Morning all.
Not the best of Saturdays as far as results go and if Arsenal want to stay in the hunt for the league title, winning fixtures like today’s are a must. Six points between us and the league leaders is nothing really, not at this stage of the season although Man City do look a side who could run away with the title if we and other clubs allow them to. Same can be said about Utd and imo, the Premier League trophy will end up in one of their hands.
But hey, there’s nothing to suggest a dodgy patch won’t come their way. Injuries to key players can occur at any time, we know that only too well. What Arsene Wenger and his players need to do is ensure we’re there to take advantage should it happen. What’s good for us is that Europa means Arsene can and is rotating/resting players, players who he and probably we believe are key to our league challenge. The other clubs who are battling in the bigger of the two European competitions will have to play their strongest sides, certainly as the competition progresses.
After today we head into yet another international break and it’s always best to do that after a strong performance and a victory. The last one was on the back of a horrid performance at Anfield which didn’t make for a pleasant two weeks.
I doubt it’ll be anything like that this time, not with us playing Brighton at The Emirates . Well, I’d like to think not but you never know, football and Arsenal FC do like to spring a surprise. Not that it’s much of a surprise these days when Arsenal cock things up in style…
But not today I reckon, although I don’t think it’ll be an easy game. Not for one minute as no doubt Chris Houghton will have his players firmly in the seats of his thirty two seater bus. They are yet to win a league game away from home, whereas we are yet to lose one in front of our home fans.
There’s no Mesut Ozil as he’s injured. Laurent Koscielny is a doubt too as he’s got a problem with his Achilles. A late test for the Frenchman will determine whether or not he’s fit to play. Other than that, there are no new injury concerns.
Arsene Wenger has been quoted as saying that since the trip to Anfield and the closure of the transfer window, his players are in a better place. They realised that on the day of the defeat to Liverpool they were not good enough but now they are in a much better place and are more united. He too remains fully focused, fresh and loving his job.
That’s it then, a big win is just a few hours away…
Morning Rico. Watching Man City yesterday reminded me that football can be an attractive game to watch. It can also be a turgid, grinding experience full of tension and frustration.
Bit like life really.
Morning Adam and all.
I didn’t watch the City game. I take t they were good? Lol
Shame we couldn’t nick a 1-0 victory against Chelsea, we certainly should have done..
Morning all.
I’ve got no doubt that the title is heading to Manchester, and better to the blue side, imo.
We really are looking as if top 4 will be our trophy, unfortunately, but that’s the level we’re at.
If we can win the games we should, such as today’s, that’ll go a long way to seeing us achieve CL football next season.
Blue for me too Scott f we can’t win it which I’m quietly confident that we can’t and won’t..
Rico. City played some great stuff.
Reminded me that all this edge of seat tension where you are dreading that long ball over the top and into a disorganised defence shouldn’t be happening at all. I was also impressed with how fresh the City players looked after 80 minutes.
I guess that was inevitable from City this season Adam..
Guardiola was never going to change his playing style, so yes I think it was. Now he is adding players that suit him you can see the ethos working better. No 6 foot plus target men. It’s all small, mobile and fast. It won’t work every game but I love the aesthetic.
That’s where he’s different to AW, Pep signs the players to suit his tactics whereas Wenger doesn’t but he tries to play the same way regardless. Although I’m not entirely sure what that way is anymore..
It certainly looked good yesterday with the in-game tactics being excellent too. Whether it will work against cloggers like WBA or Stoke I am not so sure.
Morning all.
Reports today that Carlos Ancelotti is saying that he wants to take of at Arsenal.
Any thoughts on that, or on him replacing Le Prof?
But I’d imagine Pep would have an alternative way to play against the likes of Brom etc..
He’s too old now Meerkat… lol
Rico. Probably. Ottamendi and Fernandinho don’t take any prisoners. 🙂
Morning all. More food for thought Rico.
Presently we are 9 points behind the leaders, anything less than a win today would be a disaster. Man citeh have been outstanding so far this season, early days yet though. Manure on the other hand, whilst much improved have not yet played a competitive rival. For me the jury is still out. I’m not sure that their current lofty position actually represents their true ability. We’ll have to wait and see. However, if we win today we will be 6th or 7th and that is a far more accurate reflection of where we are as a team in the current climate. Again, I will be delighted if we climb up the greasy pole a little further, a top 4 finish would defy reason but, I’d be very happy with that. I suspect most other supporters would too!
Grey here but no wind, yet. It rained through the night but has stopped for now!
The weather = an englishman’s passion?
Expectations are down so a top 4 finish is seen as progress and acceptable .Not quite competing with the top clubs in Europe but that was just spin .Politicians rarely tell the truth
🙂 Adam..
I was banking on getting the three today Wavy to keep it at six.. lol
Enjoy the game, see you at H/T
Bit of a yawn.
My goodness that was painful viewing….
Seems the crabs are on the March…..again. Sir to side….side to side. A couple of really good chances….not taken. Have to say, same ol’ same ‘ol.
Will we win? Probably but this is all a bit too top 7 for me!
It’s the 3points that matter. 🙂
Very pedestrian at times.. That Dunk defender is quite good…
Afternoon rico and all
Welcome back..
what the point of making the subs?
Did giroud actually touch the ball?
Ramsey back to his usual self.
Xhaka offers nothing
What happened to ozil. .is he in the naughty corner?
Very frustrating performance especially 2nd half.
Well… top six it’s now!
Nacho just said the same Adam.. 😉
Afternoon Kk, thanks.
Just the once re Ollie I think… lol
Did he Rico? A wise Spaniard.
KK. I agree about the subs. Theo and Giroud both contributed zero. And Xhaka seems to have turned giving the ball away into an art form.
Both subs were to keep players happy.Would have liked to see Wilshire on for 20 minutes.
Indeed Adam..
Good Morning – Sorry! Good Afternoon to the Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence. These 4 a.m. kickoffs (my time) are a pain.
As for the game, a win and three points is what we needed and what we got. The team in recent years has been in the habit of playing down to the level of the opposition and giving away cheap points to teams we should have beat. Today’s game wasn’t exactly riveting stuff, but our team won without much fuss. We now have two weeks in which to get the likes of Koscielny and Ozil fit.
Afternoon Cg, not sure I’d get up that time of the night to watch this Arsenal team…
Wilshere must be manage with carefull. Maybe came in ten minutes to the end and replaced Ramsey (where he had his “head” at the second half ?) or Xhaxa.
TW had unbalanced the team because not covered his side. Moreover. never been when he was needed.
Giroud must came in, early. I undertood Lancazette was running for equalize Suker, but after a few chances not scored, he sould be replace. Unfortunately that ball hit the post on the 2nd minute wasn’t a goal.
The game, for me, had spetacular moments (like the goals) with class and hunter for the goal (like the fist goal); had others good moments; had lazy and dangerous moments (like the last ten minutes) .
We have merit in the victory. I think if the final score was 3-0 or 4-1, was the right score.
Concern with injuries players. Our squad is not deep enought.
Agree Potter, a bustling Wilshire, eager to be involved would have livened up the last 15 minutes, when many were content just going through the motions. Don’t think Wilshire has had a minute of Prem action yet? No point protecting him anymore, let him run at players, he looked bright the other night, and see whether his body can cope,
Rico – I know the current team are not The Invincibles, but I think they may yet surprise us all, if they can keep the players fit.
I like your optimism Cg.. lol
Yawn… It was like watching paint dry . One of the big problems is that Wenger’s squad is all of a sameness apart from Sanchez. Wenger himself admits that there is no hierarchy in the squad. Any 10 and the want away grumpy Chilean will produce similar results. City,United and Chelsea have stronger squads in depth than Wenger does. Burnley beat Chelsea at the Bridge and so did City yesterday .Wenger though celebrated a 0-0 draw there and yapped on about resilience and mental strength .Our game could have gone either way Pedro missed a good chance for Chelsea and the irritating Ramsey did the same for us .There was nothing emphatic about the result and so far I have seen nothing to suggest that our current side is a top 4 one by right we will need the spuds and Liverpool to fail .How did we get on at Anfield..oh! .We will suffer a couple of Burnley type results at home ourselves as well .You don’t need a crystal ball to see this coming.
Hi Rico !
I second to your early comment.
Pep goes out and brings players that exactly suit his game.Sensed that Da silva cannot stand all season and brings another B. Silva.
Le Prof knowing that the only midfield creator Santi is out and done for good did nothing to replace him
He spent around 40 M for Xaka and i struggle to see the difference between him and Jonjo Shelvy’.
Please enlighten us what the difference between this two ?
To me is just the price tag of 30/40M on Xaka other than that i dont see any difference.
Arsene is just totally unaccountable to anyone.
Big respect to Pep the way his team played against the Chavs is unbelievable.
Go City win the league ……….though is way to early.
I was under the impression Pep was supposed to be shit, by popular opinion that is??Cheque book manager so they say and all that… he really looks like a tactician, man motivator and prepared to admit his shortcomings and actually work on them.
Well to try to at least..
Got that city team ticking too!
Meanwhile….
Alex 100% agree mate..
Hi Alex.
Pep isa chequebook manager though but so could Wenger be I’m sure. There are huge differences between the two managers, the one being Pep knows what he wants, who to sign and he gets them.
I’m not sure Wenger can even see the weak spots in our squad let alone know how to fill them.
I really thought Xhaka and Mustafi were going to be top top players for us but so far both have been really disappointing. And to think, Mustafi could be playing in Italy now…
I bet he isn’t because signing a defender is in the ‘too difficult’ tray.
Rico £120m (ish) on Lacazette, Mustafi and Xhaka….we must be running out of shirt buttons as a football club now!
Maybe if managed by a decent manager they’d excel?? Might not fit everyone’s narrative but there might be some sort of truth in it???
Or is it you know who’s fault…?? Lol lol lol
Xhaka is a liability. I know I’m repeating myself, but really, he should not be in the side. It is as bad as having ten men playing against twelve, because he gives the opponents the ball all the time!
The team are trying to play the Arsenal tippy-tappy way, but shouldn’t, because this side lack the technical skills required and it breaks down quickly, especially with Xhaka.
Jack should be brought back in now, two reasons. first he appears to be doing well enough, and second he is on the verge of being given a new extension to his contract. We should at least know he won’t spend the season in the sick room after two or three games, before we commit to any more money.
Three more points in the bag, yaaaay! LOL.
Good performance and the 3 points were well deserved.
As is often the case, people complain about the performance, yet if we play d brilliantly and didn’t get a result, suddenly the criticism would be the points are more important but no matter what, fans will be discontent because that’s the Arsenal way now, unfortunately.
Lee, could you show us all where a single person on here truly suggested Pep is shit, because we’d all have a laugh at the expense of that member, and everyone loves a laugh.
People saying that they believe he has something to prove is just a little different to saying he’s shit, isn’t it?
Rico, we all agree Arsene should spend more, but there is absolutely no way he’d be allowed to spend near 400 million in 12-14 months.
You’re right, Pep is a cheque book manager but so far, It seems he’s used the tools he has at his disposal bloody well, so hats off to him.
I hope he stays above Joe Say!!!!!!!
Mustafi looked a beast when he teamed up with Kozzer to ruin Costa last season, but has barely shown that since.
He was very good v the Chavs a few weeks back, but lacks consistency.
Night All….
I’m in full agreement there Lee.
Have to agree that Jack should have got 20 minutes against opposition that weren’t really tackling. The substitutions completely stopped our momentum and gave The Seagulls a sniff when they were looking shagged!
Night Lee
Meerkat, Xhaka is nowhere near the player we hoped he’d be.
Very disappointing.
I agree that we may as well play Jack and see if he’s capable of giving us plenty of game time this season.
I didn’t mention those kind of amounts though Scott, just suggesting he could have done a lot more in the summer and those before if he wanted to..
But the reality is, his tactics or the way he uses the players isn’t getting the best out of them..
Disagree on the performance though, thought it was quite pedestrian…
I’m glad Jack didn’t come on…
I know you didn’t, Rico, and never meant to suggest you did.
We just shouldn’t compare the two clubs because they are at a different level to us, unfortunately.
We could easily have won 4-0 V a side who parked the bus.
On plenty of occasions the past few years, we’ve struggled to break sides like that down.
What about the Aussie lads save off Ramsey.
Ryan is the guy i said would’ve been at a PL club 3-4 years ago if he were a little taller.
His shot stopping is phenomenal, but “only” 6 foot 1 or so.
Still, I’m glad he’s getting a chance as there aren’t many Aussies in the League, nowadays.
Good to see Ox tearing things up for the Scousers 🙂 🙂 🙂
8 minutes he got this time.
8!!
At 5 million a minute, so far, he’s proper value for money lol
With a better manager, I’m convinced we’d be as good as City… If not better..
I disagree, Rico.
Imagine Pep right now at Arsenal with a few extra players of his choice.
Now compare that to Pep at Citeh with a totally revamped squad?
We could definitely be better, but we’d still be up against it, imo.
One thing Pep has quite obviously done is spent well.
Other managers at clubs have spent a fortune to no avail, but right now, he’s invested wisely.
We’ll have to agree to differ then Scott.
Funny though how quite a few of us agree that players arrive at the club looking good but then go downhill rapidly…
Anyway, I too am off for the day. Night all.
Night Rico.
I’m not sure Xhaka has gone downhill.
We never know how players will adapt to the English game.
Then again, that’s up to Wenger to select wisely.
No, I don’t think he’s gone downhill, I’ve never rated him. Another hasty buy, along with Mustafi at the end of a TW last year.
Neither have any pace, and give away too many free kicks because they are slow.
I did have some hope that Mustafi could do a job though, as does P M even though he is slow too, I was wrong, he can’t.
What Wenger saw in either of these is a mystery to me.
If we have to wrap JW in cotton wool, there is no point in keeping him IMO. This league is tough and if he can’t hack it, then he’s no good to us in with the physio every week. He is good enough, but is he robust enough? probably not, sadly.
Meerkat, i’d ease Jack back to full fitness, then play him often.
If he breaks, He has to go.
Carlo Ancelotti is 58, he’ll be 59 in June…
He’s won the Champions League 3 times and has won the league in Italy, France, England and Germany.
My choice to succeed Wenger would be Max Allegri, but if he was unavailable then I’d take Ancelotti in a heartbeat.
Pep is not sh&t he’s just overrated. Wherever he has left, another manager came in and won the same trophies or did better …. Barce and BM.
Morning all,
The people you see @ St Pancras, Giroud & Perez
Morning all..
Morning Rico. Seems that, regardless of how much money is pumped into it, the PL is more than capable of dishing up the sort of stuff we saw during yesterday’s games on TV. Our game was the best of the 3 I reckon, but the other couple were total rubbish.
New post up.
Morning Adam, blimey, the other two must have been bad…