Re: Arsenal Lobby

by Quinten Metsys Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:43 pm

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny felt they showed great determination for their draw with Fulham.

Szczesny says they playing with more steel this season.

"You can see from today that we are up for a fight," said Szczesny.

"Maybe it’s not as beautiful as before but it’s effective. I think we’ve got more experienced players this season.

"We’ve got players like Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker who like to fight. Mikel played for Everton who play different kind of football. I think the players that have come in are very creative as well, like Cesc and Nasri. They are creative but they are different.

"Maybe they are not as beautiful in the way they play but it doesn’t matter if you win the game."

by Quinten Metsys Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:48 pm

SAMIR NASRI and is set to return to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since quitting Arsenal in the summer.
The Manchester City midfielder will be in Roberto Mancini's squad for tomorrow's Carling Cup quarter-final tie.

And Nasri can expect to receive a hostile welcome from Gunners supporters following his exit in August.

The France star said Arsenal fans lacked passion shortly after sealing his £24million move to the Etihad Stadium.

But Arsene Wenger has urged the Gunners' faithful to go easy on their former hero.

He said: "You want to respect the players who have played for us, that is what we expect.

"But it is always more important to support our team on Tuesday night, than to be negative towards the players of Manchester City.

"What is important is we are united to win the game."

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 10 matches but face a huge test against Mancini's multi-million pound squad of superstars.

The team slumped to a 1-1 home draw against Fulham on Saturday, with many of Wenger's stars looking jaded from their midweek European clash against Borussia Dortmund.

It means the Arsenal boss is likely to rest several of his first team regulars, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chu Young Park and Andrei Arshavin expected to feature.

Meanwhile Premier League leaders City could start the game with another former Gunner, Kolo Toure, at centre-half.

Edin Dzeko and Adam Johnson are also set to play after they were omitted from the starting line-up for yesterday's 1-1 Premier League draw at Liverpool.

by Quinten Metsys Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:48 pm

WOJCIECH SZCZESNY insists Arsenal are not a one-man team — despite Robin van Persie's goalscoring heroics.
Although he failed to score in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Fulham, Van Persie has bagged an incredible 31 goals in his last 30 matches.

Last weekend's blank was only the second time in seven games Van Persie has not hit the back of the net.

The draw meant Arsenal's five-match winning run in the Premier League came to an end.

But Polish shot-stopper Szczesny insists his side have enough of a goal threat to cope should the Dutchman's hot streak end.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's Carling Cup quarter-final showdown with Manchester City, Szczesny said: "I don't think we are over-reliant on him.

"We've got some fantastic players in this team and we work as a team.

"The whole team stuck together — when we went 1-0 down against Fulham, we stuck together well.

"I don't think we are a one-man team — we are a great all-round team."

However, Szczesny admitted he was surprised to see Van Persie fail to score against the Cottagers, who have leaked 16 goals in their opening 13 Premier League games.

Szczesny added: "It feels really weird actually. People who have him in fantasy football teams must be gutted!"

by Jay29 Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:35 pm

71 - Mikel Arteta is averaging 71.1 successful passes per game at Arsenal, more than any other player in the 2011-12 PL. Integrated.

by Raptorgunner Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:36 pm

GoonerJay29 wrote:71 - Mikel Arteta is averaging 71.1 successful passes per game at Arsenal, more than any other player in the 2011-12 PL. Integrated.

And some say he is waste of money lol. :facepalm:

I really believe if it was not for him our team would have been in big trouble.

by Sushi Master Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:41 pm

We would be, actually. We have no direct substitute until Jack comes back, apart from him being very complete tactically and even has decent defensive skills. He's the sorta "does his job so well, you don't notice" type of player.

Well, there's Diaby, but you know Laughing

by Jay29 Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:50 pm

He may just be water-carrying, but then again, how many of those passes are finding the likes of Ramsey and van Persie? Even the playmakers need a player who will be able to find them regularly, otherwise they won't be able to assert their creative influence on games.

I found this piece today on FourFourTwo Performance about playmaking, with advice from our very own Jack Wilshere:

http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/technique/jack-wilshere-how-to-keep-possession

The most interesting bit for me, is:

“It’s important to always try and play forwards, because that’s where the goal is, but if you can’t go forward, play sideways – keeping possession is the most important thing. To do this you have to have a picture in your head of what you’re going to do with the ball before it comes to you. A good way to work on this is by playing two-touch keep-ball – five versus two chasing players – in a tight space. Working on little situations like this will help you take these skills into a game.”

And an extract from a related article, again based on Wilshere:

http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/technique/run-the-midfield-jack-wilshere

Jack: A playmaker should always want to receive the ball. At Arsenal, I’m lucky to have Cesc [Fabregas]. He’s a dream to play with because he’s always in space and he always finds you when you’re in space, giving me time to think and play the next pass that will keep the flow of our play moving.

This is the difference between Arteta and someone like Denilson. Arteta looks forward and rarely passes backwards, and he always finds Ramsey and van Persie. Goes to show that a playmaker doesn't necessarily have to provide assists and defence splitting passes to be good. Wilshere performed this exact same role last season.

by urbaNRoots Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:57 pm

GoonerJay29 wrote:71 - Mikel Arteta is averaging 71.1 successful passes per game at Arsenal, more than any other player in the 2011-12 PL. Integrated.

He's been great for us, always controlling the tempo and some quality passes. Don't know if he'll get dropped when Jack recovers. I don't want him out.

by lenear1030 Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:04 pm

GoonerJay29 wrote:71 - Mikel Arteta is averaging 71.1 successful passes per game at Arsenal, more than any other player in the 2011-12 PL. Integrated.

crazy how we got him with just 30-45 minutes left in the transfer window

by Raptorgunner Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:10 pm

urbaNRoots wrote:
GoonerJay29 wrote:71 - Mikel Arteta is averaging 71.1 successful passes per game at Arsenal, more than any other player in the 2011-12 PL. Integrated.

He's been great for us, always controlling the tempo and some quality passes. Don't know if he'll get dropped when Jack recovers. I don't want him out.

I would still keep Arteta and if he need rest we can start Jack. I also would like to give as much as time Jack need to recover even if that is until next season.

by Sushi Master Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:25 pm

Jack's not coming back 100% until next season, anyways. And Arteta is hitting 30 so they're both going to get plenty of playing time.

"Playmakers" nowadays seem to be purely remembered as those killer ball, Hollywood pass, Fabregas types who always have to be looking forward and people forgive if they constantly give the ball away because they're the playmaker.

Arteta is being deployed as a regista, who's still a playmaker, just not as flashy but just as (and even more) important. He plays much deeper than Fabregas thus has hell to pay if he looses the ball there, has greater responsibility and needs to be more tactically aware than if he were played in the classic '10' role. I know our defense is overall better than before, but defense starts in midfield or in the forwards for a possession based side such as Arsenal. Arteta has added much needed solidity which is why we have such great defense and don't have to worry about blowing 3 goal leads as before.

He's our Vagi, but with class Laughing

by RealGunner Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:47 pm

Great points about arteta wilshere and the role of a good playmaker.

by RealGunner Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:47 pm

Tottenhams new stadium

Spoiler:

by Raptorgunner Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:47 pm

Arsenal News: Vermaelen admits that he thought about quitting last summer

I thought about it really long and hard because I knew there were some doubts about the club. But the most important thing for me is that I feel happy here.

Another thing is that I’ve only played one year my first. Last year I was injured, so I thought I had to give something back to the club and the fans. I felt, for me, it wasnt done here.

I still believe in the club and the structure of it is really good, so these are the main reasons I stayed.

People think if things are difficult it is always better at another club.

But if things are not going as you want in the beginning it doesn’t mean you have to quit.

Thats the job, you have to fight for it and get better and better.

Its easy to quit and go somewhere else, but that doesnt mean somewhere else is better.

This is a really nice club, I feel at home here. The board, the boss, the fans … they have a lot of belief in me, so why should I leave?

You always feel part of the team even when you are injured and if you’re part of a team that is getting criticised its not always fun.

Its better that you have people talking good about you, but this is part of football.

Its not always easy, sometimes you get difficult periods and we had that at the beginning of this season but now, step by step, were getting better.

The organisation in the team is better and, if you talk a lot from the back and make sure your shape is good as a team, it makes it easier to defend.

If you make sure Alex Song in front of you and others in front of him have a good shape it helps as well and that means you’re not getting under pressure.

Hopefully the criticism we received at the start of the season will make us stronger towards the end of it and I hope we can improve with every game. Were doing OK, but its not perfect yet.

Because we didn’t have a great start we were in a situation where we had to look at every game separately and just fight for every point.

We still have to work hard throughout the season because there are other teams doing well, so it will be tough.

But Im pleased the way we are playing now and how were organised, that’s really important.

If you have Robin scoring every game then its going to be good for us as well.

by EL Patron Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:49 pm

would like him to offer a bit more offensively...in terms of assists or goals

by Raptorgunner Mon Nov 28, 2011 6:04 pm

RealGunner wrote:Tottenhams new stadium

Spoiler:

by Raptorgunner Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:58 pm

'Mikel Arteta gives us experience and intelligence' - Arsenal striker Robin van Persie

The striker has been in fine form in front of goal this year, but has stated that the improvement in Arsenal's performances since the start of the season has been a team effort, and not just down to him.

"What I really like at the moment is that you can see people stepping up a level and growing in confidence," Van Persie told Arsenal's matchday programme. "I can really notice that around the team.

"For example, Mikel Arteta is playing really well. He's so intelligent. He knows when to go forward, he knows when to sit back.

"Sometimes Alex Song makes a run forward, and because of his experience, Mikel can read the game perfectly, knows when to go forward, when to help his team out, or when to play others.

"Everyone can see he has grown into his role, and you can tell he has played many games in the Premier League."

www.goal.com

by urbaNRoots Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:38 pm

A bit offtopic but Huddersfield are losing their first game after being unbeaten in 43 games. Half time now.

by Iceman Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:58 am

Such a great performance imo. This performance shows exactly how Walcott has improved this season. Better vision, better final ball, beats his man, runs at defenses and tracks back brilliantly

Although he did lose Riise for the unfortunate goal

by beatrixasdfghjk. Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:34 am

'Nasri, Arsenal's star performer the previous campaign, was courted by Manchester City.'
Which idiot is writing our Wiki articles?
There's no need to mention Nasri on Fabregas' page, nor was he a star performer :facepalm:

.

by Sri Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:00 pm

beatrixasdfghjk. wrote:'Nasri, Arsenal's star performer the previous campaign, was courted by Manchester City.'
Which idiot is writing our Wiki articles?
There's no need to mention Nasri on Fabregas' page, nor was he a star performer .

Wiki is unfortunately open source and anybody can write or review articles on it.. That is why you can't use Wiki as a quote on anything official.. Trust me, that hurts a LOT when you are a grad student Sad