Monthly Archives: August 2011
Aftermath of the whooping, lessons learnt and many players linked
Arsene Wenger sleeps on his bed and hears his radio say,
“It’s 9 o’ clock already.”
He suddenly wakes from his slumber and screams,
“I thought it was only 8 goals we conceded?!!!”
He bumps his head somewhere and fails to return to sleep…
If Arsene Wenger didn’t have such a nightmare, I’m pretty sure that one of the fans that made the trip to Old Trafford did.
How would you feel if you brought your 7-year old son all the way from London to Manchester only for him to witness his team get obliterated in grand style in the hands of the old enemy?
I remember when I laughed so hard when Feyernoord’s 10-0 loss to PSV Eindhoven made them shut down their website temporarily. It was one of the marvels football offered the world last season.
Arsenal visited Old Trafford on Sunday and 10 goals were dished out like hot food on a plate but Arsenal opened the floodgates to receive 8 and they managed to dish out 2 to the opponents.
This debacle also brought out the creativity in Arsenal’s enemies and quotes like this surfaced from thin air:
“I’ll 8-2 be an Arsenal fan right now.”
“Gooners, I’ll 8-2 to break it to you guys but its gonna be a long season ahead.”
It even sparked my creative juices:
“Szczesny (4.5) refused dinner because he already ‘8’ at Old Trafford.”
Manchester United resigned Arsenal to the club’s biggest defeat in the 21st century and a lot has been learnt in the aftermath,
– Arsenal is nowhere near ready to challenge for the Premier League title
With just three matches gone, Arsenal is already 8 points off the pace with the clubs from Manchester setting the standard for others to follow.
– Wenger’s philosophy and project has failed massively in the worst possible manner
Despite being touted as the alchemist of world football who turns young talent from lead to gold, Wenger had a lot of eggs thrown on his face when his young guns were spanked comprehensively by his smarter rival, Sir Fergie.
– Arsenal has clearly struggled after the loss of Fabregas and Nasri in the middle of the park
Arsenal sells its talisman and another want-away French midfielder to generate £60m+ but the squad was clearly lacking in creativity. This tweets explains it all:
“@cesc4official 2 games, 2 goals, 1 assist. @Nanas08 1 game, 3 assists. @Arsenal: £60m, first 2 games, 0 goals, 0 assists”
– Arsenal’s squad is very thin and something has to be done
You lose Alex Song to suspension due to his stupidity, Frimpong emerges from the shadows.
You lose Emmanuel Frimpong due to his inexperience and carelessness, you…..
hand a debut to young Francis Coquelin.
Let me give you the same instance in Manchester United’s present squad,
You lose Anderson, you get Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Darron Gibson, Ashley Young, Park Ji-Sung, Phil Jones. Even Hugh Giggs Hefner can play in that centre midfield position.
Attempting the same analysis with Liverpool,
You lose Steven G, you get Charlie Chaplin, Necky Henderson, Raul Meireles, Lucas, Maxi Rodriguez, Joe Cole, Alberto Aquilani, Cristian Poulsen, Jonjo Shelvey, Jay Spearing.
That’s enough written on this particular issue.
– There’s no self motivation within the squad when the chips are REALLY down
Going 3-1 down at Old Trafford was the perfect score line for Manchester United to get sloppy and Arsenal to wake up.
As the second half began, Rosicky sent a teasing ball to the young Aaron Ramsey in Man Utd’s box. He dallied on the ball and the chance went begging. If he made it 3-2 that early we would have had a game on our hands.
– Arsene Wenger’s tactics proved to be his undoing once again
As bad as you feel debutant Coquelin was on his debut, he played pretty well against Anderson and Cleverly in that midfield.
Mr. Wenger withdraws him for the Chambered Ox and Manchester United pump in five more goals.
– Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny do not deserve to start week in week out
Thomas Vermaelen stands out as Arsenal’s best defender but when he’s not on the pitch, the defense lacks coordination. Times without number on Sunday, the Arsenal back line pushed too high and was exposed.
Wenger needs to sign a hatchet defender that will bring the best out of this duo.
– Andrey Arshavin needs to be flogged or sent back home for therapy
It’s so unfortunate to know that AA23 has become mediocre in all his matches and has not shown signs of improvement despite the fact that he’s regarded as one of Arsenal’s “senior” players.
It’s high time Wenger gives Miyaichi or the Chambered Ox a run for the their money.
– Robin van Persie needs a creative midfielder that will be supplying killer balls to him
With the likes of Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott and Wilshere behind him, rVp had an amazing goal count of 18 goals in 17 games and scored for fun but that streak his dried up this season.
Wenger has to sign an attacking midfielder that has the killer edge like Fabregas and Nasri because rVp is suffering on the pitch right now.
There are a million and one reasons that can be written on this post as lessons learnt from Sunday’s whooping but I’ll allow you to leave your comments after reading this post.
They’ll be much appreciated.
Moving over to Arsenal news, Wenger has said that he’s not quitting his job in the wake of his biggest defeat as a football manager.
A lot of football managers have been sacked for being at the end of such a dismal result while others have saved themselves the embarrassment by resigning from their post as managers but Wenger has reiterated his desire to stay in the club..and win things.
Staying in the club? Yes.
Winning things with this present crop of players? Be the judge of that.
Fabregas was probably watching his darling Arsenal torn to pieces by Manchester United so his idol and the best football manager on Earth, Pep Guardiola came to Wenger’s defense in the wake of the defeat.
He said a lot of things to the media Vultures but here’s my pick of the bunch.
“You must remember Wenger has done great things with this club, Thanks to him, Arsenal is a great club”
“With so many injuries, those things can happen, especially against such a team as Man Utd.”
However, Arsenal’s captain Robin van Persie has said that his team will not use injuries and suspensions as an excuse:
“We need to come back’.
‘We have Swansea in two weeks, which is a good opponent and I look forward to that.’
‘This was the strongest team we had on Sunday. We gave our maximum but it clearly wasn’t good enough.
‘I don’t think we can hide behind injuries and suspensions. Its no excuse. They had injuries too. This is football.”
He also took out time to talk about the Arsenal faithful that visited Old Trafford to cheer their team up:
“The fans were great. They were cheering us up all game for 90 minutes. We really appreciate that.’
‘Sometimes you see fans leaving early but I did not see that. We went to the fans to thank them after the game. It looked like every seat was full.’
‘That was a good feelin, it really cheered us up.”
Arsenal will write to those faithful fans who went to Man Utd on Sunday offering to cover cost of match ticket at a future Premier League away game.
A Club statement issued today said:
“Sunday’s result was obviously disappointing for everyone connected with the Club. Our travelling fans were magnificent throughout and we want to recognise their fantastic support.”
That is a thoughtful idea from the Arsenal hierarchy.
The transfer window began in June and is a day away from shutting down till January and with Arsenal’s present predicament, the media Vultures have gone on a frenzy linking players to the club.
With the present thin state of the squad, it’s funny to know that Armand Traore is on the verge of joining Queen’s Park Rangers after completing his medicals yesterday.
Armand Traore joined Arsenal from AS Monaco in 2004 at the age of 15 and waited for three seasons before his league debut in the 2007/08 campaign. With the likes of Clichy ahead of him, Traore was loaned to Portsmouth in the winter of 2009 to gain match fitness as well as Premier League experience.
In Portsmouth, he was primarily deployed as a left winger and he used his great reserves of speed to good effect notching up 18 appearances.
This loan spell bolstered his confidence to challenge for a place in Arsenal’s first XI but he couldn’t shove off the threat of Kieran Gibbs. Injuries to Clichy and Gibbs made Traore play nine league matches for Arsenal in the 2009/10 season.
He was loaned at the start of last season to Juventus and he played 19 league games but he didn’t do well enough for the Bianconeri to make the move permanent.
Traore is close to the exit door while Gibbs is still out injured so there are emerging reports that Arsenal is set to sign Andre Santos from Fenerbahce for a fee close to £7m or so.
Andre Clarindo dos Santos is a 27-year old Brazilian that renowned as an attacking full back. The Sao Paulo born player began his career in 2002 at Figueirense making a total of 61 league appearances scoring eight goals in the process.
During his time at Figueirense, he was sent on loan to Flamengo (2005) and Atletico Mineiro (2006) and he made a combined total of 22 league appearances. While in Figueirense, he won the Brazilian Santa Catarina state Championship in 2004, the Brazilian Cup in 2006 and the Brazilian Second Division in the same year.
After 6 years with the Figueira, he moved to Corinthians for a fee of £500,000 making 38 appearances, scoring 9 goals.
In his time at Corinthians, he won the Brazilian Second Division (2008), Brazilian Sao Paulo state Championship (2009) and Brazilian Cup (2009)
Fenerbahce snapped him up for £6m at the start of the 2009/10 campaign and he has been with them ever since. On the international scene, he has made 22 caps for the Samba Boys of Brazil and he was part of Dunga’s squad that won the Confederations Cup (2009) in South Africa following that amazing comeback after going two goals down in the first half to USA.
At the age of 27, Andre Santos is a seasoned professional that has played for many years in his native Brazil before moving to Turkey and he’ll clearly be better than Kieran Gibbs.
As a player, he’s a full back that’s also adept playing as a left winger and like every average Brazilian with the exception of Denilson and Lucas Leiva, he’s very skillful and he has an amazing technique.
He’s also a decent free kick taker and he has a flamboyant style of play. Just like the Brazilian legendary left back Roberto Carlos, Andre Santos can unleash a surface-to-goal torpedo from his left boot and he can also place the ball when he’s close enough to goal.
His major flaw as a player is his overzealous attacking nature and he’s not that fast enough to track back should a counter attack surface and he tends to be selfish at times because he loves dwelling on the ball but in general, I can write that Andre Santos will be a brilliant signing for Arsenal Football Club.
Arsenal’s imminent attacking signing Park Chu-Young has stated that he will not regret signing for Arsenal ahead of LOSC Lille Metropole. Park CY was undergoing a medical in the French club before leaving his hotel to arrive at London Colney but Park is presently in at Korea because of their international fixture coming up in midweek.
Korea Republic’s national coach Cho Kwang-Rae expressed his delight in his captain’s immiment move to Arsenal:
“He will be playing many games in the EPL and he will grow into a better player and it might be helpful for the national team.”
I don’t expect Park CY to start week in week out with the presence of the captain and star player in the squad but Park will give Chamakh a run for his money.
Park’s introduction would definitely be the end of the line for Nicklas Bendtner and it’s sad to know that all his potential suitors have left him at bay throughout this summer.
Park’s move to Arsenal will definitely sever the club’s ties with Lille after hijacking the player right under their noses and it will have an effect on Arsenal’s links with the BioHazard of Eden.
The media Vultures reported that Hazard is set to sign for Arsenal but I believe that the wonderkid would remain at Lille for one season at least.
Arsenal has also been linked with a 19-year old Portuguese midfielder from Lazio called Danilo Pereira. Danilo Luis Helio Pereira is an untested Guinea-Bissau born player that naturalized in Portugal. He started his career in Benfica before arriving in Lazio on a free transfer.
That’s certainly not the type of player Arsenal needs at this point in time.
The transfer news dominating the headlines is a shock swoop for Chelsea’s Yossi Benayoun by Arsenal. I regard Benayoun as football’s Harry Potter because he plays as if his feet are magic wands.
Liverpool are also planning on re-signing him while Lille is also involved in the thick of things so it has turned out to be a 3-horse race for the out-of-favor Chelsea midfielder.
Benayoun is a very versatile player that can play in any and every position in midfield so he won’t be a bad signing for Arsenal but his age (31) will be a major factor because we knw how Wenger acts up when he’s linked with a player in that range.
The media Vultures have done their part so it’s left for Wenger to do his because he has a day left to save Arsenal’s season.
The quote of the day goes to @ArsenalShorts
@ArsenalShorts: “We have enough money, let’s buy Fabregas”
Yer right.
Please check out this track by Endos called African Girl. It’s a lovely song that epitomizes the dude’s talent.
You can also ƒølløώ him on Twitter @endos_iFreshBoy
If this would soothe any Arsenal fan, check out this Facebook Page of a bloke that says that he was alive to see Olympique Marseille beat Manchested United with a similar 8-2 score line inflicted on Arsenal last Sunday.
That’s all for now.
Sayonara.
You can follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily. I’ll follow back 🙂
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Man Utd 8 Arsenal 2: Red Devils simply gr-eight
As a blogger of a club like Arsenal you’ll have to gear yourself for the good times, the bad times and the horrible times because they’ll always be there.
As every season progresses, Arsene Wenger and his men….boys start with renewed optimism and fresh hope but Wenger has lost the plot this time.
I must say that I’m happy with the FA for giving Arsenal this kind of fixtures early on to show Wenger that he has a lot to do this season. With two days left in the transfer window, he will definitely act fast because he has been embarrassed beyond measure at the hands of his greatest rival.
He sold his first choice left back and was faced with the option of purchasing Leighton Baines or Jose Enrique.
What did he do? He decided to promote an injury prone player to take on the position as the number 1 and he also decided that his deputy would be an inexperienced French turned Senegalese that has been disappointing in his loan spells at Benfica and Juventus.
His team conceded 21 goals from set pieces last season and the Emirates was the only stadium where no goal was conceded outside the box so it was imminent that a new center back was supposed to be signed to pair up with Vermaelen.
The media Vultures scavenged the footballing galaxy and decided to come up with names like Chris Samba, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Per Mertesacker, Scott Dann, enigma106, Professor Xavier and Shao Kahn of Mortal Kombat but Wenger decided that he was okay with an aging Frenchman that was cloned from Silvestre, an upcoming Frenchman that played a shitload of games last season and a Swiss brown-haired Mohican that has a loose nut in his cerebral column.
That wasn’t enough, he decided to sell the player that represented everything Arsenal stood for. A player that gave a century of assists in eight years at the club. A player that’s regarded as Arsenal’s Optimus Prime in the CyberTron realm.
Optimus Fabregas Prime actually wanted to go and play with his fellow transformers in Planet Catalunya so Wenger respected his wishes and decided to tell him sayonara.
Optimus was the All-Spark of the club so a replacement was badly needed to ease the creativity burden off players like Jack Wilshere but the boss decided to stick with the present lot that had the likes of a washed up Czech midfielder, an inexperienced GhanEnglish mohican, a Welsh captain, a Cameroonian superstar and loads of other youngsters.
Wenger handed the arm band to Arsenal’s most lethal finisher and Flying Dutchman who led his team out on the 13th of August in St. James Park. The boring stalemate was marred by a red card that was brandished to a debutant.
Udinese visited the Emirates for a vital qualifier on a cold Tuesday night and it took a Walcott finish to separate the sides for the next date in a week. Arsenal played poorly and showed signs of the defects that were created from the key players were sold to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
King Kenny put his money where his mouth was and splashed the cash for the positions of his squad that needed improvement. After offloading Torres for a record British transfer fee, he grabbed a considerable chunk of that money to purchase a player that looks like WWE’s Edge for a whooping £35m. He also got extra funds from his superiors to purchase Ajax and Uruguay’s hitman Luis Suarez.
Suarez turned out to be an amazing signing as he paid for his huge outlay with breathtaking performances. This season Dalglish was at it again with more signings such as Mr. Downs Syndrome, Charlie Chaplin, Jose Enrique and the Necky Henderson.
When King Kenny arrived at the Emirates with his Red Army, Arsenal was involved in another boring showing after Frimpong foolishly got himself red card but it took a £23m Suarez to be the difference between 3 points and 1 as Liverpool broke their 11-year drought in Arsenal’s home to emerge as victors.
Lessons were learnt from the weekend’s encounter and Arsenal’s game of the season was to take place in Frulli on a Wednesday night. After Di Natale’s heroics in the entire two-legged affair, Arsenal had the last laugh and proceeded to the group stages for the 14th season in a row.
The chums at UEFA did their thing and Arsenal was paired in Group F with Olympique Marseille, Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund. All attention was turned to the North London vs Manchester Sunday.
Arsenal’s bitter rivals and neighbors Tottenham had the task of hosting the money bags while Wenger and his depleted squad were to travel up North to the Theater of Dreams.
Edin Dzeko stole the show when both clubs locked horns and $amir Na$ri was pretty awesome in his debut with three assists.
When I saw the lineup that was about to play a Man Utd side that whitewashed Tottenham, I hoped for the worst but I was in the opinion that Arsenal was about to commence a damage limitation exercise.
As expected, the impressive Wojciech Szczesny was in between the sticks and his confidence was boosted after that fantastic penalty save from Di Natale.
Sagna has been playing in an unfamiliar left back position for the past two games but he became unavailable for selection because he fell ill so Traore was given the nod in his stead.
Vermaelen suffered an injury when Arsenal played Udinese so Koscielny had to pass a late fitness test to play beside Djourou in the heart of Arsenal’s defense. Jenkinson continued at right back.
Questions were raised about the player that was to assume the holding midfield role because of the unavailability of Song and Frimpong so Wenger produced the answer in the form of an untested Francis Coquelin.
Van Persie led the attack and was assisted by Arshavin and Walcott on the flanks. The Man Utd side that played yesterday was the exact lineup that played against Tottenham.
From the start of the game, Arsenal looked nervy. Koscielny gave a back pass to Szczesny but the keeper dallied a bit before blasting the ball on Welbeck’s body for a goal kick.
Cleverley had half a chance and sent his effort wide. Rooney also had a snap shot saved by Szczesny. On the other end, Arshavin sent a pass to Traore but the attack was defended well with consummate ease by the Man Utd back line.
Ashley Young was a constant threat on the left hand side and he fed a ball to Welbeck who tried to chip the goalie but his effort went wide. Young also teed up Rooney but the striker was blocked by Djourou.
Arsenal offered no real threat up front and clearly lacked ideas in the final third. Walcott launched a counter attack and fed Arshavin. The Russian made a glorious mess of things and another chance went begging.
Traore managed to get loose off the clutches of Nani to make a run forward. With van Persie on his left and Walcott on his right, Traore kept on going aimlessly with the ball and it was taken away from him the way a bully takes candy from a kid.
The first talking point arrived when Young received a pass from Welbeck. When Young controlled the ball, Coquelin charged him but won the ball fair and square so Howard Webb was having none of it.
Rosicky linked up with Walcott but his shot was very tame. Arshavin has being criticized in recent times for not getting “stuck in” so he got himself into trouble after a poor lounge on Phil Jones leaving Mr. Webb no choice but to brandish a yellow.
Arsenal built up attacks from the right hand side but Walcott’s final ball didn’t find any Arsenal player. With Arsenal messing up with their chances, Man Utd showed them how it was done thanks to more atrocious defending from Arsenal.
Evra crossed a ball into the danger area but Koscielny headed it away to safety that arrived in the form of Anderson. The T-Pain look-alike lofted the ball back into the box in between Djourou and Koscielny and both players didn’t take charge of the ball so Welbeck popped up with a simple header and the floodgates were set to be open.
While the Man Utd players were basking in euphoria shortly after going one up, they were brought down to Earth when Howard Webb awarded Arsenal a penalty for a foul on Walcott from Jonny Evans.
Arsenal’s captain Van Persie had the chance to equalize from 12 yards but his effort was saved by de Gea. Van Persie knelt on the ground in despair while de Gea’s teammates rushed unto to congratulate him for keeping the lead intact.
Arsenal was made to rue that golden chance because Man Utd scored shortly afterwards. Rooney crossed a ball into the box but it was nodded away by Armand Traore. Young got the ball at the edge of the box before curling it into the far corner.
In as much as I’m an Arsenal fan and it was my club that conceded that goal, it was a thing of beauty and a classic example of a goal you would score in Pro Evolution Soccer when you tap the R2 button after shooting.
With Arsenal going two goals down, they had to step up but the Gunners had a double chance that was saved by de Gea. Arshavin smashed the first shot and the ball was parried straight to RVP who lashed it at the goalie.
Minutes after that, Welbeck pulled his hammy when he chased after an intended through pass so the 2010/11 signing of the season, Javier Hernandez replaced him.
Arsenal’s defense was playing with a very high line so the back line was exposed with over the top through balls from Man Utd’s midfield.
Cleverley sent a lovely over the top ball to Young but he was fouled on the edge of the area by Jenkinson. Mr. Webb awarded a free kick and booked the young lad.
Rooney, Young and Nani stood with the dead ball and it seemed as if the players were bent on executing a move practiced in training and it came to effect in the best possible manner.
Rooney brought the ball to life before Young killed it again then the £250,000 per week man used his technique to curl the ball over the wall. Szczesny put a hand to it but it wasn’t a strong hand. 3-0 already in the first half and it was getting embarrassing.
With the half easing off, Arsenal finally got off the mark with its first Premier League goal thanks to Theo Walcott. Ramsey and Arshavin connected well before giving Rosicky who sent a through ball for Walcott. His first time shot went through de Gea’s legs and Arsenal went into the break with a two-goal deficit.
The bench didn’t even help matters, Wenger had Fabianski, Miquel, Sunu, Ozyakup, Lansbury, Chambered Ox and Chamakh to call upon. Five players present in the bench had not started any game for Arsenal. Helpful innit?
Arsenal started the second half brightly with Ramsey wasting another chance created by Rosicky. Young had a shot that was saved by Szczesny. Nani got in behind Traore but chose to chip the goalie instead of passing to an available teammate.
Walcott was on the left hand side when he passed the ball to Rosicky who chipped the ball in for a free RVP but Arsenal’s captain uncharacteristically took a first time shot instead of bringing it under control. De Gea made the save and another chance went with the wind.
Cleverley executed a neat one-two with Chicharito but his finish down. Nani also missed a glorious chance from point-blank range after receiving a pass from Young.
Wenger removed Coquelin to bring on the Chambered Ox and his midfield crumbled from there. A very bad tactical error by Wenger. Arshavin wasn’t playing so well as usual so if there was any player that was to replace the Chambered Ox with, it would have been AA23.
As soon as Coquelin left the midfield, Anderson and Cleverley ran riot. Another free kick was to take place at the edge of the box again and the usual suspects stepped up again. Rooney played the ball to the far post and the hapless Szczesny watched as the ball slammed the net to give Man Utd that three-goal cushion.
Nani made it 5 when he chipped Szczesny from close range and Park JS made it 6 with his first attempt on goal.
Arsenal looked very demoralized but there was still time for the Gunners to add to their count. Jenkinson was free on the right and he sent a cross into Man Utd’s box. Jones headed it away but the header came back to Jenkinson who nodded it straight to the path of RVP who smashed the roof with his effort.
If he scored that penalty in the first half, the game might have had a different outlook. Rooney was on a hattrick when he received the ball from outside the box. He noticed that Szczesny was off his line so he sent an audacious lob goalwards that hit the post to spare Szczesny’s blushes.
Another over the top pass was Arsenal’s undoing as Jenkinson saw red for foul on Chicharito. For the third league match in a row, Arsenal had another player that was sent off.
Rooney’s free kick went over but he sealed his hattrick when Walcott fouled Evra in the box to win a spot kick that was dispatched clinically by the striker.
When Man Utd went 7 up, Wenger took out two of his most important players before they would fall victim to injuries or getting sent off because these are the latest trends that are associated with Arsenal.
Chamakh replaced RVP while Lansbury came on for Walcott. With Arsenal dead and buried in the game, Young poured the final grains of sand in the Arsenal grave with another sumptuous curled effort that beat Szczesny to leave the final score line at 8-2.
Shortly after the final whistle, my BlackBerry device was subjected to different forms of torture from my friends and enemies alike. Man Utd fans that’d not called me since the days Yar’ Adua was ruling Nigeria decided to remember the good ol’ enigma106 and laugh hysterically before cutting the phone.
Twitter was another avenue where people went haywire by mentioning me and other Arsenal fans to taunt us. BlackBerry messenger had its own set of nutjobs that sent a million and one broadcast messages about Arsenal.
Wenger said:
“It was a terrible day for us. A combination of weakness in certain areas and we collapsed physically in the second half”
Szczesny (4.5) refused dinner at home because he already ‘8’ at Old Trafford.
Jenkinson (5.5) was torn apart by Young but he still managed to give an assist.
Traore (4.5) was shambolic in defense and was exposed countless times.
Koscielny (5.0) made some vital interceptions but kept a very line with his partner.
Djourou (4.5) was at fault for the match’s opener and was missing in action in the defense at times.
Ramsey (4.0) had one touch too many in several occasions and squandered many goal bound opportunities.
Rosicky (6.5) was Arsenal’s brightest spark, gave an assist and supplied many good passes that were not utilized.
Coquelin (6.0) had a tough debut but did well under the conditions.
Arshavin (4.5) was a a pain to watch.
Walcott (6.0) had a well taken goal
RVP (5.5) missed a spot kick but got his name on the score sheet.
Chambered Ox (4.5) showed why he was worth £12m. Thanks Arsene.
The last time Arsenal lost with 8 goals, Zeus, Hera and the other Greek gods were giving their blessings to Greece for the first ever Olympic Games in 1896. 53 years before Wenger was born.
Our league form since the Carling Cup final loss to Birmingham:
17 games
3 wins
9 draws
5 loses
That’s 18 points out of a possible 51
I’m very distraught but it’s kinda funny to know that it’s just matchday 3 in the Premier League and everybody is panicking. They tend to forget that the other ‘big boys’ will play each other. Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool will still lock horns and I’m stilll optimistic that new players will arrive before Wednesday.
With what Wenger witnessed at the back, he’ll probably beef up his offer for Cahill.
Gooners, don’t fret.
There are 35 more league matches to go.
But I can’t deny that Manchester United was
Simply gr-eight.
Sayonara.
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A tale of Wenger, Coyle, Gervinho and 3 more players + Man Utd preview
Apologies for not publishing any post yesterday but as I wrote a few days ago, blogging with a BlackBerry has its limits.
In Nigeria, calling, text messaging, pinging, facebooking, tweeting and of course blogging are all children of a big y’ello telecom dad called MTN. There are other dads like Etisalat, Airlet and Glo but once the dad is down, the children become inactive.
Without further ado I’ll give a detailed roundup about the proceedings dominating the world called Arsenal.
With three days left before the transfer window gets shut like the lid of an ancient relic that will be opened eons later, Arsene Wenger has decided that its time to act fast to buy the players that will add quality to his squad.
He has finally admitted the need to spend swiftly and he has declared that he’ll like to buy three more players:
“It’s important that we strengthen up front. It’s important that we find one midfielder and defender as well.”
With just three days left, Wenger is odds on to acquire the lucky three and I’m very happy to know that he wants to add them in the places that their services will be badly needed.
I’ve reiterated that Arsenal needs a center back that can make Vermaelen play as a left back, a holding midfielder that will be a good back-up for Song and a striker that can deputize for rVp when his glass bones decide to give up on him.
However, Wenger is a bit anxious about these potential signings because bringing them into the club this late and expecting them to be instant hits will definitely be asking too much of them.
They have a long season ahead of them so they’ll have enough time to settle at the Emirates and strut their stuffs when called upon by the manager.
The player that’s odds on in filling the defensive signing loophole is Bolton’s Gary Cahill and we know how long his saga has drawn on. It’s incomparable to Fabregas’ saga but Arsenal and Bolton have given the media Vultures things to write about all summer long.
The media Vultures have reported that Wenger has hit out at Bolton over the Cahill situation and it will only add fuel to fire on the issue.
However, Bolton’s boss Owen Coyle has stated that a step up is okay for the bloke. He has done his bit for Aston Villa and he has also served Bolton so a move to Arsenal will be a new benchmark in his career and it could bolster his chances of playing for the national team because Ferdinand’s time is running out and Terry will need an able replacement at the heart of England’s defense.
It was reported that a £6m bid for the chap was rejected by Bolton but Owen Coyle has come out to say that the club is open to a second bid. I’m confident that Wenger will approach Bolton again with an improved offer but I don’t believe that it will be up to the £17m that Bolton is requesting. He has a year left in his deal and Arsenal is no Man City.
Coyle is also resigned to losing Cahill to Arsenal or any other interested party:
“If something happens prior to Wednesday and Gary’s to leave the club, I as a manager will wish him all the best.”
“But if it doesn’t Gary is all heart and he’ll give everything for Bolton.”
“Gary wants to play at the highest level and there is nothing wrong with that ambition and he has been a terrific servant for Bolton.”
But Coyle hinted that he’ll let Cahill go to the highest bidder:
“The bottom line is, if someone out there has a price that I think is the right value for Gary Cahill and they make an offer, then there is a chance business will be done.”
“If they don’t, there is nothing to talk about.”
I would really love to see Gary Cahill wear the Red and White because he’ll be a great acquisition for Arsenal. He’s in his mid-twenties, he’s English, he has a massive leap and he’s a no-nonsense center back.
We could do with that at the back.
Gervinho is a player that has wowed the gooners with his famous magical dribbling skills and he had a thing or two to say about the greedy one, $amir Na$ri. He said that Na$ri coaxed him to join Arsenal but he broke his Ivorian heart:
“I wanted to play with Samir because he’s a big player. His exit has left me in pain. He promised to stay here this season….and he changed his mind.”
“This is a new Arsenal. A team without Nasri and Cesc. We need to forget that and turn to a new page. Now we must only think about the future.”
Just like he said, Nasregas is a phrase that’s now sealed in Arsenal history but the club’s hierarchy should understand that Wenger did what he could to keep them at the club but it was futile.
One followed his heart while the other relished the prospect of having a pocket greener that the Grinch who stole Christmas.
Gervinho also told the media Vultures that he’ll like to see his former teammate, the BioHazard of Eden in Arsenal:
“I haven’t spoken to Wenger about Hazard, but Eden was my companion at Lille and if Arsenal can complete the deal then I’ll be content.
“Wenger has had some difficult moments and each match comes with big pressure. But the coach is one of the best and I’m convinced we will find a solution to the situation.”
“I haven’t had many problems adapting to the Premier League. It’s a different level and style but I’m convinced that soon I will play as well as I did in France.”
“Now the problem for Arsenal is to score goals. We’re creating opportunities but we need to take them.”
Arsenal will be without Gervinho in today’s game and it’s definitely going to be a bitter blow to Arsenal’s chances because the Ivorian is slowly growing to become an important first team player, especially when the inconsistent Arshavin is not showing any signs of improvement.
There’s a player that could join Cahill in Arsenal and he’s about to put his name in the history books as the first Korean to join Arsenal FC. He was the player that scored a decisive free kick in the World Cup when Korea Republic drew with my Nigeria. I’m still not over that Yakubu miss though 🙁
This Korean in question is a very popular figure for video gamers that played the Master League in Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and 2009. He’s one of the cheapest strikers that can be bought in the game and his learning curve is very steep.
This Korean began his career back home in FC Seoul before making his transition to Europe in the Principality of Monaco in 2008. He has notched 91 Ligue 1 matches for the recently relegated club and has scored 25 goals. He’s currently Korea Republic’s captain, gained 53 caps and has scored 17 goals for his nation.
At club level, he won the K-League Cup with FC Seoul in 2006 and he was a silver medalist in the 2010 Coupe de France. On the international scene, he has won trophies in his days as an Under-19 player but he hasn’t won anything with the Korea Republic senior team.
I’m pretty sure that you’re getting bored with the suspense so I’ll let the Korean out of the dojo.
He’s simply known as Park Chu-Young in the world I live in and there are emerging reports that he’s set to sign for Arsenal.
Its speculated that Park CY will wear the No. 9 jersey vacated by Eduardo da Silva but there’s a major challenge Arsenal might face with the signing of the Korean. There are debates that have been reignited over the mandatory military service all Koreans above 20 years are supposed to serve for two years.
Park CY is a 26-year old chap and he hasn’t served yet but he’s hoping that he could be exempted because of his services to football.
An official called Cho has decided to address the issue:
“All able bodied men 20 and older are required to serve in the armed forces for two years at least. This means the 14 players in the 23-man roaster are subject to the mandatory service which includes Park Chu-Young and Ki Sung-Yeung.”
“What the players want is exemption….and the association will do its best to realize this.”
Every country has its own laws and creeds that they follow but telling a footballer to serve in the army is a bit unfair. Tomasz said that the 2002 World Cup squad was exempted because of their brilliant performance in the tourney that was hosted by Korea and Japan. Park CY has worn the Korean jersey 53 times and scored goals against countries like Greece, Paraguay, Serbia and of course Nigeria and it will be very awkward if he’s deployed to some battalion instead of doing what he’s already good at.
Seeing someone like Park CY in the army would remind me of that scene in the movie 300 when Leonidas asked the Arkadians what their occupations were. Some said that they were traders, others said carpenters. When Park CY is asked, he would say that he’s a footballer instead of the awoo sound that we got accustomed to in the movie.
In other Arsenal news, Wenger has stated that Arsenal’s season starts at Old Trafford and Arsenal’s away form will be very crucial this season.
This is just the third Premier League of the season but Arsenal has to avoid a defeat to their rivals because it’s too early in the season to be eight points behind Manchester United. Arsenal had the best away form in the league but their patchy home form made them pay and they have already started with a home loss to Liverpool.
The Carling Cup 3rd round draws are out and Arsenal got a favorable contest with Shrewsbury. Man Utd got Leeds while Chelsea got Fulham.
To round it all up, Sol Campbell has talked about what Arsenal needs, Joel Campbell’s work permit application was rejected and Blackpool’s Ian Holloway gives reasons why Arsenal lacks the will to win like Man Utd.
A manager that brought in a carefree style of football to the Premier League got relegated in his club’s only season in the Premier League in centuries yet he has the balls to talk about a team that has collective wage budget could be a transfer budget for his own club.
It’s his opinion by the way and I’ll always say:
“Opinions are like arseh*les, everybody has one.”
To team news, Rosicky and Djourou are fully fit while Vermaelen and Koscielny will face late fitness tests.
Gibbs and Wilshere are still out with injury while Song and Gervinho will be serving the second match of their suspensions.
I’m writing this post with my BlackBerry so there’ll be no graphical illustration again. Sorry about that. 🙁
My expected lineup should be:
Szczesny
Sagna – Koscielny – Djourou – Vermaelen
Lansbury – Rosicky – Ramsey
Walcott – RVP – Arshavin
That’s enough for today
Come on you Gunners.
Sayonara.
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