According to his official website, Johan Djourou has a muscle tear in his right thigh and could be out of action for as much as a month.
Undoubtedly the not-at-all-predictable and highly witty will chip in with comments such as ‘Good’ and ‘He’s shit’ but while his recent form has been poor, it’s worth remembering we now only have two fit senior centre-halves, and Thomas Vermaelen is carrying an knock after Sunday’s merciless pounding of Sp*rs.
Per Mertesacker is out for the season with an ankle injury while Sebastian Squillaci has fractured his spirit in eight different places. With 12 league games still to go it’s a lot to ask of Koscielny and Vermaelen to stay fit for all of them, especially as Koscielny is also being nursed through a minor injury himself.
With Francis Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey out injured the option of moving Alex Song back to centre-half is not as obvious as it might be, leaving the manager only with young Spaniard Ignasi Miquel to call on if he needs cover.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, he has impressed me this season and even when played out of position at left back he has done well, but considering how crucial each game is, the more fully fit players we have in the squad the better.
i remember a couple of seasons ago before he had his bad injury, he was quality.
I want that Djourou back again. Him being out is the last thing we need at the moment.
Me too but Andre Santos should be back sooner rather than later and Carl Jen
kinson is also available, if needed?
Yes he was, the reason for that was his fitness level, I have seen JD with his family in Hyde Park, and he really looked out of shape and a little over wieght just as he looks slow to turn or run after striker.
I personally think this is more of a reconditioning period rather than injury and it is about time as we will need him for the run in.
Get fit and return to form JD.
Oh my god a reasonable measured comment on Djourou??
It’s time for Sebastian Squillachi to stand up and be counted………oh shit.
Dont worry okay a little but Miquel should be the third choice now. And he does need to play at lb either i Saw news Santos is nearing to full fitness with gibbs at lb as well.
*doesnt*
He cannot be counted if the coach refuses to play him at all except when there
,s no one else so how does he gain confidence with his fellow defenders if he
hardly plays with them ,genius ?
I would suggest he starts by not committing basic schoolboy errors when he does get his chance. He had many an opportunity last season to impress and was found wanting every time. Our record with him in the side was there for all to see. I will argue a case for nearly all our players, bendnter, denilson, perry groves, kaba diawara. They all had attributes no matter how small that gave you hope that they could succeed, however with Sebastian I know when I’m beat. I’ll stick him in the Ceasar/Stepanovs file. Hope I’m proved wrong but I’ve a feeling… Read more »
he WAS part of a Monaco defence which reached the champions league final, wasnt he? and was named in the team of the year in 06, as well as having won the copa del rey with Sevilla…don’t get me wrong, i think he’s shit as well and everytime he does come on if anything is to go wrong (i.e. us conceding) it seems to almost ALWAYS have a direct or indirect link to him, yet I think if things had gone well for him in his adaptation/settling in period he would not have lost confidence and be the doubtful looking… Read more »
Good point, I guess when you look at his record he looked like a decent purchase, I think we all thought he was the type of player we needed. I guess once he knocked out Kos and had the mix up with Almunia, and came on at 4-0 up against Newcastle only to see us ship 4 goals, he became a catastrophe magnet.
Personally I feel Squillaci isn’t as bad as everyone says he is. Yes he commits errors we do not expect from someone as experience as him. But don’t forget Koscielny probably committed as many error as he did last season and shows how much adaptation european players have to cope to the English game. Now Koscielny is probably one of the club’s vital foundation where else Squillaci becomes scapegoat for bad performances. He seems professional in training and I think he can get the job done if required so we should get behind him as he is an Arsenal player.… Read more »
I’ve counted Squillaci and fortunately we still only have one of him.
Thanks God!
Its not as bad as it seems. Miquel is brilliant from what we’ve seen!
I second that.
extend his contract again immediately.
Not another coffee session .Emirates more like Starbucks at the moment
Miquel > Squillaci for sure. Miquel looks good at LB, so it would be great to see him back at his natural position. He and Bartley will be great for years to come.
TV, Koscielny, Per, JD + Bartley and Miquel?
Arsenal’s youth and first-team center-halves are really yielding results here.
Mind you that Per Mertesacker, at 26, is the oldest center-half we’ve got (Squillaci doesn’t count).
Good. I was already going to say it no matter what. it’s just like the arshavin-ox situation, how bad can miquel be, less than tripping and falling and be left behind by an opposition player then causing a penalty? Undoubtedly Djourou is one of your best players since he always escapes the stick dished out to other players like walcott but i’d rather miquel than djourou this season. last season was something else, but still ..
While I never like to berate an Arsenal player, he’s in the Fabianski mold, guaranteed to make at least one critical mistake per game and therefore a confidence killer for the rest of the side. Good riddance I’m afraid, we’re far better off without him.
Djourou was an important player for us last season but his current form is terrible..He doesn’t even look assured on the ball as he did last season..
I would take Miquel over him anyway..I’d like to see young players being trusted instead of experienced players played out of position where they look totally out of sorts..Djourou looked terrible at RB but Yennaris/Coquelin played well there…Isn’t that the purpose of having good youngsters? Youngsters who can step up when needed…So give Miquel a go if TV5 doesn’t get fit.
That’s 221,000 quid wasted then.
I don’t think many people have a huge problem with djourou, ok his form hasn’t been great but most remember last season when he was oustanding for a period.
As a back up to the others he’s ideal I think the problem many have is the reward of a 50 k a week contract, which in fairness isn’t his fault but epitomises what’s wrong with the structure of this club.
again, is it mad to imagine that djourou wouldn’t regularly be enquired about by other premier league clubs? and that he’d reasonably expect to earn £40K basic plus appearance/other bonuses at the likes of Everton, Villa, Newcastle, Stoke, West Ham (they’re coming up, no point in pretending otherwise), etc etc which would take him over his basic contract earnings at Arsenal, where he won’t have the appearance bonuses that he’d get elsewhere? Same applies to Spain/Italy where I reckon he’d fare perfectly well. Basic point: he is as good a reserve CB as you’ll find and that costs money in… Read more »
Have to disagree sammy, I cannot see djourou earning anywhere near 40 or 50 k a week at the clubs you mentioned. Never in a million years. He is a good reserve il give you that but i think your way off the mark thinking the likes of everton would pay anywhere near that to him a week. Agree maybe they would like him as would have other clubs I’m sure.
he’d earn similar sums to jagielka at everton or dunne at villa i’m sure. and i’ve no idea but i can’t see it being much less than £40K a week simply because if it was much less, we’ve have bought jagielka a year ago and stuck him on £60K a week.
so i see your point but think you might be assuming they pay in bags of chips at everton, or something
Surely it would be toffees not chips, but jagielka would have cost money and arsene as we known don’t really like spending.
And I just don’t see those players you mentioned being on 40 or 50 k a week. Maybe I’m wrong who knows but either way djourou isn’t worth 50k a week nowhere near regardless of what other players are on at other clubs.
I think there are a lot of overpaid defenders out there at the moment which I rate defensively more or less on par with JD. Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Kaboul immediately sprains to mind.
I think overall its best we pay someone like JD £40k as he’s been in the club long enough, plays for the club and seems to know his place than to pay someone else more for similar ability and less settle as JD.
Johan is cool (I mean: A black Swiss!) and actually plays quite well.
I imagine people giving him stick are the same as are after the BFG, as they are quite similar in their style.
But like Ignasi you would expect you people to make mistakes, and how old is Djourou?
It’s not optimal, but it’s part of the Arsenal plan to develop youngsters. And that means giving them games – games in which they make mistakes…
With Rangers in the poo, there is a possibility of a return for Bartley. It might be an idea if we add him to the squad for the sake of additional cover rather than just shove him straight back out on loan like we did with Watt.
Djorou is a good player,accepted but Arsene Wenger needs to sell him out.Same to Squillaci and replace them with new and quality defenders.The’ve not improved over the years.
How much better quality are you going to get for a fourth choice CB? For a fourth choice, Djourou is the cream of the crop.
I think Djourou is reaching Senderos territory; I always thought Senderos was going to be a decent starting center-half somewhere, just not at Arsenal. There is something about the way we play and the pressure involved in the chance of being in the sights of a counterattacking team that involves some mental fortitude above and beyond your average defender. TV5, Kos, and the BFG all have that; calm confidence. I don’t think Djourou does.
Not sure about Miquel at centre half just yet. He looks like a good kid but might not have the physical presence that is needed for the Premier League.
Feed him whatever Kos has been eating and we should be fine!
‘….after Sunday’s merciless pounding of Sp*rs.’ I like that
meh, I’m happy with Miquel there. He’s got to get his chance at some point. Might as well be now. If he can cut it he will.
Perfect! All the better as its right after we’ve promised him another four million quid.
Still, he IS one of ours, so get well soon mate..
All great players need to.get their breakthrough somehow. This could be miquels. He’s talented enough to step up.
Fuck now our centre backs are dropping like flies when our fullbacks are returning, maybe the fullbacks should start covering for the centre halves:D
Hope he’s back soon. All the idiots saying “good” to an Arsenal player being injured should fuck off to Shite Hart Lane so they can watch quality defending by the likes of Dawson and Legless King. Djourou has been a consistent performer over 5 seasons and if you’d rather have a disaster like Cahill, or a man mountain who makes the BFG look nimbler than a dancing flea like Samba, then you are a mouth-breathing spacker. Reminder: Djourou is not first choice at Arsenal. As a reserve, he is better than at least 50% of first choice centre halves in… Read more »
Three day ban for saying “Cahill” , plus another 2 days for telling other arsenal supporters to go support s***s. good day sir. See you next week.
arsenal supporters don’t wish injuries on their own players
i’ll wear the cahill ban, though. fair enough
Fair enough. I agree. I don’t even wish players from other teams injuries ( except nasri and adabayor). I just can’t stand it when one gooner tells another to go support another club because they disagree on something. I honestly think it should be an arseblog rule, like the text speak thing. I love that rule.
Djourou out = not scared! RVP out = Scared to death!!!! I realize we’re lacking at depth for CB at the moment but I’d think we can have Song, Miquel cover the position with Jenkinson back too. It’s not as dire as it could be. I’d be more worried if Kos & TV5 were both out 1 month with only DJ there to cover. RVP strained his groin and had to leave training early for the England vs Netherlands match. Why we always have these meaningless international breaks when. I would have hoped Arsenal would ask Bert van Marwijk to… Read more »
No. It’s after the 1st of Jan so it’s 10 for a suspension now but it will be 2 matches then.
I get that his recent form has not been good, and i’m not gonna repeat what other have said about his performances last season, but as Blogs tends to point out from time to time, you will have to think hard to name a better 4th choice center back in the league. Savic? Evans? I don’t event know who the fuck Chelsea’s 4th choice CB is… We need cover in defense, this is evidenced in our injury list. Not long ago we played with a 4 CB defense, however now, we need to think about how factible it is to… Read more »
Oh God. I like him, but most importantly… we are one injury away from Squillaci :S
So JD goes on to a moths sick pay at the new rate.
Nice if you can get it John.
How much does a moth get in sick pay?
Furry little.
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