Arsenal Thread

[lafunky xxvii]

Van Persie really is the fucking nuts.

[Guest muddatrucker]

ITV seem to have the same stance as my SU bar, they'll pick a Utd game over everything, even though they're all ending as borefests. Luckily they can't keep this up when they don't qualify.

[supergrass]

Where do you go to university? As mine's a London university (Goldsmiths) there are fare few Arsenal fans, allowing us to use sheer numbers to make sure Arsenal are shown whenever they're on.

[Guest muddatrucker]

I hear Cesc. scored a cracker from 25 yards, hopefully they'll be more, disappointing to see Van Persie on the bench, lets hope he'll get on the scoresheet sometime today too.

[Guest muddatrucker]

I'm like Uri Gellar, only less iranian, sexier and more accurate.

[therockbox]

Van Persie's goal was amazing. Great control and finish.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Arsenal up and running again.

Van has been awesome to watch lately, lovely goal today. Henry outstanding as usual though, just a joy to watch. I never thought I'd say it either, but Lehman has improved quite a bit. Still one or two mistakes today, but looking a lot more better than he was many months ago.

[Guest muddatrucker]

Its been along while since Lehmann has made any real mistakes or done anything stupid, when hes on form, he's solid as fuck, I don't think a new keeper is a priority, but I'd like to see someone good and young to be his future replacement.

[CarlitoJay]

Great victory in the Carling Cup on Tuesday evening. Van persie keeping his goal cpring going is deffinately pleasing. He has nearly beaten his overall scoring record of last season. Reyes scoring was also a breath of fresh air. Its great to see him on the scoresheet after a dozen games. Aturo Lupoli im[pressed me with his goal.

He has 12 goals in 9 games in the reserves and looks very good for the future of the club.

[Guest muddatrucker]

From watching the highlights this morning (I missed the start of MOTD), I'm appalled, I was listening in on the radio live, but after 2-0 I turned it off and fell asleep, hoping that a comeback would of happened by the time I woke.

What is Cygan still doing at LB? infact, what is he doing on the pitch? he's too slow, he's clumsy and he has the touch of a rapist. Gilberto really is playing poorly too, without Vieira he doesn't seem to know what he's doing.

We definitely need to make some signings in January but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't, the league has passed us by already, but if this is going to be that 'transitional' year, we actually need to do something, rather than just wasting the season.

[lanky316]

You looked really ordinary yesterday from watching Football First last night. The problem seems to be you only have one consistent defender and he's injued :\ When Viera left I thought he'd be a big pair of shoes to replace but I didn't realise he's leaving would be THAT drastic to you.

It's nice to see the power shifting in North London though

[Guest muddatrucker]

Powershifting? more like a spurs fan getting excited.

[britneyspearsisgod]

It's nice to see the power shifting in North London though

[TheArsenal]

So.....

Whats the answer?

[supergrass]

As far back as the middle of last season it was pretty clear we could do with a goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward - and that was when we had Vieira. Vieira in a Hleb out leaves us exactly where we were (in terms of numbers at least, the two are very different players).

If it didn't work last year, why would it work this year when other teams have got stronger? If there aren't signings in January then it's a worrying sign the club don't know what the answers are. With Fabregas, Flamini, Reyes, van Persie, Senderos, Eboue, Clichy etc we have a great up-and-coming team, but we need quality players who can perform week-in week-out and do it now.

[TheArsenal]

But is it a problem that Arsenal isn't as big a club as it thinks it is?

I mean, we were promised two world class signings in the summer, and we failed to deliver on every transfer target except Hleb, and a loan deal for Mart Poom. Can it be said that we're not as big a draw as Chelsea, Real Madrid, or Man Utd?

I mean we're one of the most consistent teams in the league. We're the only club to finish in the top two every year since 1998, but until we either win the Champions League, or come damn close, are we gonna struggle to pull in the big names?

Moving to the Emirates Stadium may help. It will certainly bring us more of an income, and our reputation may improve from having a 60,000 seater stadium instead of 38,500.

I agree with what has been said about the likes of Fabregas, Flamini, Reyes, van Persie, Senderos, Eboue, Clichy etc. but what will we do in the meantime if we cannot get some stars right now? Are we on a paralleled decline with Man Utd? Are we running a serious risk of losing the stars (Henry, Cole, etc) that we have now by building a team for tomorrow and not today?

[supergrass]

I think we could get the best players if we are prepared to shell out the money for them. Every so often (more than often in Wenger's case) you can pull an absolute diamond from the rough, but largely in football you get what you pay for - I think at times we've been reluctant to invest big. Although we spent a lot on Reyes and Hleb, they're still not what I would call big, proven names by any means.

As for our drawing power, I'm not sure about Arsenal in itself. But if you were to ask a player if they fancy playing in London, before 60,000+ people, under Wenger and with the likes of Henry we could easily bring the stars in.

I think also we need to stop taking our current line with Thierry Henry. He is a complete one of a kind and any team would love to have him, but it looks a little sad even to me every time one of our players or staff comes out in the press and begs him to stay. There was life after Wright and Anelka, as there will be Henry. Let him make his mind up at the end of the year if he likes but he should also respect that the club needs to get on with its own business.

The bottom line is we probably need to start thinking and acting like the big club we are. Ljungberg, Henry and a whole host of others were great finds for good prices but you can't rely on that to happen all the time. We are a club who could attract the top players but the board need to understand that you have to pay for them.

Edited December 10, 2005 by supergrass

[YI]

**Does the universal sign language for go fist yourself**

**walks out**

Seriously tough look. It was a bit of a dirty game, the red card just went in Newcastle's favour.

[TheArsenal]

**Does the universal sign language for go fist yourself**

**walks out**

Seriously tough look. It was a bit of a dirty game, the red card just went in Newcastle's favour.

[YI]

**Does the universal sign language for go fist yourself**

**walks out**

Seriously tough look. It was a bit of a dirty game, the red card just went in Newcastle's favour.

Hardly one game though.

Look at our away form this season. Two years ago we were unbeaten for a year, and while that won't happen every year, we look to be a completely different team now.