By Gordon Driver and Tony Attwood
We thought today that we might do a sort of match day Untold programme, complete with special feature (the interview with Cesc), plus an updated preview of the game, and the like. (Phil is currently installing himself in his new university in France, and so can’t make it this week. He sends profound apologies).
So here we go…
Gordon: So Cesc, how long do you think Arsenal will keep you?
Cesc: You will need to ask the boss.
Gordon: So Arsène, how long will you keep Cesc?
AW: There are so many imponderables that it is impossible to predict what the future holds.
Cesc: (To AW) May I?
AW: Of course.
Cesc: In central midfield we have Alex, Abou, Deni, Tomas, Sami and me. There is no other team that can match this quality in depth. No other team in the world. This, however, will only play a small part in his decision. The large part will be that in Aaron and Jack we have players, one or both of whom will become better than I am now. When that happens, it would make sense for Arsenal to cash in on me.
Gordon: When do think that will happen?
Cesc: Probably 2 years, possibly 3 years, outside chance for 1 year.
Gordon: You say “better than I am now”. Please elaborate.
Cesc: I am better today than yesterday. Tomorrow I will be better than today. I do not know when that process will stop, but I’m sure it will continue through this season. Then an improvement in consistency and I will become a finished product!
Gordon: Thank you Cesc.
Wakes up………………….
———————-
The Grand Match Preview
Wild scenes on the Holloway Road today as Billy the Dog and his lady are carried by anti-grav machine to the stadium and installed in the O2 bubble. Police will be called and there is a chance the match could be abandoned. A full report later.
As reported earlier, we’ve had internationals so everyone is injured.
The team is
Manuel Almunia
Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy (Gibbs, Djourou)
Alex Song, (Diaby, Denilson)
Cesc Fabregas, Youngboy Wilshere (Nasri, Eboue, Lansbury)
Tomas Rosicky, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh (Vela)
The injury crisis
- Vermaelen (achilles, 18 Sep),
- Bendtner (groin, 15 Oct),
- Van Persie (ankle, 15 Oct),
- Walcott (ankle, 15 Oct),
- Ramsey (broken leg, Nov),
- Frimpong (knee, May).
I (that’s Tony at this point) was in my own little way wondering what effect the injury situation had on the Lord Wenger in terms of his philosophy, the other day, and as you will know if you have been paying attention we are now doing a series after every game comparing the injury crisis of each club.
Some bright spark wrote a piece on a blog (not this one) pointing out Wenger’s failure in buying another forward when he had the chance.
But the point is, it ain’t just us. Look at Man City. Wallet the size of a planet and they still can’t find a centre forward.
Tevez returned from Argentina with a calf injury, the old Wallet himself, Mre Adebayor has a hamstring problem and the young Turk Balotelli is out for six weeks following a knee operation. Oh woe! Oh crisis! Oh bugger! They now have to use the 8 thousand million pound man Jô, starting an EPL game for the first time in 2000 years.
Tottenham also lost some “players” (although in their case I use the word lightly).
The League Table
- 1 Chelsea 9 points
- 2 Arsenal, goals for 9 against 3, 7 points
- 3 Man Utd 7 points
- 4 Aston Villa 6 points
- 5 Bolton, goals for 5 against 3, 5 points
So bit of a top of the table clash on September 11th, while in the lower reaches Liverpool and Tottenham hope against hope that this might be their day to creep into the top half of the league.
Top news in Bolton
According to the local paper’s web site it is Plea to end this parking misery My goodness they know how to live tup norf.
With the regular keeper suspended Bolton have got a reserve Hungarian 22 year old “between the sticks” as the local papers say. Apparently he is a “lanky Beatnik crime-solver from the Scooby Doo cartoons.” Now you know
Elsewhere in the Bolton News there is the story that Owen Coyle reckons he turned Jack Wilshere from a boy into a man at the Notlob school of hard knocks. (Although to be fair Mr Coyle has done a very respectful article about oor Jack, and praises him to the heavens. Indeed by and large I would agree that the loan session in the far and dim wastelands of the industrial revolution actually did him a lot of good.)
So far Bolton has drawn 0-0 with Fulham, beaten WHU 3-1 away, drawn 2-2 with Birmingham, and beaten Southampton 1-0 in the league cup. The crowd for the last home game (Birmingham) was 18,139 so it is possible that the team might be a little put off by the number of ticket touts outside Arsenal station, and positively petrified by the number inside the ground.
Bolton last beat Arsenal in 1962 – George Swindin’s last as manager. Today, 7-0 to Arsenal.
Now, off to the rickshaw ride.
This week’s Billy the Dog match preview is here
Has anyone noticed that this might be the 1st time that our Back 4 are all French players??
Apart from that i hope Walcot’s absence doesn’t affect us. Hopefully it should be a comfortable win.
Darck prince: remember the time we play sagna, gallas, selvester, clichy.
But the point here is how Fabregas came with clean heart! I do agree with him 100% in 1,2,3 years will have better player then him ( Jack and Ramsey) now he want to lieve us, but he support to give passion for at last 1 or 2 seoson to gate our comfidence. That story is the one they talking between him and Arsene.
@Salim- yeah i almost forgot that we had silvestre…but i dont remember wen we had played gallas and silvestre together…anyways, i hope that someday, we come to know what was the discussion that had happened between cesc and Wenger.
Perhaps a tad harsh there on that bright spark Tony.
I have has an uneasiness regarding the same situation and did feel that there was value in the market in the striker department, although in my case it was like a nagging prophesy in my mind rather than the pessimistic predictions in that article.
At the time nobody seemed to want the debate but I suppose in the end it comes down to the quality of those available to step into the breach.
We know we have Vela Eboue and JET.
Vela is unlikely to strat unless Arshavin is rested or injured.
Eboue covers Theo and Sagna so he is most likely to step up today.
JET is a legend in the making with a phenominal record of putting the ball in the net and is overdue for a competitive start. While he is versatile I do feel that he is unlikely to ever play on the left so if we ever see him out there it mens the injury sky has fallen.
In fact when you see JET start,it means either Sanga is out as well as Theo or Chamakh is injured, Carling cup aside.
The idea of an injury to Chamakh in the next 2-3 weeks brings a chill to my heart.
Fingers crossed today eh .
Enjoy the game everybody.
Walter,
I give 2day’s ref a 0 score.. He was shocking…
And what a performance from the lads.. Great commitment and defensive solidity considering this is the first time the back5 played 2gether…
Yep, superb result. A bit nervy at times but Bolton played very well, I thought. The 2nd goal settled things and I could have seen us scoring more with or without the red card, which was a rather shocking decision. There were no truer words said all day than the crowd chanting “you’re not fit to referee”. He wasn’t.
Bad mistake from Kos. But that’s all it was, a mistake. He will definately learn from that.
Arshavin seems to be using hard work and enthusiasm to get himself back into form. Good man.
Gibbs and Wilshire!!!! Both were solid.
Song grew as the game went along.
Chamakh – excellent.
Didnt Denilson look neat and tidy in his short spell on the pitch. The pace of passing got mesmeric at the end there.
Welcome back, Cesc.
Roll on Braga.
@Walter
Does your ref scoring system cater for a minus? Has to be the the least warranted red card I’ve seen in years. That alone gets him down to 0…and then we’ll start looking at the penalties and yellows (or lack thereof)
I too can’t wait to read Walter’s analysis of the game.
I can’t decide who is my man of the match, which is a bit unusual for me. I am thinking of giving it to one of the following:-
Rosicky – because he has stepped up his game this season and his contribution was important to this win.
Song because on top of his good defensive display he also scored a rare goal.
Chamakh – because of his overall contribution and his physical toughness makes us more steely in attack, he’s definately the first line of defense.
Squillaci – because he slotted in nicely at the back on his debut match.
I really can’t decide.
Paul C,
Great observation in regards to Denilson….
I noticed as soon as that F^<k Robinson crushed Diaby, Denilson was the person we needed in the MF.
His tempo of passes was extraordinary…
It was almost as though he was taunting Bolton Tw^t$ and pushing us to another level! I loved it!
As far as Kos well welcome to the Big Leagues. Nice goals silly boy… But, seriously Davies is pure s<u^^! He will have his day…
Pins & and needles and complete satisfaction!
Gooner Gal,
Why not Almunia? Na! It would probably upset all of the catastrophists.
AA – I can see your point regarding Almunia, but he just didnt have enough to do!!! Safe though, and secure. So far so good.
Davies is horrible, but Squillaci and Kos won’t get a rougher examination than today!
I know, when we conceeded I could imagine the outcry. The only way some people will get off Almunia’s back is if we never conceed again this season.
Gooner Gal,
Yeah that and hew would also have to score a hat-trick in the FA Cup final making us winners over ManIOU by the score of 3-2!
AA – I think even then people would yell “but we conceded 2 goals, what the hell was Almunia doing up the other end of the pitch scoring goals when he should have been back helping our defense? NOT FIT TO WEAR THE SHIRT!!!!!!”
Hehehe.. Nice one Paul C @ 6-38PM.
Paul C- actually all of our forwards were injured because of the previous match against Stoke. So Wenger instinctively put Almunia at forward where he scored his hat-trick. As well he did save another three but only with his head. Fabianski tended the net while amazingly Cesc had two own goals… Arsenal had 60%-40% possession. Arsenal hit the wood work 17x while ManIOU had only one shot on goal… This was our fourth trophy this season BTW.
I must say that I am rather speechless about the ref for the moment.
The reason is that for the first time this season our sporting channel chose not to give Arsenal live and I had to watch it on internet streams (multiple yes as they were bad quality and the picutres stoped more than they moved at times).
So I couldn’t see the red card, the tackle on Diaby and some other incidents.
BUT do not fear. Tomorrow I can see the game on Arsenal TV online and will do my match report on the ref with some good pictures.
Barcaloanus losing at home has made the day even better…
Great game! I thought the ref was indeed poor but that RED card was what he is supposed to issue for a challeneg that was from behind, two-footed, gone to ground, missed the ball and took the player.
Anybody else think the Setana match commentators were unbelievably biased against Arsenal. Brutal stuff in my opinion especially the flying headbutt from Davies whic was “honest and fair” but when one of their players tried to turn and fell over he was “chopped down” by Song
Song gave away the ball alot in the early stages and one very bad one at the start of the second half but I love the way he started and then finished the move for his goal,
Sheer class as was the build up to the “chemistry”** goal by Carlos Alberto Vela!
** All references to the use of chemistry in any play or goal by Arsenal are exclusively the intellectual copyrite of Dark Prince and Dark Prince media holdings plc. 😉
And I really liked Fabianski scoring our second goal. 😉 For those who think that I have lost it a bit I want to explain that on Arsenal.com during the audio comment they showed that Fabianski scored the second goal.
We made a printscreen of this and placed it on the Benelux forum.
http://arsenalbenelux.be/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=114&sid=4f59b0070d4bbfc474603995ed9e592a&start=10
You will not understand much of it but somewhere halfway the post we had it posted.
And for those who might try to read the name of the forum it says: Arsenal – Bolton Beenbrekers. And “Beenbrekers” is Dutch for “bone crushers”.
The name was even given before the game
Terence at 7:39pm,
The 4th goal was indeed a Dark Prince copyrighted Chemistry goal.. 24passes acknowledged by the crowd has really left a lasting impression..
Indian Gooner;
Also AC MIlan the spending machine of Italy are down 2-0 to Cessena…. Who did they buy Ibra & Robinho WTF
And I think Tony will let me have this mentioning a worldwide match report at the Arsenal worldwide website from my hands and fingers
http://www.arsenalworldwide.co.uk/?page_id=59
Terence, I have to agree with you about the Setanta commentators, they were fiercly anti arsenal. the slagging they gave cesc was ludicrous. they then contradicted themselves by admitting that he had made 3 of the 4 goals.
Not as bad a sky the other night showing the england match. rooney in full frame before the match, in the line up before the whistle, at half time. at the beginning of the 2nd half, and at the end of the match even tho he wasnt on the field at the time. I’m no great fan of rooneys, but it was almost as if they didnt want us to forget the trouble he is in.
i think the red was a fair card, but arshavin had broken with the ball, why was no advantage played? davies should have had a second yellow for the headbutt on Koscielny. I was really pleased with Arshavins workrate today and i feel that he will have a great season.
Almunia was great. after he closed down lee, he was getting back into position and one of our players bumped him off his feet into the net. if he hadnt have been barged over, i reckon he would have saved the goal. Song played end to end and was thoroughly deserving of his goal.
Anyone else notice how denilson looks like he has bulked up? his passing was sublime again and he dealt with the rotters with aplomb.
A great game and except for the chelsea bolix, the rest of the final scores were good for us.
Walter,
I just sent you an e-mail. If you ever are in dire need to see a match let me know. You should be good for now though check it!
And, yet another $$$$$$upset 2-0 Cesen ACMilan. Toss your $$$ because today good management wins.
Be strong you all and support Almunia with MOTM on Arsenal.com. I love Cesc but c’mon right now he is at 42%. Was he that instrumental C’est D’accord. But, WTF. I challenge you to think of who else…. Rosicky yes, Chamak yes, Arsha no, Eboue no, Gibbs no, Kos yes, Squilly no, Almunia yes, Wilshire yes, Vela no, Song yes. So based on that it was a team MOTM. But, Almunia is MOH and by this I mean the man who everyone hates (why? BS due to a brigade who wants to sack Wenger because of hangovers and Hate!) Vote Almunia who will redeem every last doubt in yer head by the end of the season!
Thanks AA I will check it out.
AA – I understand what you are saying but we cannot start giving Almunia MOTM just because he didnt do anything wrong. That is the minimum that is expected of a ‘keeper at this level. He just didnt have all that much to do today.
Today was a day for the outfield players, who pretty much snuffed out Bolton completely (other than the mistake for the goal, and a couple of half chances).
I’d say Squillaci or Arshavin for MOTM. Arshavin is still way out of form but I thought his work rate and attitude were absolutely spot-on today.
PC,
I will disagree in respect to your exact statement; “He just didnt have all that much to do today.” But, when he did? Results my friend. Expectations and results should be given by performance… My opinion is with Media and D&G’s and his performance I am seeing why Wenger picked his Apple. My thoughts.
Yeah, but if that was David Seaman in goal today, would we have been saying that he was MOTM? No, we probably just would have said he was normal. It feels like you are giving the MOTM to Almunia simply because of people’s low expectations. When Almunia has a game where he makes a save or two that win us a match then I will gladly give him the MOTM. I just dont think a few safe catches, safe distribution, and decent positioning qualify Almunia for MOTM.
Fair enough. Keep in mind he did have a few crucial saves and the one I am thinking of was when we were 2-1 up and Davies blasted it and Almunia put his body on the line. This by no means was a game in the bag until Cahill was sent off. But, I retain my MOTM
@Terence McGovern- “** All references to the use of chemistry in any play or goal by Arsenal are exclusively the intellectual copyrite of Dark Prince and Dark Prince media holdings plc.”
@IndianGooner- “Dark Prince copyrighted chemistry goal”
It happens only at Arsenal!! 😉 it was phenomenal to see us scoring a 24 pass goal in EPL and that too against a team who plays a very physical game. But i guess Bolton were staring frozen solid when we were making our passes. 😉
Today’s win was more a Team winning rather than an Individual winning. So i guess rather than a MOTM, i’ll giv a Team Of the Match Award to Arsenal!! But i’ve to admit, Cesc’s presence was very dominant. He still remains the spine of Arsenal’s midfield. But overall an impressive performance as a team. Bolton ‘wandering’ back home. 🙂
Just a word on the goalkeepers: anyone seen Hart, the Wenger should have bought, lookin rather foolish. I guess you did by now. Just to show that even the highest rated keepers have their moments. When it happens at City we have a laugh and forget it after 10 minutes and after half an hour some say: Wenger should have bought Hart….
Joe Hart is a top goal keeper and I really rate him. To be honest I think he will be better than Almunia quite soon if he carries on as first choice at Man City. He did make a mistake, but I am not sure how many times you will see him doing that again.
Gooner Gal – totally agreed, but I think Walter’s point still stands. Many people are basically allowing Almunia 1 chance this season. Once he makes his first screwup then the knives will be out and he will be ripped apart. But we have already seen Reina make a classic blunder (which I am sure will not be his only one) and yesterday Hart, and the same people who will rip apart Almunia for a single mistake will ignore other ‘keepers mistakes and make it appear as if only an Arsenal ‘keeper can make mistakes.
You can even see it yesterday when many seemed to want to give Almunia MOTM even though he had a pretty easy day at the office. I can’t help but think had that been Hart or Reina or Seaman everyone would have just shrugged and said “so?”.