The Soccer Blog: Gibbs is Back, but Verma Remains a Mystery

By: Sairax | November 12th, 2010

We finally got confirmation yesterday that Szczesny has signed a new deal with the club. I think it has been clear that he is our keeper of the future, so to hear that he has committed to the club is fantastic news.

At the moment Fabianski is our #1, so what does this mean for Almunia? Wenger noted in his press conference that Almunia has a future at Arsenal and that “We are on a train which wants to go to the terminal station – and that means nobody moves out when the train is moving.” I suppose this means that Almunia won’t be going anywhere in January, but I would be very surprised if he did not move on in the summer. Wenger clearly rates Fabianski and has backed him from the very beginning while Szczesny is waiting in the wings. I doubt Almunia would want to watch from the sidelines as a 3rd choice keeper, but we’ll see what happens with his situation in the coming months.

On the injury front we have some good news as Gibbs will be included in the squad that will travel to Goodison Park on Sunday. He will most likely be on the bench, but it’s great to see him getting back to fitness. On a less positive note, nobody still has any clue of what the hell is going on with Vermaelen. Wenger talked about this in his presser today:

“We know a lot medically nowadays, but there are some mysteries that we do not know about,” he said. “At the moment we have no rational explanation for his pain.There is no reason to have surgery and there is no logical explanation for his pain.We have to be patient and just hope it will go. That means rest at the moment.”

I don’t know about you but that sounds incredibly worrying. Quite frankly, I am not holding my breath at his return and might actually be surprised to see him at all this season. I don’t know this as a fact of course, it’s just a feeling that I have. A horrible, gut-wrenching feeling.

I know all of you are really waiting for me to give you news on the mini international break that’s coming up shortly!

*crickets chirp*

No? Well, you’re getting it anyway. Lansbury has been called up for the England U21 squad. They will be playing a friendly in Germany in preparation for the upcoming European tournament where they have been drawn in a group with Spain, Czech Republic, and Ukraine. A pretty difficult group, but no worries because Stuart Pearce is in charge! *ahem*

Robin van Persie has been confirmed to join the Dutch squad for their upcoming fixture. Wenger has softened his stance on his inclusion and sees it as more of a chance to get van Persie some minutes to improve his match fitness. As long as he comes back in one piece, I have no problems with that. Other international callups include Djourou for Switzerland; Sagna, Clichy, and Nasri for France; and Fabregas for Spain.

That’s really all there is for today. Martin will be previewing the Everton match in tomorrow’s blog, so make sure to visit and check it out. In the meantime, I leave you with this:

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Category: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger, Injury Report, Internationals, Video

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« Thoughts on Wolves Win; Wojo Signs New Deal? | Home | Ashwin91Seems like the Bendtner thing is true. Read it on soccernet this time. They give Wenger's complete response though and that makes the situation appear much calmer than the way the Mirror presented it.Ashwin91Seems like the Bendtner thing is true. Read it on soccernet this time. They give Wenger's complete response though and that makes the situation appear much calmer than the way the Mirror presented it.SairaxThanks Ashwin. Here's the link for everyone http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=841409&sec=england&cc=5901Gigi_manThx for those updates Sairax.

Has anyone ever wondered if Arsha on the pitch seems "away" merely by the fact that no one can understand what he is saying he will do so anyone can follow his plays..?

Or was just my oousy English :) ?

Rre TV5..man that is just sad news....really sad, I mean the defenders have been top performers, but he really had something else, even leadership that really lacks at timesSairaxI don't know if the Bendtner quotes are real. I'm hesitant to believe anything the papers quote anymore unless I hear it from the horse's mouth. I already heard the quotes this morning from a Danish source, but didn't know how reliable it was so I didn't mention it. However, if Bendtner really said what the Mirror is reporting, well, there are just so many things wrong with it. I mean, I like Bendtner, but he can't be serious.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Nicklas-Bendtner-threatens-to-quit-Arsenal-if-he-s-not-given-first-team-football-article627389.htmlJGIf the whole Vermaelen mess happened last season, with the only backups being Slo and Sylvester (who is still sucking at Werder Bremen, btw), I think I would have had a fit. This year though, we have the deliciously solid Squizz, the everlearning Kos, and a reborn Djourou who, like Rosicky, is having a reincarnation season. Our defensive situation is not perfect or great, but it's almost decent.SairaxIt did happen last season...just right at the end when we had to play Barcelona and all that. You're right though, it's much less worrying now with the players we have available.

PS I love RosickyJGMe too! I became a big fan of Rosicky's after he scored THOSE goals against the USA during the 06 WC (im such a traitor lol).. found out he signed for this weird-sounding club named Arsenal and it all started from there..AlexinhoI hope Vermaelen isn't the next Rosicky or Gabriel Milito, with a seemingly innocuous injury that keeps him out for more than a season...SairaxI didn't really want to talk about the whole tackling thing again because really, it just gets worse the more we talk about it, but 7amkickoff has an article up today that addressed some of my gooner paranoia as of late, so I thought I'd share http://www.7amkickoff.com/2010/arsenal-are-not-the-most-indisciplined-team-but-they-are-the-most-punished/MartinI don't think we are that undisciplined or being targeted, I just think it's a small sample size and we've been on the wrong end of some unfortunate decisions so far. I'd be absolutely stunned if we were still top of that list come Christmas, let alone the end of the season.

And, if we are, (a) at least we finished top of the table in something; and (b) the last time we were the most disciplined team in the league . . . we won the league, so maybe it's not an entirely bad thing.SairaxWell if we win the league again then that's fine by me.

I think (along with my gooner paranoia), I get frustrated when I see other players not get properly disciplined. The majority of our cards are deserved, but then I see, say, Huddlestone get away with a stamp, or Gerrard elbow someone in the face, and they don't get reprimanded.

Sorry, I didn't want to bring it up and make it a 'thing', but the article just brought up the issues that were lingering in my mind.Homey_MillsLooking back on it, maybe some of us (myself included), over-reacted to the RvP friendly news. At the time I heard it, I was thinking that game would be his first back, and that he would still be borderline injured. But if he's back with the club already, and getting in some game action, then it's not as outrageous as I previously thought.MartinArsenal fans overreact? Impossible!

I tend to agree, although I still think it's not the best idea ever. I think most of it came from how Wenger handled the situation -- it seemed like he was still saying that van Persie was "not close" to coming back when the call-up happened, so a lot of us assumed that it meant that he was being called up by Holland before he was even back in full training for Arsenal, which truly would have been outrageous.Darren_VMaybe Vermaelen is faking the pain and just doesn't want to play! :)Jacob David FriedmanI love how it takes Arshavin all day to come up with his wrestling name...and then it's "Small Russian." Plus, he eats everything off of the floor and would intentionally cook Wenger something he didn't like. Andrei must love confusing the hell out of the English-speaking world. Possibly even more than Gerard Pique likes playing bizarre pranks on people.MartinI share your worries about Vermaelen. It just keeps sounding worse and worse.

And I think what Wenger may have actually meant about Almunia was that the train is moving, and we can't throw a rumored 75000/week out of a moving train because it's too heavy.

In all seriousness, I think Almunia will be pretty unhappy with a #3 role, and won't be too keen to stick around, but I think it's going to be a real struggle to find a team willing to take on his salary because we dramatically overpaid him. Even if we can find a team, they won't be willing to pay much, if any, of a transfer fee on top of that.KxevinGuillem Balague has some interesting insights on why Fabregas is still a Gunner (and should be, frankly). Apparently Laporta was ready to pay whatever it took, then the election happened, Rosell won and apologized to Arsenal for Laporta being such an ass, and said that as we were under fiscal restraints, we wouldn't break the bank.

And that was that.

Saw some speculation that Fabregas' heart isn't in it. I question that. Dude broke his leg for the colors. That's heart AND soul, I'd say.

And this might work out for everybody. We're talking to PSV about Afellay, for a price between 2-4m, to arrive in January. With him, and the emergence of Thiago, I can't see us spending what you will charge for Fabregas, so your captain stays put, and no summer stress of made-up quotes and other nonsense.Gigi_manI for one think he is truly committed, I even think that he is frustrated (and showing that in his yellow card) because he is.

I myself tend to overrreact to judges when it comes to my firm's cases :)
Only too bad for Afellay, I thought we were going for him :)Sairax2-4 million for Affelay? That's mental! Then again, seeing how cheap players like vdV and Ozil have gone for, I wouldn't be surprised.KxevinSomething is better than nothing though, right? Just ask Chamakh's former club. PSV is said to be wanting around 3, and buzz is that a pre-agreement has been signed with the player's agent, pending the clubs meeting an agreement.

He isn't Fabregas, but you all know my views on that one. Fabregas is an almost direct Xavi replacement. Afellay is that wing threat who can also play mid playmaker. I also think that Thiago is sprouting faster than anticipated. Good problems to have.

Any truth to the rumors that you all are interested in Gabi Milito?SairaxMaybe that came out wrong. I thought he might be going for a bit more, or at least have a couple of clubs bid for him. Seems a bit of a steal if you can get him!

Haven't heard anything about Milito, but there are rumours about bringing in another CB, probably from England though as far as I've heard.KxevinAgreement in principle for 3m, with a 4-year deal. January transfer. Can't see Fabregas going anywhere, as we're looking for cost-effective transfers and frankly, he isn't going to get the love, adulation and props that he gets with Arsenal in the Prem. He's the main man. At Barca, there's Messi, Villa, Xavi, Iniesta. Not that this is in any way any kind of remote comparison, but that was the Ibrahimovic problem.

I'm sure that Fabregas would fit in just fine, but I rather think that he likes being the man. What first-class player wouldn't?Tom BurnsLebron James.

But don't mind me, I'm an Ohioan and still horribly bitter.Darren_VOr... Players that would rather play with quality teammates and win titles instead of being the man. A shocking concept I knowHomey_MillsThat sounds true in theory. I mean, I'd want to stay and be "the man" in his situation. But clearly this summer he wanted out. So his logic and our logic are different it appears.MartinThat would be nice.

And I completely agree about Cesc's heart. I don't see how anyone who's watched him the last few years can say he doesn't care about Arsenal or doesn't absolutely want to win trophies more than anyone else on the pitch.KxevinAgreed, Martin. And our clubs can get back to being friends and mutual admirers. It was all poorly handled, the made-up quotes didn't help, and the Rosell/Laporta animus meant that even if a deal was in place, Rosell would have found a way to scuttle it.

Whew!

Hey, saw an interesting comment that because Arsenal practice against each other, they're only used to seeing one style, which doesn't serve them well when they see big, dumb, physical football.

I don't buy that, because most clubs practice that way, but what do you think?Gigi_manI hope so! I was a Barza fan before! (of course...not on that sad 2006 day :) )SairaxI remember when Tony Adams talking about when Bergkamp came to Arsenal, the players would kick him in training to toughen him up for the english game. Our guys aren't really like that today. There was an interview just the other day with Cesc and Theo and the guy asked them who pumps everyone up before a game, pumping their chest and smacking their head. They both laughed and Cesc said 'we don't do that! we're not that english!' It was funny, but you see the focus is different with our players. Though to be fair, we've been giving it back a bit in recent games it seems.

Lee Dixon talked about training methods in a recent article http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/lee-dixon-the-flaw-in-wengers-philosophy-its-what-you-do-without-the-ball-that-really-counts-2095327.html

He describes training as such: "Wenger is a very different coach to many. He's not there in training saying "stand there", "move there" "you're in the wrong position". He believes in his team learning from the players around them, learning to understand the way to play. His philosophy is to encourage players to pick it up for themselves. It is extremely effective with the right players, but the problem comes when players are not intelligent enough to understand"MartinEh, I'm inclined to agree with you, for the reasons stated. Why would Arsenal be more affected by practicing with only other Arsenal players than every other team is affected by their internal scrimmaging? And what's the alternative? We have enough injuries already without playing simulated matches against other teams during our off days.

I just think it's down to a failure on coaching/management to adequately prepare the players for certain types of teams. And frankly, the last couple of years, I'm not even that sure our record against the park the bus and counterattack/try to win set piece teams is that much worse than teams like Chelsea or Manchester United, I think that reputation may just be a holdover from past years when we really did struggle.

I think it's mainly down to the fact that previously (and I do think Chamakh changes this a bit), we really didn't have any plan B. We could play open and through the middle and try to advance up the pitch as a team, pass the ball around the box, and hope that eventually an opportunity would arise. But when that didn't work, we were never a danger from out wide because our fullbacks are not great crossers of the ball, and we didn't have anyone who could jump up and head it in anyway. And set pieces are a continuing source of frustration -- we're one of the worst corner kick teams I've ever seen, I don't understand it. Whereas teams like Chelsea and Manchester United were also pretty proficient at scoring a "cheap" goal on a counter or a set piece if the other team was staying behind the ball and clogging up any opportunities from open play.blog comments powered by Disqus

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Saturday, 13 November 2010

Gibbs is Back, but Verma Remains a Mystery

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