Striker deal done. Wenger and agent in talks for Yarmolenko & Ollie to continue fine form?

Morning you all.

It’s Saturday, its match day and it’s time to get behind the team for ninety minutes. Actually, it’s not just about getting behind the team for ninety minutes, it’s about getting behind them for an entire season because that’s what true footballing fans do. And I think they need us.

Tough game today, Newcastle away and a lunchtime kick-off. We don’t like those…

Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko faces a late fitness test, one which I hope he fails, Papiss Cisse returns after illness, Daryl Janmaat is available again after a ban and new boy Florian Thauvin could be handed his first Premier League start.

Arsenal could be without Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker again although Koscielny has a slim chance to start. I’d imagine Chambers will be the one to make way if he does. Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere remain sidelined by injury but both could be back after the international break.

Newcastle have had a worse start to the season than us, they sit further down the table with just two points from their opening three games but last weekend they went to Old Trafford and came away with a point. I watched some of that game and they defended pretty well and certainly had chances to win the match. Meanwhile we huffed and puffed our way to a draw against Liverpool at home.

Stats courtesy of the BBC as always! (Sorry, I forgot to mention that!)

  • Arsenal are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League away games, winning six of those matches – yet they have claimed just one victory in their last six at home.
  • The Gunners have failed to score in five of their last nine league games.
  • Arsenal’s tally of 40 shots this season (excluding blocked efforts) is the joint highest in the division – but their return of two goals is the joint lowest.
  • Olivier Giroud has scored eight goals in six games against Newcastle, including four in his last two.

Going by those figures, Ollie will no doubt lead the front line again. The rest of the team will probably be the same (apart from Koscielny possibly) as we saw on Monday night as that’s what Arsene Wenger does isn’t it.. No surprises..

One to watch is Newcastle’s new signing Florian Thauvin. He helped his new club to a 4-1 victory over Northampton in the Capital One Cup midweek, scoring one and playing a part in the other three. £13 million he cost the Geordies….

It’s important that we prepare well and we give absolutely everything to win this game before the break – Arsène Wenger

He’s right, we don’t want to go into the international break with a bad performance/result so let’s hope the boys turn up and turn it on. They have to sooner or later as there’s far too much talent and quality in the side side for them not to…

COYRRG’S!

Gossip:

Arsene Wenger has spoken to Andriy Yarmolenko ‘s agent to try and persuade his client to move to Arsenal . Yarmolenko, 25, has enjoyed a stunning start to the season with Kiev, netting six goals and racking up five assists in just seven games. (Fichajes)

Arsenal have signed 15-year-old striking prospect Harry Clarke from Ipswich Town, according to reports. He was spotted scoring a wonderful goal for his old side and many clubs were apparently interested in getting him snapped up but we’ve won the race…. One to watch out for in the furure perhaps.

That’s it for Saturday, have a good one..

222 thoughts on “Striker deal done. Wenger and agent in talks for Yarmolenko & Ollie to continue fine form?

  1. Pryd says:

    Hopefully we secure all three points today. We need to be more fluid in our passing and transition.

    First time commenting though a regular reader.

  2. BT62 Gooner says:

    Morning Rico, a good rousing post,

    Have only seen Yarmo on video and not in full match action,he seems to know where the goal is.

    Lets just swipe the barcodes aside and go into the break on a firmer footing.

    Always behind the team and the sofa…..

    Thauvin was hot property a few seasons back, will be interesting to see how he plays..

  3. Marc says:

    Absolute joke want a stubborn man lacks ambition is this a person showing ruthless drive to win premiership or someone layback no sense of urgency hence because of a snorting noise board that puts no pressure on him to win anything

    We could have won the league 3 seasons ago if we just deepened the squad

  4. delmax says:

    I worry about Russian/Ukrainian players settling in the UK – eg Arshavin and the Spurs two failures spring to mind.

  5. Marc says:

    Where’s the sharpness to close down deals seems very naive to let all your competitors snap up quickly targets and arsenal just sit back with no concern just admiring that’s not a club that has priority to win premier league

  6. rico says:

    Morning Bt and welcome to those just joining HH this morning…

    Bt, seems odd that AW has let a French midfielder slip through his net… 😉

  7. rico says:

    Delmax. Arshavin hit the ground running with us, he just couldn’t cope with being played all over the place and his work ethic didn’t appear to be the best…

    Yarmolenko has a good scoring ratio, but haven’t seen him play at all…

    BT, and the cushion… 😉

  8. BT62 Gooner says:

    Perhaps the price tag at the time was deemed to much, Rico.
    He moved to Marseille in 2013 for 15m euros including bonuses, apparently.

  9. Malaga gooner says:

    Morning Rico and the house
    Good post
    I fear for us today and I don’t expect any decent signings, we have left it too late.
    Very disappointed, wenger has fucked up again
    His contract should not be renewed

  10. Ric says:

    Yarmolenko looks good on YouTube, but if we sign everyone who looks good on YouTube we will end up with a team full of lightweight tippy tappy footballers………… Oh wait!!!!! ????

  11. Madhav - Indian Gunner says:

    The key to today’s match is with Santi, Rambo and Ozil… Santi to battle in the midfield with Sissokko if he plays, Ozil to bring his miraculous passes to bring Sanchez and Giroud into play and Rambo for making his wonderful runs…

  12. rico says:

    Marc, out of the players who have moved this summer, which ones would you like to have seen come to Arsenal?

    Morgan is the big one I feel we missed out on….

  13. Wath says:

    Thanx for your comments JVC, you’re in the bin as you obviously never come on here and read the daily posts so have no idea what you’re waffling about, yes the stats are copied would you prefer they were made up…?

    If you are such an expert why not open and run your own blog and see how smart you are then…!

    Thank you again for your insightful input of pretty much nothing…!

  14. Charles says:

    there is a said that the. stubborn fly that refuses to take advice will follow the meat. to fire Arsene wenger is so heartless I believe he will learn is lesson if arsenal fail to qualify for top four

  15. Wath says:

    BT, Always have my eggs n bacon mate 😀

    Some of the idiots that come on here and make once off statements like they have a clue as to what gets written day in day out and then preach like this is some kind of job that Rico does…. Totally pisses me off mate…! Knobs…!

    Anyway…………

    Have we signed anyone yet…? 🙂 ok ok I’ll shut up…!

  16. Marinello says:

    Morning Rico and all fellow Gooners.
    Hoping for a good positive solid performance today against Newcastle.
    Will need to dig in a bit and not once we have won possession, give it away again cheaply. I see this happening in matches and it infuriates me. A quote from the old Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly springs to mind. “Football is a simple game, made complicated by idiots.”
    I’ll be happy with a 0-1 to the Arsenal today.

  17. Wath says:

    Marinello, How are you mate, keeping fit and well I hope…. Can we dig in is the question and totally agree we keep giving the ball away a lot last few games,… If you don’t have the ball you can’t play…………

    Bt, You right mate, may cause me railings to fall out…! Suut up Micko………..!

  18. Wath says:

    A 15yr old wonderkid you say Rico,

    woohhooo another who will vanish into the horizon by the time they 19…..

    I wonder if maybe it’s possible for our round the clock team of scouts and buyers to actually bring in a couple of players that we actually need…? If they cannot manage this extremely difficult task ( our managers words not mine ) will they all resign as having failed dismally because it seems to me that if they been busy round the clock since May what exactly are they bloody doing…?

  19. RIchard says:

    He’s good, but not a world class upgrade..The sad fact is if you want to compete with Bayern, Real, Barca, you have to do what they do. ..get the cheque book out and buy the best. .

  20. Wath says:

    Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Alexis, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott

    Subs: Opsina, Debuchy, Arteta, Gibbs, Campbell, Giroud, Chambers

  21. Wath says:

    Richard, we have an owner who happy not spending and still increasing his asset value due to tv rights etc etc but he fails to see that if he doesnt invest then maybe his asset value will drop when we continue to not be competitive at the very top level…?

    Then again maybe he really doesnt care…..!

    Ozil slight knee injury Rick… three months out then I take it….!

  22. Madhav - Indian Gunner says:

    No Ozil in the line-up… That’s a Surprise… Cazorla will be playing No.10, I guess… The line up is interesting… Pace… Looking forward to the match… COYG!!!

  23. marinello says:

    Hi Wath,
    All good thanks.
    Trust you are keeping well too.
    At the end of last season, my expectations for this season were high. I genuinely felt that things were beginning to change for the better and with a just few additional signings, we could push on a get closer to Chelski etc. I now have very mixed feelings about this season in terms of the Club not strengthening the team. If we pick up a few injuries along the way, we will find ourselves having to make up lost ground.
    Still, let’s hope for a good performance today and hopefully 3 points….

  24. Wath says:

    I am fine thank you Marinello, very frustrated with the way things have gone with the transfers, Like you I thought we would buy exactly what we needed and was very much looking forward to the new season…. At this moment in time and I know as Scott says its not the end of the TW yet but I am dreading things now….! A blind man can see where we need to buy yet we have not, others have and already and for the last few weeks wenger been already coming out with the same old rhetorical crap about why we have not bought…. No one else seems to not be able to buy do they…?

    Anyway……….. we shall see…. I like the pace of todays team, lets hope both Theo and Ox also help out defensively like Alexis does…!

  25. rico says:

    Wath, does make you wonder what the scouts and his ‘team’ have been doing for the last couple of months. Nothing by the looks of it…

  26. Madhav - Indian Gunner says:

    Son of Sol? – That’s a very good one Wath…
    Let’s see if at all he gets any playing time… 🙂

  27. Wath says:

    Where’s that Aussie… is he chasing sheep round the back garden…?

    I reckon Aaron will score a hat-trick today…!
    ,
    ,
    ,
    ,
    ,
    I have also just seen a pink elephant flying………….. I kid you not…!

  28. Wath says:

    The other 12 are in the fridge mate lined up like soldiers all ready for my consumption… I do have a bit of a thirst…!

  29. Micko says:

    Wath, I’m sure you have a lovely set of gnashers mate, might wanna stick them in your knicker pocket if it all kicks off after the game !

    C’mon lads, get stuck in from the start today.

  30. Geziah says:

    Ramsey is terrible. He’ll most probably end up scoring now but his link up play is poor and he’s been poor all season

  31. Kel says:

    Surely we have to throw giroud on considering Newcastle are sitting so deep there is no space for Theo to work…..

  32. frednerk says:

    What is wenger waiting for,
    Newcastle are so deep how can Little Theo
    get in the game..Sorry Wenger your brain dead.

  33. Kel says:

    We need to get in and around Newcastles box more we need to increase are chances of getting a pen or free kick edge of the box….. we have been trying the eye if a needle tactic and it ain’t working.

  34. Joaquim Moreira says:

    What’s this?
    so slowly!!!! We play versus 10!!!!
    TW is not a center forward. Giroud must came in after the sent off.
    Ramsey is a disaster. He is in bad shape. Give an opportunity to Campbell!
    This team is for win what? The league?
    We need 3 (at least…) players. One is in the pitch: sissoko. Other Marcial. Other a DM.

  35. retsub1 says:

    le Coq has obviously been targeted for rough treatment, but they will have to leave him alone now. Put him at centre forward lol.

    I disagree on Ramsey, his runs into the box are creating chances for others..

    It will come just be patient.

  36. allezkev says:

    Well other than Newcastles constant fouling and a penalty we should have had, that wS a fairly boring half…

    I mean, how many saves did Krul have to make?

  37. kel says:

    3pts in the bag, but that was a shitty performance lack of ideas, lack of energy, lack of finishing…. i think the likes of city or chelsea would have put 3 or 4 past newcastle today imo.

  38. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Good Afternoon Lovelies and Hunkies.

    We play poorly.

    We win.

    We keep a 2nd consecutive clean sheet.

    yes we should have buried them….possession was 74% for us and 26% for them

    Shots……21 in total for us and only about 6 for them.

    but only 1-0.

    worried…..yes and no.

    no because we are winning but playing poorly.

    Yes because the team lacks ideas and needs to be more direct.

    The red card helped making NUFC more difficult to break as they retreated back. But by now we should have learned to break such tactics.

  39. Nashua Gunner says:

    Davil. In all honesty, I don’t think the foul was warranted red. It should have been a yellow. If we can’t break team like NCU with 10 men , what happens when it Mancity or ManU?

  40. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Nashua….the ref went by the book and that was a red all the way and all day.

    When it is Shity or Manure??? that is another day. rright now we grind points, even if we play badly. i dont like it……but shit happens. and we won.

    enough worrying thoughts for the day. one week is a looooooooonnnnnnggggg time in football.

    blimey…..we all wait our whole life to die and see heaven. and for now its two weeks till we play Stoke.

    at least as I said…..we played poorly scored through an own goal….but kept a clean sheet.

    Remember…..once Manure had a topscorer between August and Christmas. He had 11 goals to his name…….He was OWN GOAL. And that year they won the league.

    Now it seems that he is playing for us this year. We have two top scorers…..OG-2, and OG12-1

    Not bad it seems.

  41. Joe says:

    Webb thought it was a red card boy we where rubbish something’s wrong with our forwards is it complacency.
    Afternoon all

  42. Adam says:

    Hi GDNA. I have lots of feelings about both the team and some of our players but l will have to tell you when you drop by for tea as they are long winded and probably wrong. 🙂

  43. Joaquim Moreira says:

    like I’ve posted last Friday, after this game we think will we have news… in reality, we haven’t much time.
    In resume: an ambitious team, try to scored two goals and finished the game. But tried with passion, football and ideas. Won for 4,5 or more will be not fairplay and respect for Newcastle, who early, became to played with 10. This team is tired and without ideas. Campbell was in the bench but if not came in this game will be sell or loan again. TW is not a center forward. Our midfields want to play in the center. We need a winger with phantasy a center forward and a DM. I’m concern with this team when we need to play two games a week,… We are not a fresh team, the players are more or less the same and we start September, like usually, with 5-6 players injury.

  44. Joaquim Moreira says:

    good shot for Pedro… Pedrito was the spanish who scored more goals for Barcelona in last 10 years. I stiil not understand why we didn’t try him

  45. agirlagunner says:

    Hello, Dev, Joe, nash! Adaaaam, I was there for work. We had such a tight sched, I couldn’t really get away. 🙁 🙁 It was pretty much up at 6 am, and home at 10 pm. I could barely keep my eyes open, I was so knackered.

    My great realization about England: there is no summer, haha. Man, I was freezing.

  46. Adam says:

    Agag. Next time then. 🙂
    Freezing? It has been a rather dull summer but it’s what you get used to. I imagine I might melt in the Phills. 🙂

  47. Nashua Gunner says:

    Well I might be wrong but I thought the referee try to make-up for his shortcomings of the penalty that he failed to give us. The foul wasn’t intention or say deliberate. My opinion btw.

    3pts in our favor, you can’t beat that.

  48. agirlagunner says:

    I visited the Emirates though! 😉 Gave the Henry bronze a long lingering hug; dropped by Harrod’s and then Bicester Village, too. 😀 Kev will be proud.

    My visa is valid for six months, thinking of spending Christmas there. 😀 And you will melt in Manila, for sure.

  49. agirlagunner says:

    Adam, I was sooo soo happy to be there; I think I took a hundred photos of the stadium alone.

    I was pretty much smiling from the moment the plane touched down at Heathrow, I must say. Then I saw my taxi fare; a hundred quid, eeeeek. 😀

    Joe, I loved every bit of my (unfortunately, short) stay. 🙂

    Nash, we really should have done better business in the trf window. It’s not like the club is skint.

  50. scottfromoz says:

    Morning all.
    I missed the game, as i had a previous engagement.
    Watching the replay now.
    The red card was a straight red.
    Studs up, and a lunging challenge which could easily have ended up worse for our boy.
    Also, Bellerin should have been given a penalty.
    All this in the first 20 minutes.

  51. Joe says:

    I ask them to get their decisions right and if it takes technology they should get it look at Liverpool today hammered because the refs did their jobs.
    I have been sick of listening to how good their defence has been all week.
    But results went our way today ?

  52. Simon Ngulube says:

    Good evening guys…winter is gone now in South Africa…it’s getting hot now…slowly though.. But I am getting much heat from the team…we have profited 3 points but the performance was dismal. I have come to a conclusion that most of our players are just average.. No hope of much improvement…no hope of signing world class players….we are screwed!

  53. Hell Raising Devil says:

    They are not average Simon. Good players do not come bad or average overnight.

    We played poorly. We grinded out a win. we kept a clean sheet.

    Cech is WC.

    Bellerin wanted by Barca.

    Kosceilny wanted by RM

    Coquelin had another great game

    Cazorla wanted back in Spain

    Aaron wanted by Barca

    SAnchez WC

    OX a good player

    NAcho is a solid one

    Giroud/Theo are good but not WC

    Per is an experienced player.

    So I do not agree Simon. While I agreee we need improvement I do not feel our team is average at best.

    Remember….if you are old enough. We used to say of Man Utd that when they used to grind out results, play badly and still win we used to say that it is the hallmark of a great team

    We play poorly, we kept a clean sheet, we got a result. So what is the difference?

    yes we do need improvement but we are not average.

  54. rico says:

    Evening all…

    Sorry Simon, I’m with Devil. Our players are far from average imo, I think it’s the way they are prepared and asked to play….

    Tippy tappy pass in and around the box, no shooting, yawn fest!

  55. rico says:

    Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed the club will be active in the transfer market, should the right player become available.

    Speaking after the Gunners’ 1-0 victory at Newcastle, he said: “We are open and we are in the transfer market.

    “If we find an exceptional player in any sector, we will do it. At the moment I don’t know if something will happen or not”

  56. Hell Raising Devil says:

    AW….At the moment I don’t know if something will happen or not”

    Its like saying that he does not know if he is going to fart or not.

    Well Professor. Eat lots of beans to fart well and proper.

  57. Tai says:

    Say those again, Dev.

    We had 9 shots on target to Newcastle’s 0.

    Still Wenger is very conservative…team became cautious once they were down to 10. Should have turned to two upfront, bringing in OG and removing Ramsey since they were down to 10 but Wenger knows best.

    I don’t have anything to complain about the win…Gabriel is growing into the team. We played without Ozil and didn’t really miss him. Cech had no save to make.

    Then watched Chelsea go 8 p0ints behind Man City…Liverpool torn apart by same West Ham…the team will only get better with or without additions from transfer market.

    Only Man City is so far perfect.

  58. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Exactly Tai. the team will only get better.

    I hate it when it is made to be all doom and gloom. yes we need players to improve more, who does not, but as I said…..we played poorly, we kept a clean sheet, we won. if other teams are labelled as champions if they play poorly and get results why doesnt the same apply to us??

    So far we are the team who has taken most shots of all the EPL teams. That means we are creating the chances.

    I am patient to wait till they start to go in. When they do, we will not be stopped.

    I said it before…..the first 7 games mean a lot and nothing as well. Everyone is on the same level regarding physical conditioning. But when the season kicks in and games start coming in, teams begin dropping points.

    Take the dippers. Won the first two 1-0, then 0-0…..and the press begin saying that they are back. WHAM BAMMMM……they take a pasting today. and down to earth.

    soon, somewhere…..someone will take a pasting from us.

    Sanchez, Ollie, Theo, OX….their shots will begin to go in

    and supporters will change their tune

  59. Micko says:

    rico, did you see Mo winning the gold and taking advantage of the water station along the way, great stuff, never seen that before.

  60. rico says:

    Once they went down to ten we all knew what would happen. 11v 11 would imo been a much better game and I think we’d have unlocked their defence a few times…

  61. Hell Raising Devil says:

    exactly Rico. it was obvious that they were going to do so.

    Mind you they were already parking the bus….or we were over passing….as possession wise at that moment was 39-61 in AFC favour. from the sending off onwards possession went to an average of 72% for Arsenal and ended up at 74% to 26%.

    And it was clear that the umbrella bloke took the old mentality that if you get in our player’s faces and be aggressive they will not like it. Well…..it backfired on the pathetic sod. He still remembers the treatment they gave to Reyes. and tried it today.

  62. rico says:

    I was surprised Devil, thought they’d be a bit more adventurous at home.

    What made me laugh was the commentator on BT Sport had just said:

    ‘mitrovic (spelling) will prove to be a volcanic player throughout the season’

    Then he got sent off….

  63. Tai says:

    I wonder why the English press are not doing their thing. Cech already has two clean sheets…the man that dumped him in Chelsea, Courtois hasn’t managed one yet, despite allegedly playing behind a better back five.

    Chelsea, of all clubs have conceded 9 goals in four League matches, scoring 7.

    Why are the press not screaming crisis at Chelsea yet? Would they have been this patient if it was Arsenal? All the bullies are in Chelsea, yet…where is Neville?

  64. Hell Raising Devil says:

    forgive me for saying it for the umpteenth time……but I really loved us getting another clean sheet. The more we have, the better.

    and if we get the right additions the clean sheets will continue totting up.

    yes Rico…..I was surprised as well. however i have come to expect it. teams know that if they do not park the bus we will win every game 5-0. so they defend in their area. and hit on the counter.

    but if we shoot like Lamps used to do deflections will occur. i am sure of it. and shoot early on, in the first five minutes. if that fails and we are not up by the first 15 mins then revert to passing game. but imo we should shoot more in the first 5-10 mins when they are piling bodies in the box. if one goes in they have to come out. if none goes in there are 75 mins left.

    unless we shoot we cannot score.

  65. Shanice says:

    Why is Walcott at arsenal he should be sold to west ham r Everton useless and clueless ox has poor technique but he is great by some fans who criticize a player like ozil pssh jokes again

  66. Hell Raising Devil says:

    be happy Tai……the more it goes on the more the players will get the backs to the wall mentality. let the press help us in this matter. yes that is the british press. and their heads are so stuck in the sand that they do not realise that the whole footballing mentality in England is still backwards when compared to other countries. WC after WC and Euro after Euro they claim that English players are best of the lot individually yet when they fail they lambast them.

    Giroud misses a chance he gets lambasted. Shrek misses a chance it does not matter. Welbeck got a hat-trick in the cauldron of Galatasaray and it was a normal day’s work while Shrek got a hat-trick against a bunch of school boys and was hailed as WC. lol

    Did you mention Neville??? lol

  67. Tai says:

    It’s worrisome, Dev…

    Most problems we get on the pitch are caused by the press…they managed to turn FA and refs against Wenger and Arsenal for the fact Arsene wasn’t really keen on English players…they’ve refused to support him even now he has quite a handful.

  68. Hell Raising Devil says:

    People always end up seeing what they want to see Rico and Tai. Even if AW fielded 11 English players he will still be villified as playing too many overseas players. They forget the fact that it was Hosay who fielded the first non English first 11 during the season 2005/06. Its only AW who does these things. Pardew said the same things about AW, yet during the last two season he fielded less Englishmen than AW.

    they are a bunch of hypocrites.

  69. rico says:

    Shanice, has anyone suggested Ozil missing was a good thing?

    Think you are being harsh on Theo and OC myself. On a day when no player truly shone again, perhaps it’s better to look at the bigger picture.

    And for me that’s what are these players told when it comes to tactics and the way to play.. Too much focus on passing, wide players don’t stay wide and we don’t get in behind the defence enough..

  70. rico says:

    Devil, I’m sure AW fielded an entire non eleven British players long before Mourinho did but to be honest, so what?

    They can moan about all they want but without the overseas players, the PL would be dreadful…

  71. Hell Raising Devil says:

    you were right boss…..

    Arsenal was the first team in the Premiership to field all non English players against Crystal Palace on Monday, 14 February 2005 at Highbury during the 2004-2005 English Premier League season. Arsenal won the match 5-1.

    Their team sheet included players from eight different countries, but not a single one from the United Kingdom. France had the most with six, followed by Spain with three, and the Netherlands with two . The other countries included Germany, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Brazil, and Switzerland.

    Full matchday squad:
    1 Jens Lehmann (GERMANY)
    22 Gael Clichy (FRANCE)
    18 Pascal Cygan (FRANCE)
    12 Bisan Lauren Etame Mayer (CAMEROON)
    28 Abib Kolo Toure (COTE D’IVOIRE)
    17 Eduardo Cesar Daud Gaspar Edu (BRAZIL)
    7 Robert Pires (FRANCE)
    4 Patrick Vieira (FRANCE)
    10 Dennis Bergkamp (NETHERLANDS)
    14 Thierry Henry (FRANCE)
    9 Jose Antonio Reyes (SPAIN)
    substitutes:
    24 Manuel Almunia (SPAIN)
    20 Philippe Senderos (SWITZERLAND)
    15 Francesc Fabregas Soler (SPAIN)
    16 Mathieu Flamini (FRANCE)
    11 Robin Van Persie (NETHERLANDS)
    It wasn’t much of a contest, as the Gunners were up 3-0 at the break with goals from Bergkamp (32′), Reyes (35′), and Henry (39′). Vieira added a fourth (54′) before Crystal Palace finally got on the board when Andrew Johnson struck from the penalty spot (63′), then Henry scored again (77′) to seal the final 5-1 margin.

  72. rico says:

    Well Wenger is silly, shooting at any given opportunity is the right thing to do. Look what happened today, and against Palace…

  73. Tai says:

    Ian Wright wants Wenger changed to Penger…so that he’ll beat Mourinho like Pardew, Pullis, Pellegrini…have all done recently…

  74. Tai says:

    Of course…shooting from distance unlocks any bus-parking defense. Today, Alexis shot was parried by Krul onto Walcott…but Theo fluffed the easy-looking rebound. Ramsey’s shot from outside was still parried by keeper onto Ox…whose shot from rebound was deflected in.

    Shooting from distance unlocks defenses and makes a team unpredictable once they get to final third.

  75. Hell Raising Devil says:

    I feel that once Hosay’s jinx or hoodoo on AW was broken (Charity shield at Wembley), his aura has started to fall apart. other managers and players now know that Hosay is not invincible anymore and with his players growing old now they are coming in to take their pound of flesh.

    will Hosay last the season??? we wait and see.

  76. Tai says:

    I’m afraid Chelsea will sign Stones and Pogba before Monday closes…Mourinho will force Abra…results are poor so far, so…they must strengthen.

  77. rico says:

    He’ll last, he’s just been gifted a new four year contract. Recent stuff in the paps suggest that staff at the club are too frightened to say much to him…

    And imagine how much Roman would have to pay him if he was sacked….

  78. Micko says:

    No English players started for us on the opening day either !

    If only Pogba was exceptional………..oh well.

    Catch you tomorrow folks, enjoy Match of the Day.

  79. allezkev says:

    Morning All…

    Really enjoyed MotD last night…

    Mourinho, despite his claims for a penalty is losing his aura of invincibility at an alarming and enjoyable rate…

    Rodgers, well he is being shown up for the empty vessel that he is…
    Typical Liverpool, when the luck runs out you see that they are just a poor side.

    Man City remain the only team in the EPL to play anywhere near their potential…

  80. allezkev says:

    There really isn’t an easy game in the EPL anymore and especially not this season so far…

    Both West Ham and Crystal Palace looked organised and dangerous on the break.

  81. Simon Ngulube says:

    Good morning

    Kev, you are right about Liverpool. We no longer consider them as serious contenders for anything apart from Europa league qualification. The other team which justifies Wenger’s policy of not just buying for the sake of buying. Rogers is clueless in almost everything…

  82. allezkev says:

    Exactly Tai, and Good Morning to you…

    Many of the lesser teams in the EPL have improved, making it more difficult.

    We are 5th in the EPL, 5 points behind City and we haven’t played well…
    City will drop points and we will get better.

  83. allezkev says:

    Morning Simon, the only people who get excited about Liverpool and their prospects, are Liverpool supporters and all their mates in the Press and on TV…

  84. allezkev says:

    Morning Rico…

    Yep, that was my first dose of MotD this season and I thoroughly enjoyed it… 🙂

    Keown made some interesting points about Arsenal being ‘too nice’ but I’ll let you see it and see what you think…

  85. allezkev says:

    That’s an interesting stat Digger…

    It certainly seems easier to play away this season…

    Yeah Rico, Chelsea huffed and puffed, but Palace had some great chances on the break.
    Could have been a lot worse for Mourinho.

  86. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. Every game I have watched this year has been a rather tedious affair. No great football played other than in spurts by Man City.

  87. scottfromoz says:

    Hi guys.
    Kev, I couldn’t believe it when I heard it.
    Adam, a mate asked today if Arsenal could win the Lague with out adding to its squad.
    The way Citeh are playing, we wouldn’t have a chance in hell of beating them, so no, we can’t, IMO.
    Saying that, I still am confident we will buy.
    Yesterday’s game must have reinforced the point that we need someone to find the back of the net.
    If you’d asked me a month ago, I’d have said I’d prefer a DM to support Coquelin over a striker, but now, the opposite applies.
    Of course, I’d prefer both.

  88. Wavy says:

    Morning all.

    Keown’s remarks. Unless I misunderstood what he was implying, was that he expected our players to “crowd the referee” at times of dispute or a bad tackle, this season they, the refs have been told that they employ zero tolerance of mass complaints and all who are involved should be booked! Not very good advice, the old Arsenal way! Violent by intent and usually unsuccessful so……? Also he seem to imply that if the players were getting shit kicked out of them as per yesterday or against Chelsea in the CS that the players should take the law into their own hands and treat like with like in defence of those who had been assaulted. In both examples the ref called that last involved player and the captain and issued a final warning. I’m sure every supporter who witnessed the final word from the ref and noticed that the level of deliberately bad tackles disappeared from the game!
    6 yellow cards and one red rather illustrates the level of foul play employed by the toon yesterday, and most of the cards came early! It was sorted by the ref. the toon paid the price of McClarens stupid and dubious instructions went down the toilet. We won, the ref won and the magpies lost!
    I don’t think, much though I like Keown as a pundit, that his get your retaliation in first is the way I want to see the game played. It reminds me a little of manure under old red nose. The good old days, I don’t think so.

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