Daily Bits and Bobs

‘Fully committed’ says Arsene Wenger, but we know what that really means……

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Fixtures like this one today have to be won if we are to have a chance of winning the league. That’s not me being disrespectful to WBA or suggesting the game is won before its kicked off but we simply have to beat the clubs who sit lower down the table.

Arsene Wenger:

I watched them against Man United and they looked a very well organised team and – as always with a Tony Pulis side – fully committed.

We all know what he means by that!  Mark Clattenburg is the man tasked with ensuring those ‘fully committed’ doesn’t cross the line!

Tony Pulis and Arsene Wenger have had their moments on the touchline with a few heated words exchanged no doubt but those days seem to be over according to the Baggies boss:

Over the past couple of years we’ve mellowed definitely.

There’s definitely a better relationship than what we had maybe two or three years ago and that’s good.

I’m not convinced Arsene has forgotten what happened to Aaron Ramsey…..

A minutes silence will be observed ahead of the game and hopefully Koscielny, Giroud and Coquelin will be ok. We need them to be, they are key to this side right now.

Many players have had a bit of a breather as international fixtures were cancelled during the second week of the break so they should be in good shape for this match. Alexis has been pretty busy though but no rest for him, not until our walking wounded return according to the manager.

WBA are having a tough time. They’ve won just once at home this season which is out of character for a side managed by Pulis, as he’s normally so defence minded, scoring goals has been difficult but these days they are leaking goals for fun, especially at the Hawthorns. They have conceded three goals on four different occasions which suggests they are seriously missing Ben Foster, a keeper who often does well against us.

Pulis can’t be looking forward to this match, not when he looks at the number of goals we’ve been scoring. 17 goals in our last six and added to that, we’ve won five of the last six matches on the road in the league and that one we lost could, should have been so very different.

Yes we have injuries but I reckon we’ve got enough to sneak a win in the Midlands.

COYRRG’S – three points please…

rico

201 thoughts on “‘Fully committed’ says Arsene Wenger, but we know what that really means……”

  1. Wavy says:

    Yes, yes and yes Rico, we will win! With Koz the score will be 0-2 without him, 1-2. So it’s win, win!
    No hangovers, no matter what the cause, please.

    Back later. Been very busy the last few days and, not because of Xmas shopping!

  3. BT62 Gooner says:

    Morning Rico and all,

    I wouldn’t put the cushion away just yet Rico……lol
    These are the type of matches were 3pts should be the norm, i doubt it will be easy but when is anything easy were Arsenal are concerned.

    Keep your chin up Rico…..

  6. goonster says:

    We ll smash those cnuts. 4.0 they ll be out to kick the shit out of us but we ll blitz them. Sanchez with a brace ollie and a carzola penalty. Good morning Rico and all. Great post ad always Rico and yes comments are down on the blogosphere. Even the mighty leshite could only muster 70 odd comments since yesterday. Lol

  7. dublingunner says:

    Afternoon whats the betting on Vardy to score today, some run his on.
    Fancy Watford to get a result today, Rooney,Martial, Carrick and Fellaini all out.
    Liverpool, City to Draw, and Us to go top.

    Good to see Bellerin back, Ox and Ramsey back next week and Theo the week after,
    also 4 very winnable games coming up, Life is good.

    Am i being too optimistic ?. “C,mon Arsenal”

  10. goonster says:

    I fancy Watford against manure but Liverpool ll lose to shitty. Oh well it’s great to have football back again heck it’s even El classico weekend 😀

  11. goonster says:

    Howdy JM who’s leading the super liga in portugal?? Please say benfica can’t stand Porto. I hate those cnuts.

  13. goonster says:

    😀 morning MG manure just went one up. Doesn’t look good for Watford they look all over the place. Come guys get it together. I want a draw.

  15. boingy says:

    Just a point lads, Myhill has been playing great in goal and I think Foster will have trouble getting back in the side.

  16. goonster says:

    Rambo and AOC ll be a welcome addition. We look bare. Am worried for ozil and santi. We need to keep 7 key players fit all season long if we are to mount a title challenge. Cech bellems kozzer monreal coquelin ozil and santi.

  19. goonster says:

    Come on guys I ll understand if we were in a funk but we re actually flying high and getting better with each game. Plus ozil is finally stepping up. So why the apathy towards the might arsenal 😀

  20. goonster says:

    Gibbo start 😀 on the left that is. I like that. He started out a left sided midfielder so he should be comfortable. I love the pace up front. Gibbo Sanchez and bellems. We ll kill them. Come on you gunners 😀

  21. rico says:

    Team changes confirmed:

    Campbell out, Gibbs in 🙂

    Bellerin back at right back too….

    The rest is the same which faced Spurz….

    Afternoon all…

    Utd going top at this rate….

  23. goonster says:

    What’s your prediction mama bear? Am feeling expansive a 4.0 scoreline ll flatter west brom today. Ozil to run riot and bag a hatrick of assists 😀

  25. goonster says:

    Aww shucks you re leaving again??? The game is just an hour away. You ll think gooners ll be excited. It’s rhetoric arsenal for crying out loud. Footie is back not some dumb old international football. Come on people.

  26. goonster says:

    Meant to say its the arsenal…don’t know how rhetoric came about. God help me this phone ll be the death of me.

  28. goonster says:

    I think we ll smash them rico if they come out and play but if them sit deep and frustrate us it might be a long day especially if we gift them a goal. I still think we ll beat them.

  33. goonster says:

    Oh poopie just when I thought troy Denney had jut saved the day for me the egg head went to the other end and scores an own goal. Grrrr

  39. dublingunner says:

    Watford unlucky, Uniteds first goal conceded in 10 hours, shows defensively Van Gaal is doing something right.
    You,d feel Wenger,s willingness to start a full back over Campbell, cant be good for the players moral or confidence, obviously has not taken his chance as a lot of fans would of liked.
    I would of liked Gabriel to start over Merts, but once take the points,all that matters.

  77. goonster says:

    Can someone see a way back for us in this game? God help us we can’t afford to slip up. Manure won today and shitty are likely to beat Liverpool. I ll take a point at this point. (Pun intended) 😀

  89. scottfromoz says:

    Arsenal at our worst.
    Slow build up play, and no movement off the ball.
    Injuries are a massive problem, of course, but it’s not the cause of this performance.
    Not too late though……

  92. goonster says:

    I disagree rico we ve actually looked better in this second half. Just unlucky. Had gibbo and Campbell scored we ll be leading now. Alexis too just missed an easy chance. The chavs are leading BTW.

  93. Kel says:

    One of those days guys… very poor options on the bench to change it, I’d be delighted with a draw but it ain’t gonna happen…

    200m in the bank 🙂
    wenger knows best 🙂

  98. goonster says:

    We look fitter that bodes well for the future. Plus players ll be coming back next week. Hey am upbeat. 3 points behind shitty at this point is not all that bad. So unfortunate coquelin had to go off injured.

  103. goonster says:

    Well played guys…applause applause. The last 2 games we ve shown heart passion and a desire to win. I have no complaints about the game. We were unlucky that’s all. Alexis had his best game in an arsenal shirt for me. He harried and tormented their back line. Next week we ll Welcome Rambo and chambo back. The future looks good. Come on you gunners 😀

  106. scottfromoz says:

    Terrible performance.
    No urgency whatsoever until it was too late.
    Woeful and forget the Injuries and missing players, as this is all down to guys on the pitch.

  107. goonster says:

    3 points behind shitty at this point of the season is not all that bad like I said previously. Besides they haven’t beaten Liverpool yet. So cheer up people it could be worse. We could be chelsea 😀

  111. Malaga gooner says:

    I think we were all kidding ourselves that we had a chance of winning the league with this squad,

    No signings in the summer was suicide

  113. rico says:

    Mg, it’s just one game lost, yes it’s a really bigger but the league title challenge isn’t over just because we lost today….

  114. goonster says:

    Not the best way to come back after drawing against the scum but considering the number of players out presently we re not doing badly. Yes had giroud scored those glaring misses against totemham or had gibbo Sanchez Campbell and ozil scored today no one ll be complaining about injury. We ll be alright guys. Come on. I mean look at me. Am positive for crying out loud 😀 the lads fought for the shirt. That’s all I require. Win lose or draw as long as they show heart I ll applaud them off the pitch.

  116. Lee says:

    Tell you what don’t bother buying a single out field player, I mean it’s not like have a history of picking up loads of injuries, is it?

    Arteta on and then injured…..fucking joke!

    So we now rely on Flamini…….fucking joke!

    Wenger is a fucking joke……. £200m in the bank!!!!

  120. goonster says:

    Rico I think it’s too early for beilik winger ll persist with flammers until he breaks down then we ll see Rambo or chambers there 😀 lol

  123. Lee says:

    As long as we get the coveted top four spot!

    Losing Coq is a massive loss, Arteta can just fuck off another perma crock! Get rid of all these sick notes and replace them with proper players!

  124. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Summary:
    Arteta not haven’t legs for the Premier league and for the Champions.
    Bellerin wasn’t fit
    Campbell not adding nothing to the team.
    Was a clear penalty for us at he 5 minutes of the second half.
    Coquellin may bell off for a while
    We could win; we were unlucky on the second half but we relax after the goal on the first half
    For “decompression”, we allow WBA grow after our goal
    Alexis should rest? Correct, but it must have been what else ran, and the only one that changes the way we played.
    Time for start thinking in the important Tuesday game.
    My Conclusions:
    3 dropped points;
    Coquellin off (one of ours fears…)
    We had players we must congratulate his contribution for Arsenal but his time is over.

  125. Lee says:

    We shouldn’t be relying on fragile players or kids we should have a proper squad, it’s not like we haven’t got the money is it?

    Wenger it’s not your money so fucking spend some of it!

  128. rico says:

    The lack of summer spending was always going to bite AW on the backside. It was when, not if and now we are in the mire.

    January he has no excuses, however……

  130. goonster says:

    Lol rico he hates the January window especially. There’s no way he ll sign anyone then either. We re royally fucked 😀 howdy kev and Lee

  134. Lee says:

    He’ll start getting our walking wounded back in January and they’ll be like new signings…..that old chestnut!!!

  135. Malaga gooner says:

    We have a top 13-14 players and after that the rest are either crocked or not good enough

    We wont spend in January, because wenger won’t pay inflated prices

  136. andrewh1313 says:

    Oh come on Rico. January will come, and AW will be waiting for Welbeck, Wilshire and probably Coq to come back. He will say they are working 24/7 in case anyone better than Flamini or Campbell are about, and the deadline will pass and please the bankers. We might get an injured Swede on bloody loan. I admired your enthusiasm throughout the summer. I just about lost mine as far as transfers went.

  137. goonster says:

    DNA Barca ll rip Madrid a new one. Neymar has to be the best player in the world currently. Hey when’s shitty vs Liverpool? That’s the game I need to watch.

  138. rico says:

    Andrew, if Coquelin has done his ligaments, none of the players injured will fill the void. My guess is he’ll turn to Wilshere but give him one or two games and he’ll be injured again…

    Is Kallstrom still playing? Lol

  140. dublingunner says:

    A dreadfully disappointing day on all respects for us, whatever could go wrong pretty much did

    I suppose we all knew it was coming, just a matter of when, now we will finally find out exactly how big a loss Coquelin will be, Arteta,s little cameo was farcical, an own goal and an injury, then limps off, “Thanks Mickael

    Stuck with Flamini now, 2 players that should be off playing in the MLS somewhere. How thin our squad is, not 1 striker to bring on from the bench.
    God help us.

  150. tsgh says:

    Wasted trip…. And money…and a Saturday.A bunch of grade B fillers.
    Flipping frozen my toes off in Midlands…
    Time for a soak..

  154. Marshall says:

    Well that didn’t go as planned. How is Arteta even playing- not cause he is at fault at both goals but he doesn’t seem to last half a match.

    Our fears are confirmed, Leo Coq injury goes with the title. It was obvious we needed reinforcement but what do I know?

  155. scottfromoz says:

    Ramsey to DM.
    I’d put him in before Flamini, if fit.
    Still, a loss allows people to reiterate the fact Wengers time is up, right on cue lol.
    Santi slips.
    Ozil hits the post.
    Giroud should CLEARLY have won a penalty early in the scone half off a corner…..defender had him on a head lock and that’s no exaggeration.
    We had our chances but failed to capitalise.
    Not so sure Wenger can be blamed for that loss, in fact, I’d say blaming him is absolutely ridiculous, as even missing Coquelin, we still should have won easily.
    The season ahead……..well, that could well and truly be on Wengers shoulders.

  156. tsgh says:

    All the Arteta bashers should note Arsenal has taken exactly the same number of points from the exact same 13 fixtures last season as they have managed this campaign.

    Le coq is nomessiah imho…

  157. tsgh says:

    Showing history repeats itself…

    Kev/Scott- an interesting stats for you….
    Avg Points/game under Wenger over 12 seasons per month…

    goews to show November is always he same every year…
    Aug 1.90
    Sep 2.10
    Oct 2.13
    Nov 1.60******
    Dec 1.97
    Jan 1.93
    Feb 1.99
    Mar 2.22
    Apr 2.10
    May 1.95

  161. Marshall says:

    Wenger gets the blame cause he left us with little or no back ups for the cdm. Arteta is bogus, flam is a headless chicken, Jack ugh won’t even waste my time on him. He ought to know that’s a crucial position, what does he do? Nothing.

  164. scottfromoz says:

    Marshall, if you send a side out that dominates possessions, has more opportunities than the opposition yet stuffs them up, then you’re job is done ON THAT DAY.
    Blaming him is unimaginative and boring.
    As I said, if we don’t win the League, it’s all on him, as buying nobody suggests his opinion was we had enough, so there is absolutely no excuse.
    It’s like people all over the net blaming Arteta for the two goals.
    Seriously?
    Unimaginative and boring.
    Blame those who missed easy shots.
    Referee for not giving a blatant penalty.
    Defensive lapses.
    I could go on but we, as a collective unit in the day, weren’t good enough.

  166. rico says:

    Morning Scott and all…

    I can see why AW gets a load of stick for yesterday, I really can. If he wants to win the PL, he needs someone better/fitter than Arteta coming off of the bench. Neither he of Flamini should be anywhere near the first team imo….

    Our greatest fear becomes a reality and goodness only knows how AW will deal with the loss of Coquelin but I strongly suspect it’ll be tough….

  167. Tai says:

    Still don’t know how we lost except that whenever everyone gives Arsenal a game before kick off, we fumble mostly.

  168. rico says:

    Re November. My guess is small squad, players overplayed, players suffer injury, not enough depth in the squad so players are knackered just three months into the season..

  169. scottfromoz says:

    Rico, I do agree, but taking that game as a single 90 minute period, the players must shoulder the blame.
    They should be better.
    I’ve said from the day the TW ended, I’ll not defend his transfer action/inaction, nor will I defend him if we lose the League, but looking only at that game, our guys were very, very average, but things didn’t go our way, which compounded the problems.
    Still, we look at Citeh who spend a fortune, led they league and got absolutely torn apart, so maybe we need to accept the League is a pretty even lot at present, and a league where any club can beat the other on any given day.
    Morning, by the way 🙂

  170. scottfromoz says:

    Rico, but we fire up after Xmas…..it’s weird.
    Maybe they get their second wind lol.
    Off topic…..HOW OLD DOES JOE SAY LOOK Hahahahahaha
    I saw his post match interview, and he’s aged a decade in 3 months.

  171. rico says:

    But Scott, , some of the players AW plays really aren’t good enough to be in a team wanting to win the PL. I know injuries are a serious issue and had we had a full strength side, perhaps we’d have won.

    AW stands by too many average players instead of being ruthless and getting rid of them and all the time he does that, he’ll get plenty of stick.

  173. scottfromoz says:

    Again, I know what you’re saying.
    The players are accountable for their poor performance but yes, Wenger is responsible for them being on the pitch.
    Still, it was West Brom…..some may say a few players aren’t Arsenal quality, but still, that game was there to be won or lost and we lost it.
    I thought Gibbs was going ok in front of Nacho….I was surprised when he was taken off.

  174. scottfromoz says:

    One player I guarantee would’ve made a difference is Rosicky.
    He’s one guy who gets us moving forward every time he plays.
    What a shame he can’t hold together.

  175. rico says:

    That’s what cheeses me off about the loss. WBA have been dreadful at home yet we couldn’t do enough to win. I wonder if a bit of complacency returned in the players mind..

    I’d imagine Gibbs came off because Nacho took a tough challenge and had he needed to go off, we’d be left with just one left-back…

  176. rico says:

    I don’t think we’ll see Tomas in an Arsenal shirt again sadly… He’ll be gone in the summer, so will Flamini thank goodness and possibly Arteta. Campbell should be gone too…

  177. scottfromoz says:

    Never thought of that re: Nacho………good call.
    I dont mind Campbell but he’s no better than he was 3-4 years ago when I first saw him.
    Flamini….goooone.
    Arteta, same.
    Tommy……hard one for mine because he always Indluences a game but hardly plays-that one is not so clear but as the others, IMO.

  179. Lee says:

    Rico they should of all gone in the summer plus a few others…..replaced with fit players not fragile perma-crocks!

    Whoever’s decision it was not to do that should be given a massive rollocking.

    That’s hardly ridiculous is it?

  180. rico says:

    Tomas has always been one of my favourites. Just such a shame most of his career has been full of injuries. But as sad as it will be to see him go, he has too for both the club and his sake. He might get a couple more years somewhere else but we can’t afford to keep him taking a squad place…

    Campbell
    Sanogo
    Arteta
    Flamini
    Debuchy
    Rosicky

    All gonners in my opinion….

  182. rico says:

    I agree Lee, honest…

    Seriously though, I just don’t know what AW was thinking when he kept them in the summer, just beggars belief really.

  183. scottfromoz says:

    Debuchy still holds some value, so could easily be sold.
    The there’s really won’t be worth much at all.
    Which of those are in their last season of their contract, Rico?

  189. Adam says:

    Morning Rico, brudder and all. The iPhone is the only way I can comment now.
    As pointed out, we are short and have been for about a decade now. When you don’t bring quality in during a window it often means that you make problems for yourself on the field and subsequent transfer opportunities are spent catching up. Arsene has been content to let things drift and this has meant teetering on the edge where injuries are concerned. It will be interesting to see what happens next and in January of course.

  191. scottfromoz says:

    Adam, I was absolutely certain he’d sign players in the summer, so I give up predicting what the hell he will do now!
    Rido, I know…he’s a crock, but damn, he’s good when fit.
    Shame, really.
    Even bigger shame is the fact he’s One of many.

  192. rico says:

    Can’t doubt his quality Scott, but his wages could pay someone who plays each weekend. Arsenal are too soft and not ruthless enough when it comes to getting rid of players…

    Wenger is too loyal and far too soft…

  194. Adam says:

    If Alexis and Oxil resign they will want an assurance on the managers future. Either Wenger or someone new that they respect.
    I remember how you insisted he would buy Scott but most of us agreed as we simply couldn’t believe he wouldn’t.
    Some still can’t believe he didn’t but it’s very ‘Wenger’ not to have done.

  195. scottfromoz says:

    Merts has me worried this season.
    I’m not trying to sound funny, but I reckon he’s slowed up……..age is caching up wth him, not that it’s hard!
    He worries me every time he has the ball at his feet.
    I’m at the stage where is be much happier to see Gabriel alongside Kozzer.

  198. rico says:

    🙂 Scott, Ruthless… You have to be if you want to win… No emotions in sport… lol

    Ah, Merts…. I’ve thought the same for a while…

  199. tsgh says:

    Not sure why we are all cry over Le Coq like he is PV04 though?

    Not convinced he has improved us in terms of points.. maybe its all the fluffy feeling we get with him diving into tackles…

    Anyone can do their own research but imho, having looked back in Nov 2014 after 13 games we had the same number of points as Nov 2015…

  200. tsgh says:

    Last November 22 after losing 2-1 to yanited with OG12 scoring the only consolidation goal, we found ourselves 26 points… the only difference was that the chavs were on 33 points on sitting on top of the EPL tree…

    This season, there is this false sense that we have improved even though we are virtually out of the UCL and definitely out of the League cup but still on 26 points…

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