Young Guns Get The Job Done
Oct 25th, 2016 by 'holic
Arsene put his faith in youth for the visit of Reading in the EFL Cup. Emiliano Martinez started behind a back four of Carl Jenkinson (welcome back corporal), Gabriel, Rob Holding, and Kieran Gibbs. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was paired with Mohamed Elneny behind a front four of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi, Jeff Reine Adelaide, and Lucas. Olivier Giroud started on a very inexperienced bench.
The young Arsenal side started well enough and with just over five minutes on the clock there could have been a dream return for Jenkinson. On a foray into the Reading box he tried a snap shot that Al Habsi parried back into his path and then headed the rebound over the crossbar from close range. Two minutes later Al Habsi had to be quick off his line to deny Lucas before Oxlade-Chamberlain hammered an effort just wide of the mark.
Next to go within a whisker of opening our account was young Maitland-Niles who curled an effort narrowly wide of the far post from twenty yards. Reading’s first effort followed but Obita’s long range provided Martinez with a simple save diving to his right. We missed a golden opportunity when Lucas was put clear but the Spaniard attempted to set up Reine-Adelaide, underhit the pass, and Reading scrambled it clear.
Iwobi was next to try his luck from distance but again the ball steered clear of the far post before Maitland-Niles drove one over the bar. The goal was surely coming, and it did when the Ox wriggled his way into the right side of the box. He finished with a fine angled drive through the legs of Blackett and just inside the left hand post.
Arsenal 1-0 Reading
Two minutes before the break we were inches from being pulled back to level when Harriott’s deflected effort found the roof of the net but thankfully over rather than under the bar. It was a warning that we needed to convert more of our very promising approach play into goals. I’m sure Arsene and Steve Bould would have quietly emphasised the point during the interval.
We were again on the front foot at the start of the second-half. It doesn’t seem to matter which eleven Gunners play where, as all are coached in the style and formation that the first team is expected to play with. First the Ox, then Lucas were denied by blocks as the Gunners streamed forward. We were exposed to a counter-attack when Gibbs dithered but the skipper for the night recovered to retrieve the situation.
The Giroud chant started up as thoughts of those watching turned to what might be a crucial second goal, but it was Reading who sent on their main French striker, Kermorgant, to sniff out an equaliser. On the hour his towering header brought the best save of the night from Martinez. Giroud sprinted up and down the touchline hoping to remind Arsene that he was there and ready.
Finally the change was made with Reine-Adelaide making way to a warm round applause and Giroud getting heartily cheered back into action. Lucas switched to the left to free up his position. Reading responded by sending on Gravenberch, a defender with the girth of an American football linebacker, who somehow avoided a caution for launching his not unconsiderable weight upon Lucas’ ankle. Chris Willock replaced the stricken striker a couple of minutes later following a fine Al Habsi save from a powerful close range Giroud header.
We should have sealed it when Oxlade-Chamberlain was put through only to drive too close to Al Habsi, and unfortunately Iwobi was unable to control and finish the goalkeeper’s parried save. When McLeary cynically chopped down the Ox a minute later the referee finally produced the yellow card that we feared he had left at home. Iwobi was next to draw a save out of the experienced Al Habsi, and the tension was released when the Ox took Giroud’s lay-back and drove a ferocious deflected drive into the net.
Arsenal 2-0 Reading
The double goalscorer was withdrawn to a standing ovation to allow a cameo appearance for the Danny Karbassiyoon scouted Gedion Zelalem. Suddenly the young Guns keep-ball was a welcome and not unattractive option. There might have been a sting in the tail but Martinez produced another first-class save diving to his left to claw out a Kermogant free-kick which came through a veritable forest of bodies.
Arsene will feel some satisfaction that his young second string have beaten seasoned Championship campaigners. He will have lessons to work on with them but they achieved a good win and a clean sheet. Thousands of Arsenal supporters who could not normally attend matches at the Grove were treated to seeing their team win in the flesh for a tenner. All in all a good night, don’t you think?
185 Responses to “Young Guns Get The Job Done”
Ox for the semi-virtual hattrick!
Now to read….
As per usual, I agree with 103%, cheers ‘Holic! Hope you are more than fine!
Comfortable enough in the end.
Odd moment of discomfort,but as you say H, by and large good outing for the youngsters.
The first 11 get a full weeks rest to recharge batteries.
Now for a home draw tomorrow night against another lower tier side.
Toby you really do take the chocolate biscuit.
Gold/Silver and Bronze.
Half your luck.
Cheers H. Not seen anything tonight having had a previous appointment with my knee surgeon.
Good airing for the second string. Always a good experience, especially in front of a sell out crowd.
Quick lighting report Holic!
Still a lot to learn but a positive result and a great opportunity for the fans to the Arse for a tenner!
Hoping Perez’s ankle is not badly crushed!
Thank you Toby. ??
Evening Clive, Steve, and Arthur. ?
Now, when’s the draw? ?
well reported, holic, same as i saw; definitely a good night. and i think that group can do better, which pleases me (it will happen naturally).
agree with atg about perez’s ankle. and murray’s foul on giroud was just as much red, if not more, than granit’s…the inconsistency between referees is troublesome.
Beautifully called as ever Holic. I watched the game from my usual seat with my usual neighbour but no one else I recognised. Lots of new and some.very young fans enjoyed s very routine win. I don’t know how many changes Teading made but the experienced Arsenal players like Elneny, Gibbs and Gabriel stood out and Holding got better and better as the game went on. The young gun that took my eye was Maitland- Niles who started in central midfield playing a holding role and ended playing wide after the Ox went off. As he played at right back in the last round we have a versatile two- footed player with a silky touch.
I think Ox should start instead of Iwobi on Saturday and the Jeff was too languid at this level. Willock looked a bit raw. Lucas was felled heavily as Holic described and we may not see him for a little while. I like his movement and first touch although a bit more selfishness might have see him notch his first home goal . Also nice to see the. Orporal adjust very soundly
A nice very unstressful night
Leeds and Newcastle will be the only teams outside the PL in the Qtr final draw tomorrow night
Pool/Arse and Hull through tonight.
Saints should beat Sunderland tomorrow,Chelsea should beat Hammers,and either Utd or City will round out the final 8.
Leeds/Newcastle/Hull at home would be ideal.
A good night if you go by the scoreboard, ‘holic. Not a lot of encouragement from actual play. Amelia continues to impress and I remain of the view that he’ll end up our first choice in time, OG looked pleasingly threatening while clearly rusty and Ox gave us his usual curate’s egg of a performance, but little else to enthuse about. Perez looks more and more a waste of money and I was expecting more from Iwobi and El Niño in this company. As for the young ones I can’t see them worrying the first XI for a while yet.
Three more wins and the EFL cup is ours, but not with this team.
I forgot to mention Maitland-Niles who impressed in midfield. Definitely one for the future. Especially if he can learn to Xhakabooooom!
Amelia?
Should have been Emelia for Emeliano Martinez, scruz.
thanks, Chris, I reread and should have gotten it with the “first choice” statement…
Good report,’Holic. Word from an errant monk was that it was like watching the Arsenal 2nd XI playing the 3rd XI: two teams playing the game the proper way but showing why they aren’t in the 1st team.
Chris, Martinez is highly regarded at the club and produced two top saves when required last night, as noted above. Maitland-Niles caught the eye for winning the ball without diving in, a useful attribute for a DM.
Bit harsh.Chris. I watched Perez very closely. His runs were highly intelligent, he is strong in possession and his only real blemish was passing instead of shooting when through but had the Jeff been more awake he would have been lauded although his lay- off was not brilliant. I could see exactly why Wenger bought him. I would have loved to have seen him play longer with HFB who would have created more for him. It looked a nasty injury.
I thought Martinez was a bit Hollywood but his size right at the end from the free- kick was excellent. His loan spells have been far from ideal( talk to a Wolves fan) and with Ospina in front of him and some brilliant talent behind like Keto and Virginia I remain convinced he will never be our first team keeper.
I didn’t give as much praise as I might to Holding. He really is a very good buy and may already have nudged out Gabriel as first reserve in BFG”s absence. Grew into the game and switched from right side to left side . He will soon be compared by the hyperbolic tabloids to John Stones
“two teams playing the game the proper way but showing why they aren’t in the 1st team”
Exactly, Ned.
Ned
How do you discipline an errant Monk. ?
Given they already live a life of deprivation and austerity.
THanks, Holic, I didn’t see the game and your excellent summary has me covered perfectly.
Great additional commentary on some of the lesser lights from you, TTG. I agree that it’s far too early to condemn Lucas to the waste bin. Disappointing that the Jeff didn’t inspire.
Sweeper, Hull at home will be as good as a free pass, I’d say.
Clive @20
You stop them watching Bake-Off in the telly hour
Ned’s description was very good and winning the EFL will come down to who has the deepest squad. In that sense it might be a good indication of who might win the PL. I suspect Mourinho may play a stronger team than the other managers because he is in desperate need of a trophy at Old Toilet. Last night showed the Spuds don’t have a deep enough squad and if the new ground costs them £750 million as the Standard suggested yesterday that will give them the problems we faced of holding onto their most marketable players and buying replacements. Interesting to see if Poc can do as good a job as Wenger did. It also highlights just how fortunate West Ham have been in being given a free ground. The problems, the Spammers on my train on Saturday were moaning about serve them right as the Gooners on the train were quick to point out! If ever a club have lost any public sympathy they might have had following the departure from Upton Park and the squalid move into Stratford it is the Spammers. How apt they are the toy of porn barons.
Last night there were more selfies on the stadium concourse than I have ever seen. And more young children. My neighbour saw a toddler in a pushchair ! It was like a completely different crowd. I suspect 40,000 were not there on Saturday. It does show the crowd potential we have if we remain successful
A good chance to see some of the youngsters get an outing. I thought M-Niles did ok, shooting a bit wayward but at least he was prepared to have a go. I thought Jeff RA tried to overplay and had a better game at Forest but he is a serious talent for the future.
It seems to me that Iwobi could do with a rest and the Ox may come in for a while. Ox seems to have regained some much needed confidence and did well but he really needs to up his concentration levels – he still has a tendency to switch off.
Giroud got some minutes, Holding did well and I also thought that Lucas showed good movement – I think he’ll fill in nicely as required.
Onward.
UTA.
Noosa,
Absolutely on the same page about Iwobi/ Ox. It would also be a nice boost to the Ox to show that hard work can pay off. That boy has so much potential. But he needs to stay fit!
Iwobi will be a terrific player in a couple of years. He is on a massive learning curve but has exactly the right manager Loki g after him.
Hull or Leeds at home in the next round please.
Morning BTM
Please try and post more than once a week.
If that other Kilt wearer Bath can do it,so can you and Zico.
More Intelligent discourse a necessity.
Please comply.
By the By, my door is nearly all Red,just a bit of black trim now.
Nice to have a stress free game, thought there was quite a gulf in class between the two sides. I was really looking forward to seeing the Jeff but he seemed to be looking for a 5.9 for artistic impression!
At 19.45 there was a half empty stadium and the crowd was still coming in half an hour later. Was this due to the new bag tagging arrangements? After the chaotic situation on Saturday at turnstile S I went to the match early and for the first time ever without a bag, women just don’t go any where without a bag!
Thought Holding is coming along nicely and the Ox worked really hard in addition to his winning goals. It looks like Perez might be side lined for a while. I was amazed when he gave up the opportunity of scoring his first goal at THOF when in a perfect position in front of goal, chose to pass the ball.
Hull at home would be a good draw.
COYRs
As always, I enjoyed an Arsenal win and an evening at the Grove. But League Cup nights are strange. Because of the number of children, we all decided to sit down on The North Bank – a very rare thing. Different. The security lines were quite long so for the first 15 minutes we had a stream of people wandering in, trying to find the right row and seat number. Distracting, especially when you are seated. Many of those same people started wandering out again ten minutes before half time, came in ten minutes late in the second half and again started leaving ten minutes before full time. Watch the flipping game – the beer’s expensive rubbish anyway and the pizza is crap!
Shout out to Reading – I think they brought 5000. Good effort!
I did meet some nice folk – the young Gooner from Dallas making his fifth visit was a gent and, like us, was almost the last out of the ground.
Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that during half term kids and families can come for £5 for kids and £10 for adults. But from my privileged ST holder perspective I prefer away games in the League Cup (I thoroughly enjoyed Forest). So Newcastle or Leeds away please! The coaches for Sunderland leave the ground for Sunderland at 5.30 am on Saturday. Living an hour North of London I’ll be leaving at 7am for a 415 mile round trip. But – away games are great and I’m looking forward to it already!
Chris – one of the things I like about this bar is that we can disagree without getting personal. So I’ll just comment that you and I see different games most weeks. I thought Ox was terrific last night and that Perez worked his socks off and on another night would have had a goal and an assist. We parted company on Mesut a week or so back I recall. I thought the Corporal was good on his first game back after so long and I thought Holding was so composed and decisive. Gibbs played well and may replace Nacho in the first team. We agree on Olly and I am more inclined to see progress in the others, even though there were faults.
Still – vive la difference as they say!
Clive@20: errant in the wandering rather than straying sense.
Does Lucas Perez remind anyone else of Harry Enfield’s Arsenal footballer in his Arsenal v Liverpool sketch: the just below the knees baggy shorts, the very upright but busy run, the 1930s haircut?
https://youtu.be/Nc2To-pKMSg
Excellent write-up, Holic.
I managed to see and hear absolutely nothing last night, so much appreciated.
Thanks too to TTG, Ned, Noosa and Countryman for their input on the young players.
Re Jeff R-A in particular, with reference to his “languid” performance – can’t remember who made the comnent – I allowed my ears to be assaulted by the twisted vowels of Stuart Pearce for a couple of minutes yesterday afternoon.
He made the point that the biggest difference when a young player steps up a level, is the speed of thought required.
His own example was when stepping up into the Forest first team, he found passes going straight to opposition players. Not even proper interceptions – just that opponents were reading and anticipating what he was going to do and, as he looked at the ball to make the pass, they were moving into position to receive it !
Fortunately for us, and them, we have a manager who will pick the games where our young players are allowed a chance to learn, rather than taking Chris’ option of writing them off.
Personally, I was very impressed when Perez came on as a sub against Ludogorets. He could have had a goal himself, worked at a great pace and provided two assists for Mesut in his twenty minutes on the pitch.
Still, on Chris’ 55″ plasma, he looks a waste of money. He will doubtless wish for the leniency afforded another young gun for the best part of a decade …….
Clive, you’re right, he does wind me up doesn’t he ? ?
By the way – Ned will surely help me out here – are we, with Maitland-Niles, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Reine-Adelaide, the most hyphenated team ever to play a first class fixture ?
Ned @28 – sounds like classic fodder for the Arsenal Gent to me ?
“We looked quite dangerous at times, the rawness of the youth was nicely offset by the experience of Lucas Perez up front whose movement was really clever. His passing cost him a couple of assists, but overall I thought he was good. ”
That’s from Arseblog …….
Thanks ‘holic for another well written and much needed match report. The extended highlights at arsenalist.com show Holding with an excellent job of keeping the ball and getting to the byline before finding Giroud who then set up AOC for the second goal. I can’t remember the last time one of our center halves did that, unless it was Koscielny, and certainly can’t remember such a young defender coming into the Arsenal team and contributing to so many clean sheets in such a short time. Again based strictly on the highlights AOC must have been man of the match and his confidence seems to have risen markedly in the last few weeks or so. I have to say I love the look of Maitland-Niles who appears to be one for the not too distant future, and I would love to see him with some Premier League cameos.
For anybody who missed it there is a good bit of good natured but hilarious anti-Berkshire vitriol in ACLF’s Reading match preview.
http://www.aclfarsenal.co.uk/2016/10/25/efl-cup-preview-reading-and-the-surrounding-towns/
Chuba Akpom injury, sadly, will apparently keep him out for months.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/26/chuba-akpom-ruled-out-until-2017-with-back-injury-6216297/?
Trev: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, too, though now late of this parish.
Similarly, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
re Chuba Akpom, it appears he has a stress fracture, or spondyloysis, of the spine.
Q: How does that happen ?
A: Spondylolysis is a crack or stress fracture in one of the vertebrae, the small bones that make up the spinal column. The injury most often occurs in children and adolescents who participate in sports that involve repeated stress on the lower back, such as gymnastics, football, and weight lifting.
It most commonly occurs at L5 level, the lowest of the lumbar vertebrae.
Being at all a possibility of the human condition, here at Arsenal we have, of course, incurred one.
Apologies to those medically aware enough who will be offended by my condescension ??
Ok, Ned, calm those monks down.
I meant in the same starting eleven. ?
Now just go and do whatever you do to them when they become over zealous.
Thanks, by the way. ???
And if you believe Quincy Howjoodoos is not a made up name, you are a better man than I. ?
Trev: One last double-barreled note before I break out the ice-cold dousing water, according to a blog post on Ancestry.com, in 1901 only one person in 50,000 had a double-barreled name. Today it is one in 50.
http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2014/11/05/10-rare-english-surnames-about-to-go-extinct/
Cheers H!
By the way December 10th for Stoke at home is now a definite, me alongside Big Ian. Get yerself in training lad, gonna be a huge day on the swallie!
Trev @47: Chuba’s injury sounds painful especially when you mention the lowest of the lumbar vertebrae which I think is the one that gives me a sharp pain now and then. Ouch.
Ned,
My guess is that the tradition of the fairer sex adopting the man’s surname upon their joining together in holy matrimony, has been replaced by the double barrelling of surnames as the naughty couples simply live more frequently together in sin.
Tsk, tsk !
Aye, bt8,
It’s a pain in the arse. Well, almost !
Full name of Poyet’s assistant is Anthony Philip David Terry Frank Donald Stanley Gerry Gordon Stephen James Oatway.
QPR 1973.
From now on my name is Jens Lauren Sol Kolo Ashley Patrick Gilberto Freddie Robert Dennis Thierry Yella and you can call me…well…don’t.
I wanted to name my first born
First name
Banks
Cohen
Charlton
Moore
Wilson
Stiles
Ball
Hunt
Charlton
Hurst
Peters
Surname
However the ever sensible Mrs Countryman applied a late but crucial veto.
Oh, you silly Countryman ! ?
No chance of me posting more than once a week Clive.
Holic has me on the Moderators banned list.
Probably because myself and a couple of other “unidentified suspects” helped him miss his train on Saturday…… 😉
Fine report Guvna. Much appreciated as I was in transit from the frozen north to the fog-bound south last night and saws no highlights until a moment or so ago.
I am pleased that Ox bagged a brace. It’ll do his confidence good. Now he has to concentrate on keeping possession in critical areas which is imho his biggest failing. Lots of potential in our junior ranks as ever. I wonder how many will make it? Hoping for a friendly home draw later tonight.
Clive@25, this is my statutory weekly post. 😀 Though I am not wearing the togs you suggest. Indeed I have not possessed one since I was 11.
One subtle difference between those lamentably low profile countrymen and me is that my domicile is south of the border while they have the obligation imposed on all male residents of Alba that they must spend 8 hours of each day chasing a small round ball across the countryside beating it with an expensive metal stick when they catch up with it and another 6 hours per day in a hostelry tasting the water of life. Add in the statutory 3 hour lecture from the Leaderene and there’s little time for the poor souls to visit this fine establishment let alone contribute to its high level debate. Zico has to squeeze a job into that schedule too.
bath, i thought zico had traded the lecture for a dedicated shoe-room? that’s three hours, anyway…
🙂
Thnks for enlightening me Bath.
No more Kilt references from me.
As for Zico,i assume that your many pseudonyms are also on the Moderator’s list. ??
Southampton in the EFL Cup quarters. Could be better; could be worse.
Quarterfinal home tie vs. Southampton. Not easy but should win. and it will make for an interesting selection exercise for AW.
Trev@43: I understand that there is a lot of double-barreling among the young people today. Probably explains the epidemic of Spondylolysis.
Trev
I used the term ‘ languid’ for the Jeff last night. Your point about the increase in pace in the first team is well made and he may well adapt. As for Chris’s 55 incher I do wonder if it is transmitting the same games as we see.
It is important to see games first hand as you can see a run off the ball or a positional switch that the TV misses or the likes of Michael Owen or Robbie Savage fail to appreciate. The latter happens quite often. I tend to watch new players very carefully and having never seen Perez before and as someone who is interested in forward play I watched him with interest. I could see after ten minutes why Wenger bought him. He will enjoy Ozil supplying him and Xhaka’s long passing game.
When you’ve watched well over 1000 Arsenal games , played the game and watched football for almost sixty years you get an intuitive feel for a player. That’s what I fed back last night. It’s never totally accurate but it’s usually a very good guide. Wenger has the intuition in spades and we are much the richer for it.
As I write on a crowded train that is disgorging West Ham and Chelsea fans who joined us at Stratford I marvel and just how thick the fans of these two clubs are. One bloke joined the table and told everyone with certainty that he had heard that the Hammers were going to Leeds. This was five minutes before the actual draw was made. In that time he had allocated ticket gathering duties and fixed up transport only to find out that they were heading to Manchester. If he’d had an extra brain cell he could have been a plant.
There was great resentment at our draw . That pleased me even more.
TTG. LOL. We think the same. 🙂 Hilarious banter between the Irons and the Chavs tonight.
TTG,
Totally agree.
I remembered the “languid” comment not being made with any malice but couldn’t find it again in a hurry. Rarely for Mr Pearce he made an interesting point.
Like you, I was impressed with Lucas, especially as he has hardly played and it was his first home appearance – unless there were a few minutes somewhere I’ve forgotten (?).
Bit more than banter in the crowd at W Ham.
Pictures on TV now showing the two sets of fans fighting. Seems only stewards trying to keep them apart too. Maybe those police radios really don’t work in there.
Fighting? At a Irons vs Chavs game? I am shocked, shocked! (channeling Casablanca).
On my way off the train I engaged a Spammer in conversation. It was his first game at the new stadium but listen up . He and his son had been season ticket holders for ten years at Upton Park but had been unable to buy tickets at the Olympic Stadium. How could that possibly work?
That tawdry porn merchant Sullivan really has taken a fine club downmarket. They’ve always had thug fans but now they’ve tried to take quick bucks rather than reward the loyalty of their fanbase.
We didn’t get everything right with our move but we didn’t kick longstanding fans in the teeth .
Boris Johnson should be held to account for a stupid and unsporting decision. It looks like a disaster in every sense
Are stewards supposed to be doing this –
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/10/26/seats-and-bottles-thrown-as-violent-scenes-overshadow-west-hams/
Nothing changes over there, regardless of exactly where “there” is.
Ahem.
The West Ham and Chelsea crews arranged to meet up a mile away from the match and have a fight. Unfortunately that was still inside the stadium.
Shamelessly stolen from F365
Violence?
Yis
The ‘languid’ comment apropos The Jeff was used in the TV coverage I was watching. You could also call it Özilesque, except Mesut knows better than the youngster when to actually pass the ball. Something R-A will improve in time no doubt.
My view of Perez remains the same as it was when he was signed. Yes he scored a few in a league where most teams are Championship level at best, but even so he didn’t feature among the leading strikers (from memory there were 9 better than Perez in La Liga last season). So why would anyone expect him to do well in the heat of the Prem? His decision to pass rather than shoot against Reading was not what is expected of a natural striker.
If I was unimpressed generally, countryman, it was because this was after all only Reading we were playing, and they are barely in the top half of the Championship.
The problem with double-barrelled names (Trev #43) arises when two of them get together and decide to keep both their names in a quadruple-barrelled way. And if two of them find each other … well you get my drift.
This will inevitably lead to names being dropped altogether in time, replaced with numbers, or maybe avatar chips inserted like micro-chips in dogs which anyone can recognise with the chip in their own brain.
Chris, the full family name of the MP for South Dorset, Richard Drax, is already Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax. And his first wife was a Legge-Bourke.
6 surnames between em
yet nary a chin to call their own
dreadful stereotyping , i know
but
if the bridle fits ….
.
hammers and chavs boxing ?
ye’d think their shared love
of sieg heil-ing and no surrender-ing
would have them wholesale reach-arounding
dreadful stereotyping , i know
but
if the burberry cap fits ……
Ned, Chris – Growing up, the local MP was Sir Hugh Vere Henry Duffy Lucas-Tooth. He later changed his name (under the terms, it was said, of a legacy) to Hugh Vere Henry Duffy Munroe Lucas-Tooth. (He was always known at our home as Sir Hugh…-Tooth, Christian names win 4-3.)
On a football-related note –
COYG
https://twitter.com/FA/status/791565105767079937
Hahahahaha!
😀
Lucas out for six weeks with ankle ligament damage.
November must be almost here.
So Perez is out for six weeks… glad Giroud is back at least…
Sorry to hear about Perez and Akpom but Giroud having been out for a couple of months will be quicker than we are used to seeing him. Or not. 😉
Paul Merson on Sky echoes my recent words about Ibrahimovic thereby guaranteeing he will score at least two goals this weekend against Burnley:
“Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a world-class striker but he’s not anymore. He is 35 and playing in the hardest league in the world so as the season goes on, I can’t see him getting better.”
horrorshow of a tackle on lucas, no wonder. damn it all.
as you say, bb, at least giroud is healthy. so we have alexis and giroud, both of whom seem hungry for goals (giroud should have had that one but al habsi saved beautifully).
@Scruzgooner
That was a powerful header beautifully taken but alas their goalie was up to it..
Am hoping with Giroud (fit?!), he will not take starting in the first eleven for granted.
On a positive note, Ox and Walcott seem to have found some sort of form, here’s hoping they can be consistent with it!
Otherwise with the mounting injuries, it’s looking like a thin squad in a most decisive month.
Oh..and Ramsey is not too far off too.
So now along with Moaninho, Moyes is also charged with misconduct… naughty naughty!
Leave the curmudgeon calling out of inconsistent blind bat refereeing to us..!
😀
Physioroom have 5 of our players listed as injured.
Ramsey is not among them. He must either be fit, or have floated away into space in his special anti-gravity rehab suit …. ? ? ?
It’s the latter Trev. In a contest for our flimsiest player my money’s on the ironically named Rambo
Holic called out the large bastard who staggered onto the pitch to general howls of disbelief and with his first act chomped Perez.
No decision on a date for the Saints tie yet I imagine? I suspect the Northern bias endemic in the BBC will see United and the Mickey Mousers televised
trev
interrupting etc bla an stuff
yer a doctor here we fuckin go
doctors the left of us
doctors the right of us
‘holic’s comin’ down wiffem
brains gurgling foreheads
.
i have a pain in me right ball
feels like it’s turned around
possible?
hesitant foot out walk on occasion
back sore too
past week
should i put my affairs in order ?
.
err on the safe side i suppose
.
.
ok
in 84 there was Bernadette ……
Pinched nerve possibly. I get pains in the goolies sometimes when the old sciatica is giving me hell. Lower back nerve jobbies.
??
Pangloss@73: Two historical footnotes about Lucas-Tooth. He legally changed his name not once but twice, and he was the first person born in the 20th century to be elected an MP at Westminster (in 1924 for the Isle of Ely, not Hendon South).
cheers cynic
it’s troubling fella
a weird pain
it’s in me ball
me back
me front side
and a bit in me leg
but
like floating all above
.
not like a busted arm – ye can see
very strange
.
have to bite the bullet
go the doctor
fuckin hate doctors
fear always around
*50p in the meter*
i gave frank stapleton a dirty look he won’t forget
said that wrong
back peddle ?
no !
need / fear – doctors
.
dreadful stereotyping , i know
but
if an epileptic fits ……
woo hoo
near the ton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9dF5xuJBbM
on me own
on me own
on me own
o i’ve all gone quiet near the t ……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix0hrEWqSck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyZe2hy7Rbk
yup
stand by yer beds
clives
ballsed that up
bloop noises
woulda been great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpi8Bek6jdM
cba,
Two main possibilities from the comprehensive online interview we have ( not ) conducted above.
1 – If you have a pain that seems to be right in the nads or scrotum, it’s possible there is a nerve compression. In this case it is most likely the pudendal nerve – one of the main pelvic nerves – which can affect all the more unseemly areas – gonads, rectum, scrotum etc.
Compression could be caused by tissue damage or swelling. That would most likely result from a tear or spasm.
Have you slipped awkwardly, fallen or done a lot of unusual exercise – lifting, digging, cycling ??
2 – if by “foot out” walk, you mean your foot is pointing outwards as you walk, that is caused by contraction in the piriformis muscle, which has it’s origin underneath the sacrum at the base of the spine and it’s insertion (far end) on the head of the femur (thigh bone).
I’ll look for a couple of links – to explain more about the pudendal ‘neuralgia’ and to give you some good piriformis stretches – which could just cure both problems if you’re lucky which, being Irish, I assume you are ! ?
This should get you started on the pudendal thingamewhatsits –
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pudendal-neuralgia/Pages/Introduction.aspx
thankyou trev
it’s a strange pain
(not unlike it’s owner i hear the mighty cynic saying)
am scared of doctors
more so hospitals
but it’s you feckers
aim us at them
so
it’s a lose
more lose
situation
for me
hurts breaks sprains no bother
This is ok as a basic piriformis stretch –
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2qZ517Rw7ME
I’ve got a good link on my phone, so I’ll swop technologies and post it through that.
It might also help if you lie face down in your field and get one of the cows to stand on the middle of your bum cheek !
Just kidding – but it’s about as close as I can imagine to what I do with my elbow over the piriformis tendon ?
and
being Irish , as you say
i won’t rise to that lucky bait
what with you english stealing our land
and forcing us to listen to neville
Try the piriformis stretches straight away, cba, ‘cos the ‘foot out’ walk is definitely a sign of contraction.
Never mind stealing your land – you gaven’t seen my bill yet ! ?
typical !
“gaven’t” ?
bloody marauding english
.
forced to learn their language
despair at their ineptitudinousness
http://www.spine-health.com/video/sciatica-exercises-piriformis-syndrome-video
Ignore the accent – good video
That’s gratitude for you – criticising me bloody typing skills !
i still can turn my neck
like an almost normal person
thanks to you
and
it’s not bullshit trev
????
obviously yer gettin no fuckin money off me
so stop the letters
anyhoo
sorry ‘hol
i shut up for a while
i’ll keep working on it
The way to cure a fear of doctors is to develop a stronger fear of undertakers.
I assume we’ve all seen this?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cvtv5sVWIAAObJT.jpg
Sorry to hear you are struggling physically cba.
Cheer yourself up by watching on You Tube, The Mavericks singing Born to be Blue,then listen to them singing In My Dream.
Then if you are still in the mood,listen to them singing Dance the Night Away.
Class with a capital C.
??? cynic
am sure said before
lived in tottingham 30 odd years ago
yup
odd
cheap rent
“cheap holiday in other people’s misery”
as johnny rotten sang
saw him tottenham
down past bruce grove
white cadillac
bright dreads time
think his brother lived there
couldn’t throw petrol bombs for toffee
amateur hour
justifiably angry residents
not mincey johnny
clive
i’ll struggle through
god willing
thanks for your concern
am normally hard as nails
despite my (stolen off the mighty tabs)
more than frequent mincey posts
like many here
am no spring chicken
having said that
michael gove is not yet 50
.
fuckin stupid lookin old young cunt !
Trev @ 81
The best site for injury updates is ‘ Premier Injuries ‘
They are showing 8 for the Arse.
Ramsey on there,still at 50 – 50 for Sunderland.
Santi at 25% with Achilles knock.
Even Wally is on there with unspecified ‘ Illness ‘
I think it has been diagnosed as ,
” inability to go past a full back on the outside ”
something Sterling at City suffered from last night,constantly running into the Utd full back and falling over looking for free kicks,then admitting defeat and just constantly taking the easy way out and passing the ball inside to another City player.
cba
Just be grateful you haven’t got a metal pedicle swivel hinge bracket either side of your spine at L5/S1.
loved living in London
80s
loved it
the holy grail
The Mighty Arsenal
afternoon
Big Gig of yer choice
evening
fuckin brilliant
clive 120
spine is it ?
is it spine ?
spine you’re telling me ?
you sure it’s spine ?
i dunno
always the spine ?
.
we’ve led good lives
yours more interesting than mine
mine more newsworthy than yours
UP THE RAMBLERS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZKWffik1FE
Yes cba
spinal it is.
when it plays up,i have to go to Hospital and have a laser guided fucking great needle injected in my back,feels like a rod of iron going through your body,which then hits the nerve root near the damaged disc,and injects a numbing fluid into the inflamed area,to relive the pressure,and allow me to continue living.
*feverishly tries to un-order surprise monogrammed trampoline*
talk among yerselves
MINGLE !
.
.
he knows now
eejits
sorry clive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQXX74z3400
Heh ! At the trampoline ?
Oops sorry, cba, the capital ‘A’ was not really intended there, as I’m sure you’ve noticed seeing as what an old fussy trousers you are, ‘n’all !
*pencils neck rejuvenator in for possible grumpy surveillance*
built meself up to being a trustee
in a regular
without my knowing
landlord needs to step out
i’ll fuckin keep the house
apparently
nope
NOPE
NO SIRREEEE
.
nope
couldn’t run a bar
.
tolerance of arseholes
slimmed over the years
not even interested in interesting wee bars
cos they don’t fuckin exist anymore
well
having said that
I bow to Dr Trev’s superior knowledge in all things medical, cba, but it sounds to me like you have an excessive build up of spermatozoa trying to escape your plums.
My prescription: Take one or more obliging members of opposite sex with whisky at night accompanied by following sage advice from Dennis Beach Boy … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6hrNwhJ_18
‘holic
between me you and bullshit
sack yer moderators
the mighty chris
* trumpeted in *
with the mighty dennis
two of my favourites
(dennis woulda seen ozil’s genius)
but for the drugs
Did your back pain and testicular pain come on simultaneously? Are you susceptible to back pain – have you had back pain like this before?
If so, they may be unrelated. If you have severe pain and tenderness in your testis you may have torsion of the testis, which tends to occur in men of much more tender years than I suspect you can claim but if your testicular pain is severe then it’s worth being examined properly. Torsion of the testis is no joke and generally requires surgical treatment.
Much more likely is epididymitis which is inflammation of the epididymis attached to the rear of the testis. In this case the front of the testis will not be overly tender but the back may well be. This will respond to antibiotic treatment.
Chris’ suggestion is novel. His solution would be pleasant. However the pathology suggested is hitherto undescribed. If it was a real pathology, I suspect the celibate priests of Ireland would be world famous for their exploding testicles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xczpRc6_yBA
bitta marty
howdy bath
me discomfort is more than genuine
i did however forget
loads of people read this
and
i forgot i should have messaged you fine knowledgeable people
by email and not spilled my sore ball over the emirates
in my defence
i occasionally take a drink
Occasionally? Maybe that’s the problem. Try ‘often’.
thanks for your ideas bath
i think you might be right
me balls still fuckin roarin
but now
i think i know why
I didn’t get where I am without trying often. – Fall and Rise of RP.
I am sympathetic, cba, trust me, but like slipping on a banana skin everything about scrotum problems is always funny to those who aren’t suffering them.
otoh, I’d sooner you didn’t email me to discuss your balls if that’s okay with you…
chris
not too big to say
used to drink a swimming pool
now i drink a goldfish bowl
doesn’t take a doctor to work out
what’s going on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bucVwI0RfEg
or better still … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ_fXybPq1Q
beyond lovely
the mighty ‘holic’s beer and bullshit emporium is full
and full of laser-misguided geniuses
it’s such a testament to the boss
how it hasn’t descended into shite
don’t ye think
–
“here lies cba ”
–
“drank”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smVYvnnqewA
Dear old Syd. 😀
Good luck to you, cba, I have to go help Max design his first Christmas card. Cya.
godspeed
As for ‘here lies’ … my own stone (a modest piece of Noir Belge black marble) will read Chris XXXXXXX 1942-2042 (or whatever), but otherwise totally blank except right at the bottom ‘to be continued…’
Not that I expect to, but hopefully I’ll get a smile or two from passers-by. You can’t ask more than that when your’re gone, aye.
love Syd
absolutely love Syd
first album and a bit
then
two unencumbered albums
.
.
.
Syd Barrett
a genius
chris
the doc about your mate
i can’t find
can you point me in direction , good
i know the name
can’t get it though
it won’t play
Howdy Guvnuh, ‘Holics.
Miss you guys.
Lots to be excited about, no?
BMBD
My mate? Not sure who you mean.
Just found out it’s Cleo Laine’s birthday, and I didn’t know she was still alive. 89 today (NZ time) apparently … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSLxdLIoHj4
Gotta love that G above top C – eat yer heart out Mariah.
gordon bennett
Ah, him. There’s a brief wikipedia entry … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Bennett_(union_organiser) – which includes a link to the doco about him, and more links under ‘References’.
There’s also a book … https://www.christmas.net.au/shop/books/product/39-tai-ko-seng.html – the first part of which (in England) is pure invention, making him out to be some sort of saint when he was in fact a petty crook and chancer, sometime mental hospital inmate and occasional guest of Her Majesty. Sadly I never got round to visiting him on Christmas Island, but I’m guessing he was more playing the role of Sean Connery in the movie The Man Who Would Be King – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Would_Be_King_(film) – than seriously playing industrial benefactor.
as i say chris
i can’t get the doc to play
.
anyhoo
re yesterday
apologies ‘holic
am putting myself back in my box
for a while
sore ball too
UP THE ARSENAL
Good to see you Lonestar.
Good luck with the achey breaky gonad, cba. ?
The real Gordon Bennett:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gordon_Bennett_Jr.
Not a nice man, Stan
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/stan-kroenke-suicide-note-los-angeles-rams-owner/4vpjvfiycudp1shtz8r7ftma7
Blimey- a football, music and medical blog. Can we add some racy sex material and I’m sorted.
I hear Theo and Nacho are out tomorrow. Theo has a hamstring as he always does this time of year. That’s probably him until almost Christmas
Ox in for him and Gibbs for Nacho.
That injury list is getting to normal dimensions and two of the three usual suspects are on it. Only Ox to go
An appropriate image
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cv2fCgAVYAIXWz8.jpg
cheers ‘holic
and sorry again
i relax here
which is fine
sorta
much like someone
who brings a McDonald’s
on a long bus journey
or fuck me sideways
a fuckin sandwich dug outta 20 fuckin layers o tin foil
egg so fuckin rotten
mother o l’oeuf woulda clucked vomit into a carrier bag
had they the wherewithal
and been on the bus
sorry m’lud
i really don’t mean to do it
i honestly don’t
sorry
i’m at it again
bit of a big anniversary here
a reason if one were needed
herself already shitefaced in bed
.
okeydokey
stop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGOEUo_sLxY
by the Bertie vested in Mee
Dono Howe i’m gonna do it
but
i will stop shiting shite
.
trev
T…R……….E…………………….VVVVVVVVVV !!!!!
CBA…. the weekend starts here!
Stop saying sorry, ya big bollix.
You know you are welcome here and the other nutters love ya.
should build a bunker
entry keypad
-liamschindimple-
exit
-joeyramonesknee-
sorry ‘holic
catholic guilt
?
‘holic
the genius behind here
any chance
ye could join me in ruining
THE only Arsenal site worth talking about
and
post a music link here
go on
ye can piss yerself off big time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7r0SBb14SQ
sorry
on cherry homemade
fuckin red lightning
is it ok to post tunes ?
in the meantime
one for our plastic paddys
https://vimeo.com/107916939
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37QUUwp9xIs
Have a preview, at last. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>