As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Usual thread starter… Sorry about this rather brief offering today. Busy as anything today and nothing obvious submitted to post (nor the time to write something myself). So am using the opportunity to get some votes in for the next issue, on sale on Saturday week. Go vote. Thankyou.
PS - Once I posted it, I realised the question wasn’t exactly the same as the one suggested in the exclusive. That’s how busy I am! The memory goes after a certain age, you know. What the hell, only the webmaster can change it now, so I’ll live with it.
guess untill we lose ( if ) we wont know how we stand,, can we win the league,, not sure but feel a bit more optimistict then i did in august the pessimist in me is still saying we will finish third ,, again its injuries and suspensions that will have the most affect as we have a fairly settled first 11,,
I sincerely believe that players like Fabregas and Hleb are absolutely essential to our play so long-term injuries would leave a big hole.
I think that we will struggle to maintain our position - not because the team is not good enough but because there are so many external factors such as injuries/suspensions that can throw us off course - to a greater extent to those with greater proven strength in depth.
I think our challenge is going to go well beyond christmas and we'll be there all the way.
The challenge is going to come in the run-in and of course depending on how many trophies we're in the running for.
The important time is going to be April/May 'squeaky bum time' as Fergie called it. A group of players who haven't won a title before are often likely to feel the heat if it goes down to the wire - as Newcastle did in 1996.
I've recently likened this side to the up and coming 1989 one, if you remember there we nearly did a Newcastle and blew it ourselves.
I think that even if we fail to win it this season we're going to be dead certs the following barring any unfortunate occurences.
Get through December relatively unscathed, within 3 points of Man Utd and we can really go all the way. Bring in a centre-back and a wide right man and we can go all the way.
losing Toure for the african nations will be virtually impossible 2deal with if WillyG got suspended or injured
Ebuoue is less of a blow but after his 3 games at CB Song looks excellent
if he was called up by Cameroon that would compund the loss of Kolo
recalling Djourou looks a natural option and he's had some good games4 Brum
as has been said Cesc and Hleb look the hardest players to replace
RVP has be a big miss esp since Dudu hasn't fully settled in yet (looked ineffective on the left of 4-2-3-1 v Slavia Praha)
this December is key
1 Sat Barclays Premier League A Aston Villa
5 Wed Barclays Premier League A Newcastle United
9 Sun Barclays Premier League A Middlesbrough
12 Wed Champions League H Steaua Bucharest
16 Sun Barclays Premier League H chavs
18 Tue Carling Cup A Blackburn Rovers
22 Sat Barclays Premier League H spuds
26 Wed Barclays Premier League A Portsmouth
29 Sat Barclays Premier League A Everton
whilst we play first three away games manure are home to fulham and derby - guaranteed 6 points
so we need 3 wins to make our game in hand count
then we would be three points clear going in2 the epic top4 battle of the 16th
us v the chavs - manure at anfield
last 3 games of a packed month
we have the derby (must win at home whatever)
then two tough trips to krap nott arf and goodison
but manure have toffees at home and hammers and sunderland away some difficult games
for me this could be the key month
with RVP back and no injuries we have the capacity to win our early away games and go in2 the game with the chavs hoping to pull more than three points clear
I expect us2 win all our january games: west ham & brum @ emirates
fulham away then newcastle at home
but feel the same about manure:
3homes birm, newcastle, pompey away2 reading
if we can stay ahead (esp if manure dropped points @anfield and we beat the chavs) it heaps pressure on the others
these three away games are huge
droppable points whilst manure have nailed on wins
this is exactly the period they expect to haul us back
demoralising if we actually pull further away
i expect some rotation even in the prem games. but just a little tinkering. maybe 2, maximum 3 changes, and mostly in midfield. player fitness is key to give arsene some options. also arly substitutions of key players if a game does look safe. think we will see a bit more of diarra, diaby, denilson and gilberto in december. and with an eye on a settled side whilst eboue and kolo are away, i can see eboue being used a bit less, especially if rosicky remains fit. RVP is key to the rest of the campaign though. let's hope he doesn't miss any more games unless arsene chooses to rest him once or twice. amazing to think that between them, arsenal, man utd and liverpool have lost a total of one prem game so far this season. that is how tough it is to win the league now. there is just no room for losing cheap points.
