Arsenal

[MiG16]

so as I said on another thread ...... looks like we will be doing some loathed task tonight......

but as Arsene Wenger put it:

" But we have two targets for this game now.

“One is our desire to beat them. If we played Manchester United then it would be exactly the same to the players. "

so see yas tonight boys.....seapok et all

[muckypups]

Mig.. please don't let us down or I'll have to set Red on you...

[MiG16]

well this game is equally a dilemma as to what i go through when Chelsea play ManU huh

now ofcourse we HAVE to WIN! we wouldnt have it any other way!!

but do I wanna present the trophy to ManU

not to say Id prefer Chelsea to have it either

[Seapok]

COME ON THE BLUES!!

[MiG16]

colour blind?

worse than MarkR ....atleast he knew blue...eventhough it was ugly

and chon Im not slagging off any team just seapok for being colour blind

[MiG16]

half time score:

Arsenal 1: 0 Chelsea

and a to Chelsea

[ThaiPauly]

Arsenal should have buried Chelsea..1-0 up against 10 men.

Gonna be a long time before we see the Gooners win the league again..I am sorry to say..they would be my favourite team in the EPL ..if Reading were not in it..but Arsenal were fortunate to get a draw today...shows how far they are away from t the top two.......R Arsenal a one-man team?

Big question ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????/

What if HE were to leave?

I know that Barca are chasing him...if he goes Arsenal will ALWAYS be a top 4 team...maybee the FA Cup on occassions ..but for Me the title NO WAY

Sorry

TP

[MiG16]

alright through gritted teeth i say this......

was a good game.....

but ended as draw 1:1

so no trophy for chelsea...ManU got lucky

[muckypups]

Thanks for that Mig... Just what the doctor ordered.. (and a correct score in the compo! Imagine that..)

[ThaiPauly]

I got the score right as well...so dont pop the champagne yet LOL

[MiG16]

sure TP, we had a number of chances that should have been goal

without Henry, van Persie and injuries by so many other the forwards and their inability to finish have been quite pathetic

but will we lose it all without Henry? I wouldnt say so

a number of young players that do well at Arsenal

but again thanks for your support as always

[Lesumare]

I think Man U. is the best team from England....

No doubt..

[muckypups]

Well said Lesumare.. and no better place to post a comment like that than on Mig's Arsenal thread...

[Lesumare]

Haha

[MiG16]

wheres Chon when u need him

the best football team = Arsenal

now go to bed boys...its past your bed time

[Sunderland]

Where do you think Arsenal will finish next season? Is there optimism of a title challenge? Will they qualify for Europe or will they slowly fade away?

[MiG16]

ofcourse I have full confidence we will continue to do well next season. Arsenal has performed consistently well in the last 10 years. sure there are hiccups every now and then, but we have also performed amazingly well at points along the line in that last 10 years.

and I say this with my honest believe that the only way we have been able to achieve what we did in this period is much to do with the overall teamwork. sure there have been some stars who outshine others, but often Arsenal has worked on the younger/newer/freshie type stars who have gone on to excel over the years.

some transfers have been felt more than others....same with some other losses...

there was a time when I moaned the invincible defence from the era of Tony Adams, Seaman, etc etc

and then the leaving of my hero Marc Overmars...not to mention retiring one of Arsenal's legend Dennis Bergkhamp......... you immediately feel it will be a big loss to the team (which sure it is) but then the team builds up around new talent and somehow continues to do well

recent losses I guess Viera was one of great impact too....and people question me about the 'what-if' of Henry.........will be hard for sure...we missed having him most of this season...but there were also other injuries....which could have helped the team even without Henry.....

long response .....but in short?

YES!! ofcourse we will continue to triumph

[muckypups]

The Times considers possible developments at Arsenal during the close season:

Where the big four will look to spend

New owners expected to lead way in close-season buying boom

Arsenal

What they want

Arsenal have had many flaws during an inconsistent season, but the one Arsène Wenger appears most keen to address is the lack of width and the subsequent absence of goals from midfield players (Matt Hughes writes). Tomas Rosicky, Alexander Hleb and Cesc Fàbregas do not score enough goals, with only the penalty-taking Gilberto Silva contributing regularly this season. With Abou Diaby, Denilson and even Fàbregas filling in on the flanks in recent weeks the Frenchman’s priority is to sign a genuine winger.

What they need

Arsenal could also do with a goal-poacher to partner Thierry Henry, but since Francis Jeffers’s failure at Highbury this is not Wenger’s way. Robin van Persie can look forward to plenty of matches on his return from a broken foot, while Emmanuel Adebayor will be expected to continue his recent improvement. Nicklas Bendtner is likely to be handed a new contract and the Denmark striker may be given greater opportunities to impress after a successful season-long loan at Birmingham City.

Targets

Having narrowly failed to sign Franck Ribéry last summer, Wenger will return for the Marseilles winger, with the fleet-footed Ryan Babel, of Ajax, representing a decent insurance policy. The club are hoping that Theo Walcott’s limited progress will not dissuade Gareth Bale from joining from Southampton, but fear the 17-year-old would prefer to sign for Manchester United. Craig Gordon, the Hearts goalkeeper, has been identified as a long-term replacement for Jens Lehmann.

Budget

Given £10 million annual interest repayments on their £260 million mortgage, money remains tight at the Emirates and Wenger will be limited to two or three modest signings. The Frenchman is confident his squad can continue to compete, but would welcome the greater funds that would follow from further investment by Stan Kroenke.

Departures

Lehmann signed a one-year contract extension last week, but several other long-serving players are likely to leave in the summer. Fredrik Ljungberg has been told he can leave and will seek a transfer after nine years at the club, while Jérémie Aliadière finds himself in a similar situation. Mathieu Flamini may also be moved on following the emergence of Denilson and Diaby, and Júlio Baptista will return to Real Madrid after an indifferent season on loan.

[MiG16]

Departures

Fredrik Ljungberg has been told he can leave and will seek a transfer after nine years at the club

I kinda expected this hes getting older and this past season had some long term injury which meant he couldnt contribute much

will still miss him nonetheless

thanks for posting news non ManU news mucky finally

[muckypups]

You're welcome Mig.. here's some more...

We have failed and I must take the blame, says Wenger

Arsene Wenger on Friday gave himself a damning end-of-season report by admitting he has failed Arsenal this season.

The club are fourth in the League going into Sunday's final game at Portsmouth and were out of all cup competitions by the first week of March.

Wenger admits this season has been his worst since joining the club.

"We are 22 points behind the leader, so I cannot say I did everything perfectly," he said.

"I am responsible for the fact we didn’t fight for the championship. I have to stand up for what I call a failure."

But Wenger believes his side will be challenging on all fronts next year.

"We have shown qualities that nobody else has," he said. "We have mental strength and technical quality."

The rebuilding has begun with the £2million capture of Poland keeper Lukasz Fabianski, 22, from Legia Warsaw.

He is seen as the long-term replacement for Jens Lehmann, who has signed a contract to stay for one more year.

The rebuilding has begun with the £2million capture of Poland keeper Lukasz Fabianski, 22, from Legia Warsaw.

I read an article about this guy a while back.. apparently he's in the Peter Czech mode, could be a very good signing...

[muckypups]

M. Wenger has tipped United to lift the FA Cup.. very decent of him..

From The Mail:

Wenger wants a top Gunner

Arsene Wenger will be given funds this summer to buy a global star to boost an Arsenal squad he believes will be serious challengers on all fronts next season.

The Arsenal manager, who has admitted to this season being a failure, is convinced his young team will be better next time around, especially if he can find one or two top players, possibly to replace Thierry Henry amid speculation that the France star may leave in the months ahead.

"I don’t need to add quantity to the squad," said Wenger. "But I will add super quality if I can find it. I don’t know how much money I will have to spend this summer but I do know funds will be made available. In truth, I do not feel there is much wrong with the squad.

"You have to remember the season’s circumstances. We have lost the likes of Vieira, Bergkamp, Cole, Campbell, Pires, Edu, Keown and Wiltord in the last two seasons. When France reached the World Cup Final last summer I knew we’d be in trouble this season. Thierry Henry was exhausted. Then we had the move to the new stadium. It’s impossible to start well in a new stadium.

"And finally we had so many injuries to so many key players. When Chelsea lost a couple of key players it cost them the League title."

Despite this, Arsenal reached the Carling Cup Final, where their youngsters lost to Chelsea and, with their last game at Portsmouth today, can finish the Premiership season in third if they better Liverpool’s result against Charlton.

"I’m not happy that we will finish the season without a trophy and in fourth or maybe third in the Premiership," said Wenger. "But we have at least achieved our minimum requirements and we will look back on this season in a few years and realise with everything that happens to us, it wasn’t too bad."

That said, Wenger recognises where his young Gunners need to improve. "Our conversion rate was poor and we started too slowly too often," he said. "I have all the statistics and they tell me that we took the lead in the League on 16 occasions, won 14 of them and drew two, both against Chelsea. But we fell behind 20 times. We scored 21 goals in the last 15 minutes of a game, seven more than anyone else, and that shows great characters in mental strength, but we still made life very hard for ourselves. It’s just a lack of experience."

So what of next season? Will Arsenal learn from this season’s failings? "I think so, yes," said Wenger. "They will be one year older, they are unhappy with this season, and we will take advantage of all the lessons we’ve learned."

Wenger would like to leapfrog Liverpool and finish third but he does not expect Rafa Benitez’s men to mess up against relegated Charlton.

"Anfield is Anfield," he said. "And there will be players knowing that a poor performance could affect their place in the Champions League final."

As for Saturday’s FA Cup Final, he has Manchester United down to beat Chelsea. "United have the psychological edge because they could win the Double and, having just won the League title, they are on a high," he said.

[MiG16]

heres a shirt Id luvvvvvvvvvv to have.......

but couldnt get one

will offer beer to whoever gets me one of these

and to the ManU fans....I have something u might want PM me to trade

[muckypups]

Don't tell me you've got Dimitar Berbatov Mig...!?

[MiG16]

I will admit to no such thing nor any other association with ManU

BUT if someone were to offer the Bergkhamp shirt....perhaps we can negotiate somefin

[MiG16]

Arsenal's top 50

Arsenal have enjoyed many great moments in their history but which was the greatest?

Arsenal.com have convened a panel of experts to produce a shortlist of 50 glorious victories, great goals or giant steps forward in the Club’s history. It will be a tough call. You’ll have to weigh up Anfield '89 against Wembley '71 or The Unbeaten Season in 2004 against the hat-trick of titles in the 1930s.

and a few others... check the shortlist here!

I guess mine would be the 49 unbeaten games...but then again the UEFA Champions League final last year also got me pretty excited

[Seapok]

heres a shirt Id luvvvvvvvvvv to have.......

but couldnt get one

will offer beer to whoever gets me one of these

and to the ManU fans....I have something u might want PM me to trade

Your not still after that shirt Mig! haha, by the time you get your hands on it, it will be antique!

[MiG16]

it will be antique!

thats the whole point

Ive got one signed with Petit's siggie.......he wasnt my first choice but he was available

[Seapok]

it will be antique!

thats the whole point

Ive got one signed with Petit's siggie.......he wasnt my first choice but he was available

Ok, I work with a few Gooners, I will let you know if they have any shirts going! how much are you willing to pay me?

[MiG16]

trade u some Di Matteo autograph?

[Seapok]

trade u some Di Matteo autograph?

An autograph for a shirt? umm let me think! haha