Morning all.
There’s been enough photographs of Santi’s ankle doing the rounds so I’m not going to post another on here. I’m surprised the little Spaniard can walk let alone be linked to a return to football in the New Year. Mind you, I’ll believe it when I see it but boy have we missed him since he’s been out of this Arsenal team. Everything Arsenal used to do was mostly down to him, his vision, pass and footballing intelligence in general. He’s our heartbeat and without him, we look lost all too often. Despite Arsene Wenger having a glut of midfielders in his squad, not one can do what Santi can. Jack might be the closest we have but he has his own injury woes although so far this season he’s managed to stay injury free. That could change though once he returns to the Premier League on a regular basis because he’ll be targeted. Every club knows his ankles are weak and with the World Cup coming up next summer and certain certain pundits suggesting Jack is better than the Totts midfielders, I wouldn’t bet against that thug Alli going for him in the NLD. That’s if Jack plays of course.
Anyway, in case you missed it, we played out a bore draw with Red Star last night. The result was enough for us to progress into the knockout stage of the competition but it was far from being easy on the eye. That wasn’t a team full of players who’d been sent out onto the pitch with a plan, well, it certainly didn’t look like it. I felt sorry for the younger players, players who should be encouraged by the senior ones around them, not let down. Matt Macey was a bright light though, one cracking save in particular. Ok, he fluffed a clearance but he’s young, he’ll learn. Saying that, I doubt he will unless he and Jens work together because I don’t trust our GK coach to teach him much after all, he hasn’t helped our other young keepers who have been at the club over years gone by. But I’m with Kev, regardless of whether Ospina is fit, leave Macey as our Cup keeper, it’s the only way he’ll gain experience.
We’ve two fixtures left in the group to play out before a break from the competition until late February. A trip to Germany to face FC Koln later this month and we end with a home fixture against Bate early in December. If Arsene Wenger can’t organise his team better than last night though, I doubt we’ll go much further in the competition…
So, it’s back to the Premier League this weekend, another competition we don’t do very well in although I’m sure there are plenty of clubs in the bottom half of the table who’d love to be in our position but they don’t have what we have do they? Money, facilities, history, expectation from the fans, a big stadium, medical staff… The list goes on really..
With everything Arsene Wenger has at his disposal, this Arsenal squad should be stronger, the football should be better, he should be doing better! We should be challenging City, not financially of course as that’s near on impossible, but on the pitch with our football. Who knows, on Sunday we might although I doubt it. City play the way we used in the late 90’s, early 00’s, we however have steadily declined season after season.
It’s all very sad but no-one really cares do they, apart from us Arsenal fans…..
Lee, you will have noticed that I skilfully avoided mentioning Almunia, Shabaan and the many other average goalkeepers we’ve had at Arsenal under Wenger… ?
I don’t think Arsene had anything to do with the signing of Macey, that was down to the Academy. Wenger is just lucky that someone else has dropped another good player into his lap.
Rico, isn’t Macey 6’ 7”..? ?
Lots of empty seats at the Emirates last night, the fans are wising up to where we are and voting with their feet.
Compare yesterday’s fayre with the football we witnessed on Tuesday and Wednesday and you can see why so many fans gave Thursday a miss.
Ok, it wasn’t our first choice XI, but we had enough experienced players out there to able to comfortably beat Red Star.
🙂 Kev…
How many do you reckon were there Kev?
Rico ,I thought myself when watching that bore-fest last night that it actually epitomised exactly what Wenger is all about these days.Make no mistake about it a Wenger first eleven minus Sanchez, or a not very motivated one shall we say , are very capable of producing similar shows. In fact they have done so on many occasions You could clearly see the old fashioned yawn inducing Wenger tactics at work in the way the team played slow numerous passing sideways moves that often ended up in a loss of possession in quick counter attacks from the not however thankfully very good technical Serbs who probably think that a first touch is something that a sex-mad Brit politician does and who obviously anyway lacked the skills to exploit the chances that they were given and that’s why the game ended 0-0. Anything remotely approaching that display though from us on Sunday and it could be another Manc massacre for hapless Arsene ! Jesus and the rest of the Pep crew will not be so wayward in taking any chances they receive.
Jeff, totally agree. Wenger has so much to answer for eh..
Kev, Joe Willock has signed a contract extension. That’ll please you…
Afternoon rico and all..
I thought Giroud and Walcott in particular were pretty awful last night. .the kids did OK though.
Same problem with the defence and the long balls..we could have been 3 down if they had better finishing and quality.
It says all really when your keeper is the man of the match.
Depressing stuff. .
KK. I agree. Why is nobody at the club saying that we really cannot continually serve up this rubbish and expect people to pay to watch it. The standards under Wenger are really going down. No team can be great all the time but the trend is towards square, unadventurous and negative football and surely that is not what Arsenal are all about.
Good afternoon Rico and all !
My view on yesterday game is that the youngsters by themselves are far far away for being into first team.Is only a wishfull to think that this kids are the future.
When a manager elects his donkey as a captain what else do you expect form the kids.The poor kids they where feeding the idiot as instructed.
By what account is Coquelin or Elneni or Holding better than the youth ?Just because Le prof put them with the first team ?
Because we have a very mediocre team we are in EL.And so does the oppsition.
Adam 100%
Afternoon Kk, Alex & Adam.
Agree Kk, Adam. I do wonder if anyone at board level actually watches the dross Wenger serves up…
Alex, while some of the players aren’t performing I know it’s easy to lump blame on them and question whether they are good enough but I think you’re being harsh on many, especially the younger players. Wenger is clearly mucking them about by playing some out of position which I think is crazy. Let them learn their own role properly and stop trying to turn them into jack of all trades but that’s Wenger does and at 5heir younger age, it’s doing nothing but causing confusion…
Hi Rico
Someone said in the last 9 matches against MCity 4 won for us 4 drawn and only 1 loss.
Thats what he likes to hear Kronke in order to give 2 year contract for Le prof.
This kind of statistics are dishonest to say the list.
How come Ranieri won the league with spending far less than the big boys ?
How Come the neighbours are shaping up things with hell a lot of financial destruction related to stadium and yet nanage to steady players contracts and pitch performance ?
The old man has a lot to answer rather than the American chap.
He repeats endlessly the word ” value ” which i dont know what has to do with winning games and trophies.
Rico
The distructor ( manager) won the plaudits once with Henry by the so called conversion or different positional play.
Henry was among different set of players must say.
But hey …..he works unchecked and ruin many in process.
The set up as long this man is at the helm nothing will come good .
The youth could be salvaged as are still young but in 2 years time they will end up in some league.
I dont leave in bubble sorry but i differ from you on this
Sorry …live
Wenger this, Wenger that. Ffs change the record, you lot are obsessed with the bloke.
There isn’t a post on here that doesn’t have his name in it.
Moaning constantly about him. What will you all talk about on here when he’s gone? How he used to be when he was manager? How much better things are without him around? Good luck with that.
I won’t know, coz I’ve had enough, and I’m out of here.
Anyone who disagrees is reminded whose forum this is, and it’s anti Wenger, and if they don’t like it then leave. It’s so unbalanced in its views because no-one dares disagree.
Bye Meerkat…
Fair enough Alex… Time will tell I guess..
That’s an odd comment, Meerkat.
Whether we all agree or not, we don’t behave like any other club in the world, and sadly, the obsession with Wenger is because he has made Arsenal all about him. He holds the club and fans hostage to his incredibly huge ego.
I’m someone who believes he gets far too much attention, though probably not for the same reasons as you.
It has become impossible to talk about Arsenal without mentioning Wenger, because between him, Kroenke and Gazidis, they have broken our club and instead of acknowledging they’ve made mistakes, they sit smugly in their Ivory Towers refusing to accept responsibility for our decline, collecting personal fortunes by fleecing their ‘customers’ with the same flawed philosophy that has been crippling the club since the stadium move.
You normally post some very articulate thoughts, but surely you can see that everything Arsenal revolves around Wenger, and whilst all our rivals march forward out of sight, we are stagnant and boring.
If you feel so strongly about the thread of discussion, Meerkat, why don’t you drive the conversation in another direction?
Is there anything exciting to write about Arsenal currently, that hasn’t got Wenger’s finger-prints all over it?
Hi Rico, I haven’t forgotten you and will get back to you.
@meerkat
I think go to the Untold and praise him for his crap service in the last decade.You can also be there a qualified referee and blame the tactics and his shortcoming to the men in black.
There are open solicitors vacancy over there and you don`t need any kind of knowledge just praise the Le Prof.
Yeah that is what i call them Le prof solicitors and guess what ….they ban me…..Lol
Hi Herb, no problem.
You have hit the nail on the head there, if there’s a reason why Wenger should escape so much criticism then like you, id love to hear it, I really would.
There mere fact that he, and the board I hasten to add are being criticised is down to themselves. As Potter said the other, we have the board messing things up big time at their level and on the pitch, Wenger is making himself look more past his sell by date as each day passes
Meerkat there is always market.com.
I don’t think anybody likes repeating the same issues everyday every year like a broken record. but it’s what it is!
Wenger chose to make it all about him and only him.
So it’s only fair to talk about him on a daily basis no matter how boring it has become
I personally find it rather frustrating and painful everytime I watch the team play, all the excitement and the anticipation vanish in the 1st 10 minutes, and all left is a mixture of disappointment and anger.
No matter how I try to dissociate myself from anything arsenal i find myself crawling back asking for more . .
I should seek professional help I suppose ?
Alex, Meerkat would get thrown off UA too as in case you missed it, she has frequently been critical of Wenger and we known they don’t like that over there…
Evening all and thank`s Rico.
Shame M`kat has gone as I liked her comments.
Matt Macey !………..just how tall is he ?……………….and is Desmond Tutu bigger as he`s not in the photo !……………I reckon Matt`s 7`6″ !
🙂
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNqvwYqXUAAoYBx.jpg
Where Arsenal are concerned, it all gets very emotional as we see on an almost daily basis.
So Untold Arsenal is where the AKB`s are hiding !……………………………just had a look on the “About Untold” page and it said……….” Untold Arsenal`s Mission is …………
1) To support Arsene Wenger in all he does !…………..
There were others but I stopped there ! hahaha
They also have a deputy editor whose name sounds like what happens just before a woman goes into labour !………………Water Brokes !
Think I`ll keep an eye on that site, especially when we play poorly and get stuffed, will be interesting what positive they put on it !
Morning all.
Meerkat thinks along the lines of myself and maybe one or two others in that we know Wenger is doing the damage, but the fact he is allowed to do so with nobody holding him accountable is the actual problem at the club, and that’s why we tend to blame Stan as much, or even more than we do Wenger.
Saying Meerkat never criricised Wenger shows that some really do read what they want to at times, and ignore plenty, or maybe we just respond to what we choose to.
On occasions, I don’t bother posting because I see the same things being said by the same people and it’s all about Wenger-what waste the energy and effort on bringing yourself down?
There is only one answer, but the fact is no matter how much people hate him, he is the Arsenal manager so we can try and fight against it, it just accept the reality, and the reality is none of our comments are going to change our manager.
It’s up to each as an individual to decide whether they focus their attention on the man, or the club I guess.
People love to say it’s Arsenal FC, not Arsene FC yet do nothing but discuss the manager????
Just 6’ 6” Lc ?
I have to say Adam, that I often get emotional about Arsenal…
LC, even I stopped reading their posts and comments a few years back lol
Wenger has never made a poor decision, according to them 🙂 🙂 🙂
Do you George?
Rico, sorry I didn’t answer you earlier, been in the garden all day and now having a burn up.
I’ll get back to you later when I’ve finished with Guido Fawlkes. ?
LC. The internet is perfect breeding ground for the us and them culture. UA just represent a specific stance and they reject those that aren’t of the hive mind. It’s also a perfect place to get the wrong end of the stick. 🙂
What are you trying to say Scott? That’s a serious question, not being confrontational..
Rico, edit Kevs post please.
Hi Rico, sorry-what do you mean what am
I trying to say?
The comment was 3 foot long so you’ll need to be more specific as I said a lot hahaha
Beat you to it Scott. Thanks though..
No probs.
I may be an arsehole, but I’m not a total bastard lol
I wasn’t trying to be smart Scott. As much as Wenger is criticised on here, so is Kroenke. People can’t pick and choose can they?
Saturday morning and work beckons so I’ll catch you all later.
Thanks Scott
No they can’t, Rico, and it was good of you to highlight the fact Meerkat did indeed criticise Wenger.
Later!!
Onya Scott
? Scott.
Don’t work too hard Scott…
Night guys, catch up tomorrow…
Night Rico
LE COQ
This days except the true fans the rest is there for the money in one way or another.
To me Untold are not different than those who try make a living out of the club.They sell something like things associated with history of the Arsenal things
For obvious reason they cannot be critical of anything .I am 100/% sure that the obvious deficiency in the squad that everyone see it is not hidden from them too.Because of self interest they have planned carefully the season the way they have to respond and do their living.
Mind i was an avid reader myself of their blog once the stadium things where at the start.All the discussion then was very measured must say in regard the finances.Looking aback i really regret it because it was all down the manager that our advancement in football was stagnating .But at least there was some nice footy (Hleb-Cesc-Rosa-Nasry)time.Not as dull as now.This days is dead as there is no engine .
Everything over there is planned and measured on how to cover up the short coming of Le Prof.
Number one are Referee.This season loss to Liverpool Stoke Watford they are all down to Referee.
When there is a serious drubbing like the one of Liverpool is to much to to blame the referee…. is not it ?Therefore the next morning readers are greeted with news completely irrelevant to football.BREXIT or Weather in Mars or one completely irrelevant to the game.
They know better than anyone else the shortcoming of the squad the injury the Transfer window and everything that normal fans know and discuss.But they adjust themselves to respond like a solicitors hired to defend the French man not football fans.
Unlike Meerkat I’m gonna stick it out till Sunday before throwing the towel in !
Is Rico hiring a mini bus to take us all to DFS on Sunday ?…………..and who`s bringing the tranquilisers ?
Dope testing Le Coq, I know who would be top of my list lol.
Dope Micko, do you mean as in idiot ot the stuff some people smoke, eat or otherwise injest? Or even the stuff that Spitfires had their wings painted with?
None of the old boy’s boys would have any truck with dope! He just wouldn’t allow it!!
However, many of them need a bazooka up their backsides to get them to compete, imo.
Alex, Untold did make some damn free me reading and some of the stats they produced were enough to have any Arsenal fan raise their eyebrows, but the stats only ever told part or the story, as the poor quality of football we quite often produce is not the officials fault.
We can’t dismiss the constant poor officiating, but they should not dismiss the shit performances.
Free me should be fine….
Morning guys, I’m off out for the day so no new post..
Catch up later…
Untold is run by a gang of Wenger worshipping dummies it should be called The Arsene Knows Best Gazette . Their dopey conspiracy theories are funny though then again they do say that the best humour is the unintentional sort… you couldn’t make it up…
Morning Rico, have a nice day, btw I reckon there was about 49,000 at the Emirates on Thursday.
Yeah Rico, pleased that Willock has signed a new deal, now we need to see Ntekiah and Nelson sign.
I can’t see Wenger doing any business in January and we don’t even know if he’s still gonna be in situ next summer, so the youngsters are the new signings for the time being I reckon.
Afternoon all………………………………..Add David Silva to the long list of who we could have signed !……………………..surely Wenger should be given some credit for having the best ever team he nearly signed, no one else has had a better nearly XI than Arsene, that`s what 2000 games as a manager gives you………..an eye for talent he doesn`t see !
Right !…..off to exercise my washboard abs !……………you`ld be surpried how little time it takes and abs are made in the kitchen…………..ask Kev` !…………
😆
I’m working on mine at this very moment Cocker, you’d be impressed.
Are bench pressing some Tubby Isaacs or something similar ?
🙂
Cant help feeling sorry for him……even on £8M………but he still has to go !
Morning all.
LC, no question that some of those on the “nearly” list went to clubs offering more money, but why Arsene continues to announce who we nearly signed is beyond me.
It serves absolutely no purpose at all, as it just makes fans even more dirty with the reasoning behind he move from Highbury.
I’m guessing here, but I reckon a lot of fans wouldn’t detest him half as much if he didn’t say some of the things he continually rolls out.
I’ve defended him in one way as there’s always microphone in his face with a journo looking for a story, and he must speak, but he digs his own grave with what he says, and he should know better.
Nobody gives a crap who he nearly signed, and saying it only does harm.
That’s a good clip, LC.
I can’t hate the man.
Yes-time is well and truly up, though.
Afternoon all,
Well & truly settled back in here. Been savouring my other footy love & its first trophy in 37 years. As for The Arse, well i might have to change my recent opinion of Arsene Wenger’s more recent tenure @ The Club, after viewing this 🙂
Does anyone give The Arse a chance up @ Middle Eastlands?
We have one chance in ten for mine.
We must score first to be any chance.
I reckon we have to go on the attack as Citeh can be rattled, and there’s no way we can park the bus for two reasons-we aren’t disciplined enough, and Citeh are too good and will br ask us down at some point.
Good to have you back, GG.
Cheers Scotty2Hotty 🙂
Morning all.
New post is up now.