Morning all.
High praise indeed from Fabio Capello, a manager who has won the competition with Milan, albeit, nearly 20 years ago now but he’s been in management long enough to know how tough a challenge it is today to win this major competition, yet he fancies our chances ahead of the other three clubs in England.
Before the first round of Champions League games, I thought Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
From England, I like Arsenal.
To win the Champions League as a player or as a manager is a dream. It is the most important trophy for people working in football.
I’m not entirely sure we are as well equipped as both Chelsea and Manchester City in this competition as their squads are much deeper than ours. Chelsea have the experience of winning both European majors quite recently and they have a manager who has been there and done it in Europe too. City however, have very little experience on the European stage and have a manager who hasn’t really that much to boast about managing on the big stage either. Manchester United, well they are struggling to win in England these days…..
Arsenal, well we have been playing in this competition ever since Arsene Wenger took charge which is incredible really. Arsene Wenger will no doubt be hugely disappointed that we haven’t won it yet. We had an opportunity against Barcelona and lost out. Only just mind you and with ten men. The referee that night did us no favours, well apart from the free kick from after Eboue ‘tumbled’ which led to our goal and to be honest, whenever we’ve got near to making it to another final, the referee has played a huge part in putting a stop to our progress.
The sending off of RvP a couple of seasons ago still infuriates me as I’m sure it does us all.
Tomorrow will go a long way to showing us all just where the squad/team are at this season. Napoli suggested we have improved no end on the European stage but Dortmund are a better side, with quality players all over the pitch, some who many of us would love to see at Arsenal.
On paper, it should be a cracking game of football between two proper footballing sides and off the pitch, it should be a great contest between two top footballing managers.
One of course will be in the stands, and for a change, it’s not Arsene Wenger…..
Injury news:
Theo Walcott has suffered a set-back, he’ll be out for another two weeks according to Arsene Wenger:
He had a setback on Thursday. He had to stop, to jog again. I don’t think we will see him against Dortmund nor Crystal Palace nor Chelsea.
He is at least two weeks away now.
That’s a great shame, but we are doing ok. It’s best that he, and any other player return only when they are fully fit…
That’s your lot for another day….
Good morning Rico.. Great read
Still enjoying the great performance over the weekend. Immaculate football at it’s best. Here’s hoping tommorrow’s performance will be even better.
Good norning all…
I think,
should wanger buy a striker
so, we have good
Rico, Adam, scott, oz, out now, catch y’all later…
Morning…
i am myanmar
i like arsenal since 1995
Seaman
12 23campbell 5 keron 3 cole
8 j.berg 4 veral 19 gaverto7per
10 barkamp
14 hanry
Morning Mow, thanks.. Catch you later
i once told u all…no need for another striker…i believe in bendtner, akpom…and if we need one i would rather go for a very young striker with huge potential not draxler..i do blieve dat our scouts could get us one..ramsey…ramsey…ramsey…u must b smoking that nigerian hemp bought by wilshere from lil wayne…i just want you to smoke more of it against dumfound, loserfools, manure aka tha sinking ship, and d chelshit….Ramsey dont forget to spray some in carzola’s food.greetingz from an angel….mwahahahahahahahahahaha
Sorry angel, I totally disagree, we need a striker in January.. One injury to Giroud and you’d soon change your mind.
As for Bendtner. He’s not good enough and regardless of what AW said after the transfer window, he can’t believe he is either.
Otherwise he wouldn’t have sanctioned the move to palace and he wouldn’t have tried to sign Ba.
Reality is, AW kept him because we have no-one else…
Morning Rico.
Catch you later Mayor.
Good post and I totally agree with you Rico. We certainly need a striker in January. Always improve the squad from a position of strength for me.
good day all residents and salute to the lady of the house.
i had the best weekend in such a long time. do not remember a game post the invincible era when we played such a beautiful game.with matching results on the score sheet.
i even had the guts to cheer on “the best striker in the world’ when he came on (he did not have a stinker as always by the way, he also seemed positive for once) really good times to be a gunner.
long live HH. love you all
up gunners!
Morning Adam. Thanks..
Do you think we are equipped enough to win the CL?
I’d rather focus on the PL.
Hi Ig, it’s certainly going really well at the moment. If we are in the same position come the end of November, then real belief will truly kick in.
rico rico rico…one injury to giroud and bendtner would definitely rise again with the help of wenger(tha professeur with midas touch) using ramsey as an example. If he could smack down d italians well i guess he could giv david luiz(a midfielder caged in d body of a defender)a run for his money aka la falcao style…just wait and see..greetingz frm an angel…mwahahaha
hallo everyone,I hope we win the champions league,did you guys see the importance of flamini and how vulnerable we were after his substitution? we also need a striker in january llorente/lewandoski/chicharito maybe,I read about poor old harry saying that we need a reality check, what do you think rico?
Believe that all you like angel, but I don’t. And what is all the triple name use, please don’t..
Haven’t seen that from Harry Tim, and to be honest, I couldn’t give a toot what a championship manager has to say..
We talked about that yesterday too about Flamini going off, we did look a bit ‘all at sea’ at times.
Morning all,
Great result for us and 2 of my favourite teams dropping points.
I guess great managers earn respect (Wenger) and others command it (Fergie, I guess Moyes doesn’t fall into either catagory.
I wonder if Rosicky will get his chance along side Arteta tomorrow if Flamini is out?
u hate bendtner all bcos he made a mistake.some fans nailed and crucified ramsey, some said wilshere is not good enough for the first team all bcos he had a bad game, some said walcott(d best winger in bpl) should b sold, some fans cried that oliver should be a back up striker bcos he had a nightmare last season….now they are moaning lik a mourning minnie that bendtner is not good enough…bendie! Bendie! Bendie! Please make dis fans worship at ya feet lik lord aaronia ramsei
Morning all.
Isn’t it heartening to know there is absolutely no need to rush Theo back?
A season back, as soon as he come out of surgery we’d have taken him out, but amazing what some squad depth does.
Also amazing is that squad depth has come from players already at the club, but who have stepped up incredibly well.
I say it all the time, but it truly is a great day to be a Gooner!
Angel, my advice to Bendtner…and i am one who has defended him..is keep the mouth shut and play.
My advice to you would be wait til he keeps his mouth shut and performs where it counts before getting carried away.
i have always thought Bendtner has something to offer as a football player but he is one who surprises all the time. when he plays average, he is okay, when he wastes loads of chances he is not being understood, when he plays well he spoils the party by doing something childish even be4 the game ends…
have a strong feeling we may see a different Bendtner this season though. mostly now that he is running down his contract. he wil focus
I would think so Bradster
I read Desi Gunners review on the loss of Flamini affecting the players flow as their roles change. That explained it pretty well and I see his reasoning.
Hi Rico. PL for me as a priority this season.
Agreed Adam.
With the other big clubs all on a period of transition, we need to…and have so far…take advantage.
The PL is winnable, and how sweet it would be.
I’d second that advice for Nik Scott 🙂
Same here Adam..
Good post rico, and I couldn’t agree more about a striker needed ASAP. Whatever ones views on Bendtner, and I hope he does good for us when required, we need a proven striker. Its bound to happen that big G gets injured, be amazed if he stays fit till January. Maybe our injury luck will turn though, lets hope.
Just caught Wenger live on Sky, asked if Girouds form takes away need for a January buy, he said summer striker targets were to supplement Giroud … but we now have Bendtner!
Flamini definitely out Tuesday but hopeful for weekend. Szczęsny also answering questions.
In January Wenger says …… ‘not a lot needed’.
Just one out and out striker/goalscorer please, they we might just have a real chance!
Thanks Andrew – that’s bad news re Flamini but not at all surprised…
Good Afternoon Rico and All.
Good Read. If I had the privilege to chose between the EPL and the CL, I’d choose the CL. With our current squad/team, the EPL is not a far cry. As you said, I quote,” Tomorrow will go a long way to showing us all just where the squad/team are at this season…”.
Capello might be right if we continue the way we played against Napoli. Dortmund is going to be a real test to determine how we stuck up in winning the CL. We have a better squad/team as compare to two seasons ago when we faced them. Only four to five players are missing/left since we last faced them. And we are much better now.
Afternoon Ng.
I’m just not sure we have the depth of squad to focus on both. The PL and CO Cup or FA Cup would do me nicely 😛
Rico, didn’t we won the PL, CO cup and the FA cup before? We haven’t won the CL yet, and the way I see it, this will shut up Chelsea as being London champions. And those during the CL Draws who keep saying Arsenal is the only one in those group who hasn’t won it.
Best description of the ozil goal…
The second goal on the other hand really was
“football at its best”. Most people have just
noticed that the cross came from Giroud and the
header from Özil and commented on the reversal
of roles. But rewind the goal a few seconds: as
Arsenal break and play the ball up to the halfway
line, Özil is still twenty yards inside the Arsenal
half – at which point he looks up, takes in the
whole picture, and starts running forwards as
fast as possible. A burst of acceleration takes
him across the halfway line and deep into the
Norwich half. Approaching the Norwich box he
slows slightly, so that his run doesn’t take him
beyond the last two Norwich defenders and into
an offside position. Now he’s in balance again,
using the momentum of his run to time his
header and guide it into the corner. It looks
simple – until you remember that he’s just
covered sixty yards in 7 seconds. What I mean is
that Özil has that Bergkamp ability to see where
the ball is going to be in 6 or 7 seconds. That
goal against Norwich reminded me of the famous
Bergkamp goal against Newcastle. Everyone
remembers Bergkamp’s twist and turn – but
rewind that goal a few seconds: Viera breaks up
a Newcastle attack and feeds the ball to
Bergkamp, who is well inside his own half.
There’s nothing much on, but Bergkamp sends
the ball out wide to Pires and trots forward
across the halfway line. Then suddenly he takes
in the whole picture, sees a pocket of space in
between the Newcastle players, and accelerates
into that space; now he has his arm up,
gesturing to Pires to play the ball into him; the
ball from Pires bobbles a bit awkwardly, so
Bergkamp adjusts his feet – and the rest is
genius – but genius made possible by that burst
of acceleration into a pocket of space. “Football
at its best”…
Good read rico by the way.such a shame flamster is out…
Not for a long time Ng…
Thanks Kt, real shame, he’ll be a huge miss.
Ramsey will have to shackle his attacking instincts a bit.also jack will most definitely start now.
Thanks for the Post, Rico.
Like you, I think Bendy was a forced addition to the squad.
Yet in the brief moments I saw him (ignoring the hairstyle) he looked really focused and he made me wonder if he had at last learned his lesson, and buckled down to resurrect his career.
But I agree with you. If at all possible, we should buy another striker in January, and I think we will.
Time will tell.
I guess that depends on the way the game starts Kt, if we are out of the blocks quickly and on the attack, I suspect Arteta will be the player to hold back and Ramsey will carry on doing what he’s been doing best..
Thankfully, he’s pretty nippy…
Pleasure Hb 😉
I think we will too, even if it’s just a player on loan.
Nipping off for an hour or two now. Catch up later.
Afternoon all!
I think we need a striker in January. Moreover, the others big teams in PL need and want go to the market too.
The big challenge for us come now with the two most important games for the CL (6 or 4 points earn could be enought for the next round and we will be more calm for the next two games) and the games against our principal opponents in The League.
we have many injuries and this is crucial for rotate the team. Besides, France have more two crucul international games in this period. The others big teams in the League haven’t many players involve in those two extra games. It will be important poshponed one of our games.
I agree with Adam, the best time to strengthen ‘is’ when you are playing well and being successful…
My only concern would be the Rodney Marsh, Faustino Asprilla effect. That is, you add a quality player to a squad/team, who are on top form. And for some strange unfathomable reason, the balance of the team changes, and they lose form and end up falling to maintain their challenge for honours…
Bendtner, might have been, may still be, a knobhead. But he currantly fits in with this team, and we don’t see, on the face of it, a drop in the teams intensity or an imbalance, when Nicky boy plays….
A case of if it ain’t broke, just leave it……
Only saying…. 😉
Lewandowski would be nice all the same. 😀
Wenger might not have made the loan of Ba into a permanant move?
Sanogo, Lipman & Akpom could be who Wenger wants to give a chance to before he makes a big signing in the striking dept?!
Evening….
He’s only ever on for a couple of minutes Kev – even he couldn’t do any damage in that amount of time… 😉
He’s trying. He put #humble on twitter a week ago. Mmm, hope he meant it
Just hope he does well in the CO Cup…
If he doesn’t, can’t see point risking him elsewhere. Big chance for him. Most decisions going Wengers way at moment, just maybe it can work.
Very good read Rico.
I have to agree with kev on b-something.
Most importantly there are no strikers around in Europe…
there are players like Muriel,Reus who are similar to Theo but no strikers at all…
Damaio has not scored the while year the last time I checked a month ago..
The best strikers in Europe outside if a CL team Costa signed a new contract with Ath.last summer with a 35m clause…
I doubt they will sell too..
Thanks Ts.
Not sure I agree re the strikers, there are a few in the PL and we face one tomorrow night who hasn’t ruled out a move to Europe… I know everyone thinks he’s off to Bayern, but if you don’t ask you don’t get….
Was hoping we would sign Benteke, no love for him here? Giroud or Benteke depending on the opposition, and cover each other for injury?
I wouldn’t be unhappy if Benteke joined us either Ah.
I guess it all depends on what AW is looking for in a striker. Does he want a player who can emulate what Giroud gives us, or a poacher kind of player.
If of course he is looking for a striker which I hope he is…
Andrew I was hoping for Benteke too all summer;he now has a buy out clause allegedly so I guess no chance…
Rico,do you remember what BM and BVB said when AW broke the news that Lew was joining BM?
No idea Ts..
you remember what BM and BVB said when AW broke the news that Lew was joining BM?
Do tell.
Come on Ts, you must have found the right web page by now 😉
Please do tell T’s. The curious minds would like to know!!!!
Well, I’m not going to lose any sleep over whatever was supposed to have been said. In football, money talks and managers only tell the media what they want to, and seldom is that factual…
I’m off for the day, night guys…..
Fulham score 2 beautiful goals.
Morning boys and girls 🙂
yes, who is this swiss nº 8 of Fulham?
Pajtim Kasami his name.
Bendtner to lead the line against Chelski in the League Cup?!!!
That could be a seminal game in the ‘career’ of Nicky boy…
Wenger vs Mourinho is, for me, the absolute test for AW and his revitalized team/squad…
Yeah, Wenger will make a few changes, but beating the Supercilious One (or not) will tell us a few home truth’s…
It’s not just about staying in, and possibly winning, the League Cup…
It’s psychological, it’s not just the result, it’s getting a monkey off of Wenger’s back…
Even beating that shitbag Mourinho on pens is a reason to celebrate…
Do in a few Peronis… 😀
Btw, can I say monkey??? 🙄
Palace is poor… hope they satying like this until next monday
Some great posts today. The 10.04 am is a classic of its type.
If anyone thinks Mourinho is going to take CO Cup lightly when facing Arsenal, well, they just don’t know the so called ‘Special One’.
Hi Kev. I had a monkey on my back once. A big fucker he was.
His name was Sluggo.
Ah, missed ya Adam. 🙁
Are you sure that you can say Sluggo???
Night All…
Morning Lee…
Adam, you only wish you had the same way with words 🙂
Hi Scott,
I met an aussie called scott with Welsh heritage he says here on a C.T course/seminar working for your SIS team in canberra…he wants to know your pub name being a gunner and all…
Hi Ng, I think Mauren-ho will pull a fast one over us…
The question is how will the faithful respond to a defeat?
Also will AW shock us by starting Serge on the rhs to mirror Marco?
Ginge, tell him we watch games at the Commercial Hotel, Parramatta.
If he is interested, he can join a group on Facebook called Highbury Heavies, and contact me that way…..you can send a “join request” as well if you like 🙂
Morning – new post up