The Guardian report this evening that Mikel Arteta is expected to miss ‘at least’ two weeks with the ankle injury he picked up in last night’s Champions League tie.
The skipper was taken off after a clash with Demba Ba and the initial prognosis suggests that he’ll miss the games against Everton this weekend, Besiktas in midweek and the trip to Leicester the following Sunday.
At that point there’s an Interlull with the Gunners next game at home to Man City. However, conclusive results won’t be known until the club get the results of Arteta’s scan which took place today.
With Aaron Ramsey also suspended for next the Champions League game, it leaves Arsene Wenger without two of his most trusted and influential performers.
On the bright side, Arsenal expect Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker to be back for the trip to Goodison Park and the return of the Germans would prove a timely boost ahead of a crucial week.
Meanwhile, Besiktas coach Slaven Bilic has been handed a one match touchline ban ahead of next Wednesday’s crunch clash.
So if it’s true that we’re not signing a DM but are getting a CB instead, that brings up the intriguing possibility of Chambers in sitting midfield. That would be interesting because as someone who clearly has the ability to play CB (and is being at least partially trained as a CB), it would open up the possibility of us using full-backs to even greater impact on the wings with Chambers dropping in to the back 3, and being the CB that steps up to hassle the attacker on the ball while the other 2 cover (can’t get much better… Read more »
FANTASTIC
This will make the buying process quicker..
there is no buying process. we’re in for a center half. that’s it.
Bollocks. Can this be some grand riddance for crazy spending?????
Demba Bad
Play chambers center back AND center mf AT THE SAME
field all chambers
Worrying times. It’s too early to tell what our expectations for this season will be, but even though it’s still early days the next few weeks are crucial towards how our season will shape up. At this point all that matters is results. But I am worried that we are already in such predicament and it is still early days.
It’s flamini time.
and here is your yellow card..
I’ll take 5.
So I guess carvalho is coming 🙂
yeah right. but i suppose this is the only way that wenger MIGHT be persuaded to buy a holding player. still doubtful though. (he’s not out long enough to cause an emergency trolley dash). i think we’ll buy an 8m centre half and get on with the season.
Abou Diaby, give him a start.
Diaby’s not a holding/defensive mid.
neither is arteta…
Lakini hizi injury zimekua nyingi sana. Sijui tutafanya aje.
Yes exactly
Let’s clone Chambers. Done.
Flamini will replace him
and then get suspended. flamini can’t pass that well, and we can’t keep possession when we need to. that’s why i think it was mad to pass on cesc, though it appears, from wenger’s comments, he wanted to go to chelsea anyway. water under the bridge though.
Did you see Fabregas’s face when he said, “Ozil replaced me”?
Flamini’s discipline problems are greatly exaggerated. Last season Flamini had one red in all comps whereas Arteta had two (with more appearances, granted) including one away to Napoli which made things a lot more nervy than they needed to be. While Flamini does pick up a lot of yellows he’s able to play well on a yellow and avoid picking up the second one. If you remember, his one red last year was a straight red, for a two-footed challenge which won the ball. I suppose that’s how the game is called nowadays, but 10 years ago it wouldn’t have… Read more »
But Flamini struggles with decent opposition. Wilfried Bony for example wore Flamini as a tie last season, and i just think he is to puny to be an effective DM. He just struggles to push players off the ball. But granted he makes up for it somewhat by being a good tackler, but he really struggles when it gets physical dueling time, and players like Bony, Benteke, Lukaku, Carrol and the ogre, Rooney just run straight through him. Which is why I would like us to get a proper enforcer in the DM role. A real powerhouse that can dominate… Read more »
Aresenal midfielders play better when Flamini is in the lineup – Ramsey especially. In the 7 games Ramsey was paired with Flamini he scored 5 goals and chipped in 3 assists. Ramsey with Arteta in 15 games – 7 goals, 1 assist.
Based on the team ratings from whoscored.com Arsenal’s team rating in 26 games with Arteta – 7.07 with a record of 18-4-4. In 11 games with Flamini as the CDM the team rating was 7.0 with a record of 9-0-2.
Arteta’s injury is a blow to the team, but I think we will be fine with Flamini.
BFG is back!! So Chambers in cm for me with Aaron against Everton! Also I’m starting to agree with Blogs about the Campbell situation. He has played around 5 mins in the last 3 games even with Cazorla and Giroud in bad form. So if he doesn’t start now how can he start when Walcott and Podolski are back!? I could be wrong but I thought Campbell could have come on around the hour mark yesterday but he didn’t so I’m having doubts about his future!
We nd to sgn Kadira or bumder 2 rplace em
N cavana or rennie of qpr 4 strker place
Harry Rednap shud b manger
hilarious that people can’t see this is a joke.
I lol’d!
Bumder is too busy building himself a closet to hide in!
It’s too fucking early for this. 4 days into the season and our captain’s bollixed. I’m gonna go support Accrington for a few weeks, wake me when this hell ends.
au contraire. happens all the time at the beginning of the season. we’re lucky it’s only a few weeks. captain legohair will be back soon.
i don’t know how it would be organized or how it would work, but my ideal midfield three would be jack-aaron-mesut.
“A few weeks” in Arsene-speak usually means until November. Let’s hope the doctors can find an ankle lego piece to slot right in.
With Ramsey’s scoring capabilities It would have to be Jack at the back, but would he stay in position? My guess is it’ll be Flaminimi Ramsey and Mesut for league, and Jack, Rosicky, or Ox in Aaron’s place for Besiktas.
Might be interesting to play Santi in the middle with Ozil on the wing, but if they’re both on the field they’ll switch around at will anyway. Which is good because Ozil actually uses the field width better when he wants to.
When Per is back, if Kos is fit Chambers may get some DM time sooner than later.
Give vowels a chance!
Didn’t chamberlain play as cdm during the milan game?
Also the crucial game away at Newcastle at the end of the 2013 season when we needed to win to get 4th. Good game there. In theory he has most of the required attributes; pace, strength, tenacity, ability to pick a pass. The positioning sense will come. Just wonder if it makes sense to have him as part of a twosome so as to enable him to burst forward as well.
That was no joke, I really believe bumder & kadira need to be brought in!
With all due respect to Flamini, i’d take aterta over him anyday, and i would rather play Chambers in that DM position once the BFG is available for selection, Flamini tends to be prone to been booked in almost every game and sometimes very early that it in most cases does put limit to his performances.
Any doubts whether the season has started has now been removed. Two games. two injuries.
Arteta looks like a Vampire, he’d be back
We’re 1 injury away from “crisis” right now. Specially on the forward and defender side.
I honestly want to see Sanogo on a season long loan while we get a good striker and possibly a good DM. Just my opinion! I trust wenger tho!
please arsenal should not play flamini as a replacement of arteta in everton and besiktas matches because flamini lacks the pace and players like lukaku,ba,mccarthy and the co will outshine flamini so i prefer chambers as a replacement….my predicted line-up vs everton:szczency:debuchy,mertesacker,koscienly,monreal:chambers:sanchez,ramsey,chamberlain, cazorla:giroud
against besitkas:szczency:debuchy,mertesacker,koscienly,monreal:chambers,wilshere:chamberlain,ozil,cazorla :sanchez and will shall prosper.
Flamini….he’s The Sweeny…he’s upset and he hasn’t his dinner. Ba…you’re nicked son.
Now we _HAVE_ to sign someone. So in a sense it was kinda good. Altough it’s never good to lose a player.
Mertecielny Axis in defense;
Chambers @ DM.
Problem solved. You’re welcome.
Word is that Tiote of Newcastle is going to sign
Then I think it’s time we took that word and pistol-whipped it.
Hopefully not with us.
Come on lads…. 2 games in and already its doom and gloom??? Fuck sake…ease up, WE ARE FINE
we are. but the performances have been rather poor. that’s why people are so negative. edged palace and escaped with a draw against bekistas.
arsenal were a pretty mediocre watch last year as well, as much as i love them. hoping against hope it won’t be more of the same.
Where’s fat Gooner, gone? always good to have his objective views….
Hate to see Arteta get injured, but please FFS Wenger just buy a proper CDM finally.
Case was never a holding mid and still wouldn’t ha very been. Signing him would have meant no Sanchez and tbh we needed a player out wide re than we needed one in the center. Cesc might thrive playing besides someone like Matic but would never have if he was asked to play Arteta’ role. And as far as that box-to-box position is concerned we already have arguably the best CM in Aaron at that position.
he could play arteta’s role, easily.
A friendly reminder that this is not FIFA, and you are not Arsene Wenger
I don’t understand how we played so fluently during the Community Shield and then so badly against Palace n Bestiktas……weird.
they were training ground exercises. and city was makeshift
Besiktas is obviously a superior team to Man City. Palace too.
Besiktas hasn’t even started their season yet. After Feynerood all they have been planning for is Arsenal. We barely had a pre-season given the World Cup.
City players are still unfit and fighting for form, Palace parked the bus mostly, and Basiktas came out gunning harrrrrrd. We lost our captain twice in one game, once to injury and the other to a red card. Coming away with a 0-0 seems a blessing.
Arsene now has some selections to worry about. Everton will give us some clues, and keep us guessing, whilst doing the same for Basiktas who will come out gunning again, or look to counter, either way, we have our work cut out for us.
“At least two weeks”.
So we’ll next see Arteta around Christmas time then.
I know. They should qualify whether it is a standard two weeks or an Arsenal two weeks.:D
Oh no…sign William Carvalho quickly or Yann MVilla or Luis Gustavo or victor Wanyama or Morgan Schneiderlin.:)
Flamini should deputise. If we get Manolas or some other Cback in this week, we can also push Chambers up into midfield.
Calm your tits ladies and gentlemen. We have Calum Chambers who was ‘educated’ as a central midfielder. He will replace our captain in the CDM role. He seems to have a knack for playing in all the positions in the defence.
Not one person on our team can replace our Welsh Jesus though. So we are f’ed there. Unless of course Wilshere suddenly find a ‘consistency’ potion and becomes the invincible player he was destined to be.
As a relatively new Gooner (2012), I’m wondering why we wouldn’t be interested in bringing Alex Song back to help out for the year? Especially, if we aren’t able to bring in a younger long term DM in the next 10 days. I see him linked with a lot of our PL competition, and it seems like we have as much or more need of help in that position?
Because he’s not good enough.
When he was here he abandoned his defensive duties too much leaving the defense too exposed. That led to giving up a lot of goals. That and not the best attitude, by reports.
As much as this is a “good” news in terms of pushing wenger to make that DM signing….just have a gut feeling he’s done after that CB he’s going to bring in…and when Jan transfer window comes…he’s gonna make a Kim Kallstrom v2 loan in case Capt. Lego Hair is still crocked
Looks like Le Coq may make the bench soon.
Diaby, too, please….
What a bummer…Guess we get the 3 points for him said el Prof…
Not even two weeks into the season and we’ve already been hit by injuries…
This doesn’t worry me as our squad is packed with quality and depth, Arsene clearly knows what he’s doing…
And in today’s other news, the earth is flat, the sun’s made of ice, Mourinho’s a top fella and my mrs who’s a spitting image of Miranda Kerr absolutely worships my 14inch cock.
That’s the circle of the Arsenal life init
And Wenger did say that we aren’t physically fit so that’s one of the factors
At least we wont the annoying Bilic marching all across the touchline with his annoying antics. Flamini, Chambers, Diaby (dont know if can count), Wilshere, Rosicky, Ozil, Santi and Ox will be enough to cover 3 positions I guess. May be I am wrong and those are not 8 players but just 2 like all news papers are saying that arsenal are short in midfield.
Can somebody lay off the cesc salad please, two assists against burnley doesn’t a Zidane make.Even blogs could have an assist against them (though only on fifa) We got Santa, the welsh Jesus and the wizard of Oz in that position. Let’s give our new boys (Campbell and Sanchez time to integrate and add a CB & CF & we’re good
Return of the Germans.Sounds like a top box office movie.
Arteta out — > Not enough holding midfielders – – > Arsenal out of Champions League –> wengerout for not signing a holding midfielder
Surely there was a message inside the bottle that thrown at him, the message said: injuries r coming again. Wenger should put aside his sentiment feelings towards some of our players, wants to compete for pl n cl titles we need to strengthen more.
It’s so disheartening to read comments by “supporters” here. To a certain extent I don’t blame them when all they hear from so called “pundits” is that how slow Arteta is. How, he is not a DM. How we need a brute, mythical DM who will magically solve all our defensive problems. These same pundits wanted us to get Chris Samba. Look where he is now. Here is an excerpt from an excellent blog post which analyses why defending is so much easier than attacking. “One example of looking at relevant details is the role of the so-called DM. Most… Read more »
thanks for the insight. great read.the boss doesn’t believe in destructive midfield players since the days he let Viera go and replace him with the young Cesc. He ‘s been looking for the Pirlo i type of player.That’s why he trust so much Arteta and he still believe in Jack.The team when in possession , the dm need to be the first playmaker and when the ball is lost , the whole team sit deep and regroup and play counter attacking football.the high tempo game doesn’t suit us and that’s where our problem lies, last year big defeat when in… Read more »
the big issue is not being able to retain possession when we need to. it’s been that way off and on since cesc left, which is natural given that the team was built around his qualities. the way arsenal used to win is by dominating, now they scrap. it’s a matter of getting the midfield to gel. i think khedira would be a fine signing, but there are reportedly doubts over his fitness record and his wage demands — assuming all the twitter stuff can be trusted. he would help with fluidity foremost. flamini’s impact is limited for the reasons… Read more »
Season barely started and Kos is struggling, Diaby has crocked again & Arteta is out. He’s already busy with the Germans.
#PrayForShad
He’s important to the squad to bed in our new players and he’s a good role model. Though on the pitch he isn’t what he used to be.
Good club captain, though overall we’re not missing much.