March 2013!! Remember it? Atkinson as bad Arsenal…..

Morning all.

These games are high intensity and high intensity is dictated by how well you prepare mentally and how well you’re ready physically. I believe that on both sides that we will be ready. – Arsène Wenger

Clearly, we weren’t……!

I didn’t see the game but by all accounts, we were awful, Martin Atkinson was dreadful and the Toots players dived at every opportunity in order to get our players booked. And they succeeded.

It’s hard to take anything positive from yesterday, losing to the neighbours is like having a red hot pocket shoved through your belly, it hurts and hurts bad….

However, take the emotion out of the result and it’s just three points lost against a side who sat two points behind us….. Ok, no it doesn’t feel any better….

But I’m going to try and remain positive as we have seen great improvement from the team of late and one ghastly afternoon like yesterday surely doesn’t mean we have slipped back to our old ways does it? From reading others comments it’s clear that certain players just didn’t turn up and put a shift in. When do they when we play at lunchtime away from home? Something which perhaps Arsene Wenger needs to seriously look at, as do the players themselves!

Back in early March 2013, we’d just been battered by Bayern at home in the Champions League, dumped out of the FA Cup by Blackburn and off we went to SHL. That day we suffered a 2-1 loss and our customary Champions League place was seriously in doubt.

From that down day across North London onwards through to the end of the season, we didn’t lose a game. In fact we even went to Germany and beat Bayern 2-0! Not enough to see us through to the next round I know but we did ourselves proud.

Come May, top four was secured, as was Champions League football and we need that each year for the money and of course because it attracts great players. Would Alexis have signed without it?

This season there is more to play for, we are still in the Champions League and FA Cup and there’s only six points between where we are and City who sit in second place..

On paper, our remaining fixtures could be very kind to us and if like back in 2013, a loss at SHL kicks us on and we don’t lose another fixture this season, it will go a long way to calming the feeling after yesterdays result/performance. Well, a little way… They may be celebrating this morning but what’s important now is where we finish in May.

Arsene Wenger was pretty angry after the game and so he should be. The referee was a joke and the players didn’t perform well enough according to him:

I wasn’t happy with the referee. I felt, like us, he was not at this best. I believe we made too many technical mistakes compared to our usual level — we lost balls we aren’t used to losing.

So what went wrong?

Over to you……

194 thoughts on “March 2013!! Remember it? Atkinson as bad Arsenal…..

  1. allezkev says:

    Good post Rico, under the circumstances…

    I can’t see this squad going the rest of the season unbeaten, we’ve got 2 or 3 more of yesterday’s performance in us before the Fat Lady sings…
    Probably against Chavs, ManUre and whoever knocks us out of Europe…

    Up for the Cup

  2. Adam says:

    Morning Scott. Re Pep. Just the possibility that he might leave Bayern next season with lots of speculation about his destination. With us included of course and Wenger moving to PSG. Speculation naturally.

  3. rico says:

    Thanks Kev.

    I can see us going out of the CL, hopefully not this next round though but once the likes of Madrid etc come out of the pot, we’ll struggle no doubt. Mind you, At Madrid battered them yesterday..

    I hope SS’s get both the Chav and Manure games, and both are late kick offs… 😉

  4. Bt62 Gooner says:

    Scott, now there something new….

    Morning all, Adam that’s being doing the rounds for a while now, think his contract ends in 2016..

  5. scottfromoz says:

    Whether Wenger continues or not Pep comes in, I hope we start seeing the likes of Gabriela playing.
    Now, I haven’t seen the kid play, but I can say with confidence he’s show more starch then most did yesterday.

  6. Adam says:

    Rico. Well, he won’t sign a new contract and says that his next job will be in England. Like Wenger, he probably won’t do the last year so I would say that the odds are that he will leave. Precisely when, who knows? Man City will obviously try and lure him with lots of money but, as Gazidis said, the next manager is the number 1 priority for the club.

  7. allezkev says:

    Ok, your Pep Guardiola…

    You have a choice between Man City, a bottomless pot of cash.

    And Arsenal, who are still basically tightwads…

    Where do you go?

    Hi Adam, you ok today?

  8. Hell Raising Devil says:

    I am with Kev Boss…..good post under the circumstances.

    Good Morning Chips and Munks. Well, its not exactly a good morning to be in, and whether or not your morning is good is up to you to decide. Mine was so and so. As it is after we loose against the spuddies. Yesterday was not a good evening for me as usually I like to go spuddie hunting on their blogs……I could not do it since that load won.

    But still……I hope you have had a good morning.

    Yesterday the spuddies exploited the right hand side. They knew that Bellerin would venture up so immediately they got the ball they put it there. And that left our defence stretched. We gave them loose balls as well and there was no co-ordination between OG12 and the AMs. While Ozil and later on Theo jogged or walked back…..unlike Welbeck who got a yellow for his pains and for not touching Rose.

  9. scottfromoz says:

    We need to find a manager who at least has similar football policies as Wenger, else the entire club will need an overhaul, yet we all agree we are very close to having a great squad, so just the final tweaks are required…the all important tweaks Wenger seems loath to make.

  10. Adam says:

    Morning Kev. Slowly on the mend thanks mate. Very frustrating. The problem is that we can only view Arsenal through the prism of Arsene. It’s been Wenger’s Arsenal for a long, long time.
    Still, we’ve got Jack ‘gangsta’ Wilshire to come back soon. He had a good game against Barcelona several years ago.

  11. allezkev says:

    Morning Coach, we’ve been here before…

    I expect to see the team go a winning run from now, up till the end of March…

    To me, 3rd is still a realistic target.

  12. allezkev says:

    Adam, I wonder if the departures of Walcott and Wilshere are not totally out of the question?

    Both have questionable fitness records, we could raise maybe £50m selling the pair?!

  13. Hell Raising Devil says:

    It depends Kev. If Pep wants players straight away with loads of cash he will go to the Shitty band. But seeing that he has won everything with Bayern and Barcelona it might be that he will come to AFC. If he wants to be remembered for building a club from the bottom to the top and sets us up for the next level than the choice is easy.

    I still have that funny feeling that we will win the CL and knock the spuddies out of the CL since they will finish fourth. Then AW will go with his head held high and Pep will come in. Last year I had that funny feeling regarding the FA cup……this season its the CL.

  14. David says:

    I said it before the game, and I am sure I am right, it is one thing going to city and sitting deep and letting them have the ball, but you can’t go to WHL and do that. It is not the sort of game to let them build momentum, you have to keep the crowd quite and take the game to them! We are a much better team than them and we should have gone at them! Wrong tactics on the day.

  15. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Again I agree Kev…..I see JAck and Theo departing in a season or two. If Pep comes in they will be out of the door quicker than you would say the word ‘Quick’.

    That is one of the reasons why I wanted Mings to be bought as well. Two Englishmen out and at least one in.

  16. rico says:

    Thanks Devil…

    Depends on what Kroenke’s plans are Scott. If he’s ready for any next manager to spend big then fine, but if AW is simply spending what he’s told/permitted to spend, little will change…

  17. allezkev says:

    Simeone is more your Kroenke type, ie willing to work within a budget…

    Guardiola is at a stage of his career where he ain’t gonna faff about rebuilding anything.
    He’ll want a load of dough to spend and thats not Syrups style…

    Wenger is gonna see out his contract anyway…

    BT, Jack comes with dodgy ankles mate.

  18. Melvyn says:

    We never looked comfortable yesterday from very early on. Why doesn’t Wenger see this,earn his corn and make changes re our tactics and / or playing staff during the game ?

  19. Hell Raising Devil says:

    yesterday Coquelin made 9 interceptions during the game. The highest individual total this season in any EPL game. That shows his presence is becoming important for the team.

    Going back to yesterday’s game one could notice that the spuddies rarely went through the middle. They went from the flanks since they knew that in the middle there would be Coquelin. So as soon as Coquelin went to defend one flank the ball would be immediately switched to the other flank…..Infact Le Coq spent more time going sideways than staying in the centre.

  20. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Totts have now the best team of the last years. Young players, good players and strong players. Compare the players of the last year to those or those who had played at Emirates this year and this team now.
    If you look carefully, all you find the right answer.
    This team has ambition and it’s close us. Is a very balance team. That’s the reality. Chelsea, M.City, us, Southampton and Totts are the 5 best teams of the League.
    Chelsea, in my opinin, will be the Champion. We must plus MU and Liverpool to find the places to the second until 4th. In my opinion, all those teams can reach them. It depends of a few things. Normal and “strange”.

  21. Danish Gooner says:

    If Pep is allowed to join City with our board sitting idly by because they are gonna accomodate the specialist in failure i am gonna switch of everytime they play pl football on the telly.Time to get tough with this shower of shit.

  22. potter says:

    Dev :- Pochetino out thought Wenger yesterday , they were more powerful and as you said they were switching the ball and turning our midfield throughout. He knew that we have players that either do not bust a gut to retrieve their positions or else just switch off and allow players to run past them . Their first goal came past a sleeping Ramsey and the second once they had cleared Mertesacker at the near post Koscielny didn’t attack the ball and gave Kane a free header. Both of these faults have been prevalent all season and we were exposed again . Ozil and Cazorla were too lightweight in the middle when there is a fight to be won and Giroud was isolated with no real help even when he won the ball the second ball was picked up by Spurs and the ball came straight back. Wrong team selection , and wrong tactics.

  23. Manolis says:

    Not sure why Wenger went with the same tactics as he did against City, I didn’t think this game at WHL warranted that kind of respect and approach. It was clear very early on that this wasn’t working and Wenger should have made the necessary changes. They are susceptible at the back and we didn’t try to exploit that. We left Rose a free running lane down their left and he could have scored/assisted 2 or 3 more goals easily. We should have set-up so as to pin him back more. Very disappointing and not our true showing, however, I believe that we will go on our perennial end-of-season run, and our remaining fixture list isn’t too unkind. One more round of the CL to bring in some more money, and then luck of the draw, we could go as fay as semis with a bit of luck. F .A. Cup is doable if we stay focused. It all starts on Tuesday!

  24. craszy gunner says:

    you know 80% of what you need to succeed lies within you!…that means the referee bad… weather… dodgy decisions.. etc accounts for only 20% ..the last time I checked 80% is almost always a pass mark..

    You may not be able to do anything about the 20% but if you maximise your effort and take care of your business you won’t need a referee to help you out!..

    The referee was not good yesterday..but how about the fact that we were awful?..

    Name 1 arsenal player that woke up this morning feeling at least I did my job yesterday..,,monreal perhaps?..

    How about Wenger has he woken up this morning thinking I earned my £8m yesterday?..

    Was it because of the referee their main goal threat was left unmarked in the box that had 10 arsenal players?..

    I remember seeing Bentaleb shaping to put a cross in our box and no one going to close him…and thinking oh no not back to our same old ways again…before I could regret it the ball was in our net…was that the referee’s fault?..

    I love Ozil…with all his skill and craft I still wouldn’t play him in a game where we need to graft a win….I know he scored a classy goal but apart from conceding possession easily what else did he do?..

    We lost very simply because Arsene did not have the nous to change the game when things weren’t going our way…and also because they wanted it much more than us simple..it hurts I know and I feel your pain….

    Let’s take that hurt to our next 8 games!..

  25. allezkev says:

    You know, we shouldn’t take it for granted, that we’re gonna roll over Leicester…

    We should, but will we?

    Leicester are fighting for their lives and we have players/manager, that normally go into a sulking depression following a bad result.
    Being able to bounce back quickly is vital with the form being shown by those competitors around us…

    JM, those were good points.,,
    I see where you’re coming from…

  26. andrewh1313 says:

    Hi rico, house. Watched game visiting my son and daughter who were staying at Centre Parcs yesterday, Massive roars in Sports bar we were watching in when Spuds scored their two. Not happy!

    Lost email being retained recently when posting, sure I had a wordprerss account (to get daily emails?) but it disowns me! So setup a gravitar/WP and AndrewH becomes andrew1313 😉

  27. goonster says:

    So we lost a game? It’s not the end of the world. Spuds were better on the day. Give them credit. We played like shit or another day we could have turned them over at their shithole. onwards and upwards. Victoria concordia cresit.

  28. goonster says:

    I still see us doing a double. The fa cup and the cl titles are still up for grabs. We ll take both. Thank you very much 😀 :

  29. tsgh says:

    Funny how media is not mentioning Klopp anymore…
    Goonie, we had been talking about Ronald even before he joined the saints… he will be ideal for us…

  30. potter says:

    Roll on the Dutch revolution , De Boer , Bergkamp , Overmars, added to Jonkers and Van Den Ban, previously goalkeeping coach at Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, Ajax and Utrecht and Netherlands Under-15s.

  31. Wavy says:

    Just seen Rojo’s arms! He must be carrying at least 2 stones worth of extra weight in the form of coloured ink!
    Afternoon all.
    Turn them over Irons. I need a result to cheer me up!

  32. Micko says:

    Keep em all behind after training to watch a replay of the game tomorrow , imagine the shock and horror when they realise they can’t go home till 3 o’clock…….it’s a footballers life.

  33. rico says:

    Micko, why our players put themselves up for the media to make a headline I just don’t know…

    You seen the stories about Brenda wanting Wilshere to replace Gerrard?

    They can have him as far as I’m concerned…..

  34. Micko says:

    I’d hate to see him go to Liverpool rico, admittently he’s his worst own enemy but he’s definately got what it takes to make it with us, you only have to look at his last two games for England to see he was one of the best players on the pitch, will Arsene be able to find a place for him at AFC or will he run out of patience with him ! Answers on a postcard.

    I can definately see similarities between you and simon cowell btw rico !

  35. Rick says:

    Afternoon Rico and the House.
    Good read Rico
    Let the spuds have their moment come tues result I expect us to be back above them.
    As for our next managment team its De Boar DB10 and Overmars all the way/
    I have just watched our U17’s beat Aspire Acadamy 3-0 With goalsfrom
    Mavididi Donavon and Willick. Fred Harry was voted the most valuable player of the game and it was said the prize money was being shared among’st the team. He looked very good in the game and in the interview afterwards ,and his goal was a screamer from outsid the pen area
    It looks like we will be playing Sao Paulo on Tues in the knock out stage.
    By the way Mr and Mrs Jonker were there. must the Mrs looks a real Class act.

  36. Rick says:

    BT I think it is I only found out late today that it was on.
    I think it is being played in the afternoon and I will try to let you know if it is.
    Only probleme I am clueless when it comes to posting a link so you will have to bear with me.

  37. rico says:

    I think he’d come back to Arsenal one day Rick as he loves the club, if Ivan can convince De Boer, then anything is possible I guess….

  38. goonster says:

    Really rico.. they can have him?? So tell him maam what happens when he clicks and starts banging it in for free? What ll you say then? the kid is just being a kid. Cut him some slack. Micko is older than Mars yet still gets drunk than a fiddler’s bitch. Wilshere ll come good. leave him alone. The Last Last Academy Kid we Sold To A Rival Went on to win everything and rubs it In our faces every chance he gets. Wilshere must stay end of. Afternoon good people.

  39. goonster says:

    No its not…a month ago no one in gonnerdom wanted le coq to stay let alone renew his contract. Some even called him dead weight Leeching the club’s resources. Imagine if we didn’t have him now. He made 9 interceptions yesterday. Highest in the league this season. Wilshere is a year or two younger why not give him a benefit of a doubt too. Plus you English always harp about how we never have anu English man on our team yet one shows up and everybody and their mama wants him out. I don’t get your logic maam.

  40. goonster says:

    Rico….grrrr. You know what am not suprised. You never tend to agree with me. it’s alright am used to it. Wenger still believes in wilshere and so do i.

  41. Rick says:

    BT I have just run a check
    At the moment they are showing AC Milan v Juv,
    You can find the link by logging on to Jeorge Bird then to
    the heading Arsenal two up against Aspire. Jeorge is showing the link there
    could you post it on H/H

    Rico in Nov 2013 a photo was briefly doing the Rounds. Taken on the pitch at the Ems it showed Arsene standing between De Boar and Arteta. Whoever took the Photo asked where is DB10 The ans was he knows everything about arsenal DeBoar is finding out Eversnce then I have felt Yes please.

  42. goonster says:

    But you ll rather have rooney huh? Two seasons ago his future at the man’s was heavily in doubt all on here especially you maam wanted rooney. Seriously rooney? ? Grand ma shagger?? Talk about doublr standards. The kid smokes big deal who doesn’t.

  43. Adam says:

    Rooney looks like anything but a honed sportsman these days. Great sagging gut, drooping jowls and a piece of candy floss on his head.

  44. Adam says:

    But Stan, that’s the thing with blogs. The opinions are diverse and seldom based on much concrete info. I always judge a player by the density of his tattoos and the height of his quiff.

  45. goonster says:

    Ohhh I see and wilshere don’t right? Jesus christ rico….Am just gonna shut up now. Don’t want to get binned….calm down stan like your zen teacher taught you. 10 deep breathes and ten short ones…nothing is real but everything is but a dream. Inner peace inner peace inner peace.

  46. Bt62 Gooner says:

    Rick, can only get the highlights of the Vissel match at he moment, once today’s match appears i’ll put it up. Watched a bit of Juv, that is an excellent stream. HD tv quality.

  47. rico says:

    goonster, not really sure why you are so rattled. It’s all about opinion. You have yours, I have mine and others may agree or disagree…

    Either that or just choose a different way to judge a player……

  48. goonster says:

    Because he’s one of ours dammit. Oh GOD give me strength. He’s a gooner a big one. Go back and watch the victory celebration after the fa cup win. Jack the lad was leading the fans in goading the scummers. He’s a gooner. Is that not what we ve been crying out for!!!

  49. goonster says:

    See what Harry Kane did to us last night. Am still hurt. a picture of him in red and white was doing the rounds during the week. he was one of ours. He went to Paris to watch the 06 final against barCA and cried afterwards. He’s a huge gooner. Doesnt that mean anything anymore?

  50. goonster says:

    Shut up kev….he wasn’t am dutch I know his family. He was never a spud fan. All crap stories to discredit him. what do you expect a gunner legend yet a spurs fan boy. that’s Hollywood stuff right there.

  51. goonster says:

    Yes he is….Arggghhh God’s blood rico is infuriating this afternoon. Harry Kane is a gooner even the spuds faithful know it.

  52. goonster says:

    Rico he had to celebrate I mean they pay his wages plus all will be watching a s scrutinizING his actions…harry Kane is a gooner. I ll do the same too. I ll probably take off my shirt and shorts and dive head first into a sea of lily whites but that don’t make me no spud.

  53. allezkev says:

    Stan, it’s all ok mate…

    I understand buddy, just chillax a bit…

    Micko will be on soon, he always enjoys chatting with ya…

    Hi Adam, how’s Mrs Adam?

  54. goonster says:

    So what happened if henri lansbury or coporal jenko joins the spuds. He ll cease to be a a gooner I guess. Oh bloody hell.

  55. allezkev says:

    So, after the weekend, Chavs, Spuds, Soton all gain 3pts on us…

    Liverpool, ManUre and City all gain one point on us…

    Not a good weekend for Arsenal.

  56. Rick says:

    BT as a result of todays games we play River Plate on Tues and should we beat them the winner of the game between Aspire Int v Psg which is being played on wed.
    Ginge the match was a under 17 match for players born on or after 1st Jan 1998
    BUT juve and Milan drew 2-2 and the C/F who scored the juv goals had a fully grown beard. Was he only 17 ????

    Kev like you I find the Willick situation a little bit strange.
    I did hear a quote that both he and brother Joe were not happy with training methods. But as far as contracts go I believe all new scholars sign a 2 year contract which ties him to the club untill june 2016.
    With Jonker watching the lads play could he be running the rule over who is good enough for the Pro contract.

  57. Bt62 Gooner says:

    Rick, i think Gus Ceasar ended up in Japan/Hong Kong as well.
    Could only find the whole u17s match, i’ll stick up the highlights once they appear…great stream..btw

    Rico, you wouldn’t be late for that…Nighty..

  58. potter says:

    Late into the debate but Wilshere is a problem , Definitely a talent , a true Arsenal supporter , has been with the club since birth, but then so were Frimpong and Bentley . Their egos ran past their love for football and Jack has to be careful not to go down the same route. He has a problem that his best position is currently occupied by Ramsey and rather like the Ozil/ Cazorla conundrum it is difficult to find a way to play them both together . As it happens he is frequently injured not because he has as reported got weak ankles but because in my opinion the T.V companies demand a spectacular physical contest with 11 a side as much as possible.In consequence we have weak referees , but when he regains fitness it will be interesting to see how much playing time he gets. My thoughts are that I would play him above Ramsey , not because I really rate him but because Ramsey is not playing well at the moment. We are still short of the famed defensive midfielder and shoeing Jack in there just to get a start does not do him or the team any favours . One of them has to sit it out. £ 25 million is the apparent price , is the risk of his haunting us enough to stop us cashing in to get the player we actually need .

  59. Micko says:

    Bt, your guess is as good as mine but McDonalds would be a step up from Tottenham.

    Qpr tickets came good, flites booked, I know, I know, there’s one born every minute.

    Nite rico.

  60. scottfromoz says:

    Morning all.
    Forget the smoking.
    Forget the attitude.
    Forget everything bar performance…….is Jack any better than he was 4 years ago?
    No, he isn’t, and that’s why I am happy for him to leave.
    I don’t care how cocky he is if he’s doing the business on the pitch but he’s not…he’s either injured, or playing the same as he always has….except for THAT game v Barca 🙂
    Szczesny is the same…hasn’t Improved at all, and as the person who said a few years ago he’d end up our best ever keeper, I admit to being totally wrong, and want him sold.
    Coquelin always had the talent, his attitude sucked, but he’s showed he’s actually improved on the pitch, which is where it counts.

  61. allezkev says:

    Whether Jack stays or goes, one thing is for sure, if those wankers at Liverpool, think that there is any chance (remember Suarez) of Arsenal doing any business with those P45 mugs, then Fcuking dream on caravan dwellers…

  62. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Look at your wives my friends……to you she is the best looking chick in the universe. But surely there are more beautiful chicks as much as there are worse looking chicks as well.

    Same with Jack……is he the best midfielder in business??? Surely there must be better midfielders as much as there are worse midfielders.

    So imo……if someone offers in excess of 25mill then take the money. if there are more two wanting him start a bidding war. Remember what Pep once said…..4 years ago….Jack would not even make that Barca team’s subs bench. And as Scott pointed out…..has he improved over the last four years???

    Good Morning Beautiful chicks and Fine fellas.

  63. Rick says:

    Mor5ning Rico and the House.
    Chilly morning down south.
    Early news Alexies is in the squad for tomorrows game no injurys from Sat.
    latta

  64. tsgh says:

    AW needs to buy Ajax prodigies too Rick…

    AW prefers feyemord I guess but he has failed to look at players like Clasie who are also hardworking and intelligent on the ball…

    Strootman now of Roma will enhance our midfield 10 fold… but I guess he will end up at Yanited replacing Fletcher..

    Morning Rick, Rico et al

  65. scottfromoz says:

    Morning all.
    I honestly don’t believe Jack has improved one bit in that time.
    I’m sure plenty will disagree, but it seems to me he has no football brain at all.
    It was hidden by his enthusiasm and natural talent but the older he gets, the more it stands out, I reckon.
    As i said, I got Szczesny totally wrong as he’s in the same boat,
    Jenks has improved yet we send him out on loan???

  66. scottfromoz says:

    It’s a pretty fair plan to get German, Spanish, French or Dutch kids.
    Their technique has been honed, so bringing them to England in their late teens toughens them up.
    Althpugh, maybe that’s why Barca don’t care too much about us nabbing their kids as they will try and get them back when they’re the finished item….

  67. allezkev says:

    I think the major problem with Jack, notwithstanding his appalling injury record, is that Wenger hasn’t found or played him, in his proper position…

    Imo he is not a def/mid or a box to box mid, I’ve always seen him more as a No.10, where his dribbling skills would be more of a threat to the opposition.

    As far as his off field activities are concerned, we’ve had a few like him in the past, Merson, Parlour, Adams spring to mind…

    Eventually they grow up, or you kinda hope that they do…

    Let’s hope that when Jack grows up, that it isn’t to the benefit of another club…

    Morning Rico, Scott, Lee, Ginge.

  68. scottfromoz says:

    Hiya Kev,
    Jack is at his best when he receives ball and moves it on quickly.
    When he runs with it, he invariably holds things up, runs himself into a corner and has n out in but to try and draw a foul.
    The one thing the last few weeks have shown us is when we counter in numbers and at speed, we can be deadly.
    Can Jack be part of that?
    Not too sure, to honest.
    I hope he proves me wrong.

  69. frednerk says:

    Morning All,
    Don’t be surprised if liverpool are after Theo not Jack.

    As I said the other day wenger gave Sanchez a rest when he
    should have given him one tomorrow-nite instead,
    wenger fails to see the tactical and gamesmanship side of the game
    for a lot of people,it looks like he stumbled on the Man City formation,after the players
    were moaning about our shape.
    After a great start with the Ozil goal and a shot from Welbeck that was it,
    94 minutes stuck in our own half.
    Ramsey,Ozil,Cazola were inaffective yet wenger still sits biting his nails
    hoping for something to happen,
    We will be in the top four I think with talent we have,
    but is wenger coming to the end of the road,even he must know that now.

  70. tsgh says:

    Morning Kev..

    if we recall Aw played JW in the no.10 role for years…
    JW’s issue was that he could not play with his back to opposition goal as required by a no.10.

    All of JW’s better games playing for England has been with him playing as part of the double pivot with the game in front of him… imho

  71. tsgh says:

    There is no point selling JW if he will understand he is part of a bigger/better squad and Aw does not catapult him into the starting XI just because he trains very hard and the said is fit…

    Denilson was another player who appeared world class in training but as we know on match day was…

    We need a squad where fans and media alike should understand some players will barely play 15 games a season… that should not make them ‘deadwood’ imo…

  72. tsgh says:

    ”maybe that’s why Barca don’t care too much about us nabbing their kids as they will try and get them back when they’re the finished item….”
    So true Scott

  73. Adam says:

    There are question marks over several players who may or may not step up under a new manager and system. Ches, Gibbs, Jack, Ramsey and others too. A new manager and philosophy changes everything.

  74. tsgh says:

    Lol Scott… they right passport adds a minum of £10m to the players transfer fee…

    Putting things in perspective, Gotze was not much over £30.5m and I know who I would prefer in my team any day…

    Saying that Gotze earns £6.5m a year as oppose to JW earning circa £4m…

  75. scottfromoz says:

    Adam, no question on Gibbs for me….he’s a ripper.
    Aaron better find some form quick smart though.
    Last season, he went back to basics, and it worked, and needs to do that again.
    At least he’s shown he can string a season together where Jack is yet to, so I in who I’d keep, if a choice was to be made.
    Szczesny should go.

  76. scottfromoz says:

    We are assuming Sanchez was indeed fit to play on the weekend…….based on what?
    I’ve read nothing other than the player himself wanting to defy medical opinion to play, and if he did, and further injured himself, what would we be saying of Wenger today?

  77. Adam says:

    Scott. Each to his own. Gibbs has it all but is he a battler and a warrior? I don’t think so. Is he going to steam in? No. Look at Jenks yesterday. Hammering into tackles and taking no crap yet for us he was Dolly Daydream. It’s who sends these boys out and in what frame of mind. This is why we need the right manager when Arsene eventually goes.

  78. allezkev says:

    Not sure about a No.10 playing with his back to the goal Ginge, surely in that position you should be on the ‘half-turn’, in that position you are more likely to coming onto the ball…

    I would have thought, maybe Fred n Coach will correct me, but Giroud plays with his back to goal, as the centre-forward, no argument there, but a No.10, hmm, not sure about that?!

  79. allezkev says:

    When Jack plays for England, he’s usually surrounded by players, a lot less technically talented than when he plays for Arsenal…

    Also the tactics are totally different, so I don’t think that you can compare like for like Ginge…

    As it goes, from my memory, which isn’t what it was ;-), I’d say that Jacks best performances for Arsenal, have been when he’s played a more advanced role…

    Not sure that he’s ever played a No.10 tbh, but then maybe Wenger hasn’t really played a classic No.10 since Bergkamp retired?

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