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Interesting article this week that you may wish to read.
Interesting article this week that you may wish to read.
My Vision
Written by Mean Lean on Thursday, 10 February 2011 12:21
It seems as if it is safe to take my hands away from my eyes and come out from behind my sofa. The Arsenal players appear to have come through this random International midweek unscathed, that would be just super fantastic. We will only really know what is what when Arsene Wenger comes face to face with a microphone, although I am not sure that you can call a microphone a face but you catch my drift.
I had one head in my hands moment as I am sure many of you did when Jack Wilshere lunged in for a tackle only to wince and hold his knee. I was shaking my head fearing the worst. What are we going to do? No Diaby, no Denilson, Song just coming back. I needn't worry (I hope) as Wilshere shook off the knock and continued to play as if he was playing in his local park.
The ITV crew spent the whole time waxing lyrical over Wilshere and I was waiting for Arsene to receive some credit for nurturing him the right way, I didn't hear it. I did fall asleep at one point so perhaps I missed it but I doubt it. Anyway, Wilshere looked exactly like Wilshere. Doesn't get flustered, makes everything look easy but I thought he had the shackles on his ankles a little. You could see that when he drove forward and exchanged passes with Rooney that he could make a difference in the final third but his forays forward were few and far between.
Theo Walcott couldn't get as involved as he does with Arsenal which is usually the case when pretty much only one player passes to him and that was Wilshere who lasted 45 minutes. One pass he did get from Rooney allowed him to beat his man, take a nail in his face and assist Darren Bent's goal
It was a decent game overall and it makes a change watching England pass and move instead of lumping balls forward to Peter Crouch. I really do appreciate being an Arsenal supporter and not having to watch drivel every week.
I was hoping that Koscielny would get a few minutes under his belt for his country but maybe not playing will do him some good. He has had plenty of football of late. Gael Clichy was sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes also so they should be rested for the Wolves. Abou Diaby, that filthy bully played half and hour and incredibly didn't try and start fighting with someone for no reason.
I actually forgot that he was available for the Champions League. His domestic suspension does not count in European football. Even with that in mind, I do not imagine that he will get in the side ahead of Wilshere right now. I would rather he was available for the Birmingham final and couldn't play against Barca. Do you think the FA would consider if Mr Wenger wrote them a nice little note to switch the suspension around? nah, didn't think so either.
Tomas Rosicky scored for his country against Croatia and that will hopefully do him some good. He started the season so well, so much so that we didn't miss Cesc who was yet to have the required fitness under his belt at the time but in recent weeks he has looked way below his best. His substitute appearance on the weekend (can't remember the score of the match) was pretty horrific to be honest. He is much much better than that and he is still a player I think very highly of. I thought he would have a big part to play this season, I really did but that hasn't been the case so far.
Eduardo scored for the Croatians which puts him in second in the all time record goal scorers list behind another former Gunner, Davor Suker. He was some player wasn't he? I remember his lofted lob against Peter Schmeichel and being left stunned. Then there was his goal against Sunderland at Highbury, outstanding.
I was left baffled and bemused when Arsene dropped Suker who had pretty much a 1 in 2 strike rate for Arsenal in his short time at the club and instead moved this left winger in his place as a striker. What are you doing Wenger?? The left winger was Thierry Henry. Nuff said me thinks.
Now where was I? Ah the Internationals. Basically all the players seem to have come back in one piece. This isn't International friendly Vision so I cannot be bothered with going through all the scores and scorers as it is not of importance, I just hope these last few days has given certain players some extra sharpness and it has kept our key performers ticking over.
Sometimes when our players are rested completely we lose our momentum and rhythm so it is not always a bad thing unless they get crocked from too much footy.
You may or may not have read the piece by Darren Lewis in the Mirror but if you haven't then I suggest you do. Much credit must go to him for going against the grain and seeing it from many a Gooners perspective instead of the usual sheep following hacks who just copy the 'Arsenal are whinging foreigners who don't like it up em' mantra.
Mr Lewis here is a virtual clap for you *clap clap clap*
On the subject of tackles, I have a very nasty and niggling feeling that the Barton treatment will be used as a template from now until the end of the season. Not that it hasn't previously you understand but I can see these dinosaur managers looking at us losing a four goal lead and put it down to Barton's thugary rather than Philip Dowd's rather interesting decisions on the day.
We have Stoke City home and away, we face Birmingham in the Carling Cup final and we have the Mancs so getting through those games without another controversial 'tackle' will be a marvelous achievement.
Next topic will be the arrival of Wolves at the Emirates. * I am a little worried though. Cesc's tummy problem and Van Persie's flu is concerning me immensely. Lets hope it doesn't rule them out for the season like Djourou. I hope they do not play the high line, especially against Walcott because that would really harm us. Trying to break our players legs will only get our team fired up to score six though.
Oh and before I go, a quick mention to our neighbours from down the road. Hahahahaha! It looks as if they nearly got the Olympic stadium. They also nearly bought some world class players in the January window. I heard they nearly worked out how to time travel. They have certainly nearly gone another year without winning the league since the sixties and I am thankful to Tottenham Football club.
We have days at the Arsenal when we feel down, things may not always end up as planned but to pick yourself up just look down the road at the dark and depressing roads near White Hart Lane and be thankful that you didn't choose them as your team.
Right, gotta run.
Back tomorrow.
* Just on the off chance that any of the Wolves management team were to read my blog today.
Fancy writing your own articles for fellow Gooners to read? Click Your Vision section.
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10-Feb-2011 13:23 | | RDiaby isn't suspended for the final. His ban means he misses the Wolves, Leyton Orient & Stoke games.
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10-Feb-2011 13:25 | | Steve of Chiang Mai - Talk about tunnel vision....Of course we all want to believe Moyes...except it turns out when Wenger said Moyes was lying he actually was.....and when Wenger says "Fabregas didn't speak to the ref" it turns out he didn't......because David Moyes actually changed his story from a "Disgusting rant to the ref" to a calm and measured comment to the...4th official.....who most likely was wondering why he wasn't told of the money coming their way as he,like Moyes and Wenger probably thought Saha was offside as well.
But this is a typical rant from a typical Wenger hater....just cause Wenger doesnt believe in the Ferguson Cult...that he is actually Jesus with a big red nose and a pocket full of Officials and referees.
Go back and read the comments, Wenger doesn't mind hard tackles, he is however not fond of players with broken legs and the Neanderthal English thugs who lack the skill to stop Arsenal players any other way. Also I direct you to Wenger's post game talk after Wilshere's tackle at Birmingham and how he thought the tackle was poor and how the player involved apologised. But he that may be too many actual true facts for you to digest in one go.
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10-Feb-2011 13:26 | | MeanLean
Well you see R, clearly his not to the FA has worked.
Or maybe I didn't get my facts right
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10-Feb-2011 13:27 | | MeanLeanBut fantastic that Diaby is available for Wembley. I think he may well play if fit.
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10-Feb-2011 13:52 | | Dan RoebuckEduardo never played at Highbury. We were already at the Emirates when we bought him.
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10-Feb-2011 14:41 | | FabGooner - Diaby SuspensionThere were some stories about Diaby's ban being just one game, because Dowd sent him off for two yellow not a straight red...Any info on that?
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10-Feb-2011 16:13 | | TT - Diaby should have hit himThe only mistake Diaby made was not laying Barton out cold, instead of pushing him.
That is what he would have got on a Sunday afternoon game for those tackles.
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10-Feb-2011 19:54 | | richie - Exactly my pointInstead of the ponsy push a left hook or right cross or both would've got Diaby the same red card but a lot more respect. I'm a supporter that watched my team in the 60's & 70's and we had players in those days Simpson McLintock Storey & McNab who could've & would've made Barton type challenges and worse but the game has changed.
Patrick Vieira was not ever a dirty player. When he was regularly playing in the French league he didn't have a bad record at all. The French league has never been seen as a very physical one, unlike the English league's that are renowned as being particularly physical. So Patrick had to adapt to this new world and adapt he did, he saw that when one Man U player was tackled hard a team mate would repay that heavy tackle with one of his own. This form of payback is something not seen in France, but Patrick rose to the occasion and became Arsenal's talisman.
Now the whole game has become more technical, more skillful, and far less physical. Its no less a mans game for all that, witness Drogba man handle a defender out of the way to score if your in any doubt. But tackles that include the so called "Afters" like Bartons come from another age. That age and those tackles are only being supported by either members of the old guard who made them themselves or those who play now but don't possess the levels of skill that the game has moved onto. Especially the supporters of teams who's players aren't really technical or skillful enough to compete in this new much improved world.
The levels of skill now on show in the prem will remind many of us of the (unseen before the 1970's remarkable) Brazilians who arrived on the sceen and showed us ball skills that not only had we never seen before but frankly we had never dreamt of. They caused a revolution
(a revolution in skill) whose ripples are still being felt. The prem is in transition but its moving inexorably towards greater skill and better tactical awareness. In this transitionary period unfortunately we will still have to suffer the dinosores both those pundits of the Andy Gray type and the players of the thug Barton type for a while longer.
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