Morning all.
It’s not a personal battle [with Jose Mourinho].
Honestly, we had some big games in the past, but what is important for me is that I am completely focused on Arsenal Football Club and on my team and doing well in the team.
Whether we play Monday night against Chelsea or anybody else, for me it’s exactly the same, because what is at stake for us is to get back to winning habits, whether it’s Chelsea or anyone else.
Come on Arsene, you are yet to get a victory against Mourinho and at some stage, that has to change. To go so long without getting one over any single manager must as some stage make the game a personal battle and tonight that’s what this is in my opinion.
Wenger versus Mourinho!
The game will be like a game of chess, who will play the right side, the right tactics and make the right substitutions at the right time to either kill the game off or protect the lead which is on the board.
Will Wenger go all out to attack in hope that the Chelsea strikers will continue their barren run?
Will Mourinho pack his midfield in attempt to stop everything we try and create and then hit us on the counter attack?
Mourinho believes that Mesut Ozil is the final piece of Arsenal’s jigsaw in this current squad and one thing is for sure, he’ll do all he can to stop him having an influence on tonight’s match:
Mesut is a phenomenal player. I think I know how to try to stop him having 90 minutes of direct influence on the match.
But it’s impossible to stop him for the entire game as these kind of players always have a moment, or couple of moments, where you cannot stop them and they end up showing why they are so good.
Mind games Jose, you and your bloody mind games!!
I actually don’t believe that Ozil is the final piece of our squad jigsaw by a long way, not even the midfield jigsaw as I still believe we lack a big strong ball winning guy in the middle and of course, we lack a ruthless striker but as far as creativity goes, you can’t find too many players who are better than him on his day.
One of those days must be today, then after tonight he will have a rest according to Arsene Wenger.
Not just Mesut though, it’s about time we started to see much better performances from a number of our players whose performances have dropped slightly over the last few weeks but today is not the day to name names. Today is about being 100% behind each and every player and the manager.
Arsene Wenger has to set us up right from the off, the players must then go on and do the rest.
This is a big game. We have a number of big names in our starting eleven and it’s about time those players played a big game. It’s not a game to sit back and leave it to someone else or to go hiding, it’s about 100% commitment from each and every one of them from the start until the end and do what they get paid for.
Winning matches like this win psychological battles and install belief.
Arsene Wenger might say this game is not about one manager versus the other but tactically, it’s just that in my opinion.
Whoever gets their tactics right tonight will win this game and it’s about time that man is Arsene Wenger!!
It’s long overdue!!
COYRRG’s…….
I believe Wenger knows its one manager against d other but just said dat to deflect. All i can pray is for an Arsenal win,nothing more
Morning Rico. We can be absolutely sure of one thing where Mourinho is concerned. No matter what he says and who he says it about, in his mind it is all about him. Everything he has ever done in football is about him and this new phase as Chelsea manager is the same. Whether he is being bullish, arrogant or in one of his rather sickening phases of false humility or allowing somebody else a morsel of credit, like all psychos it is really about the promotion and bigging up of a certain diminutive man. The great, the wonderful, the brilliant Jose Mourinho.
Morning Adam and all..
I don’t think much of Jose either 😉
Back shortly, can’t believe I have to have a blood test today, still, better than after the big day I guess, my readings will be very good today 😉
I’m more optimistic about tonight than I was,of the Etihad match
what a good post – plenty at stake tonight for the team and Wenger if you ask me
Morning Rico, Adam and all.
I 100% agree with your headline and post; its about time we have BIG game players in addition to your boy Theo,. Ramsey, Kosser (who will be missing), TR07 and Sagna can maybe make that list too.
On another day the BFG, Poldi and OG12 can be big game players but all in all, only 3 players in our squad consistently turn up i.e Theo and Kosser plus Arteta.
——————————————-
Totally agree with Ng and M96 with points made last night…
Morning Oz and Xris too…
Great post. You’re right it’s time for our big players to stand up and be counted.
Let’s hope the game gets played.
tsgh – hello bud, how are ya
Good post rico, this is a game we have to win to have any chance of winning the PL. The stats for Monday evening games against CFC is favorable to AFC, hope it continues.
“This is a big game. ……..do what they get paid for”
Great post rico, please forward that whole paragraph to hang in the dressing room before the match and for Wenger to read out a fans view!!
GunnerDNA – to me its to early to say on the championship BUT for credibility, its a key – United and City have already done us over (as has Chelsea of course) so its all about both Wengers and the players credibility tonight. – We are bigging the game up again as we did with City and Napoli, time to get one of these “we’re ready” claims proved. Great chance tonight to turn an unimpressive record around
Morning Rico.
Perhaps I’m wrong but I thought we played the Everton game with one eye on Napoli. We ended up in Italy worrying about Man City. By the time we reached Manchester we were mentally shattered. I know it’s a truism but you have to focus only on one game at a time.
Tonight is different – no distractions, only one object – to win.
I’m sure we will be up for it. What we don’t know is which Chelsea will turn up.
Not bad at all Sir.. How’s sunny Oz? lol
tsgh – summer has broken now mate, lots of sunshine and the days are warming up big time – home air conditioners are in full swing 🙂
Don’t rub it it buddy.lol
Hope you and your loved one’s have a great seasonal break…
you are right rico,players such as varmaelen,Arteta,santi and Giroud need to stand up and be counted today, we need an early christmas prezent.
you too mate, all the best to you and the family
The bets are on our side tonight…
No Essien as he is serving a suspension, No Drogba and no Cashley; only Lampard, Ivanovic and Old Terry are available from the nasty bunch.
I am certain TV will score and keep Torres quiet. If Mata can be stopped we have a solid chance plus Hazard is in Sagna’s pocket so…
And we take over 2 points on average when we play on Monday nights… lol
Morning all,
Albeit a bit of a shocker down South today horrendous weather!!
Has to be three points tonight, our last 3 ‘big’ games most of the team haven’t turned up (Utd,Napoli and City) That is a worrying trend and if they don’t put in the performance neccessary this evening then I fear we are in for another typical Arsenal season.
This isn’t a great chelsea team and our lot should have every confidence of taking 3 points tonight, especially as we are at home.
agree Lewis
The right set up, and players defending responsibly will give us a comfortable win.
If either is lacking, we will striggle.
Morning all.
Struggle, even 🙂
hiya Scott
Rico I hope the blood tests go alright, and by the way, another top notch Post.
We all have our own ways of rationalising things and for me although I want us to win tonight, of course, it is not a ‘must win’ game or a season breaker, it is another 3 points to win or lose.
With so many teams in the mix this season there will be many so called ‘must win’ games for all the top 6 teams, both when they play each other and also when they play ‘lower’ teams, like the Spuds, who are all capable of ‘surprise’ wins, or at least against expectations.
We are though playing for team pride, and in my case and probably most other Gooners too, there will be huge personal satisfaction at seeing Mourhino’s fizzog when we beat them.
Hi Scott,
I do like a good ‘struggle’! 🙂
I stopped praising Rico on her posts….one day, the quality will dip and i will be onto her 🙂
Hi guys.
Why can’t the FA schedule every single Arsenal game at 7am my time 🙂
We have no excuses this time, and i do not believe we will need any.
Special one, my arse!!
Arsene, show him what’s what.
Scott, I was trying to tease you about the word ‘striggle’ but damn Apple self corrected making me look even sillier. 🙂
Henry, me too, but i prefer a striggle 🙂
3-1 to the striggles i say 🙂 Ozil to score
Sounds goot, oz.
[Apple Note: Fuck you, Henry. Cjeck youy own spilling!]
Don’t be hard on yourselfff, Henri 🙂
Morning all and thanks for your kind comments on the post…
Must be the Christmas spirit in you all 😉
Scott- I will praise you when you send me my share of royalties for the Ramsey stats and you ever make a smart comment. 😛
Morning all, Well well well Rico, your not sure about tonight are you Ha Ha.
Maureens a prat no doubt about that, but he’s a caniveing Prat, He comes out with a load of old shit every time we play them, but he has the upper hand tonight, he is at home where he has a good record, we are in 3rd place with every other club breathing down our necks. He tells us we have a wonderful talent in Ozil and he sounds like he’s just covering his arse. We seem to go to pieces when these type of games come up, many’s the time we see our team play like doughnuts on nights like these. Your very good enthusiastic post would probably make all the diference if you were in the dressing room a couple of minutes from kick off, but i doubt that our team would read anything from proper supporters. On our day we can beat anybody, Arsene’ words of mental strengths and all that shit he spurts would probably do very little in the changeing rooms, but to offer the greedy buggers a big incentive bonus would probably work a sight better. Now we know the finishing piece is far from being in place, how can it be when Sagna might be going, and we have issues up front. We realise that playing physical sides makes us rush our game, we give the ball away so fast that it puts us under extreem pressure. But Maureen’s men are not having it all their own way either, even Maureen has not got the fortunes from the Russian that he always needs, he has to work with the players he has and some of them are getting old, he hasn’t got Drogba which always saved his skinny arse and he knows that a couple more losses and he could be getting his marching orders. Make no mistakes if Maureen loses this game the noose will start to tighten and i hope the prat dangles.
Don’t fall for the flattery Rico, I will be back calling your boy Theo lazy in just over 7 hours just before he scores. 😛
Hb, thanks, only a routine cholesterol check and I’ve been such a good girl, I’m very confident it will have gone down 😉
Steve – good point and you could be right about Napoli away but it nearly bit us on the bum.. What irked me was the Merts saying the players knew they were through. With a little bit more effort put in we may have got a draw and topped the group..
That’s all done now though, we are where we are..
🙂 Ts, on a serious note, and this is not taking a swipe at Ramsey, but his level has dropped off too recently. We need him back to his best today as when he’s firing on all cylinders, it works..
Sp, no, I’m not sure.
If a few turn out and expect to be passengers, I hope AW doesn’t leave it until 70 mins before making changes…
Lewis, where are you in the South?
11.21 Scott, I love your cheek 🙂
Theo should be fresh, confident and raring to go and make up for lost time. Lets hope so, no Ashley against him?
Our future is in our own hands, win tonight and we sit on top of the tree at Christmas, lose and we drop a position, and it will be a mountain to climb, We have had a good rest and i reckon we might just get the better of the Chavs tonight and even better his record would be broke COYRRG’s
I am with you Rico… I said that a few weeks back. My take is that he has been overplayed (including every single game in pre-season plus Wales’s games too) and that he has lost/forgotten about what made him the best tackler (DM) in Europe from March to October, which is his defensive duties.
But then he has scored 67% of our winning goals in that period so…
someone else has to step up imo
Hiya Sir SP1, your nemesis Theo will be on fire. lol
Ah, I reckon Jose is all b****x and Cole will start…
I too believe he’s been overplayed, same with Giroud Ts. Hopefully the 9 day rest will have done them both a world of good…
Sp, top of the league would be a nice Christmas present, then get into the transfer market very early and get at least a striker, a darn good one too…
Reports suggest Suarez has a buy out clause of between £60-70 million. Open only to non PL clubs….
That’ll be him staying put then…
I’m off now – back later this afternoon..
Have a good day all… Two more sleeps 😉
That is all they needed.. so far as they utilised the long break sensibly.
Jose was right a few weeks back though that we will be 3rd and they will be 5th when we played each other.
I was a bit confused about AW’s winter break comment about Ozil as Ozil came from Spain (la Liga) and not Germany.
Ah well.. he is human after all…
Top of league would be nice rico, as long as Wenger doesn’t then come out with his ‘we have a good squad, our leage position proves this, I will only add if we get the right player who improves on what we already have’ …. and then does nothing, because as we know, he doesn’t like the January window!
🙂 Ah
Good Afternoon Lady, Sir, Gentlemen and Ladies.
Nice article Rico.
So AW thinks its not a personal battle.
hmmmm. in all of my matches throughout my career as a coach every game was a personal battle between me and the opposite coach. all were considered to be my nemesis from the first till the final whistle.
And it was the same as a player.
So for AW to say that its just mind games. or he is speaking out of his arse.
Ts . the Spanish get a 14 day break over Christmas and new year.
Barca ‘s last game was 22/12 and next is 6th Jan I believe.
So for AW to say that its just mind games. or he is speaking out of his arse.
Depends where he keeps his brain really.
Afternoon Dev,
Afternoon good people…. Yes that even means you Scott…! Hope the Mrs is caning your credit card…! Lee is quiet so he’s in the pup or his Mrs also has his CC and giving it a good seeing to…!
Hope Mrs Adam had a good birthday yesterday mate and hope you treated her to a nice Mickey D’s….! veggie burger of course…!
Time for us to show the last few months aint been a fluke and that we are good enough to win the league…! Enough talking about it… Do it…!
Rico, I’m 20 mins south of Guildford.
Agreed WATH, enough chat, time for proof!
Afternoon all. Thanks WATH, it was a thoroughly enjoyable dinner out with friends.
The weather in London is terrible today. Very windy and wet. If this carries on it will certainly have an effect on the game tonight.
Afternoon all, has the match been postponed yet?
Won’t get postponed until the T.V company says so.
Not far from me then Lewis, if the right way 😉
Surely it will not be down to Sky potter?
Adam, it’s dreadful here too, power keeps going on and off and the internet keeps dropping out too…
T.V call all the shots Rico , that’s why we are playing today or not as the case may be.
Spot on Wath, talk is cheap!
I get that Potter but they cannot surely dictate re the playing conditions… Surely.
Possibly not but I bet they have some influence.
I strongly suspect you are right…
Afternoon All…
Afternoon Rico…
Afternoon Kev, you all finished now?
Still,at it Rico…. 🙁
One more day though Kev, then the Cava can be popped 🙂
Just been reading comments attributed to Rosicky…
Apparently he wants to stay @ Arsenal… Good..
He also wants to play for Czech Rep up to 2016… Bad..
I like Rosicky, he is a great player, but he is 33, & if he wants to continue playing International football then baring in mind his appalling injury record, I believe that Arsenal should let him go this summer…
Alternatively if Rosicky were to accept a drop in wages or a pay- if-you-are-fit-for-selection deal, then yeah, let him stay…
But for me, he should put Arsenal first for a change…
Cava nice with fresh strawberries a bit of brandy and crushed ice.
Rico…. 😆
Just read that too Kev. If he is adamant about playing for his country, I can’t see him getting another deal..
I love him but, all good things have to come to an end…..
I feel the same way about Arteta, when his deal is up, time to let him go…
His injury record though has kept him fairly fresh , he probably has another couple of years in him but I reckon this 25 game target was a test to see if he could keep playing.
I’m not a fan of brandy though, Cava yes 🙂
What’s the weather like in London????
If it’s like it is where I am Gdna, dreadful….
Cava Time, hoooraay…. 😛
Any time is Cava Time…. 😀
Omg, it’s going to be a massive disappointment if game is cancel, but god knows whats best, hopefully it work in our favor.
🙂 Kev, I have two bottles nicely chilling in the fridge…
I can see it getting called off Gdna, with Chelsea being so close, a late call wouldn’t surprise me but it would be so cruel on the fans, some of whom may already be on their way…
Man City won’t get Messi surely????
Just a bit of tapping up , if Messi was allowed to go Rossell would be hung drawn and quartered.
Apparently, he’s had a big bust up over his contract…
Off to read El Mundo then , back later.
Enjoy that then potter… lol
Nothing there about him being out of favour or wanting to leave . There is however a large article which I think is an apology for a story about his contract with Unicef where he pays all the money he gets from charity games to them . It appears there were stories that his father was skimming off the pot but it is proven that all monies due have been paid.
My Spanish is not bad but it’s not business orientated , so there may be bits that I have not got right perhaps a better Spanish speaker might know more.
Translation sites always give you 7 out of 10 words and if it’s difficult just ignore it , so I don’t find them too reliable. I will ask the Barca Penya in St Pere de Ribes but I doubt they will say anything negative.
Leaving for the game in about 40 minutes. It is still wild here weather-wise.
All reports simply making mischief then. Funny how many of the City players are urging their club to sign him..
Very much like Barca did with Cesc.
Hope it’s a great night Adam, stay dry…
Diego Costa could be on his way to the Premier League next season as Atletico Madrid are already preparing for the possibility of the prolific striker leaving at the end of the season, reports Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.
Hope thats to us rico. Any news on if the game is on/off. It’ll be a wild one if it’s on!!
Who knows , maybe I will try Marca a Real Madrid paper they will probably be up for a bit of rumour spreading.
As do I Lewis, Jose is sniffing around though…
On at the moment as far as I know, certainly nothing announced otherwise yet…
Different take here :-
Lionel Messi has accused Barcelona vice-president Javier Faus of being a businessman who “knows nothing about football”, while also defending his father Jorge from continuing accusations of involvement in the laundering of drug money.
• Ledwith: Barcelona stay sharp
• Fabregas claims anti-Messi agenda
Faus said recently he saw no reason why Barca should improve “this gentleman’s” contract “every six months”, amid speculation that the Blaugrana board were unhappy with Messi senior’s attempts to shake more money out of the club.
Messi junior told RAC1 that there had been no demand for a new contract, while suggesting that Faus and his fellow Barca directors were not up to their jobs.
“Mr. Faus is someone who knows nothing about football, and wants to run Barca like it was a business, which it is not,” Messi said. “Barca is the best team in the world, and deserves to be represented by the best directors. And I remind him that neither I nor anyone from my camp have asked for a new contract — and he knows that well.”
The Argentina captain also said that media reports linking his family to criminal activity were upsetting, and that he trusted completely his father to look after his off the field affairs.
“I am very sorry about what they are saying, not just about me but about people I love like my papa and players who are friends,” Messi said. “What we do in these games is 100 percent for charity. I am deeply united with my dad and my family, in the personal and the professional. I concentrate on playing football, and he concentrates on my off-field interests, and selecting the best professionals to help us.”
One of these professionals is Guillermo Marin, chief of Imagen Deportiva, which has in recent summers has organised a number of ‘Messi & Friends’ exhibition games played in North and South America.
Marin told AS that he was surprised at the controversy which has arisen around last June’s Messi & Friends fixture in Colombia, an event which is also the subject of a probe by Spanish prosecutors.
“All that is being said has surprised me,” the Argentine businessman said. “It is all lies. The company Total Conciertos de Colombia called us to organise the ‘Messi & Friends’ games in Medellin and Los Angeles. They called us, and we brought the players, we invited Leo and other figures. Messi and his father had nothing to do with it.”
Asked about allegations that large numbers of ‘row zero’ tickets for the Medellin game were used to launder the proceeds of drug smuggling, Marin said this was an issue for the Colombian company.
“The sale of tickets, sponsors, television, that is all a matter for the local promoters, who still owe us money,” he said. “We never manage those things — that is always the local organiser, on their own behalf. If tickets are sold, who they are sold to, how many are sold, that is nothing to do with us.”
That pushed the ball into the court of Andres Barco, of Total Conciertos, who admitted to El Mundo that he owed Marin money, while saying the game had not been organised as a fundraiser for charity, but as a commercial operation to make money.
“In the Medellin game nobody talked about charitable ends, it was commercial ends,” Barco said. “It was calculated that the event would cost $2 million, but few people went to the stadium. It was all a catastrophe. I have paid Guillermo Marin $600,000, and I owe him $900,000. I will sign that I will pay him. I could not tell you if Lionel Messi received money, what we took in was to cover costs. We took him in a private plane to Qatar. We had to rent the stadium, advertising, hotels, airline tickets for everyone. Also — as it was holiday time — the players travelled with their families. A game like this costs a lot to put on.”
Asked about the ongoing controversies surrounding Messi, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell suggested on Thursday that he was open to offering the Blaugrana No.10 a new contract, while lamenting what he saw as media ‘attacks’ on the Messi family.
“I have not spoken with him about this, but the offices of the club are always open,” Rosell said. “The best player in the world must be the best-paid player in the world. The Ministry of the Interior and the Guardia Civil have explicitly disassociated Leo Messi and his family from any legal enquiries. However, the attack on the player and his family has not stopped.”
Comments
Lionel Messi has accused Barcelona vice-president Javier Faus of being a businessman who “knows nothing about football”, while also defending his father Jorge from continuing accusations of involvement in the laundering of drug money.
• Ledwith: Barcelona stay sharp
• Fabregas claims anti-Messi agenda
Faus said recently he saw no reason why Barca should improve “this gentleman’s” contract “every six months”, amid speculation that the Blaugrana board were unhappy with Messi senior’s attempts to shake more money out of the club.
Messi junior told RAC1 that there had been no demand for a new contract, while suggesting that Faus and his fellow Barca directors were not up to their jobs.
“Mr. Faus is someone who knows nothing about football, and wants to run Barca like it was a business, which it is not,” Messi said. “Barca is the best team in the world, and deserves to be represented by the best directors. And I remind him that neither I nor anyone from my camp have asked for a new contract — and he knows that well.”
The Argentina captain also said that media reports linking his family to criminal activity were upsetting, and that he trusted completely his father to look after his off the field affairs.
“I am very sorry about what they are saying, not just about me but about people I love like my papa and players who are friends,” Messi said. “What we do in these games is 100 percent for charity. I am deeply united with my dad and my family, in the personal and the professional. I concentrate on playing football, and he concentrates on my off-field interests, and selecting the best professionals to help us.”
One of these professionals is Guillermo Marin, chief of Imagen Deportiva, which has in recent summers has organised a number of ‘Messi & Friends’ exhibition games played in North and South America.
Marin told AS that he was surprised at the controversy which has arisen around last June’s Messi & Friends fixture in Colombia, an event which is also the subject of a probe by Spanish prosecutors.
“All that is being said has surprised me,” the Argentine businessman said. “It is all lies. The company Total Conciertos de Colombia called us to organise the ‘Messi & Friends’ games in Medellin and Los Angeles. They called us, and we brought the players, we invited Leo and other figures. Messi and his father had nothing to do with it.”
Asked about allegations that large numbers of ‘row zero’ tickets for the Medellin game were used to launder the proceeds of drug smuggling, Marin said this was an issue for the Colombian company.
“The sale of tickets, sponsors, television, that is all a matter for the local promoters, who still owe us money,” he said. “We never manage those things — that is always the local organiser, on their own behalf. If tickets are sold, who they are sold to, how many are sold, that is nothing to do with us.”
That pushed the ball into the court of Andres Barco, of Total Conciertos, who admitted to El Mundo that he owed Marin money, while saying the game had not been organised as a fundraiser for charity, but as a commercial operation to make money.
“In the Medellin game nobody talked about charitable ends, it was commercial ends,” Barco said. “It was calculated that the event would cost $2 million, but few people went to the stadium. It was all a catastrophe. I have paid Guillermo Marin $600,000, and I owe him $900,000. I will sign that I will pay him. I could not tell you if Lionel Messi received money, what we took in was to cover costs. We took him in a private plane to Qatar. We had to rent the stadium, advertising, hotels, airline tickets for everyone. Also — as it was holiday time — the players travelled with their families. A game like this costs a lot to put on.”
Asked about the ongoing controversies surrounding Messi, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell suggested on Thursday that he was open to offering the Blaugrana No.10 a new contract, while lamenting what he saw as media ‘attacks’ on the Messi family.
“I have not spoken with him about this, but the offices of the club are always open,” Rosell said. “The best player in the world must be the best-paid player in the world. The Ministry of the Interior and the Guardia Civil have explicitly disassociated Leo Messi and his family from any legal enquiries. However, the attack on the player and his family has not stopped.”
Comments
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Took this from this site http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1657818/messi-hits-back-barca-vp-faus?cc=5739
Where there is a news review .
Wonder if Javier Faus is related to Stan Kroenke? lol
Wouldn’t be surprised.
Did you see the article about Usmanov Potter, it suggested that the relationship between him and Kroenke is softening…
afternoon all!
How is the weather lik in London now?
Hope we win today.
We are in a complete different positon at the table. In last two games, we were at the top and now we are in third…
The weather is awful JM…
No I haven’t, when was it ? Is there a link ?
Good fun in Norfolk but luckily the wind is in the wrong direction for sea floods , just the rivers to worry about.
As much as I hate missing games and this one in particular , I am glad I am not driving the 200 odd miles tonight.
Just one mans view though…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25161093
I bet, I wouldn’t want to be driving in this either, horrid…..
media news: Arsenal is interesting in William Carvalho (Sporting) a DM player
Is he good JM?
LIVE STREAM SERVICE MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
ARSENAL vs CHELSEA
Link1 http://cricfree.tv/live/watch/arsenal_v_chelsea/17187
Link2 http://cricfree.tv/live/watch/arsenal_v_chelsea/20506
Link3 http://cricfree.tv/live/watch/arsenal_v_chelsea/20507
Enjoy responsible. COYG!
Thanks Dg…
Feel a draw tonight as not disastrous for either team. But, if we are going to be serious contenders, got to put three points further between us.
Arsenal team to play Chelsea: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Ozil, Walcott, Giroud
Evening folks
Chavs to face Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Mikel, Lampard; Ramires, Willian, Hazard; Torres
No Cashley
Got to be a win Ah, Arsene has to beat Jose…
Morning guys.
Smart comment Ginge??
Why would i start now 🙂
Wath, my missus owns the credit card and can recite the card number at any given moment.
Damn she is hard on it lol
Big day today…massive.
Finally, our new air conditioner gets installed,
3 weeks after the old girl carked it we have managed to find an installer….they are often a tad busy at this time of year.
Oh, and there is the matter of kicking the “special ones” arse.
I sure hope Arteta is up for this one…
Murinho is so predictable. Lol
And kick it good and hard Scott!
Arsenal subs: Fabianski, Monreal, Jenkinson, Flamini, Cazorla, Bendtner Podolsk
I can’t complain about the selection at all…
Now smash the chavs to pieces.
C’mon you Reds…………………….
JM- I prefer N. Matic
🙂 Scott you legend
Rico, Arteta will show he is the best again
Rico, Ginge, DNA….big one coming up…..i really think if we defend well we will best them comfortably.
Hope you are right Ts, we’ll soon see…
Sure is Scott…
I agree but we will concede; Mauren-ho looks too assured; I would love it Kevin Keegstyle if we manage to smash the chavs.
2-1.. TV needs to score tonight;
The chavs haven’t beaten us without Essien, Drogba, Anelka or Cashley so…
Willian is a lazy chav we need to expose him…
Mauren-yo dropping Mata, Oscar says it all…
Big responsibility on Mikel, and Vermaelen needs to keep things simple.
We will get the bastards.
You mean you think we will concede?? 😉
I am confident tonight no slackers on the field … Even Theo will pull his socks up as it is a big game…
We will concede nothing 🙂
🙂 Rico, we will outscore them no worries.
OG12, Ozil and an Arteta penalty
A penalty? With that weasel officiating… No chance.
😛 Rico…
I am home watching with Seany boy.
He can’t work out what is more exciting……game day or Xmas eve lol
I forget it’s Christmas eve with you Scott…
Not started very well at all…
How is that not a yellow?
Settled better now.
Should 2 Scott, one on Ramsey and then on Sagna, Dean is a knob!!
If anyone has their quill to the ready and want to write this game up, please feel free to let me know…. 😛
Mike Dean at it again… typical. tsk
So that’s how Jose plans to stop Ozil!!
great play Sagna
Lucky!
Midfield getting overrun. Again.
See Ts, no penalty….
Surprised Arteta wasn’t booked then, knowing how Dean hates us…
Refs give us nothing. Mikel should be off!
The team are playing very nervously and without confidence.
Showing their mental strength again Henry.
Very very lucky, sloppy to say the least…
Aaron has got away from keeping things simple, and is suffering.
Back to basics lad.
Commentator said ref having a blinder!
Mental strength 😆
I was screaming at them 10 seconds before Lampard hit bar. How can we see it yet team just allows them space?
Come On You Fucking Rip Roaring Gunners
That made me laugh Ah, he’s having yet another shocker…
I’m going mental Rico
I hate Mike Dean, he is an 18 carat Cnut…
Of biblical proportions….
A penalty? With that weasel officiating… No chance.
Got the lottery numbers ?
I hope Mikel gets a 3 match ban, arsenal should lodge a complaint to the FA.
what a pathetic performance so far, Chek hasn’t had anything to do and we are clueless.
Some of the touches are cringey…
Where is Sir SP1 to put a rocket up Theo’s backside…
Scott- I agree with your 8:47.
Pundits all say penalty…
Def red card for Mikel….
🙂 Potter
in my opinion, William Carvalho is better then Matic and his young
Ransey has been a disaster today.
with this pitch we can’t play in this way. It’s much easy defend and counterattack
TW much play in other way.
Moreover, most of the time we are playing back to back chelsea..
Robbie Savage and Henry Winter and Carragher all say it was a leg breaking tackle and a red card offence by Mikel, and a penalty for the tackle on Theo.
Well done Dean! Bastard.
Mike Riley, the ace referee Cnut has sent Dean out with his instructions…
God I hate the PGMOL, a bunch if cheating wankers…
Windy and wet but no shots. surely we can test Chech from distance.
Need to get Walcott involved and using his only talent of been quick enough to get in behind
I will take your world for it JM… I will keep an eye out for Carvalho…
TW will score…
he is still shite but an effective shite… 😀
Hi guys… You’ve got to pity me. Stuck with Andy Townsend and Clueless Owen. They say Arsenal have been poor, Theo’s not a penalty and Mikel’s only a yellow. Can it get any worse???
Rico, my crystal ball told me we would get a penalty… my brain didn’t register Sperds Dean was in charge tonight. 🙂
Only Neville says no Hb..
If that isn’t a red card, then I’m Santa…
The game must change in the 2nd half…
At home no shot on target. omg
jeff, what do they now eh…
I did warn you Ts 😉
Still we don’t move off the ball. That’s why we keep going back
We should take short corners, we suck attaking and attacking corners.
Shoot on sight now with the wind behind us…
COYFRRG
I can’t believe that this group of players are creating so little…
Our performance so far could be described as shit.
We get to the final third and pass backwards. Utter shit!
As much as we could do with the win…
It’s imperative that we don’t lose….
Sure isn’t good Lewis…
Agreed there Kev. Step up their game and this is ours.. However…
Dean really is shite!!
Walcott didn’t even touch him!! Yellow!
Another shocker!!
🙂 Rico, trying to get your boy to score… reverse psychology.
Mike Dean-And the EPL say it is legit… 😉
Dean has lost all control of this!
Ivanovic is a scum bag
this is been shown a number of times but how dean got away with this says it all…
6% looks to be staying that way or becoming less
C’mon Mr 75 minutes… Poldi has a goal me think.lol
Bradlop, i am gobsmacked that the FA would give any of our ames to this little shit with that stat.
You twit Ramsey, should have played on…
Well played, Aaron.
Be nice, Rico 🙂
It’s an effective performance, Chelsea are organized and defending well. Our CF is just not good enough to affect the game.
Still no shot on goal
That’s what I’m talking about. Giroud is average as fuck.
Bollox, how did that not find the back of the net………
still no change either
Why no santi?!
At home and no impact sub.
How on earth again????
Giro is a gutsy player who has a big heart — the trouble is he is just not good enough.
That was really poor from Walcott. Chance to break and all it needed was a tap to the side of the player but he tries to run through him. Idiot!
Spot on Hb…
Clean sheet at least
TV excellent so far…
Ng should be pleased..
Why no SUBS?
COYRRG’s!!!
good tackle Sagna
If we can’t win lets not lose…
Well played the wall….
Not good enough.
No ambition to change game
Not abad result imo…
Lets match on and beat who we can beat…
We need some quality… Muriel, Reus, Ramos will do…
2 points from 9, not good enough.
Average at best, shocking at times..
Not helped by that idiot with the whistle…
But, we had two clear cut chances and missed a trick to get all the points..
If AW doesn’t get a striker in Jan I’ll be very very surprised…
Does wenger know he did not make any changes
Feared they would both be happy with draw. But at least Chelsea made some changes. Even Bendtner for Giroud for 10 minutes just to freshen it up.
Ah, I am amazed AW made no changes…
When we called for changes people complain, but this regime is designed to give grey hairs.
Dreadful.
AW does not come out of that looking too clever — Giro hopeless, Walcott hopeless, nothing coming out of midfield and we do not even bring on one substitute!
Mourinho came to park the bus and he succeeded.
Shows how desperate we are to want Nik on, but I was thinking the same. Bizarre night…
Now two away trips, Hammers might be ok, but Newcastle, well they will be very tough and attack us a lot more than Chelsea did…
After 2 defeats it was crucial we stayed 2nd o goal difference…
2nd at christmas not bad at all with a ‘shite’ striker and a shite DM in Arteta? Where are the oilers?
If they are told most people we would be sitting 2nd on the table due to goal difference… most would have taken it…
T’s. I’m really please… The TV we used to know that command and take control of the defense. But I wonder why AW don’t use TV as a DM.
Mourinho can’t believe his luck the way Arsenal fall for his tactics every time. You have a rotten night the ball is getting taken by the wind , Cech has the rain beating into his face and we don’t shoot.
Good tactics I’d say emma, if only we could do that sometimes…
I despise the man though…..
Just my humble opinion but not a lot of top teams beat the chavs…
AW didnt want to lose and he did what he had to do…
Subs could have made us lose so…
This shit is so frustrating, two chances in the last 8 mins of the game and they end up behind the goal.
They parked the bus and Chelsea is not a weak side either.
Hiya Ng…
The 1 man team even though they are sitting on top of the tree are not going to win the league…
We are sitting equal on points with ‘poor’ striker allegedly…
Its not al bad… those who believe in christmas, chill and enjoy with your loved ones…
3 points for us on boxing day…
c’mon…
Scott I need help here. 😛
well i never not a shot on target, and more backward passes than forward. A toothless Chelsea and a gumless Arsenal. our midfield were hopeless and Walcott i get fed up with saying it but why do we play that useless twat when we have Gnabry, Wenger and Maureen made a pact before the game, draw mate yeh that does me too.
Ozil needs a break… imo
TR07 was excellent…
Ramsey did his best in the 2nd half showing he is as important to us as any multi million pound player…
While we’re trying to win the game Chelsea were trying for draw. They did what they came for.
Let the Excuse crew out. lol
ha ha SP1, I thought we missed Theo when he was injured…
I was expecting more from Theo but Theo is only effective when the game is stretched and the opposition are defending high up the pitch…
0% dribble success, 0 key passes but maybe he scared Azipueta… 😉
http://i.imgur.com/v5hilbO.gif
Giroud is a one touch striker, If he takes 2/3 touch the chance is gone. Unfortunately we can’t address the striker situation in the winter window. Don’t want to be pessimistic but that could cost us the title. 🙁
Ts, you fancy writing that one up?? Need to stay positive… 😉
We drop two more points. Against closer opponents we dropped points. In 3 importante games (2 home and one away) we dropped 7 points and lost our advantage.
No subs…
I can’t understand, with this pitch, why TW is so close the line. He must have much more space between the left and central back or between both central defenders then be limited to the right line.
I can’t understand again with this pitch, in front of the goal why we not shot…
and our fotball it’s very predictable….
will try… 😉
One touch emma? He had one touch and missed – twice …
GDNA – Giroud should have buried that chance. It’s not like it was his right foot but rather his sweet left.
You sure Ts?? So I don’t need to write one?
Best Christmas present 🙂
Rico, I do not want to be cyber cursed with a positive/pragmatic post…
Oh, ok Ts 🙁
I will put something together for you… I can’t do a proper match report as you do it though… short attention span.lol
Mike dean is a waste of space. Not even a yellow card for this offence
https://twitter.com/GoonerGordo/status/415232580720418816
That’ll be fab thanks Ts. I owe you 😉
That was shocking emma, Dean should not be called a referee, because he doesn’t even come close…
every time Walcott plays we play with ten men. and the way Giroud played make that nine i could go right through our tem and at the end we would have had 3 against eleven, and we wont meet a weaker side
We can blame individuals but to beat Chelsea we have to put them under pressure. The way we play is tailor made for them Terry and Cahill hardly had to play and Cech was smoking Hamlets leaning on the post. If you want to keep passing infront of them , they will let you. Chelsea are vunerable to pace and we do have it but we don’t use it. Theo will always be anonymous if you keep taking the ball to him and give him a 5 yard pass to his feet on the edge of the box. he needs to be released at the halfway line. Tactically we don’t use our assets , we have a system and we don’t alter it . I am very frustrated by it. not happy.
Ginge, i am not going to even bother mate, other than this post
Why the hell people are bitching about replacements when we are actually on top is beyond me, and beyond comprehension.
You do not change things for the sake of it.
We were getting over them, and a change may have upset that rhythm we finally had, but hey, it is an easy and obvious target.
Wet conditions…we always struggle.
Dean…we struggle even more.
Penalty….probably.
Red card….definitely.
😀 Scott…
Enjoy the rest of your of your xmas eve buddy.
I’m off folks, downhearted but furious with Dean…..
Night all..
Spot on potter….
Gone now…
Wenger needs to change his approach his familiarity working against us. I couldn’t tell who was the home team.
Dean was a nightmare but he didn’t set the tactics he just was as useless as ever. At least one penalty in the first half and possibly 2 red cards. He set the tempo of the game and allowed Chelsea to get away with things using the conditions as an excuse. We however were content to play in a one paced style and did nothing to upset Chelsea’s rythm.
Dna, the team that parked the bus were NOT the home side…..thought that was pretty obvious.
Cheers Ginge….be happy Rico.
We just can not win with that little penis on legs blowing the whistle.
I must say i did not even realise it til just before kick off.
If i did, i would not have been silly enough to tip a comfortable win.
Smile guys, it is Xmas 🙂 🙂 🙂
Oh……i remember saying a few months back that these are the types of games we needed Ozil for…..someone who could deliver that killer pass.
He didn’t.
At that time, i felt we could do without a striker.
We can’t.
Mike Dean is an FA pawn, but we know that, but it doesn’t make it right, Arsenal dont know how to win ugly they just play that way
I thought Wenger was an attacking coach, he must have been working on his contract,
Chelsea tactics is being seen as parking the bus and obtaining their target , what was AW tactics to counter it?
To get a decent referee and win a penalty hahaha
Embarrassing … only one shot on target.
And that is during 85th minute when Cech saved a point-blank shot from Giroud.
42nd minute ..
What was Ramsey thinking when he made a blind pass back to defence .. intercepted by Torres, a quick pass and WIllian on his way. Luckily, Willian made a wrong decision and shoot instead of passing to an unmarked Ramires at left flank (where was our LB???)
90+ minute.
Walcott cleared on goal with only LB to beat.
He elected to cross, can’t beat the first man.
Did Walcott lost his bottle and scared to take on his man, lack confidence to shoulder the responsibility to shoot during injury-time?
Back to the drawing board Le Prof.
Murinho: “They like to cry. That’s tradition.
“English people, for example Frank Lampard, never provoke a situation like that and players from some countries – especially some countries – have it in their blood.
“Even if the opponent is aggressive with you, keep going. Let’s go – this is English football.
“Football is for men – or women with a fantastic attitude. It is a game of contact. The referee had a great game.”
You are allowed to run your mouth in England JM.
That’s easy for him to say when the contentious decisions all went his way.
We were not great, and were average in attack.
Jose is just a prick.
Dean is the wart on the end of a prick.
Liverpool have Chelski and Citeh next two games, So if we win our next few, one way or another we will be sitting pretty.
New post up