Morning all,
I’ll start with the gossip pages:
Benike Afobe has now returned to full fitness and as we are no longer in the league cup, he’s rumoured to be heading off out on loan. Good, he needs to be playing now and prove whether or not he really has what it takes to challenge for a place in the first team.
The Daily Express report that both us and Liverpool are set to test Newcastle again for Yohan Cabaye in January.
Arsene Wenger has been spilling the beans on how he and his players prepare for night’s like tonight:
Usually we have our last training session here in London the morning the day before the game, and then travel in the afternoon.
Then you have a press conference when you arrive in the city where you play. The next morning you get the players up at around 10am, and we have a pre-match meeting where we talk to the players about the opposition, and what we need to do. Then we have lunch, followed by an afternoon sleep and then tea.
Lazy devils, a nice lay-in tomorrow morning, lunch and then an afternoon, another snooze before having tea and stickies! Life is tough at the top eh?
After all of that, they players and manager have a get together to discuss the game plan and then off they go to the stadium where tonight, I hope they get a good job done before heading home as soon as they can after the final whistle.
With Dortmund, Napoli and ourselves all on six points, both sides will be out to take all three points tonight. Napoli are at home to Marseille and I wouldn’t bet against them earning maximum points so the pressure is on.
The weekend saw both us at Dortmund win with ease, the German side played on Friday evening and battered Stuttgart 6-1 and you don’t need me to tell you how things went for us a day later.
So confidence will be high in both teams…
Dortmund are a very good side as we all know and they are managed by a very tactical manager. Arsene Wenger has to at least match him in that department tonight and if it’s heading for a draw, don’t get caught out like we did at home.
Yes we need a win, but more importantly, we cannot afford to lose.
This group of players have been to Germany before and they beat the current Champions League winners on their own turf so they are no strangers to the task ahead.
It’s a huge task as we know, but it’s not unachievable by a long way. We didn’t play our best football during the home fixture against Dortmund and let’s not forget we gifted them their opening goal. If we can raise our game to the kind of standard we witnessed against Napoli and again against Liverpool to name just two, Dortmund will be in for a bit of a shock.
Our away performances have been getting stronger and stronger over the last few months and tonight is a good chance to extend that great run. Also, we are unbeaten in our last four away trips to Germany.
Respect Dortmund of course but don’t fear them!
If Arsene Wenger and his players want these three points bad enough, they’ll come home with them…..
That’s your lot……
Morning Rico and all.
A fair summation of where we are at the moment.
Morning all.
Goid news for us, Hummels is injured
hi all, good post Rico – Am really looking forward to the test of wits with the managers tonight. Klopp seems confident and i assume he might be believing we will go there with the same game plan we had at the Emirates. If we have a plan B it has to come to the fore tonight IMO. 0-0 would be a fine result and we need to be conservative against the best counter punching team around right now. If we play our normal game, we’ll loose again IMO. We must not leave gaps. Rosicky, Arteta and Ramsey must create the wall and track their runners every time. BM is not an example, they do not play the same style as Dortmund. Big test all round, really looking forward to it as I think we play smart we can get something from this.
I have a strong feeling that Giroud and Ozil will score. Clean sheet for us…. Goodday all.
Morning Adam.
I just can’t see us getting anything tonight 🙁
That is good news Adk.
Thanks Oz – my concern is whether or not AW can outwit Klopp….
we share the same worry Rico – I am not sure he has the tactical nous either TBH, we’ll soon find out. Again the claim has been made ‘we’ve learned our lesson’, lets see. Still think if we play em right we can take a point or three
We live in hope Rico.
It’s the thought of the Europa League and it’s horrible schedule that is most disconcerting for me.
We are still top of the group, now! A defeat would be disastrous, a draw would be tolerable but a win would be brilliant
The last option would almost see us home providing we win in Naples.
Easy peasey – or not?
Coyg
We’ll see for sure later Oz, I’d take a point right now and go all out for Napoli and Marseille…
Ditto Adam. Sunday/Thursday does not excite me, and it could play havoc with our PL fixtures/performances…
Look what the Europa Cup did to Chelsea and their squad is much deeper than ours…
That’s because Arsenal starts with ‘A’ Wavy 😉
I’m on the scrounge for a match review if anyone is able to help please….
Grovel grovel…..
not sure a loss is disaster Wavy – Dortmund still have Napoli to play and will beat them. If we win mars and napoli we’ll go second and get there.
I’ll be at work on the IPhone App tonight again. Hanging out for that first goal if there is one, we better score it.
Marseille is at The Emirates too so we must make that one count, a draw tonight wouldn’t be too bad either…
We know we can outplay Napoli, and play like that tonight, we could outplay Dortmund….
dear all, none of you guys are giving arsenal any chance to win this game. i look back to the last game with dotmund and i know we can beat this guys. we just need to be careful . one of the things we need to learn from these german clubs is that they are very effective. we must let our possession count. we need to be effective with our possession that should make the difference.
Afternoon All…
Afternoon Rico, an excellent post summing up this evening’s game perfectly…
I am really enjoying this Group, all the twists and turns, 4 evenly matched teams.
There’s a lot of suprise’s in store, I feel, before this group is settled, even Marseilles should not be written off, OM can still cause an upset… Napoli be warned?!!!
For me, I think we can, and should, get a draw tonight, and that one point will leave us in a very strong position, as 10 points might be enough and I think we can beat Marseilles and get a draw in Naples, so 11 points for the Gunners IMHO…
We can SS, and hopefully we will….
Afternoon Kev, and thanks as always…
Part of me is really looking forward to tonight, the other part is dreading it but I believe if they are all up for it, every single player that is, we can get at least a draw….
Our away record is very very good and Dortmund will be very aware of that…
hi rico ..we need an early goal just like we had at bayern last season.
Rico, our players have a point to prove…
Wenger has a point to prove..
We won’t lose…
Now Afobe to Crystal Palace, on loan, could be good for both parties…
Lata boss
I like all those ideas Kev 🙂
Lata…
Hi Tim. yes, shame Walcott isn’t playing tonight, his pace would be a huge bonus..
If reports coming out of Germany are to be believed, then Lewandowski isn’t going anywhere in January…
He is quoted as saying that he has made up his mind who he will be playing for ‘next season’…
That, to me, sounds like a mega-bucks move to Shittie or Chavski…
Shame, as a Bosman signing of his quality, must surely interest Wenger…
C’est la vie..
I’d have thought Bayern Kev…
Well if we can’t get him Rico, then I’d prefer Bayern as well…
Alternatively, instead of giving Dortmund £7million in January, give Lewandowski £7million in July, spread over a 5 year deal?!!!
Ditto Kev, don’t want to see him in the PL unless its with us…
Would that be enough?? 😉
Off now for an hour or so, back later
As a statement of the obvious, football is played by humming beans – well apart from the elephants I saw in Thailand; and oh yes – the dogs who were bigging it up in Newquay and would not let me near the ball – but I digress.
One of the consequences of being human beings is that for no discernible reason we can go from one extreme to another in a heart beat.
As an example, in the Villa game we were awful, with the help of an awful referee, but our results after that have ranged from good to sublime. In the home game against Dortmund we were pretty lethargic for whatever reason, but I would not be surprised if we do a switcheroo and give them a good stonking. 🙂
Naturally, if there is a hiccough in my grand theory I will deny everything and blame the elephants, however the dogs assure me all will be well and we will WIN. 🙂
COYG
Great Post.
We can beat this lot but we have to be at it like the last game, if it doesn’t click attacking wise the boys must shut up shop for once.
Exciting night ahead!
Looks like Lewis stole my thunder, really looking forward to this evenings game as well, the first English club to beat them on their own soil, hell yeah, we can do it !
Evening folks…
Blaming the dogs Hb, surely not, they don’t deserve that 😉
Thanks Lewis and spot on…
You are right Rico and if I tried they would not ‘speak’ to me again!! 🙂
Just wandering around a little lost , trying to kill time to kick off. I haven’t felt this nervous for ages . At least since last Saturday.
lol Hb…
Long time to go yet potter…..
Off to get dinner now, back in a bit….
C’mon Og12 and Mozart do it for the reds tonight
evening all
evening fellow gunz
where is everyone tonite…calm before the storm?
in our favour……coygs…3/1 for the good guys
Dortmund
Weidenfeller, Großkreutz, Subotic, Sokratis, Schmelzer, Bender, Sahin, Mkhitaryan, Blaszczykowski Reus, Lewandowski.
Subs: Langerak, Kirch, Durm, Kehl, J. Hofmann, Aubameyang, Schieber.
Arsenal
Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta, Ramsey; Rosicky, Ozil, Cazorla; Giroud.
Subs: Fabianksi, Vermaelen, Monreal, Gnabry, Jenkinson, Hayden, Bendtner
Lew has again confirmed he us 99.99% joining BM. 🙁
Lew has confirmed he is definitely joining BM. :'(
Just back home in time. Come on!!!
hi Rico &all
strong line-up
good to see Gnabry coming on at some stag to give us width&pace
Worst kept secret that one Ts.
Hi kali, I’m hoping we don’t need him 😉
Close one Ah…
strange time to reveal that from Lew!
See you at h/t.
COYFRRG
They are great without the ball.
Bees around a honey pot Lewis, they are so quick shutting play down…
Go on marseille!
Phew….
Ooofff thought that was in.
Arteta needs to be very careful now….
Cazorla off the pace so far.
Another shit ref. how has reus not been booked there?!
We just cant find a pass and trying to go through the middle isn’t going to work….
Width, or lack of it is a problem again… and pace…
Lord knows, especially after Arteta was…
Spot on Rico. Looking forward to theo and poldi returning.
Bit noisier than the emirates. Ha!
Me too…
🙂
This ref is fucking dogshit!
AW has to seriously think about whether or not to keep Arteta on, one more niggly tackle and he’ll be off….
Excuse my French.
And some Lewis, and some!!
So lucky
I thought you were being polite…
Napoli 2-1 up
At last, a Dortmund booking!
Darn!
Wish we’d stop the flicks, one great goal doesn’t mean they will all come off, especially tonight…
So far so good…
Another 45 minutes like that.
A point will do me…
COYFRRG
Cazorla needs to be changed. Not contributing much, i’d at least try Gnabry, he tackles and tracks back.
Cazorla needs to be changed. Not contributing much, i’d at least try Gnabry, he tackles and tracks back.
Monreal has to come on the left hand side….
howdy rico….how’s tricks? hey we re playing tonight right? what’s the score?
Point would do me too Kev. Think both sides have a step up to make in this game, just hope it’s us who nick a late goal….
Worrying about Arteta though….
Hi goonster, we are indeed, 0-0 against Dortmund…
hiya kev, how is it going?
Can’t see AW changing it yet kali, it’s too early…
drats! a scoreless draw huh? oh well as long OM does us a huge favor by whupping napoli…am good.
Arteta must be very carefully
We were playing beach soccer…
Higuain scored both Napoli goals…
hig who now? are OM losing at home again? seriously??? uhghh
hey rico…..havent paid my cable bill. do you have a good stream for me?? pretty please? thank you.
I don’t goonster – sorry, I seldom use them….
gee mama bear….where is DG10 when you need him? oh well just keep me posted maam.
Giroud can’t put a foot right tonight 🙁
Not looking good for this half. They’ve gone up a gear or two!
How much longer can we hold on?
Hang in there Arsenal. Good evening HH.
We’ll be lucky to end the game with Arteta still on.
our bench is so bare….its frightening.
45 minutes hopefully bradlop…
Hi Gdna
hey DNA where have you been bro? been looking all over for ya. how are you?
Goonster u still in America. lol
We got nothing.
hahahahaahhahah still stuck here amigo….you still in VA??
what have we done on the pitch?
we didn’t havae any shoot until the moment!
Yes bro. lol
Not girouds best game for us! Needs a rest maybe?!
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
1-0 Ramsey again 🙂
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
We have now JM 😛
I TOLD Y’ALL WE GOT THIS…..LONG LIVE THE ARSENAL REVOLUTION. yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Lets defend like our life depends on it. COYFGS
We have Rambo!!
boy wonder
So so close to a second…..
Great defending
Come on lads! You can do this!!!
That’s offside, these referees are so shit its unbelievable.
Hi goonie goonster… how are you bro?
Long day and a long long drive on M1 and M6…
How Wenger get Monreal on and take off Arteta pleaaase…
Draxler and Boateng tormenting the chavs allegedly…
Oh shite Hoffman??
A reactive sub Arsene?? 😉
AW is always tuned into HH it seems. lol
Good sub with Monreal on.
I would put TV05 in MF too .
hey ginge what’s cracking my man? doing alright?
Pierre Aug and Hoffman are very dangerous so you are right there Rico; AW being reactive for us and not ‘lurking’… lol
He was late reacting though Ts, Kali suggested Monreal coming on a while back 😉
Hi goonie, not bad bro; still have good health so that is what matters…
The reds doing well too…
My Caribbean brother DNa is happy too no complaint 😛
Kos looks badly injured… penalty??
That is a penalty! This ref is fucking terrible.
Ah ok… re Kali.. good suggestion then… 😉
I think this sub was in reaction to Hoffman and Aug Pierre coming on…
Its like having Ljunberg and Pires coming on imho…
oh shit….did you say kozzer is injured rico??? penalty?? against us?? God help us.
Games as big as this and week in week out the refs aren’t up to the task.
I’d agree Lewis, he’s made a few shocking decisions tonight….
Dna, is not strange that in the last 5 or so games, whenever Ramsey and TR07 have swapped positions we have scored? lol
come on guys fill me in….am about to shit myself. whats going on? am not watching the game remember! God give me strength.
Kos is back on goonie… no worries there.
Should have been our pen goonie
We’re still one nil up
alright thanks gine and rico. how many minutes to go?
Wth is Bendtner coming on for?
Our away fans have been awesome!
2 and i reckon 5 mins to be added
They have and to hear them tonight is incredible…
Well played Tomas, well played…..
4 mins extra. 3 to go…
Away fans are always awesome… lol
Lewis if you ever have the privilege try to catch a match in the Westfalenstadion ; the most friendliest stadium I have ever been in…
BVB vs local rivals S04 is always fiery
thanks rico…..you ve been a huge help tonight.
Kos and merts. Unreal tonight!
hold on lads…hold the fort. not too long to go now. COYGS!
Bendtner is running after the ball like a true soldier.lol
That would have been very very stupid had we conceded after nik/ozil goofed that free kick….
yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Yesssssssssssssssssss
The master defeats the pupil.lol
Good one guys…
The experienced players made all the difference imho
Brilliant…………..!!
What a result, one I never imagined…
Well done Arsenal, rode some good fortune at times but could have easily scored 3/4 ourselves in the 2nd half…..
IS IT OVER?
Ours are all experienced….
Yes goonster and we won 1-0
True Rico…
The pundits don’t seem pleased… lol
Brilliant! Bloody brilliant!!
good one lads….next stop old crapford! hopefully we ll have theo jack and gibbo back for it. COYGS.
ufff… probably a penalty at the end…
Wait and hear them talk first Ts, I think they’ll be pretty pleased for us…
Sure is Lewis, sure is….
I thought that idiot in the black was going to spoil it for us at the end and give them a penalty. How Tomas got away with his tackle late on I’ll never know, but I don’t care 🙂
Ginge who gives a hoot what those inbred scums think….its the ARSENAL revolution. we re here to stay. they can all go suck each others cock for all i care.
hell yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…
You ray of sunshine JM 😉
Well, so much for those Supermen from Dortmund…
Calm it down goonster, ladies present….
You three enjoy that Kev??
How many cuppa’s have you got got through? 😉
ha ha goonie. Gary is ok though.lol
What a different team we looked after the goal. Another clean sheet. Sets us up nicely for Sunday. Where was your early faith rico?! Must admit, I wasn’t over confident before the start.!
The Arsenal not good enough???????
Oh yes, all their players are so superior to those poor Gunners….
Btw, what was the score???
Green tea Rico, very calming….
Aren’t Dortmund good at diving?!!!
Ha ha ha Kev and Ng…
Arsenal is shite…. lol 😉
pardon me maam…..am just tired of listening to them “coondits”……hey kev how are ya? how is the missus? where is adam?
I truly didn’t expect that Ah…..
Maybe I should have opted for green tea Kev, PG didn’t calm me at all, even though it’s decaf…
Rico, you should try Green tea, it really very good…
Lewandowski & Reus should try it, it helps you stay on your feet…
Breaking News: BVB is a shit team, arsenal real test begins on Sunday. Lol
My bad Rico..
I should have listened to the pundits first.
Not a dig btw… but another clean sheet with Arteta minus Flamini…
Don’t like it Kev…
Big divers, especially when the clock was running down towards the end…
🙂 Gdna, but you know you will be right…
Can we dare to think of three wins from Liverpool, Dortmund & ManU?
Stanley, I am sitting next to my good friend Adam, drinking a huge mug of Green tea…
You should try it Stan… 😉
Yeah, every game is a test, Newcastle vs Chelsea was a test wasn’t it…
Nothing but praise from the pundits…. Amazing.
Ng, Ramsey’s positioning in the final third is beyond Lampard at the moment…
Nice to have a good ref for a change. I was worried we he warned Arteta but he kept his head when the penalty appeals came in.
Some credit to Banfield and Bould again… our midfield shape since Banfield took oer training the DM is superb imo…
Giroud struggled tonight I thought, but when it mattered, his knock-down for our goal was superb…
Ah, I thought the ref was awful at times…
Rico that’s what the headlines in the papers are going to read tomorrow, every game we won it is a easy game, when no game in football is easy. Top of the table baby…
Night guys and ladies… enjoy.
Btw, Arsenal is shite… and Aw is past it…lol BVB did not have there captain Kehl who is slower than Gareth Barry.lol
Stay safe all… lol
Every player played well, BVB is one of the top team in Europe, and beating them on their own pitch is not easy. Thank you Jesus for the win, no complaints.
Those headlines have probably already been written Gdna – numpties aren’t they….
Top of two tables now 😉
Rico, on many fouls yes, but he got the bookings right, and another ref would have given a penalty for the hand on shoulder by Merts or was it Kos?
I wish the International break was tomorrow. Lol
Agreed gdna, would love to savour this and our league position, without Old Trafford to worry about! And then have Walcott back to latch onto Ozil’s through balls.
But another ref would have booked Reus, and he would have given us a penalty when Kos was taken out by their keeper….. We may very well have been 2-0 up by then and even if he had have given them a penalty at the end it would have been too late….
We didn’t pay the price in the end, which is all that matters really…
So do I Gdna…
Walcott & Podolski for OT? I wouldn’t bet against it….
I’m off now, night all..
Night rico, keep these European nights coming!
Two weeks ago we were shown up when finally playing a classy side.
Gotta love the experts hey guys.
We did it.
We have a very right group of guys, and that, as much as anything else, is why we are playing so well, IMO.
Fantastic result.
A penalty for Dortmund? Hmm, BFG hardly touched Lewandowski as he spun and swallow dived to the floor.
But the forearm smash on Koscielny from the Dortmund keeper was not only a penalty but a straight red card, so don’t give me no bullshit about a Dortmund penalty…
I was a big fan of both Lewandowski and Reus before this evenings game, but not anymore…
I still like Dortmund, but tonight I think we saw that they are not as wonderful and some would have us believe…
After the disappointments of unluckily losing at home to Dortmund and being out played by Chelsea, to bounce back with impressive victories and clean sheets, over Liverpool and Dortmund, show that this team has a resolve and resilience that we haven’t seen from an Arsenal team for some 8 years…
Long may it continue…
The defence was immense, Sagna had one of best games for many a season, it will be criminal if the club let him leave next summer.
Koscielny just gets better and better, he is like a fine Bordeaux wine, slowly maturing into excellence.
BFG is so good, that I can hardly believe that anyone can seriously criticise him, he is the bedrock of our team, and just keeps it so simple and understated that many miss the excellent work he does.
Gibbs had another impressive game, and doesn’t our left flank look so solid when Gibbo and Monreal play together. I’d be tempted to start them both at Old Toilet, to keep Valencia in their pocket…
Arteta had another strong game, I’m not sure how anyone can think of disposing of his services?!!!
Giggs still and Scholes until recently, were among ManUre’s most influential players.
You simply cannot get rid of players like Arteta.
They have too much experience and know how to offer, and even if the legs go a tad, they make up for it by using their brains.
Likewise Rosicky who was everywhere again.
We have a very very strong squad, and I want to keep them all and add to them not sell anyone, except Bendtner perhaps…
Kev, those ole, seasned pros are priceless at times.
Well said mate.
Old, seasoned pro’s, even.
“Once Aaron Ramsey starts scoring goals, he will not stop.”
said the genius AW in 2012….amazing
Some bloke from Down Under said it as well 🙂
Ok, that is a stretch 🙂
Good morning Peeps, Hi Rico.
What a game – what a result!
Rambo is just immense and is such a nice modest person as well.
Dortmund played extremely well and would have beaten practically any other team – so let’s get that out of the way before anyone tries to claim we caught them on a bad day at the office.
morning all,
Drop the brain washed part of the name kev; this squad is for real.lol 😛
Ditto- to everything you have posted btw
Hiya Scott, hope you are buzzing for our boy… I don’t even refer to him any more as the job we had to do for him is done. lol
As the saying goes it takes a bigger person to admit they are wrong; after a bad day in the office for our boys 2 weeks ago, these boys were deemed not good enough… 😉
When the draw was made in August I said on here we will struggle at home against my other team BVB09 and win away… I am pleased that the boys shut all the critics up.
Note, this is the first time in 62 matches my other team BVB have not scored at home in 62 matches! who said we were soft and walk overs.? 🙂
Klopp: “Yes, they can win it,” Klopp said. “Yes, Arsenal have the quality to win the Champions League,” he said. “They are young, healthy and good technically. They were clever enough to get a result tonight. Of course they can win the final if they don’t play against Bayern Munich. lol
Too early and the team has not won anything but I have to agree that ‘Arteta had another strong game, I’m not sure how anyone can think of disposing of his services?!!!’ quoting Kev.
As I have maintained over the last few weeks, Arteta is the best DM at the club! Our rests and goal against show this too…
What I love about him is he even took a pay cut to join a team that had just been beaten 8-1 and was deemed by the so called experts to be a top 10 side at best. 😉
Our results even…
Morning all.
New post will be up at 9.30. I have to go out first thing…
Back mid morning…
Hi guys.
Ginge, our marketing strategy worked qonders…where are our royalty cheques 🙂
On Arteta, people turn a little qhen h first comes back after a break as he is rusty and off pace.
The guys needs game time.
ha ha Scott, I know you received the cheques; send my through… lol
I got zip.
Spend some effing moneeeeeyyyyyyy……