Theo! Theo! Theo! Theo!

^ Can we have him?? I think he'd look great in blue. Wait, is this the Arsenal thread? :wtf2:










I kid, I kid.

:D

Did anyone see some of the huge transfers this week?

1. Marco Boriello : AC Milan --> AS Roma

Borrielo heads to Roma - News - MirrorFootball.co.uk


2. Robinho : Manchester City --> AC Milan

AC Milan sign Robinho - News - MirrorFootball.co.uk



Milan have so many attacking options now it's insane. With the addition of Ibrakadabra and now Robinho, along with both Pato AND Ronaldinho, they are clearly looking to take back the balance of power in Serie A.

Like me, were you wondering; where does this leave Klaas-Jan Huntelaar? Well, here's your answer:

Schalke Signs Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as Transfer Window Closes | Bleacher Report

He's off to Germany to play with Schalke 04.



Speaking of Dutchmen:

Tottenham transfer news: Spurs wait on Rafael van der Vaart deal - News - MirrorFootball.co.uk

Looks like the 'Spurs are looking to land Van der Vaart from Real. I hope they sign him, because they could certainly use the help in midfield this season to help launch attacks with Crouch, Defoe, and Pavlyuchenko. Spurs have what it takes to make a dent in Champs league?

VdV will not sign with Spurs from Real Madrid. And AC Milan basically going from Boriello -> Robinho? Great upgrade for the Rossoneri if Robinho keeps his head on straight.

Liverpool looked busy, WHERE DID ALL THE MONEY COME FROM?!

Arsenal did not get a goalkeeper, FAIL.

Boriello was a great finisher for Milan with a nose for goal like all great strikers should have. That will be a loss for them, but then again if Ibra shows a little of the brilliance he showed at Inter, I think he could work well for them.

Dude, Mascherano is a HUGE loss for Liverpool! Even more pressure on Stevie G to support the midfield. And it doesn't help that there's rumors swirling about linking Kuyt to follow Rafa Benitez to Inter. Roy Hodgson's got his work cut out for him this season.

Goalkeepers seem to be a bit scarce in the Prem League, yeah? I feel for you guys with Almunia in the net, but honestly, sometimes I wonder about Cech. One keeper I really wanted was Joe Hart, but I think he's committed to City for a while.

Once again AW fails to nab a game changer, I wanted at least another defensive midfielder given the injury problems that Diaby and Song seem to have intermittently, a Goalkeeper was a must and that didnt happen, HUGE fail on AW's part there. Now RvP is going to be out AGAIN, man i'm losing faith in that guy, hes god when hes on the field, but hes spent more time injured than he has playing. I'm putting all my chips on Theo this year, if he keeps his current form, he can win the golden boot easy. I'm also hoping Schmack has a breakout season once he adjusts to the pace of play in the EPL. Great win last week against a team that we usually struggle with (we always seem to against physical teams), time to press on and beat the teams that we should.

Looks like Van der Vaart is moving to North London:

PL approve Spurs' Van der Vaart deal - Premier League News - FOX Sports on MSN

****, i was wrong.

But still, f*ck tottenham.

Red I want Chamakh to do really well in the EPL, but RvP is critical to this Arsenal squad. Chamakh doesn't have the same vision as Arshavin and van Persie. Look at the delivery to Walcott for the first goal against Blackburn. We NEED him fit; I'll take a slight knock now, in exchange for a healthy RvP down the stretch runs. Especially during Interlullz

edit (i gotta rant this): Some of these 'Arsenal fans' comments towards Wenger and Almunia are flat out ridiculous. The transfer window is OVER, we've got who we've got. Schwarzer was never a good answer to our problems anyway, and people made him sound like the second coming of David Seaman (which is wrong, apparently Wocjech Sczesny is...just with a really hard name lol). I love how people go 'Oh just toss another 2 million pounds for a GK', we all play too much FIFA or Football Manager to even begin considering the ramifications of buying an old GK for double what he's worth. And admittedly, we had no chance at Given, Hart, and Akinfeev was just a smokescreen.

I think our transfer targets were pretty good. Squillaci is in, Chamakh, Koscielny is learning the EPL but can pay dividends, and best of all Fabregas has committed the season to Arsenal FC. All in all, can't complain too much. But for some 'fans' to actually go out and say 'I can't watch the Arsenal this season with that clod in goal' is amazing. Those kinds of supporters are better of supporting ManShitty, and take all their vitriol with them.

I support Almunia in goal, he looked sharp against Blackburn. With the defense sorting itself out in front of him, the goal should be locked down a little better. I am somewhat disappointed Flappyhandski is still around, he really should go on loan to a Championship level club or lower to rebuild his confidence and let him grow into the limelight. He's going to keep getting ripped apart in the EPL. I'd rather Mannone back Almunia when our No. 1 goes down with some random 'finger sprain' or something.

Wow that's HARSH! A little North London derby never hurt anyone. :stirthepot:

i have my doubts w/Milan getting rid of Boriello so fast since he is already used to playing w/the Milan guys and is getting to his peak. Ibra on the other hand hasn't had much playing time. He did great at Inter, yet they have a diff style of play.....i hope he meshes. As for Robinho = :tup:

Milan tore it up this past sunday....Pato + Ronaldinho looked amazing :happydance:

harsh but i stand by my words :stirthepot:

Well said, Phelan.

lol say again?

AC Milan for the title.

^ It will be tighter than last year, but I think Inter will still pull through by the slightest of margins. Keep in mind Inter still have probably the strongest defensive back four in Serie A anchored with Lucio, Zanetti, and Maicon. AND let's not forget about Sneijder, Cambiasso, and Diego Milito, all huge playmakers and some of the best finishers in Europe. I also think Rafa Benitez will find the finally success he had at Valencia several years ago before he moved to Liverpool. Speaking of which, does anyone remember the Valencia La Liga side when they were under Benitez? They were the best counter-attacking squad in the whole of Europe at the time, imo. Inter have the players in mid-field and the attacking full backs to play in a similar style as Valencia from 2003-04 era. Under Benitez I would look for a much faster pace of play from Inter this season. It's still very early to say, but I predict Inter retain the Serie A title.

However, I do feel Milan will have greater success in the Champions League this year. It's hard to say how far they will progress being grouped with the likes of Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre, but I think with the new signings they will certainly be competitive.

Arsenal announce Robin van Persie injury setback - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

Admittedly, saw it coming a mile away. I wish we could have a healthy RvP for one full season, but he's carrying so many injuries I have no idea if he'll be the same.

Can't believe it's taken less than a season for me to go "thank God Theo is on form right now" instead of "oh god Theo is back up" :rofl2:

It looks like Arsenal may finally have some depth at striker-- I'd rather him take his time & come back healthy.

I'm starting to get numb to all the injuries our team is hit with week in and week out, I guess i've finally come to terms with it. And like my man Phelan said, thank GOD Theo is on a tear right now, he started in the England game and set up 2 Defoes goals, the guy is playing some of the best football i've seen him play. And to think, this kid isnt even in the prime of his career yet. I think Chamakh will come around, his first few matches have really just been more of a feeling out, adjusting to the English style of play. Koscielny disappointed me against Blackburn, Diouf muscled through him like it was nothing to set up the pass for the goal, I wouldnt doubt that Squillaci may start this week. Overall, we're not looking terrible, Rosicky has been a revelation this season, hopefully he'll keep looking good as well. But if we're to challenge Chelski and ManUre, we'll need a full strength side, hopefully we'll have a few injury returns before then.

I'm forgiving of Koscielny on the Diouf to Diouf goal-- the guy had gotten a harsh red in his last match; had he fouled Diouf #1 in that position, he'd probably have gotten another red & maybe given away a penalty. I blame the goal more on Clichy's ball watching.

I grant you that Koscielny shouldn't have been so easily muscled away by Diouf #1, but I think he's been very solid beyond that.

I put a lot of the blame on Clichy. I still think Gibbs should get some first team matches under his belt, and make Clichy feel less 'entitled' to the position. Maybe he'd pick up his play again.

Koscielny has played excellent for Arsenal so far. I agree with what the pundits on Arseblog wrote:

Out of the 11 tackles vs. Blackburn, he won all but two, losing those in the air. Pretty respectable for a guy who looks like a stick out there on the pitch. Get some muscle on him, and he'll be a great defender.

Hey guys, we're f*cked.

From the guardian:

And I totally agree with this:

**** BUYING A GOALKEEPER, WENGER BUY A NEW MEDICAL STAFF

You guys make valid points, Diouf #2 cut across Clichy pretty easily and slipped through unnoticed it seemed. And i'll agree with Phelan, Koscielny hasnt done too poorly given his size disadvantage, but have yall seen a before and after picture of Verms from last year til this season? the dude has packed on alot of beef, them weight trainers at Arsenal obviously know what they're doing. Give the frenchy a year and he'll be throwin around some extra weight.

The weight trainers know what they're doing, BUT WHY ARE THE BOYS' ANKLES VAPORIZING AT THE SLIGHTEST TOUCH?!

FML, we're through. :shakes head:

too many games w/o time for recovery maybe?

34 min: Walcott update Word from Sky's touchline reporter is that he has been expedited to hospital to have an x-ray on his ankle ...

kill me.:crying:

Ugh...now what? VS Bolton:

Almunia

Sagna - Squillaci - Vermaelen - Gibbs (or Clichy, I guess)

Song

Wilshere / Diaby - Fabregas - Rosicky???

Chamakh - Arshavin

Bendtner out, RvP out, Walcott out, we're running thin up top... now its only a matter of time before our midfield gets depleted through late challenges and sloppy play. Kill me. At least our defense has depth...

Maybe it won't be that serious.

:-|

Walcott injury adds to Arsenal problems - - SI.com

Says Theo's injury isn't as bad as it looked. I hope so...

We should fly this in support of our injured Gunners:

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/1...nambulance.png

EDIT: w00t!

Theo is out 4-6 weeks.

Arsenal star Theo Walcott ruled out for up to six weeks - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

:wtf2:

FML. The little Russki and Chamakh arent going to cut it up top together, we're going to need strong help from the midfield, Cesc is going to have to step his game up and score some goals.

....................Almunia

Sagna - Squillaci - Vermaelen - Clichy

..........Eboue - Song - Diaby

...................Fabregas

............Chamakh - Arshavin


Sub Koscielny for Eboue if more defensive mindset.
Sub Koscielny for Vermaelen to recreate the FFF :rofl2:
Resist temptation to bring Nasri back against a physical team.
Pray to God that Fabregas still has his scoring touch, and can light up the offense with good through passes to both Chamakh and Arshavin.
Hope Arshavin didn't eat a humongous lunch, because he needs to move his *** lol

Good formation but I dont like Diaby on the wing, he doesnt have the pace. If anything I'd go with this:

...................Muniepoo

Sagna - Squill - Verms - Clichy/Gibbs

..........Eboue - Song - Rosicky

.....................Fabby

...............Smack - Russki

We wont need to sit back in a shell against Bolton, Fab and Eboue need to get forward and take chances on goal, Smack doesnt have his shooting boots on yet and Arsha gets muscled off the ball too easy, so I think the goals will have to come from set pieces and the midfield. I wish Rosicky would dial that shot back in, hes scored some beauties from 25+ yards with the Czech side in the past.

Thomas Vermaelen out of Bolton Wanderers match after adding to Arsenal's injury woes - Goal.com

holy jesus.

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/1...nambulance.png

hes only out for Bolton, no biggie, makes that Squillaci signing seem genius.

I remain hesitant. Achilles injuries are notoriously hard to heal from.

its probably just a strain, if they said he'd be back for braga i dont think its too bad.