As City wheel and deal in another transfer window, Samir Nasri falls further down the pecking order. And he just joined. Think how early-adopter Wayne Bridge feels.
It’s hard to watch several leagues simultaneously, which somewhat tempers the distaste for the phenomenon of sugardaddied Manchester City and makes the team an intriguing entity to behold. No one particularly likes a team of mercenaries, but for watchers of the English Premier League, City’s current and prospective roster is like a one-stop shop of some of the world’s best players.
Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and David Silva were hardly unknown before they arrived in Manchester, but seeing them play week-in and week-out showed EPL spectators just how skilled they truly are. And with the transfer window again upon us, a whole new crew of the best and brightest are being linked with MCFC. At the very least, those following transfer speculation learn about the top talents in other leagues simply by seeing who Manchester City are said to be pursuing.
Fans of Arsenal cringe when a player in Arsene Wenger’s sights gets named, because almost without fail another team with more money and/or better title-winning chances scoops them up. (See Juan Mata, Yaya Toure and many, many more) So it goes with Belgian whizkid Eden Hazard, now apparently on City’s radar. Hazard’s agent recently said, “His future is with one of European football’s prestigious clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City, AC Milan, Inter or Juventus.” A few year’s ago, name-dropping City in that list would have been ludicrous. Not so, now. Anyhow, Mancini is said to be considering a £25 million bid for the player. Which multimillion-earning midfielder will he replace? No matter, they’ll make it work.
And with whiffs of rumors of £160,000 a week, it seems City may be bringing Roma star Daniele De Rossi to UK shores. Who will he replace in midfield? Hazard, of course. Or Gourcuff, Ozil, Hamsik or Goetze. (The sound you hear is Samir Nasri whimpering, with only his towering stacks of cash to comfort him.)
Despite Jose Mourinho’s comment, “I wouldn’t like any of my men to leave in the winter transfer window,” at least one paper has Manchester City homing in on Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol and preparing £5 million for Real Madrid 15-year-old Jose Angel Pozo. Perhaps the young Madridista does not count as one of Mourinho’s men.
Meanwhile, superstriker Carlos Tevez is also available, if City is willing to meet his £200,000 weekly wages. Oh, right. Scratch that.
Recent results notwithstanding, if anyone could lure the likes of Neymar, Ganso or Soldado to non-Spanish soil, it’s City. They stand poised to start really filling their trophy cabinet and they can outbid nearly anyone. Only Barcelona’s stars, really, are untouchable.
And as for known quantities in the league, will City successfully poach the likes of Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie or Javier Hernandez? Time will tell. Only loyalty would get in the way.
Van Persie celebrates one of his 35 Premier League goals in 2011, second only to Alan Shearer's 1995 calendar year tally of 36.
A few quick comments as the minutes tick closer to midnight.
Robin rules. It would be impossible to heap too many superlatives on his form this season. He finally got to show what he could do when he remained injury-free. Long may it continue. He’s shown himself to be a great captain so far and hopefully he sees his future with the Arsenal going forward.
Welcome back, Henry! But this does not mean we don’t need another striker… Repeat, this does not mean we don’t need another striker.
Park is the invisible man. Can someone please un-invisibility-cloak the poor guy? When Wenger finally plays him in the league, it really will seem “like a new signing.”
And the award for first-class jackass goes to Bendtner! The Greatest Player To Have Ever Lived proved he is far better at smashing up cars than smashing in goals. He burned his bridges back to Arsenal and meanwhile Sunderland probably wouldn’t quite mind returning him. Let’s hope the team can recoup some cash from some sucker somewhere (who reads only Niklas’s quotes and doesn’t actually watch the Premier League).
It was sad to see Fabregas go, but it’s great to see him flourishing alongside the likes of Xavi, Messi and his other La Masia buddies, even if they’re a bit smug for their own good (not Messi). The fact is that he deserved to leave and play with the Barca dream team. But yet Arteta, Ramsey and Rosicky have managed to keep up the creativity. No one could ever really replace Cesc, but after an adjustment period the boys are making it work. The expected February return of Wilshere will be huge. If anyone is Cesc’s replacement, it’s him. (Cesc said it himself.) If the midfielders can start getting a few more goals in, the team will become much more balanced and dangerous.
Song has become such a huge part of the squad, and with Frimpong and Coquelin as his understudies, we now have serious depth in the midfield enforcer role that we lacked so glaringly before. (Frimpong perhaps needs a loan spell–update, apparently he’s off to Wolves.)
Szczesny has kicked so much ass since emerging from fourth choice ‘keeper purgatory last season. His cockiness is awesome, because he backs it up. And along with Wilshere and Frimpong, he truly seems a red-blooded Gooner. The clip of him leading the away crowd in an Arsenal chant is simply awesome.
Gervinho has such a strange, jerky style. He seems one tactical improvement away from really being able to make it click. Until then, though, you can’t fault his workrate even if his consistency leaves a bit to be desired. When you get back from Africa, more goals, please…
Arshavin and to a lesser extent Chamakh can come good again, I really believe that. However, aside from Arshavin’s goal against Barcelona in the Champions League, 2011 was most definitely a year for both to forget. Hopefully the numerology of 2012 suits them better. The voodoo hex just needs to be lifted. Otherwise, all parties involved should probably call it a day at season’s end. (With Chamakh away at the African Cup of Nations tournament, I don’t see him leaving the club this January.) It will be unlikely, but I think either one of them could turn it around. They just need to do it, already! Arshavin provides some assists. He still has moments of magic in him. And Chamakh does work hard. You have to give him that. But as to Chamakh, especially, a striker who doesn’t score is not someone who should be playing for Arsenal. We send such people to Sunderland…
Walcott—so frustrating. He’s racked up the assists to van Persie, but he blows so many of his own chances. His defensive work has improved significantly, but with his pace, he should be getting at least double digit goals per season. As it stands, Walcott is okay but doesn’t deserve a permanent position in the starting XI. Just for example, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is raw, but he’s the better player. Wenger is wise to blood him slowly, but what to do about Walcott? Keep hoping for the best and keep watching him race down the flanks and finish with nothing to show for it? Theo needs goals to keep his place. A while back, the Southampton coach said Theo had not progressed under Wenger as he might have if he’d stayed at Southampton. It’s impossible to know, but after all these years, he defintely hasn’t exploded into new terrain. The defensive hustle is appreciated, though.
Benayoun = good loan signing. A hard-working squad player who will likely get some more games while Gervinho’s off with the Ivory Coast. The match-winning header at Aston Villa alone justifies his signing. And the anti-Chelsea congratulations tweet to Arsenal after the awesome victory over his “home” club ingratiated him into the hearts of many. Well, maybe not in West London.
The centerbacks are manning the entire back line with the unprecedented loss of both left backs and both right backs. Broken legs are no fun, and losing the ever-solid Sagna was a huge loss. Jenkinson, too. Not a stellar right back, but the English Finn crosses as well as anyone on the team. On the left, Santos shed the pounds and was starting to exhibit the Brazilian flair before his regrettable injury. And Gibbs…he’s good, but like Diaby he is always injured. He’s caught in a vicious cycle of injuries begetting injuries because he can’t get a string of games under his belt. Diaby’s ankle break against Sunderland years back did him in, which is a real shame, because he too can be good. Not sure why Gibbs is so brittle. May they all heal soon and stay healthy.
The return of Vermaelen was timely and excellent. He’s been getting goals, he’s added solidity and leadership to the back 4 and he just all-around kicks ass. His stare alone can make opponents cower. Apparently, he’s now out for two weeks. Let’s hope that’s all it is. Miquel should be getting some January runouts now. (Again, a centerback as left back. Remember when we had no fit centerbacks?)
Mertesacker gets some flack, but he’s done really well in my opinion. He is most definitely a white man who can’t jump, however, so it’s good he’s 6’6. Great addition to the team who will continue to improve as the season goes on.
Koscielny had a bit of a rough first year (visions of Carling Cup final…shudder) but he has done spectacularly well this season and got his first cap for the French national team. Compare to Djourou. Or don’t, really. Djourou doesn’t come off looking too hot, and we need his confidence up. At least a fit Djourou is fortuitous for right back during this fullback epidemic, even if he’s not much on the attack. To be fair, he’s getting better, after his horrible first game in the position.
And as for newbies coming up from the reserves, Miquel has done incredibly well. We’ve seen less of Yennaris, but he impressed, too. And one hardly even thinks about Coquelin and Frimpong as recent reservists. They are first-team material (as is Miquel).
Almunia, Fabianski, Mannone and Squillaci, what to say about the forgotten men? If only Fabianski and Mannone hadn’t reminded us how screwed we’ll be if Szczesny ever gets injured when they clowned it up against Olympiacos. Absence was almost making the heart grown more kindly disposed. You can’t help but feel bad for Almunia, though. May he find first team action somewhere. Good guy, terrible goalie.
Anyhow, who would have thought after the 8-2 disaster at Old Trafford that we’d ring in the new year fourth in the table? The comeback has been hard-fought and well-earned. Robin got the goals and the last-minute signings helped shore up the defense and add experienced heads in midfield.
The departures of Nasri and Fabregas dealt the team two big blows (less so, the former), but each of the summer signings have come through in the clinch at one point or another. Gervinho and his spasmodic style have scored some goals and added a new jerky attack that confuses opponents (at least those that he doesn’t dribble directly into). Mertesacker has settled in and has massive experience. Benayoun scored a key header in the clash with Aston Villa and truly never gives up. Santos started to really come into his own before the injury in Greece. And Arteta knows how to create in midfield but also how to drop back and calm things down. His presence and example will make Ramsey and Wilshere better players, and it’s great that he gets to play in the Champions League at long last. Hopefully he’ll get many more games in Europe this season (meaning the Gunners survive a few knockout rounds) and help us qualify for next.
Yes, we are far too reliant on van Persie right now, but the team is shaping up. On the wish list for January, a quality striker and a loan deal for a decent left back. The rumor mill has Arshavin and Chamakh as possible departures, but I doubt it. Please, Arsene, sign a striker that can fill in for Robin and possibly partner him upfront. As for the constant talkk of Goetze, Hazard, Gourcuff et al, I’ll believe it when I see it. Not likely to happen, but I can guarantee I will do the first backflip of my life (or attempt to do so) if any of those deals materialize. Top fourness at least helps in attracting new talent, though, so thank Jeebus for that.
Lastly, an open letter to Juan Mata: it’s not too late, you can still join the team. Chelsea ain’t even in the top four these days, and John Terry will only drag you down.
Another fantastic match between two teams near the top of the table Thursday at White Hart Lane–Spurs hosting crosstown nemeses Chelsea.
Gareth Bale gets wide for Spurs vs Chelsea
First from Sean, written in real-time during the first half:
What a low camera angle at the Lane. Used to seeing the camera a little higher in the stands for more of a top down look – I think this may have been a switch over the last decade or so in camera placement, where english clubs used to have more ground-level camera placement, while league like serie a have had higher placement. THe later was useful when coming up as our coaches would show us those games to watch the tactical formations. This low-to-the-ground look make sit harder to appreciate the shift of all players across the ptich.
Spurs have come out flying, dominating the first 5 minutes and setting up in chelsea’s half. A loose pass gives them a touch for the first time it seems but that didn’t last very long. Always a problem with this sort of domination against a team with drogba up front — counter attack very possible with the slightest complacence on spurs part….and as I wrote that Bale motors up the left and adebayor touches in the cross bravely. At this point my 3-1 prediction seems a little conservative.
Kyle Walker is a mystery to me, how has he done this season? Is he in for King? He had one good run up the right but otherwise I’m not sure what his deal is. Oh there is he rushing up the ptich and barging into Cole at the 36′. Doesn’t look like Cole has done much except handle the ball into a position to cross for that goal, and can’t blame Walker for that, so credit to him so far.
Tuned out for a second while I talked to the father in law about who everyone is on the pitch. and in that time Chelsea have leveled, and missed a great chance to go ahead. Spurs have taken their foot off the pedal, but considering Bosingwa is not in centerback I imagine they’ll get back on the attack soonish.
Oof and another sub needed from a muscle pull on the Chelsea side.
Got to get off for now… might return for second half action!
Coach Larry sent along some of his thoughts post-game:
Thought it was a good game, but the 1st was better than the 2nd. felt far more even to me. you feel Spurs had run of play, but at one point, ESPN showed Chelsea ahead in “chances” (whatever the hell that means) by something like 14-3. Spurs had way more possession early, but Chelsea settled in, especially once Ferreira came in and did pretty well with Bale, as pointed by Zonal Marking (i think).
Lally’s line about Spurs being both lucky and unlucky sums it pretty well. Considering Chelsea’s goal, the ball clearly struck Cole’s arm and bounced perfectly for him to run into space. Was it intentional? No way. Should it have been whistled? I think so. My recollection (I’m too lazy to look this up) is an INTENTIONAL hand ball is cardable offense, while an INADVERTANT one is a foul when it provides an advantage. Ball strikes your arm when it’s right in front of your body? who cares, it would have hit your body anyway. Ball ricochets off your arm, straight into your path, behind the other team’s defense? Foul.
JT of course had a fine match as he does when everyone feels he should be in jail. Taking off VdV really discombobulated Spurs, as they seemed far less dangerous with fewer midfielders. Still love wathcing Adebayor play, especially his clumsy fouling which would have had many other players sent off. Chelsea cleared nearly every corner with a header just in front of the near post.
While it’s still up, this 20min highlight clip is well worth watching:
Update: See also our friend & lifelong Spurs fan John’s PoliticalFootballs post on the midweek matches and a look ahead at the Boxing Day fixtures. Here’s what he had to say about his team drawing Chelsea at home (which gives you some context to Larry’s great line above):
In similar news [to the Suarez-Evra controversy], John Terry found out he was going to face criminal charges over his alleged racist abuse of Anton Ferdinand in Chelsea’s match with QPR in October – his teammates did not wear t-shirts in support of their captain, but he did put in a fantastic defensive performance in his side’s 1-1 draw away at Tottenham. Spurs had dominated the opening exchanges in that game and were deservedly 1-0 ahead after Bale’s great work on the left-wing set up Adebayor for the opening goal – but their defence went to sleep for Sturridge’s equaliser and the second half was dominated by the away team. Both teams had excellent chances to win it – Ramires had a free header six yards out for Chelsea, but (thankfully) directed it wide of Friedel’s goal – and in the end the draw ensured Tottenham are London’s top club at Christmas for the first time since the city was called Londinium and being sacked by Queen Boudica and the Iceni.
A big game–especially in the world of CultFootball, which seems to be heavily populated by Gunners fans–took place this past Sunday in Manchester. Arsenal visited Etihad Stadium to take on the league-leading, Qatari-funded, completely stacked Manchester City. The result was a tense but exciting match, which ended 1-0 for City.
Some commentary from one of the CultFootball head honchos:
City deserved the win, though Arsenal had their chances and maybe the game would’ve tipped if Arsenal had scored first or at all. I wanted Arshavin in earlier after Walcott did nothing in the first half, only to wish the Russian had stayed at Zenit to begin with. Arsenal just don’t have any game-changers they can bring off the bench (though maybe they should’ve tried the Ox) [i.e., Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain]
The difference for Man City, not surprisingly, was a slight Spanish man named David Silva, who scored the goal in the 53rd minute (Alhough a great deal of credit also goes to “the flamboyant Italian” Mario Balotelli, who created the chance by running into acres of space on the right flank, taking the wide pass (can’t tell who provided it from midfield), squaring up Alex Song on the end of the box near the touchline–and then bursting back and in, creating just enough space to take a hard low shot that was just too difficult for Szecesny to handle–Kun Aguero got a head on the rebound, which fell to David Silva, who did well to half-volley into the open goal.)
Take a look at the highlights–not only the goal, but also two sitters that Man City flubbed (an early one by Kun Aguero, a late one when former Arsenal star Samir Nasri mishit an easy square cross just out of reach of both Balotelli and Silva); a fantastic play by Balotelli to bring down a high ball in between two Arsenal defenders while falling down and turning to get a good shot off; and Arsenal’s late chance to equalize via a curling shot by Thomas Vermalaen that Joe Hart did well to tip over the bar:
You don’t see it in the highlights, but we saw it during the telecast–a banner up in the Etihad stands emblazened with the words “Silva es magico.” Even though we’re more Gunners fans, we can’t dislike Silva. He’s a beautiful player to watch–perhaps the quintessential example of the attacking, creative midfielder who plays “in between the lines”: who drops back into midfield to pick up the ball, who provides the pass to “unlock” the opposing defense, and who often moves up into the box to score himself.
Silva is another example–as if there weren’t enough already of La Liga stock–of what the Spanish call the ‘media punta‘. This is an interesting term, which translates non-literally to the English concept of the man ‘in the hole’, or the one who plays behind the striker. This player has also been called the ‘false number 9’ but that epithet gives the (false) impression that the player is nevertheless a striker. The media punta is nothing of the sort in Spain, and there is a whole doctoral thesis waiting to be written on this one. Perhaps, in years to come, someone will look back and realise that this present period in Spain was a golden age of this type of player, and that such a proliferation of talent in this position is unlikely to ever re-occur.
In fact, Silva is a player who would (have) fit right into a Wenger squad. Indeed, 5 years ago he (and/or another Spanish media punta who recently moved from Valencia to England–Juan Mata) probably would’ve ended up in north London instead of east Manchester (and west London, respectively). Just as yet another Spanish media punta moved from La Masia to Arsenal back in 2004–Cesc being the previous great media punta in England. Of course, now he’s back in Barcelona, who have he’s perhaps only the 3rd best player who plays that sort of position–behind Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, who just happened to be 2 of the 3 nominees for last year’s Balon d’Or (the 3rd being of course Barcelona midfielder Xavi, who plays a little deeper, scores less).
More from that Phil Ball column, specifically about Silva:
Next time, rake the cleats over the Swiss tendons, Rooney, my boy.
And as Matchday 6 of the Champions League separated the wheat from the chaff, the next eight into the Europa League knockouts are:
Valencia
Olympiakos
Porto
Victoria Plzen
Manchester United
Manchester City
Ajax
FC Basel
Trabzonspor
Manchester United failed to beat Basel, so MUFC goes to Europa, while the Swiss progress to the knockouts.
Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich at home, but the team progresses, as it were, to Europa due to Napoli’s victory 2-0 victory over Villareal, which means Napoli goes through.
Lyon, after a fantastic 7-1 match overcame all sorts of goal difference, go through over Ajax on goal difference. Of course, there’s a whiff of controversy about this one, with Ajax accusing Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb of match-fixing. Sour grapes? Who knows. Would’ve been nice to have a bet on that scoreline, though.
Trabzonspor’s goalless draw to Lille means Lille goes though and they go on to Europa.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Mata faced his former club and Chelsea took top spot in the group, consigning Valencia to Europa after a convincing 3-0 victory in which Didier Drogba looked like the monster of old.
Olympiakos defeated a sorry Arsenal 3-1 at home and would have gone through to the knockout stages of the Champions League had Marseille not pulled up an incredible come-from-behind victory in Germany, having been down two goals.
Given Apoel Nicosia’s loss to Shaktar Donesk, Porto would have won their group with a victory over Zenit St. Petersburg, but the goalless draw meant the Russians go through and the Portuguese do not.
Plzen scored in the 89th minute and in stoppage time to draw 2-2 with AC Milan, but given Barcelona’s 4-0 battering of BATE Borisov, they would have gone through to Europa regardless.
Arsenal’s 1-0 home loss to Manchester City in the Carling Cup match yesterday showed, once again, the power of the petropounds. One goal from over £150 million in transfer fees is a pretty weak return, but a win is a win and even if City are on the ropes in Europe, they’ve booked their spot in the semifinals of the league cup.
Costel Pantilimon (Loan)
Kolo Touré (£16 million)
Nedum Onuoha (Academy)
Pablo Zabaleta (£6.5 million)
Aleksandar Kolarov (£16 million)
Stefan Savic (£6 million)
Owen Hargreaves (Free)
Nigel De Jong (£16 million)
Samir Nasri (£24 million)
Adam Johnson (£7 million)
Edin Dzeko (£27 million)
sub: Sergio Aguero (£35 million)
Transfer fees depend on many factors and are a dubious way to judge a squad, but compare the total of City’s transfer fees for this roster, roughly £153.5 million, with that of the side Arsenal fielded (roughly £33 million). Aguero alone cost more than the entire Arsenal starting XI.
Lukasz Fabianski (£2 million)
Sebastien Squillaci (£4 million)
Johan Djourou (Academy)
Laurent Koscielny (£10 million)
Ignasi Miquel (£1.1 million)
Yossi Benayoun (Loan)
Francis Coquelin (£0.9 million)
Emmanuel Frimpong (Academy)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£12 million)
Park Ju-Young (£3 million)
Marouane Chamakh (Free)
A battle of reserve sides, yes. But Manchester City’s second team could mow down almost any Premier League opposition, acknowledging of course that at first contact Hargreaves might shatter into a few million pieces. On the plus side for both teams, Arsenal held its own and Hargreaves still walks the Earth unshattered.
But Manchester City couldn’t possibly be expected to score with the paltry attack they fielded in the starting XI, so of course they brought on superstriker Sergio Aguero as a first half substitute, a decision that eventually paid off in the 84th minute of the match.
The Arsenal back four consisted of all center halves. Squillaci played the best game I can recall (not just good for him but actually good), Koscielny put in another good shift, Miquel performed well at left back. At right back, Djourou wasn’t half bad. Considering he’s not a natural right back and he lacks the pace and stamina of someone like Sagna, he did a commendable job of neutralizing Dzeko, Nasri & Co.
Frimpong and Coquelin shut the City midfield down effectively, to the visible frustration of Nasri, frustration that led to a reported bust-up in the tunnel after the final whistle blew. Oxlade-Chamberlain played a great match, nearly scoring on a 20-yard, left-footed strike to the upper right corner of goal. A first touch strike, no less.
No one has kept a clean sheet against City this season, domestically. And Arsenal proved no exception. Down the field on a breakaway counterattack, the passes from Dzeko to Johnson and Johnson to Aguero were fantastic and Fabianski was blameless for the goal. Aguero was never going to miss, and Fabianski never had a chance.
So, Arsenal exits the Carling Cup, but lessons were learned and/or cemented. Oxlade-Chamberlain looks ready to develop into a truly excellent player, given the right guidance. Same with Frimpong and Coquelin, who are becoming formidable in midfield, both separately and in a defensive partnership. And once again, Chamakh has shown that he is not is the answer in the strike department. Perhaps Park can yet play some role in the mix, but in the interests of all parties, Chamakh should head back to Ligue 1. One of the strikers from the reserves like Benik Afobe should get a chance before the Moroccan. Is Wenger playing him in the hopes that he’ll finally score a few, not necessarily for the here and now (though it’s what we desperately need) but rather to raise his January sell-on value?
Random aside: Why can’t commentators put it together that Miquel is not the man’s first name? He’s not the waiter from Fawlty Towers, and it’s not pronounced, “mee-GELL.” Yes? We good now? We get it. He’s Spanish. But note the Q, dumbasses.
Jack Wilshere’s successful loan spell at Bolton proved the final piece of his development. More please…
Even before the quarterfinal draw for the Carling Cup paired Arsenal with Manchester City (a.k.a., the Death Squad), many speculated that the reserve teamers logging time on the big stage would soon cede their places to first team players in a push for the silverware. The best then would seek loan opportunies at smaller clubs in the Premier League, in lower leagues or, less ideally, on the continent.
Arsenal has not yet faced the Death Squad in the league, but if they can annihilate the team that annihilated us 8-2, it’s hard to be too confident of much more of a Carling Cup run for any Arsenal player. Manchester City could rest Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli and David Silva and continue to perma-rest Tevez and STILL expect to win at the Emirates, no matter which team Arsenal fields.
The youth players need playing time, and Arsenal can’t necessarily afford to have them ramp up to Premier League speed on its watch. The team concedes enough goals from errors as it is. The lesson of Jack Wilshere is the model. His successful loan spell at Bolton provided the final piece of his development, playing week in, week out. Academy players graduate to the reserves and while reserve fixtures are vital to their development and match fitness, eventually they have to show what they can do when the stakes are higher and the opposition fiercer. At a certain point they have to play and prove they have what it takes. Only at such point can Wenger decide if they’re ready to graduate to the first team.
Ignasi Miquel and Nico Yennaris lead the list. The team’s official site still lists them as reserve teamers, although both seem closer to the first team than the frozen-out veteran Sebastian Squillaci. Miquel and Yennaris both started the Carling Cup victory over Bolton and played very well. Both are expected to seek loan deals in search of match play, although Wenger may decide to keep them in the squad to blood them himself, depending on the injury situation. Bolton substitutes Oguzhan Ozyakup and Daniel Boateng will likely also seek temporary pastures new, as will Chuks Aneke and Sanchez Watt, who sat on the bench at Bolton. No word yet on expected destinations.
But what of the current loanees? The hodge podge of players Wenger couldn’t offload during the summer (Bendtner, Vela, Denilson), secure work visas for (Joel Campbell, Pedro Botelho, Wellington, Samuel Galindo), and near first-teamers (Henri Lansbury, Kyle Bartley, James Shea) have been proving their mettle on the field, domestically and abroad. Some have impressed and some have not. The Offload Three, in particular, have done little of note. In fact, Denilson and Vela have failed to score a goal between them. No shocker, there.
But without further ado:
Nicklas Bendtner, The Greatest Player of All Time, has scored two goals in seven for the Black Cats. Against Manchester United, he failed to connect with a late Sebastian Larsson cross that could have equalized the match instead of losing 1-0. Bendtner needs to have a stellar season at Sunderland, as he’s burned the bridges home with anti-Arsenal sentiments in the press, fueled as ever by his overactive ego. One hopes he does do well, if only to cash in on him at the first opportunity. He’s better than Marouane Chamakh, but you don’t get a medal for standards that low. Sunderland currently finds itself 15th in Premier League.
Out-of-favor Denilson the outcast has zero goals in 10 appearances for Sao Paulo. Sounds pretty much right. Arsenal will continue to have trouble unloading him at this rate. Sao Paulo is in 8th in the Brazilian Serie A, with 5 games remaining.
Former golden boy Carlos Vela has scored no goals for Real Sociedad in his 7 appearances. As with Denilson, not much changed there. The scoreless striker will continue to be difficult to offload. And Real Sociedad desperately needs the goals. Rayo Vallecano just thrashed them 4-0 to send them tumbling to last in La Liga. Unsurprisingly, Mexico chose not to call Vela up for the upcoming match against Serbia due to his abysmal form. Arsenal supporters had high hopes for Vela, as with Denilson. Now they just want to see them off the club roster.
Henri Lansbury has one goal in five appearances for West Ham United. He missed out on the 2-0 defeat of Hull, but the Hammers currently occupy 2nd in the Championship. With possible promotion to the Premier League, though it’s far too soon to make any predictions, Lansbury may be learning to enjoy the taste of success and will probably be ready for the first team.
Central defender and former reserve team captain Kyle Bartley returned from a lengthy injury to log his second appearance for Rangers, who top the Scottish Premier League. Rangers employed the center back in midfield in the 3-1 defeat Dundee at Ibrox. If Bartley gets more playing time, he could also make a strong case for the first team.
The Costa Rican teen Joel Campbell has scored two in nine for FC Lorient in Ligue 1. Arsene’s go-to French loan club is in 7th place. Impressively, Campbell has been shortlisted in Tuttosport’s annual “Golden Boy” award (think poor man’s Youth Player of the Year). However, he competes with Arsenal’s own Jack Wilshere, who took second last year, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, not to mention ultra-heavyweights Eden Hazard, Mario Gotze, Xherdan Shaqiri, Thiago, and Phil Jones. Once he plays more matches with the national team, he’ll be eligible for a work visa. Fortunately, he’s been called up for the upcoming matches against Panama (Nov. 11) and Spain (Nov. 15), so he’s on the right track.
The Bolivian Samuel Galindo has no goals in four matches with Gimnastic De Tarragona. Even after a 5-0 home victory over CD Sabadell, the team languishes in 21st in the Spanish Segunda Division, but the victory did see them claw its way from the bottom of the table.
Wellington picked the right or the wrong year to get loaned out to Levante. The Cinderella story topped La Liga and now sits 4th. However, the Brazilian hasn’t seen a second of playing time, hardly ideal for a loan spell.
James Shea has made three appearances in goal for Dagenham and Redbridge, who sit at a pitiful 22nd in League Two.
Currently injured, Pedro Botelho has scored one in eight appearances for Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. The team occupies eighth in the table.
In related news, Manuel Almunia returned from his emergency month-long loan spell at West Ham, where he reportedly played well. With Robert Green healthy again, he has returned to London to hope against hope he can get back into at least a backup goalkeeper role. And most of the Arsenal fan base will hope those wishes do not come true.
With the Manchester teams and Chelsea the next three fixtures, Demba Ba won’t be celebrating another hat trick anytime soon.
Not long ago, Newcastle United found itself relegated to the Championship and Mike Ashley couldn’t pay someone to take the team off his hands. (Ok, that’s going a bit far.) Yet now the Magpies find themselves in third, one off the pace from Manchester United. For a few hours on Saturday, they even occupied second place. The team remains unbeaten in the league. In what reality does this make sense?
Three fixtures immediately after the international break will determine whether Toon are in the top four to stay or have been living in a boom-style bubble. If I had to bet–and I think I may check a betting site to see if I can put some money on this–the latter will prove true and they won’t get a point of the next 9. The bubble won’t simply pop, it will explode.
Newcastle are about to get their asses handed to them in swift fashion. Thus far, they’ve played three teams in the top half of the table, draws with Spurs, Aston Villa and a depleted Arsenal side even before it went down to 10 men. Their next three matches are the Manchester teams away, followed by Chelsea at St. James Park, and they no longer have Joey Barton to kickstart a red card bonanza. When facing Chelsea is your best chance of getting a point–as in singular, one–you know you’re in trouble.
Newcastle is enjoying an 11-match unbeaten run in the league, equaling its best-ever unbeaten run. Manchester City will see to it that the run ends, however. And City will very possibly execute this dreamcrusher by a mega-goalfest margin, as is their wont.
If Newcastle can make it through the Manchester City-Manchester United-Chelsea gauntlet even relatively unscathed, they will have done much to earn their position. (And I will have lost that money, wiping egg off my face as I await the hit squad sent out by the Toon Army.)
Newcastle did well to strengthen the team with Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye, especially given the departures of former captain Kevin Nolan, José Enrique and Barton. Ba scored a hat trick against Stoke, taking his league tally to 8. Unfortunately for the Tyneside faithful, Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux picked up injuries in Saturday’s match against Everton, and now must keep Cheik Tiote company on the sidelines.
Central defender Steven Taylor and rest of the back four have only conceded 8 goals in league play. However, in the Carling Cup, fielding mostly first teamers, they conceded 8 in three matches against lowly Scunthorpe, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn. They may very likely concede 8 to City and Manchester United alone.
Newcastle sit three points above Chelsea and Tottenham and six over Liverpool and Arsenal. Taking none from 9 could see them in an entirely new spot in the table. Liverpool will be waiting for their turn to inflict some pain, as well. When it gets to the halfway mark and Newcastle has faced everyone in the top half of the table, we’ll have a better idea of bubbles and burstings.
