proudly9ja:

Il be honest with myself, the team isn't looking good at all. If we need to beg, I think we must do anything to keep Cesc here next season. When we have to rely on Rosicky for any sort of creativity in the team (I must confess he's performed well so far), shows how low we've sunk.

I also hope Bendtner stays

panic buttons already?
if i were you, i wouldn't pay much attention to the pre-season games. it means shyt. . . . .just there to prepare the players for the big battle.
the season kicks off next week. . . . .you will see a different arsenal winning games on a canter until the evil november cometh.

coogar:

panic buttons already?
if i were you, i wouldn't pay much attention to the pre-season games. it means shyt. . . . .just there to prepare the players for the big battle.
the season kicks off next week. . . . .you will see a different arsenal winning games on a canter until the evil november cometh.

Not really panic buttons. Ive said it before, my expectations for the coming season ain't that high. Only praying for a top four finish.

My posts are not based on preseason games. Not at all. Cesc and RVP's contributions to our team cannot be overemphasised. If Cesc leaves, we have to hope AW's thought on who a capable replacement is matches ours (the fans).
For Bendtner, honestly, the more I watch Chamakh, the more Im certain that he actually thinks he's a midfielder. Who makes more sideways passes in the team? (bar Denilson ofcourse )

proudly9ja:

We've been like this for about 4 seasons now tbh - good first team but no proper backups. That's why when injuries set in, we find it hard to cope.

As for Nasri and Fab, even if we adequately replace them, who says the replacement will fit into the EPL/our style of play immediately? That's why I said earlier that if we have to beg, we should beg Cesc to stay. The way Nasri has played in preseason, he doesn't seem to be like he's going to put in his best if we force him to stay so Ive given up on him.

Wenger should have finished his transfer business (buying and selling) earlier for new players to start adapting and blending with the team.

Ive given up on both Fab and Nasri and I will be happy to see their backs.

Begging Fab to stay will only be detrimental to the whole team as his "heart & soul" is already in Barca. (Person wey dey contribute personal money to finance im own transfer).

proudly9ja:

Not really panic buttons. Ive said it before, my expectations for the coming season ain't that high. Only praying for a top four finish.

the title race this time will be very fierce - city are not taking it easy.
liverpool will improve and tottenham will make some noise. nothing is certain.

My posts are not based on preseason games. Not at all. Cesc and RVP's contributions to our team cannot be overemphasised. If Cesc leaves, we have to hope AW's thought on who a capable replacement is matches ours (the fans).
For Bendtner, honestly, the more I watch Chamakh, the more Im certain that he actually thinks he's a midfielder. Who makes more sideways passes in the team? (bar Denilson ofcourse )

arsenal won't miss cesc.
nasri can do cesc's job.

--------van persie--------

arshavin--nasri--gervinho----

-----song-----wilshere--------

-------back five-----------

i expect this team to beat 65% of the clubs in the league.
van persie's fitness is the key for arsenal. if he stays fit, arsenal will go far.

Kay-Dee:

Wenger should have finished his transfer business (buying and selling) earlier for new players to start adapting and blending with the team.

Ive given up on both Fab and Nasri and I will be happy to see their backs.

Begging Fab to stay will only be detrimental to the whole team as his "heart & soul" is already in Barca. (Person wey dey contribute personal money to finance im own transfer).

AW said he's trying hard to get in players. We have no choice but to wait.
I agree he should have brought in players earlier. Left to me, we should have brought in a player last season when it seemed obvious that Cesc wanted to leave. But ofcourse, the story is we don't have as much money to throw around.
We are prolly waiting for last minute buys, maybe transfer day deadline. Only thing is we would have played 3 big games before then

coogar:

the title race this time will be very fierce - city are not taking it easy.
liverpool will improve and tottenham will make some noise. nothing is certain.

arsenal won't miss cesc.
nasri can do cesc's job.

--------van persie--------

arshavin--nasri--gervinho----

-----song-----wilshere--------

-------back five-----------

i expect this team to beat 65% of the clubs in the league.
van persie's fitness is the key for arsenal. if he stays fit, arsenal will go far.

The top 2 will be United and Chelsea. In fact Im tipping United to run away with the title this season.
I don't think City will do much unless they replace Mancini. As long as Mancini is coach of City, they will continue to contend with the third and fourth placed teams.
As for Liverpool and Tottenham, itl be the same story this season, i.e. trail behind City and Arsenal.
One thing in our favour this season is that unlike last season when midtable teams were throwing money around to bring in 'quality' players, not much has been happening in that regards ofcourse asides the Oshea and Wes Brown moves which I really don't count as much.

Apart from Gervinho, we had that same team with Cesc last season and we finished fourth. 65% also won't win us the title. So we are practically saying the same thing.
As for Nasri replacing Cesc, Im not too sure about that.

coogar:

the title race this time will be very fierce - city are not taking it easy.
liverpool will improve and tottenham will make some noise. nothing is certain.

arsenal won't miss cesc.
nasri can do cesc's job.

--------van persie--------

arshavin--nasri--gervinho----

-----song-----wilshere--------

-------back five-----------

i expect this team to beat 65% of the clubs in the league.
van persie's fitness is the key for arsenal. if he stays fit, arsenal will go far.

Dont think 65% can win you the league besides it is utopian fantasy to think that you will have this squad available week in - week out. Injury will take its toll and fatigue will set in by the time we start playing 8 games a month. This line-up minus one player, turns to garbage.

proudly9ja:

AW said he's trying hard to get in players. We have no choice but to wait.
I agree he should have brought in players earlier. Left to me, we should have brought in a player last season when it seemed obvious that Cesc wanted to leave. But ofcourse, the story is we don't have as much money to throw around.
We are prolly waiting for last minute buys, maybe transfer day deadline. Only thing is we would have played 3 big games before then

Agreed, we dont have money to throw around but cmon, were not 'Portsmouth' broke. Spending money on a decent defender (CB) is not luxurious or wasteful spending and of course if we have to spend on fab or Nas's replacement then it means we're just reinvesting what we got from their sales.

He'll prefer to wait until the last minute to feed on scraps and left-overs like Silvestre.

My own panic button has been on since the transfer window opened and i think the switch is stuck.

65% will get you the title. . . . .how many teams actually won 65% of their games last season
united won 61% of their games and they were champions.
and apart from the champions, no other team copped 2.00pts per game

last season was the tightest race i have seen and i expect it to be tighter this time around.
the mid-table/bottom teams have added quality - make no mistakes about that(they have also added one more year to their premier league experience).

where's debo and/or dudu to come and console us with all the positives we can draw from the team?

coogar:

65% will get you the title. . . . .how many teams actually won 65% of their games last season
united won 61% of their games and they were champions.
and apart from the champions, no other team copped 2.00pts per game

last season was the tightest race i have seen and i expect it to be tighter this time around.
the mid-table/bottom teams have added quality - make no mistakes about that(they have also added one more year to their premier league experience).

Then Im sure you want to revise your 65% value then. I won't put a value to it cos I want to be as optimistic as possible else they'l be nothing to look forward to

proudly9ja:

where's debo and/or dudu to come and console us with all the positives we can draw from the team?
Then Im sure you want to revise your 65% value then. I won't put a value to it cos I want to be as optimistic as possible else they'l be nothing to look forward to

i expect the big five to improve on their appalling performances last season.
man utd will not be that poor away from home this season. the dead woods have moved on.
arsenal can win 65% of their games and still not win the title but that 65% will certainly keep them in the top four. . . . .so your prayers have been answered.

i see that monsieur wenger has reached the "we are looking for super quality" stage. i think y'all should be particularly worried. the last times this line was thrown out, he signed silvestre and squillaci.

coupled with the "there is money to be spent" line, i think the devil has built a hq at emirates. frankly if you are still investing emotions into this club at this point, you need to be examined in the head. sorry for your pain in advance.


bo, season wan.start. lets go there. bad as e bad 4th is still viable.

4llerbuntu:
frankly if you are still investing emotions into this club at this point, you need to be examined in the head.

Since at your age you don't appreciate what it means to be a sports fan, your own head needs to be chopped off.





Its a rather gloomy feeling right now. I don't remember the last time we had a pre-season this bad, coupled with the fact that we are NOT READY for the season. We do not know for sure which players are gonna be at arsenal after next week, and that's enough to shatter any hope for cohesion in our play. I personally think Wenger has failed woefully in this transfer break by not getting matters straightened out even if it'll cost us financially. The below-par defense is far from fixed, midfield is clouded with uncertainty over players' future and we have the first game in about a week. It will be chauvinistic not to see how disoriented the team is right now. My expectation are so low as it seems we have run out of time this time around.
I am a ardent pro-Wenger, but what †нє fawk did he mean when he said "everybody is waiting , nobody is buying yet"?  Comm shield will be played today and he hasn't made his signings.
Which manager will welcome a distraction in form of a bid at this late hour? Could this mean we aren't buying an EPL tested defender?
Wengerantics I say.


[b]end of post, d rest is 'machine language' [\b]



WHY CAN'T A BROTHER POST A COMMENT WITHOUT THE REPEATING PARAGRAPHS?

















out even if it'll cost us financially. The below-par defense is far from fixed, midfield is clouded with uncertainty over players' future and we have the first game in about a week. It will be chauvinistic not to see how disoriented the team is right now. My expectation are so low as it seems we have run out of time this time around.
I am a ardent pro-Wenger, but what †нє fawk did he mean when he said "everybody is waiting , nobody is buying yet"?  Comm shield will be played today and he hasn't made his signings.
Which manager will welcome a distraction in form of a bid at this late hour? Could this mean we aren't buying an EPL tested defender?
Wengerantics I say.


[b]end of post, d rest is 'machine language' [\b]


WHY CAN'T A BROTHER POST A COMMENT WITHOUT THE REPEATING PARAGRAPHS?

Arsene wenger has done a very bad job of managing this team this season. Realistically, there is no hope of silverware this season, again. Is it cos he has a name like arsenal that gives fans d feelin that he's d only manager for the club?? Just wonderin cos if he was someone else, say mancini, I guess lots of people will be calling for his sack.

Gloom and doom everywhere on this thread

[size=16pt]Nasri closer to Arsenal exit[/size]

"Manchester City are waiting to swoop with a £22million bid for Nasri after a clash between him and Wenger on the club’s flight back from a pre-season tour of Asia last "

And it gets uglier

Quarrels,disenchantment,losses everywhere,thanks very much Arsene the miserly opinionated stubborn goat

The loss to Benfica made it more interesting,I wonder what it will take for the board to finally do the needed drastic things before the close of the transfer window,maybe losing to Udinese in the UCL play-offs  

God please let Udinese progress @ the expense of Arsenal Arsene Wenger

proudly9ja:

We've been like this for about 4 seasons now tbh - good first team but no proper backups. That's why when injuries set in, we find it hard to cope.

Yet you were king of those calling for the likes of Lansbury and JET to be brought back to the side.

Go figure.

Yes pre-season hasn't been stellar, but I don't think it's a fair reflection of the readiness for the new season.

While the gap between the 'first choice' 11 and the back ups seems to have increased, the reality is that a fair number of players were absent y'day - Walcott and Wilshere to be specific.

I'm glad that we're not getting lulled into thinking we're ready to challenge, but I'd still say things are still not as bad as they appear (although there's a potential to get quite worse with injuries).

The sooner we sell Cesc and maybe Nasri the better - this has gone on for long enough and we need to know who we are missing through injury and who is going to leave.

On a separate note, the injury list makes for interesting reading

- Wilshere
- Walcott
- RVP
- Gibbs
- Vermaelen

Like I said, next weekend's lineup will be quite interesting.

Myself2:

The loss to Benfica made it more interesting,I wonder what it will take for the board to finally do the needed drastic things before the close of the transfer window,maybe losing to Udinese in the UCL play-offs

God please let Udinese progress @ the expense of Arsenal Arsene Wenger

funny how i find 'myself' fantasizing about that too.

Who says pre-season is not fair reflection of the readiness for the season because some major players were missing, what is the guarantee that all these players will always be available during the course of the season.
I just hope Udinese progresses then we'll also see UCL playoff is not a true reflection of readiness for the season.

Even when preseason was great Arsenal still fails to win any trophy not to talk of when having a woeful one.

Anyway it's all good, maybe Wenger will reason up before the transfer window closes.


Now i see why Arsenal will win the league this season.

Proudly has asked for an injection of positivity and I am glad to oblige.  

Firstly, one needs to put last night's match in perspective, the team that finished that match was in no way anything like what will be our first 11 for this season. What you could call a rag tag team like that coming up against seasoned professionals like Aimar and Saviola along with upcoming players with solid reputations like Witsel could under normal circumstances be tagged men against boys and the boys almost deserve a pat on the back if not that losing is unacceptable in Arsenal at any level.

Secondly, we lost the game tactically at the beginning of the 2nd half when Benfica brought on their heavy hitters in midfield who raised the tempo of the game while our midfield was unable to respond and as was apparent last season, with the increased pressure, our defense was ultimately breached with kudos to Squillaci in particular for a lesson in how not to defend 1v1 situations. 2 players I noticed were particularly unable to respond to the increased tempo were Ramsey and Rosicky who weren't doing anything meaningful at either end of the pitch, using 2 players with such low off the ball work rates IMO wasn't such a good idea, we were actually trumped even in the possesion game. Whithin the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, Benfica basically overran our midfied. Bringing on Lansbury IMO stiffened things up and at a stage he and Frimpong actually got the Benfica MF ruffled but he also showed that he was not yet really part of the first team because he and Ramsey were unable to put any meaningful attacking moves together in the usual Arsenal fashion hence we were unable to get an equalizer.
It should also be pointed out that Benfica made this game more competitive than your average pre-season game and are far ahead of us in terms of competitive readiness having already played a 2 legged UCL qualifier tie.

In my opinion, for the first time in a long time, Arsene is experimenting a lot in pre-season either by choice or by forced circumstances, I can't quite recall when we last had this large turnover of players in the first team (Ryo, Lansbury, Frimpong and Jenkinson are all young new players all appearing at the same time and likely to be at least squad players next season) and they will take time to gel but the experience is invaluable particularly from a game made so competitive by Benfica yesterday. Arsene will also have learnt a lot about some players he has given so long a rope to pull and should rightly be considering some action in terms of transfers.

The downside for me are not the new players but some of our old players who are now showing us the reason for our Jekyll and Hyde performances last season, yesterday Rosicky and Squillaci in particular once again had no place to hide but 2 players who impressed me were Gibbs and Traore. I personally don't think there is any need to worry about Clichy's departure with what these 2 have shown so far in pre-season (And I know this would surprise most people but from a defensive view point, I'll make Traore first choice for now. He is a bit of a better defender as players still get past Gibbs atimes). It is easy to flay Chamakh but did he really get any meaningful balls from MF? if I'm not mistaken RVP was also looking very uninvolved until the goal and that was in a much better first half team performance. If your striker is more involved in your first third of the pitch, he is not likely to be dangerous to the opposition.

Looking forward to the new season, I'd say that for the first time at this stage in the buildup to a new season there is still a lot of unknowns. Normally by this stage we would know our first team and would be flying in pre-season (even though I recall us getting beaten 2-0 by Valencia in our final pre-season game in the 09/10 season but not playing as badly as we did in patches yesterday). As things are now, 80% of what we will start with this season is already in the club. Even if Cesc stays, he won't be starting the season with the first team and I don't think any new players we get can be expected to slot in so quickly within a week as well so I expect us to start slowly (untypical of Arsenal I know) with the negativity reaching an all time high but the team subsequently getting better as time goes on. I'm praying we get past Udinese first of all, it isn't going to be easy.

If I were Arsene, I would seriously consider not reading the newspapers for the first 2 months of the season.  

God please let Udinese progress @ the expense of Arsenal Arsene Wenger
[quote][/quote]



Guys becareful what you wish for , we dont know the angel wey dey pass, we are going win the UCL with this team,

Football fans wishing their team would lose. . . . .oh forking dear!

Nasri can never fill Cesc's boots. . .if he stays.
This thread is pretty depressing. Poor Arsenal

Definitely gonna be a rocky start to the season.

thank God today we have
seen the successor to almunia.
we have also confirmed clichy is still a big
fool and citeh is not going to win the league.
good.

4llerbuntu:

thank God today we have
seen the successor to almunia.
we have also confirmed clichy is still a big
fool and citeh is not going to win the league.
good.

Gbabe! Did you see Clichy today? Oh my. I was laughing hard.
But then I remembered the bounty collected for him is'nt gonna be spent on a replacement

Cristalz:

Nasri can never fill Cesc's boots. . .if he stays.

Nasri can never replace Cesc (like for like) that much has sunk home to me now. Thanks to Slimshay
If Cesc goes this team will have to change the way it plays
If, people have forgotten how good Cesc is, I will remind you of what you will be missing next year

[flash=400,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REKuFOBtpes[/flash]

And this was in an injury plagued season.

Nasri is good o, but missile is different from measles. Abeg if we dey cry make we dey try see small small.

Arsenal na wa. just giving us heart palpitations all the time. If Fabregas leaves i really will shed some tears.

follypimpi:

@Apostle Dudu

Did you see the passion, drive and hunger of wearing a Man Utd's jersey in Ashley Young, Cleverly, Wellbeck, Jones & Smalling. Thats what Baba fergie impacted on his players, now thats a team that want to outclass barca.

Abeg jare where was the passion and hunger in the first half?  
When some of us ask the younger players who show promise to be trusted more, a lot of people on here say NO but it took Fergie replacing a first choice backline with such young players in the game to turn things around.
Let us not forget that we also beat Manure in the CS of 2004 with a largely young team which included a 16 year old Cesc and very young RVP, Aliadere, Clichy and even Justin Hoyte but things have gotten much worse since.  
I won't respond now, we shall see, the season is very long.
I look forward to seeing those guys do it weekly in the PL.
Kudos to them, they mugged City exactly the same way they mugged us in the FA Cup last season, overcome the opposition with an high octane tempo (that 2nd goal was beautiful sha I gree) and Fergie couldnt have asked for much more than that.

duduspace:

Abeg jare where was the passion and hunger in the first half?  

united actually bossed the first half - they played better than the second half. . . .the only thing missing in united's first half were the goals missed.
profligacy in front of goal with united trying to walk the ball into the net when the opportunity to shoot on goal availed itself.

duduspace:

Abeg jare where was the passion and hunger in the first half?  
When some of us ask the younger players who show promise to be trusted more, a lot of people on here say NO but it took Fergie replacing a first choice backline with such young players in the game to turn things around.

Was Lansbury not put on against Benfica, wasn't Miyachi put on? What promise did he show in turning the game around? The fact is, unlike many of the Arsenal youngsters, the United ones are good enough to play in the EPL.

You like to make silly parallels sometimes when we aren't talking about the same class of players. Cleverley, Jones and others have excelled at EPL sides. When we have such youth, then we can throw them on to cause a turn around.

duduspace:

Abeg jare where was the passion and hunger in the first half?  

Did you watch the first half or you listened to it on radio?