re: Arsenal 2012/2013 Season Long Thread

We'd be a pretty excellent team. Fabregas really pisses me off because we could have had a team that challenged for silverware. I honestly believe that if Fabregas and Walcott didn't get injured in the Stoke game right before the League Cup final in 2011, we would have won the League Cup, and finally shed the trophyless mentality. We were so god-damn close to having an absolutely brilliant team, that it pisses me off to no end how Fabregas behaved, because it paved the way for Nasri, van Persie, and then Song. I'd rather just build this team around Wilshere, give him whatever he wants in terms of money, and hope beyond hope that we finally have the luck to win something.

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Fabregas and Walcott didn't get injured in the Stoke game right before the League Cup final in 2011

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My lone trip to the Emirates...

Not to mention RvP getting hurt on his goal in the League Cup.

Cesc was great. We had some great teams. Just unlucky. I'm all for moving forward though. Would rather not dwell on the past with him.

Yeah, I wish more videos would appear on vimeo.

Also, I've moved on from the whole Cesc/Nasri/Rvp/Song thing, but it pisses me off to no end when I think of how close we came. We had the chance to be as good as the late 90's teams (I don't think any team will touch the team from 2001-2004, when we were unbelievably awesome).

We really need some luck this season.

I think the biggest change is the introduction of Bould. Wenger was all about letting his players express themselves creatively, but did little in terms of direct defensive instruction. At the same time, we had the best record of goals scored and conceded in 2010, with 54 goals scored and only 20 goals given up. Our set piece defending was shambolic that season, but we seem more proactive in the air. Bould has insisted upon positional discipline in a way that Wenger never has, because Wenger's philosophy has been about letting the players figure it out. It's obvious Bould has told the fullbacks to stay back unless they see an opportunity to go forward. And Arteta is doing a wonderful job as the lynchpin of our midfield so that we are still creative, yet disciplined. I don't know about the egos, because we are dealing with insecure professional athletes, but we do have a greater sense of team purpose. We are winning the ball back at a higher rate, we are taking more shots, we are taking more dribbles, and our positional sense (other than Gibbs, who still ventures too far forward too often) is much better.

In my opinion, giving players like Ramsey and Diaby a specific job to do eases the pressure on them, as they aren't asked to be as creative as other players in the team. On the downside, this might hurt players like the Ox, who seems to thrive on the creative freedom offered by the attacking roles last season. We aren't nearly as fluid as previous seasons. The midfield isn't rotating, and the forwards are staying wide, but not interchanging as much. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes, and I have to say that it is a conscious decision by the staff to play this way. We are much more rigid, disciplined, and more effective. There is a directness in our play that we haven't had since 2007, though we saw it in some spurts last year.

Yeah, I wasn't necessarily targeting that at you, it more just goes to my anti-bring Cesc back sentiment. He fricked us over. Nasri and RvP would have played out their contacts, however begrudgingly, and moved on (in all likelihood, though I guess you could argue they might have stayed if we had won). We sold them because our model practically requires it. Outside of on-field concerns I would have with the outlay required to bring him back, it's the off-field stuff that bothers me. It's interesting he will always be loved more than the two I mentioned earlier, in large part because he mostly said all the right things and was an a-hole outside of the public eye. The other two did the opposite.

There, I've said my peace. Here's to hoping we're luckier this year than in years past.

Certainly, which is why I said part. But i still think what I mentioned is the bigger of the two reasons. After Nasri and RvP came out with their insistence on a move, arsenal fans turned on them before a destination was selected. Going to another EPL team certainly exacerbated things though.

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I think the biggest change is the introduction of Bould.

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I would almost as far to say that Bould was the most important signing(promoted) of the summer. His influence is seen in almost all facets of our game. I hope Wenger continues to trust his assistants when it comes to tatics. Wenger has let us down at times with subs and lacking a plan b in games.

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On the downside, this might hurt players like the Ox, who seems to thrive on the creative freedom offered by the attacking roles last season.

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I think as we settle and as the season goes on they will open it up a little more. I'd imagine we wanted to come out solid especially with 3 of our back 5 being out for past few games. Once we have it down defensively and when Sagna comes back I can see us being a bit more open offensively.

Debuchy is still there if Sagna struggles when he comes back. What about Micah Richards? City will have him, Zabeleta, and Maicon. Maybe we go after him. There is Maggio too but I'm not sure if he is good enough defensively. Danilo looks good too and young but will probably be to expensive. A guy I really like is Lukasz Piszczek from Dortmund.

His style sorta reminds me of Sagna. Good defensively, whole hearted, and solid going forward.