Daily Archives: September 20, 2011
The optimistic Flying Dutchman and Shrewsbury preview
The injuries sustained by Arsenal from the defeat in Ewood Park are healing slowly but the scars will be with the club all season long.
After playing for two football months with the Premier League and the Champions League, a new competition has entered the fray, the Carling Spoon.
Wenger made a mockery of this competition seasons ago by fielding younglings irrespective of the team he was coming up against but he saw the light and opened his eyes last season.
The competition almost yielded fruit for his side but his players fell in the final hurdle. The cock-up between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny can never be forgotten by any gooner for years to come.
Van Persie is a player that was as hot like supernova last season but his form hasn’t been too scintillating this campaign but he has done well to add two goals to his name.
He was on the profligate side when Arsenal played Blackburn but as the No. 1 citizen of the club, his commitment cannot be questioned.
He has told the media Vultures that he’s still positive despite Arsenal poor start to the season:
“There is lots of time [left this season], but at some point you need to pick yourself up and prove what you are capable of.”
“We are not doing that at the moment and are not consistent enough.”
“It just frustrates me, and it is happening too often. Every time we start positively we just keep making the same mistakes and that is surprising.”
“It’s very important [to get back on track]. Even before the game on Saturday I said to the boys, ‘today is a big, big day’. We have to get back-to-back wins, and we just cannot do that at the moment. That is our aim for the next couple of games, we have to win them after each other.”
“We just need a couple of good weeks in the Premier League where we get a lot of points, and hopefully we can start next week against Bolton.
Arsenal’s talisman and star player has done his bit for the side but its bad to see how the defense crumbled against Blackburn. Van Persie has also told the media Vultures that he’s surprised by Arsenal’s errors:
“It just frustrates me and it is happening too often. Every time we start positively we keep making the same mistakes and that is surprising.”
I’m pretty sure that van Persie isn’t the only person that’s in perplexion and bewilderment when it comes to Arsenal and its defensive issues. If he dares write a tweet like,
@Persie_Official: I’m surprised by my team’s errors”
I’m confident that he’ll get more retweets than the amount of times Messi checks his mirror to see if he has added another inch to his hobbit-like height. 🙂
He ended it all up by saying that there’s still plenty of time and I’m in full support of that.
It’s true that it’s early days but we should always remember that we have played only five games in the Premier League and we have five more Champions League games to go as well as the Carling Spoon and the FA Cup that will start in January.
Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has slammed the club’s defending following the fiasco at Blackburn but it seems as if everybody’s cries for an injection in the coaching staff has fallen on deaf eyes because Wenger has told the media Vultures that he’s
keeping the faith with his current coaching staff
.
So much as been said about those behind the scenes not doing their jobs well because these frailties are still shown on the pitch but I don’t think that sacking the back room staff that have been in the club for eons will change the situation.
Every finger should be pointed at the boss for his team selection and the players selected for not doing their jobs well.
However, Wenger has heaped praise on Arsenal supporters after they backed his team to the hilt at Ewood Park and he has admitted that his new-look defense needs time to develop.
I know that everybody was expecting Per Mertesacker to make an instant impact but the center back has done very well in the games he has played so far. He almost salvaged a point for Arsenal on Saturday with that mighty header that missed by a lick of paint.
Wenger has also stated that newbie Park Chu-Young will be valuable for Arsenal because of his versatility and he has also talked up the abilities of Ryo Miyaichi.
Arsenal has a Carling Spoon match tonight against npower League Two minnows Shrewsbury and Wenger has promised that his youngsters will be on song tonight and he’ll create the perfect blend between youth and experience.
The only thing I know about Shrewsbury is that they are a npower League Two outfit that play their home games in Greenhous Meadow, a 10,000 all-seater stadium in England.
The other landmark I know about the club is that they were the English outfit that unleashed Man City’s Joe Hart to the world and I’m pretty sure that he’ll keep tonight’s fixture in mind.
Judging from Arsenal’s scouting report on the team, they are a good footballing side and they have a striker called Marvin Morgan who has already netted seven times this season. They also have good wingers but I don’t expect team to drop and play dead at the Emirates.
To team news, Lukasz Fabianski will be given his first Arsenal start this season and I’m pretty sure that he’ll have a boring day at the office but you never can tell what this Arsenal side has up it’s sleeves.
Carl Jenkinson will be given a run-out at the right while Kieran Gibbs will strut his stuff on the left. Wenger may want to rest his defensive pairing for the game against Bolton so starts may be handed out to Ignasi Miquel and Johan Djourou.
Arsenal is lacking options in the middle of the park with endless injury worries but there’s good news because Wilshere will be back soon. I feel that Wenger will play Emmanuel Frimpong in the holding role while Aaron Ramsey and Yossi Benayoun will complete the triumvirate.
The attack will have an exciting outlook with Ryo Miyaichi showing off his Ryodinho skills on the left while the raw pace of the Chambered Ox will be unveiled for all to see. Wenger will also hand out a debut to Korea Republic’s captain Park Chu-Young to lead the line.
Fabianski
Jenkinson – Djourou – Miquel – Gibbs
Frimpong – Benayoun – Ramsey
Chambered Ox – Park CY – Miyaichi
This is not Arsenal’s full strength XI but it’s definitely good enough to smash in goals past a npower League Two side.
Enjoy the game wherever you are.
The quote of the day goes to ChiEbuka Nworah,
“If Arsenal continue to sink at this rate, they are bound to strike oil at some point in the near future.”
I don’t know if it was culled from his head or some article but I would really love Arsenal to strike oil.
I’m writing about the Abu Dhabi oil that struck Man City and PSG.
I just wonder when some oil-rich football crazy sheikh will give Stan Kroenke, Alisher Usmanov and the AST offers that they won’t be able to refuse.
Oh well,
It’s good to create fantasies in your head at times. 🙂
Sayonara.
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Aftermath of the Blackburn game and the club’s confidence issues
Apologies for not publishing your daily Arsenal digest yesterday. I woke up really late and arrived at work late too. After a long day of plying my trade, I decided to hang out with my friends to have some chicken and beer. The chicken I’m writing about isn’t the chicken standing on shit ℓįkε Tottenham’s crested logo, it’s the type of ‘chicken’ that sits on your thighs and strokes your head with one of her hands.
Its pretty difficult to blog in such a situation. 😀
The Premier League’s 5th weekend had it all.
Arsenal endured its worst start in 58 years, the three promoted sides secured convincing victories, the striker-deficient Sunderland whitewashed Stoke Rugby FC, the water-tight Man City let Fulham back, King Kenny and his expensive Red ruffians got gazumped by Tottenham and Fernando Torres had the miss of the millennium despite scoring his first goal since the days Shakespeare wrote all his plays.
Arsenal activated their Self Destruct mode against Blackburn in Ewood Park and all Hell broke loose as Wenger’s men literally saved Steve Kean’s job with that disastrous second half performance.
However, Johan Djourou remains optimistic and has told the media Vultures that Arsenal has to bounce back:
“When you lose, it is always important to have a response. Even if it is at home in the Carling Cup, we want to win so we need a big response on Tuesday.”
“We have to bounce back because we have another game and we have to be ready for those. We are disappointed but there is still a long way to go and things are not over yet.
“We had many chances to put the game to bed in the first half and, when you don’t do that, you are always in danger of getting punished. I think that is what happened on Saturday.
“The team is building together and we are getting stronger together. We could have won the game but this team has got a lot of potential and we have to work hard to be the best.”
It’s always good to practice what you preach but Djourou has been shambolic for Arsenal and his waned form dates back to the preseason adventures. It’s understandable for a center back not to adept as a full back but Djourou was largely disappointing and he has to improve.
Last season, Djourou rose from the shadows to emerge as Arsenal’s best defender by a far mile but its sad to know that he didn’t build on this form. With the Verm still out, Djourou has to step up his game to challenge the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker but I’m sure that he’ll get a runout tomorrow.
As the adage goes:
“Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”
King Arsène Wenger has come under serious stick following his sides poor showing on Saturday and whispers are emanating about his future as Arsenal’s boss.
Since his arrival in 1996, he hasn’t missed out on a Champions League qualifying place but Wenger’s men are in a very precarious position in the Premier League. If Fulham beat Man City, Arsenal would have been sitting pretty in the relegation zone.
Wenger said that his team paid for their weak moments and the players are lacking confidence.
“That’s where we were guilty. The second, third and fourth goal are all goals where we made basic errors and you just have to focus on the next game.”
“You could see that the confidence in our defenders has gone and it’s important to find it back.”
“We have the potential to do well, you could see that so overall I believe it’s important that we get our confidence back quickly.
“It’s very difficult to accept that you lose a game when you have that much domination, that many chances. It’s unbelievable.”
If your team can’t get the confidence to play a team that was on the bottom of the table, I wonder where the confidence wants to appear from.
There are been many games were the opponent hasn’t been that good, Arsenal has been very poor. The list of matches to be mentioned are endless so I won’t bother delving there.
I’ve learnt a lot of lessons from Arsenal’s match against Blackburn and there were more negatives than positives:
Laurent Koscielny
Koscielny has shown that he’s an inconsistent defender and he really needs to improve on that. You cannot expect Thomas Vermaelen to be fit all season long and Koscielny has to show that he’s a deputy that can be banked upon.
You might feel that I’m a little bit harsh on Kos but he’s not getting any younger. He turned 26 when Arsenal played Swansea but he proved his mettle in the game against Dortmund.
That’s the Koscielny I want to watch every week.
Marouane Chamakh
The Moroccan is turning out to be a peripheral figure at the Emirates and it’s high time he gets a decent run out to gain his confidence back.
I really wish Wenger can employ the 4-4-2 again someday. The Arsenal of the 2007/08 was breathtaking.
Zonal Marking
Set pieces has always been Arsenal’s undoing in recent seasons and Saturday’s game was no different. Yakubu’s second goal was as a result of more porous defending by Arsenal in the 18-yard box.
Wenger’s men have to get it right as the season progresses because more goals could be conceded from there.
Defensive high line
Anytime I think of Nani’s goal against Arsenal, I get a feeling that’s equivalent to a man that wants to shoot his own foot.
Nani was acres of space away from Arsenal’s backline and he had a million and one options to choose from. Annoyingly enough, he made the most embarrassing choice of them all; chipping it over Wojciech Szczesny.
Arsenal’s defense tends to keep a line without executing the offside trap welll and it has been exploited by the opposition.
This simply has to stop.
Despite all this, Emmanuel Frimpong still tagets a top four finish:
“People have written us off this season – and obviously that 8-2 game at Manchester United didn’t help.
“It was a very difficult situation but the manager has told us it was something that only happens once.”
“We started slowly and at the moment we are playing catch up – but I believe top four would be a good achievement for us.”
A man who cannot afford a car shouldn’t be hoping for private jets but @AdeGooner shares the same optimism with Frimpong, that’s why he has the quote of the day.
@AdeGooner: “I’m happy Liverpool is dropping points. Good for the fourth place campaign, Sp*rs aren’t a threat for that position.”
It’s one game at a time, if you ask me.
I’m going to publish another post around 9am.
This post was meant for yesterday.
Forgive this blogger 🙂
Sayonara.
You can follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily. I’ll follow back 🙂
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