Growing an incredible mancrush on this bloke this season

Harness the result to keep the boys fighting the rest of the season but we're still shit and we were shit on the night.

Agree with the Jenks love, is probably better then Sagna atm.

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Sagna at cb, was excellent there against Sunderland and has always been one of the best in the air in the team.

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 14/3/2013 03:33:57 PM

Thing is, if Sagna moves centrally, one of Koscielny/Mert misses out, and both should be starting players. Ideally we should just have Sagna/Jenks competing for the RB sport for the next season and a half, and letting Bac move on when his contract expires. If Jenks does not progress like we hope then give Bac another extension.

Yeah I'd definitely prefer Kos and Per as our CB partnership, although Sagna is definitely an option there in case of injuries or a lack of form or whatever.

So we all agree that tv5 is now fourth choice :lol: why don't we play him as dm ?

We need a new centre back in the offseason, someone with a bit of bite like amoriabeta or whatever his name is, tv to be moved on.

I agree, DM would be worth try, not sure his passing and positioning is good enough though

The defence is fine, the manager is the problem.

I think he'd be very good at DM. Positioning is less important than it is in defence, and his passing is very good.

I think TV would love a go at DM, would mean he could go on those big runs forward and not have to worry so much about getting back so quickly :lol:

If could play tv at dm it will mean arteta can play an attacking role again and also cover tv when one is on bench .wish we end up with wayanama

I don't think Tv has good enough passing and I doubt he'd have the positioning and discipline for it. Arsene really needs to buy a defensive midfielder this coming transfer window, who actually does their job (I.e. not Alex Song, wouldn't say no to Isco or Jovetic either ;) ).

Up the boys, a reasonable performance. Best game the ox has had in a while and cazorla was good, walcott was disappointing though.

Going to be very interesting to see what Arsene does with Fabianski and Szczesny. Can't really drop Fabianski at the moment, and who knows this might be the best thing for Szczesny, we've said for months how he badly needs some competition for his spot, well he's got it.

The other spot of contention is Koscielny and Vermaelen, which will be interesting to see if Arsene feels like he has to play TV because he's captain. Although I don't think he will do that unless one of Koscielny or Per has a horrible dip in form. TV may get a game here and there but Per and Kos are our first choice pairing at the moment.

Szcez needs the competion ,he was comfortable because he had an impededed run. Let him sit on the bench for a while . Tv5 to me has struggled with the burden of captaincy .mikkel should've been named captain from the start .

I agree Szczesny needs to sit on the bench for a little while, he needs to work on his footwork as well so he doesn't let in so many long shots :-s .

TV has been very prone to individual errors for the past 2 seasons, unfortunately Koscielny is the same, meaning Mertesacker has to play. I really feel he is too slow for the premier league, so I would love it if Arsene bought a new cb in the window.

Mertesacker only seems too slow because of the suicidal high line we play at times. Definitely our best defender by a mile.

Per is the one cb ill play always seems to calm everyone down also has been said the place has a better atmosphere due to per to be a calming influence . Playing boss and tv5 together is suicide .as both have the tendency to egg each other on to do the most diabolical fuck ups ever . Tv might be good as a dm alongside someone who will actually defend for him

Edited by mvfcarsenal16.8: 17/3/2013 03:51:17 PM

It is NOT a personnel problem. Thomas Vermaelen is one of the best defenders in the league alongside the likes of Kos and Mertesacker. They're all strong in the tackle, read the game well, organise well and keep their concentration even when we have high amounts of possession. The fact is, when you defend like we choose to defend, the defenders cannot make a single mistake and a single mistake will likely prove disastrous.

Why's this? Because they always have to be on the front foot. That means a single error in judgment will leave an attacker with acres of space. I think this is the best defence we've had since we last won the league. I really like these defenders, I think they've got a lot to offer for Arsenal.

My biggest gripe is that they're almost forced into pushing high and staying on the front foot. Every now and then it's good and we create new opportunities through quick transitions but it's a risky game. This aversion to dropping deep where necessary is ruining Arsenal. Honestly, over just about anything: ticket prices, Stan, transfers... This is the big problem. Arsene Wenger has to seek the advice of Steve Bould whose defence adapted to each situation where necessary. That's what this team needs and that's what Arsene Wenger has to do.

I think he has now let Bould do a lot more with the defence. During the Bayern game he was constantly in the defenders ears. Can't remember seeing that before this season.

We were solid at the start of the season, then the rumours of Bould getting shunted because he was getting too many plaudits came out and our defence has been shit since.

We were solid for a couple of games, which was all down to Bould apparently, then it went to shit and suddenly everything was Arsene's fault :lol:

In reality that was all Arsene since Bould would've had very little actual 1v1 coaching with the defense, would've been a much more general thing if anything.

That crap about a rift between Arsene and Bould was all started by that cunt Stewart Robson and there has never been anything else to back it up apart from that bitter pricks hearsay.

:lol: So true.

Hmmm, I guess we better ignore all that tactical analysis between those early games and the rest of the season... Nothing changed at all? Come on mate, you're smarter then that.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2294870/Per-Mertesacker-revealed-training-ground-exchange-reason-Arsenal-defending-well.html
That was Per on the difference between the last two games and the Tottenham game.

Now, as you may or may not be aware, Gary Neville's tactical analysis was largely on the fact that we press ridiculously high and fail to cover each other and drop where necessary. It's been something myself (and Stewart Robson) have been bemoaning for yonks. The Arsenal defence did this in the first few games of the season. They dropped deeper, covered each other and understood when to play the offside trap. Steve Bould's defences did this in the old days too, they adapted to each situation where necessary.

http://metro.co.uk/2012/09/06/arsene-wenger-talks-up-influence-of-steve-bould-on-arsenal-defence-567444/
So Bould is in charge of the defensive job...

We can put rumours of a split aside (I don't think they should be disregarded in the context of what I've just said) but what we can be sure of is that something has changed. Frankly to think that nothing has changed is utterly oblivious.

And please, don't disregard Stewart Robson as some bitter cunt even if it is the popular thing to do, he played for some years at Arsenal and was employed in a media role for half a decade. He doesn't have to be on the payroll to make a comment and he's been talking about these defensive frailties for yonks. From memory, he was one of the first to praise the Steve Bould influence. So far, nobody has disproved him and more interestingly nobody likes to talk about Wenger getting it wrong tactically.

I don't think Wenger only wants yes men, I think that's an insulting comment to make. Wenger surely had a say in appointing Steve Bould. It is however, absolutely absurd to disregard legitimate tactical analysis, a former employee and Per Mertesacker's own comments. I cannot imagine Steve Bould not realising the problems our defence has, they're so obvious.

[youtube]rKm85q3t6bQ[/youtube]

He continues on from the job Pat Rice was doing, the same job in which by all reports Pat Rice had very little to do with the defence. Most people in the know have said that Wenger likes to have almost complete control over the training of the squad, and most have said Steve Bould has had very little to do with the defense. Now I don't know if that is the case, but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

As for no one wanting to talk about Arsene getting it wrong tactically :lol: You're kidding right, that's all anyone ever talks about, how he shouldn't have played this player, or how he shouldn't have made this sub. If anything it's more interesting how no one ever talks about when he gets it right and gives him the credit he deserves.

As for for regarding Stewart Robson as a bitter and twisted cunt. I will continue to do so until he proves he can be anything other than some bitter prick who attacks the club for the most trivial thing at every single opportunity and until it stops seeming painful for him to give the club and Arsene some credit every once in a while. Even as an employee of the club he just couldn't help but putting the boot in whenever he could, so glad the club fucked him off.

In the end I just don't think those few games at the start of the season had a whole lot to do with Steve Bould, and if they did why did he not get any criticism for it falling apart? Because I highly doubt Arsene would've given him that control and then taken it back after a month.

Once people have chosen their scapegoat (Wenger), everything is their fault no matter how illogical :)

Those same people who are quick to critisize are somewhat quiet when things go good . Hello piers Morgan .