By how tribal you guys are you'd think Wales is the size of Siberia... "south Wales", "south-west Wales"...
Your ever-changing signature would tell a different story if it was saved along with your old messages.
Missed the second half as I had to go somewhere, but seeing as I thought it would be draw, can't be too disappointed. Having watched the highlights, looks like the second half was a cracker, and what a goal by Gibbs.
Bartley was given plenty of time and chances to prove himself and obviously didn't... I don't know why you wish we had kept him. He put in a good performance against us but that doesn't make him the answer to our defensive issues! Verm/Kosc/Mert are all better. In my opinion Miquel will be better in the long run and i also think with djourou/squillaci moving on we will be getting a new CB in or versatile defender who can play CB. Bartley is a decent player and at one stage i did think he would make it at Arsenal, but i'm not bothered that he went as he wouldn't be getting game time with us.
Yeah but you have 'high hopes' for every Arsenal player. Bartely really was just average. He used his height and power really well in youth football but that did not work when he stepped up.
He played well at Rangers, and Wenger has stated that he was too impatient when he came back from loan. He wanted to play first team, so Wenger let him go as he couldn't guarantee that for him. Fair play to Bartley for wanting to play. It's a shame he didn't stay, I saw him at Sheffield United, and he's a good player. He has decent experience too for a CB of his age, and can play DM too. I think he'd be a great 3rd / 4th choice to have as a replacement for Merts, with Verm / Kos vying for the other position.
You see you simply don't allow defense any lattitude to make ANY mistakes. It is always labelled "Sloppy" or a "Comedy of Errors". What is just a defensive mistake? I haven't seen an honest mistake at Arsenal. It is always a "Schoolboy" error. Robin van Persie could swing a foot at the ball 10 yards out and miss the target, and he was just unlucky. He would get it right and score 10 minutes later and everything was forgiven, but the same thing is never true of the defense. I think it is probably human nature to do this, but Arsenal actually have one of the better defenses in the league based on any objective reasoning. I watch other teams and I see exactly the same mistakes and chances being given up. I think anyone who expcts different is simply denying the nature of football. Defenders make mistakes, it is as simple as that. So does everyone; that is human. You are never going to find defenders that don't make mistakes. Just like you are never going to find an attacker that takes every chance.
I do have high hopes for our players as they come through the ranks Bartley never really looked like he was going to be Arsenal standard though when he was loaned out to Rangers and never really impressed there to be honest.
