To Hull and back

Has Arsenal’s squad improved since 2008?

3 May, 2011 10:00

BigNoseGooner 16 comments

Barndoor – better than Chamakh?

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On the 27th September 2008 Arsenal were outfought, outplayed and outthought by newly promoted Hull City and lost 2-1 at home. Realisation dawned that the team/squad was not good enough and we would have to try to hang onto the coat tails of the leaders and then hopefully strengthen the team in the January transfer window (Arshavin signed on deadline day).

The squad that played against Hull was: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue (Bendtner 69), Fabregas, Denilson, Walcott (Vela 77), Adebayor, Van Persie. Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Ramsey, Song, Silvestre, Djourou.

Take a long hard look at this team and try to be honest with your answer when I ask you if we have improved... stood still… or gone backwards from the 27/09/2008 line-up?

Toure and Barndoor sold for big bucks to Citeh, Gallas & Silvestre released and Diaby and Rosicky out injured. The replacements for those players are: Nasri, Vermaelen, Squillaci, Koscielny and Chamakh, with Wilshere and Gibbs from the reserves.

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16
comments

Kev G
May 04, 2011, 16:04 #6193

I'd say based on the squad that beat United Sunday yes it has improved. Of the players that are now different in the equivalent positions on that day: Szczesny > Almunia Toure/Gallas combination shipped more than a goal a game so are no better than Djourou/Koscielny Wilshere > Denilson Adebayor has been piss poor for 3 years and I'd argue as we no longer play 2 up front that his replacements would be Nasri/Walcott/Arshavin and they contributed their fair share of goals and assists this year. OVerall I'd say the squad is better too. Of course there are plenty that need to go - Rosicky, Almunia, Denilson, diaby spring to mind immediately. I maintain we would win the league if we keep hold of the elite players we have and supplement with Schweinstiger and thomas Muller from Bayern. Very unlikely I know. But my point is we are 2 top signings from moving to the next level and by that I mean we would win this league at a canter not be nip and tuck all the way....
maguiresbridge gooner
May 04, 2011, 13:38 #6180

To johnnie tiger and where are you today phil brown (sorry orange)and the rest of you are still dining out on that result.idiot
GaryFootscrayAustralia
May 04, 2011, 12:34 #6173

Too right your team was good that day, Johnnie tiger....but where are they now?
Johnnie tiger
May 04, 2011, 10:23 #6159

Up the "Mighty Tigers"! We were sensational that day.
AugustusCaesar
May 04, 2011, 10:19 #6157

Arsenal may have a few players who aren't quite up to the standard required but lamenting the departures of Gallas, Toure and Adebayor (Joe's post) is laughable. I don't feel too comfortable putting Toure in with those two players as he nearly always gave everything for the cause. But the time was right for him to go and Man City paid over the odds for him. Ditto Adebayor. A player I watch now and can't quite fathom how he was ever any good at all. My gut instinct tells me Chamakh isn't quite good enough but he was a valuable asset at the start of the season and gave us something different. Van Persie is clearly the main man but Wenger needs to intergrate Chamakh in the squad a little better instead of relegating him wholesale as purely Van Persie's back-up. It clearly affected his confidence, which was already on the brittle side. On paper I don't believe there's much between our squad and Man Utd's but Ferguson has a knack of rotating seamlessly whereas we seem to have quite a stringent first XI/second XI (cup team) and it often looks thus on the field. Bentdner should be sold in the summer if we can find a buyer. We can still get decent money for him as he's young and the time is right for player and club.
Fishingooner
May 04, 2011, 9:12 #6155

Nasri was with us before Arshavin signed, shortly after losing to Hull in autumn 2008 we beat utd, Nasri scoring two goals. Of course we have improved, Song has gone on to be indispensable, and we have the emergence of Wilshere not to mention Djourou, I also happen to believe Koscielny to be a good player who will improve further (its his first season in the prem remember) and he was superb against UTD. If Chamakh doesnt turn out as good as he first seemed ...big deal, he was free and we can unload him for a profit whenever. We all know which players need to be moved on. The sales of Ade and Kolo was good business.Neither of them are doing much now. Lassana Diara and Flamini being allowed to go were huge mistakes on Wengers part and they are exactly the kind of players we are lacking at the moment, is incredible that we hung on to Denilson and Diaby (and Eboue)while allowing the aformentioned pair to go.
Mark
May 04, 2011, 8:56 #6154

judge me in may - excellent write up
Fozzys mate
May 04, 2011, 8:56 #6153

Personally I think the squad is weaker however that is open as ever to debate. We entered the summer window in 2009 with it widely reported that we would spend upwards of 30 million when in fact we made a profit of the same figure. With such a strategy you will not keep pace with others regularly investing their profits rather than trousering them. My fear is that the sale of Cesc this summer will see the same exercise repeated. For some years I have wanted to be surprised by our club and a certain level of ambition and intent shown. With the price increase and new shirts announced I hope to be surprised again but in a positive way this time.
Joe
May 04, 2011, 4:26 #6152

Improved or Not? a close call this one, the playing staff has a little more depth this year and there are also positives in tht Arsenal now have two decent keepers, Wiltshire, Nasri and Ramsey point the way to the future, Van Persie is a more comitted player and most of the deadwood who were there in 2008 and are still at the club have worn out even Wegner's patience and and should be on their way out. If not the man's ridiculous. On the negative side Fabergrase rather than developing his potentia and becoming an inspiration has gone backwards, while the sheer class of Gallas, Adebator and Toure is sorley missed. But lets not forget that these guys were rarely comitted beyond looking for their next contract extension which also explains why that squad also under achieved.
Joe Fitzpatrick
May 04, 2011, 0:32 #6151

We need to speculate to accumulate. We don't have to go mental but we need better players than we currently have if we are going to insist on playing our current style of football. Benzema? Bent? Van der Vaart? Better than Bendtner. Cahill? Samba? Johnson? Better than Squillaci couldve had Schwarzer too.
Ikechukwu
May 03, 2011, 23:39 #6150

Easy one this: N-O. In 2008-09, Arsenal made the CL semi, the FA Cup semi, and conceded 'only' 37 goals all season. Arsenal have ALREADY conceded 36 goals this season, knocked out of the last 16 in the CL, couldn't even win their CL group, out of the FA Cup before the semis. Wed' be lucky to be considered standing still. When it's quite obvious this club is going backwards under AW the dictator.
tim, london
May 03, 2011, 23:04 #6148

To start with, ... we were not outplayed, outfought by Hull City that day, it was one of those days and end of. If our team has improved since then, well then we have to compare them, almunia or szchezny? no contest, toure and gallas or vermalen and koscielny/dourou , my opinion the latter and by the way we have to accept it: take the best defenders in the world to play for us and it will be always the same because of the attacking way we play. eboue / denilson versus anyone in midfield,I bet my life in the latter. In attack yes, barndoor better than chamakh , at least for now. so for me and for anyone else wishing well to arsenal, all we need is one more midfielder (a leader) and also a support striker for rvp. In wenger we trust
Mark R
May 03, 2011, 23:00 #6147

Hey be fair.....we did show great mental strength that day!
Cassandra
May 03, 2011, 21:07 #6145

Wow... Tell us something that we don't already know! We aren't moving forwards that's for sure.
Mark
May 03, 2011, 20:58 #6144

is adebayor better than chamakh ? of course he is by a bloody proverbial mile if he fully applies himself. Chamakh looks like a spectator watching the match pass him by and will never be of any real use in a top tension filled outcome all important match.
Judge Me in May
May 03, 2011, 20:50 #6143

The short and sweet answer to this article is a resounding: NO. Arsenal have Not improved on iota since 2008. Looking at the current Arsenal squad, they have less points now than they did at the same stage last season! The only reason they find themselves 6 points off the top is because Man U and Chelsea are drastically worse than last year. What makes me laugh more than anything though, is hearing deluded Arsenal fans saying: 'This is the weakest Manure squad ever seen under Fergie' Quite what that says about Wenger's 'greatest ever squad' (LOL) is beyond me. I will add one interesting thing about that squad that lost to Hull. Players who were there on that awful day and were clearly not good enough back then, are not only still there, but in most cases have had their contracts extended and improved! Don't believes me? Eboue. New contract, £60k a week. Denilson. New contract a year ago, £50k a week. Diaby (injured that day for a change). New contract, £50k a week. Walcott. New contract, £60k a week. (still cannot cross the ball) Vela. New contract, farmed out on loan to WBA (£40k a week) Fabianski. New contract in 2009, on a reported £35k a week. Song (who has improved a bit but is still nowhere near good enough or consistent enough), new contract. Over £50k a week. It's unbelievable isn't it? All the way back in 2008 Clichy was still being a Liability, and yet here we are, in 2011, and the AKB sheep are still trying to persuade us 'We are two or three players away'. I remember when Spurs used to be a laughing stock for making comments like that? Where we had 30 goals in a season Adebayor, we now have Chamakh, who is on more money per week than Ade was ££80k a week if you must ask) and who isn't good enough to get a game at Aston Villa. I would take Kolo Toure over Koscielny any day of the week. I would take Vermaelen over Gallas and Chesney is better than Almunia. But that's it. As pointed out in a Gooner article recently, we made £41 mil from sales of Ade and Kolo and used £10 mil on Vermaelen. Where on earth is the remaining £31 mil? Of course though, the AKBs will deluded themselves, head in sand, in true Wengerspeak willt ell you WE HAVE IMPROVED!!!! Even though all the facts and evidence, points to the opposite. The biggest joke of all that I forgot to mention though, is how Arsene Wenger, after five years of achieving nothing, was awarded a new, improved £6.5 mil a year contract! Never heard of a business so famed for rewarding mediocrity!