Morning all.
There they are, the current champions of Europe and they have to resort to falling, diving, call it what you like but in my opinion, it’s cheating. If that’s the way a team has to behave in order to win something, then it’s quite sad really..
Added to their cheating of course was the continual cynical fouling on our players which in the main, went unpunished.
Arsene Wenger on Robben:
He gets in front of a player and then he slows down, he goes down. He gets the free kicks. If he gives him a yellow card on the first one when he goes down, he will not do it again.
Our defending and our spirit was good. The frustration I had is that in the last 20 minutes I felt Bayern was very vulnerable defensively and that we didn’t take advantage of that.
They are a good team, a great side with great players and they played well but we still have regrets over the two games.
He is right, if a referee tells a player to get up after he’s taken a tumble in the penalty area he has no option but to book him surely, otherwise it’s a penalty.
But what a stunner from Podolski to make it 1-1, the power of his shot was incredible… Fabianski did well in goal too, especially at the end to save the penalty. I wish there was a way he could stay but it seems he’s set on leaving and some club out there is going to get a very very good free signing.
Enough of that, we are out of the Champions League yet again and it seems that this current squad will continue to be knocked out around this stage of the competition each season if the club don’t have a really good summer in the transfer window.
Onto Sundays game, the 3rd North London derby of the season and we’ll be without Mesut Ozil who suffered a hamstring injury last night and it looked serious to the manager:
He has a hamstring problem that looks quite serious. I don’t know how long he will be out for. For sure, he is out of Spurs.
We have to make a scan tomorrow (today) to see how bad it is but he is out at least for a few weeks. I hope it’s not too bad.
That’s not good news at all. Just hope it’s not as serious as Wenger thinks and he’s soon back playing, we need him.
Transfer gossip:
The Metro report that we have made contact and held talks with Anderlecht to try and thrash out a deal for defender Cheikhou Kouyate.
The players agent Saffet Balkan told Turkish-Football.com:
Arsenal have been tracking Cheikhou and have now made enquiries.
We’re out of the Champions League and that’s it.
But we mustn’t be down as there’s still a lot to play for this season….
That’s it for another day….
If we do sell Podolski, can we keep his left leg??
Morning all.
not been used well and lots of contradictions from Wenger where this lad is concerned – you win nothing selling players like this guy. I really hope we do not sell him
Same here, Oz.
I really do not want him gone, i want him used correctly, and more often.
Best left peg in world football.
Be stupid to sell him imo, play him!
Gnabry might get more playing time now with Ozil out..
Rico, Aaron is back soon 🙂
all things considered don’t feel the Ozil injury will hamper us at all TBH – and you do know Messi is left footed right Scott? 🙂
Ah yes, I forgot Scott, Sunday isn’t it…
Ozil is getting some really bad press this morning…
I’m afraid that Wenger will sell Podolski this summer, but I hope i’m wrong!
Morning everyone.
Oz, Messi is the best, but sorry, Pod’s left is an absolute weapon.
hi all. feeling very proud of our boys last night. if winning is about behaving like Robben and his mob did last evening,… then football is losing fair competitiveness and true sportsmanship. it has become win at any cost even it means undressing on the pitch.
very disappointed with the Bavarians’ behavior but very typical of pep’s teams.
Rico, good old media……bless them.
Well said, Fatgun.
Great name, Fatgun.
I just like saying, Fatgun.
Hi Adk, I think he will too…
Totally agree F’ug.
Scott, £42 million makes him an easy target.. Idiots all of them.
Boring Boring Lucky Chelsea
Has anyone seen the stats for Kouyate?
24 years of age
6,3 Million pounds on the market
and he’s 6 ft 4
thanks Scott.
am a proud Gunner and my friends call me fat. i.e Fatgun
I love it, FG!
Rico, no imagination…that is their problem.
Morning All
Morning Rico
and
Morning to the Graham Poll Appreciation Society…
Any news on Mesut?
Sounds just the job Adk, but is he any good? 😉
Morning Kev..
I don’t know rico, i’ll have to play some more football manager 😉
True Scott and they like to write the same old stuff each game…
Nothing yet on Ozil Kev..
I read he’s meant to be pretty good Adk, but never seen him play..
At 6 ft 4, he would certanly give us more options when defending and attacking rico. Am I the only one really impressed with the Ox last night? He’s really flourished since his comeback from injury…
Morning rico and all. Came out of last night with out heads held high. It would have been unjust had they scored the penalty. Good job we have a big collection of midfielders, I was wrong to think Wenger was overloading all in one area!
Good day all,
Typical pep’s team, wailing(martinez) and diving(robben) last night. That’s why i wouldn’t want him(Pep) to come near arsenal in the future when mossieur wenger steps down. His team are often littered with cheats and divers. On another day Madzukic could have being sent off for a high foot on koscielny. There were other times Ox was shoved to the floor and ref didn’t give a dime and that’s why podolski’s goal was legit. It was a little shove and lahm went to the ground like a pack of crisps.
DK, Ox has been immense.
Emma, great to see you back.
Agree Adk. And yes, I thought OC was superb again.
Morning Ah, that’s funny…
Hi emma, weren’t Barca and Bayern divers and cheats long before Pep arrived? I know Robben has always gone to ground easily, big gust of wind and he’s over…
Boo, rico. Howdy? Hope you’re better. 😉
Would be really cross if AW sold Poldi, whom he seems to be giving a hard time; all the more because we continue to waste funds on Diaby and Bendy.
emma, it’s one of the hallmarks of Pep’s teams. He was so worried that Bayern do not do it enough, he brought in Thiago. 😉
I’m glad AW called Robben on his diving. That man is a nasty piece of work.
The match was crying for Theo’s pace to get behind bayerns’ back four who were playing a high line and ramsey’s guile in midfield. Ox is turning out to be a gem just hope the hype doesn’t get into his head as it did Wilshere. Typical arsenal injury 2 out(wilshere and ozil) and 2 in (ramsey and kim). Hope we go on an amazing run and win the league
thanks Emma. re 10:49
Pep is a cheat, he claims to be a fan of total football but he deceives us and mostly the Refs by playing a possesion game. we all get absorbed and think they are entertaining but any simple touch on any of his players and the whole team is wailing like they have been hit with an iron bar. because it becomes an interuption to the “entertainment” Refs are deceived to give fouls.
i anyone remember Bousquets peeping to see if the foul had been given while at the same time crying his eyes out? how come he no longer does it…. Pep the cheat should buy Suarez
rico, yes, but under Guardiola, it is worse. By not disciplining his players for it, he is complicit in it’s continual deployment. Or I could be biased. I hate EVERYTHING that has to do with the stains.
hi scott, agag and rico, 😉
rico – Barca was worst because it spread on the whole team. Bayern only had robben but now it’s spreading on the entire team like a cancer.
I still maintain that podolski shove was not enough for lahm to go down and martinez was so pathetic for a little frail of hand that kept him on the floor for 2mins
I thought we were totally outplayed and all this moaning about diving is all part of the game…. They battered us end of subject.
We aint good enough and it showed, a decent striker was a glaring point and also a a speedy skillful winger who can also dive…!
Sack wenger he’s finished and he can take half the players with him as well.
Did anyone see Diego Costa… another utterly shit player.
Oh and Morning all.
Scott, hello!! Howdy? Taking off from the last post, I have always haaaated Robben.
Hello Fatgun. 🙂
come on emma whgat about our players that spend so much of the game on the floor? All fouls, surely not? – is Wenger at fault for the famous Cazorla dive? To suggest pep is not a great manager is well… I disagree.
fatgun – that antics by busquet getting a player sent off was pathetic. So many others during his coaching time with barca. Looks like he has brought it to Bayern. Very soon he will introduce the bionic drugs that makes them to press for 90mins without getting tired. When he is about to be found out or the drugs are wearing off he leaves the club 😉
WATH thank god – a record 79% possession in the first game, followed by another in excess of 67%. Makes you wonder about some of these statements mate. We gave it our all, can’t ask for more but some of the excuses piling forward are even better than Wenger comes up with at times 🙂
WATH, so grumpy. 🙂 Why am I not surprised?
oz – Don’t get me started. Don’t remember cazorla doing that again after that incident vs WBA.
Pep a great manager? I would love to see him build a team from scratch. Barca was made by rajkaard and bayern by Jupp Heynckes
Hi agag, much better thanks 🙂
not sure who said Ox had a great game but agree, the lad is very exciting. Defensively we went well, keeper was really good – again, no disgrace in 1-1 at their house
cheating is written over Pep’s teams. they never beat us without either a penalty, red card or both… i would pay any sum to watch these thugs play at the Brittania. they would get the real meaning of fouling and stop their comedy.
Hi agirlagunner.
Morning Wath, I saw At Madrid battered Milan, was Costa on fire?
Still think they are a bunch of cheats, even if they did totally out play us 😉
just seen the highlights Rico, sorry for butting in, he is truly a handful, destined for bigger than us i am afraid. Makes space and time so easily, always the sign of a great player
Emma, i said the same thing of Pep earlier…..when he builds something, he can be considered a truly great manager.
He might well be capable, but it is still a question mark on him.
Funny, for a side that had so much more possesion, Bayern hardly did much damage with it.
Kind of like us, on occasions 🙂
Also, i will never, ever accept diving as part of the game, but nor would i dare suggest it had anything with our failure to progress.
There is, however, not a single person in the world capable of explaining one positive thing it has brought to our game.
Oz, I don’t think anyone is saying we were better than BM; just that much went in their favor. Robben got Chesney sent off, and while there is no use flogging a dead horse, 11 v 11 we at least stood a chance.
Oz, Ox, and players like him, are exactly the reason that we will keep players like him!
We have plenty of brilliant young talent at the club now.
Ramsey.
Gibbs.
Ox.
Theo.
Szczesny.
Ozil…just to name a few.
All young, in football terms.
Some of us are so engrossed with possession stats. Still remembered when it was 11 v 11 in the first leg both teams were equally matched until the sending off. Even the great pep agreed the sending off changed the game.
Can’t remember the chavs winning the CL with 79% possession stats.
Hi mate – Agree with your list although i don’t see ozil staying long term. We don’t suit his strengths and the press might hound him out. I am equally sure Mourinho will be waiting in the wings this time.
But we have the money Oz, go in big and get him…
https://twitter.com/EurosportCom_EN/status/443709815073034240
I’m never grumpy AGAG 😉
He was a bit tasty Rico…. two goals one left footed and one right… If he has this 32million buy out clause our dosh should already be on the table but as usual we’ll be waiting til the last minute.
He’s a proper nuisance…! Proper striker, just what we need.
Plenty talent coming through as well Scott just hope their faces fit and Wenger plays them…!
I thought that would be coming emma. Good.
Only seen him a couple of times Wath and as much as he looked a nuisance he didn’t get on the score sheet but Adam has been raving about him for a while hasn’t he.
As you say, get in there early and activate his get out clause and see what happens…
Ts says Costa’s agent is big pals with the chav dwarf so I can assume your right Oz Costa will end up at the chavs…. He’ll do well there…. such a pisser…!
If AW is still here by the time they come through Wath….
Stupid gay banner. Ironic really since Pep continues to be hounded by rumors that he is gay. And anyway, in this day and age, should people still care about stuff like that?
Oz, Ozil is A tough one to read, that is for sure.
Wath, i just emailed ypu…..
Ozil situation is just laughable. The lad is being here for 7months and trying to adjust to the pace of the PL. My only qualms with him is Wenger. He should be playing most matches off the bench. Another issue is we don’t seem to have a striker that compliments him at the moment. Get in a proper striker with pace and mobility in the summer and we will get the best out of him. It doesn’t have to be Costa. I remember a thru ball he played to Giroud over the weekend vs Everton but Girouds lack of pace couldn’t get him in front of the defenders. Even yesterday after we scored, he(giroud) could have put us ahead but his lack of pace allowed Alaba to get the ball away before he could reach it.
Sadly then do agag, just like they do with any ‘minority’ group.
Pathetic.
agag – It looks like they don’t vet banners in munich before being brought to the stadium or they don’t understand english. Absolute homophobic which is offensive
Looks like the media don’t have better things to write anymore
https://twitter.com/MailSport/status/443715586778886144
Emma, Ox up front, for me!
Not for me Scott, he’s too valuable in the role he’s playing…
Even Remy would have made a difference to our strike force…. And that’s not me knocking Giroud, just saying we need more pace up front, especially in certain games…
scott – I would rather him play behind the striker(AM role).
Look what is happening.
‘Make TV a DM’
Ox up front
Jack/Santi as wingers
Podolski a winger
We are a very wealthy club, a very wealthy club.
Sign a bloody striker, winger and a DM and stop playing square players in round holes….
rico – You are right. He is proven in the PL. He is quick, mobile, can hold up play and has done pretty well over the last 2 seasons. Don’t mind if we sign remy. Giroud slows us down. He(giroud) is a ball to feet player and should be seen as option B. We need someone who can get behind the defence when the ball is played behind the defenders. Remy fits that bill
He is just one of a few emma but a very realist option. I’d be happy (ish) with him…
Rico,
We will lose Vermaelen though if nothing changes.
All things considered I have to say that players like Robben, Drogba, Rooney etc and many more are eating the game alive from the inside. Every time they dive, feign injury and con the refs it redefines what this sport has become. But, the fact remains that we simply are not good enough. Wenger was right when he felt that they were there for the taking last night. If we were cynical, or should that be ‘smart’, we would have pushed Ox onto Dante after his booking and told him to knock it past the wanker every time, knowing that would result in a second yellow card. Robben has made a good living out of this for years. Even if Dante didn’t touch him, Ox could have hit the deck, sure in the knowledge that a sending-off would work in our favour. That is what football at this level is becoming about.
But, for me, we are really not good enough and never will be when we persevere with blokes like Giroud as our main striker. We are light on quality up front and had no-one who could come off the bench and make a difference. If Wenger refuses once again to sort the team out then quite frankly, what is the point?
adam – You are right about Giroud. He is holding our play back. Players like ozil cannot thrive when we have a striker who cannot outrun a defender. The match was crying out for Theo/Ramsey
I agree Emma but I doubt Arsene does as he would have done something about it by now. Wouldn’t he?
Scott, hasn’t TV said he doesn’t want to play DM?
Not sure if that is true or not…
As much as Giroud puts in a shift and does show willing it gets on my tits when he throws his arms up in the air like a wet kipper cos he thinks he’s been fouled… Stop f’lin whinging and carry chasing the ball and player and if you get a foul great but don’t just stop cos you think you been fouled….!!
Adam, I thought similar about Dante, get at him I thought and push him for that second yellow…
But no….
I think that’s what gave me a headache, the stress of watching on….
Chuks aneke scored yesterday. Deserves a chance
Afternoon all, Watched the game last night and I thought considering the home game the boys played well. they should have attacked a bit more in the second half after we scored but 1-1 to the European champions is not to be sniffed at.anybody see wrightys programme last night?
Forgotten we have joel campbell. Hopefully he returns next season
Wenger will never succeed in European football because he is an idealist…
To succeed in Europe you must first be tactically astute.
Secondly you must be cynical.
As much as I liek Remy for me he’s a 2nd choice striker…. just like Giroud should be…! Campbell if he comes in will be used as a winger or striker…? knowing Wenger defensive midfielder…!
“”hasn’t TV said he doesn’t want to play DM?””
Then play three at the back and push the full backs up.
“”Stop f’lin whinging and carry chasing the ball and player and if you get a foul great but don’t just stop cos you think you been fouled….!!””
Get after the guy and foul back , he won’t be so keen next time.
And I agree we should have run at Dante and forced him to foul again.
Incidentally Schweinsteiger last night reminded me of Gilberto Silva :- The right foul at the right time but never enough to upset the referee.
Good Morning Rico and the House. I dont think I can add anything to what has been said about last nights game.
I agree with what you are all saying about lack of speed up front and having just watched the highlights of the youth teams win on mon night it is even more clear. These highlights are now on the Arsenal player and can i say take a look and tell me what you think of Chuba Akpom
Agree Wath. Same when he misses a chance.
you missed out 3rd Kev…
you must be corrupt…!
Potter, that would require the manager to think outside the box..
Just isn’t going to happen is it…..
Hi Rico am I in moderation.
Ok, say that Wenger brings in Joel Camlbell and signs Loic Remy?!!!
Do we really think that that is gonna be enough?
Especially when compared to the kind of quality that ManCity, Chelsea and ManUre are certain to bring in….
Rico. I know. The club needs to decide what it wants to be. If it wants to represent high sporting ideals then perhaps they should ride onto the pitch on white stallions. If the footballing authorities want to halt the decline into cheating anarchy then perhaps they should look at Drogba, Robben, Busquets, Arbeloa, Rooney, Young, Eto’o et al and their whole history of bringing the game into disrepute. If they said to Robben that he had cheated his way through a very lucrative career with no respect for the game and for his previous offences he was going to be banned from European competition for 2 years, then who, apart from the BM supporters and officials could complain? This would send a powerful message.
They won’t of course and I am heartily fed up with us getting on our morally superior high horses and of Wenger moaning about it. This is the way things are. UEFA and FIFA condone it with their inaction so we had better join in and make sure that our cheats are better than theirs.
No more Mr Nice Guy for me. But it’s the authorities that allow scumbags like the above to prosper and it’s a bloody disgrace really.
Potter, the minute you start whining to the ref the defender knows he’s won…! Don’t moan just give him a harder dig back and smile at him so he know’s plenty more where that came from…..! As you say Giroud doesn’t do that and never will, not enough fight in him to be like that.
Kev. Bang on. Remy might be better than Bendtner but ffs Wenger, man-up and give the team a chance.
Giroud is more interested in waving his old chap around in hotel bedrooms Wath.
Sometimes you wonder just how their mollycoddled existence under their doting father figure affects their psyche . A few hard weeks on the marshes would do them some good , they might be quicker , faster etc , but a hard Sunday morning might get them to appreciate getting kicked and punched for no reason.
I wouldn’t want us to cheat though Adam….
But you know it’ll be Remy Kev because of the price, which is why I hope there is no new deal….
Rico. If he wanted Remy why didn’t he loan him this season?
We already cheat, just not at the same level as all the others. 🙂
Probably because he’d already signed for Newcastle by the 30th August Adam…
My hope is we win the FA Cup, get at least 3rd place and let AW walk away on a bit of a high….
🙂 Adam..
Hi all,
I watched the game last night and did not see Ozil suffering with an injury. Shouldn’t he have limped or struggled to walk?
It feels like a don’t give a shit attitude that Wenger is trying to keep from the team perhaps till next season.
Just my opinion of cause.
Wath, me ol’ mate, I make you -100% right on the corruption…
But I’d never want Arsenal to go down that avenue.
Leave that to Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ljgue Un…
That’s why European football at the top level is crap.
Quality-wise it’s streets ahead of international football, but it’s bent and for that reason to me, is crap…
Hi brad, good point and the timing was strange, if his injury was as bad as AW is making out, surely he wouldn’t have waited until the break..
Wasn’t his court case still outstanding ?
Possibly Rico. But to go into a season with aspirations to win the big prizes with our strike force? But we’ve been here before haven’t we?
Many, many times.
Ah, yes it was Potter. Good point.
Adam, you know, that for me, it always has to be Darren Bent… 😉
I’m not condoning his behaviour Adam, it was pure neglect not to have signed a striker and then to go for Ba at the last minute.
Disgraceful…
Kev. We can but dream of the Divine Darren. Still, he would be cheap and therefore a possibility.
Adam he’s so used to posing in the mirror he does it when he gets a little kick and thinks the ref will give him a foul for his cheeky grin and bulging cheeks….
Many forms of corruption Kev and most of it behind the scenes, our face don’t fit we don’t sit at the head table so we get stitched up… We won’t ever win the CL until that changes or we kiss the proper rear ends….!
I wonder if there is the slightest grain of truth in this story about Wenger’s new contract being linked in with him having complete autonomy over transfers? I can imagine old Ivan seeing that we are woefully short again and telling Wenger that the board want him to spend massive money on players who will make a real difference and him giving a classic French “Non”.
Wath. And bulging shorts. 🙂
I was expecting that from Rico Adam not you lol
I thought I’d get in first Wath. 🙂
Adam, 1:11… Spot on………….!!
Adam, bulging shorts… shuttlecock….? or quiff..?
And what about the Ryo Miyaichi fiasco???
Who was responsible for leaving him off of the Champipns League squad?
And who was responsible for picking him in yesterday’s squad???
Does this not go to the hub of the problem…
That is Wenger’s aversion to delegate….
He has to be in control of everything, and that is not humanly possible, therefore stupid mistakes are made!
cheating is cheating….. unethical and Arsenal are an ethically sound team. reminds me of a mad man in my village who was questioned what he thought about his state of mind, he responded….”all of us are mad but the problem is that most of you are not passionate about it (being mad)”
Arsenal is not passionate about cheating like the ” team of Divers” (Chavs) some old Boy of the tiny tots (Bale), the cannibal (suarez and team) et cetera..
I can imagine there’s a lot of truth in that story Adam
I bet that model saw him shuffle his cock…
Sorry, did you say shuttle 😉
Have a team that’s strong enough to batter these cheating fucks……just saying!
Rico. So do I. Unfortunately.
Not a team littered with casualty extras…
Kev, he wouldn’t have got on anyway, that would mean playing a winger 😉
1.13 Wath, as if I would 😉
Adam I believe the Ozil deal was a Gazidis move to shut the fans up , I really don’t think Wenger would have spent that much on one player. He is an idealist and that amount of cash doesn’t fit into his way of thinking.
Lee, agreed mate, we didn’t whinge when we had a team that could batter teams and then play our own game… we never pulled out of anything when it mattered, get kicked kick back harder…!
Potter. That would make sense to me. I believe he is an idealist at heart and the rise of the sugar daddy clubs has been the defining issue of his managerial career. Do you believe that he will ever win the PL again or the CL with Arsenal? It’s a question that supporters have been asking me for the past several years and one that cuts through to the meat of the issue in so many ways. I would be interested in any views here on this. Rico? Wath etc..?
This season was his best chance and he fucked it…….so it’s a fat NO from me!
No, not imo he won’t….
There is still chance to muck up the FA Cup….
Interesting but not wholly unexpected so far.
I think the only chance we have of winning anything under Wenger is if someone else takes over the responsibility on the transfer front and as we’ve all said, Wenger identifies players others go buy and do the deal, if a players wants to chat to Wenger to know his role fair enough but thats his only part, no input at all on fees and wages, it’s the clubs money they need to decide what goes where and who they prepared to spend big on..!
If it’s the same ole same ole then the answer is also a big fat NO we won’t win anything else under Wenger he’s to infatuated in doing it the so called “right” way…!
Totally agree Wath…
To expand the question a little.
Do you think that, given that we have around £150 million plus in the bank and the basis of a good squad with some that could be sold etc, do you think that say Guardiola or Mourinho could win the PL or the CL with Arsenal?
I don’t want either of those two managers Adam.
Will be interesting to see if the Mancs finish outside the top 4 the kind of money they going to have to pay for top players to attract them to sign with no CL football…! The chavs gonna spend big on a striker at the bare minimum and shitty will spend big on defenders so where does that leave us…?
Makes a mockery of not pushing on with the Suarez bid….! As someone said if they knew there was a buy out it shows they had inside info and could of been construed as tapping up..? Is that why we stepped back..?
Rico. I just picked those out of the air as they are perhaps two of the best managers in the world at the moment. Insert your own favourite if it makes it easier. Even Martinez?
Hypothetically Adam, with 150mil to spend I would say both those managers would win us the title with the squad we currently have and those funds to spend on additions…! Hand on heart as we currently stand I would not be saying the same with Wenger having the 150mil in his pocket to spend.
Wath. I guess we don’t need to speculate about Wenger as he has shown year in, year out that he can’t win those trophies. I tend to agree though about both of them. They would stress to the board that their ambition was to win and that they expected full backing in that endeavour. Personally I cannot see how another 3 years of this gets us anywhere. Surely the board must be asking the same questions. How has he done, considering the assets available to him?
Thing is Wath, most players will believe the Mancs is just a blip… Kroos has reported to have said no CL wouldn’t bother him….
I don’t think he will win us the Champion’s league or the title again . I think we have the players that with a few reinforcements and a new philosophy could.
Yes then Adam 😉
Kroos may of said that Rico knowing full well his wages will be huge CL footie or not and then you add a clause stating no CL after one year am free to leave….!?!?
Adam, fair points BUT doe sthe owner really care about winning…? do the board and the owner share the same views…? how long before he looks to change things and start taking a dividend on profits for the first time ever…? I have my doubts that the owner loves making a cash cos to milk it as much as he can…. With that in mind 4th is indeed enough and it needs very little investment from him to manage that which suits his purposes.
If Wenger cannot see past his own nose and doesn’t have the ambition to win things then they both as bad as each other and the board who are helpless with zero power are puppets in the middle…?
Just an out of the box thought….!
Potter. I tend to agree. But is a new manager implicit on the idea of a “new philosophy”?
Spot on Potter, the basis of a very very good team/squad is definitely in place. What’s needed now is prob 2 good players and 2 great players…!
So Rico. Yes, under Martinez then? 🙂
I didn’t think of that Wath…
Wath. If the board, which is effectively Kroenke, have no ambition, then what the f–k is the point of the club any more except to earn a few quid for the syrup? How long could that be sustained? From what I know of the inner dealings of Arsenal, Gazidis is desperate to win something. He is aware that the believers are a breed growing rarer by the week and last night will not have helped.
An interesting discussion though.
Very interesting article…
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenals-injury-problems-down-incompetent-3233644?
Yes under any manager with a 2014 footballing manual Adam… 😉
That chap talks a lot of sense…. On both the training and fitness …
That’s exactly my point Adam, the board are there in name only they have zero power unless Stan says so… They run the club on a day to day basis yet cannot make executive decisions unless approved by the owner. What if the funds in the bank are earmarked for players and the board want Wenger to buy yet the owner then says… hold your horses fellas let ole Arsene do as he wants…. Then the funds grow the yank gets richer and decides that the time is right to start taking dividends to reward his great gamble of buying the club in the first place on borrowed money and it’s time to reap some rewards for his hard earned efforts..!
Where does the board stand… in no mans land made, they helpless and powerless they merely run the club on the say so of the owner they certainly cannot do anything he doesn’t agree with or approve.
So if that’s the case Ivan can want to spend all he wants it’s down to the owner having zero ambition to spend and Arsene says relax Stan I have a plan… I’ll do it on the cheap, have always said I can….!
I bet Wenger doesn’t agree with him. 🙂
Sad to see Gary Speed in the photo…
And we don’t have 9 injured players either so I guess part of the article is old, but nevertheless, it’s very good…
Back in a bit…
It’s not 9 it’s more isn’t it…? lol
If the papers in Portugal are to be believed then William Carhalho is apparently an Arsenal fan and his fav player was TH14….!
Lets use that to our advantage and go and get the fella… A proper decent midfielder, pace power and skill…! Just what we need.
It’s no good any other bod buying players on behalf of the club without Wenger’s approval! God forbid, that would be worse than him buying no one at all. Say Suarez arrives this summer against St Arsene’s wishes, do you think he’d get regular game time? He would not!
Arsene would stick to the development plan even if everyone on earth called him foolish and stubborn. And that’s it in a nut shell. The club either do business his way or he will make them look foolish, because he knows he ain’t gonna get the sack! His way or no way at all!
I just can’t see many, if any new uba signings in the next TW because, ” we ‘ave eenurf”. Like yesterday’s result, I hope I’m wrong but suspect I’m right.
Wavy. You are nearly as cynical as Kev. 🙂
Yeh, but not as old……quite!
Wavy. 🙂
Don’t you live near Epping Forest?
Wavy, not what we saying though, what we saying is Wenger gives the board a list of players they then do the deal, no input from wenger or faffing over transfer fee or wages he just chats to the player to make him feel wanted but thats it…!
I’d get Gerwankstain back from Roma……
Not any longer. Was brought up there but decided to do missionary work in the midlands! It’s ongoing!
Lee, go wash your mouth out………..
WATH, I see now. But, when you are a megalomaniac it is not possible for you to delegate any part of your control, not even to your best next door neighbour!
Did you not know Wenger’s favourite artiste is Sinatra? And we all know which way he liked to do things!
Wavy, totally agree hence I think that’s where there could be an impasse on his contract, the board want to do things differently and he’s not happy, thing is he’ll go cry to Stan and he’ll get exactly what he wants.
Afternoon all,
Moving forward or standing still ?
4th year in a row now we’ve gone out of the Champions League at this stage, would love to know what Wenger took from our defeat against Bayern this time last year because it must have gone in one ear and out the other !
Bayern were the better team over the 2 games, even had the luxury of missing 2 penalties and still progressing.
My only crumb of comfort, Bayern may have gone through to the quarter finals but we have the longest serving manager in the Champions League and no-one can take that away from us.
Wish they would Micko..
Afternoon all…
SIX weeks for Ozil 🙁
Micko. Do you think UEFA will give us a cup for that? 🙂
We are the first to leave the competition so therefore we must be 16th? That’s a much higher number than 4th! Or might we finish 9th equal? Wenger’s stock is rising by the game!
Ozil 6 weeks! You know I don’t think he has a strained/damaged hamstring I think he has a strained and damaged head! He hasn’t looked happy since October. Something amiss there and as yet undisclosed. Watch this space. I see trouble ahead.
He looked happy last Saturday Wavy.
I personally feel that Ozil is being made the scapegoat by far too many, especially in the press/media…
Did somebody call my name? 😀
Ii agree. It’s the price tag. Everyone expects a super heroes performance every game forgetting of that the guy is only human! I think he needs a break. Too much pressure.
I am not a cynic and I am young at heart… 😉
Depends what you call a cup Adam !
rico, 6 weeks you say, you’d think someone at the club could come up with something new.
Did you realise if we do go on to win the FA Cup this season we haven’t had to travel out of London to win it !
I personally think that Gazides is trying to wrest more control from Wenger…
But he cannot afford to fall-out with Arsene and risk Kroenke having to make a choice out of who goes and who stays…
1950 revisited Mick…
The only time a London club won the cup and never left London…
Arsenal had 4 home draws, 2 semi-finals vs Chelsea at White Hart Lane and the final.
Sometimes Kev, I actually think you really know your stuff.
My Dad saw every game, but as was the habit in those days, got fucked-off by the club when applying for a final ticket.
Same again in 1952……
The FA were cnuts then as they are now….
He had to wait until 1968 to see his Arsenal at Wembley, when he room me, and, of course we had to get our tickets from touts, because, as Adam well knows, the club doesn’t give a shit about the fans….
Not that I’m bitter….
Cheers Mick….
But only occasionally eh?!!!
Room me?????
Took me… 🙄
He’ll be a top top player for us next season Wavy, if the right things happen between now and then…
Funny that isn’t it Micko, always 6 weeks.. And no, I din’t know that about the FA Cup, I can feel a post headline coming on already. IF of course we can manage to win two games at Wembley.
1950 Kev, way way before my time 😉
I used to have the programmes Rico, up to the semi-finals…
The Spuds programme in those days was like a newsletter, cheap and cheerful like the Spuds themselves…
Hi Rick, sorry, your comments went into spam for some reason.
Welcome Chris, your comment went into spam too, hope you pop back…
Tell ya, if we win the FACup this season, I am gonna go around to Adam’s, take him down the pub and get both of us hammered…
Its much more organised nowadays Kev, throw your season ticket into a hat and if your real lucky you get a cup final ticket out of it !
Hiya Kev. As you know, I don’t really drink but some crystal meth will do just fine. 🙂
🙂 Kev, wish I could be a fly on the wall….
Micko. That’s how I met my 3rd wife but it was car keys and not Season Tickets. Unfortunately she only wanted me for my money.
Mick, I thought it was a case of being in Club Level etc, with the cheap seats nowhere…
I could be wrong, or am I being cynical, again!
Adam, that’ll do fine mate…
Laters
Eviening Rico and the House.
Kev In1950 we beat the Chavs 1-0 in a replay at the Lane.
I had a opertion that day and I come round to the news we had won. It was bloody great.
I had to wait untill 1971 to get to see them at wembly so you can guess how I felt when the King scord the winner.
Rico, This morning you were all talking about what our team was missing. I pointed out the highlights of the youth teams win was on the player and you should all take a look. Akpom is some player.
I just watched the Ian Wright program from last night. Really very good and extremely emotional. I had certainly gone off him some time ago but I see him in a different light now.
You guys should check it out.
I saw the Ian Wright programme last night Adam, it was, as you said, quite emotional.
Rick, I did Wembley 1968, 1969 and like you 1971…
Charlie will always be the King in my eyes mate.
Thankfully I missed 1972
Morning all.
Great discussion overnight.
One thing i am going to be mightily pissed off with is this…….when (yes, i say WHEN), we win the FA cup, many Gooners will say it is not enough, it doesn’t cut it, yet for the last few seasons, have complained about a lack of silverware….go figure!!
Kev, i am doing the stadium tour next friday with Charlie…i will ask if he remembers you from the crowd 🙂
Ok….off to work.
Sleep well, fellow Gooners.
Hi Rick, I like Akpom, many times on here myself and others have questioned why he hasn’t been given a chance yet Sanogo has?
As Wath said earlier when talking about the upcoming youth players, the key under Wenger is – does their face fit….
Was the Wrighty program on last night, my planner has it set for Thursday…
Looking forward to it..
‘Next Thursday’ Scott, it’s getting nearer 😉
Sure is, Rico.
That means my holiday is getting nearer also Scott 😉
That’s me done…
Night all…. ’til tomorrow..
Rico I hear they are closing the London airpots for three days next week. Do you know if that is true.
Should be airports
Adam 5.45, she probably spotted the Reliant Regal badge amongst the keys, you never stood a chance.
Scott, I don’t think you’ll find anyone moaning if we win the FA Cup, well not until the summer anyway.
Over and out.
Micko. The Reliant is a very potent motorcar.
Did I tell you I used to visit a mate in Kerry?
Imagine if it was ozil
https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/443845512634957826
Scott, ask Charlie if he remembers me saying hello to him, in Tottenham High Road, outside White Hart Lane around 1973, before a NLD…
Daily Mail ‘scribber’ ( my spellchecker came up scrubber, quite apt) Neil Ashton is the type of two bob shit-stirrer who infects newspaper newsrooms like a disease.
I shall, Kev, and i am positive he will haha.
Rick, that is just nasty lol.
Micko, i hope nobody cheapens it though.
I have suddenly read rumblings that we should be winning the League.
That is a fair call, but at the same time, we are so close to achieving what peoplehave cried out for, if/when it happens, we shoulc see it is the beginning of a new era, imo.
Scott, over here we have a vitriolic and spiteful football Press, where two-bob tossers exist.
Over the last few seasons, these tossers have ridiculed and laughed at Arsenal for failing to win any silver wear.
Now, if you notice, with Arsenal’s chances of winning the FACup enhanced by the exit of ManCity, you will see the FACup denigrated and downgraded in importance, so as to lessen the impact it could have if/when Arsenal win it….
Well Scott, fuck every football scribbler and a pox on their houses, I hate 99% of them with an intensity that scares me at times…
Hate isn’t a healthy emotion, but I find it comes easily to me when the like of Ashton, Durham and all the other journo scumbags attract my attention, albeit briefly.
Scott that was ment as a joke. I am soorry that you see it differentialy
Evening all, Nice one Rico.
So we were outplayed last night and we were led by a has been Its easy to say we have a crap side led by a man that is only worried about money. But the facts if you really look at it sensibly is the fact that EUFA will never let Arsenal play with fairness. Whingeing people will say but a man sent off in the first leg for doing his job and trying to save a goal. what the fcuk is he supposed to do step aside and move out the way. Was there contact sure there was but it is a contact sport, no one has ever said you can tackle, but without touching them. The man went down like a sack of shit, then rolled around on the floor, everybody in the world knows he dives its not a secret and he doesn’t even try and disguise the fact. Last night he dived 3 times and the ref waved play on and he never booked him. The champions league will never be ours while EUFA is run by these morons. As for Arsenal, granted they may not be the greatest team in the world but they are honest I dont think they outplayed us at all, they outcheated us over the 2 legs with the referee’s help. Will we ever get anything out of the champions league , Just the money that’s all.If you cant see that then i’m wasting my time trying to explain it. You just keep on with why our club is short changing us and we need a new manager and all the normal shit i hear, if you had a new manager you would soon know how bad things could be. If you don’t like it don’t buy a ticket and let some one in that wants to support.How can it be Wenger’s fault when we have 7 players out injured even 11 100 million pound players get injured.
Rick, i took no offence mate….i added the lol on at the end….i took it in good humour 🙂
Kev, i take no notoce of the media….their opinion is no more valid than ypurs or mine, in my opinion.
but Kev – surely Wenger has spend years declaring the unimportance of the cup, now you dis the press for printing what has so obviously been his attitude for years? I find it amusing how he now declares the importance of a trophy he’s shown total disregard for TBH – how many posts have there been on here alone declaring we threw this round and threw that round over the years?
sp1 – the facts are Wenger has had 16 goes at winning this thing and regularly (not always) departs at the same point – is it really a conspiracy at UEFA or might it be lessons simply never learned? We really have to get over this ‘the whole world will do anything to make Arsenal loose mentality’
6.57pm Scott – I think we all agree, any form of silverware right now would be good – we should not over importance it, after all Wigan from the championship are the actual holders but never-the-less a real trophy would be welcomed by all i think
Morning Qz, Sorry for the late reply, Oz Your right about the conspiracy it is a bit far fetched, but when you have seen the 16 years of trying, and you notice how many sending off’s and bad decisions how often our manager has spent in the stands even you must wonder how dirty our side must be. Penalties against us and the amount of yellow cards we get, would you say we are a dirty side, and are we doing anything different than say a Barcelona, but when you take a close look at the Barcelona and Beyerns of this world a pattern starts to show up. I wonder just how many times both those clubs have actually finished a game with eleven players against them. Are they so good that we have to have a player sent off every time we meet them. By the way Oz 16 goes at it yes but teams like our neighbours Spuds one go. That shows you if your not in it you dont have a chance of winning it. Look through the premier league teams and see who hasn’t been in it for 16 years, that shows you how well we have done, all right blaming Wenger and saying how bad he is, at least we have been in it every year, The so called greats of this league went 40 years without winning anything untill foreign money brought them success, and if they hadn’t found a safe Haven they would still be waiting.
Morning peeps
Morning Lee, Scott…
Oz, I cannot ever remember Wenger ever ‘bad mouthing’ the FACup, so please remind me when that was…
How many Semi-Finals, Finals, and times as Winners have we had in this competition?
Speaks for itself…
The squad not being strong enough to compete on three fronts is another matter.
That IS Wenger’s fault, no doubt…
Would it not be ironic, if Arsene prioritised the FACup. Arsenal win it, but finish 5th….
Can you imagine the ‘stick’ Wenger would get???
Morning Lee, Scott, Oz, Kev, Sp and all…
So that’s City out too and I owe Oz a cuppa…
Anyway, none of that should affect the reality if the fact that the Press hate Arsenal/Wenger. Dig us out at every opportunity, criticise every aspect of the club (remember Greg Dyke, Talk Rubbish with their juvenile Daily Arsenal etcetera). Belittle everything the club does/ archives, when the chance presents itself, and will continue to do so with gusto should Arsenal win it’s first silver wear in 9 years…
Don’t you recall how they loved to trot out the red-card stat at every opportunity…
Frankly it’s boring, but I’ve had to listen to the double standards of the Press all my life as an Arsenal fan.
You might be on the other side of the globe, but surely you can see that!!!
Morning Rico, chilly out there again…
It looks it Kev, very foggy here too..
Have ventured out yet 😉
I agree to an extent Kev BUT Wenger brings a lot of the stick on himself…. if he had shown some proper ambition over the last few transfer windows who knows maybe we’d of won something by now!?!
Pea souper!
Didn’t AW field his strongest side in both the League and FA Cup last season?
Not that it did any good against Bradford and Blackburn.. 😉
Morning guys.
I have never heard Wenger talk down any competition, but ,i may have missed it 🙂
Agreed Lee, I said as much when I criticised him for not strengthening the team.
But when I criticise Arsenal/Wenger, I do it as an Arsenal fan because I want our team to be successful…
When the Press criticise they do it from a standpoint where they relish Arsenal’s failure.
It’s ingrained in that mob, they cannot help themselves.
They put a negative spin on everything we do because they hate us…
Can barely see down the garden Lee..
We just need a stronger team/squad and then we give everyone the finger!
I don’t get bent out of shape by the media anymore they’re all parasites!
Absolutely Lee, I totally agree with you me ol’ mucker.
And I will always criticise Wenger for that…
I know Lee, we know what ‘they’re all about’….
But even when we had the best team in England they dug us out over the red-cards…
Despite the provocation our players faced every game…
Morning Rico and all.
Round em up, put em in a field and……..
Good old Kenny….
Morning Adam…
Shall I put today’s post up so we can all whinge and moan on there?? 😉
I think there is an air of staleness about the club and Wenger. His job is to win things.
Rico, I think we all feel chided this morning. Evidently, when Wenger does go the club will crumble anyway. 🙂
I had to google that one Adam 😉
And while we moan good old Bendtner is drunk in Copenhagen calling taxi drivers bitches, whipping cabs and rubbing his old chap against their bodywork. At least Giroud rubs his against a page 3 girl. 🙂
🙂
What a splendid thought…..better than a cheese grater too!
Iv’e put the new post up now….