Morning all.
How many times do Arsenal fans on here blame a referee when we lose or draw and the man with the whistle has made one or two poor decisions? Were you blaming Atkinson for gifting Sunderland a penalty for their equaliser?
Well a 2-1 to Arsenal, that same referee made a stinker of a decision. Had he played the advantage, Sunderland would have equalised for a second time and no-one will ever know what the outcome would have been…
He didn’t. Lady luck went our way for once and I’m not complaining.
As always with this Arsenal side, there were moments of magic, moments of madness and a few missed chances. Theo Walcott had a few of those chances but having seen them, their keeper has to take a bit of credit for coming out quickly, closing the angle down and saving well on a couple of them.
Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla missed the match, the German through some kind of bug, the Spaniard through an ankle injury which is worse than first thought and he could miss 5/6 matches. Not good news but at least we have Mesut Özil who wasted no time in notching up his first assist of his new career.
In fact he needed just 11 minutes. Gibbs played a long pass down the left, Özil controlled the ball and then played the perfect ball into the path of Olivier Giroud who slotted home with ease.
1-0 and the perfect start, especially for Giroud who finally scored outside of London. Good, now the media can stop going on about it!
Sunderland had a chance to equalise when Altidore tyrned and fired a strong shot from distance which Szczesny saved well. We had other chances, Theo Walcott was put through twice by Özil but Westwood came out quickly to narrow the angle and Theo blasted both chances straight at him. Our number 14 looks low on confidence, especially in front of goal but soon one of those chances will go in and at least he’s getting in the right places to make the chances. He just needs to start taking them.
Walcott had another chance, this came about after some lovely passing between Giroud and Wilshere with the latter supplying the cross but again, our number 14 couldn’t find the target.
Half time came and went and it wasn’t long before a Laurent Koscielny moment of madness gifted Sunderland a penalty – as Matt Le Tissier said during the commentary, Adam Johnson needs little encouragement to take a tumble and he didn’t yesterday. Up stepped Craig Gardner to bury the penalty.
Soon after, Steven Fletcher had the ball in the back of the net, but the referee got this one right as the goal was ruled out for offside.
Aaron Ramsey then made it 2-1 with a superb volley from the edge of the area after Carl Jenkinson’s fine cross. A stunning goal.
Then the moment of controversy involving Martin Atkinson who disallowed a second, and what would have been, an equalising goal.
Altidore’s shot had crossed the line but Atkinson had already blown his whistle for the tussle between Sagna and Altidore in the build up play outside the penalty area. Instead of playing the advantage and allowing the goal to stand, he pulled play back and awarded the free kick. Goalline technology had proved that the ball had crossed the line. A very strange decision and had that happened to us, I’m sure we’d still be moaning about it today had we been in Sunderland’s position.
Ramsey then made matters even worse for the home side when he nabbed himself a second and Arsenal’s third with another good finish after a nifty little flick on from Giroud…
As if the news about Cazorla wasn’t bad enough, watching Giroud limp off towards the end made matters much worse. However, he has since confirmed his knee is fine and he’s fit. Phew!
Right now we sit top of the league on goal difference but to be honest, it means very little at this stage of the season.
What matters more is the 3 points on the board…….
Next up, a trip to France in the Champions League..
Morning folks,
An excellent summary from you. The game was a nervy one as you would expect from a game officiated by Atkinson.
WE al love the all action play of Kos and Flamini but I would say at Flamini’s age I expect a bit more calmness to his game.
In my view, it is a concern that in the absence of either Arteta and/or Mertesacker, we look very panicked at the back than we normally do.
Both players are amongst the slowest in the squad but I would say I miss their calmness and influence.
Morning all.
What a night it was.
I am still hoarse from the screaming and singing.
On the “no goal”…..the ref had pulled up play so had no option.
Yes, he probably blew it up a second earlier than needed, but he also should not have given Sunderland their gift, so at least the ledger was squared for a change.
Ginge, that video showed how much work Ramsey does on and off the ball that goes unnoticed by even his most ardent admirers, so thank you.
I really thought he would be this good, a dominant midfielder, but i did not think he’d get to his level this quickly.
If he stays consistent, then we have one awesome player, but if he keeps improving, he will be world class.
That finish…..no need to add words.
Ozil was sensational first up.
Class personified, and he just always has time on the ball.
Just watching the replay now, and what stands out is how often he just plays the simple ball to great effect.
This was a criticism, and a fair one, of Aaron a year or so back…attempting the magical ball……but since he has simplified things, his performances have been superb.
Ozil showed enough already to suggest he will be a sensational buy for the club.
Thanks Ts, Flamini could always be a bit rash at times. Kos had a moment of madness too. That was always going to be a penalty IF a linesman doesn’t stand up for himself..
I wish AW would play Ozil on the right and Theo on the left, either that or take Theo to one side and bend his ear about switching sides. Ozil popped up everywhere, and when on the right, Theo needs to wake up and switch.
Many times we were left with just Gibbs attacking down the left..
Im not bothered about any decision, if we were lucky we deserved it. We were by far the better team!
Match I the day only showed their penalty decision from an angle where you couldn’t see it, which make me think it wasn’t a pen. Also, Stuart Robeson said I was a dive and if he thinks it was a dive then I’m sure it was because he would love it to be wrong.
Anyway we scored 3 so who cares.
Plus everyone always says that in order to win you need luck along te way and good teams make their own luck so…
Ginge, we definitely miss Merts but i think we at least finally have some decent back up.
I do like Flaminis aggression, but yes, he needs to ensure its is used the right way.
Morning everyone. What a player that Özil is! His movement, composure and intelligence could be essential for our attackers this season. The way he set up theo on numerous occasions was brilliant. Once the players start to understand him, he will be the one with most assists in the PL i suspect
Woody, i have seen the penalty enough times and from enough angles to guarantee it was all ball and a shocking decision.
DK, he will make our strikers even better.
Superior player.
Morning all, Very good report.
Referee made the right decision, he blew the whistle and awarded the free kick, had he not and it ended with a miss he would have been criticised so he couldn’t win whatever he ruled. I was impressed with his handling of the match. Now although i was very pleases with the teams performance, i was disappointed with Szezesneys positioning, he was very fortunate. Also i hate to keep going on about Walcott but i felt that we are carrying him. Once again i watched him right up till he went off and he made zero challenges he marks nobody and his contribution is negligable. I feel as if Wenger has given him a free role, but with the rest of the midfield working their socks off and the fullbacks working the flanks i really dont know what Theo’s roll is. Clear through with all the goal to shoot at and he blasts it straight at the keeper. While the rest of the team are workhorses i feel we have in Theo and Szez two passengers.
Thanks for the confirmation Scott, in which case it’s a non argument.
They deserved 1 goal and we deserved 3!
Maybe the ref realised his mistake at half time and decided to stop play in case he scored. Also, this argument of that idiot shearer tht he scored so I was a goal scoring opportunity and therefore Sagan should have been sent off is rubbish.
So when maradona scored his goal agains England when he beat the whole team, that would have been a goal scoring opp if the first defender took him out?
Imho, Atkinson wasn’t in the right position to see the incident in it’s entirety, pure guess work and his assistant let him down.
But like Woody says, we are due a bit of lady luck and I don’t give a toot as we got all the points. Another day, that may not have happened so I’m just going to be thankful that it did.
By half-time the game could have easily been all but over, another day Theo and others will take their chances and we’ll batter some team big time…
Ref got it right. Altidore was also tagging at Sagna. Moreover Altidore took his shot long after the whistle had gone, when the defenders had all stopped.
Sorry for the typos I’m on my phone today and have fat fingers!
Thanks Sp.
I’m not trying to simply defend TW here but, I watched motd and a few other highlights last night, as well as our game.
Quite a number of chances were almost identical to two of Theos chances. The keeper came out, closed down the angle and the forward’s shot was stopped by the keeper.
Nearly every time, the commentator complimented the keeper for his save…
Food for thought…
Rico, i posted early this morning on yesterdays posts that i reckon people were a little harsh on Theos finishing…i believe the keeper did very well…but he really needs to work more to become a better player.
I am having a little each way there, i know 🙂
Making a lot of an incident in our favor and very little of one in their favor. And it’s not just you. It’s Guardian, Independent, etc. it evened out, thankfully, so it’s a non-issue.
The whole thing is subjective , the only reason that there is any comment on it is because the ball crossed the line. Had Atkinson not blown Koscielny would not have stopped running and caught up with the ball about a yard before it went in. Once again it’s a commentators dream , a bit of controversy to taint a solid Arsenal performance.
Morning All…
A bit of luck, hmm maybe?
Makes up for the Villa stitch-up then…
But for that result we might be sitting on 10/12 points…..
Just saw the replay of Aarons first goal……the finish speaks for itself, but the ball from Jenks was pinpoint.
I realise that Theo is a fans favorite, and he does have his moments. , But although every body misses chances and i wont be too critical of that but he is lazy and doesn’t do his share of work that is undefencible.
Guys, i believe Rico always gives an open and fair minded report, and sometimes must play devils advocate…..nothing more.
Arteta back in full training on Monday podolski a week after
Its good to see gooners pleased this morning…
I think both Rico’s and SPI’s comments true to a point.
Defensively, Theo does not help unless the opposition is a ‘bigger team’ that has always been my concern. If you add that to an inexperienced DM like maybe JW10 or a slow coach like Arteta then we struggle when CJ25 is playing behind Theo.
In terms of Theo’s missed chances, I think he has taken direction from someone else other than AW or TH14. Normally you would expect Theo to place such chances like TH14; instead he is shooting.
Credit has to go to the goalie though…
great opening line to your post Rico and so true, we got the points but man that could have all been very different. They had no luck at all that is for sure. Thought Ozil was outstanding until he got tired and Ramsey was also a ball of energy.
Scott – super volley from Ramsey no doubt, have real doubts about Jenks but a fine pass that one as well.
A word for Flam as well, excellent energy
Oz, and if we finished a little better, we’d have won by 3-4 anyway.
Ifs, buts and maybes mean nothing.
This blogger is a joke arsenal supporter open fair anti arsenal joker
Welcome Ken..
LB, not at all… I couldn’t give a flying one about the incident after the final whistle as we got all the points and thoroughly deserved.
Potter – that’s a point I missed, I didn’t realise that Kos had stopped running. I know yesterday some here didn’t hear the whistle on a stream, but it was loud and clear on the replay on TV.
I actually thought the tussle was 50/50, pushing and shoving by both but as usual, the forward, especially against us gets the free kick…
Jenks had some good and bad moments Oz, for sure.
Still, he is young so has that on his side.
Theo could help him though 🙂
happy with the three points Scott agreed as you say Ozil should have had three assists by half time!
Scott re jenks – fair comment mate yep
A good result yesterday, but once again serious flaws that better sides than Sunderland,who Fulham also beat away, will surely exploit were exposed.
The ref was a clown awarding a dodgy penalty to Sunderland and making a hash of Sagna’s wrestling incident that could have seen him sent off in a European game.
Our bench also it must be said looked very sparse of talent, and Wenger’s inability to strengthen the squad during the summer break properly could come back to haunt him.
Scott, I’m with you on Theo, yes he needs to improve with his shooting, but as Kev said earlier, he’s in the right places and once one goes in, hopefully it will kick start a scoring run…
I think I am fair too 😉
Sp, TW was often spotted defending, you are a hard man 😉 Maybe we should replace him with world class overseas player?
Ozil and Ronaldo next 🙂
Oz, I thought Jenks did ok, a couple of shaky moments but his cross for Ramsey was stunning, the only thing better was the finish..
Jeff, we are only short upfront.
We have Diaby, Arteta, Poldi, SC19, Sanogo, Per, Ox, LaMoza all missing. That is a team by itself imho…
Jeff, you are right, but get Arteta and Merts back, and we instantly look more solid in defence, imo.
g clarke, why don’t you bugger off back down the hole from which you came from, all you do is throw insults. Well not any more on here!
Welcome stegunner – that’s great news and perfect timing as we need them both back and fit…
Graham who 🙂
It is strange how Mayweather pocketed £41M last night and Villareal fans were being asked to donate for local food charities…
You got me there Rico 🙂
Morning all
Good post rico
Spot on Ts >> Both players(mert and arteta) are amongst the slowest in the squad but I would say I miss their calmness and influence.
The pen was never a pen but rather a dive. Kos should stop making such tackles inside the box. It was unnecessary. He should learn to go for the block
Altidore wouldn’t have had the chance to take the shot had referee not blew his whistle. If you watch again as soon as the ref blew Sagna allowed him to carry on
Theo should start taking his chances. He missed 4 glaring chances yesterday and should have taken at least 1. He should have being the top goal scorer this season close to double figures. His missed chances has being well documented. He missed 3 glaring chances v Fulham, 2 v Aston Villa, 3 v Tottenham, CL fixture v Fernabache, and even in the national team vs Ukraine and san marino. It’s high time he starts taking those chances not shooting directly at the keeper or at least slow down and gets fouled to get a penalty.
Interesting that we all have our favourites and all are skeptical about others. However we are now getting the squad balance of old and young that we have not had for a few years. As they play together more Merts will sort out Kos , the midfield now have Flamini and Arteta to help the kids but the only place that we need a top player is in the goalscoring department. The elder players we have are better communicators than we have had previously ,perhaps Podolski could spend time with Theo ,I am sure he has the experience to help his decision making when he is one on one with the keeper.
Morning Kev, we were well overdue some good fortune, especially from Atkinson. The Sunderland fans were spot on with their song:
‘You’re not fit to referee’…
Money in sport at the top end is despicable Ginge.
I know all the arguments, but it doesn’t mean i agree with them.
Anyways, i am off guys, and i trust everyone has a fantastic day.
Funny when you think that Mayweather got 41 mill for one fight, had they paid another mill they would have got another 30 🙂
Jeff W – The only position that was not strengthen was the attack(striker). Look at the injured least you get a clear picture that if all are fit we are covered in all positions. Hopefully NB-23 comes back soon enough to help Giroud out so he can be rested for the COC v WBA
Before you go Scott , who are the British players involved in the Aussie match fixing scandal
I knew you would like that suggestion Sp. 😉
OM our opponents in the CL drew 1-1 with Toulouse. Thauvin made his debut.
Valbuena, Ayew and Payet will punish us if we do not defend from the front.
Rico, made a comment about on our LHS which has gone unnoticed I think.
The fluidity of our midfield 5 minus Flamini was good but it must be said JW left Gibbs on his own quite a lot.
I am not bashing JW here as I said all through out yesterday his performance was the best in a long time.
Going forward we can’t afford to have JW, Ozil and Theo given free roles.
Even Barca only have one player given a free role. BM have no o9ne in a free role not even Ribery or Muller.
Morning all,
The girls were on form last night, Flamini is indeed our new pitbull emma, chew em up and spit em out, get used to it tsgh, he’s gonna be around for a while ! he might even grow on ya.
And Giroud is indeed our Drama Queen agag.
Ramsey 5 goals already this season, his first brace in the premier league, only got 3 in the whole of last season, he’s no longer a baby Scott.
Top of the league, been a long time since I said that.
I think we can all be satisfied with our start to the season.
We’ve had some good wins and 1 bad loss, where the home fans that day were as much to blame as the ref or players.
Hopefully we can keep it up over the next few weeks, it would be good to keeping winning while other top teams play eachother and drop points.
Thanks emma – I do worry about your ‘hopefully NB will be back to help Giroud’ – I dread that day to be honest, but we have done that one before…
Potter – don’t worry, Henry will be back in January to help Theo 😉
emma – agreed he’d had 2 windows if not three to do as well – so if he does get a long term injury (Wenger) hard to feel sorrow considering the risk that has been run again
night Scott
just watched the goals again, that first one had a bit of the ‘old days’ to it – very nice goal
laters Scott
Micko, could be a long time before you say that again 😉
Ts – not by you 😉
Night Scott.
Good read.in the 1st half i thought i was watching title contenders.we were very very good.no team in the country is playing better than us at the moment.
Thanks Kt, but the second half?
Hi Micko, Flamini growing on me?lol. I like MF. I just believe he is useful for certain games. In order not to drop of physically in second half against teams like Swansea nad even the dippers we need someone like Arteta instead of him imho.
Emma- its strange how for the first time in a long time we are not amongst the highest in ball possession/retention.
Arteta is very much a huge cog in our machinery…
For those who missed our CL’s opponents goals…
tsgh – you are right on Arteta mate for sure
Good Morning LAdy, Sir, Gentlemen and Ladies.
Good match report Rico. Just add that Rowan Atkinson was in charge.
Rico……..TH14 can be back as early as November since his contract expires when this season finishes. And as he is a free agent he can sign any time.
Woody at 11:05 am. I agree!
I even commented yesterday that we may have lost yesterdays game if we had been playing at home.
7 straight away wins in the EPL is no mean feat.. imho
The best in the EPL I must add…
now that good news and hello Devil
Oz- I bet you enjoyed Ozil’s ‘simplicity’ in the no.10 role… you would not think he is just 24 y.o
🙂 Dev. like Mr Beans?
Morning Devil and thanks. I strongly suspect TH will be back then, he is desperate to come back and be part of the coaching team..
He is the one I honestly believe will one day take over from AW.. Gives him about 3 years to get ready 😉
Got a few chores to be doing now, back in an hour or so…
rico – 😉 At the moment there is no way we can get in a striker in Jan. Strikers at the top top top super quality end 😉 of the market wont want to leave their club b/s it’s a world cup year. We will have to wait till the summer to spend the money again. We need to support and encourage NB-23 when he returns.
The ramsey volley and the pass and movement for the 2nd goal was first class
I thought TH14 was barred from Colney because of his ‘dinner’ with AU?
The reason why he did not come back last January…
http://youtu.be/JNo91Vw-1Rc
Rico i thought for 20 or so minutes we were a bit wobbly because of kos’ brain fart moment.we finally took full control of the game midway through the 2nd half to kill them off.i thought we missed per and mikel in that period since they are always so calm.overall we deserved to thrash sunderland due to the catalogue of chances we made.
Watching the ozil highlight I felt like Flogging Walcott. Ozil should have had 3 assists yesterday
tsgh – i did exactly tsgh. He always has time because he very much plays with his head up, can’t see the passes looking at the ground. Has lovely technique and proved he can tough it out yesterday as he clearly wasn’t feeling a 100% – I like him already and said prior to this game Walcott would be the big winner having him around, so it will prove I am confident. Although a poor effort from TW yesterday IMO
ktr7 they had four headers on goal that I saw mate, one even hit the bar, Sagna is not big enough for teams like that and others obviously and Kos positional play is much better with Mert guiding the way
Those who know me know my views on Theo.
However do not slag him mates. He was in the right place at the right time yesterday. His goals will come. Technically he did nothing wrong and everything was right. only his finishing was a let down. That will come. At least he was in the proper position.
The end result was not that good. But it will come.
ts i’ve always maintained that Oezil’s strongest attribute isn’t his technical ability;its his intelligence.the way he drifts all over the final 3rd making it impossible to mark him.he always looks to run into space unlike someone like santi who prefers running towards the ball.this made it easier for jack to link up with him sublimely.he dragged their midfielders all over which left gaps for ramsey to run into.when he fully adapts he’ll be sensational for us.
I agree Emma.
Metro are saying we are in for both Suarez and Wooney. FIFA 14 comes to mind. lol
Llorente is not happy in Turin and may welcome a move. I doubt AW will spend more than £10M on a 28 y.o who joined Juve for free this summer.
I do not think we need a striker btw if Poldi is fit. Sanogo and Akpom will do a decent job if trusted especially Akpom who looks too good for the reserve leagues imho after watching him on Thursday…
This is the way I see our squad: all my view so…
Goalie- sorted
RB- CJ25, BS3, Bellerin (flamini)
LB- Monreal, Gibbs, TV (Flamini), (Miguel)
CB- TV, Per, Kos, BS3 (Miguel) (Hayden)
DM – Arteta, Flamini, Frimpong, (JW), Diaby*
CM- Ramsey, TR07, Frimp, Ox, Diaby*
AM- TR07, Ozil, (JW)
RW- Serge, Theo, Ozil, Ryo, Ox, (TR07)
LW- JW, Poldi, JW, Ozil, Ryo, SC19, Ox, (TR07)
ST- OG12, Poldi, Akpom, B-52, Yaya
Not a bad squad in my opinion
Theo is getting a lot of stick.i was frustrated to see him miss all those chances like everyone else.however his movement too helped create those chances.his movement in the final 3rd was very good and thats why it was so easy to pick him out.he just needs that 1 goal to go in for the floodgates to open.
given the amount of time Wenger has given Pod the central position, i don’t think he agrees with you mate – the others for an odd cup match maybe but long term, nowhere near it surely?
Good morning,
Nice summary of a great win yesterday..
Rambo saved the day..
I know many shared the same opinion about the penalty incident..
Johnson dived certainly, but kos didn’t need to slide down like that in the first place
Yet again Ashley Young gets the dive of the season award.. Evra is a close second..
I share Steve take on theo.. Once he misses a chance his confidence drops and all he does then is jog around.. I watched him with England and it was the same..
It’s wengers job to sort him out.. I am with rico on playing him on the left, with his pace and finishing we could have a mini TH14..just saying..
is it a sin to actually wanting Bale to really succeed at Real Madrid.. I just found myself cheering the boy last night.. maybe I just hate Ronaldo and the rest of them..
Llorente?? He been there what, 2 minutes and already unhappy?
ktr7 – seen this type of comment for years. He’s inconsistent and not quality if things don’t go his way early on IMO
Just unreal how Ozil fits in seamlessly with our players with only one training. It’s like he’s being with arsenal for a long time. Imagine what one month will do before the interlull
Marseille top of League 1, Dortmund top of
Bundesliga, Napoli top of Serie A, and
Arsenal to of Premier League… #UCL
Ditto- Dev re 11:34
Hi Kt- A few on near including Dev, yourself, Emma, Scott mentioned a no.10 is NEEDED this summer; who would have thought we could get one after Jovetic bolted. We now have the best no.10 in the mold of Zidane, DB10,Gullitt and G. Hagi in our squad now.
His goal return needs a bit of work but I suspect AW will improve that in no time.
My only concern is that in the crucial games against bigger opposition, AW may not be strong enough to drop one out of JW, Theo, SC19.
Oz- Ozil is a starter for me if fit. I prefer TR07 for tactical purposes in the midfield 3 but who do we drop there from Ramsey, Arteta, Flamini and Ramsey.
I personally think JW played his best game for Arsenal bar Barcelona yesterday from the LHS. He should be used there more as an alternative to SC19 imho…
the opposition will target him soon enough emma but that might just be their undoing in itself. He’s great to watch for sure. We got a good one here, for sure
Oz theo is our best outlet in the squad.no one can replace him in the squad.we can only hope he starts scoring soon because at least he has chances at all.
Oz- you have a point about Poldi as a striker. I always maintained he was not a no.9 when fans wanted him there instead of on the lhs…
I think he is an option until we can get a striker in… Benteke will do me nicely in January. I think the Suarez boat has sailed imho…
I would like Bale to flop……..so that in three years time his value will drop. And AW will go an buy him for ………say what…….Eur10 million???? 😉
another missed target they say. Are we smiling at this one – Gustavo – 3 games 2 red cards already
Ginge…….did it really sail?? The Suarez boat??? hopefully you are right.
Benteke will be a better option.
tsgh – they are saying United and Rooney have agreement on January, I wonder? Mind you there is a blue side in London that need him more given their mersey nightmare last night ha!
ts i think in the long run jack will benefit playing on the wing with santi being absent.i also thought that was his best game in a while too.
On Oezil we did in deed say we needed a #10.at the time we spoke of our buggy eyed German only in theoretical terms since we thought it was a pipe dream.yesterday on his debut he gave enough evidence to show how much of a step up he is to santi/rosicky in that role.am so glad he is ours.
TW has scored only 5 goals this calendar year (including pre-season)… its a bad patch I think.
He is not helping himself. Compare his performance against Sperds to yesterdays and you wonder what is going on ‘upstairs’.
Against the scums he did everything right but score… is it just a ‘mental’ issue with Theo?
I think when the opponents are big i.e a big club/match he turns up.
AW has to maybe drop Theo for games he clearly does not feel like playing subconsciously in, maybe as he concerned about injuries preventing him from featuring in bigger games e.g CL midweek.
You conspirator Dev re Bale.lol
Oz- I am glad you have come round to the Gustavo ‘miss’.
oz – I think oppositions will have a lot to worry about. Cazorla is there to up the creativity, hopefully walcott start firing soon, ramsey has got his Mojo back, wilshere’s performance will get better as well. He(wilshere) had his best match yesterday
Oz- agreement between Wooney and Yanited is news to me… thanks for the heads up.
I hope it is not a swap deal betweeen Mauren and Moyes with Mata…
Saying that with Ozil with us, I do not care about Mata much… he flatters to deceive in the no.10 role unlike our Ozil.lol
ts santi when fit is undroppable.he puts in a shift in both ends of the pitch.he is really underrated defensively.with Oezil dragging his markers all over santi will be able to run into those gaps to dictate the game.also he can pick out Oezil easily when he is in between the lines.
Theo is our only outlet in the squad and to a lesser extent poldi.I’ve noted in ‘smaller’ games he slacks defensively but when we are in big games he ups his workrate especially defensively.for that reason he is undroppable
As things stand when mikel is available again jack will make way imho.they will share playing time.
Kt- re our CL group… I am looking forward to pundits saying OM are a poor side when they have beaten Yanited a few times already recently.
Ayew is a player I rate highly… Valbuena is the little magician who can cause us serious problems midweek if we do not rein in our challenges in midfield.
ts i remember a while back saying we essentially play 4 midfielders and 2 forwards.i think Wenger will have the perfect balance when mikel gets fit.
Oezil will orchestrate things in the final 3rd dragging markers all over.Santi will tuck in from the left to dictate the game as he likes to taking advantage of the German’s gaps.Ramsey is the workhorse who contributes in both ends of the pitch.he is also responsible to make those late runs in midfield into goalscoring opportunities.Arteta is the controller at the base of midfield who dictates the play providing a solid foundation for our midfield.not to mention the likes of rosicky/Ox/jack/flamini to come in.
That 4 man midfield is serving the function of drawing in the opposition allowing Giroud/Theo space to make runs where they can be picked up.its also very difficult to mark our MFs since they constantly interchange fluidly.
I agree SC19 is unstoppable or undroppable but, I think that is where AW has failed in CL games in his 30 years of management.
Playing your best players is not good enough at the very top imho..
When you study the games we have lost in the past under AW like against gala’ in 2000 in the UEFA cup or in 2006 in the CL final; I would say we lost because AW played his best players instead of going tactical like Carlito or Jose or even Rednose.
The league cup final loses in 2007 and 2011 are examples where players like Nasri who was out of form and looking to leave Arsenal but on paper was our best player was played when he should have been dropped.
Pires left us for that simple reason after the CL final…
Will AW drop JW in big games when fit? I doubt it…
SC19 as you rightly said is very good defensively but I guess he contributes more in terms of our ball retention capability.
To me even as ‘old’ as TR07 is if fit he deserves to play in the very big games for purely tactical reasons. Will a pivot of TR07 and Ramsey be strong enough to face the might of Napoli or BM as an example? Or is Arteta necessity?
I will leave the man who earns 7M to make that decision… if it goes wrong (hopefully note) we can slate him. 🙂
ts I think flamini will be vital against OM.Valbuena thrives on operating in between the lines.if we can limit his influence on proceedings and not allow Ayew gaps to exploit we’ll be fine.
ts i still don’t see why you think santi needs to be dropped.he does just fine out wide.jack on the other hand might get dropped for big games in that CM role.thats where flamini/arteta come in.Rosicky will play too due to his tactical nous.Wenger gets paid £7 mil a year so lets leave it to him to make the decisions.
WhoScored.com @WhoScored 29m
Mesut Özil: Completed more passes in the final third of the pitch vs Sunderland yesterday (34) than any player has in a PL game this season
When fit we’ve got loads of options in the midfield area. It’s now left for Arsene to select the right combination in matches. I would love to see Rosicky and Ramsey Pivot with Cazorla, Ozil, Giroud and Theo in the final third. That will be like watching a football match with the “Fast Forward” button active 😉 😉
Kt- Not at all re dropping SC19… I am not saying he needs dropped. He is injured anyway..
I just think Ozil, Theo and Ramsey are now starters in the midfield 5.
If fit Poldi, Diaby*,SC19, Arteta, Flamini and JW will have to fight the other 2 slots….
Its just my view and a point of discussion… a very nice headache to have me think…
tsgh – not bad for a lad with a virus is it mate?
… and 3/4 fit allegedly- Oz
Mauren is losing sleep over this I think. lol
ts its nice to have so many options in midfield for all sorts of combinations.its now up to Wenger to select depending on the games.so far bar the villa game he has come up trumps in that regard.i think only chelsea can rival us in midfield options.
🙂 Only Jose can make Hazard and Schurlle be defensive…
It may have gone a bit under the radar but Szczesny’s distribution has improved by leaps and bounds this season.even when pressed he is calm enough to play it out from the back allowing us to build from the back.it has also allowed us to start several counters this season.he is no longer hoofing the ball out of play.he reminds me alot of Neur of Bayern.Neur is crazier than Szczesny but makes better decisions.so far so good from our pole.
He has indeed worked on his distribution you can tell…
Did you see BVB yesterday?
It also seems Giroud is on his way to having an Ade 07/08 season or Mandzukic 12/13 season for Bayern.he is imposing himself much better on both CBs.this coupled with his link up play which is exceptional at times is allowing our midfielders and theo to thrive.we are basically using him as a pivot to bounce passes off from.he is also very clinical too and not to mention his defensive shift.
he seems unorthodox for our system but ironically he seems perfect for it due to that reason.am chuffed for him.
ts i did not see the BvB game.How was it?…
yesterday i saw our game, MUFC vs crystal palace Chelsea vs Everton Barca vs sevilla and Villareal vs Madrid.
I think we will be in for Reus next summer. Buy out clause kicks-in in Jan. He is just the perfect technical striker arsenal needs. Schurrle will turn out to be another Marko Marin in chelsea. He has already lost his way
Nervy Kt- BVB went from 2-0 up to 2-2 then Pierre made it 3-2. The flood gates opened afterwards.
Defensively I think we can exploit them big time. Hummels has become like TV last year imo…
Emma- Reus is the final cog imho…
Ronaldo now signing his new contract as Bernabeu. Only God knows how much he’s being paid to appease him after bale shattered his transfer record
as>at
haha good point emma – I am off guys got some things to do, see you later
Hummels is overrated ts.even Jogi Low realised this and dropped him from the NT for Boateng.BFG retained his place.our game with them is looking like it will be quite tasty and i fancy us to beat them so long as we have enough bodies then.Klopp even said we have a very impressive midfield and Oezil was EXACTLY what we needed.its going to be fun.
http://youtu.be/likcHMN1aYc
it also seems Poldi will be back early October…fingers crossed.with arteta back soon and rosicky/BFG we should be able to rotate a bit.also Tv is back too.
later Oz
Ts you rate Ayew highly? Is it because he is your countryman?LOL. Seriously Ts, i had high hopes for the lad but he has stayed in france two seasons too long and i think his development has stunted. The french league can’t help him develope further. Having said that i won’t be surprised if he plays a blinder against us. He has the quality to do so.
Giroud has scored the 1st chance in our 1st 4 PL games…clinical.
Ha ha Joy.. good point there.
A bit of both buddy… I liked his father Pele. I agree he should have left France ages ago but I think, him choosing to play for Ghana like Frimp has affected his chances of moving away from OM.
Inquiries have been made for him by bigger clubs I have read;but OM want over £25M and for a player who will be away in January every 2 years, that is not an attractive option.
ts Ramsey shows just why i love all round midfielders instead of specialist midfielders.he won the most tackles yesterday 7/7 which sums to 18/19 tackles won in 4 league games.he also has 5 goals in 6 games which is a tally a forward would be proud of.its like he has an extra lung or two 😉 .If jack can follow suit we’ll have an outstanding midfield pair to rival anyone.
Gustavo has already been sent off twice since he moved to Wolfsburg…
Afternoon gunners.i remember when we signed Ramsey people said he wos similar to Gerrard, I think he’s starting live up to that now and im so happy for him considering all the criticism he got from the majority of us last season, I guess arsene knows best after all:-).well done aaron, our very own stevie g
Ditto kt; Vidal has 4 goals in 4 too…
Martinez and schweinsteiger are off beat thus far…
Hiya Cork g.. I think you have a point. He is a cross between both Stevie G and Lampard.
Stevie G also played in different position sunder Houlier when he made his debut years ago. He even played RB like Ramsey on a few occasions…
Ref got the PK right. From time to time, Kos goes into these rash challenges that come out costly. Why in the world did he feel he had to lunge at Johnson ?
As for Walcott, we have to accept that he simply does not have what it takes to be a striker. His marking is atrocious and his attempts at free kicks are frankly a liability for the team. He is a good winger though, and his pace creates lots of problems for defenders.
I have always liked Flamini, but he needs to channel his aggression a bit more. Tireless worker though. I love it!
Wilshere needs a rest!!
Ozil was simply magnificent. I have seen him in games where he has far less space and time on the ball, and believe me, he is almost as deadly even in tougher games. If we manage to capture another good striker like Giroud, we are in business… Ozil will supply the goods.
Now … the cold truth though … Wenger needs to go for this team to flourish … He has instilled a mentality of 4th-place-is-great is in players … this is not something you fix easily … Ok … enough for today … awaiting fan’s backlash 🙂
its like we see the same things…i think Ramsey and Vidal are very similar.both are invaluable to their teams right now.
Ts…that would be a shame. On TW14, i think he has been found out by coaches and goalies. He’s placing the balls in the same places he did last season and scored. He needs to change his approach imho. Once he gets in a goal scoring position even i can tell where he is going to place the ball watching on tv. That’s not good enough. That’s what he needs to work on-His body language in front of goal. He is too predictable.
One more thing : Kudos to Ramsey!!! I used to give him SO MUCH stick, I am really embarrassed now. The guy is really developing into a very good midfielder. Maybe his form will dip at some point, but I feel he reached a new level. Congrats Aaron, you must be mentally strong to go through hell with your leg break, fan abuse, but still come out great! ….
Interesting observation Joy… I guess with Theo when goalies come out to narrow the angle he struggles to place the ball clinically… hopeful he comes back strongly to score at least 15 goals in order to help us win something.
BM won titles because their midfielders scored crucial goals.
Kt- I would like to see how Gundagun comes back from injury…
Well those chores went on a bit…
Afternoon all…
Afternoon all.
Nice win yesterday.
Hiya Rico
Ts, did I read right, you said Santi defended well last season? I was sure you battered him for not defending enough… 😉
Hi Ts, just watching Reading now, this ref is a hard man… One of for each side…
Hi joy I think ur being a little harsh on theo saying u know where hes going to put the ball before he kicks it.his conversion rate is quite good, generally he’s more clinical one on one and his his final ball is a lot better. If one of them chances crept past there keeper we’d be singing his praises, hes getting into the right positions and im sure he’ll better his goal tally again this season.Ts if Ramsey turns out part Gerrard part lampard I think he’ll have a great career. Im so chuffed for him he’s like another new signing
Hi Rico, couldn’t post yesterday. Posts kept entering a vortex.
Ramsey may have the energy levels of a young Gerrard but their games are totally dissimilar , Gerrard can’t help spraying long diagonals all over the place a reason why JW always seems to have a poor game alongside him for England. He plays the short pass goes for a return only to see it launched over his shoulder.
Welcome Ed, sorry for the delay in letting you on.
Re Theo, good job he’s a winger then 😉
I too used to criticise Ramsey, but not any more, hopefully he has now has silenced his critics, well most of them 😉
Gundogan is excellent ts and its such a shame he is injured.
interesting joy re theo.he needs to add variety to his finishing for sure.
Hi Ch, I noticed you went into spam, it’s your link. Prob best if you take it out of your profile…
potter – I’ll be glad when both Gerrard and Lampard retire from international football, let youth take over after the WC and i’m not sure Roy is the best man for the job..
I can see Southgate taking over soon if all goes well with the u21’s and if they play ‘nice’ football..
Would be a natural progression…
I think they need to go before the world cup, in fact I think they should have both gone after our last debacle.
jeff – I too think you are harsh on Theo, it won’t be too long before he’s banging goals in for fun, honest… 😉
If Giroud does not feature next CL game that will mean one thing…AW is prepared to focus on the EPL and the domestic cups.
I have felt it since we overcame Fenerbache. AW is interested in the money of the CL and now has turned his attention to the domestic cups. The EPL has taken a new meaning this season and I have a feeling that while AW will rest some of his players in the group games so that he can focus on the EPL and Domestic cups he will give opportunities to young ones, such as Akpom etc and hopefully advance in the Europa if we make the 3rd place in the group. If we play in the Europa expect AW to give more youngsters a chance…….Akpom, Miyachi etc will all get games.
Will I be unhappy about it? NOOOOO.
Everyone here knows that my preference is the EPL first with the CL 2nd option.
AFC need to focus and dominate the domestic scene and then build up for the CL.
Then again I might be mistaken.
🙂 I may have criticized SC19 on a few occasions in the past for his defensive work but not on the same magnitude as Theo’s. lol
If I have then, it would be when he plays as a no.10… I always preferred TR07 or even Ox behind the striker..
I normally say his position as a no.10 is not ideal thereby making better opposition DMs play better when he santi plays behind the striker.
On a serious note though, I always maintained Sc19 was best suited on the LHS. I have also alluded to Santi being used as a box to box midfielder as he does for Spain on occasions..
I’d love that to happen but just can’t see Hodgson changing it now more’s the pity – but we certainly have players who could give us more energy and threat from midfield – I really like the Everton player.
How Carrick isn’t playing beggars belief..
Rico: My link? You mean the wordpress thingy?
Dev- I think Akpom is ready. He is far too good at u-21 level in my view. He seems strong even at 17 y.o than Yaya imho too…
My concern is that as in the case of Aneke and Eisfield over playing at u-21 level stunts their development in the short to medium term.
Gnabry is also dominating games at u-21 level and even at u-19 level for Germany…
Aneke is dominating games at Crewe in the no.10 role but can he really ever play no.10 for Arsenal?
That is one reason why I hate the loan system. Players are just used to plug holes with loaning teams… Frimpong played CAM for Charlton and on occasions Fulham; it does no one any good…
Rico- Ross Barkley you are referring to me think… exceptional player this season. Under Moyes he was more defensive minded.
It is interesting that he is even ahead of Gerard Deulofeu who is one of the biggest prospects from Spain…
Tsgh/rico
any news on rosicky injury??
Devil, I am the same – PL and domestic cups before CL every time.
Certainly until we have a a squad deep enough and strong enough to try and win in Europe….
ts if you have been keen enough and also check his heatmaps he has spent most of his time next to our #10 albeit slightly behind.this in effect allows him to dictate play similar to how xavi does.when he played as our #10 he gets attracted towards the ball too much due to his instinctive need to dictate which meant he dropped too deep at times isolating our forwards.this made it easy for DMs to mark him too.
Oezil on the other hand is always looking for space in the final 3rd.if you see his heatmap from yesterday you’ll see this.this means the attack is never isolated so long as there are players who can pick him out in these pockets of space in between the lines.thats where santi comes in.with him dictating the play behind him he can pick him out wherever he is in that final 3rd.its a perfect setup.
I’m not sure Theo or the other two in a front 3 should be defending too much in games anyway, unless it’s backs against the wall…
That’s the guy Ts, lovely player who Everton could well struggle to keep hold of in the future..
Hamstring multiple..
Rico- some of the pundits say Carrick’s passes are sideways et la Denilson and Ramsey of last season.
——————————————————–
Is Ramsey doing anything differently now than last season? I doubt it is much different. He is just getting luckier with his goals; whilst last season and the season before he was getting into those same positions but blasting over the bar.
It can be said that he is keeping things very simple. Something I would want JW to do too so that we can have an excellent WC in Brazil next summer.
Is it not strange that Ozil gets tackled less or should I say fouled less whilst Jack invites horrible tackles.
JW correctly reminds me of Diaby before his horrible injuries. Diaby had finally learnt to play the simple ball last season in my view….
Heat maps, bloomin heck Kt, I thought you were talking about Diaby’s treatment programme for a minute 😉
Did tsgh/ rico heard me??
Any news on rosicky?? Seems as wenger has forgotten to tell hw long
Hi Mutiple, 2 to 3 weeks Arsenal time, it has been reported… in reality its 3 months I hate to say…
Oh god :'(
thanks tsgh nyway..
🙂 🙂 rico.diaby is often open to a good joke.
Kt- I have been banned from too much football recently… so I have not gone on the stats sites yet.
Its now 3 matches maximum per weekend and a bit of blogging.. 🙂
When I have watched him Ts, he’s been the heart and soul of the Mancs midfield…
I personally think Ramsey is playing a different way, with confidence, he doesn’t pass backwards so much and he’s winning more tackles – or it appears that way to my human eye.
He gets brushed off the ball sometimes but then may of ours do as they don’t have the footwork to get out of trouble, apart from Santi and now Ozil…
Just my view of course….
Isn’t he just Kt, like Ts said he learned to play the simple ball last season, I don’t even recall him playing 😉
Off out with Fido now, back in a while…
Kt- re 2:56 are you referring to JW?
Later Rico..
very mean on Abu Dhabi… he won 3 MoTm awards before October. lol
Both santi and jack have similar tendencies ts.they drop too deep in search of the ball while Oezil tends to stay higher up roaming in between the lines.
Ozil gets back or falls deeper to receive balls from CB’s for tactical reasons on ocassions.
I think the difference (which is crucial in my view anyway) is that JW and Sc19 are not comfortable with their backs facing goal.
JW turns by dropping his shoulder and letting the ball roll across him. It works in your own half when you have less people around you but in advanced positions it does not work.
Ozil and natural no.10’s like Kroos and Isco know or naturally receive the ball on the half turn. They also do not dribble unnecessarily un less they are facing goal…
To add to my point ts klopp said if you stop Alonso from playing madrid stop playing.this is because Oezil stays high up the pitch and with di maria/Ronaldo staying wide Alonso often had the responsibility to pick out Oezil in the final 3rd.when alonso got marked out the machinery stopped working.
at Arsenal santi who starts wide always ends up in central areas.he has the ability to pick out Oezil in such areas since he will play much closer to him than Alonso who plays quite deep.when they form an understanding they’ll be sublime together.you could even see how good jack looked linking up with mesut.their interplay was sublime at times and it will be even better with santi involved.
Ramsey is one of the most complete footballers I’ve ever see. But that’s skill: two-footed, excellent dribbler, great engine, fantastic attitude, good passer, hard-working, and now score goals. How good he becomes is down to his mindset and injuries. We are really close to a wonderful period of Arsenal magic. If only we could get Pogba, and AW really wants him. And just to dream, Reus or Lewandoski.
Good point re: back to goal ts.i had overlooked that.also Oezil will drop off sometimes but most of the time he’ll stay high up the pitch.this requires he has enough supply from the rest of midfield.with santi/jack/ramsey/arteta he’ll not need to drop deep.he’ll be left to roam in the final 3rd looking for spaces to avoid isolating our attack.
LB I agree.Ramsey is the complete midfield package.am chuffed for him.
LB- I always said Ramsey will turn into our version of Frank Rijkaard. He is getting close. I think Arteta has been very influential to his game. Last season before each agme Ramsey and Arteta talked for what seemed like ages and he listened which is critical…
I have seen Ox and one of our younger players telling off Kos, Poldi,Arteta and the BFG during games…
AW on Ramsey in September 2011
Thomas Vermaelen and Jack Wilshere are other key players also missing, although new signings Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Yossi Benayoun, Andre Santos and Park Chu-young are available.
“I think Aaron Ramsey has been very influential in our team since the start of the season, but it is a good opportunity that we now have a big squad and that we can cope with it,” Wenger told Sky Sports News.
“We have of course three midfielders out – Diaby, Wilshere and Ramsey – and it’s many but we still hopefully have a strong midfield tomorrow [Tuesday].”
Ts Ramsey is very willing to learn.he is very keen to listen.i saw the Ox tell off one of our senior players and i wasn’t pleased by it.i hope jack too listens.Ramsey’s attitude has been 1st class always and he is reaping the rewards.when Arteta is fit again he’ll walk into the team and he’ll resume that solid partnership with Ramsey.
Also currently we play with 4 central midfielders there is a lot of space out wide for theo and gibbs.Gibbs was often in acres of space yesterday and as a result he needs to up his goal/assist return.the goal away to Fenerbahce is what we expect more of from Gibbs.
Gibbs should be scoring more goals as he started off as a winger/forward until he was ‘converted’ 5 years ago…
Hi Cork and Rico, Theo is a very important player in our system and i want him to do well. Somebody with an unprintable name once said he dosen’t have a football brain but he proved big time that he had one. His all round game is improving but He needs to prove it again. Do you think it a mere coincidence that he hardly hits a shot off target yet he hardly scores? Goalkeepers have worked him out imho as teams know he is our major outlet and he needs to vary his game. If he continues doing the same things he did last season i don’t think he will score up to ten Bpl goals this season. If he cannot do this simple task i wonder how he will vary his game when he gets older and his speed reduces. Some on here have suggested putting him on the left, fingers crossed it will make him better.
Exactly ts.with our 4 man central midfield we face teams with 2/3 men in central areas the opposition are forced to tuck in their wide players to compensate and to prevent them from being overrun.this opens up lots of space in wide areas.to the right theo is taking advantage of this to full effect despite not scoring.Gibbs has yet to fully exploit this bar the game in Turkey.i hope he improves on that.a player like Marcelo would be devastating in such a set up as ours going forward.
Good afternoon
If the referee had already blown his whistle for the tussle between Sagna and Altidore, the game must stopped and there are no more place for any advantage, even the goal appears.
When Flamini always play, he will be booked (at least). He is ADN but is not good for the team.
We had suffer another penalty. Kos again and in my opinion wasn’t necessary (and a discutible penalty again). Like Villa game, we were above the game and we suffer a goal, a player booked or sent off and we lost the control of the game.
So, I think Kos must be must more carefull. Besides, who knows the forward scored for the other team?
In Villa game, with ten men, we were the best team on the pitch and with lucky, we could scored and probably won the game;nevertheless, was always an additional effort for all the players involved. So, one player sent off (and more two games off), 10 men on the pitch, a penalty and a goal for the other team. Almost a half for played. Was necessary?
yesterday, almost the same. Kos wasn’t sent off bur the forward wasn’t centralized with the goal and who knows if he scored? A booked and a penalty it’s always worst.
Have a look to to the table, even we could draw with Villa, wwe will be in the tipo of the league and the comments from Arsenal fans weren’t so bad.
In a short resume, suffer two penalties and the consequence penalties for the players, is not a good wellcome atribute. I think it wasn’t necessary the faults and probably, we could be in the tip of the league and sure, and always, with not so many problems to the line-up
Note: The referees are what they are and all we know which teams are always be support
A bit late I know, but I make Ken 10.22, spot on….
And because of the camera coverage, we don’t know how much pulling, pushing and general grabbing that both were doing before the cameras panned onto them?
The referee was unfortunate, but he made the right decision in that moment…
Anyway, fcuk the media. We won.
Bollocks to the lot of ’em 😀
Bollocks to the pundits/media indeed…
Joyweds, I have said that myself that Theo does not have a brain but in all honesty in Theo’s defence i should have said football brain. Theo is intelegent enough to stay away from any contact whatsoever, He moves around the field finding space for himself. his first reaction when he recieves the ball is usually to hit it straight back from where it came then dash away. My biggest moan about him is the yellow streak that he has on his back. he goes back to defend but if you watch him like i do he stands on the corner of the box well away from anybody. When going forward he never takes his man on and his shooting far to early. he often crosses without looking up. But in all fairness to the lad he does have his moments, somtimes he makes me sound like a plank. I understand how supporters have taken to him, but the players have to do his share of the graft while he takes the glory. Theo has a brain alright but so does his grafting team mates.
Ouch, that was nasty on Diame, red card should have been out there..
Afternoon all…
Arteta and Podolski could both be available in the week to 10 days, now that is a right bonus, considering how we’ve lost Santi…
Bendtner should be fit enough, all being well, to lead the attack at West Brom in the League Cup.
Akpom could partner him in an interesting attack, with both capable of leading the line or dropping into the hole.
Akpom can also play wide, so they could make for a very flexible pairing…
LB, don’t rule out Pogba, funny how he is still talking about us, yet in the next breath he says he wants to stay put….
If we can sign a top class striker, who knows who else would want to sign for us…
Maybe the TW bashes on here will get their wish and we’ll sign a top class right winger….
DevilG 2:41 >> I think ur assertion on wenger focusing on the EPL and domestic cup is wrong. I dont see arsene playing akpom at any point of the group phase except we ve qualified for the knock out stage with a match to spare. Hopefully we recover those in the treatment table, this squad is capable of delivery the holy grail
Afternoon rico.ramsey has learnt to keep it simple.jack needs to do that too.he doesn’t need to dribble past 5 players to have a good game.with mesut he doesn’t have to now.once he goes back to keeping it simple he’ll be much better.this is not to say he shouldn’t dribble…not at all.he just has to pick his moments.
Johann cruyff once said football is a simple game but the hardest thing to do is to play simple football.this really applies to jack in particular.
Fcuk me, heat maps, I grew up with the magic sponge, what’s happening to the beautiful game.
Those two back would be a huge bonus Kev, be interesting to see if Pod plays on the left and TW makes way for Ozil..
Hi Kt..
The only I see wrong with Jacks game and if he cut it out, his dribbles would come off a lot more often and thats, as he’s running and he sees another player about to tackle him, he leans into the player and often goes over. Almost as if he’s looking for a foul but it’s so obvious.
Blame Diaby Micko, he’s beyond the magic sponge…
Hi Rico and Micko. Good win yesterday.
Micko. Are you in Kerry did I hear?
He needs to refine his dribble technique rico.he needs to finesse it and not go all power.when he does that you have described what happens.he should learn from santi and Oezil who dribble just as well but don’t invite challenges as much as he does.and if a bad challenge does come in they are in full control of the ball and they can ride it out or avoid it.with jack going in all power he isn’t always in full control of the ball and he as a result invites those bad challenges.
Hi Adam, it certainly was…
I just don’t think he’s as bad as some here think he is Kt, he’s giving his all and he’s still learning… He’d be one of the first on my team sheet every week..
I watched it on an ace feed. What an appalling specimen Di Canio is.
JW10 will definitely learn. We all said that about Rambo on holding and too slow to release the ball, sideways and backward passes. But today he is an all rounder. JW10 will come good. Yesterday’s 1st half performance was his best ever since back from injury. He kept it simple and made less dribbling runs. Hope the coming of Ozil will transform him into the player will all hope he will become. Like Wenger said 2 days ago, “Wilshere will benefit alot from Ozil”
Adam, there’s gonna be a real buzz around the Emirates next week and yes I’m the Englishman in the Kingdom.
JM, have you been hanging around with Kev all summer ?
Micko. I used to travel to see a mate in Kerry a few years ago. I would leave Stansted early and catch the 5.30 back from little Kerry airport, the same day. He lived near a golf course very near the coast. You could see the Ring from his house.
Micko, your buddy Wanyama is doing ok for Southampton.
You could have shared that feed Adam 😉
Sorry Rico. I got it through Wiziwig. 🙂
Stoke will be a tough game, if their display yesterday is anything to go by…
Exactly emma/rico.jack gets alot of unfair stick.if Ramsey could come back when even I had lost hope for him jack will undoubtedly will.yesterday was the best i’ve seen him play in a while.Wenger rates him very very highly and thats all that matters.some have forgotten how good he is in full flow.
Is that a site sponsored by Kroenke Adam?
I think he does too Kt
Rico. 🙂
Do you use Wiziwig?
Blimey this Southampton v Hammers game is dire.
I don’t need to Adam, I still have to get mine cut 😉
Seriously, I think I have before, but when Dutch leaves a link, I usually use one of those.. I will have to try it on Saturday.
Just see picture of Rooney on a Sunday paper, think he’d have been better off giving 40 grand to a dentist instead of geting hair transplants, I see junkies with better teeth ha ha
I’m watching the game too, it has it’s moments..
rico – I think mansh*tty are sh*t without Company and Silva. We will pick stoke out just like we did sunderland yesterday. They won’t know what hit them
He’s got good feet though Cork and his wife loves him… 😉
rico no doubt stoke are a tough side but city have been poor since their game against newcastle.even pool made stoke look mediocre earlier this season.if we maintain this form we should have no problem dispatching them.
Sunday Rico.
Jaaskelainen is pulling some incredible saves to keep Wham in this game
I hope so emma but thankfully they are trying to play football which should suit us well. Merts will be back by then too.
Ah, silly me, in which case, I shall be able to watch on television Adam 🙂
Did you see the Reading game emma? Alex McCarthy was outstanding too. Rumour was we enquired about him in the summer..
Pleased to hear it Rico. Internet in the country can be unreliable.
It certainly can Adam, especially this time of year….
Not looking forward to playing either WH or Southampton, both seem to like a late challenge..
James collins what a joke. Should be hitting the target
He sure does rico, the same paper linked him with a 50 mil move to us in jan.i couldn’t see us paying his wages though.
What a miss by Collins…
I can Cork…
Stoke under Hughes is slightly different to Stoke under Poo-lis. We have struggled against Hughes’s teams in the past apart from his time at $hitty.lt is important we have OG12 against stoke to keep this momentum going…
Kt/Emma- I would say JW’s issues are different to AR16 or any other player like TR07, Pires, Edu and even Diaby who have come back from long term injuries.
I may be wrong but I have never heard Aw describe JW the same way he has described other players… He has never used tactical or intelligence or willingness to learn to describe JW.
I am not saying JW has not got any of those attributes but I would say that our Jack struggles when he is given an assignment or a job to do in the team.
He flourishes when others take responsibilities and he is given a free role…
The question is at his age and his capabilities does he do enough when given a free role to warrant such a luxury role?
If he is in a team with Ozil, Sc19 and Theo then giving JW a free role will mean we have only 6 players doing a team/tactical job… against teams like Chelsea that will not suffice. imho
Even the great team of Milan under Saachi never had 3 or 4 players in free role.
In the mid 2000’s when RM had Owen, Raul etc… Zidane played on the wings; everyone had a job to do…
With $hitty, Manuel Pellegrini’s tactical nous or lack of is being found out in my humble opinion.
He is the only top manager playing 4-4-2 (variant).
Conte plays with 2 upfront but he plays 3-5-2; Adding to the fact Manuel plays with a high back line it puts a lot of pressure on Toure and fernandinho to defend and start attacks.
At Malaga he had Syg’s buddy Toulalon and Camacho who is like Ramsey on speed working hard; but in games where opposition played with a 3 in midfield his teams always struggled.
tsgh, time will tell, I’d laugh so much if he ended up at a top 4 side !!!
Adam, Farranfore is a cracking little airport, size of a shoe-box, they had the opportuntity to extend but declined, breaking American hearts, it would have destroyed the surrounding country side, hope they never do.
Killarney golf course is only a 20 minute drive down the road.
Time for me to go and cook some dinner, back in a bit….
I hope he does Micko… i just thought the asking price was a tad too much….
Really rico, over 250g per week. Ud get saurez, lewindowski, prob 150g per week, saving over 20million over 4 or 5years.really dont think we’d brake wage structure that much when there’s world class alternatives who would demand a lot less
Corkg, like you I do not see any sense in a Wooney deal.
Based on his physique and fitness, i reckon he has 2 years max at the top level…
Paying £20M and paying him £10M a year for 4 years is comical imho…
I know we have a bit of money now but we still have a budget.
Micko. My friend’s place was just under a half hour from the airport. The golf course I mentioned went right down to the small beach. Every time I went it was raining. Nice though, regardless.
Definitely ts y give roo 250 when u could give saurez 150, its a no brainer plus saurez is a lot hungrier ha ha
How were the beans on toast Rico?
Cork, never say never & IG said we can afford to pay his salary 😉
I don’t care which striker we sign as long as he’s top class and has a history of scoring for fun….
Evening all…
I had bread and dripping Kev.
Hmm, bread and dripping Adam, I used to love that…
Now it’s Greek yoghurt and salad…. 🙁
Cheeky Kev 😉 Very nice thanks a few too many little red chillies maybe ….
Bread and dripping – you are having us on Adam..
That’s nice Kev…
Actually beans on toast is a luxury….
Fried chicken is better…. 😉
Ah, the food of the Gods Kev. 🙂
I am Rico. 🙂
Oi Oi Kev 😉
I thought so Adam… I certainly hoped so…
Actually Rico I am surprised you know what it is. 🙂
🙂 Adam, I read it somewhere…
I thought so. The Cockney Almanac? 🙂
I doubt it can be that good for you.
And on that rather high cholesterol note I am off for an evening at the home movies. Night all.
Talking of Cockney grub Adam, I had some delicious pie and mash, with lashings of liquer, last Tuesday, in Hoxton Street.
Fantastic it was…. 😛
Night Adam, enjoy 🙂
AAh Tubby Isaacs, at the Aldgate on the way back from West Ham , line your stomach for the festivities of Saturday nights.
And the one at North End Road market when we were away to Chelsea and Fulham.
Tubby Isaacs – too many pies maybe?
He used to cook them but I am sure he indulged as well quite often
I’d get fed up with them if I cooked them all the time. Not that I eat pies…
On that note, I’m off to watch a bit of television before turning in for the day – and it won’t be Sampdoria v Genoa… 🙂
Night all, enjoy the rest of your evening…
The master still has it…
Morning all.
Potter, on your 11.01…..sorry mate but i can not help.
Which sport is it involving?
It’ was on tv and i only caught the last bit , but whoever it was being interviewed was talking about bans for life.
http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=906337
Might shed some light on it Scott.
Potter, cheers for that.
The Victorian Premier League is one of our secondary leagues, and i would suggest the UK players involved would be players even you guys have never heard of, but that is just a guess because i would assume players with any sort of profile playing over here would be big news, and i’d have already known they were here.
Anyway, i will keep my ear to the ground.
R.I.P. antion akpom the worlds gone mad.So young.
Morning all..
It sure has gavin…
It’s been mad for years, just getting worse.
Hi Rico.
I think news coverage brings these things out into the open more, but sometimes it is difficult to rationalise why.
Agreed Potter.
Off topic….arrests have been made over the match fixing you asked about.
Quite a few more expected mate.
Hi Scott & potter..
I had to look twice at the surname of the victim…
I didn’t realise that Chuba Akpom had made his debut at the end of the game at Sunderland.
No mention on MotD, but then again, no suprise with those useless tossers….
Seems as if Wenger is fast tracking the lad. He’s only been a Pro for a year, that’s some progress…
New post up now…
I didn’t mention it either Kev, slapped wrists for me 🙁