Was it really that bad? Enough to launch a Wenger Out campaign? Enough to insist upon radical changes in our squad?
Let me start with a statement which IMO is clearly true. Had we played our best 11 at SB we would have taken the points. We couldn’t and didn’t but that is not all …
We lost thanks to a dreadful refereeing decision.
Chelsea’s first goal came from a violent foul which affected not just the scoreline but the whole of AW’s plans. Bellerin was essential to our game at SB, Theo is pants without him, and we have no-one else with real pace to combat the Chavs attack.
A proper ref would have sent The Deviant Chav off and cancelled the goal. I was apoplectic that a cowardly elbow to the face should be rewarded with a gaol. It was not just crap refereeing, it was rewarding violent and dangerous play.
If it happened in the street it would have been ABH.
So, at one stroke the Chavs have removed a vital member of our team, scored a goal and are cock-a-hoop. We on the other hand have Gabriel at LB against a world class frontline.
Furthermore, the loss of Xhaka and Ramsey forced AW to rely upon hardworking but ultimately ineffective midfield, which could have a long-term impact upon the career of both Ox and Coq.
There is no getting away from the negatives, we lost an important game in a manner which hurt (forgetting the idiotic refereeing decision), and it raises questions…
- Ozil. Can a player be considered world class if he disappears in Big Games?
- If Sanchez leaves, would we be a better team?
- Walcott. What was his role?. The lack of intelligence of our front 3 was worrying.
- Cech. Is it time to promote Ospina?
- Monreal is a lovely chap but we have needed better for two seasons (if we can find someone)
- Coquelin. It isn’t his fault that Santi, Elneney, Xhaka and Ramsey are out, all of whom would start ahead of Ox, but it was time for Coq to show he is the go-to DM in the Arsenal team. IMO he showed he is a squad player.
- Ox. Where to start? Watford and SB, an ideal setup for him. Watford to get into the role of CM and Chavs to mix it with the best. He has all the attributes and did OK but we need more. I worry for his future. He needs a big game on the weekend (if picked)
Let’s be honest, the League was lost with the Watford game. Chas called it – he said it was a MWG, and it was. AW recognised it – in his press conference, Arsene’s face was a grey as his hair and tracksuit, he looked like John Major post election defeat. He was spent.
We are not as good as we should be but we are certainly good enough to challenge for second. A win tomorrow will start the repair process.
written by Big Raddy
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
The Chelsea result wasn’t that bad, it was the Watford result that killed us. The fans who want Wenger removed should be careful for what they wish for!
Cheers, BR.
I laughed when you said I called it with the Watford game as I say every game is a MWG. 🙂
I agree that Watford was the moment the League became out of our reach.
Chelsea away was always going to be one of the more difficult games of the season. For the Wenger haters to use it as a springboard for protests etc is, quite frankly, ludicrous.
My favourite comment post-Chelsea game was this below from GoonerB.
It tallies with your assessment above and includes none of the inflamed rhetoric which spilled out into many other comments after Saturday.
Thank you Raddy for the post
I too feel that the Watford loss had more of an impact on my feelings and would have damaged team confidence more or at least it should have. Shit happens in football matches but a good team should be able to respond better than we did against Watford.
Thank you for pointing out that Theo and Hector make an great pairing down that wing and that Theo doesn’t seem to play well without Hector behind him.
I believe that Theo can do better and hope he finds the fire he had at the start of the season.
Looking forward to tomorrow now 🙂 amazing how a few days heals a broken heart.
Completely delusional, it was an awful display, predictable, clueless, tactically inept, lack of effort. This team is dead. Wenger cannot motivate these players any more. He needs to come out an announce he is going this season sooner rather than later because i really do not believe we will make top 4 this year the way we are playing. City, Utd and Spurs are in much better form than we are and will not drop the stupid points we do in games like watford. Craig Burley is right most arsenal fans are ‘spineless’ in accepting mediocrity and the notion that top 4 is a trophy. It’s not we make the same mistakes year on year, we don’t learn from it and we end up with nothing to play for by february except the poxy fa cup. Arsenal have been backward as a club for years now, since dein left we have not improved at all, we have gone backwards. I really hope their up some big changes this summer and we might need to finish out of the top 4 for that to happen.
Big Raddy,
Ozil and Sanchez would be amazing if used tactically correctly..look how they play for their countries. Walcott has wasted 10 years of his career not being educated on how to position yourself defensively. Cech is in poor form but shouldnt be scapegoat for a side that can’t defend. Monreal is a good player but is constantly in the wrong defensive position as is bellerin who can make up for it because of his pace. Coquelin started off great but has been wengered. Ox should definitely start in CM.
raddy – thank you for the late match report
It is becoming a habit of mine not to watch the game till the end. Many a times now I went to bed in a hoof. That is why I missed the Wenger interview. Was he really ashen? That is so sad, I really feel for him. Why did he not retire in glory 2 years ago? Fergie knew when to leave
stew – I am with you. We looked pathetic at times during the Chelsea game. One of the worst teams in years with more than ever brilliant players. So what is really going on at the Emirates? I haven’t got a clue, but there are some top professionals employed at the AFC to know and to give us some answers.
my postman has just been here and told me that Wenger allegedly said that our fans should be more like the Spurs mob. Did he really say that or did my scoucer postman is stirring shit?
oh no, he did say “You have Tottenham, everyone is in the fight and everyone is behind their team. We have to do exactly the same, even if we had two disappointing results.”
that is not going to please some fans
Stewdog. Just because I do not agree with you, it does not make me “Completely delusional”
Paying attention to Craig Burley seems to me to be less than sensible.
Last season, you said exactly the same – that we wouldn’t finish Top 4. We finished a creditable second.
Morning all, and thanks Raddy. Thanks also Chas for favouring my comment…there was me thinking I had become an irrelevance in your mind….the bromance is back on Chas darling 🙂
BTW, I started to write a comment that started to get longer (shock / horror) and so thought why not just go for it further and make it a post. Have sent it to NUTS. I will let the powers that be decide if it is of any use and when.
Craig who?
Eddie, I think his comments have been sorely twisted. My understanding is that he referenced many clubs we are in a fight with in the league (including Spuds) and that Arsenal like all clubs need their fans behind them to help with this.
I think it was a plea to help with the cause. I don’t think at any time he solely referenced and made a special mention of Spuds and their fans in isolation. That was just for the headline comment twisting media. I think it is so far away from what he actually implied that it really ought to be a legal issue for defamation of character / slander e.t.c. I might be wrong though.
This is what he said.
He mentioned that we were in a fight with Man U, Man City, Liverpool and we all have to be united.
He forgot Tottenham, so added them on in the next sentence as you can see.
The media have twisted this to make it sound like he was saying our fans should be more like spud fans.
Only a moron would believe such bollocks. Everyone else would see it for the shit-stirring that it is.
GoonerB @12.25
You are bang on.
This is Wiki’s section for Craig Burley’s Honours won while playing for Chelsea.
“He went on to become a regular under Glenn Hoddle and played in the 1994 FA Cup Final against Manchester United, picking up a runners-up medal following a 4–0 defeat. Two years later, Chelsea got to the FA Cup semi finals where they again faced Manchester United. With the score level at 1–1, Burley hit an errant back pass to set up David Beckham for what proved to be the winning goal.[3] Chelsea won the 1996–97 FA Cup; Burley was left out of the squad for the final but played in the semi-final against Wimbledon.[4]”
This explains how much regard we should have for Craig Burley’s opinion. He even put a fish on a hook symbol in his tweet! Hooked some right slippery dicks.
http://www.football365.com/news/arsenal-this-week-whos-next-its-just-a-game
I remember those lips from a dark dingy corner of the FFB 🙂
off for a bit
In the post I raise quite a few questions, some are important particularly IMO No.2.
But they are for posts during the next weeks.
GB. The media are behind the anti-AW campaign as we saw when the Black Scarves tried to have the ground full of AW Out A4 leaflets. If one was to believe the media one would have expected so much more.
And what will happen when (hopefully if) they drive AW out. They will always compare our new manager to the “Great AW” 😀
Hi Raddy while I don’t necessarily disagree with your post I feel that our problem still remains to be our performances in the 6 point games.
So far this season here are results in the 6 pointers.
Liverpool (h) 3-4
Chelsea (h) 3-0
Spurs (h) 1-1
Man U (a) 1-1
Man C (a) 1-2
Chelsea (a) 1-3
5 out of 18 points is unacceptable, especially when the lost 13 points go to our key opponents.
Home points 4 out of 9 (44.4%)
Away 1 out of 9 (11.1%)
Total points 5 out of 18 (27.7%)
That is simply an abysmal performance and the “big” games continue to be our Achilles heel. We cannot continue to believe that poor refereeing or injuries to key players are the reason. I think it boils down to two issues
(A) Key players not showing up for work.
(B) Naive tactics – maybe we should play our normal style at home and go more defensive in away games and hope to score on the break.
Time to take a DEEP breath!!!
And we still have to play Liverpool (a) – Man C (h) – Spurs (a) and Man U (h) this equals 29% of our remaining games. It seems like its going to be a real dog fight to gain a CL position.
Thanks Erik, we needed a refresher.
You say Question No2 is particularly important. Well, I was looking at No1 and the Mesut issue
Reading GN5’s observation about playing differently away, I’d like to suggest combining the two ie against Bayern for example, muscle up to the gills in midfield and lose the No10 role altogether.
Sanchez Danny Mesut
Xhaka Elneny
Coq
Mmmm, that line up didn’t space out all pretty like I carefully did
I’m off out on a grocery run for my daughter I’ll take a stab at Raddy 7 questions when I get back.
@mikididit89
like the idea of the proposed formation . Still think Ox should be in there however, a speedster in the middle heighten the tempo..he Our game has always been about the beats…
Gooner69
Absolutely superb. That’s the first time I’ve ever tested positive on the tactics formation scale 🙂
£50m of cocaine found on Norfolk beaches!!! Later!!!
Ha ha ha Eddie
I saw that. Boy oh boy, is the chap who got the wrong day/time to pick it up in the soup or what
Good read BR
superb clearance
Can we assume you and Ant are “mobilising” early tomorrow?
7.18 bus
8.05 train
8.10 first beer
Now that’s a timetable.
First beer just after sunrise, who needs a yardarm!
8.25 second beer – rinse and repeat
9.45 have successfully annoyed anyone who doesn’t like AA being ……..dragged down
9.56 Arrive St Pancras
10.30 Pub (location of which not decided as yet)
11.30 Join VengaAhhhht demo at Bear Island
12.30 kick off
2.25 game ends
3.15 Train from St P.
4.55 Nottingham
5.30 Home
No drinking allowed on buses?
Wow, hauntingly beautiful.
Are you suggesting it’s the new song for Arsenal?
Seems appropriate. 😆
who’s song was it originally, Joy division?
no. Andy Carroll does not look like any mother I have ever seen.
wtf is that???!!!!
Sorry, prefer the original.
Hearing it could be a new look side for tomorrow with a bayern in mind.. cech, bellerin, mustafi, koscielny, gibbs, oxlade chamberlain, coquelin, reine adelaide, lucas, sanchez
Completely delusional, it was an awful display, predictable, clueless, tactically inept, lack of effort. This ArsenalFanTV is dead.
Morning All,
6.01. Good start to the day.
VP. Not something I ever watch but is it dead?
Stewdog. Very interesting team. Unlikley.
6.53 😀 😀 That is better than a stupid scarf or A4 piece of paper.
Time to leave for the bus
bus?? did you lose your licence? drink driving no doubt
first page news: “Arsene Wenger has told Ian Wright his time as Arsenal boss is “coming to the end”, claims the Gunners legend”
what Wrighty has actually said was that he has a feeling that Wenger will leave in the summer. A feeling
They have to fill the papers. It is their job to write complete unfounded bollocks. Difference between them and us is they get paid for doing it 😦
Thomas Tuchel or Massimilliano Allegri?
Oooh, it could be an exciting summer, so much speculations and expectations? What do you reckon Didit?
what are you saying Raddy, you want us to give to dosh for your PMs? how much? in pounds and pence please
Morning all, to borrow from another saying ….. this is the first day of the rest of our season 🙂
To dosh or not to dosh, that is the question
How very dare you Eddie
6.53 😀 😀 That is better than a stupid scarf or A4 piece of paper.
Thanks Raddy, you talk such sense
Ant. Oh no I don’t
I’m thinking Arsenal Arsenal should be renamed Complete Unfounded Bollocks.
Eddie could be chief post writer. 💅
Morning all
This is Arsenal football for you. Match Day and we’re all raring to go.
Fabulous.
Has Granit completed his ban?
Eddie. I will take anything on offer. These are hard times.
Morning Didit. When you moved did you take your smoking oven?
Come on Micky, let’s have some unfounded tactical Bolleaux from you.
Or some scandal?
Oh yes you do..
Your smoking oven and your plimsolls must have been essential
Eddie can I have £50 please?
Micky
The worst and most depressing comment I saw all week was you saying you’d only make football comments from now on.
Really sad.
Erik
Wow, forgot about that. No, I didn’t, although not sure why not. It was very Heath Robinson, quite sticky and dripping with tar, so Mrs Didit may have said something like “You are NOT taking that pile of shit”
Ah, that chestnut Chas
My thinking was my persistent bollocks keeps the football chatty people away, and that perhaps lying low (flu did that for me as it turned out) would return the site to being busier
Like fuck. The footbally people are lazy bastards.
Ant
You should pay attention. I came out with an absolute stonker of a formation yesterday and received high praise for it 🙂
It was a 4-1-2-3. So there 🙂
Micky you are right. They are LB’s.
It was only a couple of months ago that there was general consensus they would throw in a short post (just a few lines) every couple of weeks. Nothing onerous. And what did we get?
We got Zip.
yeah, I could be the chief post writer and you the chief editor – spotting every mistake, every wrong date place and occasion, nit picking to your content
You’re probably right.
It’s just that when it’s only football it becomes tedious as f*ck in my trivial-minded opinion.
Eddie. Can’t I have the editor job – chas is too busy at the hairdressers
so, Allegri, Tuchel or Howe, what’s his name with pink round face K…
Who’s content?
Not me, that’s for sure.
Koeman , Dutch, no thank you
Kocksucka?
no, that’s you! I am talking about football managers
I vote for Don Howe
I haven’t been to the barbers for over 20 years.
Eddie as manager and Micky as coach..a lethal combination
you are probably right Ant, EDDIE Howe is probably the top candidate despite Allegri taking English lessons
I vote for Free Mead
chas – and it’s showing
Who mentioned barbers? 🙂
Eddie
Yes, Joy Division 🙂
Not been to Mickys hedge-cutting service either.
Don’t you fancy me anymore, Eddie?
I agree with Shaka
http://www.espnfc.co.uk/club/arsenal/359/blog/post/3057034/massimiliano-allegri-not-ideal-replacement-for-arsene-wenger-at-arsenal
Micky
I did appreciate your formation from yesterday. Very Mourinhoesque. ☠️
Micky, it was your spacing that let you down. Granit is banned until April 1st
Wonder when whether we will see BFG today
It’s now a Unisex Salon, actually Chas. Does wimin an’ all
BFG’s head is too small for that body
He’s a bit gimpy, ain’t he?
Granit can play CL.
9:11 ?
Can’t work it out from the badge either. OYS? OS and a tree?
Shalke?
Bob Knows
Micky-
http://www.oceanyachtsystems.co.uk
Stuttgart?
Maybe we should get Captain Birdseye as our new manager?
ha ha ha 🙂
As in Hello Sailor?
What about Captain Mainwaring?
How about Captain Noncommittal?
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