Arsenal Thread

by azania Wed Sep 05, 2012 10:56 am

Surprised the isn't one yet.

In

Carzola
Giroud
Podolski

Out

Deadwood (exept Squilacchi and Chamakh)
RvP/Berba clone hopefully

I actually believe that Arsenal are stronger than last year. Carzola is a great buy for us. Giroud, although he hasn't scored yet makes terrific runs and in time will score 15+ per year.

Our defense has been tightened by Bould's astute style.

My prediction? Arsenal will end up 2nd behind City. UCL semi and win something (CO-Cup).

Discuss.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Wed Sep 05, 2012 11:06 am

Nope sorry, you beat an underforming Liverpool team and now everything is all rosey?

I think you will finish 4th, go out of the champs league in the first knockout round and not win anything. Typical season.

by GSC Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:23 pm

I thought Arsenal were an underrated outfit before the last game. Mertesacker looks much improved, Jenkinson's made strides and Gibbs has always been good but hurt.

Don't really rate Giroud though, Walcott up front would suit Arsenal better imo.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Wed Sep 05, 2012 1:16 pm

Norwich will take a point from The Emirates again. Morison has 2 in 2 againsy Arsenal. You can't handle Steve.

Seriously cant see you finishing higher than 4th but I reckon you might win the league cup which is a shell of its former self

by azania Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:01 pm

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Nope sorry, you beat an underforming Liverpool team and now everything is all rosey?

I think you will finish 4th, go out of the champs league in the first knockout round and not win anything. Typical season.

Not at all. The additions are very good. Coupled with Arsenal's style of play and we are in for a great season. For me the addition of Santi is terrific for us. A class player. Plus Diaby playing well and injury free. With Wilshire coming back the season looks good. Without any bias, I reckon arsenal have a better midfield than Utd and better depth also. Giroud will score many goals and we aren't reliant on one guy to provide goals.

by JamesLincs Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:08 pm

2 awful misses from giroud so far and 0 from 3? i already dont like the look of him, but in podilski youve got goals. good to see diaby given another chance, he chipped in a with a fair few goals a few years back. even as a spur i hope to see wilshere back to his best for his and englands sake

by azania Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:16 pm

The point is not that he missed, but he got to a position to score. The goals will come. Not as profilic as RvP. Remember also that it took Dennis B 8 games to register his first goal. He didn't turn out too bad.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:18 pm

I think we play you in a couple of weeks at Carrow Road. Should be a good game

by azania Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:53 pm

Yep. Norwich play attractive football. They wont park the bus.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:30 pm

We aren't good enough defensively to park the bus Laugh

by Smirnoffpriest Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:45 pm

It should be a good game against Norwich.

I like the look of the 1st team, and Podolski will be good, Santi looks very good and has slotted in amazingly well and seems to have developed a really good understanding with Podolski. I'm amazed at how well Diaby has played in the 3 games this season.

I think we've got a strong side, and it does amuse me that every year people predict we'll finish anywhere from 5th to 10th because we're so poor and haven't signed anyone, and we're always at the top rungs of the table.

But this season has only just started and it'll be interesting to see how the new signings improve and if players like Diaby, Jenkinson and Mertasacker can keep playing well. I think we are still vunerable to injuries - if Jenkinson gets' injured then we have no-one until Sagna comes back, if Diaby gets injured then we don't have a DM (not that Diaby is a true DM) if Giroud gets injured then we need to switch our formation slightly.
it's good to see we haven't conceded but we faced 2 sides who parked the bus and were just intent on keeping us out (in Stokes case in anyway possible) and in Liverpool they're a team in transition who are under strengthed, so we haven't faced a stern examination. But it's good to see that we've held up well and look more solid.

by azania Wed Sep 05, 2012 5:22 pm

Koz can play RB or Francis Coq. Diaby has been amazing so far, but against better opposition who don't give him the freedom of the park as Pool did, who knows.

Man City should win the league, but I believe we will be there abouts at the end. I reckon Chelsea are very vulnerable at the back especially against pace. Going forward they are good.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Wed Sep 05, 2012 5:27 pm

I still think you guys are vulnerable to big strikers who are not afraid to put it about, like we have in Holt and Morison. They caused Verthonghen and Gallas no ends of trouble last weekend, and last season at The Emirates Holt especially caused Koscielny and Vermaelen problems. That's why I think we have a chance against you. But my god Cazorla looks to be one hell of a player

by Fernando Wed Sep 05, 2012 5:40 pm

Nice to see we finally got our own thread Smile

Been quite happy with the start to the season, We usually struggled against Stoke/sides managed by martin o neill so to come out of our 1st 3 games being the only side not to concede a goal is lovely can tell the difference with Bould as Assistant Manager Smile

If can sort the scoring out we're in with a good chance of a decent finish this season Smile

by GSC Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:02 pm

Olly wrote:I still think you guys are vulnerable to big strikers who are not afraid to put it about, like we have in Holt and Morison. They caused Verthonghen and Gallas no ends of trouble last weekend, and last season at The Emirates Holt especially caused Koscielny and Vermaelen problems. That's why I think we have a chance against you. But my god Cazorla looks to be one hell of a player

Will Holt manage to get to the Emirates in time after finishing off a couple of bargain buckets at KFC?

by Smirnoffpriest Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:04 pm

azania wrote:Koz can play RB or Francis Coq. Diaby has been amazing so far, but against better opposition who don't give him the freedom of the park as Pool did, who knows.

Man City should win the league, but I believe we will be there abouts at the end. I reckon Chelsea are very vulnerable at the back especially against pace. Going forward they are good.

But Koz is one of our best CB's, and isn't really a RB even though he can play there - it's likely Sagna will take some time to get fit, and much longer to get back to his high standards - and if Jenks gets injured then if as you say we move Kos over (and hope he maintains the high standards he displays at CB) then we've only got 3 senior CBs (mertasacker, Vermaelen and Djorou -who we wanted to get rid of) and Miquel - Francis Coquelin is a DM tbh. I don't think this is anywhere near enough for a top team, especially as Jenkinson is still developing and shouldn't be relied on too heavily.

Agree it'll be interesting to see how Diaby does against the better sides, hopefully he continues to grow, stays injury free and shows everyone the promise he's got. If so then I think we're in for a very promising season - if not then it'll underline how much of a loss Song is.

I do think we've got a chance in one of the cups - but then we've had a chance in one of the cups for the past 8 years (and come very, very close).

by **Crimey** Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:18 pm

I think without RVP the strike force looks a little depleted, the two best forwards in the side (Walcott and Podolski) will probably be used out wide and I think Giroud will turn out to be another Chamakh. I just don't rate him that highly and I think Arsenal should be thinking of signing another striker next year.

I think they'll drop out of the top four this year, after many years of it being predicted. Tottenham will take the fourth spot.

I do believe that Cazorla is an excellent addition to the squad, but feel that the midfield probably needs somebody like Song in it, Diaby is more of a Yaya Toure type player, Cazorla, Arteta and Wilshere are all play makers.

Despite my prediction, I do think Arsenal are a stronger side than last year, as they're no longer relying on one person who is quite unreliably fitness-wise. However I think this Arsenal side are a lot weaker than the one two years ago.

by Smirnoffpriest Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:22 pm

I think it's a bit soon after 3 games to say Giroud is like Chamack, it def needs more time before anyone can make any definitive statements, particularly about him needing to be sold next year. Also Chamack was quite good for us when he 1st signed and RVP was out, it was only after RVP came back around xmas time and Chamack didn't play much that he went pants.

Interesting that you think we are stronger than last year, when we finished 3rd, yet think we'll make our worst finish since before came to the club (1995).

I agree we will miss Song, unless Diaby turns into a Viera/Toure type player, as then he may complement Wilshere quite well (one staying back while the other attacks, and Diaby breaking up attacks and launching counters).

And while we haven't got strength in depth in attack, our attack is now much more varied, we can hit it up the centre with Giroud, have it coming at pace with Walcott/Chamberlain, have power and direct running with Podolski, aerial threat from Giroud, Podolski and even Vermaelen, Diaby and Mertasacker, and can also mix up our attacking 3 with Gervinho and Arshavin, and have a potent goal scorer from midfield in Cazorla.

I think one thing we should see is a much stronger defence with our 2 best CB's fit for most of the season (I know Kos has a slight injury now), and Bould marshalling them. They'll also benefit from Diaby/Wilshere breaking up play as well.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Thu Sep 06, 2012 9:34 am

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19503848

Seems Sagna could head the same way as RVP, Nasri, Clichy etc etc.

by wadey101 Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:02 am

I think Song was massively overrated! For a DM he isn't a good tackler, his balance is awful, he takes way too long on the ball, bombs forward way too often leaving the team short at the back and his passing is poor. All this seemed to get glossed over by a few nice assists to RVP! And how that makes him a world class DM is anyones guess!

I think Diaby is a much better player and the team works well with him and another midfielder (Arteta/Wilshere) working together with one sitting back as the other goes forward.

I think it will be a good season for Arsenal and think they'll achieve a top 3 finish.

by Zinedine_Ze_Zebra Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:05 am

Real test is in the next 3 games for Arsenal. Southampton, Man City and Chelsea I think.

I agree with Soldier_Of_Fortune. You beat an underperforming Liverpool team, a midtable team, so don’t get too carried away. There is potential but hasn’t there always been with Arsenal? I will see how they come out of the next three fixtures then make a judgment on how I think they will do across the course of the season.

Not 100% convinced by Podolski. Didn’t hack it at Bayern and had a quiet Euro. He is a good player, impressed with his tracking back against Liverpool but I don’t feel he will be his most effective wide left. Good thing about him is he is a seasoned player, you know you will get a shift out of him and he does have experience.
Giroud, well the jury is out. Will he won’t he? Another Chamakh or another star? So far he hasn’t impressed me but its early. Should of scored at least a goal already with some of the chances he’s had. See how he fairs against the challenges of the next three fixtures.
Carzola is a buy! Was great for Malaga last season, surprised you signed him with no competition from another top club. Best out of your buys IMO.

by GSC Thu Sep 06, 2012 12:19 pm

Liverpool outplay Man City and suddenly Rodgers has turned them around.

Lose to Arsenal a week later and now they're underperforming.

Laugh

by Smirnoffpriest Thu Sep 06, 2012 9:18 pm

wadey101 wrote:I think Song was massively overrated! For a DM he isn't a good tackler, his balance is awful, he takes way too long on the ball, bombs forward way too often leaving the team short at the back and his passing is poor. All this seemed to get glossed over by a few nice assists to RVP! And how that makes him a world class DM is anyones guess!

I think Diaby is a much better player and the team works well with him and another midfielder (Arteta/Wilshere) working together with one sitting back as the other goes forward.

I think it will be a good season for Arsenal and think they'll achieve a top 3 finish.

Got to disagree hugely, Song was immense last season and was one of out 2 top players - his tackling, energy and passing will be sadly missed - even though Diaby seems to have found some form, he's a different player and will have a lot to do to prove he's anywhere near Song.

People seem to criticise Song a lot for charging forward, even though he had a lot of assists, they appear to miss that he was under orders to do that, as our normal attacking players (Arteta, Gervinho/Walcott/Arshavin and RVP) were usually sternly marked, while defences didn't see Song coming (as he'd switch with Arteta and whoever else was playing in Midfield), and it would open up otherwise tighter defences, leading to opportunities.

by Zinedine_Ze_Zebra Fri Sep 07, 2012 4:27 am

Song gets a lot of mix reviews. I wouldnt say hes World Class. Hes good, tackling could improve but hes not the worst.
Reminds me of Darren Fletcher in a way, good for a yellow card but its due to the amount of tackles he goes in for.

by Duty281 Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:33 am

Can't see Arsenal finishing 2nd. Defence looks decent but the attack is poor. Arsenal to come 4th/5th.

by Smirnoffpriest Fri Sep 07, 2012 8:27 pm

I never expected to read that about arsenal!

I think its a bit early to say that either our defence is good or attack iis poor, weve faced 2 sides who parked the bus and sat wikth 10 men behind the ball, which made scoring difficult and didnt offer much threat, and a poor liverpool side, where we created lots and snuffed out most of their attacks.

Bigger tests will come and by the end of next month well see how our attack and defence are doing (and if diany can keep hs form up)

by lorus59 Sat Sep 08, 2012 12:16 am

If Song is not that great, why did Barcelona want him? I think Diaby is a very hot or cold player.

by Fernando Sat Sep 08, 2012 4:50 am

Because they let Seydou Keita go who was DM/CB

so Alex will most likely be taking his place on the bench it's not so bad he can talk to Cesc

by JamesLincs Sat Sep 08, 2012 5:09 am

id say to only make the barca bench is still quite good, i mean lets not get carried away or nothing Wink

personally, i think song is a quality player

by Smirnoffpriest Tue Sep 11, 2012 5:38 am

Apparently Diaby has been sent home from the France squad - I think it's a hamstring injury, but hopefully not serious

by TopHat24/7 Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:19 am

bloody hell that man's brittle....

by Smirnoffpriest Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:21 am

It is worrying, and the only other defensive midfielder we have in the squad are Frimpong, Coquelin and Eastmond - but hopefully he'll be fine - still can't believe we didn't sign Sahin though, for cover if nothing else.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Wed Sep 12, 2012 4:12 am

GSC wrote:Liverpool outplay Man City and suddenly Rodgers has turned them around.

Lose to Arsenal a week later and now they're underperforming.

Obviously your comment refers to me. When did I say we outplayed City? We should have won but we certainly didn't out play them. Stop being so touchy, its just my opinion.

by TRUSSMAN66 Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:43 am

Liverpool did outplay City......however City struggle against certain teams Everton, Stoke (away) and Liverpool....

Arsenal do look more competent at the back.......If they can start taking their chances who knows,..

None of the top teams look infallible..

by Smirnoffpriest Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:49 am

Apparently Szczenzy is back while Diaby might be out and Walcott is a doubt, doubt we'll find out if these are definate until tomorrow though.

Diaby would be a big blow if he's missing though - I really hope he can carry on his good form.

by Josiah Maiestas Fri Sep 14, 2012 10:03 am

Some of the City players started this season without the wish to defend from the front, thus you got scorelines like 3-2 over Southampton, 2-2 with Liverpool etc.

Giroud could be the new Juan Antonio Reyes missing all these 1 on 1's..

by azania Fri Sep 14, 2012 5:29 pm

I reckon Giroud will score quite a few goals. Ues he's missed a couple of sitters already. But his movement is great and he gets into position to score. Diaby is not the key to this game. For me it will be Santi and Arteta with quick passing and movement.

by Smirnoffpriest Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:13 am

4-1 to arsenal,seems to b going quite well. Gervinho and podolski scoring

by Nakatomi Plaza Sat Sep 15, 2012 4:02 pm

Managed to get up to the Emirates today. Gervinho and Cazorla will probably grab all the headlines but for me Arteta is the main man. Whenever he plays well so do Arsenal It was no coincidence that our form tailed off at the end of last season when he was injured.

by azania Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:16 pm

I see good things ahead. The next two games (Citeh and Chelski) will show us where we are. I can see 4 points at least. City are firing blanks and Chelsea are weak at the back when attacked with pace. Walcott will give them fits and I reckon Wenger will play him.

by Smirnoffpriest Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:01 pm

Nakatomi Plaza wrote:Managed to get up to the Emirates today. Gervinho and Cazorla will probably grab all the headlines but for me Arteta is the main man. Whenever he plays well so do Arsenal It was no coincidence that our form tailed off at the end of last season when he was injured.

Yeah Arteta is awesome and to think we signed him on something like £40k a week, with him taking a pay cut. I'm really glad he is working well with Santi, as I was really worried it would be one or the other before the season started.

by Smirnoffpriest Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:54 am

Looks like Szczenczy's is out again, and joins Rosicky, Sagna, Frimpong and Wilshere on the physios bench.

So Mannone starts, with O'Shea on the bench, and Arshavin hasn't travelled.

Be interesting to see if Giroud starts as well, though I hope the pressure doesn't get to him.

by TopHat24/7 Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:05 am

Smirnoffpriest wrote:
Nakatomi Plaza wrote:Managed to get up to the Emirates today. Gervinho and Cazorla will probably grab all the headlines but for me Arteta is the main man. Whenever he plays well so do Arsenal It was no coincidence that our form tailed off at the end of last season when he was injured.

Yeah Arteta is awesome and to think we signed him on something like £40k a week, with him taking a pay cut. I'm really glad he is working well with Santi, as I was really worried it would be one or the other before the season started.

Still just a poor man's Fabregas tho....(I'd probs take Nasri over him too).

by Smirnoffpriest Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:43 am

I disagree, he's made a lot bigger impact that Nasri and is a different player to Fabergas - hence we're playing a different way without Fab, and everything isn't going through 1 player.

by Smirnoffpriest Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:45 am

Him, Song and RVP were our best players last year, and he's started this year very well too. He's also very humble as well.

by TopHat24/7 Wed Sep 19, 2012 4:29 am

I think we'll just have to disagree then Smirnoff. I admire your defence of your current crop of players but I don't think you can kid yourself that your top players have been deserting you for years.

I'm not saying Arteta isn't good, I think he's very good in fact, but he's not excellent. He's a 7/10 player as opposed to Fab's 9/10. His link-up play is probably on a par but he doesn't have Fab's goals or ability to thread a pass. Yes everything isn't going through one player anymore but that doesn't mean it's a good thing, everything went through Fab because he was ruddy brilliant and the fulcrum of the side.

He is indeed a poor-mans Fab. The clue is in their respective prices - £25m and £10m.
Add in the fact Fab is 5 years younger and I'd be surprised if any side in the world would take Mikel over Cesc.

by Smirnoffpriest Wed Sep 19, 2012 4:56 am

TopHat24/7 wrote:I think we'll just have to disagree then Smirnoff. I admire your defence of your current crop of players but I don't think you can kid yourself that your top players have been deserting you for years.

I'm not saying Arteta isn't good, I think he's very good in fact, but he's not excellent. He's a 7/10 player as opposed to Fab's 9/10. His link-up play is probably on a par but he doesn't have Fab's goals or ability to thread a pass. Yes everything isn't going through one player anymore but that doesn't mean it's a good thing, everything went through Fab because he was ruddy brilliant and the fulcrum of the side.

He is indeed a poor-mans Fab. The clue is in their respective prices - £25m and £10m.
Add in the fact Fab is 5 years younger and I'd be surprised if any side in the world would take Mikel over Cesc.

I think we will unfortunately. I've never said our top players aren't leaving us, it's a problem they're now doing it in their prime - where as before we always sold these players on the down turn of their careers (Overmars, Pires, Henry, Viera).

But it can be a good thing that everything isn't going through one person, for example Henry always used to be the point of our attacks, and when he left everyone wondered how we'd score, then Fabergas scored a load of goals from midfield, Adebayour and RVP formed a good partnership upfront and suddenly we had many more threats from around the pitch (fair enough none were as potent as Henry, but we had more of them).

The same now, whereas before we just funnelled everything through Fab, and if he was stopped/had a bad game, then the whole team struggled - now we have Santi (who is the man to replace Fab), Arteta (a very different player, playing deeper), true width in Walcott, Chamberlain, Podolski & Gervinho (the latter two can then switch with Santi in the middle).

And last season when Fab left it meant the midfield working together more as an attacking unit, with Wilshere, Song and Arteta linking up more, taking it in turns to attack, defend, link up or thread through balls. And as a result, despite our woeful start and missing most of our defence for large parts of the season (Sagna, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Santos, Vermaelen, Kos) we still finished third.

I think you're being harsh dismissing Arteta because he doesn't compare to Fabergas, as he wasn't meant to be a Fabergas style player - even though he sometimes plays in the same position (at the head of the 'diamond' midfield 3), but is more of a hard working link player between the midfielders and them and attack, he'll also bring other players into the game, create space and tackle a bit more. He may not be world class like Fab, but he does a different job to Fab and last season was one of our best players.

by Smirnoffpriest Wed Sep 19, 2012 4:57 am

(sorry for the essay)

by TopHat24/7 Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:05 am

No apologies needed - enjoyed reading it!

Must say, I do like that Santi. Kinda wish we had him at United....

Him and Garcia at Citeh look like two players we may have missed a trick on this transfer window.

by Smirnoffpriest Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:08 am

Yup, if only we'd had Santi last year - or imagine if we'd managed to keep Song and RVP to go along with him and our other signings this year!

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