Bould accepts blame for recent lapses in Arsenal defence
Arsene Wenger’s new assistant Steve Bould has received nothing but praise recently. He has been given most of the credit for the new solidity in the Arsenal defence that saw us let in just two goals in the first five league games. Both of those cvould be attributed to goalkeeper error so the defence was looking irresistible. The last two games, however, have given Arsenal fans a reason for concern again.
Bould is willing to take responsibility for those performances, just as he was given credit for the improvement. The former Arsenal defender believes that the players were deflated by the Chelsea defeat last weekend, and this contributed to the nervousness on view against Olympiacos on Wednesday.
“Getting beaten on Saturday may have knocked our confidence a bit. We’re hoping that’s gone and we get back on track.”
When asked specifically about the recent mistakes at the back from Arsenal, Bould refused to shirk ant responsibility.”Down to me, isn’t it? We will look at it and try to correct it.
“The goals against us, in the main, have been set pieces which I think we can improve on. I think we’re doing ok.”
We shouldn’t be too hard on Bould or the defence, though, as they are getting used to a new system and the season is still young. Having said that, we cannot afford to take too long getting it right. To continue to push for the title Arsenal should really look at tomorrow’s trip to West Ham as a must win game.
Mertesacker and Vermaelen will probably renew their central partnership and the full backs have been outstanding so, with a little confidence, Arsenal have an excellent back four. Arteta has been brilliant in front of them, but West Ham are a very physical and hard working team. Perhaps Wenger should sacrifice a little creative flair and start Francis Coquelin alongside Arteta to give us more defensive protection, at least in the first half.
Arsenal have plenty of goals in the team, so a clean sheet should see us grab all the points and move up the table again.
Come on you Gunners!
Mertesacker and Vermaelen are the best for tomorrow’s game…
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i will say these are not lapses, its nervesnous, KOS was very unlucky n were under in pressure… Bould did excetional job, n his defence showed their qualities at MAN CITY Home Ground… I think Mert will back n team vl gt confidence again, Just need to focus n get rid of unusual pressure…
BOULD IS EXCEPTIONAL
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Big PER is back.. We ll be very solid again… Per’s positioning and sense of reading the game is excellent…. we need him at the back…
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If you build it, the will come……(good)
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Bould apology is absolute misplaced. The leakges we have had is because of kolosciny lousy mistakes. And may be not preparing guys for set pieces
So far so good mr bould.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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I wud consider 2nd goal vs chelski was a goalkeeping error…not defensive error by Koscielny..IMO
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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Overall I think that there has been a bit of an over-exageration of Bould’s achievements. Firstly, it was a little too early in the season to say we have a solid defence – yes it looked better for quite a few games than for the last couple of years, but we didn’t play too many teams who properly tested it.
I don’t think that all the improvements should be accredited to just Bould either. We have made a CB captain, which always helps, and the defence should naturally improve, if only slightly, if you make a decision like that. Vermaelen was good before but now seems fantastic. Furthermore, the German Giant has finally bedded in after his slow adaption to the EPL, and looks another great defender.
I do like Bould, he was a fantastic defender, he has a great knowledge of the game, he loves Arsenal, is very personable and honest, and has a lot more charisma than Pat Rice (he was a bit wierd). He certainly has made a huge impact on our defence – but it is not the only factor. It is not his fault that we have made some defensive errors recently, but if in the public eye and the media he is going to take the credit for solid defending, then he has realised it is only right he should take the blame.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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Bould should continue his good work but I don’t mind adding a little bit of Training-hours to improve our defence more and more
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Per Mertercepter (see what I did there…) is the dogs bollox this season, his lanky running style and below average speed haven’t been an issue due to his excellent positioning and great reading of the game! Vermaelen hasn’t been up to scratch. He seems distant and has been caught out directing others on what to do instead of watching the ball! He needs to stop man managing people and concentrate on Verminating people instead, as that is what he does best! The Kosh looks nervous, he isn’t as patient as he was last year and should have been sent off vs Olympiakos! Could be to do with him losing his starting place and trying too hard! Lets hope he settles down and has some performances like the end of last season.
Jenkinson and Gibbs have done nothing wrong in my eyes, best full backs in the league, just a shame their crosses aren’t going onto someone’s head!
That is all…
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Refreashing to see someone man up and accept when things arent going great.
Keep working hard on it and things will improve.
Abit disappointed with Ver and Koz communication needs to imrove to avoid these laspes
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Those goals we conceded against Chelsea were obviously Kossie’s fault. Too busy feeling up Torres and not watching the ball. Second own goal was one of those dead pan moments. It would have been different if he was facing away from the goal, but he came in from the outside facing the goal?? Makes me more upset thinking about it because we really deserved to win. Everyone makes mistakes, so we should give him a break, but it should not happen again. This ain’t pewee league, we are looking for titles here and can’t afford anymore stupid mistakes.
Per and Verm against the hammers.
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Kos & Verm partnership is not that bad but they should learn to communicate especially the Captain. As compared to Mer who acknowledges his shortfall & does it well to counter it by communicate when possible.Our other mistake is our GK lacks the commanding factor that likes of Lehman & Seaman had.Mannone seem to be better than them but lacks the intimidating factor that strikers can stroll in & out like a park. Coquelin should start with Walcott or Giroud instead of AOC. To add punch on the attack. Giroud makes other look good with the off the ball running. I think this might be his game this weekend.
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Last year by now we conceded more than a dozen of goals remember? So come down things are getting better….up gunners
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we should not be in defense mode against team like west ham..just crush them..we are the Gunners anyway
yihaaaaaa ;D
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That’s the sign of a real leader. Bould takes the blame for a problem we have had for the past seven years even though it is not his fault. Arsenal has always been rubbish in the air. We are a very good team but statistics don’t lie. We hardly score from set pieces and we concede a lot from set pieces. In any case, Koscielny and Vermalen are too similar. I was looking at Koscielny’s effort to block the Olympiacos goal but inspite of his jump, he just could not reach the ball. But Metsesecker would have contained that threat because of his height. That is why Metsesecker brings the best defensive balance and combination to our team.
Anyway, thanks Bouldy for taking one for the team even though it is not your fault. I hope and pray that Wenger will have the same courage to own up to his own mistakes because even though he is a legend, Wenger will blame the grass and the weather for our loses before he concedes that he shouldn’t have played Ramsey or Arshavin.
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Well i agree that Per has been great this season but i really think that Kos should pair with him, while Verm is great but against Olympiakos he was running to the final third more often than not. While Kos has not been at his best but we should look at wht he did for us last season (and that too after a horrific start).
benching Verm might be a bit difficult considering he is our captain now but sometimes his tackles are clumpsy and he gives away free kicks in tricky positions.
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i have a good feeling that Olly G will be the first player to score a hatrick for Arsenal this season.And it could be against west ham
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