Written by Mean Lean on Thursday, 05 January 2012 22:12

Happy new year, kind of. Apart from the post Fulham game I haven't really had the chance to do much in the way of writing over the last few days as I have been super busy but I have slipped out of real life for a second to jot down some of my thoughts.

I watched some of the Newcastle vs Manchester United game last night and it was pretty enjoyable. Firstly, whatever you may think of Alan Pardew you have to credit him for the work he has done at Newcastle since arriving last season. I had a look at their squad in the summer and thought they had some very good players on their books. A few who look very much in the mould of an Arsene Wenger type player.

I am probably jumping the gun a little on this but I think Manchester United have had these recent results coming for a while now. They look like a side who have lost their aura and are now being exposed as the mortals that they are.

Manchester United won the league last season due to their spirit and experience but Rooney and Nani apart, they lack real quality. Chelsea are currently going through a transition period and we know first hand how tough it is to get through to the other side and still remain strong.

Liverpool's failings have been covered up and ignored for the most part even though they have invested heavily, especially this season.

It just makes me regret the fact that we were still in the changing rooms when the race had begun at the start of the season. With the current squad we have, I am pretty certain that we would have been involved in a title race had we had a smoother summer but let us not go back there again.

A positive second half of the season could be just what we need to make a proper fist of it next season. Unless something disastrous happens then we will have all of our summer signings with a year of the Premier League under their belts, Jack Wilshere, a stronger and more rounded Alex Chamberlain as well as hopefully some external strengthening.

In the meantime we need to haul ourselves into the top four and stay there until the season ends. That has to be our short term aim, getting above Chelsea and staying above Liverpool. We can concern ourselves of Tottenham and the Manc clubs once we have established ourselves in the top four.

Bacary Sagna will be around for the second half of the season, in fact he should be kicking a ball once again or at least being very close to doing so. I have missed him massively, our very own Mr consistency. It is quite amazing that we have coped so well without him. I am looking forward to Sagna and Koscielny establishing a strong partnership. Koscielny mostly played on the left side last season as Djourou started as the right sided center back.

It will be interesting to see how quickly it takes Sagna to find his feet, I get the feeling that he will not take much adjusting. He joined the club and started producing quality performances and has probably had a handful of bad games since 2007.It is a shame that Santos will miss pretty much the whole season, his return is supposed to be sometime in March so that might have to wait until next season or if we are lucky, towards the end of this campaign.

Theo Walcott's contract is leading much of the discussion at the moment. He needs to improve his consistency but he is a valuable part of this squad and when he is on form, we do not have another player mature enough to give the team what he does. Football is a fickle game and we tend to forget things quickly if form changes. It was only recently that Walcott destroyed Ashley Cole and had many good games during that period. We need to see that from him on a weekly basis, that has got to be the challenge.

I hope the contract's of Theo, Song and Robin get dealt with swiftly and when I say dealt with, I mean sign them all up to long term deals. As Vermaelen has said, if we keep this squad together then success is not far away.

Speaking of contracts, it is being rumoured that Franny Coquelin is on the verge of extending his contract with Arsenal. I am all up for that I must say. I absolutely love the fella. All the way back when he made his debut at Barnet, this tigerish 17 year old was snapping into challenges and spraying the ball around effortlessly.

He seems to have a bit of the early Gareth Bale about him in the sense that every time he starts, we tend to lose but luckily for myself, I am not superstitious. I think the quality of his performance has deserved more action on the pitch. We have all moaned about certain squad players not making an impact or taking their chance but that cannot be said for Coquelin. I hope he does sign a new deal and keep improving because if he keeps getting better naturally then a place in the team will just have to present itself to him at some point. Certainly Arsene made the correct decision in regards to Frimpong going on loan.

Before I get myself ready for an early night, can I point you in the direction of today's Your Vision article on Robin van Persie and his improvement as a player. Written by Stephen Rowe and worth a read.

Back tomorrow.

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Comments (7)

• 05-Jan-2012 22:31 | | KaKrap  - Walcott is a joke
  

  hate him, he is only around because of his nationality. Sooner he is sold, the better

• 05-Jan-2012 22:32 | | mervyn victor  - sagna and theo
  

  how can you say we have done ok without sagna - we are not really coping at mo -thank goodness he's back real soon .
  as for theo - don't you think all this uncertainty about his contract is causing him to lose focus - give the guy a break he is only young and things like not knowing what in store for you must be playing on his mind - let the contracts be resigned and bet you we will see a new and rejuvenated theo .
  i also agree he needs resting - those incredible bursts of speed need to get some rest - secret weapon style

• 05-Jan-2012 23:07 | | ronnie c  - mervyn is an idiot
  

  we have done well without sagna and the article never mentioned giving theo a break you idiot.

• 05-Jan-2012 23:12 | | matt  - Theos support
  

  I am surprised no-one has mentioned how not having our right backs has been impacting theos performances.He needs movement around him to be at this best and without sagna or jenkinson it seems he has a lot less space.
  Djourou just can't do the proper job.Wait until we have the right backs again and then we will see the best of theo.

• 05-Jan-2012 23:32 | | MeanLean
  

  I agree totally that Theo is suffering due to the lack of a natural right back behind him. It may also explain why he doesn't make as many runs into the box instead keeping wide to give the midfield more space in central areas.

• 06-Jan-2012 05:54 | | gooner  - where's the attack? Van is all alone!
  

  Nice post. But a few things first, why do i always get the feeling consistency is a word used to refer to english players when they are having a bad spell. (theo is not con... Lampard has lost a little bit of cons.... On his day rooney can tear through any defence and if he had a little consi... He would win the golden boot! "heh, you are the only 90 minutes stricker at united but you get out scored by your subs")
  isn't it fair so say theo has no real competition for his place apart from theo mak 2? The young unproven ox. Say if theo became incons... For half a season, who would be there to take his place? On the plus side he has age on his side.
  On the other side, gervinho is very good, very direct and runs at defenders with it, UNTIL he remembers he has reached the 18 yard box. Then he freezes. He becomes almost useless (if he were english, that would make him incons.... Once he reaches the box). His competition? Mature experienced out of form Arsh. And yossi(who should be playing where rambo is playing)
  RvP...... Enough said only that his subs are too poor he is his only competitor and everyone knows how hard it is to keep up with rvp, you get burnt out.
  ATTACKING MIFFIELDER (CAM) we dont have one at the club! Cesc left. This comes as no disrespect to Ramsey but i think he is a good player and a good prospect but he is being played out of position. At their best him, jack and arteta play the same position, central midfield. Not DM, not AM but CM.
  I know people will be quick to point out how well he has done so far and his age and i will massively agree. Considering its not his position. (just imagine if we had a david silva or cesc behind rvp and ahead of song and arteta ) Others will point out that when jack comes back they will share the role and all that but wasn't jack our player of the season last year? Well he was but playing CM where he is so good he's hard to drop, where arteta has been so good he's hard to give a rest, where ramsey was so good before that @** t broke his leg. Rosicky, his good days in that role sadly never came in his time with us. Yossi, probably the only natural in via role but he hasn't played enough games he deserves and i think its, rightly so, due to the fact he's only on loan with us and he could be off in a few months. So as much as i like rambo, jack and arteta, they are three guys who play the same position but some will be played out of position. The only difference they have with the TV5, LK6 and PM4 situation, well apart from being in a different position they have two numbers for three guys. Maybe thats why the boss tried to buy juan mata in the last transfer window.

• 06-Jan-2012 17:38 | | Gunner23  - contracts
  

  i'm sure that rvp and song are waiting till the summer before they enter contract negotiations. If we get champions league then i'm sure rvp will sign a contract. if we don't then i doubt either of them will. the two of them have been at the club for a long long time and without champions league, they'll want a change of scene.
  
  interesting statistic - walcott has as many assists and goals in 2011 season as the tottenham monkey man who won player of the season!! he may seem dull and inconsistence at times but he's very loyal and over the course of the season, very effective
  
  
  
  
  
  henry's comin home, he's comin home, he's comin home, he's comin, henry's coming home!!!!!!!

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