In my youth Highbury was a less than salubrious place (sorry to those who grew up there!). Coming from a leafier part of North London the journey on the 210 bus seemed like entering a foreign land. How things have changed. Today the squares of Highbury and Islington are seriously des. res.. Sadly but unsurprisingly the reverse has happened to Tottenham which has been directly reflected in the success of our football teams.
Despite last season’s loss at home, the first since the Blitz, we have a fantastic record against the blue-bellies. Recent history has seen Arsenal gift big leads and collapse under pressure – the 4-4 still hurts. We have already seen some the same from our team this season and as such the fans are fearful.
Can we beat the beetle-headed miscreants that slither out of the tunnel at N17?
For the first time in many seasons we go into the game as underdogs. Hard to believe but true. Redknapp has assembled a fine squad of players (OK Kelsey) who are in very good form. There is hardly an area of the pitch that Spurs are weak – perhaps they lack a decent left back plus their GK is old enough to be Szczesny’s father. The loan signing of the comedy villain was a superb piece of business by Harry which, at least temporarily, will solve his goal scoring problems. If one were to take a straw poll of Arsenal supporters prior to the game asking the question “Do you expect Adebayor to score?”, there would be a 90% Yes vote which indicates the fear factor.
Thankfully we have a few players returning from injury – Gervinho, Benayoun and Walcott, but crucially not Koscielny. The BFG + Song CB combo worked well but we needed Song in midfield, sadly that seems unlikely as Miguel and Squillaci are injured. We are now likely to see a midfield of Ramsey Frimpong, Arteta and Benayoun. Spurs midfield is strong and enhanced by the signing of Parker – were his wages the stumbling block to our signing him?
Santos or Gibbs? Gibbs was rested on Weds which indicates that will start. Not my choice but I have no access to the training ground. I like the promise of Santos – he looks hard.
Arshavin or Benayoun or Gervinho? Arshavin played midweek but following his less than explosive display he must be raring to go today. Does Mr. Wenger gamble with the more attacking Gervinho? Your guess is as good as mine. Does he play a traditional 4-3-3 or a more secure defensive 4-4-2?
The defence. We all know the problems. The introduction of zonal marking, the loss of TV, the lack of communication, the loss of form and confidence. I believe we are learning and are on the way to having a better defence based around a superb keeper. There is no question today will be a hard test; in Bale, VDV, Ade, Defoe/Lennon and Modric Spurs have formidable weapons, but our boys have to show they can defend against the best otherwise we must accept we need further strengthening.
My team:
Yes I know – it is not really a 4-3-3 but I believe we should pack our midfield reducing the potency of their pace and rely upon Theo to take advantage of the space created further forward. Plus it would be good to start Benayoun at what should be his home ground 😉 We can bring on Gervinho in the unlikely event of our being behind in the final 20 minutes.
There are not too many inventors who have crawled out of the cesspit, but Rowland HIll who established the Penny Post and introduced the postage stamp was born in Tottenham and went to Bruce Castle School, unsurprisingly he died in his home in Hampstead.
In answer to my earlier question of “Can we beat the milk-livered fops?”, well of course we can. RvP is on fire, Theo has found some strength, we are due a goal from Ramsey, Song has rediscovered his shooting boots and we can score from set pieces. Plus we have the confidence garnered from a 3 game winning run.
I cycled home last night thinking about how many people could get behind London’s sofa – it will be that kind of game.
COYRRG
BigRaddy
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Morning all
We’ve had to change some of Raddy’s post as he wrote it before he knew that Koscielny was still injured.
Apologies Raddy if you would have chosen a different mid-fielder as we reckon Song will drop back to centre-back.
Two defeats for the Spuds so far; 3-0 away to United and 5-1 at home to City. Easy to forget about the City defeat given that we were getting mullered at OT that day………….
you thought the area around Highbury was a rough gaff?
Jesus, modern fans eh! Don’t forget to pack your hamper 🙂
Thanks BR. Another masterpiece! I expect Gervinho to play instead of Yossi, but agree with the rest of your team for today. Woke up this morning with the figures 5-6 in my head…. a win is a win, yeah? 😀
It has always worked for us to be the underdog against a team of the level and quality of Spuds, and I expect Wenger to serve us another treat today. COYRRG!
And thanks of course Raddy for the write up. I’ll be watching the game on a delay (family duties blah blah) but will be behind that sofa as well.
A lot hinges on how well we can control Ade – keep him quiet and I’m optimistic about getting something from the game. Kos being out is a big hit, but one good thing is it allows the BFG and Song to resume what looked like a happy CB pairing in midweek. I’d personally slightly prefer Coquelin but I like Frimpong too. I’d also prefer Santos in ahead of Gibbs.
We’re more than good enough to beat Spurs (esp with a full, uninjured complement (as if we’ll ever have that)), but we’re still in a fragile and developing state and Spurs have been on good form. The optimist in me says we can surprise the knockers today, but a draw feels the most likely outcome.
Guest, if you think Raddy is a “modern fan” you’ll be disappointed! My guess is he was at home games before you were a twinkle etc. And now you’ll tell me you were a season ticket holder in the 1930s….
Highbury and Islington have been heavily gentrified over the past 40 years, they weren’t always Tony-and-Cherie-Land. And you don’t need to wander very far up the Blackstock Road or Holloway Road to see some fairly rough areas today.
Brilliant read.
3-1 to the Arse today.
Thanks Raddy and brilliant pic.
For me the game hinges on how Ramsey and Frimpong handle Modric and VdV. On paper, its a no-contest, but in reality, they are pathetic classless chippy cretins and we are not.
COYRRR.
Morning,
Super PM Raddy, I imagined London would have had a Chesterfield sofa 😆
I’ve been saying all week that getting kozzer back was vital to release Song for the midfield. Well its not going to happen now. I think AW will start with Frimpong over Coq although I expect them both to get time on the pitch.
We don’t want a repeat of the Eboue red card a few seasons ago so I hope AW is cautious and replaces Frimpong wth Coq if he picks up a yellow.
Excellent, BR.
Cmon you Gunners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JopUThqIRew
My dear arsenal friends, today will be the day that the balance of power shifts in favour of the white/blue side of North London. If the Spurs win today they will be 5 points ahead of you with a game in hand, and also having played 4 of last years top 6 in our first 6 games. The midfield you have picked to start will be totally obliterated by the hard work of Parker, the silky skills of Modric and VdV and the pace of Bale and Lennon. Frimpong is an accident waiting to happen, his enthusiasm amd lack of experience will be his downfall as he will almost certainly face the discipline of the ref at some stage in the game. It sounds like you really rate your keeper. Really! Why??? (Or were you being sarcastic) The BFG is so slow that our forwards will run rings round him, and Song isnt a natural cb. Sagna and Gibbs/Santos will be under the cosh from Bale and Lennon.Walcott is crap (and you know it) Gervhino is average, which leaves you’re one and only top quality player RvP to carry the hopes of the arse. I think he will score, but it wont be enough. 5-2 to the Spurs with Ade and RvP scoring a couple each, Your fullbacks having a torrid time and a red card for Frimpong (if he plays)
COME ON YOU SPURS!!!!
What a dick you are – Spurs decent left back i will tell you something for nothing we would not swap Benni for anything you have especially gibbs and probably apart from Cashlee cole nothing else int the league. Calling us names is choice coming from a bunch of pikeys who dont even belong in north london in the first place
Whatever the outcome of today’s match I just hope we don’t see the game ruined by the ref. Yesterday’s fiasco at Goodison Park was an indictment of all that is bad about refereeing today.
Please Mr. Mike Dean remember it’s a local derby, the fans are there to be entertained by twenty two players just let the game flow, don’t get carried away by your own sense of self importance and most of all keep your cards in your pocket unless you really must book or dismiss a Spurs player.
Please play that midfield………please!
it seems somebody has really hurt bubble.
Totnam. Come back at 6pm. If you win. HAHAHAHAHAHA
Whatever mate. I’ll be here. Celebrating. If we lose, so be it. But, your antics on here only underline your own idioacy. But then its a waste of time trying to reason with a s**** fan.
What is that cheap Ikea nonsense up there, of course I have a leather chesterfield sofa.
I like days like today, the playground is ours, if we lose all the whiners will come out of the woodwork but for the time being it is great to be a gooner,
Top pre-match BR
Where are you………..must be packing your hamper lol.
Whatever Totnam. The great thing about you lot? Singing racist and homophobic songs I suppose when you play us. Btw, will you be singing the adebayor song you did previously?
Sorry, arsenal have class. Spurs have none. Enjoy the game.
Well done Chas 🙂 London you should change your avatar to one of Chas’ sofas!
I’ve disinfected the site and got rid of of the abusive spud fan, anyone else from that side of town will only be allowed on if they show some respect.
To all delusional totnum fans – this is an Arsenal site, the clue is in the name, we even wrote it twice but unfortunately some of you are still too dim to get the message.
If you want to big up your club, do it on a totnum site. None on here are that small minded they they trawl the internet for opposition sites just to leave childish comments, you paint a poor picture of your supporters.
Sadly Rasp, their supporters are far too unintelligent to write or contribute to a blog 🙂
Streuth you spud supporters really are terminally stupid.
The cretins are still trying to post comments, they are piling up in the spam folder on this site – for the last time, this is an A R S E N A L blog.
We have welcomed many decent fans from other clubs to debate on here but there han’t been a single one of you who deserves that privilege, so do yourselves a favour and stop trying.
Soaking up the sun pre-match! Hopefully the u seasonal vitamin D surplus will mitigate against any negative results we might suffer today- we are underdogs and a gambling man would be foolish not to have a punt on Haddabuywhore as anytime scorer. I’ll take a draw but still hope for a win of course! 🙂 if frimpong plays (or will we get coquelin?) he needs to keep his head today… Trepidation and excitement- I love/hate the North London Derby!
Rasp – I’ve put the moderation on, can’t have them upsetting you on this glorious day. I’ll do a check every 15 minutes, apologies to any regulars that might get caught on mod xx
Tottenham fans please just accept that we moved across from Woolwich to bring the much-needed class that you were unable to provide in North London. We are the club that you will only ever aspire to be.
COME ON YOU RIP-ROARING GUNNERS!!!
That’s very good Herb – we moved to bring some much needed class to North London 🙂
Raddy,
Highbury & Islington was not and impressive place to live in the 40’s and 50’s, as far as housing was concerned. You see nobody bothered too much about decorating or home improvement as there was that little thing called WW2 that got in the way.
After the war folks main concern was either getting a job or finding a place to live – or both. So I think a few allowances should be made about our “foreign land”
You see my parents, and many others, were just delighted to be alive and to have a future to look forward to.
You see Raddy, what you think of as a tongue in the cheek, throw away comment, affects some of us quite deeply.
gunnern5
I’m pretty certain Raddy wasn’t intending to offend any of us with his comment.
27 minutes in 4-0 Chelsea.
Peaches, It’ s all about the lack of consideration paid to the
“hidden” consequences of ones remarks
Lighten up gunnern5
I’ll let your inappropriate comment alone……………………
Szczęsny is best golkiper in the world.
GN5,
It is understandable that you would respond to a deliberate slight on the area where you grew up, but it is obvious from the context of the Post that Raddy did not intend that at all.
He was making an observation, and contrasting that to modern values which have made the area very desirable.
There are so many things in life that are hurtful, my advice is not to look for harm where none is intended. Advice for us all, I suspect. 🙂
Ill get a bashing for this. 3-1 Spurs, Arsenal don’t handle pace and movement, we can’t defend set peices and we are way to open in midfield. Bale, Adebayor and Modric will have a field day if we defend the way we have in every game but Dortmund away.
It goes without saying that I will be praying I’m wrong but I think we might all be hiding behind a sofa at half past four.
Big Raddy – I enjoyed the pre-match all the same.
G5 I lived through all that down in north London too, WE were bombed out, my cousins mother was the first air raid victim there, as she left the air raid shelter to go back to the house, to get her sons teddy. The house then sustained a direct hit.
My parents just married some three weeks earlier, collected him from the shelter took him home and brought him up as their own. Yet I never heard them say anything but good things about life in war torn London. My brother as he is now came home from Canada last week and we talked of those days and of how it gave him the confidence to emigrate when he married and start life abroad.
Certainly he like me, would take Raddys comment as it was meant, I really struggle to understand why you take such a bitter stance over a life you say that you have enjoyed.
Age is supposed to mellow one. Sorry if this upsets you, but things written in good faith and without malice should not iMHO be challenged.
RA,
Maybe if both Peaches and yourself take the time to read the last sentence in my post you will see that I understood that there was no deliberate intention on Raddy’s part, but that does not mean that I still find it upsetting – you see you had to have lived through it to truly understand the impact.
Dandan, I also direct you tro the last line of my comment.
Believe me I don’t need a history lesson fron you or anyone else.
For the record my father lost his father, one brother and two sisters within one month , while my mother also lost three brothers in WW2.
OK, GN5,
Has anyone else been surprised at how ‘ordinary’ Cahill has looked?
I know it is difficult to judge on one game, and it hurts me to say it but the Chavs have been playing well, but I saw him against Manyoo too and he went ‘missing’ then too.
Afternoon all,
Rumours going around Twitter that Arteta is on the bench and Coquelin starts … Walcott and Gervinho fit…
RUMOURS! Nothing concrete.
RA, agreed – it looks like we had a lucky escape.
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Song, Gibbs, Coquelin, Arteta, Ramsey, Walcott, Gervino, Van Persie.
Its Coquelin instead of Frimpong – that’s a good call imo
RA. I am not surprised, but perhaps Cahill is suffering from not moving away and has a sulk on, either that or as I expect he is not as good as many make him out to be.
Solid pre match Raddy, you’re right to highlight the strengths and the unfortunate Adebayor fear.
We need a performance to silence critics. It’s time for the senior players to stamp their authority all over this game, that’s Sagna, Song, BFG, Arteta, and RvP today is the day you must prove the doubters wrong.
COYRRG ! !
We Love You Arsenal, we do
We Love You Arsenal, we do
We Love You Arsenal, we do
Ohhh, Arsenal We Love You
Great news about Coquelin – just goes to show that AW does listen to me 🙄
Oxo not in the squad at all …. or Rosicky.
Bench. Fabianski, Santos, Jenkinson, Frimpong, Arshavin, Benayoun, Park.
Great team line-up there IrishG. Hope Gervinho and Theo are properly fit to play in this game. If so, we have a very good chance for 3 points.
Frimpong would get booked and/or sent off today if things got rough. He gets caught out of position and makes rash challenges, can be a good player if he uses his head more.
Surprised Ox isn’t in the squad but looking at the bench where would you put him? Who covers at centre back if Song or BFG gets injured?
Coquilan playing in a game like this is mental. Just mental.
TA – Agreed, Assou-Ekokko (or whatever his name is) and Bale aren’t good defenders, so we keep them pressed back to nullify the only thing they are good at, while trying to get them booked early if they foul Gerv/Theo based on fear of their speed.
Jamie, have a bit a faith mate. He is playing with Ramsey and Arteta in the centre of midfield and together they will boss the area 🙂
I predict at least one sending off – hope its not one of ours for a change.
Its the last 20 minutes that worry me when our best 11 is tiring.
TA – good question.
No Chamakh in there either, Park preferred.
Yes Irish and they will get supported by Sagna and Gibbs. If they are fully fit and RvP is also happy to interchange with them, we have a very unpredictable and potent attack today.
Jamie,
Your comment yesterday that you were not consistent in your never ending criticism was quite wrong.
You are very consistent!
If Ramsey and coq have good days today we will win! COYRRG!
Hi Carlito, 🙂 Long time and all that.
Good to see you are still positive. Me too! 🙂
Just prematch delirium with an overdose of sunshine vibes RA 😀
Just seen the team, I wonder if the French ever had the equivalent of The Charge of the Light Brigade?
You gotta love Wenger, he really does only know one way to play.
Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarge.
Asbestos underwear on.
No sofa required here.
In the wise words of London: “Chaaaaaarge”
Ramsey and Coq will have good days !!!!
3-1 to the Arse. I’m confident that we will outscore them
Just in case anyone had any doubts, Glen Hoddle said in the pre-match, that RVP was almost as good a CF as Adebarndoor!
That’s all right then. Idiot!!
Love it London – Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarge 🙂
You’re behind your couch then 🙂
Song has to stop giving it away.
Peaches, 🙂
London from behind the couch forgot the first word…… YOU …! 🙂
Anyone breathed since 4?
Anyone volunteering for the match report yet?
What a chance aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh
Walcott is looking strong.
Coq is very composed.
Arteta is very quiet.
Ramsey is giving the ball away too much .
BFG is making poor decisions.
We had the best of the 1st 22 minsbut have been off of the boil for the past 13,
All in all we should be in the lead.
Sanga was asleep on that goal……………….
BOLLOCKS
Now Spurs have the momentum.
Must keep hold of the ball better
The BFG is so high up the pitch its scary 😦
Handball and he should have got yellow for going into the crowd .. still doesn’t excuse our poor defending.
We are still well in this though. Rambo and Arteta have been poor, done nothing. Walcott looking good, trying a few shots.
Smudger looks like he wants to deck Hoddle 🙂
Handball!! How could it not be handball?
GIE,
Totally outplayed Spurs except for their breakaways. BUT ….and we spoke about this a couple of days ago.
In the lead up to the Spuds goal, Gibbs is in a central position near the half way line, and Arteta has not dropped back to cover him and there are acres of space on our left for Barndoor to cross, and Sagna has not closed down van Fart ……………… bollix!
It’s like watching a carbon copy of most of our games.
1. Dominate possession.
2. Miss golden scoring opportunities.
3. Give the ball away and create undue pressure.
4. No mid-field general.
5. Nervous defense.
6. No game winner (except VP)
Look at their body language, they’re leaning so far away from each other
Daylight robbery, their best 11 against our best 8 (and one of them is playing out of position), we’ve pretty much bossed possession but have looked unusually rushed in the final 3rd.
Song looked shaky from the start, but got better, I’ve liked the BFG except he is now walking a tightrope. Coquelin has looked our best player, Ramsey hasn’t settled and Arteta hasn’t imposed himself yet, Gibbs had good first half but vdFart is going to be told to cheat on him now and will be a constant source of worry when our attacks breakdown.
Need fifteen minutes of calm football let Theo, RvP, Gerv, Arteta and Rambo try to open them up the defence needs to stand firm. We have not threatened their goal enough for my liking.
That said Mr Gervinho you owe me a goal, Mr Dean you owe me a second yellow for Mr vdFart for deliberate handball (or incitement if you don’t think that’s a handball).
Mr Pissed Off of Norwich
The main difference has been composure in front of goal. On balance we should probably be 2-1 up.
Commentary here in Canada VERY irritating.
Great play to put Gerv in – more of that please – that would have been a great goal
I think I should despise that clown Hoddle, but I can’t because I would feel guilty ……… he is really not ‘normal’ ….. is he?
I find it annoying that Gary Neville is as good as co-commentary as he is. He has not been wrong on anything yet.
Rocky – you should see Smudger and Hoddle in the sky studio. Hoddle says no hand-ball and Smudger says if VdV didn’t have a left arm he wouldn’t have controlled the ball
My view about Neville too, GIE. He knows his stuff.
He’s been around Sir Red Schnozz a long time.
Despise away RA – he’s vile
Against the run of play Song was Strong……………
Why isn’t Song our captain?????????????
Adebayor is having a terrible game.
This is the period when we need to capitalize on our possesion, we are by far the better team.
Bur once again a porus defense almost cost us.
Arteta looks very ordinary.
Great piece of defense by BFG
Spurs right back walker is having a great game.
A very important last 20 minutes.
Yet another “wonder“ goal.
Another BFG moment.
What is it about scummers that one of them always pulls a wonder goal out of nowhere – Szczesny will not be happy about that
Lets hope AA can set AA alight……………
2-2 would look very good right now.
Last 5 mins is when we need Walcott he is a better option as a sub.
This will be a very good team eventually – we will love watching them win
Last two minutes and Ramsey is still giving the ball away, except for his goal he has been plain awful………………
tGood but where did an extra 5 mins come from.
BFG playing as CF 🙂
Have we got one final good play left in us……………
Last gasp corner…………..
Same old same old………………………..
It’s really not going very well is it 😦
We were not outplayed in any way, and arguably lost only courtesy of a ‘handball’ goal.
The worrying thing for me was how many times our players gave the ball away when not under pressure (particularly Ramsey and Song). Is that about confidence? Composure? Either way, it meant we could never get any momentum going when we went down to 1-2.
Aw I post this message the gunners are trailing 1-2.I have said the gunners predictabiliy is a liability . When Spurs scored their two goals there were gaps in the Arsenal penalty area.Whenever the gunners attacked,they are confronted bya sea of players.
That is why the gunners find it hard to score and when the gunners go on a counter,the build up is too slow.
I am afraid Wenger has lost the plot.He would be lucky to last fifteen weeks in a big club with years of underperforming.Yeah I know when UEFA’s fair financial play kicked in,Arsenal will be well poised. Hold on. It aint as easy as it looks.If you are winning trophies and are successful,sponsorship will bring in big bucks.If you aint winning and are mid table,your brand name isn’t there.
Unless Arsenal start winning games and trophies,they could be commanding less in sponsorship money.
I disagree. I think that to go there with the players missing that we did and perform as well as that against a full strength Spurs side can only bode well.
I’m with Peaches…this will be some team
So much for those who thought we were going to get a straight hammering today.
VDV should get a 2nd yellow, Gerv should score. Alas
Poor Chesney. He’ll more heartbroken than any of us. He’s still the worlds no.1 !!
the lads fought well,and to be honest we cant demand more than this,we are a decent team,nothing more….
lets just accept the fact that there are no interest in being a top team,and it may well be because of the financial situation,
like wenger said we will struggle to keep Our best players..so we better get used to playing second fiddle…
its a bloody shame really….
My ‘disagreement’ was with the 6.00. (to be clear)
TomS….look at the players we have out today.
Do you class Liverpool and Toots as ‘top teams’ cos we’re clearly better than both of them
We’ll still finish above the Totts.
So frustrating …
4 losses from 7 now?? That’s not good.
Second bollocks of the afternoon, as GN5 said we needed to make that twenty minute spell pay. Unfortunately Sagna’s injury robbed us of shape and attacking threat. That better not be serious!
Oh well yet another match decided by a once in a lifetime goal. I know some will say Szczesny at fault but he has been done by the ball in the last couple of yards, he is right behind it (as seen from behind the strike camera) and suddenly it swerves to his right and he does well to get a hand on.
We are going to have to seriously consider getting 2 up front, we don’t need wingers! Perhaps 4-1-3-2.
Felt sorry for Coquelin had a good game but was getting little support from front men.
Arteta should never let the man run before the goal. Ramsey compounds error by being slow to react to the run too.
I’m gutted for the team because in my mind they left it all out there and gave everything they could, that’s all I ask of the players in red and white.
Any other season I could take that result as their cup final… To be fair it probably still is. But we need to have a serious run of games now.
Sharkey,
Well explain to me what is different or better than – the same old same old…………..
GiE
I agree about their second – it was another “Danny Rose’ moment and I don’t think Chezzer was at fault. In fact, as you say, he did well to get his hand to it.
Silence Irish. I had forgotten about that particular stat. 😦
My take is that we are about the 4th or 5th best team/squad and tragically so are the Spuds. I think we will finish above them, but todays result is just one of those things that happen between two well matched teams.
Bad news today it is though.
GIE,
You are correct they gave their best – but it is clearly not good enough.
Sad to say but we are in for a miserable season.
Sharkey Sure..
i wish i could agree with you mate,the team we put out today may very well be the backbone of Our team for years to come,besides from RvP and Theo who im in no doubt will be sold to make some more money,as will Wermy…is that all bad..not sure,,
i have a growing feeling that there is something we arent being told about the financial situation…
im far more worried when it comes to the transfers we have done this season…not good enough…and players *on loan*???whats that ??
and to be honest SharkeySure..we was never winning this battle where we ?…
im worried Sharkey Sure…it doesnt help looking at other teams…i see what we do…and that my friend is not good enough …
the Board must be sacked…the new Owner..the hollywood looker and that nazidis fellah should be kicked as far as we can..
bring back Dein,bring in Usmanov..im tired of this down bulding of my Arsenal !!..nuff said..
You’ve read my post GN5, thats it. Oh… you want to argue about it…?? Errm no thanks, I think I’ll pass on that.
I hope you can let it go and not bang on and on about it now….
GN5 I’ll step in while Sharkey is composing a response, for me that team showed more fight than we would have in that situation last year.
On Ramsey he just has to learn where to play football (their half of the pitch). Too often he and Arteta were guilty of soft passes in our third, that can also be Songs undoing too.
GiE, have you got time to write a match report?
Agree about the soft passes and giving away possession but Cesc used to do that too ……… shrugs her shoulders here
A point about three of our youngsters today (Coq, Gibbs and Sz) they were arguably our best players, and most of all were calmest under pressure, why is that? Sz and Coq were also very vocal.
Sz save from Adebayor is one of the best you will see and that is why he is worlds no 1
I can’t really agree with any of that TomS. We were on top for large parts of the game. How do the Spurs fans feel about that…? somene called it Toots best 11 vs Arsenal’s available 8.
VDV’s handballs for the goal, then he should get a 2nd yellow.
I look at the signing s tha other teams have ,ade and whilst there are a few very good signings, ie Silva there are more than a few who represent no decent value for their cost. I won’t bother to name them.
Your last paragraph is a bit manic and reactionary. In this scenario I always ask – if one thing changes (ie Sz saves the wonder strike today) would you still write it..??
Sorry Peaches I am just firing up the BBQ for the second time today.
We reduced the toots into playing on the counterattack. The (apparently) much feared Adebayor did very little of note.
Even the save he drew from Sz was offside imho (TV showed no definitive replays for some reason)
I felt sorry for our world’s number one, he kept us in the game only to concede the winner to a not so clever Spurs team.Then add sagna’s injury, hopefully not as bad as it looked.
I can’t remember a game when we had so many misplaced passes as did Spurs, but we just are so brittle defensively.
What is it with spurs Bentley,Rose and now walker with a screamer.
We played quite well but no real cutting edge. i worry about RVP he ouses class even when not in the game a lot, will he want to stay without some more quality in the side.
I thought le Coq had a really good game and at least theo wasn’t afraid to have a pop a few times.
mertsacker looks decidedly shaky.
I think most of us would have taken a draw but feared deep down we might lose.
not sure what more to say if anything but it looks like a tough old season ahead.
Ok GiE
Need a match report chaps, anyone going to watch the game again and fancy writing their thoughts?
agreed with some of you ..Our Beloved Arsenal did give ther all,and battled hard,the thing is ..the quality just isnt there anymore…
to be honest i think Wenger has been trying to tell us something for a long time..if we sell cesc and nasri the we cant claim to be a ?….we might have to sell some of Our best players ?…we are proud of the way we run the club.?..finishing fourth is like a trophy ?..
me im more than convinced that something is going on,and it may just be that we dont have the finances to compete…
the youngsters better step up asap..thats Our only chance in the future…
c’mon you gunners..
Given our lame capitulations in recent games against them, this was a very respectable performance by a weakened team.
I agree Rocky – a respectable defeat – see I’ve got the title just need the meat
Maybe Tom would like to write the report…
Not good enough.
I’m negative because we keep playing badly and performing badly.
The showed heart and some played well. Spurs were more experienced and won.
I predicted 3-1 and Arsenal did better than I expected. I don’t have faith in this team, they are 15th. We sell all our best players, we have a “wage structure” but spent 125m on wages, in part to players that are not good enough.
Not good enough for this club.
I maintain this squad are worse than any I have seen since I started watching in 86.
Now Sagna is injured. What is there to be optimistic about?
MIDI – Sorry about that, but it is a worrying stats. If it cheers you up we normally start well and end badly so maybe we are doing it vice versa this season?
GiE… Agreed that Sz and Coq were both very good today. I’m not a big fan of Gibbs and it possibly impacts on my assessmnets of his games…but here goes anyway.
Today I thought he was Ok, but he seems to lack the urgency and willingness to defend as though his life depends on it. I think he is fairly casual in his recovery runs back to his station. I’m not sure if he thinks someone should be covering him, but I very rarely see him flat out sprinting back in the way that I would expect.
I watched him closely when I attended the Swansea game and at times I was horrified by his lack of …’something’. Impetus and drive might be the words I’m looking for.
I often say that he seems to be playing as if he has a Cup Final the following day (week?) and is conserving himself. Maybe he suffers as I contrast him to our previous two LBs, who were both very dynamic.
RockyLives..
agreed we did put up a fight :)and thats something we hasnt seen for a while,but it stops there mate..and the sooner we accept the fact that we’re not going to buy us out of this crisis the better,it will take a long time ..first we need the team to gel properly…come january we will be better…for me this is a season to try and build a team for the future…and cope with the fact that we might loose one or two top players still..
fourth place is almost already out of our grasp…
Evening all. Good game, bad result. We were by far the better team but once again lost. Sadly after bigging up Ramsey a couple of days ago he had a terrible game with Song, Theo and Gerv not far behind. All are great players but today it didnt work out for them or for us. As a positive Cocky looked really good as did the bfg and Gibbs. I have a new saying for this season. “nevermind its only football”. im gona need to say that to myself a lot this season I think.
I slightly disagree Rocky –
“very respectable performance by a SEVERELY weakened team.”.
Jamie. How did you feel in that 15mins or so after we equalised..? Pleasantly surprised I hope. .??
Re losing players. Thats just the nature of football currently. I maintain that to give the likes of Flamini whatever he asks for after one good season is simply not on.
Best example..?? Adebayor beng paid by Man City to score goals for RM last season and for the Toots this season.
You really think we have worse players now than the likes of Hillier , McGoldrick and Selley..??
RockyLives..
that would be an honor mate,but im far to negative…and that is one thing we can do without right now…
i just feel we need a proper start,fet rid of the players who stalls their contracts..be firm..then i personally would give wenger the time he needed to build Our Beloved Arsenal again..
im just afraid that we wont…we will try to fix it bit by bit.and thats just not good enough …
we need a fresh start…and come january that might very well be Our turning point…but Our players will have to be warriors until then..and today they showed heart…
the missing point today for me was Song missing in midfield..the balance wasnt there..Coq did well…but Song is in a different league,to me Song is the best Arsenal players..and i often tend to look at all the work he does who many doesnt give him credit for..and the best thing about Song a more loyal Arsenal player is difficult to find…to me he has the carma of Adams…no nonsense player…
everytime i wrote about Song on Le Grove..oh my ;..and that made me change my name to SongtheGreat over there…;
and to be positve i think we will look much better after the international break…we just need time and right now we dont have that…we will get much stronger..lets just hope its not too late..
“wenger says arsenal are “very worried about sagna’s injury”. too soon to say how long he’ll be out, but problem relates to fibula/ankle”
Not very lady like from me but FUCK IT ANYWAY …….. ARRRRRGH
OK, here’s my pennyworth. 🙂
I am disappointed at losing. That’s it ……. disappointed, not suicidal or in deep despair … same thing maybe, but irrelevant!
We played the arses off the Spuds, looked far better technically, and for the first time this season looked confident. Yep that’s right ….. Con-fi-dent!
Our overall possession and energy levels deserved at least a point and we would not have been embarrassed with all three!
So, against that, it cannot be denied that we tired (especially Rambo and Arteta) in the last 20 minutes and it was a poor and unprofessional piece of play leading up to their flukey second goal. But nothing that better conditioning for the one, and a real bollocking for the second would not fix pretty damn quick!!
The next team(s) we play are going to get a hammering. That’s right — instead of going off with their heads down like a bunch of whipped curs, our lads will have gone off that pitch hugely disappointed with that result, thinking they should have won it. The Spuds know they stole that result. Bastards!!
Disappointed? Yes. But colour me contented — I think we have passed the watershed and it bodes well for the future.
So spare me all the doom and gloom — there’s another site for that.
Losers sulk and blame the manager, the team, the football Gods, the officials or their mummies. I say to them — grow a pair!!
That was a brave effort by our boys, so don’t embarrass yourselves and act like losers.
We have a great club, and a team that will shock many in the near future under a wonderful manager and what they need now is SUPPORT …. not whingeing!!
Yeah, I feel good, because I am proud of our top players, the kids and the newbies in our depleted team!!!
The line ‘4th place is like a trophy’ is a real bugbear for me. Season before last in the High Noon clash for CL football between CIty and the Toots. It certainly didn’t look like a run of the mill 3pts that they were playing for that day.
If 4th place is so meaningless, why do the same fans who deride it so much claim it’ll be a complete failure of a season if we don’t achieve it..?? You can’t really have it both ways can you…??
Someone saying Sagna may have broken his shinbone ….
broken fibula according to French tv – fucking something is broke
Kelsey 6.27. I said exactly that…’f**k not another one’ when Walker scored. I’m sick of the wonderstrikes against us…not just the Tooots (although there’s are the worst) buy also the Dortmund one, plus a couple in the game that we don’t talk about anymore.
RA,
You are a clever and creatively thinking tall man, so here’s something to wrap the thinking stuff around. At moments like this its good to have someone or something to blame. Barum’s “never mind its only football” is a brave effort, but any thoughts on something more substantial?
Irish. I just can’t believe it (Sagna fibula)….soon as i saw the clash, I just had my head in my hands at our rotten luck. Bale had a field day after that.
Personally I might have put Coq to RB and brought Frimpong on. It was a big ask of Jenkinson
How about blaming Steve?
Hi Kelsey,
Glad to see you back and shooting from the hip!! 🙂
We will get the luck of the Gods soon and when we do ……………. we will be told by the meedja that it was definitely handball and the wonder strike was a mishit cross. One rule for us and another ………… etc, etc.
Why not Santos when Sagna was carried off. Reported possible broken ankle on reports on canal +
Peaches 5:52
Have to agree. Give our boys a little more time to settle together. PLus we have Vermaelen and Jack to come back.
AHHH what a shame that guy pulled out a wonder strike.
So frustrated, without that chance shot we would have got a draw. IMO a fairer result.
Stay cool, calm and collected, we (Arsene) will crack this. Make all the doubting pundits choke on their anti Arsenal lingo.
SS – Desperately unlucky, just a freak landing and knew he was in pain straight away. Was hoping for a sprained ankle, but this is so bad. Will probably be the new year before he’s back.
‘We lose our best players’
then
‘Get rid of the players who stalls their contracts..be firm’
Rooney and Tevez both ‘stalled’ on their contracts and now earn £250k per week.
You either lose them or pay whatever they ask for…there really isn’t a middle ground anymore. Will Modric still be at Spurs for season 2012-2013..??
Anyways…offski for a bit.
Micky, 🙂
I deny your slanderous description apart from the ‘tall’ bit!
How about for Spurs? — “It’s football, Jim – but not as we know it”.
For Arsenal? — “At least our crap is better than your crap” — (what can you mean by that, sir? 🙂 )
Both Santos and Gibbs are pretty one footed Kelsey. Maybe thats the reason. Right..really offski now.
Ooops..
“colour me contented” – Brilliant line. Colour me too. Cracking post Red.
TomS/SongTheGreat (!). Agreed. I remember fighting the fight with you that one. I gave up wasting my time on those who simply don;t want to see
Come on Red Arse, pull out all the stops and write us a passionate and positive post for tomorrow – we all know you can do it, no science just facts and lots of love.
Tomstoned is right – we don’t need a negative slant on today we need a rallying cry, we really need it.
Great effort by our weakened team against full strength spuds.
Lucky it wasn`t Jan/Feb, there would have been no Gerv`,Song,possibly `Pong and Chamakh( he wont be missed).
We will not get top 4 and wont be bottom 3, obvious after transfer window farce( Wenger,Gazidas trousers around ankles ala Brian Rix). So why not experiment now ?. Let Theo play up front, Gerv/Oxo, Left and Right , RVP in “the hole”,Arteta creates,Song holds, the usual defence( when fit) and WN1. This could be our Pre-next season, and if Arsene brings in some”super quality” in the next 2 “windows”, then next season could be the start of a new dawn for us!.
Oh yes, dont forget to get rid of the deadwood aswell.
Red Arse 6:54
Put in words exactly how I feel.
I’m off on a WELL DESERVED hols 2moz, yet feel warm inside after watching MY boys perform in such a professional manner against all the odds.
We are not that far away. With a little bit of lady luck we would have come away with at least a point today.
We are so lucky to have Arsene Wenger as our Manager.
He is keeping us up with the big boys on a relatively shoe string, who could do better?
Peaches, you are such a sweetheart you make me feel bad.
I am just turning my laptop off – I have one foot in the left leg of my best pants, my hair is beautifully coiffed, and I smell like Lady Godiva’s pot pourri. In short I will not be back until the sun comes up – with any luck.
Despite my reluctance to write Posts, I may have weakened because of you, other than that.
Genuinely sorry! 😦
Big winners today were Chelsea Man U n City who now know that they don’t have to worry about anything coming out of North London this year.
I’ve never seen a London derby played with so little urgency. Players were jogging around just happy to knock the ball side to side. The lack of movement from both teams was amazing.
Ramsey gave the ball away every time he had it.
Gervinho and Walcott lacked direction.
RvP was isolated and never really touched the ball within 20 yards of their goal.
Arteta was too deep to affect the game.
Coquelin was outstanding and looks twice the player of Frimpong.
Gibbs was good getting forward and did little wrong in defence.
Mertersacker looks like he’s starting to get used to the pace of English football but our high line doesn’t help him.
All in all it was a game that was there for the taking by any team that could be bothered putting in that extra bit of effort, which turned out to be Spurs. We kept the ball ok but didn’t do it in the areas that matter. Same old story of slow build up and then lacking penetration etc etc etc
I could be talking about any game in the last 3 years and most of you don’t even need to read this cos you already know what I’m talking about. I’ve just watched us lose to our nearest rivals n I’m not even that bothered. Maybe I have managed to lower my expectations to the required level now! I think they will stay down here until we get TV and JW fit.
Szscesny also played well and will be gutted about the winner tho the ball moved a lot.
I think in all honesty we cant be too dejected by todays performance, result yes but performance no. Even with 3 or 4 players under-performing and a few first teamers out we still out-played them and should’ve won the game. I’m no less confident that this squad will come good but we do need a couple more January additions and please god some luck would be nice.
Sharkey,
Just got back home.
Re your 6:17 – No pal I have no wish to argue. I just asked (in essence) why you think this team is not just a regurgitation of everything we have seen for the past few years.
I see nothing in this team to be excited about with the exception of a few notables – namely;
Song, Sczszney, Vermaelen, Wilshere, Van Persie Oxide- Chamberlin, Frimpong and Coquelin.
We have no super stars in that group (maybe VP) and none on the horizon.
I wonder how many of these players would make it onto the 1st team squads of Man U, Man C or Chelsea.
I’m Arsenal through and through but I simply cannot see us making the dynamic changes that are needed to add class, character and steel to this nucleus.
These are our stats from our last 18 EPL games.
W4,T8,L6,GF26.GA33,Pt’s20.
We have averaged 1.1 points per game for the last 18 games that equals 42.2 points for a season = relegation fodder.
I sadly predict that we will end up as a mid-table team.
The team lacks steel and character and we do not have a mid-field general or play maker.
I hope that I am proved to be incorrect.
Not a happy bunny.
Red Arse – I’m really disappointed 😦
Who has the balls to write a post for tomorrow? There’ll be slaters of a positive spin aswell as those who would support a negative article – either way we need a post and some are still hiding behind the couch or have dived under their duvets………….
gunnern5,
Agree with alot there., `it`s Cesc we miss, we need to push the boat out for a replacenent in Jan`. The cheap money we got for Cesc, will not be enough for relacement, We have to pay £45/50M for similar player like Goetze!, but I say pay it!
Wenger on ‘non-handshake’ with Clive Allen. ‘I shook the hand of the manager & assistant. How many people do I have to shake hands with?’
😆 Ah Arsene, always give us a smile one way or another
Decent effort against a good team. Yes even the spuds can get a good team sadly! This isnt a disgrace in the same way Blackburn was. A draw would have been a fair result.
Evening people,
I’ve just trawled through all the comments here and whilst I admire the quest for a positive spin on today’s performance I simply can’t find many but I’ll try; Coquelin was superb, as too were Song and Sczszney. Er, that’s about my lot. I won’t go through the number of negatives but when I hear people going on about our depleted team I don’t buy it, we were in essence only missing two of our strongest 11 (TV and Jack). Yeah sure, some of the back ups are injured too but it says a lot about the quality, or lack thereof, of our team if two players missing result in that last half hour’s performance. I was alarmed at the lack of urgency on show. Two comments via twitter rang true for me, ‘do arsenal actually know they are losing’ and ‘two many foot soldiers, not enough generals’.
I still believe we have enough about us to finish fourth, but will that be enough for Robin and Song and others to sign extensions.
A long winter ahead methinks….
holly,
Correct only TV and Jack, but Song was missing from normal position and for me Kos`was missed.
Hi Holly
The future of this team needs a positive spin not so much todays performance. We are where we are and we have to find some way of getting through to January when we may or we may not be able to strenghen. Something is seriously wrong if we can’t buy our way out of trouble at all – we’ve moved to a bigger ground, gone without buying players to make the team better and sold our best players.
Can someone explain to me why the BFG plays so far up the pitch?
Maybe a season out of top 4 will do us a favour. 14 seasons of CL may have made us too complacent. The “eye of the Tiger” has been lost ( or sold to Man City). We need a good kick up the “arse” from top to bottom. We cant stand still and admire ourselves in the mirror with accounts in hand. It`s a Football club to us fans, not a busness !
OK friends, I’ve just caught up – forgive me, I haven’t read through the in-game and post-game comments, but in the heat of the moment, I just wanted to say a couple of things.
First, we did not deserve to lose that game, we were the better side for swathes of it, and conceded one goal that the officials should have disallowed and one our brilliant keeper will hate watching.
Second, just how bloody unlucky do we have to be, how many bloody refereeing mistakes do we have to end up on the wrong side of??????
I’ll give Spurs a couple of things: Sandro changed the game and we didn’t deal with him. And their defence was generally excellent (it was a surprise they allowed Ramsey in for our goal). But their fabled midfield four were utterly outplayed by our three. I am so pleased with much of what Coquelin, Ramsey and Arteta did, and Song, Gibbs and Mertesacker were generally very good too. I know Szczesny looked a tit for the latest Spurs youngster hit and hope from distance shot, and he should have saved it, but those swervers are also a lot harder than they might look. Szczesny was fantastic today, despite that error.
OK, will catch up on the comments now…..
Good point glic – it’s our football club, and it’s about results to us. The balance is all wrong if the money is there but the team isn’t – what’s the point???????
Peaches.
Arsene is the man in charge. He has the money and he makes the decisions. He has had some incredible highs at Arsenal but I think his lowest point was the last transfer window, he has a chance to rectify that in the next one`s. Injuries , he has no control of, shame he cant buy some luck, he deserves some!
We should never have sold Eboue, he bonded the team together so well.
I feel for Jenkinson.routed at United and thrown into a local derby.The kid’s career could finish before it starts
GN5 – I believe that Song, Wilshere and Szczesny (in addition to RVP) are all as good as, if not better, than the best that Man U have to offer in similar positions.
Tommy V is close enough, and Kos will prove to be one of the best CB’s in the division.
I think our ‘midfield general’ was playing at CB today. We had the best ‘playmaker’ in the world (imho) in ‘Chess’ Fabregas, but lost out in the PL to teams like Man U and Chelski who don’t really seem to have one.
Footballs a funny old game, and sometimes we only know the question once we’ve found what we think is the right answer. Thats a roundabout (or rubbish??) way of saying – football just isn’t an exact science where a + b always equals c.
Offski again…family duties
We had a better squad the last three months of the season and still imploded so I stand by my belief that there is something wrong within the club.
2 steps forward and 1 step back.
It’s a slow process with lots of lows but it means we are going in the right direction.
For all our faults, the luck with injuries has been unbelievable for the last few years and doesn’t look like easing off. All we can do is soldier on, and this team does look as though it’s got a bit of fight in it.
Arsenal player ratings from football.365
A total embarrassment.
……………………………………………………………….
Wojciech Szczesny 6.6
Bacary Sagna * 5.0
Per Mertesacker 4.0
Alex Song 4.4
Kieran Gibbs 3.8
Aaron Ramsey 3.2
Mikel Arteta 4.4
Francis Coquelin 6.0
Theo Walcott * 4.0
Robin van Persie 4.8
Gervinho 3.8
Average rating = 4.14
Less than 5 my goodness has it really got that bad in one season.
Well I guess the tables tell us the facts..
Ramsey 3.2 and thats our future………………..
Kelsey,
I just don’t get it. We seem to have lost the grit and pride that was always a part of our teams.
I have NEVER watched a game against Spurs where we showed LESS passion.
You’re correct this is not down to losing a few great players there appears to be something insidious going on inside the club.
If you look at the table there are so many teams that are fighting above their weight at the moment, these teams will without doubt drop points. Who knows how it will all end up……………. it’s football, we just have to keep our fingers crossed until January and hope we get what we need and that we’re not too far behind by then.
Someone suggested earlier that Coq could have moved to Right Back and Pong could have gone to midfield, I thought that too. When Sag went down but you have to think that would have been harsh on Jenks and Coq.
Bale had been kept quiet by Sagna and unfortunately Jenks is not at the level where he can be expected to cope with a player who has the speed of him.
But for me the problems as ever stem from strange decisions by players on the pitch.
Song playing the man not the ball in front of him, and the old responsibility issue with many players. Senior players should be taking games like this by the scruff of the neck and bossing them. They should be tracking runs, winning balls that are there to be won and clearing their lines rather than trying to keep possession by passing triangles in our own half.
All that said I will say again that I thought the performance was good today, the result was not. Final third kinks to work out as it was in reality at the end of last season, our defence continues to get pelters when our attack has missed at least one great opprtunity to put us ahead. And as highlighted by many two midfielders have allowed a simple run at a throwing. And it doesn’t matter how many times you coach someone to do these things if they cannot stay switched on they will not do their job.
Not good enough certainly but for an hour they matched spurs. They weren’t as bad as those ratings.
We need Sagna to be ok. And we need to play two stoppers in front of the back four. TV5 and PM4 could make a great pair. PM4, Song, Arteta and Gibbs were great I thought but we need to stabilise badly. Stop conceeding.
Stop playing so high, get protection. We can do that, we have players to do that. We need to get it done. Both goals we were streched in the build up again. Players are good. System is too open.
gunnern5 – would you like to write the post for tomorrow?
GN5 I’m guessing those ratings are fans opinions, don’t forget they have more than likely been skewed by very negative fans, and opposition fans.
Having just checked every Tottenham Player is >7? sorry that’s utter rubbish, Modric 7.75 what did he do? Friedel gets 7.75 yet our strikers manage an average of 4, what did he do to get 7.75 then?
I still need a post for tomorrow, it doesn’t have to be a match report if someone wants to just air their views …………………
Peaches how about for tomorrow’s post:
“Spuds 2 – Arsenal 1
Handball/Poor Defending
Comeback/Spuds let us back in
Wonder strike/Poor Goalkeeping
Injury Bad Luck/Shite Medical Team
Top4/Relegation
Wenger Out/Wenger In
Discuss…..”
That should about cover us for two weeks of international break then it’s the Black Cats at home and we can get on with supporting again.
Think it’s time someone actually helped Peaches out here, for my sins I’ve written up too many defeats recently and can’t face another one.
The Spurs winning goal is a replica of goals conceded when the defence went to sleep.As a fan for many years,the gunners are showing signs not of a big club.If the gunners continue to struggle
get ready for the few wc players to move on.
Peaches
Just got back in. I can write a report.
But how about we get people to sign up well in advance to doing match reports.
We could book authors all the way up to, say, Christmas and I’m sure many of the AA authors would be willing to commit to at least one game between now and then.
Hi Rocky – match reports aren’t usually a problem. As GiE says, too many defeats make it difficult for people to commit, they just haven’t got the heart to write about the same problems over and over again 😦
Yeah, but if everyone commits to do one designated game in the next few weeks – win or lose – at least we’ll be covered.
Good plan, I’ll sort that out then 🙂
Cracking idea Rocky.
Peaches, around 7.30 I figured I’d do one if no one else offered, by say 9.30. I felt that I should watch and wait, rather than throw my coat over a muddy puddle for you, only to then see you jump into a waiting car, metaphorically speaking !
RockyLives mate..
ive watched most of the game again,..many have said we lacked the grit…no we didnt ..and even though there was some off periods..i thought we showed more guts today than we have done in the last 5-6 months….i maybe wrong and im always a negative son of a Gunner ;..but having looked closely at it..i think maybe this was a turning point..and that we need….and to watch Coq again..well not completely sure but that lad has it in him…biggest let down.Ramsey im sorry to say…he need some off time..i wouldnt be surprised if Our Beloved Arsenal have a trick or to up their sleaves…lets get a postive run until Christmas…then we’ll see..
to me who we play isnt that interesting at the moment..far more interesting is seing that even some of Our new players seem to get the Arsenal way …and well the spuds played at their best not much room for improvement..they played as good as they can..and still we outplayed and out classed them in periods…what that really proves is that we are far better than the spuds…lets get firm behind the Team..we’re back on track in my opinion..
Dear God ill be a very good man for the rest of the year if You find it in Your heart to send us a right back…and for christmas i want a midfielder(just as good as jack)and a world class striker…;
c.mon you Gunners..!!!
Rocky/Peaches, great idea. I love doing match reports, but I need to know beforehand as it takes a lot of time for me to write them and I need to be soberish to avoid the double-dutch 😉
You can pencil me in for the Marseille away game 0n 19 October and Arsenal – Fulham on 26 November (also happy to the Norwich away game, but I guess GiE is desperate to do that one 🙂 ).
GN5, your views I respect; the aggregate views of whatever bundle of fans voted on that F365 poll I do not. I see that Defoe and Adebayor got 7.5 and Modric and van der Vaart got 7.65. Utter rubbish.
Peaches,
With then biased, uniformed comments and ridicule that I’m subjected to AA I seriously doubt that I will ever again write a headline post for AA.
Tom
Glad to hear those points from a second viewing.
Gn5
I hope no-one is deliberately ridiculing you on here. You have earned the right to have your view. To me there seems to be a pretty even split on here between the ‘optimists’ and the ‘pessimists’ so you’re hardly on your own!
Anyway, we need your humour on here. Particularly when you and VCC get into duelling banjos with the dodgy jokes 🙂
G5, I am amazed you just wrote that. Most on AA seem to have the patience of a saint with you. If you ask me, you are just looking for attention by taking issue with things that are mostly not there, and by assuming bad intentions of fellow bloggers who appear to mean well with you.
As Peaches said earlier today: lighten up – chill out a bit.
For me, Blackburn away was this club hitting rock bottom. A defeat at White Hart Lane 4 games later has done nothing to change my view.
Blackburn away was the worst defensive display I have seen at this club and that includes the 8 we let in at OT. It was also the sickest I have felt watching an Arsenal team. We made Blackburn Rovers look good!!!! Even Souness, Ince and Allardyce couldn’t do that!
We are currently on the upward curve, but it’s a slow incline which is going to have a few dips on the way. After all, we ain’t going to win every game from now until the end of the season are we? We need to get it into our heads that every defeat isn’t a crisis. We won three in a row before this game, do they count for nothing because we lose 1? I saw enough out of an injury hit side today to know that we are on the way back and if we can keep the faith then we will get out of this in tact.
Blackburn away is done. We have hit the floor. It’s time to pick ourselves up and carry on, knowing full well that there may be a few stumbles on the way. Keep the faith
FGG where’s your spirit….not going to win every game? Of course we are we are the mighty Arsenal. 😀
TA I’m not bothered about writing up the Norwich game (if I get a ticket I might- but that will depend on me borrowing a gold members card to get them probably ….. Anyone?) but I will take one of the Sunderland or Stoke games.
And I promise to try and put finger to keyboard to come up with a post in the next week whilst we have the interlull.
That result hurt! What was mOst upsetting for me was that was the best football we’ve played this season but we still got nothing for it. 5 points behind the scum and played a game more… Not a happy Monday!
Morning all
I don’t feel so bad. Arsene will not let this teams heads drop, I hope he will show them how they were in control of the game for the majority of the time and played some lovely football.
They ( Ramsey and Arteta ) must keep the ball better when not under any pressure – both of these players manage to squeeze themselves space and come away with the ball with three players on them but when they’re stroking it around in mid-field they seem to forget that they’re playing in a competetive game. Not good enough, we shouldn’t be giving the ball away so easily. I want to see us own the mid-field again.
Broken leg for Sagna and three months out!
Injury list has now claimed:
Vermaelen-key player
Sagna-key player
Diaby-first teamer
Wilshire-key player
Kozzer-first teamer
We will have a great team come February!!!!
Morning peaches and all. Sorry I don’t feel as you do.
Sagna’s injury is about the worst thing to happen.Out for 3 month’s which probably means five.
It is very well people touting all these world class players,we are never going to even bid for them with the current’s board stance. oh if only dein was still at the club.
I would genuinely say we are in now in crisis. it is obvious that a few players are just going though the motions and don’t care a shite one way or another, others need to settle in,but the majority aren’t good enough and with multiple changes to the team every week there is next to no understanding between the players as was evident with the wayward passing.
The worst thing is that there will not be any dramatic changes at the club and January is a long way off.
We have no define right to be a top 4 team and if I was kroenke I would be pulling my hair out,but in his case that is not an option.
i have to pinpoint one of the very few experienced players who lets us down game after game,that being Arshavin. Rosicky which was inevitable is going to play a limited amount of games and then gibbs and Djourou are always prone to be injurd.Ramsey has been slated by many,maybe he has a mental problem but at at a team like United with a better balanced squad he wouldn’t be playing so much.
bad decisions by the club ever since the Fabregas saga started and we certailnly aren’t a so called big club on the pitch anymore.
it is irrelevant that spurs looked ordinary and their first goal had a hint of hand ball as one knew inevitably they woud score .
Every single game we play we look so vunerable in defence to an extent it is embarrasing.
I still maintain to fall from a strong position in february to where we are now has got to have an explanation.Injurie,well we are always blighted by them and at the moment it is effecting our best players, but panic buying and a loan signing of yet another injury prone player in yossi is not the way forward.
Those kidding themselves we will finish at best 4th are living in a dream world, this Arsenal side has next to no confidence, less fluidity then seen for many a year which has to be partly down to the manager and the players not giving 100%, the coaching and general substandard play of many players some through inexperience others because they are new to the team and can’t gel as a unit. We have played 7 league games and often one thinks the team was assembled the day of the game.
Now we have a majority owner who is happy with everything at the club and we are led to believe Wenger has full control, therefore with 160 million sitting in the bank why hasn’t he spent it more wisely.
I don’t even enjoy watching our team at the moment,but that has nothing to do with support.it is frustrating and sad that the spunk has gone out of the side.
Those who see positive sides to yet another defeat i admire, not for me at the moment and most probably not for the whole of this season.Yes Spurs goal shouldn’t have counted but we made them look an ordinary side but yet again could not turn our authority into a win.
We may win the next match but again I would not be convinced we have turned the corner for a long time .
Yes bad result – a shame Gerv didnt put that 1st half chance away…
Mids gave the ball away too easily as peaches has said but more worryingly is the injury to Sagna – will be a long road back for him and arsenal – January window for a RB?
Injuries are really starting to cast a shadow and compounded by the shambolic off season… tough season just got tougher!
Is it interlull now? Vermaelen should be coming back then?
Kelsey,
Whilst I don’t share your despair just yet I must say that many of the points you make ring true.
However, the way that this ‘crisis’ is being spun out by the media is only making things worse for fans. You can spin things however you like, for example, you just said that we made Spurs look ordinary yday. This is a team expected to finish in the top 6 and are on the way up according to everyone else. Yet our injury hit team could easily have beaten them yday, but we are in ‘crisis’!? It doesn’t add up.
On the other hand tho you could argue that we played a Spurs team missing Gallas, Dawson, Huddlestone, Lennon. All players who would be pushing for first team places at WHL.
My point is that if you want to see a crisis then that’s what you will see, but equally you could choose to see improvement and hope…..I know which I prefer.
Pat,
Fabregas had same injury a couple of year ago and was setting up the winning goal in world cup final 3 or 4 month later! Who would come to the club knowing they are gunna be sub 2 months later? I could see a loan deal if injury is severe but otherwise I think Jenks will be playing.
Morning Peaches
I agree with your view that possibly the most frustrating part of the game was the fact that our two key midfield players gave the ball away too cheaply too often, I suppose that we just have to hope that Wenger can help them improve that aspect of their game.
The bright spot is obviously Coquelin, I went weak at the knees with worry when I saw his name on the starting line up, I didn’t think he had 90 minutes in him but I was wrong, he was there fighting until the final whistle.
A few people have written recently that they thought the Coq was more advanced than Frimpong to which I poured cold water over I now realise they were right and I was wrong, I don’t know how they arrived at that view because I went to the Shrewsbury game and believe me Coquelin was half the player he was yesterday but hey ho in times like these I know we have to take any shred of good news from where ever we can.
Morning,
I can’t express my feelings on the site at the moment. I am slightly encouraged that AW played Coquelin, but can find very little else to be positive about this morning.
Certain things seem to be staring us in the face and yet we fail to recognise them. There is no right time to be critical of our team, they need our support more than ever at the moment.
Rasp Peaches
Put one in the post if it is of any interest
Morning London 🙂
If AW sends Coquelin out on loan again he’ll have me to deal with, the boy is calm and assured on the ball and really fights for the team and he can pick a pass and find his man.
Rasp – read kelsey’s comment @ 7.49
Morning all, i am not a happy bunny today 😦
However, I think we were the better team, especially in the first half of the game.
Taunting messages and emails are going to be dealt with brutally today, they can all piss off, we are the mighty Arsenal and we will not let some scum gets us down.
Kelsey,
Great comment at 7:49.
Peaches,
Can we assume from dandan’s 8:43 that we have a post?
I believe there are two things at play here, some supporters – including two of my very best friends – will be blinkered in the coming weeks and just focus on what’s wrong with the club – bad management, wages too high, poor decision making, not enough honesty from the club, serious financial problems, poor income stream etc and they will forget that there is a team to support.
Sagnas injury is an enormous blow, he is one player that would get into any of the top teams and we’re going to really miss him. He gives Theo protection in a way that Jenkinson really doesn’t.
Are we unlucky with injuries or do our players just break too easily? Their bones are brittle, I still believe there is something wrong in their diet.
@ Kelsey
great read, although for the most part it differs from my opinions, i always love reading your comments.
Coq, song, and szcz can hold their heads high, the others need to look at themselves in the mirror. I’m not to sure if ramsey completed a pass to one of our players, it seemed like he and arteta were well off the boil.
I would just like to see us try something different and get back to basics. Back to defending as a team would be a start, because at the moment every game no matter who the opposition we look about as strong as a wet paper bag. Teams are slicing through us with relative ease. Even when Tommy V is playing it appears that he has to play out of his skin (making last ditch tackles and game saving interceptions), it shouldn’t be like that. Not to sure whats wrong with gerv either, i thought he was a poacher with good finishing, lately its been anything but that.
At least we can only go up from here, some of the players need a belting up in the change rooms or on the training field so they snap out of this funk
Kelsey I’d like to address the cash figure.
Whilst the cash figure was £160m at 31 May that is purely a snap shot of the situation.
The Current Assets, that is everyone we have to pay and will be paid in a year was £90m. So that realistically has to be the figure we start at before assessing transfer fund. A very small profit, a corporate sponsorship hindrance until 2014 are all reasons why we might not have £90m to spend as we have a chance of not turning an overall profit when the Property Business dries up. Development properties account for £33m of that £90m, so you could say that we maximum had £57m to spend in the window and that only if we decided to spend every single penny.
GIE,
I accept that point, i just read the accounts dated May of this year.
OZ,
I had already said yesterday that le Coq and Szez had a good game.
I was jut trying to give an overall position of the club in general as things stand at the moment, not concentrate particularly on yesterday’s game, in other words a general pattern of our displays.
With regards to jenkinson i have mentioned this before. he may well turn out to be a good buy but the United game and then having to come on in the cauldron of WHL is not the best way for a young inexperienced lad to start his career with arenal and that could have mental scars on him for a while.At united one could see he was a bunch of nervs and to me buying him as back up to Sagna with Eboue gone doesn’t show an intent in strengthening the team for the present.
@ Kelsey
Sorry kelsey the first sentence was meant for you not the rest.
The rest was just my opinion of the game. sorry for the confusion
Interestingly, after all my nagging, we now have two posts which I’m going to add together and publish in a minute. Bear with me
New Post …………..
So I’d like to take stock of the first 7 games and see how far behind last season we are at the moment. Compared Swansea to Blackpool.
match……2010/11…….2011/12….cum pts diff
A Toon………D……………..D…………0
H Dippers…..D……………..L…………-1
A Utd…………L………………L…………-1
H Swansea…W…………….W……….-1
A Blackburn…W……………L…………-4
H Bolton……..W…………….W……….-4
A Spuds……..D…………….L………….-5
So in reality we have got enough opportunities to pick up results to get us back to Top4 (and looking at the accounts it’s a must -unless lack of spend is based on not qualifying for CL). We are good enough I’m just not sure the players know it.
I could pick three home games where we should pick up on last years total (Blackburn, Sunderland and Newcastle). Then there are some away games too (Wigan, WBA, Bolton). That could provide a positive swing of 14 points against last year which more than compensates for the early season form.
All that said the loss of Bacary Sagna is a hammer blow, perhaps a change to 3-5-2 is necessary, how those that demanded the sale of Eboue must be feeling now, I know I’d feel happier with him in my squad right now.
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