Tag Archives: Arsène Wenger

Not Spending Costs Arsenal

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As the third Aston Villa goal went in, the chants began. ‘Spend some fucking money. Spend some fucking money.’ And how right the fans were. Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa should not of happened. It should of been a comfortable start to the season. Three points on the board. A good start to the season. But it was not. A refusal by Arsene Wenger left Arsenal down to the bare bones and cost us 3 points.

Yes, Arsenal (and Arsene probably will) point to some ‘bad luck.’ A fairly poor referring performances. Where Arsenal players got booked and Villa continued to put in poor challenges which went unchallenged. Playing play om for Aston Villa, only to pull the play back after they’d had their advantage, whilst being quick to the whistle when Arsenal had been fouled yet had the ball. Arsenal can point to poor luck in injuries. The class of heads involving Gibbs and Benteke. Oxlade-Chamberlain hobbling off at half-time. And Sagna being left in a crumple heap by Beneteke (The new Kevin Davies?). Also Wenger might point to iit taking 2 penalties and a break away goal to beat us. That we hit the bar (they hit the post) and we missed a couple of one on ones (which they did too) but ultimately, the reason we sit bottom of the table is due to Arsene Wenger’s refusal to spend.

During pre-season, most Arsenal fans agreed. We needed a goalkeeper whou could challenge for the number one spot. We needed a squad centre back, as we only had 3. We needed a hard midfielder to stop teams cutting through us and help out Arteta. And we needed a striker who was better then Giroud – who despite his hard work, ability and devilishly good looks, will always be a back up striker for a top team.

And we sit here, after the first game of the season, with nothing but a young striker. Who whilst talented, is injury prone and not yet ready. And the only person to blame is Arsene Wenger.

Szczesny looked shakey. When he came out for the ball in the 1st half, Arsenal fans held there breath. Whilst he could do little about the goals, and was stuck between a rock and a hard place for the penalty he gave away, you have to wonder as to whether having Julio Cesar between the posts would of given the defence more confidence. Would it of meant they did not lunge into challenges?

As mentioned, losing 2 fullbacks is unlucky. And Koscielny’s red card left us severely exposed. However, playing Ramsay at centre back and bringing Podolski on to replace Sagna highlights the problem. When we lost Koscielny at 2-1 down, had we had a centre back, such as Mattias Ginter, on the bench, we could of solidified the defence whilst still attacking. Having no other centre back option left us open. And meant a 3rd Villa goal was more likely then an Arsenal equaliser.

Thirdly, the 1st goal conceded was a direct result of not having a midfield wall. As much as Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsay are brilliant midfielders, they are not defensively minded enough. They let runners go. And they don’t commit the ‘smart foul.’ The way Agbonlahor ran through us for their 1st penalty was testament to this. At no point did we look like stopping him. There is an old saying in football. Either the ball or the man go’s past you, but never both. Agbonlahor waltzed through us with the ball. Had Ettiene Capoue been in the Arsenal red today, rather then having signed for Tottenham. Things might of been different. No waltzing through. No 1st penalty. No Aston Villa goal. 3 points to The Arsenal.

Finally upfront. Olivier Giroud is a worker. He took his goal well. But he is not title challenging quality. Good squad player, yes. The main man. No. Whilst the signing of Luis Suarez would not of changed the game, due to him being suspended, it would of given the fans a much needed lift. Or had we had Stevan Jovetic in the squad, his creativity, his option, could’ve forced us forward. We had neither.

Today’s defeat is the direct result of not spending. The worry now is this defeat, and a defeat to Tottenham, could result in the supermarket sweep type spending we saw 2 years ago, where we end up wasting a lot of money on frankly average players. The problem is the signings should of already been done.

Julio Cesar, Mattias Ginter, Ettiene Capoue and Steven Jovetic should of all made their Arsenal debut today. Arsenal should of won today. Arsenal should be top of the league. Arsenal should of spent some of our fucking money.

They didn’t. And we now sit bottom of the table. And there is only one man to blame.

Keenos

10 Reasons Why We Will Beat Aston Villa

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1.. All our new signing’s (ONE) have bedded in well after a good pre-season and I can’t wait to see him supporting us from the stands.

2.. We have a settled back 4, not that we have much choice, but they did finish last season up well.

3.. We always win the first game of he season..well after checking we have drawn the last 3 opening games, so if you have a punt get on the draw.

4.. A few positives, Ramsey, Theo, The Ox and Jack have all looked good in pre-season and did well on the pre-season international break.

5.. It’s great to see Jack looking fully fit, this is a big season for him, I’m sure I am not the only one who really wants him to have a whole season without interruptions and go on and drive us to success, then see him go on and do it at the World Cup for Engerland

6…Diaby is out, which is slightly better than him being fit, apart from the fact he still draws wages

7..The main talking point on the morning of the game is as always who will Wenger pick to play upfront, Olivier or Giroud, I’m sure whoever plays we wont notice the difference…

8.. Our Captain, Vermaelen, out injured, I have no idea why Wenger hasn’t put Mertesacker as captain this year, he is the leader on the pitch.

9.. Villa, will not come for the draw, Lambert has not had a 0-0 away from home for over 2 seasons with Villa and Norwich, they will line up much the same as us,4-3-3 but with 2 holding midfielders to our 1, so will try hitting us on the break with pace, will be a case of whose defence copes the best.

10.. Arsene Knows Best….£100 million to spend, loads of money freed up in wages, but he has faith in our wafer thin squad, yes on our day we should have too much for a Villa side that may struggle to get top 10, but still we have the highest match day income in the UK and with increased TV and sponsorship deals we should by now by waxing lyrical about a few new superstars in the team….

Prediction The Arsenal 3 – Villa 1

Likely Line-up:

Szczesny
Jenkinson Koscielny Mertersacker Gibbs
Wilshere Ramsay Oxlade-Chamberlain
Walcott Giroud Podolski

GC

Lack of Spending Putting Fans in a Negative Mindset?

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I don’t know about you, but once the pre-season friendlies are over and we have less than a week until the kick off of a new season, I get the warm glow of anticipation. It’s usually nervous anticipation, granted, but it’s there all the same. This year feels different though. I wouldn’t say it is apathy as I have done my usual check of the fixture list, carefully trying to work out how many points we will pick up in the first five games. I’m sure most of you have a similar ritual? I think the transfer sagas are taking their toll on me!!

Perhaps it all stems from the complete lack of spending. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see a big name star arrive and I guess it could still happen, but it isn’t just that. It is deeper, I am concerned that unless we bring in some reinforcements that we could find ourselves in real trouble with only a couple of injures in key positions. Our first team squad, according to our official website, says we have twenty five players. Of those, Chamakh has left yesterday, Bendtner, it can safely be assumed, will never play for us again, Park similarly. That leaves twenty two players. Our midfield includes Frimpong and Ryo Miyaichi who are unproven plus Rosicky and Diaby, who with Frimpong have spent more time injured whilst on our books than playing. We have seven defenders, four full backs and three centre backs. We start the season with Vermaelen injured and we all know that an Arsenal six weeks is often code for six months. Our goal keeping situation has also got a similar thin edge to it with just the two options. I am glad we shipped out some of the deadwood but you can not expect to improve by making the squad lighter. As it stands, a couple of injuries and suspensions, especially in central defence, would be disastrous and we all know that Wenger does not panic buy well.

Maybe it is the feeling of being strung along by the club that is tempering my anticipation? Those early days of the transfer window where we were assured that funds were available and led to believe that some top players were coming in to help us push on. The big names mentioned just before season ticket renewal deadline day were so blatantly planted in the media by a PR company it’s a wonder there hasn’t been more uproar. We have been fed years of nonsense from the big stadium – big revenue lie to the current favourite of, I am happy to go into the new season with our existing squad. Along the way we have been assured that certain players wont be sold, that big teams don’t sell their best players and the old classic, when FFP kicks in we will be in a good position.

I read lots of articles on various internet outlets and talk to lots of fellow Arsenal fans in person. Opinions on the manager and board vary, some see all the Champions League qualifications as a success worthy of celebration but most just look at the last eight years and see it as failure. I know some readers will suggest that Wenger has had his hands tied and perhaps to a certain extent he has, but, that doesn’t excuse being knocked out of domestic cups by lower league opposition? I suggest even the most devoted Wenger fans take a step back and ask themselves a few questions. Are you happy with finishing fourth place in the league and barely making an impression in any of the cup competitions or would you prefer to see us challenging for everything we enter? Are you happy for our manager to sanction the sale of our top stars to rivals who go on to win the title? Most importantly, are you happy to watch us slide backwards every year?

The hierarchical nature of football dictates that clubs at the top take players from below – eg – Arsenal will always take from Everton and Everton will in turn take from the next level, perhaps Sunderland or Stoke. If we are now happy to sell to United and City it tells me that the club is resigning itself to the second tier rather than investing to cement a place at the top table. This is shameful and completely undermines the legacy created by Herbert Chapman, who was in fact our greatest ever manager. His vision saw us at the top in terms of football, finance and general standing within the game. We were, and have been until recently, the snobs of football. We were a rich club with a rich history. We had a grand stadium and an aloof attitude that would have precluded selling our biggest star to a rival unless it was felt it was in our best interests. Everything was done on our terms. Other clubs didn’t bully us. We wanted players who wanted us and although we were welcoming, we called the shots. It is time we got back to some of these common values and put ourselves back where we belong. We have the money, the stadium, which although it may a monstrosity, is certainly imposing and we have passionate fans. The longer we let ourselves rot in mediocrity, the further we will fall. I, for one hope I never see us fall in the way Liverpool or heaven forbid Leeds have.

Darren Malone