Gunners Need To See Off Much Improved Tigers
Feb 10th, 2017 by 'holic
Right, we can sit here moaning about Arsene, Arsenal, the weather, the economy, and all the rest. Instead we have a game to prepare for, players and supporters alike. It’s become quite an important one too. Consecutive defeats have once again cast us into what looks like being an incredible tussle for second to sixth places in the Premier League.
Under normal circumstances one would think that Hull City at home would be just the sort of fixture to provide a timely boost for all with the club in their hearts. Wouldn’t you know it though, the Tigers have found their claws under the management of Marco Silva, manager of the Olympiacos side that shocked us 2-3 at the Grove last season.
Their last four league fixtures have brought victories against Swansea, Bournemouth and Liverpool, plus a draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. They also beat United in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final. A point tomorrow could lift them out of the relegation zone and all three points could elevate them three places up the table.
They do have problems ahead of the match. They have lost skipper Dawson and Hernandez to calf and hamstring injuries, and of course Mason’s recent skull fracture at Chelsea has weakened them further. It’s not all negative for them, however. Like us they welcome an Egyptian star, Elmohamady, back from their near miss at the African Cup of Nations.
For the Arsenal of course it is Mohamed Elneny who is back and hopefully fit enough to make a start in our beleaguered midfield. I wrote the other night in favour of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain getting the nod ahead of Francis Coquelin, who reportedly has a hamstring niggle, in the other berth in front of a back five that has warranted some thought this week.
Hector Bellerin would be a gamble at right-back, despite his return to full training today. Gabriel may be preferred to the alternatives to replace him despite a couple of dodgy performances last week. Laurent Koscielny and Skhodran Mustafi should get the chance to make amends for a less than convincing display last week, but Keiran Gibbs cannot be far from a recall at left back while Nacho Monreal searches for form and confidence. Petr Cech is expected to start behind them although few would be against a promotion for David Ospina right now.
The front four will likely still be Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil, and Alexis. Danny Welbeck would be a preferred starter for this fossil, but I’m sure he’ll get at least twenty minutes to lift the mood in the stadium, if required. Talking of which there has been much selective quoting of Arsenal Wenger today in the press and social media. Why should I not add to it?
“This is a decisive moment of the season and it is important as well that the fans are behind the team or we’ll have more problems. That is very important. This is not the time to go the way the media want us to go, but be behind the team and help the players to perform.”
Despite my personal view that he might consider making this season his last I think some are in danger of losing view that we all want what is best for this club, that we will all differ in our views of the best way forward, which isn’t a crime by the way, and we all have a role to play in setting an atmosphere in which these players can deliver what we crave. Yes, Arsene is right when he acknowledges that the team have to do their bit too.
“I am not fool enough not to know that the first priority is us and our dynamic inside the team that will create and facilitate the support of our fans. That is down to the quality of our performance.”
The ‘holic pound
The players can react to the furore of the last few days in one of two ways, obviously. An early goal to lift the crowd could lead to a convincing win, but there is the nagging doubt that Hull will set up to frustrate. A draw would be a great result for them and anything more on the break or from set pieces would be an absolute bonus. I have a feeling they may take some breaking down, but if we do ease the pressure with a second-half opener then we could go on to clinch it with a second (from Danny Welbeck?).
The 2-0 home win is also the bookies favourite outcome too, so only 13/2. Maybe have a couple of pounds on it this week?
It will be a snowy early morning start here if the forecast is to be believed, but the white stuff isn’t expected to make it to the capital. It will be a wee bit fresh though, so if you are not one of the ten thousand or so predicted to stay in the warm rather than take up their seats at the Grove do wrap up and be prepared.
Wherever you are watching, have a great one, ‘holics.
76 Responses to “Gunners Need To See Off Much Improved Tigers”
You have a great one Squire.
Cheers Esso,
The ex-neighbour is coming and sitting along the row from us. 🙂
The sun comes up,
I follow The Arsenal,
The sun goes down.
and so ad infinitum
Have a great day out tomorrow mate. No way we aint winning.
One for cba later;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5S-q1gRxvw
Evening H
After a week of post mortems on what has gone wrong at the Arse,we are back to the grindstone again tomorrow.
With the manager’s future in doubt,along with a couple of senior players,the squad cannot be a settled one.
For all that the Coaching staff do off the field,only the players can correct the malaise on it.
My own personal opinion is that Alexis is at the root of the problems.
His attitude on the pitch leaves a lot to be desired,constantly berating his own team mates,and quite often imperiously believing that only he can get the job done when things go awry.
I think a lot of the other quieter players are intimidated by him,and sometimes seem scared to make a mistake.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he left in the Summer.
Holding the Club to ransom for a massive increase in weekly wedge is not helping matters.
Kos got caught out in the heat of the moment in an interview after the Chelsea defeat,saying he wasn’t happy with the team selection,and some players being favored.
The Club tried to gloss it over,saying he was misinterpreted,
Bollocks to that.
I think a good clean out is required.
Too many average players,and a Manager with a mandate from the Board that finishing in the top 4 and balancing the books is more important than actually challenging for the Big Trophies.
Who had ever heard of Xhaka/Mustafi/Elneny,before they arrived at the Club in the summer. ??
No one.
Big names they are not.
Players capable of strengthening the squad to keep us in the top 4. ??
Most certainly.
Capable of taking us to the next level and have us in the Title hunt in April. ??
Forget it.
The epitome of acceptance of the average at the Arse,is Wally still wearing the shirt 10 years after he arrived.
As for tomorrow,your guess is as good as mine.
Nice one Clive (may I call you that on a cyber acquaintance only?).
I’m praying for some early goals and an easy win.
Wish I hadn’t read your second and third paragraphs, ‘holic.
Oh well, I suppose we can always hope for a minor miracle.
Maybe we should park the bus and try to catch them on the break?
Holics,
I think the first 45 minutes should tell the story of how the management and players themselves have reacted to all the negative vibes around our club. By all means not trying to be negative before kick off, however if we think turning up will win us this tie we will be left shocked again. Tigers will be up for it without a doubt they seemed to have grown in confidence recently, I’m hoping our players have a point to prove and will start putting a real shift from the first whistle none of this shyte we have witnessed so far.
A glass of red for the win tomorrow! Keep warm it’s a bit chilly out there!
Ten thousand pansies. 🙁
Including me that makes ten thousand and one. 😉
I sa a gif of Donald Trump today which described him thus – “Festering fuck knuckle with hands smaller than a subbuteo goalie”
Which for some reason amused me enormously.
Arsenal content – Ian Wrong says he spent a few hours at a “do” with Wenger this week and he is convinced he is leaving in the summer. So bang your money on Arsene Wenger signing his new extension before the end of the month.
🙂
“Juddering racist piss enthusiast” was another fave.
Here it is. Pause randomly and laugh. Much.
https://twitter.com/WelshDalaiLama
It’s very clear what’s going to happen tomorrow -if you’re a time traveller and can project forward to 2.45 tomorrow. The very fact that we are nervous about facing an improving Hull side says it all about the club’s current state of mind. Clive’s verdict is very harsh but does cut through to the essence of why we are struggling. I think some of Wenger’s buys have been brilliant over the years and Koscielny is an example of someone who has matured into a top player. Bellerin will probably be the best right- back in the world in two years time. We can only hope it will be with us . The gloss has been taken off our season by recent performances and the amount of grit and application we’ve shown or more properly , failed to show, against Watford and The Chavs.
We need to go into the Bayern game in much better heart and we won’t unless we win well tomorrow.
I remember us going to the Bernabeu in poor heart in 2006 after a run of awful form and playing them off the park. We played ourselves into form that day but we did have Henry in the team!
I doubt we will win easily tomorrow but believe we may scrape a 2-1 win. Hopefully that will satisfy the frozen natives.
My feelings entirely, Clive. I’ve been half-heartedly criticising Sanchez for a while now – for fear of ridicule, but you have hit it bang on the head. A bit more teamwork and a bit less ego and half our problems would be solved, imo.
Same applies to Mesut, even though I have tried to be kinder to him this season. We could fund some quality team players for what these two would bring … Forsberg and Reus come to mind. And if Max Allegri get’s AW’s role perhaps he could bring Bonnuci and Chiellini with him to put some Italian steel in the back line.
Nice preview, Guvna and good observations Clive.
It would take some nerve to bench Alexis but it may just be what he needs. For sure the boss would get a huge amount of criticism if he did bench Alexis (and can you imagine the strop on him?) but Arsene’s damned if he does and he’s damned if he doesn’t.
He’d also get castigated for setting the team up to hit Hull on the break by the very people who criticise him for not varying the tactics. However he believes the game is meant to be entertainment for the fans so I can’t see that happening.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsene leaves this summer as Wrighty suggests. Frankly I’m surprised that he has put up with the crap he gets for so long.
Just win, Arsenal.
As for Hull, I really don’t envy AW having to pick a side for tomorrow with Wednesday’s CL game in mind. Anything but a win against Hull is inconceivable, but he must be viewing Bayern as a scalp he could well do with to silence the critics. So who does he play and who does he rest? And who will he start, intending their early replacement with us in a comfortable position?
Presuming Ospina continues his cup role then Cech must surely face Hull. Likewise Hector will be given extra time to clear his head for Bayern. Elneny is the obvious partner for Ox in midfield, but when did AW last rush a player back in after an o/s tournament?
Theo is another I think may be kept for Bayern, but on the bench in case we are failing to cage the Tigers. Perez to start in his place. Perhaps Danny in for OG. And I’d play both Mesut and Alexis in every fucking game from now to May … while we still have them.
Coming home!
All managers at some point have a reality check ie losing games,etc.So it aint no surprise Klopp is feeling the pressure. He was feeling top of the world in November with Pool winning games regularly.Since then the winning run has stopped .Same with Wenger.
Now 12 points off the top,he still says Arsenal have a chance,. Mathematically.His playing style is attack all the way .And that’s why he is easily beaten by teams playing on the counter.Yet he shows no sign of adapting.I feel Arsenal lack monsters in the side . His team is full of light weight dancers who are easily brushed aside and still he believes his blueprint will bear fruit.
Hull maybe beaten 3-0 but may spring a surprise . You never know.The thing is the fm is too arrogant.He may have gone awhole season unbeaten when he had monsters like Veira but since then he has decided to get ballet players and we all know the is history.
One thing for sure is failure to beat Hull ie draw will have calls for his head.
Sad read this one! http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38939129
Jackster. As one legend goes… 🙂
Nice preview H. As others have said above, the fact that we might be nervous about Hull coming to town tells you very much about where we are. To be honest, I don’t think we should be nervous at all. We need to be positive and Saturday is very much about the performance.
“The epitome of acceptance of the average at the Arse,is Wally still wearing the shirt 10 years after he arrived.”
10 years of accepting average? Couldn’t agree more Clive. Nice to see others agreeing too. I wonder if many here will remember all those years ago when I uttered my frustrations about the club? All I wanted us to do was to maximise our potential. All I asked for is that we could be the best that we could possibly be? Funny how there was more than one who did not get it and slaughtered me for it. I wonder if people get it now????? Blimey, if only we had dealt with the issues then?
The one point I don’t agree with is Sanchez. The problem with Sanchez is the average players that are around him. For me his demeanour on the field are born out of frustration with those around him. At times he is so far above anything we have that it’s embarrassing. I said against Watford when we were playing “who could be the best mannequin” that he had now become our best defender? I also won’t be surprised if he is not here next season. I don’t honestly think that we match his ability or ambition.
Back to Hull. If Hector is fit then for me, he plays. As for the rest, who knows?
Looking forward to a cold early start. A spot of breakfast, few beers and then give Hull a kicking. Then, more beer and watch the rugby. A proper blokes Saturday.
May see some of you in the Tollie if you are in town.
Enjoy boys and girls.
I would play Lucas Perez tomorrow and expect him to score for us.
A good summary of the current situation,
and I hope that the holic pound comes in.
I’m not expecting many changes today,
think it will be the same back 5 with
Nacho playing as Gibbs will come in
Wednesday for the CL.
OG, DW, Lucas on the bench give us
forward options but as Dawson is out
for them maybe there’ll be a start
for OG and Theo to the bench.
Hopefully, Ox in the middle, as I’d like
to see what he can do.
It feels familiar, February again and trying
to grind out a nervy result before a tough
Last 16 CL game. I’ll take 1-0 in both
games!!
COYG
There are just 17 players who have scored 100 goals for Arsenal, Theo Walcott is on 99.
Think about that for a minute.
Then think about all the time he’s had on the sidelines with shoulder surgery and the knee ligament injury.
Average, my left bollock.
TH14 took 181 games to score his first 100 goals for the club, Wrighty 143, and that Dutch bloke 238. Theo has played 369 games.
Just on the tube heading off to the game. It’s a cold one. Wrap up warm people. Especially the over 60’s. Don’t want you catching a chill.
?
Perhaps I should not have used all of Clive’s sentence. I do think we have had 10 years plus of accepting average. Theo has frustrated in that time but I don’t consider him to be average. I meant the comment that as a club we have been far too ready to accept mediocrity.
I wonder how many of those were starts, Ned?
Theo also has five hat-tricks for Arsenal (same as Joe Baker) and is the youngest ever hat-trick scorer for England. His record against some of the very top clubs in Europe is useful and he has something Thierry Henry never managed.
Goals for Arsenal in a cup final 🙂
Stats eh? Meaningless but useful
234 starts, Cynic.
The real question about Theo is not whether he is good, bad or indifferent, but whether he has fulfilled his potential. He turns 28 next month. Has he become the player we hoped for when we signed him as a teenager?.
I would say not, but there are not many who have at Arsenal. Of the young hopefuls we’ve had over the years, certainly since 2006, I can’t think of anyone who has done more or come closer.
Anyway… being less of a failure than almost everyone else is not exactly a ringing endorsement so … 😀
My mate with the Sky has gone out on all day rugby related drinking session…no worries I thought plenty to do round the house will have it on the radio…and just discoverd the only commentary is on TalkShite – cannot bring myself to listen to those cockwombles. So over to Arsnal.com commentary for the first time since our final day shenanigans at WBA a few seasons ago. Hoping that’s a good omen.
Coq and Walcott in. Reward failure and underperformance and leave all the power on the bench. Defences would crap themselves if they saw Alexis-Welbz-Lucas lining up.
Funny you should mention failure, I was going to bemoan the continued presence of Ozil, but then again Hull at home should be right up his street
Hmm, if Ozil or Sanchez play well
then it’s only Hull but if they badly
then it’ll be more stick 🙂
I see you have been busy on the internet Cynic,
Googling Wally’s life story.
I don’t have to think about it for a minute,10 seconds is all it took to sum him up.
Heart of a pea.
Missing in action more times than I’ve had hot dinners.
Played with plenty of other bang average players in his 10 yrs at the club.
most of those are gone,but he is still playing with a few even now.
I was being kind when i said he was average.
Your standards are obviously lower than mine,if you are happy to trade your left one for his efforts.
Does anyone really think he would have lasted 10 yrs at any other top club vying for trophies. ??
Laughable.
If Wenger doesn’t do tactics, systems, studying the opposition and just leaves it up to the players to overpower teams offensively, it is then illogical to be completely rigid in team selection. You must pick on form. Cech could have done with a boot up the hole too.
It took me about five seconds to look that up. There’s this little website you may have heard of called Arsenal.com that has the info all on one page.
In condemning Walcott in your last section about his ten years, you are actually slaughtering the manager and the club itself. It’s a pretty damning fact (or alternative fact if you prefer) that they’ve “out up” with him for ten years. The use of “vying for trophies” speaks volumes really, you’re effectively saying he’s only in the team and at the club because we’re not serious about that.
If I’d said that, you’d no doubt have raged at me for doing so and being disloyal
Still, never mind.. opinions innit
“put up” I meant. Fucking typos.
yes Cynic
I am condemning Arsene particularly,for stubbornly indulging Wally for so long.
It is an acceptance of bang average,that Wally has lasted so long.
Then again as i have mentioned before,he dropped Mad Jens,and again stubbornly refused to admit his error,no matter how many Manuel made.
When you look at the squad at the start of the past 10 seasons,can you honestly say we were ever had a Title challenging side. ??
As a Club we have clearly accepted balancing the books and a top 4 position as a pass mark.
And NO,i wouldn’t have pinged you if you had voiced the same thoughts yourself.
C’mon boys three points
This team needs something to come off for it. There are players not making runs or when they do, the guy on the ball is trying to do it all himself.
Nerves.
Alexis Sanchez baby!!!
Get in!! Sanchez.
Get in!! Sanchez!
And there we have it.
Now… let’s have a few more and a bit more flow to the play.
While Arsenal are playing Hull, celebrity cunt and supposed Arsenal fan is arguing with JK Rowling on Twitter.
It’s a hard life being Piers.
Piers Morgan that is.
I just assumed everyone would know who “celebrity cunt and supposed Arsenal fan” is.
Coq has gone in the thigh.
That’s him done.
Le Coq returns. I thought he was dead.
Celebrity cunt was enough 🙂
Elneny on earlier than expected ?
AW on the headphones shows what
a joke the touch line ban is.
Just the 3 points lads please
This is tense, nervy stuff. How i’d
love a second just now.
We’re too passive.
well those subs certainly weren’t
passive. I thought Iwobi was doing
ok to be honest.
‘Holic £ time!
Finally, Sanchez again!!!!
Three points everyone chill leave the keyboard enjoy the weekend
Job Done.
😀
Nervey listening
But Trois Points
Onwards and Upwards
Also – The official website commentary was pretty good and balanced (certainly better than Talkshite ) if anyone else ever gets stuck without pictures…
At least Theo showed some passion, which outdid what I saw from many others on the pitch and among the spectators. The narrative would have been so much different if he had scored his 100th goal for the club today.
You are best off, New Day, if you can find pictures and then turn off the sound.
Well said, Gedo.
Did Alex Vidal just break his ankle…. OUCH!
It was verrry coooold at the game today. I thought Hull were decent opposition and gave us a tough game. Clearly Arsene’s battery went in his phone because the substitutions were long overdue.
I see there has been some controversy over Walcott today. I’ve never seen him get involved in a physical ruck like he did today.
As for the goals both were fine. It was an unintentional handball by Alexis for the first goal , he just didn’t have a chance to avoid it. The penalty and the red card were obvious.
On the positive side I thought Ox had a very good first half Pirloing the ball around to good effect. Koscielny had a terrific game but beyond that Ozil, Iwobi and Walcott were poor and Sanchez upfront through the centre was never going to win balls knocked up to him in the air. Nice to have Bellerin back and Cech made two good saves.
The side is lacking in confidence, the crowd was about 5-10,000 short of capacity and there is a feeling that we may be in Arsene’s last weeks but this depends on our fortunes .
I get the feeling Ozil’s heart isn’t in it anymore and I’m not sure heart and Theo should be mentioned in the same sentence. Today the addition of Lucas and Welbeck was ridiculously overdue and Iwobi was contributing little for far too long.
Big selection issues in Munich but I think we can give them a game if we get the team right
Job well done, tough game and we didn’t make it easy on ourselves by any means of imagination.
What was good to see that we tried hard to score in the first half we didn’t wait for the opposition to press though we gave away the initiative towards the end of first half.
Second half more frustrating I thought we should have made those subs a great time earlier. Perez is good on the ball he oozes class his calm and decision making is very mature. We needed that a lot earlier….
All in all a good hard fought win and much needed too!
Here come our mini run?
Congrats on the Holic pound!
Sadio Mane would have been a serious upgrade from Theo on the right wing. We should have gone for him last summer.
True Desi’gner, Mane would have given our offence the cutting edge. Virgil van Dijk would have strengthened our defence no end but we never get the really good ones.
Spurs losing today is good and for once they appeared to lack energy. Hope City drop points tomorrow.
TTG sums the day up well.
Bloody cold.
Bang average performance from us apart from excellent performances from the Ox and Koscielny and pass marks for Cech, Hector, Gibbs, Mustafi and Coquelin.
Against a better team we would probably have struggled to get a point.
I do think the Bayern games are going to be a real test.
Here’s hoping we can find our mojo and rise to the occasions. I think Lucas and Danny could make a difference.
Yes, yes, Hull are a better side of late, but struggling at home to break down the defences of a bottom 3 side made for some desperate viewing. Especially the poor finishing which left the match in doubt until Gibbs got away with a red card offence and Clucas didn’t. Are we really joint top scorers this season? If so we must also be top of the ‘chances missed’ table.
Poor Theo still can’t satisfy everyone, regardless he looked more enthusiastic and more of a threat than anyone bar Alexis. He could have had 2 assists and at least a penalty in the first half alone. But in the second half it was Iwobi getting most of the action down the left, despite losing the ball with monotonous regularity. And let’s not mention Özil’s headless chicken impressions…
Theo is far from perfect and I’d swap him for Griezmann and several others in a heartbeat, but he’s still the best right winger in the club with a superior scoring record to pretenders to the position Danny, Ox, Rambo and Lucas. As AW clearly agrees.
Leicester this morning are two points off bottom place. Helps gives a sense of perspective to us being in joint second.
Your constant lack of Cynicism is constantly reassuring, Ned 🙂 Good perspective.
Agree with Ttg about Sanchez’s first goal. No penalty. Accidental ball to to arm. And even if Alexis had got his arm out of the way in time, the ball would have bounced off his head into the goal.
Incidentally, last season we had no penalties awarded for us at the Ems. The season before that three and the season before that one. This season we have had four so far (and four awarded against us; only one fewer than in the past three seasons combined). So I guess these decisions even themselves out over time.
howdy
what a lumpy game
but pointsispoints
and
would ye look at that
the ‘holic wallets fatter
so ?
.
have a good sunday
UP THE ARSENAL
Proper football
https://mobile.twitter.com/PHNonLeague/status/830516665263804417/photo/1
Did anyone mention it was cold? Stepping from the warmth of my car I was approached by a brass monkey who appeared to be holding something very carefully in each hand. He enquired whether I knew of any welding services in the area. I referred him to an establishment I knew off the Balls Pond Road which I believed was open on a Saturday. He thanked me and went gingerly on his way.
With his example in mind, I invested in a red beanie hat with a cannon on it from the little roadside stall just down from the Tollie. My son kindly informed me that it made me look a prat. I informed him that that may be the case, but at least I was a prat with warm ears. Arriving at the ground we lingered in the concourse rather than brave the elements. Although I seldom buy food or drink at the Emirates I did indulge in a cup of Bovril. Is there any more Proustian drink at the football than Bovril?
So to the game. I had said in here that I expected many empty seats. I have seen the (agenda driven?) claims that there were 10,000 such. Well, all that I can say is that five minutes after kick off the ground looked very much as usual for a league game against a lower end side. Yes there were empty seats, especially in the upper tier, but no more than usual. Given the cold weather, early kick off , game on TV and expectation of an unpleasant atmosphere I was pleased and surprised. The atmosphere was hardly vociferous but neither was it negative. Mark Clattenberg got more abuse than Mr Wenger. This confirms my view that, in the stadium at least, there is nowhere near a majority for throwing Wenger out and that the violent protests, banners etc are a tiny minority. Yes the crowd will boo after a poor performance and a poor result (like against Watford), but most folk to who go the game are simply happy if their team win. I cannot speak for those keyboard warriors who appear disappointed in victory.
Turning to the players, I see that Sanchez was made man of the match. Utter twaddle and poppycock. Alexis had a quite dreadful game and was by some distance our worst player, missing several chances he should have scored and losing the ball over and over again. He was also guilty of a quite egregious dive in front of me which Clattenberg spotted (it wasn’t hard) and booked him for, quite rightly. He redeemed himself right at the end of the game with the sublime cross to Lucas which would have led to the second goal, but instead led to the penalty. No for me the MOT was Ox, who once again put in an excellent performance in central midfield. I am increasingly convinced that this is Ox’s natural position and that we should continue with him there. Not only is he a creative ball carrier but also really puts the shift in defensively. I was baffled by the substitution (again) which took Ox out of midfield and affected our balance badly. Having put him on the wing he barely got a kck and was subbed off ten minutes later. I would certainly start him ahead of Ramsey. How about a Lucas/Ox or an Elneny/Ox midfield combo? As usual credit to the imperious Kos who time and time again mopped up at the back. I thought Bellerin had a good game. Lucas once again looked good on a few minutes appearance.
I was concerned about team spirit twice. The first time was when Theo, ludicrously, picked a fight with their massive No 5 (who looked a bit baffled by the whole thing). Not a soul rushed up to support him and defend him until eventually le Coq ambled up and tried to pull him away. If Jack had been playing, or Keown, or many others from years past, Theo would have had support, even though he was out of order. The second was when Sanchez (just) slotted the penalty that won the game. The crowd celebrated wholeheartedly. But very few team mates (I counted three, maybe four) went to celebrate with Sanchez. I wonder if his very public bollockings of teammates mean he isn’t the most popular? Oh and while I’m on team spirit what happened to the tradition that all Arsenal players where the same shirtsleeve length, chosen by the captain? Theo broke that yesterday by wearing shortsleeves whereas the Captain (Kos) and all others wore long. Tony Adams would have kicked him up the arse for that.
Homeward bound, getting home just in time to watch the Rugby and Spurs v Scousers (I did a Holic and watched both, one on the TV and one on the laptop). Arsenal and England win, Spurs and Wales lose. I’ve had worse weekends.
No more home games until Bayern Munich I think. I hope it’s warmer then.
Apologies for the delay. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>