The official Arsenal FC thread

[mas oyama]

Nothing new here. I was expecting Drogba to terrorise us.
It's all good trying to imitate Barca but it doesn't work if you don't have any world class strikers (with physical presence) to really penetrate against tight defences!

[mas oyama]

Originally Posted by Boss

Men against dwarves

corrected
Arshavin-Nasri-Walcott attack line up!

[mas oyama]

Originally Posted by beyond

so is he actually good and will become a proper consistent first team player? cause he doesn't look like an imposing centre forward and i'd worry if he's gonna be another milan baros (at liverpool), adrian mutu (chelsea) etc; look like an amazing effective, direct player and then lose that discipline/motivation half way through.

He seems to have improved this season for Bordeux and has been instrumental in their CL performance. He is no physical beast like Drogba but does work hard for the team, he is over 6ft and good in the air with good link up play.

[ThePerfectCrime]

I could just see that second goal coming. Its what United and Chelsea have mastered against us - hitting us on the break. I was literally screaming at the screen "Don't just track back for the sake of it FFS, follow your f*cking runners....don't let him cut inside! F*uuuuuck!".


They did none of the above and guess what, Drogba scored. Surprise surprise.

[wong_boi]

I cant fault the players for effort and committment everyone apart from Arsharvin worked really hard and you could tell they were really trying to press and go at Chelsea throughout and not give up, but at the end of the day it counted for nothing and the same old problem we were ineffective in the final 3rd without any presence and cutting edge upfront and kept getting hit on the counter when will Wenger learn!!

And why does Clichy and Sagna still insist on crossing to our midget forwards, Terry, Carvahlo and Ivanovic must of laughed their socks off at the audacity of it.... if you gonna cross do it like Fabregas and make it pinpoint where we almost scored from it!

Our last 8 results 2009 and 2010:

Chelsea - Arsenal 2-1 (FA cup) Lost
Man Utd - Arsenal 1-0 (CL) Loss
Arsenal - Man Utd 1-3 (CL) Lost
Arsenal - Chelsea 1-4 Loss
Man Utd - Arsenal 0-0 Draw
Man Utd - Arsenal 2-1 Lost
Arsenal - Chelsea 0-3 Lost
Arsenal - Man Utd 1-3 Lost

And now 2-0 lost, Wenger must realise Chelsea and Man U know how to play against us and we are totally ineffective against them home and away!

Lets face it we are scrapping for 3rd maybe 4th! now with Money bags city, Liverpool , Villa and Spurs to worry about.

[ThePerfectCrime]

Bendtner was one of the few players that could win the balls in the in the air and out muscle the Chelsea players to hold the ball up today. It was slightly less aggravating when he came on because he wasn't getting shoved off like everyone else.

Its just a shame, apart from that, he's not very good. Loses the ball when he tries to be too clever with dribbling, finishing isn't amazing. We just need someone who's his size but better.

[wong_boi]

If we had Torres and Gerrard or 2 players of that type and quality we would win the league and probably the seasons before as well.

Oh and a half decent keeper as well! should of bought Given when we had the chance.

[ThePerfectCrime]

Yeah Almunia is making some shocking errors this season. His kicking can be atrocious as well. Last season I thought people weren't giving him enough credit but this season my opinion has completely changed.


I think Fabregas is, however, slowly turning into a Gerrard type player. He seems to be dribbling and driving forward with the ball more, trying to shoot from long range and just generally trying to set an example and chin up when the going is getting tough.

[mas oyama]

Arshavin after the Man Utd game:

"If Arsenal want to become champions, how can they select Arshavin as centre forward?" he said. "I am 173cm (5ft 7in) and it suits me, but next to the big centre halves of United it is very difficult to fight for the ball, especially in the air."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...ward-role.html

[wong_boi]

^ LOL at Arsharvin I love how when he makes a comment he always shoots from the hip and doesn't BS, I remember his comments about British women and how women shouldnt be allowed to drive

But yes he's bloody right! how do you expect him to play upfront and hold the ball up and get on the end of crosses against 6ft+ defenders! He needs to play off someone like a Defoe/Crouch combination.

And yet idiot Sagna and Clichy even Walcott/Nasri rain in the crosses like no tomorrow. I p**sed myself laughing in the Man U match last week when Bentner came on as sub he cut in and actually crossed for Arshavin to header what a moron 1. Thats where you should be 2. How did you expect him to out jump Evans and Brown! you donkey.

Seriously why is it we can crush smaller teams yet be so tatically inept and dis-organised against against the big 2!

At least the worst is over I've resigned myself to the fact we will always be a making up the numbers for 3rd/4th

[beyond]

Originally Posted by mas oyama

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...ward-role.html

with Arshavin surprised at how easily his team-mate Gael Clichy succumbed to the guile of winger Nani.

'In training it is very difficult for me to beat Clichy, but Nani made all the play through him.'

lmao, andrei is a legend. i think i've said it in this thread or the utd one but i felt a bit bad for clichy because he's obviously been drafted in after all the left-back injuries and he's not fully match fit. nani is very pacey himself but clichy of last year would not have been outpaced..with a 5 yard head start :|

also i hate to say it but arshavin himself is a one trick albeit very classy and talented pony. his main attribute is use of pace, body weight distribution, extremely steady dribbling skills and ability to create angles for shots. nani has bags more flair and equal amounts of pace but of course nowhere near the consistency or intelligence.

i.e he finds it's hard to beat clichy because it's basically pace against pace, whereas an on form tricky nani torn apart a confidence-shot, match unfit clichy.

Originally Posted by ThePerfectCrime

I think Fabregas is, however, slowly turning into a Gerrard type player. He seems to be dribbling and driving forward with the ball more, trying to shoot from long range and just generally trying to set an example and chin up when the going is getting tough.

yeah this i have noticed too and i have to give credit where it's due. this year he has stepped up immensely in the being directly effective department. i was aghast at all the scholes/lampard/gerrard comparisons a couple years on this thread but now he has took a big step forward.

the only problem now is for wenger to compliment his attacking talent with midfield partners who will do all his dirty work and fight.

[watchdog]

Wenger seems to definitely be making the most of Fabregas... It almost seems as if he's trying to make Fabregas the key playmaker, and have him orchestrate the other players around him. It works to an extent... eg Zidane when he's on-form was pure inspiration. But one good playmaker alone doesn't cut it. Riquelme brought a measure of success to Villareal under the same structure, the entire outfit was geared around him, he would be the control around which the midfield & everyone else slotted in. Yet we defeated them in the Champions League because one key midfielder is in fact easy to peg down. If you have 2 decent players to mark him you close them down considerably. You need at least 2 good midfielders (one holding player) to make it work, plus the right type of players who can link up in striker & wings. Somehow as a team we still don't play as smoothly as United.. maybe experience is the issue here.

[sau_jai]

I'm not buying the lack of experience excuse anymore, we have lots of young players who have been in the game for a while now! It's frustrating to hope that it'll be our year with our young guns etc etc. It is clear what needs to be addressed! We definitely need a big centre forward ala Adebayor type and a world class holding midfielder ala Vieira. Bendtner clearly hasn't developed quick enough, I personally can't see him develop into world class for a while! Song and Diaby although can be very good, just isn't consistent enough for me! As for Almunia... I thought he was a steady keeper, not outstanding but did the job (at one point) has clearly made some diabolical decisions this season!! I can't see Fabianski stepping up the plate either!!

It's just soo frustrating to watch our team perform like we have done.. I remember us being the best counter attacking team in the league, and that wasn't very long ago either!!!

[wong_boi]

Wenger is stubborn its painfully obvious what players are needed yet he's too stubborn.

Why didnt he buy Given when he was available? one of the best keepers in the premiere league by far! he would of come running from Newcastle given the chance.

Why doesnt he get a decent holding midfielder? Song is ok but clearly against the likes of Man U and Chelsea he was out of his depth.... he aint no Essien or Makele there was talk of Yaya Toure maybe if he pressed his interest something may of happened.

Why diddnt he buy a striker in the summer when he knows RVP is made of glass, Eduardo was coming back from serious injury hardly likely to play massive amount of games was he!! Bentner is sh8t he could of got Huntelaar I'd even have Heskey!! over Bentner at least he puts himself about and works for the team to create chances.

[sau_jai]

I fear we'd lose Cesc to Barca sooner than I'd anticipated if we don't win anything soon... who'd we rely on then? I think we're in for another summer of speculation....