This is how it feels to be lonely, this is how it feels to be small, this is how it feels when your world means nothing at all
Morning all, it is interesting that the gubbing of Tottenham on Saturday has coincided with more upbeat weather. Despite the nights drawing in, the Autumnal sun has been shining in all its glory for the past two days. Coincidence or proof that a Higher Power hates Tottenham as well.
Arsenal, well, the players and coaching staff have all moved on from the victory, looking forward to the visit of Montepellier. With the group tighter than it ought to be at this stage of the proceedings, Arsenal need a win. That and a similar result for Schalke will put Arsenal through and render the trip to Piraeus irrelevant, beyond the hope of bettering that which the Germans achieve during their trip to France.
Aaron Ramsey captured that focus recently,
The group is pretty tight, so I think you can say we have to win that game. We are at home, so hopefully we can do that and put ourselves in a strong position to qualify.
[Finishing second] has been quite costly in the last few years. We finished second in the group a couple of seasons ago and played Barcelona. So you know you’re going to have a strong team if you do finish second. But most importantly we need to qualify, and if we do we’re confident that we can compete and challenge against any team in the competition. But we must qualify first and then go from there.
Far be it to state the obvious but finishing first has not been all that good for Arsenal either, if last season was anything to go by. As the groups stand, there is a mixed bag of strength in winners and runners-up. Whilst avoiding the good sides is preferrable to some degree – let them knock each other out – you do have to play them at some point. With the knockout phase being in 2013, the hope is that Arsenal’s form will have improved and be consistently better by then.
That is to get ahead of ourselves though. Winning on Wednesday is vital; anything less means that the outcome in Greece has meaning for both sides and to be honest, our recent visits to that country have not brought out the best performances from any players. I know that they were makeshift teams but with the current mixed fortunes on the road, it might be for the best if the match was meaningless.
One key player on Wednesday will be Santi Cazorla. Jack Wilshere offered the view that supports the Spaniard being Man of the Match in the win at the weekend,
His touch, his vision is a joke. He’s a dream to play with. He never gives the ball away and he’s creative, he’s busy around the pitch [and] he’s a joy to play with. It’s great to have him in the team. A lot of people said they didn’t know about him before, but I’ve heard of him for a few years now. He’s a great player and when you’ve got someone like that in your team, who’s going to bring you in, you just want to get out there.
He is like all creative players; they flit in and out of matches, can be infuriatingly inconsistent but when they click – which is more often than not – it is a joy to behold. Whilst it is too early to draw conclusions about his Arsenal career, Cazorla has made a promising start and certainly offered more than a tantalising glimpse of what might be, provided some obscure DNA doesn’t get in the way.
There has been a history of creative failures at the club, stretching back through to Peter Marinello during my lifetime. Cazorla seems to have more about him, more awareness of what is required. Wilshere went on to distance any comparisons of Santi to Cesc. It’s quite right to do so, they are different players.
But this is also a different team. The callowness of youth is outnumbered by experienced internationals. The players look at each other and see not one ‘go-to guy’ but several, one of which is Wilshere. If all of them – Cazorla, Wilshere, Walcott, Arteta – are missing or off-key, we have problems. When most or all are available, we are not reliant upon one player. The departure of RvP has proven that with the goals fairly spread around the team. Yes, you miss world class players, you always do. Until the previous international break and the inexplicable drop in form which it brought on, the squad were managing that process of change. They need to return to that level quickly. It would be a terrible shame to waste the bouyancy around the club that Saturday’s win has brought.
’til Tomorrow.
That Lavazzi the dogs IMO
This Theo talk is BORING! We do not know how much he is currently, how much the club have offered him and how much he wants, how much he really really wants.
For the record, I am on record and it was recorded for posterior, that i said months, eons ago that Theo was worthy of £100k a week, going by his value to this squad and i didnt feel it would give SaTAN heartburn, cut into Hill-Woods cigar and port fund, or Ivan’s bonus too much either.
Bloody hell Duke, Harry the twitch is more trustworthy than Blair
Philmar .I am not convinced Theo is even a better player than Nick.
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really? Theo is capable of putting in a good performance more often than nik. And he has shown he has some finishing skills. Nik wasn’t even wanted back at Sunderland who are aching for a striker right now.
re invest the money in gold.. i hear the price is on the up again.
How much is that? I don’t think Liverpool are paying way more than Arsenal, if they are at all. And Duke, who the backside do you think Liverpool are trying to follow? they know that they cannot sustain paying over the top salaries and buying these big money players. Didn’t you read the open letter?
OMG! What a scary combo that is; Tony Blair and Arry Redknapp.
Talk about the Blair Twich project!
Hahahahaha!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenals-theo-walcott-offer-is-to-be-upped-1445472
Our problems will be solved when we have talented and realistic players playing for us. Those who want to stay and win a competition the proper way. Is it possible???? ABSOLUTELY…
we did not want or need to sell any of the players that have moved on. It was their choice and the majority are disappointed with their decision. They took the easy way out due to some bad console. Hope Theo doesn’t fall for temptation as others did before him.
UP THE GUNNERSSS!!!!!!!
“Blair Twich project!”
surely we can give theo a pay rise now, think how much money we saved by not giving him one earlier.
nice one dex.
@Dex – ‘recorded for posterior’? Not sure I wanna look at that!
But yeah, Theo talk is boring and pointless – it’s all been said in a hundred similar ways; money/central position/need him/losing exp….blah blah.
B
BS
Anyway, Duke. As I said, while you and I are often on different sides on an issue it is with respect.
Lets hope Theo signs the blow wow ting!
yeah lets stop all this chit chat about arsenal stuff..
its upsetting george..
lets create a much more happier vibe for mr grumpy pants eh?
tits out
Up your offer Ivan!!
Duke ,why dont you give him a bit of your wedge,the poor little lamb is on the bread line £75k pw .How will he make ends meet?
selling shit kids books george
infact george i was thinking the same very thing, you see my old grandfather left me a huge wedge and i was thinking of giving wenger the £10k a week needed to re-sign theo seings as arsenal fc can’t afford it.!!
there’s one called ‘TJ and the cup run’… you don’t need to be the proof reader to know how that one ends …
£10k a week eh!! £520k a year. thats one quarter of one home games gate reciept.
Before you do that Duke,you and I should have a night out .I have some other ideas you might be more interested in.You being a financial whiz,you will see the merit in my proposals ,no doubt.
i know your from oop north george but surely you know how money works…it loses its value doesnt it after a certain level, its about the figures not what you can get from it.
night george.
Duke, at what point is adding 10k lot? You can just keep adding the little 10k, no true?
Afrogoon and Dukes
All the players in the EPL are super rich, even the ‘poorest’. They can pretty much all work for a single year and not need to work again.
They are a bottomless money pit and so much money is wasted on salaries now that top players can no longer be considered by a business to be an asset: after agreeing some wages there is nothing left for clubs to pay each other with. Non performing players quickly become liabilities and few are really ‘worth’ it.
The problem of the top clubs being able to poach the best players with the offer of greater salaries has always existed, but this may be the first time in history that a club has had to be insolvent in order to compete.
When this became a real problem in america, they made the only commercial decision they could and brought in a salary cap.
I agree with Dups @ 10:49pm. Smartest thing anyone has said here all day.
Morning fellas….There is a saying that when you think the whole world mad, you should also question your sanity.
The Arse in The Gamb.Off course I know Prem players earn far more than average Joe in a week what AJ makes in a year.Point is they work in an industry where greed pays.They don’t work in a vacuum.I am not saying go over board with salaries.Personally have never even believed Theo was worth his rumored 60k he is on right now.His performances have however improved and he has become another important player whom we are about to lose.This trend can’t be good for the club both on and off the pitch.We need to draw the line somewhere.Next up might be Sag a.Then Jack,then Gibbs,then Jenks,then Eisfield,the Serge….. where does it stop?What’s the point of investing so much time in youth if you are not going to benefit from it?
Maybe the world isn’t mad but just maybe we are.We can’t keep rebuilding forever.The majority of fans won’t stand paying top £££ to watch the same shit different season whiles paying top £££ and when the CEO and gaffer are some of the highest paid in the world.The business will collapse.We can’t redefine what it means to support a club.We have pushed it to the limits already.You shouldn’t need an accounting degree to enjoy a sport.
Very disappointed to note my observation a few days back was ignored. So, I’ll repeat it once more.
If you can be polite and respectful on other sites, you can do so here. You can.
Or perhaps that should be, you will.
is that george again…tut tut..
yeah i bet george is a big softy on his kung fu forums.
Paul – “Ateeb, I am not confused about Who God is, the only True and Living God, Yahweh, that was manifested in the flesh as Christ Jesus. I am more sure of that than I am speaking to you.”
Heh, you are a card
GA
There is no need to mock Paul’s faith.
It wasn’t aimed just at George, it was a general observation since I’ve come across some others on here who behave with more manners elsewhere.
dups – Ah, it is just a little jokey dig mate. Me and Paul have a bit of that going on over the subject. Nothing malicious.
Santi had freedom to get forward on Saturday. Probably a consequence of the sending off but I’d also like to think it was because Jack was giving him better cover when he did get forward. That’s what we need. Santi needs to know he can commit to the attack.
http://www.aclfarsenal.co.uk/arsenal/a-sense-of-self-worth/
Today’s post.