Three-o Seals Third Place For Gunners
May 25th, 2015 by 'holic
Eight o’clock on a Sunday morning. The predicted rain hasn’t arrived. A replacement rail journey coach pulls up on the station concourse. ย It quickly fills. Swindon are off to Wembley along with Chelsea and Arsenal supporters, cricket lovers heading to Lords, and it seems there is a running event in London as well. So begins the final journey of the season to the new home of football.
Beating the rush gets me to Arsenal station an hour before the pubs open, so a trip down memory lane is in order. Take a look at @TheGoonerholic on Twitter for the snaps of Highbury and assorted watering holes on the east side of our spiritual home. The Guinness is soon flowing as friends old and new exchange stories and enjoy moments of the cricket and grand prix on the televisions.
It’s a good day made better by Arsenal coming out to play with that swagger they have not turned on in recent home matches, and West Brom seemingly, and surprisingly, with their thoughts already turning to their summer holidays. Within seventeen minutes the game is effectively over.
Arsene rested Olivier Giroud and gave Theo Walcott a start up front, a move that yielded rich rewards in the opening quarter of an hour. First Theo hit a crisp rising drive inside Myhill’s far post, then he sniffed out a chance to pinch the simplest of second goals. The home support had something to cheer about again, and cheer they did.
Shortly afterwards Jack Wilshere conjured up what would later land him a second consecutive goal of the season award from Match of the Day viewers. I preferred last season’s wonderful team effort, but his astonishing thump from the edge of the box drew gasps from the crowd.
West Brom were unable to stem the tide and the only surprise was that we had to wait until the 37th minute for Theo to complete his hat-trick. Four nil at the half, it was not too surprising that we coasted little through the second-half. On a rare foray forward the Baggies earned a corner from which Mcauley got ahead of David Ospina to head home a consolation.
The selection of Ospina was an interesting one. With Fabianski’s appearance at Norwich on the closing day last season in mind considered opinion was that Szczesny would get the nod yesterday. That now raises the question of who will keep goal at Wembley. That will not be the only selection poser facing Arsene after Theo’s hat-trick.
League season over, players applauded on the start of their lap of honour, it was time to head back for the traditional sausage and chips in the Tollie (thank you Martin, Lou and team for another fabulous year of hospitality).
Third place, and therefore automatic Champions League group stage qualification is a degree of improvement. Our best finish in three seasons. The FA Cup needs to be retained for the season to be considered progress, perhaps? Arsene himself doesn’t agree.
“If you look at the start of the season, we had too many injuries in the first part of the season. Since January we havenโt lost any points compared to all our opponents. We have made progress and we had our players back as well.”
Let’s see what we think after this coming Saturday. Have a good week, ‘holics.
82 Responses to “Three-o Seals Third Place For Gunners”
Bugger the football, the sausage and chips mention has me drooling.
Oh me first, surprise surprise.
Great end to a good season. The first half again showed what we can do if allowed to play. Jack sublime, Theo fine and it augurs their case of starting come saturday.
I do not want to dwell on what could have been and rather stay positive by accepting we did very well second half of the season and that third is probably the best we could have been.
Cup Final time and villa’s game plan will be obvious. sit back deep, hit us on the counter and use Benteke’s aerial prowess. We need to score first and then see if they come to us and that is when the game opens up and we are a winner. Still 4 days to go but then strangely the euphoria or the anxiety has not set in, ala last time. Maybe the wait this time has just been 12 months whereas last time was 9 years. Good luck to the team.
Thank you one and all in the group for making this a great season. looking forward to our continuity next season, of course after this weekend.
Lastly, thank you Arsenal for everything, without you i cannot imagine my life.
Cynic beat me to the first by a minute, hahha never mind, second it is.
*peels spuds*
*slaughters pig*
or
vice versa
Slaughtered pig would be very welcome about now, thanks cba ๐
check yer inbox ‘hol fer a porky prime cut
mmmmmmm
canny beat it
๐
some horrendous injury record in the early part of the season did us in.
some progress from wenger’s part:
1. ruthless with sczesney’s antics
2. sticking with coq despite arteta being available
3. and most importantly a change in tactics to not leave ourselves too open for the sucker punch (mostly). although I can remember the anderlecht, monaco and swansea home games were particularly bad.
jeez
didn’t think that through
sounds like a wolfie post
ooops
apologies
๐
Smashing report Holic from a wonderful weekend. Sounds like you had a ball and met up with many good friends.
The performance was just the tonic we needed ahead of the Weekend where we have a chance to retain the FA Cup. What a mark that would be in our history.
howdy joe
did ye hear bill o’herlihy died
tv will be different
him on the left
johnny giles
liam
and the mouth
.
sad news
“we’ll leave it there, so”
Okey dokey a legend cba.
Cheers H. My debut season as a drinker is drawing to a close and I have enjoyed it loads and got even more out of my passion and support for Arsenal by sharing in everyone else’s on here. So thanks to everyone and especially Holic who makes it all possible.
I like Ospina as a number two. I am ready to give up on Schezza (although I think a change of scenery would do him good and won’t be surprised if he flourishes at another club). There may be some top keepers available this summer and I think we should get one.
That was a great result for us. We just need one more.
Drinks all round!
okeydoke indeed garsguns
always liked him
patience of a saint
dealin with dunphy
.
in other non arsenal news
the referendum result here
is a strange one
from the outside looking in
ye could be forgiven for thinkin
we aren’t a backward xenophobic racist sectarian backwater
in places
lotsa places
we are now an arms open embrace all nation
.
more people in the south of ireland turned out to vote
in this referendum
than did for a referendum potentially paving the way
to an end to armed conflict in the north
.
some referendums are “sexy”
some aren’t
says a lot
not sure what
but i have an idea
.
anyhow
anyhoo
stews on
homemade 45%liquorice gargle just dipped into
๐
.
.
*stows soapbox safely in the overhead locker*
Nice report, Holic,
and thanks for the word about Erin in the previous drinks.
I’m lucky to have such a lovely girl.
Good old Norwich. Just keep Delia off the sherry.
CBA, Garsguns,
I only found out on the radio this afternoon about Bill O’Herlihy and it came as a big shock. He was the voice and face of generations in this country who love football. I think that group (along with Dunphy, Giles and Brady) were (and are still) hugely entertaining and provided technically astute analysis of football games. Sad times. And he was a huge Arsenal fan too..!
well said joe
well said
Sausage and chips please barman. And I will trouble for three Guinni now, one for each of Theo’s goals, so as not to trouble you later. ๐
are bt8 and 8ball the same ?
.
bt8 is a belfast postcode
8ball is a hoot
.
confussed ๐
Didn’t know he was an arsenal man joe the four of them were brilliant together what rte were doing when they let him go I’ll never know,may he rip.
22
+1
I occasionally wander around by the old ground and had a quick peek yesterday. It’s such an evocative place . But our ‘ new’ home will be coming up for nine years old soon and hopefully will have another FA Cup on the roll of honour around the ground when we return next season.
This was a fine way to sign off albeit it wasn’t the loudest pre- Final celebration you could imagine . But we do know how to stage an open top bus parade. Did you see the Chelsea turnout? It was embarrassing.
thunder T
got sent a sky drone copter pic
of our blue nuisances
.
hilarious
.
.
ran outta legs to laugh off
.
๐
if you say liquor-ISH once more
fuckin
fuck
ye’ll be sleepin in the bastardin shed
the pair o yees
.
*hospitality runs low for numpties*
.
fuck this chocolate box house
and it’s welcoming host
๐
I should just stay in bed
and avoid them
howzabout that fer a welcome
ya shower
๐
cheerio
sorry for typing out loud
but
by the way
ye wouldn’t like the two mates of the missus either
arseholes
.
g’night
Cba – shocked that Ireland voted “yes” — and pleased as punch!
Not gay myself but equality should be a natural human right.
As all political issues seem to be rooted in Catholic “values” in Ireland it is a truly momentous declaration by the liberal people of Ireland and a real act of progessive, lateral, free thinking.
Are you watching Australia?
Oh ,and Oskar — a fine example of self restraint – well done sir!
This is brilliant. Ideal for the historical minded amongst you.
http://flashbak.com/25-great-pictures-of-arsenal-fans-in-the-1930s-34906/
A fine day out, Guvna.
An excellent and mesmerising first half. Understandable that we played within ourselves in the second half though a damn shame that we didn’t push on with the same drive and verve.
Pray tell, what did she wear?
Great pix, Cynic@30, thanks for the link. I noted, in particular, two of the later pictures of people outside the stadium. Notice the prices for admission to the terraces – 2/- in 1930 and still in 1938. Leave aside nostalgia for the days when you could get in to watch the Arse for 10p and wonder at the thought that prices remained the same for 8 years!
COYG
imp failage
the outcome of the referendum wasn’t my point
indeed
i didn’t mention it
cos I assumed every right thinking individual
would agree with it
my points were elsewhere
anyhoo
no bother
Cynic
Lovely set of photos- interesting that for the 1936 Final we received an allocation of 10,000 . I think the capacity of the very old Wembley was 100,000 . So not many fans of the club’s got to see them even then
My father never saw Arsenal in a Cup Final and only ever saw one,in 1948 I think when Charlton beat Burnley. On going into the ground he was offered a fiver for his ticket ( a fortune then) but refused it because he had never seen a Cup Final and he had been given the ticket by the people at his football club and felt he shouldn’t be profiteering. Apparently the game was a shocker!
At least 25,000 Gooners will be at Wembley on Saturday, me being among them!
CBA
I’ve been travelling regularly to Ireland since 1982. It would have been hard to imagine then that Sunday’s vote would ever happen. I’m delighted it did. It shows how things change !
thunder T
as i just said
the outcome of the referendum wasn’t my point
the behaviour of the nation was
the perception of us as a nation was
the perception that we are overnight tolerance personified was
pictures of students traveling back at holyhead
the influences of the media on those numbers
the differences between north and south
the lower turnout for a rather weighty previous referendum
were
the outcome wasn’t
anyone with a scintilla of sense
agrees with the outcome
Cynic@30: Those photos of the ’30s were a treat. Different times, eh?
yup oskar
i used scintilla ๐
get me all fancy dan !
oh
and
i’d certainly have bought ye a jar
if i’d run into ye thunder T over here
.
maybe i did
always friendly to visitors me
.
apart from the two feckin limpets
stuck to my homebrew downstairs
thirsty bastas
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IEpzqLPwG7Q
.
‘ceptin it’s all feckin mine
grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
if it wasn’t fer the bastard fact
it’s an hour’s walk to the bar
and it’s fuckin freezin out
i’d be armpit deep in dark pints of joy
oh and
herself said
when she thought i was outta earshot
somethin along the patronising lines of
“he’s still a punk then”
feckin shrew
never was
never thought i was
but even if i was
which i probably was
none of your bloody concern .
at least i still have hair
let’s see your dish cloth of a husband
spike up that bald spot
.
fuckin ell
only myself to blame
i said “aye no bother – they can come down fer the weekend”
stupid bastard arsehole me
so
shut up and stop fuckin whingein’
.
at least there is youtube and tunes and homemade liquor
.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-yz5jvR9_Jo
you said it vic
am bloody bition
If you click through some of the other galleries on that website there are more Arsenal photos. One of Wilf Copping in the bath is pretty scary, also some hooligan photos
Can’t be scintilla’d. ๐
what the fuck is goin on
sittin upstairs in me own bastardin house
just so i don’t tell yer wan she’s a cunt
and part laughin boys hair with a shovel
probably best
now that it’s written down
sorry ‘hol
at it again
don’t fuckin mean to
jeez anyway
fuck
.
I’ll say something Arsenal related
so yer spam filter doesn’t
give me dirty looks
god bless all here
gonna be a long night
I’ll fuckin shut me mouth
but
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=EzS-Jis7kfA
I’m thinking that laughing boy probably needs a hell of a parting, cba. ๐
Thanks for the 30s snaps Cynic. Always look for the ‘holicdad, born ’22. Never found him yet.
i would ‘holic
but
if history has taught us anything
it’s that
violence solves nothing
.
*sharpens shovel*
*and back-up trowel*
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=9UOweeSdI2k
the good captain will settle my ship of shite
might stick trout mask replica on loud
๐
and maybe wear a hat
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=1MnQx80nS9U
yup
tonight’s presentation shall be sponsored by his great van vlietness
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=xiorncOFpcg
revenge comes in many flavours
tonight
it’s loud trout
.
feckin pair o weasels
๐
Why thank you, Failage (#29), I appreciate it.
Love the pics at #30, Cynic. Pleased not to be in them as well! Gotta love all the ties, aye. ๐
Erin is a lovely name, Trev. You have Irish in your heritage? Or is this something else we have in common (apart from a love of Theo), English dads with Irish-named daughters? Mine is Tara.
Lovely word ‘scintilla’, cba … the smallest amount of relevant evidence needed to support a conclusion, even though others might opine otherwise. Like the quality of your offerings, a scintilla of which (a single word perhaps) justifies all. ๐
รskar
oskar
my eldest daughter is called ENGLAND
so
swings an roundabouts
๐
she had terrible trouble
on the street
in school
daily life really
.
she was fast tracked
for a mortgage
over
starving natives out in cold
huddled together
barely a morsel to feed the younguns
or
the family
as she occasionally calls us
.
Blaaaaa
๐
Hmmm. As a name ‘England’ doesn’t have quite the lyrical quality of Erin or Tara, cba. You’d have to wonder what sort of father would lumber a girl with a name like that. But I’m pleased to see she is overcoming her difficult school years. Make sure she marries a banker. Or is that how she got the mortgage?
รskar
Cba — I got your elsewhere points.
Sorry to have troubled you with an apparently patronising message of support.
Where can I buy a scintila of sense? Is it less than a gram?
My daughter is named Alexandra incidently.
Incendently is a rather unusual surname I suppose.
But Alexandra is a Greek name.
Which is odd, cos I’m from Camden Town.
Its all become terribly confusing.
I had a dog called Tara once though.
Does that help?
oskar/failage ๐
So Schneiderlin wants to leave… but do we really need him?!?
Yes.
Cheers for the report ‘holic.
Glad the lads turned in a decent performance for the last day.
Now just the small matter of a cup final.
Schneiderlin? Yes, unless we can find better. Le Coq has been a great stopgap but has always required a second deep MF to complement him. We need a more commanding DMF who can handle the role alone.
รskar
Oskar,
thanks. I obviously thought Erin was a lovely name too.
I have no Irish heritage at all though. The name was actually passed down from my wife – Er-indoors. ๐
Schneiderlin – yes please.
Surely the point here, though, is that neither Coquelin nor Schneiderlin can possibly play every game.
Coquelin has done brilliantly and is more than adequate against most sides – including Man City at Middle Eastlands.
Maybe he is not the top-top quality of Schneiderlin but we have to have players who can effectively rotate. I don’t see either meaning the end of the other.
Now I’m confused …….
Oskar / Imp Fail,
Tara, like Alexandra, is also a Greek name, as seen by it’s inclusion in words such as Tara-masalata, which is Greek for “Goodbye my salad”.
๐
trev ๐ ๐
when i see the name tara written down
i always hear cilla black sayin bye bye in my head
glad somebody else does
๐
Trev,
I know Wenger is supposed to like Schneiderlinn and that he comes from the Alsace too, but for me, Coquelins elevation has been so astonishing over the last few months that I would honestly question the need to spend such big money on a player like Schneiderlinn. At that type of money is he really going to be a proportionate improvement? Because its an awful lot of money to spend on a player just so we can rotate him with Coquelin.
My thinking on that front is that we should be buying players of the ilk that they are “first names on the team sheet”. i.e. world class talents ala Sanchez & Ozil.
Is Schneiderlinn really in that bracket as opposed to say someone like Vidal?
And then of course in the background, questions remain as to whether Arteta is staying, if Diaby will sign a pay as you play deal, and the new kid Bielik is supposed to very very good……
Usually we have a tendency to get clear the decks first – so it’ll be really interesting to see who leaves first and hopefully that should provide some indication as to who might be arriving.
It’s very difficult to see who will arrive to strengthen the first team. It’s quite clear that it can be strengthened but the players who would certainly give us an instant lift are either unavailable (Aguero), unaffordable (Messi) or unpalatable (Suarez/Ronaldo).
The players who have been linked to date, somewhat tenuously in some cases, are all problematic:
Cech – definitely an upgrade at GK, even with a season as second choice, but Maureen and Abramovic are sure to pull a fast one to prevent him coming to Arsenal, it’s just a case of waiting to see how they wriggle out of the promises they have allegedly made to him
Schneiderlin – I am in 100% agreement with Joe. I don’t see how he commands the alleged price being quoted. Is he really a commanding defensive midfielder? Southampton have sold a few ‘pigs in pokes’ in the last 12 months. It’s a lot of money for a squad player to rotate with Coquelin.
Martinez – I haven’t really seen enough of him to comment. He’s scored a lot of goals in a weak league in recent seasons and a few in the CL this season but at 28 and the price being quoted he will have to deliver on a regular basis as he will have little resale value.
I do expect Arsene to shock us all with another rabbit out of the hat, probably on the final day of the window. Que sera sera.
At least Frei, Given, Martins and Kalou haven’t been linked….yet. ๐ฎ
Do you like to solve puzzles? Here is one …
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32799483
So, ManU was predicted to be 3rd at the start of the season, they finish 4th, and the prognosticator “marks” LVG 7/10. Fair enough.
But, Arsenal was predicted to finish 5th, we finish 3rd, but the same prognosticator “marks” Arsene 6/10. ๐
Now, just so that people don’t mistake his inconsistency for anything but wisdom, he even clarifies that: “The end-of-term report will read better if they can beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup final at Wembley on 30 May.”
So, well, why not wait for the FA Cup final.
Hilarious stuff …
One does not expect much from McNutty!
๐
67
+1
man’s a spanner
Joe, bath,
I actually agree with you both.
I think we need someone as good as Coquelin and better if the world class DM is out there and available.
I don’t know what price is being quoted for Schneiderlin. I don’t think he should simply replace Coquelin who has been outstanding for us. Nobody can play every game though, and that is why I mentioned rotation.
At some point injury, fatigue or loss of form will happen and we will need a much better replacement to come into the side than Arteta, Flamini or Diaby, who is never a defensive or holding player anyway. Maybe Chambers is earmarked, maybe Bielik – I really liked Luis Gustavo in the World Cup before the Brazilian team completely disintegrated. He’s not an obviously remarkable player but neither is Coquelin and neither was Gilberto. It’s an unglamorous job and there are relatively few who are really good at it.
We need a top class player for not too much money ‘cos we already have alternatives in the squad ……….
Plus ca change …………
Pretentious – moi ? ๐
Doc @ 66.
McNulty is a renowned Arsenal/Wenger hater – his gradings and comments are only petty spite at Arsenal once again exceeding his predictions for the season! Year on year, he predicts us to finish outside the top 4, and coincidentally he only ever seems to write feature articles on Arsenal when we go through our annual seasonal wobble, and he dusts down the usual arguments about Wenger’s position being “precarious” etc.
Note the particular barb of McNulty’s comment on our season: “at no stage were Arsenal ever relevant to Premier League title, so no progress”. Errr… if you’re only predicting us to finish 5th, then we have no right to feature for the title?! And if you follow that logic through, then none of the other clubs with arguably bigger title aspirations this season, at least according to Phil – Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool – were even more a failure. As for “no progress”, well we avoided the annual scramble for 4th place (in all honesty we should have finished 2nd), we actually beat most of our rivals at least once this season, and won the league table for the second half of the season when our squad was by and large fully fit.
Sorry we’re not funded by an oligarch Phil, but get Mourinho’s cock out of your mouth if you’re trying to write objectively. Note how he tries to undermine Wenger in this article by grading Mourinho’s contribution one point higher than his Chelsea side, and Wenger one point less than the Arsenal squad. Utterly bizarre! Wenger actually showed a lot of acumen by managing a tough injury situation in the first half of the season which would have wrecked any other squad in the league, and worked unheralded players – Monreal, Bellerin, Coquelin – into key contributers for the rest of the season. All I can see Mourinho did apart from exact his extreme tactical pragmatism is spend Abramovich’s money on Costa & Fabregas to make sure that Chelski hit the ground running in August (which sadly they did)….
Totally agree with Trev on Schneiderlin. It’s not about Schneiderlin versus Coquelin, it’s about strengthening our options in that position, to ward against injury or loss of form.
If we learned anything from the first half of this season, it’s that injuries will happen, and our lack of depth down the spine of the side in the 1st half of the season (belatedly rectified by the purchase of Gabriel, the rise of the Coq, and eventual returns to fitness of Koscielny, Ozil, Ramsey etc).
If Schneiderlin and Coquelin are both fit then great – hopefully the competition will push them to excel. Also, I know Schneiderlin may not be as “sexy” a name as Vidal or the latest Franco-African player we’re getting linked (a la M’Vila/Capoue/Kondogbia), but he’s a known quantity having played in the Prem, and really that position is all about pragmatism anyway, so that the 5 attackers in front of him have licence to create havoc.
Gregoire, excellently put re: McNulty.
Gregoire @ 70: You are factually right, of course. By now I kind of expect these back-handed compliments and barbed comments about Arsenal and Arsene, so when they inevitably come I look for amusement values in their predictability.
๐
cba – now I get you.
Sorry, I obviously haven’t been paying enough attention.
Any pix of you in that x-ray gingham dress?
‘Holic, many many thanks for all your continuing good works. This is the site I come to most for sensible (well, mostly) family discussions – even though I generally don’t have much to say.
I’d love to see Theo and Jack starting on Saturday, I just think Giroud (and others) have run themselves into the ground on our behalf. And I still think Szczesny is just a little better that Ospina – are the rose-tinted spex falling away now after his last few performances?
But then again, I definitely think Cech would be an upgrade. I’d be happy if only he (and maybe Schnederlin) came in over the summer.
Looking forward to the Final! COYGGG!
Drinks to you ‘Holic and all the regulars.
74
don’t make me get all uppity with ye , peaches
I was interested in the McNulty discussions above. I hadn’t seen his article, but it seems par for the course. I rarely look at his stuff, and generally only when I’m feeling a little depressed when it tends to make me feel even worse. Perhaps that should be my resolution for next season – only to look at him when I’m going through a manic phase.
Of course, it’s not just Mr McNulty at the BBC. I took a look at Garth Crokks’ (that was a typo originally, but it looked so good) team of the season for reasons I can’t recall, and quote in full the second paragraph (of two) of his piece about Alexis Sanchez, who gained inclusion:
There is no doubt in my mind that Alexis Sanchez has taken the Gunners a step closer to lifting the title but I sense he needs a little more assistance in key areas if Arsenal are serious about winning the Premier League next season. If Wenger fails to provide that assistance then Sanchez might be tempted to join a club who are not afraid to splash the cash in order to secure the title.
It lacks a little the subtlety but is otherwise a typical example of the way in which all things Arsenal are generally reported on the BBC and the English media in general. Notice the way he “senses” that Sanchez requires reassurance – a perfect excuse for not quoting any sources, if ever he is called to account for this piece. (Not that sources seem to be required for a good story these days.) As a Spud to his fingertips, I guess Mr Crokks feels uneasy at including in his team a player who plies his trade in North London, but honestly! (He managed to include a player from a Middlesex team as well, so you might have thought he would feel a little mellow.)
Anyway, bollocks to the lot of them. What colour was that ribbon again?
COYG
Gregoire @70 – Excellent post.
Pangloss – good stuff.
He has apparently “sensed” our fear of splashing the cash.
Oh that we were brave enough to piss ยฃ110 million up the wall on a bunch of nomarks !
Now that’s proper management.
Oops sorry !
Blast it ! Could someone clever switch off the italics – I’ve clearly forgotten how to.
Oh – I haven’t. ๐
Time for a history lesson with North Bank Ned ๐ >>>>>>>>>>>>>