[andthentherewas1more]

Would someone be kind enough to explain the attraction that SV Hamburg holds for players!
I could understan Van der Vaart going there after a rough time and being out of the spot light.
But to think that even Nigel de Jong has taken the same route puzzles me.
I know Hamburg is a good club but better than Ajax?

And watching the few matches that are telecast of the German League it isn't all that attractive?

So someone kindly give their take.

PS: I wanted to list out whom I wanted to reply to this one, but then thought the better of it!

[aqua_blues]

final score is 1-1 & we welcome you to the 'BRIDGE'

[aqua_blues]

Real Madrid dont buy ediots... they make idiots out of superstars....

[parashar_das]

Now arsenal is out of FA cup.
This season turns out to be the worst year for the Gunners in recent history.Only a good show at Champions league can save their dismal season.But it is a tough ask.

[nadnaps]

Ashburton or Ashes?

Arsenal have lost 5 away games this season. Zero out of a possible fifteen.

A telling statistic of how the mighty at Highbury have fallen. From the pedestal of being the only team to go through an entire season unbeaten, to a team that is looking increasingly fragile and incapable of mounting even a top four challenge.

It all started with the conception of Ashburton Grove. The Gunners’ new world-class ground would replace the small and supposedly inadequate Highbury and in turn bring in more revenues for Arsenal.

A long-term project dedicated to secure a comfortable future.

Trouble is that this insurance is coming at the cost of at least two potential title-winning seasons and perhaps more significantly the departure of perhaps Arsenal’s greatest player yet.

Yes Thierry Henry may well leave by the end of the season considering that mighty Barcelona have shown a keen interest.

And why not? Barcelona are playing the world’s best attacking football at club level nowadays and their status as Europe’s best club is challenged perhaps only by Chelsea, Lyon and Juventus. However none of these teams have both Barcelona’s balance in terms of squad depth & age, or more importantly the extraordinarily flamboyant quality of their attacking football. Henry is an artist and Barcelona love to paint glorious pictures every time they play. Perfectly weighed passes and consistently good running off and on the ball combined with moments of genius. The match seems almost too perfect. (Although I do wonder who Barca will replace from their existing starting eleven to accommodate him. They’re all so good.)

However one must not simply go by opinion. The facts must be seen.

Arsene Wenger quite simply does not have the funds to spend on building his team strength. He usually is an astute judge of talent and has several outstanding buys to his credit. Vieira, Petit, Overmars, Henry, Campbell, Toure, Ljungberg, Anelka, Fabregas, Bergkamp, Pires and so on. This season however he has been restricted to the sole purchase of attacking playmaker Alexander Hleb who despite all his skills is simply being played out of position on the left side of midfield. He has instead relied on Arsenals youngsters to cover the positions which were screaming for attention even last season. That has’nt happened.

The team in general lacks steel with only Gilberto Silva shouldering the entire defensive midfield duties and he too needed a Vieira to give his best. Fabregas, Ljungberg, Pires and Hleb are all essentially attacking midfielders who simply do not have the steely determination of a Makelele or a Marquez. A vital gap has developed in the teams midfield. Something that is evident every time Arsenal step out of Highbury.

At Highbury, Arsenal attack with a flourish trying to create chance after chance and then scoring. If team can soak up their intermittent periods of pressure they can salvage a draw or maybe even nick a win. Something that most teams do when they are away from home. Arsenal however, are simply unable to do so when they’re away from home. They try and pass around and attack too much only to lose possession at crucial times and positions and eventually concede to other possibly less talented but more determined sides. And as the season progresses more and more teams will realise that the Arsenal’s adams apple is at the heart of the midfield.

To cope with this, Wenger now plays a diamond sort of formation, which despite allowing occasional slick passing takes away the crucial element of width that was Arsenals scoring point for so many successful seasons. Reyes and Ljungberg for all their abilities are not natural central midfielders and owing to the sheer lack of presence of their central midfielders they too resort to more central channels of play.

If that were’nt enough the defence too has been anything but rock solid. Campbell is ageing & is now prone to more errors than he usually is, Cygan is too slow to react and usually is the weak link man for any other team and Arsene Wenger’s favourite pupil Phillipe Senderos despite his committed displays looks like a little boy thrown into a man’s world every time he faces a striker with pace and/or skill. Didier Drogba has made him look stupid twice already in two matches and the maybe rest of Europe will too. Ashley Cole, perhaps the best left-back in the world, is a lone bright spot in an otherwise increasingly fallible defence.

Upfront however Arsenal do have van Persie who is an exciting prospect and is being honed well by wily Wenger. However in Henry’s absence the entire team looks shorn of confidence and penetrating abilities. Bergkamp is getting slower each time and Quincy Abeyie needs to mature a lot more in terms of composure and finishing.

Yes they pass it around and yes they keep position but it is Henry’s running and shooting that keeps other teams edgy.

Bottom line. Organize your defence to shut out Henry and the rest of the team will eventually peter out of steam. Then outmuscle them in midfield and hit them on the counter. Bolton, Newcastle and Chelsea have already done it and the rest of Europe will most probably follow suit.

Patrick Vieira led Arsenal to the FA Cup last season and almost knowingly accepted up a Juve offer everybody thought he would reject. But Vieira made a terrific albeit selfish choice. Arsenal’s poor record in Europe coupled with Chelsea increasing dominance on the premiership gave a clear signal to him that the team he had once led to two successful premierships, was now past its prime.

Wengers reluctance to buy quality defenders to replace the ageing Sol Campbell or the profligate Cygan coupled with the lack of squad depth in all departments of the field were all telling signs.

What was a myth earlier on, was becoming more and more of a reality. Arsenal would win if Thierry Henry scored more than the opposition. They were overly dependent on the Frenchman’s amazing abilities and it seemed to show every time Henry was injured or out of form. Although both the latter events happened rarely, you simply cannot put all your eggs in one basket in a season inundated with premiership, FA Cup, Carling Cup and Champions League fixtures.

And certainly not when the world’s best clubs know that Henry can be man marked out of the game. Something that premiership clubs are realizing much later than other European clubs like Valencia, Deportivo, Bayern and Inter.

Thankfully Arsenal have done well in Europe this season albeit to woefully weak group and are slated to play Real Madrid who themselves are in pitiful form for the second running season. Things might go the Gunners way but the star presence of Ronaldo, Zidane, Robinho, Baptista, Casillas, Beckham and Guti could ensure that one moment of magic might just be the deciding factor.

But a quarter final is probably where it will end.

At the moment there are at least 10 clubs better off than Arsenal in Europe. Milan, Inter, Juve, Bayern, Hamburg, Barca, Villareal, Valencia, Lyon, PSV, Chelsea, Man U & Liverpool to be specific.

Arsenal are now in an unenviable position. Outplayed by almost all the teams that are ahead of them in the league table now they are likely to end up losing the crucial fourth place battle to an exciting Tottenham or a solid Bolton.

__________________________________________________ _________________

hey guys this was my first attempt at soccer journalism....wat do u think of the article??? plz do reply....particularly all u arsenal fans

[Nick Leeson]

Originally Posted by Nick Leeson

28th Jan, Before the match

Say Bye-Bye Arse-hole :2gunfire:

[nadnaps]

Originally Posted by Nick Leeson

Ok fine time for reality check!!!

who was the prominent Right MF in the chelsea squad of 1992-93 season.....
If you can answer that without searching google then....


Welcome:x , Say Bye-Bye Arse-hole :2gunfire:

Laudrup??? or was it Petrescu???

[the_jackal]

ignore!!!!!!!!!!

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by nadnaps

Ashburton or Ashes?

Arsenal have lost 5 away games this season. Zero out of a possible fifteen.

A telling statistic of how the mighty at Highbury have fallen. From the pedestal of being the only team to go through an entire season unbeaten, to a team that is looking increasingly fragile and incapable of mounting even a top four challenge.

It all started with the conception of Ashburton Grove. The Gunners’ new world-class ground would replace the small and supposedly inadequate Highbury and in turn bring in more revenues for Arsenal.

A long-term project dedicated to secure a comfortable future.

Trouble is that this insurance is coming at the cost of at least two potential title-winning seasons and perhaps more significantly the departure of perhaps Arsenal’s greatest player yet.

Yes Thierry Henry may well leave by the end of the season considering that mighty Barcelona have shown a keen interest.

And why not? Barcelona are playing the world’s best attacking football at club level nowadays and their status as Europe’s best club is challenged perhaps only by Chelsea, Lyon and Juventus. However none of these teams have both Barcelona’s balance in terms of squad depth & age, or more importantly the extraordinarily flamboyant quality of their attacking football. Henry is an artist and Barcelona love to paint glorious pictures every time they play. Perfectly weighed passes and consistently good running off and on the ball combined with moments of genius. The match seems almost too perfect. (Although I do wonder who Barca will replace from their existing starting eleven to accommodate him. They’re all so good.)

However one must not simply go by opinion. The facts must be seen.

Arsene Wenger quite simply does not have the funds to spend on building his team strength. He usually is an astute judge of talent and has several outstanding buys to his credit. Vieira, Petit, Overmars, Henry, Campbell, Toure, Ljungberg, Anelka, Fabregas, Bergkamp, Pires and so on. This season however he has been restricted to the sole purchase of attacking playmaker Alexander Hleb who despite all his skills is simply being played out of position on the left side of midfield. He has instead relied on Arsenals youngsters to cover the positions which were screaming for attention even last season. That has’nt happened.

The team in general lacks steel with only Gilberto Silva shouldering the entire defensive midfield duties and he too needed a Vieira to give his best. Fabregas, Ljungberg, Pires and Hleb are all essentially attacking midfielders who simply do not have the steely determination of a Makelele or a Marquez. A vital gap has developed in the teams midfield. Something that is evident every time Arsenal step out of Highbury.

At Highbury, Arsenal attack with a flourish trying to create chance after chance and then scoring. If team can soak up their intermittent periods of pressure they can salvage a draw or maybe even nick a win. Something that most teams do when they are away from home. Arsenal however, are simply unable to do so when they’re away from home. They try and pass around and attack too much only to lose possession at crucial times and positions and eventually concede to other possibly less talented but more determined sides. And as the season progresses more and more teams will realise that the Arsenal’s adams apple is at the heart of the midfield.

To cope with this, Wenger now plays a diamond sort of formation, which despite allowing occasional slick passing takes away the crucial element of width that was Arsenals scoring point for so many successful seasons. Reyes and Ljungberg for all their abilities are not natural central midfielders and owing to the sheer lack of presence of their central midfielders they too resort to more central channels of play.

If that were’nt enough the defence too has been anything but rock solid. Campbell is ageing & is now prone to more errors than he usually is, Cygan is too slow to react and usually is the weak link man for any other team and Arsene Wenger’s favourite pupil Phillipe Senderos despite his committed displays looks like a little boy thrown into a man’s world every time he faces a striker with pace and/or skill. Didier Drogba has made him look stupid twice already in two matches and the maybe rest of Europe will too. Ashley Cole, perhaps the best left-back in the world, is a lone bright spot in an otherwise increasingly fallible defence.

Upfront however Arsenal do have van Persie who is an exciting prospect and is being honed well by wily Wenger. However in Henry’s absence the entire team looks shorn of confidence and penetrating abilities. Bergkamp is getting slower each time and Quincy Abeyie needs to mature a lot more in terms of composure and finishing.

Yes they pass it around and yes they keep position but it is Henry’s running and shooting that keeps other teams edgy.

Bottom line. Organize your defence to shut out Henry and the rest of the team will eventually peter out of steam. Then outmuscle them in midfield and hit them on the counter. Bolton, Newcastle and Chelsea have already done it and the rest of Europe will most probably follow suit.

Patrick Vieira led Arsenal to the FA Cup last season and almost knowingly accepted up a Juve offer everybody thought he would reject. But Vieira made a terrific albeit selfish choice. Arsenal’s poor record in Europe coupled with Chelsea increasing dominance on the premiership gave a clear signal to him that the team he had once led to two successful premierships, was now past its prime.

Wengers reluctance to buy quality defenders to replace the ageing Sol Campbell or the profligate Cygan coupled with the lack of squad depth in all departments of the field were all telling signs.

What was a myth earlier on, was becoming more and more of a reality. Arsenal would win if Thierry Henry scored more than the opposition. They were overly dependent on the Frenchman’s amazing abilities and it seemed to show every time Henry was injured or out of form. Although both the latter events happened rarely, you simply cannot put all your eggs in one basket in a season inundated with premiership, FA Cup, Carling Cup and Champions League fixtures.

And certainly not when the world’s best clubs know that Henry can be man marked out of the game. Something that premiership clubs are realizing much later than other European clubs like Valencia, Deportivo, Bayern and Inter.

Thankfully Arsenal have done well in Europe this season albeit to woefully weak group and are slated to play Real Madrid who themselves are in pitiful form for the second running season. Things might go the Gunners way but the star presence of Ronaldo, Zidane, Robinho, Baptista, Casillas, Beckham and Guti could ensure that one moment of magic might just be the deciding factor.

But a quarter final is probably where it will end.

At the moment there are at least 10 clubs better off than Arsenal in Europe. Milan, Inter, Juve, Bayern, Hamburg, Barca, Villareal, Valencia, Lyon, PSV, Chelsea, Man U & Liverpool to be specific.

Arsenal are now in an unenviable position. Outplayed by almost all the teams that are ahead of them in the league table now they are likely to end up losing the crucial fourth place battle to an exciting Tottenham or a solid Bolton.

__________________________________________________ _________________

hey guys this was my first attempt at soccer journalism....wat do u think of the article??? plz do reply....particularly all u arsenal fans

Good first attempt......but then also a tad too negative and only looking no further than the immediate short term.

Straengely I wasn't too upset with the Arsenal defeat to Bolton last night....as with the team that was put on display the exit was inevitable. First priority for Arsenal is to stage a come back in the league and Wenger made a tough but good choice.

That said the youngsters on display yesterday were NOT outplayed by Bolton.....It took one good moment from Gardner-Stelios to seal the match but the youngsters of Arsenal were anything but outmuscled

Just to put things in perspective.......Here's some of the Positives

(1) Abou Diaby- I thought he was the best player on display yesterday....He's just joined the squad but was already beginning to dominate the midfield..... He's not afraid of going in for a tough challenge and is just the right ingredient to add spine to the Arsenal midfield.

(2) In the next 2-3 years Arsenal will have one of the best teams playing in the premiership....Players who would just be about 22-24 years but already veterans

Attackers: Reyes,Vela,WALCOTT, Henry, Lupoli, Van Persie, Quincy, Adebayor, Bendtner, Stokes

Midfielders: Fabregas, DIABY, Helb, Flamini, Song, Muamba

Defenders: Senderos, Toure, Djourou, Gilbert, Cole, Clichy, Eboue, Hoyte


Worried ...Not me

Arsenal know that they can never compete with Chelsea when it comes to money.....They are playing a waiting game the results of which will bear fruit soon....and when they do WATCH OUT

Cheers,

Wayne

[moonguy]

never been gunners fan...i m hardcore red devils fan...but wenger's move of buying walcott may prove to be an ace...tell u saw some of his clips...was pretty cool....but dunno southampton..y did they sell him..neways hope somebody cud stop chelsea..i thnk only manU has beaten them...well thats quiet a gud record.....BUT still miracles do happen...