A day with a sprinkling of good news
ByI woke up this morning thinking that we were due some good news soon. Whether it be on the pitch tomorrow night, or whether it be about the relentless injuries that we’ve been accumulating like a nonsense. I’d even forgotten about a small gathering in Nyon that was to decide where next the Arsenal charter plane would venture as we pursued European glory.
Lisbon it turned out to be. FC Porto is one team we’re getting to know well, and I’m sure the administrative teams at Highbury House and at Porto will already have a lot of the ground work covered for the trip considering we’ve played Porto in 3 of the last 4 campaigns. Arsenal scouts will possibly be seen trying to assume a stealthy presence at all Porto games from now on, but hey! If they get us the intelligence needed – it’s all good.
I’ve always taken the view with competitions like this that to win it, you have to beat the best of the lot and it really doesn’t matter at what point you do. The matches are spread over 4 weeks in February and March 2010 and hopefully, we will have a good complement of our players back in full fitness. FC Porto are an experienced outfit who don’t turn up to make the numbers, and we will have to be at our best.
What’s pleased me more is that Manchester Utd and Chelsea are due a trip to the Sansiro to face the Milan clubs. The sheer volume of the hype that will be around those matches with Mourinho and Beckham taking centre stage is very very welcome. It’s welcome because it will allow Arsenal to quietly go about its business in the background without the full glare of the media. The only thing the media are likely to do to us is demotivate the team with their anti-Arsenalism, and we can surely do without that.
On other matters good news, Neves Denilson is back for the game against Hull, and Cesc’s hamstring doesn’t look to be that bad and it looks like he’ll be available Sunday week to face Villa. Traore and Eboue are also back – and frankly speaking, I’d rather have either of Traore or Eboue facing the pace of Villa on the flanks than having Sly cover for us at left back. Sly has his attributes that help the team, but dealing with Villa’s pacey wingers are not one of his attributes.
Speaking of Eboue, he is probably Arsenal’s most underappreciated player. This considering that he is our most valuable versatile squad member. Many will have formed judgements about the Ivorian based on his previous transgressions, but only a thankless person will fail to appreciate what his versatility brings to the squad.
I am very impressed with how Eboue has knuckled down despite him being the target of boo boys, and he has shown his worth to his team-mates and the fans. Granted, he’s not going to ping in the goals like Arshavin or Van Persie, but he has his purpose in the team – and he can be deployed effectively in a number of positions. Think of him as our very own exotic James Milner.
Apparently also, Owen Coyle (a man after my own heart for his determination to play proper football regardless of his resources), took the opportunity pre-match to sound Wenger off about Little Jack Willy spending the rest of the season at Turf Moor on loan. Wenger should consider this request. Burnley is a good profile team that tries to play a similar brand of football, and Little Jack Willy will thrive. They will be fighting to stay in the Premiership and this is the sort of club that will provide valuable experience to the young gunner.
Burnley don’t have a lot of resources financially, but their desire to play the game is laudable and if Arsenal can help them in their quest to stay up, then I think it’s a good idea. Little Jack Willy will be a better player for it.
Tue 13th September 2011; 19:45, Dortmund
Yes Darius, a relatively kind draw and I hope we make the most of it.
Coming to Wilshere, given our injury woes this season, I’m apprehensive about lending people out. In a pinch, and that’s not too far away going by the invalid sheet, I’d rather we have just about every available pair of legs on hand, specially when, between the league and the cups, we are going to be quite busy.
I’m not sure Saloner whether a loanee can be called back to base to cover for injuries. Loan spells seem to be much shorter.
I do think Little Jack Willy will benefit, though it’s hard to say how our injury situation will be. I think the mileage will do him good, though there’s also the risk of him facing some unsavoury characters who won’t want him to play football.
Saying that, I do agree that having him in the squad is backup is a key issue, especially if we have a good FA cup run and Wenger needs to rotate.
There are no soft options at this stage- remember PSV.
I wouldn’t think that they will make a decision on Jack & most of the others until the end of the transfer window.
On the previous topic, I concur that is most rewarding to have a decent intelligent conversation, within a well written blog, even if we have to disagree on some issues.
It is all very well to have our take on the Flamini/Diarra cases but we are never privileged enough to know the personalities & the full details involved.
Just before we write this season off, you may be interested to know that in PL winning seasons 1997/98 & 2001/02 we had 27 & 26 points respectively after 16 games. This season we have 32 points.
Different times, I know but this is a stronger league than the last 5 or 6. Points will be dropped by all, which is good for the game. In fact I quite fancy Villa, if they remain injury free, because they don’t have the distraction of Europe.
The secret to our season will be being within 6 points off the lead after the nightmare sequence of consecutive games against Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea & Man U.
I think drawing the lads from Portugal is kind. There may be no easy games in knock out football but ‘on paper’ Arsenal has the quality to brush off some teams.
The draw could have been worse. The season is still on!
Excellent points, both Darius and Flint.
The comparison with the sides from ’97 and ’01 leads directly to my concerns regarding this team: Do we have the solidity to take it all the way from here?
Yes, it is a stronger league, and virtually everyone is vulnerable. But it is a relative question: Who’ll get through this minefield with the least damage is the question. I’m not sure this Arsenal team gives me the confidence to put money down on them. By contrast, I’d have put money down on those vintages from ’97 and ’01. I hope the reasons are obvious.
“I’d have put money down on those vintages from ‘97 and ‘01. I hope the reasons are obvious”
Really, & what is so obvious?
There has been a tendency to over glorify past teams, with the benefit of hindsight. I would suggest that there would have been very few Gooners, showing your suggested foresight, in December 1997. We had just lost 0-2 & 0-3 at Sheffield Wednesday & Derby respectively. Our main striker, Ian Wright, had picked up a long term injury & we were about to lose 1-3 at home to Blackburn, a game I thought was the end of a Tony Adams in terrible form, coming back from a succession of injuries. On top of that we were around 15/16 points behind the 3 x champions Man U, in 4th place. Come on!!
I could show you a similar story for December 2001, eg home defeats to Charlton & Newcastle with an aggregate score of 3-7. We certainly were a long way from favorites then, believe me.
We don’t have the matured star names that we did then but we have much more strength in depth of quality now. Those sides conceded a similar number of goals. I don’t necessarily think we will win the league but I do really believe that we have as much chance, as there was in those years.
Flint,
I make no claims to special foresight, nor, I hope, ‘am I unreasonably in awe of past teams.
Yes, as you’ve excellently pointed out, Christmas ’97 was a trying time, and no I certainly didn’t expect us to go all the way at that stage. But I truly believed, and I’m not saying it simply for argument, that the team, both in ’97 and ’01, had what it took to dig down into the trenches and slug it out. (The reference to money was certainly, and inevitably, a comparison in hindsight; asked to put money on one of the three vintages to best weather a season, I wouldn’t choose the current one.) This team, to date, doesn’t reassure me as much. I may well be wrong, and I’ll be delighted to eat humble pie, but I think we, as yet, lack the solidity for our performances, on average over a season, to be champion stuff. I think the past three seasons have repeatedly shown our inconsistencies up. Have we become more dependable over the period? No is my view.
Mind you, I haven’t given up either on the team or the project. All I want to see is improvement in our organization and consistency season to season. It is my worry that we’ve not been upto scratch on those fronts. ‘Am I impatient? Well, the project has been running 5 seasons now, and I think Arsenal are capable of and must be held to better.
As for this season, there’s greater competition for the top four, and greater inconsistency in the competitors for the top spot; anything, therefore, can happen. But does that make my concerns irrelevant? I don’t think so.
Just to address Flint’s point on strength in depth and quality:
I partition this (first) team, in my own mind, into four tiers of quality (a mix of talent and character) and one of injury:
The Injured: RvP, Rosicky, Djourou.
These guys are, for want of luck or physique, so fragile that I despair of ever having their talent available for sustained enough stretches of any season to benefit fully.
Class: Fabregas, Arshavin, Nasri, Gallas, & (early days yet) Vermaelen.
Solid: Denilson, Sagna, Clichy, Song.
Fingers Crossed: Eduardo, Bendtner, Vela, Walcott, Fabiansky, Eboue, Ramsey, Wilshere.
All promising, but not yet, for varying reasons, finished articles.
Despair: Almunia, Diaby, Sylvestre.
As for Wenger, I think it is time he looks very very seriously at sorting our defense out. I’m not suggesting he isn’t, but have we improved over the last three to four seasons is the question.
On balance, no, I don’t yet feel comfortable putting money on this evidence. Excellent collection of talent certainly; but a great team? Not yet. Without working on the team’s solidity I, sadly, don’t think we’re going anywhere soon either.