Running the Gauntlet Part 2: Arsenal v Man United, Match Preview
A Battle of Epic Proportions
At the end of August the mild mannered Manc – Patrice Evra – he of the bigger ego than talent – declared it was a battle of “men vs boys.” He all but declared Arsenal’s title credentials over and Man United the best team in the league. It is hard to deny that United are a solid team, but in retrospect it is hard to deny that on that day Arsenal were clearly the better team for the entire match. This Sunday at the Emirates, the teams will play once again with Arsenal looking to show that the form they displayed at Old Trafford is true of their talent the only change they hope – the final score.
If Arsenal are going to show everyone they are for real and that they are in the title hunt for the remainder of the season, a win against Sir Alax Furgeson’s bunch is essential. Yes, Arsenal could draw and still run for the title. But a win against United, makes the case without a doubt. A win also should have carry over effect and keep the boys up for the match the following week against Chelsea. But before we can talk about Stamford Bridge – we have to look at this tie.
This fixture represents the 42nd time that Arsene Wenger and Furgeson have squared off against each other. Furgeson has won 16 and Arsene 14 with 11 draws in between. In their last 4 matches against Arsenal in all competitions, the Mancs have won 3. But in their last 4 league visits to the Gunners they have not won. Including all 3 at the Emriates.
United come into this match taking 13 points from their last 5 with Rooney scoring 7 goals in their match. However, they come to the Emirates without their defensive anchor Rio Ferdinand who is suspended for 4 matches after an elbowing incident against Hull City. Agains the big four United have not won any of their last 6 league away matches – losing 5 times.
Arsenal and United have each used their good form to take them – albeit briefly – to the summit of the EPL pile. The Gunners have a game in hand on United and will be looking to use this match to put some distance between themselves and the primary team from Manchster.
While the pairing of these two teams has died down in its furor in recent years this one looks to have all the flavours of Arsenal v United in the good years. In losing to United at Old Trafford, Wenger went on a directed rant at United for calling them – the anti-football team. His comments were more at the hacking nature of Paul Fletcher and frankly he has done little to make you think he is anything but what Wenger accuses him of.
Still the animosity between the two gaffers has given way to some sort of mutual admiration with Furgie amazed at the Gunners reamgergence and exorting any United fan who would sing the ugly paedophile chants at Wenger.
There will be power don’t you feel. The two teams are likley to serve up a thirller given everything that is online for the teams. It is a case of the league leading scorers taking on the current champions. It is an Arsenal squad that have owned the pitch at the Emirates this season going against a team that if you are sleeping even for a second will hurt you.
Arsenal look set to continue their “one in one out” policy in the trainers room. With Bendtner back for the attack Eduardo sits with a hamstring injury. With Song back for defensive dutis, Thomas Vermaelen is a possible scratch for the match with a calf injury. During the mid week match against Villa he took a shot and fears were that he had fractured hs fibula. Well, for the first time Arsenal had good injury news and he doesn’t have a broken fibula but he is still likely to miss the match.
Alexander Song and Emmanuel Eboue return just in time to strengthen the side. Also Nasri is full fit and having come on as a sub against Villa should likely start the match. The big change will be Arshavin back in the central role of the attack. Arsene thinking that the Russian is prime to break out for a match like this is going to make him the pinpoint of his attack. Given his ability it is likely he wont disappoint.
How the Match Should Play Out:
Again let’s cut right to it shall we – this is going to be a cracker contest. Something even nutrals should watch. Both teams will be hungry to attack each other and the tests will be on the defensive side. Arsenals defense should be fine even if Sol Campbell deputizes in place of the injured Vermaelen. The concern is the head to head match between Van der Sar and Almunia. Arsenal must get Van Der Sar moving and pressing his defensive cover early. Even though Vidic is back he is still suspect going back and forth between the pitch and the trainers table. Look for a game much like the first – Arsenal pressing the players and the ball and look for a Fabregas/Arshavin combo to break the Mancs heart.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal: Cesc Fabregas. This truly is match betweent he leagues two best in form players. Unfortunately in the previous match Cesc was not available to play having been injured two weeks prior on international duty. He is a the difference maker and will be essential to opening up the United defense.
United: Wayne Rooney. 7 Goals in 3 matches nuff said. He says its not a one man team – well with him being the primary scorer its hard to not see that right now.
Probable Starting XI:
Some slight changes possible
Injuries:
Arsenal: Diaby (calf) Djourou (knee) Eduardo (hamstring) Gibbs (foot) Merida (ankle) Van Persie (ankle) Vermaelen (leg)
United: Hargreaves (knee) O’Shea (thigh), Ferdinand (suspended)
Match Officials:
Referee: Chris Foy
Assistant Referees: Dave Bryan & Bob Pollock
Fourth Offical: Mark Clattenburg
Recent League Form:
Arsenal: DWWDW
United: WWDWW
TV Viewing:
US: FSC 11:00AM
UK: Sky Sports 1600 in 3D
FEEDS:
Gameday Chat will be open – www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal 2
United 1
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really good site .thank you for your time in writing the post.
Heyyyyy, I have a great idea… with the new
ARSENAL USA Store now open… we can all go online and buy
a shit-load of Arsenal Merchandise!!!!
That way, we can put more money into the pockets of the club, and
they’ll spend it on new players to improve the team!!!!
Whattayathink?
I mean ManU are in big financial trouble, right?
Chelsea, well… their Russian SugarDaddy is probably getting tired
of the toy that the club are, and when he leaves, biiiiiiiig trouble!
So if we can buy some “stuff” from the club, to augment the 60,000 in each home match, plus concessions, and the money they make every year from selling stars, and buying future promise for a profit… we will
win the Profit League yet again!
woooooooo hoooooooooooooo.
Go On With Your Bad Self, Arsene. You Da Man.
“17 Premier League goalkeepers have been credited with more saves than Manuel Almunia in the Premier League this season.”
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8750_5913060,00.html
The evidence keeps stacking up.
Nip, Arsene has who HE wants at Keeper, to Arsene, that is all that matters. What do you or anyone else know about football or our players? Surely not more than Arsene.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/02/02/arsenal-star-jay-emmanuel-thomas-arrested-at-the-wheel-of-his-new-100k-sports-car-115875-22012339/
JET in the news for the wrong reasons!
PS: A 19-year old driving a 100K car, how much must he be earning?
So he is unstoppable. Virtually.
These are the kind of kids that Wenger is WASTING Arsenal’s future on.
I heard Denilson is driving a really, really fancy car as well.
Who would blame him, he is on 60k per week.
For the first time … I am not looking forward to
an Arsenal match. I am not sure I will watch the Chelsea
match on Sunday… might DVR it, just in case. But I don’t
need to watch the humiliation continue.
When you live and die with a team for…15 years or so, not being
able to do anything else if a match is being played (as in Fever Pitch)… and we’re playing the best team in the league… and you don’t want to watch… that’s ugly.
Thanx Arsene, you’ve ruined my passion for the team!
;)
Stag, you should relax a bit.
Remember, you support Arsenal, not Arsene. Why penalize the team and those in it who are putting in effort (not many, but still), for the mistakes of few others?
PS: I think we will draw at SB if not win. ;)
I just don’t want to watch the match… I am very certain of the outcome, and don’t need to invest any more hope/time in this team.
It’s not fun to watch.
Wenger is the architect, but the building is not pretty in the direct sunlight shining on it.
I’ll tape it. Yall can enjoy the kill.
stagg,
If we’ve learned anything this season, it’s just about anything can happen. However unlikely.
yes, true… that’s why I can DVR the match. if a miracle happens and we draw or win, I’ll watch it.
Otherwise, why waste the time to endure such tragedy?!
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to sit through another beating either. And if it is going to go wrong, I almost hope it happens quickly.
But the fact that there is no logical reason to expect us to have a chance Sunday, perversely gives me a glimmer of hope.
Since Arsenal loan out so many players, why couldn’t Arsene get some players on loan for a change? Sure there was The Beast but since that didn’t work out, he was not signed. If Arsene does not want to commit to anyone, then try to experiment with some players on loan. That way, the existing players won’t really be threatened or “killed” as they know the new player is only on loan. In fact, the current arsenal players might be tempted to work hard as there could be the chance the loan signing might try to prove a point. After all this is a world cup year and I am sure there are players who are willing to give it their all for the next 5 months or so to prove their world cup spots before they decide to shop themselves out in the summer. In fact, getting a player who wants to desperately earn a world cup berth might be tempted to work more hard than some players who are not internationals (direct shot, yes :) or feel they don’t have to work hard for the next few months.
Do I have names of any such players open to loan deals? No, but then again, Arsene should know.
If let’s say a Henrik Larsen type player was available for 3-4 months, would Wenger ever go for him? Would getting such a loan player for a few months kill off Bendtner’s prospects? Have things changed so much at Arsenal that the existing players have nothing to learn from seasoned professionals? Didn’t Vieira say how much he learned from Adams?
anyway, not saying anything new. And the more times I repeat it won’t make a difference either.
With this team, you will get a solid 3rd place, Q/F or S/F in the CL, FA Cup will be chucked every year and kids will be played in the Carling Cup. But yes, we will win the profit league. If that is what you want, then Arsene is the man.
______________________________________
Nipuna, my feelings exactly.
The last 5 years have been a repetition. Many fans still want to believe in Arsene, yet there comes a time when you simply have to face the evidence. Winning with this project is more important to Arsene than winning. There is an undeniable cynical side to all this, Arsene knows he has hoodwinked us for the last 5 years, he knew the chances of success were very remote, yet he pressed on knowing that he had to buy the side time to develop. That’s a nice way to say that he lied to us. Just like he lied about signing a striker this window.
The board are scared. They have enormous debt and Arsene is the ‘safe harbour’ option as manager. He’ll return a profit and a popular style all the while AFC are paying down the debt. The alternative is to engineer a change in manager. That spells risk to them, and while they’ll want trophies, they don’t want avoidable risk.
Arsene knows they are scared, he has convinced them his way is viable and safer. He has ridden on the back of their fear for 5 years. The only thing that will move the board is fan disquiet. Don’t be fooled by DHW’s support for Wenger at the last board meeting. That support will change rather quickly if the rumblings become loud. Ultimately the board has to have the fanbase on side.
If this season fades you can expect the fans to get very moody. After the ManU game they boo’d again. The problem for Arsene is that the response to failure this year will be magnified over last seasons. It doesn’t move up in linear fashion – they gave him ‘grace’ after his last seasons woe. But they have observed how little he has tangibly done. Vermaelen in, Adebayor and Toure out. Now in the window – Campbell. That adds up to a small tweak which if all was well would be fine. But it wasn’t, more drastic surgery should have happened.
So he’s done what he always does, he threw the domestic cups. That meant our routes of successful was either the title or the CL. But he didn’t increase the likelihood of winning either in the window. And ManU spanked us.
So where to? He needs a win. Or at least to appear to really challenge. Can we win the title? Can we win the CL? The title looks hard, we simply haven’t got the firepower up front to put sides away. And we need to score several goals per game to achieve that. We’ve done jolly well to last as long as we have with RvP out (and all the other injury woes). But you can only patch up for so long. So we need ManU and Chelsea to slip up even more than we do.
The CL? Well, I dunno, you’d think when we get to the semi’s we’ll meet someone serious and they’ll expose us.
If we don’t challenge/win, this will get really messy. Arsene feels a tad untouchable, when the fans up the moody displeasure it might be interesting to see his reaction.
the league season is OVER.
and in the CL, we will eventually have to meet Chelsea or United somewhere along the way, and we are not good enough to beat them…
there will be plenty of folks who can’t take that statement, but its factual.
Hell, I’m not sure the team will get far enough to meet either Man U or Chelsea at this point. Arsenal are goingthrough their annual chuck a cup competion and let it affect everything else phase.
I can’t imagine how awful the next few months would be if we lost in this round of the CL… it would be painful.
With this team, you will get a solid 3rd place, Q/F or S/F in the CL, FA Cup will be chucked every year and kids will be played in the Carling Cup. But yes, we will win the profit league. If that is what you want, then Arsene is the man.
If you want to move to the next level, Arsene has to make the changes which are obvious to everyone except him. So far, there is absolutely no evidence that he will do it. So why are we all still thinking 2/3 new players will do it? Because we love Arsene and want him to succeed. We want him to be the man to do the changes. Unfortunately, I just don’t see it happening.
The board has got to make a choice. If we want to stay as is, then no change is required. If we want to improve titles, then either Arsene has to change or the manager has to change. I just don’t see the former happening, so the latter may be the only choice.
Of course, it is not easy to get options which are better than Arsene. There is more chance of failing than succeeding. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. If Hiddink is considering Liverpool, surely Arsenal are a better choice. If Guardiola wants to move to England in 2011 (post Barca), he is definitely worth a shot. Don’t tell me, he is unproven in England. Remember “Arsene Who?”.
Again, I am not advocating that we fire Arsene. Nothing would please me more than Arsene make the changes that are needed to move Arsenal out of the 3rd place comfort zone. But I just don’t see it happening.
I can fully understand how awful Jens must have felt. He was benched for Almunia? Sure Jens had his mistake moments but I really cannot begin to count how many times Manu has let the team down. My worry if Wenger does not get rid of Almunia, then some of the other players (especially Gallas) might get disillusioned and leave the club because they might feel that no matter how hard they try, it does not matter because one mistake from Almunia will cost a goal.
How can the defenders constantly continue to keep bailing water out of the leaking boat that is Almunia?
Arsene also needs to get rid of the injury prone players and reduce the wage bill and go back to what he did best in finding competent players. I refuse to believe someone like Freddie was a one off. I never imagined how integral Freddie would become to the Arsenal way. I didn’t see that coming just like some other Wenger master signings.
And it will certainly be better to have diverse players which allow different tactical formations as opposed to building a formation depending on who is fit and who is injured.
Since the transfer window has gone, Arsene has to do his best to ensure this season is not another wasted one. Because if things really do go bad, can Wenger finally change his ways? Can the board have a talk?
Can the board beg David Dein to come back and be at Wenger’s side again?
Arseblog summed up things perfectly for me. Still upset. Quite upset. Arsenal will never win anything with Almunia in goal. And Clichy, well…tired of how many times I keep thinking if only he didn’t do that. Denilson was not even trying.
There should be a giant summer sale. Enough is enough. Nothing has been learned from the past few years. The future is always fucking bright? Nope. That is just a mirage in the desert of Arsenal football club. I am tired of reading that the young Arsenal team will have a great future. Ain’t happening. The team will make profits and keep the board happy. Yes, Wenger is to be blamed for his decisions but I think the fans need to let the board know what they think. They have to be accounted for. How can they allow the best team in the country (invincibles) to get degraded to such a state that they are constantly humiliated by the two teams that matter — Man Utd and Chelsea.
Arsene once said that Arsenal could dominate English football like Man Utd. Ha! Seems Ferguson went out to make sure that would never happen. Arsenal have never been able to put a dagger through Man Utd’s heart. Even in the unbeaten season, they should have buried Man Utd at home but after Henry’s bullet of a goal, they could not hang on. And then got knocked out of the F.A Cup by Man Utd and the CL via Chelsea. So in that season, Man Utd still got a win over Arsenal, and Chelsea bounced back after three 2-1 losses to deny Arsenal CL progress. Whereas Man Utd have had their way with Arsenal many many times. How many here had to endure that 6-1 loss at Old Trafford? I have waited a long time for that scoreline revenge to happen but I am certain it will never happen as long as Ferguson is in charge of Man Utd. Ferguson will not mind if Man Utd got thrashed 5-0 to a team like Pompey but his players know that they will have shoes in their face if Arsenal scored that many. Once Arsenal scored 4 goals in a Carling Cup game against Man Utd but even that will not happen anymore.
Drogba is probably rubbing his hands in glee at Arsenal’s visit next week, so will all the other thugs that constitute the Chelsea football club. Even if by a miracle Arsenal manage to get a result at Chelsea, Fergie will continue to be all smiles.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,13320_5909986,00.html
This article sums up your feelings.
All Arsene cares about is beautiful football. All Fergie cares about is winning, especially against your hated enemies.
ManU beat City in the Worthless Cup, played Ferdinand and incurred a 4-match ban and then beat Arsenal at the Emirates.
On the other hand, Arsenal chucked the FA Cup, drew at Villa and lost at home to ManU.
Back in Oct 2004, Man Utd cheated Arsenal out of a win. But recently they have let Arsenal play their football. In fact, very few teams in the league have allowed Arsenal to play their game as much as Man Utd. In that regard, Fergie has made sure Wenger can have no complaints when Man Utd beat Arsenal. That is remarkable. So where does that leave Arsenal? Exposed with no excuses to hide behind.
Come to think of it, the last time Arsenal won a trophy was when they let Man Utd play football. They let Man Utd have the ball as much as they wanted and then won the shoot-out. Hmmm. So that means Fergie has come up with a system where away from Old Trafford, he is fine if Arsenal has the ball and Man Utd can sit back and walk away with the win.
Hey everyone, the current poll over at football365.com is “Who was Arsenal’s worst player?” (in the Man U match). Choices are Clichy, Almunia, Denilson, Sagna, or Nasri. So don’t forge to Rock the Vote! Get out there and make your voice heard! (The first three are currently receiving a combined 92% of the vote total. Big surprise.)
We seem to have arrived in the same place we were at in Feb 2007/8, when the core players were flogged and the rest of the attacking unit was injured or trying to get fit. We’re back to rolling out horrid looking attacking line-ups.
The positive is we’ve got a slightly improved general squad, a few more pieces are filled in the jigsaw. Yet the attack really worries me. We are no further ahead to reforming our attack post-Henry/Bergkamp/Pires than we were 5 years ago. For me, given we are an overtly attack-minded team, that is utterly amazing. We’ve gone through guys like – Reyes, Hleb, Adebayor and Baptista. And who out of the current crop look at though they are an answer – RvP, Eduardo, Bendtner, Walcott, Vela, Rosicky, Nasri? I’ve excluded the only guy that looks an answer to me and that’s Arshavin. How long do you need to reshape an attack????
Now Arsene would likely have an answer for every player, let’s try…..
With RvP, Eduardo and Rosicky it would be “….there’s no doubting their quality, they’re just a little short physically, but that is coming….”. Reasonable? Well not really it’s crap. None of them have put in ONE GOOD SEASON for Arsenal. Sticking with these 3 has cost Arsenal any chance of a trophy. And it may rerun this year.
With Bendtner and Walcott it would be “…..they’ll be completely different at 24 than they are today…..”. Who cares? The relevant question is their contribution today not in 3-4 years time.
As for Nasri and Vela, well truth is we don’t have a lot to assess them by. Hopefully Nasri’s injury is a one-off and Vela may progress – yet there is something very odd in how Wenger has ignored him despite our dire need for an attacker.
Last comment for Clichy. It’s not pretty is it. I mean, some guys are just jinxed. Stagg of all people took me to task before Clichy was injured when I questioned his penchant for attracting calamity. Well it is what it is. Both Villa and ManU made him look a liability. Is it because he is returning from injury and short of a gallop? Or is he a calamity player – the type that always seem to be exposed at a game defining moment? Some point to his attacking proess – meaning his runs down the left flank. Well ok, that’s true, he makes runs down the left flank – but is there ever any end product. And I’m not talking goals specifically, I’m referring to his run being the start of a decisive attacking move. You see, to me, his runs go nowhere, often ending with an overhit cross that would be meaningless even if we had someone on the end of it, but of course there isn’t. Which makes it multi-meaningless.
I agree with your thinking Vibe, and much of Freds on Arshavin.
Sometimes it’s helpful to see things in simplistic terms like is a player a solution now or not. Would you have his name on the teamsheet? For me with Arshavin it’s a no-brainer. The fact he comes in and out of games is 100% consistent with the type of player he is. Almost every creative edgy attacking talent I know gets criticised for doing that. You don’t buy an Arshavin and ask him to be a watercarrier nor a sole central striker. It’s stupid. Arsene is being stupid. Everyone can see that but because Arsene has a reputation as the professor of football no one wants to state the obvious. So we wait hoping that the ridiculous morphs magically into rare wisdom.
I said in recent days that we’re in danger of expecting too much of Arshavin, and we are. He’s becoming another victim of Arsene’s decisions around the attacking squad. Simply because he is fit and experienced he is being asked to literally carry the attack. Whilst ‘waste of spaces’ like RvP, Eduardo, Rosicky and Walcott continue to stink out the treatment room for yet another season.
I like what you’re saying here….which I think is: in the simplist terms how do our players rate? If we aspire to be the best club in England/Europe/the world do we have players that are among the very best in their position?
Right now we’ve got a couple (Fabregas, Arshavin) who maybe, when they’re at their best, are able to justify consideration at that level. Is a couple enough?
Behind them are a crowd of solid players who can contribute, take their chances when they present themselves (offensively) and rarely make egregious mistakes (defensively) and if they do, they’re able to bounce back and not repeat them. Some of these players, with greater physical maturity, or at least a prolonged ability to keep fit, might be (or become) really top class. For me, at the moment, this group includes Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna, Rosicky, Nasri, Diaby, RVP, Bendtner, Song, Gibbs, and Ramsey (and maybe Vela).
And then there are the rest: players who seem to have attributes that might put them in the second group, but really are failing to develop and reach fruition, and others who are simply too physically brittle for us to ever count on them to deliver a solid contribution over an extended period. Right now, I’d have to include Almunia, Clichy, Silvestre, Denilson, Eduardo, Eboue and Walcott. But I can see that some might move some names from my second group to this one (or maybe visa versa).
Frankly, hopeful as I want to be, I don’t see us being just one or two or three players away from being a dominating team.
If that’s our goal we need another couple of absolutely top class players to emerge (buying time is over…at least for now) and we need to be able to field a full 11 and have 3 subs for every match who are from my first two groups and whose time on the pitch will help build our team, not undermine it.
We’re still a “competitive” team, and we have a “chance” even against the very best. The smart money, however, would not be on Arsenal as we’re currently configured….
“We’re still a “competitive” team, and we have a “chance” even against the very best.”
The first part of that sentence could be applied to 2/3 of the Prem this year.
The second part, thus far, could not really be applied to Arsenal.
But I appreciate your nuanced optimism. ;-)
And best of all…We can get right back in the title hunt if we just continue our winning streak at Stamford Bridge next weekend….Who was it that scored our goals when last we played there? Robin Van Ankle Surgery or something…
:-O
What’s the emoticon for demented laughter?….
I think it reads demented, even without the emoticon. ;-)
This whole Arshavin brouhaha is the EXACT same NONSENSE that happened last year where people were blaming Fabregas!!!!
You know, the “he doesnt carry the team”, “he doesnt do what Gerrard or Lampard do”, etc.
Complete BULLOCKS!!!
PS: Transfer window is closed. Nobody in. GO FIGURE!
I think we signed some 17 year old… didn’t we? like a week ago?
and… don’t forget Sol came in on a free transfer…
No Fred, today’s remarks center on a talented and experienced player who made numerous poor decisions in a key match; and has exhibited laziness throughout this season.
Last year, Cesc was injured for 3 months, most of the criticism was centered on Arsene.
No one is expecting one player to carry Arsenal – most of us prefer to avoid this type of scenario. This is a team sport that functions best when ego’s are left in the locker room.
By my count, we are 8 points off the lead and there are 14 matches left. What is all the commotion for one match?
If it’s allowed, I think there’s a middle ground on Arsha, where both sides points are valid.
He’s a talented, creative offensive threat that has a place on the Arsenal squad.
But he’s also inconsistent and not of the stature or demeanor to build an offense around.
Which brings us back to the real issue. Looking at you, Boss.
But, bottom line, make a list of problems with this squad. How far down the list is Arshavin? Fix four or five other positions, and his name doesn’t even come up in conversations like this.
Gotta go with Fred on this one. Andrey is class and it just didn’t happen for him yesterday. I also think he’s playing with a stress fracture in his foot that will hopefully heal over (his world-cup free) summer. He is a rare talent and if he can get healthy AND have faith in his teammates he will be a big factor in any future success we might achieve (starting, I hope, in upcoming CL matches). Nasri was very open on that first chance, and he should have gotten the ball, but overall I think Andrey worked hard and that things just didn’t come off for him.
Also agree that a fit, robust, hard-working striker would take a ton of pressure off Arshavin and allow his game to flow a lot more freely. Pavlyuchenko did the job for him with Russia at the Euros (though not so much in WC qualifiers), so maybe Bendtner will be able to do likewise in the coming matches.
We’re all frustrated with yesterday’s match but the team will not do a major restructuring/sell-off/giveaway any time soon. Calling for such things, I hope, is just a “heat of the moment” sort of reaction, similar (but opposite) to “never doubting the team again” after our Bolton comeback. AW, I believe, has the best interests of the team at heart, but has maybe misplaced his faith in certain players, who while technically decent, will never be able to deliver at the level we aspire towards. Hopefully, over time, replacements will emerge and the overall quality of the team will improve.
The sad thing is that I’m not sure we would have won (or even drawn) had Arshavin put away one of his early chances, what with several players hardly even showing up. And while he was overly selfish, on the plus side, you have to say that Arshavin was trying to stamp his authority onto the match and our (ersatz) title aspirations.
oh right… the fact is that Arshavin IS injured, and still playing.
When he scored the stunning goal earlier in the season, and said, I couldn’t feel my foot, that says it all.
He could easily just say, I’m hurt, can’t play…
So….we are in agreement, I think. We’re both saying (others too) that Andrey is a key element in the team (certainly not the problem) AND is contributing that much more by playing hurt. Or am I missing something?
yes, we are… Arshavin is a key element in the team, in my eyes… so I guess we can watch him get sold for a younger players with more promise!
;)
Sorry I can’t let AA23 off the hook because he was “trying”. Denilshit was “trying” too and they both were miserable.
Arshavin at best is inconsistent – at worst down right lazy. Seriously what has he done for us this season? A couple of good goals. And they were crackers for sure but other than that he has done nothing that warrants the praise he gets.
For someone of his “quality” it shouldn’t be a case of getting up for the big games – with his stature he should be up all the time. In the little games he takes off in the big games he shows up when he wants to.
And I don’t buy that he was trying to do too much because of the other players – I think he was doing too much because that is what he did at Zenit and on Russia – he was and is the man there and they wanted him that way. Well, sorry that mentality does shite for Arsenal. Too many times I have watched him with the ball around the box trying to maneuver for a shot with someone clearly open in the box only to have the ball taken away or a missed shot.
It pains me to say it because I was so glad when they got him last year. But I am sorry he isn’t as much as a problem as Denilshit but he is a problem.
And maybe he has to do with the added work load with RvP out. Maybe it has to do with not trusting other players but you know what – you need those other players in order to win. You don’t trust them? You want to be a leader? Call them on it – like Sagna did to Traore a couple games back when he was out of position on a free kick. Or like Gallas does every time he looks at Mooney.
I’m going to be honest – I do not think Arshavin will be here past this summer – not because Arsene doesn’t want him but because he is lazy and will look for a league where can get away with that more often.
This is a general statement for the whole team and its something I wished AW would follow through on – you cannot take off in the EPL, you get results like yesterday if you do – you want to take off during a game – take off for good.
Right now I am all for selling:
Arshavin
Walcott
Denilson
Eduardo
Vela
Almunia (actually we’ll pay for you to take him)
Clichy
Silvestre
Rosicky
I don;t think I’ve ever been this pissed after a loss.
Are you serious about Arshavin??? REALLY???
Your characterization is incredibly UNFAIR on him. He is a 5ft 6in SUPPORT striker playing as the MAIN striker and hold up player. That is tactically idiotic!!! He is playing beside clowns upfront like Rosicky and Nasri. What is he to do??
He is generally a player who plays in bursts. He NEEDS a team around him. Are you also going to blast Fabregas for his poor game yesterday. What about all the POOR games Fabregas played last season? Why was Fabregas poor last season?? Because he had poor support! Especially from his partner – the aptly named Denilshit.
So if you can use that for Fabregas, why not for Arshavin??? He tried to do a Maradona … it didnt work out. Leave him ALONE!
Class is permanent. Arshavin, Fabregas – they both have class.
If we sell either of those two we are done.
On the other hand, I completely agree with selling all the other guys you mentioned.
I was saying it all along, we need to CUT off all these fluffy players that give people the illusion of squad depth.
As for Denilson and Almunia, selling them would be criminal. We should just drop them outside the stadium for somebody to pick up. Sack them and pay off their contracts.
Arshavin is certainly not the problem.
If he is in a position to shoot the ball, or pass it to someone … I want him to shoot it. It would be nice if he hit the target yesterday, but he was not good yesterday. I’ll give you that much.
He is not a player that can carry a team, but can score great goals out of nothing. Who else can on our team?
If Arshavin goes, we are back to square 1 offensively.
He certainly doesn’t fear these matches against the big teams, and I can’t say that for most of the other players.
Wenger didn’t re-sign all the players to long-term deals to transfer them.
The only way they go, is if Arsene goes, and the new manager sells off the players he doesn’t like.
I don’t mind having Rosicky in the team at all… he is a necessary part of the machine. You just need more competent, experienced surrounding cast for the likes of Cesc, Arshavin, Rosicky, and Nasri.
Have no fear, we’ll be going with this squad as long as Arsene’s here… but I’d say Arshavin and/or Cesc will ask out at some point in the next year or so… what’s in it for them?
I wouldn’t sell Arshavin or Rosicky. The rest can go though. bringing on Walcott yesterday was nothing but desperation. He brings absolutely nothing to the team. All he has is pace and I certainly didn’t see him blow by any one. I would pay someone to take Almunia and Denilson though. Silvestre will be gone soon enough – doesn’t his contract run out this year?
who else did he have to bring on that has any offensive skills… slightly differing to what was out there?
Walcott has speed… at least thats different.
He’s part of the finesse midgets that Arsene has accumulated. No plan B, no matter who we brought on… so nothing was going to change on the pitch, when the bench offers nothing different.
I think that would be part of the problem. He had to start the game with no striker. Why, because he didn’t have one and has refused to buy one. Then his only option besides Bendtner was a fast player with very little playmaking ability. I wouldn’t even go so far as to call Walcott finesse. In baseball terms he would be one tool player.
Excellent remarks, except the listing of player’s you want to sell is
not reality.
Life has more disappointments than rewards. Showing maturity is reflected
by how you deal with the disappointments.
I agree with Caribkid, we’re only a couple of players away from a championship
squad. GK and another Song type.
Arshavin is the only one from your list that needs to stay at Arsenal. Yes i was upset at his efforts not to look up yesterday and pass to his team-mates but Cesc and others should call him on that or Wenger should do something. Henry used to let others know what he thought when others didn’t pass to him. Then again Henry said that others needed to take more responsibility and that they should not put it on his shoulders all the time. Can’t have it both ways.
Alright, transfer window is closed….And we bought….No one.
Party on, Gooners….
In truth, very little business was done by the bigger teams in England–late news: Robbie Keane to Celtic on loan, meh…
Chelsea did nothing in their “last” window…United buy Smalling but loan him back to Fulham (one for the future). Liverpool got Maxi Rodriguez earlier in the month, Adam Johnson (Middlesboro) to Man City at the deadline?
Pretty uninspiring and, but for the dispiriting results on the pitch, we can’t feel overly outmaneuvered or outspent in the window.
I guess Bendtner will be our “internal solution” and the test of Josh’s theory above.
SHOCKED that United didn’t add to their squad…
but happy they didn’t as well…
In reality, they are already better than us by miles, as shown yesterday, and they are still in the race to win a 4th straight league title.
I figured Chelsea too would buy, but everyone’s back from the ACoN, and they are still in first.
What area on their team needs improvement? If they are top, and pulling away, I can only think they’d have bought a player or two for the future with their impending transfer ban.
I expect City to buy someone late, because that’s what they do, that’s their style…
Us. We did what we always do. Nothing.
we needed 3 players, and we loaned out two, and picked up Sol on a free… good business financially.
http://www.arsenality.com/2010/02/breakthrough-for-arsenal.html
Arsenality continues to make us laugh, even in these times.
Good stuff, funny and a good assessment of the match. I just saw Avatar on Friday night, and I need a giggle after the match, so timely as well.
Here’s a theory. If we had a striker then we would not only pose a greater threat in attack but we’d be more solid defensively. Our CB’s and DM wouldn’t feel the need to push up so much in the attack like they did yesterday. As it was, we had no center forward, Rosicky had his worst game in an Arsenal shirt, and Nasri was invisible. Honestly, I would have prefered Eboue to one of those guys. He won’t score but he gives us directness, pace, power, and he’ll look to link play in the attacking third.
While we know Arshavin is a great goal scorer, he failed to take his chances yesterday. He also failed to make smart decisions and failed to bring others into the attack. It’s important that your center forward do atleast one of those well. It’s hard to build attacking momentum with no focal point from whom to build an attack. Sure, we had players that were poor yesterday but, for me, the lack of a proper center forward is the reason we lost. It’s the reason I wanted one in the January window. Just a theory.
Lastly, I think Sagna has been his brilliant best. He’s the best RB in the BPL.
Seeing the team sheets yesterday (before the match) gave me some hope, but in the end (actually well before the end) I realized that hope is all it was. I was hoping that the iffy players would perform adequately and that the better members of our team would show their occasional brilliance. It’s a wacky game…Maybe if they had AND we got the good bounces and a good call or two, we might’ve been in with a chance. Of course, it didn’t happen….didn’t come close….
We have a certain level of quality in the team but it is not nearly high enough. In a gentler league the likes of Nasri, Rosicky, Eduardo, Sagna, Diaby, Song, Bendtner, etc. would be serviceable players. In ours they can only look good when others are leading the way. Yesterday Arshavin and Cesc both sought to carry the team with their individual brilliance. It didn’t come off and it was plainly obvious that they didn’t have faith in their teammates to help them with the job at hand, making life extremely easy for the weakest United MF and defense that we have seen or will likely ever see again. And at the other end we absolutely gifted them goals, and we attempted to gift them several others. 3-1 actually flatters us.
Today the transfer window closes…Instead of searching and finding players to light a competitive fire under the arses of some of our stragglers, we have used our (fairly ample) money to lock down these players to long term contracts. If AW and the leadership of the club are happy with the quality of players already at the club, why should we believe that they will find others (out there….) who will improve us? Buying Arshavin and Vermaelen in the past two windows provided hope, but it must be placed in the context of signing so many under-performing players to long-term contracts.
And the work of the club HAS let us achieve our goals…We will finish in the top 4 and progress in the CL. (Those of you thinking semis better hope for a very good draw AND some very nice bounces…) For those who feel especially disappointed because we actually had a chance to win things this season and all we needed was a player or two in the transfer window….Sorry, but I can honestly say that I have never shared your optimism. (Irrational hope is a different animal…) It is patently clear that we are building for the future. We may have targeted players but they were mostly for the future (Smalling is a good example). This season we are far too short with injuries AND quality in depth at a basic level to compete with the best teams in England and Europe. Game to game I hope for the best, and I do think the future can’t help but be better, but you guys are the real optimists (but not very realistic)….We never had a real chance this season EVEN if we had made the transfers we all hoped for, AND we were never gonna make the buys, anyway–mostly because the goals of the club were already secured. Chelsea and United may appear weaker than in years past, but we are no competition for them at this point. Luckily Liverpool IS much weaker…
So what to do? The club is entrenched. Nothing will change quickly. Arsene will only leave if he feels like it. His post match comments were pretty critical and we can only hope that he will embrace a more competitive situation at the club, allowing younger, more promising players to compete with the ones who are obviously not cutting it, and perhaps bringing one or two in with each transfer window. (We got Galindo, don’t forget…) In the meantime, I hope the ball bounces our way with each match, and that a few players truly step-up their level and we continue to build “spirit” and “belief”. At this point, what more can we do?
you want younger players… with more “promise”?
yeah? I’m about done with that, thanx. hasn’t worked at all…
other than making massive profits for the club by selling proven players, the younger – more promising players just aren’t cutting it…
maybe a younger – more promising manager?
Let’s be honest for a second –
Arsene had a reason he didn’t want to sign Arshavin in the summer of 2008. And frankly I believe a lot of it is on display this season. He just takes off too much and while I appreciate that he is trying – it now is taking on a selfish quality to it.
On his first shot – had he paid attention to who was in the box – Nasri was all alone. No one was near him and VDS would have been out of position to stop a shot. But Arshavin was intent on trying to do it himself.
That is too typical of his play.
Denilson HAS TO GO. He was pitiful – absolutely pitiful. I can’t think of a good thing he did yesterday.
Almunia – bah – I am just tired of looking at his face at this point. Obviously Gallas is too.
I’m also going to say that while Fabregas didn’t play poorly he was hardly his dominating self. If you can’t get up for this match – then what can you get up for.
Its also evident that Gibbs is our #1 LB. Clichy while he had some excellent pace with the ball – he was woeful defensively without it.
Song showed his rust but doesn’t seem to have regressed as much as I thought he would.
Not sure I would have had Nasri and Rosicky starting or if they are going to – make sure they have differing roles because they are too alike in play.
Honestly, I can’t find fault with Sagna (quiet game from his side) and Gallas and Vermaelen. Gallas had some superb stops and Vermaelen was solid for most of the match.
This is frustrating.No way we should’ve lost that game. Just no freakin way. And while we are not “out of it” yet – you have to think its near damn impossible at this moment.
But I will drink my Kool Aid and keep reciting – United were shite against the big four last year and won the league.
Arshavin was selfish yesterday but I remember during the Chelsea game he was the complete opposite – trying to pass too much when he should have shot. He probably went into the game determined not to make the same mistake, unluckily for him it didn’t come off.
Personally I’m willing to give all these guys – Fabregas, Arshavin, Gallas etc – slack until Wenger removes players that are patently not good enough for Arsenal. The likes of Almunia, Clichy, Denilson, Walcott.
I don’t think you can judge them until we’re playing with a full deck, because those players are KILLING us in an insidious but virulent fashion, and are part of the reason the likes of Arshavin and Fabregas rush things in these games. They weaken the team structurally so they have to over-compensate for them and go solo.
Exactly what I was saying above. Wenger has left the squad in such shape that Arsha probably felt like he had to pull something out of his ass. Not just because of the striker situation, but because our defense is such that United scoring first would have…well, what happened.
So, yeah, Not one for his highlight reel, but until it becomes a trend, pass.
I’ve kept meaning to add the one positive from yesterday. Vermaelen is truly a man among mic…pussycats.
I think alot fans have trouble distinguishing between players that are good enough, making mistakes, and players that simply aren’t good enough, making mistakes.
Which is why you often get Wenger apologists saying “Look Arshavin missed three chances, why isn’t anyone blaming him?”. As you said, unless it becomes a prominent occurence, then there is really very little point in mentioning it when considering the bigger picture.
Vermaelen probably made a gaffe for their third goal but was he over-compensating for someone being absolute shit? Oh yes he was, Denilson and his inability to control a football. Again, Vermaelen’s rush of blood being a symptom of distress, distress caused by inadequate individuals in and around him.
As for Vermaelen in general, I 100% agree. He’s really proving our point when it comes to castigating certain players for lack of effort/professionalism, because anyone of with an ounce of objectivity can see the vast chasm between Vermaelen and them when it comes to those attributes.
I’m sure you’re right about the third goal. I was watching with only one eye open at that point.
Who was it that saved Almunia from his scuffed kick? Was that TV5, or someone else? I blacked out momentarily.
Nani took an extra touch which allowed TV5 to (alertly) step in and kick it away.
Thanks,. Steve. I thought it was him. So still a stud game, overall, for Vermaelen. Especially given the fears of just a few days before.
I think I started glazing over at that point as well. Thinking back, I’m pretty sure the cameras were starting to pan across the stadium to capture the mood and Almunia’s screw up meant a hasty return to action.
See, even the camera crews probaby can’t stand Almunia.
“We gave Manchester United too much room, and we were naive. ”
Ha. Not all of us, Mr, Wenger.
He would look like slightly less of a mong in these situations if he didn’t make such grand declarations of intent before we enter these crutch periods.
We were a ‘different animal’ supposedly leading into this game. He’s right in some ways. Last year we were mouses, now we’re pussycats.
Can’t wait to find out where our ‘mental strength’ will take us next year.
From http://www.football365.com/mailbox/story/0,17033,8744_5909458,00.html
I would just like to point out to Niall, the Irish Gooner (and anyone else who constantly talks about it) that saying Arsenal have a team of ‘young lads’ isn’t all that true.
Yesterday, Arsenal’s starting 11 had an average age of 26.7, while Man Utd’s starting 11 had an average age of 27.3.
More interestingly, if you take away the keepers, and take the average age of the 10 outfield players for each team – both had an average age of 26.2
Are these ‘young lads’ ever going to grow up? If not, what is the secret to eternal youth?
OUCH !!!
http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog/posts/arsenal-1-3-man-united–slack-arsenal-taught-a-footballing-lesson
A picture tells more than a thousand words.
You can really see ‘the belief’.
Relax boys we’re not out of this yet but at the same time i would like to add man city and the tots arent too far behind :\
Anyway lets just get through the next two games and we should be have a nice run to finish the season whether it will be enough to claim the title may depend on whether chelsea and manu can both last the distance
go buy a few scarves and shirts, the club needs more money!
;)
The race is for 3rd place… we aren’t in the class of United and Chelsea.
Haven’t been for YEARS.
In the aftermath of another embarrassment at our fortress I want to talk about faces. I think the expressions tell us a lot about what is happening.
The first face is the most important and it’s Arsene’s. I was genuinely shocked at his pained and disconsolate expression immediately after goal number one. It wasn’t the look of a manager who believes the hype he has been saying and writing about this team. It was the expression of a man who feels let down again by the very team he has been defending for 5 years. Goals 2 and 3 rubbed his nose well and truely in it. This side looked as weak and immature against ManU this mornign as it did against Chelsea in the 3-0 tonking as it did against ManU in the CL semi’s humiliation last season. It’s awful woeful stuff. Head to head they’ve made us look like boys.
The second and third faces are those of Almunia and Gallas. Clearly, Almunia has lost the faith of Gallas (assuming he ever had it). When Almunia directed the ball into his net his expression was comical yet serious – he looked distraught – a failure. Now let’s get this straight, all keepers fumble from time to time, yet not too often. Keeper is one of those roles where if you start loosing confidence it’s a very slippery slope (a bit like a golfer getting the yips). David Seaman was as good a keeper as I’ve ever seen, yet once he physically started to lose it, his whole game became less certain. Keepers must maintain their confidence. Almunia looks shot to me. I thought Arsene’s treatment of him earlier this season was very perculiar – you don’t drop your top keeper. So I doubt he’ll recover.
Where to? Well, we bounced back after Chelsea and got a beaut little run happening. This time, we’ve slipped first against Villa, then been tonked by ManU, it’s a big ask to get points against Chelsea and then to cope with a smarting Liverpool side.
I dunno. I’m a tad surprised by the strenght of anti-Arsene feeling that surfaced so quickly – yet I shouldn’t be I forecasted it! He arrogantly dismissed fans concerns last season so he will come under greater and greater pressure until he delivers.
One more face: Almunia’s after he scuffed that kick and almost gifted United another goal.
For me, it was a face that said “Ohhh, I’m not good at all, am I?”
Bad day at the office, boys. Gotta give credit to Nani for the first goal. As much disdain as I have for Man Utd, I always have love in my heart for a bit of brilliance. I actually applauded that move.
Not to advocate their performance but there was no way a stionary player, Denilson or anyone, else could do with Nani in stride. Neither was there much Almunia could do about the quality of the cross. Very few keepers could have gotten to that ball from standing on their near post.
After Ashley Young skull-drug Clichy the other night, you bet your ass they were going to target him. I would have done the same thing. Expect it again when we play Chelsea.
For Rooney’s goal, Denilson seemed to know where Rooney was making his run to and instead of blocking the passing lane, he allowed the pass to be made. Inexplicable, just like his fall against Everton. Poor play. Last year, he made those types of smart plays which is why he stayed in the team and that’s why I’ve defended him. But when he starts making dumb plays he can’t offer anything else. That goal was his fault.
I was disappointed in the way we seemed to quit late on. Vermaelen was the only one that had the heart to fight. The rest of those guys need to go to Oz and ask the wizard for some heart. I hate to see a team quit but that’s exactly what they did.
Arshavin was poor. He had good chances and failed to even test the keeper. Likewise, I didn’t like our CB’s pushing forward. If they stay back, Rooney does nothing and Clichy has cover.
Lastly, I’m pissed that Wenger didn’t buy a striker. For me, it was essential; more so than a DM, CB, or GK. It’s the one position where we had no one identified to do the job. At least we could have claimed all three points against Aston Villa.
Agree on most of your points Joshuad. However, Gallas (especially Gallas), Cesc (although somewhat off kilter) and a few of the other lads did try their best and put in substantial effort.
REALITY:
We are 3 players away from being a championship team.
1) GK
2) Versatile backup for Song who can also play at the back.
3) Genuine striker in the Adebayor mold but without the mental baggage.
Question # 1 (for all the Denilson lovers): Could he make the squad at any of the other top 5 EPL teams?
Question # 2: Did we not have these weaknesses at the start of the season?
Question # 3: Does anyone in their right mind think these problems will be addressed by next season?
“2 ton balls” Almunia and Denilson has been with us for at least 4 years and have shown they are shit. “calamity” Clichy has stunk it up for the past 2 1/2 years. Is Arsene’s rose tinted glasses so dark he can’t see that.
we spent 10 million on “Mr. chicken without a head” Walcott who has contributed shit for 4 years but we can’t spend 20 million on someone who can do the job day in and day out.
I am numb and pissed at this crap.
What pisses me off more than anything, is that there is no one else in the organization who can or will tell Arsene when he is %%^6&*(%^& up.
Good to see you back, ck. Sorry about the circumstances. ;-)
Thanks Vibe
From http://arsenaltruth.squarespace.com/arsenal-truth/2010/1/31/david-villa-my-arse.html#comments
Ten things that will happen between now & August
1) Feb 1st 2010:
No activity on the last day of the transfer window with Wenger remarking:
“I believe in the spirit & potential of this squad”.
2) Feb 2010:
Turned over by the Chavs in the league & another brace from Drogba.
3) Anytime:
Another bad injury to a star player in a key position ruling them out for the season. Whither the strength of the squad?
4) April 2010:
Silvestre & Armand Traore in defence for key games-how about for the Chavs again in the CL Semi-Final?
5) Feb-May 2010:
Almunia flapping at Delap thrown ins at Stoke (and against plenty of other lower placed teams) & Wenger railing about anti-football again.
6) April 2010:
Walcott to put in one very decent performance between now & May (prob in the CL) & to be anonymous otherwise.
7) May 2010:
After a 3rd place finish & CL Semi-final AW to comment on how progress has been made.
8. Summer 2010:
Cesc/Arshavin or both to leave in the summer. Silvestre to be offered a new contract.
9) Summer 2010:
Apart from another pretty footballing Samir Nasri type bought from Nice/Marseille/Lyon/any French team for £15m no other signings over the Summer.
10) Aug 31st 2010:
No activity on the last day of the transfer window with Wenger remarking:
“I believe in the spirit & potential of this squad”.
AW’s head? Already? Not even 10 hours since the game finished.
You know better than that. There’s no way you believe people are reacting to this, one match.
Okay, we’ll wait till 11 hours.
I have consistently stated that Almunia’s problems cannot be corrected in training.
As for Denilson, he is not a DM and along side Cesc, little help as a ball winner.
In the past, Arsene has stubbornly refused to acknowledge these faults, but we will see (going forward) if he realizes the destructive nature of not making adjustments.
Just another day and still many league matches left.
sure, he’s going to change his stripes now…
you realize this is what has happened for 5 straight seasons… right?
he’ll never change…
just another day, and another embarrassing loss against United.
hopefully, supporters will stop showing up and filling every seat… so the message gets across.
Arsenal shock Chelsea at the bridge… wait for it ;) its not over just yet =D
Not hard to understand really, is it?
It’s exactly what was supposed to happen, it always does.
Wenger’s teams have not been able to win the big matches in 5 years.
The team is fatally flawed, and gets exposed whenever it plays
a strong team.
We will get shit on by Chelsea next week, and they don’t even
need to… they can draw and it will end our season.
First goal, which changed the complexion of the game… Nani splits
two Arsenal players, waltzes around Denilson in the box like he was a fecking STATUE, and then Almunia palms a ball into his own net.
You can NOT win anything of value without a good keeper, it simply starts and ends there. Almunia should not be playing keeper for a team of Arsenal’s level. The fact that this hasn’t been addressed in 2 years, condemns Arsene Wenger’s team to its fate.
When there is a need to change the game, as noted by Lee Dixon,
we have NO OPTION, no plan B… just bring on players with the same
traits… or Bendtner, who is not going to turn a game around.
Wenger had all month to address the striker issue… did feck all.
He’s seen Denilson for the past 2 seasons… and refused to do anything
about it. Denilson is a back-up role player at best.
We can blame the players, but they did what was EXPECTED of them.
What do you expect from Denilson or Almunia? Can you tell me it was out of character or a-typical play from them today?
In the immortal words of Dennis Green, “they are what we thought they were”…
To the kool-aid guzzlers… please, just STOP… the debate is over.
You can’t defend the case any more. Enjoy the ride… enjoy the beautiful play… the finesse passing… the great goals.
But we are never winning shit with this team.
Arsene. On your bike, mate.
Thanks for the memories.
I suspect they are not koolaiders by choice Stag. Deep down they understand your points. They are just doing their job as paid member of Arsenal PR machine ;)
i love it when you make comments like “we will NEVER..” it always gives me hope that we might actually do it ;) thanks stag for years of hope lol
and that’s what Arsenal love, fools who will hold on for YEARS waiting and hoping and filling those 60,000 seats every match… buying merchandise, and lapping up the non-sense Wenger throws out there every single year.
I felt Arshavin was so determined to score a wonder goal, he over did it.
The mental toughness is the real issue, here. We got jittery – Clichy was exposed very early on and it just spread. It’s funny. The two CBs were the solid performers for the most part, getting in the last-ditch tackles.
These are times that really test a fan’s patience.
Don’t like to see anyone fail, so there is no point in rehashing the emotions above about Almunia, Denilson, and Arsene, but unlike most of you, the majority of my disappointment in the first have falls on ARSHAVIN.
Piss poor decisions with and without the ball. An experienced player of his caliber, he played amazingly selfish – for the same reasons I despised about Ade; and when he created the high percentage shot, zero execution.
As a manager all you can do is set a line up that can be effective. Where a player’s head is at is sometimes
difficult to determine until after the fact.
it was not Arshavin’s fault that we lost, it was Almunia, Denilson and WENGER.
Arshavin ran hard and gave a good account of himself, in my humble opinion. He didn’t take his chances, but they were NOT clear cut chances.
Have this argument with yourself – try reading my words, and not inserting your own interpretation.
The first half, Arshavin was shit and a bigger flop at his position than Clichy OR Denilson OR Almunia.
” gave a good account of himself”
LOL
How many times did he fail to play back a pass to open teammates in front of the goal – just in the first 30 minutes?
“but they were NOT clear cut chances.”
Twice (1st half), he missed the “target” “UNOBSTRUCTED” from the top of the PA.
I don’t intend to defend Almunia and Denilson, as this was a team loss; too many tend to give the pedigree players a free pass.
I tend to agree with as and those who thought Arsha tried to do too much, and played selfishly today.
In his defense, it’s not hard to understand the extra pressure he felt for THIS match, under the circumstances the Manager has left the squad.
So, yeah, Arshavin handled aspects of the match poorly. But it’s easy to trace this, too, back to decisions Wenger made.
With our existing roster, Arshavin is a critical element for our successful play.
When you favor a player, you choose the words, ” he tried to do too much”. However, he is not the youthfulness of a Ramsey and thus pass it on as a learning experience; objectively its selfishness.
The same self-centered approach was Ade’s undoing.
But at the same time I can’t blame Arshavin for trying to do too much. No one else was trying to do much of anything.
SG –
Come on, you don’t really believe that no one else was trying to do much of anything?
Any team where the GK and 2 field players are off their form, don’t you feel it places extra work load on all the rest.
re: Arshavin
All season, haven’t most of the comments (here & there) been about his work rate; disappears for segments of every match. This type of selective effort is not good for team morale.
By the way, Song shoudn’t get away scot free either.
He still has alot to learn defensively. For their third goal he ran forward like an idiot when he should have dropped back. Does that ALOT.
Twice now against United and Chelsea Song has done nothing to beef up our midfield, and I can see that even taking Denilson’s crapness into account.
Good player overall but another getting horribly overhyped, like most of our players.
PAthetic. Properly punished today. The way we gave away goals (and have done all of this season) is going to do my head in. And if it weren’t for Gallas and Vermaelen it would’ve been worse as well. It’s not the players, it’s the system rather. The warning signs were there against Bolton. How we leave SO much space when we are attacking is ridiculous.
Our mentality is another thing. I truly do believe we have the talent to win such games and if we had properly shown up we would’ve done better. If everyone had the mental strength of Vermaelen or Cesc we would be sooo much better off.
Argh I dont even know if I’m being objective enough right now. Whatever.. At least no more league pressure this season.
Stag, happy days. You get to rub my nose in “I told you so’s”
ps- Song was immense today. Really glad he’s back.
Edit- When I say talent to win these games, I was referring to the squad as whole. The starting line up today had Denilson and no proper striker
Ozi, you know what… I can’t even come up with anything to say.
It is just so OVER. Embarrassing. We are on a different planet to United, with a make-shift defense… and Chelsea are going to SHIT ON US next week.
But it is really not unexpected, just sad that Wenger watched this f**king team approach a challenge for the league, and did nothing to help the team.
Just dismayed about it all.
I have a feeling Campbell was left on the bench in favor of Vermaelen so he walked out in a huff! That would be keeping with his character.
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Fact of the day: Wenger is tactically FAR worse than Ferguson, Benitez and Ancellotti. He isnt on their level when it comes to pre-game or in-game strategizing.
Wenger relies SOLELY on the “system” for any victory. The problem ofcourse being that the opposition STUDY our system … and the top managers simply find a way around it.
Ofcourse it would help if we actually played ELEVEN players for once. But we hardly ever do. Usually we are one man down in midfield and nobody in between the goalposts. And ofcourse from time to time we have no left back at all.
To buttress the point. Man U had only 3 shots on target. They scored from all 3. We might as well put in that Polish kid, can he possibly do any worse???
He’s not as good as Fergie and Ancelotti, but don’t lump him in with that assclown Rafa.
I literally could not watch after the first goal.
Lee Dixon: “You have to give United a lot of credit for snuffing Arsenal out in midfield and the way they hit them on the break. When you’re playing the top teams and your Plan A isn’t working you must change it, but the Gunners haven’t got a Plan B.”
Remember what ARsene said? – “We would like to be brilliant today. Normally with these games they are very good. We don’t have special plans for Wayne Rooney – when you look at the teams there are many talented players on the pitch. It’s important to be dominant in midfield.”
:(
No Plan B has been the problem for some time. No Plan B tactically, no Plan B at crucial positions. Nothing but plan Arsene.
Yes. No Plan B within individual games, or for certain positions, or for the season as a whole, or for Arsene’s long-term “project” as a whole (everyone’s signed to super-long-term deals, so even if we got a new manager it would be hard to make any structural changes for awhile).
We could a lot worse than try to make a change.
The problem in my opinion is we regress to what I call “pass and move football: Basic level” when we’re behind.
Which basically means excessive use of full backs to throw in hopeless crosses, in order to superficially ‘stretch’ the play.
When we’re in flat track bully mode we funnel play through more centrally and with a high tempo, with conviction.
I agree we need physical players in the box but I think the fundamental problem is lack of mental fortitude and inability to keep belief and play with confidence for long enough.
In big games we also show a complete lack of composure around the box.
In short, offensively speaking, we’re bottlers. just like last year, and the year before, and so forth.
Then you have the defensive problem, which is a whole other story.
Well if this means Wenger pissing off at the end of the season, a greater good has been served.
I’ve been sick of gormless choir boy looking players like Denilson and Walcott – and the general whiny, sulky, excuse-making culture around the club – for years, and that stubborn, ego-driven moron at the centre of it has to go.
I am with you. I think the time is up.
“Well if this means Wenger pissing off at the end of the season, a greater good has been served.”
You’re dreaming, man. Nothing good will come off this. And we can stayed tuned for more of the same.
___________________
Hey, everyone excited about those profits?! Up the profits!!!
The Arsenal PR machine will be all out justifying why the squad wasn’t strengthened
They already have, didn’t you see?
“We tried to sign David Villa but he was not available.”
“We can’t find players better than Mooney and Deni.”
Like some blog said – I tried to sleep with Angelina but she wasn’t available. ;)
That’s really cool line.
Just because Angelina wasn’t available, doesn’t mean Jennifer wasn’t …
We will finish third.
This is getting worse than 07-08.
It is bad enough losing to ManU, but 1-3 to this shitty team?
I think it is fair to say that barring a major miracle, the season is over.
Maybe it is time for a change, starting with right at the top?
Wow just wow. No word to describe this shit. It’s Ronaldoless Utd FFS :(
oh boy. Not again. and again. My stomach feels awful. There is no escaping this. Nowhere to hide. So let’s get back to the basics. I won’t bother seeing how many times Arsenal have scored more than 2 goals against Man Utd in these meetings. Even one goal nowadays seems to be a precious elusive treasure. Whereas, Man Utd have no problems putting goals in and they also know who will score. Rooney is expected to but I had a bad feeling that Park would get his name in as well. Too many bad memories from the past, and the present keeps piling on more bad memories from these games.
Atleast against Spurs, I have a certainty that Spurs will screw up and no matter how bad things look, Arsenal will always come back. Well recently Man Utd and Chelsea have delivered such blows that hope seems to be a luxury that dare not display its face.
Funniest line of the day (so far).
The commentator just said Denilson’s coming off because
“The holder is no longer required.”
We had holder? Didn’t know that.
Wow. That was beyond awful. Three red shirts chasing, and failing to catch, Park.
Park, mind you.
Someone’s going to pull a muscle trying to spin this one.
Not. Good. Enough.
Again.
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Sincerely hope the rest of your birthday is much better, Mike. :-)
OK. Chapter close. Champions League next.
While we at it, common Man U make it 6-0. :)
You know the funniest part of this all … we RESTED our team in the FA cup. Man U on the other hand said “fuck that” … played full strength, sacrificed Ferdinand (increased ban) for this game … went ALL out to get into the final of a cup we dont care for … AND they STILL come to the Emirates and HUMILIATE our wuss team.
After the game we are 7 points behind Chelsea. Then we head over to STAMFORD Bridge next week where they will undoubted spank the team silly.
Meanwhile, GIANT holes we have had all season still exist.
Meanwhile, we are sitting on a pot of money that we dont use.
Its all right though. Wenger better fucking do something in the Champions League or he be sacked.
BIG IDIOT of the day is Wenger.
He is the gorilla brained twat who sacrificed a striker Bendtner to play the utterly useless brazilian cunt in midfield.
In other words we are playing with 10 men from the very beginning. And thats not counting the walking, breathing calamities that are Clichy and Almunia.
By having Denilson in your midfield you are pretty much putting a giant sign on your back … “KILL ME!”. He cant tackle, can win headers, doesnt do jack shit upfront. And he is a LAZY piece of shit.
He adds zero defensively, zero offensively. Just a waste of team space.
As for Almunia … %&/!&%§”&%&$§$%%& !!!!
Almunia, Denilson, Clichy. The fuck-your-team over triumvirate.
Well, can’t be arsed with the rant Nipuna.
I’ll just mention the name Denilson and let a few of his defenders(getting pretty scarce now I must admit) stew on that and have a little think.
It is bad enough losing to ManU, but 3-1 to this shitty team?
I think it is fair to say that barring a major miracle, the season is over.
Maybe it is time for a change, starting with right at the top?
That’s why we lost Mazza. The players needed your half-time ranting, bitching and spanking as AW’s words had no effect apparently ;)
Man U took their chances well. Arsenal on the other hand, is not helping itself by missing many. You can not do that with a quality side like Man U.
This game could be the deciding factor if we can win the league this season. I know for sure we will NOT win against Chelsea next week.
Deja vu, anyone?
45 min to save the season?
Denilson actually slowed down to let Rooney run by him. Sorry LDE, that was shit. Why do I need to respect it?
Curse the players performance if you may. Not the person. Either way he’s been poor so far. Hope he turns it around.
LDE, I don’t think anyone has ever said a word about Denilson as a person. Putting ‘shit’ into his name is wordplay based on his performance. If it reads differently to you, it’s a use of language thing, nothing more.
Can’t believe we are getting run over by a mediocre ManU team.
Where is Mazza with his half time rant?
2-0 Rooney. I can’t even watch anymore. Everytime we hit a big team our limitations get brutally exposed. Same old, same old. Not having a center-forward may have something to do with it.
Clichy’s lack of match pratice is another. How many times has Nani skipped by him?
And a goalkeeper who helps the ball into his own net. Urgggghh.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Fabregas, Song Billong, Denilson, Nasri, Arshavin, Rosicky.
Subs: Fabianski, Walcott, Ramsey, Silvestre, Eboue, Traore, Bendtner.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Jonathan Evans, Brown, Evra, Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Nani, Rooney, Park.
Subs: Kuszczak, Owen, Berbatov, Giggs, Valencia, Gibson, De Laet.
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Sol doesn’t make it to the bench?
3 games in 8 days is too much for a 35 year old who hasn’t played in a while.
ahhh… the old fart, Sol is ;)
Early early team news (from BBC) –
Thomas “I am made of rock” Vermaelen starts. So does Song and Nasri. And of course, Deni starts.
No Rio or Vidic. Brown and Park start.
Hey GDChatters, keep the updates coming as I won’t be able to watch this game. Looking forward for your swearing, hatorading, kool-aiding live commentaries on GDC :)
I woud play Nasri, Arshavin, Rosicky, Fabregas. We need all four of them playing in harmony in order to crank up the possession to a level which disturbs them and pulls them out of position. Nasri has to play centrally as we need a striker up there in my opinion, not Arshavin. Bendtner or Vela.
If we fudge the issue and play Denilson, we will be easier to handle going forward and not much better defensively, and we will most likely lose.
Up to you Arsene and Up the Arse!
I really shouldn’t write these things at 3AM after I’ve had a few pints. Whew .
LIne up and score forecasting is weatherman stuff!
You did alright, DAG. No worries.
DAG – another solid post & HB (many more).
I agree with Nip……Bendtner upfront with Arshavin and Rosicky;
Nasri or Denilson in midfield instead of Rambo.
The disrespect to players here sucks really. Just sickening. I’m no moral policeman… but calling people shit and rubbish is seriously not on. Not that it’ll matter – me saying it.. but still.
By the way I am fully aware that is mor elikely that Denilshit gets the start over Ramsey – but frankly if it were me that would be my midfield up there.
I would go with Nasri in midfield and Bendtner up front.
Bendtner will keep the ManU centrebacks “honest” and allow Arsh to exploit Rafael.
Nasri will provide more experience and stability in midfield than Deni or Rambo (although I am 100% sure that Arsene will start with Deni).
You’re probably right – but Arsene keeps calling Nicky B short. So I wonder.
Thanks guys – I am hoping that my birthday wishes have us covered for the next 3 matches.
Happy Birthday, Mike!!
Any sort of win will do for me. This is our best chance to put one over ManU when it actually counts. I hope we don’t throw it away.
Apologies for the delay in getting this out. Saturday was my birthday and I went on a little drinking adventure,.
Happy Birthday DAG! Here’s to Arsenal wishing you the same with a win.
Hope you had a lot of fun Dag and it culminates in an Arsenal win.
Didn’t know that. Happy Birthday, DAG.
Happy Birthday DAG. I guess your bday gift from Arsenal is that more drinks in the future are required. It pains me to put a smiley face icon but I mean to smile. I have to..