It seems every time Henry has a bad touch of the ball, two articles get written in Spain describing Henry’s failure. Considering that Henry gave Arsenal fans so many great memories, it is not very pleasant to see Henry criticized so much. Negative articles about him were being written in the first half of the season but recently they have increased as end of the European season approaches. So in a way it was very refreshing to see a mini documentary film on Henry on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) last month. The film was directed by the lovely Paz Vega (yes the actress) and was part of IFC’s Framed series where celebrities will make their first documentary film on sports stars. Henry’s film was the third episode in this series. It was a real treat to watch Henry being comfortable, happy, honest & even a wee bit flirtatious (I am sure Miss Vega has that effect). In reality, the doc film is only 5 minutes long but the rest of 20 or so minutes are about the setup.

The full film can be found here: Click on the Henry & Paz Vega link, and choose the full episode option. Although, I found this link a bit slow even though the sound quality was very good. Alternatively, here is the film in three parts (the sound quality is not the greatest in some sections):

Part One — the set-up where Henry meets Paz Vega and they discuss the project.

Part Two — the audition of the people in the film.

Part Three — the Interview and final shots.

Here’s a very good quality clip of the penalty sequence between Henry and Vega.

Just a delightful film to watch.

Wenger’s list:

One day when Wenger retires, I would love it if he would let out which players he wanted to sign during his reign at Arsenal. Just curious to know who Wenger had/has on his mind, etc. He is secretive about the players he wants for obvious reasons. A year or so ago, I remember reading an article that mentioned the Real Madrid president said if Wenger was interested in someone then they should get him. One can imagine that if word got out that Arsenal and Wenger were interested in someone, then a bidding war would start. Unsure if something of that sort happenned with Sean Wright Phillips. A month or so ago, Wenger did let out that Cristiano Ronaldo was close to signing with Arsenal. So who else does Arsene have in his mind? Maybe we will never know.

[Three posts courtesy of Andez, AlexArsenalFanBuffalo & ajay_gooner]

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One Piece of Advice by Andez:

Almunia – Attack the cross
Clichy – Concentrate (when defending)
Gallas – Grow up
Senderos – Work on upper body strength
Toure – Stay clam (when defending)
Sagna – Pick up where you left off (for next season)

Fabregas – Learn to curve a shot
Flamini – Pick up where you left off (for next season)
Hleb – Shoot!
Rosicky – Stay healthy
Walcott – Work on your left foot
Diaby – To improve defensive attritubes, work-rate

Adebayor – Work on your first touch
van Persie – Give us 20 league games a season
Bendtner – Work on upperbody strength, learn to hold the ball up

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Arsenal Season Review and Game Plan for next season (My Opinion) by AlexArsenalFanBuffalo

[This was submitted shortly after the 4-2 Anfield Loss]

To say that our European chances were held on two awful European refs were understatements. But for how shitty those calls were, we have to strengthen the squad.

Strikers

Adebayor – Needs to learn a couple things in the off season. First is to time his runs much better. He was off sides way too much in both of the Liverpool games along with the whole season. And when he has the clear cut chances, he has to finish them off like the world class striker he is. There were two or three chances that Eduardo would have struck in the back of the net that Adebayor pulled. The second is to keep the swagger about him that he had in the beginning to mid season that he totally lost. That swagger was when he pulled that ball off his chest with his back to the goal and stuck it. That was one of the best goals I ever saw, EVER. He needs that back. Other than that, when a fit RVP or Eduardo can link up with him, they will be great.

RVP – Needs to stay healthy. If it is that he needs to do just strength training all off season, so be it. The first half of the season he looked amazing. He had a swagger and it showed. He just needs to stay healthy, that’s it.

Eduardo – He was coming into his own and then he got that horror tackle. He will be back and at first he will be cautious but he might be what we need at the end of next season if we are looking to battle on a couple of the fronts.

Bendtner – I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt this season because he had a great season with B City along with doing well for the national team. I think we saw flashes of his brilliance but after that fight with Adebayor, he totally lost his nerve. No self-confidence at all. I think Adebayor was right to get pi$sed with him because he is supposed to be the tall striker that can give Adebayor a couple game breather when need be. And he hasn’t been the goal machine that Himself or his stupid Father said and think he is. I don’t know if he needs another loan season at a Premier Club or to stick it out next year riding the bench and hoping for someone to get hurt. He could be a “Beast” in disguise.

Carlos Vela – He has played for Osasauna this year because he hasn’t been able to get a euro passport. He is from Mexico and I think he will def be worked in to the first team next year. He is a striker but can also play on left wing. He is super quick and has a good shot. I thin he is like 18 or 19 years old.

Midfields

Eboue – He is absolutely garbage. He has no business being on the right hand side of the midfield. He has no shot, he dives too much, and his crosses haven’t been what they were when he was a right back. There is no place for him in the squad. He can’t even be a cover for Sagna as we saw with Wenger using Toure as coverage (which baffles me).

Rosicky – Your spot on with Glass Joe. I don’t know what he needs to do in the off season to toughen up. But it might be that he just is not built for the premiership. Maybe he will thrive in a slower less aggressive league like Italy or Spain . If he would toughen up he would be a good player. Though Wenger has put him on the left wing, I think (like Hleb) he is much better as a more central midfielder. He drifts that way anyway when he plays. If he left, I wouldn’t be so sad to see “Little Mozart” go.

Fabregas – He is a world class amazingly-great player. Great first half to the season. Has just ran out of gas in the last two months. He needs coverage so he doesn’t have to play games against Derby and Reading . He would have benefited so much to that. He would have benefited from Diarra staying and taking over so of the duty to start the smaller games. I hope when he is playing in the summer, he doesn’t speak to other team mates and they lead him astray to another big clubs that have adequate coverage and he can afford to make the big $ and not have to play every single game. Great partner to Flamini. The only thing I thought could be a little rough

Flamini – The workhorse of the bunch. He is amazing. He really came into his own when he got the shot. He is a model to the younger players that are crying about no first team action. If he leaves at the off season, it will be a great disappointment. The one two punch of him and Cesc is to of the best midfield pairs in the game right now. Plus they are both extremely young for their experience and talent. He is the only one that has that Old School Tough Guy look in the mold of like Ray Parlour or Martin Kewon. I think he is a perfect Captain when/if they get rid of Gallas.

Diaby – Has really come on as of late and played very well. You can see a real Vieira quality about him. He is quick, smart and has a great shot. I don’t know if he is a great left wing or should be a good left D Midfielder. Maybe to play to challenge Flamini for that spot. He has that type of shot that he can come up when they are pressing and grab it 30 yards out. He is also a strong tackler the way Vieira was.

Hleb – Played great in the first half and really had flashes of brilliance this 2^nd half. The only problem is he is not a great wing player and he strives to give that pass right down the middle to Adebayor. He hasn’t got as hurt this season which is good. I think one of Wenger’s great tactical moves as to make him a second striker right behind Adebayor. He is a good player to be subbed in the 60 or 70^th minute if that plan of attack isn’t working.

Walcott – He has finally got his confidence and he has come on LEAPS AND F***NG bounds! He should have been on the right side of the pitch rather than Eboue. His pace is electric; he would rather set up a player then be the hero himself. He will be amazing and I know he is not going anywhere. I would really like to see him start against Utd and for the rest of the season. And selfishly, I am really happy England isn’t in EURO 08 so Walcott gets a rest for the summer. He will be a big part of next year’s campaign. They have him play as a striker for the Under 21s but I think with his pace he should be kept on the right side as a wing.

Other 1 offs
Gilberto- Past his Prime. He will probably leave at the summer to a slower league. You saw him come on against Liverpool and he looked slow and not with it.

Song – Has a chance to come on as a cover player for Flamini or Fabregas. He can also cover for Central Defense. I read he did great at the African Nations Cup this winter.

Fran Merida – I think another year of loaning will do him good. Maybe in the premiership to get him ready for the different pace than it is in the Spanish league where he is now. I read a lot of people say he is in the same vein has Fabregas, which is a great person to be compared to.

Defense

Toure – He has been very solid for the team. You can tell the African Nations Cup took a lot out of him this year. He has just run out of gas and to be put on the right as coverage wasn’t fair to him. Against Babel , you saw he was just a step off and it shouldn’t have been a penalty. He should have never been in that situation because Eboue should have been playing that position.

Gallas – This should be the last year for him at Arsenal. He has a massive salary, he isn’t an inspirational captain, and he has been beaten pretty easily by the big boy strikers of the league. He and Toure just haven’t been able to forge an air tight seal like a “Micah Richards/Richard Dunne” has or “Sol Campbell/Toure” had. If he stays, he shouldn’t be captain next year.

Senderos – He is the second coming of Pascal Cygan. Why he plays instead of Djourou is beyond me. He is extremely slow, he has no confidence, he is always very rushed, and the big boy strikers, i.e. Drogba and Torres, man-handle him. Not only that but he got played by 60 yr old Hyypai. He got beat, by both him and Torres, from textbook mistakes young inexperienced Defenders make. He doesn’t have the quality to be in the red and white Shirt.

Djourou – I’d like to see him get a shot. He is quicker than Senderos. He just needs the games under the belt. If he isn’t what I think he is then ship him off to a smaller team.

Clichy – He is another great player who really has the heart, speed, toughness, and quality to be amazing. The problem is, if he gets an un-timed tackle and is seriously hurt we don’t have coverage for him. When we had Cole, Clichy was just waiting so we had coverage. Now we do not have that experience and quality yet. There is Tra’ore, who I think will be great in the years to come. I think he is great because he went to the Spurs V. Arsenal at White Hart with a pair of knuckle dusters.

Hoyte – He just isn’t the quality everyone thought. He might need to do well with another loan spell or being sold off to get a couple pounds for him.

Sagna – He is THE BEST right back in the country if not the world. He was the best signing last year. I can’t say enough great things about him. After he got hurt, we saw how much the Arsenal really needed him. We need coverage for him. So he doesn’t have to play game in, game out.

Goal

Lehmann – He is a big baby. Maybe he should have played the last couple games, maybe he shouldn’t have. Who really knows, but what I know is he is bad for the moral of the team and all he wants to do is under-mind Wenger. Let him go in the off season. He isn’t worth much anymore. If there was a better up and coming German keeper then they would get the starting job for EURO 08.

Almunia – He has played very well and there are times he is caught out because it’s a game that he doesn’t have that much to do. I don’t know if most of the goals in the last games have been because of him or the defense but regardless he is better than Lehman and much more stable.

Fabianski – I would love to see him get some more first team experience. From what I saw in Carling cup and reserves, he looks really good. Could be a great future keeper for the team, or he can be another Richard Wright.

Manager

Wenger – I still have faith in the man. I think he has maybe lost the plot on a couple areas. First he needs to have a deeper squad. Regardless if he can not for-see Rosicky, Eduardo and RVP from getting hurt, he should have and needs to spend to just have a much deeper squad. End of story. Even if he thinks it’s cheating by buying world class already, for him to win anything he needs a bigger, deeper squad. I think he has done a couple good things this season. The new role he had for Hleb was genius. Picking Almunia for the most part this season has paid off ten fold. As a manager it’s less a liability not having Lehmann on the field.

Now to the bad he has done. Eboue starting over Walcott is stupid. Eboue not covering the right back position is also equally as stupid. Eboue still on the team is just as equally stupid. His lack of spending is his other major fault.

Summary
Overall he needs to buy about 5 or 6 new players to cover in the off season.

2 True Wingers (left and right) (Ricardo Quaresma, Diego, Luka Modric, Hatem Ben Arfa, )

1 An experienced world-class Central Defender (Micah Richards)

2 Adequate (up and coming young players who know they have to wait their turn) coverage for Left and Right Backs. ??????

1 Another Top Class striker in case we need to call on them when others get hurt. (Diogo, Rodrigo Palacio, Karim Benzema,)

He needs to constitute a semi-rotational policy for less formidable opponents so the likes of Fabregas and Adebayor don’t have to play every single game.

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And Finally….

Lost season by ajay_gooner

The reason we lost the season is that we could not get three points against the lesser teams and reached to a point where we had to beat the top three to be in the reckoning. This season was no different then the last one where after being the better team we lost or drew because we lacked in finish.

The season started well but then the team went back in the same mode as last season. Adebayor to me is not a world class finisher but a good support player. The striker should be selfish and should be slippery in the box. Adebayor always seems to be looking for support to pass the ball instead of going for the kill.

The other reason is Arsene did not buy at least two players in the transfer window. I am sure he will buy a few guys and my guess would be.

If Gilberto goes ……who comes in Daniel Alves or Deco(Brazilian origin) as Arsene always likes to have two players from the same nationality or linguistic origin.

Martins from Newcastle if they let him go.

David Villa ….he is sure to leave Valencia as they are out of Champion’s league

one of the Dutch guys … Huntelaar

replacement for the keeper as Lehmann is not going to stay. Alumnia is good but not great….the replacement could come from Spain or Gomes from PSV or Green from Westham.

Senderos goes and maybe Arsene will buy a English player for defense as there is where the team lacks soul.