Arsenal ended their pre-season preparations with a 2-1 defeat to Benfica in the Eusebio Cup in a game very much of two halves. The Gunners made a tidy, if conservative, start in Lisbon as a reshuffled midfield of Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky took their time finding their feet against a mobile Benfica outfit.
Aside from a couple of smart bits of play by Gervinho, one pacey dribble down the left wing and failed cross to Arshavin, and a smart twist and turn followed by a shot into the side netting, little happened in the first twenty minutes. Ramsey looked controlled in the midfield, Rosicky was his usual energetic if unproductive self, while Szczesny appeared to have learned his lesson from last season by keeping his hands to himself as a Benfica player took a tumble in the box.
In the 31st minute Arsenal finally broke behind the Benfica defence. Song playing a delightful ball inside the full-back only for Robin van Persie to try and Carlos Vela the ball into the back of the net with his chocolate leg. While it wasn’t a bad effort you’d be screaming mad if he’d missed that in a Premier League clash.
Only two minutes later however, Van Persie did break the deadlock. Andrey Arshavin fed Kieran Gibbs who surged to the left-hand by-line before cutting the ball back to the Dutchman who clinically found the top corner from six yards out.
It was a very Arsenal goal and pleasing to see Gibbs show a level of composure in the penalty box which so often was Gael Clichy’s downfall. It wasn’t just in the final third that the England man proved himself useful, twice in defensive situations he came to his teammates’ rescue making last ditch challenges.
There was a major scare just before half-time as a Benfica player, his name lost in the fog of Jack Daniels consumption, scythed through the back of Van Persie sending our brittle-boned striker to the turf. Replays showed his ankle do that bend thing that makes you feel a bit sick in the mouth; strangely the Dutchman limped to the sidelines to receive treatment on his knee. Cue panic on Twitter and immediate fears of a nine month lay-off. Thankfully Van Persie got back to his feet and played the final 7 minutes of the half before being placed by Chamakh at half-time.
Almost immediately after the second half began, Benfica equalised. Both Gibbs and Vermaelen can shoulder the blame although the finish by hobbit-like Argentine Pablo Aimar left Fabianski (who had only just come on) with no chance.
Three minutes later, Benfica hit the bar as defender Luisão found himself on his own in the box after a failed attempt at playing the offside trap by the Arsenal back four. In truth the Gunners were lucky, and the Brazilian should have scored.
Just before the hour mark, the home side deservedly took the lead. Skipping inside Squillaci (we could all do it), Nolito hit a low effort inside Fabianski’s near post which left the Pole looking more than a bit pissed off. It was a soft goal, albeit one which was taken well by the former Barcelona man.
The sense of control which Wenger’s side asserted in the first half seemingly disappeared with the numerous substitutions taking their toll. Benfica stepped up the tempo, bit into challenges and upped the pressure on a young midfield which included both Frimpong and Lansbury.
A frenetic encounter grew increasingly feisty as the half went on with both Squillaci and Vermaelen making meaty challenges on opponents. Unfortunately, for all the gusto in the tackle, there was little guile in possession with the ball all too often given away in the centre of the park. While Ryo Miyaichi did his best on the left-wing, Marouane Chamakh’s invisible man routine grated hugely and made you seriously question whether Wenger is offloading the right striker.
In the final moments Fabianski produced a spectacular save to keep the score at 2-1 but despite a late surge from the Gunners, Arsene Wenger’s men were unable to equalise.
The Gunners return home with seven days to work on their fitness before next Saturday’s curtain raiser against Newcastle United.
what a waste of time again first 45 good test even though aimar etc wasn’t on rvp and the first teamers played well then wenger brings the clowns on again squillacci and chawack fabianski is good back up keeper but snez is # 1 , its not looking good throwing away leads again but what was even worse was the non exsistent attacking or chances in that second half despite miyachi looking exciting with his pace etc chamack is not a striker so why play him their? we would be better off keeping bendtner and playing him up top and sell chamack hes is so predictable and wont score goals imo
SPOT ON,
Wenger knows he has lost the dressing room but his ego won’t let him change his ways.
The original players of project youth, they all want to leave/ have left
It’s easy for a manager to hide under a young squad, and have that as an excuse everytime we loose. “They are still young” “we showed good character”
Thats why Wenger never spends any money on players, he would have nowhere
to hide, no excuses…. his poor tactics and poor players fail to lift us to the top
We will be fighting against tottenham for the 5:th place next season, and deep down we all know this! theres no hiding anymore, no signings… nothing
Look at Chamakah, look at his statistics, honestly, would he get a game with Manchester united. You’re having a laugh…wenger only signed him becuase he was a free agent,
just to save money, and wenger get his percentege of every deal he makes. I remember him saying this some years ago, so actually Wenger is getting richer, while our squad is
getting poorer.
Wonder why anybody dont mention this??
And they increase the ticket prize with 6.5%…we who already had the highest in Europe. They rip us of, laughing in our face, and nobodys saying a word!! Take our money
and buy big houses and fancy cars. Bloody murder, I have had patience in 6 years, but now, I’ve had so much enough of this now….its gonna be a long season
If this was about money Wenger wouldn’t be at Arsenal.
He would be at Real Madrid or Manchester City.
I guess you have posted this 90% made up sh*t on 70% Arsenal related comment sites!
I’m not anti wenger but something needs to be done now. I watched the game and it was truly awful!
where are the new signings
2nd half only miachi impressed. deja vu..deja vu!
It’s going to be a long season…
I’ve watched all of our pre season games (some on live live streem) and if anyone says they can see an improvement on last season they’re bonkers. This manager has run out of ideas and we are going to get found out embarrasingly
Although the pre-season friendlies have been disappointing, they are just pre season friendlies. Lets judge the team when the season actually begins. Fair enough its all very frustrating watching performances like we have done over the last couple of games. But players like Squillaci aren’t going to be getting any minutes as long as other centre halves stay fit.
Same old story. Can’t hold on to a lead. Goals against as a result of poor defending. It might be pre-season but unfortunately the writings on the wall! FFS Arsene buy some quality defenders and give some encouragement to us fans that we can at lease challenge for the league(cup) this year!
Paul you are absolutely right. I’m fast giving up on AW. In over 55 years of watching the Gunners, I don’t think I have seen a worse CB than Squillaci, and that includes Jim Frotheringham and Gus Caesar! As for his team set up, it beggers belief; there are holes everywhere. I could go on but I’m felling depressed about the new season, so i think I’ll just get drunk!!!!
Best. Comment. Ever.
Where will we ever find the super quality like Squillaci
Same old same old. I have faith wenger, but I’m losing my faith. He needs to buy and spend some of that money we’ve got. 2nd half tonight wasn’t ver good at all. I worry about us against Udinese, and a poor start to the PL. The transfer window wiil be shut in a few weeks and I cam only see us selling players (cesc and nasri) not bringing anyone in. I love Arsene and what he has done for the club, but he is in danger of throwing it away.
Have a drink for me too John we all need one!
Chamakh is the worst player in the squad by a mile. I play ametuer football and I swear he wouldn’t get a game. Thank god we never paid any money for him cause if he is RVP back up we are in trouble. Where was vela tonight. Everyone seems to forget about him chamakh isn’t fit to lace his boots. It must have been a total fluke, chamakh start to last season. I have watched every pre season and he does nothing. RYO looks like the real deal, nasri won’t be mist with this guy playing.
spot on about chamack he isn’t a striker how many shots has he had in the whole of pre season regardless of how much time he’s spent on the pitch bendtner got played out of position and barely got a chance last season yet chawack plays centre forward when rvp isn’t on the pitch he may put effort in but what use is it when you have no talent? he should either play right wing or at another club imo
Hes got this week. Fingers crossed!
it is 2:30 am in india and am awake writing this after just finishing the game. Wenger has lost it.We have 1 week before season starts and the team has no cohesion.We hardly created any chanes after rosicky and rvp went off.added to that we had to contend with the nightmares of chamakh and squillaci.it is like playing with 9 players.squillaci is so horrible in defence that probably verma shits himself in the shorts coz he wont know when this bozo just runs off like a headless chicken.Our defending was all at sea.and for all the “coached the arsenal way”… lansbury, frimpong and even ramsey looked way off colour.
a)Why is there a big hole in the midfield every time we either defend or attack,i.e the second wave of players who attack the box( when we are attacking) have to come from the MF.but we seem to not have that.The same can be said while we are defending.There is something fundamentally wrong with this way of playing.
b)How does chamakh get played ahead of bendtner?
c)Why is squillaci even on the pitch?is there a “silvestre” role in our club that ash to be filled every season?
d)We have one week to go and where are our signings?
Lastly i never thought i would say this….”Leave in dignity Arsene..you are now senile “.
Go back to sleep and wake up a Spud, maybe you’ll feel better.
Indian gooner: ever heard of using the space bar when puting a period at the end of your sentence
grammar man:
Ever heard of correct spelling and punctuation rules? Don’t you just love idiot grammar nazis?
Shouldn’t there be a question mark at the end of that sentence?
Well that was terrible.
Btw, did we actually give Seville money for Squillaci?
What a super quality signing that was.
Oh, and Gibbs looks okay, but not ready for the Prem. I can’t believe Wenger is happy to weaken our left-back situation. I mean, Clichy wasn’t stellar, but he was better than Gibbs in defence.
We’ve been dreadful since February, short of form and confidence. Two of our best players – including our captain – want out. We’ve got injury problems already. For some inexplicable reason we seem to have decided against strengthening the squad. We’ve got some tough, tough fixtures in August that means we have to start fast. And the crowd are as pissed off as they’ve been in years.
Doesn’t look great does it?
Last season, if you’d bet on Arsenal not winning whenever Denilson started, you’d have made a tidy sum. This season it looks like Squillaci is the player, whose inclusion will almost always result in not winning.
Come on, Arsene, spend the cash and by a decent CB, before we find ourselves in mid-table mediocrity and our best players wanting to leave.
Gibbs is made of glass and not as good as Clishy. Wenger the stubborn old git really is going to drive the train straight into the buffers
Wenger knows he has lost the dressing room but his ego won’t let him change his ways.
The original players of project youth, they all want to leave/ have left
It’s easy for a manager to hide under a young squad, and have that as an excuse everytime we lose. Should Wenger spend on players, he had nowhere
to hide, and no excuses for his poor tactics….
Not looking good!! But I knew this any I’m not surprised one bit that we lost this game.. I no wat ur gonna say but this is arsenal we should be beating teams like this.. I would agree with u if this was 5-6 years ago. But arsenal are a very different team now -sad to say….
Some think has got to change! Wenger needs a talking to and a defensive coach or something has to come in. People just font know how much we need Cesc. Now they can see coz this pre season has been awful compared to last seasons and the premier league gonna be the same unless we keep him.
Wenger is getting on my nerves now he failing big time asca manager! He knows wats needs to be done to sort arsenal out he proved that with the miserable attempted signing. That Ricky guy we was chasing but he ended up going to inter for 10 mil arsenal weren’t prepared to go to 10 mil but hang on, this is the guy u saw could replace Cesc a player of that quality is gonna cost u more than that and there club is gonna want to keep them so use gotta make it worth there while same goes for mata, samba, Cahill and that everton player can’t remember how to spell his name.. Lol.
Wenger is being the same way to barca about Cesc and the player were targeting clubs are being the same as Wenger. Gotta make if worth there while the players were after clubs feel the same way about that player as we do for Cesc. Cahill at 17 mil is a good price for a future ENGLAND CB. When Terry goes. But then I hear were gonna look at the blackburn guy coz he’ll only be 10 mil. Squalicy is shit he replaced senderous thats like replacing piss with shit! He gotta go or rot on the bench so pls Wenger buy 2 cb maybe that Blackburn guy as backup for the big new signing and TV.
We will be fighting against tottenham for the 5:th place next season, and deep down we all know that!
Look at Chamakah, look at his statistics, would he get a game with Manchester united. You’re having a laugh…wenger only signed him becuase he was a free agent,
to save money, and wenger get a percentege of every deal he makes. I remember him saying this some years ago, so actually Wenger is getting richer, while our squad is getting poorer.
Wonder why anybody dont mention this??
Look at Chamakah, look at his statistics, honestly, would he get a game with Manchester united. You’re having a laugh…wenger only signed him becuase he was a free agent,
just to save money, and wenger get his percentege of every deal he makes. I remember him saying this some years ago, so actually Wenger is getting richer, while our squad is
getting poorer.
Wonder why anybody dont mention this??
And they increase the ticket prize with 6.5%…who already had the highest in Europe. They rip us of, and nobodys saying a word!! Bloody murder
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t AW confirm he didn’t receive a percentage of any transfer fee when the Ian Holloway thing blew up last season. For all his faults I don’t think AW’s transfer dealings are based on how much money he can make personally.
And they increase the ticket prize with 6.5%…we who already had the highest in Europe. They rip us of, laughing in our face, and nobodys saying a word!! Take our money
and buy big houses and fancy cars. Bloody murder, I have had patience in 6 years, but now, I’ve had so much enough of this now
It’s in line with inflation & the VAT rise FFS
Ergo the club isn’t making more money from it.
It looks more and more like this season will be a train wreck.
Was the line up tonight just weak? Is there any hope if Arsenal field a strong team?
Did not RVP say he would leave if Arsenal did not strengthen after Fab leaves? What is Arsenal doing to strengthen?
Sad to say but I’m embarassed for Arsenal and for Wenger, you can rely on them to screw it all up. Reminds me of a few seasons ago when Arsenal were challenging for the title around christmas time and Fergie, when asked about Arsenal just dismissed them saying they would fade, he was right. What would you give for the type of management that Man U has?
Friendly and again another over reaction to friendly results. Barca lost 4-1 to Chivas but I doubt there fans would react like this to a friendly result. The real football starts next week not today. England must be the only nation that reads anything into friendly results.
And to add to that, most players who played today are not going to be first choice players for the league.
I watched that 2nd half display. Even before the goals came somehow I knew we would concede. Given those are not our first team on the pitch but those are the players expected to step up when injuries hit. Like blogs wrote at the end of the livenblog, we do not have strength in depth. It’s a long hard season with a lot of games. We need better squad players and strengthening of the first team.
On tactics, I heard the commentator say the benfica manager said he knows how to counter arsenals play so he was confident of victory. Have we become that easy for other managers to figure out. I can’t help but agree it would be a very long season. But hey am a gooner and would still be out there supporting the team. Bring on Newcastle already.
Yeah, but the majority of our first team wants out and/or is injured. So saying Squillaci wouldn’t normally play is facile. He and Chamakh shouldn’t be on the team.
Barca are the best team in the world, have signed Alexis Sanchez, and seem on the verge of signing our best player. Where as we….
I’m not worried about the result, but I am worried about the poor play and the lack of movement in the transfer market both in and out.
Oh, was it a pre season friendly. I though it was last season. Funny how football can do that to you
John,didnt Barca win a big game at Wemberley in May what exactly did we win, a fourth spot in a two horse race !!!
First think properly and then type……You rant how much ever about not winning trophies(IT’S OKAY)……But FFS,don’t rant about friendlies…
Some decent constructive criticism above.
I think it’s been a little overlooked, that the changes in the second half made it look more like a Carling Cup side, but fuck it, it still was very poor.
Strange thing is we normally win these no pressure games with ease and just fuck up the important one, some hopefully this has been reversed and we’re getting all the poor performances out of our system before shit gets real.
If we fuck the CL qualifier, then that will be a disaster.
Nuetral, your right Man U do have a great manager there’s no denying that. However Fergie doesn’t fuck about, if he wants a Player he will pay big. That’s the difference. Wenger will settle for second best if half the price!
Wenger knows he has lost the dressing room but his ego won’t let him change his ways.
The original players of project youth, they all want to leave/ have left
It’s easy for a manager to hide under a young squad, and have that as an excuse everytime we loose. “They are still young” “we showed good character”
Thats why Wenger never spends any money on players, he would have nowhere
to hide, no excuses…. his poor tactics and poor players fail to lift us to the top
We will be fighting against tottenham for the 5:th place next season, and deep down we all know this! theres no hiding anymore, no signings… nothing
Look at Chamakah, look at his statistics, honestly, would he get a game with Manchester united. You’re having a laugh…wenger only signed him becuase he was a free agent,
just to save money, and wenger get his percentege of every deal he makes. I remember him saying this some years ago, so actually Wenger is getting richer, while our squad is
getting poorer.
Wonder why anybody dont mention this??
And they increase the ticket prize with 6.5%…we who already had the highest in Europe. They rip us of, laughing in our face, and nobodys saying a word!! Take our money
and buy big houses and fancy cars. Bloody murder, I have had patience in 6 years, but now, I’ve had so much enough of this now….its gonna be a long season
Why do you keep posting the same thing? Heavy night down the pub?
Seriously, kim, this is the third time you’ve posted this ‘lost the dressing room’ bit. Give it up, yeah? You said it once, now leave it. Quite acting so desperate and maybe someone will take you seriously.
It wouldnt be half bad if someone could guarentee that we wont get any serious long tem injuries but as we all know we are as likely to go an entire season without long term injuriesas i am of winning the grand prize in the lottery.
Wow all this and we still haven’t started the season. the way we ended last season, combined with the summer sagas of fabregas and nasri is surely providing some negative vibes about arsenal, which is understandable. however, i really dont understand how people can be so negative about preseason matches, where the manager makes 7 or 8 changes in the match. we played our strongest team in the 1st half, and we were 1-0 up against a decent side so perhaps its a good idea to be abit more positive heading into the new season
mj,
It’s not the match results which people are pissed about (at least I hope not). It’s the glaring deficiencies which we all can see and have not been addressed. It’s the signing and keeping of players who have no business on the team (Eboue, Almunia, Squillaci, Chamakh, etc…) yet that we still have to rely on. It’s the fact that our rivals keep getting better and we stand still. It’s the fact that moronic pundits like Lawrenson and Savage might actually be right with their predictions (which I find particularly galling).
All of us love Arsenal: our philosophy, style of play, frugality, etc…. Right now it looks like the pragmatists are right and many of us Gooners find that difficult to swallow.
Mj, ever the optimist!
Yet another match where the gunners have failed to hold on to a lead. What’s wrong?This is becoming a disease with Arsenel. If Arsene claims it’s not a problem,prove it in the epl.
I believe this is due to Wenger’s tactics. His one dimensional style with the accent on attack is the root of all the evils,no,problems.Obviously there are problems which he has refused to address or beyond his control. He is ultimately responsible for the good health of Arsenal.
If these problems areas are not sorted out and the gunners begin to falter,Nasri and Feb would have been right to jump ship. If this is indeed as far as Wenger can take Arsena,then it’s time for another tactically shrewd guy to take over.
maybe all this negativity is rubbing off on the squid pls lets all forward positive vibe toward the team. oh fuck it
Negativity and vibe talk is nonsense. Players don’t really care what fans think. The team is underperforming because it contains many weak players, players who lack motivation, or a coach who is having difficulty motivating them.
That second half was so poor organisationly, real amateur stuff from back to front. The first team has no match fitness because they have barely played 45mins together all pre season.
We are all over the shop at the moment, why are we making 9 subs a week before the season starts, our fitness is seriously below par. The most difficult start to a season ever in Wenger’s tenure and not one area is stable. Not a negative person at all, but there is far too much work to be done to be confident of a good start, both on and off the pitch.
Thought we would be much fitter than Udinese by game time and run the legs off them. We simply aren’t prepared to do that at the moment.
The problem is, that right now these matches do matter for Arsenal.
Afer the disaterous end to last season both the supporter and team need to win some games and build some confidence. Instead Arsenal have seen a prolonged transfer saga for Fab (who everyone thought would be Barca player by now, cheap scumbags that they are), an unexpected hubub over Nasri’s future (who has had exactly 4-5 good months during his entire time at Arsenal), and poor performances in pre-season friendlies. How can you expect Fabregas to want to stay at Arsenal when the team appears in disarray? Furthermore, the second string players that have thrown away so many games this pre-season are exactly the same players that will be coming in as early as next week, -since the yearly injury circus has started early. So I am not at all convinced by the argument that these matches are only friendlies, it is plausible the first time, maybe the second time, but not the whole pre-season.
LOL. The team might need improvement! Really, and what area of our team needs improving?
I’m no expert, but… the defense is leaky, so a new center back won’t go amiss, even if its just to keep Squillachi from playing. We also need a new striker as back up to RvP as Chamakh looks pants. The rest seems ok in my eyes. Is that a reason for me to insult a manager whose contribution to the club will be felt for decades. Not so sure.
Ah… the head in the sand syndrome..Our defense cannot be fixed by buying a new CB alone.We need a proper defence coach ala TA/MK ( remember the 2006 run to CL finals? we had a proper defence consultant). AW will not buy any more players. His familiar excuses so far in the papers say the same story. And you ask me to go back to sleep and wake up a spud? The only retort of an AKB.
“power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” and AW is the proof.
Maybe insult is wrong but criticize surely, Dobbi. Who bought Chamakh, by the way? And who constructed our defense and is responsible for the defensive strategy?
I’m assuming you’re having a laugh, Dannyboy
I can see both sides of the argument, I just hope with the frustration we realise that pre season games arnt everything. The signings must be coming I just would be amazed if we didn’t sign a defender. Anyways chins up Gooners we all want the same thing, let’s get behind the boys at the Geordies next week whatever happens. Happy weekend all.
Like your style Pete. Keep it real
Can any of you guys actually spell correctly?
We’ll be fine, don’t worry.
Define “fine”, Sd
C-O-R-R-E-C-T-L-Y see it’s easy! and you spelt the same word in your comment LOL
Serious note, I understand the frustration that people are venting here, I’m frustrated too, but come the start of the season I’ll be right behind whatever 11 players take to the pitch for the Arse!!
More good news to add to those already injured. RVP. Gibbs and Vermaelen. Its easy to say be positive. Bloody hell, I was going every week in the mid 70′s when we nearly went down but that never felt as gloomy as it does now!!
The only remedy for all our problems…sack wenger.hes become a stubborn babbling senile. lets get someone young and willing to have proper goals for a team like arsenal.
Sacking Wenger is not the answer. For all we know, he is just doing what the board is telling him to do. We should get rid of whoever is responsible for our current transfer and development strategy.
Spot On…..First people should stop believing Ivan and other board members if they contradict what Arsene does or says because business men like politicians are not to be believed.
Stepanovs, Cygan, Senderos, Sylvestre, Senderos, Squillachi. Wenger has 1 week to sign 2 ‘quality’ centre backs. If he fails to do this, then sadly and with much regret, he has to go!
god save us if rvp or cesc gets injured… we’re trying to play david v goliath but in our case david loses 9 out of 10…
Only two shots on target and two corners all game? Not so good. I know we’ve had all the Cesc and Nasri stuff, but this just does not look like a team ready to start a season.
we should have played barnet. just to keep everyone happy…
I was actually impressed with Armand Traore. He seems like a decent left back
The article in the Bangok Post hit the nail on the head. It asked when Wenger’s transfer inactivity will end. If the gunners fail to challenge when 40 to 50 million quid wil right things,there is no time to waste.If this scenario were to take place,Arsenal /Arsenal will have to throw hundreds of millions to plug the gaps.
If not,Wenger is becoming a problems with his dementia,flawed outlook and think he is god and can do no wrong. Nothing couldbe further from the truth.
The inab ility to hold on to leads is becoming a joke with tArsenal with Arsene the top joker.
I say if he doesn’t change,sack him.
Just thought I would calm some people down…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wosTtAfIsyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CRmXwOFpY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6ng8Sp3V90&feature=related
And a vid not about Arsenal but very worth it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTVR05v3mAY
Traore actually defends better than Gibbs, he’s dramatically improved.
Both are poor positionally, they give away too much space when back, and get caught out upfield to often.
Those injuries are now becoming alarming. There seems to be a narrative already set out for Wenger and Arsenal this season, and he won’t get a break from anywhere, so he better bloody fight as though he realises he hasn’t got the support to take any more gambles, he will be forced out by fan pressure.
He can’t leave anything on the table, for his legacy and the club, or this will be a sad ending for a great manager who still could be great if he was more selfish.
who cares if it was a friendly !!!!! this is ment to be our squad players ffs what happens when the injuries come oh i forgot we already have about 7 players doubtful already for the start of the season and we have real fixtures coming up in the next month against real teams who have strengthend their squads and will possibly add a few more to their ranks whilst wenger pisses around he needed a pre season where he could try new tactics etc but its the same old shit dont care if people say we play the best football its obviously been found out how to stop arsenal etc so he needs to change but he wont neither will the fagots licking his arse all the time grow some balls you mugs akbs need to be moved on along with wenger if he doesn’t make at least 2 signings next week a centre back and either mata or that joel campbell , plus i hate chamack he really has got shitter and shitter the longer hes been at the club a lot like denilson , eboue , possibly bender defintley fabikidski almunia the clown who has always been shit !!!!! all jokers rvp and verm are the only hard working word class players we have when cesc goes so the future doesn’t look bright at all for arsenal football club ……………. FUCK OFF ALL YOU SPUDS MANCS AND CHELSEA RENT BOYS dont want to read any replys from you mugs
Crikey, that has to be the longest incomplete sentence ever.
Run on sentance or not that pretty much sums up 95% of comments today, last week… well, the whole summer…
mata OR joel campbell? wow – you’re easily pleased.
gunners for life…keep the faith guys..tins will get better u will see
As for the defeat,Wenger says the gunners missed many of their players.Isn’t football a squad game these days?He has gone on recruting wonder kids when it should be wonder men.
Mark my words. His delusion is costing the the gunners and don’t be surprised he is axed for his intransigence especially if the gunners are stuck in midtable by Oct.
Hasn’t football always been a squad game as much as it is now?
Wenger will be put by Christmas if he can’t correct the flaws in the squad we all see. The groundswell of negativity has been steadily rising since new years this year, and if arsenal are serious about winning versus profits things need to change.
Last season I was thinking of taking the year off from football and this year has done nothing to calm my nerves. I’m willing to give wenger until the end of the month, but of he can’t do the obvious, he needs to go.
Patience…….look outside the box. The way things are going with footy moneywise means theres more to it than results tho the way some of u r “demanding” results proves otherwise in ur opinions. Footy these days is a business, and I believe at the end
The last thing i want is for Wenger to go, or be forced out, or end on a bad note at Arsenal. But i would also love if he stopped sabotaging himself and do every single thing possible with every resource he has available.
There’s no reason for him to be sacked, or leave, he can change the road he’s headed on pretty easily, just take no gambles.
The way Arsenal have been managed over the last years, we needed everything to go our way, injuries, refs, and the weaker players not to fuck up at crucial times, and young players to play like seasoned champions with no older heads there to guide them.
The quality is there on good days, but that isn’t nearly enough.
Of the day Arsene is looking after Arsenal. Just have a look at the trading figures. Our day will come……..be patient.
k865kuk is having a laugh
I think far too many arsenal fans are taking these pre-season friendlies too seriously. It’s quite sickening hearing the comments from supposed Arsenal “Supporters” about the squad and Arsene Wenger. Ultimately as supporters its important that we stick behind our squad, it’s understandable that we, as a collective, are frustrated. However lets not forget pre-seasons count for nothing. nada. zilch. We arent going to make wholesale changes at half time during the season. We aren’t going to field the likes of lansbury, squillaci, Jenkinson, Frimpong and Chamackh on a regular basis. Let alone the fact we were without: Nasri, Wilshere, Walcott, Koscielny (and fabregas).
At the same time there are many issues with Arsenal that are beginning to thaw away at most, if not all of us. Its irritating to watch a performance of that quality (or lack thereof) only a week before our season begins. But for reasons given above, its certainly not the end of the world.
However what is a little more worrying is the current Fabregas and Nasri situation, and Wenger’s CURRENT lack of signings. I agree if come September 1st we are without one of Nasri or Fabregas (most likely Fabregas) and then left with Nasri leaving on a free at the end of the season… and still without any new signings fans will have a lot to worry about. The problem is, as the days go on the more likely it seems. Its understandable that all of us are concerned about the very near future, but for the moment we are all hypothesising and predicting. I suggest that we as fans begin to judge the team come Saturday and judge the squad on September 1st.
Don’t take me wrong, I’m very concerned that things won’t be looking good september 1st, and it seems to be a recurring thing with Wenger that we are hopeful of signings and nothing comes to fruition. But please, I beg, stop this nonsense. Enough with the constant doom and gloom. Nothing has happened just yet. Until the season begins and the transfer market is closed, keep your outrageous negativity to yourselves. If then things are still looking as dire as they have been over the past couple of weeks, then feel free to announce how frustrated and doomy you are feeling (although try and remember that we are all – hopefully – arsenal fans). Until then lets at least try and stay positive.
edyk….
we all want to stay positive. But can you seriously see anything positiive with the current setup? Not once player on the pitch today seemed to have any interest in winning the game. You say we might not field the likes of chamakh on a regular basis once the season starts, but if rvp is injured who plays as a striker? without cesc we seem shorn of ideas. Are the so called academy players – lansbury,frimpong etc really brought up the arsenal way?they seemed so careless today even when we were losing. As fans weve grown soft on everyone involved with the club – the manager,the players and the board. Unless we make it known that we expect nothing but 100% commitment from players on the pitch they will continue to take things easy.
AW lost many cups( remember when he fielded diaby,fabianski etc when AA was available and his reasoning was “i wanted them to know that they can win without AA”.). We won 2 of our last 13 games. How the hell are we supposed to feel positive when nothing has changed from the last season – not the attitude of the manager/board nor that of players( cesc). And now people like you still want us fans to have the same attitude as what weve had the last 6 years? We too are fans of Arsenal and we think of the best for our club. A change at the helm is needed and whether most of you like it or not it will happen soon. till then keep gunning
If you read the whole post rather than the parts that suit you:
“it’s understandable that we, as a collective, are frustrated. However lets not forget pre-seasons count for nothing. nada. zilch.”
“Its irritating to watch a performance of that quality (or lack thereof) only a week before our season begins. But for reasons given above, its certainly not the end of the world.”
“I suggest that we as fans begin to judge the team come Saturday and judge the squad on September 1st.”
————————————-
I’m as frustrated as most of you, but as I was saying nows not the time to judge the team. I agree its not currently looking very good, but until we start the season and have finalised our squad we can’t have a full idea of how the season will pan out. So lets cross our fingers, toes, legs, arms and whatever else that can be crossed that Wenger will stop being as stubborn as he has been and that the squad will be sorted out hopefully before september 1st.
As for Chamackh, I agree the thought of his being a back up striker is very worrying, but we’ll see if thats the case when we face udinese. As for players like lansbury, one would assume that they are in the 3rd string.
edyk,
You contradicted yourself. You were saying negative things about the team while couching your phrases with talk of waiting until September 1st. Also, we don’t have until September 1st. This August will be huge. If we play poorly we’ll be out of the Champions League and behind two of our main rivals. This season, more than any, we have to have a fast start.
Arsene knew that and still has done nothing. Many of our first teamers are injured (sack the medical staff and change our training/workout regimen. Instead of “lighter” players, we should sign/create bigger and stronger players) and our second string, which Wenger has bought/created, is pretty shit.
And it’s not like these things have come out of nowhere. We can all see the problems. Waiting until September 1st to get a bargain at the deadline is only possible from a bargaining position of strength. If you don’t NEED a player, you can get him for a reasonable price. If a rival team thinks your players are better than they actually are, then you can sell them for an inflated price (everyone we’ve sold to Barcelona, Italian teams, and Man City in the past, for example).
Nowadays, everyone knows Arsenal needs to buy players AND that our current squad has shitty players whom no one wants. Any wonder that Bendtner, Eboue, and Almunia haven’t been sold yet? Who would want them at the price we are quoting and the wages we pay them?
So yeah, edyk, your faith and patience are nice. But can you see why indian gooner among others find your stance overly optimistic and naive?
I truly believe Arsene’s been put on a very tight leash money-wise, and part of the deal he’s made is to keep his mouth shut about it. I think the deal is, keep us in the CL and make money in the transfer market, you’ve got your 5 mil a year as long as you want it. Trouble is, CL, maybe not, with this mess. Then he’ll go.
You know what, I’m just going to throw this out there.
Football is a funny old game. And one thing I always noticed is that when EVERYONE writers you off and says how shit you are and how badly you’re going to lose, that’s when you win.
Arsenal to storm to the league title this year.
COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here comes Wilshere and Theo British renaissance backed up by the Belgian bruiser in defence.
LIKE
Love!
Guys, the squad is in disarray, we need it sorting & then to look at whatever signings the departures will fund/dictate. It’s a tough start to the season, but I’m sure we’ll have things to be optimistic about by October as we always do.
There were some decent points above, but I hope most of the hysteria on here tonight can be put down to booze – yes we were shit, but it was a training exercise with few players involved from the 1st team, and we’ll see the true shape soon enough.. We haven’t yet seen it.
Additionally, there was a comment above about player confidence (& I know I’m not saying much original here) above, in the middle of slagging them all off.. What an unproductive cunt to write that! Yes the team has some improvements to make, but so do the fans. I just hope none of you that are constantly fucking moaning on here will darken the doors of the Emirates on the Liverpool match, and beyond.
I reckon at least a few players read this, as it’s a popular blog site. If I was one of them & not a gooner, I’d feel no allegiance whatsoever.
What I mean to say is.. Grow some balls, stop slashing your wrists & get behind the team! We’ve got wacko, Rambo, RVP, commander worf, Theo, and a potentially mental goalie.. Things might be looking up if we give them a chance.
Spooner,
“If” we give them a chance? Wenger gives our players plenty of chances, and they cock it up every time. Our starters threw away 3rd place last season, and put on relegation form displays for the last bit of the season, forcing an extremely tricky tie against Udinese.
Accepting the truth takes more “balls” than what you’re doing (making stuff up out of potential).
To be fair, they threw away the league & every competition bar the CL by bottling it. We were in a position until quite late on in the season when their heads dropped & they monumentally fucked it up. But still, it’s pretty boring to hear people on here constantly plotting our downfall ahead of the new season. I didn’t say my comments prove me to have monstrous balls, I was just saying..
Was me above.. Mate on phone
Besides, where can you demonstrably say I was ‘making stuff up’? All I did was name some players & speculate. D*******.
“Demonstrably”? You realise this is a football forum, not an ethics debate in Moral Philosophy 101?
Misplaced optimism is no more honourable than pessimism, except in this case, Gooners are quite justified in their criticism.
If you can’t take it, perhaps you should grow some balls instead of getting your panties in a knot when someone disagrees with you?
Good night tiny balled man.
Spooner,
Do you honestly think that players read sites like this? Do you really think that anything we say on message boards affects their play one iota? Do you honestly that our criticism is the reason why the team is bad, rather than their stinky play? Are Mata and Mertseacker not being bought because we are in a bad mood? Don’t you think that the opposite is also possible: since our opinions hold so much sway with the Arsenal hierarchy, that Wenger would have bought someone by now to make us happy?
The team was in Lisbon last night; did our negativity get a passport and credit card, buy a ticket to Portugal, boo the team and cause Squillaci to be a shitty player?
what would our negativitys passport foto look like?
maybe like berbatovs face sitting on the bench for yet another game. or the newcastle boards face when they find out joey barton got a twitter account.
I’m quietly confident this team can snatch a loss from the jaws of victory against Udinese, in which case we can focus on the league blah blah blah
I mean, SOMETHING has to bring our club to a head. Maybe the only way to get Wenger / Arsenal to spend money on ACTUAL quality (rather than “super” quality like Squillaci) is for the club to face the wrath of fans and loss of revenue that a loss to Udinese would surely trigger.
On recent form (last season and this pre-season), getting dumped out of the CL by Udinese looks a distinct possibility.
If we do beat Udinese, Wenger will use that as evidence to support no signings (for fear of “killing” Squillaci).
Irritating hyperbolic bathos.
Oh, hi Spooner aka Jaz. Guess you didn’t like my response to your comment above and have decided to respond negatively to anything I post.
What a child you are.
(and why don’t you grow some balls while you’re at it. i mean, all i did was call you out on your stupid comment. surely someone with balls would be able to handle it?)
Bathos can’t be hyperbolic, you oxymoron
you could only find a comment like that on an arsenal forum. definately not, for example, a stoke forum.
We only got one wk to the season!!! No CB? Am really getting fed up with arsenal,” we are big club” why can’t we act like one… Other big clubs are strenghing their squad while our best players are wanting to leave..really next season wil be a shame,cus I don’t think we can qualify for CL.
We have money to spend why not spend it, at this moment, even if it’s samba bring him he can make different, add money go back and buy mata from Spain , fking spend the money
This is just awful. At the end of last season we were promised we were going to strengthen the team.. We are still waiting because wenger has to do all his business in the last week of august to get cheaper prices. But by the end of august we could be out of the league and champions league. I find it really hard to understand how such a smart man can be so arrogant and naive.
Wondering why no one, NO ONE mentioned that there s no smooth passing, one two passes anymore in arsenal game. Two years ago, I saw those everytime arsenal played. Last year, when we rarely played those passes, especially when Walcott’s around, for him to get behind defender. This preseason, it’s very clear that those young players (Traore, Frimpong, etc, you name it..) tried very hard to make name for themselves by dribbling the ball too much (to get attention). I don’t know how many times I yelled “PASS!! MOTHERFUCKER”. Traore didn’t even want to pass to Ryo. He just dribbled pass him and at the same time two other defenders. He lost the ball at the next second. Even Wilshere. Don’t get me wrong, technically, he is a good player. Good vision, and strong, too. But he driblles the ball too much, which break the flow. Now, the players who know how to play those passes, left only Cesc, RVP, Rosicky, and Nasri. Arsenal game has changed and Arsene doesn’t know it. He is like a frog in the water being heated. Die slowly, unnotice.
As long as Wenger does nothing to change the situation, you will see the same crap week in week out, same old mistakes, same old arsenal. A week yesterday we start the premiership with pretty much the same team we have last season, so how can we expect anything else but what we saw last season. I love arsenal dearly, but I think in order for things to change the will have to lose that champions league spot( which is certainly possible) this season. I just think they have become comfortable and complacent and it needs to stop, everyone can see what needs to be done minus afew fansthat refuse to accept the truth( in Arsene we trust) and Arsene Wenger himself. Mr Wenger please don’t be on the touch line moaning and complaining this season, you’ve had more than enough time to sort things out and you haven’t, so when they make the same mistakes accept it for what it is.
agree with what you say he has had time to sort things out gervinho and jenkinson deals were near enough sorted out at the start of the summer so why has he taken so long? why have squilacci , eboue actually played part of our pre season if their either leaving or being replaced by a supposed new centre back? wenger wastes time and leaves the squad unprepared for the new season , fair enough friendlies mean fuck all but it doesn;t give you confidence if you cant beat the likes of greentown , benfica , redbulls and boca juniors does it ? im not saying he should be sacked but if the season finishes like the last 6 years will you be happy akbs?
I didn’t watch yesterdays game, nor any other of the pre-season friendlies/practice matches due to other commitments, getting updates from arseblog and arseblog news. However, it is important to remember these games are about fitness and testing players, countless subs are used and frankly the games are exactly what they say they are ‘practice matches’. Eboue scored 2 against Legia Warsaw in a 5-6 win last year! I would urge that we look at Chelsea’s pre-season and then their first results in the prem.
Yes, we need some more signings, yes our pre-season games show
distinct similarities to the end of last season, but let’s not write ourselves off before the seasons starts. We should be starting with a fresh slate, early season optimism and more importantly getting behind the team, who undoubtedly need our support.
That’s Chelsea’s pre season results last season.
Seems the spuds have their own differences of opinion too:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14434318
Wow if I was depressed enough I then read the above.
Here’s the facts or what we can assume to be facts.
If we dont qualify for the Champions league next year the club loses money. If the club loses money silent Stan loses money.
Now this man has a proven successful record in all of his business ventures (that I’m aware of) so it will be interesting to see at what point he’ll step in as I don’t think he bought The Arsenal just to lose money.
Stan. Get your cheque book out and have a spend up. I can’t handle another frustrating season of nice but no cigar. It’s really starting to get my goat
Were fucked….. Errrrrrrrrrm….. Yeah!!! Where fucked…. Fuck me I’m actually lost for words….. When I’m watching the Arsenal lately I end up laughing hysterically at the screen with mad twitch I’m my eye…. like I’m that Chief Inspector Dreyfus from the Pink Panther….. Here I go again…. Herherherherher!!! (I’m watching the highlights of the second half)….. Ha! Wenger please buy some decent players I don’t fancy ending up in a padded cell by the end of next season….. Ha!
Wow, you would think this comment section is filled with a bunch of six year olds, man, just grow up and grow a pair while you´re at it and stop shrieking like little girls….ffs
I have already got that groundhog day sinking feeling. I dont want to have it, and if we had signed any decent players (Gervinho apart) and addressed any of the glaring problems that remain from last season i wouldnt feel this way.
Wegner is obstinate and stubborn, is he also willfully blind OR can he genuinely not see the problems with the squad. If the latter is the case it is time for him to bow out.
I sincerely hope that he gets his finger out, and that we dont have another season of frustration and misery. It makes it even worse when I think back to the invincible’s era and the true ‘quality’ and strengh we had then.
Jokes aside, I’m seriously worried. We should have signed several players this window, whilst getting shot of almunia/bendtner/squilaci/chamakh/eboue