The Arsenal Report

I don’t know why Myles Palmer continues claiming to be an Arsenal supporter. He obviously is not.

Palmer’s constant denigration of Thierry Henry while singing the praises of Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney, and Manchester United is getting ridiculous.

Palmer’s articles this year have become more and more absurd by the week. His Nov 21 article, “If Theo Walcott was 19 he could be Anelka with a Smile” took the cake, however. After several lines of Palmer complaining that Henry lacks both leadership and work ethic, an argument that is getting very tiring, Palmer went on to make this audacious statement:

“It’s folly to build a team round one player, especially a moody poseur like Thierry Henry. If he is not scoring, who will give you goals?

Myself, I prefer Wayne Rooney.

And I also prefer Kevin Doyle of Reading, who was playing for Cork City 16 months ago. Doyle is grateful to get a game and says, ‘I know I stand a chance of playing every week if I do what’s required.’”

Kevin Doyle? Is he serious? Is he talking about the same Kevin Doyle I see on highlight strips scoring scrappy rebound goals inside the six-yard box? The same Kevin Doyle who did absolutely nothing against us when we thrashed Reading 4-0 at the Madejski? Why? Because he doesn’t take a game for granted? Because he works hard? Never mind Palmer’s newfound ritual of praising Wayne Rooney (you’d think the Messiah had come in red and black) at every chance he gets, but seriously…Kevin Doyle? He could have said he prefers Doyle’s attitude, and that might have made perfect sense—but no, Myles Palmer claims to prefer Kevin Doyle as a player over Thierry Henry.

So what does Palmer have against Henry? Wayne Rooney goes through rough stretches like what Henry is going through now (remember the beginning of the season), but when Rooney couldn’t buy a goal and Henry was scoring at the beginning of the season Palmer was quick to take Rooney’s side, said that he would soon come out of his funk and score while he is quick to do the opposite to Henry. Why would Palmer write this? Keep in mind this was after Henry was inspiring against Newcastle. His free kick was one of the best of the year, and it earned us a draw with Newcastle. Had it not been for a couple bad deflections and one especially great save by Shay Given, Henry could have won us the game. He does not deserve Palmer’s constant criticism.

During the end of last year, as Thierry carried Arsenal through the Champions League and Premiership, Palmer was not so harsh. Henry put the team on his shoulders at Real Madrid. Henry picked the team up and earned a draw against Tottenham. Henry brought us into fourth place during Highbury’s final match. Palmer did not question work ethic or call him “moody.” His shift away from Arsenal and Henry to Manchester United and Wayne Rooney is unexplainable. He hides behind journalistic integrity, saying he is “a journalist who didn't give a toss about Arsenal until one Saturday in August 1986 when Charlie Nicholas scored a goal to beat Manchester United. A slim, dark-haired, immaculately groomed Glasgegian hard man came into the press room and gave us a two-minute pep talk,” but what kind of journalist makes conclusions that Thierry is second fiddle to the likes of Kevin Doyle and that Arsenal are “the R.E.M. of football while Man U are the Rolling Stones” without really saying why?

Palmer’s treatment of Henry, our captain, is tremendously unjust. He claims to support the Gunners but tries to tear both the team and its fans apart by constantly questioning Henry’s leadership. The game at Hamburg was a good example of how Henry contributes without scoring and why he is regarded so much higher than the likes of Kevin Doyle. Hamburg constantly was worried about Henry first, Henry second, and Henry third. The Van Persie goal’s through-ball only opened up because Henry had two defenders marking him. Baptista’s header only opened up because Henry’s marker was drawn away from the cross. Palmer saw a completely different player, however. Palmer saw Henry as a “paper tiger.”

Palmer claimed: “He was shrugged off the ball and several times threw himself down in the box and he picked up a silly booking. He's a girl in a man's game and it's no bad thing that he misses the Porto game after three yellow cards. If Arsenal win without him in Porto his 100K a week will look like a waste of money.”

I don’t know what game he was watching or what player he thinks he is talking about. Opposing defenses key on Henry more than any player and this opens up defenses for the rest of the team to capitalize on. This is exactly what happened against Hamburg. That “girl in a man’s game” has led us before; why does Palmer think he cannot lead us again?

Palmer is simply a patriot first, a journalist second and an Arsenal fan third. Therefore, because Arsenal has lost much of its English contingent, Palmer is biased against Arsenal and against Henry most of all. It pains him to see a Frenchman with the captain’s armband of his boyhood English team. Everyone knows that all strikers go through slow stages but Palmer is quick to attack Henry instead of giving him time to heat up again—to say he won’t score more goals is ridiculous.

And why does Palmer think Manchester United is so much better than us after we won Old Trafford? How could “R.E.M.” have out-rocked the “Rolling Stones,” as Palmer put it in his dumbest article this year. The answer is Pro-England bias, not legitimate journalism, and this upsets me. I want the old Myles Palmer back. I want to read cutting-edge, well-thought out articles that provided interesting analysis and introduced intriguing and unfamiliar ways to look at certain situations. If I wanted to read a Manchester United fan’s opinion on everything that is wrong with Arsenal I would. Hell, Palmer would probably claim that the only reason we did win at Old Trafford is because Henry wasn’t playing. It will be interesting to see what he says when we progress through the Champions League and eventually catch up to his precious Red Devils in the Premiership. What will he say about our “poseur” captain then?

By Joel Martin

Emmanuel Eboue is the most exciting right back in the world. Since his move from Breveren, he has improved in leaps and bounds. He has started this season the same way he finished last season, in great form. He’s been impressive, so impressive that a fair amount of Arsenal fans, myself included seem to have forgotten a certain Bisan Lauren.

I will be honest; Lauren has never been a favorite of mine. As a right back he was strictly ok. Like most Arsenal fans, I rate him defensively. Attacking wise he never really gave us anything. While Eboue is not as defensively strong, he will improve with time. Eboue is our new Ashley Cole. 2 years ago, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Ashley Cole were the most destructive left hand side in the world Arsenal’s attacking potency is now concentrated to the right hand side. Hleb and Eboue are a wonderful pairing, they seem to have a telepathic connection.

So what is Lauren’s role in the team? Could he play in the mid-field again? Possible, yes. Probable, no. Diaby, Denilson, Flamini, Song and even Baptista can play in the holding mid-field role. A few friends of mine were discussing the possibility of him playing as a left back. While this could be a short-term solution, he just would not cut it. We need a specialist left back, someone who is left footed.

I expect Lauren to leave at the end of the season. At his age I don’t think he can (or will) settle for a place on the bench. In Kierra Gilbert we have a ready made understudy to Manu.

[Ed. Note: Eboue will never play as a right winger]

Last week’s performance by our back line was adequate at best. The combination of Eboue, Toure, an unfit Gallas, and an out-of-position Hoyte provided some scary moments. Not only did the four seem to lazily ball-watch on the first goal, but they conceded what looked like a clear penalty and failed to mark Hasselbaink for a wide-open header, both of which would have been equalizers.

One major contributor to our sub-par performance was Gallas’ fitness. He clearly had not fully recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered against Sheffield the week before and was forced to play—as the idea of Song playing center-back is terrifying. He was neither as quick nor as confident as the William Gallas we’ve grown accustomed to. His hand-ball in the box appeared to be just a lack of concentration—I doubt it will happen again.

The other contributor was Justin Hoyte. Justin Hoyte is not a left back. When Hoyte plays Arsenal are not able to attack on the left side. Opponents, on the other hand, keep pushing and pushing attacks down our left. Charlton’s best opportunities to score came down our left. City’s winner in Manchester came from a penalty by Hoyte on the left. Hoyte is the weak link. He should not be playing. If was acting in the best interests of the team he would just tell Wenger what the rest of England knows: he is not anywhere close to comfortable at left back, just like Flamini claims to be.

Flamini, not Hoyte, is the temporary solution at left back. He proved himself last year to be five times the player Hoyte is. I know he told Wenger that he isn’t comfortable at the position, but he is a utility player: he plays where he is needed. He needs to buck up and play where he is needed. Right now Flamini’s whining and Hoyte’s lack of quality are hurting the team, and they need to clear it up relatively quickly. Clichy, our first-choice left back, has major questions with fitness. Who knows if he’ll ever be able to keep healthy? If Gallas and Toure are supposed to be our permanent partnership in the center, we definitely need to add (or convert) a left back.

Gallas and Toure give us a partnership of two of the best defenders in the world, but neither of them is strong in the air. Djourou proved in the early weeks that he is a very strong defender, both on the ground and in the air, but his lack of experience is discomforting. Phillipe Senderos seems to be the forgotten man. He was easily the best defender for Switzerland in the World Cup, the only team to not concede a goal. Senderos was a force, anchoring the defense and attacking set pieces, and his consistent play was mouth-watering for Arsenal fans. Once he regains fitness, Senderos will give us an experienced 21-year-old central defender that wins aerial challenges and threatens defenses on set pieces. There is a reason we gave Senderos Tony Adams’ number.

This may be seen as heresy from other Arsenal fans, but perhaps Toure and Gallas in the center might not be the best use of our defenders. Toure and Senderos, with Gallas on the left—where he is still very effective (see goal against Sheffield), might be a better combination. This would help us become stronger in the air and competent on the left. I know Gallas is not a true left back, he is one of the best center backs in the world, but he is versatile enough that it would not be a problem. Many people say he left Chelsea because he had to play left back, but that seems to be not his major reason for leaving, as money and Mourinho most of all seemed to piss Gallas off the most. I do have faith in Clichy’s talent, but not yet in his health or experience, so I think it would be making the best of Arsenal’s options to play Toure and Senderos in the center—the same partnership that have produced so many Champions League clean sheets and dominated towards the end of last season—and Gallas on the left, where he does produce and defend well.

To put it in simpler terms, Senderos is a better, more proven player than Clichy. His inclusion in the squad would add experience and a big body to win headers. The advantage Senderos presents is worth moving Gallas to the outside, as long as he is willing to. Obviously if Gallas does not want to play on the left than he will play ahead of Senderos, he and Senderos aren’t even worth comparing, but being that Gallas is still a danger and a defensive stalwart at left back, why not play him there? This is not to say that Gallas should have been playing on the left against Charlton, we needed him in the center, but in the future I think he might suit the squad better fixing what seems to be our only weakness.

Just one more point to add: where is Lauren going to play. Eboue is the most dynamic right back I have seen this year. His play since Lauren’s injury has been fantastic, and although I normally do not approve of a first team player losing their spot through injury, Eboue needs to play every day for Arsenal. He is too good not to. I do not know what this means for Lauren, I hope it is not his end with the Gunners. He is a great defender. In the end, I don’t know what will happen to him, but I do wish him the best.

Joel Martin