Arsenal fan on Nasri, Fabregas and losing faith in Wenger

Matches for the Red Devils are now coming thick and fast and ahead of our clash against Arsenal at the weekend, continuing our series of talking to a rival blogger, we managed to grab a word with Chris from The Gunning Hawk. We talked about Wenger, new signings, and of course the hole left by Fabregas and Nasri.

1. Let’s ignore the loss of Fabregas and Nasri for the start, what do you make of the signings you’ve made so far this summer? I have mixed feeling over this summer’s signings and we only have a few days left for the transfer window to shut down. It seems we have to act quickly if we want to rectify this. Gervinho has been impressive so far, one who can play on both wings and not shy to take his man on. Carl Jenkinson, on the other hand, looks like one for the future as he’s still young and clearly has a long way to go before becoming a finished product.

And then there’s Ryo Miyaichi, with many believing that he could take over from Andrey Arshavin on the left. I personally feel that if used wisely the Japanese can be a big asset for us but whether he’s ready to be a regular in the team is yet to be seen. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joel Campbell are yet to feature.

2. Most pundits said this summer was an important one for you and if you signed the right players you could really challenge for the title this season. Surely this makes the fact you’ve lost Nasri and Fabregas hurt even more? We lost two of Europe’s most talented midfielders and indeed, it hurts. Alot was said at the end of last season and in a way, the “mass exodus” reported by some did occur although the large number of signings coming in is yet to happen and it’s a shame especially now that we lost these two.

3. Would you say, going by Arsene Wenger’s theory, that you’re no longer a ‘big club’? It seems Arsene was convinced that one of the two or both were staying at Arsenal when he said we can’t be called an ambitious Club if we lose them. Ultimately, whether we’re a big club or not will be determined by the results, by our achievements and Sunday’s game is definitely an objective we have to achieved to prove a point.

4. Many Arsenal fans appear to be losing patience and faith in Wenger. Are you one of them? As I said last week in our Arsenal Forum, Arsene should have resigned as manager but stayed at the Club as transfer consultant. The signing of Gervinho shows that he’s still good in discovering quality from players who are relatively unknown but I must say I was bewildered by a lot of his decisions, as manager, over the last few seasons.

5. Where would you realistically like to finish this season? Surely you can still challenge for a Top 4 place? It all depends on how fit key players will stay and how carried away the players will get after important wins. The Udinese win on Wednesday was a massive win, I would say one of the most important victories of the last year and Sunday’s game will tell us whether complacency is still an issue at Arsenal.

6. Who do you think’ll be top of the league come the end of the season? Manchester United are still in pole position in my opinion. Without Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic they eased past Tottenham and it seems Ashley Young settled down immediately. If you add Danny Welbeck’s excellent performance to the mix it seems that the Red Devils will indeed again be the team to beat.

7. Anyway enough on the bad side of things. The match on Sunday; how do you see it going? I would love to be optimistic but with Alex Song, Gervinho, Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong out injured or suspended, I can’t see us winning the game. It will all depend on how key players will perform, namely Thomas Vermaelen at the back, Wojciech Szczesny in goal, Tomas Rosicky in midfield and of course Robin and Theo up front.

8. If you could pick two current United players to go into your team, who would they be? Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs. The former never gives up, a quality I always admired in a football player and 37-year old Ryan Gibbs would bring the so-much needed experience at Arsenal. Lee Dixon said that someone like Clarence Seedorf is what the Gunners need as we indeed need someone who knows what is the difference between losing and winning.

9. What’s your favourite United vs Arsenal match of all time? I think the 1998 win at Old Trafford with Marc Overmars getting the only goal of the game. That game started an impressive comeback and ended with us winning the title and the double.

Related posts: