Arsenal Banter Archive February 12 2013

12 Feb 2013 19:44:05
Would recommend watching wanyama against class opposition tonight. Can't for the life of me see him looking out of place and I'm a rangers fan.
Belly

He was pretty good tonight, so was ambrose, and the left back was exceptional aswell (izaguirre?)

^ ambrose was good? lmao, what game was you watching?

What game were you watching? Ambrose directly gave away 2 goals and wanyama was selfish and average at best.

Who won the game? these guys are not good enough. they can't raise their game when it is required. wanamaya? Juve had 3 or 4 attempts at goal. scored 3. so. is he really the super dooper DM player we need?
COYG, andi

Sorry but ambrose had a bit of a stinker. Cost them 2goals

Paul - Rochester

Ambrose was the reason Celtic lost the game, he was Bloody useless.

13 Feb 2013 13:37:41
Ambrose directly gave away 2 goals and missed a sitter. Can't imagine what a poor performance looks like in your eyes.

Leave the guy, he was exhausted and still celebrating

12 Feb 2013 16:07:32
Im a little bit confused and concerned about Arsenal's Pre and Post match conferences, and also individual player interviews.

I believe they are setting themselves up for a huge fall, should they lose their next match - be it blackburn in the cup, or munich in the CL.

Arsene Wenger has used confidence (lack of) as an excuse for poor performances, but now for the past 3 weeks (because we are winning I guess) every victory has been dedicated to the contributing rise in confidence. If we are to take it literally, the team is now so confident that confidence on its own merit, will win us matches.

Theo Walcott has just come out and said that confidence is flowing so high in the Arsenal camp, that they feel they can beat anyone.

What are the odds that if we lose one of the upcoming matches, Wenger will come out and say that its due to a lack of confidence on the pitch!?

Thats a concern in my mind atleast, so il end the post with a question which hopefully people will answer.

Everyone knows that confidence is important on the pitch, but HOW important is it, and is it acceptable to use lack of confidence as a reason for losing matches?

Daniel

12 Feb 2013 17:58:38
Every season you see a lack of confidence in teams in the relegation zone, yes they are of lesser ability but that combined with lack of confidence is there ultimate downfall. Subversly Wigan have shown what confidence can do for you in that position.

Confidence at the sharp end is a massive plus, Newcastle with Keegan all those years ago shows what happens if you lose that as we did after Birmingham, combined with the other most Important thing, winning mentality.

Man Utd are currently showing what you can do with a winning mentality and not even one of their best teams.

Stoner

Personally, I never take Wenger for his word because he no longer gives interviews like he did 3-4 years ago. he no longer bothers to put a show on for the media. there's a handful of scripts he has learnt by rote and puts them out in rotation.
this applies to injury news, transfers, inner workings, contract negotiations, etc.

the players we have need to feel that luck is on their side. the reaction to misplaced places and wayward shots fired is too easily visible on their faces and there's just not enough belief in their work to just think of it as a momentary error and fight for the ball again. they dwell on their mistakes and we get ripped apart on the counter.

when you see the team playing less by the book with players pressing with urgency, it's a riskier play, but they fight for everything without a moment's thought. that's what we need. the whole confidence issue does play in their head and Wenger doesn't seem to be able to get them past it. a shame really because the class they ooze when firing on all cylinders is just crazy!

Mike

12 Feb 2013 13:59:03
Think we need one more striker, and I think everyone knows who I'm talking about; he's big, he's red, his feet stick out the bed its Peter Crouch.

Reckon we could get him for about £14.5m and he can play CB as well if needed.

What do yas think lads?

Mark Mullan

Well said lad, well said.

Colm Cor

You Serious mate Di Natale all the way.

David Kealey

Great shout lad, we could definately do with big Pete Crouch up there! Scores some wonder goals aswell, he's who we need for our champions league push

Always thought he had the potential for CB too.

Finti Mac

I think your crazy! Even saying his name on this site!

No where near good enough for arsenal!

-Homesick-

We already have his twin brother in Monreal

Are you his agent 'lad'?

12 Feb 2013 19:54:29
Peter crouch oh my god. you need help get rid of the deadwood (santos) and get him you couldn't manage a sunday pub football team.

12 Feb 2013 12:45:13
I think that pod, giroud and theo are the best front three we have had in ages. They are all good finishers, but they work for the team as well. Any comments welcome.

Best since Pires, Thierry and Freddie

Paul

12 Feb 2013 11:25:35
any 1 else glad we don't have to play munich this week?

champagne charlie

12 Feb 2013 09:58:39
with man city imploding and mancini cracking the whip - would you take any of the man city players to arsenal if yes which ones?

me personally I would take richards and lescott

GS

How bout aguero silva and toure for starters?

Kompany, Silva and Aguero for me

Kompany, Yaya Toure & Dzeko

Hmm.

Well if I had a choice, I would take Silva, Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Yaya, Richards, Zabaletta, Kompany, Lescott, Hart, Kolarov.

Much as I like Sir Chezzerney I do think Hart is a better all round keeper at the moment so I would take him. Silva on present form is not as good as Santi or Jack so he can stay in Cloth Cap Country. Aguero is better than any striker we have so he can come on down. Yaya is a no-brainer and Kompany would improve us no question. Tevez anyone?

CECEGUaW

Silva and Kompany would do and fit in nicely, others no

The names above will not be leaving

GS

12 Feb 2013 07:31:22
Maybe I'm being over cynical and possibly unfair but how many poor players have we now got out on loan? I thought the loan system was the to help smaller clubs and for players to gain essential first team experience. Whilst I feel Santos exit on loan is definitely a good thing, isn't it the case for Arsenal that we have simply removed more cost from the bottom line yet simply delayed the problem and reduced the market value of players as they come to the end of their contracts? Surely, we would have been better to take the losses on Bendtner, Park, Chamakh, Denilson and co, get some money and invest in new players? After all, we will end up taking the hit soon e. g. When Arshavin's contract ends this summer.

Jonathan

You are probably correct - it would be preferable to illiminate these players from the clubs payroll entirely, but you are missing one vital ingredient. Some one, or some clubs who are daft enough to want to saddle themselves with players who have clearly lost their appetite for playing football (Arsharvin?) or have demonstrated that their standard of play is well below the level that their current wages, and therefore their future expectations of wages, demand (Santos, Park, Bendtner, Denilson, Djourou, etcetera). So loaning them at least does three things:
(1) Demonstrates to some of the squad that "below par" won't cut it.
(2) Reduces the wage bill.
(3) Gives some of the younger squad players some headroom.
Of course we'd be better off getting rid of these players; the poster above has posted a really original note stating that "we need to get rid of ten deadwood players as it is a waiste (sic) of money", which is something that has been repeatedly mentioned on here for at least two years, but of the trouble is we are at the mercy of demand and supply. We can supply plenty of over-paid, over-rated (by themselves NB52), under-achieving, money-hungry wannabe's, has-been and never-were's, but no one demands them.
Simples.
Max Farnham

Think about it this way. for example.

Nick B52 aka best player ever, is on 52k a week, and then a club like let's say napoli want him.

Now napoli will pay him 40k a week. so he loses out on 12k a week.

So B52 will say that he wants to play for a champions league team, not because he is good enough, but because they would pay the 52k a week, and he will be a happy footballer, play a bit get a pay rise and bish bash bosh and he's laughing to the bank.

Now no one wants the player, Arsenal need to put themselves on the back foot and offer the player. So what do most clubs do when you offer a player?

take him on loan, get him for peanuts if he performs well for the club and his contract has run down by 6 months to a year.

The problem is that we have overpayed for junk. its like trying to sell a 1985 ford escort for 2k. no one wants it when you can get another for 200 pounds.

Lakerville

Thanks guys. Fair points. It does beg the question whether we are better or worse than other top clubs in respect of deadwood.

Jonathon the loan system does help smaller clubs to some extent, for example Crewe have Aneke on loan, or had, not sure if he still is, and he has done well. Scored about 5 goals as well. They get a player from a pedigree club who can improve their depth, he gets some game time (hopefully) and everyone's happy. Frimpong to Fulham is another similar example.

With players like Djourou and Santos is becomes a case of damage limitation for us. We can't or haven't sold them so at least let's reduce our immediate spend on them. Obviously for the fans it is really hard to know exactly what goes on but there are definitely a few factors involved.

The first is that Wenger has far too much faith in average players. He has literally waited years for Djourou to become the CB Wenger imagined he might, and he hasn't. It's taken til 2013 for Djourou to get a loan. Same with Santos - he should have been gone in the summer at the latest and someone else brought into the frame, he is that poor. But no. So one problem is Wenger riding his luck or having too much faith. Another is his refusal to let players go - Djourou has only gone on loan because of a lack of game time - not because Wenger doesn't think he is good enough, and this is worrying. We were also hearing all of last year how Bordeaux wanted Chamakh - their president came out and said Arsene basically wouldn't even have the conversation with him. Who is at fault here? Then moments later a press piece comes out 'from Chamakh' saying how he is committed to us etc etc.

The other is that other clubs know how bad our players are. I was really surprised when West Ham took Chamakh on loan for example. IMO no prem club is improved with the addition of Chamakh in the form he's in. So it's most likely that loaning our players involves a move abroad.

Then we come on to wages. A number of clubs have looked at our players. Squillaci could have moved in the summer - Bastia wanted him, he probably would have got a starting place, and an offer was there if I remember correctly. But Squillaci would not take a wage cut. So one problem we have, which is the biggest one, is that players won't take a cut for game time. This, as a civi, is something I cannot fathom. It is clearly true, the more money you have the more you want. All I know is if I had a talent and was rich from it already, there would come a point where all I want is to play. Squid is made for life yet he would rather sit on a big contract than play. Same with Bendtner. There will come a point where they can't play, yet for now they'd rather sit there. I and many others cannot fathom that. You're already made for life! Surely you want game time? What's £15k a week in the overall scheme of things when you have already made millions and you are burying your own name with your greed?

So there are clearly some factors involved.

What I would like to see, if players will not take a wage cut, then I would like to see them released. Sadly, it seems Arsenal simply cannot bare to lose that money. The odd thing is, we will still lose that money, but instead of having good players at the club, we have poor ones.

Metal Gooner

Totally agree, SFA gets rid regardless (ie. berbie, took some loss there) we /AW should maybe be a bit more ruthless as well.

NB52, wonder if he played for Juve last night, would they have got 3 goals, rather doubtful. anyway COYG!

andi