Morning all.
Big Brother is watching me. I made a few errors in yesterdays post and I’ve had my knuckles slapped. Darn those missing comas and a couple of words!! I’ve read far worse elsewhere but I know that doesn’t make it right. I’ve let my standards slip but I’ll try harder, I promise. Sorry if I’ve let you all down…..
According to reports in the press this morning, Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Arijan Ademi failed a drug test which took place after our 2-1 defeat to them. He was on the pitch for the entire match, unlike Ollie of course.
What, if any action will UEFA now take I wonder, and what can Arsenal do?
Sadly nothing, well nothing which will help our European cause as there are no rules to deduct points or disqualify Dinamo Zagreb unless two or more players are found guilty. (According to The Mail)
Reports suggest the entire Zagreb side are to undergo drug tests, so fingers crossed…. lol
Ademi will I suspect, get a ban of some kind ban once a ‘b sample’ has been submitted and found to be positive but as far as the Champions League goes, Arsenal will have to solider on in hope that six points can be won against Bayern later this month and next. On top of that, we’ll need to beat Zagreb at home and Olympiacos away in order to progress.
In all honesty, we shouldn’t be relying on a favour to progress from the group stages, we should have been able to do that with ease for ourselves..
Theo Walcott, who scored a fine goal against Zagreb has been talking about why he’s suddenly hitting the headlines for all the right reasons. Here’s a extract from The Mirror:
Having Thierry at the club now, I have been chatting to him on a personal level behind the scenes to learn things from him. He’s with the under-18s and, at times, I think some of them don’t even know who he is! I’ve had quite a few words with him about some of the games I’ve played.
He has just given me his analysis on myself and, if I’ve needed to ask him some questions about it, he’s always there. That’s what coaches are there for. I think, sometimes, you see this generation of players, they’re actually scared to go up to coaches and ask something.
Going back to the question about when it clicked about going up front, that was one of the things Arsene wanted me to do – to be more aggressive on the pitch. And maybe he’s sensed that I’ve had more aggression.
I actually said, ‘Do you want me to get stuck into people?’ That was my reaction. He said, ‘No, I’m not saying that’. He wanted me to be more aggressive, in terms of running at players, closing them down, tracking back, being there and in their faces.
When I first saw Alexis Sanchez join the club, I thought, ‘Wow, yeah, this is a big statement’. Then, actually seeing in the flesh what he does – you see a winner there. He wants to win and he wants to achieve things. And, with that work-rate, if he can do it, then why can’t I do it?
Maybe that was missing a few years ago. Now, I’ve really thought, ‘I need to step up’ and players like that help.
How many times have we all said that about Walcott? Too many to mention I’d say. His constant jogging around the pitch like he was taking part in a warm up session really cheesed me off but it seems he’s caught the ‘Alexis bug’. It’s taken a long time but by the look of things, it’s been worth the wait. Walcott is still young in footballing terms and if he carries on where he left off on Sunday afternoon, we will finally have a great player on the pitch. One who is not scared to do his share of the dirty work, or afraid to get back and win the ball and turn defence into attack at speed as he did against Schweinsteiger at the weekend.
Whatever Alexis is doing and whatever Henry is saying, I hope they both continue to do so, as a fit, firing and confident Theo Walcott can and will only be good for Arsenal.
Chile play Brazil tonight and Germany face the Republic of Ireland – should be two good games but I hope neither Ozil or Alexis play but you just know they will…..
Have a good Thursday guys…
Morning all.
I forgive you, Rico 🙂
Nice post and Sanchez, at times, should have made some of us boys feel embarrassed.
Let’s hope this new found work ethic remains with all of them.
Rico, beautiful article….I enjoyed reading it.
Have a great a day
Should Arsenal be allowed to play Chelsea (11 v 10 rather than the other way around)?
Justice (given the FAs rulings) would say so.
Morning All…
Great post.
Walcott will deliver handsomely this season. All he needs is stay fit. He should be careful how he gets stuck-in…Alexis is built like a tank…Walcott isn’t…Ox-Chamberlain is more like Alexis…so, caution Theo…we need you fit all season.
morning Rico and the house
nice post
why wont they let us play the cl game again, what sort of message does it send out to clubs who don’t monitor their players, or turn a blind eye.
there is no justice in the game
Morning again all, thanks re the post. Just hope there’s no errors, otherwise HH might get thrown off of NN..
It’s pointless, we won’t win the CL under Wenger so we’re better off out of it at least we can focus on trying to win the PL.
Scott, that makes me feel better… I’m considering therapy to help me through…
I agree Lee, give the PL a proper go and forget Europe all together…
It’s good we’re now talking about winning the EPl … some people swore at end of transfer window that we’d best finish fourth with the squad we have…
By the time we beat Bayern next EPL match, which we will, I’m certain some more fans will start having a change of mind regarding our CL chances.
I think most people believed, and I still do, that we haven’t a hope in hell of competing for all four competitions. Now though, with the CL all but over, and if injuries don’t hit us hard, there’s just two things to go for – PL and FA Cup…
We’re in a great position in the league, one or two signings in Jan could actually take us all the way. Especially if others like Chelsea, Utd and City stay in the CL.
Oh, and let the reserves win the CO Cup… lol
Draw and a loss v Bayern imo.
Hahaha…believe Arsenal won’t beat Bayern at The Emirates and believe anything. This is the hallmark of Arsenal FC under Wenger…perform below par when expectations are high and stun all pundits when least expected. We’re beating Bayern…place a bet folks…
Come to think of it Rico…we beat Man U so comprehensively without Koscielny, Welbeck, Wilshere…all could have started and Arteta, Flamini, Rosicky…all could have played a part in it….
Who says our squad is desperately thin?
Two losses imo Lee..
Only one of those would have started on Sunday if fit imo Tai…
Rico am still waiting for kev’s post. The one about arsenal history. Its been 2 weeks now 😀 so what’s it going to be? Are you going to post it or not?
Oh forgive me guys morning all 😀
Wenger would have started Welbeck – former club syndrome!
Morning Rico and all.
I never noticed any grammatical errors myself. 🙂
And Wenger would have been rotating Ramsey with Wilshere if fit Rico…
We should be beating this shite manure team and we should of last season!
Well, we should but we don’t…under their worst manager in recent times, David Moyes…we lost one drew one…under new comer to EPL, LVG, we still lost one drew one…
Good read rico, Theo should have listened to people here and he wouldn’t have even needed Henry and Sanchez! But whatever way its happened, if he sticks to it and remains injury free, its a great bonus to us. You cant teach pace, everything else he should improve on given the chance. Hope no goalie takes him out on international duty again.
Tomorrow Goonster, when I’m home most of the day…
Afternoon Adam, neither did I in my rush… 😉
We’ll never know Tai. Thankfully, it matters not now as we battered them…
Agree Lee.
Spot on Andrew… 😉
Off for a walk so catch up later…
Just got to love the media and fans who where positive man utd will beat arsenal on Sunday now they are a shit team and it’s their own fault because they picked the wrong team.
Rico as a victim of the grammar police keep your chin up 😉
? Joe, I felt hurt after such few mistakes, and now they are on my case….
How rude of me, good evening all…. Or anyone.. Lol
Rico never mind if they are still at it tomorrow send them around to my place 🙂 i’av a thick skin because i’av been messing up for years. 😉
By the way good evening all come ROI
Does anyone know the kind of drugs the Zegreb player has proved positive for Performance or recreational drugs.
Sorry Joe, just upgraded to Fibre so lost my internet for a while…
Come on ROI….
? Joe, I’ll do just that….
No idea yet re the drugs, I guess it’ll all come out soon….
Yep come ROI
Have you checked out the Fibre yet is it much quicker than what you replaced it with ?
Oh come on Northern Ireland, Wales boo to Scotland 🙂
Not yet Joe, will check tomorrow for the speed
Have a good evening heading off to watch the match good night all.
Have fun with your new toy Rico.
Enjoy Joe, hope they do well…
I’m off too so night guys…
We’ve missed a trick with klopp going to the Dippers
Could see Klopp bringing in a few Jerries to Anfield… 🙁
Mario Gotze perhaps?
Or a few of his old Dortmund players..?.
He might pull out all the stops to get himself a Bender or two?
Good post Rico…
Looking forward to the next set of stuffed fixtures… It’s going to be tough… I guess, the next set of PL matches are a bit of mid table teams… Watford, Everton, Bournemouth, Tottenham and so… A better concentration and consistency is required in these matches, otherwise a winning game will end up in draw or worst case, a lose…
And the toughest part is in between, we will have to play Bayern twice in CL and a fourth round league cup match with Sheffield United…
Very tight schedule… But I hope for the best, seeing the growing optimism and confidence in the players…
rico, wouldn’t let it bither you a bot if I were you ! Won’t be too long before English is the 3rd language in the UK anyway !
Thank gawd Arsene wasn’t tested for drugs on the nite against Zegreb, one dope is enuf !
Hi Kev…
I don’t know whether he’ll bring in Gotze or Bender… But I’m sure he’ll make Liverpool a tuff top 4 contender…
Shane Long, take a bow !
Great performance micko
World Champions put to bed Malaga, catch you tomorrow matey.
Dunphy and giles will still moan
Gl micko
Yippy
Not moaning gm
Bloody Scotland
2nd place there for the taking Joe
Hi Madhav
I’m sure that Klopp will pick up a few bargains from Germany, just as Wenger used to with France…
Well done Northern Ireland…
Magnificent effort…
Well it means we need a win or better than a 1-1 in Poland but after the that result tonight the team will be on a high.
Clipper try Klopp will do well to get the dippers to finish 7th in the EPL this year with the squad he has at his disposal this year. Ordinary begets ordinary, they have ordinary bar one or two players, Sturridge and Coutino the rest are pretty much shite!
Im not overwhelmed nor even concerned about the appointment of Klopp the bott! I think he’s overrated and sadly, for him, over here! Not sure he’ll create a dynasty, a nasty perhaps, a top four team, I doubt it!
Nite all. Been a long day and some of the night!
Morning…
Yo!
Just the two of us… 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6WaOfpGK28
🙂
Morning Rico and all,
The media tripping over themselves like a bunch of kids in Disney around klopp… lol
Morning Ts. Would be hilarious if he fails…
I wonder if his first signing will be PEA
Just hope the German players we all like go there…
Lol Rico. It depends on what ‘failure’ means.
To me if its about winning the EPL then he wont win. If its top 4 he can do it.
Over the last 3 years I have read and heard media and bloggers hype Klopp so much from just BVB’s performance in the UCL 2 or 3 seasons ago.
What they fail to realise is that BVB won the UCL just over 15 y.o with a weaker team before Klopp joined.
They may also not realise that when he won his Bundesliga back to back Wolfsburg, Bremen, Bayer 04 and SC04 were all in disarray.
FC Munchen had our Andries Jonker and before that LVG in charge and Heynches (spelling) first spell which was not succession.
Well, top 4 it is then, maybe at the expense of Chelsea… 😉
So AS17 played the whole match for Chile last night! 🙁
New post up now..
Perhaps he’ll sit out the next..