Jul 29
Supporters of the greatest football club on the planet, I have a poll for you. I’m curious to know how you rank the order of importance for Arsenal’s winnings. Please rank the most important to least important between Arsenal winning:
1) EPL Title
2) FA Cup
3) Champions League
91 Responses to “EPL, FA Cup or Champions League?”
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July 29th, 2007 at 10:14 am
We really need to win the CL, so here goes:
1) Champions League
2) EPL Title
3) FA Cup
July 29th, 2007 at 10:19 am
lehmann,
sagna, toure, gallas, hoyte
eboue, flamini, fabregas, gibbs (!!!!!!)
hleb
RvP
July 29th, 2007 at 10:22 am
our left side is ridiculously weak.
no sign of vieira
July 29th, 2007 at 10:36 am
1. EPL
2. CL
3. FA Cup
This year, I hope we concentrate on the EPL and CL only. I don’t think we have a squad equipped for all three. Last year, we screwed up the CL due to our FA Cup replay at Blackburn, which we also lost.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:01 am
i think we should forget totally about the FA cup.
we should pay more attention to the league cup because its our easiest chance of silverware. if we are still strong in the league by end of february we might have to forget about the CL as well. if not then we should then obviously concentrate on the CL.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Is Hoyte on the left? If Sagna can play anywhere along the back line, as Wenger claims, shouldn’t he be on the left and Hoyte on the right?
July 29th, 2007 at 11:10 am
One trick or not, Eboue looks really enjoying his RM role hasn’t he?!
And that kid K.Gibbs looked pretty tidy as well.
and i m also quite impressed by Sagna. He looks a more natural defender than Eboue. Safty first.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:11 am
eboue will make a GREAT RM. no question. if he can just get rid of the rubbish he will do really well.
hleb is FAR better as a support striker.
we have played quite well in the first half a few nice chances and we have tested their keeper a couple of times.
gibbs is ok too. but all their attack is coming from our left….hoyte´s place as suspected.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:13 am
“Is Hoyte on the left? If Sagna can play anywhere along the back line, as Wenger claims, shouldn’t he be on the left and Hoyte on the right?”
What exactly is the DIFFERENCE who’s on the right or left?
This is a new signing, naturally u want him to get familiar with ONE position and his understanding with fellow back 4 teammates first before shifting around right?
July 29th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Andez, because we know that Hoyte is very weak on the left. He was tried there last season and it was accepted that he can’t make it. So much so that Gallas had to play there.
Of course, this is a pre-season friendly, but that’s exactly where you want to try out stuff.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:18 am
well played 1st half for Arsneal… fluid movement… created a few nice chances…
Gibbs played pretty well for a youngster, didn’t he?! No fear.
Eboue did a nice job, and I have to agree that Hleb playing behind RVP is a spot he looks more comfortable in.
I think Andez noted this yesterday, and its fact… Flamini makes some good runs, and he gets himself into good positions on the pitch. Y’all can rip him all you like, he’s not a bad player at all. There is no negative to having him on this team.
Hope we score the winner in the 2nd half… it is meaningless, but I’d like to win our own Cup! PSG thrashed Valencia 3-0!
We just need a win.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:18 am
of the topic:
1. Premiership - to shut the fuck of Man U/Chelsea/Spurs fans’ mouths. And all those pundits who have written us off as well.
2. CL - we owe that to Wenger
3. FA Cup
July 29th, 2007 at 11:21 am
In response to the TOPIC!
I normally would say CL first, because we’ve never won it. But we don’t have a realistic chance in that competition in my opinion… then League, and FA Cup.
But in reality, I think we play all competitions to win them, because its likely we’ll only have a legitimate shot at the CC and FA Cup. You have to play for the league, because we need a Top 4 finish, or all else is irrelevant. That is THE most important spot of all.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:21 am
nipuna, what i meant is - u got a new player just coming in, u want him to get familiar with his natural position first. before consider shifting him around.
as for Hoyte, he’s basically weak on right and left. not much a difference to me. besides, i think Traore will have a good chance to be the back up for Clichy as season progress. Hoyte will fall down the pecking order on both left and right.
anyway, i think 2nd half we will see him being subs.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:22 am
our key weakness is still - send the damn ball into the net!! with that done, we will be alright!
July 29th, 2007 at 11:25 am
1) EPL title
2) Champions League
3) FA Cup
July 29th, 2007 at 11:34 am
@ stag: we have a FAR higher chance of winning the CL than winning the league. the CL is a cup.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:35 am
1. EPL
2. CL
3. FA Cup
I think Wenger learned from last year. Carling is for the kids this year with only some squad players when they need playing time or the kids have fixture congestion as well. No Toure, no Fabregas this year.
GK- Fabianski
FA Cup should be mostly squad players with some of the top youngsters and a few top players as well. That said, I think our depth is good at GK, CB, and RB positions.
GK-Almunia
The league is the tough one. Challenging for the CL was great in ‘06 b/c we were 2nd the year previous. We need to be within touching distance of being EPL champions for most of the year. Maybe we are not ready this year but being 20 pts. or more back at the end of the campaign is not acceptable.
That said I want a domestic trophy this year if not EPL then FA.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:42 am
No subs for us at half…
then typical Arsenal… hopeful ball sent in… headed home.
Totally against the run of play, and we are behind.
This doesn’t seem to have changed for us at all… friendly or not.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:45 am
just when i was about to say we are not being tested enough in the air we concede from the route…..
and gallas the loudmouth is beaten by a player smaller than him! maybe if he actually did HIS job well we would have far less problems.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Well DONE!
Nice pass back by Sagna, and Hleb gets it done on the 2nd attempt.
That gets a big thumbs up.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:48 am
equalizer by hleb. nice cutback by sagna. eboue is basically our livewire.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
van persie genius!!! 2-1 !!!
July 29th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
That was a good run out for the Arsenal.
Better today than yesterday, and brilliant goal for RVP to win it.
All positives… bar the problems dealing with crosses again.
Kids played well, moved the ball around well… no injuries.
I just pray VanPersie can play a full season, because he’s got the talent to score the goals.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Try posting at the end of the match Stag instead of making yourself look a total prat!!
Eboue was incredible today - no doubt he can play right midfield, and I hope he does. Hleb looks good enough to play left wing in Rosicky’s absence.
Sagna looked very good today, much more reliable at the back than Eboue.
Van Persie? Football was made for him. Genius.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
I don’t now abt u guys, but i m really looking forward to the new season. just have this gut feeling a few of lads will be coming out of Henry’s shadow and shine.
if somehow, if we end up winning something this season, the decision to sell Henry probably would be a masterstoke by Wenger. Not that Henry is a bad player, but we need that sense of TOGETHERNESS. We can’t have that togetherness when u had ur captain coming out every now and then telling the world we need to sign better players.
maybe he got a valid point, but the damage cannot be underestimated on what it did to the team morale of the current set of players.
From the Emirate Cup, u can get a glimpse of that “togetherness” appeared to be coming back. It’s only a friendly cup, but the boys really up for it.
Also, u just have a feeling that Eboue and Hleb are heading towards a breakout season with their new roles.
Eboue’s presence sucks the defence towards him, and opened up the right flank wide opened. We destroyed Inter down the right.
Hleb was the man of the match. This is the REAL Hleb we are watching i believe. Such a quick feet. Increditable talent.
And all in all, we weren’t even playing with our starting XI!
July 29th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Doesn’t Eboue’s success on the wings prove that not only can Arsenal can play with wingers and but also that we need to have wingers?
The next few days will be crucial. Once we get Eduardo’s work permit (there is no reason not to) and sell Reyes, we will be well placed to get one more player. Hopefully a winger, but whatever Wenger thinks is right. We need depth.
Bring on the new season.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Yeah, this is the real Hleb, but don’t forget that he was playing there only because we were short of attacking options. Once the players are fit, Hleb will move back to the right where he has played before. Man of the Tournament for me :))))))))))))
July 29th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Well done today….good run out. Gald we won our own cup!
Hleb in center of the park is much better than Right side. He did very well today.
Gibbs will be magnificent if he stays injury-free. Had a great game today.
Agree with above comments re: Sagna, Eboue and v.Persie.
Flamini also worked hard today. There is no reason why we shouldn’t keep him. Glad he has decided to stay.
But we still have the same problems as last season. We need to learn to score first and score early to get some confidence among the young players. And we are weak in the air…..was very disappointed with Gallas on the conceded goal.
Disappointed not to see Vieira.
Overall, very positive.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Wenger keeps repeating that Eduardo can play on the flanks. If he really can, it opens up lots of possibilities -
Left Wing - Rosicky/Eduardo/Hleb
Right Wing - Hleb/Eboue/Walcott
Support Striker - Hleb/RvP/Rosicky
Main Striker - RvP/Ade/Bendtner
July 29th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
I’m setting up my Kool-Aid stand for anyone that wants some.
Is that babyfaced squad depth I see? Its been quite some time since we’ve seen an Arsenal side smiling from ear to ear, playing creative football, and having the time of their lives. I get the sense they’re very tight, and no cliques or polarizing players. It’s what Wenger’s wanted, why he’s done the things he’s done, and it is starting to look like its coming to fruition. Still some things to sort out, not the least of which defending crosses into the box, making the best of our chances, and staying consistent (although its promising that we played our best in the final game of the tourney), but damn that was fun. I hardly felt nervous at all.
Robin, Hleb, Eboue, Cesc…all stars. And the rest are coming along nicely as well. So nice that they get to lift some silverware of sorts for their confidence and a fitting reward for some hard work. No egos above tracking back, that’s for sure.
Up the Arse, Kiss the Crest, Keep the Faith.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Give me a cup Scotty…. make it double!
July 29th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
yeah scotty, when the players were in the tunnel, i look at the Inter players, all looked big, matured seasoned veterans… then Arsenal, a bunch of baby faces… particular during the award ceremony, lot of kids, real kids. Hell, when Michael Thomas scored that famous Anfield goal, K.Gibbs wasn’t even born!
the past couple seasons i always had a thought back in my mind that - i hope the kids go out and play well, just to show the captain Henry that we don’t need any major signings, we are good enough…. it’s not a good feeling. This season i m particular looking forward to the new season, as now that burden is gone. i believe deep in a lot of younger players in our team’s mind, they probably would have the same feeling. Now they can just go out and concentrate on playing their football, no longer need to worry about to please anyone. They r gonna win together, lose together. ‘cos they are now all in it together.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Fu*k Chelsea and Man U, we already have one trophy this season :))))))))).
And we are going for the double next weekend. lol
July 29th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Exactly, Andez.
And funny you point out the tunnel. I was watching that as well, and there wasn’t a jaded player in the side. Eboue, on back behind the cold, cold stare fo Jens, they couldn’t stand still. It reminded me of when my dad had hunting dogs and they couldn’t wait to get out of the truck. They almost didn’t know what to do with themselves when they weren’t doing their thing.
Wenger believes that confidence and development comes not just from personal brilliance and skill, but from picking up that lifting vibe from your mates on the pitch. No one out there thinks they’re better than anyone else on their side – ignoring Gallas for the moment. Its still a risk in terms of consistency, but there’s a ton of big game experience out there as young as they are, and they’re only going to forge stronger and stronger partnerships on and off the pitch.
It really bodes well that they can play so awfully in the first half of the first game, and so well less than 24 hours later, mixing up the lineups. Sure, they were home and had the benefit of some fantastic pre-season support (59k +), but as you said, the kids playing well is truly the best thing we can ask for both in terms of our future, and this horrible pseudo competition called the summer transfer market. And Lord help you if you start moaning and not carrying your weight.
Oh, and we’ve resisted a takeover at all costs. Our soul, for the most part, remains intact.
A good weekend. Let’s hope we get straight to work on ironing out some of our flaws and move on to great, and finally, the best.
*sllides double cup of Kool-Aid down the bar*
July 29th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
nice, that the kids get hold of some silverware early.
however quite some work still needs to be done. we are still sh-te in the air at the back. we played against two teams that dont attack u in the air yet still got exposed. PL teams would try more and expose us more if dont find a solution even a stopgap one.
if only we could solve that problem we could be optimistic about a top 2…..but as it is one doesnt know.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
No question the EPL must be a priority. We have drifted to far down in the last 3 years and I dont want to be worrying about the chamions league qualification. The prem is going to be tough this year from the looks of things. We need to start with the league and build from there. That is how this young team will establish itself and silence the doubters.
Champions league would be the next priority, but a decent run without a final is ok by me. we make some money the team learns from further European competition, but shouldnt sacrifice our domestic form.
As a dream though how amazing would it be to win the cup with big ears the year Henry left and everyone said we were through. To be honest the same goes for the EPL.
Realistically I think finishing the top 2 and taking home a domestic cup is a good target and I would be ok with that. anything else is bonus.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
BullyBoy, You liked the in game commentary? Good. I wasn’t the only one posting in match, and I will continue to do so ALL YEAR, so … get used to it.
The more you dislike it or comment on it, the more I’ll post.
Keep trying with your bullying, its not going have any effect on me.
Today:
It was fun to watch. But as I said previously, you shouldn’t take too much from the matches, other than we won a few friendlies, and the players performed fairly well against good competition. The intensity level is far below a REAL match. Its a good time to experiment with formations and players in different positions. Let’s not get carried away with 2 wins in a friendly, any more than we would about a Loss to Salzburg.
Good signs today? Hell yes.
Reason to be optimistic? Definitely. (not that Kool-Aid Scotty needed any reasons!)
But lets not start suggesting we are going to win trophies based on this weekend.
July 29th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Stag, honestly don’t think anyone would SERIOUSLY believe we are going to win trophies just because winning that Emirates Cup. But let’s enjoy the moment, it’s a good feeling winning any match!
Personally, i don’t really pay much attention to the final score. When we were down 0-1, i was thinking, wouldn’t it be nice the boys pull their act together and beat them come from behind? But at the same time i also wonder whether they got what it takes, and it’s only a friendly afterall.
In the end, the things satisified me more than anything else is their ATTITUDE. The COLLECTIVE ATTITUDE. You just sense a new sense of HUNGER among those boys. Even Gallas seemed to really CARE (look at how he celebrated after we equalized).
AW said the reasons adebayor, Rosicky the likes missing is because they had an INTENSE training session in Austria. Add to the things we watched during this Emirates Cup, i personally have a feeling the team have showed a determination and hunger to do it well this time around.
i don’t think i am the only one feeling this way.
July 29th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Outstanding performance today. I was really impressed by Eboue. I was the one who said he only had one move. Actually, it was more the tactics of what the fullbacks are supposed to do than what he’s capable of. Wide right was the position he played before coming to Arsenal and he looked more at home there. He and Clichy both looked like they were having an absolute blast playing so far up the pitch yesterday. I still believe Hleb is more dynamic but Eboue looked mighty fine today.
Now that I’ve owned up to my goof on Eboue, I’m also coming to collect on my Hleb and van Persie props. I told you guys that Hleb could be unstoppable for this team. I also said, right before he went to jail, that van Persie was the new Rivaldo and he had world POTY potential. To all the nay sayers, I simply said what I always said; time will tell. It’s because time always tells.
I know it’s only the pre-season but it’s hard not to get excited when we see our team play like they did today. Some could say that Inter were missing their top guys and weren’t fit but we still had to play the game.
Andez, I too thought this team needed to show Henry they could win without him. I thought we’d done that when we beat Zagreb last season but as soon as Henry was back in the side everyone just looked so much to him; except van Persie. It’s why I believe Henry had more respect for van Persie than anyone else in this team.
The one good thing about the goals we conceeded was there was one person who was directly at fault for both of them and that was Gallas. If he’s half a man, he’ll realize that he’s the weak link right now not the youngsters and everyone in the team knows it. I don’t expect him to run his mouth anymore.
One last thing is you guys have heard me screaming about it since the day it was announced but I think Wenger is finally in agreement with me that a striker should not be a captain. I saw an interview where he said he believes the captain should probably be a CB; hence Gallas and Toure over the past week. But I think he realised that it definitely shouldn’t be a striker. I think he actually regrets making Henry captain.
Sorry my post was so long. I just felt chatty.
July 29th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Andez, definite positive vibe from the team. That is evident.
Coming from behind to win, even in a friendly, is exactly what we need.
We had a lot of difficulty doing so last season, when we went behind late against the run of play. How many times did it happen last year?
Well, today… they gained confidence, if not anything else. And confidence and momentum are very important for young teams. If they can gain some belief in themselves, we should all enjoy watching the Arsenal this season.
I believe when Henry was asked recently about Ljungberg’s departure… he backed the club and the players 100%. He said… why can’t they win the league? In hindsight, I think his departure had a lot more to do with his personal life than football. But thats neither here nor there. Like Vieira, Henry has nothing but good things to say about Arsene and his ways.
July 29th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
One more thing, that van Persie goal was straight grass roots. They don’t teach that at any accademy. That’s stuff you learn at the neighborhood playground. That’s why it’s hard to find English players with the skill and audacity to even try something like that. The last time I was in London, I couldn’t even find a pick-up game. As soon as Walcott gets all of that accademy crap out of his system, I think he’ll do very well. Playing with Hleb, Adebayor, and van Persie, etc. will definitely help.
July 29th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
yeah josh, its almost impossible for a defender not to fall for that trick no matter how many times he plays it……because everybody knows he has a massive leftfoot and he usually shoots with that….so a defender is always gonna dive for that. lol.
funny how eboue`s trickery got 3 of their players booked in a friendly! now if only we can get a leftwing version of eboue. there is simply nothing a defender can do about RAW pace.
July 29th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Joshuad, i read through ur long post (not that long compare to some of mine in fact haha). lot of points i agree.
First, i respect the way u owned up (Eboue)! not everyone has the gut to admit he’s wrong (me included), so that’s a better quality than predicting something it turns out right.
the problem of Gallas is two fold though. like u said previously, our system doesn’t suit big central half. yet playing Gallas and Toure together, we are bounced to concede goal like today time and time again.
so it’s really a catch 22 situation. a big guy, even he’s a tall class defender, tend to be clumsy and slow. very rarely we saw big central half yet got a pace like Toure. so i do not agree to buy a dominated central half like some suggested, cos with our system, no matter how big a reputation he has, he’s bounced to look silly when dealing with quick counter attack.
but if we got two smaller cental half, we can’t deal with the high ball. Gallas today was already jumping in along with the Inter striker, he just didn’t has the height to match him.
July 29th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
I thought Gallas did okay today. Still looks rusty but he doesn’t give it the diva attitude on the pitch, and as long as he does that I’ll back him.
Eboue looks good on the right, and making all the right calls so far. Over a long season though it might be hard for him to keep it up and sustain the mental clarity. I think he should start on the wing against Fulham though.
Hleb was a little genius again today and could still do so much more if he was more single-minded and if he was picked out more by his teammates in the hole. Once again today we went wide to Sagna and Gibbs when he was bellowing for the ball in the pocket in front of the central defenders.
Now on to Amsterdam and lets hope Eduardo gets his permit.
July 29th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Look at Stag, he’s all positive now - so predictable… lol. I’m glad you’re going to be posting all season, I love your comedy. And I’m going to “bully” you all season too, should be fun.
July 29th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
1. CL
2. EPL
3. FA Cup
July 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
On whether Inter Milan’s goal exposed a defensive weakness…
“We have to work on that. In the air we have to be more efficient because in England that’s an important way to stop goals. For me Senderos played very, very well yesterday and he is good in the air. We have Djourou, who is injured at the moment, as well. So I feel we don’t want to buy a centre back.”
This was from AW’s post match interview. For those of us that believe we need another central defender; I don’t think we are going to get one. Perhaps he will re-visit the issue in January when we lose Kolo to the ACN. But at least he acknowledges it is a problem and perhaps they will work on attempting to rectify it in training.
July 29th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
That was very enjoyable, very positive, easy on the eyes.
Not to harp on the negative, but a sunny friendly at Emirates in July is a long way from a sloppy pitch in the Northeast in winter with fixtures and injuries piled up. Granted it’s nice to succeed first under optimal conditions, before wading into the kind of dreck and physical threat they faced at Sheffield last year.
I’m enjoying this one, but trying to keep it in perspective. Inter offered barely any defense in the middle of the park. Adriano and a couple of others were visibly bulging their shirt-stripes — that dude looks obese fat!
July 29th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
RVP was a joy to watch. He had some absolutely thunderous strikes in the match. It was good to see the team two days in a row, but Inter was not match fit, so maybe the visit to Amsterdam will be a stronger test
I want to see the ManUre-Inter match on Wednesday. If Inter plays as they did at Emirates, ManUre is going to light them up.
July 29th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Today was a joy to watch. Even when we went down (and we were thinking… here we go again), I started to think to myself that I could care less what place we finish because I would far rather watch the Arsenal brand of football than anything the other top EPL clubs produce.
There are definitely some talented young kids that are only going to get better… and hopefully they can produce this season. Regardless of the outcome, there will be enjoyable football to watch, and it will be fun to watch to see how far they can improve.
For this year, I think Wenger should concentrate on CL and EPL, since we dont have as deep a squad as ManU, Pool or Chelski.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
It was a good game today, and it was especially enjoyable to watch Van Persie and Hleb work together. I think those two will help Arsenal win some hardware. Also Eboue did do a really good job on the right wing and showed how fast he really is, but I have to admit he’s a diver and over exaggerates fouls which I don’t like to see. Arsenal’s defense has to work harder or we will continue to either lose or tie to mediocre and bad teams like Sheffield last year.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
@DannyT, aka BullyBoy…
Yes, as many have said, we were entertaining and it was fun to watch. Why would I be negative following a match like that? I’d love to be wrong about the team… and have us win the league.
I was thinking of doing a running commentary on the next match… where I give a post for every minute of the match, for those not able to watch it. So I could do like pre-match, 45 posts for the first half… half-time… 45 posts for the 2nd half… and then a concluding post.
I hope you’re up for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 29th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
only downside of the match was Justin Hoyte. he just has this tendency to get “lost in transition”, whenever he pushed forward.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Excellent game today. Beautiful football. But, if we are to mount a title challenge we will need a striker like Anelka..Right now, we are so reliant on RVP…After that look down the pecking order and you will have to wonder where the goals are going to coming from unless we get incredible production from midfield..So, I hope AW goes for Anelka and a LW that can put some crosses into the box like Reyes. Only two left with any quality, Quaresma and Puerta.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
1. EPL always
2. Champion’s
3. FA
First post on this site. Gooner for life. Just like the Queen, wink.
One thing… too bad the FA Cup has devalued the way it has… some of the old-school matches were incredible. Unlike the ManU v. Chelski debacle this year. Bring it back to glory!
July 29th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Having seen the extended highlights
- Eboue looked very good. I too had doubts on him. Good to see him doing well and hope he can keep it up for the whole season. You don’t know when he will cross and when he will shoot.
- RvP is looking excellent. He did so last year too. His only problem is to keep fit. Let’s hope he can do that.
- Flamini always made good runs. That’s why he scored crucial goals. The problem is that we always made him out to be Gilberto’s replacement. In a 4-5-1, he has done ok. Gilberto’s backup is always the problem. Wenger seems to have ruled out Diaby, so now our hopes are pinned on Denilson.
- As for creating a lot and scoring less, that’s how the season is going to be. Along the way, we should be able to improve our goals to chances ratio.
- As for our inability to handle crosses and weakness in the air, unless we fix it, it is going to the #1 problem for the season.
Go Gunners!!!
July 30th, 2007 at 1:01 am
Cracker…absolute cracker of a game. They showed it here on a local channel in Iran
couldnt understand a word of teh commentary but the game was great. For once was glad I wasn’t at home coz they wouldnt have shown it back there 
. Coming to the serious stuff, I caught the game from 35″ onwards. My thoughts:
1.Inter Milan were woeful , I dont remember them having the ball at all in the last 20 minutes. Absolutely woeful, they were tbf. Adriano looks fat…so fat ..so fat that…I couldnt believe he was the same guy I saw last to last year.
2.Lehmann had nothing to do 2nd half apart from the goal.
3.The in the air problems remain..Gallas again. AW is in a mess here. Games are won with a steady defense and if AW thinks of switching the central defense all the time btw all 4 or even btw Toure,Gallas and Sendy I dont know how its going to work , speciallly with Sendy being a slow starter. i can see us conceding more here.
4.Hoyte was awful tbh and Kieran Gibbs looked a bit out of depth. I will not blame Gibbs for whom the experience itself would have been overwhelming but Justin Hoyte…this is the second time I have seen him sleep on a cross and give up on a player. Remember the Boro game when Sendy got sent off Hoyte was at fault there as well for failing to pick up the run from deep and not tracking back. Today it wasnt just a run he made a lazy attempt at not cutting out the cross. remember that 100% thread we had and discussing how Titi didnt give 100%? This is what is NOT 100%, a defender sleeping on a cross. IMO obviously but the left side was inept yesterday.
5.Cesc was good stringing together passes freely and the Flamster’s movement yesterday was excellent. yes he makes some dead runs but if he can make 7 out of those 10 runs count I’m happy.
6.Alex Hleb was brilliant and was shooting more instead of dribbling in the box. just goes to show how good he can be and why AW pickd him up.
7.Eboue was my MOTM. He was causing havoc on the right and his link up play with Sagna was very good. The left footer which he just missed wasnt far off at all. Plus the fact that he tracks back and is an adequate defender helps Sagna out at times. So maybe AW has pulled off another materstroke..too early to say but maybe..just maybe.Sagna is not as bad getting forward as some people on other sites write. The amount of drivel there is on the Internet is amazing..the amount of people who fall for it is even worse
8.RVP as Fred says…defenders are always going to dive in front of that left foot because of how devastating it is. That dummy when he sucked both defenders out in front of his left foot and hit that right foot strike was just audacious…not many people can do that. NB didnt have much to do like Denilson. On top of that he was playing as a lone striker for a lot of the game. 2.75million pounds…wow..what an absolute steal!!!!!
All in all wonderful to watch my first game of the season and see AFC put in a stunning display of football. Lets hope that this is a sign of things to come and that Eduardo gets his work permit.
p.s: @Stag: Paddy didnt play or did he ???
July 30th, 2007 at 1:05 am
@SeattleGunner: I’d love to see us win the EPL to shut Mourinho, Fergusson and the idiotic media up. Everything else is a bonus and I hope we get as far as we can coz the further we get the more cash we get to pay off the debt.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:19 am
One question does arise out of Eboue’s display.
If he plays on the right wing, what happens to Hleb? If Hleb plays as a support striker, what happens to Ade, Eduardo and Bendtner?
But it’s good to have options.
July 30th, 2007 at 2:02 am
@nipuna: Thats the thing really. We already have a reasonably strong bench. AW said last night that JAR is going. Now if Eduardo can play in the Reyes place (subject to his work permit) he drifts left anyway then we would have filled the left wing slot. So Mozart n Eduardo fighting for the left wing slot is good enough for me. Hleb , Theo n Eboue for the right wing is also good enough for me.So we don’t need more players (do I sense opposition
)unless AW sends Djourou on loan and sells Sendy.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:24 am
I have a feeling that eduardo is destined for the left wing, which would mean we should switch our focus to signing another striker instead of winger.
However if we play 4-5-1, with hleb in the hole, maybe that negates the need for another striker?
Who knows, but I think 4-4-2 will still be the order of the day, and as such I would like to see us sign another striker.
Anelka would be my choice, altho his attitude might affect the dressing room….
July 30th, 2007 at 4:26 am
LDE, audacious, when talking about RvP is just the point. First of all who has the skill to do some of the things he does, and second for those that have the skill who has the audacity to try that in the game? How many people have you seen in your entire time watching football would have even attempted that volley he did at Charlton? Maybe Ginola, DiCanio, and definitely Rivaldo.
That’s why I call him the new Rivaldo. Sure they’re similar in skill, size, and being lefties but only a select few possess that audacity. It’s one thing to do it in training but quite another to do it in a game with tens of thousands of people watching. Rivaldo won world POTY two or 3 times so why can’t RvP?
And for less than three million pounds; HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! F*cking right we robbed the bank.
July 30th, 2007 at 5:01 am
Plus RVP has balls…a lot of it…in abundance….
July 30th, 2007 at 5:51 am
Rocka, I think Eduardo will be a striker and that’s all. My concern is how do you not play Adebayor? There’s only one CB in the EPL that can deal with him and that’s Alex. He uses a blend of pace and power to blaze past everyone else.
Kinda hard not to get carried away by yesterday’s game as it was only pre-season. I guarantee if we draw Inter in the CL they’ll prove a much more difficult challenge all together. Looking forward to the coming season though.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:54 am
Right now I’d drop Hleb and play Eboue right midfield with Sagna behind. But only in a 4-4-2 system. Hleb can always play left wing if Rosicky is out.
The only player who has been a disaster in the pre-season games is Hoyte, the Salzburg goal was his fault as he completely disappeared from his position originally, the PSG goal was his fault for exactly the same reason, and the Inter goal was his fault for his pathetic attempt to cut out the cross - he barely raised his leg. This player is utter garbage. Having said that Arsenal badly needs a quality centre back who can head a ball away - that could be Senderos but he’s so bad at everything else that it’s not worth it.
Catch 22, as Wenger will not drop Toure and is too scared to drop Gallas, so I think the defense is the main reason Arsenal will not win anything rather than the attack which everyone is focusing on.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:23 am
You know ..at the time we did that exchange deal for Cole I thought we’d gotten the better player in Gallas. Now I’m not sure if he’s worth all this trouble. For the last 2 years the very “experience ” that everyone has been moaning for has gotten us into serious trouble(relatively speaking) ofcourse. After Paddy left Gilberto,Pires,Freddie,Sol,Freddie to an extent ..even Titi at times didnt step up and got carried away. Last season apart from Giberto the rest of them messed up yet again. On what grounds are the seniors blaming the kids?? On what grounds is Gallas blaming AW for not buying experienced players? Tell me which of the kids didnt perform last season…Sendy had a few gaffes but that apart I think they all gave a great account of themselves.
@Danny: There’s a reason AW won’t drop Toure despite him being poor in the air. Thats because he is so good in a number of other areas. I don’t agree with him being scared to drop Gallas..he has been ruthless in the past and will do it again if needed. He is only trying to channelize the frustration of Gallas into something positive by giving him the captaincy. If it gets too much he will sell him to Milan or some place Gallas always wanted to go. Still its only a preseason…so lets wait ..wait and watch. Also AW has a problem of plenty with respect to creative midfielders now..I think one will leave next season…Hleb or Rosicky but I hope both stay.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:08 am
“One question does arise out of Eboue’s display.
If he plays on the right wing, what happens to Hleb?”
Nipuna, that’s why i think we don’t need a new winger. We got more players can play there than ppl might think.
i’d also like to see more of Traore. I m so far imprssed by him. not only quick, but strong as well. he will be twice a player than Hoyte ever be or probably even more. I have a feeling AW keeps Hoyte only to fill the “home growth” number of the CL requirement.
i m not being harsh on Hoyte because he’s English, as I’m quite impressed with the kid K.Gibbs. He’s too lightweight at the moment, but the basic element are there - solid technic, at least won’t pass the ball to no-manland, and got some good awareness as well. at least we didn’t see him panic or seemingly not knowing what to do with the ball whenever he had the possession.
It’s just one game. but for a 17-year-old to play against the Series A Champions in front of 60,000 home fans it did take some nerve. Will love to see him playing at the wing sometimes.
If we buy a new winger, young lads like Traore (can push Clichy further up and play Traore at left back) and Gibbs will not get to play much. and if they don’t get to play they will never improve or fulfill their potential.
Also i agree with rijathomas, we probably need a goalscorer more (particularly if Da Silva fails to get workpermit).
I found myself holding my nerve whenever van Persie went down…
July 30th, 2007 at 8:15 am
BTW, it’s a wonderful sight seeing the Iraq people celebrated their national team Asian Cup win.
Football sometimes can really be a magic. Thanks for George W. Bush, ppl at Iraq probably haven’t had anything to laugh for, to smile for for the past 6 or 7 years, regardless how Bush tries to convince the world and himself he sent the US troop there for the good of Iraq.
So it’s great to see a sport we all love have this magical power to offer people who suffered a moment of joy and happiness, never mind how brief a moment that is.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:48 am
I mentioned the Iraq win previously… great story.
All the factions can’t come together politically, but they did on the football pitch and won the tournament.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:38 am
For once I agree with you. Poor bastards in that country, must be a living hell every day.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Guess thats why they say that Sport can melt barriers…out here in India cricket is the number 1 thing (b4 football) and India n Pakistan r at big loggerheads politically with each other. After some 15 years Pakistan came here and played and beat us narrowly and did a victory lap in the stadium. U’d think there would be trouble but NO…the entire stadium stood up and applauded the Pakistan team ..the entire stadium..I had goose pimples watching that.
I dont know..its hard to watch people enjoying sport when others are dying on the border for you but I guess the cliched statement about “Dont mix sport and politics” does hold true.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:42 am
@ Stag.
Bring it on brother! I’d like to hear your running commentary. Who knows, might even be enjoyable. Your getting some serious hate here on this site, but just because you don’t see everything as roses, doesn’t mean you’re wrong either. I’d say I am 50/50 with what you have to say, don’t always agree, but don’t always disagree. Definately have a stinging tone to your writing, wouldn’t be surprised if you were from New England.
Keep it up. Good see some replies other than pom-pom waiving. Though you are predictably glass half empty on most things Arsenal, that is no greater crime than being predictably glass half full.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Andez, A goal scoring winger would be better than a striker. We have four strikers (assuming Eduardo gets his work permit), but can only play two at a time, maybe one, if we play 4-5-1/4-4-1-1. Our midfielders are not the goal scoring types (not yet), and we do need goals from midfield. I have always asked for a goal scoring wide midfielder with pace. I guess there are too few of that type and they cost a lot too. But what Eboue did clearly shows how much wingers can help our game. One can always hope. At the end, Wenger is the boss.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:54 am
i agree nipuna. if u paid attention, i said “goalscorer”, not necessary a striker. he can be a goalscoring winger, goalscoring midfielder, goalscoring full backs… hell, if he can score from goalkick, i wouldn’t mind to have a goalscoring ‘keeper!
my biggest concern is really just about SCORING. other than that, though we are not perfect in many area, the problem is not as big. like the cheap goals we tend to concede, but i guess with our style of play, we are bounced to concede goals like that.
in the end, if we seize our chances well, even we concede 3, we can always score 4. The creative department has creativity in aplenty. like Danny pointed out early on, Eboue or the right full back could cross the ball all day long into the box, but when u only got one or 2 guys waiting in the middle it’s pretty pointless.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Andez, I saw goalscorer and Eduardo in the same sentence and that meant striker to me. Agreed, we need more avenues to score. But at the same time, we can’t be Real Madrid. If they score 3, we’ll score 4. I have mentioned, like Danny, that defending is our #1 problem now. It has to improve. If Gallas performs like he did for Chelsea, we should be fine.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:39 am
it’s difficult for Gallas to perform like he did with Chelsea though. @ Chelsea, he got Terry alongside him to deal with the high ball. While at the same time he got a midfield sitting in front of him to shield the defence. Chelsea’s style is not an all out attacking side like Arsenal. So he, alongside the defence, had less chance to get exposed like the way when he’s with Arsenal.
Chelsea’s defence today is very much like our George Graham days, the back 4 had an excellent defensive record, but they would be the first one to give credit to the midfield 4 in front of them, likes of Rocky, Thomas, Davis, Richardson. Those were some very hard working midfielders. Anyone of them worked harder than ANY of our current Arsenal player.
But then, it’s a different ball game. like i said before, u can put John Terry there, he would still struggle playing our high up the field defence.
note: we are not talking about once for a blue moon the team defence push high up the field. Some say Terry deal with it very well even when they push the defence up. But try to get him doing the same thing week in week out for an entire season. i think he would just be making the same amout of mistakes as Gallas.
For a back 4, if their jobs are to sitting inside their penalty box defending deep, and get a midfield 4 shielding them in front, their jobs would be much more comfortable. Especially for central half. As most of the central halfs are not as agile as other outfield players. Even players like toure, gallas, giving them choices - that (1) do u perfer to defend deep against little nippy forward like Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney? (2) or do u perfer to defend high up the field against them and giving them channels to run?
they probably only enjoy pushing (defence) up the field against Peter Crouch!
July 30th, 2007 at 10:45 am
This will probably be unpopular, but I think Gallas is a true winner and is going to have a great season. The guy just expects to win every game. Couple that, with a frustrating injury from last year and he probably hit his boiling point when Henry left. I agree that he didn’t voice his frustration in a constructive way. However, if we get a few early wins under our belt, he will be one of the biggest assets on the team. I wouldn’t count his pre-season form as anything to worry about. He is fierce competitor and a winner. I expect big things from him this year.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Sorry Andez. That wasn’t meant to be a direct rebuttal to you. I think we were writing at the same time.
I agree with you that we defend in a much different way than Chelsea. I think Terry’s form with Chelsea vs his form with England is a good example of how it can affect a performance. I do think the defense will look a little different when it has Gilberto in front of it. He does an excellent job of shielding the back four. I also think our back line will be buffered by the fact that Sagna is a better defender than Eboue was last year. I think we have all seen where Eboue’s natural position is this past weekend. Sagna is a natural defender. And I think Clichy’s defending will continue to improve. I still think we could use another central defender. But that is because I am not confident with Sendy and Djourou as cover. I think Gallas and Toure will do fine together. But they can’t play every single game.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Okay, Eboue had one good game. The jury’s still out on him. We’ll let time decide if he’s as good as he looked yesterday. Inter Milan yesterday were easier than any test we’ll have for the rest of the season. I’m excited too but let’s wait a bit before we make him king.
I think the goals we conceed come down to tactics. Our focus is more on attack where most teams play more defensive. It was easier for Gallas at Chelsea or any defender to play well when the tactics suit defense; even Senderos had some of you fooled in that 4-5-1. Likewise, it’s easy for any defender to get exposed the way Arsenal play. Also, let’s not forget that strikers playing at the top level are very gifted players. The two goals we conceded were top quality finishes; especially Suazo’s off the post on yesterday.
So pick your poison boys. Do you want to see Arsenal’s attacking brand of footie where we maybe give up a goal or two or do you want to see us defending for ninety minutes and only counter attacking? Based on the talent we have, Arsenal aren’t built to strictly defend.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Damn Andez, we said the same thing.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Andez/Joshuad, while you make good points, I’d like to look at it in a slightly different way.
Andez, remember how you mentioned that defending the near post is the basics of GK and Almunia can’t do it. I look at it the same way with defending in the air. It is the basics and we should be able to do it.
Joshuad, as far as my poison goes, it’s obvious what one prefers, but hell, atleast let the opposition score properly, not just cross the ball and win almost every ball in the air.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:27 am
No problem Brendan! In fact i do agree with u on some points. Particular on Sagna, i like what i saw so far. He looks more natural as a full back, and seems to put safty first before pushing forward. but it’s early days, we will see how he develops. Hopefully he will help our defence a bit.
nipuna, really it’s catch 22 over and over again. dealing with high ball of cos is basic, particular it’s a crime if u r a central half and can’t deal with it. but take the example of that Inter goal Gallas conceded. not like he’s not marking the man or ball watching, he jumped, just not as high.
but if we put a taller guy there, he may not be as quick to deal with the counter.
i guess at the end of the day, we just have to look at the %. will opponent play more high ball on us? or counter?
i really think with different tactic and formation or style of player, they all have their pro and con, there is no PERFECT way to soft all the problems.
besides, it’s virtually “impossible” to bring in a new central half. who will be the “odd man” out? it might end up hurting the team chemistry at the end of the day.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Sorry to jump off topic… lots of people have been talking about striker/ wide midfield options, but what about central midfield?
We know Fabregas / Gilberto will be our main combination, but how do we get Diaby / Denilson on the pitch? I’m particularly interested in what people think Diaby’s long term role will be. He is a very intriguing and powerful player but too often gets on the pitch in wide positions which doesnt really suit him.
Do we just have too many creative CMs (remember we also have Fran Merida coming up), and how do we accomodate all these exciting prospects in this season and seasons to come?
July 30th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
It would help a great deal if they could cut half of the crosses coming in. Eboue was useless at this and Hoyte non-existant - he’s not even in the vicinity half the time. Clichy was better but not good enough. They simply have to get tighter to their man and stop those crosses getting in, it’s like nearly every cross ends up in a goal, it’s embarrassing. Set pieces are defended better because the team is more organised, but could still improve on that too - but at least we have some height now with Van Persie, Adebayor and Diaby helping out, plus Gilberto of course.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
“They simply have to get tighter to their man and stop those crosses getting in,”
Good point. it might have something to do with the full backs pushing too high up the pitch. Sagna looks like a defensvie minded full back, but too early to tell. Hope he is, and it’ll help.
Coach_ed,
I am waiting Diaby to improve on his defensive side. When he does, he’s gonna be hugh. Massive talent this kid, without a single of doubt.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
1. EPL is always a priority because our rivals are all annoying
2. CL is Wenger’s goal every year
3. FA Cup is a distant third but one I enjoy
4. Carling Cup is one I like because we get to see the youngest of the youth
Okay - the match.
RvP - brilliant. the audacity of some of his free kicks and that wonder goal…
Hleb - loved to see how at ease he was on the pitch for once
Cesc - somewhat quiet, but always solid
Flamini - I thought he was solid all weekend, an underrated player
Eboue - only one incidence of overt moaning, and his pace was incredible
Gibbs - was just impressive, and I think like Clichy is stronger than he looks
Hoyte - invisible. I think he has talent but is slumping which is not good news
Gallas - I thought his leadership was pretty good, but the mistake was bad bad
Toure - not many mistakes and is tough as nails
Sagna - I was HIGHLY impressed, and thought his speed was surprising
Jens - well i thought the goal wasn’t his fault, but he drives me crazy when he runs out from goal.
Overall, I was encouraged — this weekend is HUGE as far as indicators go. We need a great showing and injury free. I cannot wait for the next 13 days to be up and get this season started!
not my best post, maybe I’ll get out of this fog I’m in.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Hands down…Emirates Cup. Most important.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
1. EPL
2. CL
3.FA Cup
July 31st, 2007 at 12:23 am
I think Arsenal will have to sign a left winger, since Rosicky is our only real left winger, and no one else is very good at that position besides him. Someone like Royston Drenthe who was amazing in the Under 21 world cup for Netherlands would help Arsenal dramatically.
Even though Hleb and RvP played great together in the match against Inter Milan, Adebayor is too good not to start him, he’s good in the air, has good pace, with decent technical ability, and is enjoyable to watch with his tricks. While Hleb should start on the right wing, and when Rosicky who is often out then Hleb should be moved over there and let either Walcott or Eboue play on the right.
Things aren’t looking good for Eduardo right now he would be the perfect replacement for Jose Antonio Reyes, but still if Eduardo doesn’t receive his work permit I hope that AW signs another forward such as Anelka or Obafemi Martins.
Arsenal’s central defense has to shape up, Toure is fine and rarely makes any critical errors. But Gallas has continued to play badly in the air such as the first goal when David Suazo scored of a header when Gallas definitely should have gotten to the ball. While Senderos is good in the air he isn’t very fit, and has made very critical errors. Such as when Benni McCarthy schooled him then scored which costs Arsenal the FA cup. I do think Djourou is good but hasn’t had enough experience to make a big enough impact on Arsenal.
I think Abou Diaby has the most potential for the good of Arsenal. He plays a similar game like Viera who helped Arsenal infinitely, but Diaby is more of an attacking player who will help Arsenal’s goal scoring tally. I think he should start instead of Gilberto, since Gilberto’s best years are behind him and he isn’t very fit. While I think Diaby pairs up with Fabregas better that either Denilson or Flamini.
The Emirates Cup definitely helped Arsenal’s confidence and will hopefully help them win some title this year.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:32 am
The best result for me would be!!
EPL
CL
FA Cup