Why we shouldn’t worry and why we should!!!

Transfer news is spreading fast like Jungle fire!!! He is in, he is out, he should be in etc etc etc… Most ridiculous I heard is Cesc is coming back!!! Give me a break please. He didn't craft a dream move to his home to comeback!!! But the pressing matter is we are losing players who were first team regulars and we don’t have suitors for players who weren’t… A strange situation indeed!!!

For people who want Theo to stay, I would like to bring into their kind notice that Theo is not a player who is world class by any standard; at most he is a mediocre player, maybe even below it. His knowledge of football is too minimal. He doesn’t have anything in his armory other then pace! His shooting, decision making inside the box and outside, his dribbling, his basic understanding of the game all leaves a lot to be desired. Just because he is English, we can’t carry an excess baggage. If we want a runner in our squad, then let’s get Mo Farah, he would be happy to play and would be loyal too and everybody will agree he is a damn fine runner!!! And to be true, Theo has frustrated me and other Gooners alike with his stupid playing skills. To top that he wants a 100K/Week deal. On what basis Sir, on what basis? So that you can frustrate us even more and keep on taking money from us Gooners pockets (Read: Self Sustaining model)? I am sorry; he can leave and go wherever he wants.

Coming onto other transfers, we have lost a talented player in Lansbury. Atleast I liked his style of play. But how often we have seen people who Boss has let go off become great players? I can’t think of any actually! So hope selling Lansbury was not a mistake and there was something that Boss saw in him which I missed. Hope he has a good future. Moving on, world’s best striker Bendtner is now wanted by Milan. I am not saying he is not good, but the thing is if he is actually 10 percent, his ego and his father tells him he is 110%. Hence I don’t want another inflated ego in my club. Malaga wants Chamakh, now he is a player who started brilliantly, but lost all his confidence after our ex injury prone player came out of yet another injury. If given chance again, I am sure he could be a good target man and would give much needed competition to Giroud. But that’s up to Boss to decide and as we all know #ArseneKnows.

So the news is players are leaving and not coming. Well I am not sure how much of a bad news is this when you think about my next sentence! This is the penultimate season of Le Boss! I am not sure that he would agree for another deal if this keeps on happening. He has always kept the club running in thick and thin, but he also must want to have trophies in his cabinet. He is world class and he deserves that. If he leaves then I would like to see what these fucking board members do!!! How the hell can they run the club like this wherein they just keep on filling their pockets and don’t think about the fans that are paying their salary!!!! After losing 3 players if we don’t get atleast 6 more, then forget about champions league we would be fighting a relegation battle very soon. I want to see MY CLUB at the top, but this way of running a club is something I don’t agree with, whatever people might say….

Till next time Gooners!!! I can’t say today that lets Up The Arse because not in a mood!!!

Click and follow me on @OnTheGunPoint if you want to discuss more on this!

Week #1 Roundup: Ratings from Sunderland game and opinions!!!

First of all I would like to thank all the people who are reading this and I am highly grateful for all the support I have been receiving. Thanks. And those who are first tie reader, please get in touch with me via my Twitter Handle @OnTheGunPoint and I would love to have a spirited discussion on anything that is ARSENAL.

Coming back, week #1 is nearly over (Chelshit Vs Reading still reaming for this week). It was kind of tough week for us Gooners, not only did we see Déjà vu from last year, we were also held to draw by Sunderland. Only thing which worked in our favour was that Le Boss had the foresight this time around to buy quality players to bolster the squad. You might suggest that those players didn’t do much and we could have won if Giroud has taken his chance etc etc, but I think we ought to give them some time to prove. Remember Kos the boss from 2 seasons ago? He got red card in his first game and season opener against Liverpool! And today he is not only a crowd favourite, but also one of the best players on the rooster. Poldi, Giroud will definitely score, we just have to be patient with them. Cazorla did play well and created few chances for us. The only thing missing was end product in our game (which should not be something unusual for us Gooners, right?), but that will come in due course of time, believe you me.

Players Rating from my point of view are as follows:

Szczesny: 8

He did well whenever he was called upon. Had a brilliant save when Mert was caught napping during the initial phase of the game.

Vermaelen: 8

He was at the core of things from the start and handled his troops very well. What I saw was he was curbing his indicts of going forward. This could have been because he was afraid that Mert won’t be able to handle the counter attack or because of added pressure of captaincy!

Mertesacker:  6.5

He is still adjusting to the English game, and should play more in League Cup and FA cup to come to terms with the pace of EPL and also the playing style of his teammates.

Jenkinson: 8.5

I never expected him to be so good defensively and doing his job so well in absence of Sagna! He was good in going forward too, but his crossing left something to be desired.

Gibbs: 7.5

He was not bad, but his link up play with Gervinho needs to become better for us to be a threat from the flank.

Diaby: 8

On his comeback he showed why Wenger shows so much faith in him. He was playing the box to box role very nicely and some of his through passes were immaculate. He was also good in physical side and if he continues this kind of display, Boss would have a dilemma in his hand of whom to choose. A lucky situation to have I must say. A new signing indeed Boss!

Arteta: 7

He was the lynchpin of our midfield last season and hence the expectations from him this season are even higher. I think because we lacked in defensive midfield department, hence he took the added responsibility to break the attacks and could not create the web for goal scoring opportunities. Also, he being new to DM role, he was found wanting few times.

Gervinho: 6.5

Dribbling skills are awesome, though he does lack the final product and on few occasions he does overkill in trying to be too meticulous. Still there is a long way to go for him to be a creator and scorer.

Walcott: 6

Now I know why he wants to be the highest paid player in Arsenal team. So that he can play below standard most of the time! I would love to see the back of him when we have talented players like Miyachi and Ox on the sidelines! If we want a runner as a winger, we always have Mo Farah who would love to join us!

Cazorla: 7.5

He was creative and for once I saw an Arsenal player shooting from outside the box frequently! Previously we always had to find that perfect pass to score, but with this new addition, I am sure we will be more lethal from outside the box as well with the presence of Cazorla and Arteta who loves to shoot from outside. This would also give us an added advantage over oppositions, as they have to be prepared for multi dimensional play from us! He will settle very soon by the looks of it, only thing is he needs to improve is in understanding of the movements of the players.

Podolski: 6

He did OK, but the expectations from him were too high after “You Know Who’s” exit. Looked like he lacked match fitness and he needs to improve on the finishing front i.e. if he continues to play as the lone striker.

Giroud: 5

That was a sitter he missed an was not involved much in the small amount of time he got on the field.

Arshavin: 4

Same old story, no defensive play and no offensive play either. With a heavy heart I have to say that “The Russian’” would be better off playing with championship teams in league cup than in PL.

Ramsey: 1

He should learn how to shoot, when to shoot and where to shoot! He has frustrated me so much over past one year that it becomes impossible to sympathize with him. And after making a mistake his grin is what irritates me even more! Last year on 3rd week of August his statement was “I am ready to fill in the void left by Cesc”! Really? Looks like he needs to work like a dog to reach half of the standard that Cesc was mate!

Do comment below if you are not confirming to my ratings or drop me a tweet at @OnTheGunPoint.Would love to hear from you lot :)

On transfer front, I definitely know for sure that Nuri Sahin and M’vila might or might not come to Arseanl. I am the new ITK in football world, what say aye? Moving ahead Song had some nice words to say on twitter about Le Boss and Arsenal, but in press he seems to have blasted a senior official. Don’t tell anybody, but I know he is Ivan!!! Let’s see what how this window ends.

At the end of it, we are ahead of ManUre, Spuds and Liverfool by 1 point (And RVP didn’t score, yeaaaah), behind 2 points of Chelshit and ManShitty. So not a very bad start if you come to think of it. We’ll definitely bounce back and win our next match against Stoke Ruby FC!

Until next time, Up The Arse!

Time to show Joey Bartender what we are made of….. QPR vs Arsenal…

Weekend is back, and so is football. On the back of such stupendous form, we expect nothing else from Gunners than a win. Players seem to be upbeat and full of confidence. There is a buzz around the stadium to compliment that.

I was the first one to comment upon our miserable form in January. (Read here). I had strong words to say about nearly all the players who were under performing, including Walcott, Rosicky, and Ramsey etc. Out of the list only Rosicky and to a certain extent Walcott has up their game. And that has led to our resurgence in the league. Walcott, because of the competition he is facing from Ox for his position in Arsenal and possibly in English team too. Lil Mozart needed a good run in the team and wanted a new deal too and hence came his resurgence. Ramsey has still to show that why he is so highly regarded by one and all, and why he thinks he is an ideal replacement for Cesc. Hopefully that day will be tomorrow against QPR. Be more clinical in finishing Rambo is my advice.

Now we all remember Joey Barton, don’t we? The guy who in very first game of this season won the best actor award for falling on ground dramatically. The same guy who made sure Gervinho gets a suspension. Still it doesn’t ring a bell? Well the same guy who said Newcastle has no ambition and wants to move where he can challenge for Europe place and currently his ambitious team is been fighting to stay in top flight. Yeah I know it’s easy to forget him as he has been nothing but into oblivion on pitch. His team is nearly in dumps and it would give me immense pleasure to see QPR relegated. Not only because I don’t like Barton and his stupid tweets, but also because the attitude of mostly all the players and coach is the same.

Traore is there too, the same guy who left our club as he was not getting enough chances. He is the same guy who was seen laughing and making merry with ManU boys in his last game for us where we lost so badly and no player had the audacity to laugh or even pose a smile. And to tell you all, it was a game where he showed no zeal to actually play well. He was pathetic as his transfer was already done before the ManU game. That was his level of unprofessionalism. I would love to see him compete with Walcott and Sagna and make mistakes which will cost QPR dearly. 

Then there are other thick heads too like the Mark Hughes, Zamora etc who would try their best to disrupt the rhythm and be more physical against us. But after another two footed lunge from Cisse, it’s clear they have no fire power in final third. They need to dig deep to stay up, but it would be difficult to nearly impossible to stop this Arsenal team in their tracks. The best they can hope for is to grind out a draw. Joey Barton would be a key here and I hope that all of his antics won’t have any effect on our players.

I don’t think boss would like to tamper the winning team combo, as if it aint broke then don’t fix it!!! So the team is going to be the same with Ramsey warming the bench and Kos coming back after his dubiously wrong sleeping position kept him out of Villa game. Wonder what was that all about... :D

My scoreline prediction is very simple QPR 0 - 3 Arsenal. RVP with a brace (we have not seen him score for past two games, can you believe that?) and another goal coming from Gervinho after he beats Barton with his dribbling skills and Barton falls flat on his face aka TERRYfic fall (Revenge indeed!) 

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Till next time. Lets Up The Arse!!!!

Time to take harsh decisions Arsene!!!

And we lost again. Twice in a row in EPL. I think this time January was a bit kind to us? From the time I have been watching Arsenal, I have seen all the ups and then downs and then I have seen us reaching the dumps and then the molten core…  Now I am searching for Centre of the earth!!!! I know times are tough, I know we have many players in injury list and blah blah… But tell me one thing isn’t the same thing happening to Manchester United? Do you see DeGea playing after making horrendous errors? Do you see Tevez playing after being unprofessional? Do you see Balotelli play regularly, because of his attitude? And what about players like Drogba, Torres, Anelka and the list goes on and on!!! Haven't Newcastle lost influential players like Tiote and Ba to African Cup of nations? Well the answer lies in one and only one thing and that is ‘we won’t change, come what may’!!!

 

By change I mean that we won’t substitute players at half time, or before half time. We would do that only when 60 minutes are over. If a particular player is performing badly, then let it be, who cares!!!! By change I also mean that we know what our starting 11 is, and those players won’t be benched or removed even if they are playing poorly or are non committed on pitch!!! By change I also mean that we won’t change our formation at any cost to accommodate a great player who can bring difference to otherwise lack luster team!!! By change I also mean that we won’t buy players who are dearly needed to launch a formidable title challenge or offload players who are surplus to our requirements!!!

I have and always will admire Wenger for what he has done for the club. But he needs to understand people have to change with changing times. He needs to bend a little for the club. He has to make tough decisions. He has to stop blaming referee for poor performances and should blast the non performers.

On the same track of changes, I would like to discuss the complacent/Non performing players:

1.       Per Mertesacker: He is what some 7ish feet tall giant and still is unable to win header in the box. He is not mobile or a good anticipator. Only player he was able to win a header yesterday was Dyer (A mere 5 foot something player). He was at fault when Djourou was Red Carded against Fulham and we lost the match eventually. He was at fault against Norwich when Morrison out muscled him and scored. He was at fault yesterday when he was not able to hit the shot on target from 2 meters and I can go on and on!!! I know he has come from a different league and he is not used to the physical game in EPL, but the mistakes he makes are cardinal and shouldn’t be accepted in a top club like Arsenal.

2.       Andrei Arshavin: He showed what he can do against Liverpool long long time back. Since then nothing I have seen to justify why he is Arsenal’s most expensive player. Agreed he had a good ratio of assists in the league last season. But he lacks basic skills what wingers should, which is to help the full back in defense, run at the oppositions and score goals, and not lose possession at crucial places. Even when he loses possession, there is no drive to get the ball back. Even when he misplaces his pass there is no zeal to rectify the mistakes. These all things have been happening again and again and as a result we lose games.

3.       Theo Walcott: He is a player who is overhyped, overconfident and overzealous. He just wants to run when there is an open field in front of him. otherwise he'll play a back pass. He never make decoy runs to help RVP. He never shoots when required and when he does usually he doesn’t score. I am not saying he a bad player, but a little bit of competition will help him improve his game. Ox should be brought in his place and he should be benched for few games. Also, he shouldn't ask for a raise until he proves something and becomes worthy for wearing Number 14 on his back!!!

4.       Aaron Ramsey: He is a player who is loved by all. Why? I don’t understand. He is actually a mirror image of Messi (Left becomes right kind of way). He plays brilliantly for his country and is unable to replicate the same form at club. I see a spark in him here and there, but he is not what we need in midfield. At the start of season he said he is ready to fill in the shoes of Cesc. But he is far far away from being 10th of a player what Cesc was for Arsenal. He fails to understand the game, he shoots left, right and on top of the Goal, but rarely towards it. I wonder if there was space below the goal, he would have definitely shot there too. He has missed so many golden opportunities to score in recent times that I wonder will he be next Eduardo. Eduardo was loved by all Gooners, but after injury he was not able to replicate the form and was sold eventually. Same story could follow with Ramsey if he doesn’t improve.

5.       Abou Diaby: He was also a victim of reckless challenge, and since then he is an esteemed guest at our medical facility. I think Arsenal got this idea of a new high end medical centre after seeing him. All the Patrick Vieira Part two chants have faded and so has his game. Needs to be sold ASAP.

6.       Sebastien Squillaci: Another player who was brought last year to provide some experience to our inexperienced Defence. He currently finds himself way down the pecking order. No class, no nothing.

7.       Kieran Gibbs: He is another Diaby in making. Spends more time on medical bed than on pitch. A very good talent, but too fragile! Either he should work on his fitness or should be sold, as everybody is not RVP, who after working hard on the fitness proves to the world what they are.

8.       Manuel Almunia: Enough said already.

9.       Thomas Rosicky: He doesn’t have a long term future here and has faded as Arshavin. Hence needs to sort out where he would like to retire and should move there!!!

10.   Marouane Chamakh: He needs to get his confidence back. He is so afraid of Wenger that everytime he scoops the shot, or is not able to keeps possession, or misplaces a pass, or does any mistake, he looks to the bench towards Wenger in a apologetic look!!! This is what has brought his downfall. He was playing freely when RVP was injured. When RVP came back, he has been given very little opportunities, which he has not been able to capitalise upon and hence every mistake of his is scrutinize. He can be a good player for Arsenal, provided he starts to play his natural game again.

11.   Ju-Young Park: Could somebody please tell me why he was bought?

I am not saying all these players should be sacked. But some needs more playing time then others and some need to improve their game to stay in the club. If boss is unable to drill this into them then we won’t be qualifying for Europe in any competition. Boss should also relax upon his stubbornness of playing the same predictable 11 and same predictable formation and same predictable substitution timings and same predictable everything. I want 'The Professor' back!!!

Always remember a person who loves you will criticise you the most when he/she sees something is wrong and needs improvement.

I want my club to succeed and want to see the same passion in the players. Want to see the same passionate players as are the supporters on the pitch.

If you agree with me, then do follow me on https://twitter.com/OnTheGunPoint

Until next time. Hail Gooners!!!

Weekly Roundup: This is what champions are made of and Chamakh’s truth finally revealed!!!

First things first, a video for all of you who missed watching our 125th Year celebrations!!! Enjoy and Happy 125th B'day!!!

Now what happened after that was for all of us too see. Agreed we were not very clinical in front of goal, agreed we were letting too much of space to Everton and agreed that we could have won the game during first half itself. But if everything is going well you can judge the character of a team! This is the same team which was ridiculed at the start of the season. We have now shown to the world that we can win big, we can win easy and also win ugly!!!

Everybody is saying the occasion took over us and overawed our play (for those morons who don’t know what occasion I am talking about should not be reading this blog at all!!!)!!! I don’t agree to it, we had lost 2 drawn 1 and won 1 of our last 4 matches, hence there was pressure on us. We were ugly no doubt about it, but haven’t we seen ”Man’s breast are united” winning the same way throughout last season and clinching the trophy as well!!! Their fans were chanting ”FUMU” throughout those matches!!! Well we can do that and too in a better way which only Gunners can… Anyways our club is not in financial debt and is far better than theirs!!!

This week the most improved player was Theo Walcott. Yes I have been very critical of him and yes I ridiculed everybody who said he is a great player, blah, blah!!! But he showed that he can defend too!!! Providing good cover to Djourou on couple of occasions and was applauded by our fans too. Now we know the value of competition. Rising star Ox had made him improve upon his game. He knew his place is under threat and that made him work extra hard. Point to be noted here is Boss’ comment on Ox from December 2nd press conference:

“Defending is not his preferred side but unfortunately at the top level today you have Messi doing it, Rooney, Ronaldo, Van Persie - so why should he not do it?”

This means that if Walcott improves his defending then Ox won’t be able to replace him easily!!! Hence we saw Walcott running from one end of the pitch to another. Not that I am complaining, I liked the way he defended, as it showed his zeal to stay in the team.

Song oh Song, oh my unsung hero! He was trending on twitter after a long long time I guess!!! I have always said that he is one player who has grabbed his opportunities with both hands and Abu Diaby’s injuries have helped him too. But any day he can walk into my world 11 (Only players who are still playing in Europe). I know I am biased and my team would atleast have 5-6 current and ex arsenal players!!! Vermaelen, Sagna, Song, Cesc, Wilshere and RVP are definitely in it. These are the players who can walk into any team and make them proud!!! 

Good News!!! We won our match and Spuds lost their match!!! Hurray!!! Now I am eagerly awaiting ManC and Chelsea’s match. I want either ManC to win or atleast get a draw out of this match. Why you ask? It’s because Chelsea’s loss is our gain. We can maintain our 4th Position if Chelsea has to lose or if they get a draw out of it, then we would be 5th but equal on points!!! Only thing which i am afraid is that ManC will go 12 points clear of us if Chelsea loses and 10 points if match is a Draw. Remember I still have hopes of Title!!!

Anyways that’s something we can look in future. Currently we have other pressing issues in hand. After Frimpong, Coquelin and Fabianski making statements about leaving in January either on loan or permanently, we have another addition in that group; Chamakh. Now he is not getting playing time because of RVP is playing like a God. Also he is not very quick like Walcott and Gervinho, and can’t play on flanks too. Hence he won’t be playing lot of games in PL. I do pity him, because when he came to Arsenal, he was like a storm. In his first match against Liverpool last year, he made that important challenge on Reina and made him concede a own goal. That helped us in getting a Draw out of that match. Notable was how Koscielny was also Red Carded in that match and we were down to 10 men in dying stages of that match. After that when RVP was out nursing his seasonal quota of injuries (Fingers crossed and it never ever happens again), he handled the responsibilities of leading the attack very well and scored 11 goals in that period. After that he was injured and RVP returned. End of story!!!

Well he has said that he won’t be looking out in January but will discuss his options in June. A possible move to Bordeaux is a high possibility. And I feel for that guy. I really do!! He is a great talent, only thing lacking in his game is his confidence.

Anyways what has to happen would happen. I don’t want any player from this current crop to leave except Arshavin and Fabianski (because of their form), Diaby and Gibbs (Because they have spend more on medical bills then they have actually played for us). This is only from first team and I am in no mood right now to get into Steve Bould’s business.

Hope you liked what I have to say, if yes then share it on your Facebook and Twitter!!! You can also follow me on Twitter for regular updates on my blogs and Arsenal.

Until next time. Hail Gunners!!!

Sad, Good, Bad, Amusing, Intriguing and Neutral news & Day job hassles – In short total Rubbish!!!

I don’t understand why people in my office have a sheepish or guilty expression when they come out of rest room… It not like they have committed a crime!!!

Don’t worry, this is Arsenal’s blog! It just that my day job is taking over me and these Interlulls are too frustrating to bear, hence rubbish is coming out!

So leaving that topic aside for some other day, we come back to real stuff, Arsenal and football in general. Talking about Generals, I don’t like Pervez Musharaf…

I think these Interlulls have made me hazy and moronic! Imagine no football for so long.  Well coming back, I have a good news that RVP is coming back from National Duty. Yippee!!! This is because Boss requested Oranje’s Manager Bert van Marwijk to release him early. He obliged, so the result is we got RVP back without injury…. Good news indeed.

Bad news is this that Harry Redknapp’s court trial on tax evasion has been postponed to 23^rd January’12. On this he said “Its Facking Tirrific” (It’s not a typo. Just his brilliant pronunciation)!!

I have amusing news too. Remember the banner at Emirates which said “We don’t need Batman, we have Robin”. Now there can be two meaning of this, One: which was told to me by Sarit (Refer previous blog for info on him) was we don’t need a Super Hero to resurrect our club. Two: that my ingenious mind, with all this haziness just realized is; Batman’s name is Bruce Wayne, hence we don’t need Wayne (Rooney), we have Robin…. I know this is bad banter so please don’t hit your head on screen….

On intriguing part, I was wondering why has Liverpool fans not turned on Daglish as yet? The record is here for everybody to take a look at; Dalglish: P27 W14 D6 L7; Hodgson P27 W12 D7 L8. Now somebody please tell me why oh why Hodgson was thorn in flesh and why is Kenny not? Maybe because of his past accolades. But if that is the case then why was Wenger targeted at the start of this season? Intriguing, Right?

Neutral news goes like this… Sebastien Squillaci and Marouane Chamakh might be heading out of Emirates in January transfer window. Chamakh has had a woeful start to 2011 and not been able to live up to promising start, where as Squillaci is 5^th in line as Central Defender is up for £2 Mil. Also, anybody can come and pay £300,000 and take Almunia of our hands.

I have sad news too. Just 3 months into Barca and cesc’s hairdo looks awful. I don’t understand, does Catalonia have only one hair dresser. Now don’t come running to me for help when people tease you Cesc, I will give you the same look of ‘I told you so’ and ‘You shouldn’t have left’!!!

I think this much slob is okay for today. Promise you wonderful people, who have gone through today’s torture, to bring you a better blog next time!!! Please don't forget to vote for the player you want to see on Arsenal's rank, because i would be providing all the info I can on top two!!!

Until then. Hail Gunners!