Saturday, November 22, 2008

Big Trouble in Little North London

I know you're all dying for an Arsenal update, so here it goes. After beating Man U a couple weeks ago in a beautifully fought 2-1 match @ the Emirates, they've lost 2 in a row, dropping 6 points & falling out of the top 4 as the gap between them & Chelsea is now 10 points. This is the 5th loss already, & 5 by Thanksgiving is ridiculous considering they only lost 3 all last year & still finished 4 points off the top. The problems aren't just w/ the dropped points though; it's much more complicated than that. William Gallas, the team's captain until yesterday, explained some rather problematic locker-room issues to the press this week & has since been punished by losing the captaincy & not being in the squad for their 3-0 loss to Man City this afternoon. Apparently, he explained that there was a bit of a "bust-up" in the locker-room during the interval of their home match against Spurs a few weeks ago. This particular fight is rumored to have involved Robin van Persie (& possibly Theo Walcott). RVP has acted a bit of a shit-head on the pitch lately so I'd honestly not be too surprised if he was involved. I guess Wenger is more upset that Gallas said something than w/ the fact that it happened. Speaking of what Gallas has said, he also suggested that the younger players players at Arsenal (the average age of the squad that beat Wigan a couple weeks ago was 19) are letting their success go to their heads before they've actually won anything. I don't quite understand why he was in the wrong for bringing these things up exactly, but it seems pretty clear that he'll be leaving the club in January. And based on their recent farm, I wouldn't be surprised if a few others were replaced too: Bendtner, RVP, Silvestre. Furthermore, as I stated in the summer, they need to buy some experienced players too: a new central defender, a new holding midfielder, & maybe a striker. I have a feeling they'll be alright in the striker situation as long as Eduardo, Vela, Adebayor, & Simpson don't fall apart too.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

When is the J League update coming?