Down to the bare bones, but will those bones see us through?

Another replay tonight, this one is in the FA Cup against Leyton Orient just in case you had forgotten.We don’t seem to be able to kill off sides who sit below us in the league do we? Leeds, Ipswich, Orient – oh but hang on, we managed to beat Huddersfield.. Didn’t we?

We have many players out injured right now:

Vermaelen, Fabianski, Fabregas, Frimpong, Walcott, Song, van Persie and Koscielny!

Which one is the jerk??

Eight players, seven of which are probably our first team , well six definitely with maybe Fabianski the only question mark. Would he still be in goal if not injured? I don’t know, only Arsene Wenger does but what it does mean is Almunia will start tonight against Leyton Orient and that doesn’t really fill me with confidence.

Leyton Orient – you can see it can’t you, Wenger telling the team how unlucky we were in the first leg to concede when we had all the possession and chances in the game, we should have won, never mind etc etc…. blah blah blah!

What he needs to be saying to whoever steps in tonight to face a Leyton Orient side that will be buoyed by our result at the weekend, is:

Right you bunch of idiots, every time I play you, you get a replay!

Had you stood up and made your mark we wouldn’t have had the extra fixtures, our players may not have been injured and we may have won at the weekend had they not have been so knackered – we are only fighting for three competitions now and I want us to go to Old Trafford and beat the b******s.

So get out there tonight, show that you are fit to wear an Arsenal shirt and kill this tie off before half time, if you can’t you can have your P45 on the 1st of June and find yourself another club!!

Got It??

That’s what I’d say anyway, or something similar…

Over to Arsene to pick a side he can out of who is left and get the win in style.

That’s the first step to getting our players to move on from Sunday and then let’s go and beat the Mancs in the next round.

Couple of great results last night, firstly Reading knocked Everton out of the FA Cup and secondly, Chelsea did us a huge favour by beating Old Red Nose boys. Best we don’t muck it all up on Saturday, our chance to close the gap on the Mancs. They have another tricky fixture against Liverpool at the weekend with Andy Carroll set to make his debut. Now though it’s about concentrating on ourselves, starting tonight with a good win and then taking that into the game against Sunderland. The door has been opened, let’s not stuff it up!

That’s it from me for today, have a good one….

 

150 thoughts on “Down to the bare bones, but will those bones see us through?

  1. didee says:

    morning, still deflated but hoping the boys deliver the premiership, its our best chance at a trophy now, cup competitions will still have the ghost of the CC hanging about

  2. rico says:

    Hi didee – FA Cup and PL is our best chance, I don’t think wenger will let the players take another final quiet so lightly….

  3. rico says:

    didee – we all are, but it was our own fault we lost, for the sake of our season, wenger and the team need to forget it and move on fast..

    the mancs aren’t unbeatable, but first wenger needs to respect Orient and take them seriously as we are beatable too… big night for the confidence…

  4. didee says:

    well am tryin to muster some confidence, i have had to keep a low profile in the office this week

  5. rico says:

    We need a big performance tonight didee, forget sunday, we cannot change it…

    tell those in you office to ‘go away’ 😉

  6. W.A.T.H says:

    If they cant make use of the result from last night then we don’t deserve to win a tea cup !!

  7. didee says:

    Sadly they wont go away and they often remind me of sunday cos am the biggest arsenal symbol in the office, coupled with the fact that Martins is being well celebrated right now in Nigeria so i get to see it on football shows and newspapers…but i’d survive

  8. GunnerPete says:

    We are short of class for tonight so does our manager bring back Lansbury, Jet, Ramsey,Bartley ?????Of course not…let just rely on Denilson, Eboue, Diaby,Squillaci shall we/

  9. rico says:

    Spot on WATH –

    I would bring them back Pete, theres still a lot to play for wnd we are dropping like Flys….

    Be strong didee 😉

  10. Will says:

    Morning guys

    As you say Rico, time to get tough. These players are too soft and have no pressure.

    If we don’t win tonight, I think I will give up this season and every season until Wenger leaves.

  11. W.A.T.H says:

    Ramsey is back Pete if that makes you feel any better but apparently cant play 2nite due to some silly fa rule BUT that should mean he is fresh for saturday..!.

  12. Will says:

    Oh yeah, the scoring machine who is Nik B. The one players the worlds defenders are petrified of. I am soooooooooo glad we have him, it’s better than having Bergkamp.

  13. Jaygooner says:

    Was it only me calling for Ashley Cole to SHOOT whenever he or Wayne Rooney had the ball last night?

  14. Steve Palmer says:

    morning All.
    Nice read rico,
    Funny how the league is now our best chance of winning things, i can remember people saying a week or so ago, how winning the league is the most important trophy because it reflects your peformance over the season, if we were to go on and win the league and nothing else it just proves to me that we had won it because of other teams losses, our performances so far have been disasterous,loseing the CCup final was disgusting,even with the injuries we had, we still should have won, Chzezer could have thrown it away in the first five minutes but for the incompetance of the refferee,the keeper is not the answer to our problem and the rest of the players are not robust enough,I have come to the conclusion that the only way we will win anything is by mistakes from other teams.

  15. Steve Palmer says:

    Morning Wath,
    I am still seething after the weekend give me a couple of wins and i may liven up a bit, sorry to sound as though i dont care, but my enthusiasm will be back by tonight.

  16. SD-London says:

    Rico, Wenger wouldn’t talk to his players like that , this how Wenger is likely to talk to them:
    —————————————————–
    INT : Dressing Room

    WENGER ENTERS THE DRESSING ROOM AND ALL THE PLAYERS SPEAK AT THE SAME TIME

    Players
    Hi boss

    Wenger
    Right guys , i hope everyone remembers what they are suppose to do ?

    ALL THE PLAYERS NOD AND SOME SAY YES SIR (EBUOE ESPECIALLY)

    Wenger
    Now remember that this FA cup and those guys will be trying to defend and probably get a late goal. So I will like you to concentrate and take care of yourself out there.

    WENGER LOOKS AT GIBBS USING EXTRA BANDAGES ON HIS LEGS AND NOTICES BENDTNER STILL HAS ONE IPOD HEADPHONE IN ONE EAR, WENGER CONTINUES DESPITE.

    Wenger
    Most importantly guys, enjoy yourselves, remember it is a game and let’s have a good game.

    WINGERS’ HAND STILL IN IS POCKETS, FABREGAS ENTERS THE ROOM WITH IPOD ON AND LOOKS AT EVERYBODY, HE SAYS NOTHING AND PICKS A BOTTLE OF LUCOZADE AND JOINS RVP IN THE TUNNEL WITH CRUTCHES.

    EXT : Pitch
    WENGER WALKS OUT ;GAME STARTS & THE REST OF THE POOR FANS HOPES FINGERS CROSSED AND IN THEIR TEETH .

  17. W.A.T.H says:

    Where’s that woman gone…… in and out she said and ain’t been here at all, reckon she down the pub getting ready 4 tonight…! Hmmm bit of a dead day everywhere today.

  18. oliver says:

    morning all…a nervous wait until kickoff. not much to be said – the side will be massively changed, and we just have to hope that the players who feature tonight will rise to the occasion…

  19. W.A.T.H says:

    Agreed Oliver, time to show up and plenty with lots to prove. Big big game 2nite especially the way we go abt it and the commitment we show. We shall see…!

  20. oliver says:

    i don’t want to see 9 changes either, but i think we are headed in that direction. arsene already stated he would rest szczesny and implied koscielny would not feature either – i would throw them both right back out there, reducing the dwell time on what happened on sunday as much as possible. this is a chance for them to rebuild confidence and really put that 89th minute incident behind them…

    i would seem that arsene does not see things similarly, however. i expect that tonight’s side will look quite similar to the one that failed to do the job at brisbane road…i think there is a decent chance only arshavin and rosicky start from our cup final starting eleven…we will probably look something like al, gibbs, squil, miquel, eboue, rosicky, denilson, diaby, arshavin, nik and chamakh…
    i would guess either rosicky or squil as captain. and as i say that, watch al come out with the armband…

    we have some players that need rest, and some who have fitness concerns, so changes are inevitable. i just hope as side resembling the one above can get the job done this time…

  21. K-TR7 says:

    Afternoon all.with the chavs win we have a chance of winning the PL.I think it may be better if we get KOed honourably by barca.we win the PL and aim for the CL next year as champions of our own country.

  22. oliver says:

    afternoon k…i don’t advocate “taking it easy” in any competition. depleted as we are, i think we need to try and do our best in the remaining three – if our players mentally give up on one, i am concerned the defeatist attitude will spill over into matches in other competitions…we have what we have right now, i think we should just play our hardest and try our best in all three.

  23. K-TR7 says:

    Regarding injuries rvp is supposed to be out for 3 weeks at minimum.theo should be back in about 2 weeks.taking this into account in 3 weeks time there will be an international break.the next league game will be 2 weeks later in April 2nd.this will allow rvp/theo about 5 weeks to recover only missing at most 2 PL games,CL against barca and a potential FA cup tie against the mancs.if our backups can get us through the next 3 weeks and no more injuries we may be in good shape after the international break.

  24. K-TR7 says:

    Afternoon oliver.am not advocating we take it easy.without rvp and theo in spain our chances of progressing are slim.we should give it our best shot and even if its not enough at least we don’t get dismantled.i really feel we can win the league oliver.

  25. oliver says:

    i think we can win more than just the league – if we make our luck and our squad players perform better than expected. cl is admittedly a long shot, but i too would like to see us give our best shot. if we can beat barca, who knows what will happen? knowing us, we will probably either lose to schalke or make the final…regardless, i just hope that we play uninhibited and with no fear at camp nou – and see what happens…

  26. K-TR7 says:

    Exactly oliver.our team is just so unpredictable right now.if we can get past barca and we have a full squad after the break who knows?

  27. oliver says:

    it starts tonight…we need a bounce-back win – and good effort and performance from our second string will also be quite welcome – and some positive momentum going into the mackems’ weekend visit…

  28. K-TR7 says:

    We need that momentum oliver.song also needs a rest as he looked slow and clumsy against B’ham.

  29. JonJon says:

    loved the team talk
    hey guys..
    tonights the start of a clean slate..
    the chavs did us a huge favour yest and the script is writ for pool to get a result on sunday so our season starts now..
    we have to forget sunday, smash these lot tonight and go into the sunderland on a high..
    we should have a cup already but we dont so lets go get another..the big one..not some shitty tin thing

  30. JonJon says:

    melo for denilson in summer??
    yes fucking please..then we could rest song and have a backup who doesnt run 2 mile per hour or one is not injured 4 out of 5 games

  31. oliver says:

    ol big ears (to quote clough) is the big prize…of the three remaining, i feel that is the one we have the least likely shot at winning, but i still want us to do our best in it…

  32. Will says:

    Tell you what guys, if we do Orient tonight and get past Man Utd in the next round, I think we have a fgood chance for the FA cup.

  33. oliver says:

    we should be fine…my big unknown is the mental state of the squad. i’ll get a better idea when the starting lineup is announced…then i’ll know whether or not to expect 90 minutes of sideways passing, nobody in the opposition box, and no shots on goal…

  34. oliver says:

    will was wrong – that’s TEN changes from sunday’s starting eleven…one of our three worst players on the afternoon (rosicky) is the only one that retains his place…

    we should still win, but i now think we will struggle…

  35. JonJon says:

    thats a severely weakened team..
    AW isnt taking this seriously anymore..
    although if diaby takes it seriously he can beat orient by himself so…
    looking forward to seeing miquel again and good look connor..

  36. JonJon says:

    off topic a little but it shows the ‘mental toughness’ of that team when almunia is named as captain..
    there are no leaders out there tonight..
    none..

  37. oliver says:

    no argument from me, jj…i have been banging this drum for quite a while…no leaders indeed…

  38. oliver says:

    if anyone ever needed a goal…

    now let’s not rest on this, keep the pressure on and put this tie to bed early…

  39. oliver says:

    now we are starting to get sloppy…we have gone off the boil a bit here and are letting them come in to this…

  40. JonJon says:

    hey Jm
    thats an excellent point..
    hes a muslim aint he?? when is ramadan??
    would explain a few things if it was recent

  41. oliver says:

    jj, robin is too, if i remember…his wife is the daughter of moroccan immigrants, i am pretty sure…

  42. JonJon says:

    i make you right oliver.
    well that would explain his muscle problems if hes sticking to our training regime and not feeding his body…

  43. Joaquim Moreira says:

    yes, when I see Argelian, Marroco, etc players It’s always n important question. I think was January/February but was an important point for be backing to a normal role

  44. JonJon says:

    well there we have it rico
    chamakh was playing well at the start so we need to stop feeding him and robin wasnt fit so we need to stop over training him. 😉

  45. JonJon says:

    this is whats frustrating about nik
    hes a good striker..he just doesnt do it enough..
    if he could do those things more regular he’d be a very very good player and not just a decent one

  46. JonJon says:

    they were both excellent goals rico..
    the second one especially..
    he’s capable he just continues to frustrate..
    but his goals and assists this season have been inpressive this season..

  47. oliver says:

    that was pretty bad from chorley…sorry you couldn’t make it here, but there is no need to take it out on henderson…

  48. rico says:

    jj, right now i am just glad he is scoring, if he can take this to the weekend, than we cant ask more…

  49. JonJon says:

    diabys like eboue
    runs well and direct and once he gets to a certain point doesnt know what to do

  50. oliver says:

    bench is almost entirely first team regulars, so unless we get into trouble or pick up an injury, i would expect this eleven to finish the match.

  51. JonJon says:

    confidence ric’s
    we are winning 4-0..
    no pressure let jack and nasri play with no pressure get confidence back up for sat

  52. JonJon says:

    they wont
    orients heads have dropped they aint interested and other than the chorley tackle theyve been clean cant see them being dirty now for the sake of it..
    and we gave them cash from replay they happy just to be there

  53. JonJon says:

    this is the perfect response..
    a good cup win..the stiffs do the job the striker get in the goals the first teamers get amongst the action with smiles on there faces..

    confidence back

    bring on sunderland

  54. oliver says:

    i don’t think he played for orient tonight…too bad – all further goals are for him and hearn…

    that said, we’re into the last ten minutes, orient look well and truly beaten…arsene can probably call the dogs off at this point…

  55. rico says:

    I got to go guys, good win and that is all we asked for tonight….

    oliver – you ok for the report?? you might enjoy this one a tad more 😉

  56. JonJon says:

    i hope he does ktr
    i hope hes not being rested just for barca..
    imo thats just a distraction now..
    the pl is there for the taking i want it so bad i can taste it if cesc is fit he must play sat

  57. JonJon says:

    ktr..if u get a chance to watch the old firm derby i recommomend so..
    theres a replay in 2 hours on sky…
    apparently it was a war

  58. K-TR7 says:

    JJ thats what i was telling oliver earlier.if we can get through the next 3 weeks we may have a fully fit squad after the international break which will do us well in the run in.

  59. JonJon says:

    soz ktr ive been pre occupied i just hit 4 numbers on the lottery..been trying to check what i win 😉

    he wont be back until may then 🙁 it’ll be double that in rvp years

    but if chamakh n nikki can find some form..nasri get back to how he was before injury we’ll be ok

  60. JonJon says:

    woaaa
    ive just checked the fixtures after sunderland we dont play another pl game for 2 weeks..
    i never realised until u said about international break
    it would be nice to get passed barca but fuck that..the big game is sunderland..we have to win that..

  61. K-TR7 says:

    If the mancs slip up at Anfield the title is ours to lose.Aw is hoping rvp will be available after the international break.

  62. JonJon says:

    king kennys been playing that three cb system for a while..they came undone at west ham but theyve been keeping it tight at the back
    the missing piece is carrol..
    if that big lump can get fit for sunday and spearhead the attack with suarez playing off him to feed off the scraps utds defence will crumble without vidic

    we just need to do sunderland to set up a tasty finish

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