Are people seriously writing off Arsenal?

[Beantown Red]

Seen Abs has been posting over in a Gary Cahill thread in a Bolton forum. They even have an Official Abs is a dick thread.

[aws]

I'm not seriously writing off arsenal. I'm laughing while I do it.

[stringvest]

I like Arsenal. I can't think of a side that have offered more entertainment this season.

[Lee909]

[Anubis]

Not sure where this is from but I nicked it off that Bolton forum.

 

It was a great weekend for the Arsenal, who scored two goals at Manchester United in the league for the first time since 1985 and were a Robin van Persie penalty away from the heady heights of notching three, a feat not achieved since 1971. A season-defining performance, and one that allowed Arsene Wenger to slip into a post-match state of serenity: according to reports, he sat in the Old Trafford dressing room after the game in total silence, lost in the moment, staring blankly at the walls, no doubt letting wave after blissful wave of satisfaction crash over him, his wholesale commitment to progressive attacking football having once again been completely vindicated.

 

 

This pioneer refuses to stand still, though. Like all the great managers, Wenger can spot minor flaws which the untrained eye of the average punter misses, and to this end is about to improve on perfection with the £10m capture of Per Mertesacker. The 6ft 6in German international is a class act: the captain of Werder Bremen, he was the senior figure in a defence that was one of only four to concede 60 or more goals in last season's Bundesliga. But that's not really the point.

 

 

Most important, of course, is Mertesacker's attacking potency: dangerous at set pieces, he's scored 19 Bundesliga goals since his top-flight debut for Hanover in 2003. At nearly 2.4 goals per season, that's a rate not far off established top-class strikers such as Marouanne Chamakh or Nicklas Bendtner. A couple of training sessions with Wenger and this guy will be the new Gerd Muller for sure (although even better, one would assume, as Muller shoddily insisted on taking shots at goal without pausing to consider aesthetics, or whether an attempt could be made to slowly walk the ball into the net instead).

 

 

Mertesacker is due to have a medical late this afternoon, though getting an appointment with Arsenal's quack might prove tricky, as most of the squad are camped out in his waiting room hoping to get some of those special boxes of Nurofen Plus that really take the edge off the old central nervous system. The feelgood factor at the Emirates doesn't stop there, either. Striker Park Chu-young of newly-relegated Monaco has already joined today, as will Brazilian full-back Andre Santos, who is all about bombing down the wing and scoring goals and leaving acres of grass behind him, and will be fresh and raring to go having come from Fenerbahce, where he won't have played a competitive game in quite a while. It's a great time to be a Gunner, and it's going to get even better!

[Captain]

Just when you think Code can't get any more anal about stats, he goes and outdoes himself.

[Lee909]

They are going to hav to defend alot deeper with Mertesacker in the squad.

He is a good defenders and will help them noend against the stokes and Bolton that attack more directly but when playing against the like sof city the mancs etc they will have to play deeper otherwise his lack of pace will be badly exploited.

This fullback the have signed is upposed to be poor positionaly aswell which will not help him,you cant leave space between the fullback and centrebacks and expect not to get picked off.

Should be interesting how they play.

I still expect them to twat alot of teams during the season and the majority of the league is pretty shit,we need to keep our eyes on what we are doing and try to keep the gap at a decent distnace going into february when we have a difficult run of games

[RoboRiise]

 

I wrote that earlier.

[razor]

I've fucked my wife over 300 times.

 

She's had about 10 orgasms.

 

I'm still fucking ace at shagging.

 

Your sample is too small.

[razor]

Link please and more importantly, no you dont have a fuckin clue as the most important part for me is missing there and I`m also not sure how accurate your numbers are.

 

The most important part being?

 

Selective facts?

Blind faith?

The ability to see more than just numbers?

Nice, tight-fitting shorts?

 

And as I`ve argued before, Alonso did not need to tackle, he just won the ball by beiing in the right place at the right time.

 

And so, "winning the ball" actually means interceptions, then? I'm glad you clarified that.

 

Still doesn't quite add up, like, but we're all a little clearer.

 

PS Stop hating Lucas.

[El Rojo]

Appearances: Denilson (37), Alonso (33)

Tackles Won: Denilson (103), Alonso (62)

Tackles Lost: Denilson (28), Alonso (27)

Goals Scored: Denilson (3), Alonso (3)

Goals Assisted: Denilson (7), Alonso (4)

Total/Accurate Passes: Denilson (2535/2204) 89%, Alonso (2482/2076) 83%

 

Ah stats....(and that was during Alonso's best season with us too). So, Denilson is a better tackler, creates more goals and is a more accurate passer, and me who always thought Xabi was a better player than Denilson. Looks like I haven't got a clue about the game.

 

Conclusion: My fucking eyes instead of a bunch of numbers every single time.

 

Textbook.

 

But what do you mean 'Alonso's best season'? Anyone would swear he had a fantastic 2008/09 following a summer in which the manager tried to sell him following a trailing off of his excellent first season into a couple of decent but far less than stellar seasons? Surely not?

[zigackly]

And as I`ve argued before, Alonso did not need to tackle, he just won the ball by beiing in the right place at the right time.

 

I'm curious, why isn't there a stat for that?

[RedinSweden]

 

I wrote that earlier.

 

I can't tell how serious you were when you wrote that. Were you frowning?

[Guest San Don]

I'd like to write arsenal off but seriously, after 3 games? No wonder some of our fans are on the backs of Henderson and Carroll.

 

Looks like they could be signing mertesacker who could be a brilliant signing for them. Not convinced by Santos and Young though.

 

Think we need to see how they go from now until christmas before writing them off. I do think we'll finish above them though!

[INTORRESTING]

Arsenal are still a huge threat for 4th, we are a Suarez injury away from having a bad run in my opinion.

 

What is this mental tackling talk about? Going up to a player and taking the ball off them is a good thing! Tackling is an art, some players dribble so how do you take the ball from them? Wait until they pass it?

 

Maradona's goal against England for example, how could you have been in the right place at the right time unless you were stood behind the keeper between the keeper and the goal line? A tackle to stop that run would have been a good thing

[RoboRiise]

I can't tell how serious you were when you wrote that. Were you frowning?

 

 

I was frowning like a frowny man who's just discovered something that makes him really frowny.

[RoboRiise]

Seen Abs has been posting over in a Gary Cahill thread in a Bolton forum. They even have an Official Abs is a dick thread.

 

 

...and this post from it has just made me almost weep with laughter:

 

 

Anyone remember the 'Torres training alone' pic from just before his transfer...

[Liquid football]

Something is seriously wrong at Arsenal. Todays signings have convinced me of that. They have made a shitload of profit this transfer window and would have been more than prepared for Nasri and Fabregas leaving. Arteta and Yossi Benayoun on loan are not Wenger signings under normal circumstances.

[Iceman]

They have played 3 games , Lost 2 drawn 1 and have a grand total of 1 point. Oh and they are -8 goal difference and fourth from bottom. They are already 8 points adrift of the scum. They are fucked, even if it's early in the season.

 

Yossi to Arsenal on the last day of the transfer window? Reeks of panic.

 

This is the end game, I think there is a good chance Wenger will be gone by Xmas. If he lasts the season it surely will be time for a change, I just can't see their fans putting up with it for much longer.

[Coro]

 

when I`m discussing on a Liverpool forum i see no reason to let my bias towards Liverpool players get the best of me

 

That's because you're a huge fan of trolling internet forums with all their anonymous glory whilst only being a teeny, weeny, whopper in a jester hat.

 

With bells on.

[theghost]

Wenger has a sniff of the Rafas about him. This won't end well.

[Unrighteous]

Something is seriously wrong at Arsenal. Todays signings have convinced me of that. They have made a shitload of profit this transfer window and would have been more than prepared for Nasri and Fabregas leaving. Arteta and Yossi Benayoun on loan are not Wenger signings under normal circumstances.

 

Arteta on a four year contract (ends when he is 33) flies in the face of Wenger's contract policy of one year deals to players over 30.

 

Also, consider that he's been crap since he hurt his knee for the blueshite.

[billypilgrimnz]

Poor old Arsenal. Even in a thread dedicated to them, they are ignored in favour of more Code-ilicious Lucas despising.

[s(k)aturation]

Wenger has a sniff of the Rafas about him. This won't end well.

 

Right now, I'd go so far as saying a sniff of the Woys.

 

Benayoun, inexplicable.

[Abs]

I love how the league is already decided after 3 games. i remember this time last season after 3 games people were saying hand the title to Chelsea. And now we are seeing liverpool fans think top four is done already. We had a poor start to the season with shambles of summer. Now thats behind us, we have made signing and will get our players back very soon. This break came at the right break. Watch us regroup and get ahead of you within 7 games.

 

Also best thing of all is Liverpool fans trying to convince each other Caroll is not a donkey. The sooner you realise you have young Duncan Ferguson instead of a Shearer, the easier it will become for you. I remain not very impressed by Liverpoool and you will be found out:yes: