I have been really impressed with Jack Wilshere this season, for Arsenal and the England national team. When it looked like the super talented teenager that burst onto the scene a few years ago was letting it slip and might never realise his potential, Wilshere has knuckled down and proved his critics wrong.
That has been great to see but also really important to the Arsenal cause this season, with Aaron Ramsey really struggling to get anywhere near the form that made him far and away our best player of last season. So the injury news reported by Sky Sports that Jack has sprained his ankle badly and will be out of action for a bit is not what we needed.
Arsene Wenger has not specified how much time the 22-year old will miss but at least it is not broken and doesn’t look like it will need surgery. And there are other creative options in the team as well, so I think that the news that our French international defender Laurent Koscielny is back in the squad could prove to be more important than losing Wilshere.
After all, it is not scoring goals but conceding them that has been our major problem and Nacho Monreal has done his best but has not looked comfortable in the centre. That also seems to have affected Per Mertesacker and I’m sure the big German will be delighted to have his usual centre back partner back. But will it be enough to see Arsenal beat Dortmund or at least get the point we need to ensure a place in the next round?
Ofcourse Koscielny is more important that Jack. Jack has been in fine form but he lacks the impacr on games unlike Ramsey.
When Ramsey is on song, you know he will be the difference but with Jack i am yet to get the feeling.
We are missing last year’s Ramsey very very very badly, most importantly his tackling. I can remember so many games he won us last year, BvB away being one of them.
Somehow it went missing from everybody’s notice but Ramsey played his 200th game for us in the 2-1 loss to ManU. And he is just 23 and had nearly two seasons off.
Wenger just needs to sit down with Rambo and talk to him. He has nothing to prove to anyone anymore after last season (haters can go fcuk themselves for all i care). Just sit down with him and talk out his over-attacking instinct out of him. Last year when he was playing and doing a fine job in tackles, the need for defensive midfielder wasn’t even arising.
But as soon as he got tired (see Man City) and injured, people started out for a DM. Without him we lost (5-1, 6-0, 2-2 Southampton, 1-0 Stoke, Brayen 2-0 and 1-1) so many games. I am sure a fit and well rested Ramsey could have made a difference those days. Our PL, CL season went down hill without him and our attackers (see Mesut) were criticized for the lack of defending.
Gunners -moaning like women in labour- need to fall on their knees, claspe their hand and pray that Ramsey finds his form. A inform Ramsey can fcuk a team singlehandedly (we have witnessed that, haven’t we). We need our player of the season back.
Kneel and pray Gooners, kneel and fcuking pray.
@Sumo
It brought smile to my face when I read him talking (on Arsenal.com) about feeling sharp again, because he is finally returning back to doing the basics in the hope that the goals will come as a result.
“Wenger just needs to sit down with Rambo and talk to him.”
To be fair to Arsene, it is clear that he has done this. He has obviously talked to him about this several times and in several ways, even going as far as topublicly criticize Ramsey’s attitude in the media -before and after the Anderletch home game- to get the message across to the player.
Speaking of which brings me to another issue altogether. How does Wenger moan about “public criticism in the media”, when he himself has done the same to his players recently e.g Ramsey? Talking about bending the rules to suit your desire, eh?
Yes, he is Ramsey’s boss, so maybe he has all the right to criticize the player anytime and anyhow he wants. Maybe he doesn’t see Alisher Usmanov as one of his bosses!
@ Usmanov ………. Hahahahaha man, u are clever! ……. Dat’s the perfect question
@SoOpa AeoN.
F&%k yeah, I am!
How else do you think I figured that Arsene has been making the same mistakes all over again? And is refusing to admit them, let alone fiix ’em?
Orrr, how do you think I am able to manage 30% ownership of the club despite the clear and brutal attempts by the yank to kick me out completely?
How am I able to post comments on this forum, all the while leading you guys to think I am just a regular fan? hmmm.
There is a Russian proverb that says the “the best way to hide, is to hide in plain sight. The best way to plan, is to make others feel like you haven’t got a plan.”
COYG
If you do not understand the difference between a coach criticizing his player in public and a businessman criticizing his manager in public than what more than I say.
@Sumo.
If you read the last line of my comments you will know that I have no problem understanding the difference between the two cases you mention.
The thing is, the coach is the player’s boss. The business man is the coach’s boss. In this case, what applies to the coach applies to the business man also, because in the end, THEY ARE BOTH BOSSES.
My beef with Wenger is that, he is OK with public adulation but pissed with public criticism. Why not just -be humble for once- forget whether they are public or not, and in a modest manner, look to see if there is anything at all to be gained from it, rather than ignore it.
@Sumo, please, check out the word “HUBRIS”.
PS: I adore Wenger. Usmanov’s relationship with Wenger has never been one of disrespect/disregard for his obvious genius.
@ usmanov ………Buahahaha…. TeLL em its all bout the chain of command….. Be it a PLAYER-MANAGER reLationship or BOSS-MANAGER reLationship ……. F**k other irrelevant details and excuses
Fine form? For England yes but not for Arsenal.
Kos is more important than Wilshere every game, not just Dortmund.
Bringing Jack into Koscielny’s return
is a cheap opening for Jack slagging.
Why stir sh#t for no reason?
Jacks out leave it there.
Let’s focus on what Kos will bring.
And if fit and if match sharp Koz brings
a great deal. Good news indeed.
Awesome profile picture David. Ha ha ha. But just to be sure. Is it what I think it is? Fellani in an Arsenal shirt?
Lol. Well spotted Sumo 🙂
@davidnz.
“And if fit and if match sharp Koz brings….”
That is the problem david. I just can’t help but feel that Kosc is being rushed in to action. Forgive me for seeing the glass as half empty (and I hate to see it that way), but he is definitely one of the most important players/assets this club has got. I don’t want to see his form go downward spiral as a result of recurring injuries picked up from being rushed to action.
My reasons for concern are
1. This might be a panic move. Even Arsene with all his years of experience and calculated demeanor is not entirely immune to panic, you know.
2. If he isn’t match fit, his return to action will turn out to be both inconsequential and damaging in the long run.
Yes I agree.
What if he makes the injury worse
and is out for months?
Surely Anderlecht will not beat
Dortmund in Germany.
Still 9 games till January.
Wenger is rolling the dice.
We weren’t known about the full situation of Giroud, still he played well and scored a goal. And also Wenger might be knowing the situation better than us, because he also understands that Bosscielny is a very important player to our team. So if he can play, then its better to play him against BVB than West brom. COYG!
Mixed feelings about Kos coming back. He has been sorely missed, and we need him back, but for me it spells reprieve for Mert. Little wonder that Kos has dodgy tendons because immediately his work load is doubled. Also the reason why he commits himself to tackles that sometimes he can,t make because he knows that M is too slow to cover. Wenger refuses to acknowledge or address this problem..
There are blaring issues Wenger needs to sort out. Firstly, I am sick and tired of our guys not being able to win headers, corners and free kicks. Every time we concede a corner I cannot keep my eyes open. We have a whole bunch of dwarfs in our team, skillful yet lack strength and height. Our defense and DM areas are soft spots and have been for ages. Arteta NOT physical and tall enough to be a formidable and consistent DM. Technically he is sound, but that is not enough especially against bigger teams! Mertesacker is probably our biggest liability and the reason I feel our defense is so shocking of late. It is no coincidence that since Kossie has been injured, we have been leaking goals and Mertesacker especially has been exposed. Even for his height, how many times do we actually see him winning headers!? I feel sorry for Sczcesny expected to perform with these types of players in front of him, no wonder the guy has been looking like a bag of nerves lately.
For the time being, Wenger can and should play Bellerin RB, and put Monreal and Chambers CB. This would already make a big impact, until Jan when he can bring in at least 2 world class players. I really do not think we should rush Kossie back unless he really is fit…but seriously either way leave Mertesacker out please!
Well man, I agree with you on set-pieces, we have been poor ever since. If you look in the team we currently have four good headers of the ball who also happen to have good positional sense during set-pieces, Kos, Giro, Ramsey and (but minus) podolski who happens to be seriously hated for his potency by our coach. This mean that we only have three who can significantly pose any threat to the opposition during set-pieces. What I have noticed it’s not the failings of the three but the quality of the deliveries. They are always long balls in the box with no element of surprise of a short pass, cut backs, etc. Our weakness in executing these is common knowledge to every EPL coach such that they simply pick the three out, crowd the box and neutralize the threat. Something sucks at the training grounds.
Thank you Big Gun…. seeing Mert in that defense just irritates me, its like we are one nil down before the game starts or we are playing with 10 men. Wenger’s loyalty to players such as Mert and Arteta is pulling the club backwards and to make matters worse these are our captains.
Mert is not suited for the fast paced and physical EPL its no secret and Arteta is not a suitable DM either, to be fail to him he can stick around and be a sub or something. Before we bring in a new CB and if Kos is fit enough to play I would rather play Kos and Chambers at CB, he could do no worse than Mert.
And Wenger/Bould have to drop this zonal marking and playing with a high line, teams know how to beat us because weve been playing with these two systems which dont work for us though game in game out we repeat them over and over.
Its high time we also recruit some big fellas in our defense and Midfield, even the invisibles were not a bunch of small fella’s no sir.
But what do I know, I don’t get 8m to think about such!!!
Funny thing is Mertz was huge
last season. He and Koz were
often our players of the day.
Debuchy Monreal Gibbs and Koz have all been injured.
So too Arteta and Ramsey is only just regaining full fitness
and Flamini is struggling. So Mertz and Szcz have had to deal with
a never ending stream of changes in defence and I think
are receiving an unfair amount of criticism.
Points to be noted.
Merts only looked good because Kossie played out of skin, but where you really saw Merts inadequacies was against Liverpool, Chelsea and City where in all 3 games conceded over 12 goals. I remember watching the replays and even writing an article about it. Mertesacker was at fault for half of those goals, simply because he is too slow. The other conceded goals were because Gibbs and especially Sagna were too slow and undisciplined to track back quick enough.
Mertesacker might be good when he is in the correct position with 3 or 4 defenders around him, but when it comes to one on ones, counterattacks and competitive air balls – he is generally useless which makes him really ineffective.
4-4-2 the best option against Dortmund with the likelihood of seeing Ramsey, Arteta, Carzola and Sanchez battling in the middle of the the park. Picking Podolski and Welbeck up front will surely see us notching a goal or two. For logic’s sake, in a 4-4-2 formation I would pick Campbell ahead of Carzola. Sanchez’s work rate allows him to drift both to the wings and middle with minimal effort such that the mis-firing Carzola wont be missed a bit. Whilst Campbell’s ball and good game reading qualities will add some unpredictable punch from the middle and right wing.
perhaps, if i’m able to figure out what situation Led to the substitution of a players (any of em) for campbell or podolski in the last few games/minutee they played, i might be able to figure out why they’ve always been benched……..Boy! This one may be harder than rocket science, Wenger makes it reaLLy hard for me 2 understand!…..just Like he makes it hard for the boys
Koscielny has always been ore important than wilshere
why would anyone compare the importance of a DEFENDER to MIDFIELDER?????……… At the moment we have a basket formation in our final third and a german snail bossing that just like we’ve got inconsistent, hot headed midfieLders Losing their playing boots game after game up there…. That’s two different problems……. The choice is ours…..do we prefer “GOAL CONCESSION” to “GOAL DROUGHT” or vice-versa? ….. We ought to work on both front
if martinez starts between the posts who will be on the bench??
Mertesacker since he’s the tallest. aka we are SOL.
Mertesacker is zero widout koscielny. Good to have him bak, now waiting for debuchy!
It’s kinda funny how quickly the tables turned on Merty. I remember a lot were wishing for him to be captain last season. That’s why we need Koscielny. Most importantly, Merty needs Koscielny. That partnership last season was pretty decent for the majority of our games. It may not fix all of our problems, but it’ll be a start.
But it’s not which player we need more. We need all of our players to be healthy for once in our lifetime, for once!
After Wenger’s interview yesterday I’m not too confident. He babbled on and contradicted himself again and again and sounded like a man under pressure.
As long as we can stop this Monreal at CB nonsense
@ fred….. MonreaL who should never have played CB (cuz he ain’t one) is just made to Look bad and stupid by the german snail alongside him…. I keep making references to the more recent Manure game……. Mert playing the defensive and striker’s role all at the same time…. Leaving monreal to do the dirty work of defending…… Surely, one can’t forget mert’s disgraceful positioning in the build up to Rooney’s goaL……. Dipsh*t that was!
I agree with you. Quite honestly I think Monreal is a decent defender as a whole and as done fairly well as a CB but if you are not as quick as Kossie playing next to Merts must be a nightmare, especially when the BFG thinks he is a striker for 20 mins! I still cannot wrap my head around that one, did Wenger tell him to stay up or did he just think f*ckit I am going to be a hero? Either way, to leave Di Maria and Rooney with all that space is asking for trouble and it backfired completely. If we could have avoided that second goal, we could have drawn with them or even snatched a late winner. That stupid move by the BFG really cost us, which not only questions his ability as a player, but questions his ability as a leader of our defence.
Klopp ,Reus , Gundogan and Hummels might aswell just stay after tonights game
Might as well change the name of the club.
Arsemund or Dortnal.
Those people saying we should drop Mertesacker for Chambers should quit their wishful thinking. It’ll NEVER happen.
The news gets worse as reports saying Jack is out for 3-4 months!
And do we really need another bloody midget in Gundogon and a another failing manager in Klopp?
Let’s get real eh
@Robin Vanpayslip.
Do not be fooled. Wenger is under NO PRESSURE.
If he ever feels like he is under pressure, he’ll just babble through it, reassuring himself that no one else knows better than he does.
While the rest of us will continually feel like the world is against our team and it’s manager.
How does Wenger deal with criticism.He tells us about all the players he nearly signed. Messi, Ronaldo, Bale ,et al. Not to mention those who he did, Stepanovs, Cygan, Squillaci, Silvestre and many others….
Kosheny is important than jack bcoz we hv little defender, n is our best defender now. Loosing our best defender is hell. Jack is a good player but he is still raw in that position, he has a lot to learn.
My choice of manager is Gadiola! A big team manager, he is a winner, he ll turn Arsenal to Barca, Baryern by attracting big name to us. More so, our tiki taka project ll continue with him.