Boxing Day Brief
Dec 26th, 2013 by 'holic
Well that is that over for another year. I hope you all had a good day yesterday. I have had no time to prepare a preview for today’s match at West Ham but there is one task that must be done.
I know there are people out there who slavishly avoid the selection for the ‘holic pound, so for you only I’ll say avoid 3-0 to the Arsenal. I’m on it at a skinny looking 14/1 but still hoping to pay for yesterday’s bubbles.
Have a great one ‘holics, wherever you will be watching.
251 Responses to “Boxing Day Brief”
Onwards and onwards.
Thanks ‘Holic
And, also to all the ‘Holics thank you all.
I’d settle for that
Seasons greetings sir.
I don’t think it will be a close game too, either we are in the mood to stuff ’em or we won’t win.
Cheers Holic! And season’s greetings to all the good people who frequent this bar. Especially ABB. *mwah mwah*
SteveT – poem in last drinks.
Reminds me of when I was a kid and went running with my friend into his house to ask his Mum for something. He called for her a couple of times and the reply eventually came back, “Just a minute. I’m bombing Berlin.”
Cent@5 – or we win 1-0 in the second minute of time added on. I’ll settle for that.
Had a chance of a ticket today but in amongst the West Ham fans. Declined as I was not confident that I could control myself.
Looking for a bit of bouncebackability today and a comfortable 3 points.
Have a good on boys and girls.
I’m with dkg@9. Bollocks to style. Stuff a massacre. 3 points is all I care about.
COYG
That’ll be dkg@9 now that the place is more wholesome.
If you were disappointed with any of your Christmas presents this year remember, someone somewhere was opening a Spurs shirt…..
I think there was a lot more merit in our (boring as shit) nil all draw with chelsea.
3-0 sounds right Holic and I’ll take some of that.
Hope to see Mr Ozil put in a silky smooth football exhibition.
0-7 to the Arse.
It’s about time the goal machine got fired up and some frustrations need to be relieved.
The Hammers will play like a poor mans Chelsea.
Hope the celebrations or lack thereof have been good to you all and that any celebrations were not done with a little bit the handbrake on 🙂
Time now to get back to winning ways for the boys in red and white.
And whether it’s a 1-0 or a 3-0 or X-Y where X is greater than Y and X and Y denotes the number of goals scored by Arsenal and West Ham respectively I don’t really care but anything but a win is not OK. It’s as simple as that. I have no idea how Arsene will line up the team but I don’t think there will be wholesale changes. The only change I am almost certain will be done is Flamini on for Arteta as I suspect the idea is that they will alternate over these next few games in order to keep their legs as fresh as possible but other than that I see too many options to be sure. I suppose that’s a rather good thing, and it’s certainly a nice change from “well, we could throw Arshavin on for Theo but after that we’re down to Squillaci and Coquelin”.
I also get the impression that everyone expects ManC to beat Liverpool, but I have a feeling Liverpool will nick it. We showed that they are certainly vulnerable in defense even at home and there will come a game where they don’t fire on all cylinders in attack. Getting the first goal in that game will probably be very important for either team.
Hope everyone had a cracking Christmas, maybe we’ll get a late present today 😉
With regards to the previous drinks
“behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory”
“Seems like Depressed Gooner ought to be the one who likes Bergman movies. Just sayin’ 😉 ”
He is far too humorous for me bud, Seventh Seal is a comedy as somebody else already said 😉
Fingers crossed here, but with AOC and Sanogo returning to training in January, only Diaby remains as a long term injury (no jokes please, it’s Xmas).
This lack of squad depth malarkey has to stop.
NB23 to score today, that’s my pound.
Hull 1-0 up from a goal that I think everyone who thinks zonal marking is inheren…
…eeh, scratch that – 2-0!
…is inherently bad should look at that closely. Man-marking is all well and good but it can also create acres of space if you get it wrong as that goal demonstrated quite clearly.
Who is this Sanogo chappie you speak of???
What a great XMas here in the heat down under – I haven’t visited in a little while (killer new job) but I assume we convicts aren’t allowed to raise cricket as a subject?
The Joy of Xmas – my 11 year old is filthy he didn’t get an Arsenal jersey as a present. Should I get him one (as I now have to) with his name or Theo’s?
Well, it is now 2-2…
heh holics…will the Tollie be showing any matches today, or even or just the Arsenal match? i want to check out the ManC/Pool match later, and if any of you guys are around would be fun?
I actually think Pool might get this one…MC are without Aguero and that bloke Zabaleta who had us marked throughout our whacking…methinks Suarez will fire them through…would love to be proved wrong…would love even more a draw 🙂
Happy holidays fellow gooners, hope all of y’all had a Merry Christmas and Santa was good to each and everyone!!
Now jst did the FA review that Mikel tackle on Mikel Arteta? Coz that should’ve bn a straight Red!! But he Deanied us
*curious
Happy Boxing Day, Holic and Holics. I hope your Christmas dreams were fulfilled.
Heh at Steve T’s poem in the last drinks – corker.
And heh at dkg’s ‘bombing Berlin’ – that’s a blast!
I’ll take your prediction happily, H.
Wishing seasonal best wishes to all ‘Holics and many many thanks to the landlord for hosting such a great bar. We need to see a convincing win today, anything less and it will feel like no progress has been made since last year. COYG
Arsenal starting XI: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Cazorla, Ozil, Walcott, Giroud Substitutes: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Monreal, Flamini, Gnabry, Bendtner, Podolski
Darn, TR out with minor knock from Chelski game
Shenanigans afoot in The KC stadium
Former manure player scores for manure, in a hull shirt.
Hull should have scored! What a game Man U struggling bit time!
*big
And yet Sky Sports describe it as if its a towering victory for United……
The BT Sport pundits are already driving me nuts. Gonna have to watch this with the sound off methinks.
@32 – just what you expect from loyal supporters
COME
ON
ARSENAL
Come on you gunners!
GO
WIN,
GUNNERS…..
BURST
THEIR
FECKIN’
BUBBLES.
good morning holics. come on arsenal!
Hi everyone, just got ‘in’. Listening on player. Hope everyone ok. Hi Esso! C’mon arsenal 😉
great ball in by Bac!
who says chez doesn’t win us points?
THis is a tricky fixture.
We should spank whu 4-0. But it sill, it will be tight if they score first.
Exciting stuff so far! Sam Allerdyce is many things but not a coward like Mourinho based on the way his team is set up to play.
close!!
ooh almost!
oh, theo that was yours!
oooh Feo..must be a goal
We gotta win this one… we need this.. come on arsenal!
We need that first goal
oooo Santi..close:)
some of our movement and passing is excellent. better ball striking would have us up 2 or 3 by now.
Oh ffs OG hit the target at least:(
Total domination.. just need a little bit of luck!
Not playing well at the mo!
Come on Arsenal!
We aren’t working the goalkeeper enough
OG looks a bit terrible at the moment.
OMG! it better not be one of those days…!
how is that not in?:(
Replays shows it was just one step far from him…we are getting close tho
ooooooh so close.
Not again! 🙁
Who needs Bendtner when we’ve got Giroud!!
What is going on?????? So close everytime :/
BB…it looks like one of those days -_-
GIROUD!!!! you’re killing me.
matter of centimeters so far …should be at least two up by now…nervous.
we could be up by 5 with a bit better shooting. man, we were close again and again. don’t like how they are getting the ball deep to cole, he’s a handful.
We’ve done everything right except scoring. Giroud has been making good runs but unfortunately his finishing has let him down on more than a couple of occasions..
Very strange selection from Wenger given the proximity of the Newcastle game. Ozil has been excellent but Giroud looks out on his feet and is lacking sharpness. Hard to believe Podolski wouldn’t get one of those at least . We are becoming a frustrating side to watch again. Some lovely football but nowhere near enough end product
If we can’t beat thus lot ……forget the title
We’ve done everything right except scoring. Giroud has been making good runs but unfortunately his finishing has let him down on more than a couple of occasions.
someone’s knee is jerking there @70.
NO…must believe…. it will get better..it ..Must!!!!
Whats with Giroud!
COYGs
Come on ..we will score!
Oh dear, 1-0 🙁
Fuck.
Here we go again.
FUCK FUCK FUCK
and there is how your keeper can lose you games. oh, Chezza. 🙁
Oh no- the first goal is so important. We are now chasing a game we should be cruising.
I think i am jinxing it.. will shut up now 🙁
C cole is such a shit player.
And yet he causes arsenal so much grief.
frustrating to say the least:(
its not clicking for us so far really
4 arsenal players in the box ..yet Theos pass find no one aaargh
WTF is going on?
OG needs to come off.
We need a goal immediately.
handball in their box btw -_- no penalty of course
Why is bloody awful. And were making them look great.
Afc xmas choke is full on.
we are all over the place in the back ..not a good situation to chase the game now
Still lot of time though ..COME ON!
Wtf are we doing?
What’s our Plan B?!
fuck me it’s that type of day.
what do we have to do to score?:O
We look shell shocked. This is very poor.
great, now aaron hurt.
Ok Arsene. – do something.
Jeez Poldi, save us!
poldi on for aaron, santi drops to midfield.
LuPo!
Poldi on for Aaron
Poldi hurt? Unbelievable!!!
yes!!! nice simple goal!!
Now win it damn it!
Feo, Feo, Feo!
Feoo!!!!!!!!!!’
Theo, thank you son! 1-1 Don’t care if it was a deflection!
FEOOOO!
two keeper errors, two goals. now for another couple, my gunners!
poldi’s singing “it’s hammer time”.
Keep it down next time Poldi!
We need to win this
Poldi with his thorhammefoot..come on!
THEO!!!!!
Feo, Feo, Feo!!!!!!!!
Beautiful! 🙂
Feo!!
you beauty!:D
Theo and Poldi, nice partnership!
Oooooo, closer
Poldi must be!
we’re on them like a pissed off cat.
Santi…
don’t get sloppy boys. keep your heads in it!
Poldi has been a needed injection of adrenaline for us.
poldi is BACK!!!
YEEEEESSSSS!!!! Fucking get in there Poldi!!!!!!’nn
And he scores 🙂 🙂 🙂
Poldi!!!
POLDIIII!
Sweet left foot…poldi!
keep it up, rip them apart.
LuPoooooooo!!!!
Flamster on for Ozil. Time to protect our lead!
fat spam for Boxing Day breakfast… now flams for özil, secure the points…and another couple gunner goals.
Flam on for Özil
Mesut has worked his balls off today, God love him.
claps og off. way to keep playing, sir.
Niki B on for OG (he tried folks!)
Bendtner is hungry to score.. good to see!
OG did not cover himself in glory in scoring department but made goal for Poldi..and put in a shift…still love him to bits 😀
nearly nick…
job done. top of the league!
This game has illustrated how much we have missed Theo and Poldi. Ozil and particularly Santi much better today and Gibbs was excellent. Good win but we made it harder than it should have been. Rambo may be out for a while
made it difficult for ouselves ..also was it not Theos first headed goal in career?
and Everton lose. now to see a draw between the scouse and the oil slicks.
Great Job – Podolski is back!! That’ll help…hope Aaron is alright
Turned a corner? Cathartic moment? COYG!
Timmmy Sherwood….is a gooner is a gooner….give him a lifelong contract
And to those who will undoubtedly say something along the lines “Wenger got lucky, he subbed Aaron only because he was injured” etc. ….fuck off in advance.
We won and thats the what matters the most, also Aaron had absolutely terrific first half of the season and it is understandable that he might experience slight dip in form as the campaign progresses.
Also..how awesome to see theo scoring 4 goals in 3 games and Poldi back on scoresheet? Just when the team needed their contribution they did it.
OG is a concern for me ..he puts in massive shift every game but looks knackered and whats worse, things which went for him during first half of the season are just not clicking now..he desperately needs a goal.
Love it! And love abb as well.
We are the Arsenal
We are the best
We are the Arsenal
So fuck all the rest
Santi my MOTM, run close by Gibbo. The whole attack looks much more balanced with Poldi and Theo sticking to the flanks and Santi allowed to cut in and run at the defenders from central positions.
Giroud needs to find his early season scoring form back pronto. Worked hard, led the line well and the assist to Poldi was of excellent quality center forward play but he should be scoring those goals he missed today. Though have the feeling once he gets a couple of them back in the rust would be gone.
Before scoring the goals, as is often the case with Theo, he was rather poor and was failing to even protect the ball. But once the confidence was back he actually made a decent impression of a quality right winger who scores goals and takes on defenders.
Last year some of our best attacking performances, other than Theo’s through runs, came via the Santi-Poldi-Gibbo-Giroud triangles down the left. Hopefully would see more and more of Poldi … especially against defenses that lack a bit of quality he would always get and bury a chance or two and for that reason a genuine match winner in most EPL games.
Hopefully Rambo is back soon. The chip to Theo in the first half was delightful.
A little early for the bums to start squeaking ‘holics. Keep the faith.
UP THE ARSENAL
Eandy @ 151: About Giroud, yes I think he needs a couple of goals rather soon to get back in scoring form. Also seeing that he seems to be the kind of player who thrive when challenged etc. it may be worth a trick to not start with him but with Bendy and then bring him as a sub in a couple of matches. But then Bendy has to deliver on the leading the line front. The worrying part was he missed a couple of chances made by Gibbo which were really tap-ins because of a lack of confidence in attacking the cross.
Loved ttat game.
Got to see it in my hotel room on an arabic sports channel. Man o man that commentater was excitable, even a throw in sounded like a goal atempt, he didn’t seem to know all of the West Ham players names, (neither do I 😉 ) but he defenitly knew all the Arsensl players, but he almost always used a word that sounded to me lile jeremy, so it was Jeremy Carzola, something something something Jeremy Walcott, something something something Jeremy Giroud, OOOOOOOOOO. Most amusing. He did however have a problem pronouncing the name of our lego haired Spainard who was known as Jeremy Artita. 🙂
Good to see the lads playing with a bit of urgency again, I’m not sure if anyone above has mentioned this, but it looks like Santi has made it back to somewhere near his usual standard just in time for Christmas.
3 lovely points amd back to winning ways.
Gotta luv it.
Backdrinky time.
Was that our first win from a losing position this season?
Either way, it’s a big ‘un.
Credit the mental strength of the team – should have been outta sight at HT but suckered by a fluke goal, they just kept on going.
Good call on Santi there, H2H.
Now that’s what am talking about, up the gunner. Let’s hope for draw between the oil counts and liverfool, though I doubt that happening
Well done the lads.
Some terrible misses and a shocking goal to concede, but they dug themselves out of a hole and the fresh legs coming back into the side (theo, Poldi, Santi). Thought Gibbs was excellent.
Hats off also to OG. Can’t buy a goal at the minute, but worked tirelessly throughout and his lay off for the third goal was top class.
Back where we belong.
COYG
iH2H– heh!! Enjoyed your description. He would have been right with Aliadiere ! Spot on about Cazorla but I thought Ozil put in a great shift today as well.
I am backkkkkkkkk, Lu Lu Lu Lukas Podolski, holy christ did we miss him or what, what a player what a joy. Some stupid rumour start of the season suggested he maybe sold, you dont sell class ever. Santi had his best game of the season and i hope he continues for that will ease the pressure on Magician Mesut, overall a game which should have been over in the first half but for theo and giroud but then we kind of like 3-1 against those hammers dont we???? up next the geordies who won 4-1 against stoke( stoke reduced to 9 men), tough game but a win there means we are going in to the new year with real hope, aaron’s injury is a concern but just maybe a lucky break in the hindsight, jack will get an extended run and the boy may just bounce back with a bang, get well soon Aaron though, we need you. Where are we ??? top of the table.
Good energetic performance today against an admittedly poor West Ham team, which keeps the impossible dream alive.
Shitty v Poo:
So do we want Liverpool to win to maximise our title chances?
Or do we want City to win to maximise our top 3 chances?
Poo lead 1-0
City cannot defend
3-3 and some red cards/modest injuries would work nicely…don’t want city winning under any circumstances…I’m certain they are the best equipped team (naturally)
Esso, big grin on my face, thanks!
OMG, what a flub by goalie, 2-1.
Dennis, don’t they make you sweat! Family get together today, with me watching the TV with the sound turned down, while my brother and nephew watched the Canaries v Fulham on a stream on my laptop.
We simply cannot afford to miss chances as we did this afternoon, 6 in the first half, 3 to OG. Several good breakaways were brought to a halt when we reached the 18yd line, we seemed to lack the killer instinct in the final third.
Feo and Poldi saved the day but we looked lack lustre and nowhere near as enterprising as the City v Pool game which currently stands at 2-1.
We need to sharpen up before Sunday, otherwise I can see our challenge for the title halted in it’s tracks ,with the dreaded February fixtures looming large on the horizon.
COYRs
West Ham are truely shit so was expecting the 3 points today, Saying that the ball didnt seem to want to hit the net so was starting to get a bit worried till Theo nicked the equaliser then it was pretty much over,
Fair play to the lads they showed some bollocks to get them points today as it seemed like one of them days and after the recent run would have been easy for heads to drop.
On another note do we get anything from Refs how the fuck did o Brien stay on the pitch ?
Next up the Geordies !
Up The Arse,
Stirling misses a sitter…come on Pool!
Observations on today:
How does Joey O’Brien commit at least five yellow cardable offenses and only gets booked for one?
Santi had by far his best performance of the season. AW needs to sort out how Ozil and Santi are deployed — maybe swap positions with Santi more central and Ozil more to the flank?
That clanger Woj dropped could have been disastrous but as it turned out in the end it may even have been almost like a blessing in disguise because coming back from 1-0 down to win convincingly in the end is a very good thing.
Cazorla had his best game since Liverpool at home. Always involved, tried to keep the ball moving at (almost) all times. Özil also played a lot of quick passes and I must say he impressed in the way he defended too.
And oh, how we have missed Poldi! Him coming on was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He tore West Ham a new one, and his goal showed the other thing we have missed from his: his ability to pop up and just fire the ball into the net no questions asked.
Not a perfect game by any means, but definitely a step in the right direction. Apparently we fired in more shots today than in any other game this season which is a good thing. But we’ll have to be more clinical at Newcastle, that’s for sure. They got an easy ride today against nine (!) players for well over 50 minutes incluing added time so they’ll be well rested.
Thumbs up to the away support as always. Well played to those who were there!
Leopards never change their spots.
Phil Dowd should never have let O’Brien stay on but wouldn’t reduce them to ten men. Bet he would if it had been one of ours.
On the day that Arsenal regain the lead in the EPL Myles Palmer posts a headline on Arsenal News Review( note the Arsenal bit Myles !) that you can get 32 pages of Myles Palmer free- man is an ego on legs.
And Poldi showed that he is a terrific finisher. I think he must start against Newcastle as OG is in terrible form now. Much as we love his attitude and commitment he is a shoddy finisher. I trust the point will not be lost on Wenger
You know what is scary? ..when we were 1-0 down I thought “I want this game to end up like Norwich last year, two goals in quick succession with Poldi securing the points with the third” and voila.
The game had exact the same feeling heh.
bath: yes, that was our first win from a losing position. We also rescued a point away to West Brom. Conversely we have only dropped three points from a winning position all season (Champions League included) which of course was v Villa who got considerable help from a referee that was so shit even Mike Riley and his cohorts had little choice but to demote him for a few weeks.
ttg: Palmer is not interested in anything but self-promotion. He’s a self-confessed Spurs fan writing an Arsenal blog, ffs!
This was also the third game in a row where we are denied a penalty. This one wasn’t nailed-on though, in my eyes it’s a 50/50 call so I can’t say the ref was 100% wrong not to give it but we’ve certainly seen them given many times in situations like that one. Compare it to the one (even if it was outside the box) given against Vermaelen in the first half, that was just as much ball-to-hand (o-eer!) as the other way around and arguably a very natural position to hold his arm. Either call in isolation can be argued to be correct but he can’t really give one and not the other.
Newcastle away will be a bloody tricky one but let’s worry about that as we get closer to it. For now I’m going to enjoy the three points and have a bit of a giggle at Sp*rs while I’m at it 🙂
170 TTG
And another stonewall penalty not given.
At least we won’t get Dowd again vs the Mags.
Yes, well done to keep going forward, when the goal seemd to have the lif on. Good spirit in the side. In recent years, that’s a match we draw or even lose.
Hope Ramsay is not seriously hurt. But big props to Poldi and the FEO.
Cazorla looked sharp and Gibbs!?…Was it me or was he immense out there?
Wheeww…!
Back from Bergman and his wonderful, wonderful film. Followed up by beer and snaps (Danish Boxing Day tradition) – Skåne, Lars! Sveriges bästa! And some Danish stuff. Just rounding off another day top of the league with a 12-year-old Bowmore (whisky that is).
Only saw the first 25 minutes including Theo’s miss, so it was good to see he had got 2 with Podolski setting Theo’s second up as well as scoring the third. Looks like a day of goalkeeper errors – Ches, WH’s goalkeeper and Mignolet.
Was a bit shocked at the Newcastle scoreline – first thought was, Thank God they’ve got that out of their system. Then saw it was against 9 men for 50+ minutes.
Pressure on for the next couple of games because I expect we’ll be in the position of having to win to get back on top. We’ll miss Aaron but Jack will be back on Sunday, sounds from the drinks above like Santi is getting back to form plus Theo and Poldi back – more goals in those two. Ox and Sanogo should also be available again soon.
TR7 got a welcome break today and maybe Mesut can be given one against Cardiff. Still good strength in the squad.
How was TV5 today?
Very good win from the boys. Coming from behind to win and win well would do their confidence a world of good. Fingers crossed Aaron won’t be out for long.
On another note, after back-drinking and seeing some of the drinks that were posted when we were 1-0 down I’ve got to say some of us have got to trust this team a bit more for the sake of our collective tickers.
Ref for Newcastle is Lee Probert. Hmm – I’m beginning to think there isn’t a ref I DO like.
Cardiff is Jonathan Moss, whoever he is.
This is going to sound weird but the ramsey injury may be a blessing in disguise hes been running on empty for a few games now and that is one area where we can make changes and not be to badly affected, He deserves a breather and hopefully he will be fit and firing again in a few weeks coming up to crunch time, He puts so much into each game it was bound to happen sooner or later,
dk: good stuff! My favourite snaps is one called O.P. Andersson, try that one if you get the opportunity.
As for TV5, I thought he did very well. He seems to have, at least for now, curtailed his instinct to bomb forward and was very disciplined in defense. The goal was not his fault at all, that is one that Woj will have to accept responsibility for and no doubt also will.
Apparently Özil (think it was Orbinho who said it on Twitter) created no less than eight (8) chances tonight. Read that again: eight! And still people think he’s not really doing anything… I maintain that he is so technically gifted that a lot of what he does look so simple that we don’t always realise how difficult it was until we see it again later.
Some other stuff:
“I’m sad for the players because to have no reward from such a great effort is a little hard to swallow.”
“The bravery and desire they showed, along with the ability to have an Arsenal team on the back foot for a period of time, deserved more.”
Fat Sam bumping his sizeable gums again. Sure, they had a few chances at 1-0 but then again we should already have been out of sight by then. He can’t really complain about the result in the end, though to be fair I suppose he says that just to try to lift his players. But you’ve got to love the logic behind that sort of reasoning, like “OK, they were a class above us for 80 minutes and fired in some 30 shots to our five or six but come on, we deserved to win because of that ten-minute period!”.
Cent – agreed!
dk – He seemed solid, though got forward a couple times (not that that’s a great thing), but there was a stretch of total defensive chaos that saw WHU almost grab a second. I dunno but that may’ve been general disorganization.
Now Ozil has Walcott and Podolski to find id imagine his stats will go through the roof 😉 Its going to make exciting watching thats for sure !
Thanks Lars for the Akvavit recommendation – I’ll keep an eye out for it here – otherwise pop into Systemet next time I’m in Göteborg – det var ju länge sedan 🙂
Thanks also to all for the TV5 report – it would be great if he got the chance to regain his true solid form and show he’s learnt something from the rash dashes – although I seem to remember one, against Newcastle I believe, where he sent a beauty out to the right wing from his own half, continued running and met the cross in the Toon penalty box to score the winner.
Just a little comment on the posts about the February fixtures – if you think that looks tough, take a look at 11/3 to 5/4 – doesn’t come much tougher than that.
Chippy@182. Yes, I’ve been waiting for that constellation too.
Arteta or Flamini
Özil Santi
Walcott Giroud Podolski
Podolski will also give Gibbs more cover.
Still with Jack and TR7 on the bench or for rotation.
Hope Aaron comes back soon but we have nothing to fear from his temporary disappearance.
Maybe we could do with another striker in January but whoever it is will surely have to be really top-notch and most of them will be tied down until the summer.
Chippy, agree with you about Ramsey. He could do with a breather. It was also notable how we inadvertently benefited from his departure today. Poldi coming on meant Santi could spray those diagonal passes from the middle to either wing, whereas when Ramsey was still on the pitch, Santi was still coming into the middle but there was only Walcott out wide. I wonder if Poldi would have got as long a run out as he did had the substitution not been forced.
DKG@ 184 Yep its been on the cards, i think in the last 3 games hes pulled up holding different areas and muscles on his leg so it was a coming – Yes agree entirely on the options we are soblessed in Midfield its untrue, Without a doubt we need a top notch striker andif secured it would give us the added impetus to really push on.
But like you im not really sure we can get good enough quality in Jan but we will see 🙂
NBN@185
Yes good spot, the pitch certainly opened up when Cazorla went central and we had options on both flanks – It was his best game in a while and its probably his best position.
Not sure on that only Wenger can answer that one 🙂 its good to have him back tho not only is he a decent player who weve yet to see the best off (Im expecting that to change now with his countryman supplying the Ammo)
Hes also a top notch person who deserves good things to happen on the pitch !
Thats my lot for the evening of to watch the re run:-) Be Lucky all
Up The Arse,
Good evening hölixes,
Good to hear the lads found a way to twist the hammers and get them hammered. Great drinks up there. And if all the posts are any thing to go by, then Santi is on the ascendancy and Rambo’s layoff and Poldi’s return gives him a good run in the middle of the pack. Better days are here. #topOfTheLeague
Great game what can you say I thought it would be one of those afternoons where nothing would work or go in for that matter!
Poldi gave a us lift! Hope Ramsey is ok and wont be out for long time!
So, the “wobble” officially ended in the 68th minute of the Boxing Day match against West Ham United, 2013. Remember that date at the end of the season when you watch the celebration bus go by in Norf Larndan!
The boys dun gud today, innit?!…Kept their composure, kept their heads, kept on going…
That is how you win things.
Top for New Year? You betchya!!!
🙂
dk, your Swedish is impeccable 🙂
The TV5 goal you are talking about must be the one he scored with virtually the last kick of the game in April 2012. I think it wasn’t he who started the attack though but he certainly finished it in the best possible way.
Various: I agree a rest for Ramsey may be good, and I’d like to add that it is testament to how far he has come when we feel he had a sub-par game today and yet served Theo a sitter (just sidefoot it and it’s almost guaranteed to go in!) and played several very good throughballs.
It will be interesting to see if we start against Newcastle with Arteta/Flamini behind Özil and Cazorla with Poldi and Theo out wide. If we can play around their slightly more physical midfield then a lot is won right there. But it may make us a bit vulnerable at the back, though.
Off topic,
But Wayne Rooney is an utter turdbucket.
Just saying.
I thought there was a general rule that insulting Manyoo players was never off-topic?
COYG
Insult?
It’s a statement of fact, me’lord!
On the second day of Christmas
My true love ngave to me
A three to one victory.
Two sexy strikers;
And One Arsene Wenger atop the league tree!
Back on top the day after Christmas. Didn’t see the game thanks to Arsenal allowing only one game a week to be broadcast here (unlike both Manc clubs TV services).
But both us and shitty got the right results, both as I expected … in fact I stripped Suarez of the captaincy of my fantasy football XI in anticipation, handing the armband to Theo. Beware you guys above me in the Happy Train league, I’m catching you…
Öskar
We’ve got Newcastle a, Cardiff h, villa a, Fulham h, S’oton a, palace h till 8th Feb.
Chelsea have:
Liverpool h, S’oton a, hull a, united h, wham a, city a
City have:
Palace h, Swansea a, Newcastle a, Cardiff h, spurs a, Chelsea h
I don’t think it’d be outrageous to say both Chelsea and City might only get 10 points.
I think Chelsea will lose points vs Liverpool, S’oton, United, and City.
I think City will lose points away to Swansea and Newcastle. Chelsea will play for a 0-0 and maybe Spurs could nick a draw.
If we get 18 points which is tough but realistic given our superiority vs. the lesser teams it’d be awesome since we need a gap after Feb. 8.
We have Liverpool a, united h, Sunderland h, stoke a, Swansea h, spurs a, Chelsea a, city h, Everton a.
All that with Bayern home and away in the middle.
That stretch will decide the title. Get a striker to help Giroud and we’ll win it.
Pure poetry, Arsenal, and as some are getting poetic:
Note to Holic –
You should’ve asked Old ‘Arry
When the preview came up short,
The one thing we’d have loved to know
Was what Old ‘Arry thought.
He knows about the ‘Ammers
‘Cos he used to manage there,
But they had to sell their good’uns
When he left the cupboard bare.
He always is available
Through the window of his car
To enlighten all who’ll listen
To his blah-di-blah-di-blah.
He’d say, “West ‘Am are triffic,
They could do summink today,
They’ll just kick Arsenal off the pitch
If Big Sam gets ‘is way”.
But ‘Arry, he knows nuffink,
He is just a babbling clown,
In his current quest
With Queen’s Park’s best
He took the Rangers down.
So all we got was Holic’s post,
Sweet, short and made with glee,
He bet the stingy bookies
That the Reds would win 0-3.
And though they did go 1-0 down
He kept faith in his quid,
He said that they would win 0-3
And so they bloody did !!!
Serving up a Podolski-esque cross…
Giroudesque shank?
Drought ended right there 😉
8ball gets the goal!
Nice bit of poetry there, Trev. Let me also recite a certain Mr T. Abowson, with a small ditty that is related to the subject matter:
Harry Redknapp told me Tottenham were good
I said
LIAR, FUCKING FUCKING LIAR
Big difference with poldi out wide and theo and them allowing santi to weave his magic through the middle.
Santi looked much more dangerous and skilful through the middle.
Ozil had a good solid game and feeds theo lovely thru balls to run onto. Let’s face it that is Theo’s go.
Mert and tv5 did a good job.
Well done arsene and well done the team.
Nobody will talk about it because the quality of pundits is extremely poor but so many CBs are getting drawn to the ball like a magnet.
Skrtel is outrageously poor. Always gets drawn to the ball as if there’s a magnet on it. Liverpool never close down the runners in space.
Negredo’s goal, Sakho ran over to close Navas down, and then Skrtel instead of running with the runner started running towards the ball carrier Navas. That freed Negredo up completely.
It happened a few minutes earlier when Skrtel started running towards the ball carrier who passed it to a free Negredo but Skrtel was able to recover and block the effort on goal.
So many CBs do that these days that BFG’s ability to read the game is of real value.
He doesn’t get enough credit of being one of the only CBs to be able to read the game properly. It is just being said that he reads the game well without mentioning that most CBs don’t.
Great Boxing Day performance there by the lads.
I must say, I thought it was going to be one of those days but we brought it back and showed a lot of class while doing so.
Feo has been looking a different player this year. I swear I saw him put in a tackle against Chelsea, and now a headed goal against West Ham??? What the deuce? Is he Ian Wright in disguise? 😀
Anyhoo, I know Poldi’s only just coming back from injury but I wonder whether the Boss would’ve sent him on if Ramsey didn’t have to come off? Reluctance to change a strong lineup or is Arsene not quite sold on the Poldi Power? Let’s hope it’s the former…
Lastly, Giroud’s been looking pretty fatigued recently. Anyone think that Bendtner should start against the Barcodes just to give the HFB a llittle breather?
SG@204: You don’t get as many caps for Germany as Mertesacker has if you aren’t an exceptional reader of the game, with exceptional being used in the sense of exception to the rule. Despite the difference in height, he reminds me a lot of Bobby Moore in that respect. Neither of them the fastest of CBs but usually first to be in the right place at the right time.
Well in for the double ton, bt8b.
Trev, fantastic stuff @198.
Thought the game was fine. We made it a little harder than it probably had to be, but anytime we do that and still win by 2 goals is fine with me.
Cazorla has got to be man of the match. Walcott and definitely Podolski deserve mentions, but Cazorla was sensational. Just rewatched the second half and I couldn’t take my eyes off Santi.
It’s good news that just when Ramsey and Giroud (who’ve arguably been our most important attacking players till now) are going off the boil a little bit, Walcott, Cazorla and now it looks like Podolski are stepping up.
Next fixtures are Newcastle (A), Cardiff (H), Aston Villa (A), Fulham (H), Southampton (A), Crystal Palace (H). All winnable games. Dare I say we need to win them ALL?
Finally, a few thoughts on our HFB:
I’ve been quick to defend Giroud from his detractors for some time, but the last few games have made me revise my opinion just a bit. Look, he’s done an incredible job for us this year. His unique meld of size/hold-up play and the ability to bring midfield runners into the game has been a lovely fit for this team, and with the likes of Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere, Poldi, Theo, et al capable of goals aplenty, there’s less pressure on Giroud to be prolific than there was on, say, RvP a couple years ago. BUT. Given that he’s the target man for our attack, and given that his finishing, though improved, can still be dreadful at times, I’m convinced that Arsenal do need a clinical finisher to reach their full potential. Yes, a “top” striker.
Two EXCELLENT chances gone begging against Man City, which would have altered the narrative of that game. At least one versus Chelsea, which could’ve been the winner. Another 1 or 2 today. Look, I get that even the best strikers miss good chances, and that as long as you’re taking a decent number of your chances, those mistakes are easier to overlook. But I have to think a Lewandowski, Suarez, RvP, Aguero, etc takes at least a couple of those chances and changes Arsenal’s narrative over the past weeks considerably.
Something else Giroud doesn’t do that other top strikers do. He doesn’t make goals for himself. He’s purely a finisher. He makes goals for teammates with his flicks and kicks, fair enough, and I don’t mean to undersell that ability. It’s lovely. But with a man or two to beat, Giroud’s only thought is to find a teammate. He doesn’t take defenders on. He’s simply not quick enough to beat them, or fast enough to run past them.
We are SO CLOSE to being a complete team. Giroud is a great player to have. He does many things very well. But we need that striker. I don’t think we’re going to get him in January, but we need him, and I have to think Arsene knows it.
Chippy@186, Santi’s best position is in the middle. Even if he starts nominally wide he always comes inside. And having Ozil in front of him makes him even more effective. That was a big reason that he had such a good game today.
We have to get used to Ozil being the anti-superstar. As someone said earlier in the drinks, he makes what he does look so simple you don’t immediately realise quite how good it is, yet it is world class. A first time pass here, a backheel there and a defence is opened up.
Also, some conversation above about rotating for Newcastle. My opinion is worth jack shit, but here it is all the same:
I’d sit Ozil down and let Cazorla pull the strings. Santi didn’t play at all against Chelsea, looked sensational today, and le boss has been saying he wants to rest Ozil.
Wilshere for Ramsey seems fairly inevitable, unless Arsene wants the defensive orientation of Flamini/Arteta in midfield. Wilshere seems the more likely option.
Walcott seems an obvious choice to start given his form (4 in 3 games). The remaining questions are: Bendy for Giroud? I’d kind of like to see that myself. Start Poldi? Depends on what the manager knows of his fitness, and what our tactics are against Newcastle. I like the width that Podolski/Theo give us.
Also if Koscielny’s ready I’d bring him on for Vermaelen. TV5 hasn’t been bad for us at all, but I still prefer the Kos.
Little three-game injuries like Koscielny’s, and like we all hope Ramsey’s is, can be a life-saver in a way. While Koscielny’s cut has been healing he’s been resting up all his tired muscles, bruises, bumps etc., and will now be raring to go. Lord knows Ramsey needs a break, and now he’ll get one. Let’s just hope it’s not too long.
Giroud is just quite simply not good enough. Plus he is currently lacking the confidence to up his game. You need good in-game action to do that. Wenger is not doing him any good by playing him incessantly like this. Much like what he did to Gervinho. He’s just hanging him out to dry… Truly, we all love Giroud. The fans are just doing their job, showing him tough love. Maybe he needs to start flying his collar too like poldi. Show of arrogance musta scared the hammers a ‘lil. And you can see NB taking this opportunity to play some hungry football. Nice to see. He should start against the toons. Having two frustrating strikers is our cross, we mustn’t leave Wenger to carry it alone. Won’t talk about the match cos you all already know eh?.
Poldi is back. He is back. A little cocky but he is back.
Snir @ 204
Totally, totally agree with this.
Watch the replay of City’s second goal and try to work out what Skrtel is thinking. He tries to trade markers with Sakho when Negredo is already charging through the middle and has a good ten yard start on the Frenchman. All so he can go press Navas, who has the pace to absolutely burn him even if he gets close.
Sunday league defending.
Good win, quite well played. Nice to see us getting up to speed again after the horrible winds vs Chelsea. We actually CAN pass the ball. Got enough players to cover for lack of form and injuries. Not saying we will win the league, but we will be there or there abouts. Continue winning the kind of games we’ve been winning and win one or two of the games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City and we might still shade it.
Haven’t been around here for a few weeks, had a lot on my plate work-wise, and the last few days have just been a lot on my plate, food-wise. Hopefully I’ll sober up soon and join in the fun again.
Merry christmas, ‘Holics!
Morning all, any report will be much later today.
Hope you are all well.
Good to hear from you Toby and you have got it about right.
goonsterham@208. Really good, balanced points about OG. I agree that a top goalscorer is needed but I doubt that one of sufficient quality is going to available i.e. a top top top one – they’re all with CL sides, all except for a disturbed racist at Liverpool. I’m not doubting his footballing qualities, it’s his presence in a very tight-knit squad that concerns me, added to his laissez-faire attitude to contracts. He’s easily seduced by Madrileños (to say nothing of Madrileñas).
For example, Ade was good at scoring goals, but AW let him go to City, City farmed him out to Madrid and Spuds, AVB ignored him at Spuds. Why? I don’t know but I suspect it has something to do with personality and being a disruptive presence. That sort of thing also has to be taken into account, which is why the summer bid for the bitey one surprised me. Anyway, getting him from Liverpool now is pie-in-the-sky – AW would have to push the boat out too far.
So if you’re advocating bringing someone in, when you start looking at reality, the possibilities are incredibly small – best would be Suarez to RM and them releasing Benzema, but is he any better than OG? The shooting stars of last season, Benteke and Michu, have not been able to reproduce their form now that PL defenders have had time to suss them out.
I’m actually beginning to think that the squad we have gives us a range of possibilities without additions, e.g. not replacing OG with Bendtner but with Podolski and Walcott in tandem. I know that will weaken our ability to get first ball from long clearances but we will then just have to sharpen up on getting second ball and moving it quickly.
As for the Newcastle game, I think it will come too soon to rest Özil and OG – better to wait for Cardiff, Villa, Fulham.
In the absence of our own maestro, go over to arseblog for a match report full of “Christmas fayre” – laugh a minute mixed with some perceptive comments. Particularly hooted at his description of C.Cole.
Real pantomime stuff.
Goonsterham@208
Very balanced analysis. I was on Giroud’s case all last season for not being a clinical finisher albeit his one touch play is exceptional. He also doesn’t score in enough big games.
This season he is much improved and at his best has a huge impact on our forward play but he doesn’t score enough goals and misses too many chances which could prove vital. I hope we can get a different sort of striker in the window and on occasions play them together.
Sadly we are finding about twenty sets of ratings being published after games some with the most banal assessment ( one said Cole dominated BFG in the air when Per won all his aerial battles!). A lot of them are starting to big Bendtner up on the basis of a good attitude in the five minutes he played and suggesting he is the answer. He is emphatically not the answer and needs to be moved on . Poldi is a potential stop- gap but is really a winger and a very good one too.
I hope we can get a top striker in the window but if a world star is not available I think we need to look at who can finish even though they might be perceived as being over the hill. We have debated Berbatov and we need to look at a solution that is short – term in the situation we find ourselves now. Alastair hurrah from someone with an eye for goal might see him net ten vital goals and we might also see a rejuvenated Giroud as well
Alastair Hurrah is not a striker I am suggesting. I meant a last hurrah but my iPad decided to have some fun.
Morning all.
Only seen the highlights on MOTD and listened to the radio commentary. Not much really to add to the above really. I agree totally with Chippy and several others re Ramsey. He needs a break and so this may well do him good in the long run. We also have ample cover. I would expect General Flamini to step up at the Geordies.
I also agree with the comments re Poldi and Theo. Apart from my now legendary width comments I have also banged on about the balance and the shape. I think that when we play the likes of TR7, Santi, Özil, Ramsey, Micky A etc we play loads of players that all want to play centrally. Playing the likes of Theo and Poldi gives us more natural width and the side far better shape. Using the width opens up the space for others.
Great to see Poldi back. You only need to look at the smile on his face when he scored to see how much it meant to him.
SteveT – doesn’t Podolski always have a smle on his face? There is that well-known photo of our bench when all are looking miserable except Poldi who is wearing the broadest grin. Reminded me of a drawing I saw some years ago of a cinema audience seen from the front, where everyone’s face is full of terror except for one little chap in the middle, sitting there with a big pack of popcorn and a look of total delight. That would have been Poldi.
Morning all, must say I feel really good about the win today. Sure, it was a game where we were expected to take the three points but I really like the way we dug in and got our just rewards in the end.
dk@216: I agree that it will be really difficult to find a striker in January that will improve us. I also think a lot of us (me included, I might add for clarity), like Arseblog writes in his blog today, are a bit too quick to forget what has happened earlier in the season. Giroud is in a bit of a slump at the moment, but having Poldi and Theo back will probably be good for him as it takes some of the weight off his shoulders. And for all his misses last night he did set up Poldi very nicely for his goal and the form of a player can easily turn on just one such good move. Let us also not forget that while he misses quite a few at least he is there to miss them so there is every chance of him starting to convert them a bit more regularly again – especially with Theo and Poldi stretching defenses a bit more.
Also, Theo now has four goals and one assist in his last four games. Poldi came on and got a goal and an assist last night. Those of you who think we haven’t missed them would do well to think again. Steve is spot on, they provide proper width and I am starting to feel that Theo is one of the most underrated (note: underrated, not neccessarily best) players in the entire league, to be honest. Sure, he is a bit hit and miss and can disappear in games but his pace is always a concern for the opposition. He does provide width and gives us an alternative to going through the middle.
As for Michu and Benteke, I think Michu in particular just had a purple patch because he did, if I remember correctly, stop scoring even well before last season was over. Benteke on the other hand kept scoring all season, and it should also be noted that both have been struggling with injuries all season so far and have never really had a chance to get going. I know Benteke has played quite a few games but several of them has been while carrying injuries, and Paul Lambert allegedly rushing him back despite him not being entirely fit yet after over a month out with a groin problem probably didn’t help either. I still think he has the potential to become a really good attacking player, although he is of course not a player we should go after in January, I might add.
ttg: instead of correcting yourself, you should have set up a Wikipedia page for Alastair Hurrah and then waited to see how long it would take for it to become an actual rumour 🙂
Morning all,
goonsterham @208 – very good stuff on OG,
Nice follow ups from dkg, ttg and Steve T.
Didn’t see anything of the game yesterday due to visiting family, and then discovering there were no highlights on Sky as it had been a “BT” game. 🙁
No highlights on Player last night either 🙁
In my euphoria at the win and finding the net again with no less than three goals, I completely forgot the ‘Ammers had scored in my piece of nonsense at 198. 🙁
*trudges off to read Arseblog after three fails, and two days worth of food that are clinging round the middle with a vice like grip*
And good follow up from Lars – cross posting. 😉
Alastair Hurrah and Bevin in January please. 😉
If we do sign Alastair Hurrah he’ll probably pick up a Hip-Hip injury. 😉
I have ten toes, like most people do. As you may remember, two of them were fractured a few weeks ago. One of them has fully healed by now, leaving one which hasn’t.
Guess which one of my ten toes I just accidentally banged into a chair leg 🙁
Trev@225: either that or a knees-up injury!
Hopefully the “unhealed” one, otherwise you’ve got two broken ones again. 🙁
Lars @227 – or maybe even the clap ! 😉
Ttg,
“Alastair Hurrah” is definitely the typo of the season. 🙂
this one, dkg? http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UuXqPu91_Gs/Tv81McLwyGI/AAAAAAAAI1g/Xti7NRmAKRo/s1600/Sunday+Morning+Macabre+22.jpg
Charles Addams, wonderful stuff.
ttg, I love the idea of Alstair Hurrah joining us in his declining years. He and the Arsenal Gentleman would make a wicked pair upfront.
when I think of og in the middle of poldi and theo, with santi, özil and arteta behind them, it makes me very happy. lars touches on an important idea: og might not be scoring right now, but given his workrate and touch he is a perfect foil for the returning pair. can he lead the line by his lonesome the rest of the season? I think not; if we do go for a striker next month I’d say they’d need to have similar workrate and touch, plus the clinical eye. given the team rhythm on the pitch that would make for the least disruption. but there don’t seem to be a whole lot of choices. big lew is mine, cup tied or not, though he’s obviously got his ticket to Munich already reserved, if not bought.
Trev: thankfully, it seems the toe is alright after all. I didn’t hit it that hard and the pain has all but subsided now and I can walk normally without any additional pain.
Lars, pleased to hear it. If it works that well, I think I might go and bang my knee on a chair leg and see if it clears that up too ? 😉
Trev, just as long as you don’t hold me accountable for the consequences 🙂
Lars @ 222
I totally agree re: Giroud. Missed sitters, but kept getting himself into good positions, kept working hard and got a bit of reward with the assist.
He does need a rest, but I’m sure Poldi can deputise in a couple of our upcoming fixtures. Main thing is that Ollie must be given rest time in January.
As far as potential targets go, Porto’s Jackson Martinez has issued a fairly public “come and get me” to ourselves and (spits) Chelsea. Don’t see it happening in January, and suspect Le Boss may not be interested.
Also watched Chicarito’s cameo for Utd yesterday and he seems to have lost a yard of pace. He’s clearly behind Wellbeck in the pecking order and I have to say that I don’t think he’d be the answer for us. The Chicarito of 2011, perhaps, but not the current version.
Hello ‘Holics, happy holidays to all you guys and your families whether you are celebrating three points, top of the table standing, Christmas or new year, have a good one.
scruz@231 Thanks for that one – no, that’s not the one I recall but has clearly been the prime inspiration for it. This one looks more like a contrast between sadness and laughter, whereas the other was more between pure terror and absolute delight, plus the popcorn :).
But it’s definitely Poldi in the second row.
So Malkay Mackay has unsurprisingly gone, terrible shambles at Cardiff at the moment. I hope they don’t have any ‘new/caretaker manager bounce’ when we play them on Wednesday!
Hahah this is very very nice 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrknGsskrE0#t=407
Heh @ Alistair Hurrah. I think he’s a much better option than Henry Hooray or Charlie Cheers.
Eandy@239: Is that Marouane Fellaini?
Re Malky Mackay: At least he made them sack him so they have to pay off his contract. He’s better off out of there – he’ll soon get another job in a more stable club.
I guess they’ve got AVB lined up to replace him :).
The more I hear about Alistair Hurrah I think he could be the answer.. I love Lars’ idea of the false Wikipedia page. I await the report in the Daily Star linking us with the new Kilmarnock wonder boy .:)
Speaking of Giroud, this month’s Arsenal magazine ran the story of the 90-91 campaign (in the Total Recall feature 🙂 ) where Alan Smith’s key role was highlighted. This predates my (and I guess many of the younger generations) following of Arsenal by a decade so the experienced ‘holics would have to chime in, but reading the description of Alan Smith’s game and seeing the odd clips it looks like a comparison can be made between their games …
He does present a bit of a dilemma if the dry patch continues.
In the first 25 appearances of the season he now have 10 goals and six assists, I am sure the goals can be improved upon by a striker of real quality that we buy (if we can) in January but his all round game would have to have a similar impact on the team’s performance. We are never going to play 4-4-2, and given that it would be very very hard to find a true quality striker in January I would not be surprised if Arsene opts for a goal scoring left-sided winger who can alternate with Poldi…and use Bendy to play the Giroud role while giving Giroud a rest/break. Despite our excellent start to the season — where in all of our best performances Rambo and Jack did decent job on the wings — we look most potent with wingers who can cross, run behind as well as drift in and shoot.
The finishing aspects are such a function of confidence … I would love to see one or two of Giroud’s more audacious attempts (like the pile driver against Everton) go in which would give him great confidence. He started the season so brightly a lot because in pre-season he was not only scoring tap-ins and headers but some very decent quality goals even though against sub-par opposition.
Vincent Tan gift-wrapping up some points for us.
shame for Malkay.
And to all those out there in the twitter land (most too young to be in this bar) who wanted Usmanov to be in change, well this is the kind of shit we would be dealing with every year.
Look at the spuds as the example of how to always do the wrong thing.
He only nobody club that’s got anywhere after a billion was spent on it has been Citeh, and all they got was 1 premiership and 1 FA cup.
I will not discuss the Chavs in daylight.
Come on ‘Holic! Sitting here, having a glass of wine, waiting for friday to start, and for you to post the blog so I can have first!
There you go then Toby, just for you 😉 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dr F @243,
I will presume to count myself as a more experienced Holic and chime in for a moment.
I don’t really understand the “logic” in saying that we won’t be able to sign a true quality striker in January, but we will be able to pick up a left winger who can alternate with Poldi.
I think it has now been established that the club is only interested in spending money on top quality players. Why is it presumed that no top quality strikers will be available in January but top quality left wingers will, especially as left sided players are always at a premium anyway.
The second question would be “Why ?”.
We do actually have Podolski back now, and apparently Theo, with The Ox to return in January too. I also think that Monreal does a decent job as a left sided winger/midfielder, and provides good defensive support to Gibbs too.
If Arsene has found what he believes to be a top quality striker in January, I think he will try to sign him. If not, I think ttg’s scenario of an experienced but ageing proven goal scorer is more likely to get us through to the summer.
Other than that, I think the Arrivals Lounge will be empty in January.
I even think that Mr Bendtner’s ticket out may be delayed until the summer – regardless of any other activity.
@244: Doctor Faustus, similar players yes but in my mind Alan Smith was a bit more versatile. Giroud’s still improving though and has a great attitude so once he rediscovers his range he’ll be sorted I think
I’d be more concerned about OG’s goal scoring if he wasn’t such a useful cog in other parts of the machine … such as in retaining or regaining the ball with his knockdowns (balls which in previous years inevitably went to the opposition), and in defence where he is often found doing excellent work.
I’d keep playing him so long as he is fit. With Theo and Poldi back the pressure on him to score is less, which could lead to him actually scoring more.
Öskar
No top strikers available? Why do I keep reading about Falcao, Cavani and Suarez all being less than delighted where they are currently?
Öskar