So Marc Pelosi, a seventeen-year-old rising star of American soccer, may be be headed to Liverpool to develop his skills in the Reds’ youth program. He has made an interesting comment: “I have been told the current Barcelona coach said that if you don’t go to Barcelona, the second best place to develop is at Liverpool. It’s a great, top notch organization.” (Pep Guardiola has indeed been reported as having said that, but I can’t track the quote to a reliable source. It would be surprising, though, if Guardiola didn’t have nice things to say about Liverpool’s youth program, since it’s run by people with Barça pedigrees, José Segura and Rodolfo Borrell.)
Not an especially important item in itself, but indicative of what most Premier League fans will have noticed, a steady rise in the buzz surrounding Liverpool since the ownership and managerial changes of last season. It’s really remarkable how quickly the Reds have pulled out of a dramatic tailspin and converted it to a steep reputational ascent—especially when you consider that they only finished sixth last season.
And it’s equally remarkable how Arsenal has made the opposite move: half the team, it seems, wants out, though they finished fourth in the Premiership and were in contention for league and various cup honors until fairly late in the season. Arsenal’s last few seasons have of course been disappointing and hardware-less, and they are still a young team, but a certain mood seems now to have settled, fixedly, on the players, their fans, and team management alike: a mood of hopelessness. I wonder whether a top-four team in the Premier League has ever been so universally seen as a sinking ship.
Why has this happened? For one thing, the “we’re still young” explanation, even if valid, has been trotted out too many times. But more important, I think, were the strange events of the month of February: the casual relinquishing of a four-goal lead against Newcastle on the 5th, followed by the admirably tough-minded come-from-behind defeat of Barcelona in a Champions League match at the Emirates on the 20th, followed by the brain-cramped last-minute loss to Birmingham City in the Carling Cup final on the 27th. The wild mood swings of that three-week period seem to have left the team shell-shocked, and the rest of the year was terrible: one win in all competitions for each of the next three months.
The result is that while the Arsenal brass have made some half-hearted noises about keeping Fabregas and Nasri, they’ve also talked about signing Stewart Downing as a possible replacement for Nasri. Stewart Downing? This is the height of Arsenal’s ambitions? Nobody seems to care too much about the loss of Clichy or the likely loss of Almunia and Bendtner, but shouldn’t a club of Arsenal’s stature be able to hold on to the likes of Nasri, and be in contention for many other top-level signings?
Maybe they will be. But even among the most devoted Gunners a lassitude seems to have set in, an air of being resigned to a period of decline, while hopes are skyrocketing at Anfield. If you look at the rosters of the two clubs and at their recent performance, there shouldn’t be such a gap in expectation and mood—but there is, and this kind of momentum is not easily arrested. A great deal could change in the next few months (first in team rosters, then in performance) but at the moment it is just hard to imagine that in the next Premier League season Arsenal could finish ahead of Liverpool. And for the longer term, one wonders whether Arsenal will be able to keep its reputation where young players can come to blossom. The inertia of reputation is a strange and powerful thing.
Read More: Arsenal, Liverpool, Youth
by Alan Jacobs · July 11, 2011
Maybe young players will come to Arsenal to blossom, but leave to win trophies?
Alan: I think your argument here rests on a couple of presuppositions that may not be true. One is that there is a mood of hopelessness around Arsenal; I might dispute that. I don’t think most supporters actually feel this way, and the loud few talking on twitter or wherever and clamoring for new signings are the vocal minority.
The other, smaller piece, is using Stewart Downing as evidence. There has, in fact, been no bid for him, nor will there be if the £20m price is true. The papers like to throw names around like so many darts, but this is not evidence for Arsenal’s ambition, only evidence of the papers’ ambition (to sell more papers).
I do not disagree that Arsenal have disappointed over the past three years, but they have come close on many occasions. I wouldn’t say Stewart Downing rumors are leading supporters to despair. If anything, it’s coming so close for many years only to fall at the final hurdles.
Alan: As Liverpool are allegedly the front-runners to secure the signature of Stewart Downing, one of your assertion here must be wrong? Either LFC are indeed on the way back to the summit of English football, or they are bidding for an over-rated English winger, whom Arsenal would do well to avoid?
Is it already that time of year again for the false hopes of Liverpool fans? http://i.imgur.com/ZDPNp.jpg
Seriously though, this seems like what Liverpool do every season, apart from 2008-09. A slow start that puts them out of the title race early on, followed by a late surge to get back into the European places. This leads into a summer of unbridled optimism that they can finally overtake United, Chelsea, and Arsenal–yet they almost always repeat the same cycle.
There may be slightly more hope this year that the new ownership will provide them with what they need, as well as the presence of Dalglish. But it’s been quite a while since he’s been involved in a title race, and he was playing with house money for much of last season. Whether they can keep up that pace for an entire league campaign is yet to be seen.
@Mark Bishop I don’t think so, actually. That’s the weirdness of reputation. I can only speak for myself, but if Liverpool were to sign Downing today, I would think, “interesting…they probably know what they’re doing.” If Arsenal did the same thing, I’d think, “freefall.” Partly that’s because SD seems like an obviously better fit for Liverpool’s (evolving) style of play than Arsenal’s more or less settled one, but it’s also a question of trajectories and impressions of the moment.
If Man Utd signed Messi tomorrow, you’d think they were the biggest club in the world. If Blackburn signed him, you’d think Messi had lost his mind.
I don’t think ‘hopelessness’ is the correct term.
‘Frustration’ is probably a bit more apt, especially after the last two months of last season. And a lot of fans, myself included, are using the silly season to vent.
Arsene tends to forget that the glue on his very best teams came from the transfer market. But a full season from Vermaelen, Gervinho’s arrival, and Mata or Cahill or Parker or Hazard or Rodallega or whomever else Arsene might actually sign will make us feel a little better.
Plus, Bendtner’s leaving. That’s an automatic silver lining right there.
I have a question, though, for the Run of Play:
As an Arsenal fan, is it OK for me to start hating Barcelona?
After the last two Champions Leagues (and Barca’s comments after the last game this season),
and Henry,
and Hleb (whom they didn’t really need, but signed just ’cause they could),
and the embarrassingly public Fabregas courtship (complete with Barca players mewling over what an injustice is it that Cesc is being forced, FORCED to play at Arsenal and honor his contract),
I’m starting to feel a little more than resentment.
It feels like blasphemy, I know–
since Barca is All That Is Good And Right About Football–
but being a fan is often an irrational act.
@Brian Phillips If I read that Messi signed for Blackburn, my first thought would be that I had lost my mind.
@stowe touche
“…but at the moment it is just hard to imagine that in the next Premier League season Arsenal could finish ahead of Liverpool”
Really? I know that Arsenal’s late season collapse was pretty bad but this is stretching a media narrative to breaking point. Not least because much of LFC’s end season optimism has been tempered by some deeply unimpressive signings. Say what you like about Arsenal but they are being linked with Eden and Mata, not the likes of Henderson and Adam
Now I’m a great believer in the power of the narrative in sports but sometimes you just have to stand back and take stock. Most obviously, Arsenal have been here before, player exodus and all, yet have always been there or thereabouts in the end season
Great article. As an LFC fan who doesn’t want to get carried away–I’m hoping for a top 4 finish and a decent cup run–I think the main differences in Arsenal and Liverpool lie not only in their present, but in their past. Liverpool, over the last couple of seasons, have gone through an amount of drama that wouldn’t be out of place in a soap opera–court cases, the threat of administration/relegation, new owners coming in at the last minute to save the club, a club legend coming in to manage the club and bring in some much-needed stability and pride. You really honestly couldn’t script it any better.
Arsenal, on the other hand–for all their talent, seem to be inert. No trophies for six years, and that’s a track record that yes, Liverpool share as well, but while Liverpool have been grand and melodramatic and *insane*, Arsenal have been–well, they’ve been the same, throughout. Youth, talent, a philosophy in attacking football, but with no silverware to show for it, and a disturbing propensity to collapse when the results matter the most. It’s the same story, every year, and that’s probably the reason for the general malaise from Arsenal fans and neutrals alike, because everybody knows how the story goes, with Arsenal. (Liverpool are a lot of things, but predictable really isn’t one of them, at least not this season.)
Also, I think, the responses from the players tell a lot. Most people have forgotten this, but before Dalglish’s return, Liverpool were in serious danger of losing Pepe Reina, who’s not just brilliant in goal, but the natural successor to Carragher and Gerrard as Liverpool’s captain. But, thanks to Dalglish (and the new owners) Reina agreed to stay, even with no European football next season. It was a huge show of faith in the club and its prospects, and was warmly welcomed by the supporters as a signal that they weren’t wrong to hope for better things. At Arsenal–well, does anybody really think Gael Clichy’s going to be the only big departure this summer? At this point, does anybody think that Samir Nasri doesn’t want to leave Arsenal, or that Cesc Fabregas wouldn’t welcome a switch to Barcelona–if Barcelona would actually pony up the cash instead of talking constantly in the media? They might not leave, I’ll grant you that. But their perceived lack of faith in the club and in Wenger’s philosophy is hardly encouraging.
I like Arsenal–well, as much as I can like any rivals in the EPL. But if Liverpool are going to break back into the top 4 next season, I can see that happening at Arsenal’s expense a lot more easily than I can see it at the expense of, say, Man City.
Alan Jacobs:
You have compared teams that have to meet different level of expectations next season. It is easier to feel optimistic about Liverpool because all they have to do next season is scrap the fourth spot and their fans would be impressed; while Arsenal have to win a major trophy. For a team that suffered mid-table mediocrity for almost all of last season, even signings like Henderson and Adams can be reassuring. Moreover, as we have come to know Liverpool’s stratosphere bound hopes mean little when it comes achieving anything significant.
Also for large sections in the article, you have tried to strengthen your reasoning by claiming to speak for the entire football community, especially the Arsenal fans. When you use words like hopelessness and metaphors like sinking ship, it is based on your perception of the dubious media buzz, and yours alone. Anyway you have chosen to ignore the media buzz that would go against your case; because, “the height of Arsenal’s ambition” is not Downing, but Mata, Hazard and Benzema.
I’m an Arsenal fan of relatively recent vintage, so the disappointments of March through May 2011 aren’t compounded by several years of frustration at the lack of trophies. At the end of the season I was not despondent, and even after watching the two-plus-hour season recap I still harbor hope for next year. But reading what Ted Harwood calls the “loud few talking on twitter or wherever” makes me think that our team’s bloggers and twitters, ostensibly among its biggest fans, are as much a part of the narrative Alan Jacobs outlines as are journalists writing for newspapers and other professional outlets. The frustration I feel is less in the team’s performance–we did, after all, place in the top four for the umpteenth consecutive season–than in the acidic, irony-laced commentary on the management philosophy that has brought it this longstanding success. I guess that’s why they call it “silly season.” (Can I just blame Nick Hornby?) I can’t wait for actual preseason soccer, so we can go back to match analysis (and the particular, less nauseating carping that comes with player ratings and MOTM decisions).
I’ve just read an advance copy of a book already out in the UK, Simon Kuper’s “Soccer Men,” which includes a profile of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane that highlights his relationship with Damian Comolli and explains the “Moneyball” revolution occurring under John W. Henry at Liverpool. I’m excited to see how this plays out, especially as the team seems now ready to compete with the two clubs, Chelsea and Manchester City, whose fiscal policies are diametrically opposed to it. I think the Torres for Suarez and Carroll deal was brilliant. I don’t yet have opinions about the summer signings, but one thing that puzzles me is the club’s seeming decision to let Raul Meireles go. Though he only ended up with five goals last year, it seemed like he was blossoming under Dalglish, and those goals seemed to come at key moments. Can any Anfield faithful–or people with greater EPL-watching experience–explain that one to me?
This really should’ve been a tweet.
@Fast Eddie Completely agreed, but I think the power of the narrative is more pronounced because there’s a slippery slope when it comes to media-player interaction. Although the majority AFC supporters don’t engender the view that Arsenal are about to lose their cachet, the majority of the media do, which, in turn, negatively impacts the image of the club in the eyes of potential signings (and the cycle builds upon itself). Thus, Arsene will naturally have problems bringing in signings to improve the squad this summer, versus, say, the summer after 2006 (post CL final, while Henry was still considered one of the best players in the world). It would be interesting, then, to see where Mata ends up, given that he is (reportedly) wanted by Liverpool as well as Arsenal — this would evidence the influence of the narrative one way or another.
Resigned to a period of decline? Bitch please. Im resigned to the fact that everyone would love to see Arsenal decline because we are different from the lot.
@Brian in Sunset Park Meireles isn’t gone yet (and, for what it’s worth, is currently on LFC’s summer tour in Asia). But the rumblings have made many LFC fans nervous, and for good reason, as Meireles, and the Lucas-Meireles partnership in midfield, were by far the best things to come out of the dark days of Hodgson’s reign. He was our best player for a good part of the season (though ultimately that honor has to go to Lucas), and clearly is a player with the quality to compete in the EPL. I think the general consensus among LFC fans who were not in favor of the decision to sign Charlie Adam, or at least not wildly enthusiastic about it, was that a Meireles-for-Adam deal was just plain stupid. There’s been talk about him not being able to get a game in central midfield, or not scoring enough, or being too old for the club, etc., etc. And generally, the people saying these things fail to realize that for much of the season, Meireles was quietly turning in quality minutes that we desperately needed while Gerrard was out or off-form and Torres was being Torres. With KD’s arrival, Meireles was asked to play out of position–as in, not in central midfield, which would explain his “inability” to get a game there–and did so willingly and capably. He works hard, links up well with other midfielders, and made an invaluable contribution to the club this season. With plenty of deadwood (Cole, Poulsen, Jovanovic) in midfield, I think Dalglish/FSG are smart enough to realize that Meireles is not the player to sell. Hopefully the fans calling for him to go will come to understand this as well.
So if Stewart Downing signs for Liverpool instead of Arsenal, would that disprove your whole thesis?
There may be some misunderstanding of what I am doing in this post. I’m trying to identify and make sense of the prevailing mood surrounding these teams, as I read about them in various periodicals and blogs. I don’t want Liverpool to overtake Arsenal, and I wouldn’t be altogether surprised if in the end Arsenal got their act together. But as I say in the last sentence, there’s an “inertia of reputation” at work here that has all the buzz with one team; and as my first paragraph indicates, players pay attention to this kind of thing too.
@Arvind: I think you credit the media narratives with too much. Now it may be that potential transfers are put off by the seemingly poisonous Arsenal dressing room, but I suspect that far greater factors are money, prestige and fortunes on the field. Of course LFC, with its apparent mission to shower riches on every young mediocre British player, can match the former but it is still to prove that it can return to the top four. To be blunt, Arsenal can still put out a better team. Henderson is unlikely to change this
Again, not to say that Arsenal are not unaffected by “inertia”, and their habit for late season collapses must be of serious concern to any of the Wenger faithful, but ultimately I don’t see it having much of an effect on the mechanics of the game. Arsenal’s woeful end to the season was due to internal cracks, not newspaper headlines
@Alan Jacobs: I suppose that my real problem is the last paragraph and the conflation of ‘mood’ with ‘form’. If you’d written this article last Christmas then you’d be hailing Arsenal’s imminent quadruple and Liverpool’s relegation. What the fans think and the blogs say is one thing, what actually happens on the pitch is another
And the Stewart Downing reference is quite jarring
What the fans think and the blogs say is one thing, what actually happens on the pitch is another
Exactly. A point I make above. But see, this particular post was about “what the fans think and the blogs say.”
@Fast Eddie But that actually highlights the difference between reputation and media narrative, because while there were a lot of columns around Christmas “hailing Arsenal’s imminent quadruple,” do you know any actual person who really believed they’d win anything? Maybe I’m around a lot of cynics, but I thought most of the world was expecting a collapse, even Arsenal fans who were willing it not to happen.
@Brian Phillips To be fair, Brian, I don’t remember anyone talking about it as imminent. Of course, I really only read the Guardian, this site, and Soccernet, so maybe I’m underinformed.
In fact, as soon as Arsene mentioned the possibility of “the quadruple”–just before the Carling Cup final–the season went straight to hell. That’ll teach him.
You can hope for progress, but not expect it.
Once they came from behind beat Barca in the first leg of the Champions League, I thought they might have a shot. I thought they’d finally grow up.
Of course, then they went out and lost to Stoke (or someone Stoke-ish) that weekend. Same old Arsenal.
@Mike Nichols I’m fairly certain that Wenger never actually said they had a chance at the quadruple and it is yet another media narrative created from a related quote. If I’m not mistaken the quote was a long the lines of being the only club in England at the time still competing in 4 competitions and that they had a shot at winning any of them(not all of them). This of course was printed the next day as, “Wenger Confident of Quadruple”.
I will also say that despite the hype that is resulting from their late season surge, has Liverpool really done enough in the transfer market to drastically improve their finish? Realistically, their late season form is unsustainable over the course of an entire year and question is will they have the strength and depth to survive and grind out results when they aren’t coming as easily(Something the wildly over-priced Jordan Henderson and mediocre Charlie Adam will hope to aid in). That being said, Arsenal stands to be significantly weakened in this years transfer market and may very well struggle next season. However, even if Arsenal were to lose both Nasri and Cesc(an irrefutably disastrous sitauation) the squad might still be better than Liverpools’, perhaps with the exception being in goal. Ultimately I find it not hard at all to imagine Arsenal placing above Liverpool next season. Liverpool will probably move ahead of Spurs but the top 4 of Arsenal, City, Chelsea and United will remain the same.
Maybe I might be the only one who felt this was written in a hurry. Something is missing in this piece.. Is there??
Interesting that in this interview Wenger acknowledges a potential reputation-inertia problem: “The message that we give out is important. For example, you see about Fábregas leaving, Nasri leaving … if you give that message out, you cannot pretend you are a big club. Because a big club, first of all, holds on to its big players and gives a message out to all the other big clubs that they cannot come in and take away from you.”
The Gunners just signed Gervinho. So, if there is negativity within the squad, then it’s best those players be permitted to leave. Arsenal, however, long they’ve gone without a trophy are still attractive to International class players.
If the negativity resides only with fans and pundits, however, the issue for me becomes one of England’s continued rejection of attacking football.
First, let me add as an avowed Arsenal supporter I find there is a disproportionate amount of media driven discourse surrounding the club. When things are going well the hyperbole is staggering and when things take a turn for the worse the lack of perspective and drawing of knives is equally dramatic (the melodrama of my statements are intended to match much of the discussions of Arsenal).
There were a couple of mentions in the comments section of the Christmas media narrative “hailing Arsenal’s imminent quadruple,” yet that narrative was almost entirely a media creation. Wenger often talked about the importance of fighting on four fronts and so on and so forth but I don’t recall him actually saying that a trophy or trophies were imminent. The minute trophies weren’t forthcoming this narrative that the media propagated became another stick with which to beat the “beleaguered” manager and club.
Discussions of trophy-less seasons follow similar predictable and tiresome patterns, conveniently forgetting that Liverpool’s title drought is almost just as long; the notable difference being that Liverpool has not been as competitive throughout this period.
For me, this piece is just another in a long line of pieces that lacks suitable perspective (but whatever, I could be another blinkered Arsenal supporter). So, at least for me, it isn’t that Arsenal has become stale or predictable, it’s that the media discourse is predictably mischievous at best or predictably misleading and false at worse. Suggestions that Arsenal are trying to land Stewart Downing, another wholly media created narrative and a main thrust of this piece’s argument, sums it up for me.
Realistically I think Liverpool have to be looking to win the Premier League within two years. Dalglish has the respect of the board, fans and the players which is more than Rafa Benitez had despite his success in Europe.
The signings of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez were great buys and looked the part. The signing of Charlie Adam is a in essence a replacement for the cataclysmic void left by Xabi Alonso.
Perhaps the final piece in the jigsaw would be a player like Downing to feed the aerial and physical power of Carrol. Whether Downing is the right man i don’t know but Liverpool need width desperately. Providing they get that width, I think Liverpool will make the top 3 this season behind Chelsea and Man Utd.
As for Arsenal, I just dot get Wenger. Its almost like he has decided he is going to win sexy or not at all. He should know better. His previous championship wins with The Gunners were built on solid rock. The likes of Seaman, Adams, Winterburn, Dixon, Vieira, Petit, Campbell were all fighters and would run through a wall for the club.
Compare that to the powderpuff centre halfs (Vermaelen exempt) they have now in Squillachi and Koscielny. Similarly where is the steel in midfield? Nasri and Fabregas, technical superb going forward couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag and why oh why will Wenger not splash the cash and get a decent goalkeeper???
Every team that has won the EPL has done so with a hard centre in midfield and at centre back. Wenger needs to get the photo book out and have a look at his previous teams and hopefully remind himself he needs a bit of steel in his team
This article sure has raised the hackles, hey? And the comments have covered some ground too.
We’ve gone from possible media inertia effects through to methodology of big clubs to ‘what does Johnathan Greening signify?’ on to why Arsenal collapsed (again) and then back to ‘what effect does the media have on club activities?’
My two cents:
Arsenal don’t spend big to buy big players, they never have. Every Summer since the ‘beautiful era’ began under Wenger they are linked with big names, but nothing ever eventuates. Their wage structure is too tight and they never have the funds to rest away someone like a Trezeguet away from a Juventus (a past example of a rumour). They just signed Gervinho, a promising Ligue Un striker (13–18 goals a season, handy not electric), not top tier but with the raw abilities to develop further under Wenger’s gaze. He’s the prototype Arsenal player; athletic, good touch, francophone, relatively cheap, a pocket of potential. THAT’s the tier of player that a club like Arsenal can obtain, those looking to make the next step but who don’t demand great wages.
Anelka, Vieira, Henry, Wiltord, Pires. None of these were big players, they BECAME big players.
The mistake that Arsenal made with Henry and Vieira was holding onto them a season too long, when their hearts had already moved on, and their price dropped. They should let Fabregas go, and use that new gap in the wage structure to retain Nasri and reward Wilshere, who should be the new captain. The transfer money can go toward a DM, CM, GK.
I think Arsenal will struggle to make top 4. ManC, ManU, Chelsea, Liverpool are strengthening, and have the resources that Arsenal can not match. It’s just fortunate for them that those upper-mid tier teams like Aston Villa and Tottenham, who looked like they were about to make the next step, are currently at sixes and sevens.
I had a point somewhere… perhaps this is it?
Arsenal (and by extension other clubs as well as their players) should be ambitious, but it needs to be tempered by financial realities, otherwise you become Leeds FC. (I think paying €20 million for Jordan Henderson shows an unsustainable level of ambition.)
PS. I agree with Fast Eddie, the Stewart Downing reference is jarring. Like overhearing the conductor hum R. Kelly’s ‘I believe I can fly’ during a concert interval.
@Benderinho – Agreed, this piece feels more like a Tweet. But maybe that’s because RoP somehow turns a blog format into something somehow grander, through more than the pretty pictures. So when what feels like a pretty mundane blog piece goes up (‘reputation is a strange thing’), it comes off as an anti-climax. Which means we’re back to the problem of expectations, doesn’t it.
Don’t mean to be all jaded. Probably just my anger at having just missed the Arsenal-Malaysia XI match. Or reading too much Freedom, too fast.
Also, Wilshere as captain? C’mon. I’m actually kind of into his comments at the press conference in Malaysia, man up and all that – not usually my style – but dude’s 19. RVP’s where it’s at.
Please, all youve done is played to the narrative being done by the media. Their job is to sell a story. What better story than Liverpool’s surging rise, back from the dead in a sense to challenge for the top 4. And even worse with Arsenal, where every hack with a pen can put their own stamp on the “great tragedy” at the Emirates. If you read the papers, you would think its been doom and gloom at the club for the past 5 or so years, nevermind they have moved into a new stadium while gauranteeing champions league football on a tight budget. Sure as a fan, it kills me that they weren’t able to win something in that time, especially this year. But every summer day the past two years its about which Barca player will stoop to new lows to talk about Cesc and now that Nasri is going to leave the club according to a report in a country he’s very familiar with… Italy??? Remember, this club beat Chelsea, United, City, and Barca this season. So while the end of the season was shocking, awful, and left me in a whole new low of football-related emotion i’d never experienced before, it’s absolutely silly to say that Arsenal will only go down from here. Isn’t that what people were saying about Liverpool a year ago?
On what captaincy awarding standard are some basing their belief that Wilshere should be captain? If Fabregas stays, he keeps it. If he doesnt, it goes to Van Persie. When he’s injured, it goes to Nasri!
Let’s step back a minute as well and focus on one of Arsenals major, but so- simple- people -turn- a -blind -eye- to- problem. Someone recommend a goalie to this team.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/934359/liverpool-agreed-fee-with-aston-villa-for-winger-stewart-downing?cc=3436
*Liverpool will finish 7th*
@Alireza Wojcech Sçzezsny is young but showed plenty to suggest he’s the man for the future. You could throw plenty of names in the pot but I think we stick with him. Fabianski isn’t a bad 2nd or 3rd choice. Almunia needs to be killed with fire. Bring in an old, proven head, like they did with Marty Poom a few seasons ago. Handy backup, lots of experience to impart.
The problem with young keepers is they rarely have the mentality and ability to marshal others, and that’s what the great keepers do. Schmeichel, Buffon, Cech, are constantly shouting at players to get them in position or alert them to trouble.
The issues with Arsenal’s defence seem to be communication, now I’d say that some of that comes down to personnel, but a lot comes down to training. And I’d query Arsenal’s defensive system (especially at deadballs), because it’s not an occasional problem, it’s been constant for seasons now. I wonder if they shouldn’t look at changing some of the training personnel.
@benderinho “I think Arsenal will struggle to make top 4. ManC, ManU, Chelsea, Liverpool are strengthening, and have the resources that Arsenal can not match.”
This sort of thing has been said (by press, other team’s fans etc) at the start of each of the last few seasons. Whether its supposed to have been villa, spurs, liverpool or whoever to knock Arsenal out of top 4, it hasn’t happened yet, why think it’s going to happen now?
And being able to compete with teams who have far more resources for strengthening is one of the things Wenger has done so well, its the reason the board are so happy to keep him, despite complaints about 6 years with no trophy.
@Benderinho your comments about the defence seem right, it can’t be as simple as ‘sign a big centre back’, they obviously need to do some serious work in training.
Wilshere as captain though? Too much, too young
@Dennis it’s not as simple as signing a center back, however it is a solution albeit short term, and it doesn’t damage. I was not satisfied with Koscielny, nor do I trust him.
Arsenal’s Pre Training Session(No Offense Meant)
Alright boys, that was pretty good pre-season. Let’s get ready for Liverpool. I really feel that this year could be our year. We can finally break our trophy drought.
Stop snickering, Cesc.
Because I’m telling you to.
I don’t care how funny it is, you’re making the boys lose belief in themselves.
Yes, as I was saying, this could be the year we win something.
Well yes Eboue, the Emirates Cup is a trophy too. But I was talking about more important trophies.
No, Vela. Not exactly the Carling Cup.
I know you won Danish Player of the Year, Nicklas. You message it to me every day. But I’m talking about the entire TEAM winning something.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t give a **** about the team.
Yes, your hair looks fantastic. Really slick. Could we get back to the point?
We can win trophies this season, but we have to change something in our play. Can someone tell me what?
No Andrey, not banning women drivers.
Not better synchronized dances either, Eboue.
Not by giving you a lifetime contract, Abou. I’ve told you already, that’s not happening.
That goes for you too, Denilson.
The answer is simple enough, boys. Letting in fewer goals and tightening our defence.
If it was so obvious Vermaelen, why didn’t you answer? Now will you people please stop interrupting me every time?
I-I didn’t mean to snap like that. It wasn’t directed at you personally, Vermaelen. Please put that knife away.
Will you STOP snickering, Cesc? You’ll make Rosicky laugh too. There, he’s pulled his hamstring. Happy?
OK Theo, a question for you. The full back is coming at you with the ball. What’ll you do?
Hmm well, running at him seems fair enough. Apply constant pressure, defend from the front. Good answer, Theo. Now, Nasri has the ball in the centre but you’re being tightly marked by the opposition full back. How will you shake him?
No, not by running at him, Theo. OK, leave it. What’s the one thing to remember when you’re guarding the post during a corner?
No Theo, the answer is NOT to run.
I understand that you like running. You have to control it sometimes.
No, I’m not being mean.
Please stop crying. You’ll set Jack off too.
No Eboue, he doesn’t need your dance to cheer up. Some chocolate milk will do.
OK, a question for you Nicklas. You have the ball at your feet, Robin is free but there’s only one defender between you and the goal. Will you pass the ball or look to beat your man?
How does it matter what boots the defender is wearing? Simply tell me whether you’ll pass or run at him?
Yes I know YOU will run at him, Theo. Fortunately this question’s for Nicklas.
No, Nicklas. I don’t think the defender will let you go past because you’re Danish Player of the Year.
Oh, will you shut the **** up, Cesc? I know he’s still better than Hleb, but could you please not make him laugh so much?
I will not call you Nicko no matter how cool it sounds, Nicklas.
OK, your turn Fabianski. You’ve just made a save. Will you punt the ball past the half line or pass it to a defender?
What do you mean; you have no idea what I’m talking about? A save, you’ve just made a save. Catching the ball in your hands, holding on to it. Ring any bells?
Never mind.
No you can’t kill him off, Vermaelen.
It doesn’t matter if he’s a ****.
Cesc, you heartless *******. Wipe that stupid grin off your face and call for some help,
We’ll continue the training session sometime later boys.
Yes Eboue, you can hug everyone if you must.
@Wrathzombie Excellent Post.Have you been spying on Wenger?
@Vir I wasn’t, some ManUtd fan forwarded an email taken from some popular blog. I also found a site created by a disgruntled Liverpool fan when Mr Torres moved to Chelsea, aptly titled http://hasfernandotorresscoredforchelsea.com/
@Mike Nichols … As an Arsenal fan I’m surprised you haven’t hated Barcelona for a few seasons already, I certainly have. For me it all started on a certain Parisian evening in 2006…
@Ted Harwood – thanks for stating this early enough that i didn’t have to read the whole run of comments. this site seems to have a bit of a habit of selective reporting designed to support whatever argument is being made. in this case a transfer rumor (the worst kind) and made it an example of an entire organization. downing (who is actually one of the better wide players in the league) was then snatched up by liverpool.
additionally, looking at current odds to win the epl (always a great indicator of public sentiment in the uk) arsenal are listed 4th at, just above liverpool. while liverpool is in a better position than last dec, compared to 1 year ago – i would think they are probably slightly lower.
The same thing is said again and again and again, season after season. Granted that Arsenal are faltering at the business end of the season for a few seasons now, but its Liverpool that has finished out of the top 4. The so called experts were of the opinion that with the emergence of the spurs and the mancitys and the villas of the world, it would be Arsenal that would vacate the seat in the “Big 4″. However football, just like life, has a weird way of doing things and Arsenal are still there in the top 4. The same experts complain that Arsenal lack the toughness to win the EPL; this when they were not even expecting Arsenal to be in the top 4. How opinions change over a season!!!
I really despise this article. Since when do we judge the rise and fall of a football club based solely upon gossip and transfer rumors? As I recall, Arsenal finished a bit higher on the table than Liverpool this last season. Also, if we’re judging their status based upon the team’s respective pre-season performances (which is idiotic) then Liverpool really don’t seem to be on the up-and-up. I would expect this type of article in the Sun, to be honest.
prescient — thesis borne out by Saturday’s match between Liverpool and Arsenal
Good prediction, fella.
Made a few typos though, you accidentally typed Arsenal instead of Liverpool and vice versa.