Flash back to December 27, 2010. We were in the midst of a wretched winless run against Chelsea when they visited the Emirates looking for their customary three points.
We took the pitch well and truly up for that one, and even though we had to wait until almost halftime to score our first goal against Chelsea in a few season – through unlikely scorer Alex Song – we were by far the better side and worth more than just a 3-1 scoreline.
This was our first signature win of this season, as we had not beaten Chelsea in a while and had to listen to how they could beat us whenever they wanted to…
Fast forward to February 16, 2011. In the first leg of the Champions League first knockout round against Barcelona, we faced a side we had never before beaten, one that eliminated us from the previous season’s competition. This time, despite riding our luck early, we grew stronger as the game went on and came back from 1-0 to win 2-1 with two second half goals in quick succession.
Although Barca eliminated us in the second leg on their patch, we were finally able to defeat them in a match – hopefully part of the journey towards finally winning at Camp Nou and knocking them out of the Champions League…This was our second signature win of the season…
Yesterday, Manchester United arrived at the Emirates in circumstances remarkably similar to December, when Chelsea visited. Like Chelsea, they are the only side to win the Premiership since our 2004 “invincibles” season; as with Chelsea, we had not beaten United in what seems an eternity; like the December Chelsea match, we were expected to quietly lose 2-0 or something like that, hogging possession, but making nothing of it and getting picked off on the break.
United came into the match on the back of an impressive 2-0 demolition job in Gelsenkirchen – a result that left Schalke 04 with a proverbial mountain to climb, and United with one foot and a bit more into the door of the Champions League final at Wembley. This was just another minor hurdle for them to navigate as they marched towards a historic 19th league title…
The first tangible hint that today might be a bit different was when the team news filtered in, revealing that Cesc would miss out due to a “thigh injury”. Given the suspicion that Arsene regularly uses injuries as cover to drop players, Arsene’s comments about the Captaincy burdening Cesc, the player’s well-publicized recent split with his girlfriend, and his own indifferent form over much of the season, it was inevitable that speculation about his long-term future at the club would arise.
Make of it what you will, but I won’t touch it until the season is over…
Cesc’s omission handed a rare starting opportunity to Ramsey, and he certainly made the most of it.
We lined up Szczesny, Clichy, Kos, JD, Sagna, Ramsey, Song, Jack, Theo, Robin and Samir.
Jens, Gibbs, Squil, Eboue, Arsh, Chamakh and Nik comprised our bench.
Sir Alex and Rooney spoke of winning the final two games and collecting a 19th league trophy in style, and the United team selection suggested they were here to win, not just play for a point, as they did in the 2008 0-0 at Old Trafford, which saw them retain the title.
We started the match better. The first thing I noticed was how much quicker and energetic we were. We took the game to United, and created a few half chances, but didn’t trouble Van der Sar. Nevertheless, Clichy and Theo had a lot of success going forward, and our midfield trio worked extremely hard, denying United any space or time on the ball.
With 15 minutes gone, we should have opened the scoring, Jack working himself into a good position and squaring the ball across to Theo – Evra was there to poke it away, as Theo was poised to steer home.
The first moment of controversy – but not the only one involving United’s captain – arrived a few minutes later, as Vidic brought Jack down on the edge of the area. Referee Foy bottled both the booking and free kick. Within a minute, Jack sloppily gave the ball away to Fabio, who scooted down the right, and pulled back for Chicharito, only for Sagna to recover and block.
We regained control of the proceedings, but didn’t look like making a breakthrough. Then, with roughly 30 minutes gone, the second Vidic moment arrived. Theo did the good work, and when he crossed for the well-placed Robin, Vidic swatted the ball away from our forward with his hand. That was about as blatant as can be, but neither Foy nor his assistant saw it (or perhaps they saw it all too well)…
Whatever, we got nothing when there should have been a penalty award and at least a yellow card for Vidic…
United then enjoyed a good spell of possession without creating much. This ended shortly before the break, when Rooney – who was very well marshaled by Song today – brought Jack down for a yellow card, as the latter broke clear. We did nothing with the free kick, and Szczesny made his first save shortly before the halftime whistle, catching a tame Anderson shot.
Foy blew for the break a few minutes later, and we went in at halftime in a familiar position: good approach play, no great chances created, and a solid penalty appeal ignored. On the plus, however, our midfield completely dominated United’s and they created even less than we did…
As with our 2-2 draw at the Hawthorns, Arsene made a proactive halftime change, replacing a non-productive player. In that match, the ineffective Denilson made way. This afternoon, an invisible Samir – who looks jaded at the moment – was hauled off for Arsh.
United made no changes and it was they who created the first chance, with Rooney hitting a curling free kick which forced Szczesny to parry. The loose ball came out to Evra, but he could only turn it into the side-netting. United then proceeded to have their best spell of the match, with Nani putting in a great cross which Chicharito was inches away from turning into our net.
Then a Nani free kick flew just wide, with Szczesny seemingly beaten.
United made their first change, with Valencia coming on for the anonymous Anderson. They may have thought they were close to the breakthrough but a minute later, we hit them with the kind of sucker punch they usually pull on us.
Ramsey picked Robin, out and the latter brought the ball down the right, while the former alertly followed the play centrally, and when Robin arrived in the area, he had a simple task of cutting it back for Ramsey, who calmly finished low into Van der Sar’s left hand corner!
Instead of panicking, we continued to control the midfield and defended calmly when necessary. Around 65 minutes in, JD fell awkwardly while tussling for a ball and Squil had to replace him. United made a second change with 15 minutes remaining, Berbatov replacing Chicharito, who was virtually useless without the service he normally enjoys.
Shortly after, United had a chance to hit us on the break, with Rooney playing Nani in, only for the latter to shoot straight at Szczesny.
From the next attack, I initially thought we doubled the lead, when Theo again did well, crossing for Robin, who hit the side netting – albeit from a difficult angle – rather than the target. Arsene then made his final change, replacing Theo with Eboue, as we looked to shut up shop.
Arshavin deserves special mention for his efforts since coming on as a sub. He created little, but worked tremendously hard, tackling United players and keeping the ball when we need to relieve pressure. As United pressed ineffectively, we had a couple of chances to bury them on the break.
In one, Robin brought the ball into the area, but nobody followed him, when a simple cross would have produced a second goal. He then drove a free kick straight at Van der Sar, after Arsh had drawn a foul.
With five minutes left, Fergie made his last change, bringing Owen on for Carrick.
The former was involved in the other controversial incident, when Clichy appeared to clip his heel as he tried to latch on to a Fabio throw. The contact was inside the box, and I thought we were lucky there. The Vidic handball may have been more blatant, but I would have been frustrated if the roles were reversed and we did not get the penalty. But Foy ignored the appeals and protests, and we had another breakaway chance, which we fluffed.
United closed with a spell of late pressure, but they created nothing and we saw the four stoppage time minutes out with no difficulty.
The final whistle went and we had a third signature win to go with home victories over Chelsea and Barcelona…
Speaking of Chelsea, their win over the Spuddies yesterday and our win today means that the title race is back on. The gap between them and United is now only three points, and they go head-to-head at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Frankly, I could care less about either of them…
What is important to me is that we reduced the gap on United to six points, with nine left to play for. As far as our own title aspirations go, it is almost certainly too little, too late; but I don’t want our team to be reduced to talk of (or pride in) doing favors for this team or that team – I want us to challenge for these titles ourselves and win them.
In the Arsenal world, however, this was a great-result. It is a win over United, a clean sheet, and three important points as we look to finish strongly. We are now only six points behind United, and three behind Chelsea. Just as significantly, however, Man City could not make up any ground on us with their subsequent win over West Ham.
We are five points ahead of City and 12 ahead of Liverpool and the Spuddies. The latter and City both have a game in hand, but it is against each other at Eastlands, so either one or both will drop points.
As the past two months have shown, however, we would be unwise to take anything for granted. Better to take care of our own business – win our last three matches (at Stoke, vs Villa, at Fulham) and see where we finish.
This is why I do not want to celebrate St. Totteringham’s Day just yet. The maths show the Spuddies are 12 points behind with 12 more to play for. To overtake us, they would have claim all 12, we would have to drop all 9, and they would have to score 26 more goals than us in these remaining fixtures – all that just to finish ahead on goal difference. But as long as there is a sliver of a chance, I do not want to celebrate.
As it is, I think the day will arrive soon enough…
Liverpool, for all their excellent recent form – and they looked great in drubbing Birmingham City and Newcastle United during these past two weekends – are twelve behind us with three to play. That can no longer catch us under any circumstances.
I am not going to say that our prolonged two-month swoon is over, but if this performance and result cannot lift the players spirits and propel them into a sustained run of good form and wins, then I am not sure what will. I was very, very encouraged by how well Jack, Ramsey and Song played in the midfield.
Without commenting on either the weakness of United’s midfield today or the absence of the player who has become our proverbial elephant in the room, our three middle players dominated the match. We played at a tempo much quicker than recent matches, and everyone seemed to feed off each other.
In addition to Arsh, I wish to single Song out for a composed and responsible defensive job. He sensibly left the attacking to others, and concentrated on protecting our back four; little wonder that we were much more solid defensively, overall.
Arsene routinely takes flak from the media, our supporters and opposing fans for complaining about penalties not awarded, or this, or that. I couldn’t help but chuckle, however, after hearing the Manchester United manager piss and moan about Owen not getting awarded a penalty when tangling with Clichy near the end. This after Foy and his crew twice gave hatchet-man Vidic a pass…
A far more relevant thing for him to question is why his vaunted “stuff of champions” team was significantly outplayed by a group of “children” they are used to swatting aside – and in a match with such big stakes, no less.
I shall hold my breath waiting for universal condemnation of Red Nose’s absurd and condescending comments…
We no longer have any need to even consider him or his minions…We are quits for this season and Stoke await on Sunday. Aaron Ramsey scored the winner today – how beautiful would it be for him to repeat the trick at the Britannia next weekend?
Our final three fixtures are all both winnable and losable, depending upon which Arsenal side shows up. Hopefully it will be the one that played today.
The bitter taste of the March/April collapse won’t go away – nor should it – but strong finish will give us something to feel good about heading into the summer, and a means to recall the second half of this season in a slightly more positive vein.
Hopefully – after this win – we can cut out the sniping amongst us Arsenal supporters, at least for now. Whatever you may personally feel about Arsene and the players, this was a big win, and one which we should enjoy for a bit – without the obligatory name-calling and insults.
Hopefully the players will draw some confidence and get right back to business – Stoke on Sunday. As with the win at Blackpool, I was encouraged about the lack of midweek chatter in the buildup to the match. Can our players shelve the tweets for now? And can our dot-com refrain from posting fluff stories as well?
We got a great win today, but we are only as good as our last performance.
Let’s focus on business, get ready for Stoke, let’s refrain from the “we still have a chance” or “we are not back on track” comments.
Let’s win our remaining matches, and see how things shake out.
Written by Oliver
Morning all
Good write up Oliver, at last one that you must have enjoyed writing – it’s been a while…
Great performance by our team and Mr Wenger yesterday, about time too….
Sad news about Sir Henry Cooper, RIP great man….
Good Morning everyone. feels like ages, since i’ve last posted a comment. I’m a regular reader though, keep it up :).
Spot on with the midfield rating Oliver, although i disagree a bit, regarding Song. He had some nice passes, but his positioning really needs improving IMO. And he seemed a bit dopey, couldn’t keep up with hernandez and made some clumsy challenges, which eventually resulted in a yellow card..
What do you guys think?
hi akd, good to see you here and thanks..
i thought song was cracking yesterday, best game for him in a while – he gave rooney nothing…
Off to walk the mutt, back in a bit…
Second time at writing this as the damn PC didn’t like my last comment and deleted it for me.
Great write up and sport on.
Seems to me the Wilshere/Ramsey duo could be a lasting one and a very good one. Both have speed of thought and feet which will allow them to get out of tight spaces. I can see a smaller, quicker Petit/Vieira axis.
This also allows us to either sell Cesc for stupid money or, play him further forward and allow him too use his vision in a more dangerous area.
As for Song, it shows what he can do when fresh so I suggest we get Parker from West ham to take some of the pressure and stress from Song and let him get some rest during the season.
Now on to Fergie AKA Demento. Read what he said in this interview.
Ferguson said: “For the first one, I think it was difficult for anyone to see that. A mere flick of the ball.
“You don’t really expect the linesman or the referee to see that.
“But the Owen one was a clear penalty kick. He was definitely brought down.”
Notice the clever use of the word “mere”. It takes focus away from the fact that his captain not only cheated and broke the laws of the game but also broke the spirit of the game. Could we say it was just a mere touch by Clichy on serial caller Owen?
Demento is also saying ref’s are biased against Man Utd, anyone want to take him through the game and explain how many cards his players should have got yesterday?
Song was booked for winning the ball cleanly. This was another bad decision from Foy who was rubbish all afternoon. Vidic should have gone and a penalty should have followed. I am surprised that more people haven’t noticed that Owen was offside when Rooney chipped the ball to him. This means no penalty. For Ferguson to infer a conspiracy AGAINST Man Utd is too laughable for words.
Morning all.good read oliver.the only way vidic can be sent off is if he goes to the ref’s pocket and takes out a red card and send himself off.
Boo, top comment Will, Jack and Ramsey are very much the future – was Song better as he knew his role??
His booking was a farce, yellow for nothing where as Vidic, Fabio and Rooney could all have seen red on another day with a different ref…
Rec Nose is a twurp for his comment Adam, he’ll get another ban and surely even an old fool like him only needs to think about how many gifts his side have been awarded this season to get them out of jail..
not only when they play but, what refs give other sides when playing teams like us etc…
Morning all, nice one Oliver,
Handball, red cards, not seen, a mere flick, who cares three points and an end to what seems an eternity, Red Nose is like Wenger in reverse, wont see don’t see, I wouldn’t expect any difference. Although a poor United turned up. but still a good result for us. Cesc on the other hand is a bit of a mystery, at 23 he seems to have the weight of the whole world on his shoulders, maybe women trouble has been his downfall this year, but even so he has to much experience to move on, I know it seems that he is the only player we had that is worth anything, but in my opinion he is the only one, I would bend over backwards to keep, supporters seem to have a short memory, he has been immense for us, and he is only 23, he will if he wants to stay, be immense in the future.
Granted Jack and Aaron had a good day and hopefully it continues but I have to say, there’s a lot I would like to see go before Cesc
No way should we let cesc go just yet unless he puts in a transfer request.there is no player in Europe who creates as many chances as cesc.ramsey and jack especially have lots to learn from cesc in terms of decision making in the final third.if cesc had been leading those counters yesterday we would’ve no doubt made some of them count.let jack/ramsey learn from cesc at their own pace.
The purpose of Ferguson, is to create and prepare the environment for the next game, appealing to the referees for as usual, blow the whistle in favor of MU. It is easy to see that they are champions won. now you must press the umpires, alert the press and create a favorable environment. Nothing more than invoke the pseudo foul on Owen (who was out of the game …) and purposely omit the penalty that everyone saw, taking refuge in the difficult position of the referee, who can not see everything and it’s hard sometimes to take decisions. You set the scene …
Morning Steve,
Were they poor or did we just raise our game, close them down more and stop them playing??
Agree there are a few more that need shipping out before Cesc but I think we learned yeterday that life will go on if our Captain pushes for a move. WATH has said a few times that if he goes, he doesn’t need replacing and he is spot on –
If he goes, use the money to strenghten the areas in which we are lacking….
I just hope Wenger doesn’t now think we are all sorted just because we beat the Mancs, we need a few additions to make sure we beat the likes of our next oppo and a striker who will kill off games…..
Hi JM, good comment and i think you are right, fergie is getting twitching and is already thinking about the chelsea game – he knows if his side lose that the momentum is with the chavs..
already he is putting prssure on whoever refs the game and playing mind games with chelsea….
Morning JM,
We differ a little on our views, I thought that the ref was bad,I must say it usually goes against us, but he was bad for both sides. Fergie saw the spuds result he can see that it seems to favour the Pensioners at the moment, and who have they got next.
Kt, we won’t have to wait too long to find out about Cesc I’m sure – no doubt he and Wenger have already discussed what the future will be regarding him.
My guess is that now it’s all about Barcelona and whether they are prepared to pay the right price and call me an old cynic, i think Barcelona were told last summer to wait one more season. Maybe back last summer Wenger knew that this coming summer he would finally get some transfer money…
No evidence of this, just my own hunch….
Messi has 179 goals in 265 barca games…crazy!!!.thats similar to what henry used to do for us.
Dermot Gallagher was speaking on Sky Sports this morning, he says the Vicic incident was deliberate handball, straight red card.
He also said the Owen incident was a stone wall penalty.
What he did say though is apart from RvP no AFC player appealed, even Theo who was very close.
He also said that it took him THREE different camera replays to be able to definately say the Owen one was a penalty.
I’m actually going to watch the Barca v Madrid game tomorrow. Part of me wants to see lots of red acrds and a real scrap but, i want whoever wins to beat the mancs….
Morning rico,
I agree they played better and closed down like you have said, but from what I have seen from them for a few games they didn’t need to do a lot to play better than they had, United were poor but that’s not taking anything away from our boys.Your faith yesterday was rewarded
You are a hard man to please Steve 😉 😉
But, i think we all agree we still need that extra something, jack needs to practice his shooting, Chesney his kicking and we still lack the killer instinct up front.
I just hope Wenger sees that and rectifies it in a months time…
Game to watch today, Pompey v Norwich, I hope Lansbury helps Norwich to a big win….
Hi steve.thought we looked much more balanced yesterday.the midfield pressing was fantastic suffocating any space for the likes of rooney,carrick and anderson.i only remember rooney hitting 1 crossfield pass yesterday which was due to how tight we were in midfield.
I think Wenger should make it a priority to buy a forward to support rvp.he was so isolated at times with only theo giving him support.our LF position really needs to be looked since rvp’s movement is second to none he drags defenders all over but it seems only theo and cesc are in synch with robin to take advantage of it.
good read Oliver, I got to writing my post quite late and I figured I will think of something different from the game review, now that there are so many great ones posted already!
cheers mate 😉
KT7, agree we could do with bolstering up the side with reliable players,I cannot see Wenger losing to many though, so I don’t expect him to surprise us to much.
I don’t think wenger can stop just there Kt, i don’t think he will get a keeper unless Fabianksi doesn’t recover fully.
Ch, CM and Striker….
Steve i think wenger is looking at it hence the hazard rumours.i want us to have 2 speed demons alongside rvp.it will not only make us more direct but less tippy tappy.nasri was a nailed on starter the way he was playing earlier in the season when he was taking players on and scoring but lately he seems to have resorted to turning in circles then passing the ball to clichy.nasri has all the attributes but he seems not to have complete confidence in his own ability.if he had he’d be a ballon d’Or contender by now.if he can regain that form and maybe even exceed it id have no qualms if Aw invested elsewhere.
good write up..
one of the biggest plus’s for me yest was rambo and jack..
we need to keep cesc if we are honest…
we have lansbury and frimpong to come in also..
hopefully we’ll sign another battling midfielder..
then we will have
new guy, song, frimpong
cesc, jack, nasri, rambo, lansbury
you know what that means dont you??? 😉
Morning SUGA, you out from behind the sofa yet 😆
To the contrary rico i don’t think wenger should stop there.a CB,CM and a forward may be enough.szczesny/fabianski have done enough to vindicate us not to sign a new gk.ramsey put the final nail in denilson’s career.
morning jj, it means you are dreaming 😉
Hi jj.No Double D boys?
In all honesty KT, rather than buying another striker I would like a couple of wingers and use Theo Robin Chamy and Vela in what ever combo that works, I like to see bodies in the box, gives us another option, Theo’s got the reflexes, Vela the skill, Chamack heading and Robin the experience
Trophies?
It may have taken Gallagher three views to see it buut he was not in the position of the Lino who was directly in line and surely had to of seen the arm come out.
Steve, I think you are wrong on this one, we out played them in midfield and I for one am getting fed up hearing that the times we beat our rivals it’s because they had a poor game.
Our midfield was snapping at them the entire time and we deserved that win.
Steve thats why i’ve said a left forward who in modern football is a winger that plays higher up the pitch than a traditional 4-4-2 winger.have theo on one side and a similar player on the left will always ensure rvp has support from players who can supplement his lack of raw pace.theo and rvp have forged a formidable partnership because of their movements.we need a similar equivalent on the left.
Kt, i meant wenger cannot stop at just getting a striker, the minimum we need is my list, but in an ideal world we would add a winger as well as a keeper but that isn’t going to happen imho…
Good point Steve, get the wingers and use our strikers as strikers instead of sticking them on the wing…
It seems we are in agreement rico.
hahaha
we dont need them..
and if we shift rosicky and vela we have room for ryo and hazard and if we shift bendnter we have room for gamero
KT7, that’s a strange one with nas as you say he did have a spell of sheer brilliance but that went as quick as it came
If we could get Drogba…..
Will, Just watching MOTD, Lee Dixon is spot on re Vidic, the lino is right up with play and should have seen it..
And, ‘how many times does Clichy do that’ he says…..
I think Wenger may have had a word with the lads yesterday about shooting, did I detect a few shots, not that good, but they may get better.
Alex song had a 100% success rate in all the challenges he got involved in according to the Guardian Chalkboards.if he can cut out those niggly fouls he’ll become a top player.
What happened to nasri anyway?he has faded so badly.
Tell me then guys, did wenger change his tactics yesterday or were things very different because we weren’t relying on one player?
We didn’t look to always pass to that one player
We didn’t look to pass pass pass around the area
We crossed the ball when ever we could
Down to Wenger or down to player freedom????
Great minds Steve 😉
I actually think we played with freedom and no doubt you all know what i am thinking too….
I found it amusing to see spuds fans calling Gareth ‘best player in the world’ Bale overrated.at least we love our theo who is now a nailed on starter nowadays.
Kt, exhausted i suspect….
That is a tough one Rico. Are we getting an Henry syndrome regarding Cesc?
morning all…thanks for the taking the comments rico..
cheers, suga…
rico, i agree that we functioned better without an inherent over-reliance on cesc. pehaps liberated is not the best term to use here, but i think many of our players looked as though they felt they could play to their strengths, as opposed to playing to cescs…
And what about a word for Arshavin, terrier from the moment he came on, why couldn’t he have played like that all season….
looking back over the post, last night i intended to change the comment on the halftime substitution to mention that samir was pulled off ostensibly for a hamstring tweak. that won’t, however, change my assessment that he gave us next to nothing in the first half…his goal against the spuddies aside, he seems to have dropped off a cliff this second half – probably now occupying the same chasm as the chamakh of the first couple of months of this season.
Will, that is exactly my belief – every game we play our players always feel the need to pass to him, he is almost demanding the ball every time and i have said this for a while too, its not just a knee jerk comment made..
So often when he takes a pass he is in a dreaful position, surrounded by players and he has no way out, we lose the ball and start all over again..
As great a player Cesc is, he’s fastly becoming a selfish one….
Rico i think its what am referring to as balance.when cesc plays he plays ahead of jack/song as our playmaker with all our play through him.ramsey on the other hand played almost in tandem with jack/song making our midfield unit more compact.jack/ramsey both attacked and defended which meant we had various focal points of attack that Fergie couldn’t anticipate.Song also played as a dm shielding the defence.ramsey provided mobility that cesc doesn’t provide which meant he defended better and also worked the ball through the flanks more stretching our play.
arsh was excellent…kos did really well also – i should have singled him out too. i would say samir was the only player who really under-performed. even clichy had a solid game up until his near-calamity – and i think that was a penalty, and i think we caught a break there.
rico,
sitting all comfy on the sofa, thank you very much
Morning oliver, my pleasure as always..
And yes, i think the players relax and play their own game without cesc on the pitch.
Cesc didn’t start the season, we started well and were scoring goals without robin, something changed and i have a feeling it is something to do with our captain…
I know we all want different players in, but recent history says we won’t be splashing out that much, Czezs yesterday had an excellent game, so i think my keeper has gone out of the window, Vermaelen on the verge has made me doubt a centerback, frimpong will be available for next season but is fragile so may have backup there and lots out on loan and waiting visas, I reckon one player.
we’ll see what happens with cesc. i will hold off on giving my thoughts until after we finish up at craven cottage…unless, of course, this comes to a head prior to then.
I reckon 2/3 Steve, not massive shirt selling signings but rock steady ones, just what we need. A few will go as well i think but not replaced if that makes sense…
I don’t think it can come to a head before the CL final Oliver, not in public anyway but i think what will be has already been done…
And, I don’t care anymore what the outcome is, i haven’t for a while….
Right now, three points on sunday is huge, should the mancs win their fixture we can still get 2nd so it’s worth the fight. Stoke will have one eye on the FA Cup and will want to go to wembley with confidence.
What will be interesting is whether our captain plays or not…
If West Ham go down, wouldn’t surprise me if a one year deal would be struck up for Parker, keeps him in the frame for England and if West Ham bounce back up he could return, the key word Cheep.
Song was super, he knew what he had to do yesterday and did it very well, allowing jack/ramsey to play.
And Ramsey’s range of passing was outstanding…
If you watch the highlights again you will see Song ahead of both Jack and Rambo so all three dovetailed well. It was like there was no hierarchy in there and they could all do their jobs.
Good to hear SUGA, it’s dark behind there 😉
Steve, i think the keeper dpends on fabianski’s injury – whether or not he recoveres propally but i’m with you, i don’t see wenger getting one..
Chesney was top class yesterday but who should have been defending Hernandez on that cross he missed by mm’s..
Hi will.It was more of a 4-3-3 rather than 4-2-3-1.
Will, i noticed that too, not so much song forward but Ramsey hanging back at times…
It is so refreshing to be talking about our club after a wonderful victory where we have to really dig deep to find fault in any one player…
Squilli is another, i thought he slotted in and played really well – no howlers…
Trouble is Steve i think a few will be in for Parker, i would love us to get him though, would be just what we need in midfield to help Song and allow Frimpong to make his comback – prob through the FA and CC…
What comment Kt 😉 😉
I think we can draw parallels to l’pool regarding cesc.ever since gerrard got injured and torres left they have been very good.the likes of maxi,lucas,suarez,meireles,kuyt are playing with much more freedom.Suarez has been a superb buy for them as his all round play trumps torres and works hard for the team.torres’ departure has actually helped l’pool and without Gerrard they have bucked up their ideas so you no longer hear the media call them a ‘2 man team’ anymore.Dalglish deserves lots of credit for that.
Exactly rico.
rico,
as I said yesterday, Szczesny got very lucky with that cross, someone needs to point this out to him and he will not repeat the same mistake 😉
could have been embarrassing to see him stuck in the same position with Hernandez wheeling away…
have a laugh, y’all:
SUGA, agree they do and fast but a defender should have been tracking him too – chesney will lean, he is so good sometimes, i forget he’s very young still….
Nuri Sahin has decided to leave Dortmund for Madrid according to reports.if its true he will join the long list of players who wrecked their careers by going there.kaka is a ballon d’Or winner but doesn’t even play.add the likes of Granero,Gago,lass and canales who never get games.Mourinho would rather play pepe in midfield than an attacking midfielder.
You think Jose will still be at Real next season Kt?? I don’t….
SUGA, what was that all about 😆
Szczesny is a fast learner rico.remember shrek’s free kick that he had to be at full stretch to save?shrek hit an almost similar one later in that game but this time ches was positioned much better such that he caught the ball with no need to punch/palm it away.
Sugar, you have to get out more son
I think he will still be there rico as they still regard him as the best coach to tackle barca.they will give him another year at least unless jose himself decides to retire.
Steve,
don’t you worry 😉
rico,
nothing, just a random animation, perhaps a scouting tip for the man on the lookout for the new partner for TV?
*resign*
hi all
morning all, afternoon, night all
Osi???
i forgot you have a bank holiday over there. normal monday work day here.
he is Kt but someone stille needs to be coaching him for him to become a world class keeper… I think jose will be pushed out especailly after his last outburst about barca – real would be foolish, but i see him going…
Im with Steve SUGA, you need to get out more 😉
Very long weekend here oliver after the big day on Friday – i couldn’t work out why your president wasn’t at the wedding.
Today I think I had my answer….
Afternoon Osi, covering us all I see…
Still smiling are you 🙂
me being a bit house bound coincides with some studying I have to do 😉
speaking of…
I loved the reaction of Nasri and Gibbs on the bench when we scored, Gibbs was like a big kid, so happy and Nasri’s reaction, well, this man cares….
Not so good then, i’m glad my studying days a long passed… 🙁
good but very long article Oliver. Finally, we beat ManU. I think we finally see a good young group of playaers gelling together. Im looking forward for the next season already. Our yesterday midfield looked solid, quicker, fighting and younger, and with another world class striker added to our team with couple of good substiutes we’ll come good next season.
rico, it wasn’t just the operation in pakistan. last wednesday our southeast region was hit by tornadoes and severe weather. he was down there touring the damage…
morning osi…someday i will learn the art of brevity…not yet.
rico,
don’t worry girl, so have mine!
I am just studying for a work related qualification for my sins 😉
yes rico im still smiling and happy because the media made it out as if beating ManU is the ultimate achievement as if they’re unbeatable or Arsenal not good enough to beat. You know what, I was optimistic about us winning the title, even when ManU looked unbeatable early on in the season, not because I thought we were world class team but because I was convinced that ManU were not good enough as well. Im convinced that we’re better than ManU squad wise but they have extra edge for they can hire Ref.World.
Greetings one and all………. I see happy people for a change, I wonder why…?
Oliver Im like you though. I write long even my comments in here are usually long. I would have enjoyed this long article had Arsenal were in the mix of winning that thing.
He’s been a busy man then oliver… Good news came from pakistan although i fear what will follow… still that’s not for a footie blog i guess…
I was referring to my ‘mature student’ years SUGA 😉 😉
Osi, it’s good to see the media having to report the neagtive about the mancs, i bet it hurts them….
Hi WATH, just got out of bed 😉
Cheeky mare……………. 😛
That’s me 😆
rico now maybe their team and fans realise the effects of bad media coverage. The bad coverage would shed some light on the fouls of Vidic hopefully. That guy is the luckiest players i’ve ever seen; he got away with murder. Oliver said he doesnt favour any of them (Manu&Chelsea) winning the title, but I want Chelsea win the title if there’s any justice in this world. The points ManU accumulated from bad or biased refreeing contributed to their rise to the top this season and seasons before.
What are your thoughts about Ramsey potential? I’m really excited about him and would like to see him play regularly next season. He has vision for pass, looks comfortable in possession, has a good ball control and scores technically perfect goals. HE’s alos young and could become an Arnenal legend.
It will take more than one game Osi, its only because this one was so obvious its been repeated so often, and no doubt because Vidic is not one of Englands golden boys…
I’m with oliver, can’t stand either side but there is something about Manure ending up with nothing that brings a smile to my face…..
the best thing to happen of course is a draw at the weekend between the mancs and chavs then they both lose their final two games. We in the meantime pick up nine points from our last three fixtures 🙂
“Manure ending up with nothing that brings a smile to my face”
I share your sentiment there rico, I used to be amazed by people taking pleasure in our rivals loosing, but with Arsenal lacking that cutting edgy and trophyless season Im developing Shaddenfreude now.
Osi, he is going to be world class and i don’t base my opinion on his game yesterday, he had just started to prove himself before his injury – yesterday showed he has no mental issues over the incident and no obvious fitness problems…
I don’t even want them winning the CL Osi….
Ramsey has vision great technique a great engine and gets stuck in…. He also dictates the tempo of a game him and Jack are the future no doubt about that. It’s who we put round then that’s important, they make the team tick they don’t look for the team to tick around them…! Huge difference.
Notice without Cesc, we played at a faster pace, more direct, more integrated as a team.
Cesc controlled the tempo of the team like Brazilain Smaba Football: Fast, fast, slow, slow, slow, fast, slow, fast,..slow..slow…..
And when Cesc si dsitruaghted and not on song, it is Crab Football without penetration, withour final pass, without visionary thru’ ball…like this season.
Todya, it is team wiht commitment, wiht heart and even Arshavin went into hard with a few dodgy tackles and he tracked back.
A team effort with commitment, so missed with Cesc in the team.
Proved my point that we are so predictable with Cesc, like Henry’s alst season with every plays going thru’ Henry….like every plays went thru’ Cesc…
And the old cliche..
“Stop Henry and you stop Arsenal from playing” is updated in 2010/11 to:
“Stop Fabregas and you stop Arsenal from playing”.
Guess Ferguson was caught with his pants in anticipating a Fabregas’ languid Crab Football instead of a dynamic Trio of WIlshere-Ramsey-Song playing with pace, purpose and commitment.
OSI, that is my dearest wish…ManUre ending up with nothing this season.
And that is exactly what wenger need to sort this summer, he is right, we are very close to be a winning side but not close enough, it’s down to him now and no-one else…
His passing accuracy yesterday was impressive, i wonder what his stats were 😉
Hi Merlin, i’m with you on that theory about cesc….
His passing is also varied Rico its not just 5 yard balls its passes that open the game up and switch play etc etc….!
I don’t believe the Americans did that all on their own without our boys.
As for Rambo, one game doesn’t make a season, but i hope he stays fit and keeps getting sharper, as for Czez he will still make mistakes but hopefully not bad ones.but I must say, I feel happier today.
and I just hope that some decent healthy ‘competition’ will establish between Jack and Ramsey…
competition for the title of the best British Arsenal player, that is 😉
He was that good before the injury Steve just remember that ;-)this isn’t just cos he ran the show yesterday…! think yesterday just proves the injury battle has been won.
Hi Wath, hope your right mate, I thought he was better and i expect to see it next year
That’s the psses i meant WATH, so many across field passes that found the feet of OUR player, becks would have been proud… 🙂
He obviously needs games but everything is there to now build on. it must of banished any demons he had messing with his head as well yesterday which is great for the kid. Now to solve the other areas we need fixed….! 😉
The latest little joke going round, just received it.
WHILST CELEBRATING ARSENALS VICTORY YESTERDAY,IT WAS A LITTLE UNWISE OF BIN LADEN TO RUSH OUT INTO HIS YARD AND SHOUT COME ON YOU GUNNERS
I still remember the wolves game, we were rubbish with Rambo and Denilson in the midfield and Wolves were all over us – Song came on for an injured Denilson, game changed and the two worked so well together..
we went on to an easy win…
Moral of the story, get rid of Denilson 😉
😆 Steve, here’s another…
Not like them to take bins out on a Bank Holiday 😉
Evra really likes the sound of his own voice.
“We didn’t play to the Manchester United way and when we don’t play to the Manchester United way we don’t deserve anything,” said the France defender.
“People think when we played against Schalke the game was easy. We made the game easy because we were ready for the battle and ready for the challenge. The game was easy because we played with more aggression and with power.
“Maybe against Arsenal we think it is going to be easy but we didn’t make the game easy.”
“We were too nice,” said Evra. “We know Arsenal. They keep possession of the ball but they are never dangerous.
“But normally when we come to the Emirates, we play with more power and aggression and create more chances.
“You have to kill that game early, not wait until you concede a goal. The attitude at the beginning of the game wasn’t right. That is why I was very frustrated. We didn’t deserve to win.”
Do you think he is mistaking power and aggression for dirty and fouling?
Quality
rambo deserves the praise after what hes been through
hes had to sit there and watch diaby and denilson make fuck up after fuck up..
hes back now and with him jack and lansbury to come it will hopefully mean seeya later to those two..
it was men against boys 😉
Obviously, some one that doesn’t lose well Will.
early reports show that bin laden died of shock after seeing The Arsenal hold onto a lead
How did they get Osama bin Laden’s address? It’s not been confirmed but apparently he bought a Sony Playstation in the last 3 months
Elton John is to write a tribute song following Bin Ladens death – Sandals in the bin
Yep, men against boys and the boys whipped their arses.
Will, Evra is a prize p***k 🙂
Ramsey attempted 62 passes yesterday completing 55 of them.88.7% success rate.
😆 WATH…..
clichy had 21 interceptions and song won all his 9 tackles.
jj, Lansbury is going to be our ‘Ray Parlour’ – just hope Wenger reassures him he has a future, he has told us fans he has, now get him tied down to a new contract if needed, Norwich will soon snap him up – if they win tonight they are back in the PL…
Says it all about the Welsh Wonder Kt but Clichy, for all his good work he nearly let the side down again, but for Foy he would have been lambasted today….
Song, best game in a long while…
rico check your mail.
You say please and i will Kt 😉 😉
Pretty please…
http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2011/05/musonda-leaves-london-after-arsenal-talks/
They get younger….
Boro 1-0 up against Cardiff – Good…
😆 Kt, I have replied ….
2-0 Boro 🙂 🙂
Kos won 5/6 aerial challenges yesterday.JD won 4/5 aerial challenges.
Rico, why are you interested in that game?
I have just seen that rico but if you’ve read my post you’ll understand why.
3-0 😆
Ok, haven’t read it yet Kt, but i will, i promise…
Will, because Cardiff are 3rd in the Championship, Norwich (Lansbury) are second and I want Norwich to get promoted…
I know JET is on loan at Cardiff, but they don’t play him…
Hi!
Fergusosn is creating the environment for the game against Chelsea, helped by the way won the spuds and stubborn in the penalty that was not. Talked about the possible lack of Theo on Evra and maybe he was right. Do not go too far, MU won the last game with a goal off-side and we drew with Liverpool, with a penalty, which I understand does not exist. In short: the rules in case of doubt, does not benefit those who play at home or playing outside. The referee must check only one not in doubt but that always has them. And in this case, as usual, is MU.
Not many left full-back are better than Clichy, and those that exist are in big teams and are not for sale. I have the impression that if clichy is offered for sale, buyers appear soon. And are not side clubs.
Drogba is a great player but his time is passing. Not going to play in position 9 we need. Would occupy the position of RVP. The ninth player is a fast, tough, timely. Look at the MU. Rooney playing in position 10, the Mexican is No. 9.
I liked seeing today, the little summary and performance Gameiro at Lorient. He is moved, scored 2 goals and was on the penalty that gave the 3rd goal.
Has a defect: it is low. Arsenal did yesterday n crossings to penalti area to train the core of MU in the air. NB and Chamack give us the advantage in height in the area.
Note: I read a few time that Bin Laden was a follower of Arsenal. In all the big clubs, they are people wellcome are not interested
Bayern have said they’ll pay €50mil if necessary to get Neur.
Hi JM, good comment, fergie is on a real wind up before they face the chavs, that is for sure…
Is Howard Webb injured?red nose is getting twichy due to the continued abscence of his starman.
Kt, good, stop both the mancs getting him 🙂
Webb ref’d at West Ham at the weekend, well, their game against Citeh…
I’m off for the day folks, have a good evening and lets hopw Henri wins a medal tonight….
Be good and catch up tomorrow…
Nighty all…. 🙂
from a dayly sports newspaper:
Paris Saint-Germain is only willing to negotiate a pass from Mamadou Sahko with Liverpool or Arsenal for around 22.5 million euros.
The two clubs have been following carefully the views of the defense of 21 years, but the whole Parisian is not much inclined to waive Sahko.
Having done so knowing that just for money around 22.5 million euros is to be available to start negotiations.
Morning…
New Post up