Another Big Performance Required In Munich
Feb 19th, 2014 by 'holic
Old Big Ears, the European Cup, the Champions League, call it what you will. It is the one trophy us fossils haven’t seen Arsenal lift, the holy grail if you will. We were thirteen minutes from lifting the bastard in Paris. Drawn against the holders, the best team in Europe, in the last sixteen this season we have to accept it looked a tough ask this time around. That isn’t to say though that we were done for. In my lifetime I reckon I have seen four poorer teams than the current Arsenal side win the bloody thing.
Tonight gave us a chance to show what we are all about, and for most of the opening half we were more than a match for a team expected to roll us over. The match may well have hinged on two incidents which resulted in penalties. To be fair both awards were spot on, but the punishments for those who conceded the spot-kicks were open to debate, at very least. Mesut Ozil, relishing the contest in the opening phase, turned inside Boateng and was brought down. Boateng was not the last man but that is no consideration in determining a goalscoring opportunity. Ozil would have had a close range opportunity to strike at goal had he not been checked. Yellow was the colour of the card.
Fast forward to seven minutes before the break, and Robben gets in behind the defence and beats Szczesny to the bouncing ball, knocking it away from the onrushing keeper and away from goal. There is no dispute that contact follows and the penalty award is correct, even if Robben somewhat exaggerates the degree of contact. It is doubtful he would have caught it if not impeded, but the red card is brandished. Really? By such fine margins do matches swing.
That both penalties were horrendous in their execution does not matter as much as the interpretation of their awards. Of course had someone other than Ozil stepped up and leathered the bloody thing into the net we would have had something to defend when at a numerical disadvantage. If is a piss poor concept. We could equally have been one down with fifty odd minutes to play rather than making it to half-time with the chance to pinch something, somehow.
Almost lost in the haze of a gripping opening half was the not insignificant loss of Kieran Gibbs on the half hour. To lose the best left-back we have was bad enough, but it had a bearing on the subsequent two remaining substitutions. After missing the penalty Ozil looked visibly down. Let me say this. He is a fantastic signing and will take us to another level in time. Yet tonight it was a surprise to see Santi Cazorla sacrificed before him given what we suspected would follow.
What we suspected indeed transpired. Give a great team like Bayern a numerical advantage and there is only one thing to attempt. So we had two banks of four, marshaled by the barking Flamini, with Sanogo a willing but lonely figure ahead of them. Could we hold out? In the end a magical Kroos strike did for our hopes of nicking a scoreless draw, and Muller’s header made the scoreline reflect the 88% possession by Bayern in the second-half.
So what conclusions do we draw? Definitely the interpretation of the penalty incidents had a bearing on the rest of the game, but if we are honest Bayern showed real class tonight (and yes we know Robben is a hideous bastard). They thoroughly deserved their win given the way the game panned out. We can cling to the hypothetical, that it would have been different eleven against eleven, or even ten against eleven in our favour, for Boateng was a very lucky boy tonight. The hypothetical is just that. We have to deal now with the reality that for a second season running we have to overturn a two goal deficit in Munich. We know we are capable of it, no matter how unlikely a repeat may appear tonight.
In the immediate aftermath it was hard not to be impressed by the reaction of Per Mertesacker and Pep Guardiola. For so much mutual respect to be expressed after such a controversial game is refreshing. Now if we can just turn a page or two of the dictionary, for then we could progress from respect to ruthless. That is what we need to be in three weeks. Again.
What do you mean, lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice?
Milan (cough).
239 Responses to “Another Big Performance Required In Munich”
Get in……
Time to read the report now….
Come on mate!
well in Steve T. Now to do the same.
Just back from the game. Gutted. Boys deserved better than 0-2. Some heroes there. Ozil should have a real pummelling for that pen though. I’ll ignore the spasmodic tracking back,
Sanogo is a definite improvement on what we had.
Just in.
Respect to the lads who wore the shirt tonight. Bit callow with the free kick at the end, and obviously a missed pen is a missed pen, but otherwise I’ve no complaints.
A great first half where we showed ourselves well capable of rattling what is probably the best team in the world, followed by an extremely disciplined second half where we defended backs to the wall like our lives depended on it. Second goal was a heartbreaker.
On to the weekend. Got to lift themselves quick.
COYG
Fine summary as ever maestro. I really do not know how you rise above the seething venom that I feel and sum such a match up so succinctly. Respect, H.
And a large Ardbeg 10 yo. You need to choose another boozer though, sir.
8th! Getting stuck in
Or persuade Martin to stock it, bath 😉
Never happy when we lose, but the lads can hold their heads up high, tonight.
Just need to come out the blocks on Saturday and go for Sunderland’s throat.
3 points and then…..breathe.
Well there it is lads. I took the landlord’s advice and enjoyed it.
Robben’s theatrics were unnecessary given that that was a nailed on penalty any day. Have to believe we can do what we did last time around.
Concentrate on the league. Forget about the CL it’s gone. 2nd string please.
An honest and objective appraisal, H. You outdo yourself sir.
Bayern are indeed a class act and for the better part of the first half, we stood toe to toe with them.
Initially, it seemed that the ref was totally biased against The Arse but, with the benefit of hindsight, it turns out that he was just a bit so.
Monreal doesn’t exactly fill me with joy when on the pitch. We should really pray that Gibbo is okay.
I love Ozilla but you would expect that a professional footballer, six yards from goal with the ball stationary, would at least attempt a thunderbastard. I mean, I would.
Robben is Robben.
Pep is suave.
Lightning does strike twice in the same place and all hope is not lost.
The boys impressed on the whole and more of that attitude is exactly what the doctor ordered.
COYG.
Very proud of our team’s performance, but even more proud of the reaction on here and the excellent report by the Guvnor.
Just read the post. Should Boateng really have been sent off?
Just a foul in the box innit?
Evening one and all. Just back from the game. Such a real shame that it ended the way it did. I have had a look at the previous drinks and there are some interesting views.
I though we started the game really well. I must say that I was very surprised to see that Giroud was not in the starting line up. The fact that he was on the bench is even more bizarre. Why was he on the bench? Not fit? Being punished? Surely if he is on the bench then he is fit enough to start???? Sanogo looks a very good prospect but this is all he is at this moment of his career. The way he had been thrown in to the last two games just emphasises the dearth of striking options that we have available. I think I may have expressed my exasperations about this point more than once in previous discussions.
I thought we started the game brilliantly. We had pace, passion and really tested Bayern. Then, the only German in world history that can’t take a penalty strides up and gives a back pass to his old school mate. Very frustrating indeed.
The next 20 minutes killed us. Gibbs having to go off not only weakened the left hand side but also meant we were one sub down very early on. Then followed Shezza. His decision making was awful last season. It has improved immeasurably this year so I will forgive him this one. Unfortunately under today’s rules if it’s a penalty then it’s a straight red. People have moaned about the ref but for me he has no other option sadly. I have since been told that he has left the pitch making some sort of gesture. If he has then he will face further sanctions that the one game ban. If he has then he is an arse and has been incredibly stupid.
To play 60 minutes with 10 men is always tough. To play against a side with the quality that Bayern have is almost suicidal. I thought for the rest of the game we battled manfully but credit to Bayern. They passed us to death and despite a monumental effort form those on the pitch it just became a battle of attrition.
The score in the end was probably a fair reflection of the play and possession. I could not understand some of the changes made. Like you I would not have taken Santi off. I also would not have taken The Ox off.. If we were leaving Ozil on then personally I would have taken Sanogo off and put the Ox up front for the last ten minutes.
In the end we have been punished for having to two early changes and going down to 10 men. The age old problem of not having any pace up front also was an issue. In those later stages of the game we had no outlet. Sanogo had run himself into the ground.
The tie is not dead. Not dead at all. Score first over there and we are off and running.
One final point. I have mentioned it here before and will mention it once more. If we really do have a bucket load of cash then we really should be speaking to Bayern about a deal for Toni Kroos. I have always liked him as a player. I thought he was top class this evening.
The final shout has to go to the crowd. The atmosphere was electric. The place rocked. Even when there was a dash for the exit when the second went in by some those of us that remained still sang our hearts out.
All in all a frustrating night but a tie not beyond redemption.
And for the record; the Red was the WRONG decision because the ball was running out of play and even if it the length of the pitch was extended by a few more meters, and Chesney didn’t make contact with Robben, Sagna and Koscielny were both making covering runs an were both in a better position to get to the ball before Robben so that doesn’t qualify as a clear goal chance for Robben.
Nice supplement Steve T.
It was an electric start by us….pity it was short-circuited by the pen miss.
The North Upper was rocking to ‘Red Army’ all the second half.
Agreed Cent…..but it’s gone.
Onwards
Bring on the Makkems.
Holic,
You show your customary class and maturity in your summary of events. I have just returned from the match and have discussed events with people who saw things differently. I tend pretty much towards your more measured view.
What I do have to say ,and indeed did last night ,was that games are disfigured by the combination of the red card and penalty. Citeh suffered more grievously than we did yesterday because Barca scored the penalty but whatever the case the second half was farcical. We had begun quite superbly and hustled Bayern out of their stride in a way that roused the crowd. When the penalty was given I hoped that Jack or Santi would take it having seen Ozil take one of the worst penalties I have seen a professional take against Marseille. . I have now seen him do it twice. This kid’s body language, his attitude on the pitch and his facial expression are as downbeat as any player I can remember. There is no doubt that he has enormous quality but something has gone very wrong with his level of performance. I have seen him live about twenty times now and find his game fascinating in that he plays very subtly but clearly disappears from the game for long periods – a trait that is unexpected in a £42 million player.
There were many plusses tonight. Both goalkeepers did well but the loss of Gibbs was significant in that it put Monreal up against the dastardly but talented Robben. He appeared very ill- suited to the challenge tonight. Mertesacker and Koscielny were magnificent, Flamini was a lion and Jack was superb in that marvellous opening salvo. Ox and Sanogo also did well early on but having to use two subs against masters of possession before the 40 th minute was cruel luck and the decision to start the willing Sanogo backfired although Giroud who is about half the speed of Sanogo would have made little difference.
My only bright spot of the day was seeing a Bayern fan in a pub in the Strand drop a tray with six pints of lager on it. He might be the only person in the world who can’t save an Ozil penalty.
No excuse, but that rule needs looking at. A pen is bad enough, but a red card and missing the next game amounts to three punishments for the one offence. That is overkill. Especially when, as in Robben’s case, he wasn’t denied a goal-scoring chance since wouldn’t have reached the ball after playing it to the side. And double especially when, in Özil’s case, he would have reached the ball and got in a strike at goal … but only a yellow resulted.
Both clear penalties, but outcomes nowhere near in proportion.
I simply don’t understand why Özil wasn’t replaced after Sir Ches got his marching orders. He’s the most useless defender in the squad and contributing very little in any other way. I am still waiting for evidence that £42.4mil buys you that something extra in these big games…
Nor do I understand why Ox was the one to make way for TR7. When he was replaced we should still have been hoping for a lucky break and an equaliser, and Ox was the most likely to have been the one to do it.
If there was a glimmer of hope amongst the disappointments it was Yaya. He is fitting in just beautifully, like he’s been playing all season. Not much he could do today with such limited service, but what he did promised much for the future. Way too early to make wild predictions but I thought I saw a little bit of TH14 in his play.
Öskar
And for the record, I cannot stand Pep Guardiola.
Pretentious, arrogant Barca-twat. Class – pure class? Oh good god, to hell with that. The man is a self-important, irredeemable fancy pants, smirking, arse who just happen to manage what was the best single group of players in a generation.
And Everyone at barca-moan-us can just eff off. Except of course Cesc Fabregas, who is still a man amoung boys there. Or anywhere, really.
I’d really love to see us hit 3 past those shits in Munich and put them out.
There. Ridiculous rant over. Back to regularly scheduled programming.
Guardiola is the only manager I heartily endorse as successor to AW when he decides to retire on his pension.
Öskar
Odd decision to “rest” Giroud, as Wenger claims. You may want to rest your striker but you do not rest him in a massive game like this. If you do decide to punish, I mean rest, your striker surely you would play a German international with a gazillion caps ahead of a guy who has made one start?
Apart from that, I thought we were ok until the red card. Penalty yes, but as the ball was heading out of play it was a yellow card in my opinion.
Ozil is still worrying me. He just doesn’t look at it, regardless of the penalty miss.
So an odd team selection for me made worse by an injury, which means Monreal is going to play more games and he’s … well, not very good at defending.
Everybody loved the charge up field by Kos incidentally, but he never got back into position which meant Flamini was covering the middle on the second goal. That worked well…
Overall I think 11v11 we were their equal. At least.
It should be illegal to be as good as Kroos is though. The bastard.
The gaffer has said the Ox came off because he was carrying a knock.
I’ve seen a lost of Ozil bashing on Twitter tonight and I think it’s wide of the mark.
Fair’s fair – the pen was fucking awful. But he won it himself with a piece of genius and he was instrumental in our nearly ripping Bayern a new arsehole in the opening minutes.
After the red card he covered a lot of ground (I gather more than all bar one or two others on the pitch), without doing anything to massively distinguish himself but – and let’s be real here – he’s a possession footballer. He wasn’t bought in because he’s superb when we’ve not got the ball.
I thought that, pen aside, he did well enough, and that he was excellent in our previous two games. As for what £40m buys you, what did Juan Mata do against us the other night? How are the likes of the (admittedly marginally cheaper) Lamela and Fellaini doing?
He’s a quality player, he’s made a huge difference to our season and I find it quite sad that there are those who clearly have the knives out for him already. Not pointing the finger at anyone on here: I’m talking more generally.
Oh, and by the way, I thought the Ox was fantastic again tonight and may be the difference for us in the next few months if we can keep him fit. He scared the shit out of some top class defenders in that opening spell.
In the last round of drinks, someone came up with a mock-up of the morning headlines should Arsenal lose. Well this is the first in:https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg3wqmBCQAAeskQ.jpg
They never fail do they?
Excellent report, Holic. If is a piss poor concept. Classic!
I’ve said elsewhere; that mirror back page is the cuntiest thing I’ve seen in a long, long time.
Good call @26, N7. He’s the business.
My grievance with Özil, N7, is that we paid to much for him. What I’m seeing week after week is a player worth more like £25-30mil … useful, but a £42mil striker or two £20mil DMFs would have been money better spent.
Öskar
Arrrrggghhh
Arsenal bloody Arsenal
Luck is such a fickle bitch. She does not fancy the red and white and when she does it’s a fleeting affair.
I hope the team takes the positives and it carries over to the league and FA cup. I don’t see us winning the CL, even less so now, so let’s not let this distract from the 2 competitions we can still push for.
Victoria Concordia Crescit
The Triple just became a little tougher… 😉
Öskar
@31 Oskar
£42m striker?
Have a look at Suarez record in the big games this season. Not sure he’s scored a goal. Never gets talked about though, because Liverpool fans are desperate for him to stay.
In the context of Mata, Fellaini, Lamela and many others who moved this season, I don’t think we overpaid for Ozil. I think he’ll be better next season, and that over the course of his time with us he’ll more than justify his fee. That’s if he’s not chased out of the club by bellends desperate to brand him the new Arshavin.
Another gunner sent off. RVP in 2010. Is there a conspiracy?The MC manager said the ref in the Barca game was not up to the mark. Here the gunners gkwas rc for a 50-50 foul.Whether the ball/d head made the most of it ,we will never know.There were some moments when the gunners were in the German box. The same old story of looking for the killer/perfect pass. Instead of shooting,another pass was mad e which was intercepted.
I don’t know but me thinks the gunners will be out unless they can some conjure 3 goals. Yes the gunners were 3-0 down at home to Inter but won 5-1. Then we had wc players.
This shd serve as an inspiration .The gunners must score first and make sure the defence holds.Then it will be interesting.
The starting line up with the inclusion of Rambo could be one of the best around in no time. The manager put out a team that should have gotten something out of the game if not for a few unforeseen circumstances. Who says a win couldn’t have happened if the penalty went in and the game ended with 11 men on each side?
Great Report Holic.
And some nice thoughts too from Steve, Bath, N7 and Ttg.
I thought Bayern were class and have a manager who knew how to really exploit the 1 man advantage. Lahm moved to midfield in the second half and he stretched us completely.
Lahm was the provider for both goals. He ran riot down our left side. Monreal was largely left on his own to defend that area. When Schesny was subbed I also felt others should have left the field before the hard working Cazorla. Criticism of Ozil misses the point. N7 is right – he’s a possession footballer primarily bought to unlock defences and not bolster them. But when we knew we were down to 10 men, I would have sacrificed either Ozil or Sanogo and tried to shore up the left side.
While we defended magnificently throughout the second half, am I the only one who thought one moment of utter madness cost us dearly? Kos left his CB role and went galloping up the field trying to make an impression in a game that was 4-5 mins from ending. It was an admiral show of enthusiasm from a player who has been magnificent all season and all throughout tonights performance. But it was one which, I felt we paid the ultimate price for. The ball came to Lahm, Muller runs in behind Per, Kos is out of position and its 2-0. We might have had some chance playing with a 1 goal deficit in Munich, but to quote a damning statistic on RTE tonight, teams with a 2 goal advantage have 98% chance of going through in the 2nd leg. I think Kos made one solitary mistake in the game in an otherwise flawless display. But thats the difference at this level.
Flamini is a limited player in some ways, he may even have been out of position for Kroos superb goal. But the lad has steel and bottle and when things got tough, he never hid and stood up to be counted. We need more of that steel.
Great post Joe.
Watching it tonight there were a few moments when I thought that Flamini is EXACTLY the player you want in this situation. Right up his street.
Any idea what the team might look like on Saturday? The lads will be gassed.
I’d guess Woj, Nacho, Per, Kos, Jenks, Arteta, Rosicky, Santi, Poldi, Giroud and maybe Gnabry?
I’ve also seen quite a lot of people complaining(on Twitter especially) about Özil’s perceived lack of effort in defence. I have these to say;
1. The only thing he did wrong today, in my eyes, was the poor penalty.
2. Ozil actually tracks back and helps in defence, he just doesn’t fly into tackles carelessly but rather harries the opposition player just enough to put them off and make them take the least best option(an example was in the 2nd half when he nonchalantly tracks Robben’s run into our box and harries him enough to make him run the ball out of play without putting in a tackle that could have led to a penalty). Most players make the mistake of trying to look like heroes by attempting tackles inside the box and end up been villians(see Poldi against Liverpool) the truth is that in our modern game ridden with divers the best thing to do when tracking runners into your penalty area is to avoid making a tackle as much as you can and instead harry the attacker into a tight corner away from your goal then block any attempt he makes at a shot/cross.
3. Özil actually ran around a lot today and the fact is that of all players on both teams only Flamini and Jack covered more grounds than him.
4. I understand Arsene’s decision to keep him on today, taking him off after he missed a penalty a few moments ago could easily shatter his confidence , he’s clearly a player who lives on the confidence and trust of his manager. Again, his passing under pressure is probably the best on our team and he kept running at the Bayern defence trying to create things the few times we had the ball when we were down to 10 men.
BMMBD.
I’d go with that team N7.
Its important we play a fresh side and we should have enough freshness in that line up to take the points.
That’s the third time we’ve been screwed by having players sent off in critical CL ties: Lehmann, RVP and tonight Sches. At this level, you need to have a team of experienced defenders to get a result if your a man down. A team like Chelski or Inter. A team in the Mourinho mould that knows how to park the bus. Problem is our philosophy is to play attacking football, so its not in our dna to park the bus. Bayern would have beaten Barca tonight if they lost a man too. Another example of the lack of common sense in refereeing. Its a joke that Schesny gets the line for an unintentional foul. The “last man” red card was designed to punish the cynical tackle. Problem is no common sense now applies in its application. How you can send Schesny off and leave Boateng on is extremely subjective, arguable and inconsistent. And we’ve been getting the wrong decisions for some years now!
Joe, agree with you on Kos.
That Mirror headline reflects the shabbiness and bias of Darren Lewis ( Tottenham supporter) ‘and his bias against Arsenal. The Mirror like all our tabloid press has only one use and although there are much better things to wipe your arse on there is little that is more satisfying .
Piers Morgan is a twat but I don’t think he would have allowed that if he’d been Editor.
Joe@ 37: I thought the second goal was more of Jack’s fault in decision making. Kos had earned the foul galloping forward and then stayed forward for the free kick, our two big central defenders always go in the opposition box in these dead ball scenarios. Jack should have really measured the situation and notice that neither Flamini nor full backs were in good covering positions, as they always tend to be when Mert-Kos are up there. He should have killed some time, and ensured that the organization and shape agains a counter-attack is in place, and then try for one last attempt at scoring a goal with a few bodies in the opposition box. There was no reason for him to hurry, Kos as the solitary target is hardly an efficient route for counter-attack.
Cent@39: Agree about Ozil, I thought other than the penalty miss (a really terrible one that was) he was very decent. Before the red card he was pulling a few strings and afterwards he tried his best to be an effective outlet for counter-attacks, often taking multiple Bayern defenders with him. We needed someone by his side to actually press more, and it didn’t help that Sanogo ran out of fuel around 60 minutes. As you said he is not the type to fly into tackles anyway. However positionally he betrayed his impatience a few times and not tracking the runners off Moneral back. That really is not his game, and the penalty miss did affect him somewhat.
Morgan would probably have added the words “The Cunts” to the headline, such is his tendency to be a complete bellend.
Toni Kroos for the Arsenal. There you go. If Bayern really are prepared to let him go then send someone to Munich a few days early to start talks now. He could make a hell of a difference to us.
Just to add, anyone who thinks Cazorla would have given better def cover than Ozil might want to re watch the first forty minutes of tonight’s game and note how many times Gibbs was left two on one.
I love Santi and I’m not knocking him, but Lahm had the freedom of the right flank for the entire first half.
Totally agree Steve T.
I cannot believe they’ll actually let him go. The lad is world class.
N7 @ 47: Neither Santi nor Ozil think and position themselves like wingers, even though both can do a terrific attacking job from the flanks. However their spatial perspective is always on the space opening up in front on which they can run into and do not consider the full back’s relative position over their shoulders.
Poldi, on the other hand, is actually a very good left winger who can play down the flank and has a good understanding of the left full back’s position. Last season him and Gibbo had struck an impressive partnership. I think the desire to fit both Santi and Ozil in has been the primary cause of Poldi’s relative lack of time on the pitch, and nothing sinister, but in many matches our left backs have enjoyed no protection by either of them.
Dr F, you just touched upon something that has bugged me for sometime. Is playing Ozil and Cazorla in the same team ‘carrying’ two luxury players? We know that they are not the most defensive minded players around and given the system we play, one of them should have the responsibility of covering the left back. Given that they would both rather play centrally, should AW find another way (formation) to play with them in the same team like Brenda got to do with Mcbitey and Hotstepper in l’pool? Or should he drop one of them in favor of Poldi, Ox or Gnabry?
just munchin
on some walnuts
a flavor of my
misspent youth
and getting ready
for some Lagavulin
the flavor
of my misspent
later middle age
that maybe cba
could enjoy.
I am getting really tired of all the excuses for Santi and Özilla. Fact is, when Ollie G plays he does more in defence than both of them combined. And I am still waiting to see either of them play like Kroos, Lahm or Robben did today in the big games.
What we need are dedicated club men, not luxury players. Flam is worth more to Arsenal than either of them, imo.
Öskar
Faustus,
Fair enough, you may think that Jack should have waited in taking the free kick until we had organised ourselves to launch an attack in the Bayern goalmouth. I don’t. I think that would have been silly. We were under the kosh ever since Schesny got sent off and the last thing we needed was to expose ourselves unnecessarily to a counter attack. I’m not being critical – just my opinion.
I could see Wengers furious and animated response to the second goal. He was livid and I have no doubt who he holds culpable.
Your point about Poldi is valid. I too do not understand why he is being omitted. I can only surmise that Wenger has his reasons. I doubt that Poldi’s presence would have been as effective as Cazorla, who is harder working imo. I did note from Poldi’s forlorn expression on the bench, that this was a defining moment in his career at AFC I feel. I think he was immensely pissed off. And i believe the writing is on the wall for a summer exit. Extraordinary, considering he’s probably the most efficient striker at the club..!
Oskar @ 52: When Ollie G plays he does a tremendous job as the third central defender in free-kicks and corners and an equally impressive job tracking back whenever there is a danger.
Neither physically nor temperamentally Santi or Ozil are set up that way. And they work best with partners in midfield who press. Their defensive contribution comes via their extraordinary ball retention, especially in tighter spaces, and work as a second defensive screen for pressing teams.
Two of them together with Jack is not a balanced formation IMHO.
Joe @ 53: I can see your point of view about Jack trying to gain form a quick free kick. Difference in opinion.
About Poldi, I think we should give Arsene the benefit of doubt. He started a lot of games last season, and this season since his return from injury he featured not that prominently because I believe the desire to fit in both Santi and Ozil. I don’t think Arsene underestimates or undervalues the abilities of a player as efficient as Podolski, and I think as the season progresses we will see more and more of him. Today I think he was slated as a super-sub, it was that type of game.
Poldi is in his late twenties, no matter which top level club he plays at he will always face this kind of competition for places, and I don’t think that the fact that he has to really earn back his place after a serious injury should stop him from wanting to fight. Six goals in six starts, and as the season enters the final stage we will see a lot more of him I think.
SG @ 50: That is the type of conundrum that makes Arsene earn his keep. 🙂 I would rather have these possibilities in formations rather than an automatically selected first eleven.
I think the strategy should depend on the opposition and the game situation. And who else is playing with them. Typically in big matches we can play both of them, keeping the left flank narrow and compact and use width on the right with Theo/Ox/Serge . However to make that work the central midfielder needs to be someone who is positionally disciplined and can defend, is willing to defend and cover the left flank, and has the composure to defend. Rambo is the perfect player for that role, but even the Flamini-Arteta axis or giving TR7 Rambo’s role would work as well. Playing them both with Jack as the central midfielder is not a balanced team.
Poldi works best against teams that defend high up the pitch. He doesn’t really run up and down the flank but presents a very good defensive balance by pressing the opposition full and then releasing our left back on an overlapping run while staying on the left. Unlike Ozil or Santi who once releasing Monreal or Gibbo always gravitate towards the center, Poldi stays down the left and can cover. Attacking wise too this gives our left side more of a menace as the opposition right side of the defense move up to stop Poldi from running in and thereby opening up a gap on their right side. Poldi is excellent in deciding the time of those runs and thereby creating a lot of positional uncertainty.
had to listen
to game
on radio
nerves frazzled
cheers ‘hol and all
quality reads all round
to mine
for a bucket of swally
Why, do you think, AW cannot find a way to get Vermaelen onto the pitch – when he’s fit. Either in the back four, as LFB when Gibbs is out instead of Monreal, or turning him into a defensive mid field sub for Arteta or Flamini. He’s OK going forward, a good tackler and adds to the arsenal of tall buggers available in the box at set pieces. AW always gives him the captain’s armband when he starts a game, showing TM is still greatly respected by his teammates despite his lack of appearances and period of poor play which is now about two years behind him. He’s 28 and so a potential replacement for the aging Arteta – though not as nimble nor with the same distribution skills, but then he’s never been asked to play that position. Got to give him a try there or as a replacement for the equally aging Flamini instead of just denying him any chance of playing — and showing his value — particularly as the chance of ever returning to first team regular in the back line looks dead. He’s certainly no Squillaci that’s for sure and still figures in the Belgian national team after all.
Re Özil. He is struggling a bit at the minute but stil has bundles of class. Recent stats have shown that he has created nearly twice as many chances as any other player. The problem for me is not just his settling in period but the fact that we do suffer from the lack of pace up front. There is no point in spending money on the worlds most expensive bullets if you don’t have a gun with a decent trigger? We miss Theo and his pace and we miss a striker with pace. I’m sure you would see a different Özil if we had Theo and more pace up front.
Toni kroos made 147 passes in the match. The exact same number that Arsenal completed by all 12 outfield players over the whole game.
Quite staggering.
Let’s win the next match! Come on!
Future is bright, Ramsey should be back soon! Hope Gibbs is not out for too long, would need him for the 2nd leg!
Steve … we’ve had guns with decent triggers in midfield for years now. The problem has always been converting a higher proportion of the chances created, NOT creating more chances. Having Özilla creating more, if indeed he is, hasn’t solved the basic shortcoming. If he got himself into the area more often and actually scored a few himself I’d understand the point of paying all that loot. But he scores about as often as he defends successfully, so I don’t.
Öskar
Sound words, ‘Holic, after a game that could have delivered so much, It will be hard going in Munich, but stranger things have come to pass.
Oskar. Valid points but all I’m saying is that we are not playing to his strengths and that is not his fault. Yes he could do more but I do firmly believe that he will become a real superstar for us.
I’m not going to enter into a discussion about our striking needs again. My views are well documented and as I was told, if I don’t like it then I don’t have to renew my season ticket??????
Same old moaner.
BMBD
Are you fucking kidding me with that Mirror headline. Are the editors in back blowing the Special Cunt as I type this?
Great review btw Holic. Thank you.
Oskar and his transfer valuations 🙂
was
in need of a laugh
ta very much
bbc folk awards
never
have so many
double-barrelled
purported to be
of the soil
or sea
(rhyme unintentional)
.
yours
grumpy bollocks
I feel cheated out of what was shaping up to be a bloody brilliant game. Say what you will, but we haven’t been particularly lucky with the major decisions in these games in the past few years. Boateng could easily have walked and Woj could easily have stayed and then it’s an entirely different kettle of fish.
But as long as it was 11 v 11 we certainly showed we can mix it up with the big boys. Bayern are a bloody magnificent team as we all knew before the game but they can definitely be got at defensively.
OK, got to do some work now – back later to read the report and do a bit of back-drinking…
pogo stick
in the post
for you trev
all the best for today
from a fellow knee hater
🙂
I have just seen the penalty decision for the first time on Sky. Unfortunately, in my opinion the ref got it absolutely spot on. The fact is that the law is a total arse. It’s a genuine attempt to play the ball but he is beaten to it. It’s a penalty and that’s all it should be. There should be a way of differentiation from a genuine attempt to play the ball to a blatant foul. However, under the current rules I think the ref called it right.
The sending off killed the game. It seems bizarre that something that is simply a foul and a free kick anywhere else on the pitch ends up being a penalty, a red card and a ban. It’s something that needs looking at and soon.
lonestar
as the proud owner
of
a head
like a leaky sieve
with
extra
holes in it
i don’t remember
what i said about
your bmbd signature
hope it was just
a pile o shite
and
not nasty
.
BMBD
(still can’t remember what it means)
Trev, best of luck with the knee, mate.
No worries, cba. Nothing nasty at all.
BMBD
morning cent
isn’t it
Right, can any one of you learned individuals assist me with the reasons that Sanogo played?? Now I have nothing against the young man. Far from it. I hope he is someone that goes on to break goal scoring record after record. But before last night he had played only one game and scored less goals than Park. Why on earth would AW “rest” Giroud? Why leave a proven goal scorer like Poldi out in the wilderness? Now I will repeat what I said earlier, I have absolutely nothing against Sanogo in the slightest but surely yesterday was not his time????? The more I think about it the more baffled I am and increasingly the more annoyed I am getting. It just seems one monstrously bad decision for a game of that magnitude.
okeydoke
🙂
though
could you
remind an elderly minded
what does bmbd mean
i genuinely don’t recall
Morning, CBA.
“Barcelona must be destroyed”, CBA.
the city
or
the club ?
.
both are in the pot
as far as i’m concerned
Steve T, I THINK the decision to start Sanogo was made with the motive of injecting pace into our attacks and counter-attacks, we all know Giroud’s good qualities and pace isn’t one of them. Another reason could be to take Giroud away from the spotlight and allow the furore of his recent mistake(s) die down.
Having said that, I think Arsene made the right decision to start Sanogo because all the times we troubled Bayern in the 1st half Sanogo was either making runs in behind the Bayern defence(as opposed to coming short into midfield as Giroud does more often) or playing people in behind the Bayern defence(which Giroud can do, admittedly), furthermore Sanogo is much more mobile than Giroud so he(Sanogo) makes our attack fluid(I think that suits Mesut and Santi better) so Sanogo offers us more variety in attack whilst Giroud offers us specialty, I believe variety os needed when you play against the best teams.
CBA, heh, I think Lonestar is more concerned about destroying the club.
Spot on again Maestro.
From respect to ruthlessness, really liked that.
Good to see some regulars in The Tollie and the ground last night. BtM, Steve T, tabs, Snowy.
It was a magical night at the Ems last night spoiled only by a harsh decision/stupid rule (delete as you like) and ….er…. two goals against us without reply.
Performances both on and off the pitch were brimmed full of energy and guts. That’s all that I ever ask for.
Up The Arsenal!
he”ll learn
🙂
Sanogo had nothing to do with any bad things that happened last night. In fact I thought he was great given the circumstances. Only Flamini, Jack, And Özil logged more mileage. Bayern completed 808 / 855 passes. He worked his socks off. But it always comes back to talking about strikers ( sigh )
Steve T, you will have noticed that I didn’t include Poldi in my 82, the truth is I don’t think he has the physical presence or movement required to play the lone striker role for us against about 80% percent of the teams we compete against.
Steve T @ #77
Fair point.
My answer/guess is he was:
a) Head-f*cked.
b) Suffering from Chinese burns on his gentleman sausage and possible a testicle down pre- his hotel jaunt.
c) There may have also been a matrimonial ring yet to be retrieved from his anus (I think I spotted a cushion on the bench).
Apart from that, he should have played up front 😉
Sanogo did well last night.
He’s still very raw. Reminded me of bambi at times trying to get his shots away with one notable exception.
Strike three from me, I’m out.
Personally I think the decision to start Sanogo was made purely on the firestorm surrounding Giroud. It’s the out of sight out of mind strategy for the media.
Lightning does actually often strike in the same place much more than once. Contrary to that incorrect cliche, where lightning strikes is pretty predictable 🙂
Knowitall joking aside, a match report with which there is nothing to argue.
That “lazy” chap Özil ran more yards yesterday than any Bayern player and only slightly less than two Arsenal players. Just thought I’d mention that.
Steve: if Woj is banned for his ever so slight wanking gesture then UEFA can go fuck themselves.
N7@34: Suarez has, according to one of them stats accounts on Twitter, scored 19 of his 23 league goals in games this season against teams in the bottom half. He has yet to score a single goal against us, Chelsea, ManU or City.
Apparently the red card + penalty rule is likely to change from next season if what I read in a Swedish tabloid this morning is to be believed. Let us hope that is true, it truly is an arse of a rule.
Agree with Cent, Podolski is not a lone striker. He simply doesn’t have the work rate or battle in the air enough for that role.
If the Gunners had scored in the first 20 min then i am sure we would have won the game, the great bayern team were rattled, the cb’s were knackered and we had them on the ropes but for a certain Manuel Neur who was the MOM for me by a country mile.
Ozil was poor, it was not about the penalty, it was about the attitude, he needs to play it hard and not amble up the way he appears to be. The right flank was a freeway for the bavarians and they exposed it in more ways than one.
The tie is over, its ok, focus on sunderland, need to win that at all cost, santi, poldi giroud needs to start, we need to win, we will.
Cheers Holic.
I’ll just say Ozil must have ambled quite quickly given he clocked up nearly 12K in the match. Furthermore playing as an auxiliary left back is not his forte and he was never purchased to do so.
Sanogo up top was about pace, and the first half hour of the game appeared from where I was sat to totally vindicate the decision – Bayern were clearly vulnerable to the ball in behind.
I thought the lad did very well until the last half hour, when he was understandably shattered. We were very unfortunate to have our hand forced with all three subs.
Ozil’s “attitude”: criticising Ozil for having the wrong attitude is like criticising Flamini for lacking silks. He wasn’t bought for his attitude.
He ran his nuts off last night. The fact that they overloaded our right flank in the second half can’t be pinned on him – they were doing it even before the sending off, so it was always likely to get worse once they had an extra man.
Also bear in mind that two of the players doing the overloading were Robben and Lahm: never mind your Yaya Toures and your Suarezs; two of the best players in the world, very experienced at this level and very, very clever. If you think Monreal and Ozil were going to be able to keep that flank quiet then you are, quite simply, dreaming.
Steve T @77: Sanogo offers pace and more mobility than HFB. Meanwhile HFB’s head is all over the place but most particularly somewhere in the Twittersphere. Had we kept 11 men you would have seen him playing off the shoulders of the CBs running onto Ozil’s crafty through balls – not something you have ever seen HFB do. Poldi on the other hand has shown that he cannot play effectively through the middle and seems also unable to last 90 minutes.
Two further observations:
We did not lose the game last night because of Sanogo.
We will be seeing a lot more of Sanogo.
Bring on the Makkems
I just don’t understand the criticism of Ozil for anything other than the penalty attempt. He is not and never will be a left back. I do think he covers back more often and more effectively than Santi and have no issue with that decision. The loss of Gibbs early on was crucial as a second half addition of Monreal in front of him would have added nicely to our rearguard action as they overloaded that side.
The real crime was the yellow for Boateng followed by the red for Szcz. Such inequity of punishment is extremely unjust and clearly determined the outcome.
Good Morning Holic and All,
I would just like to say what a wonderful atmosphere there looked to be there last night right up to the final whistle . I remember being there last year bemoaning the lack of singing but I think with the effort fan groups put in it really made a huge difference. Well done to all.
On the match: Bayern really are an excellent side and chances will be few and far between. We have tastier if not bigger fish to fry now and I am a firm believer in do it on your own patch first before worrying about foreign fields.
Up the Arse!
Bath knows @ #98
Hi All
I cant dissagree with the ref, if it happen at the other end I would expect Neur to be the first german to the towels. That dosent change the fact the jamie i hate Arsenal Redknapp is a huge dick !
I was delighted with they way we played upto Shezza getting sent off, we looked up for it and dangerous. As said in previous drinks BM dont need any help in beating teams let alone giving them a man advantage. Shezza had to go for the ball, he had no choice but as for the dirty rat getting to it I have my doubts. But Shezza did make contact and he was the last man so a red was a given before Robben could even make another roll.
I have said recently in the drinks that Ozil needs a rest, he does and thats that. Yes the penalty was as poor as his previous one and thats why i was little shocked he took it and Ozil taking penalties really needs to be reconsidered. It seemed to affect him badly and his frustration seemed to grow as time ticked by. Just because we paid £42m doesnt mean he is a machine. If we dont want another Arshavin he needs to be rested. First year in the PL is always a massive learning curve to all foreigners coming here. I was surprised he wasnt taken off but the boss choose the OX who looked are most dangerous player, a very strange one that.
Fantastic defending was a huge positive that BM couldnt find a way through for so long. The first goal was a great strike and there wasnt alot we could do about that, somtimes you just have to take it on the chin. The second i think we could have prevented but its hard to keep such concentration levels to that intensaty for so long just wears you down and i think tired minds had more to do with that goal than bad defending.
So off to Munich with a 2 goal gap once again, I really dont think that Pep will be taking anything for granted which will make it a real uphill struggle but thats football and anything can happen.
Great effort Lads
Sign up TS.
Natural striker.
Esso @ #94
I saw Ozil several times belting down the flank, carrying the ball and surrounded by 3 Bayern players but with no outlet. Miracles and impossible and all that…
1971 @101 – Ox was carrying an injury; that’s why he was subbed rather than anyone else; agree he was very effective and was surprised he was chosen at that point until I learnt about the injury.
Absolutely shattered this morning, not just from the very late night but I feel cheated out of seeing, what promised from the off, to be a truly great game of football.
We had them rattled in that magical 15mins. Ozil’s dreadful penalty miss took some of the wind out of our sails but we were well in the game and there was still everything to play for.
Chesney’s dismissal killed the game as a contest and spending the final 60mins with all 10 men behind the ball was never going to be a good watch.It was inevitable that we would succumb to the constant pressure of a fine Bayern side with the extra man.
I have always loathed Robben.He is no spring chicken and am amazed how he has kept his pace and guile, he turned Nacho inside out.
Neuer is a very fine keeper but I was disgusted with him feigning injury in an effort to get young Sanogo sent off.
We should not give up hope. I was very proud to be part of a fantastic performance from the fans last night, CL nights are special and long may we enjoy them.
On to Saturday and a must win game, with the added bonus of my favourite player of all time seeing a most deserved Statue unveiling.I will be there.
As always COYRs
Heh! I wouldn’t want to kill Sanogo, bath 😉
…. but if it finished off Park….
Sanogo won 10(ten) aerial duels yesterday, more than any player has done in a champions league game this season. I’m not sure we missed Giroud yesterday.
@ #107
Yes, he’s a de-Cent prospect.
Too disappointed for long comments, just hoping for an answer at the weekend.
Word of sympathy for Koscielny though, he was my man of the match as he single handedly kept us in it time and time again only for him to be somewhat responsible for the second goal.
I hate CL referees. 🙁
Bath@104
Thank you for that, I didnt know he was carrying an injury and now the sub makes perfect sense. Hope the Ox is ok for Sunderland.
@ #108 is a true storey.
Afternoon all.
Excellent drinks above, glad to see that the effort the lads put in last night was not missed by the overwhelming majority of the posters on this fine site. It really is a solace to be able to come here and discuss all things Arsenal with level headed gooners.
I’m still gutted about yesterdays result, before the red card we were more then just making up the numbers against one of the, if not the, best teams in world football. Speaking of whom, all credit to them, (behalf of course to that slap headed, designated diving, wrong way falling, jizz juggling, mest stain, Robben) they played very well and got their second half tactics, with a slight tweak in their midfield, spot on. We put up a valient fight in defence and their second came as a hammer blow to the goulies.
I remember cheering like we had scored when we won the free kick and commenting to anyone who was listening (not too many at that time. 😉 ) that all we needed to do was keep possession and see the final minutes out……… Alas it wasn’t to be, whoevers fault it was seems pretty irrelevant, we just shouldn’t have let it happen.
But we all need our scapegoats, it just seems to make people feel beter about themselves if they can point fingers, sometimes it’s justified, sometimes I feel it’s just the easy thing to do to satisfy an own personal narrative. For example, by all means slate Ozil for his crap penalty, because it was pretty poo, but just think for a second if Nueur had gone the other way, or had dived a fraction earlier and was unable to scoop the ball away, then many would be hailing the briliance of Ozil for trying such an audacious punt and such an effort would forever go down in history as doing an Ozil. But to say he wasn’t trying or was just going through the motions seems rather unfair to me.
I will agree that he’s not at his best at the moment, but to associate his performances to his price tag seems pretty futile to me. Is he worth 42mill? well, like it or not that’s what we paid for him, it’s the market that dictates the price and the market, let’s face it, is a crazy, wild eyed, foaming at the mouth, bitch on crank. But for an extra 10 mill we could of brought in two players, like the Totts did, with Lamela and Sodildo. They’re ripping it up at SHL at the moment…….. What???? Oh…….But (as per usual) I digress.
As gut wrenching a result as it was and as unlikely it may sem that we can progress, I can’t understand the throw in the towel attitude from some. The whole point of getting so far in this competition is for the chance to pit yourself against the best. Why on earth would we just send out the reserves? If we were tonked four or five nil, with a full team out, then I could understand such a stance, but we more then gave them a match with 11 v 11 and if, although this is hypothetical in the extreme, the penalty had gone in, then who knows what the result would of been. I’d like to bet that Bayern won’t be taking the return leg lightly. They’ll still remember last year and they’ll definitly know that were in a game last night, no matter what some, less repitable, meedja outlets would have you believe.
Boys. You are missing the point. I am in no way critical of Sanago. I have been impressed with his two appearances. But are we genuinely saying that a 20 year old who has played 90 minutes football for us is a better option than both Giroud and Poldi????? Has it come down to all 3 were available and that Sanago was the first choice for the team sheet??? Is that what we think happened during the selection process for a game against Bayern Munich in the first knockout stages of a Champions League game. If that is the case then I would genuinely suggest that we have major issues in the striking department.
As I have already said, this is in no way a dig at Sanogo. I have been impressed with his two performances so far. I’m just genuinely struggling with the concept that a young man who is a great prospect has suddenly leapfrogged the likes of Giroud and Poldi for a game of such magnitude????? That baffles me totally and if I’m honest, scared the living daylights out of me.
Steve
If Giroud plays every game, we have problems in the striking department.
If Sanogo comes in and does well, we have problems in the striking department.
I agree it’s odd to see a 20 year old trusted in such a big game, but the Ox is also 20. So what we really mean is that Sanogo is raw. He certainly is, but he’s also quick, strong and fresh. And his performances in the last two games suggest it’s not the travesty that was being made out that we failed to sign the likes of Klose in January.
Re: Podolski – I seem to recall that in January he wasn’t being counted among the striking options as he can’t play down the middle. Which is fair enough, I’m not sure he can either against quality opposition.
Obviously, we still need to add another striker, but it feels like we have decent options there for the run in. I don’t think Sanogo has leap frogged the others, I think he had what was needed on the night – pace and size.
Another thought on Ozil: if you feel we paid too much for him just pretend we paid £10m of the fee for Flamini and £5m for Sanogo. Bargains all round.
SteveT@113
I think your point is valid, Sanago had a great debut and made the liverpool defenders work for every ball and he covered every blade of grass and one to keep an eye on.
My only question would be= What does AW see in training we dont ?
Poldi made his career as a striker and is the best natural finisher we have in the squad as stated by AW himself. So why he doesnt get more of run up front considering Giroud plays every game can only be down to what is seen in training *somthing we cant coment on* Will Poldi go the extra mile ? Cover every blade of grass ? Win flick on`s ? Hold the ball up ? I am not sure.
Giroud`s head isnt in the right place is somthing im not buying at all. Everyone who reads or writes on this blog has sometime in their life faced family difficulties and still gone to work and done what they were suppose to do.
So I can only put the choice down to something we havent seen.
Giroud is knackered. Look at the comments in the bar after the Utd game.
Playing Sanogo last night was a ballsy move and, until the sending off, probably the right one.
Steve T,
The sudden promotion of Sanogo does seem pretty wierd. I’ll be the first to admit that it threw me slightly through a loop when I saw his name on the team sheet for the FA Cup contest versus the Mickeys. I thought it was a massive gamble, but that said, one that paid off.
Against the bin dippers, and even against ze Germans (in the first 45) we looked a lot more mobile, our attack had more zip to it. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate what the HFB brings to the party, but let’s be honest, it had all gone a little stale and predictable with him up top over the last few weeks. He looked like a broken man, the will and effort was there, but he looked shattered.
The Poldi predicament is as confussing as it is unexplainable. He may not of had the best of showings when he was asked to fill in the CF roll, but to be completly passed over time and time again is just baffling. I thought he did well in the cup clash, the goal he scored was a joy to watch and (like I said at the time) vintage Arsenal and futher proof to what we are missing when there are no players with pace in the starting XI. Ozil’s (who also played better with Sanogo ahead of him) superb pass to Ox, who lays it off for an incharging Poldi, bammm, poetry in motion. But again, he didn’t last the ninety, so I can only conclude that we are not privy to information with regards to his fitness, attitude, whatever.
Back to sanogo, and he is raw in the extreme, but at this moment in time offers something fresh. It’s either him or Bendy, who will be off in a few months time anyway. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod against Sunderland.
Sorry N7 but I really don’t get it. In a game like that you play your best team and with the squad we have I do not see how at this stage Sanago gets in ahead of Giroud. If Giroud is knackered then why have him on the bench? If he is knackered then leave him out against Sunderland?
Sorry but I really do not get that one at all.
See above Steve: he must have wanted pace. And that’s exactly what Munich looked vulnerable to.
The decision looked weird before the game, but it broadly worked. Not sure OG would have added much last night that Yaya didn’t. And he’ll be fresh for Sunderland.
I note the Guardian reports that Ozil has apologised for the performance yesterday on his facebook page. Graceful touch, especially to the “classy” tabloid fans who probably think they deserved one!
Steve T – what N7 said about pace up front and
“we have major issues in the striking department.”
Joe @121 – I just don’t understand these people or the legions who walked out with 8 minutes of normal time to play. Extraordinary – and they call themselves ‘fans’.
Well if we have sat down and AW has weighed up all the options and decided that Sanogo was the answer them I’m sorry to say but that tells me we have major issues. Giroud has been our number 1 striker for the best part of two seasons. He seemed fine for that period and had the most strongest of defenders in this very bar. Now all of a sudden his lack of pace is an issue and for a game against one of the best sides in world football an unknown 20 year old with 90 minutes of first team football at The Arsenal is the answer???????
Keep him fresh for Sunderland???? Really ???? And I sit back and think how I was slaughtered for saying how frustrated I was at not buying a striker in recent window?????
Please, don’t read this wrong. This is no way a dig at Sanago, no way criticism of his performance and no criticism of his obvious potential.
That’s the differance between a fan and a supporter, Bath.
A word on Özil. He covered the third most amount of ground of any player yesterday. From memory Flamini was way out there on top with I think Jack and Özil 2nd and 3rd. So if nothing else no one can accuse him of not putting a shift in.
Ozil`s dissapointment at the penalty miss was there for everyone to see, sadly a look that didnt leave him all game. Which ever way you look at it he isnt a left back so what could he do ?
*If* is the biggest word in the world, so flogging an already demoralised player will gain the media nothing but ridicule from proper fans and colum inches.
Steve
I don’t really get what you’re after.
We pull a decent looking striker out of the squad who’d been all but written off – I don’t see how that adds up to a problem.
No one is slagging off Giroud. Even his most ardent defenders, among which I count myself, would accept he’s not particularly quick and he’s looked a little tired of late. He’s much more use against a team like Sunderland, who’ll sit deep, than Bayern with their high line.
I don’t see where the “major issues” are here. We all wanted striker depth. We now have a bit more striker depth. Like I say above: Giroud plays every game = major issues, Giroud given a breather = major issues.
Sanago as our new number one choice up front IS a concern, some how thou I really think there is far more to the selection choice last night that we are not party too. Same as above that is not knocking the kid.
Its got to be what AW see`s in training it has to be.
Steve, I get where you’re coming from, I truly do.
But this is a problem born of our failure to bring a proper striker during the last two summers. For even Giroud was touted as an understudy to RvP and not as a replacement. Sanogo was brought in and the only reason he wasn’t chucked in earlier was probably because he was injured.
It’s crazy, but it is where we are.
On Ozil’s pen miss – he puts his head in his hands so the press decide his confidence is shattered. If he’d not reacted they’d have said he didn’t care. They report that Flamini shouted at him – Flamini shouted at everyone. He probably went home, shouted at the dog and then fell asleep shouting.
What I saw last night was us rattling the world’s best team and then defending like lions with ten men. Duff pen and free kick aside, I’ve zero complaints. We do have problems, but I don’t think there was a huge amount more we could’ve done on the night, and certainly no cause to be finger pointing. We’ll play far worse than that and win comfortably. Best that we could be? Close enough.
N7. My point is really simple. I think if we feel that a kid with one game under his belt is the right choice for a game of this magnitude then for me alarm bells ring. I will never understand how we rest our best striker in a game like this when he sat on the bench at the weekend and could have missed the Sunderland game. If we have reached the stage where a relatively unknown is now number 1 with no real evidence to suggest that he has earned that just get then for me there are problems. Worrying problems.
Fine summary there @131, N7
Sonogo up front was all about pace, as others have said above. And He and Ox were feeding it to BM for the first 15-20 mins.
Also about giving OG time out of the spotlight and time to get his act together.
Was fine with that decision and, frankly, saw it coming. Sonogo and the mythical “lack of world class striker” blabbering that keeps raising its ugly head – had nothing to do with the result, also as others have said.
A lot of rubbish about Ozil. Hes a great player and just effed up the Pen. Troubling to see it affect the rest of his game, but it did. But we really should all move on. And we dearly need him to do so as well – and quickly. Did anyone notice that right after he missed, he punched the air in frustration but noone from Arseanl came right over to slap him an encouraging 5 or butt slap or anything?
But then when Alaba flat out missed the entire goal (pause here for emphasis there …), he got immediate love from one of the Bayern Butt-Muncher crew. Troubling.
Need to wallop Sunderland come Sat. That is the only way to save team spirit. If we get beat, then the so-called “Inevitable Arsenal Spring Choke” will be well and truly on.
I still believe they can overcome this and get a result. Still all to play for even in munich.
Cheers one and all.
A round for the bar on my tab.
Steve
I know what you’re saying, but do you think that Giroud would have done better than Sanogo last night?
I’m not convinced Sangogo is our number one. Giroud still first choice. I’ve read all season that the manager doesn’t tailor his game plan to the opposition. He did so last night, and it very nearly worked.
This is a classic glass half full empty discussion, isn’t it? I’m happy that Sanogo looked a decent option in such illustrious company, you’re worrying what it means for Giroud. Who’s to say where the waterline really is.
I believe as most that if Sanogo didnt get injured we would of seen more of him and have a more clearer picture of his capabilities but as of now we have 180 mins of great promise, not a first choice striker. But if OG was ruled out for 4 months with an injury would Sanogo feel you all with confidence to see us out the rest of the PL,FA cup and CL.
Thats why I see SteveT point, in our situation I would go with proven infront of protental which the kid has in spades.
There is somthing we are not seeing and im sure of that.
Ozil made it very clear when he arrived that he was a player who needed to feel a bit of love.
It took less than four months for a section of the support to start branding him the new Arshavin.
Got to say, if Mesut Ozil’s not good enough for you, you’re going to have a disappointing time following the football.
I’m genuinely confused, for many years we have all been wishing that Arsene would sometimes alter his tactics to attack our opponents weakness and the one time he actually does it we still complain?
We’ve been complaining about a lack of pace upfront for a while now and Arsene finally finds someone that combines a bit of pace upfront with the physical presence that is essential to our style of play and we’re still complaining? I don’t care about how many games a player has played/not played so long as he gets the job done when he get’s on to the pitch I’m fine. Every world class player was once a rookie and probably had to displace an established player to make an impact.
Steve T – I do think that there are major issues in the striking department.
1) We have a strong but slow pace striker who links well but lacks clinical efficacy in the box and self control.
2) We have a proven international goal scorer who seemingly cannot play the role of leading the line for the style of play currently adopted, seems not to get as many starts or game time as we would expect and never completes 90 minutes.
3) We have an unproven but promising looking young talent with a record of multiple long injuries.
4) We tried but failed to sign a proven top level striker in the summer and failed to address this in January.
I would say these are fairly major problems / challenges in the striking department.
We have only ourselves to blame and for the time being, have to live with the decisions that led to this situation. However we have been in worse situations in other departments in the past 9 years.
N7. My answer to your question is yes.
Bath knows. I agree with every single word of that. Well said sir.
Cent, no one is complaining about Sanogo, just the timing of it all.
I get where steve is coming from. But he’s (YS) going to have be blooded sooner rather then later I suppose, if he is considered a back up option.
I would just like to add that under circumstances I was proud of my team last night. We have shut a lot of people up over the last week. Trust me. I would now like to concentrate on what’s important from hereon and that’s our performances on the pitch, in the last 3 contests we are in this season.
Up the arse!
Bath @ 139:
A precise summation..!
At least we’re now we’re in a position to buy strikers of that ilk. We never were before.
I think we underestimate our manager’s insights into the current form of players as he sees them everyday on the training ground.
When Sanogo came Arsene clearly said something like “he will surprise all of you, we will work on his fitness and his strength for a while but afterwards he will be ready.” And he is ready, if very raw, but ready to scare a PL and then a CL level defense in two consecutive matches.
He is of course not a proven top level goalscorer yet. He is young, but that has hardly been a problem with players in Red-and-White, right? Cesc was running through Milan defense when he was, what, 18? Jack gave Xavi-and-Iniesta the runarounds when he was, what, 19?
I am not saying Sanogo would become a great player or not. But Arsene sees him everyday in training and he definitely saw enough to trust him upfront, and nothing he did in two consecutive matches was disappointing.
Giroud has lost his way a little, he plays a highly physical game and did an excellent job for much of the season but has started to show the signs of a tired body. And also, just maybe, he needs a gentle reminder that no one is indispensable. Such a reminder to Theo in terms of Ox worked wonders, maybe we will see Giroud shake off the cobwebs a bit, especially in terms of the off-the-ball runs and teh darts into near post both of which featured prominently in his game earlier this season but both have started to disappear now.
About Poldi, I personally would love him to start most matches. But it has become evident that he cannot play as the CF in our set-up this season where the role of the CF is as much a pivot to spring attacks as it is to score. He can play an excellently efficient game on the left wing: scores, crosses, gives left back cover, and all that. But he is in a competition with Santi in that position for key matches, unless Santi is switched to the right, but then we won’t have Ox on the right. So Poldi will have to fight a bit more for his position in the starting line up. To be honest, since Poldi joined Arsene has publicly demanded that he raises his game 10% more to become a truly great player, maybe he hasn’t done that enough to convince the boss. There was a general sentiment around Poldi’s career even before he arrived at Arsenal that despite the talent and the supremely positive attitude he has underachieved.
However, I think yesterday Poldi would have come around 60 minutes mark if we didn’t have to make two unforced subs. And I think Poldi would have a big contribution in the final stage of the campaign. In PL now the defenses would tire up, and many teams would start to play more of the helper-skelter football in desperate attempts at points to stay up. Opposition defenses like that have recently been goalscoring staple for Theo, and I think in the closing stages Poldi will be trusted with that responsibility.
But whether in big matches he can claim a starting role would depend on how much he raises his games in those ‘lesser’ matches. Or if Arsene wants to rotate Santi-Ozil for those.
H2H knows.
@144, penultimate paragraph, I meant “In PL now the defenses would tire off, and many teams would start to play more of the helter-skelter football in desperate attempts at points to stay up.”
H2H and Steve T, fair enough, I just don’t see any reason to start panicking about our striking situation all over again. For all we know there could be a meteor strike now and we will all be toast or we could be invaded by aliens and all taking to Jupiter to be tortured to death but I don’t think any human has ever become successful by constantly reminding himself and his mates about the above possibilities.
N7 – your comment about dear Matheiu shouting even when going to sleep literally made me laugh loudly like an idiot, top work.
I agree with many sentiments above, and most with the fact that as long as the player does what he is asked to do and does it well against in form team in PL and arguably best team in the world, I really do not care about his pedigree that much.
In my eyes Arsene got team selection absolutely spot on, even when considering Yaya, he has shown in Liverpool game that he is up for it physically and also offers something different than OG.
He is “only” a prospect yes, but I am very, very excited about him now.
As someone mentioned before, he really reminds me of young Adebayor, tall, rather fast, has some skill and physical presence, hopefully he is not going to turn out to be such a bellend like Adepaymemore, but I genuinely feel we have great striker in a making there.
Just part way through back gniknird through a relaxed anaesthetic induced wooziness.
First comment which revitalised me funny bone was from TS –
” Sanogo …. Reminded me of bambi at times trying to get his shots away ….. ”
Strange – I have never even seen bambi trying to get his shots away 😉
And hehs, TS, at ” Chinese burns on his gentleman sausage “. 🙂
Esso @94 and bath @98, as usual, on the nose.
Steve T – Calm down dear !
I do worry about your mental state
As the question marks proliferate.
There’s nought you can do
If others can’t see
We’re not quite as good
As we could be. 😉
Good work, by the way, mate. 😉
Eandy @ 148: Exactly! And to add to that, if I may, the margins are so small in top level sports, and these decisions are such a combination of analytical and intuitive abilities, I think it is best to err on the side of equanimity irrespective of the score lines.
For instance, yesterday Ozil could have easily scored that penalty. And Neuer could have failed to save Sanogo’s shot. Or after Ozil’s penalty scoring while Bayern pressing up in a counter attack Sanogo could have scored.
All of these would have led to Arsene being hailed as a genius again and Sanogo’s involvement a masterstroke. And Ozil the player that completes the final puzzle for Arsenal. Etc. etc.
Even though the underlying rationale and guts feeling of the manager for his team selection would have been exactly the same.
Mesut Özil has the best assist per game ratio of every player to have ever played ten Premier league games. Just spotted that while reading Bergkamp”s behind the numbers article on the dot com.
Bath – they call themselves fans – we call them tourists. 😉
H2H – with you on Podolski.
And I agree wholeheartedly with everyone above who said that Ozil is not, and was not bought to be, an auxilliary left back.
He did a lot of running last night but seemed so shaken by the penalty miss that he was reluctant to try much with the ball. He did make some late lung busting runs out of defence, but by then the rest of the cavalry was far too knackered to charge.
Is that enough for £42 million ? Should he be that upset that it put him off his game ?
Not really – but to me he looks drained, physically and mentally.
A pre-season and more time to adjust to a totally different kind of league, with fewer injuries in the squad and a little more chance to rotate, will see a different player next season.
Make no mistake about that – Mark Mywords told me. 😉
Cent. Where’s the panic !????? I was merely asking the question.
I actualy advocated sanogo’s inclusion pre game. That said, I still understand hy Steve queries the decision.
Hey Trev. all went well this afternoon I trust.
*understand why
Hope the explorer found what he was expecting and now has a plan/map, Trev.
His actual words were, bath, on striding into my room with a big grin –
“Ok, I can’t save your knee, it’s rubbish, we need to throw it away and get a completely new one !”
Whataguy! Actually, just what I wanted to hear.
It’s what you’ve predicted for months – did he offer you the new model:
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Lego-Technic-Mindstoms-NXT-Rotation-Joint-Disk-Motion-Locking-Ratchet-Hinge-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/3-UAAMXQ3LVR5YXI/$(KGrHqN,!ncFHLPlQN7)BR5Y(IjJlg~~60_35.JPG
Very unimpressed with our appalling press corps. They have suggested Citeh and Arsenal were outclassed by the sublime skills of Barca and Bayern. Neither team was overrun until they went down to ten men and in our case we had bossed the game marginally until Ches was sent off. As I said last night the Mirror headline stank and if there are any supporters out there who still buy that rag I advise them to desist. There is a pro- Mourinho agenda which is peddled by the spivvy end of the tabloid market.
Also while Giroud is a fool I don’t see a lot of public interest in exposing the gory details of his tryst. The Sun seem intent on causing his wife maximum heartache by dragging this one out. The pious morality of the gutter snipes in Fleet Street makes me sick. George Graham told me once that there were some incredible secrets about household names in the football world which were never aired because the players were friends of the reporters and there was a pact that this remained outside the public interest. No such pact now and while OG should have been more professional lets not pretend that this sort of thing doesn’t go on in every big club in the world.
I suspect Wenger is letting him see how seriously he regards his behaviour and his faith in Sanogo is clearly very high. I think he was part of a game plan that worked well until the sending- off and it is good to see Giroud is not an automatic choice. I have been very pleasantly surprised by Sanogo’s emergence but still feel Wenger erred badly in the summer by not recruiting more experienced competition . That’s water under the bridge now but it doesn’t make it less of a problem. With our injury record we seem to exist on wafer- thin squads and I can see problems at left- back and centre back developing unless Vermaelen gets fit quickly.
It would be interesting to know if any club gets more injuries in training than we do.
Now onwards and hopefully upwards against Sunderland- a very winnable game and one we should take in our stride.
H2H – you flippin’ Dutch are always advocaating. 😉
Shame, bath, but that @159 won’t load. 🙁
@158
Robotrev!
Try this one – but you’ll have to pay Merkin prices:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-LEGO-Technic-Heavy-Duty-Double-Sided-Ball-Socket-Joint-Hitch-Connector-Hinge-/170991358672
Holic no praise in your report for the fans who created arguably the best atmosphere the Grove has ever known…a pity. The way those of us who were there backed the team throughout was spin-tinkling raw passion in the extreme, especially as for just over half off the contest it was a lost cause and nothing more than a training ground exercise of attack verses defence.
Heh! bath. 🙂
That’s better – seems a bit expensive at $4.99 but looks like I should be able to run in two opposite directions at once.
Maybe I can still make it as an Arsenal left back ! 😉
Trev, if Andre Santos could then so can you!
Good call there Dave @165. My ears were ringing in the North Upper from “Red Army” and I was hoarse before the end.
Great atmosphere for 2 home games in a row. Maybe the crowd has turned a corner.
However still far too high a proportion of fire drill mimics at 10 to go.
Lars @167 – Trev needs to eat an awful lot of pies to get into Santos’ league.
Heh Lars, I’m actually faster than he was. Already. 😉
evening ‘hol and all
don’t worry
my bullshit muscle
is pulled
.
great reads
as ever
🙂
After a tough day at the office for Arsenal fans, you can always count on the Spuds to cheer you up, losing today 1-0 to Dnipro.
Cheers for the shout-out bathgooner. I’m hoping the atmosphere on Saturday will be lively. Just read on the net that apparently Wenger refused to shake Pep’s hand at the end of the contest. I really hope that was not the case, especially as Pep has been very vocal overt the years in being an admirer of Le Boss!
Trev – if you decide to go with the Lego socket I will curious to hear your review. I will be having shoulder replacement surgery in the next couple of years and the Lego socket should fit nicely in my budget. 🙂
And regardless of what you choose, good luck with the surgery and I hope you heal faster than an Arsenal player…
On Sunday vs Liverpool a group of four arrived in the row in front of me some 7 or 8 minutes late.
They went out early for half time and, naturally, came back late. With 6 minutes of normal time to go, they left, obliterating my view for the fourth time, at which point I thanked them for coming and asked them which bit they enjoyed most.
That seat normally costs £123.50 for a Cat A game and late arrivers tend to average about 8 minutes of tardiness. Add another 8 for leaving early and 10 minutes around half time, and you have wasted no fewer than 26 minutes – or almost 1/3 of the game.
That equates to around £40 worth of the match missed and is chuffing annoying to those of us who would actually like to watch.
They do exactly the same thing for any type of game and completely regardless of the score.
Doubtless they join the rest of us when yelling at opposing teams for time wasting.
Heh, ecg.
Not sure a knee joint should be much of a reference for a shoulder, but that Lego double ball and socket looks the business. You might need a plastic surgeon to fit it though. 😉
Trev. At the opera they don’t allow anyone to take their seats late. I say let them go back to the bar and order overpriced drinks until half time.
howdy trev
hope all went well
as i said before
my knees
are nothing
compared to yours
(not that we’re having a knee pain comparison
or
a knee off
as the kneely disadvantaged youngsters
might call it
innit! )
.
anyhoo
godspeed
to your recovery
and
that pogo stick
The BBC really ought to provide a modicum of context to this story.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26252296
Dnipro are from what country? Unknown? Let’s at least shoot for what planet then. 🙂
Whoops. Sorry, I see it’s Ukraine and no making light of the sad events in that country was intended.
Must say the neighbors have stepped in to provide the usual serving of larffs at just the right moment though …
Steve T @ 132
Spot on.
UTA.
Ozil missed the pen with a poor effort but that is all I can fault him for. He created the chance and just made a poor attempt. All of this other lazy business is absolutely crap.
While I love Kos he made a serious error trying to run down the ball when we had about 52 seconds of possession in the second half. I could stomach being down just a goal with 10 men for 50 minutes but to recklessly get out of position with just 3 minutes left was a critical error in judgement. You just have to know that one away goal is hard enough to muster and now we need at least two. Last year’s game at Bayern means squat as they had a big lead and mailed in a performance.
All attention to the league and FA Cup as the CL is over for us. COYR!
Hi, cba,
Cheers old chap.
The bollocks appear a little less grumpy this evening …
Yours, not mine, of course. 😉
Cheers noosa. I’m glad there are a few that get it.
Did someone mention eating pies???
Trev. If you have both knees done at the same time is that a joint operation???
Just asking like.
Steve T,
Feelgood tells me that the joint operation is smoking the painkillers afterwards. 😉
Watching for Holic on Question Time.
Hardly ever watch it these days – trotting out party lines without ever really answering an actual question.
Absolutely agree with you, bath (#139). But I do begin to see why AW is backing Sanogo. It’s early days but he displays that same silky smooth movement that we all loved in TH14, and if he proves half as good we’ll all be saying (again) what a genius AW is. I too was surprised Sanogo got the nod, but given the extra curricular problems OG is experiencing allied to some not too flash outings in recent games I’m fine with the decision. It certainly wasn’t Yaya’s fault the game went the way it did. Perhaps if OG gets his head in the right place (from his wife?;)) we’ll see him against Sunderland.
As for my current favourite whipping boy Özilla, what game were you watching bmgedo? The pen miss is all you could fault him for? He was rubbish, making just one meaningful contribution in attack and none at all in defence. Frankly the Dennis Bergkamp statue could have been subbed for him and done better. ESPNFC’s player ratings gave him a 4, the lowest for any player on the pitch. And yet the rosey spectacles remain firmly in place for some!
But let me be clear, I recognise the guy has some remarkable skills. He has good control, positional sense and makes intelligent use of the ball on a par with the great Fab4. It’s what Özil doesn’t do that annoys me. While he’s sharp in attack he clearly doesn’t believe it’s his job to be equally sharp in defence … if he loses the ball he rarely makes much attempt to get it back, that’s someone else’s responsibility in Özil’s book. And, most tellingly, he doesn’t score enough. For years we have had midfielders creating chances which go begging … now we have another one creating even more to go begging and that is wasting his talents, imo. When I see Özil getting into the area more often and using his control skills to convert a higher percentage of chances than we’ve been doing in recent years – and he’s more than capable of doing so – then I will believe he was worth buying. Right now his best performances in an Arsenal shirt have done little more than add to the frustrations of not having a quality striker ahead of him … a luxury player merely emphasising our ongoing problems.
Öskar
Sanogo was down to me.
I told Arsene it was time to get his Ya Yas out.
And little Jumpin Jack Flash agreed ….
Mick @ 189: And did Giroud Bleed On You? And did you remind him Time Waits For No One?
It was a poor penalty, but such are the margins of error at that level that if Ozil had put his kick plumb down the middle rather than hooking it right, Neuer wouldn’t have got a hand to it and we’d all be praising a controlled strike. If only…
Going back to the Woj sending off; a sensible way to amend the ‘last man’ red rule would be for it not to apply to keepers, who by definition are the last man. A foul would still occasion a penalty, but no sending off unless the offence would have merited a red anywhere on the field, i.e. for dangerously violent play or a blatently intentional pull down of the opposing player.
Sounds as if Giroud had some live licks, Dr F., or at the very least some sticky fingers.
But you know how it is with some girls. You think they are respectable, they say they miss you, but it is lies, you can see it in their far away eyes and when the whip comes down you are left shattered, a beast of burden before they make you run — and that’s not just my imagination running away with me.
NBN@193: yes, and then your Loving Cup is empty, and all the Dead Flowers you are left with and all your Brown Sugar(s) give you No Satisfaction. You can’t just Stop Breaking Down! Not being able to Sway her you jump on your Wild Horses, cross a Moonlight Mile, singing I Got The Blues…
Fee fie fo fum
I smell the blood of Sunderland.
You reckon that was a Bob Marley original do ya, Cow Charlie? Lol. You’ll find Abraham Lincoln said it a few years earlier. Or you would if you could quote it correctly… 😉
Since you’re so obviously disenchanted may I suggest you remove your allegiance elsewhere? There’s a little club up the road desperate for your kind of wisdom.
Öskar
By the way, gotta love your ‘Arsenaltropyclock’ link, CC … clearly the place for people who can’t even spell!
Öskar
@ cowbreath, as long as we’re talking about stones and hymn sheets, I think you’re singing this song…just switch “cowboy” with “cultist”, and “punker” with “legrovite”.
http://youtu.be/LU69VlwY9g8
Ping
Bang. What a great strike. (Assuming Holic does his stuff).
With your permission, Guv, Excellent article http://www.7amkickoff.com/2014/its-the-end-of-the-arsenal-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine/comment-page-1/#comment-94417
Told you.
Get in me. Great poachers effort.
I’d like to thank my mum, my dad, my trainer etc….
People, forget about Bayern for a while now – we have a very important league game tomorrow in which we absolutely must get the three points.
They’re all must win games Lars.
Right, whose for a game of striker roulette???? Could be an interesting team selection. I think the only thing we can say for certain is that if we get a penalty then we know who won’t be taking it???
Morning all.
🙂
Steve: they certainly are all must wins, unless we should happen to reach the point where we only need a point to secure the title 🙂
I really struggle to guess what team Arsene will select. I’m fairly sure Giroud will play, but other than that I guess it’s a lot to do with who has recovered best from Wednesday. I do worry that the knock that made Arsene take off the OX will keep him out, because while we can play Gnabry or move Santi out right with Poldi out left we really need the mobility that the Ox provides.
@Lars
I think we’re going to see a lot of rested players across the midfield and forward line.
Given the two games after this, I’m not sure he has much choice.
I expect to see the back four which finished the game on Weds, plus maybe Jenks for Bac.
Midfield: Arteta picks himself, and then I think it’s one of Rosicky or Flamini. I don’t see that Wilshere can play this one. Left wing will surely be Poldi. Up front will be OG. That leaves two places, which will be filled by two of Ozil, Rosicky, Cazorla and Gnabry. I’d guess that Ozil will get a rest and Santi will definitely play.
Very important we don’t allow Sunderland to get in front, or we will be in for a long afternoon.
Already feeling bang up for it.
COYG
Agree totally about AOC. He has looked very good since he has come back and perhaps more importantly, has got on the score sheet.
I wonder if we can arrange some sort of injunction so the press aren’t everallowed to talk about Ozil. Because everything they say about him lately has been pure horse manure.
Hi All
I cant see AW starting Giroud because if he didnt think he was upto Liverpool and Bayern I cant see Aw think he is ready for Sunderland, we will just have to wait and see. I do think that if AW feels Yaya is upto it he will start him again.
Ozil should be rested and Santi put in his favoured position, Santi isnt a winger as he cutsinside and tends to stay there leaving the LB exposed. He is far more dangerous just behind the striker so a seamless transition to Ozil`s replacement.
Poldi left and the OX right. Its just brilliant the form the OX is in taking into consideration the loss of Theo, he has really stepped upto the mark and im delighted for him.
I see the rest the same as N7 regarding Mid and Def.
I expect a lot of rotation. Likely start:
Szcz
Sagna- Per- Kos – Monreal
Flamini – Arteta
TR7 – Santi – Poldi
HFB
Bench:
Fabianski, Jenks, MO11, Gnabry, Sanogo
Ox on the bench if he is not utterly crocked. Just back so cotton wool wrap would seem appropriate if the least bit off 100%.
*Boilk..
Morning all.
Heh@176. Anyone else think of something like this when plastic surgeon was mentioned? :
http://www.findmybrick.com/images/P1210667.JPG
No?
Just me then.
Good luck Trev!
Stay away from the Colney infirmary and you’ll back in full training in a genuine 3 weeks.
Who do we play in your position whilst your laid low? The transfer window is closed apart from spare body parts, allegedly.
UTA!
Strongest team has to be played tomorrow, after this one there’s a whole week without a game.
Flamini and Arteta in the same line up may be a bit too on the defensive side. This is Sunderland, with all due respect, not Bayern, we’ll need an attack minded set up (imho).
Ozil still gutted;
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26285429
I love Ozil i mean i really do, i just pray that the so called criticism he is getting doesnt get him frustrated and he ends up leaving us, even in our wildest dreams we wont get him back ever again, we are so lucky to have him play for us. yes when he doesnt play well we have all the rights to say so, but he needing to come to apologize and players having a go at him is ridiculous, its painting a very wrong picture, ex- flamini is the hero for shouting at him and Mesut the villian? thats pathetic.
Sunderland is a must win and i am sure mesut will be rested more so after what happened and more so because of the stupid over the top reaction that will have put him in a sad mindset, please guys he is precious.
My overall response to the stick Ozil seems to be getting is as follows: this is why we can’t have nice things.
Hope to see the support get behind him in the weeks ahead. Suspect he could use the lift as he’s getting flogged by the press.
I think Mesut is intelligent enough to realise that Flamini does what Flamini does and that every team has fans who are morons who wouldn’t recognise effort if it didn’t involve smashing rocks or talent unless it involved rolling spliffs while driving.
He’s apparently still best mates with Per who bawled him out after the $hitteh game. They are professionals who go ‘into the trenches’ together, they know how it works.
Meanwhile if our moronic fringe and our gutter press drive him away, he’s not the man I take him for. Remember the brickbats DB10 got for his goalless start and his penalty miss in that semi-final.
Death, taxes and morons are always with us.
Think Blogs has got the Ozil thing down pat:
Poor old Mesut though, he’s been getting it in the ear from all manner of people. I have decided that anyone who tries to engage me in conversation online and uses the unqualified phrase ‘Ozil is shit’ is a really good way of categorising people. It’s simple, there are two choices: people who should be pushed off a very high cliff onto jagged rocks, and those who should not.
Dr Z @ 219 Exactly right
CRB is the response.
Zico, well said (or rather quoted). Some people are just waiting for someone to have a bad game so they can pounce on them and use ‘FACTS’ to illustrate why that player isn’t worth the shirt.
Saying Ozil was a waste, and he doesn’t care a jot about the team, and Real Madrid only let him go because they knew he was shit…it’s a classic case of being wise (or in this case incredibly dumb) after the event.
I won’t go back over what others have already said, but if people want to pillory him for how he’s been recently, I’d say it shows less about the player and more about the zeal with which people want to lap up anything the papers put out there.
If you start out by believing what journalists say, well, that’s a paddlin’.
BTW, the statue has arrived, the God is set to be unveiled once more to all of us tomorrow, he will be in the audience to give an audience in the half time break,goosebumps all over again, it just seems yesterday that Bruce had that presser and introduced us to the genius called Dennis, for me the greatest ever to play for us.
What time is the unveiling?
Afternoon all,
I doubt that Mesut Ozil reads too many blogs and would, in any event, value rhe opinion of his manager far more than the anonymously keyed rantings of someone who can’t even spell properly,
I don’t know what the psychological opposite of vicarious achievement is, but I imagine that is what the online critics and ranters are suffering from.
Maybe we should try and understand their need to be ‘heard’ in this way.
Have to say I prefer the ‘off a very high cliff onto jagged rocks’ solution.
Zico@219: On the money.
A sidelight on Rooney’s £300,000 a week new contract: If you take goals scored per game and adjust for the quality of the competitions in which they were scored, Rooney this season doesn’t even make the top 75 of European strikers. He is 82nd jointly with Giroud. The dancing queen and the bitey one are Nos 1 and 2, with ranking values two and a half times greater.
The value striker in that ranking might be Alfreð Finnbogason, Heerenveen’s Icelandic international. Comes in at No 5 and valued at only £7.5 million.
Vinay,
Is it possible to give an audience while you’re in the audience ? 😉
-don’t forget the barracudas, Trev!
as in ‘don’t forget the fruitgums, mum’
Heh, bath.
Just watching the curling final. Kind of bowls for people who live in permafrost.
Have you ever curled, bath ? Slid the old stones over the ice ? 😉
Numbers, as always, present a more accurate assessment of efficiency.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/features/arsenal-v-sunderland
#1 in the team for successful passes & total passes: 1216/1384
#1 in the team for key passes: 63
#1 in the team for chances created in open play: 49
#1 in the team for assists: 8
#1 in the team for crosses: 86
And to put to bed the accusations of ‘laziness’, #2 in the team for touches: 1732.
I mean, please, what good is Ozil for us! Phew…
I can spell properly……
It’s just most of the other words I have trouble with. 😉
Curling looks like it was game invented by janitors during their lunchbreak.
Those stat lists make interesting viewing DF.
Also shows you how much we miss Aaron Ramsey.
H2H@ 232: Yes. Rambo was just unbelievable in the first few months. Best box-to-box MF in Europe at that time.
I know hindsight is 20:20, and it is hard to drop a player when he has been in such form, but maybe Arsene should have rested Rambo a bit in December. He had started to look a little tired. I guess the various ‘red level’ detection mechanisms are not full-proof as it doesn’t necessarily take into account that different players force their bodies in the course of a match differently. Rambo would have been one to put in those extra few bursts even when his legs have started to give in.
It is just so frustrating to lose him and Theo — the two who would have leveraged Ozil’s silkiness and vision the most — for so much of the season.
Trev @228 – I haven’t and I really regret that. Only 1 rink in England so no chance now.
H2H @ 230 – heh.
H2H @231 – without question, invented by Scotsmen in midwinter with bottles of whisky on an icy loch.
The Arsenal Gentleman is not holding back today at http://arseblog.com : “We must turn to this week’s house call of the Kaiser’s favourite fußballers, Bayern of Munich (a town that Our Boys remodelled somewhat back there in ’42. Sorry about that).”
Ungentlemanly to brag about past valors? 🙂
Evening all. Looking like a five pint preview later 😉
I better get started drinking then. 😉
We’re still in it for the 3 cups, let’s get behind the team!
Will reserve all criticism for after, till then come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>