Ozilliant Gunners Are Welbeck In Form
Sep 20th, 2014 by 'holic
Sorry about that! For half an hour or so we had an evenly contested match at Villa Park. The nerves prompted by the midweek performance in Dortmund were barely soothed by Villa’s first shot on target being saved by Wojciech Szczesny. The goalkeeper needed to be at his best, and was. His instinctive save from Clark’s point-blank header probably had a big bearing on the outcome.
However, the Pole wasn’t the man who will collect most of the plaudits. The match was decided by an astonishing 192 seconds which started when Danny Welbeck slotted a through ball between defenders for Mesut Ozil, who finished with what can only be described as ridiculous ease. The World Cup winner has had a mixed start to the season in an unfamiliar role, but restored to the centre of things he influenced proceedings throughout and gave a masterclass in passing.
The German turned provider in the next attack. Aaron Ramsey freed him down the left flank and Mesut’s cross was turned home by Welbeck, opening his account for the Gunners. There will be many more to come, surely. Villa were blown away when Cissokho turned Kieran Gibbs’ cross into his own net. It was a remarkable few minutes and could have turned into four, with both Ramsey and Ozil firing wide as the half drew to a close.
Arsene won’t have had many easier half-time talks. “Keep the ball and do nothing silly”, or something along those lines we can imagine. The boys carried out those instructions to the letter as a deflated Villa offered little in the way of a threat after the break. It was noticeable that they all but stopped pressing the ball, and that may have owed something to a bug, rumoured to have affected a few of their number ahead of kick-off.
Ozil and Welbeck, building a promising understanding, came close to adding to their first-half strikes. For the main part though the Gunners played a simple passing game to deny the hosts any meaningful possession and for once the travelling faithful and screenwatching Gooners had a relatively relaxed forty-five minutes.
After the final whistle Arsene was quick to point out the significant contribution of his playmaker.
“Ozil played today behind their midfield because I thought they made it very tight. But it’s important for us to find Ozil between the lines and move the game forward.”
Any review of the game has to take into account that Villa, despite their impressive opening to the season, lost the heart for the battle after that three goal salvo. That doesn’t detract from the visitors performance, however. Arsenal, searching for form in the opening weeks of the season, found it today and it is hard not to attribute a huge chunk of that to having Ozil in the chief creative role.
Bring on Southampton, also flying right now, in the COCup.
230 Responses to “Ozilliant Gunners Are Welbeck In Form”
Get In
Got cut off ! Now to read. 😉
Robbie Savage: when told he was wrong about Ozil today –
“Well he did well today but I want to see six, seven, eight, nine, ten games on the trot where he does that …….”
So, you’ve learnt to count Robbie – all things must be possible ……
Mesut must be thrilled that Robbie Savage thought he did okay today ….
NO! BBC, NO!
Are we top yet ? 😉
In the CL playoffs!
By the time I get to Birmingham, they’ll be crying….
I noted that last night I hoped that we might see Ozil and Welbeck score from an Ozil assist so my wishes came true.
I share Trev’s irritation at the cretin Savage who is apparently thought competent to comment on football matters by BBC. With more opportunities in the media we are seeing more ex- pros extend their careers in the game but surely there must be many thousands who are more appropriate than Savage who was a limited footballer more notable for trying to crunch opponents into submission and for taking a dump in Graham Poll’s toilet without seeing fit to flush afterwards. Let that be an appropriate epitaph for the man.
We haven’t set the world on fire but it’s been a steady start and one bad performance at Dortmund, who are a very fine side, should not cloud the fact we are unbeaten in the League, after a testing start. One slight concern after speaking to a mate who was there is that Ramsey is not playing well at all and we need to discover why. But the arrival of Danny and the re- emergence of Mesut as the talent we all know he is , is cause for celebration tonight. And Liverpool have already list 60% of their matches. Eat your weaselly heart out Michael Owen!
Excellent report. Little more I can add other than that watching Arsenal today while sitting in the Holt End at Villa park was an exercise in extreme emotion control requiring chameleon like capability to blend in with the local colour and mood. NOT easy.
I didn’t go to ’embrace our problems’ or many of that kind of doolally. I went to embrace this supremely talented squad of ours strut their stuff with the Wizard of Ozil conducting the orchestra and winning the points. Did I really hear someone ask ‘Why do we always play with 10 men?’ Couldn’t have. Could I?
AND About was sitting on the bench and gave me the “I’ll be playing on Tuesday night, BtM” wink. I’ll be there to see you Mr Diaby and to wonder what might have been as you too weave your magic. I won’t be embracing issues or problems though, I’ll be too busy shouting my lungs out in support of this magical squad of ours.
See you for Saints, Spuds and Galatasery at the usual place Holics!
COYRRRs.
Cheers holic.
Strange game that one, to be completly honest I thought we looked a bit disjointed in the first half hour, way too many passes went astray, plus Villa looked the most likely to break the deadlock……….
But then we just blew them away.
They showed absolutly no adventure in the second half spending most of the 45 minutes with 11 men behind the ball and we were happy just to pass it around, basically it turned into a practice kick about.
Three points for us, still unbeaten in the league, a clean sheet and some good performances from those attracting the wrong kind of attention.
A good day at the office.
Ooh, ttg, a Savage, sorry savage last line. 😉
It was great to see Ozil shine today – the perfect response to a lot of recent criticism.
That said – I thought Villa were atrocious.
They rarely threatened. We still have a long way to go.
We still need to demonstrate that we can beat the bigger teams when it really matters and stand up to scrutiny when the pressure comes on.
But winning inspires confidence no matter who you play and today was a great result. Great for Welbeck too who will take a lot of confidence from his goal.
TTG @ 6: Rambo’s performance was better today. Worked very hard and covered spaces, defensively much more disciplined offering Arteta good support, when he kept the passing and movements simple things came off, some of the more extravagant passes didn’t, but still created a few chances for him and others and couple of long distance attempts that he missed he was scoring last season. And as is always the case with him stayed focussed and committed. There was a howler of a back-pass that went for a corner but it was the occasionally bizarre that can happen to anyone.
I think he will simply play and fight through the inconsistencies as he had done last time. Great mental strength.
“I thought we looked a bit disjointed in the first half hour”
Absolutely, H2H. Nobody saw THAT coming.
My wife(after me shouting): “What was that?”
“I don’t know, I just fuckin’ blinked.”
His goal aside, I think Welbeck had avery good game today. His passes, dribbling and control were superb. So also his combination play.
wonderful morning tempered by a bit of boilk. clearly seen, holic, and I certainly hope mesut and Danny use this as a springboard to a great season.
howdy ‘hol
howdy all
haaa haaa
what a carry the fuck on
🙂
asked the good lord fer a couple or three
and he answered
me am still laughin at the commentator
never before has he had to string together
the words senderos and cleverly
everlly
togetherly
neverly
what a happy day today
indeed silly 2nd
“they’ll find the keane we left hangin on their door”
Another one who became better and better as the game progressed was Ox. Did everything right, played very intelligently and provided good rotational support in the midfield. Didn’t make too many of those direct runs but passing was good, positionally sound, good interchanges with Chambers and for the first goal a sublime first touch pass in front of Welbeck, as good as Welbeck’s assist. A flying block in the second half and overall robust defensive contribution as well.
@7 btm
Thought you won’t read my posts, but I get quotet once again. Class act, that.
I will continue to love to read you posts, though, and looking forward to the next one.
Anyway, can we enjoy the win, please, it was a really great performance from the team, Ozil was in his preffered position, midfield was once again well balanced with Ramsey back to more defensive role.
Makes you wonder, why we waited for so long, and so many points lost, to change the formation to the last season 4231 and put Ozil in the middle. Anyway, what is done is done, keep going forward.
As for Ramsey, I thought he had a fair game. Misplacing passes here and there, but bursts of energy shown and he took part in every of the goals we scored. Playing him and Arteta as a double pivot with Ramsey in a more advanced role, makes our midfield more stable and balanced. When Wilshere is in the mix with them both, something is wrong with the balance, still not sure what. Maybe they lack understanding and are tacticaly unprepared to play with each other, don’t know.
Anyway, there are very interesting options in midfield and I am sure Arsene will find the best one.
Poor boy Roy, CbA.
His only dream is to lead…someone, something, sometimes….
He can lead my cat Kata from time to time. She’s a defensive midfielder.
Thanks for that Doctor F. I have been so delighted with Ramsey’s ability to overcome the idiots booing him at home matches and the maiming he received at the thuggish feet of Shawcross. He is a true talent but has not looked himself since the season started. Good to know you saw signs of improvement today.
Speculating on Tuesday I think we will see
Ospina
Bellerin, Chambers, Hayden, Coquelin
Diaby, Flamini
Campbell, Rosicky,Podolski
Sanogo
Subs
Martinez, Ajayi, Zelalem, Akpom, Crowley, Willock, Gibbs
That’s an interesting squad
TTG @ 19: Exactly! Given what he has already overcome you are hardly ever worried about him coming through a lean spell. I think he is also finding it a little harder to get used to the faster movements along the front line especially by Welbeck and Alexis to time his runs into the box accurately enough. With Giroud he had a good understanding and Giroud being relatively static he could time the runs more predictably. I think he will keep it simple for a while while he builds up a better understanding with the new speed kings we have.
And that was exactly the squad I was thinking about for League Cup! If YaYa is still injured I think Chuba may get a start, or may even be Poldi down the middle with Santi on the left.
I was also impressed that we were so devastating in those 4 minutes without Alexis.
Don’t think we’ll see Sanogo in the week, ttg.
He’s listed as having a hamstring injury with no return date. Personally, I’d rather see Akpom given a chance anyway.
never met a cat i liked
arrogant
naw
horrendous
they’re just one big
walkin judgmental eyebrow
nope
not fer me
gimme a dog all the time
fuck. – gimme a turnip
mind you
a cat person would make it a house turnip
and just lied it went out at night
tom turnippin around
hate cats
no sympathy for the people they own
both equally spineless
yeah
fuck off 🙂
all been said.
Ozil and Wellbeck did well -and rightly take the plaudits.
Tales of a “lasagnegate” type virus sweeping through the Villa ranks may explain thier abject second half performance, but takes nothing away from a super efficient Arsenal.
Ozil to remain at #10 please Arsene.
As pleasing a game of keep-ball as I’ve seen in ages. I can’t remember when I was as relaxed watching a second half of Arsenal football. Not since 2004 anyway.
Congrats to Özilla and Danny for their first goals and first assists of the season, and to the whole team for not falling asleep on the ball for the other 87+ minutes of the game. In truth Villa were hopeless, seemingly more intent on limiting their losses than trying to find a way back. Pathetic actually. But then they haven’t beaten us at home since 1998 and weren’t about to ruin that record today apparently.
One swallow doesn’t make a summer but we didn’t lay an egg in Villa’s nest or lark about and make tits of ourselves after the glorious three minutes, so let’s hope this proves the first cuckoo of a glorious Spring reawakening for us.
Bring on the spuds!
Öskar
howdy trev
Where do you stand on cats?
.
few tips would be helpful
😉
JOKING!
.
as a man who knows skeletons
if you pick up a wee dog in yer hand
it stays dog shaped
a cat picked up
nearly runs through yer fingers
like so much hairy blancmange
not a spine in sight
?
Can’t stand the things myself, cba.
They always know if you don’t like them,
then they single you out,
jump on you as soon as you sit down
and claw away at your legs.
If you had to have one though,
would you rather have
a flabby Tabby
or a soggy Moggy ?
Me neither !
😉
Spooky, cba,
I was writing that while you were posting !
I have a dog myself, cba
Retriever-Standard Poodle cross.
Loveliest dog indoors – completely bonkers outdoors.
Just turned two years old, and owners of others of the same breed seem to say theirs haven’t calmed down until they were four !
Two more years of madness – deep joy.
My dog hates cats, cba. But he likes catfood. I told him it’s made of cats and he wolfs it down with rare enthusiasm.
The only purpose I know for cats is in curses, such as this Celtic favourite of mine … May your daughter marry a ghost and beget a kitten and may the Lord High King of Glory permit it to get the mange!
Öskar
Holic.
Ban the cat haters please. 😉
aaaaahhhh
good fellas yerselves
🙂
‘Holic
Please ban the cat haters haters.
Öskar
I love me a bit of pussy.
8ball
ask yer cat if ye can feck off wi yer oul nonsense
nope?
get a dog
he wouldnt give a shit
😉
h2h
ye got in
before the time limit
🙂
🙂
Trev
🙂
Oskar
my dog died a few years back
mutt
part irish setter
part nut
he was 15
great wee people to have around
howdy trev’s dog
howdy the real oskar
gooners both – i trust 🙂
and
h2h
apologies
sorry
i’m sure its still raw
.
I’ll shut up
*twonk*
No apology needed mate.
Yep, cba,
My dog loves watching the Arsenal.
Hates it when they lose the lead.
😉
Heh.
cba the pet total around here is one dog and two cats but the poor dog doesn’t stand a chance. He just lies around on the floor waiting for the next swipe of the cat paws. Miserable life except for his daily walk, breakfast and dinner. He does enjoy scratching his fleas though …. 🙂
anybody met me dog
went
oooohhhh a red setter
i love red setters
didnt correct them
was happy
Red seemed somehow appropriate 🙂
8ball
for a cat to survive where i live
it would need to sellotape
two tigers to its paws
place is rotten with mental farm dogs
mental farmers
and me
and she
who is worse than me
or thee
It doesn’t take a genius to play Ozil in a more central role. Leave him there, please.
Özil for Hamlet , daahling!!!
It didn’t take genius to beat a pathetic Villa side, Cynic. Let’s not get carried away.
Öskar
So cba’s
not only plagued
by cows that have gone nuts,
there’s more alarm
down on the farm
that’s caused by mental mutts.
They bit his bum
they had his leg,
took ages to get better,
to fend them off
he armed himself
with a big red Irish Setter.
But the man is scarred,
his nerves are jarred
by enormous bonkers dogs,
now his one escape
from the mental rape
is to write it up on blogs.
😉
I’m not getting carried away but of all the players we have to play a centralish freeish role, he’s the one it suits best and he’s the one who should always have it.
*stops line dancin’*
say there trev , pilgrim!
now
YOU HOLD ON
ONE COTTON PICKIN MIN.. . . .
ooohh
they’re playin again
.
SWING YER FATHER
MIND YER DAUGHTER
6lb o one’s better than
4 stone o the other
yeee haaa
cotillion over
.
Right
who’s writin pomes bout me
😉
Yer a smart hoor trev
can i borrow some
i promise i’ll bring it back
🙂
fuckin at it again ‘holic
best in tensions
i drink too much
i make too much drink
quite the skill
get fuckin ‘holicradio sorted
don’t let doc faust near it
lord knows i enjoy his drinks
but god bless him
he could overthink and wrench the joy
outta an outbreak of free beer
wassat sam?
Dave – nope
cant hear I’m
anyhoo
time for some good music
ooohh stax
what a sam and dave coinkydink
i was just
yeah
i know
sad
isnt it
nope
Time for some s ‘n’ d
as they’ve never been called
🙂
So.
Who else psyched about welbeck, the possible welbeck + oezil combo, and the possible forward threat forming in the Arsenal attack?
I for one, am. Bog time. Its only villa. But i think welbeck could come good. His movement is really tops.
Cheers holics.
And i have a walcott top.
once hes back fit and firing – look out. Very exciting.
*exile imposed*
cheerio fer a while
cringey behaviour
cheerio
Fuck off to you too, cBa, you irish cat-hater you.
I’ll see you in Donegal or in hell.
as ye are well aware
silly 2nd
ye used a small i for irish
limp attempt at limp
ye used a capital D for Tir Chonaill
so
you are a donegal sympathiser
yup
small d
me
one of my favourite cover versions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpg1HoupcDQ
’tis nearly t’mornin so
howzabout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSvHQh-hWO0
H2H and Joe know.
And I quote them together –
” we blew them off the park and villa were atrocious”
No more to add
Of all the players we have to play a centralish freeish role, Cynic, Jack has been the most consistent over the past year or more. Özil has proved disappointing more often than not when he’s had the role. Yes, he made a better fist of it today with a goal and an assist, but not a lot else during the other 87+ minutes against an apathetic Villa. Let’s see how he goes against better opposition before even thinking of replacing Jack.
Öskar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzu4LE667VM
fuck thats another goodun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8b8I2_Ik3E
and ye get a shite vide o
sorry ‘hol
drink taken
:[
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6h5yQVkntA
.
i will try and go away ‘hol
no offence meant just tunesss
i know here isnt
so apologies but come on Funkadelic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mXyYTquXRc
🙁
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMGvQ2v-ZRM
very sorry ‘holic
i know ye love a tune
at it again
sure ye can zap all me nonsense
dont mean to be a bla bla
i have so much respect for yerself
i restrict meself to only the odd blurt
the bar has got grumpy
i can’t fuckin stand it
its very clinical
anyhoo
i have been on the jar
a vulgar cunt would say a long time
i’m sure as always under yer stewardship
we wont be kickin internet heads in
mmmmmm
UP THE ARSE
sorry again
uneasy grave
despite being very handsome
apparently
i feel like shane
join dots
fuck shes a beautiful woman
mad as a box of oooo
tho
o
i prob ably should introduce meself after all these years
;]
hello
i’m cba
One for you, cba. Lovely guitar work on it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOKn33-q4Ao
Öskar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viYfWqSECAk
hide yer bald is a numpty
that twats a plonker
stand beside a God
yup
God was God long before God was God
goes without etc
yup
brian was never [10]
as good as though
oskar
:]
have that album
this long and manys a year
and yer suggestion isnt lost on me
indeed earlier on
i was wondering if i need a shit or a haircut
No idea what you mean, cba, having trouble permeating your alcohol induced circumlocutory periphrasis. Try this one then … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8
Öskar
Just make sure which one you need ‘fore you sit in the barber’s chair!
(Our previous crossed)
Öskar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrO1XnrD3I
:]
the big man is a baby faced genius
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IppSS_-PFGM
at it again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGOEUo_sLxY
i wont be fuckin told ;]
still think the end sounds like the start of johnny boys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAZ8unRm2c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQvOIqklazQ
for all the bollockless stander abouters
last one promise ‘hol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yz5jvR9_Jo
oskar
don’t get me wrong
i tolerate the pogues
a good 30 odd years ago first encounter
very odd
too irishy for me though
;]
try hards
🙂
ye used to get that wi free staters
and a few others
in 80s london
political wannabes
bump up their paddyness
but maintained the toura loura accent
whereas we were just an unnattended package on the tube
when we opened our gobs
ooohhhh
did it again
sorry hol
politics
i apologise
it creeps out
i can’t help it
its not like i’m selling socialist worker
this stuff is just
the stuff of my growing up
cheerio
‘holic
all i do is apologise to you
and surround
i have to stop
i’ve done nothin wrong
cept drink a lot
theres joyless feckers on here should drink more
anyhoo
see above
for me not apologising again
feel free to zap all this shite
i wont remember it anyway
Thanks to you all for the congrats 🙂 I had a wonderful day with a superb present from our boys in yellow.
In case anyones missed it but this is very interesting reading on the finances and how we’ve changed since the move from Highbury.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2014/09/20/latest-accounts-show-financial-times-have-changed-for-arsenal/?
Morning H.
A boilky weekend continues …
Lovely result that. We dominated a team we should and very happy for it here. Not a player in the Villa team that would even make our squad, but we got the result we needed. Pleasing not to feel the need to grind teeth, introspect, or over analyse. Our quality told.
3 points next weekend a must for all the reasons and then on to get some revenge for last season in toff town. In the meantime, a very enjoyable match in Tuesday in store I reckon. Should be a decent team out to. My guess, based on the bench yesterday, would be:
Ospina — Bellerin, Hayden, ???, Coquellin — Diaby, Flamini — The Panther, Rosicky, Poldi — Akpom
Guess Chambers or Ajayi(?) for the other place in defence. Midfield and attack look very strong and players with a point to prove.
Now to relax, cool as a Mesut Ozil finish, on a Sunday afternoon 🙂
cba 😉
Hope you find shuteye soon, old son.
If man city beat Chelsea today, we are the only team unbeaten so far,. Bring on the second coming of the invincible.
slept once
didnt like it
.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
😉
WHOS THIS ABC FECKER !!!!!
WHY I OUGHTTA !!!!
.
sheesh
.
kebab
Still also enjoying fat SAMs 3 rd goal v poo.
Absolute classic
Welcome to CL Poo
goodbye
ELP – would you go so far as to say ozils passing was treacly and the win was slamalamadingdong material
Nudges it forward.
Tríps over his own feet….
One more pass…
Lurks in
A goal fashioned in The Nook!! 🙂
Fanstastic team goal chaps *applause*
It’s almost like you were communicating telepathically or summat… ;-D
Hehs….
Old skool, innit. 😉
Afternoon all.
Chucklin’ 😀
Good read; http://footbalternative.com/2014/09/20/why-youre-wrong-about-mesut-ozil/
Interesting link, thanks for posting it, Cent.
Could someone explain to me what a “heat map” is, and what it’s supposed to show. I’d always assumed it was a kind of map showing how much time a player spent in a particular position on the field, with a different colour depending on how much time the player spent there, that colour being “warmer” the longer the player was there. That would be all very well, and like any statistic would show something interesting and be capable of over-, and incorrect, interpretation.
However, if my understanding of a heat map is correct, then surely the colours would need to be connected, after all, a player can’t get from one place to another without passing the points in between, but if you look at Özil’s maps for each of the three matches shown in the article there are several seperated blobs. I guess that if you only collect data when the ball’s in play, there might be occasions when the ball goes out of play with Özil in one place and he has moved somewhere else when the ball comes back into play, but I’m not convinced. So, if anyone could explain what a “heat map” is – in detail, please :-), I’d be vary grateful.
Thanks in advance.
Your first paragraph sounds like the perfect description of a Heat Map to me TTG.
Maybe he leaps gracefully, low-gravity style, when moving from one part of the pitch to another. Hence the apparent lack of connection between one blob and another. After all he’s not really human.
Aaaaahahahahhahaa
Get In Leicesterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
YEAHHHHHHHHH!
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
And that a straight red and a penalty. If today I don’t die laughing I never will.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Haaaaaaaaaa.
The Spuds one nil down too.
Four goals in twenty minutes for Leicester. Yanited in utter meltdown!
.
aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we’ll batter kerry
batter them
Tír Chonaill Abú
make it a good day twice leicester
go on
Utter justice… spend more money Man U! and get relegated….!
That Moyes chap really wasn’t that bad now was he?!
Spuds living up to their reputation too!
😀
Just a reminder of Louis van Gaal’s quotes from the other day:
“I know everything about the team [Leicester], about individuals, substitutes, what the atmosphere will be like in the stadium, how they take free-kicks, everything.”
————–
Well.. apparently they don’t know who you are.. much to their benefit!
😀
UP DONEGAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO ON!!!!!!
Aaaaah. Turned out nice again.
Interestingly, after this round of games, our league position is going to be no worse than 5th (4th if City don’t beat Chelski later). We might well wind up being the only unbeaten side left in the league, and compared to a lot of our rivals especially Man Utd – we’ve had a tough start to the league campaign, comprising fixtures against Man City and Everton, and a resurgent Villa and Leicester away. Keep in mind, we’ve also had an extremely taxing 2-leg Champions Lge play-off v Besiktas, had probably the hardest single fixture yet encountered by a English team in any competition (Borussia Dortmund – Away), and we’ve had to re-integrate probably more World Cup returnees than any other side, a lot of new signings, and already suffered serious long-term injuries to two of our first XI. I’d say things are looking quietly optimistic, and with Spurs/Galatasaray/Chelsea coming up in the next fortnight, things cld get even more promising….
Checked the beeb around half an our ago and was rather disappointed about the scores. Checked again and I’m not.
COYG
BB @ 117: I think there is a downside to excessive per-game tactical planning and focus on the opposition, it can make teams brittle. The best teams have always been the ones that have a broad strategy built on a certain philosophy.
It will get very interesting for United if they don’t get CL next season. Their vast fan base still haven’t readjusted to the changed reality and longer the mediocrity continues more deluded they will get.
If Leicester can put 5 goals past Yanited then they may have bigger problems than are apparent.
Happy days.
Pangloss @ 106: Your explanation seemed to me a very accurate answer to your own question.
If you magnify the heat map a few hundred times you will probably see the very thin and faint connecting lines between those blobs. 🙂
That is, only if the data analysis program has bothered to keep the few minutes spent in transitioning from one favored area to another, or the program generating pictorial representation of that data has bothered to then actually draw those lines. 🙂
frank @ 123 — We should get ourselves some more Argentinians , they always seem to adjust well to PL. 🙂
I remember seeing Ulloa for Brighton under Gus Poyet when we played against them a couple of years back in the FA Cup. We won 3-2 if I recall with couple of goals from Giroud and a late goal from Theo. Ulloa looked like someone who can play in PL.
Even the old man Cambiasso scores on his debut. 🙂
@ 122 DocFaust
It may be that their defensive line up has yet to settle/gel, much to everyone else’s benefit 😀
Whatever it is (I suspect the kickbacks from Fergie stopped coming and the referees association decided to take a stand… 🙂 ) they have put all their eggs in a basket and they will be sticking with LVG till the end of the season at the very least and they may buy again in the next window! The beginning of the end if things do not turn around for them.
Am enjoying this immensely, now if only chelski will contrive to drop some points!
Somewhere in a pub in Scotland, an ex-manager is raising his glass at the tube with a smirk on his face.
😀
What a stonking couple of early results. If Citeh can beat Chavski today it will have been a nigh perfect weekend. It certainly makes our point at Leicester look a lot better than it did at the time and the LWCs are the gift that keeps on giving. Nevertheless the BBC still create the impression United played stunningly well not that they conceded five against a team who have just been promoted.
Dr. F
I agree about Ulloa. He had just joined when we played Brighton in the Cup a couple of years ago and caused us problems. The trouble with a lot of promising South Americans is that you cannot get work permits for them and if the estimable Greg Dyke , the redeemer of English football, ( heavy sarcasm ) has his way it will get even harder.
South America has not been a very fruitful scouting area for us ( Galindo, Botelho, Wellington Silva) and we might need to up our game there.
Pangloss,
Earlier in the drinks, cba and I – and one or two others – were having a discussion about cats and dogs. If you are in possession of such a pet and would like to offer the creature the opportunity to experience animal parenthood, you will need to arrange for said creatures to procreate.
The “heat map”, as I understand it, illustrates those areas where there are other animals in a similar situation and where the best possibilities of achieving pregnancy can be found.
Don’t delay, though, having made your decision as, apparently, any specific opportunity may only last a few days and then the whole map may change again.
Glad to be of help.
This Sky collective wank off over Diego Costa is unbearable.
cunt away off ya kerry shites
fuck ye
ya shower !
tonight and now
me and the cows
are mmoooo abuuuuuuuu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzuRuW_mqwo
UP DONEGAL
Everton 1-3 Palace.
What is happening ?
All hail Colin Wanker ! 😉
cba’s lost it ! 😉
Chavs are at it again..! Grrrr!
The amount of luck Chelsea have is unbelievable.
Lamps. Get in!
Fat Frank scores against the Chavs !
Fans faces are price. Less.
Can’t believe this shit. Lol!!! Frank scores!!!
trev
never had it
havent slept in 3 days
and fuckin donegal lost
the all ireland
fuck
fuck
fuck
but at least
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcWqE7EAJRE
🙂 🙂 🙂 nil
Fat Frank…wow…just wow. 😀
If Dean had given a stonewall penalty in the first half to Citeh ( Costa on Dzeko) this would have been a completely different game . He then Zabaleta off when he let other similar fouls go. He is a very annoying referee. It’s not a bad result for us though
Great sets of results this weekend.
Time to mount a title challenge anyone!
This weekend’s results couldn’t really have been any better for us..
Arsenal – win
Man Utd, Liverpool, Spurs, Everton – lose
Man City vs Chelsea – draw
I ask you all to stand, and raise your glasses. Here’s to many more weekends like this one. Well, hopefully!
Absolute best set of weekend results for a long time!
Instead of 9 pts behind chelski we’re only 4 and most everyone else competing directly with us dropped points!
Keep our momentum going.
😀
self imposed and hugely endorsed exile
comin up
it was the all ireland
and i was blootered
no apologies
fuck ye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pr0LT94QLw
Ace weekend of results that.
And how pleasant to get the chance to watch other clubs’ Knee Jerk Reaction Forces in full swing, completely losing their shit all over the place…
How absolutely magic 😀
@148 Snowy
Loving the Man U meltdown… ah time to savour these moments.
😀
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has said that playing Chelsea was like playing Stoke, two ‘small teams’ who are only interested in defending.
————–
LOL ! 🙂 😀
Spotted that BB….nice way to get under Maureen’s skin. Wait for the response. 😀
@ 151 bathgooner
When your rivals are at each other’s throats, what better time to sit back and enjoy a pint or two while watching the show! Check out the banter between Pool and Man U fans too, hilarious!
I’ll admit i was a little worried about our draws and concerned that chelski would run away with it, but this weekend has been absolutely fantastic.
A win against the spuds next weekend would be icing on the cake! And the following weekend … chavs themselves! Bring on the dour one and his ‘small’ team of defensive miscreants, about time we showed them what we’re all about!
Up The Arse!
😀
‘hol
short request
can. ye bar my address
tried to open me e-mail address
to send a discreet message
her ‘puter is a dungding
100% serious ‘hol
as long as i can still read yer posts
can you zap the drinks please
100%
I’d really appreciate it
cheers big man
thanks
Heh BB @150. I really, really want Pellegrini to start properly trolling Mourinhno and for the Special Nonce to have a spectacular full on media meltdown.
And as for the general ManU meltdown, I think pretty much the whole of Red Cafe have had to have their belts and shoelaces taken off them now. Pretty sure it won’t last, but while it does I am bloody well going to enjoy it 😀
For heaven’s sake, cba, please do not make good your threat/promise @146 above. Your posts are a much-appreciated island of insanity in this bar.
Don’t be a stranger.
COYG
snowy & BB: The combined expenditure on player purchases by Chelsea and Man City in the last decade is more than 2 billion pounds. That is just insane.
It really is remarkable that we have managed to stay so close to them, always had our presence in CL, while moving to a new stadium. As Liverpool and Man United are finding out, pedigree and history alone do not save you from the onslaught of purchasing power. And in case of Man U, even purchasing power doesn’t save them… 🙂
We need to keep it tight against Chelsea away to make sure we go into the international break without dropping off any further from them. A win would be nice, but a draw would be fine as well.
The press seems to think that Chelsea are going to roll over the lower ranked sides this season because of Cesc and Diego Costa. One is a hammy pull away from being sidelined and Cesc in last few seasons — starting with his last couple of seasons with us — had faded away in the second half with injuries and general lackluster performance.
And Leicester!!!
For those interested in Leicester vs Man U Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZtQg8-dezY
Man U look good going forward but i’d bet they would love our defence now as thin as it may be. The russian commentator is brilliant with ‘Man-cheeseTer’ and at the end of the vid, giggs and van gaals expressions just makes your day.
😀
Costa will be found out.
It’ll just take one ref with balls to give him a long overdue red card.
vaG and Giggs at the end of the game;
http://slapstickcomedies.com/laurel_hardy/images/laurel_hardy4.png
What a lovely set of results this weekend 🙂 I do believe the season has now started!
What a great weekend.
In the mood to watch some comedy tonight, checked my TV guide and I have the choice between; Scary Movie 4, The Hangover 3 or MotD2.
Boom boom H2H
😉
If only Debuchy was available, I would have been much more confident vs both Tots and Chelski. Not that Chambers is bad option, but would have preferred to have him on the bench, coming as a late sub at, lets say, 2-0.
I expected a good decent player when we signed Debuchy, but he is not just decent, but great for us, in defense especially, winning headers, tackles and running tirelessly. Here’s to a speedy recovery, I really miss him.
It took Spertz 70 mins to have a shot at goal against the leagues bottom team.
http://swissramble.blogspot.ie/2014/09/arsenal-money-changes-everything.html
Debuchy was supposed to see a specialist on Friday but there is no update on physioroom dot com. He’s still listed as ‘no return date’.
As, worryingly, is Theo Walcott who was previously listed as due back on ’27th September’.
Has he had a little bit the setback ?
Always very impressed with Swiss Ramble, Joe – that’s the accounting guy, not Phil Senderos running out of the penalty area.
If only I could understand it !
Still, the last three paragraphs of the whole thing make for a very encouraging conclusion.
Just taken from Arsenal dot com –
Speaking on September 11, ahead of the Man City game, Arsene Wenger said: “Walcott is two to three weeks away from joining full training.”
So, four to five weeks away from playing, you would guess.
Which does rather neatly avoid any possibility of him being called up by England at least.
Trev — Theo in his own interview (was in Arsenal web-site, will have to look for the link now) a couple of weeks back said that he expects a few reserves game first but he is very much on track. As you said I don’t think he will be called for the first team action before the international break.
No news is good news, Trev?
That is not usually the case with us so I count Debuchy out till January at least. Anything before that would be a pleasant and welcomed surprise.
I detest the whole ambience of Chavski and Mourinho but the way they set up for the game at Citeh was an object lesson in containing quality attacks in big matches. Two high quality defensive midfielders playing in front of the back four and proving a really important filter. We haven’t got that sort of player but it doesn’t mean we can’t try to be tighter in big matches rather than try to outplay the opposition and have no cover when our attacks break down.
I think it is fairly clear we are as good as anyone ( maybe better?) at beating the less gifted teams. But we find the away games at the big sides very difficult and Dortmund offered little encouragement. If we can be tighter, press more effectively and show the sort of patience Cheksea did today we might be able to improve on out points tally against the top teams away from home. I do hope we heed this lesson for the bus stop.
Now to read Swiss Ramble, the most authoritative commentator on what is really happening with our finances
Take plenty of food and drink, ttg. 😉
Trev
I’m a boring old fart who reads this sort of stuff everyday so I quite enjoyed it! Swiss Rambler makes the analysis intelligible. My take is that the board have been extremely responsible in their financial management but orudence can be taken too far and we need to see a continued willingness to open the purse strings although I suspect Wenger is the reason for a lot of that prudence.
In fairness to the Board they have done a very sound job and I see no unfair brake being put on the spending by them .
While SR is at pains to point out outer cash reserves which are north of £200 million are by far the biggest in world football not all that money is available for transfers . In reality he reckons £40-50 million may be but we know that Wenger rarely buys in January and I don’t expect him to spend much in the next window. Maybe old Kim Kallstrom fancies spring in London again ?
Accountancy is all a mystery to me, ttg,
In an attempt to improve my knowledge I began to Google ‘double entry’, and the computer screen flashed up something that very nearly got me divorced.
My favourite bit of the Swiss Ramble report is when he explicitly states that trying to work out how much money Arsenal have to spend, on what is by his own admission “partial information” is “a mug’s game”.
Someone please alert the AST.
That is the way you win titles, ttg, by not getting beaten away by your main rivals.
Lurky: which January is the question.
cba, mail sent. Do you want an ip block? Will do but would prefer not to. Top man. Losing too many here.
To all holics in the northern hemisphere.
Hope you enjoy the office/work environment as much as I am this morning revelling in the utd and poo losses.
I have utd fans starting to talk about geir sponsorship deals rather than football.
I have poo fans deliberating why they got rid of downing.
Absolutely classic to see these teams and supporters so pissed off.
To all holics like myself in the southern hemisphere, hope you are enjoying the first coffee of the morning with work colleagues who support both utd and poo.
What a great weekend all round.
What a fine weekend it’s been. Arsenal showing some real form for a change, reminiscent of what we took for granted more than a decade ago … with two members of the squad I have found disappointing to date leading the way (well played Özilla and Danny). Spuds, Manure and Poo all beaten. Our most likely contenders for the Prem title both dropping points. And us up to 4th, with the two immediately above us unlikely to stay there long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOOsaQQ4Kc8
Öskar
Quite extraordinary to find Southampton doing so well. The team that spent the least (on balance) in the recent transfer window in the whole of Europe apparently, losing most of their regular team in the process … now 2nd in the Prem. It can’t last surely, but perhaps it’s not all about money?
Nah, of course it is…
Öskar
Match day tomorrow. Delightful. Proper football twice a week at a high level, this is how it’s supposed to be. Poor Sp**s have no idea.
A cracking set of results over the weekend and good to see the Chavs get put firmly back in their box by City. Maureen got lucky to even take a point and couldn’t hold a lead against ten men… I doubt this will stop the UK press in sycophancy, but it should.
4 games in 13 days ends with our trip west. Difficult not to get ahead of myself here, but with 3 home matches coming up it does loom large. Obviously a complete change tomorrow night, but I wonder how we juggle after that. Alexis had a decent rest. Ozil due one next midweek? Ramsey look like he needs a breather?
Exciting times in this three team title race.
Poonward
179 – Downing! 😀
#PleasingScenes
We live in ridiculous times when a player joining a new club and playing his first two games against the champions and away to one of the best teams in Europe is classified as disappointing because he hasn’t scored. Fan reaction nowadays is instantaneous and unfairly hasty. This is a lad probably living in a hotel, getting to know new team mates personally and a very different style of play. I despair sometimes of modern football, no let’s correct that I despair regularly of modern football. I wonder what Bobby Pires would have gone through in his first season? I wonder how Thierry Henry’s early stumbling performances would have been greeted and as for Bergkamp he would have been written off by his fifth game.
The tabloid press are bad enough but sometimes our own fans set very unfair and unrealistic goals. I think Danny Welbeck will be a very big player for us. I just hope we don’t write off Chubs Akpom tomorrow if he doesn’t score a hat- trick.
Sometimes I wonder if the internet is a good thing.
TTG @184 – KING Chuba, please.
“This isn’t some guy who built the railroads…”
Morning,
Two pennies on the credit card cup.
Hope to see Campbell, Sanogo, bellerin, Rosicky and Diaby.
Yum! (In a beating Southampton way)
😆
Also now have something the league to build on. Beat the spuds go on a run and scare the chavs.
Lovely job!!
🙂
In
@TTG 184
Absolutely bang-on about Welbeck. I notice the fickle OTD mentioned earlier how Welbeck had “disappointed him” so far!! 2 games only – and against Man City and Dortmund, when like you say, he doesn’t know his teammates, he’s probably living in a hotel, and he didn’t actually play poorly, he played extremely well, he just happened to miss his chances on this occasion….
I remember getting mocked a few drinks back for deigning to suggest that away from media derision (when are our fans not going to fall into the trap of believing what the intellectually-challenged mainstream media like Savage/Shearer/McNulty say?!) and van Gaal propaganda, I felt that based on my opinion of what I’ve seen from Welbeck over the years with Man U, England & Arsenal, if he stays fit and is picked centrally, he’ll score at least 15 goals this season – OTD’s sarcastic response, “I guess we can dream, aye”….Early days, but the signs are promising with Danny.
cba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEn6amCRQfI
Leather trousers and shit dancing a requirement
ttg: Bang on. Pires didn’t score his first league goal for us until his eighth game. Heaven knows why we hung onto such a failure for so long….
Absolutely no doubts about Welbeck myself. Excited since the moment I realized we might get him in the eve of the transfer deadline day. Don’t really understand why those mugs sold him in the first place, would not swap him with either of their current strikers. And I am serious, why I should not be.
Rvp is not getting younger nor faster. He still has a couple of tricks in the bag but that’s basically it.
Falcao for all his goalscoring abilities is not a player I would prefer to have in my squad. Doesn’t do defense, doesn’t look to me as a team player and he seems to prefer playing as a central forward only, while Welbeck can play on the wings too.
Rooney, once a very good player, seems to have lost that yard of pace, acceleration and confidence.
I’ve said it million times and would say it once again. A 16m for a young English forward, that has bags of potential, bags of experience in big matches, speed, strength, who runs tirelessly helping his teammates in defense and on top of that has a resale value, is an absolute steal.
Hope Sanogo gets a good run out in one of the cups! Welbeck looks like he’s secured the top striker spot for now.
We need to develop our strikers since it’s only an injury away from disaster(overly dramatic maybe?).
Lest we get carried away, the game against Villa was one sided, after our goals they very rarely attacked, thus we were able to show some fluid movement going forward.
Still think our defence is a little shaky, Arteta and Flamini may not be able to last the season and can be a tad slow against some sides, but one can only hope. Diaby coming back and able to play half a season would be a tremendous boost, fingers crossed!
Up The Arse!
😀
As for Welbeck, I’ll be the first to admit that was not thrilled to have him as our last signing on dateline day,(not because he’s bad or a manc but because I thought our most pressing need was either in a DM or CB position!) all in all, he’s settling in rather quickly and that’s always a good sign.
Hope a CB/DM worthy of our interest becomes available in January!
😀
@TTG
Who can forget the big clock graphics in the tabloids as God toiled for his first Arsenal goal?
Six games, it took him, and he didn’t find the net until scoring a brace against Southampton in late September. All worked out fairly well with him.
I think the obsession with “first goals” is overcooked, but then maybe for a player like Danny, who clearly needs a bit of confidence, it’s important to get the papers off your back and send Van Gaal’s classless words right back up his fundament.
At £16m he’s clearly a very smart signing. May or may not turn out to be a top class player, but these days that kind of cash buys you a Shane Long or a mad Mario (and doesn’t it look increasingly smart that we stayed away from him?), so to get a 23 year old England international with pace and a point to prove for that price is objectively good business, however he works out.
COYG
By the way, I missed the other results over the weekend – can anyone let me know how Utd, Liverpool and the LWCs got on?
I have watched MOTD just to check out how the ManU result came to be.
Two things, they really look good in attack actually, di maria, falcao and van quisling are force to reckon with, but my word their defense is pants.
Especially in second half Leicester got behind them at will and that Ulloa chap can play some football eh? So far the analogy made when Van Gaal went for Di Maria and Falcao instead of defensive players sits pretty right on the spot – needed heart surgery, opted for boobjob instead and long may it continue.
The Sky Sports post match reviewers provided some additional amusement with their eulogizing of Chelsea’s defensive prowess as being the reason they will win the league. A glance at the league table on the Sky site shows that 9 teams have conceded fewer goals than Chelsea and a few have conceded the same number. Long may these simplistic comments continue while we quietly go about our business.
Me fickle, Gregoire? Nope, I just call it as I see it. I congratulated both Özil and Danny for their contributions on Saturday because both played wel, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer and let’s face it Villa capitulated like an Italian army when we shell-shocked them.
If you believe one goal and one assist in one game excuses the ordinariness of Özil’s play to date this year and most of last then you are an optimist of Panglossian proportions (the literary Pangloss, not our Goonerholic member). I believe he is capable of so much more than he delivers for us, but for some reason he still has to prove that he’s up for the weekly grind.
As for Welbeck I hope he develops into the second coming. I just don’t see it in his Manure record. Nor do I understand why, as BB said earlier, we bought him ahead of more pressing needs. Once Theo and OG return I don’t see there’s a place for him in the team except in cup games perhaps.
Öskar
@ Eandy
Man U’s attack is almost always going to be immense, judging by the talent they have going forward.
I draw parallels with our own, only that we balance it up a bit with defence… although foremost on my mind is that against stronger teams we may be caught out as we don’t have a commanding and imposing DM, do hope Diaby comes good this season!
😀
Bang??
Öskar
Close to a perfect weekend N7. United, spurs and pool lost and quite miserably. Chelsea and city had a bore-fest draw.
An away win at villa park and a comfortable on that to was just the soothing balm needed after the wounds suffered at dortmund.
I love Ozil, i am eloquent in praise about him and the reason is he makes the game simple and joyous. He can be infuriating to a few but then it depends on understanding his game. It borders on the simplicity and his ability to create space for others. Not everyone can read the game like him and hence maybe out of sync. With due respect, Ozil is a truly special talent and we should be happy to have him play for us.
Yesterday’s game at the Ettihad just shows that when it comes to big games, it is small margins. Arsenal need to realize at times being pragmatic is alright. I am not saying defend as dourly as mou and his men but do not be overly ambitious.
Saints in COC tomorrow should give us an ample chance to check if our bench strength is truly good. Expect the likes of Poldi, Rozza, Santi and maybe even Diaby to feature. The one i hope for a great game and a sustained campaign there on will be Diaby, He still could be the missing link. A good game and a win tomorrow will set the appetite right for the derby.
Ozil thanking you : http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140922/ozil-the-fans-gave-me-self-belief
Ozil on Welbeck : http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140922/ozil-i-was-ice-cold-for-my-goal
Bring on the Saints!
😀
I think you’ve got that the wrong way round Oskar – you were the fickle one eulogising/overstating the result against Villa – not me. I neither thought it was all doomsday when Dortmund trounced us 2-0 (we were dicked a couple of times in more successful times/seasons), nor euphoria when we got a regulation win against a limited Villa. It’s all part of the vagaries and peaks and troughs of professional football, and the team developing in these early weeks of the season. I don’t snap-judge Ozil and Welbeck on isolated matches, nor do I let the media set the agenda or prism through which I evaluate their contribution. Also, if we continue to judge Ozil through an Anglo-centric, all-action, Gerrard-esque view of what attacking midfielders bring to a team, then he’ll never please the majority of our supporters and the wider English football ‘community’.
I seem to remember your attempt to denigrate the Welbeck purchase came through a link from the Mirror website (nice one – not!) and a quote from Louis van Gaal (of course, Van Gaal is not going to publicly lament the loss of Welbeck, and is going to play up the superior pedigree – at this point in their professional careers at least – of his 3 seasoned strikers in Rooney, Falcao and RvP). Welbeck’s statistical record comes with 3 misnomers: 1) in his goals-to-game record, a substantial amount of his appearances are sub appearances, not a full 90 mins; 2) he’s rarely had a regular run at CF, and has been shunted out wide or into a deeper position b/c of the other estimable qualities he brings to his teams – this unquestionably effects a goalscoring record; 3) when Welbeck was establishing himself as Man Utd player between 2011-13 approximately, Man Utd were regularly finishing in top 2 of the title race, so Fergie/Moyes would naturally be more inclined to continue with the status quo of the established, high-paid names/purchases of Rooney and RvP, and view Welbeck still as a ‘developing’ player and a nice leftfield squad alternative for certain games. They never had to question whether Welbeck might in fact be better than what they’ve got in the medium/long-term, b/c at the time Rooney and RvP were still doing enough to keep United challenging on all fronts. In fact, you could argue, Man Utd panicking over their sudden downturn in form should have led to one of Rooney or RvP being jettisoned, not Welbeck, and the subsequent investment going into more defensive players than the ‘white elephant’ marquee/morale signing of Falcao.
Incidentally, I know Welbeck wasn’t an Arsenal player these last few years, but it’s hardly as if we plucked him from obscurity in one of the South American leagues. He’s played a significant number of games for England no less, in addition to his Man Utd and Sunderland days, so the fact that you have relied on statistics alone and bought into the media bandwagon, rather than trust your own ‘eye’ and knowledge (assuming you watch other teams play, CL football, MOTD regularly etc etc) would suggest your opinions carry little weight.
And finally….(thesis soon to be over!), you cannot mar Welbeck with any misbegotten sense of anger over other dealings done/not done in the summer transfer window. At the end of the day – as you rightly say – ideally we would have added quality and cover to CB and CM positions too, but that doesn’t negate we needed a striker addition once Giroud was injured, so 1/3 dealings done is clearly better than 0/3!
@203 Gregoire
One minor point if I may add, we did not ‘need’ a striker But we sure did want one if he became available and fit our criteria. We have Alexis (which I think will flourish if given the central role!) and Campbell (not played yet still?!) and Sanogo (not up to par but will(may?) come good if given the chance) on the books already before Welbeck was in the picture and did not Arsene say that if he wasn’t away, Welbeck would not even have been bought in an earlier interview?
Welbeck in my contention, was an opportune buy and certainly not a planned or foreseen expenditure. (Long may he score now he’s here!)
Just my thoughts.
🙂
@ 204 BB
Sure, Welbeck was an opportune buy in that he only came available in the last 24 hrs of the transfer window (once it became clear United were going to try and shoehorn Falcao into their squad as some sort of public relations exercise and forlorn brand power statement), but that’s no reflection on Welbeck as a player, nor Arsenal as a club. In fact, you could counterargue it reflects well on Arsenal and Wenger – that we didn’t dither when an opportunity presented itself, we were open and had the decisiveness to capitalise on a shaky moment of commercial/footballing vulnerability from United, to pinch arguably their most-promising long-term prospect up-front willfully from under their noses!
Also, I’d be interested to hear Fergie’s thoughts on all the shenanigans at Utd in the last couple of months. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to hear him say (a bit like Gary Neville) that it was a monumental mistake for Utd to let Welbeck go so blithely on the relative cheap, especially to strengthen a nominal rival like Arsenal.
@205 Gregoire
Agreed, would argue that obtaining Welbeck at that juncture probably reflects well on player and club (and manager!).
Still i get this nervous twitch (not ‘Arry’s mind you!) that we should have maybe gotten someone for our defence instead (or too!), lest we be caught short as the season progresses.
But I may be wrong here of course as there are some who may be deemed well enough to step up. Bellerin did not seem too out of place when he played.
And if he is to be employed often then I would hope Chambers gets a run out in place of Arteta/Flamini. It may all still pan out well I’ll admit.
😀
Afobe scores again and an assist too. I think this is his sixth goal for the season in all competitions.
The year long injury lay off had pushed him behind Chuba in the pecking order, but if he continues this form all throughout the season he would probably get one more chance in another pre-season. Going to be very hard for him to find a way into the squad, but a few loan seasons in progressively harder conditions could be a better bet for the club than selling him next season.
Looking at the squad for tomorrow I think Alexis will probably start down the middle and Chuba on the bench. Arsene may want to continue the 4-1-4-1 experiments with Alexis as the target man, flanked by two inside forwards in Poldi and Campbell. With TR7 as #10 and Diaby as box-to-box, both being defensively capable and TR7 particularly good at high pressing the nominally lone DM may be less of an issue. Flamini or Conquelin?
Ospina
Bellerin – Chambers/Ajayi – Hayden – Flamini/Coquelin
Flamini/Coquelin – Diaby – TR7
Campbell – Alexis – Poldi
Debuchy out for thee months, if this was going to be a surprise for you 🙁
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140922/debuchy-undergoes-surgery-to-left-ankle
Ozil provides insight about the tactical adjustments:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140922/ozil-the-fans-gave-me-self-belief
[ “We knew exactly what strengths we would have. We analysed Aston Villa before the game and knew how they would play. Especially in the first half, we created some very clear opportunities. We didn’t waste our chances – we took them and that made the game easier for us.
“We played a bit differently, in our more usual system. I think that we were a bit better, a bit more organised and in the end that led to our success. ]
Well, if Carlsberg did weekends…
Woke up at about nine on Saturday morning, hade some breakfast, did some tidying up and generally lazed about until I headed off for the pub at around 12.30. A couple of very nice hours were had while watching us win comfortably, and then A few of us stayed behind to watch the first half of West Ham-Liverpool and it was once again clear that Liverpool are still very shaky at the back. Tube home in time to see the last 20 minutes of Liverpool trying to pretend they are still a good team but without Suarez and Sturridge they basically only have Sterling providing any threat whatsoever right now. They desperately need Sturridge back.
And so came Sunday morning, taxi to the airport and a 7.00 flight to Crete. A very smooth flight with almost no turbulence at all later we arrived at the hotel at around 2. Off out for a walk and some food and then off to the sports bar where we always watch footie when we’re here (for new listeners, me and my missus go to Crete for a week every years and have done since the year 2000). We got there just as ManU made it 3-1 and rather grumpily we sat down and said “well, only to be expected to be honest” but were soon feeling a lot happier when the manager said welcome back to us and gave us a complimentary shot of sambuca. Our moods were further lifted by the penalty to Leicester and from then on it just got better and better! We got our drinks in (the barman made them stronger than they normally do as we are regulars!) and then it was 3-3. My phone beeped, I looked down to check the message I’d received and when I looked up it was 4-3 Leicester! Right about now “1-0 West Brom!” popped up on my phone and I just could not believe it. What a bloody marvellous weekend of results this was turning out to be!
We did of course stay behind to watch the City-Chelsea snoozefest (how did Costa stay on the pitch after putting both hands around Zabaleta’s neck???) and a pint of beer and a Long Island Ice Tea later a waitress came out and gave us two rather large mojitos on the house. And then of course, Fat Frank of all people made it 1-1 at Eastlands… Oh, and then I saw the Everton-Palace result! Brilliant results, lovely weather and a significant amount of free drinks – can a weekend get any better? 🙂
For me this weekend did give quite a few strong indicators of what is to come. Well, not this weekend in itself but this weekend made trends clear in my view. ManU are atrocious in defence and that win over QPR has been massively overrated (I saw them v Stoke on Sat, Stoke should have scored at least three more goals) and fact of the matter is that they have played five teams who may very well make up the bottom five when the season is over and something drastic needs to happen or they won’t even finish in the top half, let alone the top four. And Liverpool have lost three out of five and were very lucky not to lose in the opener against Southampton too. They need Sturridge back and they need him soon or they will be well off the pace in not too long.
Things are looking up at the moment for us, two very important league games coming up though so let’s see what we can do there. Time to head out for some food now and enjoy the warm evening, it’s currently 27 degrees and a slight breeze is providing some nice cooling every now and then.
Life could be much worse than this.
Faustus: so we analyzed Villa and exploited their weknesses? Nah, can’t be right. I’ve read on the Internet that Arsene doesn’t do such things, see…
Lars — yes, I guess we all have read comments like that. It is so ridiculous that I don’t think it is even worth criticizing. 🙂
Here is a top level manager who won nearly fifteen major honors in his career, had a stellar consistency in one of the toughest leagues in the world and regularly over-achieved in Europe without knowing how to set up his teams tactically!
Right… 🙂
To continue, Arsene doesn’t make a fetish out of these aspects of the game, doesn’t mythologize himself as a tactical tinker-man as lot of the young managers tend to do but rather focus on a playing philosophy with a few broader strategies that he trusts his players to implement. It has its pros and cons in terms of immediate results, but for the long term evolution and character of a team it is probably the most efficient approach.
Good stuff Lars.
Happy hols.
Not lacking in upcoming talent are we?! : http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140922/team-news-monreal-sanogo-and-walcott
Good to see them getting game time, say play them in all them cup games, and move them up to fill in gaps when injuries occur. We won’t have to dip into that pesky over inflated transfer market then!
😀
Kompany’s comments reported on Sky that he believes that currently there are three teams who could potentially win the title. “I have seen good things from Chelsea but I have seen maybe better things from Arsenal so I guess it will be all about consistency.”
I attach more value to his opinion on pretty much everthing in life over that of the media muppets.
Based on the squads I would make City the favourites but as the man said it will be about consistency of performance.
Kompany is annoyingly likable chap and he is pretty much one of the best CBs in the world, so myeah, his opinion is one of those I would take into consideration.
Indeed. A player I wish we had.
Not so sure on the depth in the Citeh squad, yes they have numbers, but that’s about it really. Take out Aquero or more importantly Kompany and I think they’ll struggle. The Belgium easily their best player against us and the Chavs.
Our second string/fring players gave theirs a solid beating in the Charity Sheild.
*fringe
Gregoire
Very good posts earlier . I have to say I think Danny Welbeck will put good pressure on HFB and we may often see them playing together at least in parts of games. And what Arsenal supporter ever says he can’t see a player getting games! With our injury luck?
I suspect we might see Reveillere or Diarra signed on a short- term deal to provide some back- up. I believe the former can play CB in an emergency although he is no giant.
The u21 team features Zelalem and Crowley tonight so I think we may see a bench with a bit more experience tomorrow.I’ve decided to go albeit not in my usual seat to support and see the younger players. I remember a seeing us beat Rotherham on penalties about 9-8 and much fun it was. Southampton will play a strong team but we tend to do well in this Cup at this stage and if we have some goal scoring potential on the pitch we might well win.
Dr. F, good to see you using sarcasm, trust me, it’s one of the best forms of verbal expression known to man and it’s in no way abusive, it rather helps one keep away from abusing idiots.
Welbeck was stunning business. Was excited the moment I heard it and more so now he’s been playing for us. Really made all the hours spent scouring the tattle rags for stories seem worthwhile to.
Given the names we were linked with, it really was an amazing deal to pull off. People were talking about Cavani for the sort of money that buys you Ozils… Welbeck is a better talent, a third of the price and younger. You can throw Falcao in with that as a name that won’t look half as good in 3/4 years when Our Danny is hitting his prime.
With his pace, skill, and work rate I can’t really see Giroud ever getting back to first choice. They can fight for the spot, which should be good for both, but I think we upgraded our striker this summer.
What a delight Ozil was on Saturday as well. Just finished watching bits again and he was sublime. He really should stay in the free role up front. Get Sanchez on a wing linking with him and we will be tough to handle.
Happy days.
I agree H2H, I think the same applies to Chelsea. Their strikers are Costa, a past his best Drogba and Remy. They have the same number of experienced defenders as we have. If we perform consistently and have the same or better luck as the other two with injuries and refereeing decisions over the season then I believe we can win the league.
Cent@220 : No, what I had attempted was irony, maybe even implied a degree of satire , but absolutely not sarcasm which is meant to indicate contempt or insult and is hurled at a person whereas irony is employed to underline the inconsistency of thought and/or expression.
El Puno @ 221: I think Giroud has one more level to go up. Danny is 23 and I won’t expect a season long consistency and fitness. I think this competition would also improve Giroud and if fit he will surprise many of us in the second half of the season.
On Welbeck;
Must admit that when I first heard of interest I wasn’t exactly punching the air and doing cartwheels, but that was way back in the summer, before we signed Alexis. I remember doing a little research and then thinking that he may not actualy be quite a bad acquisition.
Come TTD, I was in Mexico, keeping up to date via my phone and was pretty excited about the prospect of him coming in, especialy with OG out and the only other seemingly available striker being the ridiculously overpriced Falcoa. The longer the day went on, the more I was convinced that he would be a good signing, after the deal eventualy was confirmed and I heard that we had got him for 16mill I was literaly shocked. I found it really hard to comprehend why Manure would let a home grown talent, one they had invested many, many years in, let go to a major rival for such a (relatively) low sum.
16mill is the same amount we payed for Chambers, Welbeck has CL experience and PL winners medals, if you consider what other young, or even not so young English players have gone for in the past, Andy Carroll anyone?, or even in this window, Lalana and Shaw for example, then 16mil is a steal, daylight robbery, plain and simple. If you doubt the impact of this transfer in anyway, I suggest you take a visit to a Manure forum (don’t forget your vaccinatins) and take a look at the reaction from their fanbase, to put it mildly, they are totally gutted.
I’m not going to get carried away on the basis of a few appearances, but I must admit I like what I’ve seen so far, I feel he brings a lot more to our game then the HFB and to be perfectly candid I believe that if Danny continues to improve in the same vain then it will be Giroud who may very well find himself on the outside looking in. But, whatever happens, a bit of competition for places is never a bad thing.
No, Dr. F, Irony would be you, with all your knowledge, clearly not knowing what sarcasm is.
Buuuuuuuuurn!!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hahahahhaaaaa!!!! *applauds*
It seems the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating FIFA. But is that office any more important than the Fraudulent Fraud Office (FFO)? Also, the SFO could be up for charges before the Unoriginal Acronyms Office (UAO) as SFO has already been used by San Francisco Airport. With nno known cases of major fraud I might add. Pending further investigation of course. The last part almost goes without saying. Only the lord and possibly PiK know about that one. 😉