Massive victory in Wales

Posted on March 17, 2013 by bendtnersbettercousin

Good morning from Hungoversville. Population: Me. But you know what? After a result like yesterday’s away to Swansea, there was no way I’d sack off blogging on a Sunday morning. Make no mistake about it, yesterday’s victory against the Welshmen was MASSIVE.

In the blog yesterday I spoke of my nerves. I spoke of the threat that Swansea provide, of how they will fancy their chances and how we will need to be back to our best in order to get a result. After all, most teams that go to the Liberty cross back over the Severn Bridge with very little to show for their work. So to go into an international break with a solid 2-0 away victory is most satisfying, I can tell thee.

As is customary from Le Boss from time-to-time, he threw a few curve balls with his starting line up selection, giving the nod to Monreal - which was expected, but also The Ox and Diaby - which was not. Rosicky and Rambo made way and Santi dropped back into midfield to assume the role that he has played more often than not this season of free roamer. Lukas and Laurent also retained their places, so the team had the look of a side that was big enough in squad depth to cope with the rigours of the English football season. As I said on Thursday in the wake of the Bayern game, one swallow doth not a summer make, but it was a really positive thing to see Arsene rotate his team and still manage to get a result. It’s something we’ve all wondered about this season when it comes to the ability of the whole squad to compete.

We knew what we would get from Swansea. They passed and passed and passed the ball and probed for their chance and of course it was inevitable Michu would get one or two, but to be honest Swansea didn’t spend that much of the first half banging down on the Arsenal defensive door. In fact, it was Arsenal that came closest through The Ox. Hit hit the post early on in the first half and right on the stroke of halftime.I thought the Ox had a good game yesterday and looked like more like the young and confident player that we saw at times last season.

I thought Diaby wasn’t at his best yesterday and his style leaves a lot to be frustrated about, so when he and the Ox were substituted for Ramsey and Gervhino, it was the right decision by Wenger. This was made all the more evident with the two substitutes combining to finish off the game on 90 minutes. It must have felt good for Ramsey, who gets roundly booed every time he comes to Swansea. The best way to silence home fans is by beating the home team and Rambo will have probably taken a little bit more pleasure from the result than anyone else.

The second half started off with The Arsenal in ascendency and for the first ten minutes or so and with Santi Cazorla skipping past players and looking like the fleet-footed player we saw at the start of the season, from this humble bloggers eyes it looked like we could get a result, despite having to listen to commentators purring over Swansea’s passing even when they don’t go anywhere. It’s funny, when Arsenal have lots of possession but no penetration, it is seen as ‘typical Arsenal’ and we’re chastised, but such is the love of an underdog in this country, that when Swansea had the same dilemma, they are seen as playing great football by the media.

It was good to see Monreal on the score sheet yesterday, albeit through a scruffy effort, and although Vorm probably should have saved the scuffed shot. Much like all of the back five, who managed a second clean sheet in a week, that I thought was also a really pleasing thing about the result. we’ve become so used to seeing Arsenal make rod for their own backs defensively, that it is just as good to see a ’0′ beside the opponents scoreline at the end of the game.

This was a dominating and thoroughly deserving result from a team that will take a lot of confidence going into the international break. It means we can enjoy the break without having to stew on the poor result for two weeks. I thought the intensity of the play was also a plus point. With the result won and time ticking away, you could be forgiven for thinking that the players would be happy to see the result off, but the attitude of the players from the first whistle to the last was epitomised with Aaron Ramsey forcing Vorm to kick the ball out for a thrown in despite being 2-0 up. This is the attitude that we want to see and this is the desire that will give us the best shot of finishing in the top four. I questioned Le Boss’ ability to motivate the players on a consistent basis between now and the end of the season, and after a result like that I am only happy to be proven wrong. All we need to do now is win the other nine and we’ll probably be fine!

Crazy Corner Conundrum

Posted on March 8, 2013 by oaf12

Hey party people oaf12 here and welcome to Suburban Gooners!

It’s been a while since I have blogged on Suburban Gooners, yet it feels as if we are in the same position as we always (well for a while now) have been……nearly there!

My main worry is that the ‘there’ in ‘nearly there’ is the one thing that is changing! Over the years it has been the league title, then the top 2 or, at worst 3, but sadly now it is 4th and while I am still hopeful, even that target is looking rather challenging right now!

I’m not going to go into the who is or isn’t to blame – that has been done before, several million times. What I will say is that it certainly isn’t as black & white as simply being Wenger’s fault. Whilst he certainly isn’t blameless, I feel the main problems are higher up the chain. I would welcome David Dein back with open arms and as long as we didn’t ‘overspend’ I would also welcome a hungrier owner or at least one that seemed to care.

Anyway, enough of that rubbish, let’s get back to today’s topic and discuss our defensive corner policy. Again, I am not going to talk about why and whether we should or shouldn’t use zonal marking as that has been ‘done to death’. What I want to chat about is the fact that it drives me insane that we bring EVERY single player back to defend corners……

At first you may think “but oaf surely this is a good thing as it sures up our defence” but I would have to disagree! I really can’t see how, if anything I would argue the players probably get in each other’s way and play ‘the blame game’ when something goes wrong.

Also, I don’t know about you but if I were a goalkeeper (I have been, wow!!), I would feel more confident of collecting a ball within an area that doesn’t contain 20 players! By remoiving even 1, 2 or 3 it will create more space for Szczesny to manoeuvre, crazy huh!?!

My main concern however, is how much this limits us and invites yet more pressure. On the odd occasion a cleared ball may fall to, say, Theo on the edge of our box when cleared – this happened in the Newcastle game. Like lightening he carries the ball forward to launch a counter attack, so fast in fact that you start to remember how we used to play, how we used to be able to soak up pressure and then pounce!

Sadly, that is not the case anymore though is it? What actually happens, again as in the Newcastle game, is that the opposition have enough players back to crowd us out and we lose possession.

That is the odd occasion……

What usually happens is that when we clear the ball, all of our players are in or around our box so there is nowhere for the ball to go other than into the possession of the opposite team. Usually an opposing player picks it up and has enough time, as there is nobody there to hassle him, to look up and pick a pass / cross back into the danger zone.

It also invites the opposition to push more men forward, why not if there is nobody to mark! This is Sunday league stuff – if they (the oppo) have one striker forward you leave 2 defenders back, but if they have no strikers then you have a licence to push more men forward for the corner.

I’m not saying leave Giroud forward, he is good in the air so should come back but leave someone mobile, quick and maybe not as strong in the air up top. There will still be enough defenders and it will give us an outlet rather than blindly giving the ball away.

Imagine defending against Theo, or the Ox or Podolski at that matter, on the halfway line while your team have a corner. If that ball gets cleared over your head you know you are in trouble! Especially if one of the others are on the edge of the box to carry the ball or link up play too.

At the moment when we concede a corner our only target is to defend. With an outlet we could use (cleared) corners to our advantage – we cannot do this with the current set up.

To me this is obvious, simple, stuff and needs looking at ASAP.

What do you think Gooners? Are my points valid or talking nonsense?

Would be great to get your views in the comments below.

Cheers all

oaf out

Bayern at home: Redemption can be swift

Posted on February 19, 2013 by bendtnersbettercousin

Football is a wonderfully forgiving world. You can be at rock bottom one day, then within a day or two gone by you have the opportunity to wash away your sins by that sweetest of things: victory. Football is a fast paced world and that can sometimes work to your advantage. Redemption can be a swift and wonderful thing in football. All you have to do is win.

That is certainly the mantra that I would be saying to each and every one of the players that are elected to play tonight. Each player has to know that they must put all of their previous transgressions to one side and focus purely on the opponents for tonight: Bayern Munich.

Arsenal rarely make it easy for themselves and tonight is testimony to that. Instead of finishing top of the group we slipped up to Schalke which meant a more difficult tie earlier on in the competition. Aside from Barcelona, I don’t think you could get more difficult than last year’s finalists, Bayern Munich. They have a plethora of attacking players that can carve open defences at will and probably should be the reigning Champions of Europe, but for Roberto Di Matteo and his selling of soul to the Devil to win the FA Cup and Champions League last year. Unfortunately for the Italian he paid the price of being at Chelski, but the way that Bayern played in that final against the Chavs should serve as both a stark reminder of their quality, but also of their weaknesses. Look, I’m not suggesting that because Chelski won on penalties, it will be an opportunity for us to do over the Germans. But I think that despite the media savaging that seems to be happening at the moment, we can win tonight and then get a result away from home. I have to believe that. Hope is the last bastion of the desperate man, and after our desperate performances in the cup competitions this year I have to hold on to hope that this Arsenal team will come out swinging tonight.

There’s no doubt that we have the ability to put on a show and prove the doubters wrong. There is no doubt that some of these players have something to prove to, well, just about everybody. but there is a doubt in their own confidence and their own belief right now. I haven’t met too many non-gooners that are giving us much chance over two legs. But we’ve seen the side grind out a result against Sunderland. We’ve seen them come back from the abyss against Liverpool after a shocking first half. So we have to believe that we can see them negate the attacking threat of Gomez, Ribery, Robben, Muller and Schweinsteiger.

I was told yesterday that Bayern have conceded just one goal away from home this year. well, I suspect we’ll have to double that tally if we want to take anything substantial to the Allianz Arena. That is a frightening statistic in its own right, but if it alleviates a little bit more pressure and provides an impetus for the players to play up to the ‘underdogs’ tag even more, then I won’t mind. We will need to see Podolski (rested on Saturday so you never know, he might actually make 90 minutes for us tonight!), Walcott and if playing, Giroud, to be on form tonight. We can ill afford profligacy in front of goal. We will need Jack to be his marauding self and Santi will need his vision and passing range to be at it’s best. I suspect we’ll see a back four of Sagna, Koscienly, Mertescaker and Vermaelen take to the field in defence, and it is my hope that the BFG can show his German international teammates a thing or two at the heart of our defence.

We will need to see an Arsenal that is quick off the blocks and up for this tonight. There are no opportunities in Champions League football for ‘second half Arsenal’ and if the same intensity is shown to Bayern as was shown to Blackburn, it will be a massacre. But here’s the thing; I don’t doubt for a second that the players won’t be infinitely better than the weekend. I think we’ll see a totally different Arsenal team that is pressing, chasing every ball and is giving the home fans something to scream about. Right now, that’s all I care about. Yes, we can assess why they can’t do that in every game should what I am predicting happen tonight, but that is a debate for another day. All we need to care about tonight is making the atmosphere amazing, the players are up for it, and we show the Germans what we’re made of.

A quick word on Arsene before I sign off for the day. I have to say I was a little embarrassed by his outburst in the presser yesterday. I’ve always admired Arsene for the dignity he has shown even in the face of some quite manipulative and spineless journalists. But yesterday had all of the hallmarks of a manager that is feeling the pressure and can potentially see the end in sight. It is a sad state of affairs. But I don’t really want to dwell on that too much right now, I want to make sure everyone with a stake in Arsenal Football Club, is behind the team and roaring them on to success tonight. I’ll leave my thoughts on Arsene for another day.

I’ll be there in all my Arsenal fineries cheering on the lads. If you are, or if you’re watching on TV, just make sure you’re screaming as much as me! Come on Arsenal!

Relief, frustration, despair and Arsenal. The words go hand in hand

Posted on February 1, 2013 by bendtnersbettercousin

So there we have it. Here we are. It’s finally over. until the summer that is. The over-dramacised, over-hyped, theatrical ‘Transfer Deadline Day’ has final set sail to return only to return at the end of August.

There is a very relived part of me this morning I have to admit. I can now concentrate on talking about football and not speculation. my Twitter feed will die down with ITKs and ‘i’m hearing’. Yep, definite relief.

Yet that is not my overwhelming emotion on this Friday morning. My feelings today are that yet again Arsenal Football Club has failed to deliver the required movements to really kick the team on this season. When the August deadline passed and no striker was incoming, we were provided with press soundbites of ‘there is always January’. Yet now we see that those comments were designed purely to instil that all important element of hope into the fans. ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got a squad that can cope, and if we’re not coping then we’ll go out and augment the team with quality signings that will ensure that we continue to eat at the top table. Well it worked until about 11.30pm yesterday when fans like me are once again left feeling like the club hasn’t done all in its power to ensure that we maintain competitive and improve as a club.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to wake up and see we’ve spent £12million on a good but not amazing central defender and we’re paying him £100k a week for the privilege. The signing of Chris Samba by QPR might be a good addition to the squad, but it is a huge roll of the dice by Harry. If QPR go down they will be in trouble of Portsmouth proportions. It is because of our thrifty way that we think like this by the way. If we signed a player for £12million and £100k a week, over the lifetime of their contract that’s £40million, which the way Arsenal work turns out to be £40million of the supposed £70million we have. That is why we Arsenal fans look so closely at the pennies. Because we know the team needs two or three quality players, yet if we go over the top on good but not great players, it will just make for yet another summer of discontent as we yet again fail to add to the squad.

But going back to my original point: I don’t want to see ridiculous money thrown at players. But there are players out there that could have added some genuine squad depth to this team. David Villa would have been a great signing. Jovetic would have been superb. Even Diame would have been a good bit of competition in midfield for when Diaby gets his inevitable injury on Saturday and is out for the rest of the season, followed by Arteta having a ‘little setback’ and turning three weeks out to two months. There are plenty of players out there that we could have called on to improve and yet we have continued to keep our powder dry.

Still, there was at least one signing that we were able to bring in that most certainly addresses a need, so I need to temper some of my angst at least in the knowledge that we have some competition at left back. The man known as ‘Nacho’ has joined us from Malaga and he will certainly add more depth and competition for the much maligned Andre Santos. Surely this is the end of the Brazillian’s time at the club so I’d expect him to be one of the first out of the door come June. If we can find a buyer that is willing to pay his surely exorbitant wages.

I know nothing about Monreal. I’ve read plenty from fans, journalists and players saying that he is understudy to Jordi Alba in the Spanish national team, which gives me the first indication that he will most certainly be challenging Gibbs more than the chunky Brazillian was. I’m not going to go into any major depth about his attributes, as it would be a false prophecy on my part, but I suspect we’ll find out all about him tomorrow (did he get clearance to play) or away to Sunderland the following weekend.

So we have at least added to our ailing defence. But to me it simply wasn’t enough. I read the AST statement about the money available to the club and with the new TV deal and other revenue increasing, failure to be in the Champions League will be off-set by that. Which again brings me back into questioning why on earth we haven’t done all we can to strengthen in key areas. The whole world knows where we need to strengthen, yet the stubbornness of the manager is all too prevalent. He is more concerned with sticking to his flawed socialist ideology of financial fair play. I say flawed because I am quite convinced that come the introduction of the FFP rules, we will see quite quickly how the big clubs get around it.

Arsene says the squad is good enough. Arsene says he has two players for every position. Arsene believes bringing in more players would create too much wastage. If that is the case, why is he only using a core of 12 or 13 players every single week. If he has so much faith in the squad why do we weaken ourselves by sending half of it out on loan? Will he start to utilise promising talents like Eisfeld or Gnabry? Or even Rosicky? You cannot tell me that Gervhino is a better player than Rosicky and yet he will probably come into the team as soon as the African Cup of Nations is over. You also cannot tell me that there are players that are within our price range that are not better than Gervhino. Crikey, there are players in some of the teams fighting for relegation that are better than Gervhino.

In reading this blog you could be forgiven for thinking that I am turning on Arsene. I can only assure you that this is not the case. I would like nothing more than for him to turn this around, put together a winning run and perhaps even send us on a cup winning run. But the probability of us doing that with this squad that, once you scratch below the surface is paper-thin in terms of quality, are leading me to question whether he knows at all. By not bringing players in he has made a rod for his own back. The doubters now have their biggest stick with which to beat him and he has no place to hide if the team falls away from fighting for fourth place. Just say that again out loud to yourself. We are fighting for fourth place. We are so far from the Invincibles now it is scary.

I will be going on Saturday. I will cheer on my team and I will hope that we can do something now that lifts us into the top four. But by not adding to the side as much as we’d hoped, I’m skeptical that we can do that.

Until tomorrow peeps.

Smiting Chelski – an unashamedly positive blog

Posted on January 20, 2013 by bendtnersbettercousin

Well hello there sports fans. And what a happy Sunday today is. For today we get to extract revenge on Chelski at Stamford Bridge. Today my fellow Arsenal supporting humans, i’m going to try and be overly positive about the game because the way I figure it, getting worried and worked up about the result doesn’t exactly make for a happy Chris. Plus, if we lose – which we totally won’t by the way – then i’ll have wasted the whole day feeling sad.

Nope, today is going to be a great day. And if it isn’t, please direct your vexatation (is thaat a real word) to Arsesne Wenger, care of Highbury House. But you totally won’t need to by the way – did I say that already?

A win to build on the solid second half performance of Wedneesday night will be just the tonic this team needs. Footballers all talk about how three points against any team is just the same, but the psychological impact of beating one of the teeams around you is far greater than smashing the team bottom of the league one-nil at home. It sends a message to the teams from the whole league that the club can put a run together and it gives the players a much needed boost ahead of a series of really important games.

Chelski are favourites, there is no doubt about that, but that me’s diddly squat in my eyes. Because we were favourites against Norwich. We were favourites against Swansea. Against Fulham and Sunderland. Yet we didn’t pick up the three points. Their home form leaves a lot to be desired with and today we are going to give Rafa’s men another bloody nose. The power of positive thinking friends! that is where it’s at!

in terms of team neews, we’ve got a full compliment bar Rosicky and Arteta, which I hope means another start for Coquelin. He was impressive gainst Swansea and his ability to break up play with his tackling is all too evident. As many bloggers have already written, we looked to have a good balance about us against Swansea on Wednesday, so I hope Arsene saw that too and will play the same side. It will mean only a place on the bench for Poldi, but what an option that is to have coming from the bench.

Last year Theo had a good game and was in the goals in the 5-3 thriller, and with the ink from his new contract still dry, I hope he’s got an extra spring in his step when he takes to the field this lunchtime. He’ll need to have, because we need all of the front three firing on all cylinders for us to get the three points – which as I have already assured you, is a case of WHEN rather than IF.

As for the opponents, they are weighing up whether John Terry makes a return to the side, which would be absolutely mad not to start Demba Ba given the form he is in right now. He also knows how to get a goal or two against us having already baggeed a couple against us in the 7-3 wwin against Newcastle. I suspect we’ll see Mata and Hazard being given licence to roam against our slightly shaky back four, but with Vermaelen having possibly his best game this season in midweek, there will be an added air of confidence for our captain when he lines up against them. Thankfully, there will be no sight of that nasty little oik John Obi Mikel, as he’s off at the ACN, but I suspect Sideshow Bob will provide enough of a test for our midfield. Just getting past his overgrown locks will be a successful challenge in itself.

That’s where Abou comes in. Games like today were made for him to take charge in and cut through the Chelski side. If he can last the 90 minutes, he’ll be a massive handful and the hope is that he can unlock the blue defence in doing so.

I want to see us get back to the team we all know and love. I want to see the midfield out passing Chelski’s team of mercs. I want goals and I want swagger. And i believe we’ll get it.

catch you on the other side gooners, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

Fanuary – another last one…..

Posted on January 10, 2013 by oaf12

Morning all.

There’s not really a lot going on at the moment, as we count down to Sunday’s crucial game against Man City. Le Boss might poke his head around the door at the press centre in London Colney, but that’s probably it. He knows he’ll be asked about player availability, transfers and Theo, so nothing new at all I suspect.

With that in mind, I thought I’d re-post a blog on Fanuary that good olde Oaf12 did last week, but unfortunately we were poor in our communication and I posted something shortly thereafter. So let me hand him the floor and tell us who he wants to see with the remaining window days ticking down. Take it away Steve…

Hey party people oaf12 here!

So with all the excitement around the Fanuary series it seems mine was missed – queue the world’s smallest violin

The sad truth is that it was actually rejected the the evil bendtnersnettercousin who decided that it didn’t contain enough detail, which was fine. However, he also decided not to bother telling me…….pure evil I tell you!!

Anyway enough of him and back to me, you and the second final Fanuary

Enjoy.

Do you honestly think we are going to sign a number of players in January despite similar promises in previous seasons?

Really unsure about this one…..I’m usually very positive but I find it hard to see us signing a quantity of players after (by our standards) such a busy summer.

I know to us fans there are a few areas that obviously need strengthening / back up but what is so gloriously obvious to us isn’t always picked up by the boss – like the fact that Gervinho really isn’t a striker!

As usual we aren’t any the wiser with Wenger saying things like “Can I say we will be active? Yes. Can I say this will be concrete? No.” or statements about his main priority being getting Theo to sign before looking elsewhere – for all we know this night not happen until the end of the month, if at all.

I will remain hopeful though; let’s hope it pays off…..

Do you feel Wenger needs to buy a ‘big’ player in January in order to make a statement to the fans or just make the right acquisitions?

I don’t think it would hurt, yet I don’t think it is a necessity. I would have included Cazorla & Podolski as big players and I think that’s the level I would like to see us look at more – i.e. not Messi / Ronaldo level but still top class players. I would have definitely included Huntelaar within this level but he has signed a new deal at Schalke now

I know it’s not likely but a signing like Lewandowski or Cavani would be one hell of a statement and would be a great boost to the team. It would be a nice middle finger to players such as RvP and Nasri too.

The only negative would be that if they performed we would then need to worry about how long we keep them for, not a nice thought but unfortunately a reality at the moment!

Which position needs the most strengthening and which player would you sign to improve this area of the team?

I would say up top and cover out wide. Regardless of results and how we have been playing the stats are positive towards the number of goals we concede; we are just missing that clinical player up top to finish the job for us. Could this be Theo? Maybe – but should we put our eggs in a basket that may potentially be gone before too long, I’m not sure.

I’m also puzzled as to why Giroud seems to be playing fewer games since he looked like he had hit a bit of form….

I would have LOVED to see Huntelaar come in for two reasons 1) He is pretty damn clinical and is used to being the focal point up top 2) He doesn’t seen to like van Loser (as my son calls him).

With him out of the picture one of the two I mention above would be nice. I can’t see this happening though so let’s hope we pull another gem from somewhere…..hmmmm. We should have snapped up Ba.

Squad wise we need a keeper (I don’t even want to think about an injury to Szczesny right now some decent back up / competition like Butland, or us making it worse by him playing with one like last season), a left back (would love to see Baines come in but Shaw at Southampton has also impressed but the my hinder Meade) due to Gibbs’ fitness record and maybe some steel in midfield. I don’t have anyone in mind for this so can only point you in the direction of Ben’s post as he clearly has a preferred choice here.

I’d like to see Eisfeld get some game time too though.

Are we still in a situation of where we need to sell before we can buy?

I don’t think so but that’s probably not the view from the club. It would be good to get some of the players off the wage bull to make room for some of the above – unfortunately I would probably include Diaby is this.

It looks likely that Chamakh, Squilacci and Djourou may be out which is good for both them and their careers but also for our wage bill.

With Diaby my main concern is his injury record. Every time he comes back seems to coincide with a transfer window and he is hailed as ‘a new signing’ he then plays one good/great game out of 5 but is worshiped for this before getting injured for a few months just as the transfer window shuts.

We cannot rely on this and must sign reliable players and see his (and possible Rosicky) fitness as a bonus as and when it happens.

Saying that, knowing our luck, should these players leave they will probably never have an injury again and go on to play consistently for another team.

Do we need to sign replacements for potential summer outgoings in this transfer window?

Yes, without a doubt! Theo has actually been a bright light so for this season. We’ll need to replace him should he go and the sooner that is done the better. I’m sure that if he stays one extra man in the squad won’t derail the whole team.

Squad players (Chamakh and co) always need replacing but hopefully with more quality so that we can actually use them. Bringing Gervinho on or rotating him as a starter is really hindering us at the moment. His form at Lille and some of his early form shows he is obviously capable but at the moment he can’t even kick a ball cleanly – kind of important for a footballer – and constantly just runs into defenders. A decent winger to replace him and having the Ox (to remove some pressure) as back up would make a real difference.

Sagna is still one of the best right backs about (despite recent strange form) so if he heads off young Jenks will need some help and ideally another potential mentor. The French right back Debuchy impressed at the Euros and if he was willing to go to Newcastle…..

Would you like to add anything?

It’s been such a frustrating season so far as I had such high hopes for this team as on paper we look very good.

I don’t think major surgery is required (I seem to find myself saying that every year) but wouldn’t say it will be a simple key-hole job either.

We need to stop putting blind faith in players such as Diaby and also need to be harsher when assessing ability / form. Gervinho gets 90 mins when he is less effective up front than Mertersaker would be – this needs to stop.

I know I have focussed on our attack more than the defence but for me a strong attack really does help the defence. They are out under less pressure and there is always a focal point, conceding a goal isn’t as soul destroying and actually if you look at our (1st choice) defenders individually there are plenty worse players out there but not piles of better ones.

We also need to stop paying the mid-tier of players so much money so that clubs aren’t put off by their wages. We seem to have this the wrong way round – our worst players can’t find new clubs as their wages are too high, yet our best players could go to Liverpool and get more money.

Seems odd to me…..

Thanks all, until next time.

oaf out

An effective squad needs better use of rotation

Posted on January 8, 2013 by bendtnersbettercousin

Morning you gooner, you.

I have a little confession I must make to you. There was a little part of me on Sunday that hoped there would be a replay. Not after we scored the second goal of course, then I was only thinking of the win, but up until that point there was a teeny-weeny part of me that thought a replay would not be such a bad thing. Really teeny. Buried deep within the recesses of my mind.

Why? Well, I love going to watch Arsenal live and in the flesh, feeling the build up around the ground and smelling the anticipation in the air. It’s all really exciting and I wish we could play home games every week. Sadly however, it feels like I really haven’t seen that many games at all this season. I missed Schalke and West Brom matches due to family commitments which has probably compounded this feeling, but the fact we had the West Ham game postponed along with the first half of the season fixture list being a little bit more heavily weighted towards away fixtures, has led to this feeling that I just haven’t had enough Arsenal for my liking this season.

So when the chance comes to head along to The Emirates next Wednesday, I’ll get that excited feeling again, which I am seeing as a positive. Ignoring the fact that we have been pretty average on multiple occasions this year, I’m just happy to see my team play, and am hopeful that the players can do what is required to get the win.

And the good thing? We play five out of the next six games at home. It’s glorious stuff. Moneychester City, Swansea, Liverpool, West Ham and Stoke. All at home. All an opportunity to roar on the team. And all in the space of the next month.

Of course Arsene has a different perspective; he who must manage the squads fatigue levels and ensure there is no burnout, will be looking at the next four weeks and wondering where the respite will come from. Successive weekend/Wednesday games will inevitably force his hand in terms of rotating his squad, which i think could turn out to be a positive for the players as well, again – trying to look at some positive resolutions to our recent woes. I looked at Big Per’s shaky game on Sunday and initially wondered what had happened to our towering German. He seemed off the pace, slightly ponderous and his positional play wasn’t exactly top-notch. But I quickly dismissed this line of enquiry in my head with the realisation that he hasn’t played since before Christmas. Maybe Father Christmas bought him too much stollen and he’s feeling a little sluggish, i dunno. But what it did make me realise (his sluggish performance, not the stollen) is that it’s very difficult to call upon players who may not have seen any action for an entire month or more. We can all bemoan the atrocious form of Chamakh or the apparent laziness of Arshavin, but the reality is that they were never given anything other than the odd game with complete knowledge that they had no chance of dislodging anybody from the first team. It can’t be any good for your confidence knowing that and must surely play a part in their overall performance.

I don’t want to suggest we should take gambles of playing players into form that are clearly technically limited, or just don’t seem to care any more, I’m just trying to understand why these players can’t do it. Perhaps it is a crisis of confidence, or perhaps it’s that they see their futures elsewhere, but there has to be some kind of delicate balance to be struck. I hate to say this (I REALLY do) but Fergie manages to rotate players to a degree of success, and when I look at some of the players he has in his squad, in terms of technical ability I don’t see there being a massive difference. Certainly not an 18 point one. So why do we have problems with rotating?

Perhaps this is where Arsene should take some responsibility. After all, he is the one that is talking about having a fully fit injury-free squad, yet we see the same 12 or 13 players play every week. Is that because he has no faith in the other ten that are close (in theory) to the first team? You can hardly say that with our form this season, that he is sticking to a winning team, because we’ve not been able to string together what I would call a decent run of wins all season. We’ve spluttered more than an old yellow Robin Reliant.

Let’s look at the recent Swansea game. I would have thought it was made for Rosicky to get some game time. I know it’s easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but I thought Cazorla was quiet, and an opportunity to show that if the worst were to happen to Santi, we have a player that can slot in and do a job was there for Tomas. Yet he remained patiently on the bench for his chance. Which never came.

I have the same feelings about Coquelin. He hasn’t been too impressive when starting in the Capital One Cup, but I think a run of games would be very useful for him in midfield. Normally, with the injury luck Arsenal used to have, he’d have had a run of games by now. After all, that’s what got Denilson playing over 150 times for us, so perhaps Le Coq is unlucky. Maybe Arsene doesn’t trust him enough, which means the only other alternative is to buy a ready-made ball-winning (very reluctant to say ‘DM’ because I think the position doesn’t really exist with Arsene any more – he wants his midfielders to be more interchangeable) midfielder, which would of course, as Arsene would say, ‘kill’ Coquelin – or at least his chances of a career at Arsenal.

Arsene has hinted that one or two signings will be made this January. If that is the case, then he needs to be looking at the attacking three for his new blood injection, but he needs to rotate more everywhere else. Jenkinson needs to come in occasionally. If Diaby stays fit for more than 30 minutes then he needs to relieve Jack or Mikel. Coquelin should be given the chance to prove his worth, plus he should play the square peg Ramsey in a square-shaped hole in midfield.

I suppose I could start some thoughts about what players we may sign, or talk about the rumours of David Villa at Heathrow, but what is the point? It will only wind me up more for writing it, or you for reading it. So I’ll say adieu for today.

Adieu.

Southampton: fire not fizzle required

Posted on January 1, 2013 by bendtnersbettercousin

Morning fellow fans of the fabulous North London red and white football team known to us all as ‘The Arsenal’. It’s a New Year. A fresh start. A time for resolutions, plans for new beginnings and an opportunity to write history.

At the end of 2011 I was glad to see the back of it from a footballing perspective. With 2012 now consigned to the ‘what was once, has now past’ part of footballing memories I have stored away like my old Arsenal programames in my shed, I am now ready to start afresh with a New Year and a renewed vigour of hope. As you can tell from my vivacious opening to this blog, I’m excited about what this year could achieve for Arsenal. How long will that excitement last? I’ll tell you come 8pm tonight.

Yes folks, the start of a New Year heralds an almost instant opportunity for the current squad to lay down a marker for how 2013 will pan out. Should we see three points and a dominant display against a dogged Southampton, then the optimism I have shall continue into this weekend’s FA Cup tie to Swansea. Should we fizzle out like an overpriced November firework bought from a back alley merchant on the A10, then I upset the fire of excitement might just be extinguished quicker than we all hope.

The team news is pretty much as we expected. Barring the usual afflictions to the usual suspects (Diaby must surely now be looking more like Kevin Spacey before we find out he’s Keyser Söze than ever before with his dodgy knees and ankles), we’ve got an almost full complement to choose from at St Mary’s today. It is enough to send you giddy with excitement I tells ya. So we can expect to see Szczesny (Thanks to JackGoonerski for keeping me on my toes!) start with a back four of Sagna, Gibbs, Vermaelen and I suspect a return for Big Per at the heart of the defence. The three musketeers of Cazorla, Arteta and Wilshire will continue in the heart of the team, but the decisions up top will be more challenging. In fact, you’d probably say it would be easier for Le Boss to start with those that haven’t got a hope in hell of making the squad and work back from there. Arshavin: you’re cut. Gervhino: you’re out. Chamakh: I saw some good hustle with that Shisha during the week, which is why it was so hard to cut you.

I think Arsene will plump for the same three that started the game against Newcastle on Saturday. How could you not in all fairness? All three were on the score sheet and the contract rebel himself grabbed another hat trick. It is harsh on Giroud, who could have also have had a hat trick had that pesky crossbar not conspired against him, but you can’t drop a player that has just bagged three goals. In addition, I suspect that Theo and The Ox may just have that little extra juice in their tank by way of an incentive against their old club. I still expect Giroud to have some role to play, but I think it may be just to that of a second half cameo.

Southampton are a team that have no trouble scoring goals – an unusual positive for a newly promoted side to the Premier League – but plenty of problems keeping them out of their own onion sack. Nigel Adkins doesn’t really seem to be confident in any of his keepers and, having spoken to a couple of Saints fans over the last few weeks, it is their defence that they really worry about. Having conceded three to Stoke a few days ago, you cannot say that our attackers will be too concerned about how they might create chances, but when you’ve got players like Lambert who can be a handful, their attackers will be thinking they will get a few chances against an Arsenal team that conceded three against a tired-looking Newcastle. Puncheon has also been a potent player on the right-wing and I suspect that Ba and Marveux’s goals against us will give him hope that he could do a bit of ghosting in at the far post if Gibbs is found wanting again. There could be a positive in the absence of their captain Adam Lallana through injury, who I rate really highly; he is a technically good player and a creative spark that they miss at times. Ramirez came with the reputation (and probably the wage packet to boot), but it’s the young Englishman who I’ve been more impressed with.

We need to be quick off the blocks today. There needs to be the urgency we saw against Reading and the clinical finishing of Newcastle. Southampton will give us chances to break them down – of that I am sure – but there needs to be players that take those chances. It may have only have been a few days since our last game, but Southampton have the same issues as us, probably more so given that they also played on Boxing Day, so excuses of fatigue will not be taken kindly too should the players not show they are up for this fight. We can’t afford to be lacklustre in the first half and spray the ball across our back four for 40 of the first 45 minutes. We need to be laying down a marker. Especially when you look at some of our upcoming fixtures. January is going to be a tough month, so we need to make sure that there are no more slip ups. We’ve already had too many draws and too many defeats. I very much doubt Reading (playing the Spuds), Fulham (against West Brom) and Newcastle (against Everton) will do us any favours, so we need to make sure we’re keeping track of those around us by winning games – even winning ugly will do at this time of the year.

Mercifully, the TV gods have allowed us gooners to have a late kick off, which means that many of us will be able to shake off any New Year’s Eve partying by the time kick off arrives. Sing up for The Arsenal gooners, and here’s to a very Happy Neew Year.

Newcastle: Let’s sign off 2012 in style Arsenal

Posted on December 29, 2012 by bendtnersbettercousin

Good grief this game has been a long time coming, eh? It’s not really Christmas without game-after-game-after-game, but we’ve had to make do with watching game-after-game of other teams around us picking up points against some pretty shoddy opposition. Wigan never really looked like picking up anything at Everton, West Brom got away with a couple of contentious decisions at QPR, and as for Spurs versus Villa, well, it was painfully annoying to see Villa roll over and have their bellies tickled by the monkey running the show.

But today is all about The Arsenal. Hoorah! It’s a trip to the Emirates for me and many of you too I suspect, as our lads will take on the ‘weeist’ of wee clubs based somewhere up north, as Fergie would say. We all know that he’s a complete moron at times, but now he’s going after other clubs in a totally disrespectful manner, it’s almost funny to watch – if they weren’t top of the league and harbouring a little Dutch boy trapped inside a grey-haired strikers body.

I watched the highlights from the game on Match of the Day and I have to say Newcastle were really unlucky not to get something from the game. Devoid of some of their most creative players in Cabaye, Ben Arfa and Gutierrez, they really went for the jugular against a pretty shaky defensive unit in the shape of Man Utd. Ba and Cisse are a real handful and I think Pardew will be pleased that they were able to go to what I suspect are Champions elect (ys, it does really pain me to say that) and put three past them. Olde referee-shover himself will have expected better from his defence though. That’s what he’ll want to see tighten up today against us, and if they can, then he’ll be confident that the attacking duo of Ba and Cisse will cause our defence some worries.

There is no question in my mind that today could be a tough game, but equally it could be one that sees us run riot. Our players have had over a week off (well, a week and a few hours, to be precise) whilst Newcastle’s will have faced a gruelling and confidence-sapping last-minute defeat that they will feel they don’t deserve. Conversely, our boys have had back-to-back-to-back victories in the league, which should (you would hope) provide a springboard for a confident display.

As Le Boss said yesterday in his pre-match presser, we have an unusual array of non-injured talent at the moment, which gives him the luxury of being able to pick what he thinks is the best side. Coupled to that the fact that there isn’t a need to shuffle the pack due to fatigue, and one hopes that we can see a quick start from the eleven that take to the field in this early evening kick off.

It will be the first fifteen minutes that I think will set the tone for the game. If we start in the same vein as Swansea, with lots of sideways passing and little probing moving forward, the chances are we’ll come up against a fluorescent yellow wall of players that will be happy to head back to the North East with a point. If however we start with the same tenacity that saw us stick five past Reading, then we can hope for a better result than just a point. We’ll know come about 6pm how this game will pan out. Break the deadlock in the first half and there will inevitably be some spaces that open up. Be shut out until half time and the nerves will set in. And with this Arsenal team, we all know that just one goal isn’t enough. If we’re one up with ten to play then I’ll have no nails left on my fingers, because with us and our shoddy zonal marking, it only takes a scabby corner or free kick into the box for an away team to toe-poke a goal home.

We need to be at it today. Our midfield trio of Jack, Santi and Mikel need to be far superior to that of Perch, Bigirimana and Tiote. They are the motor that can set the pace and dictate the game, and it is there that I think we could potentially get the joy that we’re hoping for. If Tiote is going to sit on Cazorla for the whole game, then that means Jack has to be bursting forward like he’s been doing in the last few games.

Up top Arsene has a decision to make with Giroud or Walcott. To me, this sort of game is made more for Giroud, who can play with his back to goal and bring other players in. I think Newcastle will sit deep and that will negate Theo’s key attributes, which will mean we could see a display more akin to Wigan than Reading. I’d still start Theo on the right, with perhaps the option to shift him alongside Giroud and bringing The Ox in on the right should we need to go a little more attacking in the second half. Whatever Arsene decides, the positive is that we have attacking options from the bench should he need them.

have a good one peeps, and let’s hope we sign off 2012 with some three-point loveliness.

Peace out.

West Brom Review: sweet victory with slight aour aftertaste (but not much)

Posted on December 9, 2012 by bendtnersbettercousin

Ahh, the sweet sweet winning feeling, carved up on a plate like a succulent piece of fillet steak for you to gorge yourself on whence Sunday comes. It means highlights can be re-watched, the moronic Alan Hansen becomes ever-so-slightly watchable on Match of the Day, and you have no problem keeping Sky Sports News on for the duration of the afternoon.

As I said in my blog yesterday, I was restrained from watching the game at the Emirates by the hand of charity, so the only real parts of the match I’ve watched have been the snippets on BBC1 as well as some of the match reviews. So it would be callous of me to provide you with in-depth analysis of the performance. That being said, I love my Arsenal don’t you know, hence why I write about them every day and today is not an exception.

Yes, we won by two penalties. Yes the first was a terrible dive that had us all wincing I’m sure. We like to be able to point the finger of morality in other teams directions (Gareth Bale), but when it goes for you, you certainly wouldn’t want to take back the decision to award the penalty. My thinking is: every other team has players that dive and cheat, so if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Just don’t do it any more Santi. The only worry you have to take from this is that the next time he’s felled in the box legitimately, the referee might just hesitate. That’s the problem Ronaldo had after a few dives for United and it’s a problem of reputation that Gareth Bale and Ashley Young are now faced with. The only difference appears to be that despite multiple examples of their cheating ways, after one or two weeks have passed, everyone has forgotten of their misdemeanours. I know I’m going to sound all conspiracy theorist on you now, but you can bet your bottom dollar that won’t happen with Cazorla. I hope it does, because he’s a fantastic player and in 16 league games and a number of cup games, he’s hardly Eboue’d himself to the floor every time he’s played. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed on that one.

The game itself looked to be one that we were never not in control of. We had 19 attempts at goal to West Brom’s 6, we had the majority of possession (as you’d expect) and by the sounds of some of the commentary the midfield three bossed the game, with Jack Wilshire providing the drive and energy that we’ve lacked in recent games. Our attacking play appeared slightly blunted, with Gervhino and Podolski missing a couple of real sitters, but as far as I’m concerned that means little difference. The end result was that three points were chalked up and the team looked to have regained a bit more of the zip about their play. Yesterday was about the three points, arresting the downward momentum of the slump we were on and putting a good side like West Brom to the sword on our own soil.

Next up we have a Capital One cup game against Bradford on Tuesday and, once again, my hope is that the bulk of the team that played yesterday does not travel up north. We all want to see another performance with more energy with it in the league next Monday against Reading, so I hope that we see a completely changed side, with the players that played today getting over a week’s rest to be really fresh. That extended break will also do them the world of good when you think about the business end of year schedule – it could almost be like a mini holiday for some of them, which would then be followed by almost a week off until we play Wigan, so it gives me hope that we can put ourselves in the best possible position to put together a good run of games.

That’s it from me today. I’m off to buy a Christmas tree. Have a good one peeps.

Suburban Gooners

The talk in Block 5…

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