Everton have drafted in Lee Carsley and Francis Jeffers for the clash with Liverpool in Jamie Carragher’s testimonial. And there is a starting spot for Yakubu, the Nigerian appearing for the first tim…
Its international week and nothing much to report, apart from France losing 0-1 at home to Belarus (Clichy played and was at fault for the goal) England hammer Bulgaria 4-0 and a massive turn up for Portugal who drew 4-4 with Cyprus. But I did come across this amazing volley from Hamit Altintop during the [...]
Newcaste Utd new signing Hatem Ben Arfa has a long history with TWO Arsenal players. When Ben Arfa was at Lyon he got into a training session scuffle with Arsenal new boy Sébastien Squillaci. And while at Clairefontaine, Ben Arfa was the only underage player in his class, and was a part of A la [...]
By Walter Broeckx We all have read about the madness that has gone in to football when it comes to spending money. The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City with their financial doping is already well documented on this site in many articles. And let us not forget it is a force which Arsenal have [...]
There isn’t anything much better in this world than silencing a cap wearing, whining football manager and that is exactly what happened. Before the Blackburn game Wenger made some rather scathing remarks about Stoke’s style of play against Tottenham the previous week. While I will determinedly throw myself and my support behind anything that could cause Spurs suffering, there is no denying the truth in those allegations. He called it ‘rugby’, I call it all out wrestling and some others may call it some other things but whatever it is that we call it, Tony’s cap flew sky-high when he saw a frail looking Frenchman dare aim a few nasty words at him and his band of assassins. So what did Tony do? Well, he got out his pen and tore a page out of his handwriting practice book (the ones with five lines so that kids get the size of their letters right) and started noting down all the bad things Arsene Wenger had done to him while he wept his sorry arse off. What a noble thing to do. He’s fifty-something, manages a bunch of goons and to top it all off, wears a cap. Yet, Pulis had to go and write to the FA and imagine his shock when he checked his mailbox this morning. Hilarious stuff!
Leaving all that aside, England won yesterday. It was a huge match, an important day for the team and for Capello and it was against… wait for it now… BULGARIA! Woah! Must’ve taken a lot out of them this match. Now, I guess they’re all rejoicing their victory but I’m pretty sure those dumb English blokes have no clue how small an achievement beating Bulgaria is. One thing I’m happy about though, is that this might just take the tabloids off Capello’s back. Sure, he made mistakes at the World Cup and all that, but really, he is a good manager and even the best have a hard time when they have to handle these English brats and their genitals working on overtime. But something I find repulsive, and I truly mean this, is that Theo Walcott has taken to spewing rubbish on the press. Here’s what he had to say about Defoe, that little freak who does nothing but shut his eyes and shoot harder than ever and pray to god it goes in:
“Three fantastic goals and a great finisher. Every time he touched the ball, something was going to happen. Every time he went through on goal, you just thought he’d create something and that’s what we want from our centre-forwards, to score goals and get people involved. He managed to do everything. I’m very happy for him.”
Say it ain’t so Theo! Please tell us that was just all a bunch of fabricated shite! We’ll believe you. Just come on record and say you wouldn’t in a million years have anything good to say about a Spurs man. Please!
Moving on. I realize a lot of Gooners, myself included, have forgotten about a certain Czech midfielder, Tomas Rosicky. He isn’t as versatile as most of the Arsenal midfielders and one can’t deny that there is much to be desired in terms of his defensive game but the experience and the know-how Tomas brings to the midfield provide a lot more edge to the Gunners’ game in the middle of the park. However, what is probably most attractive about this guy is his ability to give back what he receives. Last season against Bolton, when Klasnic decided to let Diaby taste dirt Rosicky had no qualms of making a little step to the side and make the lumbering mass of Klasnic smell the fertilizer in the grass himself. Very interesting and extremely rare. Arsenal as a club have had a record of being rough in the past but this Arsenal team aren’t usually the kind to give a little tit for tat. Moreover, Rosicky’s all out attacking play and the fact that he is the least shot shy of all our midfielders makes him important when goals are hard to come by. The problem, however, with him is that he is extremely injury prone and hence a good run of form is almost impossible for him to come by. Hopefully that changes this season as we start afresh, wiser and more confident.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s newest big man, Marouane Chamakh has sent a shout out to his doubters:
“I know that once I get settled, my game will improve a lot. The players have welcomed me also and I feel part of the family and the morale in the squad is good. We want to win the Premier League this season and we are all focused on that.”
I know this has been said much too many times, but he has looked impressive and… well, that’s all we can say at the moment. Three competitive games isn’t nearly enough to judge a player’s potential. What scores for him most though, is his ability to step into van Persie’s role when the Dutchman isn’t on the pitch, which is unfortunately quite a lot of time. There’s no question that having a van Persie-ish player or even better van Persie himself on the pitch gives a lot more to the attack. Very few strikers have the ability to get the midfield involved in the final third and it takes quite a bit of intricate passing and legwork to do it. Chamakh’s arrival now means we have two such centre-forwards who bring out the best in our midfielders.
Cesc Fabregas. There have been rumours floating about that this is his last season at the Emirates even after the transfer window slammed shut. I guess you can do no wrong when you’re Barcelona. The Spanish press, obsessed with proving how idiotic they are, have been going around proclaiming that Cesc is set to return to Spain next season. Frankly, I don’t care and his move, or its failure to happen, isn’t why I brought him up on today’s blog. His game against Blackburn wasn’t his best was it? I’m not going to claim I know why but at the same time I can’t accept the excuse of him playing after a long break being the reason either. Maybe it just wasn’t his day or maybe he’s running into bad form as most players do at this age. But, what concerns me is that he might just become a counter weight to our grab at the title. Goalkeeper or no goalkeeper, this is probably the first time after long that Arsenal have been so active in the transfer market and right now, a lot of our key players are hitting great form. A certain level of maturity has been attained and everyone is aware of where their focus should be. Clearly, Wenger and the team mean business this time around. What worries me is that a key player, and in fact skipper, like Fabregas can’t really be dropped and here comes the question: What impact will that have? On yesterday’s post I did express concerns over the fact that a missing link on the field makes the team look absolutely hopeless and today the fear pops up that that missing link could be Cesc and for a long time to come too. Wenger, and for that matter Fabregas, we await your moves.
After reading this however, I fear there might be some substance to what the Spanish press claims to be a done deal. I’m not one for doomsday theories but I’m also not one to ignore implications. If these rumours are true, if they hold some substance, then maybe, just maybe Wenger is on the lookout for replacements. Looking at Afellay on YouTube he seems to be a lot similar to Fabregas and in fact more versatile when it comes to playing on the wings. But, the fact remains that I can’t help but suspect that Arsenal’s name has been thrown into the mix randomly, as it has been on many occasions.
Well that’s it for today. If you’re English then go have yourself a jolly time and drink to Capello or something and after sobering down a little probably smack yourselves with a dictionary and realize how ridiculous you’ll were for thinking beating Bulgaria was some sort of comeback from crashing out from the World Cup.
Until the next time Germany kick you’ll around the park…. Cheers!
Theo Walcott had a half-decent game for England last night, as the much-vaunted move to 4-2-3-1 passed the nation by once more, Capello’s devotion to 4-4-2 unshakeable. And with a four goal victory, who is to say that the formation was not appropriate for the occasion. Not me. England did what they do well: win qualifying games.
Walcott had a decent game but once more his attributes were underused by his team-mates. Playing possession football is exactly what should have happened in South Africa but the distribution forwards was too ponderous in the first half. Rapid passing and movement in the second created the spaces that Walcott can exploit, an encouraging sign for Theo even if he was not always the option chosen.
In general he has been well-received in the media and leaving Alan Hansen increasingly isolated in his lunacy. Which is no bad thing.
Self-evaluation is a regular occurrence for Arsenal players these days. Andrei Arshavin (thanks to Desi Gunner for the link) has observed that he is more ‘direct’ in his play, losing some of the flamboyance of his Zenit days. There is an element of truth in that and to be honest in an attacking sense if his effectiveness means playing simpler, quicker passes there is no problem with that.
The expectation placed on his shoulders by supporters is of a regular goalscorer and he has now scored two in three games. No argument there, the penalty against Blackpool of no less value than the goal at Ewood Park in that respect. Consistency in front of goal is the ideal but like a great number of his positional peers, goals come in spurts, scoring in three or four consecutive games and then nothing for another dozen. In Arsenal’s formation, he could do with a higher return, aiming for fifteen Premier League goals each season would not be unrealistic.
The Russian observed he has not scored ‘a really beautiful’ goal during his time in England. Whilst that may be true, it is a subjective matter and I would settle for him scoring of efficient finishes rather than two goals a season, both of which left you drooling. He is in a position where Arsenal has talent; the early signs of this season are that Tomas Rosicky is in good form, his fitness the question mark. The injury to Robin van Persie makes space for both of them with either able to play in the more advanced position although it perhaps suits Arshavin more.
Arshavin’s personal view was contradicted by Andrei Kanchelskis. A big criticism of the former Manchester United winger was his inconsistency; have a guess which aspect of Arshavin’s game he chose to pick on? If you need to phone a friend for the answer to that, go to the back of the classroom and put the big conical-shaped hat with a ‘D’ onto your head.
The faults found in the Arsenal player’s armoury are valid, it simply irks when a player who could not perform to that level consistently either, feels the need to find the same fault in others. In much the same way that Theo Walcott was castigated for not having a football brain by Chris Waddle before the World Cup. Mr Pot? Meet your neighbours, Mr Kettle and Mr Black.
Elsewhere, Arsene was cleared by the FA of any indiscretions in his criticisms of Stoke. It is a huge slap in the face for Tony Pulis, which is nice, serving to reinforce the points Wenger made. According to the authorities, the Arsenal manager did not transgress as he failed to mention Chris Foy by name, even though it was obvious he was referring to him. Unlike Sir Alex Ferguson, it shows nous in bending the rules to your advantage whilst the Manchester United manager continues to deplete the coffers at Old Trafford with his ban on speaking to the BBC. If the Scot had half a brain, he would talk to them and be monosyllabic in his answers, look bored and be generally disinterested. Like most other managers.
’til Tomorrow.
Filed under: Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Premiership, Soccer Tagged: Arsenal, England Euro2012, Football, Premier League, Soccer 
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