Arsenal vs Blackburn Rovers EPL | 04-10-09| 1:30 pm| SS1

[Klaus Daimler]

He is capable of being a defensive asset, i.e. cut out the dribbling. But he plays too far forward and lacks any positional discipline. We have far more intelligent, agile and creative players already, so there's no need for him to stand off the striker. I just wish someone could politely point that out to him.

Regarding his positional discipline, could it be that Wenger simply likes him the way he naturally is and, therefore, encourages him to stay a little high up and dribble whenever he has the chance?

Not according to Wenger last year. He said that the only reason he didn't play Diaby centrally was because he didn't have the discipline. And by all accounts it looks like he still doesn't. It's been obvious even in a defensively less demanding role such as the one he's had for the last few weeks. I think he's doing alright as an attacking player though. He was good against Portsmouth and Standard.

 

[True Gooner]

Yep. The reason why Diaby was played on the wing for 3 years was because he couldn't hold his position.

He's improved over the years but he's still no where near good enough and I really can't see any 'potential' in him. He's got the technique and physique but he's not the brightest and that's the last thing we need in our team.

I reckon the only reason he gets games is because he's big and can help out during set plays but frankly I'd rather have Bendtner on the wing over Diaby in the middle - in which case we'll still have someone over 6ft on the pitch but Bendtner's a better player and will hurt the team less.

 

[Lancelot]

Thanks for that Klaus, I guess we just have to accept that he really is a slow learner.

 

[Captain]

Looking at the second Blackburn goal and still wondering why Song is chasing down the ball carrier. He didn't look around once which can happen but surely one of the CBs could have given him a shout.

 

[sabret00the]

He is capable of being a defensive asset, i.e. cut out the dribbling. But he plays too far forward and lacks any positional discipline. We have far more intelligent, agile and creative players already, so there's no need for him to stand off the striker. I just wish someone could politely point that out to him.

Regarding his positional discipline, could it be that Wenger simply likes him the way he naturally is and, therefore, encourages him to stay a little high up and dribble whenever he has the chance?

Not according to Wenger last year. He said that the only reason he didn't play Diaby centrally was because he didn't have the discipline. And by all accounts it looks like he still doesn't. It's been obvious even in a defensively less demanding role such as the one he's had for the last few weeks. I think he's doing alright as an attacking player though. He was good against Portsmouth and Standard.

Didn't he say like two years ago, Diaby would've been first choice in the central role if not for injury?

 

[USArsenal]

and now he is only a starter BECAUSE of injury

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Yeah, or rather - he said that Diaby was originally his first option while Gilberto was away playing in Copa America, but he got injured and Flamini stepped up instead. I can't imagine Diaby actually pinning the role down even if he had been given the chance though. He lacks both discipline and the ability (I prefer to think of it as an ability since so many players can't do it) to play simple and constructive. It seems like Wenger has realised it since then too, because Diaby has never started in the holding role ever since.

 

[MAK 14]

Great game yesterday. It really was a good atmosphere in my stand - well certainly when we were winning.

Fabregas was absolutely fantastic yesterday. Absolutely amazing.

 

[qs]

Brilliant game. Brought my Blackburn supporting mate with me and I wasn't disappointed. Decent atmosphere most of the time and a quality display from the lads. Some absolutely magic football yesterday.

 

[lee1001]

Reading through this thread, it's like we lost 6-2.

Some of you lot clearly shouldn't be watching football, because if you can't enjoy a game like today's, you'll never enjoy it. I was at the game and thought it was one of the most enjoyable games I've seen at the Grove. bad defending and all.

We have been playing great football for the last 4 years and have won nothing. I think the reason people are pessimistic is because we see the problems in the team and know when we come up against good opposition we will have problems. We've seen that already against United and City. Those games came after scoring 6 against Everton and 4 against Portsmouth.

 

[ricky1985]

Reading through this thread, it's like we lost 6-2.

Some of you lot clearly shouldn't be watching football, because if you can't enjoy a game like today's, you'll never enjoy it. I was at the game and thought it was one of the most enjoyable games I've seen at the Grove. bad defending and all.

We have been playing great football for the last 4 years and have won nothing. I think the reason people are pessimistic is because we see the problems in the team and know when we come up against good opposition we will have problems. We've seen that already against United and City. Those games came after scoring 6 against Everton and 4 against Portsmouth.

They were the second and third games of the season - it takes time to fully get up and running. Especially when trying to adapt to a new formation, and two first team departures.
Fans are starting to believe left, right, and centre. I guess you just need a little more convincing.

 

[sabret00the]

We have been playing great football for the last 4 years

Nuh-uh!

 

[BannedKwame]

<--- shakes head.

 

[Gurgen]

Looking at the second Blackburn goal and still wondering why Song is chasing down the ball carrier. He didn't look around once which can happen but surely one of the CBs could have given him a shout.

I was shouting at him, get behind Gallas, get behind Gallas

That goal was coming from miles away.

 

[BannedKwame]

So every paid analyst who watches the game whose site i can access (just to test my own sanity and objectivity) gives Diaby a rating between 7 and 8, yet only a minority of Arsenal fans agree, and think rather that he was awful. Song gets ratings ranging from 5-9 (that much variation?????).

Personally, I think a lot of people here don't like Diaby or simply don't pay attention to him when plays or simply can't spot contributions that don't include a tackle or a goal or are ****** or it's a forum and anyone can post an opinion so kwame should just relax and go do some work.

 

[progman07]

So every paid analyst who watches the game whose site i can access (just to test my own sanity and objectivity) gives Diaby a rating between 7 and 8, yet only a minority of Arsenal fans agree, and think rather that he was awful. Song gets ratings ranging from 5-9 (that much variation?????).

Personally, I think a lot of people here don't like Diaby or simply don't pay attention to him when plays or simply can't spot contributions that don't include a tackle or a goal or are ****** or it's a forum and anyone can post an opinion so kwame should just relax and go do some work.

Um, do you mean goal.com who rated Arshavin higher than Cesc?

Or the "experts" who see "Arsenal" "good football" "bad defending" and they call it a day?

Or the likes of Sun who give out random ratings? Sometimes it looks ****ing crazy.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

So every paid analyst who watches the game whose site i can access (just to test my own sanity and objectivity) gives Diaby a rating between 7 and 8, yet only a minority of Arsenal fans agree, and think rather that he was awful. Song gets ratings ranging from 5-9 (that much variation?????).

So your basic internet access consists of goal.com and Arsenal-mania?

Personally I don't give a **** about neutral people's opinion. They probably weren't paying attention to Arsenal in particular during the game. They were just looking for entertainment and in the ensuing hype rated every single player as either good or great. The truth is more complicated.

Not that I think Diaby was horrible or anything yesterday; he certainly wasn't and there definitely is a hate campaign against him similar to what Eboue and Denilson has been forced to experience in the past. But that doesn't mean that he played particularly well either. Or that Arshavin and Rosicky were bad when they, in fact, were brilliant. Diaby was the one of the bunch who contributed least at the end of the day. Most people rated him somewhere around 6 which I think is a perfectly fair rating. You appear to be stirring **** up for no reason.

 

[BannedKwame]

Point is really simple: this is a consensus driven site, much like human societies. Sometimes the consensus in a closed group can go awry. Consensus around here for instance now is that Arshavin is a god, although when he was bought I had to defend his abilities against some posters. Another consensus is that Diaby is awful and has been awful these past few games, especially last, which in my opinion is nonsensical. You can watch the consensus grow in some threads, and it’s at times fascinating to watch.

Of course goal.com is mostly a stupid site, but it offers an alternative. You can also check ratings on espn and other places. Either way, our midfield dominated theirs, and it wasn’t just because of Andrei and Cesc, and that’s the bloody point. Diaby was far from awful, and the goals were easy, and Cesc was unselfish, which is very good for us — hopefully he continues to be a facilitator. meh.

 

[Captain]

Diaby wasn't awful, but he didn't show alot in either direction for most of the game. Had some good attacking moments, broke up some play and kept it simple. It was a decent performace.

Song, for me, has looked a bit poor for a few games but others think he has been brilliant so the best thing is to just leave it there. Nobody is going to change their mind realistically (although some who have watched the game twice have commented that Diaby was better than they thought).

I don't think our midfield dominated, it was a strange game in that neither midfield really got to grips with the opposition but our offensive superiority shined brightly.

 

[est]

Diaby wasn't awful. He had a good game, not great, but good.

The thing with the ratings, not as much 'consensus driven' as you think Kwame, but more related to the overall performance of the team and the result. Had Diaby played as he did against Blackburn in some of the games the whole team was poor and we didn't win, I'm sure his ratings would have been slightly higher.