Official Gooners Thread - A New Hope

[Minder]

I would love to see O Neill get a job at one of the top four just to see if is as good as some people believe.

[Puckoon]

ah the heartbreak of loving arsenal. Just as they give you a glimmer of hope.

[ONeill]

Jees would take Wenger's football 100 million times over Graham. Don't forget, twas only 4 seasons ago that he managed to go through a league season unbeaten.

I think AW is trying to win the league playing total football. And I mean total.

[ONeill]

I think the best Arsenal can do now is stay as close to the top 2 as possible, not with pretentions of winning the league, but in order to stay in the top 4. Away games now to City and Chelsea.

I'm sure Arsenal can still salvage something from the season (they usually have a 10-game unbeaten streak at some stage). Can't see both Chelsea and Liverpool collapsing so probably need to look at the CL. Get qualified and when it resumes in February, get going.

I can see what AW wants to achieve and last year he almost managed it; finished 4 points behind playing dreamy football. However, their main rivals just keep buying top class talent to replace anyone on the wane. Arsene doesn't and simply breeds new young talent to take their place. 4 years (now nearing 5) without a title tells the tale.

[Over the Bar]

If this is a draw/loss, I'm going to wreck the house.

! bottle of buckie and 6 stella required.

However, if Adebayor plays I can see a 2-0 victory with the Togo man (Togonese?) scoring both.

It's Togolese. Feck me aren't you a teacher?  Please say it's PE! 

[ONeill]

Geography.

[ONeill]

Wenger would need to seriously consider played a couple of the Carling squad. The most alarming negative is Fabregas. He plays like a man running on empty - his passes are lazier and doesn't seem to be making the late runs a la last season. How much of that is down to his increased workload since Flamini's departure I don't know. Denilson is not providing the same level of cover. As much as Wenger loves his 'footballers', he need a player who'll do the agricultural stuff.

Bendtner offers zilch as a lone striker. He's not fast and he's not all that intelligent in possession. When Adebayor same on, Arsenal looked more threatening. Walcott also looks like a player who has little left in the tank and needs a month off. Nasri was non-existent; disappointing after last week's exertions. Diaby is not a RVP, feeding off the striker.

Hard to know what AW can do with this squad, except use Ramsey and the like in order to give the regulars time to regain some semblance of consistent form. Arsenal aren't a team to fear at the minute, even by the likes of WBA. Tired, lifeless and devoid of creativity so needed for this side to be effective.

[ONeill]

Int Football - Walcott out after dislocating shoulder
Arsene Wenger's dislike of international friendlies is set to intensify after Arsenal's Theo Walcott suffered a dislocated shoulder in training ahead of England's encounter with Germany in Berlin.


The 19-year-old was taken to hospital in agony after suffering the dislocation in a freak accident as he fell in the rain at the Olympic Stadium.

Although Walcott's shoulder was quickly put back into place, the player was in understandable discomfort when he returned to England's team hotel, where an assessment will be made in the morning over his return to London.

"Our priority is Theo and making him as comfortable as possible before he returns to England," said coach Fabio Capello.

"We are all very disappointed but the important thing is for Theo to travel home and make a quick recovery."

An hour earlier, Capello had been stressing how understanding England's major club bosses were over his new philosophy for examining players apparently unfit for international combat only a few days after completing duties for the teams which pay their wages.

If ever there was a test of Capello's relationships, this will be it.

Along with Sir Alex Ferguson, Rafael Benitez and Martin O'Neill, Wenger has never made any secret of his belief that friendly matches are a meaningless inclusion in a packed schedule.

And in the immediate aftermath of his side's defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, he again outlined his opposition to this week's matches.

"It is particularly not welcome at the moment because it is at a period where you want your players to recover a little bit," he said.

"I don't see what you gain from this friendly because there is no game. You can explain a friendly to prepare for an official match but after this there is no international game for four months."

As he digests the news from Germany, Wenger will know Arsenal are the ones who will suffer most from Walcott's unfortunate accident.

With eight major stars missing already, the loss of Walcott is just another name added to that list.

His absence gives someone else, probably Shaun Wright-Phillips, an opportunity to excel in a makeshift team, with Capello knowing Walcott will be fully fit again before England resume their World Cup qualifying campaign against the Ukraine on April 1.

For Wenger, the consequences are much more immediate and far-reaching.

Last season, Derby midfielder Stephen Pearson was ruled out for a month after suffering a similar injury.

If Walcott equalled that timescale, he would miss four league games and the rest of Arsenal's Champions League group campaign.

That would include key visits to Manchester City and Chelsea, with Liverpool due at the Emirates on December 21, while Arsenal's place in the Champions League knock-out phase is by no means secure even though they currently top Group G.

Wenger's opinion is not hard to guess and the fall-out could be explosive, no matter what soothing words the FA tried to use in their statement confirming Walcott's injury.

"During tonight's training session Theo Walcott dislocated his right shoulder after falling on the pitch," said an FA statement.

"Theo was taken to hospital, where he has had the shoulder put back into place.

"Theo will return to the team hotel and a decision will be made in the morning by the medical staff as to when Theo can fly home.

"Arsenal's medical staff were advised of the injury soon after the incident."

Eurosport

[under the bar]

The news re: Walcott sould make the battle for 4th spot interesting for a while at least.

[Puckoon]

What the hell is William warbling about?

From BBC

Gallas questions Arsenal courage 

Gallas says Arsenal's dressing room is becoming increasingly fractious
Arsenal captain William Gallas has warned the Gunners' young stars that they are "not brave enough" to challenge for the Premier League title.

Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa made it four losses in total this term for Arsenal, leaving them nine points adrift of Chelsea and Liverpool.

And 31-year-old Gallas said: "We are not brave enough in battle.

"I think we need to be soldiers. To be champions, you have to play big matches every weekend and fight."

Speaking to the Associated Press, he added: "We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal.

"We have to be warriors. That is how the team will forge their character and experience."

Frenchman Gallas has come under severe personal scrutiny as Arsenal skipper, most recently receiving criticism after being photographed leaving a nightclub with a cigarette in his mouth.

And he was also barracked following a show of petulance at the end of his side's 2-2 draw with Birmingham City last season - and he has admitted friction is creeping into the Arsenal camp.


"There was a problem at half-time of the 4-4 draw with Tottenham," he said. "The only thing that I could say at half-time was 'guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at halftime'."

Gallas revealed that on another occasion some Arsenal players had been insulted by their own team-mate.

"When as captain some players come up to you and talk to you about a player... complaining about him... and then during the match you speak to this player and the player in question insults us, there comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen," he said.

Gallas would not reveal the player's name, although he said the incident occurred during an attacking phase of play, saying: "I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I'm taking it all (the blame). I'm 31, the player is six years younger than me."

Still, the centre-half believes his side can still challenge for honours this season, though he added another season without silverware "would be a kind of failure".

"I have to win something this year. I have to win something, Arsenal has to win something. It's four or five years since Arsenal won anything - 2004 (the league title). That's nearly five years, and that's not good.

"(Big contracts) make the difference, perhaps. You can rest on your laurels, that's for sure."

Arsenal travel to Manchester City in the league on Saturday hoping to avoid their first back-to-back defeats in 58 Premier League encounters.

[imtommygunn]

Robin Van Persie then...

[Minder]

Robin Van Persie then...

Thats the name that seems to be mentioned. The Dutch can be a little too honest for their own good.

[full back]

I would sat Gallas would be as well looking at how he is performing as captain before starting this sh1te

[under the bar]

Could you imagine Patrick Viera or Roy KEane belating about "a player 6 years younger picking on me"?  Time to admit you picked the wrong man as captain Arsene.

[ildanach]

time a new captain was appointed. This has to be the final straw with gallas. Cesc or Toure for the job?