I'm not going to comment much on the Arsenal ManU game, because it was never actually the league decider that Wenger made it out to be. He says he felt a dizziness like a boxer getting knocked out, with it completing a week where we exited the Champions League and were put out of the EPL race. But actually we were knocked out the day that Eduardo was taken out and Theo Walcott's first EPL goals were nullifed by a ridiculous defensive error and subsequent penalty decision. It dented the spirit and confidence of the squad.. and really, the squad itself. I know people blame Gallas as well, for behaving the way he did, and also that Wenger is undecided on whether he will retain him as captain next season, but I'm a bit of a Gallas fan. He has a real passion for the club, and he wants us to win, and he shows it. Nothing wrong there. He has come up with crucial goals in big games during the course of the season as well, and I can't help but think that it's the responsibility of being captain that has sparked this passion in him. He's a leader and he owns the team. Nothing to beat Vieira, though.
The Arsenal website has been releasing a lot of articles of late, which is ironic because there really isn't much to talk about now. The Reserves side hammered 5 into the back of the Derby net, but does it really matter? The issue is that we've gone 3 years now without silverware. This year saw the best opportunity we've had to win the league since the Invincibles, and we've fallen short for reasons all too familiar to us Gooners by now
Injuries chipping away at a wafer-thin squad and crucial refereeing decisions going the wrong way. Maybe we can't really do anything about the latter, but at least the squad can be strengthened! We can forgive le boss during this period, because with the stadium costs still being recouped, Wenger hasn't had the money available to him to spend until this January, when there were reports of a 70 million pound warchest at his disposal. Obviously he never expected Eduardo to be put out of action like that, but maybe he could have taken a more conservative approach to Van Persie's and Rosicky's injuries, and spent on some cover for them.
So it's time now to look towards the summer transfer window, and once again a highly rated player has made known his desire to join the Arsenal -- David Villa. The classy Spanish identifies with Arsenal's touch play and has said that he would choose Arsenal over any other Premier League team. Wenger, though, has immediately crushed all our hopes with his usual "younger players need room to grow" excuse. Agreed, it worked with Adebayor, who was a revelation in the first half of the season, but Wenger has to realise that Arsenal is not a school. It's a club. That needs trophies. It's not going to be possible to compete with squads with the size and quality of Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United with a 11 players and a bunch of kids. He has to invest in a few really good players, not just 1 (like he said last week) or 2 (the latest amendment).
I hope the change from 1 to 2 is not because Flamini will have to be repaced. The Flam has little more than a week to decide whether he wants to stay a Gunner next season. Cesc has been trying his best to convince him to stay, but is it enough? If his priority is money, there is no way Arsene can keep him with the current salary caps at the club.
In other news, Palermo striker Amauri has been linked with Arsenal. He's been valued by his own club at about 25 million and Arsenal are reported to be "willing to pay" 4 million. I found this quite amusing. Do they actually expect to make signings by publicly insulting the club and the player? Forget it anyway, this one's not coming to Arsenal.
Ben Arfa, however, just might make his way to the Emirates. The talented Lyonnais has been in Wenger's sights for some time, and his development from an individualistic player into a team man has increased his chances of success at Arsenal. Of course, Wenger would have to pay around 10 million for a teenager, and he really isn't used to making signings like that.
Now tomorrow is the game against Reading, and how I hope that Eboue is moved out of the right midfield position! With Vela coming back (hopefully) next season, Eboue should be used as backup RB to Sagna, if he is still in the team. Lehmann is back in goal, and personally, I have more confidence in him than Almunia. Almunia is an alright backup goalie, somewhere along the lines of Hilario, but where's our Cech (and Cudicini)? Hopefully Theo will start, Adebayor will look to catch up with Torres in the goals chart, and Hleb will actually shoot and not scuff the shot.
The Arsenal website has been releasing a lot of articles of late, which is ironic because there really isn't much to talk about now. The Reserves side hammered 5 into the back of the Derby net, but does it really matter? The issue is that we've gone 3 years now without silverware. This year saw the best opportunity we've had to win the league since the Invincibles, and we've fallen short for reasons all too familiar to us Gooners by now
Injuries chipping away at a wafer-thin squad and crucial refereeing decisions going the wrong way. Maybe we can't really do anything about the latter, but at least the squad can be strengthened! We can forgive le boss during this period, because with the stadium costs still being recouped, Wenger hasn't had the money available to him to spend until this January, when there were reports of a 70 million pound warchest at his disposal. Obviously he never expected Eduardo to be put out of action like that, but maybe he could have taken a more conservative approach to Van Persie's and Rosicky's injuries, and spent on some cover for them.
So it's time now to look towards the summer transfer window, and once again a highly rated player has made known his desire to join the Arsenal -- David Villa. The classy Spanish identifies with Arsenal's touch play and has said that he would choose Arsenal over any other Premier League team. Wenger, though, has immediately crushed all our hopes with his usual "younger players need room to grow" excuse. Agreed, it worked with Adebayor, who was a revelation in the first half of the season, but Wenger has to realise that Arsenal is not a school. It's a club. That needs trophies. It's not going to be possible to compete with squads with the size and quality of Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United with a 11 players and a bunch of kids. He has to invest in a few really good players, not just 1 (like he said last week) or 2 (the latest amendment).
I hope the change from 1 to 2 is not because Flamini will have to be repaced. The Flam has little more than a week to decide whether he wants to stay a Gunner next season. Cesc has been trying his best to convince him to stay, but is it enough? If his priority is money, there is no way Arsene can keep him with the current salary caps at the club.
In other news, Palermo striker Amauri has been linked with Arsenal. He's been valued by his own club at about 25 million and Arsenal are reported to be "willing to pay" 4 million. I found this quite amusing. Do they actually expect to make signings by publicly insulting the club and the player? Forget it anyway, this one's not coming to Arsenal.
Ben Arfa, however, just might make his way to the Emirates. The talented Lyonnais has been in Wenger's sights for some time, and his development from an individualistic player into a team man has increased his chances of success at Arsenal. Of course, Wenger would have to pay around 10 million for a teenager, and he really isn't used to making signings like that.
Now tomorrow is the game against Reading, and how I hope that Eboue is moved out of the right midfield position! With Vela coming back (hopefully) next season, Eboue should be used as backup RB to Sagna, if he is still in the team. Lehmann is back in goal, and personally, I have more confidence in him than Almunia. Almunia is an alright backup goalie, somewhere along the lines of Hilario, but where's our Cech (and Cudicini)? Hopefully Theo will start, Adebayor will look to catch up with Torres in the goals chart, and Hleb will actually shoot and not scuff the shot.
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