• Debs

  You’re not leaving us, are you Dev?! Arsenal needs you!

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[Dev, you forgot to update the 'Goalscorers' section !

  Have fun.]]>

• Debs

  Lol! 12′s still higher than 13!

• AJ

  Take me with you…please?

• ray

  < ![CDATA[Lets examine a few facts. Adebayor, RVP and Fabregas have underperformed this year in terms of goals scored per shot on goal. Ade had an excellent year last year 24 goals from 104 shots (23%) right up there with the best (Ronaldo and Torres in the 23 to 25% level). This year Ade and RvP are in the mid teens 16 and 15%. Cesc has only 1 goal from 13 shots, compared to 7 from 27 last year.
  For all of these players their shots on goal attempts are similar to last year, and their attempts created are similar, so it is not a lack of service but a lack of finishing, even RvP who is currently playing excellently after a slow start to the year (RvP has also hit the posts many times to be fair) is down on what is expected.
  Nasri is doing better than Hleb re goals, goal attempts and assists, Eboue is poor in all categories. Denilson, as you rightly point out, as the more defensive midfielder is doing excellently (with better stats than Flamini in all categories including a Premier league leading 77 pass intercepts to date) - he is also doing quite well on the attempts created, and assists.
  Diaby and Song are doing ok, nothing fantastic, but not poor, and quite ok for back up players.
  So. Weak link is Eboue (no surprise there) but he is really only a back up squad player and the problem settles down to key injuries (Rosicky, Walcott) meaning we have to play Eboue or Denilson on the right (out of position). And…. poor finishing from the strikers (and Cesc).

  A second point - The ability to dominate the market for upcoming youth is not to be trifled at. The US professional sports franchises all have to suffer with the draft of new players (with the worst team of the year getting first pick). To be able to cherry pick and develop the best young talent as AW does is amazing. Anyone that rubbishes this is misguided or simply trying to rubbish the club. If AW wasn’t here then most of this talent will go to other big clubs. Arsenal is a big club (top 8 in the world) because of AW. And frankly the game is getting faster, and more dominated by young players, this is a trend that Arsenal are leading.]]>

• ny

  Arshavin saga is a fake one.End of the day Arsene will say Zenit made it difficult to make the deal as it seems he and the board hade already decided not to sign anybody.

• Debs

  Well, it seems Arshavin might well be on his way, seeing as we’ve made a successful application for a work permit, according to skysports…

• Fabrez

  Yup yup…bringing a real saga of a transfer to a close…was getting tired of it. How i’d like to take a break n fly out for a few days!

• http://kierandelaney.net/blog kierandelaney.net/blog

  < ![CDATA[
  

  A second point – The ability to dominate the market for upcoming youth is not to be trifled at. The US professional sports franchises all have to suffer with the draft of new players (with the worst team of the year getting first pick). To be able to cherry pick and develop the best young talent as AW does is amazing. Anyone that rubbishes this is misguided or simply trying to rubbish the club. If AW wasn’t here then most of this talent will go to other big clubs. Arsenal is a big club (top 8 in the world) because of AW. And frankly the game is getting faster, and more dominated by young players, this is a trend that Arsenal are leading.

  You can’t be the same Ray that insulted the man and called for his sacking yesterday then.]]>

• Debs

  Lol! Can see Arsenal’s really putting Ray through all the emotions!

• ray

  oh they are – you woldnt believe

• zohaib

  There’s also talk of a Micah Richards for Kolo Toure swap deal. Apparently Aston Villa want Richards as cover for Marting Laursen.

• Gooner Get Ya

  < ![CDATA[Arshavin News:

  Arsenal moved a step closer to signing Andrei Arshavin after successfully applying for a work permit for the Zenit St Petersburg forward. (Sky Sports News 1230 GMT)]]>

• Gooner Get Ya

  < ![CDATA[I would like to know how many steps it takes to actually complete the deal because we have taken "a step closer" a few times now?

  I count 3 steps:

  Agree a Fee
  Agree personal terms
  Sign contracts

  Is it that difficult....NO!!! just fucking sign him already...aaaaarrrrrggghhh.]]>

• Fabrez

  AW said there has been no work permit applied for…but SSN are over-the-top confident that an application was made…lol I like to trust AW BUT i don’t think he’s being honest…that’s just my hunch!

• http://kierandelaney.net/blog kierandelaney.net/blog

  Fuck it – he will or he won’t only 4 more days to go.

• JAT

  don’t worry, you have my wonderful insight to look forward to on Sunday. Saturday too if you’re lucky!

• Debs

  < ![CDATA[I wonder why Zenit and Arsenal are playing a stupid game of ping-pong?! it's not helping anyone at all, except well, the media!
  As Gooner get ya said, just effing sign him!]]>

• Fabrez

  I like ur censorship Debs lol Let’s just wait n see…not that long 2 wait anyway!

• zohaib

  The Arsenal.com site says that Wenger wants to sign Arshavin before the West Ham game. That he wants whatever’s stopping the deal from happening to get sorted before the game.

• Fabrez

  Yeah…but he had me laughing with his intro to the press conference…”Gentlemen…are you hungry for news?” lol! Classic!

• Debs

  I think Arsene heard our pleas and was quite honest in the interview. I think it’s the post-match interview that you just shouldn’t believe what he says hook, line and sinker. Oh, and just as I type that, he goes on to say his favourite words- ‘it’s more important to focus on the players we have’! He’s never going to change, is he? lol!

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[He says he's not looking for a central midfielder ! He says Diaby and Song are progressing well and Denilson doesn't get the credit he deserves. And he says we're going to finish above 'not only Aston Villa' come the end of the season.
  Yeah sure, we'll see about that. The man's blind I tell you. I wonder what he'll say if he was asked why Eboue and Bendtner weren't sold.
  He also says it's difficult to find defenders better than Kolo, Gallas and Djourou, and because ACMilan wanted Senderos, he's good. For heaven's sake man.
  It looks like Arshavin's coming. He dodged the question in the SkySports interview but in the ArsenalTV Online interview he's explaining why we want him and what he brings to the team. I don't understand how he completely denied having been successful getting the work permit. He said they hadn't even applied for it. That's surely a lie. An outright lie. He had a huge smile on his face. I wish he'd stop being so obvious. Everybody knows he means the opposite of what he says.]]>

• RF

  < ![CDATA["Everybody knows he means the opposite of what he says."

  Ah, That would really help anyone to understand him.
  May be the Media does ... lol]]>

• RF

  A must win ! (I’m tired of saying that)

• Tom G

  bbc gosisp page: Russia striker Andrei Arshavin is flying to London from Dubai to wrap up a move to Arsenal. (Sky Sports News 0700)

• Gooner Get Ya

  < ![CDATA[You are correct Tom G Arshavin is on his way to london. woo hoo.

  Just in time to play Sp*rs (without Defoe as well by the looks of it)]]>

• realist23

  < ![CDATA[Rather than trash each other, I wish we gooners (ignore the media, good or bad — and yes, there are a few good ones out there, very few) would just stop and listen to each other — and most of all, ASSUME that we all care deeply about Arsenal and that no one should have the arrogance to claim they are superior fans because the way they see things is more right than someone else’s.

  There is so much polarization amongst us going on, it’s becoming impossible to have a credible debate. I’ve left two blogs because of this.

  It’s true there are extremists and knee-jerk fans in our midst. And a lot of them don’t deserve a lot of our time.

  But what I strongly object to is the assumption on the part of what I view as the two extremist camps amongst us:

  1. The worst elements at le grove (which has become the symbol of the worst kind of a certain supporter)

  2. The worst elements of what some dismiss as AKBs, the “rose-tinted” brigade, the self-appointed Judges of True Arsenal Supporters.

  Both these groups are self-appointed Guardians of the Arsenal Truth. And it’s impossible to talk with them, to engage in any real, thoughtful discussion. The worst of these two groups merely post repetitive, lame, insulting, worthless comments that contribute nothing to any discussion.

  For the first group, if you defend AW even while pointing out disappointments and criticisms, you’re put into a tiny little AKB box and nothing you can say can get you out of that box. They are rigid and absolute in their belief they are the best judges of these players and our manager, and that anyone who disagrees with them is not worthy of their attention.

  For the 2nd group, you cannot use the blogs to discuss your skepticism, concerns, questions, doubts, criticisms in general. The blogs are the equivalent to the Grove — you must behave on the blogs just as you do at the Grove. Most of us agree that as fans at the stadium, home or away, fans must all unite and cheer their team on and never ever abuse anyone wearing an Arsenal shirt no matter what we may really think of their ability and commitment to the team. At the stadium, we must all act as one with one purpose regardless of our differences.

  But for this second group, the blogs are equivalent to the stadium — fans are supposed to just cheer the team on in every one of their post, never ever voicing any criticisms of the manager, Board or one single player. We cannot talk like normal human beings on the blogs with differences in judgment, we must (just like at the stadium) all think alike and post alike.

  I wish both these sets of fans would just LISTEN, open their minds and stop sitting in judgment over the rest of us who are trying our best to support the team in our own way. I wish they’d respect the fact that we are not all the same, that our brains don’t shut down the way theirs does, but that we all love our club and want it to succeed.]]>

• debs

  van persie on the bench? sorry what?! Is wenger on something?!

• Tom G

  oh debs.. either he knows something we don’t or he’s definitely on something.. it’s that sinking feeling again..

• Debs

  Yup! Sinking feeling! I just hope that at the end of the 90mins his decision is justified, cos at the moment, I don’t understand it at all!

• Debs

  Arsenal made me cry today, (ok, maybe I’m overreacting), but that’s not a good sign! Europa League cup next season?

• Fabrez

  Wow…just wow. We need Arshavin…i’m flippin convinced. No RVP from the start is just disgusting. Ade wasting yrt another chance. We don’t deserve Champions League nxt year… End of story.

• Fabrez

  < ![CDATA[*yet

  We r missing Cesc badly...Rosicky & Theo...we lack creativity so badly without them. Adebayor NEEDS to be dropped *sigh*]]>

• Debs

  < ![CDATA[Adebayor was an absolute joke! i don't know why Wenger's trying to play him into form! Don't bloody drop your in-form striker for your out-of-form striker! If u want Ade to get better and stuff, bring him on as a sub for 10 mins, then 20, then gradually start him, when he shows signs of life! I'm even worried that we'd get Arshavin and he'd create chances and all, but we'll mess it up!
  i'm just frustrated as hell and it doesn't seem as if it's going to get any better. We're unbeaten in 2009, yeah, but what use is that if you keep drawing?!]]>

• Fabrez

  Hotspur lost! And Jay Simpson scored! Trying to be optimistic here =S

• Fabrez

  IF AW mentions this unbeaten run again…i will NOT be happy… He better NOT mention it!!!! Cuz it gets us 5th place… Woo hoo???

• Fabrez

  You kno who will laugh the most? Villa! They r gonna look back at us and say, “Arsenal are so pathetic…we drop points and they can’t even close the gap!” And quite frankly, if the media has a go…we deserve it.

• http://kierandelaney.net/blog kierandelaney.net/blog

  < ![CDATA[Adebayor missed two sitters. Absolute nailed on sitters.

  Vela played incredibly well though, hopefully he'll get the nod above Eboue now.]]>

• Debs

  < ![CDATA[Jay Simpson scoring is the only bright spot for me today, and maybe villa drawing also, but everything just seems so bleak! Maybe, just maybe, Arshavin would bring fresh life or something, but at the moment...
  I don't know whether I'd bother with AW's press conference cos I have a feeling he's going to be so patronising, and that's just not what we want to hear!]]>

• Gooner Get Ya

  < ![CDATA[We are shite....what a wasted chance to make up some points.

  I guess its yet another week i wont be watching MOTD.]]>

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[Yup, I told you we were shite.

  Vela definitely isn't worse than Eboue so hopefully we will be seeing more of him. I was wondering if Eboue's injury was a blessing in disguise (it was). And we seemed to be getting quite a lot of luck of that kind as when the other loony Diaby got injured. It's a shame it didn't happen sooner. Ramsey should've come on in place of him much much sooner.
  I'm not too upset with VanPersie being on the bench. Wenger had already stated that he wanted to rest him in the FA cup match, but he couldn't. So it was pretty expected that VanPersie might start off the bench. But Adebayor certainly doesn't deserve his starting spot. He should've been the one to go out on freaking loan in place of Jay Simpson. Maybe we should get Simpson back and give him a start in place of the lazy giant.. Or maybe we should go back to Vela and Bendtner up front or VanPersie and Bendtner obviously, when VP isn't being rested.

  Everybody seemed to put a patchy performance. Adebayor, Eboue and Diaby being the obviously shittiest players. Denilson, Nasri, and Bendtner were still working hard but it's tough to make something when 3 out of 6 forward players are such rubbish. Sagna and Clichy looked better than in the previous away performances (wonder how much home/away has to do with that). But what also has to be said is that we looked like we started off very well. I didn't expect to see what I saw. But why we did start off well was because West Ham weren't closing us down. They were letting us play in their third and then stopping us from creating chances. But they were more than happy to sit back. If they'd have gone for a bit more early on who knows what might have happened. They lacked the urgency to close us down. The game was being played at an immensely boring pace and if that hadn't been the case, and if they had put pressure on us then we'd probably have cracked and leaked a goal. And then it would be the same sort of scenario as against Everton, where we're left with chasing the game.
  We didn't really create a proper on-the-ground chance until the 62nd minute. Our first half performances over the past few months have been utter garbage. The closest we got was a header by Diaby that hit the crossbar. A few difficult chances that came to Bendtner and the easiest ones that fell to Adebayor who, expectedly, missed them all.]]>

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[Now I'm sure that Bendtner isn't worse than Adebayor. In fact, over the recent performances, I doubt anyone would argue if I said Bendtner was actually better than Adebayor. So I say, start Bendtner in place of Adebayor. He gives us the same height, presence in the air, the ability to win the ball from goalkicks much better than Adebayor, similar pace, similar if not better ability to keep posession in tricky situations, better teamwork than Adebayor who goes missing often, better link-up play with the other striker (VanPersie).
  If we do play Bendtner and VanPersie up front, the question is who do we play at right mid. I can't understand what's keeping Bischoff out of the team still. Wilshere isn't getting many games either. I'd prefer them both to Eboue. So presently, and after watching today, when Nasri and Sagna looked to be working well together on the right flank, I'd say maybe we should get Nasri to play there instead of the left flank. He is good in the centre as well but if we have him in the center who do we play on the wings. As it is we're short on natural wide players. And I'd try to prevent Eboue from starting as much as possible. If we play Nasri as RM, we could play Vela as LM and second choice would be Diaby. I think at the moment Denilson and Song would be a good CM pairing. When we're not being creative enough, we could stick Nasri in the center in place of Song and get Eboue on as RM. Ramsey hasn't played many games at right mid so I'm not entirely sure but I have a feeling he's better than Eboue at RM as well. I'm trying to figure out what our best starting 11 at the moment is. You guys got any thoughts ?]]>

• Berth

  Zohaib the mathematical coach. If coaching was that easy you would have been a Fergie or Mourinho.

• zohaib

  That’s a compliment then ?

• http://kierandelaney.net/blog kierandelaney.net/blog

  I’m not sure Bendtner is more skilful than Adebayor, Zohaib, but he definitely plays with ten times more passion. I can’t see in harm in giving him another run in the team especially after Adebayors woeful performance yesterday.

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[Also I think lately Bendtner's been better than Ade in terms of when the ball's at their feet. Ade usually looses it (pun intended). The only thing Ade's potentially giving us is height and even then he's made nothing of it. He misses way too many chances to get a free ticket into the starting 11. And from what I've seen, Bendtner wins the ball just as much in the air if not more, so even the height isn't really an advantage for Ade anymore. It's about time Wenger dropped him to the bench for a few games and showed him that he needed to pull his finger out. He's pretty satisfied being payed for missing chances. He knows he's going to be named in the starting 11 anyway, so no need to work hard for a place because he won't loose it. If there's someone who deserves the kind of harsh, cruel treatment Robbie Keane's getting, its Adebayor. I can't wait for Eduardo to get back and keep Ade out, but maybe Edu will need a month to get back into the groove. :(
  Still no news on Arshavin. Good player but i'm not entirely sure he'll make us a better team defensively. Not entirely sure he'll make us a more efficient team attacking-wise either.]]>

• zohaib

  Teams will still have 10 players behind the ball. It’ll still be 10 Arsenal players trying to make something happen and one player won’t be able to make much of a difference unless the way Arsenal play slightly changes and formation they play slightly changes.

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[Kieran - here's a stat for you. It'll be interesting to hear what you have to say :

  Man Utd:
  Rooney – 16 apps, 6 goals, 4 assists
  Berbatov – 19 apps, 6 goals, 8 assists
  Tevez – 16 apps, 3 goals, 2 assists
  Welbeck – 1 apps, 1 goal, 0 assists
  Total Goals: 16; Total Assists: 14

  Liverpool:
  Torres – 13 apps, 7 goals, 1 assist
  Keane – 19 apps, 5 goals, 4 assists
  Kuyt – 24 apps, 5 goals, 4 assists
  N’gog – 6 apps, 0 goals, 0 assists
  Total Goals: 17; Total Assists: 9

  Chelsea:
  Anelka – 24 apps, 14 goals, 0 assists
  Drogba – 12 apps, 1 goal, 0 assists
  Kalou – 18 apps, 4 goals, 3 assists
  Di Santo - 5 apps, 0 goals, 1 assist
  Total Goals: 19; Total Assists: 4

  Aston Villa
  Carew – 12 apps, 5 goals, 2 assists
  Agbonlahor – 23 apps, 9 goals, 4 assists
  Heskey – 1 app, 1 goal, 0 assists
  Harewood – 6 apps, 0 goals, 0 assists
  Total Goals: 15; Total Assists: 6

  Arsenal:
  RVP – 19 apps, 9 goals, 7 assists
  Adebayor – 20 apps, 8 goals, 4 assists
  Eduardo – N/A
  Bendtner – 16 apps, 3 goals, 2 assists
  Total Goals: 20; Total Assists: 13

  Notice how Tevez and Bendtner have the exact same stats. What say you ?]]>

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[Here's another statistic (not about Bendtner though) :

  Man Utd:
  Ronaldo – 19 apps, 10 goals, 5 assists
  Giggs – 16 apps, 0 goals, 4 assists
  Fletcher – 17 apps, 3 goals, 0 assists
  Carrick – 16 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist
  Nani – 8 apps, 1 goal, 2 assists
  Total Goals: 16; Total Assists: 12

  Liverpool:
  Gerrard – 22 apps, 9 goals, 5 assists
  Alonso – 22 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist
  Riera – 20 apps, 2 goals, 2 assists
  Babel – 17 apps, 2 goals, 0 assists
  Benayoun – 20 apps, 2 goals, 3 assists
  Total Goals: 17; Total Assists: 8

  Chelsea:
  Lampard – 24 apps, 9 goals, 5 assists
  Joe Cole – 14 apps, 2 goals, 4 assists
  Ballack – 16 apps, 0 goals, 2 assists
  Deco – 20 apps, 3 goals, 2 assists
  Malouda – 20 apps, 2 goals, 5 assists
  Total Goals: 16; Total Assists: 18

  Aston Villa
  Young – 22 apps, 5 goals, 6 assists
  Barry – 23 apps, 4 goals, 4 assists
  Milner – 21 apps, 1 goal, 4 assists
  Reo-coker – 19 apps, 1 goal, 0 assists
  Sidwell – 15 apps, 3 goals, 0 assists
  Total Goals: 14; Total Assists: 14

  Arsenal: (notice 6 midfielders mentioned to make things look even = embarrassing !)
  Nasri – 18 apps, 5 goals, 2 assists
  Denilson – 22 apps, 3 goals, 5 assists
  Fabregas – 15 apps, 1 goal, 3 assists
  Eboue – 16 apps, 1 goal, 2 assists
  Diaby – 14 apps, 1 goal, 2 assists
  Walcott – 13 apps, 1 goal, 1 assist
  Total Goals: 12; Total Assists: 15]]>

• http://kierandelaney.net/blog kierandelaney.net/blog

  < ![CDATA[Yeah I could have told you we're relying more on our forwards than we ever have - the invincibles had Pires, Viera and Lljunberg and last season we had Cesc - this season if it's not a forward it's difficult to see where the goals will come from. Compare that to the other teams and it just highlights our lack of creativity and punch.

  In regards to Bendtner/Tevez that is surprising sure enough. Not sure how many of Tevez's appearance's have been 10 minute jobs - I've seen at least two.

  Funnily enough I would have classed Berbatov as the worst player at United this seaon, but just look at the goals and assists he's scored! That's mental! Adebayor's at least comparable and they both play like they want to be at home on the couch.

  A brief scout though makes it look like RVP is the best there - 17 goals in 19 games - is that right? Obviously he didn't score 17 but he at least set them up. Only Anelka is close with many more appearances.

  Think of the team if RVP made those sublime passes to a player who could score them rather than AdeBarnDoor.]]>

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[Yeap. Our midfield hasn't been scoring enough goals. Even last season was a bit of a struggle. Rosicky got injured. Eduardo got injured. This season it's the same story all over again. And I wonder if we could hold Wenger responsible for not preparing for injuries because they've been the common occurence over the past few years. If not in the summer, surely this winter transfer window should've been used to strengthen the team. Maybe some players on loan etc. Let's see how the rest of the season goes.
  Berbatov's assists are insane. I'd agree, he hasn't looked like the same player but boy is he helping them out.
  RVP's on fire. Anelka looks like he's out of form at the moment. Hopefully RVP can get some goals to take the lead. Robinho and Ronaldo are on 10 goals in the Premier League. I think it's Zaki and Agbonlahor that round out the top 5 scorers this season.]]>

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