Just before kick-off over a week ago against Liverpool in the premier league Arsene said:
“I want us to control possession.”
Unfortunately for him the team was out cold before 20 minutes had been played. In fact it was not until the 65th minute before the team began to show glimpses of a team that had been in and around the top of the league for a majority of the time this season.
Oddly enough Arsenal still managed to averaged 57% possession but just like the 0-0 draw against United mid-week and the defeats to United and City where we managed a similar possession rate, the damage was already done before the first half was over.
This simple statistics shows clearly what most fans have been saying across the blogosphere over the last 6 years.
Most fans are extremely concerned whenever our team is facing any of the so called top teams in this league either in the FA cup or in the league.
Before going into this FA cup clash Wenger had said he was concerned about the lack of chances we were creating as well as the lack of goals recently.
Personally, I was a little concerned about that comment because going into the Liverpool game we had scored 16 goals in 7 games which averaged 2.3 goals per game. In my view nothing had changed other than a worrying trend that has been Wengers Achilles heel since he took over AS Monaco. The recent barren spell has just brought the issue to the most people’s attention.
Was Wenger cleverly trying to divert his clubs poor goal scoring record against the so called top teams in this league?
With us only managing 6 wins out of 17 games and drawing 7 against Liverpool since April 2008 this was a contest Wenger and his crew could not fluff their lines especially with FC Munchen on their way to London.
Anyway back to the game yesterday and Sanogo was lucky to be given his first senior start for us. I wonder if the Giroud’s off the field stories had something to do with Yaya’s inclusion or the match against Bavarians was the deciding factor.
Even though Arteta and Flamini have not had the best partnership together Wenger gave them another opportunity to forge a partnership.
Within the first 2 minutes Yaya showed he would not be bullied by either of the most tactile central defenders in the league when he won and controlled a long ball on his chest just past the half way line.
Just before that Sturridge had ghosted past Flamini, Per and Laurent and found himself at the end of a fine move between Coutinho and Joe Allen but the Liverpool striker on fine form attempted shot was blocked by Fabianski before he was sent over the goal line for a corner kick.
The only help Fabianski needed….
Joe Allen, playing in an unfamiliar advanced role, was finding lots of space in between Monreal and Flamini. In the 4th minute after a fine long diagonal pass from Gerrard he found Allen who played another 1-2 with Coutinho and found Sturridge again but to must fans relief his attempt hit the side netting for a goal kick.
The first ten minutes looked like we were going to have another long day but things quickly swung into our favour.
I have always noted that whenever we play against the better teams their defensive midfielder controls their play too easily and yesterdays was not proving any differently with Gerrard again dictating play. But whether through Arsene’s ingenuity or a stroke of luck, Arteta moved further up field after 15 minutes and with the exuberance and fearlessness of Yaya they hounded Agger and Gerrard in their own half and prevented Liverpool from playing their game thereby curbing the threat of Liverpool’s front 4.
With this subtle change we began to control the game in patches with Yaya winning a few free-kicks and corner kicks around Liverpool’s box.
With 16 minutes gone, Ozil found Yaya with a weighted cross in Liverpool’s half. Yaya again controlled the ball exquisitely on his chest and attempted a shot on goal but his attempt was blocked. With luck on our side, the ball fell to Oxlade-Chamberlain who aimed the ball low and found the back of the net.
It seemed to me that Andy Gray, who was back commentating, could not believe we had gone up one nil against the run of play.
Even with the teams’ new found belief we were still not controlling the game as comfortably as Arsenal should be doing in a game as this. Both Monreal and Flamini conceded quick yellow cards making the game remain nervy until the end of the half.
As expected Arsene did not make any changes at the start of the second half but he made another subtle tactical change which I believe led to the team scoring the second goal in the 47th minute.
From my observation, it looked like Poldolski had been moved more centrally into a traditional second striker role when we had the ball with Ozil moving onto the left flank. Without the ball Poldolski was helping to track the run of Sterling who was causing lots of problems for both Flamini and Monreal on our left hand side.
Before our second goal Fabianski, who was having his best performance in an Arsenal jersey, made another splendid save to keep the game at 1-0.
Right after that,  Arteta, deep in Liverpool’s half, won the ball and fed Ozil who subsequently played a quick 1-2 with Oxlade-Chamberlain and then the latter sprinted into the edge of the Liverpool penalty area and Ozil found him with an excellent weighted pass. Oxlade-Chamberlain then looked up and played the ball back into the path of Podolski who was making one of his signature runs into the penalty box and with his right foot finished like a true German international.
The subtle change Arsene had made seemed to be working but with Suarez initiating his new Kabala wrist band and going through a dry spell by his high standard, was even more determined to win a penalty for him team. In the 58th minute with Poldoski tracking back to help Monreal on the left hand side, Suarez went down with the faintess of touch from Lukas and won his team a penalty. Gerrad stepped forward and slotted in his 8th goal of the season from the spot.
Coutinho was again orchestrating Liverpool’s game from very deep but Fabianski, who in my view should have been awarded the man of the match, was very alert to prevent Liverpool from scoring again.
Santi Cazorla was brought on for Podolski after 68 minutes but unfortunately he did not look like he was going to help us increase our lead.
With Oxlade-Chamberlain and the team very lucky not to concede another penalty after a clumsy on Suarez in the penalty box, Arsene Wenger brought on Gibbs for our Englishman after 75 minutes to help the team defend the lead.
Much has been made by fans in the past few weeks about tactics but this game just showed that a coach or manager can only do as much as he can once the whistle has been blown.
In the end it is all about how much the 22 players on the pitch want to win for their shirts.
It looked like Liverpools’ bad spell of 1 win in 10 visits to the Emirates’ was not going to end at least for this season with Suarez missing 4 clear chances and not having scored a goal in 6 game.
The game ended again with us controlling majority of possession but in my view it is very worrying that we failed to create clear cut chances for Sanogo during his time on the pitch.
The positive for me the game were the performances of Yaya Sanogo and Fabianski.
But unfortunately it looks like we are going to lose a very good goal keeper in Flappianski next summer.
That is all, have a good day…..
Written by Tsgh
Top post Ginge…..well done.
Morning all.
Morning HH’ers
Found an Arsenal bar in Copenhagen yesterday, and boy did we enjoy the game.
Sanogo really impressed me. His first start for the club, after 6 months out. He looket hungry. He’s big, fast for his height and techincally very good also. I think we have a great player for the future!
good write up mate – top effort
ArsenalDK – much prefer him to the other dick Bendtner – hope he stays well and is allowed his chance
TS. That was a very good post. 🙂
I thought the Cazorla sub was slightly odd and he had an excellent chance to score soon after he came on but snatched at a ball he had plenty of time to control and slot home. After the pen Poldi was leaving Monreal exposed and our left side was open to long balls wide which were causing us trouble. The addition of Gibbs gave us a more solid look I thought. Fabianski was, as you say, excellent.
It got a bit fruity outside the stadium after the game with a lot of peculiar looking Scousers prowling the streets disappointed that most cars don’t have hub caps any more and that we phased out gas meters in London a while back. I can only hope that the Police struck them vigorously with their batons.
Morning all..
Thanks Ts, you saved my day and with a corker…. 🙂
Agree Oz. Even though I am half danish, I hate that prick. Shift him off in the summer. As soon as possible!
Anyone predicting an FA CUP final against the northern oilers?
thought this was good, off of twitter…
Howard Webb did have a shocker yesterday. No question. But in fairness, he’s not the only Man United star to perform badly this season.
Morning all,
And thanks to you all for the kind words…
I must say anytime I write a match report for Lady Rico, it makes me appreciate the hard work that goes into her work for all of us to enjoy…
It’s a shame when certain individuals come on here and spill cack thinking it’s all so easy…
Anyway… 😉
Adam I thought you were part of theCapo of Vigilante mob… 🙂 a baton from you on your crew on a few of the scouser cranium won’t have been a bad think imo…
Oz, Rico did here own detective work and found that Howard was born in Old Trafford.. 😛
her* even
Just away from yesterdays game, I thought AW was superb in his interview about Giroud.
He said he had looked tired, smiled and said to the reporters ‘yes, I know where you are trying to lead me there’…..
Classic…
That is a classic, Oz 🙂
Thanks Ts, kind of you to say so….
Is Postman Pat a real deal in the making then??
When I saw the team to play the dippers.I thought wenger was taking a chance with flapper and sanogo,
other than the….superman lunge…. flapper did’nt put a foot wrong,
the big surprise was sanogo for me,he looked match fit and strong,
but what I liked about him was he played as if he was a regular player,to put yourself about like that,showed great confidence.
Maybe wengers right again.
Oz 😆
Adk, good to hear that about the postman. Bad thing is, he could stop AW signing a striker in the summer 😉
Kidding I hope…
normal service has been resumed. loserpool can now return to mediocrity. only one FIT to lace fabianski’s boots. the rest aint worth a toss
Morning all,
Nice one Ginge, just how i saw it. I would just like to congratulate you in your summery about Wengers Tactical changes, not many people noticed that, and not many people give Wenger the credit he deserves, Granted Wenger will never be known for his game changing prowess but when he does get it right, many praise the players executing. I personally don’t like multiple changes, but after a 5.1 hammering we all knew changes needed making. I am not sure the changes was just for beating Liverpool or if he in his minds eye was useing changes as we are out of the Capital one. Either way we won and as many would say that’s all that matters. I agree many good display’s yesterday but i must comment on our new CF Sanogo. He had a good hard day and i felt he held his own, as you know i have tipped this lad to be a major signing, i would have hoped that he would have shown his worth by now but what with injury its taken till now. Fabianski also deserves praise as i have now seen him about half a dozen times and i have been impressed, be a shame to lose this guy, as he is on fire, 2 mistakes for me was punching the player instead of the ball and letting the penalty in. This keeper will be a very good signing for anybody, i would rotate more and get him to stay i hope Wenger does as well.
😀 Oz
It’s funny how the press are making no big deal about the simple fact that the bin-dippers were on top of the tree at Christmas…
Considering they have scored as many goals as $hitty and they do not have any European commitment they may still struggle to make top 4 i.e AW’s Trophy
🙂 deejay..
And there you have it , the more the day goes on and the more the media make of the Webb decision I am getting more convinced that they are truly disappointed that the sting has been taken out of their potential ” master of failure ” stories they must have had lined up.
Webb was shocking , he really is not the best referee in the country , at least if he is God help us. I drove home last night with my son and a top amateur referee , as he said following Sterling’s push on Webb he expects the number of park referees to be assaulted to go up. If in similar circumstances he hadn’t sent a player off he would have been disciplined and demoted He already said that when the T.V shows close ups of Rooney letting his language fly , the dogs abuse they get at lower levels increases , players go off and get fined and the relationship between players and refs goes down.
In all it’s a great shame that on the day that The Arsenal and their manager found a new pair all the talk is about a crap referee.
tsgh – they are not a ‘perennial’ top four team that’s why mate – it is a big step up for them if they make the top four i suppose. it’s show’s progression as a club maybe, even though they have won it 5 times already is it?
Many thanks Sp1…
I know you and Dev always had hopes for Yaya…
Where is the Devil btw?
Re. tactics, I must add that I hope my hand us and say Flamini and MA08 can work if the latter plays the box to box role like yesterday instead of Flamini…
On the 6 other occasions they have played together… Flamini has been given the task of playing the box to box role… but I believe he is not as tactical aware as MA08 and in addition to his limited technical ability, he has not been great playing in that role imho…
But yesterday, Arteta did what Ramsey and TR07 do very well by knowing when and where to force a challenge…
In the first half in particular, the slight change made Gerrard go long more often than he would have liked imo…
Very true Potter re. assault on amateur refs…
potter – i thought the press were largely on Arsene’s side with those comments. Several of them have referred to the fact Jose is out and Arsenal carry on – Jose judges himself on his on field success (like all club managers should do in my opinion) so i can see where he was heading with our complete fall away in this department. Could have chosen his words far better agree with Arsene and the press on that one
Oz- the dippers still have several dozen pundits on their side fighting for their interest though…
tsgh/potter never had an issue with a player touching me, hand on shoulder while they are pleading their case etc. I was never going to change my decision anyway ha! It does create a fine line though. What is OK, what is not. I think the rule is touch and card or it was, i always found that a bit over the top.
tsgh everyone has their favourites i guess
I don’t know Rodgers was selective in his complaints. He only complained about not given a second penalty(because it would have brought his team back into the game) and forgot to mention that the first one was kinda soft,Gerrard would have been sent off and even a red/yellow card and penalty for Skrtel’s high studs challenge on Santiago. With these decisions not given,I believe Webb was fair to both teams
My thoughts on Ateta and Flamony was that they were brought for a patch up, i wouldn’t be at all surprised to see both go at the end of the season. Rosiski also.
Xr!s we also have to remember he had given two soft free’s including a penalty before their call – he was never going to make it three was he.
Personally, I would like to see Arteta and TR07 given a coaching role…
They will be very good for our academy.
I think Flamoney still has a year in him… but OM or Monaco may make him a better offer…
agree with that tsgh
Talking about potential DM… watch out for this young kid… he may take one of the Benders’ place in the Krauts squad… Leon Goretzka of S04
Well said Potter…
Definitely love to see Tomas coaching Ts… He’s a model pro…
BILD: Bayern inform Draxler they could sign him this summer. £37m release clause not an issue
Nothing finer than a whingeing scouser! Some kind of revenge for the Champions League QF when Kuyt dragged Hleb back and no pen was given. Not to mention the 2nd leg of that game when they got their usual dodgy Anfield pen. And last week’s offside 1st goal, etc, etc, etc!!!
Ts, I read Draxler doesn’t want to go to BM..
Exactly Bj…
Even Wenger must know that we are in need of more strikers even though Sanogo is doing a good job. If we can even call it that after 1 game. But the signs are there. If he can stay fit, he will be a new option for us!
If anyone is in Copenhagen, come and have a pint at the Arsenal pub 😉
That will be good Rico… we need to cough up though…
I’ll get a flight Adk 😉
£37 million and job done Ts – simples… lol
How did Santi not score yesterday… And what was he doing towards the end, not the best way to run down the clock…
ha ha, chances are better for me to win the lottery rico 😉
it’s always nice to have others to discuss with online though 🙂
Am I the only one over the moon?
Sanogo has been awarded the assist for the first goal 😀
It is on both accounts Adk 😉
Sanogo will be over the moon with you…
Good Morning to the Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence.
Ginge – Great game report. I too believe Fabianski deserved man-of-the-match. As for for Sanogo, I think some people are being a bit hard on him. For a young man being thrown in at the deep end in his first game, he did very well and shows great promise.
Rico – I hope your home and holdings are safe from the floods and storms.
Im sure he will rico..
He’ll need all the confidence he can get..
Sir Steve – I wouldn’t be so quick to quick to pension off Arteta, Flamoney and Rosicky. They have done the job for us and can be good cover as squad players as we promote more youngsters and/or integrate new signings.
Arteta has been asked to play the DM role for a few seasons now, even though he admits he is not a DM. Yet, he has played that position without complaint. Both he and Rosicky are nearing the ends of their careers, but still have something to offer, especially to our Young Guns. Model professionals as Rico said.
Morning Cg.
Thanks, I am one of the lucky ones, a few fence panels damaged and that’s it thankfully…
That should be “I wouldn’t be so quick to pension off Arteta,”.
CG, you have me wrong mate, I know what they have done and i’m full of praise for all of them, but i can see in my minds eye that they are coming up for replacement, and Wenger loves a Midfielder 🙂
I think Arsene was very diplomatic when asked about The Special Needs One’s comments. He showed the skill of a diplomat to shrug off the comments and not get drawn into a war of words with the Portuguese Pygmy, who is trying to replace Sir Anal Fergusmone in the mind game and war of words department.
Such tactics usually means he is worried about threat of The Arsenal.
The first player we need to pension off AND replace properly, surely has to be Diaby?
Sir Steve – Agreed, but let’s not rush them out the door until the replacements are in harness.
Rico – Sorry, I can understand your point of view, but let’s get rid of Mr. Arrogance (Bendtner) first. The big donkey can carry poor Diaby’s bags. We wouldn’t want the poor lad to herniate himself before he is out the door. Sad case really.
Agree Cg, his interview yesterday was much better. But, he is right, he didn’t didn’t mention Jose on Friday so as the old saying goes, if the cap fits…..
The idiot interviewer stirred the pot and AW fell right in, he needs to stop giving an opinion imho…
I don’t really include him Cg because he’ll be off for sure as his contract ends…
But yes, and replace him with a proper top class striker…
Amen to that Rico.
And then the DM Cg 😉
Rico – Yes, we need a tall physical DM to cut out the high balls, can tackle effectively and has a good burst of speed. A young Patrick Vieira clone would be great.
I think Arsene has a few good candidates in mind.
Totally agre Cg.
Hope you are right about AW….
Canadian G, who are the candidates?
Promote from within you think?
I would go for Sissoko of Newcastle personally…
Good day all. Great post TS.
Their first pen was a dive IMO so the second one just evens it out. Gerard should have been off for 2 yellows as well. So Webb was poor but his poor decisions averaged out.
I do think the scousers look dangerous going forward, lots of pace and trickery. Thank god flappy hand a blinder!
I’d like to see schneiderlin in the door this summer.
Hiya Cg… howdY/
Thanks btw
Thanks Lewis… I am all for Morgan joining us…
It makes sense; He is French and most importantly he has been educated at Southampton…
Fabianski was on fire wasn’t he Lewis, one mad moment but overall, he did really well..
He was good with the fans at the end too….
How did Jenks play, from the highlights he looked quite good…
Adk, your fellow Scandinavian Ollson will be the first for me if I was tasked with promoting from within…
Rico, Diabolic comes back after the international break…
Mate of mine has a saints season ticket he’s been saying for years watch out for Morgan! I’d take Lallana as well.
I thought Cj25 was very efficient… and won most of the duels against Sterling…
He did not bomb forward as he may have liked to; But I prefer him that way tbh Rico…
I was surprised Brenda did not exploit our RHS more often… I guess he followed the tried and tested plan of trying to expose our LHS assuming Sagna will be playing at rb. He even played Suarez on their rhs just to gain an advantage…
Chelsea, City, Yanited and other top teams across Europe we have faced in the CL have always tried to exploit our lhs knowing our lb will not be given any protection…
Ts,
I thought he had been written off for the entire season…. Unless you mean the international break which is the World Cup 😉
True Lewis, Morgan was 2nd only to AR16 as best tackler in the league last season imo…
If we had Morgan and Ramsey in our midfield it will be very similar to Juve or City’s in terms of ball winners…
You know me too well Rico… I am getting worried 😉
tsgh, I haven’t seen him play. Is he any good?
Unless he is the new Wilshere, I would perfer more experienced players.. Yaya Toure anyone? 😉
Adk, I rate him higher than Gedion tbh…
He is the closest to Cesc I have seen in a long time…
His style is very similar to Pirlo/Arteta but I guess he is not robust enough to be that deep lying playmaker quite yet…
Bellerin will get a chance too if Sagna goes…
🙂 Ts.
Another player we will have to sign is a keeper, that’ll be tough…
Our trip to Chelsea is a 12.45 ko. Hmmm, strange eh!
He looks impressive, considering his tender age. Let’s hope he can make it. As for a GK, my hero Begovic all day long 🙂
But of course Szczesny wouldn’t be happy as number two..
True Rico… Martinez is sitting on the bench at Sheffield Wed. even though he did nothing wrong when he covered for their injured keeper..
Same as Bellerin at Watford…
Loaning players does not work.. I guess that is why Frimpong, Lansbury etc opted to be sold…
Talking of Dench he got the 2nd highest vote for the MOTM award last weekend… The 2 goal hero got the motm award…
Not even a yellow card… I think his record how stands at 3 reds on as many debuts…
ADK – As for candidates for a new DM, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction in the press reports, but we have been linked with one of the Bender brothers, a number of young French players and a few like Schneiderlin who are already playing in the BPL.
I have no favourites, but I’d like to see one with a bit more height than Arteta and Flamoney.
Sanogo coming in and showing that he can be included, has been well timed. What with Girouds drop in form and Personal problems is a good time for him to take a little rest. Matrimonial problems can last for quite a time, and can mess with your head. Not many games left in the premier but all the games are important. Now if anyone was to ask me could we win the league at this time, i would look at the teams within touching distance and at this time would not class Arsenal as the best team, but over 11 12 games i would consider us a very good candidate. All the top teams have let themselves down and what has happened is other teams are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Now we don’t have to be the best team to win it, we need to be the most consistant. FA cup is also looking promising but we have a long way to go, one game at a time and as long as we don’t get ahead of ourselves we could possibly go the whole way. Champions league i feel is down to the refereeing officials, and of course EUFA whether we have had our length of time in the doldrums is almost certainly in their hands. I have watched a lot of football this season and have seen some special performances, there are some very good teams out there, but when i look at our position with a dozen games left i feel its all about the stamina and the officials. Have we searved our pennance only the governing bodies can tell you that, but were still in the frame.
re goalie…get Don Vito back… I need to start a new campaign.. 😉
I am with you Dg… but I think the Benders have lost a bit of form… its been too comfortable for them thus far me think…
Someone like Gundogan would make us a different beast next season CG, but there’s no way Dortmund are letting go of him IMO
Catch up in a couple of hours ….
Ginge – You seem to follow the Young Guns fairly closely. Unfortunately for me, if they don’t make a cameo in the League Cup, I don’t get a chance to see them.
It does seem that most of them don’t benefit from their loan deals unless they get a good run of games. You hear good/great things of some of them in the youth and U21 teams, but few seem to make the last big step up into the first team.
Adk, Gundogan is joining RM/Barca to replace Xavi who is off to USA or Alonso…
Kroos is the one I would like but I think there was a rumour that BM will only allow a swap deal with Ozil… 😡
I like both players but I think they will be very similar to what we have… we need a proper DM imho…
Maybe with Hayden being only English he will get the chance Frimps didn’t get after opting for Ghana…
True Cg… I guess if the B team league kicks off it will be very good for all parties including England…re loan
Rick is the main man on the u-21…
Mr. Kev too…
ADK – There are a number of teams saying they are or want to hold onto players we have been linked to. At this time of year it is mostly posturing so they can raise the prices and/or flush out more teams interest so they can start a bidding war for players.
I’m not going to get too involved in speculation of who we are going to sign this early in the year. The process is painful enough as it is during the summer, no need to start the torture now.
Gundagan has refused to extend his deal and he has been out all season so…
I doubt bvb will allow another £20M+ player to go free 2 seasons in a row…
Bvb have already found replacement for Lew in Ramos and Jojic… Jojic scored on his debut last weekend… Klopp is a chief bargain hunter now…AW may have to take some tips from him now…
Wenger would never allow such a deal imo.
Bayern are playing with us. Just read that they wanna buy Draxler, just so that we cannot get him…
Ginge – Is there real talk on the ‘B teams’ entering the league, like they do in Spain, or is this just speculation.
CG I agree wholeheartedly.. I hate the speculation. If only I could hibernate for 3 months, and wake up when its over!
Cg-Yes Rico posted a link a few days back… i shall see if I can find it for you…
Here you are Cg…
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/19689/9165327/chief-executive-richard-scudamore-confirms-plans-for-a-premier-league-b-league
Not sure it’s about ” B ” teams joining the main league rather than a competitive reserve league being set up at a 23 year old level with 4 over age players being allowed to play. C.G. you asked why players disappear , in my opinion it’s because their development stops when they are too old for youth football but not ready for the first team. Hopefully this league should allow them to play in their natural surroundings against adults in an important league and bridge the gap that sees so many fall away..
ADK – Hibernating would work if you were living south of the equator where it would be their winter, but you’d miss most of the summer in Denmark.
If it gets too much for me, I just take a break from the internet, newspapers and TV to spend time with friends and family in the sun. A few tall cold beers also helps.
Ginge – Thanks for the link.
It seems to be a step in the right direction, but it is still a separate league, not a ‘B’ team entered in a lower division like they do in Spain. That is what we should be aiming for. Then the clubs would have more direct control of the development of their young players and more might make it into the first team.
Anyway the sun will be up here in an hour or two and I need some sleep. Good talking to you all again.
Have a great day all and Keep the Faith!
Night CG!
Night Cg…
You are right Potter…
Now that is what I call a good match report Ginge.
Good Afternoon Lady, Sir, Gentlemen and Ladies.
Funny how a change in one result can alter some opinions. A week ago everyone was hounding Arsene and now the people have shifted. Just shows to show how much AFC fans are fickle.
Can you blame us devil? lol
I prefer to reason it like this……..
0-1, 1-2, 1-5, 1-10 is all the same score for me. It does not matter by what score you loose. you still lost 3 points. The same goes for winning. you still win 3 points.
secondly………I was taking the micky out of some dippers today and asked them this question……would you have preferred to win 2-1 in the league and save 3 goals for yesterday? their answer was obvious
Hello Mr Dev… I was wondering where you were?
I am here mate. you could assume that I am here and not there 😀
Just to add a comment about the Ref yesterday. A penalty and no penalty! Pods little trip, Webb was not entirely sure, he waited for Swinez’s reaction, and then decided it was, well maybe, well probablly a trip, yep a penalty….scored. I reckon he ran back towards the middle for the restart just doubtful that he had got it right. When the Ox ploughed in to Swinez’s shortly after I reckon……he thought, no I won’t give another cos I’m not sure i got the first one right so….play on. And the unstedy one fell sooooo dramatically, had he gone down like a sack of spuds and not like a ballerina, with pile and twist and three pirouettes he might have WON another pen but drama queen that he is he LOST the pen! On balance and given he let Skerytl off after kicking Santi in the head, or whoever it was that he had ‘evened things up’ as good refs usually try to do!
I think he did well yesterday, well we won didn’t we?!
😀 The Devis always lurking to devour as the good book says…
Wavy… Suarez a ballerina?.. 😛
that made me smile Ginge.
I always lurk around. Its that whenever I lurked it was too late in the day. However I do read the article and comments. but then I am either too tired to comment or just pissed off. So I just flop into bed.
ha ha ha… Dev
The lose last week really took us back to the days of desperation I guess…
How’s the lil Prince doing?
it did not hit me that much mate. tbh what hit me was the way we performed not the result itself. that put me down. the result as I said did not matter what result we lost.
we could have lost 0-1 and played badly and I would still have been desperate. We could have lost 1-5 and did out best and I would not have felt so dejected.
as it was we were crap and that is what hit me hard.
The little one is ok. he has grown up to my chin now. 10 already.
I think there would be problems between the premier league and the football league if players were to appear in both competitions , so i reckon that’s why it has to be a competition kept in house by the premier.
Oh… you better start doing your weights mate… no more winning of pillow fights for you lol
Very true re. the performance… that was the big issue for me too…
But then as I said after the game, if I had to choose between either of the 2 games I thought it would be better to beat them in the FA cup instead …
An old dog always has new tricks up his sleeve mate. Brain is superior to brawn.
I feel that its good that Arteta is suspended for the BM clash. I think it would be better if Flamini plays. And I would go for Ozil and Cazorla as the other two central midfielders. Chamberlain and Podolski would occupy the other berts. Wilshere to come on for either Cazorla or Ozil.
Oh and I would not mind Yaya getting the nod from the start after his showing against the dippers. But I think that is a far call to make.
but as you said Ginge. no more winning for me. or better for now its decreasing. Even in sprints now he is catching up. He has a very powerful run….reminiscent of the ones I had before operations took their toll on my legs. I can still go up to a good speed, however, his legs are stronger for his age than when I was the same age.
But as long as he is the first one to beat me than that will make me smile happily. That day is not far away I feel.
😀 that is the beauty of having a boy though who is into things you enjoy…
Dev, I think TR07 will start as AW said he gave him a rest yesterday so…
Yes I think so too. So I would like it to be a midfield of Flamini TR07
Cazorla, Ozil,Podolski
Giroud.
But I feel AW will play JW10 instead of Podolski
http://www.blackscarfafc.co.uk/1/post/2014/02/another-home-game-means-more-cash-now-is-the-time-for-arsenal-to-do-something-positive.html
Interesting perspective and a direct challenge to the powers that be.
Excellent read Potter…
I can sense IG already working hard at rebutting this view though… 😮
That was interesting Potter.
but I feel that milking the cow is a favourite past time of IG. And the cow is one big fat suck mate.
Sorry to crush the dreams.
I can hear IG guzzling happily away at the nipple mate.
🙂 Cash cow and just in time strategy well in motion at Arsenal…
I’m afraid I think I saw a squadron of pigs heading from Stansted to Colorado . Not a bad idea but not one that will appeal to our custodian board. Hopefully I am wrong.
on a different note………Sanogo can save the club a few millions if he stays fit.
🙂 Have the pigs got their winter gear on?
Don’t say that Dev… Syg will be choking on his curry with that comment…
yeah I know.
But I happen to know AW as well. I would be very surprised to see AW buy a CF when Sanogo is there. And mate….he is superior to OG regarding mobility.
I doubt that RVP would come back. But if he does come back I feel it will be to the detriment of OG not YS
I agree, and I think his ‘fake’ back injury was a plus for him to work on his core strength…
so you feel that he was not injured but simply put on gym work by AW to big him up so that he can be ready for the run in of the season??
That is what I heard dev… I have been saying that since last year…
And do you feel he can overtake OG in the team?
Not yet Devil, he has the prospect to be the player that gets 20 minutes here and there to stage Giroud but he isn’t ready for first team week in week out. Having said that he gave Agger a torrid time yesterday not through his skill as much as his physical presence. Agger was reduced to fouling , holding and pushing throughout the match, sadly it was something that Webb amongst all his other failures , seemed to miss.
Eventually I mean not now mate. This season though I feel that he will start some of the games. Especially near the end of the season. But he is a good prospect to rely on.
And he has speed. And that is a crucial factor in our team.
He reminds me a bit of Kevin Campbell a second striker that will always be useful . We still will need an ( Ian Wright) though to go with him.
From what I could see Sanogo gave us a physical presence up front and put himself about a bit. As to what he might or might not become, it seems way too soon to contemplate that. At the moment he looks like he might be promising but will almost certainly give Wenger a reason not to buy a top striker.
As we are saying Adam. he has given AW a reason not to buy a striker in the summer.
Devil. There has always seemed to have been a reason not to buy. It has been a mantra of Wenger’s for a long time and a major contributory factor as to why we have lost so many quality players. But I prefer to concentrate on the reasons why we should buy. Also a winger and a murderous CM.
Evening folks, have we signed anyone?? 😉
That is why I feel he will go for a Draxler type in the summer. Someone who can play in the hole and on the wing.
We need another Flamini. Schneiderlin anyone???
Afternoon To Rico and the House, some interesting thoughts on loans the U21 and the propsed B league . Ginge I must say that is a great game report but I will not say much more on the game as I find myself agreeing with almost everything that has been written.
Tonight our youngsters start on a hectic few weeks in which the U21 play Reading or Wolves (next week) inte semi/final of the U 21 cup. On friday the youth team are away to Charlton in the Youth cup. Then on Tue 25th the U19 are at home to Shakhar Donetsk.
If we win that one we could be away to Barcelona. Some of our youngsters could feature in all these games and I think we are about to find out who have really got it I have some veiws on the under 23 leauge which I will post later.
Hi Devil, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out in the summer that we have already done a deal for Draxler, just he’s staying put for his clubs campaign this season…
Hi Rick..
Howdy rico, survived Irelands worst storm on record, lost a load of slates off me roof, no electricity for 3 days but compared to others got off fairly lightly.
Some very long evenings, makes you wonder how they coped in the old days……where is kev btw.
tsgh, personally I think Kollstrom has a fake back injury as well.
Perhaps Sanogo is the reason why Wenger only wanted to loan a striker and not buy. He feels he ‘has enough’ ! We shall see, but if he is true to type there will be only one new forward at the club come the end of August and I doubt it will a Benzema or Falcao it will be a Billy Jones! Someone to have I’m reserve not a new star! Draxler is possible but expensive and I can’t see tight boots spending his wedge on one player. Can you?
Maybe completely wrong but………well we’ll see!
Hi Micko, 3 days, that’s rough. Hope all is settled down now….
Wavy I think on the same lines as well. AW knew what Sanogo is capable of and I agree with Ginge….AW was waiting for Sanogo to bulk up and was injured.
there is the under21 vs Reading today. now on.
bdw…..we are trying to walk the ball in the net. Is it a familiar scenario???
while we try to walk the ball into the net, Reading have their shooting boots on today.
Wavy, I don’t think AW has any choice, Sanago is still young, raw and with an injury record to challenge Diaby…
He is not ready to be relied on yet imo…
seems that we have managed to shoot one at last. But Reading seem superior.
Reading had their shooting boots on yesterday Devil when they battered Qpr 3-1 and with ten men 😛
and we go 1-0 down.
2-0 down
I’m off for the day guys, catch up tomorrow..
Thanks again Ts…
Night all….
gd nite Lady
http://www.petitions24.com/v/20127775/P9APUN
This is the correct link…
http://www.petitions24.com/frankmclintockdeservesastatue
Good morning,
Mourinho labels this season’s Barcelona as “the worst for many, many years”. The guy has no class & doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.
Piqué revealed last night during the pre-match interview that he turned down Arsenal in 2004 in favour of Man Utd
Morning Rico and all.
Lee. Just signed that. Would be thoroughly deserved and I hope Frank is better now.
No love lost between Barca and the interpreter , he is so disliked over there kind of like everywhere here apart from a few suburbs in the Chertsey area.
Morning all..
Lee, I have put the link in todays post.
Spot on Ts, I read that headline and thought the same… What a knob that guy is…
I totally agree Adam, he’s doing really well.
Morning all.
This S.P.S (small person syndrome) is extremely contagious….Michael Owen is really starting to piss me off!!!
When does the dwarf throwing season commence?
Morning Adam. Me too.
Owen. Another one for the glue pot.
Today’s post is kind of about Owen Lee. He’s cheesed me off too…
the dwarf and the the special mouth are doing the team talk for AW Adam. Let them continue I say. They will soon find out I feel.
Good Morning everyone.
His voice really grates on me..
New post up now….
I hope they get battered in the CL Devil and in every other game they play….
As AW said all those years ago… every man thinks he has a pretty wife at home…
Mauren-ho must have taken that one personal too; he has not recovered from that me think… 😉