The Derby
Derby weekend. Excited? Yes. Prepared? Probably. DirecTV going in Saturday so I can record Sunday? Yep. Worried a bit about tater totts? Hmm… not sure how to answer that one. They are certainly much more healthy, a little bit more deep. Quality though? Well… shite, not sure how to answer that one either. I have a hard time acknowledging that they sit ahead of us in the table but it certainly is early in the season. And we certainly haven’t made things easy on ourselves by going out with a thin lineup and injured starters. We should be able to string together a quality squad for Sunday BUT we are one more injury away on our backline to find ourselves in quite the predicament. The loss of Lukas is huge in my book. He had a great pre-season, was fully fit and adds that certain power shot we miss at times on the pitch. I really hope this doesn’t stifle his momentum and, truthfully, I hope that Wenger doesn’t decide he no longer has a place in this team going forward after Lukas gets healthy.
Mr. Tony Adams recently quipped that what we need is that stopper. We don’t need goals, we don’t need attacking options. We have those, we need guys to put a big ass brick right in the middle of the counterattack. I agree with our retired leader on this one. But it’s also pointing out the obvious and maybe he could spend some of that energy going out there and offering to help land this player. Maybe? Possibly? His efforts certainly couldn’t F things up any more than they already are (which I hate ending a sentence with)…
Fact remains, we are thin, yet again but hopefully nursing back to full health. Our recent qualification for Champions League Group stages is great, but boy did we get a whopper of a group there. And so, we have to have depth and quality to make runs in either league. I think it sad that our two additions have now come on the wake of free transfers. We are not that club. We shouldn’t be that club. If this is the vision for the future then we are in seriously more trouble than previously thought. All things aside, let’s check out how the lineup will shake down:
The Shez in keeper
Jenks-Sagna-BFG-Gibbs along the back.
Ramsey (if healthy)-Wilshere (if healthy)-Rosicky
Theo-Giroud-Santi
Right. Mark this date. I put Santi up top. Not because I wanted to but we don’t have many options at this point. We are seriously thin. I am afraid that with such a short off-season for some of our players that come December they will be exhausted and run down… let’s up that is not the case. As for the starters, Sanogo isn’t the type of winger I see starting at this point. He will be great (if healthy) to add starting depth to Giroud’s spot when we play those 2-3 games in a week. We just “signed” (ha!) Flamini so he will certainly be on the bench. I would be curious to see Monreal take Jenks spot and have both Gibbs and the Spaniard on the pitch at the same time given that they offer different styles of play. I tend to get worried that with Jenks and Gibbs both going forward too much we really get killed on the counter. Make no mistake, Sp*rs have the quality to expose that weakness right now too. Goodness I hate admitting that. Oi we could really use a man sized defensive mid-fielder at this point… Please buy some muscle Wenger. PLEASE!!!
Bacary has been fantastic covering the middle and I really appreciate how well he and the BFG have come to such a good understanding of each other. Has to be a bit confusing going from RB to CB and then back to RB for CL games (funny that Kols is now like a super sub for our CL games).
Anywhos, we have a doubly tough road ahead of us this Sunday that was not made easier by our current management. Sad that we tout money and power and then pull up with this crap. Really quite sad, frustrating and yet here we stand waiting. Mom always said actions speak louder than words. Too bad she’s right. Reward the faith Wenger.
The Day After
That sneaky feeling that you know you missed something, or were going to miss it, but felt a bit powerless to do anything about it? Yeah, I caught the game (thank goodness for DVR’ing a 4am telecast) but failed to give my weekly preview. On a personal note I was traveling back and forth moving stuff from one city to another. As a devoted supporter; no excuse.
This last week saw us take a more positive turn BUT doesn’t take away from what we actually need (signings and depth; should be an actually supporter’s song by now). We went out and nabbed a wonderful 3 goal away win mid week in our CL qualifying. Then we turned it around in the BPL and pulled 3 from Fulham (who have given us trouble in recent matches). Now, don’t get me wrong here, I am excited that we have all but put ourselves into the group stages of Champions League. I am also happy we took 3 points at Craven Cottage (such a wonderful looking place to play). BUT, this is what Arsenal should be doing against mid level clubs.
It is good to see that Giroud has tallied 3 in 3. It was also nice to see a lineup that included Poldi, Giroud, Walcott up top and Santi “happy feet” Cazorla slotting into the midfield. As far as a starting squad is concerned, I really liked this lineup and was happy to see Poldi’s brace rewarding Wenger for the start (after all, you did buy him to score goals so the least you can do is play him in a position to do so).
Aside from whether Jack started or not this lineup card really wrote itself for the Fulham game as we are so thin across the board. Carl slotted in at RB with Bacary stepping up in the center. There were a number of plays were you felt like Fulham were going to break through at our center but Bacary stepped up and played it out. You really have to credit the guy with understanding not just his role but the BFG’s style of play as Bacary played his Kols impression perfectly. Jenks did an admirable job as well and, if I recall, I think even I advocated a time or two for him to replace a struggling Bacary last season.
Andrew, of Arseblog, has it right when he states that these wins only heighten the fact that we have to have more signings. This is something we all know. This is not a new song. And so here we are approaching the deadline and we still have yet to pull down any added depth or fresh stars for our lineup. Rumors abound with players supposedly coming in from all over but until we see something posted on the official website it’s all just a bunch of bollocks. Here is hoping Wenger pulls his head out of his arse and does something magical. Until then…
Contemporary rendering of a poster from the United Kingdom reading “Keep Calm and Carry On”, created during World War II. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
You get what you pay for.
Oh, this is not the wake up call we want… but we may very well need this for the long term good of the club. Am I happy? Absolutely not. We got what we had coming to us. Everyone could see that we were one injury, one major loss away from making this season VERY hard on ourselves. Well, we may not have one, not two, but three issues to contend with going forward and the first weekend of action isn’t even over. Couple that problem with a big blow in the loss column after we took control early on in the match (and had the lead)… well Arseholes, things may get worse before they get better.
The card count today was ridiculous. The game seemed unnecessarily out of hand as the Ref essentially handed out 10 yellows (the red came on a second yellow to Kols). Arsenal controlled the first part of this game nicely but you have to wonder why we started without Santi to begin with (granted, his presence didn’t help too much in the end once we went down). For our opening goal AOC took the ball and pushed ahead well; it was a nice squeeze into a perfectly placed Giroud foot. Great start. Exactly what we needed to start the season off right this year. And then, like my golf game after the turn, it began to crumble…
Our starting backline is exactly what I (everyone) expected: Sagna, Kols, BFG, and Gibbs. Solid, experience, and so long as no one goes down we should be fine… whoops. Bacary pulls up a bit lame (wonder how that impacted his defense as the game went on) and Gibbs goes out in the 29th. Good thing we have Mon– what’s that? Oh, no. Jenks goes in and he is generally solid but this is no way to start the game. And then there is the bit with AOC coming off for Santi (who should have been starting anyways but maybe not in place of a forward but another MF?)… Man, this just wasn’t going to go our way today. Benteke gets the gift of a blocked PK right back into his head and then the goal… and then Kos gets nailed for the first weak yellow and the second bad call (which may be defensible given the Ref’s position BUT the linesman could clearly see it was a perfectly timed tackle). No, this was not meant to be our day.
It’s hard to explain the feeling toward the team, or management, right now. I don’t want the players to suffer. I don’t want their confidence shaken. Hell, I want to see Wenger rise to the top and take Sir what’s his names place. BUT, We haven’t picked up any depth where we need it and we now have potential knocks on the places where we are incredibly thin (Monreal-out, Sagna-lame, Gibbs-out, Kos-suspended, and TV5 injured). So even if we go out and spend a bunch of money we now need to add 2 players immediately to our backline in addition to adding a DMF (desperately) and possibly another striker. We are going to wear thin fast and everyone could (did) see this coming. Again I ask, what exactly are we try to prove this offseason?
In the words of The West Wing President Bartlet, what’s next? It’s obvious our problems partially stem from an inability to sign players. No, not the ref. Not tactical decisions (at this point we are so thin who the hell else do we start?!). If we continue along this path it wont matter that we haven’t any silverware, we may not have a starting eleven!
I do not hide the fact that I am an ardent Wenger supporter. I think his style of football is beautiful and the players he does bring in mold well to his play. But we need someone to start adding quality players to this roster and Wenger seems incapable of doing so at this point. One only has to look at our hated rivals to see that signing quality players is not impossible and they aren’t even a team that has played Champion’s League football the last 16 years running!!!
No, this is not the position we need to be in for Wednesday or the next few weeks. But, like many other things in life, you get what you pay for. Right now? That would be a big fat nothing…
The Preview…
Well lads, it’s that time of year. Here at AmericanArse we like to put out a preview to the match prior to each league game and discuss the finer points of lineups, etc. Then, we roll with some post game action after the whistle and hopefully another mid-week trounce before we get back to the weekly preview.
It all starts… now.
This weekend sees us playing hosts to Aston Villa before a quick turnaround and facing off with Fenerbahce (AWAY) four days later. Not going to lie, this is exactly the scenario that I was hoping we would avoid this season. Instead, we get to start off with a thin lineup and quick turnaround matches to boot. No bueno.
Abou, not sure I’ll play in a Nike Arsenal kit again, Diaby is out. TV5 is a no go still with his back injury. Nacho Nacho Man is still on the table as well. Even our sure-haired Mikel Arteta is in doubt for the match… Oh, and word on the street is Bacary has a leg knock too. (What? Pay for Williams? naw… no thanks. We don’t have the money.)
SO, what does that leave us with? Well, here is my starting lineup…
Szczesny (yes, it really is spelled that way)
Jenks-Mert-Kols-Gibbs (please no one go down)
Ramsey-Cazorla-Rosicky (yep, I’m starting that conversation again this year)
Walcott-Giroud-Poldi
Good lord, when I write that out I realize just how thin we truly are… Our backline needs HELP asap BUT Jenkinson knows how to put up clean sheets (remember, 2 to start last season) and the BFG/Kols combo will be fine. Not to mention that Gibbs really is the future going forward (no pun intended), Nacho just provides great competition and cover.
Now, the midfield has me more worried. With Arteta a possible out we lose his DMF presence. I think Ramsey can track back and I love his tireless efforts; he’s also shown some good pre-season form. Rosicky just knows what to do in these situations and I start him over Jack only because I want a full season from Jack healthy; not a rush back and re-injure situation… again… Cazorla, IMHO, should be slotted in the MF with us actually having a healthy and strong line up top. In many ways, one could argue that the game will shape into a 4-2-1-2-1 type formation (is that even possible???) with Ramsey/Rosicky needing to provide cover while Cazorla does his thing and Theo/Poldi slashing in from the sides while OG acts like a G out in front of goal.
Our attack could actually be pretty solid this year (yes, even without the signings). Sonago looks legit so long as, you know, he is A-Go. Poldi looked healthy and fit (finally?). AOC doesn’t have the weight he once did on his shoulders and Theo looks primed for a big breakout. So long as Hey Hey Giroud continues his good link up play and shores up his scoring percentages we fans may be in for a bit of a pleasant surprise from our attackers.
Truth is, we are thin BUT we have a solid core combined with stability in our manager AND familiarity across our lines. If anything, that should buy us an extra win or two. However, we have to come out of the gate fast if we want to challenge for the title and hope that we stay healthy enough to nab silverware. We need to score early, hold firm, and move on to the next match without injury (every team’s goal, right?).
As for our opponents, they are a tough match to start with. Benteke is a beast to cover and obviously knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. Hopefully he starts his sophomore slump with a big fat loss and zero goals. Arsenal’s game is fairly simple, but beautiful when it works: press and control while providing quick cover on counters.
We need to send a message and make it loud and clear that signings or no signings this is a team looking to improve on last season’s excellent finish.
Get ready Gooners, the season is about to begin…
As an aside, you all should sign up for the Arsenal Digital Membership (full post-game replays!)…
The Optimist.
When all else fails, hold on to hope. I must be withdrawing from a lack of movies because lately every time I go to write here all I think of are movie analogies. Maybe it is because I am looking for entertainment. Maybe I am looking to escape. Maybe I am waiting for Arsenal to follow through on the damn plot this offseason and sign someone…
Today’s movie? The Shawshank Redemption. The scene? Where Tim Robbins talks to Morgan Freeman after doing time in the “hole” for locking the door to the guard office and playing music over the loud speakers to the general population. Morgan and Timmy have a conversation about hope and how Tim holds on to it but Morgan believes that is dangerous, etc. etc. And you know what, hope is dangerous. It is a weapon to wield when all is lost and right now I am wielding it. We have less than 7 days until our season debut against Aston Villa on August 17… let’s talk hope arseholes.
1. We have an experienced squad that knows how to play together: Last season saw us make an incredible run that crescendoed with us taking our rightful place in Champions League while seeing tater totts to their rightful spot below us. Ramsey got valuable time playing, Theo produced, Santi dazzled, and many a men notched goals when we needed them most (looking at you Rosicky and Kols). We finally get to bring EVERYONE back and that has to count for something (so long as they ALL stay healthy… looking at EVERYONE at this point!).
2. Stability: In Arsene We Trust. The French-Man is still kicking around and is now the longest tenured manager in the BPL. His system is the same, antics the same, players the same. We didn’t have the shakeup, the pressure, or the hype that other clubs have and that has to count for something… right? (Remember, this is about hope and not whether we should have the shakeup, pressure and hype of others… there is certainly an argument to be made for each of those but this ain’t the place! At least, not now…)
3. Youth: Thank the Lord almighty we aren’t an aging squad. Other than Mikel and the ever adapting Rosicky we are fairly youthful and full of piss and vinegar. Outside of that, a lot of our “studs” are young and getting loads of experience (hopefully not a euphemism for run down)… Youth and experience should see us ratcheting up our energy throughout the season as guys look to capitalize on the easy playtime time that rotation SHOULD bring to the squad (and goodness gracious some trophies, eh?!). There shouldn’t be complaints of playing time given he “thinness” of our squad and this season really could be seeing that whole developing youth to starters thing played out.
4. Run of form: We should be able to capitalize on our run into the end last season and the familiarity of the squad. We should be able to take that late season run of form, while others collapsed (looking at you tater), and translate that into a strong start out of the gate. There are a lot of “shoulds” in this paragraph so bear with me because…
5. WE’RE ARSENAL! ARSENAL FC! WE’RE BY FAR THE GREATEST TEAM THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!!!
’nuff said.
Who doesn’t want a pair of kicks like these!!!
Custom Arsenal F.C. Nike Dunk (Photo credit: dishwab)
This is my nightmare!!!
My wife and I don’t play sports together. Just not something we have any desire to do and my wife is ultra competitive and it is just best not to compete with one another. Not that we couldn’t have a fun time or that one of us wouldn’t end up mad but she wasn’t much of a sports girl earlier in life and so she isn’t much of one now (she has since enjoyed running). Why do I bring this up? Well, as I have been perusing the blogs, sports chatter, tabloids, and recent signings of decent players to lesser clubs I was immediately drawn to remembering a particular scene in a fantastic movie…
The movie? I love you, Man. The scene? Well, hopefully you know exactly which one… For those of you who haven’t seen it, there is a particular scene involving golf, the two lead characters (men), and two women… playing golf… the women not having much experience… at playing golf… At one point, Jason Segel (one of the lads), yells “THIS IS MY NIGHTMARE!!!!”
The gloriousness of that scene cannot be overstated. All men have experienced that feeling at one point or another. We can relate.
Right now, I am Jason Segel in that scene and this is my nightmare. Arsenal have yet to spend a single dollar. It is August. The season is only a couple weeks away and we have one addition to our ranks whilst sending many packing (granted, no problem with the lads we let go). This is my nightmare.
I am sick of hearing the rumors. Sicker still of the thought that we would blow $50+ mil on a guy like Suarez. He is not Arsenal material in my opinion. Can he play? Yes. Can he score? Yes. Could he make our team better? Probably. But will it come at a cost? Yep. Big one for me. While he may be “chomping” on the bit like a draft horse ready to ride he is not my idea of an Arsenal player. Too much drama, too many games to miss at the start the season, too many questions of mental instability. What the F are we thinking going after this guy? And why the hell has tater totts completed so many decent signings, spending $ that we should spend, compared to our zero?!?! (Sonago doesn’t count friends)
What team are we? Who have we become? What exactly is Wenger doing with this time these days?!?! I don’t want to sign for signing’s sake BUT this is getting ridiculous. Chelsea, Man City, totts… all figured out how to add to their team. What are we doing? Why do I keep having to type questions here instead of talking about our “singings” over the summer?
Fact is, I was truly looking forward to talking about additions and how they will slot in and dream up scenarios of where they would play… but this summer has been a big bust in the addition department. Granted, we need to cut some bait BUT we needed to add decent depth and a marquee signing or two in order to put everyone on notice that we are coming for the title (no, not the 4th place title).
But alas, no money spent. No real additions. No starters to add. Competition to enjoy. No shit to write about…
Just google “this is my nightmare!” and watch the clip… and think of better times when we bought players and won shinny things…
![Cover of "I Love You, Man [Blu-ray]"](https://i0.wp.com/ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fVV2Loh5L._SL300_.jpg "Cover of \"I Love You, Man [Blu-ray]\"")
Cover of I Love You, Man [Blu-ray]
AmericanArse 