Owl The Kids Do At Sheffield?
Oct 26th, 2015 by 'holic
After an intense burst of victories against Manchester United, Watford, Bayern Munich, and Everton it is down to largely the squad players and youngsters to take on Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round of the COCup. Arsene Wenger today confirmed that Per Mertesacker is available after illness but David Ospina remains injured. The boss took the unusual step of saying that Petr Cech will play in goal. Ahead of him we could see Mathieu Debuchy, Mertesacker, Calum Chambers, and Kieran Gibbs.
It would not be a surprise for Glen Kamara to be given a start alongside Mathieu Flamini in a holding role. The three attacking midfielders will be the most interesting test facing the boss. Alex Iwobi has been in fine form for the U21’s, scoring twice against Bayern in the European Youth League last week, but he arrived at the club a winger and must be in contention on one of the flanks. Ismael Bennacer was a summer capture from Arles Avignon who has trained with the first team this season and maybe considered. One of the experienced players may start, possibly Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who looks in need of a confidence boost.
Theo Walcott, rested on Saturday, might start but this is probably more likely to be the chance Joel Campbell has been waiting for to lead the line. Jeorge Bird is closer to the youth set up and sees things slightly differently. I don’t think either of us will be too far out.
I’ll be honest and say I don’t know a great deal about the current version of Sheffield Wednesday. They dropped out of the top flight in 2000 and a succession of managers as well as owners have failed to oversee a return of the glory days. The current side appears closer than any to achieving that. They currently sit ninth in the Championship, four points adrift of the play-off places.
Their path to this tie has seen them defeat Mansfield Town and Oxford United before winning at Premier League Newcastle in the third round. We have been warned. At home only one of eight visitors have beaten them, and that was high-flying Middlesbrough. Apparently they have their own injury concerns and will be without defender Michael Turner, midfielder Alex Lopez and attackers Marco Matias and Modou Sougou.
Owls boss Carlos Carvalhal appears to be something of a mathematician, saying beforehand.
“I believe that probably we will have 10% chance to go to the next phase but 10% is 10%. It is not zero. Zero is when you can do nothing, 1% you can do something and with 10% you have chances. We will grab this 10% and try to do our best and maybe we’ll have a little more with the support of our fans and we will fight, of course.”
The ‘holic pound
That’s clear then. I have to say given that they are at home and we are likely to field a very young and inexperienced side that their odds might be greater than 10%. The bookmakers have to assume that Arsene thinks he is taking a team to Yorkshire that will ensure our progress and have priced the match appropriately. Against anybody but us I would be very interested in the 17/2 against the home team. The bookies make 0-2 the favourite scoreline and the inclusion of Cech makes this my choice also.
If you are making the trip on a cold Tuesday night I hope indeed that Arsenal do have sufficient strength to progress and your journey is made worthwhile. The match is on Sky Sports 1 here so doubles numerous streams will be available for those of you who are not subscribers.
Have a good one, ‘holics.
140 Responses to “Owl The Kids Do At Sheffield?”
Yess !!
Wednesday on a Tuesday.
Bring it on.
Nice one, Holic.
I just discovered that I know a hell of a lot less even than you do about Sheffield Wednesday – or any other day of the week, come to that.
But how come we’re playing them on a Tuesday – just answer that one if you can !
I hope their players are all just as confused by their manager’s analysis of their chances as I was. If so, we are as good as in the next round already 😉
Oi, Steve T,
I do the puns. You snuck that in while I was typing !
Play kids and the second string. See what happens. What will be will be.
Lots of rest for those that need it.
Nice write up H.
Evening Lord Trev.
I learnt from the master.
🙂
Why play Cech in the league cup but leave him out of champions league matches??? Not sure I fully understand that one.
“Owl the kids do?”
Well, the manager will be Torn’e will (tawny?) with his team selection.
But he’ll keep his cool, come what may during the game. Unlike Chelsea, they’ll be no Barn-eys at the Screech of the half time whistle.
No doubt our old mate Snowy will be there in her Spotted jacket and Rusty-barred scarf – that passes for red and white.
Hopefully there will be no Southern White-faced supporters in shock at the final whistle, as the travelling faithful prepare to return home with victory secured.
No late dramas, no need to shout at the referee, “you t-wit, to who-m are you awarding that penalty ?”
😉
Posted this before Holic pissed on my strawberries and posted a preview. So, I thought I would post it again for no other reason than it took me ages.
There’s a reason for that BTM. Whilst injuries played their part they are clearly not the only reason we faltered. Our three best players last season were Santi, Alexis and Per. They missed a total of 11 league games between them. Martinez played 3 league games meaning the remaining 35 were shared by Shezza and Ospina.
In the close season we spent the best part of £30 million on two right backs. As a result we let another go out on loan. Bizarrely we started the season with 4 right backs on our books but only 2 centre backs. Kos played 26 league games but there were still those who did not think it foolish not to have bought another centre back. No need really because Chambers we were now being told was actually bought as a centre back. Some even went on to say that he was even bought to play a holding midfield role.
Our three reminding right backs managed a total of 44 league games. Nacho made 26 league appearances whilst Gibbs made 22.
Arteta and Tommy R are now just squad players. Jack has never cemented a regular place and will need to bring something special to the party in order to become a regular. Diaby should not have still been on the payroll.
The loss of Ollie G was a big blow. This was compounded by the fact that the back up came from Sanago, Welbeck and Campbell. Theo was another big loss although there were several on here that were adamant that he should be sold in the summer.
Injuries clearly played their part but they were in no way fully responsible for our failings last year. The failure to sign a top striker and a centre back were major errors. A top keeper was also called for my more than a few. It’s when you see how good Cech is that you realise what we were missing. If only we had bought a striker and not started the season with two centre backs then who knows what might have been??
As I said, injuries were a problem, but don’t fall into the trap and believe that injuries were the only issue. There was a lot more to it than that.
Ramblers sporting triumphs and attitude are legendary Clive.
And obviously, no ‘owlers from the keeper please 😉
UP THE RAMBLERS!
🙂
Sergiu Bus plays for Wednesday. They could always park him.
Evening all. Nice preview boss. Sense suggest squaddies and kids but time has taught us never to try and out guess M.Wenger.
Back on terra firma again and some me black liquid has been tested for quality – neede a few samples just to make sure it remains up to scratch.
Ned@ 12 – no doubt he will eventually be a good coach 😉
Nice one Guvna.
Let’s have that 2-0 to the Arsenal Juniors + Cech.
A rest is vital for the first team. So let’s see what the back-ups can deliver.
Come on you Gunners.
Trev, I’ll have you know I already had my headline for the match report before you blasted it out of your scattergun there!
🙂
Uply@13: 🙂 A Guinness for you to recover your sea-legs.
A start for Walcott seems likely, given he was rested against Everton. A brace to secure the game and then off after 70 mins would be the ticket, though it raises a question of who will play up front for the final 20 mins; Willock (C) perhaps. Surprised that Reine-Adelaide isn’t being mentioned in dispatches. Unless he is injured, I would expect him to be on the bench at the very least, and perhaps starting, especially if Walcott is there to feast off his sumptuous passes. Not sure that both Campbell and Iwobi will start though I would expect both to play.
Thanks for that H.
A little bank holiday comedy improvisation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKTh7zBIcrM
Well done Trev. What a hoot.
From previous drinks,re last year’s injury concerns etc.
2 perfectly reasoned summations by BTM and Steve T,albeit with slightly differing viewpoints.
Personally on the injury front i think today’s footballers are all a bunch of fucking wimps.
Back in the days of the Ramblers,i remember a must win Cup semi final against our arch enemies the Burnt Oak Bombers.
Our starting line up that day included 3 players with broken legs,2 with broken jaws,2 with fractured skulls,2 with multiple rib fractures,and a one armed goalkeeper.
The fact that we lost the match 26 nil is neither here nor there.
The boys played through the pain and managed to get in many telling blows on the opposition with their crutches and walking sticks.
The Bombers certainly knew they had been in a game.
Today’s Footballers,Jeez you only have to look at them sideways and they pull a hammy.!!
Clive,
I think I saw that match. The 24th goal was miles offside and the 13th was a fluke.
Much as I like Arsenal winning silverware we would be much better off resting Ozil , Sanchez etc than trying to play a few obvious first- teasers. We should be ok defensively and Kamara and Flamini are a decent midfield barrier. Upfront I think we might go Campbell, Ox, Iwobi with Theo spearheading the attack .
I think 2-1 to the good guys might do it after extra time
Holic, use it anyway. Don’t think anyone has noticed mine. 😉
😉
Nicely in Trev!!
Could be a hoot. Must watch out for that Sergiu Bus NBN is talking about though. 🙂
COYG please don’t misunderstand the potential of these league cup games to slow the momentum we need to keep our season rolling if we don’t put in a full effort. 🙁
⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
Nothing less will do.
Mourinho in dramatic downward spiral of damnable dishonorable and irredeemable deeds. The FA calls it “misconduct” which sounds like they are trying to give him his dignity back.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34635441
Speaking of Portuguese managers, Wednesday’s manager is a bit eccentric and a bit Portuguese. Here is an interesting profile article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/league-cup/11956497/Deep-thinker-Carlos-Carvalhal-aiming-to-upset-Arsenal-in-the-League-Cup-with-Sheffield-Wednesday.html
cba, from previous drinks. Yes, I do occasionally sleep but only when nobody is expecting it. 😉
Ned
Willock is with the England team at the U17 World Cup where Reine Adelaide is also. We are very short of a credible third striker with Akpom and Sanogo on loan
I’ll be absolutley livid if any of Le Coq, Özil, Alexis, Santi, Bellerin and Monreal are even in the squad tonight, let alone starting the game. Hell, I’d even rest the Ox tbh. I also really, really don’t understand the decision to play Cech, if Macey isn’t ready to play in this game, then why is he even on the bench in the PL/CL??? This is the League Cup, it is little more than a glorified friendly so why can’t he play in it? Play kids and reserves all the way. I really don’t give two hoots if we go out, tonight is all about resting as many as we can considering the week we have coming up with the Swansea, Bayern and Totnum games.
My team would be something like
Macey
Debuchy-BFG-Bielik-Gibbs
Flamini-[some kid]
[some kid]
Iwobi-Campbell-[some kid]
Bench: [some kid], [some kid], [so… well you get the idea]
Lars…..not kidding are you 😉 Agree entirely – play none of the current starting X1 tonight. Should we progress we can re-introduce first team picks depending on the going situation at that time. We’ve had our cup wins to get that monkey off our backs – lets concentrate on the EPL and try to not lose face by elimination from the UCL at the group stage.
I’d go with Lars’ team.
I know this is not a view shared by many but I quite like Campbell. I think he has the potential to develop quite quickly once he gets on a role. He definitely needs a confidence boost- a couple of goals would help- to feel like he really belongs at this level. I hope he goes well tonight.
I hope the rest of the team go well too, obviously.
Cheers ‘H. Good to see you and the gang at the weekend in what turned out to be a fantastic week for the Club. The doom merchants seem to be a little thin on the ground at the moment. Wonder why …
Let’s hope the kids can carry on the feel-good atmosphere around the Club tonight. Fancy it might be quite a tricky evening.
For once, i’m going to disagree with me ole mucker Lars on this one.
“Glorified friendly”? Tell that to the five or six thousand gooners who will be making the trip up north tonight, many of them with no hope of making it back until tomorrow morning. Tell that to the four thousand gooners who celebrated riotously around me at the Lane a few weeks ago, and whose smiles didn’t leave for days.
The League Cup is obviously of lesser importance than any other major competition, but a major competition it remains, and as such, it deserves rather more respect than a team of ‘some kids’. Sensible rotation yes, (and in that regard our options are somewhat limited by both our injury list and by the fact that our most promising youngsters are already out on loan), but that is a long way away from just throwing in a bunch of untried kids as lambs to the slaughter (which might prove counter-productive to their long-term development in any event), and more or less gifting the tie to Sheffield.
Fully agree with the decision to play Cech, he will no doubt bring some calm and authority to what will no doubt be a fairly inexperienced side. Nor do I see any contradiction between having Macey on the bench for a Premiership game and him not being considered ready for the League Cup. AW is probably mindful of getting away with a clearly undercooked Martinez at Reading a couple of seasons ago. Macey has been on the bench because presumably he is considered the ‘best of the rest’ with Ospina injured, but there is still no expectation that he will actually play, barring the very unusual event of a goalkeeper having to come off injured. There is a huge difference between that bench role and being asked to step straight into the side before a partisan and packed crowd in a cup tie.
Why rest Ox? Saturday was his first start since Olympiakos. The bloke is crying out for games. Why rest Giroud? Saturday was his first start since the Totts.
My team …
Cech
Debuchy Bfg Chambers Gibbs
Flamini Ox
Campbell ??? Iwobi
Giroud.
No idea who fits in in midfield with Flamini and Ox. It’s a shame that The Jeff is away on international duty and Zelalem and Crowley aren’t around to stake a claim. Seen a few mentioned – Kamara by ‘H, Sheaff and Bielik elsewhere. Having not seen much of the kids this season, others will have more of a clue than me as to who might be able to step up.
I’d also have at least one big hitter on the bench – probably Walcott – in case things don’t go to plan.
Tonight will be tough, but by no means unwinnable. Let’s not just give it away eh. Winning breeds winning.
Heh at the Ramblers. ?
Glorified friendly was definitely a bad choice of words. But I maintain that we should select a team with as few first team players as possible (and I should of course have had Chambers in central defence – embarrassingly enough I forgot about him!). And your team isn’t a million miles away from what I suggested, particularly as I have corrected my mistake of forgetting about Chambers.
Resting the Ox is because he was holding both his shins before being subbed off and was walking rather awkwardly as he was subbed. We absolutely can not afford to lose him to injury now.
Cheers H.
Not even going to bother even trying to hazard a guess as to whom Le Boss will start tonight. Common sense would dictate that we rest the likes of Bellerin, Nacho, Kos, Santi, Coq, Ozil and Sanchez. You can fill in the team from there…………
Can’t disagree with any of that, Tabs.
Lars, i know where you’re coming from but a smart Swedish Reverse should cover the situation nicely and we won’t say a word to anyone. 😉
What the team selection poser does do, is to highlight our injury situation once again. There is positivity that Shad Forsythe has improved matters but we are still without Ramsey, Arteta, Welbeck, Rosicky, and Wilshere, mostly from our midfield options and all with medium to very long term problems.
There is clearly still some anxiety around concerning our strikers too. I agree with Tabs that Giroud should be plenty fit enough to start, having not done so very often of late. Should he get injured though, our options are extremely limited. For me, and I hardly dare say this in here, Theo continues to blow a bit hot and cold through the middle, as after a brilliant game against Man Utd, he made very little impression against a better organised Everton defence.
I would start Giroud through the middle in what will almost certainly be a bit of a rough house up front. We will at least need to hold the ball up while the rest of an unusual line-up familiarise themselves with each other.
Theo could well cone into his own again at the weekend, away to Swansea.
Agree with tabs on Ox.
The lad needs games to get back to a respectable level.
Lars, I think the inclusion of Cech, Ox, and Giroud makes a huge difference to that side, so in that respect I do think it’s a ‘million miles away’ from the team that you picked.
Take your point on Ox. If he’s injured or protecting an injury then of course he shouldn’t play. Where I take issue is the notion that players shouldn’t play in case they get injured. They are footballers, let ’em play football. If Ox is injured i’d replace him with another ‘first-teamer’. Not sure who mind.
Anyway … all pie in the sky until AW picks the real side. Be interesting to see which way he goes.
Presume you mean Bayern rather than Everton in regard to Theo Trev? He didn’t get on against Everton.
Against Bayern, I thought he had a good first half. Didn’t get much of a look in in the second half. Personally, and at the time , I thought him being subbed off was 10/15 mins too late as we were desperate for someone to hold the ball up, but AW’s strategy worked out in the end so all’s well that ends well.
Trev you have good reason to hardly dare say it at all:
Theo continues to blow a bit hot and cold through the middle, as after a brilliant game against Man Utd, he made very little impression against a better organised Everton defence.
Maybe because he did not play against Everton??
But I agree with you about Theo blowing a bit hot and cold through the middle in recent games, and don’t think Giroud is far behind him as he demonstrated against Everton.
Not sure about your last line Trev.
With Theo’s injury record I reckon coning into his own sounds dangerous.
Aw c’mob guys!! Let’s give Trev a break!!
Guess we really knew what he meant in the first place. 🙂
I would prefer not to play Giroud but can’t see any other option. H2H @35 has it about right. Just rest the first-teamers who play every game and are a bit tired right now and then fill in. Any youngsters that AW reckons are ready for this level can play and we can always sub on more experienced heads if needed.
We’ll see what he does.
oops, sorry bt8 !
it’s not an agenda – honest !
I was reading something else at the same time about Everton.
Meant to say Bayern !!
*runs to hide from Oskar – even without his umlauts – and Cynic *
GSD,
most of the youngsters who would normally fill in are out on loan.
That is said with a currently fairly poor knowledge of who is still available, but loans and the World U17s have not left us with a lot, I think.
Heh Tabs !
Just noticed you ripping into me as well ! 😉
De rigeur, Trev, de rigeur … ??
nowt but bullys the lotta ye !
*attempts to coax a trembling trev
down from a weeping willow*
shameful fellas
shameful
one more nasty comment
and
i’m turning this bar around
oooohhh
the half ton
“carry on”
*chirps*
“trev schmev
he has to learn”
Ttg@29: Thanks for that. Had completely forgotten about the U17 World Cup. 🙂 Hinds and Mavididi there as well with England.
Could use a bit of this Reine-Adelaide skill today
https://twitter.com/ksiz44/status/656202488740122624/video/1
Think it may rain goals goals and more goals in tonight’s games on over 2.5 in all 5 cup ties 🙂
As for the side,personally wouldn’t risk an Injury to Per but can also understand the reason of not putting Macey in, if not quite ready – Why kill a career before it’s started – Tricky one
As for rest who knows but let’s hope they bring back the bacon for the marvellous travelling support, Good old club Wednesday, Always hated their Neighbours mind !! Good Days and Nights were had against them two 🙂
Up The Arse !
Petr not Per 😉
Not a lot of surprises in the team. Kamara and Iwobi making their debut. Kamara is a DM and Bielik another DM is on the bench. Sheaf and Bennacer are on the bench. Theo, Nacho, Gabriel are also subs.
One out. Giroud starts, not Bennacer. Not quite mystic ‘holic.
Pleased for Kamara, Iwobi, and Campbell.
Damn site closer than I would have been 🙂
Shame the likes of Adelaide and Apkom are not around for various reasons as would like to see them on the pitch – Still a good couple to keep an eye on tho – Defo one of the pleasures of this comp, Side certainly looks strong enough to me. !
Up The Arse,
Unbelievable, Jeff.
I’m torn between this and dog racing.
Looking at Wednesdays Subs Bench no wonder Mourinhos Chelsea are Struggling to keep clean sheets, they sold them the Bus 😉 Got 0-0 all over it if he comes on !!
Heh, Daniel Pudil, former Czech international playing for Sheffield today, I think he is on loan from Watford there, did not even realize that before.
Fag packets on the pitch.
Ox doomed in 🙁
ox is down. damnable.
Ox down this early ..for fucks sake
Unbelievable.
has anyone found a stream? thank you!
Well…Joel Cambpell will have to step up in coming weeks …O.o
http://www.livefootballol.com/streaming/football-league-cup/27-10-2015-sheffield-wednesday-arsenal.html there you go Tim
the second link at firstrowsports.eu works.
Sadly as predicted Ox has succumbed to an injury. It’s a matter of time with that lad. Presumably he was fit when he started. We will see him around February
Many thanks! (from San Diego)
Well..on the other hand we see OG/Theo combo after a long while …sigh
the away crowd is in fine voice.
Walcott replaces Ox barely five mins into the game. Hope Ox recovers by the time we visit Bayern.
You ve got to be fucking kidding me
fuck me. now theo.
Now Theo, the other usual suspect after Ramsey and Ox. Dear oh dear
Well this game was worth the fucking bother wasn’t it.
welcome to the game, bennacer. let’s hope you know what you’ve got going on.
I really hope both of those subs were precautionary and nothing serious is going on.
Walcott coming off now. Bennacer replaces him.
This is turning out to be a quite a disaster regardless of the result 🙁
What?
Words fail me. We are now top of the physio room.com table. Good job we have a top fitness and conditioning coach( heavy irony)
Fucking crazy if Wenger sent him on without letting him warm up.
Mental non-management.
to be fair, cynic, they warmed up for whatever time before the game. can he have cooled off *that* fast to make a non-warmup be “mental non-management”?
And if Wednesday score against 10 men it’s also mental non-management…
Depends how vigorous the warm up they had before kick off was. If a starter is going down with a hammy within five minutes of kick off when he was hardly on the sprint, it suggests the warm up may not have been all it should have been.
Still mental.
fuck.
Shit, we are a goal down now. COYG.
Not made it out to the Pub to watch this tonight.
Sounds like the highlights will be on the Horror Channel.
phuq.
Wot a nightmare . It’s one of those evenings. We haven’t had a shot yet and they’ve only had one. But that was a well- worked goal even if Flamini was caught dozing.
sheffield are definitely outworking us. we seem running in mud, they’re scarpering.
oooh, close from iwobi. he has looked good…
oh, christ. 2-0
Heh, we really should have just field full team of kids, get on with this and did not let two of our first team starters get injured…
Awful defending. Not one Arsenal player got off the ground. Campbell is the only one who looks interested
nightmare.
I blame the shirts, nothing ever came good from playing in hideous 3rd kits.
and agreed TTG, the boys are having their handbrake firmly in place.
definitely the shirts, eandy 🙂
Nightmare.
you’d think all hallow’s eve was coming up, or something.
Danny Welbeck might disagree with that Eandy.
However, I agree that this kit is indeed horrendous.
the only thing good about that half is it’s over.
praying for a game of two halves, as they say.
Shite Shirt.. designer should be shot!
Agree with TTG the boys don’t look drilled in Wengerball the way the La Massia kids play tiki taka. They keep the ball for way too long before releasing it and by then it’s too late.
And also yes about Campbell standing out.
Let’s see if Arsene can work his magic at half-time.
Mickey mouse cup!!!
H2H – I quite liked last years cup kit, but this one ..is abomination on par with that purple-black thing we wore when we signed Poldi, Santi and OG.
As for game, the sooner it is over, the better. I do not say this often in regard of Arsenal game but I kinda do not care if we go out or not. Of course winning breeds winning but after having two first teamers already injured, I just want this game to end already.
With Costa also injured it’s a bad night for forwards.
Chad Forsyth not getting extolled by anyone today I see.
Some people laughed at me when I said we needed a first team squad of thirty but Ramsey, Theo, Gibbs , Wilshere and the Ox will always miss half the season at least. And if your back up is Rosicky and Arteta!!
Let’s just pray Cech and Giroud survive tonight
Oh dear. That went well then?
I was against playing any of the regulars for that very reason. Let’s just hope nothing happens to Ollie G.
Why when we are playing a team in blue and white are we not in red? I agree with many above. This blue kit is one of the worst I have seen in years. Horrible.
LOL
Kamara and Bennacer are just not good enough. Iwobi shows promise. I have never seen an Arsenal team as bad as this. We are now 3-0 down.
ok, now. 3-0, well.
Needs to happen… keeps us honest.
Against Reading a few years ago I thought we defended badly but I could always see us scoring. Tonight we are pathetic. We are looking to keep it down to 5 against a Championship side and we haven’t had an attack. This is one of the worst Arsenal performances I have ever seen and I have been watching for nearly 60 years. The squad is just not strong enough if this is the back up we have
Clive, are you out there? Any ramblers available to play at the back that are in Sheffield?
Considering that is a defence that have all played regularly in the first team, this is quite embarrassing at times.
No more injuries please.
Bang goes ‘Owls beat twits two oh 🙁
What a nightmare. This is a back five that on paper is as good as half the defences in the Premiership. Shouldn’t be shipping goals like this.
That might be the only thing to be thankful for this evening, ‘Holic 🙂
Debuchy has gone from first-team starter to unworthy of playing in a kids team in barely more than a season.
At least we get to see some action for Bielik.
I agree Steve T. Someone who went to the Lane in the last round said Debuchy has ‘ lost it’ and on this form it’s hard to make any sort of case for him. I’m afraid I really don’t rate Chambers either.
I can hear our fans singing. Those poor sods should get their money refunded by the club
How about Owls up for a Barny.
Or Gunners tawny to shreds.
17/2. Why won’t I back against us. Some Wednesday fans will be making a killing.
Be careful TTG. You know what happens if you question the strength of the squad? There will be an international arrest warrant out for you.
🙂
You can run but you can’t hide, Trev. 😀 But we all do it, so grin and bear it, you’re no more infallible than the rest of us.
Meanwhile those of us who wanted this pointless cup game given over to kids while the club focused on keeping our run going on Saturday and looking for a point on Wednesday can feel justified, but pissed off at the same time. This fucking injury jinx is beyond belief.
Does anyone know how serious the injuries might be? Did they look bad? Or was there an element of precaution (he asked, hopefully)?
Fuck fuck fuck.
Oskar
Oskar
They involve Ox and Theo. they are two of the most fragile players in the league.
Ox sprinted past Colin Lewin, whispered in his ear and pulled up. Possibly a thigh or calf injury. Theo looked as if he had a calf injury. Both of them look like they could be out for several weeks. Ox pulled up similarly against United in the Cup and returned for the Cup Final.
Campbell started well but has dropped away and Iwobi looks very raw so let’s pray for Alexis to stay healthy
How many times do we have to say it,
If you don’t take the opposition seriously,you are going to cop it.
This result reeks of Zagreb/Olympiakos all over again.
3 stellar wins in a week,and that sense of entitlement returns,an attitude that permeates throughout the squad.
It’s only a mediocre championship side,so we will just rock up,stroll about and win comfortably.
Injuries didn’t help,but lethargy was there for all to see.
You don’t think the opposition realized after about 10 minutes that we were not up for it.
All credit to Sheff Wed,they played the perfect game,only 30% possession,but boy did they use it well.
Another harsh lesson for the younger players.
You have to earn it.
We didn’t tonight.
Positives from tonight? Right, moving right along…
Aside from Campbell and Gibbs there aren’t too many positives and now Chelsea managed an extra-time equalizer with Stoke reduced to 10 men for extra-time.
And things are getting dicey with Ramsey, Welbeck, Rosicki, Wilshere, Ox, Arteta, Ospina, Walcott out.
Not our night really.
Good points all, Clive. It is so difficult for youngsters to break through at Arsenal, you’d think they’d be busting every gut they have and then some whenever they get the chance. But seems not.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Yawn at Steve T. Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Always the first to show up on here when Arsenal lose….
@Clive: I’m not sure it’s fair to compare this game to the first two CL games. It’s the League Cup which we’ve always used as an opportunity for kids to get a taste of adult football before they get loaned, not a competition we intend to win. What’s disappointing is that none of the kids had a good cameo (although I though Bielik was the best of the bunch) and senior players weren’t up for a fight.
Clive absolutely spot- on. A lot of players played with a sense of entitlement that they are not entitled to have. Arsene’s interview suggested that the players who came in were not ready. If that’s the case we need a stronger squad. Certainly some of the established players like Debuchy,Flamini and Chambers set no sort of example to the youngsters. A night of bitter disappointment after a great week
Absolutely right, Clive. But in my opinion we have more than enough on our plate aiming for the Prem and the FA Cup (with a side dish of CL) without thinking quadruple. For mine there were too many first XI players in this one, and they didn’t perform either. If we’d given this cup to the kids almost entirely (as AW used to do) we could have shrugged off the loss and got on with the important stuff. As it is not only have two more key players signed into the physio room but morale has been shot into the bargain. And that bodes ill for Saturday and Wednesday.
Oskar
Disagree Oskar that morale is shot for Saturday – that’s fan generated doom-mongering! It was a shit performance by an amalgam of 2nd choice/youth players, and I don’t think Cech or Giroud will be in any way affected at all – they’re seasoned pros who knew there was nothing around them. Bellerin, Gabriel, Monreal, Koscielny, Coquelin, Cazorla, Alexis and Ozil weren’t involved at all, and should be able to pick up from their recent stellar form…
Nothing around them, Gregoire? Debuchy, Mertesacker, Chambers, Gibbs, Flamini and Chamberlain all started, and all but Ox played the whole game. If not first choices they’re all bench players.
I hope you’re right, and those that didn’t play certainly make an impressive core for Saturday. But just as Clive knows that not taking teams seriously happens too often, so have I seen what happens to morale following a bad loss.
Oskar
Clive also said at the beginning of September that I was deluded if I thought Arsenal would finish anywhere near the top 2, so I wouldn’t assume everything he says is gospel. I don’t think it’s a case of us not taking Wednesday seriously, I just think it was just a rank performance across the XI today, combined with the fact that the Owls were actually quite good. No complaints – the best side won.
Sadly, we’re going to lose a few more games before the season ends, and probably some with our first team too, although if it’s any consolation, so will Barca, Madrid, Munich, Man City et al. Players are not machines and can’t turn it on every time, however joint top would suggest our level of consistency (at least league-wise) is good enough at the moment.