Arsenal [Archive] - Page 8 - PESGaming Forums

Nturtle

22-09-2005, 11:31

More attempted "poaching" I guess...heh heh...

Barcelona are reportedly unconcerned that Manchester United and Arsenal have been keeping tabs on Giovanni Dos Santos.

The Mexican youngster has been one of the stars of the World Under-17 Championships in Peru and his performances have alerted the Premiership giants to his abilities.

Dos Santos's agent has confirmed the interest from Old Trafford and Highbury but Mexican sides America and Monterrey are also said to be keen on landing the talented teenager.

The Mexican captain may lack strength and is only 16 years old but he is being tipped for a massive future in the game, with some pundits dubbing him 'The new Ronaldinho'.

Dos Santos, who is the son of Brazilian ace Zizinho, is currently with the Barcelona B squad. His father played in Mexico for America, and impressively in the indoor league, during his professional career and that is why he represents Le Tricolores.

Barca, who lost Cesc Fabregas to Arsenal and Gerard Pique to Manchester United before they had appeared for the first team, are confident they will retain Dos Santos as he is under contract for the next four years.

"He is an explosive player and has great attacking vision," said Mexico coach Jesus Ramirez recently.

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard will be hoping he can call upon the precocious youngster in the coming years.

Skysports

Ronaldo_is_fat

22-09-2005, 11:46

I didn't realise how good he was untill I saw him play. You hit the nail right on the head mate when you said he is a clever player!

he's a player who just improvises to the game around him. With Pires out he may get a chance!
I thought Helb was right footed. He's alot better than Pires, more skilled, could dribble anywhere, faster, both footed and a better vision. Plus he adapted into the team so well. It took Henry and Pires I believed 7 months to adapt to the game but only took Hleb 2-3 games.

Barry

22-09-2005, 12:04

http://home20.inet.tele.dk/arsenalclips4/ReyesvsPhil2005.wmv

:D

:laugh:
What a cunt.

Scarface

22-09-2005, 19:28

I thought Helb was right footed. He's alot better than Pires, more skilled, could dribble anywhere, faster, both footed and a better vision. Plus he adapted into the team so well. It took Henry and Pires I believed 7 months to adapt to the game but only took Hleb 2-3 games.

Yeah, Hleb is right-footed but looks two footed at times as he has an excellent left foot aswell. I agree about him taking Pires' place in the team, there's no comparison between them at the moment. Once Henry returns, Pires should be our 3rd choice left winger as Reyes will move back to the left wing and Hleb should have a run in the team and be our 1st or 2nd choice left winger.

pokey

22-09-2005, 23:15

pires is still a class act...
fair dos hes been less effective lately but on his day hes world class, the fact were not playing as much of that classic free flowing football were all so used to is because of all the teams playin 4-5-1. Us against west ham should be a good match as they arent exactly afraid to send players forward and hopefully we can hit them on the break (am sure were playin west ham this week, but ave not double checked it yet). pires is basically being negated by the crowded midfields our four men have to operate in...
well not negated hes still useful...
hleb looks quality though a gotta admit, hes gonna be important to us in years to come.

Viperized

22-09-2005, 23:24

Has anyone noticed under Arsene Wenger, every world cup season so far Arsenal have come from behind in the Premiership to end the season by winning the double?

It happened in 1998 and 2002, and with it being the last season at Highbury and World Cup 2006 at the end of the season, I believe that it could once again end in glory for the Gunners.

Could happen, y'know...

Nturtle

23-09-2005, 02:35

accessgranted

23-09-2005, 07:01

Time for Chelsea to start feeling explody...

Ronaldo_is_fat

23-09-2005, 12:49

Pires is only good on the wings

Charlie: 9

23-09-2005, 15:28

Who is injured for Arsenals match tomorrow against West Ham, lads?

robz18

23-09-2005, 15:33

according to skysports news, Pires is out and Freddie and bergkamp are doubtful.

Edit
just seen arsenal.com and freddies fit to play:D

Singh

23-09-2005, 15:33

Ljunberg

Henry

Bergkamp

Pires

Charlie: 9

23-09-2005, 15:38

I might go bet on West Ham then... still not sure, tho...

Viperized

23-09-2005, 16:18

Good news. Ljungberg is fit for the match.

Ronaldo_is_fat

24-09-2005, 12:33

Good to hear Ljungberg is fit

accessgranted

24-09-2005, 18:26

Two of the most attacking sides in the league...

A 0-0 scoreline.

:(

Scarface

24-09-2005, 18:37

That was a waste of time. Not one meaningful shot in 90 mins, pathetic. A few thoughts I have taken from the game.

*Fabregas should be dropped. Hleb should take his position in the centre. I'm a big fan of the little Spaniard, but he's not in good form and needs a rest to regroup and pick himself up. Hleb is our best offensive midfielder at the moment and should do well alongside Gilberto.

*Reyes should not play as a striker. He is far more suited to playing on the left wing in the Premiership. When Bergkamp and Henry are out, even if it means having to play young Lupoli up-front we should.

*Quincy should be given a run in the team, and always start when Henry is unavailble. He could be our best player in 2 years.

*The defence looks strong again thankfully. Toure had a good game, as did Sol.

*If Gilberto Silva has suffered a long-term injury today, this season is going to be a major struggle. He is getting more vitally important to us as each game goes by.

*I'm sure we'll sign at least 2 players in January (probably a centre midfielder and a striker).

This is the team i'd like to see us use in future (possibly next weekend) when we have the likes of Pires, Bergy and Henry out.

---------------------------Lehmann----------------------------

---Lauren---------Toure-------------Campbell-------Cole-------

---Quincy--------Gilberto--------------Hleb---------Reyes------

-------------------van Persie----------------------------------

---------------------------------Lupoli------------------------

king reyes

24-09-2005, 19:05

Scarface

24-09-2005, 19:42

REYES9,did you leave out Ljungberg on purpose? I think Quincy looks the better of arsenal's young striking duo (the other being Lupoli) and he'd be kinda wasted on the right.He plays better cutting in from the left anyway.God, it's so difficult to find an effective striking partnership without Thierry! I just hope Wenger remedies that come winter.

Yeah I left Ljungberg out on purpose. I like Ljungberg, I think he is one of our most influential players, but I think Quincy would give us more for when we are without Henry. He could cause problems up-front but his finishing is pretty poor whereas Lupoli is absolutely lethal in-front of goal (he scored another hat-trick this week for the reserves) and Quincy has played fantastically well for the Holland youth team on the wings so i'd like to see us try him out there and see what impact he has. I agree he seems better on the left, but I think Reyes and Quincy could swap around as matches progress if need be.

football4life

24-09-2005, 19:43

yes reyes is blue

Top Gun

24-09-2005, 20:04

I think that Hleb should be in the first 11 he is a great player and has always played well when i have seen him.

Rangers_Fureva

24-09-2005, 20:23

I don't see why Pires is getting a game ahead of Hleb. Yea sure Pires has been great for Arsenal but this season from what i have seen he has been utter bollocks!
Everytime i see Hleb on the ball he is pressuring the oppostions defence and playing some sweet through balls to the strikers, but when i see Pires on the ball he tries little tricks then loses the ball and dives to try and get a free-kick to recover from his mistake.

nikos24

24-09-2005, 21:00

yeah, Hleb isnt getting much of a chance to prove himself. this could be risky for Hleb's momentum, which is being taken away by Pires

Scarface

24-09-2005, 21:31

Viperized

24-09-2005, 21:34

Hleb played today and was our best attacking player. He is a bit wasted in the team at the moment though as he doesn't have enough options to pick out. Once Henry and Bergkamp return and he is fully settled in, the sky is the limit for Hleb, he really is a special player.
Yep. Hleb seemed strong in attack providing good ball up front. Ljungberg should've scored when he tried to control it.

However, is it me or does Hleb never shoot? He was at the edge of the box and no defenders in his line of sight. He could've taken a shot and possibily have scored!

Scarface

24-09-2005, 21:39

Yep. Hleb seemed strong in attack providing good ball up front. Ljungberg should've scored when he tried to control it.

However, is it me or does Hleb never shoot? He was at the edge of the box and no defenders in his line of sight. He could've taken a shot and possibily have scored!

Yes, it's very irritating and a bit similar to Fabregas. They always find themselves in positions where you're screaming at them to shoot but they look to play someone else in. He often found himself in a great deal of space today but rarely took a shot. I can only recall him attempting one shot and that was charged down. He hasn't got the best shot in the world, but it isn't terrible either, so hopefully he'll start being more selfish and attempting to go for glory himself.

nikos24

24-09-2005, 22:52

[QUOTE=Reyes9]Yes, it's very irritating and a bit similar to Fabregas. They always find themselves in positions where you're screaming at them to shoot but they look to play someone else in.

I know exactly what you mean.. i hate those moments.. and it just happens that their pass results into a waste or interception. hopefully Hleb doesnt do that too often, would love to see him shoot, he just might have an undiscovered shooting power range.. who knows?

Ronaldo_is_fat

25-09-2005, 02:56

Fabregas and Gilberto were shaky on the middle because both of them kept giving the ball away. Flamini would be a better choice over Fabregas. Hleb was very good yesterday he managed to fake pass defenders and produce dangerous passes. Only that no one in our team managed to control it and score. Ljungberg, Van Persie and Fabregas could of done better. Reyes shot was pretty amusing but it would be better if he scored. He lacked depth and fluency in our attack and we need an in-box striker.

EDIT: WE NEED A STRIKER WHO CAN FINISH BESIDES HENRY

accessgranted

25-09-2005, 06:41

EDIT: WE NEED A STRIKER WHO CAN FINISH BESIDES HENRY

Agreed.

Who is the question?

Ronaldo_is_fat

25-09-2005, 07:20

Agreed.

Who is the question?
Depends how much Wenger would spend but I'll like to see a good in box striker joining us during January.

accessgranted

25-09-2005, 14:18

I agree with what Vieira said.

If Wenger wants to keep Henry they'll need to bring in a couple of top class talents.

Especially an in the box striker to take the pressure off Henry.

So assuming Wenger was given 30-50million pounds to spend, who would you like to see at the club.

Ronaldo_is_fat

25-09-2005, 14:21

Berbatov, Koller, Iaquinta, Olivera and maybe Darren Bent. A top class keeper like Hildebrand wouldn't be too bad either.

Scarface

25-09-2005, 14:32

Timo Hildebrand, Arne Friedrich, Papa Bouba Diop and Fernando Torres.

Ronaldo_is_fat

26-09-2005, 10:11

MastrYODA

26-09-2005, 11:22

Hi fans of the world's best football club. i joined yesterday so there is one arsenal fan more than yesterday morning.

i have few possibilities to arsenal.
1) good striker would be good idea. koller denied singing new contract with dortmund because he want to play in england (so maybe to arsenal).
2) no more german goalkeepers. (maybe hildenbrand)
3) one center midfielder more to team
4) more minutes to hleb because he's best midfielder in arsenal

Nturtle

26-09-2005, 13:04

Maybe Lupoli can have a chance...a goal a game isn't bad at any level!!

Charlie: 9

26-09-2005, 14:51

I think Ajax might give you's a tough game tomorrow night, lads...

king reyes

26-09-2005, 15:53

You got that right,charlie9 ! No Henry or Gilberto?! That's our top striker and midfield wall right there! Hopefully Campbell can inspire from the back. Who do you think Wenger's starting 11 will be?

Charlie: 9

26-09-2005, 16:25

Dont know mate. But maybe Cygan can net one haha :rolleyes:

Scarface

26-09-2005, 18:13

I don't think we're going to get Fernando Torres because it'll be too risky to spend that much money. I'll rather we use the money wisely and I think Iaquinta would be a good choice, he'll leave Udinese and will be avaluable during January.

I doubt we'll sign Torres, but I reckon a bid of around 20m plus a player (maybe Pires) could land him, and he'd be worth every penny in my opinion.

Ajax are in turmoil at the moment, although they did pick up a 4-1 win at the weekend. With the players we have out, a draw might be a decent result, although even with the players we have out we still have enough quality to nick a win. I think the team could be:

.............................A lmunia........................ .......

..Lauren..........Toure....... ....Campbell.....Cole.........

....................Flamini... .........Fabregas............. .....
..Ljungberg................Hle b...................Pires..... ....

.............................R eyes.......................... .......

Subs:
Poom
Clichy
Cygan
Song
Flamini
Quincy
Lupoli

Viperized

26-09-2005, 19:05

I hope Lupoli plays. He is a guy who takes a shot. After all, he was the one who scored the winner due to the great pass by Hleb. Pires is unlikely to start the match as he isn't 100% fit.

My team would be:

Almunia
Lauren Toure Campbell Cole
Ljungberg Fabregas Flamini Hleb
Lupoli Reyes

Nturtle

27-09-2005, 04:01

I'm with you Viperized...but I think Wenger might want to stick with Pires unfortuantely...give the youngsters a chance pls Wenger! Quincy might start ahead of Lupoli though - the hitman might be another sub today!

jthk2004

27-09-2005, 07:07

Timo Hildebrand, Arne Friedrich, Papa Bouba Diop and Fernando Torres.
i don't think papa worths 15m pounds... that's crazy.

nasri is good at marseille. why not consider him?

Nturtle

27-09-2005, 08:17

i don't think papa worths 15m pounds... that's crazy.

nasri is good at marseille. why not consider him?

Dioup is currently at 8M pounds.

Nasri is locked in at Marseille for quite a bit I think. :mellow:

pier69

27-09-2005, 10:05

so , is arsenal gonna buy papa ? if they dont they're missin out on a real good player that can possibly fill vieira's shoes

Ronaldo_is_fat

27-09-2005, 12:34

I hope after the game with Ajax the Gunners are going to bounce back and snatch the title off Chelsea

Charlie: 9

27-09-2005, 14:50

I dont think Arsenal can do it (Win the league that is). They lost Vieira and he was big time influential, big loss. I want the P'ship to be a close call but I dont see that happening, only if Chelsea has a bad run, which I also dont see happening.

jthk2004

27-09-2005, 18:16

Scarface

27-09-2005, 19:19

i don't think papa worths 15m pounds... that's crazy.

nasri is good at marseille. why not consider him?

Neither do I, 7 or 8m at the absolute most. I'm sure we wont bid anything around 13m for him, as he is around the same age as Vieira and not as good, so we would have sold a better player and replaced him with a worse one an got no money out of it.

Charlie: 9

27-09-2005, 19:28

aye, i was shocked to hear that Papa was valued at 12-15m by Coleman. You think Arsenal will pay that...?

Scarface

27-09-2005, 19:38

I got the 11 correct, just a bit out of position.

Team line-up to face Ajax:

.............................. .....Almunia.................. ................

...Lauren..........Toure...... ..........Campbell........Cole ........

...Hleb.............Fabregas.. ..........Flamini..........Pir es........

........................Ljungb erg........Reyes.............. .............

Sigh..Ljungberg being thrown up front again, mistake by Wenger there, he never plays well as a a striker.

Yi-Long

27-09-2005, 19:42

Why the hell is Hleb playing on the outside, while he's obviously best when he's playing in the middle, because of his through-passes and vision!?!?

edit: should have fielded Quincy instead of Ljungberg.

edit 2:...ok maybe not... ;)

pokey

27-09-2005, 22:05

lol good performance considering the young age of the team
sol was immense :D

Scarface

27-09-2005, 22:41

Sigh..Ljungberg being thrown up front again, mistake by Wenger there, he never plays well as a a striker.

:ninja:

Considering the number of key players we had injured, I thought we put in a good performance tonight up until we conceded a goal. After that, we went back to the Arsenal of old in Europe, giving possession away sloppily and being on the backfoot constantly. We need to learn to keep hold of the ball when we have an advantage and let the opposition chase the ball to tire them down, until we do that we will never be able to win the Champions League, or even get to the latter stages.

Viperized

27-09-2005, 22:43

Keyser Soze

27-09-2005, 22:45

gotta look forward to 2006/07 season now...
Sorry, but you've got to laugh at comments like that, its not even quarter of the season gone and your saying that!

Yi-Long

27-09-2005, 23:08

I have mixed feelings about the game...

From Arsenal's point fo view, they've done well with such an injured squad, and as someone before me said, Cambell was immense...

...on the other hand, Arsenal were pretty lucky with both goals, the first a dumb mistake by Ajax sloppily losing the ball (great finishing though by Arsenal) and ofcourse the 'penalty', which was debatable...
Reyes was being a real prick tonight, and his dive didnt really help matters. it's a shame he has to resort to that kind of tactics, cause I dont really feel he needs that shit...

However, what bothered me most was the very negative style of play of Arsenal, leaning back and waiting for a counter. I can understand WHY they do it, but I don't particularly like it. Wenger often blames other teams and coaches about this attitude, but tonight Arsenal were quilty of the same thing... which is a shame cause I really wanna think Arsenal is capable of much much more, and when I watch Arsenal I wanna see them pass the ball around quickly and make great combinations and create lots of chances etc... but sadly that wasnt gonna happen tonight. All the time-wasting stuff was really Arsenal-unworthy. Almunia should have gotten yellow much earlier in the game for his childish antics, and TBH Reyes was quite irritating as well at times. He should have gotten a yellow for his dive...

For Ajax, the substitutes Edgar Manucharyan and Rosenberg both impressed be. manucharyan had good vision and touch, played calmly and relaxed even though it was pretty much his debut for Ajax after a long injury, and Rosenberg did very well positioning-wise and making room foor other players, and playing them in...
Rosenburg has had a lot of criticism over the last few weeks for his lack of goalscoring, missing many MANY chances... but he often creates those chances himself, seems very good when it comes to positioning, and has a pretty decent first touch... so I hope he'll get a few more chances to show what he can do...

The referee was a grade-A pompous DICK, btw... my god...
And even though he was in perfect position to see the reyes-dive, he went to the lines-man (who sees it from the side, so cant see if there's any contact or not) and thus gives the penalty. That's just amateuristic or plain bad.

Anyway, didnt really enjoy tonight's game, Arsenal played quite negative football but can't really blame them, and a few individual errors, including a big one from the blind ref, cost Ajax the game...

Scarface

27-09-2005, 23:35

jthk2004

27-09-2005, 23:42

Sorry, but you've got to laugh at comments like that, its not even quarter of the season gone and your saying that!
why not? we have a big emirates stadium... young players are more mature... maybe a few big names... and the most important point: all teams start from 0 points again!

jthk2004

27-09-2005, 23:43

...on the other hand, Arsenal were pretty lucky with both goals, the first a dumb mistake by Ajax sloppily losing the ball (great finishing though by Arsenal) and ofcourse the 'penalty', which was debatable...
so u can say all the goals scored in the world are lucky... good post!

Charlie: 9

28-09-2005, 02:22

ill be able to see the goal tomorrow like but Muad told me that Freddies goal was a good chip, well done Arsenal ;)

jthk2004

28-09-2005, 05:34

ill be able to see the goal tomorrow like but Muad told me that Freddies goal was a good chip, well done Arsenal ;)
why not see it now, charlie bhoy?
http://image2.sina.com.cn/ty/g/p/2005-09-28/U370P6T12D1794221F44DT20050928 033617.jpg

Yi-Long

28-09-2005, 09:10

That wasn't a dive. The keeper made contact with him, Reyes suckered the keeper in, the keeper made contact and he went to ground, just as any other striker would. OK, he was deliberately trying to win the penalty and went down easily, but any striker with half a brain would have done the same thing. I thought Reyes did well again tonight, he ran his socks off, he didn't do anything wrong tonight to deserve being called a prick. On the other hand, you could say Boukhari and Galasek were being pricks, for their constant fouling and a deliberate attempt to injure Reyes by Galasek.

Would you have had the same opinion if it were, say, Diouf, doing the exact same thing against Arsenal.
I feel that whenever a player goes into the goal area with the clear intention of getting a penalty and screwing the other team over, instead of scoring or passing, he should be booked. If a guy wants to dive, he should take up swimming. I also feel a quality player like Reyes shouldnt stoop to these lows.

Diving and obvious time-wasting (could he have left the picth any slower?), kicking the ball away at certain times, DOES justify him being called a prick.

Yes it got the result for Arsenal, but his, and the clubs reputation, will suffer for it.

You were right about him running his socks off and chasing the Ajax defence down. That was very good, usefull stuff.

As I said, I like Reyes as a player ... however, not when he dives or is being an ass oherwise. He should just play football and skip all the antics.

Nturtle

28-09-2005, 10:19

Fully agree Yi-long! But he's a youngster...and we keep forgetting...hopefully he will grow up!

Ronaldo_is_fat

28-09-2005, 12:38

I thought Reyes did pretty good and the way you called him a prick wasn't so appropiate. Although he didn't score, he involved in both of the goals. The first one was a nice cut through pass to Ljungberg and the second goal was a penalty that he won. I would say Arsenal did well consideringly that Henry is injured.

Viperized

28-09-2005, 15:55

Would you have had the same opinion if it were, say, Diouf, doing the exact same thing against Arsenal.
I feel that whenever a player goes into the goal area with the clear intention of getting a penalty and screwing the other team over, instead of scoring or passing, he should be booked. If a guy wants to dive, he should take up swimming. I also feel a quality player like Reyes shouldnt stoop to these lows.

Diving and obvious time-wasting (could he have left the picth any slower?), kicking the ball away at certain times, DOES justify him being called a prick.

Yes it got the result for Arsenal, but his, and the clubs reputation, will suffer for it.

You were right about him running his socks off and chasing the Ajax defence down. That was very good, usefull stuff.

As I said, I like Reyes as a player ... however, not when he dives or is being an ass oherwise. He should just play football and skip all the antics.
You are acting like Reyes is the first person to 'dive'. There was clearly contact between the keeper and Reyes.

There are 100s other players who dive including Rooney, C. Ronaldo etc..

Yi-Long

28-09-2005, 17:22

You are acting like Reyes is the first person to 'dive'. There was clearly contact between the keeper and Reyes.

There are 100s other players who dive including Rooney, C. Ronaldo etc..

Yeah, and I dont agree with those players' actions either, do I!?
So what's your point?

And yeah there was contact between the keeper and Reyes, but it was initiated by Reyes, you could see the keeper keeping his hands/arms with him, the ball was nowehere left to be played by Reyes, and he was floating around just to get touched by the keeper so he would fall over. No intention whatsoever to play the ball. He was looking for the contact. It was a dive.

How would you react to the same action if it had been the other way around: an Ajax-player diving and getting a penalty? You wouldn't have liked that either, would you... so why the double standards.

Diving should be banned from the beautifull game of football, as it has nothing to do with sports...

edit: ... unless you are a professional diver, ofcourse...

Scarface

28-09-2005, 19:01

I don't think looking for contact means he dived. He did look for contact, but that's what almost every good striker does these days. So long as there was enough contact and he doesn't go to ground without any contact I don't see it as a problem. Part of being a striker is taking advantage of defenders and keepers mistakes, and in this case, Reyes got to the ball first and the keeper was punished for not getting there. No I wouldn't have a different opinion if another player did the same to Arsenal, as Jan Koller did exactly the same to Arsenal a few years ago and I thought that was a penalty aswell.

Charlie: 9

28-09-2005, 20:13

Any player who is loooking for contact is planning to take a dive...

Scarface

28-09-2005, 20:40

Any player who is loooking for contact is planning to take a dive...

No, that is not always the case, they are often using their footballing brain to take maximum advantage of a situation. So often you see an attacker knock the ball just past a defender and go down as the defender couldn't get to the ball and they trip the attacker, is that a dive? No, not if there's enough contact from the defender and they get nothing of the ball.

Charlie: 9

28-09-2005, 20:44

I see what you mean, Reyes. But It is the case sometimes and I dont like it.

Ray_H

29-09-2005, 01:12

nah i'm sorry but that was a penalty last night. i know for a fact that if that had been a united player and we didnt get the penalty i'd be furious. definate penalty, all he's done is forced the keeper into fouling him, its clever play. either way the keeper took him out so it's definately a pen in my book. ljungbergs goal was quality as well btw

king reyes

29-09-2005, 06:45

I wasn't able to see the game( I live in the Middle East and it was on a school night) but judging by your desciprions of the penalty,I can't see much wrong with it. Skillful players with enough endurance always try to force mistakes from defenders and keepers alike,even if it means changing direction as he sees the challenge coming in.It isn't as bad as the stunt jumps some players perform.You want bad refereeing? Check out the Liverpool/Chelsea game. Gallas stretched out his arm and blocked a shot,and waht does the ref say? Corner.

pier69

29-09-2005, 08:06

adams9802

29-09-2005, 08:09

is arsenal still chasin papa bouba diop ? i think the price tag for him is ok 15 mil , he is younger than vieira , 27 i think , vieira is 29 . 15 mil is a good buy . he is dominant and can take free kicks too
ha15 mil for Dioup means that he's on par with Vieira and no offense to dioup he's really not that good. I'd say we could snag him for 8 15 is merely meant to ward people off.

PS that was a penalty, we played like shit but we deserved the win simply because we took our chances. Pires should have been the first to come off while Cesc and FLamini should never play together.

robz18

29-09-2005, 11:21

Nturtle

29-09-2005, 13:34

ha15 mil for Dioup means that he's on par with Vieira and no offense to dioup he's really not that good. I'd say we could snag him for 8 15 is merely meant to ward people off.

PS that was a penalty, we played like shit but we deserved the win simply because we took our chances. Pires should have been the first to come off while Cesc and FLamini should never play together.

Yeah...fully agree...we played like 10 men with Pires on the field...he didn't do jack...except take the penalty.

Experience is one thing...but hey...he didn't even look fit! Quincy on any day!

:realmad:

Charlie: 9

29-09-2005, 14:18

Papa Bouba Diop isnt worth 15 million. He's worth around 4m. Is he even any good? He's strong and can hit a ball... thats all I know.

Scarface

29-09-2005, 19:13

Did anyone see Silvio Proto in action against Betis?
i only watched the first half so i didnt see the goal he conceded, but from what i did see he was fookin BRILLIANT! from that display i'm really dissapointed we didnt follow up the intrest we showed in him earlier this year :(

I saw the highlights of Anderlecht and Porto, but forgot to keep an eye on Proto. The goal he conceded was pretty much unstoppable, great finish from Oliveira. We made a last-ditch bid for him in the summer, but Anderlecht had just about sealed his signature by then :( I'm disappointed we didn't sign him aswell, and it was such a small fee for a very talented young 'keeper. If we get Timo Hildebrand instead though, i'll be very happy, although imagine having both of them competing for first team places ;) With the form Stuttgart have been in since Hleb and Kuranyi left, i'm sure he'd like to make a departure as soon as possible, hopefully Arsenal will be his destination.

Nturtle

30-09-2005, 09:50

Keep hoping Reyes9 - might happen! Then again...we might get Casillas if he doesn't sign again for Real Madrid.

Figо10

30-09-2005, 13:10

Keep hoping Reyes9 - might happen! Then again...we might get Casillas if he doesn't sign again for Real Madrid.
No way on that man :laugh: He's Real Madrid through and through. Even if he wants to leave, I bet he'll go to Inter where all those ex-Galacticos are :cool:

Scarface

30-09-2005, 18:38

Keep hoping Reyes9 - might happen! Then again...we might get Casillas if he doesn't sign again for Real Madrid.

We won't sign Casillas, he'll sign a new deal at Real Madrid, but I honestly wouldn't want him to sign for Arsenal anyway, I think we need a keeper who will dominate his area, be a real commanding presence and add stability to the backline and I don't think he excels in that department. I've always thought Casillas is over-rated, his shot-stopping and reactions are great, but his ability on claiming crosses, dominating his area and commanding his backline are questionnable - Buffon and Cech are far better keepers in my opinion.

Nturtle

01-10-2005, 04:05

No way on that man :laugh: He's Real Madrid through and through. Even if he wants to leave, I bet he'll go to Inter where all those ex-Galacticos are :cool:

HAHA! Oh well...we have Lehman...and maybe Mannone will turn out ok...so we'll see...I just want to get rid of Pires somehow...use him like we use Bergkamp...then maybe he will work himself harder! :realmad:

Let Quincy play more! Youngsters Wenger keeps mentioning...but still trying to put in the "experience." If you have Campbell who works hard...then that's fine...Bergkamp is ok and makes an impact (mostly as a sub but shows the way on the field more this season)...but Pires??! Maybe it is playing him to get rid of him.... :laugh:

jthk2004

01-10-2005, 07:15

but Pires??! Maybe it is playing him to get rid of him.... :laugh:
i agree on getting rid of pires. he's in his 30s now and slacking more than ever. let hleb replace pires on the left wing instead of putting hleb in the middle. the middlesbrough lost and west ham draw proved we did not have width from the two wings. hleb on the left, ljungberg on right...

i see quincy is as good as henry. so he should be given a try in the middle striker position instead of wing-forward. maybe he will turn out like darren bent after a few games. who knows?

Ronaldo_is_fat

01-10-2005, 07:28

As Bergkamp said Quincy is a player with good tecnqiue and speed which is really rare!

jthk2004

01-10-2005, 07:31

As Bergkamp said Quincy is a player with good tecnqiue and speed which is really rare!
maybe we can afford to sell henry if quincy proves to be a hit? and we have lupoli to come as well... so we can get those money to invest on a new keeper, a proven center-back and a dynamic, tireless and no-nonsense midfielder...

Ronaldo_is_fat

01-10-2005, 07:44

jthk2004

01-10-2005, 08:13

Wenger should drop Fabregas and play Flamini more. Skills and techique aren't as important as sweating hardworkers for our midfield.

Na, I don't think we should sell Henry because losing a captain like Vieira already made a big impact and selling our best striker would really hurt.
of course we shouldn't sell him but it will be another case if he won't sign a new contract with us next season. and the new fifa rules may cost us something like 25m pounds if he leaves for free. if we get a great sum of money from barca i think it's time to call it a day and move on with our current crop of talented youngsters. signing a midfield warrior and a "real" striker are what we netta do...

Scarface

01-10-2005, 10:14

Quincy has raw talent, but has a long way to go before being considered as good as Henry, his shooting isn't too great and his crossing can be greatly improved on, but he has the right starting attributes to become one of the best, if not the best Arsenal player in the next few years. As Ronaldo_is_fat said, his technique, speed and dribbling is really top class for a 19 year old.

Graham Stack has been found innocent of rape, which is great news. He is a great young keeper, so hopefully he will come back to Arsenal now as our 2nd choice keeper, but he'll probably be another good young Arsenal player who is fed up at getting no playing time and will want out.

jthk2004

01-10-2005, 10:17

Graham Stack has been found innocent of rape, which is great news. He is a great young keeper, so hopefully he will come back to Arsenal now as our 2nd choice keeper, but he'll probably be another good young Arsenal player who is fed up at getting no playing time and will want out.
stack has already agreed a permanent deal to reading. he will move there next january...

Scarface

01-10-2005, 10:21

Oh shit, I thought it was only a loan deal with the chance of making it permanent, how much did he cost, £200,000? :rolleyes:

Just found a link (http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=312384&lid=2&cpid=10&title=Royals+to+keep+Stack&channel=football_home) to it :(

accessgranted

02-10-2005, 16:32

Glad we got 3 points.

But what a great performance by Taylor.

MotM by far and he didn't deserve to lose in such a way.

ThierryHenry14

02-10-2005, 16:40

what was the score

Nturtle

02-10-2005, 16:52

1-0 mate....and Maik Taylor did great...thought we would lose out there...

Good to see Reyes lively...but Hleb still needs to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT! Bah...Lauren should take our penalties! Pires doesn't need to get on the scoresheet...

ThierryHenry14

02-10-2005, 16:57

so did reyes score

Scarface

02-10-2005, 18:30

No, Robin van Persie scored with a deflected effot. Maik Taylor put in a super-human performance, we would have beaten them by even more than Everton last year had he not been so great in goal. Fantastic performance by Arsenal today, we can't really blame our finishing as most of our efforts were very good but Taylor just kept everything out. Every player bar Pires (Hleb was a bit disappointing but did a few good things) played very well today, hopefully we can keep this kind of form up and go on a run now.

ThierryHenry14

02-10-2005, 18:54

im well glad about too thing one were are on a winning streak again sort of and that with my school next year we get to visit the emirates stadium

Ronaldo_is_fat

03-10-2005, 10:26

Pires
Useless

Charlie: 9

03-10-2005, 10:28

Maik Taylor was brilliant yesterday, but who would've thought that a goal would've been scored the way it did? Great game, great saves and an unlucky finish for Birmingham. Great show by Taylor.

DarkJedi

03-10-2005, 10:47

Maik Taylor was brilliant yesterday, but who would've thought that a goal would've been scored the way it did? Great game, great saves and an unlucky finish for Birmingham. Great show by Taylor.
I think with the way Taylor was playing the only way something was going to get poast him was through something completely absurd like that. The man was absolutely incredible.

Pires tho, shambolic...

jthk2004

03-10-2005, 12:31

im well glad about too thing one were are on a winning streak again sort of and that with my school next year we get to visit the emirates stadium
our arsenal really netta move the the emirates stadium. birmingham's own half was so congested after they lost kenny cunningham. we looked out of ideas except long balls from fabregas to the left wing. we need a bigger pitch to play on so there will be more space to be exposed by opponents even if they wanna play their team behind ball...

I think with the way Taylor was playing the only way something was going to get poast him was through something completely absurd like that. The man was absolutely incredible.
yes great show by maik taylor but it's such a joke that it was his teammate put the ball past him. unlucky but i think he knew it was coming...

Ronaldo_is_fat

03-10-2005, 13:14

If Cunningham wasn't sent off I doubt that Arsenal will win.

jthk2004

03-10-2005, 13:51

If Cunningham wasn't sent off I doubt that Arsenal will win.
it's very hard to say. birmingham were on fire in the first 20 minutes but there were gaps in their defence and we could hit them on counter-attacks. but birmingham started to sit back and abandon their attacking play after cunningham was sent off. we won't be winning either if there's no lucky deflection off clemence. our midfield looked flat and just ran out of ideas when they face a team playing 9-0-1 and not 4-4-2...

nikos24

03-10-2005, 22:09

I felt Arsenal were a bit lucky to win that one.. Maik Taylor was superb and kept Arsenal at bay.. till the Van Persie strike.. great save from the penalty.. Henry need to be back ASAP then im sure Arsenal will get back its quality plays ;)

pier69

03-10-2005, 23:52

u guys are so lucky , that's like a deflection goal .

Krook

04-10-2005, 00:05

Although I don't support Arsenal, I want them to do well so Chelsea don't win the league by January (how cocky they are).

Nturtle

04-10-2005, 00:10

u guys are so lucky , that's like a deflection goal .

Well...sometimes it requires luck...don't tell me the unbeaten run wasn't "lucky"...and Chelsea have their fair share of luck already - especially the stupid things like Drogba scoring off his shin etc etc...! :realmad:

I think Chelsea are a bit like ManU when they were winning...but slightly different...they ARE quality all over....but just get on my nerves with some of their goals...Gotta hand it to Drogba...hate him...but he makes defenses look stupid...like Traore giving away penalties...or Senderos TWICE being outwitted by Drogba recently... :angry:

Viperized

04-10-2005, 04:54

u guys are so lucky , that's like a deflection goal .
We deserved to win. If Taylor wasn't in goal, I am pretty damn sure that Reyes would've had scored 3 or 4 goals.

pokey

04-10-2005, 09:30

reyes needs to start finding the back of the net...

methical

04-10-2005, 11:00

we need another scorer, we miss henry too much, i wish we made more signings like wesley snejder or someone to finish and win headers even, c mon arsene

Ronaldo_is_fat

04-10-2005, 12:13

Reyes is just unlucky with Taylor as the keeper!

methical

04-10-2005, 13:14

i dont get reyes, such a hot prospect, didnt sparkle for a while and at the start of last season he was awesome now he seems pretty average and thats buggin me alot now coz i thought we may have found someone who can score goals . why didt we try and get gilardino or someone else that will get goals?

Scarface

04-10-2005, 19:03

We deserved to win. If Taylor wasn't in goal, I am pretty damn sure that Reyes would've had scored 3 or 4 goals.

Exactly, it makes me laugh how people say we were lucky to win. Birmingham were lucky their keeper was in amazing form or they'd have been on the receiving end of an absolute mauling. We fully deserved to win, the goal was fortunate, but what is it we always hear in the papers about Chelsea making their own luck (ie 2 deflections against Bayern Munich last year).

Reyes has been fantastic recently, probably our player of the season so far, I don't understand the criticism aimed at him. I doubt Wenger ever bought him to score goals, he isn't a 20 goal a season goalscorer, if he scores 10 or 15 goals a season that will be very good. The only thing missing for him so far is goals, but his finishing hasn't been bad, he has been very unlucky not to be on at least 5 goals for the season already. Even if he doesn't score more than 5 in the whole season, if he keeps up his current form, we should be more than satisfied as he is causing the opposition's defences all sorts of problems and looking the real deal. If we wanted a 20 goal a season striker then, yes, we should have tried to sign someone like Torres, Kuijt or Gilardino, but they can't dribble and cause the same problems as Reyes does, and I think that's what Wenger signed him for, not just to score goals, that's not what he's about.

ThierryHenry14

04-10-2005, 20:34

has anyone here gone on a tour round highbury

Viperized

04-10-2005, 22:03

Ashley Cole has been ruled out of England's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers with Austria and Poland.

The Arsenal defender has sustained a stress fracture of the foot and looks set for at least a month on the sidelines.

Cole picked up the problem during England's training session on Tuesday and the news will be a huge blow both to Sven Goran Eriksson and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

Eriksson has called up Liverpool's Stephen Warnock, but he insists England still have plenty of options despite Cole's untimely withdrawal.

"He (Cole) has had to pull out unfortunately, they took a scan on his foot and he has a stress fracture so he is probably out for one month," Eriksson revealed at a press conference.

"It's a pity to lose Ashley Cole because Ashley Cole is maybe the best left-back in the world.

"But we have a lot of options including (Jamie) Carragher, Phil Neville, Stephen Warnock and Kieran Richardson who is playing there for Manchester United at the moment."

England face Austria at Old Trafford on Saturday and then play their last qualifying game at the same venue against Poland the following Wednesday.

Skysports

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He'll miss 3 or 4 league games. Although Cole is injured, I wouldn't worry too much. Clichy is more then an adequate replacement. LB is the only position that Arsenal have excellent backup or true depth.

I'm sure Clichy will step in and do fine. Would be good for him too, to get more first team experiance. He played excellent against Bayern Munich too.

Top Gun

04-10-2005, 22:07

Because of this i think England might go 3 at the back with Terry, Campbell and Ferdinand but if he only plays two i hope it is Campbell and Terry because even though i am a Man Utd fan Campbell is playing immense.

jthk2004

05-10-2005, 05:53

no cole at white hart lane for us... and henry gotta recover on schedule and must play against man city to prove his match fitness for the derby...

adams9802

05-10-2005, 21:49

I could care less about ashley cole missing any games clichy is better imo. but I've already made my point of view on cole clear. he's an asshole.

best_at_pes

05-10-2005, 22:39

Although I don't support Arsenal, I want them to do well so Chelsea don't win the league by January (how cocky they are).
Who, at all belonging/having anything to do with Chelsea claimed they would win it by January? All i've heard about Chelsea is that the players will not become complascent and so on...

Ronaldo_is_fat

06-10-2005, 11:35

Cole is overrated and everytime we play against Manutd shows it. I would rather have Clichy playing and his absent won't be a big impact.

Viperized

06-10-2005, 18:27

Er... Cole isn't overrated. Clichy isn't better than him, but is a good backup solution.

Scarface

06-10-2005, 18:32

Cole regularly plays great against Man Utd and other top teams. He usually makes one of the best young wingers in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, look very average, as he does to many other good wingers aswell. I wouldn't swap him for any other left back in the world, even after what he has done. Even though Gael Clichy is a fantastic young left back, we will miss Cole if he does leave.

nikos24

08-10-2005, 17:42

i've heard a rumour that Arsenal are planning to buy Russian ace Alexander Kerzakhov from Zenit during the winter window.. or some team in the premiership.. True or plain rumour?

Scarface

08-10-2005, 22:45

i've heard a rumour that Arsenal are planning to buy Russian ace Alexander Kerzakhov from Zenit during the winter window.. or some team in the premiership.. True or plain rumour?

He has been linked a lot in the past, he's a striker isn't he? We'll just have to wait and see...I think i'd rather we sign Fernando Torres :cool:

Reyes to Torres 1 (http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2ULBHDNBIDIMD1A3NIM5 MSDZWR)

Reyes to Torres 2 (http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=16NM4B6VE0TZZ1Z7M1MU ELVBWF)

Goals taken from Spain's 2-0 defeat of Belgium tonight, where Reyes came on and completely turned the game with another awesome performance.

adams9802

09-10-2005, 01:19

well capmbells crocked lets hope that he's gonna get better in a week or so. I seriously doubt it but we can hope. I really don't want to see Cygan get a game.

Scarface

09-10-2005, 01:45

well capmbells crocked lets hope that he's gonna get better in a week or so. I seriously doubt it but we can hope. I really don't want to see Cygan get a game.

Same, but I think it will be Phillipe Senderos who replaces Sol Campbell. I'm devastated that he's injured again and it's looking like it might be quite a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Damn that Austrian cunt who kicked him :realmad: Still, Senderos looks ready to come back into the side, just a shame it had to be in these circumstances. He put in a decent display aganst France tonight and scored the equalising goal with a header.

nikos24

09-10-2005, 07:47

He has been linked a lot in the past, he's a striker isn't he? We'll just have to wait and see...I think i'd rather we sign Fernando Torres :cool:

Reyes to Torres 1 (http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2ULBHDNBIDIMD1A3NIM5 MSDZWR)

Reyes to Torres 2 (http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=16NM4B6VE0TZZ1Z7M1MU ELVBWF)

Goals taken from Spain's 2-0 defeat of Belgium tonight, where Reyes came on and completely turned the game with another awesome performance.

wow.. Reyes did change the game.. nice work there.. regarding kerzakhov, i see.. hope he does change though..lots of potential and scores a lot.. F.Torres in Arsenal will be unbelievable! :)

Nturtle

11-10-2005, 11:42

I think the latest is Berbatov the young striker to partner Henry. Might be an interesting buy!

Ronaldo_is_fat

11-10-2005, 11:58

I think the latest is Berbatov the young striker to partner Henry. Might be an interesting buy!
The striker from Leverkusen?

Nturtle

11-10-2005, 12:09

I think that is the one Ronaldo...the other is Stefan Kiessling from Nuremberg.

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?HLID=315149&CPID=22&title=Gunners+check+on+German+ starlet&lid=2&channel=Football_Home&f=rss

Ronaldo_is_fat

11-10-2005, 12:30

Never heard of him but I'll rather see Berbatov because he's proven himself already in the Bundesliga.

Viperized

11-10-2005, 16:44

Berbatov has scored 21 goals last season. Good stats eh? But I'd prefer to get Torres.

Viperized

11-10-2005, 16:45

Even though Gael Clichy is a fantastic young left back, we will miss Cole if he does leave.
I don't think his injury would be a major blow to us. And hopefully Senderos can play against WBA at Saturday. I have nightmares seeing Cygan play in an Arsenal shirt!

pokey

11-10-2005, 18:29

senderaos is prone to making mistakes... how longs sol out for?

Scarface

11-10-2005, 18:32

I don't think his injury would be a major blow to us. And hopefully Senderos can play against WBA at Saturday. I have nightmares seeing Cygan play in an Arsenal shirt!

I agree, I think Clichy will do another fine job deputising for Ashley Cole during his time on the sidelines, but if Ashley Cole does go, i'm sure we'll miss him as he offers so much to our team. Clichy is fantastic and will only improve, but I don't think he's at Cole's level yet.

Viperized

11-10-2005, 22:14

senderaos is prone to making mistakes... how longs sol out for?
I am assuming you are on about Senderos being out-muscled by Drogba? Hardly a mistake... Also, Drogba's goal was fluke-to-the-max.

He has been playing quite well for the Swiss in the qualifiers.

Canadian, Eh?

12-10-2005, 04:11

adams9802

12-10-2005, 08:15

The injury the Cole is peanuts compared with Sol being out.

Sol Campbell gives you a leader who can captain a squad such as correcting players etc. Case and point in the Ajax game.

Ashley Cole does not give you leadership, but its nice to see my man Gael Clichy get some time in the first team.

And pft, I think we all forget that Senderos is young and still has things to learn, and other than mistakes against Birmingham last year and a couple misses with Chelsea, thats it. Senderos is solid.
Snederos is solid, not quite as much as most people think he is thiugh. His reaction tends to be a bit to slow for me. He's nice and commited but obviously lack a bit of experince (yes due to his age), nor has he made Kolo his little go-fer yet. He also lacks a bit of pace which worries me.

Nturtle

12-10-2005, 11:10

Yeah...pace is a little bit of a problem...but Sol isn't that pacey either. I'd like to see Mathew Connolly in action...maybe Carling cup...but he seems like a solid defender that is being pumped up on the official website for the youths.

Well, let's see how the transfer window goes...it IS unlikely Torres will come...he is such a darling of the Athletico fans.

Ronaldo_is_fat

12-10-2005, 12:31

I thought Sol was pretty pacy, I believed that 2 seasons ago when Arsenal had a game with Liverpool, Sol made a terrific dash from the back and tackled Owen's ball neatly when he was about to shoot in a 1 on 1 situation.

Althought Sol might not be as pacy as before he's still the most solid defender we got, alot better than Rio fukindinand

Canadian, Eh?

12-10-2005, 14:11

Sol has more pace then say Terry, and also knows how to make a proper tackle.

And yeah you are right on the Senderos front, I compare him to the kid that rode the little school bus to school.

But Toure is still one of the better players in the starting eleven, he earned huge respect when he continued playing in the Ajax game, what a guy!

Ronaldo_is_fat

12-10-2005, 14:22

Canadian, Eh?

12-10-2005, 18:14

anybody know that he could also run a ball upfield? Toure came to Arsenal as a midfielder.....

Scarface

12-10-2005, 18:26

Well, let's see how the transfer window goes...it IS unlikely Torres will come...he is such a darling of the Athletico fans.

He'll have left by the end of next summer, I guarantee it. Torres is too good for Athletico, and he knows that, he might love Athletico and be considered a god by the fans, but he will leave them in the near future to move onto bigger things. He might not join Arsenal, but he will have joined a big European club by then. It'll be for a big fee though, £25m+.

On the issue of defenders, I rate Emanuel Eboue very highly, he has a lot of talent. Strong, good going forward, pacey, strong in the tackle and doesn't let anything faze him. Should be our first choice right back ahea dof Lauren in my opinion, and would be a decent backup for centre back, particularly if it's to be alongside his fellow countryman, Kolo Toure.

Johanne Djourou is an exceptional young centre back aswell. Many Swiss football experts think he will be better than Phillipe Senderos in the long term.

Scarface

12-10-2005, 21:52

DARK JAK

12-10-2005, 21:56

Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick tonight, albeit against San Marino.

1st goal (http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0CFPTX1RRN9JT1IWUC0L BACTSC) Guess who sets it up? ;)

We seriously need to do all we can to get these 2 together at club level, Reyes, Henry and Torres would be unstoppable.

I know what you mean, it would be just awesome, but do you really think Arsenal will payout 25-30mill on one player?. Even if they do have the funds they won't.

Scarface

12-10-2005, 22:02

I know what you mean, it would be just awesome, but do you really think Arsenal will payout 25-30mill on one player?. Even if they do have the funds they won't.

I'm not so sure, we might not have done in the past, but i'm sure Wenger knows he has to start spending big now to really challenge Europe's elite and will do so soon. There's talk that Wenger is gonna see how the youngsters progress this season and then judge how much is needed to be done to improve the squad, which will determine the amount of money spent on new players next summer before we move into our new ground. Depends how badly Wenger thinks we need Torres though I guess, he keeps talking up van Persie, so he might think he's good enough to be a long-term partner for Henry.

Jonny2J

12-10-2005, 22:07

we had a 26 million bid for him rejected.... so your looking at more than that

Yi-Long

12-10-2005, 23:28

I'm not so sure, we might not have done in the past, but i'm sure Wenger knows he has to start spending big now to really challenge Europe's elite and will do so soon. There's talk that Wenger is gonna see how the youngsters progress this season and then judge how much is needed to be done to improve the squad, which will determine the amount of money spent on new players next summer before we move into our new ground. Depends how badly Wenger thinks we need Torres though I guess, he keeps talking up van Persie, so he might think he's good enough to be a long-term partner for Henry.

You don't NEED to spend big, when you play a good system, and have good players that do their tasks right. Some people think all you need is money, so you can buy big-name players thus success, but it doesntw ork like that. It helps, ofcourse, and you'll have more options, but much more important then buying big-name players eacha nd every year to keep the fans happy, is building a REAL team, and that means young talents being at the club for a few years, learning the system, playing it week in week out, build a strong team who will fight for eachother and to win.

Chelsea isnt doing great because of money, but because they have a very good group of players who are all hungry. Yeah they spended alot of money, but look at who they bought... not really big-name legends, yet chelsea had to pay fortunes to get them.

Arsenal has a very very good team as it is, and they just need a few reinforcements on certain positions, like a good keeper, and maybe some back-ups for a few locations, as right now Hleb is being forced to play on the right-side of the midfield, while he wouldbe better suited in the centre, as he can open things up and connect well with the forwards.

I can see why people would like Torres at Arsenal, as he's a quality striker no doubt about it... but we only really need him if Henry decides to leave.

Besides, van Persie is absolutely brilliant, and still growing. Tonight, in a very very bad Holland game, he was once again a ray of sunshine, with gorgeous moves and tricks and passes. He is such a delightfull player to watch, and is a pretty good goalscorer as well (plus, most of his goals are damn gorgeous as well...)

If Henry goes, and Bergkamp quits after this season, then yeah, Arsenal would need 1 or 2 extra strikers (although maybe by that time, Quincy and Lupoli are ready to take over?), but if Henry stays, then there's no real need...

What are your thoughts about Henry maybe being offered a huge money deal to stay at Arsenal? I think the money offered is outrageously high, and personally I'd say that if a player 'demands' that must money just to keep him at the club, he might as well just leave...

Ofcourse, my gripe is with the ridiculous amount of money being offered to a guy to play football, not with the guy himself, cause I like Henry very much as a player... but you get my point I guess: Why pay one excellent striker that amountof cash, while for the same price you can have 5-6 top-quality young players ...

Ah well, Wenger has always been very good at both scouting young cheap talent, and at managing them into world-class players, so I don't really feel we need to worry about not having as big a budget as Chelsea.

adams9802

12-10-2005, 23:32

Toure came to Arsenal as a midfielder.....
yeah he is a jack of all trades, he's played well where ever he is put simply because he has boundless energy. Toure makes loads of mistkes but can fix them with his pace and physical ability.

Scarface

12-10-2005, 23:42

You don't NEED to spend big, when you play a good system, and have good players that do their tasks right. Some people think all you need is money, so you can buy big-name players thus success, but it doesntw ork like that. It helps, ofcourse, and you'll have more options, but much more important then buying big-name players eacha nd every year to keep the fans happy, is building a REAL team, and that means young talents being at the club for a few years, learning the system, playing it week in week out, build a strong team who will fight for eachother and to win.

Chelsea isnt doing great because of money, but because they have a very good group of players who are all hungry. Yeah they spended alot of money, but look at who they bought... not really big-name legends, yet chelsea had to pay fortunes to get them.

Arsenal has a very very good team as it is, and they just need a few reinforcements on certain positions, like a good keeper, and maybe some back-ups for a few locations, as right now Hleb is being forced to play on the right-side of the midfield, while he wouldbe better suited in the centre, as he can open things up and connect well with the forwards.

I can see why people would like Torres at Arsenal, as he's a quality striker no doubt about it... but we only really need him if Henry decides to leave.

Besides, van Persie is absolutely brilliant, and still growing. Tonight, in a very very bad Holland game, he was once again a ray of sunshine, with gorgeous moves and tricks and passes. He is such a delightfull player to watch, and is a pretty good goalscorer as well (plus, most of his goals are damn gorgeous as well...)

If Henry goes, and Bergkamp quits after this season, then yeah, Arsenal would need 1 or 2 extra strikers (although maybe by that time, Quincy and Lupoli are ready to take over?), but if Henry stays, then there's no real need...

What are your thoughts about Henry maybe being offered a huge money deal to stay at Arsenal? I think the money offered is outrageously high, and personally I'd say that if a player 'demands' that must money just to keep him at the club, he might as well just leave...

Ofcourse, my gripe is with the ridiculous amount of money being offered to a guy to play football, not with the guy himself, cause I like Henry very much as a player... but you get my point I guess: Why pay one excellent striker that amountof cash, while for the same price you can have 5-6 top-quality young players ...

Ah well, Wenger has always been very good at both scouting young cheap talent, and at managing them into world-class players, so I don't really feel we need to worry about not having as big a budget as Chelsea.

Has to be done. Henry is so important to Arsenal, we must keep him, especially so soon after Vieira's exit.

Arsenal will never be able to compete with the top teams in Europe until they spend money like a top club, in my opinion. I'm not suggesting we try to replica Chelsea and neglect our youngsters while trying to buy all the top players around Europe for big money, but every now and again signing a top player wouldn't be a bad thing if he would fit straight into the system, and I think Torres would. It would also send a message throughout Europe that Arsenal really mean business. You're right about the need to have a good system, manager etc but I believe there's only so far we can go when we are under a strict budget each and every year. We need to be able to compete to sign the Rooney's, Torres' and the Ballack's when they become available if we want to get where we say we do, and without spending big we will never be able to do that. Sure our youngsters and the gems that Wenger discovers can take us a long way, but we'll need to bring in some ready-made top class talent to really get to the top. I like van Persie, he combines well with Henry, much better than Reyes does, and he has the ability to become an Arsenal legend, but Arsenal could do with another option, a goalscorer, but one who is skillfull enough to fit into the Arsenal system, and I think the ideal man for that is Torres.

Canadian, Eh?

13-10-2005, 05:33

It really doesn't matter how much money he gets offered, the only thing making him stay would be loyalty.

He has said repeatedly that he will stay at Arsenal as long as they want him.

Therefore money really isn't an issue, he has not even been the highest paid player on the team and has never complained one bit about it. By Henry not wanting to talk about a new contract til summer just listen to him. No need to just throw money at the problem, we are not Chelsea.

Viperized

13-10-2005, 05:49

I agree with everything what Reyes said. Also, I think IF Wenger is considering to buy Torres, he'll splash a lot of money. Also why does everyone thing Wenger is always cheap? We spent £17 million we spent on Reyes.

We are linked with the Polish keeper Boruc. He played against England yesterday. In my opinion, he is a great keeper. He pulled of some great saves, and he has very good reflexes. We should get him! He is only 23 or 24 years old too.

I think another player we should be considering to buy is Yaya Toure. Thats Kolo Toure's younger brother, and he plays for Olympiacos. He is a defensive midfielder and it looks like he has the physical presence of Patrick Vieira. Kolo also says that Yaya is much better than him. He could well be the next Vieira...maybe. Yaya Toure is 22 years old.

Jonny2J

13-10-2005, 09:44

Nturtle

13-10-2005, 14:23

LOL...Yaya, Toure and Eboue...well...that's like a quarter of the ivory coast team?!?! HA! Could be good! Kidding...not sure about Yaya being in the international team actually.

REyes - I take you point about Torres...let's wait and see! I think VP is doing ok too!

Ronaldo_is_fat

14-10-2005, 11:23

The main problem with arsenal is that no one can grab goals for us consistently if Henry is injured, Reyes and Van Persie show that they can't and their finishings are not that world class .

Hleb isn't performing his magic in Arsenal partly because he needs a good in-box striker to recieve his deliveries . He's doing well in Stuttgart mainly because of his linkage with Kuranyi which Hleb delivers and Kuranyi finishes. He doesnt' need strikers who'll run to the side and do all his jobs.

jthk2004

14-10-2005, 12:14

jthk2004

14-10-2005, 12:20

Toure would be the pivotal player in the future. This guy can defend and did anybody know that he could also run a ball upfield?
We'll do much better if we could get a decent center back to partner Toure or Campbell when one of them got injured.
senderos looks good to me as he shut out the irish! only drawback is a bit shaky, especially against the french. if he can learn from sol campbell and improve his confidence, he will be like sol in the future...

jthk2004

14-10-2005, 12:27

We won't sign Casillas, he'll sign a new deal at Real Madrid, but I honestly wouldn't want him to sign for Arsenal anyway, I think we need a keeper who will dominate his area, be a real commanding presence and add stability to the backline and I don't think he excels in that department. I've always thought Casillas is over-rated, his shot-stopping and reactions are great, but his ability on claiming crosses, dominating his area and commanding his backline are questionnable - Buffon and Cech are far better keepers in my opinion.
so is boruc that good? i will rather prefer jerzy dudek instead of boruc... dudek maybe a bit shaky but u know what, he won the cl!

Ronaldo_is_fat

14-10-2005, 13:06

Given would be a better choice from all of the keepers mentioned.

codename 47

14-10-2005, 13:40

Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick tonight, albeit against San Marino.

1st goal (http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0CFPTX1RRN9JT1IWUC0L BACTSC) Guess who sets it up? ;)

We seriously need to do all we can to get these 2 together at club level, Reyes, Henry and Torres would be unstoppable.

ISources tell me that torres is aware that AC Milan do have strong interest in him,if he did leave Atl.madrid then i can see him going to either Barca or AC Milan
Perhaps arsenal but they'll have to bid very big as newcastle had a good offer rejected

Alcoholic

14-10-2005, 13:44

Arsenal need a new CM before anything, then we can nick Torres.

Dan

14-10-2005, 16:07

Looks like out Hleb's out for up to two months.

pokey

14-10-2005, 16:28

that sucks... gonna be a weak midfield against west gash... hope Pires has regained form after his stint in the reserves

Viperized

14-10-2005, 17:42

so is boruc that good? i will rather prefer jerzy dudek instead of boruc... dudek maybe a bit shaky but u know what, he won the cl!
Who cares if Dudek won the CL. He is incosistant, and old.

Boruc looks like a great keeper, and he is much younger than Dudek, and has impressed me quickly. If Dudek was so good, he would've started the match against England.

Alcoholic

14-10-2005, 18:00

Il settle for Buffon.

Scarface

14-10-2005, 18:29

so let's get a out-and-out striker in torres then. reyes and torres seemed like they knew each other well after the qualifiers.

but again, how about jan koller? he is taller than kanu and i believe he is better than kanu definitely, if not his tricks. if we get these two we can afford not having henry...

i thought we signed yaya, didn't we? we should definitely go on and sign him. but he will netta prove himself at olympiacos so the british gov offices know him more then he will get his work permit after all. we need ya, yaya!

Shame we didn't sign Yaya Toure, he has looked a very talented player everytime ive seen him play. One weakness of his is that he doesn't use his build to his full advantage, he should be more dominant that he is, but his passing, technique, close control and positional sense seemed very good. Olypiakos will probably want a fair bit for him now, i'd prefer Rio Mavuba or Mahamadou Diarra, but Yaya would be a good buy.

TheBishop

14-10-2005, 20:03

Wenger will be wearing bling bling

Yi-Long

15-10-2005, 00:34

so is boruc that good? i will rather prefer jerzy dudek instead of boruc... dudek maybe a bit shaky but u know what, he won the cl!

Winning the CL doesnt mean shit in some cases (look at Seedorf for evidence...), but I agree Dudek is a very very good keeper. He's made some howlers for Liverpool though, but when he was at Feyenoord, he was abso-fucking-lutely amazing, with great saves and AMAZING reflexes: He was just so very quick on the line.
I really feel sorry for the guy to have made those blunders...

...but Arsenal should have gotten Van Der Sar, even if he's already old, cause he's a great director of the back-four, which is just what Arsenal lacked last season... he still has a couple of good years left in him.
Van der Sar is one of the best keepers in the world at the moment.

AgentZero

15-10-2005, 01:02

how many regulars is that out for a lenghty period of time?...

Scarface

15-10-2005, 01:20

6 - Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Gilberto Silva, Alexander Hleb, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie. All of whom would probably get in our best 11.

adams9802

15-10-2005, 01:41

6 - Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Gilberto Silva, Alexander Hleb, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie. All of whom would probably get in our best 11.
this is make or break for us now, we do poorly you can kiss giving chelski a run for their money.

AgentZero

15-10-2005, 02:03

that is a bit of a pickle for you lot......who you gotthis weekend?

Figо10

15-10-2005, 04:40

Go get Ledley King from Tottenham to replace Patrick Vieira :cool:

Viperized

15-10-2005, 05:12

that is a bit of a pickle for you lot......who you gotthis weekend?
West Bromwich Albion. They're on bad form though..

I still think we'll beat them... 2-0 to the Gunners.

Scarface

15-10-2005, 10:23

Go get Ledley King from Tottenham to replace Patrick Vieira :cool:

Ledley King would an excellent signing, but would cost a fortune, plus there's better holding midfielders out there, Mahamadou Diarra, Rio Mavuba, Papa Bouba Diop etc. I think we should enquire about Maniche, he's a fantastic player and is unsettled in Russia.

AgentZero

15-10-2005, 10:47

no way..Flam and Fab when i saw vs Ajax weren't that bad of a duo..and if they can pit ti against ajax itll be no probs for most of the epl teams

Scarface

15-10-2005, 10:56

no way..Flam and Fab when i saw vs Ajax weren't that bad of a duo..and if they can pit ti against ajax itll be no probs for most of the epl teams

They are 2 of the best young central midfielders in Europe, but we still could do with another central midfielder, an enforcer-type. When Gilberto is out, we shouldn't have to rely on only Flamini, 21, and Fabregas, 18. Mahamadou Diarra would be the perfect option in my opinion (in realistic terms anyway, Ballack would be the perfect signing but that's not gonna happen), he's young but has a great mentality and maturity and is one of the best holding midfielders in Europe at the moment. We should have made a firm bid before he signed his new contract at Lyon, it will be much harder now.

Nturtle

15-10-2005, 14:48

It's going to be interesting! At least Clichy gets a run now as well...and maybe even Larsson! Let's see how it works out tonight! Go gunners!

Nturtle

15-10-2005, 14:52

Oh...team sheet just out! No Lupoli or Bendtner.... Only EBOUE, Cygan, Quincy, Almunia as Song as subs. Bergkamp leads the team out, Reyes, Pires, Ljungberg, Flamini, Fabregas, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Lehman.

Interesting...not much firepower it seems!

Scarface

15-10-2005, 15:01

Bergkamp, Reyes, Ljungberg and Pires should have far too much firepower for West Brom. Need our young defenders and central midfield to put in good performances though.

Figо10

15-10-2005, 15:31

Ledley King would an excellent signing, but would cost a fortune, plus there's better holding midfielders out there, Mahamadou Diarra, Rio Mavuba, Papa Bouba Diop etc. I think we should enquire about Maniche, he's a fantastic player and is unsettled in Russia.
I agree about Maniche, he's very underrated in my opinion, and it'll be interesting to see how he does in England. Given the choice, I would get him over Ballack. I think Ballack would choose United rather than Arsenal anyway.

You guys think selling Pat was a mistake by Wenger?

Scarface

15-10-2005, 16:02

I agree about Maniche, he's very underrated in my opinion, and it'll be interesting to see how he does in England. Given the choice, I would get him over Ballack. I think Ballack would choose United rather than Arsenal anyway.

You guys think selling Pat was a mistake by Wenger?

For me, Ballack is the best midfielder in the world, Maniche is excellent, but i'm not sure he's world class. I don't think Ballack will sign for either Man Utd or Arsenal, he's more likely to head to either La Liga for Real Madrid (then when Baptista can't get in the team he can beg Wenger to sign him :innocent:) or Barca, or to the Serie A.

accessgranted

15-10-2005, 17:11

Another loss.

This is thierrible.

Viperized

15-10-2005, 17:13

I know...

Stupid fucking injuries. We have the worst luck ever. Fucking internationals!!

Jonny2J

15-10-2005, 17:13

Another loss.

This is thierrible.Jesus Wept....

adams9802

15-10-2005, 17:17

Jesus Wept....
well you may now hand the title to chelsea. hmmm this sucks having given up the title before the end of october.

accessgranted

15-10-2005, 17:27

I know...

Stupid fucking injuries. We have the worst luck ever. Fucking internationals!!

Wouldn't have had such a bad run with injuries if Wenger had decided to purchase some players back in preseason.

Like a goalscorer and someone to replace Vieira.

:(

Jesus Wept....

I wept.

jthk2004

15-10-2005, 17:33

west brom 2-1 arsenal...

other than west brom's brilliance, i wanna admit that we don't really have depth in our squad. if u look at our prem winning squads u always see some fringe players (grimandi, wreh, kanu, luzhny, upson...) there but they would be important since it's them who netta step up and play for the star players like adams, vieira and henry when they got injured or suspended. i think wenger thinks too far ahead on buying the young talents but didn't solve the imminent problems (mainly injuries) that we have. those young players may turn out to be stars in the future but we need some experience players to absorb the pressure and bring the team out of trouble.

maybe it's too early to say it but i don't see arsenal can win anything this season if we keep drawing and losing games against those mid-table or even relegation-threatened teams like west ham and west brom. and i think spurs will beat us in the derby at white hart lane 2 weeks from now...

kallum

15-10-2005, 17:36

We'll win the champions league...

Don't worry about it.

Figо10

15-10-2005, 19:37

For me, Ballack is the best midfielder in the world, Maniche is excellent, but i'm not sure he's world class. I don't think Ballack will sign for either Man Utd or Arsenal, he's more likely to head to either La Liga for Real Madrid (then when Baptista can't get in the team he can beg Wenger to sign him :innocent:) or Barca, or to the Serie A.
The speed at which Baptista signed for Real is shocking, I thought Arsenal were favourites after their 10m bid. He wouldn't leave Real for sure, having said it is 'a dream to play for the best team in the world', but oh well everyone says that :unsure:

I'll like to see Ballack at Barcelona, though I don't think he fits Barca's free-flowing football style :D

We'll win the champions league...

Don't worry about it.
I like the confidence there :)

Yi-Long

15-10-2005, 20:57

I like the confidence there :)

Not so much a case of confidence as a case of over-consumption of alcohol to drink away today's loss, I bet ... ;)

adams9802

15-10-2005, 21:24

Not so much a case of confidence as a case of over-consumption of alcohol to drink away today's loss, I bet ... ;)
indeed, a little part of me died tday...but eh I mean our away record is horrible this year. Honestly I just think that it's down to our utter lack of experince. The kinds have talent its just in bit of disarray right now. We'll have to put in a good run before christmas if we want to stay in contention for champions league automatic spot.

ThierryHenry14

15-10-2005, 21:26

all we have to do is wait for the injures to heal then we will start winning again and arsene when you have chance to buy players look for them defenders mostly cause the keep getting injured oh and a new goalie

Scarface

15-10-2005, 21:31

The speed at which Baptista signed for Real is shocking, I thought Arsenal were favourites after their 10m bid. He wouldn't leave Real for sure, having said it is 'a dream to play for the best team in the world', but oh well everyone says that :unsure:

He would if he wasn't getting any first team football. Although, I was joking, Baptista and Ballack could both fit into the starting 11.

Terrible result today, another undeserved defeat, but I guess that's what happens when you waste chance after chance. We really shouldn't have lost any of the 3 games we have, but our finishing is abysmal, we are creating enough chances but can't put them away. We can't put it down to our injuries or the sale of Vieira as if you compare our line-up to West Brom's, would there be a player in any position you'd want to swap? Maybe Kirkland after today's performance, but that's probably it. To think Wenger had over 50m to spend and reckons there wasn't a player available who could improve us, absolutely ridiculous.

Viperized

15-10-2005, 21:37

Actually he has £64 million to spend!!!

jkkktttjk2004, I think we'll beat Spurs at WHL. We'll have Campbell, Henry all fit by then. Cole is probably still going to be out. I would be playing with this line-up assuming everyone is fit:

................Lehmann

Lauren ...Toure ..Campbell ..Clichy

Ljungberg Fabregas Gilberto Reyes

..........Van Persie ...Henry

I hope Wenger learns from todays result that he has to buy atleast two decent players. We are seriously lacking squad depth. I'm hoping we get Torres with Sneijder, Diarra or Yaya Toure.

Yi-Long

15-10-2005, 22:45

How long is Hleb going to be out!? If he's back in time for the match against spurs, I'd put him on Gilberto's place (centre midfield, next to fabregas), cause I think it's a shame Wenger is playing out of position so often...

Plus I would always field Bergkamp, so I would drop Freddy... and make Dennis play behind Van Persie and Henry. Also, I might switch Reyes with Van Persie, so Van Persie can come up from midfield, and either give crosses with his left, or just make the move inside, and make shots.

Putting that all in a handy formation:

Lauren ...Toure ..Campbell ..Clichy

.................Gilberto
........Fabregas V Persie

...............Bergkamp

..........Reyes .....Henry

Scarface

15-10-2005, 22:48

How long is Hleb going to be out!? If he's back in time for the match against spurs, I'd put him on Gilberto's place (centre midfield, next to fabregas), cause I think it's a shame Wenger is playing out of position so often...

Hleb will be out for around 2 months :( I agree, he definitely should be playing in the middle, he does a good job on the wings, but through the centre he would be even more influential.

Top Gun

15-10-2005, 23:37

That is a big blow for Arsenal he is a class player and Arsenal have quite a big injury problem now.

Nturtle

16-10-2005, 08:17

Ah well...what a disaster...but hey...it gives the youngsters a chance. To be fair...nothing could be done about the second goal. We just need to be clinical - look at Chelsea! Damn...5-1 after being behind 1-0 at half time...geeez...now THAT is good going.

Give Mourinho his due...he went to a 3-4-3 after the break...now that's clever...Too bad we didn't put Lupoli or Bendtner on the bench...bah...

fattyronaldo

16-10-2005, 08:35

Scarface

16-10-2005, 13:24

ballack probably won't leave this season, but if he goes to real next season it won't affect baptista as ballack would probably replace zidane who is already near the end of his career. :innocent:

I know, I was talking about him signing next season, not this season, and already said the bit about Baptista was said in jest and Ballack and Baptista could both fit into the line-up, and what a scary duo that would be.

Master Flexy

16-10-2005, 21:44

ARSEne Wankger has completely lost the plot. Whilst the red side of north london weeps, the white side.....keeps getting better.

Master Flexy

16-10-2005, 21:48

There's no point in talking about class players joining ARSEnal. They'll just end up paying over the odds for "upcoming superstars" like Jose Reyes and Wotshisname Hleb (an awful lot of phlem is produced when saying this guy name).

DARK JAK

16-10-2005, 21:52

I know...

Stupid fucking injuries. We have the worst luck ever. Fucking internationals!!

We can't blame it on injuries. The team we had out had enough quality to beat them.

Scarface

17-10-2005, 03:59

When will Robert Pires be dropped from the team, or even the squad? He is a disgrace to the Arsenal shirt, his mentality is sickening, performances are disgraceful, and the sooner he leaves the club the better, get the prick out and put Quincy or Ryan Smith in his place while Ljungberg, Hleb and Henry are sidelined.

There's no point in talking about class players joining ARSEnal. They'll just end up paying over the odds for "upcoming superstars" like Jose Reyes and Wotshisname Hleb (an awful lot of phlem is produced when saying this guy name).

Oh, and when was the last time Spurs bought any world class players :laugh: You'll be down in mid-table by the end of the season, same old Sp*rs.

ARSEne Wankger has completely lost the plot.

You're 18? Seriously, grow up! I'd expect that from a 13 year old.

The Dubes

17-10-2005, 04:01

Arsenal are my tip to win the CL :laugh:

Ronaldo_is_fat

17-10-2005, 10:51

When will Robert Pires be dropped from the team, or even the squad? He is a disgrace to the Arsenal shirt, his mentality is sickening, performances are disgraceful, and the sooner he leaves the club the better, get the prick out and put Quincy or Ryan Smith in his place while Ljungberg, Hleb and Henry are sidelined.

Yup I am worried about Wenger's decision this season. Letting Pires play so many important games and sidelining good players like Hleb. Pires is just so fuking useless he can't do simple stuff other than passing the ball sideways. He is also playing like a CMF which we know that Pires plays even worse on the middle.

Sometimes I think Arsenal isn't as agressive as before. They pass the ball sideway too often and seems to get dull when they do that everytime. (especially when having fuking Pires). We need to play more direct football rather than playing a horizontal short-passing game.