Nacho A Starter? Sorry, Couldn’t Resist
Feb 1st, 2013 by 'holic
Let’s start with the good news. Welcome, Nacho Monreal. I have been following his progress since around, let me see, yes, eleven last night. I cannot tell you anything you won’t have read elsewhere, but it looks as though our surprise signing is the perfect solution to what obviously became our greatest weakness when Kieran Gibbs limped off on Wednesday night. With the skipper a doubt for the weekend I hope the new boy is prepared to start against Stoke. Welcome to the Premier League old son.
It will not surprise you I was hoping we might have already lined up a couple of other players before rushing through a last-minute deal for the Malaga left-back. I have to record I am disappointed because otherwise people forget that part when I go on to say that we have what we have now until the end of the season, and we have to get behind them. As we demonstrated last season, the support has a big part to play in lifting a side with fragile confidence over the finishing line.
I have no doubt that support will be forthcoming against Tony Pulis and his charges. Let’s face it, as long as Shawcross is a participant in the fixture the tensions between followers of the two clubs will remain in the red zone. Hopefully the added positivity from the seats will lift the players out of their tendency to nervy starts of late. As we have only three opportunities in February to close the gap on those currently ahead of us it goes without saying that the three points tomorrow are vital.
If the skipper doesn’t make it then the back five will pick itself. Ahead of them I hope we demonstrate an enthusiasm for getting the ball forward with pace and intent from the first whistle. As we are showing in most second halves of late our best form of defence is attack. Under normal circumstances I would have expected the in-form Aaron Ramsey to be retained despite the return to fitness of Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard may get the nod however, on the basis that he could offer a comforting voice ahead of Monreal.
The other decision in the midfield trio could involve the selection of Abou Diaby, purely for his physical presence against a side who will be happy to try and break up play at every opportunity. The ‘holic pound is influenced by the desire to see Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott maintain their impressive recent form in front of goal. I’m on 3-1 to the Arsenal, and you’ll get odds of 23/2 if you follow that tip at Gunners Gaming. Don’t forget you still get in the draw for a hospitality package for four against Aston Villa if you wager ten pounds with them, subject to conditions. The link is above, thanks.
So there we are. Quite a few familiar faces are expected at the pub before and after the match tomorrow, so a good day beckons. Let’s just pray we are not discussing a horror injury to one of the strikers after the match tomorrow, for the opportunity to strike a late deal has passed until the summer. Everything is being crossed here.
Have a good one ‘holics.
391 Responses to “Nacho A Starter? Sorry, Couldn’t Resist”
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1?
Kaboom!
Oskar, ffs !
Naacho marely paper over crackers
Heh, Puntitle.
Well in Dog.
I would put my money on the score not being 3-1 now
Fine preview ‘H.
Think Arteta should get the nod if he’s fit. Diaby and Ramsey to shake things up from the bench if required.
Hate bloomin’ Stoke and all they stand for, especially that detestable runt of a Manager of theirs.
Can’t see them scoring, so I’m going 3-0 to the Good Guys.
What I would put my money on though is on ‘holic being in the pub at opening time :p
No faith Ollie?
I have had a back-up punt on 4-1 too.
I fear they may score TaBS when Nacho is stretchered off while Colin Lewin carries his severed leg alongside. This is Stoke, you know.
Nice one Guv’.
I wouldn’t be too adverse to seeing Santi rested for this one, I think a midfield three of Arteta and Ramsey behind LJW might be quite tasty, but given previous history it will probably be Aaron who makes way.
Jenks for Sagna may also of been an option, but AW will probably opt for experience as Nacho makes his first dip into the PL.
i think Arsenal should relax in the first half by not giving anything away and also keeping the score level and go gung hoe in the second. if we start sharp from the beginning, there are 2 things that will affect us.
1. we will get tired for the last 20 minutes of the game and the last season is evident that many teams have come from behind against us just cuz we take the foot off the padal cuz we dont have much energy left at the end.
secondly, the occurrence of injury in tiredness will be even more detrimental to the team.
remember that after giving so much against Liverpool it is evident that we should conserve our energy so we can bombard their goal in the second half. it will also save us our stomach twisting moments, when opposition attacks.
Good game to rest Jack. He could use a rest and the Storcs would be intent on hacking him all game.
Arteta Ramsey Diaby ( Santi) would be a good mix. Jack on the bench to start.
I will go with 2-0. Theo and Abou?
I have lost faith in the ‘holicpound
*strikes 4-1 out of the possible scores to bet on too* :p
Fair point ‘H. Sadly it’s one I can’t argue with.
As for breaking legs, let’s not forget the ‘no action on the Glenn Whelan’ tackle dating not even a week back.
We’ll need a better ref than Howard Webb…., who’ll have to not be afraid to give early cards if deserved.
Muhammad, I seem to remember a record number of come-from-behind victories at some point last season with very late goals. I’m confused :s
Chris Foy Ollie.
As Tim Stilman remarked, he either quite likes Stoke or really hates the LWC’s.
Let’s hope it’s the latter.
Heh @ tabs, last comment on previous.
Homer, Trev and I, missed the cut off and posted in oblivion.
For the record, I agree with you qua AA, Trev.
Let’s hope indeed, tabs.
Right, I’ll pack it in for tonight, see some of you tomorrow.
Steve T, if you pass by, I hope you got my e-mail this afternoon.
Let me know (though I possibly won’t check that e-mail address until Sunday).
In a perverse sort of way it was probably best that Kieran Gibbs got injured on Wednesday and not after the deadline. Sadly the lad has a poor injury record and is a slow healer as the worsening prognosis shows.
Stoke at home,is a very fierce baptism fir Nacho.Playing the Orcs a week after playing Barca is going from the crude and repulsive to the sublime.
‘Holic is right to stress the need for unconditional support for the team. I am old enough to remember the death throes of the Billy Wright era and the poisonous atmosphere in the ground had a huge effect on the performance of the team. We are still plenty good enough to claim 4th.Whether that is ( or should be ) the summit of our ambitions is a debate for other times.
COYG!
I have to say after sleeping on it and reading an excellent post on North London is Red, I am a bit more ok with things squad wise. We are still a little light but given what was available in Jan, I am not sure what business we could have done.
For me, last summer was the time and the boss and Ivan failed! But I am well over that now!
Tomorrows game will be comparatively boring, a comfortable 3 points with no dramas and a fine debut from our cheesy Quaver: 2 nil to the football team… And unerring support from the home faithful.
Yes, welcome Nacho. Shame about Gibbs injury but unfortunately he has a history of picking up injuries. However, Nacho should provide decent competition and experience that Gibbs will benefit from. Win-win situation. We could do with the same in the goalkeeping position too.
Andrew
You mean like Clichy and a certain dutchman get injuries?
Stoke have won just 1 of their past 21 away games in the league.
They also have the 2nd lowest total of away goals scored,only 8,and
have conceded 15 goals in their last 5 league games.
Make of that what you will.
Another interesting stat,
Only 1 win in the league since Arteta got injured.
Cannot help thinking the goals conceded against City/Chelsea and Liverpool,might have been avoided if he had been fit.
A bit of protection for the back 4 from an intelligent experienced professional,and who knows,maybe we wouldn’t be having this on going inquest into our defensive issues.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
Stoke are fucking shit. We’re gonna tear them a new one. Fact.
Clive,
I totally agree about Arteta. He is always coaching on the field and provides a ready outlet for them. He keeps thing calm and composed at the back. Not a classic DM, but he organizes and keeps things ticking. Plays to his strengths.
Esso knows.
Even though Stoke have a low away goal tally, they’ll probably score from one of their set-pieces. I reckon it’ll be 4-1 to the Arsenal.
Evening Norcal
trust you and your family are all well.
I must admit i do think the defence take a lot of stick, most of it unwarranted.
It is a team game after all,and i defy any back 4 at any Club,to not struggle without adequate protection in front of them.
Esso,
The Storcs are shit. But they will come to town and play 10 men behind the ball and hack and kick us as much as they can a hope for a set piece goal so that they get a draw. Then the dwarf king can saddle up his orcs and ride home and tell his supporters that he played the mighty Arsenal toe to hoof and got a result.
We better keep our composure because they will do all they can to test it.
ARSENAL
Cheers.
Top post H.
We’ll be fine.
We might have only one true CF, but how many does Dortmund have? One.
It can work.
Monreal’s signing has a trickle down effect. He can play LB with Gibbo on the wing and Poldi up front if Giroud and Theo are injured.
As for next season, I don’t think we’ll bid for Villa. I do think we’ll get our version of Chicharito in Joel Campbell who’s doing fantastically well in Betis.
Like Holic said, we have only three league games this month and we have to take advantage of them as our opponents will most probably drop points.
Spurs play WBA (A), Newcastle (H), and WHU (A).
Chelsea play Newcastle (A), Wigan (H), and City (A).
We have a golden opportunity to bridge this gap.
Let’s start by beating those orcs.
The ‘holic pound is looking well placed, I’m thinking, praying and hoping if not betting.
Walcott to score his 19th and 20th goals of the season and Nacho to squirt his nachos in Pulis’ ugly face to boot.
How on Earth did we finish third last season without Giroud, Cazorla or Podolski? Perhaps it just shows how good RVP actually was, and annoyingly still is.
Hmm..actually ..I would not mind if Jack would be rested (highly unlikely in his current form but still) that the midfield trio of Arteta, Rosicky and Santi finally materialised, I have been dying since the start of the season to see these three playing together
And without Wilshere I should add
Evening Clive, sir.
You are indeed right that it is a team game and the way I see it mistakes are made all over the field. But mistakes at the back are more costly then anywhere else on the field and our current back 4/5 have the tendency to make big whoping mistakes, Slips, airkicks, stumbles and other boo boos of keystone proportions must be eradicated asap.
We also need to work on our organisational and communication skills at the back especially from set pieces and crosses where we look sometimes totaly at sea.
I do agree that Arteta coming back can only be a good thing.
Snir,
Just for completeness and because I think they are true competition for top 4.
Everton play (H) Villa, (A) united, (A) Norwich.
Cheers.
Btw enjoyed the Snir Show yesterday.
In other news, I was glad to see the people at WBA stuck to their guns and didn’t let a player take the piss, suspending him is a good move too, that should sort him out.
Odd n whingy by name………..
Nice preview holic. An engagement in west London watching the England egg chasers giving the jocks a good shoeing prevents me from attending tomorrow. I will be there very much in spirit. Ollie will take my place in block 4 and I am sure he will enjoy it.
5-1 to the mighty Gunners. Let’s be honest, we have no chance of keeping a clean sheet?
Ollie. Got your e mail. All sounds very good to me. Enjoy the day.
Nice one, Holic. I like the sound of your back-up bet at 4-1 with an Ollie G hat-trick to take him to 16 Georgia Peaches.
Snir – Very nice mention on Joel Campbell at Betis.
Steve T chasing eggs out wide? Who’d have guessed it?
We may see more rugby than you, Steve
Esso is most definitely the man. Was made up to see you in Brighton, mate.
Thanks for those two excellent and thought provoking posts BtM.
Arsenal under AW has a recent history of making “bad” history. Stoke, who carried the best defensive record in the 1st half of the season has conceded goal at a record pace in the new annum.
Based on us making negative history this should be a 0-0 draw.
What odds can I get on that scoreline?
Holic. When I was offered the ticket I did have a little chuckle at the irony of missing the Stoke game to go and watch rugby.
BTM. Train leaves Epping at 0930hrs. Curry House in Theydon booked for 2230hrs. It’s going to be a long long day.
Up the Gunners.
Carib,
10-1 on gunners gaming, but why so negative? I like the 100:1 on a 6-1 score!
Nah, 2-0. Theo and Abou.
43Caribkid
What odds can I get on that scoreline?
Click on the banner above, GunnersGaming will sort you out.
Thanks for the preview, goonerholic
Never seen Nacho, bt I read a description of him which made him sound just like Bacary Sagna.
@ 29 Goonersince54
Excellent point.
***
Incidentally, without Arteta, played 6, won three, lost 2, drawn 1
Without Arteta but with Ramsey starting in that position, played 3, won 2, drawn 1. In all comps.
What? When did Orcs invade Stoke Newington? Orcs out.
H2H knows
Oh yeah.
Welcome Nacho!!
Looking forward to watching the lad.
Played ‘h and ttg (and Arsenal in advance).
UReDS!
I’m stunned we didn’t add to the squad in areas we’ve all debated, however I’m not surpised.
The more I think about our situation the more I’m of the opinion Arsene will slip away at the end of next season, lets just hope we don’t slip away by then either. The squad is imbalanced and although we’re gelling going forward we simply cannot defend.
How can anyone be so sure stoke won’t score tomorrow?
Anyway I shall be in the pub shouting at the screen for an Arsenal victory!
“I hope we demonstrate an enthusiasm for getting the ball forward with pace and intent from the first whistle” – Holic.
————————————————————————–
Hear hear. It has been my observation that nine times out of ten we go backwards from the (first) kick-off, quite often as far back as the keeper. All too often this ends with a mistake in our half giving them the ball, or with the keeper kicking directly to them near half-way. On the rare occasions we try and go forward with intent from the (first) kick-off I see it as a reassuring indication of a positive attitude on the day.
I always believed AW’s interest in Villa was solely as cover for Theo in the event he didn’t sign, so no surprise here that the speculation came to nothing. Unlike many here I am more than happy with our current strike force and don’t believe we need another striker. The front three are beginning to gel nicely, Santi is chipping in from behind, and Rambo, TV and Arteta have all shown ability to help out in the past.
And then there’s the stats. At this point last season (24 games) we’d scored 46 goals. That was WITH RvP. This year, without him, we have scored 48.
And it gets better. This time last year, with Song at DMF, we had conceded 34 goals. This year, for all our comedy defence routines, the figure is 29. And to top it of, last year we were 10 points behind the neighbours at this point. This year it’s 4.
I’m confident things can only get better from here. The attack force is coming good, and the defence? Well, at best it can’t get worse!
I see a turning point tomorrow. 4-0.
Oskar
Geoff.
Faiir questions.
im not a professional football manager with decades of experience and titles to my name – much as id like to think and fantasize otherwise.
Im prepared to give AW the benefit of the doubt.
Like the holic writes. We got whats we got until summer.
Lets get behind them.
Well – he didnt write it like that but … ya know.
Cheers sir. Keep the faith.
Evening all! Esso, I’m buying you dinner and drinks all night. Your sweet whispers woo me.
Also, the mention of resting Santi would be an excellent idea. He looks to need a rest, and St*ke are just the team that could push him over the edge. I think Ramsey, Jack, and Arteta may get the nod, unclear if Diaby is ready physically.
I think tomorrow we take their heads- 4 nil and they’re gone.
I fear Stoke have a special bus they park in their hearts when they come to us. A hard fought 2-1.
I don’t see any ‘resting’ this month. We need to win every game, and with the depth of a puddle that means putting the best, fittest XI we have into the field every time.
Oskar
Thank you Mr. Holic. Top nacho preview as always!
Oskar @53, I like your numbers, cheers.
Surely we are due for 1 – nil to the arse now?!
OtD@58: you are not wrong there. We are fast approaching the all or nothing point of the season.
Cheers, Steve T @39, great man.
And heh at holic 41!:D
Never seen Nacho, bt I read a description of him which made him sound just like Bacary Sagna.
FunG, did someone nick your glasses? I have seen pictures of Nacho, looks nothing like Sagna to me
Welcome Nacho Man Randy Savage!
*What? No one used to watch wrestling*
Is zico away on business? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-21292873
Heh, ‘holic!
Right, off to the station. I believe ‘holic’s train is leaving in one minute
Oh no, sorry, he’s an hour behind of course :p
Lets go for 69 I say !
Morning Holcs head is heavy too much Wisniowka last night!
TAXI!
Laters mates…
Well I’ll be doing my usual saturday stint in the pub to watch the match.
With a smathering of beamish to fortify the soul.
And there’s two great Rugby matches too….. always a joy to hear the “Flower” being sung..!
Off to the pub.
Up the Arse.
Dennis bless the relative calm. Here’s to the storm of self-congratulation after we smash dem Orcs.
COYG.
Have fun holics!
Have fun holics!
@ Ollie
I said: “I read a description of him which made him sound just like Bacary Sagna.”
No spectacles required.
@ 53 Oskar
Interesting!
@ Ollie
description of him as a player.
Toss the nachos to the Christians and let the chips fall where they may.
Is there any other option but Nacho to play at left back? I can’t believe Wenger would even consider playing Santos and then say Nacho’s not ready.
I personally can’t take another 90 minutes of watching that liability ambling around trying to trick his way past 3 attackers on the edge of our box!
When it comes to the crunch I think Nacho will be most satisfying.
I’m glad we’ve dipped into the market like this.
What will we do when the chips are down??
I know, I’m on fire, and not a cheesy pun in sight!
Nachos and cheese being infinitely inferior to nachos and salsa. Salsa, like Santos, spices things up but Nacho, as if sitting on the other end of the see-saw, shall be expected to calm things down.
Re: ‘holic @64. This sparks visions of Zico returning from his business trip, spotting his car on an island of old asphalt amid the new asphalt, and rushing over to the construction crew lifting up his shirt to reveal the writing on his undershirt, “Why Is It Always Me?”
Speaking of Balotelli, I imagine many a Scotsman has had the same reaction to life in England …
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21303506
Where to find a good piece of Haggis south of the border, etc.
Stoke might get one, they might not, but I really think we’ll see our forward line click today.
Looks like we will be starting with our (according to me) best defensive unit of Sir Szcz, Kos and Merte. Kos has made a few rash mistakes the last couple of months but I still rate him highly, as do I Mertesacker, who I believe is a brilliant defender, albeit with a few flaws. Mertesacker has, for me, been one of our best buys in a long time. I would go for Jenks today, he has been really good at stopping players one-on-one and will not bend over when the Stoke muscle-men comes a-calling. On the left we’ll probably have a new player but he should have both skill and experience enough to get through a game against Stoke.
Our best forward-line will start the game, and they will get goals.
Midfield is a bit up in the air, but any combination out of Arteta, Ramsey, Diaby and Wilsh will be combative and skillful enough as well.
Actually, when looking through the team it really looks like we will have some hard men of our own out there. Well, at least compared to what we usually field nowadays.
So I feel comfortable going into this fixture. The boys in red will be up for the fight, we probably won’t be starting with people afraid of fighting for the 50-50′s and as long as we do that, our technique is superior enough to win this game.
4-0.
Scez, sagna, BFG, Kozzer, Nacho, Arteta, Diaby, Jack, Ox, HFB, Theooooo
Like the look of that line up. Plenty of talent on the bench if we need it and key players rested.
N7
Absolutely. Looks really good, and as I tried to say earlier, also very combative. That team will fight for it.
Oskar @ 53 Have you taken BtM’s course on How to write From The Sunny Side? Really excellent upbeat stuff. More goals from two players who have never played in this league is inspiring.
Afternoon everyone:) the team looks good and lot of possible impact from bench in form of Santi, Poldi and TR. Oh and here are the streams
http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=183950&part=sports
Hangover carried on COME ON ARSENALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
If anyoneis after a stream let me know I’ma pirate bay
Just for today
well for the game 
Good luck to our lads ! Can’t wait to see Nacho play
Come on you beauty!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice hustle from Theo.
http://www.coolsport.tv/stream7.html
Oh Theo, great set-up…
Loved that back heel flick from OG.
Are we playing at home?
Great stuff from Diaby and Bac!
arsabeatbarca
Great stuff but no goal!
Am i watching a different game?
We do not really have the player that drives us forward. Jack does, for a bit, but Diaby doesn’t as much as he usually does. Cazorla isn’t as dangerous in the box as I would like, because he often comes short, but when he got the ball in midfield at least he often does his man or passes forward. Not saying we are playing badly and it’s too early for a change but at the moment it is a bit flat. Cazorla or Poldi could help that. Hopefully we are just playing it a bit safe, not letting any goals in, to completely crush them in second half, as is our way nowadays.
Toby
Correct!
Hey Arthur, We are sooooo much better then them, the crowd needs to pour on their lovin though!
Again, we are playing well, I harbour no ill feelings towards the team for the effort so far, but a bit more directness would be nice. But as long as we keep playing like this we’ll get a goal or two.
This is Stoke and we should punish them sorry win score well at least try………
Why the fuck are we playing players who are not regulars??????
Rant over
AOC a bit rusty, hasn’t had a run of games…
COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!
More like it from the OX!
Team selection is abysmal it has to be said I thought it’s all about keeping it firm unless we go down!
Please tell me to shut the hell up!
Don’t think the team selection is that bad. Had Stoke actually gone in for this game as they usually do, with some feist, this team would have responded well I think. Problem is now that Stoke seems to be content with just parking the buss and not even tackling, it feels a bit void of creativity and directness. Point being, in a more combative game, I think we would stand our ground and edge them on skill, but now it feels like a training game, and then we could need a little bit of something else to break them down.
Diaby needs some time Reserves!
C’mon ref! arteta didn’t make contact…screw the rules
Point being – Team selection feels like good thinking, it just didn’t match up with how I thought Stoke would be playing. As long as we tweak it, I don’t mind, cause I believe it was a good idea to start out like this.
Heh, Arthur, how are you today, mate? Have a drink! We’ll be fine.
COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!! COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!! COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!
COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!
Toby, spot on. This type of approach from our opponents is ever so hard to break through
Wisniowka and me talking COME ON ARSENAL!
I tend to disagree! Sorry team selection is bad this is our 4th spot trophy!
not a single shot on goal yet so it needs an improvement!
great by Theo..poor delivery though.
Hey all. Damn, I thought that was the one to open things up.
Oh OX, nearly…
Two now
COME ON ARSENAl!
Diaby needs playing time come on
There’s Diaby! Wondered where he’d went…
I think OG should have just taken the shot instead of passing it there.
I absolutely agree that the team we have out there at the moment doesn’t feel like the best team to break down an opponent with the tactics Stoke are using today. But that we didn’t know before the game. But yes, we might well get better with a change or two. But hey, not letting any goals in yet at least!
COME ON YOU REDS!!!
what is it going to take today?
COME ON LADS!
Keep it up lads. OX is trying to put one in, by golly!
There’s a force field right around the mouth of the goal I gather.
AtG
He has to rest players at some point. If we can win this with the first XI then we get a fresher Cazorla next time round.
I’ve no problem with that selection. He can always bring them on second half.
Speaking of which, looking forward to Mecha-Arsenal turning up after the break.
Stuck at home watching this on a stream. Gutted not to be there.
Arteta and Diaby both sitting back a bit. Don’t know if this is the strategy, but can’t help but feel a little more attack through the midfield might create some openings.
fuck you ref, that was a foul…walking pace from us though..need bit more urgency
Buch of fucking SHREkkkkkkkksssssss
How does Whelan get away with that foul on Jack!
God what is the fucking point of Stoke when they are not even tackling hard and trying to break peoples legs? They are so bland.
N7
I’m patient my friend a big Wisniowka for you as well!
I’m always nervous! When the Arse play sorry!
Dammit Begovic …let one in finally
Again, great stuff from Jack to OX.
No worries dude, I think we’re all on edge. Just need to grab the first and then we can fuck this lot sideways with our trade mark second half blitzkrieg.
Barcodes are one up!
Strong keeping… this game will be tight. First goal will be very influential, hope it’s us soon!
N7 Agreed!
Arthur, no apologizes! Everyone’s nervy. COME ON ARSENAL!
Get in there Newcastle!
Tough man Nacho!
Ohhh, don’t like to see anyone get hurt, really
Stoke. Northern softies.
Stitch that, caveman
Bloody f*ing head thumping orcs
Come on Nacho tougher than the English sausage!
153, heh!
You fellas are making me giggle, stop it!
Heh at everyone
I hope Bouldy is mixing up the usual batch of half time amphetamine.
And Rambo is taking the half time team talk.
Rumours say Ba has a broken nose. A win here and we’ll pass Chelsea in a week or two.
I bet Poldi will be the first sub, for Ox. He’s doing his best, but we need someone else on the pitch with some clinical finishing. (By someone else I don’t mean other than Ox but one more… and it will probably take the Ox off.)
any good stream please ?
Sorry guys not winning yet therefore not good enough against those fucking Orcs!
N7@159…
sm
Above! its working for me!
Man, a goal would go down nicely right now…
Whats was that Spanish doctors name N7?
Ah, but Arthur, as we have often realised to our demise – the important thing is winning after 90 minutes, not after 45 or for that matter 89.
Did I hear anybody say winning ’89?! Ah. Let’s all think about that for a while. Ah. The antidote to Boring Boring Stoke.
Half time stats for BSIF
Shots BC 8 BSIF 1
got to love it!
ta atg
TOBY
I get you dont get me wrong but this is Arsenal
Usual from the storcs. 10 behind the ball all 25 yards from goal. We need to stretch them wide if they are going to all sit back. Stretch, pass and move. The middle is not going to work.
Heh, I know mate, just trying to calm myself! But I must say it looks quite good. With our recent second half performances in mind, a good bunch of players on the bench and a few balls saved off the line from close range already it looks good. We have handled our own set pieces well this far, and our open play feels like its getting better by the minute.
I really DO believe we will be fine.
So what’s our strategy for the 2nd half. Try more shots from distance maybe?
Ok NorCal, didn’t see you. Sounds like a good idea.
Just trying to stay positive here lads come on COME ON ARSENAL!
Arthur and N7- Maybe Lance Armstrong will take Brady’s job… produce some powerful sprinters with lots of stamina
For once we’ve had a few shots from distance already. Sure, it will help getting the streched, but overall, I’d say just say turn up the tempo, turn up the heat.
I’m perfectly calm.
Now where did I leave that opened bottle of wine…
I’m deflated enough
COME ON ARSENALLLLLLLLLLLLL
We need to shoot outside the box not trying to play it through!
They are just advertising Jusseppe pizza on Polish TV bastardos!
Over all the lads look good. Bac having a decent game. Want Nacho to be included more, for sure
Theo and OX, keep up the pressure !
Definitely agree about movement, not sure I agree the middle wouldn’t open if there was a lot more short movement in the final third and quick passing. We haven’t even drawn a foul near the top of the box! (I know, ref should have given two, but we should be pressuring that area more in my mind.) Maybe Santi for Diaby eventually to brighten that up.
Come on Holics………….
Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!Come on Arsenal!
COME ON YOU REDS!
Ditto @ 185
arsabeatbarca
Nacho looks like healthy alternative!
Agree Arthur
Wish we all could be there and do a pitch invasion 
Good pressure!
Ha!
Arthur. If everyone got behind the club like you do, just imagine where we could be. Top of the pops, for sure!!
Stream is gone whats happening?
behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory
Thats the idea just emotional!
Ah, ref found his whistle. See if it slips from his mouth closer to the box…
fucking bus parkers…shame…come ooon!
AH!!!!! THAT WAS CLOSE! COYG!!!
Nacho can cross come on Arsenal!
goal, anyone?
Everyone singing Santi’s name.. brilliant.
COYG
ooo giroooud …getting close
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Og. Great stuff though.
CAAAAAAMOOOONNN! Close.
OG is fucking awesome when it comes to those little layoffs and great passes in the penalty area. Too bad he couldn’t finish it. Great move.
Good hold on by Woj!
still walking pace-ish though ..I feel we need to step up a bit and we will win comfortably ..just put that small bit of effort more!
Agree Toby. His one twos in the box are stunning. We gotta shoot on frame a hell of lot more though in the next 10 minutes.
We just cant fucking squeeze em!
Good pressing keep it up. The game is picking up. Getting more stretched. Lets take advantage!
I hear you Eandy. Stoke don’t require thoughtfulness, they need to be blazed on.
Also mr. Nacho is having awesome debut from what I have seen so far.
Agree Andy, just want to see more from him!
Get those crosses in we CANNOT get em through the middle!
Never thought I’d say this, but amongst the Orcs, Crouch looks like a touch of skill.
Villa up 3-1 on Everton.
Cuntski 1-1 Newcastle.
Come on Arsenal!
Monreal looks like a tougher, skinnier James Dean.
We are not playing well
Pires, Peter has a good record against us
will the ref just let them kick us up?
Poldi and Santi on
Cuntski 2:1
3rd time Theo has taken a knock. Poldi to come on.
Arsenal should wear f’ing helmets against Stoke. With spikes. I have some Raiders fans friends that we could borrow some from!
We have to win this
Lets go Poldi and Santi!
abb, I know. Willful blind spot of mine…
Let’s do subs now. Waiting til the 80th I fear will be way too late.
Fecking ref working for Stoke!
Alrighty, game on!!
Hey pires. Gosh, we just need to get one in, please lord!
This is ref is not calling the game equally.
Whelan again, the little toad!
First card could have been 45 minutes ago…
COME ON ARSENAL!! COME ON ARSENAL!! COME ON ARSENAL!!
cuntski 2:2
Newcastle back on track. 2-2. Which I incidentally got money on.
20 min left
Beeb commentary going on and on about Stokes defensive capabilities …blah ….few mins more and I am going to shut sound off
Not to shame the boy, but those early chances to Ox not being finished has changed this game. One goal early, and this would all look different.
have, not has, sorry.
I’d rather play City, then Stoke
Fuck off, Shawcross. Baby orc should’ve had yellow ages ago.
COME ON POLDI!!!!
POLDIIIIIIIIIII
Thank you Ref. I’m gonna kiss you
What the fuck was that about?
At last ref. At last. You actually got a call right!
And Poldi too xoxo
ONE GOOD DECISION!!! THERE’S ONLY ONE GOOD DECISION!
oh Santi santi close!
God bless you Santi, great run!
Ouch……………disbelief!
Kos wins us a corner!
Santi looks up for it, good to see again. And Monreal looks like a solid addition.
Oh, good stuff from Nacho too!
Nice one, Pires, nice one.
Bye, PEETAH.
That cunt MO!
71% possession.
One more, Arsenal. One more.
Shawcunt!
FUCK YOU SHAWCROSS!
OUCH! that had to hurt
Jeez, poor Kos
Should have been a RED!
Studs up. Of course. Glad he didn’t mean it, though.
Fellas, don’t back off now!
Oh! Should have looked left!
Oh Aaron, god protect you!
CUNSTKI 2:3
Yeeeeeeeeeeee
He did it with love, of course, he certainly is not that type of player…
Fight! Pitch invasion palese by any holics there
Fucking joke
Heh, too bad Everton got one as well now. 3-3 v Villa.
I LOVE KOS!
Well done, all. Have a good one!
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!
Fucking orks
We did it fellas, we beat the thugs! Great footie by us. We played the game in which nature intended
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA
Fucking roller coaster!
nil goals conceded, one goal scored, two points taken on Everton, three points taken on Chelsea. Fourmidable result.
Huge day for us! Get in lads!
Everton drop home points and Chelsea back in our sites and showing their usual lack of bottle.
Love it!
Cunstki lost!!!!!!!!
Yyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Hate those cunts too!!!!!!!!!!
One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! One nil to the Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!! `
|N7 Love it mate can I kiss you please? Come on just a cheeky one!
ohhhhhhhhhh, good to hear all those marvy results! May I just say, I enjoyed the company today
Thanks fellas, it was fun!
Extra credits to Arthur today. You’ve been absolutely immense when it comes to showing passion. Personally, I wasn’t as negative as you were after 30 minutes, but hey, you really do wear your heart on the sleeve. Exemplary.
That’s just music to my ears.
Justice is done, f#ck off back into your holes in the ground knuckle-draggers. Come back when you’ve evolved beyond the level of prehistoric swamp slime.
C%nt$.
Nice.
Everyone enjoy their weekends. Keep a smile on your face.
Monreal had a solid debut.
Its like daggers to my heart! When we dont win all kind of emotions are going through me FUCK it we did it!
ONE NIL TO THE ARSENAL!
Thanks Toby I do try!
Funny enough when I came to the UK in 1991 I was already in love with the Arse now make sure you hide your booty holes hahahahaahha
Love it! 1-0
Oh and Nachos is crisp on the ball
Harsha
Oh Arthur… 
Nite everyone.
COME ON LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!
arsabeatbarca
DEFLATED!
Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!Arsenal Arsenal!!!!!!!!!!!
nachos it is then pizza sucks arse!
Monreal with a very good debut.
Here it is: Aresne KNOWS.
Chers all.
Boom
Great evening. Thinking about where to get drunk. One of the places in question has promised to provide free beer the entire evening. Might well try it out.
Lurky olivie sure does lurk.
Toby I’m sure it aint gonna help but a Wodka is the nest for those sort of occasions sod the beer lets go for teh strong stuff!
gotta love you and leave you!
have fun Holics tonight and CELEBRATE!
Fair enough Arthur. Problem with places giving away free beer is that they usually are quite stiff. The solution being going there early, drink as many as you can, get kicked out, go someplace with a nicer vibe. At the moment, that is my plan.
Toby – “might”?
Ha.
Finally we thrashed the Storc back to where they belong.
It was good to see smiles on Wenger’s face after that final whistle. And good news everton and chelsea dropped points, so yeah happy day
Same here Tobi, going out to get really drunk.
Arthur do you make rakija in Poland or just wisniowka?
Well, that WAS sweet.
Always nice to beat Stoke.
Shawcross showed he has learnt absolutely nothing from his challenge on Ramsey and one can only presume he just doesn’t care how many he injures or how he does it. Total neanderthal.
Loved the “1-0 to the football team” near the end.
Did you notice the warm handshake between the managers at the end? Unprecedented. Think that AW actually touched that c**t.
The nil was good to have too – been a while.
Yes, Monreal looked comfortable but he’ll get stiffer tests than today – he spent 70% of the game in Stoke’s half.
Sunderland next – another bunch of bus parkers but maybe them being at home will open things up a bit.
Theo looking very up for it since he “signed da ting”. Can’t imagine what I’ve been complaining about
Always like michael owen.
But how about the way Jack got up inhis face!?
Loved that.
Jack Wilshire is The MAN.
1-0. That’s a scoreline that yields three points, by the way.
One nil, of course!
Homer knows.
Toby dont be shy just help yourself!
So little comments comeon guys make an effort please!
Heh, not to PIous a comment at 3.14, Arthur.
I’ll get my coat.
*Too
Facts:
1. Nacho played 90 minutes at left back.
2. We conceded 0 goals.
Case closed.
Second case opened.
Santos spotted driving 160 mph on the motorway while swigging a bottle of Wisnioska.
Nacho did well. Not too fancy today, but that was kind of what we needed. He really looks a good player though, which is not in any way a surprise given his pedigree, and he might well dare to be a bit more adventurous as time passes. I’m happy with him so far.
Also, great to see the crowd cheer him on early on.
Nacho got his p’s and q’s right today but I think he may be missing a “t” and would suggest he begin by looking for it in Montreal.
For a while now I’ve been thinking the real problem is that we are missing a proper number 17 in the team. Having just seen the game highlights, it appears that we now have one in Nacho. Memories of Alex Song fading into the distance ….
Actually, I’ve never heard the phrase “proper number 17″ before so I thought it was high time.
@320
Bevin is a proper number 17. Alas, once again, we missed out.
A great day….turns out that the recumbent cycles in my gym are equipped for some reason with premium channel Fox Soccer Plus. 100 minutes of cardio and watch the entire match in HD with no commentary, and 1-0 to the Arsenal. Win-win!
On the match:
Nacho looks very assured, which is all you could ask of a defender.
A clean sheet, and for once clean undershorts as the match played out; never felt a threat, no coronary moments….
If this side could put shots on frame with the frequency it puts crosses on opponents to block, we’d really have something….
Successful transfer window? Not too bad from my perspective. Top 4 certainly attainable, and top 3 if we can get any kind of a surge going. Walcott, Podolski and Giroud all with 20 goals?
8ball: I fear that I can’t agree with you about 3rd place.
As things stand, we can reach 5th by our own efforts – beat Everton head-to-head and then match their results.
We can almost do the same for 4th by beating the T*tts in their own backyard (hardly an unusual occurrence, remind me, how often have they won the title there? and us?) and outscoring them by one point over the rest of the outstanding matches.
For third, however, as well as putting on a surge ourselves, we actually need Chelsea to blow up, since we’ve already played them twice. Now, granted Rafa’s doing a great job there but I don’t think we can depend upon him; eight points is a lot of ground to make up.
So I fear it’s going to be a drop of one place to fourth this year.
That, though, is the end of the bad news to my mind. We’re still in there battling for two trophies, the HFB is so nailed on for 20 goals that the bar has been raised to 30, Fea and Poldi might pick up 20 each themselves, there’s no talk of any leading players going in the summer, and as far as I know no-one’s contract expires this summer or next.
The future’s bright, the future’s red-and-white. You know it makes sense.
COYG
Don’t want to be the one to correct people, but in this instant I feel it’s for a good cause – Oxon, we’re just 5 points behind Chelsea with an equal number of games played. And as you said, Rafa is doing a wonderful job over there. And, actually, having them played might not be that bad a thing during a season when we apparently can’t pull off the wins against the “big” clubs. Smooth sailing, pick up our points, and let Rafa do his job over there and third might not be impossible.
*having played them.
Aren’t Chelsea blowing up at the moment, I thought we were about the only team they’ve beaten since New Year? Admittedly they can’t be that crap forever, even with Rafa there. And we’d need to actually get some consistency together to catch them, which is the big issue for us at the moment.
Absolutely. Not sure we will do it. But with 13 games left to play or so and 5 points behind, I am sure we can do it if we do our part. They will drop at least nine.
Ok then, just back home from the pub…
How Ryan Shawcunt is allowed to enter any football pitch anywhere in the world is a mystery. How the hell can a referee stand five yards away and not produce a red card for Shawcunt’s attempt to neuter Koscielny?
And Tony Pubis can just fuck right off as well. His “tactics” are a disgrace. Where other teams play with a back four, he plays a back seven. At times Stoke were lining up in a 9-0-1 formation. Not even after going behind did they try to attack. Sodding wankers, the lot of them.
A thoroughly deserved victory for the boys in red and white. If it hadn’t been for Begovic this would have been a cricket score.
Big props to Walcott for working his socks off all game.
Monreal played it safe mostly, which was the smart thing to do. Ease your way into it to find your feet and then get more adventurous.
Onwards and upward – time to do some back-drinking!
It’s a quiet evening and I’m bored so these are the remaining fixtures for ourselves, Chelsea, the Spuds and Everton:
Us:
Sunderland (A)
Aston Villa (H)
Spurs (A)
Everton (H) – will be postponed if either of us are in the FA Cup QFs
Swansea (A)
Reading (H)
WBA (A)
Norwich (H) – will be postponed if we make the FA Cup SFs
Fulham (A)
Man Utd (H)
QPR (A)
Wigan (H)
Newcastle (A)
Chelsea:
Wigan (H)
Man City (A)
WBA (H)
Fulham (A)
West Ham (H)
Southampton (A)
Sunderland (H)
Spurs (H)
Liverpool (A)
Swansea (H)
Man Utd (A)
Aston Villa (A)
Everton (H)
Spurs:
West Brom (A)
Newcastle (H)
West Ham (A)
Arsenal (H)
Liverpool (A)
Fulham (H)
Swansea (A)
Everton (H)
Chelsea (A)
Man City (H)
Wigan (A)
Southampton (H)
Stoke (A)
Sunderland (H)
Everton:
Man Utd (A)
Norwich (A)
Reading (H)
Arsenal (A)
Man City (H)
Stoke (H)
Spurs (A)
QPR (H)
Sunderland (A)
Fulham (H)
Liverpool (A)
West Ham (H)
Chelsea (A)
Oh, go on Toby, correct me :-/
Both the .con and beeb showing Chelsea 8 points ahead, with 14 games to go, so I guess neither has updated the tables for today’s matches. I fear that even 5 points will be too many, but I’ll be the first to buy a round from Lars’ wallet if I’m proven wrong come the end of the season.
COYG
If we manage that feat I’ll gladly buy a round from Lars’ wallet as well. I’m guessing Lars will be hoping we won’t if we keep this drink-promising up.
I really need to get away to a game during the close season and buy a round myself. Always in Lars’s shadow.
Back from The Emirates now – showered, shampooed, clothes all fumigated, and all traces of the sub-human hordes that invaded North London this afternoon are hopefully gone.
There must be something seriously wrong with that corner of England that spawns the most despicable set of players, fans and coaches I have come across.
The Stoke fans still sing the name of Ryan Shawcross every time he attempts to maim another fellow professional, although that description does him a favour he does not deserve.
Shawcross is not so much a player as a tactic, employed to break legs as his team run out of steam and space begins to open up in front of him.
His chosen victim today was Laurent Koscielny, who was more than a little fortunate to escape intact from the assault which hit him late in the game.
Today I saw punches thrown, elbows flailing, shirt pulling, holding and kicking – all standard fare for a team of neanderthals who have had every instinct to try and play football coached out of them by the odious, lying coward that is Tony Pulis.
Pulis and his entire bench gang, run mob handed into and beyond the technical area to dispute every single decision that goes against them.
The height of their acticity today occurred as the linesman appeared to try to disallow the goal which followed Podolski’s free kick.
Well the orc-hestrated cheating of Stoke’s defensive wall backfired as Poldi’s free kick hit one of them and …….
That was all I could see.
I don’t know what the slow motion replays will uncover and, frankly, I don’t care. If it turns out that the goal should have been disallowed, it will simply make it all the sweeter.
“One – Nil to the football team” the crowd sang after our goal.
It’s a great pity that Stoke have become so adept at bending the laws of the game that, in reality, they are unlikely to be relegated.
For Pulis to be invited by the chummy media to spout his views on anything to do with football is a sick joke.
The Premier League would be a far, far better place without him and his boring, dirty team.
For today, I will just enjoy a hard fought victory which Holic, and others, will describe much better than I would.
It was a gritty, determined performance. Everyone played their part well. Noone allowed themself to be intimidated by a technically challenged mob of thugs.
“One – Nil to the football team !”
I’ll take it.
Good 3 points.
I am so pissed. I will watch it all on Sunday
I love you all.
Damn that was rough.
Here in the US we have Fox Soccer channel and Fox Soccer Plus.
FSC plays football only. Reruns and stuff during the week.
FSP play football and Rugby during the week.
Unsurprisingly, our game was on FSP. They really like broadcasting Rugby.
Well Trev,
Please tell us how you really feel.
Thanks for the report. In all fairness to shawcross, he……really is a cunt.
I don’t know what the linesman thought he saw.
Three points. Next up Sunderland, who again will park 8-9 behind the ball.
I liked today’s mixture and the ability to actually bring in some sub that had an impact. Poldi scored and Santi really should have.
Cheers all.
Us Mericans have a little game of our own tomorrow…… I think Clint Dempsey is playing. Hope the fool loses.
Heh at 336.
But are you the most pissed that you could be? That’s the question.
Fucking great day. 1-0 to the Arsenal, Chelsea self-destructing, Everton dropping points, nice steady debut for Nacho, orcs sent back to middle earth.
God is in his heaven, the birds are singing and life is good.
NorCal,
I don’t do match reports – too much superior competition.
Thought it might be nice to convey some things that might not come across on the television coverage.
Stoke games are always emotionally charged. They’re an easy mob to detest.
Trev, I’ve got to get ready for work but would love to hear your thoughts on the umm, ‘disagreement’ between our lads and theirs. How I just love it when the Arsenal get feisty!
Remarkable stats included in the BBC report on the game:
Possession: Arsenal 47% Stoke City 53%
Total shots: 15-6
On taget: 9-2
Corners: 11-1
Fouls: 3-13
Are many matches that one sided? Are many 1-0 wins that one-sided?
COYG
Oxon,
I think those possession numbers are off.
ESPN has it as arsenal 66% orcs 34%
That was more of what I saw too.
Easy lads!
Possession does not mean a thing we all know that! It was a very nervy afternoon fucking Orcs!
Dont you just just hate them
Abb,
From what I saw, Arteta got into a tussle for the ball and the Orcs don’t like to lose a tussle.
A punch was thrown at Arteta, who pushed the Stoke player back and quite craftily beat a fairly hasty retreat before the referee got involved.
The ref hadn’t seen any of it as he was following the ball.
So many players then got involved that I couldn’t see anything else clearly.
All I know for sure is that it was all Stoke players who were 100% in the wrong.
Oxon, Orbinho (who is an emplyee of Opta, the official Premier League stats providers) have said on Twitter that those possession stats are “nonsense”. 66-34 in our favour sounds a lot more likely to be the real stats.
Right, MOTD about to start…
Never in a million years did Stoke have more possession than us.
Well, maybe of the yellow cards.
Well thank you Trev! I think our Jack got involved somewhere in the thick of it too. Dr C tried to post the vid on twitter but the copy right gods nixed it
Stoke had 100% of the cunts.
On the juice now so I wont make any sensible sense anyhow…
Hard fought win we dug deep and got the result and lady luck was on our side. They didnt break we got lucky but we made so much effort we have earned it full stop!
I know my emotions may run high during the game and I may spill some garbage here and there I apologise it does happen.
I suppose you can say I’m a fucking sore looser and I’m double that when it comes to the Arse!
You know you’ve only met her once
forever and ever 
BTW Benitez is full of shyte!
glad at the result, but i just wanted to ask if anyone’s seen such a nailed on straight red go completely unpunished before? i mean with the official standing right over the incident? seriously, the epl refereeing is a disgrace. at a different angle that tackle could have deprived kos of children. would that have been enough to send him off? retroactive red cards of some kind need to be issued. when is this league going to wake up to the fact that this behavior is a serious detriment to the product on the field?
</endrant
Just been reading the Wikipedia entry on Neanderthals.
Extinct 25,000 years ago?
I think it could do with some updating.
Who was reffing today? Whats his name Foy. I sue to like him but he hasn’t been the best to us. Especially when you play against those Orcs!
matt foley@353
What I can’t understand is that there are a number of videos available of Shawcross tackles (or there were around the Ramsey incident) which show that this sort of “tackle” is standard practice for him, namely diving in, straight leg, with studs showing, and nothing seems to be done about it. Can’t the FA disciplinary take a look at this sort of thing and give the cunt a warning? Otherwise another player is going to suffer the sort of injury Aaron got.
I’m just grateful he’s finally showing he has recovered his pre-injury form.
Matt, I certainly saw it as a red card worthy assault. I think most here would agree. I feared for aaron when he came on and secretly was terrified Diaby might be harmed.
Reading is fighting for survival
Unfortunately The FA don’t have panel for fair play according to them
And Snir @ 337 Your subtlety was not lost on me
Good nite holics, everywhere 
unpunished isn’t precise as shawcross did get a yellow for that tackle. but i was so incensed by it i completely overlooked it. honestly though, a yellow card is hardly a deterrent at all. a yellow card is given for kicking the ball away, taking off your shirt after scoring, or tugging your opponent’s arm at midfield if he’s on a breakaway and also for sliding in with your leg locked and studs pointing skyward until you make contact with the other guy’s crotch.
disgraceful.
Haven’t seen the incident yet but I heard about it on 5live and I’ve backdrunk every column inch of the comments.
Can I just say, without even having laid eyes on the Shawcross ‘tackle’, that it’s a travesty that he continues to be allowed to get away with that standard fare of going in dangerously.
…and his team of meatheads are the cheatiest, most despicable, most unpleasant cunts that ever walked this earth.
Waynes World WTF!?
CG it’s on now MOTT BBC if yuo have access not sure if they gonna show it though
Looking at the league table… am I imagining it, or is our much maligned back line in possession of the premiership’s second best defensive record?
What a strange old season this is fast becoming.
NOTHING on MOTD about Shawcunt’s challenge. Contributing to the problem, as usual.
At least we got to see P*nis whingeing about the goal. How typical of him, clutching at straws when he knows he’s in the wrong.
Nice one the red and white!
SIAC
Michael Owen is idiot! Holic apologies I had to say it!
What a despicable little man he is his sly punch on Arteta ha ha if it was I would have decked him.
Just watched that challenge against I didn’t want be reminded the bloke is fucking clueless when it comes to tackles full stop he cant fucking do that is sick!
Full stretch studs up that is a fucking straight RED end off of that more of an idiot Foy! Wright next to it as well!
Okay, I’ve double and triple checked and it appears it’s actuall true: only one team in the league (City) have let in fewer goals than us.
Still struggling to get my head round that.
Anyway Holics I’m about to hit the deck! have fun in whatever you’re doing and be safe!
COME ON ARSENAL
COME ON ARSENAL
COME ON ARSENAL
COME ON ARSENAL……COME ON ARSENAL
NorCal and Lars above, I’m happy to accept that the possession stats from the beeb site, repeated on MOTD incidentally, were wrong. I was surprised by how one-sided the shots, corners and fouls were.
Can’t wait for the trip to Sunderland.
COYG
Okay, my 4-0 prediction was optimistic, but I was assuming AW would send out our first XI not leave Poldi and Santi on the bench. I mean, how tired can Poldi be when he’s never completed a game yet? (Or maybe 1?) And it was he who made the difference when the disappointing Ox was finally withdrawn.
Tactics also a little disappointing. We were never going to pass our way through ten men on a mission of destruction. We needed to make better use of the few breakaways we had, but we rarely did. Walcott still only got his centres past the first defender by placing them behind whoever was available in the box (usually only Giroud and no-one else) and all too often our breakaways ran into dead-ends when earlier passes should have been made. The Invincibles, who could score from their own penalty area with a couple of slick passes, would be turning in their … er, in their Emirates seats.
In the end we got away with it. But AW is playing a dangerous game ‘resting’ players. Yes we have Bayern coming up, but is it worth risking dropping Premiership points at this critical time? Does AW believe the CL is more important? Of course I’d love to win it, but isn’t 4th place the bigger priority?
I thought Nacho looked very comfortable (his goal attempt aside!). Very reassuring in fact.
Oskar
Greetings
Well all of us present at the Ems knew what to expect and we weren’t disappointed. A pity AOC’s early effort was well saved by Begovic, it could have spared us all from what was a real dour game, one which will not live long in the memory bank.
Shawcross studs attack on Kos was eye watering and one which should have seen a red card for seriously dangerous play. The Ref let a lot of niggling fouls pass him by but did use his common sense in dealing with the silly argy-bargy between Arteta and Owen.
It was one way traffic in the second half but until Santi arrived not very threatening. We fully deserved our win against a despicable side, whose negative tactics give “football” a bad name. Let’s all move on quickly to the Sunderland game,though I doubt that will be a “feast of football”.
As always COYRs
I like Nacho he’s a really good signing even though I only have known him for the past 36 hours that is….
he’s looked good going forward too!
Gibbsy will defo have some competition there!
N7
Man City, Chelsea and Swansea have conceded less than us (according to the grauniad & PL).
Beeb’s table is a load of piss.
Last word of wisdom for today:
It’s not about how many goals our opposition HAVE conceded. It’s about how many goals they WILL concede between now and the end of the season. It’s an equation that could possibly be affected in a very positive way by the addition of Nacho to our defense.
Stats are funny things. People have been complaining how poor we are at the back for most of the season, even though we’ve had the BEST defensive record in the Premiership for much of the time … and still rank with the best now.
We were also missing RvP in attack, apparently, and we still are according to some. Yet the stats tell us that we have consistently been scoring more and conceding less than last season … and after 25 games it is still true. 49-29 this year, 48-35 last year.
Oskar
I guess ESPN also has us penciled in to beat Sunderland. This is from their site. Match fixing?
TABLESPremLa LigaSerie A
P W D L GD PTS
Man Utd 26 21 2 3 30 65
Man City 24 15 7 2 26 52
Chelsea 26 13 7 6 23 46
Arsenal 26 12 8 6 21 44
Everton 26 10 13 3 10 43
Tottenham 24 12 6 6 12 42
So confused. Sky and bbc are showing the same table. Am I missing something?
It was as hard sledding as I expected it to be, but three points secured. If WBA can stuff the neighbours it will be a decent weekend. Monreal looks promising. Could give Gibbs a run for his money. Diaby and Jack seem to play well together, too. Shawcross is just despicable.
Prem League’s own table shows Citeh, Chelsea and Swansea conceding fewer goals than us and Chelsea and ManU scoring more.
http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/league-table.html
Santi and Nacho may have gone
but mighty Granada rumble on.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/feb/02/granada-real-madrid-la-liga
Cristiano Ronaldo own goal included. How good is that?
8 ball,
They both played for Malaga, not Granada.
football is a funny game. our defence had a fairly easy time yesterday when they thought they would be getting knocked all over the place by the rugby team.
P*lis is such a loser setting his team up to avoid losing by big margin instead of trying to salvage the game. what is the point of this team in the premiership.
liked the aggressiveness in our back four yesterday. kos needs to hunker down and keep his place in the team.
why cant someone coach these guys to cross properly. imagine what we could do with some decent service into giroud.
and before we get carried away remember santos comes back into the team against bayern.
COYG!
Any form of 3 points is welcome, but edging 1-0 against a team captained by Shawcross, with a goal netted by Poldi after blasting the ball on a wall of orcs, and little bit of controversy to further enrage Pulis and Shawcross is always briliant.
Make no mistake, though, we were made to work for all three points. Stoke sat back with everyone behind the ball, comfortable sitting back as long as the score stays level. It makes for good practice for our players to try and break teams down, especially since we will be facing these sort of defensive tactics more times this season – Sunderland next week at the earliest.
Our passing in the game was at timesnot crisp enough. But I thought Jack and Theo made the difference in the final third last night. Since the start of the season Walcott almost played like our talisman, often coming up with important match-winning contributions. And last night he was fully committed to our cause, constantly abusing Stoke’s left back with pace, trickery and great commitment. Naturally, Poldi’s goal came from a FK won by Theo, and he is by a small margin my MOTM.
Jack also stood out with his driving runs and eye for the final pass. Each time our passes looked slow and ponderous, Jack would look for the ball and continuously drive the team forward. The through ball for Ox and the neat 1-2 play with Giroud were the highlights for me. Equally interesting, though, was his last minute spat with Owen. Frustrated by Arteta’s tough and fair tackle, he lashed out at Arteta, who retaliated, and Jack came flying like a rocket to blast Owen’s unprofessional behavior. What a warrior he is. He would not allow us to get beat last night, and his attitude certainly rubbed off to the other players. Time and again he proved his leadership on the pitch – if 2 years ago he showed the world his undoubted potential, this season he’s showing everyone he has the mental qualities to go along with his technical attributes.
Last word regarding Nacho, who played with no fuss and didn’t look a single minute out of place in an Arsenal shirt. Consistent until the final whistle, this Nacho is the Real deal.
Thank you Stoke for showing everyone what a bunch of hypocritical thugs you are.
COYG
Cheers all – i thought that couldn’t be right. What was up with the beeb yesterday? Very strange.
3 points. Orcs slain. Only saw MOTD highlights but frustrating job well done. A bottle of Bruichladdich on the bar for all Holics to toast the victory. COYRs.
Boilk >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>