Sometimes…….
Firstly, what a weekend of sport, England looked down and out against South Africa in the Cricket World Cup but put in a top fielding performance to win against all odds – Wolves had to settle for a point off the Spuds when a win should have been the result. The Dippers beat the side who sit top of the Premier League and my local side who I used to watch from the stands many years ago beat Middlesbrough 5-2!
The only down side was our result, a 0-0 draw when we should have won at least 4-0 and that’s not including the two muck ups by the officials!
So why do I hate being a Gooner sometimes?
Well obviously it’s because I have had to cheer on the Chavs in the week and then yesterday it got worse, I had to cheer on the Dippers….
I can’t stand either club but for us Arsenal fans, it had to be done didn’t it? Thankfully we got what we hoped for but just imagine if we had a Dirk Kite on our side against Sunderland? We’d be one point behind the Mancs, with a game in hand!
Well, we don’t and we aren’t but if ever there was a season for us to win the league, it’s this one. Whether we finally wake up and realise that though and get the results to make it happen remains to be seen.
Anyway, we now put the league to one side and look forward to Champions League fixture in Spain against Barcelona tomorrow night.
After the match on Saturday, Jack Wilshere was reported to be injured and out for a week, however, yesterday reports to the contrary came out and it seems our little super star will be on the plane to Spain.
Other injury news is that Cesc Fabregas is winning his battle to be fit, Alex Song remains doubtful but hopefully Aaron Ramsey will travel.. Two that I hope are not and that’s Denilson and Diaby but sadly I think Wenger will see different especially if Song doesn’t play. News from Spain is Carlos Puyol will again miss out with a back injury and Pique will of course miss out due to suspension. I like the sound of that…
One thing I am still not convinced about though is Theo Walcott – the one player Barcelona fear the most. Ok, he’s not as good as Messi, he probably never will and his game this season has been up and down. One minute he has a stormer, the next he frustrates, a bit like many of our players this season really.
Don’t ask me why but I have a sneaky feeling that he will be on the plane, Barca fear him because of his pace and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Wenger is holding him back to spring a surprise…….
Yes I know I’m mad but for once, I’d love to be right……..
Quick word about Kyle Bartley – our young central defender. Well yesterday he was the star of the show for his on loan club Rangers, heading home the only goal on 24 minutes to secure a 1-0 victory over St Mirren. Rangers are now five points behind Celtic with two games in hand. I’m sure all Arsenal fans hope Kyle will go on and help Rangers seal the Scottish Premier League and then he’ll come back knowing what it’s like to be a PL winner.
Have a good day all…..
Morning guys.
My facebook post this morning.
Funny, Arsenal get kicked to hell every game and it doesn’t make the news, in fact, it is condoned. A Man Utd player gets kicked and the press make it the end of the world.
Morning all.good read.i also find it strange that Aw hasn’t talked about theo’s injury.he said he expects to be ‘pleasantly surprised’ and maybe he will.
Strange that, the media siding with the mancs….the port sodden old git won’t even speak to them or even let his players….imagine if wenger did that!!
Morning all…
Will, same old same old isn’t it…
Hi KT, i’d be very pleasantly surprised if he’s on the plane…
Lee, i was surprised Fergie did a media blackout, hope he gets another fine/ban on top of what is pending…
Song is definately OUT for tomorrow …
Arsenal is toothless without theo. and I expect him to play a certain part.
Oh to be gooner
gradew – wenger says he is out, i’m keeping hope until the travelling squad is announced…
hi didee, never plain sailing though is it….
I also love the way barca players think we’ll go there and give them space to play into.we are not naive;am sure we’ll play on the counter tomorrow.we have the lead all we need is an away goal.that pitch is too big to play openly.
Not hard at all….cause if you love Arsenal that should way exceed any hatred for other teams…..I dont care who wins frankly as long as it benefits us! Everything else is just a little juvenile…no?
I just hope we get the early away goal to cancel out theirs, then hang on for dear life until we sneak an 89th minute goal to see us through….
Wonder who Wenger will play instead of Song…
SoCM…
Juvenille???
Hi Rico
“I hate you because I am an Arsenal supporter and we hate all you guys…..” does sound a little 3rd Grade mentality – as I said – if Arsenal benefits from another team winning I dont care who they are….let them win!!!
Morning Rico,
a midfield of cesc, jack and diaby isnt half bad. numbchucks/nikki would need to be precise in front of goal cos we will get our opportunities.
also i discovered that for barca if the game isnt won in the first half, the second is usually more open, and more importantly very tiring for them in the closing minutes, so our backline have lot of work to do.
We are at that end of the season where refereeing decisions will decide where the title goes. The truth is of course that season-long cock-ups have been just as important. Think back to Mr Dowd, that giant of the arbitrary decision and the games at Sunderland and Newcastle, to name but two. And then this bloke on Saturday, along with his linesman who cost another two points. Still, if you only play for about 35 minutes per game you don’t exactly help yourself do you?
I think chamakh will start tomorrow.he is a better lone striker than bendtner and he is fresher.he also looked very sharp on saturday.
Wouldn’t it be funny if cashley scored/assisted the winner at OT to win us the league?
SoCM
I do hate the dippers and the chavs, with a passion…
Not all teams, just those two are top of my list!
Rico, its alrite to hate mate, thats the point of the game eh!
KT, agree with you there, I think Chamakh is getting his confidence back… just in the nick of time maybe..
A Cahsley OG would make me laugh too under those circumstances, in fact any OG he scores makes me laugh….
It seems most people are anticipating a goal fest.football is a funny old game you know…0-0 tomorrow.
SoCM……………… I hate everyone that isn’t Arsenal…! End of..! Walcott is home in bed resting his ankle Rico, not a chance is he on the plane.
I know didee, i’m not embarrassed to hate them either 😉
Hi WATH, i don’t mind Blackpool 🙂
It is not the clubs I dislike but certain individuals. Take Demento, he can say/do what he likes and get away with it. I hate that, I am all for parity. If you fine one person, you have to fine the next for the exact same offence.
Mostly, I hate the spineless turds at the FA who reeally do seem to have a dislike for Arsenal.
Allo Rico,
Ok sorry, I hate 95% of clubs a couple I have a soft spot for and yep Blackpool would be one of em…! It’s not just the FA Will it’s the footballing establishment fullstop that can’t stand us…!.
It does seem that way Wath but when you mention it, you get laughed at and called paranoid.
http://soccertvlive.blogspot.com/2011/03/video-nani-crying-seriously-injured-and.html
What a pansy!!
Morning all, never seen a grown-ass man weep and wail on the pitch like Nanny…er Nani. Betcha he’ll be fit for their next game?
What I really hate is the fact that we dont seem to know how to capitalise on Man U’s losses especially as the Chavs have done us a favor and now the L’Poohs!!
Just listen to all the managers, most all think we are southern softies etc etc and don’t seem to have a lot of time for wenger…
well, apart from the way he spends….
Hi T-buzz,
I saw him booing yesterday, it was funny but that tackle was dreadful and Carragher should have gone off…
Glad he wasn’t sent off though, The mancs may have got back into the game…
🙂
Got to pop off for a while – catch up later….
How many tackles like that do we deal with a game? Where is the press outcry then?
T-Buzz, the funniest thing is he gets taken out then gets up runs after the ref then rolls over and cries….! piss funny the way he reacts but the tackle was horrendous, amazing how noone is relly going on about the dirty manc fabio’s tackle on lucas 5 mins lata only the tackle of nanny….!.
Wilshere is fit to travel to Barcelona despite leaving Emirates Stadium with an ankle problem at the weekend. Wenger is not surprised the 19-year-old got a buffeting from Sunderland but he was concerned that Wilshere did not receive more protection.
“He got kicked a lot and what was frustrating is that when he was targeted he didn’t get a lot [from the referee],” said the manager. “It’s quite surprising because on quite a few occasions the decision was not to give him a free-kick and it was difficult to understand.
“Every good player has to live with being kicked. That means he has to get off his feet at the right moment for a fraction of a second, see what’s happening around him, but there were a few fouls on him on Saturday that were not given. That was surprising to me.”
Afternoon all
I am a little dissapointed with what Wenger said after the game on Saturday, not so much what he said, as to what he didnt say, Managers are now frightened to say exactly what they think because of the refferee council retaliating and getting managers touchline bans, completly out of order in my mind, if a refferee is incompetant then he should be exposed, i dont have a lot of time for Ferguson but i admire him for speaking out, yes he will be banned from the touchline and if he loses his appeal he’ll double his ban, but if you are expected to talk after the game to allow the FA to get their sky sponsership money, the manager should be able to give his honest oppinion, Wenger watched his words never spoke out of place and bottled, just like the team do, all for a couple of bob.
Sooo quiet. Where is everyone? I feel confident we’ll beat the stains, for some reason. I’d feel better if Theo were going; as it is, I’ll “settle” for a fit Cesc. 😉
As for Nani, that should be karma for the countless number of times he’s flung himself to the ground for little or no contact at all. 🙂
Hi Agag,
Your a tough un, was a pretty poor tackle, now that was a leg breaker, granted he has in the past play acted and you are probably right he had it coming but another refereeing howler in my eyes, had that been Theo i would have been tempted to have run on and knocked him out.
Hello, Steve. I was surprised that AW was less than scathing. But you could tell he was very angry. I suppose, with some crucial matches coming up, a touchline ban was something he could ill afford. Something really needs to be done about goal-line technology though. Football’s rules are positively archaic!
It was a terrible tackle, Steve, to be fair to Nani. (and it’s hard to be fair to the Mancs as everyone is magnanimous towards them) Carragher should’ve gone off, I agree. Having said that, I am finding it difficult to muster anything more than token sympathy for Nani. Make no mistake, I’d have been laughing if it were Evra, whom I find absolutely hateful.
I am looking forward to our game tomorow, only difference in this game is we can’t rely on other teams to get us out of the siht we have to get the job done by ourselves, i only hope those guys watched the scousers game and realise commitment and determination shown in that game is what is expected of them
I have to agree Steve and lets be honest what point is a touchline ban anyway with walkie talkies these days and headphones etc etc…! Say what you see and if teh FA and the refs don’t like the truth then tough shit…!. That muppet from saturday is the worst I have seen in many many yrs and why does his first game happen to be an important one the biz end of the season ?. Pathetic. Hi AGAG….!
I had a bad feeling about the Sunderland game,
It is hard being an Arsenal fan right now , i am so worried that the three possible trophies left can be in Jeopardy in the next 1 and half weeks.
Wao! Meeting Barca without a fit Fabregas , RVP or Walcott , we couldn’t even beat Sunderland fc without them.
I am sorry but I am still angry that the press (and a ref) have been slaughtering Carragher for a tackle half as bad they condone when done against us.
All we ever get is:
He is not that type of boy
You need to be physical against Arsenal or they will pass you to death
Arsenal don’t like it up them so it is a legitimate tactic.
Can I just say from every Arsenal support..
FUCK OFF YOU TWO FACED WANKERS.
Thank you.
morning all…i guess the big question is will he won’t he (re: cesc)…even with him – and a fully fit squad to choose from, tomorrow will be a tall order. barca are quite formidable at home…
much will depend on both who we have available and who we do not have available. as i understand, puyol has all but been ruled out and pique is suspended, so they will have to go to the backups for central defense – or rotate positions…
at this moment, i think they will be a bit too much for us. i think the deck is stacked against us (not suggesting any corruption here)…3-1 to barca, but we will give them a very, very difficult game and will emerge with credit…
i will suggest we defend and play 5 in midfield and play Ebuoe so we can get the crosses on Bendner’s head since Puyol is out.
We should not try to play because RVP will not be there to give the initiative.
WE SHOULD DEFEND LIKE NEVER BEFORE
I have just seen pics of rvp training this morning.wasn’t he out?
k-tr7 trust me they are old pictures
Hello, all. 🙂 We’ll do enough at Camp Nou, I think. But we need all our players to be up for it! The way some are playing, that’s looking like a bit of a problem, sure. But they have two more days to sort themselves out!!!
I would start Eboue on the right and Sagna behind him.
will says, so who are you going to replace Eboue with , NAsri ? AA or Wilshere ?
I would have Chamakh up front, Nasri off him.
Midfield of Cesc, Jack and Rambo.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/9411158.stm?
A good read.
No fantasies please, Rambo is not ready yet for a Barca game. I will play Diaby instead, he will be eager to impress.
SD they are on arse.com.he is in 5 photos.talksport even said he was running and turning freely under the close eye of Tony colbert.
Please don’t the sideways/backwards passing,totally negative, diaby or denilson anywhere near nou camp….total disgrace on sat!!
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/37362/arsenal-train-ahead-of-barcelona-pictures
Lets face it guys, they havnt played much good for the last few games, and were coming up against what everybody says are the worlds best, in their stadium our boys will siht themselves, but you know what, i fancy us to get a result.
Rvp is in the squad to face barca!!!
KTR, put a plaster cast on walcotts ankle and he’ll still be faster than Barcas fastest
He has apparently travelled with the squad but it isn’t clear whether he’ll play or spectate.
Diaby? Ha ha ha h aha..oh, you are serious.
Will, diaby an absolute disgrace on sat!!
Its OFFICIAL:Van the man is back!
how long for??
Exactly Lee.
Aw just pulled a fast one with rvp…classic.lets hope that he plays a significant portion of the title run in.
I’d rather have RVP closer to 100% fit for the run in, than risk him on tues….
KT, that sounds good! Now if only there was similar news on Theo. 🙂
Evening guys..Rvp back Get in
Lee i think Aw knew he’d play on Tuesday but didn’t want to raise expectations.its also a massive boost.Aw has said the PL is priority and am sure if he plays he’ll be 100%.he has also been out for only 1 week so he can’t be unfit already.i also think Aw expected theo to be back.id bet you right now theo will play at the weekend.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/van-persie-in-squad-to-face-barcelona
It is offical.
Feeling better now 🙂
Imagine if rvp wins us the tie?Aw is really a cunning fox.
Fingers crossed K-TR7!!!!
Aw has also said that we’ll alter our style as we must defend 60% of the game.
Wouldnt suprise me if Theo flys today you never know, twisted ankle not that long with extensive treatment, Knock their pipe right out
robin van fucking persie
hes not been fully declared fit but the fact hes able to have a fitnesse test already is not only good news for barca.
its absolutely brilliant news for the fa cup and the pl…
if hes near fitness now..he’ll defo be fit saturday..
and hopefully untill the end of the season..
Hi jj.what are your thoughts on the barca game now?
attack attack attack 😆
Stay tight, cur the passing avenues and hit our passes quickly and firmly.
JJ if rvp is 100% fit we’ll create chances.score 2 or more away goals.make it difficult by staying compact.allow them to have possession on the wings.when we get the ball counter attack like speed demons by taking the shortest route to goal;few passes.
i dont care how we play as long as we win..
all i know is with rvp back our chances for tomorrow have doubled and our chances for the league might as well be nailed on..
implosion at oT as well..
fergie boycotting the media wont do him no favours..
JJ the camp nou pitch is huge!nasri will dance through their defence tomorrow.he is due a goal from a solo effort.
Can you imagine how good this week could get if we eliminate both barca and the mancs?…GET IN!!!
if aa replaces theo tomorrow then he needs to put a shift in…
theo game has improved massively this season..he tracks back and his pace enables him to put pressure on the attacker..
aa will need to be up for this..
JJ bendtner got a chance similar to rvp’s against s’land but his was easier.rvp’s was more difficult but he scored.thats the difference.barca may have loads of possession but rvp can just turn on a six pence and score from anywhere.he must have worked so hard to make it and he’ll be eager to make amends.
JJ when torres/drogba/milito aren’t scoring they are passengers.when rvp isn’t scoring he assists.am sure Guardiola has to rethink his tactics now because no one saw rvp coming back so soon.
JJ AA will have to.i can also see Aw stationing jack on the left of the CMs to assist AA.against s’land he showed signs of life.we may not have theo’s pace but cesc/jack/rvp/nasri/AA can execute a sublime counter through quick thinking.
dont get too giddy yet ktr but its looking good
weve got a chance v anyone as long as our very best are playing..
weve beaten barca weve proved we can take em and with the mancs hitting the skids theres nothing to say we wont beat them ….as long as the team stay together and we dont play the side that played sunderland
And remember, we were battered in the first half and they too the foot of their pedal.
guardiola wouldnt have planned for this
his two cb’s are out..he wouldnt have cared playing v nikki or chamakh but now rvp may have a chance it throws everything out of the window
i dont know whether its been a tactical mid game by wenger but if it is then its wenger at his best..
i wouldnt say we were battered will
they had alot of the ball but we contained them..
its like it was partt of the plan…
draw them in wear them down and hit em on the break
just like the mancs and chavs have done to us in seasons gone by..
we used fergies blueprint against us against guardiola and it worked
That is what I am saying. Stay compact, cut down passing routes and when we get the ball, hit quick forward passes.
JJ all i can remember in that 1st half is xavi and iniesta doing denilsons within yards of each other.if clichy had stepped up our defence would’ve only been breached once by messi.AW has hinted that we’ll play differently and i think thats the way to go.let them wear themselves out as we conserve our energy on the break.the longer it stays 0-0 the better.
JJ it also appears that busquets will play as a CB.Mascherano will play DM.barca as a result will lose their fluidity as busquets starts most attacks with 1 touch passing.Guardiola may say what he likes but rvp’s inclusion must have come as a shock to him and he wouldn’t have wanted it.
rico you turning up for the live blog realsocialdad.blogspot.com
Forget the defending like crazy ploy, they have the ability to get through any defence, ours is as leaky as a seive its imperative for us to score the more the better, they will definitly score that i have no doubts on, we just have to score more.
Steve i think our defence is ‘weak’ is not true.in the league this year we have only conceded in 2 games.the offside saha goal and the freakish collapse at newcastle.we may struggle with the occasional long ball but against barca we won’t see that.we are becoming very good at defending against teams that play on the floor.
Barca, do what i wish we would do more feed a pinpoint pass through a little gap and their forwards are electric, we were lucky they only scored once but they will get that ball through
our defence isnt weak..
we have the ability to implode in certain games when the whole squad loses momentum but generally speaking our defence has been solid..
especially in 2011
it would have looked more solid at the start of the season if ches jd and koz would have played together more but as the seasons evolved they have developed well together and come next season i expect our defence to be solid throughout..
i dont know how tv is going to get back in the side..but i want him back in any case..
they will have 70% of possesion they will be going forward all the time they will harrass and we will give the ball away over and over the only chance we have if we attack fast and direct and shoot straight, we must score at least two
Woop Woop re Robin for tomorrow 🙂
Evening peeps…
chelsea 1-0 up at bloomfield road…they are not completely out of this yet – unlikely, but they have a chance to fly under the radar a bit and pick points up…still have to visit spuddies and united – and host city, but they also have some winnable games.
And our defence against Barca is not good they penetrated us several times quite easy, but they missed
hiya rico…hello all…
Steve when the defence was breached szczesny came out and used his big frame to make the chances difficult.it was great goalkeeping.even we breached them quite a few times with pique in there but rvp missed.they are a world class attacking team and as a result they’ll definitely create chances against any defence.we just have to limit them and when they do make the chances more difficult and maybe ride our luck.
Hi oliver – all back to normal for me tomorrow after lunch., had a very busy few days 🙁
B’pool are doing pretty well, really holding their own and could have just had an equaliser. How long they can keep this up though is anyones guess…
hopefully they can – and go on to win. unlikely, but if they can that will just about finish chelsea’s season…i am worried they (b-pool) will get picked off on the break here…
Oliver, i still fancy our chances, i just hope they dont sit back all the time
Blackpool came off looking weary lets hope they have a tonic at half time
with a gin Steve 😆
I think i’ll do myself one rico
ive just had three 😉
im celebrating
the old new old jj is back
we will win something if the team stays fit
weve already had one chance weve got three to go for we’ll get one of em
I dare not, i’ll be asleep 😉
I’m with you there JJ, i’ll have the right hump if we let it all slip
steve, i think we have a chance, but i think barca are still a bit too good for us, particularly on home turf…i projected a 3-1 barca scoreline this morning. having both cesc and robin fit makes us a completely different proposition from last year, but i still think the deck is stacked against us…
irrespective of the final score, i think our players will do us proud, will put in a valiant effort and will give barca and very, very difficult game…
Old new jj?…
Hi oliver.rvp’s inclusion is vital because he can pull out a goal out of thin air.
hi k, i think we will score – we have scored one goal (kanu and nik) in our last two visits to camp nou – but i think they will score more. still, robin and cesc give us a much better chance…i am predicting a barca win tomorrow, but we can win this tie if we play smart and without any self-doubt shackles…
oliver, i don’t mind if they win 4-3 🙂
Tell you what this Blackpool manager has done a job and half with this team
Got to go again guys – catch up tomorrow sometime…
Night all…..
0-0.
nte rico
Diaby or Denilson?
I’ll never forgive diaby for failing to slip in theo when we were 1 nil up.bendtner was also wrongly flagged offside.that game may have ended very differently that night.
i think Drogba just wanted off
soft penalty
The referee has killed this game off
for barca ktr??
denilson
but if song plays it wont be neither
another ref fluffs it i see..
JJ song didn’t travel.
JJ why denilson?
denilson then
we need a guy who can pass..not a guy that wont pass
id love to say rambo but no matter how much i want him in the team i dont think hes ready for this type of game..denilsons played them before so lets go with him eh
Morning all
Nou Post up 🙂