EPL Match Day 26: Arsenal v Newcastle; Match Preview
If Arsenal are going to keep pressure in Manchester United than a win at St. James Park against Newcastle is an absolute must.
When these two teams met three months ago, they were two different teams. For Newcastle they were managed by Chris Hougton and Andy Carroll was their primary goal scoring threat. Arsenal, had a slew of injuries, were playing inconsistent football and were fighting to secure the 3rd or 4th spot in the league.
In the time since Carroll’s header shocked the Emirates crowd and caused Tyneside to erupt a lot has changed. Houghton and Caroll are no longer with the magpies. Houghton has been fired and in case you didn’t know Andy Carroll was sold for a record £35 milljon to Liverpool. Arsenal have moved into second place. They semmingly have tightended up things at home and they have star players who were gone for long periods of time – back.
Still some things never change at Arsenal and we’re suffering from two very significant injures. First in the FA Cup tie against Huddersfield, Samir Nasri came up with a lame hamstring keeping him sidelined for up to 3 weeks. This is a significant blow to the player who has been enjoying a successful run with Arsenal. He recently won his second in a row of the month award and his third for the season. The other injury is a minor thigh injury to Alex Song. This is likely the only match Song should miss. He took a cleat shot to the thigh and has a bruise as far as I can tell.
All this means is that two people are going to have to step up and fill in those roles. The good news is one of them isn’t Denilson (he is injured too). Sorry still not the biggest fan of the Brazillian. Sure, I know a lot of people rate him, I don’t. I find his passing lacking, his ability to hold the ball ineffecient and his ability to get the ball back when he does lose it woefull. Sure, he as good spouts of play but not as good as the others he plays with. So forin place of Alex Song, Diaby should deputize. The jury is still out on the french international. For a long stretch last season he showed that he had turned a corner and was playing good ball. Injuries this season have prohibited any sort of consistent run this season. So Diaby not only has to show that he is a reliable player but he has to show that he can step into some really big shoes.
Coming in for Nasri should be Andrei Arshavin. Even though on Tuesday it was Rosicky, little Mozart looks ineffective in the side and I feel if Arsenal do bring in Eden Hazard as has been rumoured, then it is Roicky who will be gone. Arshavin on the other hand is a run of good games away from finding his form. And I think we started to see that on Tuesday against Everton. Sure we were pressing Everton well with the team we had on the pitch but it was missing the cutting edge a player like Nasri and Arshavin can bring and sure enough not 10 minutes after Arshavin came on the pitch did we score the equalizer soon followed by Koscielny’s winner.
Arshavin like Nasri (even when Andrei isn’t in bad form) likes to attack defences. He is so wiley that he can open up teams by his skillfull moves in and around the box. What I think he does better than most Arsenal players save Van Persie – is his shot selection. He doesn’t need to be inside the box to shoot. He will take the shot if he feels he has it. The problem this season has been finding the target or applying any of that skill to his shot. Throw that in with the what was/is a lacksidasial effort on getting involved in play and you have the recipe for an out of form player and a frustrated fan base.
As a whole Arsenal need to win and keep the pressure on Man United. United and even City have easy matches this weekend. So a slip on our part would be costly. The team has to continue to find the form it has from the Christmas run and on. They have to continue to press the ball and be patient in unlocking determined teams. The situation with their opponent is diametrically opposite to the last time these two teams metm Newcastle are ravaged by injuries and are reeling from the depature of Andy Carroll. All in all if Arsenal play their and maintain their away form this should be a match they can put away early.
How the Match Should Play Out:
In their last 16 meetings Newcastle have only won twice (that includes this last match at the Emirates). The sides are no stranger to playing each other with Arsenal taking the Carling Cup match 4-0 at St. James Park and Newcastle winning the first EPL tie 1-0. Arsenal are going to want to put this game out sight early. And while my score projection is three, I suspect at least two of those to come in the first half. Arsenal are a purring machine right now and they are absolutely displaying all the right qualities. All in all that will be a enough to handle the Tynesdie atmosphere and team. Frankly, I a think the fans at St. James will be more focused on the absence of Carroll then they will with what goes on during the match.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal: Andrei Arshavin. As we said he is slotting in for Arsenal’s best player and if he can come to form than there really is no player better to do so. The question is, was the Everton match a sign he has turned the corner or is it just a case of temporary adjustment.
Newcastle: Kevin Nolan. Newcastle are going to struggle to find goals with Carroll gone and Ameobi out with a fractured cheekbone. That means Kevin Nolan is going to have to step up and fill that void.
Projected Starting Sides:
Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal: Song (thigh) Denilson (hamstring) Nasri (Hamstring) Fabianski (shoulder) Frimpong (knee), Vermaelen (Achilles)
Newcastle: Ameobi ( fractured cheekbone) Ben Arfa (broken leg) Gosling (knee), Ireland (hamstring) S Taylor (hamstring), Smith (ankle) R Taylor (ankle)
Leading Scorers:
Arsenal: Nasri 14 (9 league) Chamakh 10 (7 league) Walcott 10 (7 league)
Newcastle: Nolan 10 (10 league) Ameobi 7 (4 league)
Last Meeting: (EPL)
Arsenal: 0
Newcastle: 1
Last 5:
Arsenal: WDWWW
Newcastle: WWDDL
Goals For:
Arsenal: 1.9 (away)
Newcastle: 2.2 (home)
Goals Against:
Arsenal: 0.9 (away)
Newcastle: 1.3 (home)
Goal Difference:
Arsenal: 27
Newcastle: 2
Match Officials:
Referee: Phil Dowd
Assistant referees: Trevor Massey & Darren Bond
Fourth official: Stuart Attwell
Broadcast Information:
US: FSC: 10:00 AM EST
UK: ?????? 1745 GMT
GAMEDAY CHAT: It’s Open!!!!!!
www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 3
Newcastle: 0
____________________________________________________
Other things I think I know:
I have watched with interest this week, the budding feud between David Moyes and Arsene Wenger about what Cesc Fabregas said or didn’t say at half-time to match referee Lee Mason. If you believe Moyes Fabregas shouted something at Mason to the effect of asking who paid him. You might remember Mason missed an absolute shocker by letting Saha’s goal stand even though he was clearly offside before Koscielny touched the ball.
What ensued was a week long escapade of – you lied, no you did, no you did. What it boils down is that Fabregas was drug the through the press and by most accounts described as nothing more than a petulant child. My question is is that an accurate description or is Fabregas merely being a passionate captain and very vocal in what he finds to be an aggregious call?
The tough part in assessing this is that this is behaviour that Fabregas is showing more and more. Some of the press went so far as to summize that if Fabregas is acting this vocal than he is really showing that he doesn’t want to be with Arsenal. Frankly, I am not sure I see the correlation and that certain press outlets are looking to batter Arsenal yet again.
Sure, Fabregas is 24. He is young and maybe some of his approaches to handling situations are different than that of an “elder statesman” captain. But can you blame a player for his impassioned cries when he spend and entire match getting clattered and the refs seemingly won’t protect him from the clubbing he gets. To him I am sure it seems like his team, the team he leads are given a different set of standards they have to operate by.
Fabregas is a good Captain as his form leads the way for the team and players feed off of that. He has become more vocal in calling players out like he did against Denilson when he got the stupid penalty that led to a goal. That kind of stuff is going to come with time. I don’t think this is petulance in any form but it is Cesc Fabregas finding his voice as Captain and protector of his teammates.
[donate]
82 comments
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
On a positive note, Aaron Ramsey looked quite sprightly for Cardiff earlier on. He really does have special talent. Hopefully as time goes on he’ll cut out the heavy first touches that seem to have afflicted him, and which were also evident a couple of years ago before development led to him cutting them out. The injury has set him back in this regard but I’ve seen enough to think we should be getting back to Colney pronto.
Nobody to chat with in the GDC…. :(
I have just seen the greatest miss I have ever seen (Maxi from 3 yds) in a match that NEEDS a goal in the worst possible way….
Wow….
@highburyterracesteve,
Absolutely ridiculous miss, he is a clinical misser Rodrigez!! Come on ‘Pool!
I am in GDC now and you have gone HTS, i’ll lurk around for a while and see if you will make it back.
@ HighburyTerraceSteve ….
Begging for reprieve after being disproven by results on the pitch hey? lol.
Am sorry, I thought AKBs loved their nicknames. It sure is better than “doomers”.
Everybody on here knows the comments are nothing personal. A lot of us have been commenting for years, some even for more than 5 years. So we tend to just say whatever the hell we want to say. Go check out ArsenalAmerica, they wanted to go official and AKBize the place, now they get ZERO comments for months and have less than 30 views per month or something ridiculous like that.
Sorry, some of us – myself especially! – will not join any holding hands, kumbaya nonsense.
We’ll continue to call out the widely visible flaws in the team and continue to LAMBAST the manager when he doesnt correct them. We’ll also continue to lambast AKBs who continue to illogically support Wenger’s madness. Latest example: the incredible defense of Wenger’s recent refusal to buy a CB even though we could all see THIS coming.
Nothing will change till enough AKBs turn realists. Till enough realists demand ambition and common sense from the club.
Till enough fans get it that Wenger is NOT Arsenal. He is Napoleon taking us on his moronic winter journey to Russia.
He needs the Ben Ali/Mubarak treatment. But there are not enough protesters in the stadium YET.
@Fred, LOL! how did I miss this. Absolutely hilarious :-D
@ArfaSheds,
I AGREE!
A day later and I think I’m ready to say a bit about the match and the team…..
Personally, I find that I don’t really want to live in a world where the Joey Bartons get rewarded and referees go out of their way to put him on the penalty spot, after he induces a reaction with a potentially leg breaking tackle. As many have noted it was one of those moments that required a reaction WITH intent. We got that sort of reaction last season at Stoke after the leg breaking, but not yesterday. Instead, Diaby alone rose to the bait while the rest of the squad responded with hand-wringing and collapse aided by the Toon faithful and a referee who orchestrated the narrative. It all speaks to a team that is leaderless and weak at the core. On the plus side, we made history…..
Unfortunately, I also need to comment to the idiocy here on YAMA….I’ll try to keep it brief.
I feel really bad that I sank to the level of “Manager Fred” (initials M.F…hmmmm…..) with my pre-match post at the top of the last thread. However, you could argue that I was RIGHT (!!!!!) in sarcastically singling out Diaby as the would-be goat.
Being right doesn’t float my boat AT ALL, and I posted the sarcasm hoping (of course) that I was wrong…..Likewise, when I AGREED with Fred last week at the close of the transfer window I was hoping that I/we were wrong about injuries and the need for (and failure to get) reinforcements. Unfortunately, I/We look pretty spot on. We are hurting for sure in the CB/DM area and our “baggage” players (Denilson, Squillaci, Eboue) will have to perform at a level that we have no reason to expect. We appear to be f*cked on all fronts. And given the frailties on display yesterday, smart money would get put on another physical side (Birmingham City) to upset us in a no-lose situation (for them) at Wembley in the CC final. If anybody happened to see Barca yesterday in a “close” match (3-nil) against decent Spanish opposition (Athletico Madrid) the prospect of playing anything less than our very best team against them suggests that WE need some sort of Barton/Dowd axis of our own to have a chance of keeping it close….
But it comes down to respect and what people want out of this website. DAG created this site after the AA ticketmeisters kicked everybody out. For this we ALL should be grateful. And unlike other blogs out there that routinely ban people with provocative/contrary views, DAG seems to believe that we can work it out….
As such, lumping posters together as AKBs or Hippies or Doomers or Haters, while sometimes fun and sometimes a useful shorthand, is inherently disrespectful and in the end, as many keep pointing out, sounds like bleating and eventually becomes yelling. Post after post that reads “I’M RIGHT, YOU’RE WRONG”, just sends people elsewhere or makes people use their internal “ignore poster” function. Finally, the notion that people with certain outlooks, or who’ve made certain comments have “jinxed” the team are patently ridiculous and anti-rational. If people are desperate to be seen as “right,” or “smart” or whatever, it doesn’t help that they invoke jinxes or other forms of voodoo….
So my suggestion is that we just cut it out and get back to the “enjoyment” of trying to communicate about the team/club we’re trying to support. Things ARE frustrating, but maybe there are some pleasures to be taken as well. (At the moment it might be at the expense of ManUnited rather than through any of our own exploits). I sometimes have trouble respecting the views of the people who NEVER have anything positive to say and I tend to question how they consider themselves supporters. Still, I (usually) try and put myself in their shoes and try and understand their perspective and evaluate their impressions without prejudice. Respect, however, is a two-way street and I apologize if I swerved and fell into the ditch….
Nancy Regan would be so proud.
@DaAdminGooner, Uh, sorry, but I don’t get the reference….
Maybe I’ll sit in the GDC for the big Super bowl Sunday match and BlueNando’s debut, if you care to explain…
@highburyterracesteve,
Re: Jinx …. LOL. I dont know of anybody who believes in that. Ok lets just call it “bad luck” then.
Sorry, I have just noticed an extremely high correlation between team bad results and one of Denilson/Almunia/Clichy making comments AND between AKBs across the web geting overly snarky.
Maybe you can cut it out? And maybe you can cut out snarkily asking for more comments after we beat a 19th place team at home?
@Fred, Kum-ba-Yah, baby….(lol)
Again sorry for the snark (sarcasm)….Just hoping that we can move forward and maybe avoid lumping folks together. While you and Stag and Mazza (and many others) share some similar views, I TRY and remember who said what and not just say (over and over and over) that all the (insert label) say this or that and hahaha we beat Wolves, when United couldn’t….or whatever….
My point (again): Why bring the debate/discussion to such a banal level?….
And, by the way, the real reason the Toon was able to come back and draw with us has nothing to do with the ref or Diaby taking the Barton bait or that Squill (the summer signing who you rejoiced over, as I recall) is no Djourou or that we have no (REAL) leadership in the team…..It’s because I woke up late and didn’t have time to put in my (lucky) blonde hair extensions (after my hero Bac Sagna) nor wear my YAMA shirt….And at 4-nil at half-time, I thought the need had passed….
;-) …. :(
Current squad available for the next few games:
GK: CZ, Almunia
D: Gibbs, Clichy, Sagna, Eboue, Squill, Koz (6)
M: Wilshere, Fabregas, Rosicky (3)
F: Walcott, Bendy, Chamakh, RvP, Arshavin (5)
That is 14 (FOURTEEN) outfield players available five days after the close of the transfer deadline.
NOTE: We legally can NOT call back ANY of our loaned out players other than Ramsey – despite the nonsense Arsenal.con is spewing out. Except we ask the FA for special dispensation … and even then we can take back only the players we gave to lower division English teams.
——————————————————-
This post is dedicated to all the AKBs worldwide.
Guys, I’ve got a new prediction for y’all!
— If Nasri does not extend before the end of March, he will ask to LEAVE Arsenal this summer.
He has just one year left on his contract … and Nasri is very much in the Flamini mold.
With Fabregas and Nasri gone in the summer …. we would then have add that problem with our already gaping holes in CM, CB, ST.
Wenger, with the complete backing of his AKB minions, will only attempt to solve ONE of the problem areas – leaving the rest to fester and expand.
So we will start next season EVEN weaker and more depleted with most of our major structural problems left unsolved.
@Fred,
Well I give you one thing Fred, you are never boring.
The optimist in me though thinks that Nasri will feel indebted to Wenger for turning him into a world class player, for at least another season.
Then he’ll demand a transfer.
@rocka,
Well, like I said, I think Nasri has the same character as Flamini. They are both hard and cold-blooded. Everybody knows that with Fabregas gone, this team is garbage … and Nasri being a smart guy will not want to be carrying a garbage team. His agent will simply go induce offers from the likes of Man City, Madrid, Milan, Juve, etc. Why, even Man U and Chelsea could be interested with Scholes retiring.
Plus, his contract ends in summer 2012, so there will be no point waiting one season before demanding a transfer. He will be free to move anywhere at that point anyway.
Infact, he might not even need to demand a transfer. He could simply just refuse to sign a new one this summer …. forcing Arsenal to try to sell him to avoid losing him for free and to make some money of him. You can guarantee this is the path the club will take because MONEY is the ONLY thing Arsenal and Wenger care about.
After selling Nasri and Fabregas, Arshavin will be quietly shunted back to Russia. We’ll buy Oxlade-Chamberlain for 15 million and bring back Miyaichi from loan. The AKBs will then come on here to purr about how we are being fiscally sound and how Wenger is running the club sensibly! ;-)
@Fred, This is interesting. Latest I had heard, Nasri was getting bumped up to 75k/week on a five year….Not enough for somebody who thinks big about money, but not bad for somebody who is currently injured and whose stats will be inhibited by (at least) two sizable chunks out of the squad this season.
Personality wise, Nasri seems less politic that Cesc (think handshake, comments with Gallas) and thus more likely to want/need the protection that Arsene and Arsenal afford. Unlike Flamini, who maybe overestimated his value/potential, Nasri seems (to me) like the sort who is a bit engaged in a “me against the world” mentality, and who maybe doesn’t feel as if he’s valued enough outside of Arsenal (World Cup snub, for example).
Time will tell of course, and maybe the big offers will come flowing in….As always, I’d caution about believing every headline or transfer link. For now, at least, Nasri, torn hamstring and all, is on our roster….
@highburyterracesteve,
Believing every headline??? Which rumor has Nasri leaving??? I havent seen one. You heard it here (from me) first.
75kpw is BS money for a top-notch player these days. Especially to tie him to a Fabregas-less, garbage team like Arsenal will be. He can easily get 150kpw at a club that will actually win things.
I know it must be SHOCKING to some that anybody will want to leave Arsenal … or that some players are not more “thankful” to Wenger ….. but sometimes REALITY strikes.
Time will tell on this prediction, like it always does.
Man United could not have picked a better time to cock up!
1- Takes a big chunk of media attention onto them over us. This should help on the pressure stakes on our players. Less people talking and focussing on our own stuff-up is definitely welcome.
2- Mentally helps the players BIG TIME. In spite of the injustice of yesterday, we end up making a point over Utd. That is HUGE and I hope that it stimulates us to get a siege-mentality going where we fight in-spite-of everybody else rather than giving up, which would be so easy to do.
2 things that might not go so well in all of this is that even with all the mental strength in the world, we may not have the numbers/quality/depth to cope with what is a rapidly expanding injury list. But Wenger has said he’s not going to use that as an excuse so in his head be it! Though I have a feeling the word “unlucky” (unpredictable/inconceivable??) may be given a run in the not too distant future.
And secondly, I don’t know what is up with Utd’s away form this season. But, if there was any sort of pressure from the unbeaten run that was holding them back, then that is now gone. I hope it was just overall shiteness and they continue to suck.
@OziKenyan,
We have absolutely ZERO chance of winning any major trophy other than the CC because:
1) Our team is limited quality.
2) Is threadbare and has NO depth. We are down to 14 (!!!) outfield players available!! This 14 includes utterly garbage players like Squid, Rosicky and Eboue!
3) Wenger is a tactical clown. To buttress this point he recently switched from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 when we were desperate for a goal AND some were praising that as tactical ingenuity! Yup, that formation switch is the peak of his tactical “prowess”.
Unfortunately nothing will change till enough Arsenal fans realize that Wenger is NOT Arsenal.
I am still extremely incensed about today’s debacle.
Can you imagine Barton playing those games with Viera, Gilberto, Petit, etc on the pitch. I need say no more.
We have no senior leadership. Yes, Fab leads by actions, but we need some “winners” in this team.
We tried. I can’t criticize a lack of trying. However, our two seniors, Rosicky and Squid acted like blatant rookies. Every time we get a chance to make a statement we F&&k it up.
@Caribkid,
Agree totally …. no way Barton stays on the pitch with Vieira, Petit, Adams or Gilberto. He goes out on a stretcher, we go down to 9 men and we win 5-2.
Wenger didnt like the tough team, so went and pussified the team immensely.
————————————-
Lets face facts, Rosicky is completely and utterly useless to us. We should have sold him off TWO years ago.
Squillaci is as bad as Silvestre and Cygan ever were. And even though he was third choice and Vermaelen was injured ALL season, the Big Idiot aka Wenger failed to reinforce.
We did see the worst of Wenger today. His subs didn’t make much sense, and his failure to strengthen in January was laid bare. I remember feeling absolutely bollocksed in the space of 5 minutes when Djourou wandered off, and then Diaby get sent off.
I still thought we would comfortably win the match, after all we were 4 nil up, we now have a decent keeper, and the team has shown a bit more steel in recent matches.
If it wasn’t for Phil Dowd, I believe we still would have won the match, albeit, not comfortably.
Jesus, this really was a crazy day. Man U finally lose, Toon completes a 4-goal comeback, Wigan-Bburn ends 4-3, and Louis Saha scores FOUR goals!
What is even more worrying about this game is that without a fit Song and Djourou, and Diaby out for 3 games, we are ripe for the picking.
Oh Mr. Wenger, when will you ever learn that hope does grow on trees. For the entire season we have known that we have no replacement for Song and with Vermaelen out we were light at CB. Wenger’s response is to loan out Bartley, our only other true CB.
WTF
@Caribkid,
Is Bartley actually any good? Unlikely that Wenger will call him back, even though he has mentioned recalling loanees. But how has his form been?
Actually, Bartley has been outstanding for his club, albeit in the lower division. He is big, good in the air and has won a few MOTM’s during his tenure.
Although untested, could he be any worse than Squid? And, if Arsene doesn’t believe he is any good, then why not get another CB?
I was busy this morning, so I did not see the match, and boy am I fucking glad! WTF.
Reading the comments on here, most fans experienced ecstasy followed by agony. At least I had the reverse. When I went online to see what I’d missed today in the world of football, the first headline I read was something about a colossal choke by Arsenal and I thought, “Well there goes any change we had of winning the league.” That disappointment was quickly tempered, however, when I saw that Man U are NOT invincible.
Only Arsenal are invincible baby! (And PNE if you want to get technical.)
Without context, we can certainly criticize Diaby’s rash actions. However, given the context that his future was severely impacted some years back by another British thug, that the referee was not protecting Arsenal players from tackles which should have been red or yellow cards, that Barton’s tackle could easily have been a red (two feet off the ground and going through the player), my only problem is he should have kicked the MF full blast in the testicles instead of just pushing him.
If you are going to get a red card, make it good. In my playing days, I would have made certain Barton did not leave the pitch intact.
Secondly, Diaby’s sending off did not make us lose the game. Between Mr. Dowd’s Alice In Wonderland act, Squid’s Silvestre like performance and Rosicky’s imitation of Adam Ant, did us in. A mature team could have gone down to 9 men and still won the match.
Instead of playing our game we retreated into our own half with 10 men behind the ball and invited them to score. Extremely poor tactics and Wenger as usual has no idea how to have his team defend. We should have kept our high line and pushed RVP or Walcott further up the pitch to occupy defenders in their own half. With Newcastle pressing, it could even have resulted in a counter attack goal.
Something many of us have been saying on here for years, we NEED A DEFENSIVE COACH!
@Caribkid, And a defensive coach will not kill the kids or burden the club’s finances. Not like one has to break the bank to sign a defensive coach. So I can’t understand why that has been neglected for so long.
If Diaby had broken Barton’s leg, then he wouldn’t be around to score his two gifts. Although then the media would have still rounded on Diaby and Arsenal for being dirty and had a field day by picking quotes from incompetent managers.
Arsenal certainly know how to boast opposing teams’ spirits. Spurs have had enough pick me ups. Man Utd just seem to enjoy life against Arsenal. Wigan had the time of their life last season. Newcastle’s state couldn’t have been too high at the start of today just a few days after the departure of a key goalscoring threat. Then less than a minute in, they go a goal down only for the nightmare to get worse within 10 minutes and continue to get worse. I am sure some fans probably headed for an early exit before half-time. Surely, the Newcastle fan’s lives were miserable. But Pardew’s half-time talk would have been easy. He could have pointed to Arsenal’s many past collapses and then asked his non-passport player Barton to be himself. Diaby took the bait. The rest is nightmarish history that will never get erased. I can’t imagine too many at Newcastle feeling unhappy anymore, just like Spurs felt after their 4-4 tie at the Emirates. Sure the refs may give gifts to Arsenal’s opponents but as a club, Arsenal are quite giving as well.
@sachin,
Playing defense is negative anti-football. It does not conform to Wenger’s view of what football should be, therefore it is not part of the club culture at Arsenal.
Thank God for Wolves.
I have a running joke with an Arsenal fan down the road. At 3-0 up with 5mins to go, we still say it’s too soon to relax.
I was going to email him at half time today to say, Still too soon to relax? But I didn’t want to tempt fate! Christ, what a Devon Lock collapse.
Diaby – idiot. At least lose it completely and headbutt the guy. To be sent off for a lame push on the neck is pathetic.
Then the dreaded Squillaci sends a nerve-shredding ripple through the defence, and we panic and fold under questioning.
Irony of couse is that their ‘offside’ goal was totally onside, but their penalties were soft as shite.
Our first 11 is like a house of cards Take out one card and it crashes down. Rosicki was underpar today again too. No bite, no drive. Just a shocking performance all round in the second half.
This was
@Macmac007,
“Thank God for Wolves.”
You said it. Wolverhampton Wanderers are CG’s official second-favorite team for the rest of the season.
Over the years, there have been many instances of Arsenal players getting kicked without a yellow/red to the opponent and then to make matters worse, the first tackle an Arsenal player makes gets a yellow. That is how it has been and that won’t change. Arsenal just to have find a way to repay the kicking in an intelligent yet sinister manner. Hoping for the ref to do his job is like expecting Arsenal to go through a season without injuries. In a way, the problem is that these refs think they are doing their job. No one but Arsenal fans will question that. And if an Arsenal player, like their captain, dare utter something, then an opposing manager will ask for the captain’s head.
The painful lessons of that 2004 robbery should have ensured that a new Arsenal team would have been able to survive in a ruthless league as opposed to trying to hope the league and the kickers would go away and behave decently.
This is the same league where Barton can do whatever he wants and be called a nice chap. And when another player such as Karl Henry comes around who kicks Barton around, then he will be praised.
PV and company dished it out accordingly and got on with it. The current Arsenal players just do not know how to get away with anything. And if they do, then some might go on tv to acknowledge their non-existent guilt.
If there were some mentally and physically strong players, then Wenger could have tried to use that “us vs the world” theme to ensure Arsenal would never get screwed over and turn that injustice into a strength to power them to a title. But alas, too many shocks in the past have left the team battered and unable to respond. The 2004 team never recovered from that Old Trafford robbery. Eduardo’s injury shocked the 2008 team. And be it broken legs, collapses or robberies, the shocks keep piling.
The only way to make all this pain go away is to win titles. Nothing else will make it better.
Two shocking penalties. One of them not given and more than likely we win that match. Dowd should not referee again this season.
Diaby, oh Diaby. And Squillaci, what a sh*te pass to get him in trouble in the first place. If he lines up against Barcelona, I might not even watch. Song in defence with Denilson ahead of him is a better option than Squillaci.
I guess to all the folks I was arguing with concerning injuries (arthur, jroy, josh, steve, etc) …. maybe you can now believe my hysteria at the lack of numbers.
Djorou out with ligament problems. Song out with a “dead leg”, Wenger as of Friday has NO IDEA when he will be back. Diaby with a straight red for “violent conduct” so that is a THREE match ban. Nasri and Denilshit out with hammies for about 2-3 weeks MINIMUM! Can definitely take MUCH longer …. and hammies are EASY to re-tweak.
So we are down to TWO center backs (and one of those CBs is Squilaci!!!) and THREE midfielders in the ENTIRE SQUAD!!!
Wilshere will have to play DM with Rosicky and Fabregas further up. There is no Nasri to fall back on!
But at least we still have five strikers, so I guess that is good.
This is just the FIFTH day after the close of the transfer window. Wait till we get to March! International fixtures start again next week …. so that should be some more fun.
I said it in January, our squad will be so thin at some point this season we will struggle to fill sub benches. Everybody pictured me crazy.
@Fred,
Wenger in being an arrogant, deluded twat shocker!
He’s such a dithering old fool it’s unbelievable. Every single seminal transfer window he openly weighs up the pros and cons of strengthening the squad and every time without fail, he errs on the side of financial caution rather than footballing caution i.e., protecting us football wise by beefing up the squad to guard against inevitable injuries.
Again, his quest to win the league by being the biggest cheapskate in history wins out over Arsenal actually being successful.
He deserves everything that’s coming to him.
@Fred, To be fair Fred, you have just listed FOUR midfielders. That is just plain bad luck they all get injured within 10 days. (Diaby getting injured in the brain)
At the start of the month all of them were fit, except maybe Nasri, meaning Ramsey could go out on loan.
At centre half, I couldn’t agree with you more.
Maybe time for Wenger to call back some loans? Lansbury, Ramsey and Bartley perhaps?
And why the fuck did he send out Bartley on loan? History repeats itself. Remember when he sold Diarra, did not secure Flamini’s new contract and then went and sold Gilberto. That left him with Denilson as the only DM, because, remember at that time Song did not have the stamina to be a DM.
WTF
I love AW, but we now officially have a love, hate relationship. No wonder he sticks with Clichey, they both are notorious for their untimely “brain farts”.
@rocka,
Listed four midfielders? How?
Wilshere, Rosicky and Fabregas are the only THREE midfielders available at the club.
@Fred, Fred you mis-intrepreted my comment which was a nice way of saying STFU. your comments were boderline personal attacks on some list members and i think you made your point the 100th time you said it. so he who yells loudest and last wins which is YOUR approach to posting.
assumuptions can get you in trouble because it creates a cognitive bias and frames the disucssion through your own set of glasses which prevents communication/understanding/learning and leads to shouting matches that are frankly rather pointless.
you incorrectly ASSUMED that i’m in the AKB camp. i rarely post ’cause most people cover all the possible points of view. i have my own nuanced view of AFC it may or may not be unique. i’ve also been around long enough to know that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
wenger will likely go down as the best manager in Arsenal history. that doesn’t mean he always gets it right. i scratch my head sometimes at what seem (as an outsider) obvious issues that could be addressed (like a CB or another DM most recently for cover). i’m also realistic enough to know that know matter how irritated, frustrated or pissed off i get at Wenger or the team it ain’t going to make a difference in what will play out. so i don’t get too worked up about it. don’t interpretate that as i don’t really care more like, this is what we’ve got so let’s get on with it and hope for the best, but recognize there will be some inevitable bumps (like today) but i’m happy to go along for the ride.
i personally really appreciate that AFC is run as a business in a (reasonably) free competitve market. they are hands down the best in the world at this and don’t rely on hand-outs or creative accounting and are self sustainable. sometimes it seems that a little too much attention is spent on the business side at the expense of the team, but i’m okay with it. again, i can’t do much about it. i’m okay with a regular top 4 finish, a decent cup run sometimes, and generally be considered one of the better clubs in Europe even if we don’t win a trophy. my perspective is likely shaped as a long suffering Kanasas Basketball supporter and a trader and fund manager. so yes, i’d rather consistently be there or there abouts and occassionaly win something. winning isn’t everything in my book, it’s nice when it happens, but it ain’t the be all end all. managing the downside is much more important to me and my clients, so yah i really appreciate Wneger in this aspect of his job. again it doesn’t mean he always gets its it right.
it will be interesting to see what happens if uefa enforce the finacial fair play rules. sure some clubs will use creative accounting to get around them, BUT most of our competitors realistically in the long run are screwed, AFC is not. i’m in it for the long run and i’ll be happy to get the last laugh on all the folks who live in the short run and either kill themselves chasing their tails or jump on the latest bandwagon.
Fred you of course are entitled to YOUR opinion and EXPRESS your thoughts, but i’m pretty sure everyone on the list has got the picture.
@jroybower,
STILL talking about finances!!!
Arsenal fans are the only fans in the world who talk so much about finances and profit.
We just dont need to go into debt … other than that finances should not be something fans should be thinking or talking about.
Besides what does finance have to do with BLOWING a four goal lead to Newcastle?
How about you lot find a valid excuse for Wenger’s utter and CALLED OUT incompetence?
@Fred, i know it’s hard to fathom that people have different perspectives and objectives for choosing to follow AFC. if you weren’t so busy trying to prove that some how i’m “wrong” and you are “right” and acutally READ what was said you could have avoided looking like the fool you increasingly seem to be by putting words in my mouth that i didn’t say or even imply.
i brought up finances only to share with you my view on why i follow AFC and to indicate that my views don’t put me in any “camp” or “lablel” such as the AKB crowd as you suggested. i said i like the finance side of football and that is ONE of the reasons i follow AFC. i’m not sure why you think fans shouldn’t have any interest in the finance side of things, maybe you just don’t understand finance, or you don’t like it, or think it is irrelevant. i personally find it fasintating and enjoy the competition to be the best off the fileld as well as on. since we can’t win a trophy for being the biggest cheapskates you probably don’t have any interest, that’s fine. i’m sure where ever you work you don’t care about anything beyond what happens in your cubicle and immediate surroundings. i’ve run a few small business so i enjoy seeing that side of football done well.
now, i DID NOT use our overall fiscal responsibility as an excuse for yesterday’s loss, so i’m not sure where your comment really comes from. to suggest so demonstrates you have a tough time listening and evaluating what other people say. i even said that sometimes that finance seems to get in the way of the footballing. we sucked it in the second half yesterday, not sure why the panic, but we should have been able to hold onto a 4 goal lead despite (some would argue) a 2 man disadvantage.
the FACT is that we are one point closer to the leaders. that doesn’t mean that we will neccesarily win the league, or even challenge, but after round 25 we are closer than when it started. i’m sure you will find a way to dissmiss this piece of completely factual information. and before you try to put me in the hippie-optimist camp, i’m realistic enough to know that even in a perfect world we’d be hard pressed to win the league. do we have a better chance than 75% of the other clubs, yup.
everyone has their own reason for choosing to follow AFC. frankly i’m a little baffled as to why you do sometimes, if i didn’t know better i’d swear you were a fan of some other team and come here to rile up other fans. wait wait wait, don’t intepret that as fans can’t get frustrated or mad at or question decisions by the manager. but if you really hate Wenger so much why put yourself through the grief?!?
@Fred, i know it’s hard to fathom that people have different perspectives and objectives for choosing to follow AFC. if you weren’t so busy trying to prove that some how i’m “wrong” and you are “right” and acutally READ what was said you could have avoided looking like the fool you increasingly seem to be by putting words in my mouth that i didn’t say or even imply.
i brought up finances only to share with you my view on why i follow AFC and to indicate that my views don’t put me in any “camp” or “lablel” such as the AKB crowd as you suggested. i said i like the finance side of football and that is ONE of the reasons i follow AFC. i’m not sure why you think fans shouldn’t have any interest in the finance side of things, maybe you just don’t understand finance, or you don’t like it, or think it is irrelevant. i personally find it fasintating and enjoy the competition to be the best off the fileld as well as on. since we can’t win a trophy for being the biggest cheapskates you probably don’t have any interest, that’s fine. i’m sure where ever you work you don’t care about anything beyond what happens in your cubicle and immediate surroundings. i’ve run a few small business so i enjoy seeing that side of football done well.
now, i DID NOT use our overall fiscal responsibility as an excuse for yesterday’s loss, so i’m not sure where your comment really comes from. to suggest so demonstrates you have a tough time listening and evaluating what other people say. i even said that sometimes that finance seems to get in the way of the footballing. we sucked it in the second half yesterday, not sure why the panic, but we should have been able to hold onto a 4 goal lead despite (some would argue) a 2 man disadvantage.
the FACT is that we are one point closer to the leaders. that doesn’t mean that we will neccesarily win the league, or even challenge, but after round 25 we are closer than when it started. i’m sure you will find a way to dissmiss this piece of completely factual information. and before you try to put me in the hippie-optimist camp, i’m realistic enough to know that even in a perfect world we’d be hard pressed to win the league. do we have a better chance than 75% of the other clubs, yup.
everyone has their own reason for choosing to follow AFC. frankly i’m a little baffled as to why you do sometimes, if i didn’t know better i’d swear you were a fan of some other team and come here to rile up other fans. wait wait wait, don’t intepret that as fans can’t get frustrated or mad at or question decisions by the manager. but if you really hate Wenger so much why put yourself through the grief?!?
@Fred, Fred you mis-intrepreted my comment which was a nice way of saying STFU. your comments were boderline personal attacks on some list members and i think you made your point the 100th time you said it. so he who yells loudest and last wins which is YOUR approach to posting.
assumuptions can get you in trouble because it creates a cognitive bias and frames the disucssion through your own set of glasses which prevents communication/understanding/learning and leads to shouting matches that are frankly rather pointless.
you incorrectly ASSUMED that i’m in the AKB camp. i rarely post ’cause most people cover all the possible points of view. i have my own nuanced view of AFC it may or may not be unique. i’ve also been around long enough to know that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
wenger will likely go down as the best manager in Arsenal history. that doesn’t mean he always gets it right. i scratch my head sometimes at what seem (as an outsider) obvious issues that could be addressed (like a CB or another DM most recently for cover). i’m also realistic enough to know that know matter how irritated, frustrated or pissed off i get at Wenger or the team it ain’t going to make a difference in what will play out. so i don’t get too worked up about it. don’t interpretate that as i don’t really care more like, this is what we’ve got so let’s get on with it and hope for the best, but recognize there will be some inevitable bumps (like today) but i’m happy to go along for the ride.
i personally really appreciate that AFC is run as a business in a (reasonably) free competitve market. they are hands down the best in the world at this and don’t rely on hand-outs or creative accounting and are self sustainable. sometimes it seems that a little too much attention is spent on the business side at the expense of the team, but i’m okay with it. again, i can’t do much about it. i’m okay with a regular top 4 finish, a decent cup run sometimes, and generally be considered one of the better clubs in Europe even if we don’t win a trophy. my perspective is likely shaped as a long suffering Kanasas Basketball supporter and a trader and fund manager. so yes, i’d rather consistently be there or there abouts and occassionaly win something. winning isn’t everything in my book, it’s nice when it happens, but it ain’t the be all end all. managing the downside is much more important to me and my clients, so yah i really appreciate Wneger in this aspect of his job. again it doesn’t mean he always gets its it right.
it will be interesting to see what happens if uefa enforce the finacial fair play rules. sure some clubs will use creative accounting to get around them, BUT most of our competitors realistically in the long run are screwed, AFC is not. i’m in it for the long run and i’ll be happy to get the last laugh on all the folks who live in the short run and either kill themselves chasing their tails or jump on the latest bandwagon.
Fred you of course are entitled to YOUR opinion and EXPRESS your thoughts, but i’m pretty sure everyone on the list has got the picture.
I can breathe a bit easily now. Man Utd can have their titles but Arsenal still have their invincible tag. Maybe that NYTimes article was the final ingredient to break that run. You don’t talk about history until it is done yet Nani and company were dreaming. They can keep dreaming although I am sure they won’t worry too much at the end of the season when…..
Am not at all shocked by the collapse. This is VINTAGE Arsenal really. Sure the reffing was abysmal … but still … that is a blown FOUR goal lead.
The exact moment I saw Eboue coming on I had a strong negative feeling about the game. And sure enough …
When has Eboue in front of Sagna EVER secured our defense. Infact we are FAR more likely to concede a goal.
All Wenger’s subs were complete disasters.
Nothing spooks Koscielny more than playing beside Squillaci!
As for Diaby: Its quite brainless to retaliate by pushing.
@Fred, Agree, I was screaming at the TV for Bendy, could’ve used him in defence! If I remember correctly, his first kick of the game was one that got him booked!
In the VERY last comment of the last thread … highburyterracesteve made a very snarky response.
Wenger Babes to Steve: SLAP + Kick in groin!
Every SINGLE time AKBs go down that route … immense bad luck is on the way for the team … yet you AKBs never learn!
@Fred, ouch….
@highburyterracesteve,
It was a collective groin kicking today, steve. We all took a hit.
It’s interesting how a decent run of form is followed by a burst of AKB activity on here, which is then followed by a disastrous result.
Not interesting because of any meaningless words posted here (by any of us, believers or non). But because of the way AKB thinking reflects what seems to be the Manager/team mentality so perfectly.
Meaning, a good win or two and NOW things are different and it’s clear sailing from HERE!!!
Until the next iceberg. And then it’s quiet again, bar the excuses (blaming the iceberg, climate change, whathaveyou).
But wait until the next run of good form! NOW things are different and it’s clear sailing from HERE!!!!
Until the next iceberg.
Arsene and his followers always seem to think every iceberg is a fluke and there are no more icebergs out there and just the power of belief is enough to melt away all future icebergs.
And then we hit another one.
Forget Status Quo. The Who should be the official band of AFC. Won’t get fooled again.
@vibe4arsenal,
Yup, the irony …. every time AKBs crow, the Wenger Babes splash their faces with pie.
@vibe4arsenal Icebergs. An interesting way to describe Phil Dowd. Nice one Vibe.
@rocka,
Yeah, Phil Dowd is how we blew a four goal lead to Newcastle.
Nothing they did had anything to do with it. Nothing we did had anything to do with it. All. Phil. Dowd. Nice one.
Remarkable we even came out for the second half against Everton, what with the terrible non-line call assisted goal that helped put us down 0-1.
OMG Wolves have done it! One fuked ref aside we’d be 2 pts behind now… Still, at least we retain (once upon a time), the title of “Invincibles”
@OziKenyan,
Thank goodness for that, at least. As Fred commented, it’s the ONE thing we still hold over them.
@vibe4arsenal,
Yes, I am overjoyed their run is broken. Mostly because I know our current team wont stop them!
The 2002-2004 team was a vintage …. and Man U breaking their record run would literally have washed away their legacy. Nobody would have remembered them (except for Arsenal fans who actually watched the era).
BUT.
ITS OVER for UNITED.
The UNBEATEN RUN … is OVER.
There are only ONE set of INVINCIBLES.
And its ARSENAL.
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.
Arsenal’s Invincibles would have won this league by 20 points.
AND SHIT on this United team.
Thank you Wolves.
BUT.
ITS OVER for UNITED.
The UNBEATEN RUN … is OVER.
There are only ONE set of INVINCIBLES.
And its ARSENAL.
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.
Arsenal’s Invincibles would have won this league by 20 points.
AND SHIT on this United team.
Thank you Wolves.
We fucked up against Tottenham, we fucked up against Wigan, we fucked up against Sunderland… etc etc etc. The list goes on and on. We’ve fucked up a plenty and most of us know/believe and have done for some time that the league this season was/is a pipedream* But today we’ve been plain robbed.
1- That was a foul by Barton, yellow at LEAST maybe a red. Either way, if the whistle goes, I doubt we see a red-card warranting reaction from Diaby. The sense that the ref has the game under control should have been enough to prevent that. This may have also meant that we have a man advantage as opposed to the other way round.
2- !st penalty. SOFT!
3- 2nd Penalty. Non-existent
4- Non-existent free kick that led to the equalizer (cracking strike btw, worthy of the game as a spectacle).
And an offside goal for them ruled out wrongly just to ‘even things up’. Yeah fukin right!!!
The only time I remember feeling this hard-done by before by a wanker with a whistle was when that c*** of a man with a Shrek shaped testicle for a head dived to end our 49 game unbeaten run.
Our football quality has become significantly shitter since those days, but tonight was purely down to the ref. Bastard!
*Miraculously still not quite out of it yet.
Stag,
Fu*k Diaby, the mental midget gimp that he is. What exactly did his act of stupidity gain us? Did the knowlege that we would push the Newcastle players after a bad tackle deter them from running riot in that second half? Nope, they didn’t give a rats ass.
Diaby should have laughed at Barton. He’s a serial wind up merchant, and empty vessels like Diaby take the bait time and time again. Diaby put himself in an awkward position with the way he entered the challenge anyway, leaving himself open to possible injury.
All Abou Diaby’s fault. This tool just hasn’t got the brains in any aspect of football, whether it be tracking runners for the duration, or getting wound up. It’s not the first time he’s lost his cool like that.
Get them back with crunching tackles, not lame pushes.
Anyway, as Vibe said, not much point in getting emotionally invested in the side. As long as Wenger is manager we’ll continue to display zero composure in adversity.
@Mazza, There is NOBODY in our team that can deliver “crunching tackles”.
NONE.
Diaby was not wrong at all.
He should have PUNCHED him … it would have been smarter.
@Mazza, There is NOBODY in our team that can deliver “crunching tackles”.
NONE.
Diaby was not wrong at all.
He should have PUNCHED him … it would have been smarter.
Just a pathetic day for Arsenal.
Amazing first half of play…
I don’t blame Diaby at all for his red.
Barton should have a at least been given yellow, if not red, and I think his reaction was GOOD, standing up for himself and against Newcastles decision to come out and either injure someone, or rough Arsenal up.
After that it was collapse. BOTH penalties were a joke…
NEITHER should have been a penalty, and 2nd one was the worst I have seen given in a long time.
But we didn’t try to do anything in the 2nd half… man down or not, we let them run any where, do anything, and just stood around and allowed it.
Eboue on for Walcott was an awful move, but thats Wenger, late sub of any offensive threat and speed, for the clown Eboue, who gets a yellow the first minute he’s on.
Not much here to say further.
No Prem team in history has coughed up a 4 goal lead, until today.
We are PRETENDERS. Always have been.
Just a pathetic day for Arsenal.
Amazing first half of play…
I don’t blame Diaby at all for his red.
Barton should have a at least been given yellow, if not red, and I think his reaction was GOOD, standing up for himself and against Newcastles decision to come out and either injure someone, or rough Arsenal up.
After that it was collapse. BOTH penalties were a joke…
NEITHER should have been a penalty, and 2nd one was the worst I have seen given in a long time.
But we didn’t try to do anything in the 2nd half… man down or not, we let them run any where, do anything, and just stood around and allowed it.
Eboue on for Walcott was an awful move, but thats Wenger, late sub of any offensive threat and speed, for the clown Eboue, who gets a yellow the first minute he’s on.
Not much here to say further.
No Prem team in history has coughed up a 4 goal lead, until today.
We are PRETENDERS. Always have been.
@stag133, Forgot to add that about Diaby. Don’t blame him at all. The ref was never going to give him any protection, and what better stage to stand up for yourself when you’re 4-0 up.
Edit*- Agree with Mazza, a leg-breaking tackle from Diaby in return would’ve, in hindsight been better methinks.
@stag133,
Tweet from Diaby
am a broken man.. i am soo sorry.. lost my head.. apologize.
Djourou ligament damage… fabulous!!
@OziKenyan, but we don’t need a CB, because we don’t want to bury any of the 4 we have.
no worries.
@stag133, Well at least it doesn’t alter either of our expectations for the season, other than Carling Cup looking that little bit less likely.
People tend to blame refs too much in general. But the performance by the man in the middle today was the worst I’ve seen yet, and I watched the Chelsea-Barca semi-final not so long ago.
Barton should’ve been sent off for that challenge, that would’ve saved us a red card, 2 questionable penalties, 1 questionable free kick which led to a goal.
We’ve been robbed. How will we respond? Here’s the biggest mental test we’re going to have this season. And I’m not too hopeful. How can we be treated like that whereas United have been making headlines all season for the stone-wall penalties that they somehow didn’t concede. It’s a near impossible task.
I sound like such a sore loser right now. ANd we had our part to play in the loss. Weren’t particularly great in the second half. But MY GOD did they have a leg up.
Dunno if I can bring myself to watch Mick McCarthy roll over for purple nose
@OziKenyan, Total agreement with you Ozi…What is Diaby supposed to do if Barton can’t even get a yellow for a full force leg-breaking tackle like that?
The first Pen wasn’t one but Kos should’ve stopped kicking at the ball so maybe I can see the call. The 2nd however was unplayable (for the Newcastle man) and he was fouling our guys as much as they were him! And then Barton can just fall over and win FK after FK….
Sorry, but it’s too injustice to absorb.
And if that makes me a sore loser, then I guess that’s what I’ll have to be….
[…] Visit Youaremyarsenal.com for more informations and other articles Share this article with your friends: […]
Help. I have gone back in time. I am either in 2004 watching Arsenal or in 2002 when Bergkamp flicked past Newcastle to score that goal. What is even more confusing is that I don’t see Vieira, Pires, Henry or Wiltord but some guys named Van Persie and Walcott playing. What is going on…But since 2004 or 2002 was so good, I might as well stay back in time and enjoy them once more :)
@sachin,
That DB goal is in an immovable, all-time highlight, permanently etched in my brain.
Then there’s today.
@sachin, I am still in bloody 2011. Noooo.. Atleast there was 45 min of 2002/04.
Must enjoy the past and fear the future.
@sachin,
That’s why the DVDs are for.
I woke up with the phrase ‘proper thrashing’ in my head. Just had one of those 7-0 feelings. Not quite halfway there. Lovely, this.
(A match like this evidently brings out the affected English-isms in me.)
And less than 30 seconds after I type that, 4-0.
Thank you Edit button!
@vibe4arsenal,
(Real shame that the 10,000 minute Edit option has been fixed.)
Normally they space the high/highs and low/lows a little further apart. We usually get at least a couple of days to delude ourselves that something has changed. But this is a year for digging beneath the bottom of the barrel.
A perfect encapsulation as to why it’s so damn hard to enjoy any optimism about this team.
@vibe4arsenal,
I lol’ed big time there mate.
That just sums us up right there. That you, usually similarly wary of jumping the gun like I am, felt that we were comfortable enough to make a post like that. Understandable, I mean, surely Arsenal wouldn’t fu*k this one up?
Yep – yes they would – and yes they did.
@Mazza,
:beer:
COnfirmed Line Up:
Starting XI: Szczesny Sagna Djourou Koscielny Clichy Diaby Wilshere Fabregas Walcott Arshavin Van Persie.
Subs: Almunia, Rosicky, Squillaci, Eboue, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner