Hugo Rodallega and Tom Cleverley were the stand outs for Wigan at the weekend when they travelled to Wolverhampton and went home with all three points. Rodallega scored an acrobatic goal from six yards out and Cleverley doubled the lead not long after. Wolves battled and got one back but despite having all the play they couldn’t nab an equaliser.
They have only won twice at home this season but are undefeated in their last five games at the DW Stadium having won two and drawn three. In their eighteen matches they have scored only fifteen – we however have totted up thirty-seven!! Shame we have conceded twenty!!
Our away form is pretty good this season apart from the losses at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge – We have gained seventeen points on the road and have won four of our last five games away from The Emirates, tonight that tally should become six but let’s not take that for granted.
Monday nights result has to be forgotten, the heart and commitment shown in that game MUST be remembered if we are to win again tonight. After this same fixture last season, any slim chance we had to win the league had gone, we were cruising 2-0 then the lights went off in the players heads, no-one was home, other than the Wigan players. They scored three goals in the last ten minutes, took all three points and we were all mortified.
Ok, we knocked them out of the Carling Cup last month but that’s done with, tonight is about keeping in touch with Manchester United at the top of the table, getting another win under our belt and gathering confidence and momentum along the way.
One game at a time, one game at a time.
Roberto Martinez believes we are a team on the up, maybe he is right. It’s been a long time coming but anything other than three points tonight will suggest otherwise!
Wigan may have won at the weekend but like I said, we aren’t Wolves! Wigan aren’t Chelsea either, Martinez doesn’t have a side full of over paid, over ego’s who are getting on a bit. Wigan are full of players who work for each other and their manager. Wigan are in a relegation scrap already, I know its only December but they’ll be fighting hard to get clear of the bottom of the league as soon as they can, they won’t want to leave it until late in the season.
They will be a tough nut to crack but crack them we must and I fully expect that we will, after all, we have beaten them eight times out of our last ten meetings….
The Mancs dropped points last night but the Northern Chavs and Tiny Totts both secured maximum so that makes tonight’s game even more important.
No Cesc for tonight’s game, he’s suspended. As for the team to face Wigan, we’ll find out later 🙂
Couple of titbits, as we all expected Nordtveit has gone. I guess he won’t be missed as we haven’t really seen what he could truly offer Arsenal – good luck to the lad. Espanyol have felt the need to talk about Carlos Vela having seen all the rumours. They categorically deny that they are to make an offer for our young Mexican next month.
We’ll see if they are truthing in a few days…..
That’s it for today, have a good one.
I really hope that everyone has forgotten about the chelsea win, because we cannot rest on our laurels for tonights game! The pitch wont be that good, we wont be able to play our free flowing passing game, me must fight hard for every inch of the pitch. lets take advantage of man utd, drawing last night!
oh and good morning!
Morning all
Lee Mason is a top class referee 😳
Morning DK, spot on, a very different game awaits us and we need to be focused…
Hi all;
I haven’t read the post yet Rico will do shortly but before i do , i just want to let you all know that ;
I heard the bestest Christmas in a long time , with us trashing the Chavs proper as the icing on my Christmas pudding.
No penalties, no freak own goals, no freak deflected free kicks but proper trashing.
To add more to that , our goal keeper didn’t have much to do , it was great.
Compliment of the season everybody 🙂
Morning SD, top of the season to you too 🙂
Just been watching Song bomb forward with the ball in the last few mins, breeze past the chav players, super ball to Rosicky who hit the post…
what a goal that would have been……….
Rosicky doesn’t score so it was just to remind the Chavs that we would score more if they dont behave. 🙂
🙂 SD, weel now its feet firmly on the ground and wenger needs to pick the right team to beat wigan and get them ready to win…
weel = well 😉
Wenger will use the legs that were rested on Monday.
We will see Bendtner, Charmakh,Rosicky,Diaby and probably Arshavin .
We will see Denilson and Song in Midfield then Scollaci and Kiescney(Something like that) in defence. Trust me the guys that played on Monday will have to be rested.
This League must be crazy and the people doing the Fixtures are not that smart.
For example West ham played yesterday after playing on Sunday but Everton did not play on Sunday(how is that fair)
We played on Monday and we are playing today already, does that mean the boys will have to train yesterday ? A day after playing a high tempo game?
People doing the fixtures are not the smartest people i have seen.
Just read (not that i believe the story) that juve are going to offer 27M for RvP, or less with melo thrown in…
how crazy is that, who would pay that amount for a constantly injured player….
Its always the same over the festive period SD, that’s why so many managers cry out for a winter break.. it’s going to get worse too, we are in the CC, FA cup, CL and fighting for the league, the bad weather is due here this weekend and no doubt fixtures will be called off, we already have the stoke one rearranged….
and to make it worse, the CC semi is over two legs…
Morning all, Rico, i always get a bit upset after a good win, and Mondays win could be the catalyst for the rest of our season, the reason i get upset is, just as we get a nice flowing style in our game with our defence also working very well,we play our next game with a completely different team, starting up front RVP will no doubt be rested, not that there’s anything wrong with Chamakh just different.
No Cesc a big miss, maybe Naz could be rested as we have City the weekend and we know the gaffer will want him in that one,the Russian will probably play for 40 mins if he lasts that long, but he has had a rest, Sagna Mr run all day man, may be missing, JD must be worn out after playing a whole game, Theo could be used again seeing how his Mr battery, but i dont suppose his play will be that great seeing how all the players he gels with are not there, as there is not a big threat with high crosses coming over Scezney will probably be in,his six foot twelve frame must be a help.So all in all a completely different side fingers crossed time again
Morning Steve, i think we will see a different set up tonight, denilson, diaby and song will all no doubt play (i wouldn’t play all three together)
i’m a firm believer in playing your strongest side for every game and bar cesc, i would play the same eleven that faced the chavs.
We have B’ham on saturday, another tough game at home then City the following wednesday, fixtures are thick and fast now….
Your right again Rico, getting ahead of myself again, i would play the same team as well only changing when they cant walk, build up the confidence and the fear threat, but what do we know i cant even get the games right.
🙂 Steve, i just think that if it’s not broken, don’t try and fix it. I know players need a rest, but is such a massive game like tonight the time to make the change?
I suspect Diaby will come in for Cesc (number wise, not position) but i hope for no more. If we get a few goals and look to be secure, then make a few changes…
It’s a quiet old morning….
Bonjour Housers!
Still basking in the warmth of Monday’s blitzkrieg!!! (sorry DK 🙂
Makes me smile you know Rico, i’ve worked days, nights, 7 days a week for long spells, but when i told my bosses there’s a danger of burn out they really showed their concern and asked me if i would work the next weekend, and you know what this silly old bugger did and i was only a couple of quid behind our worst paid player lol
Hi Rennie…
That’s bosses for you Steve, all they care about is getting a job done, not the persons health who is doing it…..
I have to go out for a few hours, be back late afternoon, have a good day all….
Steve, know how that feels & completely with you there mate…
But the thing with our players is that they tend to pick up too many injuries when they start to feel the load and injuries are imho the main reason for our failures in the recent past.. I couldn’t care less about them being tired, but if it’s at the cost of derailing our title challenge, then I’m all for resting the ones who are notorious for succumbing too eaily
Guys , as a manager(for example Wenger)you are responsible in making decisions that spreads through the season.
Wenger can’t play his strongest time every time because of the short wisdom of the fixture programmers in Premier League office and FA office (two legg Semi-final; where is the sense)
Wenger will have to rest players or else they will get a dead leg. Their Muscles must rest or we could get RVP pulling an armstring.
Forget RVP in today’s game.If Gibbs had being fit Clichy would have being rested. Clichy had a good game by the way , Kalou had no chance at all, he didn’t beat Clichy once.
I think Drogba is done.
As was stated in the post from now on the boys need to remember how they beat the Chavs. They worked so hard when not in possession a la Barca and even Man Ure. Whoever the opposition are the formula should be the same. Christ we know we can pass any side off the park when we have it so Monday’s work ethic must be replicated every game for the entire game when we don’t. Theo and Sami gave our fullbacks so much protection we actually looked solid for the first time in a long while. As far as I’m concerned Arshavin should see no more action until he adds that to his game. Be it Birmingham or Barcelona I want to see it every game.
Exactly my thoughts on rotation SD…
But isn’t it too early to pen Drogba’ obituary? He was never the most skillful of players. He’s the sorta guy who preys on an opponent’s weakness & takes full advantage of a given situation.. We didn’t present him with any on Monday & that was the only diff! Imho Drogba’s the monster that Chamak’s gotta aspire to become if we are to be taken seriously as a world-beating team
I wouldn’t normally agree with rotating the back-four as you just leave them be, to get into a groove and build an understanding. But with 4 competitions to go for, Wenger needs to protect the lads from burn-out
With Cesc out, how about playing Arshavin thru the middle?
morning all. biggest match of the season up tonight – if we are going to establish the consistency we need to win the league and more, it must start tonight.
I’d play AA thru the middle least he then not out wide where he doesnt want to be and not helping out the defender behind him and thru the middle can be as creative as we know he is…! Very true Oliver 2nite is as big a game as monday night and so will saturday brum away we need two god wins and then we can actually say we’re learning and improving on the previous mistakes made the last few months.
At least against Wigan it should be a more technical game, so Denilson would {hopefully} do ok. Maybe Wenger needs to save some legs for the more brutish battle we’ll face against Birmingham
proximity of these two games is going to force arsene to rotate, probably more than he would ordinarily prefer. those who will get opportunities tonight must make the most of them.
i would ask arsene to be prepared to make subs early tonight, if we should fall behind quickly or the side takes forever to get going. the game is hugely important and i am not sure we can wait for an entire half or more for the side to start finding a rhythm. if some players either don’t look up for it, or just cannot get into the flow, we need to be ready to bring on some of the players that did so well on monday.
i hope to see djourou start – even for a fourth-choice cb, i do not rate squillaci – and at some point djourou is going to have to start getting consecutive games under his belt. he dominated drogba for 90 minutes, so let’s see if he can build on that with another good performance a couple of days later.
the reverse argument, however, is that djourou will will probably be needed more against a bigger birmingham side. so arsene has a difficult call – if he selects squillaci, i’ll understand and just hope that the latter can play well tonight.
Wigan don’t have as many fresh legs to bring in, so even though they’ve had an extra 24 hours to recover they’ll still suffer some fatigue. All the same we face a 200 mile trip so it’s a conundrum for Wenger.
agree. i think this is one of those “darned if you do, darned if you don’t” situations. arsene has to decide what to do, not me, so i’ll just hope it works out ok and we can get a result.
i do hope he will be ready to sub early if certain player(s) don’t look up for it, or cannot get into the flow. this game is hugely important and i just do not see this is a situation where we can afford to wait the customary 60 mintues to start subbing – if things are not going well that is. ideal situation is to jump on wigan, get a quick lead, and not allow them a sniff.
Three up ay half time will do the trick Oliver 😉
Then he can take a few off keep it tight and see the game out…. If only it was that easy !!!
Was it just me or did i see Djourou still tackled Drogba in the midfield, took the ball from him got a warning from the refree, didn’t argue and ran back to his position?
That was commitment to the letter and made me smile.
we beat wigan 2-0 in the cup a few weeks back – but our performance was dire and uninspired, to say the least. i am a little worried that game may be fresher in the players’ minds than last spring’s capitulation at the jjb. we expended little effort in the cup game, but will need everyone to put a hard, 90 minute shift in.
with absolutely no disrespect to roberto martinez, we should look to score as many as we can tonight – the right score will put us top the table. and after losing three goals in the final ten minutes at jjb last spring, nobody could blame us if we scored as many as possible in order to prevent a repeat.
Relax Oliver, the players can only be inspired by the Chelsea trashing and add the fact that Manure Utd lost 2points yesterday, it can only serve as a catalyst.
Even the players that didn’t play on Monday will probably play better than normal because they wouldn’t like to be seen as spoilers.
We will beat Wigan!
sd, i think we will win also. but i caution against relaxing, particularly the players – it will not take much to undo all the good feeling and confidence from monday night. we lost on our last visit to jjb, in very, very painful circumstances…
i think we will be fine, but we cannot afford to take this for granted…too much at stake, and we have stumbled many times previously after getting ourselves into good situations.
Oliver, if we smash Wigan tonight I might just start to believe that the players are learning and have taken on board the beating of the russian rent boys…!
Boo! Oh, we’ll be fine, for sure. Or heads will roll…
I understand your fears but i think this team has learnt a very difficult and hard lesson.
They have being beaten trice by lower teams and i thing they are 20times shy now.
I would play AA just behind Chamakh and agternoon guys.
re: AW & substitutions, Arsene, to me, has always lacked a bit of imagination using subs, so i wouldn’t be suprised if he does his usual like for like changes around the 65/70 min mark. But as long as we win i couldn’t give a monkeys.
agree with allezkev. if we start strong, get some early goals and maintain the level of effort and performance, then it will be a moot point. should we – and some players in particular – struggle, i see this as a situation where arsene should break with his preference of giving his starters an hour and be prepared to make changes earlier than normal. i hope to not see us huffing and puffing at 0-0 and carrying a few passengers into the second half.
I make you right mate, but we all know our dear old Arsene.
Afternoon all 🙂
Chelsea didn’t see Song as a treat therefore didn’t see the goal coming.
Basically, all our players are dangerous now a days.
When we scored, did you see shock on the faces of the Chelsea players?
The goal knocked their game plan and had to attack and that was our world baby we punished them for trying to attack.
So in the Wigan game tonight , our Carling Cup team can handle them therefore because it is going to be all Arsenal and our stupendous passing moves and Diaby will score a cracker 🙂
You sure it was Chelsea? At times i thought we were playing Wimbledon!
Thats a mighty long shop Rico, were you stocking up for New Year…?
hiya rico…sd, i hope you are right – we have seen this go pear shaped before, and i am inherently cautious about getting ahead of myself…each successive victory will build confidence of both players and supporters…but we should not make the mistake of thinking we have arrived after one huge win. note that i am taking nothing from arsene and the players, nor am i diminishing the huge psychological impact of finally beating one of the big two with a dominant performance. what i am saying is that consistency is a proven achilles heel for this team, and one massive victory will not count for that much if we underachieve tonight…
i think we can do it, and i definitely think we are on the right track. but i think we should be careful about getting too far ahead of ourselves. if this team is as good as we think it is, they will develop the consistency needed to win major trophies…if we should play poorly and lose, then monday’s win becomes fool’s gold.
😆 WATH, no shopping today – family visit which didn’t last as long as expected …
wimbledon 😆 nice one
Did you fob them off with the bulgarian badger wee wee when they asked for a glass of wine..?
Wigan won’t at least try to kick us off the park like Brum will so we can afford to be not as physical in the team selection tonight but def need the big strong ones out on Sat….!
Thanx Rico. Arsenal were always a better technical team, the Chavs were just stronger physically. Now that isn’t the case all we saw was a long ball to Drogba hoping for a defensive cock-up from our boys. That didn’t happen and hey presto, Chavs suddenly had nothing else to offer.
WATH, cheeky, no, we were the ones visiting 🙂
Ah so they gave u the bulgarian badger stuff hence you made a hasty restreat, suppose ur chuffed with the cricket as well
I just hope he doesn’t make too many changes and think this is an easy game, it isn’t and whoever plays in the red and white needs to lay their body on the line again….
Didn’t even get a cup of tea 😉
Over the moon with the stuffing of the Aussies, just hope we win the last test and make it 3-1 WATH 🙂
rico, i think arsene will have to make more changes than perhaps he would want to – due to our having played only 48 hours previous. for me, the key is for him to recognize and act if someone is having a stinker and we are struggling. this is not a game where we should be toiling away 0-0 after an hour. if we are not doing it in the first half, don’t wait for the customary hour – be proactive and change up something that is not working. we cannot affod to be held – or even lose -here.
Agreed Rico would love to us stuff the convicts 3-1 and see Ponting lose the plot again ;-)to retain is one thing to win the series far better..!
Oliver you just correctly analysed why you are worried but believe me when i say this;
This guys know they are not home free, because we were First on Monday and today we are third so no sure winners yet.
They know they need to win , theY HAVE TO
hi oliver, its tough for them but they are fit people and they get paid a lot of money, they can rest from 10pm tonight 😉
I reckon Ponting’s playing days for the Aussies are gone, he’s lost the plot one too many times and he’s rubbish….
Boo! I was otherwise preoccupied but I’m back now 🙂 Hello, everyone. We have everything to play for tonight. And nothing but three points will do.
except that we have another important game on the weekend at birmingham, an even more difficult place to win. i think we have to look towards that fixture, while doing what we can to field the strongest team here. i see the optimal answer as start with a changed side – four to five positions – but have the strongest possible bench, with nobody but cesc (suspended) unavailable. and then be ready to make changes earlier than normal, if things don’t start well. if we can pull it off – without picking up any key injuries and suspensions, we will have continued momentum, while being able to field a very strong starting eleven at st andrews…
i totally understand where you are coming from oliver, i just always think if its not broken….. i’m also one of those folk who doesn’t look ahead too far…
take today today and saturday on saturday….
Our record against McLeish has been far from stellar, oliver, but if our players kepp their heads screwed on right, and pick up where we left off Monday night, we could very well get our title challenge rolling. 🙂
See Citeh have agreed a fee for Dzeko….
it started on monday so we just have to keep it going tonight. we have to show we can be consistent, and won’t fall apart after getting ourselves into these positions.
hi agag, its also about making the oppo fear us, should we fail to win tonight, the brum will be think they have a chance, tear wigan apart and they will be on the back foot….
spot on oliver, thats why i hope for not too many changes, Robin no doubt will be rested, no cesc and maybe squilli will come in for JD, although i really hope not…
jack is the only one who’s bones need looking after.. and def play theo in the same role as monday…
BUT, you vcan bet your bottom dollar that AW will make plenty of changes….. 🙁
But we do need to rotate, rico. In anticipation of the next two matches, which would be much tougher, it does make sense to rest some of the key ones. 🙂
Oh, and good points on your 3:44, btw rico. SO Dzeko is off to the moneybags mancs… Surprise, surprise.
I meant 4:44 😳
it is a tough call and no-one is right or wrong but i guess thats why we are not footie managers 😉 😉
changes yes but just not tooooooo many agag 😉
i hope diaby starts……..
whatever arsene does, as long as we get the win, i am happy. if he does make several changes, i just hope the bench is the strongest possible.
As always AW will do what he thinks best and us saying this or that actually counts for nothing, Brum will be physical it always is and as we’ve all said since monday it means sweet fa beating the rent boys if we don’t win tonight and saturday but least AW can pick different types of teams as at least Wigan are not gonna try kick us off the park like Brum will.
Hey, WATH. Howdy?
rico, Denilson may even get a start. Yikes.
Thats it in a nutshell oliver, lets hope whatever he does he gets it right, he’s probably forgotten more than i have ever known about footie 🙂
WATH, you spoilsport, you know we like to guess… but yes you are right, thats why he gets paid a silly amount of money each year….
you are right about wigan, they play footie and they work hard for eachother… when we beat them in the CC we were very poor, play like that tonight and monday will mean nowt….
oh, and all we will do is give the paps a good story in the morning….
Yeah we was rubbish in the CC, but we won. And that’s the secret, i don’t care how they play tonight, as long as they win. The Mancs have been doing that all season.
good point well made allezkev, three points are all that matters tonight and if have to resort to ‘hoof’ to get the winning goal, i really don’t care…
monday we were special, tonight we need to graft….
Absolutely mate. I’m sick to death of having ‘pundits’ waxing lyrical about how fantastic we play. Now and again { not all the time } but just now and again, lets be boring and grind out a 1-0, just like the good old days, eh?
BTW Rico, great blog, really positive vibes mate
Eeeek. I just checked and our game is not on my tv listing. Honestly, who still wants to watch, Liverpool?? (well… there is one worth watching, to be fair.)
Hello, allezkev. rico’s a girl, btw. 🙂
allexkev, i’m sick of pundits saying how weak we are too, how pretty footie wins nothing, about time we rammed their comments down their throats…
thanks re the blog, hope you come back and become a regular here….
yeah mate, first port of call from now on. Offski for 15mins, c ya in a mo
Tonight, I shall not be watching The Arsenal.
A Girl…. Gadzooks… you’ll get me shot, hehe. Still a top site. hello agag, it must have been my feminine side that drew me to this blog
:D, allezkev. And it is a top site.
Will, please don’t watch. 😀
agag, not on ours here in the uk either 🙁
Will, don’t you dare my friend 😉
allezkev, please don’t let that scare you away 🙂 🙂
I’m off to eat my dinner, back in 20 mins 🙂
No chance, i love all you girls…. ok.. mate hehe
I will be on here and the BBC.
we had the team yet??
evening dudes and dudettes
TURN IT OFF WILL.. 😉
Ha ha JJ. Did I or did I not warn you? As soon as I turned it on they scored and took control.
i dont like how theo says that the chelsea game has gone and we need to forget it..
wrong attitude..we only need to forget games we lose if we tonk a team we need to take that blueprint and play like that all the time
if we beat chelsea that way we will beat anyone that way so i do agree that we fully focus on wigan but we have to bare in mind what we did against the chavs and it should finish 6-0 😉
close down dont let them breathe..none of this its only wigan talk it could be brasil, barca, wigan, merther tydfyll i dont care DONT LET THEM BREAHTE..
JJ you liteweight the game up ur neck of the woods why you not there….?
: ) ak. rico’s the nicest. Don’t worry about it.
Rubbish streaming but The Great Arsenal v. rubbish team but Torres… Decisions. Decisions. 🙂
Will… Not. Even. A. Peep. 😉
I think Theo spot on JJ the rent boys is finished it’s history and counts for squat if we don’t win at Wigan and thats what he’s getting at don’t drool over beating the rent boys when its done and gone…! You can’t sit and gloat when a nother game is upon us and just as important.
hahaha mate..
u did warn us thats for sure..not sure they took control they had a purple patch for about 5 mins after they scored but other than that it was pretty much one way traffic..
like i said at the time the commentators where on edge virtually wanting chelsea to score again but we were cruising chelsea got hammered..
if nasri and rvp would have taken those chances it could have been 5-6..chelsea were fucking lucky
they had one shot all game and that was shit they got trounced they were never in control.. 😉
AGAG how’s you sexy, I hear far to much GG been consumed in your part of the world so I just know it’s you !!! 😉
hey wath..
iiiii know mate its games like these i used to go to but dont get to them as much now im a dad its not as easy…
got my ticket for the leeds game tho already sorted meet ya for a beer if ya want 😉
yeah i see that point theo making wath about concentrating on wigan but the way we played v chelsea is the way we need to play all time..shouldnt forget that..
take momentum not leave it behind
agag, on a serious point, one of the best things about all-seater stadia and improved facilities is the greater attendance of women and the general improvement ‘that’ has brought to the atmosphere at football grounds. I’m just larking about. I used to go to away games on the AFSC coach, mainly because of the better atmosphere on the coach brought about by the women on the coach. They used to look after us.. Only joking….
chelsea in freefall
i was on wrightys site last night he was on a wind up to the chav fans and i was up for the scrap but none of em came out to play
even their own fans know its over..
allezkev
your last may have been said in jest but you have a point..
away games are the best for atmosphere
depends what type of fan you are if you like to take the family then home games are for you… if your the type who likes to take his shirt off and swing it over your head and u like the rivalry and the tension and the constant warfare then the away games is where u wanna be..
Eboue, left-back, hmmm not sure about that Arsene..
rico likes the away games
shes always taking her top off and swinging it round her head 😉
Thing is JJ Theo being sensible in his comments and the focus is Wigan not about gloating over the rent boys am sure the valid points are to be carried on but the euphoria of a single victory over the rent boys won’t win us the league and nor does it solve our defensive lapses so its all about the attitude and the committment and getting stuck into Wigna like they are also a title rival and then again on Sat v Brum…. I may well be a little busy with that Leeds date mate but def another game later in the season if ur about… A quieter one 😉
Away games are now where the proper fans still go, all the jcl’s fill the concrete bowl !! Even away games are also getting a little infested with the new age fans… Best I shut up now lol 😉
mass changes to our lineup. squillaci and eboue in for djourou and sagna, respectively…denilson and diaby in central mf…bendtner, rosicky and arshavin supporting chamakh up front.
that’s seven changes from monday…what was that you said, rico?
arsene would be criticized by some quarters regardless of whether he changed things up or not. the side he named is good enough to win here. lets hope they do the business.
the bench is strong, with only vela a fringe squad member.
i tell u what mate if we win the league im up for making a huge journey and coming and getting wrecked with the lot of u in the summer.. 😉
im beginning to warm to theo again..hes got that buzz back..lost it a while but hes scaring defenders again..still cant dribble and outpaces the ball when hes running but as long as he stays out of the build up play and makes those runs inside he’ll be a huge weapon
agree it all counts for naff all tho if we dont beat wigan..
not bothered about the scoreline just get the points
Anyone noticed how the press have made it Chelsea beat themselves?
Also I agree, we need to remember the Chelsea game, how we played, hot it felt to win and we need to not take Wigan lightly. We need to be the Arsenal of old and be 4-0 up in the first half.
Wigan: Al Habsi, Stam, Gary Caldwell, Alcaraz, Gohouri, Thomas, Diame, Cleverley, Watson, N’Zogbia, Rodallega.
Subs: Pollitt, Boselli, Steven Caldwell, Gomez, McArthur, Figueroa, McManaman.
Arsenal: Fabianski, Eboue, Squillaci, Koscielny, Sagna, Diaby, Rosicky, Denilson, Bendtner, Chamakh, Arshavin.
Subs: Szczesny, Nasri, Vela, Walcott, Wilshere, Djourou, Clichy.
Sagna playing Oliver….!
sorry wath – that was eboue for clichy, my bad. i am used to seeing him replace sagna, but when gibbs got injured in that recent start, eboue had to come on for him…if i were roberto martinez, i would be looking at that left side, with eboue and arshavin, and thinking hmmmmmm…..
JJ I reckon we win the league at the lane again when it’s rescheduled after teh CC final we’re going to be in….! Winning monday is about remebering the way we hassled closed them down didn’t let them settle it’s not about oh we’re now a great team cos we beat the rent boys and thats what Theo is getting at I reckon and he’s spot on…!. When Theo is used properly JJ and gets proper service the boy can cause havoc. . . . He needs decent service as well not stupid balls on the half way line with his back to goal…! He can’t hurt ppl there…!
JJ away games are the biz, i used to luv them. Nothing beats going up North, being surrounded by the natives and taking home the points. Best feeling ever coming home on the coach after a successfull away game
That team does not look right.
thats a poor line up for the squad of players we have i reckon..underestimating wigan
make changes yes but 7????
denilson song and diaby dont work weve seen it so many times..
add eboue and weve basically filled the midfield with players who can implode..
big risk
Ur right about the left side but more AA that Eboooie Oliver… Maybe AA has also seen he needs to defend from the front after Monday, time will tell…!
deep breath everyone…we should be positive and confident for tonight, but not yet giddy…we still have a lot of work remaining, and still have lots to prove. many of the players starting also have things to prove – not least bendtner and arshavin – so hopefully that will work to our advantage.
eboue better not be on the left either thats just dumb
Anyone worried with this midfield: Diaby, Rosicky, Denilson
I don’t think that team is as bad as u make out JJ…. Wigan as said b4 will at least try to play footie, There enough talent to win so lets see. Diaby will have to dictate the tempo thats all and that in itself is a test so we’ll see if he up for it.
jj, i agree it is a risk – but arsene has brought all of our regulars up, so we have a very strong bench. if things go bad early, i hope and pray he will change things up quickly, not wait until the hour mark.
i don’t think it was realistic to expect ten of the starting eleven (excepting cesc) to retain their places, but these are a lot of changes. i am sure the very quick turnaround is mostly why. i cannot believe arsene would underestimate wigan, even after their pitiful non-effort at the ems a few weeks back – the last trip to jjb is still fresh in everyone’s minds.
ffs
eboue lb
diaby and denilson in the engine room??
wenger goes from tactical genius to puzzling the fuck out of us yet again..whats he playing at with that team..
its a two bob team..typical
Will if that midfield can’t take care of Wigan they need to get a proper job…!
wath
when diaby and denilson play together we know what happens..especially of theres no cesc
and the last time eboue played lb against wigan he was the substituted substitute he was that shit
sqaure pegs in round holes again..if we dont take the points the blame lies with the man who made the dodgy bodged team selection
i know we have a busy schedule but come on theres no need for that side..
thats the dregg team we have to play when everyone injured why we using them all for such and important fixture..
we’ll have to see how it goes. it is a risk, that is for certain, but it would also have been a risk to name a virtually unchanged side from monday – quick turnaround, more potential for injuries.
i had hoped for no more than five changes at the most, so we will just have to see how this goes. gibbs’ injury really hurts because eboue is the only cover – for both clichy and sagna. i think eboue works far better deputizing for sagna than clichy.
i agree those are a lot of changes, jj, but i don’t agree this is as dire as you think. i think that team is capable of getting a result – and all our big guns (with the exception of cesc) are still here and available.
we’ll know whether this worked or blew up in our faces in another couple of hours…
JJ, i see that team and its a team AW has picked to beat Wigna, maybe not win 5-0 but a team to win none the less and I think he’s got it just about right, Denilson will sit, Diaby n Rosicky get forward and Bendy and AA provide the width, yes that is the funny bit by the way 😉 Eboooie aint the player that was shit 2 yrs ago so lets give the fella a bit of credit…! I think thats an ok team to do a job…!
Bendtner + Chamakh…. are we going 4 4 2 ????
what was the team when wigan pulled our pants down last year
i bet diaby, denilson, nikki, eboue were in the team..
this is a side full of players with shit mentality wehy we gotta make it difficult before its even kicked off
wigan would have been shitting themselves after cheslea result..they see that side they will think they have a chance..
I’ve just stopped swinging my arsenal shirt in anger, those changes are stupid!!
Far too many, Theo says the same as the post, forget the win, stay with the mentality….
i hope this doesn’t go bloomin wrong tonight, wigan are not that bad a side…..
if the players selected tonight give the same 90-plus minutes of effort and intensity that monday’s team did, there is no reason that we cannot win this…
positive attitude and complete effort should see us thorough here….
i think i’d prefer Sagna at left-back. Apparantly Clichy got a knock vs Chavs
Bendy is right wing AK………….. Bet Theo worried about his place now 😉
JJ hear what your saying but if the players in the wings can’t come to the party we got 2 months of games back to back time to stand up least AW will know he has to buy if some fuck up 2nite and can’t be arsed he also has a bench full of players to come on and make an impact…!
in fact, if wolves or blackpool made so many changes, wouldn’t they get fined?????
eboue on the left wath…
i give eboue credit but eboue on the left???? nooooooooooo
oliver this is a massive test now with all the changes i expected to at least see theo again..
2 games in 3 days will not kill a 21 year old..
if these boys fuck up they need shipping out in jan..maybe thats what wengers doing?? make or break time for some of those players..maybe a bit of shop window tactic but hope not cos that sort of stuff shouldnt interfere with a title charge..
i think these are too many changes also – but nothing we can do about it. i prefer to focus on the safety valve of a bench that is arguably stronger than the starting eleven – and hope that arsene will use this bench responsibly, should the need arise.
Rico you sound like JJ go take some chill pills…! IF it goes pear then AW carries the can after the game but til then lets see what happens.
Surely we have a LB coming up that could have played there?
Spot on Oliver
lol rico
Hopefully Wigan’s legs will go in 2nd half
JJ Ebooie least has a defensive mind he’ll do fine also there are several carrots being dangled me thinks, plenty big mouths getting a chance to shine or fuck off me thinks as well….! Do you wanna be part of a title push or are you just a show boat..? As said time to stand up if you actually wanna be in the starting 11….!
WATH, nah, i am ok honest its just others get fined for so many chances despite using the so called squad…
If it goes wrong wenger can take the can but its us who feel hurt, changes yes but that many, come on, its madness… these are pro footballers, not a pub team, they should all be fit….
Eboue on the left, against Wigan….
Isn’t that the game he was booed on and off within a matter of minutes… oh well, at least its not on television 😉 😉
i agree two games in three days will not kill any of these players, but three games in six/seven is infinitely more difficult, and that is what we facing with the upcoming trip to st. andrews…its going to be a long, hard haul from now until may – we have to rotate at some point, and the middle game of a short-turnaround three game stretch is as good as any. again, i think arsene made too many changes to the side, but he has to make these decisions not me.
i agree with wath – if this goes sour on us, then we will know where to look for responsibility. that said, i still think this lineup – and particularly the bench – is good enough to win tonight.
But yes WATH, i see what you are saying, many in this side think they are Arsenal, well now go and prove it, if not, naff off………….
so we’re wearing the yellow away kit tonight. one change from last season’s trip up here.
diaby and eboue cant give 90 of intense concentration they implode too easy…
and denilsons pace makes him look tired after first minute
that midfields weak..even with rosicky its weak cos he aint the same player he was either
the defence and attack look ok really but that engine room is pants and if we dont win the midfield our attackers dont get the ball and our defenders are under pressure
could have been worse almunia could have played i suppose 😉
I see what your saying Rico but think also AW looking at this game every 3 days from now til enf of Feb and thinking ok I am gonna rest and rotate from now as I have most of the squad now fit, why chance an injury from tireness when u can try keep em all reasonably fit……
not a good start – we could have been 1-0 down from the off…
it’s only a couple of minutes in, but these guys have to get to grips here. wigan are all over us…
These guys are professional athletes all under 25 years of age.
but not machines…i think we have to pick our spots when to rotate, but we cannot run everyone into the ground in january.
oliver, i admire your calmness, i really do….
Rotate yes, Eboue and left back, no.
by the time wenger uses the bench the game could be over
wenger dont make changes even when he has to… having a strong bench means naff all cos if we one nil down after half time wenger still wont change anything..he’ll leave it until 70-75 and give them 15mins to turn it round
best team from the start, take them off when the games won..
weve got 4 days to recover and id rather go to st andrews with two straight wins than a win and a draw or a loss..
hes obviously got one eye on birmingham but that goes against all weve (theo) been saying..how can we concentrate on wigan when the manager has already picked his side for the game after???
its stupid and i hope it dont backfire..
you better get this one right wenger..
unfortunately, we have absolutely no cover at that position – as gibbs cannot stay injury-free. i wouldn’t start eboue there either – i think he is better deputizing for sagna – but arsene has made the call.
lets agree to differ with rotation, for our sake and wengers sake (not that it makes a difference to his job) that this doesn’t go wrong…
we have started like we are still asleep….
fabianski just saved our a$$ there…this side – as i feared – looks sluggish and off…if it keeps up this way, wigan will score sooner or later…
oliver, i cannot watch due to no coverage in the uk, are you up for the match report please?? Otherwise i’ll do it from the highlights..
I am reading the BBC updates and this looks like it could be a long night.
We have to stay tight until Wigan’s level drops. Looks like they’re going for an early goal. Keep them out and they’re bound to fade as fatigue sets in.
no worries rico – i got it…i think we are starting to draw the sting out of wigan a bit – but we are well short of the intensity and concentration we need tonight.
Will, you and me both, it’s just awful…..
game over
aaargh just gave a pen away…
Diaby gets the wrong side and cant takle hence penalty… what a prick
Bollocks
1-0 down. just as we started to get into the match. kos brought n’zogbia down.
so much for my hopes of a clean sheet…
these players really do need to step up. this is inexcusable.
How are we feeling now?
2002: GOAL Wigan 1-0 Arsenal (Watson)
2001: PENALTY TO WIGAN
if i were arsene, i would start warming players up now.
According to Sky, the foul was outside the box….. Lucky Arsenal
Wenger has made a mistake.
Start with your strongest 11, get the game won, rest a few at the end.
how do you think? should any arsenal supporter feel good about what is transpiring?
told ya
diaby and denilson in engine room dont fucking work
that teams shit and wengers made it harder than what it should be
well well…..
we’re getting ripped apart here. it looks like some of our players are moving in slow motion.
It was bordeline outside the box but we’re fucking awful…!
they are targeting eboue, just as i thought they would…arsene needs to get clichy on before we go two down…
Too many changes….
Diaby can only play when song is playing, denilson, well he should only play when 24 players are injured…..
at that speed, the ref called it as he saw it. i am more concerned about our listless performance than the ref. we just don’t look up for this…
Do you think Wenger is trying to make a point about squad strength?
still, i will go and eat my ‘chill pills’…..
What a surprise Diaby off injured now sell the muppet in Jan 4 fuck sakes
Will, no, he’s just being wenger, he hasn’t the balls to play that ‘play and prove me or i’ll sell you game’ – if i thought that is what tonight was about, i wouldn’t mind but right now all that looks likely is we undo all the great work from monday…
fingers crossed, legs crossed that something changes….
diaby is off, jack on. need more than just that.
If wigan are targeting Eboue, then why not switch Sagna & Eboue? Diaby off for Jack. Early sub, tatical maybe???
Diaby off….. Injured????
How is Bendtner doing on the wing…..?
they’re saying diaby picked up a knock in the challenge that led to our corner…diaby has given us absolutely nothing today, and he is clearly not ready to start.
every time i see squillaci play, my opinion of him drops…
There are players that are constantly injured and need to be shipped out pronto.
I am so angry about this, the boys did fantastic against Chelsea and now it could be thrown away.
bendtner? wasted there, as always…
Bendy is doing about as good on the wing as he does at centre forward kev…!
Thanks re the post oliver…
From rodedra6 on Twitter: “Andrey Arshavin is a shadow of the player he used to be. Has he got a twin brother or something!?”
still looks like a group of strangers out there. we need someone to knit things together…
all we need now is denilson and aa to get injured and we’ll have a team again
i can just imagine AW and PR convo when they were picking the squad
PR–the game v chelsea was brilliant arsene we need to play like that all time
AW–i know i told you so..
PR–work rate and energy was the key boss..same again v wigan??
AW–definately..i’ll have to make changes tho…
PR–so whos coming in??
AW–my love children
PR–but they are the most lacklustre players we have we will lose all energy in midfield, our attackers wont get the ball and our defenders will be under pressure??
AW–its only wigan
prick
bendtner is rubbish……
WATH, what about Arshavin, not diappeared i hope?
Let’s all sing tommorrows headline from wenger…
‘I’m forever throwing bottles’….
😳
we’re not creating anything, not working hard enough, just not competing. this is not the way to follow a watershed win up…
Oh dear, haven’t we been here before.
kos was the biggest stinker of a signing since liverpool signed vorinin
jd is the only man we have to lead that defence while tv is out and wenger puts him on the bench in favor of the shittest cb pairing since stepanovs and upson
i haven’t seen the ball get to chamakh even once…
yeesssssssssssssssss you beauty AA
nice one now lets kick on
i think we have our answer on how arshavin would respond. he has been abysmal, to put it mildly.
AA off, Walcott on?
and just as i say that, he equalizes!!!!!!
What a goal from AA… pure class shame he’s played like a prick for 37 mins 😉
that was truly against the run of play, but i can care less…
Ha ha ha. Oliver, we are brilliant.
blow the final whistle ref, right now 😉
JJ, unfortunately i suspect Wenger left out Djourou because he had Zigic on his mind. Arshavin has re-appeared.
still need another before half time
not happy with 1-1 and it wont be good enough either
now let’s go win this…
zigic is the shittest header of the ball for his size..AA can head better
even mcleish will admit zigic cant head..his best work is on the ground he wont get a sniff in the air next week no matter who plays..thats if he even plays
hes been on the bench all season
NIKKKKKKKKKKK
yesssssssssss..about fucking time
Chavs 0-0. Bendtner. Always rated him…hehe
assist by arshavin…whatever it is that woke him up – can i have some??
Who should we slag off next?
Play crap and win will do for me.
Has Nikki just earned a % of his last five years wages????
Lets all have a go at Chamakh….hehe
that’s easy – arsene (for slagging), of course…
Yeah that Chemakh is crap, never scores, don’t know why he is on the pitch.
and he fluffs a header just as we say that…keep on his back and i am sure he will get on the scoresheet.
anyone else notice how we get back into the game when the diaby denilson axis is broken..albeit through injury and jack comes in to provide heartbeat…
a fucking corpse has more heartbeat than those two..
never want to see them in midfield together again..i say the same thing whenever they play and i’ll always say it cos we always struggle..
if i can see it why cant the best manager in the world see it?? why does he continue to do it when they never ever produce the goods
Now lets see Wigan’s legs start to go.
ok, we’re at the half now…phew.
Wow, gotta lay down in a darkened room
J, you should write a letter to Wenger explaining is mistakes with those two.
we are still too loose defensively – wigan had a good chance right at the end. i would much prefer not to see eboue for the start of the second. arsene, however, has already made one sub – something tells me he will not change anything until at least an hour, and probably no defensive changes.
this is the thing with AA
im one of his biggest fans i always defend him ask rico.. 😉
but to be honest hes been pissing me off but the thing with AA is that he aint like anyone else we have..he can spend 80mins not doing naff all and then produce something that will win you the game in 5 minutes..
hes a prat but hes dangerous when he wants to be
Don’t they just love putting ya thru the ringer
Yes, AA is a goalscorer, even when he’s playing rubbish, that why i like him even though he does my head in.
will
shouldnt need to right a letter..evry time wenger plays those two together we have a mare in the middle of the park..every time..never seen us play well with those two i dont think anyone has
not rocket science is it but u know wenger he likes to persist with the dreggs just to annoy everyone 😉
well credit to arshavin – he pulled us back into it from a point where it looked like we were headed to 2-0 down. and then sprung nik for our second. forget goal difference or anything else – just three points, which are far from guaranteed at this moment.
evening all..
Any links for the game anyone? pleASE?
jj, i thought you liked diaby these days…..
yep, i have to confirm, jj is a big fan of AA 🙂
He is so annoying though, AA, not JJ 😉
Well Wigan will have to chase the game now, so maybe fatigue can play a part when their legs go {hopefully}
try this1 t http://www.atdhe.net/31605/watch-wigan-vs-arsenal
im not dissing diaby either i think hes wasted in the middle..
said before the lads got a strikers mentality he just wants to play.. he doesnt have the discipline or the brain cells to play engine room he just wants to dribble and attack
dont care about tracking or passing or triangles or movement..he just wants to get the ball and go for goal..hes a striker not his fault hes asked to play central..
denilson can piss off though 😉
Forest winning 3-1 with Ramsey in the team. Hurry up back home Aaron
We need to find our strongest 11 and send them out every week.
Come on the Arse, come on Bolton
Bolton are looking better then Chelsea had more chances.
to say AA has had a stinker of a season hes still got 8 goals and 9 assists so far i think??? somebody help. 😉
if thats off form id hate to be on the other team when he is on form,
thing is do we accept its just the way he plays or do we get rid of him for the ‘sake of the team’ and miss out on those goals and assists..
i can deal with shit players as long as the returns decent and with those stats id say hes decent..
im not a stats fan either cos denilsons stats mean naff all nobody cares about 5 yard passes but everyone cares about goals and assissts
big difference
Chelsea just won the CL final 😆
WILL, we need to start slagging someone off, pronto.
not realistic to play strongest eleven every game but to make 8 changes and fill the squad with the dreggs is too risky
make a few changes..3-4
then bring the others off after an hour or so
changing practically the whole team every game is nothing more than needless tinkering and players cant keep steady form if they are in and out of the team every week…
weve got a bye game when we play leeds in the cup 😉 thats when the team should change and the dreggs play… not against PL opposition
‘if thats off form id hate to be on the other team when he is on form’
Exactly jj, he isn’t playing at his best, to be fair, i’d sell him before he leaves for free in the summer
What is going on?
Stef, for some reason I ended up on some p*rn site from that link you provided??? 😆
I’ll ty it again later thanks lol
kev, i cannot wait for our welsh boy to come home…..
9th jan i think he’s due?
J.T. had a handball but no whistle for a penalty 🙁
Chelsea are very “lucky” again!
Thats poop news Stef, bloomin Terry always gets away with it… as do the chavs in general….
reality is then, diaby off and jack coming on has made a differnce so far…..
t-buzz the score is not that good 😀
Is there a law that says no pens can be given against Chelsea?
who provides the team with those stats tho instead, rico??
rosicky?? dont think hes scored or assissted all season..there are less productive players in the team than AA who we dont need..why get rid of someone who doesnt fit the system but still produces the goods goals and assists wise??
and nobody will buy AA now anyway
why would they when they can get him in summer for naff all..
t-buzz, i ended up somewhere strange too 😆
Right – time for nasri and theo to come on me thinks, get this game killed off …..
Maybe it’s time to introduce Theo. 9th Jan Rico, can’t wait, i luv the boy, he’s top top quality
good call rico
those two on now would give the team more direction and a tired fb dont wanna be chasing theo so get him on now and take whats left out of their locker
Wolves almost scored again against Loserfool
this might cause some disagreement but id rather let rambo stay where he is for a while longer
cos when he comes back..where does he play?? who do we drop??
weve missed him sentimentally but we havent missed him on the pitch..not once..
so let him stay forrest and get games he’ll learn more in that league than coming back to us and sitting on the bench
N’Zobia off. Quite a change from last season!
Red Card What happened? 😕
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck shit
10 fucking men
Red card: That might be the end of Wigan’s hopes of salvaging a draw, then. Charles N’Zogbia stupidly leans his head into Arsenal substitute Jack Wilshere and is sent off by referee Lee Probert.
footie is all about what ‘you/we’ see jj, i just think he’s lazy…. i’m not talking about defending, he’s one of those players who plays when he feels like it, we, arsenal deserve better….
oh deep joy, 2-2, own goal by squilli
Squillaci….. Pillock
deja vu…? Surely not
Isn’t this our main problem?
I make it easy for you sometimes, don’t I? Moments after going down to 10 men the hosts are back on level terms. It’s scrappy, but the DW regulars won’t care, a centre headed back across goal by Hugo Rodallega and with the Arsenal defenders getting into a bit of a tangle it is Sebastien Squillaci who heads into his own net.
gr8 game 2 defensive errors and we are back to the drawing board.
Right Mr Wenger, if you are reading
Buy a centre back that can bloody HEAD THE BALL AWAY.
Thank you for reading.
jj, don’t offend the ladies please……. 😉
bollox to this im logging off
wenger has me ripping my hair out sometimes..whats the fucking point of thrashing chelsea just to change the fucking team v wigan
is it worth resting players really????
nasri jack cesc song could all be injured in training friday makes it all worthless..
play your best team you tit go for the points everygame..
fucking two two against 10 man relegation fodder ffs
guess that will be it then, we wont get by ten in the wigan penalty area 🙁 🙁
jj, isn’t that just what i was suggesting earlier…….
confirmed
squillaci and kos dont play together no more either
one + jd or tv is acceptable but both together fuck me..
14mil we paid for those two sacks of shite..
should of just given the cash to sol and willy to stay another year
I agree JJ, they can rest tomorrow.
I agree JJ he could of make changes at HT is some1 is tired.
Seems as if the ref is a Manc, could have had 2 pens.
yes rico i agree with you totally you were correct..
arrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
WENGER YOU PRAT..
titles their for taking and you fucked it up…again
im not having any blame on the players ‘mentality’ either..
nothing to do with mentality..wengers a tinkerman and its fucking things up..
jj, one of those you just dissed was pretty darn good against the chavs.. no way should we paid money to keep sol and nor should we have kept a player who caused unrest in our club…….
he was only good cos jd dry bummed drogba and song did the same to lampard
job done kos just had to sweep up..
yard boy..JD’S bitch…hes fucking shit by himself
Wenger needs to man up, put his hands up and say he made a mistake.
Ho hum…!
:mr angry:
but is wenger a prat?? most wanted players rested and thats what he did, just because it didn’t work, the same fans cannot change their mind….
a freak own goal was the difference, that wasn’t wengers fault… without the own goal, he would have got it right and i would have been wrong….
3 points at Birmingham has to be a must, well it was anyway but now it’s the absolute minimum. Excuse me while i kick the cat.
Well, thats it, 2-2 and we mucked it up..
t-buzz, mr anry indeed but who do we blame? I guess i will reserve that for tomorrow, i’m a tad naffed off and tired now, and thats because i’ve beemn up most nights watching the cricket 🙂 🙂
We desperately need a mean bastard centre back who knows how to clear a ball into our box.
Wigan get a pen that wasn’t and we get naff all from the ref.
Will, the players let their manager down, they are all part of a squad and they all say how good they are…
kev, kick the door, not the cat 🙁
AW needs to make changes earlier to kill of the game as you mentioned Rico, Nasri and Theo, but he put them when Wigan scored to little to late.
And with only with 10 minutes there is little for an impact when the other team is on the back foot.
Oh well.. like Anceloti statement :Next game:
I’m off to sulk…
see you all tomorrow… i am absolutely gutted…..
night all, see you tomorrow…
rico i didnt want players rested they are all under 25 who needs resting if your not fit enough to play two games in 3 days at 25 then your in the wrong job..
wenger fucked up
the team v cheslea with a few minor changes would have done the job tonight
but no
wenger changed practically the whole team
sorry but you dont do that on the back of such a result you keep the core and change the periphery..
we said when we saw the line up we seen it happening the script was written wenger fucked up yes hes a prat..
he got it wrong.. momentums gone again and we have to go to st andrews on the back of a dissapointing result instead of two wins..
we right back were we started before the cheslea win..
Haha. Yeah, you haven’t seen my cat, he’s a monster. Don’t know why i’m laughing, must be the wine!
Stef, he always leaves it too late…..
night folks….
Our back up centre backs are obviously not good enough, how many of the goals against us come from hopeful punts into the box?
why does he have to tinker all the time??
hes given denilson and diaby 200 games to see what theyve got why is he trying to proove something that failed over 199 games ago
i dont wanna see em in their rosickys games gone and the cb’s are shite..
without song the whole foundation of the midfield is gone..but will he buy in jan will he fuck we get to see more of denilson yipppeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….
Djourou’s the boy. Wenger has to go with him for the rest of the season, rotate the other two idiots.
It’s such a shame Frimpong got a bad injury as he might have been the answer as Song’s deputy
night rico..
im off guys im gunna find a poster of wengerr and punch it a few times..
dont wanna hear interview blaming pitch or injury time or mentality i wanna hear him say im sorry it wont happen again i played my CC team for a PL game and it backfired at a vitol point of the season..
but he wont..be the pigeons fault that flew across kos line of sight every time the ball came near him..
or the late night roads works vibrations knocking rosickys glasses and false teeth out
night guys off to calm down..
I also said monday Wenger had the perfect chance to keep Chezny in and did you see that muppet in goal running from one side to the other like a fuckin headless chicken….???? That team with commottment should of been more than enough for Wigan and yet we were crap…! That shows us two things, first Wenger fucked up with the selection and secondly those that were picked are not as good as they think they are and we need better in reserve, I disagree JJ Ramsey is far better than Denilson Diaby and also prob Rosicky now…. The boy has def been missed….!
See you guys tomorrow for more venting.
Righto off to watch the cricket on ITV4. Goodnight Rico, i almost enjoyed it.
Vermaelen come back please!!!
New “top” manager (Tony Adams maybe 🙂 ) in January will do us good too.
I am an AW fan but he messed up way to much!
New manager will most definitely keep the players we don’t need and buy some new.
I know it look redundant but believe this the best for the team.
off to bed
wath ive just taken the dog for a walk to help calm down and i was thinking exactley that mate..
i remembered the rambo thing and tonights game and i thought yeah man i was wrong rambo would get into the team over denilson and rosicky i think and AA maybe..diaby hell yeah
so hes in for me..
told ya though mate at start of game that the chelsea game was the blue print..we beat teams easily when we close them down and hustle and work hard and dont flap..but players like diaby and denilson have no gusto ( or whatever) so it was unlikey that we were guna dominate the midfield..jack came on and things changed we got some desire back and it woke the other players up
tonights game is a perfect example of why those players dont play much anymore..we have a good squad but not to change all the same time..its ok to a degree doing it in the cups i can understand that but in the PL???..i was in shock when i seen the line up..
what annoys me the most is that we were 2-1 up and blew it and is it just me or do we win more games and look more solid at the back when JD and song play??? or are denilson and kos that garbage???
im not happy lets put it that way lol
good blog again today rico this place has been hot..
good mixture..
place is pumping on matchdays.. knew you could do it.. 😉
another thing on rambo
even if we wanted him back..will wenger play him?? or will he end up like eduardo?? id rather see him stay where he is if wenger just wants to use him twice a season..if hes coming back to jobshare with jack then fine but if hes coming back to sit on bench leave him at forrest until summer then when we let AA and rosicky go rambo can come straight in 1st team 😉
thing is..
tinkering is ok..to a degree..but essentially the core or spine of the team has to stay together..
i think JD knees are done and hes like ledly king cos wenger wont sodding play him twice on trot..wont play rvp twice on trot either..
anyways…players like ches jd tv song cesc rvp chamack nasri..they all have to play 30+ games a season if we gonna win titles..ok tv out cesc sus but all the others where fit and only sodding chamack started..
the season we went unbeaten we had virtually a full squad all season and the players played majority of the year..
when chelsea won all those titles that tosser JT was putting in 38 PL games a season..until fat frank got old and fat and shit and injured he played something like 150 league games on the bounce..drogba was playing 30+ and banging 20+ goals as a result..they rested players naturally but they rotated around the spine..
wenger changes the lot..we lost all cohesion all tempo all momentum from the chelsea game and played shit..
this is how shit we played..
we conceeded an early goal, gave away a pen, came from behind, took the lead, give it away to a ten man relegation team, scored an own goal..
what a farce..we made wigan look good…wenger picks the team the performance was shabby he needs to accept responsibilty..after manu drew yesterday as well..jeez
Saw the highlights. Thought fabianski gave away a penalty, a bit lucky there i suppose, but as usual the BBC missed a lot of the incidents in the game, what about the foul on Theo in the box, was that a pen?
Arshavin scored a great goal, made the 2nd goal for Bendtner, didn’t play against Chavs, so why take him off?
Squillaci was embarrising. Been in England now for over 4 months, is he improving, is he adapting to the EPL? Can’t see it myself, looks totally out of his depth.
Rico, the cat says ‘hello’.
we were crap kev..i dont care what wenger says that wasnt arsenal out there..he reckons those players could have played chelsea in his interview..
i wish he’d shut up sometimes its playing those players against the big teams that gets us trashed the daft sod..
Yeah Jon, i know what you mean, it’s like when the players start boasting about what they’re going to do or not do before a game. I just wish they’ed all shut up and do their talking on the field.
dude squillaci is out of his depth..so is kos..so is denilson..that defensive triangle has so many weaknessess..so many…
I tell ya what Jon, on Le Grove they’re going ballistic, it’s scary mate.
Yeah mate, it’s Stepanovs MkII
exactley..to be honest its one of the reasons ive gone off clichy a little..hes always opening his mouth saying this and that about how we should play and stuff yet i can count on one hand the amount of decent games hes had this year..just wish he’d shut his mouth and do what he did to chelsea every week
god knows why he didnt play tonight..hes one of the fittest players in the squad hes powered by duracell if hes not injured then there is no reason why he cant play 2 games in 3 days..
weve got no Cl either for a few month theres no reason we should be resting a whole squad like that..i know xmas is busy but we can do that v leeds..
Wenger just has this ‘blind spot’ on centre-halfs, and when you consider he used to play there you would think he’d be excellent at spotting the good ones, can’t get my head around it!
I did hear that Clichy got a knock against Chavs?
im not suprised pal..
i dont read le grove anymore but i know exactley what you mean..all hell breaks loose on lg after a game like this it goes nuts funny as fuck i know gambon would have been on by now and maybe bbk if he hasnt slit his wrists.. 😉
theyve got a reason to be mad mate wengers just made a massive cock up with team selection for no good reason..alot of gooners are gunna be pissed..some longer than others but i thinkn the majority will be venting tight now.. lol
To be honest Jon {no pun intended} i’ve gone off of Clichy, he did well against the Chavs but i do like Gibbs, just wish he’d keep fit
Hahaha, yeah mate, i’m too scared to post a comment on there in case they all come around to my house and beat me up lol
Funny thing is Jon, i reckon we’ll win at Brum and then beat Cittie.
clichy took a bad tackle v chelsea i remember could have been that..maybe
aaahhhh im in the gibbs camp mate and have been for a while now..nail on the head Kev he cant stay fit so clichys stayed in but clichy on form is fun to watch its just he dont do it anymore..shame really..but id rather clichy than eboue..
Oh Eboue! Nice guy, good laugh in dressing room, but i’ve never been a fan. Mind you Wenger doesn’t help his cause by playing him on the left. Drops him in the shit every time.
yup square pegs
eboue decent squad man..good to have around decent rb but shit everywhere else..guess what wenger plays him everywhere else..lol go figure..
That’s Arsene for ya, stubborn, stubborn & stubborn.
the cavalry will be back and fresh for brum but citeh will be tough
titles still there but wengers gotta stop tinkering and also buy another song in januray..midfields top heavy with attackers need more songs..
denilsons shit slow and a princess we need another monster like alex.. godzilla not godzuki
Well it’s been good chatting to ya Jon, but i have to go to bed now, so i’ll say goodnight mate, and remember ‘Arsene Knows’……lol
Yeah, i can’t stand Denilson. nite mate
see ya around kev
Morning,
apologies but not always got the time to blog these days but anyway I saw the match in a slightly different light.
I have mentioned before that to see the so called mental strength one needs o see the consistency over a number of games.
The highlight amongst fans and media is that 8 changes was in hindsight not a good idea and of course the penalty decision was harsh and we should have had one ourself in injury time but it was not to be.
We were run ragged in the opening 15/20 minutes and how much more convincing does one need to see that both kos and squil just aren’t top class.
The 2 worst players on the pitch pulled goals back and though i have been a staunch critic of rosicky he at least had a good first half.
if djourou has the possibility of being injured every time he plays we have to resolve that.same applies to diaby and rvp,who didn’t make the squad.
Fabianski is just not the answer,sure he is a shot stopper but has no command of his area.
IMO the exclusion of song was the most important factor as neither denilson or initially diaby controlled the midfield.
We played bendnter with chamakh,get a corner and arshavin sends in a low cross,unbelievable.
When wigan’s most dangerous player rightfully gets sent off,we should have capitalised and as much as wenger got his subs right on monday he got them totally wrong last night.
i am not surprised with the result and if we can win on saturday 7out of 9 would be a good return.
the main issue is time and time again not being able to defend set pieces and every tam including ipswich and even leeds will see that as well.
why change a winning team,make the odd tweak by all means,so have we really got strength in depth.
all in all whoever the main cente back pairing are,without a first class keeper we will continue to concede unnecessay goals.
we pay exorbitant wages to players who should have no difficulty in playing at least 1.5 games in 48 hours.
all in all a game were we didn’t play well as a team,didn’t get the right refdecisions but still should have won.no excuses whatsoever.
morning kelsey…
new post up