It's possible that the best place for my Cesc Fabregas wallbanger is not next to my bed. If a fellow ever stays over it might be strange for him to wake up next to a giant mural of any Arsenal player. The club crest stays.
19 August 2007
11 August 2007
Arsenal Season Preview
Why People Are Counting Arsenal Out Of The Race Too Early and Why They Shouldn't:
1. William Gallas is Our Captain.
Now I know that many people disagree and think that Henry's departure should be reason number one to discount us, and I will address that in a minute. However... if you ask most Arsenal fans the most unsettling decision that Wegner has made all summer, the closest to a consensus you will get is this. Why would you make an ex-Blue and a very recent member of the team captain? There are some conspiracy theories out there that say since our captain seems to get sold the season after he becomes captain we are trying to get rid of Gallas. If this is true, I can't help but be excited (seeing as Gallas is a first rate idiiot). I think that Wegner has his reasons, and with some excellent vice captains, I don't see any reason why Gallas shouldn't be captain. He's quite good at yapping his jaw, something to be admired in a captain. Furthermore, I think that the team knows where the real leadership is, and if giving that fathead the armband makes him step up his game I'm all for it.
2. Thierry Henry is gone. (Alternately, the Ljungberg clause)
Ah yes... the phone calls I got after this happened. People lamenting that we lost the linch pin holding our team together. No offense, but only an outsider could really think that. If we had lost Fabregas, Gilberto or Lehmann, I would have been much more concerned for my team. Here's why.
- Henry barely played last season, and when he did it's hard to remember what he contributed. Other than prancing around and wearing the armband, he really didn't do much to unite the team.
- Robin Van Persie. This guy is the new guard. He scored some outstanding goals last season (more than Henry incidentally) and he was out HALF THE SEASON! The pre-season cups saw several more outstanding goals. Goals that make Christiano Ronaldo cry himself to sleep.
In short... I don't see any reason for concern. If anything, it's going to be a great money saver for us. Perhaps we can spend some more money on some quality wingers (cough, hint, cough).
3. Hleb will never be a winger. Neither will Rosicky, Fabregas, Gilberto, etc.
When we bought Alexsander Hleb, I was quite pleased. He seemed to be a bang up player, but after a few games I could only be disappointed. When playing winger Hleb often looks confused, passes the ball to the other team, and makes an ass of himself. Watching video of the pre-season cup, we all became aware why. Hleb simply isn't a winger. He was meant to play behind the strikers, a role that he relishes and plays excellently. Problem is... we've got a world class collection of central midfielders (possibly supplanted soon by Lassana?). So what's the solution? This is probably the most worrying problem of our season. If Wegner utilizes Eboue as a winger on the right side and makes a few adjustments with Rosicky, I think we'll be fine, albeit without any backups. I must make a plea to our beloved manager... DON'T PLAY HLEB AS A WINGER!
4. Our team is young.
Really? How young? The average age we field is 25.5. That's only a year behind Chelsea's starting line. People also tend to correlate youth with inexperience. Van Persie and Fabregas have both been starters for 2 seasons, and I think that despite their young age they have a firm grasp on what it takes to play Premier League football. Remember last year's Carling Cup? Most remember a bitter disappointment and forget the bright spot.... our youth ran circles around Chelsea's aged. Made them look like a bunch of idiots really. I might also point out that fans of other teams seem to have spent money on youth this season. Man U bought Nani (or whatever his name is). He's as young as most of our players, as is Ronaldo, but you don't hear their team being questioned.
In short, I think that people are counting us out of a race before it has even started. Big factors this season: African Cup of Nations, Euro 2008 qualifiers, injuries. If we can steer clear of the latter, I think that we can navigate a place in the top 3. We proved last year that we are the better team than United (twice), and that we just need to finish our games against Chelsea. What we need to focus on this year is beating teams like West Ham, Sheffield and other bottom table teams.
My odds:
1 and 2. Man U and Arsenal (I won't say the order because I think it depends on things not yet seen).
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
Relegation: Tottenham (hey I can dream can't I?)
Update:
Dreams can come true!
1. William Gallas is Our Captain.
Now I know that many people disagree and think that Henry's departure should be reason number one to discount us, and I will address that in a minute. However... if you ask most Arsenal fans the most unsettling decision that Wegner has made all summer, the closest to a consensus you will get is this. Why would you make an ex-Blue and a very recent member of the team captain? There are some conspiracy theories out there that say since our captain seems to get sold the season after he becomes captain we are trying to get rid of Gallas. If this is true, I can't help but be excited (seeing as Gallas is a first rate idiiot). I think that Wegner has his reasons, and with some excellent vice captains, I don't see any reason why Gallas shouldn't be captain. He's quite good at yapping his jaw, something to be admired in a captain. Furthermore, I think that the team knows where the real leadership is, and if giving that fathead the armband makes him step up his game I'm all for it.
2. Thierry Henry is gone. (Alternately, the Ljungberg clause)
Ah yes... the phone calls I got after this happened. People lamenting that we lost the linch pin holding our team together. No offense, but only an outsider could really think that. If we had lost Fabregas, Gilberto or Lehmann, I would have been much more concerned for my team. Here's why.
- Henry barely played last season, and when he did it's hard to remember what he contributed. Other than prancing around and wearing the armband, he really didn't do much to unite the team.
- Robin Van Persie. This guy is the new guard. He scored some outstanding goals last season (more than Henry incidentally) and he was out HALF THE SEASON! The pre-season cups saw several more outstanding goals. Goals that make Christiano Ronaldo cry himself to sleep.
In short... I don't see any reason for concern. If anything, it's going to be a great money saver for us. Perhaps we can spend some more money on some quality wingers (cough, hint, cough).
3. Hleb will never be a winger. Neither will Rosicky, Fabregas, Gilberto, etc.
When we bought Alexsander Hleb, I was quite pleased. He seemed to be a bang up player, but after a few games I could only be disappointed. When playing winger Hleb often looks confused, passes the ball to the other team, and makes an ass of himself. Watching video of the pre-season cup, we all became aware why. Hleb simply isn't a winger. He was meant to play behind the strikers, a role that he relishes and plays excellently. Problem is... we've got a world class collection of central midfielders (possibly supplanted soon by Lassana?). So what's the solution? This is probably the most worrying problem of our season. If Wegner utilizes Eboue as a winger on the right side and makes a few adjustments with Rosicky, I think we'll be fine, albeit without any backups. I must make a plea to our beloved manager... DON'T PLAY HLEB AS A WINGER!
4. Our team is young.
Really? How young? The average age we field is 25.5. That's only a year behind Chelsea's starting line. People also tend to correlate youth with inexperience. Van Persie and Fabregas have both been starters for 2 seasons, and I think that despite their young age they have a firm grasp on what it takes to play Premier League football. Remember last year's Carling Cup? Most remember a bitter disappointment and forget the bright spot.... our youth ran circles around Chelsea's aged. Made them look like a bunch of idiots really. I might also point out that fans of other teams seem to have spent money on youth this season. Man U bought Nani (or whatever his name is). He's as young as most of our players, as is Ronaldo, but you don't hear their team being questioned.
In short, I think that people are counting us out of a race before it has even started. Big factors this season: African Cup of Nations, Euro 2008 qualifiers, injuries. If we can steer clear of the latter, I think that we can navigate a place in the top 3. We proved last year that we are the better team than United (twice), and that we just need to finish our games against Chelsea. What we need to focus on this year is beating teams like West Ham, Sheffield and other bottom table teams.
My odds:
1 and 2. Man U and Arsenal (I won't say the order because I think it depends on things not yet seen).
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
Relegation: Tottenham (hey I can dream can't I?)
Update:
Dreams can come true!
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