And in my opinion, that is it. Two set pieces, two defensive howlers and two goals….!
Koscielny, in for Mertesacker, played a part in both and the way he performed yesterday made me wonder if he had been skipping training!! That was not the kind of kind of performance we are used to seeing from him!!
Just recently, Arsene Wenger had talked about the difference between:
‘The Premier League games and the big games”.
He said that yesterdays fixture was definitely one of the latter and yes he was right. It was a huge game between the two top London clubs in the league and the same two who will be fighting it out for the Premier League title come May.
Well, on yesterdays showing, I don’t think we will be causing the other league contenders too much bother, do you?
Team in full: Mannone, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby, Arteta, Cazorla, Ramsey, Gervinho, Podolski.
Subs: Martinez, Santos, Mertesacker, Djourou, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud.
Santi Cazorla had our first chance but his shot went flying over the bar and Diaby saw a chance hit Cech straight in the midriff. That was pretty much it for the tall Frenchman, just after quarter of an hour he went off injured, replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ramsey moved in central whilst Chamberlain filled the wide role.
Soon after the change, we went 1-0 down. A free-kick given away in a dangerous area which Mata took, and drifted it in towards Torres.
He and Kosceinly had a bit of a tug of war; Torres poked a foot out and found the back of the net. Mannone was nowhere to be seen!
Sloppy!
Santi Cazorla felt he’d been fouled in the penalty area when Mikel caught in him the head but Atkinson was having none of it. Straight after, Chelsea had their own shout for a penalty turned down when Torres kicked Koscielny and the Spaniard went over like he’d been shot!!
We had lost our composure, Chelsea were closing us down well, getting away with naughty tackles/fouls at times and we couldn’t get a grip of the game.
Just before half-time though we struck an equaliser and what a super goal it was too.
The ball went our wide to Chamberlain who played a low cross into the area which found Gervinho. One touch, a quick swivel followed by a high shot which blasted into the back of the net.
Oscar and Torres then missed chances to take the away side into the break with a lead.
As the second half started, Podolski burst into the penalty area but his cross hit Gervinho, feel to Cazorla but the Spaniard blasted wide.
Up popped set-piece number two for the afternoon, and goal number two. Vermaelen was at fault for conceding this free kick after he caught Torres. Mata again took the resulting free-kick which missed every player in the box including Koscielny and a helpless/hopeless Mannone who just stood flat-footed on the line.
He didn’t bother to come for the cross, he didn’t really seem to bother to stop the ball going in either.
Shame the referee didn’t see Ivanovich flatten Gibbs as the ball was crossed eh?
We had a few chances to grab an equaliser before the end, in fact had we been able to shoot on target, we may have even got a winner but reality is, we didn’t have our shooting boots on yesterday.
Podolski saw a fine header just saved by Cech and Ramsey fired the rebound wide.
Wenger then made the last two changes, with Giroud and Walcott coming on for Podolski and Ramsey. Giroud went close but Cech was equal to his shot and Koscielny went close from a Cazorla free kick, but his header hit the post.
Chelsea had chances of their own in between ours; Mata from a free kick, which the defensive wall actually managed to block for once, and Moses blasted his chance over the bar.
Cazorla saw another chance go begging before the final whistle blew as his side-footed shot went over the bar and then our big Frenchman looked almost certain to score to salvage a point.
After some good play between Cazorla and Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud was sent clear.
With what would be our final chance of the match, and having beaten Cech, he left himself too much of an angle – his shot blasted into the side-netting….
The game was over and we were brought back to earth with a bang, and bad news about Diaby followed as Wenger confirmed he will now be out for at least three weeks with a thigh strain……
Hardly the way to make The Emirates our fortress was it?
Here are the match stats to end with, supplied by emma:
Top Passers: Arteta: 59/63 – 94% Cazorla: 53/56 – 95% Mata: 47/51 – 92% Terry: 41/44 – 93%
Santi Cazorla & Oxlade Chamberlain created FOUR chances each yesterday for us, but we couldn’t make them count.
|
Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Chelsea |
|
1 |
Goals |
2 |
|
1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
|
4 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
|
10 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
|
3 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
|
6 |
Corners |
5 |
|
14 |
Fouls |
14 |
|
4 |
Offsides |
3 |
|
2 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
|
0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
|
88.1 |
Passing Success |
83.8 |
|
31 |
Tackles |
26 |
|
77.4 |
Tackles Success |
88.5 |
|
51.4 |
Possession |
48.6 |
|
57.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
42.4 |
|
469 |
Total Passes |
458 |
|
35 |
Total Crosses |
15 |
|
137 |
Lost Balls |
144 |
|
62 |
Recoveries |
59 |
|
46.2 |
1st Half Poss. |
53.8 |
|
55.7 |
2nd Half Poss. |
44.3 |
That’s it for today…..
Morning all..
Arsene Wenger:
‘Defensively we were not at the level needed’
on the performance…
I feel we played against a good team, but we gave the game away. They had three shots on target and scored two goals, from soft set-pieces. Defensively we were just not at the level you have to be in a game like that, which is where we were punished today. For the rest, we have shown quality and spirit but we have to show more personality and authority on the goals we conceded.
on leaving Mertesacker on the bench…
That is a decision which was based on the opposition we played. You can say it was a wrong one maybe, but I believe [that statement] is a lowering the quality of the players who played, they are internationals.
If you do not play Koscielny or Vermaelen and cannot win the game, you will ask me the same question.
on Chelsea’s first goal…
We did not attack the ball, on either goal. The difference between Chelsea on set-pieces and us was the way they were in the air – it was obvious today.
on Arsenal’s mentality…
I would not say that, it is just on the day when you play at home you do not expect to concede two set pieces. That puts us every time on the back foot. We played two big games in a week, and it is difficult.
Every time you are behind in a big game you have 65 per cent of chances to win the game. We came back last week and did so again today, but then straight away gave away another goal again. It is impossible because you have to take all the risks and open yourself up. You play against good players and they can hit you on the counter-attack. That is where we were not at the [right] level.
on Giroud’s chance at the end…
It was a top chance, and Cech kept them in the game as well on many occasions. he had an outstanding game.
on John Terry being allowed to play…
Yes, I had no problem. I do not want to interfere in that, I expected him to play. If the rules allow it why not?
on a possible over-reaction to the defeat…
Yes, maybe, but we have to deal with that. I can completely understand people’s opinion, what is important is the personality you show in a big game. That is where is some areas we were not at the [right] level today.
on rotating central defenders…
Nobody can play all the games, it is simple.
on being 16 years in charge…
I never look back, I always look forward. I looked at today’s game and look at the next game. It is not easy, it is never easy.
All very quiet so best get on with a few Sunday chores….
Still just not good enough. Same every year just a few players short to make a difference.One point from two games against the big boys will not win is the league
Morning Gooners…
Morning Rico.
I read that Gary Neville piece last night.
A very thoughtful and balanced assessment, IMHO.
An assessment that could have described any of the past 4 seasons!
I like Kozzer a lot and it’s unfair to blame him totally.
But BFG has a quiet authority about him and maybe he spreads that calmness, organisation and authority to his defensive team mates better than LK does in these kinds of games.
Off to read today’s post…
Good morning Rico and any other Gooners who are awake,
A very disapointing result yesterday made worse by being overtaken by Tottnumb, but…the hurt was eased a bit by the fact that it was Manure who our noisy neighbours beat.
Let’s forget the recriminations, we never expected to go unbeaten and we are doing better than last season.
Use yesterday’s result as a wake up call and look forward to Wednesday and a home tie against Olympiacos,
Morning morning,
An interesting and positive assessment by the best pundit on tv.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2210556/Gary-Neville-Arsenal-Chelsea-separated-belief.html?openGraphAuthor=%2Fdebate%2Fcolumnists%2Fcolumnist-1068007%2FGary-Neville.html
We are hardly ahead of where we were last year! Cazorla is a great signing, and Jenkinson is really improving.
However, we are woeful in the GK department and needed to buy an experienced keeper in the summer. Mannone and Fabianski will never be good enough, and Chesny is too young and inconsistent at the moment. a top goalie organises the defence and creates confidence in the team, our chaos create panic. Look at Man U, they are unsettled in the GK department and it is costing them.
Koscielny seems to be back to where he was in his first season, ponderous and slow. He was lucky Torres screwed up his chance. TVM5 doesn’t look like the inspirational captain I hoped he would be.
Finally, when is Wenger going to buy a big strong defensive midfielder? Diaby is too injury prone and needs to be replaced. Arteta was bullied in the midfield yesterday and it was his poor tackling that led to the free kick for the second goal. Chelsea have big players to win the ball for Mata, Hazard, Oscar et al.
Oh, and Giroud! When you pay £12m it isn’t unrealistic to expect him to hit the ground running. Chamakh looked better than him when he joined on a free!!!
rico, couldn’t have been any fun writing that. 😉 We are toothless upfront; Poldi was invisible for much of the game; Giroud missed yet another fantastic chance. And Koz, oh my! How atypical.
Super disappointed; but we do not undo all the good we have done by just one game. Lessons for everyone. We need to improve in the final third; and Mannone has to command his box better. I was frustrated by how we seemed to have no urgency to press forward after Koz’s error for Chelsea’s second goal.
morning all
we can only win our next two games to put our confidence back into place…..Olympiakos and then away at W/ham…..
am afraid , some work to do in the training ground still .
right line-up for each game is crucial….we don’t wanna be predicted easily …we have to have that element of surprise to our game and keep the opposition thinking.
when things are not working -like yesterday- was quite clear tika taka was not working due to successful tactics by the chavs,
we should be tenacious and do some rapid changes to counter the opposition. and change/modify our approach.
it seems we take ages to do our changes & (tactics/formation).
Giroud should have started or sent in begining of second half,
Gervo might come good in time but he is not out and out striker,
prefer Poldi drifting in around Giroud and Gervo on the flank.
putting Giroud on when we are trailing , puts huge pressure on him,
(games agains city & chavs)..he desreves to start.or come in when scores are level ,he gives us something no other in the team can offer ….!
Ramsey coming off the bench rather than starting that’s where he is effective the most.
Theo ??? in the air !
Good morning gooners………
Hi again all, nice hour and a half walk, still feel no better….
Good morning all
Painful to lose the way we did yesterday in a game which we should have won. We just have to dust and pick ourself up.
agag, it wasn’t nice….
Hi emma – guess we’ll see what they are made of now, nice tricky trip to West Ham and Big Sam’s hoof tactics. If Carroll plays, we need a much more composed central defence.
Merts will no doubt be straight back in……
Gooners just a question – what you all think about playing kos as dm, because i think we need to be careful with players who are coming back from long layoff, their time on the pitch needs monitoring.
Not for me gdna, what if he gets injured?
Arteta is doing just fine imho, one of our best players…
Lets stay positive gooners. It was not a bad performance per se.
rico i think its one of the better options at the moment considering the players we have available at the moment, any play can get injury, arteta dosen’t have a good injury record either to be playing dm, suppose he got injury
hi rico just thought i would say Mertesacker should of played and you do a good job rico keeping me informed about arsenal. thanks
decent performance but as usual lacking that bit of quality to make the difference, winning the prem is a pipe dream atm, imo 3rd or 4th is the best we can hope for! we are just really average up front ;( podolski & giround are decent players at best!! they will not get over 30 goals between them! i really hope they prove me wrong but i just cant see it. but sure all’s good we made 36m profit 😉
Hi Tsgh – I thought it was very average 🙁
If AW wants a DM gdna, he should have signed one, we need to leave behind the square pegs in round holes kind of playing.
Coq is a DM if AW needs one or wants to play one…….
Afternoon all,
Another false dawn for Diaby, one good game, followed by two average one’s then off for a bed bath, the bloke’s a liability, I’m sticking by that.
Don’t think Wenger should be rotating the team especially this early in the season, there’s no need to, everyone is fresh, if he feels the need to tinker then do it in the League Cup or Europe.
Giroud needs to be starting games, he’s our 10 million pound striker, giving him 20 minutes here and there is doing nothing for his confidence, he needs a proper run if the goals are to come.
Roll on Wednesday, need to get this one out of our system.
rico – Just unfortunate that Coq was not even selected on the bench yesterday. Wenger chose the wrong match not to play BFG. We needed his presence and height in those set pieces. I guess he must have learnt one or 2 things yesterday. Kos and TV are like for like and should be rotated with BFG. It’s high time we start Giroud up-front he needs more game time. Theo’s heart is set for a move. Don’t thing he wants to be there with the rest of the team. He is just using the playing as a striker slogan as a smokescreeen to deviate attention. All in all not a bad performance with the exception of the 2 costly mistakes which resulted into a goal, the chavs never had any meaningful chance to test our keeper.
switching players and formation in the sec-half could have
made some difference..we were outrun in the middle of the park
and we couldn’t cope with the chav’s …send Giroud early on in the second half and switch to 4-5-1 to combat their approach in the midfield.
having Merts & DJ both on the bench !! le coq would have been a better option instead of DJ….maybe his attitude when being substituted previous game went down badly with AW & Co.
all is not lost,its just a painful one game..need to bounce back quickly and am all confident we will .
i just like to see Giroud at the focall point up front and others running around him…his workrate will put any defender on their toes.
K1886 – Imho, we were average up front and at the back.
In the middle, we were snuffed out and had no alternative, we didn’t use the width enough, we went back a few steps yesterday…
Hi Micko,
couldn’t agree more, Why pay all that money and then stick Giroud on the bench. He’d just got his first goal for us in the week and gets dumped. bizarre….
As for picking up a thigh strain after taking a shot, he must be quite frail. Those 3 weeks, will turn into months I suspect although I really hope I am wrong….
Did anyone see Walcott’s interview on sky yesterday, pretty clear when you see the words coming out of his mouth, been promised the chance to play as striker and if it doesn’t happen he will look elsewhere to do that, says he doesn’t want to but he will.
Sorry, I know everyone’s sick and tired of it.
@ rico coq is not good enough to be starting against one of the top teams in Europe, the square pegs in round holes are playing boys against men.
But to be fair emma, i think most of us, I know i did, thought Kos was the better option because Chelsea are full of nippy little players.
Neither of their goals really needed a big strong defender to stop them, they just need Kos to be more composed on one, and Mannone and Kos to have been more assertive on the other….
Just my own view of course 😉
@ micko whatever walcott says is irrelevant, whenever he leaves afc his career is over because he is just not good enough.
hi again all !
watched the match in full again ,and i just cant get my head around it yet !!
the chavs were there for the taking and we just couldn’t…..
AW is too patient at times…changes needed earlier than happened,
he has far too much faith in underperforming players…team success has to come first.
chelsea did their work and knew exactly how we gonna shape and play ,and we didn’t surprise them !! we don’t wanna be predictable like the seasons before…..
hak – agree, it was clear to most of us that Chelsea set out to stifle Santi and they did, so why not think on their feet and do something to change it, where was the usual constant interchanging?
Micko, all the time we don’t take our chances up front, the more I am starting to see where he is coming from. I say give the guy a go and if he fails, then let him leave if he still wants to….
gdna –
I have a feeling you couldn’t be further from the truth there. The day he leaves us, and gets to play where he is strongest, which imho is either on the left or central, his career will take off….
I agree with Mick…
Gdna, he may have to drop down the league to do it but you can see he has real belief in himself, I’ll give him that.
Hi Ak… I always agree with Micko 🙂
i think Theo can do well drifting around a big CF a la Giroud..
but don’t think can lead the line on his own…
so big three months for him in an arsenal shirt till Jan…
Rico, I’m too scared to disagree… 😀
Hi preston gooner –
sorry, i missed your earlier comments, thanks for the compliments…. Hope you pop back soon…
i think theo will be gone in jan but then again he’ll most likely go on a free in the summer because wenger wont sell him which is a shame
One defeat, as disappointing as it was, in many aspects, shouldn’t define our season.
Every team has it’s weaknesses.
On another day we might have beaten Chelsea, I simply don’t see that there is a gap at all.
It was just their day and they got the breaks.
Plenty of Hacks and Media tossers will be writing us off.
So be it…
Maybe it’s better that way?
Out of the spotlight so to speak…
😆 Ak, me too…
Notts Forest v Derby is really feisty, its soon going to really kick off….
Guess it depends on whether AW keeps his promises Pg
Last season we beat them 3-5 at Stamford Bridge…
But they bounced back to have a fantastic season.
Wenger and co need to do likewise.
Frimpong could well be that def/mid that some Gooners have been asking for.
We gotta give him a chance first IMHO before spending loads of dough on an import.
As for Theo, well I just don’t feel that his heart is in it anymore.
I just suspect that his Agent is sealing a deal with ManUre.
Straight replacement for Nani…
Just a hunch..!
Tell you what really annoys me, our fans seemed to put more effort into booing Terry and Cashley than they seemed to be supporting our players….
salut kev
true,its early days to judge any team yet, its gonna be tight all
season long i think.
i take losing anyday if the oppositions outplay us,but hard to take when losing from our down downfall , next thing we can do ,is win our next match and stand tall all over again. and we will.
after seeing Manure yesterday ,any team can and will be beaten ,only if it was not by the near spuds !!
Giroud needs to start the next two games.
Maybe the front three we saw at Liverpool?
Off to do a bit. Lata Rico.
Time will tell Ak, for both….
Did you guys see ANR’s post about us having first option on Chico??
MP reported that that was all part of the RvP deal…
Hi Hakzah, yes I agree mate.
We must beat West Ham though, that game is massive psychologically as we go into another damned International break, yawn…
Gone now
Rico, About mert and kos i disagree. Last week i got it wrong when i wanted kos and verm and i suspect that is what wenger would have done if verm was fit, but after last week performance, it became clear to me that mert is first choice anytime and anyday. Verm and kos should be rotated based on form and not the captains armband. Also, and this is not hindsight, i still believe giroud is the best striker at the club. He needs game time. If you look at his misses critically you will discover that it is the angles that are missing from his game. He gets them wrong and he needs games to get it right. Sitting on the bench wont help him. Henry had the same problem when we moved to the emirates. All in all, we have played 3 big boys and we are in a good position. We just need to go on a winning run between now and december…. If we succeed we can win the title. C’mon lads it’s time for action
i know things are not going our way when i see our mids passing the ball further back and then further back to the goalie who launches
it straight back to the opposition or to the touchline ! saw it yesterday and the game V Montpellier…
its not gonna be straight tika taka in all matches…just would like to think we have plan B ready and in-place to be complied and executed to disrupt our opponents.
I totally agree emma @12:53 pm.
Rico- I dont believe AW has the confidence to ever play Le Coq as a DM without an experienced head next to him. His best game came for arsenal on 2 Oct 2011 against the spuds and he played with Song that day.
This was the line-up then.
13 Szczesny
03 Sagna (Jenkinson – 68′ )
04 Mertesacker Booked
28 Gibbs
08 Arteta
14 Walcott (Benayoun – 72′ )
16 Ramsey
17 Song
39 Coquelin
10 Van Persie
27 Gervinho (Arshavin – 77′ )
Last year he played in the middle 2 times in the premiership. He even said after the last game of the season at West Brom that he thinks the manager is beginning to trust him in that position.
Even in the Youth FA cup in 2009 he only played in the DM when EF26 was out or Eastmond was needed at right back.
Against Coventry Yennaris was the defensive of the 3 midfielders.
See you late Ak – keep your eyes on the road 😉
allezkev – Theo is old news fellow gunners. He would have left before August if song had not left.
I know some people are saying we should still give him a chance but what he has been saying is play me where I want to play or I am off on Bosman.
Joyweds – what are you disagreeing with?
Merts has been outstanding this season, but I can understand why AW went with Kos. But as I said yesterday, if it is not broken, why try and fix it.
Our run has been with TV and Merts at the back, but there must have been a reason AW went with Kos and that had to be pace.
Merts is not the quickest but he reads the game and what he lacks in pace he makes up for in forward thinking…
Tsgh..
My own thought is Coquelin is merely filling in for Frimpong. Once he has proved his fitness and that he is mentally, fully recovered, Coq will be sold…
I agree too Rico.
Coming back to a point you have made a number of times, I dont understand why Miguel is still not being used as Gibbs understudy. When JW10 returns fully and is ready to start especially without Diaby we will loose a lot of height in the team. I wish AW uses Santos as we both agree on the LM when Poldi is out because I think when we have Ox, Theo, Gervais and Santi on at the same time we lose a bit of defensive experience.
TR7 would have made a difference yesterday with his surge forwards I think.
Rosicky would have made a great difference based on the way he player last season Tsgh, totally agree…
And you know i agree with the first bit..
You know sometimes it’s worth throwing caution to the wind. watching Manure in the dying moments and their keeper is in the penalty area, why do we never seem to try and do that. If we are losing, we have nothing to lose…
Lansbury finally come on for Notts Forest, 75 mins….
All quiet here so catch up later….
Hiya me Gooner family,
Slowly returning from what felt like one foot in the grave. Okay, a bit exaggerated I’d not any doctors visit me in airtight suits from the Outbreak movie demanding me to be quarantined outside any civilization contact. But this bug totally drained me from energy and recovery power. I still feel the thing on my muscles and joints. At least food finally has some appeal to me again.
On the game: Rico has been banging the drum all summer on the unhandled importance of a experienced goalie. The woman has an working football brain me says. Big games like yesterday’s needs presence between the sticks. When the ball dinks at the far post a custodian needs to leave his line and reduce the angle to limit the target space to a minimum.
Other frustrations came to me in the lack of NOT IN MY F*CKING BACKYARD ATTITUDE. Where was the will to wipe the cock-sure smirk of the Chav faces? Can’t escape the assumption either that the midweek euphoria took some feet of the gas. Leading to personal concentration collapses. We are still a measurable distance away from intuitive play without the industrial workrate.
As for the final third action and activity, Gerv seems the only one who doesn’t let himself be forced outwide to escape streched defender legs. He wants to create shooting options within the diameter of the goal. It has already improved his tally beyond his entire last season. Giroud should adapt a bit more hip-to-hip positioning. He has the technical skills and physics to twist and turn on his neck breathers.
Other than that it’s only one game that escaped from an inspired demonstration, and proved to me the gap to top spot is there for the closing this season.
Hi Dg, so glad you are very near to being back with us all 😉
‘Other frustrations came to me in the lack of NOT IN MY F*CKING BACKYARD ATTITUDE. Where was the will to wipe the cock-sure smirk of the Chav faces? Can’t escape the assumption either that the midweek euphoria took some feet of the gas. Leading to personal concentration collapses. We are still a measurable distance away from intuitive play without the industrial workrate’.
Spot on…
I did write in the post, but changed my mind.
‘Wenger said he nearly sold Mannone in the summer, well I wish he had, and Fabianski. Then use what we save on their wage to pay an experienced keeper.’
We have plenty of keepers, but not one is outstanding at this this moment in time, and as we witnessed yesterday with Cech, Keepers can win you games…..
I do not think Kos has a lot of responsibility in the goals. The defenses are covering well the forwards and leave space for a safe intervention for Manone. I wonder if without the intervention of Kos in the 2nd goal, the ball did not go in goal direct . Manone is weak at crosses and this kind of balls.
In 6 games we have 9 points. It’s little. We are 7th or 8th. 4 of the 5 more important opponents occupy the top 4 places. Our victory yesterday was balanced the table. 9 points in 18 possible. 9 points dropped. At this rate, by the end of November we can say goodbye to the League and probably to one of the top 4 places. Is what bothers me most.
Hiya madam,
Recovery is still a work in progress.
On the keeper-issue, not only are they substandard. I also refute the goalie training they receive. Which is why I described the first goal situation as not only as a defense howler but a tactical position error from Mannone as well. Not only would an experienced head give us more trustworthy rotate/injury options. I’m also of the opinion it would help the daily polishing on the Colney ground.
Back in a few – trying to spoon a meal.
Hi JM – i think both Mannone and Kos had a part to play in both goals…
Its very early to write us off though, but we certainly need to improve….
yes, we need
Crikey DG, spoon feeding. You have been really poorly, bless you….
I so wish that we had offered a sensible amount to secure the signing of Schwarzer (spelling) he would have solved so many problems on and off the field….
And this summer, we missed out on Jussi….
Some suggest it was the perfect wake up call JM, maybe it will turn out to be. If so, i’d rather it happen now that February when it’s too late….
Me though, i don’t believe in wake up calls, we shouldn’t need them….
Citeh and Liverpool are reported to be ‘ready’ to offer Theo a central role
🙄
Buenos Noches JM,
I agree, defenders need to leave anticipation space for the keeper to negotiate. But Kozzer should have made the most of the Torres pulling and pushing, dropping like a bag of bricks when the Spaniard initiated it before the free-kick was of the spot.
Rico more like force feeding, after a few bites I loose the appetite to continue.
I feel the keeper-issue once again wasn’t a primary objective in the TW.
Theo can f off, mixing blood in the water with his shark antics.
That’s not so good Dg, I truly hope you feel better real soon ….
Theo continues to confuse me….
I’m off to watch The Ryder Cup, sadly I think the Euro’s have a too bigger hill to climb….
Goodnight all, stay safe and catch up tomorrow….
Dg, have a good rest and hope your recovery continues well…..
Rico I will be okay, the worst is over. Cold sweat and all.
I fear support is blurring with the ticking of days, for most Gunners Theo is heading towards junk-dna if he choses to squeeze the situation beyond September.
Night lady of the house. Enjoy your evening. Thank you for the blessing and well wishes. Strengths the moral.
I think we are over doing it with the second guessing. We have three great cbs, they will have to rotate to stay fresh in a long season. also, after every mistake, people say that guy shouldnt have started the match. Its ridiculous. I do think gk needs to take charge on set pieces, its funny that all the people on sczezneys case after his drop at pool dont mention that he takes charge well in those situations. we had two very bad ones with mannone against city, and one went in. So this is a trend we need to fix. And i do prefer ramsey coming on later in matches, its been working well, whether ahead or behind, he brings energy and effort.
Anyone know how the Ryder Cup is going?
Last I heard it 11pts each…
Wow, Europe won 14.5 to 13.5….
Can’t remember the last time, if ever, that Europe were so successful in the singles matches.
We usually do better in the Fourballs and Foursomes…
That has to be one of the best, if not THE best win the Europeans have ever had.
Ian Poulter.
Wenger should sign him up.
Dutch, didn’t know you were poorly.
Sorry to hear that buddy.
Glad you’re still with us, but that sounded a pretty serious virus…
Maybe you need some special Amsterdam coffee?
Take care now.
Night Gooners…
Well,i missed the game as i was out in the country,but nothing has changed……one loss,and most Gooners go to water!!!
Incredible that suddenly our players aren’t good enough,and this a week after we played Citeh of the park.
It is very disappointing we lost,but the fans reaction is even more so.
Morning all,
Got a few things this morning…
Post will go up around 9.30.
Catch you later….
Well done Europe, watched it to the end, that’s for you Seve…..
The Ryder Cup? What’s that?
Oh! I know, it’s that thing were blokes in funny trousers, with one glove hanging out of the back pocket, walk around a field trying to whack a little ball with a stick into sand pits and ponds and things.
I never could quite see the point of it myself. Now if you could take your dog along, he could bring your back after it goes into one of those annoying little holes that they have lying around.
On the whole I think I prefer tiddlywinks, at least there seems to be an end product in that.
Rico, HELP!!!
I missed the ball, “he could bring your …. back”