It is often said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, well for me it’s quite the opposite when thinking about our Captain Marvel. I had written him off, I wanted him gone from our club, he was never available, when he was he never scored, he blasted free kicks into Row Z (ok he still has a propensity to do this), complained if the ball wasn’t played exactly where he wanted it, I preferred Adebayor.
Don’t worry I have been to see Father Bergkamp and have said one thousand Hail Henry’s to atone for my sins, and have indulged in a spot of self flagellation for good measure.
I was so wrong. I have fallen in love all over again, and this time it’s for keeps. And here’s why:
Premier League goals per game since 1 January:
van Persie 23 goals 25 games
Rooney 19 goals 25 games
Lampard 13 goals 25 games
Sturridge 12 goals 19 games
Hernandez 12 goals 22 games
In fact in Europe he is bettered only by three men
Ronaldo 30 goals 25 games
Mario Gomez 26 goals 25 games
Messi 24 goals 26 games
These three play for the the top teams in their respective countries and with supply lines that our captain can only dream about.
It is these stats combined with the passion and commitment he shows week in week out that have turned me back to the light.
Now I have some questions for others, given the above can someone explain why I still hear calls for Wenger to buy a proven goalscorer or a predator in the box?
We have all witnessed the teams efforts since the Carling Cup final and bemoan the lack of creativity or penetration from our midfield but Robin has still managed to set the target for other Premier League strikers to be judged by.
Also I hear the common complaint that he should be set free in the hole, again I have to question this, why fix what’s not broken?
If there is one thing that Robin van Persie has proven in the last few months it is that he is a striker. He is perhaps the most complete striker/goalscorer we have had at the club since Ian Wright, he knows where the goal is, he can play back to the goal or facing, he finds space in the 18 yard box that few others can match, he can score with both feet, volleys, power, precision, deft touches and even with his head.
So I am asking for three things, for fans to stop calling for a “proper” striker, for the midfield to start adding a few goals to help him out, and finally for forgiveness for ever doubting the magnificence that is Robin van Persie.
Written by Gooner in Exile
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Well GiE. I’m very pleased you had a change of heart but I believe we do need another striker on the pitch even though he’s obviously in a purple patch and thank god he is.
It’s not even that he may get injured any time soon, the wood so often conspires against him that it would just be better if there were another or others to bang in a few goals. You can never have too many goals now can you?
A very nice ‘footbally’ Post young GIE, I liked it! 🙂
You have forced me out of the closet, because I too have doubted our Robin as a centre forward, and then been confounded by his brilliant run of goal scoring form.
It makes sense to me, still, to have another goal scorer tho’ – maybe Park the Bus might do — because Batman’s Robin has a well known propensity for having chocolate legs.
RVP is an exquisite all round footballer, and I have no doubt, even if he played in the toad in the hole, he would still continue to score goals and would assist a CF too.
Your other request for the midfield to help score more is eminently sensible and is therefore granted my son.
Now on your knees and say 5 Our Wenger’s and 5 more Hail Henry’s! 🙂
GiE – you didn’t, did you really??? I cannot believe that you of all people doubted RvP! For me he was always ‘special’ and I have repeated often enought that wrap him up in cotton wool and he’ll deliver. After whole summer spent in jail, he was playing like a virtuoso and I kept thinking what would he be like if went to Barbados instead.
Very good post and Hail Henry’s made my day 🙂
To me RVP is a proven goal scorer, however it is not another striker we need but a new formation to allow for more shots on goal from more players, the way we are set up atm only allows for RVP to grab the headlines but a 4-1-3-2 formation will allow for plenty more attacking play and a more powerful role for the ever improving song.
Szczesny
Mertesacker Vermaelen
Sagna Gibbs
Song
Rosicky Wilshere Arshavin
RVP Gervinho
This is my starting 11 without injurys, but its easy to see were the currently injured players can be replaced by the substitutes e.g. wilshere – Arteta.
GLIC,
In case you missed my French lesson earlier, I am taking the liberty of reproducing it below. Every little helps — and I care — because you are worth it!
Damn! too many supermarkets!!
“The only French you need is, if the opportunity arises is;
— Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? —-
Don’t say it in front of the missus tho’! ”
(It works, but don’t tell TerryM – there would be no stopping him!) 🙂
Where’s Herb, I sorted his avatar and he’s not been on since 🙄
Morning GIE, a quick parachute post this morning and will be back this afternoon.
Absolutely spot on mate, I would add that Van P’s work rate and aggression are exemplary. Something that he doesnt always get credit for in my opinion, as he never lets defenders have an easy game .
For me the tweak is that Gervinho, Wallcott and Arshavin need to display more intelligent movement off the ball and more clinical finishing, and I would like to see more long range shooting every so often.
The reason being at the moment, teams know we will try to pass it into the net and therefore drop off, if we start shooting an element of doubt is then introduced therefore possibly forcing someone to break their line therefore providing space
back later
Good post
Great read GiE, thank you.
Couple of things. Firstly, I do understand why some call for RvP to play in the hole. It is a belief that he is the most creative player we have and this is true, but of course it removes our only proven goalscorer from his most potent position. So putting aside the No10 Hole Role for now and onto your point about people calling for a new striker. Let’s face it, Robin will be injured, or at best, cannot play every single game. So who’s the back up striker?
Until recently MC was clearly first choice, but as Kelsey revealed, he’s off in January (a theory underlined by the fact that he didn’t even make the bench on Saturday). That leaves only Theo, Gerv or Park to fill in.
Well to my mind, its about time Arsene started playing one of them, and I would start with Park in Marseille. It is simply not good enough to wait for Robin’s unavailability and to discover you have no-one good enough. Start playing Park and let’s find out now before we get to January. We have been in this position before and ended up playing AA central and blew a title. We cannot afford to blow fourth because a lack of preparation and planning.
I am a fan calling for a change in tactics – yes RVP scores goals and yes he is fantastic – but by playing him as the “main man” you lose goals from else where.
Liverpool built teams around Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler and whilst they scored prolifically they never won a league.
Whilst Gervinho plays as a support to RVP he will score maybe 7 or 8 League Goals.
Walcott will core a similar amount and Van Persie will probably get about 25.
So you get 39 – 40 goals from your front three.
But Gervinho could be a 20 goal a season striker.
and if Van Persie was his support striker – his quality from outside the box would get 14-15 goals.
Walcott could still score his 7 or 8 so you get 43.
Van Persie playing further back could also see a boost to our midfielders goal tallies.
Back in the day when our best player (Bergkamp) was a support striker we had less talented strikers (Wright and Henry) who both broke goal scoring records.
bergkamp created those legends.
We also had wingers (Pires, Overmars, Ljunberg) regulariliy getting 15 goals per season.
Again bergkamp was the weeta
RVP as front man hasn’t worked out well – he is blitzing the scoring charts but having replaced chamakh as the main man Arsenal as a team have plummeted.
hey thats just an opinion…
GIE,
We had a similar discussion on Sunday because of this….
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/115358.html
followed by this….
http://football-talk.co.uk/43717/wenger-hits-back-at-bergkamp-criticism/
Playing devil’s advocate, Robin has scored 23 goals in (I make it 27 games since 1st Jan), however the team’s record is
Won 11 Drawn 9 Lost 7 over the same period.
When Robin has scored the team’s record is
Won 7 Drawn 5 Lost 4.
We all know the defence has been a tad shaky over this period but a lot have recognised that we have been creating fewer chances too. Perhaps the team is set up around Robin for the benefit of him but not for the team as a whole?
I presume the teams’ records for Ronaldo, Gomez and Messi are far more favourable. Does this mean Robin is doing amazingly well scoring so many in a team that is performing relatively poorly or that we’re creating much fewer chances and that a lot of those are falling for Robin?
“Again bergkamp was the weeta”
?
Meant to say
“Again bergkamp was the weetabix in everybodies cereal bowl”
lol
Like the post a lot GIE.
I think every player we have is brilliant so i only get abuse when they dont perform. I recall first seeing Van Persie and telling every one that he would become the best striker in the world. Mind you, I also said Denilson would become the best midfielder on the planet. If he returns to us from his loan i will still stick up for the boy though, he does have tremondous ability, just needs confidence.
Father RA,
Thanks for that bit of French. Ive memorised it already and will most certainly use it when out on my next excursion. Nothing to lose, ive tried it in English and its usualy been met with a look of horror or a swift kick to the groin area.
Pos Player Goals Games
1 Robin van Persie 10 14
2 Theo Walcott 3 11
3 Alex Chamberlain 2 3
4 Aaron Ramsey 2 13
5 Andre Santos 1 4
6 Yossi Benayoun 1 5
7 Mikel Arteta 1 7
8 Marouane Chamakh 1 11
9 Gervinho 1 11
10 Kieran Gibbs 1 11
11 Alex Song 1 11
12 Andrey Arshavin 1 13
Above is the table of all games this season and it shows how Robin Reliant we are.
Now i would argue that a proven striker or fox in the box might help the attack if we don’t get goals from other outlets, say, by Xmas.
We all know Robin is a world glass act but I am hoping to see a better return from the other forwards.
Anyway GIE it’s a good post for hopefully a healthy debate.
D98,
Let’s suppose AW is not going to change the basic shape of the team, and will not shift Robin back to spearhed the midfield, then who is the back up striker.
Every league game is massive right now, and Robin must start. Arsene needs to rest him tomorrow (as with all Cup games) because it is not a must win game and get cracking at sorting out the Plan B.
Kelsey,
You could throw in Park’s recent International stats which are something like 93 goals from 4 starts.
If he does not play tomorrow, then when will he, and what was the point in buying him?
Robin Reliant 🙂
Scarily true.
Hi GiE, great post. Really enjoyed it. I agree with you that our priority is not a proper striker: RvP is as deadly in front of goal as Rooney and Drogba (around 0.43 goals per game throughout all three careers). I have also pointed out that with Chamakh starting upfront we, as a team, score significantly more goals (2.4 goals rather than 1.8 goals per game). And this is the real dilemma we are facing: we have become over-reliant on the phenomenal RvP, and need to find ways of changing this round before injury or loss of form is going to cost us again.
I fully expect Chamakh to start against Marseille on Wednesday.
Total,
MC is off in January, so its rather pointless in that we need to establish who will be the back up in MC’s absence as well as Robin’s.
Morning all, seems I have finally started a debate, which is all good although unintended.
Unfortunately I am stuck in the wilds of Norfolk and won’t have much time to keep up with the debate.
Twitter full of the fact that Vermaelen has signed a new contract 🙂
It’s a catch 22 isn’t it, play Robin in the hole and hope that we become more creative and others find their shooting boots or keep playing Robin up front while he’s on form.
As Micky says, surely we can’t wait until we don’t have RvP to find out who will replace him.
GiE,
It is because you are in Norfolk that you should have plenty of time on your hands. The lobster season is over, its crap wind for surfing and growing vegetables is an utter waste of time!
Hi Evonne, Peaches, Rasp and 26,
It was great to meet you all on a beautiful Sunday afternoon! Thanks for the hospitality Evonne, and good to see you have the same ‘joie de vivre’ in real life as on the blog 🙂
A big thanks as well to Raps and Peaches for sorting out the tickets and taking us to the Tavern. It was great to meet up with two such knowledgeble and passionate fans in the flesh, and it was also good to see 26, one of my favourite AA-bloggers/writers.
And it will all be remembered by a win, and mostly by a sublime performance from Robin van Persie.
26, I loved your match report with a fantastic title and a great picture as well (Rasp’s work?). I was only surprised by the low score for Arteta: I must have watched a totally different game. I thought he was solid throughout and covered for Song and TR, when they went forward, very well. For me, Arteta is an allround midfielder with tons of stamina, who will turn out to be a very useful player. He deserved at least a 6, if not a 7. Other than that, spot on Sir!
.
Peaches,
On this one occasion then, I’m a Twitter fan 🙂
Sorry Stiffer, I forgot you’ve changed your name 🙄
You sound like something out of Blackadder 😆
RvP is not an out and out striker! Not my opinion, Bergkamps! and I’ll settle for that.
We too seldom see some-one busting a gut to get into the box, taking a chance that the ball will arrive from the wings. Walcott frequently gets in a position to cross the ball, but there is nobody to cross it to. The reason is that RvP has probably had to drop deep to get the ball and make the forward pass for Walcott to run onto. A striker playing a more leading roll with the pace and ability AND WILLINGNESS to sprint into the penalty area on the off-chance would make all the difference and at the same time occupy the defender who otherwise would be doubling up on Walcott.
Jack Wilshere
JackWilshere Jack Wilshere
Great news that thomas has signed a new long term contract! best news i have had all day!
“best news i have had all day”…lucky Jack I say. Its the best news I’ve had all month!
If someone does not start agreeing with my Rest Robin/Play Park theory, I’m going to start publishing the Shipping Forecast.
Attention all sea areas…
That’s it:
Issued 18 October 04:05 UTC
The general synopsis at midnight
Low Faeroes 978 moving slowly southeast, filling and losing its identity. Low just north of North Utsire 978 expected Norwegian Sea 969 by midnight tonight
Viking
Gale warning issued 17 October 21:32 UTC
Severe gale force 9 veering westerly and decreasing gale force 8 imminent, veering northwesterly and increasing severe gale force 9 later
Wind Southwest veering northwest 6 to gale 8, increasing severe gale 9 later, perhaps storm 10 later.
Sea State Very rough becoming high.
Weather Rain or squally showers.
Visibility Good, occasionally poor.
North Utsire
Wind Southwesterly veering northerly 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea State Very rough, occasionally high later.
Weather Rain or squally showers.
Visibility Good, occasionally poor.
South Utsire
Wind Southwesterly veering northerly 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea State Very rough, occasionally high later.
Weather Rain or squally showers.
Visibility Good, occasionally poor.
Bye bye for now.
Hi TA, a pleasure to meet you and your father-in-law too, I can now fully understand your unflinching support of the ARSENAL.
GiE, thanks for an excellent post. I had also written RvP off as a ‘luxury player’ – it does seem that losing Cesc and Nasri has really brought out the leader in Robin to accompany his undoubted talent. Often the burden of captaincy can reduce a player but definitely not in his case.
I am one of those who believes we still need an out and out striker but that in no way implies that I want Robin’s role to alter substantially – more likely it would afford him more freedom, but as others have said that would involve a change of system which seems unlikely.
But we used to get goals from all over the pitch!!!!!! I don’t understand how Robin playing up front has altered the mindset of the others except that we’re obviously not attacking as a team anymore.
It’s official re Vermaelen, on arse.com.
Hooray! Come on, Robin, you know you want to………
Aaaah or is it that the others just aren’t good enough?
The Vermaelen news is really welcome, being a bit of a cynic I think I would have waited untill he was fully fit before offering him a new deal.
Stiffer &
Presupposing that AW is not going to change anything kind of deadens the argument – he should!
imho (but then again – he is the greatest manager we’ve ever had!)
But i doubt he will drop RVP tomorrow – the CL qualification is of higher importance than our league right now because nobody will come near us in January if we are out of the CL and say 6th in the league…
Having the controls means that I could delete my last comment but I’m just not going to.
However, should Park and Ox play tomorrow with Theo up front and Arshavin assisting in the hole and we score a hatfull and create chances galore we’ll know the answer.
Hi TA – likewise, was great to meet you on Sunday. Am just sorry it was so brief, I look forward to a longer chat next time.
What can I say re Arteta? One of the beautiful aspects of sport is there’s so much that’s in the eye of the beholder, and I just didn’t see much positive from Arteta on the day. Might say more about me and my limitations than him and his, but c’est la vie! I remain optimistic about Arteta, he is a very intelligent player, but we’re crying out for Wilshere’s return in the centre, and for me at least Arteta isn’t yet filling that hole.
And for everyone’s benefit: I still have a pair of tickets for Sunday vs Stoke in the west stand lower tier (on the halfway line). Cover price (£40 a pop). Someone’s got to want them, surely!!
Hi 26m, good to meet you again on Sunday.
Yes great news TV has signed a new contract but unfortunately PHW has once again shot his mouth off by chosing to legitimise the idea that players are only motivated by money with this: “Players are only interested in money when it comes to leaving a club and any other reasons given for moving on are merely a ‘smokescreen’ to get a bigger wage”.
It is true in the majority of cases but not at all helpful when we are trying to get RvP to sign a new contract – he might as well say “we’re going to offer Robin £90k a week but if citeh offer him more he’ll go” – which would be rather disrespectful to a loyal player like van Persie
26 I may indeed take you up on those, need to figure out journey, what with the trainline to London being replacement bus and the Victoria Line being up the spout, in short it’ll be an arse.
But I understand we can stay for free after to watch Arsenal v Chelsea U18’s match, which would be great to see espedially if all AA’ers in attendance intend to stay and meet up for the second show
And also i need to get someone to accompany me
Father Red Arse,
Just back from some hard work outside, this frenchy stuff, If I shouldn`t say It to the wife!,can I say It to her Battle axe mum or brother ?. Maybe I should first look It up on wiki ! 🙂
GiE,
Nice post. Surely most of us have allways thought RVP was glass, sorry class. 🙂 That goal Vs Charlton, my God!
RVP yesterday, TV today, 2 super quality signings in January and Jack back Jan/Feb. cant wait for next season! 😆
Hi peaches, I think our very illuminating meeting with Holly the other day and his story of the ‘whistle’ on the training ground may go a long way in explaining why we don’t score goals from all over the pitch as we used to.
If a player hesitates to shoot for even a fraction of a second to question whether a pass is a better option then he will probably lose the opportunity. Players who work on instinct will suffer (Diaby) if their natural inclinations are trained out of them.
Sorry cannot blog long as daughter is at home not feeling very well, so got to be a proper parent today. Speak to you all later!
Sorry to hear that TA, hope she recovers quickly – and your appointment yesterday was a success!
Going back to the top, excellent post Mr Exile – your insights on the game are always worthy, and this one is no exception.
A few years ago, van Persie probably divided Gooners, some loved him, others (me included) were less impressed, for all the reasons you cite. But he is now the crown jewels, no doubt about that. He is the centre of the team and we depend on him to a greta extent. I also think fans like him a bit more – whether it’s perception or reality, he seems to have a warmer character now.
We need to fortify the position by both continuing to develop the quality we have in the squad (Vermaelen, Szczesny, Koscielny, Wilshere, Ramsey, Chamberlain, Song, Coquelin, Gibbs, Walcott, Miyaichi, Gervinho, Campbell, Lansbury, Miquel, Ozyakup) and making a couple of big signings (of the Goetze, M’Vila, Martin, Hazard variety, and possibly even a Benzema).
This is from ESPn, I apologize in advance if it is not the quality of Times reports……..
Wenger laments summer crisis
October 18, 2011
By ESPNsoccernet staff
Arsene Wenger has revealed the extent of his nightmare summer at Arsenal, claiming that “half the dressing room wanted to leave” the club and stating his belief that the crisis is to blame for their poor start to the season.
Wenger has endured a year to forget at Emirates Stadium, with his annus horribilis including a capitulation at the end of the 2010-11 season – with a Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham the low light – and an 8-2 defeat to Manchester United in August representing his worst ever defeat as Arsenal boss.
The Gunners edged back in to the top half of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland on Sunday, but Wenger’s side are already 12 points off the pace at the top of the table and face a fight to reach the top four.
The departures of star duo Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, as well as Gael Clichy, were a major blow to the Frenchman over the summer, and it is widely accepted that the replacements Wenger has brought in are not of the same calibre of those that he lost.
But the 61-year-old, who has been in the Emirates hot seat since 1996, has revealed that he had to deal with more than just the aforementioned trio wanting to leave the club, in what he describes as an “extraordinarily difficult” period ahead of this season.
“It was a very difficult summer because half the dressing room wanted to leave,” Wenger said in comments made on French radio station RTL and reported by the Guardian. “You’re preparing for a season where you don’t know who’s going to come in, the players who are staying are asking themselves what’s going on at the club, you’ve got a pre-season tour of Asia.
“It was extraordinarily difficult. What saved us is that we’re a club that are extremely solid and united. Other clubs would surely have gone to pieces in those circumstances.
“What people forget is that we lost three key players because we’ve also lost [Jack] Wilshere. Three who were important in our midfield. Nasri, Fabregas and Wilshere have all been lost and they were the basis of our midfield last season.
“We’ve had to reconstruct our midfield entirely because Wilshere won’t be back until January. Still, we’ve disappointed this season so far, given what’s expected of us, but I think we’re on the up again. The problem is you can only climb the table slowly. We’re not too far away in terms of points from fourth place. We’re too far away from the top two.”
Wenger admitted that simple economics meant that players wanted to leave Arsenal because there was more money on offer elsewhere.
“It’s not that [players have to leave to win titles],” he said. “The problem isn’t that. Frankly, if you compare what Manchester City have won in the past and what Arsenal have won, then you don’t go to Manchester City to win titles. Players go to Manchester City because they pay much better than Arsenal.
“They are a force clearly, because they have exceptional financial clout, so it’s not surprising what they’ve done.”
Now the Frenchman is facing questions over the long-term future of Fabregas’ replacement as captain, Robin van Persie, who insists he is committed to the club but is yet to agree a new deal with 18 months left on his existing contract.
“For me being professional means that right up until the last day you are at a club you give 100% to that club,” Wenger said. “I’m not asking myself whether Van Persie is going to extend his contract in 18 months’ time. For me what is important is that he plays well for us on Wednesday. After that the next match. That’s how I think.
“He’s scored 28 goals in 34 games, so they’re exceptional statistics. He’s got a contract for another 18 months and he’s a man who is attached to our club. I’m not especially thinking about losing him.”
I missed the ‘whistle’ on the training ground story. Could you repeat it?
Hi chas, ‘apparently’ when the players are training, if someone takes a shot and the trainer thinks he should have passed to someone in a better position, he blows a whistle and everyone stops – the result being that the player who has taken the shot feels a bit sheepish. The whole idea of a whistle (if true) just sounds a bit like dog training, I wonder if players go to bed and have nightmares about the whistle blowing 😕
Was thinking the same Chas….I can only guess its whistle, freeze, and show players the options around them.
There’s a term for it that I’m sure Wonderman will know when he returns later.
I remember some very dull phase of play training sessions from FA Coaching Badged coaches which would involve playing for a bit and then being frozen at various different ball positions and depending on who had possession being told where we should be. Thankfully being a goalkeeper they never had to move me too far 😀
Exile, you have first dibs on the tickets – just let me know once your plans are clearer. Peaches has my email and mobile number if you want to discuss it offline.
I hadn’t heard about the U-18s game being played after the Stoke game – darn it, I’d have loved to see that too.
Rasp: I know what you mean, every time I see Hill-Wood has been chatting to his bit of rough at the Daily Star, my heart sinks. That said, I think these quotes may have been strategic and for the benefit of van Persie’s agent, as well as the public. It states the obvious to say that the Abu Dhabi Government can always trump any financial offer we make, so there’s no harm in saying that. But the subtext I see in PHW’s buffoonery and in Wenger’s comments to RTL this week is that no-one should pretend that we’ll be able to pay the most revolting wages that are now available from the sugar-daddies, so if the player wants to leave for money he will, whatever the club does.
Rasp,
It sounds like confirmation that we train the natural skills and instincts out of players. Nasri was one of the first to elude to this theory, and it also helps to explain the endless, sideways, backwards passing which has now beome frustrating and far less attractive to watch.
It has got to the point with our game plan that we can just sit back and wait for the inevitable to occur.
Ok so Rasp answered whilst I was replying, and its as i thought. I am surprised this is being used with players who have made it to the Arsenal first team. But I know it is very common coaching technique so unsurprising with youngsters.
For me football is all about getting pictures early, Cantona and Bergkamp were masters, they could picture where the players around them would be going before the ball was at their feet, hence when they had the ball they only had to perform whatever pass, dribble they had already decided. Its why you hear the phrase “the first yard is in the head”. And having played against and with ex pros approaching 40+ it is frightening to see them control a game and dominate amateurs half their age.
GiE as an expert GK perhaps you can clarify something for me. I was directly behind the free kick from which Sunderland scored.
I said to peaches (and she will verify) that the free kick was far enough out for Larsson (acknowledged as a dead ball specialist) to comfortably get the ball up and down over the wall. Despite this, Sz positioned the wall to cover the right and stood in the left hand third thereby daring Larsson to put it in the opposite corner – which he duly did.
It was an excellent free kick, but surely SZ would have had a better chance if he’d stood in the middle of the goal or was it just that he would have been unsighted?
Hi GN5, its hard to not reach that conclusion. The problem I have is that AW is an immensely intelligent man, surely he would have changed things if he thought that the method was counterproductive. It does seem to explain a lot. As usual, there were a lot of ironic shouts of ‘shoot’ around me on sunday from frustrated (and often ignorant) supporters.
Rasp,
It’s well known that I am one of AW’s biggest supporters but I do believe that he needs to become introspective and needs to examine his own shortcomings.
Rasp,
Look how Cesc and Nasri have become more effective attackers since they left. Unleashed!
Arsene is not the best at optimizing his players.
I agree GN5. I usually refer to ‘the management’ than AW because I don’t want a comment to sound like a personal attack on him and others share the responsibility.
It is the owner’s and Board’s responsibilty to manage AW and if he needs help or support, or dare I say possibly redirection then they are failing in their duty if they do not act. The problem comes when there is disagreement on purely footballing matters as AW appears to be unchallenged.
They are a force clearly, because they have exceptional financial clout
Surely this story is made up, would AW really use the word clout!? That’s worse than when Louie Walsh said ‘swagger’ on x factor at the weekend!!!!
Rasp I worried about the free kick as I think i said yesterday. From those distances I often think you can be better off without a wall, But having placed the wall where he did he has no real option to stand where he did, but for me he probably put the wall on the wrongside given Larsson was the most likely candidate for the shot. Its very difficult as the ball was almost central but i shared your concern whilst it was all being lined up.
The same applies for RvPs free kick, Sunderland would have been better off with 2/3 men in the wall as it would have given Mignolet more chance of getting across.
S & T, if we can just accept all the wonderful attributes of AW, I would say that my main disappointment recently has been our failure to get the best out of the players we have – not that we haven’t signed any superstars on massive wages.
I do wish we’d stop spouting on about mental strength and belief because once again on Sunday, those qualities deserted us for 20 minutes after Sunderland equalised – it all seems very fragile.
Yes, they are the attributes we require, but not the strengths we currently possess.
Rasp,
Arsene is, and the manager must be, responsible for on field stuff.
Rasp,
I agree.
I do accept all the great things AW has achieved and most of all his dignity. I just don’t think he’s good anymore either tactically or motivationally.
Rasp,
I said yesterday Sz was at fault, I expected to be hammered for It, not a dicky bird.
Imo, he should have made the wall stand further to the right(his right), he then would have been more central and Imo would have saved It. The ball curling away from him was much harder than If Larson had chosen the opposite side of goal, which would be curling into him.
I have watched It over and over again on Arsenal player and freeze framed it, a lesson tobe learnt if Sz watches It.
What happened to Stiffy, Micky. 🙂
GliC,
Forgot to change it back. More than happy to go to a vote!
Hi glic,
Sz is a perfectionist and very hard on himself so I’d imagine he winces every time he sees that free kick.
The thing I didn’t like as I said above was he was basically saying to Larssen “go on, if you’re good enough, put the ball there”. It’s just as well that RvP scored with an equally good FK because the 4 or 5 opportunities that preceded it were truly woeful.
My god, I don’t like that whistle story at all.
Surely, watching video is the place to freeze frame and suggest other options, not while your football playing instincts are in full flow.
Did everyone notice the cries of ‘shoot’ when Arteta got the ball prior to passing to RvP which resulted in his little turn and chip?
Chas,
In the summer we were on holiday in very Northern Portugal and nipped over the boarder into Spain one evening. My son and I spent an hour watching a local five a side. The spontanaity was fantastic to watch. Nothing drilled out of those boys.
Agree Rasp.
If you have Arsenal player, freeze it at 34:52, there`s a great view, right down the middle, see what you think.
Sorry, should have said” freeze it at 34:52 on full first half”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvzI3AuTpHo
Rasp. Post in Arsenalnuts
I am a huge fan of RvP and have been ever since he was introduced to the Highbury fans in those broad striped balck and white trousers!
Saying we are Robin Reliant (very nice) is pointless – we w ewre Wright reliant and then Henry reliant. RvP is fit and he is our main weapon.
Raddy.
So RVP is our WMD. 🙂
Hi 26, fully agreed that watching football is subjective and we all see and value different things. I will watch the game again to further analyse how the central midfielders Song, Rosicky and Arteta played together. At times, they were fantastic followed by periods with little cohesion and focus i.e. 2nd part of first half. I think they are still finding their feet and as soon as the opponent changes its strategy a bit, we seem to lose our shape and dominance. For large parts of the game, both Rosicky and Song played in front of Arteta and if Song’s passing had been better it could have worked a treat. Song, as in most games, got better the longer the game went on (getting more and more back into his ‘best’ position of DM), and in the end he was just unbeatable. I thought Arteta had more of a DM role than I expected him to have at times, and he did really well helping out our defence from start till finish.
Next time we are able to meet up at the Tavern, it would indeed be good to have a longer conversation, but it was still great to meet up, and now we are able to put a face (and real name) to our blognames! 🙂
Thanks Raddy, top man! 😛
Afternoon All, I feel I have to defend Song today. Yesterday I read some bloggers stating that Song’s passing was ‘ atrocious’ and today again there are statements criticising his passing. Not in the game I saw !!!! he misplaced 4/5 passes tops in the first half which were all forward passes, how is that now a crime…..or do we want to recall Denil ‘100% success rate sideways’ son. Song has developed into a player that many of our rivals wish they had….lets lay off him and encourage him to rise even higher
Hi Wonderman, 🙂
You are my ‘go to’ man, along with GIE, when it comes to tactics, coaching and technical knowledge.
GIE has started a slightly scary trend with confessions, so here is another one of mine! 🙂
If I had been asked over a pint down the pub, how I thought Song played on Saturday, without much forethought, and with certain conviction, I would have said he excelled in his defensive role in particular, (9 out of 10) but he was wayward in his passing (6 out of 10).
Now you have said he only made 4 or 5 duff passes, it has made me stop and think. If you are correct, it would make my assessment a tad mean.
On the other hand I genuinely thought it was a higher number of misplaced passes, or perhaps they were fewer in number but simply occurred in important phases of the game, giving rise to a false impression of the frequency of the misplaced passes.
To clarify, I consider his attempts at defence splitting, forward, attacking passes that went behind for goal kicks, with no Arsenal player anywhere near the ball, is a misplaced pass.
My problem is, I don’t doubt your assessment, so it seems to be a matter of perception, and I think we can all agree that what we think we saw, can be as damning as what we actually saw.
Wman, I am a big fan of Song. In fact, he is my favourite Arsenal player at the moment, but in the first half his forward passing was not sharp. That is not a crime: you are right.
Here’s a Guardian chalkboard of Song passes on Sunday.
http://twitpic.com/727o6d/full
Hi RA, very well said, especially the last paragraph. I had a guy sitting next to me but one, who kept pointing out to his (not very interested) girlfriend how crap Song’s passing was. I wanted to defend Song, but felt I could not justify it during the first half. I guess some of his negativity has rubbed off on me, but still feel Song’s passing was well under-par in the first half.
Wow Chas, some diagram! Is that good news or bad news? Looks a bloody shambles to me, but then its probably in Greek 🙂
Micky, I am so glad to see you are back!! There was some imposter on earlier, calling himself Stifferthanyou (or something) who was making all of us like him a great deal with his verbal insouciance and laid back gentlemanly approach!!
So much better to have you back instead! 🙂
RA,
Oh him. A bounder and a cad of the first order. If he reappears, send him to my study.
Haha, Micky.
It was meant to add some meat to the Song passing debate.
The red lines are the unsuccessful passes (the longer attempted passes mainly, as you would expect). Four of the unsuccessfuls went for a goalkick, one for a throw.
I think it proves RA and Wonderman both right. 🙂
RA,
I do share is almost horizontally laid back approach. The rest of him is pure filth.
Hi TA, 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the game on Saturday and the meet up at the Tavern, where I understand the Rasper does a strip tease.
Talking of perceptions just now, another example of what each of us sees or does not see was the difference in perception you and my learned colleague 26 displayed in your slightly differing views on Arteta’s performance.
I happen to like Art and I think it is a bit too early to expect him to be on top of his game. I can’t remember which way you both went in your ratings, but for me (on TV) he seemed to be a bit out of sorts.
But to paraphrase Wman,– so what, it was just one game — and none of we three would argue with that. 🙂
Wonderman.
I hold my hands up, I said the passing was “atrocious”, Maybe It was a bit too strong a word, so I shall now grade It as bad!. You are entitled to your opinion, If you think It was good (the passing), then you saw a different game to me, but I did say he was my MOM even with his not so good passing. 🙂
Le Coq had two impressive games recently (Shrew`s & Spuds ). and it would be interesting to see how he and Song would be together, as In having two holding players ala Viera and Gilberto, what are your thoughts on them in a so system.
Ah ha Chas.
I have just had another look and all is clear. Almost all the “failed to connect” passes were in the direction of Gerv and Theo!! Does this mean they were bad passes or just crappy unintelligent movement from the wide boys?
Horizontal does it for me every time, Micky, as does ‘pure filth’! 🙂
See, I told you Stiffme was a likeable guy!!
I selected my choice of words carefully and then fired them in the right direction.
Oh shit, must go.
Micky,
I think you could have something there. Making a defence splitting pass, to a runner who does not anticipate the pass, must cheese Song off, especially if he takes the blame! 🙂
That ties in with GIE’s tongue in cheek comment that using ‘Theo’ and ‘thoughtful’ in the same sentence is an oxymoron. (Well he said something like that, anyway) 🙂
TA/26, address all complaints to 26 — He might say so — but I couldn’t possibly comment! 🙂
Hi Chas, 🙂
Thanks for another helpful Vid. It does give some focus to our discussions to have something visual to refer to. Thanks! 🙂
I know TalkSport is not a favourite of any of us, but I liked the sarcasm of this little snippet.
—“Foreign club owners are planning to move the Premier League to America and replace the title trophy with a giant dollar sign, to be presented at the end of the season to the richest owner!
After talk of abolishing Premier League promotion and relegation and the big clubs selling overseas TV rights independently, talkSPORT has gained possession of leaked documents* detailing the foreign owners’ latest plans, codenamed ‘Operation Greedy B******s’.
The sensational files reveal how the owners intend to:
• No longer refer to the sport as ‘Association Football’ and instead “rebrand it ‘Soccer, in association with Confused.com'”
• “Relocate the match day experience” of Liverpool to Las Vegas, Arsenal to Albuquerque and Chelsea to Chattanooga to “maximise revenue streams in the new Premier World Series Mega League Champions Bowl”
• Sell club naming rights to corporate partners, with Man United renamed McDonald’s United, Stoke City becoming Starbucks City and Aston Villa reinvented as Aston Twitter
• Replace ‘Abide With Me’ as the traditional FA Cup final song by getting Lil Wayne (featuring T-Pain) to sing ‘Got Money’ at something called a “half-time show”
• Ignore all tradition in the face of a multi-million pound sponsorship deal to rename the FA Cup the “FAcebook Cup”, while introducing group stages to ensure it’s impossible for any ‘giant killing’ to occur, thus guaranteeing the biggest clubs millions in TV revenue. Kerching!
• Get rid of the Carling Cup and create a new tournament provisionally named the “Cash Cow Cup”, open only to the biggest clubs so they can make even more money from TV
• Retain the traditional use of ‘FC’ after team names, but rather than standing for ‘Football Club’, in future it will denote “Franchise Commodity”
• Move Mk Dons to New York and rename them the NY Nike Dons
A spokesman for the foreign owners denied reports that they have any such plans. “They are quite happy to milk the Premier League for all its worth while its based in England,” said Colin Crook. “Besides, we reckon the emerging markets of China and India will have more money to waste, sorry, spend on Premier League products in future, so we’ll bog off there instead.”
*DISCLAIMER: THESE DOCUMENTS ARE AS GENUINE AS A FOREIGN OWNER WHO SAYS HE’S NOT IN IT FOR THE MONEY
@ RA 3:50 …I agree a misplaced pass is a misplaced pass irrespective of which direction , maybe expectations of him are so high now things become distorted
@GLIC 4:19 ….lol I wasnt fishing you out mate. I dont think his passing was good, just not any worse than anyone else to warrant comment.
On your question of Le Coq and Song, on paper it looks very tasty. Le Coq has been very impressive and is extremely mobile but at the moment, I think our biggest problem is not being clinical enough, therefore teams always believe they have a chance
Theo is not a thinker (he is god, who does not have to think as he is all knowledge and wisdom for eternity 🙂 ). We do not need thinkers on the pitch but players with a high level of awareness and anticipation, however, it only takes two players to make different choices – in a flash of a second – based on a different awareness and anticipation at a particular moment of the game, to see a pass go wrong. The one who passes usually gets most of the blame, if not all, and after a while he might not want to try an opportunist pass anymore, but rather play it safe. And that’s why I think it is right for Wonderman to make a point of not being overly critical about a player.
It is very un-Wenger-like to see our team still so rusty at mid-October, but I think we all know what the reasons are for this. Come Christmas things will look a lot better, I hope(!).
RA ,
Nice article, I`m probably in a minority, I like Talksport and listen to It when I`m driving. Probably some sort of self-harm thing I`ve got, they rarely have a kind word for us and It seems to bother them more than It does us about not winning a trophy for so long. I`m a glutton for punishment!. 🙂
I seem to remember Rixie being a bit wayward with his passing. At the time It was said “he was a step ahead in thought of the other players”, he was putting a pass in a place where the player should have been .
Squad for Marseille:
Wojciech Szczesny
Lukasz Fabianski
Carl Jenkinson
Andre Santos
Per Mertesacker
Laurent Koscielny
Johan Djourou
Tomas Rosicky
Mikel Arteta
Alex Song
Theo Walcott
Gervinho
Yossi Benayoun
Francis Coquelin
Andrey Arshavin
Aaron Ramsey
Robin van Persie
Marouane Chamakh
Ramsey returns but there’s no room for Ox or Park.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-arc…marseille-trip
GIE, tut tut…………..
I have NEVER doubted the boy wonder ever, just feel he would fill in the Bergkamp role with a striker to his front really well and would be more beneficial to the team………
We do need another striker, 20 goals a season minimum……..
The midfield do need to chip in with the goals, always do to win things, so why not?
Forgiveness? for you? ummmmmmmmmm Buy me a peroni and I’ll consider it……..whats your next match?
This Park business is getting very strange?
Hi Rasp, missed your comment earlier. It is just a bad cold, so nothing to worry about luckily. Re the appointment: am still waiting for feedback, but I thought it went ok. Gave it my all, and that’s what matters most to me 🙂 Thanks for asking!
Terry,
I thought In the loony bin, you were known as Dr Strange! so sort young Park out ( or Wenger ) 🙂
Kelsey,
After what I was saying this morning, seeing the Marseille squad Parkless really pisses me off. So let’s get used to playing with Chamakh before he leaves!!
No Ox or Park, I may have to eat some chocolate on the strength of that 🙄
Oh Arsene, I suppose you must know what you’re doing but……..
Snap Micky 😛
Peaches,
You reckon? I don’t.
Damn work and time zones!
Bye again.
Does anyone know where Wigan Gooner has gone?
I have looked on his blog and he has not Posted there for a while either.
If you are out there WG, return immediately, please!
We are too dependant on RVP. Looking back at the 6 years he has been here he has never had 1 season withgout an extended layoff. Where else are the goals going to come from. In the days of TH14 we had a potent midfield plus Wiltord was good for 10-12 a season.
Park is on a two year contract then the army surely he should be in the squad with The Ox or maybe AW is saving him for the CC next week.
Is that really you Micky ;). I have just answered before i read your post. Chamakh has a big test tomorrow or maybe he is on show for any potential bidders.
Is which bit of me really me, Kelsey?
Maybe the plan is start with MC and not to burn Robin out as fast as possible 🙂
Here’s some very good news. The Game Season is upon me. The first Wild Duck enters the Aga in about 15 mins.
Park sells shirts in Korea. I wish he’d play him otherwise what was the point (shirts)?
My Nan sells shirts down some bloody market, but I wouldn’t play her for that reason. If, on the other hand, she looked the best back-up striker then I would.
Anyway, how’s it going GM? Any new wives to report?
Micky, does your Nan(i) do a somersault when she sells a shirt ? 🙂
Sanchez Watt(the fuck was that). 1-0 to the Arse` reserves, at WBA.
Hi Micky. I’ve been really busy lately. Same wife though!!
“No Ox or Park, I may have to eat some chocolate on the strength of that”
Subtle, but very, very funny.
Excellent read GIE
You will all see Park in the next CC game, presuming it is on TV, and then you will understand why he hasn’t played in the EPL or the CL YET.
I have come to the conclusion that Park does not exsist and that he is nothing more than a figment of my imagination. I kindly ask that you good people refrain from using his name to assist me in keeping my marbles. I thank you in advance.
GliC 🙂
GM, Oh well!
LB, I saw him in the last one, and he hasn’t stopped scoring since.
Very strong WBA side just equalised, 1-1,
Squillaci playing and Eastmond, he must be well down the order now, cant see him making it, too many in front of him.
Actually, I saw Park at the CC Game while sitting with Peaches and Evonne. He’s good by association 🙂
See you later. Off home now
Terry,I dont know who you are talking about ? 🙂
GliC,
Are you hooked up to some spy satellite network? Where are you following the game?
micky, Found it on Arsenal .com, they are live tweets, shit 2-1 to WBA . HT
Thanks.
Right, must off.
Nite all.
City 0 Villarreal 1 after three minutes.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Love it. Come on you yellow submarines (or whatever they’re nicknamed).
Raddy – are you about, there’s nothing in arsenalnuts, where have you put it 😀
LB – nice complement, clearly you understand the part chocolate plays in my life 🙂
Its a shame Villareal don’t seem to be able to score, they’re getting plenty of chances
TA – any time, it was a pleasure to meet you both. Now that you know the way, pop in more often
I’m really impressed with Villareal, they play great football, shame about the disgraceful dive.
Rasp – did you get to the post before me?
93rd minute winner for the Abu Dhabi Government. Very, very, very lucky, and not even slightly deserved. La Liga’s 13th placed side completely outplayed the ADG, very neat passing, intelligent and hard working. They deserved at least one point, perhaps three.
As for the fans in blue, those who (rightly) criticised our fans should look at the shameful performance from those in Manchester – just their second CL game, and they were quiet, negative and left early. They really are Arsenal Lite!! But then this lot are supposed to be some of the best fans around. Yeah, right.
26may – I am glad Shitty are still in competition, the more games they play the better chance of the wheels coming off. Did I see Silva limping?
Well said 26.
Guess the headlines in the morning.
“City labour to unconvincing win”
Or
“City never say die attitude pays off”
Two pens required for United against Gelati.
What a confession GiE. Thats the sort of honesty that you’ll regularly find here on AA.
We know that we’re an assortment of accountants, bus drivers, and bee keepers not professional coaches with all the UEFA Pro badges.
Unlike some sites were everyone’s an absolute expert, their opinions are gospel and set in stone,. They then believe that gives then the right to call any member of te Arsenal staff al the names under the sun.
Hallelujah for the sensible debate and fluid opinions on ArsenalArsenal.
Agreed Rasp…Villa’s pass and move play was a real joy to behold. Its almost mad that they did it so well when Citeh;s central three were De Jong, Barry and Yaya
Song woudn’t have allowed any of that foolishness 😉
Yaya confuses the hell out of me….he just looks so cumbersome 90% of the time that I see him. He seems to have the fattest arse in the top flight since the likes of Mickey Quinn stopped playing. He doesn’t really have the posture or gait of a footballer either.
I reckon they were his slimming pills that Kolo borrowed
No peaches, I can’t find a post?
Sharkey interesting on Yaya. His size and power make him perfect for the PL, much like PV4.
European football requires more guile of the Silva, Messi, Cesc type don’t you think?
26 I can find no other bugger willing to join me for the visit of Stoke, unless one of the other AA’ers wants to join me I can only take one, and I don’t want to split your pair up if you can find someone to take both.
GiE, I would have liked to go to the game with you, but I am travelling up to Scotland on that Sunday for a short family break. Hopefully next time!
Man City really had a close escape today, and they are still in a precarious position with both Napoli and Bayern ahead of them 😀 Another flat performance of our friend Nasri, and if MC play like this on Sunday, they will get a proper spanking.
Peaches, Rasp, I am volunteering for tomorrow’s post-match report 🙂
Night all.
Hi Exile
I’ll keep the single on reserve, but let’s see if you can convince someone to tag along with you. I don’t see how anyone can resist…..
By the way, I’m looking for a spare for the home game vs Marseille. Anyone?
TA, I fear there will be plenty of opportunities given how many seats are available for each game.
26 thanks, I’ll keep trying.
26 oh and the Marseille home game is on General Sale no need for spares.
Ah, but there is Exile: for the first time in many moons, I’ve convinced my wife to come to a game with me, the inescapable justification being that the day of the game is my birthday. If I can find someone I know with a spare, I’ll be able to rehouse my chum and my better half can join me in the west stand. Voila!
But if that doesn’t work, I’ll just buy two from the general sale.
@ GiE
nice post, as much as i love RVP i was of those who had little faith a few seasons back (when torres joined liverpool and we were linked with him first i wondered why we didn’t grab him, and were left with an injury prone striker instead. oh how i was wrong).
As for song, he often over hits passes, but not as often as he did against sunderland. His passing game has improved 10-fold this season and is only getting better. It happened to Ramsey against the spuds, but that to was also a one off that won’t happen again. I’d take a one-legged blind song as opposed to Denilson!
Great news on the Verm front, oh happy days. Very strange park isn’t in the squad, makes me wonder why we even bought him in the first place.
Morning Oz,
Knew I wasn’t alone in my foolish thinking about RvP 🙂 did you look at Chas’s graphic on Song it was very few in reality. Actually thinking about it Chas has a great recipe for a post there….I often think as football fans we are very inwards looking and believe the grass is greener on the other side, would be interesting to see a comparison of some of our whipping boys against their coveted counterparts at other clubs.
@all – On the Park debate we have all seen what happened to MC from a rushed intro to the PL, and I also look at his namesake at ManUre and his slow introduction.
Anyone see Tim Payton (ASTs outspoken mouthpieces) reaction to Verms new contract on Twitter:
“@SamWallaceIndy Shows wider issues that player who has spent more than 50% of time at afc injured over almost 2.5 yrs gets big new contract”
I asked him back whether on that logic he would recommend the club don’t re-sign RvP. I have had no reply….not that I expected one he likes to stir and for me likes to see his comments in the papers.
Morning all,
Nothing as exciting as waking up on a match day 🙂
GiE,
@all could read as @Micky as I was the main culprit. I will leave it out after saying that my main concern was who plays central when RvP needs a rest. If MC leaves in Jan then for me he is the obvious candidate. Park cannot be “one for the future” as he doesn’t have one. I think he needs playing time. Hopefully all will be well and I will be proved wrong.
Morning all
GiE- excellent point re Vermaelen and RvP! How can they even suggest TVs new contract is a marvellous news? Halfwits
Micky – oh yeah, matchday mornings are great! the whole day is preplanned with the milestone/culmination point at 19:45
GiE – sorrrrrrrrggghhyy – is a marvelous news = isn’t m…news
GiE,
There are some tragic people around. I flicked through another site post Sunderland and one poster was celebrating a Sunderland goal! Plain weird.
Micky – what, Gunners? Celebrating Sunderland goal????? What’s that all about??
Evonne,
My day will revolve around getting back from a late meeting. Hoping to tune in by 8:15 latest.
Evonne,
“Kushagra India says:
October 16, 2011 at 14:02
HAHAhahaah”
.
I think you will find that was in response to their goal!!!!
Micky – oh no, so you will miss the first 30mins 😦 poor you. I love the CL athem and the first whistle…little goose pimples on my arms….mustn’t forget to take my medication 🙂
Worst case Evonne. I’m on school run duty. Bye.
You’re gonna love this, Micky. 🙂
When I was mucking about with the chalkboard yesterday, I also did this.
http://twitpic.com/72iomf/full
It compares Song, Arteta and Rosicky (Sicky only played 77 mins) and they had 11,10 and 10 misplaced passes respectively.
Song attempted the longest passes by far. Some of Arteta’s misplaced passes were corners.
(if you’re using Chrome press Ctrl together with plus or minus to make the photo bigger or smaller)
Morning all
Raddy’s post has disappeared into the ether – has anyone got time to rustle up a quick one please?
Sorry, peaches, I have to go out.
Isn’t it still in Raddy’s “sent” folder?
I’ve just called him and he’s used someone elses computer and doesn’t know if he can get back into it aaarrrggghhhh
morning all.
@ GiE
yeah saw chas’ song post, very interesting stuff.
@ Micky
game day down here is different for me, it involves praying its on tuesday night that way i get a sleep in, unfortunently on wed nights it involves watching it at 230 in the morning, leaving for work at 515, going straight to uni after work and touching down at home at 7pm. Lets just say if we don’t put in good champions league efforts im not a good person to be around haha
Panic not, it has just landed ………… you were going to be treated to a pre-match from me but now you can have one from him. Not yet though, just getting it sorted.
@ peaches
i was on standby…was just doing a line-up graphic on paint. Thankfully the better equiped BR’s preview has been found
Morning all,
Just off subject i am sure you would all like to wish dandan’s wife good luck and all the best today as she is going into hospital for a small operation.
Thanks oz for being on standby 🙂
Love and best wishes to your better half dandan xx
Dandan,
All the best to you and especially to your wife, and I hope she makes a speedy recovery! 🙂
Oz,
As both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s matches are played at the same kick off times, I presume you work on Thursday morning.
Can you arrange with your boss to switch days when Arsenal play on the latter day, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, aka lack of sleep? 🙂
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