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| Oh Jack. Quite the headline hogger. |
So the international break is finally over and we can look past the boring friendlies and look forward to some exciting Arsenal football.
Arsenal has come out relatively unscathed this break, with Ramsey looking to be our only player unfit to play this Saturday. Bendtner and van Persie also picked up knocks but as of right now Wenger said that the two are alright.
Along with those two, Cesc, Song, Diaby, and Walcott should all be fit for Saturday. THANK YOU LORD OUR SAVIOR. Finally a full squad (or at least 80% of it). The international break has been very kind to us in giving the injured time to recover before our run in with Blackburn.
While Fat Sam is no longer the manager of Blackburn and I don't exactly watch Blackburn play that often, I can only suspect that their style won't be too different from Fat Sam's and that they'll use Robinson's long balls and Samba's height against us. More over, I've heard their shit, because they have'nt really been winning at all.
So with a near full squad (attacking-wise) and a weak Blackburn side, there is no excuse for failure, and no room for it either. We're already on the brink of losing the title and if we drop points this weekend I think its safe to say that we would be out of the title race.
With all these new inclusions, this is my projected starting eleven:
van Persie
Nasri Walcott
Fabregas
Wilshere Song
Clichy Koscielny Squillaci Sagna
Almunia
The one position I'm not 100% sure on is Theo. I know he's not match fit so Nasri may come onto the right again to make room for Arshavin.
And the fact that I dropped Arshavin is brilliant. The fact that we now have Arshavin, Bendtner, and Chamakh on the bench is a great sign. FINALLY some depth.
But the inclusion of Walcott is extremely important. He gives us the width and pace we need and the width that no other player gives us.
Now regarding Almunia- Wenger openly said that he will start. A very smart move, based on Lehmann's performance against Wigan for the reserves' 2-1 loss last weekend. He looked very shaky despite being only a couple of months out of the game. You can find the highlights of the match and Mad Jens's shaky moments here.
Tomorrow, we need to go out with no fear. The physicality of Song is key, and Squillaci and Koscielny will have to win all the headers, especially on set pieces when Samba comes up. 110% focus will be required and nothing less.
I am fully confident that this Arsenal side can cope with the pressure of getting the three points, with the return of such important players. My predicted scoreline is 4-1 believe it or not.
Also, I put up a poll on the blog asking whether or not you lot thought Arsenal would win the title this year. The odd exceptions is that i told you to use your head and not your heart when answering. Sadly, the only poll received three votes, but of those three, all said no. Lovely.
In other news Jack Wilshere is now a father. In case you needed reminding, he is 19. And the mother is his ex -girlfriend. Congratulations Jack, but let's be a little more careful next time... I think you're growing up a little too fast, don't you?
Also in news regarding Jack, Arsene is openly against Jack playing in this summers U-21 championship for England. Wenger says that Wilshere will gain nothing from playing at a lower level, and that by Jack playing it takes away the chance for another player that could be developed into a first-team player. Selfish on Stuart Pearce's part in my eyes, who is not looking for the development of youth, but for the simple glory of possibly winning a trophy that quite frankly, no one really cares about.
But then Wilshere actually snapped back at Wenger, actually saying that playing with the U-21's would be good for him and he would gain things. Its easy to understand why Jack would want to play, with his eagerness for the game, but Jack probably doesn't understand the importance of rest and the importance of not overplaying at such a young age. Wenger obviously has more experience in the game, and I feel Jack is simply being complacent to that fact.
If Jack plays this summer, fuck off Stuart Pearce. You are doing your country no favors whatsoever.
Well I think that's that for now. I'd mourn the death of Rocky but it would be too hard and no one needs reminding. RIP Rocky.
On a good note, have a good Saturday, and COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!!
I think Jack should go to the U21's - it would continue his development, rounding off his brilliant season with another shot a silverware. He's made of sterner stuff than Walcott the finely tuned speed merchant. He doesn't rely on speed like some players who run themselves to bits (Henry, Owen, Walcott)- and the tournament is only 2 weeks long.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. I think it was easy to see that Cesc didn't have the best season because of the lack of rest he received because of the World Cup. Also, by having solid performances with the senior squad, I see no reason why he would develop further in a squad where the talent is not up to his standards.
ReplyDeleteJack playing would also stop another midfielder from getting experience and development.
Groundhog Season
ReplyDeleteBy Sammy The Snake
Writing something positive about Arsenal is a real challenge these days. As some of you may have noticed, and most of you haven’t, I’ve been quiet for some time. As the saying goes, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. I’ve been awfully quiet recently!
We all feel the pain of the past few weeks, it’s been hurting in all the wrong places. We all are looking for solutions. We are desperate for a way to feel better, more optimistic, or perhaps a bit more alive.
This is turning out to be yet another groundhog season. We start by expecting nothing. The pundits and the media tell us in early August that Arsenal will not be competitive this season, and that we’ll be lucky to qualify for Europa League. By October, it’s decided that ManC and Sp@rs will definitely overtake us, and that Liverpool is certain to pip us to 4th place.
We are suddenly upgraded to Championship material by Christmas… And we are declared fit to lift all trophies by the end of the season. Unfortunately, even Wenger gets carried away and starts talking about the quadruple. The fans start flapping their wings.
When every Gunners’ ego is boosted to perfection, the media start using words like “bottlers” for the Arsenal. With that in mind, our season starts to deteriorate sometime in early March, and we are reaffirmed as failures by around April Fool’s Day!
Groundhog Day, I tell ya! Every freakin’ season. The fans are left feeling inadequate.
It’s at this time of the season that suggested solutions are aplenty. Sack Wenger. Get rid of the failing players, all 52 of them! Buy, buy experienced players, just buy. Sell Cesc and buy 22 new experienced players with the proceeds. Shoot the ground staff. Kill the ball boys… After you hang the board!
Is Wenger to blame? Are the players at fault? Is the board going overboard? Gazidis gone Ga-Ga? Are the fans impatient, over-expectant and delusional? Is the media over hyping it? The pundits having it in for us? Blind refs changing the natural course of the season? Luck?! Bad Luck?!! Surely, everyone must share the blame.
Arsene, the players, all back room staff, the management, the board and the owners are all responsible. Let’s just sack them all. Hey, wait! We can’t get rid of the owners because they own the club. Sacking all players and getting 25 shiny new ones will destabilize the team. The back room staff can’t take all the blame. And Ivan Gazidis just got the job. Hmmmm? What do we do to save Arsenal?
Let’s just sack Wenger, and get it over with. That’s the easiest thing in the world. Sack him, I say. And then…
Let’s imagine Arsenal swallow their pride and buy a one-way ticket for the professor back to Paris at the end of the season. What’s our best option after Wenger? Finding a brand new experienced head coach shouldn’t be that hard. Right? Just ask Dark Prick for advice.
As my first idea for a Wenger replacement, I would like to nominate Mr. Ego himself, the special guy, Mr. Mourinho. Oh, wait! He just lost last night and his glorious Real Mad is 8 points behind the leaders. And would you like his ego to land at the Arsenal grounds? I thought not.
My second choice would be the all-conquering Pep Guardiola. Would he leave his galaxy of stars? I don’t think so. Is he seriously thinking of leaving Barca? He’d be stupid if he did, but that is probably a great bargaining tool. Could he have ever been so successful without his ensemble of players? I highly doubt it. Would he ever come over to the Emirates? Unlikely. Can we bet on getting him? Definitely not!
Let’s get Rafa Benitez or Roy Hodgson. Let’s just take a shot and see what happens since Liverpool had such a great experience with both of them. We’ll first hire Rafa, when he drives the club to the edge of extinction, we’ll replace him with Roy Boy to complete the job. No way!
How about Steve McLaren? We’ll even throw in an umbrella, in case we keep losing under the rain!
I propose giving Mark Hughes a shot. But he got kicked out of ManCity, and got replaced with Mr. Mancini! Let’s get him, our scarf sales will go through the roof, and we’ll barely manage 5th place (which is better than 2nd place after all). He’s great at spending money too, what a great match! No, no, no!
ReplyDeleteOh, I got the best candidate! Ranieri is the man for the job, especially if we plan to kick him out mid-season in his first year in charge. That’ll be so much fun!
If we want to really progress in football, Arsenal must place Mick McCarthy in charge. He’ll surely give us the steel required to win major trophies. He’ll toughen up the players. Can’t you see how Wolves are shoveling all trophies back home?
If we want to have a jolly good time and laugh out loud, I suggest the highly rated comedian Mr. Ian Holloway. We can then win some of our home games, and lose all the away ones. Won’t that be splendid fun?!
How about dirty ‘Arry?! The scum bag can bring us momentary near-success followed by financial ruin. He could groom Arsenal for tax evasion, wheeling, dealing, and buying players above market price. Only if he wasn’t such short sighted Sp@rs dick!
How about Leonardo? He first drove Milan down the table, then showed his loyalty by moving to Inter, where he has managed to make them look less than ordinary (same team that was so great less than a year back). His tactical naivety will bring us lots of great memories! I don’t think so.
Success is rarely accidental, and it’s never instant.
My fellow Gooners, be careful what you wish for, it may come true!
Sammy The Snake