CS: Arsenal vs Chelsea | 07/08/05

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the perspective kel varnsen - but you cannot deny:

Bergkamp was useless (I never thought I'd utter those words)

Defense was in shambles

MOST IMPORTANTLY: (this has not been disussed yet) Arsenal Football Clubs attacking style of football has been well documented - BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THAT KILLER INSTINCT (despite the attacking players we have).

We did not many solid chances on goal. For all of our possesion - it means nothing.

Chelsea have a GREAT defence - it seemed like a brick wall.

I think Arsenal try to do too much in the box. Those little passes that get cut off too easy need to be simplified! Henry got the idea, but his shots (although he is capable of making on his day) were not high percentage shots.

I was actually very concerned with out MF problems coming into this game. But know I am more worried about our offense.

Of course, we will blow away teams in the Prem Leauge with our goals, but what about CL football? How are we gonna penetrate some of the greatest defences in Europe.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. We need a player that can cross the ball. And a player that can finish those crosses.

For all of our attacking play, we still do not have that kind of old fashioned cross and head football!

Quite frustrating.

Of course, I am highlighting negatives.

There are a lot of positives too!

 

[patrick42uk]

i'v been looking for a word to perfectly describe why thierry shouldnt be captain and i found it today. he is way too vain. i'd love fabregas to be captain, but obviously that cannot happen.

 

[Anonymous]

we were piss poor.

Cant attack for s**t and cant defend for s**t.

WE NEED new players NOW

oh, shut up...

if we were piss poor, then chelsea were a dung dog sh*te. we controlled the game, but couldn't open up their defense. why? inaccurate passing which in turn is caused by the tough pre season training. this will improve rapidly in the coming weeks. i am confident we can win the league this year, but we could use a new central defender and maybe a forward or a midfielder...

i agree with thegame24

we were poor and need reinforcements

you guys have so much faith on wenger, but do not see that were are going backwards. i will go on record and say, by christmas when we are 15 points back, you be crying for wenger's head

 

[GoonerGurjit]

i'd love fabregas to be captain, but obviously that cannot happen.

Fabregas seemed to relish dealing with the watching world's expectations of him today. He was exceptional. He's got future Arsenal skipper written all over him.

 

[SAKURABA]

i was watching the game with 4 mates...1 of them pure Arsenal Fans... 3 others are Chelsea fan and Camerounesse...but they are still very cool... the 3 camerounnians were all wearing Geremi jersey...

a bet was on...whoever lose need to put the other team jersey for 1 day at work..

it was so funny when Lauren shoved Drogba...they were like... GOOD WORK Lauren ... kill him if you can.... Lauren is prepraing us for The Ivory Coast match-up in september lol....i found it so funny


Lehamn... couldn,t do anything for the 2 goals.
Cole..played ok but missed something in his attacking...
Senderos... not ready...we need Cambell
Toure...rock solid
Lauren...played ok... nice shot on Drogba
Ljunberg...worked hard...nothing more to say...
Pires...pure crap
Flamini...done ok...
Fabregas...brilliant
Gilberto... AWESOME...That 360 move was worth the 15$ on PPV.
Hleb...love the way he play...
Ryes..good game...
Berkamp...1 game out of 4 your good...
Henry ...hold too much the ball sometime..can,t say anything about him...
V.Persie... didnt look fit

i Hope when the season start the line-up we will see gonna be

-------Lehman---------
Lauren---Toure---Cambell----Cole
Reyes----Gilberto----Fabregas---Hleb
--------Henry-----V.Persie..

 

[Gurgen]

i'v been looking for a word to perfectly describe why thierry shouldnt be captain and i found it today. he is way too vain.

As opposed to Vieira?

 

[asajoseph]

On one hand, I don't deny that we do need to strengthen the spine of the team if we are to challenge this year, and I'm not talking about a Chelsea-esque summer, not that there's long left. With some extra cover in defence, some cover in the centre of midfield, and an extra striker, I truly believe that we CAN compete on every front this year. It's not a huge amount to ask, considering that we're still in profit for this summer, but it seems to me that down the middle we're incredibly short on numbers.

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by how we performed today (only watched the 2nd half, listened to the 1st) - Fabregas, had a splendid game, as most have mentioned, Hleb looked dangerous but couldn't quite find the final ball often enough, Ljungberg was combative.

What was obvious though, is that we weren't the only rusty side today. Chelsea too put in a fairly average performance by their standards from last season and were more lacklustre in their passing than usual. We'll get better, but so will they, without a doubt.

Senderos, whilst he had a bad game overall, still managed to put in one or two splendid tackles, but really allowed himself to get bullied by Drogba, in stark comparison to the way he played him last time around. Toure, on the other hand, was far, far better - both in the challenges he made, and his positioning when Chelsea were attacking. If he can perform like that for a couple of months, I might just forget my 'drop Kolo Toure' campaign

 

[adrianz]

Nah, if they stay injury free. They should be up there with Chelsea come May. Just hope result is on our side two wk later to stable the team' confidence.

Chelsea is too afraid of us, even Ferguson has the gutt to fight, but Chelsea just sit back and counter with LONG BALL.

 

[asajoseph]

The other thing I forgot to say was that Gilberto looked exactly like he did at the start of last season - more dynamic, versatile and creative. Whilst his passing wasn't superb, he had some great touches, clever turns, and was able to hold onto the ball in the middle of the park, which is something we've been lacking all pre-season. When he got injured last year, he came back decent, but not the player he had been right at the start of the year. With any luck, if he stays injury free, he'll keep it up for a bit longer this year.

 

[Anonymous]

i was watching the game with 4 mates...1 of them pure Arsenal Fans... 3 others are Chelsea fan and Camerounesse...but they are still very cool... the 3 camerounnians were all wearing Geremi jersey...

a bet was on...whoever lose need to put the other team jersey for 1 day at work..

it was so funny when Lauren shoved Drogba...they were like... GOOD WORK Lauren ... kill him if you can.... Lauren is prepraing us for The Ivory Coast match-up in september lol....i found it so funny


Lehamn... couldn,t do anything for the 2 goals.
Cole..played ok but missed something in his attacking...
Senderos... not ready...we need Cambell
Toure...rock solid
Lauren...played ok... nice shot on Drogba
Ljunberg...worked hard...nothing more to say...
Pires...pure crap
Flamini...done ok...
Fabregas...brilliant
Gilberto... AWESOME...That 360 move was worth the 15$ on PPV.
Hleb...love the way he play...
Ryes..good game...
Berkamp...1 game out of 4 your good...
Henry ...hold too much the ball sometime..can,t say anything about him...
V.Persie... didnt look fit

i Hope when the season start the line-up we will see gonna be

-------Lehman---------
Lauren---Toure---Cambell----Cole
Reyes----Gilberto----Fabregas---Hleb
--------Henry-----V.Persie..

Lehman - dived too early for second one - textbook stuff that he got wrong
Cole - he hasn't won me back yet, dunno about you....
Sendores - I've given him stick, but he will still be valuable this season (I hope)
Toure - not sure about 'rock' solid, that must've been terry you noticed!
Lauren: I like his attitude!
Ljundberg - I agree!
Pires - i disagree with you
flamini - he gives 110% all the time - you can't ask for more!
cesc - BRILLIANT - to compete with makalele an fat frank
Gilberto - quite right! But needs more improvement on finishing - he had shots like that end of last season too - quite fustrating!
Hleb - certainly fits into Arsenals Way!
Reyes - Were we watching the same game? He was ****e! Why does he feel he can pass every player, he needs to pass and run!
Bergkamp - i hate to say this, but can we put him in carling cup?
Henry - He wasn't himelf today, but well defended by chelsea
RvP - No Comment.

As for your season starting line up - makes no sense playing Reyes, RvP and Henry together. They are all too similar! And adding Hleb doesn't exactly help either!

You got the CM'ers right on! But Jenas as a replacement for Cesc when his legs get tires should do the trick.

Back four - do we have a choice? Except for Sendores, and I think he'll improve once again!

Strikers: Henry and ? :That's the million dollar question, let me know when you have the answer!

 

[agnishevchenko]

we were piss poor.

Cant attack for s**t and cant defend for s**t.

WE NEED new players NOW

i agree with thegame24

we were poor and need reinforcements

you guys have so much faith on wenger, but do not see that were are going backwards. i will go on record and say, by christmas when we are 15 points back, you be crying for wenger's head

were both of you watching the same game or what?!! dudes, believe me you, we will beat cheski the next fixture and i will be wanting your heads then!!

 

[gstew]

Senderos, whilst he had a bad game overall, still managed to put in one or two splendid tackles, but really allowed himself to get bullied by Drogba, in stark comparison to the way he played him last time around. Toure, on the other hand, was far, far better - both in the challenges he made, and his positioning when Chelsea were attacking. If he can perform like that for a couple of months, I might just forget my 'drop Kolo Toure' campaign

Asa,

I wish you did see the whole game. There is definitely something wrong with Phil. I am torn between mental and eyesight...no joke. He is not just late in deciding whether to go for ball or man, he is completely misjudging his jumps for headers all over the field. Watch a videotape of the game and you will see what I mean. I am VERY concerned. I also lost confidence in Kolo last year, but his form is back. He has been awesome. On current form I would start Cygan over Phil without a moment's hesitation. We definitely need Sol back and we need to send Phil to a MD (head or eye, whiever is necessary).

If Cole plays more games like this we won't get 5m, much less 15m. He was the worst player on the field. My nightmare is that we have to keep him (and his ridiculous wages) because no one else wants him.

 

[SAKURABA]

Pires have done nothing last years and this year/ hes scared of contact and never help Cole for defensive duty... Reyes give 110% on pitch and always track back on defense..i like him...

the line-up i give was the line-up we had at the end in midfield and offense... we were palying lovely football at this moment i think...

Gilberto job is not to score...look at Makakele... at elast he shot from long distance instead of giving the ball awaya ala Pires and Berkamp and Reyes sometime..

 

[GoonerGurjit]

Bergkamp - i hate to say this, but can we put him in carling cup?

lol. You joker!

 

[asajoseph]

Senderos, whilst he had a bad game overall, still managed to put in one or two splendid tackles, but really allowed himself to get bullied by Drogba, in stark comparison to the way he played him last time around. Toure, on the other hand, was far, far better - both in the challenges he made, and his positioning when Chelsea were attacking. If he can perform like that for a couple of months, I might just forget my 'drop Kolo Toure' campaign

Asa,

I wish you did see the whole game. There is definitely something wrong with Phil. I am torn between mental and eyesight...no joke. He is not just late in deciding whether to go for ball or man, he is completely misjudging his jumps for headers all over the field. Watch a videotape of the game and you will see what I mean. I am VERY concerned. I also lost confidence in Kolo last year, but his form is back. He has been awesome. On current form I would start Cygan over Phil without a moment's hesitation. We definitely need Sol back and we need to send Phil to a MD (head or eye, whiever is necessary).

If Cole plays more games like this we won't get 5m, much less 15m. He was the worst player on the field. My nightmare is that we have to keep him (and his ridiculous wages) because no one else wants him.

I gathered from the radio Commentary that Phil had a very weak first half. He wasn't as appaling as he sounded in the 2nd, but he wasn't his best either - as I said before, it looked like Drogba was bullying him.

One thing to remember - even last year, when Phil was being trumpeted as the saviour of Arsenal's defence, he made his fair share of blunders. He was lucky, however, in that those blunders almost never lead to a goal, whereas a player like Cygan's blunders always seem to leave us in the deepest of ****. However, from what I've seen of him in the pre-season, it looks like it might be something more than that... Still, there's always the chance that it was a one-off...

 

[patrick42uk]

i'v been looking for a word to perfectly describe why thierry shouldnt be captain and i found it today. he is way too vain.

As opposed to Vieira?

yes. i think thierry is very aware of attention and his behaviour often changes with that i.e. becomes more delibrate to play up to that attention. its hard to explain except if you'v come across such a character before. perharps vieira was vain performance on the pitch wise, but i think with henry it stretches far further and is a bigger feature of his personality. i think that charesteristic clashes with the role of a skipper.

 

[lee1001]

General comments...on this game alone, not them as players as this was just a friendly.

Lehmann. Rating: 7. Had a steady game.

Senderos. Rating: 5. In regards to Big Phil. ...

I think he is a great reactive player (rarely losses in a one on one situation), but if you give him a few seconds to think about it he generaly ****s it up. This explains his poor distribution (sometimes its conference level and he will give it away in consecutive passes) and poor judgement from the long ball (the first goal today and a couple in the friendlies)

Toure. Rating: 8. Our best defender on the day.

Cole. Rating: 6
Did well in the 1st half, but had an indifferent 2nd. Caught out of position too much (Although we were chasing the game.) and we were lucky that the Chelski players kept getting offside.

Lauren. Rating: 7. Steady performance. Linked up well with Freddie. But like Cole caught out of position too many times. Although we were chasing the game.

Pires & Bergkamp. Rating: 5.
If any critisism needs to go on its aginst Pires and Bergkamp. With the experience and talent these two have they need to get themselves more involved when we need thema, i.e. when we are behind and not just watch the game go by. I thought they were both pathetic.

Henry. Rating: 7. Marked out of the game today but still managed to get two good shot on target. Worked hard as a target man but lacked support.
Henry is not a target man. If he is being played as one then your tactics are wrong or the supportive players are not involved enough. (see above)

Fabregas. Rating 9. Well done Cesc for a MOTM performance today. Really pleased.

Flamini. Rating: 7.5. Love his enthusiasm and engine but he lacks composure which top midfielders have. Unless he works on that he will never become a permanant fixture in my opnion.

Freddie. Rating: 7. Worked hard for the team and was always looking for the ball. Linked well with Lauren.


Other comments...

Was their second offside today? I was sure it was!

I think Hleb needs to start the next game instead of Pires. No places in the starting XI based on reputation alone.

I have seen some negativity with RVP today. If so then its pathetic.
The summer he has had plus the lack of match experience and you expect him to come on a goal behind against Chelsea the champions and work miracles?

Its clear Gil has been with the Brazilian squad recently. Some really cute flicks and turns today.

Reyes. Looking forward to seeing him in action this season.

 

[champions04]

i'v been looking for a word to perfectly describe why thierry shouldnt be captain and i found it today. he is way too vain. i'd love fabregas to be captain, but obviously that cannot happen.

I agree that he shouldn't be captain, I just think that with Henry being captain, it takes away some of the elements that makes Henry Henry. The shouting, the sulks, the moodiness, I admit I hated when he did that but I'm actually beginning to think that it's just a part of his game and now as captain, he can't do that anymore. Then again maybe in a few months time I'll think differently...

 

[dev_atdi]

Campbell should be captain (when/if) he returns. Henry needs to be free of such responsbility and concentrate on being the best striker in the world (which he is).

I thought at times we completely out-played Chelsea, and overall deserved much more from the result. Chelsea's goals were both from long balls over the top, no football involved. :/ Well taken goals by Drogba though, I guess.

We can take a lot of positives though definitely. Gilberto's importance for one. He started to look like Vieira at times, a joy to watch. We need another established midfielder though in the middle. Or something. We missed SOMETHING, I don't know what.

 

[adrianz]

Ideally, The armband should goes to Campbell but he's still out injured and might not be around for long. So Henry is the next best to lead us into the next ERA. He's not playing his best but rest asure that he'll be on fire when the season start.