Morning all, well after last weeks performance at Chelsea the question am sure on all of our minds is “will we show the same effort attitude and commitment against West Brom”.
So so so many times before when we have played poorly or been very average and struggled for a few consecutive matches we play a big side and we actually turn up show we do have it in us to beat anyone. The problem is we then revert back to the norm the following week and all the positives are quickly forgotten and encouragement vanishes. What will it be on Monday I wonder? The Chelsea game yet again shows that when we show discipline and commitment on the pitch we can compete with anyone and with a bit more luck and if we were more clinical we’d of won last week.
Why are these performances fleeting and why is that effort shown only rarely seen by our players? As we have all alluded to that kind of effort and commitment is a bare minimum for any player that walks on the pitch in an Arsenal shirt, it’s a minimum requirement but again it’s been sadly lacking in the past and now people rave when the side actually shows guts and attitude. It’s a indictment of how far our standards have dropped. The bigger picture is the hope that the criticism from fans has finally sunk in. We expect nothing less that 100% effort and commitment and truth be told if we lose I am never happy but i can accept any result when I know our players tried and were simply beaten by a better team or unlucky or had dodgy decisions go against us.
What none if us can accept is the way this side and plenty before it over the past 5/8 years has laid down and died when things go wrong. We roll over and have our belly tickled just because we go one down early on or we have an early morning kick off. I can sum us up in the first 30 seconds to see if there is any intensity or passion in our game and am sure you all know what I mean as we can all see it plain as day.
The players are pampered we know that and Arsene takes all the heat for their lack of bottle and for not turning up in matches yet annoyingly as fans we want to hear him say yes I am sorry but they were awful and I a going to make sure the know it, performances where they show zero appetite to win or get stuck in will not be tolerated but nope Arsene makes excuses and we all get even more annoyed. I look at this squad and think that we have the basis there of a really good side, we have to many passengers but even passengers should be made to graft and should be expected to graft for the cause so why don’t they, do the staff not want to upset them? do the staff allow them to ‘play their own game’ and expect the others on the pitch to do all the donkey work for them? I’m sorry but for me it doesn’t work like that. What the Chelsea game highlighted was that yes technically we may of missed the world class passing of Ozil to pick out a player in space which may of created a goal but did we miss the fact he gives us very little defensively? Â I think to be fair he gets a lot of uncalled for stick over his so called lack of effort when he does cover the pitch but lets be clear here he isn’t in the side to win tackles is he..? problem is when there are another 2 or 3 like him all in the same side we are always going to struggle. Â Pick players accordingly and maybe then we can afford the luxury player such as Ozil in the side but not when added with a few others who will remain nameless but who also do zero defensively. The togetherness last week and commitment shown should be how we pay every game, compact, good discipline and even then we have very good players who can open up any side and create chances.
Will we take West Brom for granted as they are not a top side? will we turn up thinking we better than them so a win will be easy or will we go out and win the battle first and then let our quality shine…? We’ll see tomorrow nigh I suppose and then we’ll just the Chelsea game as a springboard for improvement or merely another one of those one off decent games soon lost in the memory banks like a few others.
Have a good day.
Morning all and thanks Wath.
Spot on about giving it their all, it should be the minimum requirement for theirselves and to us fans.
Also agree about Ozil being the easy target, he may not know how to tackle, but he puts more milaege in than given credit for.
W Brom will be organised, disciplined and favour any free kicks we give them, but I expect nothing less than a win as we cant afford to drop off any further points wise if we want to try and be in the race for a CL spot, a few bad results ( and these are anything but a win ) will see us at some point making EL a priority when it should be as an experience comp` for the youngsters !
Kev`s link on last post about players in last year of contract reallly pissed me off !…….why ?……………….because it showed that the Spuds only have one !……………..how the fcuk did they tie some highly talented players down on long contracts for relative peanuts compared to us ?…………………it highlighted what a shambles our contract negotiators are and who ever they and Wenger are…they should be sacked for gross negligence !
I see that Mansour City co-own Girona in La Liga……………Girona had 5 Mansour City players playing from loan.
How many teams do they own and co-own ?………………Australia………America…..any others ?…………………..not that it`s working , but a great way to get around FFP if it was !…………………..any of their other clubs could buy a player who doesn`t meet FFP reg`s and be loaned to Mansour City for nothing !………………we and most others haven`t chance when ginormous big money can bend the rules !……………….I`ll refrain from using Pep and lets use PSG instead, but does their manager (whoever he is) get great satifaction from his (!) achievement knowing full well that they can spend ridiculous amounts of money to buy title and knowing no one else in their league can compete barring the odd blip(Leicester) year.
I`d love there to be some kind of draft system like the NFL in our game, so say the 17th team get to buy Messi and Mansour City/Manshafter/Chaves have to have Jeff Blockley ! hahaha
Makes me laugh LC when people praise the team for the effort and commitment shown in the chavs game…. reality check is that’s what they get bloody paid for FFS… that’s expected as a bare minimum just from setting foot on the pitch but as said it’s lacking so often we now all get a shock when we do actually get stuck in and show some nous..! Who’s to blame..? why such a lackadaisical approach from all involved staff manager and players… How often to we hear the players saying we know we need to kick on, we know what we have to do yet it never happens..! so f’kin annoying when you look at that squad and think yep you are way better than the results show..! Effort and attitude to start with needs to be the basis and the starting point and if anyone doesn’t give that then they should be dropped ad told exactly why ad that slacking won’t be accepted or tolerated.
Morning all.
They deserve to be praised for the effort v Chavs, but I said it immediately after the game and I stand by it-a performance like that raises more questions than it answers because it doesn’t happen often enough.
No. 1 query is which team will show up today 🙂
Wath………………….I just wonder how many of these players would have faired under SAF………………………..how many hairdryers would he have got through ……………………………………..and would they be covered by the Argos guarentee ?…………………………some imposing questions there !…………personally, I like LIDL`s guarentees !…….never had a problem, take back, no quibble !………………………….always keep your receipts !……….advice of the day ! hahaha
Scott, should the players really be praised for something that should be second nature and that’s to merely show commitment and passion when playing week in week out..? I think to praise something that should be inherent in their game shows exactly how expectations have been lowered, you’re praising effort as you rarely see it…!
If you listen to the ‘ex’ players LC they mostly say Wenger was quiet in the dresisng room and you were left to contemplate a poor performance..! That’s all well and good to a point but if the players are going to self criticize and fix their own errors then why exactly do they need a manager..?
Already Monday for you Scott ?…………is kick off tonight then ? ……………………is Gnarley back ?………………………..can Kim Jong-un`s ballistic missiles reach your booze distillery ?…………………….how many fit looking marsupials will you have in your nuclear attack bunker ? 😆
Good question, Wath, and today I like questions !. hahaha
Self analysing ?…………….who`s going to bollock their selves to within an inch of their lives with an Arsenal slipper ?……………………we need Simeone because he looks hard and scary !……………………….they take the piss out of Wenger because he`s a soft touch !.
The fact is……….gone are the days when Wenger was competitive in the league because he had many of the best players and could play teams off the park, now at least 3 teams with better players which has made his football philosophy defunct !…………he will never win the title without having the best squad of players and this takes me back to the owner thing of money invested which upto this point in time by Kroenke is………………………………………………£0
Gerona has 5 M.City players, Vitesse (Holland) has a few chelsea players…
This weekend was not good for us.
We must clim up in the table quickly.
Afternoon rico1 & all
I’m going to turn up Monday rico, I’m going to put another tick on my bucket list after. 3-0
Now I know this is off topic & not about footie, but yesterday morning I listened on SEN to how 94,000 supporters yell ‘Yellow & Black’ after 35 years in the footy wilderness. Bugger me, I have 2 Social Club memberships which would guarantee me 2 seats to ‘the dance’, but I’m here & will have to watch ‘the BIG dance in some random Aussie pub in Fulham on Saturday morning.
My point is, 12 years without ‘The Title’ is nothing, especially with a sprinkling of FA Cups in between that time.
Down here in Brighton, looks like I’ve brought the gnarleygeorge9 aura to the Town, 1-0 over the Geordies. Back up the railway line 2morrow to weave my magic at The Arse.
Not to be pedantic, Gnarley, but it is 13 years since a title and will be 14 by time this season is finished………………..is that good enough for a club who are the 6th (according to Forbes ) or 7th richest in world (according to Deloitte) .
Love the FA Cup, but are we just considered an FA Cup team……………….and obviously the best ! :)…………….are we satisfied with just that ?
Gnarley, will you be going to the Brighton game next Sunday ?
No LC, was going but now going tomorrow night. But will be heading towards Launceston after I get back down here in Brighton, on our way to Rick Steintown. Do you like brown rum? ?
Morning all.
Wath, if we are prepared to criticise, we should be prepared to give credit, I reckon, and god knows we are prepared to criticise 🙂 🙂
Blimey, yeah. Credit where it’s due, and a draw away from home is good, but against the Chavs, when we were the better team on the day, is brilliant.
We can’t just come on here to slag Wenger and the team every day, saying what we think needs to be done can we?
I had to laugh at the Mirror headlines ” Liverpool ace Oxlade Chamberlain,on the bench”. Hehehehe! LOL.
Mind you it also claims that Popeyes (Ozil) wants to join Little big man at Manure. He apparently loved sweating his bollocks off under him at RM, then getting hauled off after 60 minutes.
“Ozil’s advisors have been putting feelers out” to Napoleon and the feedback is good, so Ozil will run down his contract and go there for free in June.
Also more headlines today:-
The Mirror says “Jack Wilshere makes plans to leave Arsenal next year after ‘rejecting new contract this summer”
Fenerbahce “showed interest” in the lad last summer. He wants West Ham preferably with a nice fat signing on fee.
“Ronald Koeman will return for Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud with £40m offer – and this time he will get his man” says The Mirror.
“The Toffees were caught out by circumstances as much as anything as the deal collapsed during the final few days of the transfer window because of the Alexis deal falling through.
Giroud was understood to be keen on a move to Merseyside, as he had not been guaranteed regular first-team football at the Emirates.”
Plus, as we know, Alexis will walk next summer… to Citeh they say.
A spokesperson for The Goon Show said “all of those players are 100% happy at the Club and are going nowhere”, Prof added, “we are confident”.
Oh dear.
M`kat……………………..Although a good result at Chavs what has it come to if we are now calling it a brilliant result ?…………………have we fallen from grace that far ?
As for our Rats leaving a sinking ship and there will be more last year contractors next summer………………..someone needs sacking as we will be in shit street with so many gone or going and not enough funds for replacements !…………….seriously, who is as good as Alexis and Ozil who we could afford ?……………………………….our next Summer TW will be make Donald and Kim`s spat seem like a Girl Scout Cookie Tea Party !……………………Arsenal Armagheddon……………undoubtably will be more entertaining than anything tinsel town can produce……..cant wait ! hahaha
Gnarley off to Padstow !……………………………I would normally be there on Saturday, but will be travelling up for the Brighton game !…………………….you`ll be spoilt for choice for pasties !……………………………oh and dont bother with Padsteins fish and chip shop and his bakery, it`s over rated and even more over priced !
LC, it was a good result, but a brilliant performance and imo, there’s a big difference.
Meerkat, media can come up with some utter bullshit, at times but luckily, we all realise that.
What disappoints me is that some fans believe negative stories about our club, yet tear apart anything positive.
We have LCM! That’s just it. After getting hammered by L’pool, we couldn’t have fallen much further, lol.
We are more aware of our own players and their contract situation, but I wonder if other clubs are finding it difficult to tie their best players down too. Spuds certainly will be, especially Kane and his sidekick.
Christ knows who we will be able to attract next TW, it is all going to be down to whether we win that esteemed 4th place trophy!!!
The Trumpet and King Kim’s pissing contest, is funny though-to a point! Scary to another point though. But you know what they say (or Shankly did) ‘ football’s not just life and death, it’s more important than that’. LOL
Sorry Scott but think you missing what I am getting at… I thought we played well, very well in fact and there i give credit but a sure as shit not gonna give players credit for actually showing a bit of attitude and tenacity which as I say should be expected not applauded like it’s something special… they get paid to put in effort and now your saying i must give them credit for it… sorry mate think that’s nonsense…!
It’s their job… turn up and give 100%… simpe… that’s not something i will give credit for it’s a prerequisite.!
Showing awareness and discipline and playing well yes I give credit for and did give credit but that’s it. As said shows how the expectations have dropped when we praising them for showing some effort….
That’s true Scott, but you have to laugh at some of them! The journo at the Mirror cracks me up: ‘Liverpool Ace Oxlade Chamberlain’ lol.
They never called him our ace when he was on the bench!
Also, Floppyhair Kloppy must be wondering what he’s bought. Where will he play the Ox when Mane is back from suspension, with Coutinho in the team.
Meerkat,
Utd showed top 4 is irrelevant to buying quality players IF the club is prepared to pay.
You’re right, we need top 4 hahahaha
Ox can rot on their bench lol
A decent player but no more than that.
If only we’d invested the 40 million, we could’ve had a proper replacement.
I agree Wath, the right attitude and playing the best they can, should be expected as the norm. The least you should expect from Pro footballers on top money. But the point is, I wasn’t expecting them to bounce back and play like they did against the Chavs in their own back yard.
They were pathetic at Anfield, embarrassing even, and I thought that was it, ‘this is us this season’. But it wasn’t, they played like a different team. Mind you they were a different team. No Ox, no Ozil, Sanchez on the bench, Lucozade and Kolisnikov back in.
We have a couple of injuries again, so who knows which team we will have out tomorrow!
Morning all…….Match Day !!
M`kat @ 10:42pm…………………………..I`m afraid Spuds have all their players tied down to long contracts and on less money than our players, so they dont have to worry for 5 years and of course having them on long contracts means that Kane and Alli would cost R Madrid etc` over £200M each if put up for sale !…………………………Levy does a blinding job as negotiator whereas our lot are blind fullstop .
Hopefully we will see our first game of Lacazette, Ozil and Alexis tonight !……………………………if we dont win, then Gnarley should be deported and sent back to the penal colony to suffer ! hahaha
Wath, I don’t believe it’s nonsense?
Don’t people rave about Alexis for the effort he puts in-he’s paid damn well to give exactly that.
All I’m saying is people should be fair.
Credit where it’s due, criticism when warranted.
Morning all.
Morning everyone.
Good point Scott. Sanchez is praised for giving 100%, even though he loses the ball quite often. Not passing correctly to one of your own teammates is unacceptable at this level and he and a couple of others do it regularly. He at least chases back, but as said, that’s how it should be anyway.
LCM, I thought some of the spuds were revolting ( over contracts and low pay), hehe. Especially now that they are attracting admirers from elsewhere. Still, if they are locked into long term contracts they can huff and puff as much as they like. They were happy to sign them.
(I forgot in a previous post about Lallana, also due to return to the Poo team). Oh dear Ox.
Meerkat,
Indeed he does chase back and I’ll never criticise his effort.
Some others could learn from that, no question.
I have to completely disagree with you M`kat..not just some !…………..all Spuds and everything about them is revolting !
🙂
Amazing how Spuds are walking about feeling ten feet tall just because they got a higher league placing for first time in over 20 years and yet they still haven`t won anything of note !…………………..the most deluded of any supporters out there !…………………there`s one Spud who I deliver too who before last season`s triumphant 2nd place could only ever tell me that they were better than us solely because and in his words…………….” we were the first British team to win a European Trophy !”……………….I laugh but he has no idea I`m laughing at him.
😆
We’ll agree to disagree then Scott, Yes Alexis gets praised for running around like a headless chicken which shows up the lack of effort from others and we all highlight that but for me he does extra as the others don’t do sweet FA, yes he gives the ball away so people complain about but i wonder why… lack of movement from others, trying to find a clinical pass, lack of faith in some team mates… when ever he gives the ball away he then does try to get the ball back or get goal side which others fail to do even if when thy not even given the ball away. The fact is we praise a player for something that should be expected from every single players yet it’s hardly ever evident that’s my point.
I’ll praise a performance but as a general I ain’t praising the team for putting in effort that they should be doing the second they leave the dressing room.
I also think there is a big difference between effort ad attitude and work rate..! Anyway enough of that…!
Will Wenger revert back to character in trying to keep everyone happy with Ozil apparently fit..? We all know West Brom will come and get stuck in and graft and pressure us so for me not a game for Ozil but what’s the chances Wenger plays him if he fit..? If he kept Sanchez on the bench saying he wasn’t 100% fit then surely Ozil isn’t 100% either so shouldn’t start..?
Will be interesting to see te team selection that’s for sure.
This weeks line up will surprise as usual, Wath 🙂
Hi all.
Still struggling to come to terms with the fact we are having to play tonight and then fly out to the back of beyond for another game on Thursday. Notice all of the rest of the English euro reps played on Saturday!
Well clearly there wasn’t anything wrong with the line up at Chelsea, so hopefully no unforced changes.
Welbeck will be out fir a month though. Giroud should get a start IMO.
Good afternoon
I agree with Wath. .today’s game is not for Ozil..pulis will put a very organised and defensive team and they will be instucted to use all bullying and non-footballing tactics to get into our players.
I expect long balls, free kicks and corners to explore our weakness and they would likely score from one and then park the bus.
Happened hundreds times especially if we resort to our slow sideways passing football.
Wenger never seems to learn anything.
We need a good start with quick passing and movement ..I should add clinical finishing, otherwise I expect a draw or even a loss
It’s usually 2-0 to the Arsenal against WBA, Pulis or no Pulis. Don’t see that changing much, 2-1 perhaps, but an Arsenal win, anyway. Anything less and the fans will be baying for Wenger’s blood again, including me!
Let’s hope it’s a good entertaining game if only for GG’s sake! Don’t want a repetition of Scott’s fan based encounter last year. All antipodeans welcome at the Emirates, so long as they’re winners!
Wet here, proper miserable…………..again…….what a non summer this has been, and the Autumn hasn’t started well either.
It was a nice day yesterday Wavy, very warm and sunny, but today is pants.
As for the Arsenal, well it would be good to see Alexis and Lacazette start, just to see how they combine, even if it’s just for this season.
Ozil will start I reckon, we’ll need him to break down West Brom’s 10 man back ‘four’.
Wilshere, Giroud, Iwobi in Belarus I’d guess.
It’ll be interesting to see what the old lady of the Emirates picks as her best eleven! My guess would be:
Cech, Bellerin, Koz and Kos, Monreal, Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Walcott and Lacazette.
It won’t be that at all because,the old lady is a bit of a gimp these days, and totally unpredictable. It’s what happens when gets old and a little forgetful!?
Again beautifully sunny here and probably wont ditch the shorts until January !……………………..my team for tonight will be………………..
Cech
Bellerin
Musthavacrap
Koz
Monreal
Kola
Xhaka
Ramsey
Ozil
Lacazette
Alexis
Should be a record EPL score on paper !
🙂
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/912376233748463616
Good team and good bench……………..now lets do it on the pitch !
U23`s kicking off now away to Everton aswell !
One nill to the Arsenal !!!!……………………………..dont get too excited it`s only the U23`s ! hahaha
It’s not the amount of recovery runs,that count but the quality. I remember being,coached byy an ex pro who said I ran too much and needed to be more intelligent blocking space rather than chasing lost causes.
Home from a drizzly dull Chelmsford watching champions Essex! Now brighten things up Arsenal!
This should be interesting with Sanchez not wanting to pass to Ramsey lol
Goal Scored by Mcguane
6 u18 players in the team.
Nelson,Nketiah, Willock, Macey and Dasilver which means they will be in the sqad on thurs.
Kev its been confirmed Joe Willock signed pro forms in June.
I like the line up..
Ozil on bench
Gibbs starts?
Should be they are not in team .
I also missed out Akpom not playing.
Lets hope Gibbs gives his best Arsenal performance in a T-Baggies shirt !……………. 3 owns goals will do nicely !
🙂
Seen them given for less than that!
Wow. What a clearance! We are so sloppy in our passing.
It would be so nice to be able to relax and enjoy, but we really are crappydoos tonight with our passing. Just as well it’s West Brom, but tbh, they look like scoring with one of our lads assisting. We can’t string anything together, shocking really so far.
Good job the ref is having a shocker too.
Sanchez is living dangerously, touching the ref! How very dare he???
Midfield non existent!
Biased reporting as usual. At half time whistle, ‘WBA will feel hard done by not having a penalty’. When it’s already been established one clear penalty each was not given. Unless tugging player down by shirt is allowable. Lino should have seen it. But, lucky Arsenal to be winning, giving ball away too many times.
2 up but WBA could scored 4 or 5 in the first half and the penalty not whistle.
Better in the second half
The midfield lost may balls in the first half
A long trip next Thursday
Much better second half, but still gave the ball away too much. I dread to think how we will get on against the two Manc sides if we don’t improve.
Still a win is a win, three points in the bag.
Class told, Monreal, Kos, Sanchez, Ramsey, Elneny and a great penalty from Laca. How Dawson not a 2nd booking not sure. Worried Sanchez would be wound up but he was cooler 2nd half. He also apologised for short balls and applauded balls through to him. Think someone’s had a word about body language!
Andrew, that’s fantastic to see from Sanchez.
Seems he’s not spat the dummy and is working for the cause.
Brilliant stuff.
Morning All
Rick, that’s good news re: Willock.
Two poachers goals from Lacazette last evening, the kind of goals we haven’t seen since Eduardo was up top.
Never mind Anfield, BATE Borisov (a) will tell us all we really need to know about this group of players, have they really changed, can Wenger motivate and coach a team in europe?
It’s gonna be a nightmare over there in Belarus, especially if our mob rock up thinking ‘they’re too good for this’, because they are where they are because they failed last season, a bit of humility and discipline is the order of the day methinks.
Kev, play some of the kids and watch Ozil dominate.
Morning all.
Well I guess that there will to be changes Scott, not sure about the kids though, maybe Nelson, Walcott was on the bench so he’ll probably start out there. Iwobi, if fit, BFG, Holding, Giroud, Ozil, Wilshere, Ospina, that kind of thing, we shouldn’t underestimate Borisov as that usually results in disaster.
That’s a decent lot of players, Kev.
Of course, we should beat them easily but as always with Arsenal, it depends which side show up.
Just watching the replay-I’m trying to see where we were as bad as a or of fans over the net suggested.
We could have easily had 4-5 against a side that did everything they could to shut us down.
I notice that Pubis has been very vocal about the “penalty. They should have had. I notice also that he has failed to acknowledge the two shirt pulling episodes that should have resulted in penalties for us. I notice too that the press have chosen to ignore our claims also!
It’s all very biased reporting imo. Well no change there then!
Morning all. Still a bit grey here. Not very inviting.
Wavy,
Spot on.
Alexis was dragged down, without question.
Morning. Yes we could have scored more and should have, however they too had many chances and would have equalised if not for Monreal clearing off the line. We improved second half and I relaxed a bit when we got the second one. It’s always edge of the seat with Arsenal, you can never enjoy it really.
I’m sick of reading about all our players being wanted by others. It proves we still have a decent side though. January will be interesting in the TW, but I hope Giroud doesn’t go to Everton.
Morning, Meerkat.
I think Giroud has another few years with us.
He loves the joint.
Arsene loves him and he gives us another option.
It’d be madness to sell him, imo.
Hi Scott. Yeah, I agree, but I don’t blame him for wanting first team football. It’s important for him if he wants to be in the France World Cup team.
He’s been ahead of Lacazette until now for his country, but if he doesn’t play regularly, that will soon change.
Yeah that’s true.
Play them both 🙂
New post up