The Unsung Gerv

Arsenal continued their climb up the table with a win against the Stoky Stoke.And that feeling of relief seeing no one was injured at the end was unmatched.Last year,we just nicked off the points with a header by our beloved Seb.We won it,yes,but no without losing two of our in-form players at that time.Cesc and Walcott were injured,I remember?

So  it was good that ALL Arsenal players were unscathed at the end of the 90 minutes.It wasn’t easy.Hard fought.Yes,but without some magic upfront,we’d never have won it.Gervinho and RvP is what I’m referring to.When they came together,it was totally different.Gervinho was good for the entire match but with Chamakh as his partner,most of what he created was wasted.And while I’m at Chamakh,he’s really turned into a bad bad player.I’ve supported the bloke for a long time but the fact that he doesn’t even face the goal most of the times really pisses if you’re a fan of the team in Red and White.And NOOOO!!!,Stoke have the same combo…But a Stoke fan probably wouldn’t be reading this.Or as it is,maybe not be reading at all.

Coming to the “One-man team” claims,I completely disagree.How can a team like the Arsenal,with their slow passing football be dependent on one player.How?Just cause Robin scores most of our goals lately doesn’t mean others are just standing puppets.A certain Gervinho scored one and assisted two.And to give credit where it’s due,he’s nothing short of brilliant since his arrival in the summer.The close control and quick feet he possesses is the best in the team.And whenever the ball’s at his feet,my excitement level goes up and I greedily except a goal-scoring opportunity.Every single time.

Arsenal support bigger than your forehead,Gerv!

Of course van Persie’s world-class and if we look at our current strikers,he’s miles away from the rest.That might be worrying looking at his injury record.An injury to him would probably be the worst that an Arsenal fan could think as of now.So yeah,he’s our best player.Yes,he carries the team forward.And yes,he’s inspirational.But he’s only ONE of the Arsenal players.And if the other 10 don’t play well,he’d be helpless.

I’d like to mention some other players too.Ramsey’s chip was unforgettable.Reminded me of someone present last year in the team.And Kozzer was a beast as usual.I regard him as one of the best defenders.Agree or don’t,I don’t care.His consistency and the effort he puts in never fails to surprise me.

I guess that’s it from me.Hope you read this and liked.Also,tomorrow’s Diwali,the Festival of Lights,so make sure you try to light up your neighborhood.

Till then…

When It Rains,It Pours

Not writing for 2-3 weeks.Promising to write.And then failing.This blog looks to be heading down the drain.And I’ll be the only one reading that (D)rain-drenched blog,I guess.Finally I’m writing and the fact that I can read it means the next hour or so won’t be a complete waste.

On towards some serious matters.The start of the season hasn’t been much better than last one’s end.Players getting injured left,right and center.Arsenal not being decisive enough at either ends of the pitch.And the fans booing.That certainly doesn’t help the cause.

Losing your best player after such a long saga never helps and that is bound to show over the course of the season.Not saying that Ramsey isn’t ready to fill in but admit it,he’s no Fabregas.His work-rate and engine might be better but Cesc’s vision is only his.No one can match that.

It’s been 3 matches and we’ve scored one tiny little goal against Udinese.That’s it! We are yet to open our Premier League account.Going forward looks the major problem to me at this moment.Suspensions and injuries might be the reason.Gervinho’s looked seriously threatening EVERY time the ball has touched his gifted feet.And the end product will be visible in the upcoming days when he settles in with the team and its style.All in all,he’s looking our best attacking player.Better than RvP who hasn’t got the support from other players which he deserves.Walcott,you might wanna consider this!

The defence looks extremely solid with Koscielny and Vermaelan.Absolutely world-class.But as soon as Kozzer went off injured,it was there for everyone to see.No quality backups.Djourou is decent enough but I honestly don’t rate him.And regular readers will know of the extent of my love for Sebastian Squillaci.

Arsene,Your Legacy Might As Well Be At Stake

Next up is the suspensions.1 I like,3 i don’t.All of Frimpong,Song and Gervinho suspended.The ones I don’t like.Arsene suspended,I prefer.Lately,all he does is throw some unlucky water bottles here and there and cry when Ramsey puts it in his own net.And bring on Bendtner when we need a striker.A real one at that.

I’m not the only one who knows new players are needed.Both quality and quantity-wise.But to sign someone like Mertesacker or Dann doesn’t help either case.First of all,seriously talented players such as the likes of Hazard,Cahill,Jagielka or even Zarate are quite difficult to sign considering Arsenal’s strict wage structure.Second,what are the guarantees that the player signed will adapt well and help us mount a serious title-challenge.

One thing I’d like to see is to give the young AOC and Miyaichi a chance.I mean it’s the start of the season.And you try all new combinations and players NOW.Arsene,any reasonable explanation why you already haven’t?

And with that I sign off.There’s this little poll I’d like you to vote on.Your opinions will be hugely welcomed.They’re coming after such a long time you know!

Up the Arsenal!

The preseason training is is full swing and Arsenal again look like a very strong proposition to deal with the coming season.The intricate passing,quick movement off the ball and perfect finishing(Ok sometimes!).And when the opposition needs help, we are ALWAYS there to score the best ever own goal.Jenkinson, who’s had an almost perfect start to his Arsenal career quickly learnt how to arse things up.But then again, even that was done is style.We, the Arsenal, always do it that way.

Perhaps the 2-1 result was of very less importance and all that mattered was that the players had a good outing and improved their fitness levels.But I’m quite sure if we’d lost or even drawn it, the press would have quickly pounced upon our weaknesses and highlighted the “Spend some Fucking Money” campaign.They’d have called for Arsene’s head to be chopped off and Arsenal to buy a certain Barton for 40m pounds. In the end, it was a 2-1 win against FC Cologne and except for that Henderson’s injury and CJ’s own goal, everything went according to plan.

Gervinho opened his scoring account with a beautifully lobbed shot from outside the box which surely would have reduced his anxiety.Every striker wants to get off the mark and the longer he fails, the more frustrated he gets.There were some mentions on Twitter regarding Torres’ scoring record with Chelsea when Gervinho got his 2nd with the best one being from @Ebou_Ebou :

Random stat: Fernando Torres: 18 apps for Chelsea, 1 goal. Gervinho: 16 mins for Arsenal, 2 goals.

For me, Gervinho looks a very decent player but one that should be given his time to adapt to the PL.No matter how good you are, it always takes some time.Playing against Cologne in a friendly is no match for a Stoke determined to fight for every single ball(you know their players haven’t got any!). So I’m sure Gervinho will be a huge hit at Arsenal but if it does take some time, I, for once, will gladly wait.

Talking about new players, I don’t know whether Miyaichi will get his work-permit or not but if he does, there’s no reason as to why we shouldn’t see him on a weekly basis.He’s still young and has a lot to learn but his energy might prove very handy in our title assault next year.

And now we move on to Carl.What a buy! To be very honest, I thought for a 1m pounds player, he’d at most be average.He’s proved to be everything but.Very solid at the back and also going forward, and anyways you wouldn’t expect an average player to lob one from 20 yards into his own net.Don’t believe me?Try doing that yourself.But jokes apart,the guy looks destined to have a legendary Arsenal career.

Last year, we lost Frimpong and Ramsey to serious injuries and this year, we might just have yet another one.Henderson’s injury doesn’t look very good to me or either Arsene so all we can do is hope for the best.Talking about the midfield, I was wondering whom will we play as a DM during the Jan-Feb period when both Song and Frimpong ship themselves off to Africa for the African Cup of Nation.Two years ago, we THANKFULLY had Denilson but now even he’s gone.We are so screwed without him, let me tell you.

That’s it from me.Hoping to write more in the upcoming days but no guarantees.

Till then.

Gervinho Transfer Doesn’t Make Me Exuberant

It’s not about his qualities. Nor his attitude. And certainly not his FOREHEAD. It’s the way Arsenal have conducted the transfer. For most, the interest is a player is followed by a quick snapping of him in just a matter of days. Not much changes for us, just the matter of “days” changes to one of  ”months”. All I know is Wenger wants to save every single penny on every single transfer, maybe to buy a cream for a “wrinkle-free skin”. Who doesn’t? We all love a bargain but does that mean you wait for a year to buy a pair of shoes just because you’re saving a couple of bucks. No?I know!

The very fact that last year the players whom we bought early had a great impact and those who joined late(Squillaci) may just be in for a ‘bye’ this season. Not that it’ll again happen for sure but it’s quite likely it does. Also, when the season ended, I’m sure Wenger would’ve thought about the departure of Cesc and maybe Clichy. But more than most, he’d have been thinking about giving Nasri a new contract and Nasri accepting it with a grin. Little did he know how Nasri would hold us to ransom.

About Gervinho, it’s looked so so predictable that when it’s finally official, I don’t get THAT pleasure which I’d get if, let’s say, we sign Cahill tomorrow. That’s what’ll get the fans excited and cheered up. Not that the Gervinho transfer doesn’t, but you get the point.

About my thoughts on Cesc and Nasri, I can’t ever imagine Arsene making a stupid mistake again and let Cesc and Nasri leave at the same time. Even if that means risking letting him go on a Bosman transfer next year. Of course, he might sign a new deal and/or Cesc might stay. And we might win the quadruple next season. And obviously Tottenham get relegated with Bale being suspended for life……. erm I went a bit too much along the tangent, didn’t I?

The truth is, both are Arsenal players and if the club doesn’t want to sell, it doesn’t. Cesc is too big a professional guy to force a move.And how can I forget his love for us? About Nasri, I honestly don’t know. His interviews have worried me. And probably worried Arsene. If there’s any person to gain his reputation back which has dealt a certain blow among the fans, it’s Nasri himself. Commit to a long-term deal without more fuss and ALSO score some hattricks against Spurs. Though one against Barca will do…surprised I KNOW(hehe) we’ll again be pitted against them this year.And the next…..till Cesc finally moves to Barca. They’ve got everything planned with their brother and sister and everything in UEFA. Fabregas returns to Barca for the away tie, meets Pique and co,gets sentimental and all that.

One thing that’s got me crazy is how Arsene stressed again and again on the lack of our “defensive efficiency” last season and we’re yet to buy a decent defensive player. No Cahill, no Samba, not even that French guy we’ve been monitoring since ages. None. A certain Carl Jenkinson has arrived to push Sagna. Give him some competition. But for a 1m pound player, I think that’s it. Sagna is the league’s best right-back and if CJ is able to provide enough competition, it’ll do the job for me. Don’t forget there’s Eboue as well. And he’s no slouch.

Without much ado, let’s talk about Edu. Yeah Eduardo’s the one I’m referring to. I recently watched his 2 goals against Arsenal in CL along with some others. And the way he’s finished them has got me wondering,”Why the hell did we sell him.” I mean we could have loaned him last year. Why sell? For me, I’d happily take him back now that he’s recovered from his injury. And I’m pretty sure he’ll scoring goals right,left and the center.

On a much more personal note, I apologize for not writing for so long. As I’ve already mentioned, I had this BIG exam on Sunday which I was preparing for. Didn’t go great though

That’s it for today. By the way, do any of you know Gervinho’s full name???

Till then.

Walcott To Win Arsenal The Title

One major positive in an otherwise disappointing season has been the form of our own speedster, Theo Walcott. He always had shown his talent in bits and pieces(especially against Barcelona) but never looked likely to perform on a consistent basis. This made the fans give him the tag of a “Supersub”. But he proved it all wrong.

Its not that he had an outstanding season with no injury worries. But if I don’t say he’s had a decent statement won’t be justified. His hard-work on the training pitch is clearly visible and if it was not for our striker’s poor finishing(RvP may not read this!), he’d have got an awful number of assists this season. His finishing is amazing. In fact I remember Theo’s goals more than any other Arsenal player. The one against Blackburn was top-notch. Blackpool, Shaktar, Chelsea, Chelsea(brilliant!) and Fulham on the last day. These are the ones that just came even without remembering. There were some others too which I have  forgotten but his tally of 10-15 goals(I hate searching for exact stats!) is great given his injury woes which were less visible this term. But still more than most.

Yeah Theo! That’s The Way To Do It

Walcott is being rumored to shift to play more centrally next season. Yeah I know its just the fans wanting that. I also think the striker role would suit him better as we’ve seen how teams coming to the Emirates and just trying to defend have crowded the right flank making Walcott not-existent. Also given the possible signature of Gervinho who’s a right winger, Walcott’s change of position looks inevitable. And that’ll probably play the biggest role in Arsenal’s title ambition last year.And when he’s not played, we’ve lacked width,pace and ruthlessness. I know Walcott does put some crosses for the ones paying a 100 pounds to watch him do that for van Persie. But still his finishing has been better than our other strikers apart from RvP.

In other news, Barca President Sandro Rosell(due to the Cesc transfer saga I think I know the Barca board more than Arsenal’s!) has questioned Fabregas’ value and said Barca won’t pay over 35-40m pounds. Well I think Cesc’s worth that money. Not more. But that would be in a normal world. And we live in one where Caroll is worth 35m. So that just doubles Cesc’s valuation. Or probably even more.

England crashed out of the Under-21s and Pearce says they could’ve reached the finals. The World Cup problem is still there with England. I guess it’s down to the tough, strong and physical demands from a young player. No one looks at their skills. Oh wait! One club does. And is also criticized for doing that.There is something seriously wrong in there.

Till Then.