it was an awesome performance, but again like the everton game i feel the forwards could do more. everything went our way in the everton and celtic game... or probably i'm just too used to things not going our way in the past few years

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Added on August 19, 2009, 4:49 amoh n look at veloso's goal, that was a cracker! that guy's good

This post has been edited by Thumpy Ick: Aug 19 2009, 04:49 AM

i'm really impressed with our midfield. somehow i think this 4-3-3 formation works really well with our midfielders.

oh yeah, the arshassin's just gearing up for the kill. it's like calm before the storm. he'll show up in big games i'm sure

haha i know, cesc looks like he's been taking lessons from rosicky in training ground. he knows how to pack some power in his boots this season! now all of the top 4 have at least one cannon boot midfielder =)

i am one of the fans here that has been voicing concerns about RVP and shav's lack of goals. while i am concerned, i am not worried. shav and RVP are both quality players, and it's evident that both of them played better in the celtic game compared to the everton. they are learning and trying to adapt to the new formation. it is a matter of time that they start understanding and fitting to each other in the new roles, and when they do it will be a delight to watch.

one thing i'm still puzzled about: what is the shape of our formation exactly? the 4 defenders well there's nothing much of a change there. in the midfield i thought song was the main DM, denilson is free to assist song and cesc according to circumstances. cesc is now given full rein to roam and bolster the forwards. but the 3 forwards shav/RVP/bend i am still confused about. i guess shav is put in the flanks for his dangerous runs and VP in the center for his finishing ability. but why is bend put in the flank? obviously it works in the past 2 games but i would appreciate it if someone enlighten me on the reason. and tbh, i prefer seeing eduardo play the target man.

agreed, i thought of that possibility too before =) the very presence of arshavin will demand at least 2 players to mark him off the game. bendtner's superior physical presence will probably be enough to see off a left back before attracting an extra opposition player to help dispossess the big Dane. which leaves RVP in the center, and defenders know how cultured his left foot is. i agree that this is the reason why most of our goals are coming from areas other than forwards.

which leaves me to the conclusion that kapitan cesc fabregas will be our most pivotal player in this formation. with most of the defenders off hustling 3 forwards, and most of the defensive duties left off for song and occasionally denilson, he's free to work his magic in the center. and as seen in the everton game, he had 2 goals and 2 assists to his name.

haha now that rocket rosicky's name had been mentioned: where will him and nasri fit in this formation? do we put ross in place of denilson? if we do that, we'll have 2 midfield wizards in the center of the field (WOW!) but then cesc wont have as much as freedom since both him and ross are attack minded. looking at song, haha i wont worry too much tho he's a monster these days. but denilson looked very sharp in the celtic game too.

or will he fit into bendtner's position? oh wow i havent looked at this possibility yet. this might be possible too. there's so much possibility within our squad if we're all fit

^
^ true. what i predict is that once cesc starts scoring loads defenders will start focusing more on him, loosening on magical arshavin and whoever plays on the right forward flank. then we'll start seeing goals coming from there.

i dont know, seems like the media enjoy taking the mickey out of us. since we're the sensation that was the 'invincibles' some time ago. esp since the departure of "world class" striker *cough* adebayor and strong centreback kolo toure, the hot sauce for the media is "Arsenal's demise" and "Man City's rise". i mean, to see a strong team decompose slowly, isnt it fun?

the only problem, dear media, no one's decomposing.

oh and the cesc story - what i see is that media thinks if arsenal isnt playing in CL, there's no way cesc will want to continue playing for us. i dont mind them publicly telling ppl about their opinion, but man i dont like the way they publish it. it's true that if we dont play CL it's hard to keep our star players happy. but it's also very true that we ARE gonna play CL.

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Added on August 19, 2009, 11:50 pmhaha apparently there's rumours that vidic will join.... barca as well. frak, does barca own the media or something?!

This post has been edited by Thumpy Ick: Aug 19 2009, 11:50 PM

^ PWAHAHAH i read that sometime ago. it's hilarious, tho i'd advice you guys to read with with a tongue-in-cheek manner

anyway that's the 1st part of the article. here's the second: http://crabfootball.wordpress.com/2009/08/...-autobiography/

Arsene really knows =)

wow glen johnson scored a kungfu goal

dey lost dy. good game from them, superb volley. and a brilliant penalty save.

i didnt see the full game, but from what i saw owen was poor. berbatov came in and threatened the burnley defence quite a few times. i mean he's a good player to snatch up for free. but i dont believe that he can do what he did with liverpool this time.

it's been a good week for us. winning 2 games and seeing a rival lose. but the thing with man utd is they dont start with a bang in a season, but rather start picking up pace towards the middle of it. i hope we can stay off injuries and stay consistent as well.

i'm going to try and collect all the highlights for the games this season thanks bro sakaito for arsenalist.com, but they dont have arsenal vs. celtic. or is it a matter of time before it's up?

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Added on August 20, 2009, 2:56 pmVermaelen - Gallas has been key to my start

According to Thomas Vermaelen, the experience of William Gallas is partly to thank for the promising start to his Arsenal career.

The Belgian, who signed for the Gunners in June, marked an impressive debut alongside the Frenchman with a goal in Arsenal’s opening-day victory over Everton.

The burgeoning partnership continued at Parkhead on Tuesday with a clean sheet in Arsenal’s 2-0 Play-off Round first-leg victory over Celtic.

Speaking after the win, Vermaelen praised Gallas but did warn that there is still work to be done against the Scottish giants.

“He is very experienced,” the 23-year-old said. “For me it’s much easier to play in a side with him because of that.

“I have already learned a lot from him.

“For us as defenders it is very important [to keep clean sheets]. It was also a good result to win 2-0. It’s better than 1-0 of course and for us it’s important.

“But Celtic are still a good team and against Moscow [in the Third Qualifying Round] they lost at home 1-0 but then won 2-0 away. They are still in the race so we have to keep concentrating and play the same game we did today.”

With two wins from two and eight goals scored, confidence is sky-high in the Arsenal camp. But you won’t find Vermaelen getting carried away.

The Belgian, who is in line for his home debut on Saturday, believes it is now a case of maintaining standards.

“For me it’s a new game again and we have to concentrate again on that,” the defender said. “We have to start over again to win the three points at home.

“I have enjoyed the last two games a lot. I like the English way of football, the atmosphere and desire of it. For me I like it a lot and I like to play.

“I feel very pleased and we have a good team with good quality and I like the players. I’m settling in very well I think.”

Source: Arsenal.com

This post has been edited by Thumpy Ick: Aug 20 2009, 02:56 PM

thanks for all the links to highlight videos guys, really appreciate it

^ exactly what i wondered about a few days ago. i think ross will fit right besides cesc. tho he can also play at bend's position. the same can be said to nasri

i just saw the dzujack compilation videos, man he looks awesome! again, youtube isnt the best way to scout but heck from the ajax game he looks really good. tho again, even if he's good i dont think he'll get in. he plays in arshavin's position. i bet he can also play in VP's current position too.

but looking back, this sounds like a perfect arsene signing to me. at least the anonymity of it. never heard of sir balasztank before

This post has been edited by Thumpy Ick: Aug 21 2009, 10:14 AM

^ lololol

ahh so you can buy it online too? i only have one arsenal long sleeve from my friend, havent actually invested any money in jerseys. might try soon amazon oso can ah?

^ haha, me too. even if it's expensive, treat it like ganti all the jerseys i didnt buy since 1998

i have a bad taste in clothing, i cant seem to differentiate between ugly and beautiful. but i think this one looks radical, eh?

^ yeah, but there's another full gray one. i'm flipping coins to decide which one should i get.

rofl i have a few arsenal friends at school. coz most of my friends are man utd fans. there are a few chelsea and liverpool supporters but majority are man utd fans. it gets a little heated everytime man utd face any of the big 3, since they are large in number (and most of them really knows how to talk) the whole day in school feels like a freakin mind warzone. it gets a little bit too intense sometimes

lol i was looking at my msn messenger list and realized there was only one true gunners fan. and he's not active on the internet anymore these days i guess that explains why most of the time i'm on here