Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

anonymous_joe

Galvasean wrote: »

Um... okay I can't really tell if you're being sarcastic or not.

Reserves won 2-0 against Fulham. Apparently Bischoff played a stormer. surely he can't be too far off the first team squad now. Maybe Wenger hopes to introduce him in the Carling Cup.

http://www.arsenal.com/match-menu/3020286/reserves/arsenal-res-v-fulham-res?tab=report

He meant RVP's suspended. This makes me yay.

I think all the Arsenal fans calling for Wenger's heads aren't thinking straight.

Sure your team currently has a hole where the midfield should be, but I've noticed that in United at times this season too. What teh team needs is someone above Wenger in the pecking order who can and will spend money when it's needed.

Wenger's not infallible, but he's still a great coach.

robbie1876

Like a lot of people in this thread, I'm fuming by the apparent lack of effort, commitment and desire that has been on show for the last three or four games, by some of our 'superstar' players.

If I could pick a team based purely on players' desire to win and willingness to play for Arsenal, it would be:

Almunia
Clichy
Gallas
Toure
Sagna
Nasri
Diaby
Fabregas
Eboue
Eduardo
Vela

Adebeyour, Van Persie and Bendtner drive me nuts, I can't stand to watch them squander chances and then wave their arms frantically when the ball isn't passed to them. Granted, strikers are all about the goal tally, they definitely should have a bit of a selfish streak. But for the love of god, show a bit of respect for your other teammates who are trying to win the game for the team.

Evil_Clown

After that Hellish week it looks like we may be getting a small rub of the green this week.
Villa losing last night as metioned before was a blessing in disguise and also it looks like both Sagna and Walcott will be fit for the United game.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/3377677/Theo-Walcott-to-be-fit-for-Arsenal-match-with-Manchester-United-Football.html

I think that Bendtner has to start against Fenerbace if he will be leading the line against United. There is a good chance he will score against that defence which should give him some confidence and also he needs the match sharpness imo

Galvasean

anonymous_joe wrote: »

He meant RVP's suspended.

I know he's suspended for the United game but is he also suspended for the game against Fenerbache? (the one I said he would play in. Take note I said Bendtner and Diaby against United)

Arsenal1986

rvp isnt banned for fenerbache.....If i were arsene id play rvp against fenerbache possibly with vela for a coupla reasons - He was hitting brilliant form b4 the sending off was immense against West ham and Spurs and itd be good to keep up his match sharpness and secondly id give Vela a start and hopefully if he looked sharp against Fenerbache he would give us the option of 4 4 2 agaisnt United....

Plus i dont think we should play bendnter purely to get his confidence up for saturday as i believe no one is more confident in Bendtners ability than Bendtner. He will be absolutly raring to go for saturday this is big chance hes been waiting for and it would be just our look that hed get injured

Galvasean

Arsenal1986 wrote: »

rvp isnt banned for fenerbache.....

So the earlier sarcastic comment aimed at me was wrong. Awesome.

Arsenal1986 wrote: »

If i were arsene id play rvp against fenerbache possibly with vela for a coupla reasons - He was hitting brilliant form b4 the sending off was immense against West ham and Spurs and itd be good to keep up his match sharpness and secondly id give Vela a start and hopefully if he looked sharp against Fenerbache he would give us the option of 4 4 2 agaisnt United....

Agreed.

Arsenal1986 wrote: »

Plus i dont think we should play bendnter purely to get his confidence up for saturday as i believe no one is more confident in Bendtners ability than Bendtner. He will be absolutly raring to go for saturday this is big chance hes been waiting for and it would be just our look that hed get injured

Although i wouldn't start with Vela against United, i'd definately consider bringing him on as a sub later if he had a good game against Fenerbache.

wardie

Lads,

I am going over to the utd game on Saturday. Any decent boozers for drinking before after that are recommended ??

Haven't seen any updates on Ad or Walcott, any clue how long they are out ?

god didn't gunnerblog make a 'great' suggestion. Hire a dennis wise/damien commolli style director/ceo to overrule wenger, i.e copy the model which even the spuds had the sense to abandon. he's that desperate for a trophy he must want us to win the championship next season. :rolleyes:

If I believed we could retain all of these youngsters until 2011, I am sure we might be able to mount a serious challenge for the major prizes around then. But as Hleb and Flamini's departures indicate, that will not be possible...

I hope the board get out there now and appoint a tough, football-savvy CEO -and, crucially, that they make the appointment without Arsene's input. The manager shouldn't be hiring his own boss. If we don't bring in someone who can regulate Arsene's stubborn principle-driven methods with a bit of harsh reality, the downward spiral of the team will continue.

Arsene knows. He knows an awful lot. But he is not God...

Arsene has come in for plenty of criticism, and I can understand why. Player acquisition is a huge part of modern football management. However, despite what some might suggest, we do have one of the world's greatest managers. Now, it is simply time for him to prove it.

Galvasean

Apparently Walcott will be fit enough to play against United.

Plenty of good pubs in the Camden area. The Unicorn being a good rock music themed one. There is a place called the Holloway Bar (i think) near Holloway tube station that I went to which had a very good, but also a bit laid back pre-match atmosphere.

yahoo_moe

Deleted User wrote: »

god didn't gunnerblog make a 'great' suggestion. Hire a dennis wise/damien commolli style director/ceo to overrule wenger, i.e copy the model which even the spuds had the sense to abandon. he's that desperate for a trophy he must want us to win the championship next season. :rolleyes:

Read the quote you posted. He was talking about a CEO not a Dennis Wise/Damien Commolli to "overrule" Wenger.

Personally I'd go with Bendtner and Vela against Fener - they work very well together but haven't played together in a while. Getting that understanding going again before Utd (even if Vela will only appear as a sub) would be great.

Though with Walcott back fit, I think Arsene might play him left side with Eboue right side in a midfield 5 against Utd. That way Denilson or Diaby could shift left side and Walcott could move up front if necessary at times.

yahoo_moe

yahoo_moe wrote: »

Read the quote you posted. He was talking about a CEO not a Dennis Wise/Damien Commolli to "overrule" Wenger.

whatever way you look at it be it a CEO or DOF it is a 'new boss' for wenger.

why shouldn't wenger have say over who comes in after what the man done for this club. the guy has done wonders with limited funds and football is being played like nothing on this planet. its philosophy every club in the world should be made play with. its not his fault his experienced defenders and his goalkeeper have let him down with a bang last two games.

i see a lot of people are slating ada and van persie for their perceived selfishness. i feel sorry for both. last wed nite they scored a goal apiece coupled with goals from gallas and silvestre. it would be good enough to win 4 games but the dross at the back and in goal let us down and LET WENGER DOWN.

yahoo_moe

Deleted User wrote: »

whatever way you look at it be it a CEO or DOF it is a 'new boss' for wenger.

Absolutely it's a new boss, and I don't think even Wenger would have a problem with that - the appointment's already in the process of being made. The point was to make sure that the new boss is partly a football man as well - not just a money man. But there's no suggestion that he'd be "overruling" Wenger.

its not his fault his experienced defenders and his goalkeeper have let him down with a bang last two games.

I agree with you to an extent (and I'm not calling for Wenger's head in any way here, in case there's any doubt) in that players have let him down - but I do think that it's his fault that we have a first-choice central defensive partnership that hasn't worked for the majority of the 2 and a quarter seasons it's been together. Toure + Gallas does not an imposing, reliable partnership make, especially with Denilson in the form he's currently in.

Might even be time for Eboue to go centre mid again, did alright there earlier.

Frisbee

Galvasean I was being serious, not sarcastic

RVP should start tomorrow night and it's just down to whether or not it will be Bendtner/Vela/Diaby who plays alongside/behind him.

Beau x1

Hi, I'm new to the soccer forum. Arsenal supporter over here :cool:

I just wish Wenger would stop putting Nicklas Bendtner on the field. He just seems really clumsy with the ball, and just doesn't flow with the Arsenal team in general. I don't know what he sees in him. And for the love of god, I've seen him many-a-time stay on the field when he should be taken off (particularly the West Ham game, fair enough he did set Adebayor up nicely in the last few minutes but other than that had a terrible game). Walcott should stop trying to hit them in the net, he's really fast paced and has great ball control but just doesn't seem to have the power behind those shots.

Looking forward to the game on Wednesday against Fenerbache. 5-0 would be nice :rolleyes:

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Excellent news on the injury front. Sagna back in contention for both games being the main plus. Gallas actually had been playing well recently so him coming back is better than having Silvestre anyway. Also with Walcott hopefully back for united and Eboue out it looks like Nasri and Theo on the flanks, which suits me just fine. Now if only RvP hadn't been such an idiot...

Pepe LeFrits

I can't see Vela starting against United unless he starts against Fenerbahce too. It'd be very unlike Wenger. I doubt he'll start either game, personally. I reckon we'll see a 4-5-1 against United with a central trio of Diaby, Fabregas and Denilson. Probably something similar against Fener, but with a few rested.

Green Hornet

Wonder will he give Fabianski a chance tomorrow night? I doubt it and I'm not convinced from the few times that I've seen him play that he's the answer anyway.

That said, I was not an Almunia fan ever since the crappy goal he conceded under his body to Man Utd in the Carling Cup a few years ago. Slowly over the course of the last year though I began to feel comfortable with him and until last week I think he was one of Arsenals best players this season.

But now! What the hell has happened to him? Is his confidence gone? He can't have turned THAT bad over the course of a week surely.

In fairness to the guy, I hope he can bounce back because he appears to be one of the rare breed of footballer who does not have prima donna notions about himself.

Pepe LeFrits

He's always been a ****ing disaster in the big games (pretty much every time we play United [uh-oh], every time we play spurs, and the CL final come to mind immediately) but his form has been very good apart from those two games this season (remember the Fenerbahce game), so I'm willing to keep the faith with him. Fabianski hasn't really looked any better when I've seen him anyway.

DenMan

Isn't Vito Mannone a highly regarded goalkeeper?, at least both Wenger and Donadoni think so. Lippi wants him to play more to try and get into the Italian national team. I know he didn't have the best of starts when he went out on loan to Barnsley. Has to be given a start a some point and has been here since he signed from Atalanta in 2005.

Pepe LeFrits

I dunno, I heard terrible things about him but he's since been rewarded with a five year contract and had some positive words said about him. I haven't heard anything re: Lippi or Donadoni.

yahoo_moe

Don't see that much reason to drop Almunia myself. He certainly wasn't the only one at fault in the last two games and as far as I'm concerned, he's still got all the same skills (and yes, some of the weaknesses) that he's always had and is still our number one.

Is Eboue definitely out for the Utd game by the way? Wouldn't mind him playing personally if fit.

Galvasean

Beau x1 wrote: »

Hi, I'm new to the soccer forum. Arsenal supporter over here :cool:

I just wish Wenger would stop putting Nicklas Bendtner on the field. He just seems really clumsy with the ball, and just doesn't flow with the Arsenal team in general.

I find he is capable of mincing about in tough games. In the game against Sunderland he came on and bossed them about. He gives us another option when fancy football isn't working.

Pepe LeFrits

Beau x1 wrote: »

I just wish Wenger would stop putting Nicklas Bendtner on the field. He just seems really clumsy with the ball, and just doesn't flow with the Arsenal team in general. I don't know what he sees in him. And for the love of god, I've seen him many-a-time stay on the field when he should be taken off

You could just as easily be talking about Adebayor there, and he's years older. By way of comparison Bendtner is still a year younger than Adebayor was when we signed him.

Bendtner is not the most technically gifted player we'll ever have but he's an intelligent player; he links play and holds up the ball well, is strong in the air, can pick a pass and has formed good partnerships with virtually every striker he's ever played with, which is a very valuable trait in my opinion.

gosplan

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

You could just as easily be talking about Adebayor there, and he's years older. By way of comparison Bendtner is still a year younger than Adebayor was when we signed him.

Bendtner is not the most technically gifted player we'll ever have but he's an intelligent player; he links play and holds up the ball well, is strong in the air, can pick a pass and has formed good partnerships with virtually every striker he's ever played with, which is a very valuable trait in my opinion.

I know this is overused but good feet for a big man (hereafter GFFABM). Bendtner has brilliant vision, touch and passing for a big forward. As said above, he's not the most technically gifted but he's not the least. Hs can hold the ball up, he can pick a pass and his decision making seems to be good (a problem with many of our players).

Frisbee

playa3 wrote: »

Gallas actually had been playing well recently so him coming back is better than having Silvestre anyway.

Is Gallas back for United?

As for Bendtner I think he's really developed since we first saw him hit the main stage last year. If played up front on his own he's strong enough and smart enough to bring other players into play effectively.

gosplan

Question for everyone - wasn't bothered starting it in another thread.

Arsenal need a DMF and a central defender badly.

Who do we buy in Jan?

No hope of getting someone good enough from Man U or Chelsea. I hear rumours that Liverpool might need to sell - Alonso possibly? Toure jnr will always be mentioned. De Rossi but he probably wouldn't leave Roma to play with loads of French players. I liked the look of that Dutch giant at the Euros.

Given that we now need to see an established player join - who the hell is there?

I always would have loved to see Senna but he's probably too old to leave the overachieving Villareal (and I think he's captain).

No idea about the centreback.

Royale with Cheese

It'll be Blaise Matuidi, if anybody.

Galvasean

gosplan wrote: »

I liked the look of that Dutch giant at the Euros.

Ah yes I remember him (forget his name:o). Something of a man mountain but still quite young (21 IIRC) and good technical skills. Sounds like the perfect archetype signing for us.

gosplan

Galvasean wrote: »

Ah yes I remember him (forget his name:o). Something of a man mountain but still quite young (21 IIRC) and good technical skills. Sounds like the perfect archetype signing for us.

Enkellar or something I think.

L'prof

gosplan wrote: »

Who do we buy in Jan?

But, don't you realise that Wenger has confidence in the team? We won't be buying anybody!

gosplan

jasonorr wrote: »

But, don't you realise that Wenger has confidence in the team? We won't be buying anybody!

I think that declaring publicly that you have full confidence in the group of players that you need to play well twice a week for the next two months is different from privately realising that you need to strengthen a bit.

If this Blaise Matuidi guy is as good as the talk about him and settles like Sagna or Nasri did, that should solve the DMF problem for the moment. I'd still like to see another player, perhaps a 30-something year old that we can trust to anchor our performance against these crappy teams we've been slipping up on.

So any ideas on the central defender?

gosplan

Oh yeah, on another note. How comically ironic is it that we're short strikers for Man U.

If there was one area that I thought our squad was robust enough, it was in attack.

Irish Gunner

Over for the man utd game and I fear the worse or is that the grimness coming out lets hope not

This is our biggest test so far and lets just hope we do not get the November jitters again

Hope to see Vela play at some stage on sat and hope Bendtner proves himself and not stroll, although his ball to Ade v the hammers was fantastic

I believe that Wenger believes this young side can do something but this or next year who knows. I dont think that the likes of Rice etc are yes men to him but AW can be blinkered sometimes, no jokes about he did not see it :rolleyes:

As for tonight we need to play as offensive as we did in the away league give us some confidence and a vast improvement is needed in defence, but thats the story of our season

c'mon you gunners

Frisbee

Im guessing this is the guy your talking about...

He would be a relatively good buy. Although the only big teams he's played for are Twente and Schalke 04. While he did play ok during the Euro's I dont think he has the experience. Not the answer to our problems...

leninbenjamin

Frisbee wrote: »

Im guessing this is the guy your talking about...

He would be a relatively good buy. Although the only big teams he's played for are Twente and Schalke 04. While he did play ok during the Euro's I dont think he has the experience. Not the answer to our problems...

i thought Engelaar looked pretty ordinary during Euro08 and is greatly over rated in my book. Holland only got as far as they did because of their forwards, in midfield they looked very ordinary, De Jong and Engelaar didn't impose themselves well and their passing didn't look great either, certainly no where near existing Arsenal standards. he'd be a decent squad player perhaps but not a solution to the current woes.

Frisbee

From the Arsenal Website:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-vela-is-one-of-the-best-i-have-seen

Suspension and injury may have robbed Wenger of his first-choice strike duo but he is sure he has ‘the answer’ in Carlos Vela.

The Mexican burst onto the Arsenal scene with a superb hat-trick in last month’s Carling Cup victory over Sheffield United and the absence of Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie could hand him further first-team opportunities in the next few weeks.

Wenger is aware that Vela must adapt to the physical nature of the Premier League but the Frenchman is certain that he has enough quality to fill the void.

“Vela is one of the answers,” said Wenger at Tuesday’s press conference. “Carlos is an outstanding striker, he will be a top goal-scorer and is one of the best finishers I have seen.

“He is 19 years old and playing at a top, top club. We don’t believe that he needs to improve his finishing or his technical quality, we just need him to adapt to the combative side of the English side of the game.

“He is responding very well at the moment and it will give him something more and make him a top-class striker.”

Really hope he gets some good game time tonight...

Evil_Clown

Frisbee wrote: »

Really hope he gets some good game time tonight...

So that you can sing your sig I bet

yahoo_moe

leninbenjamin wrote: »

i thought Engelaar looked pretty ordinary during Euro08 and is greatly over rated in my book. Holland only got as far as they did because of their forwards, in midfield they looked very ordinary, De Jong and Engelaar didn't impose themselves well and their passing didn't look great either, certainly no where near existing Arsenal standards. he'd be a decent squad player perhaps but not a solution to the current woes.

Exactly - it was Sneijder and Robben on the break from deep that did most of the damage. Certainly not a gameplan that could be considered an advertisement for the DM involved to my mind (the play was generally breaking down around their box too, rather than in midfield).

gosplan

yahoo_moe wrote: »

Exactly - it was Sneijder and Robben on the break from deep that did most of the damage. Certainly not a gameplan that could be considered an advertisement for the DM involved to my mind (the play was generally breaking down around their box too, rather than in midfield).

Not really sure of his quality to be honest. Just mentioned him as he was young, big and I liked the look of him. As regards Holland's euro challenge, you really have to look at the quality of their back four IMO - not a single player starting for a really good club IIRC.

DenMan

I remember when Arsenal were linked with Marc van Bommel (before and after Vieira left). Why didn't we go ahead with it? At the time he was one of the world's best midfielders and surely would have benefitted from joining Arsenal.

leninbenjamin

gosplan wrote: »

Just mentioned him as he was young

he's 29... not exactly young, especially by Wenger's standards.

Pepe LeFrits

I wasn't impressed by Engelaar either. His passing was worse than Gilberto's.

I wouldn't be so sure that we won't sign anyone in January. Wenger tried to sign a DM and a CB over the summer but couldn't get anyone for what he considered a reasonable price so we ended up with no DM and Silvestre. Prices drop a bit in January and I think he'll try again, especially with Song and Denilson still being some way off the finished article.

tony1kenobi

Is the match only on sky tonight?? I'd like to see bendtner and vela together. They were awesome pre season.

Frisbee

Setanta Ireland aswell

newbie2

Think I'd prefer to watch it on sky. Ireally do hope we get result tonight. We need a 'pick me up' before the game this weekend. I agree bendtner and vela were class preseason, so lerts hope they go mad at fenerbahce.

Frisbee

Assuming they start together.
I'd like them to. But tbh I think RVP is going to start considering he's out of the Premiership for the next 3 weeks.

Green Hornet

Almunia "ill" apparently.......................Fabianski to start.

Pepe LeFrits

Team apparently is:

Fabianski Touré Silvestre Djourou Clichy Ramsey Denilson Cesc Nasri Bendtner van Persie

Pacifico

Nice to see Djourou & Ramsey in there. Shame theres no Vela though!

DenMan

I know RVP is suspended for the next 3 domestic games. Is the Carling Cup game against Wigan included? (I think it is). That would make it that game and the next two Premier League games (Man Utd, Aston Villa). Or is it three league games? (Man City as well)