Archive for November, 2006
November 8th, 2006
In tonight’s Carling Cup tie away to Everton, Mathieu Flamini will start in the centre of midfield. And midfield is where you will be seeing Flamini permanently from now on, after he and Arsene Wenger agreed it was detrimental to his development to continue at left-back. However, the question does beg itself: has Flamini shot himself in the proverbial foot?
In his first season at the club, Flamini was the fifth choice midfielder behind Vieira, Gilberto, Edu, and Fabregas. However, seen by many as a direct replacement for Ray Parlour, Flamini’s all-action style and a spate of injuries saw him get a run of games alongside Fabregas, most impressively in the home draw against Chelsea.
When Vieira and Edu left in the summer of 2005, Flamini found himself even higher up the pecking order, with only Alex Song as the other competition for a central midfield spot. However, two things happened in this year that would completely change Flamini’s season. The first was the run of injuries to left-backs, culminating in our eigth choice, Flamini, finally making the role his own with a series of storming displays. Secondly, in January, Arsene moved to sign Abou Diaby, a younger and more powerful Frenchman, essentially condemning Flamini to fourth-choice.
Flamini was superb at left-back, and unlucky not to start the Champions League Final after contributing hugely to us getting there. There were calls for him to remain in the role, but it seems both he and Arsene have other ideas.
But last summer’s transfer window was not kind to Flamini either. After Cesc and Gilberto performing well in the World Cup, cementing their status as the top two in central midfield, transfer deadline day saw two more Brazilians arrive: Julio Baptista and Denilson (the latter of which starts tonight alongside Flamini). Tomas Rosicky also has the capability to play inside. All in all, it doesn’t look great more Mathieu. Even Alex Song is making strides to catch him up.
Games like tonight are vital if he is going to impress and get a chance in the first-team. At the moment the only thing that will grant him regular opportunities would be an injury to Gilberto, but even then a return for Baptista would leave Flamini in the cold. I like the Frenchman very much indeed, but with Abou Diaby still to come aswell you have to say it looks bleak for his first-team chances. I’m afraid I believe he’ll be gone within a couple of years.
Last night saw Anthony Stokes grab another goal as Falkirk knocked Celtic out of the CIS Insurance Cup on penalties (Tony missed his, but no-one cares now). Julian Peck, Sports Editor of the Falkirk Herald, has been raving about him:
“The fans love him. Anyone that’s going to score goals and move the club up the table like he’s done is going to be hero-worshipped. Dunfermline are our big rivals and he was told by the Club captain [Steven Thomson] that if he scored a goal there he’d be a hero. Of course, he scored three. Now, the press are all over him like a rash and everything on Sunday was about him.”
Thanks too to Sandy Young who provided me with a list of the record-smashing achievements of Stokesy in Scotland:
- First Falkirk player to Score a hat-trick since their promotion to the SPL.
- First player to score a hat trick at the new Falkirk Stadium.
- Youngest player to score a hat trick in the SPL.
- First player to score back-to-back hat tricks in the SPL.
- SPL top goalscorer having not started the season with the club.
- SPL Young Player of the Month.
- CIS Cup player of the round.
- First Falkirk player to score a hat trick at Dunferminline (their major rivals).
Philippe Senderos has been speaking about his return to the side, and he will also play tonight. It’s good to have him back: his leadership and aerial presence might have prevented some of the soft goals we’ve conceded recently.
Finally, I think Arsene sometimes signs players based purely on their name. He clearly bought Song and Traoré because he found it amusing that they had name associations with other foreign stars. Now he’s taking that policy too far.
Everton away is a very tricky tie, and any sort of win would be superb. After losing at West Ham on the weekend, we do need a boost.
November 7th, 2006
You should like mobiles2go. They seem to like you, because as part of their affiliation with Gunnerblog they’ve got an Arsenal shirt signed by pretty much the entire team to give away. The full list of names is:
Arsene Wenger, Theo Walcott, Gael Clichy, Jeremie Aliadiere, Jens Lehmann, Cesc Fabregas, Kolo Toure, Freddie Ljungberg, William Gallas, Robin van Persie, Lauren, Thierry Henry, Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto, Philippe Senderos, Mart Poom, Manuel Almunia, and Tomas Rosicky
Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m afraid Alex Song was tragically indisposed on the day of the signing.
So how do you get your hands on it? Simply click on one of the flashy new adverts on the sidebar, or possibly just here, and continue to the mobiles2go homepage. Taking advantage of any of their great deals automatically enters you into the draw, which will be made mid-December. And why would you want to do that? Because mobiles 2 go come with a price guarantee: they “will not be beaten on price and that’s a promise. If you feel that anyone can come close, give us a call and we will beat it (subject to conditions)”.
My advice? Give them a call and tell them I offered you a phone for 3p. That will mess them right up.
Good luck.
There’s probably some Arsenal news today, but I am actually writing this on Monday, and so am not going to attempt to predict the future. Tomorrow I’ll be bringing you the complete list of records that Anthony Stokes has broken in his time at Falkirk: it makes impressive reading.
November 6th, 2006
Sometimes, what can awaken a great team is the grimacing face of adversity. In 2003, Arsenal went to Old Trafford as nearly men, and came away as Champions-in-waiting. The events of that day instilled the side with an unbreakable spine that was the basis for the remarkable Unbeaten Season.
Yesterday has one major difference, in that we lost. But there were striking similarities: the ongoing battle between ex-Utd Johnathan Spector and Robin van Persie, controversial refereeing, the managers having to be seperated, and another ex-Utd player, Teddy Sheringham, seconds from a brawl with pizza-thrower in chief Cesc Fabregas.
The only hope for our Premiership season is to respond to the adversity we will surely face with an “us against the world” mentality. With Arsene refusing to speak to the press after the game, it seems that we have already begun that insular outlook.
One man who doesn’t seem part of that is Thierry Henry, who laughed and joked with the West Ham players despite the animosity on the pitch. That’s all very well and good, but as captain of the team, he needs to stand up for his men.
What’s more, Henry’s performance on the pitch has drawn yet more criticism from some disgruntled fans. Whilst I continue to support Henry, it’s clear he’s having a bad patch. Maybe it’s due to the formation we’re playing, perhaps it’s because of the anti-climax of staying at Arsenal this summer and failing to win the World Cup. Either way, it deserves it’s own article, and it will get one later this week. I’m sure we’ll hear more about the Pardew/Wenger incident soon, and there are rumours of other goings on between the teams in the tunnel. As soon as I know anything, I’ll put it up here.
I know I said it’d be today, but I was lying: come back tomorrow to discover how you could win an Arsenal shirt signed by Arsene Wenger, Theo Walcott, Gael Clichy, Jeremie Aliadiere, Jens Lehmann, Cesc Fabregas, Kolo Toure, Freddie Ljungberg, Gallas, van Persie, Lauren, Thierry Henry, Flamini, Gilberto, Senderos, Poom, one man called “Alminia” and two men, one our own Tomas Rosicky and the other named “Rosiky”.
Till then.
November 5th, 2006
In the past, Arsenal have sent the likes of Jermaine Pennant, Jeremie Aliadiere, David Bentley, and Justin Hoyte out on loan with minimal effect. However, this season is different. Kerrea Gilbert’s Cardiff are topping the Championship, Arturo Lupoli and Niklas Bendtner are banging in the goals, and a young Irishman called Anthony Stokes has just bagged a second hatrick in consecutive games.
The second treble means he has scored a remarkable nine goals in four games for Falkirk, leaving him clear at the top of the SPL Goalscorers chart. Like Bendtner, Stokes’ loan expires in January, though Falkirk are understandably keen to keep him.
After surveying some Scottish football message boards, I found the following quotes on Stokes’ recent form:
“He’s doing magnificently. He’s scored 8 goals in his last 3 games, including hat-tricks in consecutive weeks. That makes him the youngest ever player to score a hat-trick in the SPL, and the first to score consecutive hat tricks since Duncan Shearer did so for Aberdeen in 1988.”
“I’ve been impressed with him since his arrival but Saturday’s performance was outstanding. His 1st goal defo had a Thierry Henry look about it.”
“He’s an 18 year old who’s been outstanding in the top league in Scotland, scoring a hat-trick and winning man of the match awards and plaudits. Most observers say he looks a class above.”
“Wonder what the chances of keeping him for the season are. Not sure anyone in the Premiership would be interested in him yet and, although the standard in the Championship would be higher, it would be a risk for him going there if he’s getting on fine up here.”
“Jim Duffy said today that two of his “contacts” down south have told him that two championship clubs are keeping tabs on him in the hope they can get him on loan when his current loan deal expires!”
Not bad. Given our own finishing worries, I hope the lads still in London are paying attention, and stick a few past West Ham today. Consecutive hatricks for Tomas Rosicky would probably make him feel a hell of a lot better.
November 4th, 2006
Togolese totem-pole Emmanuel Adebayor will be back in the squad for tomorrow’s game at Upton Park, but is unlikely to start. With the team’s confidence in danger of cracking, Arsene will probably show them his faith by sticking with the same eleven that faced Moscow:
“If you want to score goals first you have to be capable of playing at a great pace, technically to be creative in the final third and then to put the ball in the net. I believe that we have done the first two very well and the last one was not very good, [but] the basis of the game is very, very strong and we want to keep that.”
It’s reasurring for the players that the manager has no intention of a shift in style, because it’s clear they’re all concerned about their recent misses. However, the potential of the team is enormous: if we stick with this lot, I’m sure they’ll come good. Arsene said yesterday that it would be “a bit pretentious to say someone will suffer the backlash this weekend”. However, I am very pretentious. So if we keep our composure tomorrow then West Ham could be well and truly hammered. Especially after all this row. Revenge, it seems, is a desert best served to West Ham. Mwahahaha.
A recent survey has the Emirates Stadium as the 14th loudest in the Premiership. Considering that there are 60,000 people in there, that is rubbish. Manchester United and Liverpool are both in top four, and Portsmouth, who have about a third of our capacity, top the table. I can’t say I’m surprised, but the only consolation is that we’re above Tottenham.
Finally, you may have noticed the new partnership between Gunnerblog and mobiles2go.org. All very nice, but why should this interest you? I’ll tell you why: because due to the fact that mobiles2go are wonderfully nice people, by buying one of their products between now and 10th December you automatically enter a prize draw for a signed Arsenal shirt.
Which, if unlike me you don’t have a) a mobile phone or b) a signed Arsenal shirt, is pretty cool.
Full details Monday…
Next Posts
Previous Posts
