But im pretty optimistic going into the new season, for the first time in a good while we're selling the deadwood and buying genuine proven quality that actually improves the squad. Even RvP leaving wouldn't be that much of a big deal especially if we get £20m+ for him, hopefully the deals for M'vila & Cazorla will materialise and we'll look solid in every department! As I say... may just be me.
I personally think we'll be top four without much issue. City and United will be the main league challengers, and us, Spurs and Chelsea will battle for the other Champions League spots. Our best hope of a trophy is the FA or League Cups.
1. I think besides AM we've done well this offseason. 2. The downside, teams have strengthened. Chelsea I feel got a lot better and Man U aren't doing shabby themselves...ESPECIALLY if they get Moura.
I don't think Chelsea are going to be as good as some are implying. Still have a lot of the old boys around. Still have to transition from the post-Mourinho era. Abramovich still wants "attacking play" not "bunker/counter". Not as cut and dried as it looks in FIFA 12.
They were good enough already to win the Champion's League, to win the FA Cup and to finish ahead of us in the league, so maybe you aren't giving them enough credit.
haha...complete unforgivable brain freeze. They got fifth or sixth, right? Still, they did pretty well last year and will be a threat next yera if they continue to invest in their squad.
I am not afraid of any team, we can take them, provided we don't get our usual spell of injuries. I think AW has fortified this squad with enough depth (fingers crossed) to rotate, so that players won't wear down Very excited for 2012-2013! I like our team and our chances. I think we can surprise people. C'mon Arsenal!
They rode an inordinate amount of luck to get by Barca and Bayern not to mention the great escape vs Napoli. The hero of that run, Drogba, is gone. They played bunkerball and counter. They're rapidly replacing the aging pieces of that system with Spanish style possession players. It's going to be an ugly transition as their backline is arguably more suspect than ours.
it's still too early to say tbh. let's take a look back at what we (well, i) thought we needed at the end of last season: strikers: needed 1 minimum, probably 2. achieved? yes, even if van persie leaves. attacking midfielders: hard to say with so many injuries messing up a proper evaluation. we needed more width and a link man. achieved? not yet. cazorla offers versatility and skill, but maybe not the link man. it might be more about the team as a whole increasing chances for the forwards this season. i'm not seeing many options in the way of promotion from within either. midfielders: nothing much needed except fit players! defensive midfielders: we needed more depth. achieved? not yet. if m'vila comes then we've filled that need, otherwise we're looking to coquelin. anyone else in the reserves looking like they can take that role? full backs: depth needed, moreso at right back, but both if truth be told. achieved? not unless yennaris is promoted and able to fill in. centre backs: for the first season in a few years i think we're fine. keepers: depends on who, if anyone, leaves. if they all stay i'm happy enough with them. as has been said, more deadwood leaving may see another signing or 2 coming in.
Nice summary Lamb. I would agree with you with the DM and FB positions. Those the most critical. I would say Santos and Gibbs could be attacking left midfielders if needed in a punch, but they need cover and while Sagna starts 100% of the time, he is coming back from his second broken leg so RB needs cover.
I think we need more depth at LB to be honest - Gibbs gets hurt a lot, and Santos is underwhelming on D. That said, it's kind of a worry that Sagna's broken a leg three times in six years. Btw, what ever happened to Frimpong? I know we have Coquelin and Eastmond as well (and Coquelin can play RB in a pinch).
im just not convinced by RDM either. and Im interested to see how Chelsea do trying to play like Arsenal 2006-08, using players that are that size too.
GK - Szczesny is a lock, and that's why I never really understood the Lloris rumors. Yes, it'd be good to have someone pushing Szczesny, but he's earned our confidence. No. 1 for now and the future. D - I think this might be our most solid area. Between Sagna, Vermaelen, Santos, Gibbs, Mertesacker and Koscielny, we've got six defensemen I'd be comfortable playing against any opposition, though Gibbs has the most to prove out of that group. Unlike some fans, I'm a fan of Mertesacker. As said above, we're maybe stronger in central defense than outside. Honestly, I don't know how to assess Koscielny's performance in the middle vs. outside, where he was forced to play for parts of last season due to injuries. I think he's pretty darn good in either spot, yea? Jenkinson and Djourou can still cover in a pinch, though Jenkinson's still inexperienced and I'd like to see Johan dumped (simply not Arsenal quality, if you ask me). Don't know much about Bartley, who's listed in the first team. Squillaci...ugh. As others have said, Yennaris has looked good in flashes and could merit more time. Miquel may also be ready for a bigger role. All in all, not bad. M - Troubled to start the season. Again, no Wilshere. Even when he's read to come back, I don't think we can realistically expect him to waltz back into a starting role. He'll need to gradually rebuild his match-level chops. Maybe he'll be back, full-strength, ready to lead as we all know he can, by the second half of the season. Rosicky also out to start. I think a Diaby, Song, Arteta trio could work. Ramsey is quality off the bench. Coquelin ready for more minutes. Lansbury? Really don't know a ton about the fellow. Could be a nice surprise. We need to offload Arshavin and decide whether or not Ryo will be with the first team. Given Wenger's propensity for using wingers, we need at least four solid options (two starters, two back-ups). Right now, Ox, Theo and Gervinho are all good choices. Honestly, Ox is the most exciting right now. Theo's always been so streaky. Not being an Englishman, I wouldn't feel too terrible about losing him to Chelsea or whoever else. Then again, he could finally come good. Who knows. F - The biggest issue is we don't have a proven Premier League starter. Podolski could be very good, but he's going to have to deal with some big expectations. Honestly don't know a ton about Giroud. Hope he's able to adapt quickly. Given Chamakh's last season, it's hard to see how he could come back into the fold, but you never know. Bendtner, RVP and Park all need to be sold. On that note, more so than signing new players, I think clearing out dead wood is more needed. If, after making sales, we can bring in a few proven players, that's great, but there's no point in having want-away and worthless characters like Bendtner, Squillaci, Park, Arshavin, etc... when younger players are chomping at the bit to get in. My guess, we'll be able to see one or two of those guys and we'll buy one more.
I agree, Terry, Lampard and Drama queen have been Chelsea's core since artificially becoming a big club... Now one's left, one's going and the other is a rascist ****! Di Matteo isn't up to the job either, as a temporary coach it was all well and good but as permanent manager he'll be found out pretty quick and get the sack by xmas.. I don't feel Utd have done anything special with transfers, they signed Kagawa (Who I rate) but they still have the absolute worst Midfield out of the top 4.
dunno about worst midfield.....nani, carrick, scholes aren't exactly shit and now they have kagawa which is a quality signing, we should have gone for him!
Nani is massively inconsistent but granted pretty decent on his day... whenever that 1 day comes around. Look up the definition of average in the dictionary, it actually says Michael Carrick! the guy can pass sideways up to 15 yards away and thats exactly where his talent ends. Scholes is one of the greatest midfielders of all time but has he is currently 127 years of age I don't feel he can be name dropped anymore. Utd absolutely have the worst midfield from us, Chelsea and City.
I think his goal is a title every year, but he has to temper expectations due to the myriad of underlying issues at the club.
Nani has been consistent the last two seasons If they get Lucas Moura, they will probably sell Nani tho
It's not reasonable, due to City's money. Besides, Arsenal could have won 2 leagues since 2005. he only has himself to blame for not doing so.
not really worried about chelsea. man city and manu are the teams to beat imo. i'm quietly confident about our chances though.
I have to confess that, while I rooted against them because half that team are sociopathic, there were two HUGE positives from that CL win. Obviously, the first was screwing Sputz. The second was that it pretty much guaranteed that, unless they got Pep, they were stuck with RDM. I don't believe he was a massive boost to their league form and his generally blah management was hidden by a very fortunate run to an improbable CL win. I don't think he lasts the season but I hope that it puts them in a deep enough hole to keep them well away from the top four again and they handle his departure so badly that it puts off Pep. As regards us, my optimism is not just for results exactly but for style and steel. I think we'll get pushed out of a shot at the title by City's money but I think second is now definitely a possibility and I think we keep it closer than people think. I think we also get our first silverware in one of the Cups. This team just has more adults than we have had for a while. Mert, TV, Arteta and Pods gives us real maturity and leadership. I think they keep tight leads for wins and eek out wins from draws. Everyone wants a new Invincibles but I'll be quite happy if, as I think they will, this turns out to be the 1993 cup double side.