Huge stuff. United battled to the end to get Fellaini for $4 million more than they had to, and missed out Herrera because they left it so late.
Fuck that though. ÖZIL! I'd rather have Özil, Flamini, and a backup GK for £45m than Michu, Capoue and <insert CB here>. You've got a guy who is undeniably world-class, walks into any team on Earth, and you've got him locked up from ages 24-29. The only player who even comes close to that kind of quality this transfer window was Bale. With how weak the rest of the league is, you have to think that Arsenal can challenge for the title. Just cross your fingers re: injuries. By the way... Arsenal sell Gervinho to Roma... Roma have enough depth to sell Lamela to Spurs... Spurs have a replacement (lol) for Bale, who they sell to Real Madrid... and Real Madrid finance the Bale transfer by selling Özil to Arsenal. Also, the loss of Fergie must be HUGE for United. Özil says he chose Arsenal over other clubs (PSG, United) because he felt the manager had full faith in him. You know Fergie would have given him a much better spiel than Moyes could have. And check this out: If you're a Man U fan, you can't be happy with Moyes right now.
.. that's why i said Arsenal need 5 more players - over the last 5 years, the only team who comes close to Arsenal in terms of having major injury issues is Newcastle United, yet Wenger doesn't have cover for most of the more injury-prone players (Poldi and Diaby are already done until at least December; Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky and Ryo Myaichi have all been plagued by lengthy injuries). Also, with Özil joining, I'm wondering when Zelalem will get match experience. I really hope Wenger isn't going to only use him for the Capital One Cup - this is a trophy Arsenal need to make a serious push for to at least get something in the trophy cabinet before the end of the season and will be a competition that MUFC, Chelsea and Manchester City will largely ignore. Also, Arsenal are still really short in defense and any more injuries there will mean youth team players will have to be pushed straight into the first team - TV is back soon but we only have Mertesacker, Koscielny, TV and Sagna who can play at CB, which leaves only Gibbs, Monreal and Jenkinson as full-backs - Arsenal need at least one more CB and 2 more full-backs if they're planning to deploy Sagna as a CB full-time. Another striker as cover for Giroud and a winger as cover for Walcott are also pretty urgent needs, since no rotation can take place at the moment due to an overall lack of depth in the squad. It's all good and well to get rid of 40+ players over two years but some replacements still have to be bought. I really hope Wenger will use the time between now and New Years Day to scout out and sign up the players Arsenal needs. I'd say that Chadli was more the replacement for Bale, since he's left-sided, and actually played pretty well on Sunday in the NLD. Lamela seems to be more right-sided, based on the NLD, and is probably cover for the injury-prone Aaron Lennon. Chadli cost < £10m and is already a full Belgium International - I think Spurs got a nice capture there and not sure why Arsenal weren't looking at him or didn't try to steal him from under Spurs' noses. If anyone can find it, that article where Gareth Barry said his England chances are improved by his moving to Everton on loan was quite a laugh. His chances aren't improved because he's horribly crap. Also, Hodgson is focused on bringing young players into the team - a 30+ year-old midfielder lacking in pace is not really going to cut it when players like Rodwell, Barkley, Wilshere, Cleverley, Carrick, the evergreen and always reliable Lampard, etc. are available. MUFC should go on the shopping list for a new Director of Football and leave the coaching of the players up to Moyes, since their transfer window really was a near-total clusterfuck of fails. I think the manager's job at MUFC is one that will take anyone some time to adjust to and the extra set of hands may help Moyes in the long run. Honestly, if Fergie had been appointed as DoF for them, they'd probably have cleaned up because we all know the best manager-negotiatiors are Fergie, Wenger and possibly AVB...
Ferguson was also absent during the transfer window, as he was getting a hip replacement. He'll be back for the next one, so you'd think things would go much better. Personally, I don't place as much blame on Moyes as I do on the other staff who have been at United for ages, and should have a better idea on how everything works. Moyes, understandably, hasn't had nearly the same monetary access, pulling power (even though he just ended up getting one of his older players) or brand recognition as he had at Everton. I really think the Fabregas negotiations fucked him around abit, and if they hadn't dragged on for so long, things would've gone much smoother. Either way, more help for Moyes should come, and will when Ferguson is back. Totally disagree with the perception that the league is weak - Man United, City, Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool have all improved their squads after the transfer window. Even Everton, despite losing Fellaini, are probably better off after getting Lukaku, which severely strengthens a position they really struggled in.
CB: Koscielny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Sagna FB: Sagna, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Monreal (both Vermaelen and Ramsey have put in shifts at right back, if desperate) Midfield: Özil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, Arteta, Flamini (not including Diaby the Posthumous) Wing: Ox, Walcott, Podolski, Cazorla, Ryo Striker: Giroud, Bendtner, Park, Sanogo also Gnabry and Zelalem will fit in here somewhere. Looking at that, we need a centerback and backup striker for sure. That way, Sagna can move out wide again, and we don't have to play Nicklas the Fat, Park the Who, or Sanogo the Young. Neither would get very much playing time, so it doesn't make sense to spend more than ~£5m for either. With Özil in the lineup, we'll probably be starting Cazorla out wide anyway, so it doesn't make sense to spend on a winger. Yeah, rather than saying the league was weak, I should have said that there's been a big mix-up in the power levels. United doesn't have Fergie, Arsenal and Spurs have strengthened a lot, Chelsea have Mou back, Liverpool are currently top and were able to keep Suarez. Overall, it's not so much that the Top 3 has weakened as that the rest of the top teams have strengthened. It's going to be more of an open battle for sure. I was under the impression that Ferguson was told to stay away from the sport for health reasons. He's getting up there, and the stress can't be good for him. Fergie as DoF would have been a smart idea.
I think, with the players that Liverpool have signed, that they are getting serious about getting back into the Champions League under Rodgers. They're going to be more of a challenge for the first time in a few years... Here's the final list of playing squads for the start of the season
I think you Arsenal fans will enjoy these profiles <a class="postlink" href="http://arseblog.com/2013/09/arsenal-gentlemans-squad-profiles/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://arseblog.com/2013/09/arsenal-gen ... -profiles/</a>
A good round of the EPL and night one of the UCL has just finished. Ozil looked sharp for his Arsenal debut, Liverpool dropped their first points of the campaign, and Chelsea lost to Everton. Personally, it was good to see RVP and Rooney on the pitch at the same time. That carried onto this morning's performance against Leverkuesen, with Rooney particularly playing well. The both of them strangely missed an open goal, but thankfully it didn't affect the end result. Fellaini was strong in the middle, and I'm already sure he's going to make a significant impact, especially in the stronger fixtures. Real put 6 goals in away, and City/Bayern kicked off their tournaments with three goals apiece. There was something like 20 2nd half goals in the UCL. Good attacking football.
So Arsenal beat Stoke 3-1. A great win over a shit team with a shit manager. Fuck them and their classless cunting fans. You're mostly right with the CB and FB positions, except, with Özil joining, some changes: Midfield: Özil, Ramsey, Wilshere, Arteta (just returned from injury), Rosicky (currently injured), Flamini, Diaby (always injured and probably sent back to France on loan on view to a free transfer exit similar to what happened with Andre Santos), Frimpong (hoping to see more of him - he's a tank but inexperienced), Zelalem (very young, lacks experience, looks very talented though). Wing: Ox (injured until December), Cazorla (will be played here due to Özil), Walcott, Miyaichi (just returning from another injury), Gnabry (also young and inexperienced but talented), Sanogo (not sure about him as a striker, but definitely winger). Striker: Giroud, Podolski, anyone else except Bendtner (enjoy the COC campaign you twat) or Park (not seen since 2011 and, like Diaby, probably gone quietly by June 2014) Regrettably, I don't think Zelalem will be seen much outside of the COC - he looks very slight in build and I'm not sure how he would stand up to the rigours of Premier League battle. We definitely don't need more injured players, that's for sure.
Yeah, that was a cracker. However, everyone seems to forget that Norwich are pretty wretched - only 4 wins from January to the end of the previous season (at home against Everton, Reading and W.B.A. and away on the last day against Manchester City), 18 fixtures in all, and only 1 win this season out of 8 matches played so far kinda defines them as a low-quality opponent not able to take many points. Norwich will probably be relegated if they can't get at least wins between now and the January transfer window. I was hoping Norwich would improve over the summer there but they did not.
Cheer up you depressive, that was a brilliant match, apart from the little bit of shakiness when Flamini came off. The bit when Ramsey juked the defender out of his shoes to score, and on the next attack he tears up the wing and does a spin move around the same defender? I busted out laughing in front of my computer. Spoiler
I'm no fan of the Gunners, and my manager is a Brit who grew up in the shadow of Crystal Palace but has supported Arsenal since he was a kid, from admitted front running reasons, so their recent resurgence is a bit annoying for me at work. All those points being made, that was just gorgeous fucking skill and class. If you can't appreciate and enjoy that, you don't like soccer.
Yes, I didn't say Arsenal played badly or that the goals were bad (Ramsey's goal was great), I'm just more surprised that they allowed Norwich a chance to get into the match (the 10-15 minutes after Jack's goal were pretty nervy - that was the time period when Flamini got his concussion) and a short period in the 2nd half, around the time Howson scored. Norwich have been poor for a while now, as I pointed out in my previous post; Arsenal should have scored at least 5 against them. Goal difference counts at the end of the season, just ask Manchester United.
Why did Liverpool lose to Arsenal? I'm gonna say that it was the lack of a wide attack. You're playing 3-5-2. You've got only two wide players against an team playing no true wingers. Arsenal wide forwards have shown a tendency to cut inside on the attack, necessitating the full-backs pushing up on the overlap. That leaves massive amounts of space that I thought Liverpool really failed to capitalize on. Yeah, Giroud and Özil didn't have much impact against 3 central defenders, but the wide players were massive. Meanwhile, you're trying to play it through the middle against the strongest midfield in the league and a back four playing a high line. There just wasn't much space there for them. I thought Ramsey and Arteta did brilliantly to not get dispossessed. They repeatedly distributed the ball safely and set up the attack well.
The problem was Liverpool didn't have a left or right mid - they were playing full-backs in more advanced positions, an idea that sometimes works if the full-backs have good positional sense and reading of the game. For that formation to have a chance of working, it has to be Jose Enrique and Johnson, not Cissokho and the inexperienced Flanagan. Rodgers should have switched to a 4 man backline and a diamond-shaped 4-4-2 with Cissokho and Flanagan as LB and RB, Skrtel and Sakho as CBs and Kolo Toure to the bench. Lucas is a great DM and would have had no problem playing in front of the defence - it's his usual place. Gerrard or Henderson as AM. Sorted. AFC may have the strongest midfield in the league but there was no Flamini, who has been one of our 5 best players this season so far in my opinion (along with Giroud, Ramsey, Szczesny and Mertesacker). It was, however, Arteta's best Arsenal game in ages. He played like a boss. I think AW needs to work on the how the team adapts to tactical or injury substitutions - Arteta seems to find himself all at sea when things get changed, yet he played so well without Flamini starting yesterday. There seems to be some preparation issues there, not sure if that's down to Bould or Wenger though.
Outstanding result for United overnight. Rooney and RVP will get all the plaudits, but Jones and Smalling were immense
You mean an outstanding performance by the referees at Old Trafford, again? Arsenal were denied at least 4 corners (one each off Smalling, Vidic, De Gea and Evans - see the replays) during that "match" - the fact that Rooney didn't win a penalty after Giroud's 50/50 challenge doesn't make up for it. It's amazing how Arsenal seem to, consistently, in every competition they play, get fucked by refs and assistants. Arsenal, rightly, gave up after Flamini's bullshit yellow card. Wenger should have sent out the U19s for experience, since there is no way any ref will give any decision for the opposing team at Old Trafford - they consistently haven't for the last 2 decades, so why start now? Refs should try just officiating and not guiding matches in the direction they want them to go. I think it is also bullshit that refs are untouchable - there should be something in place that refs can be reprimanded for bad decisions, like, for example, Ramires' blatant dive after 90+3 minutes in the Chelsea vs. West Brom match on Saturday. TV refs cannot come soon enough.
Can't say I agree whatsoever. First it's Sir Alex that influences the referees, but now he's gone, so we'll just call it an "Old Trafford thing". Laughable. Comparing a penalty call to 4 corners in itself is ridiculous. Flamini's yellow was as clear and obvious as you can get.