During Arsene Wenger’s 14 consecutive season’s of Champions League football, we’ve had quite a mixed bag of results.
The only certainty about a European competition is it’s uncertainty…
On the back of that most disappointing performance and result against Schalke 04, it brought back memories of another home defeat and what followed.
Season 2003-04 will rightly be remembered by most Gooners, for all the right reason’s, it being that Invincible season we so cherish…
But it was also the last season that Arsenal lost at home to foreign opposition…
That September in 2003, Internazionale of Milano rolled into town for the opening group match. No worries there then..!
Arsenal’s record against Italian clubs in European competition was, and is excellent, and up till then no Italian club had won at Highbury. (Fiorentina had been at Wembley)
So a good performance from the prospective Champions of England and three points seemed inevitable but this is football my fellow Gooners, and Obefemi Martins (remember him?) had other ideas.
The diminutive Nigerian had the game of his life, he tore the Arsenal defence to shreds and was instrumental in Inter’s 3-0 victory…
Chastened and bruised, Arsenal then faced two long trips into the bowels of the old USSR, to darkest Moscow and Kiev…
Those two long journey’s saw Arsenal return with one point, following a 0-0 vs Lokomotiv of Moscow and then a dispiriting 1-2 reversal vs Dinamo of Kiev…
One point from a possible nine had the Press gleefully anticipating the prospect of an early Arsenal exit from Europe…
Happy Days in Fleet St…
These Gunners turned it all around with three successive victories to qualify for the knock-out stages. A 1-0 home victory against Dinamo Kiev and a 2-0 home win over Lokomotiv Moscow sandwiched one of the most amazing European performances ever
achieved by any Arsenal team, in any era, in its history.
In fact the 5-1 victory in Milan remains arguably Arsene Wenger’s finest hour as Arsenal manager in Europe…
In the San Siro, Thierry Henry put in a master-class against the Italian’s to propel the Gunners to an amazing success. It remains the most accomplished team performance from an Arsenal team in Europe, that I have seen, albeit on TV. (A video of the game would be good)
In the knock-out stage Arsenal then recorded their first ever victory on Spanish soil by beating Celta of Vigo 3-2…
The Quarter-Finals I forget….!
We are not quite at the ‘Fleet Street’ glee days yet in this Champions League campaign but a loss tonight will harm us an awful lot should we lose again tonight and Olympiakos beat Montpellier. That would leave us battling for second place with the Greek side who we still have to play away from home.
Ramsey is the only player missing from the weekends fixture which may force Wenger to start Walcott, as long as he recovers from ‘sickness’.
So, more of the same, or will we see a new approach, a revitalised team with a bit of determination and passion about them?
Will Arsene Wenger being back on the sideline help?
We have to hope so…….
Written by Allezkev
Morning all….
Good post Kev, I remember the quarter final 🙁
Its that same old thing really, IF we turn up, anything could happen, one thing for sure and that’s things have to change soon. This crop of players are due a good performance, we fans could do with seeing that tonight..
Santos needs to play as if his career depends on it….
Maybe it does…
Off out again today, back in a couple of hours…
Santos will not play according to NN. He is to be replaced by the Verm.
Play a proper full-back in stead of Santos not TV… Play either Sagna or Jenks, my choice would be Sagna as he the more experienced to cover as a left back speedy in his recovery and pretty disciplined.
No Santos anywhere near the team please…!
We need pace in midfield as well, no good wenger going on about our offensive game when he leaves the speed on the bench and plays Pod wide on the left and in the same breath tells us what a clinical finisher he is….. Baffling.
As we said earlier W.A.T.H…………AW does NOT WANT TO SEE the wood for the trees.
Even the most staunch AW followers are starting to ask pertinent questions Dev, I don’t know why it seems Wengers ego will not allow him to rectify something in the face of thinking the fans will say well we told you so or well you bought him… I would far happier he made a change and said i may of made a mistake or poor judgement… Brilliant well done Mr Wenger I would be chuffed he has seen the problem and rectified it I would not slag him off for the initial stuff up at all i would be far happier to see his is doing something about it… Why does he not accept and appreciate that we want the best for the team not to slag him off OR is he just so stubborn he doesn’t see whats wrong or that he made a bad choice..?
That is the reason why yesterday I said that there are politics involved in the situation W.A.T.H.
Its not stubborness I feel.
What he needs to do is re-evaluate what he has. If the players cannot play to his system he has to find a system to suit his players. I’m not suggesting a long ball game but the ball needs to be moved forward quicker and width must be utilised properly ,centres must be more accurate and when say Walcott crosses Podolski must get closer to Giroud and the same the other way round. We don’t lack possesion purely the correct application.
We wont win tonight I’m afraid. The Germans rolled over us at our own home and I just cant see this team picking it self up and giving it ago.
it is becoming obvious that the manager can no longer motivate the players, this is becoming painfully similar to GG last days.
TT………you have just made a comparison and unknowingly you have backed up my claim.
It is becoming painfully similar to GG last days.
Now do not tell me that in 1994/95 the players did not know what was going on underhand. They knew. Yes even the board I feel knew. However when they had the chance they hung him out to dry.
Something sinister is going on at the club. And I believe that the players know it also.
This is painful to admit but………..there might come a day when we can no longer say that Nasri, Adebayor, Clichy, Toure, RVP, etc were greedy pigs for going somewhere else but were right in leaving because they knew of what was happening in the club.
This is just an opinion and I might be wrong.
I seem to remember that we had a contributor for HH who went by the name of Judith Le Strange.
She has written to Myles Palmer…………
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php/news/2753/30/Time-for-Wenger-to-go-says-Judy?
Good article here…………….
http://www.sportsnewsireland.com/soccer_irish/arsene-wengers-empire-is-crumbling123/?
Potter, your 9:45…
Spot on mate,
All very speculative Dev and far to much conjecture for me… IF what you say is right then maybe it’s AW playing devils advocate in so far has he told senior players the board will not back him with funds….? IF we lose the fans will revolt and yes he will get stick but more so the board and he wants the board gone but on 7bar a year he cannot be seen to be rocking the boat…?
Talk about conspiracy theory and David Icke………………..
Are we actually making far to much out of theories and he really has just lost the plot..?
The thing is that I am confused about this situation. On one hand something tells me that I am mistaken and this is all conjecture and fantasy. On the other there are too many issues which are left unexplained.
A very difficult situation to read. The fact that our club is not transparent does not help.
what annoys me most is the fact that we stick with certain players even though we know they are injury prone.
Look at Diaby, Rosicky they are never fit.
look at our team with these 2 in it and look at our current team wthout them, you can see the difference.
we need to replace these 2 with similar players with their calabour.
the closest player to rosicky is Belhanda, Diaby is one of a kind there are very few players who can play like diaby, i for all my football knowledge cant figure out a player who can replace diaby. Thats for wenger to figure out.. after all he is the one who is paid 7 million a year not me.
Many will say we have never ever been transparent Dev and they are correct, the board although stating they are the custodians are now merely Stans puppets yet they also feel that the fans are there only to be tolerated and how dare we ask pertinent questions about them and the running’s of the club…!.
They do love a bit of cloak and dagger…!
Terry, don’t you think a proper defensive midfielder who can also play a bit would be the right option as it would give us strength in midfield and also allow MA8, Santi and JW10 much more freedom to be creative and not have to always look at defensive duties which do hinder our attacking play, still say we lack proper out and out wingers as well and the lone striker does not work with the players we have.
Good morning all,
Third day running….
We the fans are the ones going to be here tomorrow so as things stand I rather the angel I know than….
Lets try to put things in perspective guys, are we really mourning about a manager who has been at the club for 16 years aearning £130k a week? We rather want to pay a frustrating TW14 £100k a week?And those going on about ‘deadwoods’ how much do we really expect them to earn? Chamakh came on a free and he is alleged to be on £60k a week is that really disproportionate ?
Do we really think Aw does not care about the team? Yes he has under achieved but to me only post 2009 season not the 2005 season most people go on about. Which other manager would have done what he did between 2006 and 2009 after the stadium move. and please no mention of Dein because if he loved the club he would not have sold his shares to anyone who offered him a free meal.
We are all free to believe what we believe so I will say this again, Usmanov will never be allowed to buy Arsenal for the same reasons David Dein was not selected to be the FA head even though he was everyone’s favourite.
Its the same reason ‘arry the average media pundits favourite was not appointed the England manager. Those who have an eye know why the FA do what Sir Alex wants and referees like Howard are preferred. During the WC 2010, an interview was conducted in Webbs house and a particular shot during the interview at home was shown long enough to tell some important people who his masters are. Those who are observant enough know our board are selected to include only those who have certain views and possibly meet on some Thursday nights.lol
PHW and the other old heads such as Chips Keswick( who is also on the board of DeBeer) wants to maintain the ‘tradition’ of the club and Usmanov is not welcome yet.
Evening all.
Bring on Schalke.
We will be winning!!
Well,i hope we will 🙂
Messi and iniesta all contribute defensively so does Reus and Kevin Grosskreutz.. We struggled previous seasons because some primadonnas did not want to defend at AFC but are happy to do that with their new clubs.
Ts, I suppose your referring to the black hand gang and people who work with “concrete” long as your not gonna tell us DD is a Muslim lol……..
Don’t go getting carried away Scott… wait til you see if left back first mate 😀
Morning Scott, That’s the spirit! Enough of the doom and gloom, we’re going to tonk the germans tonight, give Fulham real good seeing to on Saturday and start moving up the table. No worries cobber!
Hi Scott, Tuesday night on the 4th day or match of the group stage? I am quietly confident. lol
Dein a muslim? lol. he likes his younger girls do 😉
TS, you only had to look at Rooney on Sat, the bloke was all over the place he ran his nuts off for the team he defended got tackles in and did his job up front, hate him as a person but i wish our players put in a shift like that in an Arsenal shirt.
I am always confident,but you all know that lol.
Wath,Ramsey does every week and still cops it 🙂
Aaron puts in a shift Scott for sure but Rooney does it over and above playing well up front.
Aaron out of position tries his best but he just isn’t a winger is her but we all know that, well some of us don’t seem to appreciate that not does our manager but hey ho…!
Ts, your Inbox…!
WATH i am with you there. That is why a team like Dortmond who claim to follow AW’s blue print but have players willing to work hard win the Bundesliga whilst the Bavarians falter.
Giroud use to be known as a hard worker at Monpellier but the moment he crossed the channel he has forgotten how to do that. Instead he mourns more than Reyes at the moment.
Tsgh,i reckon you are harsh there.
Giroud gives us plenty.
Ha ha ha scott. Maybe but I can’t stand the new attitude he has picked up by stopping for seconds when things dont go his way. He loses vital time when he could have tracked back immediately. lol
WATH my inbox? Nothing yet if you meant me..
I think Giroud does put himself about Ts, think he also knows that being the lone striker he can’t go back into his own half to do it though, there are others that should be doing that…! He does chase defenders down though but also again as the lone striker the bloke is stuffed chasing 3 defenders down…! Time for a formation change but it won’t happen so yet again just wishful thinking.
As Potter said earlier, horses for courses so why are we not getting the best out of what we got… simple they are being played in wrong positions and asked to do jobs that don’t suit them
What time is the Mel Cup Scott..?
Yes Ts, the addie on your profile… C then the year at hot.com..?
Who did you bet on Scott..? My mate said no way will an Oz horse win it… That prob means an Oz horse will romp home…!
WATH not in inbox or junk. 😮
Its probably taken a detour around floor 3 GCHQ. lol
No worries Ts, it’s somewhere out there getting the once over then 😉
Seeing as Theo is looking more and more likely to go in Jan apart from the silly money being mentioned for Zaha at Palace why are we not looking at Tom Ince at Blackpool…! He is also an Arsenal fan much to his Dad’s disgust lol he’d cost less that the 15mil being bandies about for Zaha..!
Potter 9.45: Spot on with your comments.
Also good point made by WATH about Rooney and how hard he works. Tevez is a similar player, shuts down defenders when they have the ball and puts them under pressure and works his socks off.
I think it will be a draw tonight. It will be interesting to see how Arsene and Bould have prepared the team following Saturdays loss at United. The travelling Arsenal fans deserve a good performance that shows hard work and and a never say die attitude.
Talking about Concrete etc WATH, have you ever noticed the similarities between the Masons logo and the Arsenal one?
Ha ha ha. I guess i should be worried? lol.
Do you know if Kel is one of the regular posters on here WATH?
I like Ince, WATH. He looks like he has his dads fire in him as well…
Very good Marinello re logo that is why I have been going on about Usmanov not going to be allowed on here and my comment at 10:55 am
Morning all,
Two chances of getting anything outta this game in Germany tonight, floodlight failure or a bomb scare, it’s the best we can hope for.
Morning again all, 2-1 tonight, to the good guys of course…
😛
Micko your just such a pessimist…. Prob right though although will hold judgement until I see the team.
Kel has been on and off Ts, doesn’t post a lot though but been here before.
Hope your feeling better and stronger Marinello, yep those crests/logo’s are very similar indeed…! Agreed Rooney and Tevez not only quality players but they also graft and put in a shift for the team, they lead and defend from the front.
Nothing to worry about Ts, just easier there than here……!
Thats the spirit rico.lol
Hi Micko I bet you write all the emails AW writes to the fans when we lose. 😉 re your comment
Interesting tsGH. It certainly still goes on, but I am still not sure why Usmanov could not become one, when even Kenneth Noye was accepted into the Grand Order…..
Micko, pls arrange for that bomb to be on our half of the directors box mate, could solve a few things…. then just to get rid of the “cowboy”
Funny thing is Wath, whenever Santos is mentioned now I think of your 3 legged dog.
I’m not phoning the stadium Micko 😉
I watched ‘999 what’s your emergency’ last night, there was a guy on there who kept making hoax calls to the Fire Service, maybe I’ll call him…
And was the logo changed after Stan came on board?
It’s got to change one day Tsgh, and Kev adding the San Siro year in the post makes me hope tonight is the night.
All depends on Santos 😉
Been rustling through my drawers and could only find a few Snap-its and some old stink bombs left over from my wild days, it’s doomed to fail.
Praying for the light failure it is then…
No, we are going to play the best we have in a while and TV is finally going to show a bit of leadership….
Come on guys, let’s not speak as if we have never seen this team play well. If they’ve done it before they can do it again. I believe they will, and every game i tune into i hope that they will… Hope is all i have now actually. But i never expect a bad performance.
I have to dash again, thankfully my ‘rushing around’ days are soon to cease…. 🙄
Back in an hour…
14 consecutive season of champions league football is all well and good but what have we got to show for it? One appearance in the final in 14 straight years is not good enough if you ask me; I have always felt that we have been nothing but passengers in the CL. We are just there to qualify and participate but never to go on and win the damn thing. Now even Chelsea have passed us on that front and it makes me cringe!
Now it seems that our best days, when we had any chance at all of just making the final are long behind us and it’s a shame. I will be watching the Schalke match hoping the boys make us proud in Germany after what has been a sudden but oh so familiar dip in form.
And Tsgh, yes I do think 3 million a year is a disproportionate figure for Chamakh even if we got him for nowt, we can’t get rid of the bugger !!!
Marinello. Usmanov is a very unique billionaire. And as PHW said it does not add up how someone like him can join such a billionaire club.
If he is not from the b’ faith of Islam. The funny thing is he tried to make it into the club by marrying a jew but I bet she was too common to be a one of them as PHW will phrase it. Like I said a few days ago PHW’s business dealings are more curious than usmanov even though PHW will go on about that Uzberkistan rubbish.
Did you know that most of the boards our hold heads have sat on a vetted by higher powers? 😉
I posted a picture of Nastri a few days ago with him doing the devils claw on a magazine cover. A true muslim will not be caught doing that.
Ha ha ha Micko. It is know because he is not playing but based on his profile when he came i thought it was a very good deal for both parties.
It is now… I meant.lol
Multi-tasking at work. 😀
Funny that Micko when ever my mutt sits i front of the tv he only ever growls when Santos is on the screen……!
The new badge was before Stan Ts, also AU married his jewish wife in 1992 so hardly did it to get onto the Arsenal board so they really are picking bones to suit themselves but then again they been doing that for decades.
Yes Long Suffering Gooner, how Chelsea won last years beggars belief…. When you look at things in the cool light of day, you see that a lot of investment and improvement has gone into a lot of teams in Europe and the general standards have improved throughout. The Board never expect the team to win the CL anymore, just get as far as possible to generate money……
LSG,
A common theme in what you have said and thing all of us think and feel very much the same. We chat about it on a daily basis as it’s relevant and whats happening in the present but we’re unable to do that much about it apart from open revolt at the board.
What to do……….!?!?!
Tsgh, I used to work with a load of Sikh’s and every Friday lunchtime they’d be down the pub drinking like fish just like the rest of us.
A little bit of what you fancy does you good if they were to be believed.
WATH,
That is the million dollar question. I have always supported Wenger and felt that he is without a doubt the best man to lead the club forward. he has left and indelible mark on the club but these days I feel that he completely run out of ideas. He is just treading water doing the best that he can and under the circumstances what with the board lowering our standards to 4h place finish and champions league football and an archaic wage structure, he deserves some credit. Because which other top manager would work under these sort of restrictions?
One can only hope that when the stadium debt is finally paid off, we will then be able to compete for top talent in the market but even if that happens, does that guarantee success? Because for me, 7 years without a single trophy is unjustifiable. Fans are not stupid, they are not expecting to win the Champions league or even the league, but at the least and FA cup win here and there and/or a Micky Mouse Cup would help to see out the drought but none have been delivered. Wenger will say that is not his priority, the champions league is but the fact of the matter is his priority is to win silverware or rather it should be. I hope I am not sounding ungrateful but i just feel as if Wenger has lost the plot. Even if the team should find its form again, nobody will be satisfied with just finishing 4th and trophlyess but for Wenger, 4th place seems to be the equivalent of a trophy.
For me, that was a real low point. when he said finishing in fourth was like winning a trophy. You cant expect to win anything with that sort of mentality and our performance against United was reflection of that.
Im sorry for the rant, its been a while since Iv come on Highbury house.
I don’t understand that bit Micko……….. why only drink like a fish on a Friday lunchtime.. what a waste 😀
Micko: Watched a programme the other week about Arabs and the strict no drinking laws in their country etc…. It showed Arab men going to certain hotel bars in cabs where westernised businessmen go, and knocking back drink and meeting women like there was no tomorrow…. Bunch of hipocrites if you ask me.
No worries LSG, All valid points and from the heart mate…!
Thats one of the biggest problems for me is the lack of ambition shown and portrayed by the board, the mere fact they ae happy to speak about 4th as a trophy and that’s great says all I need to know. They lack the drive to say we should be first that is our aim they lack the balls to get us there and when that is acceptable for them for us to be 4th rate that’s the mentality that the whole club follows…!
The other thing LSG is that if we were not being ripped off to watch the team and we were expecting mediocrity then that’s fair enough BUT…………
Marinello, no alcohol in Iran but you can still get stoned, you’ll be dead a long time, best make the most of it while your here.
WATH 12.57:
Funny how Eton College, where PHW and Dave Cameron went, like to brag that they breed Leaders in Industry, but obviously not with a winning mentality when it comes to running a football club.
I remember meeting Sam Hill Wood once at a presentation to Arsenal FC, he must be grandson of PHW, and appears to have inherited all the pompous, snobbish, above stairs traits of his Grand ad….
ok, read this. It’s exactly what I have posted since a few weeks ago and what I think about our performance in last weeks..Any comments?
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/jan-molby/santos-summed-everything-wrong-arsenal-150515005.html
I agree Micko, but I just don’t agree with all that spouting off about the Koran, making women cover up, and then living a lie. At the end of the day, we are all human, but sometimes its best not to say anything. Saying that, I finish the antibiotics on Thursday, and am gagging for a pint!
J M 1.17:
I think that Molby writes about what a lot of us have been saying. Wenger has a style of Management where I could never see him lambast his team or a player at half time. Pat Rice did this once, very early on at the beginning of Wengers reign, and was asked to leave the dressing room…. The Santos shirt swapping escapade, shows a certain lack of discipline and naivety on the players part.
The team need to win a trophy, albeit the Capitol Cup, to get the winning mentality streak into the team, and as Molby said, to get used to crossing the line.
Yes JM, we should have signed Leighton Baines when we had the opportunity but that’s easy for me to say.
Marinello, I know,but more importantly enjoy that pint.
I wish Wenger would mix it up. Give the formation they used against Milan last season a go. 3-5-2. Santos isn’t where he should be anyway so TV needs to cover. So Mert sweeping with TV and Kos covering left and right. Let Santos and Sagna flank while helping defend. Coq in front of the 3 defenders and helps defence only. Have Wilshere and Arteta in the middle with Cazorla/Pod/Arshavin in the free role off the striker Giroud.
I just hope Santos and his family are not reading this blog because he has no rep left.
I hope this is a lesson to others to always be totally committed to your club and show loyalty to those paying your salary.
I believe Chamakh is still paying for going out to smoke with a QPR player after we lost to them.
I just wished players were smarter.
Micko, I heard from a very reliable source that we had a bid accepted or acknowledged by Everton when the Jagieka rumour was going on but Everton strangely emailed to say Moyes has changed his mind. That was one reason we missed out on the spaniard who moved to liverpoo.My belief is that Rednose called to tell Moyes not to sell to us and that he would offer more the following summer which just pasted with manures cheeky bid for Baines.
Afternoon all, did we win?? 😉
err nope! 😉
yessssssssssssss
SD, when was the last time you saw a player showing the club or the fans loyalty mate… Loyalty for them is in their pay packet and thats it…!
Loyalty???
Long gone…. Maybe Jack will bring it back into Arsenal, and Gibbs with a few other locally born players… Lansbury would have stayed loyal!
Ha ha Lee, but we are going to, yes?? 😉
I guess you are right WATH.
I wish I wasn’t SD but it’s become the norm mate for all players at all clubs very very few show any loyalty
Especially ours…..
Actually – there is me saying that, but we sign them from another club, one which they have been disloyal too….
We need one more encore from Wenger , one more master class.
He needs to show them what he is made up of like, he did before and everyone copied;
Red Nose (buying tall and creative players) , Morinho (discipline and tactical know how) , Moyes (making the best use of what you have got), even Guadiola (the passing game)
He needs to accept the youth project has failed and do what he knows how to do best – scout the world for the best unknown technically gifted players and put them together both expensive and cheap and form another unbelievable team.
Take another double for 2 season in a row and then retire .
That is your encore Wenger ; find your mojo man.
Don’t forget loyalty is a two way street, is it loyal to slag off your own board manager and players? How many fans can look in their mirror and say they are loyal to the club.
I’d be happy with that SD…..
The people at the club do not pay my wages JW I pay theirs…
My loyalty is to Arsenal Football Club NOT the people who work for it or run it..!
JW, are you a staff?
JW – I am loyal to the club, even though they keep letting me down, I still support them 😉
Quiet here so off for an early dinner, catch up in a bit…..
It’s the quiet before the storm Rico………
Chicken & chips is it…? 😀
JW… 4:18… Interesting point.
arseblog @arseblog
Arsenal: Mannone – Sagna – Mertesacker – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Arteta – Wilshere – Cazorla – Podolski – Walcott – Giroud
Subs: Shea, Santos, Djourou, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Arshavin, Chamakh
Hellefuckinluyah no Santos, we have a chance………..!
Still would of preferred Bac there and Jenks right back but it can only be an improvement surely.
JW
You assume that the board and manager are the club. To the contrary the club are the supporters and the Board and Manager are only acting as stewards of the club. Consequently, in circumstances were they have grossly mis-managed the club they deserve all the stick they get. In fact they deserve more that just stick they deserve the sack!
Your boy is playing Rico………. lets hope his tummy is ok and he has his scoring boots on..!
Wath, tell the dog he can have the night off.
Smudge, through thick and thin.
As you say Smudge i give my loyalty freely and by choice it cannot be bought and is not paid for…!
I’m in it til death do us part… they ain’t…!
He’s currently peeling the oranges for half time Micko………
Guys if we didn’t vent our anger at the board and manager we wouldn’t be showing any loyalty to the club we all worship with all our heart 😉
Arsenal Team
Mannone, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud, Walcott.
Subs: Shea, Santos, Djourou, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Arshavin, Chamakh.
Cheeky Wath, don’t eat chips 😉
Hoo-bloody-rah, no Santos…
Now why didn’t he start with that 11 against the Mancs??
Good Evening my Esteemed Fellow Gunner Conspirators.
Thought I would be the first with the line up but some WATTY beat me to it. 😉
How rude of me, evening all…..
Ifs and buts today mates. The worst of which is my right leg. Its hurting like hell. Even sitting down is difficult.
I have to grit my teeth to get along this night.
COYG!!! I want to see some spirit and a good fight today.
Thank God No Ramsey and Santos
No Santos nor Ramsey but has the confidence been shot already…..lets hope not!
Evening Lady.
You were sleeping Dev, only 20mins to late mate 😛
As stubborn as AW is, he feels the discontentment brewing amongst the Gooner faithful.
He quickly put on the website the disapproval of the santos shirt fiasco.
Now he drops Santos.
It seems that upstairs is feeling the heat. unfortunately it will be hotter after tonights game. playing the krauts in their homeland is a tough fixture.
As i mentioned a fortnight ago, our annual Nov collapse started early.
The board needs a shakeup and fresh blood.
Aw needs Dein, but that will never happen with the HW snob mob still around.
Our club is bigger than anyone.
Come On You Reds, even though i am bearish for Nov.
Cheers
No not sleeping. Back from training sessions. All went well until I took a couple of steps backwards while overseeing two groups during training and I fell down over some balls which some asshole left around. This is the second time in the last two years which has happened to me and when I fell down the knee gave way.
Shame it ain’t at home, we’d batter ’em.
Man Citeh on the box tonight, seems to be the norm these days.
City are under pressure tonight too, amazing how much money they have yet still look to be going out of the CL….
Group of death rico, they need 3 wins to qualify.
smudge – depends, Sagna, Kos, Merts and TV – if they all have a cracking game, we could soon get some confidence back…
That 11 would def had far more chance against Manure, why oh why AW, surely the CL isn’t more important than the PL in his eyes?
Certainly isn’t in mine…
Shame eh Micko….
I hope he does A117
if Theo craps his pants on the pitch he should never be allowed to wear the Arsenal uniform again… Stomach bug or not… I’m just saying…
That’s harsh Will, it’s not only TW of late….
Who has pooped his pants i mean 😉
Mornng all.
I will miss the second half due to work….bugger.
Are we confident??
Wath……Green Moon won the Cup yesterday.
Irish bred,but Aussie trained,so who knows who can rightly claim victory lol.
My horse broke down with aout 800 metres to go and tailed off last.
I can stop them 🙂
That I think is his downfall Rico. In his eyes the CL is the only trophy he has left to win. And he saw the Chavs with an old team who we had battered 5-3 with a half decent team, win it. And he reasons it out that if the Chavs managed to do it he has to. And that attitude is costing us points.
Scott, don’t you have flexi-time down under ?
Evening all,
Are we going to do it or what.? Yessssssssssss
One of my all time fave strikers on OG12
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1716/champions-league/2012/11/06/3507460/-?
Micko,i have had a bit of time off this week due to our South African gooner visiting,so i have to tough t out today lol.
Phone in sick Scott..
Devil, shame, we all want the domestic trophies first…
Lets hope our lot do the same Scott !
Tsgh, he was a bit of a pocket rocket wasn’t he.
Wenger has had his hair cut, good omen 😉
Hope we do Tsgh…
TV to open the scoring After galloping down the flank, playing a quick one-two with Giroud who is camped on the 18 with a defender in his back, receiving the return in his stride and spanking it first time into the top corner from 20 yards.
Haha Rico.
Micko,this game is the boys chance to step up and be counted.
They failed to on the weekend,but get another crack here.
Lets hope they do so.
Did you catch Ray Wilkson comment on TW14. Very Very true TW should be beginning AFC for a contract not the other way round
Will, what you been smoking? 😉
I did Tsgh… An the bit about being fast tracked far too quickly without experienced players around him…
Ray Wilkinson I meant…
Evening all.
Good post SAK, you have a good memory mate. 🙂
Got a feeling we will see a completely diferent Arsenal today theres been a lot of talk from Wenger and the players i feel there will be changes not only in positions Vermin at left back and about time perhaps he can slip tonight but hopfully it won’t lead to a goal. we need a super human effort and i believe we will get it . I certainly hope so. Come on Arsene get off that bench and lead us to victory COYG’s Please give a display to shut that fucking Hoddle up
One of the mascots is taller than Cazorla!!!! 😆
LIVE STREAM SCHALKE VS ARSENAL. SCROLL HALF WAY. CHOOSE LINKS FROM 2ND ONWARDS. DO NOT INSTALL OR CLICK ON REQUEST. IT WILL START IN 20 SEC AUTOMATICALLY. ENJOY.
COYG!!!!!!!!!
http://www.ronaldo7.net/live/sports/watch-sports-live-stream.html
here’s one better Rico. Merts to open his account by glancing in a header at the near post from a low, powerful Cazorla corner.
That was a bit bullshit because he had TH14 and Gilberto for 2 years at least…
For the first time I agreed with the AFC bashing pundits in that we have a team of smiley faces. Even TV has lost his verminator billing…
Micko Papin had a shot on him too.They dont make strikesr like that anymore!
See you at h/t…
Good boy Vito!!!!!
Shitty 0-1 down
Olympiakos 1-0 up
Ehhhhhh!!!!
We saw a long throw in form AFC.
WE ACTUALLY SAW AN AFC PLAYER GIVE A LONG THROW IN IN THE BOX.
Times are surely changing.
They are really changing………..Theo 1-0 up.
Shitty 0-2 down
Quick question:
If TW inspires the team to a win. Would that force the board to offer him one ton p/w????
If AW does not give Theo a new contract which he should sign he is an absolute stubborn old fool.
shitty 1-2
Girouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuddddddddddddddd
100k though Devil….no way mate?
Yep,he got a goal,ut has already lost the ball 3 times,and one very nearly resulted in a goal.
Come on Theo…..prove me wrong….get in there!!
Why does Tv always slip every game. Is it nerves or footwear?
Come on OG that should of been a goal
That’s annoying!
Our defence is a sham….statistically we should have had a decent defence by now, awful coaching.
I’m with you devil..
If we are going to pick holes, Giroud’s first touch is shocking!
Esp,statistically,we have the best defence in the league 🙂
Is this the modern game now. Evey mistake in the final third results in a goal. Not good.
Scott. TW does not deserve anything. All the time we paid him and he could not even pass the ball.
I will like to keep him though.
In the PL Scott but not in the CL 😉
Esp, it’s not the best, thank goodness for Merts….
WHY THE HELL DO WE ALWAYS TAKE THE BALL BACKWARDS INSTEAD OF FORWARD CAZORLA COST US A GOAL THERE sorry about that cap locks was on
COYGS!!!!!!!
Good to see Podolski and Walcott tracking back…
Ah, guess as Ramsey is out, we have to pick on someone, poor old Walcott 😉
Just seen the replay of their goal, really sluggish, casual defending by Merts…
Catch you at F/T
ha ha ha Rico. 100k p/w with that touch? lol
hey guys who’s on the substitute bench…..oops sorry folks, afternoon guys!
Theo’s been playing long enough now to either hold the ball or be able to dribble he can’t do either, but good follow up for the goal
Oh hello
My Cicciolino Van Crap is also here I see.
And we are winning also. Good. I hope we remain like that till the end of the game when referee signals last kick.
Steve,i reckon what we have with Theo is what we are always going to have.
Touches of brilliance mixed with ordinary touches.
We either accept it or sell him,imo.
Nice to see a bit of passion from Podolski 🙂
I didn’t say for 100K a week Tsgh, I just agreed he should get a new contract 😉
Bloomin heck….
that was shocking!
now all those knocking ramsey can now see the job he does for us. we are allowing way too much space in front of our defense.
Very poor I must say
Oh well. We will always score the third
not when he’s on the right wing goonster…
i know maam but he is a tireless worker……that guy runs for 90mins. wish wenger ll just play him right. its a shame though.
Olympiakos have gone 2-1 up, we cannot afford to lose this…
Hey look. Clorinda’s back.
Buona sera Clorinda/
Goonie will be delighted.
Hope you are a lucky omen for us.
Shitty 2-2
Olympiakos 1-1
oh shit. just as I was typing they go 2-1 up.
3-1 up now olympiakos.
i think most wish that goonie, he should never be on the right or left, and mucking him about just ruins his game and he gets a load of criticism
they are starting to walk right through us now….
Santos to score the winner……… 😆
Giroud 🙄
awful.
gosh we re so pedestrian at the moment, its appalling. we need either TR7 or diaby back and very fast.
It’s tight at the top of the group……
Just watching Mankini remonstrating with the officials on the pitch after their game..
If that was Wenger, he’d have been shown a red card!!
not good esp, can’t believe we threw that one away…
we need both goonster…
goon whats u?
Buonanotte.
Time to sleep. Must raise early tomorrow.
am good DNA not very impressed though. i mean why did we have to wait till the 90th minute to effect change(substitution) i dont get the logic behind that. and what happened to eisfield? we coulda used him tonight. overall am not impressed, not one bit!
maam i could use either of them right now. whatever happened to santi? gosh we need a huge kick up our asses right now. all the early season work has been undone. God help us.
We were not that bad imo.
Remember it was Schalke we were facing. And in the champions league. We are not superior to anyome.
And it can be very tiring out there.
Night Clor…
I too am off for the day, catch you all tomorrow….
Disappointing again…..
@goon afc was a bit too negative and nervous with their play, it could have been better, but we just need to be thankful, its work in progress.
Hoy Goonie. Clorinda was here asking for you.
You are so wound up you did not notice.
At least we were better than in the game vs Manure.
I’ve got to say i have had enough of Walcott and Giroud Theo is ordinary and Giroud is a cart horse that has no pace and no touch. Walcott crosses long where no players are or he messes up. Since Mertsacker came we have played the square ball or passing it back we are definitly not going to win anything untill we change our system and wenger does not see it.
devil my first love is the ARSE, any other thing is secondary and that includes AGAG!
walcott did himself no favors tonight imho. he shoulda scored that last gasp chance. he gave the ball away an awful lot. am really worried about TV5. he’s gone backwards.
@steve we need balls in the box to utilize Giroud properly, he in no suarez
Oh you love your ARSE???
I am impressed mate.
Righto
I am off my Esteemed Fellow Conspirators.
Cu all tomorrow
spot on DNA, sagna frustrates the hell out of me. OG12 needs quality balls not over the top at 120km/hr. put the ball into the six yard area and i guarantee you he ll deliver.
night DG…..
If you want to know how a player should play for a move away from his present club, Theos performance was a textbook one. Selfish player with a bad touch.
I will keep him but not 100k p/w. 😉
Gunner, Giroud has no pace for a centre forward and his touch is terrible. he heads well though
the team lack confidence at the moment, a couple good results and hopefully we get our swagger back. COYGs
Two possible penaltys and we don’t even see a replay.
yeah i think so too DNA but heck we do need TR7 back. his transition from defense to attack is second to none. him and diaby ll be a welcome addition cause at the moment we re just too flat and we lack urgency too.
@steve Giroud is not a bad player but our midfield is not helping the team, we need some physical presence in there, arteta sits too deep because he lacks pace and that leave a big gap behind giroud and causes santi to look so ineffective, we need height and strength in midfield. Its a big big problem..
@goon i’m still confident some these players are the right players for afc, the injury curse ain’t helping goon.
me too my man but we re just awful to watch right now.
Christmas Gunner 🙂
We have a coach who seems bereaved of ideas. You could see that Wilshere has tired out. Why not replace him and bring in Arshavin/Coq. We made our change in the 90min, AW are you serious. Cazorla looks tired after 55mins. Giroud like my fellow gunners said he is too slow and am not confident with his touch. He needs to play along side someone. Thats why AW needs to come up with a 2 up front system. Vito had a good game despite conceding 2 goals. TV not too comfortable on the LB but better than Santos. 2-2 was a fair result
I didn’t mind the first half performance. We looked confident and played better than we have in 4 matches. Not sparkling, but positive. Santi must do the honors and kick himself for losing the ball there. 2nd half we played within ourselves… Confidence is always going to be a factor to a team in need of a win and having a two goal lead slashed in half. We came back out towards the end of the game but we defended too loosely. Theo should have won it at the end.
Well said Emma, i wish Wenger would listen to you.
We won’t win games when more passes go backwards instead of forward that is not attacking football
Nte all.
Theo “I just want to play that’s the main thing and hopefully I can get a run in the team because I think I fully deserve it. I just want to play for this team and hopefully this team can win the Premier League.”
In defence of Giroud,we all whinged about a lack of a Plan B for the last few seasons.
Giroud gives us one!!!
The issue is we do not utilise him.
The best cross from an Arsenal player all season (Podolski) was dispatched by Giroud…..there is your Plan B!!
Now,we need true,speedy wingers who can do this on a more regular basis.
Maybe try,dare i say it,Santos,because he can deliver a cross!!!
I do not want to see him at fb again.
We were playing a top class side away,so i am not sure why anyone can be disappointed.
Would we have taken a 2-2 draw before the game….absolutely.
It was a much,much improved performance,and cold have been better barring a strange(that is as kind as i can be) decision to stop play when we were in a hot position.
Santi slipped and it cost us a goal.
Podolski slipped and it assisted us get a goal.
Watch closely….players were slipping throughout the match.
If we can raise our game a little more,we will beat Fulham and get back on track.
Happy….well,i am not ecstatic,but i am content.
We need to win both games for more reasons than one, but I’d appreciate some help from Shalke.
Also, i don’t see the big problem with zonal making on corners. We have given up a hell of a lot of corners so far this year, but we have not been described as “vulnerable” in quite some time. My problem like i said, is the number of corners we give up. Any stats on that?
Will,zonal marking works if the defenders pick up the runners.
Evra had a clear run at us and scored.
When iur big odies get in the way,their is no problem.
Disappointing result in the end.
But at least they didn’t lose.
Gonna need to beat Montpelier next game, and I think they can just about manage that.
Olympiarkos is going to be shit or bust…
So Europa League is still very much a possibility…
I would like to say that I’m confident that we’ll make the knock-out stage.
But I’m not confident at all…
And even if we did make it, we’d probably get Barca or Madrid…
Fin…..,
I dare say Chelski fans were even less confident this time 12 months ago Kev…you never know…
morning all…Just lost the tie-break question in my local pub…. Who am I ?
I was all over the TV in the seventies and eighties, but have been completely irrelevant for the past 25 years. I am closely linked with music of the 1960s and I am famous for wearing tacky, shiny shellsuits, I have been in trouble with the police and am despised by the whole country ?
Apparently, the answer isn’t;
‘Liverpool Supporters’
Most would have answered the same way Lee!!
I’ll take that result with open arms. Great to see we tried to cross the ball. Someone is awake to changing style to suit our striker.
Reckon we got both rubs of the green with the ref with regards to penalties, off side, stopping the game, shove on walcott when the defender was no where near the ball.
Not sure of the tactic having wilshere play ahead of Santi, surely the better tackler should’ve played in the middle.
We need that guy Huntelaar, what a striker. Hind sight is a wonderful thing when we were looking to replace RVP.
I think Santi or Arteta might need a rest, both looked jaded at the end of that game but not likely with Wilshere suspended.
http://angryofislington.com/2012/11/07/which-teams-have-actually-won-trophies-since-arsenal-did-and-why/
Morning all….
New post up….
Morning Lee, will post that link on the new one, I am sure it’s a good read it the heading is to go by…