Written by Mean Lean on Thursday, 23 December 2010 12:35
A very happy Friday to you Gooners around the universe,
I cannot believe that Christmas is already two days away. Without wanting to sound like a modern day Ebenezer Scrooge, I cannot wait for it to be over and done with.
Partly because I am looking forward to Monday's match as it has been far too long without my Arsenal. My dear beloved Arsenal.
There seems to be plenty of reaction to Wenger's words about Thomas Vermaelen not coming back until the end of January. This has been painted out to be some kind of fresh set back which has pushed Arsene to a frustrated wreck of emotions. This has been the angle of many a tabloid and has spread amongst the Arsenal fans.
My advice would be to actually listen to Wenger's interview, where he explains that Vermaelen appears to be over his problems and is in training but is short of fitness which usually takes 3-4 weeks. Nothing has actually changed and he is on track to come back into the first team squad.
I love Thomas Vermaelen and look forward to his return but I get the feeling that many think that he is the magic potion that will allow us to go the rest of the season without conceding a goal. Our central defenders haven't really been the problem for the most part, it has often been an awful team display or silly team mistakes.
We could throw Vermaelen into the side now and he will be rusty and probably make mistakes and we can be punished or we can get him up to speed before returning to the fold, I know what I would rather see happen.
Manchester United show pony Nani has ruled Arsenal and Manchester City out of the title race, it is apparently just between Manchester United and Chelsea. For a start I think Nani needs to make up his mind and stop chopping and changing. It was on the 9th December, 2 weeks ago that we read Nani talking about Arsenal being a bigger threat than Chelsea. I blame his little lunch time trips to Nando's with Patrice Evra whispering sweet nothings in his ears whilst ripping into some peri peri chicken and spicy fries.
Wenger brushed aside Nani's claims by pulling out the fact that he had managed over 1,600 games and perhaps Nani is 1,600 times more intelligent than he is.
Surely Arsene understands that everyone knows how to build a team better than he does by now. This shouldn't be a new discovery.
Speaking of which, Wenger has been questioned as to whether he will dip into the January window and he made the very good point that with the new rules in place, he can only buy a player once one leaves. Judging by Wenger's comments, he doesn't expect any of his outfield players to be going anywhere anytime soon. It is well documented by many managers and not just our own that buying top quality players who are allowed to leave is very difficult and cannot happen with a click of a button.
If I could merge football manager with real life and I could design a player that I would like to see at Arsenal then I think I would go for a position that we are in fact pretty strong in at present.
I really like the idea of having an explosive, fast, skilful striker who was born to score goals. A 23 year old who would still improve and who was not afraid to miss chances. Someone who can be marked tightly for 80 minutes and then drill a snapshot into the far corner on the net on his weaker side. Off the top of my head, the type of player I am thinking of is a Samuel Eto'o of a few years ago. Don't ask me about where he would fit in with the rest of the players we have in that position because someone would probably have to go but that is the type of player that I would love to have in our armoury.Whilst much of the worry has been about our defending, I feel more frustrated when we do not reward ourselves when we dominate the opposition.
Unfortunately we cannot always stop the opposition scoring because other teams have a say in that, the league is full of quality offensive players but we should be in more control of our attacking when we get into good positions. I still feel we are a squad full of creative players who can score and not enough goal scorers who can create.
Having said this, I think we are perfectly strong enough to take control of this league and it is not quality that is lacking but form and confidence. If those two continue on an upwards trajectory then consistency will come hand in hand with that. What must change is our home form and Wenger mentioned this in his press conference. It will be the key to the remainder of the season.
I still find it strange that we have looked so disappointing at home this season when we have been usually so strong at home. At least we know we have done it before so hopefully getting back to that is not beyond the squad.
It is going to be a big bonus going into this Christmas period without many injuries and will surely help when the games come thick and fast. We have often fallen down when we have had too many games so close together so let us see what happens this time.
I have always bemoaned the fact that we have been without key players and stand by my 'excuses' but for once our luck may well be turning.
If we manage to keep our key players fit for the rest of the season and we come up short then I will be willing to admit that changes need to happen. Until then I believe in this group 150% as someone in Jerry Springer would say! (Not that I actually watch that rubbish you see)
Back tomorrow.
Fancy writing your own articles for fellow Gooners to read? Click Your Vision section.
))
Copyright © 2012 Arsenal Vision. All Rights Reserved.
Arsenal News 24/7
Comments (9)