Up Coming Gathering

This post has been edited by kimhoong: Feb 3 2009, 11:22 AM

The Emotional Highbury and The Grand Ashburton Grove

Highbury 1913-2006

For the majority of their time in south-east London, Arsenal played at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, a three-year period at the nearby Invicta Ground between 1890 and 1893 excepted. The Manor Ground was initially just a field, but the club installed stands and terracing in time for their first Football League match in September 1893. They played their home games there for the next twenty years (with two exceptions in 1894�95), until the move to north London in 1913.



Arsenal Stadium, widely referred to as Highbury, was Arsenal's home from September 1913 until May 2006. The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, and had a design common to many football grounds in the UK at the time, with a single covered stand and three open-air banks of terracing. In the 1930s, the entire stadium was given a massive overhaul, with new Art Deco West and East stands constructed, opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively; in addition, the North Bank terrace had a roof added, which was later bombed during World War II and not restored until 1956.

At its peak, Highbury could hold over 60,000 spectators, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The Taylor Report and Premier League regulations forced Arsenal to convert Highbury into an all-seater in time for the 1993�94 season, reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators. This capacity had to be reduced further during Champions League matches to accommodate additional advertising hoardings, so much so that for two seasons (1998�99 and 1999�00) Arsenal played Champions League home matches at Wembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators.

Final moments - the emotions run high in Highbury



Ashburton Grove 2007-present

Expansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a Grade II listed building and the other three stands were close to residential properties. These limitations have prevented the club from maximising the revenue that their domestic form could have brought in recent seasons. After considering various options, in 2000 Arsenal proposed building a new 60,000-seater stadium at Ashburton Grove, since renamed the Emirates Stadium, about 500 metres south-west of Highbury. The project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs, but construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the 2006�07 season. The stadium is named after its sponsors, the airline company Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth approximately �100 million; however some fans refer to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they do not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names.The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2012, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2013�14 season.

Construction and completion of the Ashburton Grove

The Gunners 2008/2009


Arsenal Kit 2008/2009


Defining Moments of Arsenal FC

From foundation to the first World War

Arsenal Football Club began life when a group of workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory decided to form a football team in late 1886. The Club played under the name of Dial Square. Their first match was a 6-0 victory over Eastern Wanderers, on December 11, 1886. Soon after, the name Royal Arsenal was adopted and the Club continued playing in friendlies and local cup competitions for the next few years.


In 1891 the Club turned professional and changed its name to Woolwich Arsenal, finally joining the Football League in 1893. The Gunners moved to their current home at Highbury in 1913, as a Second Division side. Following the First World War Arsenal were voted into the newly expanded First Division, where they have remained ever since.

Chapman and the glorious thirties

Herbert Chapman took over at Arsenal in 1925, and in 1930 he guided the Gunners to their first ever trophy � beating Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup Final. The following season Arsenal were champions for the first time. Between 1933 and 1935 the Club won a hattrick of league titles (which has only been achieved by four teams in the top flight). Sadly Chapman died in the middle of the run, by which time he had reached legend status.

George Allison took over and the dominance continued for the rest of the decade, winning one more FA Cup (1936) and another title (1938). During this time Arsenal had some of the game�s greatest players on its books: Alex James, Ted Drake, Cliff Bastin, David Jack, Eddie Hapgood and George Male were just some of the names in what was one of the greatest sides ever to play in the Football League.



Post War to the first double

The Second World War stopped Arsenal in their tracks but Tom Whittaker became manager and more success followed. Arsenal were Champions in 1947/48 and 1952/53; FA Cup winners in 1950 and runners-up in 1952. The �60s provided little in the way of silverware at Highbury, with two losing appearances in the League Cup Final in 1968 and 1969 being the closest thing to success. Bertie Mee had taken over in the mid-Sixties and Arsenal lifted their first ever European trophy in 1969/70, beating Anderlecht 4-3 over the two legged Fairs Cup Final.
Better was to follow the following season. An Arsenal side containing the likes of Charlie George, George Armstrong, Ray Kennedy and captain Frank McLintock, won the league and FA Cup �double�. They clinched the title at White Hart Lane, then beat Liverpool after extra time at Wembley to win the Cup. The side returned to Wembley for three consecutive FA Cup Finals under Terry Neill at the end of the decade � winning the second of them, 3-2 against Manchester United. The game became known as the �Five Minute Final�. The Gunners also reached the 1980 Cup Winners� Cup Final, with a team that included Graham Rix, Frank Stapleton, Pat Rice, David O�Leary and Liam Brady, but lost on penalties to Valencia.

George Graham's honours

In 1986 George Graham, a member of the 1971 �double� winning team, took over as manager from Don Howe and more glory days followed. He led Arsenal to their first ever League Cup triumph in 1986/87, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the Final. Two years later the Gunners won the League Championship, with a famous last minute goal from Michael Thomas clinching the title with a 2-0 win at Anfield. Another title followed in 1990/91, when the side, including the famous defensive back four, lost just one league game.

More silverware followed. In 1992/93 Arsenal became the first club to win both domestic cups in the same season. Sheffield Wednesday were the beaten side on both occasions. Graham�s era of success was rounded off the following season. A superb run in the European Cup Winners� Cup ended with a memorable 1-0 win over Parma in the Final in Copenhagen, thanks to Alan Smith�s strike. Arsenal failed to retain the trophy the following season, losing in the 1995 final to Real Zaragoza. By this time George Graham had left the Club. He was succeeded by Bruce Rioch, who was in charge for one season, during which time he signed Dennis Bergkamp.

The Arsene Wenger and the Invincibles Era

Early in the 1996/97 season Ars�ne Wenger arrived at Highbury, becoming the Club�s first ever manager from outside the British Isles. In 1997/98, Wenger�s first full season at Highbury, Arsenal achieved the League and FA Cup �double�, for the second time in the Club�s history. Dennis Bergkamp was named Football Writers� Association (FWA) Player of the Year, and PFA Player of the Year. A tremendous season was rounded off perfectly for French Internationals Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira as the Gunners stars played their part in France�s victorious World Cup campaign. The Club also said goodbye to striking legend Ian Wright, who left Arsenal as record goalscorer with 185 goals in all competitions.

In each of the next three seasons Arsenal were runnersup in the Premier League, and had plenty of involvement in cup competitions. In 2000 Arsenal lost in the UEFA Cup Final on penalties to Galatasaray, and the following year lost the first ever FA Cup Final played at the Millennium Stadium, 2-1 to Liverpool. In 2001 the Gunners also reached the Quarter- Final stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time, but lost out on away goals to Valencia. 2001/02 was to prove another momentous, recordbreaking season for the Club. Arsenal completed the first leg of their third �double� by beating Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup Final, and ended the season with a 13-game winning streak. The 12th Championship was made secure with a game to spare courtesy of a memorable 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arsenal were unbeaten away from home for the entire league campaign.

The following season Arsenal narrowly missed out on retaining the title but the Gunners became the first English club in more than 20 years to retain the FA Cup with their 1-0 victory over Southampton at Cardiff. Thierry Henry was voted player of the season by the PFA and the Football Writers� Association. Season 2003/2004 saw Arsenal win back the title in unbeatable fashion - managing to go though the entire league season without a single defeat. Finishing 11 points ahead of second-place Chelsea, Arsenal smashed several records on the way to their 13th league title win.
Spanish youngster Cesc Fabregas arrived in January and by the end of the season he had broken the records for the youngest Arsenal player and goalscorer. The Club, playing some mesmerising attacking football, were also close to an unprecedented fourth �double� but lost in the FA Cup semi-final. The Champions League campaign came to an end at the quarter-final stage.

The unbeaten run continued into the following season, and in August 2004 Arsenal overtook Nottingham Forest�s record for the longest all-time unbeaten sequence in English league football. The tally eventually reached 49 games. The Gunners made it five trophies in four seasons by winning the FA Cup following a penalty shoot-out success over Manchester United. Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira converted the decisive spot-kick, and it proved to be his final kick for the Club, as he left after nine years� service to join Juventus shortly afterwards. The 2005/06 campaign will be Arsenal�s final season at Highbury, the Club�s home since 1913.

The Trophy Cabinet

The LYN Gooners


This post has been edited by kimhoong: Feb 3 2009, 10:44 AM

For signature sharing

OK, let's rock and roll (not rickrolled )

The poll is "Just for fun"

Some last posts of previous thread:

I think arsenal will sign some1 we least expected.

Woah! new house.
Bro can you add me on the ARSENAL FAN list.
I still hoping for Arteta to come, he also can play in the wing when Cesc come back
another one I always wanted to play for Arsenal is Lorik Cana and Jesus Navas

This post has been edited by atreyuangel: Jan 7 2009, 09:31 AM

In fact, Signing Arteta news getting more quiet nowadays while news about Arshavin becomes a gunner is hotting up.

long time din't come in edi..

well, the fact that zenit have already confirmed that arsenal have inquired about the player doesn't really help with the rumours right? =)
although i would rather a midfielder with more defensive steel... i guess arshavin would be better than nobody... IF it happens that is...

---

Added on January 7, 2009, 10:08 amhere's more rumours to fuel your day...

Jack signs on (not like a scouser) + transfer rumours



This post has been edited by lostasylum: Jan 7 2009, 10:08 AM

Yep the Arshavin news has become more hot with the statement from Advocaat that he admit defeat in holding him.
Btw in Arteta case, we should get him and swap with Bendtner on loan to Everton,
they are in dire need of a strike and Nicky can also have a lot of 1st team experience.

Come on Gunners, just wrap up the players we intend to sign and sell the players who we dont need. I smell, Nicky and Toure off to elsewhere.

Arshavin is a possibility and i think he'll bring some creativity, tenacity and extra movement. Just hope he doesnt end up like Roman Pavyluchenko who so far hasnt proven anything yet.

i don't think both of them will be going anywhere (at least not in this transfer window)... but that's just my gut feeling and not based on any fact or reliable source... =)

wonder why lucas' name hasn't been linked to you guys yet? He's a simple, no fuss midfielder, the kind who embodies what Arsenal is today - get the ball, pass it and move into a new position. Most of the Liverpool fans cannot understand the beauty of his play and while Alonso is pretty much the flavour of the season, this brazilian lad is very much under appreciated.

This post has been edited by madmoz: Jan 7 2009, 11:04 AM

yea heard a lot of liv fans of my friends says lucas is rubbish... but i think he's doing ok now aight?

Lucas caught my attention during our match. Yes you are right about his quality, in fact, he was good in tackling and provoking But still, I don't think he will be allowed to leave... yet

surely his not allowed to leave, despite liv fans not appreciating his qualities on the pitch. Rafa benitez still rates that kid high. haha

am very excited about the prospect of arshavin's move is possible =)

He was bought as hot prospect for the future...And he wont come cheap if any party is interested

anyway just read the article regarding arshavin's move in thesun and stated there that the price could drop to 12 mil pound ! @.@

If really it's tru then the price is quite match with him la i would say...

Anyone have read this?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...i-Arshavin.html

This post has been edited by slcroy: Jan 7 2009, 01:07 PM

the hotter the news are, the higher chance of fake rumours in most cases, since when anyone/fans can predict AW purchase huh? he is a man with endless suprise when it comes to transfers.

This post has been edited by Meis: Jan 7 2009, 01:24 PM

12mil pounds almost equivalent to 20mil euros

added, y some forummer names are highlight in red?

This post has been edited by jam_lennon: Jan 7 2009, 01:33 PM

No Arteta pls thanks.

As for Arshavin I doubt anyone would want him if Zenit still insists on 20m. They were demanding somewhere in the region of that amount at the start of the season as well but that was when he was still eligible for the Champions League.

Probably if we do sign him I guess it will be in the region of 14 - 15 million max or a deal similar to the Reyes one previously, 12 - 13 million upfront with incentives and clauses which could rise to 18 - 20 million IMO.

But heard that Arshavin price also has been revise but to how much there is no official tag yet.

i was lol at the pool result. 0 Million

More media bollocks to entertain yourselves perhaps ?

I hope to be an Arsenal player, claims Zenit St Petersburg striker Arshavin

Not really brother...there is always an exception. Remember our new boy, Nasri?

i think russian league just end and if arshavin comes to arsenal, he wont have any break and maybe some fatigue that will not help to survive the physical battle of EPL

i just can not undstand.

we badly need midfielder n defender

why wenger goes to arshavin@striker?


xpaham lah aku

we have 3 fit strikers plus eduardo

Those in red are "claimed to be" ladies
tarp or not, you decide

made a terrible mistake
no wonder I could not make it as a programmer
should be:
0 < x <= 5M
5M < x <= 10M
...
...

i dunno how reliable this is, but this writer seems to believe that it'll probably be a middle ground between arsenal's 12mil valuation and zenit's 20mil valuation...

Zenit confirm talks with Arsenal over Arshavin transfer

arshavin is an attacking midfielder...he is not a striker although he could play sometimes as one...but his natural position is slotting in the 'hole' behind the strikers....

Hoping to be it come true. Arshavin have a good quality in controlling ball. He can replace fabregas roll since he is injured. **wondering how good when arshavin n feb we together** I think arteta for sure will not joining us since everton will keep holding on him.

This post has been edited by sandwich_box: Jan 7 2009, 02:34 PM

If Arshavin is coming, I reckon him to be playing as a winger.

Yet, I'm still not convinced to get him because we have more crucial positions to be filled up - eg DM & CD

any rumors for DM or CD?

This is not unexpected. Teams will always start to bid with a lower price and increase along the way, while the selling party will set a high price tag and slowly lower it down. This kind of haggling is common and we've done it before with Hleb's case. IIRC we started off with 6-7M back then and eventually the 9+M deal was agreed.

Arshavin can operate anywhere behind the strikers, be it on the flanks or directly behind. If he really comes then we'll have more options on the wings as he could take Nasri's LW while the latter deputises as playmaker/AM during Fabs' absence. If required, Nasri can even be shifted out onto the right flank if (touch wood) Theo fails to recover in time.

I still don't understand where did the Upson rumours came from. As mentioned before, Upson has not been living up his hype and is not any better than our current defenders so it's senseless to even ponder about him. Did he grow into a world class player after he left us? Improve yes, but world class hardly. If we were to take any ex-gunners back I'd rather see Sidwell don the red-white once again. There were reports about Arsene's words of advice to Sid when he left, i.e. he may return one day as an Arsenal player or something like that. Yet no way Villa's going to give Sid back to us.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Jan 7 2009, 02:51 PM

i completely agree... and despite what some are saying in this forum that some players are mediocre or not good enough, some of the names suggested are playing well and i wouldn't mind having them at all... if anything, let there be competition for places so that the cream of the crop can rise to the top and the rest will either have to be happy with being a squad player or move on... that scenario appeals to me more than the current one where we don't even have enough fit players and are forced to depend on players who for some reason are not performing...

If Arshavin price is revise to a better tag, then maybe he will come.
But does the club really need him?
either than DM and CB.

yeah... my comment about being unsure was more about whether arsenal's initial valuation / bid was 12mil pounds or not... =)
transfer windows are the equivalent of a VERY high class and expensive pasar malam... hahahahh....

Yes, competition is indeed important...not necessarily to have a massive squad but experience players to let the good youngsters to look forward to.

12 mil for age 27 is good buy. at least 6 years can use

and buy youngster not necessarily cheap. like adebayor. i remember 11 million pound.

wenger can buy cheap even exprience one

This post has been edited by little_mozart: Jan 7 2009, 05:06 PM

12mil is ok la, but as kimhoong mention, there is more crucial position to fill up....

pros - creativity, versatile, goal scoring sense
cons - no CL, 27 y.o, unproven

however, for the DM and CD woes, IMO just a high work rate DM will solve both problem, barry, reo-coker, scott parker could fill the bill

Ade was relatively cheap la... If I'm not mistaken 7m Pounds...

Anyway... If the Arshavin deal is between 12-15m, I'd say its quite a good buy.

But to quote (er dunno which blog), let's hope he's more Kanchelskis than Rebrov!

yeah..hope AW can get Arshavin this january window.great player..

Arsenal look set to miss out on Arshavin because of cash demands - the 27-year-old is currently on wages of about £100,000-a-week. (Daily Star)

Guys, I don't really like this player but whether 12 or 20 mil pound is not a real matter. For squad depth wise, why not? I think he is overrated. 100 pound a week a too much. I don't a player willing take pay cut just to play for the team since there are few top teams are chasing him. and I don't think AW will break the so called 'wage structure'. I think the most important for the team to buy is to get a good DM no matter what. Our current situation is same as the season when Vieira left. A very big gap in the DM. I don't really worry about Fab's absent. I am more concern about who is playing at the DM position. We got Nasri, Denilson, Ramsey and Diaby can temporary fill Fab's position but the team doesn't have any decent player for the DM postion. Song? no way. I will suggest to get Arteta. I think that is the team's main priority.

Arshavin's chance coming to Arsenal is not as dim as you think:

Arsenal warned against inflated Arshavin price
Source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id...england&cc=3888

10M looks okay to me - but I still like to emphasize that the role he offers to Arsenal is not as crucial as DM and CD - despite the fact that we are losing Fabregas for a few months

This post has been edited by kimhoong: Jan 7 2009, 08:07 PM

Just wait and see,we can't argue or predict much.

Yeah, i think 100k a week is too much for Arsenal....AW will always hav backup plans....like how he missed out on CR and get reyes.....hahahahahha.....I don't think Arshavin will go to Arsenal, maybe Man City or Tottenham.....let's keep on waiting.....as AW always says, PATIENT is the key.....

100K a week for arshavin? omg, even our captain dont earn that much! anyway, the star said arsene back in for kranjcar? will tony sell? how true is it?

i'll take krancjarhowtospell over arshavin any time. think he will suit arsenal style.

me too.. i like him. he and dudu can get along well too, since play in same croatia team

it could be a bit difficult since, nico is a left midefielder/left winger... right now AW got nasri playing on that side.....
i would prefer if AW go for a central mid or center back....

Contrary to what people may believe there is a need for attack depth, notice that we are not creating much chances this season anymore, the lack of penetration, etc.. how we are crying out for eduardo to come back ? rueing the loss of theo walcott and cesc now ? lets also see who is filling in... just 1 or 2 injuries and we see eboue out on the wings when he should be a backup to RB, sometimes even on the left, denilson out on the right, diaby on the left etc..

AW believes in a more attacking approach, he has a better record of signing attacking players anyway, i think arshavin would help , provided at the right price and wage demands. i don't fancy anything above 15mil thats for sure. AW may think that CL ineligiblity might be good as he did claim that arshavin might have problems playing a game every 3 days.

I will admit however sigining a tough tackling, all action midfielder would improve us greatly. a CD depends on what AW plans for the whole defense. in terms of depth we are covered, in terms of quality there is lots to be debated. I think alot of it has to do with lack of organisation, confidence, mentality, and more importantly, lack of protection from midfield.

as i mention earlier, our fit 3 strikers comprises of 2 actually with bendtener very much still a rookie and i think we can very much agree is not 1st team material yet.. beyond those 2 strikers, we still don't have eduardo back yet, carlos vela deemed not ready.. walcott still on the wings.. no one else.. it is apparent when we lose 1 striker instead of replacing it AW goes to put nasri/diaby in the hole behind the striker ? makes sense no ?

I think we're in need of ship repairs come jan, either internally or by transfers, but patchworks in my opinion needs to focus on the industrious taclking midfielder, then an attacking exceptional talent (boosting confidence, creating more chances, creating more competition, pushing ppl the likes of diaby back.. song too when the DM comes in.. least show them it's not that easy to make the gunner's 1st team. Denilson wouldn't have to play every game as he has improved but at this level shouldn't be made to play everygame yet.

----

In my dreamworld, 3 transfers would turn us to world beaters, or least be feared more.

1. Bendtner with upson swap ( i wouldn't add cash)
2. Carlos Tevez
3. Arshavin

Obviously it won't happen!! but if it did, we have just added depth to the CD, (opening up window for older players in the future to leave : silvestre, gallas) Added alot of spark in the midfield, add alot of work rate and quality/creativity up front, (replacing the industry by flamini which he did harry up in front more than in the middle really, hence the goals we concede sometimes) tevez can do that harrying, denilson/song/diaby need not be the harrying type and they are not will read the game and make the challenges beyond tevez. On paper, we make a more terryfying prospect than before. If we add Cana, no one wants to play us anymore if we hit top form.

**too much FM dreamland lol** (names i mentioned plucked out from transfer rumours - mayb i should install FM now.. )

in my dreamworld, titi, bergy and bobby would still be with us..lol.. seriously, i would have
1. arteta/alonso
2.niko
3. silva!! =)

huhh left? aiyo long time no internet, forgot everything already..

next game vs bolton? should be 3 points..

I don't believe that player who's desperate for a move will dare to demand astronomical figures, unless he's of Beckham's or Ronaldinho's fame.
If Arshavin is truly asking for such a big paycheck then he can forget about any move to the Grove. Our wage bill is already high enough.

Age aside, Arshavin is the better player. He has more experience because of a longer career, and has proven himself to be a consistent performer if you look at statistics. Granted, the level of the Russian league may not be as high as EPL on paper, but a player has to have some quality in order to become a consistent star player in whichever team and competition.

Kranjcar pales in comparison in terms of achievements and performance if you ask me. If I had to choose I'd still take Arshavin for now. The long term resale value for the latter is of course lower than the younger Croat, yet don't forget Pires was bought at a similar age and he gave us his best years during his early 30s.

well thats the thing really.. there is no "should be 3 pts" we've got no divine right to win, i remember a certain equador team i think during world cup claim they have a "divine right" (or something like that with the word "divine" in it) and they lost lol! . It is exactly our players who think alright, we should win.. and result in them just showing up expecting ppl to roll over.

And thats what im worried about as we have demonstrated time and time again we have great potential to slip into this again and get punished dearly. I think we got good chance, as bolton are not doing so well and have some important players out. But if the boys don't put in their shift, we could be in for a nasty surprise (or perhaps not so surprising this season as it happened so often)

Here's to the boys for a commited performance, a good display and hopefully be rewarded with the result we deserve (if we do deserve it that is..)

djibril cisse was a french star with quite amazing stats while he was there (and very highly rated as well), but with liverpool and now with sunderland, he's not the star that he was.

then again, torres was a star in athletico and yet wasn't consistent somewhat in spain.. now in liverpool, he's the second most important player next to gerrard (at least in my flawed opinion anyway.. heheh).

i suppose what i'm trying to get at is that despite arshavin being a top player in the russian league and him having a good euro tournament, i won't go so far as to say that arshavin is definitely a better player. he may have an edge, but i don't think anyone can compare and come to a decision with absolute certainty.... but heck, if either one comes, i definitely won't be complaining... =)

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Added on January 7, 2009, 11:44 pm100% agreed and i think it's a great post.

This post has been edited by lostasylum: Jan 7 2009, 11:44 PM

If Ashavin ever to be Arsenal Player, the wages would be around 65k to 80k max!
and he will bring us much needed width when attacking, and his creativity was awesome too.

at his level, surely he can play 6 to 7 years of high class football

but we seriously need a tough tackling DM, bring back Flamini or Veloso
that would be very good option!

i suppose what i'm trying to get at is that despite arshavin being a top player in the russian league and him having a good euro tournament, i won't go so far as to say that arshavin is definitely a better player. he may have an edge, but i don't think anyone can compare and come to a decision with absolute certainty.... but heck, if either one comes, i definitely won't be complaining... =)

i definitely think tht getting arshavin arsenal is a wrong move. there are other great players can fit into his shoes at a right price. n not to forgt arshavin is kinda pricey. i doubt tht zenit will let him off easily. so i definitely think tht aw will not buy him..

wht we nid is a centrall midfield tht can fit in cesc's shoes-tht's arteta.. he will be a great buy..
and also we nid to strengthen our defense. imagine how many goals arsenal had conceded apparently.. i really gt a heartache when arsenal conceded a draw after leading 2-0

once again, i still doubt tht aw will make a major signing. if ya, he will make a minor one.. im kinda fed up and tired of his statement of upholding his young player's policy.. it's really not working for a club like arsenal.. wht we need is a few experience players in the team and on the same time moulding the young gunners..=) so do not hope much from aw.. time and again he make me disappointed wif his move of not buying new players to strengthen the team..

denilson is not suitable to fit in flamini's shoes. sometimes i feel tht he is off position.

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Added on January 8, 2009, 1:30 amand i think we have to sell of bendtner.. hmm

This post has been edited by miaofen: Jan 8 2009, 01:30 AM

AW is just stubborn & not learning his lesson from last seasons down fall at the end of the season. We will see how it goes this season but I have lost confident with the team after some bad performances especially on the defence.


Bendtner is just an average player & his performances getting worst & worst. Time to offload him & try on Vela instead.

I read in some website that Arsenal wanna buy Matthew Upson (ex-arsenal player also)...Arsenal offering 5 million plus Bendther...Good deal ?

lol..rumors la bro..5 million only maybe still can b considered..but adding our good backup striker is kinda stupid deal

We got rvp, ade, vela, dudu (available soon), and walcott (injured). By offloading bendtner, imo, it will be fine. Coz we can play 4-4-1-1 as well. So, we dont really need too many striker. One thing can't be denied, bendtener is good and labeled as our "super sub".

well looks like getting yaya toure is a dream after all since manCity has offer him 24m contract lol.

Even barca will take its time not to drop to the lure of money.Hmm any more better or potential dm?

And we better be prepared. maybe the Toure brothers reunion will happen at MC.

chronic_blade,
I like your points on getting Arshavin - to improve our creativity and goalscoring. However, if attacking is the gain, I reckon offloading some attacking players since they are not doing good enough. For this, Bendtner and Denilson may be the first to go?

This is a worst scenario but still, it's possible to happen. Kolo Toure is not happy in Arsenal. Being an outsider, I really have no idea what's the real reason.

AW really has to either tackle the root cause of this unhappiness or worst of all, offload Toure - since keeping an unhappy player is not beneficial to anyone.

This post has been edited by kimhoong: Jan 8 2009, 10:46 AM

whatever it is, i doubt they'd let toure leave this window.. worst case scenario, he'll leave after the end of the current season. i hope by which time, the problem would've been resolved or gallas offloaded....

if arsenal let toure leave now... they'd be really silly....

no way in hell Arshavin salary will be higher than AW, Cesc and Gallas

and i don't think that Arshavin will be a gunner if zenit insist to keep that stupid tag price up high...

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Added on January 8, 2009, 10:47 ami dunno why you guys still keep talking about kolo... isn't that issue was solved not long ago?

This post has been edited by Meis: Jan 8 2009, 10:50 AM

You have a point there, it woulb be very beneficial to Bendtner, but as for Denilson, i think we can still keep him as backup..He's still playing good thou..

Denilson ? One of our most consistent performers this season and still not good enough ? Surely he doesn't deserve that. Dear me......

no tht isnt enough. aw place him to fill into flamini's shoes n his experiment failed.. denilson is more to attacking not to defending type of player..

tht's y u can see some holes in arsenal's defense that can be easily penetrated by the opposing team..

and another thing william gallas shud be omitted from the team.. he can gifts goals easily to the opposing team n im tired enough of his acts.. just be patient wif toure . he is yet to find his true form.. guess the magic between gallas n toure doesnt work haha! i believe tht toure is a great players and had been influential in arsenal's defense

exchanging bendtner wif upson of west ham united wouild be a gd choice since bendtner do not make a great impact n is still not good enough for arsenal

This post has been edited by miaofen: Jan 8 2009, 11:52 AM

Please refer to the context that I'm relating.

Being consistent or not, no doubt that our attacking creativity has been lacking (even with Fabregas around).
chronic_blade's point was to get Arshavin to improve that.
My point is that before getting Arshavin, someone has to leave.
Looking at those who are responsible for attacking + creativity, I simply pointed out 2 players which I thought were responsible for that.
I am not stating a fact but opening an opportunity for further discussion

Yes, you are right, Denilson has been one of our better player (when he is not playing as a winger)


When AW got Denilson, I remember AW mentioned that Denilson is the same type of player with Fabregas but with better defensive quality - hmm, maybe I got it wrongly?

Gallas despite being one of the hate figures this season, is actually outperforming Toure. Although he had some blunders to be ashamed of, Gallas has also scored some very crucial goals.

But it's a fact that AW does not play Gallas+Toure anymore and this tells me something wrong with the two old senior CDs.

I don't have any idea if Upson will do any good to Arsenal - is he really that good? I could not find much news about him at all this season - does that show he's doing good in EPL?

im not sure wif tht.. bt i never heard aw commented tht denilson is like fabregas' type lol.. i noe wilshere or aaron ramsey had been compared wif cesc.. cesc provides a fine pass bt either of these 2 young players i stated has a better dribbling skill.=)


ya no doubt he's kinda outperforming toure bt u have to think tht the no of goals gallas conceded in such major games cant be forgiven.. toure has been out for quite a while due to injury.. he just need to regain his touch.. =) i dun see why he isnt better than gallas n do remember toure do score some crucial goals for arsenal.. gallas is kinda a whinner to me ..


ya he has been a decent player for west ham n he scores goals.. most importantly well he's a defending type of player .. remember tht our defending has been very poor.

mikael arteta will fit in the bill. and not to forget a good replacement for cesc.=) he possesses the quality, experience and craft to do the same job as cesc. remember we need a player tht can do things straight away and not somebody need to acclimatise to Premier League football. I think he'd jump at the chance to play for us too and he's versatile enough to maintain a squad place even when Cesc comes back. He's played a lot of football on the right hand side of midfield for Everton .

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Added on January 8, 2009, 1:44 pmalex song and diaby are not the kinda players i would to see in arsenal squad. and not to forgt emmanuel eboue.. he's really lazy..

This post has been edited by miaofen: Jan 8 2009, 01:44 PM

i wouldnt reckon upson for us. 1st, AW havent get back any player who previously been sold to other club. 2nd. Upson seems just an average player to me.

Toure is a good player. I would prefer offload gallas, this is because he should be the 1 who creates a lot problem for us.

denilson, he is definitely not flamini-sub, but cesc's. I agree kimhoong points out we should offload some "att mid". But i won't reckon at this time (even though we might get arshavin soon). At least we need to wait till cesc back to action 1st. maybe we should offload diaby rather than denilson?

Someone mentioned previously that Upson is no better than our current crop of CBs. But this is like comparing apples with oranges, they're just not the same! Toure & Galles = Oranges. Upson = Apple. We need variety in our fruit salad defence!!

I think everyone agrees that Kolo and Gallas are too similar, so why put down Upson when he brings something different to the table? He's by no means a world beater, but he's no slouch too. A no-nonsense type defender and that's what we need at the moment.

For your info guys,Gallas perfomance has been good eversince he was stripped from Captain armband.He's 3rd behind RVP and Sagna in O2 Player Of The Month.

upson? he wasn't good enough for us before... and i don't think AW will do a roundabout and buy players that was sold by us before. if he wanted to do that, he'd bought back anelka instead last season.

btw, so many rumors.. so little movement in the transfer market. It's crazy that Spurs paid 15m to get back defoe. I think Palyuchenko is doing fine at the moment and Bent was getting back to his form. With Defoe returning to WHL, bent will be drop to 3rd choice. Heck... wth i'm talking about Spurs????

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Added on January 8, 2009, 2:55 pmbtw, seems like Arshavin agent's indicating that something was going on but was put off by high price tag. now, he's trying to force down the pricing in order to get something done quickly.

i think we should unload some players if we want to add. Diaby and Eboue are the 2 that i can think of offloading. Denilson? give him more time, he's getting there. Song? i think he is a good utility player, so keep him la.

This post has been edited by sakaito: Jan 8 2009, 02:55 PM

If there is any midfield + attacking to be offloaded the likes of Diaby and Eboue are certainly more liable to offloading than Denilson. Will be very harsh on Denilson IMO.

I'd rather Wenger buy no one with names like Arteta, Upson being thrown around. Their no better than what we already have.

To be frank, I think its good selling of Bendtner. To me he is totally not Arsenal quality. Just wait till Eduardo is back and he is sitting on the bench for good!

Yes! Sell Bendtner!
I really hope that the Bayern's rumour of bringing him there is real.
Or swapping Podolski is even greater.


I'm wondering why is AW's been linked to tons of players from Given, Upson, Arshavin, Niko and NOT closing any of them?

Is he trying to give a hint to our Arsenal players to "Buckle up, b4 u r benched for life"?
For instance, if he's not satisfied with Almunia....and he goes about trying to bring Buffon in, just to scare the sh*t out of Almunia.

Btw, anymore new transfer updates?

nevertheless we shud offload gallas.. i really think tht he's gonna mess the team. serious wif the club players disliking him.. it's better for him to go=).. i would rather have other defender.. havent get any yet.. perhaps we shud wait wht aw will do..

dont hope too much from aw.. there's a high probability tht he might disappoint us wif his current policy.. tht's wht i can say.. just wait.=)

ya denilson is a decent player bt he cant fit the bill by playing defensively.. i see him more like an attacking player of type.. btw he has been playing in most of arsenal games. still havent reach to teh level we expect for an arsenal player..

Cisse's career has been plagued by injuries which may have impeded his career. Even so, his record at Liverpool, Marseille, and now Sunderland wasn't exactly too bad for an attacking player. In fact his league performance this season is pretty close to Robin's and better than Ade's !!

I don't think we need to talk about Torres as we already know his qualities.

What I'm trying to get here is that Arshavin has proven himself as a consistent performer over a longer time period. There's no guarantee that Arshavin will become the next Bak where he'll slot in seamlessly in no time, but for now statistics are the only yardstick that we can depend on. Kranjcar's advantage would be his younger age and prior experience in the EPL though. I won't go all out and say I'm an Arshavin fan, but I'll admit that he caught my eye even before the Euro08 when Yuri Zhirkov's name was being mentioned on foreign forums - I actually felt Arshavin would fit us better than Zhirkov back then and I stick by my opinion.

Like you, I'd be glad if either of them comes; but the current signs are suggesting a deal with Arshavin rather than Kranjcar - who knows? Maybe the Russian assassin is just a smoke screen for the Croat lengzhai's arrival?

Denilson was not groomed to be Matty's successor, if anything he's more likely to be nurtured into a Gilberto with better passing abilities.

The Kolo-Willy debate will never end, and most gunners will feel more connected to Kolo than Willy. As mentioned before, both of them have put up pathetic defensive displays this season, yet Willy has still managed to score important goals so maybe that's the reason he's slighty ahead of Kolo in terms of selection.

Exchanging Nicky with Upson is NOT a good deal. It doesn't necessarily strengthen our defence, while we'll be losing another option in attack. Fair enough, Nicky hasn't been able to reproduce his last season form, nor has he shown enough improvement to warrant a starting 11 position. But why do a deal which doesn't solve our problems nor bring any benefits to the team?

Upson is not any better than our current defenders. I still don't understand why people are hyping him up so much. Are we that desperate for signings that we are looking at mediocre players ? If there aren't any better defenders for sale this January I'd rather see Arsene save the money.

Because most of the time the tabloids are merely rehashing old garbage rumours that was already in use during last summer.
If you've been supporting Arsenal long enough you'll learn to understand the way Arsenal negotiate deals - the more prominent a rumour is, the less likely it'll come to fruition. The more ambiguous Arsene talks to the media, the more likely something is going on (but no guarantees it'll go through).

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Jan 8 2009, 05:07 PM

Latest paper talk:

Barca wanna buy RVP and Fabregas for a deal of 45million in the summer.

too many rumors la..dont too gype about any signing.
just stay calm and wait who who come..

i think arshavin is cmg to arsenal...
he already say goodbye to his team mates...

If he comes for 21m...
He will be the club most expensive signing in history~