Christmas Early. Arsenal 2 Liverpool 1 Match Review
Let them . . . die!!!
Winners win matches they have no business winning. How many times have we heard that? How many times have we said that about teams who aren’t our favourite? Well, on a day they clearly did not have their best stuff, Arsenal did something at Anfield they had not done since October 2003 – they won.
Forget what you will about Liverpool’s nosedive into the mid-table, but look at an Arsenal squad that is struggling to contend with the amount of injuries that are racking up. Look at an Arsenal side that does not have a true central attacker and that willing itself forward in spite of the pundits and naysayers.
This match was definitely a tale of two halves. In the first Arsenal had no business even being on the pitch. Liverpool in pure desperation mode were the better team. They closed down any Arsenal player with the ball and Mascherano was doing a yeomans job clogging up the midfield. Captain Cesc Fabregas the on field general was a non-factor – oh hell who we kidding the whole team was a non-factor. But for 40 minutes Arsenal still found themselves in a 0-0 draw.
That was until Steven Gerrard did a dancing pirroette and got the call some 20 or so yards outside the penalty box. On first play Almunia punches the ball to have it not cleared out effectively and have the ball wind at Dirk Kuyt’s feet. And even though he nearly whiffed – Kuyt was able to toe the ball past Almunia and a very active William Gallas. Upon further review it was clear Pool were offsides but that doesn’t excuse the poor clearing attempt by Almunia.
Going into half time you could forgive Arsenal fans if they were screaming collectively at their team, their keeper and their manager. Nothing was there. However, what can only be called an un-Arsene like moment, the Arsenal manager completely ripped into his squad telling them according to Cesc Fabregas “You don’t deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt.” To be honest he was right. There was no heart in the first half. Whether it was a stronger effort by Liverpool putting our players off, Arsenal were not crisp nor were they decisive in their play. Arsene was right in his assessment. Now, if Arsenal go on an extended run and do something this year we have to ask ourselves if that dressing down was a the coming of age moment for the squad.
If you came into watch the match in the second half you could be forgiven if you wondered how Arsenal were behind 1-0. They came out with more purpose. They were effectively holding the midfield and shutting down the Liverpool play. It was as if what ever was bugging Arsenal in the first half jumped over to Liverpool. Finally at the 50 minute mark – Arsenal got on the board.
The goal came not from the foot of an Arsenal player but on the foot of weak defending Glen Johnson. Leaving Nasri alone in the box the Frenchman attempted a cross to Theo Walcott. Johnson clearly out of position had the ball come off his foot after a Carragher deflection. From their on in the home side were beaten. They clearly looked like a side lacking any confidence. Arsenal had all the play. They had the swerve that Liverpool had in the beginning.
And as if to remove any doubt 6 minutes later in what is becoming a common theme, Andrei Arshavin completely owned Glen Johnson. Receving the cross off of Theo Walcott’s head, the diminutive Russian made Liverpool pay for not attacking the ball. The marvel of the goal isn’t that he scored again at Anfield, it’s that he rocketed it past Reina while falling away from the ball. And if Wenger is to be believed, Arshavin has had pain in the scoring foot all week. The man is quickly becoming to Liverpool what Didier Drogba is to us – a royal pain in the Ass.
For the next 30 minutes Liverpool couldn’t muster a successful attack. They were muted out on every play or continually offsides. Whatever the reason, Arsenal turned it around and now it is Liverpool who have to spend the rest of the season fighting for the Champion’s League lives.
Given all that occured this weekend, Spurs losing, Chelsea drawing, United losing, City drawing (again), Arsenal fans knew that we were in prime position to do something. However, given recent experience the general feeling was we wouldn’t. At the start of this season we didn’t know what to make of this team. Not a lot changed form a squad that struggled for the first half and poured it on from the second half of the 08/09 season.
What is different then is that even with all the crap going on with the team, from injuries, diving inquiries, board room struggles, etc, this team is proving doubters wrong. Whether it amounts to something remains to be seen. All I know is I am going to enjoy the ride and see where it takes me.
Some things to discuss though:
Manuel Almunia.
I am not a manger. But I don’t think it takes one to see that Manuel Almunia is done. For whatever reason the Spaniard hasn’t had even medium stuff. He is too glued to his line, he punches the ball ineffectively, and does not really do a sound job of commanding his defense. If it were not for his defense Liverpool would’ve tested him and who knows what would have happened.
Arsene has to see this. He has to know. He pulled Lehmann for lesser crap. If he isn’t going to buy a goalie he has to at least give Fabianski a run out to press the “1st team keeper.” Manuel Almunia isn’t our best option at goal. I would be hard pressed to say he is Notts County’s best option in goal.
Steven Gerrard.
Is an absolute disgrace. Has his game deteriorated so much that he has to dive more times than a Chinese diver in the Olympics? Lets look at the pfoul that got Liverpool on the board. Denilson and Stevie G go for the ball together, Denilson, basically hips him out of the way, and Gerrard buckles over wincing in pain and holding his knee. Thats right holding his knee. If you look at it again nothing of Denilson’s body hits Gerrards knee. In fact all Denilson manages to do is hit Gerrard’s stomach with his ass. For all the scouser cries that Webb called a horrible game – they miss the fact that Gerro absolutely was flopping more than a fish on a boat.
His antics are an absolute disgrace for such a storried franchise. I really feel the reason that Webb didn’t call the penalty on Gallas was because of Gerrard’s constant diving. It is the old case of the boy who cried wolf too many times. To add to his insult his constant attempt to try and referree the match by crying to Webb every time he went down. Sorry Gerro you’ve been found out.
So DAG what are you trying to say?
Have I ranted enough for you? Have I waived the banner of Arsene Wenger enough? Look, there are still issues the biggest of which is our goalie closely followed by the need for a striker. But two weeks ago everyone said Chelsea were about to run away with the league but as of today the table (which does not lie) puts us 6 points behind the leaders with a game in hand and firmly in the title race.
How we finish the title race depends largely on what we do in January. If we buy a quality striker who can compliment our attack I like our chances to continue to push United and Chelsea. And to conclude – it is NOT what you do against Chelsea or United that will dictate who wins the league. It is what you do against the likes of Burnley, Hull, and the rest of the table that will win you the championship. Just ask United (1W 3L 2D against the big 4 last season).
Player Ratings:
Almunia: 0 (just for you Nip – DAG)
Gallas: 7
Vermaelen: 8 (MOTM)
Traore: 6
Sagna: 6
Denilson: 6.5
Fabregas: 7
Song: 7.5
Nasri: 6
Walcott: 5.75
Arshavin: 7.75
Subs:
Diaby: 6
Silvestre: N/A
Ramsey: N/A
Next Up: Away at Burnley – Wednesday 19:45 BST
106 comments
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I think we will cruise tonight. Burnley play football and Arsenal love teams like that. I predict a 3-1 (if Almunia plays), otherwise a 3-0. :)
So 3-1, if Manny plays. 3-0, if we have no one in goal? ;-)
No that’s 3-0 if either Vermaelen or Gallas have to cover goal for Manny.
Speaking of Robert Green, anybody saw how he handed Klasnic an early Christmas gift?
Does anyone know when the last time a visiting team came from behind to win at Anfield – in league play!
that’s an Arsenal team
Ha, just came across Andez’ hilarious piece.
Rebutting it wont cause me to think too much :-)
1) Who has EVER blasted Denilson, Almunia, Walcott or any others on ONE point in a match??? The flack they catch is for the body of their work.
2) Blame individual players? Who should we blame? The entire team?? Hilarious sh%t! Funny, I have seen Andez blasting Almunia several times before, so I guess YOU fall under that.
3) Do not allow everyone to have their own opinion?? Actually, it is the Wenger-can-do-no-wrong crowd that are guilty of that. You must tow the Wenger line or else you are not a real fan!!! ;-)
4) Fair enough the manager knows more than most fans. However football is an END PRODUCT game. You can SEE the ware in plain view. If it is shit, it is shit. It is like engineering. If you buy a faulty equipment you KNOW it is not working. Can you make that equipment? Ofcourse not. Same goes for football.
Besides, how many times Andez have you blasted OTHER managers? I can assure you, you know LESS than any manager that exists.
5) 6) 7) Completely nonsensical.
8 ) Denilson stats? How does “touching the ball” stats make him useful. Everybody in the world knows what he does when he touches the ball. Most interceptions in the team? You must be on drugs!
Show me stats on number of forward passes or stats on number of tackles attempted and won, or even number of passes of over 15 yards. Then we can talk.
9) Completely nonsensical.
10) Economic realities? You do realize that Arsenal and other clubs balance sheets are actually PUBLIC knowledge. As of the year ending this last September, Arsenal made a PROFIT … that is AFTER PAYING DOWN ON THE LOAN FOR THE YEAR! We are the third most lucrative club in all of Europe. We may more in salary than any team in Europe other than Man U, Chelsea and Madrid!!!!
We have the HIGHEST ticket prices in Europe!!!
THOSE ARE ECONOMIC REALITIES!
————————————————————
In conclusion, your entire post is based on some ridiculous, “I am a better fan than you” complex! No you are not, you dont celebrate Arsenal goals more, you do not obsess over Arsenal games more, you dont watch more games, you dont buy more merchandise and on average you have not been an Arsenal fan longer. Get used to difference in opinion. And the fact some of us arent Wenger worshippers means that the Arsenal fanbase has a relatively higher IQ, where logic and constant questioning prevails rather than blind devotion (to a man) – in the face of a gloomier reality.
Get over yourself.
We are all sitting in the back of the bus, giving opinions of the driver, the route, the bus manufacturer, the transit authority, traffic issues, and fellow passengers.
Now unless you have experience as ‘the bus driver’, comments are going to be discounted by the other passengers.
Fans only have experience with the remote.
Fred, that’s actually pretty well stated!
Thank you, Fred. Particularly nice that this comes from one of our own, rather than another cut and paste.
Andez – LDE
“the article I saw is from “Untold Arsenal” (which is in the blogroll of DAG – right upper corner of this page).” Thanks for the heads up!
The Arsenal supporter that runs that sight – wrote a comment on another sight; on Dec 10th; after the Olympiacos match. The eighth posted comment.
Its a great perspective of Arsene and Arsenal. Well worth your time. Those that complain just for the sake of complaining, THIS WILL GIVE YOU MORE SUBJECT MATTER TO VILIFY.
REMEMBER – 8th comment to the article.
http://arsenalfcblog.com/arsenal-0-1-olympiakos-ramsey-dazzles-as-vela-leaves-his-shooting-boots-at-home/
Looks like Villa are doing the job at Sunderland, 2 goals up in the 80th minute and Cana just sent off with a second yellow. They seem for real…backing up their win at Old Trafford. Their physio-room list is impressively short…. http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php
And United stop the nice work Wolves did on the weekend at White Hart Lane….
The Guardian is prepping for the Olympics by calling out the English diving team. Unfortunately only hippies (and Arsenal fans) read the Guardian…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/dec/15/england-football-diving-bigotry-hypocrisy
Wolves.
They THREW THE MATCH!
There might be an investigation into this… because they did not even try to win.
They made 10 CHANGES from the weekend… and obviously, they were completely resting their players for the big match on the weekend against Burnley… a “6-pointer”…
A bit early to be throwing points away, especially against a United side depleted by injury, but it appears that is exactly what they did.
I can’t buy into the Villa hype. They are good and young and I love Gabby Abonghlahor but there is no depth on the team.
Their losing their pace last season had less to do with better teams than it had to do with an exhausted team sustaining a long season.
They will drop away but with Pool in their downslide they could still make it.
But my questions is – who doesn’t think SPurs, Villa or even City make it out of the qualification round?
I have no problem w/ Denilson being out in the short term, but as much as I dislike him as a player, we will need him when Song goes to the ANC.
Why?
Arsene believes in him, and believes we have the talent to cope with players leaving for the ANC.
(I think he cues up that line every time)
Apropos of nothing….
I notice on our Facebook page they are some ladies. Do any post on here? Do we need to curb our language? Be more careful who we call a ‘girl’s blouse’ ;-)
Burnley team news..
Denilson out- mixed feelings about that.
Traore out- 1st and 2nd choice LBs were making him feel left out on the sidelines so he has joined them. Excellent. Time for Silvestre to shine
Oh and we got Eboue back, so expect some fluid interplay up front if he starts.
… and some wild shots at goal.
OzK, is Eboue going to play defense for Burnley?
He might get confused again if he starts upfront ;)
“Time for Silvestre to shine.”
Is that possible?
Even if he was dipped in gold, I doubt it.
Lol
Nobody’s got a “chest infection” (recurrence)….?
I think the next kind of player dropping in Arsene’s playbook is the actual you’re-not-good-enough dropping. So still hopes to see Fabs in goal yet. Burnley are not mugs when it comes to attacking and we will need to be alert (I fear with Almunia in goal).
The rumor is that Chelsea is looking at Robert Green to replace Cech, as their manager has had enough of dear Peter.
Ummmm.
Can we get Cech?
Why not take him off Chelsea’s hands?
ALL keepers have their moments of madness, drops in confidence, and the like… from Seaman to Lehmann …
But he is far far superior to anything we have… come to think of it,
Robert Green is probably better than what we have as well.
But I doubt Wenger will ever go for a REAL keeper in January, and that will probably be our undoing… or play a large part of it.
Especially, when many of our opponents get one or two chances a game, and the usally beat Manny like a drum.
I’d rather have Green than Cech.
Not me. Cech is awesome, though Green was very good in our match. If either team (Us or Chelsea) make a move for him in January (unlikely, I think) he would be automatic #1 for England (which isn’t saying much.) If he’s that good West Ham should keep him to avoid the drop.
All keepers make mistakes. On the better teams they are magnified because oppositions get fewer chances AND because fans expect 3 points every outing. Keepers for lesser teams can often play without excessive pressure against the bigger teams (They’re gonna lose anyhow…), make some killer saves and look better than they would if they had the pressure of keeping clean sheets game after game.
So….I’ve been thinking about Arsene’s HT tirade and it makes me thirsty for a little Kool-Aid…
For better or worse this incarnation of Arsenal is a reflection of AW, and at 60, how many years does he have left? He has laid the groundwork for the future of the club, but winning a (big–i.e., League or CL) trophy would be the crowning jewel. Our young Capitan Cesc seems bought in to the dream as well, but how much longer can we keep him if we’re offered all the gold in Catalunya?
My point is, the time is now, and together the manager and the team (maybe) have discovered that when they confront the moment at hand, they can do things. Yes, it was against woeful Liverpool, their best player patched up, their leader reduced to a CHEATING SACK OF SHIT, etc., and the goals were lucky (and wonderfully lucky) but the team still did it. They took their chances, snuffed out the whiff of a “New Season” for the rival at hand and grabbed the opportunities offered from those above us in the table.
Personally, I’ve always loved AW’s rhetoric about the “team”: about how being part of a real team is a great thing in a young person’s life, and how “belief” and “togetherness” are key elements for our squad. When we suffer bad results or fail to measure up to former glories these ideas ring terribly hollow to long-time supporters and the cries go out–“Swim with the tide,” “Buy us a trophy,” “Dump the babies,” etc. I’m paraphrasing of course, and over-stating things (and hey, I love the realists/doomers and they are TRUE supporters) but you have to or else you might start listening and thinking that this version of Arsenal is worthless.
That’s not my view. In my mind we’ve got a collection of talented (to varying degrees), mostly young, mostly small, footballers, who can play some good stuff. They’ve come from all over the planet and speak different languages and look different from one another. And they are very different (an affront?) to the English football culture that surrounds them.
They come to London as individuals with their own individual abilities and aspirations….and it’s got to be a pretty tough culture to adapt to–rough and tumble football, abusive fans (generally those supporting their opponents but sometimes their own) not to mention the normal difficulties of trying to navigate a ruthless industry (professional sports) as very young men. I won’t even mention the weather, or (women) driving on the left….My point is that their first priority is to themselves, not to the team. Obviously some do better than others and some have so much talent that they will succeed in the game no matter where it takes them.
Of course, it’s the manager’s job to mold the individuals into a team, to show them that by succeeding as a team they become successes as individuals and gain the appreciation of the football world and the love of their team’s supporters. But I’d suggest that’s not the easiest job.
In my view, the events of Sunday’s match at Anfield might indicate that perhaps AW is (finally?) making inroads with this group of players and that we’re on the verge of becoming bigger than a collection of individuals…that maybe the players are growing into a team. (And perhaps, if they play their best they may even be worthy to wear the shirt with the big Arab Airline ad and the little cannon crest….a pretty ballsy statement, if you ask me…)
It’s only one tirade (Perhaps we could call it a seche-cheveux…that’s French for hair-dryer) and only one result, but I loved how, in describing what he said at HT, AW immediately stressed the need for consistency, that beating Liverpool means nothing if they can’t continue against Burnley, etc.
At half-time he asked them to show their bottle in that match, by responding as they did, they’ll be asked to show it again and again and again….
Who knows, maybe they (we?) can do it….
The own-goal was LUCKY, the Arshavin goal was sheer brilliance.
They could make a run at “doing it” with some help in the form of a few good men via transfer in January.
Without that, we’ll be fun to watch, and tease the kool-aiders all year, again.
;)
The games against Villa are looking more and more important. I think they have beaten Chelsea, ManU and Liverpool this season. Impressive!
Villa are looking very good, esp. against the top teams. They are deadly on the counter and generally have a lot of team speed and a solid defense. I think, however, they may struggle trying to unlock the lesser teams and may drop some points they shouldn’t in those games. Today at Sunderland might be interesting….
Villa work really hard and it has paid dividends against the big sides. They have quality as well but I think it is their pressing that has really paid dividends.
Along with the quality they have out wide and up front (and pace), they are very dangerous. Young is one of the best crossers in the league, Milner and Downing are right up there as well. Carew and Heskey are ideal players to get on the end of those (Agbonlahor not too bad either). Agbonlahor is also one of the fastest players around (did you see Kuszak sh*t his pants when he got charged by him? I’ve been very impressed with Agbonlahor’s work-rate.
We don’t rate Walcott too much around here, but I think if he went to a team like Villa he would really come into his own. We’re just going to have to hope he comes good for us.
Walcott would fit right in to the Villa team.
If only O’Neill is ready to meet Arsene’s valuation of the player. ;)
Arsene’s evaluation? He’d be PRICELESS!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbh3kg_brentford-0-v-0-leeds_sport
our future number 1 in action against leeds…couple of nice saves
I like the Poles over the Mannys in our goal keeping ranks and hope that it’s not long before MadFab is #1 and the tall vowelless teenager is right behind him. Who starts tomorrow at Burnley?
I have big hopes for that kid. He has soo much potential. And his reaction to that game and MotM performance was very down-to-earth. I like it.
But he is a keeper, and they are traditionally late bloomers (in terms of breaking into first team). I think we will be lucky to see him playing semi-regularly/pushing for a 1st team in 5 years time. He is only 19.
On the same note, who is the youngest top notch keeper to have played for a prolonged period for a big club? Casillas is the only one that comes to mind.
Buffon was a teenager when he started playing for Parma.
One can always trust Jens Lehmann to make football interesting:
After his urinating incident, he injures himself shoving an opponent for “no apparent reason”. He gets sent off for his actions, concedes a penalty (and equalizer), then breaks an opposing fans glasses in a ascuffle after the match. Classic!!
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=713215&cc=3436
A recap of some of his crazier antics as well in that article. Very entertaining reading.
And it goes to show how bad Manny has been that I would prefer Lehmann in our goal over him.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbhu6w_5454tr_school
This vid was linked to in the comments of the article you linked to. I found the end of the video a bit touching….It would be very nice to play Stuttgart in the next round of the CL and bring a healthy lead back to London and say a nice final farewell to Jens…
Which part of the video HT? Wenger and the bench celebrating?
Sorry Ozi…wrong vid, I was e-mailing the AA goal to a friend of mine…
The Jens vid is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPbD34RE0JY
Something I read from a blogger elsewhere.
How to be an Arsenal doom and gloomer in ten easy steps
1. Take individual moments from games and use them as proof for your point.
But avoid seeing these in context. So if a player makes a bad pass just before the opposition score, focus on that, blame him for the goal, and ignore anything else he did in the game. Keep the whole argument incredibly simple, as in, “I don’t know why he perseveres with Denilson, he can’t pass, he can’t tackle, he can’t do anything. Better to play Diaby – at least he’s tall and can get in the way.”
2. Blame individual players – for example, Almunia or Denilson.
Make it clear that they are utterly hopeless, and that everyone who has properly watched the game will clearly see that this is the case. It thus becomes an article of faith that anyone who doesn’t see this fact, was not watching the game, and therefore does not have a valid opinion. The awful players (in your eyes) are not fit to wear the shirt, and should never be allowed to play for Arsenal again.
3. Do not allow everyone to have own opinion.
Rather than ever admit that there might be multiple opinions about a particular player, event or whole game, insist in all your writing that your opinion is the only possible conclusion that can be reached. Anyone who can’t see it is an idiot. A one line put down for someone speaking up for a player you are slagging off is the best way to deal with alternative perspectives. Your view is that it is possible to see the world through a singular pair of eyes. In which case anyone who disagrees is clearly not seeing the world as it should be. (Which is why it is also important to develop an incredibly pompous style).
4. Take as a starting point the vision that you know more than the manager, even if you have never managed a team, and never won the league title.
Likewise take also as a starting point the fact that your views are not being put into effect as proof that the manager has lost it. Since there is only one right vision of the game, and you are expressing it, the manager is, by clear extension, a dope. Clearly you must know more about the players’ abilities than the manager even though you don’t see the players in training, because you are critical of the manager. In effect you have to take the vision that everything can be judged from the game. This has to be self-evident. What you must therefore deny is that a match can be part of the development of a side. So if you were there watching the first games of Bergkamp or Pires or Henry you would say, “they are rubbish, they can’t score, they can’t pass”, because if you watch those first games (in Pires’ case most of the first season) you will not see the players they became. Becoming and developing are not permissible. Everything is to be judged on the game today. If it is not right today, the player must go.
5. If the manager gets it right, argue that he should have done it before (on the grounds that you have been telling him).
This again is part of the argument about being against development – if the manager believes that a player can develop and become better and better, you will not allow that. Since no one is right all the time, the manager will make mistakes, but since you are against all development, anyone who plays for the club and is not perfect has to go.
6. Never admit you were wrong. This is easy because you know you are never wrong.
In fact, a short-term memory dysfunction is rather good here. Keep it simple. Insult anyone who disagrees with you, since your approach is obviously right. If you were part of the “Song’s not fit to wear the shirt,” brigade after the game against Fulham, just let that memory go, unless you really want to stand up against the crowd and say that Song is still no good. But be careful – go too far and you could look silly!
7. If we win well, say that we were lucky.
If the defence shuts out the opposition, say that the opposition attack was weak and that we won’t be ok when we come up against real opposition. In short, when we win always say, “don’t kid yourselves.” Remind everyone of the defeats that have hurt all of us, and focus strongly on them. A good line would be, “You can’t seriously believe that an Arsenal team that can be beaten 3-0 at home is actually going to win anything.” It is important to ignore details.
8. Avoid statistics,
especially such things that show in numbers that Denilson touches the ball more than other players, makes more passes than other players, has more successful intercepts than other players. If anyone else quotes stats then say, “you can prove anything with statistics.” Alternatively make some up – for example arguing that our attacking potential is clearly useless, when we are in fact joint top scorers in the league.
9. Always deny that you are part of the doom and gloom mob by saying that you are telling it as it is, and that anyone who suggests otherwise is being silly or stupid, or whatever insult you want.
Call any blog that does not agree with you, “an unhealthy love-in”. But do not at any time have anything to do with humour. This is a serious matter and must be discussed seriously at all times.
10. Ignore all economic realities.
Ignore the fact that Chelsea are run and owned by a Russian to whom the club is now £700m in debt. Ignore the fact that Manchester United are £750m in debt and have stopped paying interest on their borrowings. Ignore the fact that Liverpool are £350m in debt and the banks want their money back. Ignore the fact that West Ham are living in three month bursts as they wait every quarter for the courts in Iceland to decide how much longer they can live. Ignore the fact that a coup, economic downturn or simple bout of plain old boredom could leave Manchester City as much on the scrap heap as Portsmouth. Ignore all these and other economic truths, and insist that the only way to win anything is by buying some of the top players of the moment at current prices.
Nice one andez!
People need to stop sipping on haterade haha
Personally I think AW has been and still is the best man to lead Arsenal or any other team for that matter. Maybe I’m blinded by a sense of gratitude for all he is done but I just think he’s doing whatever he thinks is best for Arsenal and not for his own ego or anything like that.
I think a lot of times people are running on assumptions that may or may not be true and these assumptions (such as AW has money to spend) have gone from being speculation to absolute fact over the years.
I’d just like to give him the benefit of the doubt because if you look at what he has done and the project he has taken up I mean he’s given his all to Arsenal. If he was such an ego-maniac why would he have looked out for the good of club etc.
On the other hand andez, if people never complained it would make for a REALLY boring forum dont you think? lol
Yes, same the other way around, if people keep moaning and crying, yet nobody goes and wind them up it would be equally boring don’t you think? lol
absolutely:D
Piece of beauty that Andez – the 10 reasons piece. Absolute genius..the guy who wrote it. Lucky we don’t have any one like that on our board here. Oh wait ;)
Probably written by someone in the Arsenal marketing department, selling shirts and putting 60,067 asses in the seats every other week.
Keep swilling the kool-aid.
When the manager says “we were lucky on that first goal”, its probably true.
But what does he know?
Stag, if the person wrote that was from the Arsenal marketing department….
Wouldn’t it make you someone from the Man Utd marketing department?
No. If I were from the ManU marketing department, I’d be defending them and saying how they shouldn’t be judged too harshly, ever.
At least United have won … how many titles in a row?
What have they got to complain about?
Heaven forbid we actually believe the club should be doing better, and that we’ve have FAILED to compete with the best in the EPL in the last few years.
Thanks for sharing – so appropriate.
LDE, arsession, the article I saw is from “Untold Arsenal” (which is in the blogroll of DAG – right upper corner of this page).
Arshavin’s not a striker, but he’s probably the best finisher on the team. RVP, Vela, and Dudu could come close, but RVP is hurt and the others seem to be out of form.
Andrei Arshavin says:
“When I struck the ball, the pain worsened,” said Arshavin.
“The instep of my foot has been causing me pain for a long time, but I want and I will play in the next game. If you get out on the pitch, you just endure it and play.”
The last thing we need is another long-term attacker getting injured- Especially to Arshavin. I fully agree with Arsesessions assessment of his importance to our attack. I wonder whether we will risk him at Burnley. Maybe have him as a bench option?
But on another note. Impressed with his determination to play. World cup qualifying blues all gone I see.
if he doesn’t play against Burnley, we have no goal-scorers available!
He’s not even a striker, but without Arshavin, we lose to Liverpool.
Give him a shot of cortisone, and get him on the pitch!
Maybe… just maybe, BUY SOMEONE IN JANUARY! (then rest Arshavin)
Due to Sunday conflicts, I watched a replay at lunch today.
I like this Arsenal team. The more that I see of the younger players, the more impressed. Traore is playing
terrifically; what a solid game v. Pool.
Some have criticized our play in the first half, but I didn’t see poor decisions, just our timing being off
due to:
Away match vs a club we had little success over. They started almost their strongest line up, we had a patched together front line and little bench options. Very high pressure with contact from Pool – everywhere. Much of their contact with our players was translated to “play on” – especially the first half.
Also, we are a vertically challenged team, as long as the ball is kicked or headed high, we will loose those type of 50/50 balls in midfield. Only Song provided some balance.
Lets also remember that there is no way a team can play high pressure for 90 minutes. Second half you
witnessed the pressure down a notch, and just gaining that 1/2 second was sufficient to sync our timing.
Another obvious outcome: Gerrard or Torres were RARELY any threats on goal – 1 early breakaway for Torres. What did Gerrard or Torres produce? what did the others produce? For the entire match our midfield and defense stifled their attack.
Just as Cesc is critical to our midfield – Arshavin has the same importance for our attack. In the first half, the CB’s for Pool did an excellent job of denying him the ball; SO WE HAD DIFFICULTY GETTING ARSHAVIN INTO THE FLOW OF THE MATCH – HIS LINKING. Without him involved (or a RvP) you see how the attack sputters.
In the 2nd half, Arshavin made his runs deeper into midfield and our 1st score was a direct result of an Arshavin deeper run.
Our second goal, again getting the ball to Arshavin, from a deflected cross ( Cesc this time). Get the ball to the feet of Arshavin and good things happen for Arsenal.
And b4 I forget, Denilson had a really solid match, the best 90 minute effort I’ve seen him produce.
“Some have criticized our play in the first half…”
You realize that ‘some’ included the Manager and Captain, right? Not just some random guys on an MB.
And I would say Torres just coming back from a two month lay-off had something to do with his not making an easy chance in the first half, and lackluster play, in general.
‘pool is not good. That was a factor, overall, as well.
But, as ever, all that mattered was the 3 points. No debating that.
Torres,
yes, you’re right about him returning recently; however, his supporting players don’t get that free pass; my point, his teammates were not able to serve him dangerous balls, kudos to Arsenal team play.
The same can be said for Gerrard. Did he have any shots on target? or at goal?
(1 shot that Song blocked)
I would not say they are not good, just not the team of recent years. They did recently beat ManU, Villa, and Everton.
I stand by my remarks about 1st half criticisms.
Arsene didn’t say they weren’t giving 100%, nor that their play was sloppy – HE WAS DISAPPOINTED (that in itself is not specific, as all of us were disappointed at the score line). Cecs gave his interpretation – that the team didn’t play well, which better describes his own effort.
So the team needed a boost and psychologically he used the not fit to wear the team shirt as his motivating analogy.
Down a goal, with few offensive options on the bench, as manager you have only a few minutes to get the attention of your players and keep their belief.
Liverpool lost to Villa at Anfield.
yes…..thanks for the correction.
Arsene also denied yelling at them. Since when does what he say to the Press have anything to do with reality?
“Cesc Fabregas, the Arsenal captain, was less circumspect in his assessment, admitting he had never seen his manager so infuriated. “The boss screamed. I’ve never seen him like that before,” said the Spaniard. “He was really disappointed in the first half and said we didn’t deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt if we played like that. I think he was right.”
I’ll go along with both that and my own eyes. But thank you.
Opinion and what its based on varies for all of us, even Manager & Captain.
I watched the 1st half and was left with the impression, it was not as disappointing as the 1st half of play vs. Sunderland, United, Alkmaar, City, and Std. Liege – similar away matches.
Also what I considered is the line up options we fielded for Pool vs. what roster strength we fielded for the above. That’s how I based my observation.
It’s all opinion, always. That’s what we’re here for.
In this case, the opinion that Arsenal were terrible in the first half is supported strongly by the Manager and Team Captain. You’re free to have a contrary opinion, obviously. But it sure sounds like Wenger was a bit of a ‘moaner’ and ‘doom-sayer’ at half-time, no? At the very least, you could acknowledge that maybe we’re not just complaining for the sake of it.
Actually, complaining is okay.
However, having independent thought seems to be painting a bulls eye on your own shirt.
Please. There’s a ten item long list on this thread that suggests we dare not criticize Arsenal for fear of being called names. Where’s the list about a vision so rose-tinted it blinds one from a performance so bad that even Wenger blew his top?
You painted this particular target on yourself.
You are classic!
We SUCKED in the first half.
Wenger told them they DIDN’T DESERVE TO WEAR THE ARSENAL SHIRT with that display.
WE SUCKED in the first half.
Watch it again and again if you like. It’s not going to change.
As much as we ‘sucked’ I think we unintentionally sort of played the way Chelsea play against us.
I know it sounds crazy but think about it. We usually come out full steam ahead against Chelsea and they just wear us out and then towards the second half of the game completely dominate us.
Hmmmmm
I don’t deny that we probably “tried” to play a bit of rope-a-dope with Liverpool, and let them have some of the ball and the play… but we played like SHIT… and we are not able to play defensively the way Chelsea does. We don’t have defensive type players.
Also, Wenger wouldn’t have gone OFF in the dressing room, if we played the way he wanted them to.
Chelsea defense – they’ve become infected with the same confidence virus that Arsenal defense could not shake for the past 2 seasons!
Cech an OG
Giving up 10 goals in the last 4 matches;
all 10 from set pieces!
Stag – this is not intended to rub you wrong. This is the reality of our sport. For most teams, performance has peaks and valleys and the better teams can minimize the valleys.
Arsesession…
I LOVE it that Chelsea are faltering.
I actually think that the manager playing the first teamers in MEANINGLESS games is FANTASTIC.
Essien gets injured… and the team is a bit more tired, a bit more dinged up… going into the crazy Christmas period.
All good.
You simply can’t trot out the same players match in – match out.
Injuries and fatigue will happen. There are too many matches in too many competitions.
Chelsea are deeper, but no less immunue to playing against fresher teams.
As poorly as we supposedly played, the fact remains that we played well enough to win. The fools that are griping about our poor performance yesterday are the same people who always say that we need to learn how to win ugly. Regardless of what Arsenal do, these assclowns are always gonna have some bullshit to say.
I don’t hear ANYONE “griping” about our poor performance at all.
We didn’t play a great game. Sorry.
We played well after the own-goal went in.
Before that we SUCKED.
I am very happy and excited with the win. Will take the win over playing well every time… just like the last time we lifted silverware, the FA Cup WIN over ManU… we didn’t play well, but lifted the trophy.
I’ll take that.
But regardless of how poor we play, these assclowns are always going to find a gold lining and how wonderful things are at the club and the beautiful style!
;)
Interesting point:
Not including yesterday, Arsene has only won two league games at Anfield. Both times, we went on to win the title. Make of that what you will.
Arsene has only won the league title when the away kit has been yellow/gold. What do you make of that? :)
I think it means the same thing as winning at Anfield. Absolutely meaningless!
No, you don’t have to spend 25million on a player for him to be effective, and we don’t have to break the bank… but the failure to TRY to address exisitng and blatantly obvious problems, would be INSANE.
You can say… “if he finds the right player”… but that’s his f’n job… 24/7/365. Do you think the two teams ahead of us are going to try and address problems? or the 2 or 3 behind us?
Do you think United are saying, well… ONLY if we find the right fit, and he is not asking too much, and on a contract year, we can address our issues?
Going with what we have is NOT ENOUGH.
There will be more injuries in the next 5+ months of the season… that is guaranteed. ADDRESS THE ISSUES… give us a chance to win a damned trophy, come off your freaking high horse Arsene.
And let’s be realistic, there are tons of players that could come to Arsenal and fit in pretty well. It’s not like finding a needle in a haystack. Just don’t try to shoehorn in a player that doesn’t fit (Fran Jeffers springs to mind).
yes. true.
and don’t continue to bring in the same player over and over again as well…
we don’t need another 5’8″ finesse type… we lead the world in those!
I like Sorensen. But it’s not easy to get him. Stoke City would be taken their Premiership status into consideration. He’s arguably one of their most important players. Should they get relegated after selling him, no amount of money they get from selling him would be able to make up for that. They may willing to let him go in summer, but unlikely in January. Mid way of the season to sell your number 1 keeper is a dangerous thing to do.
Plus since the Stoke #2 Steve Simonsen is out of contract at the end of the season, I doubt that Stoke will be willing to sell.
Additionally, as good as Sorenson looks right now, I am not convinced that he is the answer. We need to look somewhere outside the country for a top notch 6’3″+ GK.
If I were ivan gazidis i’d really be pushing AW hard to buy in the window, vermz and AA23 were top notch in terms of what we needed them to do. Arshavin brings that edge, you just never know where hes going to score from. Verm gave us a bit of solidity at the back.
Alas, as AW has made very clear its hard to find a world class player thats not CL committed and well cheap! lol Some will argue we don’t necessarily need a world class player (read: better then denilson lol) but I don’t see Wenger making a move unless the player really is world class. On the other hand, if there is anyone on the planet that can find the right player its AW, the man is simply legendary!
Anyway i was reading about Cech complaining about the chel$ki boo boys and how he didn’t understand how they could just blame him, since he referred to set play defending as a unit. It just worries me that we won’t be able to get out of our poor set piece defending with this version of the Arsenal squad because it really is about everyone doing the job and the old cliche your only as good as the weakest link.
If you spend money, you get quality. Vermaelen and Arshavin have proved that.
You don’t need to spend 25M on one player and it is tough to get good players at reasonable value (like Arsha). So we have to hope that Arsene can find the right person. Before that, we have to hope that he is looking. :)
actually when u think of it, the best way to predict a new Wenger major signing is to check up the players contract status.
The only way we be able to get a quality, established player with a reasonable price is when his current contract is about to run out.
Dezko for instance, i think he just signed a new deal the past summer with Wolfsburg. So it doesn’t matter we like him or not it’s unlikely Arsenal would be able to afford him.
I think if anything the signings of Vermaelen and Arshavin show that Arsene is still a shrewd talent evaluator.
Hell I think Song says that. We were all clamoring for a solid holding midfielder to start and all Song has done is show that it is his spot and Arsene was right to go with him.
Does he get it right all the time? No. But then neither does SAF or the Chelsea brain trust.
His biggest blind spot right now is keeper but I have to hope that he isn’t ignorant.
Quite frankly, Arsene is more than capable of signing good players on the cheap. He has been doing it all his career.
But, of late, he has been too much committed to his “youth” project. It is both his strength (Song) as well as his weakness (Sendy).
And regarding goalie issues, I do think we will see Almunia dropped before long. Burnley are no mugs when it comes to attacking, especially at home, and it is not going to be a walkover. I’m hoping our defence deals with them (they aren’t a route one team).
What about the suggestion to bring in Sorenson. I mentioned it in the lst htread:
-He’s 33- Experienced and old enough not to hinder Fabianski et al when their time comes
-He’s not champs league tied
-He’s not English and plays for Stoke. So should be reasonably priced and he should be willing to move. Simonsen as their backup increases the chances of them letting him go as well (he’s a decent enough backup from what I have seen of him)
-And he is on absolute fire. His confidence is sky high and it is very important in a keeper. He is premiership tested and can come in and do a job immediately
Burnley game could have some fireworks because you know they are going to come out and attack. Hopefully we are on our game because they will be fired up for sure!
Yeah, I agree Sorensen would be awesome. I think AW might have to make a move. Almunia is struggling and he hasn’t given it back to Fab so where does that leave him? Looks like he has to make a move but you never know with AW. He might feel its just a lack of confidence for Almunia and this experience will make him ‘grow’ lol
I liked Sorensen when he was #1 at Villa. But his form dipped, he was dropped in favour of Scott Carson and eventually shipped out to Stoke (who were a division below at that time).
My fear is that Sorensen will prove to be a solid GK for a mid table team but not good enough for Arsenal. Given and Freidel are the only two players good enough to make the step up from mid table teams to top notch ones. Both were available in the past one year, but we didn’t move for them. Now they are making a big difference to their teams which are challenging for a top four place.
Andez, from the previous thread:
I’m pleasantly surprised that Wenger acted the way he did and recognized the reason for our handbrake. He, despite what many think, does know how to win. He is competitive and I’m happy he has (probably as a last resort), reverted to yelling at the players to try and get them going and performing to their level.
Lets hope the effects of that don’t wear off and that the new found belief (fear of wenger??) lasts through the season and beyond.
Really, why on earth I always read the word LUCK after we won? Yet when we lost to Man Utd in (IMO) an extremely UNLUCKY defeat, it was deemed as an “excuse” if we dare to mention the word “bad luck”?
The Glen Johnson own goal…. what was the difference from the Vermaelen own goal against Chelsea?
It seemingly scored in a similar fashion – both from the cross, to the near post, defender tried to clear, but ended up into the net.
Should we consider we were “UNLUCKY” when we lost to Chelsea? Afterall, like the Johnson og, it too was a goal that CHANGED the match.
If that Chelsea 2nd goal wasn’t considered as “LUCK”, why should the Glen Johnson og be considered anything different?
ah relax andez, people come on forums to vent their frustration and its not always how they feel completely. We all love arsenal and i’m sure everyone who is negative would love nothing more then for us to win the treble!.
Besides without the negativity this forum would be quite boring don’t you think? haha
I am quite relax really rvp.
I just don’t understand the “logic” sometimes.
Besides, like u said, people come to forums to vent their frustration, there’s no better time than now to vent the frustration of my own after all the rubbish I had read at the past (when we were suffereing a poor result)!! :)
Andez… the first goal against us by Drogba, was that an own-goal? That changed the game, and we then proceeded to let in an own goal after for 2-0… that ended the hopes.
Prior to the Glen Johnson own-goal, what exactly had we created, and how well were we playing?
Lastly… refereeing decisions are GOOD or BAD luck… either way… or sometimes its personal!
(See Craig Bellamy, who got sent off because the ref didn’t like him as a person!)
Not sure why you are frustrated after a WIN, I usually get frustrated after a loss!
But if you were really impressed with our overall play in the match against Liverpool, you are doing better than I am, because it was not a really good performance… and Liverpool are not a good team right now. They DOMINATED us in the first half. You don’t have to like it, but its fact.
Drogba’s first goal was not luck, but at 1-0 there was always a chance for a comeback. Once the own goal went in everyone knew it was over so while it didn’t change the game it definitely ended it.
And as for Liverpool dominating us, I would rather they didn’t but how many times has Arsenal dominated a game and lost or tied? Hell, I’m just happy that it turned in Arsenal’s favor in the second half. For once.
that’s exactly what I said.
Happy to be lucky and win, than be good and outplay an opponent and draw or lose.
I’ll take the win any day, any way.
But there are those that would prefer we play pretty.
“We were a bit lucky with our first goal…”
Arsene Wenger
Oh, if his high exalted master supreme said it… then maybe … just maybe the kool-aid drinking followers will HAVE to agree?
or do they think Wenger is lying?
Le Boss was apparently also wrong about his team’s first half performance. Now that they’re even arguing with Wenger about the team’s performance, I don’t know where we go from here. ;-)
I agree with Nipuna, I’d rather be lucky and get the win, than good and get a draw or loss.
We SUCKED in the first half… and deserved to be down, probably more than 1-0. Gerard could EASILY have had a penalty. You saw it as a dive? I didn’t. He was fouled by Gallas. There was definitely contact there.
And… he FLOPPED when Denilson bumped him with his ass, true dat, but it never should have resulted in the goal. Almunia SUCKS. He is medicore on his best day, and he really lacks confidence right now.
The 2nd half… again, we were very lucky to get the own goal. It was just awful defending by Glen Johnson, but I will take it every time. It completely changed the match.
Once it was 1-1… Liverpool sagged, their confidence left, and we totally took control of the game. We didn’t create much in terms of good scoring chances… (all game long)… but Arshavin’s goal was magic. It is that half chance, that a game changer can score on. It was brilliant stuff.
After we led, Liverpool were done. They created ZERO after that, we held up defensively, and didn’t allow them to challenge Almunia. They went back to… Liverpool… HOOF THE BALL.
So, it was not a very good display by Arsenal overall, but it was a gutsy 2nd half performance, that resulted in the biggest win of the year, based on the results of all the other teams around us in the league. HAD to have 3 points. Got them.
I hope it actually pushes Wenger to action in January, because the fact that we won, did not disguise the problems we have. No Number one keeper, and we didn’t even create more than a few scoring chances all match.
We need help. But we ARE somehow in the race still.
Arsh played a key role in the first goal as well. He came deep to collect the pass from Song, dragging Agger along with him. His neat pass to Cesc put both Agger and Lucas out of the equation and then Cesc was able to stride forward unchallenged before passing to Nasri.
The own goal was a slice of luck because when Nasri strikes the ball, there are three red shirts between him and Walcott. Luckily, it hits all three and goes in. :)
DAG, Almunia should get a 0 rating. Did he even get a single thing right all night? Torres’ save was more of Torres missing than Almunia saving.
The performance wasn’t the prettiest (did we have any shot on target ourselves apart from Arshavin’s goal?) but I don’t care. I am tired of all the pretty performances without any result. I will happily take last night’s result, especially when you are away from home against a top four team (maybe not for long) and when you go a goal down.
The MOTM has got to Vermaelen. The guy is dynamite. And Arsh was superb. He is truly a match winner. Would it too much to say that these players show that money does buy you quality? I thought Nasri was quite good. Denilson was poor in the first half but improved in the second. Maybe it helps a bit when the coach yells at you. Theo was mostly non existent.
If we want to mount a credible title challenge, we must build on this result. This result should give the team self belief that they can compete against the top teams. Let us hope next time, we don’t need to go a goal down before we start performing. We need to win over Burnley and Hull to cement the revival.
The other factor is something already well discussed. Almunia needs to be chucked out. I like Fab but he is too young and inconsistent. We don’t want to risk that in the most important position. We need someone like Lehmann in 2003 – proven and can do the job for 2-3 years. Why didn’t we sign Freidel last year? Anyone saw his awesome save against ManU? It reminded me of Lehmann’s save against Solskjaer in the 2006 win at OT. I don’t think we can dream of winning anything with Almunia in goal.