Arsenal vs Wigan, 4-0: Full time thoughts, analysis and player ratings
It’s the first clean sheet of our Premiership season and it’s a very comfortable win the one registered this afternoon at the Emirates, but unfortunately, there’s still a question or two which will be asked in the coming days.
Many will ask how come Fabregas didn’t celebrate the fourth goal, is it an injury or something else? Others will ask why Diaby keeps on starting in this Arsenal squad and almost everyone will be asking how good Wenger and our scouts are in spotting champions like Thomas Vermaelen.
As always, I will provide my detailed analysis of the game tomorrow in my day-after thoughts. In the meantime, here are the ratings. As always, feel free to give your point of view in the comments section and by the way, if you don’t agree with something I wrote and you’re ready to show that by asking me to go and support Spurs, well, you may not be that far off this time as that’s exactly what I’ll be doing tomorrow when they face Chelsea.
Player Ratings
Mannone: 6 – Didn’t have much to do but was very solid when getting out to catch in the air. A bit shaky not to block the shot which led to Wigan’s disallowed goal though.
Gallas: 7,5 – A true warrior. Suffered a couple of small injuries out there, yet kept on fighting and also enjoyed plenty of time forward, just like Toure used to do.
Vermaelen: 9 – What else to add? Two goals, brilliant defending and a brilliant performance for today’s man of the match.
Clichy: 6,5 – His confidence seems to be back. I wanted Gibbs to start today but glad he didn’t as Gael can be very important for this team.
Sagna: 7,5 – Quiet game, as he wasn’t troubled a lot, but did what he was asked to do to perfection.
Diaby: 5 – I still cannot understand why Ramsey and others are not given a chance. It would kill me to sit on the bench and see someone like Abou playing despite not performing game after game.
Song: 7 – Let’s face it. He didn’t have an easy game. Both Diaby and Fabregas didn’t provide the cover he needed in midfield so it was like he was doing the work of three.
Fabregas: 5 – He may have scored but something is not right with him. I understand many times his team-mates fail to make the runs he expects but today he was also poor when he had to deliver easy passes.
Eboue: 7,5 – He may panic when it’s time to deliver the final pass or the final shot but his runs are almost always timed to perfection, reason why he was so much involved.
Van Persie: 5 – One of the negatives of the game. This will divide many as some believe he did well in finding spaces up front and getting involved in many moves but he wasted a lot and a lot of chances and when a striker fails to convert those, it becomes worrying.
Eduardo: 7 – Glad to see one of the players we all love back and firing on all cylinders. Still needs two weeks or so to get back to his perfect fitness level status, but he’s almost there.
(Subs)
Rosicky: 6 – Was not involved much, went close to score in the final second of the game.
Ramsey: 6 – Full of confidence is young Aaron, not shy to shoot from distance.
Bendtner: 6,5 – Was the key in Cesc’s goal, again showing he’s enjoying a nice moment of form.
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yes i agree with you… why is diaby starting games after games when he is underperforming. The reason is that he can defend and attack. Whereas Ramsey and Wilshere are more attacking players.
The only person that is capable to taking the place from diaby would be denilson and nasri. Wenger would not use rosicky in such a role so as to protect his fragile legs, and anyway rosicky is quite attacking minded as well.
Therefore we expect to see diaby playing as long as nasri and denilson are out.
I would love to see a nasri playing alongside song in an “andrea pirlo” kind of role, then we would be formidable.
oh my ! i will never ever agree with nasri playing in a deep role . . this guy likes to get in at the thick of things , loves taking the players on as hes got great pace , vision,skill,technical and his finishing is way too good for that deep role . . . just look at how anderson has been so poor and seems a lost cause . . samir is gud at attacking never defending ! !
Good game but who is going to help get rid Abou “Nonsense” Diaby from Arsenal. It baflles me why he keep on getting the start. This guy is a waste of investment.
Nasri. I believe Diaby is only starting until Nasri returns.
It was a 9ce match.but i think there is something wrong with fab.he was very woeful today.
I guess i totally agree with you Damn_Gallas. but i wonder why u call yourself damn gallas coz he is now Wal_ Gallas but anyway that aside. But i think Diaby plays coz there is neither, Denillson Nasri, Arshavin nor Walcott, wait until these guys are feet that guy will have to go back to reserves. Its unfortunate that he is not seizing his opportunity right now. sad for but lets just endure with him for now but he can really get annoying. Ramsey to start is still young i feel it will mount alot of pressure on him he still has to develop into a more reliable Midfielder
I agree with you mate as I also believe that Aaron is still some way off to be a fixed regular but in a game like today’s, why not? I mean, we all knew it was going to be easy. Vermaelen made a small mistake, Song made a big one, Diaby also made some, yet we escaped unhurt. Could have Ramsey done more damage? I doubt it.
Ultimately remember, these are exactly the games the youngsters need to gain the experience they need, the Carling Cup along is not enough.
We all knew Standard Liege was going to be easy too… oh wait, hang on…
I havent seen any of Ramsey to make me think he is better than Diaby. His performance at old trafford proved that he cant perform during the big games (like Diaby), and overall I think he is not quite ready yet.
Wenger started with the best possible line up, and Ramsey got his chance to shine when he came on. He didnt. A few wild shots is all he really added – which is fine because the game was already ours so I dont mind him having a go. But his performance was nothing outstanding.
I really dont think Wenger needs any push when it comes to playing youngesters.
Come on mate, surely you can’t expect Aaron to perform when he comes on as a sub like this?
Diaby was given all the chances in the world to shine, despite failing over and over again. In a game like yesterday’s, yes, Aaron deserved to start.
What you mean?
He comes on with nothing to worry about because the game is ours and the other team has packed it in and has stopped trying. He has EVERY opportunity to shine, just like Rosicky did last week against city. I havent seen Aaron score a goal and an assist like Tomas.
I’m talking about minutes on the pitch.
So help me understand: Diaby gets more than 500, he fails and you believe he should continue to start.
Aaron gets less than 60 and you expect him to turn water into wine?
TBH I havent seen enough of Ramsey to form a valid opinion, but I thought he had a terrible game against ManU and was poor against Wigan.
Wenger values Diaby ahead of Ramsey, and hence the former is in the starting line up.
The Win is great, However am worried about our usual good creation of opportunity and avery poor conversion level. I think It’s time Wenger took some tough decisions to shake up the attack option before it’s too late. I have a feeling had we been converting like we should have, we would have won both Manchester Encounters. Maybe he should consider returning RVP to his right wing.
Lighten up, mate. We win, you worry; we lose, you worry. When do you then find time to get off the worry shift and cheer on the team? Look for weaknesses daily is not “support”, you know?
Well Coolgooner, the true supporter, yes, worries even after a comfortable 4-0 win.
We enjoyed such wins last season, like Blackburn away from home, was 1-4 I think, yet things were not looking right back then and we all saw how the season ended.
It may look like a pessimistic way of supporting your team, but I prefer to call it realistic. It’s like when have a son who you love and does well in 9 out of 10 exams at school. You’re happy for that, of course, but you worry for the one where he didn’t perform.
Man, and i tot i was d only one who was wondering why this crappy Diaby’s playing week in, week out. Is it to say Wenger doesn’t see wat anybody decent can see? Well, if anybody says dat i’m jst biffing him, watch him critically & make ur own decisions. As for Fab, i’m not genuinely beginning 2 wonder abt him. His passes were poor & he didn’t even bother 2 try & win the ball back. Anoda Ade situation in d making? I certainly hope not.
Is this English?
Chris have you noticed Eboue almost kissed Mike jones head to avoid giving a yelow card for the hand ball. is that a way to say sorry to a ref what he was thinking
but yet another silly move to get booked. plus Fabragas was played pretty tired today and scored.
He actually almost kissed him AFTER getting the yellow
I’m sure we’ll read about Cesc being injured on Sunday. Else I can’t understand that reaction after the goal.
ive seen 7s and 7.5s given to van persie!??
i agree he deserves no more than 5, too wasteful.
Fabregas…well.I am afraid to say, that, as his commitment and class is ALWAYS there, his heart and eyes are set on Barcelona already..
He realizes what Wenger is doing with the club, and is certain that the team is a long ways away from being a top contender for any trophies. The loss of Hleb and Flamini, followed by the inadequate replacement of departing star/established/veteran/vital players, has hit him hard. He knows where the club is, at present, and realizes they may be able to go far, in the future, but he is just not satisfied at not winning at this moment.
There is a long analysis on the, what I call, “Fabregas Fiasco” upcoming. I will write an article on it in the coming days, as I have followed Fabregas since the minute he has stepped on Highbury pitch, and he has been my favorite player ever since.
But his lack of enthusiasm on the pitch, his inadequacy to be the team Captain (at the time being atleast), ask lots of questions around Fabregas and his contentment at Arsenal. He will never NEVER say he wants to leave (as he is a class and committed player), but his quotes from 2 years ago being- ” I want to win trophies at Arsenal, and we will soon”; too this year “We have a great squad, but winning trophies, we will see what happens”, tells a lot about his view on the current team, its direction, and what he thinks will unfold in the coming season or 2.
Thank you for the comment mate. For now, let’s “hope” it’s just an injury. Also, feel free to contact us if you want your articles published in the “By Our Readers” section, we’ll be more than happy to host them for you.
will do..thanks!
1) Mind reading armchair blogger with a crystal ball writes article re “Fabregas Fiasco”
2) “Cesc Fibreglass” takes off as a nickname for Fab used by uber pessimistic fans unhappy with 3 games of “average” performances by our captain and lack of cartwheels during goal celebrations – Hes a proffesional footballer after all, which means hes not human and cant have bad weeks.
3) Pessimistic fans join the uber pessimists in believing that Cesc has no interest in playing for Arsenal.
4) After a particularly bad performance, and a mistake leading to a goal for the opposition (or something of the sort), Fab is booed by sections of the crowd and a torrent of anger is unleashed on blog sites everywhere.
5) Cesc feels unloved, and betrayed by those who once adored him.
6) Cesc decides that Arsenal fans are too fickle and insecure and puts in a transfer request.
7) Arsenal fans blame Wenger for not holding on the our players and call for a new manger, they dont care which one, just a new manager.
dude.this shit is nothing new..i understand players arent at there best all the time, and especially a young player like fabregas..but i am a good reader of the game and players. i see what is going on..not just this year but over the past years too. u can see an obvious character change..its nothing to do with being pessimistic, its just an objective point of view.
just because you are an arsenal fan does not mean you always have agree with everything that is going on in the club, or agree with everything arsene does. its called having an opinion, and i base it on what i see, what i read, and what i hear, especially from the players own mouths, and come to logical conclusions.
i am the last person to be jumping on bandwagons, or thinking 1 win we are the best, or 1 loss we are the worst. i watch, observe, take points and make an opinion. i always try to make an objective post..
maybe people like you are just screened by your “love ” for arsenal, that you believe whatever is going on is right. its not. if everything was right, then there would be no point in blogs. everything would be picture perfect, and point of views would be useless because everything is going right.. it doesnt work that way..shit goes wrong, and people have their opinions as to why.. players seem unhappy, or ecstatic or whatever, there is a reason why. Everything has a reason and multiple point of views. if there was no opinion thing would just be mundane and boring, and one dimensional.
And by the way, I have been using “cescfiberglass” for years. nothing new.
I think writing an article regarding the imminent departure of Fabregas at the start of the season is about 8 months premature. Cesc will only leave during summer, so we are faaaaar away from the next transfer season in which he could possibly move to Barca.
This kind of article can only cause friction between Cesc and the fans, and I dont think now is the time to be writing it.
I dont see why you are calling the article the “Fabregas Fiasco”. Where is the fiasco about it? He is born and bread Barcelona. It is his boyhood club.Cesc is Catalan. His move there is inevitable. Dont make it out to be a tragedy, just be happy with the transfer money we get from the deal.
I think declaring that Cesc’s heart is not in it based on a few games and lack of one goal celebration (even though he celebrated the others) is premature – though on this I concede we shall wait and see.
sweet. you are a frtune teller mate. i bet you can look into the future. stop these impatient fools with no sense of considration
Hammering Diaby is becoming a past time yes he made some errors but in the absence of fabregas, he and song carried the midfield today. He made the come back goal against Liege and he gets no credit.tell me what midfielder has never made a wrong pass.please let encourage this guy not alienate him.
Hammering Diaby is becoming a past-time because, and I hate to say this because I’ve admired him since he joined Arsenal over three years ago, he simply fails and fails again to improve the weak points of his game, namely the amount of time he spends on the ball and the consistency of his passing. I’ve been following Diaby since day one and I agree with Wenger, his natural talent could make him the next Viera, but in three years time (ok he’s had some injury problems) I’ve seen almost zero improvement in his game. With a fully fit Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin and Rosicky, I frankly don’t see a starting place for Diaby, do you?
No. I see no room for Diaby in the starting line up with all those players fit. And that is the point!
You have mentioned four players that are out injured. Add to that Denilson for this last game. Since the start of the season we have had a good chunk of our midfield (and forward line) out through injury, and THAT is why Diaby has been playing.
First forward line:
Arshavin – RVP – Eduardo
Bendtner and Walcott come in after that
First mind line:
Nasri – Rosicky – Fabregas
Denilson and song come in after that
So basically, Diaby is third in line cover for our mid and forward positions. To expect him to put in fantastic performances each week is too much. He is cover for the cover! And he has scored two goals and played a great assist already this season!
Give him a break!
I am happy about the match because overall i think we played well, but it saddens me to say that i think fabregas has his mind made up
. in the last 2 matches he has acted like playing for arsenal is killing him, what a shame. lets just hope that ramsey becomes amazing in a hurry. btw thomas vermaelen – what a player!
I honestly believe that Cesc has been carrying an injury for a few games now, first two games of the season his pressing when we did not have the ball was really good but for a few games he has not been able to contribute to the defensive side of the game, I am certain that this is because he is playing injured.
Yep me too Jim. Also I have a collection of Arsenal photos I have now thousands of every one of our players and once you have been collecting for while you pick up on things. For example Fabregas has a very very distinctive way of running, a unique style in the way he moves last couple of matches he is holding his body tentatively like he can not go at full stride… his hamstrings are still playing up. He was playing with a minor hamstring injury – a niggle but not enough to prevent playing – for most of the first half of last season so I recognize the signs. I wish Arsene would drop him for a few games when this happens. I am not sure whether Arsene never rests him or rotates him, as he does others, because he feels a partially fit Fabregas is better than no Fabregas or whether Arsene is too indulgent and Fabregas wants to play and Arsene allows him too when he needs to have a spell out.
Either way I am 100% sure that Fabregas is carrying a hamstring problem – separate to the knock he took today.
On a side note. I did not think he was as bad as some here are implying. It was a mixed bad and he made some good plays out there.
Must be that I see another game than lot of you.
About Cesc didn’t you noticed that he celebrated with delight our 3 first goals ? Didn’t you noticed that he got hit time after time ? Every time on the ball he had to endure dangerous tackles and in the end he got hit. So yes I think he was not pleased when he scored because I’m affraid he got injured because the ref let the Wigan players kick at him time after time. Maybe he fears a serious injury and knowing cesc he wouldn’t be happy at that.
About his passing: he is the player who is always trying to create openings and when sitting in the stadium it all looks easy and you wonder sometimes why a pass doesnt reach a teammate ? Well Cesc is, as far as we know a human being and it is in our nature to make mistakes.
Why of why are so many Arsenal fans always looking to bring their own players down ? Last year it was Eboue, Denilson and Song: never good enough, to short, to this and to that. Now it is Diaby, Cesc and RVP who seam to get all the stick.
And when those players leave and get bitter because of the behaviour of the fans you sit there and wonder ?
I bet you all look great managers on whater computer game you have.
Enjoy you titles over there. I will just support my players and my team.
Unconditional love is for children, not Professional Footballers.
yeah yeah whatever.
The whole team is rubbish and the manager is a c*nt and should be sacked.
You just be unhappy, I will enjoy the good things.
I noticed that too. A 4th goal in garbage time is hardly something to celebrate. He was celebrating on all of the rest of the goals like everyone else. He is definitely carrying an injury which is pretty obvious with his movement. He needs a break but because the gaffer is too thick to buy reinforcements we have no one else. This is why our injury list ends up so long later in the season. Our players have to play hurt because the squad is too thin and then they end up out for long stretches when they only had a minor injury to start with. This is exactly what happened to Rosicky when he went down. Our squad is too thin and we pay for it when crunch time comes. We keep counting on players who have never completed a full season without an injury and thinking we are going ot get a different result.
ur a star walter.. finally some sensible thoughts from som1 sensible. lets back diaby eboue and cesc etc they all are our own afterall. we are with arsenal and arsenal is with us and they all are part of arsenal… our beloved
fabregas was the worst player on the pitch today,
I can imagine that a lot of you on here slammed Wenger and the board for bringing in Vermaelen. ?
And I can imagine you all believed Tony Adams when he said Vermaelen was to small and not good enough ?
How many of you said Wenger had to buy a 7 foot tall CB ?
Do you realise how many attacking players we have out injured ?
I can imagine that when Vermaelen makes a mistake that cost us a goal, you will be the first to tell: see, I told you he was nog good enough.
walter u r an idiot! as far as i kno, nobody sed vermaelen wasnt good enough, especially not me. people had their doubts because he had never played in the prem b4 but most people supported wengers desicion and trusted him to make the right choice. although i do agree that people should stop being so negative, if we won 4-0 then i dont see a reason why people would want to criticise people like diaby. at the end of the day, we won so hu cares! nd btw i wasnt criticising fabregas earlier, i was just saying that he doesnt look like his usual self but u may be right wen u say it could be an injury. lets hope thats all it is
Was at the game today, I enjoyed it, the atmosphere wasn’t as dreary as some make it sound, I was near the noise though. The halfway line areas on either side of the stadium seem to be quiet though, whereas the ends are more lively.
Only a few little points:
- Diaby – why is this guy playing, he was our worst player by miles. Ok he does something amazing 5% of the time, but 95% of the time what he does is unbelievably crap.
- Comparing him to Viera is just disrespectful imo….
- Ramsey looked much better when he came on, his time cometh
(Note – I think Wenger actually has an emotional relationship with some of these players, akin to a father / son and wants them to do better then they actually can, and I think Diaby is in that category – Wenger, put he up for adoption mate!)
- Fabregas, I would contest the him not celebrating thing, but I think that being constantly linked to Barca has fucked his head up, and seeing big boys like CR7 and Alonso go back to the motherland for plenty paper, and to play for big boy teams has had some effect on him, especially as Barca keep frickin enticing him.
- I do believe we have people to step up to his place though – so i’m not too worried about him going, although it would be a shame. Namely – Wilshere, Merida, Nasri even, when both him, Arshavin and Rosicky are rocking.
- I’ll say it again, we need a tough defensive midfielder.
- Eboue needs to sort out his shooting – apart from that good play.
- Sagna needs to learn how to run the line and whip a ball in, apart from that excellent defending.
- Clichy looked better today, thank God.
- Bendtner is getting better. Always gives it effort which is what we want.
- Song is doing too much on his own.
- RVP not firing on all cylinders today, but ok.
- Wigan looked crap though to be honest. There were even a few early chances they could have taken. If that had been one of the big teams, I dont know what would have happened.
- There is hope , but there are also a few serious points to ponder, if we want to win anything, and keep Fabregas a while longer…….
stop commenting mate write your own opinion stop going with the flow.why every start at players when they dont see what they want to see. people who can find negitives in a 4-0 win need their brains tested. stop being so negitive ffs and back the lads. get a life all ya negitves
It’s funny such comment is coming from someone calling himself “reality check”.
Believe me mate, the words you just said are the same words many were saying after last season’s 1-4 win away from home against Blackburn and the 4-0 one in the Champions League against Porto.
Yes, even after a 4-0 win, there were some negatives in the team. When you have Van Persie missing so many chances, Fabregas not really delivering the way he should and not celebrating a goal and Diaby – yet again – showing how poor he can be, you can’t be all smiles.
Add to that the fact that our top scorers are defenders and this means something up front just ain’t right.
Woah! I thoroughly agree with you on these ratings.
The thing that frustrates me about diaby is that he is so ridiculously talented. Some of the through passes he does are fantastic and he can hold off and dribble by players so easily, but he just never seems to care about winning the ball back. When he loses it he just seems to shrug his shoulders and walk around. Its infuriating.
Overall great performance from the team though. Eboue was brilliant and Vermaelen really looks like a world class player. His goals today were fantastic, and hes a bit Canavaro-like in his defending. Just how good he really is we can only tell by the end of the season, but he looks amazing at the moment.
Oh, one disagreement. I thought van persie had a good game again. He plays the role very well, and could have had a couple of goals on another day (although that seems to be the case in every game these days!). Nonetheless his link-play and set pieces are vital to our success. I guess the lone-striker role isn’t ideal for him, and that’s why i respect the job hes doing.
I think fabregas is carrying an injury to be honest. I was disappointed wenger chose to take off diaby instead of him as we might as well save our more key players.
You aren’t talented if you can’t perform. That’s a bit like calling Britney Spears a talented singer. She might have some of the tools but she is by no means talented, same with Diaby. If you can’t perform you simply aren’t good enough.
what would you say about bendner ???
I totally agree with Walter. I’m with you on this one, man. We Arsenal fans will never be satisfied. We played well today and won 4-0 yet everyone is talking bad of Cesc and RVP. Obviously Cesc celebrated the previous goals. I just hope we do not chase Cesc out of Arsenal in the way we did Adebayor. Players are not immune to loss of form or mistakes. EVERY footballer suffers loss of form, but all we need to do is to stick with the player and encourage him while his in-form colleagues make up. You can hardly have 11 in-form players at the same time. For example, Clichy and Cesc don’t seem to be in their best form, but Dudu, Vermaelen, Gallas, Bendtner, Song all seem to be playing very well. So let them “carry” the team. There were times (e.g. in January) when RVP SINGLE-HANDEDLY carried the whole arsenal team. Same as Cesc – who IMO has earned the right to have one or two off days.
So please guys, let Cesc and Clichy be. They will return to form. All we need to do is encourage and not castigate them.
And also let Abou Diaby be! He’s our player for crying out loud, and should be supported along with Silvestre and Big Phil.
Phew..what a bunch of supporters.
AMEN!
The negativity is starting to alarm me!
We just destroyed a team 4 zip and most of the comments are about how shit Diaby is. GRRRRRRR!
I understand the discussion re Fabs lack of celebration for his goal, but as others mentioned he celebrated the others. Who knows, maybe his girlfriend left him, maybe his mums sick, maybe he discovered he has a genital wart… He could be going through some shit or maybe he has an injury and we will find out about it soon enough.
But there is no need to scrutinize him so meticulously.
Too much negativity pushes players out of Arsenal. We dont want to loose Cesc because some fans turn on him for being either lazy, money hungry, out of form, or preoccupied with thoughts of sunny Barca.
Lay off, he’ll return to form soon.
Walter: I honestly think you are wasting your time, mate. This site is run by subversives for the bitter and disaffected. I only hope the other Premier League teams appreciate all the good work the site does on their behalf. Thank goodness none of these losers is responsible for running the team,or it would be Championship here we come!
Bullshit!, diaby didnt have that bad a game.. he was dribbling well end product lacked a bit . but overall contributed well..I feel.. Song was fantastic.. rock solid unbreakable nice run. Eboue was great today, showed great acceleration and great twinkle toes.. vermalen dont need to say anything. Fabregas fantastic passes.. as usual
i dont understand critisism of van p, van persie brings much more to our game than him just scoring goals, strikers score goals simple, but van persie creates, drops back links play puts other into space slows and speeds up the game, amazing skill, amazing individual talent to get away from defenders and make shots for himself or set up his team-mates, stop finding negatives and support the team, van persie is world class and the heartbeat of this arsenal side, even when fabregas is on song, pull your head out your arses and just watch van persie play, the goals will come, OOOOH 2 B A GOONER
I’m not sure why Fabregas didn’t celebrate rhe goal but at the time I felt it was because wigans heads were down. They had realy given up and maybe it was just respect from the captain. I think the weeks rest has come at a great time because we were looking a little tired and Fabregas was brought back from injury early and then has been playing a game about every three days so maybe that is why he has been under performing. Van Persie missed some realy good chances but it was a change to him not getting those chances maybe he is picking up the position better but its still not good to see. He was also brought back from a litle injury so perhaps a rest and he will be back to normal. Now we have the cup to look forwrd to and our wonder kids go the gunners. A lot will be said about our team on we how perform against fulham next week.
I mean west brom midweek and fulham next weekend.
I like Diavy, but yeah, give Ramsey a run, or Rosicky could start soon. Maybe even Wilshere or Merida. When Nasri comes back the opportunities may be limited for the youngsters so give them a run now against the weaker sides. It’s nice to see Eboue getting amongst the action. Players like him and Bendtner can occassionally be frustrating, but they always put the team first and run hard. I mean always.
When we signed Vermaelen I was pleased. Not ecstatic, pleased. I thought, some cover for Gallas and whoever out of Djourou/Senderos/Silvestre would accompany him. Clearly he has been underrated… what a player!! Of our other centre-backs, only Djourou is a player I rate highly but Vermaelen clearly offers an attacking option that Djourou doesn’t… yet. Song also is a useful CB but I like to see him in MF.
Bring back Nasri, bring back Arshavin, bring back Walcott… bask in title glory. Yeah, we’ll see…
Fabregas was certainly injured yesterday.After 70+ minutes he was just limping and did not involve in more than 5 yard passes. But at that time we had used all our substitutes, and there was no other choice but for him to stay. Still he made that wonderful run and finished a crisp goal. Let us not worry about Fabregas leaving, lets enjoy the moment when he is playing for arsenal.
Great attitude!! Cesc was struggling for the last 20 minutes ,was enjoying the earlier goal spree with teammates and even managed a terrifically timed run for the 4th.
He needs to be rested in order to clear up an obvious covered-up, niggling injury.
I’m sure that he must find Barcelona’s tapping up of him very disturbing, not an easy thing to deal with for anyone and especially difficult for him, and they know it, the c**nts.
We need to settle his (and all gooners) mind and heart by winning a trophy this season.
That should be obvious!
DIABY is starting because he has some balls. Balls to take on defenders, balls going in on the tackles, just a pair of big balls.-6.
VAN PERSIE should not play as striker-but on the wing- he is a build up player- He doesn’t have the right killer instincts as an out and out striker. -6
EBOUE gets involved makes runs, but I think is retarded. -6.5.
FABREGAS don’t know what happen to him- i think our opponents often target him and shut him from creating play. -6
EDUARDO Made good runs from the left wing- and got involved in the box -8
SONG great in defense and showed positive signs going forward- almost scored a brillinat goal after taking on a few defenders -8
VERMAELAEN rock solid in defense- and showed two huge belgium balls going forward to score them goals-
Good morning friends, I see you kept the site busy with your comments
Lee, no-one is an idiot for expressing his opinion, let’s try to be nice at least with each other. Same goes to you stuartlondon, we don’t allow people to come here and insult our readers by calling them “losers” here.
Walter, I can’t agree with you I’m afraid. The record of supporting the squad no matter what is one I never and will never play. If the team wins 4-0 yet I see that some things didn’t work out, I say it. Not because I’m after perfection but because I believe the squad is strong enough to go on and win something. But to do it, one has to analyze and fix problems even that come out of games like Wigan’s.
If then you believe Diaby did well in midfield and Robin did well despite missing all those chances which against a different team would have been suicidal, then maybe yes, we’ll never agree on this one.
Some people are forgetting that Diaby scored two goals and had one or two assist so far this season. Though, I have an issue with the way he plays. He seems to have a lack of confident when he gets the balls. But against Wigan he did some good defending job, as well some nice “caviar” passes. Playing regularly is the only way he will grow. Good player.
I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE THE LUCK CHELSEA AND MAN UTD HAVE! chelsea got 2 wins in 95th minute in two games and man utd in 96th minute … and u wonder at the end of the season why they win the trophy WITH A FEW POINTS AHEAD
arsenal was clearly disavantaged in some important decisions by refereing in manchester games!! If u want silverware let’s face it…arsenal hasn’t got any luck untill now…and another point i might add..what players had chelsea and man utd injured untill now?? arsenal from over A YEAR didn’t have a full squad at disposal….so wake up arsenal fans…arsenal is performing fantastic untill now with 25 goals in 8 games without a full squad with 2 very hard games away and with important referee mistakes in both lost games!
I will want to see when rooney and evra,or drogba and essien will miss at those team what they will do…
any lost point in premiership now is vital at the way the other teams are performing…
Are you guys kidding about diaby not playing at his highest level…come on you must be…
because diaby provides us with great physical strenght which is one of the main element in today’s BPL…
we aint got no viera any more..and he is the only guy in our current side who can provide us with some physical strenght in the midfield….
I have seen in many occasion last year, where we were robbed in the midfield because we lacked physical presence in the center of the park…denilson is good but he got no strenght…
Diaby wins the ball most of the time…he has great dribbling skills…and he can also create chances…so i have no clue what do u guys talking about..