Match review

Arsene admits he knew Kallstrom was injured! Back to the top we go, for a while…

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Tony Pulis, always the man to lead his side out with one thing in mind. Foul, defend, foul again and defend…

I was quite shocked to see him line up against us with two strikers up front, the rest of his tactics were so predictable though.

Mind you, so were ours. We played the same old way and registered a ridiculous possession rate but when it came to being penetrative in the final third, well we weren’t, especially in the first half. No-one seemed to want to get hold of the ball and make something happen and as for taking a shot, no chance….

The first half wasn’t good, all ball play but no end product although Koscielny came close..

0-0 and the boys really needed a kick in the pants at half time.

They clearly got it as within two minutes, we went 1-0 up and it was a lovely goal. Santi Cazorla worked a bit of magic on the ball and then played a pass over the top of the defence to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. His control and finish was excellent…

Palace threatened after our goal but to be honest, they lacked a cutting edge up front…. Credit to Szczesny, he made a wonderful save to keep a header from Cameron Jerome out…

Podolski fired a shot into the side-netting instead of making it 2-0 but to be fair, the angle was tight…

73 minutes on the clock and Oxlade-Chamberlain made it 2-0. He played a little one-two with Olivier Giroud before bursting into the the area and blasting a low and hard shot past Speroni. 

That was enough to see us home.

We played the same as we have done for the last few weeks, maybe months. Plenty of possession yet we seriously lack a cutting edge when we head towards goal. Players wont shoot when they get the chance and far too many passes go across the box instead of in it. Players seem afraid to pick up the ball and drive towards goal, except AOC of course, he did that once and scored.

Surely there has to be a lesson learned..

Tomas Rosicky came on and we played with a bit more pace and urgency but why does it need an old pro to come on and get us to play that way? Why can we not play that same way without him?

At the back, Per Mertesacker was again outstanding, as was Koscielny and Ches did well when needed…

Three points on the board, back to the top of the league and of course that’s great for Arsenal.

Just how long this small squad can keep going though I don’t know…….

Finally, an update on our new signing from Arsene Wenger:

We have to establish the real truth about this story. He arrived here and fell on his back two days before.

First of all it’s very difficult to identify a player, who can come in, of that stature and then we made a medical (check) of his back and we found out he had a little micro-fracture. We have all played with micro-fractures.

Then Spartak Moscow accepted to share the costs – as long as he’s injured they will pay – and we had a decision to make.

We could take nobody or Kallstrom and it went through on Friday at five o’clock.

31 days to sign who we needed and 5pm on deadline day it was an injured player or nothing.

Beggars belief….

That’s it for another day….

rico

0 thoughts on “Arsene admits he knew Kallstrom was injured! Back to the top we go, for a while…”

  1. StopTheWwenger Spin says:

    The fact we “missed out” on Draxler is not really the point Mr Wenger. The point is where was our plan B when it was obvious we needed bodies ? A so called intelligent man leaving it until hours before the deadline is pathetic, negligent and quite simply unacceptable for a man who earns £7m pa

  2. snaparse says:

    nice read Rico.,….arsene doesn’t make it easy for himself does he????………happy for the ox.. tout he played well in the pivot…..bfg was good too

  3. stevepalmer1 says:

    Morning all, Nice one Rico. I wrote this comment on the last post before i realised we had moved on.Morning all,
    A fairly comfortable game yesterday, which we won quite easily in the end, but did we expect anything else. Tougher games are coming along and i am sure they will test us a lot more than Palace did. Has Wenger made a mistake, many will say yes, and with 14 games left i suppose we have to wait to see how things pan out. For me Giroud did very little and if injury should hit, i don’t see it as a major problem. Giroud is not the CF i would like to see leading the attack but the way we play i wonder whether we need one anyway. Our game appears to me to be all about midfielders, we have a team full of them and if we win games its normally about how they play. Giroud has never in my mind been a prolific scorer, and he never will be with the system we play. Possession seems to be the way to go and who can knock that when were top of the league, Teams coming up also like possession as well but they do seem to have a more direct way of playing. Yesterday with 90% possession against an inferior team only produced 2 goals, from midfield of course, Giroud wasn’t at the races at all. Our lack of spending in this transfer window won’t hurt us at all, the only way we can incorperate a really good CF is if we change the style of play and i don’t see that happening, Top 4 is almost guarenteed, and should we keep it tight the league is also a posibility. Centre forward or not i don’t think it would have made any diference at all.

  4. jt wunubo says:

    Mr Wenger,You don’t rely mean it. why done you in for world class players that are already established and spent the money on them? our trouble is that the gaps between is not much so when you loss once your automatically behind city or blues. we can only keep the faith but strike empty.

  5. rico says:

    Adam, I think it will be easier in the summer as players will have already been selected or not for their country. Whereas in Jan, they were to worried about moving and jeopardising their place.

    And of course, players who are at clubs in Europe would surely want to have stayed playing in Europe…

    🙂

  8. Scott from Oz says:

    Damn, i reckon we need to get past the debacle that was the TW.
    A great result and a damn decent performance should not be in the shadow of what could have or should have happened.
    We stuffed up.
    As a club…not JUST Wenger.
    We won as a club, not just Wenger.
    The first goal was simply breathtaking.
    One f the best through balls, first touches and finishes you will ever see in one play.
    The second was brilliant.
    We can do this.

  9. rico says:

    Thanks Sp, not sure I entirely agree re top 4 being pretty much achieved but in any case, hen Jan 1st came we were sat top or the league and two players, even just one player up front could have made a difference.

    Personally speaking, I don’t want just a top 4 finish, AW should have been looking to strengthen and see us finally get the PL won…

    Or at least give us a chance to truly fight City/Chelsea all the way..

    Time will tell I guess, as will any further injuries….

  10. HenryB says:

    Morning Rico.

    A very good summing up of the game, and although I suppose we played like it was a training ground exercise in the first half with lots of possession, but no pace or cutting edge, in the second half we speeded up and were never in any doubt of the outcome.

    As you said, there were a lot of typical Pulis niggly fowls to break up our play, it can have come as no surprise to anyone.

    The Kallstrom loan deal was certainly strange – and AW has admitted that he may never actually play for us. Hmmm.

  13. Woody says:

    I think we have to move on from the TW now.

    The reality is that we probably couldn’t get who we wanted as they won’t be available until the summer, so why give someone a 3/4 year contract when you only want them for a few months?

    That’s bad management…

    Also, we didn’t really have the whole window to find a midfielder as we didn’t know we would need one until late.

    It’s clear winger tried to sign lots of forwards on loan so his main target can’t be signed until the summer.

    One other thing to consider for all doom and gloomers is that we’re top of the league in feb. Why oh why we always have to moan is beyond me.

    Let’s get behind the team and see where we end up. I find it amazing that people are more concerned by thinking up reasons why we get should leave rather than focusing on football!

  14. rico says:

    Morning Hb,

    Much better second half but I do wish our boys would shoot when we play these boring defensive sides..

  15. Bill says:

    I can’t help thinking that the Kallstrom thing is purely to appease those who criticise his lack of adventure in the market so he can say “we brought someone in”.

    Admittedly, Palace parked the bus yesterday, as many teams do against us and it’s tough to get through when they do that. I’ve said elsewhere today that Giroud is operating more like a midfielder these days so the question above: “Do we need a centre forward?” is valid.

    We’re certainly relying almost exclusively on the tippy-tappy play to get through defences and there’s no-one now who moves like a centre forward to receive the defence-unlocking pass.

    It frustrates me, that’s all!!

  16. Adam says:

    There is a certain irony in listening to Mourinho bleating on about FFP and parking the bus.
    Scott. I find the disappointment entirely understandable. Anything less than the title itself will leave Wenger wide open for criticism, deserved or otherwise. Just the way it is and the rather flat atmosphere yesterday, as well as playing into Pulis’ Neanderthal tactics, was a bit worrying.

  18. Scott from Oz says:

    Adam, Wenger certainly has left himself exposed here.
    Still, we ae a decent chance of getting the job done still.
    Rico, i was talking abput Wenger 🙂

  20. BrainwashedKev says:

    Morning All

    Morning Rico, interesting comments from Wenger, seems that Spartak are paying half of Kallstrom’s wages, whilst he’s injured, that’s if I understand Wenger correctly.

    Scott, one hours kip, phew, good luck to you mate…

  22. Woody says:

    Rico – we won’t if we go close and giroud stays fit and scores a goal a game!

    What will we blame it in then?

  23. rico says:

    Frustrates me too Bill…..

    Scott 🙂

    Morning Kev, don’t forget West Ham, Sam out bored Jose with his tactics… 😉

  26. Xr!s says:

    The problem I have with Wenger on the past TW is the reason to keep it so late, not the signing of Kallstrom and his injury. To get a player of his experience on a free loan in January is very quite difficult. His club will pay his wages till he becomes fit,which to me is better than getting an unproven,injured Draxler at an amount close to £40m who will also be out till later in March.

  27. BrainwashedKev says:

    Scott I did hear that if they find any Aussies on the boat, that they make them ‘walk the plank’, just a rumour, I think… 🙂

  28. BrainwashedKev says:

    Thanks for your help yesterday Adam…

    I got a ticket for the Liverpool FACup game… 🙂

    Heavy night, I need some tea, lata All…

  29. rico says:

    Let’s wait and see first Woody.

    I’m not blaming Giroud by the way….

    Kev, they should be paying all his wages if injured before we signed him…

  32. stevepalmer1 says:

    Where us fans differ from the manager is where we look for the end result at the end of the season. Of course we all want to see our club winning everything we can, we want to see our team recognised as being the best, trophies seem to be our way of portraying that. Wenger would also want that as well but he is dealing with the players on a daily basis, all their knocks and all their personal problems who’s fit who’s injured who earns what and who deserves extentions and who may be coming to the end of their Arsenal days. Youngsters who look like certain positions may be their future and also the players that are playing there now, who to play and who to leave out. We have a team of Midfielders some who have played very well but are currently injured, When fit he knows that players will be disappointed if left out. Wenger likes to be on top of everything, he holds the pursestrings he picks the players and he buys what we need and offloads the deadwood .Wengers phylosophy is one game at a time he says it all the time players copy the same words and as of most Managers they probably see it the same, win the next one and worry about the next one as it comes. Managers can no more plan out the whole season than the Almighty so one game at a time, and one player at a time. We have cover for every player and in some cases even more, we are in good shape and are also top of the league with less than half of our fixtures left. Supporters see problems that are not there, they want cover that may never be used, they want to cover our arses from every possible happening, but what they don’t understand is the cost of all this. Wenger is a frustrating Manager for fans but how can we knock what he has done, he hasn’t over spent and he hasn;t brought what all the experts reckon he must do to get results. We could quite easily win the league win the FA cup and also win The champions League i wonder what all those experts would say about that. At the moment its one game at a time, we know there could be upsets along the way but others will have them as well.

  36. Adam says:

    What you say may be true Steve but it is that very philosophy that has lead to 8 years without a trophy. Perhaps Ozil signalled a change in his thinking?
    Whatever the case, we needed a new quality striker and probably a wide man in the summer. That need was hardly diminished in the winter and we will still need the same this summer. But that’s only my opinion. Part of Wenger’s responsibility is to equip the squad to win trophies. We will see, over the coming months, if his philosophy of not spending actually works any better than it has for the past several years when it patently hasn’t.

  38. Woody says:

    I know u weren’t aiming it at giroud, I was just saying that we could go close and fail even if we had giroud and costa up front.

    I think we should enjoy the challenge and focus on that.

    My worry is too much negativity creeping in could derail our chances. If emirates has a negative atmosphere the team don’t play freely and that could be our biggest problem of all.

    Half the reason we lost to villa was the crowd. I’ve been to pretty much every game since we moved stadium and have seen how good the crowd can be and how much they help the team, but on the flip I e seen how bad they can be for the team and we need to avoid that.

  40. rico says:

    Woody, but I could accept that outcome more than if we come close with Nikki B and Yaya Sanogo. At least we’d know we gave it a good shot with a better striker force…

    I think half the reason we lost to Villa was the referee…

    I hope it’s not Dean too.

  43. southyorkshiregunner says:

    A 0-0 tonight would suit us fine.

    Morning all. Top of the league.

    One thing Wenger said and which is true: All our opposition is better than it once was.

  48. Woody says:

    Yeah the ref certainly didn’t help Rico, but we were playing quite well for the first 30 mins or so, then when the ref was doing his best to help Villa the fans just lost it.

    Total carnage…

    I guess the point of what I’m trying to say is that you just never know what’s going to happen.

    Look at Spurs. everyone said what great business they did in the Summer, buying lots of players to replace Bale, but what happened?

    They are mostly rubbish, or didn’t workout. For their £100 million, they got Paulinho and Eriksen. Who else has really worked for them?

    I’m not sure I hear Spuds fans saying “well at least we gave it ago”

  49. tsgh says:

    Good read and an accurate assessment…

    With the Kim signing Aw really left it late… it could have been far worse if TV had also sprung the same surprise that Frimp had sprung on him on Thursday, we could have been left with only 2 CB plus Sagna as cover…

    Sky sports and TS are trying to bill the ‘ petrol money’ game tonight as a sort of Superbowl…
    If they are going to do that then, they must have some ‘proper’ half time entertainment and symbolism to match… because Maureeen-ho is definitely not going to come to entertain the masses with his innovative strategy tonight 5-5-0

  52. rico says:

    We aren’t Spurs though Woody and no-one was calling for 4,5 or 6 players, most fans just wanted 1, maybe 2 players to freshen up the squad and cover the loss of TW…

    There’s a difference…..

  53. Gunnerdna says:

    Good post rico, AW should be ashamed of himself for what he did over the last 2 transfer windows, the Suarez and Kim K bids are two of the worst transfers ever to happen. It doesn’t matter if SM is paying Kim wages until he is fit, 1 of the requirement to make a transfer happen is passing a medical which KK fail, he should never sign him. AW arrogance even allow him to defend his stupidity.

  54. rico says:

    Ts, I think they’ll be a number 42 parked in front of Cech to ensure Chelsea snatch a draw…

    Thanks Gda, AW is certainly not smelling of roses after the KK signing….

  55. Woody says:

    I’m not saying you are wrong, I agree with you – I wanted a striker as much as you have since the first window shut and if we could have got someone in to cover in midfield then great.

    But as we are right now nothing is going to change what we have, so instead of all Arsenal fans bleating on about what did/didn’t happen in January we need to get behind the team.

    All that matters now are the games a head and there is no room for negativity, no matter how large or small.

    In recent seasons we would have given our right arm, left arm and maybe a few toes to be in the position we are now, so let’s enjoy it and get behind the team, then see where we end up.

    If, at the end of the season it looks like Wenger made a serious howler in this window then let’s all jump up and down and scream whatever we want, but while the season is still going we need to ensure that Emirates is a positive atmosphere.

    How can we expect the players to give their all if we all sit in the stands moaning at everything?

    That’s all I’m saying…there is a time and place for everything.

    We wouldn’t stand for convicting someone before a fair trial, so let’s not create negativity around a manager that has his team on the top of the Premiership and above the deep pockets of Oil and Sheikh riches as well as the ‘Biggest club in the world’ and the club that thinks they are…oh and the small club from down the road who were in for a title winning chance this year….according to all the experts!

    In fact, according to pretty much everyone in the press, pundits and fans, based on out Summer TW we should be fighting for 6th this season!!

    How wrong were they then?

  56. rico says:

    Woody, fans will get behind the club on match days but places like here are around to talk about everything Arsenal, good and bad.

    I nor anyone can dictate to people on their feelings or thoughts and on here everyone is free to chat about whatever they want..

    I’m livid we didn’t get a at least a striker, but I certainly don’t blame the players for that, I blame Wenger, the gutless board and owner…

  58. southyorkshiregunner says:

    Ginge. Frimpong certainly didn’t want to go to Barnsley, and he’s only there until June 2014 when he becomes a free agent.
    He didn’t jump – he was pushed.
    Nobody decent wanted him, that’s why he is where he is.
    Barnsley was the last place on earth someone like him wanted to be. No clubs, no celebs … check his twitter account. He’s a prized prat.

    Played/Started 24 (10 with Arsenal) games for 5 different clubs

    2 red cards + 8 yellow cards

    A player such as that could never be a top tier footballer.

  59. Woody says:

    I’m 100% behind people airing their own views and yes of course, this is one of the best places online to do it 🙂

    But sadly, we don’t see a packed Emirates all getting behind the team on match days. The negative vibes around Arsenal are not that far away.

    The first half yesterday was very quiet and had we not scored early in the second half then god knows what would have happened.

    I sometimes ready this site and half time, to see what everyone is saying from watching on tv or a stream and quite often the vibe on here reflects what’s going on around me in the stadium.

    My argument is not about signings – I want us to try and turn the Emirates in to a positive place where the team feel comfortable and sadly we’re always a negative headline away from the majority of home fans moaning and booing etc.

  62. rico says:

    A signing would have lifted the fans Woody, it was inevitable fans would be flat at the first game after such a negative transfer window..

    AW said he’d sign at least one player, he didn’t even manage to do that…..

  63. Adam says:

    Rico. You are of course absolutely right. Nobody is calling for Spurs level of signings. It was an argument that was thrashed out on here many times last summer. Call for signings and someone will pop up and say that Wenger doesn’t want to bankrupt the club or be like Man City or Chelsea as if that is somehow implicit in the argument for a striker and/ or wide man.
    In many ways yesterday was indicative of what we are surely lacking. I can imagine Pulis exercising his chick-pea brain and telling his team that we had no width so we wouldn’t be getting behind them much. He was right. We played everything down the middle like we always do and Pulis choked us like he has done so many times before. Palace were relatively comfortable in the first half. Without pace and without width, especially on the Emirates’ pitch, we are far too easy to nullify.
    But, we are top and 3 points are all that matter, right?

  64. rico says:

    £30 million Adam, that’s all we needed to spend, if that. Nothing like City, Spurs or even Chelsea in January..

    Or just a bit more would possibly have landed Draxler who I strongly suspect would have helped our wide play..

    And how much do we have in the bank…

    3 points matter, being top matters but……

  65. Woody says:

    I think there was more to the Draxler deal than we know yet.

    There seems to be so many different stories around that, it’s hard to know what to believe.

    I’m not 100% convinced he was what we needed right now anyway. If Wenger has some long term plan to convert him to a striker, that isn’t going to help us over the next few months.

    I want to know why we were looking at so many loan options upfront. Wenger must have a long term target in mind for the summer – or am I giving him too much credit?

    It’s clear that he only ever saw this transfer window as short term options to help over the next few months, so who is his long term target?

    For all we know he’s got an agreement to sign Costa in the Summer, so only needed to get someone in for this season. He tried 3, 4 loans and none came off!

  66. tsgh says:

    You have a point about his ‘head’ Syg… but I would say the same about Gattusso etc who no one wanted and even found himself in the SPL in his early 20’s…

    I am not sure he was pushed considering Fulham only bought Scott Parker later in the summer when AW refused to sanction Frimpong to move away to the Cottage….. it must have been in his plans initially at leasts…
    AW left it late to sign a midfielder because of AR16’s injury and the fact that Frimp asked to leave..

    From what I heard from someone who claims to be in the know….

    On the Thursday before the coventry match, Frimp turned up to training sick… I was told he threw up during training and so Aw asked him if he had been out the night before etc and told him to go home…

    i even reported it on here on Thursday to the attention of Rick

    Anyway… he is gone… it makes no difference to me if he was pushed or not… I do not know him and so his future makes no difference to my life to be honest…

    The fact is almost all the academy players do not make it… Yennaris was capable of making it but did not get a chance so it has nothing to do with ability imho… considering like most young players they all have twitter accounts but do not make teh front page for posting…

    Yennaris made 2 senior appearance and was one of the best players against Man U if not the best and Coventry 2 seasons ago in the 6-2 win…

    Frimpong was the fans motM against liverpool even though he was sent off and against Swansea in our first season win 3 season ago…

    Against Man city in the FA cup when we lost 1-0 he was the fans MoTM albeit maybe for beaten up Nasri…

    My point is he is not a JW but in the games he played for Wolves, Fulham and Us he never looked out of place…

    AW in 2012

    “I love his raw enthusiasm,” remarked the Frenchman. “The only problem is to keep him on the right track. Like every generous guy, you don’t want to see him lose that. He’s a real fighter. You would love to go to war [alongside] Frimpong.

    “But he also has to use his energy in a positive way because sometimes too much energy can be a handicap.

    “He has a good mixture of confidence, humility and energy. He learns as well. So after the heat, he accepts that he needs to think about what is wrong and right.”

    When AW was asked about Frimpong choosing to play for Ghana, this is what he said last year – ‘ This is news to me, he has been unlucky with injury but when I last spoke to him about his international career he said he had not made up his mind’…

  67. Adam says:

    I get it Rico.
    One thing that struck me yesterday was how the inactive transfer window had turned people’s thoughts toward their financial commitments to the club. I listened and noticed that people around me, long-term supporters like myself, were discussing the fact that the ST prices were going up plus, as we have run up against the limit of our cup games, we would be charged an extra £68 (I think) on top of next years price for the BM game. If we go any further in the CL or FA cup, that price will rise too. Home supporters are now seriously wondering if their relationship with Arsenal and the way they enjoy their football is going to change. I was recommended an excellent online article by Tim Stillman to this effect. I didn’t speak to anyone yesterday who could really work out why Wenger had not added a striker at the very least in either of the last two windows.
    As I said, it is ok people calling for better home support but that commitment must be matched by the club. The bond between the attending fans and the club itself is complex and based on trust and respect. I have not heard a single sensible argument as to why we have been left so short in the striker department considering that there were about 130 days over the 2 windows to sort something.

  68. rico says:

    That’s the only logical explanation I have in my mind too Woody and he is waiting for the summer to get who it is he really wants.

    Like you though, I too wonder if I’m giving him too much credit.

  69. rico says:

    Potter mentioned the extra cost the other day Adam, I couldn’t believe it.

    The rest of your comment is spot on, it’s a two way thing with a football club and it’s fans and right now it seems the club want to take all they can from the pockets of the fans, yet offer little in reward.

    I feel sorry for the players as well as the fans, it’s not the players fault that the club leave the squad short – the deserve better..

    I seriously fear it’s only a matter of time before Kos or Merts breakdown, maybe even Giroud too….

    Fingers crossed they are made of steel and can go all the way, but they are only human..

  70. Woody says:

    Adam – I don’t think there is one.

    The fact is that we should have been working on this before the transfer window, so we could get someone in at the beginning and not risk running out of time!

    The only reason I have come up with it that he has had a target in mind and was told last Summer that he would be able to get him this coming Summer.

    If you remember he tried to get Ba on loan at the end of the last window and this window he tried to get a few different forwards on loan – Cisse, Klose, Vucinic etc

    Wenger has never been a fan of loaning players, so it leads me to think that he must have something agreed in principle for this summer.

    I can’t come up with any other reason, so if that’s not the case then they have made a real mess of two transfer windows.

    You can’t be a top team in this country and have 1 decent striker. It’s too risky.

  72. Woody says:

    It’s not only injury either Rico – loss of form happens to everyone, as do suspensions.

    You can guarantee that out of 38 games, you will have 5-6 injured/rested another 2/3 suspended and maybe another 6-8 when you are not on the top of your game and that’s when rotation is required.

  73. rico says:

    That would be a nice thought Ts…

    Woody, that’s where we come unstuck again, we don’t rotate enough and all too often we can’t because we don’t have strength in depth..

    Especially up front 😉

  74. Adam says:

    I saw Potter’s post too Rico. The amount of commitment he shows, driving from Norfolk to see the games is remarkable and Arsenal could really do with not losing fans like him. I only have a half hour drive so it’s relatively easy for me.
    I was envious of the kind of support that Dortmund had earlier this season and thought then that our club would seriously benefit from that type of relationship by fostering an atmosphere that says ‘You are for us and we are for you’. Instead we have a very corporate and commercial vibe around the place where per capita spend is everything.
    I am not a romantic fool. I know the Arsenal that my Dad took me to as a small kid is long gone. But I still think the current custodians are missing opportunities to increase and enhance the bond between the fans and the club/ team. Perhaps it’s just progress.

  75. tsgh says:

    Excellent point Adam re BVB…

    ———————–
    The’ black and yellows’ are the best fans and most numerous but every 6 years their incompetent board make them bankrupt through no fault their doing….

    Last month when I flew over to watch BVB, I was amazed how many England fans in the airport where making the sawe journey…

    It is also strange how the most supported team in Western Europe do not feature in the top 20 financial league…

  77. BrainwashedKev says:

    Interesting points Woody, Rico and Adam…

    A striker in the summer???

    Could be that Wenger is gonna go back to Real Madrid for Benzema?
    Do Maria is also still an option…

  79. rico says:

    As do I Adam, I’m not sure I could be doing what Potter is and has been doing for a long time now. Incredible.

    I wouldn’t even do that from where I live….

    Good point re Dortmund Adam, Arsenal could learn a lot from them.

    As you know, I’ve wanted the big man to come in for a long while….

  80. Adam says:

    TS. The way their players went to the fans after the game it was as if they were saying thanks and wanted to enjoy the win with them. It made me think of the emotion, love and goodwill that goes unrequited at our club.

  82. rico says:

    Don’t forget Mata Adam 😉

    It’s the only logical reason for not signing a striker Kev, maybe someone is running down their current contract and will sign for us early summer.

    Or maybe a deal has been done already, a bit like Lukas Podolski as we all knew long before summer that he as on his way..

    If AW soon announces he is staying, he must have a plan surely?

    But then he doesn’t always seem to have any kind of plan when it comes to signing players….

    Back to a) as Lee would say, or is it b)…..

  83. Adam says:

    Rico. There is a totally logical argument as to why we haven’t done it but it is quite unpalatable. You know what it is anyway. 🙂

  85. tsgh says:

    True Adam…

    I think the BVB board messed it up with the Lewandowski stance though; keeping him has not helped them to retain the title…

    That is one thing you know our board, chairman and manager are good at…
    ————–

    Lets hope we do not regret this window too much…

    I am still positive we will win the league…
    Anyway, too many typos… multitasking- in the office plus blogging is like a drunk driver trying to touch his nose after being caught by the police… lol

    Later ladies and gents…

  88. Woody says:

    Keep the faith people…

    We don’t have the squad depth we want and we all have concerns upfront, but let’s remember that we are still top and although we have a tough run of games coming up this month most of them are at home, where we’ve been pretty damn impressive.

    Games are not always easy, but we haven’t lost since the opening day and our clean sheets record at home is pretty damn impressive, so if we can keep it going throughout February then we will be in good shape.

  89. BrainwashedKev says:

    I suppose, as Arsenal fans, we like to think that our club is special and is tip-top in every aspect.

    Take transfers, last summer I believe that Wenger put all his eggs in the Higuain basket. And when that deal fell through because, suprise suprise, Madrid sniffed more money for their player. Something they are quite entitled to explore.

    Wenger stomped off and decided to follow up the Agent inspired invitation to secure Luis Suarez…
    Now I would hope, as most Gooners out there would also, that the club would have contingency plans if both deals go tits up?!!!
    But I do wonder?

    And so, we the situation, where Wenger had money to spend, and was dithering, only to finish up being coerced into signing Ozil…

    That, I fear, is the haphazard way that I see the modern Arsenal conducting there transfer business….

  91. BrainwashedKev says:

    And don’t get me started on the Academy of the Medical team at Arsenal…

    Both, in my view, are in serious need of an overhaul…

  93. Woody says:

    Yeah the medical aspect is a worry Kev. If you look back at our injuries over the last 5-6 years it’s unbelievable and gives you even more reason to think that we should have bought another striker.

    It’s strange that we never had these injury problems when we were at Highbury…

  94. BrainwashedKev says:

    Woody, a new man has moved into the club, to head up our fitness programme, forget his name.
    But I’m hopeful that he’ll shake things up.

    And we have the Dutch guy heading up our Academy from next summer..,
    There needs to be a few changes at Hale End and among the coaches at the club…
    We might see a few new youth coaches brought in perhaps…
    Maybe from abroad???

  95. BrainwashedKev says:

    Robin Van Persie will be 31 years of age, by the time next season gets going…

    His injury record at Old Trafford this season, has a familiar look about it, a look that we don’t need at Arsenal, and certainly not on his astronomical ManYoo wages…

    I really don’t see any way, that Wenger would counter nance a return to Arsenal of RVP…
    To me, it is a total non-story…

    Fabregas, on the other hand, I could see in an Arsenal shirt again…
    Sorry Wath 😉

  96. ArsenalDK says:

    Can anyone tell me who that guy Viviano is?
    I seem to recall him being bought to provide competition for Szczesny? Since summer, nobody has had anything to say about him?

  98. AndrewH says:

    With a couple of days to go surely Berbatov as a player to come on, on one of those days when nothing goes in, would have been worth a punt. Better still Benteke who although losing a bit of form would have given us some strength as an alternative. Even if neither came off, we would have known we had a plan B. To those that say fans shouldn’t moan, especially with Season Tickets at the price they are, that ‘Wenger Knows’, well they deserve 9 years without a trophy and are party responsible for the lack of ambition that drove away Fabregas, RVP and others.

  99. Woody says:

    Not sure it’s quite that black and white AndrewH.

    For a lot of those 9 years we were being out spent by Stoke and Wolves and that’s not al because Wenger wouldn’t spend, it’s because we couldn’t afford it.

    I’d love a Ferrari and a holiday home in Barbados, but the fact is I can’t afford it because I chose to invest my money in a new house!

    Arsenal did the same…

    If we didn’t move in to a new stadium we would probably have won something over the last 9 years, but will still wouldn’t be able to compete and our future would not be so bright and I doubt we would be able to spend £40m on 1 player!

    We will only know whether it was all worth it over the next 10-20 years, if we remain at the top end of the Premiership.

  100. Joaquim Moreira says:

    afternoon all!
    I’m agree with the comment. It’s in the stright line I was writting before.
    However, stand up. We only depend for ourselves for win Tthe League.

  102. AndrewH says:

    Woody, we will probably never know who was behind our failure to sign players in the last few years. Either AW was being ridiculously loyal (until just recently) in never explaining that the board held the purse strings, a simple ‘we cant compete and have to sell’ would in my mind have been preferable to the rubbish he sometimes came out with. OR, and I think there is some truth in this, he is reluctant to spend money, and the more ex-players and pundits point out the obvious, the more he digs his heals in.

    Ozil could easily not have happened and we would have had an absolute dreadful summer. I don’t think there is one other Premier manager who wouldn’t have publicly criticised his board if he was not allowed to spend. Mancini was always moaning even when he had spent tens of millions. Maybe this loyalty is a quality to be admired, especially to non-Arsenal fans, but after 8 years and sometimes getting close, it wears too thin.

    I actually wished the fans could have boo’ed AW yesterday, because his performance in the TW deserved it. But of course, they couldn’t because the players don’t deserve any criticism as they have over-performed in my mind. That’s why I fear rico’s belief we can play better. Against the the Manchester’s and Chelsea in recent matches, we have shown little that we are better than them or even equal.

    Love to be proved wrong, win the league, and will salute AW as a hero.

  103. potter says:

    “”We will only know whether it was all worth it over the next 10-20 years, if we remain at the top end of the Premiership.””

    And thereby hangs the problem , football supporters by their nature are not patient souls and they span generations and the generation that presently holds and have held their season tickets over that time period have been systematically milked by the club and have faced astronomical increases in their ticket prices and they want their success now.

  104. stevepalmer1 says:

    Sorry Adam missed your comment, I understand how you and a lot of other supporters feel about our barren 8 years, and yes it does stick in the throat. I don’t just look at Arsenal, as it could be said that a lot of other Premier sides also have gone some time since they have anything to talk about. Many of those clubs have had many managers , it seems that the more managers a club has shows their commitment for success. Many have probably spent more out paying out golden handshakes than they have on player. I look to our neighbours who have had a few managers themselve’s whoever has come in wanted players and nine out of ten brought them. their current manager was lucky enough to sell a player who helped them to buy almost a full team but they are still behind us as they have been for as long as i can remember, Yes they have a league cup but i bet a penny to a pinch of shit they would trade that cup to have had half of our Champions league qualifications, The press and media are the ones who are responsible in reminding everybody how long its been since we won anything but i never hear them say anything about the others. I understand how supporters like yourself can argue about the price of your season ticket and of course i understand that but if i was able to go every other week i would be happy to visit Emirates Stadium and be able to see Champions league matches every year while other supporters from other clubs who think their clubs are the Bee’s Knee’s ask us to put our prices down so they can visit. Personally i think Arsenal supporters are not being short changed, yes we may not have a trophy in our new stadium at the moment but everything is in place for its arrival. I don’t see its our right to win trophies, with19 othe clubs in our league we don’t do too bad and we are head and shoulders above most of them, we have a secure club we just don’t compete with foreign owners who have something to prove by spending on players just to stop others from buying them. We buy as we need and we spend carefully yes we could spend more but there are still no guarentees that that would make us winners. Our time will come around again and that maybe not to far away. We are now ready for it in fact, great stadium good young players good background staff and still the best manager in the Premier

  106. tsgh says:

    evening Lady rico…

    Fernandinho injured in training yesterday. Agüero already out. Demichelis in midfield. Mourinho will be smiling.

    TEAM NEWS: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (c), Nastasic, Kolarov, Navas, Demichelis, Toure, Silva, Dzeko, Negredo

  107. tsgh says:

    Kev has to explain this as I can’t get my head around it…

    ha ha ha 19th century or 22nd … 3 DM in CFC’s midfield…

    Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; David Luiz, Matic; Ramires, Willian, Hazard; Eto’

  108. tsgh says:

    Jeez… New president of Barca, Bartomeu, revealed that a fee of €40m of €57m deal went straight to Neymar Snr and Nadine, Neymar Jnr’s father and mother. This went through the parents’ company, N&N… wow

    That is why AFC never step near players such as this

  109. tsgh says:

    Jose earlier was talking about dodgy and legit FFP… well the City & Chelsea starting XI’s cost exactly the same, £156m

  115. tsgh says:

    Chelsea fans “Where were you when you were shit?”

    Man City fans: “Where were you when you were shit?”

  122. GunnerDNA says:

    Man City don’t like to defend that’s the difference, you cant beat every team 5 nil. CFC should be 4 up.

  123. Wavy says:

    Oh I don’t know about that the chavs are hardly pleasant. And I find moron oh totally offensive! I judge his team by the example he provides.

  136. GunnerDNA says:

    JM is a C word but he deserved credit for cfc performance, this is the best i have seen them play without parking the bus. This is the blue print for the next couple of years. AW, Moyes and MP will be his bitches.

  137. tsgh says:

    Willian,Hazard have all done more than 2 km this evening than all but 1 of our players who featured yesterday…
    Amazing…

  139. GunnerDNA says:

    Draxler is going to be the next hazard, the 1 that got away because of Mr Hesitation. Players will do less km in the treatment room.

  142. tsgh says:

    Neville talks the same language…
    ‘will Jose tolerate Silva’?
    Like I said last summer Mata will be dropped by Jose.

    We ain’t going to beat the top teams when it matters with so many passengers doing less than 6km per game as wingers when other wingers in top teams are averaging 8km…

  143. tsgh says:

    Players starting positions and tactical awareness are crucial in the top games imo…

    Did you watch the super bowl,DNA?

  144. GunnerDNA says:

    Ts, it was 1 of the worst super bowl ever, but i tell friends defense win championship, two local boy from VA did well, so we were all shouting for the Seahawks.

  147. snaparse says:

    morning Rico…….nice game yesterday…….like ts always says…u can’t win a big game with passengers……look how hard d Harvard and co worked hard…as much as I hate mourinho he always gets it done in the big games…u have to be tactically prepared for mourinho teams……even in el classicos u see xavi,iniesta and messi covering 8km…….its not rocket science….. in the big games u have u give dat extra bit..if our boys had done dat away to city we wouldn’t have lost as we troubled them……we have to many luxury players starting the big games and until we address dat(either buying the ryt personnel or starting the ryt personal) we will continue to struggle against the big boys IMHO………

  149. BrainwashedKev says:

    Morning All…

    Suprise result last night, certainly didn’t see that coming, didn’t see the game, but it sounds as if Gazprom should have won by more than 1-0…

  151. BrainwashedKev says:

    Mourinho has, by and large, refrained from taking pot-shots at Wenger & Arsenal.

    Is he a changed man?

    Or is it more a case of him expecting and waiting for Arsenal to trip up…?

  152. rico says:

    Kinnear was a good appointment then.

    He didn’t sign one player on a permanent deal, maybe Kroenke will try and snap him up 😉

  154. rico says:

    Jose is a sly old so-and-so …

    Wait for the mind games just before we play them… Especially if we are still top by then….

  155. Adam says:

    Morning Rico, Kev and all. I spent most of last night’s game on the phone so didn’t really take it in. Anything that makes Mourinho happy though is bound to do the opposite for me as I still prefer the idea of his carbonisation by Act Of God in the form of a lightening strike.

  158. rico says:

    Morning Adam.

    I saw some of the game and was quite surprised how easy it was for Chelsea to get through City. But for the woodwork, maybe 5-0 would have been the end result

  160. Adam says:

    Hiya Kev. I don’t know. I am hopeless at keeping up with injury situation. I know Kallstrom won’t be playing.

Leave your comment.

Discover more from Highbury House

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading