Thursday, March 28, 2024

Wenger leaves big guns at home (most of them, anyway)

Arsenal have announced the squad for tomorrow night’s game against Olympiacos and as expected quite a number of the players who played against Wigan – and who will feature against Everton on Saturday – have been left at home.

Staying behind to have a slumber party and to watch the game around Robin’s gaff are van Persie, Walcott, Gervinho, Arteta, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Ramsey, Szczesny and Song.

Andre Santos and Thomas Vermaelen are included but both players could probably do with the match for fitness purposes, while youngsters such as Nico Yennaris, Oguzhan Ozyakup and Miquel will be bolstered by experienced heads like Rosicky, Benayoun, Arshavin, Squillaci and Chamakh.

The full squad is: Arshavin, Benayoun, Chamakh, Coquelin, Djourou, Eastmond, Fabianski, Frimpong, Mannone, Miquel, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozyakup, Park, Rosicky,  Santos, Squillaci, Vermaelen, Yennaris.

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Nik

I look forward to seeing the Coq explode all over the Greek defenders.

MyArse

‘It starts’

Master Bates

Le Coq will set up 25 yard screamer for The OX

Witoldo

As I wrote in the Arses this morning: Anyone else looking forward to Tuesday when there’ll be a Coq in the middle of our Arse?

Voldermort

Oh no not again 🙂

Cromulus

If we can give ’em an ox-coq up the Arshavin, we’ll be in business.

Ajax

I laughed long and heartily at this, thank you sir.

Big Guns

Vermaleen and Santos should never be included in the team, this game has nothing in it and i think its a risk to play our best defender and our only left back in this game of no importance. Wegner be carefull

Jekyll

I agree, I don’t see why he’s getting thumbs down for this opinion, it’s hardly incendiary.

Ajax

Nice try, Big Guns.

Master Bates

Either Vermaelen or Van Persie should go . They are captains .

Santos , well like you said he is our only left back

Trevor

Included doesn’t mean they’ll be playing…

11 cannons

I like their presence in the squad. These kids are going to a bit of hostile away ground and will benefit from the inclusion of older heads. It also helps stitch the entire squad together, something that will be vital in the second half of the season.

Spooner

Agreed. Can’t really see TV5, CoqPong or the Ox getting too intimidated. Their confidence should do wonders for that of the others in the squad.

Loving that we’re using the CL as a chance for the second string to make a statement, whilst the other ‘big’ English clubs all need to scrap to stay in the only European tourney that matters 🙂

Steve

Vermaelen because he’s still coming back from injury and needs games and Santos to get his fitness up as he’s only just starting to not struggle to last 90 minutes. That is why there are thumbs down.

Ace McGoldrick

Really want to see Ozyakup play, think he’s going to be quality. Hopefully Coq can fit into the hole in midfield in a satisfactory fashion.

david seago

hopefully the coq can fit into some hole.

1886

To think that last season I would have been slightly concerned by seeing squillaci and some others travel. Now, however, I’m fully confident that they will go to Greece and fight for a result. That much has changed. Fight.

Justin Bernard

This is Chamakh’s chance to play a full game and show Wenger he can still score. I think we’ll get a result from this.

Frog

Would you like to place a bet on chamakh scoring?

True Gooner

Listen our reserves matched City which surprised most of us. Even in the intimidating atmosphere at Olympiacos I believe they will cope and show us they are ready to challenge for 1st team places. My one and only concern is can Chamakh & Park step up as viable striking alternatives?

Afc24

Im glad were gun play the youngsters, I really wanted AOC to come on instead of Arshavin at the weekend, he’s got so much more going than Andre right now, I honestly hope he leaves in Jan, good that Coq will b gettin a game too as rumors were a few weeks ago he would leave due to lack of appearances, it looks as tho he’s are number 2 there right now with Manu apparently going on loan in Jan

Pele of Romford

One of the statues outside the grove better be of arsene, although Dennis, rocky, Adams, Charlie George, bob Wilson, or frank McClintock would be acceptable.
I know it’s a random comment but the more I think about it, the more important this decision is. Some people achieved more and are legends than but their behaviour wasn’t/isn’t acceptable Since(wrighty).
I would be gutted if it’s of some fucking directors.
It has to be arsene.

feygooner

Ken Friar deserves some recognition IMO.

Yes, I just read ‘Arsenal: The making of a modern Superclub’ 😛

Is it me or are Arsenal the only team who have this kind of following? Most number of blogs on the net despite not winning for 6 years, great books written, high attendances etc etc?

Fatgooner

What about Perry Groves? He was a god in the 80s and 90s.

Goon

Henry has to be included as a statue. He WAS the club in the successful early PL years. Our best ever player.

feygooner

Early PL years?

Graham

Can’t agree I’m afraid. Nobody has ever been the club. As for him being our best ever player, have a butchers at the legends dvds and then tell me that Thierry was better than Dennis. No chance mate, Dennis was without doubt the best player we have ever had and even he wasn’t the club.

UP THE ARSE! (the only thing that should be capitalised)

Ajax

I’ve got to disagree with you here, I’m not knocking Dennis in any way as he is a club great and one of my favourite players of all time, but Henry was/is one of the best players the world has ever seen and Bergkamp can’t quite compare Bergkamp was brilliant, a great player and at the top of his game up there with the best of them, much like RVP today. Henry was exceptional beyond compare, a game-changer, a match-winner and a genius at times, just look at his performance in the Champions League final in 2006 where he single… Read more »

Steve

You mean despite Bergkamp being the one and only dutch player in the FIFA Hall of fame…. Those who watched Arsenal through the 90’s knows that DB10 was and is the greatest player to pull on the red and white shirt.

Ajax

@Steve

Vieira, Adams, Seaman, Keown, Parlour, Pires and Henry would have something to say about that I think.

Graham

Only to agree with me mate. They all knew Dennis was special, so If you get an opportunity to ask them I think they will agree with me. Anyway watch the legends dvds back to back and if you rate TH above DB then I’m afraid there is no hope for you (only kidding we are all Gunners after all so I’ll let you off).

Goon

Ahem

Bunburyist

I don’t think any of the statues will be of a player. It will be the three men who have most forged this club’s identity, both on and off the pitch.

I think Wenger will be one of them.

Bunburyist

Actually, I’ve done some ‘checking around’ (i.e., looking under the sofa, etc.), and I think might be wrong about the ‘non-player’ thing. Some speculation that it will just be player legends. Oh well.

I guess we’ll see when we see.

Anon

Unrelatedly, Carlos Vela scored a non-chip goal that everyone hailed.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/golazo-carlos-vela-v-malaga/

Did you know he was an Arsenal player?

^_^GUNNER^_^

Thumbs Up if u think that no matter what the squad looks like, we are fuckin’ winning this match tomorrow 🙂

Goonerbob

So Diaby is still out injured then. I thought he might have been back to fitness.

gunnermaniac

the right time to test our young squad

Bunburyist

…and it will be a test. Olympiakos will play out of their skins knowing a win might be enough to see them qualify from the group. I’m expecting an extremely tough game.

Bunburyist

Completely unrelated, but you know that feature on the dot com “Arsenal train ahead of [insert team] – Pictures”? Yeah, well, why is it that about 5 of the 20 or so pictures are of Wenger standing out pointing his finger at stuff or looking pensive? I mean, wouldn’t one picture of him looking professorial / directorial be enough to persuade that he was indeed the man in charge? I’d much rather see more shots of players actually in training and joking around with each other (so that we know a) they are actually alive, and b) they’re “gelling”). By… Read more »

rectum spectrum

Lol. I know what you mean. I want to see pictures of van p hammering free kicks at a blindfolded szcz, with Walcott and Wiltshire trading Pokemon cards in the background, and arshavin riding mertesacker like a wee jockey on a horse. Best mates the lot of them.

Bunburyist

Exactly!

rectum spectrum

When was the last time we were in a position to blood youngsters and give minutes to fringe players in such a big game. Excellent. Just sit back and enjoy, watch some of the future of Arsenal get another notch on the belt.
Beats chewing nails and begging the gods for a last minute winner to qualify. Good times.

Jasonissimo

To answer a rhetorical question: At Olympiacos a coupla seasons ago, wasn’t it?

ozziegun

Where else but The Arsenal a youngster will get a chance to play in the Champions League…this is why I love this club, everyone gets a chance. Stuff most of us can only dream of…

Merlin's Panini

I like it when Arsene pulls his Coq out. Olympiakos won’t like it up em, that’s for sure.

Merlin's Panini

They’re gonna get (F)rimmed and Chu’d and maybe later there’ll be Ars(es)havin(g). They’re gonna get Chamkh’d right on the Arse, I reckon.

[…] and onto the football tonight. As expected the majority of the team that played against Wigan has been left behind for the game against Olympiacos. Only Vermaelen and Santos from Saturday’s team have made the […]

Marco

I don’t like this Coq jokes… It’s not even funny…besides his name is pronounced completely different
On topic. So it’s Bye-Bye Dortmund?
I don’t believe we will win with this squad but that is not even important. I hope they all can learn a lot from this game and that it will help the team in the long run.

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