Stoke vs Arsenal, 3-1: Full time thoughts, analysis and player ratings
The Game
With what is coming up next in the Premiership, I completely agree with Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up. Sol Campbell needed a game to test his fitness out, ditto for Theo Walcott and sooner or later, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had to enjoy a regular start in an important game.
Unfortunately, the players who were supposed to help the young ones didn’t turn up for the game, with Lukasz Fabianski, Mikael Silvestre and Denilson all showing why they should never be used as regulars.
The ratings of many players, including the young ones, are very low today but this doesn’t mean I don’t believe in them or that I’m rating them as a player. Many will blame them, they will be quick to blame players who are used once every two months with the expectations that they will play the game of their life.
Believe me, it’s not that easy. Judge them when they play 10 games in a row, maybe more, and I’m including Theo Walcott here.
We crash out, but it’s not the end of the world. As I said, it’s seeing the “experienced” players failing that really disappointed me today, not really the scoreline, which doesn’t come as a surprise to me, just like the heavy defeat against Manchester City in the Carling Cup. There are more important objectives to fight for.
Starting this Wednesday.
Match Video Highlights
Match video highlights are available in the Videos section of our website. If not there yet, rest assured they will be up in a matter of hours.
Player Ratings
Fabianski: 4,5 – Let me tell you, we’re in deep trouble when it comes to goalkeepers. If Almunia offers no protection whatsoever to the back four, you can’t say Fabianski does. Not to mention his dangerous distribution when he has the ball.
Campbell: 6,5 – He looked rusty and slow, but it was his first game after all. Having said that, he had a very, very good game, good in the air and showed all his experience at the back.
Silvestre: 3 – The tackle on Rory Delap was his only positive thing of the game. The rest, a disaster.
Coquelin: 4 – One of the young guns who really can’t be blamed for defeat. Not the best of games, some good tackles but panicked when in possession. He will surely learn from this.
Traore: 5 – Clichy had to play. I can’t understand why an experienced player returning from injury was not used. Armand may be very good when going forward but defensively, he’s still a long way off.
Eastmond: 6 – Keeps on performing well and one of the few who did well today.
Denilson: 4 – I still can’t believe many consider him a regular. The second and third goal exploited all his weaknesses: no strength and even more worse than that, no pace. For the record, it was Mamady Sidibe he was chasing, not Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fabregas: 6 – I knew he had to play if we were to stand a chance of winning. It seems Arsene thought the same, but you can’t expect one man to do it all alone, can you?
Vela: 4,5 – Some nice runs, some nice passes but except the final pass to Ramsey, created nothing worth noting with the ball.
Walcott: 3 – Just like Carlos, Theo also failed to make an impact on the game but I’ll wait to see him with the regular eleven to judge him.
Emmanuel-Thomas: 4 – Unimpressed by him. I thought he could be an option for the regular team in terms of physical presence, which he possesses, but he’s terrible on the ball.
(Subs)
Eduardo, Arshavin, Ramsey: No Vote – These three came on to help Arsenal’s cause but I can’t really say they were involved as much as Wenger hoped. Eduardo and Arshavin barely touched the ball. Aaron was more involved but I still can’t understand why he didn’t go for the easy pass to the right to Vela and that started Stoke’s second goal move which killed us off.
![[Video] Blackburn vs Arsenal highlights: Big win as we go second in the table!](http://www.thegunninghawk.com/wp-content/themes/arthemia-premium/scripts/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/video.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1)
I think there were to good things of this lose, fisrt, we were able to see that Sol is still good, it is nice to be sure that we can have a solid central defender if something happens to Vermi or William. And second, that fact (as you said las week) that we can now focus in the CL and the Premier. I’m totally agree with your ratings, but I still think Vela can do much more in Premier games; and I insist on a new keeper, and that the name of one really good, excellent is (as Jamaican Gunner said in the chat room) Guillermo Ochoa, he has everything to be an Arsenal keeper, and of course, he is way better than Almunia and Luckas.
Thanks for the contribution mate, sorry I couldn’t join you in the chat room, had problems today.
look at fabianski attempt at the last two goals… damn guy didnt even dive… dive and take a ball out of the net make som controversy… dont jus stand there and watch the ball go in with out even a dive… for god sake dive late jus effort i want to c in between the sticks i hate when a ball goes in our net and the keeper didnt dive… all i want is effort….. dive and pick a ball out of the net make the refs wonder if it went in …. DONT JUST STAND UP LIKE A SCARE CROW
Ooooooooooooh and by the way, during the narration of the game in Mexcio, the argentinians guys confirmed that Senderos was in Everton now.
I think you’re being harsh on JET. He gave some lovely passes with his left foot, and his strength both on and off the ball will be a big asset for us in the years to come. Encouraging debut from him. Silvestre was dire as per usual, Sol was very impressive and showed that, with matches under his belt, can be an able deputy for Gallas and Vermaelen. Vela and Walcott were very disappointing but I’m prepared to give them a run of games before being too harsh on them. Eastmond is making steady improvement, but I do worry if we have to rely on him in the upcoming matches. Coquelin looked very nervous but that was to be expected. Denilson has chipped in with a few goals this season, but I don’t rate him defensively, not strong enough and lacks pace.
All in all, a bad result but certainly not unexpected. If we can pick up 3 points on Wednesday it’ll be worth the disappointment of today.
I agree..Jet was good for me as well.. has got strenght to hold up defenders and did show some nice touches..and this was his first outing..so i would say thumbs up for JET..but as for tht dumb idiot denilson..i mean he made it feel like he was chasing BOLT and not Sidibe..and he is young and has captained Brazil at all age levels..Wenger is a genious..but a very very stone headed one…and one who thinks that he knows best and would go to the extent to proove it..who among us felt that we would win after having a glance at the starting line up…
keepers..God!! please save us..i cant belive wenger can dare not to address the area..almunia to me is a cartoon character who luks lost in the middle and off course gallases best buddy having getting a mouth full from him every other time..why was vermealen not in the team..i can understand Gallas..but the belgian is one piece of healthy meat and should hav played…
completely agree with you….for me JET had a good game….he was the only one who was winning the header and also held the ball up nicely….i think AW should really consider him as a first team starter….
wining one header and two nice touches you think are enough? We are tolking for Arsenal mate, he is supposed to do much more. I say you even my father in his fifty can make some nice touches during 65 min.in a game. Anyway can someone tell me where the hell is Sanches Watt?!!!
lol hey we have forwards but they r all gone on loan….. where is sanchez watt, barazite….. and jay simpson shud be better than what jet manage to do… remember jay simpson had experience last season in a relegation battle and he look good in my books…. atleast better than jet…
harsh on JET? Listen i have never seen this guy playing but this game today show me what a player he is, A POOR ONE, HE IS APSOLUTELY WORST THAN ADEBAYOR WAS IN HIS EARLY DAYS AT ARSENAL. I dont understand how can so many gooners say he should play at our first team. Well this is the second game that our youngsters failed to show they talent, for me only two or thre of them will make it, the others are sh…t! Theo Walcott, this guy has problems, he has to do something, he is so poor poor poor and poor in everything he does. Vela, where is the young and talented Vela that we know? Eduardo, his time is over. I hope i am wrong. The game against A.Villa is a must win, if we dont then belive me its over.
Even a scum fan wouldn’t post this ! For sure have problems…personal problems !
I make you just about right. Cesc was good but couldn’t do it on his own. Eastman looked composed. I think campbell was our best player in the first half. He read the game well, timed his challenges well, and organised the team. Once he got tired, he was really slow and cumbersome though. He doesn’t have the fitness for 90 mins at the moment. We all know that sylvestre is useless, and you can’t blame the first timers, but vela was awful. He’s slow, week, and looks like denilson mark 2.
Agree we are in need of a goalkeeper a holding midfielder Denilson to weak and a striker our season now could go two ways if we dont buy its down to wenger if we fail to win anything how can he stay ???
Wenger gamble now seems very spot on. Now Stoke will face an away match against Man City. Hefty schedules especially for the next 4 games, lots of injuries and another 3 straight away matches against Premiership teams should Arsenal qualify, i can say that FA cup is only added more woeful situation. Wenger yes, did not have much choice on his squad. Cruel draws for Arsenal’s FA cup campaign this season.
Comments about Emmanuel-Thomas unfair as I thought he did well in unfamiliar position. He & the team would have been better served with him in the holding midfield role. I thought Campbell did very well & looked fit. I have to agree about the Goalkeeping situation, there’s not a Keeper at the club that I have 100% confidence in. Wenger has a blind spot here & needs to recruit Seaman to the club with a brief to go & identify a dominant No1 Keeper & an able deputy foor the club to recruit.
A really poor all round performance therefore the ratings though harsh are justified.Maybe we should have played an entire reserve team.What was the point of playing Cesc with next to no support.
I was really shocked to see how badly fabianski played,expected better.
How many chances does one give Walcott, and vela was not much better.Denilson is another who flatters to deceive. All three are too lightweight.Stoke deserved the win on the second half performance, though Sol was arguably our best player.
We still have about 10 out injured,but regardless this was never a priority for us (or the Stoke fans,who insisted on not turning up).Wenger has made it clear we can’t fight on 4 fronts. now there are two and the next fortnight will define our season….sounds familiar.
really good ratings except silvestre maybe a little bit harsh really gutted about this result but now we really really need to get those results in the upcoming 4 games or else no trophies again and to be honest i don’t really care about the FA Cup that much but with liverpool united and everton out of the Frame maybe we could have one it but staying positive C’mon Arsenal
I think you’re hard on Fabianski. He screw up in the first 66 seconds but after that he had a very impressive game. He could do nothing about the second and third goals – that was all the crap defending going on in front of him.
I think the subs did well for the time they were allotted but the atrocious defending aside, there was no one scoring goals. If Fab isn’t doing it, then it seems no one is willing to and Wenger needs to find a goalscorer with RVP on the shelf if he wants to win anything this season.
I think there IS a lot to be worried about. if this game showed something is that we have no depth whatsoever in crucial positions. Sol was out for a year, in this respect credit to him. but hwo should ( who could have!) covered burly Fuller but him, he did not for the first , and could not for the second. If this was a test cor coverage for Vermaelen and Gallasm, then we have to be very very anxious. Ahead of powerful encounters at home and away We have no DM at the moment, Nada , we have a void in midfield. Denilson,is justa footballer without qualities, where is he supposed to be playing? nowhere I guess… my god, I never realized that on top(or bottom) of it all he has nothing pace. shocking. his main asset is getting deflected goal. that is quite a talent…
Wenger to his credit went for the jugular , if it were to succeed we would have called him brilliant, but the veterans were out of it. without anchor it was all for nothing anyway. Fab did not give himself fully, and one can only be happy about that. Ramey, couple of weeks out and so rusty..ok, I let this one go. a sad sight is Walcott, he cannot play in 4-3-3,he regressed tremendously. I never believed in his brain to much.
LEt’s hope this one will not have repercussions, when you have momentum you have it, when you dent it, well, we’ll see
First goal was so f-g naive from Fabianski, just standing still and waiting for the ball, looked like a fool when the ball finished in the net. Another keeper for the future, sigh….
Second goal was Denilsons, has nothing to do with pace, he just didn´t care more than that……looked as if he was going to hit the deck as he did against Everton, lazy brazilian..
Sol did ok.
I was delighted to see sol play. he was outstanding inside arsenals box and gave the opposition little hopes to win balls. I was saddened thou that arsenal lost but even if you change the attackers it does not fix the midfield.. it was more or less painfull to watch denilson being pushed and outrun by the tougher players most of the game – but it was almoust irritating to see him give poor passes which should be his strength
then again arsenal did hang on as long as eastmond was holding the fort which is a great thing considering future prospects. I just hope that arsene will favor the new guy over denilson next season.. this winter it might be too early for him yet :-/
I think we threw the game today on purpose, which I think was a good idea. If you look at our schedule the fa cup games fall just days before important games. Wenger wants to focus on the premier league n the uefa cup, wasting the players energy and risk of injuries playing extra games wouldn’t help us in the other 2 competitions.
i dont think youve got much idea if traore gets a 5, he was at fault for all goals, first 1 he knocks it out needlessly, 2nd one he was at the other end of the pitch and made no effort to track back, and the third one he jogged alongside whitehead making to attempt to get goalside
this guy is useless, coquelin was reasonbly solid
JET shite as well
I wasnt so unimpressed by fabianski to say he could never be a good enough keeper. I didnt see the 3rd goal, but didnt think the 1st two were really his fault. The two CBs got it wrong and underestimated the length of the throw for the 1st. They were both makring one guy and didnt expect the ball to travel as far as it did. Sol shouldprobably have been a few feet further back and woudl have been able to deal with it. Their mistake forced fabianski to try to run out to take it and it made him look bad. Overall in the game he made a few mistakes – but he also got in some very tough catches under pressure. Agree his distribution was poor today.
Its all about szczensy as far as Im concerned. Almunia is an adequate keeper imo as our rivals dont have much better, but i expect szczensy to take over in the next few years.
I thought traore, JET and particularly eastmond did well.
I dont see what the issue was with traore, I thought he did fine in defence and was good going forward..
JET isnt really a CF, (more an AM or DM), his touch was a bit heavy at times but he won a few headers. I think wengers game plan was to use him to play in the wingers, but vela plays too wide and it just didnt happen for walcott. To be fair the stoke players gave our youngsters no time on the ball and stifled us well.
Eastmond looked great imo. He took responsibility at times and put in some good challenges in the air and on the floor. I think he could make the step up now as gibbs did last year.
Coquelin didnt have his best game, but there were some positives. I can see why hes rated so highly and in time Im sure hel be a good player.
Disappointed with denilson today. Didnt add much to the side and made mistakes. He is an inconsistent player, but at his best he can boss things in midfield.
On theo – I was pleased with the way he played today in a way. It didnt always work for him, but he made the right decisions when in possession I felt. I think this bodes well, because when we have our other main forwards out there, there will be mor space for him to exploit and open teammates to pass to.
Thought fabregas was poor today. At times it was because there was no one really for him to pss to, but also he surprisingly seemd to make the wrong decisions at times. Its a shame that wenger played him really. It could bring an end to his recent good form. We’ll see how he reacts in the next match
I’m always curious to see how others rate players after games and since you do it in the few minutes after the final whistle, I read your ratings almost every time. I may or may not agree with you but this time you’re a caricature of yourself:
- you openly rejoice about one of our own player’s injury
- you’re 1.5 points lower than a neutral site (goal.com)
- your boo-boy mentality is now official:
Chris:
Denilson: 4 – I still can’t believe many consider him a regular. The second and third goal exploited all his weaknesses: no strength and even more worse than that, no pace
Goal.com
Denilson – 6 – Well-taken equaliser intermixed with some neat passing. One of Arsenal’s better performers.
Just exactly where am I “rejoicing” for one of our own player’s injury? Apparently, you’re either mixing articles up or yours is a very sad attempt to put me under a bad light.
Ok, maybe now I get it, you were referring to the Silvestre remark. Wow, I didn’t think someone would think I was calling positive the injury and not the challenge. Sad stuff. Now it’s changed.
Also you should be intelligent enough to know that the goal.com and similars should not be taken seriously.
Shall I now go and find someone who rated Denilson 4 or lower to throw the ball on your path and keep this joke going?
Obviously there was some confusion in the wording of your rating for Silvestre and you reformulated it, kudos to you.
I stand my ground on Denilson, it’s far from being an isolated incident.
Yes, I don’t believe Denilson is good enough to be a regular. Neither is Silvestre. Until two months or so ago I also thought Diaby was not performing well enough to win a regular place but he improved, incredibly, and of course I changed my mind.
What’s so “boo-boy” about that?
Also, you say you read the ratings every time. I may be wrong of course, but the only time you posted a comment was to publicly accusing me of being happy players are injured and to compare me with those who boo our own players.
Not very elegant, no?
you are right Chris. Can someone tell what is Denilson giving to our team or our game? I have said it before,if its not for Wenger he should have been playing somwhere in Brasil. This guy called Denilson would have not played for Stoke today, how can he play for Arsenal as a regular only Wenger knows.
Interesting to see you have an objective view of the only Arsenal player who scored today.
Fair point, half-truth though. I used to post more when you started but it’s true that I’ve been posting very rarely on your site lately and almost always to call you on Denilson now, and Diaby and Song before that.
Your site’s design is great, your posts are always timely and no one (and certainly not me) can question your commitment.
Still you were wrong on Diaby and even more wrong on Song. By that I mean that you were late in acknowledging their potential and it took you a while to recover from your inertia in slating them. I’m pointing out that the same is happening with Denilson now. You’re on this mode where you never acknowledge what the boy does right and instead systematically focus on the negatives. He scored 3 goals in his 7 starts since his injury. If Arshavin, Nasri and Rosicky had the same return in the last month as Denilson we would be flying on top the league by now.
I hope I am delivering the message the way I want it to be addressed, in a very friendly way that is, but I’m puzzled by what you’re saying mate.
Seriously.
“Even more wrong on Song”. Exactly when did I say Song doesn’t deserve to play? I NEVER criticised Song in a way to say he’s not Arsenal material.
Never.
I rated his season, the last one, 8/10.
Here is this:
http://www.thegunninghawk.com/2009/05/29/2008-2009-season-review-part-2-overall-player-ratings-song-and-arshavin-the-best-thumbs-down-to-diaby-and-adebayor/
Alexandre Song: Vote 8
After the away game at Kiev, I awarded him the man of the match award but then he faded away a little only to come back strongly in the last months of the season. And what a comeback! He performed brilliantly both as central midfielder and at the back. Also, despite his young age, he has the experience of those old defenders who know when it’s time to commit a foul, even if it means getting a yellow. A pleasant surprise this year.
As for Diaby, surely you can’t say he was performing in the same way he is now last season and start of this one? If I was critical of Diaby, it was because I always knew he could perform the way he’s doing now.
Seriously, I cannot believe you’re using Alex to “attack” me. It’s unfair, very unfair, seems you are really confusing me with somebody else.
Well this year you have been positive on both but then everybody is. That wasn’t the case last year at all. You slated them both repeatedly and although Song had a terrific last half/third of the season you failed to acknowledge it until the season was almost over.
The way you are dealing with Denilson now is reminiscent on how you perceived Song and Diaby last season. What I contend is that Denilson is at the same stage than both were last year (actually better) and that even if you still don’t see what Arsene and others see in him, you should keep at least your mind open to the possibility that the boy will mature the same way the others are doing right now.
You’re not the only one. Zillions of commenters were on Song and Diaby’s back last year and are now praising them while switching the target of their cristicism to younger players. Some people never learn and I’m not counting you in them otherwise I would not even bother to comment here.
Yes mate, but again I ask you when did I “slate” Alex last season? If there was one game where in the heat of the moment I said he still needs to learn or something along those lines, granted, but you’re talking as if I wanted Arsene to sell him.
So again, no, it’s unfair to attack me using Alex, because this is not the case.
As for Denilson, I’m dealing with him in the same way I would with any other player who plays but doesn’t perform. Surely you didn’t jump with joy when you saw him fail to catch Sidibe and back off the challenge, hence allowing him to cross freely? Because that is something he does often, it’s not a rarity.
For what I know, he could become the best holding midfielder in the world, but at the moment, I place him behind Alex, Abou and Aaron.
You just proved my point again on Denilson: in his last 7 games (since his return from a 3 months injury break), he scored 3 goals. That’s as good as Arshavin, Rosicky and Nasri combined while defending as much as all these 3 combined (probably even more). Still your average ratings are almost double for those players than for Denilson.
I don’t have the time to skim through your archives (very well done btw, nice touch to make them available through the urls) but surely you can remember you wondered big time (to be polite) why Arsene was playing Song at the beginningof last season.
Anyway Arsene will keep playing him and rather sooner than later, he will go through the same metamorphosis that is now happening for Diaby and Song (and Fabregas too btw). My conclusion is that you should keep an open mind, after all, Arsene has a much better track record than you, I or anyone else on this board.
Well, I’m afraid we have to agree in disagreeing. You got me curious and will go through the archives about Song and will be more than happy to offer the mea culpa if I was wrong.
On Denilson, you can’t expect me to rate him higher just because he scores one long-range effort in every seven games, neglecting the cheap penalty he gave away or the way he let the Stoke player fly away.
The other two goals were pretty much luck by the way: Yesterday’s goal took two deflections and the Everton one took a big one as well.
I very much dislike the idea of experimentation. These cups are all necessary, they would earn us cool money and prestige. Like chelsea they give there all in all competitions,like the uprising manchester city they are in all three competitions and still giving there best. Watch their games. I really dont like this experimental method of our darling arsenal, apart from premiership cup and champions league title,we are lost. We can add to our trophies, its possible to win as much as a trio. Every loss is a heart break. A draw is better. If we got to be the best we got to beat both the best and the rest. Long live Arsenal
I have been going at this since the start of the season like a broken record, but still I find myself compelled to say it again:
1. We need a decent keeper.
2. Denilson & Walcott will never be good enuff for Arsenal first team.
3. We need a bigass centre forward.
4. Buying (& actually playing) Silvestre was AW worst transfer move ever.
As for the youngsters’ abysmal performances I shall cut them slack cos they’re kids after all.
Now that the purple cloud has dissipated I hope AW will truly evaluate the team holistically, objectively & do what needs to be done. Otherwise the next 2 weeks might become the worst days of my life.
Go Gooners.
Re: Walcott and Denilson.
I seem to remember that not so long ago you said the exact same thing about Song and Diaby.
what is the update on song???
and i was surprised to see ramsey playing today cause wasn’t he supposed to be out the same amount of time as nasri…21 days??
Song will play against Egypt hoping my country will do all us a favour by knocking out cameroon but even if cameroon get knocked out don’t expect him b4 the united game
coquelin was the main reason we lost, he was absolutely terrible I would give him a 0.5 at most. the other reason we lost was silvestre, although he did play better than coquelin. I felt sorry for campbell cos he has a really good game, too bad the rest of the back 4 were awful
A much expected and predicted result. I have to agree with the comment that Wenger would have been better off technicall fielding the entire reserve team, after all they know each other and it would have been a good team experience. There again he had to appear to be a serious contender, bit like a milk horse in the Derby. It`s over now and he can settle into his real objective, the League and Europe.
Well, like one of the fan said, there is some good of being out of the FA Cup…
In fact we just don’t have the squad to compete in all 4 competitions (added to the injuries)…
AW fault again… Since our last trophy the squad has been reduced year after year…!!! Go figure !!!
Also it is clear to me now that Walcott has become more of a liability than anything else.
I would love to be like him; show up at work,do nothing and get paid load of money for it…
Walcott should be careful because the team is moving forward without him… He is becoming irrelevant to the squad and the feeling is that we wish he will not play the next game coming. He should not be allow to wear the Arsenal shirt until he is sure to give 100%, because so far he is a disgrace…
E.Thomas, Coquelin and Eastmond are still young…
For all the Vela fans, I think you got your answer (not good enough) even thought he tried very hard… Why put Arshavin, Ramsey and Edouardo at the end instead of the beginning of the game and then introduce the youth when the game has been closed…!!!
Denilson needs to wake up very quickly (he is a first team player according to AW) and he has now made 2 subsequent “rubbish” performances (just proved again how important Alex Song is)…
Now we need to concentrate on the league and the CL because that is all we have left…
No more excuses AW…
you are apsolutely right mate.
You kidding about vela right? He needs games practice only isn’t going to cut it and I refuse to hold judgement till I see him play more than 10 mins a game
Fabianski was to blame for the first goal, he stood there waiting for it when he should have been out to meet it. The goalie should command his box and anyone who gets in his way should get a facefull of keeper. Where’s Bazarite and why hasn’t JET been getting 5 & 10 minute cameos in Dec/Jan when we’ve been short up front? And while I’m having a moan what do we do on the training pitch when we seem to make the same mistakes year after year? I hope we win the league but I can see Chelski doing the double before they spend another fortune rebuilding their team.
I totally agree with your comments Stephen…
Aw is on a tight spot and truthfully we will have more chance to win the CL! But again there is still some big machines (Real Madrid, Barcelona and so) in the competition…
AW on a tight spot? Do you really think the board is dreaming of us following the examples of Liverpool, ManUre and Tottenham (they spent over 150 mils in a year and a half) and they will ditch Arsene if we finish 2nd best?
easy to say now u wud rather we played reserves!! well obv!! seeings as we lost anyway.had fab scored the winner u wudnt think so. whatever you say about vela he is definately not slow.
Who said that Vela was slow????
As a matter of fact I would rather see him play than Edouardo…!!!
What is the difference between the FA cup and FA premiership?
I think we got just what we asked for to be knocked out of the cup , started as if we were on morphene ,then slowly got into it, could not handle the physical aproach , Walcott should be sold how many chances has that wanker had he is tottally out of his depth his crossing is shite , so lets not kid ourselves anymore i hope he stays injured completely lost all his confidence. As for denilson shocking wtf was he doing trying to chest the ball down in our own 18 yrd box with stoke mainiacs close to him he is a lob.I though sol done well , as for silvester retard, eastman looks good . oh well here we go again the next for games will decide our season unless wenger can bring in a powerfull striker
No f-bombs please, Paul.
This is ot a league for old men AW has goten it all wrong…
Silvestre…bad signing
Sol…even worse
you field your best playrs then make the substitutes….not the otherway around
we need a center back to provide cover for gallas, vermy and at a plus…can also fill in for song.
walcott is excess at this momment, and we should look at thinning out our other young signings…..and quickly..the second teir of our bench is really hurting us in all compititions…
AW shud blend our team wth esblshd stars. Or he shud atleast sign sm1 on loan…watchn thos kiddos outscored by a skilless boring stoke side med mi sic.
WOW so much pessimism in the comments!!
any arsenal team would have struggled against stoke as they play COMPLETE physical football and not to mention the RUBBISH state of the pitch!! campbell looked decent at best but given this is his first game in months i think hes an adequate understudy to gal and ver!
on fabianski i think the critisism was WAY too harsh! all GK struggle against stoke physical approach let alone a keeper who had three games ALL year and his first in a month or so! he’ll get good just give him a run in the side to get confidence and for the defence to have confidence in him! i think hes a good solution to our GK problems as almunia is utter shite
coquelan is a DM and did decent esp as a unexperienced kid playing out of position
cant disagree with anyone about silvestre i think no one with eyes can disagree. walcott can have 100 games hes still shite and i really do hope i get proved wrong… vela played really well in my opinion given the shitness of JET and theo around him and can well be a great player for us sooner rather then later!
oh and apparently we’ve signed a 15 yr old wonderkid from stoke whos a GK! madrid wanted him for 1.2 million and we got him for around half tht!
unfortunately this is the time of year where everything will crumble for us! our recent history suggests then when we screw up….we screw up within a short space of time and screw everything up so im assuming this is it…our league chances will fade away after our 4 games of hell….and the champs league looks to slip out of us aswell UNLESS we sign a striker which we all know isnt gonna happen…..it was a nice run this year lads….lets hope we can do it next year!
A few questions Chris:
do you think maybe the goal keeping practice or coaching or scouting is just not up to snuff? we haven’t really had a solid keeper since seaman; lehman could be brilliant and then he could be laughable (sounds like almunia?). at such a big club surely it isn’t such a blatant problem?
do you think AW expected a little much from le coq and JET? i figure if coq is going to play in a tough game put him where he prefers in the midfield. JET’s first start also saw him bare the burden of being our target player, though i honestly do not know where his best place is. that said, i really hope he cements a spot in the first team, he looks like he really loves arsenal.
i think denilson’s game won’t really come for a few years. i think he depends on being clever and tidy, and in the premiership you need many years of experience to compensate for lack of athleticism to be able to pull that game off (unless you’re cesc fabregas). i’m glad you’re not writing him off because i think one day we won’t be tearing our hair out when he plays.
i understand AW wanting to bring in an experienced winner, but silvestre was obviously poor judgement. i believe it should have been campbell the entire time; he a proper english back and he knows what it is like to win things with arsenal (and i stress with arsenal).
finally, i, like wenger, don’t believe we need new signings (sure it would be nice to get a babel or cole) and that the club’s solutions can be internal. i do, however, think we need to readjust who we’re depending on. i’m fine with losing 3-1 if the players we field are arsenal through and through.
Thanks for the comment mate.
I’m not sure what the “problem” with goalkeepers is, I believe it’s Arsene who keeps his faith in the players he has rather than go out there and get a new face which would mean relegating or even selling the ones he has.
Your last paragraph is exactly my thoughts, nothing more to add, really.
Whilst we were fairly poor throughout moving Eastmond to right back was a very bad decision in my opinion as we totally lost our shape in midfield after that and ended up with Denilson trying to cover back in the build-up for their second goal, not one of his strengths though I assume he must still be carrying some sort of injury given the ease with which Sidibe outpaced him despite the disadvantage of having to run with the ball. Better team won on the day, a game you want to move on from as quickly as possible.
A bouncy ball
It was a good match all the same the boys went out there and conceded against a towel we got one back they were all hyped up to win
The team and match needed to be cooled down and keeping the ball at all cost and frustrate our opponents but instead they did they closed us down and we didn’t know how to react Fabergas was out alone no diaby no song no nasri and no rocisky but there is a positive our young team had a tuff go they will surely remember this one well and so they should
Wednesday is going to be another hard encounter and so will the next 4 games today’s game has to be the game we simulate our wins from no space bad field and playing against football killers
We are a passing team but what do you do when you cant pass the ball ?
Football is a bouncy ball it will bounce against you
Reload with the arsenal we got a game coming so here we go again Arsenal
I can imagine that Arsene Wenger has a dart board in his den covered with cut out pictures of the officials who arrange and organize international friendlies. I can just see him sat there with a beer in one hand and fist full of darts in the other. The loss of van Persie has probably cost Arsenal the title because of it`s affect on other players performance such as Arshavin and Eduardo, and all because of a useless international friendly that proved nothing.
Come to think of it we don`t seem to have had an update on the patients in rehab. of late.
Is Walcott still in the recovery ward or did he grace us with his presence at Stoke? I can`t remember, maybe he`s out on loan, if not he should be. Someone else can pay his wages.
If ever there was a spoiled and pampered little boy he`s it.
walcott is a disgrace to wear the legendary No 14 Shirt …he must be pulled out of that ….give the legendary shirt to the player who scores atleast twenty goals per season…We lost it..But we never played well…it was the midfield and attackers to blame as they didnt even maintain the possesion for one min continously…they lost the ball frequently thus the pressure was passed on to the defenders…fabianski must be sold surely…If he becomes our no 1 we wil be relegated…
Sentiment must be blinding people to let Sol so easily of the hook, the guy was at some fault with each of our goals: he did not organize the box or/and taken Fuller in his run right behind him, as he should have for the first, he was ahead, miserably behind and eventually humiliatingly below Fuller for the second and he could not or did not close the angle fast enough on the impressive galloping Etherington for the third. that is not great. is it?
Wenger went for the jugular with the early (relative to himself ) triple substitution, but what is the point of that if the heartbeat and anchor blocking and restarting is void and null. Who is this Denilson really?, what is he actually good at? no speed, no engine, no tackle, no creativity, no cool, nada, the player without qualities whose uncanny talent is scoring occasional deflected goals, that is a bit too much of a luxury item..
Flamini was 23-4 when he gave us his good 2 seasons, Lass Diara was younger 23(!) last year when he already gave world class performances in Madrid. Maybe Denilson will become a world beater in a year or two ( do you really believe that?) and is not yet ready, after all according to Arsene he is turning a man (22) only just about now. But can and should Arsenla be farming these type player IN the 1st 11? I don’ t think so. that is insane policy, or good policy gone insane!
Sol Campbell is not the answer to Arsenal,s defence as he was shown up rather badly against Stoke ,too slow another ball watcher on par with Gallas and no clue Silvestre ,bring back Eboue ,and Song pronto from Africa.As for Walcott ,he is overpaid and not Arsenal material ,loan him out or sell him.
the back line was standing poorly.Gunners please compare sylivester and phil…,and compare who should quit.be sincere on your judgement.Remember that season of Arsenal reaching finnals of champions legue Mr.Sendoros and Campbell were in defence.If sendoros had played along side campbell we wouldent be beaten like that
Solution is very simple. buy 2-3 quality players and simply dump Theo Walcott (should have been an athlete), Denilson (worst Brazilian I have ever seen), all three goal-keepers (not fit for a club like Arsenal), Vela (over hyped but useless), Silvestre (no adjective can define his uselessness) and so on. But unfortunately, AW is a deaf person but one day he will be exposed. Arsenal has a global support base. AW can not play with millions of hungry supporters.
I completely disagree with your ratings on everybody except Sol Campbell, Mikael Silvestre, Theo Walcott & Craig Eastmond.
Denilson-1, He got the goal but he failed to make an illegal but important tackle, what annoyed me more was that when Sidibe was preparing to cross, Denilson moved away from him instead of closing him down, he is solely responsible for that 2nd goal or may be he can share with Traore who should have tried to closing Sidibe down down and instead preferred to “wait & see” what Sidibe wants to do
Fabianski- 1 On the first goal, he waited for the ball to land in his arms as if he was alone in the box- Everyone except Sorensen was in the box – Almunia as bad as he is should still be the first choice, he can’t concede a goal like that ever!!!!!!.
Vela- 6 He may have failed to make an impact upfront but don’t discount the number of clearances he made from dangerous areas in our box, he made quite a mumber, he also gave that perfect cross which Walcott should have met with his head for our second goal and he really put a few balls into the box.
Arshavin- 1 He may have come in too late but he had our best possible chance to score when it was 2-1, he hesitated then passed the ball to Vela who was in a worse position.
Emmanuel-Thomas 6- He was awful in the first minutes but he had a few excellent through balls to Walcott in particular who had no idea how to do with them, if Rosicky was in that game together with Emmanuel-Thomas, i don’t think we would have lost.
I hope that yesterday wasn’t another confirmation of trophyless season.
Was Aaron Ramsey “rushed” from injury? and Why?
The best notable thing?, Craig Eastmond, who had already passes the”silky” test also passed the “physical test”, I am happy about this as we may finally get rid of Denilson without looking too far. I fancy his chance against Aston Villa.
Aston Villa? ——- Get real, you didn’t think we will loose the next 2 games?, I don’t, but the 3rd game, we may have to “rush” RVP from injury as him & Walcott are the only ones who knows how to score against Chelsea, and Walcott doesn’t seem too eager to play leave alone score nowadays.
It was a tough game and the younger lads generally stood up well. Vela is frustrating, with so much talent and so little bottle. Walcott is going backwards. He seems totally lost and unable to cope mentally. Wenger gives him every chance, always picking him when he’s fit but he’s got to be falling behind in the pecking order. Great to see Sol back. He’s got presence. I’d have him over Silvestre all day long. If we’d had a target man up front I think we’d have won.If we are within three points of the top after the next four games the selection is justified.
i’ve been saying this 4 a while now we are better off with wilshere than walcott, walcott hasn’t added any thing to his football as a16yr old rather proud n has 4gotten how to read the game loan or sell him(i don’t care).
senderos is a much better player than silvestre i dont know why wenger chooses to give more games to him rather than a young talented defender in senderos
Senderos !!!! , sorry mate , i know its your opinion , but SENDEROS. He is absolutely terrifying to watch , and more to the point i think hes terrified when he plays too . Although he is the smash (slice) the ball out in a panic king haha .
p.s , he can head the ball , and hes lightning too lol
Senderos is a good player!!!!!!!!,
He was only prone to mistakes before, and then he was between 20-22, he is no longer 22.
All 22 year olds make mistakes.
I have to say , i dont think arsene wenger really wanted to win this one . Sol campbell made a very important point afterwards saying that you have to EARN THE RIGHT to win things . Arsenal have not earned that right for a while now and i feel we need to win the fa cup or carling cup to prove a point . It proves we are good enough to field a young team and try players out . But until we win something i feel we need to play AS MANY big players as we can ( i fully understand resting a few ). I never fealt confident and its a shame because its a big trophy . Now we once again are relying on two very tough trophys for any success this season . What happens if we dont win again this year , i know i for one would be saying i wish we played a full team to try and win a domestic trophy. So again its a real shame to be out , but i hope that this time Arsene gets it right by resting players , although if he doesnt i am prepeared for that sudden sinking feeling again going from two three trophys to nothing in a short space of time. sorry if ive depressed anyone , lol , it just really winds me up,
Nasri , Arshavin , Eduardo , Fabregas, Rosicky ,Vermaelen , Gallas you boys will win us something , especially if Eduardo will start banging them in again , lets pray bendtner does a good job too , because i for one cant see a new face coming in this month , but what do i know ? lol
Yes man, i really hope we earn that right soon. At least now we have a few world class players in Fabregas, Arshavin, Gallas, Vermaelen, Rosicky & Compbell.
Injuries aside, there is no more excuses as our squad as as good as any at the top.
any one with the statstics of the game ???
personaly if we keep the squad together for next year i am sure we will be in a stroger position as these outings provids us with great traning and insight after all this seson is marked heavily with enjury and we havent produced any new force we got some young ones in that will spice up our reserve and from the reserve we got estmond and marieda ramsy and wilsher how bad really vanpersie will be back dojorou and the rest so all in all we are not doing that bad to win this seson we need to signe in but the next they will be seating on the bench and some will get disatisfied and will break ranks the most important objective is keeping our team united and strong we are building Arsenal to be strong for many years to come here is to you Mr wenger