Ahh, there is nothing like the FA Cup for a bit of spice is there?
Anyone expecting Leeds to just show up and enjoy the experience of the Emirates were having a laugh. I have seen a couple of Leeds’ games this season and they are a more than decent unit (their unbeaten run was only stopped by Cardiff in midweek). The term “unit” is important here, while they played like one, we didn’t. And can we really be surprised? They played with pretty much their first XI, while there was massive changes to our side. These were changes Wenger had to make though and I don’t begrudge any of his selections.
Chesney was an obvious starter in goal. Gibbs was coming back from injury and giving Clichy a breather. There was no choice but to play Eboue with Sagna suspended, and the CB pairing was a no-brainer as well. In midfield, I felt Wenger called it right, starting Denilson and Song with Mozart. Arshavin also got a chance to prove he was deserving of a regular starting berth, as were Bendtner and Chamakh.
The performance itself wasn’t bad. We still got our passing game going and created some half-chances, the problem was we weren’t quick enough or fluid enough. And despite there being two or three very rash challenges (Bruce on Chamakh), I personally felt Leeds played and defended very well. Their CB pairing were excellent throughout and the whole side defended as one. They also have a fine young keeper in Kasper Schmeichel – that save from Denilson in injury time was outstanding. Our own ‘keeper produced a fine save of his own from Beechio’s header.
First of all the bad.
What has happened to Arshavin’s first touch? Too often the ball got away from him and too often he just stood there and didn’t bother to try and win it back. We expect so much more from Arshavin and its no surprise to see him slipping down the pecking order. Hopefully he can get a good game under his belt and get back some confidence. He had some touches during the game (including the volley that was saved in the 1st half) that reminds us that he is a top player.
Next was the penalty, silly by Denilson. It was a lazy leg just left there and was always going to be a penalty. Overall I felt Denilson had a good game and was more influential (defending and going forwards) than a tired Song.
Now for the good.
Theo came off the bench and did brilliantly. He used his speed really well and won us two penalties, even though we were only allowed to take one. Great cameo from Feeeeo. Cesc also did well and tried to get the team going.
But the best part of the whole game (apart from the equaliser) was watching Johan Djourou command the defense. Since his return from injury he has done brilliantly and only reconfirmed how good he is becoming yesterday. Any high balls that came in were usually met with his head and he’s not afraid to put his body on the line. Man of the Match by a clear mile and hopefully we get to see him and Vermaelen team up pretty soon.
So off to Elland Road, a replay is not ideal but its better than being out of the cup.
Arsenal News 24/7
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Morning all
Thanks Irish for a great write up. Djourou is fast becoming one of my favourite players and surely must be one of the first names on the team sheet. Yesterday he showed some fancy footwork too which he always had in his game.
It was a good game of football and we always looked like scoring – Cesc made the difference when he came on and really got everything ticking much better.
MDI89
I certainly haven’t been on the misery pills 😛 I just comment on what is said on here about the apparent atmosphere @ Ashburton Grove.
On another blog people moan about so called “plastic fans”; about how profit is the only thing Wenger thinx about, & The Board, yet @ the same time there are some Arsenal season ticket holders who lease out their season tickets for renumeration purposes.
And no one is singing? Blimey, why do you reckon no one is singing? Coz the stands are cluttered with tourists as per stated on here by GiE etc.
peaches
Johan is a quality CB.
From where I’m watching, on the comfy couch, that stadium you all park your bums @ looks bloody great. It is something to be proud of so calm down. Every other club would, although they will never tell you, envy you for a home ground like The Arsenal homeground.
Some of you on here are old enough to remember dancing in the aisles @ a rock/pop concert & the ushers tell ing you to sit back down. So what happened next? everyone got up & the band played better 😉
Ashburton Grove is no different IMHO. They can’t kick 30,000 people out who want to get up & sing. So sing!!!
I have the utmost confidence in the Elland Road replay, coz the Away boyz & girls will be there in numbers.
An Arsenal double this season? You bet 😈 Now I’m off so you can all come back on here 😆
Evening gnarley – I’m really happy for Big Johan, I always championed our other swiss defender as he also could have been great for us except Drogba destroyed him.
Lots of talk around the web about Arshavins performance yesterday. We know he can be anonymous for long periods in a game and then create something really special. I don’t mind the team carrying him as long as the rest are working hard together.
On last thing for Big Raddy. Aparently Tasmanians are all imbred &/or sleep with their sisters. Twins I see 😆
peaches
I really think The Arsenal is humming along nicely, & Big Johan’s form has helped that. When TV returns The Arsenal back 4 will be great. & that make me feel great 😀
Now I’m off now. I know I ramble on, but I’m passionate about The Arsenal. Its what gets me watching at ungodly hours of the night/morning 😯
Nite gnarley – catch you later 🙂
Phenomenal performance by JD. I knew he had potential but, my goodness, he is simply amazing. Did not do a single thing wrong, and not just this game but the last few. And to think so many have asserted that Wenger cannot produce or coach central defenders!
I hope Arshavin does enough in the next 24 months to help the second string. I figure he and TR are really filling a gap until hopefully Wellington Silva amd Miyaichi reach maturity. Let’s hope it happens soon.
But credit to the boys for pulling a rabbit out of the proverbial hat. Not an easy game by any means.
i am 1 of those people that lease someone elses season ticket ansd sing my head off every game
the atmosphere in the last 3 games has been cracking
As someone who sits shouting at his TV during the game, I cannot in all honesty criticise the atmosphere at the Grove. I swing between being despondent at the long silences and the knowledge that people have paid a wad of hard earned money to attend therefore having the right to be as quiet and critical as they wish.
Johan is Quality, his partnership with TV will be the new TA & SB. With Kos playing the role of Keown!
It was interesting to hear AW talk of the pace of passing changing when Cesc came on. Only JW has a similar ability
Morning all.
What most impressed me about Djourou yesterday was his decision making – played the ball out of the defence when he felt comfortable, hoofed/headed it clear when he needed to.
LB. You forget that Ramsey will replace TR, similar players but I hope Ramsey will become a more potent attacking force.
Trouble is we have such a young squad that it will be impossible to keep them happy. With a midfield of Song, Cesc, Nasri, Wilshere, Ramsey, all of whom are brilliant players and under 24, who gets dropped? That is before we talk of Diaby, Denilson, Eastmond, Fringpong etc who will be vying for just 4 places
Luxury problems.
Irish. Super post, thank you.
GG.. The Danish/ Taz combo is very potent!!
Thank you BR 🙂
And rotation – a lot of them are playing for Arsenal as their first senior club and will want to fight to be number one in their given position I’m sure.
Good article but sadly it proves so much why we all argue. First Johan is a star and was MOTM again.With him we have a defence of sorts without we look average. BUT as for Denilson…come on mate! First he was pathetically slow throughout so after losing the ball or miss passing (which he did contantly) he was always 20 yards behind where he should have been. Second he wandered into the area and stuck out a leg like a kid on a park match. That was a disgrace for someone being paid a fortune. Third he allowed himself to be pushed away buy Becchio allowing Leeds their only shot on target? WHY? The only thing he did of note was the last second shot which was well saved. This lad is not for us and alongside Diaby and Bentner is the reason we are not killing games off when we are by far the best team. Why Arsene does not buy from the Championship is a mystery to me as we saw yesterday there are players who could improve our squad a lot ie; Snodgrass and Bruce a class above Denilson and Squillacci.
As for the selection I think AW has a slight blockage re; JET and several others who should have had a chance yesterday ie; Ramsey, Miquel & Lansbury all three are class acts and would do us proud. I also think that if Frimpong comes back stronger we should see the end of Denilson & Diaby ans the sooner the better.
Morning GunnerPete – Its the joy of football isn’t it ha ha?
I thought Denilson broke up play well and certainly got more involved than Song, which wasn’t hard to be fair. I don’t think he was outstanding by any means, but he was no better or worse than 90% out there yesterday.
Hi Irish,
Excellent match report. What do you think was wrong with Song? I mentioned yesterday how relieved he looked when he realised he was being subbed. He gave the ball away in dangerous positions several times through sloppy passing. He also failed to track back a couple of times when he lost the ball which is definitely something he does really well when he’s up for it. I can only theorise that he was either tired (which is acceptable), having an off day (which we’ll allow once in a while) or just not interested (which is unacceptable)
I think it was a combination of being tired and having an off day Rasp. I think no matter how many games you have played in recent days, you should never misplace passes so early in the game.
I don’t think he wasn’t interested, its not a trait I’d associate with the Song of the past two seasons.
“Big Raddy says:
LB. You forget that Ramsey will replace TR, similar players but I hope Ramsey will become a more potent attacking force.”
Point taken, BR, but I was thinking more about the wide areas, I suppose. It certainly drives home your point about the embarassment of young riches. If I had to guess, I would say, assuming Frimpong, Wellington, JET, Lansbury and Miyaichi make it, that Denilson, Arshavin, Rosicky and Diaby should worry. Too early to tell, though.
By the way, I have not seen any comments about Bendtner. I thought he did really well, but was a bit reckless in his finishing. But his pass to Theo for the penalty was stunning.
I agree Irish. My guess is that AW will play a weaker team than yesterday’s against Ipswich because it looks like several players need a rest. I’d like to see JET be given a run out and Vela and Ramsey a start. Sadly I have reached the conclusion that Bendy is not good enough and we still don’t have a true goalscoring striker in the squad.
Be interesting to see how much of a change he makes.
Realistically how many of our first XI started yesterday? I expect to see Chesney, Squallaci, Gibbs, Eboue, Denilson, Bendtner, Rosicky and Arshavin again against Ipswich. Arshavin to try and get him some confidence.
Song will probably be rested, and Ramsey won’t start but should get some playing time.
Re: Bendtner and the other strikers. It appears that all of our strikers are No. 10’s. I don’t think AW sees a centre forward as fitting into our style. Chamakh is a very good target man but his first instinct is to pass not to look for an opportunity to let off a shot. I think our formation is fast becoming 4:6, where the midfield is fluid and all players can go forward. This is fine as long as the understanding is there (not too many team changes) and the need to defend as a team is also drilled into the players.
We know that AW is by nature cautious so I’m sure you’re right about Ramsey Irish. He may not start, but he did play 90 minutes in a Championship game before he rejoined us and that is all that is happening on Wednesday.
True Rasp – but I read an interview with Wenger and it said that he was hoping that Rambo would get close to having 4 matches under his belt during the loan spell, but the bad weather meant he only got 2.
I expect him to play some part, but no more than 20 minutes.
Any more news on Vermaelen?
Former Aston Villa star Paul Merson caught up in twitter row over Liverpool manager situation
Jan 9 2011 by Jonny Greatrex, Sunday Mercury
FORMER Aston Villa star Paul Merson was at the centre of a bitter online row last night after controversial comments were posted on his Twitter feed by Liverpool star Glen Johnson.
England right back Johnson was reacting to remarks made by Merson about the departure of manager Roy Hodgson from the Merseyside club.
Merson, who scored 18 goals while playing for Villa between 1998 and 2002, questioned Johnson’s attitude towards his now former boss.
The Liverpool full-back tweeted: “Comments from alcoholic drug abusers are not really going to upset me and who is Paul Merson to judge players. He was average at the best of times.”
I see the bindippers are as classy as ever.
Haha, that’s funny Irish.
On the subject of Walcott’s “I dived”. I watched the replays several times for the first non penalty – the one for which he apologised for diving. There was contact. His foot was momentarily pinned to the ground. Most strikers would have gone down in the same position – Stevie me certainly would have.
I don’t think Theo needed to apologise or highlight a non-event. All he did was to reinforce the misconception that we are a team of cheats.
I wonder will Berbatov apologise for his dive just now Rasp?
Absolutely not Irish. I understood that the players received guidance on media matters, either Theo wasn’t listening or maybe the club thought it would be a good idea to distract attention away from what was a pretty dire performance.
😆 I was being sarcastic.
Very good article Irish thank you.
Rasp, Have you considered that Woolcott, will not be damaged by his admission, rather his own integrity will be reinforced and his profile as a good guy be raised even further in the market place.
Companies buy image and the image of a guy who is solid and can be trusted is worth money, saying sorry, unless you do it every week will get you kudos
Good point dandan, it didn’t even look like he dived – but he must know.
The penalty was originally given and then denied after the ref consulted the linesman. I thought Theo may have assumed it was denied because the lino said he dived when in fact it was for offside and that is why Theo said what he did. Actually the pen should not have been rescinded for offside as that occurred after the trip and so the ball was dead.
No I didnt see it as a dive, which is why the cynical old businessman in me see’s profit LOL
Didnt you just love AW during a recent interview saying I want to live up to my image and say I didnt see it, imagine how much that would be worth at specsavers or vision express.
Rasp Spot on with the first penalty call. I imagine that Theo didn’t know it was disallowed for the offside when he made his statement. I wonder whether with hindsight he would say the same?
Once again a MU player dives for a pen at OT. Nothing will be said.
Steve G finally sent off for being the dirty bastard he is.
Normally I’d rant about Howard Webb and his love for Red Nose but Gerrard is a cheating prick.
Think Stevie G was a bit unlucky there. Irish have seen LJ do worse
Madness from Gerrard but I didn’t think deserving of a red.
Dandan – Agreed its not his worse,or was really deserving of a red. BUT he has left his club down at a time he was needed most and I personally think that he deserves it for being a dirty rat of a player for the last number of seasons.
As you say Irish. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy 🙂
We would have loved him with a Canon on his chest Irish
Dandan – I’d probably have somewhat have a different view yes, however for me Gerrard is one of the biggest cheats the EPL in its current guise has seen.
He dives a couple of times a game and thinks nothing of making tackles that could break players legs, so I won’t apologise for my views that he is a cheating bastard and deserves whatever he gets.
Shame he won’t be missing for the game at the Emirates. Dalgleish has accepted a poisoned chalice at pool. Look how well Shearer did when he came in to rescue toon.
And be fair – if there is any team that I blinded by hatred against its Man United, so its not like its an anti-Liverpool thing or pro-United job. Just think the guy is scum, a good player, but scum.
” Look how well Shearer did when he came in to rescue toon.” – Imagine if they got relegated 😯
Irish you are of course entitled to your view and good luck to you.
He reminds me of PV in his pomp, and he suffered the same rep with other supporters, but you couldn’t question either one’s commitment to the cause.
And they would all have loved them in there side
You couldn’t question Roy Keane’s commitment to the cause either – didn’t stop him being a dirty player.
Was PV a dirty player? I don’t know cos I see through Gunner glasses.
LOL and Hugs for Irish
If I was asked to assemble a team of my most hated prem players, Hunt, Barton, Diouf, Bowyer, Henry, Robinson (not the goalie) and Shawcross would all feature before Gerrard – but he is annoying because the Press refuse to acknowledge his cheating.
Vieira was a saint – just misunderstood 😆
😆
What about elbow Davies at Bolton? Although he seems to have claimed down since Coyle took over.
OK – a challenge to anyone bored on a Sunday afternoon, let’s have your Scumbags United team comprising your most hated current prem players..
Rasp I suspect Irish would have left home for Petit and he kicked one or two LOL
And come on, we all know it was going to be a red with Howard Webb being ref and taking it up the arse from red nose.
I’m not going to be good with whole objective reporting am I? 😆
Dandan – Petit did no such thing!!! As clean and fair as they came. AND Pires was always tackled when he went down.
Haha dandan, are you suggesting our female followers use different criteria to assess the players? I am a keen follower of ladies beach volleyball because the consumate skill and clever tactics they display 😉
I’m trying to think of a scummy goalie.
Think of the one who annoys you most with the timewasting Irish.
It is actually total coincidence that Paolo Maldini is sex on legs and my favourite player ever.
Now Rosicky is a different story…. 😀
Of course Irish, it must be that I am an old guy and cannot see these things with the clarity of a woman’s intuition and Logic. LOL
Almunia 😉
Evra Shawcross Terry Ashley C
Gerrard Barton Bowyer Nani
Adeayor Sheringham
No place fror Lampard, Dyer and Joe Cole but they are deserving of first team rotation
Msanager: Fat Sam, Hughes or Pulis
😆 Poor Mooney
Mine at this time:
Evra
Evra Evra Evra Evra
Evra Gerrard Evra Evra
Evra Evra
Manager: Evra
Really good write up Irish. I liked it! 🙂
Remind me never to cross you tho’! 🙂
I liked BR’s dirty bustards team, tho’ he cheated with two left backs. 😀
Arsenal or Leeds at home to Huddersfield in next round.
Oooohhh that’s a toughie …. if we beat Leeds we’ve got Huddersfield Town at home 😦
At £2-3m a home game I’m sure the powers that be will be very keen for us to win at Elland Road.
Replace Ash with Gary Neville
Expect to see a different team at the replay. Theo, Cesc and JW
Hah. Leicester take 40 seconds to do waht we couldn’t in 95 mins 🙂
The chavs are doing us a favour – battering Ipswich with only 3 days until they come to the Emirates
Ipswich must be saving themselves for us – we go there first Rasp
So we do … same thing 🙂
An Ajax “source” said they expect to sell Uruguayan CF Luis Suarez to the Spuds this week for £15m.
He was top scorer in Europe last year with 49 (?) goals. If only we had a goal scorer like that. If only ….. life’s lament! 🙂
That’s extremely bad news RA. No-one has yet explained to me where the spuds get their money from. They’ve done quite by making a profit in selling players, but it has to be admitted that they got the bargain of the summer with VdV.
Great write up Irish, and a lot of good comments down the line, as for a most hated team it would be:
GK: Hart
Def: Evra, Terry, Robinson, Neville (P or G)
Mid: De Jong, Barton, Bowyer, Fletcher
Att: Keane, Drogba
Subs: Ferdinand (R), Cole (A), Kalou, Shawcross, Adebayor, Diouf
All for a variety of different reasons.
In fact I could probably name two full elevens without trying.
Would be interested to see some prozone stats on Denilson yesterday, I personally don’t see him giving the ball away that often. But then there are a number of fans who always questioned Gilberto Silva again I never understood why.
As for Song I think he suffered by having no outlets, when he gets the ball and Cesc, Nasri, Theo and Wilshere etc are showing plenty of options it is easy for him to pick a pass. Yesterday Rosicky, Bendtner or Arshavin would give an option but never all at once, leaving him trying to force a pass, or play sideways to Denilson, or backwards.
Djourou as others have said played well yesterday, and overall the team did create a few chances, we were just a little bit wasteful in front of goal at times.
Still moving in the right direction. I also think that if we weren’t still in the Carling Cup we would have fielded a stronger side, but not many sides are capable of fighting on 4 fronts, so we have to pick the right battles. We are nearer to the final of the Carling Cup, one dodgy draw in the FA Cup and we may not progress. Home to Huddersfield if we beat Leeds is nice, perhaps we can hold off sending some of the Reserves on loan until after that.
One other thing, I do find it amusing that fans are calling for Youth to be played instead of Denilson and Bendtner, many have complained about the age of the side and its inexperience, but now we are happy to cast aside an experienced campaigner like Denilson (who is still only 22). Djouro has just started to come of age at 24, Nasri at 23 is now beginning to fulfil promise.
Not everyone can come through like Cesc and Jack, but if allowed time to develop perhaps they will bear fruit.
GIE. Fine cmoment
GIE,
I really liked your bad guys team too. Makes me realise what a wealth of bustards there are to choose from! 🙂
I also agree with the remainder of your comment.
Song, after a brilliant few games, looked distinctly “off” yesterday, but the reason for that, as you alluded to, was that there was very little movement by team mates for a give and go.
Even at throw ins, there often seemed to be a choice of only one, maybe two, with two opposition players around them.
Leeds pressed very well in the now universally accepted way of upsetting the Arsenal quick passing tempo. We simply needed a spark to get the team back on track and that came with the arrival of Cesc.
Relief at the draw, but on another day we would have won comfortably, but Bendy and AA seemed to have the proverbial lead boots in evidence each time they received the ball or tried to run. It happens!
Joe Hart has just done an Almunia!! 2:2
Excellent post Irish
And some very good comments, I liked GIE’s explanation of Song’s performance I hadn’t thought of that. I also agree with Irish and GIE’s view on Denilson although that had crossed my mind, the penalty was a bit silly though.
Nice post Irish. For me there was definately more good than bad in the game and we dominated again but sadly once again didnt take our chances. I agree that JD is looking to become a fine player but the best thing for me was when I compare the players on show this season to what has been offered up in the cups over the last 3-4 yrs. Suddenly we have a squad not just a first team and a youth team.
Nice forward pyke dive by Berbatov, 7.5 😆
To get nearly a billion Euros in debt & get so many trophys, must mean a lot of bribes. Oh, no 😳 bribes are under the table so they are tax free/not declared. So in short, Manchester United is just a basket case when it comes to finances 🙂
Been away. Back now.
Great report Irish – that’s exactly how I saw the game.
Thanks Irish,
It was not as I saw the game at all, but then it wouldn’t, I did not see it. I would add, that had I seen the line up before the match, I would have been very unhappy. Here’s the really bad news, Irish. I really don’t see the point in Fergal Sharkey (oops, Mozart). You say we were not “fluid enough”, and I am not supprised. We simply have to play Cesc or Nasri central to oil the machine and get the juices flowing. What does not supprise me, happily, is that by all accounts JD was superb. That is great news for the future.
.
Rasp,
I am siding with you on the goalscorer issue.
Evening MDI89
That Sanchez Watt is a pest 🙂 When is he back?
Morning Gnarley,
I have no idea. Off to take sprogs to school.
Never liked the Undertones. Mock-Pistols but then they all were.
I had the misfortune to see most of the Punk bands and apart from those who had some musical talent – Stranglers, Clash etc – they were awful. Almost always a fight at a gig – usually started by the band members!!
But then I am an old hippy and cannot be expected to understand the joys of such elemental thrash,,,,,
Morning Gnarley, Watt is on a season long loan, so in theory he’ll be back with us for the start of the 2011/12 season.
Hiya Radders – I wouldn’t say punk is thrash – although uyou do hit upon a good point in that there were a lot of thrash-punk crossover bands in the mid 80’s.
Perhaps that is what you are alluding to ?
That one was for MDI89, this one is for my old hippy mate Big Raddy
I would have loved to have shared a twister with ya BR 😎
Mornng all,
Squillaci out with a hamstring injury, could be 2-3 weeks 😦 We need another centre half. Highly relevant in light of today’s post – please reserve your comments, it will be published shortly.
I can keep warbling on about thrash-punk crossover though can’t I Raspers ? 🙂
Oh I thought you said 2-3 months for a second there Raspy 😉
Of course you can chary. I was in a punk band for 2 years. Our first gig was at Chelsea Art College and we got banned, made the middle pages of the NME.
I thnk Raddy misses the point – the idea was to specifically not be good polished musicians because the insipid over produced MOR stuff that preceded punk was killing music. Punk was the best shake-up for the music industry. Having said that, it will never be as goods as the 60’s and early 70’s
I bet you were the vocalist – you seem the type(angry, loquacious, confident) ! I was in a “band” of sorts briefly – can you guess what I did ?
I’ll 2nd that rasp.
No chary, guitarist. Cream Fender Stratocaster with a Rosewood neck and Vox AC30 cranked up to full volume and put through the PA. Were you a bass player? (or is that an insult?)
New post …….
We’ll have to continue the music reminiscences later – but I’d like to know which instrument you played chary – on second thoughts, not bass, I reckon you were a keyboard player.