Arsenal

[Rossy Boy]

He has it, that's all I'm saying.



@Rossyboy: Like that makes a big difference mate. We're talking about a running machine, he does the same thing from RB.

Fair point ok ;)

[Nturtle]

Well boys...interesting game...only saw highlights here:

http://www.soccerblog.com/2007/07/arsenal_life_goes_on_without_h .htm

Good to see Bendtner getting his chances....and good for him to miss a penalty when it isn't important.

Hope Eduardo get's clearence....his work permit was denied apparently! Sheesh!

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Can't believe that!

Dinamo Zagreb: 73 goals in 104 apps

Croatia U-21: 8 goals in 12 caps
Croatia: 8 goals in 14 caps

He probably hasn't got a work permit because he has played a lack of international games for Croatia; however he has a cracking goal-scoring record!!!

[Wan]

He was good but lots of clobs didn't knew his talents..
Wenger has done a great signing..
The next Henry perhaps?

[Stella Artois]

It's a fucking joke. We'll let criminals, vagrants and people who don't deserve to be here, into the country as we're part of the EU, but when a footballer wants to come into the country to do a guarenteed job which will ensure the taxman gets a lot of his money, they're not interested.

I wish I understood their logic.

[Wan]

Lassana Diarra (Chelsea) >> Arsenal :shocking:

Oh please don't go..
He wouldn't have place there..

[RB14 ARSENAL]

The only way I would see him moving to the club was if Flamini went abroad, but he looked impressive vs PSG and scored the opening goal so I think we should keep Mathieu and see how he performs at the beginning of the season.

Anyway, if Flamini does become a flop by January, we can sell him and then that would possibly open the door for a defensive midfielder.

[Wan]

But there is Denilson already..

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Exactly, Denilson has a very similar playing style to Cesc, in terms of technical ability and creativity.

In a few years when Gilberto maybe retires or is passed it, I reckon Diaby will be the replacement for Gilberto, because Abou is very gifted and can definately capable of performing crunching yet fair tackles and would be the player who would break up the attacks and create chances with slick through-balls, which is what Gilberto does right now.

Especially now that Gilberto is expected to miss the start of the new season, I feel Diaby could play in the middle with Cesc, Denilson/Rosicky down the left and Hleb/Theo down the right.

I would like to see Rosicky been experimented down the right wing as he has a very good right foot and would be capable of crossing balls in the box for Eduardo/v.Persie to nod in! He hasn't been too good down the left wing and needs to be versatile and threaten the opposition!

[Wan]

So what's the difference between left wing & right?
It's still on the wing right?

[Rossy Boy]

:laugh:
yeah but he is saying that he has a good right foot to cross the ball in and its easier to cross the ball in from the right side with his right foot ;)

[RB14 ARSENAL]

exactly rossy boy...

Hleb or Theo would be better down the left wing than on the right........

[RB14 ARSENAL]

U get my new PM Rossy Boy mate?

[JoeyM]

It's a fucking joke. We'll let criminals, vagrants and people who don't deserve to be here, into the country as we're part of the EU, but when a footballer wants to come into the country to do a guarenteed job which will ensure the taxman gets a lot of his money, they're not interested.

I wish I understood their logic.

from what I understand it's simply the rules that it HAD to be turned down the first time becuase he didn't fulfill the criteria. He's pretty much certain to get it on appeal.

[Stella Artois]

Problem is, why was it turned down in the first place? Its farcical.

[-Rafa-]

So Eduardo doesn't have his work permit? :unsure:

[Barry]

I thought the top teams always would get a work permit accepted? Anyway there is still the obligatory appeal.

[JoeyM]

Problem is, why was it turned down in the first place? Its farcical.

He hasn't played 75% of his national teams games in the past 2 years (which is the requirement), I think Arsene said he'd only played about 50%, although he's been called up for 100% of the games in the past year. Footballers have different rules to everyone else it seems. I very much doubt Arsene would have signed him if he wasn't 99% sure he'd get a work permit one way or another.

[Stella Artois]

I know mate, but it just seems ridiculous that we can't get a work permit straight away; especially when you consider some of the people that are allowed into this country.

It should go through, but then again Mark Gonzalez couldn't get one straight away so who knows?

[-Rafa-]

I know mate, but it just seems ridiculous that we can't get a work permit straight away; especially when you consider some of the people that are allowed into this country.

It should go through, but then again Mark Gonzalez couldn't get one straight away so who knows?
Yea we were in the same situation with Gonzalez, we had to wait a year, so unless something improves you might have to loan him out.

[JoeyM]

Yes it does seem like a massive waste of everyone's time, but it's simply the process, if he'd have gotten on first try without having met the criteria you can imagine the cries of "special treatment".

And from Arsene's comments if we don't get a WP it seems likely we'll just cancel the entire deal and move for someone else.

[Dundon's]

Team news as regards the Inter game.

Sagna and Eboue both start.

Hleb starts up front(behind) RVP

The one big change, 17 year old Gibbs starts on the left wing. Fingers crossed he has a stormer.

[Calzone]

Tell wenger to give me a shout at left wing. I'll bring the title to Arsenal.

[Dundon's]

Haha you'd want to be fair handy, this Gibbs kid looks a tidy player, didn't give the ball away once and was involved in all our best moves. Nice one Arsene.

I'm so happy with the way we're playing upto half time the outcome of the game is pretty irrelevant to me.

Great stuff and against top opposition.

P.S. What the fuck is Eboue on? :shocking:

[Stella Artois]

The game is pretty boring actually, Inter are absolutely appalling at the moment - can only assume its because their season starts a lot later than ours.

How wasn't that a penalty? Halsey you're a cunt.

EDIT: HLEB SCORES!

Not only did he score, but he had to have two shots for it to go in. Get that man drug tested.

[Rossy Boy]

VANNN PERSIIEE!!! what a goal

[Stella Artois]

That swivel he does is unbelievable. Seen it quite a few times now aswell.

[vanNistelrooy]

That swivel he does is unbelievable. Seen it quite a few times now aswell.
Can't believe the defense let something as simple as that fool them. Still, looked pretty sweet!

Looks like you won't have a trophyless season!

[Keyser Soze]

That Van Persie goal was beautiful.

[Stella Artois]

Can't believe the defense let something as simple as that fool them. Still, looked pretty sweet!

Looks like you won't have a trophyless season!

Well its not the first time he's done it. Tends to work well every time.

We currently have one more trophy than you. :happy:

[Barry]

Anyone got a link to that? It doesn't seem to be on here in Holland anywhere, not even the pay-channels. Although I did manage to catch PSG-Valenica, rather disastrous for Valencia.

[vanNistelrooy]

Well its not the first time he's done it. Tends to work well every time.

We currently have one more trophy than you. :happy:
Give it a week, sunshine :D

[ThierryHenry14]

is there any where online where i can watch this

[Stella Artois]

Give it a week, sunshine :D

We'll see about that. ;)

Barry, if I can get a link with the goal, I'll give it to you.

TH14...the game's over.

Edit: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=233_1185729096

[ThierryHenry14]

yeh i just realised

[Wan]

So the result?

[Dundon's]

Champions :ninja:

[Barry]

Cheers mate. I do hope he has an injury free season, so he can convince everyone of his amazing qualities.

Can't believe he's from Rotterdam :tongue:

[Dundon's]

The goal was out of this world, only Van Persie could of done that on his bad leg.

[Stella Artois]

I'll post the link on this page incase anyone misses it.

Robin's goal:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=233_1185729096

We won 2-1 Wan. We were 1-0 down to a Suazo header, then Hleb and Van Persie scored to give us the win.

[Viperized]

Lovely performance, and an even better goal by Van Persie. Top class stuff. He really is a scorer of great goals - almost every goal he scores is pretty special.

Hleb, Van Persie and Eboue were outstanding.

Even though it was a pre-season game, I'm still very pleased with the performance. We played very well. Gibbs didn't look like a bad player either. I was quite impressed by him and he looks like he could be another good player for us in the future.

[Usul]

Gibbs is pretty fucking good.

[Wan]

I can say that Arsenal has a good academy.
Lots of players from the academy jumped to the first team.

[Dragonfly]

Where in midfield does Gibbs play?

[Viperized]

On the wings.

[Top Gun]

I went up and watched today and can safely say that Sagna was the best player in the Arsenal match, he can attack as well as Eboue but he can tackle and head as well. He looked like a class act. Van Persie's goal was a beauty, I was behind that goal and when he did that sort of slide swivel it looked unbelievable.

[Stella Artois]

Wenger's lost the plot. He's said he will consider Glenn Roeder for the director of football role.

:ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:

[Rossy Boy]

i know i saw that :huh:

[pistolpete]

Went to the games today in the Emirates cup, was a really good atmosphere inside the ground and a good performance.

Plus i lost my voice by booing Materrazzi from the family section so i had to boo for 100 people!

Pretty usefull player playing for PSG today - Diane - scored and set up a goal and looked impressive on the wings, Hopefully Wenger was watching.

[Viperized]

Wenger's lost the plot. He's said he will consider Glenn Roeder for the director of football role.

:ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:
Really? When?

edit: http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=479295&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=&title=Arsenal+cool+Roeder+talk

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has rejected reports that have suggested Glenn Roeder is to be appointed as the club's director of football.

Wenger is known to be drawing up a list of candidates for the position and the latest round of speculation has intimated Roeder is the front runner for the post.

Former Newcastle boss Roeder is eager to return to football after being shown the St James' Park exit door last season but while Wenger insists he is an admirer, no deal has been done as yet.

"I like Glenn Roeder, but I've not met with him," he said.

"At the moment I've not decided to appoint him. He would feature on a list of candidates, though."

[JoeyM]

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/2977/rvp5rh8wv9.gif

[Dragonfly]

Nice. :cool:

[Stella Artois]

Really? When?

edit: http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=479295&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=&title=Arsenal+cool+Roeder+talk

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has rejected reports that have suggested Glenn Roeder is to be appointed as the club's director of football.

Wenger is known to be drawing up a list of candidates for the position and the latest round of speculation has intimated Roeder is the front runner for the post.

Former Newcastle boss Roeder is eager to return to football after being shown the St James' Park exit door last season but while Wenger insists he is an admirer, no deal has been done as yet.

"I like Glenn Roeder, but I've not met with him," he said.

"At the moment I've not decided to appoint him. He would feature on a list of candidates, though."

Still says he's considering him. That's bad enough.

[Viperized]

Gerard Houllier was a name which popped up a month or two ago.

He was present in the stadium for both games. Maybe something is going on there? Who knows though.

[Scarface]

Hopefully he just went to watch a few games, making the most of his time out of management, and to watch his former club, PSG, although he obviously has a good eye for talent (Cheyrou - "new Zidane", Diao - "new Vieira", Diouf "new Henry") so maybe it won't be such a bad move, after all...

To be fair, he is good friends with Wenger, so they would form a good relationship, and if it keeps Arsene happy and goes a little way to helping him commit his long term future to the club, then so be it.

I thought Hleb was great today. I'm glad he's being used in a more central/left sided position. Hopefully he'll occupy that position more regularly as he's far better in those areas than on the right. Eboue and Sagna already appear to have formed a good understanding. Overall, a very good display. Shame that the opposition's first shot on target once again resulted in a goal, but two good goals to turn it around.

Earlier this year, Thierry Henry mentioned Kieran Gibbs alongside Jay Simpson as the two players he thinks have the best opportunity to break into the Arsenal first team setup. Gibbs had a good game today, hopefully he'll be able to put in a few good displays in the Carling Cup and force his way into the reckoning.

[Stella Artois]

Problem is though, how did you integrate Hleb into the centre midfield, given we're likely to play a 4-4-2?

Gilberto and Cesc are the midfield two in my eyes.

[Scarface]

I would like to see Hleb on the left (but moving into central positions regularly throughout a game, with Clichy providing further width down the left) and Eboue/Rosicky on the right. I've always supported Rosicky playing through the centre, but it's difficult thinking of a way we can do that without a change of system, so I think that's our best option at the moment.

[Stella Artois]

I still think we'll lack real width. It always look as if the players are getting into each others way as none of them are genuine wingers.

Eboue has looked excellent so far on the right. He is direct and can actually cross now so I'm looking forward to seeing him this season showing Ronaldo how its really done. :happy:

[Scarface]

True, but for VfB Stuttgart, Hleb was very good on the left flank. Beating players, going inside and out, and causing full-backs all kinds of problems. He obviously hasn't performed to the same level since arriving at Arsenal, but i'm hoping if he plays a few games wide on the left, he might start to show more of what he can do and give us more width than he has done until now.

Shortly before he joined Arsenal, I can remember Michael Ballack claiming that if Bayern Munich had Hleb on the left wing, they would have won the Champions League.

I'm also excited about Eboue's potential on the right wing. He was unstoppable today, and I feel he's capable of performing to that level consistently. Hopefully he may even get us a fair share of goals from there, as he gets himself into some good positions and has a powerful shot on him, but needs to show more composure at times, which i'm sure he will as he gains experience.

[Dundon's]

I went up and watched today and can safely say that Sagna was the best player in the Arsenal match, he can attack as well as Eboue but he can tackle and head as well. He looked like a class act.


I'm delighted you brought that up, did you notice the time when he got clattered into the face and then just bounced back up straight away setting up the very next attack?

This is a no nonsense rock of a man, reminds me of Lauren in his prime. Are we sure that's his real name though? :unsure:










http://www.pbol.com/pechter/lipton98/images/ven51.jpg


P.S. Eboue was like a juggernaut today.

[martin_cranie]

Wow, loads of us were at the game today. Some of you may even have been mere feet away from martin_cranie. You lucky people.

I was expecting to be unimpressed with the stadium as I've always thought the crowd were too distant from the pitch, but I'm pleased to say that I was really impressed. The noise generated during most of the Arsenal-Inter game was very good for a friendly, I thought.

Hleb looked good although he did misplace a few very easy passes when he tried one touch distribution once too often. On the whole he was lively and took his goal well. Big things may well come from this guy next season. If he can add goals to his game on a regular basis then he will comfortably be one of the best players in The Premiership.

Eboue on the right side was fantastic, but a diving little bastard. His running was excellent - showing he has much more than just speed - and he played some nice passes out to Sagna and in to RvP and Hleb. Should have scored in the second half too. Absolutely no reason that a player of his obviously quality should feel the need to dive every time he's touched.

Sagna was very good. I think Mr. Wenger's reshuffle could well work brilliantly. Sagna/Hoyte behind Eboue/Rosicky? looks like it has real potential.

As people have mentioned, Gibbs was impressive. Worked hard, looked good on the ball, etc. Fully deserved his wee ovation upon being substituted.

RvP was brilliant. Not a constant threat throughout, and maybe should have done better with one or two shots, but very unlucky not to score that freekick, and his winner was sublime. He really is one hell of a player.

PSG looked good against the laziest Valencia side ever. It was like Mendy and Diane had a completely clear right flank, Moretti was that bad. Obviously the whole team was playing poorly, but that guy stood out as being the worst player on the pitch by a mile. Diane was impressive. Always dangerous and deserved his goal. Who was the guy on the other flank who flip-flapped in the first half? That was nice.

All in all, a really good day. A shame that Edu, Eduardo, Silva and Zanetti didn't make appearances, but I have no complaints really.

[Stella Artois]

Nice post mate. Where did you sit?

Eboue wasn't that bad. He was genuinely caught the majority of the time, the problem is he's a hypocondriac.

Congratulations on your adminship too. ;)

[Dundon's]

You wanna book a room there Stella while you're at it? :blush:

[martin_cranie]

Nice post mate. Where did you sit?

Eboue wasn't that bad. He was genuinely caught the majority of the time, the problem is he's a hypocondriac.

Congratulations on your adminship too. ;)

Cheers mate.

He did get caught quite genuinely at times but he still went to ground on a few occasions when the need simply wasn't there. And as you say, even when he is caught he acts like he's been shot. I really hope he cuts it out as he is a brilliant player when he's just getting on with his game.

I was sat in the Upper Tier, Block 125 row 28 seat 958. Even that far back - two-ish rows from the very back - the game still felt a lot closer than it used to at Highbury. Maybe that's just me being stupid, but I swear that it felt tighter.

[Stella Artois]

I've absolutely no idea what you meant by that, but...

Anyway, if Wenger is thinking of buying two more players, who does everyone think should be brought in? I like the look of Luka Modric, but I'm not overly sure if he's what we need. A huge centre back would be nice, Toure and Gallas are always being beaten in the air!

Cheers mate.

He did get caught quite genuinely at times but he still went to ground on a few occasions when the need simply wasn't there. And as you say, even when he is caught he acts like he's been shot. I really hope he cuts it out as he is a brilliant player when he's just getting on with his game.

I was sat in the Upper Tier, Block 125 row 28 seat 958. Even that far back - two-ish rows from the very back - the game still felt a lot closer than it used to at Highbury. Maybe that's just me being stupid, but I swear that it felt tighter.

Well at least you don't have to suffer the bollocks of a restricted view. That was amazingly frustrating.

[Dundon's]

I've absolutely no idea what you meant by that, but...


Don't worry about it, I know the score now.

[Dragonfly]

I'd like an experienced centre-back as a back-up (along with Djourou) for Toure and Gallas; someone that has experience in either the Prem or Champions Leauge. I wouldn't mind if such a defender came in as part of an exchenge deal for Sanderos. I'd also like a left-winger, but I can't really think of a good one that would be available. Again, it would be good enough if he was just a sub, but someone who is fast and direct.

I think Wenger might be thinking about playing Eduardo on the wing at times. I read in a recent interview that he said Eduardo could play out wide so they he's not too desperate if we don't make any more signings during this window.

[Keyser Soze]

I think Wenger might be thinking about playing Eduardo on the wing at times. I read in a recent interview that he said Eduardo could play out wide so they he's not too desperate if we don't make any more signings during this window.
Would take a lot out of his game though, and leave the left flank very vunerable as I can't see the man tracking back too often to help out.

[Dragonfly]

Chelsea's Lassana Diarra could soon join us. Apparently he's asked Chelsea if he can leave, and he has one year left on his contract, so it's very likely that they'll try to sell than let him go for free. We're in talks with Chelsea over a deal for Diarra.

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=479396&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=2&title=Gunners+line+up+Diarra+d eal&channel=football_home&

Personally, I'd be more than happy to have him join us, because I'm a fan of his. But, do we need another central midfielder? He can also play right back, so I don't know where Wenger would plan to play him. If he does come, this could mean either/both Flamini and Hoyte could be on their way out - Hoyte probably going on loan to Birmingham, or one of the newly promoted teams.

[Top Gun]

I was sat in the Upper Tier, Block 125 row 28 seat 958. Even that far back - two-ish rows from the very back - the game still felt a lot closer than it used to at Highbury. Maybe that's just me being stupid, but I swear that it felt tighter.

I agree with you on that, I was on the Upper Tier, Block 102, Row 7, Seat 325 and it seemed really close to the pitch, I think it is because the upper tier hangs over the lower tier quite a lot which means you are nearly on top of the pitch.

I was sat right behind the R.V.P goal and was wondering what the hell had happened because one minute he looked like he had been closed out by the two defenders, then suddenly he is off celebrating. Atmosphere wasn't as bad as I thought it would be either, during the PSG - Valencia game it was shocking but what can you expect. During the Arsenal game it wasn't so bad and when you get a full crowd (the Arsenal game was basically packed but not quite) during a competitive match the atmosphere should be quite good.

I thought it was great seeing Valencia getting hammered by PSG, they look like they have some good youngster playing for them especially David N'Gog. For me though the player of the day had to be PSG's Gallardo, he made the strong Valencia midfield look like amateurs.

[Scarface]

Chelsea's Lassana Diarra could soon join us. Apparently he's asked Chelsea if he can leave, and he has one year left on his contract, so it's very likely that they'll try to sell than let him go for free. We're in talks with Chelsea over a deal for Diarra.

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=479396&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=2&title=Gunners+line+up+Diarra+d eal&channel=football_home&

Personally, I'd be more than happy to have him join us, because I'm a fan of his. But, do we need another central midfielder? He can also play right back, so I don't know where Wenger would plan to play him. If he does come, this could mean either/both Flamini and Hoyte could be on their way out - Hoyte probably going on loan to Birmingham, or one of the newly promoted teams.

I rate the guy too, but I can't see this happening. Firstly, I highly doubt Chelsea will agree to sell him to us. Surely he'll have other suitors, so they'd do all they can to try to offload him to another team. Also, i'm not sure he'd agree to join Arsenal when there's a good chance he'll find himself with the same limited opportunities (or less so, given that he played at right back on some occasions and I doubt we'll use him there when we already have Eboue, Sagna and Hoyte) he does now with Chelsea, as we already have Fabregas, Gilberto, Denilson, Diaby, Song and Flamini. He's clearly better than Song and Flamini, but may find it difficult to fight past the others into first team reckoning. It was only a few days ago Wenger was saying how many central midfielders we have, so i'm finding this story difficult to believe.

Would take a lot out of his game though, and leave the left flank very vunerable as I can't see the man tracking back too often to help out.

He's got a good work rate so I don't think that would be too much of a problem, but I agree about it taking a lot out of his game. He positioned himself on the left flank to receive the ball to attempt to create an opening or dribble, but i've never seen him play there for either Dinamo Zagreb or Croatia. I hope not to see him playing on the wings unless we have a complete injury crisis.

Anyway, if Wenger is thinking of buying two more players, who does everyone think should be brought in?

Centre back: Ronaldo Naldo of Werder Bremen and Brazil. I reckon he'd cost around the £10m mark, but he's a giant so unsurprisingly is excellent in the air, and isn't bad on the ball for a tall centre back, which again isn't much of a surprise considering he's Brazilian, and he has a powerful shot on him. I feel he'd work extremely well alongside either Toure or Gallas.

Winger: Preferably someone capable of playing on both wings, but I can't think of anyone in particular. I rate Luka Modric very highly so would like him to join, but he's quite similar to Hleb and Rosicky in certain aspects, so may not give us what we're looking for in the wide areas.

[K.1.N.G.]

Great stuff and against top opposition.


I wouldnt get overly carried away with the fact taht it was Inter tho - they brought an inexperienced side, and even their experienced players were of fthe pace a bit. You could really see the difference in the earlier pre-season start we had.

Fairly happy with what I saw tbh, things are looking bright. Lets hope this shuts up the doom-mongers!!!

Wenger's lost the plot. He's said he will consider Glenn Roeder for the director of football role.

:ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:

Shit manager, yes. But a lot of people dont realise the impact that this man has behind the scenes. He is a great academy man, and I wouldnt rule him out tbh.


Problem is though, how did you integrate Hleb into the centre midfield, given we're likely to play a 4-4-2?

Gilberto and Cesc are the midfield two in my eyes.

What do people think of this 4-51 formation? Would ye prefer if we stuck to a more traditional 442. Does only one up front reduce RVP's effectiveness??

[Dragonfly]

Centre back: Ronaldo Naldo of Werder Bremen and Brazil. I reckon he'd cost around the £10m mark, but he's a giant so unsurprisingly is excellent in the air, and isn't bad on the ball for a tall centre back, which again isn't much of a surprise considering he's Brazilian, and he has a powerful shot on him. I feel he'd work extremely well alongside either Toure or Gallas.

So how come he's valued at £10m in the FL? :erm:

[Scarface]

So how come he's valued at £10m in the FL?

The FL player values aren't completely in sync with the market values in real life. i.e Bent will never be worth anywhere near 17m. Once Naldo is more established his value will be increased further.

:orly:

Uploaded that smilie especially for Viperized.

[JoeyM]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Reyes is leaving

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Lol.

[Stella Artois]

It would seem this year will be another year in which the money we make from transfers, exceeds our expenditure.

:mellow:

[vanNistelrooy]

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=479497&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=2&title=Atletico+strike+Reyes+de al

I bet most of you are over the moon!?

[Dragonfly]

It would seem this year will be another year in which the money we make from transfers, exceeds our expenditure.

:mellow:

We have to pay for our Hacienda club somehow.

[Gooner10]

£8million sounds a good amount I suppose. I was at the emirates on the sat. Was a good atmophere during the arsenal game and the players showed real potetial for the upcoming season, especially sagna eboue hleb and gibbs but overall no one played badly

[pistolpete]

I'd like to see us at least compete for the signing of Royston Drenthe (the Davids lookalike) and another Dutch u21 player impressed me - Maduro?

I didnt realise that Blackburn bought Roque Santa Cruz for £3.5m
I always though he was good. Proven goalscorer and only 25.

[Keyser Soze]

I'd like to see us at least compete for the signing of Royston Drenthe (the Davids lookalike) and another Dutch u21 player impressed me - Maduro?

You do realise Drenthe is being chased by some of the biggest clubs in the world and is expected to sign with R.Madrid in the near future?

[Stella Artois]

And we're not a big club?

You seem to forget your pre-Abramovich days...

[Keyser Soze]

And we're not a big club?

Did I say you weren't? The way he said it; "at least", was as if it would be a small signing. Combine the fact that he's apparently expressed a desire to play for Barca and lots of speculation with him and Madrid with the fact that there's a lot of competition for his signature makes it a lot less likely.

You seem to forget your pre-Abramovich days...
What's that supposed to mean? :rolleyes:

[Stella Artois]

Well who actually knew of Drenthe prior to the U21 tournament? Very few judging by the reaction to his performances. Who's to say he will be a world class player in the future? We all remember Diouf. ;)

You know exactly what I would have meant by it, had you been inferring that we're not a big club. ;o

[Keyser Soze]

Well who actually knew of Drenthe prior to the U21 tournament? Very few judging by the reaction to his performances. Who's to say he will be a world class player in the future? We all remember Diouf. ;)
True, but it doesn't make him any more easier to get. I can't see Arsene matching the high bidding of other clubs either... maybe if he was a few years younger and was French, possibly. :tongue:
You know exactly what I would have meant by it, had you been inferring that we're not a big club. ;o
Haha, bastard.

[Nturtle]

I didnt realise that Blackburn bought Roque Santa Cruz for £3.5m
I always though he was good. Proven goalscorer and only 25.

Quite - Bayern are cleaning house it seems. That's pretty cheap...might turn out to be as good as Berbatov in terms of a buy! He's young and relatively fast. We'll see.

As for Drenthe...I haven't seem him in action...but if you saw the emirates game vs Inter...like gooner10...I think Eboue and possibly Traore might do a good job for us on the wings already. Just need some players in the box...cue Eduardo!!! :cool:

[Dragonfly]

I thought Traore was a left-back. Did he play left-wing in the friendlies?

[Stella Artois]

Van Persie insists: We'll have the last laugh

Love is in the air again at Arsenal with Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas on a mission to lift spirits ahead of the new campaign.

It has been a summer of turmoil at the Emirates with captain Thierry Henry following vicechairman David Dein through the exit door, doubts about Arsene Wenger's long-term future and incessant chat about a takeover.

Reassurances that everything is hunky dory have seemed, at times, a little too desperate but, after winning the meaningless Emirates Cup last weekend, Van Persie and Fabregas came out fighting.

The pair - sure to be pivotal in the post-Henry era - insist that, far from losing their grip on a top four place, Arsenal are ready to compete once again with Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea for the Premiership title.

Van Persie, 23, said: "It's hard to fight with them but I know we can do it. Football is not about age or money. It's about if you want to run for each other, if you want to fight for each other and really play some ball.

"Liverpool have spent lots of money, Chelsea have been doing that the last few years, I respect that. This is their way of winning things. But we can win things as well. We are young. So what? Age doesn't matter. It's about the way we play football and the way we like to play together.

"To win the title with this team would be great. I really believe we can do that. I think the manager is thinking the same.

"Since I started pre-season with these boys, every day I've seen their ability. Yes, they are young and young people make mistakes but that doesn't really matter. Like in love, age doesn't matter."

Although he insists the burden will be shared, Van Persie is sure to inherit the responsibility of supplying goals after returning from six months out with a broken foot.

Van Persie, who scored the winner against Inter Milan on Sunday, said: "I don't feel the pressure at all. It's not my aim to be the top scorer. My aim is to play good football with this team. I've been out for six months, way too long. I'm just so happy that I'm back.

"I was quite surprised we played such good football because this is just pre-season. We played some tremendous stuff. It was quite funny because during the game Cesc and I were smiling at each other because we liked the fact that we were playing so well. Everyone was smiling during the game. If we play the same way or even less, we will have a big chance at least to fight for the title."

If Van Persie shoulders the weight of expectation up front, Fabregas must provide the inspiration and creativity in midfield. Stories continue to trickle out of Spain that he remains a top target for Real Madrid, even though new manager Bernd Schuster may now be prepared to wait until next summer to get his man.

Fabregas said: "You never know in the future. When you are a footballer, anything can happen. But, right now, the best place for me is Arsenal. Since I signed this contract, everybody could see I really believe in this team and my commitment is the same as the first day I came here.

"We have a strong team but we don't have to keep saying: "We will win, we will win". We have to keep going game by game, and if we can keep the concentration, we have a strong team and can win. Why not? I'm happy at Arsenal, I want to continue here and win many things."

Even William Gallas is back on message after his complaint on his website about the club's lack of investment in world-class players.

Gallas said: "We will show all the critics that we can do it this season by adopting a new attitude, because we have to be up there. In the past we have relied on lovely football to see us through, but sometimes you have to fight to achieve success and that will be the attitude we shall adopt this season. We showed against Inter that we can do just that.

"Some people claim this club are on a downward spiral but there is enormous determination. Thierry has gone. Now we have to look forward to a new era. There is a tremendous spirit of togetherness and I'm ready for the challenge and want to set the right example."

Bloody hell, even the moody bastard is happy.

Happy times ahead?!

[Joel]

Bloody hell, even the moody bastard is happy.

Happy times ahead?!

Just give it time and he'll be threatening to score own goals :P

[Stella Artois]

If he's doing that when he's 35, it's the last day of the season and he's soon to be out of a contract, I won't mind. ;)

The more I think about, the happier I'd personally be to have him as captain. He's a born leader and has the winning mentality this team needs.

[Zoolander]

You've changed your tune about Gallas?! :rolleyes:

[Stella Artois]

God, he's certainly a moody bastard whose whinging can get annoying, but he really does have the qualities we need. We've lacked anyone who's willing to say what they think and he's a born winner.

I don't think he'll be the captain, but i'm no longer against it. I'd imagine it'll be Gilberto myself.

[Joel]

If he's doing that when he's 35, it's the last day of the season and he's soon to be out of a contract, I won't mind. ;)

The more I think about, the happier I'd personally be to have him as captain. He's a born leader and has the winning mentality this team needs.

He learned that from us :blush:

I agree though, he does not like to lose at all. I still remember him crying on the floor when we (Chelsea) lost to Liverpool is the Champions League Semi Final...Oh wait, that happened twice :unsure:

He's vocal on the pitch (and off), he leads the line well, he gives 100%, he'd be a great captain for you. I just hope the Emirates Cup will be the only thing he lifts...Ever.

[Stella Artois]

What about the LG Amsterdam Cup? :laugh:

He had to wait a long time to earn that mentality. ;)

[Top Gun]

I thought Traore was a left-back. Did he play left-wing in the friendlies?

On Sunday they had Justin Hoyte at left back and Gibbs at left midfield. I think that Traore did come on for Gibbs in the second half.

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Bloody hell, even the moody bastard is happy.

Happy times ahead?!

He's only saying that so he can be the new captain LOL

[Barry]

I heard the magic word Amsterdam in here somewhere ;)

I myself will be going there on the Saturday for Ajax - Arsenal and Atletico -Lazio. It's always good to play quality opposition, far better than playing some obscure Asian teams to cash-in.

[Viperized]

The more I think about, the happier I'd personally be to have him as captain. He's a born leader and has the winning mentality this team needs.
Which is the exact reason why I considered him as a captain.

I'm sure Gilberto will be captain, with Gallas as vice-captain.

[Viperized]

The FL player values aren't completely in sync with the market values in real life. i.e Bent will never be worth anywhere near 17m. Once Naldo is more established his value will be increased further.

:orly:

Uploaded that smilie especially for Viperized.
Oh really?

[Gooner10]

I hope Ajax give us a good challenge we need to see how we do against a side that is really going for it..we found it difficult at times against PSG and although we played well against Inter they played a very weak side that didnt seem bothered and still got a goal in the air which we really need to improve on defending against, alot of teams score that way in the prem. Apparently we'll be using the third kit which I suppose is a bit obvious seeing as our other two clash with the Ajax kit, looks good from what i've seen

[Calzone]

Which is the exact reason why I considered him as a captain.

I'm sure Gilberto will be captain, with Gallas as vice-captain.

What about toure for captain? Am I missing something about him?

[Gooner10]

I don't think Toure has the leading ability..but I may be proved wrong

[Wan]

Gunners line up Diarra deal

Skysports.com understands Arsenal are lining up a move for Chelsea's Lassana Diarra.

Diarra is believed to have informed Chelsea of his desire to leave Stamford Bridge and Arsenal are ready to offer him a move to Emirates Stadium.

The French international is believed to be unhappy with his lack of first-team action at Chelsea and he is well down the pecking order in Jose Mourinho's plans.

The 22-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and he is believed to have told Chelsea he will not be signing a new deal.

The news has alerted Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger who is a big fan of the young midfielder.

The two London rivals are understood to be in talks over a deal and the player is keen on securing a switch to North London as he searches for regular first-team football.

[-Rafa-]

I don't see how him moving to Arsenal will give him instant first team football with Gilberto there.

[Wan]

Yea plus there's Fabregas too..

[Nturtle]

I heard the magic word Amsterdam in here somewhere ;)

I myself will be going there on the Saturday for Ajax - Arsenal and Atletico -Lazio. It's always good to play quality opposition, far better than playing some obscure Asian teams to cash-in.

LOL...well...sometimes it is the EPL that forces clubs to play "obscure" teams...like the Barclays Asia Trophy w/ Liverpool, Portsmouth and Fulham.

RE: Traore...he replaced Hoyte I think, and Bendtner replaced Gibbs in the Emirates win over Inter.

With Captaincy...well...I've said it before...depends how a captain leads and what they are used for. With Arsenal, I see captaincy being more of a honorific...not necessarily a Keane or Viera type link to fighting spirit etc. I think we are now back to a TEAM game...which is great for the boys. The captain only needs to calm his players and get in with the ref in disputes nowadays. :realmad:

[Barry]

I hope Ajax give us a good challenge we need to see how we do against a side that is really going for it..we found it difficult at times against PSG and although we played well against Inter they played a very weak side that didnt seem bothered and still got a goal in the air which we really need to improve on defending against, alot of teams score that way in the prem. Apparently we'll be using the third kit which I suppose is a bit obvious seeing as our other two clash with the Ajax kit, looks good from what i've seen

You will be playing us and Lazio I think, I'm particularly interested in Atletico myself as they have strenghtened up quite a bit with Simao, Luis Garcia, Reyes and Forlan to name a few.

Thursday 2 August 2007
18:30 CET: Lazio – Arsenal
20:45 CET: Ajax – Atlético Madrid

Saturday 4 August 2007
19.00 CET: Lazio – Atlético Madrid
21.15 CET: Ajax – Arsenal

Wish I had a better camera though, can't get any decent close-ups with the current one.

[Nturtle]

Too bad Arsenal don't get to play Athletico and shower Reyes (maybe with beer)...hahah!

The Youth Cup in Malaysia could be interesting...so keep an eye on that as well to see the stars of the future if they get the breakthrough. A lot of English talent there, Lansbury, Gibbs, etc

[ThierryHenry14]

anyone know when the champions league qualifiers are cause rangers are already playing theres i think

[RB14 ARSENAL]

That was the first leg of their 2nd qualifying round tie last night because we don't even know who we're playing yet in the 3rd round.

Here are some possible oppopents:

Fenerbahce,
AEK Athens,
Dinamo Bucharest,
Spartak Moscow,
Toulouse,
Zurich,
Sparta Prague.

There's loads more but these are the decent/mediocre sides that we may be drawn against.

All the rest are here: http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=479556&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=Who+could+Arsenal+face+i n+the+Third+Qualifying+Round?

[Nturtle]

Arsenal are seeded and will avoid some teams like Liverpool etc. But as RB14 says...there are some good sides out there still...fingers crossed...we always get difficult teams I think! Hoping this is a more gentle into into Champs league...we definitely need to make it!

RE: Champions Youth Cup - it looks like we wont' be fielding the strongest teams as Merida, Lansbury, Myrphy etc are all in the U-17 championships for their respective countries as well....so it'll be interesting! Good experience for the lads definitely...and arsenal.com has something on this from Laim Brady who is with them.

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Toulouse or Zurich would be an easy tie to win, however if we get Fenerbahce or Sparta Prague it would be a very annoying 2 legs as they are very defensive teams and would wait for us to push all our players 4ward and then wait for the perfect opportunity to push forward on the counter attack and get the 1-on-1 chances.

That would be the only chance that they would have but I think we would win about 2 or 3 nil on aggregate without doubt. Fenerbahce do have Carlos now, so interesting to see how we would play and rocket free kicks and Lehmann!!!

[RB14 ARSENAL]

The Arsenal squad has now been announced for the LG Amsterdam Tournament. Squad is as follows...

1 Jens Lehmann
2 Abou Diaby
3 Bacary Sagna
4 Cesc Fabregas
5 Kolo Toure
6 Philippe Senderos
7 Tomas Rosicky
9 Eduardo
10 William Gallas
11 Robin van Persie
13 Alexander Hleb
15 Denilson
16 Mathieu Flamini
17 Alex Song
20 Johan Djourou
21 Lukasz Fabianski
22 Gael Clichy
24 Manuel Almunia
26 Nicklas Bendtner
27 Emmanuel Eboue
30 Armand Traore
31 Justin Hoyte
32 Theo Walcott

We play Lazio 2nite kick-off: 6:30PM. I think we will win 2-0 , goals from van Persie and Hleb.

It's on SKY SPORTS 2 tonight.

[ThierryHenry14]

is Eduardo allowed to play in this competition

[Dragonfly]

I can't see why not. Why do you ask?

[RB14 ARSENAL]

If he's cleared by the Home Office and granted his work permit.

If he doesn't, he can't play this season and then Arsene will have to sign another striker unless Bendtner comes into the side and plays reguarly while the African cup of nations is taking place.

[ThierryHenry14]

I can't see why not. Why do you ask?

cause he wasn't for the Emirates Cup
but as RB14 said looks like he has a work permit
**EDIT**might be getting a work permit**

[Nturtle]

Home permit thing due to be announced today. If he's in the squad...surely he some kind of provisional thing...otherwise it'd be a bit silly..

[Viperized]

Both Rosicky and Eduardo are in the squad for the game today, which is coming on at 5PM on Skysports.

Adebayor is missing. I'm guessing he is still injured.

[Dragonfly]

How come he played the friendlies earlier on, but he can't now? Did the Home Office discover something we missed out when applying for his work permit, in the paper work?

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Must have.... I find it bizarre that he has been rejected.

Yeah, he hasn't played over 50 game sfor his national team but he has an impressive goalscoring ratio for Croatia and I'm confident he'll be accepted today :D

[Nturtle]

According to the Daily Mail...the ruling applies only to games in Britain...so he's on for the Amsterdam Tourney. BTW...he's played all games last year for Croatia..., 8 goals in 12 games...that's a lot of game time for the national team!

[RB14 ARSENAL]

exactly, plus he definitely can score vs top teams because everyone remember when he scored against england when croatia won 2-0.

I'll post the goal up when I find it on YouTube lads.

[RB14 ARSENAL]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nU4DI2dJOJg

There it is!!!

Not a bad header at all from Eduardo. At last someone who is very capable at meeting crosses and heading 'em in the back of the net with ease and confidence!!

I'm sure there will be plenty more of them to come this season. He will be a cult hero at the emirates in no time at all.

[Dragonfly]

I always find it funny that Borat is overlooking the own goal. :D

[Gooner10]

Any bets on the score against Lazio today? I hope Eduardo shows everyone what he's made of. I'll say 3-0 to us

[Calzone]

Lazio is a good side. 1-0 to Arsenal tho.

[RB14 ARSENAL]

2-0 to Arsenal today I think.

Eduardo and RVP being the goalscorers.

lazio will get a man sent off :D

do Lazio still have di canio???

[Calzone]

Lol, no.

[Rambo]

Eduardo has got his work permit.

[Joel]

Who scored the first goal for Arsenal?

[Dragonfly]

We're winning 1-0, but I don't know who scored. It'll be half time in a bit.

[JoeyM]

1-1 now, Bendtner scored for us.

[Viperized]

Eduardo looks fairly sharp, though it was partly his fault that we conceded.

I'm sure we will bring a stronger side in the second half, like we did against PSG. What is the maximum number of subs we can make?

[Jonny2J]

I knew as soon as Eduardo scored Smith would say he's a natural finisher. :laugh:

[Gooner10]

2-1 good game really, apart from some defensive blunders, but when Gallas and Toure both play together it should be alot better. I like the look of Eduardo he was helping out all over the place

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Yeah, he definitely looked sharp in front of goal and will inevitably fit into the Arsenal side. Thank god he's got his work permit :D

[Nturtle]

Eduardo looks fairly sharp, though it was partly his fault that we conceded.

I'm sure we will bring a stronger side in the second half, like we did against PSG. What is the maximum number of subs we can make?

It'll be a good test. Fabrianski might play I suspect...so no first eleven I would guess in totality. I think you can sub as many as you like in friendlies Vip

[Billy Minof]

This Saturday I think that ye are putting out the team that will start the Premiership season from what I have been hearing on Tv, it will be interesting to see what team he plays and if Eboue will be on the right of midfield, who will partner Cesc in Midfield and if he will go with Eduardo and Van Persie up front...will Clichy be back LB or will he play LMF and if so then who will be LB, Hoyte or Troure....if so then that will leave Hleb on the Bench.

[RB14 ARSENAL]

We've got Sparta Prague in the UCL 3rd qualifying round.

The 1st leg is in Prague on 14th August and the 2nd leg two weeks later at home.

What u think of the draw lads??? It'll be a challenge for Arsenal but I'm sure Eduardo will shine in the 2 legs and sail us through into the Champions League group stages with some impressive performances from Hleb, Fabregas and Eboue. Sagna will also prove he has what it takes to secure his place at right back and his style of play and workrate will be effective in the Champions League this year, I'm sure.

1st leg = I think 2-0 win to us with 2 vital away goals from van persie and Eduardo.

2nd leg= Arsene will play some more of the future prospects from the Academy and it'll be a 1-0 win. Eduardo will score header from a Fabregas indirect free kick.

3-0 aggregate win to Arsenal.

Anyone else have some predictions to post in???

[Viperized]

This Saturday I think that ye are putting out the team that will start the Premiership season from what I have been hearing on Tv, it will be interesting to see what team he plays and if Eboue will be on the right of midfield, who will partner Cesc in Midfield and if he will go with Eduardo and Van Persie up front...will Clichy be back LB or will he play LMF and if so then who will be LB, Hoyte or Troure....if so then that will leave Hleb on the Bench.
I think this is the ideal team:

Lehmann
Eboue Toure Gallas Clichy
Hleb Cesc Gilberto Rosicky
RvP Eduardo

[Dragonfly]

I think this is the ideal team:

Lehmann
Eboue Toure Gallas Clichy
Hleb Cesc Gilberto Rosicky
RvP Eduardo

I agree. It's the same as last season's team (with the obvious exclusion), but we'll see how Sagna finds the Prem, which could mean either Hleb or Eboue could be dropped.

I think we have a very good first eleven to challenge for the title, but do we have enough strength in depth though? I think in midfield, yes; up front, it's OK I guess, it depends on how good Bendtner really is; and defence? Well, I don't think so. I still want someone with more Prem or Champ Lg experience than the current subs. I think defence is our priority if we're planning to get any more players during this transfer window.

EDIT: Arsenal 2-1 Lazio
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SKf03p2oXCc

[Nturtle]

Too bad Adebayour is out for the start of the season with a groin in jury...interesting chance for Bendtner + Eduardo and maybe even Walcott for sure.

[ThierryHenry14]

Eduardo can do something which henry wasn't well known for that is headers

[Dragonfly]

Henry isn't bad at headers. Remember the one he scored, against Man Utd was it? He showed he can header the ball really well. There was another occasion I remember, I think it was in the Champions League when he leapt to some height to head the ball past the keeper. The reason Henry wasn't well known for headers was because of our style of football, where the ball was mostly on the ground, even crosses.

[alpine goal]

Eduardo can do something which henry wasn't well known for that is headers

And last night look how many balls were put in the box, looks like we now have a plan b which is what we been missing.

[Gooner10]

Bentner seems to be on the end of some headers as well, he only just missed against PSG then put in the rebound, at last we can change play and not be so predictable

[Nturtle]

Well...it'll be interesting against Sparta...hopefully we'll demonstrate we mean business on the away leg...then convincingly sort out the home leg.

[Billy Minof]

I think that Eboue will start at RMF with Sagna RB.

[Wan]

Hleb?

[Billy Minof]

Hleb?

All will be revealed today as reports say Arsenal will start the team that will start the Premiership today against Ajax.

[pistolpete]

Maybe the team that started today will start the premiership, Fabregas pulled out though with a throat infection so he should be fine.

A good result tonight i think it was important to get a premiership type game before it starts and we got that tonight, unlike the Liverpool game last night where hardly anyone ran.

Clichy looked brilliant, he kept his winger under control for the whole game and ran 70 yards with the ball to set up RVP for the winner with 2 minutes left.

Lots of pluses tonight, the back four looked solid and had a reasonable work out, Sagna was impressive although more defesively than in previous games, Flamini was busy, Denilson neat and tidy, RVP angry but very lively - slightly disappointed with Rosicky and Hleb, these are 2 senior members of the team and should be leading by example but Rosicky was very quiet before being subbed, and Hleb was his usual self, skillfull but lost the ball cheap a few times in good positions and passed up a couple of good shooting oppertunities.

All in all it was a very good workout for the team, and great for the morale in winning another pre season tournament surrounded by good teams.

[JoeyM]

Clichy is a monster.

[alpine goal]

Clichy is a monster.

And Cashley Cole is a dick. Clichy will become the best leftback in the leauge this season, while Cashley counts all his extra money.

[Billy Minof]

I think that Eboue will start at RMF with Sagna RB.

I love being right. :happy:

[Keyser Soze]

I love being right. :happy:
Was pretty obvious since that's been the case for a while.

[Nturtle]

LOL Billy - I'll come and comment on the Real Madrid forum sometime!!

BTW...never figured out why Real didn't want Reyes? But given the coach was sacked after he won the league title again...anything goes I guess...

Well..back to Arsenal...and hopefully it'll be a bright start against Fulham (who were in their usually non-inspirational mode in the Asia Trophy in HK)...then a good away match against Sparta to get the ball rolling.

Only time now...for the usual transfer gossip to take place...a bit strange to add to the squad AFTER all the pre-seasons....but..maybe Wenger will surprise us!

[RB14 ARSENAL]

Dunno about u Nturtle, but I feel we need some 3-4 players in their late 20's/early 30's who have had plenty of champions league experience and are at the top of their game at the minute.

Is there any players that spring to your minds as to who would do very well and adapt to the playing style in England and who would fit perfectly into the Arsenal set-up???

[Jesus]

I think you need another winger, someone like Schweinsteiger(sp?) or Quaresma would do.;)

[Viperized]

Henry isn't bad at headers. Remember the one he scored, against Man Utd was it? He showed he can header the ball really well. There was another occasion I remember, I think it was in the Champions League when he leapt to some height to head the ball past the keeper. The reason Henry wasn't well known for headers was because of our style of football, where the ball was mostly on the ground, even crosses.
Henry was crap at headers.

He missed a great number of chances when using his head. One example is his header against Real Madrid in the first 10 minutes of the game (I think). Any other striker would've buried that chance in the net.

[Barry]

Maybe the team that started today will start the premiership, Fabregas pulled out though with a throat infection so he should be fine.

A good result tonight i think it was important to get a premiership type game before it starts and we got that tonight, unlike the Liverpool game last night where hardly anyone ran.

Clichy looked brilliant, he kept his winger under control for the whole game and ran 70 yards with the ball to set up RVP for the winner with 2 minutes left.

Lots of pluses tonight, the back four looked solid and had a reasonable work out, Sagna was impressive although more defesively than in previous games, Flamini was busy, Denilson neat and tidy, RVP angry but very lively - slightly disappointed with Rosicky and Hleb, these are 2 senior members of the team and should be leading by example but Rosicky was very quiet before being subbed, and Hleb was his usual self, skillfull but lost the ball cheap a few times in good positions and passed up a couple of good shooting oppertunities.

All in all it was a very good workout for the team, and great for the morale in winning another pre season tournament surrounded by good teams.

Hleb I found to play pretty well, he gets quite a lot of stick for no reason at all except he doesn't shoot too often. Denilson was diving on at least 2 occasions, not too great performance either. Clichy was impressive, also because Ogararu left a giant gap at rightback as he was going into the center to help out even when Arsenal had only two forwards :mellow:

It was pretty evenly matched, I was impressed by Heitinga who was fantastic. Although I must say we didn't create a lot of chances. Rommedahl had some nice touches while the Hunter was being his usual self, largely invisible then coming out unexpectedly to nearly score. I have pictures, but I'm still trying to find a USB cable.

[pistolpete]

Hleb I found to play pretty well, he gets quite a lot of stick for no reason at all except he doesn't shoot too often. Denilson was diving on at least 2 occasions, not too great performance either. Clichy was impressive, also because Ogararu left a giant gap at rightback as he was going into the center to help out even when Arsenal had only two forwards :mellow:

It was pretty evenly matched, I was impressed by Heitinga who was fantastic. Although I must say we didn't create a lot of chances. Rommedahl had some nice touches while the Hunter was being his usual self, largely invisible then coming out unexpectedly to nearly score. I have pictures, but I'm still trying to find a USB cable.

Thing is with Hleb, we know what he is capable of but he doesnt really show us it much, i want him to do well as i rate him highly, but i do feel he loses the ball too cheaply in good positions.

Didnt really notice Heitinga's defending except when he was making dirty challenges.

[Nturtle]

Good stuff Dante - looking forward to the pics!

@ RB14 - yeah...I think you are probably right...but the thing is...it's not really Wenger's style to buy older players...I am just thinking...the oldest he bought was probably Suker...and that was a stop gap.
Yes...we probably need a winger type or stronger defense (Campbell in his Portsmouth form would be nice!!) but we've got what we've got.

Is it just me...or does Clichy also look like a left winger at times? Is that the next transformation? Hoyte/Traore at left back? We'll see...

We've still got to fit in Rosicky/Hleb in mid-field..and they are a little relegated to the left wing if Eboue is around...but with Eboue off to The African Nations' Cup...maybe Randall will get his chance.

[Jesus]

Heitinga played well but he needs to be careful with the "dirty :laugh:" challenges.

[Dmitris]

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z68/dmitris/l_thirdshirt-thumb.jpg

Arsenal's third kit?

[Rossy Boy]

Yes it is the Arsenal Third kit.

[Billy Minof]

I think that Eboue will start at RMF with Sagna RB.

Hleb?

I love being right. :happy:

Was pretty obvious since that's been the case for a while.

I was commenting on what was said above, if you had read the previous page you would have seen that. ;)

Heitinga played well but he needs to be careful with the "dirty :laugh:" challenges.

He is a Dirty useless player...The English Championship is the level he should be at. What did he do that was any good apart from go in hard....I saw him lose the ball about 5 times in that game with sloppy passes, he is a poor mans Sissoko. :ninja:

[pistolpete]

I went to members day today to watch the team train, found it really interesting, they played a full scale game with 3 touch and only twice did someone use more than 3 touches.

Walcott looked in good form.

I heard someone saying that RVP could be out for the season???!!
He trained and didnt look in a any pain at all.

There was also some announcemant about Toure being captain but i didnt catch it all, apparently there was a photoshoot with him with the armband. i assume he will be captain until Gilberto is playing again....

Can anyone shed any light? not just opinions or speculations!

[Dragonfly]

Who told you about RVP?

[Billy Minof]

And since you were there its you that should be sheding the light to us....did you close your eyes and block your ears when you got in there......:laugh:

[Nturtle]

And since you were there its you that should be sheding the light to us....did you close your eyes and block your ears when you got in there......:laugh:

Calm down fella! This ain't the the right forum for ya ribbing! Heh...:shocking:

Look...we just have to see what will happen on Sunday...then hope that the talk that has been happening internally really shows on the pitch. Last season we beat ManU twice, but we couldn't beat Middlesborough...and that says it all. :no:

I think it'll be a real fun seson - we'll see a more dynamic Arsenal, a different type of game with Bendtner and Eduardo up front and generally a TEAM rather than 10 players + Henry. As long as we have some winning ways...Arsene will be vindicated...if we start losing...he'll probably pick up and leave!

Look for transfers in January I suspect. :unsure:

[pistolpete]

And since you were there its you that should be sheding the light to us....did you close your eyes and block your ears when you got in there......:laugh:


Ha good point!

I didnt hear Toures interview cause people were cheering/leaving/talking/clapping, and the PA system at Emirates is a bit unclear, but it cant have been anything official or it would have been on the website.

Who told me about RVP? I ovetrheard some guy in the queue, so i didnt take too much notice, esecially as he trained, but he must have heard it from somewhere.


Looks like Gallas is doing what people asked ogf him and concerntrating on playing rather than talking. He says on the website that were contenders, good on him.

[Nturtle]

Well..the latest appears to be Gilberto is definitely captain, with Gallas/Toure vice-captain...so eventually when the African Nations' cup starts....it might be Gallas captaining if Gilberto is out or rested.

[Jesus]

I'm glad Gilberto has been made captain. According to me he should have been made captain as soon as Bergkamp retired. He and Fabregas were your best players last season.



EDIT: 600th post!

[Gooner10]

I'm really looking foward to the coming season now, with all this talk about us not being competitive which obviously is only going to serve to fire us up and hopefully with teams underestimating us we may be able to beat some who do that...I bet we can pull off good perfomances againt the other top 3. I do still wish we just had maybe another defender and winger just to keep the squad together in case of injuries. Anyway it's looking good now with the good performances..let's just see how we do against Fulham..any bets?

Edit: well done on 600 posts Yadav

[ThierryHenry14]

i think gallas will prove how good he is next year i think wenger making him vice-captain gave him a confidence boost

[pistolpete]

Arsenal.com - AW confirms that Gallas is the new club captain, he will be supported by Gilberto and Toure as vice captains, and Lehmann will have a role off the field.

Im confused, i thought members day confirmed Toure as captain and more people seem to have heard that Gilberto would be capt.
Also i remember AW saying that he saw no need to take the armband away form Gilberto.

Oh well, the Gallas decision is a definate one.

Link below,

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=480062&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=Wenger+hands+captain%27s +armband+to+Gallas

I suppose its good that we have 3/4 players in the starting lineup that are considered leaders and hopefully that 1/3rd of the team can be influential during the games and drive the others on.

[Nturtle]

Yeah...very interesting re Gallas! Oh well...we've got to give him a good chance then, despite his motormouth last season. Let's see if he spouts the right stuff this time, and also proves he is worth it on the pitch as well.

We could very well have the French version of Terry...but...I'm only half convinced at the moment.

[ThierryHenry14]

didn't wenger say he was going to bring some more players by the end of the transfer window

[Wan]

Maybe he will wait if the squad has some injured players and then he'll look for backup..

[Dragonfly]

didn't wenger say he was going to bring some more players by the end of the transfer window

He said a couple of weeks back that he's looking, but he's not bothered if he doesn't get anyone else in.

[Joel]

Surely Wenger is going to sign a centre back now that he has let Djourou go on a half season loan to Birmingham...

[Dragonfly]

Surely Wenger is going to sign a centre back now that he has let Djourou go on a half season loan to Birmingham...

Yeah, I just saw that. I hoped he'd go for a CB anyway, but now I REALLY hope for one. I hope he goes for Stuttgart's Delpierre.

[Gooner10]

Another defender seems essential if Djourou is out, but then again we have Senderos who seems to cover ok when playing. I just don't think our defense is strong when one of the main defenders are out. And with Toure going to the African Nations Cup I would have expected another signing

[Joel]

Yeah, I just saw that. I hoped he'd go for a CB anyway, but now I REALLY hope for one. I hope he goes for Stuttgart's Delpierre.

I wonder why? Hmmmmm...:tongue:

[Dragonfly]

I wonder why? Hmmmmm...:tongue:

To solidify our defence. He's a hugs talent and Wenger has been interested apparently. That's the only reason I can think of. :coffee:

[Dan]

Gilberto to act as defensive cover again? :)

[Dragonfly]

Gilberto to act as defensive cover again? :)

I was thinking that because we have quality CMFs, but I don't want it to happen.

[Viperized]

If Wenger doesn't bring in another CB by the end of the transfer window, then we can say goodbye to his Premiership dreams.

But we were never going to win the league in any case.

Gilberto at CB = disaster waiting to happen.

Djourou is a great backup option for us and to let him on-loan is a bad, bad move by Wenger. I'd rate Djourou much higher than Senderos.

Our squad is already weak and Wenger has made it even weaker, unless he is planning to use someone like Connolly backup.

[Rampaul]

If Wenger doesn't bring in another CB by the end of the transfer window, then we can say goodbye to his Premiership dreams.

But we were never going to win the league in any case.

Gilberto at CB = disaster waiting to happen.

Djourou is a great backup option for us and to let him on-loan is a bad, bad move by Wenger. I'd rate Djourou much higher than Senderos.

Our squad is already weak and Wenger has made it even weaker, unless he is planning to use someone like Connolly backup.

Matthew Connolly has joined Colchester on loan for the season mate.

[Nturtle]

Viperized...don't be such a doomsayer! Let's put it this way...cover is one thing...having a proper 1st eleven is another...we've not had a FIRST 11 stable for a while now...so...assume the best...plan for the worst...and that seems to be exactly what Arsene is doing. Let's get the motor running...the TEAM will be better for it...and a few more signing has NO guarantee to hold a first team spot, looking at the time it takes to adjust to the league! Eduardo might not even start tomorrow!

[Viperized]

If Arsenal somehow managed to won the league last season instead of Man United, I could bet my house that Wenger would not have made the signings Ferguson made this summer. We are the only team that seems to hate strengthening the squad, or Wenger is the only manager to do so.

To challenge for the title you need good squad depth. Man United have it, Chelsea have it, Liverpool look like they have it but we don't have it. We've decided to give away a good defender for free. It's pathetic.

Oh and Gallas is the club captain with Toure and Gilberto as vice-captains.

[Wan]

Yea, I think van Persie & Bendtner will start tomorrow..
But that just me..

[K.1.N.G.]

.

Gilberto at CB = disaster waiting to happen.

Djourou is a great backup option for us and to let him on-loan is a bad, bad move by Wenger. I'd rate Djourou much higher than Senderos.


I agree that playing Gilberto at CB is a bad move; but I think it was a good iodea to let young Djourou go on loan for the season (well, til Jan at least, but I can see it being extended). Lets face it, he was never going to get a look in with Gallas n Toure, so was only gonna play if they got injured and in the cup. He needs game time - he'll get plenty of that at Birmingham, and that will benefit him in the long run. I expect him to be our CB for the long term - this is all part of his learning curve.


If Arsenal somehow managed to won the league last season instead of Man United, I could bet my house that Wenger would not have made the signings Ferguson made this summer. We are the only team that seems to hate strengthening the squad, or Wenger is the only manager to do so.

To challenge for the title you need good squad depth. Man United have it, Chelsea have it, Liverpool look like they have it but we don't have it. We've decided to give away a good defender for free. It's pathetic.



I'm sick n tired of all the doomsday predictions; jeez, constructive criticism is one thing, but moaning fo rhte sake of it will get us nowhere. I, for one, am actually looking forward to this season, and have high hopes for the Gunners. True, we may not have strengthened as much as Utd or Liverpool, but so what!!! I can see players like Denilson n Diaby really stepping up to the fore this season, and upfront we have the option of Theo n Bendtner. OUr first eleven can match any team in the league, its the extra strength in depth that let us down last season. While we may need another winger, I cant see Wenger splashing out big bucks for the sake of it - and why should he?! His policy has worked for the past number of years, and I for one have complete faith in his judgment!!!

[Viperized]

We aren't going to buy a winger for the sake of it, but because we need one.

Wenger still hasn't replaced BOTH Ljungberg and Reyes. We'll be lucky to get one winger, but judging by his recent comments we won't sign anyone.

Rosicky is extremely prone to injuries and Walcott is too young.

A winger is a necessity.

[Gooner10]

Chopra...what a buy! lmao...Tottenham title contenders? fuck off

[Rambo]

Chopra...what a buy! lmao...Tottenham title contenders? fuck off

No one said they'll be title contenders.

[Stella Artois]

No one said they'll be title contenders.

With good reason too.

K.1.N.G., don't worry about it, Viperized starting supporting the club during the 03/04 season so he can't grasp the concept that you can't win every game all the time.

[Viperized]

With good reason too.

K.1.N.G., don't worry about it, Viperized starting supporting the club during the 03/04 season so he can't grasp the concept that you can't win every game all the time.
Fantastic analogy - according to you, me wanting a winger to replace Reyes/Ljungberg means I supported the club in 03/04!

[Viperized]

OUr first eleven can match any team in the league, its the extra strength in depth that let us down last season. While we may need another winger, I cant see Wenger splashing out big bucks for the sake of it - and why should he?! His policy has worked for the past number of years, and I for one have complete faith in his judgment!!!
You just said it yourself.

[Gooner10]

No one said they'll be title contenders.

Ok well fourth spot contenders lol, not that they won't be but I think it's good for us they lost today, at least if we take our chances and come away with a result tomorrow...i'm only really saying that because I love seeing Tottenham lose..especially to a newly promoted side after all the build up saying they would be so good this season

[Stella Artois]

Fantastic analogy - according to you, me wanting a winger to replace Reyes/Ljungberg means I supported the club in 03/04!

Judging by your constant whinging and whining, I can't be far wrong.

Ever thought we don't have the money for the likes of Malouda, Nani and so on?

[Nturtle]

Well...stella...to be honest I think we DO have the money...according to Channel 4 we made anywhere between 18-30M in our last 4 seasons...and we've not even touched the emergency kitty yet. It's just that we know that's not Arsene's way of splashing bit cash on established starts. Looking at the matches yesterday..Petrov was pretty decent for Man City on the left wing...and he didn't cost the earth...but compare him to a "Reyes-type who doesn't mind the weather"...and I would assume most of us would like the latter. It's a difficult job...and maybe Wenger just doesn't have the time now that he's doing the David Dein stuff as well as run the team.

Let's just see how we pan out over the first 10 games...then that will really show us what's what...

[DesertFox]

I do not know alot about Arsenal or about English football alltogether since I have only been following the premiership since Arsenal went undefeated in the 2003-04 season. Anyways, my input is that I don't understand why they sold so many good players. Ljunberg, Henry, Reyes. I can understand bringing Henry's great career to an end in Arsenal but they never reinforced themselves with anyone even close to his level. Same would go for Ljunberg though Hleb is somewhat there. Reyes was a decent enough player in Arsenal. I waited for Arsenal to make a big signing but it never came. I am sure Eduardo da Silva and Bendtner could offer something with "could" being the key word. I may and hope I am wrong because Arsenal are my team when it comes to the premiership. I know for sure I had Chelsea as champions last season but Manchester won it so I hope I am also wrong this time around.

[Viperized]

Ever thought we don't have the money for the likes of Malouda, Nani and so on?
We have made money by selling the likes of Freddie, Reyes, Henry and Aliadiere, making at least £25m.

[Viperized]

Oh dear.

Lehmann blunder, Healy scores within 50 seconds.

Terrible start. You would just expect this from Arsenal.

Rosicky had a chance to equalise.

[Billy Minof]

Oh dear.

Lehmann blunder, Healy scores within 50 seconds.

Terrible start. You would just expect this from Arsenal.

Rosicky had a chance to equalise.

Arsenal now dominating the game, should have had a penalty also.

[Viperized]

Clearcut penalty denied. Hleb was fouled in the box. Argh.

We're playing quite well aside from Lehmann's terrible blunder. Surely a goal will come, sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.

[vanNistelrooy]

Just seen Jen's cock up :laugh:

[-Rafa-]

Just seen Jen's cock up :laugh:
Was a quality pass to Healy you have to admit ;)

[Viperized]

Van Persiee!!!!!!!!

1-1

[-Rafa-]

:crymore:

[Viperized]

2-1.. HLEB!

Wow...!

[Stella Artois]

Suck my balls Spurs.

[JoeyM]

Sagna looked quality i thought, and Bendtner probably won more long balls in 15 minutes than our entire team did through all of last season.

[Wan]

van Persie looks not too brilliant though..
Sagna is good..

[Rossy Boy]

:shocking: Is Hleb ill or something :huh: 2 goals in 2 matches but what was lehmann doing

[Wan]

Maybe he want to pass to someone else but his pass is too slow..

[Stella Artois]

Any chance I can give you a hand job Wan? Your wonderfully insightful opinions have made me attracted to you.

[Wan]

Haha..
Nah, they just some childish thoughts aren't they?

[Dragonfly]

That was an excellent winning assist from Fabregas, and I thought Hleb was very good in the centre. That Sagna-Eboue partnership looked solid, too.

[Rossy Boy]

I think Hleb will score more goals for us playing just off the striker and eboue and saga seem to be linking up well

[Nturtle]

Sagna looked quality i thought, and Bendtner probably won more long balls in 15 minutes than our entire team did through all of last season.

Too right Joey...too right...he really helped add that direct dimension which we can't emmulate often enough. Even Adebayour doesn't do so well sometimes and he is taller! We'll see how things stack up for Wed then...fingers crossed the more fluid and confident team emerges...and Eduardo is fit! That might help!

Diaby was left out...whom I thought would be better than Flamini...but to his credit...Flamini is a fighter.

[Rossy Boy]

Flamini has seemed to impress me in the pre season games looked better than last season

[Nturtle]

Was a quality pass to Healy you have to admit ;)

LOL!!! Very insightful Rafa...and yes...it was a typical 1 nil down start that we definitely don't need this season!!!

Ah well...hope we get better defensively...Chelsea just had 64 games unbeaten at Stamford Bridge...quite an achievement! Ashburton should be like that too!

[JoeyM]

I've never rated Flamini in midfield, but I thought he did pretty good today, he seems to have cut some of the headless chicken-ness out of his game. Plus he, as always, seemed up for a scrap.

[Billy Minof]

I've never rated Flamini in midfield, but I thought he did pretty good today, he seems to have cut some of the headless chicken-ness out of his game. Plus he, as always, seemed up for a scrap.

I do rate him, a great little battler who was very unlucky not to play in the CL final, will play anywhere and gets the job done, when in midfield he does make the odd bad pass but nothing that anyone else wouldnt do.

[Stella Artois]

Toure, Eboue and Adebayor strutting their stuff.

http://www.fanbanta.com/content/assets/9379.publisha

[Cobinho]

Toure, Eboue and Adebayor strutting their stuff.

http://www.fanbanta.com/content/assets/9379.publisha

Very tribal :laugh: Perhaps the dance will ensure fourth place.

[Dragonfly]

Very tribal :laugh: Perhaps the dance will ensure fourth place.

Racist. :coffee:

[Cobinho]

How can that be percieved racist?

[Dragonfly]

It was a joke.

[Sully]

You're saying that all black people come from tribes. When actually the Arsenal lot are from a clan

[Cobinho]

It was a joke.
Fair enough.
You're saying that all black people come from tribes. When actually the Arsenal lot are from a clan
1.You say that as if being from a tribe is something to be ashamed of.

2.The fact that they were black is not the reaason why I used the word tribal, the dance itself was.

[Keyser Soze]

Someone doesn't have a sense of humour. :rolleyes:

[Viperized]

Someone should call best_at_pes.

[wrigh2uk]

Someone should call best_at_pes.

Please don't!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gooner10]

Heard rumours of Gamst coming to Arsenal, I think it'd be a good buy but not sure it's exactly what we need...???

[Rossy Boy]

Yeah ive herd that around £8m but Blackburn said thats not enough to sign him

[Stella Artois]

Pedersen is a decent player, but no better than the club he's currently at. He's only highlighted for his "stunning" goals.

[Viperized]

He'll add depth to the squad and is a direct option for us, so I wouldn't mind him. He also has goals in him.

[Rossy Boy]

Fabregassss!

1-0

[Stella Artois]

Cescational.

Sounds like it was the work of the best left-back in the Premiership.

Mr Cole, go fuck yourself.

[Rossy Boy]

:laugh::laugh:

is there any highlights on tonight?

Ooo nearly 1-1

[Viperized]

I don't think there will be any highlights.

But I know the second leg will be shown on ITV.

[Rossy Boy]

:w00t 2-0... Hleb scoring again :huh: