The Arseblog Thread

Tuesday

Well there was much drama yesterday when the BBC ran an article telling us what we already knew.

They quoted a 'senior Arsenal source' talking about the future of Cesc Fabregas. He confirmed an official bid from Barcelona <http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13928823.stm>
:

"The offer was made formally in writing to our chief executive (Ivan Gazidis), and we said no straight away."

Then was asked if they were expecting another bid:

"Possibly. If it's enough I expect we'll have to sell."

None of this is a surprise or new information, in any way, apart from the formality of Barcelona's bid. It was thought they'd made a verbal offer which we had turned down. Either way, it was refused.

Wednesday

As for Nasri the talk of a £20m from Manchester United continues. I think this story began life in Sunday's News of the World and it doesn't seem to be going away. I'm still a bit dubious about it, to be honest. I'm suspicious that it's a ploy to get Arsenal to up their offer to the player, threatening us with the possible departure to a bitter rival, but I have to say if United did come in with a £20m bid I'd be very, very tempted to take it.

For a player with 12 months left on his contract it's a big offer and would still represent a £6.5m profit on what we paid Marseille for him three summers ago. And if Nasri wants to go there, then fine, that tells you as much as you need to know about him. He'll become a vague pantomime villain, never important enough for us to be the real deal, and we'll move on and bring someone else in to take his place.

wednesday the 10th of August

Right then,

yesterday we had an actual new signing, yesterday we had, in Arsene's words, news about a player who becomes "almost like a new signing".
ALANS. Isn't that ironic?

Ryo Miyachi was granted a work permit
<http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-arc...-play-for-club>
under the 'exceptional talent' clause yesterday, causing much happiness for the manager as he gets to add to his collection of young, but exceptionally speedy, wide forwards. The youngster did impress during pre-season but it would be wise to a little cautious when it comes to what we might produce for us in the short term. This time 12 months ago he was playing school football in Japan, expecting him to set the Premier League alight this early in his development is probably unrealistic.


More on arseblog.com

http://news.arseblog.com/index.php/2...ntent=FaceBook

SZCZ: “The other keepers must compete with me”

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Arseblog News is reminded of an old Irish saying: May he banish the ghosts of a thousand Almunias until they’re bleeding out their arse.

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:haha:

Tuesday the 16th

Up front there's no Robin van Persie due to suspension so the manager will have to shuffle his pack. He could play Chamakh there and there's also talk of Nicklas Bendtner being involved <http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-bendtner-could-play-on-tuesday>
. I think it says a lot about our forward options at the moment that we're likely to use him at some stage this evening. I've said before this summer I'd like to keep him, unless it's a case the club are going to go out and buy another striker, but at this point in time it's hard to see the club going out and buying a pint of milk let alone a quality footballer.

I think he'll start with Chamakh because a) he's been more involved in pre-season and probably a bit sharper, and b) if Chamakh doesn't perform you can always take him off and try Bendtner or Gervinho through the middle. I'd have little faith that Chamakh could come off the bench and change the game if we need it.

On the plus side the back four + keeper that kept a clean sheet against Newcastle should provide a reasonable platform for us, albeit against more dangerous opposition. Keeping the opposition out tonight is vital. So I'm going with a starting XI of: SZCZ - Sagna - Koscielny
- Vermaelen - Gibbs - Song - Ramsey - Rosicky (or Frimpong/Lansbury) - Gervinho - Chamakh - Arshavin

There's no Arsene on the bench tonight either, he's suspended for his discussions with the referee after the Barcelona game. It's not a huge inconvenience but it just adds to the air of uncertainty around this fixture and the club in general.

All the same, it's the first home game of the season and I hope that the team's performance goes some way to lift the spirits. Frustration and anger is very quick to manifest itself these days so while the game is on let's hope the team get the backing they need and which could make a difference. It does work both ways though. Fans can lift the players but the players can lift the fans too.

I hope this game sets the tone for the weekend against Liverpool and all the other games to come. We need to see an Arsenal side that is fully committed and giving 100% at all times. We know we're lacking a bit of quality at the moment but spirit and heart can go a long way to making up for that. Not throughout the whole season but certainly until we get some reinforcements in.

Wednesday

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And with absolutely no disrespect to the youngsters we have brought in, and the likes of Frimpong who is being blooded at the moment, is it realistic to expect them to be anything other than average? They are being asked to come into a team like Arsenal, where the standards have been set so high, and perform to that level with barely a first team game between them. Look at Frimpong, for example, sent on last night, to make his Champions League debut in a game of such importance, after a grand total of 6 minutes of first team football in his career!

In a way it's unfair on these young players. There's throwing them in at the deep end and throwing them in a deep end. I hope that people are aware of how difficult it is for these guys and show them the patience they need. I fear that frustration is so high at the moment this won't be the case and the fallout from that, and the damage to their confidence, will rest entirely on the shoulders of the manager.
He's asking for too much, too soon, in my opinion.

You cannot let a player of Cesc's quality go and not replace him. The same with Nasri. He may not be anyone's favourite right now but you can't overlook the fact the team, and the squad, will be weaker without him. It might well be a case the departures this week are Arsenal clearing the decks for new arrivals. Remember the 25 man rule, remember the number of players who have to be 'home grown', and if we're making space in the squad for the potential new recruits, then that's great stuff, but we need those new recruits as quickly as possible.

There's no scope for playing the market, no time for brinkmanship, August is too important to haggle over price too much. With the money he has available Arsene could bring in three or four experienced players, of good quality, who would add something straight away to the Arsenal team. They would add depth to the squad, allow the youngsters to develop without so much pressure, and provide experience and knowledge to the lads who barely have double-figures in first team football between them.

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Friday the 19th

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Arsene will have a press conference today ahead of tomorrow's game against the Mugsmashers and we might get a bit of clarity about what the plans are. Probably not though. As usual he will talk about how he's got to focus on the players who are available and not the ones we have sold. Or are about to sell. Or that we haven't bought yet.

Which, ahead of an important game is entirely the right thing to do, but I hope Arsene chooses his words carefully. I don't think he realises that one badly placed 'super quality' or a slightly premature 'We are not close to ...' could actually cause the entire internet to quite literally explode. There are people who make their living from the world wide web, he's got to bear that in mind.

Naturally there is concern and worry about where we are. Cescless, waiting for Nasri to complete his move to the sunny climes of Manchester, wracked with injuries and fretting over the fitness of Armand Traore. Nothing else quite sums up where we are better than that.

Early team news
<http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-arc...traore-rosicky>
ahead of tomorrow's game is that Gibbs is out with a hamstring problem but Djourou's strain is not so bad and he might be fit. Traore is, I suppose, a left back but if he's not fit then it'll be interesting to see what the manager does. Will he give Jenkinson his first Premier League start, maintaing the burgeoning partnership between Koscielny and Vermaelen, or will he move the Belgian out to left back and play Djourou in the middle?

The more pressing issue is in the centre of midfield where Tomas Rosicky is a doubt. If he misses out our midfield options are very light indeed. Wilshere is injured, Diaby is injured, Song is suspended, which leaves us with Ramsey and Frimpong (best Flinstones chant right here <https://twitter.com/#%21/anthonydela...65153247322113>
) and that's it. The chances of signing a midfielder between now and then seem slim, to be fair, so what does he do? Will Lansbury get a chance? Will he play Arshavin as the more attacking of the three midfielders and give The Ox a start as part of the forward three?

Even talking about these potential line-ups gives you a real sight of just how badly this squad needs strengthening. I know there are injuries and suspensions but it needs it when those players are back too. Another week has chugged along and come to an end without anything happening. Of course we're not privvy to anything that might be happening behind the scenes but all we've got to go on is what plays out in public and what we see before us. And right now it's very worrying.

So no doubt Arsene will be asked about that today, about his plans, about potential newcomers, and he'll play with a straight bat giving nothing away. I'm sure there's stuff going on, there has to be, but sometimes you get the feeling Arsene plays his cards so close to his chest he can't even see them. Then when it's time to call and show what you've got he goes 'Ta-daaaa' and lays out the three of clubs, the six of diamonds, the king of spades, that one with the rules of bridge and Amaury Bischoff's business card.

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Monday the 22nd

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Arsene looked bedraggled on the sideline, but nowhere near as bedraggled as the fans who sat through the teeming rain to support their team yesterday. The most frustrating part of all is that you can see how these young players would learn and develop from having more experienced heads around them, in games and on the training ground.
You can see how more experienced players would have got us a better result yesterday, probably a better result in the first game against Newcastle too. It's hard to make any sense of what's happening at the club.

We have a lot of money at our disposal and a real need to spend it. We don't need 'super quality', we just need some good players. Without wishing to go all Championship Manager, put £25m on the table at Goodison Park and see if their precarious financial position allows them to turn down that money for Jagielka and Baines. Could West Ham turn down what we could afford to offer for Scott Parker? Three players, not 'super quality' but good, experienced professionals who would make this Arsenal team better, simple as that.

If we don't spend there's a real danger of falling too far behind early on this season. Yes, there's plenty of time, but two games, 1 point, a home defeat, 2 sendings off, and a rake of injuries and suspensions means we're in trouble already. And we face the Champions on Sunday. The Champions who, after winning the league, went out and bought some new players, good players, who add depth to their squad and allow them to properly blood the good youngsters they have in their ranks. We might not like it but there's a lesson there.

Our situation right now is critical but also fixable. It's not as if we don't have the means or the funds. It's down to Arsene, to Ivan Gazidis and to the owner of this great club, to quit the fucking around and do something about it before it's too late.

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Match report and thoughts on the blog

Wednesday

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Morning all,

there's a rather important game this evening so before we think about players who don't want to be here any more and who might replace them, we'll focus on that.

The team news
<http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/team-news-djourou-rosicky-wilshere>
is that Johan Djourou travels, as do Armand Traore and Tomas Rosicky.
The latter is still not a definite starter and will have further fitness tests pre-game to see if he can take part. If he does, I wouldn't be surprised to see Song start at centre-half alongside Vermaelen with Djourou providing some cover from the bench.

I imagine that as the only natural left back in the squad Traore will start there with Sagna moving back to right back. I think we need as much experience and solidity as possible out there tonight so all told I reckon we could see: /SZCZ - Sagna - Song - Vermaelen - Traore - Frimpong - Ramsey - Rosicky - Gervinho - Arshavin - van Persie/

We have the one goal lead from the first leg and the clean sheet which allows us to take advantage of the away goals rule. From the bits and pieces I've been reading from Udinese players and their coach won't be taking us lightly, despite the surface turmoil. He says:

I'm not buying into the "Arsenal are in crisis" theory; they are used to playing in this competition and if they've been successful over the years it's because they've been able to overcome moments of difficulty such as these.

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Thursday 25th

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I imagine it's moments like that which give the manager such encouragement about his team and his young players. From then it was pretty much game over. Udinese had to score three to go through and although I didn't start relaxing until around the 88th minute, the team played very well. They showed real maturity to slow things right down, keeping possession for long spells, and with the Italian season a little behind ours you could see the difference in fitness as the game went on. As they got tired chasing shadows we just passed them to death.

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Afterwards, Arsene said:

Tonight, for 14 years on the trot, we play in the Champions League. We have a new stadium, a fantastic training ground, a very good financial situation and a very strong team. It was important today because we were under pressure so it was important to keep calm, composed and not do anything stupid.

Obviously Champions League qualification was crucial. As I said yesterday, not just for the club's finances but for the football side of things above all else. We were tested last night by a good Udinese side who led the game and could have, with home advantage, really kicked on, but when we needed to show some fight and some balls we did that in the second half, and that was really encouraging. Especially ahead of such an important league game on Sunday.

And with qualification assured it means the boss, and those who are involved in this side of things, can ensure they carry out the next most important task, and that's adding to the squad to make it better.
After the game captain Robin van Persie echoed the thoughts of many Arsenal fans, saying:

We have a bit of money now. Cesc left, Samir left, but we're in the Champions League now, we've got a bit of spare money and hopefully we spend it.

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