Morning all.
The day after Arsenal yet again failed to go through to the EFL Cup semi-final, just how much could we have done with our big Frenchman coming off the bench. No, not Yaya Sanogo who has a ‘confidential injury’ according to Arsene Wenger, but our new super sub Olivier Giroud. Did anyone really foresee what impact he could have coming off of the bench, especially in the game against Manchester United. Even looking at online sportsbook like MyBookie, Giroud’s record was a bit of a surprise.
If you didn’t know, Olivier Giroud has achieved his own very special record as Arsenal’s leading scorer. It should be noted, though, that his scoring record is a little different from the average Arsenal striker. With ten goals, the Frenchman has become the striker with the most goals scored having come on from the bench for Arsenal. It is a notable achievement and one which not many people were taking much notice of but one which definitely deserves recognition because it’s a testament to his abilities.
Giroud couldn’t have made his appearance at a better time, getting Arsenal the equaliser they needed at Old Trafford while writing his name in the Gunners’ history books. Arsenal fans probably didn’t expect this current Manchester United side to cause such a problem, mind you, we did make it easy for them.
By the time Giroud came onto the pitch in the 73rd minute, we were in desperate need of a goal and Giroud got just that. He gave Wenger’s team a goal, a thumping header planted into the back of the Manchester United net in injury time.
The goal was of special significance to Giroud personally and to Arsenal as a whole as Wenger’s side remained unbeaten since the opening day of the season, until last night of course.
Giroud was crowned the greatest Super Sub in the history of Arsenal. The 30-year-old scored his tenth goal as a substitute which meant he’d scored more goals for Arsenal coming off of the bench in the Premier league than players like Nicklas Bendtner and Nwankwo Kanu.
Kanu and Bendtner both share second place with nine goals. Theo Walcott, Thierry Henry, and Robin Van Persie all have seven goals, which means that Giroud stands above even those Arsenal legends when it comes to goals scored by a substitute.
Of course, it would be a mistake for anyone to assume that Giroud has reached the summit as far as his career goes as there’s still so much more he can give to the team and football in general. As it stands, the French International is hardly the top substitute marksman in the Premier League but who knows, with a little more effort, he might be..
For now, he should be satisfied with the fact that he stands above Bendtner and Kanu as the top substitute goal scorer in Arsenal. There are some truly impressive players in the league that have scored more goals in the few cameos appearances they have made.
Jermain Defoe, for example, has 23 such goals to his name and aside from the veteran Sunderland striker, there are more than a dozen players that Giroud still has to overcome to become the best substitute in the league.
There you go, something positive for a Thursday morning after Arsenal were dumped out of the first Cup competition of the season. Still, there’s always the FA Cup, Champions League and the League to fight for….
Next up is West Ham away on Saturday evening and I wonder if Carroll will be deployed for the home team…..
Morning all.
Giroud will remain under rated, IMO, by the masses.
No, he was not World class, but he’s not a donkey, either, as so many like to suggest,
He’s a bloody good footballer, though.
Nice post, Rico.
The positive from yesterday’s game is not mentioning it hahahahahaha
Morning Rico and All
Pretty sure the Quiff would hate that stat.
Talk about second best last night,
on paper that looked a good side?
Just show’s..Once the whistle blow’s
and ball start’s rolling,Arsene may as well
have screwed the team sheet up.
We looked a Micky Mouse Team
in a Micky Mouse Cup
Before the game reading a clip about
Peul(Saint’s Boss)
He say’s Arsene has helped him to settle
and given him lot’s of advice about the
English Premier League.
It reminded me of Fergie thanking
Arsene for Judas after the Manc’s
won the League.
I think we have a decent squad(on paper)
this season.
But I’m starting to think about
The bad Artisan Who alway’s blames his Tool’s.
Perhaps he’s found his best position Scott… 😉
I didn’t see the game and haven’t bothered watching any highlights. Would have loved us to have won it and gone through just to keep the momentum going.
From what I have read though, the performance was awful which is a concern…
Morning Fred.
Agree. And Wenger was the one who convinced Puel to take the Saints job apparently. Looks like his young mate is more forward thinking than Wenger…
Hi Fred,
you’re wrong, IMO, on one point.
Wenger is always chastised for protecting his players, so where is this “blaming his tools” coming from?
Unless you use read something I’ve missed-and I stand to be corrected-he’s never ripped into his players, nor blamed them in any nasty or spiteful way.
In fact, most say he ought to kick them up the arse on the odd occasion.
You’re speaking if Joe Say, surely lol
Rico, there were no highlights, so there’s nothing to see 🙂
For those who watched the match, who was better at Rb? Jenks or Maitland-Niles?
Very true Scott, I’ll change it to haven’t watched the match… 😉
Rico, I only saw the first half and Jenks did ok…..not great, but not as bad as plenty.
The real error he made was getting caught in the lead up to a goal, but on the other hand, no bastard bothered getting back and helping him, which annoyed me more than his stuff up.
Players are told to play out, and that’s what he attempted.
He could easily have made his own call to play safe, and I can’t deny that, but where was the cavalry??
Work rate……there was none or certainly not enough in that 45 minutes.
I heard very good reports on Maitland-Niles in his stint.
Morning Rico and all.
I hinted we would lose yesterday morning but the manner was disastrous.How dare AW have a grimace on his face after yet another ponderous performance .I know many who attend games and 90% say we are playing shite which is fairly obvious to see yet remain 3 points off Chelsea but just wait until we play a pathetic WH on Saturday. I really have had enough of Wenger,sorry but that’s how I feel.
We all remember the really bad times but this is a different . This is boring, predictable, no passion, same mistakes, don’t care much for trophies cos fourth is god . This is a different time billions more in terms of money mean it should be looked at on its on merits. This is proper shite I promise you. At least we tried to win trophies and had a bit of pride and passion previously. What on earth is good about this ?
Hi all.
As soon as I saw the line up I knew we wouldn’t score so I stuck a tenner on Southampton at 10/3. Hated doing it but I”m £40 richer today!
Your right scott
Arsene never blame’s any of his staff.
You say I’m wrong
I’m a lot nearer to what’s going than you.
Scott you must have watched a different game to me
Jenks was garbage and I love that boy.
Niles came on and slotted in very composed
but the game was more or less over
the Saints played the 2 nil up game.
Sounds like you never see all the game scott
you sound like an expert though mate.
Morning All
Morning Rico.
Well yesterday evening was a waste of effort, missed the 1st half, but obviously didn’t miss anything…
My observations on what I saw in the 2nd half are, Holding looked good, Iwobi looked good, Perez isn’t fit, Ramsey thinks he’s the dogs bollocks, didn’t notice the Jeff till Wenger took him off, Gibbs was average, Paulista was average, Martinez was ok, Oxlade-Chamberlain looked good but missed our best chance to get back into the game, Xhaka was average, Coquelin was average, Jenkinson was poor, Maitland-Niles should play at West Ham at right-back, he is a good player, Elneny I don’t know as he came off, but if he was ill why the heck was he playing?
The team lacked motivation and drive and that mainly comes from the manager. But if your manager doesn’t really care about a competition then it’s going to seep into the players…
Southampton were excellent, Puel has done a great job, they were organised, motivated and better than us in every department.
Southampton have some very very good players who’ll really go all the way to the top at Liverpool, ManUre and Arsenal… ?
Thanks Scott. I can see MN’s becoming our future Rb….
Kev we made 10 changes they made 8.
that’s after selling most of the squad.
Hi Bob, can’t believe you’ve admitted to that… 😉
Bob for the record
I backed us minus 1
like I always do at home
never comes up.
We usedto be a lot better Home games.
Morning Kev,
Sounds like it was pretty dire all round then. Agree on the manager/motivation thing although regardless of what Wenger thinks of this competition, he should send his team out to be a lot better than they clearly were..
Most of those players were first team, albeit squad players but they should be able to compete…
Fred, so tell us where and when he blames the players?
I said I stand to be corrected, so go ahead, give me the proof and I’ll gladly admit to being wrong.
Jerks was decent, i said, and I stand by that.
Decent is hardly very good, nor great, is it??
I also clearly said I never saw the second half so I hardly criticised Maitland-Niles, did I??
Now as for me “hardly seeing all the game”, well, ok then, let’s look at that.
Should I apologise for the fact I must work to feed, house and clothe my family?
Maybe I should simply ask the FA and UEFA to program games work around my working hours, as it’s only Cup and CL games I can’t watch in their entirety.
I’ll try sending an email, and I’ll mention your name, as surely with your contacts, it can only help with my request 🙂
Arsene likes to make a change if not going to plan
around the hour mark.
He promised Jeff an hour even though Bertrand
looked like a greyhound running passed him.
Mate of mine works with a geezer who sits behind the bench
most been threatened with other seats if the they don’t stop
giving Arsene orders.Ha Ha..
At the end of the game, where I was sitting, as the final whistle went, Oxlade-Chamberlain was in possession and as the whistle sound he just blasted it at the Saints goal.
He spun around, a face like thunder and stormed off, as he walked past where I was sitting he tore off his gloves and threw them on the floor, he stopped briefly to shake hands with one Southampton player at the tunnel, then away…
I guess it was better than seeing some of our players, in the recent past, who after losing the game would mill around with the opposition, chatting, smiling and laughing, as least Ox was as pissed off as me, well for a moment, I guess driving home in his top of the range Bentley will soften the blow…
To be honest, it was the seniors who let us down, I thought Ramsey was awful, swanning around a ‘big time charlie’ losing possession by trying flicks and backheels when we needed to retain the ball and build some pressure.
Jenkinson, who I like because he’s a Gooner, just isn’t up to it, two years at West Ham have seen him regress, maybe trying him at centre-back is the answer, but that won’t happen at Arsenal.
Xhaka is a bit of a worry, two great goals and not a lot else, all that or £35 million, when we’re looking for someone in that position for that money, to dominate, make a difference, but he ain’t no £35m player to me, not yet…
Maybe Wenger should gone the whole hog, like Puel, and start more of the kids?
Mind you if he’d started more of the kids and we’d lost, he would have been slated for that…
Funny you mention Bertrand Fred, someone on Sky Sports the other day said that Chelsea made a big mistake selling him.
Yeah, I know Fred, Wenger couldn’t use the team changes as an excuse and wisely he didn’t do it…
I think that many of those young Southampton players have been involved with the 1st team this season, Puel is really pushing through the youth…
Reine-Adelaide is rarely involved, doesn’t even come on at the end of games when he’s a sub, to get a feel of things, so the fact that the game passed him by isn’t a surprise…
What upset was the complete lack of enthusiasm from our players, this comes from the manager. He was even smiling at Puel at the final whistle, that’s rare when he loses…
What worries me is this ‘not really bothered if we lose’ mentality is like a cancer Fred, it gets into the players’ heads, gnaws away and you can’t just switch it off. I’m worried about the West Ham game, never mind about November, the wheels could come off in December…
Scott just be glad and wrong then.
better still watch the the whole game
even better watch Arsene custing in steve
earhole.
How many times does the same thing need to happen before a pattern is established, because I think we’ve been here many times before?
Who, if anyone, is going to actually do something about it?
Good to hear someone had a bit of passion Kev, couldn’t have been easy to lose against his old club in such a fashion…
Kev, on Xhaka and Ramsey, seeing them dominant 4-5 months ago on the world stage, and comparing them to now is like chalk and cheese.
There can only be one reason.
No-one, because all those who can, will no doubt offer him a new contract…. If they haven’t already…
I know I have a moan up
but I never get a chance to speak to Arsene
so Rico gets it on here.
But has anything changed over the last 10 years Kev.
Change that old record Fred …..agree.
Morning Kelsey by the way, I missed your comment…
It’s all very similar re league positions to last season, but Chelsea have just got going and I suspect either Liverpool and/or City will be the ones battling for the title…
Ok Fred, if that’s all you can offer 🙂
On the rest of your comments, well, you are obviously very bitter with Arsenal so we will blame that for your sour mood, hey lol
You moan on Fred, I think they’ll be a few of us moaning with you whilst nothing changes.
Can’t believe that about the fans and their seats, how pathetic is that…
Scott, you mean they both shone in a very very poor Euros? 😉
They were playing in different teams, in different systems and in positions for their countries that they often start in…
Also Scott, playing for their nations obviously means more to them than playing for Arsenal. That’s why it’s unwise to sign a player on the strength of his performances for his country…
Mind you, it didn’t effect Vieira did it, or Pires or Ljungberg or Gilberto or Edu or Parlour or Bergkamp or Adams or Keown etc etc…
There again our manager wasn’t 67 in those days, he was energised and we won league titles. I guess nothing lasts forever…
When he leaves we could well be in for a lot of managerial changes and a lot of underachievement for quite a few years after…
Football has changed a lot since the late 1990’s, so has our expectations and the football fan in general…
I really don’t enjoy going to the Emirates, it has no soul, the fans are as apathetic as the team, it’s too Middle Class over there now…
Rico, they were terrific and you can’t deny it 🙂
Both are lost.
Kev, money has had a massive influence, and not a good one, on all sport.
Players don’t care enough, in general.
Their pay will go in the bank, no matter how they perform.
Damn, I work on commission only, and I sell twice as much as the salaried reps, because I work twice as hard.
Of course, it means I can only watch half the games…..bloody mathematics, it’s hurting my head lol
Sorry, I meant to add “how good would it be if players all had incentive based contracts”.
Even better, if the players were local juniors who’d gone through the ranks?
I know Fred, but the whole football experience has changed over the last 10 years as well.
I don’t know how often you get over there now Fred, but for myself it’s an effort to go.
Frankly it’s been, with few notable exceptions, fcuking boring over there since we moved from Highbury, I only go to see my son and on odd occasions to meet Mr & Mrs Adam and have a pre-match chat.
The whole experience is rather uninspiring…
My son offered me his ticket for the Stoke game, but thankfully I have to work, driving a cab in London is more exciting than watching Arsenal atm…
Good comment Kev.
But I’m far from convinced that things will go downhill once Wenger leaves. Get a good manager in and the Emirates could be our home other than the soulless stadium it is now..
This club has everything, everything bar a younger and more imaginative manager…
Scott, they weren’t that good 😉
Scott, the agents would never agree to that, but it would be interesting if clubs stuck together and forced through contractual changes…
Arsenal used to have a bonus system but that’s long gone…
Kev, you’d need clubs worldwide, or at least Europe wide to get together.
It’s nice to think about, anyway.
Rico, neither were England 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
I hope you’re right Rico, and it might be that we need a change among the coaching staff too…
Ferguson did it on a regular basis and it never did him any harm.
But I ain’t sure that a new manager is going to change the atmosphere at the stadium that much, it is so lacking in passion…
Rico. You might be right but the club’s line is that there is no contract offer on the table. At the moment anyway. Personally I think Xhaka has done just about ok so far, but a decision needs to be taken on several first-team players, including Ramsey.
Adam, I’m thinking ESPECIALLY Ramsey.
For whatever reason, he’s lost on the pitch so maybe a change can revive his career.
As long as he goes overseas though lol
I get one ticket if I want it kev,
even though I get the Boris freebee,
I always watch the stream now-a days.
Never miss a game live where ever I am.
I watch about 2/3 games every day
Ask the Mrs
Thanks Scott..You stick to what you know then
Scott. It strikes me that so many of these lucky young men are completely self-obsessed. Hairstyles, tattoos, cars, cradling imaginary babies etc. All that shit. The club goes on though. Arsenal are a sleeping giant that needs the right man to awaken it.
Fred, smile, it really won’t hurt…..much lol
Night all.
Yes cranky, even you hahahahaha
It’ll wake up, Adam…..we just need patience………..and plenty of it!
All those things you mention come from money, and celebrity status and that’s killed the game.
It’s the same here, at a lesser level, of course, in various sports.
Sad, but true.
Night guys.
Night Scott.
Too passionate for that scott
it takes me a couple of days to calm down
Playing coaching,managering or watching
always feels the same.
Thanks Rico.
I`ll save my moaning to if we drop any points against WHam……even though it wasn`t our first team it might give us a kick up the backside for the league game and our away form is better so looking positive for Saturday……………………. although Ollie will be a big plan B impact sub miss if still injured…………………….. much underated is the big quiffed one !.
Injury update !
The boss told Arsenal.com:
on Elneny…
He was sick before the game. He decided he felt well enough. I could see after five or 10 minutes that he was not right. He has no medical injury problem, but he has diarrhea or a stomach problem.
on Giroud and Cazorla…
Giroud is short, but has a chance to be available for Saturday. Cazorla I don’t know, honestly. It’s just inflammation. It can go in two days, two weeks – I don’t know. He has no setback, the inflammation is just still here. At the moment, it’s stable.
We also sit 4th in the Injury League !…………………we do like 4th !………….WHam are 3rd !
Arsene could see..(I could see after five or 10 minutes that he was not right)
after 5/10 mins…….44 mins later…..Off he went.
Could our game be improved by getting players who can bloody shoot!
http://news.arseblog.com/2016/12/oxford-cut-short-dan-crowley-loan/
What do you think of that Fred, Rick..?
Ramsey was played in his “favourite” position last night and he sucked balls..
# just saying !
Could be Kev his not been starting
not heard anything about late night’s etc.
Kev, any new manager would want his own coaching staff I’d have thought so that might happen naturally… Hopefully!
Hi all, Maitland Niles is a better footballer than Jenkinson, and more versatile, even though his mum is an iodball banned from the games… but Jenkinon is a better defender./ He is just not at the level of past right backs and hasnt been good when called upon. At the highest level, his mistakes will cost us, ie yesterday, but have to agree with most, our senior players were not up to it.
Rico, i wasnt impressed. We cannot shoot to save our lives.
i am so glad there are no airports near the emirates as our team would hit the planes flying over the ground…
Adam, if that’s true about there being no contract on the table, then good. Imo, there’s no way he should get one, not this time…..
Glad I missed it George…
England striker Danny Welbeck has resumed training at Arsenal and is still targetting a comeback from knee surgery before the end of the year.
Welbeck was ruled out for around nine months back in May but is actually ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and Arsene Wenger is ready to let him rejoin full training this month.
He would then wait at least two weeks before considering him in the first-team again, meaning that he could be an option during the festive period.
Given the severity of the injury – Welbeck suffered what was described as “significant cartilage damage” against Manchester City – the likelihood is that he will be introduced back gradually in the New Year but his return will come as a significant boost.
Lucas Perez again struggled in Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat against Southampton, while Olivier Giroud is a major doubt for Saturday’s match against West Ham United with a groin injury.
From the Telegraph
Lucas Perez on the bench at Stratford if Giroud doesn’t recover…
Andy Carroll will be licking his lips in anticipation
Good news re Welbeck….
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/12/01/arsenal-should-glad-efl-cup/
An interesting view…
Hard to disagree with tbh…
Yeah, we could go into the Christmas/New Year holiday fixtures with Sanchez, Giroud, Perez and Welbeck available Rico, that would make a nice change…
No offense but I often wonder in addition to watching Arsenal games, if people actually watch other EPL games other than highlights? Atm, Arsenal has as good a chance as any team to win the EPL title. Chelsea and L’pool are grossly overrated. I have watched almost all of their games, Chelsea is a product of scheduling and 2 ayers Moses and Costa, and all the raves about L’pool they go though patches where they look horrible and struggling offensively , watch their entire game, and defensively they are shaky. Having watched all the top 4 team, week in and week out,everyone have issues but City and Arsenal have the least.
Wouldn’t it just Kev. especially if we have no others too…
Not overly concerned re Sanogo’s injury… 😉
Read that Kev` and whoever wrote it was probably reading my comments and must have mind melded with me whilst my tongue was stuck to the window ! …………………it`s all about the West Ham game or any league game imo………………….you could have chucked the CL game with PSG into the equation aswell as the final two CL games in the league basis will have been dead rubbers as we had already qualified, Arsene should have used the same mentality in the CL as League Cup !
If the EPL is a priority (which he has said ), then look at two of the 3 most likely winners………both have no EL or CL disruption and the third most likely has a bottomless pit of money !
Two things made Leicester Champs last season !………………..1) Us not buying an outfield player and 2) Us being in the CL !………………………there is a third…………….injuries, but go back to number 1 …………………………..cant believe I`m not Arsenal manager with my amazing common sense ! hahaha
I’m not convinced Obi..
Us not buying a striker was the big problem, as was relying on a weak defence, centrally anyway…
Throw in a few lazy players like Walcott, Ox, Ramsey etc etc, oh, and injuries to Coquelin and Santi and thinking Arteta and Flamini could solve the problem….
As I said before what’s the plural of “deja-vu?”
Same shit different season only difference is we’ve spent £90m…..we will not win a major trophy with
him at the helm.
Time to get a new manager!
Just looked it up, it`s………………..deja-vus……………………..although I have a feeling I have told you this before !
It’s being reported that Santi Cazorla has been advised he need surgery to properly repair an Achilles problem that has plagued him for most of 2016.That means he will be out for months and also out of contract.Wenger dismissed his injury yesterday saying he would be back in two weeks.We will see.
We miss Santi more than anyone.
Spot on Lee.
I thought he just had inflammation…
I have had an achilles tendon problem for weeks and as I probably told you I had a sports massage on the bastard !
I also went on to a site for more info and the sports doctor said it`s at least a 5 week recovery and some exercises to do and what not to do !…..basically I`ve been doing it wrong so am starting from scratch, but mine is (hopefully ) one of the easy one`s to cure, but if it`s right down on the boney bit above the heel, then it can be a bigger bastard and may need scar tissue scraping or other !
I wonder if Santi`s is the tendon or the heel it`s self ?……….I`ve had calf and achilles tendon problems for years now and stretching is usually a good thing to do before and after sport…………I`m sure the quacks at Arsenal know all this, but as I say they can be a bastard.
Probably the most boring thing ever put on hereanf you may slit your wrists, but if you want to know about the….Achilles………there`s a vid` in the link and explains much better than I have in above comment !……………..at least wait untill after the WHam game before you abuse yourself ! 😆
http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/achilles-tendinitis
A friend of mine had a an Achilles problem, she was an Olympic athlete in her day but her injury put pay to that… it’s a nasty injury…
A problem with a lot of the injuries Rico are if there`s scar tissue involved…….it will always make a particular muscle weak and prone to relapses……………as an example Michael Owen probably had this problem on his hamstring !……. a bad tear and it`s always a weak point !………….well so my doctor who`s a tri-athlete tells me !……………………mind you, he told me to give up running for good, but my sports scientist daughter gave me a stretching programme and the injuries have been less since !……………some people just dont seem to have the time to stretch before and after exercise…………..right back to the stretching !. 🙂
Confirmed by the club.Whenever we get serious injuries it takes months until the prognosis is established and as I said earlier that’s Santi done for the season and probably with us.
Santi Cazorla is travelling to Sweden early next week to undergo surgery to his right ankle.
The club’s medical team and specialists have decided that surgery is required to the plantaris tendon in the Spain international’s right fooConfirmed by the club
The problem has not progressed during a rehabilitation programme following the injury during the home match with Ludogorets on October 19.
We expect Santi’s full recovery to take approximately three months.
Everyone at the club will be working hard with Santi to make sure he’s back on the pitch as soon as possible.
rico, everyone eventually finds their level, Oli will go down as one of the greatest tracksuit heroe’s ever to grace an Arsenal bench with his 10 goals now and don’t get me started on his warm up’s, they’re just amazing.
I know LC, I’ve had a few myself… lol
It’ll be sad if that is the case Kelsey…
Hi Micko, that’s funny.
By the way, I didn’t write the post, but I earned a fiver from it… 😉
Bad news about Santi.
Rico. I totally agree re the contract. 🙂
I thought you might Adam. 🙂
rico, players are too soft nowadays, I remember when I was younger waking up with a dead arm, must have been sleeping on it all night, didn’t stop me from playing later that morning.
Me neither Micko… bunch of softies eh… lol
in August: We’re gonna win the quadruple!
in November: We’re gonna win the treble!
in March: We’re gonna win the double!
in May: We’ve won the finish above Spurs cup! 😉
🙂 Kelsey, funny, yet so disappointingly true….
I remember a friend of mine Rico, telling me about his scar tissue issue in the photo-copying room…
The news about Cazorla is hardly surprising but typical Arsenal. Wait six weeks and then decide on a three month operation. Meanwhile the ideal replacement is on a season long loan with no recall option!
Mr Allezkev. 🙂
🙂 Kev.
Bob, just read a headline which suggests Jack wants to come back to Arsenal..
Not that I can find it now….
Where we want to go with this team?
what do we want to win with this team?
We would be better off with Dr. Kevorkian in charge of our medical room.
What a joke.
These muppets suddenly realise Santi needs an op?
Did they do their medical training before operations were invented and, thus still wary of this new technology???
Who hires them?
How much time have they actually cost players being unavailable over the years due to their mismanagement of injuries??
Morning all.
We are meant to have one of the best at the club for injuries….
Hi Rico and the House.
Hi Kelsey, hope you’re keeping well. I have to agree with your earlier comment about how stale and boring Arsenal have become now they’ve gone more Corporate than football. Adam hit the nail on the head too. In a world where sport is meant to entertain, the current the Arsenal model offers zero in the way of excitement, unless you get excited about how much money the club make.
Hi Cornwall, I must take issue with something you said yesterday about Wenger knowing he has to sacrifice the League Cup for PL and CL ‘glory’. Have Arsenal had a sudden radical make-over where they now compete?
I’m past being disappointed with Arsenal losses, because we all know the pattern. When the real litmus challenges arrive, Arsenal crumble. It has been the defining identity of Wenger’s Arsenal for the last 10 years.
But last night’s performance is a microcosm of the whole club, messy, insipid and passionless.
It makes sense to sacrifice the League Cup if you’re driven enough to want the PL and CL, but Arsenal just don’t have that ruthlessness that separates champions from the fillers.
Arsenal lack the passion and football intelligence to be anything more than just making up the numbers, and the majority of fans are painfully aware of our deep malaise.
It is very worrying.
Hi Herb, another good comment…
Same Arsenal, just a different season……
Night guys, catch up tomorrow
Rico, but none of the top 4 teams are convincing.
Re, JW he said yesterday that he knows he will only get another Arsenal contract only if he plays well at B’mouth. So yes he wants to come back.
Hi Herb
Most years we play a weakened team in the League Cup, so this Wenger priority is nothing new but this year given that such clubs like Liverpool, Chavs and Man U are not in the CL and that is an anomaly with small clubs like Leicester and the even smaller Spuds taken their places…it`s vital that we do not get fixture congestion and that means prioritising the EPL at the expense of…..well, everything ……..even more than in the usual years !…………….anyway, it was said with a little tongue in cheek although if I remember what I said yesterday or was it this morning ?……………it possibly was more tongue stuck on the window ! 🙂
Also I did not quote Arsene, it was my own personel opinion of that his priority is too field lesser teams in the League Cup for EPL or CL glory…………..makes sense to me and is probably what another manager would do as well !……..although I am dreaming here of a proper coach/manager who knows tactics and shit and could take us to another level and out of groundhog day…………………ok ok, I`m fantasizing it`s me ! hahaha
‘Where we want to go with this team’….?
JM, that is an almost spiritual question.
Dr.LC, what is your treatment for a fcuked calf?
There’s nothing wrong with your logic, Cornwall, but this is Arsenal we’re talking about. Most likely we’ve only got two CL games left, one in Feb. one in March. The FA Cup, who knows? Wenger seems to decide on a year by year basis whether it has any value or not, but it got him another three years of gross under-achieving for a King’s ransom, and as this is the last year of his current deal, if the wind is blowing in the right direction and we get lucky in terms of who we’re drawn against, it could happen.
But there’s so much wrong within the structure of the club.
Whatever else we say about United or Liverpool, they have an in-bred winning mentality in their DNA, which is something Arsenal lost after WWII, and have never regained.
City and Chelsea have adopted it too, and City are now operating on a completely different level.
They’ll be the next English club to win the CL.
A big part of Arsenal’s problem is that they’re enshrined in the elite who haven’t had to work for their vast wealth. They’ve never hungered for success because it’s handed to them.
Arsenal have never really had to deal with any of the problems those other clubs have faced, and particularly their supporters. We’ve never encountered a ‘Munich’ , ‘Heysel’ or ‘Hillsborogh’ and whilst we can be thankful, equally it brings the club and supporters closer together and forges a unique bond. Okay City and Chelsea don’t have that, (although City must have been affected by Munich) their wealth doesn’t come from the establishment like Arsenal’s, and they’re prepared to spend whatever it takes to make their clubs the best. Arsenal operate with the hand-brake firmly on, shackled by self-imposed restraints and completely opposed to spend what it takes to get to the next level.
We are currently football’s biggest waste of time.
Herb, I couldn’t possibly comment on yesterday’s game, I leave that to the experts that get to watch the 2 minutes of highlights every week and choose to enlighten us lol !
For every Munich, Heysel and Hillsborough us Gooners have Walsall, Wrexham and York City to contend with…….we all have our crosses to bear mate !
Nothing will change until Arsene flucks off.
Read a really good quote in the paper this week,
“Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives”
Are you listening AFC ?
Nite Gooners.
I will add to Micko`s comment that although change will happen when Arsene goes, it will be a change which we have no way of knowing whether it will be for the better or worse, but I honestly believe we will have no change to properly compete until the Kroenke`s go !…………unless all the planets are in line and we doa lucky Leicester, but that to can be said of 88 other clubs !
BT………………….are we talking young bovine animal or leg muscle ?…….if the leg muscle, my own experience is calf raises and long stretching and a foam roller, but it will still get fcuked now and again…………………if the former, then you probably need to speak to a welshman or a therapist !. 🙂
Dr.Lc, my own calf, not the bovine variety, at the moment it’s good for 5-10 mins then completely fcuked again…Hoping to see a sports physio in a couple of weeks,this has being going on for months now and rest has not made any difference.
Thanks for advice, LC.
Hi Micko
They are all just FA Cup shocks and a different sort of pain. Munich,
Heysel and Hillsborough witnessed the loss of human life which were directly and emotionally attached to their communities. Sharing the amount of grief they suffered is a powerful unifying force, one that cannot be underestimated when gauging people’s passion.
We have a long history of high-profile cup defeats where the supposedly ‘weaker’ team has shown us up. Remember the 1979 FA Cup final success – without doubt the hardest – against United was sandwiched between final defeats against Ipswich (where SuperMac and Hudson flopped) in ’78, and the ‘Willie Young final’ against then 2nd Division West Ham and Brooking’s headed goal in 1980. Four days later we played out a tepid Cup Winners’ Cup final with Valencia, Rix and Brady (his last game for Arsenal), missed penalties, and we lost that as well.
Arsenal have forever had this annoying habit of being too soft when it matters most, and far too obliging to the blood-thirsty hacks who revel in our downfall.
If Wenger was the only problem I’d be far more relaxed about Arsenal’s current stasis, but our problems run deeper than that.
The next managerial appointment is critical, and will define how determined the club are to genuinely compete at the very top level. Financially Arsenal are already a global super-power, but on the field they are light years behind.
The club’s football philosophy needs a total overhaul with a completely new blue-print that excites and engages the fan-base, but I don’t see that happening under the ownership of Stan Kroenke.
Would a relatively new manager like Eddie Howe propel Arsenal to the next level? His only time away from Bournemouth was an unsuccessful period at Burnley where he was sacked. Is he a ‘Brian Clough’ or a ‘Steve Bruce’? The English haven’t produced a world-class manager for decades, so the signs aren’t great, and it wouldn’t represent a significant step forward.
BT I find that 10 pints of Guinness usually does the trick for a dodgy calf muscle…
I mean after 10 pints nothing really matters anymore, just ask Mick…
Night All…
Well Morning really, but it ain’t light, so goodnight…
Morning all, I don’t think I’ve seen player mismanagement like I’ve seen at Arsenal. Really. Players not being rested enough and when injured they get bogus treatment. With a franchise that boasts of high end medical centre, we really muck up the treatment of injuries. Cazorla could have been a month in rehab by now had they taken the first two weeks to observe him.
This and last season’s Welbeck’s mess up is showing how the club is clumsy in handling player injuries. It’s just eff’d up.
..and there were some fans doubting Klopp. I believe he has the passion and hunger than our very own untouchable Wenger. He wouldn’t have/entertain lazy players in his team. Those kids who played So’ton or our first half in the league game.
He could have had everyone running. Not sure about Howe, but I’d gladly welcome Simeone, this club needs a nitrous injection. Arsene is too soft and he’s tactically inept, he’s been figured out and that’s why we can’t get far…esp in UCL.
Is Wenger misinformed about these injuries or he’s a pathological liar?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3991180/Santi-Cazorla-five-months-originally-expected-recover-inside-four-days-s-not-time-s-happened-Arsenal.html
Morning Marshall and all.
I was about to post that Mail link but you beat me too it… 😉
I d think Wenger is economic with the truth which is why whenever he says a player is out for two weeks, we know it’s more likely to be three months…
Wonder if he’ll look to dip into the transfer window to find a player who could cover for Santi…
I read Bayern are interested in getting Klopp as their season isn’t going as expected.
Simeone would be a good choice imo, at least the team would learn how to defend well. Maybe he could bring Griezmann with him…
Morning Rico, you need to get up abit earlier lol.
They(bayern) know Klopp is a winner and we certainly need one too.
🙂 Marshall, 4.45 this morning…
We certainly do, I just pray AW isn’t planning on staying…
Morning All
Talking of injuries
Reading Brady’s book and he makes a point of
missing a game yes 1 game out of the 42 games
that season.
Hi Fred, incredible…
In all fairness, it’s a much faster and more physical game nowadays.
Any sport will show you players of the past seemingly more durable.
They’re so finely tuned now, as well.
Over trained, even, but I guess they have to be to keep pace.
It applies to racehorses and greyhounds, as well.
Faster and fitter is the way of the world in sports, these days.
But the surfaces weren’t as good back then Scott… 🙂
New post up now…