Morning.
A 3-2 win over Ajax last night. That’s good, eh? Oh wait. It’s not good. Or something. I must confess I’ve only seen highlights but from what I’ve read it seems Adebayor missed 76 chances in the first half, we still can’t defend, our midfield is light and we’re all going to die. Distressing times.
The goals (from 101 Great Goals) are interesting viewing on their own. The first Ajax goal was an incredible strike but you could ask why William Gallas didn’t close him down with any kind of urgency. The second was also a fine hit but you could ask where the hell William Gallas was.
Our first came from a fine cross by Eboue (who has, with that one cross, now cemented his position as first choice right midfielder until 2013) and a very good header by Adebayor. The second from Bendtner came after good work from Adebayor to incercept a back pass and just about keep it in play then Denilson laid one on a plate for Adebayor to win the game.
Obviously there are things for the manager to work on. If we can see the flaws then so can he. The defensive errors are worrying though, especially coming from the player many fans consider to be our best central defender. Afterwards the manager said:
In the whole game we were always dangerous going forward, but they took advantage of two lapses of concentration and scored two fantastic goals. Some players are still a bit short physically, but I am not really concerned. We were much better defensively in the second half.
We’re not always going to score 3 goals when we concede 2 though. That was the Ardiles philosophy when he was manager of that lot down the road. Still, it’s pre-season and this is time to make those mistakes and ensure they don’t happen again. At the end of the day we won the game.
Tonight’s game against Sevilla is likely to feature a much changed side. I’d play Kolo again, get some playing time under his belt before next week’s game against Twente. Anyway, that kicks off around 5pm I think.
Some transfer news yesterday with the agent of Udinese’s Swiss international Gokhan Inler admitting he’d been in talks with Arsenal. He said:
It is true that I met with Arsene Wenger. There were very positive talks.
No question we need a midfielder. If this is the signing then fine. But let’s do it and not procrastinate too much. The boss can lament the absence of Diaby all he wants but the fact is Diaby is a player who is rarely fit for long enough. We keep hearing about how he was all set to be given his chance alongside Cesc in last year’s Emirates Cup but injury cost him that chance. This pre-season would have been the perfect opportunity to stake his claim, injured again. We can’t count on him and once you lose him you’ve got Denilson (who is a Cesc, not a Flamini) and then you’re into the kids like Ramsey or Wilshere (with Song bizarrely being considered a central defender).
We have to make a signing in the centre. No team can afford to lose 3 players with the quality of Gilberto, Flamini and Diarra and not replace them. Arsene’s job is not to provide a platform for Diaby to thrive, it’s Diaby’s job to thrive when given the chance to do so. Something he has pretty much failed to do. Get someone in. It’s critical now.
It looks like we’re about to sell another player. This time Justin Hoyte to Middlesboro for £3.5m. I think at 24 years of age Hoyte really has to make a decision about his career. I think this is probably a good move for him, he’ll play more regularly and as much as it’ll hurt him to leave (he really is a proper Gooner) it’s probably the best thing for his career.
Right, that’s about it. Have a good Saturday. Raining here again. Boooo.
