Editor’s note: Living in the Midlands I tend to set off early for Arsenal games, and don’t get back until after midnight, which means if I leave up the predictions about tonight’s game as the lead story, it is going to look fairly dumb at 10.30pm UK time where I have predicted a 6-1 victory, and we only get five. (I may well also be back even later after the wild and frantic celebrations that will accompany the publication of my article in the match day programme). So the story about tonight is still there (you can flip back a page or read it below) but in the the meanwhile, just before I set off with Mark and Ian on the long and tedious journey south, here’s something else to read.
Why everyone is against Diaby and Arshavin
By Walter Broeckx
The moaning brigade has, in recent weeks chosen two new victims. Diaby and Arshavin.
Useless, not interested, not good enough, should never play, off to Spain … these are the things that we can read on many blogs.
After the game against Spurs it was told once again by some and despite the fact that our arch-rivals were easily beaten, they barely had 1 dangerous shot on goal in 90 minutes and we could have won by much more.
Because it was such a nice game and thanks to modern technology we now have at our disposal, I viewed the game again in a relaxed manner this time. Because we must not forget the way we look to a game live. Especially against the Tiny Totts it is full of tension and nervousness. And that’s usually not a good way to properly review a game. So I looked a bit closer at some “moaning victims”.
“Arshavin, not interested”. Arshavin is a special player with a special body language. When I re-watched the game against Spurs Arshavin really showed how much he was involved in the game. But the problem is that Arshavin wants to do special things and that can go wrong sometimes.
Passing a ball in to the space of a tenth of a millimetre at a certain player, with the outside of the foot. Those are things we should not even dream of but Arshavin does and he tries it. And if that fails a few times in a game then the moaning brigade steps in.
What Arshavin does sometimes is run or stand still with his shoulders hanging down in a pose of “do what you want, I do not play anymore”. It is just a way to deceive the opposition.
If you are an opponent and you see it you could think: “We have eliminated him, he’s finished”. And one could have the tendency to lose him out of sight and that is deadly.
Remember Liverpool last year? The first half hour the game passed him by completely, he just walked with drooping shoulders over the field and nobody noticed him and suddenly he stood there and was unstoppable. Arshavin is the type of player where anything can happen and sometimes there are those days that it works and sometimes it doesn’t. For those who forget easily: Not every ball that Bergkamp played in his days turned in to gold.
Now, how can one see that Arshavin is interested? If an attacker, like him, very regularly runs in to our own defence to help or tracks back with an advancing defender then you know that he is interested. I saw him working hard against the Spurs with moments and it tells us something about his commitment.
“Diaby, not good enough”. Diaby is a player who last season was notable for his regularity. He came back from injury, played an awesome match (the tiles of the roof as we call it over here), then played two decent games and then …. He fell back with a new injury for several weeks and so it went during most of the season.
This season, so far only one minor injury and for the rest always fit. Again great games (e.g. Portsmouth) and some lesser games. In reassessing the game against the Tiny Totts, Diaby played a very unlucky first half.
Misunderstandings, the ball that was not being played at the right speed and so it seemed he was doing really badly. Gradually however, he worked harder and harder and came into the game in the second half and he was really doing well. Of course, the moaners had found enough ammunition in the lesser first half to shoot him down.
Good advice: Review the game again in relaxed conditions and you’ll see things you have not seen the first time.
A very clever man made the comparison between Song last year and Diaby this year. If we could find web pages from last year we would now simply replace the name Song by Diaby. What was said last year of Song they now say of Diaby. However it is now for the first time since joining Arsenal that it appears that Diaby finally is fit enough to play weeks in a row without injuries.
And maybe now it’s his year to develop like Song did last year together with Denilson. And then maybe next year the enormous potential that Wenger sees in him and that we get to see in some games, comes completely out in the open for everyone to see.
If we should believe the moaners on Saturday’s match against the Spurs and that we only played with 9 players and to think we still won so easy 3-0 then that’s just a sign of our power and our strength. We should be happy with the fact that we have played only “moderately” and yet so easily won against a team that “would push us out the top 4″, once again.
Walter
Tony’s PS: Please buy my book. Details on www.emiratesstadium.info
Wow, Gunnersgun, how long did it take you to come up with that rather ridiculous post? And why did you bring me into your post? Did I bring you into my post at all? No, I didnt. But now you question my IQ, and infer that I am a fool. I have just gone back and read your original post for the first time and I see that you enjoy calling people stupid. So maybe that is simply your M.O. and I shouldnt be worried by it. You have asked me to reply to your points, but I will need some of them explained to me first, as obviously you are working from a much higher level of intellect than I am.
My “fox-tail” (whatever the heck that means) is revealed by saying that fans are enjoying the entertainment that our team is giving, is it? I have no idea whatsoever what you are talking about when you say that, but I am sure you thought it sounded very good when you wrote it.
Your post is riddled with grammatical errors and rather strange comments such as ““..We lost the semis to two of the best teams in the world..” did they win the specified trophy ?” Well, yes, Chelsea did win the FA Cup last season, did they not? And Utd did make the Champions League Final and were the defending champions, which I would say does indeed make them one of the “best teams in the world”. Or are you saying that winning the English Championship and making the Champions League Final does not qualify a team to be called one of the best in the World?
And what on earth does “Both of you are just like asking yr wife to be frugal but give price asset to mistresses.” mean in the context of supporting Arsenal?
And “we moan & groan but we give due credit. we want to keep the players on their toes, reflect on what we said, if it is true, change for the better. that y you see a much improved Song” almost makes it sound like you think that players actually listen to us fans and our ridiculous comments. Uh, they don’t. They know we are completely unrealistic, not rational, over emotional, and slightly insane when it comes to our team. Do they listen to Arsene Wenger and his coaching staff? Yes, I would hope so. But they dont, and never should, listen to the fans. If they did then Emmanuel Eboue and Alexander Song and many others would have left the club years ago given the amount of “he’ll never be fit to wear the shirt” comments headed in their direction.
The one thing I would totally agree with is your comment that “ONLY HYPOCRITES HIDE BEHIND “unrealistic expectations and unrealistic demands of players”. But then I wonder if you completely missed my point on that front, since you almost seem to be using that comment to counter my argument, which is of course ridiculous as you are simply confirming what was saying and you, being so much smarter than I am, would never have made that simple mistake.
And what does “In conclusion, both of u should be cook but first please check yr IQ” mean? I am asking honestly, because I have absolutely no idea whatsoever. What does “cook” mean in this context?
In short, I would love to reply to more of your points one by one, as you have so kindly asked me to do, but I just have no idea what on earth what you are talking about half (or more) of the time.
So, I will instead just say “peace to you, brother” and hope that we can announce some kind of truce. You brought me into one post of yours and now I have brought you into one post of mine. We are even in that respect. I should insult you and question your IQ to be truly even, but feel that would only propagate this thread further. Instead I am going to take your advice and go off to check that my brain is properly engaged after the masterly way you tore my post to shreds.
I suppose I should try and figure out how you tore my post to shreds first, shouldnt I? Hmmm, this is now getting confusing for someone like myself, with such a small IQ.
Paul – thanks for that brilliant reposte. Truly entertaining. The post you were responding to was one of the most incoherent and bizarre pieces of writing I have ever seen, your restraint does you credit.
Pual C,
I don’t come to this blog everyday.
Winning the FA cup, best team in the world ??? Arsenal must be at best in the world for 10 times (winners on 10 occasions), similarly for SPURS must be best in the world for 8 times as well as other FA cup holder.
Y mu lost the CL to Barca in 2009, Arsenal lost to barca in 2006?? ONLY THE BEST TEAM BECOME WINNER
Arsenal had gone unbeaten for A whole season & also set a record of 49 games without defeat. Before it happen maybe it is “unrealistic expectations and unrealistic demands of players” but definitely not after.
If Arsenal do it again, is it “unrealistic expectations and unrealistic demands of players” ???
To boo players when the game is in play is definitely NOT ACCEPTABLE. It is perfectly normal to boo (just to show yr disapproval) before the game or after the game if the player had played badly (If you lead a public life, you must be mentally tough & strong to live up to the fact that u are constantly under public scrutiny)….I don’t see any reason y cannot moan & groan on blogs, ultimately it is for thinking bloggers to decide for themselves. To silence moaning & groaning on blogs is damn bloody unhealthy. it will lead only to the development of sycophant mentality.
Since u have call for peace & truce, I also do not wish propagate this thread further