I don’t really know where to go with a post like this…
That Cup was probably the most bread and butter final we’ve had since we defeated Southampton a few years ago at Cardiff. We flopped on the big stage and we did in embarrassing fashion. It wasn’t about effort or any of the obvious things people keep pointing to, it was just purely down to two shambolic pieces of defending.
Nicola Zigic is a very limited player, he’s an oaf who if a foot shorter would certainly not be gracing the Premiership. The only way he was going to impact the result yesterday was if he was allowed to cause problems from set plays. Well his chance came shortly after Sagna gave the ball away to Birmingham who won a corner. The set play into the box was calamitous and amazing considering how many were involved. Koscielny lost Johnson who flicked the ball on. JD somehow mananged to lose the tallest man on the pitch who nodded past the flapping Chezzer.
All Arsenal’s progress defensively came spiralling undone when it counted.
Arsenal responded with a roaming Jack Wilshere run that ended up with him hitting the bar. Moments later he set the ball rolling for Arshavin who cut the ball back to Robin. The Dutchman was on hand to volley into the far corner. The Arsenal end erupted with noise. Could we be on our way to our first final win of the last 5 years?
Sadly it wasn’t to be. The second half never really kicked off. We stuttered with our play never truly breaking into full flow. Samir Nasri caused the most problems, in particular with a long ranger than was dealt with in apparent world-class style by Ben Foster.
Birmingham were creating as well. Fahey hitting the post. The big worry came for me with our substitutions. We took off Robin Van Persie and brought on Nik B, which really didn’t work. Then we withdrew Andrey Arshavin for Chamakh, which also didn’t work. The two players who were most likely to do some damage were taken off and replaced with two players who probably drew a cheer from the Birmingham end.
I was staggered that Rosicky wasn’t removed, he’d been absolutely awful all afternoon. What purpose does he serve the team these days?
Anyway, the writing was on the wall, Obafembi Martins of back flip notoriety came on and you sensed something could go off. His agent has been trying to get him a move to us for the last 15 years, this was revenge time. A ball looped into the box, Koscielny went to clear it, Chesney came out to catch it, the Frenchman missed, Chesney froze and the ball hit him, bounced to the Nigerian who was there to slot home the simplest of winners.
What a joke.
Everyone in the ground looked on open jawed. Pig sick. We knew it was over. There was no one left on the pitch who could save us.
The final whistle blew and we’d been beaten in the easiest cup final you’ll ever likely to see an Arsenal team involved in.
What are the ramifications of this now?
From a defensive perspective what we saw from Chesney was a touch worrying. He clattered Bowyer early on in a Lehmann-esque rush of blood moment, he dithered for the first goal and it looked like poor communication for the eventual winner. The fact is, we called for his inclusion in the team so we’ll have to live with the mistakes he’ll inevitably make as he grows up in the hard and fast world of top class football. I’d suggest he is a bit more humble in his interviews going forward, I feel he’s putting unnecessary pressure on his shoulders with some of the things he says online. He did make some smart saves yesterday, but mistakes like those in the big games will lead to worries about pressure and whether he can handle it.
Oh for a bit of top quality experience between the sticks eh?
Kozzer has been doing very well of late, the mistake he made was pretty poor considering he wasn’t under any pressure. He’s great on the floor, not so good in the air and he does always seem to have a Senderos moment in him. Yesterday showed that he has a long way to go if he’s ever going to live up to the premature Paulo Maldini reputation he’s gained from many Arsenal fans over the past month. Tommy Vermaelen can’t come back quick enough, can he?
Games like yesterday weren’t lost on attacking impotence, they were lost because we couldn’t keep a clean sheet. I’d have liked another aerial specialist in the defence. Someone like Samba or Wheater would have done nicely because we really struggle against the aerial bully boys, even with JD in the side. Still, no signing in the January window would have saved yesterdays game.
The hardest thing to stomach is that a team so full of attacking verve and spark is completely lost without Cesc Fabregas. No one seems to have that killer directness when he’s not in the side. It really does make you fear what would happen should he leave for pastures new this summer. Sad thing is, performances like that will only embarrass the Spaniard. We need to show Cesc we’re a top side with or without him. Losing to Birmingham is poor however you box it up.
Was Wenger as bold as he could have been yesterday? I didn’t think so. I thought Rosicky in the middle of the park was a poor decision. If you’re selecting on form, the Czech shouldn’t be anywhere near the team. He done virtually nothing in most games he’s played this season and he’s certainly not capable of opening up defences like he used to. I’d have preferred Diaby or Nasri in the middle.
At least with the Diaby you have his height and the 50/50 chance he might have a storming game. I also felt Wenger’s subs lacked killer instinct. He took off the two players capable of turning the game in a second and brought on two cloggers. That for me wasn’t good enough. Ok, he’s protecting his players, but what will the cost of that be long-term now we’ve lost? Will resting Robin for 20 minutes be worth it if the team fails to respond because of the morale sapping Cup Final loss? Only time will tell…
We’ve been here so many times before. 1 bad result has often been enough to destroy our season. Could it happen again? What are these boys made of? Who is there, in that team, that is capable of lifting the spirits? Jack Wilshere has all the swagger of a future captain, but does he have enough experience to pick the boys up on his own? As fans we can wallow in self-pity, we can worry about what is going to happen, but we’ve got to get out there against Orient on Tuesday and support them 100% and hope for a response of epic proportions over the next month.
The feeling outside the ground was not a nice one. I was accused of being a Wenger apologist, so you can imagine how angry people were. These views weren’t expressed by jolly come lately’s, these were views expressed by fans who follow the club all over the country. However well we think we’re doing this season, beneath the surface there is a simmering fear amongst most fans that things are going to go horribly wrong like they have done for the past few years. We’re only ever 4 games from being out of everything, our season is teetering right now.
The boys either man up, stand up and make their attitudes count. Or the curl up and die like a bunch of pathetic over paid wannabe superstars.
It’s as simple as that for me. We have it all to play for now and as fans, we have a duty to back them in the ground. This is either going to be a turning point for the good or a turning point like one of those miserable Greek tragedy things.
I’m numb today… I’m hoping to snap out of this by lunch time. There is nothing as grotty as losing in a Cup Final. I’m mentally hungover. I’m pretty sure the beer hasn’t helped. I’m pretty sure the curry I nailed at midnight didn’t help. Still, we’ll get over this… we’re in as many competitions as United now.
Good luck Gooners… stay strong, keep your phone switched off, Spurs fans are on the loose…
MatthewT – nobody should be surprised. I’ve been bloody telling everyone that all season!
MatthewT – I’m not surprised, and I still don’t think he’s that bad.
I think most people get tired of those that exaggerate things needlessly, like saying Bordeaux were a second rate French side.
johny rotten was on the radio on sat, v funny interview, great when he was talking about arry v funny.
He wont go to the emirates, does not like it
Keyser
Maybe you can correct me, where exactly do you rate a mid table french league side ?
Bordeaux were in the Champions League quarters last season and were fighting for the championship title last year. they won it in 08/09.
they’ve not been challegning this season and that’s partly because Chamakh has left. More so due to the departure of Yoann Gourcuff though.
They’d piss over half the premiership
They were Champions the year before, displacing Lon, who have pretty dominated the league in the last decade, and reached the Quarter finals of the Champions League last year.
*Lyon
No doubt Chamakh has turned crap but it wasn’t a bad signing, he was scoring goals in the champions league and he started his career at Arsenal well, but he has turned shit
Walcott is still suspect, we need Thierry Henry and Bobby
Big Dave – What radio station was he on ?!
Evan
We signed him because he was free not because he was any good.
Fabianski wouldnt have made that mistake yesterday!
so Szczesny made a mistake, he bigged himself up a lot and the nerves got the better of him?
you can be sure he will learn from that…
The Tuesday club podcast is out for those that need a little pick me up.
WTF?! Vela again on the bench!!!! Bolton would be so much better for him. Strange that WBA doesn’t play their best player??!
Colonel Gaddafi media blackout.
This is a really top post, and I can imagine it was very hard to bring yourself to write. I’m guessing we’re all numb right now. Personally I can’t go more than 30 mins without seeing a flashback of that awful moment.
Ped is absolutely right to knock on the head the nonsense being spouted about ‘not being up for it’ and ‘not being committed enough’. We started nervously, of that there can be no doubt, and things could have been a whole lot worse for us if not for a kind linesman.
But the bottom line is that what beat us was not a lack of desire, or a lack of a world class keeper, or even the lack of a giant centre back (though one of those might have helped). We were playing well by the end of the game, and the substitutions had all improved our effectiveness (despite it being undeniably surprising that Arshavin was taken off instead of Rosicky). Had it gone to extra time I am sure we would have won it.
Instead what beat us was simply one of those moments of awful luck that can befall any team, but happened to us at the worst possible moment in the game. (Had it happened even 5 minutes earlier we might well have rescued the game.) And by the way, I’m not even really sure there is anyone to blame for it as such. Kozzer heard a call so pulled out of his clearance at the last moment. Chezzer, despite calling, was understandably wrong-footed by Kozzer’s ‘dummy’ and the worst possibly result happened. And while perhaps a more experienced defender would have just put his foot through it, you can at least understand why he pulled out on hearing a call. Had it spilled in any other direction we might have got away with it…
Horrible, horrible luck, and it makes me fear that we won’t win anything this season. And that could lead to key players leaving, and yet another rebuilding period. Sickening!
Ped is absolutely right though – we are still in as many competitions as Man U, and 2 or 3 more than most teams. We need to get behind this team and help them rebuild the confidence that must have been smashed by yesterday.
In the end what beat us was simply one of those awful accidents that can befall any player
albo
what a complete AKB pile of shite.
Post of the day, Albo. Post of the bloody day
MatthewT,
not entirely true, IMO…
but fuck the ‘luck’, the players seemed like they could not be arsed and paid the ultimate price…
we are better than losing 2:1 to Birmingham fucking City!
I disagree, SUGA. The scenes at the end showed they cared a lot about yesterday. The whole team is shattered I feel.
This is probably the most psychologically damaging defeat under Wenger’s reign imo.
sure, losing the final against a team hovering just above the relegation zone, fucking up the golden chance served on a silver plate must hurt, eh?
Great post Albo !
Birmingham are much much better than their league position suggests. I’m not excusing our result, but stop making out like Brum are some sort of 2-bob second-rate outfit.
I’m sorry, but where the fuck did you get that from? Quote one comment where I ever remotely said anything but the exact opposite to that! I spent the entire day saying how nervous I was and how decent a team Birmingham are!
What a complete made up load of bollocks that is, based (presumably) solely on the fact that I don’t spend all my time on here slagging off Arsene Wenger!
There were plenty of people saying we had been offered the cup on a plate, and that it would be ‘a piece of piss’ but it sure as fuck wasn’t me!
SUGA3
Poor performances of both the team and individuals like that have cost us time and time again this season. Its happened to often for it to be bad luck.
We are inconsistent, we lack quality in depth and we lack quality in defence and in goal.
I also think a big problem is that there is a lack of experianced quality players at the club to guide the youngsters. They have only every really played with kids their own age or in leagues where the standard isn’t as high as the premiership.
I don’t think its a coincidence that our two best players, Cesc and Wilshere, are the only ones to really experience playing top flight english league football along side seasoned veterans.
MatthewT – Heh, please let me get this straight.
The point about Wilshere ? Do you mean because he’s got into the first team soo quickly or that he spent time on loan at Bolton ?!
The latter would be too silly for words.
Keyser
Because he spent time at bolton.
Suga3 – Weren’t you going on about arrogance and a lack of respect for teams and Cups ?!
Keyser.
Talkshite
albo, how long do we say that there are going to leave big players? It’s just not going to happen! They have a contract and they will stay, we have such a good team. But our reserves are shit and we have to buy some quality signings and let some youngsters coming through. Bojan can leave barca, he can be brilliant for us!
Good article
http://ladyarse.com/
MatthewT – Mate, if you think that you’re an idiot.
haha, so the latest fad is that Wilshere is as good as he is not because of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger but because he spent a few months at Bolton fucking Wanderers?
Give me a break.
Good post Pedro and an excellent comment from Albo.
Though it could mean us loaning a whole load of players to Birmingham from now on, maybe we could start with the same players who lost the final, like Wilshere.
If Bolton’s team are so great, why the fuck are our bunch of so-called pussies second in the premier league with a pretty decent chance of winning it.
We beat Barcelona ffs. Barcelona. We’re not perfect but just because of yesterday, let’s not make out like we’ve been dire all season.
Keyser
I’ll take being called an idiot by a fella that thinks a mid table french league side are first rate with a pinch of salt.
That is Albo 21:20
I still think its nonsense to claim we played like we ‘couldn’t be arsed’. What I saw from minute one was a lot of players who looked REALLY nervous. If anything the problem was that they cared too much. They knew all the pressure was on them to win, and none on Birmingham, and it took a good 40 minutes before they settled down. As a result, passes went astray (in particular the one from Sagna to Wilshere that led to their goal) and we never got into any kind of rhythm.
That was disappointing, but also understandable. Particularly as our opponent had absolutely nothing to lose. After all, they could have been thumped 4-0 and no one would have blamed them for it. They could go out there and just play their hearts out with no worry whatever about the fallout of losing.
But in the end we had ridden those problems and looked the team by far the most likely to score from about the 70th minute onwards…
Rohan
The whole team plays under the tutelage of Wenger, If that was the deciding factor how come we have so many gutless wonders and complete donkeys in the squad.
Our bloopers reel from the last few years must be hilarious though. Some right clangers we’ve had haha.
@MatthewT – WTF?
@albo – although I do agree we weren’t that bad throughout the game, I still think a more experienced pair of GK and CB wouldve cleared the ball (of course, in 99 out of 100 situations)
MatthewT, the Bordeaux team of the past 2 years would piss over half the premiership if not more.
Bordeaux were a team with players like Yoann Gourcuff, Alou Diarra, and Michael Ciani. All full French interationals. Second rate, my fucking arse.
MatthewT – You can do whatever the hell you want with your salt, could affect you later on in life though, be careful.
Yeah the gutless wonders and donkeys that are currently second in the premiership and just beat Barcelona.
You sure you’re not on the wrong blog?
I understand you’re angry and frustrated about yesterday, but you’re approaching J@guar territory.
London can see into the future.
MatthewT – that is a laughable claim! So, what about RvP, Rosicky, Clichy (to name a few)? Have they never played top flight english league football alongside seasoned veterans?!
(Let me give you a clue – all 3 of them played alongside Henry, Lehman, Ashley Cole, Ljunberg, Lauren, Toure and Gallas!)
pawel – you’re absolutely right, but in fairness, 99 times out of 100 so would Koscienly and Szczesny…
Keyser
Lol, I deserve that.
Rohan
I wouldn’t be so angry if what happened hadn’t had been utterly predictable and if we were unable to have done anything to have prevented it from happening during the past 4 transfer windows.
Everyone that has watched this team for the past few seasons knew in their hearts that there was a good chance of some sort of debacle occuring.
Like the transfer market is going to solve all of one’s problems. Look at the Chavs.
@albo probably youre right…
btw,
I somehow managed to plough through todays comments and, damn, some peoples conclusions after a once-in-a-lifetime-89th-minute-cup-final-fuckup are hillariously far-fetched…
the season defining moments are still ahead of us, the games far from over
Rohan
its always a risk when you buy a player but buying a world class goal keeper and defender stood a better chance of solving our goal keeping and defense problems than not buying anyone at all.
In football you make your own luck.
You cant say you agree with Pedro’s post then go ahead and disagree with pretty much everything he’s said Albo.
Horrible horrible luck?
Thats up there with the pitch excuse.
Rohan
also chelsea have won 3 league titles in the past 6 seasons and did the double last season. so maybe we should follow their model for success because it works.
It’s not just the goal. It was it’s cruel timing. 10 minutes beforehand, we may have been able to muster something.
We were absolutely shell shocked by then.
Not if you’re Man United, you don’t make your own luck. You just get it.
I am disappointed as any of you both I don’t see the reason for suddenly turning against kos,chensey or infact the team….
Kos has been our best defender this season..these things happen in football..dont tell me that a world class defender and keeper have never made a mistake/howler..
Van der saars howler against West Brom? Ivanovic and Cech mix up against liverpool? there are many more cases…its a one of case and its not something which happens everyday…. and the players are upset about it too so dont give me the shit that players didnt care.. Kos was distraught….it was his first final for fucks sake…he’s come leaps and bounds and has to be forgiven for this one mistake… chesney also is world class..yes world class…so stop with the bullshit…
often team with a “nothing to lose” attitude end up winning these big games like birmingham did…. we also beat Barca cuz we had nothing to lose, we had been written out of the champs league as soon as the draw was made….yet we won..thats football rather cup football where these things happen…
lets just get over it..get behind the team and make sure we do well in the other games… the game was mentally damaging for the players and they surely dont need abuses from fans at this point……
Chelsea is a bad comparison though, I admit.
We can’t really afford to spend the sort of money they have over the past 5 years or so.
MathewT – What were your predictions when the transfer window shut in September ?!
Keyser
I said we wouldn’t win anything again this year
MatthewT – and that’s it ? That’s your idea of a prediction ?!
ardentgooner – really good examples of the kind of clangers that can happen to top class players. (You could also add Reina’s calamity in the final minute against us this season).
These things do happen, and they happen to world class players. It is just horrible luck that it happened to us in the final minute of a drawn cup final!
also some one said wenger has no sense of tactics? really??
last week we were all creaming over his tactics as we turned around and beat barcelona…and this week he’s a mug?? really? he’s lost his tactical ability in one week? wtf is wrong with people…… and you can practice all you like…practice 24 7 non stop and yet you cant rule out a mistake like that….it happens in football…players are not robots…and this is certainly not FIFA 11 or fifa manager….so get behind the team ….and shout out “Hands off Cesc ”
Don’t we have the best away defense in the league?
Miyaichi was player of the week. He would have made a difference yesterday.
ardentgooner,
judging by Cesc’s facial expression when that goal went in, it will not take a lot of hands to pull that off…
After the NewCastle Debacle.
Not anymore Rohan
Good post,we should just forget about this bad result, dust ourselves up and keep going.Lets give the boys a well deserved support on wednesday and build the confidence back,we’ve got bigger fishes to fry.If we had won yesterday and it happens that’s the only trophy we’ve won come the end of the season,pls tell me how many gooners will go jumping on top of the roof that we’ve won a trophy this season,guess not many.So lets stay focused coz i’m sure we’ll be atleast level on points or a point ahead of the manc by the end of the next two prem’ fixtures,Come on Arsenal…………..
We lose a couple final to relegation fudder and the best we can say is bad luck.
Christ.
The comments get thicker by the minute.
Rohan, i agree with you. Our defence is very good this season( when djourou is playing). Yesterday was a little bit of bad luck and bad tactics. But if one team deserved to win in the end, it was us. We missed loads of chances and in ET we would have won for sure. But then that mistake happened. The players and the fans need to calm down and win the PL. If united lose points tomorrow, then we are in good position!
It will give the players hope! Come on arsenal! Don’t give up now!
cup*
Smh.
Speaking bout thick comments.
Cescs_MyBoy says:
February 17, 2011 at 11:43
Kolscieny to potentially be one of Wengers greatest ever signings?
———————
Cough.
*ahem*
David, a cup match is always difficult and i think that wwenger was at fault for playing rosicky. But in the end the mistake cost us we would have won in ET.
You have to agree with that. The trophy i want to win the most is the PL, i just want to win the PL!! United doesn’t deserve it. The fans need to stay positive at this point, because the players need support now, their confidence must be good these days.
And if we haven’t won a trophy on 28 may then wenger needs to go and fuck off!
I agree with Cescs. He has been most impressive in my eyes.
I don’t know if you saw Keown’s interview the other day, but when asked which new player had impressed him, the first player out of his mouth was Laurent.
Koscielny will go on to become a legend.
Dan Lewis in 23. Ian Ure in 69. Graham in 72. Winterburn and Ceasar in 88. Seaman in 95. Bergkamp in 99. Keown in 03. Clichy in 08. Fabianski & Gibbs in 09. Kos in 11.
Fucking hell we do have a supreme talent for fucking things up for ourselves, going back 88 years!
And vela doesn’t come off the bench, even odemwingie and tchoyi are coming on the field now but vela stays on the bench!!?? WTF is that?!
We know how you feel about Koscienly.
He’s not better than Djrouru and he sure as piss is not as good as TV.
And theyre both younger.
nah, just kidding with the whole ‘doom’ thing…
I think we will bounce back, this may define our season if the players see how things don’t come easy!
Dutchman,
Im not complaining.
I just think some of these comments are pretty fucking stupid thats all.
Both goals were poor defending.
And we created next to nothing in the second half.
Quote on LadyArse
…Thomas Edison once said that “Many of life’s failures are men who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.”
I like that. In 91 I was gutted when a 19 year old midfielder lost in his first final. It was Roy Keane and I was gutted due to the scum having beaten them. I bet Keane used that to push on for glory (albeit with another club, lol) so let’s hope that LJW does the same thing (Just without the other club shit obv!)
I think he’s as good as JD in what he does. He just goes a lot more unnoticed because Djourou is more noticeable and his job requires more presence in winning headers et al.
But otherwise, in the tackle, while marking, and positionally, Koscielny is nigh on impeccable.
It’s a tough one with Vermaelen. I love him and all but he didn’t perform remotely well in the big games and didn’t make any difference whatsoever to our defensive record.
JD and Koscielny however have.
Rohan wtf? Vermaelen was defender of the season. His leadership and attitude would have won us the game yesterday!
Carlos Vela !!
hahaha, you gotta laugh, really…
good for you, Carlito!
When Arsenal is the sort of team that concedes the most amount of goals through set pieces and then we go ahead and conceded 2 more set-piece like goals i dont call that bad luck.
Dunno, Dutchman. Vermaelen’s a great defender, but I feel his popularity was much exaggerated by his goal-scoring and him being a hard-man.
He’s a good defender and a leader of the team, but I don’t think he’s necessarily better than JD/Koscielny in terms of pure defensive capability.
But guys, what i want to say is that i never have seen a team like this(in a positive way).
This team:
szcesny,sagna,djourou,kos,clichy
song,wilshere,fabregas
walcott,rvp,nasri
That team has everything to win everything! Walcott’s pace, which scares defenders. Fabregas killer passes,
worldclass striker RvP, Djourou-kos as brilliant partnership,player of the season nasri and our future captain LJW! I never had such a good feeling with a team as with this team. So, i hope that the players will be up for the rest of the season and go on like they did the last months!
Vela scores again fro west bro looking like a little fox in the box
HAHA, vela scores!
Did he score?
Good for him. Fuck Chicharito.
Was it a good goal?
It’s got little to do with who’s better, it’s how long they’ve been playing together.
We’ve had little time where we’ve kept the same players together for any length of time, the few times we’ve had everyone together we’ve started to look like a top quality team.
A mature, motivated and dedicated vela will be a great addition to our squad next year.
It would be a shame were his obvious talent be wasted. Hopes he shapes up.
OOH FUCKING hell, Vela should have scored another.
almost scored a winner too!
Can someone explain the goal to me?
David – no offense, but one of the ‘thickest’ recurring comments I’m reading on here is the idea that Bham are relegation fodder. They are currently punching WAY below their weight in the league table, given the quality of their recent signings and are a very decent team. The squad may not have gelled completely yet, but on any given day they can beat the best.
They have an excellent back 5 which is as well organised as any. No matter what you think of the individual personalities, their midfield is a great mixture of technical quality (in a couple of case top top quality) and steel. Ferguson, Larsson, Bowyer, Gardner, Hleb, Bentley, and Beausejour are all excellent players, and the latter 3 wouldn’t be out of place in top 4 squads. And in Martins, Jerome, Philips, Mcfadden and Zigic they have a top quality selection of forwards.
Frankly, there is more to judging a squad’s quality than just pointing to their league position and saying ‘that’s how good they are’. It might be the easy option, but it is intellectually bankrupt.
Anyone know of a good movie site to watch, latest films
Yeah, David, if you look at our league position, we’re not too shabby. can’t have it both ways mate.
Rohan
He was offside, and put it past the keeper, not a clean shot but anything to upset shell suit cunt of a manager
Defence was stepping out, Vela moving out as one of the last few players, is close enough to the offside line to get the benefit of the doubt from the linesman, ball comes in and he just taps it in with his right foot.
Poacher style, had two great chances after that aswell, should really have scored.
Has anyone seen the King’s Speech then? Worth the hype?
The chipping maestro for once didnt chip and he was denied.
And also speaking of think comments, writing off a defender because of one blunder despite him kept the best strikeforce in world football at bay a couple of weeks ago has got to be right up there…
Albo,
Who’s writing off any defender?
Yeah, Rohan, I’ve seen it. Really charming film. Nothing ‘clever’ if you know what I mean. Just a really good, old-fashioned bit of film making with great acting and a really good story to tell.
Rohan,
Our league position has done little or nothing to mask our shoddy defending.
Especially on set pieces.
Spurs at home come to mind.
so, Vela has earned them two points in two games? not bad, if you ask me…
and on that note, I am off, nite!
kings speech is over hyped imo, winters bone was better
BD.. have you seen the fighter?
Well, you suggested that someone who had praised him was being ‘thick’ so by implication you don’t rate him…
I’ll catch it then. I’m bored of high-profile movies with millions of dollars pumped into them.
Give me a decent storyline anyday…
Oh yeah, I saw Winter’s Bone. It was very very well made imo.
That said, I’m massively surprised Tom Hooper won Best Director last night, simply because, like I say, its very simple and old fashioned in style. In terms of directorial achievement it is so completely dwarfed by Christopher Nolan’s, who I simply can’t believe didn’t get nominated…
cant be arsed to wade through all the doom and gloom.
how is rvp????
Watching a rerun of the CL game between Bordeaux and Lyon.
Chamakh is an absolute lion. Wins absolutely everything you send his direction.
Gourcuff plays just off him much similar to the way Crouch and Fanny Vart play together.
It suggest if we’re going to use Chamakh we need a tidy playmaker right beside him to play to his strengths.
I know right, David. God knows what has happened to me. Hope he comes back stronger next season. Funny what lack of confidence does to youl
David – I’ve always felt Arshavin behind Chamakh would work well…
Christopher Nolan is a god.
Albo,
If you said Koscienly was potentially one of Wenger’s Best ever signings id be slagging you off too.
Albo,
Arshavin and Chamakh.
Thats absolutely fucking Brilliant.
I feel we should have lined up in a 4411 yesterday. The 433 only ever works if both Cesc and Theo are playing because essentially, they’re the players for who the 433 is mostly made for.
David – yeah, in fairness, given the quality of the players Wenger has signed in the past, it was perhaps a slightly dodgy statement!
Rohan,
May i suggest that one of the reasons why Tony Adams is Tony Adams is not just because of his defensive abilities.
I always thought just based on defensive abilities, Keown was probably the better defender imho.
But Tony has come up with so many important goals over the years…its all about being the complete player.
I would not have Koscienly over TV.
Koscienly has missed some absolute sitters in very important matches. Remember that 2 yard miss against chelsea.
He could potentially be Wenger’s greatest signing in terms of the ratio of “how good he can/will be” to “how many people had heard of him when we bought him”
Could be his greatest ever “who the fuck is he” Wenger signing.
Vermaelen also has that cannon of a shot he unleashed from 30 once in awhile.
Vermaelen making high profile mistakes against Chelsea and Barcelona sort of make up for that.
I guess we’ll have to see. I just think Kozzer has more natural defensive ability and nous.
I recommend flickpeek, but you did not hear it from me right!
King’s Speech is also very funny, although why they could not find an Englishman to play Edward VII I don’t know! lol
Anyhoo, west brom player smashed a picture in the stok tunnel and had to apologise, lol!
Just seen the Rotten vid. What an absolute legend. At last someone who shares my view on the club badge which I have banged on about for ages.
Thanks for posting that Suga.
just got a ticket for wed for a tenner, there is a silver lining to sundays final.
wonder if i’ll be the only one there
Haha. Incesc, you’d better fucking sing up if you are!
Gutted I’m working or there’d have been at least 2 of us!
Gaddafi says ‘all my people love me’
Almost as deluded as our very own leader.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK053lQ4sbw&fs=1&hl=en_GB
I wonder why Wenger did not ask to postpone Stoke at home?we were really tired.
@1886-2006. Ha, I tweeted the very thing thing earlier – I was joking though.
Is Gambon Johnny Rotten?
Maybe Tony Rotton..
That Rotten vid made me laugh “The place wants torching”. Could just imagine Gambon as some wannabe punk from the 70′s.
Have people seen Charlie Sheen’s interview ?!
I missed Rooney’s elbow on the weekend, and also apparently Ashley Cole shot someone with an air gun at the Chelsea training ground.
Has anything else happened that I’ve missed bar Arsenal news ?!
You didn’t hear about that, Keyser?
Ashley Cole is a tosser of the highest order.
The big news you’ve missed mate, is that, Super Nicklas is now of twitter
i more or less agree on the point you made on the subs. the only part i disagree with is the van persie and Nik section as van persie was injured and with his recent passed (he only just just came back from a minor injury)combined with his old ones and the fact he is perhaps our most influencial players.
replacing van persie with bendtner was an obvious and the best sub he could of made in that position as bendtner is just starting to find some form, but yes chamakh was a desperate change that shouldnt of happened. i didnt think rosicky was that bad until he got close to the box (he did miss a simple chance because he he didnt take a swing rather tried a tap in) but still he is not the player of old and questions are being asked about arsenal future. for me though the best player on the pitch was clichy considering the amount of games he has played recently and the fact he never stopped running. his form has been amazing this year and its nice to see him wearing his heart on his sleeve again. andon a last note no1 should jump on kozzers back about the fuck up. if it wasnt for him we could have been 3-0 down within the first 15 minutes of the game and apart from that he has been good for us for atleased a month now (and he is still adapting to the speed of the english game not that that should be an excuse for a fuck up like that). anyway cheers pedro and geoff it is nice to know that there is a site out there that sits perfectly on the fence as the anti wenger fans and pro wenger fans throw bottles back and forth.
Luke
Paragraphs m8.
Keyser
we lost the Carling cup final.
Should have played the kids.
How the fuck does that cunt Rooney bet to just run up to someone and smash them in the face and get fuck all for doing it?
he might as well just start punching people. I bet nothing would happen then either.
the manc bias with Refs is just unreal.
Video evidence and its openly ignored?
He might as well bring a knife to games.
The fat cunt always carries a fork.
I’m still reeling from our “performance” against relegation fodder in a cup final, about Asshole Cole’s requirement to have a weapon (air rifle) at his place of work, and the fact that fucking thug Rooney yet again gets away with a blatant assault on a fellow pro even with conclusive video evidence……..
It’s painfully obvious that ManUre has the referees and the FA in their pocket.
What an absolute crock of shit football is in this country.
I hear ya, ddm
and seeing how bent the English game is, you just have to realise that we have fucked up the most realistic chance for getting the first silverware in the dusty E******s trophy cabinet!
Sug – If i’m honest, it feels like a slow, painful falling out of love with the beautiful game…..
Morning all, the pain won’t go away, it keeps coming back in horrible flashes, still at least Hleb and Larsson get some winners medals, they are ex players so at least some of Arsenal won something.