Arsene Wenger’s Magic Hat?

Bradford. Seems an age since they were in the Premiership, and yet it was only 11 years ago. Today they sit 65 places below us. having had 17 (yes – 17!) managers since Mr Wenger came to Arsenal; Chairman Julian Rhodes has employed 9 managers since 2004! Current manager Phil Parkinson was an Arsenal scout and remains a fan.

Checking through some of the stats (kelsey kindly provided many yesterday) one fact stands out, tonight is Bradford’s 31st game of the season (we have played 24). That is a heavy workload and one must ask how is it economically viable? Plus, how can they do it with such a small squad?

The Romford Pele scored the last time we played Bradford(PL )

Having beaten Wigan in the last round Bradford will be looking to add an even bigger scalp tonight, can they do so? What do you think? Could a weakened Arsenal team really lose up in the frozen North? Even playing second strings AW will field a team full of current Internationals, however tonight will be about fight and spirit, not just talent and skill. Put these two teams on an indoor training pitch and AFC would win every time but tonight Bradford will be spurred on by 23,000 fans, their biggest crowd for 50 years, and they will not go down without a fight. The question is can we match their passion?

My Team:

Whether the above team has enough attacking potency  is open to question and perhaps we will see Ox start in place of Eisfeld. We are likely to get a sub appearance from Gnabry – a young player who is very highly rated by Mr Wenger. This could be the final game for Arshavin and Chamakh with both available for sale in January.

Today’s English explorer: Augustine Courtauld. (1904-1959) This young chap was another ice specialist. Trained as a stockbroker and son of the industrialist and art collector, Samuel Courtauld (the Courtauld Institute)   he was typical of the English loony explorers. Greenland was Courtauld’s area  and he once spent  5 months on his own during a Greenland winter observing weather conditions. The highest peak in the Arctic region is named after him, Mount Augustine.

Preparing the Valley Parade pitch for the visit of Arsenal

It would be a monkey off the back should we win this cup. OK it isn’t the silverware we would choose but nonetheless it is a trophy and one all the PL clubs compete in. Furthermore, it was George Graham’s first trophy and one which was the springboard to greater glory.

Embarrassing if we lose, a semi-final if we win. Well worth fighting for.

Written by Big Raddy

Brittania Revisited

A third trip to the Britannia in three seasons brought with it some mixed emotions. The 2009/10 game was played in February, a month after being beaten by the Stokies in the 4th round of the FA Cup. Ramsey’s leg snapped like a twig but the team responded magnificently to record a fine 3-1 victory.

2010/11 at the Britannia saw Arsenal in end of season free-fall and another defeat ensued. What would 2012 bring? Stoke always raise their game against us, refusing to lie down to superior footballing ability. The touchlines are narrowed, local aircraft given warnings of possible collisions with footballs and Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army gives the pre-match, rabble-rousing speech. Could Arsenal resist the bite of the cold steel? Anxious and expectant, the Arsenal away fans gathered in the Potteries.

(photo courtesy of Stuart MacFarlane)

After an easy drive along the A50 we arrived in plenty of time to find a parking spot at a local bowls club which would enable a smooth getaway at the end of the game. A brief chat with a couple of Stokies in the pub before the game elicited the information that they were pleased not to be in Europe again as it had ruined their season. Mid-table mediocrity seemed to be the height of their ambition…..oh, and beating Wenger’s Arsenal, of course. Arsenal are lacking a player who puts his foot in was their considered opinion whereas none of their players minded being kicked!

We had a fairly good view but were much too close to the inbred hoards and soon realised the aggression between the two sets of supporters was going to colour how we would remember the game.

The first half began and it soon became obvious that only one team had any desire to play any real football. The first booking came in the first couple of minutes as Whitehead fouled Song. The Gunners began the game at a canter and Benayoun should have done better, scuffing a left foot shot after clever interplay with Robin. Then it was the Dutchman himself who drew a fine save from Begovic with a glanced header at the near post.

Stoke scored from their first effort on goal with a pinpoint cross from Etherington which found the head of the Human Pylon. Even with Vermaelen and Koscielny leaping front and back of Crouch, they still stood little chance of stopping the goal. “One Nil to the Rugby team” sang the Stoke crowd. If I was a Rugby player, I would have been offended.

Arsenal quickly responded with another straightforward goal in its simplicity, van Persie slotting home after good work from Rosicky. “He scores when he want” and “By far the greatest team” followed.

The first half petered out from that point onwards. Gervinho had a chance to shoot after a lovely through ball from Sagna but put his effort way over the bar. Another chance nearly came to Gervinho who just failed to get his immense forehead onto a whipped-in cross.

My brother went for a half-time pie and heard the following conversation in the queue in front him. Arsenal supporter, ‘What flavour pies have you got?’ Girl behind the counter, ‘Chicken Balti, Steak and Ale…. Arsenal Supporter, ‘Have you got any Meat and Potato? ‘Yes’ came the reply. Arsenal fan, ‘I had one of those last year and it was farkin horrible’. Cue the laughter from the serving assistants behind the counter. The news that Newcastle were getting thumped certainly improved the atmosphere behind the goal during the half-time break.

The second half began with the boys kicking towards us. Surely things would improve and we would earn the crucial three points. As far as the football is concerned, I thought the second forty five was pretty poor. Arsenal probed and prodded. Shots were blocked. Robin slipped on a couple of occasions when he might have sneaked a shot on goal. There were a few decent looking free-kick opportunities for the good guys but none really troubled the Stoke keeper.

At the other end Szczesny made a fine blocking save from a vicious drive and a long throw header was cleared close to the Arsenal goal line. There was a brief rendition of ‘We can’t spell his name, we can’t spell his name, Wojciech Szczęsny, we can’t spell his name’.

The other dominant impression from standing behind the goal in the second half was how hideous the Stoke fans were. They finally found their voice after Shawcross lunged in on Benayoun. They sang ‘He breaks things when he wants, he breaks things when he wants, Ryan Shawcross, he breaks things when he wants’. (It could have been ‘legs’ rather than ‘things’, it was difficult to understand the accent). Looking across at their fans there were gestures of breaking a stick in two hands which I found quite sickening. Hideous miscreants.

Yossi had a good shout for a penalty ignored by Foy who looked across at his linesman to see a totally blank expression and so he waved play on. The last twenty minutes were a pantomime starring Arsene Wenger. He began waving his arms in the air at the injustice of the penalty decision and other decisions which followed. The Stoke crowd began to imitate him by waving their arms in the air at every opportunity while singing, ‘ Let’s all do the Wenger’ and if an Arsenal player committed a foul singing, ‘He didn’t see a thing, he didn’t see a thing , Arsene Wenger, he didn’t see a thing.’

Arsène needed someone to tell him to sit down as he may as well have been the Stoke cheerleader, such was his influence in stirring the Stoke crowd to generate more noise.

At the final whistle, I felt disappointed that we hadn’t been able to rise above the overall poor quality of the game and produce a few moments of real class to win us the three points. A hard-fought point would have to suffice, a point which looks better in the light of Newcastle’s zero points. Whether it’ll look so good after Sunday’s fixtures, only time will tell.

Ratings

I don’t really do ratings but I’d say that Benayoun and Rosicky seemed to have decent first halves. The defence were resolute throughout, Sagna looking dangerous assisting the attack in the first half, too. Szczesny couldn’t do much about the goal. Sometimes I wish he would catch instead of punch, especially in the second half when the aerial bombardment was in full force. I’d probably give them all a 7, with Tomas, Yossi and Bacary 7.5.

P.S. The Man of the Match was announced over the tannoy as Dean Whitehead. Sums it all up really!

Written by chas

Money Can’t Buy you Love

Today’s discussion is likely to revolve around who will play tonight, but I would like to start by investigating whether we should care about tonight’s result.

It would be fair to say that the fans are evenly split as to whether AW should put out a strong team in order to get into the semi’s, hopefully to  put last  year’s Wembley nightmare behind us, and those who think the team need to concentrate upon other targets. Both arguments have their merits, the silverware hoodoo needs to be dealt with and we are just 3 games from lifting a Cup, on the other hand, how valuable is the CC? Does it really count as silverware? Would Birmingham have preferred to lose the final and stay in the PL?  Their form fell apart after their victory and though I am not a Bluenose and haven’t discussed it with them, but my guess is that they would prefer to be in the Prem. Who won the CC two seasons ago?

My opinion is that we must stick to the principle of playing a young team in the CC and seeing how well they can perform. Taking it seriously didn’t work so why not have some fun and damn the consequences.

Best Forgotten

Man City are in a different situation, their squad players will be desperate to show Mancini they are worthy of a first team start. On Sunday Balotelli and Dzeko were on the bench! There is no need to talk about the quality of their squad, we all know it, even their cheapest reserve cost more than our most expensive signing (almost). They are playing really good football and are a joy to watch – if it is not AFC who win the PL I want it to be City because Mancini sends his teams out to entertain.  Yes, they are solid in midfield and are not averse to a physical battle but they also have magic in the team which will hopefully be left up the M60 tonight.

Team selection is difficult. Do we have another RB to deputise for JD/Kos? Or another LB?

Mr Wenger has stated that he will play a team which has a chance to progress and could well play a couple of regular first teamers, Santos being the most likely, Not an easy game tonight and perhaps this will spur Chamakh on, he must want to play against the best and tonight he has the opportunity. The Ox is just bursting to show he deserves a starting role and it is no coincidence that Theo is playing the best football of his career following Alex’s arrival. Park will score…..

Today’s Gooner? Step forward Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury. Born in the East End, The Arsenal was George’s second love (God then Arsenal)

Sporting the Raspberry kit (badge hidden to look more holy)

We have home advantage, we have a fine squad of young, hungry players, we have the North Bank. Can we beat the best reserve team in World football? Of course we can!

Written by BigRaddy

Give Chamakh more starts, and Arsenal might be all right again.

 

 

A passionate defence of an underrated Gunner, who deserves more respect!

Marouane Chamakh is an enigma to me. My gut feeling tells me he is a very important player for us, and yet his performances to date have been regarded as unimpressive.

Unimpressive if you compare him to Robin van Persie, and look at the hard stats of ‘total goals scored’ and ‘goals scored per game’; unimpressive if you study his body language – he seems uninterested, and unhappy with himself, and isolated and lost amongst his teammates. But statistics and perceptions are not all and everything, and I have learned to trust my gut feeling a bit more over the years.

Recently, the super-gelled Moroccan has come under some fierce criticism from fellow Gooners, and I feel a need to stand up for him. I believe Chamakh is a vital player for Arsenal and – here comes the controversial part – not as a sub, or a so called bench warmer, a squad player, no: Marouane’s real importance for Arsenal is to lead our attack from the start far more regularly.

I can imagine you saying now: you are a mad man: have you seen him recently? He just scored one goal and missed many opportunities – he is rubbish, get rid of him. Chamakh started three games for Arsenal this season: Udinese, Shrewsbury and Olympiakos, all three home games, and all three we won. RvP started 9 games in the same period of which we only won 3, drew 2 and lost 4. I can imagine you saying now: RvP has been (one of) our best player(s) and our bad start to the season has nothing to do with him: our problems lay somewhere else. I would ago along with that for now: it is early days and we have had to endure a topsy-turvy start to this season, so it would be wrong to pull any conclusions yet. Still, it is not unremarkable that we won 3 out of 3 when Marouane started for us in recent games.

I am not that keen on statistics. In fact, I can hardly listen to SKY Sports live commentary anymore, for the simple fact that statistics are thrown at us constantly, and very often these are totally useless and distract us from watching the game in peace. They like to use stats to have an indirect dig at Arsenal, cleverly leaving it to us to pull their (readily projected) conclusions. However, I realise I cannot say on this blog that Marouane Chamakh should get more starts, simply based on my gut feeling. So, I did some statistical homework regarding the previous season, and this is what I found:

Marouane Chamakh:

Started:  27 games (all competitions/ Arsenal only).

Team Goals during MC games started:   65 goals – on average 2.41 team goals per game.

Individual goals during MC games started: 11 goals – on average 0.41 individual goals per game.

Games won during MC games started: 16 wins – of all games started with MC 59% were won.

Games drew during MC games started: 6 draws.

Games lost during MC games started: 5 defeats.

Robin van Persie:

Started:  26 games (all competitions/ Arsenal only).

Team Goals during RvP games started: 48 goals – on average 1.85 team goals per game.

Individual goals during RvP games started: 18 goals – on average 0.69 individual goals per game.

Games won during RvP games started: 13 wins – of all games started with RvP 50% were won.

Games drew during RvP games started: 6 draws.

Games lost during RvP games started: 7 defeats.

So my gut feeling was right all along: Chamakh is an important player for us and compares well with Robin van Persie.

In fact, when Chamakh started for Arsenal during the 2010-2011 season, we scored significantly more goals (2.41 goals per game compared to 1.85 for RvP) and we won more games (59% compared to 50%) than when RvP started during that same period. Yet, the latter one is loved and respected and the former is, shall we say, less appreciated. You might say that MC is a striker and he should be judged on his goal scoring record, but for me that does not matter anywhere near as much as his contributions to us winning games. And btw, 0.41 goals per game is not bad at all. RvP’s 0.69 goals per started game is of course phenomenal, but if Arsenal – as a team – score less goals and win less games then this is, overall, less valuable to us.

For me, there are two reasons why Chamakh is less appreciated. Firstly, he is far less effective as a substitute. Marouane is simply not a super-sub and will probably never be one, but this is having a big impact on how he is perceived. Secondly, his contributions to our team are far less visible then those of RvP. He works hard and often with his back towards the goal, linking well with his fellow attacking midfielders, creating space and opportunities for them. This will not get him into the big headlines, as strikers are almost entirely judges on goals and assists – the curse of statistics.

When RvP plays, other attacking players appear to work hard to get him in goal-scoring positions – in a way ‘outsourcing’ the responsibility of scoring goals to him only. When Chamakh plays in games from the start, there appears to be more collective responsibility for scoring goals and he works hard to allow the midfield to move forward into the danger area, and to put his fellow attackers in positions to score goals. Of course, like every other Gooner, I would like him to be more selfish and hungry at times, but as the stats above indicate, his role and contributions to our team are more valuable to us than we think.

To give you an illustration of this: the other day, against Olympiakos, Chamakh was heavily criticised for his performance. He did not score, wasted a couple of good opportunities, and he did also not have any direct assists. Yet, both goals would not have happened if it was not for him. For the first one, he took defenders with him into the box, whilst the Ox was left with space to take, relatively unhindered, a shot from the best possible position (he took it well, mind you!). For the second one, he created the space for Santos to take a shot to the near post of the goalkeeper, who had no choice but to get a bit closer to Chamakh, so Santos could not play him in. You might say, I am clutching at straws, but football is a team sport and it’s often those sort of relatively small things that can make a real difference to whether goals are scored or not, or whether we win or lose.

Chamakh deserves more respect from us and, I for one, hope that he will get to start a lot more games for Arsenal this season.

Chamakh oh Chamakh
Not scoring, yet winning still
unveil your merit!

TotalArsenal.

BRING IT ON!

What do you expect from tonight? Will we estacionar el autobus? Will we start gung-ho, try to score early and then work on the counter, or try to play keepball and settle slowly? Or do you expect Barcelona to blow us away early and give us a lesson?

All my non-Arsenal friends are predicting that Arsenal will get a hammering tonight and that we were fortunate to win at the Grove. To them I say “ Pish Tosh and a bottle of Pinosh”. Beating Barca was one of the great Arsenal performances and I see no reason why we cannot progress at the Camp Nou.

I have read the suggestion that we would be better off losing tonight; that we cannot win the CL because there are too many English teams in it and it is less shameful to lose to Barca than, say Chelsea. Again I say “pish”. We have beaten the Chavs on aggregate this season, thrown away a win against Spurs and were unlucky at Old Trafford. We are better than Bayern. In fact, the only fear I have is Real. We can win this Cup.

But first we have to get a result tonight ….

One of the key questions to be answered tonight will be which team is most affected by their missing players? Will we be able to take advantage of the absence of Piquet and Puyol without our most effective strike force? How damaging will be the loss of Song? (he is 50/50 as I write, and I am assuming he will not be risked.)

Should Song be out, who should take his place as our defensive shield? In a perfect world it would be Ramsey or even better, a fit Vermaelen. As it is AW has to decide between Denilson, Diaby and Rosicky. I expect Mr Wenger to take a safety first stance and play Denilson, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rosicky get a start in place of Nasri or Arshavin. AW must have been hoping for more from Diaby, who would be ideal if he could just play with more intelligence. Diaby is without question the most frustrating member of the squad; tonight should be a night where he showcases his huge talent but I doubt he can be trusted in so important a fixture.

Wilshere established himself as the coming man at the Grove – I hope he can keep his cool at Camp Nou. His booking for what appeared to be dissent on Saturday was a worry and hopefully not a portent of a young man developing arrogance. Self confidence is an absolute in a player of JW’s undoubted skills, but the glare of the media on one so young can turn heads. I hope AW can keep him grounded. One thing for sure is that Barca will not take him so lightly again.

Our defence is solid at the moment and I am delighted to see Sagna return (though Eboue did well in the first game). This is the best back 4 we have had for 5 years; youth, experience, physical power and ability on the ball. Have we ever seen our CB’s propel the team as we saw JD and Kos do on Saturday?

Upfront we have problems.  RvP is in the squad, but is unlikely to start. In his absence and on the evidence of Saturday, I would play Chamakh as a lone striker. I love Nik but it appears he requires more time than the Barca defence will allow him (though he has scored at Camp Nou). Chamakh has been publicly praised by AW and I expect him to start. The news has just been released that RvP is travelling with the squad – I wouldn’t risk him, but what a sub!  With 20 minutes to go at the end of a tight game, Robin could make a huge impact.

Our most important players? Fabregas and Szczesny. Fab will be so excited about tonight, the opportunity to show his wonderful talents in his home town stadium.  He will control the tempo of our game. What a night for our 20 y.o. GK. To play at his age in what is the glamour tie in World football is unimaginable. He seems to be unflappable which he will need to be. There is no question that he will be by far the busier keeper and should he perform to his highest ability we have a chance. If he freezes, we are sunk.

My team:

My fear is that should we be 2 down at any time in the game we haven’t the weapons to get back into the game. Without RvP in the starting line-up we lack bite – we need a big night from Nasri and Fabregas. If we score (and have the luck) we will win.

Barcelona is home to many interesting chaps.  Picasso, Dali, Jean Miro`, Gaudi, Jose Carreras, Montserat Caballe`, Pablo Casals, Victoria de los Angeles among others, but does not appear to have any proper Rockers. Perhaps it is a weather thing?

Will I be nervous tonight? Will I be envious of Brigham who is at the game tonight? What do you think?

COYRRG

Arsenal v Sunderland – yet another must win game…

Not to tempt fate but the stats would indicate that we are due an relatively easy win today. Mr Wenger has been voted Manager of the Month following a 10 match unbeaten League run and Steve Bruce’s Sunderland have managed just one win since early January. Add into this the fact that Sunderland have not beaten Arsenal in London in 28 years and we can reason to be optimistic. But ……..

this Arsenal team are prone to erratic performances and this season have seen long, unbroken runs fall aplenty (Spurs/WBA/Newcastle).

It should be noted that we have won only one out of the previous 5 meetings with Sunderland. W1,D3,L1

Sunderland’s sudden fall down the table has been surprising. The loss of Bent was a blow but they still have decent strikers and a very strong team ethic. It should be recalled that Muntari cost Inter €18m before his loan to Sunderland, and Henderson looks a fantastic prospect. A central defence of Ferdinand, Mensah and Bramble will be strong at set pieces both defensively and offensively. Gyan looks a fine, aggressive striker, had we signed him and not Chamakh ….

The huge win by the B team on Wednesday will be a major confidence booster, in particular to our strikers., not that our Nik needs such assistance! Nik has his detractors and I guess with a style such as his he will continue to split opinions. One can only look at his record of late and be impressed – 9 goals and 6 assists from a season which started with an extended injury lay-off is very impressive.

Much has been written of Chamakh in the past few days. I feel he is seriously lacking in confidence which is an indictment of the coaching staff.  A striker has to be confident, he has to be instinctive and feel secure in his approach, if not he hesitates and we all  know what happens to he who hesitates! I would like to see him on the bench today, but expect AW to continue with playing Nik out right. To be fair, it was starting to work v Orient, with both strikers finding themselves in the box simultaneously, more of the same please.

Could we see Ramsey start? I would be surprised but he will receive a warm welcome on his return when he comes on  as sub.

My team:

I would be tempted to play Rosicky ahead of Diaby but recovery from concussion is an uncertain business and I doubt we will risk him. Diaby has his detractors (BR for one) but when on form he is a superb player. He has to rise to the occasion for the run in or be sold in summer. Arsenal cannot afford to carry players with such a large squad. Fortunately for Diaby, Mr Wenger really rates him, as does the French National manager (Blanc). It is time for him to show why.

If I were Arsenal manager (we would be in the Isthmian League!) I would play both Nasri and Arshavin with either one of them playing behind the main striker and regularly switching wings.

Sunderland appears to have no links to the world of heavy metal. Bryan Ferry is a Mackem as is Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.

This is a game which must be won. We can move within a point of Man Utd who have a tough assignment tomorrow.

COYRRG

Written by BigRaddy

Which team would you pick?

Written by Big Raddy

Elland Road mid-week in January, 40,000 noisy fans up for the Cup, a promising Leeds team looking to cement their reputations; the joys of the F.A. Cup 3rd round.

Being honest, we were fortunate to have the chance of this replay, the very late penalty saving Arsenal from the ignominy of an early Cup exit to a team from a lower division. Leeds outfought us at the Grove, they showed a grit  we struggled to cope with and Mr. Wenger  will consider himself fortunate to have another opportunity to progress into the 4th round. One can say that we played a second team but it remained a team packed with Internationals and expensive recruits – we had the personnel, we were at home, we should have won.

Some of the media around the game is focused upon Walcott’s “dive” admission which showed Theo to be an honest, if naive, young man. The Leeds manager Simon Grayson has called for Theo to be banned for tonight (according the the Daily Mail!). We can expect the crowd to get on Theo’s case from his first kick which will hopefully inspire him, because from the moment Theo came on as sub in the home tie we looked more dangerous.

I like Simon Grayson, he did a fine job with Blackpool, giving Holloway the basis for the team who have recently done the double over Liverpool. His work at Leeds has been nothing short of remarkable. Since Grayson’s arrival Leeds have had unremitting success, gaining promotion from Div 1 and now on the verge of a return to the Premiership, and he has done so without resorting to DirtyLeeds tactics.  Grayson’s star in is the ascendant.

We saw in the first tie how Leeds play. Based upon a very solid central defence and backed by a Schmeichel they work extremely hard. A midfield that will look to harry our skill payers into making rash and inaccurate passes, and fullbacks who have pace (I was very impressed with their right back Max Gradel). Upfront Sanchez Watt will be looking to impress Mr Wenger – but not too much. Beccchio is Leeds top scorer but may be out injured tonight.

What side will Mr Wenger play?  Who knows? Will he play a quasi- first 11 with Cesc, RvP and Theo starting or will he continue with the side that escaped at the Grove? Sagna is back and rested but AW likes to use Eboue in Cup games, and we have an important meeting with Wigan on the weekend. Will he continue with Djourou who played poorly at Upton Park  and surely needs a break? Could he risk playing Miquel? The Nik B / Chamakh combination didn’t work at all in the first game, and Nik is clearly not a right winger. Either could start  - my heart goes with Nik and my head with Chamakh. One player I would be surprised to see is Van Persie who despite having a huge impact recently should be rested and I expect Theo to come on as an impact sub should we need him.

Here’s my guess:

Chesney

Eboue  JD  Koscielny  Gibbs

Song  Denilson  Cesc Rosicky

Bendtner  Arshavin

Bench:  GK? Sagna  Nasri  Walcott  Eastmond  Miquel  Chamakh  Ramsey

This team has enough to defeat any side in the PL let alone the Championship. Should the unthinkable happen, let it be down to poor refereeing or a superb Leeds performance and not lack of application and desire.

Tonight is a tricky tie, one we could easily lose but I see us beating Dirty Leeds, disappointing 40,000 fans, and moving onto the 4th round

COYRRG

To Win the Title, Wenger Must Not Repeat Last January’s Mistake

This time last year we were on a long unbeaten run and were beginning to hint at the possibility of a serious title challenge.

There was one glaring problem – we did not have a lead striker.

Robin van Persie was out on one of his trademark lengthy injury lay-offs and Nicklas Bendtner was filling the berth next to him in the treatment room.

The result – Andrei Arshavin as centre forward.

I still have nightmares about some of those games where we played the Meerkat as our CF: his little legs scurrying around among the ranks of Jurassic defenders, those brave but pointless jumps to try and win headers against six-foot-plus titans. Sometimes his only viable tactic was to try and run through the defenders’ legs. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that Arshavin hasn’t been the same player since.

During the January window it was obvious that we needed to strengthen our injury-depleted attack and it was also clear whom Arsene had in mind for the job: Marouane Chamakh.

But the boss felt Bordeaux were asking too much money for the Moroccan international (who had only a few months left on his contract) and preferred, instead, to wait until summer to bring him in on a free.

The rights and wrongs of the Chamakh non-move last January have been much debated so I don’t want to go into them again here. But I do feel that, even if he thought it wasn’t right to bring in Chamakh at that point, Arsene should have looked for other quick fixes to the striking problem. Perhaps a loan deal, or a relatively low-money move for a veteran forward (like when ManUre snapped up Henrik Larsson in 2007 on their way to winning the title).

And so to this year’s January Transfer Window.

This time our problem is at centre back, not centre forward. Our best defender, Thomas Vermaelen, has been out for most of the season and there are real question marks about whether he’ll be back in the short to medium term.

Fortunately Johan Djourou has really stepped up to the plate and both Squillaci and Koscielny have made better starts to their EPL careers than they are often given credit for.

But what if one of those three got badly injured – particularly if it was big Johan? We would be seriously weakened at the back and you would have to doubt our ability to sustain a title challenge.

Yes, we could push Song back into a CB role, but he offers so much in the middle of the park (and has no obvious replacement for that role in the squad) that it would be equally damaging to move him.

So, as they say, it’s déjà vous all over again, only this time it’s a defender we need, not an attacker.

Chris Samba has been mentioned, as has Gary Cahill. Per Mertesacker is being linked with us (I like him a lot but Big Raddy makes the reasonable point that a mid-season arrival should ideally have EPL experience).

I really hope Arsene goes for one of them. I hope he realises that although his failure to acquire a striker last January can’t be said to be the only reason we failed to sustain our challenge, it at least played a part.

To see the same thing happen again would not only be deeply disappointing, it would also be a major faux pas on our manager’s part.

Come on boss. Make that move!

RockyLives

Theo Walcott – Striker or Stinker?

Written by gunnerN5

January 20th 2006 was an exciting day in our history; Arsene Wenger secured the signature of Theo Walcott on an initial pre-contract agreement to sign a professional contract on his 17^th birthday. Even at the tender age of 15 Theo was touted as one of, if not the, best youngster in English football and he was now an Arsenal player.

Now here we are almost 5 years and 134 games later (72 as a starter and 62 as a sub) into his Arsenal career. Has he proven to be the potential star we had anticipated and yearned for or is he still a work in progress; or worst still is he a waste of space?

He has provided many fantastic highlights and his speed frightens opposition defenses, but his lack of consistency and sub standard statistical measurements are sadly underwhelming.

His ability to leave defenses in his wake and deliver crosses is commendable, even exceptional, but many of his crosses go astray, along with the possibility of creating good goal scoring opportunities.

How many times do we see him speed up to a defender and then have no idea on how to get around him, how many of his passes go astray;  how many good moves break down because of his poor decision making?

In his 134 appearances, 72 as a starter and 62 as a sub he has totaled 18 goals and 20 assists, if we consider a goal as 1 point and an assist as half a point then he has earned .209 points per appearance.

One would believe that with his speed he would be best suited as a sub coming on for the last 20/25 minutes against tired defenses but the stats don’t back up this theory as  they are almost identical  as both a sub and a starter.

Most of our subs have higher points earned as starters than they do as sub’s which makes sense given the increased amounts of time that they are on the pitch – but Theo defies the logic – why?

His contribution level as a starter is almost the same as a sub and this simply should not be, especially with his outstanding speed. One would have to believe that at least his assists would increase given that we score so many goals in the last 20 minutes – but that is not the case – why?

Sadly I don’t have answers, simply questions, but even sadder it would appear that nobody else has either. It remains a wish and hope situation.

PS.

Since I wrote this I have done some more exhaustive/accurate research into this season’s goal scoring statistics and the results are quite revealing.

I would have preferred to use minutes played but I could not find a reliable enough source so I settled for the combination of games and substitutions to arrive at appearances – not ideal, but still useful data.

It should be of no surprise to any of us that Nasri is number 1 – closely followed by  Chamakh at number 2 – but surprise, surprise Walcott is number 3 – why?

Does that refute all of the previous comments?

The answer to the question is no, as he got all of his points in the first 3 games of the season and in his last 5 appearances he shown his typical inconsistency and earned zero points.

It should also be noted that Sagna has scored more points than Bendtner and that Fabianski has more points than Clichy or Rosciky who just scrapes onto the chart in last place.

All of the stats are EPL only.

Let’s talk.

GunnerN5

Bendtner – Man or Mouth?

Written by CarlitoII

Nik – “Supernik” to some – Bendtner has caused a ripple in the Arsenal news pond recently by being an outspoken advocate of his own abilities. So what’s new? The man’s ambition is loftier than Peter Crouch’s adams apple and his head seems to swell up on a regular basis as if his brain suffers from an allergic reaction to reporters .

The stir seems to be caused mainly by the fact that, after claiming he would leave the club if not given more first team opportunities, he didn’t make the bench against Everton. Let’s start by analysing what the man actually said.

“I’m extremely disappointed with the lack of minutes on the field.”

Well, Nik. You were injured for the start of the season and Chamakh did a great job leading the line so you’ll have to wait your turn.

“I feel I’ve done everything right in getting back to fitness and I’m in the best shape of my life.”

Then you’ll prove it when you come on as a sub. Play well enough and you’ll be undroppable.

“I feel better than before the injury and at that point I was in the starting XI and close to fulfilling my potential.”

Wenger says that all players say this but his data tells him you need to be eased back in. Any fan can see you still have to work on your first touch!

“When I’m 100 per cent fit, I can’t accept sitting on the bench.”

Right, go on… *handing out just enough rope to hang yourself with*

“I’m 100 per cent good enough for the starting XI in Arsenal. I have the qualities and I’ve been sitting enough on the bench in my career.”

Glad you’re so full of self belief, it’s important in a striker…

“If my manager feels differently that’s fair, and he’s the one choosing the team, but then I disagree.”

Ah Nik, the rashness of youth! You disgree with the best manager Arsenal have ever had? Well ok then, um, we really missed you at Everton…

Whatever happened to letting your performances do the talking? If you’re good enough, you’ll play. Any casual observer can see that, in the main, Chamakh has a better first touch and holds the ball up better than any centre forward since Thierry.. My personal belief is that Nik feels threatened by this, and he is probably right to do so. My question to you all is: would we really miss him if he went?

I love the directness that he can bring when he comes off the bench. I love his “never give in” mentality that brought us memorable last minute goals last season. I’m also superstitious, in that I believe we need a good Scandinavian player to bring home a trophy (Limpar, Jensen, Freddy…) – ok it’s my own superstition that one, but one I cling on to! But he’s not the new TH14 is he, and until he becomes the finished article, it would behove him to keep his head down!

Post Script- I wrote this article before the Totnum game and “SuperNik” has since had his chance at Braga. I missed the game sulking but I gather there may be a few words to be said about his performance- I’ll leave that to you!