It has to be said that yesterday not only involved a very poor half from the players, it also involved some very embarrassing behaviour from the fans. I fully appreciate we pay our money to do as we please but to sit out the first half in stony silence then boo at half time was ridiculous carry on.
We started Chamberlain for the second time in a week. At least the manager didn’t try to prove a point by testing him again. We also saw Coquelin return to the side as right back. There was no place for Arteta, Henry or Sagna… All had to settle for a place on the heated bench.
*At this point you have to know I’ve just wiped my nose with something I’d used over the weekend to mop up kebab.
The highlights before kick off were sitting opposite Martin Keown giving an interview and watching the mascot rip a shot past Fabianski in off the bar!
The highlights gave up after that, they stayed in the dressing room with Vik Akers. The first half was a turgid affair. We struggled to find our rhythm. Most of our chances were shots which made a lovely change. Robin teed Vermaelen up for a thunderbolt of a strike that Given tipped over. Soon after the Dutchman had a crack at goal of his own but could only hit the wall.
Chamberlain was doing his part for the defence. He made a superb early tackle to deny Villa a cross. I went on to count a further 3 blocks that half, then I had to stop because he looked too similar to Coquelin from a distance. Still, the point stands, he does help out at the back.
Fabianski was doing his best to show us why he isn’t number one. His kamikaze distribution kept putting us under immense pressure and the punched clearances from crosses had hearts in mouths.
Theo managed to break through on goal, he was kicked on his way through, stumbled and duffed his shot wide. Chamberlain had a go himself, dragging a low shot left of the post. In fairness much of the creativity was going through him.
The first goal of the game went to Villa. We sent Ramsey out too late to deal with the short corner, he was bypassed by Keane who turned, floated a chipped cross to the back post where Dunne was on hand to bang a header past Fabianski. Koscielny really should have done better there.
We had a few more chances after, the best falling to Ramsey when he managed work his way into the box from the touch line, his shot looked like it was snatched away by Given.
We were hit on the break down the other end, Petrov found Bent with a super ball, Vermaelen managed to cover enough ground to make a token slide tackle, the shot beat him, it was saved by Fabianski, but Bent was first to the rebound which he slipped in from a very tight angle.
The all too familiar sound of booing sent us into half time. I never participate and I find it hard to comprehend during a game. I guess that’s where we are though, fans are sick of losing in mid jan when they know they’re contributing to £3million a game. The point for me is that it was only half time. It’s a game of two halves!
Almost immediately after kick off things picked up, it looked like Robin had a header cleared from the line by Ireland.
Ramsey broke up play in midfield, played it to Song who pushed forward, waited, then slipped Ramsey in who was lumped over by Dunne in ridiculous fashion. Let’s be thankful though, that was the only way we’d get a penalty this month!
Robin stepped up to deal with the kick and buried it with precision. The roof lifted, the crowd decided to retire their seats for the afternoon and everyone started to make some noise! The stewards relaxed as well, which helped the game along.
Our second goal happened under comical circumstances, Theo worked his way into a good crossing position after being played into the box by Rosicky, he dodged a slide tackle, he crossed it to no one… carried on his run… Hutton cleared it at Theo and it ended up in the back of the net. Superbly marvelous considering his Spurs ties! Theo then ran to the dug out to do a weird celebration. Not sure what that was all about!
The fabulous 15 minutes came to a conclusion with another penalty, this time when Koscielny picked up a Ramsey (I think) through ball and felt the back of his heals crumble when Bent of all people went for an ill thought out slide tackle. Both Villa scorers had turned Arsenal providers. How very generous. This time Robin elected for high and right and we’d levelled it. Things were really getting rowdy in the home end… ‘we only sing when we’re winning’… never felt so true!
The game still had a few panic moments to soak up. Fabianski made a couple of good saves and had to deal with a few ‘oh my god don’t drop it’ moments. All in all though, we played the 90 out in a professional manner. Watching Robin tell the ball boy to slow things down was amusing, the man must feel his whole life is about educating children!
Arsenal made three substitutes. We saw Arteta join the party which was fantastic. We also saw Thierry and Sagna join. Both came on to electric applause, but what was nice was the applause repeated for Theo and Chamberlain leaving.
Most of the crowd stayed for the final whistle and a roar erupted… the next round of the cup is against Boro’ or Sunderland. We’d have to fancy ourselves there eh? Even if it is away!
Conclusion
I don’t like to tell anyone what to do, but the crowd really do have to start behaving. Sure, we’re not getting what we want in the transfer market and some of the performances have been poor, but booing during the game and at half time isn’t the Arsenal way. It’s embarrassing and it makes for a nasty day out. How must Chamberlain feel? Two games into 2012 and all he knows is a crowd that pisses and moans at every opportunity. What happens outside the ground is up to the fans, but it feels like booing has become a habit and in my opinion, it should stop. We’re in the situation we’re in and making it worse by jeering our team isn’t going to help matters.
On the game, it was absolutely a dreary first half. The important thing is that we came out fighting in the second and the boys have to take credit for that. It’s very easy to curl up and die after going two down in a game, but we didn’t. Robin picked the team up and we came out firing on all cylinders. Ramsey needs to be credited with a super second half. What I like about him is that he never gives up. He might make a bad pass, he might fluff a shot, but he keeps on chipping away until things start happening. Another man who deserves credit is Rosicky. He keeps the ball moving and he was instrumental for the Theo goal. He’s not your world class, all guns blazing centre midfielder, but in the right team he can make things happen.
At the back, I felt Mertesacker had a very solid game. He was cushioning headers, making interceptions and in the main, controlling his back four very nicely. He’s growing into his role at Arsenal and he’s starting to adapt to the pace. He’ll never beat certain players for pace, but he’ll be able to read the game better and snuff out opportunity before it happens.
Chamberlain also deserves a massive round of applause as well. He made some mistakes yesterday and put us under pressure occasionally, but the depth he adds to our attack is impressive. He has natural skill to go around players and he has the bottle to take on a shot or clever pass. I think Robin really enjoys playing with him and as far as I’m concerned, everything is in place for him to become the nations saviour come the Euros. He also managed a full 90minutes without breaking down, which was definitely worth noting.
So, in conclusion, it might not have been the resounding win I was hoping for, but I’d say from a sporting perspective, it was as good as. Coming back from 2 down in front of your home fans has to have an impact on team morale. It tells the players anything is possible now and that there is no excuse going forward. I know the win is papering over the cracks, but we have some of our better players coming back now, so hopefully the run in will be kinder to us.
As fans, we can go over the same old problems in our heads, or we can just accept that we’re not going to get what we want and support the team. Save our protests for outside the ground, or make your complaints online because the club do read them. Protesting inside the ground makes us look ugly as fans. Booing a name when it’s read out is disgraceful. We’re starting to look like the Geordies or the Blackburn fans… and let me tell you, that’s not a good look.
Anyway, that’s my piece said… remember to listen to the podcast I knocked together with Alex Fynn. It covers off all the major talking points regarding Wenger and the reasons he doesn’t spend. It also has plenty of other tasty tidbits you might not have known about our great club.
P.S. We’ll be moving the site over tomorrow which means the sites comments here will switch off at some point. So bear with me for the next few days, but we’re moving for the greater good and the new site does look very smart and the mobile version is even better!
Right… off to bed cunt bags.
Catch you tomorrow for T-Day.
goonermart – This is why you need co-ordination, how the fuck am I going to get to the middle of the pitch on my own and manage to hack away at my own neck before someone stops me.
If someone’s there with me, it could be like a hostage situation and they’d have to back off giving the necessary time for me to be sacrificed.
Ah wait though I’d never get to see Scotty Parker play again, hmm.
thats one AKB down, how many more
As much as I don’t like what Wenger has done in the last 4/5 seasons like Pedro says there is every chance this Arsenal side will finish top 4. Unlikely as the comeback against Villa as it is, it is possible.
We all know the standards in the EPL have dropped – just look at the Champions League results of the English clubs.
Fact is Arsenal don’t have to be that good to do well in the EPL. Personally i think Chelsea will only get better and that the other three places are locked.
If we do finsih 4th next season will just follow the same as this one.
Anyone think city will be interested in a swap deal with wally for tevez?
i hate losing
but remember what it felt like when valencia knocked us out of europe, or chelsea, or the man u game that beat the invincibles.
when this team loses, you just accept it, nothing like those days…
Keyser- how about filming it and then i will take a Tv onto the pitch and play it.
Parker > song the mong
SUG – yeah but the difference is that at the VERY top there are no margins for error. For me, Torres is the classic equivalent of a singer who is suddenly having technique issues. He’s always done everything perfectly without having to really think about it, but now suddenly muscles are tense that used to be relaxed and nerves are high that used to be calm.
In your scenario we just say, oh well, that’s that. Career over. But truly world class singers (and strikers) are incredibly rare. So it of course makes sense to try to fix the problem rather than to give up. All I am saying is that a) the money Torres makes has no impact whatever on his ability to regain his form because the problem has no causal link with money, and b) the nature of the crowd – supportive or condemnatory – WILL have a huge impact on the matter because it is entirely linked to the problem (the loss of confidence, nervousness, tension etc etc).
or just run on the pitch and plunge the sword through your heart before anyone can stop you, go on it’s worth a try
We all want the same thing here for Arsenal to be great again. Me, Joppa and Goonermart seem to be thinking along the same lines as each other. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Pedro I wish I was excited about the window tomorrow. Tevez would be nice for 4 months or until the toys came out of the pram.
I can’t do it now, just keep thinking over and over about Scotty Parker, thanks goonermart.
What would Scotty do..
albo,
yes, but how long do you allow for the whole recovery thing?
you have to start to calculate at one point…
yes i agree Trickygonner. I love Arsenal but some people (pedro) cant seem to see we are not improving. Like i said our last 10 prem games have a worse points total than our first 10, we are far from out of the shit.
To me keeping wenger is like wanting us to lose. lose out on 4th lose out on title, lose out on Mata, lose to swansea.
I would love Mourinho, so if Arsenal have to lose to win, so be it
Joppa,
As wenger says, mattamatikly we are still in the title race right?
Sug – agreed. And of course the problem for football clubs is the HUGE costs involved in these guys. You want to tie a player down to a long contract, which is all very well if it’s Ryan Giggs, or someone who turns out to be great all their career. Not so useful if you’ve just signed a genius from Russia called Arshavin! But how do you know which is which at the time!? Therein lies the problem!
and like I said, it’s for the entertainers to entertain first and foremost, quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck about some weaker specimen getting cold feet at the first sign of disapproval…
natural selection is the word here!
well when you have clawed your we back from the realisation of how good Scott Parker is and how we are mugs for not buying him, please give the sword thing a go, maybe a practice one in your basement?
What would Scotty do ? hmm, give a rousing half-time and get relegated.
Fuck, not really helpful at all, dayum you Scotty.
Only kidding could never stay mad at you.
Arshavin has been RUINED by Wenger, being played out of position first and then left out of the FA Cup semi squad with idiot Wenger explaining how he wanted to show his lot that they could ‘win without him’…
never been the same player since!
in no way does the current situation justify feeling so desperate that it becomes justifiable to label the manager by the P word.
we’re not fucking savages, grow up ffs – take a step out of your fortunate life where you can afford to attend games and a life of leisure and project yourself into the mind of a victim that has been tampered with as a child by some sick fuck then look at the mirror and ask yourself if this is the action of a civilized individual.
disgusting the ignorance some people are prepared to front as acceptable behaviour.
the whole wenger question is tricky, but to want arsenal to lose in order to rid the side of him is cutting your nose off despite your face. i would much prefer him to remain and change with the times all the while fielding a winning side than for arsenal to lose.
mourinho is a good manager, but he is not the manager for arsenal. remember how much you hated him when he was with cfc, and then think about how he will bring the same arrogance, conceit, and derision to a class club. he may bring trophies, but he would also tarnish the image of arsenal in the process.
i remain firm in my stance that jurgen klopp is the ideal replacement.
Trouble is SUG, that lack of care on your part, if translated to 45,000 of our fans could be the difference between 4th place and 5th place. Not every player is going to have the same mental strength as others especially at the start of their careers, and your lack of care for the ‘weaker specimen’ at the start of their careers could be the difference between him turning into a Fabregas or a Denilson…
I predict that OX will be played in the U21 team and go to the European Championships… and then be out injured for half of next season… Any bets?
Lets see who finishes higher this season Parker or Song if thats how you judge players.
Park = Footballer of the year 2010-11
Song = Moron
park? footballer of the year? surely you do not suggest our very own dog muncher?
Yep SUGA a point I recently made about AA. Never been the same since being dropped for that semi just so Wenger could prove a point. What about fielding the weakenened side against Man U @ OT in the FA Cup in 07/08 (Man U were in a world of pain before that game) and then the 5-1 at WHL same season.
If a few defeats means stopping that kind of arrogant shit from Wenger then bring them on. Get them done and dusted and get him out rather than another 2/3 seasons of this.
SUG – interesting contradiction there. You think a player should be able to deal with 60,000 fans booing at him, but you excuse Arshavin on the basis of his hurt feelings for being left out of a cup semi final?! As for being played out of position, he seemed to do pretty sensationally on the wing for his first half a season?! When did it suddenly become so damaging for him?
(Also, what evidence is there that that was the motivation for resting Arshavin? Sounds ludicrous to me!)
Lurch – well fucking said!
But Albo by the same logic, what is the point of getting 4th just so all the board, Wenger etc can pat themselves on the back and take the piss out of the fans for another year?
I just don’t get it – we are not competing. 4th means fck all if you have no chance of winning the competition.
Give me the FA Cup anyday, because it’s realistic to this squads ability.
i think the most damaging thing to arshavin’s career has been his fork.
People Lurch? It was only said the once by one person.
ffs, you can’t preach the weaker specimen shit than say Arshavin’s been ruined by Wenger, that’s like moaning about the marmites and then saying Senderos should have been given more time.
We are 5th now, before any booing started. If we finish 4th we could argue that the booing made the difference. It’s bullshit to try and measure the effect of booing.
But booing is a measure of how unhappy the fans are and that they will not tolerate this bullshit any more
didnt wenger say arshavin didnt have the engine to play for a champions league team
then he bought him…
LOL frenchie, i got over excited!
Arshavin’s come late in his career to a far more intense league, its seems to be catching up with up and he’s struggling to adapt.
albo,
the true talent will always shine through, and the difference between Fabregas and D******n is the surroundings on the inside, not the outside…
besides, it’s a bit fucking rich to say that the fans not taking any shit can be a difference between 4th and 5th, where we have a bigger problem in the shape of these mollycoddled weaker specimen going through the motions without a care in the world and getting paid stupid money for doing so!
fans are not stupid, they see no effort, so they boo…
i know Joppa,
I can’t bring myself to address the idiot directly so I address it openly.
albo,
it’s not ‘hurt feelings’, it’s ‘us’ and ‘him’ kind of divide, which is counterproductive…
Keyser,
my argument was about Senderos being benched whilst Silvestre was played out of position…
goonermart – That’s pathetic.
“Lets see who finishes higher this season Parker or Song if thats how you judge players.”
So Song’s already better than him, on no wait you thought of that, lets change the goalposts from last year, heh.
Don’t try and be sly.
Who called Wenger the ‘p’ word?
that should be a straight red – denying a goal scoring chance – except if it is gambon, of course
didn’t wenger say he would only buy players if they are super super quality? and then he signed benny, jenkinson and park
The guy is nuts
you started it
Joppa – that’s cos you’re not that bothered about the long term future of the club. NO top level club can take a hit of £35 million plus CL ticket sales without standards slipping yet further. For the long term future of the club, 4th is actually the most important ‘trophy’ we aim for – as hugely unpopular as it might be to admit that on here!
Furthermore, the chances of holding onto or attracting top class players plummets the moment we can’t offer CL football. You can counter that we don’t buy top class players anyway, but that is a flawed argument too. Its not just about the players we can buy, its the players we need to keep. How long with Wilshere, Chezzer, RvP and co stay around if CL football stops being a regular occurrence? If you seriously care about the long term ability of our club to compete then you simply cannot rate the FA cup as more important that CL football.
It is the massive flaw in the ‘only silverware counts’ line of thinking. Because actually probably the only thing worse for the future of our club than going another season without a trophy would be to win the FA cup but drop out of the CL!
Joppa,
as a fellow parent I’m sure your blood boils when that subject is used in a disposable manner.
Senderos started crying after he made a massive error, weaker specimen ?!
sug-
if by sylvestre played out of position, you mean that he was not face down in a ditch, bleeding, then i completely agree. it was that day, the day he signed, that i no longer liked the ironic smile smiled by that decrepit old fuck, wenger; i knew that he had lost his senses. “you see? i am full of surprises…”
Sug – to be honest, in my experience, a lot of fans are pretty fucking stupid! You only need to hear some of the shit talked by people around you at the Emirates to know that!
And I think it is ridiculously simplistic to simply claim that ‘true talent will always shine through’. Thank god you don’t have a career nurturing talent at a young age. (You don’t do you?!
)
albo, have you not notice we do not keep players anyway, so thats a flawed arguement if ever i heard one
‘P’ word. Emotions run high when it comes to Arsenal. We don’t always say the right things. I dare say I wouldn’t refer to him as a c**t if I met the man but have been known to on here quite a lot.
I like the passion and anger on this blog. One of the main reasons I read the comments here.
there is nothing funny or appropriate about kiddy fiddlers. in my career, i see the effects of those predators daily. even the sheers, while immediate in the production of results, do not wash those horrors from victims.
goonermart – I don’t think it’s remotely flawed. For starters,there is no WAY fabregas would have stayed as long if we had dropped out of the CL 3 or 4 seasons ago. Nor would RvP have signed a contract extension.
In fact the flawed argument is yours – you have made the very silly (and common) mistake on here of assuming it ‘couldn’t be any worse’. Trust me, without CL football it can be a LOT worse!
Keyser,
turned out all right in the end hasn’t he? how many points have we got against Fulham this season again?
besides, in case you failed to notice, this is the reaction to crowd we are discussing here…
albo,
seriously, there is virtually no margin for error at this level, but we got to see D******n playing WAY too many games before OGL realised what most on here saw for a long time…
you have to appreciate that there is no time for this kind of shit when it comes to this kind of stakes, if a bunch of random dudes on a blog see that a player is fucking shit, why doesn’t Wenger?
oh, right, he has to ‘nurture the talent’…
*facepalm*
yeah i agree about the ”P” word, we should not mention Pedro until he argees to booing. doh
i hear you Joppa, but thats a bridge too far for me, fortunately I don’t have a first hand experience but I know some that do.
few actions would tempt me to take a life like that would.
frenchie
SUG – look, you’re not wrong, certainly not about Denilson. But it isn’t a science. For every Denilson people might have been right about, there is a Koscielny that they will be very wrong about.
(But I should add I’m not remotely defending the length of time it took for us to give up on Denilson!)
Suga3 – Yeah, finally reached his level.
Albo I am not that kind of fan I’m afraid. It makes me angry when I hear those kind of comments that the worst thing is for us to drop out the top 4 and win the FA Cup.
Who do these money men think they are?
Fck me we have a man ready to pump money into the club who isn’t allowed.
The mad thing is when all the shit does hit the fan – like it will do eventually, the only way out if it is to spend spend spend.
I hate the way mmany Arsenal fans have become accountants…Far worst than the odd p word said in frustration. Ma
Makes me angry.
We have lost all our best player while we have been in the champions league, so it is a flawed argument.
If city come in with 40m for RVP or 50m for Jack, champions league will mean shit.
We sell our best players. your argument is flawed. ergo you are silly
fourth place, economics, accounting…wengerisms. he language we speak in common is all credited to ogl.
As if Arsenal will ever go broke….what a fkin joke…never going to happen ever.
Blimey Lurch haven’t you been reading gambon’s posts or tiaraman’s sometime ago?
I’m not yet a father (I hope!) but I totally agree with you on this. It’s something one expects from spud degenerates.
lurch-
there is an end, a line drawn, to that cynicism/sarcasm? i like it.
I will be honest I am pinning all my hopes on the FA Cup this season. Would be proud to win it and my son would be over the moon. Try telling him 4th is more important.
This has given me the fkin hump. It’s a totally wrong approach to have.
Wengerisms can fck right off.
Joppa – we won’t go broke, we’ll just slip back into the mid table…
If we won the fa cup this year i will remember that day for the rest of my life, well up till the point i became wasted, but 4th naw
Things are said in the heat of the moment. That is the biggest no no where Arsenal are concerned but it was said by someone who loves Arsenal so it goes to show just how deep emotions are running whether it right or wrong.
bunch of sad fucks on here. Who said the p-word?
And calling Arsene the “p-word” does not constitute “passion or anger”, JR.
Joppa I make you right mate. 4th is like a fucking disease, something for the AKB’s to cling to. I hope we lose the champions league spot for 4th, maybe then we will try and win the fucking league.
ALBO – please spare me this…we will never go back to mid table. We will only do that if the current board stays in place. There will be plenty of money men wanting to invest in the Bank of England club.
People forget just what a huge club we are and what a huge fan base we have.
Wenger is on a one man crusade and it’s hurting us.
goonermart/joppa – and that’s fine. Of course I want us to win the FA cup. But surely if you love your club you also want the best for it in the future?
Football IS all about money. So to pretend that the future of the club isn’t tied up with finances is hugely naive. I agree your (lets say) 8 year old son might not appreciate the importance of CL over the FA cup, but as adults surely we are capable of looking at things a little less childishly?
Listen to the final 10 minutes of the podcast if you want a mature reflection on the problems of dropping out of the CL…
by we i mean the premiership
Rohan I didn’t say it, but Im not losing any sleep over it. It was said in the heat of the moment, we move on.
Keyser,
how many points have we got off Fulham this season again?
Joppa – yes and no. If you’ve been a fan for 30 years surely you know that we COULD drop to midtable. We’ve been there before!
Radio.
I’ve seen Gambon before yeah and others have interjected so I saw little need to air my opinion then.
I’d say the same to either of them now, although I’d likely get less aggravated because their tone is lighter. Tiarnan has a literary way about him that’s ironic and disarming.
line drawn. lets drop it.
looks like messi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywZOtTVJClI
Rohan says:
January 31, 2012 at 00:10
bunch of sad fucks on here. Who said the p-word?
————————————
Yeah i know, someone mentioned Pedro on here earlier, but i think they got away with it
About as many as we would’ve with Senderos at centre-back for us.
But thats the beauty of football and loving a club Albo, it can make you feel like a kid again.
Give me the FA Cup all day long, future talent through the Acadamy and the odd big signing thrown in. I would rather have that than what we have now.
Fck 4th and all that goes with it. Because if what we have now is how it’s going to be then no thanks, bring the real Arsenal back.
rohan search the word sausage, but lets drop it.
Keyser,
and this is probably why Fulham conceded less goals than us so far this season…
ALBO, it’s not all about money to me. When I first started watching Arsenal 82/83 Spurs were a bigger side as were Liverpool. But I watched George Graham build something special, I skipped trains from Welwyn Garden to Finsbury Park every other week and got in for a fiver with all my mates.
Yes I know those times cannot come back but at the same time football is football, it isn’t just money. Players play the game because they grew up loving it.
frankly, I would have Senderos on our books ahead of dopey Djourou, hell maybe even ahead of Mertesacker!
Give me fa cup over 4th any day. I’m a fan, not a fucking accountant. I want memories of joy, not telling my grandchildren about how we came 4th 30 years in a row
A lot more than they would’ve without Senderos.
Joppa – yeah I hear you. And i don’t want the club to be rich just for the sake of a balance sheet. I only talk about finances in terms of its importance to the club succeeding on the pitch. My desperate hope is that we can snag the FA cup to bring a feel good back (as well as get the trophy monkey off this set of player’s backs. See how destructive the CC defeat was to their belief last season) AND stay in the CL for the financial boost it brings.
What I think we’re all frustrated by is the feeling that, as ever, we’re not THAT far away in terms of our squad. We just never seem willing to go that extra mile and buy the couple of players that will turn us into genuine contenders!
nah Lurch I fancy a cyber punch-up…
WHO SAID THE FUCKING “P” WORD??
————————————————-
Djibril Cisse to QPR…he looked good when I watched him earlier in the season
Eboue scored for CIV today, the qualified top of their group and they are looking solid for once…where’s ivorygooner?
dropping out of the top four is the kick up the arse this board needs.
Albo I didn’t think we were far away last season but not so sure now. I think we need a good 4 or 5 world class players to challenge on all fronts. That really isn’t going to happen.
albo,
the truth is that we are no longer just two or three players away, like we were before SN and CF left the building…
Would you really want Senderos instead of Mertesacker? Really?
Him and Koscielny have been good imo. And they’d have been even better if we didn’t have to play 15 fucking different combinations of the back 4.
I’d just get Bartley next season and throw Djourou into the ocean.
Anyway I’m off. Homework calls
points difference we are as close to 14th as we are 3rd! FA Cup anyone?
Joppa – you’re a little older than me I guess. I started supporting Arsenal when I was 8 and Liverpool and Man U, and even Spurs to some extent, were the bigger teams. But it was 1988, so my first season supporting the gunners ended with Thomas charging through the middle! Hard not to fall completely in love with a club after that season! So to be honest, I guess I’ve had it pretty good as an Arsenal fan ever since – despite the dip in the mid 90s.
But I’ve also always loved Arsenal just for the sake of it, rather than for the trophies they brought us. Things are pretty depressing at the moment, but I genuinely loved the ambition we showed from 2004 that we would do things differently, that we would build a team rather than buying it, and that we would create a set of players trained the Arsenal way who would dominate English football.
It all seems rather terribly now, post Abramovich and Sheikh whatshisname, but I still do believe there is more to supporting a club than JUST trophies.
Anyway, I will support Arsenal all my life. And in those terms, the length of time the current set up will stay is very short. Wenger won’t go on past his current contract imo. At the moment that might seem an eternity, but if I support the club for the next 50 years (if I’m lucky enough) a couple more years of the same really isn’t that long!
rather Mertesacker over senderos.
german international, big game experience, better reader of the game & recovers quicker from mistakes.
There must be something wrong with Banega that is putting big clubs off him. Otherwise, he is one player I’d love to have at the Arsenal. He can do everything in midfield – DM, CM or AM – and is Argentinian!!!
Joppa
I understand what you’re saying about standards dropping in the league. The thing is we had a perfect opportunity to take advantage of that by making the odd purchase to plug the problem areas that they were at that time.
Instead what we saw was Wenger realising that others around us were weaker and take this as a signal that he could continue to weaken us in parallel by not making those investments.
If you look back over the last 5 years you can see that he has done this in a calculating way just to do enough and no more.
Lurch,
what I am saying is that Mertesacker is not that much better and I have included ‘maybe’ in that sentence
This isn’t just aimed at Arsenal but money hasn’t been great for the game on every front. Yes new stadiums, top world players etc. but I used to get goose bumps, a magic feeling seeing Arsenal run out for a winter game with the red shirts and long white sleeves. It was a thing of beauty for me.
I think money has diluted these sort of things. The bonds fans had with the club etc. It all seems so disposable nowdays.
Be interesting to get a Bundasliga fan on here because they seemed to have money but also kept the hardcore support etc.
This is interesting…lets watch the worm squeeze itself out of a tight corner
Agree Gunner2301, it’s one of the main reasons I want Wenger gone asap.
yeah but I think Per’s better in ways where I can see him not regressing and improving Suga3. Its his first season, without a winter break – lets not forget that.
I liked swiss Tony, fairly sure i’ve joined you in the past lamenting his treatment. But when I see him play for fulham making the same mistakes in a formation that doesn’t require half the reaction speed I don’t regret him moving on so much.
Really guys? Genuinely I’m happy with our defensive roster and 1st choice GK. I know there are question marks over Gibbs and Jenkinson, but I don’t actually think they need replacing. CJ in particular looks a decent prospect. I don’t understand all the doom about Per M, who I think has looked pretty solid, (especially when you consider his relative lack of mobility will have been most exposed without proper fullbacks).
In the middle I’m happy with Arteta, Wilshere, Song, Coquelin, (Frimpong) and Ramsey as our options. I’d add one creative midfielder of world class ability – a Silva, a Fabregas, a Mata etc.
And up front I’m happy with RvP, Gervinho, Ox and even Walcott. (If you stop expecting Walcott to be sensational and just expect him to be decent, he really is worth his place in the squad imo). In a perfect world I’d replace Arshavin with Hazard, and Chamakh with Podolski or Benzema, (or even Remy?).
So there – 3 signings in a perfect world that for me would get us there. That team, if it had been assembled with time for a proper pre-season would be challenging for the title imo.
(Before you all go crazy, let’s be clear I don’t actually think we could have necessarily signed those particular players. They were just for illustrative purposes!)
Lurch,
I hear ya, let’s see what PM can do with a pre-season under his belt…
Heh, I liked Senderos, fuck I like all Arsenal players, until they give up and he did, he had chance upon chance and just didn’t make it, not his fault, just don’t get how you can talk about weak specimens and then say Senderos deserved more.
I say not his fault, I mean he tried.
Anyway just got Breaking Bad Season 4. So off to watch a few of the episodes.
Night All, have a good one.
JR
Weak specimen? Have we turned to a lab now? LOL
albo,
both Gibbs and Jenkinson are not viable options in my book, the former is made of glass (should be tested out on loan somewhere, just to prove that he can’t stay fit to save his life and be done with him) and the latter is one for the future (as in ‘ready in two years’)…
that’s two players to be signed…
plus one in the midfield you mentioned…
plus two upfront and I would probably also ditch Walcott, who is not even a footballer, let alone a decent one…
and oh, a goalie…
that’s six players, not three…
Hey check this out. It just appeared on my Twitter feed, and the coincidence is extraordinary, especially in the final few paragraph about Arsenal fans. Good article though, I think (especially when it tricks you with Wenger’s words only to pull the rug out from under you!)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1045735-fernando-torres-arsenal-and-the-wisdom-of-january-transfer
laters Joppa
mertesacker = ralph fiennes
fabianski = brandon fraser??
Keyser,
I am not going to run around in circles with you, I have explained why I thought it to be the case more often than once…
benayoun = camel
Suga – it is one of your many wonderful quirks that you regularly demolish all the waste of space, mentally fragile, ‘weaker specimen’ Arsenal squad players, but somehow see fit to view Senderos as a fine player, cruelly mistreated by the boss…
albo, what’s your twitter username?
TV = jean claude van damme
and Vela
Ramsey = Owen wilson
Suga3 – It’s your circle mate, only you can set yourself free.
albo,
I have this picture in my mind:
Silvestre absolutely embarrassing himself (and us) on the pitch and Senderos sitting on the bench, whilst being on good form (showed in the internationals) and being twice the player the fucking geriatric peanut head was!
and oh, did I say Silvestre was played out of his natural position to accommodate him?
diaby = prey mantis
Well, Sug, of course there are ways to improve the squad beyond what I just outlined, but I still think my team mentioned would be challenging for, and could win, the title.
I think CJ looked good enough to be a back up before he got injured. I agree Gibbs is a bit of a worry, but we have enough cover in that position from Miquel and TV to make a new signing not a desperate matter. Yes, we could have a better 2nd keeper, but actually, 2nd keepers are very hard to find. Cos a top class keeper isn’t going to want to sit on the bench. Flappy isn’t a 1 choice keeper in anyone’s book, but he’s a decent enough replacement for me. I wouldn’t say he’s all that much worse than De Gea.
Up front, I wouldn’t ditch Walcott. he can be infuriating, but he can also be hugely useful. When people denigrate him by saying ‘all he is is pace’ they ignore that fact that pace is possibly the most deadly weapon a team can possess.
[To be quite honest, I actually believe that if our current squad had been in place in July we'd be challenging for the title. We probably wouldn't have won it, but I think we'd have been in the race]
santos = pumba
chamakh = timon
diaby = Elijah Price
albo,
er, no, we would not be in the title race, perhaps a bit closer to 4th, but that’s about it…
Walcott is an awful player, he can’t pass, dribble, has no vision and if the opposition parks the bus, he is next to useless…
once the pace is gone, he is done!
Yes SUG, I know, that’s the image you always bring up when you’re defending Senderos. But that was right at the end of Senderos’ tenure at Arsenal. His confidence, and the faith of the fans, had been lost ages before that. Senderos, like many of our poorer players, was an immensely likeable guy who I would have love to have seen succeed with us, but I just don’t think he had the right ‘mental strength’ (to use Arsene’s favourite phrase). We all knew, however decent a game he was having, that he was potentially a second away from making a game-losing hash of it!
Elijah Price?
RvP = Spike as a vampire (James Marsters) (Buffy)
“New site at some point tomorrow!”
transfer day doesn’t strike me as the best time for comment upheaval.
SUG – it is total nonsense to say Walcott can’t dribble. And in what has unquestionably been a poor season he still has only 1 fewer goals and 1 fewer assists than Juan Mata!
elijah = mister glass
as for the Miquel and TV covering the LB, we saw how poor they both are in this position, a CB has no idea of the line on the side, always gets pulled to the middle and leaves acres of space, so I guess it’s time to call quits on the square peg round hole bollocks…
there is a lot of GKs that are better than Fabianski (who should never have been bought in the first place, but hey) and would happily wait their turn at a club of our stature…
Anyway, MUST get some sleep. Good chatting with you all as ever!
Senderos had a proper game face unlike Djourou. I’ve always maintained that about him
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Senderos061115-02.jpg/200px-Senderos061115-02.jpg
Oh gettit now, totally forgot that film
Last post, promise – I think both TV and Miquel did very well at LB and are perfectly decent 3rd and 4th choices. Of course they weren’t as good as our first choices, but that’s how the squad system works
of course he can’t dribble, when was the last time you saw him dribbling past his man?
AOC has done it more times in two games than Theo in 22, ffs!
gervinho = captain jack sparrow
and oh, comparing Walnutt to Mata?
completely different positions, what next, Chamakh having scored more goals than John Terry?
has he?
lol suga3,
wally dribbled past 2 men into the 6 yard box not 48 hrs ago
Sug – ffs! He did it last night in the lead up to his goal (and on several occasions beforehand!) Stop being obtuse just for the sake of it. You are an Arsenal fan, so have seen plenty of our matches in the past few seasons. If you can’t remember Theo ever beating his man with the ball at his feet you then you must have an appalling/selective memory!
bollocks he has!
he has
Chamakh, that is…
Heh, I couldn’t even bring myself to point that out.
(Don’t make be break my own heart all over again by posting a video of that goal against Liverpool!)
you may want to call that a dribble, it’s referred to as ‘pinball’ in my quarters