rob holding | She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

Three friendlies down, two to go.

This pre season, I have watched just the one game. The first against Lens. The other two were way past my bed time.

And when I say I have watched one game, I had the Lens match on, but was busy watching the highlights of the first day’s play of England v Pakistan and the Tour de France.

This is a collection of thoughts of what I have seen (which I have admitted is not much) and from what I have understand from those who have watched a lot more.

Defensive errors – Part of the Lens game I did watch was us conceding a goal. It was a typical Arsenal error. Calum Chambers went up to early and aggressive in an aerial challenge. Was beaten. Per Mertesacker didn’t have the pace to cover, and the right back (I have no idea who) was out of place. A goal we have seen us concede many times this season.

Rob Holding – He scored a goal. Apparently played well. But as someone said “He was playing against a bunch of Mexican gardeners”. And his job is not to score goals.

Theo Walcott – He is shit. All the fitness videos in the world have not improved his touch. He is not a solution to replace Olivier Giroud.

Mathieu Debuchy – Look Walcott, he has been awful. All over the shop.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Impressive, as Oxlade-Chamberlain always is in pre-season. He always shows glimpses, than once the season starts, tails off. It is all well and good scoring a FIFA goal against Chivas, but when it comes to Liverpool on the first game of the season, will he disappear?

Jack Wilshere – Injured again.

Chuba Akpom – “Looked Lively”. Surely it is time now for him to stay at the club, as 3^rd choice striker behind Giroud and a new signing (4^th once Danny Welbeck is back).

Granit Xhaka – Apparently he has looked tidy. I am not sure if the person who said that was talking about the way he looks, or the way he plays.

Mesut Ozil – He left his holiday in Los Angeles, California early to meet up with the team in Carson, California. A distance of 17 miles. Nothing to see here.

I might make the effort to watch our next pre season game (when is it?). That way, I will actually know how we are looking.

If you want a proper view of how we have played, and haven’t watched that, I would suggest reading someone elses blog.

ps: The third kit is just as ugly on the players as it is in the photos. I think.

Have a good one!

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

https://twitter.com/Northbank1968/status/755442276483076096

So Arsenal have signed 20 year old England youth international centre back from Bolton, and already the world of Arsenal fans is losing it.

On one side, we have those sitting dumbfounded. Arsenal have gone out and signed YET ANOTHER young player. What the hell is going on? Why do we even bother? Arsene Wenger only ruins them anyway.

On the other side, we have signed the Bolton Beckenbauer. The next Tony Adams. The man to play centre back for The Arsenal for the next 15 years.

The reality is, both of you are stupid.

He could be the next Tony Adams. He could also be the next Igor Stepanovs. Or the next Kyle Bartley – the last young centre back we bought from Bolton, now shipped out on loan from Swansea to Leeds.

Who would have thought in 2013, when Everton paid Barnsley £3m for John Stones ,that 3 years later he would be subject to a bidding war for around £50m? Likewise,a year later in 2014, Arsenal bought the equally as talented Calum Chambers for £16million, and he has since struggled to settle.

What I am perhaps trying to say is let’s give Rob Holding the chance. Let’s not hype him before any of us have seen him (let’s be honest, who watched Bolton last season?), but let’s also not write him off as a failure before he has even kicked a ball for the club.

Let’s allow him to develop into the player is destined to be. He could be another Kolo Toure, or could become another Johann Djourou. Allow him to become the best Rob Holding that he can be.

And another thing, let’s not get on his back.

He should not be Arsenal’s only new defensive signing. I still expect a senior centre back to come into the club. But if one does not, that is not Holding’s fault, blame Wenger.

When we signed Yaya Sanogo, the young Frenchman got a lot of unfair grief from many fans. It was not his fault Wenger failed to sign another striker. It was not his fault he was suddenly Arsenal’s second choice. That was down to Wenger. And he was derided every time he started. He was on to a loser before he had even kicked a ball at Arsenal.

This did not sit well. A youngster getting the blame for a managers decision? No. Just wrong.

So do not get on Holding’s back, it will not be his fault if we have to rely on him next season.

Signing youngsters is a hard thing to do. You need to do it. If you do not, you risk missing out on a top player, like Hector Bellerin.

You could wait for another side to sign the youngster, see how he progresses, and then sweep in. But then you end up in a scenario where every top club ignored John Stones & Dele Alli, and now both are worth a lot of money!

It is pretty much 13 years to the day that Arsenal had a young Yaya Toure on trial. Anyone who was at the game against Barnet would agree with how poor he was. No one there would have predicted the world beater that he became.

It is interesting that many who bash Wenger for signing youngsters also bash Wenger for letting Yaya Toure slip. You can not have the best of both worlds.

You take a risk on a kid, some pay off, some don’t. What is important is that you sign senior players to go with them.

There is no point signing Holding and Takuma Asano if we do not also sign a senior centre back and senior striker.

Rob Holding, welcome to Arsenal, and good luck.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC