Morning all.
According to The Daily Mail, Aaron Ramsey has been watched by Barcelona. Scouts have been to our last four games and Wales’s matches with Belgium and Macedonia. Mmm, well they can push right off!
I only caught the highlights so the details of our match are brief……
Arsene Wenger made five changes to the starting eleven last night, he clearly believed that this was the right time to rest a few and despite my slight concerns, he was bang on the money. Even Nicklas Bendtner justified a few pounds of his vast wage!
He replaced Olivier Giroud, Carl Jenkinson replaced the injured Bacary Sagna and Nacho Monreal came in for Kieran Gibbs. Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere were the other two players rested with Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky taking their places.
The bench looked like this:
Fabianski, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Walcott, Giroud.
That had to be one of our strongest benches in a long long while. They were like the cavalry sat ready and waiting if they were needed…..
To be honest though, 2-0 was flattering, especially when you consider how many chances/shots we had in the first half.
Nik’s got a big head when it comes to how good he thinks he is but as we all know, all too often he’s failed to back up his own views, but last night, that big head was in the right place to head home our opening goal and within the opening two minutes.
Rosicky played the ball to Ramsey, his ball went out to Jenkinson on the right and his ball into the area was right on the head of the big Dane – Bang, goal!
Great start!
Let’s be honest now, we battered their goal from then until the break and the game should have been over and done with at half-time, actually, within the fifteen minutes which followed our opener.
A corner from Cazorla was nicely flicked on by Mertesacker to Koscielny but his header was well saved by Allan McGregor. Aaron Ramsey looked like he had is ankles clipped from behind in the penalty area and many referees would have pointed to the spot. Not Marriner though, he doesn’t do that kind of thing.
Next up to have a chance on goal was Ozil, but McGregor saved again although he dropped the ball right in front of Bendtner. Chance gone….
Aaron Ramsey looked like he was heading onto the score-sheet when he fired in a shot from the edge of the penalty area. The ball looked like it was going to find the bottom right hand-side of the net until McGregor pulled off a stunning save to deny him…
Bendtner nearly turned provider but Ozil headed his chance just wide.
Half-time came, and at 1-0, anything could still happen.
Until….
Ozil to Ramsey, a quick turn on the ball by him and a superb return ‘defence splitting’ pass back to the German was sublimely finished.. Sheer class move….
A few more chances came and went but the game was over…
Three more points, six straight victories at The Emirates, five players rested and next up is Everton who spanked the Mancs at Old Trafford last night…
Not a bad night really …….
That’s your lot for another day….
Morning All…………!
‘Ere Wath, what kept ya, slacking on the job… 😛
Mate, WP have changed all the settings and nothing is where it used to be….! Got there in the end… had a quick GG and I found a few brain cells 😉
I leave the slacking to you Grandad…. Red spandex slax 😀
😀
Good job I took no notice of Rico comments would be off til this evening…! I am going to have to show her where the new settings are…! 😉 you know women get lost easy Grandad only when they in the shops do they know where to go..!
It’s surely just a question of pressing the right buttons!
The ‘little boy in him’ must be really pissed off! Shame!
RvP that is.
I was wondering Wavy………… lol
ahhhhhh. W.A.T.H. is here
finally.
missed you mate.
Good Morning Lady, Sir, Gentlemen and Ladies.
what a lucky bunch those mourinho twerps are. now why Sunderland did not get an equalizer?
ahhhh Manure have lost as well.
wonder what the little boy is saying now?
Afternoon peeps,
Lassana Diarra to Arsenal has to be the biggest laugh today…
Hi Dev, WATH, Kev…
You is the grandad or grand son again? 😛
you= who*
Lunch me think… 😉
Ts don’t be so bloody cheeky it’s obvious Kev is the Grandad….!
Dev, how you mate… hope your well and not working to hard…!
Lassana… ain’t that what the shower down the road eat for a pre match meal..?
Diarra linked to Arsenal, is that right Ginge?
Who says??
And why???
It’s on newsnow Kev in a few links….!
Hiya Wath. work is easing off now. infact I am getting on HH more often now.
whatever managers like AW and JM say I fell that there are only 3 teams for the EPL. Us, the chavs and the oilers. And the chavs are not their usual defensive selves anymore it seems.
the only team which can hinder us to the EPL is Arsenal themselves I feel. If AW gets things right through the TW and puts the necessary tweaks in we might run away with the league.
Afternoon all, sorry about the muck up this morning, good job Wath was there to save the day 😛
that is called experience lady. and it usually comes with old age. 😉
Glad to hear your slowing down a bit Dev, you need to at your age 😛 Nearly as old as Grandad 😀
Lot of comedians on here today Rico……………….. 😀
🙂 devil, don’t let Wath hear you say that ….
Sure is Wath 😉
Wonder if RvP is injured or his comment on twitter was real 😉
Dg I agree wholeheartedly with you. The only team we have to fear is the Arsenal! It is up to the players to perform as they have this season right through to May – and – beyond! In fact if we win all our remaining games no one can catch us! We are in pole position, just like ……Vettel!
We can do this despite every other fan base, all the journos and most of the pundits railing against us!
I really do feel that Wenger has got his mojo back and he has constructed a very good squad of players, good enough to win the EPL. In fact better than all the rest!
Come on you gunners prove me right!
Yeah Rico, Wath might be a grumpy old sod, but he’s reliable… 😉
Hi Rico, WATH, Devilgunner, Kev, tsgh and all,
i watched the highlights too. Could not believe it when Nicky “Pink Boots” got on the end of that cross, his celebration was a bit mongy…
Another 3 points on the board and great to see the Mancs lose. Shearer still wouldn’t change his mind and is going with Chelsea to win the League.
Everton didn’t give up, even though the Mancs had more possession.
I noted that Steve Bould and Arsene look a bit more closer on the bench, not exactly cuddling up, but the body language looks better.
Marinello, The game should of been dead n buried after 20 minutes…. shame we not a bit more ruthless but thats me being pedantic and a grumpy old sod… I get that off me Grandad Kev… apologies for that.
I still say a Suarez type striker in Jan and we can def win the league…!
Wavy, I think we can do it too, but I still think we need two players in jan to see us home…
Indeed Kev, you are so spot on 😉
Hi Marinello, I’m with Wath, we need to start burying our chances more and killing games off and last night was one of those games..
Great three points but we should have had another 3 goals at least.
It didn’t matter last night but if we get chances like that against City and Chavs and we don’t take them, it could cost us dear…
I have a feeling that if we get great results in December that Bendtner would stay; if only to at least have a sniff at Prem and CL glory. He’s more likely to get that with Arsenal on current form than any potential buyer since such buyer is not likely to be Munich, Madrid, Barca, etc. etc. 😀
Oh and boo!!
rico, i think Santi is getting there (re: contributing goals) and Theo will soon follow. Oh and Podolski!! I think that they are coming back to full match fitness at this time is key esp. since Giroud and Ramsey are beginning to look jaded.
I’m off out into the cold with the woofa, back in a bit….
I’m in the warm Rico, the pub is lovely… nice roaring log fire and a rather large GG….! 😀
Boo, WATH!! Howdy? Roaring log fire?? Whassat? I have you beat. I’m in the tropics. 😛
Hail-stones and roaring wind here in SE Essex!
Thought Walcott might have got a bit more of a run-out. Maybe we needed a third goal to prompt AW that it was safe to change after 60?
Best you stay indoors then, Andrew. 😉 Walcott def needs to step up his game. He has the quality if not exactly the consistency.
agag, yep in for evening nice and early 😉
But he needs more than 10 minutes here and there. If we don’t look out, he’ll do another shoulder or something and we wont see him again for ages!
Agag, you might have a point on Bendtner…
If he can pop up with the odd goal, motivate his lazy self and allow Giroud to take the odd rest, then retaining him until the summer might make sense…
At least he knows the club, it’s system, it’s playing style.
Anyone we sign, might not be any use until the season is almost over, allowing for a settling in period.
I can’t any of the big names moving in January and there seems no point in signing another herbert like Sanogo…
agag, you actually live in Philippines? Moved or born there?
Adam, I was meaning to ask earlier, what is wrong with Jenkinson?
Was there something that you spotted, up there in Club Level, about his play, positioning or defending in general perhaps??
Agag reckons she lives in Manila, but I’ve got a suspicion that she’s really living in Catford… 😉
Wenger seems to be making the right decisions all along this season with maybe a few lucky breaks along the way. If Ozil, hadn’t signed, if Giroud had got injured 6 weeks ago, if Bendtner had flopped again last night ….. but everything seems to be coming off at the moment.
😉 BK. Cant post a photo on this forum can you to show some nice warmer sunnier climate? That’s if it’s not Catford!
I think Andrew, that’s precisely why AW is cautious about him. This after all is the same Theo who gets all sorts of weird injuries. In 2010, I remember he had come from shoulder surgery briefly and then had a side strain. A side strain!! Weird. And recently, his abdominal muscle thingy.
WIth a view in mind, perhaps, to the “big” games, since Theo does tend to do well in the, I just think AW is being protective. We can afford to rotate now, you know. 😛
Andrew, I pass thru Catford, on the way home, quite often…
Passing thru is really the best view you can ever have of it… 😉
I did read somewhere that Flamini has a problem with his groin, if that’s true then I’d rest him from both Everton and Napoli games…
We’ll need him for the Northern Oilers…
Andrew, born here, grew up here, lives here. 🙂 You just need to google SE Asia. The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. 😀 It’s nice here although you have to be a little forgiving of people’s concept of time. Which is none.
In more developed cities in Korea and in Japan, public transportation is ever on time. In Japan, I always feel like bus drivers want to commit harakiri if they’re even a minute late. 😛
Kev where is Catford?
Evening fine folk ….
Roaring fire here now Wath 🙂
Did I really read ‘it’s worth keeping Bendtner until the summer’ 😮
Hahaha, rico. That was Kev. I only said he may be motivated to stay if he sees us do well this month, because he may have a legit shot at trophies.
Was just teasing really agag 😉 Maybe NB could win a trophy in the Championship or somewhere similar 😉
Just watching the re-run of the game that SS’s showed last night, how NB missed his second real chance I never know, only needed a poke towards goal…
Personally, I try to avoid Catford. 🙂
rico, the thing about TGSTEL is that he can never keep his head down and just do the business consistently. And his personal life is punctuated by all sorts of childish controversies.
rico, I know. His career has been riddled with one too many heavy touches while clear on goal. 😛 Still, last night is very much appreciated.
I agree agag, to be honest, I am utterly surprised he is still with us, AW usually gets rid of people who behave in such a way that NB has.
I guess the reality is that no other club would take the risk…
He could so easily have had a wonderful career….
Or a total lack of touches 😉
He could have easily had a hat-trick last night… If he had a true footballing brain.
Arsenal Football Club has announced that Josh Kroenke has been appointed as a non-executive director.
Announcing the appointment, Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick said: “We are delighted to welcome Josh Kroenke to the board of Arsenal. He has great experience in running sports organisations and brings extensive knowledge of what is required to succeed as we develop our Club for the future.”
Mr Kroenke is entering his seventh season with the Denver Nuggets basketball team, where he has been president and governor for three years.
In this role he oversees the Nuggets’ day-to-day operations and has helped them record one of the most successful six-year spells in the team’s history. Denver have won at least 50 games in five seasons, reached the Western Conference Finals and captured two Northwest Division titles during that period.
He is also president of the Colorado Avalanche NHL ice hockey team, which is currently enjoying its best ever start to a season and is the alternate governor of the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer team.
Son of the Club’s majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, Mr Kroenke also works closely with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment executives on multiple business operation issues, ranging from finance to marketing.
Mr Kroenke, 33, a financial management graduate of the University of Missouri, said: “It is an honour to join the board of Arsenal. This reaffirms our family’s long-term commitment to the Club.
“Arsenal is in a strong position on and off the pitch. We are enjoying a period of growth for Arsenal and the Premier League. We look forward to an exciting future that includes winning trophies, increasing our already impressive support around the globe and extending our commercial opportunities.
“We strongly feel our experience in sports management, marketing and broadcast will be an asset to an already impressive board.”
“…exciting future that includes winning trophies” Hmmm.
You had darned well better convince your father to “invest” in our club.
I just bet this boy had never heard of Arsenal until his papa bought shares.
I know, rico. van Pursey would have scored in similar positions as Bendy’s last night. 😕
Adam, I just try and stay out of London 😉
So would you or I agag, maybe 😉
Watching extended highlights really shows just how poor Hull were last night and we could so easily have had double figures…
rico, for some strange reason, teams play us, and their keepers have the games of their lives. 😀
Does that mean that Josh is on the ‘payroll’…???
That’s one way of putting it agag 😉
Good question Kev, I suspect he is..
I’ve noticed that Rico. 🙂
Bruce seemed bemused that we didn’t lead by a much higher margin, too, rico. 🙂 He looked a bit dazed when he was interviewed.
Hello, Adam. 🙂 Howdy?
I’m not surprised agag, I would love to know how his players compared us to when they faced the dippers…
Howdy Agag. 🙂
Morning all.
Barca?
Is it they or the media who believe they can simply chase, and get, and player they want?
A 5 year contract was recentl signed, and somehow i think a contract means something to this humble young man.
Hi Scott – I had mail today, thank you 🙂
Nipping off to eat, back shortly..
I was wondering if it was message just for me….no comments…bugger off hahaha
Not at all Scott, I was just hungry lol
Must have been 🙂
🙂
Everyone gone now ?
Agag, a friend of mine met a Thai girl on holiday, eventually she came to live in SE England for a year, and after he had business problems in the downturn, he decided they would both return to Thailand. Four months ago they returned to her homeland in Udon Thani and he has had a container load of all his belongings shipped over there! He writes a monthly blog for his friends that is so funny and in places quite moving about his experiences trying to buy a house, integrate with the locals and all the people he has met in what he affectionately calls ‘smiley land’. Just about everything that could go wrong is doing so, his house extension has just fallen down for the second time when storms start! I have urged him to publish it one day when his experience is complete because I’m finding it better than any novel!
Sorry, bit OT! Back to The Arsenal
I’m off for the day folks, night Andrew and anyone else reading.
Catch up tomorrow…..
night rico, bring on Everton now… Isn’t it funny, now we are doing so well, getting impatient for next game!
R.I.P. Nelson Mandela man mountain.
Sad but not entirely unexpected. Media coverage is going into overdrive. Good day to hide bad news like the lack of investment on coastal sea defences.
RIP Nelson Mandela, may he rest in peace……
Morning all..
Reports doing the rounds that Flamini has a groin strain….
Potter, I hope you are safe up there in Norfolk….
morning Rico…
I hope the Flamster news is a not true…
JW will cover the 3rd DM role if needed with Frimps as a backup…
It’s time for Frimps to set up after having 2, 90 minute games in the reserves recently…
Morning Ts.
So do I, especially with the fixture list as it is…
I don’t see Frimpong being in AW’s plans…
Sir Gilberto interview was very refreshing…
Gilberto: “Arsene did the best job he could to keep Arsenal in the best shape. The results are starting to show now. I expect him to stay.”
I suspect so Rico but Fulham wanted Frimps at the beginning of this season but AW refused a move…. things change in football…
Flamster was unwanted until Diaby went on the longest sabbatical in history… the rerst is history.
https://twitter.com/samuelj29060/status/408658707082653696/photo/1
A bit of dreaming…
Why has B04 agreed to sell one of the most exciting German wingers to a rival S04 even before the window opens?
Only time will tell I guess, his contract is up in the summer isn’t it?
Who?
Rico- Sidney Sam
Have you seen this?
In the World Cup rehearsal draw, England were paired with Spain, Ivory Coast & South Kore
Sorry …my abbreviations
B04- Leverkusen;
S04- Schalke
Never heard of him Ts. I knew the football teams, just didn’t know who you were referring to
New post up now…