Well last night saw us beat Ajax 3-2 in a game of two halves. At half time we were losing to a 2-0 defecit, only for us to 'do a Bolton' and turn it round to a 3-2 victory. Yes it was entertaining, yes it was exciting (even if it was a friendly) but there are still some very concerning signs amongst our line up.
I just do not understand how Arsene can target our defensive play as our key position to improve in at the start of the summer, only for him to then turn around and decide not to sign anyone, and we have lost two defensive midfielders, and we are only going to make one more signing? How does that work then? The first Ajax goal came from a couple of errors from both centre backs. A deep cross caw Toure head the ball into the air, gaining no distance, to drop in the box for Suarez to convert a superbly executed volley. As great as the volley was it would have helped if Gallas had closed him down but he just didn't. It was Toure's first game back from his spell with Malaria but it was a basic defensive error, not clearing the box, maybe Sagna should have called the header for himself, but I always think that if you can't clear your line properly get it off the pitch, maybe Kolo could have glanced it off for a corner?
The second Ajax goal came from a combination of frustrating inexperience, and more poor defending. Theo lost the ball in a moderately harmless position, and as he often does I was just waiting for him to give away yet another pointless free kick, it is truly a sign of his youth and inexperience. He gets annoyed with himself for losing the ball, and then gets too keen to win it back and about 99% he gives away a weak free kick. The free kick was then dispatched early with Gallas no where to be seen and Huntelaar scored a half volley, another goal displaying great technique leaving Almunia with no chance again, and leaving him furious with his defensive line. Two goals within 90 seconds... slightly concerning eh Wenger?...
Yes it was a friendly, but we had our current strongest line up (injuries in mind) and its not like the players go out there to lose, the season starts a week today and I don't think the fact its only a friendly is any saving grace. This was our best available team conceding needless goals, and is a sign of what we can expect to see during the coming season. I can only think of one clean sheet during preseason and how often do we have to come back from a losing deficit? We really do make it hard for ourselves, and this really needs addressing, conceding first is not the way to go about winning the title because it leads to draws such as last season.
Justin Hoyte looks like he could be on his way to Middlesbrough with reports stating that Arsenal have accepted a £3.5 million bid. Hoyte has never looked Arsenal quality so he really should move on if he wants first team football. Maybe, just maybe that could open up the door for signing a new defender? Maybe Wenger will bring in a back up RB/CB, or maybe it will see Eboue moving back to RB on a more regular basis? Who knows... either result would be good right?
Denilson and Fabregas looked too lightweight as a partnership but tell us something we didn't know already... I am surprised we are yet to bring someone in, and we do have until midnight on the 31st but will a signing be able to fit into the first team straight away?... Reports on the Swiss midfielder Inler continue with his agent stating to have apparently held good talks with Arsene... at six foot he has the kind of physique I would like to partner Cesc, someone big in there would be excellent, a tough tackler too because lets face it we just don;t have that at the moment. At that height it would add an extra threat in the box, as well as more defensive help from set pieces. At the moment we may as well call any corners we win goal kicks, we are so ineffective at them its embarrassing, about 70% of the time the keeper claims it and any added height would be certainly welcomed....
Rant over now, I do think Wenger is making a mistake by not bringing in more defensive cover for the season, and I am almost certain we will have to sign someone in the January transfer window to make up for this, hopefully we are still in a good position by then. Tonight's game will probably see us use more fringe players, Toure should probably get another run out, and possibly a sub appearance for Cesc as yesterday was the first preseason games for both players.
Saturday, 9 August 2008
Monday, 4 August 2008
Adebayor and Van Persie... the most effective partnership for Arsenal?
Well, suppose I had better quickly mention the Emirates Cup... it looked very much like the preseason tournament it was, some slow lazy performances, but a few players looking to make that impression. Of course Ade wanted to win round the fans so insisted on taking the match winning penalty against Real Madrid, and Wilshere impressed yet again on both days, and judging by Wengers comments, we can probably expect to see him play at some point this season (plus he has got himself an official squad number now). So now on to a more important debate...
I have to say I would prefer to see an Eduardo or Vela type striker starting for Arsenal... Van Persie and Adebayor are both very good players, however neither has really intelligent off-the-ball movement. Van Persie is rarely on the last man, he is always dropping in to get the ball, and Adebayor thinks he is Henry trying to be offside to confuse the defenders however he never comes back onside, or failing that he is playing down the left flank, again trying to be Henry.
Personally I don't know why Ade comes out wide, he never gets an assist or cross from this position, and most of his goals come down the middle from early balls. What is the use of Ade laying off to Clichy or Sagna if he is supposed to be the one in their challenging for the ball.
Van Persie likes the ball at his feet, he likes to be in control, to be able to receive the ball, take a touch backwards so he can look up and get his bearings, Van Persie is capable of making a goal out of this, but for that to be fully effective he would need someone powerful and quick charging from the centre of midfield to make space for him, or for him to lay off to. I'm not sure we have that at Arsenal.
Between them they don't offer much for the quick early ball, and I think this is one of the main things which has slowed up Arsenal's counter-attacking football. That is why I look forward to Eduardo's return... just look at his goals last season, he profits well from an early ball, and with our creative play we don't need a striker to do everything themselves, we just need them to finish it off, and feel that too often Ade tries to do everything himself, looking to pick the ball up early, instead of making a run on the last man. We have only seen a small glimpse so far of Vela but he looks like he has good movement and Wenger has compared his style to Eduardo. This kind of striker will push the defense back further and will create a space between themselves and the midfield, rather than the compact play you see us ending up in on the edge of the box far too often.
Unfortunately I don't see us mixing it up too often in the coming season, obviously with Eduardo still returning (if he hadn't broken his leg he might have even been fighting for that starting spot right now), and Vela is I suppose 4th choice striker behind Bendtner at the moment.
I think we need RvP/Ade/Bendtner teaming up with Eduardo/Vela (possibly in time). I'm not saying that RvP and Ade won't score goals but I don't think they are the most effective partnership for our football.
I have to say I would prefer to see an Eduardo or Vela type striker starting for Arsenal... Van Persie and Adebayor are both very good players, however neither has really intelligent off-the-ball movement. Van Persie is rarely on the last man, he is always dropping in to get the ball, and Adebayor thinks he is Henry trying to be offside to confuse the defenders however he never comes back onside, or failing that he is playing down the left flank, again trying to be Henry.
Personally I don't know why Ade comes out wide, he never gets an assist or cross from this position, and most of his goals come down the middle from early balls. What is the use of Ade laying off to Clichy or Sagna if he is supposed to be the one in their challenging for the ball.
Van Persie likes the ball at his feet, he likes to be in control, to be able to receive the ball, take a touch backwards so he can look up and get his bearings, Van Persie is capable of making a goal out of this, but for that to be fully effective he would need someone powerful and quick charging from the centre of midfield to make space for him, or for him to lay off to. I'm not sure we have that at Arsenal.
Between them they don't offer much for the quick early ball, and I think this is one of the main things which has slowed up Arsenal's counter-attacking football. That is why I look forward to Eduardo's return... just look at his goals last season, he profits well from an early ball, and with our creative play we don't need a striker to do everything themselves, we just need them to finish it off, and feel that too often Ade tries to do everything himself, looking to pick the ball up early, instead of making a run on the last man. We have only seen a small glimpse so far of Vela but he looks like he has good movement and Wenger has compared his style to Eduardo. This kind of striker will push the defense back further and will create a space between themselves and the midfield, rather than the compact play you see us ending up in on the edge of the box far too often.
Unfortunately I don't see us mixing it up too often in the coming season, obviously with Eduardo still returning (if he hadn't broken his leg he might have even been fighting for that starting spot right now), and Vela is I suppose 4th choice striker behind Bendtner at the moment.
I think we need RvP/Ade/Bendtner teaming up with Eduardo/Vela (possibly in time). I'm not saying that RvP and Ade won't score goals but I don't think they are the most effective partnership for our football.
Friday, 1 August 2008
Stuttgart, Bischoff, Adebayor, Bendtner
So Jens Lehmann conceeded 3 goals and Arsenal won... a strange looking statement huh... well the Wednesday night scoreline was typical of Arsenal. Conceed a goal through poor defensive work, but being too penetrative going forward to keep at bay.
It was Nasri's first performance for the Gunners and he looked bright and very mobile, whilst not trying anything too flashy o his debut. He played some good balls to Adebayor (who looked like he needs a good run out) and was unlucky not to play in RvP with a defense splitting pass. He also took on a half volley effort which swerved wide but was promising to see.
Bendtner, Vela, and Wilshere continued their rich vein of form by finishing off 3 well worked moves. Vela got the first after superbly being played in by Bendtner (for which I will go into more depth later) and knocked it past Lehmann to finish from a tight angle. Bendtner played a 1-2 with Vela, before powering through to finish neatly passed Lehmann, and Clichy pulled out a heroic run before dinking it across the box to Wilshere, whose finish was too powerful for Lehmann to get close to.
It was good to see the likes of Wilshere and Vela carrying on from Monday night, with both putting in impressive performances. Of course Wenger has been playing down Wilshere but you do wonder if he gets a chance as a sub, or even starts in the Carling Cup whether he might even make his league debut this season? Like they say, 'if you're good enough, you're old enough'.
We finally completed the signing of Bischoff, which he himself had reported around a month ago... bit of a random one on first impressions, he has only played something like 16 minutes competitive football for Werder Bremen, but has featured for Portugal under 21's, and played a lot for the Werder Bremen youth set up. The thing is though that he has already had 2 groin operations and had also been working as an office clerk!! Wenger believes he will need at least 2-3 months of training before he will be match fit... I guess its fairly similar to Baptista except Bischoff has more valid reasons than just being a fat bastard.
Adebayor is putting pen to paper on a new improved deal within the next few days which will put a 1/2 year extension on his existing deal taking his contract up to 4/5 years in length. In his interview with ATVO Adebayor insisted his love for the club, and really really insisted (about 20 times!) that he never said he would leave Arsenal... which in fairness he never did... I never commented too much on this saga because there really wasn't much substance to talk about in terms of Adebayor saying anything... he also still hopes that the fans will love him as before as he has signed a new deal and of course... he never said he would leave the club (Ade really drilled this point home).
And then of course our Great Dane, Niklas Bendtner. Now I like this kid a lot, he has a lot of attributes to his game, if he perfects them he could become the complete striker. We have seen him be powerful in the air, we know he has a good touch (when not rusty), he may not be Theo Walcott but he certainly isn't slow either. I mean considering his age Bendtner has potential for greatness. Now I do get pissed off with comparisons to ex-players or how we need an excat replacement for a player... e.g. Diaby the new Vieira, Walcott the new Henry, however I see a lot of Bergkamp in Bendtner. What I mean when I say that is that Bendtner can be a very profitable striker to play alongside, he can drag players with him and then play a killer ball. His assist for Vela's goal was so reminisecent of Bergkamp it was unreal! That little Dennis dink we became familiar with, it's a disguised pass because it's not expected, it's just a sudden dink, and it is extremely effective when pulled off. A player with Eduardo's movement will profit so much from playing alongside Bendtner. We really do have a royal flush when it comes to strikers. We can really mix it up and with our creative midfield I can't see us struggling to score in any way this season.
If Bendtner can look up more often and perfect when to release the ball I could really see him making a huge impact at Arsenal over the next few seasons, providing he is patient. He will be a better all round player than Adebayor and will get more goals than Bergkamp did, admittedly he isn't likely to score many screamers like Dennis because Bendtner is much more lethal inside the box. I think Bendtner will see a bit more playing time than last season, and he really has a chance before Eduardo recovers to make an impact during the first months of the season. He is most likely to be coming on from the bench but I am sure he will get one or two matches from the start... will be interesting to see how he takes his chances, and whether or not he can link up with Ade... watch this space!
It was Nasri's first performance for the Gunners and he looked bright and very mobile, whilst not trying anything too flashy o his debut. He played some good balls to Adebayor (who looked like he needs a good run out) and was unlucky not to play in RvP with a defense splitting pass. He also took on a half volley effort which swerved wide but was promising to see.
Bendtner, Vela, and Wilshere continued their rich vein of form by finishing off 3 well worked moves. Vela got the first after superbly being played in by Bendtner (for which I will go into more depth later) and knocked it past Lehmann to finish from a tight angle. Bendtner played a 1-2 with Vela, before powering through to finish neatly passed Lehmann, and Clichy pulled out a heroic run before dinking it across the box to Wilshere, whose finish was too powerful for Lehmann to get close to.
It was good to see the likes of Wilshere and Vela carrying on from Monday night, with both putting in impressive performances. Of course Wenger has been playing down Wilshere but you do wonder if he gets a chance as a sub, or even starts in the Carling Cup whether he might even make his league debut this season? Like they say, 'if you're good enough, you're old enough'.
We finally completed the signing of Bischoff, which he himself had reported around a month ago... bit of a random one on first impressions, he has only played something like 16 minutes competitive football for Werder Bremen, but has featured for Portugal under 21's, and played a lot for the Werder Bremen youth set up. The thing is though that he has already had 2 groin operations and had also been working as an office clerk!! Wenger believes he will need at least 2-3 months of training before he will be match fit... I guess its fairly similar to Baptista except Bischoff has more valid reasons than just being a fat bastard.
Adebayor is putting pen to paper on a new improved deal within the next few days which will put a 1/2 year extension on his existing deal taking his contract up to 4/5 years in length. In his interview with ATVO Adebayor insisted his love for the club, and really really insisted (about 20 times!) that he never said he would leave Arsenal... which in fairness he never did... I never commented too much on this saga because there really wasn't much substance to talk about in terms of Adebayor saying anything... he also still hopes that the fans will love him as before as he has signed a new deal and of course... he never said he would leave the club (Ade really drilled this point home).
And then of course our Great Dane, Niklas Bendtner. Now I like this kid a lot, he has a lot of attributes to his game, if he perfects them he could become the complete striker. We have seen him be powerful in the air, we know he has a good touch (when not rusty), he may not be Theo Walcott but he certainly isn't slow either. I mean considering his age Bendtner has potential for greatness. Now I do get pissed off with comparisons to ex-players or how we need an excat replacement for a player... e.g. Diaby the new Vieira, Walcott the new Henry, however I see a lot of Bergkamp in Bendtner. What I mean when I say that is that Bendtner can be a very profitable striker to play alongside, he can drag players with him and then play a killer ball. His assist for Vela's goal was so reminisecent of Bergkamp it was unreal! That little Dennis dink we became familiar with, it's a disguised pass because it's not expected, it's just a sudden dink, and it is extremely effective when pulled off. A player with Eduardo's movement will profit so much from playing alongside Bendtner. We really do have a royal flush when it comes to strikers. We can really mix it up and with our creative midfield I can't see us struggling to score in any way this season.
If Bendtner can look up more often and perfect when to release the ball I could really see him making a huge impact at Arsenal over the next few seasons, providing he is patient. He will be a better all round player than Adebayor and will get more goals than Bergkamp did, admittedly he isn't likely to score many screamers like Dennis because Bendtner is much more lethal inside the box. I think Bendtner will see a bit more playing time than last season, and he really has a chance before Eduardo recovers to make an impact during the first months of the season. He is most likely to be coming on from the bench but I am sure he will get one or two matches from the start... will be interesting to see how he takes his chances, and whether or not he can link up with Ade... watch this space!
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