Morning all.
Proper football is back, as is Arsene with his press conference. Not good news on Hector Bellerin who is out for around four weeks and Santi Cazorla remains out too as he’s not even back in training yet. Good news is that Alexis Sanchez has text his manager telling him his fit, healthy and ready to play.
Utd, well they have concerns over seven first team players. Zatlan is suspended, Bailly, Smalling, Valencia, Shaw, Fellaini are all reported to be injured and Rooney is a doubt after returning from the England camp although Sky Sports have reported he’s fit and healthy. He’s in the naughty corner again having spent a night on the tiles and getting drunk. He’s had to apologise publicly after his antics were called into question, as now is his captains role for his country.
So, the only real concern for us is at right back but it opens the door for Carl Jenkinson to prove his worth and there’s little chance of him wanting any repeat of the last time he played at Old Trafford in an Arsenal shirt. That really was an awful night for him, just as it was for everyone associated with Arsenal.
Going into this same fixture last season, I think it’s fair to say that we had our best chance for years to come away with all three points. Utd didn’t have a recognised central defender in front of David de Gea, whereas we went there with a pretty strong side. We’d battered them 3-0 earlier in the season and there was great hope that for the first time since 2006, I and many others believed we were about to do the double over them. But a relatively unknown player in Rashford had other ideas and helped by some shoddy defensive work, he’d scored two goals in just over thirty minutes and to make matters worse, I believe he’d only had two touches of the ball.
Danny Welbeck clawed one back before half-time but later in the second half, Herrera gave the home team a two goal cushion again, that was until Mesut Ozil scored our second. As much as Arsenal tried to sneak an equaliser, they couldn’t, but that wasn’t for the lack of chances, just the lack of finishing. The scoreline made it look like a close match but in all honesty, the performance that day was dreadful. It really was and that result left us five points off of top spot at the end of February, a deficit we couldn’t overcome.
At half-time, Lee Dixon left a comment on Twitter, it read:
“This is it. The season right here, right now. 45 minutes. Man up!”
This fixture comes much earlier this season but with Utd’s form all over the place, Mourinho no longer being the force he once thought he was and with us having a much better squad this season, perhaps Arsene Wenger will never have a better chance of getting one over his Portuguese counterpart. But as Lee Dixon said last season, this team has to man up and go to OT and give everything they possibly can for their manager, the club and us fans….
What’s the chances of them doing so?
*since 2006. Ade the mercenary was the scorer I think.
The lowest for us is when they beat us in the cup with 8 defenders. That is the most bitter defeat I carry. Fergie proved he had Wenger by the little finger
Thanks Marshall, I forgot that one..
When Diaby scored an OG?
No OGs ma’am Diaby ran like a headless chicken which cost is, One of those Brazil twins scored and then as usual Rooney scored. We were caught on counters, how AW couldn’t adjust his tactics still baffle me to this day
The worst for me was 49, when they cheated….
That diving c*nt! We should have a song for that too 🙂 . Diving fat boy
You’d think that after Waynees drunken orgy and the dwarf’s resulting out burst about the lack of control of his player on international duty, that the Pygmy in manure will drop his erstwhile captain. It seems that he is hell bent on belittling ALL the senior manure players, and any excuse to drop them he is taking with alacrity!
I hope he does discipline the scouser, at least he will not be on the field and therefore he’ll not be able to score his customary goal against us! So we’re one goal to the good before we even kick off……..I wish.
Morning all.
Nice thought Wavy.
It is a massive opportunity for us for sure. These games always seem to be pointers to a season’s success. Or not. Although only 3 points.
Agree Adam. Chance to show we are real title contenders…
I have both my Wenger In and Wenger Out banners at the ready Rico. 🙂
Along with Chavs, Bindippers and Mansour City, another game I never expect to win, although I get disappointed it`s never surprising.
Even if they have injuries I expect nothing as they seem to raise their game, like the Chav game I`d love to be proved wrong !.
Their manager has the measure of Wenger and it ripples down to the players then the fans…….all psychological stuff !……….anyone watch The Walking Dead ?….. it`s like that !……..Mourinho is Negan and Arsene is Rick…………Negan getting Rick to hold Lucille ( Barbed wire baseball bat ) is like Arsene polishing one of Jose`s trophies !
Ha ha Adam. What if it’s a draw?
There was a day when I never expected us to lose any game… Long time ago now though…
If it’s a draw I shall be a bitter malcontent. 🙂
Hahaha……..Just had a look on line about the Comic book Walking Dead to see what happens to Negan !…………………………dont read any further if you dont want to know (that`s if the TV series follows the book )………………………Rick (Arsene) slits Negan`s ( Jose) throat ( still alive though ) and keeps him in a basement for 2 years !………Jose….sorry….Negan then escapes !
I would have settled for a draw before we played `Boro and Spuds, but because we couldn`t beat a dreary northern town or the spuds……………………now only a win will please me !. 🙂
Ditto, drawing those two means we really need a win, otherwise those above us will start to pull away… And don’t want to be letting Utd climb the league table..
Before the interlull I was fairly confident of Arsenal getting a positive result at OT, now I ain’t so sure…
I just can’t shake this awful feeling that Wenger is gonna walk into another trap…
It’s only 3 points Rico, but it’s the psychological effect on the players and fans that worry me…
Our confidence is still a fragile thing, the fan base is still not convinced, and who can blame them after 10 years of promises and false dawns.
Do we really have a more mentally strong squad, or if you just scratch the surface will the same old problems emerge of Arsenal being a soft touch…?
I’m not totally convinced that Wenger has enough players in his squad with that ‘over my dead body’ attitude, that the likes of Lee Dixon had in spades…
Sorry to be so negative… ☹️️
My worry is we don’t have a baller in the midfield. We’ll really miss Cazorla as the ball won’t get forward faster hence Ozil and Sanchez will be nullified. Elneny seems to drive the ball forward but seems Xhaka will get the nod ahead of him. Ramsey takes too many touches and he’s not economic with the ball.
I wish Mourinho can be locked in a basement and never to come out again.
I think we have a couple of ‘rough’ guys now. The way Coq takes the punches every game, Xhaka collects fouls like coupons, Mustafi and Kozza have that steel. And Sanchez…well his ball are made of them.
Ten most desirable places to live in Britain ?………………………….Four are in Cornwall !……………………….one ( Callington ) came third and is only 7 miles away from me and if I`m truthful, I`m shocked, maybe Ginsters Pasty Factory is the pull !…………… but you are all welcome to join me here in at Cornwall House !. hahaha
http://www.itv.com/news/2016-11-17/isle-of-skye-voted-most-desirable-place-to-live-in-britain/
Kev, but it’s a massive three points and for all the reasons you state. Win up there and the boys will come back full off confidence. Even a draw with a good performance wouldn’t be too bad.
We have a few who will stand their ground imo, not quite as much as the old boys did, but Xhaka, Coq, Mustafi andAlexis to name a few and even Theo had harden up these days….
Night…
Night Rico
Put Giroud in!
Morning guys…
Morning Rico, all.
Kos is about to sign apparently. Good, he’s one player I’ve seen evolve. His bar always kept on rising..Besides turning his back from a shot. I don’t think anyone can mention a better CB in the league.
Morning Marshall.
Good news re Koscielny. I think… 😉
Morning Rico and all. Very good news about Kos, if true.
Morning Adam.
Morning All…
That’s great news Marshall, now if Bellerin and Ozil sign that might just tempt Alexis to add his signature to the list…
Morning Rico, from what I’ve read Alexis had a good game for Chile, suffering no reaction, so I wonder if Wenger will risk him tomorrow even though the obvious choice would be to start Giroud, which is what I guess Mourinho would expect…
Jenkinson obviously has bad memories of his last visit in an Arsenal shirt to OT (did he ever play there for West Ham?) so maybe he’s due a proper performance this time?
What do you think of the Ramsey rumours Rico/Marshall/Mr Adam?
£25 million seems quite a small amount for a player of his quality given the drop in value of the pound…
I would imagine that if Arsenal were to be tempted, that that figure should be double the reported £25m…
Morning Kev.
Can’t see Arsene letting Ramsey go, he’s one of his favourites isn’t he?
Akpom, Welbeck, Mertesaker, all due back in January…
Mystery surrounds Santiago, could really do with him back asap, we miss the little genius.
Perez due back on Dec 10th.
Hector on Dec 18th.
Everyone else is apparently fit…
Agree Rico, could be Real Madrid just testing the water?
Looking at their top 10 list. You can’t help thinking that their elastic ran out at the M4.Either that or Rightmost are desperate to sell in the west.
Morning Rico and the House.
Just a short visit.
In 30 mins our u23 are away to the spuds. Strong Team out
Debuchy is at right back.
Morning Mr Allezkev. I can’t see Wenger letting Ramsey go but, if he did, it would be for much more than £25 million surely.
Totally ambivalent about football at the moment. Can’t get the enthusiasm for a never ending ride on repeating roundabout. Stop the whole circus I want to get off and go to matches watch and go home.
Nobody collapses quite like England, although the Aussies are currently quite good… ?
When I see the likes of Ballance, Duckett and Co giving away their wickets, I have to scratch my head and wonder what Nick Compton did wrong?
Not sure that dropping Woakes was a smart move, not with with the suspect mentality of those English batsmen and questionable spinners…
I still think that England need to find (God knows where?) a proper No.3, who can come in and bat like an opener if we lose an early wicket. A Bob Woolmer, Trott type of bloody minded No.3…
I love Joe Root, but to me he’s a classic No.4 batsman…
Woakes would always play, for me, but I guess the selectors are desperate for the spinners to play.
To me, two spinners should be enough. If they are good enough then two should be sufficient otherwise why are they in the team/squad?
Mr Adam, I hope you are well…
I do recall us discussing the Welsh Wizard earlier in the year.
Did we not wonder how Arsenal and Wenger would react to a bid of around £50 million..?
After all, if Xhaka is worth £32 million – a moot point.
And Mustafi worth £35 million – a mooted point.
Then surely a rampaging, goalscoring midfield dynamo like Aaron should be worth considerably more…?
Money, money, money.
Don’t it make ya feel proud… ?
Talking of money, I see the PL has secured a massive deal with China…..
Good start to the w/end U23’s beat the spuds 2-0
Rocket from Debuchy and pen from Mavididi.
Spuds now bottom and look like they are going down
Afternoon Rick, let’s hope the big boys can do as well tomorrow…
Hi Allezkev, we all know what sort of a player Ramsey can be especially in a system that suits him – he did really well in tthe Euros. So £25M wouldn’t be enough to cover even his agent fees 🙂
Maybe the rumors as quite often they come from his agent. He sees everyone at arsenal (well not everyone) is getting improved contracts and wants Ramsey to be in the mix too. Real Madrid don’t sign £25m cheques.
I’d entertain if Kroos came the other way. We’d have a proper German contigent. £25m + Kross, sell ‘im!
Or Bale ?
Lol Bale is a very expensive spud!
But wouldn’t it cheese their fans off….
How would I love that. They’ve never moved on from Sol Campbell
Have they moved on since big Pat? Lol
Have they moved on from 60/61 season?…Bunch of feckin’ cnuts…
? Bt….
Rico…
How’s things BT?
Evening all.
I dont like this bad mouting of Spuds on here !………………………………………………..I love it ! 🙂
Never get enough of it LC…
Not to bad, just a little bit colder..How are things with you,have you all your crimbo shopping done?
I’m trying to muster enthusiasm for tomorrows encounter at The Theatre of Nightmares..
I know Rico………………….in my dreams I`m in bed with Rachel Welch in a scene from One Million Years BC ( a bit uncomfortable as the mattress wasn`t invented yet ! ) and I ask her to talk dirty whilst we make love and she starts cursing Steve Perryman and Alan Gilzean……………….Heaven ! hahaha
Me and Raquel after she kicked sand in my face !.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9F1bPNEOdYg/VZ8KZkpSiRI/AAAAAAAANog/DzEZbiiO17s/s1600/One%2BMillion%2BYears%2BBC%2B1966%2BRaquel%2BWelch%2BJohn%2BRichardson.jpg
You’re barmy LC…. ??
Evening All.
Rico trying to catch up with everything I missed during my holidáy (lol)
A lot of footie and the house.
Watched the U18’s beat the spuds 4-2 away (Oct 1st) and after todays win feeling pretty good.
Hope the first team can do it tomorrow
Rick, its same old, same old so don’t bother catching up…. 😉
Night guys.
Morning…
Morning Rico and all.
Morning Rico, BT and all.
Too cold to clean the car this morning, despite the sun. 🙂
Morning Adam, same here, sunny but frosty..
Morning BT and Adam.
Heavy frost here this morning, no sunshine though. Brrrr
Like a summers day here Rico, sun splitting the trees..
Same here BT.
Lucky you two….
Still, my poached egg yolk is sunny.. 🙂
New post up now..
I’d take a draw today, as we just don’t perform up there. it’s the one fixture I literally expect a defeat and always hope it aint a heavy one we just roll over every time….
My heart says a win with mourhino left sulking.
My head says a routine utd win just like the last decade with mourhino lording it over wenger as usual.
Tbh I’m already looking forward to next week.. lol