Morning all.
So this is what it’s like playing in the Europa League, a Thursday evening fixture followed by one on Sunday. Well, that could be just around the corner for Arsenal if they don’t secure 2nd or 3rd spot and Liverpool win the Europa league. Fingers crossed they don’t eh, just because I don’t want them to win anything, ever.
Having dropped two more points against Crystal Palace just a few days ago, Arsenal just need to start winning if they want to make sure that a Thursday/Sunday scenario doesn’t become a reality and the odds of that happening have seriously dropped over the last few weeks according to aussiefreebet.com.au
Mind you, perhaps missing out on the Champions League places might wake the old silent one up but then we’ve been there, done that eh….
So tonight it’s West Brom. The so-called ‘defensive genius’ that is Tony Pulis up against Arsene Wenger, the so-called ‘play beautiful football’ manager.
Back in November 2015, Pulis and his team beat Arsenal 2-1. Ollie put the away team 1-0 up thanks to one of many Ozil assists this season but then poor defending of a free-kick allowed Morrison in to score. Soon after, Arteta, who had to replace the injured Francis Coquelin, made it 2-1 to the home team. 1-0 we were and cruising as far as controlling the game goes, but lapses in the defensive side of our game cost dear, just as they so often have.
Ozil hit the post in the second half, Campbell sliced his shot when it looked easier to score than miss and when Alexis was pulled down in the penalty area, it looked like we’d sneak a draw after the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Santi Cazorla. A slip and a miss and no points… Boy couldn’t we do with those wasted three points right now, and not just those as the following week, the team dropped two more at Norwich. Just those five points alone would make a difference, not to mention the two at Anfield and other places…..
But that’s how it’s been in 2016, shoddy football, shoddy tactics, a huge shoddy approach from the manager and I wouldn’t bet on that changing tonight, not against another side who will sit deep and hit us on the break…
Arsenal need to win all their remaining fixtures if they want Champions League football next season but even that might not be enough.
Surely we won’t drop points against the Baggies, not again…
Good morning Boss and peeps.
I still say Europa lge football is better for Arsenal.
Morning Devil, we might have a chance of getting to the semi-finals in that one… lol
Morning all,
So disappointed watching how we struggled to open Palace’s defence and they basically rolled over for United. So much space and time in their box.
Did they roll over or were Utd more imaginative on the attack Brad?
Morning Rico,
I feel a 2-0 win tonight.
The players must be feeling the stick from the fans and owe them a good performance and a winning display. They need the 3 points but how many times have we said or thought this only to see the team have all the possession and come away with a draw….
Morning Marinello..
Have we got goals in us against a defensive side? Surely at some stage someone will convert a few chances…
Wasn’t it around 1999-2000 when Arsenal exited the Champions League and dropped into the UEFA Cup?
If I recall, we’d had some really good European nights at Highbury in the UEFA Cup after the sterile atmosphere of Wembley in the CL…
I thoroughly enjoyed our UEFA Cup campaign, until we got to the final… ☹️
Mind you, it wasn’t on a Thursday…
I think that they over elaborate on the passing in and around the 18 yard box.
Someone just needs to see the gap and take a shot rather than passing it on again…
Or losing the ball and then being on the back foot.
Visiting RC Lens in the semi-final was memorable…
Morning Rico and All
Against palace we created plenty of chances
but snatched infront of goal.
Wenger told everyone..”We don’t need strikers”
Yet more dribble from the frenchman
poor/rich old wenger seems to be hanging on
by his finger nails
Yet he spins on and on without a care.
When I listen to arsenal fans wanting to lose
and finish down the league,
just to get wenger the sack
plus not supporting the team by staying way.
He has to go
Wenger cannot keep the the earplugs in
much longer.
Was that the Seaman lob night Kev… 🙁
Morning Fred.
I’d be amazed if he can’t see how majority of fans feel. He might talk the talk but I bet deep down he’s hurting because I doubt he knows how to change things for the better…
No Rico, we lost on pens in the final to Galatasaray… ?
Been looking that way for long time now
Have you noticed Steve Boulds mush
he can barely look at wenger.
Ah, that one Kev..
Too long Fred.. I don’t understand AW though because if I was him, I wouldn’t want to stay after the summer. Not with things as they are and losing the fans and with all the stuff in the newspapers.
Walk away and have a life….
The thing is Rico, Arsenal is his life…
Hi Fred, how’s it going?
Boy haven’t we stupidly dropped points. I hope there will be empty seats and the few who care to show up they walk out during tje game. That won’t be a good image for stan’s brand.
In the spirit of being negative let us not get AW’s 4th trophy. Yesterday he said about finishing top 3, that tw*t has no ambition at all! We all want Wenger to walk out with dignity but I foresee it turning ugly, and I won’t be sorry for him.
Don’t be surprised, if tonight, Arsenal put on a performance and enjoy a good win…
It’s what they do, when everyone least expects it…
Can’t wait for AW to divert his failure – if we don’t get to UCL spot- to Chelsea and Utd (in a scenario the scouscers win Europa) and say they also didn’t make the spots so we should stop overreacting. Let’s not get overboard.
Yep, you’re right Kev. Sad really…
You are right there Kev.
But he needs to let go and move on and fill the void.
He has amassed a small fortune and has time to spend some of it
enjoying the rest of his life.
I just hope he does the sensible thing in the summer Marshall..
Kev, I’m going for 4-0… 😉
Am sorry Rico he won’t. He always honors his contracts. Such a noble fella.
Afternoon Rico. I’ll be there but will resist making any predictions. 🙂
Hi all
When we moved to the Emirates I predicted a time when we dropped down the table and a midweek game against Coventry was played in a half full stadium. Tonight that prophecy could be fulfilled!
I still feel that Europa might be good for us simply for the fringe players and the under 21. Imagine players like Akpom, Bielid, Reine Adelaide, Iwobi etc and the players coming back from injuries playing in it. It will do them the world of good.
In the CL AW will not rotate that much and if he does the team will suffer. But in the Europa he can rotate. Play the 2nd string and young ones and rest the seniors.
Marshall, he does, but there’s a first time for everything… 😉
Afternoon Adam. Can’t think why… lol
Bob, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how many empty seats there are tonight. I feel sorry for the players…
Afternoon, 12 years since we,ve actually had any sort of title challenge, to not even have finished above 3rd in any of those seasons is an awful return for an 8 million a year job, it,s just ridiculous, even Liverpool have mounted a serious title challenge since then.
We can,t even compete in england never mind Europe, I think we,d be found out in the europa league.
How much respect would Wenger get back from us fans if he actually held his hands up and admitted he’s failed? And stop blaming the players, injuries, match officials, or tough tackling players, his recent comments are of a man who is as stubborn and blind as you can get.
Wenger: “It is my job to get the team 100 per cent ready. Against Crystal Palace, the team gave everything.”
Also a John cross tweet, “Arsene admits the fan backlash hurts but says it’s time Arsenal supporters took a reality check”.
The mind boggles….
I think AW needs to look a bit closer to home when it comes to taking a reality check….
Mike Dean has been appointed for Sunday! Apparently.
Coach, Jon Toral has sustained a nasty hamstring injury in training and could return early from his loan at Birmingham…
8 goals in 36 (or was it 38?) games is quite a good return…
Yeah, I know Marinello, but even if someone had a word, he wouldn’t listen…
We’ve got at least another 12 months of this I’m sure. And maybe even beyond?
Hope we reach the Champions League for 3 reasons: a)It’s better for us in all senses b) Probably the model will be change soon. So it will be nice be there in all the seasons c) In consequence, Europa League will be change too and I don’t know what will be happens.
Deep joy. Sunderland and Dean, what a lovely mix…
So who exactly are the absent fans protesting against?
Sending a message should actually send a message that’s clear and concise so, but fans missing from the game will do what??
Do they detest the players, Stan, the boys, Ivan or Arsene?..
Such organisation lol.
I will say some fans do not appreciate what they have.
Bitch and moan all they like, and put shit on us “tourists”, but plenty of us tourists go through a great deal to watch a game each week week and would happily part with a grand each season to have a ST……as I’ve stated previously, it cost me the equivalent of 3 ST’s to each 3 games, and I, not the only one.
I guess we “tourists” aren’t true fans though, as we aren’t North London born and bred, but then, plenty would say a true fan supports always, not just when it suits.
Dennis said similar, and I’m yet to see a single person have a crack at his famous comment, yet if a mere tourist says the same thing, they get ripped apart.
Some of you are simply boring now, and you really do say the same thing every single day.
It’s game day, and still, Arsene abuse is the favourite topic.
Dennis said it all.
Rico. You never know what you are going to get these days. 🙂
Side passes. With Giroud, Feo and the favoured Ramsey are to be expected as usual. And there was absolutely no one to improve that. Oh am already judging in April…
Will be quite a joy to watch.
*the above 3 coming on as subs*
How comes Ramsey doesn’t need matches with the U21 to get fit? He walks straight to first squad action… but what do I know about management.
It’s for certain that no Arsenal fan is enjoying the position the team finds itself in. But I think it will be interesting to see how Arsene goes about resurrecting the spirit on and off the field. There is nothing like adversity to focus the mind after all. Can he turn the performances round bearing in mind that he is under no illusions as to the disquiet amongst the fans?
According to Arsene, it’s all the fans’ fault, that’s unless he’s been misquoted…
Well that’s sorted that out then…
So the reason we lost 4-0 at Southampton.
Conceded a late equaliser at Anfield.
Went 3-2 behind after leading 2-0 at Upton Park.
Lost 2-1 at West Brom after leading…
Lost 3-0 at Hillsborough.
Lost 3-2 at Old Bog vs the ManU Res
Lost 5-1 in Munich.
And presented Chelsea with their annual gift of 6 points, was all the fault of the fans..
Good to have got that cleared up…
Scott I think any protest that goes on tonight will be a protest against the situation as opposed to any one specific target. In the ground there is a split between those that are happy and those that blame Wenger and those that blame Kroenke or the board or all three of them. One thing however that unifies them is the lack of ambition being shown by the club and that nobody apart from a few are content with.
Well explained Potter.
He is always right. Blameless as usual.
Arshavin pointing out the club over reliance on Arsenal is what my be our problem. He has absolute power over everything…as always pointed out it shouldn’t be so.
Perfectly put by Potter.
Prince has died. What on earth is going on this year…
Evening guys..
Scott, imo, there’s a big difference between dipping in for a few games live than sitting watching for years and watching the demise…
As you know, I always welcome posts from everyone so why not write one about how/why/what there is to be positive about? Lol
None of us will stop supporting Arsenal ever, but something is wrong at the club and the owner needs to realise. What is better, empty seats of a stadium full of fans booing?
You’ll never hear Kev moaning about tourists ! He can’t get enough of them.
I actually think majority of fans on here speak as they find and do try find positives in the day to day issues, but just find it hard to draw on any positives at the moment, and why there is an air of apathy among fans is because deep down, I think we all knew exactly what was going to happen this season, and on cue, we find ourselves embroiled in the familiar embrace of a challenge to finish in the top four
Some of us may well be boring, but whats more boring is the same feeling of deja vu, no proper title challenge, no show in the Champs league, the same team frailties, and listening to the same shit from Wenger year after year, that to me is boring.
It always amazes me how Arsenal fans do not see Kroenke as the ultimate cause of all that’s going wrong at the moment. His greedy ambitions are so transparent, yet not all Arsenal fans see them. The only reason AW has reached this position of dictatorship, and can ignore anyone else who cares about the club (Steve Bould etc.), is that no one on the board (used to be David Dein) has the footballing knowledge to contradict him and pull him in. Why is this? It’s because Kroenke wants all his own stooges and financiers on the board, so they can back his yearly raid on Arsenal funds, and there is no one who can vote against it, or pull him up at the AGM, hence the reason why Usmanov is not allowed on the board. Is this legal? I’m not sure, but I’m sure Usmanov’s lawyers would’ve been all over it.
He is not the outright owner of the club, so I don’t see how he can award club money to himself and not other share holders, or how he can prevent other big shareholders sitting on the board.
🙂 Micko…
Spot on re the stuff Arsene talks about Dublin, same year after year…
Gmv8. Kroenke doesn’t escape a portion of blame on here but ultimately, he doesn’t select the team or the tactics they play….
Hi Rico, I realise that, but it seems like Steve Bould’s opinions are completely ignored at training sessions. I may be completely wrong, but some games we seem to defend well, and others you are hoping the opposition doesn’t get into our half. If there was someone on the board, who could make up for AW’s frailties, and not allow him such absolute power when it comes to team training / tactics / selection as I believe David Dein used to do, we may not be in the position we are now.
I get that gmv8, I really do but it seems Wenger won’t give up the control he has…
It’s such a shame because if he had younger minds around him and he listened to them, he might be getting the stick he’s getting now…
Just got to the stadium. Spookily empty but still 15 mins to go.
Merts in for Gabriel, Ramsey for Coquelin and Giroud up front….
The rest is the same as Sunday….
How empty Adam?
Come on boys, do yourselves proud….
WBA midfield of filth!
Good Day All:
Why is Kroenke to be blamed? He’s running a business.
He is not a football man. He hires football guys to do the football
side of the operations – they should be the one caring about the winning and the
the championships. Stan just care about the bottom line, period!
As far as he’s concerned it’s a good investment because TV money
alone insure that he will get a profit. Wenger, Bould and Gazidis all claim to be
Football guys and how they care about winning. Therefore they are to be blamed.
And this idea about Arsene not allowing them to do their job is so overrated.
As I said 2 weeks ago, then show some integrity and quit, they can find a job anywhere.
The number one evaluator of any sport manager, a coach or general manager
is winning and they haven’t done that.
Alexix 1 -0
Alexis…. I just can’t stay away …..lol
Wba are all filthy Bob..
Obi, Kroenke is running a business, badly….
Potter, you make a good point, but wouldn’t it be better if they did have a target, for want of a better term?
Will a protest have any impact if people don’t actually know what they’re protesting about?
Rico, you’re right about not having much to be positive about, but we are currently third, have a great stadium, money in the bank and he future is secure.
Fans don’t want to hear that, though.
Seems plenty don’t care about anything but trophies, and I’ve said it before, Wenger has raised fans expectations so suffers from his own success.
Bloody right there Mick, there’s never enough of them for my liking…
I get that Scott but we have a manager who won’t spend, a manager who does and says odd things and an owner who couldn’t give a toss as long as his shares are doing ok….
Superb free kick.
Two nice goals from Alexis though….
Rico, I’m saying its not all doom and gloom-we are travelling better than Villa-yet nobody seems to talk about the positives at all.
Not sure I’d use Villa as a benchmark Scott and other club failures don’t make ours look any better for me…
Half empty stadium, 2-0 up and the stadium is alive vocally..
Odd… 😉
Either that or the microphones have been switched on… 😉
Arsenal really need to carry on in this vein and put West Brom away by 4 or 5 goals…
Re: Rico @8:15… Not really as far as profit is concerned… bad customer service and customer satisfaction, but the accountants are happy, with 200 million in the bank, lol.
Agree Kev. If only Ollie would get more involved. Think Welbeck or even Walcott would have enjoyed playing this game… Lol
Giroud needed to play Rico and we’re gonna need a fresh Welbeck and Coquelin at Sunderland
A clean sheet would be nice…
I’d have thought Giroud would be a better option at Sunderland Kev against a Big SAMs defence..
Rico, So should we look at our past to gauge success??
In that case, the club is currently a success, overall.
It’s not great at present, but it’s nowhere near as bad as people are making out.
Scott, yes, because when AW arrived he brought success and should have built on that, not regressed…
He did build.
A 60,000 seater 🙂
There’s a tackle and a half.
Yeah, I can see your point, but Welbeck played last time and might need a breather whilst West Brom have a back-four of centre-backs, so Giroud should be in his element…
That’s true, always thought he was a bit of an ‘odd carrier’… Lol
But he’s not Kev, he’s awful… Lol
Walcott could probably do with a run out this half as well…
Iwobi, no pen according to Talk Rubbish
Walcott was getting jeered as he warmed up….
Wenger off his seat encouraging a shot instead of passing the ball into the net, heavens above… Lol
No penalty for me either. He slipped…
Elneny, no pen according to Talk Rubbish
Slight push on Elneny but outside the area imo
Elneny is everywhere, his fitness must be incredible…
Elneny copped a slight touch, took a step then fell.
This should be 5/6-0 by now…
Good to see Ramsey back.
When he was injured, we had a good result so a few were saying how much he drags us down, but they were very quiet the last month when he wasn’t playing and we had our worst spell in years lol.
Fickle?
Naaaaaahhhhh Hahahaha
This Arsenal team is just too nice Rico, they’re not ruthless enough…
When you get a team on the ropes you rub their nose in the dirt, you don’t fanny about trying to be oh so clever…
Scott, what were you saying about boring comments? Lol
Agree Kev….
I know Ibra is a scumbag, but he’d destroy sides….
Good evening Rico and All.
Is this a practicing match or what?
This is where we should be making up for goal difference instead of wasting chances…
So did anything happen at the stadium?
75th minute it was mean to happen??
TV showing nothing.
Hahahaha Rico, touché 🙂 🙂
Still, you know it’s a fair call lol
With a WC striker, we’d be 12 points in front.
Evening Ng, certainly should be more than 2-0
I agree Rico, but his wage demands are ridiculous and unrealistic
? Scott, that’s because it’s not the players who are rubbish, it’s their leader….
Maybe worth paying for a season though Kev? ???
Kev, great thing about Iwobi, he’s already got a real physical presence about him and will only get bigger, better and stronger next seaon.
rico, sometimes I think you don’t take a blind bit of notice of Scott, the stadium is half full not half empty !
Scott, 3K on 3 games last season, if I was to calculate how much I ‘ve spent on Arsenal in the last 35 years that figure would pale into insignificance, supporters staying away tonite are making a massive statement imo.
This is just superb football…..deserving of a goal.
Pass pass pass pass…..
Sorry Micko, I’m normally a glass half full kind of girl, well, until Arsenal spring to mind… Lol
A good performance so far, although very wasteful in front of goal, a bit dodgy looking at the back with set pieces something I’m sure big Sam will be looking closely at imo.
3pts in the bag is all that matters though.
Micko, I never touched on the amount of sleep lost, going to work after 2-3 hours sleep, going to venues to watch 2am kick offs with mates etc etc etc.
And where did I say the stadium was full, or even close to it?
Sometimes you just make shit up lol.
A good night, decent performance and three valuable points…
I’m off to bed so night all..
Micko, Scott, put your handbags away… 😉
Night, Rico.
Mick, I’m with you concerning Iwobi, he’s gonna be a top top class player in a couple of years.
I also think 2 or 3 more young players from our Academy could surprise a few next season…
3 points is welcome Rico, but you just feel that they could do more.
Wenger has a lot to do to win back the fans, and many of them he’s lost for good.
If he faffs about in the summer, making excuses and not spending then it’s gonna be really nasty next season, when things go tits up as they always do….
Night All
Scott, want d’ya want, a medal lol, Arsenal’s either in ya blood or it’s not, we’ve all made sacrifices.
And as for your comment earlier of not being born and bred in North London and being labelled a “tourist” not sure where that came from by the way, you did say when you first surfaced on HH that you couldn’t understand the rivaly between us and Tottenham as you’d grown up around mostly Liverpool fans…..not having a dig in any shape or form but that’s just how it is, that’s where we’re different.
Scott 9.38, you said we should look for positives as it was a match day lol !
Me talking shit, nice one mate, thanks for putting that out there.
Well, Micko, where did I touch on the crowd numbers?
I asked was there a walk out at The 75th minute which is what I’d heard, and that’s all.
You took that and ran with it.
And I never said you talk shit.
English, plain and clear.
As for the tourist remark, that was aimed at anyone who’s ever used the word when labelling fans from around the world who do give up plenty to watch games.
If you’ve done it, then it’s aimed at you.
If not, then why worry??
Wenger didn’t build that stadium. Architects designed it, McAlpine’s built it. Anyone can sit in a room of 15 people and nod at a blueprint,
so true…….
Scott, outta respect for rico and HH I’m not even gonna go there, it’s not me backing down in anyway, shape or form but anyone reading back will see there’s no malace in my comments.
You seem to have a real bee in your bonnet these days and take everything so personally !
Nite Gooners, over to you Scott, I’m sure you’ll like to have the last word as usual ! Catch you tomorrow.
Just read this quote after tonight’s game from M. Wenger:
On empty seats at Emirates Stadium: “I don’t know why the fans stayed away. It’s Thursday night, it’s not easy and I do not want to comment on that. I’m commenting on football.”
Strikes me that he should be asking why the fans are staying away because it has everything to do with……..football, or rather in this instant the lack of footballing progress at AFC. Who runs the football team? Wenger. Who’s responsible for coaching? Wenger. Who is the prep Meistersinger pre games? Wenger. Who built the Ems? Wenger, or so he would have us believe! Ultimately, who is responsible for results? Wenger. Who said, “we will fill the stadium game after game because our football will be second to none? And who is failing most of those criteria now? WENGER,
Is he daft, deluded or demented? Can somebody throw some light why empty seats are not about “football”?
Just home from the game. I would reckon 40,000 there tonight. It was bloody cold though.
Seems that there was no walk out, more of a no walk in.
59,568 fans, but in reality the attendance was much less than that as the club count the number of tickets sold rather than the figure coming through the turnstiles.
Talking of quotes, Wengers notes in tonights program,
“Don,t focus to much on the table, focus on the quality and the process of what we do.” what does that even mean? alan smith said it best “gobbledygook”
How about, talking bollocks?
Fucking hell whoop whoop we beat WBA 2-0 at home, everything is rosy at chez Wenger! It doesn’t detract from the fact we’ve been fucking bang average all season and under achieved yet again under the washed up Wenger!
We need to move on as a club and that won’t happen until the deluded one fucks off….
‘It’s a special night as well Thursday night. I don’t know that you are intelligent enough, nor am I, to detect exactly why everybody who did not turn up tonight did not turn up.’
Condescending or what???
Actually more deluded than condescending!
Morning All
40,000 you reckon Adam?
There could be a few more of them next season if Wenger doesn’t get off of his high horse and address’s the deficiencies in the squad this summer…
Morning Lee
Morning Rico and all.
Hey Kev. Based on roughly every third seat being empty I would say that is a rough estimate. The north bank were touchingly vocal though. The game was just ok. West Brom were abject really and whatever Pulis has bought to football eludes me. There just has to be a better manger available for them than that bloke.
Morning Lee, Kev, Adam and all…
All is now well at Arsenal then…. 😉
“Don,t focus to much on the table, focus on the quality and the process of what we do.”
Arsene speaks out of his ass. IDGAF i’m totally done with Wenger…if that wasn’t obvious enough.
What quality? The table shows exactly how teams are perfoming, that is the score card.
Rico. I very much doubt that. 🙂
10.53pm Micko. Thank you…
I’ll take my tongue out of my cheek now Adam… 😉
I never knew Marshall… lol
Rico. Ok. 🙂
It’s easy to understand why WBA scores most of the goals in corners and free-kicks
Mostly of Arsenal players has lost is “energy”… they have in mind the Euro? the America Cup?
i’d like Arsenal make a few pression in Totts and Leicester but the wiil and the passion of the teams are completely diferente.
For analysys: on the 26th of February, we were 2 points behind Leicester; In twelve games, Leicester lost 4 points and Arsenal 12 or 14. who are not well prepare for the big challeges and day by day of the compeitions? .
Theo shouldn’t be Jm, he’s probably not going… 😉
New post up now..
Obi – If you don’t care that Kroenke is wrecking our club for his own pocket, then carry on thinking that he isn’t to blame. You can’t have owners who don’t care about their club, who are purely in it to rip of the club and the fans. That is why in Germany the fans always own the majority of the club. The fact we have no footballing people on the board, because Kroenke wants to rip of the fans and the club to the tune of 3.5 million a year, and doesn’t want any board opposition to that, is why Wenger is a dictator, and we are so reliant on him. He contributes nothing towards the club. We will see ourselves in an Aston Villa situation, if this blood sucker stays in the club. It frustrates the hell out of me, that people who are fans and care about our club don’t see this. We will never progress with this leech sucking the life blood out of us. He has made a handsome profit on his shares,(arond 23 billion pounds) which is all he cares about, now sell them to someone who cares, and get the hell out of our club!