Daily Bits and Bobs

More important than 2006?

Posted on by rico
(Photo credit – FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Good morning guys and gals.

The day has finally arrived. Arsenal’s season could yet be a successful one, but it could also fade away leaving yet another disappointing ten months of football behind.

I know the money and Champions League football are important but they’re not the most important thing in my opinion. A cracking performance, a show of unity, passion and 100% effort is. As is having a trophy, a big shiny trophy to take back to The Emirates Stadium. The players need it, we the fans need it but only one of the two have the opportunity to prove they want it more than anything else in their world for ninety minutes. Or however long the match goes on for.

We heard/read the ‘we want to win it for Mkhitaryan,’ just as we have the ‘we want to win it for Unai Emery,’ but unless they walk out onto the pitch and prove it, words are cheap. This is their chance to win a trophy, to end the season on a positive note, to show they really do have a winning mentality.

I don’t want to play down the importance of 2006 as reaching the Champions League Final was a great achievement but we lost. Wenger wanted that big trophy, in my opinion to prove a point but once we’d gone down to ten and despite then taking the lead, we couldn’t hang on to that lead, nor extend it as we should have. Had Henry, Hleb and Freddie taken their chances, Arsene Wenger would have achieved his ultimate dream. Who knows what would have followed had we won that night.

Thirteen years and three FA Cup trophies later, here we are again in a European Cup Final. A chance to make amends for all the European disappointments in the past and we have the master in Europa as our head coach. If anyone can change our fortune, it’s got to be him. Yes, even with this unbalanced squad. He’s done it before, three times!

More important than the money and Champions League football in my opinion is it’s a chance for us to kick start a new future, a new inner belief, a winning feeling which will hopefully spread throughout the squad, the club and of course, the fans. Us. The women have found it again, the under 18’s too but it’s been too long since the first team have done something other than win the FA Cup.

Chelsea, a club which yet again casts doubts over its manager. Like us, they’ve failed to challenge for anything other than this competition. Like us, their results have been mixed, like us, their performances have been great one day, awful the next but they did enough to pip Toots to third spot in the league. Their CL qualification money is in the bank just waiting to be spent. Next summer! They’ll still want this trophy though, especially if the players are right behind Sarri. Hazard is expected to leave this summer, so there’s more motivation to win. Then there’s Giroud who I bet is just itching to beat his old side.

Arsenal. Welbeck, Cech, Lichsteiner and Ramsey are all leaving this summer. Ramsey hasn’t recovered from his injury, although I’m far from convinced that’s true, Welbeck has and he’s ready to play but our Swiss pensioner will probably have to settle for a place on the bench. My choice would be Leno in goal but it’s the Czech who has helped us get this far so it would be a tad harsh to bench him tonight. He’s played in many big games and won. Fingers crossed he has another tonight.

It’s honours even between the two sides so far this season but in all honesty, we’d could have won both. At Stamford Bridge, we missed our chances. We were without Welbeck, Kolasinac, Torreira and Koscielny too. Lacazette was on the bench but I bet he isn’t later, not now he and Aubameyang have formed a strong partnership.

I think League form goes out the window on nights like tonight. It’s winner takes all, bragging rights, survival of the fittest and who wants it more. It’s also about two managers outthinking each other, who has their players best prepared and ready for match. Which one has done their homework the best.

I would say enjoy the match but if you’re anything like me you’ll either be on the edge of your seat or behind the sofa. Hopefully it won’t be the latter.

If all goes well, we’ll get a nice early goal, settle any nerves and then go and win. However, this is Arsenal, we don’t do well in Europe do we…..?

 

 

 

 

 

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rico

106 thoughts on “More important than 2006?”

  2. sohara says:

    That’s EXACTLY how I feel, trying to stay busy all day to take my mind off it, but then keep sneaking online to see whats happening. I just hope our guys don’t get too overconfident about the alleged disarray in the Chelsea camp. COYG

  4. rico says:

    I don’t think Emery will let them Sohara.

    If he can’t get them ready and motivated for this final, a competition he’s done so we’ll in, it speaks volumes imo.

  5. Cicero says:

    Good morning Rico and all.

    More important than 2006? I would say yes. We were riding high back in those days not scrambling for a the Top Four Trophy or reliant on winning the lesser of the two European club tournaments to earn us a place at the top table (and the money that goes with it).

    Wining tonight will take the pressure of Unai Emery, a loss and he will read nothing, in the papers, but the names of managers/coaches lining up to take over after his sacking.

    Almost time for a swim, back later.

  9. Potter says:

    It’s unfortunate but the future direction of the club rests on tonight.
    A win and we go forward in a new direction.Lose and it’s back on the old treadmill in a repeat of this season.
    We need the players to be fired up but also cool headed, purposeful ,diligent . It’s important not to give Chelsea a foothold.A clinical 1 nil will do me although I would prefer a more comforting watch.

  11. rico says:

    Potter, did you by chance read Emery’s interview in the Telegraph?

    Adam, they can play when they want to though can’t they? Both I mean..

  14. Adam says:

    Rico. Without Rudiger and Kante and the pace of Hudson-Odoi they haven’t got much except that cheat Hazard. He’s fitted us up before though with his diving.

  15. rico says:

    Adam, I reckon Kante might yet play. Jorginho (spelling) is a threat, as is Luiz on set pieces.

    If we turn up in the mood though, it might be a good night.

  16. Cicero says:

    Just to take your minds off the game tonight, a little light relief:-

    One day a man decided to retire….
    He booked himself on a Caribbean cruise and proceeded to have the time of his life, that is, until the ship sank.
    He soon found himself on an island with no other people, no supplies, nothing, only bananas and coconuts.
    After about four months, he is lying on the beach one day when the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen rows up to the shore.
    In disbelief, he asks, “Where did you come from? How did you get here?”
    She replies, “I rowed over from the other side of the island where I landed when my cruise ship sank.”
    Amazing,” he notes. “You were really lucky to have a row boat wash up with you.”
    “Oh, this thing?” explains the woman. ” I made the boat out of some raw material I found on the island. The oars were whittled from gum tree branches. I wove the bottom from palm tree branches, and the sides and stern came from an Eucalyptus tree.”
    “But, where did you get the tools?”
    “Oh, that was no problem,” replied the woman. ” On the south side of the island, a very unusual stratum of alluvial rock is exposed. I found that if I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into ductile iron and I used that to make tools and used the tools to make the hardware.”

    The guy is stunned.

    “Let’s row over to my place,” she says “and I’ll give you a tour.” So, after a short time of rowing, she soon docks the boat at a small wharf. As the man looks to shore, he nearly falls off the boat.
    Before him is a long stone walk leading to a cabin and tree house.
    While the woman ties up the rowboat with an expertly woven hemp rope, the man can only stare ahead, dumb struck. As they walk into the house, she says casually, “It’s not much, but I call it home. Please sit down.”
    “Would you like a drink?”
    “No! No thank you,” the man blurts out, still dazed. “I can’t take another drop of coconut juice.”
    “Oh, it’s not coconut juice,” winks the woman. “I have a still. How would you like a TropicalSpritz?”
    Trying to hide his continued amazement, the man accepts, and they sit down on her couch to talk. After they exchange their individual survival stories, the woman announces, ” I’m going to slip into something more comfortable. Would you like to take a shower and shave? There’s a razor in the bathroom cabinet upstairs.”
    No longer questioning anything, the man goes upstairs into the bathroom. There, in the cabinet is a razor made from a piece of tortoise bone. Two shells honed to a hollow ground edge are fastened on to its end inside a swivel mechanism.

    “This woman is amazing,” he muses. “What’s next?”

    When he returns, she greets him wearing nothing but some small flowers on tiny vines, each strategically positioned, she smelled faintly of gardenias. She then beckons for him to sit down next to her.
    “Tell me,” she begins suggestively, slithering closer to him, “We’ve both been out here for many months. You must have been lonely. When was the last time you played around? She stares into his eyes.

    He can’t believe what he’s hearing. “You mean…” he swallows excitedly as tears start to form in his eyes,

    “You’ve built a Golf Course too?”

  17. Limey says:

    Not so bothered about qualifying for the Champions League,more important to win a European trophy.Wouldnt that be something? Arsene never managed it in 22 years.
    From the pictures I saw,it looks like Kante will play.
    We’re in for a nervy night..

  18. Chrispy says:

    Nice one Cicero. I literally ‘lol’d’ at that one…….but it was a nervous laugh that reduced in my throat as I took on a thousand yard stare. You took my mind off tonight just for a minute…… COYG FFS.

  33. allezkev says:

    I’m just watching the Ian Wright and Rocky Rocastle documentary, you can’t get bored watching that team again, Rocky, Smith, Limpar, Thomas, Adams, Bould, Winterburn, Dixon, Seaman and Co…

    The basis of that squad won us our last european trophy in Copenhagen, 25 years ago.

    Good post Rico, and Adam, try to keep a lid on it mate. 😉

    COYG’s

  37. BT Gooner says:

    Could make things a tad more interesting Rico.

    Kev, i remember it well, jumping around the room like a man possessed..

    We had a visitor in the house that night,she couldn’t comprehend what was going on…lol

  39. micko says:

    Forget VAR, sprinkling some holy water around the six yard box wouldn’t be a bad idea tonite.

  42. Cicero says:

    Here’s the line-up, Cech, Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal, AMN, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette.

  43. Cicero says:

    Kante starts for the Chavs along with the champion diver Hazard and our old friend Giroud. Arizzabugger in goal.

  45. potter says:

    Knew Kante’s injury was a ruse . However his battle with Torriera could be the deciding factor.

  46. micko says:

    Same side that started against Valencia away, a repeat performance would be very very sweet.

  47. Le Coq Monster says:

    Evening all and thanks Rico.

    If you have not got BT sport like I haven`t, you can watch the game free either on BT Sport.com or BT Sport You Tube……………………I will not watch live as the stress will undoubtably kill me, so good luck you brave Gooners.

  48. Cicero says:

    Too many subs to list, we’ve got twelve on the bench including Saka, they’ve only got eleven.

  50. Cicero says:

    You old softy Le Coq, I’ve already sunk one glass of a very nice claret, feeling more relaxed now, second glass is close at hand. 😉

  57. BT Gooner says:

    Correct Rico, a good honest game from both teams..

    Certainly going to be strange cheering on the bindippers on Saturday night,

  63. Cicero says:

    I tend to use slightly larger glasses Potter, only four to the bottle. It saves fiddling about. 😉

  67. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Either we replace Ozil quickly or we quickly lose control of the midfield and organizational capacity

  68. Cicero says:

    Pretty even first half, we’re competing well. We need to see more from Ozil, he should be dominating this match. If he doesn’t improve quickly I’d like to see him replaced by Saka, with Kolasinac staying a bit further back and cutting out the long crossfield balls to Pedro.

  71. micko says:

    rico, our biggest problem is not putting teams away when we have them on the rack, same ole same ole tonite, no-one does European Cup final defeats like us, c’mon Arsenal.

  72. rico says:

    We should have had a penalty when Lacazette had his shirt tugged. Not for the Keto one though imo…

    Ozil has been areal disappointment so far. Kolasinac too. Iwobi soon maybe or Welbeck if he’s ready.

    Can’t see Emery throwing Saka on.

  73. Wavy says:

    This game is being played so far away from home, I’ve had to put my specs on to see the teams!

    Mind you even if I hadn’t I’m not sure I’d have missed much. All very predictable and rather dull, if I’m being honest.

    COYGs

    2-1 to the arse.

  78. Cicero says:

    Is Ozil still sitting in the dressing ?

    That’s it 2 – 0 down. No comeback from that position.

  84. micko says:

    The more things change the more they stay the same, we’re just Arsenal being Arsenal, there is no defence for the defence sadly.

    Dunno what more to say !

  85. rico says:

    Extremely embarrassing and the media will feed off this all summer…

    Men v mice. Some of our players should be told in no uncertain terms to find another club. Starting with Ozil!

  89. potter says:

    I have decided not to moan too much Adam . We were beaten by a better side . The faults that have been there all season were evident again and the players that we knew need replacing are still the same ones and they still need to go.

  91. steveyj22 says:

    Hazard is class Ozil is most over rated player in AFC history imo. All this he can do things no one else can. When ? 2 times a fucking times season , big fucking deal. Another Euro kick in the Teeth for us gooners. Gutted

  92. potter says:

    Should never have started… Not in a game like this.

    Shouldn’t start again for all I care.. We badly need some creation and he don’t supply it.

  93. micko says:

    Adam, too right, if I didn’t know better I’d say they were filming the final from a helicopter tonite !

  94. Cicero says:

    Well at least we won our way to a European final. Whether or not we turned up for it is open to question.

    The other question, which will most certainly be asked, is Unai Emery the right man for the job?

  95. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Speaking: We continue to play with a player with “sleep” in the field. And so we played with 10. We made a good game. While the team managed to play as a block we were on top. At halftime, we lost the midfield as it was happening at the end of the first half. And we lost because the players who ran in the midfield could not play for 1.5; because Jorginho began to get loose, because they started to defend later and because the intensity of the players of Chelsea happened to be superior to those of Arsenal. At this level, Ozil has no rhythm, no commitment, it is very short to juggle once in a while.
    Let’s wait for the future. It seems to me that there are players coming out. It was a mistake since the beginning of the season to bet on Ozil. I think we would have gotten a place in the champions. It will be difficult to keep some players.

  96. potter says:

    Is Emery up to it ? We won’t know until the players are. Tomorrow is the day for recriminations tonight we just know that we were outplayed and that really we learned nothing new about which players to keep and which to gracefully retire.

  97. steveyj22 says:

    Don’t think Emery is the man for the not just going on tonight but we only had to win one of our last 2 home games and we would have CL football biggest bottle job to the the end of a season I have ever witness in 40+ years of being a gooner.

  98. Paddywhack says:

    Supported Arsenal since 1966. I have had it now. Didnt see the game but knew we would lose. The stake through the heart will be Spuds winning CL trophy which they undoubtedly will. They have balls, Arsenal dont. For me it is time to forget football. Thankfully I live in Spain and dont have to run the gauntlet of Chelsea supporters like I used to when I worked in London.

  99. rico says:

    Ditto Potter, I wish he would be the first one out the door. His attitude stinks and his performances are just as bad. £300k a week for walking around a football pitch thinking he’s the lord almighty. I detest him as a footballer, I really do. I’m sure he’s a lovely bloke though…

  100. rico says:

    We’re still stuck in a catch 22 situation I think. Although one managerial change and no improvement really which suggests to me it’s the players who are the problem. I doubt we’d see much change if Pep had this squad.

    Night guys..

  101. micko says:

    Nite rico, just to cheer you up that’s 16 trophies in 16 years for the chav’s but as you say no-one can take away our 3 FA Cups……..who were we kidding this evening.

  102. steveyj22 says:

    Below is a post from hitman from le grove spot on.

    Wenger went to Lille and came back with Gervinho. Passed on Hazard. Went to Soton and came back with Theo rather than Bale.
    Wouldnt pay £7m for Cahill who went to Chavs and the rest is history.
    Didnt go in for Kompany and passed on VVD.
    It is because of consistent monumental recruitment errors like that we are in this mess today.

  103. steveyj22 says:

    I also think since Kreonke has come on board we have had more 4+ frashings in our history I wonder if that is true. Kreonke wI’ll not invest hides behind fair play no SUCCESSFULL club sticks to. He really needs to invest or just fuck off please.

  104. scottfromoz says:

    Stevey,your last two posts are aligned.
    Stan won’t spend, yet Arsene wouldn’t?
    More like couldn’t, i reckon.
    Seems Emery has told us spending will be limited and the kids will be given a go in the PC which mightn’t be a bad thing, as they seem to be of a high standard and may actually carry some Arsenal DNA.
    Players fighting for the shirt would be lovely, but then, we are letting our best fighter go on a free 🙂

  106. sohara says:

    You’re lucky you live in Spain Paddywack I have had to come into work today , where it’s half Spurs, some Chelsea and a few Arsenal ( and W Ham)

    I have also got to apologise to you guys as I supported Ozil the other day as I do/did honestly like the way he played. But last night he let me down, he let YOU all down, he let his teammates down and he let Arsenal down. I showed when he strolled off the pitch when being replaced with his head down sulking, when he should have run off so we had more time to score not time waste . No idea how Emery can improve this team now that we cannot buy top quality players because of no CL. But we will get over this disappointment , there is always next year .

    We just have to hoe that Spurs lose on Saturday as well, or my/our life will be AWFUL

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