Hocus Pocus, Focus
Dec 7th, 2012 by 'holic
Friday evening. Always an enjoyable ritual. Post-work pints, a tasty take-away, then sit down with another pint or two to check out the presser and interviews on Arsenal Player. Give me that one phrase please, Arsene.
“Our focus is more on the next few games than the transfer market.”
Focus. That is the word of the weekend. We hope those who play against West Brom will focus on getting our quick forward-passing game going against a side currently five points and five places ahead of us. Doubtless those wearing the cannon on their chest will have expectations of the support as well. Given that this is the last home game before Christmas I suspect the atmosphere will be a little more positive for starters. Should the team start on the front foot I have no doubt they will get the backing they need.
Lukas Podolski, Bacary Sagna, Theo Walcott, Laurent Koscielny, and Andre Santos will all miss the match, unfortunately. I was surprised to see snaps of the first two in training today, particularly Lukas. A hamstring injury is not one you usually run off in training. That suggests a starting back five of Wojciech Szczesny, Carl Jenkinson, Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen, and Kieran Gibbs.
Le Boss faces a selection problem in midfield. Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, and Santi Cazorla are all available, but the early substitution of Tomas Rosicky in Athens suggests he is being strongly considered for a start. Under normal circumstances young Jack would be most at threat, but there are options to perm that quartet in order to give one of the Spaniards an extra hour or so of rest before being unleashed on a tiring Baggies eleven.
The absentees up front would hint at a start for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Olivier Giroud, and Gervinho. I would prefer to use Arshavin on the left while we still have him, but the noises coming out of Shenley suggest he is being frozen out. With such a paucity of options there will surely be a place on the bench for Marouane Chamakh. I know that will highlight the weakness of the squad for some, but lose one or more of our front three to injury or a red card and the options will be much worse without the Moroccan.
The ‘holic pound hopes the visitors, beaten at Swansea and by Stoke in their last two fixtures, are embarking on a bad patch. It also relies on the Ox and Gervinho finding the pace and touch to unlock the visitors defence and creating opportunities for Giroud and supporting midfielders. That is likelier to happen later in the match as the Albion tire, so I’m looking at a relatively modest 2-0 to Arsenal. Check out the odds at Gunners Gaming via the banner above and also check out their Twelve Days of Christmas promotion. This Saturday sees the start of an opportunity to win a signed Arsenal shirt or football. Every £10 wager placed between the 8th and 20th December (21st for the football) gets you one entry into the draws. Good luck.
The Arsenal Foundation Dedicated Matchday
Arsenal select one match every season to dedicate to their charity efforts and the West Brom fixture provides the opportunity to The Arsenal Foundation to raise funds to help those less fortunate.
As part of the day, the first-team squad and Arsene Wenger will, as usual, generously donate a day’s wages to The Arsenal Foundation, which supports a range of education and sport initiatives in the UK and overseas.
Supporters will also be able to get involved in a range of other fundraising activities on the day, such as donating to bucket collections or getting involved in a special matchday raffle, with prizes including a signed Arsenal shirt and a pair of tickets to see Muse live in concert at Emirates Stadium in May 2013. (No, the runners-up will not get two pairs of tickets to see Muse in concert. Behave yourselves!)
Fifty pence from the sale of every matchday programme will also be donated to The Arsenal Foundation, while supporters can beat the cold and do their bit for charity at the same time by purchasing an Arsenal bar scarf from Club stores at Emirates Stadium – £2 from every sale on Saturday will be added to the overall fundraising cause.
All money raised from the dedicated matchday will enable The Arsenal Foundation to continue supporting a variety of projects, including those of the Club’s global charity partner, Save the Children.
So if you are going to the game save a few coppers for those buckets, and don’t forget to wrap up warm. It looks like being dry, but chilly. Let’s hope the team warm us up with their performance.
Wherever you are enjoying the game, have a great weekend, ‘holics.
313 Responses to “Hocus Pocus, Focus”
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Lurks
Guinness please and a BM for H2H
Nice preview ‘Holic. Fancy a 4-0 win tomorrow.
See you tomorrow mate.
Well in H2H. Nice vid at the back end of the last drinks too.
Evening Dr Z.
White rum + Some Baileys + ice, barkee. Thanks.
White rum + Some Baileys + ice, barkeep. Thanks.
Nice preview,Guv,for a second i was crosschecking to be sure we were actually playing tomorrow. Don’t worry about my “rant” in the last drinks,that just my little way of letting you know i value and actually wait on your previews and reviews.
As for the game tommorow,i don’t really care who is starting or not i just want to to get the frigging three points,hopefully the prayers and good wishes of the not too fortunate people who the Club is dedicating tommorow game to will help us get that win and truly kick-start our season.
Up the Arse.
Oops. The second oneis corrected.
3-1 to the good guys, brought to you by Tommy the Mozart.
@ 4
Is that 4 nil to the home side?
Just checkin’
COYG
Every goal should be like a dagger to Adrian Chiles heart.
On that basis, can we please have 6 or 7 Arsenal?
Looks like tomorrow’s the last one for me, lest I finnagle a way up to Bradford. I’m saying 3-2, just like the last time we played them.
The lads wouldn’t send me home with a loss though. I’m sure of it.
I see my punctuation and spelling are a bit off the pace,forgive me Holics,i’m already feeling sleepy.
Yep, 4-0 to the good guys Dr Z
Evening all,
4-0 would be wonderful. For the bookies
3-0
Classy performance and Giroud to score first.
Just what Dr. Santa ordered!
Cheers Tabs and Z’.
BM is a breakfast drink, I’ve already done lunch and am well into a multi course (liquid) dinner.
But I’m not one to look a gift horse in thbe mouth, or any other part of his attonemy come to think of it
Bottoms up.
===
Does Theo want all those buckets filled for him to sign a new contract?
Oh Holic, Enchanting title, sir
Conjures up lovely visions of our lads, fresh faced and eager to please. We know they have it in them to do just that. Shut down Shane Long, and we should prevail. It is a sad state of affairs, when the nicest words I have read about Arsenal lately, comes from one of the Baggies, James Morrison. When I read his thoughts on Arsenal, my heart swelled with pride. Shame on me for needing such a reminder 
heh @ attonemy !
Evening abb.
Any news on the location of your donation? I want to get a snap for you.
Heh ‘Holic
Sounds like a balanced diet to me H2H
Heh indeed fin, anatomy.
It certainly keeps me (un)balanced Tabs.
So, big day tomorrow:
Master Fin’s quarter final U12 cup match a.m.
Dash to the Grove with said Master F for the Baggies.
COYG
That’s 2 post titles in a row that I ‘get’ Holic and have on my memory card/listened to, good stuff
One of my older sisters birthday tomorrow, going out to a restaurant for it, don’t know what time exactly but I should be able to watch the game, come on Arsenal!
Good luck, Master Fin
Evening Wind…
Hello people.
How’ve y’all been doing?
i am sure arsenal won’t spoil my weekend for me again but i still fancy broms to score. 2-1 to the gunners so we can use that for a rebuilding process…my cuzin’s wedding 2mao so anyfin u guys have is on me 2nyt.
Hey Snir.
How goes the exams?
H2H – Straight As so far.
I mean, I have to replace Gazidis so I’m not taking them lightly
A gift from me to y’all…
You’d wanna download this.
FourFourTwo’s story on AFC. They spent a month inside our club.
http://pdf-giant.com/sports/16033-fourfourtwo-january-2013-uk.html
Holic
*nods*
Hey Holic, No news yet. Maybe in time for Christmas!
Is that a bonafide Snir sighting? Oh good to see you. WE need you Snir!
Lol abb.
I’m here in spirit even when I’m not here
I have the Baggies winning tomorrow,if they bring the game they played at Sunderland.
The Arse are in a word, Dysfunctional.
We might manage to stay in the top ten by the end of the w/end if some other results go in our favor.
Realism not Pessimism.
Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards,
Cheers
The Sweeper.
Good nan Snir
Memo to Gooner Terry: Help, ASAP! Gosh I miss you. Now, Clive…
We’re on our wat up, Clive, keep the faith sir.
If all else fails, pigheaded optimism and a refusal to look facts in the eyes should pull us through.
Good to see you Snir, exam season really is kicking in eh? :-p
Uhmm, The clientele at this watering hole has been very impressive as of late. If you holics only knew how often I walk around with a silly grin on my face because of YOU
Delighted Ms Ette has made several cameos. Still holding out for FunGunner though…boy oh boy can she debate! 
Before I forget, those going tomorrow I will be later than usual. Having some tapas first as it is the pre-xmas bash. should hit the battle cruiser by half oneish…
…and good luck with those exams Snir
Enjoy your day ‘holic and all you Tollie Brolly Warriors.
Nice preview Holic. Disappointing injury list has to lower our expectations. Have a suspicion that we might squeeze a 2-1 tomorrow but hope for the performance and scoreline to transform our season.
COYRs.
A bottle of Ardbeg is open on the bar for aficionados of the amber nectar.
Focus on drinking more efficiently and effectively. I’ll have to see what I can glean from Eastern religions to get that focus right.
So according to The Mail the club have not, despite claims to the contrary, made any further offer to Walcott, nor had any contract discussions, since their final offer was made in August.
There’s something very wrong behind the scenes at Arsenal, not just because of Walcott. The contract situation seems to boil down to – if you’re relatively cheap and we can get you on a long term deal, we’ll give you a deal. If you expect a pay rise (Sagna, Walcott) you can fuck off.
This club is rotten from top to bottom.
Not rotten from top to bottom, but there is a poison within, no doubt.
Ardbeg?
You have been to Sainsbury sir, I hope? Fiver off so only £39.99, and worth every penny
Nice piece holic.
This is without doubt the most important game of the season so far. The crowd will need a lift. I have no doubt that recent performances and the current PR from the club has left a few with a feeling of apathy. We need a big performance and a convincing win. What will we be treated to? Fuck knows. I have no idea what to expect if I am being honest. I guess it’s roller coaster time again.
I saw the report re Theo. I also heard AW state his frustrations. For me this is definitely decision time. I know it is pantomime season but this had been going on for long enough. Arsenal, Theo? It’s decision time people. This needs to be resolved.
Keep the faith.
Calm yourself Nonny.
Had we made another offer he would not have rejected the final offer, would he now?
Bath, you about tomorrow?
Same goes for Steve?
I went to the Canary Wharf Waitrose – excellent selection with Ardbeg around that price but chose the Bunnahabain at £27.50 myself as better value for a thrawn Pict like myself. I just thought the Holics deserved the Ardbeg.
“I think [Arsenal] have made a stance on [the contract dispute]. I think probably he’s a squad player. He’s not really a regular, for me, in the Arsenal team and I think that [£75,000] is a very good offer.”
George Graham, perhaps surprisingly, in the club’s corner. I would disagree about the not a regular dig right now. I still agree the offer is a fair one.
When he goes the club and/or the manager will get slaughtered by some. I will just be sad, on the basis that we have made him a fair offer.
Please, in a time of recession, let those of us earning less in years than he earns in a week not fall out…
Tabs, superb vid in last drinks. See you tomorrow.
North Bank 1 – great stuff in last drinks. Read every word !!
Well said @53 Holic. Quite agree.
Hi Trev, great news, see you in The Tollie.
TaBS, you know my usual neighbour usually brings me a flask of finest whiskey for my half-time recharging of the batteries?
What time are you there Tabs ?
Right, sleep. Should be there at 1.00.
Already sorted Holic
Aiming for 12 30 Trev. You?
Ah, see you at one Trev
‘holic – they will be slaughtered, and rightly so. They should be slaughtered by everybody, the way they continually lose players and buy sub standard ones to “replace” them. Mind you, with the rubbish we’ve signed in the last three or four years, I wouldn’t trust them with the cash to buy a tin of beans.
I think George was referring to Theo’s sporadic application. Don’t imagine him putting up with temper tantrums and the like. I fear a massive backlash for Arsenal and Arsenal, if they are unable to secure Theo’s signature. Know good men in the DRC, who are rangers in Virunga National Park. Everyday and nite, they put their lives on the line to protect the endangered Mountain Gorillas. Get paid diddly squat and their families often suffer repercussions from the rebels. There’s a caretaker in Cameroon, nearly blind, who during one of their countrie’s many skirmishes, would venture out into the forest, to gather fruit and berries for the primates, risking his life, to save theirs. Oh Theo, I could tell you to do the right thing, but first you must open your heart.
I think his heart is fairly open, it’s the club’s wallet that needs to do so, and not just for him.
I’m amazed there aren’t more people pissed off enough about the way the club is going and ready to speak up about how they feel without holding back. If y’all sit around meekly taking it up the Gary and behaving as if they’re doing you a favour, all you will get is more of the same.
You know who is to blame for all this mess? Everybody who puts up with it, from major or minor shareholder to blogger to online comment writer. Everyone who just shrugs, says Arsene is the man and is waiting for him to fix it. Well, he ain’t going to. You’ve all sat meekly by waiting for him to get the club out of the shit, and year on year it has got worse. And still you all seem to think (the majority anyway) that the man has still got it.
He hasn’t had it for years, and the club have successfully managed your expectations down to the point where you are happy with fourth, delighted with third and would be claiming your crippled children could walk again, if we made it to second.
I wonder what’s next on the Trophy for Suckers scale? Maybe Gazidis will push really hard for the expanded Champions League, so finishing about 8th will still get us in, and then it will be “We are STILL a Champions League club after all these years” and the “achievement” of qualifying will become the new and unimproved fifth trophy. Who knows… if they keep on doing what they are doing, you might one day be happy with 17th.
I just do not get it.
At least we know what happened to Abou Diaby
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20644402
please download the fourfourtwo article.
Provides magnificent insight.
I’m fortunate to support such a classy club.
What a beautiful article.
http://pdf-giant.com/sports/16033-fourfourtwo-january-2013-uk.html
Three points. Only goal for Baggies game. Beautiful or ugly.
Nonny, your preaching is getting fucking dull. Just saying like.
Have a great day eveyone up the Arse today!
You have hit the nail smack on the head @53 Holic. As usual.
With you 100%.
See you later alligator.
Have fun, people going to the game. And enjoy the sausages & chips!
No, I’m not jealous. At all. Have a great day, and hopefully 3 points.
Hello to the usual suspects
And a special wave to Snir and Esso.
MUST.WIN.
Very very slow day so far, for various reasons I can’t go to the pub until about half-two so I am basically just sitting here waiting. Will take the dog for a short walk in a bit, that’s about as exciting as it will get before I can leave. And knowing that people are now starting to congregate at the Tollie doesn’t make time pass any quicker…
Anyway, just want us to win today, it almost doesn’t matter how we do it as long as we do it. It’s not too late to turn things around even if we don’t win but the psychological implications of dropping points today could be massive so let’s just get the three points, OK?
What Harsha and Lars said – you reading this Arsenal?
Just win, babies.
Right my lovelies, off to The Tollie.
Beer vouchers – Tick
Hip flask for Holic – Tick
Deer Stalker and Speedoes – Tick
Good luck everyone.
COME ON ARSENAL!
Morning all. Not going to have enough time to make the Tollie sadly. Those going, enjoy. Those going to the game, enjoy. Gooners everywhere, enjoy.
Come on you reds……
Right, off to The Tollie.
Tabs spotting kit – Tick.
Come on you rip roaring.
For Nonny, comment from Dr Baptiste to a posting on Arseblog on the change in squad quality in last few years:
Szczesney > Almunia
Mertesacker > Gallas
Clichy > Gibbs (but only temporarily as Gibbs is already looking like he’ll be as good if not better than Cole at the same age)
Cazorla > Denilson
Early Arshavin > Present Arshavin
Giroud > Bendtner
Pre-RvP Chamakh > post-RvP Chamakh = Present Chamakh
Jenkinson > Eboue
AOC > Traore
Koscielny > Silvestre
Nasri > Gervinho (unfortunately)
Podolski > Vela
Fabregas > Wilshere (but Wilshere is better than about 90% of current midfielders. He made Iniesta and Xavi look ordinary in the games against Barca before his injury)
Arteta = Song (I say equal as they are both totally different players and both have their own strengths and weaknesses)
Vermaelen > Toure (This is based on last season rather than the weird Vermaelen imposter we’ve witnessed so far)
RVP- We will find out in January.
Pre match beer – tick……
That’s about it really.
The magazine tumbled through the letterbox.
On the cover was Arsene, TV5, Cazorla, Gibbs and the creosote-master himself, Gazidis.
It wasn’t, as I first suspected a Seasonal plea from the brand-masters at the club to shell out on AFC key rings and the like, for Christmas, but my latest copy of Four Four Two, promising “an in- depth” look at Arsenal.
I feared the worst – crisis club, black scarves, we-want-our-Arsenal-back, spiralling decline etc but in the end all it really amounted to was a fluff piece telling me everything we have all heard before, self sustainability, FFP, consecutive champions league qualification and non-critical soundbites from Messrs. Gibbs, Vermaelen, Cazorla (and even Ken Friar). There was also a short interview with Liam Brady, which to my mind was the most insightful of them all, particularly in relation to how young players who haven’t made the first team, consider themselves celebrities because some blogger has been writing about them on the internet!
But I didn’t feel that there were any great revelations about the club in the piece and I guess I was kind of relieved that I managed to get through it without seething with rage and spluttering my cereal all over the pages. What it did do, however, was get me thinking about the media coverage about Arsenal generally, and how it doesn’t matter what we do, we are never going to get an easy ride from the media in this country.
In this current phase we are known as “Arsenal, without a trophy for x seasons”. When we were winning stuff, the hacks were more liable to concentrate on how many foreigners we played, or the favourite hobby horse of the time, counting the cumulative number of red cards Arsenal received on the watch of Arsene Wenger. The point is, we are never going to be, nor were we ever, the sweethearts of the mainstream media. A case in point – if Manchester United had gone a season unbeaten, we would still be hearing about it now, even if they had one every league title in the intervening years since. Arsenal, on the other hand, got damned with faint praise at the time and were slagged off because of the number of drawn games that were totted up in the sequence. And so it continues. This morning, the “headline” on the radio was about where (i.e how far down) we would be in the table if we were to lose against the Baggies!
They will never have a good thing to say about us, and I find it painful to watch the number of ex-Arsenal employees lining up to take turns in adding to the noise. With so much hate on the outside, the last thing we should be doing is turning on one another, like the poster above, who claims Arsenal fans are happy with fourth. I don’t remember too many people here saying they were happy with fourth, and a great number of us would like to see change of some sort, whoever might be to blame for the sequence of self-harming we are currently engaged in.
But the Board and Management aren’t the only guilty parties here. The change we can do something about, starts with the fans. A team never won anything when the home support did the opposition fans job for them. The media clearly don’t support Arsenal – it’s about time some of our “fans” decided who it is that THEY support!
3 points are there to be won.
I’d quite like us to get them.
It might not be a trophy, not even for suckers, but it would be a start.
zico@80, take a bow son. Great post.
Joeos. Interesting point but very selective with those players chosen. I realise that they were not your suggestions but Cazorla for Denilson????? Like many quoted, Cazorla was not bought to replace Denilson.
Good stuff Zico but I can’t agree with all if your last paragraph. I think the vast majority realise who they support. That may be why more and more are asking the question?????
Just saying.
COYR.
Just want to say every player has been selected, nurtured, coached by Wenger.
He chooses players & tactics and results and performances are entirely his responsibility.
Whatever today’s result its all down to one man.
Arsene, it’s got nothing to do with fatigue, referees, luck, lack of funds so fucking get your act together, take responsibility for your actions and show us a performance that takes all negativity away and sticks two fingers up to your critics.
‘holic: great post as usual. And zico #80 — agreed completely…
I feel extremely anxious about today — surely it can’t be as bad as this fixture last season, or more specifically, the moment just before that last ditch interception of Gibbs.
Come on Arsenal!!!!!!!!
Incredible Zico.
Lars, buy the man a pint!
Good day holics. Yes, I mean YOU
Zico, as always, enjoyed your comments. Fans play a big part. There is a time and place for everything. Booing and disrespectful chants towards AW and our lads are counterproductive and just not COOL 
Geoff, I failed Algebra 2; does that mean I can blame my professor? Just saying… 
We win as a team and lose as a team. It is a TEAM SPORT! And Nonny, dear Nonny! 
We all work hard, have our worries (off the pitch, if you catch my drift), so when we visit the bar, we like to have some FUN. Doesn’t mean we have our collective heads in the sand. But match days are special, so don’t mind us, if we just want to play. 
Nice post Zico. I must say, I always enjoy reading whatever you have to say!
I’ve always found the general media coverage in the UK on AFC to be pretty distasteful. And of course in recent years, the level of introspection has become exacerbated by the emergence of Sky and the Internet.
There’s always a focus accentuating the negative. From the clubs perspective, I think the real issue has always been the perceived French influence at the club. Bad enough that Wenger was French, but he was also polished, witty, charming and intellectual. Of course at the start, he was getting incredible results at the time, so the “number of red cards” has now been swapped out by “won nothing in X years”. I have a few mates who adore their football and are staunch Liverpool fanatics. After a few beers, that line is always thrown out. I have to remind them that its been over 20 years since Liverpool won the league, but of course that mantra is not being pushed by the media whereas it is with AFC and its sad to see how it can influence people. So in this context, the 4-4-2 article is a good thing from where I sit, because by seeking to highlight what we’ve managed to achieve in recent years it might go some way towards assuaging the perception generated by the mainline media and give people better perspective.
And if I’m being truthful, I feel some fans need to ask themselves a few hard questions and start to think for themselves. In relation to having lower expectations – I think Stillman raises a similar point when he asks what people expect to get from watching a football match these days? Or maybe more to the point is the question as to why people have such expectations in the first place?
Wenger has made mistakes, but what people expect to achieve by denigrating him or the team just serve what the media hopes to achieve – an artificial state of sensationalism and chaos devoid of any intelligible perspective.
So, I’m off to the pub for some Beamish and banter. Hopefully after the weeks rest, we just might see some free flowing football again..!
BTW – Kudos to North Bank 1 for the post on the previous thread. Most interesting.!
streams here
http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=180376&part=sports come on lads, win this one!
Okay, thats what I call atmosphere, we could use something like this today at Ems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RdCOdZky9KY and thats freaking basketball hehe
Good stuff Z’
Right, 20 mins to KO, as in the last few weeks have no idea what to expect, I just wanna see some passion and fire from the boys in red.
COYG’s
Its not happening for me Eandy (the link), all I’ve got is Fox Soccer, is it really worth it?
I am usually going with sopcast streams of highest quality …no matter the commentary hehe.
Haven’t got the Software for Sopcast (family computer) so I have to use the Flash Streams lol.
COME ON YOU REDS
Ditto H2H! Hey everyone
*waves
COME on you reds, you can do this! All for one and all that jazz! Let’s get behind the boys and put the whingeing and soul-searching on hold for 90 mins eh?!
OOoooooo, unlucky,
Hey, we’re looking mighty sprightly out there!
Assist
Well in Nursie.
An early assist for the 200 Cam’
Looked easier to get it on target from Gerve
Or, er, not…
Lovely from Jack
Thanks H2H! CG cheeky
Jack is very serious!
Santi seems up for it.
Man oh man, great stuff from the OX!
AAhhh Shame.
Come on lads keep it coming.
Good stuff from Sagna and the Ox, Santi… *frowns*
Time waste much?
Almost, darn offside!
Penalty!!
Intelligent play by Gervinho. PK awarded!!!
YESSSS ARTETAAAA
Wow, a penalty at home
shouldn’t have been given imo.
Mikel Arteta, Te Amo Mucho!
That was ballsey.
blatant dive by santi but MIKEEEEL!
Oh Wind! Naughty boy
Definite foul Wind, penalty was correct.
Get in Mikel, we need all the luck we can get
That was a dive. Not happy for that. We dont need to do that.
Or that’s how I’ll see it.
I can see how it was given and at the end of the season i wont care but wba can feel a bit wrong done.
Now lets go Arsenal!
H2H, abb, just didn’t looked like he got touched/clipped from my stream, maybe one of the matchday holics can shed some light later.
Wind, it was soft, no doubt
Your stream is correct Wind
HFB’s arse or the small of his back?
Lumbar region Wind
Hey NorCal
Skillful set up by Gervinho…
AAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo.
Unlucky LJW.
We’ve got them beat on the flaks.
COYG’s
Gerv is better. Hes actually getting his head up. So close.
how did that not go in?:(
*flanks
Unlucky Jack, great from Gervinho!
Ty for the correction abb.
The crowd needs to get going! Arsenal arsenal arsenal. Come on lads!
What was Per doing?
Agree NorCal, Fans should be roaring!
2-0 at HT would be great
Apologies in order….Gervinho has had a good half….3 decent crosses, two shots…and reasonable recycling of the ball. Keep it up.
Jack getting closer to what he does best.
Moving the ball a bit quicker this week….and far more direct and likely to spread play. Never a penalty (at either end) so good spot on Per being fouled on the ‘handball’.
We’re having pops at goal…and Brunt or someone else for WBA is going to get a red.
Keep it up Arsenal…not excellent but better,
Wba has been sloppy. We have been the better team. But we are only pressing forward in spurts. Need to put them against it. Press harder.
Okay, 1 up at HT, pretty much controlled the half, but need to better in the final third in the second 45.
COYG’s
Good first half, Jack is immense, Gervinho having one of the better matches of his, bit lucky to get penalty from what seemed to be a dive from Santi. More of the same please.
1-0 at HT, good half, good signs
If the retro card santi for that and ” I flail Bale” is allowed to do that week in and week out it is ridiculous.
Fox Soccer going overboard on the penalty. Only point out Suarez and now santi. Bale does it all the time. Why no mention? Even Mericans are british biased?
Shut up!
Definitely a dive from Santi. He did that not long ago and I believe he got a yellow for simulation. Jack, Gervinho and AOC looking good!
OG not in the game so far 
Hope to see some of Poldi and TR in second half 
Whats with Naaaarrrich? They have hit quite the run of form.
Giroud still working his arse off. Nice to see Ox looking very positive.
Defending…nothing to say…WBA haven’t done anything going forward and they do have some talent up front, bet they will go at us for the first 20 this half so let’s stay focused.
Norwich have a smart manager….he keeps getting more from his teams than he should…(yes I realise he’s a LWC)
COME ON YOU REDS!!!!
Come on you REDS!
Abb, i think beefcake got hurt. Seems to be tenative after that knee in the back. Agree that poldi may come on. Would love to see santi out wide and TR7 to come on for AOC. But he will probably come on at 75 minutes for wilshere.
In my view, Santi switched the ball to his right foot expecting the tackle to come in, and it did come, only to narrowly miss his foot. It’s not like Santi moved his leg towards the tackle like, for example, Bale did last season at the Ems. He expected to get tackled, and it only narrowly missed him, and he was already off balance looking to win the penalty. Even Myhill thought that was a penalty. He played for the penalty, and for me there is no shame in doing that.
How many legit penalties did we get turned down over the past years at the Ems? It’s just ridiculous, so I apologize for not feeling an inch of guilt over this one. COYG. 3 points please!
Come on Arsenal…let’s get back on track…the happy train is in the sidings getting repairs
Yes NorCal, I worry it is lingering for him.
We’re cooking
nice to see us pressing them when they have the ball…that’s more like it
WTF is the ref playing at?
I thought that was a great tackle by Mert
Can’t remember who wrote at length about us not regaining the ball higher up the pitch recently as we normally do. It was a great post and today we’re actually doing it…taking pressure of our back four and controlling far more of the match.
is the ref making up for the penalty? O.o
TH14 looks like he still wants to wear the shirt…
Aww, the wires are crossed on the counter
Olson is a cunt.
Ohhhh, luv that attitude by Giroud!
Was it my post you referred to, Tim?
Indeed we are being more aggressive higher up the pitch off the ball. Vermaelen too looks like he wants to speed up the tempo of the game when we transition from defending to attacking. Looks like the team did some homework during the week. We look more aggressive, faster and dangerous.
Giroud gets a yellow for standing up after trying to score…what a swine
I think it was Derrick…it was a long thought provoking one yes…and excellently constructed. Thanks!
Gerviniho must have a triangle shapped head.
TV to the Rescue
Why can’t Gerve utilise his forehead?
How on earth can Gervs miss by that much lol..I just have to laugh now
Poor old Gerv….
Great save Woj!
Ref is really losing grip of the game..might get nasty as the match progresses.
Brunt gets a yellow 50 mins after he earned one..rhyming slang methinks.
Someone is getting sent off…let’s not let it be a red shirt
Gervinho most certainly has listened to his critics. Far more aware of his teammates. Want him to score!
Come on Gerv…grab a goal
Oh Mikel how I love thee.
You’re welcome Tim, glad to know you took the time to read my essay. @H2H 174 that’s just hilarious! And what a chance missed by Gervinho again!
Girouds best effort so far….
Almost own goal.
fear a stupid tackle damaging one of ours…lots of nasty shit happening off the ball
WBA marking Gervais like bees on honey!
Penalty 2!!!
PKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! The AOC, never give up
Brunt’s gotta go, surely?
Now that’s a pen
Wow that was a pretty fortunate penalty for us! Thought OX had lost it! Fair play to him though! Cmonn
AARRRTTTTEEETTTAAAA
THAT WAS A PEN…excellent persistence Ox
OMG 2-0 Merci be coup! That’s for you Ollie
Really glad for Mikel, hope this spurs him on to even better things! Let’s get a clean sheet now, looking quite good.
Mikel <3
Good for Mikel….he needed that one too
In like Gerv?
Yes. That was a penalty monday,tuesday, wednesday…..
Nice. Great pressure from AOC to get it.
self-assist…doesn’t count…yellow card
Well in Tim.
Not so sure with the “as Gerv”bit though.
Tabs me
Ballsy save by Woj!
This ref don’t like Mert 
let’s focus on getting the clean sheet that Szcz deserved last weekend
WBA lookin for a fight! Let’s tear um a new one
Nice football!!
Oh, really terrific, inspiring bits n pieces by our lads
See Boaz run…what sort of a name is that anyway
H2H, We really think alike!
Ref is making so many wrong decisions it’s unreal.
Indeed abb..that interplay between jack and ox deserved a goal.
Wilshere is definitely getting better each game. What a talent!
Great minds ABB,
does confidence cause the hunger or vice-versa? Either way this is the best we’ve looked since playing the small club up the road.
Let’s get another goal or two
Wilshere getting in the swing takes so much weight off of Santi too….
Oh Arteta, that’s why his name is on last season’s home kit
I hearby endorse all the above comments
Coq in.
Nice game Alex…good work young man
Jack has this stagger, hard to describe. He leans backward when he passes the ball, really a beautiful thing to watch.
I’ll say it again…..Per-Fect match from the German.
he does ABB…it’s sweet innit
Yes AOC was wonderful. Gervinho, you worked hard! Welcome TR!
Best game Gerv had in long time, good work lad. TOMAS IN:)
Oh Tim, sure is
His name is NOT cah-zola …and it doesn’t rhyme with Cola
these twats are paid to commentate no?
Good for Woj, ever alert!
I have to say Jack MOTM for me. Arteta pure gold with his goals but Jack has been outstanding.
Aaarfff how did he miss that Lukas!!!!
HOW???
but good that if he had to have this kind of miss, its while we lead 2-0 at the end of the match hehe
Giroud must have won 50 aerial duels tonight..
Much much better!
Some may say that WBA weren’t at the races, but I think that’s because at no time did we let them play. We still gave the ball away a little bit too much for my liking, but we were willing to work hard to get it back.
Great clean sheet too.
Shame about Poldi.
That’ll do nicely….a little luck…a lot more pressing and hunger and some players really showing more than we’ve seen in a while.
Let’s build on this eh? Keep the faith…cheers to all in the bar.
We did it, We won!!! So many wonderful plays by our lads, good stuff!
Up to 6th place, creeping up the ladder!
Good game, first penalty will be discussed, second one was stone cold. What pleases me that we did not really let WBA to do anything, thats how home games are to be played.
Jack – superior, best game he had since his return, OX and Gerv likewise ..hopefully getting to their best. Arteta well done with both of them. Giroud, worked tirelessly and deserved a goal in my opinon. Mert superb in defense for whole game, Woj – confidence embodied. I can pretty much name whole squad, cant tell about any player that he had weak game. *clap clap* onwards and upwards!
19 shots today…when did we last do that.
Better effort by far. I cant tell you how many times i was telling my kids that good things happen when you press the ball.
Good summary Eandy
How you think Gervinho had a good game is beyond me.
Being lively is not a criterion for playing well, it should be the standard! And that’s what he was. Lively.
His decision making is God awful.
Dunno if y’all noticed but in the second half, Jack played further up the pitch than Santi and it worked wonders.
As for WBA, they did absolutely nothing as we were VERY sound defensively. I wanna see BFG’s aerial duals stats because I don’t remember him winning so many headers in an Arsenal shirt.
Fox Soccer, wish I could boycott them. Just what Zico had talked about earlier, this blatant bias against Arsenal in the media.
Snir, when I watch this lovely match again, I will record the min by min on my buddy Gervinho. That way, you can have a second looksee
Snir – I think its down to the fact that he has been superawful in last few games and did not seem to put in much effort. Today he did, his decision making is nowhere near to perfect (he did, however, set up second goal for Jack nicely, that one should have gone in), but as long as he is going to put in shifts like this I am going to support him.
I didn’t want to say it because after all the crap lately I trhought it would be better to air on the positives, but I quietly agree with Snir regards Flipper.
Did Santi dive? Yes!
Am i happy that we won through a non-penalty? No…i’m fucking over the moon. What a spirited effort from the boys today!!!
Gervinho…much like supporting the club…is about having realistic expectations. He did play better today…not amazing by any means. This however is a fact…he delivered more decent crosses today than the whole of this season to date.
How are the kids NorCal?
Got called away from the game by my oldest sister to collect my youngest sister and go shopping with her as a substitute
, looks like it will be the last 25 minutes of the match being caught up on Arsenal Player tomorrow morning or whenever it comes out 
I don’t blame Gerviniho, I just don’t think he’s good enough.
I will agree he looked like he was trying harder though.
As for expectations, I’d expect Arsene to have a better player then him in one of his starting XI’s.
3 points!
I´ll buy a drink for the next 3 drinkers to celebrate
Good comfortable win. More of these in December please
One game at a time though. Next, Bradford City
Now I clearly have Gervinho’s passes etched in my mind. Just need the times to put down
I’m like a kid again, oh what a glorious feeling 
Heh, I’ll grab the first of those Dr C!
Life after Theo: I like it!
We looked like the old Arsenal today — lovely one-touch, incisive passing. Superb!
Hey Catalan, make mine a Long Island Ice Tea, please. In honor of where I was born
You got that right Matt, our passing much improved! Barca style
Gervinho did play better than recently, in fact I don’t remember him playing better since we lost against Chelsea. But that’s partly because he’s been rather abysmal recently.
Gervinho refrained from dribbling the ball out tonight, and he did partake in some dangerous moves. But like Snir mentioned, his crucial decision making is still not up to par. He had 3 good chances and failed to hit the target, his only shot on target coming from a decent strike just outside the area. But what frustrates me is when Santi played him out left in the first half, Giroud made a brilliant run and just needed a simple cut back from Gerv, who instead bafflingly chose to drill the ball to a crowded area.
I’m not trying to be negative after a good win, but Gerv does need to improve his decision making, because if he does this he can be a really good and decisive player for us. Still, 3 points, and I wouldn’t mind thinking he can have even better games for us still.
Gervinho didn’t let himself get beaten off the ball today. He has admitted in the past, that is one of his weaknesses. He made a concerted effort to look up and AROUND today. Love to see that from him.
This is why I don’t think he’s good enough.
When he crosses a ball across the area having looked up he gets praised.
When Santi or even Ox do that it’s expected. We would be more surprised if Ox or Santi DIDN’T create a dangerous chance, where we were surprised Gervinho did create and didn’t waste the opportunity.
That should not happen to an Arsenal player. Especially an AW player who has to be technically superior.
Then it falls to Gervinho to be once again the player that Arsene had scouted when he was at Lille. His aerial presence today was atrocious, should have played Giroud in and in all honesty missed when it was easier to score. But I only saw the 1st 65 minutes…
3 points, clean sheet, thank you.
2 Nd half especially we moved the ball much quicker and forward! Noticeable also how we pressed without the ball, much better and the least we can expect.
Helped massively today by a huge performance from LJW and a woeful West Brom.
What’s that Gervais? Oh, oh I see, uh huh. Alrighty then. Hmm, (clears throat) Just got off the mobile with my mate Gervinho. He wants you all to know he’s trying
Haven’t seen any of the game yet but from what I’m reading, expect, in the tradition of what I described above at 80 a frenzied media witch-hunt.
We’ve been here before with Eduardo.
If Santi dived, I’ll be disappointed but not surprised – simulation is sadly as much a part of the modern game as overpaid journeymen.
However, with the exception of Suarez and Eduardo before him, ask yourself what the following players have in common:
Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Michael Owen, Galen Bale, Steven Gerrard to name a few…..
Great 3 points and a clean sheet to boot – I’ll take that any day of the week, especially when you consider all the genuine penalties we’ve been refused these last few years!
U Reds.
Three points, neither beautiful nor ugly, but three points and a clean sheet none the less. At times we moved the ball with the old zip, but to my eye the key improvement was giving away the ball less.
and as Snir pointed out, Vermesacker looked solid like from the start of the season, I have been unusually calm during WBAs corners and FKs like I wasnt in a long time (actually since Liverpool away).
The moral conundrum of the Santi penalty was that the defender clearly had intent. He swung his leg at Santi with avengence whether he caught him or not.
He dived, it should have not been a penalty by any means, but as a biased supporter I am glad ref gave it. Imagine how pissed we would be if it happened against us (like with monkeyboy last season). Still, noone is going to take away my opinion that we deserved to win today. WBA showed nothing, we were the side in control, more direct, more attacking, more creative.
Contact on Santi
http://twitter.com/GoLamAFC/status/277479309722140675/photo/1
Bad angle Snir…check it out here http://arsenalist.com/video/?id=xvpi93
I’ve seen it countless times.
One of the angles does shoe contact but its way too minimal.
It was a dive, yes, but boy is this gonna be overblown.
He’s gonna become the new Suarez.
Just because he’s foreign.
I don’t remember anybody battering Phil Neville. They were laughing it off.
I wonder what would happen if Rooney, Cleverly, Milner, Young et al dive tomorrow.
Agreed that I have a feeling that he is going to be labeled as diver from now on.
*shoe=show…
Iphone :\
Just got off the mobile with my mate Gervinho. He wants you all to know he’s trying
Very.
so we’re not going to be awarded any penalty from now on, so what !? Have we got any protection from the refs before ? Have we suffered enough because of bad calls ?
No need to put yourself on a moral high ground when the battle is actually on the field. I don’t blame Santi, if he stayed on his feet and missed the chance fans would be moaning all over again. When that WBA player swung his left foot, it’s a penalty. The ref made the call.
Re Gerv,
Better today. But agree with Snir that it should be the norm that he gets his head up every time. Not just once every third game.
He and others could have/ should have scored from open play today.
WBA looked poor. They are not a top five team. They had their run but it is done.
Please let’s get some momentum and string together some wins!!
Hey Nonny
Our key players get a week’s rest, and by some strange miracle we play the best game we have in quite a while. And just by coincidence, Arsene said all they needed was one week without playing a game.
Maybe he had a point with this “fatigue” stuff after all.
Not that I expect any of his detractors to notice these “coincidences”, mind.
Right, now for some quick back-drinking and in the meanwhile drinks are on my tab as usual!
Chang’s Beer… isn’t that bad
Forgot who said it but a manager once said that poor penalty calls happen both ways, and tend to balance off in the long run. Based on this I’d say we are due a whole lot more fortuitous penalties. I see ManC and ManU get lucky penalties almost every other week anyways. Questionable decisions are nothing new, it’s just out of the ordinary if it happens to benefit us.
Gervinho deserves credit for trying his best all game – but he was mostly shit. However, the application he showed today has been lacking recently and if he keeps working as hard as today then maybe he’ll find a richer vein of form. Let’s at least hope that is the case.
Oh, and since Szczesny came back we have looked increasingly solid (Swansea game excepted, that was beyond all words in it’s shitness all over the pitch) in defense and after 2-0 today I was never really worried. We contained them very, very well and Vermaelen was back to focusing on his defending and him and Mertesacker were solid as a rock today.
And was it a dive? Of course it was. I said at the time that it was quite embarrassing, but then again others pointed out that we should have had about a million penalties in the past few seasons that we never got – and did anyone notice the massive shirt pull on Mertesacker on the corner we had just before half-time? That was a nailed-on penalty with the ref just yards behind with a clear view so I have no problems with the Cazorla penalty in hindsight.
Right, I have a freshly made cuppa in front of me so now I shall enjoy that and watch some telly and then MOTD in about an hour. My prediction is that Alan Hansen will say something idiotic about diving “forriners”…
A hell of a lot more than the players wear the canons on their chest,and we expect a hell of a lot more from the players that has been forthcoming of late.
Home from the match via the Tollie (cheers again Holic, TaBS, Snowy, AL, ExTha and Dubs) and a pub in Lewisham the name of which I have already forgotten.
Nice to look forward to MoTD for a change.
Heard there’s an issue with Santi on pen number 1 – the other end from our seats, so have no opinion except we deserve more thn one or two soft ones frankly.
Major props to zico for post 80. Fucking brilliant, pal. Just fucking brilliant.
and Trev, beforehand.
Hey bath, good to see you today, and the other Holics you mentioned above.
MoTD currently describing Santi’s penalty as embarrassing. While I don’t condone cheating, all branches of the media will certainly do a hatchet job on Santi so why don’t we leave them to it. We have more than enough genuine claims turned down so one dodgy one in our favour won’t hurt.
When Bale does that, it is apparantly just avoiding injury …….
I leave all degrees of match reports to those who are much better at them, but Jack Wilshere has to get a special mention by anyone who was at the game today.
What. A. Player.
Much of what he did today was worthy of Dennis Bergkamp – and that is after almost one and a half years without playing a match. There is no higher praise.
Nice one @80 zico.
The media attitude to Arsenal puzzles and sickens in equal measure.
Good calls Trev.
and Mikel covered every blade of grass,
Indeed bath.
No report from me but I do have a headline for today’s game -
“No Christmas Boos as Three Points go West for Brom”.
heh, says it all.
Guess I shouldn’t be sad that I missed MotD then :p
The clip on motd they showed of arteta santi and jack linking up was class.when they do click full on it’s going to be great for us.
Fuck’s sake, I read the longest drink ever, was just about to reply and then realised I was in the old drinks. So I won’t bother…
Ha Ha Nonny
Trev@284: Jack looked pretty good on the streams, too. Driving runs that move the play forward. Something we have missed since Diaby got crocked. I was surprised that AW left him on for the full game, but I am taking that to mean we have nearly got our Jack back.
Workmanlike at best,but a win is a win is a win.
We looked better today,because the opposition were totally defensive.
Unlike Swansea last week who pressed us all over the pitch,there wasn’t a great deal of attacking threat from West Brom.
So it wouldn’t be too difficult to show some improvement over last weeks poor effort.
The midweek rest definitely helped some of the players,and hopefully they will get another rest this week as well,with the lesser lights playing at Bradford.
So fatigue should not be a problem/excuse at Reading and Wigan on the next 2 Saturdays.
Any aspirations for the top 4,should motivate the players to get the 6 pts on offer.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
@296
How I saw it too. A somewhat better performance (more urgency and directness and better passing on the ball and more pressing off the ball) against a less pressing and less talented outfit equals a significantly better result (through the generosity of officialdom).
We need to build on the improved confidence that this will bring and take another step up in performance through each of the next two games to get closer to our natural condition.
*slides an incisive through ball into the right side of the penalty area.*
Ollie like lay off for the on-rushing………..
Full length dive to head it into the net.
Thank you fo the assist Uplympian….Ollie/DB10 -esque!
Brushes mud off shirt and knees.
Well in Bath….a touch of the old Arsenal class shoeing through. Had to rub eyes as I first read it as brushes mud off skirt
Right…finish packing and off to the airport for a week in sunny Lanzarote. Will go off with spring in my step after yesterday’s decent win. Not an outstanding performance but just what the doctor ordered to move on from where we were before the game.
Onwards & Upwards.
COYR
“Workmanlike”? “Somewhat better”? I think it was a lot more than that. With better finishing it would have been a rout, we created several great chances and missed at least three sitters (which in itself isn’t very good, but at least we created the chances this time) and even if they were defensive we had a lot more pace in our game than in recent weeks. We also worked hard to get the ball back when we lost it which was nice to see.
Agree with Trev about Jack, he was effin magnificent. The Ox was also a lot better yesterday than he has been in a while, let’s hope he is getting some of his confidence back.
Now play as many reserves as we can v Bradford while still giving us a decent chance of winning the game so Cazorla et al can get at much rest as possible for Reading away.
The reason we played better and created more is because Jackie was further up the pitch than Santi in the second half.
Santi was playing alongside Arteta (such a lightweight engine room!), and with Jack’s superior pressing ability, we often won the ball in their half and were off to the races with Jack, Gervinho, Giroud and Ox against their back four.
The reason we were having problems is because we sit deep this season and when we win possession we have a lot of ground to cover to create a chance. We need speedy players to play a sitting deep defending technique but we only have Theo as a speedy player.
This squad is more suited to the pressing high up the pitch technique.
Have a great trip Ups.
Agree Lars, our tempo was so much better!
Good call Snir – high pressing was effective yesterday whereas we sat off so much last week even in our own half. Your point re pace is also precise. We simply cannot break from deep these days so winning the ball back on the halfway line or further up the field is so much better for us.
Hope the exams went well and you and yours are safe.
“He’s not that sort of player,” says Arteta of Cazorla.
Oh dear, Mikel. When will you learn that ALL OF YOU are that sort of player. Winning becomes so important that honesty goes out the window – fast.
And saying that it makes up for all the ones that haven’t been given is meaningless. It’s still cheating and leaves a bad taste.
Re Gervinho:
Blame the player if he’s not trying hard enough.
But blame the manager if the player just isn’t good enough.
Having now seen the highlights on Player, it’s not as bad as I had been led to believe – Reid would have made more contact had he not been as slow as coastal erosion, and I can see why the ref would have seen it as a pen.
Interesting that someone above said that whatever happened yesterday, the result would not be the ref’s fault – should’ve told Steve Clarke
Snir
the reason we were better and created more, was mainly because the opposition were toothless and were happy to surrender the middle ground.
Without any pressure further up the pitch like Swansea last week,we got from back to front quicker.
The trick is to find a way to solve our lack of speed and movement when we are pressed higher up the pitch in future matches.
If and when Diaby gets back to first team fitness,it will be very interesting to see who misses out in midfield,because all 4 cannot play at once.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Has the barkeep been sighted in the Swindon area, or thereabouts – yet?
Right, i’m readying to go the local pond ( erm – pub) to break the ice and take the plunge for me regular post match-day Sunday swim; diving head-long into a livener compulsory (no known penalties apparently) – splosh! Up The Arse!