Nine Jimmy Rimmers – Arsenal and Football

Reina’s out of character gaffe rescued a point for us today.  Almunia‘s all to typical game could have cost us three points.  To be fair, none of expected great things today. With so many players unavailable, a draw away at Anfield is someting that many would have settled for ahead of the game.

Overall, we weren’t great, but we weren’t terrible either.  We could have got wider and  Chamakh could have pushed himself into the box a bit more.  But mostly it looked like what it was, an early season game against a big team.  The biggest talking points were individual events rather than consistant good or bad performance.

Should Cole have got a red card? Yes.  It was a reckless challange. It wasn’t a missed timed block, it was a stud-first lunge.

Should Arsenal have conceded that goal? Even good keepers get beaten at their near post occasionally.  But gaffes are not an occassional event for Almunia.  This game was a typical performance.  Some great agile saves, but some leaping flaps and a near-post goal.   We still need a new keeper.  Let’s hope we can land Given or Schwarzer this week.

Should Koscielny have got sent off? I thought it was very harsh.  The ball travelled two feet before it hit his arm.  I don’t think it was a deliberate handball.  Now we may have Nordtveit playing the next game.  I was going to say ‘good job its only Blackpool’, but we shouldn’t be too complacent.   We still need another new central defender.

Were Arsenal lucky to get  a point? Yes.  Reina wasn’t under great pressure and gaffed.  Cheers mate.  But we are still two players short and we won’t always get that lucky.

Most encouraging rumours out there today are that Arsenal are still in the hunt for a new central defender.  The Mertesacker story is still there plus now there is talk of Udinese’s Zapata as well.  Personally, what I’ve seen of Mertesacker worries me.  I don’t think he has any pace or that he reads the game that well.  I know he plays for Germany but I think that says more about the German central defenders available.  Plus, Germany’s excellent midfield play shield their back four.

Zapata I know less about though what’s out there on video looks good.  Is this a really story or just his agent trying to get him a move?  It reads a bit like the latter but who knows.

Anyway at least the word is that Arsene Wenger is still looking to strengthen at the back. Obviously no deal is done yet, hence the talk of how well Nordtveit is doing – to manage our expectations of more big transfers.

Less exciting is the story that young Dutch midfielder Afellay may be heading for the Emirates.  Obviously he’s a good player but a young attacking midfielder just ain’t the priority right now.

Hopefully the appointment of Hughes at Craven Cottage means that the Schwarzer deal can be decided one-way or the other and we can take some step forward on the quest for a new goalkeeper.

Finally Koscielny signs for Arsenal!  This seems to have taken forever but now it’s done.  It will be interesting to see which side of Vermaelen he plays.  The Verminator had such a solid season that you would think Wenger must be reluctant to move him.

Anyway, Koscielny’s arrival is good news but is hopefully just the start.  Arsenal need a third central defender who is good enough to be a regular pick.  Is Sol going or not?  Does Nordtveit or Djourou fit the bill? I think the answer to the second could well be not yet and no.  As for the Sol searching, that seems to be going on even longer than the Koscielny saga.

Personally I would be happy to see Campbell do another season but the clock’s ticking.

That would still leave the goalkeeper and second holding midfielder to sort. Then we might be able to see out the games we lost or drew last season.

The rumour mill is turning fast for Schwarzer again with stories about his knee needing a second medical to be passed fit. As long as he is fit enough, I would be happy to see him at the Emirates. I think Almunia was the stop-gap buy that didn’t pay off, a situation made worse by the severe doubts that Fabianski was only a stop-gap away from greatness!

So what about cover for Song, or someone to play alongside him in the toughest games? Felipe Melo would be an exciting choice but the price could be high. It might depend on the outcome of this summer’s installment of the Fabregas/Barcelona soap.