Newsgroup: it.sport.calcio.estero
Titolo: Ecco cosa ne pensano i tifosi

 
 
http://www.arseblog.com/index.php#August10
The season ahead.
I've promised to have a look ahead to the new season for a couple of days
now so here goes. I've broken it down into areas on the pitch and then an
overall view. Make of it what you will.
Goalkeeper: At the time of writing we haven't signed the keeper the boss
said he was looking for last week. That was widely expected to be Uruguayan
Sebastian Viera but some reports today suggest the player failed a medical.
Despite bringing in young Italian Vito Mannone this does leave us a bit, but
not much, short.
I say a bit because Jens Lehmann is suspended for our first two Champions
League games of the season. That means Manuel Almunia will fill in if he
recovers from his injury, if not we're certainly a bit light just for those
two games.
I know people's opinions of Lehmann are fairly divided but for me he's a
decent keeper in an era of very few outstanding goalkeeping talents. Bar
Cech every keeper in the league had his embarrassing moments and while he
looked a little too secure of his place in mid-season a spell on the bench
certainly worked because when he came he was as good as anyone in the latter
part of the season. Add to that the upcoming World Cup in Germany and you've
got an experienced keeper who is going to be highly motivated to perform
well all season long.
I think Almunia is a decent number 2 (heh) but no more than that.
Realistically he's not going to pressure Jens for his place and will only
play in cup games and on account of injury. For that reason it would be nice
to see us bring in another keeper, one who will keep the current number 1 on
his toes even more and somebody who has the potential to fill the position
on a long term basis.
Defence: Personally I don't think we need any signings in this area. At
right back we have Lauren, Eboue and Hoyte. We have four centre-halves in
Campbell, Cygan, Senderos and Toure, the latter pairing being the first
choice for the new season, and at left back we have Cole, Clichy and
probably this Traore kid.
Sol's injuries and current state of mind is worrying. Has the hunger he had
to prove the Spuds up the road gone? Is his body, which Wenger called a
'heavy machine', starting to show its age even though he's relatively young
for a centre-half? If he's back and fit and competing we're well covered in
my opinion. If not we have to hope Senderos and Toure stay fit because Cygan
is not really an option for a lot of games. He did well enough last season
filling in but any run of permanency in the team tends to affect our form.
 
Kolo is going to have a better season than last, I can feel it. It's not
that he was bad it's just that he struggled alongside three different
partners and he had a lot to live up to after his exploits the previous
season. The partnership he forged with Senderos at the end of the season was
extremely promising though and the two compliment each other well. He's also
got another season of experience under his belt which, more than any other
position apart from goalkeeper, makes a big difference.
Philippe Senderos looks to me to be the centre-half Arsenal have been
looking for for a couple of seasons now. Strong, committed, brave,
intelligent, confident. Yes, he had a hard time against Drogba during the
Community Shield but young players will have games like that. It's what they
learn from them that really counts and I'm quite happy for him to have a
game like that in a friendly and learn from it than do it in a league game.
 
There's a weight of expectation on him now as well which wasn't there last
season but from the moment he made his Champions League debut against Bayern
there was no doubting his quality. Some people have suggested we could make
a signing in this area but I don't think it's a good idea. Toure and
Senderos have the makings of a great partnership that could last years. What
we have to do is allow two young defenders the time to create an
understanding and awareness between them and when that really kicks in we're
going to be looking at something special in my opinion.
I'll touch on how midfield can help them out now in a second but overall I
think we're pretty strong at the back when everyone's fit and available.
Midfield: Obviously the main talking point is the sale of Vieira and I'm not
going to go over the whys and wherefores of that again. Bottom line is he's
gone and we've got to get on with it. We've also lost Edu and the one area
where I think we really could add some depth to the squad is in central
midfield.
The difficulty arises when you try and think who to bring in. Cesc is
obviously going to take Vieira's place alongside Gilberto and his talent is
such that the more he plays the better he's going to be. That said he's
still only 18 so he's going to need a bit of looking after still. Flamini is
a hard working player, sort of like a French Ray Parlour but often, despite
his commitment, we bemoaned Ray's lack of nous, if you will. The same goes
for Flamini really.
As well as that an injury to any of the three we have at the moment would
leave us desperately short. There's just no way Robert Pires can play in
there, despite some pre-season appearances, Hleb isn't a central player from
what I've seen and while youngsters like Larsson and Djourou have real
promise, they certainly lack the experience. Although then you come to the
whole chicken and egg thing. How do these young players who have talent and
promise get the experience they need without playing games?
Leaving that conundrum aside though I'd feel better if we made a signing in
central midfield. Who do we get who's willing to come and battle against
Cesc and Gilberto though? If Jenas was available for under £10m I'd be
tempted to bring him and see what Arsene could make of his talent. At this
point even someone like Dacourt would settle the nerves a bit. What I would
say though is that while the boss is obviously putting his faith in young
players where we have lots of options I think he's going to bring someone in
here because we lack options.
If nearly every Arsenal fan you talk to speaks about the perceived weakness
in central midfield then you can be sure AW is aware of it too. He's sold
his captain and Edu. He knows we've only got three central midfielders. We
know he was trying to bring in Baptista. He knows Cesc is only 18. He knows
we lost Gilberto for a long time last season. He knows Vieira was injured a
lot last season. He knows Edu was injured a lot last season so there's our
three and after that we don't have any real cover unless Djourou and Larsson
are much more ready than we know.
With that in mind I just don't think we'll get to August 31st without buying
someone.
Wide midfield I think we're just fine. With Reyes multi-purpose on the left
wing or up front, Bobby, Freddie and Hleb I think there's plenty of cover
and plenty of options there. From what I've seen of the pre-season games I
like the look of Hleb. He passes the ball well and his workrate is very,
very good. I sat up a bit when during the Porto game he was dispossessed but
chased and harried the Porto player all the way back up the pitch to get the
ball off him. I like players that work hard and we're going to need them all
over the pitch this year.
To go back to what I was saying earlier about the defence I think the fact
that the central defensive partnership we have is so young I'd like to see
Gilberto play quite deep, almost right in front of them, giving them a
shield until they get into their stride. I hate to say Makelele style
because I hate that cunt but you know what I mean when I say it. Alongside
him Cesc is not afraid to get stuck in and while he doesn't have the
physical presence of Vieira he won't shy out of tackles, I'd warrant he
might work harder than Paddy did in his last 18 months and he certainly
won't give the ball away as much.
One signing in central midfield and we're set.
Forwards: We've got one of the best, if not the best, in the world in
Thierry who is going to smash Wright's record in the first part of the
season. He's also our captain but I don't think that's going to affect him
negatively in any way. I think he's got the personality to make it work but
he can't have those little inward spells any more. He's got to encourage and
keep the heads of the others up, he can't afford to let his own drop.
I think Dennis will start the season, perhaps brightly, but I'm not sure how
long he'll last the pace. As brilliant as he is he is 36 years old and that
does take it's toll no matter how talented you are.
 Reyes has a bit prove this season but he's signed a new contract, he seems
to have grown more accustomed to life in England and has made strides when
it comes to the language. As well as that he shouldn't have the same off
field distractions he had last time around and I don't think it's unfair to
say that we expect a lot more from our record signing this season. I'm
confident he's going to have a good campaign.
Robin van Persie has obviously had a difficult summer and won't know for a
while yet what's going to happen with regards to his court case. For so many
reasons I hope there's no case to answer and he can concentrate on his
football again but I'm sure when he's on the pitch he'll be fully
concentrated on the game and not anything else. I think he's a player of
huge talent and potential and we were beginning to see consistent flashes of
that last season. After his sending off he seemed to grow up quickly, his
football improved and he showed some real class in his scoring and all-round
play. All other things going well I'd tip him to be Thierry's partner by the
end of the season.
 
As well as those we have Lupoli and Quincy waiting in the wings, both very
different players but again two with tremendous potential. We'll see if
they, like Senderos last season, can step up and take their chances when
they get them. It looks like David Bentley is off on loan again and to be
honest I'm not quite sure where he could fit into the team at the moment.
Overall: I think people are lingering too much on Vieira's departure. Yes,
he was a great player for us but nobody knew him better than Arsene Wenger
and if he decided this summer was the right time to sell him then that's
good enough for me. Perhaps it might make a difference to teams
psychologically when they come to play us without Vieira. Maybe they won't
have the same fear. Maybe that will work to our benefit though and keep the
pressure off Cesc.
We have a core of young players who gained a huge amount from last season
and will do the same this time around. They're talented, hungry for success
and determined to make it at Arsenal. We have more experience than people
give us credit for. Henry, Lehmann, Sol, Gilberto, Ljungberg, Pires,
Bergkamp, Lauren and Cole will help bring these youngsters along even more.
Like all of you I see Chelsea spending like it's going out of fashion and
you do get itchy for the club, actually the manager to open the cheque book.
As I mentioned earlier I think he will when it comes to midfield and keeper
but to me the season ahead is like a battle between good and evil. Chelsea's
filthy millions and mercenaries against our (mostly) pure and well-bred
youngsters.
Arsene Wenger has been building something at Arsenal for years now. I
remember a few seasons back when people would bemoan signings like Vivas,
Luhzny and Grimandi because they got in the way of young players. Young
players like Hughes, Bothroyd, Vernazza, McGovern, Weston and so many more.
Those young players never had a chance at Arsenal. Now we have a crop of
incredibly talented young players and people want the manager to go out and
buy players to hinder their progress. Right now I wouldn't buy any player to
put ahead of Senderos, Cesc or even van Persie.
Of course I want Arsenal to win the league, of course I want us to
strengthen the squad but we shouldn't go out and spend money in the short
term that would impede on what is a fairly obvious long term plan. Remember
as well that long term in football is about 18 months! The young players
need to play as much as possible and I think the boss will give them as many
opportunities as he can.
I also think he's got to be realistic about the strength of the squad and it
is obvious we need a midfielder. We could cope without a keeper but I think
going into the new season without adding some depth to the squad in central
midfield would be a serious error of judgement. I trust Arsene implicitly
when it comes to our team, his record shows that trust has been earned over
9 seasons, but that's not to say he's infallible. Get a midfielder boss,
please!
One other thing I'd say is that because of our success it's hard to see us
lose games and so many fans have such high expectations that they lose sight
of the big picture in the wake of a bad result. I like to think Arsenal fans
are intelligent enough to be able to cope with a few defeats. As these young
players grow up they are going to make mistakes but they will learn from
them. We need to be patient and supportive of them now, and this season
coming, because they're our future. They're going to bring us success in the
seasons to come. We're fans but we're also supporters.
It's just a couple of days till kick-off. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm
confident. I'm really looking forward to football again and, maybe it's just
me, but I love the way everyone has more of less written us off already.
Last Sunday's papers did their prediction things and I don't think anyone
had us above third.
This might be a line some of you hate to hear but this time two years ago we
only brought in Lehmann and Gael Clichy having lost Seaman, Gio and Luhzny
and and everyone wrote us off then. We went that season unbeaten.
 
While it might be too much to even hope for the same thing we have to
remember this is a team with character, with resilience, with wonderful
players who play fantastic football and know how to win, and most
importantly, and don't ever forget it, this team is The Arsenal.
Bring it on.
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Inviato via 
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http://www.arseblog.com/index.php#August10
Il succo del discorso poi alla fine è il solito che si fa: in porta
Lehmann non è una sicurezza, la difesa è a posto così e va data fiducia a
Senderos (considerando comunque che c'è Campbell), a centrocampo manca un
giocatore di valore (non di più per non togliere spazio ai giovani),
sarebbe perfetto Jenas se a prezzo contenuto (£10m), ad ogni modo serve
qualcuno. Solite cose sull'attacco, Reyes deve dimostrare qualcosa di più
e RVP non si sa quanto patirà la situazione giudiziaria, da valutare i due
ragazzi.
Direi un buon articolo che condivido al 99%, sarà la stagione a decretare
se come sostengono altri invece la priorità dovrebbe essere data ad un
innesto in difesa piuttosto che in attacco.
-- 
Fabio5 [ICQ 175236943] - Hattrick: Saints Regia (235798) in IV.23 Italia
Patrick Vieira, 9 anni all'Arsenal, più di 400 presenze, 3 stagioni da
Capitano, 3 Premiership e 4 FA Cup, 79 presenze in Nazionale come nostro
giocatore (record), "one of the greatest in the Club's history".