Morning Gooners,
Chelsea take a short trip across London to face the meanest defence in the league today, a record equalled only by themselves so far this season.
Old Lille club-mates, Gervinho and Hazard will be up against each other rather than in the same team and after the final whistle, who will come out on and take a few bragging rights with them?
Hopefully it will be Gervinho!
Chelsea sit pretty at the top of the Premier League but you would expect them to be, apart from Newcastle, they haven’t faced any of the so called ‘top clubs’. We however, have faced both Liverpool and Manchester City away from home and earned two good results at both, especially at Anfield.
We match Chelsea on both goals scored and goals conceded, so today really should be a close affair and the meanest defence will surely come out on top. We may not be second in the league but can anyone deny that we are playing some of the best football the league has witnessed so far this season? Once we start finding the back of the net a bit more often, we’ll be even better!
Last season Chelsea came to The Emirates for a point and they got it but with their all singing, all dancing, new look attacking side, I doubt we will witness such tactics, they will want to win.
We just need to want win more and if we do, we will. It’s that simple.
Chelsea maybe league leaders and unbeaten in six but they struggled against QPR, managing only a point, they also threw away a two-goal lead at home to Juventus in the Champions League and but for a very late Cashley goal, Stoke would have shared the points in their last league fixture.
Both clubs managed to bag six goals against lower league opponents in the Capital One Cup during the week but Chelsea played a few of their ‘big players’ – whereas we rested most of ours.
Not only is there the little battle between Gervinho and Hazard today, there is also a little battle between the two tricky, talented and ‘great on the eye’ players. Santi Cazorla and Juan Mata – two little Spanish matadors who can side-step, spin and create fantasy football all on their own.
Can’t wait!
Captain Vermaelen is back today, having recovered from his virus and there are no other injuries to report from midweek. Mannone, who Wenger says he nearly sold in the summer, should continue in goal as Szczesny remains 2/3 weeks away from a return.
Selection problems for Arsene Wenger?
No, not according to him, he says he has selection solutions as the squad gets stronger and stronger as players return to fitness.
On paper, today’s fixture should be one of the best the Premier League will see this season.
Let’s go and play our part, just play it better than Chelsea….
Do that and three points will be ours…..
COYG’s
Have a good day all…..
Morning
1 – 0 To The Arsenal.
http://kiwi.kz/watch/qrsj04acyb5i/
one of my favorite vids ever..perfect for today… one of the reasons i love Kozzers attitude so much — lets show them we are serious this season.
Good morning all,
I think Queen had it right when they sang “It’s a beautiful day”.
What could be better than a fine late summer Saturday, a resurgent Arsenal taking on the league leaders at The Emirates. I’m really looking forward to this one.
C’mon The Glorious Gunners!!
Morning all…
Looks like Kos & TV at the back….
Score prediction, no idea 😉
That’s the rumor Rico. I don’t know if that will be any better than Mert and Verm. Don’t forget that Mert was outstanding against MC and they have a couple of speedy and tricky players too.
COYs!!!
Cant wait for Gerv to tear the chavs apart
‘If it’s not broken’ is my motto TT…. The best pairing so far, has to be TV and Merts..
Tough one…
Me neither emma…
JW, no walk today then ….
Well it seems that a certain infamous ex-England centre-back will be turning out for the chavs this afternoon. I wonder what sort of welcome he will get from The Arsenal Faithful.
morning Rico & all
arsenal will come on top of the chavs today…..3/1
its nice to have that feeling of (not fearing) winning against the big teams…unlike previous seasons…..we are on the up once again
looking forward to it ….COYGs
A hostile one I suspect JW…
Hi hakzah, i’m not quite as confident as you…
Rico,
No a re-arranged schedule today sees me taking my six year old granddaughter to the dry slope for her first ski lesson, this means I will be home around 2.15 to start watching the recording of the game while my wife takes our grandson to the slope for his final lesson.
Beers are in the fridge, peanuts are waiting to be eaten. 🙂
2-0 or 2-1 is my tip.
Rico…i am a Swans fan since their first year in Sydney…1982.
They are red and white,so you just have to love them!!
Good morning all!
Im going now for a short walk along the seaside
Catch you later
Nice JW,
No peeping at the score before the re-run 😉
What channel do you watch on? Afc player?
Ha ha Scott, goes without saying…
Morning Gooners
Morning Rico.
A nice post M’Lady
Morning Ak, long time no see, you busy in the City??
Sorry to be a bit negative, but I think CFC will come with one thought in their mind.
An Italian thought.
Do not lose….
For that reason, I think it’ll be a tight, tatical game, a bit like the recent visit’s of ManCity.
I also think it could well be a draw…
Maybe 1-1 or even 0-0…
Rico,
I watch on Sky Sports. Can’t stand the commentators and pundits but the coverage is top class.
I too think it will be tight, especially the way both defences have been playing. If we create good chances, we really need to make them count…
Ah, thought some other channel as you said replay JW…
Agree there, coverage is second to none, just need to press the mute button 😉
Been doing a few things Rico.
Busy yesterday, very busy. 🙂
Working today, CL Weds, 😀
Bon Jour Hak
Offski now.
COYG’s
Where are you living JW? The states?
Good to hear Ak, catch you later…
Hi Nt, your comment went into spam, sorry about that, sometimes links can do that….
Nice vid Nt, hope Kos does the same to Torres today…
Possible team today: BFG on the bench
https://twitter.com/GeoffArsenal/status/251975302182473729
Be surprised if Ramsey starts emma…
rico – I wont be. He has being playing very well coming either as a starter or substitute
go Mighty Gooners..!!
I was hoping we’d see Giroud start emma but yes, can’t knock ramsey’s performance of late….
Got to go give Fido a walk or no peace during the game….
Catch up later…
Ramsey will play instead of TW because he is better defensively and Gervinho gives us the speed we need. Theo to come on late once the Chelsky midfield and defense start to tire.
Good morning guys and ladies.
Ramsey starting again?
Like last week, not losing is paramount. But we should have had all 3 points last week and I believe we can take them today. COYG’s!!
Where is the BFG?
Fingers crossed for a win.
I am away this weekend,so no way to watch the game,and i am also still crook,or is that crook AGAIN??
Either way,i am off to bed soon,so hopefully i can wake up feeling better,and with some good news to boot!!
Have a great day everyone.
Afternoon everyone,
Sky sports can’t stop bleating on about the past then, idiots!!
Hoddle, Souness and Redkrapp – does it get any worse??
Sorry to hear that Scott, hope you sleep well and wake up feeling much better. Helped of course by a a home victory….
Redknapp says that Arteta is the unsung hero…
He obviously doesn’t listen to Arsenal fans view 😉
He also knocked Song for neglecting his defensive duties, maybe he does talk some sense….
hope for a good result today rico
Team in full: Mannone, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby, Arteta, Cazorla, Ramsey, Gervinho, Podolski.
Subs: Martinez, Santos, Mertesacker, Djourou, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud.
I don’t mind talking to myself, it’s therapeutic….. 😉
Hi gdna, hope its a really great display with a confident victory…
fingers crossed mate
Hi everyone. I’m usually quite nervous before big games, but strangely today I’m not. I think that’s because of the confidence i have in the talent of this team. Not that I’m putting them up as a shoe in to win, but i know that even if we lose, it won’t be because of any underlying, long-standing problem or shortcoming. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy it. If all goes well, 3-1 to the gunners.
Miserable Graeme Souness ; Big players this, big players that. He says he is always worried for us.
I love Carl Jenkinson….. 🙂
Well and truly gdna..
Hi Will & Tsgh…
I am very nervous….
You see that i/v with Jenks Tsgh, got me reaching for a tissue, what a guy, a gooner through and through….
H/t guys and gals, enjoy…
Good Afternoon my Esteemed Fellow Gunners.
Just tuned into the game. still 0-0. how are we playing??
I would not have dropped BFG.
But I can understand the reasons behind the decision.
As an advocate of rotation, I cannot complain.
Anyway,COYG’s.
That was a very good finish from Torres.
But he held Kozzer to do it.
A TH14 type of goal
The ref is crap. that was a clear cut penalty
Hate to say this but we are very average, second to everything, not using the wings enough and we can’t keep the ball…..
Ak, on reflection, we should have started with merts….
Hi devil, what our penalty shout?? If so, I have to disagree….
Gervinho is definitely finding this tough…. and Podolski is hardly in the game….
In fact none of our players are doing we we are used to seeing this season….
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
afc all over the place
It was a penalty since the chavs defender pushed on of our players to the ground.
Torres slipped by himself. That was the correct call.
The more I see Jenkinson play the more I like him. Him and Gibbs.
At last I have my favourites. The last one was Gilberto.
Good old Gerv.
Wonder if this game is being set up for a Giroud winner???
Rico i saw the i/v. I think the chavs look rattled.If we can get Poldi in to the game we have a chance.The chavs look tired already
bon jour kev
we need a bit of composure and BELIEF…and we will overcome the chavs
Ramsey looks good
Let’s win this 3-1!!!
rico, I honestly don’t think Chelsea do much good when they have the ball. And they’re fouling our players almost with impunity.
Bring Giroud in. Poldi is nowhere. Theo specializes in goals from off the bench. He just might win it for us.
Sky trying to make the non penalty a penalty issue.
hi agag……..am putting 20euros on that scoreline…3/1 COYGs
Bonjour Kev. how are you habib??
I disagree with you. Giroud will get a second but the winner will be scored by Jenks 😉
devil – are you talking about the Santi penalty shout?
The Kos on Torres was never a penalty 🙂
Hi agag….
yes…Giroud should come in…will give JT a hard time
Diaby off and Chamberlain on changed us imho, he is getting wide and we are using him….
Hopefully a roasting from Bould at H/t and we carry on where we left off…..
Gervinho has now scored as many goals in 6 games this season as he did in the whole of 2011-12 for Arsenal (37 games in all comps).”
Yes Rico. The Santi penalty shout should have been a penalty according to the rule book.
ref got both of them right. i think..no real penalty shout
we should go more on their defence,it is not that good like a lot of people think….
devil, as many goals as the50 million pond man in true and more than the diving Uruguayan scouser
Staggering devil, second season syndrome working 🙂
I told you Rico. The worst thing that could have happpened was if JT did not play. We need him to play. For the Gervinho goal he backed off and allowed him to turn sharply.
LUIZ …LUIZ ….!! what an actor…yellow card rightly so
Diaby es un caballo de abajo roto.
C’mon Arsenal, we can beat this shower.
Oyyyyy Kozzer. Not in the fecking net. But in the other one.
Gibbs was totally shoved off the ball there by Ivanovich, that goal should not have stood
You reckon Micko?
kos and ver together is a disaster, kos is a accident waiting to happen
They certainly don’t appear as composed as TV and Merts do together….
Pod, so close 🙁
two attack minded defender, oh my god the old afc raising its ugly head
why ver and kos don’t defend
Jenkinson……that foul you obtained was top quality.
The look on Cashleys face was priceless.
ramsey is so shit today, i cant watch him…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….koscielny too, so annoying that instead of stepping up they keep on making mistake after mistake…
Kos is really having a mare today…. he nearly gifted them there…
Giroud and Theo coming on… Good!
Ramsey and Podolski off…
jenkinson seems to be the most consistant player today again…everyone else is just on and off which is unacceptable…
There will be moments when we will laud Kozzer again, like we have done before. However not today. He is having a nightmare.
Fans will blame Wenger for leaving Merts out, yet on paper., it’s the right thing to do.
But TV and Merts have been the reason we have conceded so few, we should have stood by that pairing…
Set pieces have undone us again today……
Great save by Cech, should have been 2-2
Moses on for Oscar….
today’s performance shows the defense is still a work-in-progress.
I would not do so Rico. Neither AW nor the thought behind it is to blame. It is just a part of a cycle which is important to be done. Its just that Kozzer is having a difficult game. What if he gets the equalizer today? Did he have a nightmare against shitty. he did not. last year he got us in the champs league.
No, neither is to blame. Everyone is doing his part. we have been undone by two set pieces which were simple and could have gone differently.
Defensive midfielder is outdated….u having a laugh
sure does vida….
When was the last time we won when we kick off at 12 on a saturday
kos 3rd choice
We shouldn’t be losing this match
Perfect cross by Jenks and ever single one of our forward players watch it go across the front of the goal. Shocking!
arteta needs help in midfield
Carzola has been poor today
The Ox is not quite ready
No Tsgh, but we are because yet again we have been done on set pieces…
some of these players ain’t good enough, shopping at bottom dollar
Another chance missed by Cazorla, not been at his best today….
In fact, Jenks/Gibbs apart, who really has??
Bit extreme gdna….
What ha theo done since he’s been on?
Giroud…………… 🙁
Nothing!!
Oh well, that looks like it’s over…
Gutted, absolutely gutted!!
If we win, it is not a disaster, but very disappointing.
Two mistakes by Koscielny and two saves by Cech seem to have decided the game…
Did we shop at the bottom dollar in the first 5 games gda???
I did not hear you say that before. why now. because we are loosing?
Chelsea should not be winning. The ref let some bad chav tackles go unpunished
There is the PL Champions this season imho….
Did Theo convince you today Rico? I would have played better.
devil, just checking you haven’t written about that before I go off and do it now??
too much talk and no action, this got be to DIABY last season, AW we make a profit we don’t need to win. So fustrated
devil – my dog would have played better!!
At least she never stops chasing down a ball!!
*If we lose*
Wishful thinking there
True Rico. I am sick of our so called better players disappearing when ever we have an early kick-off. They created nothing and went away with 3 points. I am seething
Like I always say we needed the BFG in this match. He reads the game brilliantly. Kos and TV are kind for kind. We miss that calm presence today. We allowed the Chavs to control the game and thats where we lost the match. Jenks was my MOTM.
Just looked at The Ryder Cup scoreboard, it’s all red…. This is not a good day…..
No Rico……….I started to watch the game around the 20th minute, so cannot do a proper match report.
Will theo be holding the chavs or manure to ransom like he is doing with us. We are a very soft team. From the very top to most of the fans.
Arshavin would have done better
devil i’m tired of living in denial, i support ny giants, ny yankees, chicago bulls, oklahoma city thunders, usain bolt and afc, so you have to understand i’m allergic to loosing
Seems that we suffered all the bad luck going, at the worst times.
Losing Diaby so early was a blow.
Then Kozzer’s own goal.
Maybe Wenger should have left Podolski on and had just taken off Ramsey for Giroud???
I’m not gonna slag Theo, but I think I’d rather have Poldi on the field than Walcott.
I am seething too Tsgh, bloody livid…
I could understand more had we been at their place, but to play like that in front of the home fans, disgraceful!!
emma – totally agree, it wasn’t broke, so why did we try and fix it?
Ak said last season, and when I doubted Merts, that he is the reader of the game, the calm man at the back. I didn’t really see it back then, but this season it’s very clear to see.
Di tomato all of a sudden considered a great coach!The substitution was poor. If you need to hold the ball theo is never and should never be the man to be brought on
rico – that’s a million dollar question.
gutted…down but not out….we have to live to fight another day
hopefully we can sort out these niggling mistakes ..we gave the ball away far too much.
we have to start with the right lineup…..Giroud should have started
or come on beginging of second half….
our passing game was not working today and we needed a plan B
with Giroud in the side we have different and direct dimension.
Theo was absent completely after coming on.
we need to go and win our next game..
still hopeful and right…..keep the faith.
Thats fine devil, i was only checking as didn’t want two of us wasting our time…. 😉
Ak, I thought we had a better spell after Diaby went off…
If that is what Theo has to offer, stinky attitude and no input, then naff off now I say!!
diaby???????
Ak, I would have brought Santos on for Poldi to keep the ball.The Ox was not working in the middle. We needed someone to help protect the left when Poldi went off
Anyone starting to think we bought a dud…. How many more can he miss?
I think we are all equally sick of Walcott, and the day he leaves the club we will be that bit stronger.
Poor game today, poor decisions from Wenger.
Ak,
Or move Gerv to the right, play Giroud through the centre and bring Santos on the left….?
He may just have made a difference…
Spooky Tsgh…
Esp, no, I don’t think we have bought a dud. Personally, I don’t know why he didn’t start, he wins the ball in the air, holds it up well and lays off great passes.
Something which we failed to do for majority of the first half…
Ramsey starting was wrong imho….
The so called experts are having a field day
I’m done watching soccer for the day
emma – surely AW wasn’t thinking about Wednesday 😉
Was walcott on the pitch? Never saw him
rico – 😉
We needed that calming presence in the defence unfortunately we decided to rotate in the wrong match
playing a high line
Yeah, Santos is a good call…
It’s still early days for Giroud.
Maybe we should thank the two idiot streakers who contributed to him missing that pen vs Coventry.
Two goals in the bank may have given him the psychological boost he needs.
Criticism isn’t gonna make him play like TH14.
I want to see him start more games.
Sitting on the bench isn’t exactly a vote of confidence from Wenger.
Rico, I agree with you on Giroud. How the hell did we ever allow the chavs the play from the back. Mikel Obi had his best ever game today because Santi was poor.
Not a good result, i had hoped we would have been a little bit better, but on the whole i didn’t think we played that bad. Kos made a couple of mistakes but he was trying his hardest, take nothing away from Chelsea they played very well they didn’t give us a minute on the ball and were physical, we have young players in the team and perhaps not quite clear of the amount of work that is needed but they will get better. We need to take our chances as we don’t create that many
Two unnecessary faults by Vermaellen in a dangerous position – two goals
Two crosses by the pitch along the goal, two goals
Manone is very poor in that kind of situation. He never attacks the ball. Always wait and see and normally hasn’t quick enought for defend the ball. In the first goal, the strickers are covered by the defenders and in that area the ball belongs to he goalkeeper; on the second goal, who is he waiting and expecting for? Let the ball hit? some anticipation? In that area, he must attack the ball. just that.
Cazorla had holes below.
Why Arsenal left to focus on speed Ox?
The team was not strong in midfield and is top-heavy with substitutions
In the first half we created a goal while losing one from a set piece to a team who created nothing. Second half we lost a goal to a clear foul and had the better of play. Had some half chances that could have gone either way. We just weren’t cohesive enough and did not take care of possession. Giroud needs to start. Clearly he can read the game and get into good positions. Cech did very well to make that a hard chance to take. The bottom line is that the performance was not good enough and fortune was on the side of the other team. Usually that combination results in a loss.
Joaquim – manone is just not good enough
I wasn’t happy about BFG not starting, I like him in combination with the other two.
Wenger making Verm his capt, has lessened his options in that respect.
We might have lost anyway, BFG or not…
I know what has been said about Diaby, but maybe he picked up that knock early, thus his inability to affect the game.
Seems as if CFC ‘did a job’ in stifling Carzola.
I didn’t see the game, but it sounded as if our ‘Genius’ had his least effective game of the season.
Di Matteo out-thought Wenger on this one, possibly?
Agree emma, strange selection and as for Theo, i am one of his few staunch defenders, but after today, he can shove off. His attitude is all wrong, especially for a man who professes to love the club and wants to stay!
Ak, I am not necessarily critising anyone but…
Rico spooky?
This is why we need frimpong in games like this. Ramires and Mikel fouled Santi within the first 5 mins to make him know what he had in store. How the heck was Oscar defining how our midfield play today?
AW has gone back to his lazy management again.The first 5 matches he set the team up to counter the opposition but when we start playing 2 teams in a week he starts to become predictable
Kev, they did a good job of stifling Cazorla as you said. He was still tidy for the most part but taking him out of the game was definitely part of the plan for Chelsea.
what i am seeing with Theo is he starts a move off on the wing but tends to lay the ball off and straight away cuts inside often leaving the full back on his own on the wing he appears to me that he stands on the wing but is only thinking of the middle. i have no qualms with him cutting in but he also has to consider the wing position as well. its too much to leave to a full back and then expect him to get back and defend.
Gotta beat West Ham, that’s a must.
Gotta start Giroud at Upton Park.
Fat Sam will make it a aerial battle.
Wenger has a big decision to make with his centre-backs for the next two games…
BFG must play at West Ham, to counter Carroll.
So what pairing does he go with vs Olympiakos???
I do hope he doesn’t go all stubborn, and listens to Bouldy
Santos Tsgh….
Maybe all this has done is confirmed reality check…. We not good enough still..! We don’t do enough in the final third we lack players with enough conviction to attack in that final third and as we have all said for years we short when it comes to really good reliable keepers… They got every single decision every run of the ball but thats NOT an excuse…! Nearly as bad as loosing to the yids…!
I love Jenks. He was my MOTM. He defended and attack very well. He rarely gave the ball away and his passes were precise. We were very weak in the middle. Cazorla had mikel and ramires who prevented him from playing. We needed another player in the midfield to add spark to it today unfortunately ramsey wasnt the man. So annoying 2 goals conceded were from set pieces and not open play. Kos and TV are like for like and if there is to be a rotation it should be amongst those 2. Finally Wenger chose the wrong time to rotate in the CB. Would have prefer Arteta to be the capt instead of TV to avoid any animosity when rotated. Giroud did very well when he came on but unfortunately couldn’t take his chance when it came begging. Hope that doesn’t dent his confidence. We needed a player like coquelin after diaby injury unfortunately Wenger chose the wrong day not to have kept him in the bench. All the same the season is still a long way off.
COY’s!!!
TSGH, no mate, I’m not pointing the finger at you.
But my son texted me at the final whistle that Giroud is crap.
It’s easy to to make snap judgements following a disappointing result.
I did likewise with Koscielny…
So I’m not trying to be the ‘Big, I am’, I just want us to judge him in 12 months time.
The Press/Media will do enough shit-raking without us joining in…
Maybe if I’d seen the miss, then I’d be ranting and raving with my son? 😀
W.A.T.H I think we are good enough individually but I think AW does not go into big games like other managers who win. There are games where you have to think like a military general. Like I said there are times when you have to sacrifice a flair player to win a match. That is what Maureen, Red nose do when it matters.
I was expecting Bould to come in and change things at critical moments like this.
Diaby thigh strain. that means out till January.
What happened to Diaby?
The whole team was unbalanced with its output and there was a solution set for their early exit.
AW says he does not need a defensive midfielder … is it?
Wenger: ‘Diaby out for a minimum of 3 wks with a thigh strain’
Ak, I totally understand.
Rico, Maybe when the captain’s curse bites and TV leaves end of season things will be better in defence. I think he gives away too many crucial fouls. At his age he should know when to hold back
Cech did well to keep us out. But we could have and should have scored. Start Giroud central and move Gerv back to the wing. The striker must be started.
AK, everyone been going on about the new “Team” well individuals are part of the team mate but when you don’t play with proper forwards how are we expected to put the opposition under pressure..? Apart from the really good goal Gervinho was toilet… he didn’t run at people he didn’t look to get in behind and was far to happy to drop off and play tippy tappy…. Crap mate…!
The voice of reason Wath!!
Afternoon to you, certainly feels nearly as bad as losing to the Totts, although I know it’s not…
I didn’t think Atkinson was ‘that bad’…..
Both goals were scored in my opinion because of the way we conceded the goal at $hitty. Mannone should have come for both balls but stayed in goal.
Hi Rico and All.
Why everyone slagging TV5?
It wasn’t TV5 fault with the second goal; it was MA8 fault. He gave the ball away that cause TV5 to commit the fault.
Gibbs had the flight of the ball covered for the second goal. Ivanobitch clearly pushed him in the back
http://touch.dailymotion.com/video/xtyk54
Rico, the ref was not bad but in the first 10 minutes he allowed the chavs to put their mark on some of our players without even awarding a free kick. From the start Oscar was making niggly fouls on MA8. Also Ivanovic went in hard on Diaby but he allowed them to win cheap fouls in our half
Fulham 1 up vs $hitty
A bad day at the office.
Wath could be right.
But I think that there is a lot more to come from this team/squad.
I just hope that Wenger takes on board the reasons why we lost.
Maybe a return to a more pragmatic line-up, especially in these kinds of games.
Someone mentioned Coquelin not being on the bench.
Well I think he had an ‘attitude’ when AW subbed him for Frim on Weds’ night.
I couldn’t understand why both BFG AND Djourou were subs???
Curious selection IMHO.
Now I have to do some work, lata Gooners.
Jenks my MOTM too emma, Gibbs a close second…
Most have already written Jens off saying he is crap and shouldn’t even be playing for us. What utter garbage, he gave more today than most and kept Hazard quiet for most of the game….
People lets forget about diaby, relying on this dude is a waste of time, he should be loaned out to prove his fitness, this is the most physically demanding league in the world and all our central midfielders are crooks, its best aw pushes arteta back in cm and play coq in dm, playing ox in cm is a joke he is still a sub at best, play gerv and pold on the flanks and giro at cf. The mentality of some of these players are ridiculous, too may cowards it hilarious
Bould cannot make up for individual mistakes can he…??????? Poor defending from individual players and poor keeping on the 2nd goal.. Sorry AK previous comment 3.35 was for TSGH.. It’s about being a team TSGH not about the fact on paper we as good as anyone as I would agree with you but end of the day we don’t play on paper… We had no tempo today, we lacked width when it really mattered and we lacked people in the final third that wanted to take responsibility and take on the defenders in that final third to want to cause problems…
Add ‘got caught offside too many times’ to Gervinho Wath, he was as bad as Adebayor today….
1-1 now my bad.
Good point is we have played almost all the boggy teams apart from manure. Westham may be a test though
Nash, 2nd goal was us winning tackles and yet again ball fell to the chavs… it happened time and time again but your right it was a silly free kick and then we on the back foot and Mannone waits…. he’s never pro-active always re-active and watch from behind he looks to attack the ball then gets rooted to the spot… piss poor..!
gdna – bit extreme again isn’t it? Were you saying the same last weekend??
Mannone was not at fault at all for the second goal. The ball was not high enough for him to attack it. The keeper in that situation has to watch for a touch.
Anyway guys. I’m done for the day. A lot of things worked in the chavs favour today. Thats all i come away from this game with. This is yet another game that proved very little. After 10-15 games we will really have an idea of what these teams are made of.
rico – to be honest we have to keep pold and bfg in certain games because of their mentality and experience, the finer details win the epl. Look at kos, ramsey, walcott and ox today perfect example, reminds me of the cc final
Don’t worry, Jack is on his way, to save the day… 😛
Gone now
Totally agree there WATH. But Le Coq has never been a defensive midfielder.
When JW10, EF26 and Le Coq played together 4 years ago I went to see them at Barnet a few times and he never played there. Even Christian Gourcuff played him at RB or RM when he was on loan. .Also last season when we lost Song Frimpong played in both CL qualifiers as well as Liverpood and then our first win of that season against Swansea.
He only played there 2 times last season. Once when we lost both Song and Frimpong to red cards before the spuds match and on the last day of the season against West Brom
Will if the keeper puts himself in the right position he saves the 2nd goal so can’t see how you reckon it’s not his fault… i just say he should of been far better positioned and as said he far to re-active that pro-active hence he’s a very average keeper.. wasn’t a ball to attack BUT get your angles right… he didn’t also the result isn’t just down to him as final 3rd we were very poor and lacked incisive movement decision making..!
See you Will, enjoy the warm afternoon….
Popping off too, need to write about that showing…..
Laters..
TSGH, for me we didn’t play well thats a given, we didn’t play with width and we had no one running at then either through the middle or running the lines… they poor at the back and we let them off the hook by not having a go, sure they sat deep but then we need to change our game to get into them…! we have enough technical players to make decisions on the pitch as to whats going on it’s not all about wenger and bould…! We can make all the excuses we want about the ref and the ball always running for them bottom line is we still didn’t do ourselves justice..!
@gunnerdna, what really are you blaming Diaby for? He had a knock, asked to be change.
Or do you want him to pretend and stay on?
Well WATH, its water under the bridge. Still very positive after the match. There are some positives today too. They had 3 on target and scored 2. They created nothing. The reaction of some of the players after the game tells me we have some fighters who are not prepared to lose any more.
@nash talk to me about some other player, diaby is a waste of space
The whole team did not live up to expectation, plain and simple.
MA8 spent too much time on the ball then lost it then cause TV5 to create unnecessary foul that led to unnecessary free kick. koss a good player but today wasn’t his day.
wait am i missing something? did we lose? how?????
nasher, DNA, what happened guys? i was so sure we had this in the bag.
@gunnerdna, but the man in charge don’t feel or share that opinion . Would you feel the same way as today after Liverpool game when Diaby was the MOTM?
are you guys gonna tell me what happened or do i need to shoot somebody!!!! nasherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, what happened? am freaking out.
@goon it was a poor performance by the team, kos mom for cfc, mom for afc carl j.
what happened? were we outplayed? who scored for them and for us?
now am depressed…..what happened you guys? we should have taken them to the cleaners! grrrrrrrrrrrrrr i just know this was gonna happen. anytime i miss a game the guys lose! i didnt watch the old toilet debacle last season now today too.
nash – we all thought after the first 5 games it would be continuous improvement but after today, we all get a reality check, i will not comment on the man in charge, because i will not live in denial….
goon – torres and kos for afc, ger for afc
@goonster, just a bad day at the office. Luck had a part in it, the manager changes was wrong, Koss was unlucky, Diaby had a knock just few minutes into the start and had to be replaced. We had the old Ramsey as usual. Every thing was wrong.
gdna – i don’t understand why you are slating Diaby, he was on for 17 mins and was doing ok…
It really was a wake up call for all of us who thought things had really changed for the better.
We need a lot of work doing on set pieces and we still are desperately in need of a proper goal keeper imho….
Back to the drawing board for Bould and Banfield.
What hurts the most for me is this result came at The Emirates…..
what do you mean kos? he scored an OG? Lord God give me strength.
gosh rico that’s what’s killing me maam……..why at the EMs?
@ rico i’m sorry if i offended anyone but if i’m gonna have to rely on diaby to anything i won’t, this guy cant stay fit to save his life, that’s just my opinion.
Stanley, calm down…..
We lost, nobody died…
We won’t get relegated.
We’ll probably go and win at Old Toitet after this.
Lata
We lost it Goonster, they certainly didn’t win it….
We failed to take chances, we gifted them two free kicks and then failed to deal with them….
but were we outplayed maam? i still dont see how that chav team could escape with even a point. they were so flat against stoke city. grrrrrrrrrrr
I love TV5 but both fouls that cause the free kicks was his fault. Koss was pointing his hand for someone to mark Luis while he was marking Torres and took his eyes off the ball when the first free kick was taken and causes the first goal.
Hi goonster, it was not as bad as the score line says. it was a typical post 2004 chelsea performance against us. They were both lucky and efficient. They had 3 shots on target and scored with 2.
We appeared nervous for the first 20 mins and in my opinion they had some minor decisions go their way in the first 10 mins. Some of the guys will disagree but…
They came with 2 aims in the match.Nullifying SC19 and MA8 from the start. Oscar got away with committing niggling fouls on MA8 same way he did to Pirlo last week. The diamond formation they play does not allow for an opposition team to start attacks from their playmaker. In the first half we did not find Poldi and instead of trying to penetrate from the wings we tried many times to go behind them when we had no one in-front of Ramires and Obi.
In my opinion we did not lose because of Kos but because we allowed the chavs to start their game from the middle instead of them trying to use their wings as everyone expected them to do.
goon – the high defensive line is like owing the IRS, oh to be a gonner
When Giroud gonna start scoring in EPL,especially when our lives depend on it? Today he could have made all the difference for all the misses had.
We have too many nice guys in our team. Ruiz and Ivanovic fouled Ox and Gibbs for both goals without being penalised.
What happened?
I can’t believe we were beaten! Well actualy I can believe it. His goal apart Gervinho was poor today, he is an instinctive player, his decision making lets him down. Podolski couldn’t get into the game. We just could not retain the ball and our build-up play was lacking in pace. Mannone put the ball into touch three times. Arteta worked his socks off but had little help from Ramsey. Not one of Koscielny’s better games.
Other than those criticisms I thought we did OK but will have to improve a lot if we are going to challenge for the title this season. Top four maybe the limit.
At times goonster, yes we were outplayed, but we didn’t help ourselves imho…
Can’t say that I could disagree with anything you just wrote there JW….
Gibbs was flattened on the second one Tsgh…
Off for a bit now as I’m fed up with moaning….
Catch up later……
Oh, and AW said he nearly sold Mannone in the summer……
I wish he had!!
AVB 1-0
I’m upset but don’t know why, obviously not because of the loss but just the way we played. Being dominated possession wise in our state of the Art stadium gives me the fuss bum.
I’m off for a few more beers to drown my sorrows. Looking forward to reading the match report tomorrow.
gallas knock van p
exactly Rico. But like I have said previously. A ref has to decide from the start if he is going to allow the game to flow or stop the game at every opportunity. He can not be doing both especially in the first 10 minutes. He was playing advantage when we were fouled but stopping the game when we fouled the chavs.
Pierluigi Collina was very good at this but most english refs are useless. eg Howard Webb, Spain vs Holland 2010.
I am livid because we did not perform but on the other hand we had so many positives.
Oscar and Hazard were in-effective offensively. Cole struggled against Ricos son Jenkinson. Gibbs was good. The down sides are that Carzola showed that he may not provide us with as many goals as we would like.
We will struggle with key goals but who will fit into the way we play. If our midfielders dont start chipping in when it matters we will be fall short again.
Dna but it seems like the horse intestines trick worked.lol
totts…avb… a serious team.
Diaby three weeks out? In Diaby’s world means at least 17 months…
totts looks powerful
totts playing the high defensive line, they are bound to loose it only works for barca
@TSGH, I would trade-in those positives with Chelsea for a win. Take the win and give them the positives; then we’ll learn along the way how to get both. (positives & the win)
2 – 0 totts
Totts up 2 goals
man u be carefull
Totts 2-0 up
@ gunnerdna, you beat me to it.
nash i dont like the look of totts, Jesus help me
We all will NG, but it is what it is. I am taking the positives because we have CL and Westham next week and we need the same enthusiasm we have showed before today.
Unfortunately we still have a few players like TW and Gervais who are always looking up for others to take the lead.
Spuds winning 0-2 (points not in the bag yet).
Riley will sort out the ref at half-time, for his boss SAF…
Maybe Arsenal winning at Old Toilet isn’t so far fetched.
Gotta say that we look a better team away from The Grove…
Chris Foy will have got a right old bollocking from Ferguson & Riley at the break.
What on earth does he think he’s doing???
ManUre are certain to get at least one penalty…
evening all
bon soir kev…we need to approach each game differently..line-ups ,tactics and formation….and be swift in our changes…today tika taka was not working ,clearly due to tactics by the chavs….AW is so slow in spotting and making the changes (players/tactics/formation)….we needed widths and be direct–i was hoping to see Giroud early on in the second half and Gervo (Oxo)& Poldi on the flanks ..it was so congested in the middle of the park with little penetration into the opposition back four…
leaving Giroud on the bench while starting him against Coventry will not do his confidence any good…putting so much pressure on him coming on when we are trailing to change the game is unfair on the lad in his first 6 weeks with us !
Ramsey is not starter for now ,coming from the bench that’s when he is effective the most.
Theo ???? is up in the air !
Man u ain’t great but they are brave
Ramsey was starter against Mancity and was very good. Today was not is day. Today we saw ‘last season’ Ramsey.
yes Ramsey did good against city,but he is inconsistent , him being in the side,that will sacrifice Giroud to be dropped ,AW started with poldi and gervo
most of this season !! picking of the team has to be considered with who you are playing against ,we gotta have that element of surprise in our approach…keep the opposition thinking
@ng and hak, bro lets be honest some of the players just aint good enough
@gunnerdna, you’ve a point but you not going to have a player who is going to give you 100% in every game. Some may have, others may not. It has to be teamwork.
Well fancy the Totts beating manure at OT….
Anyway, just popped in to say goodnight all….
Tomorrow is another day…
Although the hurt will remain….
Goodnight Rico
rico – have a look at ur mail. Just sent you the stats for the painful loss match
Hakzah, as Rico says, tomorrow is another day…
You make some good points ami.
Arsene picked the two centre-backs, he thought would be best equiped to deal with Torres…
But Di Matteo out-thought him by negating the influence of Cazorla.
Other managers will see what he did to counter our midfield. So AW must be prepared for other clubs trying to do the same and adapt to counter our opponants tatics.
I don’t wanna hear that pointless old mantra “We’ll play our game” rubbish. That just smacks of a lack of imagination.
This is where we’ll see if there really is the fresh imput we’ve been looking for, from Bould and Banfield, or not?
So far we’ve done very well, a lot better than many of us imagined.
Bouncing back, and learning from a defeat, is always the true test of a teams potential…
I’m hopeful that we have the squad and coaches to achive that bouncebackability.
Night Gooners.
Morning all….
Still bloody livid!
Gary Neville:
If ever a team were in need of a trophy, it would have to be this Arsenal team. Because when you watched them lose 2-1 against Chelsea, there wasn’t a difference in quality. But it was as though there was one team who absolutely knew how to win a big game and another team that weren’t too sure.
It’s that unexplainable edge in sport which is impossible to coach and you can’t teach but which makes the crucial difference nonetheless. I don’t know whether it is the special togetherness that is forged in the dressing room after a cup win, that feeling of having achieved and battled against the odds together. Or whether it is simply the confidence those wins give you, so that you feel as though you are standing 10 foot rather than six foot tall. Probably it is a combination of both.
But you look around the Chelsea team – at the likes of John Terry and Ashley Cole – you see serial winners, be it the FA Cups or League titles or, now, a Champions League. And whilst some of Arsenal players might have won the French League or the Dutch Cup, they’ve never won together or in England. And that was what seems to be the difference at the moment.
Arsenal weren’t bad at the Emirates on Saturday. In many ways they continued their encouraging start to the season. But at important times, and in crucial areas, they were second best. I understand that Arsene Wenger talked about a lack of personality and authority in his team and that sums it up perfectly.
Whether it’s a figure such as Steve Bruce, as I had at Manchester United, or Terry, as Chelsea have now, you need players in your team who you can look to and know that they’ve been in these situations before and have come through to win.
This is a new team for Arsenal, almost a new start. If they could get that winning feeling in one of the cups this season, then perhaps they might see games like this going their way. They’re not far away at the moment – but after another important defeat, that won’t be much consolation.
Arsenal report card
Defence
Arsenal have improved but they would still crave a figure like Tony Adams: someone to take responsibility. As they set up to defend those two free-kicks from which they conceded goals on Saturday, I didn’t get that sense anyone was taking on that role.
When you watched Adams defend a set-piece, he would pull up his shorts and throw out his arms and start organising. Only then would he worry about himself.
I understand why they picked Laurent Koscielny, who is faster than Per Mertesacker, for this game. But I wonder whether Mertesacker is becoming the kind of personality Arsenal need in defence – and whether they missed him on Saturday.
Attack
Arsenal still haven’t got over the departure of Robin van Persie. There are more options in attack now with Gervinho, Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and the possibility of Theo Walcott. But no one has made that central striking role their own.
Options: Wenger now has several strikers to choose from
Options: Wenger now has several strikers to choose from
Playing up top on your own is the hardest position in football – other than goalkeeper – and none of those players have convinced. Perhaps Arsene Wenger might consider playing two up front, as he did with Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry. He has the players to do it and two strikers might just replace the goals that van Persie scored last season.
Title credentials
Just one trophy could make all the difference to these players, to make them believe they can do it.
It’s possible they would be best off playing their strongest team in the Capital One Cup. Jose Mourinho targeted that cup when he went to Chelsea, precisely because he had a dressing room that hadn’t won much together and he wanted to create that winning feeling.
You just feel that a cup win could likewise provide the missing link for Arsenal.
Long term
Financial figures are never as interesting as winning football matches but Arsenal fans should be proud that their club announced a £32.3million profit last week. And we should be lauding them.
They will come back and win trophies. This seven-year drought is just a moment in time. This is a well-run club with history, tradition, a long-term strategy and a great manager. They have everything in place for the decade to come especially if UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules are implemented.
Long-term thinking: Arsenal are club based on financial solidarity
Long-term thinking: Arsenal are club based on financial solidarity
Chelsea report card
Defence
Where Arsenal lacked leadership, Chelsea had John Terry. With him, Ashley Cole and Petr Cech in your defence, there is just a feeling of solidity.
There is a good mix to Chelsea at the moment. They’ve introduced more stylish players up front but in Terry, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic, along with John Obi Mikel, they’ve kept that strength that was such a feature of their game. They were organised and efficient in dealing with Arsenal’s possession game and hard to get past. And whenever they were beaten, Cech was there to save them.
Attack
Chelsea have started the season weaker than before because they are without Didier Drogba.
Fernando Torres did well on Saturday with a wonderful goal. But they are now heavily reliant on him. There’s only Daniel Sturridge in reserve, who’s injured and inexperienced in the position.
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