DK, I see your hand o. The scent of your incense was all over the emirates pitch and went into Arsene's head.

chamotex:

Didn't you say Arsenal would win?  
Have you ever gotten any prediction right Mr Dudu?

YAAAAAWN.  
You haven't answered my last question.

Debo, haba Nani's pass to Giggs wasn't towards the direction of the goal where Ox was coverng, it was away to the flank where Giggs was. Ox might be fast but he is not a Djinee

debosky:

Only a biased Arsenal fan will say Vermaelen gave a 'brilliant display' when his two errors led to two goals that lost us the game.

I'm not hating on TV5 or anything like that, but let's be honest.  As per the fantasy that we'd have won with the confidence, that's utter nonsense. We equalised against Spurs and still managed to lose. We equalised against Swansea and still managed to lose. Ox or no Ox we were going to lose the game.

I wouldn't call TV5 brilliant in the game but he largely did his job. Djorou should have made it more diffcult for Giggs to deliver such a good cross by gettin closer.
TV5 had little to do with the second goal though, Arshavin was pickin up Valencia and should have stopped his man end of.

proudly9ja:

^^^^
Are u sure uve seen Freeman play? I don't know what other wow factor you are looking for but barring the unforseen, Freeman will turn out well. I agree he's not ready for first team at Arsenal for now but given 2 to 3 years, Im certain he'l be ready. That's why I thought he'l be loaned out not sold.

Some players come at the wrong time and really Freeman doesn't have a wow factor, I would put him behind Ox, Campbell, Ryo and Wellington (in no particular order) as developing forward players in our youth setup of about the same age. I believe as you do that he'll find his way back to the PL most likely at a low to mid table team which is why I compared him to a player like Larsson.

proudly9ja:

As for the present team, from what Ive seen, that Olsson guy is the next Jack Wilshere. Infact I think he'l be better. His passes remind me of Cesc but he's just 18 and we'l have to see. Not sure any goalkeeper will be willing to wait for WS considering his young age so keepers like Shea, Cooke, and the Argentine will eventually be sold IMO.

Olsson looks a gem but he has a lot of physical development to do, like for like I wouldn't compare him to Wilshere but to Cesc. Wilshere can go past people and I haven't seen Olsson do that much but he picks unbelievable passes. One thing Cesc and Wilshere have above talent though is a mental belief in their ability. I saw them both come into teams of grown men as 16 year olds and grab a game by the scruff of the neck, it remains to be seen if Olsson can do that.

We'll keep Damian Martinez till he's about 22 but don't put it past him to overtake Tech9, if you ask me, I think he is better than Tech9 was at his age particularly in his reflexes. In the wide forward positon, I find Gnabry (the german boy) interesting and in MF Toral and Ebecilio might lead to us having to let Chuks Aneke go early not to hold up his development.

proudly9ja:

Arsene Wenger lost this game for us. Unless there's a valid reason for bringing out Chambo, AW should take all the blame for this one.
TW14 - wetin do u nah
As for Andre Arshavin, I give up on him. Didn't he watch Chambo did when he was on the field?


Yennaris for JD20 shows what a natural full back can do. Its been said over and over again, we need a full back!

Thank God Chelsea and Liverpool also dropped points

I did say last season that our problems were in the wide positions. It is crystal clear what qualities are needed to play that role and we've had square pegs in those round holes. The difference is clear when Gervinho and Ox are there compared to when Arshavin and Theo are there. One has the pace but not the skills the other has the skill but not the pace or bottle.
I agree with Debo that we might still have lost with Ox on the pitch but the lad earned the right to stay on. Even RVP was surprised and ultimately unhappy and that doesnt bode well for the future.
We should have at least held on for a draw today but today I learnt which players in our team can deal well with pressure. Koscielny has a lot of it but Song and Ramsey could do with a bit more.

We who have been asking for Ox have been proved right. Wetin Arsene come do so?
Hopefully Arshavin can hold on.

Poor half. We're lackin in belief and a lot of players seem jittery.
Inspirational half time talk required. Ox a bright spark.

This is so not dench.
Liverpool is a club with a proud history and its fan page should be on the first page anywhere.
By the way, Congratulations on your new Warrior deal peoples, I'm particularly happy its more than what Manure got for their deal and bodes well for us when our current slavery to Nike expires at Arsenal.

edoyad:

dudu how now? i was just going to price goat head when i saw your break light. Abeg any idea on when bayern will be playing? 

Thank you jare Ed, yu missed the party at Munchenchupknuckle.
You know DK is in his sultana burning candles so that we lose to Manure today. 

Well, we are stuck with Arshavin today but I hope Arsene is right in saying Theo is back to the kinda form he was in earlier in the season. The Song/Ramsey/Benayoun combo didn't seem to work well at Swansea so maybe Rosicky can get some life back into his legs.
If we can keep Nani and Rooney quiet and not make stupid mistakes at the back, we can nick this. COYG.

proudly9ja:

@dudu, are you not surprised we sold Freeman to Stevenage?

BTW, for your viewing pleasure, Wellington's goal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mZo3qWRvbs&feature=youtu.be

I'm not too surprised as Freeman never really had a wow factor but credit to him he had his head right and will make it somewhere else. He is a bit like Seb Larsson was. I'm actually beginning to appreciate some players like that who make it mostly due to their hard work and not innate talent.

There is also a clear out at the moment in the youth ranks, to make space for the next set. We are losing some players I think would be very good when they get their acts together but the current U18 set of Toral/Olsson/Gnabry/Martinez should give us some exciting players like the set of Wilshere/Frimpong/Coquelin/Sczcesny. It seems most of the players in the sets in between are being sacrificed except for guys like Henderson/Ozyakup/Miquel who have looked the part in their cameos in the first team.

debosky:

Didn't I tell you he wasn't good enough for Levante? You were making ridiculous excuses for him earlier. He scored in his debut in the second division. . . .what excitement. Maybe he's found his true level as P9ja said.

Our youth scouting/buying network needs to refine its strategy - we are clearly buying too much mediocre talent (especially from South America) which takes away funds that can be used in the first team. I would argue that too many of these players fail and very few if any make it.

Right now we can count Botelho, Galindo, Wellington, Vela and goodness knows who else we're wasting money on at the moment.

Cool your jets Debo, how many 18 year olds have nailed on positions in a team occupying Champions league spots in the La Liga? much more when that space could be given to their own player and not one on loan from another club. I think the boy tried to even make it to their subs bench if you ask me. Judge the boy when he is playing every week.

And the amount we are spending on all those players you mention is not up to what Chelsea has spent to obtain or is spending on Torres and Lukaku or what city is currently spending on Clichy.  
Yu're quick to take credit when it finally succeeds like RVP, Wilshere, Szczesny, Fabregas but do not give credit to the scouting system that ultimately brings such players into our first 11 at cut throat prices compared to what our direct rivals pay for such talent. The last manager to give such slam for the buck was Fergie and that was pre the Abramovic era.

debosky:

As for the comparison to Utd, again you are disgracing yourself - Utd is 3 points off the top hence no reason to panic-buy. Even without buying, their squad is easily MUCH MUCH MUCH better than ours and that is the issue here - a deficient squad which is in a perpetual state of 'we will fix it in the summer'.

Erm, are we forgetting they are already in Europa League?
Oya, coolu temper for now, I have a link for you to check out but let's see the outcome of today's match first.  

ritchboy:

I have too many reservations about that Wellington cat to be optimistic.

Really Ritchie, all that boy needs is the opportunity to play. He's got a wow factor about him.
Arsene only bought Ox cos we couldn't bring Wellington into the first team after Fluminense messed up his Special talent WP due to his problems with the first team coach. If he doesn't get injured for the rest of the season, I expect him to do enough to attract another La Liga Loan next season.

chamotex:

You have never gotten any prediction right on this forum so why should we believe you this time?

How thick are your specs? 

Meanwhile Debo, Wellington scored on his debut in the Segunda for Alcoyano yesterday. Keep an eye out for the boy now that he will get playing time.

^^ Top 4 losers abi?

Sharapdia DK, Neuer is the best GK in the world yet he is choppin 3 against Munchenwhatchamacallit? 
You know that if Dortmund wins their next game they've caught up with you atop your backwater league ko?

debosky:

We don’t need to pay him 80k to sign him! Besides, rumour has it that Chamakh is earning 75k and yet is warming the bench like no man’s business! This is not about Cahill per se - this is about signing where we are weak.

Proves the point in two ways. Firstly yu're questioning the signing of Chamakh who was got on a free and being paid 75K for but are asking us to go pay 7m for Cahill and then continue to pay him 80k per week to do exactly the same thing you accuse Chamakh of doing. Chamakh before he was bought had just won the French league and enroute to setting a UCL goal scoring record while Cahill is the poster boy for the worst defence in the league. I guess it is safe to assume Mrs Debosky makes all the financial decisions at home. 

debosky:

You may be suffering from dementia at this rate - so Gibbs’ injury problems only started last season or what nonsense are you trying to say? The boy has ALWAYS been perpetually injured!

This is not true - RVP would play half a season then get injured. We can’t even get Gibbs to play 3 games without injury. You’re comparing apples with oranges. Besides, when RVP was having the issues, we had Ade, Dudu and others around to supplement - in Gibbs’ situation, we have only ONE alternative.

Naa its your mnemonic ability that needs some reassesment as Alzheimers might be knocking at your door.  Gibbs' problems started with a metatarsal fracture in the 09/10 season from a very bad tackle in a game with Standard Liege in the UCL which extended to last season. Before that he was not known to be injury prone. The boy is just 22 and yu're already labelling him injury prone when he's yet to even establish himself as a first teamer?  Besides, how many other clubs do you have in the PL with 3 specialist LBs in their squad of 25?

debosky:

So Arsenal seeking to be in the CL is being compared to relegation fodder?? It shows how ridiculously low you regard Arsenal. . . .are those clubs charging the same fees as Arsenal? Do they have £30m CL revenue? Do they have 60,000 seater stadiums?
It looks like you missed simile class in primary school because you suck at making rational comparisons.

Are Bolton, Blackburn or Everton in contention for a top 4 finish? Have they given a top 4 finish consistently for 14 years?
If the logic of clubs living within their means eludes you, I'll suggest a foundation course in logic. I hear tuition is free with Boko Haram.

debosky:

What strategy changed? The only strategy understood now is abject failure and utter disgrace - when Utd defeat us 5-1 on Sunday then there will be a rush to sign players, but again we will be left with dregs.

We shall see after sunday, but even if that happens, I doubt it'd change much. Manure got thumped 6 - 1 by City and they've not bought anyone.
You only think of the here and now, the manager has to align long term objectives with immediate needs.
From what I can see, Arsene's next major move will be in the Summer and they will be targetted buys to replace people like Arshavin and Rosicky while shoring up the attack and not knee jerk purchases. I like the look of our backline when we're not injury ravaged.

debosky:

But according to dudu there are no players available.

I repeat - Wenger is a recidivist. The same flaws we see now will kill off what is left of the season.

If TT is not considered good enough for AC Milan, why do you think he will be good enough for us?
Personally, I think the kind of Loan arrangement he has with QPR is just what we need and I'm sure Arsene is looking for something similar, but when was his last competitive appearance for AC Milan? and what is his current level of competitive fitness? besides even if everything was right with him, do you think AC would consider it wise to help a club they're scheduled to meet next in the UCL?

^^ Make dem release time table quick make man book vacation.
Erm, anyone on this thread able to get travelling deals for us? anybody who knows somebody who is not a nobody and can get everybody some discounts?

dayokanu:

And How many years since you last won the Champions league/ Champions Cup?

The same number of years since Bayern Munich last won the Intertoto Cup.

dayokanu:

^^ And how many seasons without the league?

8 for the haterz.

dayokanu:

Why would anyone take someone with less than a thousand points serious

Emi, less than a thousand points? yu seein double ore.
anyway, people who fall from great heights are usually giddy, I recommend bed rest after you hit your futon 

dayokanu:

Siddon there dey wait.

By May 2012, How many trophyless years would you be celebrating at Emirates?

7 is the number of perfection

dayokanu:

^^ How many points do you have in the league?

What position are you in the H-2-H? relegation candidate 

dayokanu:

Thats the annoying thing about the H2H I believe the main league is the real deal

Stakersden won with 41points while Cockblockers lost with 56point

Stop complaining, these things even out over the course of a season. You've been coming down the league table faster than a ho's panties.

dayokanu:

Bvb are 3 points behind us and with inferior GD.

The only advantage they have is that they have been knocked out of Europe and can concentrate on the league

Walahi, you go hear am if they beat you to the title again.

DK, Dortmund is breathing down your necks. When next are they coming to the Allianz?

This Barca wahala has become a 'Spiritual Something' for Madrid (copyright 2face Idibia).    
For once, Mourinho seems to have met his match in the beautiful expression of football called Barcelona.
He may win a few matches here and there but I for one I'm glad that attacking football mostly wins against a negative mindset.
Youth development wins against a throw money at it approach.
and Mourinho being brought down a peg or two is a welcomed bonus.  

debosky:

Did Cahill cost 25m? Are we being quoted 25m for Aly Cissokho?

Buying those players got Chelski rejuvenated for them to finish second while we ended up finishing barely 4th. If that difference is not obvious to you then you need to get your eyes checked.

Before acting as if only Chelski was in the league buying January players, go and see what buying Suarez did to Liverpool.

We have ONLY ONE LB in the team at the moment - Gibbs is NOT in the squad as far as I'm concerned because he is ALWAYS injured. There is absolutely no reason NOT to have 3 LBs - at worst we can play Gibbs as an auxilliary winger if required. It's just like anyone in his right senses counting Diaby as a player when he is perpetually injured.

Sissokho wants to leave, but AGAIN we are counting pennies with the potential for losing £30m instead of spending £7m. Idiotic behaviour all round.

Cahill will cost Chelsea 30m over a 3 year period, expenditure on him doesnt end with his transfer fee, his wages also count. Arsenal will not pay 80k per week to Cahill if IMO opinion he won't start ahead of people like Mertesacker who are on 70k.
Are Liverpool currently above us in the table? are they in the UCL? 
I believe you know that their wage bill has overtaken ours and they've already run up another debt of over 100m after their fresh start?  yet they are still behind us even after the quality of players we lost. Infact, that is one club that should be held up as proof of Arsene's view of management. Its the lamest example to give of progress by trying to buy to fix all problems IMO.
Besides, players ultimately find their level just like water. Arshavin was good enough to guarantee us a top 4 finish due to his initial gra-gra in the 08/09 season but do you need reminding of the curses Arsenal fans are now heaping on him with every match?

debosky:

We don't need 3 RBs because the two we have are not injury prone - If you can't comprehend the difference between a perpetually injured player and someone who can actually do something, then I can't help you.

Yeah right, how many games have our RBs played so far this season? If I'm not mistaken yu're only projecting from Gibb's issues last season due to his broken metatarsal.
If you count the number of games that Santos and Gibbs have played, I'm certain its more than those that Jenkinson and Sagna have played this season. (Just checked the Arsenal website, Santos/Gibbs have played 23 while Sagna/Jenkinson have played 21)
Besides, the nature of injuries change. RVP could barely string 5 games together at a point in time but now he is the top goal scorer in the league and has hardly missed a game in a year.
I can clearly remember a lot of Arsenal fans both here and in other forums (and noise makers like DK  )calling for him to be sold due to his injury problems but of course people have short memories.

debosky:

So Arsenal is FORCING Wenger not to buy players? You must be further up Arsene's butt than I thought. The Stup!d retarrd of a chairman knows absolutely nothing, holds no decision making authority except for speaking to the press and doesn't even own any shares - he is a figurehead and nothing more.
If Gazidis comes out on the other hand and says that Arsene is not permitted to spend then that is a different issue altogether. But we all know the line from him - Wenger has the funds to buy but keeps making ridiculous excuses.

Fair enough if that is the opinion you want to hold. Are Blackburn forcing Kean to not buy players? Is it Bolton forcing Coyle to not buy players? is it Everton forcing Moyes to not buy players? I believe that depends on the perspective you choose to take Half full or Half empty. 
Every club works within its means (some beyond their means)  . When strategy changes at Arsenal, it will be very clear as seen in the inflow of players at the tail end of the window.
When Kroenke comes out to say something different from what PHW says, I will accept your view.
To clarify, I'm not saying there isn't 7m to buy a player of Santos's class (although I struggle to find a player of that class available for that same price at this time of the year), what I'm saying is that I don't see it as a necessity or something that would guarantee a sudden significant improvement in our fortunes.
Provided Arsenal don't go on a spending spree a la City/Chelsea, that squad is built for a top 4 finish or thereabouts. Infact, the only reason I give that squad a chance of making top 4 is because of Arsene's antecedents at guaranteeing a top 4 finish.

debosky:

You've  crawled up AW's arse and started talking nonsense again. Did Cahill not just move from Bolton to Chelski? Did Luiz not move to Chelski last January? Who the hell says good players are not available?

Wenger is just a moronically stubborn old phool - Cissokho is available if we pay £7m and buy him, but the recidivist refuses to spend that relatively insignificant amount for a good LB who would fit in well. Evra joined Utd in January for goodness sake. If we have 6 CBs what is wrong with having 5 fullbacks KNOWING oen of the LBs is a permanent crock? 

What nonsense is this not being about it not being about Wenger? Have other coaches not signed defenders in January? If Wenger WANTED to buy a player instead of his criminally negligent persistence with an understrength squad, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in right now.

At inflated prices too IMO. When last did Arsenal as a club spend 25m on a CB? Ever?
Is Arsenal prepared to offer Cahill 80K per month? even with all of Chelsea's money his transfer dragged over personal terms mind you.
Besides, did buying Luiz win anything for Chelsea last season? Did buying Torres bring them anything either? One can question how much exactly buying those two improved Chelsea in both the long and the short term.
What we need urgently is an LB and prolly a Striker, show me good ones available on the market right now who wants to leave their club like Cahill.
A good LB available in the short term is what Arsenal majorly needs right now as long as RVP remains fit. It really makes no sense having 3 specialist LBs in a squad of 25. Arsenal already have 2. How many exactly do we need? and while we are at it, why don't we go and buy 3 RBs as well and buy 3 of the best players in every position and see if we can still meet that squad limitation of 25 or what exactly our wage bill will be at the end of all the buying.

And while yu're there throwing a tantrum like a child whose feeding bottle has been snatched  , see what the Chairman of the board is saying:

[Quote]
The Gunners have qualified for the Champions League in all of manager Arsene Wenger's full seasons in charge, but Hill-Wood admits the club have always prepared for the financial hit that would come with failing to achieve a top-four spot.

"We are hanging on in there, no more," he told the Daily Star of the club's current position. "From a financial point of view, not qualifying for the Champions League is quite a blow.

"We have been planning for not qualifying every year, so it's not a disaster, but it would be nice if we could."[/quote]

Does that suggest to you in anyway that this is all Arsene's doing? 

nateevs:


Also, Nikolas Anelka to Chelsea. Danny Sturridge on loan to Bolton.
Deals are possible in January if they want them.

Danny Sturridge on loan to Bolton won the PL for Bolton?

mystikal:

Dudu, even if we draw vs Utd or even win as you say, it wont hide the fact that we are not good enough to finish in the in the CL spot at the moment. Something's gotta give!

Ramsey worries me! Gave up on Arshavin since.

Meanwhile Chelsea have signed Cahill from Bolton #intent

Yup, at the moment we are not in the top 4 but I don't see any reason yet why we can't finish in the top 4.
This team has come from a far worse situation than this already this season so I see no reason to panic just yet.

Even Arsene has largely given up on Arshavin hence why Gervinho starts ahead of him, he should however still have been able to do a job.
The true passengers in the team are being revealed and they are not the usual suspects like Djorou.

Ramsey ideally should have been brought in gently (I continue to tell people that this is actually his first full season in the top flight) but it is our bad luck that Wilshere has to be out at this time.
When we had that long brilliant run, I didn't go overboard with optimism and I won't go overboard with pessimism now that we've hit a snag just like almost every other team does when fatigue, injuries and loss of form begin to take their toll.

The only grouse I have with Arsene at present is that Ox deserves more playing time and possibly Ramsey deserves more bench time, apart from that he is using the squad as well as he can in my opinion.

This is not the first time Arsenal have chosen not to buy in the January window so that is not new and that has little to do with Arsene and more to do with the club as a whole, people should have realised that by now and most of what Arsene says about availability of players in the January window makes a lot of sense. If a player is that good as to be of the quality we want that will make an instant impact, its not likely his team would be willing to let him go at this time in the season.

Right from our horrible start in the season, it was clear this squad wasn't well equipped to win the league, the good run got the more optimistic thinking otherwise but the more perceptive weren't swayed and the logic is simple, if we didn't win it with Cesc and Nasri and their replacements/none replacements are considered inferior why should anyone begin to demand a PL win from this team? 
Let them crawl first and then we can talk of running. A top 4 finish for this squad would be an achievement in itself the way things are going.

Jencejyde:

Sincerely cocur with the above, seems the manager has forgotten we are still in a precarious position. Plus gosh! The team carried over their lethargic perfomance from Monday to this game, wtf!!  Seriously maybe manu needs to do us another favour by inflicting more pains next week. What's so hard in getting a full back?  Mert, Ramsey, arshavin were main curlprits. Even song had a below par game, signs that he may just need a rest but what do we have as backup?

Strangely enough, I'm not scared of Manure. Infact, I'm almost certain we'll beat them or at the least get a draw.
Our level has dropped in recent time after a very good run, I think the amount of disruptions to the first 11 is partly to blame but then some players in the supporting category have not stepped up (Rosicky, Arshavin and Chamakh stand up to be counted, right age range, right antecedents but below par contribution).

Not that I expected them to step up anyway as we lost players we shouldn't have and ended up keeping those we shouldn't have during the window.
I'm not pressing any panic buttons just yet, at least until a top 4 finish begins to become a mirage. I looked at this team at the start of the season and came to the conclusion that the PL was a bridge too far. Apart from being out of the top 4, they've largely surpassed every one of my expectations so far.

Meanwhile, it is only at Arsenal that a player nearly gets his leg broken by an opposition player yet gets a penalty kick given against him. Wrong reaction perhaps but I wouldn't blame Ramsey much for largely withdrawing into his shell after that PK decision.