*Official* English Football Season 2013-14

[sledger]

They play differently though. Plenty of times they would've got more goals and won by a four goal margin. This year they sit back when they go a couple of goals infront, regularly end games with more than two fullbacks on the pitch and often just park the bus for the last ten or fifteen minutes. On the contrary I think our biggest win was a 4-1 win at home to Norwich. So yeah, occasionally we hold for games we wouldn't have won two or three years ago. But you could also very regularly say, "the Arsenal of old would've won that 5-1" when we scrap a 2-1 at Villa park. There have been plenty of games we've managed to turn into a so called "hard fought win" just by taking the foot off the throttle. Overall I think it's been a positive (helps to have a really solid back 4/5) but I think the constant comparisons to how Arsenal wouldn't have won such games a few years ago is a bit of a lazy cliche and not always correct IMO.

Yeah that's kind of the point.

 

[Cabinet96]

Different =/= better/worse

 

[sledger]

Bet the results clearly have been better.

 

[Furball]

Yeah, this Arsenal are much, much better at grinding out results when they're not playing particularly well. Old Arsenal might have won the game more convincingly but they were also choc full of flat track bullies like Nasri who disappeared when the going got tough. That Fulham game sledger was talking about being the perfect example.

I still get nervy when Arsenal park the bus for the last 10 minutes but that's because I'm a big believer in playing on the front foot and that inviting pressure onto yourself is asking for trouble. Generally speaking, if this Arsenal side get a lead then they're a much tougher nut to crack.

Mertesacker plays a huge part of that. I reckon he's Arsenal's POTY so far.

 

[sledger]

Yeah, he has been immense.

It's interesting to note that only 3 of the players that started in that Fulham game started against Aston Villa last night (granted, a few more would have been present were it not for injuries, and a few that started in that Fulham game are only away on loan), but few clubs go through that much of a change in such a short space of time, not in the top flight at least. It's strange, because I don't think of this Arsenal team of ever having undergone a particularly drastic change in personnel, but I guess over the last two years they really have.

 

[Nate]

GIMH - I'm meeting John Barnes next month. Do you have a Tranmere jersey I could borrow?

 

[GIMH]

GIMH - I'm meeting John Barnes next month. Do you have a Tranmere jersey I could borrow?

No but if you punch him in the face I swear I'll take the blame

 

[vic_orthdox]

Those "panic buys" a few years ago after the walloping by Man U had e ended being pretty handy over the long term...

 

[sledger]

Well, two of them have.

 

[Uppercut]

Can't complain about the Benayoun deal either tbf. The whole "panic buy" narrative was such hairy bollocks, everyone should have known that Arteta, Mert and Yossi were good players at a decent price.

 

[sledger]

Can't complain about the Benayoun deal either tbf. The whole "panic buy" narrative was such hairy bollocks, everyone should have known that Arteta, Mert and Yossi were good players at a decent price.

Yeah, Benayoun had a big impact whilst he was there, but his tenure wasn't really long term.

I suppose you could argue his short stay did have a long term impact mind you. His performances helped get some vital results. Champions League qualification could have been thrown into doubt were it not for some of the goals he scored as well, and that'd obviously have been fairly dire.

 

[grecian]

So Howard Webb going to Brazil. He really is a great example to us all, that even craven gross incompetence doesn't mean you can't get to the summit of your profession.

kudos

 

[Furball]

Can't complain about the Benayoun deal either tbf. The whole "panic buy" narrative was such hairy bollocks, everyone should have known that Arteta, Mert and Yossi were good players at a decent price.

The only question mark I had over Arteta was whether he was top 4 good.

 

[sledger]

Arsenal put on alert over Julian Draxler of Schalke - Telegraph

Please happen.

 

[Uppercut]

The only question mark I had over Arteta was whether he was top 4 good.

His injury record was the big concern. But even so, if United had signed him for £10m I'd have been delighted. It was pretty obviously a good deal that bizarrely was spun by the media as some kind of shambles.

 

[Cabinet96]

The only question mark I had over Arteta was whether he was top 4 good.

And he's emphatically proved he is.

As well as the more defensive approach to games we're leading, another major change has been the buying of more experienced established names. The likes of Arteta and Mertesacker where followed up by Santi, Podolski and Giroud, and suddenly the side had a much stronger back bone.

 

[Cabinet96]

His injury record was the big concern. But even so, if United had signed him for £10m I'd have been delighted. It was pretty obviously a good deal that bizarrely was spun by the media as some kind of shambles.

I think the reaction was particularly sharp given he was really the direct replacement for Fabregas, and many felt it typified Arsenal to make a profit and replace a star with someone a slight level down. I wasn't one of the detractors but I admit I never thought he'd become quite so valuable though. His transformation to the main defensive midfielder since Song left has been so good.

 

[sledger]

I think the reaction was particularly sharp given he was really the direct replacement for Fabregas, and many felt it typified Arsenal to make a profit and replace a star with someone a slight level down. I wasn't one of the detractors but I admit I never thought he'd become quite so valuable though. His transformation to the main defensive midfielder since Song left has been so good.

Yeah, I think this is definitely true, everyone seemed to think Wenger had signed him to be the swashbuckling and goal scoring Arteta who had played in really advanced positions for Everton in earlier years, and hadn't really considered the possibility that he might be used differently.

The timing of the transfer obvs didn't help though. The fact that it was left until the very last minute to get him on board did rather suggest that Wenger had other targets in mind, or at least Arteta was not a priority signing. This obvs doesn't undermine the decision to sign him, but I can see how it (wrongly) could be construed as a panic buy.

 

[Cabinet96]

Funnily enough, by waiting till deadline day we got him cheaper than we would've otherwise.

Real panic thinking that by Wenger

 

[Cabinet96]

Arsenal put on alert over Julian Draxler of Schalke - Telegraph

Please happen.

The whole thing is hotting up by Schalke buying Sam and resigning Holtby, almost as a replacement for Draxler. There's even rumours that Schalke are desperately strapped for cash now as a result, and are banking on selling him this window, a la Bale in the summer.

I still think a summer move is the only serious possibility, though.