By Walter Broeckx
So it’s final now Squillaci was the last player this transfer season to join Arsenal. Now you all can be happy or unhappy about the signing but I will tell you that I am furious.
I’ve had enough of it. For years I have been supporting Arsenal and our manager Wenger with all my heart and passion but now it is over. For years I have written articles and supported his vision but how was I supposed to know he doesn’t care about me and what I think and have to live with. So really I cannot keep my mouth shut any more and I must tell Wenger that before he does another signing he should ask me for my blessing.
For the past few years every signing of Wenger made it go from bad to worse. Rosicky, well okay. Nasri was an exception and I don’t have any problems with that. But with Arshavin whose first name is Andrey of all names it began. Vermaelen didn’t cause me problems but that is just because I knew him as he is from my country. But I know that some of you also have problems with him.
But this season, I mean really, it looks as if he is just doing it to pester us. Marouane Chamakh, no problem for you? It is for me. And what to think about Laurent Koscielny? What was Wenger thinking when he bought him? And now of all people Wenger has brought in Sébastian Squillaci. I think he is doing this just to make us mad at him.
For those who have learned to know me the last year on Untold and you might ask yourself, “What has got in to Walter” or “is this the same Walter that is writing about refs?” The same Walter that is supporting the team with a lot of passion? The Walter that has only just had an article over here to thank Wenger for staying for another few years? Yes, it is me.
Is this Walter now joining the AAA forces? Is Walter going to shout: Wenger out! In every article? Is Walter going to give names to Wenger? Walter who has always been so angry whenever someone was giving Wenger or the players names.
So I guess by now you might be tempted to go scrolling down to the comment section and start writing comments and ask Tony to ban me from the Untold articles for ever and even never let me comment on this site ever again. But please wait one moment before you do this.
The fact is that I have nothing against Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh, Koscielny or Squillaci as a player. No I am glad that they have joined us. But the thing I do hate about all these new players is the fact that they have such difficult names.
Have you ever tried to write the name Wojciech Szczesny? No, you lucky guys only have to try to read his name. But okay I could live with that. He was bought as a young goalkeeper and no one ever really cared. But as no one was protesting Wenger thought he could do whatever he wanted and so he only bought players with difficult names.
Really do you think it is funny when you are typing your match report watching the game and then suddenly you have to think: how do you spell Koscielny? Was it with a Z or with a double ss or with an I at the back. In the mean time we have almost missed 3 chances, and scored a goal by Chamakh and then you have to find out if his name ends with a h at the back or is the h in front of the k so it could be Chamahk.
And now I will have to face the same thing with Squillaci. Can you imagine Koscielny and Squillaci playing at the back together?
Can you imagine in a game Szczesny making a wonderful safe, Koscielny hooking it out of danger playing it on to Squillaci who is playing it forward to Rosicky, who at his turn plays it in to the path of Arshavin who gives a cross to Chamakh who scores a goal for Arsenal. I bet you can imagine it on the field but you just try to write it down. Then it isn’t that pretty any more.
So I’m not happy with our manager as he is spoiling the business for us poor match commentators on the internet. He only is looking at the interest of Arsenal and the team and doesn’t care about me and the rest of us poor writers in blogs.
Therefore if Wenger really wants me to be writing articles in support for his great vision and for all the good things he has brought us, he better take care that the next signing he does is not Pjotr Dszjeprtrsjka from wherever and from whatever team in the world but please let it be someone with a name with only 3 letters in it. I don’t care if he can play football or not. I don’t care if he is a goalkeeper, a defender an attacker. I don’t care at all. Just a short and easy name please.
It would make my life and many other bloggers in the Arsenal blogosphere much easier.
Coming up next: What makes a good supporter.
Here, here to all of you who have come on here and said that despite the keeping situation not being ideal we should get behind the players/team/squad/club anyway.
Just waiting for le Groves next article using the same title as this one but not in jest.
I hope next home game the Emirates rings with Almunias name…he is ours, he is all we have got for the time being and as an Arsenal supporter I want to see him succeed.
He needs our support more than any other in the team right now….so pick your boats up and get behind him, whether you love him or hate him, we need him to perform!
I would loved to have seen Lloris in the team, wasnt to be…as for Schwarzer, wasnt the right choice in my eyes.
How many other clubs have signed top class keepers this transfer window…..None. That is not a coincidence.
Gooner til I die!
I have to say when I first came to publish the article from Walter I stopped and did a double take, thinking that maybe someone from the Anti-Arsenal Arsenal had actually broken the password system and put in an article using Walter’s name.
I thought it was great fun, and really enjoyed it.
And for everyone who feels annoyed or upset about the lack of transfers today, I think you will enjoy tomorrow morning’s piece, even if you couldn’t raise a smile at this one.
We’ve had a few “dead” players come back before:
Alex Song and Theo being the most recent. Thomas Rosicky also seems to be playing himself back into form. Schwartzer is not that much better that Almunia. In fact he was crap against us in the last game of the season, and didn’t cover himself in glory in the world cup.
Things aint too bad at the Emirates
I sympathize with journalists and writers who struggle with names they can`t pronounce or even spell, so change them , the movie industry has been doing it for years.
Asa Yoelson became Al Jolson and Archie Leech known as Cary Grant so why not have them adopt a professional name and not something that sounds like a chemical formula, it would be in the interest of the player, the club and the commentators.
I’ve been a gunner fan since 1969 so have seen many ups and downs up to this point.We have been blessed with great keepers even when the rest of the team weren’t.Is there a secret formula for being a great keeper? Yes. A brilliant defence would help, especially when the opposition attacks are reduced and there are fewer shots on target. Mind boggling it aint. Why cant arsne replace clichy with Gibbs and use wilshere to stiffen up the midfield.Also not impressed with sagna as a defensive right back and you all thought we had problems with our keeper. Keep on hating almunia and i’m pretty sure he’ll respond with even more awful performances. Get behind our beloved team please because the opposition love to see our weaknesses exposed like an open wound, then picked at by the supporters( these wounds are always slow to heal).
OK, let’s think of goalkeepers. Arsenal’s fifth choice goalkeeper is James Shea.
Today, following injuries to England’s goalkeepers, he was asked to train with England. Of course it doesn’t mean he will be called up for the game, but even so…
I got mad at first…. for a sec I thought I was on spuds fansite….so funny
As some of you know I write a match report for the Benelux site (in Dutch) live during the game and this goes on our site within minutes after the final whistle. So people who could only see the score somewhere and not could get any video stream can see what happened.
If AW would buy me some would put my name in the same category like Koscielny, Squillaci and the others I mentioned. Like a very attentive commenter noticed. 
In fact the things with the names came from the fact that until last season I could write all the names without having to look them up. But now in the 3 first games as I want to write the names correct I have to look them up. So I got the idea and thought to write it in a way that some would not recognise me even with my own difficult name on top.
And about the keeper thing. As I was a keeper myself in my younger days and if I had to make a choice in which team I would play I would pick a team like Fulham or Blackburn or Bolton. Because in those teams almost every keeper looks great.
I have been in goal in a team that was going down the league as a 17 year old. We lost a lot of games (1-0) and after most of the games I was praised for keeping the score down to that 1-0. But in fact it was easy because when as a keeper you get a lot of work it is very easy to shine because you will normally save more balls than you will let in. This can be checked if you look at most of the statistics.
But when you stand still for 85 minutes with nothing to do and then that only ball comes you have to save it is much more difficult. And yes I have had those games and in those games it is very difficult to keep the concentration level at 100% or more. Damned could have put it in an article….
stop calling fans ANTI-ARSENAL, YOU ARE NO MORE A FAN THAN ANYONE ELSE BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN FABIANSKI!
Dear Walter Brooks er Brocks, Brucks, Bruckxzz!- Oh b*gger, I give up!
I believe in every player that is in the Arsenal squad and every player will get my support when he is on the field defending our team.
I will not go on blogs using names like “Flapmunia” or “Flappianski’ (just did it and I spit on myself) no matter what they do wrong. I believe they will never make a mistake deliberate because I think they will hate themselve more than we can imagine when they make a mistake.
I have made terrible mistakes in goal and sometimes got punished and believe me this is the worst feeling you can experience as player. When I played in the attack sometimes in the youth teams and I missed a chance it was from: bad luck, good try, next time better. When you make a mistake as a goalkeeper you feel the loniest player in the world and you need all the help you can get from your teammates, your manager and also from your supporters.
So whatever happens: get behind them when they are on the field. And don’t behave like some do with sarcastic applaus when Fabianski catched a ball like in the last game of the season against Fulham.
Dats, if one of the players I mentionned would read this they would say: hey my name isn’t dat difficult. Just like I find my own name the most normal thing on earth.
But I have realised that in fact my name although it is pronounced just like “Brooks” in English is looking very strange to not Dutch people. But to be honest I didn’t realised this untill I went to meat Tony who asked my how on earth he should pronounce my name.
And Ted, I will just say Ted if you don’t mind. I hope you or your kids will never play for Arsenal as long as I write match reports for our website.
And if they would play I just call them Ted jr. 
Does the 25 squad rule extend all over Europe or just the EPL?
How will clubs keep the non selected players happy?
Will players do a Bosman esque departure if they don’t get their 10% playing time?
Does the transfer window effect out of contract players?
Interesting times ahead…….
I reckon Arsene knows….
Personally, I am relieved because I think Almunia is just as good as Schwarzer, but do we really expect someone that old to make improvement in their game (speaking of Almunia)?
What worries me the most is that Wenger, in the face of his undying loyalty to HIS players, came out himself and said that a change at GK might be in order. Now if Harry said that we’d all just assume he forget to turn off his big faucet again, but for Arsene to come out and say something like that…it’s HUGE. Wenger excels in giving his players the utmost support and never produces waves that may rock the Arsenal ship, and here he is desperately trying to make a deal work for a keeper and only being turned away because the other team couldn’t find a replacement.
This is NOT fans coming out and saying “We need a keeper” this is Wenger himself trying to get a new number 1. So the argument that Wenger shouldn’t listen to us is bollocks because he shared the fans’ feeling in this case.
@GoonerVance-100% agree with you there mate.
@kiwigooner-it’s only in the EPL, no where else is this rule imposed, at least none that i know of. I reckon anyone can sign an out of contract player? Not to sure about that to be honest. To the rest of your questions, only time will tell.
There is no doubt everyone will be supporting the team whole heartedly the same as every other season.
I just hope late on Almunia doesnt go and do something silly obviously we tried and failed to improve the situation BUT almunia on his day can be as good as anyone, here is hoping he has 38 good ones for us this season.
People just trot out a list of supposedly superior keepers they have seen maybe once or twice.
Honestly, how many people have seen Akifeev play regularly? How many,Marchetti? Stekelenburg? He is AVERAGE. He was considered the weak link of the Dutch WC, and actually had a mixed WC. Have a look at his shocker for Forlan’s goal. If that was Almunia he would be crucified.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/30/carlos-queiroz-portugal-coach-ban
I was wondering, any connection between this and Nani being sent home during worldcup? Why dont they introduce drug test in EPL? i guess half of the M**U team ll be disqualified.
Hopefully you are right walter..
almunia better than schwarzer? really??are you guys sure? then how come AW really wants him and if i’m not mistaken even offer him as a GK coach…
A song to Arsenal..
`Rose-tinted view
And satellites that compromise the truth
But I wanted more
With the cuts and the bruises
Touch my face
A hopeless embrace
Faith, it drives me away
But it turns me on
Like a strangers love
It rockets through the universe
It fuels the lies, it feeds the curse
And we too could be
Glorious..
Muse-Glorious
Almunia is just as good a shot-stopper as Schwarzer, is more vocal when organising the defence, has a stronger mind and a better more positive attitude to dealing with setbacks, and was patient enough to hang around waiting for Mad Jens to stop telling him he was never going to be good enough, without complaining until he became no1 himself.
Now he has had a single not so good season, and seems to be returning to his form of 06/07 and 07/08 with an improved defence behind him. Seemingly more confident and less inclined to rush out in a panic and flap around for aerial balls – what more can you ask of a keeper who is constantly hounded by the fans and media alike?
No I am sorry, if nobody agrees I will still not change my mind … Almunia is a better option than ANY of the keepers we were considering on the forums, and all the league stoppers mentioned on Sky since day 1 of the window -
Apart from the ORIGINAL keeper that Arsene admitted to wanting and honestly came out and made a bid for. It was Joe Hart, who Mancini decided to suddenly keep when we showed an interest in him. Hence whhy we resorted to other keepers like Lloris, Buffon and Schwarzer.
Given was never approached because he is the wrong type of player for Arsenal, and would upset the balance of the team that has taken us nearly 5 years of chopping changing wheeling and dealing!
I can see it now, constant long kicks from hands avoiding our half of the pitch altogether and surrendering posssession ala Man City and asking to be out-scored!
No Almunia is by far the best option we could have taken, he is a good solid keeper who had one bad season! I say he is stuck with us, and never complains that we slag him off after any game where we don’t score 2 or 3 more than the opponent.
So we are also stuck with him now (at least until January) so we may as well get used to this fact, get behind him and make sure the defence and Manuel himself feel more confident against team’s who look dangerous or score an early goal or two!
Besides people said that Eboue was rubbish and he got booed every week – now look at him go!
Also Cesc was thought to be too thin and weak for the prem, look at HIM go last season was one of his greatest ever!
Walcott was ‘never going to improve’ or score any goals – according to fans and punters alike he should have been sold, and now he has suddenly weighed in with 4 goals in 3 games people are saying ‘I knew he would come good’
Poor Arsenal playeres imagine being supported by that type of person!?
With fans like that who needs enemies?
Disappointed? Yes. Puzzled? A bit. Mad? Come on. The club has been doing the business on the cheap since moving from Highbury and taking on the new stadium debt. They methodically unloaded the Untouchables–the best Gunner team in a generation or more–and since have been putting up smoke screens that there’s a big transfer kitty at Wenger’s disposal. Absolute BS. It’s young guns or bust, fellow Gooners. Personally I’d like a takeover but too few share that view. But Arsenal is my club and with them, I sink or swim.
Almunia was made to look bad. Arsenal have always looked to score more than the opposition, and a clean sheet is seen as a bonus. Let’s be fair, Bendtner missing a sitter is the same as Almunia conceding, yet many people are ready to live with missed chances yet massacre Almunia for making the odd mistake
Nice one Walter. Had me going for a moment.
The Kos, Squelch, Chesney, no problems there! Pronouncing Rosicky more difficult. I heard it should be Ros-its-kee but I keep hearing commentators, who should know, pronounce it as it’s spelt, Ros-chickee, Ros-issky…you name it, someone has a pronunciation. Anyone know for a fact?
I remember when Wenger had come to Arsenal. All the papers read- ‘ARSENE WHO??’ and he turned out to be a gem. In the same way, we have now some hidden Gems in Szczesny, Squillaci and Koscielny.
greate article, it really made me laugh!!, after such a boring transfer deadline day, this really cheered me up, lol~~~~
We need a top class keeper to challenge for the two trophies Arsene Wenger thinks are worth bothering with. Wenger knows it, the board know it, the players know it and the fans know it. Opposing teams also know it. There is no doubt that the money is there and there was talk yesterday that the club had offered 14 million euros plus Almunia for Hugo Lloris, the French international shotstopper. And the attempt to secure Mark Schwarzer has been a running story for weeks.Why did Arsenal fail to secure either? Because although they have a big club turnover and big club admission prices, they sure don’t have big club pretentions on the football field. And the manager has unquestionably developed a small club mentality when it comes to buying players. Sometimes, you just need to pay the asking price and be done with it. Manchester United don’t mess around trying to save the last penny on a transfer deal. Their target is identified, they bargain hard and they make a decision. If the price is too high they move damn quick to secure an alternative and don’t worry about counting the pennies. United have won a number of trophies since Arsenal last managed one.Ever heard of speculating to accumulate? Wenger told shareholders in May 2009 that he would use all the resources at his disposal to improve his team’s chances of success. I am afraid that, as of September 1st 2010, that answer has to be filed under bullsh*t. Because he hasn’t. Arsenal have money in the bank and a nice guy in goal. That combination isn’t going to win you anything. Wenger will face shareholders again in a couple of weeks’ time, but this time, questions must be pre-submitted. Let’s face it, we can’t have an open exchange in which honest and frank views are expressed by those that are part-owners of the club, and hence Wenger’s employers. They might just be unfavourable and in the land of Arsene, nothing at all is wrong and the players beyond criticism. London Colney is football’s version of The Big Rock Candy Mountain.It isn’t good enough, and sadly, when it begins to collapse, the fans will turn on Almunia, and the manager too. I have a little sympathy for the player. He is attempting to do his job as instructed by his employers, he simply isn’t quite good enough at it. But he doesn’t decide whether to buy a better replacement. He seemed to be saying his goodbyes after the Blackburn game and was conscientious to sign every autograph that was asked of him for fans waiting in the rain by the team coach. It’s just a shame that he will become the fall guy once again as Arsenal drop key points. The signing of Lloris would have made perfect sense with a French-speaking back four in front of him, and two further Frenchmen in the holding midfield positions to boot.Instead we have an experiment that has failed too often. A keeper who is weak at set pieces and easily intimidated. Arsenal managed to keep Blackburn at bay from free kicks on Saturday with the offside trap. But corners and long throw-ins presented problems and what was required was a clear the decks keeper who will take out all and sundry as he claims the ball. Wenger’s side were a shade fortunate in the first half as Rovers missed a couple of headers that would have gone in on another day. So Almunia will be targeted and he will eventually cost points as he so often does. Arsenal will fall short again and that will make it six years without a trophy.The bank balance, however, is looking particularly healthy. Someone has calculated the team’s net spend this summer in the transfer market as around £3 million. The equivalent of the takings for a single matchday. When you add the savings made from not paying William Gallas anymore (his wages probably equal to the combined amount being paid to the three new arrivals) then it’s a valid question to ask about the manager’s ambitions. The football will probably be good enough to keep the team in the top four, but the glass ceiling that is a consequence of the lack of squad depth in key positions won’t be broken. Maybe the quarter finals once again in Europe and the predictable exits in the domestic cups. It’s same old same old, as indeed are the weaknesses in the team, and as with every year, the manager has not addressed them fully. Presumably Fabianski comes in if Almunia gets injured. What a joke Arsenal have become. No wonder Cesc Fabregas can’t wait to get out.But for a million or two, Mark Schwarzer could have been here in July. You have to wonder where all the money saved over the years by not buying sufficiently will end up. Will it ever be spent or is it just being siphoned off by directors using some clever accountancy techniques? Self-sufficiency is all well and good, but at least reap the rewards of what you sew. Arsenal have made serious profit over the last 12 months. If it’s all about self-sufficiency can someone give Arsene Wenger and the board an allotment to tend and hand over the decision making at the club to someone who knows what is required to win a trophy?
Now the window shut all dead, what came in? Just a single defender out of necessity then ops forgot the backup defender spends more time off the pitch than on it then dragged in a pair of creaky legs from Sevilla not bad! What was expected wanted; new keepers, take out the trash and sweet talk Fab the main man this was not done did not come round to do it by the way did not have time and money to do it hmmm? Now the team is more or less in the same hapless state as last season. The question will be how bad will it get now until January. This manager sure loves this team and especially Almunia?If Wenger had been prepared to ante up 4M pounds a couple of months ago then Schwartzer would have been ours. There is NO excuse for penny pinching and dragging this out to literally the last minute which put pressure on Fulham to find a replacement which in the end they were unable to do. We can agree or disagree as to whether Schwartzer is worth 4M but in the big picture if he had been able to help us win the EPL and go deep into the CL then it would have been money well spent and money that would be recouped many times over. I worry about Almunia but I worry more about what happens when he gets injured and the uber unreliable Flappy comes in! I admire much of what Wenger has done during his tenure but in this instance he has done Arsenal a grave disservice and must be held accountable if goalkeeping errors cost us championships. As a final comment Schwartzer should have been our fallback option – we should have gone after a younger better keeper – we all know who they are and most of them would have bit your hand off to join a club like Arsenal. i just knew wenger would not bring in a keeper. Expect to see him on Sky in the next 48 hours with a huge grin on his face. The idea of transfers is to strengthen the squad and improve the team, are Chamakh, Koscielny and Squillaci going to turn us into PL and CL winners? Of course they aren’t and as for the keepers, 6 years he has had to sort out our poor defending and he has done nothing. As I have always maintained with Wenger, the more he is pressed to bring someone in the more determined he is not to. He will never change, and he will never learn. I dont know what the Wenger Zombies going to say now that hes failed to address the most obvious and weakest link in our team? He had the whole summer to address it but failed miserably. It doesn’t matter how many good runs we put together or how many teams we spank in the next few months, if we don’t win any silverware then thats it for me – Wenger has promised much and not delivered, he will have to go.I know people follow Wenger blindly but if they think that our GKs are really good enough then they have a screw loose. Almunia was 18th in the shots to saves ratio and made many mistakes where he wasn’t punished e.g. flapping at crosses. Wenger penny pinches and gambles every year and he is rewarded with a new contract. I noticed that there wasn’t too much messing around and he signed quickly. Who wouldn’t – A 20% rise, no pressure and praise for getting into the top four each year with the board paying off the debt faster so that their share price goes up. SICKENING!!! I bet AW must be a relieved man now the window as shut.as usual our manager as left us short with quality and numbers. he can now come out with is usual comments the clubs would not sell.wanted too much m oney,no better than what we have got. i said on here many times he wont spend in case he upsets the progress of some of is average players,schwarzer 2 offers in may and aug both for 2 mill,its a joke but he only went for him as is age would not prov ide is other gks a threat for more than 2 yrs. so no gk thats a disgrace,no other defender so we have to rely on djourous fitness,wait and see,lk on sat was outpaced and out muscled by diouf,how is going to get on with drogba etc.no def midf so we only have one on the books. no striker i said last season we were short in that area but he did nothing now we have 2 strikers out for weeks its a joke. but to aw it dont matter hes had a substantial wage increase spent peanuts and dont bother about us fans who pay your wages and exhorbitant season ticket prices.i am desparate for my club to be in with a shout for the prem and cl but once again our comfort zone manager as disappointed me again.
FYI – kkieran is a tottenham fan trying to engineer discontent among the fanbase – I’ve seen this all before.
Don’t bite!
Don’t know about KKieran and whanot, but I must say I am a tad dissapointed for not getting a new GK – mostly for the same reason as Vance – Arsene said he was in the market for a new goalie. True, he made some comments about having good keepers @ the club, etc. – but the message was quite clear. A goalie needs – most of all – confidence. Almunia’s confidence is low. It was obvious in the last few games, plus it doesn’t help that our defence needs time to settle in and generally has recent difficulties in defending set pieces and aerial threats. Maybe shcwarzer was not the best solution, maybe Wojeich is going to be SO good that Arsene did not want to impede his development – but still, I am dissapointed, as one thing is for sure – history proves that succeeding and winning, without a great goalkeeper, is virtually impossible. And since Jens, we haven’t had one.
whydomostwengerhatersnotknowthereisaspaceandenterkeyonakeyboard?
lol – the exclamation mark usually is a bit sticky too.
Whaa whaaa, I want a trophy… whaaa – sell the family silver and buy me a trophy, whaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why did the English national team call of Shea if he has already declared for Ireland?? not complaining it could help his game develop form saving Rooney and Bent shots in training. We have a glut of quality young keepers at the club and that should pressure Almunia to keep his spot
We can come up with list of players Arsene should get. But lets not forget, the players may not want to come or are stopped from coming. Schwarzer is not coming because without him Fulham do not have enough keepers. I can understand that, if I were Hughes, what good is a few extra million more in the bank if it means the club will end up relegated or performing poorly. Hughes has to please Fulham fans, right?
We must stand up to Le Grove and break them!
Those fools are responsible for all the anti-Arsene nonsense.
All hail Lord Wenger and God save the Arsenal
We’ve got Almunia, we’ve got Almunia…
C’mon guys sing it.
We all know that the club was in for another ‘keeper and a lot of us are dissapointed that they couldnt get one. But just because you want something doesnt mean you can get it. Lyon were not selling Lloris. Fulham were not selling Schwarzer. Liverpool were not selling Reina. What should AW do? Should he do a “Dr Frankenstein” and try to create his own super monster ‘keeper in a lab underground somewhere? If there are not ‘keepers of the appropriate quality out there than that is the way things are. We wait until a ‘keeper of the appropriate quality is available.
Utd need a quality creativce midfielder to replace Scholes. They are still looking. Liverpool need all kinds of players. They are still looking. Unless you have the money that City and Chelsea have (and have had) then building a squad is difficult, especially when economic circumstances are tough and clubs dont want to sell.
Senderos, Silvestre, Campbell & Gallas out – two centre-backs in. Eduardo out, one forward in. So a deficit of two players this summer. I thought Wenger said he would strengthen? One midfield injury away from a crisis all season now, as there is no cover for Song. Who will play defensive midfield, Denilson?! I think we’ve seen how effective he is defensively for the past three years & I for one have had enough of his sideways passing and jogging back for the sake of it alongside swift opposition attacks. I don’t think Almunia is an awful keeper at all but once it was made public that a bid for Schwarzer had been made it was ESSENTIAL that a GK was signed, as Almunia now knows he wasn’t wanted as first choice, as do the rest of the team and opposition teams. How on earth is that supposed to give confidence to our team? How is that not going to give confidence to other teams we play? If Wenger’s tight-fistedness results in us going another season without a trophy (while Tottenham strengthen every year) then I want necessary action taken. I put a lot of money into this club and I deserve it to be spent properly. I’m not one for frivolous spending, but I expect the necessities to be brought in – Wenger’s ego is not bigger than my beloved club.
Dear Arsenal fan
the window are closed now as what i mention earlier here that wenger are doing bullshit in the market . when arseal buying cheap product and what else we as a fan could hope ? winning the BPL this years forget it and wenger will give hope and hope but when come to december the will put million of list player he want to buy actually he is rubbish not like the other manager doing the window in market. bye bye arsenal i dun believe this will be urs years …still take man.utd , chealse are champion and everyone can see arsenal kid will be in the medical hospital during the BPL climax ….take my words …..
we need player but he screw up the window …..we will see another scapegoat of mr.wenger
kkieran – your points have been debated over and over and generally your stand has been shown to be false. Senderos played ZERO times for us last season. So he cannot be suddenly included in a count of squad memebers in and out. Silvestre was called, by people like you, the worst footballer ever to play for Arsenal, and suddenly he is a valued member of the squad whose replacement is essential? Djourou was out injured all season and is back now. So we are starting this season with TV, Kos, Djourou, and Squillacci at CB. That is way, way, way better than this time last season. We are hugely better than last year so AW has done his job.
In case you hadnt noticed Song didnt play in midfield the first two games of the season. Diaby did and he did absolutely fine. Denilson can also play there. So can Eastmond. It would appear as if there is LOADS of cover for Song.
All of us wanted a new ‘keeper. The manager couldnt find one. Obviously you had knowledge of one that was available, at the right price, and wanted to play for Arsenal. We all believe that you did as well. We are dissapointed and have said so.
And what is that stuff about Tottenham strengthening each year? Ha ha!!!! My goodness, if you want us to believe that you are a real Arsenal supporter dismayed at our club then compare our activities to Chelsea and Utd, our real competitors, not to Tottenham. Once Spurs finish above us in the League for two or three years in a row then we can worry about them. Until then however…….
Enjoyed this article!
i think its time for walcott to think otherwise because he is now mature mentally and physically so its time to show the world that is capable
Am eager to see how Arsenal will be this season without a new goal keeper may be its goin to be a dissaster .
Walter, this is why we didn’t get a new keeper! Schwarzer is easy to spell, and after all the rumors, too many fans were already comfortable with names like Akinfeev. And of course Reina, Lloris, Frey, all are too simple for us.
Are we likely to Arsenal beciming looser pool this season
to fail even to qualify for champions league due to lack of players
cracking good yarn, what?
the article was funny, but some of the comments were side splitting. i swear that some people wouldn’t know irony if it was explained in full to them.
as for our GK situation, Arsene has motivated Almunia by hinting that he could be in the market for a new keeper, Almunia has responded well to this motivation, job done.
Swarzer would only have been a sideways move anyway and there were no real world class keepers available anyway.
i’m off to legrove for another laugh.
@Paulc: At the end of last season, AW said we would address areas that needed improving and experience. I just dont see how replacing Gallas, Campbell, Senderos, Silvestre etc with Koscielny and Squillaci is doing that. Obviously our ambition as fans is not in sync with the ambitions and goals set by the board. Why then do we pay such high prices for season tickets? And when they set out to only achieve top 4, one season, it will backfire, and at some stage it is bound to all go wrong. All I can think of right now, is us at Birmingham last season, and Almunia palming the ball into the path of the goalscorer, when it would have just been easier to save the original shot. I think the next player out the door is definately Fabregas. Next window he will request to leave for Barca because again Wenger has refused to spend big to secure the players who could help us win silverware, and therefore we can hope for 3rd place and only a few injuries at best. It amazes me that there are still fans out there who are happy with Wenger’s managerial style. Chamakh appears to be a top buy, so I will give Wenger some credit there, but I will say this again: We scored only 3 less goals than Manure and conceded 13 more. HOW IS IT NOT OBVIOUS THAT WE NEED A BETTER KEEPER AND SOME DEFENSIVE MUSCLE!!! He let 4 defenders go (5 if you count Traore who probably wont come back) and brought in only 2. Koscielny already looks as though he will struggle and he doesnt have the height or weight to push the likes of Drogba and Rooney around. Song is getting there but we cant wait on him to reach his full potential if we want to win most of our games, let alone anything else. To all of the Wenger lovers out there, if he is such a great manager, how is it that he cant see such obvious problems? I dont want to hear any rubbish about how the right players werent available or that finances werent good enough, because that is a lie. If you offer a stubborn club a decent sum (which we definately had) they will sell. Wenger’s outrageous ego is creating a barrier which prevents us from climbing any higher than 3rd and I can guarantee you that our current squad will fall apart through injury again, and you will all still take his word as gospel. His only purpose is to make sure that his bank account remains healthy so that he can retire to his quiet little vineyard in the south of France. There is no love for the club left in his heart