Following the International break, we are back in the full swing of club football with Arsenal playing their third game in a week; what with City on Tues, Wigan on Saturday and Olympiakos the following Tues, we are busy. Long may it remain thus because it means we are in all competitions.
Today brings Martin Jol’s Fulham to the Emirates. Fulham are 16th in the PL, and are on a poor run of form (LLDDDWLLWL ). This is unsurprising because Fulham have been hard hit with injuries and despite the return of the OAP Riise, they will be missing Stephen Kelly, Damien Duff, ex-Gunner Sidwell and Simon Davies. For a squad as small as Fulham’s this is hard to overcome.
Stats:
We have won our last 2 games following action in the CL.
Fulham have yet to win at our place – Pl 25 W22 D3 L0.
Fulham are on a run of 34 away London derbies without a win.
Fulham have yet to score more than one goal at THOF
Fulham have won only 12 away fixtures out of their last 101. We are 4/9 to win with Ladbrokes.
Uncanny
It has been pointed out that we have played the same team twice running which showed in the way the players connect, I fully expect us to play the same team again. Why change when the players have next week to rest? That said, perhaps Ramsey could rest his young bones.
We have been finding a rhythm not seen at THOF for sometime and it is this which is so encouraging. This Arsenal team do not have the swagger of The Henry teams, nor the calculated violence of the Adams years, instead the current Gunners team are becoming more than the sum of it’s parts. It bodes well for the future, and should allow players of the quality of Arshavin, Benayoun, Diaby, the Ox, JW, Sagna etc etc etc to slot seamlessly into the team when required.
My Team:
It would be great if Gervinho got on the scoresheet today. He has been dallying in front of goal which suggests a lack of confidence (wanting to make sure rather than using his instincts). Theo is also due a goal as is Ramsey, but it would be a fool who bet anyone’s house on RvP not scoring this evening.
To continue the series of famous Gooners, we go to the Thirtie’s and as luck would have it I have found a Gooner and a great inventor. Alan Blumlein. This is a top bloke. Inventor of stereo and the Radar. Alan was born in Hampstead in 1903 and at the age of 28 he patented Stereophonic Sound whilst working for EMI. His spare time was spent at Highbury where he was a season ticket holder in the East Stand. Blumein died in 1n an aircrash in 1942 whilst testing his newly patented radar.
Mr Blumlein the morning after celebrating the 1936 FA Cup victory (slightly the worse for wear)
All the form guides point to a home victory but we have learned to our cost that application in all games is essential, losing 3 points to relegation fodder like Blackburn, Spurs and Liverpool is proof that no quarter can be given.
COYRRG
Written by Big Raddy
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Lovely pre-match, BR.
The speed editing is a phenomenon of nature. 🙂
Your ‘cojones’ comment made me laugh.
Is it only in English where we use that word as a curse word rather than to indicate courage?
BR,
It is with a heavy heart that I concede that you have unearthed a real gem of a hero, albeit without a beard. Tip top pre match as always. Thank you.
I certainly agree that it would be great if Gerv got on the score sheet again today. He creates so many chances for himself that I suspect the flood gates are ajar.
Chas. There may be a small tribe on the east side of Papua New Guinea, who use the term Cojones to describe Garnish.
Typically excellent pre-match BR.
Great ‘famous fan’ find. And what a good invention – stereophonic sound!
I’ll be popping into The Tavern for a swifty – be there by 4. Looking forward to seeing everyone.
Micky
I fancy the Gerv to score today. Might be tempted to have a little wager – I wonder what his odds are?
Rocky,
About 4 Rasp House : 1 Micky House
cheers for the pre-match BR
Walcott to score tonight, should be a nice comfortable 4-0 vicotry against a poor team. Used to be such a solid team that kept alot of clean sheets (if i’m not mistaken are 2nd in the league with 5 clean sheets)
mmmm walcott to score and arsenal to win $3.50, not to bad
Morning all
Thanks Raddy for the pre-match, I’m sorry you won’t be at the Arsenal Tavern too 😦
oz – that video of Theo is amazing, he certainly played with a lot more freedom in his early days didn’t he. Hoping he gets on the score sheet today.
Hoping the Emirates will be rocking this afternoon – lots of goals! Hope I haven’t jinxed it now 😳
kelsey – sorry to see that you’ve been without phone and pc, thats dreadful!!!!!!
A month ago we would have been worried as to whether this team were capable of getting over that traditionally small hurdle called Fulham, today we seem to think of it as a banker………………………I hope so.
Brilliant Theo vid Oz – thanks.
Good post BR
I would have thought you would have gone for a title of “The bright side of the road”( Van the Man of course) to continue your musical references or am I missing something? Is there a musical refererence in the title above?
Garnish 🙂
Great pre-match BR. The inventor of stereophonics and radar was a Gooner. I didn’t know that either. Let’s hope we’ll stay nicely below the radar with a nice win and all the negative media focus on the likes of the Chavs, Citeh and the Mancs.
Great video of Theo, Oz.
LB
There’s a Louis Armstrong version of On The Sunny Side of the Street – great song. Worth a listen on YouTube.
Not sure who wrote it though.
Doh
StanCollymore Stan Collymore
It’s 4:48am in the morning(Sat 26th Nov 2011),and i’m wide awake. I decided to tweet my own personal experience (cont) tl.gd/ecoqm1
Heartbreaking piece of writing. What ever you think of the man, his illness has taken over again. Be thankful if you see some sunshine in every day – I know I am.
http://t.co/ybvc3fzN
Morning all, on the bus on the way to meet TA, sitting with Canaries on their way to the City for their match with QPR, my scarf is on display but I have also unzipped my jacket to reveal the red&white to make sure they get the message 🙂 (I need a smug smiley)
Top pre match as ever BR…looking forward to this one, altho trepidation for a couple of reasons Riise’s propensity to score against us and therefore whoever is RB and wide right needs to be switched on to his runs.
Their form disregards the many good hard working pros they have who can all do a job and at least two/three good finishers who can bring goals.
This is not a game to take lightly and unfortunately there are too many stats that defy odds.
1) Fulham have never beaten us in any competition
2) Fulham have managed just 6 goals from ten games at the Emirates in the EPL
3) Jol has never managed to defeat us.
More importantly RvP has the chance to set a new opening scoring record, currently Les Ferdinand tops it with 14 from 13. RvP is on 13 from 12.
See those I see at the Tavern.
“oh to oh to be oh to be a Gooner”
Nice one Radster……….
I hope the team are fully focussed and not taking fulham lightly, this game today is a big big test, make no mistake about that.
We are in good form, looking solid and fulham, well, their the opposite, so its a comfortable 3 points, shouldnt it?
Only if we turn up and play our best, focus and close them down and earn the right to win, thats something this team has in it, compared to previous ones. And today they can prove it.
If this team, digs in, get in their faces and presses hard, takes it chances and then just play them off the park, it could be a real moment when we can say that we are on the way back.
Theres work to do and today I having an inkling that Theo will shine bright………..
Arsenal 5 Fulham 1…….if they focus and play for the right to win in style……..
Right, Shower, train, Tavern!!!!
Wenger: Goals will come for Gervinho
November 26, 2011
By ESPNsoccernet staff
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says it is only a matter of time before striker Gervinho is back amongst the goalscorers.
Gervinho settled quickly following an £11 million summer transfer from Lille, where he provided the most assists in the French top flight en route to the title last season. The 24-year-old has added to the Gunners’ formidable frontline, supplementing Theo Walcott on the opposite flank while providing ammunition for the in-form Robin Van Persie.
However, Gervinho has gone six games without a goal and will be hungry to add to his tally against Fulham on Saturday, having missed golden opportunities in the recent matches with Norwich and Borussia Dortmund. Wenger, though, is not concerned.
“Gervinho is a fantastic provider and he also creates space for the other players because he always goes behind. The problem with Gervinho is he is in the opposite position of Robin van Persie – he is desperate for a goal.
“You could see the other night he had the chance to score, but you start to think. When you start to think you are already finished. For the rest his game is absolutely fantastic and he works hard for the team.”
Wenger added: “I spoke to him today [Friday] about that, but he is not obsessed with scoring goals, it will come naturally.”
Like Morocco striker Marouane Chamakh, Ivory Coast international Gervinho is set to play in the African Nations Cup at the start of 2012, which could see him miss as many as 10 matches should the Elephants reach the final in Gabon on February 12.
“It is a concern,” Wenger said. “When they come back, they look really exhausted. I always give them extra time off.”
Van Persie surprised at form
November 26, 2011
By ESPN staff
Robin van Persie has revealed he has surprised himself with the form he is showing in front of goal for Arsenal.
Van Persie has flourished under the responsibility of being Arsenal’s leading man, following the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, and his sizzling run of form has resulted in him being mentioned in the same breath as Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Van Persie, who has hit 31 Premier League goals in the calendar year, says he is now playing like a natural striker.
“I feel I’m a real No. 9 now,” he said. “I think like a striker. Sometimes I amaze even myself on that. It’s really great how things are going but at the same time I have to try and look at it calmly.”
Arsenal’s brilliant run of form has helped them reach the knockout stages of the Champions League and Van Persie is aware that stunning individual form will count for nothing if they do not bag any silverware.
He said: “Everyone knows what the ultimate goal is. Only the prizes count. This run of goals has to lead to something otherwise it’s only a nice series and I desire more than t
Wenger – Gervinho is best buy
Gunners chief boosted by midfielder’s availability
By Hayley Paterson.
Last Updated: November 26, 2011 12:22pm
.
Gervinho: Despite his lack of goals, Arsene Wenger has been delighted with the Ivory Coast star’s early impact
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes Gervinho is one of the best signings in the Premier League this season.
The £11million capture from Lille boasts some impressive statistics in England since his transfer from Ligue 1 with five assists, creating a chance every 39 minutes.
However, of those nine league games the Ivory Coast forward has netted just twice for the Gunners – a strike-rate that has come in for some criticism.
But Wenger is far from worried about the 24-year-old and instead insists Gervinho has been “absolutely fantastic” since settling into North London life.
“I think he is one of the best signings in the league so far. At the moment, Gervinho is a fantastic provider but he also creates space for the other players because he always goes behind defenders,” Wenger told the Daily Mirror.
“The problem with Gervinho is that he is in the opposite position of Robin van Persie. He is desperate for a goal and it’s difficult once you are in that situation.
“He works hard for the team, provides, creates space and makes great runs and I’m personally very happy with his game.”
Arsene Wenger Quotes of the week
“You could see the other night he had the chance to score but players can start to think too much.
Not obsessed
“For a long time you don’t talk about it, but at some stage you have to say, ‘Don’t worry – try to be natural’. I spoke to him today about that, but he is not obsessed with scoring goals, it will come.
“When you start to think you are already finished but the rest of his game is absolutely fantastic.
“He works hard for the team, provides, creates space and makes great runs and I’m personally very happy with his game.”
Gervinho, who recorded the most assists in French top-flight last season and scored 15, will be missing for Arsenal at the start of 2012 when he is due to play in the African Nations Cup along with club team-mate Marouane Chamakh who will be lining up for Morocco.
Boosted
However, Wenger has been boosted by the fact that Alex Song will be available after Cameroon failed to reach the finals.
The 24-year-old has grown in stature for his new club following a torrid start to his Arsenal career back in 2006.
“He had periods when he had doubts in his mind, when people say he was a bad buy, when you are a young boy that is difficult to take, but Alex has got over that,” said the French tactician.
“Either you play somebody or you don’t. That is the best way to show confidence in a player.”
GIE, Fulham have beaten us twice in the EPL.
Nov 29, 06 – lost 2-1 away.
Aug 23, 08 – lost 1-0 away.
BR.
Wonderful pre-match full of great stats – which must have taken a good while to research – thanks.
BR, Once again you have introduced us to an incredible inventor, I could not resist looking him up – and here for those that are interested is one of the best articles that I found.
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Who was Alan Dower Blumlein?
What did he do?
Why have I never heard of him?
These are the three questions which are most commonly asked whenever the name of Alan Dower Blumlein is mentioned. It is hardly surprising however, as Blumlein’s name does not yet rank among those of other great British engineers, scientists and inventors in the history books, nor will you find his plaudits recounted in carved words on elaborate memorials.
The truth is that Alan Blumlein, though possibly the greatest electrical engineer of all time, and certainly a genius without parallel in the 20th century, would have been forgotten completely, were it not for the dedication and continual hard work of those who knew him, his family who loved him, who determined to bring his name from utter obscurity to the forefront of public attention.
So who was Alan Blumlein? Well, if you lived in the 20th century and listened to and enjoyed music reproduced from record or CD, if you watched television or travelled safely in an aeroplane from one country to another, then the life and work of Alan Blumlein has touched you; for it was he who made these things – and more – possible.
The Life & Works of Alan Dower Blumlein
Born in Hampstead, London in June 1903, Blumlein had graduated from City & Guilds in 1921 with a first class degree in Heavy Electrical Engineering. This in itself would not bear mention were it not for the fact that by age thirteen the precocious and often eccentric young Blumlein could still not read and write. He simply found no need for the skill and, as with all things in his life up to this time, if he saw no need, he showed no interest. It was only through sheer determination upon realising that in order to advance his passion for everything electrical, that Alan Blumlein set himself the task of learning to read detailed reference books on his chosen subject.
His career initially took gradual steps. In 1925, he co-published a somewhat elementary paper on basic electrical principles in Wireless World. Though presented the following year to the IEE and subsequently awarded for the work, Blumlein would only return once to the printed word in order to enlighten the world of his thinking. Following a short but eventful career with Standard Telephones & Cables, during which he applied for the first of his 128 patents, Alan Blumlein applied for a position at The Columbia Graphophone Company in early 1929. There he would meet his employer, mentor and later friend, Isaac Shoenberg (later Sir).
Shoenberg was looking for an engineer to design and construct a recording mechanism which could overcome the patent which Bell Laboratories were imposing upon everybody in the record making business. Blumlein set about designing the elements of a recording and reproducing system which, by 1930, had successfully bypassed the Bell system and would go on to earn Columbia a fortune. One day in 1931, while at the cinema with his fiancée Doreen, Blumlein enquired of her if she had noticed how the voice for the person on the screen only ever came from one place. Not being of a technical nature, Doreen said that she had not. “Well, I have a way of making the voice follow the person”, Blumlein replied. This casual remark was the first indication of the train of thought which would lead to Alan Blumleins ‘Binaural Sound’ patent, arguably his best, and certainly to become one the most important advances in audio engineering of the twentieth century.
Binaural Sound is of course known today as stereo, and works on the basis that human beings have two ears which, because of their orientation on the head, receive sound at slightly different times. This basic principal was ingeniously incorporated by Alan Blumlein in an electronic method which reproduced this effect at two output loudspeakers. Unfortunately, it was so far ahead of its time in 1931, that many of his colleagues at EMI, did not realise its full potential (EMI had been formed earlier the same year when Columbia and HMV had merged). Blumlein continued with this work for several more years making the first stereo recordings and also the first stereo films before binaural was shelved for a more enlightened time.
EMI had, by this time, become involved in the quest to develop a feasible television service. In 1934, the government had formed a committee to investigate the potential of television and this had concluded that a British television service should be developed by the end of 1936. Two companies stood out among those who tendered systems for a television service. Baird Television, whose founder, John Logie Baird, had persisted with a mechanical method of projection which, despite its ingenious complexity, produced poor quality picture resolution. The other company was Marconi-EMI who had decided to work with an all-electronic method of picture transmission and reception using cathode ray tube technology, then still in its infancy.
Several seemingly insurmountable problems presented themselves to these pioneers, not the least of which was that in many cases the entire electrical circuitry of the system needed to be invented from scratch. Luckily EMI possessed an extraordinary set of individuals who, as a engineering team, managed to invent, construct and demonstrate a fully working television system in the now quite unbelievable period of just fourteen months. Alan Blumlein, as leader of the team in charge of developing the circuitry for the new system had possibly the most enormous task. Yet from this period of his life more than half of his 128 patents were to emerge with many of them critical to the eventual 405-line television system that the BBC adopted. In November 1936, a three month trial began with transmissions from Alexandra Palace with the Baird and Marconi-EMI systems transmitting on an alternate basis. By spring 1937, following the conclusion of the trial, the government and the BBC chose the Marconi-EMI system as it had proved far superior to that of Baird.
It is therefore a curious irony that to this day many consider John Logie Baird to be the inventor of the television (though he himself never actually claimed this), and yet his mechanical television system proved inadequate for transmission. It was in fact the team at EMI, who numbers included Alan Blumlein, who should in fact be given the credit for the ‘invention’ of the system we know as television. As a testimony to their work, the 405-line transmissions (which had originally been intended to only run for a few years before being updated), actually continued until 1986, much as they had during those first trials at Alexandra Palace some fifty years earlier.
With war in Europe looming, much attention was being directed towards a method of early warning against attack from the air. The first practical method of electronic radio detection finding (RDF) or Radar as it would eventually be known, had been demonstrated by Robert Watson Watt in early 1935. These experimental radio detection finding systems and their subsequent developments (which had led to the construction of the Chain Home (CH) system), were shrouded in enormous secrecy. There were however, methods other than radio that could be used for the detecting of approaching aircraft, and it was to this end that EMI and Alan Blumlein now found themselves interested.
Sound detection systems had been tried during the First World War. By 1938, larger, more effect ‘ears’ to the sky were being experimented with. Blumlein realised that by incorporating the basis of his binaural sound system in to an aircraft sound detector, a much more accurate fix could be obtained. If this were then displayed on a cathode ray tube, a visual indicating system would be available. By the outbreak of war in September 1939, EMI had produced the first of a series of prototype sound detection systems which were used extensively during 1940 and 1941.
Having demonstrated shown the initiative for aircraft detection methods, somewhat surprisingly EMI were not told of the advances that had been made in electronic detection methods. Despite the obvious advantages they had (not the least of which was their extraordinary scientific team), it seemed that the ministry of defence and many of the companies already contracted to produce military electronic hardware, did not consider EMI up to the task. After all, EMI had produced gramophone players and television sets before the war, hardly precision military specification products. Another demonstration of Blumlein’s genius would be required to prove to the ministry that EMI should be a part of the radar generation.
During the first months of the war, often referred to as the ‘phoney war’, much concern was made of the fact that Britain had woefully inadequate methods of detecting aircraft at night. Worse, when British night fighters were finding the German night bombers they were not shooting them down often enough before they lost them again. What was desperately needed was an airborne detection system that could find an aircraft at night. This would then allow the night fighter to home in on an unsuspecting German bomber and close the range between the two aircraft to a distance adequate for the bomber to be brought down.
Despite the incredible secrecy that surrounded the development of such systems, EMI were eventually made aware of the problem. With the expertise they possessed, they developed an airborne interception system that at a stroke not only improved upon any other method, it brought EMI into the radar business which they so desperately wanted.
During the dark months of 1940 and 1941, the war went very badly for Britain. It seemed that little could be done to stop the marauding German advances. British morale was at an all-time low and something needed to be done to show the public that Britain was fighting back. However, with her Navy penned in the Atlantic protecting the vital convoys of food and provisions from U-boat attack, and her armies depleted on all fronts, the only method of hitting back at the Germans was through bombing. Every night bombers flew missions to Germany which British propaganda claimed were hitting the enemy hard. The truth however, was far different.
Bomber Command were indeed flying the missions, but without a practical system for locating the target most bombs that were being dropped were falling literally miles from their intended targets. What was needed was a system that could locate and detect a town from the air, regardless of weather conditions, accurate enough to allow a bomber to carry out its mission. That radar system would eventually be known as H2S and its development would become one of the closest guarded secrets of the war.
The H2S system relied upon the centimetric properties of the cavity magnetron for its success. The magnetron had been invented at Birmingham University in 1940, and allowed far shorter wavelength of pulses to be produced which in turn gave a clearer image on a cathode ray tube display of the terrain below the aircraft. EMI and Alan Blumlein were part of the team that had been contracted to develop and test the circuitry of the H2S system throughout the spring and early summer of 1942.
It was during this series of tests on 7 June 1942, that the Halifax bomber carrying the only prototype H2S system crashed at Welsh Bicknor. Alan Blumlein and two colleagues from EMI, along with eight others were killed. Together they represented the core of the H2S scientific development team.
That the H2S project was finished at all is a testimony to those who remained after the crash. As had been predicted by Blumlein and others, H2S proved to be the instrument that Bomber Command needed.
It allowed navigators to find their intended targets and bomb them with an accuracy never before achievable. Its importance to Britain cannot be underestimated. At a time when the war was undoubtedly being lost, radar provided the opportunity to fight back at an enemy that had seemed invulnerable just months before its introduction. It has often been said that the atomic bomb ended the war, but that radar won it.
Following his death, Alan Blumleins work was shrouded in secrecy. No obituary appeared and no tribute given. For many years, various people promised a biography of this most extraordinary engineer, but none was forthcoming. As time passed those who personally knew him grew old and died; and today but a few remain.
Imagine a world that did not have a record of Faraday, Whittle, Maxwell, Edison or Bell. Given time, Alan Dower Blumlein will receive the credit that he so richly deserves. It was for that reason that Robert Charles Alexander wrote his biography in 1999.
Alan Dower Blumlein is, without doubt, one of the most brilliant engineers of the twentieth century, and one that the twenty-first century will finally recognise.
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Thank you gn5 and Raddy – I had never heard his name before, what an amazingly clever man Blumlein was.
To one and all, good evening (well it is here).
Cheers for the prematch Raddy, top notch.
A settled team that (in the absence of Sagna and Wilshere) picks itself. Who would’ve thought?
Here’s an idea: I want us to finish the weekend still in 7th place. OK, I exaggerate a little, since we could (if all the results fell in the right way) be in 3rd place on Monday – I would love Wolves to pile on the agony for Villas-Boas and West Brom to do one to Spurs – but assuming neither of those things is going to happen, I hope Newcastle and Liverpool take points off the Manc clubs. That won’t help in the short-term but I’m feeling increasingly positive about our chances of climbing into the top four and even then taking on the fight for the top three places, and seeing Abu Dhabi and Salford stumble this weekend would be very helpful for compacting the whole of the top seven.
Not that I can see Newcastle getting anything at OT, but Liverpool could get something out of Abu Dhabi.
Anyway, the most important bit (of course) is our guys focussing on their job today and getting the points from beatable opposition.
C’mon boys, you can do it – and remember, we mustn’t, under any circumstances let van Persie score today, that would just show how bad we are. 😉
Another Raddelicious,
I think this is going to be a tough game. We need the full team again, to keep the momentum going, but that was a hard game against Dortmund, they had us running about a bit, so i hope we still have some energy left as Fulham have had a Europaless rest week.
I must admit to having a soft spot for Fulham ( still want to kick their arse though ). Back around “88-90” , one of my friend`s brother-in -law was Jim Stannard, The Fulham goalkeeper, so he got Jim to come and train us, he put us through the mill, but what a top bloke. After training we would be off clubbing and on Saturdays when Fulham were home , Jim would get us free tickets plus drinking in the Players bar after the game. I think they were in the old Division 3 at the time, really low attendances, no atmosphere.
GLIC. I agree – this is not going to be a walkover. Fulham are a good side and Jol will certainly not allow them to lay down.
They will fight and fight hard.
I would take a 1 goal win but more would be better!
Great pr match as usual Raddy. Just read your link Peaches. I can’t stand collymore and I think he is a total arsehole. I was really moved by his twwet though and feel very sorry for him.
We have three live games on TV at the moment;
Man U v Newcastle
Chelsea v Wolves
WBA v Spurs.
chavs have scored already. I see a spanking there
Evening all, thinking it’ll be another 3 points for the good guys today.
Cracking Post…althoug I read it tinged with sadness.
My presence at the tavern today is under serious threat !!!
Chelsea 1 Wolves 0
WBA 1 Spurs 0
On the 9th of December 2011 statues of Henry & Adams will be unvield at the Emirates staduim. #Arsenal
Is this true?
Irish here is a piece on the statues……
………………………………………………………………………
Arsenal set to unveil legends’ statues at Emirates
We’ve long admired the busts of Herbet Chapman and Arsene Wenger at the club but now our hierachy have decided that they will erect three statues of Arsenal icons at the Emirates.
A missive has arrived at Arsenalinsider HQ, thus:
The Chairman and Directors of Arsenal Football Club have the pleasure of inviting you to the unveiling of statues to commemorate three legends in the history of Arsenal Football Club.
This event, which is forming part of our 125th anniversary celebrations, is taking place at Emirates Stadium on Friday 9th December.
Approximately 100 guests have been invited and while you are probably all intrigued to know who the three legends are, we are aiming to keep the specific details including their identities under wraps until the day itself.
Adebayor scores on a rebound of his penalty shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GN5 – thanks for that, I heard murmurs of this but hadn’t read anything on it. I really like how they are putting an effort into making the Emirates “home” its gone for being a bowl to being more Arsenal with the little tweaks.
Hope the statues are better than the one outside the cottage!
Cottage is a very appropriate word in that case Raddy.
Sharklets crisis resolved!!!
On my way. 4.45?
SS Get in there you lucky man (respectfully)
Get in. I hate those dirty mancs
Afternoon lads.
Newcastle hanging on.
JD and AA to start.
Damn Defoe 😦
Newcastle getting battered – Young hit the post, Hernandez just had a shot stopped on the line.
Ha ha, Hernandez disallowed goal in last few seconds! And he was probably onside…….!
United fans booing, United fans upset with referee! Happy days!
If we can win today we’ll be 5 points behind the mancs. Who would have thunk it a couple of months ago?
I love the sound of that 26. A bit of karma won’t hurt.
Spurs win 3-1. Oh well.
If we beat Fulham 8-0 (!), we’ll be 5th!
Sorry GM, that should have read “United fans booing, United players upset with referee!”
Still Karma though 26. How many times do they get the “rub of the green” ?
If the spuds win their game in hand they are 2nd 😦
If we score 9 and keep a clean sheet we’ll be 5th 🙂
Senderos is playing. I didn’t realise he was back
No GM, we only need to score 8 today to go 5th. GD would be same as Chelsea but we’d have scored more.
“Only”, ha ha ha!
Love this time of the week.
Come on
A comes before C too 26 🙂
I’m at work so need to find a stream 😦
http://www.ilemi.me/35450/1/Watch-Arsenal-vs-Fulham/
in case anyone needs it
Good point GM, very good point. Oh it’s all falling into place isn’t it, even the alphabet is working for us……
ESPN’s Asian outfit have just shown the Nasri goals from the corresponding fixture last season, which took place on 4 December – what beauts they were. But they were also his 7th and 8th league goals, and he only added two before the end of the season. Scoring goals isn’t everything but it underlines the point about Nasri disappearing in the second half of the season. Well, I guess he was preoccupied thinking about how many more pairs of garish girl-boxers he could buy once Abu Dhabi were going to start shovelling oil cash his way.
Looking at the Fulham line-up, there’s still plenty to be cautious about – Murphy’s freekicks and passing, Dempsey’s clinical finishes, Ruiz’s technique, Zamora’s finishing (plus Johnson’s from the bench) and Schwarzer, Senderos and Hangeland provide substance at the back. The flanks look weak though.
Come on you Gunners!
@ 26
Zamora does worry me, when on form i’ve seen him cause all sorts of trouble for the likes of vidic, terry, ect
@Oz: He’s definitely one of those “on his day” players. He’s never stuck around at a club long enough to settle but I agree, he’s got enough about him to worry us.
Good start from Ramsey and Arteta. Song and Walcott not so much.
Not to mention it was he, green, and tevez who were responsible for our first loss at the emirates.
Your definently right 26, that and injuries.
@ Dempsey
Fabregas called he wants his tattoo back
Which AAer is it that’s mates with Dempsey?
what a run by wacott
Brilliant break that, shame Ramsey skyed the shot. Bit more of that urgency please.
* Walcott
Is it Mickey of Kelsey? I’m pretty sure it’s kelsey
TV looks injured
@ GM
probably just a dead leg as a result of the riise shot. Should be able to run it out hopefully. More corners than you can poke a stick at!
Fair play to Song and Walcott, they’ve come into the game well in the last 10 mins.
its Kesey’s son 26
Oh yeah, thanks for the reminder DD.
There’s a lot of determintion in this team
Excellent save from Sz, but Fulham opened us up well there.
We are a bit too casual, expect the boss will ask for twenty minutes of pace at the restart.
Agreed dandan. Walcott and Ramsey did well individually, but not really enough sustained and co-ordinated attacking. Doesn’t really help that Arshavin’s been anonymous.
your right dandan,very very flat. The midweek game looks to have taken it out of a few players. Fulham are set up well defensively.
I’ve liked djourous game
Rooney was at it again with his wayward temper. Coloccini was on the ground and rooney swung at his leg aggresively (nowhere near the ball and he knew it). Yet he got away with a card. Ben arfa ran over and told him to pull his head in and managed to get carded though
AA needs to come off, he’s been very pedestrian. A shame really because he had a real chance tonight. Santos has done well this half
Given how well Fulham are defending and keeping us in front of them, hitting them on the break when they attack us might offer our best chance.
AA is i am afraid a liability, needs changing
Mike Dean missed Hangeland pushing Ramsey over on the edge of the box, clear free kick from dangerous position.
Ooh, van Persie’s first effort for ages, cleared off the line.
It’s the curse of russel martin again!
Bring on gerv, AA is lacking confidence so he’s not willing to try anything and his work-rate has been shocking. Surely it’s only a matter of time
Arshavin should definitely be subbed, but what about Walcott, he’s been invisible this half? Perhaps bring on Gerv and Benayoun?
your kidding me!
joking
Fuck! Riise’s run earned Fulham that goal, first time they’ve supported their attack and it paid off. TV OG.
The crowd is poor.
The players are shattered.
This is shit.
That was only just offside, call could easily have gone against us.
i hated him at liverpool and was very happy to see him leave the league, now he comes back and pulls this!
Ramsey subbed??? I get Mertesacker, since we have Djourou on the pitch, but I don’t understand keeping AA on and taking Ramsey off. Hope it works though.
not looking brilliant is it?
Ramsey’s tank is empty, he is knackered.
He’s just become my most hated Aussie! I’m sick of keepers playing out of their skin against us. Foster and green made careers out of it
chamakh to score a hattrick
Is it me or does AA only play well when he wears glovess. 🙂
Instead of just booing at the keeper and red, why don’t the fans try and lift the team.
haha you might be onto something dandan. No-one can say he looks out of shape anymore though he looks very slight. Some just have a tank some don’t. At this stage he rivals Heskey
It’s not our day.
Get in!!!
Tommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Vermaelen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Superb cross from Walcott, I apologise for suggesting he should’ve been subbed.
Come on, push on, we can still steal all the points here.
What do I know lol
What a cross!
Subs have been excellent since coming on
Gerv showing why he should of come on sooner.
haha nothing GM, but you can do a mean hair-do.
interesting to see how long injury time will be. If it was at old trafford it’d be 7 mins
we’re really fighting for this
Looking like it’ll just be the one point. Oh well.
could have been much worse
Well played Fulham, they deserved a point.
Few performances we can really take pride in but I thought Djourou and Santos did pretty well.
OK, chums, early start for me tomorrow, am off to bed now. Catch you guys later.
A minor blip … least we fought back for the draw.
That’s a shame, especially after manu dropped points. Fair play to fulham they were good defensively. Don’t think i’d like to see AA play another game for us. He just doesn’t give enough, i’d rather see Yossi or the ox if gerv isn’t starting
What disappointed me most was the crowd. Very flat.
It was obvious that after a tough CL game Wednesday we were gunna be tired and the players needed lifting.
If you would have given me this league position 2 months ago I would’ve bitten your arm off.
Great comeback when looking exhausted. Players dug deep and again showed what a great team spirit is growing within this bunch of players.
djourou my man of the match (great to see because if he regains his confidence we will have 4 quality CB’s to choose from)
” Diddly John on Twitter: “Its always been about RVP at arsenal. Hopefully after this it won’t be RIP for this seasons campaign” ”
😆 Like WTF? We have a blip, fought deep to get a point back against a team that can cause anyone problems and the doom mongers are out in force again.
Not the end of the world.
Apart from dandan’s astute point about the gloves ( 🙂 ), to see the difference between AA’s off the ball movement and RvP’s is staggereing.
If only Fulham had scored earlier!
Here’s an idea. Let’s blame Big Raddy, as I bet Rasp’s house he was not wearing his new lucky shirt to his mother-in-law’s party.
great to hear DJ getting some plugs – shame to hear AA not firing. Is his time up? Will have to watch the recorded game – was not able to watch live – our undefeated “mini run” is continuing…
It may have been quite rosey on here for the last month but I can bet that the doomers will be out in force again tomorrow, even though the result wasn’t that bad.
People are itching to av a go at Arsenal and it will only take a couple of poor results to start the shit off again. We are still only 6th in the league and until we are sitting in the top 4, people will use the league position as backup for their argument that Arsenal are going backwards and are in crisis.
We looked a tired team today, but a decent rest and we can kick on another run.
I suppose the question that needs to be asked is how did we manage to find so much energy and urgency so late in the game?
I have a nasty feeling I’m only asking me 😦
Evening all, just back with Total in the car to figure out what the hell went wrong.
Now point 1 to be addressed from comments is that I felt the atmosphere in ground today was very good, I’m certainly very hoarse from singing. The sound from North Bank was good and it often spread round to we were above the Fulham fans.
For me Arshavin was poor, and just did not work hard enough for my liking.
Shame about the own goal, need to watch it again to see how Riise managed to break free.
And today we used Plan B, C and D in search of the equaliser which was good. Lovely cross by Theo for Tommys goal.
98tidiDykciM,
Stop talking to the mirror then !
Ah ha, people.
FGG,
I agree with that. It was simply back to the old days of a CL hangover I think. Maybe there was some merit in mixing it up a bit with Rosicky, Benny and Diaby, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Positive we will be top four though.
GliC 🙂
GiE,
It was one of those games, even after they scored, that I never believed we would not win.
Second half, crowd sounded great on onlinefootie
I`m not going to slate our boy`s, we are still on a decent run but I haven`t changed my view, Top four is a big ask, so we have to keep plugging away. The problem is out of our hands, in that Liverpool and the Spuds have no real mid week fixtures to tire them out, even when the Spuds play in the eurocrap league, they play their youth or nobody players. I think we should play a very weakened side against City in mid week, to give our first choice boy`s a breather, ready for Wigan. To me 4th spot is more important than the CC.
I know it’s becoming a cliche but we would have lost that last season. I though most of the players really fought hard til the end and never let their heads drop. I love Santos and I’m going to get a shirt with his name on it.
GLIC I agree unless Gervinho was carrying a knock I would have preferred to start him today surely we are not going to use him against Man City?
I don’t think we are competing against the spuds. I think we are up against the chavs and dippers for 4th. I can see the mancs getting dragged into it too. They are pants.
I can definitely agree with the comments about a CL hangover. The lack of energy and urgency was apparent from very early on.
In the stadium I said to Evonne that I thought it was primarily due to the change of Gerv for Arsh ie a high tempo and lots of energy player for someone who is almost the complete opposite.
I really need to see Fulham’s goal again, as we seemed to recover the situation at the last moment. It looked like an odd attempt at clearing from Tommy V. Anyone got a view on it…??
GM – Agreed. Sayings become cliche’s because they generally ring true, causing others to adopt and repeat them.
Agreed re Santos. Wot a find from Arsene !!
Bit confused FFG,
Crowd Flat? didnt think so, thought that was a better effort than i expected and the crowd got behind the team and urged them on.
Then, the team was tired? really? didnt see that one bit……
Thought generally most played well, and put loads of effort in. Tried to the end and never gave up. just wasnt to be today…….
I thought Santos was outstanding today……..
Agree with most of that Harry, and I don’t really like to pick out one player, but Arshavin was shocking today.
The beauty of The Arsenal this last few weeks has been the collective energy of the whole team, working together and fighting for each other.
GiE…agreed, re the way chants carried around the ground today. In the Clock End upper many chants come our way to join in with. Fair enough, at times not many did join in, but it was a lot better than I am used to.
CHOZZER !!!!!!!!!!
Haha, nice to meet you Mr Sharkey.
Harry,
That was a tired performance of ever I’ve seen one!
Did we play like that second half against Dortmund? No, we were sharper, faster and better.
We definately struggled today but this team has a collective spirit that kept them going to the end and it’s no surprise that once the subs came on we performed much much better. IMO, they added some much needed energy to the team.
As for atmosphere, I can only go by what I was hearing on tv, but I’ve watched hundreds of games on telly and rarely heard 60,000 people be so quiet.
If you are singing and those around are singing then obviously it will sound like a good atmosphere to you, but it certainly didn’t come across as such. The commentator even said that it was like a library at times.
Did anyone volunteer a match report while I was cooking?
FGG
Sorry, but you’re wrong about the atmosphere. I wouldn’t call it electric (a la Barcelona victory) but it was pretty good throughout and in the Upper West (where I was sitting) a lot more people were joining in with the singing than last year. I’m pretty hoarse, anyway.
I thought a few of our players looked a bit below par today, notably Arteta, Ramsey and, of course, Arshavin. The first two misplaced a lot of passes, but that was partly because Fulham’s good smothering game often meant there was little on. Arshavin had a couple of great runs in the first 10 minutes, then sank back into, first, anonymity and, second, awfulness. I actually felt sorry for him towards the end – he was hiding in among clusters of Fulham players in the hope of not receiving the ball. Tonight felt like the moment when it was all over for AA. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go in January.
Our best players were Santos, Djourou, Theo, RvP and Szczesny, with Gerv having a massive impact when he came on.
If I had to pick on one thing that cost us the three points, it would be Arsene’s decision to start with AA instead of Gerv.
Someone above mentioned booing…. I didn’t hear any booing – who are we supposed to have booed?
RL,
The booing was towards Schwarzer when he was taking the goal kicks. That could be heard quite clearly and was one of the loudest noises that came out of the stadium up until we scored.
If the noise of whistles and boos is coming across quite clearly then what is happening to all the singing that you refer to?
It came across as very quiet today and much more so than usual at the Emirates.
If no-one is wanting to write a match report, some player ratings could be the way forward – just email them to
arsenalnuts@live.co.uk
that would be great, thanks 😉
Sorry FGG the commentator clearly wasn’t at the ground, I was sat on East Upper towards Clock End above the away supporters.
I could hear noise coming from North Bank plenty, and like I said it moved round ground more often than it normally does.
Anyway this is an issue that will never be settled.
But as a fan who always sings I noticed a massive difference in positive noise elsewhere. The Arsenal fans were far better today than on many occasions I have been to the ground.
FGG
Sorry – I thought you meant booing of Arsenal players.
There was deafening booing of Schwarzer’s time wasting.
Off to the airport now to fly home.
It has been so nice to meet some of the AA regulars on this trip (the lovely evonne now added to the list, along with Irish, Carlito, GiE, Chas, Chas’s Brither and LB whom I also met for the first time on this visit).
Peaches
If I have time after I have checked in I’ll do a report.
Peaches
Match report in drafts (hope that lets me off the hook for my usual Sunday-for-Monday 🙂 )
Morning all
Rocky – it was well worth the money, both you and your son are great guys! Have a good journey home, but come back soon!
Micky – Sharkey and I were doing your corner ‘celebrations’, ie head in hands, down down down. You were right of course, so many chance came to nothing
AA – if not for his fluoresent boots I wouldn’t notice him on the pitch.
Theo had a good game
I thought that Fulham goal was an easy one to save, but GiE had explained to me that it wasn’t, so I cannot blame Szczesny 😦
On the plane now. Enjoy your day’s blogging everyone.
I’ll look forward to reading all your pearls of wit and wisdom late tonight.
Thanks Evonne
Having met you and the other AA-ers I feel all the more incentive to get back soon.
Rocky – the feeling is mutual 🙂
Raddy – I have only read your prematch now!! Sorry, but it was such a hectic day yesterday. You were right, of course, about some players needing rest. AW choice was different to yours, perhaps if Gervinho played from the start we would have had a better chance? Who knows.
How do you unearth those Gunners?? That’s fantastic, I need to keep a list, memory is not what it used to be. Thank you Raddy
Morning all. Having watched the highlights on MotD I must say I was disappointed with Theo’s tracking of Riise, he unfortunately got wrong side of his man….first rule of defending is ball side/goal side unfortunately he was neither, if he had just been ball side he could have stopped Riise collecting the ball, or at least made it more difficult. I think Vermaelen was also a bit panicked in dealing with it as in reality the pace Riise was running at he was not going to be able to control his shot with his right foot.
Hopefully another lesson learned. There was also some problems in the play before the ball ended up at Murphys feet as both Santos and Arteta could have just cleared lines.
Overall I had little to complain about except AA23. It’s not a problem when we have the ball, but if he admits he is in bad form I can live with that. What I and what the current team can not accept is a lack of work rate going back towards our own goal. Too many times he was walking back to his defensive position and that leads to others being pulled out of position to cover.
Still we missed two good opportunities to take the lead before Fulham scored. One save by Schwarzer from Ramsey and RvP having one cleared off the line.
Morning all
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