As we go into the New Year sitting pretty on top of the league table, lets take a moment to commemorate the fallen heroes along the way. The ‘heroes’ who have played a part in the evolution of the team to the current one and who were sold or left us in good or bad terms. Which ones of them (currently still actively playing) will form a strong enough ex-Arsenal team that can still challenge for the premier league title?
Assuming we play a traditional 4-4-2 formation, let’s start from the back. If Jens already left us, he will be a sure no 1 for me. However, at the moment, his future is not decided as yet. With the long tenure of Seaman and Lukic before Jens, there was a lack of outstanding goalies coming through at Arsenal. Between Alex Manninger, Graham Stack and Stuart Taylor, my choice is Manninger. Manninger is cool and very confident with his catch. However, he was just at Arsenal at a wrong time with Seaman playing particularly well. Manninger is playing at Siena currently and has a great chance to represent Austria in Euro 2008.
For my back four, Cashly “Judas” Cole is the undisputed left back. Much as I hate the way he left us, he is really a very good player and is currently performing very well for Chelski. There is really no other choice for this position.
The current batch of right backs are one of the strongest in our history with Justin Hoyte, Eboue, Bakary and Kerrea Gilbert all fighting for a place to start. A great tribute to the legacy left behind by Mr Arsenal right back: Lee Dixon. My selection of ex-Arsenal right backs is filtered down to either Lauren (Pompey) or Moritz Volz (Fulham). Lauren, the ever reliable and solid defender has build a strong reputation with his commitment and tough tackling. In contrast, the fleet-footed and always running Volz was youthful and committed and have developed himself to a first choice regular at Fulham. Choice: Lauren by a whisker due to his age. If he was younger, he will beat Volz by a mile.
For my centerbacks, the first ‘hero’ that comes to mine is Matthew Upson. The ex-Arsenal man is the Captain for West Ham and just recently scored his first goal for his club. The icing on the cake is that his first goal condemned our bitter rivals, man u to a defeat and open up the way for us to regain the lead in the league. Partnering him in defence will be Big Sol. After doing the unthinkable by crossing over to us from Spurs, Sol Campbell served Arsenal for a long and successful period. Although Wenger finally let him go to Pompey, Sol has shown that his ability to preserve clean sheets is still intact. In fact, he and his defensive partners prevented us from scoring in the recent meeting between the Gunners and Pompey.
In midfield, I have a huge array of choices of players which I firmly believe that they still could have made an impact with us. It is just that our current midfield quartet is so magnificent (and our bench includes the Brazilian captain and a French International) that we do not miss them at all. To name a few, Bentley, Pennant, Vieira, Sidwell, Larsson, Pires, Edu, Ljungberg and Reyes. Who will be choice to start in midfield for ex-Arsenal players still actively playing?
In the center of the park, Patrick Vieira will undoubtedly be my midfield general. He will also be my captain with his big display of heart, power and finesse coupled with his determination and leadership. The choice of his partner is a tough choice between Sidwell and Edu. The final vote goes to Edu for his stability and strong partnership with Vieira while Sidwell only really managed to blossom when he went to Reading.
On the wings, Bentley has been in fiery form recently. He has been scoring goals consistently and sending in great crosses for his Blackburn strikers to convert. His form has also led to discussions that he might be the next winger for England. With my other options also being great crossers or dribblers of the ball, it is a really tough decision to firm up the 2 wingers. With no disrespect to the others, my choice will be Bentley for his form and maturity and Reyes for his skills and acceleration. As much as I dislike the crybaby Spanish, he is indeed a talented winger that ever graced the wings of my team. A small note to the Mrs for leaving out Freddie.
Upfront, there can only be a King and no prizes for guessing who the King is. Although his departure was abrupt and heartbreaking, I guess the writing was on the wall for us to part our ways. Although he is at his prime and may even be the top scorer in the upcoming Euro 08, he seems to be jaded after so many years with us. It’s great to see him having a new lease of life at Barcelona and I reckon he is still a force to be feared. Who among the many heroes can be his perfect partner? Henry has once declared that Bergkamp is the one, but as Bergkamp has retired, he cannot be chosen in this team.
Members of the former Arsenal strikers club includes Francis ‘The Joke’ Jeffers, Sylvain Wiltord, Kanu, Anelka, Aliadiere and Julio “The Beast” Baptista. In my opinion, we are easily forget about The Beast and The Joke. Although Kanu is enjoying an Indian summer with Portsmouth, he and Wiltord are too old to make a strong claim for the other berth. Aliadiere is still an unfinished product. Hence, the logical choice would be Anelka. With his new found maturity and wide experience, he will have a great striking partnership with Henry. In fact, Raymond Domenech is considering the two of them to be his first choice pair for France.
On my bench, I will sit Graham Stack, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Kanu and Volz to balance out the needs of the team. The ex-gunners club will need a manager and who better at that then Mr George Graham. With this squad, I am pretty sure we can be in the top 6 of the BPL with no problem at all. Go Ex-Gunners!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Soccer magazines prices
I just came back from a short holiday in Malaysia. In my relaxing and rotting days, I managed to find some soccer magazines like 4-4-2 and EPL extra among others. Seems like the prices are cheaper in Malaysia.
Though not much, remember to grab your magazines in Malaysia to save some $$$.
For the record, 4-4-2 in December is quite cool with an interview with MR Wenger on his views on many things. It includes a very funny picture of Wenger in his playing days. hahahaahaha...
Though not much, remember to grab your magazines in Malaysia to save some $$$.
For the record, 4-4-2 in December is quite cool with an interview with MR Wenger on his views on many things. It includes a very funny picture of Wenger in his playing days. hahahaahaha...
Portsmouth vs Arsenal
Although we have a tough away game tonight at Portsmouth, we will win and stay on course for our first title in a long while.
Have faith.
Go Gunners!!!
Have faith.
Go Gunners!!!
Monday, December 17, 2007
So, what is in the shopping windows for Wenger and the Gunners? There is a long list of players linked with Arsenal. Check out the list below:
(Player - Current Club - Position )
Tresor Mputu - TP Mazembe - Striker
Adriano - Inter Milan - Striker
Nikolay Dimitrov - Levski - Striker
Luka Modric - Dinamo Zagreb - Striker
Miguel Veloso - Sporting Lisbon - Midfielder
Jussi Jaaskelainen - Bolton - Goalkeeper
Samir Nasri - Marseille - Striker
Karim Benzema - Lyon - Striker
John Bostock - Crystal Palace - Midfielder
Daniel Parejo - Real Madrid - Midfielder
Micah Richards - Manchester City - Defender
Ronaldino - Barcelona - Striker
Sébastien Squillaci - Lyon - Defender
As the list is huge, let’s pick a few of the more likely ones. Wenger has categorically stated that there is no more room in attack and midfield for him to bring in any more players. Why then are there so many speculations for strikers and midfielders? The answer is always that scoring a goal is never as boring as defending a goal.
In the list, Mputu heads the list of hopeful as he is considered to be the next Eto’o. At a cheap price of £500,000, Wenger will be tempted to gamble just like how he did with Toure a few years ago. The next youngster we can consider is Nikolay Dimitrov; the 20 yr old left footed Bulgarian is highly rated following his appearance in the Bulgarian Under 21 team. Wenger has also invited him for training sessions with the Arsenal team.
Big names like Adriano and Ronaldino are unlikely to join us as they come with hefty price tags and may not perform up to expectations. In particular, Adriano has been seriously off-form these few months. Ronaldino will probably come with a scary price tag and even scarier baggage of problems. Although always smiling on the field, there have been many rumours of his big ego in the dressing room.
A signing that I think is absolutely necessary in January is a central defender as we will lose Toure to the African Cup for a substantial period of time. Although Gilberto can play there and we have Senderos as cover, the lack of an experienced defender may leak goals unnecessarily. Wenger may choose to recall Djourou (whom have improved tremendously) or dive into the market to fish for another defender. Micah Richards come to mind although he will not come cheap. He is young, strong, and extremely fast and has stated that he would love to play for Arsenal if the opportunity occurs. Of course, being an Englishman, he might help Le Boss deflect some negative comments on the development of English lads by Wenger.
What about the rumour on Jussi Jaaskelainen? Do we need another keeper? That will really depend on whether loud mouth is staying or going in January. As Blondie continues to shine as the new No. 1, Lehmann will be more hard pressed to play regular football in order to line up for Germany in Euro 2008. Jussi will be a reliable No.2 until Fabianski matures enough to take over the goalkeeper position. However, will Jussi be contented to be a cover to Almunia. That itself is a big question mark. Yet, all this need not be discussed if Lehmann is willing to work hard and wait for his chance to regain his place.
Who do you think Wenger will sign? Or will he again famously refuse to buy in January?
AUTHOR: RICK CHONG
(Player - Current Club - Position )
Tresor Mputu - TP Mazembe - Striker
Adriano - Inter Milan - Striker
Nikolay Dimitrov - Levski - Striker
Luka Modric - Dinamo Zagreb - Striker
Miguel Veloso - Sporting Lisbon - Midfielder
Jussi Jaaskelainen - Bolton - Goalkeeper
Samir Nasri - Marseille - Striker
Karim Benzema - Lyon - Striker
John Bostock - Crystal Palace - Midfielder
Daniel Parejo - Real Madrid - Midfielder
Micah Richards - Manchester City - Defender
Ronaldino - Barcelona - Striker
Sébastien Squillaci - Lyon - Defender
As the list is huge, let’s pick a few of the more likely ones. Wenger has categorically stated that there is no more room in attack and midfield for him to bring in any more players. Why then are there so many speculations for strikers and midfielders? The answer is always that scoring a goal is never as boring as defending a goal.
In the list, Mputu heads the list of hopeful as he is considered to be the next Eto’o. At a cheap price of £500,000, Wenger will be tempted to gamble just like how he did with Toure a few years ago. The next youngster we can consider is Nikolay Dimitrov; the 20 yr old left footed Bulgarian is highly rated following his appearance in the Bulgarian Under 21 team. Wenger has also invited him for training sessions with the Arsenal team.
Big names like Adriano and Ronaldino are unlikely to join us as they come with hefty price tags and may not perform up to expectations. In particular, Adriano has been seriously off-form these few months. Ronaldino will probably come with a scary price tag and even scarier baggage of problems. Although always smiling on the field, there have been many rumours of his big ego in the dressing room.
A signing that I think is absolutely necessary in January is a central defender as we will lose Toure to the African Cup for a substantial period of time. Although Gilberto can play there and we have Senderos as cover, the lack of an experienced defender may leak goals unnecessarily. Wenger may choose to recall Djourou (whom have improved tremendously) or dive into the market to fish for another defender. Micah Richards come to mind although he will not come cheap. He is young, strong, and extremely fast and has stated that he would love to play for Arsenal if the opportunity occurs. Of course, being an Englishman, he might help Le Boss deflect some negative comments on the development of English lads by Wenger.
What about the rumour on Jussi Jaaskelainen? Do we need another keeper? That will really depend on whether loud mouth is staying or going in January. As Blondie continues to shine as the new No. 1, Lehmann will be more hard pressed to play regular football in order to line up for Germany in Euro 2008. Jussi will be a reliable No.2 until Fabianski matures enough to take over the goalkeeper position. However, will Jussi be contented to be a cover to Almunia. That itself is a big question mark. Yet, all this need not be discussed if Lehmann is willing to work hard and wait for his chance to regain his place.
Who do you think Wenger will sign? Or will he again famously refuse to buy in January?
AUTHOR: RICK CHONG
Friday, December 14, 2007
Arsenal in 2007
Arsenal in 2007
With a blink of an eye, the year of 2007 has almost flown by us. It could be said that this is the year of revolution and awakening by the youngsters of Arsenal Football club.
The first half of the year speaks of the forgettable EPL 06/07 that the Gunners endured. We finally finished 4th in the table and made it through to the Champion League. It was a sign that a revolution is needed and changes have to be effected. First team players like Ljungberg, Muamba, Reyes, Aliadiere, Baptista and Henry left while players on loan like Bentley, Larsson, Stokes and Lupoli also confirmed their departures.
The departure of the talismanic Henry signaled the end of an era and brought on the critics in full force. Every ‘manager’ from the salesman to the CEO to the data entry clerk in the world gave the gunners zero chance. Nobody thought that Arsenal will rise from the ashes this time round. Adding fuel to the fire was the ultra thin squad (we only brought in Sagna, Fabianski, Nordtveit, Eduardo and Bendtner back from loan) and no big name signing after Henry departure. The team was amazingly young with an average age of less than 25 years old.
BUT how we confounded all the critics! As we approached the start of the season, the team was brimming with confidence with two pre-season cup wins in the Emirates Cup and Ajax Cup.
It was a joy to watch the young Gunners string passes together and attack with such speed and venom. The swagger was back and the confidence was overflowing with each passing movement and goal. What a turnaround since the post season when we lost the leader of the team!On the field, the changing of the old guards continued with The Crazy Mouth been overtaken in between the posts by the boring and reliable Almunia. With the young and promising Fabianski, more changes may still be coming.
With Henry gone, Robin Van Persie (RVP) was widely regarded as the natural replacement for him. Although fulfilling the early promise with his amazing runs and equally amazing goals, RVP was soon back at the treatment table. With him down, the new ‘Kanu’, Adebayor was able to step up and pump in the much needed goals for our success.
All in all, it is in midfield that the meteoric rise of influence by Fabregas and Hleb helped shaped our season so far. Fabregas even contributed 11 goals until he was injured last month. With the dynamic duo and the destroyer (Flamini) guarding the heart of the team, the Gunners went on an amazing run at the start of the season, leading the table almost from the start till now. The trio was so in sync that the experience World Cup winner and current Brazilian national team captain, Gilberto Silva, was kept on the bench for almost all matches.
As we reached the end of 2007, the team currently sits pretty at the top of the BPL. Although we have lost our way in the past few weeks due to injuries and fatigue, we have shown there is enough mettle in the team to lead the league and stay there until the end of the season!
Go Gunners to a memorable season!!!
With a blink of an eye, the year of 2007 has almost flown by us. It could be said that this is the year of revolution and awakening by the youngsters of Arsenal Football club.
The first half of the year speaks of the forgettable EPL 06/07 that the Gunners endured. We finally finished 4th in the table and made it through to the Champion League. It was a sign that a revolution is needed and changes have to be effected. First team players like Ljungberg, Muamba, Reyes, Aliadiere, Baptista and Henry left while players on loan like Bentley, Larsson, Stokes and Lupoli also confirmed their departures.
The departure of the talismanic Henry signaled the end of an era and brought on the critics in full force. Every ‘manager’ from the salesman to the CEO to the data entry clerk in the world gave the gunners zero chance. Nobody thought that Arsenal will rise from the ashes this time round. Adding fuel to the fire was the ultra thin squad (we only brought in Sagna, Fabianski, Nordtveit, Eduardo and Bendtner back from loan) and no big name signing after Henry departure. The team was amazingly young with an average age of less than 25 years old.
BUT how we confounded all the critics! As we approached the start of the season, the team was brimming with confidence with two pre-season cup wins in the Emirates Cup and Ajax Cup.
It was a joy to watch the young Gunners string passes together and attack with such speed and venom. The swagger was back and the confidence was overflowing with each passing movement and goal. What a turnaround since the post season when we lost the leader of the team!On the field, the changing of the old guards continued with The Crazy Mouth been overtaken in between the posts by the boring and reliable Almunia. With the young and promising Fabianski, more changes may still be coming.
With Henry gone, Robin Van Persie (RVP) was widely regarded as the natural replacement for him. Although fulfilling the early promise with his amazing runs and equally amazing goals, RVP was soon back at the treatment table. With him down, the new ‘Kanu’, Adebayor was able to step up and pump in the much needed goals for our success.
All in all, it is in midfield that the meteoric rise of influence by Fabregas and Hleb helped shaped our season so far. Fabregas even contributed 11 goals until he was injured last month. With the dynamic duo and the destroyer (Flamini) guarding the heart of the team, the Gunners went on an amazing run at the start of the season, leading the table almost from the start till now. The trio was so in sync that the experience World Cup winner and current Brazilian national team captain, Gilberto Silva, was kept on the bench for almost all matches.
As we reached the end of 2007, the team currently sits pretty at the top of the BPL. Although we have lost our way in the past few weeks due to injuries and fatigue, we have shown there is enough mettle in the team to lead the league and stay there until the end of the season!
Go Gunners to a memorable season!!!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
2-1 Win in the Champion League
A slender win of 2-1 over Steanu coupled with a 3-0 win for Sevilla confined us to the second position. This means we do not get seeded and might face one of the big teams left in the CL.
Wenger seems happier though as this means game on and a free flowing game might be advantageous to us.
I was disappointed with the small win as I thgt we will win big. Well, as least RVP got some minutes and should be raring to go this Sunday against Chelski.
Go Gunners!!!
Wenger seems happier though as this means game on and a free flowing game might be advantageous to us.
I was disappointed with the small win as I thgt we will win big. Well, as least RVP got some minutes and should be raring to go this Sunday against Chelski.
Go Gunners!!!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Almunia for England!!!
Amazingly, Almunia could be the ANSWER to England goalkeeping problem!!!
Almunia is 1 year away from getting his British citizenship and has never represented Spain at any level. This will make him eligible to play for England.
At the same time, there are rumours that Spain is interested in bringing the Spaniard to Euro 08 as the 3rd choice keeper.
Suddenly, Almunia is hot property!
:)
Almunia is 1 year away from getting his British citizenship and has never represented Spain at any level. This will make him eligible to play for England.
At the same time, there are rumours that Spain is interested in bringing the Spaniard to Euro 08 as the 3rd choice keeper.
Suddenly, Almunia is hot property!
:)
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