Is Manchester City The Best FA Cup Semi-Final For The Arsenal?
Mar 15th, 2017 by 'holic
I am starting writing this, whatever this becomes, at half-time in Monaco. Yes, I am a bit of a masochist watching this week’s Champions League ties after our mauling by Bayern Munich. I’m glad I did though. There is no doubt both matches involving the English clubs have produced absolute thrillers.
Whilst many on social media chose to use Leicester’s victory to highlight Arsenal’s obviously poor recent record in the round of sixteen I was thinking of their supporters, enjoying the sort of stuff we got used to in Arsene Wenger’s first decade. They are on a thrilling ride which didn’t look at all likely a few short weeks ago. While Jamie Vardy’s antics last night didn’t make for good viewing the Leicester performance generally most certainly did. Full marks to them.
At half time it looks very much as though Monaco are possibly about to blow away Manchester City with a breathtaking display of attacking football. Even without the injured Falcao they look absolutely deadly in attack, and unquestionably Killian Mbappe is showing what a player he already is at 18. Just how much better will this young man become? Our failed bid for him last summer will not be our last, I’m sure, but bigger clubs have now started following the prodigy. We may have missed our chance.
The final whistle has just blown on an astonishing game of two halves in Monaco. City pretty much dominated the second-half as Monaco had the first but could only draw it 1-1. Monaco advance, and deservedly so.
I wonder what effect that will have on our FA Cup semi-final opponents? They would have reasonably expected to go through when the draw was made and may feel their exit more than the Gunners. We knew Bayern would be a tough test. At Wembley will we face a shell-shocked City, with their evident defensive weaknesses, or a motivated City with a very positive attacking intent.
Both Citeh and us lack consistency, and have veered from the sublime to the ridiculous this season. Our Wembley match-up really is an impossible one to call at this moment in time. Personally I’m pleased we avoided Chelsea who may well be on a high when they take on the neighbours. The Premier League title is so close they can almost feel it. Tottenham, potentially shorn of Kane although they are understandably looking at bionics to bring him back earlier than expected from his latest ankle knack, might have been preferable. However the prospect of a Final between the neighbours from North London and Middlesex is simply too tantalising for words.
Please let us be in it, whoever it is.
48 Responses to “Is Manchester City The Best FA Cup Semi-Final For The Arsenal?”
When we beat Southampton in the Cup we get the the final.
…get to the final. Spillchucker!
And ATG, agree with you in the previous drinks about the Monaco side, and about the importance of the first 45 mins.
‘Holic, the answer to your question is probably that it depends which Arsenal side turns up and which Man City one.
Of course you are right Ned. It’s too obvious, isn’t it?
City is definitely the side I would have chosen to face, because you never know whether they’ll turn up. They’re just like us. Easily beatable but on their day will drub anyone.
Whatever happens, I don’t want to play Spurs in the final
I also watched the Monaco game and thought they were good value.
Holic – I’m not sure that Cavani would have been allowed to play but they didn’t miss Falcao either!
UTA.
That is why we can’t sit back and defend we need to press them hard, this is when they are vulnerable the most! Don’t give em an inch!
If we can do that and I hope we can, we will beat them! Sit back and we are in trouble!
COYG!
I’d love to beat the spuds in the final … after wrapping up a 22nd successive St Totteringham’s Day.
But I’d hate to lose the final to them after failing to wrap up St Tott’s Day.
But winning the final after failing (etc) would be a consolation. After all St Tott’s is fun but it’s not like a trophy.
I just hope we make the fucking final so we can worry about it then!
I’ll drink to that Chris!
Indeed, Chris.
If we beat Man City, it will be Chelsea or Spurs in the final so a dragon to be slayed either way.
Interesting stuff H. I think both SFs are too close to call. I really hope we turn up in both SF and Final and play for 90mins the way we did for 54mins against Bayern last week. None of these 45 minute cameos of a good team.
If I had to choose I’d prefer the FA
Cup win over finishing above Spuds,
after all we’ve done that 21 times
in a row now.
First is West Brom though and it’d
be good for confidence to win.
Looks like everyone bar Santi may be
available (tests for Ox and Gibbs),
so for me let’s play an attacking
side as they’ve lost their last couple
and Pukis has a poor record at The
Arsenal.
I wonder if Citeh can recall Nasri in time for the leadup to the FA Cup semifinal, to allow plenty of time for him to sow dissension in the clubhouse. 😉
With dashes of division, discord and disharmony. 🙂
OsakaMatt, Remember this is an away fixture at West Brom which may make things considerably more difficult. We must be ready for Puking from all angles.
You make a good point, bt8b. Of the seven encounters between Pullis and Wenger in which Pullis was the ‘home’ manager, Arsenal have won only one, against two draws and four defeats. Of the ten in which AW was the home manager, Pullis has lost the lot.
On the other hand, our defeat at WBA last season was our first there since October 2005, and before that we hadn’t lost there since February 1973.
Holic you state :
“and unquestionably Killian Mbappe is showing what a player he already is at 18. Just how much better will this young man become? Our failed bid for him last summer will not be our last, I’m sure, but bigger clubs have now started following the prodigy. We may have missed our chance”
I think our failed bid makes little difference, who believes he would have really developed into a world class player here at Arsenal?
Would he have been able to produce such form and quality here at Emirates? With a soft manager and the fans on his back!
Agreed, Wenger has sorry HAD a track record over the years of producing some world class players starting with George Weah…but I can be challenged on the point that we have not been able to do that recently. Last memorable player of true quality produced was Fabregas and he decided to go and win trophies elsewhere, same as Henry and RVP. ..While Jack Wiltshire only came good after some good work with Owen Coyle.
And Belrin is still developing and I don’t believe he is a finished article.
Reports said we missed out on Rolando but again Would he have gone on to become the same player at Arsenal? With the injury record as ours and a lack of wining mentality? Wenger didn’t have the players with leadership left to challenge such showboating players and tell them the right from wrong. He would have been mentally weak and probably shipped out to ManC!
Developing a player here at Arsenal into a someone who is accountable is more of a challenge now as Wenger is on record to say doesn’t believe in leaders in any specific position and that everyone is equal, he thinks it goes against the squad harmony. Since the leadership qualities inherited from George Graham’s era stopped filtering through the squad, it seems Arsenal have suffered. At most other clubs you have to stand up and be counted as a player and a man.
When we also started getting rid of over 30 players we lost any remaining leaders from that policy.
Sanchez seems being the only leader in the team but again he is too much of a leader for Wenger and is going get the ticket out!
One of the qualities we have always looked for in a player at Arsenal is the winning mentality. At mature levels of football this requires accountability. If you don’t see leaders in your team as role models and if no one is able to question your lack of drive, you won’t bother to lift your performance.
To be fair to Wenger, Chelsea have 39, yes 39 players on loan which shows you that the policy is not only to buy success but also not let have anyone else any success. To respond to that Arsene Wenger went only for the top 4 and stopped wasting money and trying to win.
With the focus on a paying back the loan for a new ground and saving very penny, youth development was prioritised. This also meant we stopped looking for truly outstanding talent. Wenger focused on quality of play over winning trophies as he knew he couldn’t compete with Chelsea. Players like Hazard, Ribbery, Lampard etc. and many more of the likes were available for 5-10M but were not chased not only with the fear that we would lose the bidding war to Chelsea but also because Wenger wanted an club culture where each developing player is prioritised over and above external transfer. In the process he lost his own competitiveness streak at that level.
It was important to keep the fan base so to please fans the board regularly pushed articles on transfer to papers each year so the fans can keep buying the tickets and dream of success the following year.
Over the years due to this policy we have lost competitiveness to win at the top level and try as we might, we don’t seem to have it within the club to change that.
The requirement for the new players seem pretty much the same as they were 10 years ago, you look at the articles you wrote and they still apply. Only because what Wenger inherited from GG was a perfect fit for what his strengths were.
More post rationalised bollox. Fucking bored with it. Aint people got anything better to do.
I’ve had a bath and am just about to cook a steak pie. Does that count?
Reports said we missed out on Rolando
He just said no
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44532000/jpg/_44532689_roland270.jpg
Well said, Esso, @20. Sick of people trying to rewrite the Wenger years. We know how good they have been because we have been there. I don’t need anyone telling me otherwise.
Ronaldo may not have been the player he is now if he came to Arsenal, but then Thierry Henry wouldn’t have been the same if he’d gone elsewhere.
Besides, Ronaldo only really exploded as a player after he left Man U and went to a cushier league with shit loads of class players around him, so you could say that he might have done exactly the same if he’d come here. I mean look at Bale. Is he THAT good because he’s THAT good, or because his team mates are lifting him?
Second guessing the might have beens and the whatevers is for mugs though. So let’s not do it any more.
Ronaldo? I liked Rolando better.
Ditto #20. As for better things Messy could do I suggest learning to spell for starters. And Rolando, Wiltshire, Belrin and Ribbery are names new to me, and I dare say to Ronaldo, Wilshere, Bellerin and Ribery as well.
Then perhaps he could have a go at editing. 723 words of basically repetition would more likely be read if cut in half, which could easily be done without losing the (non)sense of what he’s trying to convey.
In the interests of syntax please delete the ‘And’ before Rolando in the above. 🙂
Good stuff Chris @27, especially with the added edit @28. It’s important that standards are maintained all round and it’s not just the manager and the first team who are asked to achieve the highest standards at all times.
bt8@16
Bugger, yes, you’re right we are
away. Hope AW has checked the
fixture list more carefully than me!
In that case, a grimmer match,
lots of commitment, workrate,
covering and discipline for the
first 30 minutes. Slowly impose
ourselves on the game and then
nick one before half time and
another on the hour to kill the
game. Shouldn’t be a problem
for our lads 🙂
From a more positive viewpoint
– winning away at Pukiwich would
be great for a bit of team spirit.
And I would also play Feo. Given
he’s been dropped by England
he may have ‘a point to prove
mentality’.
“There were some players that we could have got, that I knew the club could have got, and they didn’t get,” says Everton’s Lukaku in a come-and-get-me interview. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39295524. Clubs other than us not landing all their transfer targets? Is that even legal?
OsakaM@31: Good point.
“I’ve got to say [Walcott] wasn’t chuffed to bits to get the call this morning,” said Southgate. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39291266
Southgate’s a twat. Plays Rashford in the seniors though he really wants him in the U21s, because he doesn’t have any options up front but leaves out a bloke with 17 goals this season.
Not that I mind really, international football is for cunts.
Thanks Esso, I concur. I suspect that is MNB in yet another guise.
This made me grin though
https://twitter.com/Sporf/status/842340947132317699
Just dropped in for a swift half and to catch up on the gossip. Seems a random word generator is writing some of the posts?
Couldn’t get a ticket for the Baggies tomorrow so will be watching on TV before settling in to watch the egg chasing in Dublin.
Come on you Gunners!
I’m not an Arsene-al fan and I don’t think there are actually that many on here who are.
Not in the slavish devotion sense anyway.
It seems Primorac gave an interview where he stated Arsene is going nowhere.
Won’t be long now, May is just around the corner. All will be made clear.
I’ve always considered Southgate an Arsene/Arsenal fan.
He probably omitted most of our guys to give them the kick up the backside that they need for the run-in.
I jest.
I wonder if Jack is injured and if he isn’t, how he feels being left out. Given that getting back into the national team was his excuse for moving in the first place.
WBA v. Arsenal match preview including highlights of the same fixture five years ago, WBA 2 Arsenal 3 (Benayoun, Santos, Koscielny):
http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/17/west-brom-v-arsenal-metro-co-uk-big-match-preview-6511701/
Fulop’s first game starting in goal for West Brom according to the commentary, and also one of his last I would think.
Koscielny and Vermaelen looking like a fairly disastrous central defensive pairing there.
Our semi final will be on the Sunday at 3pm, televised by BT Shite
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, cba.
And to Joe and all our other Irish friends.
Found out today I have Irish blood, although it’s a few generations back. Great great great great grandparents or something. 1860ish County Clare.
Foock moy loife.
Setting off at the crack of dawn to meet the Norwich bus on the A11 at Barton Mills. Can’t say I am optimistic but hoping for the best. The trouble is you never know which Arsenal will turn up but our performances on my trips to Citi and Chelski don’t fill me with great expectations and Pulis will make WBrom difficult to break down.
Seems we have just about everybody available except Santi so getting the right blend especially in the mid-field area is going to be Arsene’s biggest problem. We could also do with a bit of height as WBrom are a big strong mob. Is there a case for playing Giroud and Per with Granit and Mustafi holding? We can’t afford to loose this game a top four finish must be our aim.
Looking to Hector to put in a repeat performance from last week and Feo to show Southgate he’s capable of scoring a goal or two, hopefully. Fingers crossed!
COYRs
Evening all. Safe journey, Delia. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>