One of our own is out there. A solo mission without backup and on his birthday. Can he do it again? Can Didit’s positive energy inspire The Arsenal to another surprise win? It has worked before so it could work again – perhaps he is the lucky charm.
Big Raddy is a logical man, not prone to flights of fancy nor believing in things which cannot be proven …. and yet …. I still believe in lucky socks, lucky wine, lucky mints +++ When I go to The Emirates I have to take a certain route to the ground and drink in a lucky pub. My guess is that you have rituals as well, so why shouldn’t Micky’s presence affect the result?
I could write at length about this wonderful Bayern team – you will have read or heard all the stats – they are the best team ever in the Bundesliga which is some achievement. They have averaged almost 3 goals a game at home and have only lost twice in 100 home games – we know who inflicted one of those losses 🙂
So, despite Guardiola’s assertions, BM are huge favourites to win the game and the tie. But ….. we have reasons for quiet confidence. We have won there before, we have just beaten a good Everton side, we were better than BM prior to Szczesny’s sending off and we are The Arsenal. Plus we have our secret agent ……
It is remarkable that we have beaten both Bayern and Borussia in their own grounds on our last two visits to Germany. Which other team in world football can say the same? I will tell you …. none
My Team:
Gibbs has a late fitness test and Monreal is just recovering from his foot knack so given the inexperience of both Jenks and Bacary playing left back I would prefer to see Captain Fantastic playing there – he has done so in the past and it allows us to play the dreaded 3 at the back.
Give Podolski a run on the hour and perhaps give Gnabry a kickabout should we be losing (highly unlikely) on 75 minutes – just to show the Germans what they have allowed to slip away.
Munchen: In Old German means “place of the monks” (unsurprisingly) because the Benedicitne monks established a monastery in the area. It was officially granted city status in 1175 and was a stopping point on the Old Salt Route through Germany. The city expanded rapidly when Duke Louis of Bavaria was crowned German king in 1314 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He gave Munchen the salt monopoly which brought great wealth into the city and by the 15thC it was a gothic centre for arts and architecture.. By 1506 Munchen had become the capital of the independent state of Bavaria (later to become a Kingdom) and remained so until the unification of Germany in 1871 .
Pre-match we will be split in our predictions between the optimists and the other less smiley people but come match time we shall all unite behind our team. There is a chance we can recover from an undeserved home defeat and without belief all is lost. A similar scoreline to last season will take us to penalties …. errrm ….. we need to score 3 !
A final note …. About now Micky will be climbing Mt. Wank singing songs from the Sound of Music – which song do you think he will sing at the summit? I am going for “High on a Hill was a Lonely Goatherd”. 🙂
Written by BigRaddy
Arsenal News 24/7
Apologies from Rasp, he can’t sort the pitch layout at the moment.
Happy Birthday Micky …..
High on a hill there was a lonely Gooner
Yodellay yodellay hoo hoo 🙂
Nasty thought Raddy. Maybe you were the lucky charm in Dortmund. Nah.
Tragic news lads. Wankbahn to Wank closed till summer. Still, on my way now to get as close as possible. Many other Wankers on train with Big boots and pointy sticks. I’ve got me fags.
Must get back by five to meet New and one old gooner chums. Going to be tight.
Layers
Happy birthday Micky
Have a great time…….hmmmmm, now I am jealous.
Well done Raddy – how many pre-matches have you written?
Happy birthday Micky – don’t let the wankers get in your way – blow some smoke in their faces.
If Bayern score the first goal it will be mission impossible and I just hope that we don’t go on a wild goose chase for goals and end up with injuries. I would prefer to lose heavily than get injuries but we are a proud team so we will give our all till the end.
Happy Birthday Micky, the perfect marriage it seems. You can go abroad with some little floosie or have a W**K to watch an insignificant game of football 🙂
Fine pre match report as always Raddy and GoonerB has already written the pre match post report.
Firstly eleven against eleven might help.Whatever the result I hope the boys do us proud.My heart says Arsenal,my head says Bayern.
Lovely report Raddy and I will remain optimistic till all optimism becomes futile (20 minutes then)…..
On a serious note we have 90 minutes to score 3 goals and to limit them to 1. That can be done as we have the quality for the goals and the steel to keep them to 1. For me we will have to play high tempo and press them hard and break forwards with real intent on the counter, but not overly commit every player forward too early in desperation to get goals.
If we do this we will not limit Bayern to 1 goal. We need to show patience and make ourselves difficult to beat and I predict we will have 4-5 chances in the game so we will have to be ruthless in our conversion of chances in this game. If we 1-2 good chances go begging we will likely not get the 3 we need.
Happy birthday Micky and it is a shame you are not going up Mount Wank. If you do get close to it and you do spot some goat-herds, as Raddy intimated, have a close look and see if they have a Terry Mancini style bonce. It could be those thirsty thirty ones he keeps bleating on about.
I did put up a psychic pre-match post match report just after Peaches wrote “New post”. She is always catching me with my pants down like that. I will try and retrieve it and put it up in a mo.
Happy birthday, Micky, and great stuff Raddy. 😀 😀 😀 In some ways, the pressure has been released somewhat, we are not expected to win, or at least to win by a clear two goals. No high expectations. Let us see what a liberated team can do. Get this done with and return to unfinished business.
If we do not progress, and the chances are high, let us at least put a good foot forward, with the aid of Micky’s positive vibes, and see whare this takes us. Onwards and upwards. 😀 😀 😀
No quibbles about the team. Will be a good test for Fab. 😀
Morning all. I could actually weirdly see a 3-1 to us. Here’s a summary of the match report.
We start brightly and score inside 10 minutes and you can see some nerves creeping into Bayern. Despite that the rest of the first half is a bit cagey with a couple of chances for both teams, with Arsenal looking dangerous on the break through the Ox. The second half sees Bayern up their game and we are up against it for a bit and eventually they get their break-through 10 minutes into the second half. Cue an Arsenal collapse? Not at all and this team is made of sterner stuff and while Bayern take their foot off the pedal to try and tie the game up Arsenal hit them for a second with some 15 minutes remaining. Now they are definitely nervous and we are going for it with nothing to lose. The game opens up and becomes full on end to end stuff and just when you think Bayern will see it out Arsenal hit them with the sucker punch on the break in the 89th minute. Bayern fling everything at Arsenal in injury time and lay seige to the Arsenal penalty area but with some heroic last ditch defending and bodies put on the line the glorious gunners see it out.
GoonerB: trying to take Kelsey’s job away? 😛
Remember 26 May 1989
Excellent, BR
Micky’s pre-match ritual involves rushing around, losing his keys, turning up late, making everybody laugh and buying sausages and Bensons.
I think he might be singing this at the summit. (If the bloody thing was open, that is)
Climb up Wank mountain,
Smoking a fag,
Following The Arsenal,
Just time for a drag.
Climb up Wank mountain,
Gooners high and low,
Following The Arsenal,
Everywhere they go.
A team that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.
Climb up Wank mountain,
Gooners high and low,
Following The Arsenal,
Everywhere they go.
Brilliant, Chas. 😀 BTW, is Micky lost? Or does he, like many of us, not do AA when travelling!!!!! 😀
Yes, let us all remember 26 May 1989, without high espectations but high hopes!!!! 😀 😀
Arnie I have never been very prophetic. I am often described by another word that sounds very similar, but as it stands I am in no position to usurp Kelsey, so I think the old Silver Fox will still be very much needed come tomorrow.
Kelsey,
What are you planning on pre-writing for tomorrow?
Just when it looked we were going to get a glimpse of spring – our latest forecast is for 6/8 inches of snow overnight and tomorrow.
Happy Bday Micky, have a good one mate.
What a night it will be if we beat the bavarians at their home and progress, if we do so we should go on to win the champions league for we will be preventing the one who would have won otherwise.
Bayern will want to score early and kill the game off, We need to make sure we dont concede early and thats my worry, our left back is unknown even now, thomas or sagna? if sagna does it mean jenkinson at right back, no please no, i think we should play TV5 at left back, a risk all though a better one than having jenko as right back, nothing against the lad but he cant manage ribery/shaqiri even though jenko played at bayern last time.
Lets enjoy the game, i think Arsenal will match bayern for most parts of the game but maybe a bit short because this bloody bayern team is a machine with no weaknesses bar the centre backs, if Giroud has a game and a half and Mesut does his magic, we may just be singing in the rain, snow or sun.
I doubt Micky is lost Arnie. He is probably just running around up the mountain in his Lederhosen conducting all his fellow Wankees in a version of Doh Ray Me. I wonder how Micky looks in Lederhosen?
Vinay, not only did the corporal play in this fixture last year at RFB as you say, but for me he was one of our stand-out performers and used his pace to nullify their quick wide players. In many ways I wouldn’t mind him playing because of his pace even if his relative inexperience does carry some risk.
GoonerB,
On the other hand it might be an excellent way to boost his confidence, I’ve always liked the lad and I feel he will become both and Arsenal and England regular.
ha ha, GoonerB, good fun. 😀 😀
on a personal front, I am glad to be back to spending some time on AA. brightens up my days. last few weeks were terrible. 😀
I agreed about Jenks but would still play Sagna ahead of him, and would rather TV played on the left than either of them.
The Corporal’s time will come
On a personal front, I delighted that Arnie has found more time to blog with us.
Off for a bit but just wanted to point out that it looks like Chas has become the Bob Dillon of the site. A real mercurial musical genius is in there I reckon.
Thank you for the PM, Raddy. I don’t see anyone mentioning Cazorla, who I thought was excellent against Everton. Is he being rested after that exertion, or perhaps rested for the NLD this Sunday?
In my short life as a fan, Arsenal winning at Dortmund earlier this year was the most exhilarating match I have experienced. Here’s hoping for an even better one this evening.
Raddy, that is good for Arnie but at the end of the week I will be descending on Scandinavia (but not quite your neck of the woods) so will not be on as much. Come to think of it it is always quieter on here when I am on and seems to get busier once I bugger off. Mmm maybe there is a message in there somewhere, so maybe I can expect to see the site very busy next week in my general absence.
Thanks, Raddy. 😀
GoonerB: just to be mindful also of the quality-quantity divide. 😛
GoonerB, if you are the reason why it’s got quiet then you can sling your hook off to the nether regions.
Micky,
I can say nothing more than copy GN5’s comment @ 10: 36 a.m. —
–“Happy birthday Micky – don’t let the wankers get in your way – blow some smoke in their faces”
Actually our historian is being too polite – I think he meant; ‘blow some smoke up their asses’.
Well, the media are always trying to do that to us – so we need to pass some smoke on to deserving recipients! 🙂
Gn5 i had a rather painful experience once when combining a hook a sling and the nether regions so try and avoid combining all 3 at the same time now.
Just received a message from Micky, he says ….
GN5
To answer your question I have prepared three different scenarios a bit like Eastenders, to cover all possibilities
Kelsey,
You already know the result so stop phaffing about and tell us what it is! 🙂
I guess Micky is on his way to the ground or in a bar with the other inebriates
Or maybe he took a shine to the mountain.
49 undefeated…….
well done Raddy, you managed to cheer me up with your silly predictions 🙂 We have as much chance tonight as a pig in a wurst factory. All I am hoping for is that the lads will do us proud and give their best.
Mind you, we have to sort out the neighbours on Sunday, so I will not complain if AW plays a few youngsters. But he won’t, I am certain of it. Your team selection looks good, I go alone with it. Ox through the middle – lovely . But you want to see Podolski, last 20 mins?
Did you notice that last Sat Wenger made substitutions with half an hour to go, very unlike him
White Bear,
Do you speak Polish? 🙂
Apologies, BR, I am becoming remiss in forgetting to thank the author of the fine Posts which are the life blood of the blogsite.
Thank you. 🙂
And don’t worry, the bratwurst man will be fine – he has a natural wit and charm that will endear him to the locals.
RA – don’t be so silly, bears don’t speak 🙂
Lousy signal outside so
Come on you mighty Gunnnnnners
So he made it to the ground. Well played Micky!
Arsenal: Fabiański, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Arteta, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud
Micky did it !!! hero.
That is an attacking line up 8-6 to the good boys
Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Cazorla, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Ozil, Giroud. Subs: Viviano, Rosicky, Flamini, Jenkinson, Gnabry, Hayden.
kelsey. As you say, an attacking team. AW is going for it.
Wow. Great thinking by Wenger. 4-2 or 5-3, would do just as well, and perhaps more likely, than 3-0.
BBC: “The mystery of that six-man Arsenal bench could be down to the fact that Ryo Miyaichi flew out to Munich but isn’t eligible to play.
There are reports that the Arsenal management didn’t realise that he was unavailable until they arrived in Germany…”
Shocking if true…
Settled in front of the tele, relatively relaxed. COYG. 😀 😀
Come on, birthday boy Micky! 😀
2012 7.39 😀
COYRRG
Late in budge up..DidIt Returns Micky
Come on guys – I believe in you 😛
BM diving already
Andy Townsend. Why not have a pundit who supports the English club and doesn’t spend all game criticising The Arsenal?
Guess Pod starts because TV5 won’t be doing much overlapping so Pod can keep us up the pitch?
fantastic, Santi and the Ox…… COYG
Wenger’s ranting about referees seems to be working 🙂
We are having a bit of trouble keeping the ball . Good plan – BM will wear themselves out.
OK, fantastic from the Ox again. steady on …..
Giroud, nearly, come on the good guys.
Great run from Ox. Schweinsteiger should have been sent off for spoiling a certain goal
Ox is the best, what a player.
Roben is the ugliest, he makes Rooney look handsome
Every time we have a chance to counter-attack they chop us down. Cynical behaviour from BM who know they are in trouble 😉
White Stork: Robben “makes Rooney look handsome”. 😀
Lovely save, Fab
all right, so far so good. lots to do. wonder how Micky is doing!!!! 😀
3 players playing without fear, Ox, Santi, Koz.
Too many others look too worried about what might happen if they lose the ball or their pass goes astray, so end up with passes going backwards and inviting them on.
They have fouled repeatedly when we have run with the ball so lets do that more, and take some gambles when we are in possession, Pod and Ozil are offering nowt defensively so stay up the pitch, then when we get the ball we have a chance of an outlet ball in their third for a while and we should be targeting Dante who is already on a yellow.
The boys are doing OK, but not that much inspiration for me, except The Ox. And Poldi on one occasion. COYG
Could Ozil have had a worse half in his career? We are playing with 10 men!
Some sterling defensive work form the team with Ox looking very exciting.
Another who has been poor is Podolski – hook him now and bring on TR or Gnabry
I do like giroud but playing a slow striker up top is handing them a big tactical advantage.how high are they able to play their back line? It is resulting in this siege type game where we cant get out. If ox was up top they wouldnt push so high and rosicky in midfield would give us better control in that area
Robben on the pitch with Ribery and you choose Robben as the ugliest?
Raddy funny watching the same game but with different perspectives, I don’t think Ozil has done too badly, not had much support. And I really don’t get why we are shifting the back line across so much that Alaba is running with Ozil and Sagna is coming into mark Manzuxchini (admittedly I don’t know how to spell his name) and BFG and Koz marking space.
Let Alaba run on to Sagna, and leave Ozil up, let’s see how much Alaba wants to keep going forward then?
Guardiola’s game plan does not change, he wants his full backs to push on, it only works if we concede the ground and drop with them, they are very open to the counter attack but the defense and deeper midfielders must put in a shift to nullify the runners.
My concern is Ozil’s lack of control and that he is trying too hard. He needs to be more relaxed and as you say stay forward alongside OG
TR on for Ozil.
Oh well all moot now as Ozil off TR7 on, TR7 play centrally and Ox out wide on Alaba?
apparently, Ozil has a tight hamstring
Hope that isn’t an injury for Ozil
Refs a homer
oh dear!!!!!
Get in Pod what a finish
ok, Poldi, one down, two more to go. COYG!!!!! lovely goal.
Damn. Lucky goal but we still need 3 goals
Here we go…….
what a finish from Pod. Just two more and we are through ….
I’m so surprised Schweinstiger hasn’t been booked for repetitive fouling yet, Arteta walking a tight rope.
GIE. It is because the ref is a homer. The Swibe has committed at least 4 fouls and not ben been talked to
Robben is a despicable player. I hate cheats
Gnabry for Arteta. That’s the way AW go for it …..
wow, brilliant stuff, Fab.
Robben cheats his way to a penalty and the homer ref gives it. Shame on them
Fine stuff Fab
all right, out of CL, but the boys did us proud. no complaints. the game was lost in the first half at home. but no complaints. on to other battles now. COYG,
We come home with our heads held high and could easily have won the game in the last 10 minutes,
Well as we all know things could’ve been a lot different if Ozil would’ve buried that penalty.
Doesn’t matter, the lads can be proud, we got through the “house of death” and tonight’s 2nd half display was fine.
The rest of the season will be exciting.
Once again we are victim of a biased referee. Robben dives in the box, the ref waves his hands upwards to say don’t be so silly get up and doesn’t give him a yellow for simulation = cheating. The ref gives pod a yellow for kicking the ball away. Ribery cons the ref into giving TV a yellow, goes down holding his chest when the impact was on his ankle. The Ox is repeatedly fouled when on the break and no cards. The last 3 times we’ve been in the last 16, the refs have taken away our chances.
Well that’s about as much as we could ask from the team and the players available, if we had Rambo, Jack, Theo, Gibbs and Monreal fit we could have given them much more of a run for their money over the two legs.
When we had the chance to go for it I think we didn’t have the energy, or the players to bring into the pitch. MotM for me was Ox, followed by Arteta, Pod and Santi. None gave up on the game.
Adrian Childscis an utter prat, when are the pundits ever going to support our boys.
More than Özil’s penalty miss I think our biggest regret should be that free kick taken by Jack at the end of the first leg, go to Bayern down 1 we would have had a very different game tonight, knowing only two goals were needed. We always needed 3 tonight and that was a bridge too far unfortunately.
Rasp: never, but still we live to fight on!!!!! onwards and upwards. I think the performance tonight was quite uplifting!!!! 😀 😀 😀
Yes arnie, an excellent performance. We do need a top striker with pace and aggression to lift us to the next level. But for half an hour in the home leg and large parts of tonights game we matched Bayern.
In addition , no arsenal player dived in the 180 minutes of both games whereas Bayern dived at least 5 times. I like Guardiola but he condoned cheating at barca and he continues at Bayern
definitely, Rasp. We need players to get behind the back 4. And sometimes lack a final ball. Work in progress. 😀 😀
Put Theo and Ramsey in the team and we are a different proposition.
Tonight it showed,
yes, agreed Raddy. But that brings us to the issue. What kind of players do we need in the summer. backups for Theo and Ramsey is it? Not quite sure myself, but just wonder.
Definitely need a true striker, but that apart dont really know. 😀
it looks inevitable, but we will be very sad to see Fab leave. 😦
We need a powerful midfield general arnie, Arteta and Flamini are not getting any younger.
yes, Rasp, a Yaya Toure clone will be good. 😛 or a Vieira reincarnation. 😀
Disappointed but very proud, imagine what could have been if the home game had been 11v11 😦
Is Kelsey writing us a review of the game, does anyone know?
Very proud to be an Arsenal supporter tonight.
All good lads
If that’s Europe’s best, we’re closing the gap.
Take away the ten men first game ans it’s close
I’m a proud Gunner
nite all
Well done lads proud of all of you.
Because we’ve all been so.good.and so.brave, do we get a pic of Evonne in her full kit?
Hard mornings touristing than fly back this pm
Tough week’s work 🙂
We need a striker and a quick one, Oli G is good but to suit our midfield a runner with pace is what we need for yesterday was a classic example of what if we had so and so.
Ox was exemplary, if he stays fit he can be an asset and i dont foresee him leaving us anytime soon if ever. He and Aaron together is something to look forward to hopefully this sunday.
Ozil will be a marked man in such games, he dint look the part and apparently has a hamstring done now, yet we soldered on and when we did score you could sense the panic in the bayern team. That is when we needed Ozil more, sadly he was on the bench.
Sunday beckons and i still believe this team will take positives from yesterday and if we avoid individual mistakes like we did last season at the lane, the team is good enough to beat the spuds.
Well done to the defense, kos and per brilliant but a shout out to thomas and bacs as well.
go on Bayern, win the cup, i dont want any uefalona, madrista, chelshit to win this.
Don’t panic Mrs Mannering,it’s done 🙂
Just a question. Who was Munich’s speedy centre forward?
Vinay I’m not sure I want Bayern to win it, think if prefer Athletico Madrid of the remaining.
Simply because last night Bayern used some very dark arts to stop us and more specifically Ox, yet none of the offenders got carded except Dante when Ox would have had a clear run on goal and the ref could not justify and Martinez on Pod. But they were very disruptive to our counters with petty fouls that the ref did not appear to want to punish properly.
Add Robben and Ribery’s and others theatrics and I really began to dislike them, so much that I don’t want Guardiola anymore.
Vinay. Theo Walcott.
I want Galatasary to win it, if not them AM.
All this ‘drawing the contact’ shite needs to be sorted.
Just because someone is touched in the penalty area doesn’t mean it’s ok to go down.
Not that I give a monkey’s about Robben. 🙂
Rasp: “no arsenal player dived in the 180 minutes of both games whereas Bayern dived at least 5 times.I like Guardiola but he condoned cheating at barca and he continues at Bayern”
GIE: Bayern used some very dark arts……….were very disruptive to our counters with petty fouls that the ref did not appear to want to punish properly.
Add Robben and Ribery’s and others theatrics and I really began to dislike them, so much that I don’t want Guardiola anymore.”
These two comments just about sum up my frustrations with the game yesterday. I’m not saying we deserved to go through, but it is irritating to see such blatant examples of poor sportsmanship and then have the team carrying them out be not only rewarded, but applauded. That’s what we get with Mourinho and Chelsea (I see Kaboul’s red card has been rescinded just before they face Arsenal) and that’s what we had with Guardiola’s Barca too.
There is something about Guardiola that I have always disliked. He says all the right things (usually), but I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that that is just an act. Occasionally the mean side of him shows through (yesterday he was applauding Martinez taking out Podolski), but generally he maintains a facade that makes people like him and think of him as classy. I might be wrong of course, but that has always been my feeling. Plus, so far, he’s essentially inherited some great players and won with those. He also exited Barca at just about the right time, at their peak. I bet he’ll do the same with Bayern in a few years and join whichever team is getting to the top with a collection of fine players. While I hope that description suits us, I hope he doesn’t join us. He’s just a more attack oriented, nicer media persona Mourinho.
Motning all. Good banter. Cheating sucks, playing the game with dignity and respect produces a warm glow.
Look, Chas, everyone knows that if you touch Robben’s right boot, his left foot collapses!
Now normal people cannot hope to produce such a feat (no pun intended) – and the referees are obviously instructed to be careful not to infringe his Human Rights, known as the Cheats Charter; sub para CL R16; unable to control falling over syndrome; Robbing Robben.
I am not sure Guardiola is a great manager either. Any team with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol etc is going to be superb, and BM are not his team. Guardiola is just continuing the fine work done by Heynckes
Mesut Ozil needs scan on hamstring injury, and is facing “at least a few weeks”. (Source: Beebs) 😦
“He is a great player and a very good diver”. Wenger on Robben. 😀
Reports that Ozil is out for “a few weeks”.
Crap.
The problem is that there are so many early birds on here things that are mentioned and discussed about the game prior to the new post going up are then repeated in the new post (at least in my case) that bloggers aren’t going to repeat what they have already said.:)
would you like to see a lower number of early birds, Kelsey? 😛 off now, look forward to your post.
Another good performance from Fabianski yesterday. There really isn’t much to choose between our poles, they’re both looking the real deal. Its a shame one of them wasn’t at this stage of development a few years ago. Sadly I can understand why a keeper of Fab2’s quality will want to leave in search of regular first team football. Seeing Mannone doing so well must be hard for him.
Agreed, Fab was fabulous, Rasp. I thought Cazorla also worked really hard. Wonder if Podolski will feature more, after his performance last night.
The referee rightly ignored much of Bayern theatrics. Unfortunately, I think he felt the need to balance that out by allowing Bayern defenders their little trips and bumps to stifle Arsenal attacks.
That’s just correcting one wrong while allowing another.
Kelsey – are you still working on the post? Can you come out of it if you’ve finished please.
kelsey. I was going to publish your post but you are editing. I have to go out, can you press the button?
peaches 😀
I am not touching the post. I finished it two hours ago,honest
Sorry to be late everyone ……..
We have a New Post ………………