Anyone For Seconds? Arsenal v Bolton, Match Preview
De Ja Vous? Haven't we met before?
Ed Note: I apologize well in advance for the weakness of this write up (no I am not looking for kudos) – but I am trying to fight off a nasty cold/flu thingy. But the post will get better with your comments.
When our two heros last met Bolton’s Brawny Beaters were soundly beaten by the finesse and grit of the Arsenal. With business unfinished and 3 days in between their last meeting, the Wanderers wander to North London to take on the Gunners in a more friendly envrionment.
During the match this past Sunday you had to give full respect (for a while at least) to Bolton. They were playing at home and playing in front of their new manager. They came ready to play and early in they were intent on showing they would not go easy into the darkness. But when Captain Fabtastic is in form there is little doubt what can happen on the pitch.
New manager Owen Coyle must have been slightly disappointed with his team. Coyle prefers an open flowing style akin to what Arsenal do. He is not one for hacking and beating. But when forced back as Bolton were during the match, the resorted to their usual tactics. Fabregas was their primary target and took the brunt of the beatings. With the exception of a 3 on 1 mugging of Diaby – the Bolton goon squad tried all match to throw the dynamic spaniard off his game.
But it only served to reinforce his resolve and he not only scored the fist goal but set up the second. He likely should’ve had a second goal and at least one penalty shot but his one goal was enough and the assist put aside any doubt as to the result.
The second meeting has higher stakes than the first. A 2-0 result will place Arsenal atop of the Premier League for the first time since the fluttered out of contention post Eduardo injury in 2009. The young guns haven’t been int his position and getting the league lead even for a while should go a long way to build confidence in their abilities. And given the adversity with the one for one injury policy at the Emirates the fact they are here shouldn’t diminsh the potential of this current crop of Gunners.
The Emirates leg of the matchup sees the return of Walcott and Denilson to the squad. But in true Arsenal fashion, Nasri, Ramsey and Merida take their spots. Also likely to return to his starting spot is Gael Clichy who missed the last 15 matches with a back injury. He will replace Aarmond Traore who while he played well for most of the matches, he teetered off in the last two. Whether that is because he knew he would be riding the bench soon or he just tired out having not played this much – it remains to be seen. And while it is easy to castigate the lad for his recent performances, kudos have to be given for the yeoman work he put in filling in for both Clichy and Gibbs.
Look for Craig Eastmond to get another start – only because Denilson is just back. Had Denilson had more time under his belt he could start. But I think given the how the injuries keep piling up, Wenger might keep in reserve as a sub until Eastmond tires out. Eastmond didn’t play horribly but you could clearly see in the last match that he tired out as the match went along. While Song is away my thought would be to keep Eastmond on the bench – and playing. Let’s face it Denilson isn’t a holding midfielder and doesn’t resemble one. If he has to start Arsene – put Diaby in the holding role.
Anway, I digress.
This will likely be another feisty affair in part because fat Phil Dowd did little in the first meeting to control the rampant pugilism. As a matter of fact the first yellow he gave was to Tomas “the tiny enforcer” Rosicky for a sly trip on a Bolton player. However, Bolton should keep in mind they are coming into an environment where Arsenal have been rock solid. In 10 matches at home they have only lost once. Arsene Wenger set at the beginning of the season a goal of making the Emriates a fortress for the squad – so far only Chelsea have managed to breach it. Another win puts the Gunners clearly atop the apex of the EPL table.
How the Game Should Play Out:
I think you saw how it will play out. Expect Bolton to press again and if that doesn’t work expect them to try and lay a beating down on the Gunners. The problem is this Arsenal squad is patient. They will do what they can to win the game. However, I would look for the Gunners to get an early jump early. Take the wind out of Bolton early and press their case. Fabregas almost did on the non-call on Jasskeleinen. Look for an Arsenal goal early and if they get it – I would suspect the route will be on – only because the boys will be up for what is at stake. Interesting note: Mark Clattenburg, today’s ref was the 4th official on Sunday, will what he saw then affect how he calls the match?
Possible Starting XI:
You got one better?
Injuries/Unavailable:
Arsenal: Nasri (hamstring), Merida (ankle), Wilshere (hamstring) Ramsey (hamstring) Bendtner (groin) Djourou (knee) Gibbs (ankle) Van Persie (ankle) Senderos (foot), Ebou (ACoN) Song (ACoN)
Bolton: Davis (knee) J O’Brien (knee) Shittu (ACoN)
Player to Watch:
Arsenal: Cesc Fabregas. He set the tone for the match and look for him to do it again.
Bolton: Owen Coyle. Yeah I know I am picking him again. He has had a couple more days to work with the squad he inherited. He will look to instill some more discipline and hopefully keep cooler heads on the pitch. Bolton didn’t look much like a football squad than a hockey team. That in my opinion takes them out of the game. If Coyle is going to get Bolton out of the relegation zone he will need to get them to concentrate on playing football and less on beating the crap out of players. If they do that they may actually win a game or two.
Match Officials:
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistant Referees: Mick McDonough and John Flynn
Fourth Official: Chris Foy.
Recent League Form:
Arsenal: WWWWD
Bolton: LDDWD
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YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal – 3
Bolton – 0
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On Vela,
I think his situation is a bit similar as Eduardo. He is best suited to play off a strong targetman in a 442 formation.
On the flank, I’m not so sure. In the future, maybe. At the present though, he lack of the know how as the likes of Arshavin, Rosicky, Nasri to be effective playing out wide.
I do see him as a striker rather than an attacking midfielder like the aforementioned trio.
But he’s not strong enough to play as a lone striker.
I remember he had his best game playing alongside Bendtner in Carling Cup years ago. For some reasons, both Eduardo and Vela seem to be enjoying playing alongside Bendtner. And they seem to have a natural understanding between them.
As a player, I still think Vela has a massive potential, and it’s for real. Basically, first thing first, when a player has a great first touch, he is going place. Vela got a great touch.
The only question mark is – whether he’s prepared to mentally get himself to survive in the physical style of Premiership.
I mean, Vela is no smaller than Arshavin, and around the same size of Rosicky, Nasri, Fabregas, Denilson the likes.
But mentally, he seems to have shy away from the physical game. He really has to take a look at the example of Arshavin. Arshavin is smaller than him. If Arshavin could make an impact at EPL, so could he. But he gotta be ready to take on the physical nature of the Premiership.
So it’s all up to him whether he wants to end up like Jose Reyes or Arshavin.
I say lets go Carling Cup on Stoke.
Fabianski
Bartley – Campbell – Sylvestre – Traore
Coquelin – Eastmond – Denilson
Wilshere – Walcott – Vela
Bench: Mannone, Ayling, Gallas, Randall, Fabregas, Rosicky, Eduardo.
I doubt he’s gonna play Coquelin and Eastmond together, but I had forgotten about Randall. If he’s fit then this is his shot I think. He’s been a mixed bag from everything I’ve seen of him so far (admittedly not that much- just a handful of games)
Randall’s on loan at MK Dons–according to Wikipedia, for whatever that’s worth.
I think we might see Rosicky at least and maybe Eduardo in the starting group, as they both played some CC matches with the youngsters earlier.
I want us to win or draw this match and I agree with Mazza that there could be a need for some returning players to find/prove their match fitness, so no need to fear a replay.
I have to apologize for something I wrote last night. I said that Denilson led the league in tackles last year. Obviously, that’s not true but it wasn’t a lie; rather a typo after a long day. I meant to mention he somehow led the league in passing someway or another. I’m tired again tonight. Anyway, I apologize.
I know some are frustrated by Eduardo’s lack of goals but we must be patient. We all know that the boy is class. Despite not scoring, he’s still creating. Remember how long it took van Persie to get his first goal. Eduardo is getting stronger every match. Gotta be patient.
Our injury list is ridiculous. Play the kids. We’ve got bigger fish to fry than the FA Cup. Only problem is with the team being so weak, Wenger might be tempted to go with Gallas and Vermaelen again.
I hope Wenger will trot out mostly kids in this match.
I pray he doesn’t start our usual starting 11.
I think he doesn’t care that much about the FA Cup, and wouldn’t mind
getting knocked out too much.
Let it be a Carling Cup type of thing this weekend… if we win
re-examine it.
Can’t have ANY more injuries to key players, with the matches against the steel of the league coming up in succession.
If we lose this game, we lose it.
We’ve had rotten luck with injuries in the last couple of weeks so I’m up for resting the lot of them and seeing if we can eek a draw out with the likes of JET and Coquelin.
I wouldn’t actually mind a replay. With Nasri, Ramsay and Song coming back, along with players like Merida coming through, I think we can handle another mid-week game. A replay might be perfect for Bendtner as well.
Didn’t think about the replay like that.. Ye I’d go with that..
Leave Cesc on the bench. He’s just back from injury, hammy’s like reinjuring themselves, no point risking him.
Fabianski
Dunno-Sol-Silvestre-Clichy (get him match sharp)
——-Eastmond——
—-JET—–Denilson
Wilshere——-Vela
——–Walcott——-
Seems kind of a throw-away squad I realize, but with the injuries we have it seems silly to risk further injuries with a hectic fixture coming up and already having played twice this past week. If we had more experienced (relatively) backups, then I’d be more inclined to give first-team players starts.
But thats just me, I’ll be happy with whatever squad we put out there really. I’d personally just much rather gamble a reserve side on the FA cup than gamble a first team side on the FA cup…
I agree, Ozi, Cesc suited up on the bench should scare just about anyone…(the way he’s been playing).
I don’t know much about JET, but I thought he was a speedy striker type.
Maybe Rosicky should get a start in Cescy’s AM spot? Just so our front six don’t have an average age of 19….
I think he’s one of those versatile ones.. I’m sure he’s played at full-back and DM as well as striker. I think his natural position though is at mid.. Not sure what kind exactly. Either way.. I’d like to see him after all that I’ve heard
More a curse for the young back ups.
Remember that season 2006 when Cole was out, Clichy, after waiting so long on the bench, happened to be injured at the same time, and missed his chance.
Same happened to Denilson a few years back. When our starters injured, he came on for a few matches, before hurting himself and out.
Djourou as well, I remember when he was still the 4th choice CB behind Sendy. When Sendy was out, just when you thought finally Djourou got a chance to play, he too soon went down injured.
Gibbs, I bet he must be kicking himself for missing a good chance to impress the boss with Clichy out for so long this season.
Bendtner had long been hoping to play upfront. Van Persie’s absence offered him a great opportunity…. and he’s yet to be able to take the chance with his own injury.
I was not even surpised when Ramsey too was out. Just when you thought his chance finally arrived for a spell of first team start when Song was away…
As most of you remember…….in the 08/09 season, Arsene’s choice in midfield (with Cesc) was always Denilson.
At the beginning of this season, the club struggled in some matches (hull, stoke, fulham, etc); then Cesc was injured and most were amazed at the transformation of Song – who now owns the position.
We all want to see our best 11 healthy, but these injuries serve a purpose and opportunity for the manager & club; only stress for ‘fans’.
Younger players have a chance to be seen in the big spotlight. Who will grab the opportunity?
Gibbs succeeded.
Traore, Djourou, Mannone showed us some of their ability.
Ramsey, Merida, & Eastmond – have had their share of positive play.
If these younger players step in and hold their own, its a tremendous boost to their confidence and development for Arsenal.
I believe in the Stoke match Arsene will have no choice but to select a few players from the reserve pool.
You’re correct, of course, but we also want to win this game out-right so as to avoid a replay.
The FA Cup also represents an opportunity to help players coming back from injury gain match fitness. This would apply to Clichy, Denilson and Walcott.
The latest news is that Sol seems to have surmounted his neck problem and that Wilshere is available for the match.
I watched Stoke v Liverpool (finished 1-1) and I wanted to put my eyes out. On their absurdly narrowed pitch, the ball goes into touch over and over and over so there is very little continuity to the match, and even without Rory Delap (struggling with persistent injury) they have others who try the long-throw routine so we’ll have to defend one set piece after another.
Cesc is in such a great run of form that playing him might help get us a couple of goals and put the game away. On the other hand, risking him in such a venue seems almost criminal given the upcoming league matches. I’m very curious how Wenger plays this one.
The other big question mark is at right back where Sagna will be rested. With Eboue at the ACN and Gilbert on loan there is no obvious back up. I think Traore could play there. (Hell, he was at right back when Everton set Pienaar off for their 2nd goal….) Another interesting one for AW….
you mean they have an absurdly narrow pitch like… Arsenal had Highbury?
Highbury was 73 yrds wide (according to wiki-answer) while the Britannia pitch is 70 yards wide.
The Emirates by comparison is 74 yards wide (according to a chart by Soccerlens).
I think all of these figures could be different than what is actually painted currently (wider at the Emirates, narrower at Stoke). Several websites say that the “grass area” of the Brittania stadium is 75 yards wide, while ours is (supposedly) 76 meters or 83 yards wide. On Sunday check out how much space there is outside the touchlines…a whole lot more that 2.5 yards.
My point is that Stoke is actively pursuing an anti-football philosophy whereby throw-ins are sought and used as aggressive set-pieces. It doesn’t violate any rules (perhaps?) but, I still don’t like it…
But I guess this is why Arsenal supporters are sometimes portrayed as Geeky and/or Whiney…. Oh well.
HST –
thinking the same thing abt the RB…..but since Clichy struggles to get his crosses into dangerous positions, I’d leave Traore at LB and move Gael to RB.
Then encourage him to take the ball inside (like Eboue).
I don’t think it’s a good idea for this particular game to have Clichy play with his right foot. Esp just coming back from injury. I see it as a big liability. Etherington has looked fairly dangerous this season.
But it may be good for his development as a player overall.
Question: Has left back been the most cursed position regards to long term injuries over the last 3-4 years? I believe in 2006, there were atleast 8 players who were deployed at LB before eventually Flamini steadied things. Clichy has had his share of injuries and now Gibbs is out for the rest of the season.
@sachin,
On Vermaelen – the amazing thing is – why on earth nobody had gone after him before he joined Arsenal?
Perhaps Arsenal had kept things in the dark. Anyway, when he joined us, I can’t recall any team was in a bidding war with us for Vermaelen’s signature. Man City were busy chasing Kolo and Lescott!
Not only he’s solid at the back, scoring as many goals as Berbatov (in the league), he can actually bring the ball out of defence with his solid footwork. How on earth scouts from other clubs didn’t spot that?
He is IMO our BEST signing (in terms of established players) since… I can’t really recall who. Perhaps Pires.
Arshavin made a great impact since joining us. But he’s older. Value for money, 10 mil for a 23 years old CB worth every penny of it.
I think he is our best signing ever.
Even Vieira and Henry they took a year or two to get used to EPL and Arsenal.
TV5, at the tender age of 23, has settled in like a fish in water. I hope he continues in the same vein and doesn’t suffer the deadly second season syndrome.
Actually Vieira made an instant impact in his debut. Turning the game from 0-1 to 4-1 (after he came on) against Sheff Wednesday.
I think he got his “Vieira song” at that very match (when before he came on it was “Vieira who?!”)
Anyway, you are not far away to suggest Vermaelen being the best signing. If not the best, definitely one of the best.
Everytime I look at TV play, I keep thinking his age can’t be right. His play makes him look a lot older than 24 (turned back in Nov). Although if you look at the picture on Arsenal’s website, then he looks even younger than 20 :)
http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/players/thomas-vermaelen
Maybe he’s got a wrong passport.. App our new BOlivian does. Galundo?? Can’t remember his name, but apparently is 20. On the plus side, maybe Wenger did get us a semi-first team player (I feel weird talking of a new 20 year old like he may have been bought for the first team- Only at Arsenal…)
people.
really?
The guy has played about 20 something matches for the club, and you’ve got him down as the “best signing ever”.
seriously, do you think you might be over-stating this a tiny wee-bit?
Can he actually win something in the uniform first? or perhaps play a full-season or two?
With the list of stars that have come in to the club… Vermaelen isn’t the best signing ever. Sorry.
Bergkamp changed the club forever.
Vieira easily top 3.
So, while I think Vermaelen has been a god send, and has been excellent, I will reserve my judgement on throwing out terms like, “best ever”.
:)
You folks do realize that when Senderos first started here, he was called “Swiss Tony”… and was supposed to be the next Tony Adams, and folks wanted to make him captain. How’d that work out?
Agree with Stag. I like TV as much as anyone else (next shirt with his name in fact…), but far too soon for best signing ever. I think Best possible signing for the situation we were in would make it a bit more plausible.
Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Vieira.. Even Kolo and Sol I think were better signings at his point. Not to say that TV doesn’t have the potential to surpass a fair few of these but it’s too soon.
Yeah, this can be chalked down to another gem of a signing. Although, I wouldn’t mind if there are 1-2 more such gem of signings in the future, a future I had hoped was this month but might be summer or beyond.
Been trying to figure out how AW might try to rotate players in/out and still field a competitive team at Stoke. So I made some lists….
Of the out-field players who’ve actually stepped on the pitch for FA cup or league matches we can put them in one of two lists:
Players currently unavailable–12 total: RVP, Gibbs, Djourou (all long term), Song, Eboue (both ACN) Bendtner (groin), Merida (ankle), Wilshere (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Nasri (hamstring), Ramsey (thigh), Sagna (shoulder),
Players available–12 total: Eduardo, Arshavin, Vela, Walcott, Rosicky, Fabregas, Denilson, Eastmond, Traore, Clichy, Vermaelen, Gallas, Sylvestre
There is simply no rotation possible with 12 league/FA cup experienced players available. So if Arsene plans to rest/rotate players we will be dipping into the following list of players, players who have only played in the Carling Cup or in the meaningless 1-nil loss to Olympiacos in the CL.
This list would include: Watt, Cruise, Gilbert, Ayling, Coquelin, Barazite.
And then there are others who have yet to play with the first team, notably Jay-Emmanuel Thomas and Sol Campbell, but I read somewhere today that Sol has a “stiff neck” and may not be available.
(My lists might not be totally correct–Maybe I’m forgetting a player or two–I hope so!)
But my question….If you’re Arsene, what would you do?
It is a catch 22 really.
With so many injuries problems, you are tempted to rest some players in the FA Cup and risk losing.
At the same time, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket but cannot afford to play your best team in the FA Cup because of injuries.
It takes us back to Kiwi’s point. If your team is filled with injury question mark players, this is bound to happen.
The player unavailable list could form a solid team by itself!
Feel sorry for young Gibbs, out for the season.
Tough thing. This is a game where Merida, Wilshere and Ramsey would have been perfect to be brought in.
I am waiting for the day when there will be zero players on Arsenal’s injury news page.
http://www.arsenal.com/the-match/injury-news
I believe Arsenal had tracked Sagna for almost 2 years and watched him for 30 games or so. Wonder how long Arsenal tracked Vermaelen? He is just amazing. I think when he was caught offside in the sunday Bolton game and the commentators couldn’t help chuckle at the rareness of seeing a CB offside but given his work rate, it shouldn’t be a surprize to see him pop up anywhere in the field. His goals are a delight and I do think that he will break into double digits before the season is over. That being said, Arsenal really need him fit at the back until season’s end.
Delighted with the result and I have to admit even though the team went down 2-0, I fully expected them to come back. And when it was 3-2, I had a feeling that a 4th would arrive because top spot was at stake and Arsenal really needed a 4th to ease the pressure. That being said, I also believed that Tunisia was going to beat Cameroon and that Gabon would have tied Zambia to enable Song to come back early. But not to be..
Now a real fiery test awaits. Been trying to banish bad memories of 2008 but then again, Arsenal already have had many more injuries than they did in 2008, so maybe things will turn out differently. A very nerve biting 3 weeks await…
Perhaps Arsene will start with Eduardo up front and then bring Walcott on for the last 20min’s to see how he copes.
I agree Andez, and said the samething recently, I miss the fact that we can’t capitalise on the fast break. It seems contrary to our football that we have a team capable of playing slide-rule passes yet we lack the deadly pace to beat the defence and finish the move.
Perhaps this is why Arsene still seems to be looking at strikers.
When I look at Eduardo up front, he’s been working hard, and making some excellent runs. But he seems to really have lost a yard of pace. For a small striker, since you don’t have the height and power, if you do not have the extra yard of pace, you are less likely to be effective.
Eduardo at the moment, not only fail to hold the ball up, he had lost a lot of 50/50 challenges.
That also gives us another problem – due to the fact we have no pace up front. Oppositions are now dare to push their backline up, and play a pressing/closing down game against us at Emirates. As Everton and Bolton did to a good effect.
I’m wondering – shouldn’t AW give Theo Walcott a try playing up front?
Now, I know he can’t hold the ball up to save his life neither. But since Eduardo hasn’t been doing that any better anyway, Theo at least has PACE.
With the threat of his pace, I doubt too many oppositions would dare to to defend up high. That would actually help to take away the pressure from our defense.
Lately, it frustrated me to see some nice through balls from our midfielders which our attackers couldn’t get to the end of it.
Needless to say Eduardo is much better a natural finisher, and got the know how of where to position himself which Theo doesn’t.
Still, I figure it won’t hurt to give it a try. Had Eduardo been scoring goals for fun, and being effective in the link up game up front, there would of course be a different story. Why fix it when it ain’t broke. But right now, it’s more a case of there’s nothing to lose when we try a new option up front.
why not start him as striker with Vela against Stoke, and see what happens.
I read not too long ago that Vela was just a shade slower than Walcott in the 40 yard dash. I think he is a much better finisher and uses his body strength a lot more effectively ass well. I also believe he has better link up play and his decision making when it comes to passing requires less work than Theo.
But on the other hand, I think Vela prefers the wide areas to the central role which is the opposite of Theo. I agree that they could be tried, but which game do you experiment them on? Nothing in the league over the next month definitely. Maybe against stoke if they are fit they can both start and swap positions during the game and see how they go.
Agree on the need for pace up front and how it affects the defensive line of the opposition. Henry usually had not just the defence but some of the midfield back in their own half (with ample support from Pires, Ljunberg and Bergkamp of course)
Vela is a fire hydrant… he has upper body strength.
Theo, not so much, he is still lightweight.
We last led the EPL with the team – Ade, Fab, Hleb, Flam et al – but in the last third of the season things started to unwind, badly. I can vividly remember the teams Arsene put out – they were woefully unbalanced and inadequate. He lacked options – the attack was horrid and our play became awful.
This happened because the success was built on a very small core of players who got very tired – I suggest flogged. Rosicky who played nicely in the early part of the season was out for most the rest. Eduardo who was integrating into the side got horribly chopped down in Feb. So when the pressure built the lads like Bendtner and Walcott were simply not up to it. And Arsene had no other options – it was the core plus a few young players who couldn’t share the burden.
So today the question is whether, despite injury problems, can we find the answers we need and accumulate EPL points with the current squad? We know only time will tell, it’s fragile, we still have chronic injury cases, some of the young guys haven’t ‘broken through’. Yet I can’t help but have a degree of optimism – the way the team has negotiated the last 10 games post-Chelsea has been hugely satisfying. I say again – it would have been much easier for them to flump under the injury crisis than to piece together a top points-accumulating run.
I can’t help but look at the attack, the goal scoring outlets, and measure our readiness there. Aside from Arshavin there are more questionmarks than answers. Eduardo and Rosicky are in theory real solutions yet they are fragile and re-integrating. Vela is fit-ish but unproven and seemingly not high on Arsene’s selection list. With Bendtner, Nasri and Walcott who are yet to return, I feel Bendtner more likely to be a reliable contributor than Walcott who is a bit more of a wildcard. Nasri on the other hand may struggle to get into this season much having missed it almost entirely. He may be forced to use this season to prepare for next.
So it has a hotch-potch look about it, we can only speculate on how much most of that group can and will contribute in the run-in.
One of the big plus’s this season has been the goal contribution from midfield. Fabregas got his last best goal tally two seasons ago, yet the goals totally dried up in the second half of the season. That doesn’t seem as likely. His form currently is sublime and confidence clearly high and he has had an enforced rest. Diaby, who has improved markedly, will always score goals and I imagine the number will increase with his form and confidence. Ramsey is a happy surprise and looks to be a natural source of goals. Even the much maligned Denilson has a knack for scoring goals from distance. So I think the midfield can be expected to support the attack with goals and venom.
The real clincher is likely to be how well and how quickly these players return to form. Some guys after longer spells can take ages whilst some particularly after a short injury problem can pick up very quickly.
The next one of who you who annoys me, gets called by new favorite insult…sock-sucker. Art, if you wanna just get it over with… ;-)
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=728835&sec=england&cc=5901
Anyone else notice how bad Sagna is favoring his right arm.
Unable to take throw-ins.
(imo) Its is affecting his overall play.
Gotta admit here – when van Persie was out for the season, I really had a sinking feeling that “Not again…” – just when we were doing well, misfortune happened, and our season was going to turn upside down because one incident or event.
With Bendtner out at the same time, I did fear for the worst. As it’s clear that we had nobody who could lead the line up front. And I still believe we lack of this targetman at the moment.
But I disagree with the talks that “nothing has changed” with this side. Something definitely have changed.
The main difference between the side of 2 seasons ago and today is – we have now got more players who would stand up and take responsibility.
Despite lacking a targetman up front, we are still scoring goals, lot of goals. And from many DIFFERENT players.
In a sense, I feel that van Persie’s injury probably helped the team in one way – that now COLLECTIVELY they know that they have to push themselves harder in order to make up for the loss of van Persie.
Sometimes I wonder – had van Persie being fit, and we had our full team available, in most of the matches we would probably go on and dominate. Because in terms of quality, our starting XI (when everyone is fit) are superb. But then, they would probably have started going through motion if things go too easily for them as they tended to do at the past, dropping some silly points in the process.
So who knows? Perhaps it’s a blessing that van Persie is out for the season. Of course I would very much rather van Persie to stay fit. But when I look at players like Fabregas, Arshavin, they certainly have had up their game since the loss of van Persie.
With Cesc, it feels like as if he has decided to take matter into his own hand and determined to lead the team to glory by himself. Many of us always believed he had that quality in him, but rarely delivered at the past.
But now, it has shown that Cesc is in a class of his own. He is one of those rare players that who doesn’t need to depend on his partners. Be it playing with Song or Eastmond, Cesc has been making an IMPACT.
If he keeps this up till the end of the season, he will finally be joining the list of the true superstars of world football.
2009/2010 Season
Arsenal with RvP – 1.0 version
Arsenal w/o RvP, Bendtner, Clichy – 2.0 version
Arsenal w/o Cesc – 3.0 version
Arsenal w/o Song, Nasri, Ramsey, Diaby, – 4.0 version
* more versions to come
In two years we will have 2 experienced smurf squads that basically rotate the front line and midfield.
How else are you going to regularly play these 13 players: Arshavin, Eduardo, Vela, Bendtner, RvP, Rosicky, Theo, Cesc, Nasri, Merida, Denilson, Song, & Diaby
Make it 14… Ramsey.
and Wilshere !
Arsession, it’s what I’ve been saying about Denilson all along. He’s not a DM, he just stepped up last season and did a job for the team when there was no one else to do it.
So many have mentioned the obvious; Denilson’s slight size and lack of physical power (resident geniuses). Despite the obvious, he still FOUND A WAY to link defense to attack, get a boatload of assists for a DM, and lead the league in tackles won. How does a skinny 21 y.o. midget that’s not a natural DM do that in the big and burly BPL?
He’s got to be intelligent. When a player that young shows that level of maturity and adaptability, the sky is the limit on what he can accomplish. It’s a credit to the young man that despite the obvious, he still FOUND A WAY to be effective.
agree with most of your points, but I don’t see him as the type of tackler we need at DM.
stick Eastmond at DM ( or some other talented reserve) and keep Denilson in the midfield to support Cesc and the DM.
“and lead the league in tackles won.”
That is not true.
I meant to type something else. It was late at the end of a long day. My bad.
Cameroon and Zambia are through to the next round.
Song, Diaby, Ramsey and Nasri are out of the Villa game. :(
MORE BREAKING:
Diaby out for Stoke & Villa
Sagna to rest versus Stoke because of a sore shoulder.
No Song, Ramsey or Diaby. That sure makes things interesting.
Pray Cameroon lose to Tunisia today.
Cameroon and Tunisia are tied at 2-2 and Zambia are beating Gabon 2-1. That makes it a three way tie at the top of the group. This can’t get any more nail biting.
fuck…guess cameroon made it through
no Nasri
football is a chain of related events
bolton’s first goal – prior to the obvious misplays
Sagna played a diagonal ‘FLAT’ back pass to Gallas in the PA. Normally, Gallas in clearing the ball would have sent it 40 yards into the other teams defensive third, BUT he shanked his clearance attempt and Bolton took the throw in from our defensive third. Ball thrown in (no one applied immediate pressure) and Bolton served the ball into our PA, where most attention centered on Diaby’s poor header and Clichy’s poor clearance.
bolton’s 2nd goal – prior to the obvious
corner taken by Bolton, and the ball is struck hard and low to the near post where Cesc ‘flubs’ the clearance. The ball dinks abt 7 yds forward still in our PA and Denilson is a fraction late to intercept the ball.
However, kudos to Denilson. When Diaby dropped deep in the 2nd half, Denilson’s midfiedl play was ‘confident’ (I find this hard to explain). He served a very nice long ball to Cesc.
and for the final goal…….
from the left flank a ball was passed to Cesc, but Cesc was mugged off the ball – Denilson anticipated and intercepted – dribbled forward and dumped the ball to Arshavin (maybe it was Eduardo) – anyway that led to Arshavin’s determined effort.
Denilson is fine when he is the second midfielder of the trio. It is when is the chief DM that he is most detrimental to our title hopes.
And it is there that he will play in the next four games, unless Song comes back early. Anybody else praying for Tunisia to knock out Cameroon tonight?
If they do get knocked out, then even lady luck is on our side. :)
Edit: Tunisia have scored in the very first min. Hoping they can hold out, unlike Zambia.
agree about denilson……
we may be seeing more of Eastmond……
OK, I watched most of the match again and it wasn’t quite as bad as maybe I first thought. Our spirit to pour forward again and again is pretty remarkable and we put Bolton under a lot of pressure that eventually told with a series of very classy finishes. It does seem that there is a real belief in the team and an acceptance that there are no “easy” matches.
And as much pressure as we put on defenses, our own is equally vulnerable. We had no answer to Kevin Davies but there was no real panic. It was as if we were saying, “OK, let’s see if YOU’VE got the class to finish these chances….” Bolton, didn’t, some of these teams we’ll play next, might. Like people are saying, time will tell.
I still feel that the Gallas foul and subsequent injury casts somewhat of a pall on the whole “top of the table” idea. It is inexplicable what Alan Wiley saw, and though Gallas did not intend to hurt Mark Davies, the challenge was mis-timed and mis-placed. It’s good that we’ve escaped official sanction, but I still don’t like how the injury and playing on turned the match so decisively.
At this point, however, what can we do? Tough games ahead and we carry what? A massive injury list, a skeleton squad, a positive spirit, etc. It seems pretty wishful to think that we can make magic with those ingredients, but what else can we do? A late transfer or two would be interesting. Here’s to being hopeful….
Of course, Owen Coyle bitches that Arsenal should have stopped when Davies went down, but later on Bolton didn’t stop when one of their own players went down. Fair play indeed. besides, Gallas should have received a yellow card, but how many penelties weren’t called on Bolton in the first game? Cesc getting taken down in the box, stepped on AND getting his hair pulled?! That’s a three fouls in one combo platter. I gues my point is that these things have a funny way of working themselves out. Teams like Bolton are all fine and dandy when they are the ones being physical but are always the first to screech like little girls when someone has the temerity to give it back a bit.
The obvious question to ask right now is – will Arsene chuck the FA Cup on Sunday by playing a second string / reserve team?
Cast your mind back to February 2008. Arsenal have just gone 5 points clear of ManU by beating Blackburn. In the next game, Arsene plays a second string side at OT and gets royally thumped 4-0 in the FA Cup. Arsenal win only 1 of their next 8 league games.
This team is stronger than that one, but the competition is also much closer this time. What will Arsene do? I wouldn’t be surprised if a few players are “rested”.
I don’t think we should chuck the FA cup, match but I do think we should rest some players. We are bone thin right now and it will take great artistry for Arsene to pick a team that can compete on Sunday. And of course it is really up to the core of Fabs/Sol/Syl to stop the throw-ins and keep a clean sheet.
This team IS better and Stoke are NOT ManU….No matter who we put out there we should be in with a chance to at least win a replay (but do we want one?). Rest Arshavin, have Cesc ready for a late cameo and maybe play JET and Vela? Maybe AW “knows” because I sure don’t….
Please no replay. The replay will be right between the ManU and Chelsea games – which is the only break we got in this four game run.
If the score looks like it’ll end with draw, we could ask Diaby to score an own goal or Denilson to give up penalty. That’ll solve the replay problem ;)
He doesn’t have to “throw” the FA Cup, but he SHOULD rest Gallas and/or Vermaelen.
Why did we get Sol back? to PLAY in this type of match.
I would LOVE to see Sol and Silvestre at the back… and have Cesc – Arshavin on the bench.
Play Vela up front… Theo on … that sort of thing.
We can beat Stoke with a less than our best team.
We can’t have a real go at the Villa, United, Chelsea, Liverpool stretch without our BEST players healthy.
BREAKING:
Pray that Clichy stays healthy and Traore finds his former self. Gibbs is out for the rest of the season. His fracture hasn’t healed correctly and he will undergo a bone graft to aid the process. He will be out for 5 months.
Also the FA will NOT punish William Gallas for his bad foul on Davies
Despite the volume of injuries, no replacement for Adebayor, no backup for Song, and Almunia being in goal, Wenger has his midget squad top of the BPL table after 22 matches. Arsene clearly knows a few things that we don’t. Not that we’re stupid, just that Wenger is so much better at this than any of us. One could legitimately argue luck but something must be said for knowledge and experience.
Question: Are we punching above our weight or are we bulking up?
Time will tell.
Doesn’t time always tell?
BTW, I feel your pain on watching the game. In Afghanistan, night games aren’t on as late for me as it is for you but I still had to wake up at 1:00 a.m. to watch the game, then had to wake up at 5:30 to go to work. Big fun. Well, atleast I have 4 Supersport channels. Sorry you couldn’t watch the game.
The task of maintaining the position at the top of the table is probably even harder. Though the team has to maintain concentration for second half of the season, unlike two seasons ago. So, climbing to the top at the later stage of the season might not be a bad thing.
Agree. Reaching the top is tough, staying there is tougher.
I don’t know about you guys but I’m thrilled at the maturing nature of our young team. Last night, they showed this “refuse to lose” attitude and Cesc is right at the middle of it. He’s a livewire and his energy is invigorating the rest of the squad. He’s becoming an absolute monster right before our eyes and I’m truly enjoying Wenger’s Arsenal football revolution. Our young boys are becoming men. You’ve got to respect how difficult it is for a young player like Francesc or Cristiano to come to England and become BPL superstars. It takes more than just talent.
I can’t believe how critical people are of Clichy and Denilson. Both have been out most of the season and are far from match fit. Silly thing is most of us have played before and know it only takes a few weeks without playing for your judgement and timing to be off. It’s even worse if you haven’t even been fit to train. These boys haven’t played or trained regularly in months. Silly to condemn these young men.
Sure, they made mistakes last night but, hate them or love them, we know both are better than that. Just like Eduardo, van Persie, Rosicky, Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Hleb, Gilberto, Henry, Edu, Vieira, Pires, and all of your other favorite players needed time to get back to their best after a long layoff, Clichy and Denilson will need time too. Silly to pull out the knives after their first full game back.
Completely agree with your first paragraph. “Thrilled to see our maturing side”- Spot on mate. Loving it. And I’m sure everyone, opposing fans included, at the very least have the greatest respect for a player like Cesc. That massive an impact plus 3 penalties denied in the last 2 games. HUGE.
As for Clichy, he was a bit rusty, but I do not know what he was thinking on their first goal. It is okay to say that he was rusty and didn’t connect with his clearance, but the clearance should never be aimed towards that area of the pitch anyway. It should be aimed towards the touchline so that IF mistimed, it doesn’t land in the danger zone. I don’t know if you can put down decision making like that down to being laid off for a while. Still.. We have seen one good season from him 2-3 years ago and while he plays for us I’ll keep hoping he can reach and break those levels.
I was just thinking about our young side during the game and realized it wasn’t that young for this game. Rosicky, Gallas, Almunia, Eddie (kind of), Arshavin, Sagna (kind of) aren’t exactly child prodigies. I think it must have played a part the experience we had and I’m happy to see it. Really hope everyone cans stay fit.
Anyone looking for extensive highlights should check this. 28 mins.
http://arsenalist.com/2010/01/20/arsenal-vs-bolton-highlights-wednesday-game/
Quick question though, does Almunia EVER watch his games???????
What about the coaching staff??? How can you look at all these plays and still think Almunia should be at the club?? Almunia is the ONLY keeper I know who gives up on shots like the first one we conceded.
Interesting fact. Arsenal has allowed opposition teams the least amount of shots. The big, siren-light problem is that we concede from a much higher percentage of the shots we allow.
In other words, our defense and midfield are DOING THEIR JOB JUST FINE!\
Its the freaking keeper!
———————————
Gallas went for the ball, but got there late and landed on the ankle instead. It was NOT intentional, I dont understand why everybody is saying it was. The ball had left the place his foot landed just 1/10th of a second before he got there.
Also his leg was in a standing position, he wasnt sliding. He went in for a 50-50 and missed.
To compare this to the Eduardo incident is utterly ridiculous.
Typical Sky Sports twats talking crap.
Agree with the Gallas comment. It was a foul and arguably a yellow card, but not more. Also, no way the FA intervenes as the referee was right there and didn’t even award a free kick.
Thanks Fred, for the link. I am watching it now.
Liverpool’s win puts some daylight between the top 3 and the chase for the 4th spot.
Its great to finally see us where we belong.
But one thing overhyped is that we have overtaken Chelsea after being 11 – points adriftin end November.
I say this because it in actuality it is only 5 points that we have made up over them, and that is despite the awful run they had.
5, because that 11 points was with us having a game in hand, and now they have a game in hand.
So, it is not that we were completely out after that game.
To get back in the race after 2 months does feel good.
And one more thing, after that coveted game in hand in 2002-03, which we lost, it certainly does feel better to be playing on schedule, and not having that extra buffer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8465812.stm
Arsene’s response to Coyle’s accusations are a classic.
Bolton talking about fair play has got to be the irony of the century.
It confirmed what I always believe – that those HONEST footballers are good at GIVE (out AGGRESSIVE hard tackles), but they don’t like to TAKE it back when things go the other way around.
So much so of those “HARD MEN”.
Yup. Ironic to the nth degree.
Missed the game, it was not showing on TV and I had a very early morning meeting so I didn’t feel like getting up in the middle of the night to catch some dodgy streams.
No comments except to say that I am DELIGHTED by the win and the fact that we are TOP !!!
nip, you missed a very exciting match. Even from a neutral’s point of view. End to end stuff.
Yeah, unfortunately, there is no replay either on my TV channels. :(
I saw the goals, but I guess they don’t tell the story of the whole game. I will wait to see if any highlights package is available on the net.
Try this extended highlight (12mins):
http://tv.arsenal.com/channels/C2_S1.aspx#
I only saw highlights of this match, and I give the team a lot of credit for fighting back from 2 down. This is exactly what we’ve all been wanting to see out of the team for the last 3/4 years: fight. (Whether or not you believe Arsene’s “vision” will work this year, you’ve got to admit at least that much about today’s game.)
But that foul by Gallas was UGLY- it’s the type of thing I hate to see in football, and I LOATHE to see done by a player on the team I love. I don’t know what he “meant” to do, but I hope not to see anything like that from a Gunner again.
I agree. Nothing gives me more thrill in football than come back victory. Cos you need character to achieve that. And I love players with fighting spirit.
As for Gallas’ tackle, no doubt it’s ugly. But since that lad that broke Eduardo’s ankle (I can’t even recall his name) had got the “benefit of doubt” from the football world, I am ready to do the same with Gallas – that he didn’t mean it!
Gallas is not that sort of chap. I don’t know how to translate that to French.
Edit: Gallas n’est pas ce genre de ch (from Google translate)
lol!! That’s a good one nip! :)
What Gallas did was uncalled for. It was bad.
It was an obvious accident. Only thing he id wrong was not stop when he realised what he had done. But most professionals would have waited for the whistle.
This is all I am going to say – for now- Denilshit better thank each goal scorer because he would’ve been run on a spike had we lost. I am going to say what I said in GDC – my freaking plastic Garden Gnome could’ve played better and he’s taller too.
Clichy’s poor clearance led to Bolton’s first goal, should we start calling him “Clishit” from now on?
No, he is Calamity Clichy. ;)
Never thought I would say this, but we need Diaby to be fit. Although I am still 100% confident that I will never say that about Denilson.
It’s perfectly normal to sit at home and fumble with your worrybeads over our team and its every weakness and less than stella performance. Yet sometimes it’s worth a pause to think how the ‘others’ might be feeling. Take Chelsea. Few would question their standing as a serious side, a team built for a challenge, a team of pro’s. Well yes, no question from here but……how then will they feel having blown an 11 point lead over our erstwhile flakey team of youngsters further hampered by injuries?
You know, truth is, after we were professionally demolished 3-0 by Chelsea we should have been out of the race. Either one of Chelsea or ManU or both should have been able to match us point for point and in doing so pressure us to go even further behind. Aye? But it didn’t happen. In fact, they buckled, they both lost points relative to us. And we responded by accumulating points, we found answers despite not being able to put out a 1st-choice looking line-up. So they’re hardly going to be feeling pleased with themselves, their confidence in this season might just be opening up with a few chinks.
So…..after 22 games, sitting at the top, the point of interest is whether this team is now at the stage to maintain its challenge. No doubt, there are still areas of weakness both in individual players and in team design yet you can’t escape the fact that this side has found the answers it needed to win enough points to rise again and even reach the top when it would have been far easier and more likely for them to slip into a frustrating mediocrity – again. So for me, there is undeniable progress.
You can see this progress in the performance of guys like Song and Diaby even at a stretch Ramsey. Despite our aerial vulnerability there is a happier look about the Gallas/Verma combo. The fitness issues of Eduardo and Rosicky still frustrate me (did you notice ;-) ) yet at least they play and contribute!!! And Fabregas is truely deserving of his superstar status – this year he is up there with the Gerrards and Lampards as an all-rounder CM of world class calibre. There are gaps – ala striker – yet to my surprise this midget line-up with the likes of Eduardo and Arshavin find just enough.
Arshavin’s value is becoming clearer. He’s a rare quality yet he’s not going to carry things on his own – he’s not a water carrier. He is often peripheral yet has the knack of being there for the ‘events’ that turn and win games. Every great team needs a guy like him I think. Just like we need a Song. I think in the clutch he’ll perform, like cream rising to the top. I also think that if/as this team matures he’ll look even better. You see, he wants things around him to operate well and for him to be the cherry-on-top. So, when we function better, it will allow his uber-skillset to shine.
Sure beats flumping in Nov ;-)
nice take on our boys…..
denilson and clichy showed their rust in the 1st half…..it shouldn’t have surprised any of us….
as HTS mentioned above; Diaby made some errant passes and mental mistakes early on – but @ the 13 minute mark his trailing back to win the ball – then turn up field and send a beautiful long ball to Eduardo could have been “the goal of the year contender”.
Rosicky turned in a solid 88 minutes. How many times did he support play in our defensive play and then start the attack WITH energized runs through their midfield?
His passes all night were surgical.
I may joke about Kool-Aid, etc., and I’m happy for the come from behind victory, but I would suggest that we enjoy our moment at the top of the table, because it may not last too long.
On the plus side, we did it again, coming back after laughable defending shipped our opponents two easy goals. And it’s not like they didn’t have chances the remainder of the game. We were fortunate that they reverted to form and whiffed at numerous open shots. Sagna and Vermaelen are very, very good defenders–and were good buys, as well ;-) but Gallas is living on the edge and Clichy…at least he didn’t tire in his first full 90 minutes.
I’m sorry, but Diaby, talented as he might be, took the entire first half to wake up, occasionally doing so when he had to track back after his giveaways. He made some nice tackles, but he also gave away free kicks in the danger spot, 6-8 yards outside of the box. Bolton’s got no-one to make those—other teams do. He looked better in the 2nd period and we need him, so fingers crossed he’s not truly hurt….
And like it or not, our “vault” to the top of the table will be marred by Gallas’ tackle on Mark Davies and the fact that we didn’t put the ball into touch. It was not nearly as crude as the moment that ended Eduardo’s career (for all intents and purposes, judging by his play today), but there were shadows of that event that shouldn’t be lost on anyone who would prefer that the team he/she supports plays “fair.” It seemed to me that Alan Wiley had a good view of the play but perhaps he was so winded by the pace of the match that he missed it and Gallas will get a 3 match retroactive ban. Had the foul been called correctly we’d have played with ten and it really would have been the “turning point” of our season.
It was unlikely Bolton would come back from that, and they didn’t, but they looked plenty dangerous. And, of course, these things happen, etc., etc., the whistle hadn’t blown…All of that’s true but now we should happily live by that same credo and accept our batterings, and the missed calls, and all the other injustices that come our way.,
So, all that being said (and I don’t mean to sound too negative, and note that I haven’t even mentioned a certain child who Arsene saved from a miserable life in the Favelas….) I still stand behind our (injury ravaged) team and hope for the best.
So back to the plusses….Our keeper patrolled his area decently, making the saves he could. Cesc continues in spectacular form. Rosicky and Arshavin popped up with excellent, classy goals and we scored from a corner(!?!)
Now it’s on to the new capital of Anti-football (Stoke) and maybe a new defensive middle (Fabianski, Sol, Syl?) and maybe a couple of others get a break? Frankly, I think that, injured as we are, unless we play at least most of our best attackers AND get lucky and don’t give away more of those “Stupid” goals (Vermaelen’s words, not mine…) it’ll be very difficult to do better than earning a replay in what has to be our best hope for a trophy.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll mix some Kool-aid, watch some match highlights or something and feel differently….after all the transfer window’s still open, etc., etc…..
it was a bad foul on Gallas, no doubt, but I don’t think it was nearly as bad as the one on Eduardo.
He might get a ban, but I’d be surprised.
We don’t need it before the 4-PACK of matches that will determine our destiny in the league this season.
Sol and Sil in the FA Cup would be just fine with me.
If Wenger signs the CB from Fulham for 7Mill, what exactly does that say about Sol?
or would he be a back-up to Sol?!
I would think it would be more of an eye to the future sort of signing and that Wenger would probably play him sparingly this year. Sol was signed strictly as cover for the year and I doubt will be here next year and Senderos will be gone too probably and I’m not surewhen Silvestre’s contract is up so bodies will be needed sometime.
Would be nice if the season ends today.
Nothing a good come from behind win to get spirits up.
Jesus, my 12-year-old takes less time to warm up than this team.
Here’s the Daily Mail stating the obvious. It’s still true, nonetheless.
“The next four league games will determine if they have what it takes to sustain a genuine challenge. After the FA Cup tie in Stoke on Sunday, Arsenal will take on Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool inside a fortnight.”
I see ‘Pool put the spuds in their place 2-0. Nice one Pool :-)
Yep, fantastic display by the lads.
I only got to see the second half so will have to watch it tomorrow but I was pleasantly surprised by a lot of what i saw .
I was particularly impressed by Denilson and Fab 2nd half.
I think Arsha is somewhat wasted in that unsupported central role. I was far more hopeful about his success there after his first game in that position. However he does not hold the ball up well so Dfs are generally able to shut him out the game . On the wing he is far harder to control.
Disappointed that Vela and Edu have not yet delivered, Vela in particular had a really good chance. Also disappointed we didn’t get five when Theo was wide open waiting for the square ball to tap in.
But hey a 4-2 comeback without a DM!It is so good to be a Hippy right now, sitting back sipping on Kool Aid :-D
Villa next and they also came from 2 down. That must have been an even more thrilling match than ours, 6-4 to Villa the final score. And the race for 4th place is looking as tight as the race for 1st.. Premiership run in is going to be epic.
That was an CC cup semi though Ozi has no bearing on 4th place.
But granted it is going to be really tight this year.
I think he meant because Liverpool beat Tottenham, they are now 1 point behind the Totts. HUGE win for Liverpool.
4 teams within 2 points for 4th place, and 5 teams within 5 points, if you want to add in Birmingham.
This is the REAL “Amazing Race”!
Spot on Stag.. Was talking about all the day’s games in general. Shoulda been more specific that that comment referred to the totts game
Back where we belong ;-)
That last goal by Arshavin was a classic product of the play that this side is constructed to produce. The nimble quick short-range interplay between the midgets ;-) did it’s thing. Altho notice how it took the determination of the nuggety Russian to drive on and finish.
The goal by Rosicky that gave us the pre-break lifeline was the key for me and it was a play that we need to do more of. Some criticise the Bolton keeper for failing to protect his near post, yet that’s not the whole story. The real oil for me was that Rosicky shot when an Arsenal player would usually move the ball to a teammate – the shot took everyone by surprise. We need more of this in our player to break the predictability of our intricate play.
I didn’t see Fab’s goal (due to streaming issues).
The 3rd goal was the money goal. And no surprise to me that Verma stepped up. This guy will score key goals for us. He just has that attacking edge to his game and has the right attitude. He’s the type of guy that will score in the Champions League final. So notice that goal 1 and goal 3 weren’t classic Arsenal intricate build-up goals but they were exactly what we needed. My point is that we’re doing better this season because we’re scoring more of these ad hoc goals. Keep them coming.
Did you see the play by Diaby early in the match. He tore back and chased the Bolton player driving on goal to assist the defence (note that Maz ;-) ) he then turned quickly and immediately identified Dudu (I think) and played a peach of a fast lofted pass that resulted in a goal scoring chance. Fantastic, absolutely superb. I hope we see more of this as his confidence improves. Once again, this is not a typical play by this team. Yet it fits perfectly with the precision style we want to play. The trick is to have a striker that can capitalise.
Coming from 2-0 down to win 4-2 and top the league under enormous pressure is a real tribute to the team. It’s the type of guts that serious teams need to show, and we did. No one has the right to expect an easy ride every game, nor can you expect to win all the time, but if you’re to be a serious competitor you need to find the answers often.
well, the Fabregas goal was the controversy, (for Bolton)…
Gallas stomped the dudes ankle, should have been a foul, not called… play continued, Arsenal passing was sweet, Fab slid home from a tight-ish angle.
2-2… all good for the red and white army.
You’ll see the replay, no doubt.
Thanks Stag. I’ve seen the goal but not the preceding incident.
I’m biased of course but I couldn’t give a rats at the bleating by the commentators (they referred to it all game long). You can bet your bottom dollar that if an Arsenal player was badly fouled it would be ignored.
well Kiwi, the rub is that Arsenal and Arsene do talk a lot about “FAIR PLAY”… playing the right way, etc.
This goes against that thought process!
Anybody knows if Diaby was injured when he got subbed?
He was injured.
who really cares the Brazilian Boy Wonder is back ;-)
He was injured.
What a good viewing match… drama, action, and a happy ending.
:)
The game showcased our deficiencies… and our skills as well.
Coming back from 2-0, to win 4-2 was impressive, in a game that
was very important.
Bad. There was some for sure. Kevin Davies owned the defenders.
He won about 90% of the headers… and that’s not good.
Shaky at the back, no doubt… but good going forward, and once
Rosicky scored it was all changed.
With the next 4 matches in the EPL being:
at VILLA
UNITED
at CHELSEA
LIVERPOOL
We are going to have to play better on the defensive end.
The better teams don’t give away 2 goal leads.
Fun to watch. Fun to dream. But tempered by the shaky defense,
poor play by a few, and that was an AWFUL foul by Gallas that wasn’t called.
But that’s football… you keep playing until the whistle blows.
4-2.
At 2-0 down, I’d have taken 2-2!
Kevin Davies is a monster in the air.
The commentator said it well – he’s an expert on going for the straight ball (long ball from the back), not as good on getting to the end of the crosses.
Agreed ‘Dez he is special in the air, a great target man and a monster with an extremely large head ;-)
If you can dominate vermaelen in the air you have to be special.
arthur, Vermaelen could make an useful emergency striker! Half volley… from a center back.. insane!
The man can do anything he likes Dez, I reckon he can fly too!
Someone made a comment on BBC many moons ago, that he’s Arsenal’s super-deep lying striker.
I guess that still hold true since he got his scoring boot back.
No need to panic Stag, Kevin “Big Head” Davis had a particularly good game day today.
Highly unlikely we will get anyone ruling our DF like that again all season.
Does Drogba return in time to face us? He’s the only one I can think of who mayyy physically dominate us..
yes Ozi but not in the air.
btw Stag,
No Chelsea didn’t get points deduction. But we are now top of the league. Ooops.
true.
I was not looking at the table, and thought we were going to end up 1 point back when I typed it.
I don’t mind being wrong when its good for the club.
fair enough stag.
Andez – your cold!
look, if you are going to dish it out, you are gonna get called on it.
its all good!
;)
Stag
no questioning your devotion to Arsenal……
we all need to enjoy the moment!
Watched bits of the second half due to a crap stream, and Denilson did improve a bit near the end. Which often happens with him as the other team tire.
Just can’t afford his lack of athleticism and power in the first part of games.
Anyway, great to see our name on the top of the table.
Mazza, you make reference to watching on streams. Have I been mistaken in believing you a Brit? Or is it not as easy to get a live Arsenal match in the UK as I think?
vibe, I’m pretty sure Mazza is a Brit. Just look at the nickname – “zza”! :)
Ya, that’s what I figure. I just want him to admit he refuses to pay his TV license. ;-)
Mazza is just cheap ;-) or thinks it is morally repulsive to give Rupert Murdoch a penny of his hard earned Sterling. Right Mazza?
Well since Setanta’s collapse I’ve missed a few more games than I usually would as I didn’t pick up ESPN( didn’t think it was worth it due to them not showing other sports like boxing, something Setanta were good at).
The only games I can watch are the ones on Sky, which are generally the big ones, so I’ve missed a fair few this season than usual. I might still get ESPN though if our title charge continues.
Games like tonight were not on either channel though, and that happens quite alot over here, so there really is no way of seeing it.
At least it means less rants on here, but then, that means less points doesn’t it? ;)
Wow. Ten years ago, I never would have believed it would easier to get Live matches here, than there.
As Homer would say, USA! USA!!
;-)
According to Arseblog, it wasn’t on anywhere in the UK and he had to stream it as well for his liveblog coverage.
I’ve got some decent sources for streams if you need them Mazza.. Was watching an HD one this morning. Let me know if you need them.
Denilson’s improvement was partly due to Bolton tiring, partly due to them being deflated and not pressuring as aggressively after we came back.. but more than that I think Craig Eastmond coming on and mving him to a better suited position played a greater role in all that. Still overall shitty game though.
Diaby had a very decent game on the other hand and I was impressed with his discipline in tracking back and some of the tackles he put in. i really hope he plays DM until Song comes back (talking of which, I’m hoping Tunisia beats Cameroon tonight).
Cheers. Looking at the fixture list I should be okay for a while. Lots of big ones coming up.
Ozi I need them! Especially for the CL.
4-2.. Brilliant belief.. Never let up. From the goals conceded we kept playing on and just getting on with it. Other than the 3 points and Cesc not getting injured that is what I am happiest to see. We seem to have moved onto another gear mentality wise.
That 20 out of 24 points I had hoped for before the death stretch. Mission accomplished and we have the momentum going into the said stretch. Bring on the Villains.
Everytime I do a half-time rant we win!
——————————
I kinda noticed that as well Mazza. It started from last season in fact. Everytime u got a half time rant, we fought back and win! And giving me a chance to wind you up after the match.
but now it feels like your half time rant start to turning into our lucky charm!
Everytime I do a half-time rant we win!
And yet Wenger will continue to give you no credit. Arrogance, really.
Im about to get ambushed by the kool- aiders as well.
Ah well, small price to pay.
Your observations and the result are not mutually exclusive. I didn’t see “There is NO WAY we will win this match.”
Yeah, yeah and you know Art likes an ambush!! Got my knives at the ready, wait ’til i read your comment ;-)
ARSHA!!!!!
listen to the crowd when a big club like arsenal have the wiff of a title in the nostrils.
Our away hundreds are often so much louder than our home thousands. It makes it more exciting sometimes to watch us on the road.
Verma you beauty. This guy has that x-factor about him. A really good goal.
Now’s the acid test, can we hold this lead or build on it?
I’ve seriously washed my hands of Denilson. Since the 4-1 defeat to liverpool in March 07 I’ved had the fucker’s card well and truly marked.
He is shit. Can everyone now agree on that? And maybe use that realisation to finally see that Arsene is simply being a stubborn old mule by playing him, and by implication, not having our best interests at heart, but primarily his and desperate need to be patted on the back for winning with a youth team?
As Abraham Lincoln said: ““You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time.”
There’s one! Tomas doing his last-minute man thing, while Jaaskelainen does his Almunia impersonation.
Mozart you little beauty, we needed that goal before half time.
100% pathetic challenge from Denilson for the penalty…and he fouled before too….and he is giving the ball away constantly. He’s a player that really struggles when he is coming back into the team.
all to do….
WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!?!
My THREE favorite gorilla-brained players: Almunia, Denilson and Clichy.
I have been convinced about the first two for the last two years but for a while now I had forgotten what a calamity inducing twat Clichy was.
Winning this game with 3 men down would be a greater miracle than Lazarus rising.
That’s why I held fire on slamming Traore. I remembered how shit Clichy was and absence didn’t tint me old glasses.
27′ Penalty conceded by Denilson (Arsenal) after a foul in the penalty area.
28′ Mazza’s head heard to explode as far away as the mid-Atlantic US.
What really is the difference between Denilson and Eastmond?
Before the idiotic penalty concession he got robbed FIVE freaking times, lost 3 headers and 4 tackles. And that was just in 27 minutes.
Eastmond CAN top that EASILY.
If he wasnt Wenger’s love-child or lover he would be playing in the Brazilian second division.
Before the idiotic penalty concession he got robbed FIVE freaking times, lost 3 headers and 4 tackles. And that was just in 27 minutes.
______________
Oh, you ARE hard to please. ;-)
:)
Arsenal Starting XI: Almunia, Gallas, Vermaelen, Sagna, Clichy, Diaby, Denilson, Fabregas, Eduardo, Rosicky, Arshavin
Subs: Fabianksi, Silvestre, Traore, Walcott, JET, Eastmond, Vela
So I was wrong Denilson gets the start over Eastmond.
Bolton starting 11:
Bolton Starting XI:
Jaaskelainen
Steinsson
Cahill
Knight
Robinson
Lee
Mark Davies
Muamba
Cohen
Taylor
Kevin Davies
Bolton Bench: Al Habsi, Samuel, Elmander, Klasnic, Ricketts, McCann, Andrew O’Brien
Going more defensive by leaving Klasnic on the bench?
Heading to the GDC, hope to see some folks in there….
My take on the trophies debate is quite simple.
1. Do not risk the financial side. Always make sure the books are balanced.
2. Once #1 is achieved, any other profit should be invested in improving the squad and doing your best to win the titles.
#1, we are clearly doing. It is #2 that I don’t think we are.
If there is 15-20M transfer funds available to Wenger (which every piece of info we have says yes) and he chooses not to spend it, then in my book, he is not doing the best he can for Arsenal. He is not using every available resource at his disposal to win trophies.
Just today (http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-imagine-where-we-would-be-without-injuries-?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arsenal-news+%28News+Feed%29), Arsene asked – imagine where we would be without injuries? I ask the same way – imagine where we would be if we used up all our transfer budget to buy more players and strengthen the team?
I hear you (and him) say that the right player is not available, etc. I am sorry, but isn’t that Wenger’s job? There are thousands of players out there and if you can’t find a keeper better than Almunia or a defensive backup better than Silvestre and Sendy, then I really don’t think Arsene is doing his job very well (and mind you, he is getting paid handsomely for it).
My ultimate fear is that Arsene wants to win the title his way – which means, the youth way. It is almost as if Arsene is saying – either my youth win or nothing (Diaby/Denilson playing instead of Arsh in the FA Cup has totally reinforced that opinion). I am fine with the “must play beautiful football and not give up your style” theory, but I am not fine with the “buying another player will kill someone so we will stick with what we have” theory.
Hey, but that is just me. :)
Hey, but that is just me. :-)
___________________________
No, it’s not.
But maybe because it’s you, it will strike some as less repetitive. ;-)
Timmy the tooth analyzed the #s several days back on his blog.
http://www.7amkickoff.com/2010/injuries-transfers-and-transfer-kitty-follow-up/
The gist of it is that 70% of our “profits” from all sources is “ring fenced” from our other debts (Highbury Condo development and the new stadium). This money is then available for transfers and contracts.
I’ve posted the bbc interview with Gazidis from Jan 8 a couple of times already, so I won’t do it again, but it is mandatory viewing. ;-) Clearly the club is prioritizing keeping the current squad together by giving them long-term contracts (the terms of which, to the best of my knowledge are not available to the public). What remains is the “transfer kitty.” And that amount is unknown (and is maybe 7 million less than it was, if we’re getting the Fulham defender….)
The contracts are long-term and might be full of incentives, i.e., the ultimate payouts to individual players might not be fully known, Plus, we can always take on new debt to buy the right player. In other words, NO MATTER WHAT, the club’s executives and the board COULD spend big if the right player came along. Obviously they want value for their money, as any INTELLIGENT person or corporation would. My point: every single act is a gamble….
So, maybe C. Ronaldo is good value at 80 mil pounds. maybe Kaka is good value at 65 mil pounds and maybe Xabi Alonso is good value at 30 mil pounds, and maybe buying all of them would help a team raise a trophy THIS SEASON (or in the future). After all, Real Madrid are still in the CL and only 5 points off Barca in La Liga…The Copa del Rey, unfortunately, will have to wait….
For us, maybe Cesc Fabregas or Alex Song were good value at what we paid for each of them, but then you have to calculate the cost of going trophy-less, all these years, or even more microscopically, the cost of losing to Fulham 2-1 in November 2006, which as we know was totally Alex Song’s fault…. All told, every decision is a gamble and it’s tough stuff for the bean counters….
At this point, it would be easy to say, “We just have to trust that Arsene, Gazidis, and the board will do the right thing because THEY KNOW BEST,” etc, etc.
WRONG! YAMA exists for us to talk these things through, for us to dissect the game on the pitch, in the board-room, and in our (whacked-out?) minds. So on we go….
Like I said above, the things I see give me faith in AW and the club (And buying Arshavin & re-signing Sol, not to mention Sylvestre, would tend to argue against Arsene’s pedophilia….) but everyone is entitled to their view. In the end we’re all supporters and want the best for our club, and nobody has jumped ship and started supporting City….At least I don’t think so….
Sagna, Arshavin, Rosicky, Eduardo, Vermaelen, Gallas: I would not consider these players part of Arsene’s youth project.
Another factor pertinent to these new contracts is salaries.
So Nip, your the Arsenal manager.
Cesc has been making £80k/ week ; for the 2010-11 season what will this player be deserving?
(some fool club was willing to tempt Ade with £120k/ week)
Alex Song making (est) £50k/week; ditto
Vermaelen – ditto
for those players who are 1st team starters, can you just ignore a raise? What about funds to continue our pursuit of even younger talent?
for every £20K / week raise – thats £1 mil / year in club expense.
Nip, wouldn’t you think that part of that money in reserve is to ensure we have funds
to offer the raises necessary to keep player continuity?
Wade on in….the water’s fine. ;-) Are you “working” at home today? See you in the GDC….
If it’s true, Smalling seems a good one…he helped keep that West London derby close a couple of weeks back. Interesting that AW seems to want sufficient back-up for both CBs (Song didn’t look convincing at CB in the CC at Citeh, plus we need him at DM) as well as long term competition/back-up for Djourou. Gotta get past Stoke on the weekend, cause I’m feeling an FA Cup run….
Two comments on the trophies now vs trophies later debate. 1) We’re still in the hunt for three of them despite an injury tally that makes our heads spin and 2) I know the chant of “we’re the profit winners” is galling, but how many teams are positioned to keep players of the (growing week by week) stature of Fabregas? Because of those “profits” can laugh off the absurd sums that Real and Barca (and Chelsea and Citeh) wave in our faces. It’s true that Liverpool and United won’t be relegated any time soon, but they may have to entertain offers for the likes of Torres/Reina and Vidic/Valencia sooner than later and the likes of Rooney and Gerrard eventually (although, as English boys, they should know better than trying to play outside of the country).
And a final thing that helps me believe in AW (though I also find the AKB chant to be idiotic and the kool-aid thing’s a joke, right?)….He waits to renew his contract. Maybe if we win the treble (HAHAHA!) he’ll demand a Rafa-like extension, but I don’t think so. He’s after bigger things than money, I think, but, as always….What the hell do I know?
HTS – nice insight about cash poor clubs!
No way to attract decent players unless you sell off some from the roster. This is not be best environment for any person to be working under.
As much as our team struggled with ‘ade’ and the constant rumor mill about his moves to Spain and Italy;
Not sure these rumors of Rooney being courted to Barca will be good for ManU, club, fans, and SAF. (add to Pool’s worries the articles starting to surface about interest in Torres and Gerrard)
DAG –
another informative write-up!
Thanks for your time.
I normally don’t wade into these debates but on the other Bolton thread some where discussing the merits of winning versus making a profit.
While I want to see Arsenal haul in some silverware – I do not want that to be at the cost of the viability of the team as a whole.
Say as what you will about United and Liverpool and their successes right now they are picture perfect for everything that is wrong with the EPL.
The latest debt figure to United’s parent organization is £716.5 million. 3/4s of a Billion. There is no organization (outside of Governments) that can with that kind of debt level. Especially an organization that needs funding to sustain itself. Liverpool debt is somewhere around £500 m
When you see articles on Leeds United these days what do the focus on? The glory days. No they focus solely on how a once great and storied club became a role model for what not to do. Its as if the history of their past successes has been wiped out.
While I think its a stretch to say United and Liverpool will suffer similar fates – if it can happen to Leeds it can happen to them and then everyone will give f*ck all about what the one and care more about how two of the English Football’s greatest franchise sunk. Hell right now that is all that is out there and they haven’t sunk yet.
As for some Sugar daddy swooping in – I think the reason it hasn’t happened the debt levels. Even the wealthiest of Arabs doesn’t want to loose that kind of money for something that amounts to nothing more than a prestige toy.
Yes, I want Silverware as much as the next Arsenal fan. I would rather it be done prudently and not at the sacrifice of the overall health of the club. If that means going through a period of 3-5 years of a barren cabinet while youngsters mature – so be it. At least my club will survive and thrive.
There is a shift happening in the Premier League – sadly it has little to do with talent and more to do with who has the ability to stay afloat financially.
nobody asking Arsenal to go into huge debt to win… but we could win trophies if we spent some of the fecking PROFIT on the team.
BREAKING:
Sky Sports are reporting that Arsenal have made a move for Fulham’s young defender Chris Smalling. Smalling would be a long term replacement for Gallas should the information be true. Sky is saying that Arsenal are willing to spend £7 m for the lad.
And here’s one that might spark a little debate among the “factions”….
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/matthew_syed/article6994314.ece
Good article that. Surely to incite some people here I am sure.
Regarding today’s match…. (and thanks for the preview, DAG. I’ve had a similar illness, I think it might be the swine flu…) It’s definitely a little more interesting being so soon after the other one.
I’m finding AWs talk about going to the top of the table very intriguing. He’s basically challenging his team to win by two clear goals AND more or less saying it’s a done deal. It’s the kind of stuff opposing managers tack on the dressing room wall to motivate their players.
But will Coyle do that? Does he get his boys fired up so they redouble their efforts (and try to kick us twice as hard)? Or does he say, “No, no, no, I was hired to improve the football at Bolton, so today is about playing the beautiful game and we should just try to outscore Arsenal. (I’m sure the finishing I saw the other day was a one-off, it can’t truly be that bad, can it?)….”
It will be interesting to see who Coyle plays. Does he go with the same 11 from the other match (the exact same 11 Megson started the match before)? Or maybe he’s got some “better” footballers he wants to give a run out to. He’s in a tough spot in the table where points are all that matter, but he also needs to show that his team is “improving.” Hmmmm….
As always in these sorts of matches, we “should” have enough to outclass Bolton. Priorities should be goals (maybe Cesc can bring Eduardo and Arshavin or Rosicky onto the scoresheet?), a clean sheet (always iffy with our issues at keeper) and NO INJURIES. Please Mark Clattenburg, don’t let them do the Ade-Stomp all over us this time around.
This is a funny one from http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog/posts/uncrippled-players-are-like-new-signings—part-841
Speaking of injuries, the boss is more focussed on getting the injured players back than new signings. I think we might have heard that one before, right? He says:
“We have so many players out that our talks are more focused on ‘when is he back, when he is back?’ and it looks like any player we can get back is like a transfer because we have not seen some players this season, like Walcott, like Bendtner.”
I’m beginning to wonder if Arsene has some kind of cash based Muchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy. He doesn’t want to spend money so he deliberately injures our players by putting bone and muscle disintegrators into their food and then when everyone says ‘You have to buy a player or two, Arsene. We’ve only three fit ones’, he stops, brings them back then tells us they’re like new signings. It’s the only possible explanation.
I actually LOLed at the first paragraph of today’s Arseblog…but my humor tends towards the scatological anyway, and we’ve all been there….
The fixtures favour ManU, albeit because they got knocked out of the FA Cup.
Their league game against Hull is advanced to Sat and they get a full weeks rest before they face us.
On the other hand, we play tonight, on Sunday, on Wed and again on Sunday. :(
This will be one real test for us.
Man Utd play next wed as well in the Carling Cup, 2nd leg. But then again, Arsenal always had a more stellar test in terms of opponents atleast until Feb 10. Man Utd play Hull and Pompey at home in the league around the Arsenal fixtures. Atleast I am glad that City will give them something to get upset about in the meantime.
Good point. Missed that one.
£716m = US$1.164 billion
£500m = US$813m
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_5870270,00.html
On the Glazers at Utd.
A happy family!
It was good to see Mike Dean finally take a stand on the ManU shirt pulling routine. You know the one where you get away with it if you are wearing a red shirt, but doesn’t work if you are anywhere else (eg. Silvestre trying it at Arsenal). I know the penalty call wasn’t clear cut, but who cares. All these years of cheating and getting away with it is catching up with the Mancs.
Perhaps, Mancs are not longer the cool kids in town might have something to do with it?
nip has Mike Riley, Manure’s favourite son, retired?
I don’t know.
On the other hand, Arsenal have been truly unlucky with penalty calls this season. Since the Eduardo incident, we have got only one – against Stoke.
We are due some luck and how I wish it will be against the Mancs at the Emirates.
Here’s a list of this season’s refs and their stats…No Mike Riley to be seen…
http://usa.worldfootball.net/schiedsrichter/eng-premier-league-2009-2010/1/#redirect
The more I read from the lad the more I like him –
The Mirror has this great interview with Cesc. Last year he says he had absolutely no passion for the game and he has learned to repriortize.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/mirror-football-blog/Exclusive-interview-Arsenal-captain-Cesc-Fabregas-reveals-that-last-season-he-lost-his-passion-for-the-game-but-now-he-s-never-been-happier-article293365.html
Oh and if we win anything this year and Cesc doesn’t win any major awards – that’s a serious injustice and I will send Stag over to beat the crap out of someone.
Cesc will likely win awards this season. He carries this team, no doubt about it.
Great find, DAG. Thanks. Between this and the video Steve posted the other day, I absolutely agree. Between the distance, less coverage, and various language barriers, it’s not always been easy to identify individual personalities. I, too, like what I’m learning about Cesc.
Yes Stag, I know you LOVE TROPHIES. I know you don’t give a s*it of balancing the book. I know you think MONEY IS THE ONLY WAY TO GLORY. And I know you thought Wenger should buy Barry, Reo-Coker, Papa Diouf, and thought Aliadiere was a world-beater.. and I know you think just because we put on a “nobody” Eastmond we would AUTOMATICALLY dropping points…
I know we had not won shit for many years (why do we want to win “shit” by the way?), and I know how much you admire Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool as well…
And I believe I am not the ONLY one who knows that.
But please, do u really have to repeat the SAME OLD STUFF for FIVE frigging years?
chill, have a cup of KoolAid, enjoy life, enjoy the game. Life is short. Nothing worth to be so p*ss of. Occasional rant is ok. Overdoing it is BORING.
Andez, isn’t this a two-way street, though? Haven’t we been hearing ‘Give it time’, ‘Next year we’ll be something special’, and (some form of) ‘Arsene kn*ws’ for just as long?
We’ve all gone in our share of circles.
As to whose point is being made by the fact that essentially little has actually changed in 5 years, well, that would be repeatin…, no, I won’t. ;-)
Peronally I would like to think I have talked about LOT of stuff here than just worrying about whether Arsene will spend or not.
Most people here do as well, discussed about different issues (just refer to Kiwi and Josh’s early posts on the previous thread).
I am actually thinking to submit a post about the World Cup.
I know it’s not allowed back in AA (to talk about anything not related to Arsenal). But I’m not sure if DAG will be ok with it or not.
although it’s early I know, I am looking forward to the event.
btw I don’t think I have read any of these for quite a while now
-‘Give it time’, ‘Next year we’ll be something special’, and (some form of) ‘Arsene kn*ws’-
Besides, why should we wait for next year?
We are having a go THIS SEASON!!
just wait for a loss, any loss or draw, and these old tired lines are rolled out in one form or another.
Hey VBA:
Are you implying that chanting “A.K.B” is boring? You’re kidding right? ;)
Vibe4
Don’t you see a step up in play with this year’s squad vs. last year?
Not saying perfect, but our manager seems to have found plausible solutions at DM and CB?
Andez…
as stated, you see it ONE-WAY.
I try to balance out your POM-POM waving antics, where Wenger and Arsenal can do no wrong.
Get over it.
When you stop ass-kissing Arsene and rubber-stamping every move or non-move… I’ll stop pointing out my point of view that making money for the club is not what I am looking for as a fan.
deal?
Probably not… you don’t even see the kool-aid nonsense is sickening to me.
So why don’t you get serious!