2005-2006 season

[scytheavatar]

The last game I went to at Highbury, April 2006, beat Aston Villa 5-0, O'Leary was their manager
The team was,
Lehmann, Eboue (Djourou 67), Toure, Senderos, Flamini, Pires, Fabregas (Diaby 15), Silva, Reyes, Adebayor, Henry (Van Persie 65). Subs not used: Almunia, Hleb.

There was plenty of experience and a few youngsters, Djourou played one of his first games when he came on as sub, and RVP scored a brilliant individual goal from a tight angle when he came on as well.

Not sure why we struggled in the league that season, there seemed to be plenty of quality players

Lehmann - Never had been that good of a goalkeeper, back then many people wanted him gone. This is something Arsenal fans forgot thanks to the guy who replaced him.

Eboue - Got a lot of hype in his first season, but people didn't realize then how he was costing us with his attitude.

Toure - Was breakout player of the season, but was better in the next few seasons

Senderos - Played very well then

Flamini - Was a rather underrated and solid squad player then but nothing more than that

Pires - Was in massive decline then, had a poor season

Fabregas - Was a terrific playmaker, but a completely different type of player from Vieira. Which means big problems for....

Silva - Was the worst player that season and probably the biggest reason for why we played badly. Losing Vieira exposed how lacking he was in many ways, he can't pass (a fact which opponents expiolted and they were constantly targetting him) and his defending wasn't bad but wasn't good enough to make up for the lost of Vieira. He played much better the next season and was actually one of the best players of 2006/2007, but in 2005/2006 he was a complete bust.

Reyes - Was always inconsistent back then and many of us treated him as a princess, showing tremedous patience and always making excuses for him. (and what makes me depressed is that Nasri is presently getting the same treatment)

Adebayor - Looked very good in his first season

Henry - Carried us as always

Van Persie - Was a solid talent but not ready to be our star

Hleb - Wasn't terrific that season, showed glimpse of his talent but even back then people were constantly complaining about him being a square peg in a round hole.

 

[banduan]

It wasn't the loss of Vieira that was the problem. He was always going. It was the loss of Edu that hurt, similar to Diarra leaving because he was not getting playing time half a season before the time he could have easily been a starter.

 

[AshburtonGhost]

Vieira leaving was massive. His level had dropped, but he was still a monster presence and the glue that held the team together on and off the pitch. I don't know how true this is but apparently things fell apart a bit after he left; cliques developed, players mostly did their own thing off the pitch and the camaraderie that was there previously all but disappeared. I often wonder whether Wenger would've done things a bit differently, given the way things have gone since

 

[scytheavatar]

It wasn't the loss of Vieira that was the problem. He was always going. It was the loss of Edu that hurt, similar to Diarra leaving because he was not getting playing time half a season before the time he could have easily been a starter.

Edu was someone who had always been much better at attacking than at defending. He's the biggest reason why Gliberto was considered the "invisible shield", our midfield is obviously weaker defensively with Edu than with Gliberto. I have a hard time seeing how Edu could have worked with Cesc.

 

[P_Gunner]

The last game I went to at Highbury, April 2006, beat Aston Villa 5-0, O'Leary was their manager
The team was,
Lehmann, Eboue (Djourou 67), Toure, Senderos, Flamini, Pires, Fabregas (Diaby 15), Silva, Reyes, Adebayor, Henry (Van Persie 65). Subs not used: Almunia, Hleb.

There was plenty of experience and a few youngsters, Djourou played one of his first games when he came on as sub, and RVP scored a brilliant individual goal from a tight angle when he came on as well.

Not sure why we struggled in the league that season, there seemed to be plenty of quality players

Hleb - Wasn't terrific that season, showed glimpse of his talent but even back then people were constantly complaining about him being a square peg in a round hole.

I thought Hleb was a nuisance back then. I was absolutely annoyed with him. I only began rating him in 07/08.

 

[KY]

I guess a sore point would still be red card in the final. Not so much how we got the card as what happened after: the coming on of Almunia, the going off of Pires, the eventual capitulation... It almost felt like it was the beginning of everthing that went wrong after that.

 

[Cudareli]

It wasn't the loss of Vieira that was the problem. He was always going. It was the loss of Edu that hurt, similar to Diarra leaving because he was not getting playing time half a season before the time he could have easily been a starter.

Edu was someone who had always been much better at attacking than at defending. He's the biggest reason why Gliberto was considered the "invisible shield", our midfield is obviously weaker defensively with Edu than with Gliberto. I have a hard time seeing how Edu could have worked with Cesc.

Whilst i disagree that the loss of Vieira wasn't the problem when it clearly was, i do agree with the importance of the Edu loss.

Cesc was young and was tossed into the deep end, to early i believe. Having a player like Edu who started to hit his straps before he moved on would of meant that Fabregas could of been eased into the rigours of regular first team football. Instead we moved him on and failed to bring a replacement, meaning our league performance that season was hammered by inconsistency.

 

[Cudareli]

Lehmann - Never had been that good of a goalkeeper, back then many people wanted him gone. This is something Arsenal fans forgot thanks to the guy who replaced him.

Lehmann was underwhelming signing at the time because like now, the fans wanted a big name to come in. The supporters took a while to warm to him but he was still a quality keeper and produced some big performances. He got better as time went on, but was still good enough for a side expected to challenge for the title.

Eboue - Got a lot of hype in his first season, but people didn't realize then how he was costing us with his attitude.

Don’t agree with this. When Wenger was first interested in Sagna majority of the fans, whether they will admit it now, were caught by surprise with this. He was a top defender and not many fans thought this was a position that should have been strengthened. Judging by his performances now you would say that it was clear, but he had a top season in 05/06.

Flamini - Was a rather underrated and solid squad player then but nothing more than that

Had a terrific run of games at left back and was showing glimpses of class. In previous seasons he had found himself shoved out wide on the right which was as hard to watch as Diaby on the left. Would have said he was more than a squad player considering that he was integral in our Champions League run and started a large number of games for the side. Should of been offered a contract well before he was but we won’t get into that.

Pires - Was in massive decline then, had a poor season

Agree with this, but from memory he still had a fantastic return in terms of goals scored. Was not the same player as he was previously, but was still good enough for a top side and was not a weak leak in the team.

Silva - Was the worst player that season and probably the biggest reason for why we played badly. Losing Vieira exposed how lacking he was in many ways, he can't pass (a fact which opponents expiolted and they were constantly targetting him) and his defending wasn't bad but wasn't good enough to make up for the lost of Vieira. He played much better the next season and was actually one of the best players of 2006/2007, but in 2005/2006 he was a complete bust.

Disagree. His passing was poor and it did show up, but his performances were largely due to having to play alongside Cesc. His defending was still top notch, it was more the fac that we completely changed as a unit, linking back up to the significant loss of Vieira. Still would not have put him down as the ‘biggest reason for playing badly’ and his experience definitely helped us in our Champions League run.

Reyes - Was always inconsistent back then and many of us treated him as a princess, showing tremedous patience and always making excuses for him. (and what makes me depressed is that Nasri is presently getting the same treatment)

Could always produce a moment of magic and was a threat. Was inconsistent and I agree with that, but these players require patience so I don’t see it as an issue. For everything bad he did, he had the ability to do something twice as good.

Adebayor - Looked very good in his first season

Adebayor was poor and I remember this because I used to plead with fans to give him time to adapt (how I regret that!). Missed some huge chances in the league and although his work rate was refreshing, he was still extremely raw. He only bagged 4 goals in the league, but in fairness to him, his assist to Henry against Tottenham saved our season.

 

[KY]

Speaking of Edu, what happened to him anyways? The last thing I remembered was him spending a whole season on the sidelines after signing for Valencia due to major injury. Wiki has him back at Corinthians but mentions him as the manager of the club which is pretty hard to believe and, after checking the Corinthians wiki page, realized it's just a load of manure....

 

[scytheavatar]

Whilst i disagree that the loss of Vieira wasn't the problem when it clearly was, i do agree with the importance of the Edu loss.

Cesc was young and was tossed into the deep end, to early i believe. Having a player like Edu who started to hit his straps before he moved on would of meant that Fabregas could of been eased into the rigours of regular first team football. Instead we moved him on and failed to bring a replacement, meaning our league performance that season was hammered by inconsistency.

Edu himself was hammered by inconsistency; people remembered him for the games he won for us but there were many games where he looked like the central midfield version of Eboue and where his laziness and refusal to chase balls was obvious. In a sense he was essentially a more talented version of Denilson. An Edu/Gliberto midfield would have only worsen our woes that season.

Lehmann was underwhelming signing at the time because like now, the fans wanted a big name to come in. The supporters took a while to warm to him but he was still a quality keeper and produced some big performances. He got better as time went on, but was still good enough for a side expected to challenge for the title.

He was always error prone and conceded a lot of goals unnecessarily due to his aggressiveness and eagerness to come out of the box. Even in 2005/2006 there was a spell where Wenger got sick and tired of him and benched him for Almunia, only to relent when Almunia looked like the worst goalkeeper ever to play for us. He got better after that and certainly contributed much to our CL run, but the fact still remains that he wasn't good enough for a side expected to challenge for the title.

Don’t agree with this. When Wenger was first interested in Sagna majority of the fans, whether they will admit it now, were caught by surprise with this. He was a top defender and not many fans thought this was a position that should have been strengthened. Judging by his performances now you would say that it was clear, but he had a top season in 05/06.

Like I said, everyone was hyped for Eboue at the time and though that he was a top defender, but Wenger had the insight to realize that he was a weak link. Looking back he was probably right, Eboue offered much offensively but having a rock solid defender like Sagna improved our team. Getting Sagna to replace Eboue proved to be one of the most darling and successful move from Wenger, something I have always wondered why he didn't do more often.

Had a terrific run of games at left back and was showing glimpses of class. In previous seasons he had found himself shoved out wide on the right which was as hard to watch as Diaby on the left. Would have said he was more than a squad player considering that he was integral in our Champions League run and started a large number of games for the side. Should of been offered a contract well before he was but we won’t get into that.

His run was overrated, he defended well as a left back which surprised everyone but the difference offensively between him and a certain bastard (and Clichy who was injured that time) was obvious. Like I said, Flamini was a solid squad player but hardly someone who was going to be a long term left back for us.

Adebayor was poor and I remember this because I used to plead with fans to give him time to adapt (how I regret that!). Missed some huge chances in the league and although his work rate was refreshing, he was still extremely raw. He only bagged 4 goals in the league, but in fairness to him, his assist to Henry against Tottenham saved our season.

That's only because certain fans seem to think that strikers should score lots of goals and are only useful for scoring goals, a rather ridiculous idea I never never understood. The Adebayor/Henry partnership was much more solid and effective than the Van Persie/Henry partnership, and many people then supported Wenger starting Adebayor ahead of Van Persie. He wasn't a instant world beater, someone who looked like the next Henry, but for his first season he adapted surprisingly fast and looked effective as a plan B striker.

 

[outlaw_member]

I agree, I thought Lehmann was very overrated, and only produced one excellent season in 2005/06. Otherwise, we won trophies, in spite of his presence, and not because of it. During the Invincible season, he was also largely responsible for us losing to Chelsea in the Champions League after his pathetic mistake allowed Gudjohnson to score in the 1st leg. He was responsible for a similar calamitous moment earlier in the season which saw Dynamo Kiev record a victory against us.

 

[outlaw_member]

That's only because certain fans seem to think that strikers should score lots of goals and are only useful for scoring goals, a rather ridiculous idea I never never understood. The Adebayor/Henry partnership was much more solid and effective than the Van Persie/Henry partnership, and many people then supported Wenger starting Adebayor ahead of Van Persie. He wasn't a instant world beater, someone who looked like the next Henry, but for his first season he adapted surprisingly fast and looked effective as a plan B striker.

In my opinion, Adebayor was at his best when supporting a lead striker, like he did in 05/06 and 06/07 as it better suited the team, due to his strengths and limitations. This is why I never warmed to him once he was given the lead role, because he was never going to be good enough for it. Some of the moments he had with Henry were absolutely superb, especially his back heel assist against Villa which was a particularly stand out moment. If we had replaced Henry with Eto'o or someone else who could have led the line, I believe Adebayor would have made a great support striker. As the main striker though, he was never going to surpass Ian Wright, let alone Thierry Henry.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

I agree, I thought Lehmann was very overrated, and only produced one excellent season in 2005/06. Otherwise, we won trophies, in spite of his presence, and not because of it. During the Invincible season, he was also largely responsible for us losing to Chelsea in the Champions League after his pathetic mistake allowed Gudjohnson to score in the 1st leg. He was responsible for a similar calamitous moment earlier in the season which saw Dynamo Kiev record a victory against us.

That's an exaggeration.
Or did Scholes just hit Lehmann during the penalty shootout in the FA Cup final of 2005?

He's had his mistakes, that's out of question (remember one away against Panathinaikos in 2004/05 as well) but saying we won things despite him being our GK, is simply unfair.

 

[fabo]

He won us that final but yeah I agree with the lads, Lehmann was overrated imo. No Seaman anyway. Gifting Sp**s a draw at WHL in 04 was another ridiculous moment from him - yes we only needed a draw but I was still fuming at the time, for a couple of minutes anyway! The players even looked a bit subdued at the final whistle until Henry rallied everyone and reminded them that we had actually won the title despite blowing a 2-0 lead.

I agree with alot of Scythe's points actually, especially regarding Gilberto. Although I do think Cesc added a huge defensive burden on him in those early seasons.

 

[Kroket]

I remember thinking a season earlier Vieira was done for. Sentiments aside I thought moving him on was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, that very moment was also the start of something we've gotten quite used to by know. We sold one of our key players but failed to properly replace him. I'm a huge Cesc fan and will be devastated when he leaves for Barcelona but having him fill Vieira's boots was a terminal mistake from Wenger. It did wonders for Fabregas's development but it really hurt Arsenal on the whole. I genuinely believe we wouldn't have fared much better with Vieira in the side but we should have brought in a top class, like-for-like replacement and that very process has pretty much been our main downfall over the past couple of seasons.

Having said that, I still have fond memories of 05/06, despite it probably being our worst season under Wenger. There was something magical with it being the final goodbye to Highbury and Bergkamp. Thierry looked like the best player in the world, and that's saying something considering Ronaldinho was in his best years as well. And of course, the drama of the Champions League-run is unforgettable as well. I think in hindsight I liked that season more than the first year at the Emirates, which was just extremely frustrating and no fun at all.

 

[scytheavatar]

Having said that, I still have fond memories of 05/06, despite it probably being our worst season under Wenger.

Nah, the worst season under Wenger is definitely last season, the first season where I could say we played like Sp**s. 2nd worst is 08/09, the start of the Denilson nightmare, the midfield of 05/06 was titanium steel in comparison to the midfield that season.

 

[outlaw_member]

That's an exaggeration.
Or did Scholes just hit Lehmann during the penalty shootout in the FA Cup final of 2005?

He's had his mistakes, that's out of question (remember one away against Panathinaikos in 2004/05 as well) but saying we won things despite him being our GK, is simply unfair.

I really don't think it is. Jens Lehmann, Lauren and Kolo Toure were the weak links in the Invincible side, and it's no coincidence that they were often culpable for our failings throughout that period. Lehmann was no better than Fabian Barthez was at Man Utd, if not worse, until the season of 2005/2006 which proved to be his saving grace, even if his best performances were largely confined to Europe. Yet, he still cost us in the CL final in typical Lehmann fashion. All of his other campaigns were littered with mistakes, and many horrific ones at that. He wasn't dropped on several occasions by Wenger for no reason, and for Almunia, no less.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

I was mainly getting at your comment, that we won things despite him, which just isn't true. Even in 2003/04, he was a solid GK, who made mistakes I agree, but so did others before him, even David.
We won at least one trophy because of him, credits where it's due.

And there would've never been a CL Final for us, if it wasn't for him during that CL run. That should in no way justify his stupid red card in the final of course....

 

[outlaw_member]

He certainly had an excellent game in the 2005 FA Cup final, but I thought we were constantly walking a tight rope with him until the CL run of 2006. I even remember being surprised that we won the title, despite the fact that Lehmann seemed to be doing his utmost to throw it away. Though, he did contribute to us falling out of the CL that season.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

If you have Lehmann in your goal, you're always living dangerous.
Ever have so, since he started his career in the 90s at Schalke.

All in all, he's had a good four years here, Imo.
Not faultless of course, but still played a big part in Arsenal reaching a CL Final for the first time ever (and losing it though) e.g.

Pretty much the story of Lehmann.
Rising fast, but dropping faster.