Djourou and Mert looked very unconvincing today, and Iâm starting to think we need another defender or two. Without Kos the opposition were left to run at Mert freely at times with Djourou ball watching like he usually does. I think we looked far more solid defensively when Song was put in the defensive position. Time will tell whether or not Mert is good enough but at the moment Iâm not convinced about him especially considering that we play a relatively high line so anyone with a bit of pace would cause him all sorts of problems. If Kos was there then he probably wouldnât have to worry as much but the fact that both him and Djourou played today had me worried. As for Djourou I donât know how this joker is still with Arsenal as he's just awful Fulham got at him a number of times today and every time he comes on the other teams seams to score. He's simply not good enough for Arsenal the same way Senderos wasn't.
I don't think there's too much to worry about, bad day at the office and knackered from mid week, that's all.
Yeah your probably right, but we cant afford to slip up against teams that we should be beating, our defence overall is very good but with injuries to Sagna and Jekinson Iâm just worried that we may not have adequate cover. Kos can play there and has done a great job so far but he needed a rest today but his replacement (Djourouo) worries me , hopefully Kos can keep up that spot until Jenkinson and Sagna return.
Merte was better today. Djourou yet again manages to lose where the nearest attacker is -a real worry. However at times he can be good -he deserved to get the header that was saved for example.
lets be honest Mertesacker is a right donkey, if we have to rely on players like him we are really scraping the barrel. The top 4 is almost out of reach now anyway, hope Wenger retires in May, this is painful.
STFU...I bet you've been waiting for a while till we dropped points before you posted tripe like this. Where are idiots like you when we are winning matches.
Djourou was one of our best players yesterday ffs! And what did Per do wrong? I notice nobody is having a go at Vermaelen. He only scored an own goal not like he did anything wrong.
Tuffnell is right - the truth hurts huh chump ??? I'm not saying I want Wenger out but this little run of wins against poor teams and a Chelsea in turmoil papered over the cracks massively, to anyone but a buffoon it was obvious. Merts is still adjusting to the English game but for sure we shouldn't be playing a high line with defenders who are slower than a sloth on Zantac and who switch off and ball watch !! We are a one man team and when RVP doesn't score/perform we are screwed. Wenger better have been joking about not bringing in players in January !!!
What qualifies you to say that with any authority ? I didn't hear AVB, Mancini or Fergie complaining of tiredness. Its an easy get out of jail answer. We just came back from a 2 week International break FFS and have played 3 games in 21 days ! Can none of you form your own opinion without being sheep ??? The manager says so .. so it must be so !! Lemmings.
I know that we were a bit open t times but i thought that djourou made some vital blocks especially near the end when he blocked a shot that was goal bound. Maybe we do need one defender in january but what you have to remember is that we still have our first choice left back and right back to return.
Djourou is an odd player and so typical of the players Arsenal have at the moment, capable of being fantastic - we all saw this last season mostly - but then capable of the abject ! Walcott, Song, Ramsey, Arshavin, Diaby, Rosicky - they can have a great game, then be piss poor the next (mostly piss poor in Arshavin's case). We have too many inconsistent players in our squad, we cannot hope to find consistency with these players playing. I left out the new boys, they need time to adjust.
Massive incorrect assumption, but that's true to form with you Jayram. Your logic - John Barnes doesn't believe in fatigue, so it doesn't exist. Well sorry, but that's just simplistic rubbish. Anyone who saw Kos coming off against Dortmund will know that the opposite is true. As for you, criticising Wenger for not playing a fatigued player, but if he had played and got injured or played badly, you'd be the first one criticising Wenger for playing him. Some people would call that hypocritcal.
I've always thought this odd low-key performance of players you often see is down to Wenger's doleful expressions. He needs to lift the dressing room - a bit of shouting, anger and 'get out there and force a win' wouldn't go amiss. This demeanour of we'll eventually win is no way to send the guys out. Complacency is the problem.
I think Wenger prepares his players properly for games, he's not the tea cup throwing type, but maybe a bit more anger might work. There was a game a couple of seasons ago that we turned around at half time, after the game the players said that they'd never seen Wenger so angry.
Djourou is a terrible player, there's no denying this, part of it may be due to his attitude but I largely believe it's because he's simply not good enough. For a man of his size being outmuscled by much smaller players on a regular basis is pathetic and the slightest knock and he's out for ages. Players like him are a leach to our team given the fact that they put little effort into games. How many times has he been caught out of position or ball watching. The game against United summed it up for me, as he seemed disinterested and came off without a care for the beating they just received. Mert is a different case given it's his first season so he's still adjusting to the league, however it's not his commitment that worries me, rather it's all down to his speed and reactions to particular threats. Every time he’s up against a player who’s tricky and has some pace worries me because there’s always a chance that he will get skinned and either gives away a penalty or the attack will result in a goal. Its unfortunate but our formation means that we often play a relatively high line, the downside of that means we need quick, mobile defenders and I don’t think Mert fits that description. He may be able to improve his positioning and understanding by next season but he will never be able to improve his speed and mobility and that’s a real danger in this league with so many pace strikers and wingers.
I reckon that's a pretty fair assessment. I'd say that Vermaelen and Koscielny are equipped to deal with the high line. and for that reason I think they have to be out first choice pairing (when everybody is fit of course).
