Arsenal and all their “new” players
This article is written based on the judgement of the team in pre-season so far and how new signings have performed.
The Gunners have been very good during the summer, unbeaten so far and moving the ball sharply, creating some decent openings. Carlos Vela’s goal yesterday was the pick of the bunch.
With a summer of transfer talks rumbling on about Cesc and the infinite amount of players linked with the club, the only worry for me has been the defence. In attack, Arsenal look good and have a great new forward in Marouane Chamakh.
The Moroccan demonstrated he can hold the ball well and can be a threat in the air. He had good composure when slotting his first goal from the penalty spot. But he will have to fight as for me, Bendtner is ahead of him.
Sol Campbell looks set to leave Arsenal for Newcastle, this leaves Arsenal one body short at the back. Koscielny has been a brilliant acquisition. He is strong and fast but his real test will come against AC Milan this Saturday. Djourou has been awesome so far, in the right place at the right time but his fitness worries me. Yesterday he went off injured, let’s hope it is not a serious one as Arsene Wenger confirmed.
The goalkeeper situation needs to be fixed quickly. If Arsene wants a new number one then a new keeper should be brought soon. But Mannone once again demonstrated how good he is. I like the kid. He had a mind-blowing game against Fulham last year.
However, the most impressive signings of the season are the return of Jack Wilshere and the integration of Emmanuel Frimpong and Emmanuel-Thomas to the first team.
Wilshere needs to stay.
He was for me the best performer in the first half. He played centrally and controlled the midfield. His touches are world class and he is always aware of what is around him. His dribbling ability has improved and he is ready to be a regular for the club.
Frimpong is an animal. He does his job with a hint of fearlessness about him. He is very strong and is not scared to get stuck in.
Emmanuel-Thomas, well reminds you of anyone? For me he is the replacement for Adebayor. A strong striker who scores great goals and will use his power effectively.
With these players looking ready for first team, Denilson, Vela and Walcott need to step up. Walcott did not have the best of games even though he scored. I really worry for him. He needs to find the confidence to make him ruthless again like his Southampton days.
Carlos Vela must take his chances or risk leaving the club just like Eduardo did. It was sad for Ed to leave the club, but his injury has affected him. He needs to play football and Arsenal have lots of good forwards at the moment. He was never going to become a first choice striker. Arsenal need a decent number nine!
With all that said, Arsenal’s real test is the Emirates Cup. After Saturday and Sunday, we will know how ready this team is to challenge for the title.
![[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)
Djourou is out again and like I said before, Arsene has left us in a bad position. He refused to honor his word about completing transfers before the world cup and now we have only 2 center halves to start the season. We don’t have the time for a new center half to work his way in and get an understanding with Vermaelen. Here we go again starting out with a handicap before the season even gets underway. I am disappointed and disgusted with this situation.
Oh and “Sick note” Rosicky is injured again too.
both rosicky and djourou will be back for the weekend and Wenger will sign a centre back now he knows that sol will be moving on.
You’re right though in that Arsene shouldn’t make promises like that when he clearly had no intention of keeping them.
its not even about intention – he may well have intended to keep the promise (‘may’!); either way, he sets himself up for a fall with comments like this, even if he DOES intened to make signings, coming out and saying so does not help with negotiations.
Wenger never said he would have all his signings done before the world cup, its a misconception that some fools keep repeating as if its fact. Try if you will to find one actual quote from Wenger saying he would make all his signings before the world cup, he said he would defenatily make one, which he did Chamakh, then he said he would certainly sign one before end of world cup, again he did in Koscielny. The mistake some are making re his supposed quote is ignoring the word Ideally as what he said was ideally it is best to make all signings as early as possible, before the world cup if possible as prices rise as does competition for players. Don’t blame Wenger if some blog or other don’t report his words accuratly.
A centreback was needed BEFORE Campbell left.So now we need two.Can you honestly see that liar Wenger signing TWO ? The way he’s been talking in recent days, it sounds like he’s going to keep faith with the players he’s got.And we know from experience what that means.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Hunter, I feel your pain, but although we wanted to do our business before the world cup, in reality most clubs sell at the end of the window in the hope of gaining that little bit more cash. Its not ideal for us, but its just the way it is.
I think I could let it slide if he had wrapped it up after the cup but before pre-season. Here we are again missing a goalkeeper, 2 center halves and a back up for Song. This is squarely on Arsenes shoulders. Now we are scrambling to find replacements at the last minute and they will get little time to try and gel with the squad. Kolscielny is not the answer to partner Vermy. He is too light weight at the moment, has never played in the prem and appears to be a bit jittery at times. He will need a season to bulk up and prepare for the rough and tumble of the premier league. It’s almost like Arsene has something against established players at this point. We could have gotten Mertesacker for the exact same price we paid for a kid who has no track record whatsoever besides 1 year in the Ligue 1. How have we not brought in a new goalkeeper? Glaring weakness but we refuse to address it.
Right now we have Djourou, Rosicky, Bendner, Denilson all out and the season hasn’t even started yet. You know we will be adding RVP and Carlos Vela to that list since it seems they can only manage about 2 months before they have a physical breakdown of some sort. Definition of insanity: Repeating the same cycle or pattern over and over and expecting a different outcome.
maybe it’s time to clarify a few things. Arsenal IS trying to sign a new CD and a new GK. A lot of fans are showing naive and immature worries over the state of the team defensively. also there are some inordinate fears over the build and height of koscielny. hey. don’t we ever get tired of negativity? how many were so confident over TV5 at this time last year? and we know how that turned out…
some said 4DF’s are out and just one came in, but to correct all that, gallas, sly, and big sol left that makes three. if we are countin senderos, He had already been replaced by sol in January, when he was sent on loan at everton. those who came in are kos6 and nordveit. so that’s 3 out, 2 in, and dare i say one to come (from Germany). i know that some will have concerns over nordtveit, but when he first came in 2007, we all said he’s better than senderos. two season in europe could only have made him a better player. thus he’s definitely a step up in class from sly.
I seem to recall that Wenger said that we would sign a player before the WC, which we did in Chamakh, and then sign a player before the conclusion of the WC, which we did in Kos. I don’t remember him stating that he would definitely have his transfer business concluded before the end of the WC. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’d be interested to read an article from an official source that states this.
And why would you want to limit yourself by having all transactions completed before the end of the WCUP anyway.
He has covered the most pressing needs in adding cover to the attack and placing Vermaelen’s main partner for the season in place.
With the WCup over, he’ll have to keep track of how other clubs are spending. This may obviously impact who-else we could get for a lower price.
A keeper is a must and CB for cover. Another DM is an option.
I don’t see why we won’t get at least 2 more signings before mid August.
With Bendtner injured Jet and vela will probably get more of a chance. A ‘new signing’ you missed is Havard Nordveit who has impressed me this pre season although I don’t think too much should be read into with regards to the games we have played so far. Our leaky defence hasn’t conceded a goal and none of the keepers have made a mistake yet! Things will change when the season starts. Some players will get better with time but some who cope well against the poor teams we’ve played so far will struggle against better sides. As you say, the emirates cup will be more interesting.
db10,
I want to believe and do hope you are right in your assessment of the strength of Arsenal this new season! The first game away at Anfield is going to be a real tester!
what are you talking about bendtner is better than nobody he is the worst player AFC have ever had
youve clearly never heard of gus ceaser, amaury bischoff, stefan malz, igors stepanovs, pascal cygan, antonio mendez parreira, fabian caballerao or kaba diawara.
to name but a few!
Bendtner might not be the best, but if you think he’s the worst, you clearly haven’t been an arsenal fan for very long
Why would you mention amaury bischoff in that list? He barely had any chances and played really well whenever he did.
Bischoff just became an obstacle for Jack Wilshere to deal with.
Well, bischoff was better than wilshere when he was here. Obviously that’s because jack was still young, but I dont think he really ever “deal[t]” with him.
Bischoff was just surplus to requirements I suppose, but I thought he looked good enough to be challenging for a place in the 1st team. He looked a hell of a lot better than theo has, anyway.
Mate one word…. Jeffers.
Enough said.
Shedzy,
you are quite right. Bendtner is ok but will get better when he gets sharper and of course …talk up himself less!
Cygan actually had his good moments. In my opinion he was a big time upgrade from Senderos.
I don’t think he’s the worst player we ever had. There are plenty of other candidates for that honour. However, he wastes a lot of chances. Perhaps he needs a partner that will slot home the balls he knocks down. Wilshere playing just behind him maybe?
That’s harsh on Nick.
And I agree with Hasmat, Marouane is yet to show he’s a better player though he has to show it fast considering Nick and Robin – based on what Wenger said today – will probably not be available for the Liverpool game.
Likely won’t happen, strikers take a while to adapt, like for RvP when he was moved up front or even Thierry Henry (8 games without a goal before his first one).
As usual we’ll rely on the threat coming from everyone at Anfield.
Ever heard of Glen Helder?
i’d completely forgotten about him, but yeah.. he’s easily top of the list of the worst players!
@sam01. that’s a silly comment
An interesting fact about Bendtner – He was top scorer in England of any player 21 or under last season. He is still young. Where was Henry when he was 21? Give the guy a chance. He has scored lots of goals at youth level at reserve level and given time he will score lots of goals at senior level. Players don’t often do really well when they are growing up and then forget how to play when they get into the first team. By the way I didn’t once say he was good (even though I think he will come good) I just said he was injured.
9ice article,I don’t like wat u said about ed.we all know he his a gud striker,if not 4 dat gud 4 notin taylor.respect d guy pls.ALAYO jnr.
Can you translate this nonsense?
“Nice article.
I don’t like what you said on Ed(uardo) as we all know he is a good striker. If only it wasn’t for that good-for-nothing Taylor … so please respect the guy”.
oh..ho.. here comes d translator.. i never knew this option. still cant understand what he said.
Strange, even I didn’t know we had this option.
In fact we don’t
LOOOOOL
Per Mertesacker was one of the best defenders at the World Cup. He is said to be available for about £10m. Why, if reports are true, does AW persist in upping his offers for Jagielka (£15m, we’re told) who is not in the same class as Mertesacker. He could have bought the German 2 weeks ago, which would have enabled him to bed in with the team. Instead, we’re going through the usual thing of waiting until the 11th hour on deadline day in order to save a fiver. The same applies to GKs. So many to choose from yet AW insists in trying to get Schwartzer who is 37! He wouldn’t keep our last German GK at that age, even though he went on to represent Germany for a couple more years.
Frustration isn’t the F word I’m thinking of.
Because Jagielka has proven himself in the premier league and would be up to par from day 1. I’m sure Mertesacker is very good in the Bundesliga but it’s a totally different style of football where most goals come from long range shots. If we get him it will take quite a while for him to adapt if he can which is a big if for a guy who’s not much faster than Senderos.
And yes there are plenty of reasons to be proud that the club is well-managed and negotiates hard with agents and players. We buy 2-3 players/season and save 5-10 millions a season on transfer money and wages. That’s the salaries of AW and Cesc combined. Well worth it.
As for the GK, everyone who knows better (AW & staff, David Seamann, Cesc…) all believe that Fab and Woj have what it takes to be top-drawer. That’s why there’s a lot of thinking around what is the best solution at the moment.
Jagielka has proven him self as slightly above average in the PL, but he hasnt been outstanding. Heitinga is a far superior defender, for example.
The Bundesliga is not That different in style to the PL. They are a bit more technical and a bit less energetic, but are still quite physical. And mertesacker is 6 ft 3. Im sure hed be fine in this league. Winning headers is usually half the battle.
I dont think mertesacker is world class, but hes better than jagielka, and reportedly cheaper… It’s a no-brainer! Unless there are other options?
even if per had been signed two weeks ago he would not join up till august 5th, under FIFA rules he is entitled to 3 weeks off after world cup and he was involved till second last day of the WC as he was in 3/4 place play off.
Anyway Per M shone in a deep lying defense with Germany, Arsenal play a high line defense, a big worry would be his speed, he is not any faster than Senderous was, and the high line we play did for him
As for Jag he is only five ten, if we sign him it will be for DM, which is his original position for all those years with Sheffield utd, could we really afford to have a five ten players alongside TV5 if we want to improve our defending at corners and set plays
Good point about mertesacker actually. It’s tough to find a defender who is both quick and very tall, though, and we seem to need the height more than the pace at the back atm. Makes you appreciate how important Sol Campbell really was for us.
I dont think we’d sign jagielka for DM, despite his height. Hes just not arsenal material as a midfielder. My impression was that wenger wanted him because hes english, and I thought there was some new rule about having a certain number of home grown players in your 25 because I remember him saying something to the press about how the new rules are terrible – but I dont know if we need another over-21 home grown player. Originally I thought not..
We don’t need the pace. We need a big, tall guy who can take care of headers, etc with good feet who can defend well. We have Vermy, Clichy and Sagna with wheels to cover for his lack of speed.
completely disagree, in the arsenal Back line pace is everything, look at how gallas toure and campbell survived , think of there last ditched tackles, the maurading uns forwards and then get back in to postion in a timely fashion.
Bare in mind that arsenal play attacking football leaving us prone to swift counter attacks. Mersecker is painfully slow… he might seem good for germany, but I just dont think he fights into the squad!
Sol is nowhere near as quick as he used to be and he had no issues last season. Per isn’t the ideal (I think Diakate would be perfect) but he is still better than nothing. It’s sad that we are even having this discussion because our manager continues to fail to address our weaknesses.
Jagielka is quite small. I thought Wenger was picking him up to play in midfield as an alternate enforcer for Song come CB back up.
Mertesecker is slow but his positioning has been decent (at least from the WCup) + he adds height which we need to deal with those set pieces.
What is with these second rate players? Jagielka? Schwarzer? Is this Arsenal or West Ham? Jagielks is way over rated and they want over 15 million for him. Let’s see……..Jagielka who has done sod all and been injured for most of the last 2 seasons or someone like Diakate or Mertesaker for less money who has won things in his current side or shown they can do it on the world stage. I’m really hoping this is just a rumour. I don’t want to see any of the following with an Arsenal shirt ever (or ever again):
Jagielka, Schwarzer, Melo, Giovinco (we have enough soft bellied midgets in this side), Denilson, Almunia, Fabianski, Diaby (I’m almost as done with him as I am with Wenger), Gallas, Sylvestre, (Ferguson knew exactly what he was doing when he let him go).
None of them are good enough to play for us. If we are supposed to be a big club we need to act like one. We need players who are good with good experience, not bargain basement garbage that someone else threw out. If your players wouldn’t get a run in another of the top sides then they are simply not good enough.
Now we’re left with the same team as last year’s except for a weaker defense. Is anyone disappointed that Fabregas didn’t leave the club? The boy’s a wonderkid, but his departure and the money influx that follows would have really allowed for a major overhaul of the roster.
Arsene would have said we have “internal solutions” and not spent the money. We would have ended up with a weaker squad and the same old promises.
still the squad with same persisting problems.. shaky defence.. wobbling goalie.. midfield problems..no backup for cdm.. we will struggle certainly..
i dont know why arsene wenger hesitates to buy a cb albeit he clearly knows he needs a player or two in that position badly.. god knows what he thinks.. holy god save arsenal from the blushes of disappointment this season.
Clearly he doesn’t know since he seems to think we can go into the season with a weaker squad than we had last year.
So you would prefer our best player to leave so your big ego can be satisfied?
Wenger and the whole Arsenal staff are penny pinchers. This is why we have lost Gallas and Campbell and I have a sinking feeling that it’s going to lead us to a terrible first half of the season despite us having one of the best midfield/forward lines in AFC history. All we need to do is throw some money around, get the “QUALITY” center backs needed (Mertesacker) and another experienced CB since we have Djourou and Kos for the future. I’m not going to lie, even if we pick up Marchetti, I don’t believe he’s any better than Mannone. Wenger can put all the necessary pieces into place this summer for us to bring some silverware in, all its going to cost is 2 CB’s and a decent keeper (other than Marchetti).
oh for gods sake, the italian number 1 is no better than mannone. get real. have you forgotten how many mistakes he made after the freak show at fulham
@usa gooner..
im feeling d same .. throw some money.. get some fishes that clears our starvation.
We got rid of the deadwood and Arsenal is a well-managed club. Perhaps if you had a broader interest in football and spent some time on the Mancs, Pool and CSKA boards you’ll have a little more respect for the way the club is managed.
There are question marks on how Mertsesaker would fit in the premier league. If he was another TV we would have signed him already.
There are other solutions, he was just an example. Diakate comes to mind as option number 1.
Here is my Review
Laurent Koscielny – Once i heard about this guy i said “Who in the blue hell is he” but ive looked into him and it shows that he is a very strong and physical and is also capable of scoring which would be a great Gallas replacement.
Marouane Chamakh – Not so great with his feat but amzing with his head and he fits well with the Arsenal game as you have Gael clichy and Wallcot, Eboue, Sagna who ever it is will cross the ball in dozens of times in one game and thats one thing Arsenal havent managed to do alot last season is finish it with there head. Dont get me wrong about his feet hes can score goals with them but hes but i wouldnt compare him better then Robin Van Persie feetwise but with his head his his very strong point.
Youngsters to look out for Next Season
Kieren Gibbs – He is no stranger to the first team and made a huge impact last season just before he got injured. Can anyone remember back in 2008 when Ronaldo got OWNED?
Craig Eastmond – Arsene Wenger loves his intelligence of the game and has started in 1 or 2 Premier league games and i believe he will feature more this season.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas – This young lad has shown hes worthy of scoring goals, hes had a great pre-seaon and has still got the Emirates cup to show aswell. Arsenal are low on strikers with the sale od Eduardo so he could feature alot this season. He has been dubbed has the next Adebayor, but lets hope he has a happy ending.
Jack Willshire – as long as he does not go out on loan this season, and after having quite a great pre-season i can see him feature more then any of seaon this season. He is going to be a Quality player.
Håvard Nordtveit – This player impressed me the most this pre-season. he had a good spell in the bundesliga last season, im glad we beat Man United to this lad becasue he can be a big player for us, at 20 years old the prime of his career he is just readdy for the first team.
now perhapps only 1 or 2 of these players excluding (Gibbs and Wilshire) who are allready first teamers maybe given first team numbers but i expect all of them to play apart in this season.
I expect Wenger to bring in 1 more center back, and 1 keeper. Believe in Wenger
Suspected outs
Jay Simpson – Socred aginst Barnet, but Wenger doesnt seem impressed not taking him to Ausria and he now like 21 or 22 as i belive which is starting to make him and Arsenal reject because most of arsenal players break into the team abit youngger then that. he has the Emirates cup this weekend to prove himself and if he doesnt do well i can see him being offloaded before the end of the window
Almunia? – Deppending if Wenger decides to buy another keeper, but letting in 41 goals is pritty huge i know it wasnt all his fault, id rather see Fabinanski go.
Please if you have anything else to add or disagree or agree let me hear what you think, i love feedback.
41 goals is not entirely on the keeper.
Plus be careful what you wish for.
Even if we buy a top keeper, we’d need an experience back up plus the best of the 3 junior keepers.
If Al leaves, we’re stuck finding another keeper which may ‘distract’ Wenger from fulfilling other pressing needs.
I did state that it wasnt entirely the keeper’s fault.
There have been alot of rumours about Per Mertsacker, 25 years old at the prime of his career and very expierenced. I hope he is the iceing on the cake for us, Hes top of Wenger’s list, apparently.
Sign Steklenberg and either Mertasacker or Tasci (both better than Jagiekla or Cahill). Keep Wilshire in the first team as he’ll play Ramsey’s minutes. JET should be loaned out to get PL experience. Carling Cup and reserves for Nordveit. Gibbs/Clichy and Sagna/Eboue need more rotation this year to keep the defense fresh. They were all tired at the end of last season, though injuries really didn’t help.
I agree with the comments that Mertesacker would be a fantastic purchase. He has great defensive ability, good in the air and also vital experience which is what The Arsenal need. AW needs to off load Almunia eeven if it means letting him go on a free so that he can bring in a new keeper. Green or Hart would be awsome additions.
As for Bendtner, I think he is a great squad player. Good in the air, good skill, a nice touch and even though he does not score many goals he has scored some important ones. Arsenal do not have a prolific striker. We will fall short again this season in league due to AW lack of purchases in the right areas. AW should concentrate on the Cups!!
you must never have seen Green play apart from MOTD highlights, he is woeful, had an awful season for WHU and made howlers that would even embarass our keepers. And as stated earlier about PM, he shone in a deep lying defense and is slow, Arsenal play a high line that requires the defenders to be quick, if we sign him then we have to change the whole style of defense we play
you must not forget this: mertesacker’s greatest ability is his positioning and timing, plus germany played a high defence line in some matches in the world cup, yet ’sacker impressed. he also always manages to be the first to ball in the 18. and he rarely foul or collect cards. infact, he’s beginning to sound so much like tv5’s profile last season
I actually think Mertesacker is a quite average player who would struggle immensely in the PL. He lacks pace and isnt very strong. His entire game is based on timing, not power. But he seems to be the flavour of the moment. I always wonder why, if he is as good as everyone says and would cost only 10million, isnt EVERY SINGLE BIG CLUB IN EUROPE after the guy right now? Is something wrong in this picture?
I think it far more likely that AW will try to find someone cheaply or on loan in exactly the same way he got Sol last season. He signed Kos to play and wants Djourou to step up as well, so he isnt in the market for a No.1 defender, only a squad player. You dont spend more than 2-3million for a guy who you do not intend to play every game.
I actually would be quite happy if Nordtveit and Bratley were given their chance and Song was kept as emergency cover with the emergence of Frimpong and Eastmond as cover for Song. That sounds reasonable to me.
Havard impressed many during pre-season but I believe we need experience in the side rather than accelerate the maturity process of the young ones. I would also love to see Arsenal get back to winning terms thanks to the likes of Frimpong and co. but it’s also true the pressure is huge, especially this season.
There was even more pressure 2 years ago when Flamini, Hleb, Gilberto and Diarra left.
Like it or not the clubs philosophy is all about promoting youth which is what is going to happen again this year. All the big clubs are switching gears now that loans are sparse and are trying to copy us but they are years behind and have mountains of debt to service.
Liverpool have no left back and soon no DM, Chelski and United have many ageaing players and both are looking to youngsters to step up. We’re used to it but their fans are despairing they’re not breaking the bank anymore.
Yes, the club’s philosophy is indeed all about promoting youth, which unfortunately has been a failure for the last two years.
This is why it’s time to stand up and like Martin Keown said admit experience is needed and hence bring it in the side.
Where is the standing ovation button when you need it?! I have been saying this for ages as well!
Rome was not built in one day. We finally have the academy youngsters hatching, there’s no chance we’re going to buy whoever would hinder their integration in the team.
And we do have experience now, it’s not like the players are 20 anymore.
Rome was not built in one day, true, but I’m more than sure had they realised certain stones were not solid enough to build a city on, they would have replaced them.
Denilson is 22.
Diaby is 24.
Nothing personal against these two, especially the latter but can you in an honest way say that you are happy with their development? We play 60 games in a season, Denilson does well in – how many? – 7 of them. And Diaby in maybe 10-12.
Is that enough?
I am a big fan of the youth project, watching the likes of Alex Song, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey develop is fantastic but you need to balance things out, waiting forever for a player to become top class when all signs are showing he will never be one is not the way forward.
Can you honestly say that all the signs are showing that Diaby is not going to be top class.. if you are then I fon’t knwo watch matches you saw last season because he had plenty of commanding games!
Besides Denilson ( who I think is a very decent squad player) who are suggesting in the arsenal first team will never develop. Start of a whole spat of people said Song was crap and he came good, very good (even if he was up at 2 am talking to my dutch friend the night before a game, ).
What we are doing is working, the team is improving and maturing as a whole. I really just want to know who these bricks in the arsenal squad that are not worthy of bulding a city on!!
Diaby is no longer a kid, he’s 24 and has been in the Arsenal squad for ages. He does well for a month or two and then goes back to square one.
What’s so top class about that? I love Diaby, he’s one of my favourite players but he’s too inconsistent and nothing showed last year that this will change.
If he was consistent he would definitively be top drawer. He’s 24 but with almost 2 seasons on the sidelines.
We’ll know more this season if he can have a good run of games.
Things are not static, all these players are works in progress at these ages. Remember how Song was deemed hopeless when the season started, Denilson is now at the age when Song hatched and given that he is better technically (probably our most technical player) while having a great positionning sense, great things are expected from him if he can avoid the injuries that plagues him last season. Diaby needs to add consistency, a quality that comes with age and experience. If they can avoid injuries both should have a better season, like all our other young players. Nasri is also reaching the same age range and he already looks on fire, twice the player he was last season after his leg break. He will certainly score more than 5 goals this season.
Some people keep saying we have the same team but we don’t because we have so many young players. Look at how we’ve progressed in 2 seasons and imagine where we can be this season with a similar progress bump. With very little if any transfer activity (except Citeh who keep buying players of the same caliber), we are going to be the most improved team while the others stagnate.
And finally we start to have alll these promising youngsters which we nurtured since we were kids. With Jack, Rambo, Eastmond, Nordveit and co we have decent backup and very soon good competition for the first-teamers.
One performing CB left to buy and we’ll be in very good shape. With 8-9 teams going for a CL spot it will be a very tough title fight with highs and lows for every team but we’re certainly not far from pole position this time around.
That is the problem my friend, we’ve been in “work in progress” mode for two years and going into a third one.
It would be nice if we get to know when the “work complete” status will be achieved. Based on what Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis told the media, it was supposed to be last year.
You talk of Eastmond and Nordveit, but how can we be sure they will blossom into top players the way we want them to?
Frimpong has been a beast in pre-season, but can he be such a beast against the likes of Chelsea, of Manchester United or even Bolton? Notice how when you talk of young players you’re always assuming, always talking of what the future “could” (not will) be like.
It’s different with experienced, accomplished players. Johan Djourou can be a super defender some say. That’s an assumption. But saying Samuel and Lucio are super defenders is a fact, just see how they took care of Drogba and Messi in last year’s Champions League.
This is what I want.
I don’t care about the trophies but I care about certainties and the scenario of having a balanced squad made up of the youth project we so much love but with the help of experienced pieces.
Well this is where the problem lies with the youth project. The board and Arsene are too stubborn to admit that it’s bordering on being a complete failure. We risk not being able to attract top talent because we are not winning anything. No top team goes 5 years without winning anything. We had a chance last year in the FA cup to do something but Arsene chose to let that go too. Do you see Chelsea or United throwing away trophies? They go for everything they can as should we. We seem to have a bit of a loser mentality these days being satisfied with qualifying for the champions league. In my opinion the is complete garbage. Only a total loser is satisfied with coming in third. These young players don’t have a winning mentality because the top don’t have one either. It filters down. What we are missing most is David Dein. There is no way he would have stood for this.
David Dein will rot in hell for bringing in the shadiest slimiest oligarch he could find into our beautiful club.
The only failure I see is you not understanding anything of what is being done at Arsenal.
You would prefer certainties but the beauty of football is that there cannot be any. Will a given young player develop in a world-class player? Sometimes they blossom early (Messi at 20) and sometimes late (Zidane at 25+). I simply look at them on their best day and try to imagine how good they would be if they played consistently like that.
I think Frimpong will be loaned away which is the right thing to do considering his age. But certainly some of Wilshere, Vela, Walcott, Eastmond will progress and like Rambo last season, will be able to have an impact in league and cup games.
Defenders look much better when the entire team seats back, playing a mix of catenaccio and counter-attack so even if I understand what you mean, I’m not so sure the examples are well chosen (leaving apart the fact they’re both 32 no one with an eye on the ROI would by them today for the amount of money Inter would want).
Matt – Your comments on youth could have come direct from the mouth of Wenger himself. This is the same line he’s fed us for the last few seasons now, and people like you continue to fall for it every time.
The way this pre season is shaping up, it looks like Wenger is going to back his youngsters yet again.What happened to the EXPERIENCED “Top, Top quality” players ( his own words ) we were promised would be signed to strengthen the team ? Repeat ; EXPERIENCED, and” top top quality”. Now Campbell has gone, we will need two more c.b.’s. Do you honestly see Wenger getting TWO more defenders ? Then there’s the goalkeeper and defensive midfielder that everyone but Wenger it seems, can see we desperately need. Again – EXPERIENCED and top top quality required.
I admire your optimism, but I’m afraid it’s blind optimism.
“In Arsene we rust”.
@ Matt – No matter what he did after he left when he was hear we were winning things. I understand exactly what we are doing at Arsenal……Most of us call it going backwards.
I’m with you. The Bundesliga is a very different league with most goals scored from long-range. Mertesacker may be good here (not too good or he would play for Bayern already) but whether he can adapt to the premier league is another story.
There is a lot of belt tightening going on everywhere and with Citeh keeping prices inflated it’s going to be a very quiet transfer season.
city are not after any CB for that matter and that should not inflate there prices nor should it for GKs…we have the money dont we…the kid who plays in the park knows that as well..but we dont buy..only burgain buys..as if off season sale holics!!! y??????
Y? Cos it be dumb to pay more than what we have to.
cause they are well stacked up.. Shay Given and Joe Hart..they have one of the best pair of short stoppers in the league..
cause they have not been rumoured to be linked with any CB as such..from cithey its like they consider buying someone only after they get linked with the fellow in the papers..cant we get any of the list of not so expensive buys?? Sardar Tasci, Per Mat and God knows y is not wenger considering making an approach for cahill..he would do it for me…seriously..!!
All this bollox about a 37 yr old keeper, and no need to buy because of youth ect is doing my head in!!! We shouldnt be promoting youth to save money ect. Anyone value competion for places? Maybe players would up their game knowing they have to displace another, but we seem to say oh fab/mannone we will buy a oldie so just wait your turn!! Denilson, walcott, and so on must think oh f it whos goona replace me?
Actually quite a bit of competition for denilsons place…. Theo… o ye of little faith, he has a massive future mate!!
The best signing we could make will be some on the cheap. A defensive coach.
I think alot of people underrate Nicky Bendtner. True his finishing needs to improve, but he has scored vital goals to pull us out of the fire on many occasions. He is the only player on our squad who will knock people down and put the ball in the net. Most importantly, HE’S 22 YRS OLD!!!! Don’t forget that. He is a big, physical player and god knows we need more players like him. He is only going to get better. Mark my words.
2 yrs back some one said that ‘dont forget he is just 20!’ lsat yr it was ‘dont forget he is jsut 21!’ and now he has grown older by a yr quite naturally..where is the marked improvement?? the thing is here at a big club like ARsenal we want talents like wilshare who would make it at a big club big time..the likes of Nic as it is now would definitely make it but may be not at a big club like Arsenal…or he might..and i hope he does…but he for one needs to get out of the JOhnny Bravo attitude of his!! confidence and arrogance are not quite similar…are they!! and he is injury prone as well..just like most of the rest at our club..even b4 we kick a ball into the new season, we are counting injuries!! god knows y!!!
gogunner – these comments should really be aimed at theo walcott because with no injuries in the squad, bendtner doesnt start matches for arsenal; however Im not confident I can say the same for theo. At best he would be rotated at right wing, but really he should be behind vela and wilshere. Those two have shown their quality on a far more consistent basis than walcott, yet for some reason the manager choses to stick with him time after time!
Theo has been FAR worse than nicklas
By the way, dont be fooled into thinking nicklas is some arrogant kid who doesnt work hard. Thats one of the reasons hes managed to come so far and why hes so liked by the management – he recognises that he needs to work hard to do well. Maybe theo is the same in that regard, but he has shown no consistency whatsoever in league matches, unlike bendtner, who is not brilliantly consistent but does at least manage to put in a decent performance on most occasions. The time has come (actually it came quite a while ago) to drop walcott and give someone else a chance.
i somehow feel that vela has failed to live up to his promise. y is it that i think he is a soft player evarytime i look at him!! true wenger gave him shit no chance last yr and i had seriously hoped that he would have loaned vela to may be a club like fulham whre he would ahve played day in day out and also learnt from some one lik Roy Hud..theo…well i dont know!! the great english hope!! time is moving fast and he needs to do more of the stuff that he showcases in the new nike add in real life..its about time he gets kicking..or should i say long time due!!!
nikky…well may be not arrogant but surely snobbish..what with his comments of claming that he is on way to becoming the best scandinavian striker..n thinking he is better than the swede barca twart..the change of numebrs the pink boots..he has got an attitude for sure but that would have looked better with more consistent performences on the field as well!!
Completely agree with you. He doesnt ‘hide’ on the big occasions either.
abd what makes you feel that Kos has been a brilliant capture? been hardly tested in the matches he has played and looks to be missing quite a few pounds of body weight to me..not counting him out but just saying that he has not yet done wonders and should not be playing first team for a giant club like arsenal where each point and each error counts. only one season in top flight french football..adding to that, why has dejorou been brilliant?? against strum he was caught out of position quite a few times and of what i can recollect, he missed passed as well..seriously lacking match fitness and confidence..would you put him in the back against pool and then hope that he suddenly gets devine intervention that he has actually not been out of the game at all..how many niggling injuries did rosicky and eduardo pick up through the course of last season? very natural and bound to happen when you come back from such a long lay off..so what does that leaves us with? only vermealen at the back..dont count noidveth yet..he needs to be groomed and mostly by playing more at right back and then with time slowely into the CB position. needs to bulk up as well..both him n Kos would look like ants up aginst the likes of drogba..
only wenger knows what he is up to and what is the most frustrating is he cares a damn for the fans and there anxiety. assure them with a word that i am in the maket for a CB and will definitely get one b4 kickoff at anfield..which of our last few signings has been guarded from the media as wenger hopes for? we all knew tht chamack would joina nd that wenger was after Kos and nasri and arshavin..on that same trend i just hope that he ties up Per Matasacker soon as possible..we would need his exp, height and composure in our defence..just keeping fingers crossed that Verminator keeps fit through out the season…touch wood!!
Oh yes, we’ve looked ‘awesome’ against a few totally crap teams.
If Wenger doesn’t sign any new centre backs and a top goalkeeper before we meet Liverpool in two weeks time that’s our season finished right from the start. What a predictable yawn this Club has become under this eccentric French manager with no balls or ambition in the market-place whatsoever. No top players want to come to Arsenal anymore anyway, so why bother trying. Borrrriiinnnggg.
The only boring part is people like you spouting the same crap over and over again without ever getting behind the team.
The days of endless spending everywhere are over. Citeh is the last exception.
Buying 2 players to plug glaring weaknesses is not endless spending. We could plug our holes for less than 20 million but we still refuse. We sold Ade and Kolo for over 40 million and nothing to show for it.
and we have picked chamak for free keeping in mind that his pay cheque would be anything but more than the now departed Eddie who went for around what 6-7m? so we have 6 atleast in th bag. add to that the fact that now we dont have gallas on our payroll..one of the top earners and has replaced him with Kos who would be getting in my estimation 1/3 of what gallas did..plus we have offloaded Sol, Sanderos and Silvestre which would mean that even if we add all of there pay cheques then we should be having enough to pay for a big CB who would make us sleep in peace.
so what does this mean? we have spent only 1.5m in the market this yr and we have reduced our payroll substantially!! not to mention the money we had from selling Ade and Kolo.
one more Q…y was Kolo sold when wenger knew that Gallas only had a yr to run on his contract. y not sell him and keep Kolo in the team..he was well Arsenal through and through!! and we could have had his bro from barca as well..
@Matt – what makes you feel that we are not behind the team?? or is it that you think turning a blind eye at something that is wrong is the way to move forward??
WENGER BUY US MERTESACKER AND I WILL BE FINE. DJOUROU HAS SHOWN THAT INJURY COULD COME SO SOON. BUY MERTSESCAKER AND THATS I WILL BE OK
Why does he not pick up micha richards would be cheap he is quick and strong sure aw could re ignite his career.
It is important to run the club prudently, however, the club cannot blossom without winning trophies and keeping the fans relatively happy. Another year of carelessness and miserliness would not help the spirit of the supporters. If Arsenal have no money the fans would understand but when the money is available to clinch trophy and no one seemed to care then that would amount to taking the supporters for granted. I have in the last few years tried to explain to my buddies that we needed to be economical because of the Emirate project but now we are beginning to make huge profits from gate fees, property development, player sale then the money has got to be spent. Can’t just wait for players that would be availabe for free in the next two years. Thats just being silly and inconsiderate. Arsenal need to spend only 20 million pounds to win a decent trophy this season and that money is available. The question that begs for an answer is, why can’t we spend this money and win something?
Huh? Citeh and Madrid have spent 100s of millions and what have they won? If it was that simple good managers wouldn’t be paid as much as the most expensive players…
mate, ans this simple Q of fine. y did we shift to the emirates? if you ans is to be financially more stable then plzz ans this also, what was the motive behind seeking financial supiriority? if you say to be secure n then to be the best, thn how would you dscribe the tem ‘best’ in terms of football?? now let me ans the last of these, to be the best, you need to win..to be champion..year in year out!! we were once and we have done the right thing to move fwd but not achieved the right result, y?? i see stubourness as one reason. and i know a lot of gunners who thinks alike.
ARSENAL IS NOT A YOUTH ACADEMY..NOT A STEPPING STONE EITHER!!!
Jerry – ” The question that begs for an answer is, why can’t we spend this money and win something?” The reason is that Wenger ’s egocentric style is to buy relative unknowns and develop them and make them into stars, so he can claim credit and accolades for his good work.That’s fine sometimes, but when the team has obvious deficiencies in key positions, then you have to spend money – big money occasionally – to acquire the standard of player we need. But it’s not in Wengers D.N.A. to do this.So he places his faith in kids.
This hasn’ t worked, but he can’ t bring himself to admit it.So he obsessively clings to his arrogant belief that he knows best, despite the evidence that proves otherwise.This, in addition to his other faults, means that HE is the problem. Until he goes, we won’ t achieve anything more, I’m afraid. Thankfully more people are starting to see this.
” In Arsene we rust”.
oh my frigging life!!!!!!
has the season even started yet????
is the transfer window closed????
are any of u proven epl managers???
all i see is a bunch of fans, not supporters winding themselves up.
we are the mighty arsenal. even if he doesnt buy anyone else we stil have enuf talent to win a trophy if the injuries are kept to a minimum.
fate is cruel and unpredictable. we could buy 2cbs, and who ever else and stil not win anything. players dont grow on trees, were not the only big club are we????
the best run obviously, but finding the right talent has alot of variables.
No need for the caps mate.
Per is perfect for the pl. Take Rooney he is starting to score more goals with his head.You need one tall cb and one fast.Per and Thomas fit that bill. Per does not attack so he can cover for thomas. per is fine but we could also get Oguchi Onyewu. he’s 6′4 and brawlic giant. hed be really cheap and could also be a back up later. the Italian league is really tough and he could be great.
so Per and Onyewu could be awesome.
martin stkelnburg is a good choice but mark schwarzer could play for a while and pave the path for mannone and schenzy by teaching them
what about lee catermole he has soild and could be a back up for song
then all we need is altidore who is just like a bulldozer
Gentlemen gentlemen
The transfer window is open from the end of the EPL season until 31/08/2010 around twelve weeks.
In the middle of that we had the small matter of the World Cup,.
Wenger kept his word on the signings he was to make pror to and during the WC. I imagine he is aware of the defensive shortfall and goal keeping problems.
All of this hysterical whinging on why he has or hasnt done anything yet is infantile. It is as foolish as attacking our new players before they’ve played.
Wait and see. If at the firtst of September it doesn’t suit you, bitch all you like, until then have a little patience.
No member of the press or blogging fraternity has any concrete inside knowledge of what he is doing, or who he has talked, how many approaches have been made, what obstacles are faced to until the deal is 99% done.
In a market place where you are a buyer it is better to have a reputation for not being foolish with your money, ask ManCiteh.
All of this nonsense that Aresenal do not spend, check out our wage bill next to the rest of the EPL.
Relax don’t do it……….
That would be a valid point if Arsene ever addressed our weaknesses. The problem is that we have been down this road before. It’s not like Almunia and Fabianski went crap over night. They have been crap from day 1. Song has needed a backup since day 1. Denilson has been crap for ages, etc. We could have won the league last season if Arsene had brought in a striker when RVP went down. Instead we relied on an already injured Bendtner and Arshavin ended up playing as a lone striker. It’s this kind of garbage that makes me think it might be time for Arsene to move on. He’s done a ton for this club and I thank him for that but there comes a time when every manager must move on and it seems his time might be coming up?
I second that !
“In Arsene we rust”.
completely agree..to add to that, y was Shay Givven not snatched up when we decided to leave the toons?? y not barry as well?? and please for christ sake dont tell me that Denilsno is a DM…he is simply not..its so obvious!!! the fellow cant sprint..no fire in his belly either!! weak both in his attitude and in his game…jan last season, and we were down to bones..hardly any striker left…wenger did not buy cause he know he will get chamack for free which he did but that cost us the chance of shooting at the title..and what with his comments that we hope to improve on last yr??? what hope…u have toooo..cause the fans deserve it…n dont be lame to say improve..come out show balls and say that we will win and fight for the title..thats wht is required at a club like arsenal..or is it that you have already shortlisted your free pick for the nxt summer and wont mind letting this yr pass by!!! dont tell me that theres not enough talented established players available in the market…i say we have just one complete CB…ONE COMPLETE….i dont count kos cause he would need time and Dejorou is as fit as my grandpa…GOD..almunia with the captains armband striding out!! i thought i had enough!!
So why is it that most of our transfer deals are so protracted ? Why is it that there always seems to be a hitch, delay or problem with our negotiations ? How come we often leave it to the last minutes of the transfer window to do a deal, and then as often as not, miss out – and even more so THIS season, when we desperately want to WIN SOMETHING, and need to strengthen URGENTLY ?
Do we have incompetent negotiators ? Who exactly, is the chief spokesman when it comes to signing players ? Is it Wenger himself ? If so , that would explain why we’re so reluctant to part with the cash, when there’s a patent need to do so.
‘In Arsene we rust”.
With sole gone we have no choice but to replace him all we got is 26 players we are 2 short ideally we should get 4 more players to make it to 30 players other than that we are ok
We got to get 2 players we got Africans going to ANC very important to add cover.
A defensive midfielder and a defender is still needed our objective here is to compete with strength to obtain top position all the way through to the eufa we have been simmering for a while be nice if we win something for a change
com on MR wenger com on Arsenal
I think a lot hinges on who we sign next. A goalkeeper has to be signed, and Almunia kept as a No. 2, with Fabianski shipped off, and Mannone sent on loan.
If we do sign Mertesacker, then he and Vermaelen will be first choice, with Koscielny and Djourou as back up, of course we have Nordtveit, Bartley, Hoyte and Miquel who can play there for the cup games. Is that enough? I think it is, because Nordtveit has been out on loan for a while, and he looks good enough to be a fourth-choice, definitely better than last season imo.
I follow The Arsenal News because I get bored. In the end I`m no longer bored just depressed.
It`s not every day you find a Spanish dentist out here in the Australian bush who is a Barcelona fan, I have. During a filling and drilling session this week he asked if it “wasn`t time for Wenger to move on”? With a mouth full of gadgets I couldn`t reply but it didn`t stop me thinking.
This guy has got to learn to play to the crowd a little and move a bit faster in giving them what they`re crying out for. Sure ,they can`t put names in Wenger`s mind that`s his prerogative but they can show there concern for the weak spots that need attention and fixing pronto.
He`ll find out soon enough if he`s still a `God`.
why did he even go to South Africa instead of sorting out the mess that is Arsenal FC? Why did he not work on signing players instead of taking up a TV job.
I second “in Arsene we RUST”. He has taken us as far as he can, and its tim efor change. I hope its not gonna be left too late. The club cant continue to be the subject of Wenger’s experiments……which have since failed dismally for the last five years.
We are frustrated already before the season even starts and its highly unfair for Wenger and the board to treat us like this every year. It cant go on forever. Something i sgot to give. Either we buy the experienced players we need and have a competitive team or find another manager who is willing to spend the money and take us foward.
Hunter’s early comment is typical of those being made by many Arsenal fans, and suggests an alarming naivete about the workings of the transfer market. Players are not all out there on the shelf at all times, like products in a supermarket. If they were, we’d have lost Cesc by now. Signing a player under contract requires extended and delicate negotiation between three parties — both clubs and the player himself. The club that has the player under contract has to be prepared to sell and the player has to be prepared to move. You can’t just go in and say, “We’ll have a goalkeeper and two defenders, please.”
Apart from the two players already signed, it seems very likely that we’ve been trying to sign a goalkeeper and a defender since the end of last season. One of those is Schwartzer, but there have been problems at Fulham in that they have no manager. Not to mention the fact that we want to pay less than they think he’s worth (sound familiar?). But the chances are negotiations are continuing. At least Arsenal does its business in private, unlike Barca, trying to destabilise a player and drive down his price via a press campaign.
Otherwise, there’s a lot of rumour being passed off as fact. How can anyone possibly say that if we’d really wanted to, we could have signed Mertesacker by now for the same price as Koscielny? On what evidence? Do you think we’re the only club that might be interested after he had a good WC? And that his club won’t wait to see who’s interested so they can get the best possible price IF THEY DECIDE TO SELL.
Really, given the fact that this was a WC summer, we’re doing okay. How many players have our PL rivals brought in so far? I wonder if they have a proportion of panic-stricken supporters crapping in their nappies already too. Let’s hope so. I’d hate to think we have a monopoly on stupidity.
We are the ONLY club with this problem. There are many good players on the market and we just refuse to go and get them. Mertesaker, Diakate, Tasci, etc. Don’t give me this stuff about the players not being there because they are. Same with the goalkeepers. Eduardo the Portuguese number 1 wanted to come to us but we took too long and he went to Genoa. He would have been a perfect signing for us and he was just coming off of a stellar world cup. They only wanted 6 million for him so he was cheap as well. Just look at the way the Arshavin this was done. We waited until the last possible minute and actually didn’t complete his paperwork until AFTER the window had closed. Everyone knew we were going for him and it still took too much time and we almost didn’t land him in the end. We chewed up the entire month of the transfer window when if we had bought him early he may have helped us win a few more points. This is not a way to run a football club.
I have to agree with the comments made by `rivaldo` and also the obsevations by `Sydney gooner` but we are not talking just about the WC year this apparent lack of decision seems to be directly linked with a `low risk` philosophy which has trouble Wenger for several years.
There is no doubt that fanancial care must be taken and a prudent approach to investing in players but like all accounts and economists they can be conservative to the death. Myself I think Arsenal have had plenty of time knowing full well that you don`t buy players in a supermarket, they have invested in youth and this is the year for that youth to step up to the plate and put us all out of our misery. If not then it`s time to roll the dice.
According to Wenger last year was the year for them to step up.
Financial care must be taken? We made 40 million off of Adebayor and Kolo and invested about 10. Where did the rest go? We have the top operating profit of any team in the league so you can’t tell me we don’t have the funds because the financial reports say otherwise.
There is another “new” player in Arsenal. One Nicklas Bendtner. He has been around long enough and he has been scoring very many important goals whic fans always prefer to forget almost immediately.
There was a hint of him finally getting control of himself and his display during the World Cup wasn’t bad either.
Powerful, pacy, strong, good dribbling, powerful shot with either foot, massive stamina, world class header and jump, able to go round the keeper, place the ball or just shoot, ability as a fox in the box, able to go very deep, go wide to the wings, good passing, the very best positioning anywhere in the league meaning he is always there to shoot – and ironically miss, one has to REALLY WONDER why he doesn’t outscore everyone.
With his 6 goals and 5 assists in just 13 premier league games, he finally seems to be coming around and most of you will swallow your words, mainly harsh ones against him when he comes to terms with his unrivalled talent which according to me, only Didier Drogba can match among the current premier league strikers. But it has to be used, so we can see it and appreciate it. He is 22, only one year younger than Messi, Fabregas, Suarez e.t.c and so he has no reason to claim he is still learning the game. With 124 appearance for Arsenal, 75% of that as substitute, 36 goals and 15 assists, he sounds like a player who should claim to be experienced. He probably must put some composure where his confidence is and THAT ONLY should be enough to make him the best striker, not at Arsenal but in the whole world.
This, may be the first season he gets to the starting line up, and probably the last, If he does well, big teams will come poaching and sometime ago he hinted about leaving, If he doesn’t perform, this may be his last chance. But as we wait on his fitness, something is obvious, he is now a Principal factor in this Arsenal team, he will be used as he has never been used before, as a trusted target man. He seems to do everything a target man needs to do perfectly, against Burnley last season, he beaten that defence 13 times but somehow managed 13 misses – WHAT IF he can finally find that composure he shows so massively while with Denmark and just put the fucking ball on target?.
We have a new striker, inside the same old Bendtner. Will he perform?, i know most of you will say no, I can place all my money on him proving you wrong – Risky venture, abundant potential for massive returns.
Arsenal needs new defenders, Wenger isn’t using Bartley, Nordtveit is clearly not the answer and Djourou seems worse than Van Persie injurywise despite playing at the position where top of the range fitness is required. Vermaelen and Kosicelny can’t do it alone.
Also, I may be willing to place my money on Bendtner, but I can’t every sacrifice my worst enemy for Manuel Almunia or Lukasz Fabianski. Together with William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre and to some extent Gael Clichy and Armand Traore, I blame them for lack of a trophy last season. The only one i am willing to forgive there is Clichy and with Traore, it is not his fault, he was born a winger, Wenger tries to reverse that creation and create him as a defender and it doesn’t seem to be working.
On a sad not, Arsenal’s first pure striker since Ian Wright, Eduardo and Arsenal last pure centre back Sol Campbell, have finally left, Eduardo can be replaced by Bendtner who is a pure striker by all means despite his misses, who will replace Sol Campbell, another full back converted to a centre back by Wenger – which has been the source of problems since the likes of Tony Adams left- or another pure centre back? Convertees won’t help, Wenger should go for a real centreback. I suggest Per Mertesacker or Serdar Tasci.
On the title, without a new Centre Back and a Goal Keeper, there is simply no need to dream, I consider myself optimistic and for those who follow me knows i prefer to sometimes believe in the impossibles Wenger brings upon us but I am ashamed of him if he can’t get a decent goal keeper (Marchetti recent history is conceding 4 goals from 6 shots on goal) and a decent defender (Per Mertesacker at 10 million is simply a gift and until he Bayern Munich offers money to Werder Bremen, Wenger will still be “looking” for a defender. My gut feeling, he is not looking for a defender, he is looking AT A defender, Havard Nordtveit) and you all still dreaming of trophies.
I still reckon we will get 2 players before the begining of the new season 1 defender and 1 keeper. Not much else is needed, we have cover for song already in eastmond and frimpong both capable of stepping up to the mark. Havard Nordtveit will step up to first team duties this season too meaning we only need to find 1 more defender. Theres far too much negativity on these blog posts, Wenger won’t be held to ransom on a player if he doesn’t think the player is worth the quoted price and he definately won’t panic buy. It’s the same story every season, Arsene Wenger doesn’t buy every arsenal fan on these blog posts panic to high heavens. saying we won’t finish in the top 4 or challenge for the title, but yet year on year we do. Relax, unwind and enjoy the pre season. Buying players doesn’t guarentee you success, having players that work as a team brings you success. Look at Man city last season, spent over 100mil and still didn’t finish in the top 4. Bring on The Emirates Cup!
“I know is that within our team we have a great hunger for success,We have great solidarity and team spirit. We are a team who has grown up together and wants to achieve things. We have not won anything yet together and that makes us hungry for success.” January 7, 2010
Could have been just as valid three years ago.Only thing different is that he left out the “I believe” bit.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Yeah he has been saying the same things for the last 4 years. If your manager and your board come out saying that a season is a success when you finish 3rd or 4th then that filters down to the players. That loser mentality is now prevalent throughout the squad so now these kids think third and fourth place are just dandy.
u people know what CYGAN means in our(slovenian) language? actually it’s cigan but never mind it means GYPSY and when i first heard for him i knew he’s not so good!
“Our financial situation has greatly improved. We are finally able to buy the players we think we need.” – Arsene Wenger, April 2010
Apparently Arsene thinks we only need an inexperienced center half and 1 forward. Why worry about an experienced defender or a goalkeeper who doesn’t cost us big games or cover for our defensive midfield.
Fact. Arsene is smarter than all of us. If you think you know more than him you are a fool. Wenger knows what he’s doing. Come on Gunners! In Arsene we trust!!
shut up!!
Should I say shut up now and then you can say it again and then maybe I could come back and say shut up again and then you………..
come on guys! we need 3 new players!!!!!! hope Scott was right………
Yes you are correct but there is plenty of time. I too would be disappointed if there were no more movement. I don’t think you need 25 players to start the season. I like the youth players coming through. They are “Gunners” and know how to play the system. Every great player was once a youth player. Hopefully some of these Gunners are gems. My main concern is the net. I think we need a world class keeper (deserve a world class keeper). I believe Wenger will address the defense soon. Transfer market can be difficult when you are not willing to over pay talent.