Fulham 0 - 1 Arsenal

Lesson learnt from the Fulham victory:

1) Vito Mannone has a slight potential to be the next Gianluigi Buffon.

2) Playing with 4-3-3 allowed us to taste our own medicine when Fulham plays fire with fire. I believe their passing could supersede ours yesterday.

3) 4-4-2 enables us to fully utilise every player on the pitch. While in 4-3-3, 1 striker would not be involved in nearly every attack.

4) Despite being confident, a 1-0 win against a decent team is not convincing enough. We are not Man Utd. We win games comfortably. This was NOT a comfortable win.

5) There is nothing wrong with Fabregas' form. He is still the engine to Arsenal's midfield.

6) Tomas Rosicky is back. He will start an Arsenal game in no time.

He's gone.

I know it has been comfirmed a few days ago, but we have been re-assured after Arsenal posted this on their official website:


Well, to be frank, I'd prefer him to stay and to prove himself once more, but I guess he's losing his patience too.

Well now that he's gone, and we got ~£25m for it, many people have been suggesting replacement for him.

And everyone knows about Marouane Chamakh. Wenger even admitted his interest towards the 25 year old striker, as shown in Arsenal.com. But I'm quite skeptical.

I do not think we need to purchase a replacement for him, the player we need is already right there infront of his eyes, the same player we bought after TH14 left: Eduardo da Silva.

I believe, that he is beyond capable of doing the job for us. Just watch this.

"A finishing masterclass."

He might be injured, and while he is, we have a few more players who are also capable of taking the striker's role, Bendtner, Vela and let's not forget Walcott, who has been talking about playing the central striker role rather than the right winger.

Here's another reason on why we shouldn't purchase an attacking player. Now, take a look at all the attacking player we have, that are capable of making the first XI.

I'll give you a hand.


4. Francesc FÀBREGAS
Position: Central Midfielder

7. Tomáš ROSICKÝ
Position: Left/Attacking Midfielder

8. Samir NASRI
Position: Left/Attacking Midfielder

9. EDUARDO da Silva
Position: Striker / Supporting Striker

11. Robin VAN PERSIE
Position: Supporting Striker / Winger

14. Theo WALCOTT
Position: Winger / Striker

23. Andrey ARSHAVIN
Position: Attacking Midfielder / Winger / Supporting Striker

I think, that it would be an absolute pity, if even one of these players isn't in our starting XI. But how are we going to fit all of the 7 players in there? We only need 2 strikers and 4 midfielders!

And let's not forget Diaby, Denilson or Song who is fighting for a spot to partner Fabregas in central midfield.

I find it hard to think of a ideal XI, because there is infinite possibilities on how we can arrange our players.

The point is, we don't need another attacking player. Cheers.

Match Preview: Barnet vs. Arsenal

Sorry for the serious lack of updates, football obviously hasn't been at the top of my head recently.

But it is now! Our first pre-season friendly match is just hours away, and Arsenal has just announced the 21-man squad travelling to the Underhill.

And I shall write my first match preview of this blog!

Among the 21 players, 9 of them would be from the first team and another 12 of them from the reserve team.


Manuel ALMUNIA
Vito MANNONE
William GALLAS
Johan DJOUROU
Mikael SILVESTRE
Thomas VERMAELEN
Tomas ROSICKY
Andrey ARSHAVIN
Jack WILSHERE
Thomas CRUISE
Craig EASTMOND
Luke AYLING
Conor HENDERSON
Francis COQUELIN
Jay EMMANUEL-THOMAS
Mark RANDALL
Emmanuel FRIMPONG
Nacer BARAZITE
Sanchez WATT
Jay SIMPSON
Gilles SUNU

(Surnames not in bold are Reserve players)

I don't know what our starting XI would be, but after checking out the detailed positions of the reserve players, I thought this should be decent and appropriate.

Formation: 4-4-2

Barazite - Simpson

Rosicky - Coquelin - Frimpong - Wilshere

Cruise - Vermaelen - Gallas - Eastmond

Almunia

Or maybe Coquelin, Frimpong and Barazite will pull back a little and allow the wingers to play even higher up front, like a 4-2-3-1 formation. Well, I guess it doesn't really matter.

I'm excited to see Vermaelen, Rosicky, and even Nacer Barazite, who is back from his Derby County loan.

Sadly I won't be watching it live on the telly though, so maybe I'll try to look for a broadcast somewhere around the Internet.

Currently watching Manchester United match against Malaysia XI, and at half time it's
Malaysia XI 1 - 2 Manchester United.

(Full time, and it's Malaysia XI 2 - 3 Manchester United. Owen scores his first goal and also the late winner for Manchester United after coming in from the bench. If only Malaysia had won or even drew!)

So I'll see you guys after the match. Cheers.

Melo in Eboue out?!

So I'm sure all of you have heard the news.

Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino, in denying the transfer rumours of the past few hours, which sees Felipe Melo definitely at other clubs and reporting potential meetings to finalise the transfer of the player, underlines the following:

1. - In case the footballer has already reached an agreement with any club, the release clause fixed with the player himself is €25million. We would not contemplate any exchange, unless it is to the liking of Fiorentina.

2. - Arsenal is the only club to have come close to the sum established by the release clause.

3. - Fiorentina in turn proposed to the aforementioned club a reduction in the amount set by the release clause by including right-back (Emmanuel) Eboue in the deal.

- Translated from http://it.violachannel.tv/

Basically, we are targeting Fiorentina's defensive midfielder Filipe MELO, which will cost us 25 million euros (~21.4 million pounds). Fiorentina will reduce that amount if we give in Emmanuel EBOUE.

To me, it's a no. As much as we need a defensive midfielder, we need Eboue as well. Based on what I know, Eboue is the joker in the team, the dancer, the clown. And I believe there's no one else like him in the squad, so it wouldn't feel right without him.

He plays well at the right side of midfield, and can also play as a full back. Who else would cover Sagna? Hoyte?

I wouldn't give him away even if Fiorentina is paying cash + Melo instead. Unless it's an irresistible offer, then it should be considered.

That's all I have to say. Hopefully Wenger can purchase Melo without giving out vital players. It IS important that we get a defensive midfielder.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Cesc worth 40 million pound? Maybe, if that figure is doubled.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Milan wants Adebayor by paying 20 million + ex-Gunner Flamini? If it's true it should be considered by Wenger. But I don't think it is.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



Frankly, I don't think he deserves it. Yes he has produced truly stunning performances, but he has only played less than a quarter of Arsenal's games, so that should be enough to rule him out.

I'd give him a fourth place maybe. He do deserve at least that.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


That's all I'd like to give comment about. Cheers.

Youngsters sign long term contract.

Just a quick update here, so there's nothing much going on in Arsenal.com except for:

1) GGG (Gunners' Greatest Goals)



2) Almunia Week (3rd Player of the Season)



3) New Arsenal Away & 3rd Kit (I don't understand why we wear collar shirts while playing football)

Away kit. It's good but IMO our away kit should always be yellow and blue.

3rd kit. Some say we look too much like Spurs. Doesn't really matter to me, it's OK.

4) Fabianski, Ramsey, Wilshere and also [EDIT:] Gibbs signs new long-term contracts.


But out of Arsenal.com, there are tons of crazy transfer rumours going on. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of rumours, so unless it's REALLY convincing, I don't fall for it.

I think Manuel Pellegrini is possessed though. Real Madrid is making purchases that are so unnecessary, they're better off burning their money at their furnaces.

Álvaro Negredo (Almeria) €5m
Kaka (A.C. Milan) €65m
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) €94m
Karim Benzema (Lyon) €35m

Who's next, Lionel Messi? Steven Gerrard? Gianluigi Buffon?

When will they learn that even with purchases like these, success would still never be guaranteed?


[EDIT:] Legendary Liverpool striker Michael Owen makes a move from the relegated Newcastle United to Manchester United.

Owen joins United

Manchester United is delighted to announce that it has signed Michael Owen on a two-year contract. The striker was out of contract, so no transfer fee is involved.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: "Michael is a world class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question. Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish.”

Michael Owen said: "I had just begun to talk to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him the next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me. I agreed without a moment's thought.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands. I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here. I missed pre-season last year and am pleased that I will be starting at Carrington from day one.

"I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances.”

http://www.manutd.com/

This news truly stunned me. But I guess this is what happens to a top player (although injury-prone) when his club gets relegated.


And fellow Gooners, stop being too harsh on Adebayor. As a Gooner, I don't want to see him leave the club. He has proved that he is good last season, and he just wasn't at the same top form this season. I trust that Adebayor will be an extremely valuable asset to us.

And regarding Naldo (26 year old centre-back) and Marouane Chamakh (25 year old striker), hopefully we'll get Naldo because we don't really need another striker.

I also do hope that Wenger makes at least 1 or 2 signing in midfield. And no, I don't think we need to sell our defenders.

That's all I have to say for now. Cheers.

(all pictures originate from Arsenal.com)

The beginning of the start.

Cheers, my name is Seng Kiat and welcome to my new blog, 'SK is a Gooner'. You can take a look at my personal blog to know more about me, but I've let it to rot for a long time.

Also, check out all the stuffs on the right side of this page for introductions and other stuffs. You can post a comment about it, or about the post after you're done.



So it's the 1st of July, and the 2009 transfer window has just officially opened. The road to a hopefully-successful season will begin right here, at the transfer window.

So far, we have managed to grab 23 year old Thomas VERMAELEN (pronounced Ver-MAH-len), a left-footed central defender from Ajax. He was the captain of Ajax during the 08-09 season. Only at the age of 23, this man must be quite promising. Despite that, I don't think he'll immediately partner Toure or Gallas in the first team though, unless one of them leaves.

We have also released 8 players, and one of them is our #28, Amaury BISCHOFF, after a poor first season in Arsenal. He didn't too well in the reserves, not to mention the first team, where he only managed to make four appearances, all from the bench.

Oh well, he is probably the least noticed player in the first team, so I guess it's not that big of a deal that he's gone. Except that the #28 is opened. Maybe Vermaelen would take that?



We are only 18 days away to the pre-season friendly match in Barnet, so let's all look forward to that. Cheers.