Morning all.
What a peach of a goal that was from Payet last night. Just as it looked like France would drop two points on the opening day of the Euros, up popped the little Frenchman with a stunning strike from distance to win the game.
See, that’s what can happen Arsene when players are given the freedom to take a chance. Rosicky used to, Santi too and when Elneny arrived, he too would have a pop at goal but was soon told to pack it in. Such a shame really and wrong too as so often our extra pass gets blocked or intercepted and the attack fails.
Ollie opened the scoring for the home nation and now everybody loves him again but I suspect it won’t be long before the French fans turn on him when chances go begging, just as they do at Arsenal. Still, he might surprise us all and win the Euros golden boot. Cough cough….
Regardless of how many goals he scores, Arsenal still need a striker, someone who has what Giroud doesn’t.
What I really loved about Payet last night was his emotion after scoring. He cared about what he was doing, he shed tears as he left the pitch to a standing ovation which shows that not every footballer plays the game for money.
It’s England’s turn tonight as they face Russia in what should be a tricky affair. Such a great shame their fans continue to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after a second night of brawling in Marseille. The Russian fans got involved in the fighting which continued into the early hours, as well as the locals. Ugly stuff, it really is. Apparently one England fan was thrown into the sea which in itself is very dangerous and utterly stupid, especially if he was drunk!
Switzerland play Albania at 2pm so a chance to see our new man Xhaka and then later on, Wales take on Slovakia which is worth watching just to see Ramsey jogging around with his new bleached hairstyle which looks odd with a dark coloured beard. What on earth was he thinking….
The Vardy saga continues as Ray Parlour reckons any deal is off. Apparently he didn’t have a medical, he was due to have one, but it was cancelled:
It looks like it isn’t happening now.
I was at the Arsenal the other day and there were big reports flying around, and the club’s cameramen and digital staff had to get down to the training ground.
So it looked like it was going to happen – there was a medical being done. But it seems Vardy thought about it while on England duty, and suddenly there was a U-turn.
I bet this story rumbles on for a while and I’d have thought Vardy would have made it clear if he was staying at Leicester because why would he want all the speculation to continue whilst he’s away with England?
Lilly Savage reckons he’d be foolish to turn down such a move:
Jamie Vardy owes Leicester nothing. He has just fired them to the Premier League title and into the Champions League.
To be honest, I don’t know what more he can realistically achieve at the King Power. Leicester aren’t going to win the title again.
And although they can offer Vardy a taste of Champions League football next season, in all likelihood Arsenal can offer it every year.
I’d have thought he’d have jumped at the chance….
Finally, the release clause in Ricardo Rodriguez’s Wolfsburg contract is now live according to his agent so get in there Arsenal and get it done because someone else will if we faff around……
Have a great day, enjoy the feast of football and fingers crossed Xhaka doesn’t get injured….
Morning Rico, great goal from giroud last night he’s now 8 in 8 games and he had a great game.
Payet scored a great goal seems to be an expert from distance but there was a lot of shots from out side the box last night that didn’t go in our near going in.
Morning Joe and all.
Great goal by Giroud? Bread and butter header wasn’t it… lol
Rico. Payet was excellent I thought, a really charismatic player with quick feet and a sharp mind. I doubt that France can continue with Evra though as he was awful. Giroud put it in too which is interesting considering how lethargic he looked for much of last season.
Rico, Kante would be a superb addition and at £20m quite within Wengers budget. Kante, Xhaka, Coquelin all competing for two positions, that would motivate for sure. Coquelin can also fill in at full-back if need be…
Yeah Jos Buttler is a good call Rico.
Giroud did score a good goal although I suspect that some referees would have disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper…
He also missed a hat trick of opportunities beforehand, so one out of four. Is that a good average or not?
Morning Mr Allezkev. Kante was excellent and would tidy up our midfield I think.
Bon Jour Monsieur Adam, are you going to enjoy a football fest today ?
Kante was excellent wasn’t he mate and I agree on Payet as well.
How did Wenger miss out on them when they were in France?
Maybe a few Arsenal scouts should be considering their positions…
Mr Adam, Mr Lee was most impressed by the sermon given by the Vicar of Wanstead.
Amen to that ?
Adam, didn’t we try for Payet back in Jan with a small offer?
Totally agree re Kante, I really hope AW’s words about him up is a good sign…
Would certainly strengthen the batting line up Kev, just not sure what Bairstow’s fielding is like… 😉
We did Rico, but there was little chance and then he got injured.
I doubt it Kev though I might watch a bit here and there. As you know, I think International football is usually uninteresting. I liked that sermon too. A fine command of the English language there.
All Giroud is proving is that given the right service he will score goals. Getting him with his back to goal and laying passes back into the midfield then he won’t.. I know that it’s totally anathema to Arsene but to get the best from him he needs to be hit earlier with aerial balls 45 degrees or 30 or from the touchline it doesn’t matter. It’s a risky business because to play those balls you do run the risk of losing possession and then you have to work to get it back. Much safer to play little square passes and let the defence get organised .
Shame really Adam.
That style of football is just not AW’s way though… Makes one wonder why he plays a big slow striker at all really…
Stick Bairstow down at third man Rico ?
🙂 Kev. Good idea….
Well done Chris Woakes, I’d like to see him and Stokes bowling in tandem and batting together…
Unfortunately Stokes is out for another month…
Hence Vardy? But if Vardy (confused of Leicester) is being targeted because he is super quick, can Feo not perform the same role, and he’s 4 years younger! He’s quick, direct and when confident, deadly! But Arsenal have ceased to play to his strengths. How often was a ball put over the full back for him to run on to? Can’t think of many. Imo he has been totally mismanaged and mis taught, starved even. He, like several other members of the squad have been starved of playing time so he’s not up to speed, so to speak.
I can see little point in buying Vardy. Wenger will find that he won’t play as he’s told to, will then drop him in favour of….? Well who knows what the old chap will do next? Theo, Toral? Reine thingy? Ronaldo? Oh no we can’t afford him!
Stick or twist time again. I’ve already said I don’t think there will be any more in apart from Xhaka and I’ve seen nothing to change my mind yet, and we’re only a couple of days into the TW.
Do you know, I think Wenger and Arsenal are turning me into a grumpy old man!
Potter he has scored 24 goals for this season and 81 goals for the four seasons he has been at the club.
Only one goal short of Rico’s 25-30 goal a season striker.
He is 29 which usually means he has 2 seasons of him to be at he’s best to come.
England just beat Australia 39-28
What a super Trooping of The Colour… Great flyover at the end…. I even had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye….
Joe, i think you need to check your numbers.
Rico. That’s true. Options is what you need and the ability to change things in a fluid and dynamic situation. Just like England just did in the rugby. With Giroud our options are limited, as we saw during his lean, or should I say barren, spell last season. We were awful most of the time yet still came second. Somehow.
BT. Long time mate. Hope you and yours are well.
I can see why he’d want Vardy – and that’s because he would bring a lot more pace to out attacking unit which all too is static and quite boring. Vardy might have to tweak his game a bit IF he does come to us but to me, going for him makes sense…
Joe, what’s this ‘rico’s 25-30 goal striker??
Rico. We watched it from the garden. They flew right over us.
As I said play to his strength and as Wavy said change our system for Theo and he will too.It’s not always the players that need to be changed but the way they are used.
Exactly Adam..
Bt old chap, where have you been hiding? Good to see you back…
Must have been awesome to witness Adam….
Didn’t AW try that at the beginning of the season by playing Walcott central instead of Giroud? I actually thought our attacking playing was much better at the start of the season but if I remember rightly, Walcott got injured, Giroud came back and AW stuck with it…
Rico. There is literally nothing like the sound of that old Merlin engine to stir the blood. 🙂
🙂 Adam…
The red arrows do it for me, especially when the red, white and blue smoke comes out the back….
Rico. 🙂
Great aren’t they?
Bt here is where I got my figures
http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=55730
Rico you have said many times you want a 25-30 goals a season striker and that Giroud on 24 this season isn’t good enough.
Rico. Are you watching the Xhaka brothers and the LB we apparently might buy to replace Gibbs?
Apologies Joe, i thought you were referring to Mr. Party Vardy…
No problem BT, enjoying watching Xhaka for Switzerland
Sorry Adam, nipped off but yes, have the football on. I like Xhaka… Simple football…
Joe, what I have also said all season and still do is that Arsenal need a striker who is different to Giroud but you choose to swerve that.
Giroud can not do it on his own and perhaps that’s what most people mean when they say Arsenal need a striker but you, along with others seem to think that that means Ollie isn’t good.
Odd really…
The other thing which perhaps needs clarifying Joe is when I say 25-30 goals a season striker, I mean PL goals, not goals in all competitions….
25 in all competitions would be fine if another one was getting 15 and 3 or four others were getting 8 to 10 each with odds and sods from the rest. Sadly we tend to be focused on one style and rarely get other players in the box so our goal tally suffers. Giroud is fine if the ball is played quickly and he times his runs . Don’t ask him to run from the halfway line like Wrighty or Henry did it won’t happen but we do need our midfield to look up more and look for the moves he does make.
Payet has 29 years old and 18 (?) calls to France team.
Why we didn’t see him before? Because “not give back.” It was a normal player, without caps and without praise in the press.
Girpud was good yesterday.
Xaxa too today
I was aiming higher Potter, perhaps with Henry in mind…
But running from the halfway line is Sanchez,Walcott and Welbecks job Potter its not Giroud’s fault if those players are letting the side down.
In fairness to Sanchez and Welbeck injuries destroyed their season.
Sorry Rico I understood it that you meant 25-30 in all competitions not sure I ever saw that been specified I may have missed that but then I don’t seem to be the only one who missed it.
Let’s just say I saw someone describe Giroud as a lamppost the other day the other thing how could you question the fact that he had a good game last night.
Let’s just say it’s starting to look like any statements on this site that is derogatory about the club,manager and players is excepted as fact.
Try to support the club,manager and players is meet with demands to back it up with facts when they are they are ignored or you get statements like yours the other day what’s a new player going to say.
The simple fact is there are lot of players at Arsenal because of the high regard our manager is held in who would be some where else.
Good Afternoon Lovelies and Hunkies
Well well well. Ollie gets the opener in the Euro. Given the right service he will score. He had four chances….two on target (one scored) and two off target. Crosses were going to his head not through the floor.
Xhaka was good from the reports I read today.
With regards Payet……Kev….like Ospina, Ben Arfa, Benzema and Nasri…..do you remember the text messages on mobile phone???
This leaves me stumped. So from here (I watch a lot of games at youth level….practically all tournaments) I get to know of many players and some of them even ooze class at that young age, and yet the prof AW with so many scouts often over rules or has not heard of them.
Or does it seem that way???
Imo HE KNOWS of them. But due to agents, due to many factors he does not sign them.
Anyone, even if it is AW himself, who tells me that he had never heard of them before, I would laugh in his face and call him a liar. Why??? Because I do not get to see them live but on TV (well with the exception of the French trio of B,B,N who I saw live in North Italy). So if I get to know of a players’ value from the TV how come that AW with his plethora of scouts does not get to know of them????
I was banging the drum for Bellerin long before AW played him. I knew of his speed and his positional sense (same goes for Toral).
Imo there are many factors behind AW not signing them. and its not technical or tactical or physical.
And consider the last few signings……Alexis, Ozil, Cech, Elneny and Xhaka. All of them are leaders who can contradict him, especially Alexis. So how come before he did not sign them? If he gets Rodriguez of Wolfsburg now that is another leader.
And speaking of leaders…….what about Schar who scored the Swiss goal today?? A great leader from the back and only 24 years old.
Yes there are good players all around Europe….and better than what we have. AW knows all about them.
Either he or his scouts need to get kicked up their arses…..or shot.
Where did I question about how Giroud played last night Joe?
When I ask for a 25 goal striker I mean 25 goals on the premiere league- the calibre that will assure you of top finish. So yeah Giroud doesn’t cut it.
Ling range shots, love them. Saw starts of how many don’t go in but I appreciate the effort.
I’m sure their are plenty of players at Arsenal who joined because of Arsene but I’m sure one or two are now thinking of leaving because of him but yes, you choose to avoid that too Joe.
If Wenger has a great summer and then we kick off with good football matched with results then fine but right now I can only see more of the same…
He was good devil…
We’ve been linked with Schar before haven’t we?
Let’s just change the the statement if it doesn’t suit so all Giroud’s fa cup or cl goals mean nothing.
I am asking cause I don’t know how many strikers in the last member of seasons has scored 25 in the pl and how may strikers have scored 25 goals or more in any league in Europe.
I’m with you there Marshall.
That’s silly, of course other goals count but to win the PL, 16 isn’t good enough.
Off to watch a movie, chat later
So you don’t think having a go at him for missing chances last night and I quote the “French fans will end up turning on him like the Arsenal fans”generally the only Arsenal fans that have turned on Giroud is on this site
Who wants to leave because of Wenger weres your proof.
Rico. Collapse at the cricket? Mini one.
Where is your…..
I still say that there is no need for a 25 goal striker in the EPL.
Ollie scored 16.
If Alexis got 15, Ozil 8, Theo or Welbeck (if fit) got 15, Aaron got 8 and Cazorla got 8 that would mean 70 goals. And if one of Theo or Danny got 15 and the other got around 5 or 6, while Bellerin would have chipped in with 2, Koscielny the customary 3 and NAcho with the customary 1 and a couple of goals from someone else or own goals that would have given us above 80.
A 25 goal striker is useless if the others do not chip in.
Imo its not Ollie who has to shoulder the blame but the whole team. Its not the fact of not having a 25 goal striker but the fact that other players have not chipped in with their required goal number.
the only three strikers I would have put in this team ahead of Ollie are Henry, Ibrahimovic and Drogba.
I am not taking into consideration the goals…..I am taking into consideration the team play, how he helps others and how he uses his strengths to bring others into play.
The way this team plays Ollie is important for the build up.
if anyone of the three strikers I mentioned above were to play in this team the style would have to be changed.
And no, I am not impressed by Vardy, even if he choose to join.
Maybe Kane yes….I would love to have him but not Vardy.
Ireland just beat south Africa for the first time in South Africa?
When Giroud is played in the back to defence role it is the responsibility of the other players to go past him and attack the box themselves. Too often he is used purely as a target to hold the ball and play it back into midfield as our back up players are not really that dynamic going forward . Alexis wants the ball to feet , Theo I am not sure what he wants , Campbell wants to run with the ball and only Ramsey actually gambles with forward runs. What Ollie needs is an Ian Wright , a poacher , a gambler that sniffed out positions to latch on to 1/2 chance that bounced off his partner. Maybe that’s what Wenger sees in Vardy.
Oh dear Joe, you don’t get irony at all do you. Have you not read about Giroud being booed by the French fans?
Adam, how did the cricket end, I saw Root get bowled and then Vince…
I have no proof on those who want to leave, but you have no proof about players signing because of Arsene. Yes they might talk him up but like I said the other day, they are hardly likely to say otherwise having signed up for big money….
Potter, if Alexis, Ozil and either of Theo or Danny got in the box when Ollie had the ball they surely would have scored more. Look at Aaron, when he scored 16 around two seasons ago, he got more in the box simply because he was played more forward and not a b2b midfielder.
Today Aaron played in the hole behind the striker and he created an assist plus he had 3 attempts plus 2 on target. I will keep on saying it, that Aaron is Ozil’s successor in that position. So why not rest Ozil now and then and use Aaron in his place? Surely there are games in which AW needs to play with a different approach than use Ozil all the time.
There’s nothing worse than being called a lamp post….that’s awful to hear !
Got all misty eyed watching Djourou play today, don’t know why……he’s worse than ever.
Rico. Two hundred and something ahead with 4 down. I think. 🙂
No way Giroud should our main striker, he’s far too one dimensional….
Didn’t even realise he was playing Micko… Lol
Oh well Adam, the series is won… 😉
Much better Lee.
How can you suggest such a thing Lee…. 😉
Brudder!
Djourou was very clumsy rico.
The Welsh blonde bomb shell done ok, ran he socks off all afternoon, was robbed of a second assist when he put Hamsik through with a cheeky flick in the first 5 minutes, only denied by some great Welsh defending, could have scored late on with a header as well, he’s getting there, a very fiesty game in the end, Skrtel was his usual dirty self.
Surely not Micko…. Lol
Aaron had a good game.
Wilshere on the bench. Seems that Hodgson will go for a 4-3-1-2 with Shrek behind the 2 strikers.
Come on England…..
Oh gawd, it’s just like watching the totteham B team !
they have 5 players in the starting line up
Micko, thank our lucky stars that 5 spuddies are playing. Hopefully they will not have a proper pre season and will end up knackered by the month of December. Hopefully Jack will not take a part and rest.
🙂 micko
Not one Arsenal player starting, that speaks volumes…
Maybe yes maybe no Rico.
How many of them featured regularly for Arsenal during the past season? And when they featured how many of them made themselves un-droppable???
That’s exactly what I mean Devil. Speaks volumes….
only one has been chosen Rico. Jack.
Gibbs And Theo were not chosen. Danny is injured. Ox is injured. Chambers was with U21.
The thing is that the players we have are there simply because of the quota. Do you honestly think that if there was no quota AW would have bought them in the first place or given them first team exposure???
Devil, I know. My point is, doesn’t it prove how average our English players are…
Or, they just don’t suit the AW way…
I know I may be brutal, however, had I been the manager I would not have bought any of them. I feel that players like Gibbs and Theo have been punching above their weight for long while Danny and Ox get injured too often.
For me it’s not about signing them, it’s about what’s been done with them since they were signed….
A little bit of composure in front of goal and England would be leading.
It’s all a bit rushed at times…
I quite like Lallana, he’s unorthodox and gives us something different instead of everything being one dimensional…
Shit, he should have scored then…
Jack too I would have out in a jiffy. Yes he is good. But atm who would you have in the team?? Him or Elneny??? the latter is a team player who does not run with the ball but makes the ball work for him.
I feel that partially it is as you said….they just suit the AW way. But the rest its because of the quota
Put yourself in Danny Drinkwater’s boots, had the season of his life and gets dropped for Wilshere who’s had a season to forget, must be livid !
Good start by England for a change.
That is the problem with the English players Kev……98% are one dimensional. few are unorthodox.
They are players. Few are footballers.
Rico you are right……its what has been done with them since they were signed. In which case its AW who is one dimensional
England have not gone below 66% possession till now. They have had 7 shots (3 on target) to Russia’s 1 shot.
Mind you Coach, Russia are quite ordinary and from a country boasting a population of over 200 million.
Yes Kev. Russia are very ordinary.
A more unorthodox team would have been at least 2-0 up by now.
I have noticed that the Russians are not even parking the bus since the English players are creating chances and getting behind their defence.
The Russians defence is all at sea when England break quickly
I think it’s more about composure when in scoring situations…
Smalling should have scored from a corner for definite…
Plenty of shots on target but all straight at the goalkeeper…
Off to spin the hound now it’s cooler…
Night guys, catch up tomorrow, by then England might have scored….
9 attempts, 6 corners and 39 dangerous attacks in 40 mins by the English team.
I still feel England will win this game by 3-1 though
night boss
As you say Coach, England should be leading 2-0, but I’ll take 0-0 at half time, keeping it tight at the back.
Maybe when Hodgeson sends on the two Arsenal players – Wilshere and Vardy, we’ll see the difference….
Again, straight at the goalkeeper ffs.
The best 45 I’ve seen by an England team in a major finals for a long long time…
You think Vardy is a done deal Kev???
Well Leicester are trying to sign the guy from Watford, hopefully as Vardys replacement…
Nobody really knows Coach, everyone is trying to give it large as an ITK, but it’s all rumour and guesswork…
England are dominant and as you said….its the best they have played for a long time.
But is it them who are making the Russians look ordinary or is it that they are looking dominant because the Russians are ordinary??
I feel that the first goal will come from a midfielder and not from the front three
Well it might be better if Russia were better as England are a counter-attacking team Coach.
Frankly I’d take a 1-0 win to England
Seems that Hodgson has told England to sit back and absorb the pressure while letting the Russians have a bit of the ball.
As you said Kev….England are a counter attacking team. and maybe that is what they need to score….they need to sit back
You know, England need to treat the ball more as a friend and not a hand grenade, giving away cheap possession…
This is it…. Shit
I’d like to see Vardy get some of the chances Stirling has wasted.
Russians are getting dangerous
I would take KAne and Stirling off and put on Jack and Rashford.
and put Shrek in the hole behind Rashford while Jack makes the midfield solid.
Holy cow. This is the third time I have seen Stirling run around 25 yards with the ball and loose it
Raheem Stirling is showing worrying signs of developing a
Walcott like football brain – or lack of one…
Smalling is looking a very good defender…
Fcuking hell, don’t ever call England lucky…
Blimey…..how did that not go in???
Fcuking get it you beauty
Told you that the first England goal will come from a midfielder.
Now calm down, focus and defend properly.
Now get Vardy on, suck em in and hit them on the break.
Wilshere coming on…
Get Stirling off.
And make England more solid in midfield.
Why Shrek???? He was playing well.
England 16 shots…….9 on target. Russia 4 shots……only 2 on target.
Result ????
1-1
now where have we seen that before???
Sounds familiar.
What a fcuking joke, why not bring on Vardy…?
Should have won that one 3-0 or 4-0…
oui it is a joke Kev.
Stirling should have been subbed 30 mins earlier.
That should have been 3 points to England.
See you mate. I am off now.
At least JW10 did not pick any injury
Night Coach…
Lol that was disappointing. It’s a spurs thing, bottling last min. Hogson tacts are questionable though.
Poor ole Vardy must have been scratching his head for the whole 90 minutes.
At least he has the consolation of knowing he starts against Wales on Thursday lol.
As for Rooney, he’s about as much use as a broken leg in this set up !
Nite Gooners.
Morning all..
Morning Boss.
Yesterday’s game had an Arsenal smack all over it. Majority of possession 58%, plenty of shots 17 (9 on target or more appropriately at the keeper), over 70 dangerous attacks and yet it all ended 1-1.
The funny thing was that it was played out by the spuddies and not Gunner players.
And Hodgson’s tactics and subs left a bit to be desired.
And what was Kane doing taking corners???
Did Hodgson expect him to take the corner and be there when the ball arrived in front of goal???
Morning Devil, I must say that Kane taking corners was an odd thing really. Never know why a centre forward takes them and didn’t Henry used to takes some of ours?
Didn’t watch game, just the highlights later. But as Devil says there was a very familiar look, stats, subs to many an Arsenal game. We were ahead on all counts, even a goal and then….the manager makes a few tweaks. He takes off a ‘forward’ and replaces him, not like for like but with his golden boy midfielder, our Jack, rather than putting a another striker on, to go and win the game for him. No steady Woy went for defensive strength, with a side that can’t defend. The equaliser was absolutely inevitable! And how many times have we seen Wenger do exactly the same, forward off, defender on, we concede a late goal! The manager then says how disappointed he is and how we dominated the game and really should have won! But we didn’t! Again!
Now then, will we beat Wales? There has to be some doubt. Yes we have better players, mostly, but they seem to be much better ‘team’. Anyway, advice to Woy:
“Wash, rinse………and then…….wash, rinse………and do it all over again until we are on the plane home!
Morning al. It could be better here.
Wales will be tough on Thursday Wavy…
New post up now
I forgot one other stat.
Woy is 68.
Wenger is 67
Need I say more