Thursday, December 4, 2008

Questions Remain About Arsenal

Morning all, or afternoon, depending where you are and when you read this. I really need to write more on here. I'm still trying to get the new site ready for it's debut and it's taking much longer than expected so I'm going to be sticking with this one for awhile.

So what has happened in the past week? Well, we played Chelsea last Sunday. It was one of the rare Sunday matches I got to see and I even got my girlfriend to watch it with me. And the match was stressful and fantastic all at once. Coming off defeats to Villa and Man City I'll admit I wasn't too optimistic going into the match and when Djourou was unlucky with the own goal I figured there wasn't much of a way back considering the opposition. I was wrong however and we got a gift to make it 1-1 on a goal where RvP was clearly offside but I haven't heard one Arsenal fan complain about it. Just a minute later we scored again and this time nobody could have any complaints about the referrees or anything else, it was just brilliant. RvP acted out of instinct I think and just sent it in the far corner and I got a rug burn from sliding on the carpet when it went in. We held on pretty easily after that and it was another great result which brought about yet more questions.

Why is it that we can lose 2-0 at home to Aston Villa and 3-0 away to Manchester City but win 2-1 against United and Chelsea? It's frustrating to no end and there isn't a clear answer in sight. Is it a lack of effort against the "smaller" teams or is it only being able to really get themselves up for a match against the top top clubs? When your losses on the season are mostly against teams from the bottom half of the table you really have to question a lot. It's wonderful beating all our big rivals but when you are losing to Stoke and Fulham it doesn't mean nearly as much.

We know that our squad isn't deep enough, certainly, but we've had lineups like the ones that beat Chelsea all season. It was lucky to have Sagna and Adebayor back for sure, but we should have a large enough squad to make up for their absences when they do get injured. January I think will probably see us buy a couple of players, although the victories against Chelsea and United I fear may lead Arsene Wenger to vindication for his experiment and say that no changes are needed. But two wins do not make a season. Sylvestre was a useless buy, and we still need another defender. I think if an offer comes in for Gallas, we should probably take it. Djourou should be starting every game for us now. We need a new midfielder or two as well. Song isn't good enough to play for Arsenal consistently and while I love Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, having a 16 year old on the bench isn't a good sign. I think with Eduardo coming back we will be set at striker, as Vela has shown his quality plus we have Ade and RvP. I think Bendtner is a terribly frustrating player who looks lazy every time he comes on the pitch, but he does have his moments. His pink boots though, are awful.


So to sum it up I suppose, is that the team needs to be able to get itself up for matches against the lower teams just like it has for the top 4 teams. Cesc is undefeated as captain and may his reign be long and prosperous. May the footballing Gods shine on Arsenal through this busy christmas season and January transfer window, and let's hope we keep playing like we did against Chelsea! Up the Gunners!

2 comments:

Andre said...

Bendtner looked good the other day, but i general, he's a lazy shit. I agree w/ everything you said, but I feel that maybe we need to wait a few weeeks before wee start calling for the buying. As things w/ Cesc settle in, maybe the form will pick up. The win at Chelsea will pick up their spirits. We'll see, but I'm feeling more optimistic now than I have since Eduardo got hurt.

JT said...

No wonder Bendtner wants to leave- he's not putting enough in, so Wenger will never choose him- don't complain about your selection, Bendtner. Some good wins against mid table clubs will put Arsenal back in it and stop the media go on about our 'bad year'.