Pascal Senderos Is Another Wasteful Wenger Centre Back Gone Wrong – Arsenal Run Comes To An End
By Bilal Zaidi
Last night Senderos played at centre back with the reliable Toure. He was joined by young Justin Hoyte at right back and an even younger Traore at left back....and not Djimi. Talking of Djimi, Senderos could also be compared to the Liverpool legend that is Djimi Traore in terms of his reliability in defence. You may know from yesterdays post that I am still recovering from an operation on my nose and bleeding continues today...but last night Senderos was to blame for a few spots of blood dripping painfully onto my clothes.
Every time he got on the ball I was worried...shocked...stunned...I had no idea what to expect from a rusty centre back who has always been rusty. The difference between his rustiness and Gilberto’s rustiness was simple...Gilberto really was RUSTY and Senderos was simply being himself. As much as I like to back young players in this Arsenal team and say they should have time etc etc...with Senderos it simply isn’t the case. Gilberto didn’t have the best game but in general this could be excused for his lack of playing time.
I USED TO HATE WHEN WENGER SUBSTITUTED PASCAL CYGAN ON IN THE 90th MINUTE OF GAMES TO SEE THE GAME OUT.
When he left for £2 million to Villarreal I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to go through the torment of another centre back that makes crazy mistakes on a regular basis. But I was wrong...Senderos has always been a player who makes mistakes even if some of his other defensive abilities are reliable. In the past he has shown he can at least head the ball but even that isn’t enough to hold down a place in the Arsenal team of even be our 3rd, or 4th or 7th centre back.
Who remembers Stepanovs, Luzhny...Cygan....now Senderos....they are four players that should never have played at the level they did for a team that they did.
I WOULD RATHER DJOUROU plays are centre back in January when Toure gets going to Africa...He is more reliable than Pascal Senderos and he has more pace....I would rather Gilberto plays...I wouldn’t even mind Alex Song right now....I just can’t take centre backs that aren’t even that brilliant in other areas making STUPID mistakes. If Gallas played yesterday I doubt very much that we would have lost 3-1. We may have lost 2-1...or drawn 1-1....but we could have lost 5-1 yesterday.
Qualifying early for the next round isn’t always a good thing...we now will most probably finish second in the group and the momentum would have been lost...AND we would face a tougher side in the next round. That could be Barcelona or Inter Milan.
As for the rest of the team, Bendtner I thought did a decent job and Toure was his usual self. Traore had a lot to handle with Navas and Alves down his flank with little help from a striker playing on the wide left of midfield. Eduardo took his goal well but he was never going to do a defensive duty that Traore would have needed against two world class players.
Hoyte didn’t do much wrong but that is his way of playing...he doesn’t do much wrong but nothing that outstanding either...I like that about him....he is a hard worker and a good athlete. He went to my primary school and his younger brother Gavin went to secondary school with me...they were both outstanding athletes even at that young age...his family has Olympic athletes in their blood and those two are no different. That is why Wenger has him there, he is an obedient young Englishman who is quick and agile...More importantly he is English in a team with one other Englishman...However he has Sagna a tremendous French international ahead of him after just signing a new contract with Arsenal last term. How long will Hoyte want to fight it out at Arsenal? Lets wait and see in January.
Previous young English “talent” such as Upson, Pennant, Bentley and Muamba have all left and play regularly for other premiership teams. Muamba is another player who is local and he went to school in Walthamstow with a few of my friends...they tell me that he says he likes Birmingham...we never got a chance to see him play at Arsenal because Flamini, Cesc, Diarra, Diaby and Denilson stand in his way. Bentley has shown he has real quality but I don’t think he would have ever fitted in with the style of our play. Pennant just kept getting arrested and out of all those players Hoyte seems like the least likely to do stupid things....his personality seems like his football...reliable and no nonsense. Good luck to you Justin.
We have a good few away games in a row now and I hope this loss in a team that wasn’t our first team won’t affect us in those games. With Flamini, Hleb, Gallas, Sagna, Clichy, Adebayor all playing it is another story altogether. Aston Villa vs Arsenal on Saturday (Should have the live stream available on this site by then)...Full preview to come...Check back for details.
posted by ArsenalReview.co.uk @ 2:33 PM
32 comments
32 Comments:
That's 'Champions League Winner Djimi Traore' to you
Indeed he is...the greatest player to ever win the champions league at that. HEEER HEEER to sir Djimi.
Remember what I said to you yesterday??? I had a fear we'd lose last night, but I still fancy Praha to get a result at home. Have faith my intellectual, self absorbed friend.
Indeed so friend....Next time you have a prediction let me know 24 hours in advance so I can get logged into betfair.com.
New article just posted...check the home page a.n.other....bless yourself.
Forgive stating the apparently obvious, but who is 'Pascal' Senderos? And is he any relative of Philippe Senderos? I assume you are an Arsenal supporter?
Damian LFC.
I'm guessing it's a Cygan-Senderos crossove young Mickey Mouser. I thought your brether invented humour???
'brether invented humour?'
Hmm, I'd never claim to invent humour (or be unable to spell), but then again, I wouldn't claim to be a fan of a team whose players I didn't know the names of...
Whether your spell check is in order or not mate, it isn't an error. The author is merely indicating a similarity with our previous useless centre half.
And I meant brethen obviously.
Do u know the funny thing? All of these CBs who were awful with Arsenal actually did well when they left us. Pascal Cygan is brilliant at Villareal and Igor Stepanovs also had a good run at Beveren and Grasshopper. I think CBs need a run of games to become consistent and confident. None of the 3 I mentioned here ever had a long run of games to develop that confidence
'Brether, brethen'?
Ah, you meant brethren!
I don't use a spell-checker because I am well able to speak/spell english. Are you english? You should be able to speak/spell your own language surely? Is féidir liom mo theanga féin (gaeilge or irish to you) a rá freisean!
Lets not bring Villareal stalwart Mr Cygan into your shameful attack on Phil Senderos, who was by no means our worse man last night. You're just another singin' when we're winnin pleb.
Let's look at the real reason we lost. We took on a very committed Seville on their own patch with Van Persie, Adebayor, Hleb, Diaby, Clichy and Gallas watching on telly and Sagna, Flamini, Diarra and Walcott on the bench. From that lot 6 are first team automatic starters, so spare us the, blame Senderos crap mate and sharpen up! Who in the world could take 6 players out of their first choice 11 and get a result there? Not many. We gambled, we rotated, we lost. Simple as that. Remember, we're already qualified and don't care who we meet in the next round. Look out Aston Villa Saturday.
Perhaps you'd struggle to spell 'Premiership' damo? Maybe because the closest you've came to it was Blackburn lifting it on your sacred turf. In fact, I was up there a few weeks ago, the place really is a shithole isn't it? You're right though, my concept of the english language is very poor. I once thought i'd read that Liverpool were the yardstick for everyone else. Dyslexia is a sad affliction.
Senderos is awful and has been for the past two seasons. We need to get rid of the donkey asap. When he plays you just know there's a going to be a weakness in the back line. Senderos - why??????
indeed so flex....
and yes a.n.other explained well to damo...you clearly need to fix up "bretherin"...Of course I know his name...if you read the whole article it was pretty clear I was comparing Phillipe to Pascal...once again I may repeat...Fix Up
Also to King Richard...disregarding your comment of "pleb-i-ness"...I would add that you chose to disagree which is fine...but I find it hard to believe you actually think that Senderos is good enough when he makes mistakes like that. He got eaten alive by Drogba many a time and has made mistakes too often to be good enough back up. We only have 3 CB right now...Toure, Gallas, Senderos.
Do you actually think Senderos is good enough back up? Also just to add....I am not solely blaming Senderos...I just know that a player at CB is vital in a team doing well...or in this case...making an amateurISH mistake to give away a goal...
It isnt just his fault...of course not....I didnt ever say that...but I said that if Gallas played...it would of made a hell of a difference. Good day King Richard. You "Pleb".
Ah, premiership. Can't believe you're trying to beat me over the head with that. You mean league titles. Same thing. You don't see me trying to beat you over the head with Champion's League instead of European Cups. Oh, hang on...
You have done well in europe and I congratulate you. You've still won less Premierships than Blackburn though. Just about the same number as Spurs isn't it?
Hah, we've been league champions 18 times, more than anyone else you've got what, 13? No wonder you keep going on about premiership.
Senderos is 23. Name me a better centre half who has achieved as much as he has.
Some of Phils achievements:
-Made a blinding debut in the Champions League against Bayern and continued his form right through to the end of the season where we kept 10 out 12 clean sheets culminating in the FA Cup win over Man United
-Played a key role in the glorious Champions League run, setting a new competition record in terms of clean sheets. Unlucky to get injured against Spuds and miss the final
-Played a key role in helping the Swiss become the only side to not to have conceded a goal during the World Cup
This lad, a baby in terms of a centre back has already achieved so much. I cant believe he is getting hammered for a bad performance in a (more or less) meaningless game after a 3 week injury. Fairweather or what? Fucking get behind the lads. If you went to school with Hoyte then I dont suppose you remember what Tony Adams, the quintessential Arsenal centre back, was like in his early 20s. You could see he had fantastic potential as a defender but his inability to concentrate, play the ball and deal with certain players (for Drogba read Rush) meant he cost us a fair few times as well.
whos ever seen senderos smile? he has a face of a smacked pony on crack, plays like one too.. Bring back Djourou, Gilberto needs to fix up. Bilal stop crying about ur bleeding u woman.. godspeed
I wont take that away from him...I did also say he has had good games in the past...in fact the most memorable for me was the entire run in the champions league especially in the away legs....but since then I expected him to improve and he has done quite the opposite.
One thing about Senderos in the past that has been a huge asset to the team is his organisational ability and aerial ability...in recent times (not solely based on yesterdays game)....he has been lacking in these areas. Add to this his randomness of making these mistakes....It doesn't make for good reading.
I do understand that he is still "young for a centre half" but from the age of 18 he has been at Arsenal...he has shown fantastic potential and I have been an admirer of him in the past....but now since last year and this year he hasn't shown me any sort of confidence that I should have in him.
I think your "achievements" list is slightly begging the question...It was a deliberate exageration on my part to compare him to Cygan and Stepanovs...Simply for the fact that I have praised him on this site before....and wanted to show the contrast in my opinion of him.
I hope he proves me wrong....but in this season where we have shown so much promise...a centre back making mistakes like that in a proper game where it counts can have huge negative effects...not just within that game....but the sequences that are broken because of it.
I dont think your question of "name me a better centre half who has achieved what he has" is in fact a legitimate question...I assume this argument is based upon his age?
shaks you waste cadet
Going back to a comment on top, funny no one has anything to say about Hoyte. Ok yeah he was the only brit on the pitch. (humor)
And Senderos ! Get off his case you experts. The kid is a solid CB and I saw him smile a few times. Imagine a CB that smiles all the time, he would not get any respect.
Hate or love it the kid is a serious CB who gets the job done when need it.
Peace to all brits and haters in general.
'I dont think your question of "name me a better centre half who has achieved what he has" is in fact a legitimate question...I assume this argument is based upon his age?'
Yeah, thats what I meant. People bandying names about because they are good on football manager annoy me so much. They name Kompany, Richards, Albiol etc. No disrespect to any of them because they are decent defenders in their own right but Kompany plays for Hamburg who flirted with relegation for most of last year, Richards was appalling against Drogba (but then again, most defenders are found out when playing against the best) and Albiol misses Ayala's experience and also got done by Drogba a couple weeks ago.
For me, only Sergio Ramos is in Phil's class in terms of what he has done. And he cost 18m.
I agree he went backwards last year and he has had some shaky moments this. But he was also rock solid against Seville when we played them at home and remember-Gallas was out for a long time and we didnt lose a match in his absence. I think to dismiss him so early in his career is not only harsh but absurd
I think this is the best Series of Spooks since the first two.
I agree with king richard.
Don't make Senderos scapegoat. Toure does not deserve to be tagged "reliable". Watch closely the goals Arsenal conceded in the last few games in last season, very much due to Toure's fualts. He has not been as good as before since last season. Without Gallas the defence was never properly marshalled. Toure does not deserve to wear Captain armband and he likes to dripple forward but loses ball always. He likes to take FK but always missed. Gilberto was very much at fault and has been playing badly in the last few games, including last season. He is slow and passes poorly.
Djourou is a better player than Senderos at best??? My on my. Have you ever watched Djouru playing for Birmingham? Terrible! When Arsenal was invincible, who was playing with Toure most of the time? Was Senderos playing? Can someone enlighten me as I can't remember? Djourou is a future propect but he too is doing poorly! He is faster than Senderos? How could you tell? Song plays in the CB in the 1st team just once and you prefer him over Senderos? Even when Wenger used to play Song in midfield he was not outstanding, you couldn't even compare him against Senderos at best! Song is another future prospect and I have nothing against him. The comparisons you used to discredit Senderos were goundless.
Given Arsene's team selection, I would have been very surprised if we had got a result against Sevilla in their back yard. Having said that Senderos always gives me the horrors, he just makes too many mistakes and is generally too slow. In the past he has played very well, but I would of expected him to sort out his concentration levels by now, as for his speed, that's another matter as can be compensated for by improving his positional sense and reading of the game.
I do agree with you to a certain extend, after watching Senderos yesterday i was saying i could do a better job than him at center back.
The thing with senderos is that the more he plays the more consistent and confident he gets and then he performs very well. To say he is crap is harsh, because he was the main stay in our defence with Toure two years ago to set a champs league record. I feel the older he gets the better he will be, he is never going to be fast but his reading of the game is going to get better and better.
Is the best way around it to give him reserves games alot and then bench just as cover? Or would it be fair to say that he would have benefited alot more from a loan period where he has to fight for everythig in the relegation zone and play week in week out.
As for Gilberto i really do like him, but at times i feel he switches off, Diarra is a class act.
Can someone tell me why you think Gilberto was rusty, but Senderos wasn't - "he was simply being himself"? they both haven't really played... but Gilberto has been captaining Brazil. Gilberto hasn't been out injured... Senderos has. Gilberto was far worse last night... where was the bagging of traore? he was no where most of the time... exposing Senderos time and time again
Senderos has been crap from day one. The only time he wasn't crap was when Arsenal plated 4-5-1 in all those Champions League games and he was protected by everyone around him. Arsenal sat deep and he wasn't exposed.
However, Arsenal are a very attacking team and by and large the centre-backs do get exposed and need to deal with it. Gallas can, Toure can, hell even Song has played well there - not sure about Djourou.
One thing's for certain, Senderos is an ass. His positional sense is atrocious, he lets balls bounce over his head all the time, he has no pace, he often recklessly fouls the last man, his distribution is pathetic and he has no composure. Not looking good is it? Sell him.
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