Arsenal Transfer Rumours And General Chat

Pepe LeFrits

Jens Lehmann wrote:

It's possible that some day I'll feel like talking about the whole issue, but at the moment I'm just swallowing it all as part of the humiliation. That's something one has to take in. But I think and this is aimed at my dear manager - one shouldn't humiliate players for too long. I'm an Arsenal player and I won't just fade away quietly.

Wenger spoke of three world class goalkeepers. One of them must be me. The other two have proved their class by winning titles? If I think about that, I can't recall any.

I'm convinced that I'll be playing again. Almunia has not yet showed that he can win matches for us.

I've experienced this situation before and know what the others are expecting from the goalkeeper. I can't imagine he'll be able to handle that.

Lehmann won't play for Arsenal again. Arsene will not tolerate an outburst like that.

Noelie

I was just reading that on the BBC website, it's unbelievable what that guy can come out with.

Perhaps he wants out of Arsenal and thinks this is the best way to get out quickly.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Walcott starts up front!

Full team:
Almunia
Sagna
Touré
Gallas
Clichy
Eboue
Flamini
Fabregas
Hleb
Adebayor
Walcott

Mossy Monk

I think Walcott will fall back to left wing and Hleb will push forward.

AnCapaillMor

No Diarra?, i'm beginning to feel sorry for the guy.

And woo-hoo finally theo up front. The falmsters having a great start.

GuanYin

Just what happened with Lehman? It has to be more than the bad game?

Royale with Cheese

Get Eboue off. He's a disaster at right mid. Bring on Eduardo and push theo out wide.

Clichy's a legend.

Bounty Hunter

that was easy... thank you says theo

AnCapaillMor

Eboue had a bad start, few bad passes, Picked it up after 25 minutes tho, few nice passes and that flick was beautiful.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

What a beautiful goal:D 6-0 now, its a rout
Hleb is playing great stuff

Edit- forgot it was 6 and not 5:)

Bounty Hunter

Arsenal are truely a joy to watch

AnCapaillMor

Wish theo had got his hat trick.

keano_afc

It was a cracking save from the keeper to deny him. Was that Eboue that flicked the ball in for Bendtner's goal? Class touch.

Chardee MacDennis

did one of arsenals players say something negative after the game or something? i just caught the end on sky.

Pacifico

Nah he was talking about Lehmann's comments before the game

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Here are the goals from tonight, probably won't be there for long

AnCapaillMor

Anyone see the RTE highlights, just curios what Dunphy had to say. His tongue has ben so far up Arsenals butts the past few times, but chippy Brady was'nt there and him and chippy always take different sides. Just curious what he said, because they day him and Brady agree on something pigs will fly.

patrickc

just saw the highlights after work, aresenal played a blinder, always said walcott would come good, and he did tonight, hopefullt that'll give him the confidence boost he needed..

Peyton Manning

Fair play to the Gunners, very impressive tonight. Even against a lesser team, 7-0 is a magnificent result.

AnCapaillMor

Getting from the happy side, about Lehmans comments, seriously as far as i'm concerned he f*** off anywhere in january. He's been a great service to us, got us to the champs league final, and won us many games, good keeper but a complete asshole. He pulled the same crap with Kahn, which i did'nt mind because i did'nt like Kahn. Did the same when he originally lost his place to Al, but Al make some huge blunders back then so everyone backed him. the least the guy could do was back up Al or just shut up. It's a pity because now instead of being sad to see him go, i'm indifferent to him going.

PHB

Anybody else think that even with winning 7-0, Arsenal always were in 2nd gear and could have stepped it up?

Evil_Clown

What a result last night, and the squad is looking more complete all the time
7-0 without van Persie, Gilberto, Eduardo, Rosicky starting is a fantastic result

We missed Pascal Cygans aerial presence but apart from that we were fantastic

It's a pity that Lehmann has to run his mouth off all the time
IMO he should apologise to Wenger or else leave in January, it's a young squad thats very together at Arsenal and they don't need this sort of crap from Lehmann

Mr Alan

Lehmann has to go, the guy is very obviously a nutcase (which everyone knew all along) but this outburst is a step too far imo.

do you see a new goalie coming in before the summer? Or do ye think Almunia is up to the task?any ideas?

BTW, as a Liverpool fan, it was a bit worrying to see the game last night!

Pepe LeFrits

High res highlights of last nights game can be downloaded here: http://www.4shared.com/file/27264050/e6e58c3f/Highlights_Arsenal-SlaviaPrague_231007_7-0.html

I could watch that over and over. Some of the football was just so sumptuous, especially the 6th and 7th goals. I was delighted for Theo, also Bendtner's cameo was a big plus. Theo is starting to show his undeniable quality again after his slump last season and Bendtner really looks a class act - I just hope he can learn to have a bit of patience, because he has the lot.

A special mention must go to Alex Hleb who was absolutely sensational, and has been in great form thus far this season. He started the last two seasons in similar form but got injured and then struggled, so fingers crossed it'll be third time lucky and he'll keep it going for the whole season. If he can, there's no reason he can't become a winger held in the same regard as the likes of Ronaldo, Giggs, Pires, Overmars and so on are/have been.

I hope the boys keep their feet on the ground though and can get good results against Liverpool and Man United in the next week, as bad results there would spoil things a bit. Personally I fancy our chances in these games; I think mentally this is the strongest Arsenal side under Wenger yet. Even if they results don't go our way, I think they'll have the will to bounce back.

yahoo_moe

i thought the attitude last night was fantastic - fabregas was straight over to hleb after the first goal acknowledging his work, everyone looked genuinely chuffed for theo (especially the second - what a goal!) and bendtner backed up his talk with a real hunger & a very impressive performance even though the match was well over by the time he was on... after about 80 mins, Gallas went on a full-scale sprint against a slavia player to win the ball first & tidy up... even almunia was flinging himself around when needed, great stuff all round

just shows that they're for each other - no matter which 11 starts or who's out injured, they've obviously got a tight squad mentality and even if a big loss comes, i'd be very surprised to see things unravel like they did after the 49-match run ended in 04-05... just highlights how ridiculous Lehmann's latest comments are, really (although I'd still like to see more of Fabianski before Lehmann is sold - I still think Lehmann's an excellent keeper who could potentially come in very handy)

What did Lehmann say? Missed it altogether.


And Cygan - I actually laughed out loud at his "Aerial prescence"!!!

cson

Lehmann said something to the effect that he is humiliated by being dropped yada yada yada and that Almunia is ****e etc etc

yahoo_moe

Papa Smut wrote: »

What did Lehmann say? Missed it altogether.

Here you go:

BBC Sport wrote:

Lehmann issues threat to Wenger

Lehmann is not happy at playing second fiddle to Almunia
Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann has warned he may publicly air his grievances with Arsene Wenger if he does not play soon.
Lehmann's errors and injuries at the start of the season gave Manuel Almunia his chance and he is now first-choice ahead of the fit-again German stopper.

The 37-year-old told German TV channel Premiere: "I think - and this is aimed at my dear manager - one shouldn't humiliate players for too long.

"It's possible that some day I'll feel like talking about the whole issue."

Lehmann's comments came after he was left out of the Arsenal squad against Bolton last Saturday - a game he expected to play in after impressing for Germany earlier this month.

But Wenger, who dropped Lehmann after he gifted Blackburn an equaliser in the 1-1 draw on 19 August, stuck with Almunia and put young keeper Lukasz Fabianski on the bench.

Almunia was once again in goal for Wednesday's 7-0 win over Slavia Prague, although Lehmann did return to the bench.

"At the moment I'm just swallowing it all as part of the humiliation. That's something one has to take in, " Lehmann said.

"But I'm an Arsenal player and I won't just fade away quietly."

Wenger was asked about Lehmann's outburst following his side's demolition of Slavia.

"I don't want to humiliate anybody," said the Gunners boss. "We have three world-class goalkeepers and we can only play one."

But Lehmann is bemused by Wenger's assertion that he has three "world-class" goalkeepers to pick from.

"One of them must be me," he suggested. "The other two have proved their class by winning titles? If I think about that, I can't recall any. I guess today you're nevertheless world-class."

Lehmann won the Uefa Cup in 1997 with Schalke 04, the Bundesliga title in 2002 with Borussia Dortmund and the Premier League with Arsenal in 2004.

And he made it clear he feels he should still be the number one at the Emirates Stadium.

"I'm convinced that I'll be playing again. Almunia has not yet showed that he can win matches for us," Lehmann added.

"I've experienced this situation before and know what the others are expecting from the goalkeeper. I can't imagine he'll be able to handle that."

That was the bit that cracked me up - clearly (unless it's one of those dodgy BBC rewrite/update stories) he didn't wait very long after his "warning" to start mouthing off

arbeitsscheuer

A breathtakingly phenomenal performance from a truly incredible team.

On another note, I'd echo the sentiments of other fans regarding Lehmann. Great servant to the club, performances during the unbeatable season and the CL run in '06 cement him as an Arsenal legend, but his recent performances and (now) utterly deluded egotistical insistence on his own greatness and superiority mean that his head must be firmly and irredeemably on the chopping block now. I'd say he'll be off in January.

Personally I'm very happy with Almunia. It's likely that at some point his good run in the team will sputter out somewhat, but I've seen Fabianski so frankly I have no worries on the Goalkeeping front - the Polish kid is quality.

Still though. 'Pool at Anfield. Always a tough test - possibly the Acid test of this team's quality, spirit and professionalism.

kronsington

a buddy of mine works for charles russell solicitors in london and formerly worked for slaughter mane, who represent arsenal. got a got a call about a week ago saying he has 2 tickets for united v arsenal next saturday, for free. absolutely delighted. and what's more, the tickets are in the name "david dein",which means they'll probably be kick ass seats, what a laugh. for those who dont believe me ill put photos up in the days following the match

Fuzzy_Dunlop

kronsington wrote: »

a buddy of mine works for charles russell solicitors in london and formerly worked for slaughter mane, who represent arsenal. got a got a call about a week ago saying he has 2 tickets for united v arsenal next saturday, for free. absolutely delighted. and what's more, the tickets are in the name "david dein",which means they'll probably be kick ass seats, what a laugh. for those who dont believe me ill put photos up in the days following the match

I see you say 2 tickets?;)

keano_afc

kronsington wrote: »

a buddy of mine works for charles russell solicitors in london and formerly worked for slaughter mane, who represent arsenal. got a got a call about a week ago saying he has 2 tickets for united v arsenal next saturday, for free. absolutely delighted. and what's more, the tickets are in the name "david dein",which means they'll probably be kick ass seats, what a laugh. for those who dont believe me ill put photos up in the days following the match

Is the other one in the name of S. Kroenke?

AnCapaillMor

Really nervous about the pool anytime they're doing not so well and we're doing quiet, they always hand us our asses.

gosplan

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Really nervous about the pool anytime they're doing not so well and we're doing quiet, they always hand us our asses.

yeah, I still hate that Mellor pri*k for what he did a coupl of years ago.

Totally useless but bangs one in from outside the box in the dying seconds against us and went on to never do anything of note again.

Still I guess Baptista scoring 4 in Anfield is equally as stupid. :D:D

Mr Alan

Mellor also scored in the magnificent game against *******kos in Anfield that season as well.

Funny actually, there was a show made, 100 players who shook the Kop and Mellor was in it for those two goals alone!

Carragher was commenting on the players in the show and when it came to Mellor he shouts all high pitched and scouser-like.....

"Mellor has made the list?!?!?!?!", then he says, "ah no in fairness, he scored those two vital goals and we wouldn't have won the Champions league without him. Plus from wat I've he has piled on the pounds and actually could literally shake the Kop now!"

Funny ****er, dont know where that little story came from, sorry!

kronsington

arsenal's record at anfield over the last few seasons is not great but i see no reason why we should fear them. there is dissentsion in the liverpool camp, players aren't sure if they are going to be playing and they are basically out of form. any positive result at anfield is a bonus, but the three points is not beyond the team. things will be a lot clearer over the next 8/9 days.. difficult run coming up november/december with chelsea, evertonand others looming

Evil_Clown

Well tomorrow provides a massive test for this Arsenal squad
Everyone else are looking to see how Arsenal will perform against Liverpool away and United at Home before they judge their title credentials

Not sure what way wenger will go with the team for sunday
He might play a 5 man midfield with 1 player more than likley hleb pushing up behind Adebayor
or
He might play 2 up front then its a shoot out between walcott and eduardo

If there is a weakness in Liverpool at the moment it's Hyypia so if Adebayor puts enough pressure on him he might get some joy. Hyypia is short of pace and confidence at the moment.
At the same time Arsenal must beware of the 'good touch for a big man' Crouch as I think Benetiez will start him considering what he did to Arsenal last year
Personally I think this will be a draw 1-1, which would be a good result for arsenal

Can't wait till Sunday, Come on you Gooners !!

Pepe LeFrits

Jermaine Pennant told The Independent (re: Wenger at Arsenal): "There has got to be something. If you look now there are no English players in the squad, apart from Theo (Walcott) and he's not a regular, even though he's been there for a while now.

"I always felt we got overlooked. The facts speak for themselves. There are no English players in that team so he must have something, not necessarily against them, but that they don't fit into his philosophy.

"He likes the foreign players more. Maybe he believes their attributes are better. And that's his choice."

Perhaps it was his wonderful attitude and penchant for breaking the law that caused Wenger to overlook him? Cretin.

Noelie

It's not like liverpools team is packed with English players either. I guess these players just say what fits best.

Tusky

what are all of yea expecting tomorrow result/scoreline wise ? Do you think it will be a walkover seeing as yea are flying and we are going through a bad patch ?

What Liverpool players do you feel will cause you problems & what players do you think are our weak links ?

just curious. It's a massive game though, a loss for Liverpool and we could potentially slip down as far as 8th depending on other results! A win and we could move to 3rd place 3 points off yourselves. I can't wait.

Pepe LeFrits

Form doesn't usually have that much baring on these games.

Liverpool's weakest link at the moment looks to be Hyypia at the back. I'm surprised he wasn't replaced over the summer. I presume Benitez will pack the midfield; if he does not and goes for a 4-4-2 with Gerrard in the centre then I would consider that a possible weak point too which would likely give Arsenal a lot of possession.

PHB

I can't see Rafa going for a 4-4-2 with Gerrard in the middle, it'd be suicide! Giving Arsenal that much possession is just asking for trouble. He really must go for a 4-5-1, try to 'dominate' possession by passing it around the back a ****load, then hope for some magic from Gerrard or Torres.

Galvasean

If current form is anything to go by Arsenal SHOULD win. However form doesnt win football matches.
I'm hoping Gerrard will be knackered after chasing Besiktas for 90 minutes mid week. A lot will be depending on fitness for this game.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

On a side note, I read somewhere the other day that Traore and Ade are the fastest in the squad over 100 metres, ahead of walcott. So Traore up front to take advantage of Hyypia yeah?

I think we should go 5 in midfield for today with Hleb in the hole. Try and draw some attention away from Cesc, or else exploit any extra space there.

Pepe LeFrits

Looks like Hleb in the hole today with Adebayor as lone striker.

Royale with Cheese

God I hate Eboue. One of these days he's gonna get smacked full force in the face and the ref won't do shit about it.

Defending those corners was awful dodge.

Pacifico

Fabregas, Eboue and Adebayor have been woeful so far

Pepe LeFrits

A shame not to get the 3 points there as Arsenal were much better, but a draw isn't the worst result.

Royale with Cheese

Probably just did enough to deserve the 3 points with those 2 post/open goal chances but a draw at Anfield is not to be sniffed at and Pool had their chances to win it too.

Galvasean

I say, the post got more touches than some of the Liverpool players!