We are not that bad
Posted on 27 April 2010 28 April 2010 by Tony Attwood
New limit on players next season: how it affects Arsenal
The Zen of Arsenal
Walter Broeckx
Yes the defeats against Wigan and ***** have hurt our feelings.
The reaction from some fans was to sell the whole squad and buy a whole new team. Certainly after those 10 minutes disaster those fans had nothing but bad words for the team. And yes the performance could be criticised and this was a major blow to our last title hopes and also for the way it happened.
But as it is not yet the transfer period the solution proposed by some fans (get rid of those ***** ) was not an option. Yeah we could have put a team on with some players on crutches like Cesc and Ramsey, fill them up with a centre back pairing on one leg. We could have risked Arshavin and made sure he wasn't going to play for us anymore this season.
We could have played our Carling cup team against City like we did in the Carling cup. But most of those players are out on loan for the moment, so again not an option. We could have played our youth team which is a very young side but could you imagine those angry fans seeing such a team out against the likes of Vieira, Tevez, Kompany and Touré?
So Wenger did what any normal person does when he faces a crisis with his players. He goes back to the training ground, talks with them, points out what went wrong, who did or didn't do what he was supposed to do. And he tells his players to learn from their mistakes and to make up for them.
Moral maybe low after 2 defeats and with the coming of Manchester City many fans even started to fear for us finishing 4th. Yes and the coming of Manchester City was not the easiest job to be done this weekend. City who has spend millions if not billions on players in the past season and the seasons before. So we had to face a team that in transfer money paid more for one player than we did for almost our whole team.
It would be interesting if someone has the exact transfer sums of the team that was out for us on Saturday and compare that with the City team on the field. I think their transfer sums in total would be some 7 to 8 times higher than ours.
But was City worth that money? Were they 7 to 8 times better than our "useless bunch of no goods"? Well that so expensive team managed to have 1 (one) shot on target in 90 minutes, 1 (one) shot off target in 90 minutes and 1 (one) shot blocked in 90 minutes.
And don't forget according to some of our own fans City played against a useless team. So is our team, that lost to Wigan, that bad?
No, they are not. They were just a group of players who knew they had screwed up big in the last game and one thing was sure and on their minds: this will not happen again. And yes we didn't play our best football, but don't forget we played against a team that could have been ours if our manager would have been willing to risk the future of The Arsenal for ever. Didn't some of you said we should have bought all those players ourselves because "We are The Arsenal and we must buy them whatever the cost may be"?
I have said it many times before, a team that can learn from their mistakes, a team that is willing to work harder after a defeat is a team that has a future. We did all this on Saturday and if there was one team that should have won the game it should have been us.
So our useless, crap and cheap team not only held the Moneychester City team to a draw, no we also didn't give them any chances even to threaten our goalkeeper. They even outfought our former captain in this game. I think both Diaby and Song showed they can win physical battles against one of the most physical players in the EPL over the last 10 years.
So do we sell those players and tell them they are useless? No, I will tell them to keep hard working and with the hard work will come the reward.
When the season is over and all the players will look back at this season they will realise more how close they have been and they will also realise what went wrong in some games. And because they are young, they will have the chance to put things right in the next seasons.
The fact we are young is our biggest advantage we have and if the football gods would spare us a bit more from injuries then we will be unstoppable in the very near future.
And if I may add: if the football gods would have spared us from injuries like Van Persie, Cesc, Denilson, Song, Vermaelen and Gallas in those crucial games in the last weeks we would have been right there with the other 2 teams that will decide the title race. About that I have no doubt in my mind.
Back to the past
Historical Fiction on Acid
Posted in Arsenal stories, Football & club strategies, Players
24 Replies to "We are not that bad"
brigi says:
I again reiterate that your blog is now one of the very few I read, as although I am disappointed, to have the amount of injuries to crucial people as we did,and to be competing as we did, playing the game the way it was meant to be played.. Well , lets put it this way, Arsenal is thew only team for me, and I will be here cheering irregardless of where on the table we are, because we run the club right, we play the game right, and we are the team that I love to watch, win,lose or draw..
Vive La Arsenal..Joga Bonita..
PS.. I want them to keep Eduardo, as i see alot of people want to sell him, but he is a dangerous player, and next year will be his year with Chamakh, Bendtner and Van Persie, his movement and positioning is incredible, and he will be ahandful..Mark my words..
Paul C. says:
Brigi – regarding Eduardo, I think I speak for most Arsenal fans when I say that I really hope that you are right.
But for many of us, there are 2 Eduardo's:
Pre-injury Eduardo – sharp, incisive and energetic. The more he played the better he looked.
Post-injury Eduardo – none of the above.
The further away from the injury you get, the harder it is to remember what the pre-injury Eduardo was like. Let's face it, if we were judging him on his play this season he wouldnt be around next year.
I think he'll be stay. I think it more likely that Vela will be gone. With Eduardo at least you can tell he is desperately trying to find what he had. Vela appears to beleive it is just going to happen for him regardless of effort. I dont get the feeling his game or physique has improved.
critic says:
arshavin is such a big mouth..such a LOUD MOUTH….he is an idiot and nothing but idiot, he doesn't play well and says we need more players…..
tell u what Mr. arshavin u r not good enough to be an arsenal legend and never will be because u speak as if ur already legend….
Sorry guys, i wanted to express my feelings….
RedGun says:
I cant believe anyone is using the ManCity game as sign of how good we are or to voice an opinion that we are not that bad.
Before I go any further yes I believe in Wenger and yes I believe in Arsenal.
Firstly Man City came to the emirates and played in a defence manner they set up to hit on the counter attack with near enough everyone behind the ball a point gained of us and beat spurs is what they were looking for mission achieved.So to draw with a team who didnt exactly commit much to winning rather than picking up a point doesnt say a lot.
The issues Arsenal have remain the same they are small and easily fixable for next season but using this game or that example is something I cant agree entirely with.
Secondly and I will quote you on this.
"They even outfought our former captain in this game. I think both Diaby and Song showed they can win physical battles against one of the most physical players in the EPL over the last 10 years"
Good god all joking aside if you cant marshall Viera at this stage of his career I give up Cesc was doing it at 17 these 2 players you mentioned years later when Viera is even more of a shadow of the player he used to be wont wash with anyone.
econdly
Good to be a GOONAH!! says:
The media absolutely LOVE misquoting Arshavin.
HERE is where they are getting these 'quotes' http://www.sport-express.co.uk/summary/1_5071/
Note the 'Tottenham striker' introduction. Also, this is a rough english translation.
Paul Bessitche says:
Guys let be honest to each other, Arshavin has a big mouth and he is getting on my nerves. The gaffer Arsene Wenger, should speak to Arshavin and ask him where he stands by his comment. He should make his position conspicuous whether, he wants to stay or not? Should he asserts that, he wants to go, the gaffer should let him go. Reason being, HE HAS A BIG MOUTH. WE DO NOT WANT PEOPLE LIKE HIM AMONG US.
sorry… I dont agree.
The question posed to Arshavin was relating to how good Barce are at the moment. There is no footballer in the world who would not want to play in the Barce side that came to the Emirates if they are honest.
I simply dont see the big controversy. This is NOT at all like Adebayor shooting off his mouth about how much AC Milan and Barce want to sign him.
Arshavin is answering how Ronaldo might answer if he was asked the same question. Or Drogba. or Rooney.
Dec says:
Truth be told we're not bad at all(not even a little bit). It's time some of our legion had a reality check (or asked a grownup about supporting Arsenal through the 70's and 80's). The odd cup run or a mid table finish was standard fare, and we didn't exactly create art. Nowadays we continually compete at the top end of the hardest league in the world, give as good as we get and better than most in the Champions league and do it all playing the beautiful game as it was supposed to be played. And we're financially viable to boot.
If injuries or fate conspire to undo us in some form or another so what? You can't legislate for bad luck, you just get on with it and keep on doing the right things.
I for one enjoyed this season thoroughly, from the 6-2 start even to the drab 0-0 last weekend. The frustrating bits are just that, fristrating, not disasters. Take the blow like a man and get up again for next time. What an exciting Summer lies ahead, with all sorts of possibilities for new players. Then August with the chance to do it all over again, this time hopefully without the injuries. Looking forward to it already!
Rhys Jaggar says:
The frustration comes down to the price of tickets. It's the highest in the land and you pay Roller Prices for a Roller, not a BMW.
That's the gripe mate……
Lanre says:
I am wit Dec on this one. I also enjoyed the season. The ups n downs, roughs n turns too. Personally i wouldnt have liked it if we won all the games of the season. I would have been bored. I enjoyed the dramas, from the 6-2 to Eduardo's dive to TH14's handball, the visit to Old Thifoid, and so on. Maybe Walter can do a piece on the Arsenal Drama 09/10
Thanks a bunch Lanre, you had to go and spoil it….took me months to get over TH14 cheating us (Yes I'm Irish) out of a chance to bring the World cup home to Dublin. If he wasn't an Arsenal legend he'd still be off my Christmas card list. Now I just have to spend the Summer on the sidelines hoping against hope that France get what they deserve and are on the first plane home, if they were to meet Fabio's boys at the airport heading home too, that would be fun (sorry, auld enemy and all that). Roll on August!!! 🙂
Davi says:
@ Paul C
You are too harsh on vela. He has had to adapt to new positions over and over this year, but has hardly had any time on the pitch to do so.
There is no doubt in my mind that if he'd had a few games playing off a CF like bendtner or van persie, the general opinion of him among arsenal fans would be VERY different.
Remember as well, walcott has been given every opportunity but in truth has progressed very, very slowly. At least allow vela a similar number of opportunities before dressing him down like that.
I agree eduardo should stay. I think he will improve next year. His general play has been very good on most occasions imo, he still plays incisive passes and his movement can make things happen. He also seems to get into a position to score at least once each time he starts, but the only really alarming thing to me is that he has fluffed all the chances he used to score for fun except that one brilliant header. I dont think its unrealistic to believe he could get that finishing back to his game, and then i think we'll see something resembling the "pre-injury" edu.
Better tie his passport around his neck if he's staying. Maybe Pat Rice could undertake to check that Carlos has all his kit on the right side out before each match?
He's got a long way to go to be worthy of the shirt.
Pete The First says:
I hear that young Carlos is prone to a party of an evening in the smoke. His friends seem to remember their passports when they fly in from Mexico for the cactus juice.
Da da da da da da da da Tequila.
Maybe all of the team were out with him in advance of the Man City game? Would explain the lethargy.
Arsesession says:
Walter,
Good observations. This season had so much more to offer than last. Our younger players like, Diaby, Song, Nasri, and Ramsey exhibited a new level of consistent play. Vermaelen was an outstanding signing. Clichy is regaining his dominating form. Rosicky looks to have overcome his injury (knock on wood).
With a healthy list of players we can compete with anyone. But the reality is there will be injuries every week.
How will Arsene address CB depth, GK, and a strong back up for Song? We don't have to buy superstars, but we need some depth with experience at these specific positions.
Well I heard it was the club that lost his passport, not vela. Its all speculation in any case.
"a long way to go to be worthy of the shirt". Please, as if you (or I) really know enough to make that judgment at this point.
Dec, sorry if i touched something. I was just trying to express my mind on this season. Just like you. To all Irish fans in the house, i'm sorry. No apologies to fans of Celtic though
Still King Kolo says:
I agree Walter we are not that bad. To put it one way where do we sit in European football…sides definitely better than us number about 4 or 5… Barca, Inter, Man U, Chelsea, that's it, yes Bayern, Fiorentina, Man Citeh, Real can stake a claim but we would be gutted to lose to these teams. Inter are only better because of Jose, take him out, different team. What on earth is everyone complaining about…over the course of the season we have proved we are good. If we had Man U's euro draw we would be in the final now. No question…Bayern and then Lyon, hmmm. thats my tuppence.
I am not angry with the lack of quality in our squad. I accept we don't have a sugar daddy to pay for all the toys we want to get and I am a strong believer of Wenger's youth policy. But conceding like us in the last 10 minutes against Wigan is embarassing. We could be back in the title contention but we threw away our chance cheaply. Players did not try hard enough.
In the Man City game, we didn't try hard to win the game. We all know there is nothing much left to play for but the players need to be professional. They should realize fans are still watching and should at least put up a fight, if not a performance.
Hopefully, Wenger will strengthen the squad over the transfer period. It is good to know Wenger will try to bring in some experienced veterans like Sol. I feel this is the sort of person we need. With abit of luck with injuries, we should start winning something next season.
Abhishek Kumar says:
Hey I have an outrageous thinking. I really think that Bendtner might be the one who is going. He is back to number 2 this season after Van Persie. Now that when even people like Merida, Fabianski have started getting chances, he could have asked Eduardo to show his skills too. And looking at his height and physicality I really think that Bendtner might be replaced. I think Eduardo will be given one more season before its decided.
Also remember while Vela and Bendtner go to the world cup, this guy will get a chance to work the whole pre season to improve. I think it will be like last year where Toure was replaced by Vermaeleen.
If I go wrong, I would not be surprised, but IFFFFF I get it right, I will brand myself as genius.
wen_detta says:
bendtner going out? hmm kumar..are you even play football? bendtner will be a super-sub next season..mark my word!
Wen_detta
I am not very sure that you read my whole post. I started saying that its outrageous. But you could have reasoned me out. The reasons I had was
1) Chamak and Bendtner have pretty similar physique and might have pretty similar roles. Why have two people who are so similar
2) Bendtner will play in world cup which might increase his injury chances. Eduardo will have a whole season of pre training like Diaby which might make him fit.
3) Eduardo not getting a chance to play (like Merida or fabianski) despite the matches having no importance indicates that either his fate is decided or he does not need to prove it this season.
4) Eduardo is more effective alongside a big guy so he might be played alongwith Persie or Chamak.
But its Wenger, who can prove all of us wrong, so who knows all of us are proved wrong. Its just that Chamak's arrival is so sure that I had a thought about all the forwards. And I have never ever questioned anyone's potential. Its just that I analysed the situation and came to this place.
Just read in the papers in Belgium that Shaun Wright Philips, Wayne Bridge and…. LOL …. Adebayor will be sold this summer by the Arabs. LOL.