Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Raskolnikov

Need to see a lot more from Nasri and Van Persie though.

Big Ken does looks a threat at the other end though.

Raskolnikov

Vela on.

Quazzie

yahoo_moe wrote: »

He's been doing well for the last few games - he'll always show for the ball but with a bit more playing time under his belt, he's beginning to find enough form to do something with it once he gets it.

I'm taking from this statement you didn't see the Cardiff game.
Its looking at the moment like we aren't going to take advantage of villa dropping points. How can any team that has Song and Bendtner in their team expect to get into the chapions league.

Raskolnikov

If Arsenal don't win here, they don't deserve to get into the Champions League. Sunderland have simply parked the bus in the second half and are ripe for the picking.

yahoo_moe

Quazzie2002 wrote: »

I'm taking from this statement you didn't see the Cardiff game.

Ha, not really - saw his nice assist for Van Persie's goal and that was about it...

Raskolnikov

Vela fluffs an excellent chance.

Quazzie

Before it even starts I'm going to say that any Arsenal fan that is happy with a point at home to Sunderland should be disgusted with themselves.

Helix

Quazzie2002 wrote: »

Before it even starts I'm going to say that any Arsenal fan that is happy with a point at home to Sunderland should be disgusted with themselves.

im a villa fan and i think its a great point

Mickeroo

We were shocking today,tthe only way we'll see CL football next season is if we win it this season.

Raskolnikov

0-0 FT.

Arsenal are absolutely awful to watch this season.

Mgoraf

Sagna and Clichy picked up injuries?

Pepe LeFrits

Don't worry lads, it was only a training game. Oh wait...

God, this getting depressing

Green Hornet

Getting to the stage where we need to look over our shoulders at Everton now as well!

Intertoto anyone?

DenMan

My depression has hit an all time low.

OPENROAD

Bad result, did we play well? by all accounts we had plenty of shots on goal just couldn't score, we really need to be winning these games especially with villa slipping up.

Bounty Hunter

Im really surprised Arsenal didnt win today and claw back 3 points instead of 1 from Villa's lead today. With Villa playing Chelsea and it being the early kick off id really say that Arsene and co had todays match down as a match they had to win, one of the few obvious chances they are going to get to close the gap and one I thought they would take. Im relieved esp with the fact that Arsenal still have the FA cup to play aswell as Champions league games (Villa still have atleast 1 Uefa game to play) which im sure will take a toll.

How long till Fabergas is back?

OPENROAD

Cesc is still 4 to 6 weeks away.

Theo two weeks away as is Eduardo.

Helix

Papa Smut wrote: »

Intertoto anyone?

no more intertoto, this seasons was the last one

L'prof

This season v previous seasons:

2008-2009: 26 12  9  5 38 25 13 45
2007-2008: 26 19  6  1 54 18 36 63 ( 3rd)
2006-2007: 26 14  7  5 48 22 26 49 ( 4th)
2005-2006: 26 12  5  9 39 21 18 41 ( 4th)
2004-2005: 26 16  6  4 58 30 28 54 ( 2nd)
2003-2004: 26 19  7  0 51 17 34 64 ( 1st)
2002-2003: 26 17  5  4 56 28 28 56 ( 2nd)
2001-2002: 26 14  9  3 51 30 21 51 ( 1st)
2000-2001: 26 13  8  5 42 23 19 47 ( 2nd)
1999-2000: 26 14  5  7 46 27 19 47 ( 2nd)
1998-1999: 26 13 10  3 34 12 22 49 ( 2nd)
1997-1998: 26 13  9  4 45 26 19 48 ( 1st)
1996-1997: 26 13  9  4 44 23 21 48 ( 3rd)
1995-1996: 26 11  8  7 34 25  9 41 ( 5th)
1994-1995: 26  8  9  9 29 28  1 33 (12th)
1993-1994: 26 12  9  5 30 13 17 45 ( 4th)
1992-1993: 26 10  5 11 25 25  0 35 (10th)

All-time Premier League record:

Reading               4   4   0   0  11   2   9  12 3.00
Watford               4   4   0   0   9   3   6  12 3.00
Barnsley              2   2   0   0   7   0   7   6 3.00
Wolves                2   2   0   0   6   1   5   6 3.00
Wigan                 7   6   1   0  13   5   8  19 2.71
Ipswich              10   8   2   0  23   4  19  26 2.60
Man City             23  18   3   2  44  14  30  57 2.48
Fulham               15  12   1   2  33   9  24  37 2.47
Charlton             16  12   2   2  36  12  24  38 2.38
Derby                14  10   3   1  27  11  16  33 2.36
West Brom             7   5   1   1  15   7   8  16 2.29
Leicester            16  10   5   1  38  13  25  35 2.19
Crystal Palace        8   5   2   1  16   5  11  17 2.13
Birmingham           10   6   3   1  19   5  14  21 2.10
Nottingham Forest    10   6   3   1  13   7   6  21 2.10
Everton              34  21   8   5  67  27  40  71 2.09
Southampton          26  15   7   4  50  24  26  52 2.00
Sunderland           16   9   5   2  30  11  19  32 2.00
Oldham                4   2   2   0   4   1   3   8 2.00
Swindon               2   1   1   0   5   1   4   4 2.00
Coventry             18  10   5   3  25  13  12  35 1.94
West Ham             28  16   6   6  40  17  23  54 1.93
Middlesbrough        27  15   7   5  60  26  34  52 1.93
Portsmouth           11   5   6   0  17   6  11  21 1.91
Bolton               20  11   5   4  32  22  10  38 1.90
Blackburn            29  15   7   7  47  26  21  52 1.79
Chelsea              33  16  11   6  49  35  14  59 1.79
Villa                34  16  12   6  53  30  23  60 1.76
Bradford              4   2   1   1   6   3   3   7 1.75
Newcastle            31  15   8   8  43  26  17  53 1.71
Leeds                24  12   4   8  43  25  18  40 1.67
Norwich               8   3   4   1  17   9   8  13 1.63
Spurs                34  13  16   5  51  36  15  55 1.62
MK Dons              16   7   4   5  30  16  14  25 1.56
Sheffield Wednesday  16   7   4   5  21  16   5  25 1.56
Sheffield United      6   2   3   1   9   4   5   9 1.50
Hull                  2   1   0   1   4   3   1   3 1.50
Man United           33  10  10  13  33  43 -10  40 1.21
Liverpool            33   9  10  14  32  44 -12  37 1.12
QPR                   8   1   5   2   7   8  -1   8 1.00
Stoke                 1   0   0   1   1   2  -1   0 0.00

2 points against Sunderland this season...great isn't it :rolleyes:

Green Hornet

Watched the highlights on RTE 2. Arshavin looks like he may be a great buy. Played very well, from the highlights at least.

FearDark

I was really expecting us to kick on after a decent performance against Cardiff midweek, I thought we were going to put a decent run together and put Villa under a bit of pressure, we REALLY needed the win today, bloody Everton are closing in on us now ffs. Who the hell are Sunderland to come to our ground and come away with a point, we were disgraceful today, we need somone in midfield to dictate the game, put in tackles etc. Bloody Song and Denilson, crap crap crap. Arsenal are horrible this season. Bendtner, Eboue, Ade, Denilson rubbish, the rest are not performing good enough. Im absolutely sick of Van Persie too, he gets more than his fair share of chances in every game but doesnt convert enough for my liking, every commentator says he's a great talent, awesome left foot, he'd be some GAA player allright. Arshavin looks like a good player but we didnt need him, we needed a DM, every man and his dog knows that, Jesus :mad:

Disgruntled Arsenal supporter.

L'prof

FearDark wrote: »

Arshavin looks like a good player but we didnt need him, we needed a DM, every man and his dog knows that, Jesus :mad:

Disgruntled Arsenal supporter.

Really? 4 draws in a row and 1 goal and we don't need an attacking player?

Green Hornet

FearDark wrote: »

we needed a DM, every man and his dog knows that, Jesus :mad:

Dont think I agree with that statement. Before Christmas I would have but we look pretty good on the defensive front since Christmas. Not conceding goals.

Not scoring now so Arshavin should help on that front.

Galvasean

I'm losing faith in Wenger.
Why can't we beat mediocre/crap teams? We make enough chances but dont get the goals. If Ferguson or Mourinho's players failed to convert as many chances as we do they'd get strangled with a shoelace. It's high time Wenger stopped praising the teams 'tremendous spirit' 'unfortunate not to get the goal' 'good character'. Same old story from him every time we don't get the 3 points. Time to yell at the players when they underproduce.

I was planning to go to the Emirates for another match this season, but after today's dull fare (and many other like it) I'm not prepared to shell out big money to see what will most likely be Arsenal struggling to break down a 'resiliant' defensive minded poor team.

TheNorthBank

Galvasean wrote: »

I was planning to go to the Emirates for another match this season, but after today's dull fare (and many other like it) I'm not prepared to shell out big money to see what will most likely be Arsenal struggling to break down a 'resiliant' defensive minded poor team.

It's typical, I'm heading over next weekend for the Fulham game, another 0-0? What are the chances?

Green Hornet

Y'know, Almunia is turning into quite a good goalkeeper. The dodgy, erratic goalie from earlier in the season (and last season) seems to have been replaced by a steady, no nonsense, reliable goalkeeper.

His distribution is still poor but so long as he keeps stopping the goals I think we can put up with that?

Frisbee

Might just watch our Champions League games from now on, we generally play better in them.

Baptista to score against us on Tuesday?

yahoo_moe

FearDark wrote: »

Denilson, crap

Must have been watchin a different game to me - I thought he was our best player.

we didnt need him, we needed a DM, every man and his dog knows that, Jesus

We could maybe do with someone other than Song playing to win back more ball (and win it back quicker) but as others have said, scoring goals has definitely been our problem in the last couple of months (since Cesc got injured basically).

premierstone

FearDark wrote: »

Im absolutely sick of Van Persie too, he gets more than his fair share of chances in every game but doesnt convert enough for my liking

I can understand you being frustrated we all are but please stop posting nonsense RVP has been head and shoulders above every other Arsenal player this season and he's form and attitude have been among the very few positives so far this season :mad:

PHB

Wenger creates a mindset that doesn't allow him to be negative imo. He has to be very positive because he builds up players as the best in the world, its why they are so good when they get on a run. It has to be blamed on luck or the refs if you don't win, otherwise it would result in a totally different mindset imo.

DenMan

Yes Denilson played very well yesterday I have to say.

Okay here it is.........if we do not qualify for the Champions League I believe it will be good for the club. It's the kick up the backside we need and being realistic the UEFA is a trophy we can definitely win. It's not all doom and gloom and I would much prefer us to be out of Europe's elite next season as it will give us the summer to get our affairs in order. At the end of the day Arsenal football club is about winning trophies and winning the UEFA cup will be great for us and Wenger. He has never won a European competition before. I hope we push on for a Champions League position but if we don't I will be travelling to some of our games in Europe next season. Come on the Gunners.

redout

Wenger is the only manager in history as far as I know to be to all three major european finals (CWC, UEFA, Champion league) and lose !

Trappatoni is the only won to win them all (CWC, UEFA, Champion league, Super cup, Intercontinental)

Galvasean

Green Hornet wrote: »

Y'know, Almunia is turning into quite a good goalkeeper. The dodgy, erratic goalie from earlier in the season (and last season) seems to have been replaced by a steady, no nonsense, reliable goalkeeper.

I agree. He could be England #1 if they werent so stubborn.

Frisbee wrote: »

Baptista to score against us on Tuesday?

Football can be sucha cruel mistress...

DenMan wrote: »

Okay here it is.........if we do not qualify for the Champions League I believe it will be good for the club. It's the kick up the backside we need and being realistic the UEFA is a trophy we can definitely win. It's not all doom and gloom and I would much prefer us to be out of Europe's elite next season as it will give us the summer to get our affairs in order. At the end of the day Arsenal football club is about winning trophies and winning the UEFA cup will be great for us and Wenger. He has never won a European competition before. I hope we push on for a Champions League position but if we don't I will be travelling to some of our games in Europe next season. Come on the Gunners.

Utter utter nonsense. If we don't qualify for the Champions League we can most likely say goodbye to Fazbregas, Rvp and Walcott. Not to mention we'd lose out on all the extra revenue generated by the Champions League, making us even less competitive financially with the likes of Chelsea and Man U.

DenMan

Don't lose sight Galv. Did Milan's players go and bail out on them last season when they didn't qualify for this seasons Champions League? Of course they didn't. Nedved also got fantastic offers once Juve went down and chose to stay with them as did Buffon, Trezeguet, Del Piero and Camorenasi. We are talking one season, not a lifetime. The way it is looking, it will be the UEFA cup next season and realistically Wenger knows that, barring a complete collapse from Villa or Chelsea. It is something we have to both look at and prepare for. It's pretty fickle to think they will all head during the summer if we don't make for next season's Champions League. Let's have some faith in our players, and of course the manager.

Royale with Cheese

Just back from London, what a crock of shít that was.

I've got to point the finger at Wenger, the tactics are awful. Pass it sideways 40 yards out for 10 minutes, then cross into the box with nobody there to get on the end of it. That was 2 players short of a first XI playing yesterday and after 30 minutes they rarely troubled Sunderland.

It's far too easy for teams to sit back against Arsenal, they really don't look like they have any answers. Most of the decent chances Arsenal had in the first half yesterday came from Sunderland errors.

It was pretty depressing sitting in the stadium after the game, I came to the realisation that they really aren't going to finish 4th this year. Even if Villa start dropping points, Arsenal still aren't going to catch them playing like that. They'll finish 5th at best (could well end up being 6th), and that's all they deserve. Good luck to Villa in the Champions League next year, they'll deserve it a lot more than Arsenal do.

Van Persie will leave, and for next to nothing with 12 months left on his contract. Could see Adebayor going too but if they can get any sort of decent price for him it might be for the best. I dunno about Cesc, I would have thought he'd stay but you never know. Walcott? Yeah his contract may be running down but he's never really done that much to suggest he should be at a bigger club than Arsenal, I don't really see anyone coming in for him (Man City aside, I suppose Chelsea could use a winger too).

I don't see not getting Champions League next year being the disaster some people would have you believe, just Van Persie leaving for a fraction of his real worth, and maybe one or two others, plus a loss of revenue meaning little money to bring in more players.

OPENROAD

Season ticket prices frozen for nxt season, thought their might have been a reduction, though suppose st prices have remained the same in four out of five seasons. Will be interesting to see if their will be many non renewals, it has become very hard for sellers on ticket exchange this season, normally two pages of seats for sale for most matches.

Frisbee

OPENROAD wrote: »

Season ticket prices frozen for nxt season, thought their might have been a reduction, though suppose st prices have remained the same in four out of five seasons. Will be interesting to see if their will be many non renewals, it has become very hard for sellers on ticket exchange this season, normally two pages of seats for sale for most matches.

Im not suprised with the kind of football we're playing this season.
Three 0-0 draws in a row against mid/lower table opposition?
Thats not the Arsenal we've known for the past number of years

guys i was at game yesterday. the usual no urgency, walk her into the net approach taken to no avail. was very impressed with the very direct arshavin. if he doesnt gel too much into our way of doing things he will be a great player for us.

Pepe LeFrits

We need Cesc to come back asap and play with the same fire in his belly that he had after he was made captain for us to have any hope of salvaging anything from this season. The way things are going though, our season will be over by the time he returns.

The attitude of the players was infuriating yesterday. Wenger going on about it being spot on just makes it worse. I'll give him another season to right things whatever happens this term but that'll be last chance saloon as far as I'm concerned.

yahoo_moe

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I dunno about Cesc, I would have thought he'd stay but you never know. Walcott? Yeah his contract may be running down but he's never really done that much to suggest he should be at a bigger club than Arsenal

I'd have to agree - even apart from loyalty/captaincy/Wenger issues, I really don't see where Cesc would go. (For anyone who says Barca, they don't need him for a while yet - Xavi's only 28 or 29 and he's still running the show for them.) And I don't see him being in any way tempted by the circus that Real or Man City would be.

As for Theo, I'd be seriously surprised if he left. For one thing, I think the club will sort him a contract and I don't think he's as impatient to get moving as Flamini was last year - plus from a buying club's point of view, they're dealing with a player who's just missed half a season rather than one who's just played out of his skin for a year. And even though I'm a massive fan of his, it's hard to see how sure a bet he'd be right now for a really top club - and because he's getting gametime at Arsenal when fit, he'd only move if he was going upwards, which doesn't leave very many options as far as I can see.

Mr Alan

Liverpool have been rumoured to be interested in Walcott for the last 18 months or so.

Galvasean

Mr Alan wrote: »

Liverpool have been rumoured to be interested in Walcott for the last 18 months or so.

Really? First Ive heard of it. Where has it been reported?

DenMan

Did some hunting just now and found out that we are on live on ITV 4 this evening. (7:30pm). Arsenal VS Roma from the Emirates Stadium.

~Rebel~

Galvasean wrote: »

Really? First Ive heard of it. Where has it been reported?

Rafa tried to get Walcott on loan last year

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has turned down Liverpool's request to take Theo Walcott on loan.
...
The Frenchman said that he would not be releasing any players on loan during the transfer window because Arsenal were "very short [of players]".
"We have 17 players at the moment, and you could see with the players who were on the bench at Tottenham that they should not have been on the bench there," he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2290002/Arsenal-reject-Liverpool-move-for-Theo-Walcott.html

L'prof

DenMan wrote: »

Did some hunting just now and found out that we are on live on ITV 4 this evening. (7:30pm). Arsenal VS Roma from the Emirates Stadium.

We're also on Setanta Ireland if you have it?

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Rafa tried to get Walcott on loan last year


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2290002/Arsenal-reject-Liverpool-move-for-Theo-Walcott.html

Before his injury this season, he was our best player. He won't be leaving any time soon and I'm pretty confident that when the time comes, he'll sign a new contract!

DenMan

jasonorr wrote: »

We're also on Setanta Ireland if you have it?



Before his injury this season, he was our best player. He won't be leaving any time soon and I'm pretty confident that when the time comes, he'll sign a new contract!

Afraid not Jason, but I do have ITV 4. Come on the Gunners.

L'prof

DenMan wrote: »

Afraid not Jason, but I do have ITV 4. Come on the Gunners.

Cool, I'm on NTL so I'm in the opposite position...Pat bloody Dolan tonight so!

~Rebel~

jasonorr wrote: »

We're also on Setanta Ireland if you have it?



Before his injury this season, he was our best player. He won't be leaving any time soon and I'm pretty confident that when the time comes, he'll sign a new contract!

i wouldn't expect him to either, id take him in a second though, would be perfect for our RWF problem position!