Arsenal. Buy cheap, buy twice

There are 9 days between now and our next match against Bayern Munich. Instead of wallowing in our own pit of misery following the spurs match, we thought we would go through all 11 positions and talk about the players we have in them. We will also try and keep you up to date with all other Arsenal News, info and our usual illogical chat.

As there are only 9 (more like 7 or 8 with a bit of Bayern build up) days and 11 positions we will have to get creative with our groupings.

I will start off with our Keepers, my own position.

At the start of the season I was quietly confident. We had kept 3 clean sheets in a row!!! It finally seemed as though Steve Bould’s appointment had done the trick. We finally had the best defensive record in the league. Every one was giving it the old “OMG”, “WTF” and “WAD” (what a defence).

Then all of a sudden, we were not playing rubbish teams anymore and we got opened up like a tin of kippers. What went wrong though? Did Wenger really stop Bould from training the defence so it all went horribly wrong and Bouldy stopped getting all the praise? I very much doubt it. So what do we think of the individuals in the collective?

Szczesny: He forced his way into the number 1 jersey by a combination of things. He got his opportunity due to others being injured around him. He also (apparently) told the manager he would leave if he didn’t get a chance. Who could blame him? Being behind and watching Manuel Almunia, Fabianski and Don Vito getting chance after chance to prove their incompetence.

I must admit, when he first came in to the team he was excellent. He seemed to give the back four confidence and the trust they had lacked for many years. All players have dips in form and I am sure Szcz will turn out to be an excellent keeper. However he has been a little erratic recently and mistakes are creeping into his game. It is a young age to be a number 1, especially at a big club like Arsenal. It would be nice to see another top keeper come in and let the best man win the jersey.

Fabianski: Gets stage fright, not a good trait for a keeper. Should be removed from the club.

Mannone: I like him, he seems to try hard but I don’t think he is at the level yet, to be a choice for us. He is older than Szcz and so rightly wants to play as number 1. Should be removed from the club.

Verdict - We must go shopping for a new keeper to push Szcz and strengthen the bench.

On another note, my 6-a-side team won last night 3-2. I couldn’t be with them but well done to all who played. Takes us into second place and with 3 or 4 matches left to play, including a match against the current leaders, the title is in our hands. 

Have a good tuesday

Pumpkiii