Articles
Reflections of a gutted gooner. Arsenal schooled by United. The List.
Date: 01 Feb 2010By Iron Man
It's late on Sunday evening and last time I wrote about a defeat (coincidentally Man Utd (a) earlier this season) I was crucified by a lot of readers for supposedly being reactionary and overly negative. Well, I suggest you brace yourselves for some unpleasant reading because if you thought I was angry then, you've seen nothing yet:
No better place than to start with our very own number one...
The fall of Jens Lehmann:
August 12th 2007: Lehmann miskicks a straightforward backpass from Gael Clichy which results in David Healy giving Fulham a 1-0 lead. Arsenal fight back to win 2-1 and the German's blushes are spared.
August 19th 2007: With Arsenal 1 goal to the good in the second half at Blackburn Rovers, Lehmann spills what should be a fairly comfortable catch from a David Dunn shot to cost the gunners 2 points.
Lehmann is then dropped. Germany's number one makes only a few fleeting appearances during that entire season before being sold. During this season, Lehmann set a national team record of not conceding a goal for 681 minutes in a friendly against Switzerland in March. Lehmann goes on to have a decent Euro 2008 as Germany finish runners up with him playing every minute of every game.
Almunia's legacy.
Saturday August 22nd 2009: Arsenal cruise to a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Portsmouth but suring the game, Manuel Almunia fails to deal with a cross allowing Kaboul to get the away side's consolation goal.
Saturday August 29th 2009: With Arsenal 1-0 and in control at Old Trafford, Manuel Almunia comes charging out of his goal committing a needless foul on Wayne Rooney who not only was running away from goal but allow did not have the ball under control. Manchester United convert the penalty and go on to win the game 2-1. The winner coming through a Diaby own goal from a cross that Almunia could have come out and claimed.
Saturday September 12th 2009: At the end of a cagey first half, an off-target header from Manchester City's Micah Richards hits the post and ricochets off Almunia's back to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Manchester City end the game only having had 3 shots on target but win the match 4-2.
Sunday December 13th 2009: A simple cross into the penalty area sees the Arsenal goalkeeper misjudge the flight of the ball and weakly palm it straight to Dirk Kuyt who makes no mistake in giving Liverpool the lead. Thankfully, Arsenal turn it round and win 2-1.
Wednesday December 16th 2009: With the game at Turf Moor level at 1 a piece, Almunia dives and misses a cross which slides under his body into the path of Steven Fletcher who has an easy finish. The goal is wrongly ruled out for offside much to the relief of the Spaniard.
Saturday 9th January 2010: As Arsenal press for a winner against Everton in the snow, Steven Pienaar suddenly finds himself in the clear and one-on-one with Almunia. The Spaniard makes the decision an easy one for the South African as he flops to the ground allowing the Everton man to delicately chip the ball into the net. The game is ultimately drawn 2-2.
Sunday 31st January 2010: At 0-0 against a very committed and attacking United team, Nani skips through three Arsenal players – none of whom attempt anything resembling a tackle – before chipping a cross to the far post. As the ball is in the air, the 6'4” Almunia reaches into the air and manages to inadvertedly palm the ball into the back of the Arsenal net. Arsenal go on to be humiliated as the Champions of England run riot in a 3-1 win. Late in the game, Almunia miskicks the ball straight to a United player but is fortunately not punished.
Manuel Almunia has never won an International cap.
Manuel Almunia somehow remains Arsenal's number one keeper despite a string of errors no other keeper in league would have made with such regularity. Goodplaya in his fantastic post-match blog questioned how many other keepers would have made the same mistake Almunia did from Nani's cross and even suggested that Almunia would struggle to make the starting XI of any other team in the division. I find it hard to disagree based on the damning evidence I've put to you above.
Credit where it is begrudgingly due
As much as I hate them, it cannot be denied that Manchester United tactically outclassed us. There was no good fortune about this result and some could even argue that a 3-1 scoreline didn't even come close to doing them justice such was their overwhelming superiority up until the 85th minute. I take no pleasure in saying this at all but it is true.
No Pun required. He's just awful.
Once again, that fraud of a footballer Denilson brings shame to the Arsenal shirt and yet again his defenders will be out in force to try and justify his continued inclusion in the starting line up. This despite being the worst player on the pitch in a game that also featured Wes Brown!
There is a justifiable argument to suggest that Denilson was at fault for all three goals. After Nani's unbelievable bit of skill to leave Nasri and Clichy standing around looking as gormless as the Chuckle brothers, he had the simple task of sidestepping the one player one the pitch who wouldn't even attempt any sort of challenge on him before putting in his cross and we all know what happened next. One of the arguments in favour of Denilson I constantly hear is about his positioning and how he is some kind of expert in stopping attacks. If a player of Nani's limited ability is able to pass him with as little effort as was required then that argument is null and void. For the second goal, Wayne Rooney is somehow able to have a free run through the centre of of the pitch without a single Arsenal player around him. I cant say I was surprised when replays showed the closest Arsenal player to him was our very own Brazilian maestro who ambled along a good few paces behind him in what looked like a token gesture. In very much the same way he did last week against Sidebe so he's got previous when it comes to this. Of course, you'd have thought he'd learned his lesson and maybe, just maybe, bust a gut to try and stop Park from making it 3-0. But alas, you'd be expecting too much from the worst player to play for Arsenal in living memory. I include John Jensen and David Hillier on that list because at they would look like they were making some kind of effort. Denilson was a disgrace against United and every game he continues to turn out for the gunners is just a sad indictment of the team we now are.
Of course, I fully expect the stat warriors to come out in his defence once more but seeing as stats are never compiled for negative things players do on a pitch such as failed attempts at tackles, number of times beaten by dribbles from the opposition, number of 50-50s lost out on and failure to keep track of opposition players he is supposed to be marking then there is no balance to your nonsensical argument (that is ultimately proven wrong in games like this one) and you can stick your stats where the sun doesn't shine.
No case for defence
But Denilson and Almunia are not the only culprits today. If anyone else had bothered to show up then maybe their flaws might have gone unnoticed. The defenders and the entire defensive side of the game – or lack thereof – almost became a laughing matter at the end. As fun as it is to see Gallas and Vermaelan get on the scoresheet, I'm becoming more and more concerned at their complete lack of defensive discipline. With that clown playing behind them too I feel they should certainly be doing a great deal more in their supposed set positions. After Pienaar's free run to goal some weeks back, you would have hoped that the manager would remind our CENTRE BACKS of their responsibilities rather than allowing them to continue to maraud up and down the pitch as if they're playing playground football. Neither was anywhere to be seen as United launched the their counter attacks for both the second and third goals. It's all well and good trying get more goals but as defenders surely your number one priority is to prevent the opposition scoring. I'd rather score less and concede none than see us get opened up in such humiliating fashion.
Out of tune
That said, after praising the team for their defending against Villa on Wednesday, it turns out that no-one in the team was willing to put the work in against United. I'd be interested to know how many tackles and interceptions were made during the game by Arsenal players because it looked like very few from where I was sat. Much like the aforementioned centre halves, Alex Song seemed to totally neglect his duties as a holding midfielder as was more often than not in attacking positions trying (and failing) too hard to be a goal-scoring hero rather doing the job he was supposed to. As critical as I will continue to be of Denilson until his useless self is sent packing, Song was also very much at fault for allowing the United players such freedom to run at the Arsenal goal.
Left Behind
I am left scratching my head as to how we have gone from the left back position going from one of our strongest areas on the pitch to one of the weakest in just a couple of years. I'd like to give Clichy the benefit of the doubt and say he isn't match fit but when he's even allowed Darren Fletcher to get some joy down that flank you really are left to wonder what has happened to Gael as a player. Allowing Nani to look like some kind of world beater in the first half made for painful viewing and the young Frenchman didn't improve a great deal in the second half.
On the front line.
An ever so tiny consolation to take from the game was that apparently Arsenal have now reached the 60 goal mark in the Premier League faster than anyone in the history of the league. Given how powder puff the attack was and the insistence on trying to play without a recognised striker, getting on the scoresheet at all was a miracle. Rosicky and Nasri were both peripheral. Both players are remarkably similar in their styles and almost seemed to cancel one another out. Both are supposed to be link up players but with no-one to link to, they both because totally redundant. Arshavin was far more involved than he has been recently but he wont be a centre forward for as long as he has a hole in his backside. Which will be forever in case you are wondering. The two aren't correlated however. It's just a weird metaphor I've chosen to use in order to make a point. I digress. Bendtner make negligible impact when he came on an the other fraud in Arsenal colours Theo Walcott at least tried to make couple of runs. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, failing to keep control of the ball when doing so. Fabregas struggled which meant the rest of the team did. This is probably the most damning observation of all as it just proves Arsenal's current over-reliance on him to carry the team.
No substitute for quality
A non-Arsenal fan pointed out to me this evening that the quality was telling between the substitutions made by both teams. While at 3-0 up United were able to bring on Valencia and Berbatov – 45million pounds of talent – and Giggs – man who has won the title more times than John Terry has paid for abortions, we could only muster Eboue, Walcott and Bendtner. Players that would struggle to strike fear into the hearts into the opposition if they were an under 7 girls team. You could argue the Arsenal play ever so slightly improved with their introduction but you could also argue that with the job emphatically done at 3-0, the visitors were able to take their foot off the pedal allowing for a finale that the fantastical and deluded among the Arsenal faithful will try and tell you we can take positives from. These same people will conveniently ignore the fact that United still had chances to extend their lead during this final part of the game.
Who's the Daddy?
Speaking of the deluded, was I crazy to think that we could actually win the title? Can I still cling onto that last shred of hope? I always will until it is mathematically impossible but you'd be crazy not to accept the unlikeliness of such a fantasy actually coming true. This season we've been schooled at home by both United and Chelsea both in equally humiliating manner in which very few positives can be taken. I've read elsewhere something about 'starting brightly' and how that can be a positive. Well, Bolton started brightly against us but that doesn't mean they are better than us. And this what it ultimately boils down to at the end of the day. We are quite simply not as good as United or Chelsea. Trying to argue otherwise is futile given the results in recent encounters (Last four games just at home against both have seen no wins and four defeats with just 3 goals scored and 12 conceded). Maybe we deserved more at Old Trafford but ultimately we still lost and cant continue to make excuses. The sooner we accept we are still some way off being as good as either team, the less heartache we will experience when our so-called championship contenders let us down yet again. Here's to a fun day at Stamford Bridge next Sunday...
Recent Previews
Search
We are fast becoming the "Kings new clothes" of the football world, in fact, we ARE that already.
I watch the game with a guy who, rightly so, thinks we owe a lot to Wenger. And we do. But someone at arsenal needs to clarify what the "mission" is at present. Service the loan at the cost of trophies, or wengers stubborn actions in insisting on "brining talent" through, and not signing the quality we so desperately need.
How foolish dropping out of the FA and Milk cup now looks. If you offered me a day out at either now, I would tear your arm off.
He was as shit as the rest. When you are a Captain, you have to raise the spirit of the team but he is always missing in the big matches. With Viera around, Denilson would have been slapped in the dressing room for not tracking back. I cannot understand why Nasri was chosen ahead of Bendtner. Wenger always fucks up in the big matches.
A crap team, a crap manager. No self respect. They just don't care.
I just hate this!
When I see Denilson and his stupid smile and ´I don´t give a shit´-attitude I wonder.......does Arsene ever talk to him about back-tracking and helping the defence?
Cesc will leave. Why staying when other players don´t give a shit..
Arsene Wenger is a man in charge of his own future at Arsenal. He's very intelligent, usually dignified and has one of the best football brains in the game. What a shame it is that he can build an almost great team but refuses to add the final pieces to the jigsaw to turn us back in to winners. The difference between achieving a champions league spot and actually winning the major trophies seems like a fine line but in reality it is huge and costs millions. Millions that Man U and Chelsea have invested into their squads in order to win the major honours. Wenger and the board have a fair business point in that they can achieve a good standard of premiership football and play in the top level of Europe in the semi-finals, but the problem remains that in a serious game with everything at stake Arsenal cannot beat Chelsea or Man U, therefore in the absence of great luck we will never win a major trophy until we match their quality and strength in depth.
Why does Wenger persist with players that cost him results? the faith he puts in the increasingly lazy, and amazingly weak, Denilson, it is clear that Almunia has been severely over-promoted as Arsenal's first team keeper. He is an average premiership keeper at best (possibly championship level) and we could do much much better. Clichy is quite simply not a defender. It's not in his instinct. He is fast alright but no way is he a good defender. He's an average winger who costs the team a goal almost every game he plays in.
In my opinion Arsene acts as a father figure, overly protecting his weaker squad members and I have no idea why he wouldn't be more ruthless and act faster to address weak links in the team (hate to say it but more like Ferguson?). George Graham had this though he lost it in the end, as well, through arrogance. Can anyone else see the comparisons in the last days of our previous god George Graham and Wenger? is there a case for a manager being at a club too long and losing focus on the job at hand? perhaps Ferguson is the very rare exception.
I have always been a massive fan of Mr Wenger and admire him greatly, but when the manager thinks he is bigger than the club and makes continued falsehoods about transfers he greatly disrespects the fans and their intelligence. Please don't treat the fans as idiots Arsene. Arsenal fans know football. Most of us can see that we're nearly ready to win something major again but Arsene makes the same transfer mistakes every year! WHY!? because he is stubborn to the point of stupidity, and has created an idyllic, cushioned world of football management by saving the club millions at the expense of us, the paying fans. Yes he did an incredible job for the first few seasons by keeping us in the black with a decent team but we've had money for a couple of years now and not replacing players like Flamini (who should never been allowed to leave in this manner) has been verging on neglect of his job.
My conclusion is that Arsene should be given one more season to stall his football experiments and show his ambition to the fans (yes Arsene, the fans who will still be loyal to AFC long after you've departed). Enough already, do yourself a favour and spend the boards (and our) money on the right personnel and make your life as the Arsenal manager a lot easier. I wonder, does he remember how much better and fulfilling his professional life was when we had a powerful and winning squad? is the man a massacist? come on Arsene don't worry about the money so much. Spend it on quality and then some more quality, get rid of the deadwood and complete your true legacy for the club. Most of us would like to remember you as the winning machine with the Gallic flair that you could be again, not a manager with a career of two halves, the first a football genius, the second a brilliant business man who built an attractive young team of also-rans.
I am keeping the faith for one more year out of respect for his past achievements, keeping a decent level of football going and that he had a big part in stabilising the club through, and shortly after, the stadium move.
Come on Arsene, you can do it.
Go and review the match very well, Arshavin lost the game for us due to his selfsh attitude and hidden agender to sell himself to highest bider in the summer.
We should have been up 2-0 by 15mins of the game if not for his selfish and personal agender of using us as a ladder to reach his favourite destination, 5 ocassions before 15mins of play he has the opportunity of passing ball to Fabregars & Nasir just to tap in for a goal but he decided to take it by himself despite the fact that he is not better placed to take them.
In game like that when you dont take your chances the opposing team will grow in confidience that's why we failed yeaterday.
Finaly i agreeded with you totaly Almunia will never make us win anything as he lacks every thing a keeper must have (if he was on the Fulham game do you think we will win that match definately no) Manone is better than Almunia the manager just need to give him confidence (remember we never lost any match while he was keeping for us this season and he won man of the match once or twice while Almunia has never been closer to win anything closer to that).
Futhermore Clichy is finished,Traore is more faster and harder in tackling while Gibbs is more faster and skillful at tackling,so in pecking order Clichy is no3 left back i hope by the time we loose everthing this season Arsene Wenger will realise such.
I'll agree about Arshavin. He was unbelievably selfish and had absolutely no regard for his teammates or anyone else out there. He seemed far too desperate to prove a point and was definitely a main a factor in the defeat.
Call me crazy, but.....
David James as a short-term fix, till we get ourselves a real GK!??
Would be able to play for us in Europe and would be playing his socks off, in order for a World Cup call-up.
FLAMINI: Wenger, swallow your pride and re-sign the poor bugger - he suffered enough (playing at RB every 3 weeks & failing to break into a midfield that has Pirlo/Seedorf out injured). We need him.
No more forwards untill we ship some out first. It's getting ridiculous.
We also need Gary Lewin back... & a defensive coach, cos Wenger doesn't have a clue.
I have decided that a lot of Arsenal fans have decided that we are going to lose to Chelsea, and in doing so drop out of the title race. As a result they do not want to go through the pain of believing that we can get a result and being crushed when we lose. This is fine and understandable judging by the performance against Man U.
However if you don't mind I'll keep hoping that the team will stand up and be counted on Sunday.
As a random aside, your article touched on a pet peeve of mine. Stop using the cost of a transfer to determine the quality of the substitute. Because by your reckoning Barca bringing Messi off the bench would mean that their bench lacks firepower because he cost them practically nothing. If you think I'm cheating with Messi, how about Pedro the youth product who has scored 15 goals already this season.
Eboue or Valancia?
Bendtner of Berbatov?
Walcott or Giggs?
In every instance the Manchester United substitute was a better option than the Arsenal one. We on half fit injury prone rookies (and Eboue) while they bring on proven (and in form) premier league quality players.
And as for your 'theory', fans are expecting to lose against Chelsea all the evidence suggests that we will. To have any other view based on recent results against them and yesterday's performance is just overly optimistic. I'm not saying Arsenal cant beat Chelsea, I just think it's unlikely based on what I have seen. It's an opinion grounded in fact rather than fantasy.
I can understand allot of what you've written there and allot I do agree with. First of all whenever a loss like this occurs scapegoats are made of and 99% of the time its the weakest players on the team. After the game yesterday Id allot of time to reflect after the defeat seen as I travel from Dublin to see the games. I listened to allot of conversations during the game, on way out of the ground & on my bus from Liverpool st to Stanstead and most common denominator was Almunia and Denilson! I actually felt sorry for Denilson after the 3rd goal as essentially he knew himself he hadnt done well for any of the 3 goals & he just wanted the ground to suck him up take him away from his ordeal! After the 2nd goal he wasnt comfortable at all on the ball and he could obviously hear the moans around the ground. As Arseblog pointed out for the 3rd (where he lost the ball) goal the ref passed him out on their way chasing back!!? He had a nightmare game simple as that. Essentially if we had a fully fit team he wouldnt be in the team. However EVERY team has a player of his stature in the squad where they are regarded as passengers...look Chelsea have Kalou and Malouda and Liverpool have Lucas and they all cause as much debate as we have about Denilson! Wenger has tinted glasses towards him, yes but if we had a fully fit squad he wouldnt be in the team.
The 2nd common denominator is Almunia. Last season overall he did well to good at best (I still think he never won us many games like Seaman and Jens did and if people want examples of when Jens did it no problem Ill list them!). I thought he may progress but sadly he has went back to what he originally was when he was 2nd to Jens...an average keeper at best! The spine of any team is to have a strong keeper, center back, midfielder and striker is a corner stone to any good side. Just look back to all of our title winning teams we always had a good spine and that starts with a keeper. Almunia isnt good enough simple as, I can name about 8 keepers in the prem Id prefer to have than Alminua! That cant be right for the Arsenal?? I can see the divide on the whole Denilson debate but Ive yet to meet someone who thinks Almunia is worthy of an Arsenal place? So what baffles me is why does Wenger think this? If he doesnt replace Almunia come the summer ive lost all respect in Wenger with his ability to judge on the abilities of a keeper!
Now today Ive watched the extended highlights of the game. United beat us quite easily. I dont think Ive ever seen such a frank and honest post match interview with Wenger after a defeat in with which how easily we lost. I do agree we cannot win big games with no striker, but I do point out Arshavin did cause Brow a few headaches in first 25mins. Im not too sure anyone actually came out of that game with some credit intact, Song Vermalen & Gallas were the only "gutsy" performers for me but where they rated well in "gutsy" those 3 were a shambles in positioning! For example Song yesterday wanted to be the playmaker, anchor & goalscorer. From the upper tier yesterday I was finding it hard who was playing the anchor between himself and Denilson! Now I wont take away Songs willingness to put in a shift and try make things happen but he wasnt playing a youth game down in the park where the best player plays center midfield and runs up and down the pitch doing everything...he is playing in the prem & needed to stick to his job he has done so wonderfully in all his games this season.
Overall Im not as downbeat as allot of Arsenal fans, why...I dont know yet! But think back to Chelsea game we went on a run of 7 wins and 3 draws. Yes it was a bad bad result yesterday, but lets see if our guys can group and recover next Sunday. I actually think this is a perfect opportunity for us to show what we can do. EVERY neutral will predict we loose and often this is when we're at out best. So for now I will hold my disappointment of yesterday deep down till let it all out during and after the game on Chelsea!
Snazzy - I like your point - Imagine if Man City brought on Toure and Ade or Liverpool brought on any of their 2 over priced gimps. Just because a manager has been ripped off doesn't mean the players are great and going to make the difference. Speaking of which we brought on Theo who happens to be our most overpriced player since the Fox in the Box.
Captain - I'll call you more then crazy if you want to replace one accident prone keeper with another, although I couldn't agree more with you about a defensive coach, I have been saying that for years, bring back big Tone or Martin to drill the back 4 into shape!
The last three games against Chelsea show that Arsenal are ridiculously prone to counter attacking goals against Chelsea. Since they just got done by counterattacking against Man U, one would hope they will manage to correct this same deficiency after having a week to practice. However you may well be right that we will not learn and be done exactly like that again. Sunday's game will tell.
I'm not saying that their subs weren't better, but I'm just saying that the fact that they cost more is not an indication of that. Having said that all three subs did have a positive impact on our game, though with how bad we were playing they couldn't have made it worse.
Saying that chelsea are the favorites for the game at Stamford Bridge is fact, saying that Arsenal have a chance to win is also a fact not fantasy.
Simply put, Arsenal need this win more than Chelsea does. If they cannot motivate themselves to play out of their skin to save their season then they don't deserve to be challenging for the title. One of the most powerful motivators in sport is the "nobody believes in us" motif. Arsenal are the definition of that at the moment. It doesn't mean that we will win, and it may indeed be a replay of yesterday but I'm just saying that any comment before that game is premature.
That game came at just the right time for Manure when they had the luxury to change their team to suit the style needed to beat us and the momentum they've had from recent games really carried them through. We havent had the same luxury in with our attack changing from week to week.
If we lose this game but end up with the PL trophy would you be bothered? Lets not overeact and just get behind the team because we wont be playing the same against Chelsea i assure you of that.
Just skimming through the comments, and there seems to be a case of mistaken identity.
This article was written by Iron man and the article underneath was written by myself
http://www.arsenalvision.co.uk/reviews.php?articleid=1511
I think it is a bit unfair to single out individuals as in my opinion the team played poorly together, No one covered themselves in glory.
I still believe it was the tactics that were wrong and not Manchester United being a class above us.
We need to start concentrating on defending as a team and not all stream forward because we lose goals.
Are you content with going unbeaten against weaker sides but ultimately and consistently falling short against Man U and Chelsea? To just accept being third best shows a lack of ambition and is ultimately pointless. What good is beating Pompey and Hull if you continue to get humped by the two teams above?
I don't think we should be happy with constantly falling short to our rivals. It's humiliating.
Eagleye. ML didn't write this article.
Still a poor article iron man which fuels the fire of 'Anti Wengerism'
If we beat Chelsea next week he's a hero all of a sudden
Since the widespread clamour against Almunia started, he now makes a game-ruining mistake per game.
In that light he has to be the worst keeper in the division.
No other keeper I know is blamed for every goal his team concedes. I just wonder how come we led the league for 3/4ths of the season in 07/08.
He's gone from being faultless while we were flying to being complete crap.
That's a long way to fall.
By the way, he will also be at fault for the next goal we concede whenever we concede it. It's pre-destined by 100s of 1000s of people.
And if so many say it it must be true.
These are professionals at the end of the day and football shouldn't be treated like a special case. If they performs badly in their line of work they should be subject to the same criticisms as anyone else.
The players were a disgrace yesterday and deserve all the criticism they get. It may be unfair to single out individuals but if these individuals are making glaring errors that even Stevie Wonder can see then they should be strung up (metaphorically speaking of course). I don't see how it is a 'team' problem if one individual player refuses to track back, tackle or push the ball into his own net. If Denilson is being outrun by the ref in tracking back, who else is there to blame other than Denilson?
Certain members of that team brought shame to the club they are supposed to represent and don't deserve to be protected.
I'm expressing an opinion and trying to create discussion and talking points not trying to change the world or prove a point as you say.
As for Man U only beating Chelsea last year, nobody said anything about lack of ambition partly because they were defending English and European champions, barely looked as bad as we did yesterday (Liverpool at home being the exception rather than the rule) and most importantly, learned how to address their shortcomings and Ended up with their third successive league crown as well as winning the Carling Cup and featuring in yet another Champions League final. It's churlish to compare the two teams because their success in recent years shows they are light years ahead.
You can't seriously defend Almunia for his efforts this season?
I've always backed him. I've said time and time again I believe he's a solid keeper when on form and confident. Never world class, but solid.
I've argued that he doesn't need replacing if he's a solid keeper as I thought money would be best spent elsewhere or other areas rather than replace a solid keeper.
However, this season he's been woeful, too many mistakes to keep his place in the side.
The main problem is, we have a back up who is not exactly Mr Safe either. However, I doubt Fabianski could do any worse right now.
You can see by Almunia's demeanour that his confidence is shot to bits. Wenger should take him out of the limelight and put someone else in there. It's poor of Wenger to keep such an out of form player in the starting 11. Same could be said for Denilson.
All of the facts point to us not being good enough when we come up against the top opposition. We came up against United and Chelsea in semi's and league games and they've pretty much smashed us on every occasion WHEN IT COUNTS.
1-0 at Old Trafford in the CL semi, when they should've won 4/5-0.
3-1 at Emirates in the CL Semi, again could've been more.
0-0 at Old Trafford after they'd won the league (i think?),
2-1 Chelsea slapped us in the FA Semi
4-0 or 4-1 Chelsea slapped us at the emirates last season
2-1 United beat us after we sh!t ourselves and collapsed (almunia rush of blood!)
3-0 Chelsea slapped us again on our own patch
3-1 United slapped us on our own patch.
Doesn't make pretty reading does it!! We've lost 18-4 on aggregate. Or on average we've lost 2.25 goals to 0.5 goals to these two teams.
Someone needs to once and for all tell us the bigger picture. We either have to be told that there isn't infact much money there to spend like we keep hearing and that Wenger's remit is to keep us in the top 4 and CL football until our finances are more healthy.
OR
We do have money our finances are healthy as the AGM's and Financial reports suggest, but that Wenger is persist in his willingness to prove everyone wrong with this current squad and doesn't want to add anyone - so he can say I told you so.
I hope we do turn Chelsea over. But can anyone point out some facts that might make that more believable.... ??
i cant be bothered to look up stats, but if i recall, i remember a few years ago, one season in particular, we had a fantastic record against the top 4, coming out top of the top 4 league. i also distinctly remember having one of the worst seasons and barely barely scraping 4th (last year was far more comfortable). defeats like this hurt, and as much as you may moan about the fact that beating the small teams doesnt matter...it does! we play 32 games a season against the smaller non top 4 teams, thats 96 points. i know its not as simple as that, but essentially where we have failed in previous seasons (barring the CL exit vs man u last year) is losing and drawing against lesser opposition. look at your examples of when lehmann got dropped. i know beating the smaller teams doesnt feel as good and isnt something you particularly feel proud about braggin about, but it is important. chelsea have drawn against hull, if we can get at least a point against them and a win against liverpool, we have the rest of the season to play without having to play any of the top 4 in the league again. we've also played villa and everton twice, leaving only spurs and man city as the potential banana skins. if we are, and i'm very confident that we will be, within touching distance after the next two games, we can go on another unbeaten run without the fear of united or chelsea ruining the party. the players need to dust themselves off and sort themselves out and give themselves a good kick up the arse. and so do the fans. groans and moans every time one of the boo boys makes a mistake do sweet f a to help the cause, and while wenger and the players need to look at themselves in the mirror, the finger cannot soley be pointed at them. so come on, lets get through the next two games and power through to the finish line, and no matter how negative you are feeling, try to keep it to yourself (by the way iron man, this whole thing hasnt been directed at you, its at everyone including myself at times.)
come on the arsenal!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. ManU weren't by any stretch 'overwhelmingly superior'. We gifted them the 3 goals. The first by a combination of Clichy/Nasri/Denilson/Almunia. The second by Arshavin's piss poor pass & then Denilson ambling back instead of doing his job. The third by Denilson gifting them the ball when his job was to show solidity on the halfway line while our CB's were attacking. I've defended Denilson in the past, but he has to go, I'm afraid.
I'll also agree that Almunia has gone in the head. Too many mistakes. Poor distribution. Poor decision making. No defender trusts him. However, to use the penalty at OT earlier this season as an example of a mistake is entirely wrong because as was seen at the time and shown subsequently, Rooney clearly dived for the penalty, but Rooney being English it's forbidden to raise the subject, despite numerous examples of Rooney's cheating.
On the first half showing alone we should have scored possibly 4 goals - 2 from Arshavin if he'd finished well enough and 2 when he should have passed instead of shot.
Song had a very good game against 4 ManU midfielders with just Cesc in support. Why you expect Song to be everywhere is a mystery. You strike me as being one of the supporters at The Emirates who moan at every misplaced pass or shot or who pick on certain players to coat each game.
If you knew anything about the game you will know that Bendtner had a major impact on the game when he came on. As well as scoring we had other great chances to score in the last 15 minutes. His physical presence unsettled ManU's defence and he should have been on at half-time.
Your comment on substitutions is ridiculous. You equate money with quality. Berbatov? Valencia? Behave yourself. £48m. What a joke. Giggs is the most overrated player I have ever seen despite his medals. The fact they did sweet FA when they came on has nothing to do with it I suppose. Apart from Berbatov missing a very good chance that is.
If we are such an inferior side to ManU, how do you then explain that we have a better record than them so far this season against sides outside the top 3? Surely that makes them inferior as they don't do as well against poorer sides? And we're in touch at the top despite not having had a centre forward for 3 months.
So Chelsea mess up against Hull last night and they still have many hard games to play, including against ManU. ManU also have hard games. Our run-in, after the Chavs game is about as easy as we could expect. The Chavs won't be nearly as confident on Sunday as they thought they might be. With the correct team selection & attitude, a draw should be well within our capabilities and a win wouldn't be a surprise.
If you're going to do a critique of a loss, then do it the next day, or after you have seen a proper re-run of the match.
Find exactly where I equated money to quality and I'll give you your due but if not, thanks in advance for the apology.
Find exactly where I equated money to quality and I'll give you your due but if not, thanks in advance for the apology.
Also, did I say that I expected Song to be everywhere or did I suggest I would have rather him stuck to his defensive duty?
If you are going to criticise what I write, please don't do it by completely misconstruing my words.
I thank you.
"Find exactly where I equated money to quality and I'll give you your due but if not, thanks in advance for the apology."
Here it is then:
Reflections of a gutted gooner. Arsenal schooled by United. The List.
Date: 01 Feb 2010
By Iron Man
"A non-Arsenal fan pointed out to me this evening that the quality was telling between the substitutions made by both teams. While at 3-0 up United were able to bring on Valencia and Berbatov – 45million pounds of talent - ..."
Oh dear, Iron man. Don't bother apologising. Really.
and
#37 - Iron Man Says:
"Also, did I say that I expected Song to be everywhere or did I suggest I would have rather him stuck to his defensive duty?"
Reflections of a gutted gooner. Arsenal schooled by United. The List.
Date: 01 Feb 2010
By Iron Man
"Alex Song seemed to totally neglect his duties as a holding midfielder as was more often than not in attacking positions trying (and failing) too hard to be a goal-scoring hero rather doing the job he was supposed to"
Well, take the second goal as an example . It came from a corner to us. Anyone who watches Arsenal knows that Song is one of our targets at corners. Which is why Song was not defending at the other end and Denilson was supposed to be. That "more often than not" comment is, as you are well aware, complete rubbish, a complete exaggeration.
Misconstruing your words? I don't think so somehow.
So, if you are going to criticise my criticism then please make sure you are on solid ground to do it, because your words are there for all to see.
Again, try reading what I write before getting on my case. Look at my comment #17:
"don't dwell on the fact I used the transfer fee to determine how good their subs were. I merely added to emphasise the point that the players they can bring on are far better than the ones we can and you know exactly what I meant so dont try and deflect it by going off on a tangent"
As for Song, I still don't see how or where I said I 'expect him to be everywhere'.
I stand by the fact that Song was often roaming and 'more often than not' too far up the pitch. Watch the game again and you'll see exactly what I mean.
During that piece, YOU used the words "45million pounds of talent" in relation to Berbatov and Valencia to emphasise what you regard as being the quality of substitute ManU were able to bring on compared to us.
YOU did. Not anyone else. YOU. No-one forced you to, yet YOU equated transfer fee with quality. THAT is a fact.
And tell me, how many ManU fans have you heard say Berbatov has done well for them, let alone been worth the £32m pounds they paid for him?
And Valencia. Not exactly been pulling up trees at OT has he?
You also said "I stand by the fact that Song was often roaming and 'more often than not' too far up the pitch. Watch the game again and you'll see exactly what I mean."
Since when is this factual? It's a matter of opinion as to whether Song was too far up the pitch "more often than not".
If you think he should have stood two yards in front of the CB's at all times then you are right. However, it would also mean you know nothing about football. and how it should be played.
If I think he should have been in support of the full backs and Fabregas when we had the ball then you are entirely wrong. If I think he should have been behind the ball in a defensive position whenever possible when ManU had the ball, then again you are entirely wrong because if YOU watch the game again you will find that he was in his correct position the vast majority of the time.
If what I write gives you high blood pressure then don't read it. If as you say it's a matter of opinion what gives you the authority to state (as if it is a fact?) that I know nothing about football? Because I don't agree with you (or you don't agree with me because of course, this is MY article you're commenting on...) then I know nothing about football? I instructed you to watch the match again because I felt there were examples of Song being out of position on a regular basis. Whether I know anything about football or not, the end result would suggest that MAYBE just MAYBE I might have a point. Not just about Song, but the fact I felt the need to write a highly critical account of the match. Even you in your inifinate wisdom can accept that surely?
If you want to continue on the line of thinking that I was wrong to use the transfer fees as a suggestion that the players they brought on were better than ours (the actual point I was trying to make) then fine but in my apparently misguided opinion (which I'm sure you dont really have a right to say is wrong) Berbatov, Valencia and Giggs are far better options to have in reserve than Bendtner, Eboue and Walcott. I may be wrong in thinking that but I'm yet to be provided any evidence to the contrary.
High blood pressure? Why would that be?
"I instructed you..."
Probably not the best thing to say is it? To anyone.
You said: "If as you say it's a matter of opinion what gives you the authority to state (as if it is a fact?) that I know nothing about football?"
As I said, if you think that Song should have stood 2 yards in front of the CB's at all times during the match, then you really don't know anything about football. Nor does anyone else who thinks that, not just you. That's not a fact, it's opinion.
If you want to put forward the opinion that their substitutes were better than ours, then fine. The point you don't seem to be able to grasp is that you used their transfer fees as the key evidence to back your opinion up. What that came across like, was as if you were determined to get over another criticism of Arsenal in another area of the match (because you were on a roll, after all) and used the amount of money ManU paid for Berbatov & Valencia as the clincher. 'They cost £45m so they must be really good.' So good, in fact, they are on the bench in a big game, despite being fit having not had any recent injuries. And also being the subject of many moanings and groanings from ManU fans who expected a whole lot more from them.
You did make some good points and were right to be critical of certain players. For example, Almunia, Denilson and Clichy were, in my opinion and it seems the general consensus, terrible. I also agree that the first two are just not good enough and that Clichy is not fit/lacking confidence.
But to basically rip the team apart as being patently not good enough when we are a few points off the top after 24 games is the response of a bitter, angry person.
I've supported Arsenal for many, many years since I was 7 and have seen rubbish through the Terry Neill era and at the end of the George Graham era so I know the true meaning of a player who is not good enough for Arsenal. It means I've seen my fair share of defeats and it still hurts just as much.
What I don't do is throw my toys out and try and hit everyone in sight.
Arsene Wenger said after the defeat by Chelsea in November (which wasn't 'humiliating' - it was just a defeat) that the title race was very much on still. Everyone mocked him. 9 games later we were top of the table. Two days after our defeat by ManU, Chelsea were lucky to escape with a draw against Hull, one of the worst teams in the league and someone who everyone predicted they would demolish.
Our record against the 'poor' teams is excellent this season, we are getting more players back from injury (apart from the best one of course) and Chelsea and ManU have some very difficult games left, so to dismiss the possibility of winning the EPL as 'fantasy' is another angry response.
We may well not win the EPL, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.
I shall have a read and catch up on whats been gwarning.