Southern Softies Sink Suffocated City
Jan 18th, 2015 by 'holic
A jaunty Santi Cazorla with the celebrating faithful behind him
A simply superb team performance by Arsenal at the Etihad saw them comfortably defeat the reigning champions. The post-match glow is one we have been awaiting for a long time, but that makes it all the sweeter. This team now will surely have the belief that they can replicate this determined and disciplined display against quality opposition?
I wondered beforehand if Arsene might start the match with a pairing of Francis Coquelin and Mathieu Flamini. Instead Aaron Ramsey got the nod over the latter which was a bold move and enabled us to do what we do so well when the opposition is set-up to attack. We sat back, soaked up pressure, and countered imaginatively, and often with pace.
Unbeaten in twelve league matches, City started on the front foot, but could not find spaces as the Gunners often had ten men between the ball and David Ospina. The Columbian goalkeeper was not required to do much in the opening half, so solid was the yellow and blue wall in front of him. When Arsenal broke there was a hint of menace and from an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross Olivier Giroud’s header deflected off Kompany, a player destined to enjoy mixed fortunes minutes later.
Arsenal broke again with Nacho Monreal joining the attack and attempting a one-two with Giroud, The aforementioned Kompany, clearly a bit rusty after his recent absence, brought the left-back down. So clear a penalty was it that even Mike Dean felt compelled to award the spot-kick. Yes, it was that blatant, Neil Ashton. The City skipper can consider himself fortunate not to receive a yellow card under the circumstances. He would have cause to be grateful.
The resulting penalty was hit with sufficient venom by the outstanding Santi Cazorla, and it needed to be as Joe Hart guessed the right direction to dive. The first goal is so important in the big matches. We now had three points rather than one to protect.
As the half wound down Kompany brought down Giroud, at last drawing a yellow card, and then embarked on a rant that brought what surely was a final warning from Dean.
Beforehand, let’s be honest, we wondered if we could keep the trio of Navas, Silva, and Aguero at bay. The perhaps surprising ease with which we did just that meant somebody had to go and wake David Ospina from a forty-six minute siesta as the whistle blew for half-time.
The anonymous Milner was hooked at half-time so Jovetic could be sent on as a second striker, and at last the champions looked like a team that had something to play for. In truth the Gunners survived the opening minutes of the half more by luck than judgement, and finally Ospina had some work to do, sprawling to save from Aguero less than two minutes in, then batting away a Navas drive three minutes later.
Arsenal, suitably warned, regrouped and returned to doing the things that had served them so well earlier. Sanchez was involved in the move that saw Ramsey just miss the target, and the Chilean appeared to be caught late by Kompany, who else, but Mr Dean chose instead to caution Hector Bellerin for an incident shortly beforehand.
City tried to add to their attacking options by sending on Lampard for Fernandinho, but Arsenal, prompted by the mercurial Cazorla, got a second. The scorer of the first goal chipped a free-kick on to the head of Giroud who beat Hart comfortably from close range.
It was typical of the day that the visitors comfortably saw out the closing minutes, denied a third themselves when late substitute Flamini found himself in nose-bleed territory. Then the whistle, and cue wild celebrations in the visitors section. The traveling faithful have waited long and hard for a victory in a big away Premier League game. They deserved their moment.
It seems unfair to pick out individuals in what was clearly a massive team performance, but the decision to pick Cazorla ahead of the returning Ozil was a huge one. He has been impressive all season, but was just outstanding today. 101 passes, all but 9 finding their target, and with a workrate that must have made even the astonishing Alexis jealous. That Neil Ashton, yes him again, could only give him a rating of 7 after that display is frankly risible.
Behind him though the not so unsung hero. Twitter has been drooling over the stats posted of Coquelin’s performance. He was immense, plugging gaps, getting in blocks, winning every tackle and all but one header. There is something of the Ashley Cole story repeating itself perhaps. He was loaned out to Palace and circumstances saw him surprisingly find form and favour on his return. Could the same be happening for the Frenchman after he was recalled from his loan at Charlton. He is grabbing his chance for sure.
So there we are. One of the good days. One in which hopefully the various factions can unite for a while. With the prospect of a fun day to come at Brighton a week today too. Let this be the day that the Arsenal learned again how to be truly competitive with the other big guns, for that is what all of us want.
Well played Arsenal.
142 Responses to “Southern Softies Sink Suffocated City”
Ping.
BMBD
Lurker
.
LMBD
Excellent report Holic – bet that one was a pleasure to write.
Still grinning from ear to ear. Hopefully the support can get together as one for the next few days and just enjoy the feeling of having played the champions off the park in their own backyard.
Beyond that, I think this result was a real marker for next season. Finish top four, fix the remaining holes in the squad and I think we are ready to give it a proper go for the first time in a long old while. There are clear signs that we are starting to gel, and I think today will have made some of the lads really believe. I know it had that effect on me.
Lovely stuff.
COYG
Never in doubt!!! Had a good feelin before KO which could’ve been trapped wind… But fuck me that was awesome from Arsenal!!!
Up the Arse!
Cheers H! Great performance all round, just finished watching it as was out (watching indoor cricket) in real time.
Well summarized, ‘Hols. Same game I saw…that Mike Dean, even when he makes the obvious call, he the finds a way to follow that up with absolute, astonishing tomfoolery. What a wanker.
Santi was sublime, but so was the Coq. Keep up the hard work, lad…keep talking.
Finally, much obliged Trevor and Aussie.
Win the next match.
BMBD
Very fair report Guv’nor . I would take issue with nothing you said and it was indeed a day when it was difficult to include everyone in the praise there were so many heroes .
I have felt for dome time that there was a lot to Coquelin and glad that he is getting a chance and apparently taking it . If there is truth that Schneiderlin is lined up in the summer I think he will do a very good job this season and his flexibility positional ly is an asset too. I also think Bellerin is very exciting . He is very effective defensively because he has great recovery speed and going forward you can see he grew up as a winger. The real priority is to get another good centre back. We need cover for our main two who were excellent today. The moment of the game for me was to see BFG nutmeg Aguero. I suspect with Byelik joining that will be that . So good to see us able to adopt these sort of tactics and control a game with 35% possession
Neil Ashton lol
goes back to the gruesome el twosome
last year
.
that’s when it started
.
cheerio now
Lovely. Forgot how this feels. A CB cover for now. Lets not forget the potential of chambers (not paired with Per).
MS in the summer and that’s all we need. If the chance comes for a world class signing then that’s a luxury.
Massive potential this squad.
Oh …. Stay fit
Great report ‘holic. The game goes into the company of anfield ’89 and Old Trafford em?
And well written, too, ‘Holic. A performance to savour.
Yours and the team’s…
That was pleasant.
Splendid report Guvnor. Drinks for all on the bar.
COYG
Fine report, Holic,
leaves nothing to really say about the game.
When Coquelin was loaned to Charlton in November, supposedly for one month, I thought – and posted – that AW must be getting him a few warm up games before using him, where we were weakest, as a defensive midfielder.
He had played the role before and with Arteta injured and Flamini collecting cards on a regular basis, it seemed he was to get another go. Then his loan spell was extended for another month and it seemed reasonable to assume he was being put in the shop window for a January move.
It seems now, and with Arsene’s quotes today, that he was indeed being readied for first team action. He has taken his chance brilliantly.
His positioning today, throughout the game, was Gilbertoesque. Patrolled between the back four and the midfield five, where we usually have
N. Obody, and marked Silva out of the game.
He has been at the club, one way or another, for eight years. If you are going to have a youth policy then this, surely, is what it’s all about. We were/are in desperate need of an effective defensive midfielder and we have found one from within.
If he had arrived from Madrid two weeks ago, at a cost of, say, £18 mill, would anyone at the moment be thinking we had wasted our money ?
Where’s Aussie ?
Very fair points Trev about young Coquelin, he has been splendid today, as was whole squad.
He apparently got his head straight and did not lunge himself to any two footed tackles since the Hull game, while still having that “bite” in him.
As much as I love Flamster (his first game for us against Totts last season was simly joy to watch), Coquelin now is a huge upgrade on him. Maybe it just shows how badly we missed player of this mould or maybe..just maybe..he actually is quite good eh?:P
Trev 😉
Good points about Lans Le Coq @16, Trev.
Today’s game showed how important Silva is to City. Stop him supplying the ammo for City’s formidable front line and they don’t have much fire power. And that is exactly what we did. Squeezed Silva out of the game. With a bank of four and a bank of five at times you might have thought Fat Sam was coaching us today.
Still waiting for the boo boys to start complaining that we still rely on scoring more goals than the other side…
Am so happy for Francis Coq. I was gutted when he was loaned to Freiburg as it seemed his Arse career was over… I had followed his development since he joined and played for the Yutes. He looked a class act and very combative at right back and in midfield. So many young players have seemed destined for the first team only to never make it ultimately. But hopefully Coq has finally arrived.
he can’t be accused of not doing against a decent team now.
Trev knows.
‘Holic, you say we survived the opening minutes of the second half more by luck than judgement, and Citeh certainly looked more of an attaching threat than they had done in the first half as we let play be more open than we had in the first half. But I wonder if the way we played wasn’t a tactical response to the change Citeh made at half-time, with the intention of either exploiting the space behind the newly arrived Jovetic or nullifying his forward play by forcing him to track back. Either way, it didn’t work particularly convincingly and we switched back to 4-5-1 after about 10 mins.
re:Ospina: Three games; Three clean sheets. How much of that is down to him and how much to the defence being more solid since Le Coq has come into the side? Jersey is his to lose at the moment, though. Hard to see a reason for reinstating Woj at this point, unless Woj is now the Cup keeper. I do wonder, though, why there are persistent rumours we are looking to bring in a keeper.
Well played, Arsenal. Well played. A thoroughly good day and a well deserved win. Arsene doesn’t do tactics? Oh, come on…
TTG: the real priority is to get another good centre back.
Or… Jenks back from loan, him and Bellerin fight it out at right back while Debuchy moves into the middle and the BFG becomes first backup with Chambers second. That would give us two players in every position across the back four, with both Debuchy and Monreal capable of playing in two positions.
(Obviously this is for next season)
Enjoyable game, excellent result, well written report and finally great day for the Lurky pound that was firmly put on Arsenal to win among others.
Nice to see that Arsene but also many fans as well start to give a chance players like Coq deserved long time ago. So, happy for him and for Ospina too.
As for Bellerin, no one I know ever doubted that he is going to ave a great career.
Coquelin was very impressive today, not a single badly timed tackle on Silva or Aguero — who both tend to draw a lot of fouls from opposition defense — and some superb anticipation. The composure under pressure and the discipline to follow Aguero’s run were excellent. Rarely do you see Silva-Aguero-Jovetic having almost no shots at the goal. The entire defense was very solid, but Coquelin’s reading and discipline as well as Santi’s control in tight corners made the City attack look so ordinary.
Santi had one of his best games for us ever. The big and little Fernando were constantly chasing shadows as Santi just moved around them with balletic ease. The close control was simply of the very best quality.
Warming up to Ospina, rather good decision making and conveys a calmness about him.
Rambo looked just a little rusty on touches but the work rate was phenomenal. As was Giroud’s, solid around game.
Bellerin is going to be one of the very best if this rate of development continues for the next couple of years. Matured significantly within a few months.
NBN, heh! Above.
Apart from making the keeper’s job easier, Coq allows Per to stay more in position and become a better player too.
Mike Dean played a blinder too! Was a tad worried before KO due to him being the ref… But fair play, apart from booking our players a bit too easily, he was decent.
Really enjoying the clueless knee jerky over simplistic reactions from the pundits too.
Pearce and Savage are being reliably terrible on MOTD2 I see.
Well fuck a duck. Life never ceases to amaze….
Nearly Forgot what that actually felt like.
I was so fucking nervous like never before as this was a big one, a season definer…
Winning when it actually matters.
Winning against world class quality…
Top four quality.
At their place.
With mike fucking dean in charge…
Fuck a duck…..
Did mike dean truly give arsenal a penalty. A real penalty in an away match against a top four side. I must be dreaming.
Did we just beat a top four side away.
Fuck a duck..
N7@ 3 above nailed it perfectly..
Yes yes trev. I know. I know…its coming.
Given the quality of the oposition, the actual 3 points against a top four side (away) and the quality of the performance, I am very pleased to give full credit to:
Arsene for picking the right squad.
Arsene for having the team pumped.
Arsene for actually winning against a top four side. (And winning well)
Arsene for the conistent defensive discipline on display. I do like that a lot and hope to see much more of it…
Arsene for reamining loyal and faithful to a youngster like cocquelain..
Arsenes patience is a long term patience not many have or can endure.
Last but in no way least – Santi and le coq who were simply magnificent.
I look forward to being completely wrong about Arsene for the entire rest of the season…..week after week, match after match….
Well done Arsenal…and well done Arsene.
Discalimer: (No ducks were harmed in writing this post)
🙂
I’ll be honest, when the chirpy pre-match predictions were published in the bar of a 2-1 win or similar, I smirked and thought ‘Dream on, Arsenal’.
And I’m thrilled to be proven wrong. How long has it been since we did something like that? I heard it was 1 win in 12 against top 4 opposition before today, but this is the kind of result (and performance, from what I’ve read and heard) which can instill the required belief in the players to go into big games against big opposition and play like real contenders.
Just so chuffed, especially coming in a season that was so frustrating for the first half!
Dr F
Great post.
About Giroud: he now has scored PL goals against all top teams except Chelsea, and his display today underlies how essential his unique combination of skill (the penalty came from a typical flick on to the path of Monreal) and strength has become in the way we play.
Dexter @ 32: Thanks. Couldn’t watch the game live, was rather difficult to resist the temptation to check the score before I sat dow to watch the recording. Patience rewarded. 🙂
Told you, Porco.
After last weeks performance vs Stoke, I genuinely thought we could do that today.
Agree with Dexter, excellent post and analysis aa always Dr. Faustus.
I wonder who will replace Pellegrini…
Öskar
Great report ‘holic and spot on!
Tactically spot on by the management in the first half and the later half of the second!
Santi = 10/10! Genius who you couldn’t get the ball off even if you were in a telephone booth with him!
Le Coq – strong and immense, and wonderfully combatative from his returning Championship division experience! Exactly what the experience was meant to do!
A fantastic and seminal result against the champs in their own backyard! Top four in the EPL is now without doubt and is assured with discipline! CL or EPL?! Just so you; I must say! You have to believe Gooners! Up the Arse!
Heh at Aussie @ 30 🙂
I am often asked why it is that I bother spending all this time and money going week in, week out.
Because today, really.
Bloody magic.
And getting the opportunity to sing “spend some fucking money” at the departing Citeh supporters during their mass fire drill was sweeeeet 🙂
Hehe and Cheers snowy…
The away fans deserve this the most.
Hope you enjoyed shoving it right up em.
Indeed one of the good days
🙂
Well played Arsenal.
Well said Holic.
Ashton deserves to be horse whipped.
Suck it up you twerp.
First time in a long time we’ve won a game I expected us to lose and what a lovely feeling it is 😉 Top Tactics, Top Performances and Top result cannot ask for more !
Up The Arse,
Ps That was the best number 10 performance I’ve seen in a very long time – Take a bow Santi !
Today score :
Money 0 – 2 Football
Pps Watching that today does make you wonder if AS work rate is rubbing of on those around him, Each and everyone of the boys didn’t stop running and plugging space for each other for the whole game, Makes such a big difference 🙂
Arsenal win over city+fat frank!
Happy Times!
😀
Santi Cazorla awesome game today. Coquelin is looking to be just the player we need. Bellerin is developing so fast it’s scary.
Huge clean sheet, and our performances are getting better at exactly the right time. Bring on Brighton.
Regarding Vic and his shorts in sub zero weather, he’s far too hard to allow his body heat to escape. It tried once and he glared it back into place.
The only thing about Bellerin I did not like today was that he was our furthest forward player a couple of times at 2-0. I’d have preferred him to sit and not cross the half way line. But he does look good, which kind of raises a question or two about spending so much money on Chambers, if he’s seen as a right back.
Trev@16: “If he had arrived from Madrid two weeks ago, at a cost of, say, £18 mill, would anyone at the moment be thinking we had wasted our money?”
Exactly. Our preconceptions of how good/not good players are can be so damning. The jury is still out on whether Le Coq can sustain this level over the long term, but since coming back from Charlton he’s done nothing to suggest he can’t. Puts me a bit in mind of Javier Mascherano – and let’s be honest, if we had signed the likes of Mascherano, and Mascherano had gone on to do exactly what Coquelin has done in the last five games or so, we’d all be over the moon.
Nice to hear we are apparently working hard to find a center half, too, with Arsene saying it is “too risky” not to bring one in. Which isn’t to say it’ll happen, necessarily. 🙂 But it is encouraging.
Still can’t believe it’s been since April 2012 (and this goal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KeQTyRifOQ) that we’ve beaten either City, Chelsea or United. Horrible.
But it feels so frcocking good tonight.
Happy to have a week’s rest before Brighton, too, and then another week before Villa, and another before Sp*rs. A chance to recover well and hopefully get some folks healthy.
COYG!
Wilshere, Theo, Ozil, Debuchy.. still to come back!
Safe to say that we may have a selection problem when everyone is fit!
Oh.. i think we’re well set up for the future and if we can get the proper defensive cover or maybe juggle positions for a few of our regulars….
Maybe say move Chambers to DM with Le COQ or play Wilshere as DM instead… we may not need anymore players next season (should everyone stay fit!)
So if no one of repute is available then will opt for Kallstromm-like loan this window as cover!
UP THE ARSE!
😀
OH.. and i forgot Welbeck too…!
If we keep all of our players.. we probably do not even have to get Arteta and Flamini’s replacements and that’s provided we reposition a few of our more attacking players…
Still we should be looking at strengthening at the back BUT only if a world class player becomes available!
😀
Something happened to this team to rejuvenate it. I think the game that was the turning point was the United game where we completely battered them and they were incredibly lucky to win. From that point onwards we have played really well with two exceptions- and they were awful- Stoke and Southampton.
We have played really well at home since then, mashing Dortmund, Soton, Newcastle, QPR , Hull and Stoke. We played well at Gala, West Ham and West Brom and came close to a big win at Liverpool. There are signs of really significant improvement in the team over the season and we have real quality to return. I think there was such an outcry after the United game that people lost perspective. United have not played near the level we did today this season but the nature of that defeat was very tough to take. Wenger regularly gets the team together in the second half of the season and this team has the potential to do really well on three fronts. I think we can cause problems to most sides in the CL this season. This win was coming and hopefully will give real belief to the side for the rest of the campaign. But we do need a proper CB, as back-up. Koscielny’s Achilles looks very fragile.
We just beat the holders on their ground.
That is all.
ospina 7
bellerin 8
Mert 8
Kos 9
Monreal 9
Ramsey 7
Coq 9
Ox 7
Alexis 8
Giroud 8
Santi 10++++++++
still buzzing from the game.
teams dont look too clever when they get closed down do they. half the time we make teams look better than they really are.
and we get the minimum from all the great approach play and passing. how many points have we given away from winning starts.
just hope we stay injury free and really kick on.
p.s.: wenger please rotate and dont run santi and alexis into the ground.
Great stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed that!
Even more enjoyable is the way “pundits” are bending over backwards to try to play down our victory and make it seem like it was nothing special when before the match they all said it was impossible.
Anyway, onward and upward.
UTA
COR @ 58: Nice to see you. About the pundits, one explanation I am hearing and reading that apparently Man City had one of their poorest games! Of course, a team on a 12-match unbeaten run just chose to have a poor game at home when under pressure to catch up with the leaders, and it has nothing to do with the opposition’s tactical intelligence and discipline and ability to execute a well-conceived game plan …
DF@59,
But that wouldn’t fit with certain reporters agendas, Made me laugh today reading that twat Steven Howard. Writes page after page when we lose one of these games but when we finally win one its because City were awful, Cracks me up they earn a living.
Weren’t we good? Wasn’t that nice to see?
Nuf said, just carry on, Gunners.
So.. if I’m reading it right, the press thinks.. we were crap and got got lucky but Still managed to beat city… how the mighty have fallen!
HAHA! I love it!
Let’s do this to Man U and Chelski too!
Could Le Coq be the plug that we need in the DM position?
😀
What a wonderful Monday morning. I slept last night with a grin from ear to ear..!
A couple of points to add to some wonderful comments above:
Trev:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Le Coq has only 5 months left on his current contract, which would suggest to me that he was in the “last chance saloon” in terms of making the most of his chance for a new contract with the club. And as you say, he seems to have taken that opportunity brilliantly with both hands. And while I think we will now offer him a new deal, it will have to match the offers he’ll now most likely get from other clubs. For all his brilliance in the last few games, I think he certainly is “a solution” in terms of being a squad member (to replace Flamini) but not “the solution” in terms of getting a top class player in that position (ala Morgan Schneiderlinn in the summer).
Ttg:
I think this is the turning point. We have not put in a defensive shift like that for a long long time. Wenger deserves credit for getting the tactics right, but I still feel very legitimate questions need to be asked as to why we didn’t get this right so much sooner. But I don’t want to take away from what was s superb result. Its such a wonderful feeling when we do defend properly and just goes to show, that we can compete at the highest level when we do.
Whatever about the PL, we have a serious opportunity to progress in the CL. If we beat Monaco and get a good draw in the next round, we could likely find ourselves in semi-final territory.
This is why I think Wenger will still strengthen the team in January. He really has to buy a defender to cover Kos. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he buys a forward too. We lost Poldi, Sanogo and there’s a possibility of loosing Campbell as well. None of those three players played this season when we had serious injuries. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one other forward come in to replace them if Campbell does go.
Finally, while we have all thought that our midfield would be anchored by Ozil, Jack and Rambo – it would seem that Santi has proven to be indispensable in his current form and that he should never be deployed on the wing again. And if we presume that we are going to buy a top class DCM either in this window or the next, then that means we have serious competition in midfield. This is needed, because there are certain players who are very prone to injury and this season have shown that we just cannot rely on them (Diaby, Jack, Rambo and Ozil all fall into this category at the moment).
The press can say anything they want, maybe it will help the boys to stay on the ground and not being complacent. Being the underdog would only do us good. Let the boys stay on their toe and fight like this in every single game until May.
COYG
Just caught the replay, excellent stuff. I guess having most of the A team players fit makes a difference. They gave it all from Bellerin to the senior most player on the pitch. More of that please.
Well written Holic couldn’t agree more!
I watched almost the whole game again last night and the Coq was even more majestic on second viewing. Only on very, very few occasions was he drawn towards the wings and every time he was it was the right decision to leave the central area. He patrolled that space in front of our central defenders so well and City never had the option of going through the middle. Anyone would be forgiven for not even noticing Aguero was even on the pitch until he tried to swap shirts with Gibbs with about five minutes still to play.
Cynic@49: Chambers wasn’t bought as a right back as I recall it. He was bought as a DM/CB.
Agree with you about Bellerin being too far forward on that occasion, but I put that down to inexperience and other than that he had an excellent game.
Good to see you, CoR!
Arsenal were SOOOO lucky to beat €iteh. You didn’t know?
Let’s just have more of that “luck” for the remainder of our fixtures, starting with Brighton.
Win the next match.
BMBD
Re: Cynic @49. Bellerin our farthest forward player a couple of times? Well, can that even compare to Flamini, who seemed to be our farthest forward player EVERY time after he came on? 😉
….is still smiling 😀
For me most the important thing is to build on this and play like this from game to game!
Like Coq said if we can’t repeat this then there is no point celebrating even though it was too sweet to ignore. Game plan worked in every aspect of the game and if we keep playing like this you never know what might happen.
COYG!
Now this is fun.
From City’s official match report on their website:
“The Blues were far from their best on a frustrating afternoon that saw the Gunners score a goal in each half – the first a controversial penalty that undoubtedly influenced the final outcome.”
“…but it was the visitors who opened the scoring midway through the first-half when Kompany was adjudged by referee Mike Dean to have brought down Aaron Ramsey in the box.”
“Replays suggested the Welshman had gone over a tad easily and it was a major call by the official – but one Santi Cazorla didn’t pass up as he tucked the penalty past Joe Hart to give the Gunners the lead…”
I really do understand their indignation and I do wholeheartedly agree that it is very controversial if we got our penalty due to the referee seeing Ramsey going down in the box.
I really do feel for City if that is the case.
Having that said, I have yet to see the replays they are talking about that are hinting that Ramsey is a bit if a diver.
Toby. Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gibbs, Monreal or Ramsey, either way it is proof that the Manchester City website journalists are the same as the referees. They don’t know which Arsenal player they are talking about because they only watch the other team. 🙂
Lars,
To confirm your point and your even better eyesight 😉
only eight of his 63 touches were out wide – because he had the help of his full-backs, and patrolled the width of his penalty area to protect his defence brilliantly.
Should be a Pundit 😛 !!
*continues basking*
Arsenal a team of son-in-laws? That’s what Graeme Souness said on the Sky Sports program that was also Thierry Henry’s first show for the network:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2915430/Thierry-Henry-EXPLOSIVE-rant-former-club-Arsenal-Sky-Sports-punditry-debut-gone-backwards.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
I’m not sure I’d like my daughter to date Le Coq though. 🙂
Anyone who questions our penalty simply doesn’t know the laws of the game. Kompany deliberately blocks Monreal’s path and brings him to the floor. That’s a penalty all day long, and those who call it a dive should look at the contact Kompany makes with Monreal with his thigh.
Chippy: I’d certainly do a better job than twats like Robbie Garbage and whoever else it was last night on MOTD. But then again, so would most people who have seen more than ten minutes of football in their lives.
Still, it was really funny seeing Garbage try to explain last night why a Hull player should have gone down (i.e. taken a dive) in the penalty area while Monreal should have stayed on his feet. The more he talked, the deeper he dug himself into a hole.
Harkening back to that 8-2 dark day at Old Toilet, the only player who remotely acquitted himself, given the circumstances, was Le Coq, and the avalanche really picked up steam that day after AW subbed him out. It’s good to see him doing well, but, as a wise man once said, one swallow doesn’t make a summer. As Coquelin pointed out himself after the match, you need to keep it up for the rest of the season. Yes, sign him to an extension, but continue to upgrade the position either in this window or in the summer.
Crystal ball gazing on Flamini and Arteta:
Was Flam auditioning to lead the line after he came on yesterday? Otherwise at season’s end he looks to be surplus.
Arteta’s injury, combined with the resurgence of Le Coq, the signing of TPIFOG, the grooming of Chambers, the possible acquisition of a physical DM, and the logjam at other midfield spots, makes it look as if his days will be numbered. But I have a funny feeling that AW will offer him a year contract, because he values his presence, and may even want him to stay around in an eventual coaching capacity.
As to who would be the next captain: given the fates of our most recent selections, I would be cautious if I were an aspirant for the job. Maybe AW could run a contest among the supporters to nominate their LEAST favorite to take the mantle? Probably quite a few votes for TPIG at the moment; some would opt for Wilshere. Would Öskar plump for Özil?
Neil Ashton just keeps digging a hole for himself. This article is completely bizarre but in a way it sums up the incredible ego of the modern football journalist. No wonder fans get their daily fixes from bloggers not the press at least the bloggers watch the games.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2916692/Santi-Cazorla-s-performance-Arsenal-against-Manchester-City-worthy-just-7-5-10.html
Villarreal defender Gabriel claims his agent is in talks with Arsenal
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/18/gabriel-arsenal-villarreal-january-transfer?
——————–
Is he any good and what we’re looking for? Anyone been following this?!
😀
It’s splitting hairs really to pick out one player who was our man of the match. It is a fun discussion and many players have a good case. But I wouldn’t say Ashton is way off in picking Giroud. I thought it was Cazorla but also thought it could have been Coquelin or even Koscielny. Giroud would have been my fourth or fifth choice. I do think it is a spurious argument for Ashton to say the man of the match should be picked before the game has started though.
Even if Ashton didn’t say exactly that. Actually if I am going to pick a man of the match compared to expectations before the match started, then there is no doubt about it in my mind. Le Coq wins it by a country mile.
It is not splitting hairs, 8 ball, because there is objectively only *one* MOTM.
That award goes to Cazorla, based solely on the evidence of his dance.
😀
Joe@63. You are right about Le Coq’s contract. It runs out on June 30th.
Coquelin : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fug_tPPX5E
Magician: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLgHu41F5dw
In addition to the defensive qualities and tenacity, Coquelin’s forward passing was rather sharp as well, and to play counter-attacking games effectively having your pivote to turn defense into attack is a significant advantage.
‘Blue Monday’ Not here! 🙂
Enjoyable read Holic. In retrospect, just as well Kompany not sent off. The biased media would have said we beat ’10 man Citeh’ 😉
Trev, @ 16. Yes! We would be hypocritical, otherwise.
Aussie 🙂
Spirited drinks from all the holics, some who we haven’t had the pleasure of hearing from in a while. Very nice. xx
June 6th, Berlin. Just saying 😉
I say bring on the other Mancs too!
Must complement you maestro for the artful alliteration in your title, “Southern Softies Sink Suffocated City.” 🙂
I thought Santi played a blinder yesterday. The best individual performance of the season. He was quite extraordinary. Y’know? Yesterday? When we beat the oilers.
*gets into full GSD gear and does Santi dance*
Another possibility. Ashton article saying Cazorla was not man of the match was written tongue in cheek.
Ashton is a reptile. Ignore him.
I can’t help reading the blog title in the style of Freddie ‘Parrot Face’ Davies.
One for the teenagers there…
“I’m not sure I’d like my daughter to date Le Coq though.”
Can you imagine a phone call on match day?
“So what’s the latest then, daughter?”
“Coq’s in dad”
“Errrm”
Cheers ‘holic, sir.
Must admit I was pretty pessimistic about this one. I went into the game with the mindset – expect nothing and anything we can get is a bonus.
Wow, that’s some cherry topped bonus.
Our best display in an away game against top (PL) opposition in many a moon. Not the Arsenal way, in the sense that we had a very small slice of the possession, but enjoyable to behold none the less. Tactically aware, hard working and disciplined. I loved it.
Keep on keepin’ on!!
Cynic @94. Not sure she’d be that honest. 😉
Özil for next captain, BJ? (#78) I’m not sure he’d make my best XI unless he shows more application than he has in his Arsenal career to date. Who needs him with Alex and Santi playing as they are? I would swap him for Hummels right now if it was up to me.
Medium term I’d opt for Rambo for captain. Long term I believe Chambers might end up with the arm band playing a Tony Adams role. But I’m happy enough with Per for now.
Öskar
Freddie Davies, brilliant Cynic. Sick, sick, sick up to here. 🙂
Penetrative through-ball from the Coq…
Before crying “wanker” look beyond the headline to the last two lines of the story where it says:
Carragher did however pile praise on the Gunners for their disciplined display at the Etihad as goals from Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud earned the points.
He added: ‘I was shocked Arsene Wenger went with those tactics. Besides Man City, it feels like the whole country is pleased Arsenal won that game in that manner.’
Full story in the Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2917285/Jamie-Carragher-slams-Arsenal-players-dressing-room-celebration-shots-Sunday-s-win-Manchester-City.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Wanker! Oh, er, was there something else to that story other than bellend?
+that
It’s clearly too late for a man pushing 38 to be up toying with a smart phone. Off to bed for me, and if anyone’s wondering, yes I am still basking in the glow of that glorious result.
Toodles all!
Porco. 🙂
Speaking of alliteration, how about Coquelin Quickly Earns a Contract?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/transfers/11356445/Francis-Coquelin-to-be-offered-new-Arsenal-deal-but-Arsene-Wenger-may-bid-au-revoir-to-Flamini-and-Diaby.html
Öskar: was being a bit tongue in cheek re the captaincy — just pointing out that recently whoever gets the armband winds up in the sick bay for extended periods and/or out of the club after they assume the position.
To avoid bestowing the kiss of death on the next poor sod who is appointed, perhaps AW should announce that Sebastian Squillaci has been named captain in perpetuity. and just assign a temporary captain on a per match basis.
Would Wenger disagree with Henry? In the Cazorla in the middle debate, I don’t think he should.
http://www.football365.com/news/21554/9651468/Henry-Cazorla-Is-Guy-That-Makes-Arsenal-Tick-
Point taken, BJ. 🙂 Maybe we could appoint Cesc Fabregas or Eden Hazard?
Öskar
Why does anyone listen to Carragher? Its like having tinnitus.
Still buzzing from that win,surely that’s our template going forward excellent from everyone of the players.I have been critical of mert and Monreal they looked like different players with the protection of St Francis brilliant.that bench as well wow.
Lol Esso.
heya everyone
really pleasant day now we have beaten city.
aint it??:)
But really i cant get my head around arsene getting criticism for the fact that he didnt play counterattacking in big games earlier.
The reason should be self evident. He had absolutely no Pace to pull it off effectively.
Its quite clear to me that it was only last year that we got spanked in all the big games away and before that we were pretty decent. And during that time we had only ox with some pace (and he too was required to play cm vs pool). thus purist as he is he decided against parking the bus in those games as he pretty much knew we wouldnt be able to score on counters. he went with the strengths of his players which was ball retention.
So really its baffling to suggest that he cant play with counterattacking game given that he pretty much won most of the titles with that (well not exactly!) gameplan…
Midfielder Xavi has said he wants Manchester City’s David Silva and Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla to join him at Barcelona.
——————————————
So .. other people are taking note now! 😀
Interesting bits from official Arsenal FC website interview with Theo:
a) on attacking personnel: “When I came, it was Pires and Ljungberg, Bergkamp, Thierry and Reyes – that’s some attacking force as well. I think this squad probably does beat it, but we need to prove it first.”
Question to Theo: Has TPIG convinced you to start smoking? If so, lay off that more potent stuff you’ve been toking…
b) on Alexis: “It’s about getting that balance right. We told him during the Christmas period to relax a little bit, but he still cracked on with his gym work! He’s that sort of person – nothing will make him tired…”
Note to Theo: Hopefully, Alexis is showing you and the other Arsenal veterans that the Na$ri training regimen should not be your norm. Maybe you and others could be more like an Alexis sort of person.
The eagle-eyed may spot someone familiar here.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150120/super-santi
Well clapped out old Xavi can do one.
A very large one.
Yep, I did Holic,
It was Santi Cazorla.
OOoooooo Santi Cazoooooorlaaa!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHeqf-dcXCM
😀
That’s who I meant Trev. 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uWCFvE97Xs
😀 😀 😀
Great clips of Santi on the ball but could somebody please repost them in slower motion? My eyes can’t keep up his quick feet. 😉
Hi all
Running very late on posting, no time to read all back posts so please excuse any repeating of anyones posts.
But WOW !!!!!!!!
What a performance all round, it was a dream to watch so i have a couple of times now and it seems to getting better every time I watch it. However the result the second time of watching wasnt a surprise. I did not see this comming, hoped but didnt see it happening. To follow up on a great performance against the leg breakers *he`s not that type of player* was even more pleasing.
The usual can Arsenal build on this was the babble from the pundits on TV, radio and all round media coverage. This is a performance that the team can take real heart from, our best player all season Alexis didnt have his best game yet still gave his full 100% commitment and what more is there to say.
Santi and Coquelin were just outstanding, they were imence. It was a real team performance but those two do need an little extra mention for sheer will power and drive. Santi at times decided to take on Man City entire team on his own and suceeded. Coquelin filled every gap possible.
Just a fantastic performance all round, more please.
There has been a universal outpouring of love and praise since Sunday ( although I didn’t see MOTD2 so that might have been different!?). Genuinely seems that the football world wanted Arsenal to stand up and show their quality in a big game. Talking with a nice Chelsea supporter after the game he was saying that everyone in football knows that on song Arsenal are superb but they don’t win games where different qualities are required, and I found it hard to disagree with him. But the willingness and ability to change is definitely in this squad and this season we have played most big away games much better. I fancy us to tonk the Tiny Totts shortly. Nice that we have less fixtures to worry about currently and can give players a bit of a rest. And a breath of sea air to come on Sunday!
Wish I knew a nice Chelsea supporter. Second thoughts, give a fuck.
Brighton tickets arrived today. Deep joy! Anyone else coming for a day out on the coast?
A laugh.
http://untold-arsenal.com/archives/40396
Regretfully no, Esso. My requests fell on deaf ears, so instead I shall be cooking a Burns Night supper with Arsenal on some piece of technology in the kitchen as I create my masterpiece 😉
All this talk about introducing the Rooney Rule to English football is daft. Who wants to have to shag a granny hooker, get a hair transplant and eat pies all day to get their weight up, just so they can play football?
I mean, come on…
Thanks for the well wishes Dr Faustus and Lonestar, good to be back 😀
I wish our players would think before they speak. Theo saying our current strikers are better than 2006 is a bit of a joke. Even though Bergkamp and Henry were past their best that season, I’d still take that year’s forwards over anything we’ve got now.
Apart from Sanchez replacing Reyes on the right.
Give me the others (RVP, Ljungberg, Bergkamp and Henry) over Giroud, Welbeck, Cazorla etc any time.
Cynic,
Feo has been misquoted shamelessly by those headlines.
Arseblog links to this post by northlondonisred deconstructing the headline. It’s worth reading, a) to clarify what happened in this case and b) as an excellent example of the moral turpitude of sports hacks:
http://northlondonisred.co.uk/walcott-im-better-than-henry-bergkamp-pele-and-jesus/
Yeah I know the context, which is why I mentioned 2006 and the “decline” of Henry and Bergkamp. I’d still prefer them to what we have now.
Not knocking the current lot really, just sticking up for the elderly 😉
Cynic/bath: Theo also used “squad” (essentially referring to the depth and variety) and clarified that even though that is what he thinks the only way the team can prove it is by actually winning something significant.
Our attacking options (including central midfielders in Rambo & say Jack, excluding Campbell and YaYa): Alexis, Santi, Ozil, Ox, Theo, Giroud, TR7, Welbeck, Jack, Rambo. That is a remarkably diverse squad, even though it doesn’t have the 2-3 great players (yet) who had proved themselves many times and had a stellar career, it is a deeper squad than 2006 providing multiple different alternatives.
We beat City. And signed a football player.
What on earth is going on?
Welcome to the club, Bielik.
Our latest record in signing talented youngsters with some first team experience has been good: Ox, Chambers. Hopefully Bielik will join them in a season or two.
As long as we’re in the market for Gabriel Paulista (or not) it could be a good time to spin an old Brazilian tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIdozv-qF5g
The world is mad. Official.
Manchester United have been quoted a world-record £112m for 20-year-old Paris St-Germain and Brazil centre-back Marquinhos, the man they have identified as their top defensive target.
holy shit NBN, it true this truly is madness…Luiz for 50m is insane on its own but this is just…lost for words really.
Unless the venerable NBN or other of our expert readership can enlighten me I can see no way an uncapped Brazilian ( Paulista) who has been in Europe less than a year and has no EU passport can possibly be granted a work permit. Especially if Wenger does the deal for £6million plus add- ONS. That might negate the ‘ exceptional talent’ test! He may be a terrific player but he won’t be able to sign in this window
Well, it was in The Sun, Eandy, so you can judge its truthiness for yourself. But that anyone should even be talking those sort of numbers for a 20 year old beggars belief.
NBN/Eandy — And you know what, ManU will probably pay that. BB and I were discussion this a few days back: ManU will go into convulsions if there is any doubt about their chances for a CL spot this season and then especially in the summer if they don’t get into top four.
Watch them spend money to get back to top like you have never seen before. 🙂
True enough DF, their debt is so high they simply need CL football, I mean they could probably survive two or three years without qualifying I suppose but anything longer than that could have dire circumstances.
And as much as I would love them to fall from grace and eat dirt of financial distress, they, as a team(not talking about fans)..are still not as despicable as Chelsea, which represents everything which is wrong with football nowadays.
Should shit hit the fan big time in Manchester financial wise, them going to administration would for me be bigger loss than the same happening to bus stop in Fulham. Yeah, they are rival team, but rivalries are what are making the football fun in the end and for same reason I would not like to see Totts relegated, just bound for relegation battle every year would do 😛
A Ned special. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 🙂
ttg@137: I will bow to my learned friends who have more expert knowledge, but my understanding is that unless a player can claim EU citizenship (which Paulista reportedly can’t), to play in the U.K. he has to meet two requirements:
a) have played in at least 75% of his country’s “senior competitive internationals” for which he was available over the past two years (senior competitive matches are World Cups, continental tournaments and their qualifiers);
b) his home country must be a top 70 nation in Fifa’s rankings (the nation’s rankings are averaged over the two years in question).
If the player fails those tests, the buying club can appeal to the FA, which has the option to declare the player of a “highest calibre” standard. That is a looser definition. It requires the FA panel that decides such things to judge the player (a) to be of the highest calibre and (b) that he would make a ‘significant contribution’ to the development of top level football in England.
There don’t seem to be any guidelines for what counts as being of the highest calibre or making a significant contribution, but if the FA panel decides the player meets those two requirements and so is “of the highest calibre”, the Home Office uses that as guidance for its decision on whether to grant the work permit. The final decision is the Home Office’s but its basic requirement is that the person in question has the endorsement of their sports U.K. governing body (the FA in football’s case). I don’t know of any example where the Home Office has overruled the FA’s decision.
The panel the FA convenes to hear each appeal is comprised of one representative each from the FA, the PFA and the appealing club’s league (Premiership in Arsenal’s case) plus three ex-pros or managers. The FA also provides a non-voting chairman.
The panel meets behind closed doors and a majority vote is required for the player to be recommended for a work permit (a 3-3 split fails). Apart from the final decision, the proceedings, (and I think even the vote) remain confidential. There is no appeal against a rejection. A club can’t reapply for the same player for another four months.
Arsenal has successful used the “highest calibre” standard to get work permits in 2011 for Ryo Miyaichi and Andre Santos. Premiership clubs have been particularly successful using the process for Brazilians. Chelsea got work permits for Willian, Ramires, Oscar, and David Luiz that way. Liverpool got Coutinho through and the Spuds Sandro. The argument has been that there are so many Brazilians of the highest calibre it is impossible for them all to play 75% of Brazil’s internationals.
FA’s requirements are tough by the standards of other European countries. Holland only requires a non-EU player to have played one international or in a Champions or Europa League match to qualify for a work permit — which is why Premiership clubs loan so many non-EU players they can’t initially get work permits for to Dutch clubs.