Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool – surely not 36 more like this
Arsenal’s bizarre season trundled to its first loss as Liverpool took all three points from Emirates stadium today thanks to an own goal by Aaron Ramsey and a second from some slick interplay between Lucas, Miereles, and Suarez.
During Arsene Wenger’s 15 year tenure, Arsenal have long been hailed for their attacking prowess and teams have rightly felt scared to open up to the Gunners, especially when they were at home. But, as I highlighted in my By the Numbers column on Arseblog News, in two games this season Arsenal have managed a grand total of five shots on goal, scored zero goals, and have now allowed Liverpool to come to their home and take three points for the first time since Y2K was a concern.
It’s an incredible turnaround for a team which has averaged 6.6 shots on goal per game over the last five years. That they could manage only one shot on goal in the entire first half, which was a speculative long-range strike from 19 year old debutant Emmanuel Frimpong, is all the evidence you need to see that this is an Arsenal team struggling to create chances.
Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie cut lonely figures up top and Walcott in particular was kept very quiet by one time rumored Arsenal fullback target Jose Enrique. Walcott was held to a mere 11 touches in the first half and managed to complete just two passes in that 45 minutes. All totaled he ended the day with 33 touches, 15 passes, 0 for 6 on crosses, and 0 for 1 on long balls. A terrible day at the office.
But the entire attacking unit struggled as evidenced by the fact that Thomas Vermaelen led Arsenal with three shots. Samir Nasri was Arsenal’s most dangerous player and his incisive dribbles cut through the Liverpool midfield but inevitably, they seemed to be met with the defensive wall of Lucas and the Liverpool back four.
Most of Arsenal’s offensive ineptitude was down to the manner in which Lucas and Adam bossed the very young Arsenal midfield. Lucas led all players with 12 tackles and matched Arsenal’s best (Frimpong) with 4 interceptions. Charlie Adam, meanwhile, kept Liverpool ticking over with a dizzying array of passes.
Arsenal supporters will rightly point to the fact that both Liverpool goals had a hint of offside. And after the match Wenger pointed out that it was harsh to lose the way that they did. But the offside calls would have at most saved Arsenal a single point, it was the lack of creativity up front that should have most Gooners concerned. If Nasri moves on to Manchester City this week then where will Arsenal look to to create in the midfield? Surely, they can’t pin all of their hopes on Jack Wilshere coming good.
Perhaps Jack Wilshere will have a break out season and score 10 goals and set up an additional 15. But it seems like quite a gamble for a club of Arsenal’s reputation to pin on such a young, untested, player.
That said, one of the brightest spots for Arsenal was exactly that, a young, untested midfielder named Emmanuel Frimpong. Frimpong showed his enthusiasm over getting his first ever professional start for Arsenal by putting himself about in the midfield. But yet, he also showed his inexperience by picking up a stupid yellow card in the 8th minute when he squared up with Jordan Henderson over a throw in. From there on it felt all but inevitable that Martin Atkinson would send him off. After all, Atkinson has flashed 5 reds in his last 5 Arsenal matches, and three consecutive reds to Arsenal in his last three Arsenal home matches.
There was one point in the second half where Frimpong tore through the Liverpool midfield and kicked or pulled everyone in an attempt to win the ball back. I thought for sure Atkinson would give him his orders at that point, but the ref showed some leniency and waited until Frimpong made what could have been a straight red card challenge before awarding the second. He was never going to win the ball, came in high, late, and studs up — it was an easy decision for Atkinson. It was such a bad tackle, that had it been Ryan Shawcross making it, Arsenal supporters would have been baying for blood. Worse, it leaves Arsenal with no holding midfielder going into the game away to Manchester United.
With Frimpong off, Dalglish decided to exploit the lightness of the Arsenal midfield by hauling off Kuyt and Carroll and putting on Meireles and Suarez. Wenger countered by taking off Arshavin and Walcott and bringing on Lansbury and Bendtner. Those four substitutions highlight the comparative depth of the two teams’ squads at this point of the season. Arsenal brought on a Carling Cup player who struggled to get a start at Norwich last season and a wantaway striker who is rumored to be negotiating with teams like Stoke City; Liverpool brought on the MVP of the 2011 Copa America and the 2011 PFA Fans’ Player of the Year.
Arsenal managed to hold on to the draw a mere 8 minutes before Miquel’s blind clearance looped off Ramsey and over a helpless Szczesny. That it looked like Suarez was offside was almost academic. The second goal was also offside but it was Nasri who let Meireles stroll past him while he ball watched. And that is what happens when you put a player on the field who has one foot out the door.
For those looking for positives you could point to the fact that for 85 minutes the team played full throttle. There’s also the fact that this is a young team, with an English core (if that matters to you), who if they can gel might show us something really special. Also, it’s not the fault of players like Henry Lansbury and Miquel that they are forced to play in games like this, and the home support seemed to show they know that. If anything, the club and the manager are the ones to look at to see what’s going wrong at the moment.
There was a time when a loss like this would have made me despondent but that time has long past. For better or worse, I’ve resigned myself to the squad we have. The only thing I hope for is that on September 1 the club explain exactly why they haven’t purchased the players that Arsenal so very clearly need. Fans were told that there was a massive cash reserve and that Arsenal were going to be very active in the transfer market. Was the plan from the start to buy four relative unknowns and sell off one (or more) of the world’s best midfielders?
It’s looking like it’s going to be a very long season. But that might actually be in Arsenal’s advantage. After all there are still 36 games left and by my math there’s still 108 points at stake.
Comments
Best article u ever wrote.
God the others must have been extreme crap then
@Mike, too bad you can’t create something of your own and are left just shitting on other people’s work.
Have a great life.
@Mike, Prick!
@Mike, Have some respect or give us the link to your blog, so we too can have a pop
“The only thing I hope for is that on September 1 the club explain exactly why they haven’t purchased the players that Arsenal so very clearly need.”
===
Me too, but we both know that isn’t going to happen. I also think we both know the explanation already. We have no money. We never did. Rather than tell us explicitly–which would take some guts, if not PR naivety–the club have crafted a nebula about available transfer money, such that the only inference is that we have very little. This is why I’m hesitant to blame Wenger alone for the annual weakening of the squad.
I do think we’ll fall out of the top four this season, but I can also see that if we keep this core of exciting young talent at the club, we have a chance of regaining a strong position in about 2-3 years. And that’s a big “if” considering we obviously need to sell our stars each summer to service debt.
@Bunburyist, Why spend 15m on a Ligue 1 winger when he could’ve bought Sahin for 10 as a replacement for Fabregas? This summer has been very confusing.
@kresh, It is confusing, though Gervinho has long been a target of Wenger’s. More confusing, I think, is the expenditure of a similar sum on a League One winger / attacking midfielder who was never going to make an impact this season. There are very good proven defenders / playmakers / DMs out there available for £15m or less.
I get that Oxford was also a long-time target, but the priorities this summer have left me baffled. It’s almost as if we had £30m set aside for transfers, and rather than actually prioritize our current needs, we just threw it at players we thought we needed when we had a stronger squad. Now, all we’re left with is a paltry sum from Fabregas’ initial installment…
Yep, spot on.
On a more positive note, I’m feeling okay about the upcoming Udinese game. Song, Gervinho and Van Persie will all be involved, and I think our focus will be just right (particularly because we’ll be away from a home environment that has become toxic–and, sadly, justifiably so).
Getting into the CL groups stages is crucial for us, not just in terms of revenue, but also because I harbor a small hope that the quality players we’ve been linked with this summer are just waiting to see if, indeed, they can play CL football with Arsenal.
I don’t think it is all doom and gloom, there are many injured player out at the moment and it is the Idiot’s that keep seeing Red that is a big problem, Arsene cannot be on the pitch with them, and yes Arsenal do need a couple of new players and i am sure they will buy them, but today i thought the ones that were left gave their all and were a little unlucky with the final result.
@pistolpete, Perhaps. Though for all our huff and puff, we were headed to a draw at best. In a sense, we dropped a point today, not three. We never looked like winning.
@Bunburyist, this ^
I agree with what you are saying but there are really a lot of the best players missing at the moment, and yes they do need to buy more players quickly, Lets hope better news on Wednesday.
@pistolpete, But aren’t the missing players exactly the problem? Can we realistically expect RvP, Rosicky, Wilshere, etc. etc. to stay healthy? Liverpool have the depth to bring on two wold class players and win the game. Right now, I can’t see Arsenal doing the same.
Maybe in a few weeks that will change.
I am trying to keep calm because there are 36 more games to go, but it seems we are in for a rollercoaster.
I have never looked to demand new signings because I know Arsene knows more than I do, the quality we need. Since the departure of Cesc ,I am convinced that Arsene will have to buy a creative midfielder. We hardly create chances anymore, and in past seasons I think Tim’s data showed we generally needed more chances to create a goal than our rivals, so that is a worry.
I wasn’t surprised that Frimpong picked up red card, but I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by his skill on the ball. A decent attempt on target was nice to see as well.
Wenger no longer has the balls for the job, consider the plot well & truly lost. Allowing the terminally farcical Fabregas & Nasri sagas to destabilise the squad, no replacement lined up for Fabregas, when it’s painfully apparant to every gooner noone in the squad is anywhere close to filling his shoes. Is Almunia still on the f**king books? No RB cover for Sagna, three games in and half the f**king squad back to the security blanket of the treatment room where they can hide like the scared small plummed children they are. You are charged with negligence Wenger, for allowing the capitulation of last season to festeringly free fall unchecked. You’ve had all summer to offload the shite, have the balls to own up and give the bellends away free if necessary after all they cost f**k all apart from the catastrophic wage they’re sucking the club dry of. Yet still Bendtner is trundling about, squillaci is waiting his time until he can star in his own disaster movie again. It’s appalling mis-management. I’ve defended this tightwad season after season but I can do it no longer, I have run out of excuses for him. Months he has had (a year in the case of Fabregas to line up his replacement) yet nothing, he has weakened our squad for this season which after last seasons’ shambles is unforgivable. Please go Arsene. Just pack up your things and f**king go.
@Groverider, So no thought, then, for who handles the transfer budget, who tells Wenger what players he can and can’t afford, who negotiates the deals, who owns the club, who directs the club financially?
I’m increasingly of the mind that Wenger’s hands are tied. He’s been told the realities of the club’s finances and goals (self-sustainability in a global economic crisis while building a stadium), and has done the best he could. Make no mistake. No other manager in the world could do what Wenger has done on the budget he’s had. The reason he’s not been fired is because the board knows there’s no-one else who could get them through the decade or more we’ll be in this time of financial restraint.
In my opinion–and I realize there are many who would disagree–Wenger has done a service to the board, not only on the pitch, but also in the media. I’m sure there have been many instances when he’s felt like saying, “Fuck it, we’re totally fucking skint.”
Am I being too gracious? Naive? I don’t know. Maybe it’s just because I can’t bring myself to believe that a skilled, titled and experienced manager like Wenger would fail to address the glaring deficiencies in his squad if he had the money to do so.
@Bunburyist
I tried to reply directly under your comment but the reply button would not allow me. I don’t believe for one minute Wengers’ hands are tied, this is his model system and he walks hand in hand with an equally decrepit board. Wenger has pretty much autonomous free rein at Arsenal, not even Gazidis knows who he is answerable to. If we are so skint then why are we still investing for a never never future? Buying more fragile boned children who will leave when their ego equals their promised talent? Shelling out 12 million for Oxlade-Chamberlain when we (alas)already have a Walcott If we sell Clichy why have we not instantly reinvested in an impressive Enrique to give injury ridden Gibbs a fight for his place instead of donating it to him? It’s madness pure unadulterated madness from a man who has fallen prey to believing his own press. None of us has ever asked for unrealistic citeh or chelski purchases. As mentioned previously I have defended and defended Wenger to the hilt, but what we have witnessed this window is a startling negligence and the miserly lastminute.com bargain hunting attitude is unfathomable given last seasons’ pitiful falling apart and also given the tough fixtures at the start of this. I’ve witnessed as we all have the Le Groans of this world and their doomy rants, but I can no longer pretend they do not have a point.
@Groverider, Maybe you’re right about the inner workings of the club. Maybe you’re not. Since neither of us know, what’s the most LIKELY scenario? That Wenger thinks the squad is good enough as is, and even if given a fat budget would not strengthen the team? That he can’t see the problems? That he’s a complete imbecile who’s never put together a winning team?
Look, it’s all guesswork. I’m just of the opinion that the likelihood of Wenger being an ignoramus is smaller than the likelihood that his hands are tied.
For me, Wenger tows the company line in public statements. Privately, however, I think he’s frustrated with the poverty of transfer funds and the inability of the board to properly negotiate contracts. And that’s putting aside the fact that we struggle to compete for the best players in the world so long as clubs like Man City, Chelsea, Barca, United, etc. are around.
We have sold our first choice LB with only a known and proven crock to replace him and sure enough 3 games in he’s broke, the world saw it coming. We have sold one of the greatest midfield playmakers in the world for a paltry sum with what just over a week beofre the window closes with no replacement sorted so already we’re held to utter ransom by everyone who knows we’re over a barrel. It’s a miracle we got 4 mill for that clown Eboue but surprise surprise that leaves us with no backup for Sagna. It is an absolutely shocking fucking state of affairs that just gets more appalling on a weekly basis. If we can organise it to get suited marketing drones like Tom Fox on board yet we cannot employ someone with top level experience to ensure we get our man and transfers run smoothly? This whole side of things has gone utterly tits up since Dein departed. Again should Wenger have targeted this as a priority then I have no doubt the board would have sought and employed for such a position. There is just so much wrong with us both on and off the pitch it’s scary. Why has neither Nasri nor Arshavin been tried in Fabregas’ central position? Why do we insist on playing both as wingers when it suits neither? Is Ramsey who is patently unfit for 90 mins 1st team action on a weekly basis going to be ruined and his confidence shot because of our insane insistence for rushing in children because that is all we have?
Yet again AFC will have made a profit from a transfer window. Given the rise in ticket prices and the now traditional seasonal crumble of this february onwards, combined with the likely loss of two out of the three world class players we did possess. It’s hard to believe that Wenger can be any more out of step with the feelings of goonerdom. Imbecilic is frankly being kind.
An article from the Torygraph that any gooner not currently immersing their bonce in the sand can have much argument with
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/8713456/Henry-Winter-Arsene-Wenger-is-lost-in-fog-of-denial-over-Arsenals-weaknesses.html
@Groverider, Henry Winter makes a lot of assertions that aren’t backed by facts. For example, Vermaelen only won 1 of 3 aerial duels while Carroll won four of six. Vermy did have 7 clearances, but that was in 11 chances. He was hardly “constantly” winning battles with Carroll.
Also, he claims Arsenal have a bunch of money to spend but i’m completely unconvinced that’s the case. Would a team with £100m in cash offer to take a player of Lucho’s quality on loan? We are acting like Everton in our transfers and something seems really wrong.
However, his sentiment is right on, Arsenal should have a deeper squad than we do.
@Groverider, Not sure why someone gave you a thumbs down. Excellent point well made! I unfortunately had to sit through that shit yesterday. It was not a team we should have been fielding. I had a bet before the game that Frimpong would be sent off, easy money but at least his effort and play was encouraging. I told my scouser mates last year he was going to be quality and yesterday when I eventually caught up with them that was the first thing they said. I agree also with an earlier point, we dropped 1 point not 3, we were never going to win and as I was sat watching I sadly would have been over the moon with 1point with the team we were fielding.
@Bunburyist,
If Wenger’s hands are tied and we don’t have a lot of money, that makes it even more inexcusable to throw out 10-15M on an untested 17 year old winger when we obviously had other more dire needs.
Especially in light of having Ryo, Gervinho and Walcott who are all pacey wingers.
Seems like you are adding 1 + 1 and coming up with 11 rather than 2.
@Caribkid, Wait. Hold on. 1+1 is not 11? Yeah, rrrrriiiight.
Hey, look, I’m just trying to make sense of it all, just like you. I’m just having a really hard time imagining Wenger so clueless. I mean, this guy’s been around. He’s won titles. He knows his football. He doesn’t see the needs of the club?
Also, I don’t think the purchase of Oxford at all discounts the idea that Wenger’s hands may be tied.
@Caribkid, I think what happened was that Arsenal had a small pile of money. They identified Gervinho, Jenkinson, and The Ox as targets and got them with the cash on hand. They did this all while playing a chess game with Cesc and Nasri, thinking they could hold on to both. I also think that Cesc held out on handing in a transfer request until the last minute, which rocked them significantly. When he did, Barca took advantage and gave us a tiny amount of cash up front. That left Arsenal with no money, no targets, and no way to buy.
Don’t misconstrue this to mean that I don’t think Arsenal didn’t fuck this up. They did. That said, part of what they miscalculated on was how much Cesc wanted to leave and probably how much was on offer from Citeh. Amateur all around.
Plain and simple, I think Arsenal let themselves get fucked by Cesc and Nasri and Barca and Citeh. That said, as you know, I try to keep my articles fact based, so that’s why I only speculate in the comments.
@Tim, Spot on, Tim.
@Tim, Just saw this, but had to say this is exactly how I feel. I think Arsenal profoundly screwed up the outgoing transfers, which would not allow the proper incoming replacements to be brought in. Think: If we brought in Jagielka at the last minute, but Cesc and Nasri stayed, we would be calling this a very successful window. But because we are still waiting on a defender AND those two have left/are leaving, it all seems worse. I think Cesc and Nasri have to be identified as unplanned for cock-ups. We let Barca mess about. We should have given them a hard deadline of middle to late July. And we should have done the same with Nasri. Instead? We acted the bitch and got treated like one as proven by the pennies we got for one of the best midfielders in the world. THAT is where the damage has been done. Everything since then has merely been the logical conclusion of piddle-pissing around.
Tim,
Why do you think the 2nd was offside? Consider Suarez active on the pass to Meireles?
@Golden Gooner, Well, he pulled the defenders. That’s active in my mind.
@Tim, Thought I heard Graham Poll or someone else say that they have “guidance” that to be “active” they have to be playing the ball or blocking goalkeeper’s vision (or something like that). Can’t find it in the FIFA laws though. Thanks for the response.
@Golden Gooner, Take a look at the FIFA laws of the game, page 108 (http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2010_11_e.pdf) – it looks like the assistant has decided to apply this example and deemed that Suarez is not interfering with, in particular, Miquel… despite the fact that Miquel was MARKING him. Had Suarez not being there, Miquel would have been able to either track Meireles or cut out either pass.
From their rules: “interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.
Are you interfering with an opponent if he has been marking or tracking you? Does this count as distraction? Once again, the rules are unclear.
In my opinion, Suarez clearly gained an advantage by being offside – firstly, the extra step keeps him ahead of the defender; secondly, the positioning of the two centre backs would certainly be different if Suarez was not there. In a nutshell, his movements distracted Miquel.
We can claim that as Van Persie got a goal last season from the same rule.
@Alan1209, can’t
@Alan1209, We can point out the problems with the refs and still benefit from their problems. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Nightmare season in the offing.
Suarez maybe wasn’t given offside cos the ball never reached him.
Vermaelen was gd tho.
My Lunar Passion for the Arsenal
Tonight the moon is a waning moon, with a bright bite still floating in the clear bright night, and in a week or three according to the calendar it will probably look like a silver football, on that we can depend on.
In my small lunar universe, by the end of the month (August)
When the football deals are done,
I reckon my waiting energy would have wasted away to nothing;
Nothing but stars in the sky to gaze at with wonder, but I will take a few minutes to myself; a little time to speculate on on the players we could have HAD and where we could have been.
The dream and expectation will not diminish because
we choose each other, the Arsenal Club and I
And when the whistle blows again the crowd starts their usual roar; the players got to score because its football….the most beautiful game
—–With a little help from Billy Collins
@London Calling, lolz… maam you are still around!!!
Arsenal bloody arsenal….arsenal bloody arsenal…
@London Calling,
Bravo LC, there is nothing like a Venusian to brighten the dark days of Mars
We do have some talented people on this Blog.
@Caribkid, Like all talented people, slightly mad. Great stuff.
@London Calling, One of my favorite people of all time. Hope you’re in London for Christmas, would love to get a pint.
@Tim, Bless
I was thinking about doing something else, but after seeing today’s lineup, my thoughts wandered in another direction, so I did some work around the Arsenal logo, and I kinda think this one is more appropriate to our beloved team.
http://twitpic.com/69312m
@Teampossible, Put a smile on my face!
@Josip, Oops I meant to tick up. someome please tick up for me. Ta
@Teampossible, you can put that nipple up your arse.
@critic, Lighten up, Critic.
@Teampossible,
I was trying not to laugh but could not hold it back. Thank’s for making me laugh.
Both you and LC has made this day bearable for me and I feel reinvigorated once more. Heading to the galley to kill 4 fricking Maine Lobsters so I can present my lady with a gourmet meal.
@Caribkid, It was done completely in good spirit, I’m sick of feeling bad after defeats, so this cheered me up as well.
After all, what good could we do if we complain about our squad at the moment? It is what it is and the best we could do is hope for a good result against Udine and to avoid a proper spanking from the Mancs.
@Teampossible, I think it’s hilarious. At this point we need to be able to laugh at ourselves.
@Teampossible, you can laugh all you want but when a stoke fan/mufc fan taunts a normal arsenal fan with the above image, it won’t be funny at all.
@critic, Don’t worry, I’m sure Stoke fans still can’t figure out how to use the Internet, so I think we’re safe for now.
“It was such a bad tackle, that had it been Ryan Shawcross making it, Arsenal supporters would have been baying for blood.”
Credit to you. There’s people saying Frimpong was immense and how he was man of the match. The idiot cost us the game. It was obvious he was going to get sent off from minute 1. How Wenger didn’t spot it when a couch potatoe like me can I don’t know. AT the moment he is everything wrong with players schooled in this country. He showed very little footballing ability. He’s Lee Catermole or Karl Henry.
A DM is put on the field to stop you from conceding goals and generally make you a more solid unit. By getting himself sent off he failed his primary objective.
@Alan1209, I think he played very well for the mist part. Unfortunately, in two or three instances, he played like a hot-hea 19 year old with no first team experience. If he gains experience, and with that maturity, he’ll be one for the future for sure.
@VolsnCards5,
And guess what? he is an excitable (better word than hot-headed), 19 yr old with no first team experience.
If anything, Wenger should have replaced him after a series of ill fated tackles he made earlier.
@Caribkid, Agreed
My one concern with Wenger is that he not become mentally paralysed into inaction by all the sh*t that is befalling the club.
Frimpong is an example of that possible mental freeze up by Wenger. Remember the original “Village of the Damn” (British horror movie from the 50s or 60s)when the classroom full of platinum blond kids looked in unison at the teacher’s briefcase that contained a bomb. Arsenal supporters the whole world over were like those platinum haired kids seeing Frimpog get that first yellow and knowing he would get a red before 90″ were up. Wenger should have known and pulled him at halftime.
@Alan1209, I tweeted him the day before the match telling him to watch out, he didn’t listen. Probably because he was getting his #DEEEEEEEENCH packed
1)Why is arsene wenger not playing arshavin in the CAM role for which he was famous?
He is not working wonders on the wings, expecting headers from him on crosses is nonsense. He has relatively more vision than persons around him(eg. against newcunts utd).
There’s no fabregase to return to that position now.
2) RVP miss was a big turning point of the game in my opinion. One on one with the keeper and he shot at reina’s leg.
His form is suffering due to cesc and possibly nasri’s departure.
3)Frimpong is good but he gives me the impression of a bee trying to go past a window’s glass, knocking again and again on the glass in order to get outside.
4)Arsenal don’t spend money and balance their books on yearly basis. But if they fall out of CL(very high chance along with not reaching CL proper this term also), their appeal to players will diminish. They don’t pay high wages. They don’t win anything. Referees are always bias against arsenal. No CL.
Arsenal will become a proper selling club then. To get back to CL position Arsenal will then need to spend considerable amount of money. I am pretty sure that this amount of money will be greater than the amount of money that was required to win a title(a gamble in both cases) all these past years. Which might have convinced our star players to stick to our team.
But what is wenger and BOD are thinking is anyone guess.
P.S – may be David dein was right about ownership model instead of self sustaining one. But even then we should be in a position to mix experience with youth. The fact that we haven’t done it yet shows there are some truths hidden from arsenal fans. May be it’s related to stan kroenke takeover. We will never know.
@critic, one more thing that i want to add. Arsenal should look to balance their books say every 5/6 years instead of year on year basis.
Just a suggestion as i don’t know and perhaps will never know the internal financial dealings of the club.
5)Also, when the time comes to renegotiate the sponsorship, we might not find ourselves in a position to get more out of them IF we fall out of CL. That will be another massive blow.
I have the same opinion about Arshavin. I think being played out of his usual positions (CAM/deep-lying forward) has sapped both his confidence and eagerness for playing for Arsenal. I hope Wenger will try playing him behind Van Persie, with Gervinho on the left and Walcott on the right. Being that this is unlikely, Wenger should have cashed in on him this summer because if Andre keeps up his current poor form, his value will plummet, especially considering he’s not exactly young.
Positives: the team played respectably, the crowd got behind them (even Nasri, which was very nice), frimpong, TV5.
Negatives: Ramsey’s own goal pretty much summed up his performances thus far. Not a Wenger-hater, but his tactics suck. I mean they suck. He’s found a way to play 5 in the midfield, whilst still not supplying adequate cover for the defence and also making the attack completely toothless. Don’t tell me it’s cause we lack quality. Better players don’t make an unproven system work all of a sudden.
@stevetime, kinda agree with you.
@stevetime, Yes the crowd were behind Nasri, but at times were still pursing by the scousers. Many times I turned around to try to whip up a song to counter the scousers and I was singing like a twat on my own. Also at the end the inevitable boos rang out. Whilst it was not the team I would want representing us, I thought they gave 100% even though that clearly won’t be good enough this season.
@Bull, Pursing should be outsung. Damn IPad dictionary.
The experienced players you need to
“step up to the plate” namely Arshavin and
Walcott failed to deliver today plus Ramsey
was not in the game enough.
Vermaelen,Sagna and Szcesny were excellent
and we were always in with a chance until
Frimpong (who showed great potential but
Got too carried away) was sent off.
How will the season go? Wednesday Is a
Crucial game.Get through to the CL group
Stage and it will be a massive boost.
Get knocked out and it could be a very
Difficult few weeks.
C’est la Vie as AW may well say
I’m not terrified, just worried. We have a quasi billionaire wal mart boy toy and a legitimate imposing eastern european plutocrat behind us if shit does ultimately fly diced by wind machine.
Frimmy looks to be the psychopath with talent we’ve been calling for, his tenacity will endure while his technique improves and intelligence grows. Scezny a true #1. Poor results in the beginning of the season hopefully will force board’s hand, get them spending, stop them from stealing money, which is what I believe it is they have been up to, and for some time.
I don’t know. I feel this shitstorm will lead to speculation to improve, a little more debt to ensure we don’t fall out of UCL and be truly fucked, devaluing our brand right before the 2013 new contract negotiations. By which date Arsenal could look to discerning eyes as Everton do today. We are in a prized position, and if we fuck this up and go the way LFC did in 09, well, Arsenal are not as intelligent as I thought they were when I started to support them.
I still think they are, and this is a strong fucking kick in the nuts. Which we, as an institutional body, may have needed.
And, for fuck’s sake, keep Nasri for one year, even if he leaves on a free. We are going to need class that is premier league tested, and 22 mill+whatever his wages are will be worth it if we clinch a UCL place.
@jaymin, Keep nasri, but for godsake find his replacement NOW.
bad result or was it look at the game in the cold light of day and the positives are better than you think frimpongs tackle had it been joey barton you lot would of gone mad but this was a young lad showing older players who have been at your club too long what it means to wear the shirt channel frimpongs aggression the right way and you have a very good player for the future keep the faith and wenger will turn it round
@poolietoon, Ah, Barton’s apologist. Yeah, I realize football fans can be hypocrites when it comes to being critical of bad tackles, ref decisions, etc., but come on. Barton has a history. Frimpong doesn’t. Barton doesn’t get sent off. Frimpong, Song, and Gervinho do. Frimpong also managed not to violently drag a player up by his shirt and fling him around like a rag doll before getting away with a yellow card.
Listen to yourself, poolietoon. You’re funny.
On another note, I find your presence here somewhat bemusing. I mean, I like that you get involved here, but what’s the interest? Do you like Arsenal? Your “second team” as it were? You’re more optimistic than most Gooners! Agree that Frimpong has a bright future, but the future is not now, and our club is suffering right now.
Gr8 pic btw.
Mr Kenwright is the chairman and main shareholder of Everton FC. Derek Hatton, who has previous and went to the USA for a diploma, arranged a meeting for three The Blue Union members to meet Mr Kenwright. The “minutes” of the meeting are really and truly hilarious. For the foursome with Hatton, one could not write this “script”.
These supporters remind one of the “spend some money” mob that the Anti-Arsenal supporters have generated. I did think that David Moyes was a fine manager, can not be compared with what Mr Wenger has achieved over the same time span.
Juan Mata, according to the Spanish press is bound for Chelsea at about €28 millions but Mata’s salary about €3 millions per year???
I have not been able to drill into the extend of Wilshere’s injury, which could be another reason for a “loan” deal?
At least we are not in for any false hope this season.
second favourite team is newcastle reserves on the website because it has good debate and arsenal play good football take your blinkers off and see what a good player joey is and let go of the past
@poolietoon, Let go of the past? Hm. Let’s scroll back here and see who it was that brought up Barton on this thread… Hm… Let’s see. Yup. Not a single Gooner here talking about Barton…until…. Oh look! It’s you!
Arsenal’s pesent misfortunes are self inflicted and Mr. Wenger and the Board are the architect of this misfortunes
First I have to say we have some really terrible luck right now… no team would be doing well with all the injuries/suspensions we have just now. It’s a poor start and everyone and everyone else is writing us off completely… the “underdog” position just might suit us far better then pretending we are winning the CL every season.
Positives for me today: the first choice liverpool side couldn’t score against very depleted arsenal until we were down to 10. Pong was pretty impressive even though it was obvious he was going to get a red in the first 5min. I knew he was a beast, but his passing is quite good as well, in a way I’m glad he got the red, it was always going to happen, maybe he will learn quick from this.
Did anyone else notice Frimpong yelling at one of the assistant refs and telling him to feck off? Afterward, two close calls on offsides don’t go Arsenal’s way. Perhaps only a coincidence, but still.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but an assistant ref can’t give yellow or red cards, so really the only way he can get back at a player is by giving the other team the benefit of the doubt on 50/50 calls.
I still loved Frimpong’s contribution today, but he absolutely needs discipline or else he will be a liability.
@marek, Yes the assistant’s can and will flag any violent conduct to the ref and the player will get sent off.
Would anybody be saying Wenger needs to go if we had finished 2nd last season, without the need for a CL qualifier?
Read it and weep:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2028340/Is-Arsene-Wenger-right-feel-paranoid-Nick-Harris.html
…and, I should add, it continues. Would we be complaining today if the refs called Liverpool’s goals offside? Would we be complaining today if the ref had followed the rules and sent off Barton against Newcastle, resulting in a winning penalty (because his violence against Gervinho occurred during the run of play in the 18-yard box)? Would we have been as profligate against Udinese if Van Persie had been allowed to play, instead of being suspended for one of the most ridiculous red cards in last year’s CL campaign?
Just saying. Yes, we have a lot to worry about, but we ARE suffering from incompetency or prejudice from officials. No doubt Frimpong didn’t help himself today by telling the official to fuck off just prior to his sending off, but Rooney does it all the time without consequence.
Questions raised by the game:
* In a season when Arsenal has a lot of wingers, why did Walcott and Arshavin seem to be in their own contest to see who could be the shittest winger on the team?
* Why does Jose Enrique have more tricks for beating his man that Walcott?
* As crap as Arshavin was (and he was really crap), is Wenger ever going to give him a chance to play in his favoured position? We might actually see him play well.
* Frimpong, Song, Diaby – all central midfielders, all fantastic players in their own way, yet not a brain cell between them.
* Van Persie barely looked like he wanted to take a shot. It’s a position now referred to as “the Chamakh role”.
* Is it now clear that Ramsey looked so good in his first season because he was playing with Cesc?
Tim. Do you think Eastmond now HAS to start against man yoo. Any thoughts (or worries) on this?
Unless we sign someone (which is unlikely). Though I am pissed off with Wengers attitude to his late buying (or none buying), seeing him on bbc on saturday being interviewed he cut a forlorn figure I felt pretty sorry for him. He does love this club.
Btw, I thought the youngsters played welland Nasri showed many people (including me) he’s a professional. If he goes good luck to him.
im usually optimistic but our team is a shambles. yes our youngsters have potential but their inexperience showed big time. ramsey is no where close to where he was before that incident, walcott has gone backwards again. how hard is it to knock the ball a couple feet down the line and beat em with pace? its like he’s got no brains at all. all round sloppy play.
the yellow cards were a joke. are we to believe that the team or wenger doesnt have any idea of the bias towards us, yet we still pick up unprofessional unnecessary cards. wheres the managment? yes there are positives like pong vermz etc. but the negatives are out weighing.
im tired of this team always needing to learn. and am starting to understand why cesc wanted out. when i saw nasri jumping up and down out of frustration of a basic pass that should have came his way and then seeing players constantly take the safe route and not even get that right i thought if cesc is watching this match i bet he feels relieved to be out of this groundhog day situation and pities nasri having to put up with average mistake laden players. im so scared for udinese cos if we dont beat em we aint gettin the quality we desperately need in and will implode most defo. sort it out arsenal, i hate losing faith but your starting to take the piss now. and thumbs up for the crowd, i was pleasantly surprised with the support.
i find myself getting quite envious of other teams when i look at their starting line ups.chelski and manure do have injury problems,but not like ours.i cant remember when we last had a first team eleven,let alone played with one.just when a player is coming back,another one or two go on the missing.i cant help but feel even if wenger brought eleven,world class players in before transfer window closes,by christmas,half of them would be out through injury.a bit of a negative outlook,i know.but what the fuck is going on?ive never seen us stripped of players like this before.what next,get liam brady back on the pitch?(maybe not such a bad an idea)on the positive,sat with four liverfool fans during the game,i am glad to say i was quite proud of the team.why?when the final whistle blew,there was no cheering from my so called mates.no piss taking,no insults.just a look of relief.and if you dont know why,ill tell you.with king kennys revoloution and big spending,they were fucking pony.they knew it,i knew it,every motha sucka knew it.what they thought was going to be a walkover,turned out to be a hard earned three points.so on the upside,i got what i wanted out of the game.the boys to show,we the arsenal do have some fight in the old dog/puppy.and if the reports this morning turn out to be true,it will send a shiver up every managers spine(talking about kaka joining us on loan)anyway,keep your heads up,those who are feeling down.me thinks things will be just fine.