Wenger on Theo



Interesting to see that it seems like he is really coming around to the idea of Theo through the middle.

It's about the money.

I'm sure it is...

Starting XI v United: Mannone, Sagna, Santos, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud.

Just one question, WHY THE FUCK IS RAMSEY STARTING!!

EDIT: Scratch that, considering our injuries and the fact Theo played 120+ minutes midweek it's probably not a bad idea to have him coming off the bench.

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 3/11/2012 10:57:45 PM

I don't watch too many Arsenal games but:-

- Surely someone is better than Santos? Valencia and Rafael had far too many runs along the line unchecked.

- Arteta in Song's position? Surely he is better off somewhere else because since Song's departure it seems that Arteta has't been as influential?

Completely agree on Santos. The sooner Gibbs is back the better.

As for Arteta, apart from the the last 2 games he has been an immense upgrade on Song. He actually gives us some sort of solidity in the middle that we never had with Song in there.

I don't watch too many Arsenal games but:-

- Surely someone is better than Santos? Valencia and Rafael had far too many runs along the line unchecked.

- Arteta in Song's position? Surely he is better off somewhere else because since Song's departure it seems that Arteta has't been as influential?

Completely agree on Santos. The sooner Gibbs is back the better.

As for Arteta, apart from the the last 2 games he has been an immense upgrade on Song. He actually gives us some sort of solidity in the middle that we never had with Song in there.

Disagree with Arteta, I've very respect for him but he's not a destroyer. Arteta has been caught out a few times for pace and has been forced into a foul, he doesn't have the required phyiscal presence to perform the Song role. With big Diaby out (usually), you have to say that we look physically weak there. Having said that, Arteta is doing well as a deep lying playmaker but I don't think he's solid enough as a holding midfielder.

Anyway, wasn't as horrible a night as it could've been with Chelsea, City, Sp*rs and Everton all dropping points.

Not sure if I feel relieved about that, or annoyed that we didn't capitalise on this opportunity. Probably relieved, I should never have been expecting to get much from United away.

:lol: The amount of people suggesting it's time for Arsene to go is just insane.

Arteta's not a destroyer, but neither was Song, or at least he didn't play like one. Arteta is much more solid than Song because he's much more disciplined, he's willing to actually protect the back 4 and not maraud forward every 2nd possession like Song would. Arteta is much much better at the role than Song was and much better than Diaby would be.

Arteta is a better tackler, completing 3.8 tackles this season compared to Song's 2.9 last season. He also gives away less fouls, giving away 2.5 a game to Song's 2.9 last season. He's streets ahead as a passer with his 93.2% pass completion to Song's 84.3%. He makes more interceptions with 2.4 a game compared to Song's 1.9.

So yeah easy to sit there and say Arteta can't play that role like Song, when he actually plays it better than Song.

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 4/11/2012 09:42:25 AM

Main thing is, right now, Wenger is the best man for the job and getting rid of him now or at the end of the season would probably do more harm than good. Like he said at the AGM, we all complain when we come 3rd and qualify for the Champions League, but he won't be
here if we finish 15th one day

As for Robson, he's been peddling that shit about a rift between Arsene and Steve for months :lol: Cunt has been extra bitter since he lost his job with the club

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 4/11/2012 03:35:01 PM

Andy Dunn's Big Match Verdict: Why Arsenal's star struck response to RVP reveals the club they have become
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/andy-dunns-big-match-verdict-1415442

Seeing as though so many people now park civilised behaviour at the front door of a football stadium, Robin van Persie might have been excused a one-fingered ¬salute. If 2,000 blokes – I assume blokes – had spent half an hour calling me a “c***”, I suspect my celebrations would have been more vociferous than Van Persie’s calming double-handed gesture. I’m no prude, but surely those Arsenal supporters could have found a more socially acceptable way of communicating their anger.
There was another chant which made you wonder how a game of football, or a footballer changing employers, can warp a mind. Considering the abuse their manager has had to endure over the years, you might have thought they would know better. Van Persie did not bite – but his ­response could not have been more biting. It was not that he scored. That was inevitable. It was not that he gave Andre Santos his shirt as the teams broke after 45 ­minutes. It was that he did not bother asking for ­Santos’s jersey in return. And in that one humiliating cameo, this Arsenal team – this pale, limp, weak, ­ineffective shadow of the Vieira/Adams/Petit/Dixon sides who once strode ­barrel-chested into this ­stadium – was defined.
There are simply too many players, with Santos as their standard-bearer, who feel lucky to be at this elite level. Can you imagine Vieira’s response if one of his Invincibles had asked for a United shirt at half-time? At ANY time, come to think of it. Van Persie saw the malaise taking a grip, saw a collection of players for whom winning nothing was fine, saw the mediocrity of new recruits, saw a manager accepting it all. And he wanted no more of it. He wanted what Arsene Wenger and Arsenal once symbolised – that relentless drive for excellence and achievement. He knew he could find it at Old Trafford. The damning indictment was that United barely shed a bead of perspiration in ­victory.
United were sloppy, casual. Yet Wenger’s team never looked likely to capitalise. Highlighting the abysmal performance from Santos is just puppy-kicking. Too easy. And the defensive rick that led to Van Persie’s goal – this time from Thomas Vermaelen – is a weekly feature of Arsenal life. Mikel Arteta’s best form is a dot on the ­horizon.But more alarming were the contributions of those players who were meant to compensate for the loss of Van Persie. Maybe you can give Santi Cazorla an off-day (his late strike was irrelevant).But Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski were ­shockingly ponderous. That only highlighted the appalling decision to start Theo Walcott on the bench. With 10 men including Theo, Arsenal looked a more dangerous side than with 11 men ­without him. It was a selection that smacked of pig-­headedness.
And when Wenger is ­getting things horribly wrong, that is when Arsenal supporters should really worry. According to those ­supporters, Van Persie is a so-and-so. Well, if that is the case, he is a clever one. He saw this coming. Meanwhile, Arsenal fans charted 'Wenger, Wenger, sort it out' after the manager's worst start to the season for 16 years.