The Arsenal FC thread

[Milgod]

Once the title was gone there was nothing to play for. They are not far away still. If Vermaelen and Van Persie had been fit all season they would have probably been top. I would get the cash for Fabregas - he doesn't want to be there and had a crap season anyway. Need to sign another top defender, strong midfielder and a striker (big, strong type). Build the team around Wilshire in the middle and let Nasri do what he wants.

 

[Mathew81]

Finished 4th. They're going to have to qualify for the Champions League now. It will be an interesting off season. Will Wenger finally try and sign some proven players? Will he be too busy trying to keep the current players from leaving (Fabregas, Nasri, Bendtner, etc.)?

Van Persie was the lone bright spot for the 2nd half of the season. He missed almost all of the first half and still finished 3rd in goals scored, only 2 behind the leaders.

 

[Mathew81]

Fabregas is gone. Nasri's not far behind. Already lost Clichy. Bendtner's probably out too. Brought in one decent player so far (Gervinho) and a couple of teenagers (typical Wenger).

Can't believe the season starts tomorrow and they haven't signed a CB yet, if they're going to at all. Losing Cesc and Nasri is a blow to the midfield but they still have some talent there. The defense is still a worry. I don't think Clichy was all that good and him leaving would have been fine if they had brought someone else in to replace him. But they didn't. Van Persie was great when he played last season but he can never be relied upon to stay healthy. If Bendtner leaves, Chamakh is his only real backup and he played like crap the 2nd half of last season and looks just as bad so far this preseason.

Not looking good right now to say the least. Hopefully they'll use the money from the Fabregas and Nasri deals to bring in some help, but it will probably be some more teenagers who have "potential."

 

[Stout]

And to think, I was ready to have a meltdown a while ago, and I am actually more optimistic right now than an Arsenal fan. To be fair, it looks like things are calming down for Newcastle right now, and are going haywire for Arsenal. I actually like our chances quite a bit tomorrow at St. James Park. The real blow is that Enrique just left for Liverpool, and we really don't have cover for him. Guttierez has played back there before and likely will again tomorrow, but it is a weakness. Should be a cracking match, though.

 

[Mathew81]

Hey, look at that. I just woke up (I work overnights) and found Arsenal made a signing today:

Arsenal have agreed terms with the Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa to sign the striker Joel Campbell. The 19-year-old was in his country's squad for the Copa América and the Under-20 World Cup.

Although, rumors floating around that they're about to sign Juan Mata from Valencia. That would be a good signing. It still doesn't address the needs at CB, LB or striker. I think Wenger will sign a CB at some point before the end of the month but it should have been taken care of before the start of the season.

 

[Shzm13]

 

[Mathew81]

I saw this the other day. It's pretty funny.

 

[Shzm13]

plan b:

You must be registered for see images

 

[Stout]

An intense Newcastle v Arsenal game? No way The refs were rubbish on both sides. They even called a foul on us when the guy was never touched? Crappy calls all around. Song (what a whiny little punk) should have gotten a red for spiking Barton's calf. Barton (what a whiny little punk) should have gotten a red and not a yellow for his idiocy, even though it was diving. No excuse for what he did. Gervinho rightly got a red. Zoiks, what a weird game! So I guess the red situation evened out, but that's no excuse for screwing it all up.

Oh, and I'll take the draw here, thanks!

 

[Mathew81]

Pretty much agree with you. I love how Barton was all upset about Gervinho diving and then pretty much dove himself when Gervinho tapped his head.

Arsenal fans aren't going to show a lot of patience. They spent the last 20 minutes or so chanting, "Spend some F***ing money!"

 

[Mathew81]

I don't understand what Wenger is trying to accomplish offensively with his current tactics. They don't play fast enough through the midfield to catch the opposition off guard. They pass it around and let the opposition get organized and then end up trying to either pass the ball through 4 defenders in the box or send in crosses. Neither work. Van Persie isn't a physical striker and doesn't score from headers very much. It might work with Bendtner in there but he's probably leaving.

They're so easy to defend right now. Just pack the box and let Arsenal pass it around until they try to force something. Then counter attack and hope one of their defenders makes a mistake. The defense played well today and, if they continue that, maybe it will force the other team to play more open. But counting on Arsenal's defense is a tough thing to do.

EDIT: just realized I spelled organized the English way (organised) instead of the American way. I've been reading too many articles and forums from there lately.

 

[Mathew81]

Just a disastrous start to the season. Lose 2-0 to Liverpool at home. Another defender injured. The backup defensive midfielder, Frimpong, sent off. With Song already suspended, there will be no one to play DM against ManU. No creativity in midfield. The attack is toothless. Even if they buy a couple of players before the end of the month, it won't matter much if they don't qualify for the CL again Udinese this week and lose to ManU next weekend. August was such an important month that they needed to get new players in early in the summer so they would be ready. It makes me wonder if they are incompetent negotiators or if they've decided to just start over with a new wave of young players.

 

[Shzm13]

To make matters worse...

Juan Mata is on the verge of joining Chelsea from Valencia for a fee of €27m (£23.5m). Mata spoke to André Villas-Boas during the day and the Chelsea manager explained the role he has in mind for the attacking midfielder. Lawyers are finalising details on the deal, which is expected to be definitively closed on Saturday. The Chelsea manager had admitted this week: "We might just add a number in midfield."

 

[Mathew81]

To make matters worse...

It's OK:

Skysports.com understands that Arsenal are in advanced talks to sign Peruvian starlet Andy Polo.

The 16-year-old forward is currently playing for Universitario de Deportes in his homeland, but he is already in the first-team.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_7112969,00.html

 

[Shzm13]

It doesn't seem like things will end well for Wenger. He's been on the hot seat for a while now.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I watched the liverpool game over the weekend. Aresnal looked flat and had no creativity in their attacking 3rd.

 

[Mathew81]

I watched the liverpool game over the weekend. Aresnal looked flat and had no creativity in their attacking 3rd.

It's been a problem going back to the end of last season. The formation and tactics Wenger's running right now just don't work with the players they have. They need a strong central striker and a creative, attacking midfielder (Fabregas ) to make it work and they have neither right now.

I think they've won only 2 or 3 of their last 13 Premier League games. It's almost relegation form. Amazingly for Arsenal, their defense has been their strong suit so far this season.

 

[Mathew81]

Hey, a new signing:

Arsenal have agreed to sign Olney Soccer Club midfielder Gedion Zelalem, following a trial. The 14-year-old will join the Gunners on his 16th birthday, in January 2013.

 

[Mathew81]

Nasri sold to Man City.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14628121.stm

Also, rumors floating about that Wilshere was training hard to try to play this week and made his injury worse. Could be out for 2 months. They had to try and rush him back because they don't have anybody else and it just made the situation worse. Hopefully this doesn't end up being another Vermaelen situation where he's 3-4 weeks away from returning for the entire season.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Nasri looks like a solid player from what I saw over the weekend. Don't watch much EPL.

 

[Milgod]

Nasri is class, but I still don't think Arsenal fans should be worrying too much. Wait until Sept 1st to start crying.

 

[Mathew81]

HUGE win today! On to the CL group stages. It was pretty nerve racking for a while but they came out and dominated the 2nd half. Some reports say that some of the bigger players Arsenal are after were waiting to see if they made it through to the group stage before signing. Hopefully that's true and there's more good news this next week.

 

[Shzm13]

Granted Arsenal were missing:

Vermaelen
Squllaci
Gibbs
Diaby
Wilshere
Frimpong
Song
Gervinho
Bendtner
Sagna


But 8-2?? Wow.

 

[Milgod]

I wonder if Wenger will buy anyone now.

 

[Mathew81]

Even missing 6 starters and 8 players overall, that was embarrassing. United could have easily scored more. Even if they had kept Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy they needed more players (quality players, not teenagers). Instead they lost those players and have replaced them with prospects. Half the players out there today should be playing in the reserve squad, not starting against Manchester United. And I know they're trying to bring in a few players (Wenger said so himself) but are any decent players going to want to jump on a sinking ship?