Arsenal must spend
Not too keen write a thesis on why Maestro Wenger should bring in more talent, with a price (and to add, only if he feels the need to as reported. A dampener. Damn). Personally i felt the squad was too thin after so many injury cases, worst being Eduardo going out at his peak of his Gunners career, banging in the crucial goals. Everything went downhill from there.
(i am a fan since the late eighties onwards, anything before that, i’m not really good at trivia. :P )
Goalkeeping
Lehmann the clown must go. Yes, he may be a class keeper, but he’s also a big joke. He makes good saves, and really bad judgemental errors at the wrong time (eg. blunders in crucial games). His jokes of error usually have a devastating effect on the whole team. Violatile as well, he could get himself sent for really small reasons. If he’s on par with the Bulldog, then nobody would have qualms bout Jens having a fiery temper.
Alumnia is not exactly world class as he claims at the moment, to declare himself as future prospective England keeper, it’s more than blasphemous. And his quarrelsome slings at the other crazy clown mentioned above isn’t at all helping the Gunners.
Fabianski is an exciting prospect, i do hope he gets more playing time. Perhaps he could be the answer to Arsenal’s goalkeeping woes since the pony-tailed fellow retired (and let in that Brazilian freekick/cross back in 2002). And with a young goalkeeping prospect Vito Mannone in the wings, i see the rumours of Arsenal eyeing Heurelho Gomes from PSV at 5 mills, a little excessive.
Defence
Gone are the days of the Tony Adam’s invincible back four. Four ironmen with probably balls of steel, amazing endurance, tenacity and a foul attitude to add. Led by the big nosed Tony, Martin Keown, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon. Today? I feel they are still sorely lacking an awe aspiring defender like Tony. Sol Campbell didn’t quite it, he isn’t as fiery as Tony, and off he went. Gallas prefers to talk to the press more often than shackling opposing strikers, rightfully he should let his legs do the talking.
Toure isn’t the complete package, but his commitment and consistency does make up for his lack of height and presence. His versatility is a boon to the team, but to often see him being placed in his “not so preferable” position, kind of make a waste. (eg. versus Man-u in the last game, why was he playing at right back??? wtf)
Clichy probably is doing much better, given the chance once Ashley Cole left for the money. One thing watching Cole play was like playing roulette of the opponent launching a quick counterattack down the same flank where Cole pushed up to attack. He rarely runs back to defend. Clich’s striking a good balance i guess, with time he would be a better player than Cole was.
Senderos on paper might scare little kid strikers, being a Swiss national player. But his performances has been a little more than disappointing lately. If he does improve for the next season, he could cement his sport in the center, no doubt about that. If not, like the has-beens, chances of being shipped out is pretty high.
Other defenders Bacary Sagna, Abou Diaby, Johan Djoarou, Justin Hoyte, Armand Traore, Kerrea Gilbert. Seldom get to see them play. Perhaps no news is good news, if they were atrocious, they could be notorious by now. It’s good to see some of them get good reviews now and then. We need them to step up to the plate, the Gunners could need some steel in the defence right now.
Midfield
Almost every Gunners fan would miss Marc Overmar’s speedy forays down the flanks, those were the winning days. Arsenal seem to do better when they do have good wingers along the flanks to provide the ammunition, rather than trying to bulldoze down the center. Thierry Henry too showed that, initiated attacks from the wings.
One of the best midfielders i could remember playing for the Gunners would be Patrick Vieira. They don’t call him Le Boss for nothing. Nasty, crunching tackles, that telling through pass, the sneak attacks to support the strikers, he was the anchor in the middle. He made the retiring Invincible back Four less painful, he was almost the incredible one-man defence. Who do we have today? Flamini, he isn’t exactly of the soul crushing calibre as Patrick, but he does have a little mean streak which does good. It would be a pity to see him sign for another club if rumours were true.
Who else could we speak off besides the speedy Ljundberg who left, which probably is good for the team, he isn’t that fast anymore, so much more injury prone. There’s Rosicky, Hleb, Fabregas. They would be a great terror triangle, if they are able to stay clear from injuries, and gel well together. These three has been wonderful when they are healthy, with Fab over performing expectations, that would sure to attract lots of attention from the other clubs. The lure of the spotlight and money, can Fab avoid falling for those? He’s young, we have to wait and see.
Emmanuel Eboue? Can we at least sell to recoup something or trade him for another player of use? Enough said, the fans are cursing this player like ever.
Gilberto. He’s really showing signs of a player leaving the club soon. His performances are way below par at the moment, for a Brazilian international. And he isn’t really the steel player Arsenal needs.
Then there are the lesser known names like Alexandre Song, Denilson, Fran Merida, Kieran Gibbs, and many other prospective midfielders waiting in the wings. This department has potential.
Somebody mentioned Reyes? Please no crybabies.
Strikers
Predictions of doom since the departure of Thierry Henry. A favourite topic among everybody, was it a good thing or a bad thing for the Gunners? It does seem like a good thing, seeing Henry is somewhat like a flop in Barcelona right now. And it did made Fabregas step up to lead by example. Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp were legends in their own right, anyone else wanna step up?
So where the goals? Honestly Arsenal do need someone who can score regularly. Even if there’s a straightforward player, the basic receive, shield ball and whack. That would even do. Yes, no need the fancy flicks and so on, as long as he can score the goals. Where is he?
Adebayour. Some like him, some dislike him. He’s a not bad player to me, but really inconsistent. He needs to score more and plenty more, given his height, built and speed. He’s like a warhorse, looks even much more impressive than the past Kanu. He’s still young though, maybe there’s still room for improvement, perhaps he’s just waiting for a tagteam partner. Like Eduardo, unfortunately the superb fox in the box is out injured with a horrific injury. Ade simply couldn’t continue playing alone upfront, he can hold, yes, perform? no.
Theo Walcott. This is one promising player. I do hope he does get more games under his belt, he could be that wonderkid in the making.
Eduardo’s out injured. If not he too, would be extremely promising once he finally settles down and adapts. Glimpses of brilliance cut short by that evil tackle. How cruel.
Bendtner, he too like Gallas, should talk less. Or rather complain less of his lack of playing time. His built, he could see be as good or even better than Ade. Hope he shuts up soon, work on his game or we be seeing him shipped out as well.
Robin Van Persie. Good player, but simply injury prone. Hope he stays clear of injuries and play to his potential next season. If he is able to play to the level of the legendary Dennis Bergkamp, it’s good enough. Nobody can really match up to the Ice Man Bergkamp. For now.
What about the other strikers? What other strikers? There isn’t much strikers in the Arsenal camp, as in fully capable of playing big games. There’s talk of getting Carlos Vela back from loan in future, but that’s still to come. The midfielders have been banging in goals, covered the lack/need of strikers, now the ammo providing midfielders are out injured. The strikers are left wanting, spoonfed, not they got to find their own. Can they?
I think Arsenal would need a good consistent striker, perhaps somebody in their prime age? Not a youngster or a stubborn grumpy over-30s-years-old fellow.
The recent last match
Kudos to the manuians for winning the game closely at their home turf. Im really disappointed with the score, a draw would have been a fair result. But the Gunners were incredibly unlucky after running their guts out in the first half. Maybe they were bit thinned out, and hence buay gan infront of the opponent’s goal. So many chances wasted.
Alas the ball is round, and perhaps there are more manu fans around the world praying for a win. Even Chelsea could even play to a draw with Wigan. Nothing is fair in this world, can’t really wait for Manu to screw it up, when others screw it up themselves. Sigh
The Gunners’ season is almost over, probably lucky to even get third place, with Chelsea and Liverpool firing all cyclinders late in the season. Hopefully the core of the Gunners team stick around for next season, current season would be for that invaluable experience.
Goodness, Mr Wenger, no point hiding the millions, spend something. What happened to all the high flying rumours, bringing in Robhino, Kaka, Ronaldhino, and many other incredible names. Even if it’s one name that will shake the market, it will be good. Time to boost the morale of the club, and the many fans around the world. It’s painful for me to see the Gunners struggle in every game because “the squad is too thin“. Sigh
Leave a comment