BEER CUP V WBA

[Gunnersaurus]

Coquelin can still do much better. I think he started his first official game with Arsenal first team yesterday. He did well, but if he plays more, he can surprise a lot of people. I think he could be involved more in first team when Song will be at the ACN.

For me:
++ Sezny, Vela
+ the rest of the team
- Gilbert

Can't really argue with that, he gave the ball away carelessly a few times.

Went along, can't grumble for a tenner and the atmosphere was more lively then normal I'd say, West Brom gave the young team a test which they passed, was pleased that Senderos had a decent game and Vela made all the difference when he came on.

I would still like to see Wenger mix the CC team up a bit more, he could have thrown Rosicky and Eduardo in for 45 mins to help build their fitness which would have helped the kids a lot more then just playing a competitive match.

[MutleyGooner]

Woohoo we beat a shit team

[Eboue-Why?]

Out of interest, what position did Vela play when he came on and turned the game? He's always pretty ineffective whenever I've seen him wide left so I assume it wasn't there. He's got that extra bit of quality and I really hope he fulfills his potential

[mrgnu1958]

Hey Eboue"y..is that Supermac in his Fulham days?

[TFI Arsenal]

phew, seems like the gooner forum witnessed the same game i did and not the ne that seems to have been written about elsewhere.

the keeper looked good, i was impressed. having seen every match this season, i don't think i would hesitate to say it was the best goalkeeping performance for arsenal so far.

the fact that gilbert and traore are still there says more about AW throwing long term contracts out to young players without much in the way of thought than it does their ability, because they aren't up to it. i dont think id ever seen much of randall before last night but again why is he still in the squad having not made it after all these years?

im very happy you lot all seem to agree with the watt/sunu forward pairing being inadequate. as opposed to the posting on the main gooner site. sunu never got in to the game and watt looked lost. however i will concede that we do need someone who will be ready to pounce on a keeper error.

would anyone else rather have seen kyle bartley in central defence last night? it may just be me, i may just be very impatient but if the kids have talent/potential give them a chance rather than the theory that just because he's got experience at a high level means you can forgive his shitness that seems to block their progress

[GunnerDude]

Out of interest, what position did Vela play when he came on and turned the game? He's always pretty ineffective whenever I've seen him wide left so I assume it wasn't there. He's got that extra bit of quality and I really hope he fulfills his potential

Wenger saw the light and changed the formation to 442 so he played down the middle alongside Watts and only drifted wide on a few ocassions.

[Red Gunner]

I think Szczesny looked solid but so did Fabianski when he made his debut so we can't make assumptions too fast.

Why is Gilbert still at the club? At the age of 22, he is just not good enough. Please don't let him be the new Eboue

Senderos is not good enough. Wenger said it was a fresh start and whilst I like the guy (like most Gooners do), he is still a liability. Fortunate that his slip didn't cost us more.

Silvestre. Why did we sign this guy? He is a Man Utd legend and they were glad getting rid of him. What does he bring to us? Doesn't a 32-year-old, past-his-best kill young talent? With Senderos and Silvestre being our backup center-backs, I worry if we lose Gallas or Vermaelen, we'll struggle magnificently.

Gibbs was alright. Good going up front in the second half, steady at the back.

I liked Coquelin. Made one very good clean tackle that impressed.

Ramsey was very confident, asked for the ball and tried stuff. Didn't do anything special but intent was there and that's a start.

There seems to be no problems with Wilshere's confidence and enthusiasm either. Just as with Ramsey, promising signs. Also has a battling attitude to him.

I don't understand why Arsene thought it was a good idea to play Traore as a left forward. That is the role for the likes of Henry, Ronaldo and Arshavin but not a left-back. Didn't do anything special, and we didn't see any of his pace.

Sunu was out on the right wing most of the time and stayed there most of the time. Not experienced enough and didn't really have anyone who could support him properly.

Another debutant, Watt was lively and tried his best. Was at the right time and at the right place for his goal which is a good sign. He was the player I looked most forward to (except Vela) and didn't disappoint, although he was quiet a lot of the time.

Can't say much about Randall, didn't see much of him. Good shot for the Vela's goal but I originally though it was Wilshere until I saw the highlights

Bazarite looked strong and confident when he came on. I liked the look of him. Nice one-two with Vela.

We needed sharpness and experience, Vela had provided it. Obviously the fan's favouite and showed why. Nice shot for the first goal, and good sense for the his own goal.

One peeve from yesterday, why didn't we have Watt, Sunu and Gilbert on our programme squad list? West Brom had four more players on their list. Couldn't Wenger have informed the editors that these players will be in the squad for the match before it was printed

[TFI Arsenal]

I liked Coquelin. Made one very good clean tackle that impressed

yes, i forgot to mention him, he looked like a good, strong player in the mold we are looking for in the first team, i was surprised he was picked to be honest, expecting randall as the most senior of all our players (big phil excluded) in terms of years on the edge of the first team squad to be the pick for that role.