₦airaland Forum

Wilshere showing his two sides there, effortlessly went past Mascherano and then clobbered him.

@yousuph

Anfield on the opening day is never going to be easy but I like what I've seen so far, our defence is keeping its shape so far seems Koscielny brings some composure. Liverpool is still afraid of us so they've not applied pressure but our lads are playing well apart from the continuing insistence on not shooting, Nasri should use these free kick opportunities more.
We've also got game changers on the bench in Walcott and RVP.

Team list is out:

Almunia, Clichy, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Eboue, Diaby, Wilshere, Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh

Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Carragher, Mascherano, Jovanovic, Gerrard, Kuyt, Cole, Ngog

Almunia is number 1.

proudly9ja:
Sad news coming from Yeovil Town where Luke Freeman (for those who follow the young gooners, you'l remember him as the 15 year old we got from Gillingham FC) is on loan from Arsenal

Damn, the English game is the same at all levels, that was exactly the same way they broke Rhys Murphy's leg at Brentford last season. A bit of a shame really, he scored for Yeovil last week and was looking lively for them. Hope he recovers soon.

Eastbay:
@dudu,
There's no creativity from City's middle.They look set up to disrupt any kind of Spurs rhythm.
If Tevez or Silve get service,they can do damage.Or so i think.

Okay, so the objective could have been to grind out a result and not play expansively, but that is all the more reason why they need more potent target men they can lump the ball to upfront. I personally don't see Silva as a PL type striker except as a wide forward perhaps in a Barca/Arsenal type 4-3-3 , didn't he usually play as a winger for Valencia?

If you start David Silva and Tevez as your strikers in the PL, methinks yu're asking for trouble. This is the league of the target men and yu can't call any of those a target man. He had better bring on Adebayor or Jo.

Anybody reckons the bell has started ringing for Mancini already? I hear the match is bloody for City, thank god say dem never concede. Only problem is that Spurs still usually find a way to mess things up.

I am totally with Arsene on this 25+ 8 rule, it is crazy and will only bring England clubs down further in the UEFA coefficient (DK must be laughing his head off, the only positive thing about English football is being diluted).
How crazy is it that the 2 players affected in Man City are both home grown?

[url]http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_6310898,00.html[/url]

Schwarzer hands in Transfer request, seems Arsenal want to close down this deal quickly, now this is a player who truly wants to leave, has Arsenal made any noise? hope those idiots from Barca can learn a thing or two about showing class. We have not made any noise, neither have we acted pompously towards Fulham but everyone knows now that Schwarzer wants to come to Arsenal without Arsenal saying anything.
Now can we move quicker on the CB issue, so I can go make that bet. I'm guessing its gonna be Spahic.

debosky:
Even if it was an 'offer they can't refuse' an experienced 32 year old, a seasoned campaigner at the highest level who retain his fitness level is a better 'gamble' than some Spahic dude.

Has he really retained his fitness now? methinks he had his fair share of injuries last season only made 22 PL appearances I think.

debosky:
We are not the only club in the EPL to have moves turned down, so I don't buy all these stories. Even if Schwarzer was proving difficult (and still is) why not move on to other options? That's how we waited forever for Xabi and nothing happened. If Flamini stabbed us in the back as you call it, why haven't we learned and corrected the problem? Do you see players leaving Chelski on a free unless they aren't wanted anymore? Does it happen with Utd? Wenger is not managing things properly.
Signing Kos is good, but not good enough when you've released THREE CBs.

Move on to other options? what happened to not settling for 2nd best? for example if you go for Chamakh and Bordeaux doesn't play ball but Remy is available but Arsene isn't convinced that Remy is any better than Bendtner, is it still wise to go for Remy and be stuck with him for the next 3-4 years?
How many other players have left on a free and will be missed like Flamini? apart  from Billie who was starting to look suspect last season are you suggesting in any way that you would miss Silvestre and Senderos?

debosky:
It is down to Arsene because he is the one who makes the decisions. With due respect, even though I like Chamakh's arrival, that was NOT our main problem - defence is and he has still refused to remedy that. GK has been a problem now since the beginning of last season and it cannot be impossible to secure a better goal keeper than the shambles we have. Arsene has control of the transfer budget so it is clearly his fault.

Yes Arsene has the final decision on players but I don't think that extends to creating money that is not made available from the board. Who has ever come out officially from Arsenal to give us a player budget? does anyone have the details of how this transfer budget is allocated between new purchases and wages?

debosky:
He has a terrible track record in certain areas and that is the focus here - he is very poor in buying non-established keepers and CBs. Apart from Sol and Vermaelen, his other signings of recent have been terrible - Senderos, Djourou, Silvestre, Stepanovs. Ditto with GKs.

And can you point out this perfect manager who has never made a single mistake in signing? was the mistake with Stepanovs not before the invisibles? how much exactly were these players bought for? Arsene's high cost mistakes are only 3 (Reyes, Theo and Jeffers)  and  the jury is still out on Theo while you can't even call Reyes a mistake in the quality of the player only that he didn't settle well. Can you compare that cost of mistake with players like Veron, Djemba-Djemba and Hargo for Manure?

debosky:
There is no sense in going for a bare bones policy - we keep hoping things will turn out differently, but they DON'T. Do you know what that is called?

It is called pursuing a policy, some things do need time to become successful. I'm sure the board has their way of measuring success with respect to time, hence their sticking with Arsene.

debosky:
We keep getting injuries yet we don't remedy that, we keep selling of en-masse (why on earth should you lose 3 PLAYERS in the same position in one fell swoop??) and failing to replace - that goes beyond even a bare bones policy, it is an abysmal lack of forward thinking.

It is basically a clear out and there are many reasons why you would undertake such, clear the way for upcoming youth, get better replacement or a combination of the 2.

follypimpi:
@Dudu
You make me laugh,u must be the most optimistic dude after debo(whose seeing the light lately) about Arsenal.Wonder what you will say when it does not bear apple 

When that time comes I will review.  Like Arsene I forget the past, live in the present and plan for the future.   ,its the best way to cope with being an Arsenal fan, try it and see.

debosky:
@ Dudu
You are being disingenuous with the comparison with Silvestre. Silvestre had been injured for a full season and was virtually being released to play for LOWER RUNG clubs like Sunderland before we decided we were interested.
Carvalho won the EPL LAST SEASON playing a major role, and is clearly still at the top level. For JM and Real Madrid to be in for him, he is obviously still class, so that is in every sense a better buy than Silvestre could ever be.

To be honest, I'm not passing any judgement on Carvalho's competence but with our recent experience with old players (apart from with Sol and that didn't bring us the PL by the way at the end of the day), I can understand an unwillingness to shell out 7.5m for a backup CB who will be 33 at his next birthday. If he was available on a free now, that would have been a different story.
Besides I wasn't aware Carvalho was available anyway, Mourinho must have made the move with his knowledge of Carvalho and basically made Chelsea an offer they couldn't refuse.

debosky:
There is no reason why we should be going into the first game in the position we are - Wenger almost ALWAYS leaves things late and it costs us. It cost us when we failed to bring in Xabi Alonso, it cost us when he left it late in January to try to sign a GK or striker and he is doing it again. The stubbornness over price is costing us dearly.
Wenger has made claims before, only to turn around to claim we are ok. . . .if care isn't taken, we are being set up for the same story.

The obvious question is why leave things late? I usually read between the lines, Arsenal made the move for Schwarzer immediately the transfer window opened (Hill-Wood was the first to go public with it) but that hasn't been resolved till now, we also moved for Kos almost immediately but that took time to be sorted out. He held on to sign Sol on a free but Sol didn't stay (also due to wage issues if you read his explanation though I thought he could have shown some magnanimity considering we helped bring him back from the brink but so is life, that was exactly how Flamini stabbed us in the back too) and then made a move for Spahic (which I think has also hit a snag due to money issues).

Arsenal run a tight ship financially and that much should be obvious to anyone now, how much of it is down to Arsene or the board is the only matter in dispute and that is something we won't know until some peeps write their memoirs so I don't bother my head much about it. It is the way Arsenal roll these days.
Can I change the board? no I couldn't even if I wanted to. Can I change the manager? no I couldn't and I wouldn't want to. Can Arsenal fans frustrate Arsene out? yes they can but at what cost? to end up with a manager like Martin O'Neill who will walk out because the club doesn't release the money made from sellin a player? I love my club's culture as it is and won't jump in a river because our ideals don't seem to be working.

debosky:
Track record? In failing to buy a striker or keeper in January? In failing to strengthen the DM position last summer? I am not confident at all - time and time again, we've heard the myriad of unbelievable excuses the manager can produce, so apologies if I don't share your confidence.

Track record in buying quality players for reasonable prices that make an impact in our team is what I meant, you can't accuse Arsene of not having done that.

debosky:
Even in that season Almunia wasn't perfect - the fact that a player does OK doesn't mean you won't sign a better player if available. This bare bones policy is what continuously costs us, we are way too conservative in the market and it shows.

The question is why go for a bare bones policy as you call it? Arsene will pay for quality if he sees it as he has shown with (Vieira and Henry in the past and with Vermaelen and Arshavin recently) why has a manager who broke a wage record to sign a CB like Sol at that time gone frugal? whatever reasons that may be, I see our frugality is about to start bearing fruit.

dayokanu:
Carvalho was a top CB in Europe and 3-4yrs ago was among the best 4-5 CB in the whole of Europe. Sylvestre has never been a top 100 CB in Europe at any point in time.

For 7m carvalho is a good deal and can offer 2yrs to allow the players grow.

According to DK's manual of concocted statistics abi.

debosky:
The financial constraints are no longer a real issue so let's set that hymn sheet aside. We've only spent on Koscielny, we've sold Dudu, released Silvestre, Gallas and Sol, so we have wage availability.

Depends on how you look at the issue of wage availability, you can take selling dudu to mean balancing the outflow for Koscielny and we've signed some younger players to longer term contracts, Arsene is still out for Schwarzer as Mark Hughes himself has confirmed and he is still on the lookout for a CB (maybe Spahic) so we should still be active in the transfer window.
We are not privy to the discussions as to the scale of spending involved but with Arsene's track record, I'm confident in him making a right call.

debosky:
It is not a matter of financial doping for you to sign a competent goalie - Shay Given didn't cost £10m, and even Carvalho with all his experience and fitness only cost £7m.  We have NO excuses if we fail to deliver due to our lack of activity in the market.

So its Carvalho you want us to go for now at 33 for 7m? remember what happened with Silvestre at 31 for 750K y'all are still bellyaching, I thank God yu're not the manager. Shay cost 8m in the season after Almunia just took us to within 4 points of the PL without any major gaffes and are you sure city is willing to sell now? and at what cost? even Fulham is stickin to 4m for Schwarzer at 37?

debosky:
Realism tells me that we have only two fit CBs, one of them was playing in Ligue 2 18 months ago; while our competitors have at 3+ seasoned EPL performers. Realism points out that our GKs have issues and none can be really relied upon; our competitors and even teams below us have far better options. Even within that situation, realism suggests that Wenger prefers the hopeless Fabianski over Almunia who can at least beat his chest about winning games for us with his saves.

Realism tells me that we have only one recognised DM in Song, (Denilson is a 'link-player' and can't really be termed a DM) and the others who tackle in midfield are also injured.

Realism tells me we have improved upfront, but sorely lacking at the back and will likely fall apart due to our defensive shortcomings.

There can be no right track in selling off players and not replacing them. That is just unreasonable.

I find it very hard not to be pessimistic about the coming season, but I still hope AW will do the needful and buy a CB and GK. Without those additions, we might as well settle for 4th right now.

True enough, if we suffered for any reason last season it was because we lacked in the GK and target man areas and our defending was beyond poor. There is a difference between identifying and issue, fixing it and fixing it within your means

The target man issue has been fixed with Chamakh (and Arsene did want to fix it even before then but wouldn't due to financial constraints), it is now clear to everyone that Arsene is trying to fix the GK issue but is meeting a brick wall with Fulham so far (had actually put in an offer as early as May). We have lost 4 CBs (of which only 2 made any meaningful contribution all season) bought Koscielny and Arsene has repeatedly pointed out he is on the lookout for another while we have a good prospect coming through in Nordtveit? most people are making noise over Manure's signing of Smalling but why should we go out and shell out 12m for a prospect who is yet to prove himself while we have 2 prospects coming through the ranks very close to the level Smalling is at?

It is right to question Arsene's judgement, and I do understand your concern about Spahic but at least you can see the man is working to plug the deficiencies he's identified from the last campaign no one is beyond questioning IMO but it is also wrong to denigrate every good thing the man is doing all because of this mantra of 'We've not won anything for the past 5 years'.

The core of the strength in this team will not come from any signings we are just about to make but from the improvement from within. I told you of this youth policy last season and the financial constraint that brought it about, I believe it will yield fruit but even if it does not, I don't believe it would have been due to any one signing Arsene did or did not make, it would have been due to the fact that the club's financial prudence ultimately could not overcome the financial doping in the league.  If that is what some people define as delusion, then yes I'm deluded.

jalether:
Dudu has to be the most delusional personality on NL. confirmed

You're welcomed, next.

v3:
Seriously. . I 'really' need to smoke/drink whatever you're in on 

Its called optimism and facing up to the reality of your situation. Like Arsene says, you don't always get what you deserve but if you know yu're on the right track stick to it and you'll win out in the end.

If I puzzle you v3, its because it is hard to reconcile reality with optimism, all those who are calling for Arsene's head have no better plan than to replace him, with who? they cannot say (apart from the obvious pipe dreams of Mourinho who would need an assurance of a blank cheque before even starting negotiations or more realistically Louis Van Gaal who is having a swell time at Bayern) I can see what Arsene is trying to do, and if it has a hope of success then he is the one best placed to see it through.

The board has decided to sink or swim with Arsene and while we might not be swimming yet, our head is definitely above water, I find it strange that most people can't see that but opt to fling the baby out with the bath water. Anyway, we are all different but even as frustrated as most Arsenal fans including myself are with the situation of things, it is still rare to see an Arsenal fan who would go so far as to call Arsene a buffon, with what he has achieved it is as close to insanity as yu'll ever get.

@HNIC

Its as if yu're reading my mind over the internet, most arsenal fans these days only see the bad things in the team and not the many good things, its a bit of a shame really cos I am very proud to say I support this team and to be honest, pound for value, there are not many managers in Arsene's league, the only manager who had done consistently what Arsene has done is David Moyes of Everton and Hodgson did it with Fulham for a single season and remains to be seen if he can be consistent.

I'll see how well Fergie does with his newfound love for signing of 'Unknowns', the first player he started with (Manucho of Angola) didn't turn out right, the jury is out on Biram Diouf but Chicharito looks likely to. The new dawn is about to break at Arsenal, when some of us were touting the talent coming through at Arsenal last season, some people thot we had high fever, now even the English establishment is acknowledging the quality of players coming through.

Some people only see things after they have happened while others are able to project ahead, Arsenal is on the right track and I'm eagerly looking forward to this season, something tells me its reward time.

dipo2much:
when u c the other contenders signin players again n agin,u bgin to ask urself "why should arsenal win anytin" ? i tire. manure don sign another pro

Which kain pro be dat? someone who has not even had a season in the portuguese 1st division not saying the guy won't make it cos I don't know him from Adam but if yu'll rejoice over a signing and question Arsenal's buyin policy, yu couldn't have chosen a wronger poster boy.

All of manure's recent purchases have been underwhelming to say the least, Chicharito is the only one you can say has any decent pedigree and that is if you consider the mexican league to be of a decent pedigree, Smalling couldn't command a first team shirt at Fulham a mid-table club at 20 years of age and this Bebe chap is really a bolt out of the blues and a big gamble at such a cost, 7.5m for a 20yr old who has only had a pre-season with a 1st division Portuguese club never played national under age competition for Portugal at any level, even the Portuguese are asking Bebe who?

Despite the paucity of funds at OT, I can see old habits die hard and Baba Fergie is still splashing the cash any how only problem is that he is moving to Arsene territory now signing unknowns and for big money too. I never wish well for manure but even with my emotional goggles removed I still don't see how this new direction can end well for Fergie, I foresee tears at OT.

follypimpi:

Cos thats what he really his.
dudu will come here typing a whole booklet on how Sylv's a very good signing.Am so pissed off right now,glad i didnt phone in on ATV.

Abeg, yur frustration don dey dabaru yur grammar? I said it 'looked' like a shrewd signing that couldn't go bad at the time. Don't call me Silvestre's fan o, I am not and never was cos I never liked the shape of his head.

@Follypimpi

Calling Arsene a buffon is totally uncalled for, keep a sense of perspective, yu're losin it. Even Loserfool fans at the height of their fall backed their manager until he left and I dare say Arsenal is far away from their situation. I still see many things to be happy about at Arsenal if you don't. We still have a great manager whether yu appreciate it or not.

Thank God say I log on today, many happy returns of the day DK, more power to your 'Baba Agba' but about time you made a new year/ baiday resolution to stop your megedfegede on the hallowed Gooner's thread.

Theo didn't look bad today, Gibbs showed he could someday takeover from Cashley in that LB position though still needs to work on his defensive positioning, Jack didn't get much time to impress but showed a nasty side with his first action on the pitch.

Dr Kitaun:
Debo . . .U can now see that some people only live in d present forgetting there was a past, Silvestre wey we hate pass even as a scummie ?

Thanks for the blast from the past Dr. Kit, I must admit there was a lot of discontent at the time about buying him, but mostly for sentimental reasons attached to him having played for Manure before and losing Gilberto to the over 30 rule prior to buying him.

The only 2 people who gave strong footballing reasons were eldee and Cesc04 and I must admit they were spot on in their assesment of his injury situation. Debo sat on the fence and I didn't see a post from Dr. Kit (no offence meant o, I might not have looked well enough and a lot of posts from others indicated yu would be miffed at the very idea). My thought at the time was that he was a good bargain for a backup CB with the versatility to cover the LB position and hindsight shows it was a wrong decision though at a cost of 750K not a costly one.

That is precisely why I'm backing Arsene's call on Billie G (in case we've all forgotten that is what kicked this debate off), his injury might not have been as long as Tweety's but some signs last  season were not good and once bitten twice shy. I also understand Debo's view on Spahic but his recent performance have been impressive and give reasons to suggest a good buy, there was a lot of brouhaha about Vermaelen's antecedents and height last season but he proved his mettle.

I choose not to believe that Arsene has suddenly decided to go tight fisted just for the sake of it, the same man who broke an English wage record to sign Big Sol at the height of his powers will not suddenly decide to go for bargain buys and internal development without good reason.

@muki

That pic is scary, why did yu have to mess up my sleep tonite? Your plan has worked I'm stayin off this thread for a while until that pic scrolls off. Let me go and watch our boys of the moment play for the 3 lions.

follypimpi:

Is only u + AW that would take quantity over quality and call it good Bargain,Bramble woulda costed less and done a betterjob than Slyv,Now bite me.

This is strange, where did biting creep into a discussion about football? are you Mike Tyson in disguise?

follypimpi:
Is only Dudu that thinks Sylv was a good signing,AW love take silly risk and it will keep costing us.Don't be too surprised if converts SONG into a CB with Denilson Pairing Diaby + FAB4.I can assure you until we sign a GK + an EPL experienced strong defender,Emirates cup will be our only trophy this season,Mark my word.If we WIN anything this season i will gladly give u a sum of £200 cash,

Everyone knows he is not a good signing now with hindsight, at the time he was bought, he was a bargain at .5m. You were getting a multiple trophy winner playing at the top end and just getting into his 30s. There was nothing at that time that suggested Silvestre wouldn't be a solid backup for at least another 2-3 years.
A lot of people are still clamouring for Sol at 35+

HNIC:
Naah
Big Sol was gonna walk straight into our team.
Gallas was gonna walk straight into our first 11
Silvestre was just gonna be an 'extra tyre'.
No way he coulda displaced Kolo or Gallas
Would have felt better if it was Ferdinand or Vidic
Not someone who was on his way to Citeh or was it Sunderland and then jumped at the offer to come to London.

But then the idea wasn't to displace those 2 I think but to provide backup and competition and if Big Sol didn't have his initial nervous breakdown, would Gallas really have been a shoe in for first choice CB with his being unable to tie down a CB position at Chelsea?
Anyone would have preferred any of those 2 you mention but at what cost? was Arsenal bouyant enough at that point in time to pay 20+m for Rio?

HNIC:
Truth be Told
When a scummie friend of mine sent a text that we just signed Silvestre, i thought,his P.A had access to his phone and was playing pranks on 'oga's' friends.
I logged on to arsenal.com and there he was smiling with an Arsenal jersey 
A scummie in an Arsenal Jersey
I woke up the next day and checked and the story was still there
That was when I believed.

Your reasons were not football or performance related but sentimental, I'm sure some people also belly ached when we bought Big Sol from Tottenham or when we swapped Gallas for Cashley (though that must have been tempered by his prior tapping up behaviour though).

[quote author=kay_pumpin link=topic=439183.msg6555987#msg6555987 date=1281544457]There is a time-frame so that should  guide you in digging for thread. . . .God help you.
Silvestre?He's not worth my posts and effort so i wouldn't even go there.
Next?[/quote]All I'm saying is no one here could have predicted Silvestre's stint would turn out the way it did. If anyone did, let them prove it. At the time Silvestre was bought, he looked a bargain for .5m anyone who comes to grandstand saying I told you so now is only taking the mick.

dayokanu:
This statement puts the M in moronic. Oshea is also more decorated than Fabregas.
Because Silvestre has won more medal as a sub means he is up to 5%?

I know your favorite pastime is rewriting history, Silvestre was a guaranteed starter prior to his injury and still started in the QF of the UCL against Roma on return from injury.

This is his Manure record:

1999–2000 38
2000–01         47
2001–02    51
2002–03         54
2003–04         46
2004–05         50
2005–06         48
2006–07         21
2007–08          6

or is DK's definition of a sub one who plays over 40 games per season for his club?

[quote author=kay_pumpin link=topic=439183.msg6555908#msg6555908 date=1281542776]Now na to siddon look a la Uncle Bola.

Silvestre?There is no reason on earth and beyond that justified his signing.[/quote]Have you ever seen hindsight being wrong? I hadn't become regular on Nairaland about the time that transfer went down, but I'll be very glad if someone can point me to a thread where anyone of you here kicked off when he was transferred. That would make me better respect your position.

dayokanu:
Delusion is an integral part of being a GAYYner, Imagine someone saying Silvestre looked decent at any point in his career

Why does DK speak from both sides of his mouth? to quote Sauron, do you know that Silvestre is more decorated than any living Munich player? And please stop clogging up the thread with those posts, we've seen them before.