Almunia s*cks!

So you’ve (hopefully) read my first installment, of players I would like to see Wenger buy. Now you’ll see the nasty side of me with players I think need to be sold, or could be sold without weakening the team.

11G in sync with Conor, looks into the individual cases of players who should be leaving Arsenal before the next season begins. Follow him on Twitter @Gunnerman911

Manuel Almunia:

Possibly the difference between us winning something and losing. The Premier League’s worst ‘keeper I think, he just seems afraid of the ball at every chance he should be saving. He can’t punch the ball clear, and when he does he only sends it to the opposition. He rarely catches a ball cleanly and when he comes for crosses, you better close your eyes unless you like seeing huge mistakes.

Verdict: Has to go.

Lukasz Fabianski:

Imagine Almunia, ok, now imagine 5 times worse! Now wake from your nightmare. Fabianski gets plenty of support from Wenger, but I see nothing to back it up. He’s rarely put in a solid effort, and when a keeper goes for a cross, there is no way his hand should extend as little as Fab’s does. A good shot-stopper on his day, but then again, his days are oh so rare.

Verdict: Has to go.

Mikael Silvestre:

I’m not certain if his contract runs out this summer, but if it does I hope Wenger doesn’t even dream of renewing his contract. The lad doesn’t know how to defend properly, and has been often caught as the last man back in the offside trap, leaving a striker with a free goal to shoot at. Not up to the Arsenal standard, in fact, not even up to Championship standard.

Verdict: Has to go.

Philippe Senderos:

Yes, he is still an Arsenal player, in case you had forgotten. But the fact he has been loaned out for the last two seasons means one thing to me, Wenger doesn’t have faith in him. So why keep loaning him out? Get rid of him or play him, is what I think. I don’t think you can just loan out a player until he suddenly becomes world-class; if he isn’t, he shouldn’t be at Arsenal. Simple.

Verdict: Probably will go.

Denilson:

This isn’t necessarily a must-go, but Denilson has to start acting as if football is his passion, rather than just an easy paycheque, because all I have seen from him this season is a few hopeful long-range shots, and a whole lot of jogging about the pitch, which is simply not good enough. Midfielders are meant to be up and down the pitch, he is constantly in the middle.

Verdict: Won’t go but should.

Carlos Vela:

Overrated would be the word I use to describe Vela, if I could only use one word. The Mexican has natural ability, but he just doesn’t do it for Arsenal. I don’t know if they play football too complicated and intricate for him, or he just isn’t bothered, but to me he just doesn’t seem to fit in, which is a shame.

Verdict: Probably will go.

This would mean a major shake-up of sorts, but considering the club can register only 25 players for next season, it won’t be too bad, especially if some fresh & experienced players are signed. There are other players who could go, but I’ve tried to keep this to the worst performers this season.

Let me know if I’ve missed someone, or included a wrong’un up here; thoughts basically on how you’d want Arsenal to line-up for next season taking into account the players that we bring in. Keep Gunning for now..

PS: This article was prepared before the Fulham game last evening; logic suggests after seeing Vela chipping the keeper delightfully, sticking with him would be the right decision! Aye!?

Also Read: 8 Players Wenger Should Consider Signing For Arsenal

Follow Us on Twitter @11gunnerz

Note: If any of you want to share your views/opinions on the club from N5 (read: Arsenal!), leave Us a comment at the bottom. We’ll get back right away & be glad to give you a chance. Keep Gunning..

One Nil To The Opposition!

“Buy a striker Arsene.” “Why doesn’t Arsene buy a winger?” “Wenger should seriously fish in the market for a strong, tough-tackling midfielder.” “Arsenal needs a mean defender if they are to remain in contention this term.” And as we were busy quoting, re-quoting the above, another one flew in our net! Hell, the ‘one nil to the Arsenal’ coinage has now become ‘Arsenal one down’ & the prime reason behind this is not the paucity of forwards, or the inability of our mid-fielders, or for that matter the brawn of our defence. More often than not, it’s the custodian who has let the team down. 11G probes the case of ‘The 3 Muskepeers’ right now..

Not since the eccentric Jens Lehmann guided us to Paris for the Champion’s League decider in ’06, can we claim to have had the sight of a domineering man as our No. 01. Two instances apart, it’s been a rather shoddy story. Let me remind you of the two games I am referring to here. First would be the CL Semis, 1^st leg, against United last season. Saying, our keeper was ‘high’ that night, won’t be an exaggeration! Although we were duly mauled in the 2’nd leg, it was a hearting performance from the Spaniard. Next up would be the game against Fulham this season. Save our save after save. Boy, it was reminiscent of the show orchestrated by on certain Edwin Van der Sar, when the ‘Invincibles‘ met the Cottagers (at the Cottage of course!),  a few years back. I still remember the Dutchman pulled off no less than 23 saves that evening, phew. I doubt all our keepers combined have managed that much this term. No kidding, we have been that bad in the goal-keeping department. Simply put, we suck. Or let’s just stay, we’re stuck with ‘The 3 Muskepeers’ namely Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski & Vito Mannone. Ok, I have now repeated the attempted spoof on Alexandre Dumas three times(!), so moving on; let’s focus on the three men individually:

Almunia first up. Love him. Hate him. You just can’t ignore him. Get him in the team, & he guns are placed right at him. Kick him out, or he gets injured, & everyone wants him back right away. Ok, the latter is more due to the inability of his replacements, yet his case is a curious one. This season he has been pathetic more than anything. He exudes almost zero confidence in his back-4, & his gaffes just keep stacking up by the day. Ronaldo’s free kick from CL Semis last season, his lunge which led to Rooney’s penalty @OT this season, or lately the atrocious back-flap from Nani which again handed United early advantage against us. Big players turn up in big games. He quiet clearly, doesn’t. He is still riding the crest of his performances from last term, & it baffles how Wenger can be so naïve in persisting him all along. He is no junior, which makes it all the more intriguing. Forget making the English squad, at 32, this guy can’t make the cut for Ecuador. Or Estonia. Or El Salvador.

Lukasz Fabianski has been reduced to the role of a ‘Cup Keeper’ under the Wenger regime. Wonder if he’s even good enough for that!? The first time I chanced upon the Pole, was in a tie against Chelsea in he FA Cup. Didier Drogba owned him that evening. Switch to Premier League. Same story. 4-1 to the ‘Blues’. Switch to Carling Cup. A 5-goal trashing at the hands of, wait for it, Spurs. Last night against Porto, & ‘two school-boy errors’ (quoting Captain Cesc) later, he remains in tatters. He is young (i.e. 24), & has a career ahead of him. Agreed that one gains big game temperament only after testing oneself in match day environs, but lack of basic know-how is just not accepted. Seeing the 2’nd goal from last night, you’d wonder if the guy were nuts (Watch the Highlight’s here!). Either the nerves got to him, or he was a sea. Both ways, not a trait, a keeper with potential is supposed to possess. He clearly needs more games to strengthen his case. Till then, I’d prefer not seeing him at all.

PS: And please don’t start him in any game against a team featuring Didier Drogba. The guy is a demon & is very efficient at ruining the very psyche of cute/lost-looking players. Ask Senderos (Added ‘lost’ to include him in!).

At 21, ‘Don’ Vito Mannone is far from a finished product. It was the Italian who btw enacted a Van der Sar, if it wasn’t already obvious. One of the more stellar shows by an Arsenal keeper, in any era I dare say. He was insurmountable that day. Inexperience got to him & ended up giving away silly goals in the subsequent fixtures. His biggest shortcoming seems to be keeping mum in the gravest of situations. ‘Dons’ do that, but c’mon, its football babes. Unless you shout at your defenders, how will they ever know what your plans are!? Again, full of promise & poise, but needs time to stand a chance & be counted. All in all, not eligible enough to man one of Europe’s top teams presently. Hope he gets there soon. I seriously do, especially after watching the other two ply their respective trades, at the Emirates for a while now. Love his name though. So close to Don Vito Corleone, aye!?

If these three are not worth a shot, then who is? Doesn’t a Club as big as Arsenal, deserve better keepers? Don’t world class players like Arshavin, Fabregas, Van Persie, Gallas, etc, deserve more assurance at the back? Don’t the faithful in you & me deserve to see Arsenal complete clean sheets game afte game? Arsene, for once has got it horribly wrong. His track record with goal-keepers has been torrid to say the least. Except for perhaps Seaman, whom he had inherited, he has seldom brought a decent custodian. Jens Lehmann, for all his achievements, remains an enigma to date. Other include Rami Shaaban (who?), Richard Wright(who?), Mart Poom (who?), & our present 4^th choice keeper, Wojciech Szczesny, who again is highly rated by the wily Frenchman. Let’s face it, Arsene doesn’t ‘know‘ the code as far as No. 1’s are concerned. With all due respects for the Professor, if he will please see things as they stand, & opt for an experienced & proven GK, I’m sure it would serve for the greater good. Ok, we can have all these potentially fulfilling players in our ranks, but only for the Reserves side. Not for a team vying for 4 trophies, at least on paper i.e. C’mon Arsene, get flexible & buy us a good, steady & above all, a non-eccentric keeper this summer. Please!

Now let me leave you guys with a Poll to decide for yourself, which of the three, is our best bet till the end of this term. Here we go:

Poll: Who Should Be Arsenal’s First Choice Goal-Keeper?

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The Frenchman Is Back, Ahoy!

After 3 long months on the sidelines nursing a crocked fibula, Samir Nasri is finally back to full fitness. Not only that, Lukasz Fabianski, too is now ready for first team action after he suffered a knock on the knee few months back. There can’t be a better birthday gift for Arsene than a fully fit Arsenal stable to pick and choose from.

We@11Gunners celebrate their return..

22 yeal old Nasri featured for Arsenal Reserves on tuesday night against Wolves and was on the pitch for about an hour. He looked fit as a fiddle and back to his neaty best picking out passes left, right and centre. He was instrumental in setting up Gilles Sunu for the opener. This is what the Frenchman had to say post his return to the thick of things:

“I feel good, I was a little bit tired at the end of the first half but I am so happy to be back on the pitch. It has been three months I was injured so I am really glad to be back.”

“It has been difficult but I was always looking forward for a speedy recovery. I knew it would be hard but everyone was behind me and helping me so I am OK.”

“I don’t know if I am ready yet for the first team. I need to play because nothing can replace the games. So I work well with [fitness coach] Tony Colbert and now after one or two games I will be ready to come back to the first team.”

“It was the first serious injury I have had. Two years ago in Marseilles I twisted my ankle but it was not bad like this one. I was sick also, I had meningitis, so that was bad, but this is the first time I have broken a bone in my body. But I am really happy, I had a quick recovery and everything is fine now.”

Next he shed his attention towards Arsenal’s start to the season and his expectations in the months to come:

“I think we have made a really, really good start in the [League} and in the Champions League," said Nasri. "I think we need to keep this spirit and this focus because we have a big, big quality in defence, in midfield and up front. The team is strong and we need to keep this level going."

"I think we are stronger this year because now we are more mature, we are one year older and the team hasn’t changed a lot so we know each other and that is really good for the season."

The Polish Dapper Is Back As Well!

The return of both Nasri and Fabianski means Arsenal now have even more depth in the attacking third and between the posts. Something the rest of the Premeir League should now be wary of given the mood and bonhomie in the dressing room @ The Emirates.

Watch out, the Gunners are on a prowl..