Arsenal Banter Archive September 16 2014

16 Sep 2014 23:39:24
We had a decent window, replaced players who left eg Ospina/Fabianski, Debuchy/Sagna and Chambers/Vermaelen.
Replacement, but not strengthened.

Sanchez and Welbeck represent a good addition to the squad.

We all knew we needed a DM, ala Carvalho and a Centre half, ala Manolas or Ashley Williams ( not the best, but typical Arsenal cheap signings).

So far,
Palace home, scrappy last minute win.
Leicester away, boring draw, unable to hold a lead.
Everton away, determined but lucky draw.
Man City, creditable draw, possibly lucky.

Besiktas away, boring 0-0 draw.
Besiktas home, scrappy 1-0 win.
BD away, lucky to only lose 2-0.

That's 7 games,
2 wins, 4 draws and 1 defeat.

8 goals scored, 8 conceded.

I'm not even going to talk about tonight, you boys have covered it.

Overall, I hate to say this, shoot me if you will, but we are so damn boring.

No cohesion, some players don't know their role or are incapable of doing the role given to them.

We all know, Ozil should not be on the wing.
We are playing every game with 10 men. He is not good enough, fast enough or clever enough to play on the wing.
We have Ox, Gnabry, Cazorla, Podolski, Campbell and Sanchez who can play there.
Play him at no.10 or sell him.

Arteta
Nowhere near good enough.


Play him i

16 Sep 2014 23:57:41
Sorry, didn't finish above post.

Our biggest problem is Wenger.
Don't want him to leave, but tactically inept.

Can't compete with the likes of Klopp, Guardiola, Simeone, Mourinho, Pellegrino and even Brendan Rogers.

We play the same every game.
Same tactics every game.
Same formation every game.
Players are played out of formation.

We have fast players, where is their pace?
We have wide players, where is the width.

This post was going to be a lot longer, but I'm so peeved off I actually can't be bothered finishing it.

Unhappy Gooner.

Thing is we never really needed Ozil in the fist place. Wenger just loves collecting central attacking midfielders and just squeezes them all in to the detrament of team shape and balance.

42 million and what exactly has he contributed very little. Playing him out wide like you said is like playing with 10 men, give him a chance in the Number 10 role or sell him basically to free up space for a player we do need.

I would have rather spent that same amount we spend on Ozil on players we did need we could have got a decent Dm and CB for that price or a proper wide man.

We have good technical skilful players just that we have to many of the same type and Wenger just puts them anywhere and this makes our team just so ineffective as whole unit that we end usually relying on a piece of individual flair to win us games rather than good coherent effective team play with a game plan.

Arteta must be dropped, he has just not got the legs to cover that Dm position on his own, until we get a real good DM we need to play two back there to make us a more solid so as not to expose the CB's so much.

Flamini and Wilshire I would go with for now until we can get atop quality one.

Ozil central attacking Carzorla and Sanchez wider left and right but still quite narrow and Wellbeck or Giroud when fit up top.

Use Ox and Walcott instead of Carzorla and Ozil when we Need more pace on the counter when we get leads in games and for me to play deeper in hard away games when we sacrifice possession and play on the counter.

Fullback provide attacking width so both will still get forward a lot but as long as the Two Dm's are disciplined we should be fine.

I think it is a shame about Diaby because I really feel that he could have been the missing link in midfield if it were not for all these injuires. He is a bit diffenet to all the others we have, Power and strength like the old Veira type

17 Sep 2014 00:44:56
Good reply Ryan.

What boooooot this spin on it. a 42.watevevr million player wasted out on the wing. what 'bout a 15 mil winger instead? WHO ACTUALLY PLAYS ON TH WING! probly look better than what we got.

I think ozil is just playing poorly, even out of position he should still impact d game in one form or the other.still doubt he will improve if played in no10 position.
His confidence is low and wenger needs to give hime some.

17 Sep 2014 07:28:39
Much as I like Arsenal but Wenger should go. I love Mourinho/chelsea much better although am disappointed if Arsenal lose cause my hubby is also sad and moaning the whole game lol.

Dags that review of results so far is absolutely spot on, we've not had a single good performance this term

16 Sep 2014 23:18:13
one thing I don't understand. We have had a conjested fixture list to start the season, why is it despite average performances we persist with the same XI? chamerlain rosicky cazorla podolski campbell all waiting in the wings would have provided fresh legs and had a point to prove. we play every 4 days currently so rotation is key. The team seems stale and jaded after a month of the season. if players play poorly at any other top club there dropped why not arsenal? why persist with the same XI. he is willing to throw hector bellerin into the back four, yet he won't drop ozil or ramsey for a game to give us abit of pace in the midfield. the midfield lacks a true engine and power. I honestly feel chamberlain needs game time in there. he could be the answer.


wow arteta arsenal captain? from vieria/henry to arteta? worst thing is on paper going forward we have the best team in years yet we struggle past palace drop points to leicester. get lucky at everton and score 1 goal in 180mins against besiktas?

I don't think its personel. its formation and tactics. santi cazorla abs legend in his first season. gets the odd game on LW now

Arsene you stubborn boy sort it out. villa away? a loss there leaves us mid table. and the fixtures hardly get easier.

The away boys at villa park need to make some noise.

Hate moaning, c'mon you gooners let's forget about this. end of the day its a recoverable situation just the performance rings alarm bells. let's show some spirirt at villa park, and watch the reds go marching on!

There is no tempo in the team. Sanchez was poor by his standards last night but at least he was running trying to sort it. Within 5 minutes Ox had done more than Ozil did in the entire match. I agree give the bench a game and a chance to prove their worth. They'll be hungry if nothing else

16 Sep 2014 22:55:40
We were lucky that wasnt a repeat of Liverpool or Chelsea away last year. Display was an absolutely shambles.

1. Arteta is useless. All he offers are 5/10 yard passes, couldn't even do that tonight. No leadership shown at all. He cannot tackle or run, offers zero protection to back four, why play him there?

2. Full backs have no discipline, they disappear 50 yards up the pitch and all hell breaks lose on the counter. Feel sorry for Kos and Mert with Augabumeyang running at them. Could of conceded 3/4 on counter, why does this always happen v big teams?

3. Why do we only have 6 first team defenders? Need 8 minimum. Ridiculous. No competition for places or cover for injuries.

4. Why is Ozil undroppable?

The one positive from tonight? Galatasaray drew.

Agreed!

16 Sep 2014 22:40:05
Everything fans have been crying out for Wenger to correct came back and bit him on the ARSEnal tonight.

Gutted absolutely gutted

16 Sep 2014 22:34:50
It's September, the season is barely a handful of games old but I'm going to have to be the first one to say it, Wenger has to go.
He has been a huge part of our clubs success and will go down in folklore as one of the greatest managers the club has ever had. Unfortunately time has caught up with him; when he arrived in England he revolutionised the way clubs thought about the game, about nutrition, about ethics and most importantly about economics. Since the departure from Highbury however times have understandably been tough and Arsenal have had to 'settle' for fourth spot year in, year out. As a lifelong Gunner I have grown tired of settling, we have demonstrated we can now compete on a level playing field with regards to finances, we have assembled, largely, a very competitive team and for the first time in a long time can boast some truly world class players without fear of having to sell them.
My frustrations with Wenger go beyond that horrible performance tonight, it's much more serious. Time and time again he has come up short tactically, he is incapable of playing anything other than tippy tally attacking football and plays into the hands of opposing managers. Tonight for example he put a rookie along side Per, who is not the fastest, and put Arteta, who is not the fastest, in the holding role. It was to obvious for Dortmund to put a pacy player through the middle and destroy these three on huge counter time and time again. His persistence with playing Ozil out of position is unbearable. It is widely accepted that he is/was the best no10 in the world so why the hell do you not play him there? If you have to play wide and it becomes abundantly clear he is not performing, why not play another: Cazorla, Ox, Campbell or Podolski.
Our injury record over the years has been glaringly obvious, it was only a matter of time before it happened again. Ok a new physio was brought in which is great but why were there no back up defensive players bought? Everyone on this board and everyone in the stands can see it is obvious so why can't/won't Wenger?
I'm prepared for the stick I am going to get for this post but once again it's the same old arsenal, the same problems and very likely the same outcome in May - a fiercely fought battle for fourth, only I fear we do not have the depth to win the battle this time around.

For the sake of the club, the players, the fans and his reputation he has to go.

You will get stick. But not from me. The man is a legend, but he's past it now. He gets mullered with his lack of tactical awareness and blindspots time and again. We won the fa cup, which was great, but the chance to boot this club on has been wasted, by his inability time after time to cure the glaring persistent problems and he is holding this club back now. But it ain't going to happen and we are going to have to go with him, he's going to be at the helm a while yet.

Weve been rubbish in every single game this season. Tonight was a long time coming

83 I pretty much agree with all of that

17 Sep 2014 00:08:11
I'm not a 'Wenger out' kinda guy, but your post does make sense.

16 Sep 2014 22:26:54
If you continue to do the same thing continually chances are you will continue to get the same results.
There's nothing new about tonight, big games big problems exposed.
This time next year will we be talking about how we simply have to get a DM in January 2016, you wouldn't bet your house against it

16 Sep 2014 22:18:41
I don't often post on here, but I feel I need some kind of therapy after tonight's embarrassment.

We got absolutely spanked tonight, make no mistake. 2-0 is flattering; they should have had at least 3, if not 4 or 5 to be honest and it's the result of dreadful tactics and preparation - not just poor transfers.

I see a lot of fans upset at the lack of players brought in in key positions, and this is a problem, granted. But there has to come a time when you look at your manager and consider if he's actually any good anymore.

In my opinion, we are not a much better side than we were 2 or 3 years ago, even though we have spent north of 100m on top quality players. We have stagnated when we're meant to be going forward because we're employing a manager whose tactics are horrendously outdated and who does minimal big game preparation.

We're playing this ludicrous 4-1-4-1 system, with Ozil out wide which is just wasting the talent we have available and constantly make the same schoolboy errors in the big away games. 5-1, 6-0, 3-0, 6-3 and now this 2-0 show that these problems are not just one offs. Wenger is just so stubborn - he needs to wake up and realise that his current system is simply not working, otherwise, get him out and Klopp in.

Get Arteta out of the squad, never mind team, put Ramsey and Wilshere in a double pivot in midfield and get Ozil in the middle with Chamberlain out wide. When we play the top teams away, set us out to just not concede in the first 20 minutes - keep the fullbacks from going forward and make sure at least one midfielder is back in front of the defence. But no doubt we'll see Mertesacker up top next match and probably Frimpong back on a free in January.

16 Sep 2014 22:11:40
This result has really got me worried. I love wenger but we definitely need a new manager to freshen things up.

We have played Dortmund 6 times in the last 4 years and they have played the same way each time.

They press high up the pitch with numbers, so why the hell was we passing the ball slow in our half. We just played to Dortmund strength. They like dribble at pace, why did we have such large gaps for them to exploit. We shouldve been compact and deep and hit them on the counter. We passed so slow and was so wide open. Even Viera and Campbell wouldn't of made a difference.

For a manager of all his experience that was just pathetic. He needs to stop being so naive and have tatics that stops the opposition. He can't have the attitude of I play the way I want to play otherwise we are going to get ripped to shreds in more big games.

Ozil is offering us nothing on the wings. He can't do a job in that position so don't play him! We have cazorla and rocisky who offer us a lot more.

I know its one result, but we haven't learnt anything from last season. Looks like another frustrating season.

16 Sep 2014 21:56:08
Anyone thinking of a short break holiday to the deepest Antarctic, I hear Sunday the 5th of October is a good time to go.
Book early demand will be high

16 Sep 2014 22:07:09
Tonight might just turn out to be the night that made our season, we can come back from this in this group and still finish top, we lost 0 2 at home to Dortmund last season and came back from it to be in a dominant position with 2 games to go.
This could just be the night Arsene admitted to himself that he needs to change his thinking on selection, formation and tactics.
I wouldn't expect him to admit to anything out loud but even he must know deep inside things need to change QUICKLY and the responsibility is all HIS

100 percent not finishing top. Deep problems

The only problem with that is the players needed to change it are not at the club, and this is it would seem down to one person.
Wenger made a huge mistake by not getting the defenders and the cdm we desperately needed, and I'm afraid we could pay a heavy price for it

IF and I know it's a big IF Arsene were to change all is still possible that was possible in August, more difficult yes but still possible.
IF we change and beat Anderlecht and Galatasturk then Dortmund at home will be the decider, Arsenal 2014 don't beat the big teams because Arsene won't learn but at the moment its not to late

Mate we're never win it let alone get out of the group.

16 Sep 2014 21:53:27
Just been woken by a text from my son at the Westfalen

Only 3 of our players went over to acknowledge the travelling fans

I'm disgusted by that as it shows how huge the gap is between players and team. I know most players live in a money laden cocoon but, no matter how down they are, such a lack of respect toward the supporters who have made the effort, incurred the cost and been let down so badly is an embarrassment to the club

I really think some backsides need kicking tonight!

Which 3 mate?

16 Sep 2014 22:42:16
A very worrying post. This sort of behavior to me, shows a lack cohesion and chemistry. 4-1-4-1 is destroying our team.

16 Sep 2014 21:52:05
Souness is spot on

Wilshire is slower without the ball than he is with it.

I am still lost for words, we are miles away from anything at the minute .

Come on AW let's hear the tosh you are going to come out with

I'm lost for words too.

We have made absolutely no progress what so ever. We are horrific.

The system is just horrible.

16 Sep 2014 21:46:02
Arteta

" In terms of chances it was even "

LOL

My word doesn't that show something

16 Sep 2014 22:14:18
Jeff Stelling

"He'll never make an accountant"

Did he say that?

If he did almost as embarrassing as his performance.

If he truly believes that then we are in trouble.

16 Sep 2014 21:45:55
Way to solve this? Simple, drop 4141 and go back to 4231.

16 Sep 2014 22:09:30
Wenger plays the same formation every game. Embarrassing.
He gets 8mil a year don't forget.

It way way way more complicated than that. Tactics ability and balance are way off. We are a million miles away mate, i'm sorry to say, I could cry!

Steve your spot on everytime. Some fans need to wake up and realise what is happening.

16 Sep 2014 21:31:50
Against a better team we would've been annihilated 5/6 nil. Or maybe just a full strength Dortmund, missing they're spine today and we're the ones who look spineless.

Disgusted.

Debuchy is the only one that's missing for us.

What our excuse?

Result was embarrassingly flattering to us

And to think earlier you said Dortmund aren't the team of 3 years ago. Thank god they weren't it would have been 10 let alone 5/6

In all seriousness I aired concern about the defence a few weeks back and got shot down for my views. Banbury further up this page said about the gap between defence and midfield is far to big and he's spot on. The disappointing thing about that is when you take 3 of our most experienced players, Koscielny, mertesacker and Arteta, they can't sort that out on the pitch between them. NO LEADERSHIP.

Szczesny, his positioning and his anticipation of play for there second goal was shocking. And it's not the first time he's done that where he's pretty much stepped out the way leaving the striker with minimal work to do to slot home. Ospina for me against Villa.

It's still early days and I still think we can top this group but performances and tactics will have to be spot on. Discipline amongst the players will have to be at such a high level now as some experienced players throughout the team are letting us down.

16 Sep 2014 21:17:38
I think this performance well and truly puts to bed wether Arteta is good enough. A truly woeful display. I'd much prefer to see Jack and Aaron in a double pivot than Arteta in the holding role.

Wenger won't drop his captain.

He shouldve been told in the summer there's no room for you in his team, not given he armband. Madness

Arteta is awful, yet people on here were defending him recently, I am sorry he offers little protection is so slow and anytime we play with him I fear for us.

16 Sep 2014 21:11:53
whoever is watching the game tonight can surely see we are crying out for a cdm they just run poast arteta like he's not there and it restricts the creativity of other players who have to constantly make up for him not doing his job.

In a bad night for all he was the pitts of it all really. He was just totally anialated. He just has not got the legs more than anything to cope in that position and even on the ball he is too slow pounderous in possesion. Wenger has somehow made him captain so he will now loss face if he drops him.

We need proper Dm desperate in January and until then we will have to make do with Flamini, Arteta has to be dropped. This especially with our fullbacks so attacking the DM position is even more vital. Someone with pace, stamina and power, a beast we need.

Exactly, he's made our worst player on the pitch captain, its just so ridiculous his incompetence and tactical naivety are almost unbelievable, makes me doubt whether he is still the man for the job when blatent problems like this are never rectified.

16 Sep 2014 21:10:41
Tonight was a prime example of how bad we need a boss in the center of midfield. So much time in the middle, the space in the first half is just beyond belief. It looks like there playing with 13.

Tonight was a prime example of how we need a boss who is uo to date with the modern game

16 Sep 2014 22:54:37
Could not agree more, we play the same way every time, so easy to play against. He never changes things up. He does appear clueless maybe he will go out and buy another winger.

16 Sep 2014 21:10:25
Work means I can't watch this on TV so I'm basing this on the 5live commentary

Sounds like we have been given a lesson by Dortmund . Problem is our side is very attacking and that plays straight into dortmunds hands with the pace they have up front

As I type this Ramsey and Ozil are being replaced by santi and the ox. Have to say Rambo and Ozil are cracking players but right now their form is really disappointing.

Could be worse though, I could be at the Westfalen with my son and the other 3000 who have spent loads to get there and been let down on the night.

I'm turning the radio off and going to kip. At least I know I'll sleep well as arsenal have had all the nightmares going tonight

16 Sep 2014 20:57:49
I have to say, regardless of the result, which at this point, looks like Dortmund will slaughter us, you have to admire the hoodie manager that is Jurgen Klopp. He is deceptively very astute tactically and he has got a good group of players, importantly playing in their ACTUAL positions. Wenger take note!

Personally, when Wenger goes I would love to see him at Arsenal.

It changes for me between Robby Martinez and Klopp, Klopp has done amazing things with no budget and replacing star players in the process, IMO he could do wonders with a healthy budget like ours.

Unlike Wenger he isn't so stubborn that he stays with the same tactic because he's to proud, in the build up Klopp said he will change our tactics to suit our squad, if BVB are the weaker team he will play to his strengths and the likelihood of his team winning when playing in a certain way.

Once again we have been beaten by tactics, once again beaten because we didn't buy the players we needed in the market and once again injuries have dismantled our squad. In September.

Shocking start to the season. Congrats to Dortmund on playing a fantastic game, read us like a book.

16 Sep 2014 20:54:36
Individual brilliance gets you only so far.

16 Sep 2014 20:52:37
No reus and no gundogen.

16 Sep 2014 21:27:29
Or hummels

16 Sep 2014 20:45:12
Ozil another poor half if this continues carzola or rosicky should replace him

16 Sep 2014 20:34:16
Balls 1-0 half time right at the end of the half. They have been well on top our midfield just not getting hold of ball being outplayed. He are lacking a nit of muscle and power in there.


Decent chance for Wellbeck but he missed. He needs to start putting those sort of chances away in these hard games.

16 Sep 2014 20:18:34
I know u should not really comment during a match but I really is comical at times just how tactically inept we are as a team, I suppose we should just enjoy the ride at times!

Life is never boring as an Arsenal fan

16 Sep 2014 19:13:26
Hi sub Commander Jin good to hear from you as always mate.
Your not wrong mate my optimism did seem to diminish as the transfer drew to a close without a DM joining us.
I still think we'll be top four maybe three but just can't see us putting in that serious challenge that I long for, I'm not saying win it but be in with a realistic chance at game 35/36 is what I want so badly to enjoy again.
A top quality DM would have been our missing piece IMO.
But hopefully I'll be wrong again :-) and we will do it without that player?

16 Sep 2014 17:27:55
Good evening gents. I am going with a 1-1 draw today. Would be happy with that and a win would be phenomenal

16 Sep 2014 18:58:13
Scrappy 2-0 win.

Sanchez and Wilshere again

Anything but a win should always be considered A failure if you want to be an elite team.

JUST K

Sorry mate utter nonsense

There are games that are very difficult away from home.this is one of them.

Draw the away games and win the home

End of

16 Sep 2014 21:38:56
Hey I was right! :)

*Auto-correct *loss *Immobile *Aubameyang

The right order and everything!

16 Sep 2014 15:09:51
Good afternoon all.

Due to work commitments I have not been in a position to write anything lately although have, of course, continued to read.

Firstly, a hello to everyone, DG, G62, ED025, ED002, all the other EDs, Rocky, Jenny, Greeny, Aussie, Sheeny, Goldboy, 337, Banbury, Sy and anyone else I have missed.

So, my first point. G62 - Where has the optimism gone? It seems you are allowing yourself to be dragged down into doubt about our fortunes this season.

Ok, so our beloved Arsenal.

I for one think we had a fabulous transfer window. I know, I know, we all wanted a CB and CDM but I am pretty sure we went after one player to deal with these two positions in Carvalho but it did not come off in time. For some strange reason, I think we will be getting him in January. Some might think it will be too late by then, but I would not agree. He is the addition we need.

We are undefeated - No mean feat. It has not been as easy a start as some of the other "big" teams have had, and we have potentially dropped points where we shouldn't have, but we have also shown a resilience that is a joy to see.

Man City looked fearful of us, something the big teams haven't been for a few years.

The additions - Debuchy - Looks like he has a warrior mentality - Definitely a good addition.

Chambers - What a bargain. Mature beyond his years. Confident in his ability and a quality utility addition.

Sanchez - Have to love this guy. Does not fear anyone. Strikes fear into defenders. Strong, fast, quick feet, great technician. And what a work rate. Defends from the front and is very direct. His positional sense is also very impressive.

Welbeck - This could be a master stroke by Arsene. He is very mobile, covers a huge amount of ground both forwards and backwards. Defenders fear that and his movement drags people out of position (look at where Kompany was moved about to at the weekend). He will get better and his start has been impressive.

Ospina - Not seen him play for us, but should be a good addition.

Moving forward.

I cannot wait to see Welbeck, Sanchez and Walcott as our front line. When they get used to each other I cannot see any defence that will want to face them. All have pace, all are direct and all can switch positions. The combinations and fluidity potentially available with this front three are mouthwatering.

Ozil - He looks out of confidence. He is being asked to play a role for us on the wing at the moment. I do believe when Walcott comes back he will be consistently back in the centre as Sanchez will switch to the left. With the three upfront then he goes from nobody to hit with pace, or to play into space for forward runs to 3, possibly more options. He will come good. If he doesn't settle, then he may be off. It isn't like we don't have options for the middle of the park is it? But, I think he will come good.

Jack W - I think he realises that he has to be consistently delivering or there are people waiting in the wings for his seat on the bus. I loved seeing the "old" Jack back. He seems to have regained that 5 yards of pace, which helps his confidence and makes him more direct. Long may this continue.

Ramsey - Class is permanent. When he recovers full fitness he will be back to his best.

The Youth - Why do we always worry about playing our youth. Nobody concerns themselves at Real Madrid, Barcelona, etc.

We have real talent coming through - Bellerin, Crowley, Toral, Zelalem, amongst others. If we aren't going to play them, then they aren't good enough so we will get rid of them. But we have worked very hard to keep them and sign them up to new contracts. Let us fill them with confidence if they do play, and let them feed of our positivity. If Bellerin plays tonight, he will do just fine.

Can we win the title. Too early to say. but we will be there in the mix of that I am sure.

Do we have a better team, more options, better balance, better team effectiveness (more round pegs for round holes) - without question.

We will not always get the results we want, but I am pretty optimistic for the season ahead.

We may have dropped points, but we have saved points when we have needed to.

There is a real sense of purpose and togetherness - Something that will be key for the season ahead.

One other note. Anyone seen how much more "confident" Arsene seems? He seems to be confident that we are more "prepared" for the season ahead.

I for one like what I see.

Remember. Our voices carry our team. Negativity from us will shackle them. Positivity will drive them forwards and upwards. We have a duty to them as we believe they have a duty to deliver for us.

So let us believe, not be over confident, be calm, not over critical when difficult moments happen, and most of all show our team that we are behind them as "one" Arsenal.

The mistakes will improve. The future looks very bright indeed.

Have a good day one and all. Back to the grindstone for me and, as always, sorry for the long post.

J

16 Sep 2014 15:33:02
Jeez what a post Jin!

bit of a battle cry that one!

16 Sep 2014 15:54:05
Nice post mate!

Great post JinKent

We improved a little, never addressed the teams defensive concerns and have failed to win the last 3 games. Wenger had all summer to sign Carvalho, why did he run out of time?

I'm all for being positive with a positive attitude but turning a blind eye when the manager clearly makes a mistake is madness.

We were lacking in quality defensively before the window. We are now lacking in quantity also.

Ulster, not sure I agree.

Just because we had all summer to sign Carvalho doesn't mean the current team he plays for, Porto, were willing to play ball. Perhaps all seemed that it was going through. None of us know.

We are short on defenders, but that is where we are.

Liverpool have lost 2 games. Man City have lost one.

We are undefeated.

Everyone should have an opinion and everyones is valid. I see positive things at the moment.

Just my state of mind.

J

Carvalho plays for sporting not Porto.

Regardless of them wanting to play Ball and in actual fact they WERE wanting to sell him, an entire transfer window went by without buying a player for this position.

We are short on defenders because Arsene let go of TV5 without a replacement, Jenks go on loan and even allowed our 4th choice cb to leave on deadline day. What did he try to do to fix this? 10 mins to 11pm Deadline day, he inquires about Natastic and gets turned down. His mistake.

If only Liverpool and City were our only other contenders for the title and the league was won by not getting beat, It would be happy days so far. HOWEVER there is this team called Chelsea mauling everybody they play with the help of a player we turned down because we have the ever impressive ozil among or ranks.

Mistakes have been made before a ball was even kicked, that might cost us the league and that's down to one man.

That's just my 'state of mind'

Apologies Ulster meant Sporting

16 Sep 2014 17:51:02
Good read that Jin :)

Good post and welcome back J

I'm not convinced how far we even got if at all with regards to signing Carvalho. Think it was all paper talk. However we should have had a plan B and plan C with regards to that position.

Well UG if I remember wasnt Carvalho a player even utd tried to sign but dint get him. We know nothing what happens behind closed doors, and why the deal never materialized. Ever wondered about Higuain, now he can't even play CL football, while Giroud and Wellbeck can.

16 Sep 2014 20:34:01
Great post, as always Jin.

You missed the point Hood. Behind closed doors open doors or doors of the hinges WE DID NOT SIGN A CDM

16 Sep 2014 13:48:49
So from what I understand here, people are really saying to drop Ramsey, deploy Ozil in the hole, and the Ox on the wing. Correct? For tonights game? But isn't Ramsey too good in CL games to drop, even during his bad run, he still scored and was good.

16 Sep 2014 14:14:54
'Drop' is a nasty word that implies the player is playing bad.

Prefer the word 'rest' due to the fact he is possibly carrying an injury from the Wales game.

If he plays, great. If not, maybe he deserves a 'rest' and save him for Villa.

H Agree DG harsh word, but really I wouldn't drop that guy, he is just awesome.

16 Sep 2014 18:54:46
"Drop" flamini and we can still play all 3 in they're best positions.

16 Sep 2014 12:14:51
A friend turned me on to this site and got to say I love it.
Been reading bits here and there for a few weeks but this is the first time I've had a chance to get involved so to speak.
im not to bothered about tonight really I think if Arsene has to
play Bellerin he will do a good job. Last time I saw this boy play he was mustard so i'm looking forward to see him again if he gets the chance.
Well that's my first post let's see what happens from here.

{Ed007's Note - Welcome aboard.}

And a good first post too. Agree about tonight

16 Sep 2014 14:17:55
Welcome to Arsenal ARSENAL.

16 Sep 2014 18:56:55
Have you gotten you're cool gang welcome pack?

{Ed025's Note - places are limited sheeny..

16 Sep 2014 07:38:37
Evidently Nicklas Bendtner has said that his last year spent at Arsenal was wasted.
I couldn't agree more Nicklas. :-)

Watching him play against Coventry last season, I'm sure he was wasted.

Same interview, he mentions how Berlin is only a short distance from where he is and that London is his preferred city.

The mans more interested in night clubbing than football.

16 Sep 2014 04:02:31
Rest Ramsey, Play Ozil through the middle, then we'll see if his position is an issue or if he's just playing poorly.

Totally agree

16 Sep 2014 08:33:51
Even if he's played where he is supposed to be he;ll need a few games to find form. The man has no confidence atm

I hear the argument that he should do better even if he's played out of position and that argument does have some legs but we need to get Mesut sorted one way or the other.
Play him in his best position for a 10 game run and let's see what happens, he will either be on his way to becoming an Arsenal legend or be on his way out.
Either way something has to give