Arsenal Thread

[TheArsenal]

Hleb was at his best in Germany when he was running forward on the ball and taking on defenders. When he started playing for us he would really frustrate me because he just wouldn't run on the ball and looked to pass quickly as soon as he got the ball. In a way that's good because he was trying to fit in with our style of play, but he is simply amazing when he runs with it. He's starting to do that a little bit more now, and had a good run that led to his goal. Hopefully he'll carry on progressing with that.

It is reeally scary how well some of our young players are coming on this year. If this keeps up and we don't get the same injury issues next time round, we could challenging for the league again next year, and more besides.

[TheArsenal]

Brighton have suffered a setback in their search for a striker after Arturo Lupoli was ruled out for the season.

Chairman Dick Knight had arranged a loan deal with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger for the 18-year-old.

Lupoli was set to move after making his comeback from a foot injury for Arsenal's reserves on Monday.

But further tests on the injury have revealed a hairline fracture of the metatarsal, ruling the Italian out of the rest of the campaign.

"Despite this disappointment our search for a new striker will continue right up to the deadline on Thursday," said Knight.

[TheArsenal]

Our game today away to Portsmouth has just been postponed due to bad weather and a waterlogged pitch.

As things stand, Blackburn will move above us.

Edited March 25, 2006 by TheArsenal

[Grounded Wingman]

Our game today away to Portsmouth has just been postponed due to bad weather and a waterlogged pitch.

As things stand, Blackburn will move above us.

[TheArsenal]

Freddie Ljungberg and Sol Campbell will not be fit for the Champions League tie with Juventus at Highbury on Tuesday night.

The Swedish midfielder has been troubled by a calf injury he picked up against Liverpool on March 12 while the England defender has been out since February 1 with bruising on his ankle.

“I wanted to play Sol tomorrow,” said Arsène Wenger at his pre-game press conference on Monday. “But I cannot because he could not practice today. He got a kick so it will be two or three days for him.

“Freddie Ljungberg had a setback on his calf last week so he will not make it.”

Wenger has named a 18-man squad for the first leg against Juventus:

Jens Lehmann

Manuel Almunia

Robert Pires

Gilberto

Alexander Hleb

Cesc Fabregas

Abou Diaby

Alexandre Song

Theo Walcott

Jose Antonio Reyes

Robin van Persie

Dennis Bergkamp

Thierry Henry

Philippe Senderos

Kolo Toure

Emmanuel Eboue

Mathieu Flamini

Johan Djourou

[Guest muddatrucker]

Sol Campbell I have no care for, the sooner he fucks off to Hollywood shooting gay porno flicks the sooner we'll be rid of him.

I'm happy with Hleb playing on the wing, at least we've got VP and DB10 back.

[TheArsenal]

Arsene Wenger has revealed that he allowed Patrick Vieira to leave Arsenal last summer because he couldn’t match Juventus' offer of a five-year contract.

The details behind Vieira's shock departure have remained murky. Having - eventually - rejected a move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2004, Vieira had been expected to finish his career at Arsenal.

However, Juventus tempted the Gunners to sell their ageing captain with a £13.7m bid. With Wenger unable offer the 29-year-old a long-term deal to match the five-year contract Juve were willing to offer the Frenchman, the Arsenal manager chose to repay Vieira for nine years' service by allowing him to determine his own future.

"It was his decision to go," the Arsenal manager confirmed.

"He had a superb offer from Juventus for a five-year contract. He had only two years to go with us and we were not in a situation at that time to extend his contract. Can you refuse a guy who has played nine years for you the opportunity to have a five-year contract? I didn't want to do that and tell him at 31 or 32 maybe we cannot extend it."

"I am very grateful for what this guy has done for the Club. He has given us nine fantastic years and this guy had a fantastic influence on English football."

The emergence of Cesc Fabregas was also a factor in Wenger's decision to let Vieira leave. While keen to avoid admitting that he essentially chose the young Spaniard over the ageing Frenchman, Wenger accepted that Fabregas' development would have been stunted unless Vieira moved aside.

"When you have a youth policy, the final step is to make room for the players growing behind. Without that you cannot have a youth policy.

"A lot of people have good young players and at some stage they all arrive at the door. If you do not open the door for them they stay behind it. Patrick will always be a great player for us. Whether it was right to sell or not is not a question that haunts me at all.

"Fabregas was waiting for me to play him and if Patrick had not gone he would have waited another year or two. We are grateful for that and now another generation has come behind. They need to show they are as good if not better."

Fabregas and the rest of his fellow young Guns will have the opportunity to prove as much when they line up against Juventus and Vieira on Tuesday night.

Unlike with the tie against Real Madrid, Arsenal will play the first leg against Juve on home territory. Yet Wenger remains concerned that it may not prove to be an advantage.

"In the first game you have to attack but you know that every goal you concede is a problem for you.

"We will have to manage the problem of finding the right balance between attacking and defending well, without losing your enthusiasm going forward.

"We knew against Real Madrid it would be two games where both teams would go for it. This time Juventus will play in a more restricted way. But they will try to be efficient. They are very experienced and the characteristic of such a team is that they will create maybe two chances and try to take one.

"There is no question about their quality; they are top of their league. They have a good quota between efficiency and domination. There are periods when they can be really efficient then at others they will suck you in and wait for their time.

"But not conceding a goal is always a good result. As long as you don't concede you have a chance away from home."

[The LBTN Express]

So Arsenal must pass, play at pace, put Juventus on the back foot and hope Henry can produce more magic.

[fineintent]

As good as Fabregas is, take Henry out and you're fucked. Can't really say the same for another player in the squad.

[TheArsenal]

Take Henry out, and as a squad we can still perform.

But we do miss that touch of magic that only Henry can provide. But put Henry in and English team, and you'll have the same problem. There isn't another player in England who compares to him.

[Summers]

Take Henry out, and you're not the same team, at all.

[TheArsenal]

I never said we're the same team. I said we can still perform. I did say we lose his magic.

READ SUMMS!!!

[Summers]

And I'm saying at all. Sure you can still perform, but it's not even close to being the same, IMO.

[fineintent]

Take Henry out, and as a squad we can still perform.

But we do miss that touch of magic that only Henry can provide. But put Henry in and English team, and you'll have the same problem. There isn't another player in England who compares to him.

[TheArsenal]

Take Henry out, and as a squad we can still perform.

But we do miss that touch of magic that only Henry can provide. But put Henry in and English team, and you'll have the same problem. There isn't another player in England who compares to him.

I don't disagree, but (with the exception of Rooney/Man Utd) there isn't another 'big' team in England who rely heavily on one player.

You could argue that Liverpool used to, but Alonso and Sissoko have been superb, while Chelsea, Spurs, Bolton or Blackburn are examples of stong, if (baring Chelsea, and arguably Spurs!) unspectacular, team units.

[public enemy]

I'd have to disagree.

The Arsenal team of the last few seasons has been built around Henry and rightly so. The style of play, the tactics and everything else is perfectly suited to Henry and therefore to take him out of that particular system would harm the team, especially against a club such as Juve.

[TheArsenal]

We've started well.

Fabregas went close, forcing a good save. Hleb looks a little uneasy on the right.

[therockbox]

FABREGAS

I'd love to see Arsenal win the Champions League, and hopefully they can beat Juve by a couple.

[Dan]

Fabregas!

Good goal, 'keeper was shite though.

Henry just almost added a second. Good game for a neatural.

[TheArsenal]

COME ON FABREGAS!

He's been great tonight. And Reyes is working his ass off. Eboue, Senderos and Toure are great at the back. Flamini is getting forward well. Pires is working damn hard. Henry isn't at his best but is still amazing. Hleb looks nervous, he needs to settle quickly. Silva's been quite. Didn't realise he was playing. I had to check on the BBC website to see who the last player was.

Lehmann hasn't really had to do anything.