With the chart that is now showing a little way down on the right side of the UNTOLD ARSENAL home page revealing that Theo will be back in one week, and with Arshavin certain to be playing against Sunderland next weekend, it looks at last as if we’ll have a creative midfield again.
And with Cesc and Rosicky maybe back in a month or two everything suddenly looks good – and tends to make me forget Amaury Bischoff. He is described as “a ball-playing central midfielder who can operate in the centre or on the right,” and came from Werder Bremen after making just one senior appearance for them.
As such he is one of the Lord Wenger’s odd investments – not least because he was injured when we got him. But since then he has played in the reserves, been in the squad for the Diddly Cup and has now made the bench for a couple of league games.
He’s also scored some goals – I saw a stunner he got for the reserves and apparently he also scored for the Portuguese under 21s.
All of which would suggest that at some time in the very near future he will get off the bench and play for us. Given that description from the Arsenal web site about him playing in the centre or on the right, he ought to get a few chances.
The new temporary format could be Nasri, Arshavin, Denilson and Theo, although with Nasri able to play in the middle, it is hard to know who is going to be where – although I am hoping Denilson continues in the centre. Then we add Bischoff, and ultimately Cesc and Rosicky, and before you can blink we have a problem because not everyone is getting a game and we’ve got far too many creative midfielders.
(Diaby is also due back, and although his star rating has slipped a little of late, if he could return to the quality that he showed away to the Turks, it would be hard to leave him out).
Meanwhile it is also amusing that despite all the stats proving what can be seen with the eyes – that Denilson is a most extraordinary defensive midfielder – many people are still writing about the fact that we lost Flamini and what a disaster that is. But I’ll leave that for the moment. More in the next Highbury High to which the editor has most kindly invited me to contribute.)
(c) Tony Attwood 2009
yes i hope bischoff gets a shot soon
from what ive seen he looks more than capable
he plays intelligent passes and seems to have good energy
maybe a bit similar to rosicky – but thats really just my first impressions
Well, if that’s the case, then Wenger will for once have a ‘good’ selection crisis. It will also give us impetus to finish strong in the league because hopefully Bendtner will grasp his chance, Vela will find his feet, and with Dudu returning maybe we can someone to finish all of our creativitiy. Besides, worse cast scenario; we loan out Denilson or Bischoff. I’m really not complaining with this potential situation.
Also, anyone hear the rumour about our away kit changing to green and blue, like the 82/83 kit (apparently)?
That’s what people forget. When everyone is fit, we actually have a very good squad of quality players. Yet there are people who want Arsene to be sacked because we have had long term injuries to key players!
It would be great to have so much creative midfielders,cos we should be up 3-0 by the 25th minute in most matches and it would be lovely
I don’t understand you one bit. I betting that in the beginning of the season and especially when the injury crisis hit you were one of the guys who blamed Arsene for not having a deep enough squad (especially in midfield) or enough cover for our club to be successful with a few injuries. And now that we have bought a new player and we have our main stars coming back into the equation you say we have too many creative midfielders at the club. SHUT UP! So rediculous this blog is. I bet you no one else has said the same things about Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, or Bayern Munich! So why do you spit this garbage about the beloved Arsenal!? It is a good thing to have a FULL team and have SELECTION PROBLEMS b/c you have GOOD players FIGHTING for PLACES! Thats a GOOD thing. And this is a problem that Wenger hasn’t had in quite some time so I for one am looking forward to this problem and seeing Wenger find the solution. Just be glad we’re getting quite close to a FULL FIRST TEAM SQUAD. And don’t write anymore of this dribble, its just bull. Get some real ideas and some real issues to talk about. Absolutly astonishing!
str8goon, you are obviously not a regular reader as you seem to have missed the point of the article. Tony is actually the most positive Arsenal blog writer out there. You should take time to check out some of the previous articles here – you will read a lot of things you won’t see elsewhere.
I too would like to get disillusioned that Arsenal is a Big Club but truth be told we don’t run the show like a big club. When you have a supposedly big club playing with kids who lack character and a leader its clear your team can as well be as big as those teams you mentioned above. Players like Eboue and Song and Diaby clearly aren’t what should be in Arsenal’s starting line up. As am about to get disillusioned that we are a big cub and try to compare ourselves to big clubs like Manchester United it dawns on me that our club is the only one in the Top four that seems to have a set of only 11 good players and the rest mediocres which means that if 5 members of the first team get injured, then Arsenal’s season could as well be over which has been evidenced since time memorial and apparently whereas in other teams players are somehow silenced and feel comfortable sitting on benches the whole season an example being Hleb at Barca or Flam at Ac whereas they were so eager to get outta Arsenal’s starting line up and Arsene can’t seem to sit players on the bench contentedly. I would like to afford the luxury of dreaming Arsenal is a big team but then am hit with a big plank on my head en am reminded that Arsenal is the only Big club that wants to pay World class players peanuts not realizing that these players aren’t fans they are just mercenaries ready to jump ship to the next employer that pays them more money, I would like to get disillusioned and think Arsenal is a big club but it then dawns on me that having been tagged a big club, We have never won the Champions League the main reason as to why even if we play all the fantastic football in the whole world we will never considered a serious team when it comes to the UEFA Champions League i mean history is always against us in this competition i would like to have the chance of considering ourselves a big club but then i remember that we are considered a selling club by the likes of Braca which is not a lie cuz we keep selling our best players to this team….Remember Overmars? Thiery and recently Hleb and much as i’d like to console myself that he never scored that too many, he really was a good player and we miss his qualities this season. Its for you to judge Ian but as for me i hardly consider Arsenal a big club we are trying and the rest is just media Hype you do know the English Media have an oscar for hype right? We are a good club but haven’t made it to the Big Club section…
Ok this has gone far enough….”England suffer because there are too many foreigners at the top of our league” is just not true. The top four from last season had 35 English players in their squads, compared to 37 Spanish players from the top four in Spain. And looking at those that played regularly (i.e multiple league or champions league appearances) it is 20 English players and 22 Spanish. Hardly a huge gulf.
The difference is that our top four contained 7 Spaniards, theirs…no English men. Our players get the same level of opportunity that players from other nations do in their own division, it is just that very few take the opportunities / are given the opportunity to play at the top of OTHER leagues. Is it possible that English players are not wanted abroad? Yeah possibly, but I do not believe that Young, Agbonlahor, Jagielka, Michael Johnson, Upson etc could not get into any of the sides below. The French team is probably even more broadly spread around Europe’s top leagues.
I think it is a combination of a) the comparative riches / celebrity afforded players in this country and b) a national characteristic (that I am very guilty of too) of not wanting to live in a country where English is not prevalent. Even the few that do venture abroad quickly return to English speaking lands (Woodgate, Owen, Beckham even back to Lineker, Keegan, Hughes [I know he is Welsh] and Luther Blissett). Until our players start testing themselves in other leagues all the “grass roots” upheavals in the world will not give us the depth of talent we need to take on the best in the world.
I’m sure Gooners AND Liverpool fans will back me up on this!
That Harry Redknapp. The things he does and says. He is just a rogue!
The man can say what he wants and it is eaten up by the English media. He scratches their backs and they scratch his.
I’ve never known a football manager who taps players up so publicly as him. He is at it again. Now he is “admiring” our very own Armond Traore from afar. Well its not that far from Shite Hart Lane.
Perhaps he forgets that Traore was arrested entering Shite Hart Lane with a knuckle-duster but I’m sure Armand would rather stay at Arsenal.
Of course Redknapp will escape criticism again for tapping up players because he is such a nice bloke.
I’m sure I’m not the first person who is annoyed by Redknapp’s antics. He does it all the time yet is never punished.
He did it when taking Robbie Keane back to Tottenham from Liverpool and he will do it again. And again. And again.
Perhaps the FA have no bollocks and the English media will never mention it because it enjoys a “special” relationship with Redknapp.
Its about time Redknapp was punished. His lovable ways maybe loved by the media but all he does is publicly unsettle players.
And there was me thinking that was illegal!