Well that was exciting, I was excited thinking about the game all week, even more so when I saw the team selection and by the end I was down right ecstatic. An outstanding performance and a great result. Days like this are our reward for being Arsenal supporters.
Player ratings
Ospina: when some think of him they go – ooh scary but I think that he is deceptive, yes he is south American so there is always going to be a bit of drama but look closely and you will notice that what he does he does well, clean sheet, that will do nicely: 8
Bellerin: Hector (we are back on first name terms) returned to his outstanding best; he and Walcott were pretty much unplayable down the right flank, it was interesting to see just how far Walcott was coming back to cover for Hector when the Spaniard was attacking, a real sign of just how much Bellerin’s attacking has improved and just how much Walcott has been told to respect that. 8
Mustafi: our lucky charm continues to shine as brightly as ever, should be interesting to put it to the test next weekend, another solid performance. 8
Holding: what’s not to like about this 2 million pound signing, still makes me laugh when I think of Wenger laughing at the beginning of the season when he was comparing him with the 55 million pound signing of Stones. I get the feeling that Holding is going to be at the club for years to come, a perfectly respectable performance. 7
Gibbs: said it before and will say it again, we are fortunate to have such solid back up for this position, an OK game, still the occasional mistake but equally there is still the occasional flash of quality. 7
Niles: it’s just good ol Niles from the hood now, lol, the young man had a fine game, a few understandable defensive wobbles but outstanding in his distribution: 7
Oxlaide-Beckenbauer: woo, haven’t seen him play the Ramsey role before and he was impressive, far more impressive than I expected and that in a nut shell is how and why I award my MOTM, Alex was spraying the ball around like the distant image I have of the great German, and calmly dealing with fires to boot. 9
Adelaide: Diabyesque, a few noticed this yesterday, he has such a characteristically Diaby dribble and drag back, of course, as soon as we had noticed it the next thing we know is that he is on the floor clutching his leg. He didn’t shine as much as I hoped, I must admit but that is not to say that I don’t expect great things from him in the future, I do. 7
Walcott: I am not a Theo fan and his three goals have not changed my mind, to me he is on the Giroud side of the attack, poor close control, no assists but gets you goals, whereas I want more on the Ozil – Sanchez side: great close control, lots of assists and get you goals. The problem for me is that I know that Walcott remains the best option on the right so I am going to have to grin and bear it. 5
Perez: I am a huge Perez fan; he is on the Ozil-Sanchez side of things, he gets assists, scores goals and has good close control, I thought he was outstanding yesterday and would have given a 10 if it weren’t for him missing his one on one with the keeper. 9
Welbeck: I may be a Perez fan but I have a man crush on Danny, I have said it before and I will say it again he is going to be the best attacker in the EPL. A front line of Welbeck, Sanchez and Walcott is going to be something awesome. Welbeck has everything we need from a player coming in from the left or even swapping with Sanchez, this is going to get really exciting. 9
Written by LB
and some ‘feelings’ from mickydidit89 …………………….
2nd XI’s (more or less) from Southampton and Arsenal took to the pitch on the South Coast for an important fixture in the Worlds’ finest knock out tournament.
Quite a few Arsenal players staked their claims to never again be considered 2nd XI’ers.
Here’s one thought I had about our players who featured yesterday:
Regular 1st Teamers: Bell, Gibbs, Mustafi
Outstanding performers: The Rest.
Very, very nice situation indeed. It would be very tempting for me to dwell on the front three who were all sensational, however, it was the Maitland-Niles Oxlade-Chamberlain Reine-Adelaide midfield trio that really surprised me (although a mention in dispatches for Holding).
When I saw the team sheet I was overjoyed by the attack but certainly felt the midfield was simply too many rotations. Wow, how wrong was I. They were outstanding.
As I am someone who always blames the chap at the top when things go wrong, I don’t remember me ever bowing quite so low to Arsene as I did post match. It was an outstanding performance from the manager.
This morning I fancy Arsene has a massive headache, and it concerns team selection for the upcoming two PL games. Welbeck, Perez and Walcott have demanded selection and really, they are contesting two slots alongside Sanchez.
For me though, the biggest question mark is over The Ox. Has he done enough to start alongside Coquelin? I think so.
Happy Sunday Gooners from Admin 🙂
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Couldnt agree with you more on walcott. The man has no football brain! Id rather have kept campbell!
Ha ha ha, the 5 for Theo, or should I call him Hatrick Theo, was always gong to be a great talkie 🙂
I did not watch the game but how does one get a hatrick and be rated 5? Funny
Great co-operative match report … thanks guys 🙂
I’m still smiling after that shackles-off game 🙂
The Ox and M-N were the 2 big surprises … nice surprises. M-N has a future, not as a wing back but centrally
We paid the same for Lucas as ‘that lot’ did for Jansen …. unlike them, we got a really good deal.
Danny is a proper striker, he’s got the lot … and he’s an Arsenal-type of guy.
Gibbs … fantastic servant to the club
Not much to disagree with on the double-Posts, LB andMickish, and even the assessments on Marmite-Theo were compatible. 🙂
We will all have our own views on the player ratings, but I thought the MOTM could have been shared between the goal scorers, Theo and Danny -yer need the goals, but also with the main provider Perez, but The Jeff was superb with his quick feet mesmerising the oppositon in the tightest of areas – sorry LB – and then I was impressed with young Niles and Holding, but the Ox played some magnificent balls to switch defense to attack – and then — well as I said earlier, the whole team could have been MoTM.
It would be unrealistic to expect this result to confirm any of these players, not already in the 1st team, to make a dramatic appearance anywhere but on the bench – but they have all signalled their ability and will be ready if called on.
I am not a great Theo fan, after all these disappointing years – but altho the goals were put on a plate for him, he had to put them away and I thought he did well – even if LB is right – his close control is not good, and his tackling non-existent, but credit where it is due.
[To be honest, I was not expecting that performance, or the result – so it made the game even more pleasurable] 🙂
Hi everyone LB said he made a mix perez gets a 10
Yea this lb making huge mistake with them rating, a Hatrick apparently get u a 5 rating
Nailed it, the pair of you.
Completely agree with the 5 for Theo – just imagine what he could be like if he finds some form to go with the goalscoring. 🙂
It was a lovely day out with everyone expecting it to be difficult and it was beautifully simple, stunning and stress-free.
One of the things that I really liked yesterday was watching the Arsene Wenger show. Normally when a manager gets banned and has to spend a few games in the stand we see him up there with usually just one other person, not yesterday, they really circled the wagons, they took about 10 people to sit around him, even Pat Rice was drafted back in.
Did you also notice all the row in front were wearing white shirts and the Arsenal red club tie the same behind him, they looked like FBI body guards, the only thing missing was the classic FBI aviator sun glasses.
As others have said I like the fact that he got up and applauded Welbeck’s first goal, it was the pick of the bunch.
“Beautifully simple, stunning and stress-free”
That actually is the match report right there.
That picture of Steve Bould makes me howl.
Lovely read about a game when everything went right.
And the pic is very, very funny.
great reports, almost as good as the game last night
What a difference has Welbeck made to the team! Unbelievable. And there is me thinking that football is a team game.
Being a doomer I cannot enjoy in anticipation the return of Danny. No, instead I am sad about the games he had missed during his long injury layoff. So Wenger did buy us an excellent striker and if not for sodding bad luck we would be champions last season and top of the tree this season.
I hope Danny stays fit, because I have seen some extreme talent last night playing for the opposition. Dale Ally, Sane, Helder Costa are all young and very gifted. The EPL is becoming better and better, hard to keep up with
I have been thinking about which of the 5 goals was my favourite and I think it is the first. Brilliant pass from Perez and an inspired run/finish from Danny.
Can I take this opportunity to say how much I dislike Fellaini?
Seems as good a time as any…………
Cheers Lads
Lovely to watch. Particularly intrigued by Maitland Niles? He is deceptively quick, like a Crab on steroids. I began racking my brain to recall the other hallucinogenic Crustacean who played for us, and then it came, Alex Song. But he can’t be Song? He can pass the ball.
Yesterday just proved how well managed the Club is. The strength of our squad and the emergence of further talents from the youth system is testimony to this reality with the end result been 20 years of consistent results culminating in Champions League football.
The Ghosts of the Thirties are Stirring
Danny Welbeck’s celebrations pose – is he about to come out? Do we care?
As long as he scores goals like he did yesterday he can shag my pitbull if he wants to
For anyone wondering about Welbs celebration.
of course 🙂
All yesterday proved was we have the best squad in the league. It doesn’t usually give us much of an advantage in the league as teams don’t normally have 8 or 9 injuries, but yesterday showed what happens when our squad players play against other teams squad players.
I think the Walcott score/criticism is a bit unfair as it doesn’t take into account what his speed brings to our team, regardless of his technical deficiencies. He’s in the team to score and create goals, which he does pretty well, but also to stretch the opposition. Without him there is not as much space for the likes of Özil (Ox yesterday) and Sanchez (Perez yesterday) to operate in. If you have too many players who want to take touches and be involved in the build up then it can become easy to defend against. Having Walcott in the team makes us a much more difficult team to stop. It will be interesting to see how Welbs fits into the team once he’s fully fit as he is also capable of stretching teams, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see a front 3 of Sanchez, Welbeck, Walcott in the near future. That would scare the shit out of me if I was trying to defend against that with Özil threading passes.
Dear Slim
May I humbly suggest that you read my Welbeck rating above.
You used the term the term “scare the shit” but the thing that you may not know is that you can’t swear in headline posts, so I politely used the word “awesome” but what I really wanted to say was that I think that the combo of Welbeck, Sanchez and Walcott are going to be Fucking Awesome.
Adelaide was a cool 8 to me or even more.
Trump May Bould
Superb work, although one wonders what kind of mind was behind it
Oh Oh Oh I want THAT
Morning Chas
Urrr, the first one of the two
Slow down tiger
FAC draw this evening
I think it’s usually after the draw of this round that the words “name is on the cup” usually appear when a big side gets an easier looking home draw while a few other bigs collide
micky – what is your angry in-law saying about Trump?
I remember muslim and latino campainers with signs ‘Muslims for Trump’. ‘Latinos for Trump’. ‘Women for Trump’. Well, they got what they wanted
https://twitter.com/ARSENALGIRL1971/status/825799939993243648
Eddie
I tend to avoid crossing swords with her as I still like that brother 🙂
Here’s an insight into her mind Last time I was there she was banging on about saving monkeys in Borneo or some such place and lecturing me on the evils of palm oil that destroys their habitat. Good so far. Then she tucked in to the foie gras 🙄
She’s one of those.
oh yeah, I remember the foie gras story. As I said before – not made of monkey meat, perfectly ok to eat 🙂 For some reason I thought she was married to your sister rather than brother
films awards time in LA, unwatchable.
BUT there is one film with lots of nominations ‘Manchester by the Sea’ – one of the best films I have seen, strongly recommend
Great Christmas stocking this morning.
Enjoyed the Lauren read but unfortunately the twitter account is private so unable to read that.
Morning All,
I want the Micky subbuteo figure 7.09. Are they commercially available?
5-0 away gave AW the perfect opportunity to say we have a full squad and will not buy in January.
Shame.
Hang on Erik, think laterally like LB
ie Arsene would say that wouldn’t he so as to keep the price down
Am I warm LB? 🙂
Lauren article a fine read. Highly recommended.
Micky
I think AW would say that but I don’t expect any new signings over the age of 17 in this window.
Love the Greizman rumours, although, could be just a bargaining tool in the Sanchez negotiation.
I think the Ozil deal is done but they will announce that when we are told the AW has extended.
Saints preserve us…….
Thanks for the pre-match and report Raddy and LB. Sorry I wasn’t around and also apologies to Micky for not being around to chew the fat with him on a weekend for the purists.
It probably just sums up how I have felt all along about having greater pace and dynamism in the side. The Ox was a surprise as I haven’t felt that position was his best. Still not sold on him being a permanent answer there but will say more on that when I have time.
Here’s a weird stat: I think we only have the one injury in Santi
Xhaka will be fresh as a daisy pretty soon as well 🙂
That can’t be right but perhaps it is. Even JW is fit !
This is what I’ve done with my time today, Erik
Out of Giroud’s seven league goals this season, only two have been scored before the 70th minute
Erik
Bearing in mind I called the US election when Trump was 4:1 against, the Brexit vote and the Scottish Referendum, I predict you will be much richer by the end of this year 🙂
As far as the Giroud stat is concerned, isn’t that partly because 3 of his goals have been scored as a substitute and we all know AW doesn’t really like making subs before the 68th minute.
Still, I’m sure you wouldn’t like to give a slanted view of the facts just to make a point! 🙂
Ok, let’s try this
Who’s the best defensive right back, Bell or Gabriel and I’m thinking about against Hazard at the weekend?
So as a starter, 2 have been scored before and 2 after the 70th minute.
Have I been rumbled Chas? 🙂
Oh, and I most certainly would slant facts 🙂
Ok, so I was trying to add some statistical weight to the argument for leaving him on the bench rather than resorting to personal abuse 🙂
Your efforts are as transparent as Trump’s hairpiece.
He wears a hairpiece?
wow, that’s creepy
I’m not saying I want Giroud to start in favour of a more dynamic centre forward or anything like that, just that I wish he was given some credit for his contribution to our positon in the League.
Here’s some stats for you.
Minutes per goal
Giroud 84′
Kane 112′
Costa 118′
Aguero 120′
Sanchez 125′
Ibrahimovic 135′
Lukaku 152′
Walcott 168′
I get what you’re saying and you’re a nice guy
All I say is he’s a brilliant sub, and I mean that
Blimey, I’ve just been watching some Bowie vids from 2002. God, only 14 years before his tragic death he looked so well and happy. Definitely a lesson for us all.
Giroud has impressive stats and has signed a new contract. Still a super-sub for me.
Welbz – Alexis – Theo.
Or Welbz – Alexis – Perez
Danny through the middle for me
There can be no conclusion to the Theo debate I f
I assume the premise is which are our best three up top?
The difficulty is that all three of Welbeck, Sanchez and Perez want to play number 9 but all three can play on the left which only leaves Walcott being capable of playing on the right.
Giroud has been incredibly effective………..in the second half.
totts v Fulham
we have Sutton united!!!!!
Yes, LB, but 4 of his 10 goals have come in the first half.
Great draw!
Or is it?
Great draw but I would have liked a home draw now
http://arsenalist.com/f/2016-17/other/watch-sutton-utd-draw-arsenal-in-the-fa-cup-draw.html
Sutton have a ground capacity of 5,300 with only 800 seats.
Surely it would be better for them to play at The Emirates. After all they are highly likely to lose and will want to earn as much as possible.
I like Sanchez at the front of attack, he has developed Suarez style skills and we can have a WSW frontline.
BTW Ex-Gunner Craig Eastmond plays for Sutton and their mascot is Jenny the Giraffe who will be a tough opponent for Gunnersaurus.
Ant – where is Sutton?
Bellerin of course Micky
Thanks Fred
I was thinking that if Theo was ahead, then maybe the more stay-put Gabriel might be more sensible, but maybe like you, Bell is more attack and that is always the way to go 🙂
Great draw for us, and like Erik, I reckon it’ll probably be at The Ems which will be good news for Sutton
Rest of the draw is rubbish, just like the last round
Looking at the FA rules I think this is true.
I always saw Giroud as the pantomime villain on this site, no one really dislikes him its just some, like me, think there are better starting options.
By the way where on earth is Sutton anyway, is it the coal field one or the one near Croydon?
Yep bellerin all the way anytime you need doubt just remember those last ditch tackles he makes
Who beat Liverpool again
Wolves
To get the Payet look …You just wouldn’t know where to start looking
A comment under the Payet photo said it was the Sports Direct Pearly King look.
micky – payet look wouldn’t suit you
stick to classics – torn jeans, no socks, some bling around the neck and brand of underwear showing
Thinking of looks, Mesut is definitely other worldly. I mean, if you were going to cast They came from another galaxy, you’d look no further would you?
Eddie
Is that the calibre dress sense you get in Cuffley
Chas
So no shifting of the cup tie to the ems, appears harsh on the minnow
Mesut has amazing body, he has perfect build, like a doll. I love watching him on the pitch, he is so graceful
Cuffley look? At least one item of clothing with a skinny chicken logo on it, disgusting. Next door are head to toe navy trucksuits with the said chicken.
The no ground switch apparently came in after Farnborough switched their tie to Highbury in 2003.
We won 5-1.
They trousered £1m
“trousered” ha ha ha love that expression
bloody hell, I have just seen the Sutton fans celebrating drawing Arsenal!!! They are all like ‘dream come true’ , ‘magnificent draw’, some are even singing ‘we got Arsenal FC’
What’s that all about? We are going to bury them. Masochists??
dog 🙂 🙂
Eddie- Sutton is slighter further from the Scottish border than Arsenal (and Burnley)
Morning All,
Will be tough to get Sutton tickets for our Away Boyz. Expect a Pretendie.
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