Arsenal are a team I have a certain amount of sympathy for. They are a ‘team in transition’, with Arsene Wenger selling off the last of his 2004 ‘Invincibles’ team this summer, eagerly anticipating the success of years gone by to return.
This is a situation, as United fans, that we are very familiar with. After winning the league in 2003, we had no reason to doubt that we’d be challenging strongly for the league the following season. I imagine Arsenal fans felt exactly the same in the summer following the 2004 season, where they went 38 games undefeated. However, for a whole host of reasons, the two clubs who’d passed the league title back and forth for the years preceding were now fighting it out for 2nd place.
We could blame this entirely on Roman Abramovich’s rubles if we wanted, but that wouldn’t be painting an accurate picture. Whilst Chelsea could afford whoever they wanted, lead by the fella who’d just won the Champions League, the quality of the United and Arsenal teams in comparison simply wasn’t good enough. Both were a shadow of their former selves.
When Chelsea claimed their first title under Mourinho in 2005, Arsenal finished 12 points behind Chelsea, claiming 7 fewer points than their last title winning season. United finished 18 points behind Chelsea, falling 6 points short of our last title winning season. United bridged the gap somewhat in 2006, finishing 8 points behind Chelsea, whereas Arsenal lost the plot, finishing a massive 24 points off the top.
There have been several changes, ups and downs, since then, with Arsenal having nothing other than an empty trophy cabinet to show for their past three seasons. Sir Alex Ferguson has questioned Chelsea’s ability compete next season, so does this mean Arsenal are the team we need to look out for?
With or without Cristiano Ronaldo (although I reckon United mean business and he will stay for another season at least), United will start next season as favourites to win the league. United have a perfect combination of youth and experience, English and foreign, all with confidence and talent in abundance.
Carlos Tevez, Nani and Anderson all enjoyed hugely successful first seasons at Old Trafford. They all scored in our Champions League final penalty shoot out, with several other highlights throughout the course of the season. Add to these our more experienced youngsters, Rooney and Ronaldo, and you’re looking at five incredibly talented first team players carrying an average age of 21.8-years-old. They’re still yet to hit their peak, that is some way off, but helped steer United to the a league and European Cup double.
When we look at our older players, it’s undeniable that they still have a part to play in our success (Scholes’ goal vs Barcelona, Giggs’ goal vs Wigan/penalty in Moscow etc.), they took a backseat last season.
Aged 19, Anderson filled in brilliantly for Paul Scholes between October and January the veteran was recovering from surgery. Anderson and Scholes both made 24 appearances for United in the league last season, with 26-year-old Michael Carrick claiming the most Premiership appearances for the position, with 31.
Giggs made 31 appearances for us in the league, with Park Ji-Sung’s recovery at the start of the season seeing the Welsh winger play more often than maybe Fergie would have liked. However, for the crucial games towards the end of the season, against Arsenal, Wigan, Chelsea (CL) and both games against Barcelona, the younger options of Nani and Park were relied upon.
Now, Arsenal are a team who were continually referred to as ‘kids’ and ‘inexperienced’ last season, but these were not tags most Gooners appreciated. Truth be told, there wasn’t a great difference in age between Arsenal and United’s first team, however people don’t tend to think of Rooney and Ronaldo as kids, who have been playing first team Premiership football for five and six years respectively.
Arsenal have brought in 21-year-old Samir Nasri and 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey to bulk up their squad, with both players having bags of potential, like most of Wenger’s signings. However, after saying goobye to Gilberto, Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Jens Lehmann, what Arsenal need is experience.
With players who should know better, like William Gallas, falling apart at the seams when the pressure was on, having proper guidance with appropriate people setting the example is vital at Arsenal.
“Arsenal are a unique team,” Mourinho claimed not long ago. “Their coach hasn’t won anything for years, but he’s an idol. There are no pressures at Arsenal. But do not say he’s growing young players into talents. What he does is take jewels to the club and polishes them. It’s different. He has time to work in a serene atmosphere and get results.”
Whilst I don’t make a habit of agreeing with the not-so-special-one, he certainly does have a point here. This period of transition has now lasted four seasons, and unless Wenger buys in bulk over the next few weeks, the barren spell will continue.
It’s a case of one step forward two steps back, for Arsenal at the moment, bringing in players who should be bulking up the squad, but instead, will end up be used as less developed replacements for the players who are leaving. Nasri is not yet ready to fill the boots of Flamini (who spent four years in the Premiership) or Gilberto (who spent six years in the Premiership), just as Ramsey can not take on Hleb’s (who spent three years in the Premiership) role.
So in two or three years time, at the least, when these new youngsters are better formed, what’s to say that 24-year-old Fabregas doesn’t make the move to Barcelona, with 28-year-old Sagna, 27-year-old van Persie or 25-year-old Clichy all looking for new challenges abroad? Just as Arsenal are on the brink of forming a World class side, more players leave, and Wenger is close to starting from scratch in developing other youngsters.
So whilst I definitely admire Wenger for his perseverance in developing young talent, something he claims the financial situation of the club bounds him to, I can’t see Arsenal reaping the benefits any time soon. Footballers are more self-serving than ever before, and like Hleb and Flamini left this summer, obviously not wanting to go another three years without winning anything, it will continue to happen.
Last season, Arsenal fans were believing that finally everything was fitting in to place, that the transition period was over. However, the club capitulated in from February onwards, finishing 3rd in the league after leading the table for over half the season. Now several of their more experienced players have left and they are certainly worse off now than they were at the beginning of last season.
Arsenal to pose the biggest threat to our title campaign? Sorry Gooners, Chelsea’s ‘pensioners’ will come closer than Arsenal’s ‘kids’.
Man Utd News 24/7
I predict a swarm off gooner will be in here soon
“Nasri is not yet ready to fill the boots of Flamini or Gilberto”.
Brilliant Einstein… do you come up with this stuff all by yourself or do you have a team of trained monkeys working around the clock?
I think you’re right, this is the season when Arsenal will finally fall out of the top four and be replaced by Tottenham. Wenger’s team has flattered to deceive for the past few years and United comprehensively played them off the park every time the two sides met. I don’t really see any side challenging United this year – Chelsea are too old, Arsenal are too poor and losing players at a frightening rate and Liverpool are a shadow of the team they once were and need to replace Crouch urgently. How may first choice Liverpool players would make it into the United first team?
Time will tell if you are right, but I’m sure Arsenal will give you a run for your money.
I’m a gooner and you raise some extremely valid points and have put your point of view across very well. Personally i feel there is at least one more signing due at the emirates this season and i’d assume it is a centre midfielder. Howevr what we do have that we lacked in the last 6 months last year (when our bid fell apart) is players like rosicky, RVP and eduardo coming back. This is a huge boost to a squad that was depleted towards the end last year when these three were missing. if we can keep them fit, which is going to be a big ask, then i think we can challenge. if not then we’ll be fighting for 4th
Virile, the article is about Arsenal and will appear under, you guessed it, “Arsenal”, on Newsnow. Or would you prefer that they not read it? That’s a bizarre comment.
Nasri is an attacking midfielder who can operate wide left/right or through the centre, he has been brought in to replace Hleb, not Gilberto or Flamini.
Ramsey has been brought in as Wenger believes he is a special talent a la cesc and with 7 subs available this season, he can blood him sooner rather than later.
I would fully expect Arsenal to bring in a nwe DCM to replace flamini, with Diaby/Denilson stepping up to cover for Gilberto.
Anyone who watches world football will know Vela will be one to watch next season and if Walcott can step up as well then the wings are covered too.
Its only at CB that I feel we are lacking strength – Toure / Gallas are not great together and we really need a CB a la Zapata in there with either Gallas or Toure.
While United deserved their double last season, can I remind you that you won the league by 2 points, without Ronaldo’s freak scoring you would have drawn or lost many of the games you sneaked by 1 goal…
Maybe you’d do well to show us a little more respect, or is that not in a Man Utd fan’s mantle?
Heh, yea we shall see, there was only 4 points in it last year and the amount of injures we had was a fucking joke.
May the battle commence
I dont often agree with SAF but he said:
“Arsenal had a good start last season and that carried right through until they had injures…It’s been understated what Arsenal did last season because they got injuries at a bad time.” (This is assuming he actually said this and that it wasnt made up by a scandanavian website!)
Ferguson is realistically acknowledging that there is a fair degree of luck in football. For every treble winning side, theres a double winning side lurking close by (a la 1999). Had Man U had injuries to key players like Arsenal then it might have been a different story last season. Arsenal missed top players for long stretches of time – RVP, Rosicky, Sagna & Eduardo. Had Man U lost Ronaldo, Rooney, Vidic & Tevez for similar periods of time then I’m sure they would have struggled too. I have no reason to doubt that next season will be similar and that Arsenal will be up there challenging with Chelsea & Man U. I dont really agree with Mourinho because had Wenger blown 200 million on players and not won anything then he would also have lost his job by now. As would have Ferguson had Man U not won anything last season.
When i saw its a manutd forumn ii thought oh here we go…but finally a manc wit a brain!! Your article is spot on it is very much a case of “one step forward two steps back” we need to gel and grow together but are disrupted by players leaving year in year out!! I guess were not most neutrals faviroutes 4 the title however, we were very close last season as SAF sed so lets see wha happenz next year, a bit more consistency and more results against the lower teams is the key (something i have to admit utd are good at)
im not even going to argue, (as a gooner) i actually agree with most things said here in terms of taking one step forward two steps back. one thing i dont agree with is the comment you quoted from from jose. ‘polishing’ a jewel suggests that wenger is only making young players talents known whereas most would agree he is taking young guys and actually making them better players. however we do need to buy some experience and once we do we’ll have that crown back…
Comment by Virile on July 24, 2008 15:43
I predict a swarm off gooner will be in here soon
- –
Like flys to a big steaming pile of s***
I disagree with you about favourites whether Ronaldo stays or goes. Without Ronaldo you would struggle to finish third this season.
That geezer carried you last year!!!
Agree with most of that to be honest – it’s a frustrating time for Arsenal – and the key is having some players prepared to stay for more than 2 minutes allow the team to gel. Generally I think the players you listed – Fabregas/Clichy/RVP/Sagna etc seem the sort who’ll stick around a while yet. The key is for it not to take 3 years for Nasri, Ramsey (and Coquelin – this kid will be a cracking player) to delier consistently. I think if Ade sorts his head out, and a midfielder steps up to the Flamini plate, we’ll be challenging again this season. Hleb is NO loss at all, and at least Walcott will get more game time now.
A swarm of gooners was expected and desired due to the tagline. This is the same stuff we had spouted out last season when TH14 left. Whilst I agree with some of your points about Rooney and Ronnie still being kinds etc, I have to disagree when you agree with lyingcheatingportocunt about Wenger being an idol and under no pressure. The reason I say this is because you’re a Utd fan and you guys didn’t win fuck all significant either for a long time until the prem season before last…yet Fergie wasn’t under pressure??? He’s also an idol, the difference is…and what really get lyingcheatingportocubnts goat is that both Wenger and Fergie have revolutionalised their clubs and the way football is played in the coutry coupled with the fact that they trust young players. The so called special one took over a team that got to the CL semis and finished 2nd in the league, spent millions and won it the next year…what an achievement. You only have to look at Capellos comments today to realise that he doesn’t command the same respect that people like Fergie and Wenger get and deserve.
Also, Kolo Toure is the last of the invincibles mate and we’ll be there or there abouts come May. People bang on about us winning nothing last season but nor did Chelsea and one games and a missed penalty apart, the same could have been said for your lot.
Only one team can win each trophy and we all want it, so who knows…the fun bit is trying.
Good luck next year, should be a cracker
i wonder how arsene wud do with all that buck at chelski…oh ya when u think of it just how fergie n whoever coaches chelski can do at arsenal.who knows the russian mafia may jus employ sum1 else next season..
Whatever Wait to the season start.
As a gooner I think you have made a few very valid points. Cant really argue with you. I still think worse squads have won the premier league but I think we would need a couple of quality signings with premiership experience to really compete. Hleb was useless anyway, 11 goals in 3 years from a winger? Nah, see you later Alex…Flamini nobody wanted last year, Wenger told him to earn a new contract and then the club he supported as a boy comes in for him…what are you going to do? Mad Jens’ time had come, and Gilberto has lost what he so brilliantly had and at 31 was offered 3 years in the sun winning the Greek domestic treble every year, again what are we going to do? Stop him? So as I say, 2 good players(dont forget Nasri aint bad) and we are back up to strength…..(Hopefully!)
Great article, i believe a lot of gooners echo your sentiments. Although in reagrds to Nani i think anderson will in years to come be a far more influential player for ye.
gooner here. very good article. good points and surprisingly not a real dig at arsenal at all. something we’ve read a lot about in the tabs.
anyways, i think our season will go one of two ways, we dominate the league and end up winning it to people surprises or we fight for 4th. simple as!!!!
Decent article except for the part about that twat Mourinho’s comments. He got lucky winning the league when both arsenal and united weren’t at their best!
united have the best mix of youth and experience, arsenal are just all youth but the chavs are all pensioners!
oh by the way obviously i am a Gooner.
Good, balanced article, Scott the Red.
Wish there more Mancs and Gooners like you, respectively.
correct appraisal, “virile” you clearly know nothing, be quiet.
to ve fair we were 4 points off winners EVEN THOUGH we capitulated in feb as you pointed out. had we not then perhaps it would have been a different story. c’est la vie.
bottom line, we will be there or there abouts next season because no one else is stronger enough to challenge
Both the gooners and mancs must agree that we should do everything we can to stop chealsski winning anything with their outdated and boring style. I am genuinely happy to have finished 3rd while watching some outstanding games. Wenger aint perfect but youve got to admire the style.
Okay a few valid points. But I still think we would be challenging the next season. Its the iceberg principle – if you are not a fan of the club, you will only know what the biased media is reporting. Behind the scenes, one can see exciting developments, though not so obvious to outsiders. For example.. how many Man U fans know that we got Carlos Vela back from his loan outing ? He is a regular in Mexico team. You scoff at the idea that we bring in only youngsters… well, those youngsters are good enough to get into their national teams. Bendtner, Vela, Nasri, Ramsey, Diaby are all part of their national set up. Yes, they lack premiership experience. Cant say it held up either Tevez, Anderson, Hargreaves or Nani, did it ?
Whats the matter?
Need a few hits so you put Arsenal in the title?
I think United should very much worry about a challenge coming from the Arse. That is IF van persei stays fit for a significant period of time, but it just doesnt look like he has that in him. Its the same as United crossing their fingers and hoping that Saha stays fit, while yes, it COULD happen, it hasnt for a while and more than likely wont. Ade is a good enough player and can bang them in, but he’s not in van persei’s class or even close to it.
Good point Gripper – its the only title we’ ve taken for a while!
limited you lots have Russian and Yank Rich owners. It`s not just the transfer bill ,but the wages you have to pay you lots got players making over 100k per week chels got players making 140k a week. Arsenal are ran by English despite the squad, that`s why last season made it so immense we almost w/ chicken feed…we`re not so far off the mark (4pts). I understand it takes money ,but we are no where near that facility . We`re a peoples club we try to make a £ out of a pence.Manutd are a great side no doubt …so I hope the magician and pull a coup this time
Nice article. I’m a Gunners fan and as Jamie said, you raise some valid points. It’s important to remember though that we led the league for a large portion of last year until injuries exposed depth problems. I don’t actually think Hleb leaving will be that big of a problem. Although I rate Hleb, his overall contribution should be aptly filled by players we already have or coming back. Flamini’s replacement is the real question. If we get that sorted out then I don’t see any reason we shouldn’t mount a serious title challenge this year. Even with all our problems in the second half of last year we only finished four points off the title.
Well written and well thought out.
I’m a gooner. My feeling is Chelsea have the best squad on paper, and good depth. I think they have a very good chance of winning the title. Personally, I wouldn’t seperate Arsenal or United as having a better chance than the other. Arsenal’s recent lack of silverwear, if anything, is a motivation more than a hinderance – while I’d be surprised if United had the momentum to make it three in a row. I feel they were very heavily driven by Ronaldo’s personal ambition, and besides Rio Ferdinand, there’s no other player in the United squad I see as having the same ruthless determination, influence, or ability. It’s interesting you comment heavily on the departure of Arsenal players, because, whether Ronaldo stays or not, I don’t see him flying at those hights again after what’s happened this summer. In that sense, I think the disruptive influence of possible player departures are something both clubs have suffered to actually fairly equal measures this pre-season.
The new arrivals of Anderson and Nani last season, I saw as a real leg-up for the United team, but having both just achieved the ultimate goal in winning both the CL and PL, I can’t see their desire for sucess reaching the same dizzying heights this season. I don’t think the same can be said for Arsenal players – who are due a trophy big time.
While Chelsea are favourites for me, and United as the reigning champions will no doubt be there or thereabouts at the end of the season, I think it’s hasty to rule out a very good Arsenal squad – if they manage to avoid the same sort of injury list as plagued them last season. I’m sure you’ll accept that losing the likes of Ronaldo and Tevez to double compund fractures cuts your title chances in half. The fact Arsenal suffered the likes of this, and still acted pace-maker for the best part of the season is actually very encouraging from my view.
You raise good points about Arsenal but I dont think you have done your homework at all. Get your facts right mate. Nasri is gonna replace Hleb (and not Flamoney/Gilberto). Nani didnt have a great first season by any stretch of imagination. Anderson did. And I dont think Giggs has ANYTHING to offer anymore, Scholes can at times. And I will bet everything I have that United CANNOT WIN ANYTHING if Ronaldo leaves(and they dont find a replacement for him). He is the MAIN reason ManU have won the titles in the last two seasons. I would actually stick my neck out and say that Chelsea is the strongest team as of now. They have what you think Arsenal doesnt, EXPERIENCE. To achieve what they did last season with all the on/off the pitch troubles they had was amazing. And dont forget, ManU winning the CL and not Chelsea was just LUCK. Arsenal and ManU will fight for second.
P.S. I AM AN ARSENAL FAN.
Many reasonable points, however the picture isn’t quite as clear as you would describe. You have to remember for the majority of the season Arsenal were without Eduardo, Van Persie and Rosicky particularly when they were most needed. Secondly, you have not taken into account the improvement in current players. Diaby, Walcott and Song to name a few. We get accused of having a thin squad but look at our attacking talent. Van Persie, Eduardo, Adebayor, Bendtner, Vela and Walcott. Who have chelsea got apart from drogba, who have Man U got in the wings if rooney and/or ronaldo got injured. Man u were so dependent on Ronaldo last season, if he left they would second favourites for the title after chelsea. Why don’t we wait and see who else is coming in to all the clubs and how the season pans out.
Good article, although I disagree with the conclusion as I think (assuming at least one quality addition in central midfield…) Arsenal will provide a strong challenge, probably stronger than last season. But I think you suggest Nasri is not ready to fill Flamini’s boots, and Ramsay is not ready to fill Hleb’s position. In fact it is more the other way round- Nasri was never a Flamini replacement, and was bought with an eye on covering Hleb’s departure, while Wenger sees Ramsay in the centre in a Flamini-ish role. But he will not play him there this season very often- he will buy a new DM. Until that happens its pointless to make calls about Arsenal’s threat for next year. If we buy a good DM and maybe one or two other good players, we’re a major threat. If we don’t, we may well come up short…
Good points on Arsenal, but correct this.
Van Persie is 25 years
Fabregas is 21 years
Sagna is 25 years
clichy is 22 years. keep with facts, the rest is ok
Arsenal like us play good football, they will miss Flamani next season ut Nasri will be top draw. They need in my view a centre back and a midfielder, but fuck me I perfer them to the dippers and Chelscum!!
this article is a bit of a joke realy , i’ll bet the writer is actually scared stiff that utd wont finish in the top two now that ronaldo has had his head turned . all arsenal have to do to be a force is sort the defencive midfielder position out . we wont miss gilberto or flamini if we do this . one of the guys on here even suggested utd playing arsenal off the park twice. i seem to remember utd being all over the place in at least one of the two games last season , almost scoring two own goals if it wasnt for the keeper . im not going to say arsenal will win the league but it is a very fine line between arsenal , chelsea and man utd that last season was decided by the luck that the champions allways get . an undeserved penalty or two against there rivals or a goal that should of stood . even ferguson said last season that he felt sorry for arsene because some of the decisions going against arsenal were diobolical. nuff said
Better a fly than a steaming pile of sh@te
The people who think United can’t win anything if we don’t have Ronaldo will be disappointed after he leaves.
Just take a look at the Premiership’s top scorers last season: Click. Despite missing close to 1/3 of the season, Rooney is the 11th highest scorer in the league and Tevez is 9th.
Re: CL final. Were United lucky that the ball took a deflection off TWO United players before Van der Sar slipped on the grass (yes, the same grass Terry slipped on) leaving Lampard with the simplest of tap ins?
Gooner Nig – you probably aren’t aware of just how much Arsenal fork out on wages. Click.
Chelsea – £114m
Manchester Utd – £85m
Arsenal – £83m
Liverpool – £69m
Silva – no need for correction. Read it properly.
“So in two or three years time, at the least, when these new youngsters are better formed, what’s to say that 24-year-old Fabregas doesn’t make the move to Barcelona, with 28-year-old Sagna, 27-year-old van Persie or 25-year-old Clichy all looking for new challenges abroad?”
im a gooner and the way i see it were always the team to fear look how other teams play us they have 11 men behind the ball but no matter how good are football is we keep ending up emty handed
saw yes im a bit concerned i think wenger has got to get it right this season
i am a bit annoyed with wenger i think he tries to be abit to clever some times and it back fires i think whats key for this season he doesnt get just any midfielder
he needs to get vieira’s replacement and its been three years and he hasn’t done it yet . and i think we need to replace the great thierry Henry saw yes im saying we need another striker but a reliable one not
some that needs 5 chances to score like
adebayor.
mancunia what you think of that article on the idiot on sportinglife who said rooney moving to man utd was a mistake.
that guy should realise ronaldo is just a better player.
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/premiership/manu/news/
This one of the worst blogs in interwebland.
Still writing articles with Arsenal in the title just to get hits, then moans when Gooners comment.
I actually feel sorry for you. Not because you’re desperate for hits, but because you’re so clearly blind to actual facts. You won the league by 4 points and Ronaldo scored almost all your goals – you really kicked ass! Writing off any team in the top 4/5 is insane and shows a complete lack of football knowledge and common sense. Oh, and didn’t Fergie say that Arsenal probably should’ve won the league last season and would be one of the main challengers this term? Yes he did. Are you saying you know more about the game than him? Please.
“So in two or three years time, at the least, when these new youngsters are better formed, what’s to say that 24-year-old Fabregas doesn’t make the move to Barcelona, with 28-year-old Sagna, 27-year-old van Persie or 25-year-old Clichy all looking for new challenges abroad?”
Scott you are actually mental. Replace those names with Nani, Anderson, Ronaldo, Rooney etc. You don’t know what will happen in the future – for all you know Arsenal will win the league, Ronaldo will leave, Rooney gets fatter, Fergie dies of alcohol poisoning…
Your objectivity is laughable. Insofar as you have none.
Even though I agree with you on a lot of points I think you’re misinformed on some fronts.
Nasri was never meant to replace Flamini. Nasri is not very defensive at all and prefers to play behind the striker or on the wing (Hleb’s position). Ramsey isn’t meant to challenge the first team yet either, besides which he’ll likely be used in Fabregas’ position (as he has been used in preseason so far) rather than as a winger.
It’s true that rather than adding to the team we’ve lost some players, and only replaced a few and with younger players but like I said you’ve mised some players out.
For example from the current lot of players at Arsenal, the potential players to fill Flamini’s role are Denilson, Diaby (although he’s not ready yet I think), Djourou or Song. It’s even possible, if unlikely that Wenger could try to usew Toure in DM and use Song or someone else at CB.
Whilst I’m not saying any of those would certainly replace Flamini’s excellence from last year, it’s not an impossibility. Let’s not forget Flamini was a very average player before last year. No one would have missed him if he had left, it was a total shock that he suddenly turned so good.
Why are there so many Arsenal fans here?
Decent article but way before its time…Wait till the summer window closes to really judge teams !! Stop living in a fool’s paradise right now..if the season starts tomorrow then Man U may be the one doing some catchinf of Chelsea… I accept we are in a bad shape
Dt – No one knows what happens in the future. That’s why I asked a question, rather than make a statement. If I had said “All these players will leave Arsenal in a few years, but none of them will leave United” then I think you’d have a point. Insofar, you have none.
This summer, Arsenal have seen two players leave your club before they’ve reached their peak. If Arsenal continue not to win anything, then it’s likely it will happen again.
In contrast, players like Nani, Anderson, Rooney etc. have picked up league and CL winners medals with United, so it’s less likely that they’d want to leave a club like that.
Why are you guys on a United site, trying to get some idea on how to win trophies how long is it now?
Likewise with Hleb. Walcott only started to step up at the end of last season and should hopefully be really knocking on the door this season. If he steps up he should score a few more goals tha Hleb did. Equally we have Vela and Nasri there now as well as youngsters coming through such as Barazite who’s a really top notch prospect.
Once again if we don’t buy another player to replace Hleb it might be a bad move, but even though the players listed there are all very young, I wouldn’t write off between them replacing Hleb. Especially considering for all his silky skills, he did only score 4 goals in all competitions last season. Walcott managed more than that whilst playing poorly for most of the season and being only a bench player.
Probably so many fans are here because the site is listed on Gooner News (.com).
Presumably because the site mentioned Arsenal it recognised that it must be a relavent site.
I cant speak for anyone else Stephen, but I picked up on it on newsnow and thought it was a good piece so felt compelled to reply. by the way it’s 3 years but it’s all a cycle and I’m sure we will be up there next season, dont forget it wasn’t that long ago where you went decades without winning the league.
@ ManUtd19
And why does and Man U blog writes about Arsenal every now and then ???
Johnny D… you say this will be the season Spurs will overtake Arsenal? Is that a wind up or did it make sense when you said it?
You realise before they can dream about overtaking their more illustrious neighbours, Spurs also have to leapfrog the likes of Aston Villa, Everton, Blackburn, West Ham, Liverpool, Portsmoutgh etc.
Shame, because the article was actually more rational and impartial than I thought it would be, unfortunately with RoM you always get some twat who thinks they are clever
Another gooner here, and I agree pretty much with everything written in the article.
We may spring a surpirse but much as it pains me to admit it Chelsea will be your biggest challengers for the title this year and if it’s between you and them I’d much prefer you lot.
Losing Flamini is a much bigger blow than Hleb and the fact that Adebayor may stay after wanting to leave is hardly ideal either, not many Gooners even rate him. We need a good centre half and a agressive holding midfielder at the very least to think about challenging.
Sadly as Wenger has stated, we need to raise 24 milion every year for the next 17 years to pay for our stadium. I actually think all the club care about is remaining in the top four with Champions League football and if we win anything it’s a bonus. That’s why Mourinho was so wrong about Arsenal, as he had to win the title as Chelsea spent so much. As long as Wenger polishes gems and makes money on the transfer market as well as keeping us in the champions league he will always have a job at Arsenal.
As for Utd I personally don’t think it would affect you that much of Ronaldo was sold. You have a load of matchwinners in the squad anyway and actually think that given his huge expanding ego that he may become detrimental to the team. When Henry left us everyone said we were finished but we ended up better, I suspect it would be the same with you except you enter that situation as reigning English and European champions!!
A fair and reasoned article. However, in my view (and I am a Gooner), Arsenal lost the league by 4 pts due to a run of draws against poor opposition in February / March:
B’Ham City (H) 1-1
B’Ham City (A) 2-2
Villa (H) 1-1
Wigan (A) 0-0
M’Boro (H) 1-1
Win 3 of those games and we would have won the league. So I’d disagree with your findings. I don’t think we’re that far off.
I’ll answer that stephen and manutd 19, there are many gooners here bcause if you try going to newsnow under ‘arsenal’ or ”premier league’ , this blog will appear for us gooners to click on and read of course.. So , us gooners will click on it to find out news and what other blogs are saying abt our beloved team.
Or you can type arsenal in google or yahoo, then click news. this site will come out too. We do not intentionally type this website on our url, Honest!!
After all being said, i actually agree with the post. A balanced view finally.
Spurs will never overtake Arsenal, but they need to give Wenger some money too spend, or us and Chelsea might stretch away, I am not being arrogant, just think your squad needs bolstering.
For the arsenal fans who commented on here, my advice including united fans don’t judge to quickly on what may happen in the season ahead. And has for the future like ronaldo says only god knows. You can’t just say this and that on what will happen in the future that man utd have a great future because of the young players we got.
man utd fans rival fans and the media have been to look like total jackasses after united getting knocked out in Europe it was supposed to be the demise, during that time after that night man utd have ended winning the league cup back to back titles and a European cup while it was predicted Chelsea will walk title after title but they have gone backwards having three managers during that time and ended up in United’s shadow again, what were the odds on ferguson out lasting the so called special one.
Ohhh Scott, the wage figures you have quoted is soo old, these are the figures that included Henry and Ljungberg. With yet more big money earners like Helb & Gilberto gone, I’d imagine it would be at least 15M less in wages this coming season. So I’d probably guess less 70M total in wages.
last word just wait and see, we dont know what will happen in the season ahead would we have pridicted a man utd decline between 2003 and 2005. arsenal fans should be delighted they have sold hleb especially the money they got for him never realy rated the guy. arsenal are three players short, a cm a winger and another striker. man utd for me look strong enough in every department if the squad is kept together.
Good post – no disrespect but i don’t look at Man utd and go wow, far from it, they have 2 or 3 individuals who they rely so much on, loose them and you are back to the drawing board again.
Arsenal are weaker defensively, no doubt about that, if we sort that out then we’ll have as good a chance as anybody.
Bring on next season!
MUPPET!!!! YOU ONLY ONE THE LEAGUE LAST SEASON BECAUSE ARSENAL HAD A MASSIVE RUN OF MISFORTUNE!
1) EDUARDO BROKE HIS LEG IN HORRIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES IN FEB AND WAS MISSING THE REST OF THE CAMPAIGN
2)WE LOST AT BIRMINGHAM BECAUSE OF 2 DISGRACEFUL REFEREEING DECISIONS. WHICH WOULD OF TAKEN US 8 POINTS CLEAR
3) VAN PERSIE WAS MISSING FOR ROUGHLY 6 MONTHS OF THE SEASON
34)ROSICKY WAS MISSING 5 MONTHS OF THE SEASON
YOU CAN SAY WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT THEM BEING LAME EXCUSES BUT REMEMBER THOSE 3 PLAYERS ARE ALWAYS IN THE STARTING 11 WHEN FIT!
HOW WOULD UTD COPE IF THEY LOST ROONEY, RONALDO AND GIGGS FOR 2/3 OF THE SEASON!!
IF YOU LOST RONALDO ON HIS OWN FOR 2/3 OF THE SEASON UTD WOULD OF WON NOTHING LAST YEAR!
HE CARRIED YOU
ALL THIS ON TOP OF UTD SPENDING AROUND £70 MILL IN THE SUMMER COMPARED TO ARSENALS £15 MILL COUPLED WITH THE LOSS OF THIERRY HENRY.
TAKE ON BOARD ALL THE ABOVE AND REMEMBER……………… YOU ONLY FINISHED 4 POINTS AHEAD OF US!
GUNNERS TO BE THE TEAM TO FEAR NEXT SEASON……….
I THINK SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, lets talk conspiracy!. Blabber and Platini have a downer on English football and the Prem in particular. They were so pissed that we had three teams in the CL semis. So not only do they want us to get less tv coverage, and give up a good portion of our hard earned funding, they further want to weaken us by nabbing our great players. If they strip our top 4 of our top players, then they weaken our chances of winning CL matches. Devious bastards. So they go after Adebayor, Torres, Ronaldo, Drogba etc etc, you get my meaning. All of these players are top entertainment, and we need them to stay in the prem.
2ndly, I think Arsenal were extremely unlucky last season, to miss out on PL and CL. Even United fans have to concede that Arsenal were flying until they got serious injuries to a few of their main players at crucial time of season, and even then, they only just narrowly missed in the prem. I’m United thru and thru, but I can admit that.
So yes, I think Arsenal will be up there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were a major contender. As someone already said, we can’t say that the young players at Arsenal will not have the same level of impact as Tev, Nani, Anderson etc. However I do agree with Scott, that Arsenal do need one or two experienced heads out on the field. But I’m sure Wenger knows that.
For whoever said that Nani will not be as effective as Anderson, I cannot agree. Because Nani was already more effective this season, in being only one assist behind Rooney and scoring some cracking goals. I watched a few times the United end of season review dvd, and I was amazed to watch back Nani’s impact.
Stephen they are on here because Variety is the spice of life, mate. It would be pretty fucking boring if every comment was just
–United are great, I think we’re gonna win the league.
–I agree with above. I think United are great too.
–Strangely enough I third the above poster, I think United will win also!!
Thats a bit boring dont you think. Just enjoy the different points of view and the discussion that, bar a few fuckwits just looking to start some shit, has been respectful and amicable on both sides. Both sets of fans can agree that Chelski are annoying bastards. And i would rather have Arsenal win trophies rather than the dippers and the russians any day of the week. If its not United, then please God let it be Arsenal.
And DAZ, i dont think anyone is questioning the impact injuries had on your season last year. But you, and most arsenal fans, speak of the loss of Rosicky and Eduardo as being an insurmountable obstical. I mean, they are decent players, but they are far from world beaters.I’d personally say Hleb is much better and effective than Rosicky. Losing RvP on the other hand is much different, but thats what you get with an injury prone player.
you’re points are fair enough, but don’t write arsenal off. It seems whenever the pesky gunners are written off, they come back and bite us in the a*s. i think they will be second next season.
Drew – Eduardo was the top scorer in the team that knocked hargreaves, ferdinand & rooney out of the euro qualifiers so i would say he is definitely a world beater. Rosicky is class and as captain of czech team i would say also a world beater. His goal scoring & assist rate compared with hleb vastly superior (when he plays!). oh and didnt he set up the winner at OT in the 2006-07 season?
Arsenal are a good side but if their fans say ronaldo has had his head turned then we could say the same about adeybayor, they have also lost three midfield players so their squad is weaker not stronger last year when they ran out of steam
as for ramsey yes he is a v good prospect but he wasn;t in the cardiff team game in game out last year dont expect too much from him this year
the chavs are a bigger threat imo
ps eduardo couldnt get in your side game in game out he is not a world beater and despite rosicky being a decent player neither is he, baros abd koeller have an excellent record for the czechs do you think they are world class to?
ps no way arsenal play eduardo rosicky van pierse in every game thats a nonsense and you know it.
we can all say players were injured
scholes missed 3 months
neville nigh on the full season
van der sar and vidic missed loads of games to
thats why you need a strong squad, thats why wenger should have bought in jan, instead he sold maybe your genius is not as great as you lot think?
Come on Scott the Red
“In contrast, players like Nani, Anderson, Rooney etc. have picked up league and CL winners medals with United, so it’s less likely that they’d want to leave a club like that”
You need to tell that to Ronaldo!!!
Gunner Chris – If Ronaldo ‘carried us’ last year, what on earth did Adebyor do for Arsenal then? You make these ridiculous statements that if it wasn’t for Ronaldos goals we would struggle, overlooking the fact that Rooney and Tevez also scored 12 and 14 Premiership goals respectively. The difference between United and Arsenal is that when we lose we bounce back straight away, whereas you capitulate – like from the point of that 4-0 hammering in the FA Cup.
Matt C – correction…Fabregas set up the winner for Adebyor at OT in the 2006/07 season, but you still won fuck all that season. I hardly think Eduardos world class on the strength of Croatia eliminating England from Euro 2008, when Russia did likewise, and only finished 3rd ahead of Israel on the head to head, a nonsensical comment if ever I heard one. Turkey knocked out both Croatia and the Czechs at the Euros, so what does that make their players then?
Good artilce but it is just points that many Arsenal fans have complained about, no new revelations here. For you to say that Man U are the favorites is just what i think any Man U fan would say, given you won the Double last year but trust me, you would have on nothing without Ronaldo. All in all your article is based on a bunch of ifs and many of the negative stances that many arsenal fans take but this Arsenal team has a wealth of talent, I would say across the board, more or just as talented as any team in world football. In other words, we will all have to wait and see but I know what I think! Gunners all the way!
God Bless!!!
goona
tell me this how come when henry was considered the best player in the world arsenal did not only fail to win back to back titles, but fail to win the European cup is well. It must be something special that won united those trophies. Isn’t it amazing arsenal were hyped to death has a great side in 2004 and done nothing since, yet man utd have achieved much greater feats then arsenal yet there is not much hype. Man utd destroyed arsenal 4 0 without hargreaves scholes ronaldo tevez giggs.
oh yes took a last gasp equaliser that would be another two points in the bag for united, just face it man utd have been the most superior side since the turn of 2006 and oh yes how would arsenal have done if henry was not in the team in 2004 explain that one. Man utd have the mental toughness to get over tough times and when the chips were down they had the balls the guts and something your team will never have bottle to keep going.
Your manager has lost the plot which showed after you lost your unbeaten streak, and lost it this season blaming little incidents that most sides over the years have always got over. Top side are going to have tough times ahead the great sides thrive and get over those tough times, that’s what separates the great sides from the ordinary sides, men against boys and arsenal have shown when it comes to competing with united in a long season they are very much boys.
I feel smpathy for the gooners for a few reasons, they play great football, are not scum like livrepool or chelsea and they always sell there bloody players!
I’d like to see a battle with them next season but think Chelsea and Liverpool will both finsh above them.
Too lazy to go into detaol or correct my awful typomg errors!
I dont read the articles i just laugh at the comments people make.
Scott you should make a scouse one soon so i can read “18-5 YNWA” a billion times for a laugh
Lifelong Arsenal fan speaking. I’ve seen some silly sniping on this site (and yes of course, on our blogs too) but this article definitely rates as fair comment. And a lot of the posts below the line are reasonable too.
For the record, I think ManU have a superb team and a superb manager … doesn’t make me like you (or him) but I can take respectful criticism and see credit where it’s due. And you deserve credit.
I hope we will challenge next season, of course. But if we don’t win, I hope a footballing side does. Which means your lot.
Re: Chelsea, it’s not the money that grates (few wouldn’t have taken it), it’s the footballing attitude. If they play good football next season and treat the officials with respect, they deserve success. If they don’t, I would love to see three teams in red above them.
agree ach