By Walter Broeckx
I think this was a game that was a great summary of our football club in this season. Being the best team, being on top for most of the game but still have to work incredibly hard to get a victory.
Let us start with the bad things. Again we had enough chances to win the game in a relaxed way. But again we missed too many chances to do this. We should have finished the game after 60 minutes. But keeping the score at 1-0 meant we had to be careful for the slightest mistake.
And that is the second thing. Again a goal for the other team was a follow up of mistakes. First of all the header from Jenkinson. In such a case what a defender has to do is to head the ball high in the air in a looping way. By doing that you give time to your own team mates to get back and maybe they can challenge the player from the other team and even win the ball back. But heading it to the ground and in the path of a Villa player was mistake one.
Mistake two came from Szczesny. As a former keeper I can say this was bad. I think any goalkeeper will confirm this. He should have stopped the ball. I think he will know that as well. I think he will have been the most disappointed person in the Emirates. Well I hope he will have been the most disappointed person in the Emirates.
It is clear that Szczesny has a bit of a confidence problem for the moment. After his great match at Sunderland it all went wrong a bit. The Blackburn goal was not really the best clearance at the time. The second Bayern goal wasn’t also one that he will remember with the thought that he couldn’t have done better. And now today again.
So what do we do now? Throw him out? I wouldn’t be that quick to take such a measure. As I think there are a few things that we need to keep in mind. First of all he is still only 22 years old. And that is still very young for a keeper in the PL. And I think he is having a year and some moments that each keeper face in their career. A moment where you don’t have any luck and when you seem to make a few mistakes in a row.
A moment that can define a career. If he comes out on top of this before the end of the season he could be on his way to greatness. If he fails he could be on the way to not becoming a top class keeper. So the manager has to make a choice now. Will he stick with him and support him and he could end up with a world class keeper or bench him and risk that he might lose his confidence. A difficult choice. I hope that Szczesny regains his confidence and will become a top class keeper.
Now let us go to the good things and let us start with that the team at times seemed to defend a bit more in group. Not that it was perfect, but I noticed on a few occasions that we did what I asked for. Not that they did it for me of course.
For those saying that Wenger doesn’t do tactics I noticed a change in formation. And with Cazorla playing more on the wing from the start, putting Wilshere more up front and with Diaby and Arteta more as the hanging midfielders.
Cazorla was the man who will be catching the headlines of course. With two well taken low shots he brought us the two points. A nice statistic that we can say about Cazorla is that he is the first player since Thierry Henry who has scored more than 10 goals in his first season. Before we know it we have the new Henry in our little Spanish player.
What was impressing was the way the team was putting up the pressure in this game. I thought it was a one way game with only one team playing to win it and Aston Villa playing in the hope to get a point and get a Blackburn result. The early goal from Cazorla made that scenario unlikely but we kept on searching for that second goal that would be the end of the game. At times it looked like a handball match with Arsenal circling and surrounding the Aston Villa penalty area but not finding the much wanted second goal. And Aston Villa hanging on and then getting a lucky break.
The second goal was a beautiful move. Wilshere with a delicate ball to Monreal who pulled the ball back to his former teammate and Cazorla who kept his cool and side footed the ball in the far corner. A nice and simple move and a very effective one.
It brought us the 3 points and apart from the media everyone in the sane part of the world agreed that this was a well deserved victory for Arsenal. And I really cannot understand how any person apart from the lovers of parking the bus football can say that Villa deserved anything apart from a fine for parking their buss on a football field. There is a bus parking for the team bus under the Emirates but not on our nice lawn.
With the other results like Everton losing we now have made a 5 point gap for the teams who are behind us. And we are one point behind the totts who play on Monday at West Ham and for once I will be supporting Big Sam. And with the game Manchester City – Chelsea tomorrow we will win ground on one of those teams and even maybe on both.
Also Walter, to get any kind of result after the last week that was was always going to be tougher than the fixture might otherwise have been. Until the equalizer from Villa, we played with the handbrake on again (Diaby especially needs to be shown what higher gears can accomplish) and there was a a fair amount of loose play, mistimed and stray passes, haphazard defending etc but the team responded with effort and heart and went for it to get the winner, so credit all round because at one point it must have felt dire for the boys wearing the red and white with the prospect of two more points going south. Great contribution from Santi.
Most of the media report A Villa were unlucky not to get anything from the game. The stats suggest otherwise, shots 24 to 5, on target 14 to 3, corners 12 to 3 all in our favour. We also hit the crossbar. Hansen on MOTD has ripped into our defence again. We do look a bit nervous at the back at home but away we have conceded only 11 goals, the best in the Premier league. Could that possibly be the crowd having a negative effect on our players confidence?
Regarding the 11 goals conceded in away matches, the fewest in the league, whilst the experts are quick to castigate our occasional defensive lapses they are very reluctant to acknowledge or even mention our excellent defensive record on the road. How strange is that.
On a positive note how good was Santi C today.
I fancy the Hammers to do the spuds on Monday and then we can put them back in their rightful place next weekend.
No question that we were the better side, but as in a number of previous we struggled to make it count. Already a few commentators have suggested that Villa deserved something from the game, but this is the norm in any game unless we win by two or more clear goals. In terms of bus parking I would say that Stoke were worse than Villa, and I know which of the two I would rather see out of the Premier League.
Right now the thing that stands out in our game is the lack of movement off the ball. Is this a symptom of lacking confidence? It was most noticeable in the first half when a player would ponder on the ball waiting for somebody to make a run for them to pass on to. We look so much better when moving the ball at pace and creating space with runs, but the main thing was to get the 3 points.
The little work that Szeszney did apart from the goal, was good. He made some good saves from point blank range, then prolly should have saved their goal.
I think I heard the commentators say diaby cane off injured again? He came off on 60min for Ramsey, but I saw about 5min before, AW on camera leaned over and said something to Aaron, then he cane on, so is he I hired or not?
Also diaby was not that great today, hd had a moment it two where he did look like the raiding ‘boers type’ but only a tiny glimpse tbf. He needs to pick it up a bit avd show us all war AW has seen.
Chelsea v city, wats best result for us?
Comon hammers!
@ Elkieno – The best result ? Man Shitty win of course ! Or else I’d be suffering all week from the taunts of the Chelski loving son of mine !
Some peace please .Lord !
chelski must loose
How do so many good players have “confidence” problems? Its the management and lack of motivation from the top. The players do not develop at Arsenal because the coaching never changes, no growth. Good teams don’t have confidence problems, because the guys with no confidence don’t get to play. Younwant to play? Get some friggin confidence, and by the way if you lack confidence, or if your team lacks confidence, stop friggin talking about not having confidence, or you just perpetuate the whole made up condition. Arsenal don’t lack confidence, they lack a manager who inspires confidence.
I just hope Chelsea loose today and tot tomorrow. That will make a great preparation for my birthday on the 1st of March. I also believe the men(not boys again) can send the spud to where they belong this weekend so that I can have a colourful celebration. Walter, I always like your post. I wish Arsenal well. Pls wish me well as I start a new year of my life. Thanks all.
@Walter thanks for the piece but you have forgoten that we also have another nice young keeper by the names of Manone. As you said Szcesny is at a low and the best way to get him out of his slumber is to bring in his deputy to wake him up. @Walter i think Manone also wants some time to gel and he will do that only when he gets some games. I thought he was going to be in goal for blackurn but the coach thought otherwise, it s not wright to bring in Manone when we are in danger GOD forbid when szcesny gets injured. But we have lost 3 games because of him and thanks to the Prof but if it was Furgus or harry the dog or Mourinho our number one keeper could be on the beach as you say it.
@Walter, as you where a keeper you know very well that you as a keeper give confidence to the whole team with spectacular saves and your teammates know that when they are beaten you are there to do the needful ;but if they get to know that when ever they are beaten its a goal then there is a problem. The Prof is always in training and hope Szcesny is doing wonders in training more than Manone but we need to give Szcesny a breather or else he might turn out to be an Alumunia.@Walter do you know that we lost the champion league final because of our keeper both goals where through his legs,i wish we could have gone for the third choice we would be champs.
Have to agree Walter.
Have been a GK, once upon a time. That thing should have been saved. There was no dip, now curve, nothing….straight at him. I think Szczesny is not fully fit. And also the wrist of his, remember the wrist injury he had a few years ago, is not strong enough….
Couldn’t see the game. Had a serious issue with my girlfriend who wants me to choose btw her and THE ARSENAL. God! The toughest decision of my life. Like asking me to choose btw life and oxygen.
@Walter, how did the referee perform?
@Mick, ofcourse we all know the media are always out to point out anything wrong with arsenal and neglect the good stuffs.
@Mick, I believe the reason why we’ve conceeded less on our travels is that we are not always scared to disappoint our home fans when we are home. We tend to play freely and not scared of making mistakes. Teams don’t sit back expecting to counter us, they come out to play. And we all know there will be only one result when you come out to play against THE ARSENAL
Lante: I hope you told your mrs to do one?
Maybe she works for the pgmol, FA or EPL?
Ah an Arsenal win and well aren’t we missing some people? Nah, we don’t miss them. 😉
I was watching an Internet feed that was some 1 min behind the Arsenal Player audio, and the only reason for that was the abject coverage on Fox.
From what I saw later on the replays, the goal was also a result of the quick move by Benteke who left our defender in two minds about whether to attack the ball or stay with the most advanced opponent. But regardless, I hope Szczez gets over it. He doesn’t seem the kind of guy to dwell on mistakes.
Lanre,
I feel your pain, been there too. Now that I’m grown up enough, I have one suggestion: get a DVR:) If she’s not happy with this…
nice article. Watching MOTD and saw Moyes refusing a handshake from the ref. What if that was Wenger? rooney doesnt dive, Suarez does…etc etc.
I liked the win very much, but the team did not make it easy on my heart, especially when A.Villa scored. I wish Rosicky played in place of Diaby. Our most important game now is the Totts one, even they know that if we do them, it might be difficult to come back. I think they will lose tomorrow, and then draw with us. Either way we will finish above them, even Chelsea.
That’s what I wanted to say about diaby before! Rosisky should get a game and have played in diaby stead. He is more dynamic on the ball and keeps it flowing. I am dead set certain that we can’t tryst him to make it through a season now, (ever?) and that he will be a passenger for the team. We don’t need passengers, especially when trying to remove a bus from our ground!
Hello Walter and all, from where I sat the goal we conceded looked pantomime and it looked even worse on MOTD. We hand the pundits easy ammunition with defending like that! It was a nervy win but its a win and who cares what the media think.
Sir Chesney is a good young keeper but his mistakes – as with all keepers – can cost goals. I think he has tidied up his game a little this season but he needs to work hard on this and his distribution. I would like to see some real competition for him; Mannone is not the answer and Martinez is still even younger. So I would splash the cash on someone like Begovitz at Stoke and challenge the Pole to keep his place. Diaby, I’m afraid, is not the player we hoped he would be. He is not dynamic enough for the PL and too many games pass him by. I like him and I feel sorry for him but I think AW has to say so long Abu, and buy a midfielder in the Busquets/Makele mold
@Lanre. Sorry mate. Seems Nigerian gals are now joining pgmol. Great post walter. Great game arsenal. C’mmon Hammers!
Great opening Walter
I think this was a game that was a great summary of our football club in this season. Being the best team, being on top for most of the game but still have to work incredibly hard to get a victory.
Hasnt that been Arsenal big problem not just this season but the past few seasons in that our percentage of shots on target to goals scored is disgraceful we need on average 6/7 shots to score one and thats simply not good enough.
My only question is why hasnt this been addressed with more and more training or If it has then the players are not good enough.
If you add to the this fact in that it takes us many shots to score one goal…. we give goals away for fun with our bad organisation, tatics and individual errors when defending. Zonal marking wat a fucking joek of an idea????
It begs one obvious question what the fuck is our coaches and more importantly our manager being paid for????
If this was a company and lets not kid ourselves football is a business these days if you were responsible for goals conceeded lets say ….you would have got your P45 years ago as its got worse each season.
Now you having this responiblity might say the fact the main guy Wenger is insisting on a 4-3-3 and the wide forwrad players dont track back and this has resultd in the poorer goals record is something that is a valid argument in teh investigation.
Fact is none of this shit happens cos Wenger has absolute power and has investing so much time in his idea that he is too ignorant or has to much of a ego to admit is has not work.
Thats the simply reality of what is happening at Arsenal. If you believe otherwise ou are deluded.
Not one penny has been actually spend on this squad all from players sales we have 70M to spend and I’m sure the Nov 2013 interim figures we show more profits re property sale etc.
Either invest it in the squad or pay down the mortgage on the staduim just do something with it cos its annoying every Arsenal fan out there!!!!!
Nice sensible article Walter. We played well yesterday and should have scored enough goals to give an easy win. But the important fact was that the team battled through to get the three points.
Walter as you noted above, some of the foul weather posters have not turned up – typical of non-fans!
I saw the game in a pub. It was brutal. Was surrounded by either jeering non-gooners and one particularly frustrated gooner.
I fought a brave fight and came out smelling like a rose….with guys patting me on the back.
Szczny (cant ever seem to confirm the correct spelling) made a little error…..nearly cost us 2 points…..but see the reaction.
You know what, there should be a constitutional legislation against bus-parking in inappropriate places…….
What I can’t get is the line ‘Vulnerable Gunners overcome brave Villains’ that is somehow the general media take of this game.
I’m very sorry but in my eyes being brave is something else than sitting behind the ball with almost the whole team and defending. That is not brave. That is coward behaviour.
If Villa would have been “brave” they would have made a game of it from the first minute. Now they only tried to make a game of it in the 15 minutes after we scored our first goal. And after that they went back in to their defensive strategy. Even in the second half when being 1-0 down they hardly came to our penalty area except with a counter attack and leaving all the attacking work and the harder en more difficult work up to Arsenal.
Maybe in England that is considered brave. Maybe in Italy that is considered brave. In most parts of the world this is seen as the tactics of the weak.
I totally disagree with your parking the bus theory I thought villa came to play and arguably could have been leading at half time ( on chances created ) yes the stats say we dominated but they also had very good chances although I am not a great fan of Ramsey .it was his introduction that changed the game funny enough there goal came from Ramsey asking wenger should he go up for the corner
After being waved forward the inevitable happened he never went up for the next one also I have noticed that Ramsey’s long passing game is exceptional . But still makes far too many mistakes in his short game
Looks like diaby is out injured, 3 weeks as usual? Don’t know. Why does AW not play Rosisky, I cannot get it. He gets pace in the team. Still a lot of space between. The defence & midfield. Team played very well and good to get the 3 ,points. Just hope the duds & hellsea loose.
You can of course The font but can you show me apart from a spell after our first goal where Aston Villa came at us for a sustained period of time in the second half? No they were all behind the ball apart from Benteke trying to keep the score at 1-0. They were behind and still didn’t attack us apart from counter football. In my part of the world this is is described as being defensive or parking the bus, building a concrete wall, der Berliner Mauer (used when German teams do it),…
Just imagine, if we are 1-0 behind and we would just sit back and hope for a counter what would we say??? Would we call Arsenal brave at that moment??? We would shout that we should attack.
@John 10.30am
‘If you believe otherwise ou are deluded.’
Yes most of us on this site do believe otherwise, and we are all one big happy deluded bunch. I am afraid you are wasting your time here mate, try Le Grove, you will find lots to agree with you there.
I know this is an exercise in futility but I’m trying to understand why every media source seems to be suggesting villa were hard done by this result. I don’t want to think this has anything to do with Wenger being French but anyone who watched the game just couldn’t say villa deserved anything out of that game.
About the goals/shots ratio, that’s to be expected when the other team parks the bus. Versus Blackburn we even had more shots & got zero goals. I know some must be getting sick of my constant references with barca(the only reason is they’re the only other team who thinks attack is the best form of defense so I just can’t stop referring to them) but we also saw this kind of thing when they met Milan; think they had well over 70% of the ball but zero goals. And that’s a side that couldn’t be accused of being goal shy. Parking the bus should be criminalized alongside financial doping, these are the two biggest threats facing football(of course match fixing is the biggest but that’s already illegal).
@Walter
Agree with Sczscezney being at fault, I remember screaming at my laptop the minute that goal went in. But in mitigation(I’m not a lawyer, but couldn’t resist) think Weimann’s shot caught everyone by surprise; the break was on & it was 4 v 3 in favor of villa, and I’m sure we all thought weimann would pick a pass to his left or right, but he pulled the trigger instead. The keeper should have saved it still. Think the manager needs to persist with him or his confidence will take a huge knock if he’s dropped. Knowing the kind of man Wenger is I’d be surprised if he dropped him.
Let’s face it, Alan Hansen was partially right.
Decent goalie, 2 decent central defenders, defensive midfielder an hitman needed.
I agree totally on the defence. Koscielny is our only decent central defender.
Arsenal really do need to enrich their squad, and again I agree with the naysayers, not with makeweights like Silvestre and Squillaci.
We need to find 2 excellent central defenders, probably a fully fledged defensive midfielder would be handy, and then a genuine target man.
I also think that Spain’s imploding economy will throw several cats amongst the pigeons. I see Bale to Real Madrid falling through, and Bale is precisely the sort of top talent that Arsenal has traditionally had. In fact he is very much in the Thierry Henry mould come to think of it.
I would not argue with your superior analytical knowledge but they tried to play out from defence and were in my opinion unlucky not to be at least level at half time .
Marcus
Think that will be viewed as an insult to TH14. Thierry didn’t rely on pace alone, infact his intelligence alone made him that devastating. I mean he would run with the ball, stop, & you’d think what is he doing waiting for the opponent he’s already beaten, but before you knew it he’d have taken off again. I will never have enough words to sum him up, comparing him to bale is simply insulting in my view. They’re do different, Thierry liked to place his shots, not just hammer them. I never saw Thierry dive too, I never….. think I will stop.
I said he was in the Thierry mold.
Fast, incisive, unpredictable, lethal.
I am not saying they are the same player, merely that since buying Ronaldo is out of the question, Bale would be a worthy addition to the squad.
I noticed that Bale has the ability to produce something when really needed, which is one area where TH14 was lacking; he never really shone in the biggest games.
I would also add that TH14 had the ability to bring the ball under control while running at full pelt, Bale also can do this; a rare skill.
I would also add that if you compare a few of ‘the next big thing’, Nasri (highly touted when he came on the scene), Hazard (The Belgian Messi) and Bale, Bale is streets ahead of the lot of them.
I also remember that the buying of Sol Campbell was a watershed moment for the club, and I believe that pilfering the Lillywhites finest would send out a clear message..
I’m pretty sure some stick will come my way, but I’ve had it with Diaby. He seems neither very good nor really bad, but just totally ineffectual. Wenger cannot use this vital run-in to get Diaby back to fitness. The team comes firdst please. I feel sorry for him constantly injured, but not that sorry – 3 years by the pool and the occasional trip to the gym. As for the the ‘we mustn’t affect his confidence’ by buying a replacemnet nonsense…… It is like the sunday league team where the manager plays his useless son, instead of the best player in the village. Rosicky is such a clever, positive player and should be starting. Ramsey although still a bit green, doesn’t hide after a crap spell. I just get the vibe that when we win, it glosses over the short-comings of the defensive tactics and inflexible game plan. Zonal marking? Give me strength – do we use it when we have attacking corners too? Has AW the ‘mental strength’ to open the cheque book this summer. Please, yes. We have some excellent players, but not enough ‘top top’ quality. 4 or 5 top top quality signings would help. Hurt anyone’s feelings, tough. It would boost the fans demeanour, shut up the 4th estate round the kitchen table and deliver the success we crave. Spend and find that games like Blackburn & Villa are certain wins and games like Bayern are better contested.
and that is the nub of the matter, Arsenal need a Campbell and a Keown, I am not even sure in the days of Keown Campbell and Bould that Vermaelen or Mertesaaker would qualify as the 4th defender. That is how far Arsenal have fallen away. Koscielny is good mind you.
Diaby and Ramsey are the ravages of war.
Ramsey was playing out of skin before he was tractored by —–
Diaby is a brilliant player, but his injuries have messed him up.
Mick
The club is going backwards Spurs have been unlucky not to pip us the past few seasons for the CL spot… we have been lucky thats a fact.
My simply point is we have obvious weaknesses why arent these been addressed imo they are not and the reason why there are not is becuase we have a manager to will not admit his failings and if you cant do that and reassess your position you are f**ked.
Walter can you do an article Arenal missing millions the supporters have been hit with huge ticket prices for an average team when the previous shareholders of the club having lumbered the club with the staduim debt instead of investing made an absolute fortune selling their shares to the current shareholders. They should have inputted soem money towards the bill laughing all the way to the bank.
I would not be surprise if they are the only shareholders in football to make money from the club.
PS I really like your site always have and will but I dont agree with all the opinions you make I’m not a Le Grove person someone in the middle is a fairer comment.
One last point why on earth buy Santos a fat dirt fo a LB when Monreal was bought a season later for 2M more what was he f**king point of that and this reaffirms my believe that any gift Wenger had in the market is well and truly gone no matter how much is pains me to say this.
Sometimes the true hurts!!!
I would not want Bale anywhere near our club. He looks good in comparison to the surrounding mediocrity, he is a disgraceful cheating diver and his behaviour is just generally annoying
Controlling footballers these days is like herding cats though John. SAF can do it because he is a martinet, and he has his old boy enforcers, (Scholes Giggs Ferdinand etc).
But lots of clubs are in chaos, e.g that WBA nonsense, Ballotelli etc.
We had the best defensive midfielder in the world last year, and he had to go ( we don’t know the story behind this)
RVP decided he needed to listen to his little inner boy. Santos is a good player, but totally ill-disciplined by the look of things.
TH14 threw in a bit of oval ball skills to cheat France into the World Cup. Why condemn Bale and not TH14? Besides the Bale diving crap is largely media driven crap. Watch how effective a tap tackle is in Rugby before concluding he is diving…
Don’t forget, Bale is not English, and therefore easy meat for our Xenophobic morally bereft presstitutes
I can’t help but feel Diaby is being singled out unfairly, why do some of our fans seem to want to have a player they will be bashing at any time? There’s a long list to mention here, but a few weeks ago it was Ramsey, and now it seems Diaby has been handed the baton. Sure about a year or so ago it was Rosicky who these fans wanted out, and now its him that’s being regarded as the saviour. If one looks at all 3 players in question, they’ve had career threatening injuries at some time, so they surely can’t be expected not to have a dip in form. I just don’t understand it.
“But again we missed too many chances to do this. We should have finished the game after 60 minutes.”
Walter,
Do you still feel that final-third clinicality is not THE issue? That is, that Giroud – good, earnest, hard-working – is good enough to forgive AFC for not purchasing another quality striker? Why not advocate for the obvious need, one going back to August? And, with Diaby injured again (yes? 3 weeks? chronic?), was that Song departure really worth the 6M in zero transfer window balancing? That money is or is not part of the new palliative – the 70 million dollar war chest! Will UA be willing to do an ongoing Untold War Chest watch?
Al,
I would not like to see Diaby forced out of the club, that is not my point. What I tried to say was that AW should not be building the team around a player so fragile. He cannot last a full game and does not impose himself on the game when he is on. He can be an effective sub if he is told to drive forward for at least 30mins! His defending is not good and the Song sale keeps coming back to bite us here.
AL,
Diaby isn’t the target, imo, it’s AW. He’s Arsene’s project and it’s tragic for the side that he wasn’t allowed to flourish because of the inflicted injuries and targeted attacks (“our Joey” and the others stand guilty, but forgotten). My beef is not with Diaby, mind you, but from a reckless gamble in August that equated a list of injured (then, Rosicky, Wilshere) and injury-prone (Diaby, Rosicky) and not yet ready (Ramsey, Frimpong) names as being a sufficient infield so as to allow the departure of Alex Song. For me, another Diaby injury (completely predictable, and sadly so) is further evidence for the reckless gamble at the heart of AFC’s fiscal conservatism, and it’s blowing smoke into the eyes and minds of supporters in support of their business model – called “sustainable”. Sorry, but, imo, having purchased another quality striker and defensive midfielder of at least Song’s abilities in the summer and/or January transfer windows would have made us into a serious top 3 threat this very season. Yes, even with the departure of RVP. That refusal to have purchased quality insurance – affordable quality insurance – has been a self-inflicted wound that we are trying to carry over a fourth place line. Hopefully the emergence of a more clinical/less panicky final third attack and some kind of reliable defensive solidity in the midfield will make that possible. Does the 70M war chest mantra include a 35M CL qualifier reward, or is it above and beyond whatever happens with 4th place? I think the answer is obvious. I think that whoever has put forth this number needs to be identified and held accountable to what occurs with it. Is it real? a lie? a wish? Something solid, or something to be forgotten or trashed if either we don’t reach 4th place or if they can’t move the so-called deadwood and have to eat the contracts. (Also, there were many visible vacancies in the Ems stands yesterday. Was that down to the cold weather?) Those (and possibly attendance), methinks, will be the reasons that the 70M promise may turn out to be another palliative. In any case, it is vital that we destroy the spuds so that this lower math does not kick in, and we can finally purchase real solutions to the real problems we share.
Norm, yes! Nice synchronicity there in the thought-wave on Diaby.
Song went for ‘disciplinary reasons’.
Another high profile casualty, like Ballotelli, and nearly Nani.
It’s impossible to pass judgement unless you know what the issue was, but given that he was the lynch-pin of the team, and performing at a very high level, we can only assume he seriously blotted his copybook.
We just don’t know the inside story. Maybe, and this is pure speculation, but maybe player X was fed up with being the No1 target of the referees, who was being repeatedly yellow carded for nothing.
Say, hypothetically speaking, a black player was being yellow carded every other game for nothing. 1) It means he cannot play properly, and do any kind of defensive work. 2) He feels deeply aggrieved at being singled out 3) He may also not surprisingly feel an element of racial persecution
So he is totally fed up, and threatens, (hypothetically speaking) to go to a Newspaper and publish an article about how rank and corrupt the English game is.
The Club warns him not to , and says it will cause Armageddon, and have huge blowback. But the player doesn’t care, he’s had enough of this shit…
An impasse and the club have to offload their star asset.
This is all totally hypothetical of course.
marcus,
you can assume what you assume, and, without evidence, the lingering blot of ‘disciplinary reasons’ or “disciplinary reasons” or disciplinary reasons (choose your poison) is slanderous. you assume he soiled the premises. I assume that a narrow-minded accountancy lust for the low hanging fruit of moving him to achieve the zero transfer balance put full stop to Alex Song, (still) needed midfielder. I don’t have the smoking gun evidence, but I refuse to allow the slander (not that you quite do it, but you don’t quite question it either) to continue without evidence. To do so is to excuse a reckless transfer policy that pinches pennies and mistakes that sound for a song.
Er, sorry Bob, you’re offbase here. The Media reported that Song was kicked out for poor timekeeping. So if slander there be, ’tis not my invention Squire.
But personally I doubt that was the whole of the picture. Like I say, we have no idea of what took place.
marcus,
also hypothetical, but along those lines, is my hunch that cesc also got tired of the refshite that allowed unpunished attacks on him and would threaten his/anyone’s career on the pitch and ability to walk without pain for the rest of their life. Imo, it was not only homesickness and Puyol’s locks that produced the summer of cesc, but the kind of targeting that the EPL/PGMOL allows to be visited upon certain players, or types of players, especially on certain teams. That said, I also think that a strong case can be made that Abou Diaby, Song and (especially) Bacary Sagna – highly skilled Africans (and remember Barton’s attack on Gervinho?) – fit this profile. Again, it’s hypothetical (absent the smoking gun evidentiary memo), but not purely hypothetical.
Yes, I agree Bob.
The unwritten rule is “Kick Arsenal out of football”
Then they say “Kick racism out of football”
Then when they kick our black players, it doesn’t count as racism within football, because Arsenal aren’t in football, they’ve been kicked out of football.
“Squire?” Sorry, marcus but your bestowal of that title is way above my pay scale; and perhaps you stereotype with it what you really don’t fathom.
Whatever “the media” and “time keeping” means to you, that puts my analysis “off base,” what I’m referring to are what had been (and continue to be) the constant repetitions in the blogs, including UA commentators, that Song had disciplinary problems. Does that mean on the pitch, off the pitch, or both?
If that label were to apply strictly to the pitch, that, say, he was too much the offensive player and not enough attention to defense, well, there’s been a very long line of indisciplined position-playing, and a lot of encouragement (and for Alex Song) to join the attack from AW and our style of play. Song was also a stopper and a hard man, qualities woefully and currently lacking. To me, on or off the pitch, the whole case against Song is bogus. It was just fine to video profile him on Arsenal Player when it suited the business model, n’est-ce pas? I find financial reasons a far more likely (and not purely hypothetical) explanation of the willingness, if not eagerness of AFC management/ownership to unload Song and wound ourselves in the process.
marcus,
we definitely agree on the race question (or answer 🙂 ) as a key ingredient in the putrid brew.
Bob, I don’t know.
I simply don’t believe that there is a transparent explanation for selling a 26m player for 6m.
Perhaps I should retract the comment that Song ‘blotted his copybook’, I simply don’t have any evidence to say this.
We just don’t know what the real story is, but it is surely more than an accountancy story.
At the time the Media reported Wenger as saying Song didn’t pitch up to training on time. Correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I remember reading.
marcus,
I don’t remember that training story, to be honest. So my bad, on that score. But also, I don’t think that most fans think of that specific allegation by AW, or its attribution to AW by the mendacious press corpse. It’s a free-floating label that keeps circulating, and, as you appreciate, carries all sorts of negative connotations and unstated stereotypes along with it.
The way you put it, selling a 26M player for 6M, seems compelling. But did we not sell Cesc for 24M, far less than his market value? Did we not sell RVP to our (second) worst enemy and gifted away a championship? Having spent on Cazorla/Podolski, etc., AFC then moved to zero out the transfer balance as time ran out in the window. It was easy pickings that 6M, and, for cover, there was this laundry list of midfielders we had in the offing (all bollocks, based on a best case scenario that there’d be no lingering, or recurrent injury problem, and the returnees would hit the ground running in close to top form).
Marcus, I read the Swiss Ramble recent analysis of AFC’s fragile largesse, and it further convinces me that Song’s 6M in immediate return (rather than waiting an entire window or full year to sell him) was irresistible to a faction of bean-counters within AFC that prevailed. (Of course, Mr. Atwood opined that was to cunningly push Barca over a fiscal cliff.) And after the transaction is made, it’s whatever excuse or set of excuses to perfume the odors. That said, this whole saga is a closely held secret, not meant for fan-dumb, we non-squires of the world.
p.s., the 24M was for RVP. I recall the cesc-bargain sale as closer to 20M.
Song went because he was not good enough he was ill disciplined half the arsenal fans do not even know what position he played he was never a holding midfielder because he played in front of arteta
He was renowned for his mauruading upfield leaving us exposed . Good. Riddance and barca will try to sell him in the window now they have relised what his limitations are
The Font
Why “good riddance”? Nasty. Have you a viable midfield defense half of what Song provided when he did so? Was he never a stopper? Was he not a hard man? I remember stop after stop, as well as the offensive forays. You reduce that mix to he was “renown” for marauding and leaving us exposed. No. Now he’s renown for what was acceptable throughout on balance. Was there a team defensive philosophy (a la Barca) in actual play? No. The offensive push was meant to overwhelm opponents and to paper over the defensive frailties. And, did Arshavin, played out of position, not leave us exposed? That left channel was porous and anyone eyes open knows it. And were wingers on the right doing their bit to cover for Sagna, et. al.? No. And was Song not encouraged to play on attack? And did those overhead masterful passes – by Alex Song – not provide the necessary service to such as RVP to score when he wanted to? And do you know F-all about what is going on with him at Barca and why? You project a one-sided case against his doings at AFC and look, like Mr. Atwood, to slate his lack of play in the Barca system as being for the same reason(s) that you claim of him here at AFC. Lastly, in your mind’s eye, have you/we actually replaced what he did give us on the pitch, or did he give us nothing, next to nothing, or worse than nothing? We have a hole to fill there. Alex Song would have been a major asset to have kept on. And, if nothing else, to have provided a major bench option (if you like that image) in a threadbare injury-prone, and not defense-minded midfield.
A win against a very shite Villa team and Wenger once again embarrassed himself by opening his deluded and arrogant mouth.
‘Could that possibly be the crowd having a negative effect on our players confidence?’
The players have been mismanagement by Wenger that’s why they’re so mentally weak. Wenger can’t even do the basics right. No wonder confidence is very low. And motivating a team is part of the manager’s job.
Chelsea, Spuds ???
Here we go again! All hoping other teams can be more dreadful than Arsenal because Wenger is unable to do his job properly.
Could of been 2 points lost, but, a good win.
Those who cannot enjoy a win deserve to lose.
Those who cannot see what has been going on for years are clearly deluded.
Happy with the important 3 points, hopefully we all can see Arsenal FC in the top 4 this season and then remove this season out of our minds because let’s be honest, it’s been a miserable one. You can see from the current team that in the summer players with Steel, strength, good finishers and defenders who can head need to be bought in because to compete next season, this Arsenal team needs major changes.
A request to any journalists attending a press conference the next time Wenger tries to smack you down with his “I’ve been a manager for 30 years” line. Please ask him why a manager with 30 years experience is incapable of addressing our defensive problems; why he doesn’t know how to get his teams to fight or show some pride in wearing red & white; why he can’t just buy wingers when we need wingers, forwards when we need forwards etc instead of always trying to convert them and why he hasn’t learned by now that the fans are the people who pay his absurd wages and we deserve the same respect from him that he seems to think he deserves from us. Is it really that unreasonable to expect our £7.5m a year manager with 30 years experience to act like he’s a £7.5m a year manager with 30 years experience?
aaronz
Did you even watch the interview or are you relying on the media to tell you what Wenger said?
@nihirelaist..I have. Have you? To be happy that the team can just about overcome relegation contenders at home is clutching at straws. However, a silver lining. Diaby’s removal from the fray for another injury will mean we do not have to put up with any more of the standard of performances we have seen from him since his return. Get back to the treatment table where you belong Abou and stay there. Please. I think 2014 is the end of your deal when you can depart along with the man who has ensured you will never have to do an honest day’s work in your life.
Wenger was quick enough to stop Steve Bould having input into training once people started crediting the assistant coach for the improvement in the team’s resilience. We are going to get the same old, same old whether we are in the Champions League or not. Shopping in Kwiksave when Marks and Spencers could be afforded. The older you get, the more entrenched you become in your ways. Wenger, 63 years old, is having a great time doing his coaching drills specialising on technique. There is no work done on organisation and defensive discipline, no tactics in preparation for a specific opponent. He doesn’t enjoy matchdays so much now because with the passing of time, the flaw in his method becomes exposed more and more. His successes at the club would not have happened without inheriting George Graham’s defence and his good fortune in securing Sol Campbell. Since Campbell departed in 2006, the club have won sweet FA.
i’m not going o argue with your impressive collage of cliches aaronz. Just wanted to know if you were aware of what Wenger had actually said and its context rather than what the media reported it as. So I guess you believing the media and echoing it is a matter of choice. Fair enough.
A large number of longer term supporters who feel they cannot recognize any facet of what Arsenal use to mean to them”. I count myself as one of those, and for most of my Arsenal supporting days, Arsenal were always rock solid defensively, coupled to an over my dead body attitude during games. Today with the exception of Wilshere, who displays all these Arsenal qualities, we have a team full of weak minded surrender monkeys, who bail out the moment things get tough. As for our supposed defensive unit, it’s an insult to even call it that, compared to GG’s unit and even ones prior to that. The worst part in all of this, is the battle I have in my own mind about Arsenal results, as my natural instinct is to see us win, and qualify for the Champ League. However my head says lose, because that is the only way Wenger will either be dismissed (highly unlikely), or at the very least not receive a contract extension beyond 2014.
My 100% conviction that we are going nowhere with Wenger, other than backwards, makes me think the unthinkable about the upcoming North London Derby, where a Spuds win in the long run would probably be more beneficial to the club than an Arsenal win. I hate myself for being forced to think like that, but I do because I can see no change on the horizon, if we yet again achieve that wretched fourth place trophy (what an insult to all us old timers that Wenger mythical trophy is). Bayern have just demonstrated the futility of us even being in this competition. They are simply just one team in a long list who have exposed our frailties, once the knockout stages have been reached! Other than for money, which is never used to actually attempt to win the damn thing, their is no point in us even being in this competition as it actually harms our chance of winning anything else. We are a million miles away from actually lifting this pot or any other, you know the one that comes in silver, and not the one on a spreadsheet!! I have lost count now how many seasons have ended in the space of a few weeks at this time of year, with us putting all our eggs in the Champ League basket only to be eliminated by vastly superior teams. Coupled with an FA Cup exit because of Wenger’s ridiculous belief in sacrificing this competition for his holy grail, which anybody who has not even worked half a day in football knows we don’t have a cat in hell chance of winning. Especially with one of his don’t worry about defending teams, we will outscore them! A remote possibility with RVP, Henry or DB10 in the team, but not with Giroud & Walcott or even worse Gervinho, and is just an utter naive fantasy on Wenger’s part. Yesterdays scraped home win against one of the worst Villa sides ever assembled, speaks volumes, with yet another comical goal conceded by us, to add to the collection of farcical goals we gift teams these days! Can’t wait for the spin to be ramped up soon, about us having £70 million to spend on top top quality players, as season ticket renewal time is coming up! Wenger is already spinning about us being able to sign someone like Falcao for £40 million, if we want to. In your dreams Wenger, as he wouldn’t come for only £12 million that you would be prepared to bid!!!! Besides he wants to win trophies, so why would he or anybody else decent consider joining your don’t bother with defending team!?!
Those who say we had no chance of beating Bayern are exhibiting the lack of winning attitude they accuse Wenger of having.. Also those that want the club to lose in the here and now because they fantasise it helping the club in the long run then keep quiet if things go the way you want, and do no take part in any celebration when we do have something to celebrate about. You can’t keep abusing the club when they don’t do things your way, and then also claim their victory as your own. Without being a hypocrite that is.
Nowhre does Wenger mention Falcao. That too is a media creation.
@aaronz.
“I hate myself for being forced to think like that”
So you bassically have admitted that your thoughts are not your own.
“where a Spuds win in the long run would probably be more beneficial to the club than an Arsenal win”
@aaronz – are you kidding me? I cheer for Arsenal. I want them to win every time out. I shall never cheer for Tottenham against The Arsenal; Never, NEVER!! I shall never do that. I can understand though not support much of what you say but to cheer for Tottenham against Arsenal. Wow!
I look forward with optimism; I refuse to be a cynic. And, I shall cheer against my own club. You have moved beyond the Pale.
Whooops! I shall NEVER cheer against my own club.
So chelsea having spent ridiculous amount on transfers find themselves 2 points above arsenal, who, according to some, are a average team. The superior, full of talent, capitalistic team, despite, find themselves in the mould of champions league qualifying spots, when clearly, given the level of vastly superior players, according to some, should have been primed for title challenge, find themselves battling it out against totnum & arsenal. Just like last year. 3rd is pretty much possible.
Americangooner, all over various blogs people popping up out of nowhere saying it will benefit us to lose to 5pur2 *2. Most are not Arsenal fans, the few that are should not be. Some arsenal blogs have more desperate spuds than Gooners, although some so called Gooners are stupid enough to agree with them. Have to say some of our fans are amongst the most brittle glory hunting on the planet….and these are the ones who say the players lack mental strength.
Aaronz:
I think that part about Arsene buying Falcao was from the DM yesterday?
I read that aritcle it took a one line quote from Arsene somewhere alone the lines of “We have the money to buy him and we will buy.” They added (Falcao) next to the word him and then proceeded to write an entire A3 article from that one line quoted from Arsene about them having somewhere between £80-150 million to spend in the summer!!
Tell me you didn’t believe that reporter??
There they are, the so-called supporters who will never be happy even when we win the league with 104 points and 190-0 goal difference.
Wow, that post at 7:23pm is quite something. Isn’t this concrete evidence that the AAA exist? A supposed fan clearly praying we don’t get ‘that wretched 4th spot’, and hoping we get stuffed at spuds! This coming from an Arsenal fan? Something’s just doesn’t add up here.
And the post goes on to add we are supposed to have been exposed by Bayern how inferior we are and undeserving of being in the champions league. Really? How about the two teams that spent billions and couldn’t even get out of the group stages, that had teams who have never even been to the semi-finals of the champions league, let alone win it? What should we say about those two teams then?
Bob there is one person here who does not know what he is talking about and that’s you my friend when he was at arsenal so was nasri Rvp fab to mention a few so what’s your point get them all back so we can win naff all
aaronz’s post sounds a bit like an employee wanting the company he works for to go into administration because he doesn’t earn enough.
Pathetic and childish.
The rules changed for Arsenal in 2004, when the the invincibles were educated in some English football realpolitik at Old Trafford.
Since then they’ve been on a hiding to nothing.
Up to a few years ago, probably around the time Aaron was sacrificed on some satanic Stoke turf, there was the belief and hope that in spite of the roulette wheel being rigged, Arsenal could still walk out of the casino with some moolah.
The last two or three years have been painful because Arsenal just aren’t strong enough to overcome the odds anymore.
Why people blame Wenger for all this I am not sure; maybe his crime is that he is French and just doesn’t understand the English rules of engagement.
Win pretty, win ugly, or win grotesque…it’s still a win.
I guess really the Emirates should have gargoyles of Riley Dowd Webb et al over the stadium entrance.
Sadly, were AW removed, the politics of football would not change, and Arsenal would still be condemned to being a lesser corporation than the bigger clubs.
Bayern, Bayern, Bayern…Jupp Heynckes £4.2m, Wenger £7.5m. When you see these numbers you know something stinks to high heaven.
And Bayern’s wage bill is lower than Arsenal’s…
Al, like a lot of the aaa, they are incapable of original thought, this guy is just a regular copy and paste merchant on here
http://onlinegooner.com/article.php?section=editorial&id=419
Cannot be bothered to go through it all, but you will see some familiar lines at the end of paragraph three. Don’t know why he does not just acredit a link…..but that’s the aaa for you.
I will add, Kevin whitcher, the guy who wrote this piece recently suggested calling for wengers head on eight minutes into each game….eight being the number of years without a trophy….yawn…..helpful Kevin w.
Sperez,
The Bundesliga is a completely different league. Their wages are not inflated by the likes of Chelsea and Man City. If you cannot understand this, then there is no use in debating.
And prove me your 7.5M claim please. Or is this based on a ‘true’ story from the Sun?
Surely it hasn’t passed notice that somebody who chooses a pen name of Sperez might not be a genuine AFC supporter? Or perhaps it’s something about those who choose names ending with z? Either way the pair of them can doubtless enjoy each other’s company looking for the result they cherish next Sunday.
Surely there should be a special stand for Sperez and his chums. The Golden Grahams Stand.
They can wear muted colours since they only have muted allegiances. Maybe Sarah Beany can come in and do a makeover on them and the stand. Some pastel cherry pinks and apple blossom whites to signify how torn they are between AFC and Spurs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TcLdJlA0Nc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRciN-ivhDs
Or even the “Hello Sailor” stand
@Walter, Tony, and all who write for Untold:
We need to come up with a campaign to improve our home support. The media is destroying it by influencing the weak willed / weak minded in our fan base. It’s costing us points, and I really think we need a solution to this, especially if we are to embark on the sequel to The Great Turnaround. I see the DM and Guardian releasing 4, 5, 6 negative articles about Arsenal after each loss. No other team gets this treatment, they’ll get 2 articles at most. We need to flood the fan base with positive vibes for the crucial end-of-season run, and ram home the message that the team needs us. Even our captain came out and said it recently. Hopefully other sensible blogs will chime in and help get a good vibe going, the team needs it. It should bring shame to the boo boys to know that we play better away than at home, but they’re probably unaware of that because the DM and co. don’t print such things. At the moment, we play away to teams with home ground advantage, and we play at home with a home ground disadvantage. That’s just wrong, let’s see if we can improve it. Let’s also release 4, 5, or 6 articles a day rallying the troops to get behind the team. For every “x trophyless years” reminder the rags sneak into their articles, we should sneak in a reminder to back the team into our articles, and for those who comment on other blogs, encourage them to do the same.
Think you are correct c4 but don’t know how you do it. The media, ex players are all desperate for,the club…..or wenger to fail. In blog world there are multitudes of examples of Gooner self hammers in complete agreement with spud sleepers, who as recently pointed out are not exactly hard to spot. Some of our wounds are self inflicted, serious improvements are needed, at times if I put out there some of the thoughts in my head, I could have made myself a legend on le grove, but then context and reality kicks in. We have hit some serious depths this season, we seriously need strengthening, but nothing will happen before this summer, so I will back this team for what it’s worth online and at matches I can attend , even when baffled and annoyed not to go overboard on this hysterical negative shite. Some arsenal blogs are under attack by fans of a club who have not won a serious trophy in over half a century. That must hurt.. But lest we forget, we won yesterday, and we have jack….and Chelsea could well hit problems….
You talk about inflated wages, then we have/had the likes of Diaby, Ramsey, Chamberlain, Denilson, Santos, Bendtner, Djourou, Chamakh… all being paid exorbitant wages.
That’s why we can’t afford to pay 150k a week to a top player because the club’s resources are being wasted on average/young players.
Don’t you know Wenger is overpaid? I won’t pretend he is not one of the highest paid managers in the world when reports from all over the globe tell otherwise. I won’t ignore this just to suit Wenger’s sycophants.
But you’re right about the inflated wages that’s why Arsenal was beaten by the moneybags Bradford and Blackburn…we can’t compete with them.
Sorry, off topic, but Newcastle have just had a French day, in honour of a few of their team, lots of positive media coverage. If we had done a French day, wonder if the reportIng would have been so positive….seems to me our French connections have been a regular source of media ….and aaa criticism and i would go as far as xenophobia in some cases….but maybe just me being conspiratorial
Come on 5pere2 at least I had the decency to apologise for going off topic
We should see a tough fight against tott-num. Now that cazorla is revelling on right side (3 goals in this position & arteta full of praise) and wilshere in behind the striker, we should see a full-blown attack.
I also noticed many not commenting after a win, not vomiting their vile against the manager & the club. Win or lose the board & the manager & the team are the same. If those -ve commentators can spew their dissatisfaction after we lose why not after we win. Seems to me they are spuds supporter and are sorely unhappy at arsenal’s win.
@Mandy Dodd 1.20am
No it is not just you. On talkshite radio they have been crucifying Arsenal’s high proportion of French players for years whereas Newcastle’s now similar situation gives rise to good natured jokes and merriment all round. I think I also recall Pardew criticising Arsenal for having so many foreign players on one occasion.
Lol, you are right mick, pardews famous ” made in England” quote when one of his west ham cloggers did us in the last minute. Unfortunately for Newcastle, Pards is a one season manager….they have him on an eight year contract, I will not subject this site to the scrutiny of libel and slander, but a lot of well known stuff out there about things he did to erm…..cause problems with relations with west ham players in the past! Hope Newcastle have the situation under control
People need to remember it was Pardew at West Ham that brought in the two Argentinians on third party contracts which was against the Premier leagues rules, so don’t worry too much about Pardew he’ll f*ck himself up again and probably his club too. The players he has signed at Newcastle all come from 2 or 3 agents, He’s an agents man, he doesn’t do his own recruiting.
Thanks for the link Mandy. It was as depressing as reading some of the comments from the ‘z’s on here. But eye-opening all the same; can now see where most of the AAA get their schooling.
I wonder what all these fans attribute the negative media coverage to, or the obviously blatant screwing we continuously get from the PGMOL. All one man’s fault, I hear them say. Sad. Buried somewhere in the responses to this article someone used the word xenophobic; its a term I don’t usually use or take lightly but I think this time that just might be the case.
Have read this thing “3 players dint celebrate the winning goal” a countless number of times since Saturday. Why will they? We fans, who claim to be more passionate than the players, cant celebrate a win. Why will the highly paid mercenaries?
We fans are the ones who change these mercenaries into passionate warriors. Unfortunately, at the ems, we are eagerly waiting for the first mistake our players make, so that we can sing our fav. song at the end. “BOO”.
Arsenal 13
Pictures can be deceiving. All 3 ‘celebrated’. Koscielny got on his feet to applaud, while Ox and Gervinho, despite not looking very happy, did clap while in their seats.
@nihirealist,
I know I’ve seen it. They were quick back on their seats. I am pointing fingers towards the fans complaining about every thing. What will it take for them (fans) to celebrate a victory.
I wonder if those fans complaining were actually celebrating the goal at the time or where they already using their fingers on the keyboards to write Wenger out, player X is rubbish, player Z is not fit to wear the shirt, …. ?
Arsenal 13
I knew what you were saying and I agree fully. I just wanted others to know that the players actually did celebrate, so that story is a non starter as is.
Sperez,
Wengers salary – whatever it actually is – is paid to him on several measures I guess and not just the ones that you or I might put in place.