Tag: diaby

Arsene tells the truth about this season

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Injuries, Transfers7 Comments

Arsene Wenger gave a very honest interview to L’Equipe (translated by News of the World) before the Wigan game where he really goes into detail about Arsenal’s inconsistencies early this season and how he feels about it.

“I did make a mistake in perhaps underestimating the harmful effects of last season, especially the loss of the title. I asked myself a lot of questions during the close season about the influence losing the title in the last two months might cause.”

I really felt that the way we lost the title last season was very hard on the players – to think that even after our awful run we were still only 4 points off the top shows how close we were to glory. The fact that players like Hleb and Flamini left also didn’t help in the short term.

Wenger went through his hardest time as Arsenal manager at Christmas, and there were some people calling for his dismissal. A lot of players got slated as well as his transfer policy. He admits that the present is a different story:

“The barometer is confidence and when that seizes up . . . now we are unbeaten for 18 Premier League matches and that leaves with me with a lot of regrets.”

“And I remained faithful to my policy when everyone told me I was heading straight for a brick wall. People reproach me for not having bought Gareth Barry or Xavi Alonso.

“But I am a prisoner of my own policy. Buying Barry or Alonso is killing Alexandre Song, Abou Diaby and Denilson.”

“You can’t do a public job in a big club, not win matches and say they are all imbeciles.”

“The fact that we are remarkably consistent shows we have quality. That is no coincidence.”

This is all very true – but I think he learnt a little more about Arsenal through the hardship. The sigining of Arshavin has made a huge difference, as well as the return from injury of players such as Walcott, Fabregas, Adebayor. Denilson and Song have come on leaps and bounds this season – Song’s performance and goal against Wigan yesterday underlines this fact.

The team is playing as a unit and has been through a lot over the last two years – the experience will only make them stronger and if Wenger keeps them together this youthful team will be one of the best he has produced.

Internationals throw up three more injuries + Rocky7 Anniversary

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, History, Injuries7 Comments

As expected the first round of international matches have provided us with an extended injury list. It doesn’t make for good reading:

  • Robin Van Persie – Groin
  • Abou Diaby – Hip
  • Nicklas Bendtner – Knee

Bendtner’s injury may be serious enough to make him return to London, but Denmark seem to be trying their best to rush him into Wednesday’s game with Albania. Denmark assistant coach Peter Bonde:

“If he is ready then he is ready. We cannot be thinking about Arsenal. We treat players well, but we will play them if they are fit.”

So basically it doesn’t matter who owns the player – we need him to play against such top quality teams as Malta and Albania. This is a joke – for players to be injured playing games of such little quality, and returned to their clubs crocked.

We have seen this many times, and now Diaby has been withdrawn with the hip injury and RVP – our best striker this season is out too. The teams they were playing – Lithuania and Scotland.

There will be no end to this saga – international football is at the centre of FIFA and UEFA’s plans – I don’t mind internationals – but when they interrupt the club season at random intervals and cause injuries it doesn’t make sense.

It would be better to introduce a winter break in the UK like in many European countries – and play internationals then.

At least one player has returned from injury – Adebayor – after several weeks on the sidelines, during which we have regained our form. Ade got a goal for Togo against Cameroon, and although he is unpopular he is a dangerous player when on form. If he comes back into the squad plaing well then we may not miss Van Persie.

Finally, a mention for David Rocastle, a true Arsenal legend, who played for Arsenal from 1984 – 1992, winning the League Cup and two League championship medals, including the famous 1989 season. Today marks the 8th anniversary of his death, RIP Rocky. Arsenal Insider has a great tribute and interview with his sister Karen here.

Image Courtesy of wonker

Rocky7 Website

Should Abou Diaby be played as striker?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal17 Comments

After watching the 3-1 win in Newcastle this weekend I pondered over Diaby’s role in central midfield. Diaby scored in the match and it struck me that he might be a good candidate for conversion to striker.

Image courtesy of Wonker

There is a good case that he should be converted to play as striker. Firstly he has proven that he can find the back of the net – scoring quite a few goals in his time at Arsenal, against Liverpool in last season’s CL QF, and against Fenerbahce this season (image above), as well as many others. Diaby took his goal well at the weekend too, with a powerful and accurate shot.

Another factor is that in central midfield he can be a liability. I know that he has amazing potential for central midfield, but he takes risks with the ball which are unacceptable. His distribution is not quick enough; he doesn’t release the ball, choosing to hold on to it and try to dribble it round 3 players instead. This isn’t saying he can never play there, but merely suggesting we should always consider where we can get the most out of a player.

I know many would like to see him fill the Patrick Vieira mould, I just don’t think he has the defensive nous about him. That isn’t to say I think he is a bad player, just more of an attacking midfielder – if he is playing in midfield. We know that he likes to think of himself as an attacking midfielder, but what if we extended this idea further?

It could be argued that his attributes fit the strikers mould – he is tall and powerful, useful against the tough defences in the Premiership. He also has amazing control and can hold onto the ball in very tight positions – the urge to dribble round players which is so dangerous in central midfield could be very effective in taking on the last line of defence. He can also pass well when he wants to, and as he showed at Newcastle he has pace, and most importantly a great shot.

The state of the squad does pose a problem, as we lack big strong midfielders; Diaby fills a gap there, whilst we have plenty of players who can play up front. So for now it would seem that selection consigns Diaby to stick to learning to play in the centre of midfield. However, if the need existed for a striker then I think he could be a successful conversion. It would be very interesting to see how he would perform if Wenger deployed him up front, but he will always be a central midfielder.

What do you think Diaby’s best position is?

Almunia points to fear factor as Arsenal look to improve home form against Fulham

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Injuries

This is a guest post by sportswriter Thomas Rooney

As we all know, Arsenal’s form at the Emirates Stadium hasn’t been brilliant of late. Three of the last six Premier League games there have been drawn, with the Gunners only managing to find the net on four occasions along the way.

So, what is this down to? Well, Manuel Almunia has admitted that some of the Arsenal players feel under more pressure playing at home than they do away at the moment.

After last weekend’s draw at home to Sunderland, some sections of the crowd booed, venting their frustration at being unable to break the deadlock.

It is a frustration that comes on the back of Arsene Wenger’s men not being able to manage more than one home goal in a league game since defeating Manchester United 2-1 back in November.

Speaking about the situation, Almunia has said how a number of the players ‘feel under more pressure’ at the moment because the team ‘is not winning’.

The goalkeeper went on to say that because the players know that the ‘fans deserve more than 0-0 scores’; this builds the pressure on the team when they try and break opposing teams down. He says that the attacking players are ‘spending a bit more time’ on getting their shot away.

As for how the team can rectify this, starting against Fulham tomorrow, Almunia believes that they need to find a ‘nice balance’ that results in Arsenal being ‘tight at the back but get the goals.’ That is the idea Manuel, yes!

The next game where Arsenal can search for this balance, as already mentioned, is against Fulham tomorrow. It is a must-win game if the Gunners are going to start closing the gap on Aston Villa in 4th place and another draw simply isn’t good enough.

Roy Hodgson’s side are hard to beat these days though and will fancy their chances of being the latest team to frustrate Arsenal at the Emirates.

Hopefully though, Arsenal will take their chances and cruise to a comfortable win. That would be exactly what the players, coaching staff and fans need right now. How about Andrei Arshavin grabbing his first goal as well? Perfect.

As far as team news is concerned, Abou Diaby will miss the game after injuring his calf against Roma on Tuesday. Elsewhere, there appears to be no fresh concerns for Wenger as his team look to stretch their unbeaten run to 14 games.

Diaby is latest to mention the title as Arsenal prepare to host West Ham

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Injuries5 Comments

This is a guest post by sports writer Thomas Rooney

Arsenal’s players and management team seem to be taking it in turns to promote the team’s title chances this season. They may well sit eight points off top spot, but they seem determined to let everyone know that they are not giving up hope.

The latest to have his say on proceedings is Abou Diaby. The midfielder appears to be very defiant as he insists that he and his team-mates will ‘not let up until the end of the season’. This means that they will do all they can to ‘get points in every game’, so that if the top teams do suffer a dip in form – Arsenal are ready to pounce.

It seems that the general consensus was that the point achieved at Everton in midweek was not enough for the Gunners, even though they only just managed this thanks to a late Robin van Persie strike.

Diaby sees this differently though and has claimed that it was ‘very important’ to get a point at Goodison Park. He also believes that considering the way Arsenal played that night, a draw was ‘good for us’. Overall, he admits that Everton were the better team.

As for the man who rescued a point for Arsenal on Tuesday night, Diaby has nothing but praise for his Dutch team-mate. He says that van Persie – who has now netted 13 times this season – has an ‘unbelievable first touch’ and that his presence in the team makes a ‘big difference’.

Diaby himself has been involved in the last few games and will be hoping to keep this run going for the rest of the season. The Frenchman is beginning to establish himself in the team and looks set to eclipse the amount of appearances he made in the last campaign before long. There is no doubt that he will want to have a big say on how Arsenal fair in the final 15 games of the season.

The 22-year-old will almost certainly be involved this weekend as Arsenal face West Ham at the Emirates. It will be the first of two successive Premier League London derbies for the Gunners as they face Tottenham at White Hart Lane next weekend.

As much as the fans may be looking towards the Spurs game though, the team must remain focused for this clash against Gianfranco Zola’s men. They have been very impressive of late and find themselves third in the form table.

Their performance against Hull on Tuesday night was a very assured one and they definitely have enough attacking talent to cause Arsenal’s defence some problems. The in-form Carlton Cole, David Di Michele and Mark Noble are the ones to watch.

It is also worth pointing out that this fixture sees the battle of the undefeated as Arsenal haven’t lost in nine games and West Ham haven’t tasted defeat in seven matches. It should make for an entertaining game of football.

As far as team news is concerned, well Arsene Wenger is going to have to do without Mikael Silvestre who has suffered an injury set back and will be missing for at least two or three weeks. Other than that, there appear to be no fresh injury worries.

In fact, the team may well be the same as the one that started at Goodison Park as Arsenal look to claim a valuable win that would see them progress over the 950 points mark for the Premier League.

By Thomas Rooney

Diaby fights Ben Arfa: Video Post

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Video29 Comments

In 2002 French director Bruno Sevaistre filmed “A la Clairefontaine”, a documentary series following France’s top young talents during their time at the highly acclaimed French national academy; Clairefontaine. The documentary caught this great moment between a very young Hatem Ben Arfa and Abou Diaby.

Very interesting stuff, I think this gives evidence as to why there are rumours of Diaby disliking Ben Arfa. It’s pretty funny, seeing them having to hold Diaby back from tiny Ben Arfa.

Read more about the documentary on the IMDB page.

View more videos in the Video Post Archive.

Thanks to Tim of Liverpool Talk for the link!

Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd highlights, super Sam!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal8 Comments

We did it! I still can’t quite believe it, but we beat Man Utd 2-1 at home. Nasri’s two fantastic goals gave us 3 points! We played with a weakened side, and we had just come off the back of some awful results and we still did it! The lift this will give the team will be amazing. The game started tentatively, but we got into our game as it went on. We defended hard throughout the match, and we did close the game, bringing on the likes of Toure and Alex Song. We still conceded in the 90th minute, to a goal which we couldn’t have saved, and that put us in for 6 horrible minutes of injury time. But a great win and special mentions to Nasri, Gallas, Fabregas and Diaby who all played fantastically!

Arsenal 4 – 4 Tottenham Highlights. How did we draw?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Video1 Comment

Click here to comment on the game..

I returned from watching the North London derby feeling a little deflated, although I have to say it was one of the most exciting Arsenal games I have seen.

There was an electric atmosphere at the Grove, Bentley was abused as you might expect, and there were plenty of goals.

Tottenham scored first, Bentley (who else?) lobbed Almunia from about 40 yards. We couldn’t get the ball down in midfield and we were all over the shop.

The goal provided the usual wake up call, and we pressed back, getting a few good opportunites, with lovely passing moves, Theo and RVP linked up well. Then came our reply on ’37 – Silvestre got a goal from a corner – Gomes got nowhere near the ball, he looked very weak at corners.

We were hoping for a quick start after half time and we got it, RVP was felled and the freekick was swung into the box for Gallas to head in, 2-1 on ’46.

Things were looking up, and we went into cruise control as Ade put Nasri’s stunning chip over the line and made it 3-1.

THIS IS WHERE WE SHOULD HAVE CLOSED THE GAME.

Spurs then went on to get a lucky goal within 3 minutes, Almunia spilled a strong shot from Huddlestone, and Bent picked it up, 3-2 on ’67.

We went back up the other end and scored straight away, Hutton gifted Ade the ball, and he set up RVP for a beautiful goal, everyone went wild, 4-2..

Eboue, Diaby and Song all came on as Theo, RVP and Nasri got a rest. We seemed to relax a little – in the 89th minute Clichy (who was fantastic all night) slipped on the ball, presenting Jenas with an open run on goal, his shot went past Almunia – 4-3.

Now panic set in, and Arsenal looked in disarray, the feeling in the crowd was that we couldn’t hold on, and it was only to true, in stoppage time Modric shot took a deflection off Silvestre, which put it onto the post, it bounced back out perfectly for the onrushing Lennon who easily put it away. The few remaining Spurs fans went mental.

Tonight was very disappointing, there were positives, Denilson had a fantastic second half, and RVP played amazingly, but our defensive mistakes cost us yet again. We were unluck, but all of their goals could have been prevented by more astute defensive work.

Interestingly, two of our goals came from centre backs today – maybe representing how much more of an attacking team we are!

In all, it was an amazing Arsenal performance, but the last 4 minutes where we lost focus cost us 3 points which we thoroughly deserved.

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Arsenal Injury Update: Rosicky, Eduardo plus Nasri, Diaby, Silvestre

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Injuries

Here’s the latest injury news at the Arse:

Tomas Rosicky may be playing matches by Christmas says Wenger.

Tomas has been out with hamstring problems since January, and had surgery in May. He was training and expected to return sooner, but according to the Czech international coach he had suffered some ‘set-backs’.

Wenger told the press:

“The recovery process is slower than we expected at the start. It doesn’t look worrying but the delay is longer than expected.

“He had a re-attached tendon that was loose in his hamstring, and that demands a lot of time to re-coordinate the movements of the hamstring. That makes it very difficult to predict exactly one week more or less how much time it will take.

“But I am optimistic that before Christmas you will see him in a good shape.”

Rosicky said:

“Everything went well, according to the schedule. When I was running long distances, it [the hamstring] gave me no problems at all.

“But when I started on the ball and tried to change directions of running and changed pace, the knee reacted badly. So far it does not allow me to go on in the recovery so it has stopped my training for some time. I am not resting completely, though.

“I can lift weights and do other exercises. The knee simply must get down. It does not mean at all though that I have to end my career.

“Every such treatment can bring unexpected problems with it. That is what has happened now so my return will be delayed.”

So it sounds like there are still problems, but nothing which can’t be fixed. It would be great to see Rosicky get a good run of games and come into some form. He really adds a different dimesion to our game when he’s on the pitch.

Also Wenger says Eduardo is a little ahead of schedule in his recovery, he sounded optimistic, so we may see Eddy back sooner than was expected!

Nasri, Diaby and Silvestre are all still out too, but we have no new injuries, Wenger commented:

“For Diaby, I would say two more weeks [until he is fit], Silvestre and Nasri should be available for Hull [at Emirates Stadium on September 27].”

So if all goes to plan we should have something resembling a full squad in within the next week. But no-one will be back for Bolton away tomorrow, expect a few players to be rested for that game.

Arsene: “We need a defensive midfielder”

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Transfers13 Comments

After the sale of Flamini and Gilberto this summer, Wenger is still searching for a replacement to play the defensive midfield role which these two have in the past.

We have options at the club already, most notably Diaby, who has played the role during pre-season. I have blogged before about Diaby and I think he has talent, but he doesn’t seem to be able to fulfil his potential.

There are other players in the squad, such as Song, who can play in central midfield, but Diaby is the only real option which makes sense.

The problem for me is that last year the squad did not have the strength and depth which is appropriate for title challengers. We have now let two first teamers go, and no-one has replaced them.

Wenger wants to bring in another midfielder, who is more experienced, and this makes the most sense, after Members’ Day he said:

“If we have everybody on board and nobody injured then [OK] but maybe we could do to take one more experienced player.”

This is true – we could manage this season with our current squad if no-one gets injured and use Diaby in central midfield. He is a good player and we have a strong first team. But there is not enough cover for Diaby, and it would be too easy for that to go wrong.

If we really are challenging next year the best option is, as Wenger says, to bring in an experienced player, and then Diaby would be used as back up. That would be the perfect outcome – but if we can’t find the right guy then we may go ahead with a weakened squad.

So keep looking Arsene, I just hope you find the right guy before time runs out!

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