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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Come on Mr Wenger this team is short of leaders, all eleven of them

By 1970’s Gooner

I half expected it. This game came after that fantastic display and victory against Manchester United and again it seems that one good display is followed by one bad one. This inconsistency is of course a very noticeable symptom that characterises youth.

This defeat also came right after the young guns thrashed Wigan in the League Cup. Our last defeat was again after the youngsters thrashed Sheffield United 6-0.

It seems that apart from being inconsistent the Arsenal players are also arrogant probably believing that “if the youngsters can thrash Premier League opposition then we will walk it against Aston Villa” as they thought they would walk it against Hull.

Come on Mr Wenger this team is short of leaders, all eleven of them, it lacks a proper defensive midfielder and has no depth.

Fabregas is a shadow of himself with almost all of his attempted through passes failing to find an Arsenal player. And if he fails to perform then the whole Arsenal machine grinds to a halt.

I was, during that first half, wondering if Fabregas was rested for this game; he was so much inconspicuous it was unbelievable and when he did get into the game he failed to make one single positive contribution.

He has been off his best in recent games and I don’t care what his dedicated followers feel he surely should be rested for the next game. 4

Bendtner was a pathetic nonentity. Everything he touched turned to coal. He should be demoted to Steve Bould’s youth team or loaned to a third division team where he could find his level. I am very disgusted with him. 2

Nasri tried but also returned to his below par performances prior to the Manchester United game. Credit should be given to Aston Villa’s tactics which ensured that Arsenal’s wide men always faced a crowd of opponents whenever they tried to hag the touchline. 5

Walcott with his pace was one of a very few Arsenal players that played reasonably well. He was dangerous on the wing but whenever he went past his marker and cut the ball in there was no one in the area to take advantage. 6

That idiot Bendtner masquerading as a forward was way off those dangerous positions. So was Fabregas and Diaby who should have been bursting their gut to get in there.

Denilson huffed and puffed and kept his position well but he is not a defensive midfielder is he? 5

Almunia made that penalty save but he should have been better positioned for Villa’s second goal. A good goalkeeper does not let in those type of goals. 5

Gallas plays better with Silvestre and looks more confident but again he was done for pace and power by Agbonlahor who scored Villa’s second. 5

Silvestre gets better and better with each game he plays and provides security and no nonsense defending which is what has been lacking from our defense. 6

Sagna again had a solid game until he was taken off. Needs to improve on his crosses though as do a lot of other Arsenal players. 6

Clichy is one of a few Arsenal players that put in consistently good performances. He got away with it last week against Manchester with a header inside the area that just fizzled out but didn’t this week. 5

Diaby had an average game but did not get into the area enough for me. He should have been providing the support to Bendtner in more forward positions. He was instead staying more in the midfield areas crowding Fabregas and Denilson out and thus disrupting Arsenal’s normal rhythm. 5

Forget it then. No title challenge for this year, again…


Worst Man of the Match: Niklas Bendtner

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Walcott? 6? Are you serious?

The game showed exactly how much blind faith we have in this kid.

Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor - two supposedly similar to our boy blunder - showed him exactly how it is done. They both represent everything Theo SHOULD be but never will.

Instead we have to put up with him forgetting the ball when he runs and never once finding an Arsenal player with a single cross. What good is pace if there is no end product?

...Oh and he gave away a penalty.

Anonymous said...

Silvestre was absolutely terrible today. Your rating is utter bollox

Anonymous said...

wats th point in even talkin about it. this is th worst bunch of cowardly , passionless, spineless big time charlies ever assembled on a football pitch. u pay a fortune of ur hard earned wages every week to watch this bunch disgrace the famous shirt. time for wenger to clear out these big time charlies starting NOW WENGER. fabregas , adebadplayer, gallas, bentner, sylvestre, rvp,foget the ball walcott , get the fuk out u chickens

Wrighty7 said...

Hi 1970's Gooner.

I don't want to hear any excuses from Arsene Wenger about why we lost today. Aston Villa deserved the victory and Arsenal deserved nothing. End of.

Aston Villa outplayed us on our own turf and you wouldn't believe that this was the same Arsenal side that outplayed Manchester United last week.

It a simple case of attitude. If these players can't put in the effort for the less glamorous games then I suggest they fuck off. Aston Villa showed determination and character and the players couldn't match it. But they could against Manchester United. I wonder why?

It's about time this group of players bucked up their ideas. Arsene Wenger put a lot of faith into them and they are not living up to expectations.

Talking of expectations I have lowered mine. I felt the title was beyond us after the Stoke defeat now I'd just be happy with a fourth place finish.

I'm beginning to get worried. The gulf between us and the other big three seems to be widening, and even worse, the gap between us and the sides below seems to be narrowing.

Anonymous said...

The players cant put in the effort with lesser teams. They are letting wenger down big time because this is the exact team that beat united and wenger aims for consistancy by keeping the same winning line up but they let him down by not fighting hard.

It would have been better if we had lost but worked hard but loosing by not putting effort in jus makes me angry.

The annoying thing is that these players are good enough to beat anyone and we know the football we can play is the best. We proved that last weekend against united, we fought hard for every ball we defended well, we were well motivated but that don't matter if you don't put in the effort.

Anonymous said...

all the players were below average today, but one player for me stands out today “Bendtner”. usually when someones says stands out, its in a good sense, but this is totally the opposite. he is a pathetic excuse of a player.everytime i see bendtner on the team sheet, i know we are automatically down to 10 players. he is a liability. he seems to have forgotten that he is a striker.he receives the ball and either passes it back or jus runs in a straight line. i do not recall him getting the better of a defender for a long time and i mean with his feet.against man utd, he realy should have scored with his head, bt it seems liek he is no good with his head or feet, so what on earth is he doin playing football in the first place. as much as i hate eboue,i would prefer him playing upfront instead of bendtner, atleast he would get us a penalty in some shape or form by TRYING to beat the defender. gift wrap bendtner and pass him on to totenham or porstmouth as a christmas present

Anonymous said...

Villa Deserved the points, we created nothing at home for 94 min, and its not the first time this season. We are in need of 6 world class players urgently, We will end the season without a trophy again and that is hard to swallow. i wish we could bring in players like Tony Adams , Martin Keown, Dennis, Pires, Henry and Viera. Up The Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

This is ridiculous. I can take a team performing badly all the time but this sequence of YAY, BOO, YAY and BOO again is driving me mad.

DROP FABREGAS FOR A GAME, he is really not up to it at the moment. His passing was bloody awful. Ramsey would've done a better job. This might then give Fab a kick up the arse and start playing like the maestro he is supposed to be.

Bendtner is a joke- that was the most pathetic performance I have ever seen. Couldn't work as a target man, no control, no positioning, drifts wide, WHY?!

I sorta feel sorry for Gallas and Silvestre: apart from lack of pace, they dealt pretty well with high balls. The midfield cost us dear- no energy or tempo.

I could go on and on, but I don't actually feel depressed, maybe deep down I expected this :(

Anonymous said...

the whole team are bunch of bigheads who think they only have to turn up to win.they are so up their own arses that they dont know that u have to earn the right to play in this league . u have to show passion , commiitment , physical presence and balls . sadly this team lack all of the above and u will see this happening every week nearly because teams know wat we are and how to beat us. just show a bit of passion and we will fold just like we did last season with this bunch of cowards

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys
I am so happy to read everyone's frustrations. I honestly feel better cos I thought I was the only one who was beginning to feel a traitor. Ok to Stress there is only one team for me and that is my beloved Arsenal. But for goodness sake, I honestly had very little faith going into this game and couldn't bring myself to put down my usual 20 quid in at the bookies. But now I am happy cos I am sure heads will roll and I hope the first will be Bendntner. He is just like Aliadiere and he will be off to goodness knows where come January. I want to see Vela start with Adebayor. To the anonymous slating Theo, give him a break, he gives us something extra and he will get better.

usahawan said...

I did not see anyting good about Bendtner. He is the wearse player. From first he joint arsenal. I dont know why arsene wenger have to much faith on him.

what are arsenal need is a good striker. find a new striker,even adebayor is not good enough. He is only lucky from the first game he played. Find someone like Benzima.

Forgot about febrigas, replace him.

Arsene wenger don't blame the referee about why we lost today.

Villa deserved to win.

Anonymous said...

Theo is neither a star player, nor is he as abysmal as others make out.

He has exceptional pace, which, against the right opposition, is a very useful weapon.

However, he lacks basic skills, so he will never be a great player, only a good one, and one with a limited playing career because of limited skill set.

He remains an effective impact player rather than a starter, although some games will indeed suit him to start.

Likewise he will not be a starting striker for most games.

There will be some games where he will fill that role effectively, but it will be against very specific opponents, and certainly nowhere near the majority of games.

He was average today. His pace could have bought us a lot more if Bendtner and Diaby had got on the box more often.

What cost us today was our toothless atack.

We gave the ball away cheaply for nearly the entire game, which placed far too much pressure on out defence.

Our attack (midfield and strikers), sold our defence down the river today.

Mike

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should give Wenger a few tips as he obviously thinks Theo's gonna be a top player.

Anonymous said...

I don't think he thinks Theo is going to be a top player at all.

I do think he thinks he's going to be good, just not exceptional.

Pace is a powerful weapon, but it has it's limits.

Theo came into the game at a very late stage, 11 yo.

AW has said on more than one occasion that players need to have developed their basic skills by that age, otherwise they fall behind.

It's why he's stated on many occasions that English kids are not less talented than English kids at birth, it's their grounding that kills them off.

That's why Theo will not quite rise to greatness, because he has missed out on that essential development.

Aw said as much when he arrived, when Theo was put on a heavy program to try an improve his skills.

They've done wonders with him, and he is lethal if used correctly against the right opposition, but a future TH or a great?

Not even close, sorry.

AW has to be very diplomatic about English players.

He also uses the media to his own ends, often to boost a player's confidence.

I'm sure AW will achieve a lot with Theo, but he'll be good, not great, and I don't think AW would disagree too much with that.

Mike

Anonymous said...

Sorry, at least one correction:

English youngsters are not less talented than Brazilian youngsters at birth.

Mike

leon said...

arsenal players dont know how to just grind out a result this game was never going to be a classic,the performance of the players was not great but so what how many times have chelsea played nothing more than average but got the win.

fab looks very very veey tired and does need a rest and is well out of form,playing delsinson does not help is game because delinson is not dm player but is filling in very well but because they both like to forward fab is having play alot deeper.

the fact is all about taking your oppunities and bretna has fallen short ade was injured and rvp suspended and it was is chance to impress and every time he has come up short,once edwardo comes back i feel bretna will played as a impact player again and if performaces stay the same then i feel wenger will sell him.

before arsenal fans start getting wilcatt back try to remember he is only 19 and needs to improve alot yes but you cant ell me renaldo was any better that his age

i know the top 3 will drop poins but arsenal are already 9 points behind and we are likely to drop more points.

Anonymous said...

Makes no sense that Mike.

Why bother spending a potential £12 (originalo asking price) on a player who you so clearl;y know just won't make it?

Especially given our limited resources.

Sorry, your arguments sound really plausible, but I just aint having it.

Thanks for the reply tho.

BTW; Micheal owen is hardly blessed with great technique and he aint done so bad has he? Going to Newcastle and having a shit loads of injuries apart!

Anonymous said...

Aston Villa had a game plan and that was to pressure the Arsenal midfield high up denying any space, organising themselves in a line of turquoise shirts when Arsenal attacked and broke forward in numbers when they got the ball and/or look to free Agbonlahor. Arsenal lacked the movement and fluidity the youngsters expertly displayed in midweek.
People are getting too emotional when writing an article. Talk about providing a mature appraoch to Arsenal FC like you mention on your banner. I enjoy reading this blog but for the most part there is too many arguments without many basis.

吴宏立 (GHL) said...

today's match? i think mike riley is blinded, and NO ONE talk about it! player injured, no whistle...a foul, no whistle.. both leads to goals!for me the best player for villa is mike riley!

bendtner?

if we drop him he will come back and haunt us, just like aliadiere, bent, sidwell...

i can see a lost to citeh, a win at chelsea, then later a lost to middlesbrough. and.....the team will only get results when rosicky and eduardo come back. hope rosicky still have the excellent midfield support and eduardo provide alternative solutions..

Unknown said...

About the game today, i just cant understand how a team can just fall flat after a great game last week. A same team but without the 'bite' that was evident in the MU game. Its like they just stop running for the ball and just walk to it.All the players were bad in my opinion for today.

Bendtner should be sold to other team as he doesnt bring anything to the team. All the game that he starts are always a boring game in the sense that the attacks are toothless. The best he ever performed is against Sheffield United,thats it.

Fabregas should be rested for at least 2 games as he is so out of form and tired. Try playing Ramsey with Song.Maybe this is much better.

And is it just me or is that ALL Arsenal strikers doesnt play in the penalty box but come deep to get the ball? Whats the purpose of you playing a striker but you are playing in the midfield area? Please do not try to emulate Henry as he is on a different level than all the strikers that we have now. My opinion is we need to have a striker like Torres who can create goals from only a few chances and not given 10-15 chances and can only scored 1. The conversion ratio should be bigger.Hope Eduardo can be our answer.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the author, i thought Walcott was our best player and the only one who actually tried to make something happen today. Just a thought isnt Cese suspended for our next game anyway?!

cro said...

new arsenal blog

footballclubarsenal.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Spike, I never claimed Theo wouldn't make it. (It's odd responding to a "Spike" because that's what I am called as well!)

I said he will be a good player, maybe even a very good one, that's certainly not claiming he won't make it.

What I said is that he will not be one of the greats, i.e. a Dennis or a Thierry etc.

I think you are a little oversensitive about any criticism of Theo.

Michael Owen is an absolutely perfect example of what I am talking about.

Owen is a very good player, but nevertheless he's a very limited player.

Yes, he HAS done all right, and that's exactly what I think Theo's career will be like (hopefully with far fewer injuries though).

As for the 12bar purchase price, English talent is always going to be expensive, and there is a lot of pressure on the club to "buy English" (Jeffers, Richard Wright?), so I don't think that is a very valid argument.

I think Theo has a wonderful temperament combined with his talent, which I think made him a very attractive proposition for AW.

Theo comes from a very stable family, and just seems to be a very sensible and all round nice lad, which would have made a lot of sense for AW.

Mike

Anonymous said...

I really find it hard to believe that all the players you lot are slagging off this week were your hero’s last week. Arsenal fans can be so fickle at times; most of you were only brought up with winning ways and don’t know what its like to lose. Yes it hurts. I’ve supported them for almost 50 years and have seen some crap. So instead of getting on their backs try a bit of support which has been sadly lacking at the ground.

I’m in agreement with the people that say Cesc’s head has been turned by all this Barcelona lark. It has nothing to do with his partnership with Denilson, they can play together its been proved, he has had an awful season so far by his standards.

On another point I have to mention the officials. Mr Riley whatever you were on do you mind sharing it with the rest of us - because yesterday you were the star of the show with your ridiculous decisions. The standard of officials must be at its lowest when it still recruits this clown.

And for those of you idiots that say the season is over - The season is not just the league!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes Cesc is suspended for our next game so it will be interesting to see how we play without him

Anonymous said...

Arsenal were caught on the counter. Most teams let Arsenal play thier pretty soocer and when it breaks down lo and behold a repeat of Hull.
AW better decide between pretty soccer and points. Ps doesnot win points and trophies. At the end of the season it will thanks for the memories.

Israeli Gunner said...

Villa deserved victory, they outplayed us and create so many chances while we created nothing. As I said many times before and even in the summer, that this Arsenal is a weak side comparing to the team of last year, and only those blindfolded by Wenger would believe we could won something this season. When you let your best player of last season (Hleb) to go and you let your defensive cover in midfield to leave (Flamini) you can't expect Fabregas to do miracles because he's on his own this year. We haven't played with a defensive midfielder this season except the game at West Ham. Denilson is too soft and creating holes for the defence, while Nasri contributes NOTHING to the game (I don't count his goals), no assists, no creativity, just shooting sometimes, but for most of the game he's non-existent.

As for our poor defence, both Gallas and Sylvestre shouldn't start, it's time to get back Toure and to give Djourou play alongside him. It was a wrong decision to let Senderos go on loan, and to buy Sylvestre. We could have put Senderos and Toure together and the defence would have been great. About Almunia, he was good yesterday, but he's not a stable goalkeeper, and we should have bought something better when Lehmann left.

Now, as there are no chances for title in the league, we should let Ramsey, Vela, Wilshere,Song,Djourou,Fabianski to play and we can drop to the bench some of the disappointing players.

Anonymous said...

Bendtner was AWFUL but he is (despite his height) NOT a target man and is clearly uncomfortable in the role. Play him in a withdrawn role in a 4-4-2 and he is a different player. I think it's time Wenger stopped showing so much faith in this group. Apart from Clichy drop them all. What on Earth is the point of having reserve players if they are not played unless there are injuries and there is no alternative?

Anonymous said...

I don't think it the captain fault when you are in charge of lazy players. Plus some players are simply not good enough. Fab and walcott should stay in bench cause they have no hunger or passion at the moment, Meanwhile we need a proper defensive midfielder and a finisher. Other than that let not panic it still early days.

Anonymous said...

Denilson gets into Fabregas's way hence Fabregas fails to do what we know he is capable of. They cannot play in the same team.

Silvestre is a watse of space. Only idiots would think that Ferguson would let a useful player leave for his main rivals. Remember how he fought against HINZE going to Liverfool.

I hope he brings back Senderos, he is much better than Gallas & Silvestre

simon said...

lets face it, none of The Big Four appart from us loose key players, at the end of last season we had the biggest potential to push forwared. Instead, whilst all our rivals got better players in, we let two of our best players go and replaced them with players of lesser ablity, the fact is this is the same team as last year except for Dennilson and Walcott, in my humble oppinion Denilson has done ok, rember Fabrigas has lost form. The problem is Walcott has not got anywhere near Hleb's level of contribution, letting Hleb go will utimatly cost us Cesc.

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Anonymous said...

The main problem with the team is is Wenger and that of leadership problem. The boys play with ego which is bad for a team.

They defeated United because of their ego and lost to Villa because of the same ego. They need some one ( Wenger's Job) to tell them they can't become great underrating teams or playing for ego.

YEAH it is good to play against big teams with some ego in you but if you feel too complacent against small teams then you are not good enough to play the game.

One more thing is the stupid rotation. Infact I don't believe wenger is rotating. what he is doing is favoring some players, Why on earth will he not bench Gallas?? He knows before hand how Villa play and how slow GALLAS is but instead went ahead and field him.

As for Bendtner, I hear Wenger is already packaging him as a chrismas gift to some conference league team. The fool is way too lazy and should be dashed out as xmas gift.

tittle aspiration over?? I have my doubts but yes it may be over if the boys don't change, they have got to beat man city and chelsea.

I see this team winning something this season and that something is not carling cup. The carling cup can be won by the small boys but the first team will win something.