Morning all.
Before I allow my laughter to breakthrough after last nights result, we must win in Greece. 2-0 or any other winning scoreline higher than that will do Arsenal tonight.
We play against a side who will be motivated, but we face that every week [in the Premier League]. At the moment they are qualified, but let us not forget they can lose what they have and that can create a fear factor.
Of course, we have a history where we have positive results. We have won everywhere in Europe, we know we can do it, so the best way is to go through with a top quality performance and that is what we must focus on.
It is very important (for us to go through). There is nothing more to say because we want to do well in Europe.
Arsene Wenger is clearly trying to play ‘mind games’ but he’s not that good at them really is he? I’m not sure that’s his style either and rightly so, but he’s right, the pressure really is on the home side. As it stands, all they need to do is shut up shop and not give us a sniff on goal. Should they succeed, they’re through and we are dumped into Europe.
We however, have nothing to lose really as few expect us to come away with the right result, not with a side missing so many key players.
Olympiakos is a good side, but we want to do it and want to achieve it. The team will be highly focused to do it because it is a big significance for us.
We just want to give absolutely everything to qualify.
If you want to jump over a hurdle, you don’t think what you will miss. You just do all you can to get over it. If you fall down, you have to get up, but you must do all you can to get over it.
I honestly expect a great performance by our boys tonight, I really do. We all know what the Champions League money means to the club and the manager and if there’s a match he’ll get them up for, it’s this one. A bit like when the domestic league enters into a new year and we are sitting outside of the top four. Suddenly a light switches on, the results start to go in our favour and wham, top four sorted once the season ends.
Also, lets not forget that when the pressure is off, we do tend to play well as trips to Germany and Monaco have proved in recent years but the goals needed in order to progress were a too higher mountain to overcome.
Wenger says Olympiakos are a good side but I don’t agree, we gifted them a victory at The Emirates with a comical display of defending and a goal keeping gaff. I doubt we’ll see a repeat of either tonight.
Eleven years ago, Liverpool were in a similar situation when they needed to beat Olympiakos by two clear goals in order to go through to the knock-out stages. Just as they looked like being knocked out, Stevie Gerrard popped up with their winner in the 84th minute. A winner which not only took them through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, but all the way to final and we know what happened then.
I’m not suggesting we can win the Champions League, of course not but we can certainly win tonight and progress to the knock-out stages.
COYRRG’S!!
First 😀 off to read the post.
Two posts in one day…
I can’t keep up…
Great post Rico….
From the previous post :
Ts, Go wash your mouth out this instant and stand in the corner and repeat 1,000 times…. I shall not play with my umbrella in public places….
How dare you insinuate I change from my beloved GG………
Nice post Rico, must be all that practice, way better than the tosh from Kev…! One thing… Who is this Stevie fella you on about…? Williams..?
Have you read it Kev…. 😉
Morning to you, goonster and all…
I reckon we’ll get the right result tonight, I really do. Utd going out last night might just wake the players and manager up….
🙂 Wath, it pained me to make reference to the old diving, dirty cheat but……
Great post rico but it’s a tall order. I mean what’s the point? We ll get knocked out in the next round eventually. So why not just let it go and save our players for the pl. Trust me we don’t want to face Barca without no coq :D(see what I did there) or santi. We ll be destroyed. If Sunderland with shit players could expose us imagine what that Barca team ll do to us. God they re going to kill us. Am going to support the lads today as a true fan should but it still won’t change anything. Morning all.
Rico, you sussed me out ?
But I have now read it now and it was marvellous… ?
*have now read it now?*
Mrs A will be furious… ?
Winning breeds winning though goonie and i’d rather we get knocked out next round than go into europa….
🙂 Kev…
Rico yes but a humiliation creates a bunch of nervy players and trust me it ll take a while to get them out of that funk. As for the Europa league I ve said it before. Play the reserves and second string team till the semi finals and then unleash the big guns. It’s not rocket science!!!! Sheesh.
Morning All…
Today is a tall order. We’ve lost all past three visits to Olympiacos, won only 11 times out of 82 by a two goal margin in our travels in Europe…but what is history if not a piece of paper work?
Without Sanchez, Carzola…the only certain starters missing, we can’t say we don’t have enough healthy players to score two and concede none. Time for Wenger and his team to prove Arsenal is not the lightweight many erroneously think they are this season.
Great post Rico…
Cheers Wath
Morning Wath. Long time mate. I see tonight’s game as a detail along the way really and only a small part of the bigger picture. The real debate is how, given our status, infrastructure and financial clout, have we come to this? Arsene says it’s because we have been a bit unlucky. How the majority of the fans must yearn for him to come clean and tell it how it is. Will the board ask him why we haven’t walked through this group alongside Bayern through our quality and of course his managerial skills? Surely that is a valid question that might be asked of any employee? Instead he is making the same excuses that he has been making for about a decade now.
Sometimes you really have to look reality in the eye and man-up if you want to improve. Giving the players a ready-made excuse of bad luck is shockingly poor management. We are where we are because we are not good enough to be any better, given our present circumstances. The details of why that is the case should be troubling Gazidis right now.
Ha ha goonie, but we might draw Monaco… 😉
AW won’t play the reserves in the Europa though, he’s already said he’ll take the competition very seriously…
Absolutely Tai. The Greeks hadn’t won in England before they beat us I believe. There’s no reason we cant beat them and I thought they were very average at The Emirates and but for our shoddy and sloppy defending, coupled with gung ho tactics, we’d have won with ease.
Yes Rico.
Wenger should be talking of his carelessness instead of luck. He toyed with first two games and now paying…hope he doesn’t pay in full!
Adam, I think I know the answer to the question about anyone asking AW about this CL campaign so far….. No…
If he does Tai, then he has only himself to blame… I doubt he will though, he’ll find some other excuse for such failings….
Rico. If that’s the case then what’s the point of any debate at all?
Adam, I meant to the question:
Will the board ask him why we haven’t walked through this group alongside Bayern through our quality and of course his managerial skills?
Who is there to question him?
Which takes me back to the board and owner having to shoulder a lot of the blame….
Rico. Yes I see your point there and tend to agree.
I blame Stan
Adam, I’d love to think Gazidis is livid about the whole thing and had the ‘power’ to sit AW down and ask him a few tricky questions while demanding answers but from what you and others have said, it’s all about Wenger so all the time he’s manager, we can expect little change…
A pretty sad state of affairs really…..
Which one Kev? 😉
Rico. As I think I mentioned before, Gazidis is concerned but Wenger has the trust of Kroenke, probably because he doesn’t want the responsibility of making a change. Thus, the eternal power struggle within the club continues and will do until Wenger decides he’s had enough.
Adam, I’m not surprised he’s concerned. The power struggle should have been resolved long ago but as long as Stan is happy with Wenger, then it’s same old same old….
The biggest concern is ‘when Wenger decides he’s had enough’ – that’s not the way it should be..
Rico. These things happen when you stop being a manager and become an institution.
Anyway, I think the game at Villa is more important myself. 🙂
Shame he doesn’t put as much effort into managing as he seems to do banking Adam…
Are you sure re Villa? 😉
Massive respect to Kieron Dyer – he earned £200,00 from appearing in I’m A Celebrity and donate the entire amount to charity…..
What a generous thing to do….
Rico. We may win tonight. Who knows? But I think that, given the really awful quality of the PL this season, we could still win it. IF and its a big IF, Wenger actually stopped talking bollocks, got off his arse and bought a couple of good players and we could string some wins together, then it could happen. So, yes, I think Villa is the more important game. The CL is just a money spinner but, if you aren’t going to use the money then its relevance might be thought to be moot.
Looking at the elite clubs in Europe I reckon we are still some way off. But that’s only a personal opinion. 🙂
Adam. I’m not at all fussed about tonight really, other than not wanting to play in the Europa but as goonie says, if he uses that to play the reserve/fringe players then good but I doubt he will…
I hope we win just because I never want the team to lose but the league for me is the most important and I reckon we still have a great chance to win it… But, and as you say, not without a couple of darn good players signed next month and no more injuries…
I think it’s a bit tricky…for Wenger, of course..with Coquelin gone till March or thereabout, Wenger has his chance to get a CB , good one better than Coq…when Coq comes back, he stays as second choice…his own making really, not that Wenger went ahead and made him second choice last summer.
On Carzola? I doubt Wenger would go for a replacement…he’d hope on Wilshere coming back to hold on for Santi until the Spaniard gets back to help drive the season home..
With Walcott back and Campbell having got some games, will Wenger buy a striker now Welbeck is nearing return? Don’t think so…but with Ox not truly living up to promises, Wenger may go for a top top winger.
Will Wenger strengthen in defense? Not likely…
So, a player like Victor Wayama..a player like Mayrez…both with EPL experiences and can play in the CL, if we get over the hurdle of Olympiacos…
Another world class player to be added to the squad by next summer…Wenger style…
Shame we didn’t get the cover in the summer Tai, as most hoped he would..
Now he’ll have to pay over the odds.. All of his own doing of course…
Not without complaining about the prices though Rico. 🙂
The summer is an awful time for a transfer window because there are no top, top players available and January is just as awful because the prices are too high. And anyway, those nasty rich clubs keep spending too much money on players that we could have bought if we had the money. Oh, wait a minute…..
Syrup….
There’s pros and cons regarding tonight’s game…
Fail to beat Olympiakos and the shock of dropping into the Europa might concentrate some minds…
Maybe it will shake Wenger out of his transfer inertia and see him do some business this January…
Beat Olympiakos and progress into the knockout stage will see Arsenal do zilch in January…
🙂 Adam, I’m sure he will. Tough eh…. lol
Oh me too Rico. He’ll never make the same mistake twice. 🙂
For everything positive we must pray to qualify this night…
Goonster thinks Wenger will field kids for Europa…Wenger fielded Cech, Giroud, Coquelin, Mertesacker and brought in Walcott five minutes in in a COC match!
Wenger will strengthen to avoid further humiliation in the CL…leave him with Europa and he may decide to manage through with what he has…with Wenger one is never ever certain!
I could be wrong, the last 3 away games against Olympiakos which we lost, was Arsenals fate not already decided?
2009/2010 Wed 9 December, Olympiakos 1 Arsenal 0….Spooky…..History to be repeated?
Personally i think we should be more than capable of beating Olympiakos even with injuries,patience and total focus will be required.
In the grand scheme of things does it really matter if we qualify? Money- wise to the club…..a big YES….to the fans it’s yes and no….
Yes, because nobody wants to see Arsenal loose/ not qualify for an elite competition..
No, because we have no chance of winning the competition and should not be in this position in the first place and qualification would hinder us on the league front.
For me it’s a mixture…. i hate fcukin’ losing but know we are miles behind the best in Europe…
Good post Rico…..Off to watch the youth team play the Greeks…
Afternoon, Adam, how ya doing? Keeping Kev on his toes I hope although………….. An impossible task me thinks..!
All good here mate just manic busy…! My tail has fallen off I been chasing it so much..! Shut up Lee I don’t need a comment from you ta…!
As 4 tonight………. sort of stuffed if we do and stuffed if we don’t…! I’d still like to go through just to shut up few ppl and who cares then when we get knocked out but least we got through however shit we were in the 1st two games
3-2 win tonight, Giroud and Ramsey with Theo getting the winner in the 84th minute. However, I fully expect to spend much of the match gripping my sofa with white knuckles, while swearing at Ramsey for charging blindly forward leaving Flamini to get over run at DM.
Cech is in for a busy night but we will prevail.
Hi Wath. Not bad thanks mate.
Afternoon BT.
I give us about a 20% chance tonight and that’s being generous. Apert from the injuries and our unpredictability away in europe, we also have the referee factor. A dodgy pen and a red card anyone? Anyway, its my birthday so I will be celebrating whatever hsppens!
Happy birthday Bob.
Happy birthday Bob…
Afternoon all….
2_0 down in Greece,
Happy birthday Bob
That’s not a good omen Bt…
It’s someone else’s birthday very soon, Friday I do believe…..
My Mrs. is 21 again on Friday…lol
Ha ha Bt, she shares her birthday with another soon to be 21 again then… lol
Sorry evening Adam Rico and all..
Evening to you Bt….
Cheers everyone! Sadly I’m not 21 today but exactly the same age as Coronation Street! Good job you don’t have to support the first team to win the league after you are born as I would be a Tiny Tott!!!!
Yes it’s John Lukics birthday this Friday…
When did Corrie start… Lol
Still a young one then….
Happy Birthday Bob….
Are you a Welshman?
Garry Monk sacked….
No manager gets time these days…. Well……
Not him Kem Kev, someone far more important… 😉
That’s true Rico, last season Swansea enjoyed the highest league finish in their history under Monk…
And now he’s gone…
The players of course are blameless!
And the Swansea Board…
It’s Nigel Winterburns birthday this Friday as well Rico…
Is it a well know city cabbie?
It’s crazy Kev. Suggestion in the media is he fell out with a couple of players and dropped them…
Not Nigel either…. Lol
Spot on Bt
55 years ago, why??
Herculean feat if we win tonight. I have various parts of my anatomy crossed but, I can unravel myself fairly easily if we lose.
Like many others I’d hate to see us lose tonight but I’ll not be distraught if we don’t, except the prospect of spurs-day football is abhorrent! The shame! The injuries! The travelling! The irrelevance! And the ultimate failure at the end of our participation! Followed by more shame!
Make us proud tonight and stick it up the Greeks..*****, I hear they like that sort of thing!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3352667/Arsenal-plan-ahead-entering-chase-Palmeiras-teenager-Gabriel-Jesus.html
We could do with him tonight…. 😉
Bobs comment Wavy… Lol
we win today but probably not enough to go ahead…
The youth team lost 2-0. to be honest they never looked like scoring or winning…
Ah! 1960 then! With old Mrs Sharples and Ken Barlow of course. One could act and one still can’t! Gave up Corriedale 20 years ago. It became a bit like Arsenal, always going sideways with really predictable story lines not to mention their well sculpted stereotypical characters. Boring!
Work permit might be a problem, though i’m sure we could loan him around Europe for a few years…..Rico.
Let’s hope it’s not the same later Bt…
Just before selling him…. Lol
Ha ha Wavy, I like Ken, not sure about his new woman though.. Seems a bit if a bunny boiler…
Walcott starts. Evening, not sure a good one, never know.
Don’t have BT, so will suffer with Radio.
Walcott and Giroud? Or just one of them, Andrew?
A1313, get your lapper out….
Walcott in for Ox
Let’s hope Walcott can get a few decent crosses in….
BT62, streams not worked for me recently, got a decent one?
Our staring line-up….Čech; Bellerín, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Flamini, Ramsey; Campbell, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Giroud.
No Walcott!
Perhaps Theo will come on when they tire… 😉
Andrew, try the universal tv had app if on iPhone/pad…
Andy, I will check for you and see, have not streamed from the usual sites of late.
Confusion…another line-up…Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Ozil, Walcott, Campbell; Giroud
Arsenal XI: Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Ozil, Walcott, Campbell; Giroud.
From BBC
Just which is which?
I am moist with excitement. 🙂
Andrew, Cricfree is working really well at the minute mate…
Adam, do you not wear an apron when doing the dishes?
Only an Arsenal sporon usually BT.
rico, Android tablet, tried similar name App, it was good for changing TV channels 😉
Thanks BT62, will give a try.
What a picture Adam, that’ll certainly help Mrs.A on the road to recovery…lol
with what I saw of Ramsey while watching vs Sunderland replay…the workaholic is in the mood…he’s likely to score…
Walcott was looking sharp too…
And the back five! Even against Bayern they haven’t conceded in the CL playing together…
Let’s do it boys…COYG
That’s a bum Andrew…
Are all my post missing from today?
You have the better of me Rico, with your bunnies!!
Could it be …….??
Let’s start the journey of hope.
Not anywhere behind the scenes Ts…
She’s weird Wavy…..
Theo & Giroud start tonight…
I think I am losing the plot; most have been posting on a previous page by myself. 🙂
Foutounis and Ideye both start for Olympiacos
Quite a hostile atmosphere…..
Bit like The Emirates…. 😉
Ozil starts with a ‘tight calf’…. Doh!
First time that Walcott & Giroud start a game together since March.
Well done ref…
Living dangerously….
World Cup final referee rico ! Not exactly a convincing start from us is it.
Good Micko, don’t need one like Dean…
Maybe in the last ten mins we’ll liven up….
Morning all.
3-0 win and Aaron will bang them in.
Get ya cash on.
I’ll keep mine in my pocket Scott… 😉
Need to sort the passing out…
we cant get out
Much better. So unlucky not to score….
Slightly worrying that Flamini is the guy in the box though… Lol
😀 Rico. Every goal counts
I know Ts, two og’s would do 😉
Scott, they’ve only lost to Bayern this season, 12 straight wins in the league, gonna be a long night !
Get in Ollie..
Great stuff by Mesut….
yessss OG12
Cracking header !!!
Micko, time will tell.
Oh…..there’s 1 🙂
Their keeper had an Ospina moment… 🙂
Og12 .. yes doing the biz for being the most under rated striker in Europe…
Kozzer goal next
What’s that, 13 goals this season tsgh, not to be sniffed at.
Great defending by Theo…
See what Giroud can do wth decent delivery…..great cross.
Crossing, the seemingly lost artform.
Micko, Giroud is what he is.
He will never be anything different.
I reckon he’s judged pretty harshly, and his record suggests that, but anything after RVP, Henry etc etc is going to cop that I guess.
Ramsey needs to be very careful, we don’t need to play with ten….
Micko, even by your high standards OG12 is not quite a donkey. 😉
Anyone know where Micky Thomas is?.
Wish he was on the pitch Rick, in his prime of course…. Lol
Rick- the former footballer?
Anyone gonna break the news to Rick……
Micko- before tonight who was the only french man to have scored in the Mestalla?
Another 2 goals makes sense.
I worry about Ramsey Adam.
Rick, I think he lives up north…
I know what you mean Rico but they should have had another yellow too. Ramsey’s tackle was badly timed but with these European ref’s there’s always a risk.
Great post Rico. .. This is perfectly poised can we do it? COYG
Having the same conversation here Adam. He started well but the Greeks getting away with far too much..
Micko and Ginge I will leave it to Rico to explain lol
Bloody hell! That’s Ollie out for a while by the look of it…
Fingers crossed Kel.
Girouddddddd
Get in !!!
Fcuking get in…., ???????
OG12 you beauty
Ollllllllllie…..
Not as bad as I thought then… 🙂 🙂
Spit it out tsgh.
How many Euros are in this refs back pocket?
What a save…
Petr Cech, top top class
We have to go for the 3rd goal fuck this hanging on. Imo
https://vine.co/v/iZBVjxTTwrr
Micko- One and only TH14
I do worry they’ll hit us on the break if we are not careful…
This ref is shocking, he’s falling for the Greeks cheating..
An amazing time for OG12 to score his first ever brace in the UCL.
Come on, get this in!!
Oh yeah baby, lets put it to bed !
Fooooooooooking heck 🙂 🙂
Now that is getting lucky AW. lol
OG12 hatrick
Surely we won’t muck this up….
Great performance so far…
his first ever hat-trick for Arsenal and what a time to do it!
I’d take ozil off now incase of injury…
Let’s see another Arsenal goal just to ice the cake… ?
So would I bearing in mind he has a tight calf…
Just the one Kev? 😉
That’ll do nicely.
Well, if we get a 4th Rico, then I’ll ask for a 5th ?
Time to think about bringing off Mesut Ozil I think…
How has Flamini played Rico?
Really impressed with the dynamism, even at 80 minutes.
For all the OG12 bashers… First Arsenal hattrick away in Champions League since Thierry Henry in 2002 (3-1 win v Roma)
Me too Kev…
I’ve thought our midfield was a bit dodgy Kev, especially in the first half as they seemed to go through it with ease. He’s been ok I guess but we could do with better…
Campbell has been pretty good…
Very good Rico. He’s been working really hard.
Shame he can’t get one in the league against West Brom Ts, or Norwich or…….. Lol
BT62, you star. Finally got an old laptop working about two minutes before pen. Never saw three goals coming tonight! So good for confidence. And to shut the media up. Not to mention not joining Spuds and United in Thursday cup!
It’s easy to be dynamic when 3-0 after 80 Adam… 😉
Correction Danny Welbz also scored a hat trick
Thierry Henry
Nicklas Bendtner
Danny Welbeck
Olivier Giroud
Rico. 🙂
You are a hard task master Rico. lol
Lovely pass for the 2nd goal rico.
As for Arsene how long can he get away with luring us all into a false sense of security, I mean ThurSday nite football, it was never gonna happen was it !
Scott, told ya it was gonna be 3 nil didn’t I.
Campbell has scored in the Champions League before, his one and only goal was for Olympiacos while on loan !
Not at all Ts, just honest….
Sure was Micko, he’s growing on me…. A bit lol
Well played Joel Campbell. A new contract awaits I think.
Oxlade-Chamberlain on for Campbell…
Ozil stays on…, ?
Maybe the right calf stories were BS….
Chambers for Giroud
🙂 Micko- I bet you had a sleeping bag all packed p for the treks to Astana…
Barcelona in the next round then….
Well done Arsenal, well bloody done…..!
Well that’s a great job well done….
Night All
Big win. Brilliantly played boys. 🙂
Well done lads, job done, bring on Barcelona !
🙂 Kev you have jinxed it
Night Kev…
Perhaps we’ll get Woolfsburg or Zenit….
Bob you won’t forget this birthday in a hurry, i raise this one to you and the boys!!
Bloody Brilliant!!
AFC vs PSV would have Stan creaming lol.
R Madrid, Wolfsburg, Atletico, M City, Barca, Bayern, Chelsea, Zenit PSG, PSV, Benfica, Juve, Roma, Arsenal, D Kiev, Genk Draw Mon 11am
Night all…
On a very good night and now we can all laugh at Utd!!
Arsenal vs Genk
Time to re-focus as next 5 games are:
Villa (a)
Man City (h)
Southampton (a)
Bournemouth (h)
Newcastle (h)
2 retweets 0 likes
A win of legendary proportions!
The myths are yet to be written.
Who’d have thought it? Not me! But I’ve seen the light. Wenger is the way!!
Could we possibly go and win the competition? Well………….???
Bloody hell. My 20% came up. What I didn’t say was my birthday is a lucky day for Arsenal. Love you all xxxxxx
Night Rico,…don’t you just love it……lol
That was an excellent performance! 10/10
Many Happy Returns Bob, the nite is still a puppy.
I’m sure I just heard Arsene mention the Great Escape in his post match interview.
Nite Gooners.
Night all, a very good 5 days for Arsenal.
Lol campbell i see y wenger is keeping u potential. ..keep working hard… Better than ox
Rick, Michael Thomas lives ooop North… He’s on the Wirral, kept his place up there from his Lfc days.
Campbell has a problem: he is not strong and very weak in the direct contact.
Bellerin is miles away of his normal performance.
We can’t play with BM again.
Hope we not pay with another english team.
By the way, the seconds are not so strong (in theory) then the 1fst. So, in the quarter final we could have the 8th teams winners of the phase groups.
Unexpected pleasurable evening in Prague. Big screen in local bar Czech commentary made more sense than Sky BT and BBC put together. Beer quite reasonable too at £1.00 a pint.
Great result.
Can’t wait to see the game.
Well done Giroud.
Now keep this great form in next PL matches.
COYG.
In Prague, watching the Gunners winning by 3-0, and the beer is a £1.00 a pint..
Bloody sounds heavenly to me Potter…
Morning All…
No injuries is a right bonus as well…
No Greek trajedy…………… sweet, let’s all laugh at Manure!
The satisfying thing about the performance last night was the attitude and discipline..! We kept our shape we didn’t go gung ho and we for the majority of the game controlled the tempo as well.
To give Wenger credit swapping Theo and Joel over helped a lot and changed the tide after 10/15 mins, we looked way better balanced and from then on really didn’t look back. Yes they had a few chances but then again so did we but 3-0 away in Europe is nothing to sniff at and they may not be a superpower but that was an awesome result considering what was at stake and the fact we just had to win.
Now keep the same mentality for Villa away and the coming weeks and who knows what this season could bring when we start to get a few players back from injury and Wenger buys a couple of players in Jan………. ok sorry I got carried away a bit there.
Man ure to enjoy sperzday night football……… piss funny..!
Depay leaving PSV to play CL football even funnier!
Morning Scott, Orf, Kev, Lee, Wath and all…
Get off my post Wath… 😉
I ain’t had a butchers Rico I promise and I was here before you so put that in ya smoke and pipe it…! 😛
🙂 Wath..
Great result last night, just imagine how much easier that would be with a proper midfielder in the centre. Flamini worries me big time….
Morning Rico and all. Wasn’t the TV coverage on BT terrible last night? Like they had a single camera just panning around.
Rio Ferdinand, sporting an extraordinary beardy thing, got it right when he said that it was a great all round performance but that we needed to show that week in week out. That’s what top teams do.
Roy Keane, always a miserable bugger, pointed out later (on ITV) that Olympiakos were rubbish. He wasn’t getting carried away. 🙂
Morning Adam, certainly was awful, especially right at the start…
Lilly Savage was the best I thought. He couldn’t praise Ollie enough and then went on to say something like ‘but he’ll still get criticised and I don’t understand why’ – well Mr Savage, you are one of the pundits who do criticise him… Often.
Hypocrite…
But Keane did shout ‘come on Arsenal’ during the game, although Dixon and Keane denied it… 😉
You’re right Rico.
3 games in a row for flamini’s legs, sounds crazy to me.
Spend some money, Arsene.
Carvalho, please.
What’s he playing like this season Orf?
Kev & Rick – for you:
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Arsenal-loanee-Isaac-Hayden-big-role-play-Hull/story-28329872-detail/story.html?
Rico. I believe he is just coming back from a lengthy injury. 🙂
Well Rico, I don’t know the carvalho’s update.
But watching last night’s game, we have to admit, Flamini didn’t give the steely presence what Le Coq’s offered, and Rams is just attacking midfield minded.
It’s a little bit worried now, that we only have Artete for cover.
Carvalho, Xhaka, or Neves would ease our skinny DM positions.
Morning Rico…
Funny really, before yesterday’s game I kept on reading and hearing what a good/dangerous team Olympiakos were…
Although the truth is somewhere in between them being the Greek Barca and as Kean said “rubbish” I would lean a little towards the view of the smiling, happy-go-lucky Irishman…
It was a great result but in reality Arsenal dug themselves out of a hole they got themselves into by lax preparation and underestimating Olympiakos…
Although, tbf, we could lay the blame at Wengers door for not taking the Greeks seriously enough (or was it just the players?). Most on here wanted AW to rotate, including myself, and then when he does he gets slagged off….
Rico, that was a good read re: Hayden…
Strange that he should have played so much better against EPL opposition?
Perfect Adam… 😉
Just what I thought Kev, odd eh but good to hear…
Graham hunters views this morning on talkshite made me chuckle…
Morning Rico, Adam and all…
Orf, we’ll have to ask Jm, he watches the Portuguese league..
Kev, you are right about rotation but maybe it tells us that some who step in to rotate, either aren’t focussed, not good enough or just rusty from being on the bench so long….
Morning Ts. Was he saying Giroud is world class? lol
🙂 Rico. Only how RM will win the UCL…
And how jose is a genius.
What a chump.. I think Bayern and Barca might have something to say about that…
New post up now, see you there a bit later, got to pop out….