keep them OK….but 2 or 3 more seasons of relative failure will hit them REALLY HARD.
if they sign DIARRA (quoted at 24 mill), TORRES (quoted at 20-25 mill) and CARRICK (15 mill) won’t they go bankrupt?? lets all stop believing wholely the media reports (they want to sell papers) it doesnt really have much to do with reality though.
even one of these buys will put a dent in their finances….AND if they still dont get success this season, won’t they then be screwed??
so caution is the watchword for all 3 of us. Liverpool, Man U and us. we can’t pay the prices and wages of chelsea. if not for chelsea and the italian saga, this summer transfer mill will be as mellow as a cat !
also: it is nice noting that Benitez and Ferguson are now COPYING DIRECTLY from the wenger book. prospects, prospects, prospects !! they then all try to get someone in the rosicky class and if by some good fortune some high and classic talent comes in for the right price they POUNCE (classic wenger).
fergie has spent in the past, but he has said it that the only way he can compete is to look at the kids - and then hope to get in some other bigger names if available - this is present day reality.
i’m not even going to mention sp-rs here….any half decent player would always prefer to play for the arsenal, liverpool and man u than to go to sp-rs.
so, i reiterate….LETS CHILL OUT…. take a deep breath. as of NOW we are not behind man u and liverpool in the transfer stakes. and DONT GUESS and say they “will” …
CHILL OUT … i don’t want this site turning into what it was last year when we were struggling - when everybody was predicting our doom.
July 22nd, 2006 at 9:42 am
Spurs loaned Routlege only because when he was injured Aaron Lennon took over his place. They loaned him to get games, to be fitter… And until Spurs sell Carrick you can’t tell that they aren’t stronger from the last season.
On ManUtd. I said that they will sign some proven players like Diarra, Torres, Carrick, that’s not mean that they will sign them, but some proven players and not youngsters like van den Berg, Dudas etc.
And Liverpool players are prospects for you? Well, Palleta yes, but Gonzalez and especially Aurelio have a good experience from playing in Spain. They both can make early impact in the team.
So apart from ManUtd. all our rivals are stronger than the last season.
July 22nd, 2006 at 9:54 am
you are crazy if u think ANY club in the world can compete with chelsea when it comes to funds…..so why on earth should i compare us to them ?? i can only compare our transfer activity to Man U, liverpool and to a lesser extent spurs who have the same sort of funds that we have.
so your comment on “since we dont spend like chelsea” therefore we concede the league is F-CKING STUPID !
i am sorry, the spanish-speaking kids benitez as bought so far are PROSPECTS ! they have achieved nought in their career so far - and benitez is hoping for them to explode at liverpool. and this my friend is the classic definition of the word PROSPECT !!!
we have been infront of liverpool in the league for over a decade and then for one season they get ahead of us….therefore they are now better than us??? you are crazy!
liverpool got ahead of man u in 2002…yet the next season man u won the league.
man u won the league in 2003 and the next season despite the fact we didnt get anybody in we regained the league - unbeaten.
france, argentina, italy were kicked out very early in the WC 2002, did that make them very bad teams ALL OF A SUDDEN ??? Greece win the Euro…that makes them a great team hey?
u have to look at the dynamics. Arsenal, Man U and Liverpool are all on the same plane right now. FACT! Chelsea is ahead due to their billionaire inspired binge.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:03 am
hmm….so routlege is like the new rooney hey? he is really that good?
i have seen him play … and i have seen walcott play once in an england friendly…..if i had to choose one, i’ll go for walcott thank you.
sp-rs have done F-CK ALL … so far!
as for Man U….so u are changing the tune on diarra, torres and carrick hey? but even then stop saying they “will” get in……..this is GUESSING.
i’m sorry, Gonzalez and Aurelio WOULD NOT start for arsenal….if they were CBs or CMs they might have a chance …. but in their positions they dont have a chance in our team.
liverpool HAVE not yet strengthened as relative to us……yet.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:25 am
hmm… think twice before you say something.
I didn’t say that Routlege is the new Rooney, but he will give Lennon a competition for place in the first eleven. And you are saying you have seen Walcott play in an England friendly? Well I have seen Routlege play for Crystal Palace against us and he gave Ashley Cole a really hard game. So to play good against Ashley and to play good against Belarus B team is a very dissimilarly.
On ManUtd. you are maybe right, but still they have announced that they are working on the transfers of Diarra, Carrick…
As for Liverpool, you are saying Gonzalez and Aurelio would not start in our team. Well, they don’t buy players who can fit in our team, they buy players to strenghten their squad. Aurelio is much better than Traore and Gonzalez can have a good run in the team, cos Kewell is injured. Also they are looking to strenghten their right side with Alves or Pennant, so they are getting better.
At the end of the day their fans know what to expect from Benitez in the transfer market, and we know that Wenger is looking to buy one or two players but we don’t know who they are and witch position they play. What if he buy another striker, that won’t make us stronger, we need a defenders.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:35 am
From what I’ve seen Gonzalez looks far better than Reyes as a left winger. He’s a very good player from what I have seen.
Bellamy is a great signing. Morientes and Cisse were both shite anyway so they are not missing much.
If Bellamy stays Liverpool will be the main challengers to Chelsea. They are strong all the way through.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:37 am
if Bellamy stays injury free…
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:43 am
From whatever little I have seen of Gonzalez, he has looked good. But let’s not forget that Reyes was good in in Spain and great for Arsenal until Gary Neville destroyed his confidence. You never know how Gonzalez will fare in England.
For me, the important thing is to strengthen Arsenal. From AW’s comments, I feel reasonably confident. He has said that he is looking for one or two players (back by Hill-Wood). He has also said that one of them will be a central defender who can play left sided.
It would be plain negligence not to sign a defender, but you never know. If AW doesn’t find the right player, he will not sign anyone. Remember last season, when Vieira left and Baptista didn’t join?
The second player is anybody’s guess and it could change if Cole leaves.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:50 am
hmmm….gonzalez…the new best thing hey?
better than reyes hey? we’ll see!
he played for a lowly team in spain for a year and he is sooooo good? guess what reyes was great in spain too!
and in his first year in england too!
let gonzalez play in england for a while first….and we’ll see….the style of play in england and spain are utterly different.
liverpool now have a bean-pole guy (who has less ball skills than adebayor but not the brute force of drogba), they have a returned old man and they have bellamy…….great….
they have bellamy, we have henry; they have crouch we have adebayor, they have fowler, we have RvP.
i prefer our attack thank you.
apart from their defence…player for player, liverpool are NOT better than us or Man U.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:57 am
think twice about what? u were the one who said routlege would improve them significantly….which is what we are arguing about - “are they significantly improved as at this moment?”
so he is mostly a backup or competitor for lennon’s place hey?
i reiterate my point…as at this moment they have not improved significantly or as relative to us.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:57 am
Liverpool have a stronger midfield too. Our midfield is creative, but their is more suited to the Premiership.
July 22nd, 2006 at 11:04 am
You see, I said think twice and you didn’t. I said that Berbatov, Zokora and Routlege will improve them not only Routlege. And it’s goog to have a competition for places or a back up players. If Lennon is injured they will play Routlege, and not Paul Robinson or King or Dawson or Carrick or Davids… It’s good to have a replacment for all positions, and we are lacking players at the back.
July 22nd, 2006 at 11:17 am
Emirates Stadium looks amazing!
Y’all are right we haven’t improved at all.
July 22nd, 2006 at 11:18 am
“CHILL OUT … i don’t want this site turning into what it was last year when we were struggling - when everybody was predicting our doom.”
Does that make you a Negative Nick or a Positive Pete? :)~ I remember, ouch.
I agree by the way, I think we’re okay, but we do need some new blood at the back.
July 22nd, 2006 at 11:21 am
Is the rumor true that Van Basten is playing in the Ajac legends side today?
I might cream myself seeing both Van Basten & Overmars playing again. Van Basten is the best attacker I’ve ever seen & Overmars was the player I wish I could’ve been- that zippy left winger with a goalscoring touch.
Arsene missed a penalty in the opening ceremonies with a giant ball! We’re doomed!
July 22nd, 2006 at 11:38 am
woow…
i had ALREADY concluded the point that berbatov and zokora don’t improve them…becos,
1) they are not so good, or else we, liverpool or man u would have snapped them
2) these come in while they lose mido, davids and are actively trying to sell carrick and defoe.
so there was no point beating this point to death …so i focused on the routlege issue….so your “think twice statement” is silly to say the least.
there is nothing special about having an average player come back from loan to sit on your bench or in the stands for you.
aladiere is back from loan too, does this make us significantly better?? NO !!
tottenham as at now is not significantly better. FACT!
July 22nd, 2006 at 11:55 am
DENNIS! DENNIS! DENNIS!
July 22nd, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Wow! There was a tv shot of shots!
Cruyff & Van Basten standing with each other. Awesome!
I
July 22nd, 2006 at 12:09 pm
Granted this is only a testimonial but this young center back for us, Matthew Connolly, looks a decent player.
July 22nd, 2006 at 12:16 pm
THis other young cat, Traore’ looks decent too
July 22nd, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Thierry Henry looks like he can still play!
;O)
July 22nd, 2006 at 1:24 pm
If today ?Dennis Day? is any testament, the only thing that Arsenal FC could really use more of is Dutch. I mean just looks who?s on the pitch, it?s a huge part of my Dutch dream team of all time, and all at the Grove.
Back to actual sailing, instead of autopilot and wireless Internet.
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Holy Crap! In the first half Cygan was our best player. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. He looked good though.
Armand Traore looked pretty good also at left back; a little is lacking tactically but he can tackle and loves to get forward. He plays so much like Cole and Clichy it’s scary. They all look alike too. I think Wenger’s cloning.
I can’t believe we paid any money for Song. He sucks. Aliadiere is going to be in the reserves. I’m sorry Curt but Connelly sucks. Hleb was Hleb except a little slow passing sometimes. Cygan, Traore, and Hleb were the only ones that looked good. Hoyte did also except for their goal. Ryan Smith looked lively with a couple of one-twos with Traore but he got kicked holding the ball too long. Cygan got kicked in the knee so I hope he’s not injured. We got clean sheets nearly every time he played last year and we might need him.
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:08 pm
What Fred said and said and said.
Rushing into a panic buying spree because Chelsea have unlimited funds is lunacy. We will beat them over 38 or we won’t, but we’ll have to try as a team. Pick to strengthen the team, not the list of names. I don’t care if no one’s got their poster on their wall, if Wenger thinks a player fits into his vision, that’s the right player to buy.
And the Italians are unlikely to move North of Spain. Too cold and too far from mommy’s cooking. Maybe a keeper will move, or a Romanian (to be named later) but the rest have just found top teams in the sunshine. Their valuations would drop like a stone in the Premiership, and you can cut their stats in half.
We need defending back up in the middle of the park and at l/c back. The Romanian, Cristian Chivu of Roma, is being bandied about as a possibility by a few Gooners on another site, as he’s a left sided CB with experience at LB. We’ll see, but I know Wenger is working under the radar to keep c*nts like Jol and Maureen from following his lead.
Its the middle of July, and most of the lads are still on vacation. Let’s try and stay positive.
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:17 pm
I could give less than a flying rat’s asss what the Jones’ are doing or not doing. What’s important is what are we doing, or not doing. Are we trying to win a championship or are we going to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves because Chelsea has billions?
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:26 pm
I don’t know what Wayne Routledge you’ve seen play but the one I’ve seen can ball something serious. He was close to an England call-up before the injury. Being so young, he was an Arsenal target last summer, but Spurs heard about it and bought him first. That guy can play. Don’t call him average.
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:36 pm
the point joshuad is that a lot of people on this site are already moaning like they did relentlessly last year. they give the excuse that the “others” are buying and improving while we are not….while in fact this is absolutely not the case. yet!
so they should give another excuse to moan…not this one.
July 22nd, 2006 at 3:39 pm
i’ve SEEN him 4 times and he looks very average!
but maybe i saw him in the wrong four games … i doubt this though.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:19 pm
I disagree on Connolly. Considering he was a 19 yr. old center back going up against Huntelaar who just looks to be an out & out goalscorer.
Connolly had some good touches for a centerback in my opinion, especially for one that’s 19. For a 3rd or 4th choice centerback who’s young, I liked what I saw.
Cygan looks to be hungry which is good. He’s surely not a world beater but then again, I think he gets overly heaped on around here. If Assoue-Ekotto & that other French defender makes Spurs “stronger” than Cygan is a decent centerback.
I’m not won over by Song by any means but in this match I finally started to see some touches & play that Wenger must like in him. He won the ball back after giving it up far too easy which is a good thing in my book. I’m not saying he should be anywhere near the starting 11 but as a 18 yr. old reserve until Diaby is healthy again, he should be ok.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:23 pm
I don’t understand why people want to get negative before things ever start, especially when it’s not like many of the younger players are that “bad,” they just make inexperienced mistakes… is it (the propensity to negativity & doom & gloom) just a by-product of the stereotype English brooding & semi-self-loathing mindset?
It’s just so foreign, pardon the pun, to me. I guess I’m just naive enough to believe that in anything I’ve ever tried or played I or my team had a decent shot at winning everything (at the outset) if you just worked hard enough.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:24 pm
Oh & Chivu would be an interesting player if we were to get him. If I recall correctly, back in the late 90s when he played for Ajax he was their #1 PK taker before Galasek came along & like Terry had a knack at finding the goal from the back.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:39 pm
#1 penalty taker and #1 free kick taker. His left foot is so powerfull and accurate… but Roma won’t sell him, they are in the CL now and are favourites for the Scudetto along with Inter, so they will buy, not sell players.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:45 pm
Sounds like the DB10 testimonial was fantastic to watch . . . can anyone put it on DVD and trade me a copy? Live in the USA and didn’t get a chance to watch it - no one was showing it except Gol TV (I have no idea what that is or how to subscribe to it)
Thanks in advance
July 22nd, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Well, a true legend has gone. Thanks Dennis for the wonderfull time, I wish you all the best in your further life.
And to all Gooners, don’t think that Bergy is gone, we have another Bergy in our team in the name of Vincent van den Berg
July 22nd, 2006 at 6:16 pm
I think a lot of Gooners are stung by the last few seasons of Wenger’s frugality. He bled kids last season that, while world class in the making, may have contributed to our table position, especially away from home.
And the buying of Song didn’t make them any more confident.
Buying great players is a lift to the fans, but not always to the club. Bergy was a coup since The Arsenal were struggling at the time. But its difficult to watch another season of Chelsea buying the title and the lads being unable to take points off of United. One has to think that some experience in the right places would help. Right?
We’re at the mercy of Wenger economics and his faith in his unpolished gems. With so many going (but really only one having played a significant role last season - Bobby) it feels natural to think Wenger should replace them. But Wenger will never pay inflated prices for players he considers unable to handle the Premiership for a full 90 minutes. One gets the feeling he senses a complacency in some of the stars. They may win you something at the death, but he wants to see effort for a full 90. Can’t really blame him there.
Last season was a perfect storm of mishap and controversy. And we still managed to get to the CL final and secure CL qualification at the death. One has to think that, with 10% more luck and some World Cup growth in 16 players, we’ll improve. So why break the bank?
Up the Arse, Kiss the Crest, Keep the Faith. The season is but a few short weeks away.
July 22nd, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Try and remember this was a testimonial, ie. it’s utterly ridiculous to judge anyone in terms of performance.
July 22nd, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Anyone knows where we will be able to buyBergkamp’s retirment game (Emirate Openning game) on DVD with cool features …
Please link me ..
Thanks.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:22 pm
DECENT IS NOT ENOUGH FOR US to win anything. I am sorry guys but iam really feeling it here. I say 06-07 will be another repeat of blaming referees, injuries and inexperience. Face it. It’s the truth. Do you really expect us to win the EPL? I say we will finish 2nd or 3rd in EPL, Quaterfinals for Champs League and maybe semifinalist for Carling Cup or FA Cup. I REALLY HOPE ARSENE will proof me wrong by the end of the season. I really do.
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:44 pm
My friend, you are sounding like a spoilt brat, born and raised for the last 10 years with a silver football-shaped spoon in your mouth
When did we (or any club) start a season with a divine right to win the EPL?
I suggest these are the ebbs and flows of following a football club. No one wins the league every season…if they did what a rotten competition that would become.
My expectations are for progress…if I stop seeing that I will start to feel the time is right for significant change. Until that time I will celebrate all that Arsene and the Club provide us.
July 23rd, 2006 at 12:27 am
fareski, me too! We probably could get a few footage from Arsenal.com TV online. But i think if they did show the game in England (on TV), there is a chance someone would make it as DVD and put it on sales at Ebay. At least i hope so.
I want to watch the match badly. Intersting thing i noticed Tony Adams did not present in Dennis’ testimonal, while many other former Arsenal players did.
July 23rd, 2006 at 2:51 am
The upcoming EPL season will be covered by Fox and Setana in the USA, but what about Canada? It seems sportsnet still has not signed up to cover the 2006/07 season nor has ‘The Score’ any info about the Sunday live games.
Anyone know who will show the upcoming EPL season in Canada?
July 23rd, 2006 at 5:33 am
Bergkamp’s Testimonial.
Part 1: http://www.spread-it.com/dl.php?id=a27ea28bc7267eb2c7e3d1ea950ad81020b5980d
Part 2: http://www.spread-it.com/dl.php?id=504fc42e7fe3ea28d96f1c62321d6403fe60998b
Well I think Wenger will be signing a defender. He said he’ll sign one or two. Its no longer the maybe one or two. He said this at the opening of the stadium.
And thank you Bergy for the 11 years.
July 23rd, 2006 at 6:47 am
Also there was no Robert Pires and Edu only played like eight minutes. The spanish teams aren’t that big on testimonials. I remember in the Ryan Giggs testimonial that Beckham only played one minute.
That said, Frank Rijkard played I believe all of the second half for Ajax while van Bronkhorst played about twenty minutes. I guess it just depends on the club.
I recorded the game but it was on an Irish channel and sometimes their signal is really poor. It got bad in the second half (really jumpy). Also, it was in Spanish but if you can’t find it somewhere else, I’ll gladly send you what I have. I record most of the Arsenal games on Germany’s Premiere coverage which broadcasts in english and good quality but this game wasn’t on. They show all of Arsenal’s games, probably because of Lehmann.
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:26 am
It was a great occasion, fantastic to see Vieira, Petit, Overmars and even Parlour on the pitch with Henry & Bergkamp, plus Bould, Keown, Winterburn and Dixon at the back all at the same time.
When Grimandi hacked down Davids in the second half it was hilarious - the foul could have put him out for the first month of the season.
I could understand the crowd booing Davids but not Rikjyaard - thought that was a bit out of order - football fans are so embarrassingly stupid sometimes.
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:37 am
Big thumb up to Titi, who cut short his holiday to attend Bergkamp’s testimonal. Action speaks louder than words, Titi paid a dozen of tribute to Bergkamp at the past, and now he back up his words with action. It sounds like a small little thing, but how many prima donna footballers today would bother to cut short his own holiday just in order to attend his teammate’s testimonel?
Vieira as well. Decent fellas, they really are.
July 23rd, 2006 at 9:47 am
Henry is CLASS… on and off the pitch.
Vieira ain’t so bad either. (apparently he got a “heroes welcome”)
That just tells you what they think of Bergkamp. Henry and Vieira carried him around the pitch, old captain and new.
July 23rd, 2006 at 11:45 am
Great occasion. It was bit emotional seeing 1998 midfield line up together, and the sight of my ex-fave player Glenn Helder was great to watch- even though he was a greedy bastard ;^)
I was cringing in my seat when the fans booed Rijkard and even Davids. For these occasions I wish fans would just put rivalries on the back-burner and grow up.
I still think alot can be gleaned from the performances of the players. One look at Wenger’s face showed how seriously he took it. A few things were confirmed to me such as:
1) Aliadiare still being the same pile of shite he always was.
2) Hleb possibly on the verge of having a stormer of a season.
3) Justin Hoyte lacking offensively.
4) Ryan Smith could be option for replacing Reyes at various times on the left wing.
5) Connolly not quite ready yet.
6) Flamini managing to bring new meaning to the word “anonymous”.
7) Song should look up when passing.
If you think I’m being harsh then think again as Wenger has based his squad selection on games like these for the last decade. It was competitive, look at Huntelaar’s performance and attitude and you will see everyone was taking it seriously.
Also, I really doubt Wenger’s ambition in ever completing a Premiership and Champions league double. He said last season the big reason why we made the champions league final was because the league was over and we could concentrate solely on europe. That was basically an admittance that our squads were never strong to compete strongly on both fronts, either last year or seasons before. So, with that mind, why hasn’t he made a more determined effort to strengthen the squad? If he’s not going to address the situation we may as well not enter certain competitions and concentrate on one every season. This confirms what I’ve always thought in that Wenger has to have a certain positional weakness every season so he can cover himself and have enough excuses at the end of the season.
He’s been here ten years now so you think he would have addressed that kink in his managerial make-up.
July 23rd, 2006 at 12:18 pm
True. Perhaps Arsenal fans shouldn’t boo Davids, Rijkaard. But should Arsenal fans calling his own player “Aliadiare still being the same pile of shite he always was.”????
July 23rd, 2006 at 12:44 pm
Andez, there is a difference between a player being publicly booed by 60,000 people and stating a players’ quality on a website. I despise booing.
Aliadiare is rubbish, shite, poor, whatever way you want to dress it up. I don’t go along with this blind loyalty nonsense. I’m sure he is a nice guy, but I wasn’t referring to that, I was referring to his football ability.
July 23rd, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Supposed I used the slightly harsh wording because I cannot believe a player like him is still in our squad. To this day I don’t know what Wenger sees in him. Marco Van Basten at 43 had more pace.
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:09 pm
What exactly do you base your assessment of Aliadiare on? the friendly testimonial?
He’s done well until he gets injured… and he’s had some serious injuries, thats for sure.
I don’t remember him playing poorly at all… I remember him scoring 3 in a game… but I don’t remember him being “shite”…
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Mazza, Aliadiare had OODLES of pace before his injuries… he’s still in the squad because he’s never been given a fair shake, and Wenger thinks he can play.
Not sure what your grudge is against him… who’s your next scapegoat… ?
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:16 pm
Aliadiare never had pace. That’s just plain fabrication. Your defination of pace is very different to mine.
Watch a few re-runs of Liverpool away two years ago (2-1 victory for us) and Man United in F.A Cup semi-final defeat in that same year. The defination of anonymous. I don’t know where you get this notion that he did well when he got his chance. He scored one tap-in against West Brom at highbury and that was it.
He’s been unlucky with injuries but he looks exactly the same as before the injuries. Decent player but no where near Arsenal class.
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:23 pm
Oh yeah, and a hat-trick against the Everton in the carling cup. He scored a good goal in that match. However Carling Cup is suspended reality. How many times do youngsters tear it up those games and then play like piss in the league games. Alot.
July 23rd, 2006 at 11:54 pm
I would say give the lad one more chance. If he cant make it this time, just sell him up. Some club might want him. I suppose….
July 24th, 2006 at 8:04 am
How can you guys think that Aliadiere can play at Arsenal. He wasn’t good enough for Celtic and West Ham, so I can’t see how he can be good for us. Just sell him and raise our transfer budget. Nicklas Bendtner is better than him and is 4 years younger.
July 24th, 2006 at 8:18 am
Agree 100%, no news of Lupoli so far this season as well.
The squad for the tour of Austria will be announced later today, it will be interesting to see who will be included.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
I was speaking of their own touches & control with the ball not necessarily their performances against their opponents, but I forget only you are wise enough to use discretion properly & analyze players.
July 24th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Stag, I don’t know when you saw Ali play good but it wasn’t Saturday.
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