by bergie4ever » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:57 am
by bergie4ever » Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:26 am
by Inchpräctice » Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:38 am
by arseman » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:48 pm
by SE13 » Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:41 pm
Via E-Mail, Arsene Wenger wrote:Dear Supporter,
It was a difficult game against Bolton on Saturday because they played with two very deep lines of four. Their midfield was very close to their defence and for an hour we couldn't find a way through. Maybe our passing was not incisive enough and not forward-orientated enough.
Bolton were very strong in the tackle and it is easier to play with only one focus - to defend well. It looked like it could be 0-0 because we never looked like conceding but we didn't create many chances. In the last 20 minutes we had to finish in a good old-fashioned 4-2-4 formation to win the game.
Nicklas Bendtner did not pass the ball as well as he can when he came on but he still could have scored two goals. That sums up what a striker is. It is so cold for the subs when you come on it is not easy. You sit there for an hour and you start to warm up until you come on. When you really get into the game, the game is over. When Nicklas came on there were 15 minutes left and he had no real time to warm up really.
Overall this season, he had an injury problem with his ankle and I thought it affected his game a little bit, especially with his back to goal. He looks in training as if he is sharp again. He had some difficult periods because of those problems with his ankle but now slowly he is getting back to where he will be.
I was asked whether new signings would have helped to break down Bolton but it is difficult to say because of the context of the game. It was very difficult to create. I have said it many times, if we have Walcott, Rosicky and Fabregas out it makes a difference. Any injury on the offensive side, in creative midfield, can be a problem. As for new signings, we will look for them and as soon as we find them we will tell you about it.
Aston Villa won again but I am not too concerned about that, for us it is just important to win our own games. We could not afford to drop points against Bolton at home, we are swimming against the stream enough already.
But I feel we look stable defensively, we have been more creative in the past but we have now won three games 1-0 and that is a good basis. We have a good resilient spirit and let's just take it game by game. I saw Villa on Saturday against West Brom and it shows that every game is difficult for everybody.
One of the big talking points of the weekend was Rafa Benitez's comments about Sir Alex Ferguson. I must say it came as a big surprise because he is usually a quiet man. I wouldn't like to comment further on that. I don't know really what it was about basically.
I don't know whether Benitez's words could affect Liverpool's title challenge, it is very difficult to determine. I remember when I arrived here there was the famous story with Kevin Keegan and Ferguson where, in the end, Keegan lost his nerves a little bit and many thought that cost him the championship. I am not convinced though; I think Newcastle's defensive frailty cost them the championship rather than one moment of their manager losing his cool a little bit.
Thanks for your support.
by golfinguy » Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:52 pm
arseman wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if some 'fans' were actually disappointed when he scored....
by thebish » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:56 pm
by Good_Eye_Sniper » Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:36 am
thebish wrote:
The release of the all new 'Arsene's Post Match - Non Drowsy' was scrapped.