Well, who fancies Allegri now? Useless.
It’s quite incredible to watch these elite European match-ups, the levels on display are breathtaking. Cristiano, a player whom the metaphoric black armbands were being dished out on account of his career death, turned up with one of the most spectacular bicycle kicks of all time. It was like watching a computer game. The guy has to go down as one of the most machine-like athletes of all time. Never injured, POW like guts, laser focus, and an audacity he should have lost when he was 18 and the English journos told him to leave his fancy shit at the gates of Selhurst Park.
To have spent so many years enjoying the Messi and Ronaldo matchup has been a pleasure.
Tonight, we’re going to be spoilt again. Liverpool vs City will be explosive. It’ll be lovely to see at least 1 English club in the semi-final this year. It’ll also be fascinating to watch Roma and Barca. The Italians did a lot of good business under Monchi last year, it’ll be interesting to see if they can bring his European cup competition magic dust to the occasion.
… but let’s be real here. The big show is tomorrow night when Arsenal take on the might of Russia in a showdown bigger than the rumble in the jungle, bigger than Jesse Owens in Berlin, more epic than Ivan Drago vs Rocky Balboa…
Yes, Mother Russia, versus good old Blighty!
I’m not quite sure what to expect. CSKA knocked Lyon out of the last round of the Europa League. They sit in a healthy 3rd in the Russian Premier League, just 5 points short of Lokomotiv Moscow. They’re in rich form as well, they’ve won 4 of their last 5 games.
However, I don’t expect the game to be that much of a problem. We’re the ultimate cup team. We have a crop of very talented players who can turn it on when they fancy it. The players aren’t just playing to erase the shame of our last season, they’re playing for Champions League bonuses. I expect a strong performance.
Wenger continues to sift for excuses for our substandard form this season in a bucket of drainpipe gunk.
“We were very disappointed with our result against [Manchester] City,”
“It takes time to grieve and to recover.”
My oh my, poor little babies.
Again, read between the lines.
‘My lions were licking the wounds of a cup final fail, you know, a cup final. Ask Pochettino about that’
Reality is, the players should have been coming to terms with losing to the kids at Nottingham Forst in the FA Cup, an out of form Bournemouth, Spurs at Wembley, and the band of misfits, Ostersunds, at home a few days before City decapitated us twice.
He went on…
“But because the mentality in the team is very good, strong and healthy – we’re recovered.
“I think always you judge a team by the way they come out of a crisis. On that front I believe that is very positive on our side.
“There’s some extra pressure on us to do extremely well in this competition but that’s part of being where we are.
“We have to see it in a way it’s an opportunity we want to take and keep the priorities right and of course focus on how well we play together, how we want to play.”
He cannot celebrate our mental strength, we have none. You cannot talk about coming out of a crisis when you’re sitting in 6th place in the league, fending off Burnley. Beating Milan twice is a noble effort, but they’re a shite side with a prestigious name that makes it feel like we toppled an elite giant of the game.
Wenger has been gifted by the cups in recent seasons. It looks like he’ll at least make a semi-final this season, and that’ll be passed off as a progress, despite us losing to bottom of the table Koln and a Swedish pub team along the way.
Still, if he makes a final and wins it, I’ll take it. I just hate the idea that he’ll earn a new deal. The club don’t look at the big picture. They look at moments in isolation. A bit like judging an Ozil season on his compilation videos, to the naked eye, he’s one of the greats, to the person that watches him week in week out, it’s absolutely clear why he’s stuck at Arsenal despite going into the final year of his contract and presenting himself to Europe all season. No one saved him. Do you think clubs are in the business of not scouting Ozil?
Anyway, I’ve been a moany bastard this week, I’m very much looking forward to the Arsene Wenger #SignDaTing tour moving one step closer to glory tomorrow night.
SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS x
SPOTIFY (SHUT UP SO COOL)
I also used to catch all kinds of shit, btw, for defending the idea that Oxlade Chamberlain had quality and potential. Also not a big deal, though.
What’s the verdict re: David Silva?
Think I know the what folk would be saying if it was Mesut.
Ramsey is a very intelligent player. Chamberlain… deary me, some of you must be taking the piss.
Yes Mystic, It is perfectly reasonable, and completely normal, to rate a central midfielder for their off the ball runs.
It’s only the modern muppet fan that is brainwashed into thinking otherwise by stat nerds who think players should just sit there and spend the whole game behind the ball. Which simply creates a one-dimensional linear dull game of football.
He’s had a stinker tonight CC.
I’d still take him everyday of the week over Ozil.
London
Trust me: you weren’t the only one. Not a big deal.
David Silva is fantastic, even if he hasn’t been great tonight. Like WE, I too would take him over Ozil.
Paulinho
You can’t compare Ramsey to those greats, he isn’t fit to tie their laces.
They may have made runs but their game wasn’t exclusively based on that, they brought far more qualities to the table.
Ramsey is a one trick pony and doesn’t offer enough alongside his penchant for making decent runs. A CM needs discipline and awareness. A CM isn’t an auxiliary striker a CM is supposed to tie the team together. A CM is the ultimate team player, not someone who plays for themselves.
Klopp always aces big games. Its against midtable, bottom sides that his tactics hit the skids because they don’t try to match the frenetic tempo that his teams thrive in.
Jesus has looked out of his depth tonight, guy is still only a kid.
“They ALL made runs off the ball, consistently so as well.” And also had put the team before their own glory. None was found jogging back into position when the opposition were in counter attack. All were proper DMs/CMs What a dense example to us. Petit, Viera, Keane, Scholes Bamford Actually I remember, I challenged your idea on it once when you said Wenger couldn’t have done what Klopp did with Dortmund or that he just needs to challenge to have done more than Wenger in 10years or something in that light. But of course, Klopp is better than Wenger… Read more »
RR
Yep.
His teams generally are capable of incredible high levels of performance, struggle for consistency though.
Much better suited to knockout competitions.
Rambo
He has an eye for a pass (no way on the level of Ozil or Cazorla)
Has a good instinct for making the runs, but he isn’t brimming with intelligence, like a xavi, messi, paul scholes or pirlo (or even a carrick lol)
Not a dumb player but not very intelligent either.
Don’t think anyone has said Ox is a miastro or that he is even very intelligent just that his in-game intelligence has improved since he has joined Liverpool which arguably has.
London – You’re still trotting out the myth that he plays for himself. Deary me…..
You’re changing the goal posts I see. Earlier you claimed top quality central midfielders don’t make runs forward at all, now you concede that the great ones did but……they also did other stuff.
Liverpool have played well tonight.
Mystic – Nothing to say I see, what a surprise.
Ramsey is intelligent though. And kinda thinks outside of the box, often times than not, his execution doesn’t match his brains, which is already major let down for a grade A CAM
The only problem for Liverpool is they don’t have the ability to shut up shop for the next tie.
You can expect City to score a few.
Still though 3+ is a healthy advantage.
They made off the ball runs.
Deal with it.
Jogging back or running back is completely irrelevant.
Anyway, Ramsey at full throttle does run back and defend, so that’s more nonsense.
Yeah too much for me, they needed that away goal.
Can’t see them keeping Liverpool from scoring at the Etihad and 5 goals is way too much of an ask.
Paulinho, not my fault you can’t read. Am not even bashing Ramsey, just can’t understand how you have bad things to say for even the most polished players but yet can’t see no wrong in Ramsey. It’s intriguing.
London you don’t see Liverpool scoring st citeh?
Paulinho
Haven’t changed anything, said Great CM’s don’t base their game on runs which they don’t and I stand by that.
Face it ramsey isn’t good enough. He leaves the centre a mess going on his roy of the rovers exploits. Sometimes it pays off, but most times it doesn’t hence his goal tally which isn’t great by a far margin.
Chamberlain must be delighted being away from that cunt Wenger.
Yeah that would be my main criticism of Ramsey, he usually has the right idea but often makes a balls of the execution.
“Jogging back or running back is completely irrelevant.”
Lol, winner. Coming from someone who says am a bit dense
Paulinho
You are a bizarre block slated Cazorla and Sanchez for their shortcomings yet make constant mistakes for Ramseys.
It’s like you are incapable of being objective about the bloke.
Absolutely love klopp….he has great passion and charisma, belief in his attacking football and a great motivator of players.
Look at the ox go!….
Just makes me sad we still have the senile tactically inept fraud still in charge.
Alex-Arnold came of age tonight.
I maintain it, making runs off the ball can’t be the hallmark of your CM, its pretty stupid. Someone pointed out how Ramsey left only Xhaka in the middle and joined forwards against Stoke, not caring about protecting the 1 nil lead we had. Scholes, Keane, Petit or Viera won’t do that.
‘Don’t think anyone has said Ox is a miastro or that he is even very intelligent just that his in-game intelligence has improved since he has joined Liverpool which arguably has.’
He was like bottom of the barrel at Arsenal, dumbest player in the team. I suppose the only way was up.
“Paulinho
You are a bizarre block slated Cazorla and Sanchez for their shortcomings yet make constant mistakes for Ramseys.
It’s like you are incapable of being objective about the bloke.”
Exactly, Paulinho is the most objective poster here when it comes to even the most polished footballers except when their name is Aaron Ramsey
Mystic – You made a silly point about Ramsey struggling when the spaces are closed in the same way Chamberlain struggles, when as I’ve said numerous times before, Ramsey can deal with that by running beyond the ball and troubling teams with his off the ball movement.
Chamberlain is simply not capable of that. He always needs to be behind or parallel to the ball, and once he gets it in space then he can do damage.
Otamendi was shite tonight, he’s the weak link in the team.
Wasn’t disappointed that we got rid of him by any means but massive respect and kudos for Oxlade Chamberlain. Playing and scoring in a champions league quarter final that is what it’s all about and he wasn’t going to be doing that here so in that respect he was right to leave. Can’t begrudge him at all when all he wanted to do was better his career
Those Wenger quotes are hilarious by the way.
“He was like bottom of the barrel at Arsenal, dumbest player in the team. I suppose the only way was up.”
I wonder when Ramsey will realise he is in the same situation Ox was… seeing as he already has you believing he is Zidane
London
That bit about Ramsey leaving the center wide open irresponsibly isn’t even true. He was asked to hold in both matches against AC Milan and he did so responsibly. The narrative many of you use against Ramsey today just isn’t accurate. It also ignores how he would play under a manager who always gave him specific and explicit instructions vs. how he has played in the past under a manager who generally doesn’t.
Regardless, I’m glad I’m not the only one defending Ramsey any more. Cheers, Paulinho.
Paulinho, as a footballer which is easier? A CM that runs without the ball or a CM that runs with the ball and works with it?
Mystic – Jogging back is irrelevant.
Scholes running forward used to leave United extremely open at the back, and was never the best at tracking runners.
But that’s what made players like him and teams like United great. They imposed their game on the opposition, and didn’t spend the whole match sitting deep in midfield afraid of leaving space.
I shouldn’t even be blaming Ramsey, he has an enabler in Lord Wenger. Ox was right to jump ship, massive kudos to him.
Liverpool 3 – City 0
The score line isn’t surprising at all.
Liverpool have been the better team in the league for the past few weeks. The tie came at the right time for them.
That’s why I think next season will be the best in the premier league era. United, City and Spuds will truly compete for the title.
Arsenal will fall further behind if Wenger stays on board.
I want to see Ramsey under a Conte/Allegri or Simeone. Think he’ll thrive in the systems they like to play.
You’ve got to say Liverpool deserved the win but Salah was offside for the first goal, and City had Sane called for offside incorrectly as he set up a goal. Could have been 2-1 easily.
Rambo
You’re right that Ox isn’t the world’s most intelligent player, but he is quick, technical and powerful. With proper instruction, he could’ve been a very good player for Arsenal.
He is another player whom Wenger failed.
Another day, another Ramsey-is-supreme cluster-fuc*ing argument breaks out on le-grove.
Mystic – Effectively?
Both equally as difficult. Why there are so few of either of them.
Chamberlain is not top class at running with it, because he can’t do it in restricted space or against well drilled sides.
Definitely more and more players dropping deep and coming towards the ball though, and football in general is definitely not improving because of it so I give more credit to the off the ball types like Lampard, Alli, and Ramsey.
“I want to see Ramsey under a Conte/Allegri or Simeone. Think he’ll thrive in the systems they like to play.”
True. i want to see all our players under a different coach, they would be all better
See what Klopp is doing to young British players? Alexander Arnold looks like the real deal.
That’s proper British core development.
I’ve always thought Wynaldum was a tidy player but he’s now second choice to Oxlade at Liverpool.
I’m glad for Oxalde, now he has a manager who believes in him as a midfielder.
I give more credit to the off the ball types like Lampard, Alli, and Ramsey.
Alli plays behind the striker, not a CM. Lampard was as good making play as he was making runs off the ball. Lampard is all Ramsey can be with a proper manager.
Lamps was a beast.
‘Another day, another Ramsey-is-supreme cluster-fuc*ing argument breaks out on le-grove.’
Okay, how about Guardiola-is-overrated discussion?
Can someone post results of Guardiola managed teams’ in CL knockout in the last few years? It should be funny.
I think it’s time to start distinguishing what Ramsey does. Making runs means he plays as and like a CM and runs towards the edge to finish. That’s not what Ramsey does, that’s Lampard.
Ramsey plays ahead of the CM positions most times and generally occupies spaces that AMs occupy and most times finds himself higher than the CF. CMs rarely do that. So either he doesn’t know how to play as a CM or he is playing without instructions. I stake my house on the second option
luke,
“You’ve got to say Liverpool deserved the win but Salah was offside for the first goal, and City had Sane called for offside incorrectly as he set up a goal. Could have been 2-1 easily.
If only…could have been….had it been, pfff luck is part of the beautiful game.
“”If My Grandfather Had Three Balls He Would Be A Pinball Machine,” -the great Gattuso
Ramsey seems to have a free role
Shout to Robert Lee of Newcastle as well.
Quality 90s central midfielder that scored goals aplenty.
Mystic – Did you not watch the Cup final? I mean,you can have your concerns about Ramsey in a central role long-term, but you’re just being daft if you can’t see that Ramsey was disciplined and effective defensively in that match, or at the very least adjusted his game to the opposition, in comparison to playing a team like Stoke, where he would make more runs. Again, people seem to also keep missing the point that Ozil drops deep, and wants to drop deep, and we need runs from deeper positions for overall balance and to actually have an offensive… Read more »
Samesong, Ramsey free role, Ozil free role, only under Wenger lol
Paulinho I said this “So either he doesn’t know how to play as a CM or he is playing without instructions. I stake my house on the second option”.
No, for me, to any Guardiola-is-overrated discussions. Paulinho has made a smart point about his teams in knock-out competitions, and the why of that might be worth digging into, but the general Pep-is-overrated argument is a bit absurd given that City have been brilliant this entire season and are at least 14 points ahead of everyone else in the league.
Paulinho
Gareth Speed
Gareth Speed was a brilliant box to box midfielder.
Lucho Gonzalez too in his prime was a very good offensive CM for those late runs.
Samesong – Great shout with Gary Speed.
Mystic – Well he did play well in that game so don’t really get your point.
If he was playing without instruction he did a pretty good job of it.
Mkhitaryan: When I heard I could swap Man United for Arsenal, I said, ‘Yes, I want to do that’, I didn’t think twice, Mkhitaryan told FourFourTwo .
It’s important for me to play in an offensive team.
The ITKs really know nothing. They said Miki didn’t want to come lol
Lucho Gonzalez, my guy
Lucho Gonzalez, completely forget about him. Another one.
Fernando Redondo.
A holding midfielder, yet one of his own stand out moments was doing a United player at Old Trafford and running down the byline and squaring for Raul.
Top sides were full of intelligent free-thinkers that didn’t work to a script,and had teammates to cover of it not, just back themselves regardless.
Paulinho, I wasn’t particular about that match, He was good against Chelsea and also against Milan and against some other teams but you tend to see a pattern, he combined being a CM with making those runs so when he doesn’t score he is still actually useful to the team. If he can play like that going forward, we all win. My gripe is that he doesn’t have a manager that challenges him and all the standards he has set for himself gears towards the offensive. If Allegri or Simeone or Klopp or Tuchel or Jardim or fucking Rodgers was… Read more »
Mystic – He will and consistently has played like that when he is fully fit.
Remember it was at the back end of the 2012-13 season when he started running around like mad man, closing people down, and getting cheers off the crowd because of it. He then carried that on into the next season. Probably only stretch of time he was fully fit.
If Wenger didn’t keep having these crises he wouldn’t have to keep trying to recover from them
“Can someone post results of Guardiola managed teams’ in CL knockout in the last few years? It should be funny.“
Yea let’s all have a good laugh at a guy who lives in the CL quarters and beyond. What a loser Pep is, the spanish twat only decimates domestically everywhere he goes.
Give it up Pep, you’re fooling nobody!
Ramsey has spells in some games where he forgets that he’s a professional footballer and thinks he’s playing in the playground or down the park with his mates.
It’s like he is obsessed with trying to get into the box to score irrespective of what will happen if the other team hit us on the break.
I do find it difficult to fathom him out as he is quite capable of playing a disciplined role but, at times, he seems to completely lose control of his mind (football brain) and is back in the playground.
I see that the City team bus was given the royal treatment by Liverpool fans and City are livid, asking for the perps to be caught.
That was a proper footballing welcome from the scouses, city wont understand because they have no footballing traditions.
Paulinhio
Who do you prefer
Fernando Redondo vs Juan Riquelme
Different eras I guess but Redondo was always injured while Riquelme was a hot-headed genius.
That strike from Oxlade-Chamberlain. Good for him.
Wenger is a shameless pub league manager. After being entertained over the last two days by real football teams, now we get the pleasure of watching a pub league team managed by the great One Arsene Wenger.
No longer a debate, Arsenal under Arsene Wenger are a shit team – just the way he designed them.
I want to see Ramsey under a Conte/Allegri or Simeone. Think he’ll thrive in the systems they like to play.
Don’t think Simeone or Conte would touch Ramsey if I’m honest. Allegri maybe because I’m not so sure about him as an elite type of manager if I’m honest very good though. Simeone for sure wouldn’t have Ramsey anywhere near one of his midfields. Compared to Saul, Koke even Gabi or Thomas Partey he looks out of place
Mystic – Did you not watch the Cup final?I mean,you can have your concerns about Ramsey in a central role long-term, but you’re just being daft if you can’t see that Ramsey was disciplined and effective defensively in that match, or at the very least adjusted his game to the opposition, One fucking game. For christs sake even Xhaka admittedly had a good game in the final. But none of that takes anything away from the numerous other poor games he’s had. The Ramsey stuff is honestly beyond pathetic now. Wouldn’t be such a debate if he was the attacking… Read more »
Ramsey has spells in some games where he forgets that he’s a professional footballer and thinks he’s playing in the playground or down the park with his mates. It’s like he is obsessed with trying to get into the box to score irrespective of what will happen if the other team hit us on the break. I do find it difficult to fathom him out as he is quite capable of playing a disciplined role but, at times, he seems to completely lose control of his mind (football brain) and is back in the playground. Pierre on this we are… Read more »
Can’t see Man City coming back from 3-0 down.
Those on here who said The Ox was nothing are being made to eat a lot of humble pie at present.
Just goes to show that when you have a manager who knows what he’s doing and trusts in you, you can blossom quickly.
Ah well, CSKA tonight.
Not sure what will happen.
Hope the fans(Russian) behave themselves tonight.
“Some of you people’s heads would spin if we ever signed someone like Goretska or Kovacic or Milinkovic Savic.”
Marko, i trust Paulinho to find a way to be objective about all of them. There must be something wrong, Ramsey is the perfect CM when fully fit
Will Golovin play today? There was real shout a summer ago that we were going for him…might today be an audition? Knowing the unpreparedness of our recruitment team (Sven Milinstat hasn’t proved otherwise with his purchase of Auba) he could win a move today and next week if he plays well.
FYI …CSKA are…get this 10/1 to beat arsene-al tonight. The way results have worked in the Europa cup this season, away teams do very well. Both arsenal and CSKA have won away and scoring lots of goals. So these odds look statistically absurd in any event. 10/1 is too tempting for a fiver to miss out on. If the so-called loyalists out there are crying that its shameful to back against arsenal, just think that the same logic and strategy can be applied in Moscow when arsenal may be a good bet away from home. In any event backing against… Read more »
WW
10/1, wow, may have a flutter myself.
The fact that CSKA dumped Lyon out of the competition, means this will be a tough encounter.
To be honest, my “affinity” to my “beloved Arsenal” died long ago.
Now I just shrug my shoulders and accept that what will be, will be.
All very sad.
Thanks Arsene.
Going to have to swerve the folk that think OX has become a super hero now he’s at Anfield, that’s an odd one to me. Think a few too many are reading the headlines and listening to the chat.
He’s Ox, talented, explosive, but no consistency, guile, or intelligence relatively speaking. Ramsey is a far superior midfielder even centrally.
CC
Don’t you see any difference in his game?
Just saying he will develop more under Klopp than Wenger.
Who said anything about him becoming a “super hero”?
It might sound an odd thing to say, but Arsenal have been treated as though we’re another ‘Everton’. Everton have forever and a day been under the huge shadow cast by Liverpool’s success. They are the eternal optimists who dream but have no real expectations. If Wenger had done for Everton what he has done at Arsenal for the past twelve years, he would rightly be lauded. But he hasn’t had to deal with looking shadows at Arsenal, in fact it was us casting the shadow, and let’s be honest here, Tottenham and Everton are similar size clubs. Liverpool practically… Read more »
*looking = looming!
I’ve not seen a scouser this excited over one leg since Paul McCartney met Heather Mills.
What I will say about ox is that he had a very effective first half attacking wise . Impressive.
2nd half he sat in with the other 2 central midfielders and did a steady job for the team protecting their lead..
Good performance but one swallow doesn’t make a summer.
Haha, brilliant Frank Mc.
How we’ve missed the presence of a Frank McLintock at The Arsenal!
Nice one Frank Mc. Count how many good games Chamberlain has had for the bindippers this season before you declare him The new Frank lampard. Like a few people have said once he’s doing it consistently then shout from the roof tops. He was piss poor for us most of the time so the only way would be up. City were poor last night, fully expect an away goal in the second leg and that’s good night Vienna for pep. League cup, the championship, and quarters of the champions league, would give my left nut for a season like that.… Read more »
Michael The English corner of the press are fawning over him, it’s incredibly knee jerk – and a continued case of ignoring the reality and cherry picking what writes well. No I haven’t seen an upturn from Ox, he’s simply went to a team and has been given a defined role in a well drilled side. If we had a manager capable of that at Arsenal then he’d have done it here. Ergo he’s no better, just confident and accountable. He’s still far more physically gifted than he is footballingly so. Look it’s not a dig, I’m simply quelling the… Read more »
Isn’t it odd that in all the years of the knockout stages Madrid and Barca have never met each other in the QF..
The welcome ceremony that the Liverpool fans gave the City team bus is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I saw the videos on you tube. People, will condemn the pelting of the team bus but WTK, some things are just part of football,
I can just imagine the younger city players shitting their pants in that team bus.
Jim, isn’t it odd that there were three Spanish sides and only two English, and yet not only did they construct a draw where all the big guns avoided each other, the Spanish sides all missed each other, and they pass off drawing the two English against each other as a complete coincidence, which everyone is shit-scared of raising as an issue because we’re all so mind-numbingly ‘PC’.
Champagne
The tabloids are right to praise Oxlade.
It’s always good to see a player actually begging to move from ‘potential ‘ to some modicum of quality.
Wenger didn’t trust Oxlade in the middle, Klopp did and he’s beginning to contribute in big games. He also scored with a long range shot when Liverpool beat City in the league.
I don’t think it’s “fawning over him”. it’s just a note of his progress..
The attack on the bus happened for what!? Amazing
Fraudiola.
That made Wenger look shrewd.
Dissenter.
Yeah ,maybe next time they should do a Dortmund and bomb the bus, sever a few of the city’s players limbs …,that’ll stop em winning the league next year.
Then we can all watch it on YouTube !!!
Twat.