At about six-thirty last night I read a post on here by arse_ or_brain which simply said “Theo out for six months after scan revealed torn ligament nightmare”
Obviously this news made me sad for Theo, Arsenal and myself. It was very depressing and disappointing. Just as the lad was back up to speed he, and us, had been dealt a horrible blow.
Of course I went on to twitter to see if I could learn more.
The news was worse than I had envisaged.
Our title hopes were dashed, over, kaput, flushed down the toilet .finished. We were no longer challengers.
There is no denying that the loss of Theo makes the job more difficult. He is a unique player for us. But come on !
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in full training and was hugely impressive in pre-season.
Serge Gnabry looks every inch ready to play on the right.
Even Ryo Miyaichi could play a minor role between now and the end of the season.
Theo just made a good fist of playing up front, but that was against a team that rather stupidly came to our gaff and set up 442. We wont see that very often.
All of a sudden Theo was the answer to our striker shortage and his loss is crippling.
The screams for Arsene to “throw money at it” have reached a new crescendo. But what has changed ?
Have more players come onto the market ?
Will clubs feel sorry for us and sell us players they intended to keep ?
Have our available funds gone from finite to infinite ?
Have our long term plans changed ? Lets not forget, Theo will be back.
Will clubs fail to notice our need and not ask for silly money for average players ?
We are top of the league and have achieved this , in the large part, without Theo.
We march on.
We adjust.
We ask others to step up.
We might even buy someone.
Come on Gooners, get your shit together !
Positively Arsenal 
Quite. Walcott has started 9 League games this season out of 20…………….did we lose the other 11; were we hopeless without Theo. Get a grip people. Yes it’s a loss and Theo was playing well but we didn’t have a problem while he was out injured before why should it suddenly be a disaster now.
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Well done PG nothing like a greater perspective to have people think more rationally. Thanks.
I found the piece at the end of this link extremely interesting and full of insights. It’s about Mark Randall…..
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/07/mark-randall-arsenal-ascoli
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Ah George a bit of sanity, don’t know if I can be doing with that. To be honest the effect of this news is once more unknown. While I tend to agree with nutty Theo’s contribution in goals, assists and fear from the opposition is huge, I don’t the problem is insurmountable. When a big player leaves or has a long term injury it is very rare there is a single solution, managers tend to prefer finding an answer in a different system or two players each picking up part responsibility.
GeoffArsenal says we’re definitely going to do business and he’s rarely wrong, but like George I think this window is going to be extremely difficult as many clubs are looking to add players and there doesn’t seem to many who want to move or have a club which is willing to business.
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Absolutely spot on, PG.
Walcott is irreplaceable directly, but others can step up. This could be a big opportunity for Podolski. It is such a cruel blow for Theo and Arsenal. I was so looking forward to watching him racing away from defenders and curling one in at the far post or into the top corner… At least he will be around for pre-season of 2014/15.
So many fans and pundits think that whatever the problem, the only possible solution is to buy a new player. It isn’t.
Good for you for pointing out that our increased need for a player does not increase the likelihood that clubs will sell any of our targets to us mid-season. We wouldn’t have sold Theo in January however much anyone offered, so why would they? Citing buyout clauses is all very well, but we don’t know the details. What if the buyout only applies in the summer window, for example? Unless we are monumentally lucky or there are special circumstances in play, we’re not going to get what we want in January. And if that’s the case, we’re better off sticking with what we have got. Team spirit has been the most important ingredient of our success so far. But to those who are saying that we “have to” sign someone – *if* AW is able to get someone in, I do not expect to see one word of criticism of that player or the manager’s judgement in signing him for the rest of this season. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Now hurry up and get well, Theo!
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Chances are Podolski will get more starts with Santi pitching his rent somewhere on the right (don’t worry he won’t stay there!). But I’ll still miss Walcott *sobs*
The ITK Groanering Malcontents may not want to articulate their preference for Kick & Rush but I’ve never had any problem with discussing personal preference and styles. I love Wengerball with a sprinkling of ridiculous pace. Always have always will. The frequency of those slick and quick passing triangles against 5pur2s were almost more exciting then the result. Looks like my hopes rest upon Oxlade and Gnabry.
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Thanks for the Mark Randall link GP-I hope he makes it-seems a really decent kid.
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I expect Arsene will be thinking about playing Aaron out on the right – taps nose
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Showing special mental strength there, well done George.
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Another problem the fantasy football mangers seem to forget is most new players take a while to settle down reducing the likelihood of having an impact on this years title
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Well done Mark Randall for taking a chance in Italy although it did not work out – at 24 difficult to believe he will not get a chance in English football again
Not exactly overburdened with talent are we ?
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@ arse_or_brain January 7, 2014 at 1:58 pm
Another good point – no pre-season to bed in, like jumping onto a moving train.
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Like everyone I am bummed out for Theo, however I do agree with PG, this is not the end of our season! Yes we are a better team with all of our players healthy and Theo is a weapon that other teams loathe, his speed causes nightmares! However we are deeper in talent than we have been in a long time! Whether it is the OX or Serge G we have some speed on the wing, I am sure we’ll also see TR 7, Rambo or even Santi there also in some games.
It looks like our team chemistry is strong which is not to be discounted, if we can add a player to the mix that will really add something to the team short and long term then of course we’ll all be happy, however I strongly believe that we can compete and beat any team we play with the team that we have right now.
COYG!!
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The better the player the easier they will bed in, but starting a new career in the UK in mid to late January wouldn’t be much fun for anyone who has been plying their trade in more temperate climes. At the start of the season we thought we had Theo but didn’t necessarily know we had Gnabry – and we certainly didn’t know we would have Ozil, so in a sense he is already covered, ultra sad though his loss is. Everything crossed that by late Feb Oxlade is back to full EPL match fitness, and that our two back up strikers can cover for Giroud if and when needed. All will be well, even if we don’t find someone special to add to the mix right now.
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i dont want a new signing. i want my theo back ASAP. arsenal should do whatever it takes to bring him back in record time.
what is this about new medical discovery about treament of ACL? we should try that as well. placenta, manure, herb or whatever.
ox and gnabry can do a good job as well. but we dont need a signing that the same people who call for their signing will be the ones to call them panic buys next season.
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I think we’re in good hands with the Ox and Gnabry. This being said, I am absolutely gutted for Theo. I spent all of yesterday studying surgical procedures for torn ACLs, rehab methods and reading stories of athletes who came back from that type of njury.
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Friday the 24th at 7.45 – how very, very convenient, particularly for Coventry fans who want that once in a lifetime experience of a trip to a football stadium, and for me of course – just fucking brilliant
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Well done George. Kipling would be proud:
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you” etc.
Jaysus. The amount of keyboard managers who are virtually certain that AFC will fail to win a trophy if Arsene cannot magically sign a world class striker betrays the shallowness of their belief in in the quality of the squad and the quality of the manager. Did we truly learn anything from the past 8 years and especially after the shameful extremes after the loss to Villa earlier this year?
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I’m just sad for Theo. I don’t want to think about replacements or buying or shifting people around to cover Theo’s place. Like Scarlett O’Hara, I’ll think about that tomorrow. Today I think I’ll still be sad…don’t mind me. You guys carry on doing your usual great job of being reasonable. (banned smiley)
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Well George…. Im here, as ordered!
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Oh good,all is well in my little sad world now.
I just need Frank
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On a serious note, when I heard the news about Theo last night, I was gutted. For him, for Arsenal and for me too. It made me quite angry TBH because I truly believe that he was on the cusp of becoming an even more devastating forward/striker. His movement, timing of his runs, work rate and shot selection etc vs the spuds was henry-esque. Now I aint suggesting he was on the way to being as good as Thierry, but he was certainly showing signs of becoming an all round top top player and he has been showing glimpses for a while.
I read an article earlier that quoted some old ex-pro saying that England wont miss Theo because all he brings is pace! What utter garbage. Thats the kind of half arsed, cliched, out dated hogwash that I’ve come to expect from Theo’s many detractors who quite obviously havent watched him play recently, or refuse to accept that he has grown as a player. This old duffer also went on to say Arsenal wont miss him either. Now, its true we did well while he was recovering from his abdominal injury, but we STILL missed him and his displays and goals return since coming back into the team shows his importance to the team.
That is why I was gutted.
I never ever thought he could lead the line, but that display was ominous (for our opponents!) and hopefully, once he is fully recovered, next season he will have an injury free year (gawd, I am soooo bored of saying this about our players) and start off where he had to leave it so abruptly on Saturday evening.
Now, to look at things in a more Positive slant. We do have Gnabry and a soon to return Oxlade-Chamberlain so all is definitely not lost. Once again we have had to do without a very talented young player in Alex and so having him back will be vital for us I feel, as is the inclusion of the fearless young German. He really does have something special about him and without over stating things I think he can give us a pacey outlet that we will be missing, as well as super technique, and directness.
While I am mightily pissed off we have yet again lost an important player to a long term serious injury, with the emergence of Serge and the imminent return of AOC, we can still have a successful season and, yeah, win the league.
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I agree with every word Dexter.
I used to question Theo’s value in some ways.But there is no doubt he was proving his critics wrong.And in a big way.
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George, I have been a big fan of Theo for years and have defended him countless times. It originally stemmed from seeing him up close at away games. He would make the defense have to sit back which helped our midlfeieders do their thing. And that was enough as far as I was concerned. Then he developed his finishing to devastating effect. That goal away in the Champions league (Shaktar I think) was just sublime. And again, that was more than enough for me to consider him an extremely valuable member of the team.
But this season, he has come on again. Culminating in that performance vs the spuds! It was awesome and one I never saw him being capable of. He CAN be a central striker, just like Henry.
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That goal made with Wilshere away to Shaktar, left foot I think, was evidence of what was to come from Theo and he did not disappoint. 4th highest combined goals and assists in recent seasons behind JvC, Rooneh and Suarez.
Yup. I’m still gutted *wails*
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Listening to the Clock End cheered me up. Plenty of fans have appreciated what he has brought to the team.
http://sport.bt.com/sportfootball/football/adrian-clarke-theo-loss-could-hit-gunners-hard-S11363864691915
Clarkie knows
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@Dexter
Yes exactly. The game against Tottenham showed that Theo had added a new dimension to his game, that he was able to go head to head with a couple of strong CBs and bully them with his pace. Tottenham just couldn’t handle him and I doubt many other teams could have done it. And now he faces an injury that might seriously impact his career if he can’t get his agility back. He doesn’t just face 6 months on the sidelines, we are looking at another additional 6 – 12 months of recovery period (if we look how much time Aaron and Jack took, for example, after suffering long-term injuries) until we can hope for him to get back to his best.
At least there’s some good news from the Stadium of Light. Vito doing well in goal, Sunderland 1-nil up.
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Oh Dex – Admit it. You have always had a soft spot for Theo jut like Alabama Gooner has for Ramsey. Tut, Tut.
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Spot on post George. I am gutted for Theo and we will miss him, as I remember a few games earlier in the season when we were crying out for his pace and the width he brings to our team. But we survived and I’m sure that Arsene with all his tactical know how will find a way to compensate for the loss. I just hope Theo recovers well and comes back stronger.
Thanks for the link to the Mark Randall article Georgaki – very interesting. I hope he makes a good career because I remember he was always a stylish and talented player. And well done to him for taking a chance, going abroad and out of his comfort zone.
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Maybe not “just” like, Shotta…but I do understand.
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I love you guys. I can’t believe we were all seeing the same things in Theo’s game. except for Hunter, of course. Since he thinks Chelsea were laughing at him.
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Dearest Shotta
I thought my love for Theo was as obvious as Mourinho’s ego?
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oh hallo there goebells69.
yes i think that when our midfield is negated we struggle and need a killer
i also think that big momments are decided by big players
i also think that wenger is clever enough to know this …unlike you
🙂
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but then again…crazy wenger was committed into even spending 40m for one of these killers in the summer….maybe its his way of indirectly “trashing our boys” …
.
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No hunter, you trashed our boys when you said that terry and co will laugh at Giroud and Walcott. Even if it was a joke, it was disrespectful and that joke is so not true. You did that in your eagerness to big-up Suarez. Suarez is not gonna happen. Let it go. Wenger will always look to improve the Arsenal squad even if Henry was currently leading the line.
Let it go, dont dig yourself deeper into a hole and turn this whole thing sour. Let us just focus on our squad and club and not about other players at other clubs.
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well said
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Well chelsea has managed ( one way or another) to make us completely ineffective against them and it is in those momments where we need someone that wont make the lifes of luiz terry ivanovic etc as comfortable as they are normally when facing us.
the times we have beaten chelsea comfortable were when they had grant and cesc with theo had super game and when they had silly villaboas playing with terry on the halfwayline…mou is a bit better than grant and andre……..
if some of you dont get context and that by saying -laughing- it is meant that they easily deal with us then fair enough ….
dig a hole? lol …. yep thats exactly how i view it…..after all i dont believe in this team players and managers..never have 🙂
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do you see any of our players doing to chelsea what drogba did to us for 7 odd years?
no?
oh…funny that……
and just cause i want a killer ( as wenger wants and wanted in the summer ) dont make us …….trashers and non-believers …
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What did Drogba DO? Precisely what he and any other good strikers do to almost every team.
Its almost as if you have bought the media bullshit hook, line and sinker old fruit.
Arsenal were the better team vs the chavs this season, no shame in a 0-0 draw in the midst of a tough fixture schedule.
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sorry dexter i disagree. drogba whether we like it or not punished us nearly every time he met us. you could say he had beaten our defenders psychologically before stepping on the pitch even. it is not a crime to want something similar for our case. our game and flair depends on the collective. but when the collective efforts dont produce im sorry but you need a BOSS in attack to put the opposition at its place…..
as for not being a shame in a 0-0 draw at home …granted in terms of a result…. but the fact we couldnt create CLEAR chances against them …or that the stretched chances we got in 2nd half couldnt be converted might be the difference between winning a title or not.
there will always be internal solutions ( thats the point of wenger busting his arse all his years to develop our academies) and yes wenger will always seek to improve in transfer market when he can, however the need for a killer is not solely a media fabrication as you’re suggesting. this manager has either always played with a kilelr upfront ( weah henry van persie eduardo) or switched to a tall/strong targetman. in the first targetman case ( adebayor) he had playmakers on the flanks ( hleb & rosicky) and right behind him (cesc & nasri), in the giroud scenario he is aiming to benefit from his drops to the oncoming walcott or poldi at each side who have better finnishing. with theo and poldi out first half we did exceptionally well but that is not sustainable for ever….
have you seen our schedule in feb-march? we have something ridiculous like 4-5 important trophy deciding games in a row each month…similar to the ‘blip’ of december…if a similar blip happens at that time it is difficult to recover. expecting giroud poldi gnabry and ox to score the winners required in EACH AND EVERYONE of those games is a bit too much to ask of them considering their status.
granted the word “laughing” may have been received by you all in bad taste, but thats not the real issue …….or is it? the issue is what do you do when they come to kick/intimidate and negate your midfield and you lack pace on the flanks or a killer up front to demolish them and send them home packing in a miserable psychological state that will stay with them for years to come.
football does involve an element of psychologically “owning” your opponents. the chelsea bunch unlikebale as they are have won trophies that our boys havent…and that gives them a certain air against us….an air i want to see disrupted.
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you lot think that the demands for a killer are made with disrespect on what we have when in reality the demand for the killer ( either in attack/midfield or defence or goal) is purely made to beat cunts like mou and alike teams.
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and look dexter…we have to beat BOTH the scheduling and the refs…..dont expect favours from them…nor shoudl we seek excuses ( oh the schedule…the damn schedule…)
we need to lay down the law and enjoy wenger’s fuck you momment to the establishment and all them cunts (arsenal fans or not) doubting his abilities….imagine him doing that with a bunch of germans and satan
🙂
come on stan …80 m cash today for luis…unless wenger has some ‘eduardo’ up his sleeve which will also work…
dont get stuck in names and descriptive words…….its the idea/concept that matters.
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Ive seen us struggle against Bradford, Blackburn, Wigan etc etc etc… The Drogba psychological thang is something the media dreamt up, like with Wenger not being able to beat a Mourinho team. Sure, Mourinho is the king of anti-football and as we have all seen these past 20 odd years with fergie, evil wins out with regard to football every time!
Not sure what your point is hunter (in existing I mean! Haha! Jokes!) I would have loved us to sign Suarez, but that didnt happen through misinformation and now if the very reverand hacks are to be believed, it’ll take £70m to prise him from the scousers. Too rich even for our new;y bloated “war chest” me thinks. I’ve wanted a new striker since the dutch rat left and still do, no shame in that, Giroud (at first) said the same, as have a few other players.
But its your banging on about a 0 all vs the chavs thats grating me. You are chatting bollocks, so desist I say or geogre shall banish thee to ACLeff off! Oh, sorry, you’re already banned from there too, along with naughty Georgeykins aintcha.
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ok dexter and the rest…. when discussing you need to understand context
struggling with the likes of bradford etc is because the players are taking things lightly
struggling against chelsea or manure when your players are giving everything they got means you lack the quality in them decissive momments or positions to hurt them.
once we get that out the way we can continue with the rest of your “chatting bollocks” post.
deal?
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Unlike Chelsea, we didn’t pack the middle against Liverpool and we played them and Suarez off the fucking park. So spare us your bullshit, will you? Stick to what you’re good at, ranting about incoherent nonsense. Your knowledge of football is as deep as the floor in a shower stall.
Oh and you can stick your Goebels crap you know where.
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liverpool? is that the standard now? …i wonder who is falling for the media bollocks….
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Hunter,you made a rod for your own back with that ill-considered comment.
I have tried to understand the context,but still feel you were being disparaging about Giroud and Theo.
Even if you did not intend that, you wrote.
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goebells …mudslinging ….. intentional mis-interpretation in order to promote other agenda ….i think were on the right track.
as for football and knowledge….miles ahead…..in whatever format…live/11×11/5×5/ playstation fifa pro evo fm…you choose…
do not forget the score stands at 2-0 in my favour …one was the ancelotti doesnt do creative ( he only played with 3 tens..lol) the second was cesc/aaron weight of responsibilty….
even in this one …..you know fine well that suarez is the tougher character and the one with bigger match winning ability than anythign we got but alas….you hate the bucktoothed racist diver
🙂
down boy…hushh now….time for medication
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heh thanks but dont worry about me george…. i know what i said and what i meant….
it is others who have the itchy trigger fingers ….
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Hheh… because quite simply , chelsea ” laughing” at us could have easily been in nterpreted as:
– they have shut us out
– they have neutralised our mid and strikers
– they have got our number
– etc
But no….the interpretation chosen was ” that cunt is trashing our players to big up that bucktoothed racist”
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Trouble is Hunter ,you give leave the door open for that interpretation. Yet you blame others for forming it.
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