Plague, Arsenal and players

Its Thursday folks and as such, we are almost at the weekend once more. Normally Thursday is a happy day, a beer after work or a glass of plonk with the wife at the local. Prepare for a weekend of relaxing and watching football. Unfortunately I have been struck down with a ghastly illness. I have a temperature, my body aches, I have a cough that makes my lungs burn like magma from a volcano. To top it all off, my throat feels like I have had razor wire wrapped around my tonsils and then Mike Tyson spent 48 hours beating the crap out of it like a punch bag. I honestly believe that black death would be a holiday in comparison the mutated super plague I have been infected with. The worst part of it all is that no one else will believe how sevear the disease is and how brave I am to be battling on.

Away from my hideous affliction and onto Arsenal and theirs, I joke, I joke. I am not going to mention the spurs match... much. Although I would like to say that looking at the analysis in the days after the match and it didn’t really show spurs to be an amazing side. It showed that our defending or lack of it made them look good... twice. We really should have done better against them and off the back of that there are lots of stories going around regarding players we will sell and who we will sign.

It is all a load of rubbish though, the papers have as good an idea as you or I do. What Wenger will do in the transfer market this summer is under as much lock down as the inhabitants of Carandiru Prison. I do think players will leave, a good number of their contracts run out this summer so that will free up salaries and squad numbers. There will be new faces and some old ones will leave. Who they will be is a mystery though.

This week Snipster and I have been giving our thoughts on our current squad, I will continue today with centre backs.

Vermaelen: He looked the part in defence and in attack. He quickly became a fans favourite with his goals, pace, and drive to win. Spending almost a year on the sideline, I think added to his hype and value. We missed him and couldn’t wait to get our die hard defender back. He came back into the team and was swiftly handed the captains armband. Now, I realise that most top internationals don’t hold the captains armband with too much regard but it might have been too soon to make him it. He has struggled with form and doesn’t seem to communicate well with the team. He has been played out of position this season occasionally too, which might not have helped his confidence. I think Tommy is a good defender and I don’t know what happened to his form, perhaps I was looking through roes tinted specs due to his goals, but I hope his form returns.

Verdict: Must do better.

Mertesacer: The big German has had a tough time convincing people he is up to the task. I think he is a decent defender and one who adds some good qualities to the back five. He seems calm and assured in most situations where the others lose their heads. He does look awkward, cumbersome and slow at times but I don’t think he is the problem with our defence. I would like to see him take control and be more vocal, organising the others at the back.

Verdict: He is bloody tall!

Koscielney: Due to Vermaelen being handed the armband, Kos has had to make do with the bench for long periods of this season. I thought he was improving well and making progress. He is probably a bit un-lucky as the preferred dynamic is to go with Mertesacer + 1 and as Tommy is the captain it leaves Kos kicking his heals. I like him and think he has a future at the club.

Verdict: He is unlucky, don’t go to a casino with this guy. He could fall into a barrel of tits and come out sucking his thumb.

Squillaci: Probably won’t see him in an Arsenal shirt again. Even when he might have had a chance against Sunderland it was deemed Sagna would be a better option. Some might say he should have left earlier so he could play football but no one was going to pay him £50K a week and I guess he was quite happy picking up the money and planning his retirement.

Verdict: He is a goner not a gooner

Thats it for today, Snipster is back tomorrow I think....

Take it easy and pray for my health.

Pumpkiii