Following the howls of derision at Salford FC at full time on Sunday, where the mid table home team conceded a late Fergie time equaliser to bottom of the table Fulham, David Moists’ charges travel to the homeland of their support, London, tonight to put their Europa League qualification campaign back on track.
Having said that the Arsenal themselves have to wipe out the memory of the worst performance of the season so far at Anfield, even though that defeat was the first in the League since the 6-3 reverse to the Northern oilers back in mid December.
Thanks to the Baggies draw with the Southern oilers last night (are cracks appearing in The Specious one’s kingdom?) a win will take us back to the top of the table; further incentive if any were needed.
Our (totally un)worthy opponents have lost three of their last six and scraped two wins and a valiantly gained the aforementioned draw in their last dirty half dozen of games. Injury wise there’s no Jones, Fellaini or Jonny Evans so we face them more or less at full strength but potentially low on confidence.
Temporarily turning away from the unsavoury topic of the opposition and back to the good guys, we all know Theo, Rambo and Vermaelen are injured and Flamini unavailable, together with two more we didn’t expect to see anyway for differing reasons, Diaby and Källström.
A wild card in squad selection is Sanogo, who played 60 minutes for the stiffs last week, and is available even though I suspect it’s doubtful he will play any more than a bit part in the game if any at all.
Going by Moist’s very clever tactic of pumping cross after cross into the area for the giants Hernandez and Shrek to get on the end of, one hopes Wenger has made heading practice a priority for BFG and Kozzer.
Speaking to a ManUre fan of my acquaintance (Hounslow born and bred, of course) recently it was felt if you deny their midfield space, Carrick especially, they’d be unable to play and the front players would be starved of service.
The other facor is the arrival of Mata, nothing would encourage the eye gouger to congratulate himself on his ploy of selling a world class player to a team CSKA Fulham bus stop would no longer play this season.
With those options available and given the performances of the starting XI on Saturday team selection may not be as straight forward as in the past, however Wenger tends to send players who had a bad game out to make amends on the pitch so I am going with Wenger’s selection to be:
Personally I would have Tomáš Rockin’ Rosický in place of Arteta and maybe Podolski given a rare start so Özzy can come on later, although not necessarily as late as 65 minutes.
A hugely important factor in tonight’s performance is the help the crowd can give to the players from the off. Groans and squeals if a few early passes go astray will not help so we need the crowd to unite behind one common factor that will bind the home support together, namely this “person”:
An understated goal celebration.
Yes, this man and his deranged, eye-bulging rabid celebration after scoring against us at old Toilet, should remind us just what our opponents are all about and why I hate them so much.
What did he say when he sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver?
“I always listen to the little boy inside of me in these situations – when you have to make the harder decisions in life. What does he want? That boy was screaming for Man United.”
Of course the little boy inside would say that, yet what would this little boy have said?
Fast forward to 2011 and we get this from Bouchra’s husband:
“The bottom line is that I want to win trophies with Arsenal, not with anybody else. I know you can win trophies in many countries and in many ways, but I want to do that in our way and in an Arsenal shirt.
“I’m sure I could win things at another team in another country, but would it feel like our trophy, my trophy? I’m not sure it would. Anything we win here will come from the heart and that’s what I want.
So proof positive, the little boy inside has no heart and if any of the Surrey glory hunters are still with me at this point (and if so why are you still with me? Just bugger off already!)and accuse me of being bitter my answer is:
“Yes I am…next!”
Bitter, but happy to see the grey haired turncoat returning to the perma crock we knew so well from his extended spells on our treatment tables whenever we needed him to be fit. I suggest his Christmas time injury spell was due to a sulk-induced overly protruding lower lip.
Every kick he takes should be met by our disapproval coming in any form possible; I believe every gooner should make every second he is on our turf a painful experience.
What’s that I hear about crossing the lines of what’s banter or not? We all know which are the teams whose fans love to sing “that” song about Wenger and one of those are our opponents tonight.
A spiky, vociferous home support is what is needed to give the good guys that extra push; and making the away fans match day experience as miserable as possible is every gooners duty, go ahead and goad with whatever you can come up with, here are a few suggestions:
“Show us your oyster cards!”
“Is he still the chosen one?”
“Europa cup, you’re having a laugh!”
Send them back to Caterham, Redhill and Carshalton heads bowed in defeat.
We need a big show from the crowd and the team need you tonight more than ever.
UTA !
By ChärybdÏß1966 (on Twitter @charybdis1966)
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Top post Chary!
Just watched that documentary about Keane and Viera. Up for this match!
Now off to bed. Have to wake up early.
Wow, I’m first. I’m never first. Top of the pile even…
That’ll be an all guns blazing PM then Chary 🙂
Let’s hope you are right about collective spirit tonight from fans and players alike.
From memory SAF recent way of attacking Arsenal was to get tight to Arteta, that way denying us the time to move out of defence the chosen player to do this was always Rooney, so how do we respond? Well I think I’d give the role Arteta normally has (receiver from BFG) to Ox, play Jack slightly in front and Arteta alongside, but not to go looking deep for the ball from the back. We need an option there.
Then let Ozil and Cazorla roam where they want, receiving passes from Jack and Arteta, Ox can also use his pace to get up the pitch to support the attack.
But want I want to see tonight is a team helping each other out at Anfield players were leaving their mates in the hole, and we got wiped out.
All for one one for all tonight and let’s get back to the top.
I would have been Sav, I just wrote a ridiculously long comment 😀
Brilliant classic chary/manure post 😆
Some very clever lines in there chary – I particularly like “the specious one”
My head tells me the game is going to be close and probably decided by the odd goal. As with many Arsenal games lately, we’re likely to know which Arsenal has turned up by the performance in the first 10 minutes.
I’d like to see us be in their faces from the first kick of the ball, if that’s the case, I’m sure we will win.
Must win but then which game isnt???? This is a much more must win than most for 2 reasons, one we need to bounce back from the horror show we had or else i fear the worst for the rest of the season, 2 its them and its him( cant take his name i need to spit it out). We need to turn up and do what pool did to us, hit them early, their defence is a joke but offence is a mix of players who always play well against us. Shrek, mata, messi err janujaz, welbeck and of course the twat all play brilliantly against us.
Benching Ozil???? errrrrrrr not even in dreams, he is our magician, he plays all the time, he will play tonight for sure.
Score the first goal and we are well on the way, concede first and this could be a dreary day.
Glad to see the London Underground strike is off. I shall be singing:”You’re going home by tube….!” as always….
Great pre match for a big game.
If there is such a thing as a must-win, then this is it.
As for the Beeb coverage of Wenger’s fall, yes it was awful, and they are all w*nkers, but if it had been a pic of SAF I’d have probably injured myself laughing, so I can’t really complain about it!
Having said that, the Beeb wouldn’t have had the bottle to show it if it was SAF, so feel free to complain! 🙂
ha ha ha ha ha ha, Chary, brilliant. 😀 😀 😀 Already in Stansted, so probably will be shafted by the time you guys come and rescue me from the new pub, whatever the name is!!!! 😀 😀 😀
Top comments everyone. Keep em coming. I am too busy myself to bore all with the “mob verdict” 😛 Look foward to a great one. If there is heart in the “project”, this is one game where it should be worn on the sleeve. So come on Arsene, come on the good guys, come on fans!!!! COYRRG!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀
Tub-thumping stuff, Chary. Top boy.
It’s always a good idea to show respect to our opponents and you’ve shown exactly the right amount. 🙂
This is for Wenger and the team……..
I was thinking about some songs for Arsenal players on the way over two came to mind, one for Mesut and one for Kozzer who we now know is called Lolo by hi teammates.
So Macarana for Mesut:
He comes from Madrid now he plays for Arsenal
He plays where he wants his a wizard with the ball
Hey Mesut Ozil
And Hey Mambo for Lolo, to be honest I only got as far as Hey Lolo, need to work on the word after that.
ha ha ha, having set Stansted Airport on fire, we are on our way. fire alarms and all that, you know, heat maps and whatever ….. 😀 😀
Top post from a top fan! Between you and Yogi’s warrior, i can’t determine who my favourite Gooner blogger is. We’re all up for tonight; don’t doubt it, especially as it concerns that slimy, lying “little boy”. Damn, haven’t been able to concentrate at work till this point and i fear it will be the same till i leave at 5!!!
right amount of respect, indeed. 😀 😀 come on, the good guys. It is a great honour to be selected into the Old Toilet Demolition Squad. Wear your heart on your sleeves, and give it all your heat!!!!! Onwards and upwards!!!! 😀 😀 😀
His name was Lolo,
Played for The Arsenal
With yellow ribbons in his hair and his shorts cut down to there
He would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while he tried to be a star
Big Per always tended bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked as 6 til 4
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?
Koscielny, Laurent Koscielny
Knew a few tricks with a Banana
Koscielny, Laurent Koscielny
Snapping and tackling were always his passion
At the Arsenal…. We fell in love
* they worked as 6 and 4
chas, GiE: good fun guys. 😀 😀 😀 Not yet any tension in the air, but lots of excitement. 😀 😀 😀
arnie…..keep a look out for a free Arsenal shirt around THOF tonight !.
G’day all, Well done Chary.
Since we’ve gone all musical Here’s a song for the home crowd to serenade Manure with, to the tune of the old music hall number “Show me the way to go home”
Show them the way to go home
They’re tired and they wanna go to bed
They’re only half a football team
Not like the boys in red
OH! show them the way…….
Some more Arsenal magic !. Shame they didn`t video the magic trick where Gazidis shows Arsene £70m in the office safe……5 mins later Gazidis awakens to find the £70m missing from the safe !. Gazidis then asks Arsene where did it disappear too ?….Arsene said …” I didn`t see it !.
Aftetnoon all and thank you for your kind comments, especially Gidigooner who I can assure you all I have not paid for his generous praise.
We have to make the Grove a hotbed of venom against old bacon faces ex team and what better focus for our contempt than the cutch dunt ?
I don’t buy this billshit from players who claim they get motivated by hostility to play better. It’s a human, and unavoidable, trait to underperform in a hostile environment.
Let it top all you gooners who are lucky enough to be going.
“Let it rip” even
Chas I love the Kozzer and Per song 😀
This is the kind of united fan I like 😛
Thank you Chary.
it doesn’t matter how badly Man U are playing, and they are at their worst right now, they will always give us a tough game.
Our overall PL record against them is a miserable –
W11,D12,L20,GF41,GA63,Pts%34.9.
Our home record is somewhat better at –
W8,D7,L6,GF30,GA27,Pts%49.2
So based on our past PL record one point is what we should expect.
But it’s always great when we expect the unexpected and the unexpected becomes a reality – and we end up as the star at the top of the tree – a full 17 points ahead of the Moyes misfits.
On their wedding night, the young bride
Approached her new husband and asked
For $20.00 for their first lovemaking encounter.
In his highly aroused state, her husband readily agreed.
This scenario was repeated each time they made
love, for more than 40 years, with him thinking that it was a
cute way for her to afford new clothes and other incidentals that
she needed.
Arriving home around noon one day, she was
surprised to find her husband in a very drunken state.
during the next few minutes, he explained that
his employer was going through a process of corporate
downsizing, and he had been let go.
It was unlikely that, at the age of 59, he’d be able to find
another position that paid anywhere near what he’d been earning, and therefore, they were financially ruined.
Calmly, his wife handed him a bank book which
showed more than forty years of steady deposits and interest totaling Nearly $1 million.
Then she showed him certificates of deposits issued
by the bank which was worth over $2 million,
and informed him that they were one of the largest depositors in the bank.
She explained that for the more than three decades she had been charging him for sex, these holdings had multiplied and these were the results of her savings and investments.
Faced with evidence of cash and investments worth over $3 million, her husband was so astounded he could barely speak, but finally he found his voice and blurted out,
‘If I’d had any idea what you were doing, I would have given you all my business!’
You know, sometimes, men just don’t know when to keep their mouths shut.
loving this all, keep em going.
Cockie: I will probably barely walk by the time we reach Emirates.
At The Famous Cock next to Highbury&Islington now. Onwards and upwards. 😀 😀 😀
Cannot see the videos in the pub, will do so later. 😀
Chary: “I don’t buy this billshit from players who claim they get motivated by hostility to play better.” Epic. 😀 😀 😀
I posted that Koscielny Copacabana song to RedAction on twitter and have had a dozen replies ranging from “brilliant” to “never tweet again”.
hahahaahahahahahaha
arnie,
Can you get Mrs Arnie to put a few comments on about how she is appreciating her day out in London? 🙂
https://twitter.com/pallari/status/433597599040700416#
Came down to London with Arnie to see sites, he is on a website called AA and I’m spending big.
He says Highbury & Islington Tube is also Cabinet War Rooms……
MrsArnie,
I’ve heard the shopping is particularly good in The Famous Cock area.
There’s a Budgens and an Off Licence
Armies in his element
Ahhhh, Budgens. A purveyor of fine wines and rizla.
arnie – have you checked your phone, I sent you a message earlier
Chas I love your macacraker and your copacabana isn’t bad either! 🙂
peaches, are you going Kings Head?
Help!!! apparently there are some friends of a guy called arnie on this blog. Can you come and get him please, I’m getting serious RSI of my pint pouring arm and he’s just told me I’m gorgeous and he loves me 😕
Hi CharyB, 🙂
You never disappoint, especially with Manure in your sights!
That is a real hot chilli pepper of a Pre-Match.
Loved it!! 🙂
Don’t worry overworked bartender, he says that to all the boys — and anyway, you can’t make me jealous! Bitch!
OB,
Get him a pint of creme de menthe (that should slow him down a bit), I’ll give you the money when I get there.
Evonne,
Ant’s wondering if he can get away with going topless again tonight.
What do you think?
chas, apparently you’re settling the bill for all his drinks he told me?
Chas: the “true” Mrs Arnie tried to send a message, bit WordPress threw it out. Oh dear!!! Anyway, she says she is wet wet wet, but nothing can dampen the spirit. very excited. looking forward to a great crispy game and to meet you all. 😀 😀
OB,
To quote chary from his 12.41, “billshit”
Brilliant, rabble-rousing pre-match Chary.
I’m equal parts nervous and excited.
Bring it on!
Arggh that’ll be i-phone autocorrect on my 12.41 😦
Redders, you know my hatred for ManUre is eternal ha ha.
Well done chary, but why so gentle with United? I thought you hated them, with real, acidic venom….. 🙂
Am sorry to be missing the game tonight, I can’t even watch it live on tv but wishing all of you lot an enjoyable evening. I think it’ll be very tight. But then I said that on Saturday…..
26, It was tight on Saturday…….after the first 20 minutes. 😀
Chary
Superb. Love it. I’m now in the right frame of mind. Thanks.
Also loving the Arnie, Mrs A, Bartender, Chas travelling comments.
Back shortly.
Loved everything about this line and what it means “to put their Europa League qualification campaign back on track.” 🙂
Off
GIE, I like the idea about ox playing deeper sometimes. I think we have discussed it in the past when Arteta seemed to have similar problems with pressing. I think ox athleticism can maybe escape a little and leave some opponents behind, maybe creating a little better opportunuty for us to attack.
Guyz – Arteta is going to play, unfortunately and he will play holding midfielder as well so we need to bulk up our midfield to make sure he does not get our back four exposed too much! It seems that Rosicky may feature by his side along with Wilshere. What does that mean for the rest of the team?
We need Ox so he will feature in the game.
We will also play Giroud despite his recent dip in form – just because he can be helpful on defensive duties on set-pieces and counter Ferdinand and/or Smalling. For this game, I would rather have Podolski though…
The conundrum is about Santi and Ozil. Who do you play? Santi has been in decent form lately and I think he should get the nod over Ozil but Ozil has this ability to break defenses and create chances that no other player has in our team…Tough choice…
Here is Wenger’s probable line-up and here is my favored one:
AW’s likely line-up: WS – Sagna, BFG, Kos, Gibbs – Rosicky, Arteta, Wilshere – Ox, Giroud, Ozil
My favored one: WS – Sagna, BFG, Kos, Gibbs – Rosicky, Arteta, Wilshere – Ox, Podolski, Santi
Come on Gunners – let us beat Utd comprehensively, for once…Ideally, an 8-1 victory :-p
A bit late to what I hope will be a great party,and thanks chary for the entertaining post match.You are a man that doesn’t mince words 🙂
Ozil will and must play and put his umlaut right in United’s face.
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Rosicky, Ozil, Cazorla, Giroud
Man Utd: De Gea, Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Cleverley, Carrick, Mata; Rooney, van Persie
No Ox tale to talk about
Weather here is crazy! Hope my sky dish stays up! 🙂
Good team selection so no problems there. Just hope the performance is up to scratch and we get the win.
Not confident.
I just hope we boss Carrick and Cleverley as that could win us the game.
Great write up Chary, you really are very good at the pre-matches. I was very disappointed last Saturday not because of the loss but with the nature of our set-up, tactics and general attitude. I hope it is all put right tonight. Must dash as already late to catch the start of the game. Hope all that are going have a great night.
City game off.
Not sure if that’s good with fixture congestion, or bad because they aren’t playing that well right now and have Aguero injured.
Late in. Weather wild. Fast curry. Back for KO.
Wot no Ox 😦
Interesting team, would have kept Ox in but guess that’s down to recovery time and just being back from injury.
City and Everton off, no surprise it’s ridiculous out there and we aren’t even bring that badly hit in East Anglia.
Pre match ciggy then hopefully Mrs Exile has changed channel for my return 🙂
Come on you Gunnnnnnners
Nervy start by both teams.
An early goal and we could ruin these.
Need to hound them and then be more patient in posession.
Too rushed.
2 teams with shakey confidence playing here.
Very poor so far
Two observations:
1) clearly the gremlins haven’t left our system
2) I think we had a chance to press them much harder in first twenty, their touch at the back was off and they would have given up the ball, we gave them time to work out the kinks.
Missing pace up top, team has to work too hard in transition, need to ask Ozil and Santi to cheat a bit and be an outlet for the ball out of the back. Time to gamble.
A goal would be great just to get the crowd going. It appears vital to both teams that they don’t lose, and it shows a bit.
Wish we had a bit more speed in the attack.
This game is crying out for someone with a bit of self confidence and I think Ox could be the one.
He was our best player against Liverpool and scored 2 against Palace and is capable of running at players and creating problems. I’d be tempted to get Wilshere or Cazorla off and put him on 2nd half.
As for the match, Arsenal creating more for United than for themselves. Need to stop giving the ball away in silly positions and we need to make our passes crisper and more accurate.
Easier said than done right now.
FGG
Agree about the Ox, and it’d be Santi off for me. I also don’t think the switch would be a risk.
Now where’s that handbrake…?
It’s fair to say this United team is here for the taking if we just raise our game 10-15%.
Like the idea of Ox for Santi, but reckon Santi is always capable of a strike from distance
Outside for a fag Exile?
I have a shed with a roof 🙂
Also feels like there are two mentalities in our team, TR7, Ozil, Giroud, Jack, Kozzer and Gibbo wanting to go forward. Others conservative making the whole thing a bit disjointed.
Don’t be scared of losing!
I’ve been here since the whistle Micky
Rio’s on, great news!
If only we had pace! 🙂
Also need to speed up te passing, few too many times waiting to look for another option.
Rio on……really need to get at them with pace.
🙂
That’s the same kick off we did at Anfield, straight out if the GG coaching manual, back then hump it up wing.
Get Ox on.
Never seen us hit so many long balls.
Afraid to play it through a tight midfield.
Will Arsene go for it?
We’ve just started playing as though we’ve realized the oppo are 14 odd points below us. This is not the old Utd.
This is poor.
AW IS going for it 🙂
Giroud, what are you doing to us!?
What a save!
Arsene’s blind spot for Wilshere is costing us dearly 😦
Something of a soggy squib I’d call that. Point ok, but really need to beat these mid table sides at home 🙂
this team is weak without the Welsh Ozil
Kos and Ozil and Szsney great. Giroud and Wilshere awful,Gibbs and second half Cazorla good, others OK.
No biting edge,
WE NEED A STRIKER.
Dhakka why does one player contribute to the performance so much? Ten other bodies who weren’t working that well either.
Not sure why they decided to boo at the end except for that passage at the end when we didn’t want to go forward.
If Saturday hadn’t happened in the manner it did then maybe we could’ve taken them tonight. But given Saturday I think the performance tonight was not unexpected.
Bit disjointed bit conservative. Although we had our chances to win it as did they we should be thankful for TPIG tonight couple of top saves especially from the header.
Lesser teams have beaten United this year because they’ve been brave enough to go for it.
Slow and laboured attacking performance. I don’t want to see our striker sprinting 50 yards to the right back position, and then being too shattered to attack.
Kelsey I always struggle to criticise Giroud because he is so often isolated, he was being fed little tappy passes and somehow expected to return it with Vidic all over him. Not once did anyone look to beat their man there was acres of space behind Giroud as Vidic was so right to him.
But I don’t see how Jack can be awful and others ok, he was no better or worse than TR7 and Arteta. Bet he had more touches though, and that sometimes effects the way we see a players performance, why was he on the ball so much ? Because he always shows for it.
Must go. Could write a few words as it will only take a few words. Unless someone volunteers.
See you in the morning.
On the one hand this is a decent result and a decent performance. But I just can’t shake the feeling of disappointment. We could have won that game. Maybe should have.
I think both Arteta and Wilshere weren’t very good. Both were ok in parts, but not as effective as we’d like. Arteta nearly gifted them a goal right at the start, and right at the end. Rosicky was ok. Good energy but a few misplaced passes. Giroud I thought was fairly good. Especially in the first half, he was bossing Vidic. Although his passes were going frustratingly awry. Szczesny, 2 great saves from the cutch dunt. Pity Cazorla couldn’t beat De Gea.
I would have taken off Wilshere along with Rosicky and brought on Poldi along with the Ox. But I can understand the risk that might have presented. Ox made little impact though, and perhaps Podolski would have been a better bet for a goal. For once I think Wenger played a bit safe. It’s not the worst result but…..
We might well be 3rd now, although still just a point off the lead.
Liverpool have just joined the title race!
How many times did a player go past Giroud in the final third?
Ramsey and Walcott do it for fun, but they are not in the side right now and nobody else seems to want to step up.
Anything could still happen this season.
We could go on a great run and finish top, or we could go on a terrible run and finish 5th or 6th!
With the fixtures we have left we need to win our next 3 league games and take some form into that very tough run of games.
Anyway, cup games next and a welcome breather from what is a ridiculous league season. Hopefully we can get revenge against Liverpool and find our form again.
What does Rooney have to do to get booked?
Half a yard is the difference between a good striker and a top class striker. A top class striker is the difference between a win or a draw at the top level. The transfer window is going to haunt us at the end of the season.
Moist reverted to what he did best at Everton. Making good players look ordinary through a defensive mindset
Kelsey. I have to agree with GIE. Your critic is somewhat unjustified. Giroud was alone up front with little support and always had someone on his back. To be honest no one was really worse than anyone else and for sure not awful! Just to say we need a striker does not bring anything to the table as it has been an ongoing theme all season so far. We have to play with what we have, like it or not! The result was at least an improvement on the Liverpool performance and to be honest the team reacted well after the Liverpool defeat. Time to move on to the next game.
FGG. I think Liverpool were always in the title race! Still a long way to go and many points to be won and dropped from all of the top four teams.
Forewarned is forearmed……my Swingometer just updated predicts us finishing 5th…..
Not that i believe it anymore 😀
I am for sure not just bigging up Giroud but he was always in the box and always trying to get a head or foot on the ball no matter what! Sometimes it is just too easy to criticise a player or players when we are not happy with the result.
GIE. Maybe you should jus bin the swingometer, no one understands it anyway 🙂 🙂
Of course Giroud is a worker,is good with his back to goal and laying off the ball,but he is not and never will be a clinical striker. How often has he headed a ball that even tests a keeper,or arrives a second to late to get that vital goal. I except playing in isolation with often no to next support is difficult,so maybe 4-4-2 would be in order for some games.
It’s worrying that we’ve been average for a good 5 or 6 games now.
Some players look a little tired and our movement and attacking fluidity has suffered.
The injuries and suspensions have once again taken there toll and we desperately need some fresh legs in the team, espescially going forward, but where’s the opportunity to rest?
Kelsey. I don’t believe anyone has ever stated or suggested that Giroud was a clinical striker! Your comment about 442 in some games makes a lot of sense and I have often wondered why we always seem to go with a lone striker. The five man midfield works well on some occasions but you have to have wingers with a lot of pace (in my opinion)
Here you go stat fans:
Arsenal Midfield 5
Fantastic passing stats but how does that help if we don’t score?
It seems reasonable to me that people come on here after a game and express their views on who they think played well and give reasons and who they thought didn’t and equally give reasons.
I am at a point now where I am concerned to do so.
Maybe those stats should be tomorrows match report?
It is now officially squeaky bum time,
GIE. No idea how you were able to put those sort of stats together but they make interesting reading. It would be interesting to see those exact same stats applied to Giroud and compare the results against the five midfielders.
Bayonne Jean. We still have a long way to go. Expect many twists and turns.
I think the way Giroud plays suits us only if midfielders get beyond him, i agree today i would have probably put Pod up with him especially as the game got stretched, but id doesn’t seem to be the way we play.
I get that we miss Theo in games like tonight, but it seems to becoming a bigger issue than i think it really should be.
He was out from 22 September to 23 November, the next 6 games he started on the bench, until he started against Man City. He also started against Chelsea…..a game we also lacked anyone going beyond. Although Chavs did not allow us that room in behind.
But in that period he was out we were still playing pretty fluent football and getting wins playing well. Including wins at home against Dippers, wins away at Palace, Cardiff, the demolition of Norwich etc etc.
However look at the league games since Boxing Day, most games where we limped over the line…..and who has been out since Boxing Day? The Welsh Messi he was on the same wavelength as Ozil and more importantly was very good at pressing high up the pitch and winning the ball back in the final third.
I watched the game live on German Skysports. At the end of the game the reporter stated that there was some booing around the stadium? Perhaps someone who was actually at the game could throw some light on that? I certainly would not believe that booing the team would have been justified.
JanMan Four Four Two stats, i wanted to look at the numbers because although i felt Jack gave the ball away i also felt he was on the ball more than others, and that trying to pass the ball forward should always be applauded, even if it doesn’t always come off.
LB why should you be worried about putting up an opinion?
Everyone is expressing one, i just don’t think it was that fair to pick out anyones performance as awful…..think Kozzer was good and Szczesny very good, Ozil and Santo good in phases, everyone else was fair to middling.
Certainly sounded like boos here JanMan, although they always seem to amplify over applause.
I think it was the way we fizzled out when we could have gone for the jugular in the last 5 minutes.
For what its worth i would have taken Jack off on about 75-80 minutes as he was clearly tiring, not sure who i would have brought off the bench to replace him though unless we stuck Pod up and pushed Ox deeper.
GiE: I apologize if I seem too harsh on Wilshere, but he (along with Arteta) were the weakest link in our team today. Wilshere lost the ball countless times as did Arteta. Ozil was genuinely trying hard to create things and Cazorla coming in from the left is always dangerous but we’re missing off-the-shoulder runners like Ramsey and Walcott too much and our passing is getting sterile. Wilshere, on form, is a very good player running with the ball but when he’s off his game, there is no middle ground, he is off by miles. Wilshere deserved being subbed more than Rosicky today.
P.S: ffs Giroud, has he forgotten running at the back-line? Playing with your back at goal should be one aspect of a forward, not his entire game-plan. We should have beaten those mid-table dross and we didn’t. That sums it all up. Disappointing day 😦
GIE. Good point. I do not believe that Walcott being out has anything to do with it. Of course we miss his pace but it is not as though we don’t have other players to fill in for him. In my opinion we do not always seem to do so well when JW and Arteta play side by side.
Enjoyable day, enjoyable game, but not the degree of penetration we want, and therefore not the result. Once again, thank you very much Micky. 😀
Spent some nice time with Peaches, Rasp, Evonne, Chas and Ant. 😀 😀
ManUre was there for the taking, but we were too slow in attack, went round in circles somewhat. 😦 I have some other observations on individual players, but let us leave this for tomorrow.
There was good support from the fans, I thought. There was frustration as well at Arsenal not being able to up the pace in attack. Many many times Ozil or Sagna had to wait for a long time because no one other than Giroud was found anywhere close to the box. This frustration came out in the end. A pity.
Not the end of the world, but could have been much better. 😀 😀
GIE. Perhaps the Welsh Messi is what we are missing at the moment?
I agree that Ramsey is a huge loss as he gives us balance in midfield.
As deep as our midfield is with talent, we have too many of the same type. Ox, Cazorla, Özil, Wilshere and Rosicky are attack minded, Flamini and Arteta defensive minded, but Ramsey is equally good at both (his stats before the injury say it all). We don’t have another genuine box to box midfielder who has a 90 minute engine.
At the moment we are plugging gaps with whoever is fit and that tends to lead to a loss of fluidity.
Our season is far from ruined at the moment, but it’s getting more difficult to stay positive. I can’t help but feel like we’ve been here so many times before. If we lose against Liverpool and Bayern it really could be a disastrous end to the campaign.
Arnie,
Was it a case of the fans being desperate to get involved but the players not providing too much to cheer for?
After Saturday the players had a great opportunity to really lift the mood in that oppening 20 minutes by hounding United, but it never seemed to materialise. I think Arteta’s early mistake caused anxiety in the players and atmosphere.
FGG: Booing is not OK under any circumstances. My feeling is that frustration was building up. Particularly in attack when players had to wait too long and then the opportunity was gone.
I think Arsenal did not want to concede, but in doing so, they restricted opportunities to attack because we do not really have players who have electric pace.
Positives are that we didn’t concede, are still only a point behind the leaders, Flamini is back, Özil played much better.
Negatives are we seem to be struggling a little offensively, couple of players look a bit tired, confidence has dropped, we are looking over our shoulder at 5th place.
On balance we are still in a good position. A big performance is needed now against Liverpool who we owe a beating.
FGG: I think in terms of chances of winning the league, this is a little bit of a setback. However, we are in a much better position than what any of us would have expected in the beginning of the year. 😀
And therefore you are right. Unlike what some of us have been saying, we need to take the FA Cup and Champions League very seriously. On to the weekend. 😀 😀
“Booing is not OK under any circumstances.”
And that’s why the team will win fuck all for the foreseeable future.
Forgot to mention. By the time in the evening when we eventually met up with Chas, Ant and Evonne, I had already finished half a bottle of white wine, followed by 3 pints of beer. On to the 4th beer, which I unceremoniously spilled all over Chas’s jacket. Apols, Chas. He was not best pleased, and I do not blame him. 😛
Disappointing, but it was perhaps more important to not lose than to win.
I thought Wilshere had a very poor game tonight. Ozil was our best player but no-one was running for him.
A lot of similarities with game against the Chavs after we’d been thumped at Man City – even to the extent of having a clear penalty ignored (the Vidic push on OG).
And as someone said earlier, what on earth does Shrek have to do to merit a yellow card? It seems he gets a free ride from the FA because he’s Ingerlund’s only star player.
Motning. Pretty quiet in here. On the road again. Return back to the pavilion. 😀 😀
The booing was sad to hear because it tells me that no matter how much the team have improved or how consistently well they’ve played over the first 24 games of the season we are only ever a couple of bad results away from returning to a poisonous atmosphere at the club.
I fear until we win a trophy there will continue to be large groups of fans that will make more and more noise about how they don’t like the way the club is being run/managed, and it’s a shame that there is a divide.
I also fear that 1 trophy will not be enough for some of these fans and whilst ever AW is in charge we are going to continue to see this divide every time we have a blip in results.
Can we put up lots of those Stats Charts as Match Reviews, as they provide more of a talking point than someone describing what everyone saw.
I think we miss the runs and goals of Ramsey and Theo.
That’s about it really.
Thanks mickt,just finished my review 🙂
Post in drafts,never mentioned any booing,just wrote about the game, and good morning 🙂
Kelsey,
Shall we see if we can undermine your hard work, and go and pen a 1000 Word essay on the match 🙂
Stop nicking parts of my review
1000 word essay
Report: must do better 🙂
🙂
Being a Bowler, are you gripped by the curling which is on now?
Personally, I find it sexist. They pick the best looking one with the bluest eyes to throw, and the other two get to be the scrubbers.
Yip, you’re watching it 🙂
Yesterday, GB were playing someone or other, but a few lanes down the Russkies were playing. Now, I hope we play them because the crowd get very excited. If we beat the Chinks, then who next?
I have tried curling,You need to be very flexible and thoses stones weigh 42lbs each about the size and weight of one of Katie Price’s boobs.
Aha, a Kelsey Report, or Report Review is it? Fantastic. sounds like fun. should be material for good discussion. 😀 😀
It’s a round robin. Russia are not known to be one of the favorites. Yesterday our men played the Germans.
Contrversial , arnie contraversial.:)
Your comments here 🙂
Motning Arnie
Something of a disappointing game for you and yours. I think the level of expectation for a classic was simply too high. Then there was Arsene’s complete balls up on the selection side in not taking up my suggestion of playing The Ox as CF 🙂
Kelsey
What are the lights on top of the stones all about?
When they go through a tunnel. Lights !!!!!!!!!!
Is the whole touney a round robin, or is that like the group stages with an epic shoot out at the end?
ha ha ha 🙂
I think it is just a round robin but I believe there are eight or nine teams. Goes on for days.
Yes, kelsey, we love some controversy. 😀 😀
Micky, it was a good day out I think, a goal would have made the place erupt and that is electric. But it was a cagey game. It was a bit disappointing that The Ox was only brought on very late. One other thing, it seems a lot of fans wanted to see The Ox on the pitch. Young gunners were a bit disappointed he was not on. Nice. 😀 😀 😀
A special thank you to Rasp who came over to the restaurant and the pub just to have a meal and a drinks with us all. 😀 😀 😀
I’m most impressed with mankind’s never ending ability to come up with new ways of occupying itself, rather than simply watching telly or getting pissed.
Micky, one of your pieces of plastic has a crocked magnetic strip. Does not work at the gate. They said if it is sent back to AFC, they will replace it straightaway.
and what is that if I may ask,Micky. Knitting.
LB @ 10:42 : “I am at a point now where I am concerned to do so”.
I always think that when our peddler starts talking in code, a bomb is about to be dropped.
LB,
I have a message for you. “dot dot dash dash dot dash dot dot dot dot dash dot dash dash” 🙂
Arnie,
Well I hope you did the right thing, and left the Missis outside and went on in yourself 🙂
Ok, which one?
No one has mentioned the possble penalty. Only seen it once.Any thoughts.
you left out dash,Micky
That was an intentional trick, Kelsey.
It actually translates as: “I have changed my mind and Jack Wilshere IS The Man” 🙂
Penalty? Oh leave it out, we’re sooo over all that “everybody hates us” nonsense 🙂
Oh, go on then, penalty to who?
Right, must dot myself. I mean dash.
The other one, Micky. I had given yours to the Mrs, and that was lucky. Otherwise, the stewards may have asked the Mrs, “how do you have a man’s name starting with an O”. 😛
I didn’t understand the booing at the end.
I also don’t understand the amount of energy expended by some of the crowd in chastising their own team. Sometimes it seems as though you can physically see the players’ confidence shrivel.
Fair enough, it wasn’t a good team performance. More encouragement might help, more moaning and booing definitely won’t.
arnie,
It was Jon’s coat that now smells of Peroni.
I’m not sure why you thought I was ‘not best pleased’. Must be my miserable mug.
Morning all, I’m at a seminar this morning so this is my only comment for a while.
Great to see Mr and Mrs arnie and chas and the gang. The overwhelming feeling this morning is disappointment that we did not show a bit more ambition going forward. The point I made yesterday about Ozil needing players to make runs was proven I think.
It’s time for us to take some risks now, the team needs a shake up. Maybe micky’s idea of trying the Ox up front or give Gnabry a few starts
Interesting reaction on twitter from the more cerebral types, along the lines of the following:
For seasons some fans have been saying, “we know we can’t guarantee trophies but we would just like to be competitive”.
Now they have shifted the goalposts to “we should be winning this title”.
I don’t doubt we can win it, but it will take a huge shift in confidence from the players. But for this season, if we remain there or thereabouts will it be progress?
Booing was a disgrace. I was quiet shocked when I heard it. All right, there wasn’t much to write home about, but it was hardly a poor performance. They tried, somehow didn’t succeed, it happens.
Bloody hell Chas – you told me that pool drew!! hell.
Arnie – I am not sure why you gave Chas the soft ball, but he loves it, played with it all the time and you could see it game him a lot of pleasure and comfort. Nice meeting you and the wife 🙂
I told you it was a latest score. Why you no risten?
arnie, the baby will love the ball. Thank you very much.
Ok, got it, the “baby” must be Ant
This one, Micky.
(Though I’m sure Ant would look quite fetching in a nappy)
Chas
Does it belong to anyone in particular, or are you just trying to impress Evonnee with your sensitive side
Chas
I’ll tell you something for nothing, that baby has got anger management issues.
Chas
Did you see my links to Joy Div and Surf Photographers yesterday. While you were disconnected I think.
I’m the baby’s great uncle.
Pointless trying to impress Evonne.
When her and Ant get chatting, I feel like a pork chop at a barmitzvah.
Micky
I did see the links.
I thought the photos were excellent.
I couldn’t understand why both websites weren’t very good at showcasing the photos, though. I’d’ve thought that was paramount.
oooohhh. lovely baby 🙂 he looks even better now (chas’s nephew)
Micky – you wouldn’t believe how silly Ant and Duck were last night. They didn’t believe my route to the station was the fastest, so they went on their way and left me on my own surrounded by thousands of angry strange men. When I eventually got to the platform I found both of them out of breath, And could barely stand up and Chas was coughing badly – they ran like feck just to prove they were right.
True Chas, but when you eventually find the surf pics, boy are they good.
Evonne,
Men eh! Paah 🙂
Or should I say Boys.
Ant’s two and a half years younger than me. Puts him at 9 and a quarter.
It was like a latter day version of the tortoises and the hare. My personal highlight of the evening.
crisps for me 🙂
A pork chop at a barmitzvah lol
Is there a new post,sorry to mention football
By the way, evonee. Thanks for the muffins.
I though they were Polish sweets. Ant was too full up to dambust one in the car though.
p.s. I’ve still got crisps in my hood.
It was the Brown Onions bag that threw me.
Evonne
I got some Polish kabanas yesterday,haven’t seen them for years.Waitrose sell them.
Morning all
We have a New Post ……………..