Freddie is staying, but Lauren is being allowed to leave 12 January, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Premiership, Transfers.trackback
Arsene Wenger has told us that Freddie Ljungberg is going nowhere and is an important part of the squad. It was thought he might be off this month but the manager has assured he’s staying at Arsenal. It’s good news for the fans but there was some bad news posted on arsenal.com today. They’ve announced that Lauren will be allowed to go. It’s extremely sad news and now once the club have said this I don’t see him staying. If he doesn’t move this month then it’ll be in the summer but I think we’ve seen the last of Lauren in the Arsenal shirt. This is the saddest piece of news we’ve had for a long time and I’m gutted that he’s off. Arsene says that we have too many players now in that position and that’s why he’s allowed to go. It’s stupid because Eboue and Hoyte are nowhere near as good as Lauren. There’s nothing I can really say or do though, I’d rather just leave it until the day of his departure comes.
I’ll move on as swiftly as possible from that and Jeremie Aliadiere has confirmed that’s he’s hanging about at Arsenal for a bit longer. A lot of people thought he might be off this month but Jem has said he’s always wanted to succeed here. He’s had a couple of games this season due to injuries but if he improves on Tuesday night he could really give another selection headache for Wenger. I think he’s a great back up striker and can do a job when asked.
Tomorrow afternoon we play Blackburn many people are backing us to lose this one: It’s Blackburn, away, 5.15, PremPlus…all the signs say we’ll go home with no points. However coming off the back of two wins at Anfield we should be high on confidence. I’m not going as it’s my brother’s birthday but I shall find somewhere to follow the game on Sky PPV. It’s hard for me to guess what the team might be because we’ve got a couple of players who played well on Tuesday who don’t usually get into the first team. Anyway I think it’ll be Lehmann, Hoyte, Toure, Senderos and Clichy. Almunia, Djourou and Traore played well at Anfield but I feel they’ll be replaced for this Premiership tie. Eboue is injured so Justin Hoyte will come in instead of Lauren because, well, you know. Then in midfield I’m guessing it’ll be Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto and Rosicky. Then up front it gets a bit trickier. Henry’s been back for a few games so I can pretty much guarantee he’ll start, but it’s a question of who’ll partner him? Baptista certainly deserves it after a strong performance on Tuesday with 4 goals and if he’s ever going to start upfront this’ll be his moment. Also Adebayor is back from injury and Van Persie is raring to go. I thing Wenger will go with Henry and Van Persie as the two strikers but personally I think The Beast should partner Henry.
We’ve got a good squad to select from; apart from Ljungberg, Eboue and Lauren everyone’s ready for selection. It’s quite likely Arsene will pick the team I have above but it would be nice to see Baptista. Whoever he picks though they will be a top class player and good enough to do the job. Last time we played Blackburn we thrashed ‘em 6-2, it wasn’t really a fair reflection on the game to be honest but we still managed 6 goals. I don’t think things will be such a walkover up at Ewood Park but I’m confident we’ll beat them again. Before Liverpool I was thinking to myself if I go into the Blackburn game expecting to lose anything we get is a bonus, however after our performances on Merseyside I’ve changed my mind.
Blackburn have been one of our bogey teams recently but I’m hoping tomorrow we put all that behind us. It’ll be an interesting game to watch and hopefully a happy one too. I’ll get a match report up here asap. Happy Weekend Gooners.
I still think this is the wrong way around….We should try and keep Lauren and let Freddie go. I think Freddie is not able to contribute as much as he has before yet Lauren could be a big help for us again…Just don’t understand this.
I truly appreciate Lauren’s commitment to Arsenal, and would like him to stay as well, at least until the end of the season, but think about it. For one, we have three right backs, if you consider Gilbert as well. Sure, none of them are as good as Lauren yet, but Lauren himself took a full two years to learn the position and even then had some gaffes, including nearly two own goals in the same match. They’ll learn, and they have something that Lauren no longer does – pace, as evidenced by his roasting by speedy wingers. WIll he be faster AFTER a serious injury? Ideally, he’d retire a Gunner, but his performances are only likely to get worse, while those of the youngsters get better. I think many have some sentimentality about Lauren as he’s one of the few remaining “old guard.”
On the other hand, we only have three wingers, and unless we sign someone, there’s no point in letting him go this transfer window.
Ljungberg Walcott Hleb Rosicky
Too much sentimetality with Lauren and not enough fact or pragmatism. If he were still better than Eboue and co., he wouldn’t be sold. No way. Wenger is not a fucking moron. We have to conclude that Lauren’s peak as a player is behind him and there’s point stalling the careers of several young players at this stage. Sure maybe he’s popular and a mate to the players and a role model for Eboue, but that’s not the basis the club has to be run on and he wouldn’t be happy to stay on that basis either.
If Lauren is as good as he was before his injury then he’s better than that diving, cheating Eboue.
AGREED, his theatrics have really put a downer on what otherwise have been some scintillating attacking play!
Aussie Gunner Walcott in CM ???????? and Freddie’s injured
Agreed. His theatrics may be the reason why i’m so biased against the man. He just doesnt seem to put 100% into his performances.
Oh and John, the sensitivity around Ralphy is well deserved. As Arseblogger puts it, he is “the man who throttled Phil Neville, kicked Cristiano Ronaldo higher in the air than anyone else I’ve ever seen, flattened Mido then stood over him taunting him, rolled that penalty in against Sp*rs and who was generally a double-hard bastard”.
Love Ralphy and seeing him leave will be a right shame.
Lets kill Blackburn
Fantastic performance. Really really good performance! I nearly cried with joy when Henry scored the 2nd. It was such a good goal. Every single person on the team played their hearts out. Our defense looked alot more solid than in recent times. Even Hoyte did alright (not taking into account the 1 or 2 misjudged headers). But seriously when Gilberto got sent off because of that c*** i really didnt think we had a chance and i’m glad to say i was SO wrong. Big phil was a legend today.
I will sleep well tonight.
Have a great one all you gooners.
Oh and it was a dream to see King Kolo score!
Genius
I don’t get where this incredible amount of venom for Eboue is coming from. One would think that you’re Spuds in disguise. Sure, we’d like to be holier than thou when it comes to diving, but Henry, Pires, Vieira, RvP all dove at least once. I mean WTF? Get over your holy selves. It won’t do for him to continue playing that way, but he is still OUR player so why don’t you F’in support him? Now I’m getting pissed off. Breathe… Great performances all around, and Savage, Tugay, and Neill just remind me again of how much I hate Blackburn and their fans. How good were Hleb, Clichy, Senderos, and RvP?
Oh, forgot to mention Fab. Brilliant again. He is already the best central midfielder in the Premiership.
Great perfomance from everyone….TH14 played his heart out….the defence was really solid…why da fuck does everyone say blackburn are our bogey team??…..They are just a fucking physical team with no brains….does anyone know anything on Fab????…I hope he didnt get injured…
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
Tipple diving is one thing, tackling a player and watching him roll while yelling at him and then diving and rolling around while everyone knows you are faking is different are you blind?
at the same time
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
We are the boys in Red and White and we’re fucking DYNAMITE!
ps did connolly go on loan to Sunderland???? cause someone called Connolly scored!
Also does Silva miss the match with manuresa??
Here’s a highlight package including the goals:
http://tinyurl.com/y7rfhh
yeah Tipple. You should watch more of Eboue’s games. His attitude hasnt been a one off thing.
Oh check out what Mark Hughes has said :
“He has kicked Robbie and you cannot do that, it’s a straight red card, everyone knows that – and I didn’t think he was provoked.”
What a git. Who the hell does he think he’s kidding?
Oh yes Fab deserved the MOM award…. dont see how Gamst did any better than Cescky.
I get it, Gunner8 and Justin, but he’s still our fucking player. His attitude HAS to change, but we still need to support him. It’s not like he’s done a Cash or Reyes. Or quit on the team like Sol.
“I didn’t think he was provoked.” Like to play poker, Hughes?
Unfortunately, I think Bert does miss the next match.