Morning all. I'm taking a break from watching the Olympics because they are showing rowing right now. Is that even a sport? Rowing. Some of these sports are just awful...beach volleyball, handball, synchronized diving/swimming, fencing...I love the Olympics but some things just should not have medals given for them.
So what happened over the weekend? Well we won the Amsterdam Cup, so that was good. I've honestly only seen highlights and read match reports so I can't go into detail over the performances, but I can tell a few things. Both of Ajax's goals were bloody outstanding. I know we should have closed down better but how can you stop shots like those two? Adebayor looked fantastic in his two goals and with his assist. He's going to be great again this year and everyone will forget what a wanker he was during this summer. In the second match we got a draw with Sevilla with Carlos Vela on the score sheet for Arsenal. He's looked good every time I've seen him this preseason and I'm looking forward to seeing him get into some real games.
So those are our last preseason games for the first teamers, as we start Champions League football on Wednesday and the Premiership on Saturday. Isn't that exciting? We pretty much know what we have to work with for this week's matches because I think even if we made a new signing they probably wouldn't be ready to play right away. Besides, Arsene Wenger says he is much too busy to sign a midfielder. So who's starting then? If you're Arsene Wenger to you try to go full strength on Wednesday and on Saturday? And what is the full strength lineup anyway? If I had to pick a lineup Wednesday I think I try to leave Cesc out until Saturday. Mine would look like this:
Sagna-Toure-Gallas-Clichy
Walcott-Denilson-Ramsey-Nasri
Adebayor-Vela
But now it's getting a bit late in the transfer window and it hasn't looked like we're bringing in a new partner for Cesc, so if not, then who's it going to be? Has Denilson won himself the job with Diaby being out injured (as always)? I know not a lot of people have faith in him to do the job but he's looked good so far and maybe it's his time to shine. I really thought Diaby would be the guy but he just can't stay healthy and we can't rely on any more of those type of players. I'm not sure what will happen but if we don't sign anyone else, Denilson gets my vote.
Piers Morgan actually writes an article about how much he hates Alex Ferguson, and I actually kind of liked it. I didn't even know he was a Gooner.
I don't really know what else to write, I'm just looking forward to the matches this week. Almost time for the start of the season so you better sign up for the Fantasy Football League now. Go USA in the Olympics and I'll see you all tomorrow. Cheers.
12 comments:
denilson gets my vote to... to be fair to him, he needs more games if we are to depend on him through out the whole season, plus there is diaby as back up, so we are not that bad in that area after all.... remember !!, if flamini wasnt given the chance to play several games at the start of last years season and preseason, we wouldnt have seen him shine...
With all due respect, are you mental? Denílson is a good young player but he's not good in the tackle and is not the physical presence which is needed to complement Cescy.
Abou Diaby is a more likely candidate for filling the void and to lesser extents Djourou and Song...maybe even Touré as we have seen in pre-season that Gallas and Touré haven't improved as a partnership.
Although I would say we are about four players short across the pitch, this central midfield berth could really cause us significant problems. An experienced player such as a Frings or Senna type character would be bext in my humble opinion, people will say that these two are too old but if we sign a player who will give us four or five seasons such as Barry, Inler or Alonso it would harm Denílson's, Ramsey's, Diaby's or Song's potential.
With all due respect, Flamini wasn't exactly a big guy either. Denilson can learn the role and passes better than Flamini ever did. I'm not saying he's perfect, but I'd rather not spend 18 million pounds on Gareth Barry or Xabi Alonso when Denilson will be able to do everything they can do with a little work
Denilson sure looks the best option at the moment. I need to catch a Cameroon game to see how song looks. He is playing CM for them. Quality post.
After searching for an online broadcast of the Amsterdam Cup (found some free cool sites that carried them too), I had the opportunity to see the team in action against Ajax on Friday. As far as Denilson goes, I might have to agree about giving him a shot. His skill as a passer and his fairly gritty resolve were on display along with the positive connection he had with Cesc. There is something else that is missing though. With all of the amazing players we have on the field, why should we just settle for a band-aid when we could afford some class in a position that is so very important. I think this is the time to splash some cash and bring in a dominate force that will control the area. What say you YaYa, want to be a Gunner? Or you Inler, looking for a little red in your life? And you Alonso would...nah, you can stay where you are, we don't need a liability on the field.
I must admit Yaya would be a hugely exciting signing for me. I can't see it happening, but Wenger hasn't ruled him out. I'd love it if that small chance became reality!
I can handle if we don't buy though and Denilson certainly is our best player for that role (at the moment).
But like I said if we bought Yaya, I'd be over the moon1
Arsenole, how many trophies did we win with the Flamini-Fabregas lightweight central midfield? Erm, I think it was oooooooh...NONE!!! Sure we played good football but too many times we lost the high ball in the middle of the park and put pressure on our defence.
If you would have read my post completely you would have seen that I am not for a big-name signing such as Barry or Alonso, just an experienced head, with the physical presence to be a stop-gap whilst the Ramseys, Denilsons and Diabys are blooded.
P.S. I really hope I'm not proved right once again (for the fourth season running) that we won't win jack without serious recruitments of quality...and no I don't mean signings like Buffon, Sergio Ramos, David Silva, David Villa, etc...JUST SOME EXPERIENCE PLEASE!!! I love my club I don't want to see us do nothing once again, our boys, our supporters and our proud history deserves more than barren season after barren season due to a failed transfer policy.
How can you count the transfer season as a failure? We have Vela coming back, brought in Nasri and Ramsey who look promising, and only lost a few players, 2 of which (Gilberto and Jens) weren't going to play much anyway.
We almost won the Carling Cup year before last with all the youngsters, and now they're older. But thanks for the optimism dan
I'm with Dan. To be a contender for the Premiership, we needed to win the transfer season. At the moment, we've broken even - Vela and Nasri for Flamini and Hleb. We need an experienced central midfielder, especially since Diaby's out and Song's at the the Olympics. And we probably need another central defender, or hope like buggery that Senderos or Djourou step up.
That said, go Aussies! We're awesome in sports no one else gives a fuck about.
as a football supporter u hav no right to slag of rowing because it is far more demanding than football and football is played by a bunch of ponses (not the arsenal obv..its why we are the best)
denilson is quality and i dont see why now we are fixated with having to hav a defensive midfielder jus bcos of the affect flamini had
Fine Arsenole, I love my club and I'll always cheer them on and pay over a grand a year for the priviledge, it's just annoying seeing a storm on the horizon and trying to get the warning out that we can still do something (until the end of August) to save our season. Meanwhile there are people, blinded by faith in unproven youngsters of great talent that we can see it through.
We need a serious goalkeeper (although Fabianski's performance against Sevilla has caused me not to write him off...just yet) and a proven defensive midfielder with stature and a winning mentality. These two players are the minimum, which is needed for success this season.
You point to our youngsters almost winning the Carling Cup the season before last...how about last season and us getting dicked on by the Spuds? Have you selectively blocked that from your memory?
I'm sorry guys but anyone who believes we can realistically challenge the war machines which are Chelsea and United with the SQUAD (or lack of it) that we have at the moment, needs their head examining.
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