FR: Barnet vs Arsenal | 15/07/06

[RC8]

After the game Wenger said when asked about more signings:

"We'll sign one player... or two... but that's a maximum."

 

[Arsenal_FAN1983]

Hope one of those players is a good cover for Gilberto in the middle.

 

[JMT]

i want to sign up to arsenal.com.. i mean RED MEMBERSHIP but whenever i fill our the form is just like a REFRESH thing sum1 help

 

[Arsenal_FAN1983]

Could be your firewall/anti virus software....try turning it off, fill out the form, send it and hopefully it will be ok. Hope that helps, good luck.

 

[godfather]

After the game Wenger said when asked about more signings:

"We'll sign one player... or two... but that's a maximum."

never believe what he said as well as you never know whats he talking about the transfer

 

[goonerz49]

how did van den berg play?

 

[RC8]

I thought he played well, but nothing out of this world. I thought he looked pretty composed on the ball, but although he has the vision, his passing skills still need to improve, two or three Arsenal attacks died because of a misplaced pass, however, he hasn't been living in London for long, and he still needs to get to know the Arsenal players so that he can read their game better.

I hope that helps.

 

[tactica442]

Song is like Gilberto.. Great positioning, but when he gets the ball, he's clueless at what to do and ends up mispassing it.

Muamba was brilliant.

Aliadiere was very good but just couldn't finish.

Hoyte impressed me, especially going forward.

Our new CB O'Whatshisface played well.

O'Ceuruill had a good game, despite he seemed a bit tense.

Muamba was very impressive. His performance was far better than Song's. The missing thing in Song still looks like lacking.

Aliadiere's fitness level looked good but his touch was not clinical enough. When one-on-one against Barnet keeper, he could have shot the ball between the keeper's legs or sent the ball to the net of the far post.

Gilbert was dissapointing. But, hey, this is the first warm-up game and he just came back from back injury.

 

[qs]

Wenger says at most 2 signings. Right but then the question is how much are these 2 signings gonna cost?

Are we talking Saviola and Thuram kind of spending or are we talking Ribery and Macherano kind of spending?

I think we need 2 big big additions if we are to get near the title again.

 

[coleandclichy]

My mate saw the game on ATVO, and said Muamba was Arsenal's best player.

I've been hearing great things about him and would like him to start the Carling Cup games and see how good he really is.

 

[TheEconomist]

i watched the match at underhill, just got home, its a bit late so il post my views tommorow.

 

[qs]

Just thinking about that 1 maybe 2 players thing and Ive come to the conclusion the one is a CB. Davies if he can and the possibly 2nd is a left back if Ashley goes.

 

[RC8]

The first signing will be a defender, but the second signing could be a midfielder, after all, who do we have to help or replace Cesc against the physical teams? Flamini? I think that although I rate Flamini highly, we need strond midfielder to get stuck in when called, and therefore Appiah or Yaya would be excellent additions in the short and mid term future.

 

[wengerboy]

Yaya and curtis davie(despite what west brom said) thats my guess

 

[qs]

The first signing will be a defender, but the second signing could be a midfielder, after all, who do we have to help or replace Cesc against the physical teams? Flamini? I think that although I rate Flamini highly, we need strond midfielder to get stuck in when called, and therefore Appiah or Yaya would be excellent additions in the short and mid term future.

I agree with you, we definitly need a bit fo muscle in the midfield. I just dont think Arsène feels the same way.

 

[UrbanArts]

to be fair i've been biging muamba up for months during this summer of speculation about new midfielders, no-one else seems to agree with me or mention him

I've been watching him for at least 2 seasons and he always gets mentioned on this forum.

But anyway. Watched the game today on ATVO, I thought we were very poor even though it was a young team. Here's my anaylsis of each player:

Almunia - Didn't have a save to make that I recall.

Cygan - Couldn't even contain Barnet's attack, he should have been setting an example to O'Cearuill but instead, he relied on the youngster to bail him out on more then a few occasions.

Hoyte - Played in an unfamiliar left-back role but looked solid. Tried to get forward as much as possible and lead by example.

Gilbert - Was probably Arsenal's best player on the day. Looked very confident and showed he's far too good to be playing at this level.

O’Cearuill - Did ok. Comfortable in possession and was always looking to start attacks from defence. Few shaky moments when Barnet knocked in the long balls but overall a solid display.

Smith - Made a few dangerous runs on the wing and whipped in a couple of great crosses for Bendtner. Other then that, a quiet day for his standards.

Flamini - Absolutely non-existent. Expected him to at least attempt to get on the ball and create things but I honestly forgot he was on the field.

Song - Saw alot of the ball but wasted possession way too much. Put in some good tackles and got himself about. Severely lacking in confidence and panics too much when on the ball.

Hleb - Tried to create openings but the Barnet defence kept a close eye on him all afternoon. Cut inside too much into Barnet's congested defence instead of attacking wide areas where he would have got more freedom.

Bendtner - Unsually quiet for the targetman. Wasted a glorious chance when he mis-controlled after being put clean through. Also wasted a good chance when he headed over from Smith's cross from point blank range.

Aliadiere - Looked sharp, was full of running and pace but lacked in the finishing department. I expect more from later on this season.

Subs:

Poom(45m) - Was pretty much a spectator for the entire half.

Connolly(45m) - Came on at half-time and had a pretty comfortable half. Didn't put a foot wrong really.

Larsson(45m) - Didn't make an impact, expected him to create more.

Muamba(45m) - Worked very hard and was everywhere. Always looking for the ball to start attacks. Shame the midfield around him didn't show as much enthusiasm.

van den Berg(67m) - Very neat and tidy player(similar to Pires in style). Very accurate passing but didn't see much of the ball.

Stokes(45m) - Expected more from him. Showed some good touches but didn't work hard enough to get the ball. Seen him play alot better.

Lupoli(45) - Looked sharp after his injury lay-off. Was always looking to cause trouble to the Barnet defence but was constantly surrounded by defenders. Was a little too elaborate at times when shooting would have been easier.

Guess the postives of this game is even our young guns try to play with the ball at their feet rather then sticking to long balls. We can see echoes of the first team's 1 touch style of football, trying to move the ball about as quickly as possible and hitting the opposition with pace. It's a shame they didn't show more passion when this was a good opportunity for certain players to force their way into Wenger's plans.

Anyway, won't take too much from this game as it was our first pre-season. Would have liked a win but the main thing is we build up fitness and sharpness so the whole squad are ready for the CL qualifiers. Next up: Bergy's Testomonial :thumbup

 

[Thai Gunner]

Cheers UranArts. Thanks for your nice summary.

 

[bittersmile]

thanks UrbanArts, good job.

 

[KingReyes]

From what I saw, the players that stood out were Ali and Muamba.

Song's passing was shocking, this guy really needs to learn how to pass the ball. Good work rate, good in defense, physical strength but the passing accuracy of a donkey.

 

[Rohit]

The last time we drew 0-0 with Barnet we went on a 49 game unbeaten run,didn't we ?