That game just highlighted everything bad about Arsenal…

… Well, what can I say? It’s all well and good telling me that it all worked out in the end, but let’s face it, if we had lost the game, you all would be as pissed off as I am.

We were shambolic in the first half. Could not string two passes together, our movement was horrendous and the players kept going for hollywood passes that they just do not have the ability to pull off. The opposition wanted it more and kept a solid defensive line and harried us when we had possession, so we settled for knocking the ball sideways and backwards, trying to fiddle it towards goal. On the occasions when the players felt a bit rebellious and thought that they’d actually have a go at putting one of our strikers through, they just ended up getting out muscled off the ball or holding up play, cutting back and losing the ball regardless. It didn’t really matter, because no one had made the run for them anyway. It was basically the Arsenal of the past 3 years.

To be fair, we were defensively much more solid and more of a threat on set pieces. Wow, get a big, strong, athletic defender at the back and we become a better defence?! Shocker that, isn’t it?

Really, the reason we have been so crap for the last couple of years became crystal clear. Our players were just shit. Half of that team were starters last year. It’s not got anything to do with them being too young, or too inexperienced, or tactical naivety from the managers – though there was some of that today and let’s face it, he signs the players and picks the team – the players are just too slow, or too weak or just not skillful enough.

Who were the key men today? Sczenzy, Djourou, Fabregas and Walcott. All capable of playing for our first team. But there have always been ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’ surrounding the rest.

The likes of Eboue, Squilaci, Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin and Bendtner should be no where near our starting XI. I’m even yet to be convinced by Chamakh. You can claim that they are good back up players and it’s true, when mixed in amongst the rest of our starting XI, they look decent. But in their own rights, as a team, they are shocking.

How sickening is it to see them fall down over the ball time and time again, to be pushed off the ball by players about 5’4 in height, to lose possession with their horrible touches, over hit their passes and then not see their team mates bust their guts to get on the end of it. Hell, Jack Wilshere isn’t speedy, neither is he strong, but he tries so hard that it makes up for it.

Denilson in particular is horrible. I fail to see what the man offers. He’s a water carrier at best. Just keeps things moving. But then we stick him in defensive midfield like today, he has no defensive sense, does not bother tracking back, is too slow to get back on to players who go past him and is too weak to do anything about it when he does. He may have the technical attributes sorted out but he doesn’t have the mental ones and football is a physical game. I fail to see how you just give someone pace.

Bendtner as well. I’ve always been one of his biggest fans. I like a bit of arrogance in a striker, but when you’re 22, it’s time to start walking the walk. He was poor. His touch and passing was off, he can’t shoot properly and his biggest strength – his heading – was awful today.

If Chamakh wants to be a top striker, he needs to be tearing defence like Leeds’ apart. Instead, when he gets the ball, he is either shoved off it, or he turns around and passes it back to Denilson. He stretches defennces a little, but for that to be effective, you need good players around you. Aerial Presence apart, I fail to see what he offers.

And then Arshavin… An enigma? No, a lazy bastard who does not care about the team. His mind is already on Barcelona or Juventus but he’s in for a rude awakening… No team outside of Russia is going to want him with performances like that. I don’t care what kind of ‘magic’ he can produce, in a tight F.A cup game like this, you need efficiency and industry. I don’t see how he can produce anything, if he can’t even control the ball.

The Vanster

That game just highlighted everything bad about Arsenal….

… Well, what can I say? It’s all well and good telling me that it all worked out in the end, but let’s face it, if we had lost the game, you all would be as pissed off as I am.

We were shambolic in the first half. Could not string two passes together, our movement was horrendous and the players kept going for hollywood passes that they just do not have the ability to pull off. The opposition wanted it more and kept a solid defensive line and harried us when we had possession, so we settled for knocking the ball sideways and backwards, trying to fiddle it towards goal. On the occasions when the players felt a bit rebellious and thought that they’d actually have a go at putting one of our strikers through, they just ended up getting out muscled off the ball or holding up play, cutting back and losing the ball regardless. It didn’t really matter, because no one had made the run for them anyway. It was basically the Arsenal of the past 3 years.

To be fair, we were defensively much more solid and more of a threat on set pieces. Wow, get a big, strong, athletic defender at the back and we become a better defence?! Shocker that, isn’t it?

Really, the reason we have been so crap for the last couple of years became crystal clear. Our players were just shit. Half of that team were starters last year. It’s not got anything to do with them being too young, or too inexperienced, or tactical naivety from the managers – though there was some of that today and let’s face it, he signs the players and picks the team – the players are just too slow, or too weak or just not skillful enough.

Who were the key men today? Sczenzy, Djourou, Fabregas and Walcott. All capable of playing for our first team. But there have always been ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’ surrounding the rest.

The likes of Eboue, Squilaci, Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin and Bendtner should be no where near our starting XI. I’m even yet to be convinced by Chamakh. You can claim that they are good back up players and it’s true, when mixed in amongst the rest of our starting XI, they look decent. But in their own rights, as a team, they are shocking.

How sickening is it to see them fall down over the ball time and time again, to be pushed off the ball by players about 5’4 in height, to lose possession with their horrible touches, over hit their passes and then not see their team mates bust their guts to get on the end of it. Hell, Jack Wilshere isn’t speedy, neither is he strong, but he tries so hard that it makes up for it.

Denilson in particular is horrible. I fail to see what the man offers. He’s a water carrier at best. Just keeps things moving. But then we stick him in defensive midfield like today, he has no defensive sense, does not bother tracking back, is too slow to get back on to players who go past him and is too weak to do anything about it when he does. He may have the technical attributes sorted out but he doesn’t have the mental ones and football is a physical game. I fail to see how you just give someone pace.

Bendtner as well. I’ve always been one of his biggest fans. I like a bit of arrogance in a striker, but when you’re 22, it’s time to start walking the walk. He was poor. His touch and passing was off, he can’t shoot properly and his biggest strength – his heading – was awful today.

If Chamakh wants to be a top striker, he needs to be tearing defence like Leeds’ apart. Instead, when he gets the ball, he is either shoved off it, or he turns around and passes it back to Denilson. He stretches defennces a little, but for that to be effective, you need good players around you. Aerial Presence apart, I fail to see what he offers.

And then Arshavin… An enigma? No, a lazy bastard who does not care about the team. His mind is already on Barcelona or Juventus but he’s in for a rude awakening… No team outside of Russia is going to want him with performances like that. I don’t care what kind of ‘magic’ he can produce, in a tight F.A cup game like this, you need efficiency and industry. I don’t see how he can produce anything, if he can’t even control the ball.

That game just highlighted everything bad about Arsenal…

… Well, what can I say? It’s all well and good telling me that it all worked out in the end, but let’s face it, if we had lost the game, you all would be as pissed off as I am.

We were shambolic in the first half. Could not string two passes together, our movement was horrendous and the players kept going for hollywood passes that they just do not have the ability to pull off. The opposition wanted it more and kept a solid defensive line and harried us when we had possession, so we settled for knocking the ball sideways and backwards, trying to fiddle it towards goal. On the occasions when the players felt a bit rebellious and thought that they’d actually have a go at putting one of our strikers through, they just ended up getting out muscled off the ball or holding up play, cutting back and losing the ball regardless. It didn’t really matter, because no one had made the run for them anyway. It was basically the Arsenal of the past 3 years.

To be fair, we were defensively much more solid and more of a threat on set pieces. Wow, get a big, strong, athletic defender at the back and we become a better defence?! Shocker that, isn’t it?

Really, the reason we have been so crap for the last couple of years became crystal clear. Our players were just shit. Half of that team were starters last year. It’s not got anything to do with them being too young, or too inexperienced, or tactical naivety from the managers – though there was some of that today and let’s face it, he signs the players and picks the team – the players are just too slow, or too weak or just not skillful enough.

Who were the key men today? Sczenzy, Djourou, Fabregas and Walcott. All capable of playing for our first team. But there have always been ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’ surrounding the rest.

The likes of Eboue, Squilaci, Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin and Bendtner should be no where near our starting XI. I’m even yet to be convinced by Chamakh. You can claim that they are good back up players and it’s true, when mixed in amongst the rest of our starting XI, they look decent. But in their own rights, as a team, they are shocking.

How sickening is it to see them fall down over the ball time and time again, to be pushed off the ball by players about 5’4 in height, to lose possession with their horrible touches, over hit their passes and then not see their team mates bust their guts to get on the end of it. Hell, Jack Wilshere isn’t speedy, neither is he strong, but he tries so hard that it makes up for it.

Denilson in particular is horrible. I fail to see what the man offers. He’s a water carrier at best. Just keeps things moving. But then we stick him in defensive midfield like today, he has no defensive sense, does not bother tracking back, is too slow to get back on to players who go past him and is too weak to do anything about it when he does. He may have the technical attributes sorted out but he doesn’t have the mental ones and football is a physical game. I fail to see how you just give someone pace.

Bendtner as well. I’ve always been one of his biggest fans. I like a bit of arrogance in a striker, but when you’re 22, it’s time to start walking the walk. He was poor. His touch and passing was off, he can’t shoot properly and his biggest strength – his heading – was awful today.

If Chamakh wants to be a top striker, he needs to be tearing defence like Leeds’ apart. Instead, when he gets the ball, he is either shoved off it, or he turns around and passes it back to Denilson. He stretches defennces a little, but for that to be effective, you need good players around you. Aerial Presence apart, I fail to see what he offers.

And then Arshavin… An enigma? No, a lazy bastard who does not care about the team. His mind is already on Barcelona or Juventus but he’s in for a rude awakening… No team outside of Russia is going to want him with performances like that. I don’t care what kind of ‘magic’ he can produce, in a tight F.A cup game like this, you need efficiency and industry. I don’t see how he can produce anything, if he can’t even control the ball.

Why are people complaining about Koscielny?

You just can’t please some people, can you?

I think it’s widely acknowledged by all Arsenal fans everywhere, that we do not have the financial power that clubs like United (for now!), Madrid or Barca have. We have never asked for record breaking transfers, just to see players of suitable quality brought in, as opposed to cost cutters like Silvestre.

Yet people are still finding faults with the signings of Chamakh (free), Koscielny (£ 8.5 million) and potentially Joe Cole (free). But tell me, are they not improvements on Bendtner, Silvestre and Diaby? Undoubtedly. In fact, some people are saying that we paid over the top for Koscielny?!

Really, what is there to complain about? Chamakh is in on a free, his goal scoring record is not the most impressive but his aerial ability is, Koscielny is the big, physical presence we’ve all wanted and Joe Cole is the big name, play maker that we’ve needed. Sure, his wages may be high but we’re paying no transfer fee and we’ve taken risks with injured players before. They are aged 26, 25 and 28 respectively so you can’t complain about a lack of experience.

I was a huge fan of Gallas this season,  but in the four years he’s been with us, he’s never completed a whole season and that says a lot. Because of that, we were forced to play Mikael Silvestre in a champions league quarter final. Yes, we should have been better prepared in that area, but let’s not dwell on that now.

Koscielny has played in the top division in France – a place where a lot of our best players have come from. He’s big, strong and has a good header on him, I don’t see the problem? I’m going to trust Wenger’s judgment on this one. Once upon a time, doubts were raised over Wenger’s ability to bring in good, defensive players but the likes of Sagna and Vermaelen have proven us wrong. He rarely gets it wrong and I don’t believe that he would give Lorient an 800% profit on their player if he was no good. Yes, he could be the next Pascal Cygan, but he could just as well be the next Martin Keown.

What I would be disappointed in, is if we didn’t try harder to keep Sol Campbell. Neither Koscielny or Vermaelen are inexperienced, but center backs can always learn. Rather than let them learn themselves, by making mistakes, I would rather have a player of Campbell’s calibre available to teach them. If not, bring back someone like Keown, because there has been a big problem with our defensive a unit and it needs some serious drilling. Communication between full backs and center backs at times has been shocking.

2009/10 central defence options: Gallas, Vermaelen, Silvestre, Campbell, Senderos (2 games)

2010/11 center defence options: Vermaelen, Djourou, Koscienly and ? – Campbell?, Bartley?

We never had a problem with quantity, we had a problem with quality. Even if Campbell stays, I would like us to bring in another center back. There will be times  when we will want to rest both our starters or they both may get injured. Campbell did an admirable job, but he struggled to string two games together at times. Djourou has had a whole season out and may take a while to get back to his best. I also think the “right footed” – “left footed” center back balance should be kept. We played Silvestre on the right against Barca and he was wrong footed. Let’s not let that happen again.

I’ve been critical of Wenger and if we indeed do complete the signing of Cole, I will be very pleased with the ambition he has shown. I’m not unreasonable, I don’t want a 35 million pound player. It shows that we’re moving in the right direction.

[Video] Schwarzer Makes “Another” Mistake at the World Cup

After his mistakes vs Germany , Keeper Mark Schwarzer (37)  ended his poor World Cup with another mistake and poor show last night vs Serbia.

I had hope that after this poor show at the would cup that this would end in interest in this clown.

But no, reports in todays Mirror says that Arsenal have made an improved offer of £3.5m for Mark Schwarzer, The report claims that Schwarzer has been made aware of Arsenal’s interest and he has told manager Roy Hodgson he wants to leave Craven Cottage this summer. It’s believed that Hodgson is now resigned to losing his No.1 keeper and all that’s left is for the two clubs to agree a fee.

BAD NEWS!.. This is not the safe pair of hands that we need at Arsenal. See Below for last nights mistake…1:30

Debate this more in this thread ( HERE )

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[Poll] is it time for Arsenal to replace Pat Rice as Wengers right hand man?

Pat Rice, Arsenal legend and number 2 to manager Arsene Wenger.

There has been a LONG debate on our forum about this subject.

Is it now time for Arsenal to replace Pat Rice as Wengers right hand man?

There was some reports last summer that Pat Rice was considering retirement?, this was followed by a officaial statement on Arsenal.com

Contrary to media reports this morning, Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice is NOT considering retirement at the end of the current season.

He remains a key part of Arsène Wenger’s backroom staff is currently helping prepare the team for trip to Manchester United on Saturday.

But many members of the forum feel that a shake up in the coaching staff at Arsenal is just what the team needs to move forward. Some fresh imput and some much needed defensive tactics. Some have even put forward Martin Keown as a future number two?

If you look at Man Utd over the years under Ferguson they change the number 2 every 2/3 seasons just to bring in new ideas. The have had Steve McClaren,Brian Kidd,Carlos Queriroz and now Terry Phelan. If a manager is at a club a long time like Ferguson and Wenger you need to freshen things up like Man Utd have done over the years to keep the players on there toes.

But then again some might say that Pat Rice is the perfect number two for Wenger.Rice will never undermine him or try and become the number one at Arsenal.A manager needs to have trust in his number two and Wenger has that with Pat Rice.

But what do you think?

You can debate this more in this thread of the forum

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[Video Classic] 2-0 down, 3-2 winners. A Great Arsenal Comeback!

With very little to moan about or report on the blog, I today was poking around in our dusty archives and found this wonderful memory,

2-0 down away at Bolton, Diaby sent off,  and we showed real fight to come back to win 3-2.

Enjoy this classic, and visit our new look forum at www.arsenalaction.com/forum/

Wenger : We want Koscielny at Arsenal

Arsenal are moving in for Lorient centre-half Laurent Koscielny (24).

Speaking to “the sun”,  Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger said:

“There has been an approach for Koscielny and there still is one.”

Arsenal has already made an £8million bid for the player but the French club are holding out for more.

Koscielny, spoke out last week asking for Lorient to let him go, and Wenger insisted the Gunners are still in the hunt to sign him.

Wenger who recently said that there will be something happening before the end of the World Cup, “certainly on the defensive side.”

Wenger wants Koscielny to partner Thomas Vermaelen at the heart of the Arsenal defence for next season, and its would seem that a deal is only days away.

So what do we know about Laurent Koscielny?

Full name	Laurent Koscielny
Date of birth	10 September 1985 (1985-09-10) (age 24)
Place of birth	Tulle, France
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Centre back

Koscielny began his career at En Avant de Guingamp where he played primarily as a Right full-back.
After joining Tours FC in 2007 we was converted into a central defender, and in the 2008–09 season he scored 5 goals in 34 games.

In May 2009, the UNFP named Koscielny in Ligue 2’s best XI for 2008–09. On 16 June 2009, FC Lorient signed Koscielny on a four-year contract for around 1.5 million euros.

Koscielny is also eligible to play for France & Poland due to his Polish roots.Koscielny has decided to apply for Polish citizenship but as yet, has not made a decision on which country he will represent.

Want to debate this more? Join our forum – www.arsenalaction.com

Tactically Domenech & Wenger Are The SAME!

Having watched Raymond Domenech’s french side lose 2-0 tonight vs Mexico and drawing 0-0 vs Uruguay, I noticed that his style of football & tactics at times is just like our own manager in recent years.

At times tonight watching the french was just like watching Arsenal.

Loads of the ball, passing from side to side. But how many saves did the mexican keeper have to make in the game? How many saves did the Uruguay keeper make? How isolated was the lone striker? How many times did the cross come in with nobody in the box?….. Things we have all said about the Arsenal recently.

Both Domenech and Wenger are clueless when it comes to tactics.

Both play with only ONE striker and both blind to see that its not working and both stubborn to admit they made a mistake and change there style and play 4-4-2.

No doubt the in Arsene we trust massive will come out and tell me how plastic I am but everything I have said in this post is fact.

Tactically Domenech & Wenger are the SAME! and thats why the french have not won anything in years and thats why Arsenal have not won anything in years.

Sinbad – www.arsenalaction.com

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[Video] Mark Schwarzer is a clown, Sign Mesut Ozil NOW

Tonight I watched the Germans v Australia World cup game and did my own little scouting report on a player we are linked with Mark Schwarzer.

All I can say is lets hope and pray that we dont sign this clown.

God knows why we are even looking at a 37 year old keeper who has never played at the top club or at the top level or in the champions league is beyond me?

But I wanted to be proved wrong tonight and wanted to see him have a good game.

It couldnt be any worst, to say that Rob Green and the Algerian keeper looked better would be harsh. Schwarzer got a “hand” to the first goal and for the 2nd it was pure Comedy. He came flapping for a cross that he was never going to get and got beat by a header into an open goal. Not the type of thing we would want to see after the sights of Almunia and Fabianski last season.

After that he was all over the place, Poor kicking, poor punching and just looked a disaster waiting to happen….In all Schwarzer let in only FOUR goals.

I hope Arsene watch tonights game and this made his mind up. PLEASE Arsene dont do this to us. DONT SIGN THIS CLOWN!

On the other hand the young german Mesut Ozil looks a fine player and a perfect replacement for Cesc, “IF” he was to leave

The guy was amazing, Pace and vison and had a hand in everything. Sweet left peg and would be a fantastic signing. No doubt after tonight all the big clubs will be looking at him.

Debate this more on the forum (HERE)

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Video of the 2nd goal